#third one worked for a little bit but it also lowered my blood pressure(which my sleep meds do too) and it gave me some fucked up moods

[riddikulus-writings]

Distracted

Chapter 9

( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) pt. II. [Also posted as a one-shot somewhere in here. Again, I'm just leafing it like a tree]

Rick hummed in agreement and closed the gap, sealing his mouth over hers. He wasted no time dipping his tongue into her mouth, drinking in her moans before they could get too loud. He gently pushed on her, laying her down across the length of the seat. Rick followed her down, nestling himself between her legs. Nyx planted a foot on the seat beside Rick’s thigh as he hitched the other into the crook of his elbow, “Gonna be quiet?” he asked quietly, lightly peppering kisses down her neck. Sucking on her now-exposed collarbone.

She whined, a breathless whisper as she nodded desperately, trying to grind her hips against something. Rick moved back up, his free hand moving around her neck, “Quiet.”

He slowly lowered her leg, her boot softly hitting the floor. Rick sent a sidelong glance through the rest of the dark bus, and so far no one had moved from their previous positions. Thank God for that. What a sight they’d wake up to; Nyx spread over the only bench seat here, Rick looming over her, a hand around her throat. They’d either think he was trying to kill her, or get very uncomfortable very fast and ask him to stop.

Which, he wasn’t about to do whether someone woke up or not.

He turned his attention back to the panting woman beneath him, raising an eyebrow at the grin spread over her face. The more pressure he applied to her throat, the wider her lips spread. His right hand worked at the buttons of her black pants, “Filthy little thing,” he muttered, “There’s other people on this bus.” Rick snaked his hand down the front of her pants, stroking down her dripping sex, “All for me?”

“That is you,” she panted out, grabbing the back of his head to pull him down for another searing kiss. When he scooped his cum back up with two fingers and pushed them inside, Nyx bit his bottom lip so hard he was sure she’d drawn blood. He leaned into it, pushing his tongue on her mouth again as he worked his fingers and scissored her open.

“Quiet,” he admonished, again, pressing his free hand against her throat once more. He pinned her to the seat, squeezing his hand as tight as he’d let himself, “Gonna wake everyone up,” he breathed out, his nose brushing against hers.

Again, Nyx’s grin grew, her pearly teeth glowing in the shards of moonlight passing through the windows, “Good.”

Rick almost growled but couldn’t without fear of waking someone up. Instead he buried his face in her shoulder, “Fuckin’ filthy little thing,” he repeated, curling his fingers against that certain spongy spot he’d found that made her grind hard into the palm of his hand, “Gonna be a good girl and keep me in there?” She whined out a high pitched yes but otherwise stayed breathless, quiet pants crawling up her throat and Rick wanted nothing more than to shove his cock in her open mouth. He pulled up from her neck, almost sneering with the strain of trying to stay quiet as he worked his thumb up to the peak of her cunt, “Want you to cum all over my hand, sweetheart. Gonna do that for me? See if you can stay quiet?”

“Bastard,” was the whimper he got.

“That’s not very nice,” he told her, pressing his thumb hard on her clit. Her arm suddenly flew up to cover her face, Nyx burying her face in the crook of her elbow as Rick buried a third finger deep in her cunt, his thumb rubbing fast circles. He moved his hand from her throat, sliding it instead to her hip to hold her down as she bucked into his hand, “C’mon, almost there. I got you,” he muttered.

Her hips stuttered, low whines coming muffled by her elbow. She was choking his fingers and he had to remove one so he could keep them moving, working her through her orgasm. Rick’s hand got soaked suddenly and she went limp, her only movement coming from her chest that moved with rapid breaths, “Bitch.”

Rick tugged her arm from her face as he slid his hand from her pants, “What’s the matter, Nyx?”

“I--” she panted out, “hate being-- quiet.”

He flashed her a bright grin and tugged her pants back into place, giving her stomach a gentle pat, “You didn’t have to,” a quick peck on the lips, “But it would’ve been a bit awkward for the others. Especially when I wouldn’t stop.” Another whimper, and he raised an eyebrow at her, but simply stuck his fingers in his mouth.

“I’m going to sleep,” she whispered, dropping her hand off the side of the seat. Her knuckles brushed the floor. The other arm folded behind her head. 

“I sure fuckin’ hope so,” DuBois grumbled from somewhere up front. “You two are disgustin’.”

"No one told you to listen," Rick shot back, his whisper loud enough for DuBois to hear over Nyx's stifled giggles. Rick was grinning, though; thankfully Bloodsport couldn't see it.

"Someone needs to nap," Nyx murmured, a small smirk plastered over her mouth, "He sounds cranky."

“You ain't laying down there,” Rick suddenly tugged her back up to snuggle into his side, his arm draped over her shoulders as he scooted them both to the end of the seat, “Leanin’ or layin’?”

“Lay,” she yawned.

He turned and pressed his back to the window, head lolling to the side to lean on the seat. After some shuffling, she was between his legs, back to his chest. HIs arms wrapped around her, one leg from each of them on the seat and the other leg on the floor. They looked like they had the same boots on. Nyx nuzzled her head into his shoulder, “Y’smell nice…”

“I smell like jungle and sweat,” he chuckled, his laugh vibrating through her, “And blood. Go to sleep.”

And they both dozed off like that, just as they had several times before on Nyx’s couch. Their breathing evened, Nyx drooling a little onto Rick’s bicep. Rick shifted in his sleep and snugged her closer to his chest.

[emptymanuscript]

Viagra was originally developed as a heart medication.

For most people, in most situations, it's not a great heart drug because of its various side effects. The people who tend to need it are people who are extremely sick.

Which means there's not much incentive for drug makers to make it because relatively few people need it and when they do they often don't need it for very long. It's also the issue that when you do need it, it is a matter of life and death so they know they can charge huge sums for it. When my mother in law went on it, a year or so before she died, out of pocket cost was several thousand dollars per month.

The next problem is insurance. Again, relatively few people need it and the people who need it cost the insurance company a lot of money so they don't want to cover it. Basically the way to get it isn't through insurance, instead you have to get your doctors to apply for you to nonprofit medical grants to cover the high cost because it's the only way to get it.

The third issue is a social one. Even though it's not sold as Viagra for heart trouble, all the doctors and insurers are well aware they're the same drug. What's Viagra for? It's not for heart trouble. It's for erections. Because blood flow and pressure issues are one of the major side effects of Viagra. It causes your arteries to relax and your heart to hammer. Which is great if you want an erection and to go have sex. Not so great if you're a guy trying to treat high blood pressure in addition to whatever other serious problem ails your heart. So as a heart treatment, it tends to be more useful to women who tend to have lower heart pressure than men of the same health do. BUT, Viagra is now for erections. It's pathetically easy to get Viagra as a medication as a man for your erection. That's what everyone expects it to be used for. So that's how everyone classifies it.

The drug companies produce a single dosage in huge masses that will essentially work without too much thought. It's like advil or tylenol. They're not putting together individual pills for different problems. It's just one process. This is significantly cheaper for the drug companies. So they can sell it for much less than even the same drug in a variable dose. And because it is a constant use drug, the drug companies don't have to worry about people just taking it for a bit and stopping. They know they are going to have regular buyers so they can drop the price even lower to become a constant low cost seller. Again, like an over the counter drug, it's not about making money on the one bottle, it's about making money on selling bottle after bottle after bottle for the rest of time.

Because the little blue pill viagra, or whatever cialis is or any of the others, can be produced so cheaply by the drug companies by manufacturing it for sale at scale, it becomes a small cost to cover it for insurance companies which will pay in bulk for the biggest possible discount and are pooling the money from all their patients, which ends up being in the range of their interest pay outs. They effectively gain money by gathering more than enough, earning interest on it, and then paying out a subset of that for the cheapest possible pricing of Viagra. And they get to show it as them paying for things and taking their patients health and happiness seriously.

All these forces converge to make it a pill for men. Because Erections are cheap, easy, and safe (and patriarchy etc.) unless they last too long in which case the drug is interacting according to the initial idea and working on your heart in a way that often isn't good for men. But it's a rare side effect because they have formulated the little blue pill specifically to do the artery relaxation and not the heart squeeze. Essentially, they tweaked to produce the side effect instead of the original effect and now the original intended use is now a potential negative side effect.

But, again, that means it is for men and NOT for women. Making that the first hurdle that women who need the drug to pump their failing hearts have to overcome each time one of them needs the drug. Because the first problem is that doctors who aren't experts, and some who are, don't think of viagra off the top of their heads. That's a man's drug. Why would I prescribe it for a woman? And it keeps getting used as an excuse all the way down the line.

My mother in law needed to get a doctor's letter explaining the whole of why the drug was necessary for a woman and why it wasn't affordable every three months like clockwork to various nonprofits because everyone assumes that it is a male erection drug.

I am still pissed about it a decade after she died because I have anger management issues and resent the sheer unfairness of all that when I see her need, and the needs of others like her, as significantly more important than men's erections. You can live without an erection. She would have died if she hadn't got it for her heart and every time the donation money ran thin, she had to have the extra stress of whether or not she would be able to get her lifesaving medication while any man who wanted one never had to give it a thought. So, yeah, I'm gonna die mad about it.

(via d9aa6v9i12ua1.jpg (JPEG Image, 1170 × 736 pixels))

[theirtheretheyre]

adhd meds that work long term wya

[acourtofsnakes]

A Helping Hand - Bucky Barnes x Reader (f)

(Gif: @sebastianruinedme​ )

Summary: After a stressful week, you try to wind down with some personal time but nothing quite hits that spot. And a certain Super Soldier may just be more than willing to help you. 

Warnings: 18+ Smut - Masturbation/toys, Oral (f receiving), fingering, neck play, arm/hand kink, dirty talk, a faint Dom theme if you squint, swearing – honestly, Bucky should just be a kink in himself.

Word count: 5k+ words full of hot playtime. 

A/N: This is just filth, to be honest. I was feeling a certain way after watching episode 3 of TFATWS and seeing that scene with Bucky cleaning his hand and… ideas happened, and this was born. There’s not really a plot… simply enjoy. 

Smut under the cut!!

Permanent Taglist: @greeneyedblondie44 @mamacitapascal​

Part 2

There was something to be said about the advancement of toys in recent years. 

There were hundreds of them. All different types. For all different things. 

Rabbits, waterproof vibrators, pulsating and pounding ones, ones that felt like oral, handsfree vibrators, remote control vibrators – the list went on. 

You had a lot. Tucked in a drawer of your dresser in a pretty box that just made you go all tingly in the knees every time you saw it. 

You were proud of your collection. 

And boy, did you love them. 

They never let you down, ever. 

But unfortunately, tonight was just not one of those nights. 

It has been a tough week. 

Not only had you taken a beating in training yesterday, but you were also late for an appointment across the city, which resulted in being yelled at by Fury. 

You really regretted decided to help him when he needed it. 

There wasn’t a lot going on lately, so you offered to help Fury when he needed it. 

Usually, you were on his food side. 

Yesterday, not so much. 

Everything seemed out to get you, and after the shit show of the week, you just wanted to treat yourself. So, you’d holed yourself up in your room on your floor of the compound, had a long, luxurious soak in the bath, and then decided to work out your anxiety and tension with one of your many, many friends. 

And for the first time in a while, they just weren’t hitting that spot. 

Literally. 

You groaned, throwing the third toy - this one a rabbit that was one of your most trusty companions - on the side of your bed. 

For the last forty minutes, you’d been dancing between three different toys and your fingers. 

You’d tried being on your belly, your side, and your back. You’d even tried a pillow. 

But nothing was the right pressure on your clit, no toy or finger felt deep enough inside, and you couldn’t hit that spot inside without getting a wicked cramp in your wrist that forced you to stop. 

You sat up, every nerve in your body wound to a knife edge, leaving you frustrated and tempted to throttle someone. 

Or get someone to throttle you. 

Preferably whilst pinning you to a wall... or a desk. 

Or anywhere really. 

You just needed something, anything to get out this frustration and give you the release you’d been desperately chasing all night. 

It wasn’t even a case of hovering on the edge - you couldn’t even get there. The fire and heat just stayed a kindling ember in your belly, and never reaching that explosive fire. 

After getting up and downing a measure of whiskey whilst watching the rain, you decided to try a last-ditch attempt with a different toy. 

This one was a curved vibrator, with a thicker rounder head for supposedly perfect pressure on your g-spot. 

Simple, straight forward. 

Surely, if none of the others had done it, this one finally would. 

After settling back on your bed, you took a little more care this time, even going as far to light a few candles to add an ambiance to the room rather than have it pitch black with the sounds of the rain. 

You worked yourself up this time, building it slowly, teasing yourself with brushes of your fingertips over your throat and breasts, setting your skin ablaze. 

You pushed yourself to the edge a little, and then worked over with your vibrator. 

Until ten minutes later, when you literally launched the vibrator across the room and it hit the wall with a resounding thud, that echoed your hiss of frustration.  “Fucking hell.”  

A shit week, a shit day, and you couldn’t even fuck yourself well enough to be able to wind down and get some sleep. 

There was a sudden knock and then Bucky’s voice echoed through your bedroom door. “Darlin’?” There was a slight hint of his Brooklyn accent peeping through at the end, stirring something within you. 

You startled, sitting bolt upright and your head snapped to the door, “Bucky?” You had the good sense to lock the door, but still. He was right there. 

His shadow moved beneath the door, and you realised he was leaning against it, “Is everything alright? I heard banging.” 

Well, no not really. I’ve been trying to get myself off for the last hour and nothing appears to be working and I’m sitting here naked whilst you’re the other side of my door calling me Darling in that ridiculously hot accent that shouldn’t even be that hot. But hey, apart from that, everything’s great. 

You slid off the bed, padding across the room after dropping your toys back in their drawer, glaring at it as you passed. You slipped a robe on before making your way across the fluffy rug to the door, “Yeah, I’m okay...” You unlocked the door, tugging it open. 

Bucky was leaning against the doorframe, all broad shoulders, long lines and soft smile. 

His searing blue eyes were instantly locked onto you, a smirk playing on those gorgeous lips.

He cocked his head, standing there with his arms crossed, and you noticed that for once, he wasn’t wearing any gloves. Just a simple long-sleeved T-shirt, jeans that hung sinfully close to his hips and... no boots. Just socks. 

Like he’d taken his shoes off before waking into your apartment. 

Ever the gentleman. 

His arm was bare, the soft light of the hall bouncing off of the black vibranium and sparking the gold. You’d always loved his arm. The sheer power of it, the way you’d seen it shatter a man’s ribs instantly and tear through a brick wall like it was made of glass. The same hand that tickled behind the ears of a stray kitten in Prospect Park and test the ripeness of plums at the market. 

You wanted that hand around your throat. 

Eyes the colour of the Arctic sea roamed over your body, from your slightly mussed up hair to the flush along your neck that disappeared in the dip of your dressing gown. “Mm... are you sure about that?” He tilted his coyly, a smirk playing on his lips and you had a feeling this expression had been one of the trademarks since the 40’s. 

You narrowed your eyes at him, more than aware that he was seeing far more than you wanted him to, “I’m fine.” You turned from the door, leaving it open for him to come in, “How comes you’re up on my floor, anyway?” You peered over your shoulder at him as you padded across the room to the drinks cart. 

Yes, there was a bar on your floor, but why couldn’t you have a cart in your room? Tony hadn’t even needed to ask when designing it. 

Bucky walked in, his footfalls silent like a cat, that training never quite leaving him, “I couldn’t sleep. No nightmares, just restless.” He added the last part quickly, in response to the concern that tightened your expression. 

It was nothing unusual, Bucky coming up here to your room.  

You often found each other after nightmares or rough days, seeking comfort and distraction from the darkness that lingered. 

Some days and nights, you went out, needing an outside diversion from the thoughts. 

Other times, you stayed in, watching films, talking, training or just... sitting quietly, knowing that the other persons presence was enough protection and reassurance. Words weren’t needed… just company.  

You handed him a drink, plopping down on the end of your bed and you watched him sink into the couch opposite, “Anything you wanna talk about?” 

Since everything with the War, Bucky was working on fitting back into a routine, into ‘normal’ life - or what could be considered normal for people like yourselves. 

He was undergoing his mandatory therapy sessions, and they seemed to be helping him. 

He was back in contact with Sam, and the pair even worked a few jobs together now and then, even if they did bicker like an old married couple - it provided great entertainment when you tagged along. 

He leant back on the couch, settling his left arm across the back. He always looked at home on your floor, relaxed, like his mind could shut off a little. “Nah, I’m okay... Thank you though.” He shot you an easy smile again, one that he probably hadn’t used in.... decades. “What about you? Why are you up so late?”

Mimicking his shrug, you kept your expression neutral, making sure your eyes didn’t drift to that certain drawer, “Rough week. I was reading to try and drift off.” 

“Mmmhm...” Bucky’s hummed response told you instantly that he did not believe you one bit. “What were you reading? Cosmopolitan’s best guide to toys?” That shit eating grin graced his face and he motioned gracefully with his left hand... to the corner of the room. 

The vibrator you’d launched was sitting on the floor, nestled in the rug, the soft mint green silicone practically a beacon. 

Okay. 

Okay…. So. There were two ways you could respond to this. 

Either play it off, deny it and change the subject. 

Or…

Turning back to him, you shrugged again, “Oh, I’ve read that back to front. And made a few additions myself.” You cocked your head, a faint flutter in your belly as you awaited his response. 

The barest flicker of surprise danced across his beautiful, rugged features before dissolving into something confident and smouldering. “Well, it looks to me like their guide isn’t true to review tonight. Something tells me you’re having a little bit of trouble.” His voice had begun to lower into a deeper, the natural roughness of his voice coming out. 

It stoked that fire within you, warming your blood and curling low in your belly. 

“And if I was? What would you suggest to help?” It was almost impossible to remain sitting still as the atmosphere folded and changed. There was one obvious route to your back and forth… and you wanted it. 

Wanted… him.

And if you were honest, you had for a long time now. There was just something about him that you’d always been drawn to, a simmering tension that settled whenever you were together. 

Bucky rose from the sofa in a fluid movement, walking toward you slowly, casually, but with the grace and prowl of a wolf eyeing up its next meal – you. 

And fuck, you wanted him to devour you. 

He slid his hands into his pockets, feet silent on your wooden floor, “Well… I would say that as wonderful as your toys may be… they’re just that. Toys. They can’t… feel what you like.” His eyes burned through you with each of his steps. “They don’t hear the noises you make when they hit the right spot. They don’t get to see the way your body reacts, the way your teeth sink into your bottom lip because it feels overwhelmingly good.” 

He was close enough for you to smell his cologne, and that only added to the growing wetness between your thighs as his filthy, beautiful words. 

Bucky stopped in front of you, removing his left hand and touching his fingers to your chin to tilt it up to face him, “They can’t know the little things… the deeper angle, that extra finger or sweep of the tongue… they can’t make you so wet that it runs down your thighs and they can’t make you arch off the bed as you shatter into starlight…” He sighed softly, shaking his head in mock disappointment, “I’m afraid they just… can’t make you come the way a real person could.” He applied a little pressure to the underside of your chin, and you rose to your – unsteady -  feet instantly, putty in his hands.  

Holy fuck, Bucky Barnes had a mouth on him. 

Your teeth had indeed sunk into your lower lip, and your breathing had grown shallow. It was an effort to keep your thighs firmly locked together… Because you were just as wet as he had said. 

The dark flame in his eyes told you that he knew the reaction you were having to him. He brushed a cool thumb over your lip, then tugged it gently to free it from your teeth and at the same time, he leant his head down to your level, “They can’t make you come like I can, darlin’.” This close, his warm lips brushed the shell of your ear, his voice reduced to a husky rasp that only further drew out that Brooklyn accent. 

The soft moan that left your lips was almost pitiful, but you didn’t care, “Shit.” 

You breathed the word, earning a deep chuckle in your ear before Bucky pulled back, only enough to see your face, “You want me to help you? Give you a helping hand?” His words were low and seductive, but he was looking between your eyes, making no more moves until he knew you wanted this. 

If you changed your mind, he would leave right now, and say no more about it. 

That very thought pained you. 

Something had always hovered between you both… and maybe now was the time to let it out. You shared a few kisses on nights out and he had featured heavily in your fantasies night after night, wishing your fingers were his, the toys were him….

You met his eyes, your own clear and sure and you kept that gaze as you parted your lips. Then swept your tongue along his thumb and tilted your head down just enough to take it between your lips. The vibranium was smooth, cold and it felt oddly delightful on your tongue. “Make me come, Bucky. Prove to me you’re better than the toys.” Your voice was low with need, a soft pleading note for him there as you gazed up through your eyelashes. 

The Arctic blue of his eyes deepened to near midnight, his pupils blowing out as he watched you talk around his thumb, your tongue sweeping over the metal and he almost purred, “Oh, baby, you won’t need toys when I’m done.” And then he was on you. 

He gently pulled his hand from your face, instead placing it lightly around your neck, the heavy metal settling on your collarbones and that alone drenched you. 

He looked between your eyes, checking one final time and then his mouth was lowering onto yours, his lips warm, plush and ever so inviting. Instantly, he licked a teasing line along your lips, which you would have parted for him without the request. 

Bucky’s tongue slipped past your lips, sweeping against yours in hot strokes as he explored every corner of your mouth. 

He tasted divine, and even more so when his thumb lightly tipped your chin back and he traced the tip of his tongue along the roof of your mouth, licking over the ridges and showing you exactly what that tongue could do. 

A groan left your lips, and you slid your hands up his arms to those shoulders, those gorgeous broad shoulders that all you wanted to do was dig your nails into them and use for support as you rode him. 

A deep curl of delight and joy was unfurling within the heat in your belly, because you needed this, needed more of him and his hands and his tongue and his words… and you were finally getting it

Hell, he had only just started kissing you and you already could have fallen apart just from that. 

“Why have we not been doing this all the time?” Was the only thought that your already fuzzy mind could come up with as he pulled away slowly from your lips, only to begin pressing hot, open kisses against your jaw that were all teeth and tongue. He seared a path to your neck, kissing all over until he found that particular spot that made you whimper and arch into his body. 

Bucky laughed low against your neck, the sound vibrating, “Oh, baby, you were struggling, weren’t you? I’ve barely even touched you and you’re already a mess…” He used his hand on your throat to tilt your head to the side, before biting at your skin, sweeping his tongue over the hot and sucking a deep mark there. 

A slight whine rippled in your throat, fingers pulling as his shirt and your chest pushed against his, the firm heat of him making your nipples tighten, especially when he pushed into you. 

Bucky slipped a hand between your bodies, tugging at the cord of your dressing gown and it slipped from your shoulders, leaving you bare and open to him. 

He licked down your neck, his tongue smoothing over the shape of your collarbones and then down your sternum to your breasts. He butterfly kissed the soft flesh, then almost delicately sucked at your rleft nipple, lifting his vibranium hand to squeeze the other, “So beautiful…” He mumbled it half to himself, his dark mussed up curls soft against your skin. 

One of your hands trailed up the back of his neck, slightly tangling in the hair at the base of his head and you pushed your chest further into his mouth, “Tease.” The word was a soft gasp, your eyes closing in pleasure and your lips parting. 

He chuckled, pulling back to blow a cool breath on the wet skin, watching your nipple harden and then he moved to give the other the same treatment, “Oh, I’m a tease, am I? I can stop if you like.” He grinned around the delicate skin, just slightly grazing his teeth as he tugged your nipple and then he continued his trail of kisses down your body, slowly sinking to his knees. “I don’t think you’ll ask me to stop though, darlin’.” His right hand grasped your ankle, and then he ghosted warm fingertips up your leg, past your knee and then pausing at your inner thigh, at what he felt there, “No. No I don’t think you’ll ask me to stop at all.” 

The cocky bastard grinned once more against your stomach, before dipping his tongue inside your belly button.

“Bucky…” You couldn’t hide the whimper in your voice, nor the way your hips rocked forward in a plea. It was almost painful how much you needed him to touch you, needed to feel his lips and his tongue. 

“Shhh, baby, I know.” His hands slipped up your waist, as soothing as his gentle coo against your belly button and then he brushed his lips lower and lower… and then finally, he pressed a soft butterfly kiss to your pubic bone. 

A low groan tore from his throat, his hands digging into the soft flesh of your hips as he saw you, swollen and positively dripping for him, “Oh, darlin’, look at you…” 

The sheer desire and awe in his low voice caused heat to flush along your cheekbones. You weren’t shy by any means, but the almost primal admiration in his voice was something you’d never heard before, the pure want and desire to make you feel good and worship you. 

Bucky admired the sight before him for a single moment, before lifting his eyes to yours and then he dove in, immediately devouring you like he was starving. His deft tongue slipped through your slick folds with ease, and he moaned again at your taste, at your smell, everything. 

He pressed his tongue flat against you before sucking at your clit, with such an intensity that you almost choked. It was a simple movement, but it shot electricity through your body and made every single nerve stand on end. 

He let that coil of energy begin to build, and then he licked back down, his hands sliding down to palm at your ass cheeks before digging his fingers into your skin, pulling you in further so he could bury his nose against your clit and his tongue – fuck, his tongue pushed inside of you, hot and heavy. It just felt so, so good, his nose putting pressure on your bundle of nerves, his tongue pumping inside you. 

Your hands flew down to his hair, winding through it to keep him there, keep him doing that, to keep him fucking you with his tongue, “Buck-”. You weren’t sure what you were begging him for, only that you just needed to say his name, needed to do something. 

Your hips began to rock in time with his thrusts, and you became aware of it only when Bucky’s muffled moan reverberating through you. 

He liked it, no... he loved this, that you were grinding against his face as his tongue worked inside you, tasting parts of you no one else had ever gotten right before. 

“Fuck, Bucky, keep doing that – I’m-” You cut off with a high moan, your head tilting back as you rocked into him faster, chasing down that high that was so tantalisingly close. It hadn’t taken long, you were so worked up from your failed attempts that you were already there. 

Bucky’s began to lick and suck you with new fervour, his head moving in time with the jerks of his hips, feeling the way your walls were tightening around his tongue. His fingers dug harder into your ass, and you felt the silent command almost, Come. 

And you did. 

You cried his name out to the sky, every nerve in your body winding to near painful tautness before you shattered on his face, your first orgasm ripping through you. 

Bucky didn’t stop, working you through it and drawing it out further and further as he lapped up every single drop you gave him, moaning himself like it was the most tantalising thing he had ever tasted. 

He stopped only when your grip released on his hair, the sensitivity of your nerves almost painful, your legs shaking like crazy and he lifted his hand from between your thighs, his lips and chin glistening. He rose from his knees, nudging you back onto the bed and instantly crawling up your body, “You have no idea how good you taste.” 

You whimpered slightly, catching your breath as you watched him crawl up you, eyes burning like sapphire fire, his tongue licking slowly over his lips as he savoured you. Words were beyond you, desire still coursing through your veins and you were a little in awe at how quickly – and hard – he had brought you to your first orgasm. 

Bucky grinned devilishly, “That won’t be your last.” He lowered his mouth back to yours and as you tasted yourself on him, you grew instantly wet for him again. 

His body brushed into yours and you felt how painfully hard he was through his jeans, the sounds and taste of you getting to him of course. 

Your fingers had barely brushed against his restrained length when he shook his head, nipping at your lower lip, “Oh no, baby, this is all about you.” 

You ignored him, palming him through his jeans and he moaned lowly before his eyes flashed, his hand suddenly back on your throat and he moved his hips away so you couldn’t get to him. “I said no.” It was almost a snarl, “This is about you. Not me.” His hand tightened just slightly around your throat, making it that little bit harder to breathe and your eyes rolled back at how delicious it felt. 

It was a huge kink for you, the idea of someone – of Bucky - taking control, being in control of your body even it was just for a little while. You didn’t need to think or do anything. Only feel and be at the mercy of his touch. 

You relented, legs falling open for him and you tilted your head back, searching for his lips. 

Bucky granted you the kiss, a slow, languid kiss at first that was all simmering passion and tangling tongues, the taste on you still lingering on his lips. 

He palmed your breast again, tugging and squeezing the flesh until he scratched his nails lightly down your ribcage and belly. 

Yes, yes-

He wasted no time, no more playing and his fingers slipped lower, circling over your clit with a delicious pressure that had you instantly moaning into his mouth.

He toyed with your clit a little more, before gathering your wetness and then sinking two fingers inside you, pushing all the way into his knuckles, then drawing back out slowly. 

As he withdrew, you moaned long and slow into his mouth and he began a steady rhythm. Pushing and curling his fingers inside you a few steps, then circling and pulling at your clit, ever so subtly switching it up with each pass so you couldn’t predict what he would do.  

It felt amazing, but… there was something still missing. It still wasn’t quite enough to send you over that final edge… it wasn’t what you’d been fantasising about. 

No, it was his left hand. That dark, golden vibranium hand that was currently seated around your throat. 

The knowledge of what it could do, the sheer power in it that could easily crush your windpipe or shatter your jaw with a single flick of his wrist. 

That is what you needed. 

Those cool, powerful fingers inside you, working you over – that was the best toy. 

It was like he could read your mind somehow, or the way your body sung to his tune. He lifted his head, looking down at you with those searing blues and he cocked his head, a slow grin lighting his gorgeous face, “Oh… This-” he scissored his fingers inside you, stretching your walls and ever so slightly brushing up against that spot, “isn’t quite what you want, is it, darlin’?” 

Holy Christ, he was going to destroy you before you even got what you wanted.

You looked up at him, panting, hips rocking to the slower thrust of his fingers and you shook your head.

Bucky swore softly, panting himself and he squeezed your throat once before lifting his fingers, “You want these, don’t you?”

Instead of answering him, you ducked your head, taking his three fingers into your mouth and immediately gliding your tongue around them, up and down in slow, dirty strokes. 

The effect was instantaneous. Bucky’s hips jerked slightly against yours, his mouth parting as he watched you suck his vibranium fingers, hollowing your cheeks, eyes rolling back in your head like… like it was something else entirely. 

He groaned, swore again and then almost ripped his fingers from your mouth and from between your legs at the same time. 

Your entire body mourned the loss, feeling empty, clenching around nothing but mere seconds later, he plunged those three vibranium fingers inside of you, slick with your saliva and how unbelievably wet you were. 

It stung a little, but only added to the feeling as your hips rose off the bed, “Shit, shit-”

They felt… like the best toy you could ever imagine. Smooth, cold, and hard enough that you could feel every faint ridge of the joints as he slid them in and out. You reached out, grabbing his arm with one hand and the bed with the other, needing something to hold onto as instinct took over. Your hips rode upwards, back arching as you rocked his fingers in deeper, feeling them in your spine almost. It was better than you could have imagined. 

Bucky dropped his head to your chest, spreading his mouth over your breast and his other arm slid over your hips, pinning them to the bed so you were forced to take it. “You wanted this, baby… You take it.” He bit down on the soft flesh of your breast before smoothing his tongue over it again, working an alternative rhythm to his fingers and thumb again, so that your brain couldn’t keep up with which one to follow. It knew only the waves of fire singing through your veins.  

Time may have very well dissolved, because you could only feel pleasure, tinged almost with pain. 

The thick, hard stroking of fingers as they stretched and wrecked you. 

The circling, hard-soft-hard pressure of his thumb on your clit. 

The bite of his teeth on your breasts, neck and chest, followed by the wet press of his tongue. 

The way he couldn’t help his hips slightly rocking against your leg. 

This was almost like a fever dream, expect your brain couldn’t have come up with something this mind melting. Not even if you were really, really worked up. 

The noises in the room were absolutely sinful. The unrestrained cries and moans from your lips, Bucky’s groans and his filthy words, the wet pump of his fingers inside you – it was obscene, filthy and completely, painfully mind-blowing. 

“Fuck, fuck, fuck, Bucky, please-” You had no idea what you were begging for, but every single nerve and muscle in your body was coiling tighter and tighter, your hips jerking against his arm as he pinned you down, forcing you to take this, to feel everything he was doing with no relenting. Tears were beginning to blur your eyes and the pleasure he unleashed upon you was almost painful. 

Bucky somehow moved his fingers harder, deeper, the ability of the tech in his arm allowing him to do so, “Let go, baby, come on, let it go for me..” He dropped his head, biting down on your neck and he pressed his fingers against that spot inside you, flicking your clit with his thumb and then it all just snapped. 

Waves and waves of hot fire flooded your body, dragging you up to the stars, further. It ripped the air from your lungs, made you half scream his name in a never-ending prayer. 

It just didn’t stop. 

Bucky kept moving inside you, drawing out every single second of your mind-shattering orgasm, letting go of your hips so you could grind them into his hand. “That’s it, baby… Look at you, so beautiful like that…” His praise spurred you on, making you feel almost like a goddess as you flooded his hand. 

He stopped only when you slumped back onto the bed, sucking in deep breaths as you tried to piece yourself back together. 

Better than toys indeed. 

~~

A little while later, you stirred from a light dose to see Bucky lounging on your couch again, cleaning the grooves and metal of his fingers with a soft cloth. 

The sight of him concentrating, taking such care and detail with the clean-up, the cleanup from the mess you had made, had you instantly wet again. “Bucky.” 

He looked up, hearing the low thrum to your voice and a smirk crossed his lips. 

You had a favour to repay for his helping hand, after all. 

[hanibalistic]

#507A9E | HWANG HYUNJIN.

genre | fluff, high school au, faint mutual pining, implied rich kid au

word count | 2190

warning | fighting, mentions of injuries

tag | @fluffyskzclub​

note | i miss hyunjin pt.2 // maybe a universe?

the first thing that popped into your head when you saw students running toward the school courtyard, whispering and chanting about a fight that had broken out, was that the person better not be hyunjin.

you knew hyunjin ever since middle school but you two only recently introduced yourselves to each other when your homeroom teacher made it your responsibility, as the class president, to keep track of him—both his poor grades and his even poorer conduct.

you two never had to chance to speak to each other before the beginning of your tutoring sessions. surely, even if you had the chance to talk to him, you would not have taken it with his rebellious reputation contrasting so stronger your clean-slate one. most of your encounters were of you frowning and sneering at him whenever you saw him get taken away to the principal's office, or when he and his friends create a ruckus during school assemblies.

your poor impression of him stayed long even after you began tutoring him in the corner of the school library, afraid that you would be seen together. he was always late, sometimes with a hazy attitude and sometimes with bruises and cuts on his face. he was always late to the sessions, but he was also always present.

on his third failed calculus test hyunjin came around.

you never knew why but he suddenly did a 360-degree turn and he came around. he started to pay attention in class and he paid attention to you, he did his homework and the additional questions you assigned him, he jotted down notes and read them during his free time. with the third failed test, he decided he would work hard for some reason.

he was still late to the tutoring sessions, though.

but! with his newfound motivation, you, too, came around and began seeing him in a much friendlier light. you greeted him in the halls, you talked to him outside of the library and about topics other than academics (like his adorable puppy kkami, who you adore more than hyunjin, not that adore the boy or anything), you two moved from the corner to the main study center of the library, and you learned to treat his wounds whenever he has them.

hyunjin became a good friend of yours, and he only listened to you, which you realized after a friend mentioned it to you. you thought it was preposterous, but the thought of it made your stomach flutter with faint romantic delight anyway, the knot in your throat refusing to admit out loud that you might just find him the smallest bit attractive.

like when he would smile confidently at his practice test as he hands it to you, only for it to turn into a cute frown when he watches you add cross after cross on his answers. or when he would arch one brow at you in acknowledgment, a boyish smirk playing on his lips, after you accidentally catch his eyes in the classroom during a long lecture. or when his solid, pressuring gaze lays itself on you as you tend to his wounds outside in the school garden, his eyes holding the gentlest of affection as he looks to you as the only person to have ever existed on this earth.

no, you are not attracted to him. not at all.

"excuse me–i'm sorry, excuse me!" you said as you pushed yourself through the overly excited crowd.

once you made your way to the front, your jaw clenched and your brows furrowed. there hyunjin was, hands clutching a poor student's wrinkled collar, and the scar under his eye reopened. it was him who got in a fight! you did not know why you hoped for an alternative.

there was a glint in hyunjin's eyes—something akin to happiness, a thrilling excitement, perhaps, like the freeing of his soul being trashed into the depths of his easy insults and clenched fists. there was no anger in him, not an ounce. you knew what his anger looked like when it was directed to another, and this was not it.

this was free will. he was fighting because his body could and he yearned for the temporary excitement of it.

you felt your heart sink a little. out of everything that could make his face light up like this, fighting people has to take the crown? you wanted hyunjin to be happy but not with such a method! you also don't want to completely strip the entertainment away from him either!

if you wanted him to stop, the best way would be to find something else that can make him feel as excited as he does now, but what could it be?

"hwang hyunjin!" you hollered when you saw him throw a punch at the other student, your thoughts vanishing immediately.

stomping forward, you grabbed onto the back of his shirt and yanked him behind you. you pushed the other student away, glaring at him to run away before you turned to hyunjin. you tilted your head then, looking at him carefully, then you walked toward him.

"oh, come on, [name]," he whined, preparing to move around you. "don't ruin the fun!"

"hyunjin–hyunjin, look at me," you said, putting your hands on his shoulders and stopping him from side-stepping you. when he focused on you, his eyes turning soft, you smiled. "stop."

he stayed silent for a second before he sneered. he tried to shove you aside. "move away–"

"hyunjin," you sighed, feeling the longing for movement in his body. "do you understand you did something bad."

"if you are trying to talk me out of fighting–"

"you understand," you interrupted him, "that you did something bad."

you could hear voices in the background criticizing you. you were unsure of what, exactly. it was either of you stopping the fight or of you assuming you could stop the fight by talking. you ignored the background noises and focused on hyunjin, looking at him expectantly. you just needed him to tell you he understands.

"jesus, yes! now move away–"

"great. then i'm so sorry about this."

hyunjin was about to side-step you again, adding force into his hands as he pushed you aside to search for the kid who ran off, but you removed your grip on him and took a step back to get into position. his confusion worked in your favor when you anchored your weight on your feet, and with a strong swing, you punched him square in the face, knocking him down.

you grimaced at the pain that reverberates through your knuckles, while hyunjin laid on the floor with his face covered by his hands.

"what the fuck!" he yelled into his hands, his head pressed against the grass field with a pained look.

you scoffed at him as you rubbed your hands together. you felt worried for a second, but then it cooled down when you came to terms that he has got to have experienced worse. it was not the impact of the punch that made him dramatize his reaction (although, surely it did hurt his pretty face) but the unpredictableness of the punch that did so.

he would be fine. he always was.

you looked around you, glaring at everyone who came looking for a show, and you waited for them to disperse before you return your attention to hyunjin.

"come on, let's go to the nurse's office," you said as you moved closer to him, knelt, and took his hands from his face.

not a single stain of your punch. it was all just the invisible pain and his tendency to exaggerate.

"you look fine."

"i'm not fine!" he retorted with a whiny shout, snatching his hands away from yours and sitting up. he placed his hand on one propped-up knee and turned to you, annoyed. "you punched me!"

"talking clearly wasn't doing the job, so i did what i had to do!"

"punching me is what you had to do? not call a teacher or something?" he exclaimed incredulously, eyes widening at you in disbelief.

you closed your mouth. you had not wanted to get him in trouble so you resulted in dealing with it on your own. he has a week-long clean streak of not messing with the teacher, you wanted to keep it that way. even though you failed to consider if anybody present would snitch on him, or you, or maybe even the both of you.

"yes...?" you squeaked as you ducked your head, then you slightly eyed up, grimacing at him apologetically. "i didn't want to get you in trouble."

hyunjin watched you through the silk of his long black hair. he took in your words; the way you said it so bashfully, and how you shrunk under the thought of you making a mistake on his behalf. he understood that it was ultimately your good intentions looking out for his own good. your contrasting naivety shone into his eyes, and he wanted to cradle your face in his hands and be gentle with you.

heaving a sigh, he leaned on his hand that supported his torso up. licking his lower lip, he shared a knowing look with you and asked, "you know how to throw a punch."

you scowled lightly then, playing with your fingers as you sat on the grass field. "yeah, my mom had me learn how to fight ever since i was young."

"that makes sense. self-defense is good."

"yeah," you breathed out a laugh, "a little more than that."

"hmm?"

"my mother has a very odd job."

hyunjin smiled questioningly but he didn't ask. he merely took a look behind you at the grand structure of the school he stumbled upon after his parent's death and he nodded in acceptance.

he was never supposed to enter an elite school like this, where every student seems to have some dark family secrets down their sleeves. dark secrets not as in family feuds and estrangements (although those were certainly present as well) but dark secrets as in blood money and corrupt authorities.

rich people problems, but make it guns and roses.

he would not be surprised if your family had some weird history hidden in the closet. what he was wondering about was how you got stuck in a normal middle school with him.

"is your nose okay?" you asked timidly, facing forward at him.

your expression made him recall the time he found you wiping tears from your eyes at the library, glaring at his failed calculus test as if it had been your own, and he realized that you did care and you weren’t doing this because you were asked to.

it made him remember how most things he has done—studying, paying attention, staring at you, not getting into trouble—have been for you.

he just could not control his habits sometimes and he hoped you wouldn’t get too upset with him today for missing the tutoring session.

hyunjin hummed. it was fine, the pain subsided long ago, but he would be damned to not take your concern to an advantage. pouting quickly, he twisted his torso and let himself fall on your lap. he could feel you panic above him and he giggled lowly to himself, his eyes closed.

"i feel dizzy, you might have given me a concussion," he said.

you gasped a little, then you denied, "no way, that can't be possible."

"don't invalidate my concussion," hyunjin said. "it is what i feel."

you sucked in a breath.

there is no point treading through that territory with him, there is no point treading through that territory with anyone.

sensing your silence, hyunjin dared to open one eye to peek up at you. you were staring down at him, eyes ablaze with curiosity as you waited for him to speak.

the sunlight fell like gold sand and split when it reached your head, casting sparks over you. almost a spitting image of an angel, if he knew what an angel looked like. 

your innocence was as gentle as his mother once was, and your determination a faint recall of his father's brightness. but your face was entirely your own; your eyes, nose, cheeks, lips. a kind face, a calm face, a face of someone he has come to fall catastrophically in love with.

hyunjin felt his eyes waver, he felt the warm watery dust his in eyes waver like flashes of lights seeping through gaps of leaves on a tree. his fingers itched to reach up to your face, to cradle you, to be kind to you, but he pressed them to his sides and only allowed himself a smile at your direction.

"i'm going to rest my face," he said.

you frowned, but the guilt of punching him asked you to stay with him, so you nodded. "okay."

hyunjin relaxed on the ground. his eyes were closed, but if they weren't, you would have seen—the thrill in his eyes of being able to be with you, the excitement of being close to you.

it would not be something akin to happiness, it would be happiness.

[britswriting]

Unbroken (24)

Unbroken Masterlist

Read on Wattpad

Warning: This chapter jumps around a little bit, like changing scene wise, because it's deleted scenes from chapter 21, along with the deleted date night scene from deleted chapter 22.

They're a part of the storyline, and needed right now, but it's a little "choppy" due to taking out what originally happened between Leigh & Colby that I deleted and rewrote. I didn't want to rewrite these scenes over again, when they are already how they should be.. sorry lol

*Leighton's POV*

The date today is June 3rd and I am almost 14 weeks pregnant, and I was honestly starting to understand why everyone complained during pregnancy.

I had gotten even more "symptoms" so that was fun and totally not a pain in my ass at all.

I had a date tonight, and I was honestly feeling extremely nervous, especially since I had gotten these amazing new symptoms.

Not to mention that I had a real bump now.

It was honestly hella cute, and I loved looking at it whenever I could.

One morning I just woke up with a b u m p. Like it wasn't some pudgy little bloating, but it had actual form to it.

It didn't change in size like it used to, unlike how when Colby saw my bump after I drank all that water and it was mostly bloating. It stayed its shape and was starting to round out quite a bit which was cool.

I've started getting round ligament pains which has been fun. What that means is the sides of my belly like to hurt because my womb is expanding to fit my little baby. I've also started getting some pretty intense headaches. My boobs were still sore as fuck and I've just accepted that I'll be spending 9 months of my life with boob pain, and then whatever happens when the baby is born.

My boobs have definitely grown, which meant I needed to buy more bras. Definitely something a broke bitch wants to do, right?

My pants were also starting to get tight which did not at all help my body image issue at the moment, or my bank account.

I was extremely nervous as to what the third trimester was going to be like, if I ALREADY had to go buy new jeans.

I figured I would be one of the women who's milk comes in before the baby is here, and I was conflicted if I was looking forward to that.

I read that your colostrum can start coming in as early as 16 weeks, which meant I needed to invest in a pump pretty soon if that was the case.

I also needed to figure out if I wanted to freeze my breast milk or donate it, if it did in fact come in early.

Surely I won't need MONTHS in advance of saved breast milk before the baby even gets here, right?

I knew I needed to keep the colostrum for when the baby was born, but I wouldn't need all that extra milk, right?

Another cute perk of pregnancy, is it ruins your underwear. Which meant I lived in period underwear, only adding to my body image issues.

Nothing says sexy like period underwear.

You thought period discharge was bad? Wait till you're pregnant.

I wasn't even sure what I was going to wear on this date tonight. I didn't want to ruin my nice cute underwear all because being pregnant is a bitch, but also didn't want to show up to my date wearing granny panties.

I kept hearing how wonderful pregnancy was, and so far it wasn't bad. Nothing insane has happened, just slight inconveniences to my life. When I was 13 weeks pregnant, when the discharge had started, I had a mental breakdown in the bathroom thinking I was bleeding, my brain telling me I lost the baby, when in reality I had a gush of discharge leave my body.

I was still emotional, but it wasn't as bad as it was in the first trimester. I felt a little more like myself. I was still taking my iron medication and working on lowering my blood pressure.

I now had a reminder alarm for each morning to take so many vitamins, because another thing no one told me about.

You don't just take prenatal vitamins. I swear my bedroom is a walking pharmacy.

I was laying in bed last night after I had finished texting Aaliyah and googled what was going on with my baby and it only led to crying.

I wanted to know before I wrote in my baby journal, but I hadn't even gotten to open the journal before my eyesight was completely blurred.

My baby was growing hair on its head, eyelashes and eyebrows. It was gaining more of an identity and the idea of all of this going on whilst I was laying in bed made me very overwhelmed.

So much was happening without me even knowing it. The idea of just a tiny little baby growing eyebrows inside my stomach whilst I cried on the couch or ate a brownie in the kitchen was quite the weird feeling.

You honestly feel pretty insignificant once you kind of just sit there and think about how much is going on inside your stomach whilst you're lounging on the couch watching Keeping Up With The Kardashians.

I was currently at my parents house, waiting for my brownies to finish baking in the oven, before I was going to go over to Gabriel's apartment so we could talk about the baby, and what we were going to do.

I was working really hard on the art piece for Sam and Colby, along with making sure the house stayed in order whilst my mom was recovering.

She's gotten a lot better recently, but brain surgery recovery is no joke.

It sucks watching her suffer, but it's nice to know she's at least getting better, and will hopefully be back to the woman I used to know.

I haven't seen Gabe in a while, and we only texted a few times which made this whole situation a lot harder.

I knew he really was trying, and that he was super busy with work.. it just sucked to know I couldn't roll over and snuggle him in the middle of the night or bitch to him at 3am when I was in too much pain to sleep.

Aaliyah and River had come over last week to help me figure out a plan to keep this baby, because every time I thought about giving away my little baby, I felt my heart get torn apart, so I knew I couldn't. Which meant it was game time.

I needed to figure this out, and I needed to figure it out now.

River suggested opening up an art shop, but I didn't feel like handling the stress of managing the orders, and the business pages, but I still needed a job which meant we were back to the drawing board.

No pun intended.

After a couple hours of going through things I could do whilst pregnant, my dad suggested a teaching job, but there was only one problem, most teaching jobs need a college diploma, which I didn't have.

My dad and I spent a while looking online for teaching jobs, and we came across one for a High School part time art teacher, which sounded too good to be true.

It wasn't too far from Sam and Colby's house, it fit my hours for Target, and it didn't seem like it would be insanely stressful to where it would be bad for my blood pressure.

We looked more into it, and I submitted my resumé and artwork to them, hoping to God they wouldn't want a diploma, or I was screwed.

Target paid okay, but it definitely wasn't enough to support my bills and a baby.

I would be lying if I told you I wasn't getting nervous as to what I was going to do when I was too pregnant to work, but since I was under so much stress right now, I figured that was an issue for another day.

I jumped when the oven beeped, taking out the freshly baked brownies when my brother's boyfriend walked into the kitchen.

"Those smell good Leigh!" Braxton complimented and I thanked him, setting them down to cool.

"I'm not a good baker, but I'm good enough to fulfill my cravings. This baby is going to make me gain weight like nobody's business" I laughed, touching my very prominent little bump.

"It's good to gain weight when you're pregnant Leigh. You're growing a baby" Landon reminded me, and I knew it was because of my pizza night meltdown, but I chose to ignore that.

I had finally figured out what I wanted to do for the birth of my baby, which was exciting. I watched a lot of videos of people's Storytime videos and what they went through. I would be lying if I told you I wasn't insanely nervous to talk to Gabe about what I had decided. I really wasn't looking for another fight, so I hoped he'd just trust me and go with the flow, but knowing him, that would be far from the truth.

We had talked over the phone about the adoption idea, and he was completely against it. So I guess that all worked out since I wanted to keep this baby anyway, I just needed to figure out how I was going to do that financially.

He also said I needed to remember about the income I'd also be getting from him to help pay for the baby. I knew his income would be helpful, but definitely not enough. I honestly did keep forgetting that he is a part of this baby's life since he hasn't been very active in the pregnancy. I haven't even considered that I would be getting a portion of income for this baby from him. I was kind of stuck on the idea of doing it all alone and it was all I could think about. I was trying really hard to remember that he was also working, plus he had a fresh new relationship to care for.

Like a flower. He had to water it, give it sunlight and I just prayed he didn't fertilize it too.

I wanted to rip his flower apart, but I knew I had to be a grown up about it, but that didn't stop me crying about it at 1am every night when I felt lonely and stressed.

Speaking of being lonely, I haven't heard from Aryia, and honestly, I didn't want to. It was a mistake, and I knew it shouldn't've happened. I was horny as fuck, but I should've used better judgment, and I wish I could take it all back.

I knew I had really hurt Colby, even if he wouldn't admit it to me. I was honestly just tired of unintentionally hurting him. I wanted to be his friend, but all I managed to do was disappoint him. It felt like every time I tried to take a step in the right direction, I was just one step closer to falling off the cliff, or maybe even being pushed off.

It was the same exact feeling I felt in High School, and I had no idea how to fix it, let alone where to even start. My old way of coping was to smoke and do drugs, but I couldn't exactly do that now that I was pregnant.

I'd be lying if I told you that the past few weeks, I haven't been insanely nervous that I will be kicked out. I knew Colby said he forgave me, and has even hung out with me and been super helpful for Landon... but that didn't change the fact that I still think he has hurt feelings over the whole being lied to situation.

Yeah Colby and I have been on good terms, but that doesn't take away the fact that we were both avoiding having a super in depth conversation again of what had happened.

Every time I tried to, he seemed to not want to talk about it. I honestly just wanted to clear the air, but it seemed like he just wanted to forget about it.

I just didn't want to just throw another Skelton into my closet, because at some point it will come tumbling out and be blown up in my face, yet again.

I was currently apartment hunting alongside job hunting, but I haven't told Sam and Colby that.

I had no intentions of moving out right now, but I at least needed this stuff on my radar the closer I got to giving birth to this baby. I didn't want to bring my baby home for the first time into my roommates house. I had already inconvenienced their life enough as it is, I didn't want to add a baby on top of that.

One of the issues I was running into was a lot of places wanted a record of your work in the sense to make sure you could afford rent and most places wanted you to be working somewhere for two years to even consider you as a renter, which made things a lot harder.

It doesn't help that living in LA made everything insanely expensive and I'd be lying if I told you that I didn't have fleeting thoughts about moving back home to Minnesota.

At least their rent would be a lot cheaper for a lot nicer of a place.

I would also be lying to you if I told you I didn't have a plan to tour some places I had found in Minnesota when I was going to visit my Aunt and Uncle.

I wanted to figure out what my best option was for my price range, and what place would give my baby the best chance of growing up with a good life.

"Leigh, when are you leaving?" I heard Landon ask, watching him wrap his arms around his boyfriend, hugging him from behind.

"Um.. shit I should've left five minutes ago!" I yelled, quickly grabbing a lunch baggie and shoving two brownies into it.

"BEING PREGNANT IS A PAIN WHEN YOU NEED TO LEAVE! I WANT TO EAT THESE BROWNIES BUT I NEED TO PEE!" I yelled, setting the baggie down and going to the bathroom.

That was one thing I was looking forward to being over with. Using the bathroom so often.

I couldn't leave the house without using the bathroom, and the inconvenience was extremely aggravating.

I have at least learned I have to pee less the less I move around, which gave me another excuse to lounge on the couch whenever I could.

I was convinced I was having to pee more than I should be at 15 weeks, but what I learned is it doesn't matter how far along you are as much as it does where the baby is sitting. I also thought I had a UTI, which is common when you're pregnant, but I went in and was all cleared, so basically I just get to suffer by almost peeing my pants every day.

When I arrived outside of Gabe's door, I could feel my heart race out of anticipation for the conversation that was ahead of me.

I slowly knocked on the door, holding my breath as I heard the click and watched it open.

"Hey, how are you?" Gabe asked, hugging me.

"I've been better. I'm warning you now, I will be leaving in a hurry to pee very often" I grumbled, wishing my baby would move. Worst case it was my uterus's fault for growing, but I was trying not to think about having this problem, this bad, for so long.

I had googled ways to move your baby, but none of the positions had worked so far, which only made me feel frustrated and disappointed.

Gabe and I had small talk for a little bit, trying to figure out how to bring up the topic of the birth.

I knew it was inevitable, but I was still afraid. I decided to bite the bullet and just go for it, hoping it didn't bite me in the ass later. "So... I was thinking about the birth" I trailed off and he tilted his head, shifting his seating position.

"What about it?"

"I don't think I want a hospital birth" I spoke quickly, not wanting to chicken out.

"WHAT?! What do you mean you don't want a hospital birth! What, are you just going to have our child on the fucking floor?!" He yelled, startling me.

"Why are you yelling?"

"YOU'RE TALKING CRAZY! A hospital is the safest place for a baby to be born!" He exclaimed.

"I understand that, but research shows that home births are just as safe. Yes, there is fear of complication, but if I die I'd rather die in my own home"

"Okay but if our baby dies because you wanted a home birth, do you know how we would both feel?!" He shouted and I could hear in his voice how blind sided he was, making me feel bad.

"Don't say that" I whispered, tears welling up in my eyes at the idea of my baby dying.

"THAT IS REALISTIC LEIGHTON! THE BABY COULD DIE! A hospital birth is the safest for the baby!"

He made me feel extremely guilty now, like I was a horrible mother just by making this one decision on my own.

"THE BABY COULD DIE AT THE HOSPITAL TOO! Can we stop talking about our baby dying please?!" I sobbed, unwanted visuals filling my thoughts.

Gabe sighed, running his hands over his face in frustration. "Why do you want an at home birth?" he asked, sitting back down.

"I can have a home birth, a hospital birth or there are birthing centers" I told him, feeling anxiety creep up.

"Why would you want to put not only yourself, but your baby at risk like that? We both know the hospital is the safest route! Why would you want to pick anything other than the safest for our baby?" He asked, sounding judgmental and I felt myself get defensive.

"I'm not! I understand that the hospital is the safest place to give birth in, but what about comfort? I don't want to be in a white room with beeping machines as I push around strangers, sharing our moment with people who don't care. I want to be able to have my baby without being stared at. Without feeling like a science experiment! I don't want to be a study! I want to be a mother!" I felt myself get choked up and I heard him sigh.

I knew what I meant to get across wasn't happening the way it was supposed to since I was extremely emotional right now, and certain pin points were sounding irrational, but I was feeling upset that he would accuse me of not wanting the best for my baby.

All I could think about is what was best. It's a thought that controlled me twenty four seven. If I wasn't thinking about what the best for my baby was, I would've done a lot of things differently.

"Okay, well let's talk about it. I'm sorry for yelling. You know where I stand, but I'm willing to hear you out as to why you want a home birth" He said and I nodded, taking a deep breath and wiping at my tears.

I got up quickly and blew my nose then peed before coming back, seeing Gabe was on his phone.

I rolled my eyes and sat back down.

"Really?" I asked and he looked up, his eyebrow furrowed.

"What?"

I shook my head and decided to let it go, getting comfy on the couch.

"I want to birth my baby in the comfort of my own home. My own space, people I trust. With people who have our best interest. I don't want to be in a bright sterile room with a million strangers. I did a lot of research. I'm not just having this idea out of the blue. Death rates are no lower at home than they are at a hospital. You have a trained midwife who is basically like an OBGYN, I'm not just popping out a baby on my own. They do the same process a hospital does Gabe. It's basically the same, just it's in our own space. I'm not saying this is a deciding factor for me, but it is a perk that it's cheaper. You don't rack up a hospital bill from staying. You don't have the drive home. You're already home. I give birth and go to bed in my own bed. The idea of being home, staying home, and having everything for the baby here, makes me feel a lot of comfort. Laying our baby in their bed right away, and not in a plastic bin... everything about a home birth sounds more humane. I know it sounds silly... but wouldn't you rather look at our newborn laying in their bed than in a plastic box on wheels?" I asked, wiping at my eyes.

"I understand why you think this way, but I'm thinking along the sides of, what if something goes wrong? I don't mean to get dark again, but what if the baby isn't breathing?"

Gabe bringing up the baby dying once again, made it extremely clear to me that this was one of his biggest fears. That he thought about this an awful lot to where it was clouding his thoughts, and opinions.

"We call 911" I said and he shook his head, seeming frustrated.

"What if it's too late? You don't have everything you need right down the hallway Leighton! I really don't think this is a good idea" He shook his head at me and I was feeling cornered.

It was my baby, my body, my decision.

He wasn't the one pushing a bowling ball out from his vagina.

Before I could reply, my emotions took over again and I just started crying, feeling extremely overwhelmed, having no idea what to do.

I came in with a plan, and I felt like it was being torn at the seams.

I completely understood where Gabe was coming from. His fears and concerns were extremely valid... but the idea of doing everything at home just seemed so peaceful and relaxing.

I felt like he didn't think I was afraid.

I was deathly afraid.

I felt like I was doing everything wrong twenty four seven.

Like no matter what decision I made, it was always incorrect.

I was the one who had to carry this baby for nine months, all by myself.

That's a pretty big ask, and to have someone think you're being reckless just feels like a kick in the balls.

I knew the hospital would be the safest, especially since it was my first baby, but something about a home birth just felt so magical.

Gabe and I did research on home birth versus hospital birth, talking about the risk, the logistics and what we would do if there was an emergency.

I tried really hard to hear his side of the story. Hear out his thoughts, and not let my impressions be clouded by me wanting to do the home birth, because I did understand his concerns. I had the same concerns, and I was trying really hard not to let my reasons make me mad at his.

"You're only thinking of the worst case scenario! What about the best case scenario? I'm comfortable, the baby is safe, we are in our own house-" I rambled and he shook his head, his hands clenching and unclenching repeatedly.

"Whose house is that going to be Leighton? Your new roommates?" He asked harshly and I frowned. "I live in an apartment, Leighton! I highly doubt you want to give birth in an apartment and you don't even live here anymore!"

"I don't want to give birth in their house. I don't want to inconvenience them" I sighed, taking three of my fingers and rubbing my eyelid, feeling overwhelmed, frustrated and tired.

"So then where do you plan to do this whole home birth thing? We don't have anywhere to do it. The hospital makes the most sense. I'm sorry if I sound like a jerk, but having a home birth sounds like a bad idea in many ways"

"What about a birthing center?" I asked and he groaned

"Leighton!"

"WHAT?!" I yelled, tiredness taking over my rational thinking and reactions.

"You're not listening to me" He shook his head, pacing in his living room.

"I AM LISTENING TO YOU! You're not listening to me! I completely agree with you if that was the worst case scenario, but what if it isn't?! What if we have this magical home birth and not one where our baby fucking dies?!" I yelled and he clenched his fists before unclenching them and shaking his hands out, putting them in his jean pockets.

"I understand the best case scenario, but you need to also go down that road of what if! A hospital has the best trained doctors to help the what if's! I love you and I hear you, but I don't think a home birth or birthing center is a good idea"

"But what about the best case scenario?" I fought and he rolled his eyes. "I don't want to do an epidural. I can't, so I don't need a hospital for that, which is really the only perk to going through the hospital" I informed him and Gabe shook his head.

"Leigh, this is going to hurt a lot. It's there to help you" He tried to explain but I shook my head.

"I know what a fucking epidural is dumbass. I don't care if it's going to help my pain, I don't want to start recovery again!" I shook my head and I stared at me.

"Leigh, you don't have to restart recovery. You're not taking it because you want to feel high and numb. You're taking it to push out a baby! That seems like a pretty valid reason to take a drug!"

"My body was made to do it naturally" I argued and he tilted his head, his eyes narrowing at me.

"And how many people in the 1800s survived labor? Huh?" He asked and I glared at him.

"That has nothing to do with the fucking epidural!" I yelled, feeling anger build up in my chest.

"Leighton, I love you but you need to think clearly. I'm not trying to bully you or pressure you into the hospital choice. I'm sorry if it's coming off like that, but all I can think about is the what if something went wrong and we aren't at a place that can help us immediately? What if the baby dies on the way to the hospital? I'm sorry for being so morbid, but I can't help it. Do you know how often I think about something happening to you or the baby? Do you know how badly it kills me that I'm not right by your side all the time? I don't regret breaking up, but I do regret having a baby when we aren't even together. It's so hard to know some other man is loving up on my ex-girlfriends or that her roommates know more about my baby then I do!"

"You're not even trying! You don't visit, or plan to hang out with me! You constantly miss appointments, you've barely shown interest!" I argued and he shook his head, sitting back down.

"I'm trying just as hard as you are to prepare for the future, which means I get to spend less time focused on the present. You have to know that as much as it kills you, it kills me. I would love to see my little baby boy or girl on the screen, to hear the heartbeat, or feel the baby kick, but that isn't realistic. Do you know how expensive it's going to be to not only pay child support, but also buy stuff to keep here. We have to buy two of everything!" He exclaimed and I pouted, forgetting he also has to care for this baby.

"Is there anything I can do?" I asked and he sighed, shaking his head.

"I'm sorry if you feel like I'm lacking in the baby daddy department, but I'm trying to figure everything out just as much as you are."

"I've looked into picking up another job as well" I decided to tell him, but before I knew it he was angry again.

"YOU SHOULDN'T BE WORKING THIS MUCH LEIGH! YOU'RE PREGNANT!"

"We need money, Gabe! You even said so yourself!"

"But you don't need a second job Leighton!"

"I DO! MY TARGET JOB AND YOUR CONSTRUCTION JOB ISN'T GOING TO SUPPORT OUR BABY! IF WE CAN'T SUPPORT OUR BABY, OUR BABY WILL BE TAKEN AWAY GABRIEL!"

"WHY DO YOU THINK I'M WORKING SO MUCH!? I know we need money! You're bitching at me that we don't have money and that I'm not doing enough for the baby, WHEN I'M TRYING. I'm sorry I can't be around you twenty four seven because I'm picking up more shifts at work and helping out where I can so you don't have to take the second job! It's not good for you to be on your feet that much, let alone be even more stressed than you already are! YOU'RE GOING TO KILL OUR BABY LEIGHTON!" Gabe yelled and my eyes widened, shaking my head and standing up to slip on my shoes.

"WHERE ARE YOU GOING!?" He shouted.

"HOME!" I yelled, grabbing my keys and slamming the door behind me.

~

"I'm so nervous!" I whined, a towel wrapped around my body, my hair dripping down my back.

"It's going to be fun Leigh!"

I was currently in my coworker's apartment, anxiety burning my insides alive.

"He's seen my picture right? Like I'm not going to show and he's gonna be grossed out right? He knows I'm pregnant?" I rambled and she laughed nodding.

"He knows you're pregnant. He's seen your picture. He knows you have tattoos. Can we get you ready now? He's going to be here in two hours" Aimée asked and I nodded.

I spent the rest of my afternoon with her, and now I was getting ready for my date tonight.

I tried to distance myself from Gabe and I's argument to have a good time tonight, but certain parts were still screaming at me in the back of my head, no matter how hard I tried to turn it off.

I dropped my towel and slid on a lace bra that was white and had pretty details on it, along with a white thong. I sighed when I looked at my thighs and ass, seeing the cellulite litter them.

What if he hated the cellulite on my thighs?

Was my ass too small?

"Your boobs look good in that bra" She said and I smiled, shaking my head. "You're wearing that white shirt dress I have right?" She asked and I nodded, remembering our conversation over text.

Sam, Colby and Jake were out visiting their friends' new place, which meant I was all alone. When Aimée learned this information, she decided now was the perfect time to get ready for the date.

She said we had the whole afternoon to get myself feeling like a million bucks, so I was holding her to it as she paid to get my nails done, including a pedicure.

I haven't had a pedicure in so long, that I swear I was going to orgasm from it.

I now understand why pregnant people love having their feet rubbed when they're in their third trimester.

I'm barely in the second, and it felt like pure heaven.

I had befriended a couple people from work, but I wouldn't say we were best friends or anything, but I could definitely see it happening. She was super nice to me on my first day of work and she's been by my side since.

"You have so much hair to play with! I miss this!" She laughed, brushing my hair out for me whilst I brushed my teeth

"The shaven look, looks so good though! I don't have the balls for that" I giggled and she grinned.

"I thought the same thing, and then I finally did it, and I've loved it since!"

Aimée had stunning dark skin that complimented her buzzed head and a couple pretty piercings. She also had a few tattoos, but no more than I had. Her clothing hugged her thicker body type that I was honestly envious of. I loved the way her jeans clung to her hips and the way her boobs looked in her tops.

When I was in High School, I had a weird body type that was basically thick and thin in all the wrong places. Now that I'm out of High School and pregnant, I'm kind of getting that body everyone wants, but it still looks weird in certain places. Now I had a bump which meant I didn't have that slim stomach everyone was looking for. I've never had a slim tummy, even at my lowest weight, so the hope for that has gone out the window.

We put on some music and got to work drying, and straightening my hair.

"HEY HEY YOU YOU I DON'T LIKE YOUR GIRLFRIEND" She shouted in the bathroom, laughing at ourselves in the mirror. "NO WAY NO WAY I THINK YOU NEED A NEW ONE!" We yelled at each other.

"You're so fine I want you mine you're so delicious" We practically moaned, our backs arching against each other as we used whatever we were holding as a microphone, laughing.

I grabbed the makeup to start prepping my face." I don't know how you don't have an Instagram" Aimée grumbled and I shrugged, knowing we already talked about this.

Aimée had a private Instagram and wanted me to follow her, which led to the somewhat dreadful conversation about how I didn't have any social media.

"HELL YEAH I'M THE MOTHERFUCKING PRINCESS!" We yelled and I saw she was filming making me laugh.

"SHE'S LIKE SO WHATEVER I THINK YOU CAN DO SO MUCH BETTER!" We jumped and I started laughing.

"SO COME OVER HERE AND TELL ME WHAT I WANT TO HEAR, BETTER YET MAKE THAT GIRLFRIEND DISAPPEAR I DON'T WANT TO HEAR HER NAME EVER AGAIN!" We yelled

"In a second you'll be wrapped around my finger" I stuck up my middle finger, waving my hand. "Cause I can, cause I can do it better!" I stuck my tongue out throwing up both middle fingers as she took my photo and I laughed harder, watching her take the end of a makeup brush

"I KNOW THAT YOU LIKE ME, NO IT'S NOT A SECRET!" Aimée sang into the makeup brush.

~

"But you become somebody else around everyone else!" We sang and I saw my phone was ringing with a FaceTime call seeing it was Katrina. I had gotten my face primed and foundation laid on, and I answered it.

"TELL ME! WHY'D YOU HAVE TO GO AND MAKE THINGS SO COMPLICATED!" Aimée scream sang

"Hey! I see you're having fun!" Kat laughed and I smiled, nodding.

"I hear you guys are too! We are having two very different parties" I giggled and she grinned, nodding.

"What are you doing? Why are you in your underwear?" She laughed and I grinned.

"I have a date! We're getting ready" I grabbed the concealer and drew two triangles under my eyes, grabbing my beauty blender

"You have a date!? Since when!" Kat gasped and I giggled, feeling the warm piece of hair fall down my back.

"HE WAS A BOY, SHE WAS A GIRL, CAN I MAKE IT ANYMORE OBVIOUS!" Aimée yelled, straightening my hair, skipping the last song.

"HE WAS A SKATER BOY SHE SAID SEE YOU LATER BOY!" Aimée danced, making me laugh.

"Since yesterday. Aren't you supposed to be with Sam and Colby?" I asked and she nodded, flipping the camera around to show Sam was in front of her, talking to some girl and guy I didn't recognize.

"Send me pics when you get dressed!" Kat told me and I agreed, grabbing my eyebrow pencil.

"Aimée, this is my roommate's girlfriend, and my friend Kat, Kat. This is my coworker and now friend Aimée" I introduced, letting them talk for a minute so I could focus on my brows.

"I haven't worn full glam in so long" I breathed out, leaning closer to the bathroom mirror to see how they looked.

"Remember Leigh, Sisters, not twins!" Aimée reminded me, watching me intently inspect the hair above my eyes.

"Has Colby ever seen you in full glam?" Kat asked and I shook my head.

"He's seen me in like, slight glam from the day I let my brother do my makeup, but I haven't done date night glam in a couple years. I was a little uh.. preoccupied to care about my looks to be honest" I muttered.

"You should def take pics and send them to me!" Kat yelled over the music. I could see this little get together turned into a house party, so I knew the likeness of either of us coming home was slim.

"Hey Leigh!" Sam said and I gasped, dropping to hide behind the counter.

I grabbed the towel and covered my body, popping back up.

"KAT!" I yelled and she giggled.

"I wish it would've been Colby" Kat spoke and I glared at her.

"SAM YOU CAN'T JUST POP IN LIKE THAT! I WAS IN MY UNDERWEAR!" I yelled, clinging the towel to my chest.

"It's no worse than seeing you in a bikini. I'm very happy with my girlfriend, I could care less" Sam explained, kissing Kat's cheek.

"Gross, and I care! I don't need you seeing my date night underwear!"

"Ohh! Is someone planning to get laid?" He asked and I flipped him off making him laugh.

"Anyway, how's the party?" I asked, letting Aimée finish straightening my hair.

"It's alright. Colby's getting black out drunk with some friends, so one of three things will happen. He's going to end up in bed with some girl, annoy Sam and I on the way home, or be extremely stupid with his friends" Kat shrugged and I laughed, remembering some of the drunk Colby stories I've been told. I've never seen him drunk, but from what I've heard, it's quite the experience.

I talked with Kat for a little bit before she went to go hang out with some friends, leaving me and Aimée to finish.

"It looks good!" I complimented, watching my hair do a swoosh movement as I spun to the side.

"Your makeup looks good too! I would do just a nude or light pink lip or something" She said and I nodded, digging through her lipsticks.

"So who's Colby, and why does your friend want him to see you in full glam?" Aimée asked and I sighed.

"He's my roommate. Her boyfriends, best friends. They keep teasing about us getting together" I shrugged and Aimée raised an eyebrow.

"Is he cute?" She asked and I smirked, tilting my head at her.

I showed her his contact photo and she grinned so big that her eyes squinted.

"How haven't you hit that yet?" She asked and I rolled my eyes.

"Please he's always mad at me and there is more to being with someone than them just looking hot. They need a good personality and attitude dumbass" I grumbled, tired of people saying I should fuck Colby or date him.

"Oooo, cute rough makeup sex" She wiggled her eyebrows at me and I narrowed my eyes at her, shaking my head.

"Okay but enemies to lovers is so hot!" She practically moaned and I rolled my eyes.

"It's not cute, it's troubling and cliché. All those dumb enemies to lovers books, the relationship is shit and someone always ends up heartbroken"

"Ohhhh, so you're looking for a relationship?" She smirked.

"Aimée, we are literally getting ready for a date that YOU wanted me to go on!"

"OH YEAH LET ME GRAB YOUR DRESS!" She yelled, running out of the room.

Aimée walked in with the outfit draped over her arm, heels in hand.

"Put your cute flats in your bag just in case" She said and I nodded. I had worn some white flat sandals to her place, and I was glad the bag I brought was big enough to fit them.

I slipped on the cute dress, looking at myself in the mirror.

"I'm going to spin, make sure you can't see my ass" I twirled a couple times and she said I was all good, so I slipped on the heels.

"We got half an hour to take some bomb ass pics!" Aimée cheered, grabbing her phone and polaroid camera. I snapped a quick pic and sent it to Kat.

We spent the next 15 minutes taking photos, and she showed me the ones with my bump.

From the side, you could see the very tiny little bump poking out, but I flattened the dress against it so it peaked out more, and I was obsessed.

"I might make you take my maternity pics" I spoke in awe of the imagery.

"What does he look like again?" I asked, inspecting myself in the mirror again.

It's been a long time since I've gone on a proper date, and it would be my first actual date after my break up, so saying I was insanely nervous would be an understatement.

She handed me her phone and I swiped through a few photos, nodding.

I took a deep breath and shook my hands, trying to get rid of the jitters.

"Put your phone on the charger till we leave. I can text you the photos"

Before we knew it, there was a knock at the door, and Aimée was opening it, letting the stranger into our safe space.

"You look beautiful" He spoke and I gave a small smile, glancing towards the floor.

"Thank you. The navy blue collar shirt and dark jeans is drool worthy" I accidently said and my eyes widened. "Wait- no! I'm sorry!" I quickly tried to recover but it was too late.

He chuckled and nodded. "Thank you" he smirked and I wanted the floor to collapse.

"I'm sorry! It's my first date in a long time! I might keep saying stupid shit" I covered my face with my hands, but I felt his hand grasp my wrist and pull my hand off my face, my eye peaking open.

"Don't hide. It's cute" He reassured me and I shook my head.

"It's not cute! It's embarrassing! I understand if you don't want to go out with me now-" I quickly spoke and I watched his forehead wrinkle.

"Why wouldn't I still want to go out with you? You basically just said you found me attractive and liked my outfit. As far as I'm concerned, this date is already off to a good start" He winked and I blushed, playing with the ring on my finger.

We put in some studs and a couple rings on my hands, and now I was kind of regretting the rings.

I knew it was a nervous habit, so I was starting to question if I should take them off and leave them here. Maybe that would prevent my fidgeting, or maybe I'd just replace it with something else....

~

"I can't believe I did that!" I groaned, crouching on the floor with my head in my hands, except in what I thought would be a graceful crouch, my little bump hit my knees and down I went on my ass, the palms of my hands bracing the fall on the floor.

"Woah! Are you okay?!" He spoke frantically and I nodded, taking a deep breath. I didn't know if I wanted to laugh or cry.

He offered me his hand and I took it, letting him help me up and steady me on my feet.

"You know.. if you wanted to see me shirtless, all you had to do was ask. You didn't have to spill your water down the front of me" He teased but my hormones decided to not take it as a joke, and I just started crying.

"Fuck! I'm so sorry!" I sobbed, already knowing I'll never see this man again.

"Hey! It's okay!" He cooed and I frowned, feeling like a baby.

I quickly walked out the restaurant door, tears rapidly falling down my face as I cursed myself out over and over again.

I made a fool out of myself!

I stopped walking and leaned against a wall, hearing my name being called out.

I opened my contacts and tried to quickly decide who to call.

I didn't want to let Aimée down, and I didn't want to worry her since he had done nothing wrong. Kat, Sam, Jake and Colby are at a house party. My brother is out of town picking up their new dog.

"Leighton!" He yelled and I heard running coming towards me.

"No it's okay! I'll find my way home-" I started but he shook his head, stopping in front of me.

"Are you okay?" He breathed out quietly.

"No! I fucked it all up! I've said and done so much stupid shit it's embarrassing!"

"Hey, we all do stupid stuff here and there. The water was an accident, don't beat yourself up about it. I've said dumb stuff too, but I promise I find it cute. It's cute that you're all worked up and nervous that you're fumbling over your words and saying weird stuff. It makes you human. I don't need the world's perfect girl. I need my perfect girl, and as far as I'm concerned, I think I've found her" He smirked and I frowned.

"It's the hostess isn't it?"

He rolled his eyes and chuckled.

"Can I do something stupid?" He asked and I narrowed my eyes.

"Like what?"

"Can I kiss you?"

* * * *

Okay I've read through this so many times pre editing, I don't want to do it again. If you find any mistakes, sorry. It's pure laziness again.

Imagine reading through this chapter like 10 times. You'd get tired too lol

The January stuff is cause I used stuff from the deleted scenes lol

Wrote on:  January 14th, 15th, 16th, 17th, 19th, 20, 21st, February 5th, 13th 2022

Word Count: 7672

Part Twenty Five

[sly-merlin]

KILLING ME - 12 |n.y

pairing : law student!reader + yuta

genre :    angst , mafia au/ arranged marriage au.

warnings of this chapter : mentions of blood and brutality. For future chapters, major character death(s).

words : 

summary : “life’s never fair y/n. realise it as soon as you can . it is the only secret for living a regretless life.”                                  

or              

“  curiousity got the cat hitched”

K.M masterlist

A/n : this was supposed to be a longer chapter. The Tumblr was bring problematic since three days. This is not how the chapter was supposed to end but i couldn't post anything longer than this so i had to make changes to end it on a surprise tone like other chapters. I hope you still enjoy it.

Was he asking for too much?

His unsteady hand rose and fell, internal monologue stopping him from knocking on the door. Johnny wasn't sure how he even ended up outside taeyong's door. One second he was fighting with his thoughts and the next second he found himself jumping out of his car, almost ready to confront the person behind the door. 

He took a deep breath and was about to drum the wood when the door opened from inside, taeyong's sleepy figure greeting him instantly.

"John. Why are you here so late? Do you need something?"  from red pressed strikes on taeyong’s face, anyone would have guessed that he had been sleeping.

“Johnny! I’m talking to you.” he waved his hand in front of johnny’s distracted eyes.

“Huh” 

“Do you want something?”

“y/n.”

Your life was back on the wagon. Not truly but with a few exceptions here and there, it certainly felt like the old days. You were in chois on weekdays and took tuitions on the weekends. You met your friends while visiting the library and everything felt quite normal. Even with a few oddities, that being the five day training sessions with Jungwoo, some new people in your life, a residence that you felt happy coming back to, absence of someone that you’d never grown a liking for, everything was smooth. Just like before. The only thing you missed was some time. Time for yourself. Though you lived alone, which was a luxury nearing its end, you barely got a few minutes alone with your mind and that was something you craved more than the drink shoved in your hand at the moment. 

You loved your friends, without any doubt, but they lived with the bad habit of disregarding your feelings, feelings that said you would be anywhere but the restaurant you were sitting in. 

“y/n is going into hibernation again.” minjun’s voice broke your trance.

“What did you say?" You challenged him but he cowered in his seat and turned his focus on the soggy french fries instead. When he silenced, yugyeom spoke up, 

“Yo y/n. Don’t scare the child. Just drink away your sorrows. The wine is quite expensive here. If you are making me pay then at least make it worth it."

Suddenly, Jungkook's loud snorting caught everyone's attention as they all quietened, waiting for him to reveal the reasons for his action. Swirling his burgundy glass, he chugged the last bit of the drink before leaning backwards in his chair, relaxing himself.

"Now what's the drama with You" Yeong grumbled, clearly intoxicated. 

"She's already hammered" minjun giggled. 

"When are you going to invite us to your house y/n?" Jungkook chimed in, a smirk plastered on his blushed face. 

"Oh yes. Ms. Lawyer no more l-lives i-in the d-dorms." Yeong hiccupped, losing the grip on the bottle of soju. Yugyeom chuckled at her antics before snatching the bottle away to avoid any fuss.

"I also meant to ask you but you are never available for more than an hour or so. Are you doing alright" gyeom shifted his chair towards you while keeping a hand on his girlfriend's back.

You didn't know how to reply or what to trump up so they'd stop pestering you. However, you had no other choice than to continue with the streak you had started a few months ago.

"Of course i want to have you there but my roommate is very, how to explain, very bitchy. He got this corporate job and he-he works from home so I'm supposed to pretend like I do not exist and keep quiet. That includes no outsiders as well. It's gonna be like this for a few months i guess"

You mumbled the last part.

 You averted your eyes but didn't mean you could've escaped their intense judgemental gaze. You repeated the whole lie that you recited to arrange it in the box of deceit that you were filling since the commencement of these stories. Forgetting any of these would mean shattering their trust. And that was exactly what you were supposed to protect.

Once reiterated, you gathered how foolish the sentence was. Had it been said to you, there wasn't a chance of putting your belief in it. But your company was drunk enough to believe it; two of them were enough to carry the whole table.

"Wow. How horrible of him. We should take y/n with us yugy. She'd be happy and she can invite anyone." Yeong low-key let out a little drunk growl to press her point. 

Yugyeom cooed at her before replying,

"And where will you live? Our apartment has only two rooms and both are occupied. Where do you plan to settle down instead?"

His question made her think harder than she ever had in life as she picked at her jutted out lower lip. 

"Laundry room. You and me, will live in the laundry room because y/n needs a nice home."

"I already have a nice home yeongie." You took the opportunity, got up and reached out to pinch her cheeks, "but you won't know unless you are sober. Take her home, yugy. I'm also sleepy so I'll get going. See you on Tuesday." 

" It's already 11. Let me drop you home." Jungkook suggested, startling you.

"No It-

"Yeah you drop her. I'll take Yeong and minjun home but help me in carrying their asses to the car please." Yugyeom pleaded. He left the bills on the table and took Yeong in his arms. You expected jungkook to do the same but he passed minjun your shoulders instead,

"Wait for me outside. I have to call someone first." and he walked away, his lover grinning on your shoulder like it was the funniest thing in the world but you were fine as long as their drunken state saved you from some heavy confrontation. The only person left was jungkook and you had the perfect idea to dodge him as well. 

"So the same place or are you staying in the dorms this weekend?" He asked, driving out of the busy street.

"Just drop me at the nearest bus station. I'll ta-

"Nakamoto residence or the dorms y/n" you almost choked on the air as the word left his lips. Taking a bus home had seemed like the perfect plan but you had overvalued your common sense. Again.

"What are you talking about?" With hesitation evident in your voice, you muttered.

"Do you really think you'd go to a random house in front of me that I know nothing about and you'd be left alone without questions. I was there until the door was opened by someone. You really thought I'd have left you with a stranger. But i knew something was fishy when the receptionist told me that it's a home sweet home of Mr and Mrs nakamoto. Now spill before I get yugyeom to ask in his own way." He shifted the gears in frustration, your relaxed persona bothering him to no end. Getting jungkook wokred up wasn't a grunt work. He was like a matchstick, always ready to be ignited by any possible frictional surface. 

"It's not what you are thin-

"Don't lie please," he started, words dangerously polite, "If he's your boyfriend then there's no need to hide y/n. We would always be there to support you. When, how, why, i don't want you to feel pressured to answer me. Just because you go around with no commitment tag doesn't mean we'd judge you if you ever got in a relationship. We love you. Make us part of your life like we do. Can't we just expect that much." 

You gulped at how disappointed he sounded. He was right. You needed to include them in your life adventures but how were you supposed to explain him the riots you were dealing with. How were you supposed to spill everything without him getting his sword out. That would only lead to more troubles than you had the power to deal with. Trouble for you, him and for everyone who'd be passed that secrecy. 

So you begged, for some more time until you'd be more than comfortable to let all of them into your present life. 

Like every other word, this was also a lie that, in the first place,  you never chose to proceed with. 

He might have give in to you, but you knew eventually you'd have to muster up the courage to answer him and that day would decide another turn of your future. 

And you would make sure, inter alia, to shift the wheels in a more likeable direction.

“Use your fists!” 

Jungwoo’s grip was strong. His one arm was holding your waist and the other was around your neck. It was painful but you knew he wasn’t going to let go easily this time. This was the third consecutive scuffle or demo fight with him within the span of the last forty five minutes and having lost the last two, awfully at that, expectation of some mercy was not very demanding on your part. But only if he would grant that! You heard his chuckle as you wriggled in his hold. He was clearly having a lot more fun than you were. There was no way you could’ve applied renjun and hyuck’s advice but you still tried to follow their vague instructions.

“Bit his arm and turn.”

“No, don’t. Turn around and hit his torso with your knees.” 

Bit him?

Halting your movements, a low grunt left your lips as you lowered your body and pressed your teeth on his flesh. He screeched and immediately retracted his arm. Taking advantage of his loosened grip on your waist, you whirled around and raised your knee to strike at his upper body. In an instant, your hands fell on your knees and you inhaled a harsh breath, regaining your strength. Jungwoo, on the other hand, was curled up on the floor like a baby. You wanted to laugh at him but the more astonishing thing was the lack of any noise from your cheerleaders. Right from the start, they were rooting for you like you were earning them some hard cash and now that you had done exactly what they had wanted, they were silent. 

“Wha-

you opened your mouth to speak but their lack of attention held you back. Their eyes were fixed at Jungwoo,who still laid where he had landed. 

“What did you do?” renjun shrieked.

“Exactly what you told me to!” you replied with heavy breathing.

“We said torso!”

“Yes and i hi-

Mechanically your hand slapped your face as you noticed the position of jungwoo’s hands. You had, mistakenly, kicked him in the groin which only meant more trouble for you. 

“Save me.” you mouthed to hyuck and renjun while approaching jungwoo. 

“Sorry teacher.” you mumbled.

He remained quiet for a few seconds and didn’t make any movement. When he did, you took a few steps back, afraid of his wrath. Palms down on the mat, he sat up and with painfully quiet voice spoke up,

“Looks like you won. Good j-job. I think i need to visit the medical room. You can go and celebrate.”

“Does it pain too much” pointing to his crotch and averting your eyes, you asked.

“No. not at all but i might need to adopt your kids someday. You know if i can’t make my own.” 

“Sorry” you cried.

“Dismissed.” his civil tone, probably due to the ache, glued you in the position.

When you didn't move, donghyuck came, took you by your arm and guided you for the door.

"He's just being dramatic. Just chill. Another hit and he'd be good to go." He giggled and was soon joined by renjun as well, who was now crouching down in front of jungwoo. 

"You sure?"

"If he doesn't then you can always give him your baby. Ofcourse after asking your husband." Only after he rambled, he realised what he had actually said. His face screamed surprise. To save him from spiralling into deep shame, you eased him by cutting off his apology,

"Ew hyuck. Give him one of yours if you want. Don't come for mine!" And you exited the door.

You were halfway through the basement when you realised the lack of your device. Running back, you were about to shout when you overheard their gossip.

"No, I'm telling you she meant to injure me so i won't teach her anymore or this might be the revenge of all the weapon training. Her knee is stronger than jeno's punch. Don't laugh at me you shits."

Jungwoo was whining. 

"Haha. Yeah ok. But i told you renjun, she's physically stronger than her. Kind of totally opposite." Hyuck's voice quietened at the end but before he could speak further, you interrupted,

"Like who hyuck?"

Their faces went blank at your question and the reason of sudden heaviness in the air was beyond your contemplation. 

"You don't want to answer? Fine. Maybe it's not my place to question." You simply stated before circling the mat to pick up your phone from the chair.

"No. It's not li-

"It's fine hyuck. Chill." You shrugged and walked away, deciding against pestering them for information that they clearly felt too uncomfortable to share. 

"You need a fucking lock on your bloody mouth." was the last thing you heard before they were out of your hearing.

What was the need to ask something when you knew you won't ever get an answer out of them. Everyone was beyond friendly with you but still, there were some borders that nobody dared to cross. Maybe the mention of that woman was one of them. Fear of some unknown ghost of embarrassment was swallowing you whole when you heard grunts. Loud ones. You were still in the basement, the scuffle center being at the far end. The stairs were in front of you. The  snarls and growls were coming from the other end of the basement. The election wasn't hard and you didn't want to give in to your curiosity but you did. Your feet, not cooperating with the voice in the back of your head that told you to turn away, took you ahead in the direction of the noise. Though the residence consisted of only one plot but the basement covered two. Unknown to everyone, the house next to B.N was also their property and it was only utilised for the underground space. Hence the never ending lane and the countless closed metal doors.

The echo got louder with each step you took. It’s been more than a month since you were visiting the basement but those noises had never crossed through you until today. The end doors were forbidden for you, according to what you were told but now that you were exposed to it, there was no chance of ignoring. No prudent person would ever overlook such a thing. That was the justification you were repeating as you took baby steps.

All the doors were closed except one at the very far end. You thought about peaking inside then halted as if your conscious called you. The whimpers also stopped for a minute or so but your heart skipped a few beats when a collision following with painful shriek reverberated in the empty space. The door, slightly ajar, was just a few strides away but you were too startled to even back away from your position. Same pattern of hit and shouts continued again. Unaware of the happenings, you stood there as If you were waiting for someone to separate you from the concrete beneath your feet.

Adding to your distress, the metal door opened abruptly and you realised, you were again at a place where you weren't meant to be.

"What are you doing here?" Jaehyun's growl broke you out of the unconscious state you had fell into. Mechanically, you eyes roamed across him to notice a body lying on the table inside the room, strained cries escaping his lips. The limp body was enough to put two and two together to conclude that he was being tortured. He was a victim of jaehyun's wrath. 

"I asked what ar-

"Y/N!" he picked up his hand to touch your shoulders but you distanced yourself when you noticed the stains covering his clothing and hands, the blood red prominently visible even under the low light. 

His gaze caught yours in time and his eyes softened noticing the fear in your body. 

Very slowly, he reached out for you but immediately stopped, taking a note of your quivering lip.

"Hey. It-its not blood. I ca-can explai- Y/N!" 

The yells of your name covered the whole arena as you rushed away, leaving a dazed jaehyun behind.

"Who was it jae?" 

Jaehyun saw your trembling figure diminishing while you ran away from him as if you were disgusted by him. Not that he expected any other reaction, some good time has passed since someone innocent had came across their work. To say the least, it was never pleasant to have someone witness their harsh manners.

"JAE!"

"Y/n. She saw the body and also the blood."

He mumbled to ten whose visage, upon hearing, instantly mirrored jaehyun's.

"What about him?" Ten pointed to the man, "he's not speaking shit"

"Finish him off if you want. I need to handle something else now"

You raced as fast as you could have. You had never thought of yourself as a weak person but the sight was gruesome to just disregard and walk off. With shaking legs, you finally made it upstairs but the ringing, only became more earsplitting. Your hand harshly rubbed at your chest as you tried to defuse the tension bubbling in your whole body. After what felt like minutes, you covered your ears as if it would stop the ringing. It certainly did not but surprisingly it was muffled. You removed your hands and the blaring returned again. But this time, you laboured yourself to look into your surroundings. You saw chenle, jisung, jaemin running back and forth from the kitchen while doyoung seemed to be scolding jeno for something. Few others were also there, cleaning the couches and spraying some fragrance in the air. Everyone seemed to be their own turmoil, origin was which was yet to be known.

That's when it hit you. Maybe your ears weren't booming due to fright. 

"Chenle"you screamed at the passing boy, "do you hear this sound?" You pointed your fingers in the air to exaggerate your point. He merely nodded before he went past you and the very next second the noise was reduced to mere buzzing. You inhaled sharply to regulate your heartbeat but failed due to the ruckus  that enclosed you. Suddenly jaemin emerged, 

"Why are you so disheveled? Go and change from these workout clothes. Uncle is outside. Didn't you hear the alarm." Only Half of his words entered your head and before you could come to your senses, you were interrupted again.

"Y/n my girl!" Whipping your head, you saw a familiar figure entering the threshold. 

An old man that you surely had seen somewhere. 

His voice was a lot stronger than his aged body which he was dragging along with the help of a walking stick. 

Jaemin nudged you to greet him and you complied as soon as could have in your current state. Only when you got closer, you realised he was the same man you had met in the office celebration. You haven't seen him since then but he looked significantly weaker than before. Even with dark circles present, his face still was still shining with the smile he wore as he staggered inside. 

"How's life treating you my kid" he asked, patting the empty space on the couch. You took the seat and replied in a small voice,

"I'm good. Everything is nice." 

"Why am I smelling Jasmines this late in the evening?" He sniffed the air and galred at doyoung, " Do you take me for a fool? One thing! Cleaning. that is the only thing i ask of you. There are- how many of you are present since the morning. Answer me doyoung." 

The man barked and doyoung muttered a sheepish apology, his head dropping with shame. 

"Each one of you is nonsense. If you'd just clean up your stink once in a while, you'd save your money on the thousands of spray bottles you buy every month. But you thick heads only know how to shoot and punch. Now get me a glass of water before i die of this fake flowery smell"

He shouted like he owned the place and Maybe he did. Your mind and heart were not aligned up to comprehend the simple scenario that took place before you, the dizziness coming and going with intervals.

Then you were called again. 

Looking at your right, your saw jaehyun standing, his face ridden of any colour.

You noticed his new shirt. There was no blood on it. His hands were also cleaned and you were stunned at how quickly your eyes were running on his body to find any trace of what you saw in the basement a few minutes ago.

"y/n, i need to talk to you" 

For the first time, jaehyun's words were directed towards you without any poison in them. 

You still didn't wish to face him so you moved yourself to face the old man.

"Y/n ple-

"Now you don't even greet your own father jung jaehyun."

He spoke with a steadier and louder voice that felt like it was only meant for jaehyun. The contrast in his tone was striking. 

He was jaehyun's father.

"Sorry dad. I have something imp-

"I called you in the morning to inform yuta and taeil and yet i do not see anyone here. Do i need to die for you to respect me!"

You couldn't believe your ears when jaehyun answered in shuddering tone. 

"Yu-yuta is not here." 

He sounded like a child responding to his teacher, scared of some evaluation.

"Then call him."

"I mean he's away on business dad."

"Civil?"

It was like hearing Morse code.

"No."

"You sent him on a target place?"

"No. He's in Nice to collect information."

"Wow. Can you please clap your back for breaking the only sacred rule this family lives by?"

The silence in the extremely large living room was suffocating. This time, except you, everyone else was scared. And it still wasn't of any help.

"How dare you send a family man away on anything remotely dangerous. I thought you all were careful after taeil's incident but no. Nobody cares enough t-

Before he could complete, shaky coughs engulfed his body. Somehow, jaehyun grabbed him the moment he was about to fall from the couch. Doyoung ran for the kitchen while xiaojun, who was always too swift in his movements, came to the living room with a medical box.

You weren't sure what was happening with him or why he was being treated like some high mighty force or why he was so adamant on bringing yuta back but you could only pray that his wish won't be granted.

You weren't cruel but you were sure he'd be able to survive without that piece of shit roaming around.

You couldn't lose the few weeks you had without him.

Taeyong hands clutched yours like his life depended on you.

"Please please please y/n. It's been over a month since he's gone. I never withdraw from a deal. But this is an emergency. Uncle doesn't know you both were forced. He is a soft and weak hearted man. We cannot afford to tell him anything like this and clearly this would be seen as a betrayal to him. You both are nothing like what he's told but he doesn't need to need. He's the only father figure we have. Please just this time. I promise I won't ask anything from you after this. You do not need to live with him. he'd be here until two months are over. Please."

You lifted your brow at his last sentence and liberated your hands from his, feeling his trembling fingers. 

"I don't see the need to lie anymore, taeyong. You can tell him the truth and be over with it. If he has jaehyun as a son, he must be used to hearing blatant lies. This won't be the only one, I'm sure of that." Crossing your arms, you coldly said.

"I know you hate me but please y/n. You know how it is to lose the only family member you have. We have no one besides him. Never had anyone before him. The least we can do is keep him happy until it's too late. Please. Just this time."

Gobbling down each word, you merely nodded at him. If it weren't for his glossy eyes, you'd have threw up on him right after the first pleading but you weren't heartless like him. He was right. You knew how it felt to lose your loved ones, a fate you would never wish upon anyone. Not even the person you despised the most.

"Thank you. I owe you this one kiddo." He hugged you and you pushed him away. 

"Let me call him."

"Yuta!"

"Hmm"

"You need to come back immediately "

Taeyong spoke with urgency.

"Nope. I still have Three weeks and two days left." You heard his non-chalant words through the speaker.

"Yuta it's abou-

"Sorry I'm busy with my french girls. Call you later and please forget to take care of yourself."

And he hung up. 

A smirk formed on your face watching the grim expressions of taeyong.

"Good luck convincing him and while you are going to explain him the difference between the French girls and the French monkeys he has mistaken as women, why don't you explain me what exactly jaehyun does in that other end of the basement. I love some good stories, taeyong. So let's hear how good of a storyteller are you!"

taglist :: @kpop-choco @moon-yuta @kawaiiayasan @btm-taeyong @exfolitae @lanadreamie @cheersskznct @hyuckiesgf @theworld-accordingtocasey  @yiyi4657 @sorrywonwoo @sillywinnergladiator @minejungwoo @leesalts  @mal-nakamoto23 @ro2424 @itlittlefangirl @nctzens-world @bl--ankhaeji @simplybree @ncttboo @jeaneteflo @nuoyii @/bralessmermaid

[mindfulvenus]

Haunted House_Tooru Oikawa

(Halloween Special)

After all, it was his idea to go.

Halloween, at least at Aoba Johsai, was pretty fun. Most students were allowed to dress up for the occasion, this meaning that the school dress code was sort of lifted for the event. There were students dressed as ghosts, zombies, and superheroes.

Not to mention, there was always a little Halloween festival that went on. The first, second, and third years would all collaborate on what they wanted to do for the festival. The first years made a haunted house out of their classes and the hallways. The second years had food stands with waiters dressed up as skeletons and ghosts. And the third years just decorated their halls and did a costume contest.

As usual Oikawa Tooru won because all the girls from the first years to the third years adored him. But the thing that annoyed you the most was the fact that he’s been dressing up as a vampire for the past three years now but some how still wins.

Tooru does change up the look though. This year he had a black cape that had a red fabric inside it and of course he wore a suite and tie. To even add more detail to his costume he wore fangs in his mouth.

“Damn, this is the third time... what’s so cool about a cliche vampire anyways!” Iwaizumi exclaimed annoyed to you as he was dressed up as a werewolf with a red collar and a headband with perked up dog ears.

To be completely honest most of the third years dressed up a little more plain compared to the other grades but they stayed with the good old original costumes. You were dressed up in a traditional schoolgirl outfit with the blue sailor collar with a red bowtie at the collar and a platted skirt. Your hair was flattened by a straightener you used to completely your cliche look.

“Yup!! All the girls loved my flawless outfit but don’t be whining Iwa-chan just because you lost~!” Tooru teased sticking his tongue out at Iwaizumi and putting his hands up to his ears mocking him.

“Oh y/n-chan you look as cute as ever though!! But why the bland choice of an outfit? You could’ve dressed up as a witch with a broom!” He swooned and mumbled incoherently imagining the idea of you with a witch costume on.

“Well I could say the same for you Mr. “I’m going to be a vampire for the third time in a row... and I didn’t feel like dressing as a witch anyways. It’s a lot of work y’know.” You said matter-of-factly and a little irked my his teasing remarks.

“Ok, ok I’ll stop teasing. You look good though... and I just thought I’d let you know!” Tooru complemented you with a faltering smile with fangs that appeared to be just a little bashful.

You, Tooru, and Iwaizumi soon went over to see the second year’s food stands. It was full of tons of delectable foods and sweets such as halloween themed sushi and bento boxes.

Sweets mostly consisted of candy apples and cup cakes that were dressed in halloween decor. You took a candy apple and so did Tooru, while Iwaizumi took a cupcake. You all scarfed down the sweets with smiles all on your faces and headed towards the first years section of the festival.

“Well next is the first years, right?” You murmured with your mouth full and sticky from the candy apple.

“I’m actually a little spooked to see what their haunted house looks like if I’m being completely honest.” You said chuckling to yourself why throwing the stick away in the trash can.

“It can’t be that scary, their only first years anyways. What’s the worst that could happen!” Oikawa scoffed looking brave and courageous, as if nothing could scare him.

“I wouldn’t be too sure about that one. Kindachi and Kunimi both missed practice the other day to work on the haunted house because they needed more first years for help. I also heard that almost all the first years worked on it so I mean it must be pretty damn good and scary.” Iwaizumi spoke in a tone that nonchalantly meant “don’t underestimate them”.

“Whatever Iwa-chan it’ll be fun and I’ll be there with y/n-chan to protecter her anyways.” Tooru teased Iwazumi even more.

You were a little thrown off because you never agreed to go into the haunted house let alone with Tooru. You had a gut feeling that things were gonna get a bit crazy but just shrugged that off.

“I just wanted to let you know, vampire prince, that I never agreed to go but I’ll go with you into the “haunted” house.” You stated with a little attitude while smiling at him.

He through you back a dramatic gasp with his hand laying on his chest as if you were accusing him. You guys then made it in front of the haunted house which looked pretty scary already from the exterior. There was scary music that was full of screams playing in the backgriund . There was also a fog machine that made the whole hall including the classrooms very hard to see in.

“Y’know since you guys are looking down on our lower class men you should both go in together and test your courage.” Iwaizumi said while turning around.

“I’m going to head back since the third years need some help cleaning up and lifting things so see you around and try not to do anything stupid you two. Especially you Oikawa.” He hollared a little in a harsh tone towards the end of his speech.

You and Tooru just looked at each other as sweat started to drip down both your foreheads.

“Well let’s head in then!” You exclaimed nervously as you started to walk forward into the entrance of the spooky environment. Tooru kind of stalled looking the house up and down and then swallowed thickly following you.

As you guys entered the haunted house the fog grew thicker and you could make out the skeletons and spiderwebs that decorated the floor and ceiling. You could tell Tooru was all talk the moment you guys entered. He’s been hovering over you from behind, and honestly it was starting to get quite annoying. At the same time though it was cute.

“Tooru c’mon it’s not that scary see... Nothing bad has happened yet and I highly doubt it would be that scary.” You reassured him as he look at you with slight fear and worry in his eyes.

“If I die, I’m haunting you first.” He objected while turning his head the other way as if he was scoffing.

He then look terrified but you weren’t sure for what reason. Turning around you realized that what he was looking at was a person dressed up a a zombie. They actually looked terrifying and their makeup made it really look like they were a rotting corpse.

You were super shocked to see this and let out a surprised shriek. Tooru followed and suddenly, grasped your wrist, dragged you back to the entrance. As you guys were hustling towards the entrance you could hear the zombie going after you.

The adrenaline really kicked in and as soon as Tooru spotted the light ahead he ran even faster. Out of nowhere, a skeleton pooped up and started running towards you and Tooru making Tooru run in the opposite direction away from the entrance.

By this point he had long let go of your wrist because he had been a little too shook to hold onto it. As you were still running towards the entrance trying to find your own way out. Tooru kept running towards your direction without out even thinking.

The fog was so thick which made it way too hard to see through and at this point, before you knew it Tooru had ran right into you knocking you to the floor. You and him were both a mess of heavy breathing and adrenaline rush from the fright. Tooru then came back to his senses and realized that he was right on top of you.

He then looked down at you and his cheeks were bright red and he had a very very nervous smile on. He was almost like a deer caught up in headlights, he felt frozen as he started to admire your facial features. You then came back to your senses, even more startled by the fact that Tooru was hovering right over you while looking you in the eyes. Tooru then caught himself from staring too long and got up standing right.

“Hey sorry about that here let me help you up.” He said rushing through his words as he reached his hand out for you to grab.

“Oh it’s no problem, thanks.” You replied taking his hand which lifted you right up on your feet.

“Oh, hey your bleeding on your elbow!! We should get you to the nurses office as soon as possible!” Tooru shrieked in a concerning tone as he grabbed your hand.

You then looked over to see what he was talking about and then you saw that your whole elbow was scrapped up and you were bleeding a river that ended at your wrist. This totally freaked you out and you agreed with Tooru.

“Here use my cape to cover the gash, it might lessen the blood flow if you put pressure onto it.” You then grabbed the side of his cape and firmly pressed it onto the wound. You and him then walked at a steady pace side by side to the nurses office.

As soon as you guys arrived Tooru handed you his cape as he went searching through the cabinets looking for gauze. You sat on the infirmary bed watching him frantically look through every cabinet with Tooru’s cape draped over you.

He eventually found the gauze and walked over to you, sitting right next to your spot on the infirmary bed.

“Can I see the injury again so I can fix it up?” He questioned as his hands hesitantly hovered over your elbow. You removed the cape from the wounds and Tooru gently rubbed off all the dried blood on your arm and around the scrape.

He continued to disinfect it and neatly patched it up tying it up in a bow shape to make it look cute. He was very tender while he was touching you, his hands felt soft and calming.

“Hey, y/n-chan, sorry for leaving you out their on you own and for not being brave enough for you. I was support to protect you and in the end I ended up hurting you. I’m sorry...” He looked at you apologetically as he put his hand on your arm squeezing it lightly.

“Tooru... it’s all good don’t worry so much about it! It was just a little scratch anyways, nothing I can’t handle! Besides you patched me all up so thank you! You said, your words were full of thankfulness and care.

“Y/n, your so strong and you have so many other traits to you that make you an amazing person. Your positive, cute, and kind...I have got to say that I admire you a lot...” Tooru spoke a little loud than a whispered averting your eyes as his cheeks became a dainty color of pink.

“Tooru... your an amazing person as well. You persevere through the hardest times in life that you face. Not only that but you are a caring soul, you like to help other. So thank you for being there and caring!” You looked at him giving him a closed eyed smile. The weight of the bed shifted a little as you left Tooru go in for a tight embrace.

“Y/n I truly like you. And I mean “like-like” kay?”

You return the embrace as you smiled into him. The moonlight shone brightly on both of you as you were taking in each other’s prescience, wanting time to stop and forever exist in this moment.

“I “like-like” you too, Tooru Oikawa.” You lightly chuckled as you held onto Tooru for the rest of the night.

———————————————————————

a/n: Happy Halloween everyone! I hope that everyone had a good Halloween and that it was a little fun at least. Anyways I bring to you all who are staying indoors a Haikyuu x reader that is Halloween themed!! I didn’t really proofread so sorry is there were any mistakes!

[littlemissagrafina]

A Sunflower's Bloom

Third and final part in the Remember the sun, little flower series for @angxlsgrxce

Read on AO3

Tony walked into the lab only to be greeted by Peter who was sitting on top of his work bench in a position that could only be described as pretzel meets spaghetti. 

Peter was lying on his side with his back against the wall that his bench was propped against, his one leg was stretched behind him, the other bent over it with his foot flat against the table top.

It was then that Tony noticed his one arm was looped under his bent leg and he was using his other arm to prop his head slightly as he carefully stirred up a new batch of his web formula.

Overall, it was quite normal for Peter with his strange spider flexibility but just looking at him made Tony's back ache.

"Peter, buddy, spider of my life, are you ever going to sit in a slightly normal position?" Tony couldn't help but tease the teenager, letting out a laugh at Peter's fake look of betrayal.

"Mr. Stark! That would imply that I am a regular person and we both know that I could never be normal. Besides, it's comfortable." With that he went back to his formula, looking at it with a slight furrow to his brows that made his nose scrunch up in a way that Tony couldn't help but think resembled a bunny rabbit.

Tony walked over to his own work bench and wheeled his chair back to Peter's. Sitting down in front of the bench, he picked up a pen and poked at Peter's leg until he looked up at the older man.

"What's got you frowning at your webs like that?"

With a huff, Peter unfolded himself and sat up on the edge of the bench with his legs hanging off the edge. He handed Tony the bodum beaker and picked up his bag, fishing his notebook out from it before putting it back on the floor. He flipped to a page near the back and handed that to Tony as well.

"I'm trying to find a way to make it stop clogging up the compartment when I have to refill it but I can't figure out what I need to do without changing the components of the fluid I already have. Everything that I've come up with so far makes it too watery." He explained as Tony looked over his workings on the paper.

Tony hummed to let him know that he was listening. He was quiet for a while before speaking again. "Okay, a fair warning, Pete. I have an idea but, as far as Pepper would be concerned, it's not the safest so we're gonna move over to the testing station and try it out there. That good?"

Peter nodded and slid off the bench to follow Tony to a more secured area of the lab that they had made after their last drone went a little crazy and set fire to Dumm-e and Tony's R&D paperwork.

Setting up the beaker and grabbing a few chemicals as well as safety goggles and gloves, Tony explained his idea for adding a different chemical to slightly tweak the reaction of Peter's new formula, hoping to stop the clogging as Peter desired without too much change to the original tried and tested formula.

"Ready?" 

Peter just grinned, slipping his goggles over his eyes. He watched as Tony added one of the chemicals, stirred it, and asked him to look at it as well as prompting Peter to tell him what changes he saw with each new chemical that they added.

Neither paid attention as Tony reached for the last chemical he wanted to test. 

Neither of them noticed that it had accidentally been switched by Dumm-e while they had been speaking and nerding over the ways they could change and improve the formula for different uses other than Peter's regular webs.

Neither noticed until the drops of liquid from the last chemical went up in an explosion of harmless sparks and smoke, a black cloud blowing back up into their faces and the sparks setting off the lab's sprinkler system automatically.

Both Tony and Peter jerked backwards, Peter almost falling over when he slipped on the water currently still falling from the sprinklers. He grabbed onto Tony which ended up being what pulled both of them off balance, sending them to the floor in a jumbled mess of limbs and a pained yelp with Peter landed on his arm.

"Peter!" Tony gasped, managing to heave himself up a moment later and reach down to help Peter up too. He hesitated when Peter hissed and pulled his arm away, panic instantly flooding his chest at Peter's pain.

Kneeling down, Tony lifted Peter to his feet by his shoulders instead of pulling him up by his arm. As soon as the teenager was standing, Tony was fussing over him, grabbing a clean rag (now conveniently wet from the sprinklers) from a nearby table and wiping the wet cloth over Peter's face to clean the ash off and make sure none of it had somehow made its way into his eyes behind the safety goggles. 

Tony was damn grateful that he had become so much more careful when it came to lab safety after he had started working with Peter so often.

Used to Tony's automatic fussing, Peter took a moment to assess himself for any pain or irritation, knowing Tony would ask him as soon as he calmed slightly.

A moment later the man did just that.

"Were you hurt? I heard your cry when you landed. What's wrong with your arm? Did you inhale any of the smoke?" Tony rapidly shot the questions at him, ushering Peter towards the dry end of the lab and onto the couch in the one corner.

"No I wasn't badly hurt, I just sprained my wrist when I tried to catch myself when we fell. Yes, I did inhale some but not a lot because I don't feel a lot of irritation or pain." Peter answered and then cut Tony off before he could ask more questions.

"Yes, I know we have to be careful with the smoke inhalation, especially because of the chemicals, but I know how it feels when it's bad because of the fires I've had to help with. I promise I'll tell you if I start feeling anything bad or painful."

Peter's straight to the point answers finally calmed Tony enough for him to sit down on the couch next to him.

Tony opened his mouth, going to ask if Peter was sure he was okay before changing his mind. "Okay, okay, I believe you. Can Fri scan you just to be safe?"

Knowing that Tony needed the peace of mind, Peter nodded and a moment later the A.I reported back with exactly what Peter had said. A sprained wrist and minor irritation to his windpipe.

"I would recommend ice for his wrist and a glass of milk for his throat, Boss." Friday's Irish voice spoke out.

Peter nudged Tony lightly with his shoulder. "See? I'm okay. Now that we're done with me, are you okay?"

With a little huff and a smile, Tony relented. His kid was okay. No need to panic. Nope, not at all.

Peter nudged him again. If he had to answer truthfully then so did Tony.

"Yeah, Roo, I'm fine, I promise. A bit of irritation as well but no sprains, bruises, or broken bones." Tony assured him, and asked Friday to do a quick scan of him as well, thinking it was only fair since he had the A.I scan Peter.

Once again she confirmed that there was no major injury or problem.

"C'mon, I wanna go wash the ash off my face and we should probably both go grab a shower and change into dry clothes. We need to make sure that we don't have any leftover chemicals left on us and you don't need to get sick from sitting around in wet clothes, either." 

Tony was about to get up from the couch when he noticed a bruise peeking out from under the sleeve of Peter's injured wrist. He reached out and carefully held it in his own hand, the sleeve riding up more to show the black lines of what looked like the sunflower that was usually etched across the skin of Peter's lower forearm.

The only thing that made it not so normal was that the ink looked like it wasn't running down Peter's arm after getting it wet. It hadn't even smudged at all.

Looking up at the teen in question and receiving a nod, Tony pulled the sleeve up more to reveal the rest of the flower. He ran a finger over it, careful to not put pressure on Peter's wrist.

"Peter?" Tony asked softly, making sure that his voice was open and gentle.

Peter gave a quiet hmm in response. He knew that he didn't have to be nervous of telling Tony, the man's reaction and acceptance just of the markers when he first found out was proof enough of it, but he couldn't help the slight anxiety that bubbled up in his chest.

An arm was draped over his shoulders, and he was pulled into a hug.

"When did you get it done, bud?"

"A few weeks ago." Peter mumbled into Tony's shoulder.

  Oh, Tony thought. The sudden light, happiness that Peter had exuded recently made sense now. His kid had finally found the permanency that he had needed.

Pulling away, Tony asked Peter to look at him. He grinned widely at the teen when he did, three simple words being said and immediately soothing a place in Peter's heart that he hadn't known was scared.

"I like it."

Peter smiled too. "Yeah?" At Tony's nod he spoke again. "I uhh, I got two. I have another one, I mean, not just this one. I got two that day." He stumbled over his words now, a bit bashful now that he wasn't as nervous about Tony's reaction.

Tony's steady smile helped some of his confidence come back.

"Can I see it? The other one?" Tony asked him, taking notice of the shy excitement in Peter's eyes.

Peter gave a small smile and turned a bit. "It's on my back." He explained to Tony's slightly confused expression.

Peter tugged his shirt up a bit until he was sure that the colourful petals and leaves of the sunflower were visible.

"That's Ben's flower." Tony muttered. It wasn't quite a question nor was it a statement but Peter answered anyway.

"Yeah. It's Ben's flower."

After a moment of silence, Peter lowered his shirt and turned around to face Tony. The man looked at him, a strange glint in his eyes.

"He'd be proud of you, you know. I didn't know him but from what you and May have told me… well, he was an incredible man Peter. Especially to have had a hand in raising someone like you who is so kind, giving, and loving."

Hugging the man who had become his father in all but blood, Peter felt his heart warm. He had lost, he had grieved, and he had hurt. But he had also found, healed, and loved.

Peter was drawn from his thoughts by Tony hugging him closer before pulling away and getting up from the couch. "C'mon, kid. Let's go get clean and then we can sort out the mess in here before Pepper has both our hides to cushion her seat during that meeting tomorrow."

"Tony, do you really think he would be proud?" Peter asked him just as they walked out the lab doors.

"Bud, the proof is right there in those very petals on your skin. He loved you and would be so proud."

Tony was right in more ways than one as Peter would later learn because a sunflowers meaning was adoration, loyalty and longevity.

And in the ink on his skin, in the pictures and paintings on the walls, in the memories of his uncle, Peter found that and so much more. 

Peter had finally found healing from the grief that had swallowed him for so long. He had a reminder and a hope with him, something to remember the good, the happy, and the love that he had experienced as well as all that was still to come.

His sunflower had bloomed and it was glorious.

[sleepdeprivedheretic]

Lilium

Summary: Although a witch, you weren’t the one to really summon demons, but your friends had insisted that you could use an extra pair of helping hands to help you with your run-down hut. After fixing the mess of a first attempt fail, you were expecting to summon a lower gremlin. What or who you didn’t expect, was to summon the demon king of hell, keeper of souls, in searching for something that only you could do perfectly.

In explanation of the fic: Each powerful demon has his/her own hell, and in each hell has layers, like onions. So although reader didn’t summon Lucifer, she summoned a pretty powerful Japanese demon who’s element of hell follows close to that of Greek mythology because Rita liked the Persephone vibes. As for the soul thing, those are the souls who just...wind up at his place.  

Title name: Lilies are a flower that represent not only unity, love, and devotion, but also the flowers are most often associated with funerals, they symbolize that the soul of the departed has received restored innocence after death. Persephone held lilies in her hands/arms as she was take away by Hades, the flowers turning white as they fell to the ground. Ancient(?) Romans would stuff pillows full of the flowers, the fragrance perfect for love-making ;)  

Notes: @youtubequeens, or Rita, requested the beautiful idea of Tai-chan being a demon king in need of something that only the reader can do, and we brainstormed together on the setting and the plot, so the credit goes to her, go ahead and check her on Tumblr <3

Warnings not in order: Cursing, hand cutting for rituals (so blood), being void of a soul (cause, demons), summoning demons, minions, souls of the damned, smut, deals with the devil, having your soul taken and turning into a demon, and hellish stuff.  

Tag: @youtubequeens

   “I mean, look at this place, Sister! It’s a dump! C’mon, pleeeease!” Your friend begged. She, along a few others belonged to a nearby coven. Although good friends, they delved into the darker aspects of witchcraft, such as demon summoning, as you stuck to herbal remedies, readings, and a little bit of scrying. Although not against the art, you weren’t well acquainted, and a little nervous.

“You don’t even need a contract! Just bind whatever poor little goblin or gremlin to you, and...you know, have it help you collect your herbs! I know, binding seems a little much, and it’s difficult to get out of one, but they can’t hurt you when bound to you.” Another friend piped up, trying further to convince you. Your gaze fell onto the chalked-up pentagram within your home, surrounded by salt and melting red candles, looking innocently out of place, almost.

“Alright, fine.” You huffed, causing squeals of victorious joy from the gaggle of girls. It wouldn’t hurt, you thought. You lived in the outskirts of the village, within a rugged hut that you called a “store”. Although it was a popular little town, you weren’t doing to well. Your place was falling apart, herbs were harder to find, and although tolerated, your witchy status had alerted and unnerved everyone, except your little coven of friends, who had hidden themselves away deeper into the forest.

Your life sucked, and with your pet familiar, the two of you kept to yourselves as you brewed supper more than potions and remedies, your Sisters popping in from time to time, checking up on you.

Your little orange rabbit snuggled into your lap as you repeated the words in Latin, trying to spark hellfire into the pentagram. No such luck.

“Aw! Is it not working? I’m suuuure my aunt gave me the right spell!” Your main friend huffed into a pout, the two other girls following her example of disappointment.

“Perhaps another time? It’s getting late, girls.” You admitted. Truthfully, you didn’t want to have to deal with more pressure, and your familiar was getting unnerved by the whole thing.

“You’re right. It was fun hanging out with you, Sis! Wish we could do this more, but you know, coven stuff.” The sweet friend smiled softly as she hugged you tightly.

“We’ll be busy, you know, coven stuff. Auntie wants us to clean out the nasty pots, restock the potions, and go on a wild, exciting adventure of grabbing rare herbs, so we don’t know when that’s going to take. Ugh, I’m not leaving, yet, and I miss you, already!” The leader of the girls whined, dramatically throwing her arm over her eyes. You couldn’t help but giggle.

      “Stay safe, okay? We’ll visit to check up on you. Give Lottie some extra treats for us!” The third one grinned, petting the rabbit. With further words, they left, leaving you warm, yet saddened and alone.  

 Many times, the fellow women of the coven had offered a place for you, so that you wouldn’t be so alone, and you appreciated that, but you knew that the coven wasn’t one for you. Although not evil, you didn’t want to join for a multitude of reasons. They had strict rules and regulations, following their leader without question as they sacrificed time and energy for reasons that the girls, although close, didn’t tell you what for.

You couldn’t help but feel that it was rather sketchy. Your eyes laid upon the pentagram as the thought crossed your mind. You weren’t fully against summoning things from the underworld, it was an aged old practice that was held with reverence from generation to generation. You held Charlotte close to you, the rabbit sniffing at the air, scenting out scents that your human nose could not deter.

“I smell nothing out of the ordinary. The salt is too strong.” Her voice echoed in your head, and you nodded your thanks. You were curious, you admitted. You didn’t really have much things to do, other than clean your stew pot, tend to the moon water, and pluck the petals off of the dried out roses.

“Something has to give, in order for you to receive.” You said aloud, the wheels turning in your head. A certain flower could help, you thought suddenly, looking at the container of dried out white lilies. You opened the jar spreading out the white funeral flowers among the edges of the Celtic symbol. The scent was almost too pure for such a deed, you couldn’t help but think.  

Carving a fool-proof plan to mind, you placed Charlotte down, and grabbed a small blade used for cutting fruits from your kitchen. The little rabbit opted to say nothing, trusting you as her witch to do what you think was best.  

You winced as you sliced a small cut into your palm, letting the little blood droplets to drip onto each flower, avoiding the salt as best as you could. Picking up a slip of paper in which had the summoning spell, you began reading the Latin out loud as you channeled your energy at the edge of the pentagram, instead of in between it.

Your breath hitched as bright orange hellfire sparked, not going past the salt as it crackled at the precious crystals and parts of the flowers. You continued speaking the verses, watching in awe as the odd underworldly flames refused to consume, instead it burned brighter at each verse.

As you finished the last sentence with a final quip, you jumped in surprise as the flames reached almost as high as the ceiling, whirling dangerously as it let out smoke and sparks, fizzling as a tall figure behind the flames seemed to crawl from the little circle, you couldn’t see who or what it was, but you were coughing as the unnatural smoke outweighed the dying fire, floating heavily away as you looked up to see your first summon.

You were choked up, not knowing what to say as your eyes beheld the sight when the smoke finally cleared from the deadened flames.  

 A demon, and not just anything in the ordinary of what you knew about them. He was tall, as tall as the men in your village, and almost resembled a human. His pointed ears were adorned with little ringlets of gold, matching the glittering bracelets and bands that were worn upon his ankles, horns, wrists, arms, and a swishing pointed tail. His attire was something you’d never really seen within your village, but you knew what it was due to your books.

He wore dark orange attire that almost resembled a Doric chiton, except the one he wore, hardly left anything to the imagination, but you weren’t focused on that, right now. What you were focused on, was the demon’s scowl of frustration and annoyance, aimed at you as his tail swished and thumped angrily at the ground, reminding you of an angry cat.  

“This fuckin’ circle’s too small! And the hell do you want? I’m a very busy man, ya know!” He growled out, taking in your smaller frame with displeasure. You were surprised by his accent, it was gruff, yes, but it was new, something that you’ve never heard, before.

“I was trying to summon something else.” You stammered, and he faltered in an angry shock, before narrowing his eyes at you.  

“Tch! Who do you think you are, summonin’ a king of hell, tellin’ me that you were tryin’ to summon somethin’ else?” He bared his teeth, and you could see little tusks peeking out from underneath his bottom lip. You gave him your name as you found yourself blurting out who knows what.

“I need a um...helper. I needed somebody to look after my hut while I collected herbs...make sure that the villagers don’t torch down my shop.” The excuse slipped out as you stood your ground. It was partially true. His stance relaxed a bit at your words.

“A magic user, huh?” He asked slowly, behavior sharply and swiftly contrasting from his angry tone, as he rested his chin onto his hand in processing the thought. Then his eyes moved onto yours. He unnerved you.

“What about it?” You asked, and he indulged you.  

“Normally, mortals such yerself can summon us with ease, only because ya need a contract. You, lil’ witch, were trying to find a binding partner, which uses magic. I may have use for you, yet.” His attitude shifted, and you couldn’t help but relax a little at the honeyed tone. What was with this demon?

“What are you talking about?” You bit out. He let out a victorious grin.

“Yer magic was so strong, it summoned me. A king of hell, a keeper of souls, n’ lord of demons. Bindin’ magic can only get ya so far, it’s pretty much unheard of a mortal summoning somethin’ greater than an ogre, or an oni.” Rolled off of his tongue, eyes now glinting with something that you couldn’t pinpoint. You were surprised. A king of hell? It did explain his jewelry and finery, you silently pinpointed. Despite the shock, you still needed to ask more questions while he was in the mood to be generous with his answers.  

“So...you’re needing me to summon demons up for you from the surface?” You offered, and he looked at you with surprise.

“No….I need you to give up your soul, and live with me in hell.” He grinned at the tight atmosphere that he was causing, you froze.

“Tell me, why would I ever want to do that? What do you even want?” You grounded out the last bit, still confused, and getting weary. Your summon had taken a toll on your body, and now you were feeling the lull of sleep due to sapped magic.  

“I have two main underlings who are like sons to me, but the three of us can only do so much in carin’ for the undead. Ya see, hell’s a very powerful place, in which it can supply a witch’s magic with ease. Ya know where I’m getting’ at?” He drawled out, and you nodded a little.

“I think somebody of yer stature could really hold the forte down. All you have to do, is just be there, n’ yer magic can calm down n’ soothe the restless dead, making this job a lot easier. Since yer magic is powerful, it’ll be extra helpful n’ dosing the souls an’ lesser devils, down. You give me what I need, an’ I can give you what you need.” He purred at the end.

The thought of being useful did appeal to you, it’s what you ever wanted. Yes, it was a terrible decision and you’ll probably end up being burned, anyway, but you remembered that a bound demon or devil cannot hurt you, no matter how powerful they were. If they hurt you, they hurt themselves.

“I’m not going to give up my soul to burn forever, to live with a demon that I’m not bound to.” You countered, and his eye twitched

“First of all, Sweetheart, my realm is in layers. Where you, I, an’ my boys live, is an environment that resembles your realm, but better. Secondly, you will be bound to me, but not as a servant or master, but as an equal. Somethin’ akin to…” He let the sentence hang as he smiled smugly at you, brows furrowed with cockiness, leering at you from his height.

“Akin to?” You egged him, and he let the rest rolled off of his tongue without hesitation.  

“My queen.”

Your brain screeched to a halt.

He laughed at your stunned expression.

“What? Ya expected me to make ya my lil’ minion? No, no, Honey, somebody with yer power, and the sheer gall to stare into my face while arguin’ with me, has already earned my respect. Yeah, you’ll have to turn into a demon, but you’ll be immortal, n’ you can visit yer friends n’ family as long as you like, if you’re powerful as me. Which, you will be.” He threw in his own bait, trying to lure you in.

Understandably, you were stunned. You just summoned a devil. Who wanted you to rule hell with him.  And to become an immortal mistress of the night who can help rule over the undead while living forever with him in his realm.

It was tempting, yes, but you were not one who really chased power. You told him, and his eyebrows furrowed, as if thinking further ways to lure you in, and to be honest? You found that you didn’t mind being swayed by a literal handsome devil.  

“Well, think about it this way, Princess, I don’t know you well, but you live in a run-down hut, the peasants fear you to the point of possible violence, and you’ve turned your attention to demon summoning. We’re both desperate for somethin’.” He looked at you thoughtfully, tail swishing as you processed it. Hell.

“What about my familiar?” You were caving in, and his gazing expression broke out into a victorious grin as his eyes slide to your rabbit.

“Sure, the lil thing can come, too. Familiars exist in hell, too, but not the cute lil’ rabbit ones. Might be a nice change to have one. Wipe away the salt, n’ we can get started.” He acted as if he had already won, and to be honest, he did.  

It was too good of an opportunity to really pass up, and you didn’t really have anybody, and good decisions in your tired state were lacking. You wiped away the salt, and he sighed with relief as he stepped out.

“Man, that tiny circle was exhaustin’ to be in. Now, let’s take you home.” He tucked a fray hair behind your ear. Smiling a devil’s smile, he held you against him, and you tried to keep your cheeks from flushing as he began a mantra of a spell in his native tongue, leaving you awed that it wasn’t the usual Latin. You couldn’t keep your eyes open as a wave of exhaustion and tiredness wafted over you, and your eyes slid shut, darkness over-taking you, but not before hearing a dark chuckle.  

…………..

Warm. You were so warm. You opened your eyes, only to be greeted by a bare chest. Your eyes widened as now you were fully conscious, furiously wondering on what the hell was going on.

“So, yer finally awake.” He hummed, and you jolted slightly, looking up at his face with pure surprise, he smiled at you as he held you close to his chest. It didn’t take you long to realize that this was his bedroom, and your mind whirled, vaguely remembering prior events. Sitting up, he whined at the loss of contact, but you paid no mind.

The room was lit up by the flickering familiar orange flames emitting from the white candles slowly melting on top of his dresser, creating a safe, sleepy, and an almost romantic atmosphere. The bed was huge, and took up a good portion of his room, but there was still enough space for some furniture such as the dresser, and a large cage. You sighed with relief, seeing the familiarity of Charlotte within, the little rabbit’s eyes now glowed with luminescence, as if she were something else. It would make sense, your familiar was no longer a normal familiar, since she was in hell, with you.    

You looked down, feeling warmed metal against your skin, and that’s when you’ve noticed your new attire. It was a chiton, like his, although a little looser, and you wore the same amount of matching golden jewelry. Your ears stung a little at the newer piercings, but you didn’t pay that much mind as you couldn’t help but think that he went out of his way to undress you and doll you up to match him. You gave him a dirty look, and he grinned in retaliation, enjoying the flushed and guffawed expression that marred your face.

“If ya’re gonna be the part, might as well look like it. I didn’t undress you fully or touch you too inappropriately, if that makes ya feel better.” He shrugged. Although you admit that he sort of have a point, still!

“What happened to me?” You opted to say instead, and he sat up along with you, you jumping slightly as his tail curled around your waist, acting as a small comfort.  

“You’re a demon. I took yer soul, and bound it to me. Wish ya could’ve seen it, ‘s so pretty an’ pure, an’ it fizzled nicely within me. Was the only way for ya to come down here, sorry.” He hummed, rubbing his cheek against yours in seemingly affection, eyes glittering as he let you process the words and his bizarre behavior.  

Demon. Were you dead? You had no heartbeat, did you? You let your hand rest against your pulse point, surprised by the soft fluttering. You looked at him with question.

“Demon, not fully dead, but not fully alive, either, an’ yeah, you’ll look forever like a human, since ya weren’t born like us. I took yer soul, and gave you one of the multiple that belongs to me. ‘S how we tie our lives together fer eternity, as if exchangin’ rings. You’re mine, and I’m yours. Romantic, isn’t it?”

“I have so many questions.” You murmured, instead. He smiled.  

“We have an eternity together, I’ll answer all of ‘em. For now, c’mon. Lemme show ya what yer magic is doing right now at this moment.” He stood up from the bed, offering you his hand, pulling you up to him as you accepted it. He opened the drapes to his balcony’s windowed doors, revealing an ashen gray sunlight that paled in comparison to the candles. Letting you take Charlotte out of her cage, he opened the doors as the two of you stepped outside.

You looked on in awe.

The balcony to your new home, an ashen gray-stoned castle, had a short amount of steps that led into a gigantic garden. You stared in amazement and joy at the flowering plants and trees that grew in your former realm. There were so many plants, you couldn’t name all of them, but you didn’t mind as you looked on in the neatly organized forage of a garden, enjoying the array of greens and different colors of flowering foliage. Your familiar squirmed, wanting to enjoy the plants and be free, and so you let her, knowing that she’ll be smart enough to stay within eyesight.    

“Beautiful, ain’t it? It didn’t look like this ‘fore you were here. Sure, some plants such as pomegranates n’ ferns grew, but since it’s such a deadened place, nothin’ really grew. I tried for centuries, n’ no such luck. It’s so beautiful ‘cause of yer magic.” His voice broke out of your thoughts, and you listened carefully as a hint of sorrow passed over his features.

���Pomegranates…?” Your mind raced to the odd familiarity of the setting. Greek clothing, the underworld, and now pomegranates? He leaned down and smirked at you, bringing your hand to his lips.

“Heh, because, ya know…” He grinned, enjoying the way you stared up at him in disbelief.

“You’re unbelievable.”

“Can’t say that I don’t have a sense of humor.” He chuckled, and you felt yourself relax, thinking of ways to steer the conversation into another turn.

“You really like this place, don’t you...um?” You wanted to curse yourself. You went through a psychological loop in becoming a queenly wife to a stranger, no less a king of demons, and you didn’t even know his name. How forgetful were you?

Ignoring your inner dread, he grinned as he held your hand within his, rubbing his thumb over your palm.

“Taishiro. Yeah, I rarely visit earth ‘cause all the shit I have to do, n’ so this is my favorite place to relax. Thanks to you, it’s blossoming quite well.” He admitted, pecking your cheek, tail flicking with delight at the prospect of your face pink with the affection. Oh, you were so cute, he crooned.

“What about the dead, Taishiro?” You wondered as you tried out, the foreign language rolling off of your tongue. He looked at you with interest, liking the way his name melded to your own dialect.  

“I’ll take ya on a little tour, how about that? Show ya what’s happenin’ and yer new home. N’ later, we can relax in our garden, take a lil’ break to enjoy our Honeymoon.” He purred, and you felt butterflies flutter nicely within your stomach and chest as you nodded.

“Yer familiar can stay outside. It never rains here, an’ she’s not really...alive, anymore. She’ll be fine.” He looked at the little rabbit that was chewing on a blade of grass, absentmindedly paying attention as you agreed, knowing that she’ll be safe.  

Without further ado, he took you back inside of the castle, beginning the day.

……...            

       It was obvious that you were still in shock, and that this wasn’t a dream. He opted to say nothing about your state, as he introduced you to the castle, and the many rooms within. Of course the first thing he had offered to show you, was the dining room, stating that you were probably hungry, and a nice breakfast had been made for you. You blushed furiously, not acquainted with such treatment, and he grinned, pinching your cheek and you huffed at him.

“C’mon, Sweetcheeks, the staff’s all here, n’ they’ve been waitin’ to see what’s been in my bedroom fer about two days.” The sentence had surprised you.

“Two days?” You looked at him owlishly, and he shrugged.

“Turnin’ a human into somethin’ else, takes a toll on the receiver. I’m surprised that it was that short, to be honest.”  

 You walked along side him as the interior looked unique and odd, nothing of it that you’ve seen before. Colors of orange, gold, and red melded into a comfortable, royal setting as the hallways twisted. Each one sported different types of framed pictures and paintings of animals, spirits, and demons of which were new to your eyes.

 Taishiro smiled at your awed and innocent wondering as he began talking, introducing you further into his world, entrancing and entrapping you into the Greek and Japanese themes that he so loved, and you couldn’t help but feel fitted in comfortably within your new home as the two of you continued on-wards towards the dining room, your stomach feeling empty.  

You talked along with him, trying to learn and get used to the idea that yes, this was your husband. Your demon husband who was oddly being affectionate with you, despite his earlier, snappish attitude. Although, you were not minding it, preferring the brushing of hands, eyes meeting yours, and little touches, rather than the first thoughts of possibly burning in hell for eternity. He intrigued you, leaving you to wonder on how were you this lucky and yet foolish. All too soon, however, he had guided you into his favorite place that was second to the garden.  

 The room was beautiful and spacious, with multiple dining ware, vases of freshly cut flowers, and cloths laid neatly upon the long table. The staff were well dressed in their own lesser version of Ionic chitons, small bands of gold littered their collars and wrists, but nothing too extravagant like you and your husband’s. He sat you down, the smell of bacon, eggs, and biscuits wafted deliciously to you from the silver plate sitting in front of you. You could feel your mouth all but water as your stomach grumbled with an awakening realization. Taishiro sat next to you, chuckling at your eagerness.  

“I know that yer not human, anymore, but we demons can live on an’ indulge on such human foods. Thank our chefs fer goin’ out onto the earthen realm, n’ huntin’ down the stuff.”

“Thank you.” Came out, and who you guessed were the chefs, bowed with gratitude. You tried not to shovel the food greedily into your mouth, paying mind to try to eat with grace. You blanched, feeling a bit of the egg yolk dribble down your chin, and you jumped as Taishiro didn’t miss a beat in taking the opportunity to swipe it from your face with his forefinger, eyeing you with a dark look mixed in with a cocky smirk as he began suckling on said finger, rolling his tongue around it, and pulling it out of his mouth with a wet pop.

You felt as if your face, chest, and ears were burning as he then groaned.  

“Delicious.”

You weren’t burning in hell with actual fire, so you guessed he had to come up with other ways, you guessed.  

The two of you finished in silence, him grinning with knowing want at your expressions, liking the way how easy and fun it was to just tease you. After saying your formal thanks to the staff, the two of you continued onward.

 Most of the rooms, other than the main bedroom, that he had led you, were guest rooms, and the others were sleeping headquarters for the staff and his underling sons. Speaking of which, it did not take you too long to be introduced to them. Cue in bright laughter, oddly mixed in with a rather gloomy aurora caught your attention, and lo and behold, down the hall is where they stood.

“Oooh! Is this her, Tai-chan?!” Noticing your presences, a red-haired young man turned his attention towards you. He nor the other young man were dressed as glamorous as the two of you, but they were unique. The red haired boy, along with the black haired one, both had pointed ears, but that’s where the line was drawn. Red had scaled, burgundy wings, furled neatly behind his back as his reptilian tail wagged slowly, he sported a sharp-toothed grin and radiated sunlight.

The gloomy man had a crystal ball within his clawed hands, cape and hood cloaking his figure as he stared at you.

“Who else would it be?” He muttered slowly, sarcasm lost on the other.

“Eijirou’s the dragon, an’ Tamaki’s the sorcerer. Boys, this is yer Queen.” Taishiro made a short introduction.  

“Nice to meet you!” As well as “Hello.” Greeted you, and you mimicked their greetings, surprised by the welcome. You replied your own greetings, feeling a bit nervous.

“Tamaki, would ya show ‘er the souls? I’d like for her to know what’s on the lower layer.”

“Sure.” Without further question, the scryer demon began murmuring his own spell as you stared into the crystal ball, watching with amazement at the sheer focus that was being put into it as it began to reveal answers to your questioning mind.

“See what yer magic’s been doin? Told ya, Nightingale, yer magic’s one of a kind, an’ yer not focusing on it, right now, but see what it’s doin’?” Taishiro gestured towards the mass of ghostly shadows within the ball. They seemed still, as if time had stopped them.

“Rather than deafening screams, wailing, and clattering of chains, we have this. They’re calm, awaiting to be reincarnated. It’s the most quiet that we’ve heard in centuries. None of us has yet the need to intervene and waste our time.” Tamaki opted to explain for you, a small hint of a smile graced his features, while Eijirou smiled warmly.

“It eases their suffering, too! Your magic to them is like a lullaby! You can’t hear it, but others can! It’s why Tai-chan’s been so calm-

“Anyway! Let’s go to the garden, yer not too tired, right? We can continue this later.” Taishiro interrupted swiftly, ruffling each boy’s heads as he gripped your hand rather gently, tugging you along back towards the familiarity of the garden, as you swore you heard two chuckles behind you.

……..

         “There is a teeny, tiny detail that I need to explain.” Taishiro dragged you further into the depths of the green foliage, slowly but surely darkening out the sunlight as you couldn’t help but shiver a little due to the anticipation. Where was he leading you? You guessed that he could see in the dark, but you couldn’t, feeling yourself stumble a little.  

“Taishiro, I can’t see.” You offered, and you heard a chuckled huff.

“Guess I gotta carry you, hm?” The sentence was your only warning. You let out a shrill yelp, feeling him lift you up with little to no effort into his arms. You liked the way how he gripped you, and seeped into his warmth as he continued walking to who knows where, and oddly enough, you trusted him.

“In order to fully complete the bond,” He startled you, as he finally broke the silence in what had seemed minutes. Setting you down, he snapped his fingers. Orange floating, flickering lights that resembled candles appeared right after, dimly illuminating the area around them. Your eyes adjusted, taking in the scenery that the lights were willing to show. It was a spacious area of smoothed down grass, white lilies and red roses crowned around it, giving it a magical, romantic feeling.

“you need to finally receive part of my power. Sure there’s multiple ways of sharing a mate’s essence, I just thought that this would be more fun.” He gave you a wink, and you felt your heartbeat quicken with a little nervousness. Yet, you found yourself not really surprised. He was your husband, after all. The thoughts of you becoming a demon, him being your mate, and that you ruled souls along with your new family, had been whirling around your head silently. It was only natural to continue, right?

“Only if you take the lead.” You offered, and he smiled, leaning down to finally mesh his lips upon yours in a secured kiss, tail swishing wildly as if joyed. Although a little snappy, he was also sweet and devilish in a teasing, fun way. You guessed that he was probably stressed from working and worrying too hard, thus you didn’t really hold it against him.

“Alright.” He led you to the clearing, laying down as he pulled you down on top, you basically straddling him, heat creeping up to your neck and ears as his clothed hardness poked at your equally clothed entrance. Not bothering to take any clothes off, he rocked his hips, groaning with guttural want as you let out a whimper, feeling the silk cloth of your clothing stimulate your clit as he rutted lazily up against it. His eyes focused up at you as he held your waist tightly, helping you rock your hips in sync with his as his tail rubbed itself against your sensitive, itching to feel you.  

“Can ya smell yer own arousal? Mixin’ in nicely with our flowers? Ya can cum anytime ya want too, okay?” He brought you down to kiss your clavicle and neck, your hands gripped his hair as your fingers threaded though the soft tresses and horns, keening as his own teeth latched onto the juncture of your throat as he suckled, minding his bottom tusks as he bit harshly, kissing the bruising skin with tenderness. You choked out a whimper as your hips bucked a little more roughly at his actions, causing him to groan.  

You could feel yourself clench with want as his precum and your wetness soaked through your undergarments, creating a slicking friction as the wet squelching noises echo through the dimly lit darkness. You looked down at him through lidded eyes, eyebrows furrowing as you bit your bottom lip, noticing that he mimicked your expression, if it wasn’t for the gritting teeth, You liked this side of him, too, you thought through your itching need to cum.  

He could tell that you were getting desperate, hell, he was, too. Yet, he wanted you to come before he did. Taking both hands away from your waist, he placed one underneath your ridden up clothing, and another cupped one of your bouncing breasts, thumb rubbing roughly over a nipple. Taking pleasure in the way that you were staring down at him, swallowing thickly, he let his hand slip into your soiled undergarments, making sure that every time your hips bucked forwards, you could feel his fingers brush against your clit.  

“T-Taishiro~!” You gasped, and he moaned, slipping two fingers in as he continued bucking, envying the digits as they stretched your tight and wet heat. Your juices were now dribbling down, creating more of a mess as his now four fingers pumped in and out of you, crooking them and stretching your walls with a gentle fervor as his dick slid between the folds of your labia, continuing to rub against your clothed clit. He ate up your desperate expression, knowing that he was no better as the both of you were about to cum. He picked up his pace as your face was buried in his shoulder, panting loudly and letting out breaths of need.  

“Y-ya know, I haven’t done this in centuries. ‘M gunna fuck you so good. Would ya like that?” He nipped at your ear, and you whined wantonly as you felt yourself tighten around his fingers, gripping them like a lifeline and he hissed as you came, cum soaking and dripping everywhere as you stilled, fingers grasped in his hair tightly, and damn if he loved that feeling. He stilled, awaiting for you to recover as you panted, lying against his chest as tears and a little bit of drool temporarily stained your flushed face. He kissed you softly, removing his soaked fingers from your fluttering heat, lust boiling within him as he imagined his cock in there.

“How do ya want this? Missionary and doggy are pretty good positions for first timers, either way, I’m going to claim you, Sweetheart.”

You looked at him through your wet lashes, as if contemplating on what you want.

“What do you want?” You asked instead, and the question caught him off guard, but he grinned.

“You.” He didn’t hesitate.

“Then have me.” You felt a blush at your own statement, but you really wanted to continue.

“Ya sure?”

“Anyway you can, Taishiro. I trust you, you’re not going to hurt me.” At this, his expression softened as he then kissed you with such a tenderness.

“I won’t, but my instincts are screamin’ at me to take ya right here on the ground.”

“Then do so. We have an eternity together, right?” You pondered, and he frowned a little.

“For your-

“I trust you.” You interrupted, looking at him dead in the eyes, as if challenging him. He couldn’t help but smile at your spitfire attitude.

“As my Queen commands.” He kissed your cheek.

It was the only warning you really had, but your blood was on fire with heat and want, and truthfully, if he wanted to hurt you, he had every opportunity to after you wiped away the salt from the pentagram.

Shedding off the both your clothing, the both of you stared unabashed at each other, a red flush tinted his face, and you were blushing furiously. You weren’t really acquainted with seeing an angry-looking cock, veins visible as a drool of precum leaked onto the ground, but here it was, twitching slightly at your intense gaze. The golden glints caught your eye, and your eyes widened with surprise.

“Y-you have piercings-!” You guffawed as he laughed.

“Oh! You’re so cute! Easy to reach’n stimulate, Babe.” He winked and you swallowed thickly as he then decided that enough time was spent staring, and now he wanted to touch you, more.  

 He placed both garbs neatly on the ground as he gently maneuvered you onto them, your stomach and breasts were cushioned as you gripped the clothing, knees on the cool grass as you basically laid out bare for him.  

 You jolted as you felt his hot, fat tongue lick a long stripe along your leaking sex and clit, his hands gripped your thighs, squeezing them gently as he decided to make a meal out of you, first. You could only lay there, whining and panting, trying to move your hips in his tight grasp as he licked you with fervor, taking extra time to suckle at your clit, chuckling as he also sopped up the extra slick running down your thighs, kissing them gently and you moaned.

“Taishiro!” You whined at him, silently pleading for him to get to the main event.

“Oh? Ya wanna be fully tainted by the devil?” He purred, and you nodded. You knew that he had to take care of his need, too, and he didn’t admit it, but he was getting a little impatient.  

“Easy there, Hon. If anythin’ bothers you, say somethin’, and we’ll stop, m’kay?” He finished, getting an affirmative from you, as he then grabbed his dick, leading it to your sopping entrance, and pushing a little bit in. He was amazed on how the muscles to your opening were loose, letting the head of his dick catch the rim, slipping a little inside.

He froze when you froze at the sudden prodding, opting instead to move his hips rather gently, not going further as you got use to the feeling of what’s already inside you. He decided that rubbing your clit was a good idea, and was rewarded as he felt you loosen up a bit, knees spreading out further as you bit your lip, feeling the gentle rubbing of calloused fingers.

“C-continue.” You murmured, feeling the other piercings now slide past the muscle. It was a delicious feeling of being stretched and stimulated, feeling yourself loosen as you took more of him in.

“Almost in, Sweetheart.” He murmured gently, his other hand rubbing soothing circles between your shoulder blades. Finally, he moved the last couple of inches inside of your burning heat as he refused to move, letting the both of you take in the feeling of being joined together.

“Ya alright?” He grunted, silently pleading for you to give your affirmative for him to move. He was relieved when you nodded, amazed at himself for gently rocking his hips as you were basically sucking him in. You were in a daze, feeling every inch, vein, and piercing churn your inside walls as your breasts rubbed against the silken clothing, clit still being stimulated as he took care of you.

“Y-you can mo-ve fa-faster, T-Taishiro.” It sounded more needy than you liked to admit, but he didn’t seem to mind. He leaned down, resting his chin against your shoulder as he basically enveloped you from above, one hand rubbing your clit, and the other holding himself from fully crushing you as he let his hips buck with more fervor, both of you seeing each other’s needy expressions.

“Takin’ me in-oh! So well, Darlin’. Ya’re s-suckin’ me in so-damn! Nicely. Don’t know ya that well, but ‘m so fond an’ proud of ya.” He kissed your cheek tenderly, contrast to his hips positioning themselves in a new angle in a snapping motion. Your head spun with stars as you felt the piercing on his tip, hit something inside you, letting out a “do that again!”. He would chuckle, if that statement didn’t turn him on so much.

“Y-you’re doing such a g-good job, too! Ah! Like y-you a lo-ot!” You admitted, trying your best to return such actions of affections. He rested his cheek against your cheek, taking his free hand to interlace his fingers with yours as he felt you tighten when he rolled his hips, aiming for the spot that kept making you clench.  

“’C’mon, cum fer me, Baby. Lemme feel ya milk a century’s worth dry.” He growled into your ear, eager at the prospect as much as you were as you suddenly stiffened, your walls tightening around him desperately as you let out a whine, chasing the fleeting feeling as you reached down and gripped his fingers onto your clit.

“T-Taishiro! O-overstim-ula-t-ed!” You cried out, tears pooling around your eyes in frustration as your body kept clenching around him and the electricity of your high was going haywire, consuming you into a mess.

“J-just a lil! More!” He tore his hand away, sitting up as he gripped one hand on your waist tightly, and the other pressed down on your back, snapping his hips, churning your sensitive walls with an animalisitc frenzy. You could only whine, laying there and taking it as your mind was in a blank state as you felt him get bigger, suddenly. To your relief, he gave one final thrust.  

A hot warmth coated your raw insides, mixing in with your own cum as you felt him still. You whined softly as you felt full. Moments passed as the two of you huffed and panted, letting the cool air chill the two of your sweaty bodies down. He pulled out of you gingerly, you whimpered at the loss as you felt cum and slick leak out. He paid no mind, plopping down to the side of you, and pulling you back onto his stomach as the two of you took each other in, cooling down from intense highs.

He cupped your face, and began trailing soft kisses wherever he could reach, and you couldn’t help but rasp out giggles, the fog clearing from your head as you descended back towards your normal mental state of closure.  

“Beautiful. Mmm, ya took me so well, an’ ya looked so pretty n’ debauched. Don’t care, I’m gunna say it, Princess. I love ya.” He admitted so softly, hands smoothing down your back as you felt your heart softened as you gazed down at him.

“I love you, too. I know for sure that I will love you more when time passes.” You kissed him tenderly, letting your own growing affections seep into the kiss, and he let out an odd guttural of purring, enjoying the fulfilling feeling of a partner doting on him. The lights flickered, as if trying to lull you to sleep, but you weren’t sleepy, yet.

“I want to talk. What’s your favorite color? Why do you purr? How did you meet your sons? I want to know every bit about you.” You murmured into his chest, peeking at him through lashes, enjoying the surprised and pleased look that you were receiving. You didn’t care about the time, letting him ramble at each question you had, enjoying the way his heartbeat quickened as his breathing chest fell up and down, him talking excitedly as he threw in his own questions, pleased to know about you, more.

“Ah~! I don’t think ya can’t get any cuter~.” He rubbed his nose against yours in affection, and you were surprised to hear the familiar purr echo through his chest.

“What about your purring?”  

“Yeah, happens now an’ then when I’m truly happy.”

“That’s wholesome and cute.” You admitted truthfully, liking the way his eyes danced with light at your confession.

“I wanna go again.” He said suddenly, and you flushed, realizing that he was stirring to life, again. You didn’t mind. You told him, and he smiled, kissing you.

“We’ll take it a lil’ more slow, this time. Face to face. Preferably ya kissin’ me, more.” He smiled, pinching your cheek playfully. You kissed him in false retaliation.

“Yer still a lil’ wet, so ya wouldn’t mind if I just-?” He asked, and you nodded, feeling his member catch onto the rim of your used entrance, the both of you moaning as he slid in easier, this time. You were wet and loosened, and instead of focusing on chasing your highs, the two of you paid attention to each other.

 Not many words were said as you did what you pleased, kissing, touching, and enjoying his softened expression at your inquisitive hands as he held onto you, returning your affectionate gestures as the atmosphere resonated with the flickering candles: soft and romantic as the two of your hips met in a slow, sensual pace, not racing against time as you felt him continue to purr, much to your satisfaction.  

You were still satisfied from earlier, but he still managed to make you cum again, this time it wasn’t as intense, but it didn’t matter, for your head cleared a little more quicker, getting to enjoy his desperate look as he quickened his pace. He looked debauched and desperate, eyebrows furrowed downward, pools of wetness gathering at his eyes as he bit his lip, only to open his mouth and call out your name as once again, he came inside of you.              

   “Damn, I think that I can forever make love to ya.” He panted out, sweaty chest rising and falling as one of your hands soothed circles around his waist, the other bringing his own to your lips as you kissed the back tenderly.

“I feel the same.” You admitted truthfully, and he let out another set of purrs.

……….

“Oh my goooooood! Oh my god! Sister! Where have you beeeeeen?! It’s been like, a year since we’ve last seen you!” Your friend hugged you tightly, relieved tears threatened to spill. Taishiro and you had decided to take a visit on the earthen realm to collect the rest of your things, if the villagers hadn’t destroyed your hut, that is. Luckily, your place was left untouched, and you came across the wondering group of girls, fretting over you, your state of dress, and looking at Taishiro with concern.

“Sis, did you finally summon a hireling? He doesn’t look like a gremlin?” One asked. You had to keep in your laughter as your husband’s eye twitched with annoyance.  

“Um, I used a different method on the summoning spell. This is my husband, Taishiro.”

“Whaaaaa-?”

“King of hell, keeper of souls, blah blah. Look, me an’ my Queen are going to go, now. Yer all annoyin’.” He griped, snapping his fingers as the portal to your home had opened, not giving your friends time to wave their goodbyes as he dragged you home, and oddly enough, you didn’t mind.

……..

          Your eyes glinted in the moonlight as the juice from the pomegranate seeds stained your lips red as you eyed the stunned man. Centuries had passed, and you and your husband had lost track of time, not aging as your magic grew in power, melding perfectly with his. Your adopted sons had moved on, finding their own mates, bringing them to your realm to visit regularly, and your love for Taishiro grew immeasurably.

  Unfortunately, since he was an ancient demon, he had to reincarnate once every one thousand years, letting his soul reset into a body although resembled his own, his memories were long gone, leading you onto a twenty-nine year old man-hunt for your reincarnated lover.

“I may have a use for you, yet.” You let the words soothe over the young magic user, his eyes widened in something akin to recognition, although confused.

“Alright, Dumplin, What’dya need?” His accent was the same, except it belonged to a young man, this time, and not a demon.

“I’m Queen of hell, lady of the lost souls, and I’m in need of a king.”

 “So familiar…” He gripped his head, eyeing you with confusion, yet there was a hint of your husband’s glint within those eyes.

“It’s because you know me. Very well.” You hummed at his confused expression.

“Alright, I’m curious. Lead me.” He gave in.

You smiled. It wouldn’t take long for the two of you to be reunited, after all.

………..

End! Give Thanks and Credit to Rita, or youtubequeens on tumblr for the idea and us brainstorming! I tried to fix any plot holes, I fell in love with the setting and mythology and other things, so I’m pretty proud of this fic :3

[riddikulus-writings]

Take A Nap

A/N: So yeah. I have a long, in depth fic for these two that's chock full of secrets and fluff and Actual Backstory but for some reason all I can write is smut. This is part two to Escapades and takes place just after the police van rolled down that hill. Also, can someone let me know if that link I tried doesn’t work? I’m still new to writing on this blue hellsite

Word Count: 1734

Pairing: Rick Flag x Female Reader [Codename Nyx, after the Greek Goddess]

Warnings: Still not really any plot, sorry guys. The plot for this is hidden elsewhere. Vaginal fingering. Semi-public sex. Dirty talk. Rick still won't shut up but he really should, though, people are trying to sleep. Choking. Uh, nothing makes sense, really? Movie innacuracies due to the fact this is now a bigger vehicle than the hippie van they were cruising around in, but the same concept still applies. 

Apparently, the van was on fire. One by one they stepped from the wreckage, walking out into the road, weapons in hand. Nyx wished she could’ve taken a picture, because she was positive they probably looked pretty cool.

Disoriented. Possibly concust. But cool.

And suddenly, rolling to a stop, was the small dusty van they'd rode to town in. Abner was in the open slider door, waving them in. DuBois puffed out his chest, "Alright. To Jotunheim."

"Not yet," Rick stopped him, "There's something else we need to do first."

"Stop standing like you have an American Flag waving behind you and get in the fucking mini bus, Flag."

Nyx's voice shook him out of his reverie; he was the last one outside. He jogged to catch the bus before it began moving faster, piling in the door and sliding it shut behind him. His eyes immediately found Nyx, seated in the very back. Rick beelined for her through the others and took up the space on her right. Peacemaker called to him from a seat up, "So, where are we going, now?"

"The Mayor's mansion in town," Rick told him, "We need to get Harley."

"Oh, I miss her," Nyx mused quietly.

Oh yeah. Rick cringed to himself, remembering the three missions he, Nyx and Harley had been on before he’d requested to Waller that Harley be benched more often than not. The first had gone by fine, minimal issues. The second was better. No deaths, no infighting amongst the Squad. Nyx had loosened up around other people by then and banter even happened. And the third--

Ain’t it normally the gal makin’ heart eyes at the guy and not the other way around, Ricky?

He’d shaken his head and given Harley a stern glare for assuming things. Harley had simply given him her smuggest million dollar grin and continued about her own business and not his.

“Suicide Squad to Mr. Flag,” a hand was waving in his eyes, slowly coming into focus. It was Nyx’s hand, but Cleo’s heavily accented voice, “What’s the plan?”

Rick cleared his throat, looking among his teammates, “Peacemaker high up, across the street. Sniper for any possible danger. Cleo,” he pointed at her, “Abner and, uh… Sebastian… are around back. Take out any guards back there. DuBois scales the wall to the top, Nyx and I keep watch.”

“Question,” Nyx raised her hand up, “Why can’t we just walk in the front door?”

"That would give us away," Peacemaker told her blatantly, "Instant capture. Dumb idea."

"You're a dumb idea," she retorted, "Actually, a bad idea was bringing you along."

Whoa. Everyone's eyebrows shot up, "Nyx, what the fuck? No infighting. Knock it off," Rick's voice was low but firm with authority.

"He's-- he's got bad vibes about him," Nyx's words slurred, "I-I just don't like him."

"No one does," DuBois told her, patting the very quiet Peacemaker on the shoulder, "Everyone try to get some rest before we get to town. It's going to be a while."

The rest of the team hunkered down in their seats, leaning against their respective windows or leaning forward with their heads against the seat ahead of them. Cleo snuggled into Nanaue's side, and Peacemaker went as far as laying completely flat on his back, his thick splayed legs hanging in the aisle.

Rick reached over and tugged Nyx across the bench seat they were seated on, sliding her into his side, "What’s up between you and Peacemaker?" His voice was quiet, muffled against the hair at her temple.

She ducked away from him a little, tucking her head under his chin, "I've been with him a bit longer than you have. I just… can't explain it but I don't like him. He makes me uneasy."

Rick's thumb started rubbing circles in her hip, "So many trust issues."

"I have my reasonings," she yawned up at him, "Secret reasonings."

"Oh, I'm sure you do," he whispered, grabbing her chin with his free hand so he could look her in the eye. The dim moonlight through the window made her eyes seem almost black, "Extra secret reasonings, huh?"

Nyx leaned closer, staring at his mouth instead of his eyes, "Top secret."

Rick hummed in agreement and closed the gap, sealing his mouth over hers. He wasted no time dipping his tongue into her mouth, drinking in her moans before they could get too loud. He gently pushed on her, laying her down across the length of the seat. Rick followed her down, nestling himself between her legs. Nyx planted a foot on the seat beside Rick’s thigh as he hitched the other into the crook of his elbow, “Gonna be quiet?” he asked quietly, lightly peppering kisses down her neck. Sucking on her now-exposed collarbone.

She whined, a breathless whisper as she nodded desperately, trying to grind her hips against something. Rick moved back up, his free hand moving around her neck, “Quiet.”

He slowly lowered her leg, her boot softly hitting the floor. Rick sent a sidelong glance through the rest of the dark bus, and so far no one had moved from their previous positions. Thank God for that. What a sight they’d wake up to; Nyx spread over the only bench seat here, Rick looming over her, a hand around her throat. They’d either think he was trying to kill her, or get very uncomfortable very fast and ask him to stop.

Which, he wasn’t about to do whether someone woke up or not.

He turned his attention back to the panting woman beneath him, raising an eyebrow at the grin spread over her face. The more pressure he applied to her throat, the wider her lips spread. His right hand worked at the buttons of her black pants, “Filthy little thing,” he muttered, “There’s other people on this bus.” Rick snaked his hand down the front of her pants, stroking down her dripping sex, “All for me?”

“That is you,” she panted out, grabbing the back of his head to pull him down for another searing kiss. When he scooped his cum back up with two fingers and pushed them inside, Nyx bit his bottom lip so hard he was sure she’d drawn blood. He leaned into it, pushing his tongue on her mouth again as he worked his fingers and scissored her open.

“Quiet,” he admonished, again, pressing his free hand against her throat once more. He pinned her to the seat, squeezing his hand as tight as he’d let himself, “Gonna wake everyone up,” he breathed out, his nose brushing against hers.

Again, Nyx’s grin grew, her pearly teeth glowing in the shards of moonlight passing through the windows, “Good.”

Rick almost growled but couldn’t without fear of waking someone up. Instead he buried his face in her shoulder, “Fuckin’ filthy little thing,” he repeated, curling his fingers against that certain spongy spot he’d found that made her grind hard into the palm of his hand, “Gonna be a good girl and keep me in there?” She whined out a high pitched yes but otherwise stayed breathless, quiet pants crawling up her throat and Rick wanted nothing more than to shove his cock in her open mouth. He pulled up from her neck, almost sneering with the strain of trying to stay quiet as he worked his thumb up to the peak of her cunt, “Want you to cum all over my hand, sweetheart. Gonna do that for me? See if you can stay quiet.”

“Bastard,” was the whimper he got.

“That’s not very nice,” he told her, pressing his thumb hard on her clit. Her arm suddenly flew up to cover her face, Nyx burying her face in the crook of her elbow as Rick buried a third finger deep in her cunt, his thumb rubbing fast circles. He moved his hand from her throat, sliding it instead to her hip to hold her down as she bucked into his hand, “C’mon, almost there. I got you,” he muttered.

Her hips stuttered, low whines coming muffled by her elbow. She was choking his fingers and he had to remove one so he could keep them moving, working her through her orgasm. Rick’s hand got soaked suddenly and she went limp, her only movement coming from her chest that moved with rapid breaths, “Bitch.”

Rick tugged her arm from her face as he slid his hand from her pants, “What’s the matter, Nyx?”

“I--” she panted out, “hate being-- quiet.”

He flashed her a bright grin and tugged her pants back into place, giving her stomach a gentle pat, “You didn’t have to,” a quick peck on the lips, “But it would’ve been a bit awkward for the others. Especially when I wouldn’t stop.” Another whimper, and he raised an eyebrow at her, but simply stuck his fingers in his mouth.

“I’m going to sleep,” she whispered, dropping her hand off the side of the seat. Her knuckles brushed the floor. The other arm folded behind her head.

“I sure fuckin’ hope so,” DuBois grumbled from somewhere up front. “You two are disgusting.”

"No one told you to listen," Rick shot back, his whisper loud enough for DuBois to hear over Nyx's stifled giggles. Rick was grinning, though; thankfully Bloodsport couldn't see it.

"Someone needs to nap," Nyx murmured, a small smirk plastered over her mouth, "He sounds cranky."

“You ain't laying down there,” Rick suddenly tugged her back up to snuggle into his side, his arm draped over her shoulders as he scooted them both to the end of the seat, “Leanin’ or layin’?”

“Lay,” she yawned.

He turned and pressed his back to the window, head lolling to the side to lean on the seat. After some shuffling, she was between his legs, back to his chest. HIs arms wrapped around her, one leg from each of them on the seat and the other leg on the floor. They looked like they had the same boots on. Nyx nuzzled her head into his shoulder, “Y’smell nice…”

“I smell like jungle and sweat,” he chuckled, his laugh vibrating through her, “And blood. Go to sleep.”

And they both dozed off like that, just as they had several times before on Nyx’s couch. Their breathing evened, Nyx drooling a little onto Rick’s bicep. Rick shifted in his sleep and snugged her closer to his chest.

[swagpeachperfection]

Here is my in-depth The Smoothie Diet review. I hope most of the people reading this can relate me along with me! From my childhood itself, I was a bit chubby, but that I found cute and never cared off. After that, I joined my college and my lifestyle changed drastically. Staying awake late nights, eating unhealthy junk foods.

Late-night study during the examinations, all these habits led me to put on weights. More weight. But I hardly cared. After my graduation, like most people, I too have desk work. After our office, we hardly get any time or energy left with going to any fitness regime.

The Smoothie Diet Review: 21-Day Smoothie Diet Plan For Weight Loss!

Munching on fast foods as they are easily available and cheaper. People never realize things until they experience things. Once I went for a regular checkup, and I was diagnosed with high blood pressure and other severe chronic diseases. Now my life was at stake. And that’s when I realized I need to gear up and went through various articles and found The Smoothie Diet review.

Most of the diets followed starving, which I knew would lead me to eat more foods on the very next meal. But somehow while going through the internet I found this weird diet, which provided you with the daily vitamins and minerals you require, without involving cooking or other stuff- yes! The smoothie diet pdf. It may sound weird, but yes it really works.! Let us discuss more in The Smoothie Diet review.

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About The Smoothie Diet Program

This is a type of food habit which really works for people who want to start their weight loss journey in a healthy manner. It works mainly for the people who are occupied in a busy schedule and face problems in preparing everyday meals. In The Smoothie Diet diet plan, you replace two of your main meals, preferably breakfast and lunch with smoothies.

The third meal you can have solid food, but keep in mind to have a lower calorie food. Scouts also allow a “cheat meal” every week, but only a few recommended ones, mentioned in The Smoothie Diet e-book. The Smoothie Diet is a 21-day cycle, power-packed with nutrition and vitamins and you can follow anytime you want to shed some pounds.

The ingredients of the smoothies may vary, mainly depending on fruits, vegetables, protein, and few healthy fats. Follow the recipes in the e-book to prepare your solid meal food. The meal should not be high in calories or else it not come up with the desired results. The Smoothie Diet guide also helps you with some high-fiber snacks and low sugar options.

The Smoothie Diet review contains two plans. The first one — “The Detox plan”, where you replace all your three main meals with healthy smoothies which keep you feel fullness all day long.

Another plan includes the 21-day plan where you replace two meals with a smoothie and have one solid food with a few snacking.

You can also modify sometimes, following a “flex day”- where you have a smoothie followed by two meals. But The Smoothie Diet pdf is not recommended for people having food allergies. So consult a doctor or get a regular checkup before starting a Smoothie diet for weight loss.

The Smoothie Diet Manufacturer

The Smoothie Diet Pdf was created by Drew Sgoutas, a certified Nutrition Expert and Health Coach. He believes in home cooking with all the real ingredients. He is the one who throws his heart and soul into success. And that what led to this revolutionary diet The Smoothie Diet program.

Pros and Cons of The Smoothie Diet Ebook

Pros

The Smoothie Diet involves having smoothies, which are mainly from fruits and veggies. They are usually low in calories and provide you with the daily phytonutrients, being a part of your healthy diet.

l Less counting on calories

As per The Smoothie Diet review, Most of the famous diets and weight loss programs count on calories. But as we are aware that fruits and veggies are lower in calories, you don’t need to get involved in counting the calories all day long. The recipes provided in the Smoothie Diet for weight loss program don’t involve much decision-making process which is an added advantage for all working people.

l Go easy with the shopping

This three-week diet plan covers the shopping list every week at the starting itself. The diet plan contains a broken-down shopping list helping you in your shopping. This makes your grocery store visit much easier during this 21-day smoothie diet plan. Apart from the above-mentioned pros, there are various studies showing the effectiveness and sustainability of the diet plan.

Cons

l Maintaining the micro-nutrients

Most of the smoothies have their calories from carbohydrates, and very little protein and fats. It is recommended to have a protein intake of at least 50 grams daily to maintain a healthy lifestyle. So the Smoothie Diet recommends getting the daily need from the snacks. Go through The Smoothie Diet review thoroughly before following the plan, or you may fall out. If you are replacing your meals with these smoothies make sure to get your fats and proteins. Try to add some chia seeds and flax seeds. They help to thicken up your smoothies as well as provide you with essential micronutrients. Get a good source of lean protein, those help you to build muscle, helping you to maintain a higher metabolism. Having various nuts and seeds in the snack may do the trick.

l High Sugar Content

This 21-day Smoothie diet contains a lot of fruits. Fruits are known to the natural source of sugars. There are many smoothies that call for the addition of honey and another sugar substitute, which only adds calories to them. So all these are not recommended to people having medical problems. A peanut butter smoothie is a healthy option as it’s protein-rich with no added sugars. Some of the smoothies are too thick to drink, so most people add juices to thin them down. But avoid doing so, rather add water to make it dilute or ice can be an alternative to thicken them up. Get the right amount of thickness without adding more calories by switching to alternatives.

l Time- taking

If you are staying at home, then making two smoothies can be a bit less pain in the ass, still cleaning up the bender each time you have one. And as a working professional. Having a smoothie in your breakfast is pretty easy, but what about lunch? You cannot have all the necessary ingredients when you are away from home. Right?

l Fails in the long run

When you start the Smoothie Diet, your body goes through a drastic change in cutting down the calories. As vegetables and fruits are lower in calories and also devoid of the essential proteins and healthy fats. Replacing solid meals with liquids may help you at the beginning and you may see noticeable results, but when you start getting into your previous daily diets, you tend to get weight again. So The Smoothie Diet e-book and The Smoothie Diet review suggest following the diet frequently, which is not always a healthy option.

Why The Smoothie Diet book is Useful, Is it a Scam?

Not only for weight loss. Your body sometimes requires detoxification. This 21-day smoothie diet plan will help you to follow a detox plan, removing all the impurities from your body. You feel light and energetic restoring all the lost minerals and vitamins.

It does no harm to your body. They are lesser in calories. Ramp them up with protein and healthy fats making them tasty as well as to get the added benefits from it.

The Smoothie Diet User reviews 2021

While surfing the internet, you will get a number of The Smoothie Diet customer reviews who received benefits following the diet. Not this, The Smoothie Diet ebook provides you with various case studies of the people following the diet plan and getting unexpected results.

==> Download The Smoothie Diet Program

The Smoothie Diet Reviews — Final Verdict

The Smoothie Diet ebook provides you with numerous recipes, but to see results you need to maintain the proportions. Make your habit to have a healthy smoothie once a day in the long run. Try to tally the calorie count and know how much you need to consume in every meal, The Smoothie Diet will save you from all the common weight loss mistakes.

Use strawberries, blueberries, and apples in your smoothies. They are rich in antioxidants. Try to have smoothies as well, including spinach and kale. They are rich in minerals, vitamins, and potassium as well. To make your smoothie thick try using ice. If you are a peanut butter lover, go for the powdered one, avoid the creamy spread. And for natural sweeteners add mangoes or bananas, The Smoothie Diet will keep you away from the extra fats and artificial sugar.

Last not, whether you want to lose weight, or just want to follow a healthy lifestyle. Download now, The Smoothie Diet pdf and ebook, and head toward the kitchen. The Smoothie Diet is not a scam, try it today and share your The Smoothie Diet review along with us! Happy dieting!

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

What is The Smoothie Diet?

It was a 21-day smoothie diet is an e-book prepared by Drew Sgoutas which contains a schedule and recipes for three weeks instructing what smoothies to be taken for each day.

Does The Smoothie Diet program good for weight loss?

This diet will help you shed approximately 2 or 3 pounds per week. You should expect to get rid of up to 50–70 pounds if you repeat this diet plan several times.

Are there any side effects by using The Smoothie Diet program?

No need to worry about any kind of side effects from the smoothie diet. Because there are no recorded side effects of the 21-day smoothie diet as it is prepared at home and is completely natural.

Why The Smoothie Diet is useful?

This program is not only for weight loss, but it will also help you to follow a detox plan, removing all the impurities from your body. You feel light and energetic restoring all the lost minerals and vitamins.

Who was the creator of The Smoothie Diet program?

The smoothie diet was created by Drew Sgoutas, a certified Nutrition Expert and Health Coach.

==> Download The Smoothie Diet Program

[fidothefinch]

Occupied Space

For Whumptober, Day 9: “Run!”

Read on Ao3

“Robin to Batman,” Tim tried for the third time. “Come in, Batman.” He tried to curb the panic leeching into his voice, but that meant curbing the panic leaking into his psyche, too.

His comm only gave him loud static in reply. Tim blinked hard, struggling to listen for any noise past it and the ringing in his ears. There had been unfamiliar footsteps outside his door, earlier, and Tim had had to hold his breath in hopes the intruder wouldn’t notice him, jammed beneath the computer desk he had been working on earlier.

No answer.

He adjusted his stance, wrapping his cape around his knees to keep himself warm. At least he had thought to modify the Robin costume; he couldn’t imagine doing this in shorts. “Is anybody there?”

There was a clang from the hallway, and Tim backed up further beneath the desk. He tried to convince himself it was the backup system kicking in, but he also knew that it should have turned on the second the main system went offline.

But whoever had attacked the Justice League Headquarters must have disabled them. The satellite was a sitting duck.

This wasn’t how Tim had thought the day would go. It was supposed to be a quick trip; a send-off for a few members of the League. Heck, Tim had math homework he was supposed to finish when he got home.

Batman had come to go over final details of the peace treaty with the League members who were leaving; Robin was there to help him do routine maintenance on the security afterward. Tim had just finished getting into the system when the entire satellite lurched, throwing him and everything on his desk to the side. He had definitely hit his head on something in his tumble.

By the time he had regained his balance and found his computer, he had had the honor of watching real-time as the security system, and the engine, and the communication system failed.

And then the power went out, leaving him in the dark.

“Robin to Justice League,” he whispered. His breath burned in his nose from the cold.

Dead silence.

“Batman to Robin.”

At the same time, the emergency lights kicked on, casting an eerie blue tint to the world.

Tim’s heart fluttered. The voice was quiet, probably whispered. Which meant that Bruce was either already caught and trying to hide it, or he was also hiding from their attackers. Neither option made him feel any better.

“I’m here, Batman,” he whispered back. He ducked further under the desk so he was less likely to be heard. “Where are you? What’s going on?”

There was silence long enough that Tim almost thought he had imagined it. He was really alone on this satellite, doomed to—

“The Vattirott lied to us. They attacked before we could make the deal.”

Tim sucked in a breath. The Vattirott were a species uninvolved in the peace treaty negotiations, though they had been considered as a third party because of their familiarity with both aliens’ cultures from their trades with them. They were dismissed as an option when the League realized they traded in unique war ship engines.

Nobody had thought that they would be so desperate for that profit they would actively break the peace.

But here they were.

Tim squared his shoulders. He knew a little about the Vattirott, even if it wasn’t much. Batman had made sure of it, just in case. They were a species native to the colder climate of an outer planet’s moon, so it was unsurprising they would risk cutting off the power. They had enough air here to get them through a few more hours. Most of the League would freeze to death before they suffocated.

Nope. Not thinking of that.

Heat. If the Vattirott liked the cold, then they were probably vulnerable to heat. If Tim could reach the engine room—

“Robin. Stop.”

Tim blinked. “Stop what?”

“It’s too dangerous.”

“Can you read my mind now?”

Tim imagined that, had the situation been any less tense, he may have gotten a grunt of humor-acknowledgement for that one. As it was, the voice on the other side of the comm hitched.

Tim froze. Ice flooded his veins. “Bruce?”

“Need to retreat.” His voice was definitely strained.

Tim steeled himself and risked peeking around the corner of the desk. The room was eerily quiet without the hum of the engines or air systems. Random objects were still strewn all over the floor from where they had been flung at the moment of impact. His breath fogged up in front of him, a cool blue haze.

The Vattirott war ships were designed to be sturdy enough to take a beating. The satellite had probably been hit by one of their ships. The ships were big.

In the privacy of the dim room, Tim gulped. The satellite could be swarming with them, by now. “Where are you?” he asked again.

“There is an escape pod off the third floor. I don’t think that the intruders have located it yet. When you get there, use the computer override to get in. I’m coming from the observatory. I’ll meet you there.”

“We should travel together so we can watch each other’s backs.”

“It’s too far.”

“But—”

“Robin.” His voice was stern now. It had risen in volume enough to make Tim wince at the difference, but it softened again with his next words. “I’ll be right behind you.”

Tim knew he was making a face, but nobody was here to see it. “Okay.”

There was a relieved sigh over the comm. “Make sure the hallway is clear before you go. They are still looking for survivors.”

Tim nodded, even though nobody was there to see it. He peeked around the corner of the desk again, and, finding and hearing nothing, rose to his feet and darted silently across the room. He plastered his back to the wall next to the door and strained his ears.

The Vattirott had six muscular tentacles for legs; he wouldn’t hear footsteps. But he didn’t hear breathing, either, so it was with muscles tensed that he pressed his hand to the hollo-pad that would open the door.

It opened. Tim let out a breath of relief. Clear. He repeated as much to his comms.

The hallway stretched out to either side, metal sliding doors at regular intervals along them. Luckily, Robin had been forced to memorize the blueprints of the satellite before being allowed to step foot on it, so it was with confidence that he started off to the left at a brisk pace.

The emergency lights flickered, and winked out. Tim slowed down to pull out his bo staff. “Batman?” he whispered. “The lights went out.”

“The power network is still trying to repair itself. Keep moving.”

Tim nodded.

The weight of the staff was comfortable and familiar, two things the dark, freezing hallways were not. It wasn’t long before he found himself skimming it along the ground, in order to avoid tripping over any obstacles. He knew he had reached the intersection of the next two hallways when the sound of his staff skimming along the ground grew suddenly louder, reflecting back at him from the wall in front of him.

“Report.”

Tim turned his head left and right, even though the gesture was pointless in the darkness. “I don’t think anybody’s—”

He turned left, and his staff hit something softer than the wall. Hot, acrid breath spilled down into Tim’s face. Oops. “Uh. Hi.”

“Run!”

Tim didn’t need to be told twice. He pivoted on his feet, feeling his cape react to a near-missed swoop of a tentacle. Without a second thought, he began to sprint in the opposite direction.

There was nothing to see ahead of him, so there was nothing to distract him from the hissing sound of the tentacles sliding along the floor behind him, much too closely for his comfort.

He blindly turned a corner, expecting to loop back around and get back on his way to the escape pod, and let out a loud oof as he met something solid where the hallway should have been. Before he could recover, long, flexible appendages wrapped around his body, squeezing tight enough it made it hard for him to breathe.

Crap. Crap crap crap.

“Robin?”

The tentacles lifted him off his feet. One of them twisted around his wrist and squeezed until he was forced to drop his bo staff. It clattered to the ground, and by the sounds of it, rolled away.

Had he said ‘crap’ yet?

The alien that had been chasing him caught up, by the sound of it. “It is smaller than the others.” Its voice was a quiet hiss.

If Tim had had more room to move, he may have jolted when they started to speak English. As it was, he managed to land a heavy kick to one of the cold appendages.

The alien holding him didn’t react more than to grab his leg, too, flipping him nearly upside-down in an effort to keep him still. “Yes, but it was armed for battle.” It had the gall to shake him.

Some of his things were knocked loose from his utility belt. “Hey!”

That earned another shake, helping his blood settle in his head and add pressure to his already-annoying headache.

“Take it to the ship with the others.”

The ship? He was supposed to be home by 9! “Wait—”

“The younglings are smaller in this species; it may be the child of one of the others.”

“Are they protective?”

“Usually.”

The world swayed as the tentacled alien started to move down the hallway. From the sound of things, the other one continued in the other direction.

“Robin. Come in, Robin.”

Tim licked his lips. “Uh, hey, B.”

“What happened?”

Tim tried his best to remain nonchalant, even as his stomach swooped with every slithery step the alien took. “Met an alien. We’re hanging out.”

There was a sound suspiciously close to a curse. “Hold on.”

Tim didn’t think there was much to hold on to, but he reached his hands as far as he could anyway.

His fingers could just barely brush his belt.

An idea struck Tim. With a little bit of extra strain, he was able to flip open a pocket on his belt. Items tumbled out past his face, but he paid it no mind. Instead, he pulled out the pack of matches he kept and dragged it along the length of the scaly tentacle holding him.

The alien screeched, recoiling from the heat and light. The wavering orange light illuminated a horrifying creature, pale white scales protecting the half-dozen tentacles spilling out of the lower half of its body like pasta from a pasta maker. It had a dozen large eyes set around its top half, and they all glistened with moisture in the light.

Tim only had a second to ‘admire’ the view before it dropped him to the floor. He nimbly rolled out of the fall, narrowly avoiding landing on his head. He couldn’t stop the grunt the effort took him, though. Without a moment to spare, he used his momentum to spring to his feet and took off running.

The alien screamed and followed.

“Robin?”

“On my way,” Tim huffed. Except there was an alien back down the hall. When they passed another hallway intersection, Tim ducked down it. The emergency lights here were back online, illuminating the length of clear hallway leading to the other side of the ship. If he reached the end and turned right. . .

“Rebreather.”

Without a second of hesitation, Tim hooked his rebreather around his face, thankful the clip had held it to his belt through his rough handling earlier. Not a moment after he had secured it, the vents around him kicked on and a cloud of white gas spewed out into the hallway.

The gas stung in his eyes, but from the sounds of it, it more literally burned the alien. It’s screech was garbled, and it fell behind.

Tim blinked reflexive tears from his eyes and redoubled his efforts. As he approached the end of the hallway, he let himself lament leaving his bo staff behind earlier. He had to slow down to check both ways before deciding the coast was clear.

He took the turn and glanced behind himself. Nobody was following him. “Batman?” he asked, suddenly unsure of something.

“What is it?” his voice wasn’t garbled by his rebreather. He wasn’t breathing hard from exertion.

The pieces began to fall into place, and Tim slowed down. “Where are you?”

There was a deafening silence from the other side of the comms.

Heart in his throat, Tim pivoted to go back. “Batman—”

“I’m right behind you. Keep going.”

Bull. “I’m not—”

“That’s an order.”

Tim’s eyes found the gleam of the nearest security camera. Bruce should have been working on them from the control room when the satellite had been hit. Tim pointed an accusatory finger into the lens. “You’re lying to me.”

“Get to the escape pod.”

Tim bit his tongue. Maybe it was the stress of trying to navigate a ship swarming with enemies blind, or maybe it was the anxiety that followed the realizing he would be travelling back to Earth alone, but he felt angry. “No.”

“One of us has to get back and warn the others. You had the greatest chance of making it.”

“No!”

“And you are wasting it.”

It was like a slap to the face. Tim reflexively straightened his posture. He took a deep breath, rebreather filter forcing him to take it slowly. “I—”

“Duck.”

Tim’s reaction was a little too late, and a heavy tentacle hit the top of his head. He stumbled sideways, shoulder hitting the cold wall of the hallway. The hit made the ringing in his ears louder.

It didn’t stop him from hearing the crash, from the other side of the comm.

Tim’s attention split, half focusing on leaping and dodging tentacles like the world’s most difficult game of Double Dutch, the other half listening to the grunts and crashes of a fight through his comm. He pulled his matches out and thought better of it, unsure which chemicals had been poured into the hallway earlier and unwilling to risk causing an explosion.

He would have to make a run for it.

When he saw an opening, he took it, flipping through a loop of tentacles and rolling back into a sprint. When he rounded the corner, light spilled out of an open hatch. Tim whooped, forcing his legs to move faster. “I have eyes on the pod.”

At the same time, a hissing voice sounded through his comm. “Put him with the others.”

Tim leapt through the doors of the pod, and Bruce must have overridden the security for him because they snapped closed behind him automatically. Tim tried not to dwell on the thought that Batman hadn’t even planned to escape with Robin.

The alien that had been chasing him screamed and beat against the other side of the door. Nothing would get through it; the hatch was sealed.

Tim had just enough sense to get buckled into one of the seats before the pod disengaged from the satellite.

As he shot through empty space, Tim’s resolve hardened. Screw his math homework.

“I’m coming for you, B.”

[aquidragon]

Purple (Part 1)

Spencer Reid x Reader Summary: Spencer sometimes considered his eidetic memory a curse, however when he spots a gorgeous woman crossing the street with a purple ribbon, he can’t help but fall heads over heels for her. However, there’s more to her than it seems... Warning(s): Mentions of blood and alludes to violence Word Count: 2.2k A/N: Here’s my first ever x reader series! Thank you to @criesinreid​ for beta-reading this for me! (Part One: Here) (Part Two: x) (MASTERLIST) ---

---

      Spencer Reid POV

It was a sunny Tuesday morning when I saw her, with beautiful h/c hair that was tied with a purple ribbon. Maybe it was because of the color, since purple was my favorite, but I felt like I was drawn to her. I watched with a rather stupid expression as she walked past me, with a wide smile from across the street. I felt my heart flutter and my face get warm. She was gorgeous. My eidetic memory allowed me to picture her smile and her shining h/c hair as she chased after her friends. After a few days, I caught myself imagining holding her hand and taking her out on dates. Would she like attending the library with me? What kind of genres did she enjoy? I could tell that she at least could read, since she was holding a few books close to her chest as she ran. I could no longer focus the book I held in my hands, the words seemed jumbled and scrambled. Nothing made sense, except for the woman that had blessed my very mind. The few seconds that I had my eyes on her, I couldn’t get her picture out of my vision. I let out a small sigh as I closed my book, allowing my mind to drift to her again.

“Pretty boy has got a crush.” The familiar teasing voice of my colleague joked from right above me. I looked up from my slouched position on the jet’s couch, I snorted, brushing over my lower lip with my tongue. “I-I don’t have a crush.” I responded, which I knew wasn’t convincing as Morgan laughed and took a seat beside me. 

“Come on, you’ve been staring out into space.” He gently patted my shoulder, his dark eyes just dancing with playfulness. “So, who is she?” The older FBI agent asked, earning a small groan from me. “I told you I don’t have a crush.” I unintentionally let my voice lift up an octave, which gave away my lie. The look on Derrik’s face made me sigh and finally give in. “I saw this girl across the street from the coffee shop I frequent before work, Morgan she is the most beautiful woman I’ve ever laid eyes on.” I knew it was rather dramatic, but it was true. “Well, did you get her number?” My co-worker asked, I shook my head sadly. “I didn’t get to her, she was running after some friends.” The sinking feeling in my chest began to drag down my mood. I suddenly felt like a dunce, how couldn’t I have just ran to her, asked for her name, her number, anything? 

I cursed my inept ability to flirt, or talk to women in general. Looking at my friend made my brain begin to curse itself. I wasn’t as confident as Morgan, I couldn’t even cross the street to go after the girl that I was really fond of. This made me bring my hands up to my face, I dragged my palms over my eyes, I was much too tired to think too much about my hopeless attempts at relationships. 

Morgan must’ve noticed my downwards spiral into hopelessness, because he patted my shoulder a few more times as the plane began to shake into the descent. “Hey don’t lose hope, she might live in DC, maybe you’ll see her again.” I looked up at him again, rubbing one of my eyes as the pressure rapidly changed. “How? Morgan I can’t just search DC for her, there’s 705,749 people that live in DC.” I challenged, hopelessness sinking deeper into my chest. I also felt frantic, I felt this paranoid need to find this woman again. 

Morgan laughed, shaking his head. “Oh I know you Doctor Spencer Reid, you’ll find this woman.” Before I could respond with more statistics about the likeness of me running into a random person I hadn’t even met, the plane started to rumble on the runway. The rest of my team all groaned as they were awoken from their naps on the five hour flight we had just endured in Seattle. 

After the plane was landed, I begrudgingly dragged my suitcase behind me towards the BAU offices. I wasn’t looking forward to doing paperwork, usually I could whisk through them with ease, but the nagging feeling in my heart made it impossible to think. All I could think about was her, and that purple ribbon that bounced with her movements as she ran. I scuffled all my paperwork back into a file, I would fill it out tomorrow morning, after my third coffee of the day. I was just about to leave when I heard the soft voice of my closest friend. 

“Leaving so soon Spence?”  JJ asked tiredly, I could tell that she was struggling to keep her eyes open. “Yeah- I’m too tired to do paperwork tonight.” I responded briskly, bringing up three of my fingers to rub one of my eyes. “Wow, Spencer Reid, too tired to do paperwork?” The teasing voice of Penelope came next, her entire body was limp and exhausted. I couldn’t help but crack a small smile, gathering up the last of my stuff. “Yeah-I have plans” I responded nervously. I couldn’t tell Penelope that I had a crush on a girl I randomly laid eyes on. I’m sure I could just tell the woman that the mystery girl owned a purple ribbon and she could find my crush within a couple hours. Tops. 

“Ooo plans?” Garcia asked, a little bit of excitement glittered in her eyes. I opened my mouth to tell her that it was just a trip to the library, but Morgan stepped on. “Woah now Baby Girl, we can’t have our pretty boy here giving away his secrets.” He sent a wink at me, which made me chuckle. “I gotta go guys, see you on Monday.” I walked out of the office, heading towards the silver elevator that would take me to the main floor. 

Now, I normally don’t believe in dream analysis. There’s just not enough evidence to prove that our dreams are somehow linked to ourselves. However, the events in my dream felt so unbelievably real. I saw the woman again, with her gorgeous h/l hair and sparkling e/c eyes. We were in a void, which reminded me of being underwater. My hair was fanned around my head, as if I was swimming. I looked back over at the woman, her hair was also floating around her pretty face. The purple ribbon was no longer on her head, but instead it was tied around her pinky finger. 

“Spencer, look!” She spoke, but her voice was echoed, and sounded like a weird mix of voices. “We’re connected.” I blinked, confused. “Connected?” I muttered to myself, before I felt a tug at my pinky finger, making me look down. Just like the woman’s, a purple ribbon was tight around my finger, and led just to her pinky. 

I let a joyous laugh bubble out of my chest. “I guess we are.” I looked back at the girl, she was now closer. Her face was slightly blurry, but it also seemed so clear.  She seemed sad, from the way her hands floated over my shoulders. “Please find me.” The woman with the purple ribbon whispered, her voice softening. “I need you.” Then I heard gunshots, screaming, and a woman screaming for help. I moved to protect the girl, but she was gone, I was now in a decrepit looking house. I unholstered my gun, approaching the door where I heard the noises. Blood began pouring from the crack between the door and floor. I let out a scream.

And then I woke up

---      Y/N L/N POV

Any method to get away from my psycho family was a win for me. Even if it meant hanging out with my shitty friends from high school, who did nothing but cause trouble and get high. Now I didn’t really have an issue with people getting high, I once dabbled in it when I was in my early college years. I only stopped when I started to fall behind in my classes. 

So today, I decided I was going to the cute little coffee shop I passed after stopping at the library. I’ve been in a desperate need for coffee anyway. Looking into the mirror of my vanity, I cautiously applied makeup to my face. Brushing a hint of blush onto my cheeks as I smiled at myself. I loved makeup, maybe it was because my parents never let me use it growing up. They believed it was “against God's will” or yadda yadda. 

It didn’t matter anymore, I lived in my own shitty apartment, so I could do whatever I wanted to myself. After finishing up the last touches to my face, I reached over to tie my ribbon. I didn’t know why, but I was always drawn to the color purple, so I bought a lot of purple-colored accessories. My ribbon was my most prized accessory though, I could tie it in my hair in whatever way I saw fit.

So, I tied it in my favorite way before admiring myself in the mirror once again. I tried to ignore the subtle scars marking certain locations on my face, but I felt like my makeup covered them well. Feeling satisfied, I switched off the lights, grabbed my phone and headed out. 

“Ugh seriously?” I exclaimed as I stepped outside, only to feel the subtle drops of rain on my hair. The coffee place was only a block or so from my apartment complex, and I really didn’t feel like digging for my keys again. So, I bolted, hurrying to the cafe as the rain started to pelt down harder. 

Once I reached the building, I threw open the door and got inside. Breathing heavily, I searched my purse for my wallet and made my way over to the line. The line went by fast, I ordered my coffee and went to sit down right by the window. A storm had rolled in, I sipped at my beverage as I watched people outside scramble about in hopes for shelter. 

One of them being a handsome lanky man that I swore I saw somewhere. He glanced at me from outside, through the window, and his face lit up. He swiftly entered the cafe, and made a beeline over to me. He didn’t order anything, but the baristas seemed to recognize him, one of them even waved. 

“I-I’m sorry is this seat taken?” The brunette asked, breathlessly, as he stood behind the seat next to me. I shook my head, scooting my chair over so he could get into the one he wanted. “Do I know you from somewhere?” I asked, curiously, I swore I recognized him. 

The handsome man seemed surprised, he took off his soaked jacket. “Uh, I saw you last Tuesday.” He mumbled, his voice squeaking a bit. I bit the corner of my mouth and observed him from head to toe. He was well-dressed, with a dark grey cardigan over what seemed to be a dress shirt and tie. He wore dress pants, but had two well-worn converse and two differently colored socks. 

Suddenly it came to me, I had glanced at him as I rushed to catch up with my friends. I remembered that I really wanted to look back at him again, but had a time constraint. “Oh yeah!” I grinned, taking another sip of my caffeinated beverage. “I remember now.” The man seemed pleased at my words, fumbling with the ends of his cardigan nervously.  “Oh, well, I’m Doctor Reid.” The man seemed like he wanted to shake my hand, but kept his hands as far from mine as possible. He nervously cleared his throat, looking at me in the eyes. “Doctor Spencer Reid.” Spencer gave me a hopeful smile, which I returned. “It’s a pleasure to formally meet you Doctor, my name is Y/n.” I didn’t bother saying my last name, I didn’t want to be associated with it. 

“No please, call me Spencer.” The fawn-brown haired doctor sounded tense. “No need to use formalities with me here.” He clarified, making me laugh. “Alright, alright. Spencer it is then.” When our eyes met, I swore that Spencer looked at me with so much intensity I thought I would explode. He opened and closed his mouth like a fish, trying to say something.

Ring

“Oh sorry lemme get that.” The doctor scrambled into his pocket, pulling out an ancient flip phone and answering the call. “What? Already?” He paused, listening into the call, I began to become more intrigued by the minute. His face fell, his once bright and handsome face turned into one that resembled haunted somberness. “I understand, I’ll be there right away Hotch.”

“What’s wrong?” I asked, not bothering to suppress my curiosity. “It’s my-job.” Spencer answered sluggishly, making a face as he slid on his damp jacket. “Oh?” I watched as he scrambled for a napkin and he fished a pen from his satchel. 

“Call me?” The honey-eyed man asked hopefully, after sketching out his number on the paper. I nodded, taking the napkin into my hand, scanning over the haphazardly written numbers. “Of course-” I responded, but Spencer was already halfway out the door. I snorted, slipping out my phone and typing in the man’s number. Now THIS will be interesting...

---

[athenagc94]

Delving Beneath the Surface

Hello! Here is the first chapter of my new Stardew Valley fanfic - Delving Beneath the Surface. Follow my farmer, Verona, as she searches for dwarven artifacts to learn their language, lost to the ages. If you’re interested in following along, I’ll be updating it here on AO3 and here on Wattpad. Enjoy!

~~~~~~~~~

The Stardrop Saloon was the place to be on a Friday night.

More accurately, it was the only place to be in Pelican Town on a Friday night.

Verona chatted amicably with Emily as she fixed her a drink behind the bar. She asked Haley to join her, but she chose to spend the night with Alex instead. She mentioned something about not wanting to interact with her sister more than she thought was necessary, but Verona struggled to understand why. Sure, Emily had her quirks, but in the end, she was sweeter than Robin’s strawberry crumble.

And she always gave her a discount on drinks when Gus had his back turned.

Emily slid her drink across the beaten counter. “You should really stop by more often. You brighten up the room with that aura of yours.” She motioned to her, the crystal beads on her wrists catching the light like a disco ball. “It has this shimmer I don’t often see around here. Maybe because you’re from out of town.”

“Thanks,” she heard the doubt in her voice, “I think?”

“Oh, don’t worry. It’s a compliment.” She sighed dreamily. “I think you’re rubbing off on Haley. Her aura used to be so blah, but now it’s much brighter. I suspect you have something to do with it.”

She merely smiled as she took a sip of her drink. The orange juice and grenadine barely masked the burn of liquor. Emily was also very generous with her alcohol. One of her mixed drinks left the room spinning if she drank it too quickly. And she never needed more than one. It was a mistake she only made once after she woke up, half-naked and covered in hay, with Shane. The pair agreed never to speak of it again. They had taken to avoiding each other ever since.

Even now, he refused to meet her eye from across the bar.

Clearing her throat, she set her drink aside and said, “We both know she’s a lot nicer than people give her credit for. She just needs to warm up to someone first.”

Emily leaned against the bar, cradling her cheek in her palm. “Oh, I know how sweet she can be, but I like to see her hanging out with someone who isn’t Alex. I love that boy, I really do, but he’s a bit bland for my tastes.”

Verona shrugged. “Alex is fine.”

“No one wants to be described as fine,” Emily said with a knowing smile, “Unless they’re being called fine.” Verona shook her head, earning an airy laugh. “You know I’m right.”

“I will neither confirm nor deny such things.”

Emily pouted. “Boo. You’re no fun.”

At the end of the bar, a harried-looking Elliott plopped down in a seat and waved Emily over. She eyed him warily, then turned back to Verona. “He must have finished another long writing session,” she whispered so only she could hear, “he always comes here for a celebratory glass of wine, but if you ask me, his first order of business should be the bathhouse.”

Verona hid her smile in her drink.

With a smirk, she added, “I got to keep working, but let me know when you need a refill. It’s on the house. Just don’t tell Gus.”

“You spoil me.”

“Anything for my sister’s best friend.”

Like she said, sweeter than strawberry crumble.

Drink in hand, Verona wandered over to the game room on the far side of the saloon. Abigail and the boys normally laid claim to it before she arrived. The enduring smell of cigarette smoke and old pizza proved that much. To her surprise, the trio was absent that evening and the game room abandoned. She stepped inside, studying the games consoles on the long wall. 

She lingered on one – Journey of the Prairie King. The monitor transitioned between the trial and the high scores.

The coveted first place belonged to someone with the initials SQM.

She glanced back at the bar. No one paid her any mind. The chatter was loud enough to drown out the jaunty music coming from the console. Surely, no one would miss her if she played a game or two.

Fishing a coin from her pocket, she shoved it into the machine. The monitor transitioned away from the high scores and straight into the game. The goal was simple enough. Shoot enemies and avoid getting touched. She could manage that.

Her fingers flew across the control pad. Dodge, shoot, collect. She enjoyed the thrill that came with these games. No strategy needed. Something to kill time and sweep her away. That was exactly what she needed after a long week of farm work. Ten minutes came and went in the blink of any eye. The LED lights on the marquee lit up followed by the crawl of the ‘high score’ animation across the screen.

She threw her hands up and whooped triumphantly. “Take that SQM.” She replaced their initials with her own – VDS. The screen popped up and she took a moment to revel in her victory. Pulling a coin from her pocket, she started another game. At the very least, she could knock SQM to third place before she called it a night.

“What are you doing?”

Verona whipped around. Sebastian leaned against the doorframe with his arms crossed tight over his chest. She shifted in front of the console and sputtered, “Me? I was just killing time, or whatever.” It beeped and flashed, signaling her loss. “And I’m not very good.”

“Whatever.”

He made a beeline for the pool cues on the far wall. She watched as he reached for one, then seemed to reconsider, grabbing the one beside it. He weighed it in his hand with a satisfied hum and turned to the table.

“Playing pool by yourself?”

He ignored her as he organized the balls in the triangle rack. She stood opposite him, watching quietly. The soft clack of plastic filled the empty air between them as she waited for him to acknowledge her. A minute passed before she sighed and took the cue ball, rolling it idly between her hands. “Not much of a talker, eh?”

Silence.

“Haley mentioned that you like to keep to yourself.” A muscle in his jaw tightened. “And that you don’t get out much, which seems kind of mean if you ask me. One could argue that I don’t get out very much because I—”

“Look,” Sebastian cut her with a glare, “I’m not interested in…”

He trailed off, zeroing in on her chest. Her blood coated her veins like a thin sheet of ice. She should have been used to the stares by now. It happened all the time in Zuzu City. On the street, the subways, around the Joja office. Eyes followed her wherever she went. She hoped Pelican Town would be different, but evidently not.

“Where did you get that?”

Her brow pitched. “Where did I get what?”

He took a step towards her. She matched it with a step back. Surprise colored his features as he studied her. The full brunt of his gaze unnerved her, but it felt far from predatory in the way that she was used to. The fear that swelled in her gut must have translated on her face because he stepped back, giving her the space that she needed. The pressure that weighed on her chest lightened until she could breathe again.

“That.” He motioned to her chest. She followed the line of his gaze to the pendant hanging off her neck. A pale blue gemstone on a simple chain. “Do you know what that is?”

She found the gemstone while exploring the mines earlier that week. Amongst the snow and ice coating the lower levels, she almost missed it, but it caught the light of her flashlight just right. When she got home, she decided it would make a lovely necklace and threw it on a chain.

“It’s a necklace.”

He gave her a long look. “That’s a frozen tear.”

She stared at him. Was that supposed to resonate with her or something? He scratched irritably at the nape of his neck. The shaved underside of his head had grown out and curled around his ears. She noted the reddish hue at his roots and bit back a smile.

“Legend says those are the tears of yetis that inhabited the mines thousands of years ago. The museum used to have one, but it was stolen with the rest of the collection.” He gave her a once over – like he suspected her of stealing it. She had a killer alibi considering that happened years before she arrived in town – and they both knew it. “How did you manage to find one?”

“I found it while gathering ore the other day.” She brushed her fingers over the gemstone, marveling at how it still felt cold to the touch. Maybe there was some truth to the legend after all. “I had no idea these were so rare.”

“Wait. You went down to the mines by yourself?” She braced herself, already anticipating the direction this conversation was about to go. “Why? Wouldn’t that ruin your manicure or something?”

She threw her whole body into the eye roll she gave him. He had no idea. With all the work she did on the farm, there was no hope of salvaging her cuticles. The closest nail tech was two hours away. She had neither the money nor the time to do anything about it.

“Well, yeah, it does,” she deadpanned, “but I also want to commission some tappers for trees to make a little extra money, but Clint’s ore prices are ridiculous.”

“You’re telling me that little miss pageant princess went down to the mine alone?”

Verona resisted the urge to groan. If she had known that rumor would spread like wildfire, then she would have kept that chapter of her life to herself. Granted, she never expected a polite conversation with Jodi to end with half the town knowing about her history with frilly gowns and tiaras. She came here for a fresh start, but she couldn’t escape her past that easily.

Sebastian sized her up. “And you came back unscathed? I call bullshit.”

“I wouldn’t say unscathed.” She teased the sleeve of her sweater. “I had to buy a drugstore worth of bandages and antiseptic from Harvey when I got back. Those bats are merciless.”

She pushed up her sleeves and showed him the bandages wrapped around her forearms. The cuts had stopped bleeding, but a few gashes still looked nasty, so she kept them wrapped until they healed a little more. Harvey warned her that a few would probably scar, so there went her flawless skin. Her mother would have a meltdown if she ever found out, but she could cross that proverbial bridge later.

“Okay,” Sebastian grimaced, “but why go down?”

“The prices here are ridiculous,” she reiterated, “Pierre already bleeds me dry at the turn of the season when I buy seeds. I can’t afford Clint’s ore prices on top of it. If I can gather it myself, then I will.”

“Fair enough.” He turned back to the pool balls, signaling the end of their conversation.

Verona was never one to pay attention to those signals. “So, are you playing pool alone?”

He sighed. “Sam got stuck re-stocking shelves at work and Abigail is helping her dad with inventory. They’ll stop by later, but I decided to come ahead and set things up for us.” He swiped the cue ball from her hands and set it on the table. “So, no, I’m not playing alone.”

“You don’t strike me as someone who plays pool.”

He snorted. “Yeah, well, I would have never pegged you as a gamer.” He nodded to the consoler. “I was ranked number one, but I guess I’ll have to settle for second place.”

Her blink betrayed her surprise. “SQM?”

“Sebastian Quincy McCarthy. What? You thought Sam had the high score?” He rolled his eyes and turned back to the pool table. “I love the guy, but the guitar is the only thing he has going for him. You de-throned me, so thanks for that.”

With a shrug, she said, “In my family, second place is unacceptable.”

“I’m used to second place, so whatever.”

A frown toyed on her lips. What was that supposed to mean? Before she could press, her phone vibrated in her back pocket. A text from Haley greeted her, followed quickly by three more. She skimmed the messages and cursed. Alex ditched her for a last minute gridball game and she wasn’t taking it well. She tucked her phone away. That meant her night and this conversation was officially over.

“I gotta go.”

Sebastian hummed in response, which was better than being ignored, so she took it. Turning to leave, she stopped short. Her gaze fell back to the necklace. Genuine awe like his was hard to come by. It’s not like she needed this frozen tear. She had plenty of gems to make jewelry at home. This obviously meant something to him.

“But before I go,” she pulled the chain over her head, “I want you to have this.”

She offered it to him. He made a face, caught somewhere between surprise and his usual jaded indifference. The two emotions fought for control until he ducked his head. The crown of his head burned crimson. “What? Why?”

“Consider it a gift.” She kept her hand outstretched towards him.

Sebastian shook his head. “No. You’re the one who found it. It’s your prize for surviving the bats. I’ll find one eventually.” He hid his hands in the pockets of his oversized hoodie. Verona sucked irritably on a tooth. As if that would save him.

“I find plenty of cool things in the mines,” she countered, “I can make necklaces from a jade or ruby. This means something to you. I want you to have it.” She took another step towards him, nearly flush with his chest. His breath hitched as she peered up at him through her lashes. It might have been a cute moment if not for the fierce determination coloring her features.

“I insist.” Standing on her tiptoes, she managed to drape the necklace over his head.

His fingers wrapped instinctively around the gem. The corner of his mouth twitched up into the faintest hint of a smile. “It’s still cold,” he breathed in disbelief, “but how? It’s the middle of the…” His eyes fluttered as he refocused on her face. Sawdust and cigarette smoke clung to him, barely masked by the smell of peppermint on his breath.

“Thanks, I,” he swallowed hard, “I appreciate it.”

She beamed at him as she stepped away, breaking whatever that moment might have become. “I’m glad I could give you something you really wanted.” If possible, his blush darkened. “And if you ever want to play pool and the others aren’t around. I’d be more than happy to—”

The bubbly beat of Haley’s ringtone cut her off. Verona swore under her breath and brought it to her ear. “I’m on my way. You can tell me everything over a glass of wine.” She threw a wave over her shoulder as she hurried out of the saloon, not bothering to look back and see if he returned it.

[such-a-random-rambler]

High - Part 9

This may be done, I’m not sure, there may be one more chapter but I haven’t decided yet.

and @janetm74 do you remember ages ago when you asked

9. Which idea came to you first 

it was this bit!

John was wrung out. The last thirty hours had been, not to put too fine a point on it, a waking hell.

Virgil had sorted the nausea, which was just as well as unrelenting thirst hit soon afterwards and it would have been torture to be unable to drink for fear of throwing it back up. Those few hours had almost earned him another bag of fluids anyway. Then came the muscle cramps, crunching through his arms, legs, hands and feet, leaving him writhing and trying not to scream.

He did scream at the hallucinations – The Hood lunged out at him from the shadows, sucking all the air from the room, leaving him clutching at his throat. An earthquake hit, the room collapsing around him, sea rushing in to drown them all in salty torrents. Half formed tentacley things crept up from the floor and wrapped themselves around his wrists and ankles, holding him still for the needles to stab him, and the leering monstrous shapes to yell at and taunt him.  

When they faded his blood turned to ice, body temperature dropping no matter how many blankets were stacked around him eventually shivering himself into an exhausted sleep.

Now he was awake, eating, drinking and with the energy to sit up Virgil said he was on the mend, but John felt more out of sorts than he ever had.

John’s life was all about control; procedures and protocol.  He wasn’t an emotionless robot, as much as Gordon liked to joke about it, but there was a time and a place for them. John wrapped self-discipline around himself like a safety blanket because it was a safety blanket – he lived on a knife edge where an uncontrolled outburst could cause disaster and  death.

Sitting in the medbay – the rest of the family sleeping or eating, giving him some much needed privacy – John wrestled with the flood of emotions that assailed him. He flickered between fear, anger, desperation, hate, apathy.

The moment he got a handle on one of them, something else rose up to engulf him, tossing him between tears and paranoia and shaking with rage within minutes. He was unused to such extremes of feeling, and unused to not being able to reign them in when he needed to.

His mind felt fractured, his sense of self washed away and that oh so important self-control practically non existent. He couldn’t dispatch like this! They relied upon him to be calm when they called. He was no use to anyone if he couldn't get a grip, and there wouldn’t be a place for him anymore if he wasn’t useful and he wouldn’t have a home and he’d lose everything and...

His thoughts were spiraling into despair. He couldn’t take it any more.

“Gordon Tracy, John may need assistance and you are closest. Please report the medbay.” The ever-calm and even tones of EOS chimed in his ear.

“What’s the problem?” Gordon hurried his steps along the corridor, flooded with urgency.

“He appears to be in distress.”

“Medically?”

“His heart rate and blood pressure are raised but not dangerously so.”

Unsure of what he was walking into Gordon opened the door to the med room slowly, just in time to see something go slamming into wall beside his head, shards tinkling to the ground.

“Heeey, what’s this.” He said, taking in the floor covered with the remains of several other glasses.  

John picked up another tumbler and it followed the last, splintering into crackling shards.

“I think we’re going to want those.” Was all he could think of to say, and not sure that John had noticed him come in, his eyes were so unfocused.

A third, and they were all gone. Except John’s rage wasn’t and with nothing else to throw balled up a fist to swing at the wall. Some of these walls were plasterboard, some were dry wall. Some were the solid rock that the hangers had been carved out of and would definitely break a hand. It was impossible to tell which that particular section of wall was, and it wasn’t worth taking any risks.

Gordon moved fast, stepping in front of John’s fist, pulling it down between them both. The momentum of it allowed him to twist John round and secure his hand behind his back, in a move  perfected by hours of training with Kayo.

“No need for that. You don’t need a broken hand on top of everything else.”

“Let me go Gordon.” John twitched, grumbling low, but at least aware enough to know who was in the room with him.

“Not likely.”

“Gordon, please. I....”

“I am not letting you go until you calm down.” John wasn’t a weakling by any stretch of the imagination but this last week had really taken it’s toll and Gordon had no problem holding on.

“Gordon I need... I need....”

“What do you need?”

The strength seemed to leach out of John, and he sunk to the kneel on the floor. Gordon followed him down: ending up curled up over John’s back. He could feel John trembling, heart thundering.  

“Talk to me, please.” Gordon whispered.  

“There’s fire in my brain” John practically sobbed, and Gordon’s heart broke for him.  “And ants crawling under my skin.”

“It’s going to be ok.”

“How do you know?”

A long time ago Gordon was in a bad place, hadn’t been feeling himself for a long time. He’d thought the whole world had changed and would never be the same. But it had only been temporary. He had healed and grown and those nightmares were in the distant past.  John was going through something very different, but maybe Gordon could still help.  

“This is just another side effect. You’ve had all the physical ones and now you have this. It will pass.”

The remaining fight went out of John and Gordon released his wrist. With a little bit of shuffling Gordon got in front of him, and settled so that John’s head was resting over his shoulder. He wrapped his arms around his big brother in a firm hug and felt John do the same, hands fisting into Gordon’s shirt.

“Did you know that a hug can actually lower your blood pressure? Scientifically proven, that.” Gordon said, squeezing tight.

“Hmmmm.”  

“You’ve been stuck in this room for far too long, you need a change of scenery.” Gordon said, thinking about the weeks he had spent looking at the same four walls and how it had bored him to tears, the sameness of it all. John lived in the ever-changing vastness of space, being confined to this room must be doing the same.

“I... I don’t know. I can’t think...”

“Then leave the thinking to me. I’m better at it anyway.”

John snorted.

“Do you trust me?”

“Of course.”

“Then let’s move.”

Gordon had to drag John up, but once there he could stand on his own. Sort of. Gordon needed to give him the occasional poke for balance, and pull for direction, but John did most of the work himself. Scott put down the book he was reading as they passed through the living room on the way outside, but didn’t say anything, just watched. Gordon loved it when Scott trusted him.

They made their way slowly down to the chairs by the pool, to the one that was right by the forest line and always in shade. Gordon pushed John down, and lifted his legs onto the lounger. John looked calm again, but a blank, empty, exhausted kind of calm.  

“Just lay back and concentrate on the wind on the trees. That also helps with high blood pressure.”

“It still hurts.” John sighed with a slow blink.

“I know. I’m going to get you a drink of water.”

When Gordon got back with the water – and a blanket and a snack bar, just in case – John was fast asleep.