#though i suppose i should switch his tag over now

[xxchumanixx]

Hii, can you write one with reader that is Tim’s rookie, she is really flirty and an extrovert with him, but one day she sets him up, like Lucy did. He gets upset because he feels like she led him on and then he starts a full on love confession because she is the one he wants. And then smut, very sweet with her kinda dom but both of them are switch

Lead me on

Tim Bradford x rookie!reader

Warnings/Tags: 18+, mdni!, smut, p in v, unprotected sex (wrap it before you tap it!), slight fingering, fluff, angst, hurt

Word count: 4.545

Authors note: Hello love, thanks for the request! Really liked the idea, and I hope you'll like how I wrote it. Im glad to find my way back to writing your requests and I hope that I'll be a bit quicker with posting again!

Now, enjoy!

Tim had noticed that you were lost in thought, for the third time this shift.

He'd seen you chew on your bottom lip, worrying about you drawing crimson, so hard you'd bitten down on the soft cushion.

It made him wonder what had you so deeply thinking, as he bit on his own lip.

"Everything okay?" he breached the silence, only then noticing how heavy it had been weighing in the air between you. Looking up from the dark display of your phone, you nodded.

"I'm just thinking about something, nothing important." you tried to soothe his worry, sending him a small smile that was meant to reassure him.

He cocked a brow, reading you like an open book. "Don't lie to me, boot."

You hated the nickname, instead wanting him to call you different names - very different ones.

Swallowing, you looked back down. You had to at least test it, see how he'd react. So you gathered all your nerves, reminding yourself, that you wanted to do this as a prank.

It was meant to be funny, after all.

"You said I could be open with you." you began, fumbling with your phone in your hands. He nodded, motioning for you to continue, as you hesitated.

"I have feelings for you."

The shop skidded to a stop on the empty street, as he suddenly slammed the breaks, the seat belt holding you firmly in place. Shock was clear as day on his face, as he looked at you, before he gathered himself enough to park at the sidewalk.

You had to be out of your damn mind, he thought, his heart - unbeknownst to him - matching the racing of yours.

The sudden movement when he stopped the car again, almost had you laughing despite everything, ruining the prank. But the shock on his face, made you swallow.

Maybe he wouldn't find it as funny as you would do. At least you hoped you would at the end of the day.

"Wait-" he asked of you, his tongue brushing over his lower lip in uneasiness. He didn't know how to react properly, you had hit him like a truck with your confession.

"Y/N-" he began, taking a deep breath, as he tried to make sense of the situation, get a hold of it. "Look, you're a beautiful woman - really you are. But you're my rookie, a-and-" he had to stop himself, biting his lip.

This had to be a bad joke.

You did the same, your lip hurting as you bit down to stop yourself from laughing, teeth almost drawing blood. Even if you actually had feelings for him, the moment he would find out you're pranking him, would still be priceless.

The silence grew tense, as the playfulness of the situation slowly faded, though.

Maybe you shouldn't have done this.

He swallowed, you heard it. "Tim-" "Y/N-" you interrupted each other, both closing your mouths.

"I'll go first." you decided before he was able to speak up again, taking a shaky breath. "It was a prank - or at least it was supposed to be one. It should have been funny, but it wasn't. I'm sorry."

He inhaled sharply, as he abruptly turned his head away from you.

That was not how you expected him to react.

Swallowing, you kneaded your hands, the phone tugged away under your thigh. Were you supposed to say something?

Before you could, though, he turned back around sharply, gaze hardened as he fumed silently, with his tongue nudging against the inside of his cheek.

"Are you fucking kidding me?" he then suddenly snapped, causing you to flinch in your seat.

Yeah, you had definitely crossed a line there.

He inhaled deeply, trying to calm himself in case he would miss when the radio turned on - failing miserably.

"What do you mean you wanted to prank me? Telling me that you have feelings for me, practically running me over like a bus with your confession! What did you think you were doing? What did you expect?"

You were taken aback by his sudden outburst, not sure how to react. Or how to make up for it, if you'd get out of this alive in the first place.

"I-I-" you stuttered, looking down on your fidgeting hands. "I didn't mean to upset you like that, really. I thought you'd find it funny."

His brows twitched, as did his mouth. He felt like you'd just ran him over again with that damn bus.

"But it isn't." he stated, gaze fixed on you. "It isn't funny. For a moment I thought you'd mean what you said. But then you tell me it's a prank."

He almost sounded hurt, somehow.

Turning away from him, you bit on your cheek, the flesh already raw from all the biting. It was a nervous habit of yours, one you weren't able to get rid of.

Your cheeks burned, most likely turning a deep shade of red.

Honestly, you had expected a lot, but not this.

Lucy had told you how he reacted when she did it - okay, maybe it wasn't original to copy her prank, but she told you how funny it was, so you thought what could go wrong?

A lot, apparently.

But why did he react so differently now?

You were a mere inch away from leaving the car, quitting your job. It was so embarrassing, and you were sure you'd never recover from this.

The silence grew more tense the more time passed, as neither of you knew what to say.

Would he report you? Get you fired? He had your fate in his hands, after all.

"I'm sorry." you pressed out through clenched teeth, trying to not burst into tears. The fact that he reacted that way, made you even more insecure about your feelings for him.

If he'd react like this, getting angry at you, when you'd tell him honestly, you didn't know what you would do.

He forced the car to move again, angrily shifting it into drive, before you drove down the quiet street.

He didn't even react to you trying to apologize.

Breathing in shakily, you looked out at the street, straightening your posture. You had to be attentive. If you'd miss anything, it surely wouldn't help his sour mood.

For a while it was quiet, and for the first time since you drove with Tim, you were happy about your shift ending soon, as the sun settled.

When he parked the car in the garage, you hastily climbed out, opening the trunk to gather the bags and guns. He stayed in his seat, only leaving the car when you closed the trunk again.

Without sparing him another glance, you walked to the output, handing Jerry the items with a forced smile.

The old man didn't know what happened, so you tried to be as calm as possible.

Walking to the locker room, you hurried to get changed, stuffing your things into your backpack, before you slung it over your shoulder.

You didn't wait for Lucy, as you'd normally would when your shifts ended at the same time, instead walking straight towards the exit.

How would the following day get? Would he stay angry at you? Would he ask to be replaced as your TO?

You desperately hoped not, even if you'd never be able to look into his eyes again.

Wiping at your eyes, you put the backpack on the passenger's seat, slamming the door shut, before walking around the car to get inside.

"Y/N!" you heard someone call out your name, panicking as you realized it was Tim, who'd been standing at his truck, now walking towards you.

You hadn't seen him before in the darkness of the parking lot.

It was out of instinct, that you climbed inside the car, starting it, before you hastily moved out of the parking lot.

He knew you'd heard him, your eyes had found his after he'd called out to you. That you were ignoring him now, driving past him, as he stood speechless where your car had been parked, caused his heart to crack.

Had he scared you off?

He was sure he'd upset you, there was no denying it, but that you simply ignored him and chose to flee instead, made him feel all the more insecure.

His heartbeat felt cold in his chest, as he gripped the straps of his backpack tighter.

He had to follow you.

And so he did.

After a few turns, you saw his headlights behind you - his car familiar enough to recognize them. Groaning, you tried to concentrate on the street, ignoring him for the moment, as your heart picked up its pace and your hands began to sweat.

When you eventually parked in your driveway, he parked right behind you, effectively blocking your car, so there was no way for you to escape him again.

Or better yet, flee again.

Now angry, you got out of your car, walking straight towards him as he did the same.

"What do you want?" you asked, frustration seeping out of your pores. "I want to talk." he gave back just as evenly frustrated, stopping a few feet away from you. "I wanted to talk back at the parking lot, but you just drove away."

Your cheeks grew uncomfortably hot, gaze shifting from Tim to the ground beneath him. It seemed so ridiculous to you now, the way you chose to flee instead of letting him confront you.

He would have either way.

A humorless chuckle left you, followed by another. "And now?" you wanted to know, looking back up at him with crossed arms. "Do you want me to tell you I'm sorry? I already did. It was just a stupid prank, I don't even know why you followed me or what you wanna talk about."

Your self defenses flickered to life, not sure what he wanted to hear from you.

His jaw ticked, teeth gritting.

"Did you do it on purpose?" he asked, shaking his head as a look you weren't able to place passed over his features. "Did you lead me on?"

Your brows knitted together in confusion, not fully understanding him. "What do you mean, leading you on?"

He huffed, taking a small step closer, causing you to swallow at the nerves bubbling up inside you, trying to fight them.

"I mean the constant flirting, the way you talk to me." he started to explain, taking another step closer. "The way your hand would brush mine, a simple touch so irrelevant, yet so important. The way you made me-"

He cut himself off, the sentence being left hanging in the air. But you wanted to know the rest of it, wanted to know why he was saying these things.

"Made you what?" you demanded to know, head tilting as your brows furrowed even more.

The light on your porch went out, engulfing you in darkness, but with a flick of your hand it came back to life, illuminating his features in the golden hue again.

Illuminating how painfully handsome he was.

Instead of answering your question, he decided otherwise.

"I believed you, when you told me you have feelings for me." he began, swallowing, as one of his hands balled into a fist at his side. "I believed you and I hoped for it to be true. But then you tell me it's a prank - I-"

He cut himself off again, shaking his head in disappointment, as his eyes looked away. He bit his lip, tearing at the soft cushion so hard, it almost ripped.

Meanwhile, your heart seemed to have caught on fire. You didn't quite get what he wanted to say, yet, but your body grew warmer, the more he spoke.

He ignited the smallest flame of hope inside you. It licked at your heartstrings dangerously, threatening to burn you at any moment.

"I got defensive, pushing you away." he eventually continued, looking back up. The fire in his eyes seemed diminished, their light faded.

"I was angry - to be honest I still am. I wanted to wait for your training to be over, before I- Before I would ask you out on a date."

Your breath hitched in your throat, body involuntarily taking a step back, as the force of his words hit you, setting the small flame ablaze. It momentarily knocked the air out of your lungs, the blood pumping loudly in your ears.

You must have misheard him - that was the only explanation.

He had planned to ask you out on a date?

Tears welled up in your eyes, a horrible realization settling in your stomach, quickly drowning the growing flame: you had scared him off, hurt his feelings.

It was a feeling you didn't like - not at all.

You wanted to say something, but he was faster.

"All this time I thought your flirts and the things you did were intentional, had a meaning. But now I know, that I was wrong. All you did was lead me on, making me believe that you felt the same way, but I was wrong."

"Tim-" you dared to speak up, interrupting him as you took a step back towards him. The words got stuck in your throat, though.

Would he even believe you?

He shook his head, biting his cheek, drawing blood. But he didn't even flinch at the sting it brought, instead breathing it in, to distract him from the turmoil of feelings raging inside him.

"I was so excited, because I was happy that your training is over soon." he continued, breathing in through his nose deeply, as his voice shook the slightest bit. "I was excited, because the waiting would have finally been over. But - again - I was wrong. I have feelings for you, and you decided to make my heart leap out of my chest, just so you could crush it all in the same breath."

You felt like he'd slapped you across the face. His words sent a chill down your spine, knowing that he wouldn't easily forgive you, if he even would in the first place.

"Made you what?" you rasped out, choking on your tears as you demanded an answer for your earlier question. He tensed, swallowing, before he finally answered.

"Made me fall in love with you."

One of the tears spilled, followed by another and another. Eyes closing, your head hang low. His confession was what you had hoped to hear for the last months, almost a year, yet it crushed you, groping at you with iron claws.

One stupid prank had ruined everything.

Eyes opening again, you lifted them, meeting his. His gaze was glued to you, even when you hadn't been looking at him. He seemed like he demanded an answer, yet fearing what it would be.

"You are in love with me?" you choked out, hands trembling. Your heart nearly stumbled, having trouble to believe him, but he nodded.

"I'm in love with you, too." you confessed, even though it might have been too late now. "Have been for almost a year now."

Something flashed through his eyes, the light of your porch going out again, before he brought it back to life with a wave if his arm.

Suddenly, he was way closer than before, having used the moment of distraction.

"Say it again." he breathed out, hope making his eyes glitter. "I'm in love with you." you repeated, relishing in the way it made his eyes flutter closed briefly. "Again." he whispered, hands finding yours.

"I'm in love with you, Tim Bradford."

He inhaled sharply, his grip on your hands tightening. "Why did you prank me?" he wanted to know, reigniting the guilt inside you. Sighing, you looked down.

"It was Lucy's idea." you admitted, biting your tear stained lip, tasting the salt. "She told me about how she did it last year, so I thought I could test the waters with it. But you reacted so badly, that I decided to leave it as a prank, not telling you the real intention I had."

"I wanted to be the first." he spoke, tugging at your hands slightly, pulling you closer, as your eyes found their way back to his. "I wanted to ask you out on a date, tell you how I feel. I wanted it to be something special."

Swallowing, you nodded. Your eyes flickered to his lips, his breath on your own.

"Then make it something special." you said, voice husky.

You didn't have to tell him twice, as his lips found yours in an eager kiss. You inhaled him, as you kissed him back. Your hands entangled from his, finding his neck instead. His own grabbed your waist, tugging you closer.

The wood scraped against your back, as he pushed you against the front door of your house, demanding entrance with his tongue.

You greedily let him in, fumbling for your keys, as you did so, coming up with nothing.

His fingers impatiently brushed your pants pocked, eliciting a hushed giggle from you, as he fumbled for your keys.

"God damn it." he grumbled, braking apart from you, as he didn't find them either. Your brows furrowed, as he jogged to your car, ripping the door open and retrieving the key.

In your hurry to get to him, you had left it in the ignition.

Brushing the hair out of your face, you huffed as he held it up, locking your car, before he stepped around you, opening the door to let you both in.

The intensity of the situation was thick, palpable, as he closed the door behind you, not wasting any time to pull you back to him, his lips back on yours.

He blindly walked you backwards into the open living, kitchen and dining area. Your hips hit the dining table, causing the few things on it to rattle and shake. His hands gripped your thighs, helping you to sit on it.

Yours found the hem of his shirt, tugging it upwards, as he did the same with yours. Your arms tangled, causing you to break apart.

His eyes narrowed, as he tugged at your shirt meaningfully, but you were too stubborn to let him go first, as you tugged as well.

You stared each other in the eyes, both too stubborn and dominant to give in. His head dipped down, lips finding your neck. He began to suck, causing your eyes to flutter closed, as you momentarily lost focus.

He used the distraction to remove your hands, tugging the shirt over your head.

You huffed breathlessly, realizing how he had distracted you to go first. He chuckled, sending you a smirk that sent sparks down to your core, making your legs weak.

Removing his shirt as well, you let it fall to the floor, before his lips found your neck again, kissing downwards and over the swell of your breasts, as he pushed you down on the table.

Your breathing faltered, as one of his large hands cupped one of your breasts through the fabric of your bra. His thumb brushed over the covered nipple, making you shiver at the distant sensation.

Suppressing a moan, you pushed up on your elbows, as he unfastened your bra, throwing it on the floor, as his mouth attached to one of the hardened peaks.

His tongue swirled around it, tearing a gasp from you, the pleasure sent straight to your core.

Grabbing his shoulder, you pushed him back. He looked at you with confusion, tilting his head, but you continued pushing, until he was sitting down on the chair beside him, as realization struck him.

Chuckling in amusement, he adjusted so he was sitting more comfortably, eagerly reaching for you as you straddled his lap.  

Your hands found his bare chest, tracing over the muscles that contracted underneath your fingertips at the touch. His hands found your waist, fingers digging into the soft flesh. 

His breathing hitched, as you rolled against his covered erection with your jeans clad core. His grip on you tightened, most likely leaving marks.  

He guided you, as you did it again, softly moaning at the bit of friction it gave you. Pushing down as you did it over and over again, he tried to increase the pressure, his hard-on painfully straining against the fabric of his pants.  

He liked your dominant nature, often having imagined what you’d act like in a situation like this, with unholy thoughts filtering through his mind.  

"Fuck." Tim muttered, hazy from the friction, yet unsatisfied. He tried to regain the upper hand, but you wouldn't let him. Chuckling into his ear, you teased the shell of it with your tongue, his hard-on rocking into you, as he shuddered in response.

Fuck, you were dominant, but so was he.

Letting you continue your movement, he tugged at the button on your jeans, opening it, before he grabbed your ass harshly, causing you to moan into his ear, and he temporarily lost focus at the heavenly sound.

He took you with him as he stood, causing you to yelp slightly in surprise, as he put you back on the table, pushing you down on it, so you were lying on it.

He didn't have the patience to move to another room or surface, as he unzipped your pants, tugging them down your legs along with your panties.

Gasping as the cold air hit your wet cunt, you watched him strip his remaining clothes as well.

He was gorgeous, for all he was worth. Shaped in just the right way, no matter which part of his body.

His lips found yours, as he leaned over you, his fingers parting your folds to collect some of your arousal, before he used it to rub your clit in delicate circles.

You moaned at the feeling, arching into him, as one of his fingers slipped inside you, soon followed by a second, pumping in and out of you, preparing you for his cock, eliciting beautiful sounds from you in which he bathed.

He watched your face as it contorted, teetering on the brink of your first orgasm. Just as you almost made it over the edge, he removed his fingers, using the remaining liquid on them to stroke his cock, aligning it with your entrance.

You fell down the cliff, but on the wrong side, as the build up tension slowly subsided again, leaving you deeply unsatisfied.

He teased you, brushing through your folds with the tip, barely pushing inside. It made you see stars, as you desperately pleaded for more - a stark contrast to the dominance you had emitted only moments ago.

He liked the sound of that even more.

Your pleas were fulfilled, as he suddenly pushed inside, stretching you deliciously. He slowly inched forward, groaning at how tight you gripped him.

You believed to burst, when he filled you to the brim, his hips meeting yours in a chaste kiss, as the tip of his cock lightly brushed your cervix. You moaned, not having expected him to be this big.

His lips attached to your neck, sucking, kissing and nipping, as he waited for your go, hips rutting into you the slightest bit, as he had struggle to compose himself, now that he was finally buried inside your heat.

Your fingertips brushed his nipple and he jerked forward, eyes meeting yours, as you grinned up at him. Shaking his head, he took it as his signal to finally move.

He slid out of your dripping cunt slowly, before he pushed back inside with a snap of his hips, causing you to choke on a breath, gasping afterwards.

His lips parted in a strangled moan, at the way you clenched around him, dragging him closer to the edge with each thrust. He pulled back out, but you clenched down on him on purpose, causing him to rut right back inside you, before he even had a chance to really pull out.

He shook his head at you, laughing quietly, as he smirked down at you.

Two can play this game.

His lips found your nipple, your back arching as he sucked it into his mouth, all the while slowly rocking in and out of you. The pace was brutally soft, teasing you to the brink of tears, as his tongue flicked over the hardened peak.

"Tim..." you breathed out desperately, heels digging into his back to make him move faster. He smirked against your nipple, but complied, as he picked up the pace.

Soon he was pounding into you, the tip of his cock brushing that spongy spot that made you moan his name with each thrust, believing to see stars. You were a panting and moaning mess under him, fully subjected to him.

He groaned and moaned into your ear, as he chased your releases, trying to hold back until you would be coming. His pace was relentless, as he fucked into you, the objects on the table soon tipping over, but neither of you cared.

"I'm close." you announced out of breath, though gasping, as he hit that one spot again. His lips found yours, as his fingers ghosted down your body and to where you were connected, parting your folds to find your clit.

He rubbed circles on it and you cried out, coming hard on his cock. Clenching down on him, you made it even harder for him to move, dragging him over the edge with you, as he moaned your name in bliss.

His warmth filled you up, as he stilled, harshly breathing as he tried to calm his racing heart. Yours seemed like it would never stop racing, lung desperately burning for air.

"Wow." you breathed, still feeling a bit dizzy. He smiled down at you, brushing a sweaty strand of hair from your face.

"Yeah."

You fell silent for a moment, as his eyes searched yours for any sign of regret. But he found none.

"I want you." he admitted, clearing his throat as he shifted his weight on top of you. "I want to go on a date with you."

His words caused you to smile up at him, the happiness spreading through you as you still glowed from your high.

He believed he'd never seen anything this beautiful before.

"I want that too." you admitted, nodding. "I want to go out with you, even if we have to hide for the rest of my training."

His face fell slightly, only then remembering your current situation, before he nodded as well, pecking your lips. "I'm willing to hide with you." he spoke, his hips connecting with yours again as he rocked forward, earning a gasp from you.

He chuckled, lips brushing over your cheek.

"And then, when your training is over and you're officially a p2, we won't have to hide anymore." he continued, kissing down your jaw and to your neck, butterflies erupting in your stomach.

"I will tell everyone that you're mine."

Your body shivered pleasantly at his words, sighing in bliss. "I like that idea."

"Good, 'cause now you'll never get rid of me again." he promised you, looking back up into your eyes.

"Wouldn't dream of it."

Tag List

@newobsessionweekly @laheysfilm

@rookietrek @augustvandyne

[miabebe]

Reverse Trope Series - Accidently Kidnpping A Mafia Boss (Teaser 2)

Kidnapping the Yoon Jeonghan was not on your 2024 bingo but sometimes, shit happens right?

Read part 1 here first!

Pairing - Yoon Jeonghan x afab!reader

Word Count - Teaser 2 is 3.9K (Estimated fic word count - 25K)

Genre - Strangers to something more than that I guess? Crack, angst (just a small splash) and smut. (Loads of it, but in the full fic)

Warnings - mentions of kidnapping and mafia. (But just to be clear, this is not like your usual mafia fics - it’s not dark, there’s no violence and things of that sort)

A/n - This fic was supposed to be out so long ago but I've been really really busy and also this plot underwent like 2039805938 changes so I've also been a bit inefficient T.T Here's another teaser to make up for it before I drop the whole fic - I've tagged the people on the taglist so far, if I've missed you I'm sorry, please remind me and if you want to be newly added, also lmk!

“They aren't picking up.” You sighed, pacing around the room. “Why aren't they picking up??” 

All three boys who were perched on the breakfast bar shrugged, continuing to munch on their chocolate bars.

“You guys are awfully calm considering the mess we’ve landed in.” 

“The mess you landed us in.” Soonyoung, who had been filled about the situation, pointed out, licking his fingers. “If you hadn’t tried to pull that terrible prank on me-” 

“Okay Kwon, I don’t need this right now.” You rolled your eyes as Soonyoung made a mocking face before returning to his snack. Sighing, you dialed the number again, hoping for a response at least this time. 

“Voicemail. Again!” You squeezed your phone, nearly throwing it across the room, half screaming in frustration. The boys hissed, signaling you to shut up as you bit your tongue and turned towards the elephant in the room. 

Well, not a literal elephant, he was barely one sixteenth its size, the figurative elephant - Yoon Jeonghan. 

He still sat, unconscious and beautiful as ever, only his hands were now tied behind the chair, securing him in place. Seokmin insisted it was necessary considering this would be his second time attempting to try and escape. When you had expressed your confusion, Seungkwan pulled out his phone and showed you a picture he had clicked in the city a few days ago - a poster with Jeonghan’s face on it, a text on the bottom. 

Dangerous criminal Yoon Jeonghan escaped from prison on the 8th of August. Please be cautious and if seen, call the number below. A reward of 20,000 dollars is offered for any and all incriminating information. 

The moment all of you finished reading, it was like a switch flipped. 

Soonyoung immediately secured Jeonghan's hands, Seokmin darkened the room, turning off all the lights and Seungkwan shut all the curtains, shoving his phone into your hands. You though, just stood frozen, watching all of them getting to work, unable to comprehend the situation. It was only when Seungkwan shook you physically telling you to call that number that you finally came to your senses, quickly dialing it. 

Since then, it had been over an hour and you had called almost 48 times unsuccessfully, much to your frustration but not so much to the boys. They simply continued to raid your snack drawer, chattering away in hushed whispers while you wanted to pull all your hair out. 

“Why do you look so distressed hon?” Soonyoung looked at you, worried.

“Why?” You raised your eyebrows. “Why?? Can you not see why? Do you not understand how risky it is keeping him here-” You shot the unconscious man a glance, whispering. “What if he wakes up?” 

“Then you knock him out again.” Seungkwan chuckled.

“This is not a joke you guys.” You tried to be heard above all the reenacting and laughing. “I get that the 20k offer looks enticing but should we take a risk this big-” 

“You think this is about the money?” Seokmin looked at you almost offended. “He’s a criminal Y/n, handing him over to the cops is doing what’s right! That’s our duty as responsible citizens-” 

“Well this can’t be the only way to go about it? I’m sure there are other ways-” 

“Like what?” Seungkwan frowned curiously. 

“I don’t know.” You bit your lower lip, turning to Jeonghan, hands shaking nervously. “We could go out there and find a cop-” 

“When was the last time you even saw a cop in this vicinity?” Soonyoung raised an amused eyebrow.

“Fine, then we’ll take him to the nearest police station?” 

“That’s almost twenty five miles from here.” Soonyoung pointed out. “What if on the way he becomes un-unconscious-” 

“Conscious.” 

“-then wouldn’t we be in more danger?” 

Sighing, you buried your face in your hands, shaking your head. “How did we get ourselves stuck in a situation this terrible-” 

“Oh come on, it's not so bad.” Seungkwan clicked his tongue. “It's not like we're committing a crime, in fact we are doing the complete opposite of it - you should be proud of us.” 

“I prefer my sanity over pride please, thank you.” 

Soonyoung clapped his hand. “So let's get you your vanity back-”  

“Sanity.” 

“-the more we try to call that number, the sooner we manage to contact the authorities and before you know it, he'll be gone and all of this will be over.”

Sighing, you handed the phone to him, gesturing that he try now, sick of hearing the voicemail message over and over again. No sooner after he reached for it, a loud ringtone echoed in the room making you nearly jump out of your skin because a. it was really loud and b. it was not coming from this phone…..

All four of you exchanged looks, slowly turning to the source of the sound - the pocket on the inside of Jeonghan’s jacket. 

Noticing how Jeonghan was starting to stir, Seungkwan quickly moved closer to him and pulled out the phone, fingers moving swiftly to mute it. As it continued to vibrate in his hand, the rest of you gathered around, looking at the screen over his shoulder - Assistant 1, annoying, do not pick up. But before any of you had to make the executive decision whether or not to lift the phone, thank god for the timing, the call ended, allowing you all to take a sigh of relief. 

Trying to catch your breath again, just as you almost moved back to your original position, it rang again, somehow even more loudly this time and like an idiot in his hurry, Seungkwan accidentally lifted the call, making you gasp and almost scream. 

“No, don’t-” 

“Boss.” Though it was barely audible, he sounded exasperated. “Please tell me you’re not with a girl.” 

As Seungkwan put the call on speaker, the boys looked at you, signaling you to talk. Looking lost, you stuttered. “I uh…yes, he’s with me.” 

“Of course he is.” His voice boomed in the room. “I need to talk to him.” 

You hesitated, looking at Jeonghan still sitting slumped. “I’m afraid he can’t come to the phone right now.” 

“And why not?” 

“Cause he’s tied up?” You shook your head fast, when your friends looked at you wide eyed - now was not the time for truths??? “I mean he’s tied up with some work-” 

“Oh please, there’s no need to cover up.” The man sounded amused. “I always had a feeling that this was one of his kinks.” 

You looked at the screen mortified. Did he just say kinks? “I’m sorry, what?” 

“No, I’m sorry you’re stuck with that sadist of a man. If you’re free after you’re done with him, I assure you, I could show you a much better time.” 

Gasping inaudibly, you felt the heat in your cheeks rising. “I’m not a…. no, god no. He’s tied up as in, unconscious and tied up. Kidnapped, unconscious and tied up.” 

The boys’ jaws dropped in disbelief. What the hell were you blabbering? 

“Did you just say you kidnapped him?” 

Hands shivering, you tried to shove the phone into someone else's hands, only for all of them to quite literally run away. 

“Woman, I’m asking you something. Did you just say you kidnapped Jeonghan? The Yoon Jeonghan?” He paused, as you moved, standing in front of the man in question, watching him carefully. “Do you even know who he is?” 

“I….yes.” You sighed, sweat rolling down your forehead. “Yes I know who he is and look, it's a long story, I can’t explain right now and I’m sorry you had to find out this way but I’m calling the cops and handing him over tonight.”

“You called me to tell me that you were handing him to the cops?” 

“Actually you called-”  

“And for what? That measly twenty thousand?” He scoffed. “I know what you’re doing here - I’ll give you thirty in exchange for him.” 

And suddenly, all the boys were around the phone again. 

“No thank you.” You shook your head. “This isn’t about the money, it’s about doing the right thing and that is to hand him over-” 

“Wow, you’re really playing that card?” He sighed. “Fine, I’ll give you fifty.” 

At this point, Seungkwan lunged for his phone, narrowly missing it as you swiftly moved your hand away, surprised. 

“Seventy five?” 

Seokmin tried to reach for it too, but you were too quick for him too, moving away, looking at them incredulously. What the hell were they doing? 

“Final offer, a hundred thousand or I have other ways-” 

“Done.” Soonyoung, the nimblest of them all, quickly grabbed the phone from your hands talking into it. “Hundred thousand and he’s yours.” 

“Kwon-” 

Seokmin covered your mouth, holding you back. “We want it in cash.” 

“That might be an issue-” The man on the phone let out a tired breath. “-things are tight now, cash will be hard.” 

“It’s cash or he goes to the cops.” Seokmin continued, still holding you back with his strong arms, rendering your struggles pointless.

The line went quiet on the other side. The boys look at each other, worried. 

“Fine.” He finally agreed as they sighed in relief. “But I’ll need about ten days to arrange for it.” 

“We are in no hurry.” Seungkwan added. “Whenever you send the cash, we’ll send him.” 

“And till then?” 

“Till then, he’ll be here, with us.” Soonyoung confirmed, earning a protest from you that drowned out. 

“I hope you remember that the cops are actively looking for him-” 

“We do. Which is why you need to make sure the money reaches us by the tenth day.” Seungkwan pointed out. “Otherwise you know where he’s going.” 

“No don’t….” The man sighed. “There’s no need to make such hasty decisions, you’ll get your money.” 

“Good, keep in touch on this number and let us know when you have the cash ready and….that's all for now, okay bye.” 

Seungkwan spoke quickly before he cut the call and all the boys looked at each other amazed. When Seokmin finally released you, he shrieked, given you landed a few harmless punches on him, hard and fast.

“Are you insane???” You looked around. “Are all of you insane?” 

“Hon,” Soonyoung held you by the shoulders, shaking them. “It’s a hundred thousand dollars-” 

“I thought it was not about the money.” You narrowed your eyes at him. “I thought you wanted to be a responsible citizen-” 

“Oh please it’s always about the money.” Seokmin walked over and fell back onto the couch. “A hundred thousand dollars, wow, I’ve never even heard of so much money in my life.”

“Can’t believe I’m going to be a millionaire.” Soonyoung joined him on, earning an eye roll from you. 

“How exactly?” You crossed your arms. “It’s twenty five thousand dollars a person.” 

“So you are agreeing to be a part of it!” Seungkwan clapped happily, ignoring your words of protest. “We’re all going to be so rich.” 

“Twenty five thousand dollars isn’t exactly a fortune-” 

“It might not be for you, but not all of us have dropped out of college and are running our own freelance business from the comfort of our grandmother’s apartment.” Seokmin pointed out. “We could really use the money.” 

“That’s fair but-” 

“No ‘buts’ now.” Seungkwan raised his hand to stop you. “Come on Y/n, do this for us? All we ask is for ten days. Don’t you remember when you moved to this locality, we were the only ones there for you? For 2 whole years we’ve been with you through thick and thin-” 

Thud.

Seungkwan stuttered to a stop, turning around at the sound. Seokmin and Soonyoung shifted around too, trying to see what happened, heartbeat rapidly rising with the realisation that Jeonghan was stirring awake..... and more importantly, the knot that “believe me I'm an expert” Soonyoung had tied around his hands had come undone, the rope falling to the floor. 

Wincing, Jeonghan opened his eyes slowly as all of you froze, watching the infamous mafia boss raise his head, blinking in the darkness. 

You panicked, noticing that your one and only weapon here, your trusty torchlight, was far from you and right by his foot. Wondering if it was dark enough, considering the room was only lit by the soft and minimal glow of the streetlights pouring in, you slowly inched towards Jeonghan who seemed like he still hadn't full come around. Just as you reached him, bending to pick up the torch, Seungkwan, who was inching back to press himself against the wall and somehow blend into it, pressed against the switches, the lights instantly turning on, illuminating the whole room. 

Jeonghan slowly looked up, eyes meeting yours, lips parting softly. 

You opened your mouth to scream or say something, you can’t remember what exactly, instead resorting to just staring at the way his hair beautifully framed his face, long eyelashes touching the curve of his cheeks as he blinked. As you continued to remain frozen, his eyes ran over the features of your face, before his lips curled into a small smile.

“I love you.” 

You snapped out of your trance in a second, jaw dropping. 

“God I really love you.” He repeated, as you grabbed the torch and hurriedly moved back. Seokmin, clearly your most sensible friend, quickly got up, putting himself between you and Jeonghan.

“What did he say?” Seokmin looked at you over his shoulder, mumbling. 

“You’re….” Seungkwan took a small, careful step. “You’re not mad?” 

“My head does hurt like a bitch.” Jeonghan cocked his head at you who was half hiding behind your biggest friend. “But I would have been more mad if I was in jail compared to waking up in….” He looked around again. “.....whatever this is.” 

“My house.” You muttered, gripping the torch as Soonyoung silently walked behind Jeonghan and kicked the rope under the sofa before he joined you, looking casual as ever.

“Yes, jail would be bad.” He agreed. “But here, you’re totally safe, no stress at all.” 

“And why exactly?” Jeonghan frowned, eyes flickering over all of you. “Obviously you know who I am. Why aren’t you handing me to the cops?” 

“That's um…because….” Seungkwan mumbled, putting his arm around your shoulder, with a firm nod. “Because of her uncle.” 

You blinked at him. 

You had no uncle. 

“M-mine?” 

“Yes, her uncle was….unfairly arrested by the cops last year. T-they sort of put him away for good so uh….helping you is, in a way.... our revenge against this foul legal system.” 

Jeonghan didn’t look even a little convinced.

Maybe just a little when he looked at you with an eyebrow raised in question and you hesitatingly nodded. 

“Okay, y’all are clearly a weird bunch but I'm not going to question it since whatever this is is kinda helping me out.” He got up, wincing as he held his head. “and so now I'll get going-” 

“No!” All three boys screamed, taking both Jeonghan and you aback, ears almost ringing. 

“We mean…” Seungkwan started at a much softer tone. “You can’t go out right now, it’s not safe for you.” 

“I am aware,” Jeonghan patted his pockets as though he was searching for something. “I need to call my men and find them in the city. Once they arrange a way for me to permanently leave the country, I'll finally be safe-” 

“You are safe here too.” Soonyoung quipped. “In fact, there’s no better place than this neighbourhood to be safe - it’s quiet, almost thirty miles from the city, filled with senior citizens who are absolutely cut off from the world - I'm sure they don’t even know who you are, she herself didn't.” He pointed at you.

“Most importantly,” Seokmin added. “Because this place is so dull, cops don’t even come here, hell, the closest police station is over twenty five miles away.” 

“Huh” Jeonghan looked thoughtful, continuing to slide his hands into all his pockets one by one, mumbling. “Where's my phone-” 

“It probably fell when you were running around-.” Seungkwan gripped the bulge in his back pocket where Jeonghan’s phone was tucked away. “-now that you can't contact your…gang? it'll be dangerous for you to go unguided.”

“Exactly.” Soonyoung stepped up. “Say you give it some time? Maybe 10 ten days or so, just so the things in the city to cool off a little and then you can go, find your people and leave the country?” 

Jeonghan stared at the floor as though he was mulling over it, each passing second feeling like almost an hour.

Finally he looked up, slowly nodding, much to everyone's relief. “I guess I could?” He held the bump on his head again, wincing in pain. “First I'm gonna need a shower and a meal.” He looked at you, lips curling into a small smile. “Is knocking people out your only talent or can you whip up a ramyeon too?”

Tearing your eyes away from his intense gaze you mumbled that you could, earning a two finger salute from him before he disappeared behind the door of the bathroom. 

As all of four of you collectively let out a sigh of relief, Seungkwan shoved Jeonghan’s phone into your hands. 

“Keep this safe and keep him safe.” He looked around at everyone. “We need to continue making him feel as though living here for 10 days is good for him, not us.”

“Agreed.” Seokmin hummed. “He cannot, at any cost, know he’s being held for ransom. God knows what he might do then.” 

“I still can’t believe it though.” Soonyoung let out a low whistle, looking around almost proud. “I can’t believe we accidentally kidnapped a mafia boss.” 

“Smells fucking good.” 

You bit back a gasp hearing Jeonghan’s voice from behind you, right at the shell of your ear as you stood by the stove, stirring his meal. Gulping you turned, regretting it immediately when you found yourself inches away from him yet again but this time, he was standing in just his towel, blonde wet hair falling into his eyes, rivets of water running down his smooth abdomen. As your eyes found their way back up again, Jeonghan smirked at you. 

“Strange.” He cocked his head at you. “On one hand you seem so meek and quiet, yet no one has ever really looked at me the way you do.” 

Please don’t say things like that. 

Feeling unnaturally hot, perhaps because you were sandwiched between a boiling pot of noodles and a man this attractive, you turned away, turning off the gas, wiping the sweat running down your neck. 

Jeonghan chuckled. “I need something to wear. You got anything to spare?” 

You nodded, setting the pot down, before moving away from him (thank god) and walking into your office room. Jeonghan followed at a distance, shaking off the water in his hair, looking around confused as he stepped in. 

“Aren’t you a bit too old to play dress up?” He pointed at the mannequin in the corner donning a pretty maroon half finished dress. 

“That’s…. My work.” You confessed, going through a stack of clothes in the drawers on the far end. 

“You made that?” 

You nodded softly. “Yeah I’m a..... freelance fashion designer.” 

“For who, the dead?” He frowned. “Who even wears clothes like these anymore?” 

Trying not to get too offended, you pulled out the pair of pajamas you were looking for and turned to him. “It’s for the main lead of the new Macbeth play. I, uh, custom make clothes for theater productions and stage plays.” 

“Ah.” He nodded looking around at the large table filled with pencil and measuring tapes and scissors and big shelves stacked with materials of all knds, two sewing machines lined up against the wall. “Interesting.” 

You're not really sure what he found so fascinating but you cleared your throat, trying to change the topic. 

“I only have this that might fit you.” Walking over, you handed him a neatly folded purple checkered pajama set. “I made it for my…. for someone a few years back but he didn’t like the colour so it's brand new.” 

“I love purple.” Jeonghan grinned, taking it from you, immediately slipping on the shirt. “Those boys are stupid to not like this.”

"It wasn't for them." You scoffed. "I've actually never made them clothes. My style is a little too old fashioned for them?” 

“You continue to surprise me.” He looked at you thoughtfully. “Old fashioned in dressing but open minded enough to live with three men.”

You blinked stupidly. “I don't live with three men.”

“Oh they don’t live here?” Jeonghan raised an eyebrow. “You four aren't a thing?” 

 “Four? As in all four of us??.….” You looked at him wide eyed and scandalized. “Of course not! How could you even think that, w-what does that even mean-” 

“Okay relax princess.” Jeonghan took a step back, raising his hands. “Even if you were, it’s cool. I don’t judge.” 

Definitely not relaxing, you looked everywhere but at him, heat continuing to rise uncomfortably in your body. 

Jeonghan looked at you amused, biting his lip. “But I will judge if you continue to stand here and watch me wear my pants.” 

Shaking your head and apologising, you practically ran out, heart racing in your chest as you leaned against the kitchen counter, hands gripping the edge. The kind of things he said, the way he looked at you….Please please please stop it. 

Trying your best to push him out of your mind, you got back to the stove, grabbing the pot and placing it on the table. You stared at it for a bit before sighing and pulling out a few of your mom’s sides from the fridge, adding it to his meal. As you poured out a glass of juice, Jeonghan walked up, rubbing his hands, pulling the chair and sitting down. 

“You got sides and all? Sweet.” 

He grabbed the pair of chopsticks and took a large bite, humming in relief. You knew it was burning hot, but he was probably way too hungry to care because the speed made it look like he was inhaling it. 

“Sit.” He looked up mid bite. “I don’t like eating alone.” 

Although you didn't wish to be in his presence for long, you sat down, unable to say no. The entire time, Jeonghan ate quietly, tasting everything, drinking the juice in between, loudly smacking his lips after every bite. After devouring it all in less than five minutes, he raised the bowl to his mouth, downing all the soup, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. 

“That was so delicious princess, I almost wanna stay here all my life.” He got up, stretching as he did. “But unfortunately 10 days is all we have.” 

Silently, you half nodded, gathering all the dishes he had left on the table, taking them to the sink. Jeonghan watched you, please stop looking at me, and when you returned to wipe the table, he leaned in, for the third time tonight, putting his face incredibly close to yours.

“You’re a tough nut to crack, but I think I’ll have you all figured out in ten days.” As you tried to move further back, unable to breathe in the proximity, he moved closer, smirking. “Goodnight princess.” 

And with that he walked off, turning into your bedroom, closing the door behind him. 

You simply stared, rapidly blinking, heart refusing to calm down, chest heaving as you struggled to breathe.

And this was just day zero of ten. 

[yearning-for-autumn]

A Night At The Opera

Word Count: 1,579

Pairing: Azriel x Reader

Warnings: Smut, this is just smut really, daddy kink, public sex

A/N: This is based on a writing prompt I found a while back and have now lost, the prompt was "Are you hard? Here?" If anyone knows where this is from I would be so grateful, i'm going to go digging for it so I can tag the creator.

Feyre was the only one among all of you who truly enjoyed the opera’s in Velaris. Yet, you banded together every now and then to humour her, the joy and wonder on her face worth every second of confusion at what was supposed to be happening on stage.

Tonight it seemed to be a harrowing love story between a Half-Fae male and a High Fae princess, though the warbling chorus singing in a language long forgotten wasn’t really translating.

Rhys was slowly drifting off to sleep, his head resting on Feyre’s shoulder and his violet eyes drooping shut. A low murmur came from where Cassian and Nesta sat, with Nesta flicking through the program and frowning as they tried to decipher the plot. And Azriel, sitting beside you, was every so often shifting his weight from on leg to the other, subtly crossing them and keeping his hands clasped in his lap.

You furrowed your brow. “Az, what’s wrong?” You whispered, “You’re acting really restless tonight.”

He hummed in response, not answering your question. You leaned in closer, pressing a soft kiss to his cheek. “We can leave if you don’t like it, honey. I’m sure Feyre won’t mind.” You said quietly, willing to abandon the Opera if it meant getting to the bottom of your mates strange behaviour. He grimaced.

“She will,” He said, turning his head to speak quietly into your ear, “I’m fine, just keep watching.” His deep voice sent shivers through you, and you adjusted your position in your seat. Rhysand had you all seated in the royal box, allowing for ample room. Frowning, you sigh “It’s not that interesting.” You were now fully ignoring the commotion on stage. “I’d rather know what’s going on with you?”

“Nothing.” He said through gritted teeth, “I’m fine. Can you please just sit back in your chair.”

You moved away from him with a huff, hurt. You subtly sniffed yourself, wondering if there was something wrong with the way you smelled. Was it your breath? You breathed into your hand, but all you could smell is the mint of your toothpaste. It was impossible to hide anything from Az, and with a roll of his eyes, he leaned closer to you over the armrest of the theatre chairs.

“Baby, you smell lovely, and you look lovely.” He assured you, “I’m just a bit uncomfortable. The chair’s too hard.”

“Rhys paid for the comfy seats.” You say, even more confused now. “Mine’s really cosy, do you want to switch?” You were becoming increasingly concerned. Azriel wasn’t usually one to complain, and he was definitely acting strange. Your mind raced with theory after theory, overthinking the things he had said until he put his face in one hand in frustration, pulling it away from where it had been resting on his upper thigh. As he lifted it, you saw what it had conveniently been hiding. Your eyes flickered up to his in disbelief.

“Are you hard? Here?” You asked incredulously, a hint of amusement dancing in your eyes. Azriel groaned and looked up at you, ashamed.

“I’ve been hard since I saw you come down the stairs baby. You look so hot.” His tone bordered on whiny, and you bit back a laugh.

“We should definitely go.” You said, your mind drifting to images of Azriel winnowing you back to his apartment, pressing you sensually against the wall, plush lips finding the hollow of your neck and--

“Baby stop. Feyre will be so upset if we leave now.” His low voice startled you out of your fantasizing. You let out a small growl of frustration.

“She’s not even looking.” You argued.

“Didn’t Rhys get hard in the Birchin one time?”

“We’ll have to walk past Cass and Nesta. They won’t let me live it down.” Was his second excuse. You wrinkled your nose.

“Yes. And it’s prime teasing material. I don’t want to be beaten at my own game, baby.” He retorted. You sighed, sensing he wasn’t going to give in easily, despite his predicament. It was surprising he’d stayed at attention this whole time, it seemed you weren’t the only one lost in your fantasies tonight. A small smile grew on your face as you turned slowly to look at him. You trailed a manicured hand down his thigh, delighting in the fluttering of the muscle underneath.

“Then there’s only one way to fix this, honey.” You said, voice low and teasing. Azriel’s eyes flickered up to you in surprise.

“What are you doing, princess?” And fuck if that wasn’t his husky bedroom voice that turned your core molten. You bit your lip, and your hands found the large bulge in his dress pants, squeezing lightly.

The performers on stage had begun a crooning number, the ridiculous costumes reflecting the fae-lights off every surface. Your hand started to stroke up and down his clothed shaft, feeling its thick length throb and pulse with every movement. It was a teasing pace, barely enough for Azriel to feel the warmth of your grip. Positioning yourself, you leant in close, pressing hot, open mouthed kisses to the column of his neck.

“Playing.” You whispered. He let out a shuddering breath.

“Princess,” His voice was a warning growl, “If you want to play, then you had better play properly.”

You couldn’t fight the shiver that ran down your spine.

“I can’t take you out here, Daddy,” You bit your lip as you pulled out the pet-name sure to make his resolve weaken, “people will see.”

“Fuck.” He ground out, “I need more than what you’re giving me, love. Just...go a bit harder.”

You giggled, trying to hush your voice.

“Are you begging me?” You teased. He snarled, nipping your earlobe, his hot breath searing your sensitive skin.

“Remember, Kitten. I can easily take you home and punish you after this.” Cauldron, your pussy was dripping. Azriel’s tongue licked a burning stripe up your neck, your pulse fluttering under your skin. You whimpered.

“Sorry Daddy.” You soothed with a pout. Azriel gave you a small smile and turned to kiss you properly, his tongue swirling around yours, dominating your mouth easily. Your eyes squeezed shut in ecstasy. Kissing Azriel was your strongest vice. It was so easy to get lost in him. He pulled back, not wanting to draw any unwanted attention your way, Rhys and Feyre were a row in front, but Nesta and Cassian were only a few chairs down from you, and though there was plenty of space between your chairs, they felt tantalisingly close.

You resumed your loving attention to his cock, still rock hard under your touch. From Azriel’s gritted teeth it was clearly becoming painful. Your hand sped up, squeezing hard at the tip to replace your usual twist that was impossible with the frankly offensive layer of clothing between your skin and his. You wanted to feel him, the heat of it, the taste. When you got home you swore you were going to suck him dry.

“Fuck, fuck. You’re so good baby. Such a good girl for me.”

“Is it good, Daddy?” You ask, your feigned innocence only turning him on more. You felt his cock give a painful throb beneath your touch and he sucked in a sharp breath.

“Mhm, lower your hand a bit, yeah, that’s it, yeah.” He groaned as you trailed your hand down and squeezed his balls roughly. You grinned. Azriel loved having his balls played with. You alternated between squeezing and stroking, ocassionally pressing down hard with the heel of your palm. This earned you a whimper, causing anther gush of slick between your legs.

“Baby, Kitten, fuck I’m done for if you keep that up.” He groaned through gritted teeth, the only time in his life where he struggled to keep quiet. You giggled, not letting up until he was thoroughly satisfied.

“Cum for me, Azriel.” You demanded, licking the shell of his ear.

Azriel came with a shuddering gasp and a wet feeling against your palm. You rubbed him through it, milking him dry as his pants grew sodden. Around you, the opera had reached it’s final chorus, Azriel breathing hard as you lay your head on his shoulder. You felt a little self-conscious now it was all said and done, and your gaze darted about to check no one was watching.

“I can’t believe we just did that.”

Azriel huffed a laugh, “I’ll treat you when we get home, love.” He said, trailing promising kisses down your neck. You pushed him away gently with a soft laugh.

“Will you eat my pussy, Daddy?” You asked teasingly.

“If you ask nicely.” He said, though you both knew it took no encouragement to get him on his knees, licking you to completion.

You glanced around at your friends. Rhys was now fully asleep on Feyre’s shoulder and Cassian was fiddling with Nesta’s hair, who was staring at the stage in puzzlement. None of them seemed to have noticed your activities.

As you left the theatre, Azriel’s shadows swirled around his waist, conveniently covering the damp stain of his cum. He grimaced as he walked with the cooling mess against his now soft dick. Cassian bumped your shoulder as he walked past, and he grabbed your hand to pull you closer to him.

“You do know we were sitting right next to you, Kitten.” You flushed scarlet, and Cassian’s booming laughter drowned out any of Feyre’s excited chatter about how good the opera had been. If only the rest of you had been watching.

A/N: This is my first ACOTAR fanfic ever! Feedback is appreciated but please be nice, i'm sensitive. I hope you liked it!

[ewanmitchellcrumbs]

Counting the Minutes

Pairing: Michael Gavey (Saltburn) x f!reader Warnings: Dirty talk, masturbation, phone sex. Word count: ~1k

Summary: Separated for the Christmas break, her and Michael have to get creative.

Author's note: A little addition to The Golden Ratio, though can also be read as a standalone piece. Day twelve of the Smuffmas prompts - "promise and phone sex". No tag list. Follow @fics-by-ewanmitchellcrumbs and turn on post notifications.

She nestles beneath the duvet, clicking through the contacts on her Nokia until she reaches Michael’s name. A faint smile tugs at her lips as her finger hovers over the call button, she can’t wait to speak to him.

They have been inseparable since the night that Oliver ditched him. They brought out the best in each other. Michael lit a fire underneath her that made her want to study harder, to strive for perfection in all things. In turn, she softened him up and taught him not to see the world through such a harsh lens. 

Their relationship had become serious enough that they had both chosen to spend their reading week together, instead of going home like the vast majority of people at their college had.

Now the term was over, and Christmas had beckoned them both home; Michael back to his mum, and her back to her dad. It’s odd not to see him every day, and though they’d stayed in touch on MSN Messenger, nothing compares to sitting with their legs entwined as they discuss their notes for their upcoming tutorials.

It’s only been a week and she misses the way he rests his chin against his hand when he’s deep in thought, how the intensity of his unblinking, blue eyed stare causes her skin to grow hot, and the smell of Imperial Leather soap and old books that she inhales when she rests her face in the crook of his neck.

Holding the phone to her ear, it rings once, twice, three times before he answers.

“Hello, you.”

His voice gives her butterflies. It’s the sound she’d attribute to how it feels to run your fingertips against plush velvet.

“Hi,” she says back with a coy smile. God, she wishes she could see him.

“How long can you talk for?” He asks.

“I put credit on my phone yesterday, ten pounds, so should be good for a while.”

“One hundred and sixty six point seven hours.”

She huffs a laugh. Of course his mind wanders to the maths of it.

“You think we could talk for that long?” 

“Hmm,” he muses, “I’m sure we could find a way to pass the time.”

“Like we did during reading week?” She asks softly, her fingers drawing lazy circles against the cotton of her bedsheets.

“Can’t really do that over the phone.”

“Have you ever had phone sex before?”

She hears him suck in a harsh breath before he replies. “What do you think?”

It causes her to giggle. Of course he hasn’t.

“Would you like to try it?” She holds the phone tighter to her ear, a lazy grin upon her lips.

“What does it entail?”

“Well,” she begins, switching her mobile from one ear to the other, and snuggling further down into the bed. “We describe what we’d like to do to each other while we touch ourselves.”

“One thousand, two hundred and fifty.”

“What?”

“On average, I can make you orgasm in about eight minutes. If we run through all of your phone credit then that’s how many times I could make you come.”

“Michael!” She gasps, feeling her insides flutter at the thought. “I don’t think that would be physically possible. I’ll settle for just the one today.”

He huffs a soft laugh, the sound breathy through the receiver. “Yes, I suppose that’s a bit impractical. Alright then, you start.”

“I wish you here right now,” she purrs seductively. “I want to push my hand up your t-shirt and run my fingers against that little trail of hair that leads all the way down your stomach, before I wrap them around your cock.”

His breathing grows heavier and she can hear the faint rustle of clothing in the background. She bites her lip, her own hand snaking beneath the duvet and into the waistband of her knickers.

“I miss the way you feel,” he tells her, voice shaky, “how tightly you grip me when I first push inside of you. I don’t think I’ll ever get used to that sensation. You’re so wet, so warm…”

She can hear the slick sound of his hand pumping over his cock, the sound sends arousal pooling between her legs and she circles her pearl in earnest, the added wetness aiding her ministrations. She hadn’t expected him to focus on the sensation of physical touch quite so much, but Michael is pragmatic after all, and his innovative approach excites her.

“Mmmm,” she moans quietly, “I want you to do that thing where you grab my hips to pull me back against you as you fuck me, it feels so good.”

A broken whimper escapes him, and there’s a brief moment of just his ragged breathing before he speaks again.

“The way your thighs tighten against my waist drives me mad. I swear I can still feel you there when I close my eyes, see the way your tits bounce– fuck!”

She whines, circling her bud faster, the coil in her gut tightening. “Wanna slide my hands down to your arse, push you in as deep as you’ll go, watch how your eyes screw shut as you come inside me.”

He grunts. “Wish I could come inside of you so badly. I need to feel you clenching around me, hear the pretty sounds you make as I fill you up.”

Her hips jerk involuntarily against her hand, and she knows she’s close. It’s been a week since he’s touched her and his filthy words have sent her unravelling much faster than she anticipated.

“I’m close,” she pants.

“M–me too,” he huffs back. “I’m gonna fuck you so hard the moment we get back to college.”

“Oh god–” Her response is cut off by her pleasured cry, as she falls apart, her walls spasming around emptiness as her thighs tremble.

A grunt and heavy breathing on the other end of the line lets her know that Michael has reached his end too. There’s nothing but the sound of their shared gasps for air, as they both recover.

“Do you promise?” She finally asks. “To fuck me hard when we get back to college?”

“Tell you what, let’s go back a day early and we can spend an entire day doing just that.”

She giggles excitedly, rolling onto her side. “I’ll be counting the minutes until then.”

[sunchyu]

Backseat — Jake.ㅤㅤㅤㅤ

[pairing]: jake × fem!reader.

[tags/warning]: smut, fluff, established relationship, car sex, unprotected sex (wrap it before you tap it) dry humping, cowgirl, slightly breeding, creampie, slightly manhandling, teasing, begging, switch. please let me know if i missed a few things.

๑ ⋆˚₊⋆ ────ʚ˚ɞ ────⋆˚₊⋆ ๑ ๑ ⋆˚₊⋆ ────ʚ˚ɞ

The rain was pouring hard against the windshield. The wipers at maximum speed, yet the road was still barely noticeable. You try to hide your fear but Jake steal a quick side glance my way.

"It's raining a whole lot.. Maybe we should stop until it gets better?"

"We have reservation though.." You say talking about the hotel you both had, decided to stop at during the night before going on with our trip.

"I know but this is dangerous.. How about you check when it's supposed to stop" You take your phone out and realize that heavy rain is on for the whole night. Maybe he was right, stopping for the night was the right decision. The hotel was still over an hour away, but with this rain, it could take over two hours even more.

"Sure, whenever you see a gas station let's stop" The side of his lips pinch in a small smile and without turning his eyes from the road, his hand comes to lightly rub your thigh.

"A night in the car, how exciting uh?"

"Sure~" You try to sound excited, but heavy rain was never your forte. After about ten minutes of driving, he finally pulls into a gas station. You look around and look pretty deserted. "Jeez, it's closed, usually gas station are open 24h aren't they?"

"Maybe it's abandoned?"

"Don't play Jake.. You're gonna get scared by your own game.." You say knowing damn well that this kid would cry at the idea of abandoned gas station. You squint your eyes and actually.. "Actually.. You might be right, some windows are broken and the main door is closed off."

"Are you for real?"

"It's not a big deal come on just park over there and let's get in the back of the car. I'm tired." You see his eyes hesitating between where you show him to park and the abandoned building.

"I don't know it looks dangerous.."

"I'll cuddle the shit out of you"

"Ok we can park here" You laugh at his sudden change of behaviour as he gets to the parking spot You've said earlier. It was under a barely lit light. Once parked, you get in the backseat easily however it becomes a struggle when it's his turn with his awkwardly talk body.

"You ok?" You try not to laugh too much at his position.

"Ye—Yes.." He gives you one last push and he's sitting at the backseat with you. "Alright.. Let's bring those down. I think there's a blankets in the back." You take the blankets he talking about while he starts bringing the seats down making the backseat more spacious and looking actually somewhat cozy.

"No pillows though.." You pout a bit but he just smiles and lays down with the blankets.

"Right here ~" He shows his torso and you laugh lightly as you join him. You put your head on his torso feeling cozy already. The rain was tapping down on the windows, you was quick to close your eyes and drift to sleep.

＊┈┈┈┈＊┈┈┈┈＊┈┈┈┈ •┈┈┈•┈┈┈•┈┈┈

Your eyes open slightly, the first thing you see is the car door. You had probably shifted in your sleep. Jake is now spooning you. You bring up your watch, and the time lights up showing "3:27 am" ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ

"Only?" You whine a bitㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ

"What's wrong?" You hear his raspy sleepy voice behind you, his breath on your neck that send shivers down your spine. Your eyes slightly open up, surprised by effects his simple words had on you.

"No—Nothing, I just saw it's only 3:30 am, I thought it would be later in the morning."

"You're not sleep anymore?" A familiar shiver goes now your spine again this time a bit more intense, his voice still raspy and deep. "It's still raining hard, we can't go back on the road now."

"I know I'll just try to sleep." You close your eyes, but after moving around a little you realize how hard it is to fall asleep back. You sigh a little and try to ignore the very much obvious heat present between your legs. You try to brush it off but any kind of friction makes it worst. This was just the worst time to be horny.

"Y/N, you've be squirming for the past ten minutes are you okay?" His deep voice resonates in your head, but it only becomes worst when his arms around your waist brings you flush against him. "Hum.. Y/N?"

"Yes?" You say in a weak voice

"Are you wet?" Your cheeks start to heat up. You had no idea how wet you was, but you wasn't expecting to be wet enough for him to feel it that easily through the clothes.

"Mhm.. I'm fine." You blur out, Your voice more shaky than you wanted it to be.

"Are you really?" His arm around you snakes down between your legs and he shamelessly deep his middle finger in your pants feeling your drenched clothed core. You directly moan lightly which was completely out of control. "I don't think you are." He cooes in your neck, his voice not raspy as before. Which mean he was awake and ready to tease. His finger start to form slow but intense circle around your heat making you soon a moaning mess under him.

"Ja—Jake~" His name escape your lips in relief. The more you move your hips, the more you could feel him getting hard against you. You could feel his length against your lower back and at this point you wanted to have it inside of you. "Please Jake~"

"What is it?" You was usually the dominant one in the bedroom. Jake had his moments, but he never made you ask for anything like that before.

"I want it, please~" You whine the heat in your core only getting more and more intense. You was so close but you know that you wouldn't be able to come with only his finger.

"What is it that you want baby."

"You to be inside me.." You say shyly, his hand leaves your pants which makes you whine but soon his arms take you so you can straddle him. You can finally see his face with the faint light from outside. His lips are red and parted as if he's been biting them. His eyes are hooded and filled with lust, and his hair are against his forehead all messy. You whimper lightly at the view, your eyebrows meeting in a worried expression. His hand are firmly on your hips and he grinds himself slowly against your core as if he's torturing himself more than you.

"Fuck.." The slur leaves his lips and your core throbs. Finally, he let you lightly bring your hips up so he can take his pants and boxers down under his knees. In the process, you quick to take your own pants and panties off. You take your shirt off and before you lower yourself, you grab the hem of his shirt . He gets the message and takes it off before directly having his hands on your naked hips. You lower and take him at his base. You suddenly feel his tip against your core and you shiver. It felt like last time you felt him was forever ago.

You lower yourself slowly on him. Your core is so wet you directly take him all in. He automatically closes his eyes, his lips lightly parted and quivering at the sensation. You stay sitting on him for a minute to get used to him. Your head on his lower abdomen. However, soon his hands and hips indicate you that he wants you to move. You start slowly moving up and down his length. You can perfectly feel him against your walls, every part of him is fitting so perfectly. His hips start to meet your thrust wanting to get more sensation. The windows start to fog up and pearls of sweat started decorating his body and yours.

"Shit Y/N.." He says concentrated on our connection. He then looks up and sees your hooded eyes that haven't really left any of his facial features. Observing every little detail and little movement his lips are doing. How his eyes go from open to shut tight in seconds. "Aren't you enjoying this a bit too much?" He smiles, the extremities of his lips becoming pointy.

"Maybe~" You stop your thrust and start grinding yourself against him. You can feel him deep, and his hands start making you grind harder and faster. His fingers almost bruising your flesh, and veins popping out on his forearms. "Fuuck.." You start shaking and before you really wanted it, you jerk your head back as your orgasm washing over you out of nowhere.

"Ah!.. Y/N." He moans deeply and comes deep inside as surprised as you by your sudden pulsating heat around his length. "Shiiit.." Your last moans mixing together filling the small space up with the lewd noises.

You raise yourself, letting him come out of you and feel his release come out of you slowly slightly dripping on his lower abdomen. You try to catch your breath before you can clean everything up. Once our clothes back on, You're back next to him in his arms.

"I don't think we've ever finished that fast." He says still lightly out of breath.

"Yeah, I can't tell if that was amazing or pathetic." We both laugh together.

"Maybe it's because we haven't done it in so long" He says with a bit sadness in his voice. Lately both of you been hectic with each other personal life and jobs.

"Probably, good thing we have a whole weekend ahead of us~"

© sunchyu

[wontoruu]

Cookies and Crushes

pairing: non-idol!yoon jeonghan x reader

type: fluffy

tags: bittersweet jeonghan, he knows ur lying, friends to lovers, his love language is touch and pissing you off, dino can’t keep secrets to save his life, college student jeonghan, idk how to tag sorryy

playing now: melting - kali uchis

summary: yoon jeonghan hears from a little birdie that you may have feelings for him.

author’s note: my first ever fic so pls excuse any errors or odd things … hope u enjoy! also i wrote this in my notes so if formatting is weird that’s why :,)

✩ ‧ ₊˚ ˋ ° • * ⁀ ➷

Sunday has been a bore, all of your friends too busy to hang out today. You’ve resorted to baking cookies, daydreaming of giving them to a special someone tomorrow morning. Your phone buzzes with a new message.

hani ^_^: can i come over?

Cold water awakens your nerves, your heart racing and suspicions invading your mind.

you: that’s random

you: why?

Immediately after sending the message, you swipe out of the chat, switching off your phone and continuing to scoop the balls of cookie dough onto the baking tray. Tension pulls on your shoulder, curiosity forcing your hands back to your phone, viewing your notifications.

hani ^_^: just wanna see you

hani ^_^: do u not wanna see me? :(

You roll your eyes, pausing at first to think of a way to response before opening the chat.

you: jeonghan you’re you.

you: i never know what’s happening in that pretty head of urs

you: what if ur gonna kill me

You sigh at your attempt of flirting, your not so obvious crush on Jeonghan seeming to thankfully not have gotten through his head. It’s nice, but also infuriating. You suppose that when you’re a guy as fine as he is, everyone is automatically sweeter to you. You finish off placing the dough balls, carefully placing the baking tray in the preheated oven as you savor the warmth of the open oven. As you close it, your phone dings.

hani ^_^: aw u think i’m pretty?

hani ^_^: i’d never kill you don’t worry about it baby ;)

His antics make your heart race a little faster, though you won’t admit to yourself how easy it is for him to catch you. He’s like this to everyone, you remind yourself, he’s too beautiful not to be.

you: i’m honored to make the list of the various girls you call baby

you: also a serial killer wouldn’t admit who they’d kill now would they?

As you close your phone, you’re worried that your deflection of his flirtations may be too obvious about your huge crush on him, but you’re too far gone now. You just know that Seungkwan would flame you for how you’re talking to him, and even more so for not asking for his advice on what to say. You lean on the countertop, thinking intensely, when your phone goes off again.

hani ^_^: no such list babyy

hani ^_^: let me come over pleasee

hani ^_^: i’ll behave i pinky promise!!

You tap a finger on your lips, considering his request, forgetting that it was the original intention of this conversation in the first place. Your apartment is clean, having cleaned it yesterday, so that wouldn’t be an issue. Even better, you’d have warm cookies ready for him.

you: hmm fine only if you behave

you: n i got a surprise for you :))

hani ^_^: how sweet of you

hani ^_^: i’ve got something for you too actually

hani ^_^: be there in 20 :)

Excitement floods your veins, thinking of what he could be giving you. Would he also give you baked goods? Maybe a charm for your bracelet? Or maybe he’s just bringing food? Your mind brims with possibilities, nerves flaring.

Finally, the oven goes off and you go to take out the cookies. When the oven opens, the mesmerizingly sweet smell of the cookies floods your apartment, following you as you place the hot tray on a cooling rack. You hang up your oven mitts, going to sit on your couch and wait for Jeonghan. You check the time, and he should be here soon which means that adrenaline has begun to flood your body, anxious for his arrival.

The doorbell rings. Finally. You ecstatically hop onto your feet to let him in, slowing your steps as you get to the doorway so he doesn’t hear the patter of your enthusiasm on the floor. You glance through the peephole, seeing him holding a bottle of wine and chocolates. A flush begins on your cheeks, a little — okay, a lot — curious as to why he has gifts in arm.

Opening the door, you’re met with Jeonghan in his newly blond hair, a white windbreaker over a white shirt, black billowy track pants, and a maroon cap. He looked like the perfect boyfriend, a bottle of wine and chocolates in his hand. Beautiful.

“I feel underdressed now,” You say, a flush growing on your face, “Are those for me?” An obvious question, but just to make sure.

He laughs softly, “Of course they are, pretty. Who else would they be for?” He carries both the wine and chocolates into the apartment as he passes you, eyes wandering. Placing the wine bottle on the counter, he’s looking around your apartment and you feel yourself shrink in from his inspection.

“I made cookies, but you’ve outdone me with the chocolates and wine.” You say, following him to the kitchen but stopping by the bar, where he’s looking around your cabinets for wine glasses you assume. He’s been over to your house only a few times before, but he’s the type of person that makes themselves at home regardless of where they go.

“I had to bring my favorite girl some gifts,” He says as he finally finds your glasses before you could tell him, “You like them?”

“Favorite girl, huh?” You say as he approaches across the bar where you sit, “What favor do you need from me?” You raise an eyebrow.

“Who says I need a favor?” He looks at me, head cocking to the side before he pours our drinks, “I did say I just wanted to see you.”

Flustered, you stand up to plate the cookies, “Right, sure. What does Hannie want from me?” Your back turned to him, you feel more bold in how you talk to him. Pulling the cookies off the tray, you flinch slightly at the heat but proceed to plate them all neatly.

“Nothing, really. Is it so hard to believe that I just miss your face?” Honesty seeps through his silky words.

You turn in his direction, now suddenly faced with Jeonghan’s body turned completely towards you, eyes twinkling. Turning away, you walking back to your side of the bar, placing the plates cookies in between you both.

“A little bit. You’ve never done this, and you’ve never brought me gifts like these before.” You raise an eyebrow, prompting him to explain himself.

“Alright, fine. I have a secret motive, but it’s nothing bad. I just heard a rumor, that’s all.” He smirks into his glass, taking a sip while he looks at you. You’re nervous, worried he might finally find out you have a crush on him. But you know that there’s only one person that knows, and Seungkwan would never tell Jeonghan about your little crush.

“A rumor? Care to elaborate?” You attempt to mask the worry in your voice, but it might show more in your voice than you think.

“I heard through a little birdie that you have feelings for someone. True?” It feels as though he’s pried open your head and stolen your biggest worry and said it aloud, though you find some solace in him not saying if he knows who it is.

“Maybe. Whats your source?” You ask, wanting someone to blame.

“And have you tell them off? No thanks. And maybe isn’t an answer, it’s an easy yes or no.” His eyes grow more inquisitive, prodding you for the answer he wants.

“I’m just curious, I won’t tell them off.” You say, mentioning nothing more of the crush, attempting to change the topic.

“Sure you won’t, like how the sky won’t be blue tomorrow,” He looks at me significantly, “Do you like someone or not?”

“What’s it to you?” You answer instead, avoiding his eyes and looking out the window to your right.

“I wanna know if it’s true you have feelings for me.” He says finally, not wanting to dance around the subject any longer. Your blush creeps deeper into your cheeks, his direct words echoing in your head. How does he know?

“Mm.” You hum, caught like a deer in headlights and attempting to think of what to say. What could you even say? Surely you should just admit to it, the silence ringing in your ears the longer you leave him answerless.

“Answer me, baby.” He smiles into his glass, watching you attempt to come up with a way to sidestep the question. He sees the gears turning, the flush warming your cheeks, and he already has the answer he needs from those signs alone.

Dino would be furious, having accidentally spilled the beans of your crush on Jeonghan last night when his dance crew was out for drinks, and making Jeonghan promise not to say anything to you. But Jeonghan had already come up with a plan, knowing his hope of his feelings being mutual is now true.

“Maybe.” You say in a small voice, still not looking at him. Only as he walks into your line of sight do you look up at him, his back illuminated by the sunlight, his face unfairly pretty.

“You do, don’t you?” He smiles knowingly, the answer to his questions all over your beautiful face. His right hand reaches your face, cradling your chin and stroking your cheek.

“It’s all over your face,” You look at him sternly when he speaks, “It’s cute.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” You insist, stubborn, “We’re just friends.”

“Oh, really?” He grins, “Is that what you want?”

“It doesn’t matter what I want,” I say too quickly, “You’re just a friend.”

“Hm. What do you want, cutie? Because I heard that you want more than that.”

“Then I guess they’re wrong.” You say standing up in place, turning away from him to grab the wine bottle that he placed inconveniently close to his side. You pour a hefty glass, ready to continue playing this game.

He moves behind you, placing a hand on your hips and another on the bar, “Are they really?” His breath is hot against your ear as you take a sip, “Why can’t you look at me in the eyes and tell me that?”

“I’ve already said it.”

“And yet you won’t look me in the eyes. Nervous I’ll know you’re lying?”

“Nope. Just don’t want to give you the satisfaction of looking at my eyes,” You lie, too obviously.

“Oh, I’m plenty satisfied already. My hands on you, making you all nervous.” To further prove his point, his hands draw shapes on top of your clothes, though it almost feels like he’s searing your skin.

“You’re an ass.” You weakly spit out.

“I don’t think you believe that yourself, honestly.” Growing flustered, you finally turn around to face him, a satisfied smile on his face as you feed into his teasing.

“I don’t like you,” You say again to remind him, your voice weak with deception.

“Just admit it already, sweetheart,” Placing both his hands on your hips now, hands roaming and leaning further into your space, “You like me. And you love it.” His hands dip under your loose shirt, the contact forcing the truth to the surface.

“Maybe I do.” You say back, eyes flickering to his to watch his expression.

“Say it properly, please.” His smile is too sweet as he speaks again, teasing you.

“I have feelings for you, Yoon Jeonghan. Even if you are an ass.” You roll your eyes, moving forward to lean your head on his chest to escape his gaze.

“The feelings are mutual, pretty girl,” He chuckles at your head burying in his chest, one hand reaching up to brush through your hair.

“You’re mean.” You whine into his chest.

“Sorry, baby. You’re so much fun to tease.”He brings you away from his chest to look at you, really look at you, beautiful in the glow of the sun, finally having you.

“You just hate me, actually.” You joke, despite the fact that he did literally just admit that he likes you too.

“Aw come on, you know I have feelings for you.” He grins a little sweeter, and just to prove his point, his lips meet yours. The kiss is tender, slow and soft as he savors the feeling of your lips on his. The hands that were once on your hips are now tightening around your waist, pulling you impossibly closer into him, as you loop your arms loosely around his neck. He pulls away, swiping his thumb on your lips.

The cookies may be uneaten, but the sweetness finds you anyways, your mind etching this morning into the walls of your heart.

[hydrangeapartridge]

Overindulging (EmmRook short fic)

Summary: Emmrich gets upset because he put on a little weight. Rook is here to reassure him.

The first part is mostly sfw, I signaled the moment we switch to a more heated (E-rated) exchange, please mind it.

Part of my EmmRook post game (so may contain spoilers) short-fics found here on AO3 (or on my blog with the Emmrich x Rook tag).

Rook was absentmindedly getting dressed when a very highpitched, scandalized noise startled her. It wasn’t coming from veyr far away, and she only needed to turn around to find Emmrich staring intently at his midsection, his fingers frozen over the buttons of the waistcoat he was fastening. It was his favourite one, the green one with the golden buttons.

« Darling » He called out to her, distress clear in his voice. He looked up to meet her eyes, sadness mixed with frustration in his warm brown gaze. « It doesn’t fit anymore » He stated, and indeed, Rook could see the first two buttons were fastened but the effort of it was dangerously straining the fabric. As for the last one, it would be impossible to fasten without tearing the lovely piece of clothing and ruining it.

« Well I suppose you’ll have to wear another one » Rook offered with an apologetic smile. She was ever the optimistic one of the two.

Emmrich sighed in defeat, undoing the hardly fastened buttons in a smooth gesture. However right it was, his lover’s proposition, and the implications behind his failure at getting dressed didn’t sit well with the watcher.

« I knew I had gained a little weight, there are always ups and downs in a year. But I’ve owned this waistcoat for decades and it always fit » He complained, pained and irritated. « Now I’ll have to get my entire wardrobe mended and ajusted... »

Rook stepped closer to her lover and placed a tender hand on his elbow to try and pull him out of the spiral of negativity he was losing himself into.

His slight increase in waist circumference wasn’t a surprise, for they had probably overindulged in the last months when it came to food. Emmrich took a sabbatical so they could undertake a journey around Thedas to reconnect with their former companions of the Veilguard, and check on the reconstruction of the cities destroyed by the Blight.

Those long weeks turned months had been a wonderful succession of heartwarming reunions, all of which of course around generous amounts of food and drinks. Rook and Emmrich had been delighted to discuss with their friends while sharing large meals made of the most delicious dishes, whether grilled, or fried, or covered in rich sauces, as well as around tea-times assorted with the softest buttery and flaky pastry. And not to forget the syrupy wines and bittersweet cocktail. Emmrich wasn’t known for his gluttony, but he still really enjoyed a good meal, as well as the cultural enlightment of discovering local dishes. On the way home, he kept reminiscing the taste of the famous llomerryn red sauce from Rivain or the Gnocchi from Antiva.

Pair that with a hectic schedule preventing them from exercising as they usually did, and you got a few more pounds.

It was nothing too serious. Rook herself had gained a little chub around the thighs and waist, but she understood Emmrich’s concerns. He liked to look clean and sharp, and had a strong taste for elegant fashion. All his clothes were also tailor-made and cost a pretty penny, which was an investment he made for the long run. He took very good care of his belongings and she could see why it would upset him to be forced to have them remade.

Rook gently squeezed Emmrich’s elbow. “I’m sure there is no need to come to that yet. A little more exercise and lighter meals should do the trick. You’ll be back in shape in no time”

She tried to reassure him, but Emmrich wasn’t having any of it. He placed a hand over his stomach and squeezed the fat there though the fabric of his expensive white shirt, then clicked his tongue. “I fear it won’t be that simple. Each year staying fit becomes more and more challenging. I’m getting limp and my skin will only keep sagging until I all wrinkled and flaccid. I’ll gradually wilt before your very eyes darling, this is only the start”

Oh.

So that’s what this was about.

Emmrich had partially made peace with his mortality when he brought back Manfred, and he had accepted that Rook loved him and wanted to be with him on the long run despite their difference in age. However his fears and insecurities resurfaced from time to time.

Rook’s heart sank in her chest and she pressed herself against her lover, circling her amrs around his waist, hoping her presence would comfort him better than words would. From experience, she kew that when he was in this state, there was no reasoning with him; no appealing to his usual logic. The last thing she wanted was to get into a fight because of such a trivial problem. Well, trivial to her. They already did fight several times because she brushed off his heartfelt concerns too casually and now she knew better than to lose her temper over this.

Emmrich grew silent, and soon, he hugged Rook back, the palms of his hands pressing against her back.

They stayed in this embrace for a while, Rook listening to his heart while he breathed in the familiar smell of her hair.

“You know I’ll always love you” Rook promised against his chest, and she heard his resulting deep, shaky exhale close to her ear.

“I know darling” He sighed. “It is not my intention to question that… but sometimes it feels surreal” he kissed her temple before he continued. “And sometimes I cannot help but regret that we didn’t meet sooner, or that I wasn’t born later”

Rook looked up to meet his misty gaze, a bittersweet smile on her face. “I understand that sentiment. But I believe things were meant to be this way. I am glad we even got to meet each other. And survived to enjoy the rest”

“Of course, you are absolutely right dearest. I wouldn’t have it any other way” Emmrich caressed her cheek, craddling it in his warm palm. “But the human heart can be weak, and mine is particularly prone to that kind of longing”

Rook nuzzled into his touch “That’s part of why I love you” She stood on her tiptoes, and whispered against his lips “I never hoped to meet such a romantic soul”

She kissed him then, soft and gentle, and he reverently kissed back, both of his hands holding her face like a precious treasure he feared would escape him.

When they pulled back, Rook let the hand that was pressed to his chest travel to his navel. She eyed his reaction carefully, assessing his consent, checking that her touch on the part of him he criticized was still welcomed.

Emmrich didn’t protest, but the attention made him shy, still a bit self conscious, and he distracted himself by replacing a stray lock of hair behind Rook’s ear.

“You are still the most dashing necromancer around you know” Rook said, her usual bright tone returning to her. “And you won’t be alone in your effort. I’ll help. I have a few pounds to lose too”

Emmrich let out an incredulous huff. “Darling there is no need for you to do that. You are simply perfect. Marvelously beautiful as always”

Rook raised an accusing eyebrow and gave him a chastising look which silenced him immediately. Talk about the pot calling the kettle black.

Rook splayed her fingers moree firmly over Emmrich’s lower stomach. “You know, I’m thinking of a pleasant way of exercising…” She whispered wickedly as her hand traveled lower. “I’m sure it burns a lot of fat”

She pressed her palm against Emmrich’s crotch and he let out a small breathy moan.

“Darling, we were just getting dressed” He protested, but only for the principle of it, his voice lacking any resolve.

Rook hummed “But since you were dissatisfied with your clothes, I think it’s better if you don’t wear them at all”

And so Emmrich was quickly convinced to indulge in a different kind of pleasure.

E-RATING STARTING HERE

After a few heated kisses, and unbutonning his shirt, Rook swiftly fell to her knees in front of Emmrich. Without hesitation, she untucked his crisp shirt from his flannel pants first. Her hand deliberatelly brushed his clothed growing erection before she set on undoing the buttons of his trousers.

“Darling” Emmrich tried to grab her attention and she hummed in response but didn’t stop. “As much as I enjoy the view and the promise of your attention, I fail to see how this counts as exercising on my part”

Rook gave his still clothed erection a gentle kiss through the fabric of his underwear. “Consider it a warm up” She hummed “And a way to show you how much I adore every part of you”

Emmrich let out a languid sigh. His fingers moved to brush against her cheek, and played with the hair there while she pulled his pants and underwear enough to find the most sensitive part of him. “Whatever pleases you my dear” He breathed in that lower voice that was reserved just for her; just for these moments shared between them in intimacy. He always ended up indulging her.

Rook took him in one hand, and splayed the fingers of the other over Emmrich’s stomach. She started stroking him to full hardness, while reverantly exploring the dip of his waist, and the more recent softeness of his belly, where a trail of dark hair led to his growing desire. She loved to touch him. Emmrich was a generous lover and was always the one to insist on how gorgeous she was and to focus on making sure of her pleasure. She desperately wanted to reciprocate the favour. Besides, she knew from experience that for all his composure and restreint, a teasing from the mouth should rile him up enough that he would then be most enclined to bend her over any avalaible surface and take her most ardently.

Emmrich’s self consciousness over his stomach became the last of his concerns when she stopped stroking him and started leaving opened mouth kisses on the length of him. He gasped and moaned when she proceeded to take him between her sinful lips, caressing the part that she couldn’t fit in yet between a few fingers.

Rook moaned around him when she felt his hand carefully grab the back of her head, holding ontop her hair without pressure to ground himself and help guide her. She increased the pace of her ministrations as Emmrich’s voice joined the lewd wet noises she was making. True to himself, he kept praising her, complimenting her skills, singing praises of her beauty as she worshipped him with her mouth.

This was incredibly pleasant, but not quite what she had in mind. She pulled away to catch her breath, lazily stroking him instead, the glide made easy from her saliva and his excitement. Her other hand cupped his balls, her heel pressing into his perineum until he was left breathless and flustered. She then moved to squeeze his naked bottom, a part of him that she enjoyed very much indeed. The number of times she was distracted by that ass back in the lighthouse she couldn’t count on the fingers of two hands.

Now that she had rendered Emmrich silent but for ragged whimpers, it was her turn to talk.

“My heart, you focus on the front of your body because that is the first thing you see. But know that the sight of your backside would make anyone both jealous and enticed” She murmured before giving his tip a quick suck, earning a strangled “Darling” from him.

She squeezed his bottom again for good mesure, giving it a small swat as if to make her point “I have seen the way people look at it. Makes me want to burn their eyes in their sockets”

“Darling,I’m sure that’s no-” Emmrich tried to say between heavy pants but interrupted himself, completely losing his train of thoughts when Rook took him into her mouth again, as deep as possible.

Rook smiled around him, prood that she rendered him silent. She used her now both free hands to grab at his backside firmly, using her hold as leverage to try and take him even deeper with each bob of her head.

Emmrich’s hand tightened in her hair, and she moaned delightfully in tune to her lover’s half hearted and whimpered pleas for her to slow down. She could tell that Emmrich was using the last threads of his self control not to thrust into her throat at his own rythm. His thighs were clenching, his knees buckling, she could tell he was losing it.

He was close. But this was far from over yet.

After a wicked swirl of her tongue around him, Rook pulled back, earning a distraught whine from her lover.

She barely wipped her mouth before she got up and proceeded to quickly take off her clothes. Emmrich’s gaze followed the reveal of her bare skin with a distinct hunger. For a second she had rendered him lost as what to do with himself. He stood before her, painfully hard and half dressed, panting and flushed. He looked ravishing; and she wouldn’t give him the leisure of regaining the composure she worked so hard to break.

Rook quickly stepped back into his arms, pressing her naked form flush against his body.

“I think you’ve warmed up enough” She said against his lips, her hand caressing his chest where his shirt was opened. He tried to follow after her lips but she pulled away, instead hiking one leg up his hip. Emmrich’s scattered brain had mere seconds to gather what was expected of him before Rook jumped into his arms, wrapping her beautiful legs around his narrow waist. Emmrich caught her of course, his hands coming to support her backside while she anchored her arms behind his neck.

“Now it is your turn to do all the work” Rook teased, but Emmrich complied.

“Gladly” He breathed before he crashed his lips into Rook’s, his usual finesse lost in the turmoil of his desire.

Rook’s shorter and lighter figure was easy to carry for Emmrich, who possessed more muscles than would be expected of a scholar. In his endevour to age as well as possible, he had adopted a healthy lifestyle consisting of a balanced diet and a lot of exercise. The watcher valued physical form as much as a keen intellect. To fight the rebellious undead of the Necropolis, one needed to stay in shape. Also, Rook learned when they met that necromancers from Nevarra enjoyed friendly tornaments of battle magic and took pride in winning them if possible. Emmrich had his pride, and trained so he would easily prevail if a student or colleague dared challenge him.

Rook remembered feeling both surprised and weirdly aroused the first time Emmrich twisted the limbs of a Venatori cultist with a florish of his wrist, and then proceeded to send him flying with a powerful strike of his heavy staff. To think she first considered him a delicate scholar when they met, and even hesitated bringing him to the field. How wrong she had been, and how she then had put that strength to good use.

Rook wasn’t too heavy, but to perform the activities they had fallen into, they needed more stability. While he kept kissing his lover, Emmrich walked to the nearest wall and proceeded to carefully press Rook’s back against it. The support the wall offered allowed him to free one of his hands. He held Rook around the waist with one arm, and while his lips went down to explore the delicious column of her neck, his free hand traced a path from her clavicle to her breast, where he focused his attention. He squeezed and pressed just the way she liked, without forgetting to give attention to her already erected nipple. Rook’s head fell back into the wall as an abandonned moan escaped her lips when his mouth replaced his fingers on her chest. In an impressive exercise of multi-tasking and balance, Emmrich’s hand travelled lower, testing the state of arousal of his lover. She could see the bicep of the arm holding her tensing under the strain of her weight, pulling the fabric of his shirt tight. That sight only could have made her ready for him.

To only Emmrich’s surprise, Rook was soaking wet already. He collected some moisture on his index finger still, and proceeded to pet her clit for good mesure. Rook closed her eyes under his expert ministrations, but she shook her head when he started teasing her folds and her entrance.

“Please my heart, I need you now”

To think she planned on being the patient one today. Emmrich’s lips traveled back to her neck, then cheek, and stopped to kiss and nip at her sensitive ear.

“Who am to deny you when you find yourself in such distress dearest” He purred, low and assertive before he blew on her wet and tender ear, making her gasp and shamelessly grind against his erection.

Rook admired the display of Emmrich’s strength as he repositionned her to align her center with his aching need. She was vulnerable and opened, her legs brought up against the inside of his elbow, her ankles thrown over his shoulders and her weight supported by both the wall and Emmrich’s long fingers grabbing her hip dips, her lower back mostly fitting into his large palms.

He entered her slowly, making sure she was comfortable. The sight was delightfully exciting: Emmrich still half dressed taking her naked form, the muscles of his broad shoulders and of his arms flexing to hold her in place as he penetrated her.

A first tentative thrust and then Emmrich pressed flush against Rook, bending her in half and trapping her against the wall while his cock caressed her insides. She felt impossibly full and deliciously stretched, forced to take him without moving; losing the ability to form a coherent sentence from the raw pleasure of it all.

Rook’s moans were loud and unrestrained as Emmrich took her against the wall, deep and slow. Even when pent up, he still was one to make groundbreaking love and not copulate like animals. He did slip a few times however, thrusting harder as he lost a bit of control the more Rook tightened and gushed around him.

Tears wet her eyelashes from how good it all felt, the sensations heightened by the praises Emmrich’s velvet tongue kept drowning her in. He breathily told her about the marvelous display she offered, akin to a nymph straight from an Orlesian painting; a perfect portrayal of a godess of pleasure and lushness. He fed her poetry as sweet as honey while ravishing her with impossibly accurate assaults of her most sensitive places, reaching impossibly deep in this position.

Rook left herself get lost in the pleasure he offered, and soon, as he told her he would hold her like this forever, make love to her endlessly, she choked on trying to tell him how much she loved him, whimpering instead while clenching down on him like a vice, coming around him in a raw display of bliss, tears of ecstasy rolling down her cheeks.

Gradually, Emmrich slowed down until his hips came to a stop. He reclined a little and pressed a few amourous kisses on Rook’s wet cheeks.

Rook’s chest was still rising and falling rapidly when she regained the ability the think properly. Her previously hazy eyes found Emmrich’s warm brown ones.

“I love you” She whispered in a laboured breath as if it was the most important and fitting conclusion to this exchange.

Emmrich chuckled, amused and proud of himself for rendering Rook almost speechless “I love you too dearest”

He released her trembling legs so she could get them around his waist again. She hugged him tight while he held her by two hands under her backside, gently rocking her until she regained her footing.

After a while, Rook perked up, blinking away the haze in her mind only to realize something. She looked between them, where he was still hard against her. “You didn’t-” She started, looking to Emmrich. “What about you?” She asked, dejected. She wanted this to be about him and it ended up being about her again.

Emmrich’s chuckle was low and pleasing to her ears. “I believe I ought to prolonge the effort for the exercise to truly be efficient on burning calories.” He said, a mysterious smile on his thin lips. “A ratio of three to one should suffice for today don’t you think?”

Rook blinked owlishly. She had no clue what he was talking about.

Emmrich let her think about it, amused by her airheaded state. He took a step back, then turned and walked to their bed where he carefully dropped Rook on her backside on the silken covers.

“What ratio are we talking about?” Rook asked as Emmrich caught her leg by the ankle and brought it to his lips for a tender kiss to her malleolus.

“Orgasms of course darling. One for me after three for you” Emmrich replied like it was the most obvious of things. His assertive brown gaze pinned Rook down, making her feel like a meal on display. “If you’d be kind enough to help me keep on exercising of course” He added lowly, in that tone that made her wet without being touched.

Rook inhaled sharply, feeling herself ready to go again. She couldn’t possibly refuse such an offer.

“Well, I did say I’d help…”

[scoops-aboy86]

Here, have an au drabble with always-a-girl Stevie Harrington and her boyfriend (husband?) being absolutely roasted by Max and their own dumbassery. Inspired by all the fics where Steddie open condoms with their teeth and a part of me cringes—even though, like, that’s probably accurate to the 80s, idek. 🤦‍♀️

”What?” Stevie says blankly. She resettles the baby in her arms, switching him to her other breast before he makes her feel lopsided—the mouth on this kid, just like his daddy. Who is on the other side of the room, frozen in the doorway with the tray of snacks she’d requested. 

“What?” Max parrots back, nonplussed by Stevie’s confusion. “You didn’t know? You seriously—“ and, fuck, she’s starting to smirk now, the little shit “—really didn’t know?”

“Are you sure?” Eddie asks, voice cracking and everything. His already big eyes are widened to maximum capacity, fixed on Stevie and their son and her baby bump that’s just starting to show with the next rugrat on the way, because apparently—

“Yes I’m sure,” Max nearly shrieks, lowering her voice just in time that little James doesn’t start fussing. “You’re not supposed to open condom wrappers with your teeth because the latex is right there too! Christ, how are you two considered functioning adults?”

Stevie’s face feels so hot, she’s sure she must look like a tomato right now. A tomato that hasn’t gotten a good night’s sleep in months and is ‘glowing’ from a morning spent praying out her morning sickness to the porcelain god. And like, don’t get her wrong, she’s happy with her life, she always wanted to be a mom… but neither pregnancy had been exactly planned.

They’d always wrapped up before sex, so it had never occurred to her that she should double up by getting on birth control or something. 

Her eyes meet Eddie’s, and they’re both looking at each other sheepish as hell because holy shit. Holy shit. 

“We can’t ever tell them,” Stevie says. 

“Never,” Eddie agrees faintly, finally approaching with her snacks. (About damn time, she thinks impatiently as she reaches for a pickle, shock and chagrin notwithstanding.) “Robin will never let us hear the end of it. And Dustin—oh my god, can you imagine the lecture? The little shit would bring visual goddamn aids!”

Stevie covers the baby’s ears with the burp cloth she’s going to have to move back to her shoulder in a minute and hisses, “Eds, I meant the babies!”

“Dustin’s kind of like a baby,” Max snickers. “You’ll have to call these ones the twins. Irish twins, y’know? For clarity.”

Meanwhile, “Don’t look at me like that,” Eddie begs Stevie with a wince. “My hand to god, I’ll never try to be sexy again!”

“You’re damn right you won’t,” she shoots back. “When I told you I daydreamed as a kid about having six, I didn’t mean it as a fucking sprint!”

Privately, she doesn’t entirely mean it. Sure, preparing for an infant when already in possession of one is a lot, but she can’t say she’s as put out as everyone keeps expecting her to be about an immediate round two of putting on baby weight. Eddie had been going crazy over her curves during the two minutes or so each week they actually have time and energy to take times for themselves, and personally she’s convinced her tits have never looked better. Still…

“You’re right about Robin and Dustin though,” she admits, turning to Max and steeling herself for negotiations. “How much to keep your mouth shut?”

Permanent tag list:

@hotluncheddie @lawrencebshoggoth @sofadofax @irishvampireboy @oatmilk-vampire

@wheneverfeasible @hamiltonswiftie @grtwdsmwhr @yesdangerpls @theseaofdespair

[steddieas-shegoes]

stumbling into you

for @steddieholidaydrabbles prompt 'meet-cute at work' rated: M wc: 999 cw: sexual innuendo, semi-public handsy making out tags: making out, getting together, rock star Eddie Munson, modern au

a/n: let me just say getting this under 1000 words took longer than it took to write the original 1484 words it was 🙁

🏢🏢🏢🏢🏢🏢🏢🏢🏢🏢🏢🏢🏢🏢

Steve's first day was going better than expected.

He'd admittedly lied about his skills to get this job, but how hard could it be to run errands?

A metal band in need of throat lozenges and hot tea was in the studio now.

Easy enough task to do.

When he walked into the control room, it seemed empty.

He looked back and checked the room number on the door.

"Let me help."

Steve turned to see the hottest guy he'd ever seen standing by the mixing board starting to walk over to him.

"Oh. Okay," Steve stuttered out.

"Let me grab the teas," the man said, his hand brushing against Steve's.

"I can just-" Steve let him, flushing when he smiled at him. "I could have set them on the table."

"It's okay, you've got your hands full..." he looked at the badge hanging off his lanyard. "Steve?"

"Yeah, sorry. First day."

"Really?" The man took the pack of throat lozenges from him, opening the bag and popping one in his mouth. "Welcome then. I'm sure we'll see a lot of each other over the next month or so."

"Do you record here a lot?"

"Yeah. We've got this studio booked solid for the next three weeks. Album needs to be perfect and we always get the best quality here."

"So do you sing?"

"I sing. Lead guitar, too."

"Is it a band I know?"

The man looked him over, taking in his business casual appearance, glasses slipping down his nose.

"I don't think we play anything you've listened to. Corroded Coffin?"

"My little brother listens to you! His mom never let him go to a concert though, said it would be too rough on him. He's kinda small for his age and she worries." Steve bit his lip. "Sorry, rambling."

"Cute, Stevie."

Steve blushed.

"I'm Eddie."

"Steve."

"Yeah, Stevie, I got that. You like any metal?" Eddie was clearly trying to have a real conversation with him, but Steve was drawing a blank on what the English language was.

"Never listened to any."

"You wanna listen? Something's off, but I can't put my finger on what. Maybe you could give me an idea."

"M-me?" Steve's eyes went wide.

"Yes, you," Eddie nudged him and tipped his head towards the mixing board. "C'mon, honest opinion."

"I-"

"Pleeeease?" Eddie pouted.

"Okay, but I don't really know what good is supposed to sound like," Steve agreed, walking to the board.

"Good is relative. If you think it sounds like metal music should, that's at least on the right track," Eddie pushed a couple of buttons and flipped a switch.

A surprisingly soft guitar melody filled the room, followed by a husky voice singing.

"This sounds..."

"Sounds?"

"You sound sad."

"Well, that's kind of what I was going for, so I guess that's a good thing."

The music cut off and Steve immediately wished he could hear more.

"Do you have other stuff recorded?" Steve suddenly needed to hear more of Eddie's voice.

"You wanna hear more?"

"If you want?"

Eddie flipped another switch, pressed a button, and a much faster guitar started playing, followed by heavy drums.

"This one doesn't have vocals."

Steve wouldn't listen to this regularly, but he could admit when people were talented, and it was very clear that Eddie and his band were talented.

"You're really good," Steve smiled at him.

"Thanks, sweetheart."

Eddie shut off the music and stood up.

He leaned closer to Steve, playful smirk on his face.

"You wanna go in the booth?"

"I'm not allowed."

"I'm allowed and I'm asking, so." Eddie wiggled his eyebrows, making Steve giggle.

"Okay, sure."

Once in the small booth, Steve felt overwhelmed with Eddie's presence.

His body heat was enough to make Steve sweat.

"You do all the lead vocals?" Steve asked.

"Yeah. Since day one," Eddie said from right behind him, so close his breath hit the back of Steve's neck.

Steve shivered, closing his eyes as he felt Eddie's hand rest on his lower back.

"Tell me to stop if you want me to," Eddie whispered against his shoulder.

"I don't," Steve gasped.

Eddie turned him, pushing him against the wall behind him.

"Can I kiss you?" Eddie breathed against his lips.

Steve nodded, a whimper escaping his mouth as Eddie's lips touched his.

Eddie was a soft chorus, a soft kiss.

A soft moan when Steve wrapped his arms around Eddie's neck.

Eddie's fingers gripped Steve's hips, tugging him forward so their hips met, both already half hard.

"Wait," Steve said when Eddie started kissing down his neck. "When will they be back?"

"Don't know." Eddie nipped at one of Steve's freckles. "Don't care."

Steve moaned again when Eddie's hand found the front of his pants.

"What if-"

"Don't know. Don't care."

Steve threw his head back as Eddie's hand cupped him over his pants.

"Fuck, feels good."

"How fast can you come?" Eddie's hand squeezed, almost making Steve's legs buckle.

"I-"

"Eddie! Thought you were joining us!" A voice yelled.

"Be there in a few! Just wanted to check something!" Eddie yelled back.

"You're a workaholic!"

Eddie checked through the crack in the door to make sure the person left before he turned back to Steve with a sad smile.

"I probably should join them." Eddie cupped the side of Steve's face in his hand. "Maybe after your shift we can meet up?"

"Really?"

"Really, sweetheart."

"Oh. Um, I guess. I mean, it's probably against the rules, but I can give you my number?"

"I won't let them fire you. I made the move, right?" Eddie dipped his thumb into Steve's mouth for just a second, teasing.

Eddie may have made the first move, but Steve was quick to make the next one that night, not giving Eddie a second to say hi before he was in his lap in the backseat of a hired car.

Steve's job had a lot of perks, but gaining a boyfriend was definitely the best one.

[quixotical-lymbo]

Pairing: Wukong & gn!Reader Rating: SFW Summary: Coming back from a training expedition by your mentor was ruined when your reunion led you to meeting his true successor.  Warnings/Tags: Post s5 (i don't think this counts as spoilers since i haven't mentioned anything significant about s5 in the post, but spoilers I guess??), Hurt/No comfort, MK cameo but not really idk he's there being nosy, angst, might make into a mini-series, idk, Wukong being Wukong always withholding important info till the last second. Word Count: 1000+ words

"What the heck is that?" 

Wukong's face paled as he turned to look over his shoulder where MK pointed in the sky. There, looking akin to a shooting star with (f/c) trail of sparks, a ball of light came shooting toward the mountain the pair were training at. 

 

"OMIGOSH, MONKEY KING, MOVE! IT'S ABOUT TO-" MK tried pulling on Wukong's sleeve to move him out of the way of the meteoroid, but the simian simply stood his ground as the ball of light finally landed. MK dropped to the ground as dust and dirt sprayed from the crash, but as he cracked open an eye the only thing he found was an non-destroyed mountain, his mentor frowning, and a person standing in the middle of a crater where the meteorite was supposed to be at. 

MK shot up from the ground and leaned close to his mentor to whisper, "...uh….who is that?"

"...uh, crap, kid, they're..um, they were my-"

"Heyyyyy, monkey king! Did ya miss me?" Your voice carried a lot of weight as it echoed. You grinned widely while stepping out of the crater you formed, clenched hands trembling at your sides as your eyes sharply switched to the rando standing beside your teacher. "I sure as hell missed you…but, I didn't know that this duo became a trio…strange, right?" 

Wukong rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "[Y/n], what a pleasant surprise! I didn't think you'd be-"

"Back so soon? Yeah, well, I'm just that good, aren't I?" You cut in as you stalked closer to the two. Wukong's loop-sided smile fell into a tight line as he took a step forward and kept himself between MK and the mysterious '[Y/n].' 

Your smirk nearly faltered seeing the arm held out to keep whoever was beside him from harm's way. At least your mentor knew damn well how much of a threat you could be.

"It's just…finding the little tears and cracks in the sky made me think that I should pay my ol' pal a visit and see if he might need my help!" You crossed your arms over your chest before gesturing to the sky. "Though, it took me a while to get back since I was sent across the world for my training…it seems like everything is fixed up! I. Wonder. Why." 

"Am I interrupting something…or…?" MK clutched the staff in his hands nervously as the '[Y/n]' person's gaze on him darkened. MK's eyes widened as he snapped his head to look at the monkey king while fuming, "Please don't tell me this is another one of your enemies coming back to bite you-" 

"-Woah, woah, kiddo! It's nothing like that but…I dunno, why don't you ask our mentor, hm?" You watched in pleasure as the rando's scowl morphed into shock as he gazed at Wukong—who flinched at the sudden attention from both of his students. "I'm sure he has all the answers you're looking for." 

"Give me two minutes," Wukong held out his hand toward you in an attempt for a merciful interlude to your much needed conversation. You blew air from your flared nostrils, but nodded at him and looked away while Wukong turned to MK. 

"Who, what, where, and why?!"

"I'll give you the long version later, but right now all you need to know is that before I met you there was another person I was considering giving my staff to…and yeah," Wukong scratched the back of his head.

"Wuh-huh-what?! You were messing with another student when you were getting all up in my ass for having Macaque as my mentor?" MK exclaimed angrily. 

"Let's not dwell on the past right now, just head home and we'll pick this up tomorrow alright?" Wukong chuckled nervously as he patted MK's shoulder and shoved his reluctant successor away. MK puffed his cheeks out as he prepared the staff to launch him into the sky, when he disappeared Wukong sighed and turned around slowly to face you. 

As the air whizzed past and filled his ears with their whistles, MK's mind was filled with the image of you. Why did you come back now of all times? Were you just another enemy he would eventually have to defeat all over again?

MK's frown deepened as he glanced over his shoulder for a moment, conflict crossing his features. Maybe if he intervened this time…he won't have to go through with another saving the world fiasco if he could convince you to forgive the monkey king for whatever he did.

MK shook his head at the ridiculous thought, but the terror of not trying to prevent another disaster was eating away at him. MK groaned in frustration and ricocheted himself back toward the mountain he just left. 

Honestly, he was sick and tired of the same routine. Peaceful, things go wrong, an old enemy of his mentor appears, the world is somehow ending, repeat, repeat repeat. Perhaps it was time he actually tried to prevent the bad things instead of being the cause of it--directly or indirectly. 

MK landed on the side of the mountain, the staff stabbed into the earth as he stood on it to peek over the edge. Luckily enough, MK could clearly see Wukong and '[Y/n]' talking given by their exaggerated arm movements. MK leaned closer and strained his ear to listen in on the conversation. 

"...didn't mean for this…"

"...why…n…enough?"

"No, no, your…jus…important…" 

"What.....he ha... that I...don...ave..?" 

“It's nothing that you don't have it's just…he's different and I made a m-” Wukong's voice rose just enough for MK to clearly hear him.

“Mistake? Ha…hahaha! So, so I'm a mistake now?” 

 “Shit, I worded that wrong, but you know what I mean!”

“I know what you meant! When were you even going to tell me that I was being replaced?”

“You're not…you're not being ‘replaced’ you're just…I-hey, who even told you this?” 

“Does it really matter who told me?!” 

MK winced as he reeled back at the shout that ripped from the stranger's throat, his brow creased with worry as Wukong approached them only for his hand to be slapped away. [Y/n]'s muffled sobs could be heard even from where MK was spying on them, but that wasn't the worst of it. The worst of it was when MK's eyes met with the teary-eyed gaze of the monkey king's first student. 

Their eyes met for a brief moment, but in that moment MK could see so many things that were left unsaid swirling and burning in their eyes. MK didn't realize that he wasn't breathing until the ex-classmate of his turned away and left the same way they came from that ball of light. 

Wukong stood there with his outstretched hand hanging in the air before it fell to his side. 

"I am sooo going to get my ass kicked for this later." 

Wukong looked down for a moment before tilting his head.

"You can come out now, kid." 

MK climbed up and took a seat on the ground. Wukong, silently crossing his legs as he joined his successor, pinched the space between his eyes.

"I guess I should start at the beginning." 

🍜 - I do not give permission for anyone to translate, copy, republish, or plagiarize any of my written works. I provide no permission for any of my literary works to be used in artificial intelligence. sparkle banner(s) by @adornedwithlight !!

[cannedpickledpeaches]

Insert Your Name (12)

Mafia!Jade Leech x Mafia!Reader

Link to series masterlist!

Notes and TW: Last chapter! Side stories will follow. Thank you for sticking with this series for so long! This series will have mentions of blood, violence, crime (kidnapping, attempted assassination, extortion), and harassment, as one might expect from a mafia AU. Please enjoy!

Tags: @guava-enjoyer @itszzmoon @twstsandturns @myteacupisempty @rou-luxe @chikitasmol @night-shadowblood-writes2 @haveneulalie @owodi

7:30 P.M. DD/MM/YYYY

I thought I knew the truth for a while—that this world existed inside a story. That this was a world which revolved around a nameless, faceless, flawless main character. This entire world around me existed to serve one purpose: to present trials to the main character until she eventually finds a happy ending with her one and only. This world was created for “(Y/N).”

I was Friend A. Friend A was never mentioned again after page two of that story.

It turns out that I was sort of wrong. This world is made for stories, from stories, and (Y/N) happened to be the main character at the time. Now that I’m the author, I made myself the main character.

You wrote “story” and “world” so much that they hardly look like real words anymore. The tip of your pen hovers over the first page of your journal. It’s your first time keeping one, and you aren’t certain how to proceed. What tone do you use? Should it be informal or professional? How long should each entry be? How detailed should you make it?

The trapdoor to the attic flips open. Floyd’s head pokes through it like a garden eel in the sand.

“Whatcha doin’ over there? Still lookin’ for that manuscript?”

You shake your head. The manuscript for (Y/N)’s story disappeared without a trace after your meeting with Hans. No matter how hard you searched, nothing turned up, so you could only assume he retrieved it.

“No use in looking for it. I’m starting on my journal.” The pen twirls in your hand. “I’m not really sure how I want to write it.”

He hoists himself up and saunters over to where you’re curled up at the window. He peers at your handwriting. Flippantly, he flops on the floor next to you and yawns.

“Who caaares. Write whatever ya feel like writin’. It’s not like the one before was any good.”

The previous author’s manuscript was riddled with inconsistencies, plot holes, and grammar mistakes. It wouldn’t be a massive problem. Hans would simply have to work harder to fill in the gaps.

“The previous one failed, though.”

“Then just don’t fail.” He grins up at you. “Easy, right?”

You pinch his nose, laughing when he swats at your hand.

“Easier said than done.” Despite that, his words ease the burden on your shoulders just a bit. You don’t need to overthink this. It’s your story, yours to tell however you’d like. “Thanks for the advice, though.”

“Sure, sure.” Your name rolls off his tongue dismissively. “You worry too much.”

You glance at him. “You’ve been calling me ‘Red Handfish’ recently, why’d you switch back to my name?”

The lamplight glints in Floyd’s eyes briefly, then he closes them. A lazy grin spreads on his lips.

“I was calling ya ‘Red Handfish’ ’cuz I was hopin’ you’d get your hands all red and bloody again.” A huff of air escapes him. “Shoulda been there when you beat up the security.”

“Typically, you’re supposed to not hope I’m beating up your men.”

“It’s fine. Not like Jade and I need much protectin’.” His voice quiets down to a mumble. “You’re enough for security or whatever.”

His voice trails off at the end. Soon, quiet snores fill the attic. Seeing that he isn’t planning on disrupting your writing, your attention returns to your journal. Following his advice might not be a bad idea.

My main priority was to break the curse on Mr. and Mrs. Leech. I thought I’d have to ask (Y/N) to reach out to Vil Schoenheit or write something in this journal, but it turns out I didn’t have to do anything. Hans went ahead and nudged the odds in my favour already. At least, I suspect he had a hand in it. But I’m never one to look a gift horse in the mouth, so I’ll happily accept that Walrus’s team and our own people have found a way to break the curse.

Azul was slightly disappointed that he didn’t manage to find a method on his own. He really wanted to put the twins in his debt, but I guess he’ll have to sulk. His specialty is potions, after all. Not curses. He’s also a little salty because this implies Vil Schoenheit is still more skilled than him on the subject of curses. His competitive nature never dies down when it comes to other competent people, even after all these years.

Anyway, the curse was undone three days ago. They’ve woken up perfectly stable and healthy, if a little tired. The twins have spent nearly every waking hour in their room. I’m glad they’re all looking much more lively.

Their parents wanted to go right back to work, but Jade and Floyd have been very insistent on making sure they rest. Right now, Jade and his parents have decided to split up the work equally, but Jade plans on eventually relinquishing his position as the temporary head of the Leech Mafia. He doesn’t want it back anytime soon. His parents might want him to keep observing their work, but I think he’ll take a long breather after the Carpenter Mafia dissolves. He says he wants to join a research lab on fungi. I’m sure he’ll enjoy himself there.

Speaking of Jade’s interests, Floyd owes him quite a bit for breaking his terrariums. You cast a glance at the twin dozing off on the floor. Jade’s been working him hard. Just as you’re about to pull a knitted blanket off the window seat and drape it over his torso, Jade climbs up to the attic.

“Ah, I thought I might find you two here.” He ignores your shushing motion, speaking nearly louder than his usual conversational volume. “Have you made any progress on that journal?”

“Keep it down, Floyd’s sleeping.”

“Oh? I suppose he is.” He smiles as though he’s entirely innocent. “Even though he should be running an errand on the west side of the city right now. Isn’t that so, my dear brother?”

Floyd stirs, brows furrowing as he grumbles. “Fuck off, man.”

“I’m afraid you’re late. Why don’t you head out? It wouldn’t do for you to procrastinate.” Jade leans over him, his shadow eclipsing Floyd’s face. The latter gripes some more before rolling away and hopping right through the trapdoor. His footsteps echo through the halls, eventually leading to the sound of the front door.

“He’s tired. You should let him rest.” You close your journal and set it beside you.

He kneels by your seat and rests his head on your knee. Gingerly, you reach out and comb your fingers through his hair. His entire body melts against the wall and your knee.

“I am also tired.” His eyelids drop halfway, a pitiable pout on his lips. “Much more so than he is, I’m sure.”

“And what? You want a gold medal for the Fatigue Olympics?” Despite your words, your other hand holds his jaw, thumb brushing over his cheek. “Come on, get off the floor. It can’t be comfortable.”

He sighs in contentment. “With the way you’re touching me, I have half a mind to stay where I am.”

You’ve come to realize that Jade acts this way when he’s looking for attention, and he only actively looks for attention from you. With a sigh escaping the smile on your lips, you ease his head off your knee and move your legs so that your feet touch the floor. He has the gall to look like a kicked puppy.

“You’re so dramatic.” You pat the cushioned space next to you. “Sit up here.”

It’s like his fatigue disappears as soon as you extend the invitation. He wastes no time in sitting next to you, his thigh pressing against yours. One of his hands reaches behind you. You feel it causing the cushions to shift under you as he uses it to support his weight. Strangely, it feels more intimate than if he had touched you directly. The knowledge that his arm is there creates a sense of security. Sturdy, safe, like the face of a cliff that has your back. He’ll never be a threat to you. You think back to what you once thought of people who trust Jade, and you wonder if you’re a fool, desperate, or if you have something on him.

It might not be so bad to be a fool once in a while.

You lean into his side and rest your head on his shoulder. A pause, followed by the light pressure of his cheek against your hair. His body is cool to the touch like always, and you find comfort in it.

“I’ll help you make new terrariums to replace the ones Floyd broke.”

“How kind of you.” The hand behind you lifts, only to find its place on your waist, securing you to his side. “In that case, I should consider what I’d like to grow in them. Lichen would decorate some surfaces well, but I doubt it would be possible.”

“Lichen?” You often see it back home near the shore. “Why not?”

“It cannot survive in a closed system like my terrariums.” His voice lowers to a soft, almost sweet tone. “It requires clean, fresh air, outside the confines of a box that I control. The charm of keeping a terrarium is that I control every factor within it, down to what lives or dies. But despite the fact that it eludes my grasp, I adore observing its beauty in the environment where it thrives.”

Somehow, you don’t think he’s talking about lichen anymore.

“Lichen grows on trees and rocks, right?” You think about the cliffside. Patches of pale green life covered the rocks where you met Jade. It brought a sort of earthy, rustic quality to the area. “It’s pretty. I think I’ve seen a few of your photos focusing on it.”

“Yes, it needs to be anchored to a sturdy surface.” He adjusts his grip on your waist. “Unassuming, allowing other elements of the scenery to shine, but charming and effective in its own right.”

You don’t want to ask if he’s referring to you. He’ll surely tease you for being self-absorbed. However, you are not so prideful as to not acknowledge what he’s trying to say.

“I sort of understand wanting to be anchored to something.” You place one hand over his. “It’s easier to let my guard down when there’s something that can protect my back.”

“Allow me to assist you with that.” He intertwines your fingers. “If you must be anchored to something, I’ll be more than happy to provide you with support forever, until you ask me to stop.”

“All this talk about ‘forever.’” A grin pulls at your lips. There’s no harm in teasing him once in a while. “It’s like you’re trying to marry me. What’s with that, huh?”

His entire body freezes. You lift your head from his shoulder, trying to look at his face.

“Jade? I was joking—”

He gently presses against your temple, his wrist blocking your eyes as he guides your head back down to his shoulder. What a letdown. This time, you really wanted to see his expression.

“Incidentally,” he says, “would you like to have dinner with me tomorrow?”

“You changed the topic way too abruptly.” Laughter bubbles in your throat. “I thought you were better at making conversation than that.”

“I’m inclined to disagree.” He doesn’t elaborate. “Are you free tomorrow evening? We can book a reservation for that restaurant you wanted to try.”

Usually, you wouldn’t turn it down. But . . .

“Sorry, I’ll be out with (Y/N) all day.” You’ve missed her. And after she called you in distress over losing the polaroids you took together, you promised to replace them with new ones. There’s so much you have yet to do with her. “Maybe the day after?”

Jade sighs loudly, as though he’s the most pitiful being in the world. Amidst teasing laughter, you close your journal and focus your attention on him. It’s alright to take your time writing it. Your story is a process that does not need to be rushed. It may only be a page at the moment, but one day, you’re sure this journal will fill with your experiences, plans, and thoughts. You will continue on living as your own person—not a side character or a main character in a grander scheme, but as yourself. To live as a human being with your unique experiences—that is your story.

[porcelainmortal]

Several Sentence Sunday

Thank you for the tags on Wednesday and today @tailsbeth-writes @firenati0n @thighzp @suseagull5914 @dreamtigress

@onthewaytosomewhere @iboatedhere @stellarmeadow @orchidscript @faketrex @sophie1973!

I haven't written a single words in two weeks now. I'm blocked and my motivation has flown the coop. Also, despite actively posting a fic that's doing surprisingly well, my RSD and depression have convinced me that nobody would care if I never wrote another word. So, my brain is pudding and my heart is hurting. I started this fic a few weeks ago and hopefully someday I'll finish it.

“Hm. Alex pours the coffee grinds into his French press. “I’d offer you some coffee, but–” “I’m really more of a tea drinker,” Henry says and Alex startles when his voice is much closer. He turns to see Henry standing a couple of feet away. “Well... I was.” “I love coffee, but it would definitely be more efficient to inject the caffeine straight into my veins.” The kettle starts bubbling and he turns back to pour the water over the grounds. “I’m surprised to see you taking the time to do all this, then. Seems a bit fussy.” “That’s what I like about it,” Alex explains as he wipes out his hand grinder and gets out his mug and cinnamon shaker. “It slows me down, gives me something to get up and do in the morning besides flipping a switch and scrolling my phone. Plus, the coffee is amazing. First cup of the day should be, ya know? I’ll be drinking break room garbage at work all day.” “I wish I could smell it.” “You can’t?” Alex is surprised to find Henry leaning over his shoulder. If Henry was alive, Alex could feel his breath on his face.  “No,” Henry sighs. “What I wouldn’t give for a nice cup of Earl Grey.” “Sorry. All I’ve got’s coffee. It’s locally roasted.” Alex shrugs and turns to press the plunger down.  “No sugar?” Henry asks as Alex fixes his mug. “Not in this. Just a dash of cinnamon. I put a little sugar in the cheap swill they supply at work.” “I’m learning so much about you this morning,” Henry grins, shaking his head. Alex sips his coffee – the first sip always burns, just a little – and smiles back.  “Stick around baby, there’s still so much you can learn,” Alex winks. Henry flushes and steps further away. “Yes, well. I suppose I’ll leave so you can get ready for work.” Henry’s eyes dart toward the door. “You’ll come back though, right?” “Yes, Alex. I’ll come back.”

Tagging @anincompletelist @anchoredarchangel @blueeyedgrlwrites @bitbybitwrites @cactusdragon517

@caterpills @cricketnationrise @cha-melodius @freyjaexplores @getmehighonmagic

@hgejfmw-hgejhsf @inexplicablymine @myheartalivewrites @nocoastposts @priincebutt

@sparklepocalypse @thesleepyskipper @theprinceandagcd @whimsymanaged @wordsofhoneydew and as always, an open tag!

[moethewriter]

You are an absolutely sensational writer!! I am obsessed with all of your fics rn, so amazing!! :)

If possible, please could you write a fic with the angst prompts 6, 20 and 22, with Finnick?

If not no worries! I look forward to reading all your future work <3

Of course I can anon! This one is a long one and almost made me cry, so buckle up and I hope you enjoy! TITLE: The things we love, always sting the most WORD COUNT: 2.3k PAIRING: Finnick Odair x Reader WARNING: Possible character death, talks of killing another person, angst, poison, the whole works! TAGS: Lot's of angst, canon violence, possible poisoning, fighting, possible character death.

A/N: So this was a sad one to write my friends! I hope you enjoy, not beta read as always and I take constructive criticism as per usual! -

You were breathless as you headed towards the jungle with Katniss, Peeta, Mags and Finnick. The fight at the cornucopia had been brutal. Weapons had flown from every direction, and you had fallen into the water. You weren’t the biggest fan of being wet but there wasn’t anything you could do about that now.

You were lost in your own thoughts as you walked further. You had just watched people you had known for years fall in seconds. People you had been friends with … your district partner, Hyvar, had died. You hoped that Johanna, Wiress and Beetee were safe, somewhere they could regroup and find their way to you. You had watched people you had known for years fall in seconds. You just hoped that Johanna, Wiress and Betee had all found one another and were safe as they could be.

The sound of the cannon going off made your body shrivel, almost as if it had transported you back to your own games. You had been sixteen and forced to kill people … kill other children, and that canon was a stark reminder that it wasn’t over yet. It would never be over.

At least you had Finnick, the one person who kept you sane throughout everything. You hadn’t watched his games, your mother not allowing you to watch such senseless acts of violence, she had always been against the games. It was strange to stand side by side with him in this, but you were grateful for his presence.

Another cannon went off.

“Well I guess we're not holding hands anymore.” Finnick chuckled, a small smile spreading across his face. 

“Finnick.” You snapped, trying to shut that thought down. 

Those people were the few in this world who understood what it was like to be a Victor, a pawn for the Capitol. Some of them had been your friends. 

“You think that's funny?” Katniss questioned him, a passive look on her face. You couldn’t quite read her yet, but you knew that she wasn’t happy. 

“Every Time that cannon goes off it’s music to my ears.” Finnick said, as though that should be obvious. He was steady, not swaying, clearly in game mode. “I don’t care about any of them.”

“That’s-” You started …

But Katniss pulled a sword from its sheath.

“Good to hear.” She said, simply, face remaining unchanged. 

“No.” You said raising your hands between them, you were all supposed to be allies … fighting together in this moment. There needed to be some semblance of peace, even if it was tentative and rocky. “We may not like this, but we're allies, right? So let’s act like allies.” You felt as though you were parenting two young stubborn children.

For the first time in a long time you didn’t understand what was going through his head, what was his game here and why hadn’t he talked to you about it? You had been together since you were both eighteen, now twenty four, and while this situation wasn’t ideal … you felt as though he flipped a switch in his mind. This side of him wasn’t something you particularly liked, and you certainly didn’t want to play peacekeeper if they were going to be at each others throats.

“Right.” Finnick said. “Besides, what would Haymitch say?”

“Haymitch isn’t here.” Katniss gritted her teeth.

“Let’s keep moving.” Peeta spoke up, starting to move from his spot.

You were thankful that someone else was level headed.

You all moved deeper into the jungle, silence falling over the group. The sound of crunching leaves, and dirt being the only thing filling the air. Your games had been in a desert terrain, so you felt out of your element. You were used to sand, rocks and dunes covering the earth around you, not thick and lush jungle. At least the trees provided better cover than some rocks, though water was proving just as difficult to find.

After long hours of walking you had found a place to secure Mags so everyone could go off and find some food or water. You weren’t particularly fond of the thought of splitting up, not trusting that Katniss and Peeta would come back, and not trusting yourself alone with Finnick, you were still angry about the interactions on the beach.

You walked with Finnick in silence, eyes and ears peeled for the sound of moving animals or the possible sighting of berries. It felt awkward to be alone with him, but … you loved him, you couldn’t deny that.

“Hey.” Finnick said, grabbing your hand lightly.

“Don’t touch me.” You snapped, anger in your voice. “What the hell was that? Treating Katniss and Peeta that way? Talking about the other tributes like that? They’re our allies, Finnick, don’t fucking play coy with me here. I’m not an idiot and neither are you, maybe try harder?” You sucked in a breath, hoping to calm yourself down,

“Y/N-”

“No. Finnick I love you, I do … just try harder with them, she’s distrustful and we don’t need that.” You said, finally looking at him.. “We don’t need to talk about this right now. I just … just give me some space. I’m angry. I don’t want to be angry with you.” You told him, pinching the bridge of your nose.

The Capitol was watching, Snow was watching. You didn’t need Finnick or yourself sorting through emotional baggage or providing entertainment by fighting for the world to see.

Finnick had a persona, that was something you knew. But that wasn’t Finnick, and what you couldn’t understand is why he didn’t want to be himself. Was it the sponsors? Was it the fact that everyone could see your every move in here? You hadn’t been able to talk much before entering the arena, so you only knew the basis of what he was going to do, and the plan Haymitch had told you.

Gods above, that plan. How in the hell were you going to make sure that Katniss and Peeta got out of this alive if they barely trusted you? There was so much that needed to be done in here, and you couldn’t do it alone. But Finnick was not helping in the slightest, or that’s what you felt like. ,

“Listen …” He tried.

“We should get back to Mags, there isn’t any food here … hopefully they found some water or something.” You sent him a small hopeful look, before turning back towards where you came from.

–

Peeta almost dying was not something that you had accounted for. The forcefield had shot him back out of nowhere, and the amount of time you had all spent desperately trying to help him breathe again had been agony. 

This game felt far worse than anything you had gone through before. It was clear that something was off about the whole arena, you just weren’t sure what it was yet. 

“Do you hear that?” Finnick whispered, looking towards the trees. 

You hadn’t, but you immediately jumped into action and grabbed your sword. You were always on high alert, and you weren’t going to let anything touch anyone here. 

“I’ll go check it out and meet you guys back here, later.” You said, moving to stand. You needed some time to breathe, and protecting everyone was the main priority. In your mind this was a win-win situation. 

“You can’t go alone.” Finnick, protested standing to go with you.

You held up your hand to stop him. “Finn, stay here … protect Mags and everyone else. I can handle myself.” You told him.

You weren’t sure what was out there, no one was, but you had your chosen weapon and a spiteful rage deep within you. You were sure you could handle what was to come.

“Y/N-” He tried to protest again.

“They need protection. I’ll be fine.” You told him, heading off towards the woods on your own. 

You kept low as you crept through the jungle, looking for what could have alerted Finnick. Your eyes barely adjusted to the darkness that surrounded you, a stark contrast to the bright lights of the fire you had been in front of just moments ago. You kept walking, caution lacing every move you made. 

The jungle felt far too quiet as you made your way towards a clearing, how far had you gone from camp? Nothing around you seemed familiar anymore and you weren’t sure why … What the hell was going on?

“Shit!” You felt a small sting in your leg, and looked down … had something stung you? 

You felt dizzy as you braced yourself against a large tree trunk, you couldn’t feel your hands … you couldn’t feel anything?

Your eyes dropped slowly as your body slumped down towards the ground and darkness finally took over

–

“I say, we take them out next.”

“We can’t just do that … they could prove useful … I mean have you seen them with a sword?”

You awoke with a start, heart racing as you looked around … where was Finnick? You moved through the moss and spotted them all around a fire.

“They are useless to everything … the rebellion. Kill them and we get ourselves out of here. They are collateral damage.””

You felt your heart stop …that was Finnick’s voice … and he had to be talking about you, there was no one else you could think of.

“Y/N!”

“That’s smart.”

Peeta? What was going on?

“Good then when they fall asleep tonight that’s when we strike, they won’t know what hit them.”

Finnick’s smirk sent chills down your spine, how could he be doing this? How could he even think about betraying you … didn’t he love you?

“Y/N!”

–

Your eyes fluttered open and you let out a loud scream, throwing yourself away from the blonde man in front of you. Your body was hot, everything around you felt like fire and despite what people thought … you weren’t going down without a fight. Not against anyone, even Finnick. 

“Y/N?! What’s going on? We searched for you all night …we lost Mags … there was fog …” Finnick rambled, his eyes wild and bewildered at the sight of you. He looked like had been crying. 

You knew he was trying to distract you … he had to be. There was no other explanation after what you had seen. He was trying to manipulate you with the use of Mags and the pathetic way he stood. 

“I don’t know who you are anymore, Finnick Odair.” You spat, holding out your sword, stretching it forward as far as you could. “But I heard what you were talking about all night, and I am not going down without a fight, you think I’m going to sit here and talk about bullshit then you’re so wrong.” Your hands were shaking, your whole body trembled in fear.

Your head hurt, and your body felt light … something had happened in the forest and you weren’t sure what did … but there was no way you were losing your life to someone you thought you loved, and who you thought loved you.

“Y/N? What the hell is going on? What happened in those woods?” Finnick questioned, a look of concern filling his face.

“Like I’d tell you anything!” You snapped, raising the sword a little higher. “You proved last night that you didn't love or care about me! You just want me dead!” You cried, tears falling from your eyes

“What?! Of course I love you! We came to find you, you had been gone for an hour! I was worried. Finnick cried, his own tears falling down his cheeks. “We only just got to you because last night we were chased by swarming monkeys and almost died due to poisonous fog?! How could you have heard anything we said, you were miles away! We searched high nd low!!” Finnick cried, trying to reach his hands out to you.

“Any closer and I’ll put this sword through your heart.” Your own heart was racing, unsure of what to believe anymore … you felt dazed and confused and disorientated, nothing felt real anymore. 

“Don’t you trust me?” Finnick whispered, heartbreak lacing every word that he spoke.

“I don’t know.” You sobbed.

Your body felt like it was on fire, every inch you moved was agony … you were going to die in here whether it was by Finnick or something else taking you out. You weren’t going to make it to the rebellion.

Loud sobs echoed through the forest as you dropped to your knees, body finally giving out on you.

Finnick was over to you in seconds, not caring if you fought him off with knives or threats of violence. He pulled you to his chest and you trembled against him, sweat lacing your brows.

“It’s okay … It’s okay. I got you.” Finnick whispered, rocking you both. “God Y/N I can’t lose you in here, I can’t. I lost Mags already, you have to fight whatever happens. You have to know that I love you.” He sobbed, holding you as close as possible. 

“I can’t” You thrashed desperately trying to pull away from him, out of fear or something else, you didn’t know. “I can’t!” 

“Please.” Finnick begged, keeping his grip on you.

You stopped fighting in that moment, letting yourself fall against him, your body felt numb and you didn’t think you had it in you to keep going. 

“Y/N?”

The sky seemed bluer in that moment as you looked towards it, it was gorgeous as the sun shone through the trees. Finnick’s face filled your vision and you felt a warmth overtake you … you were safe … you had to be … he didn’t really want to kill you did he?

“I love you.” Finnick said, voice hoarse as his hand traced the edges of your face. “Please stay.”

“I love you.”  You told him.

The jungle was quiet again, too quiet despite the long eventful night and the only thing that could be heard was the sound of cannon fire in the air.

[angelsanarchy]

What It Cost: Samuel Lafferty x Y/N Mini Series PRT 03

Tagging: @ithinkitstimetonap @kappasbbgirl @chainsawgvtsfvck @luzclarita57 @miniisunshine @madamemaximoff06 @romanroyapoligist @thirtyratsinasuit @ethical-cain-vinnel @blueberrypancakesworld @dumbbitchdelrey @loljustignoreth4t @tvgirlsbluehair @s0ulfulll @dukesofsp00ks @mommymilkers0526 @vomiting-blood @lustkillers @s-0lar @hisemoslut @roryculkinsgf @ultrakissed @starry-eyed-wild-child

With the head of the family away on a mission, the Lafferty boys and their spouses let loose on the farm for the night. Y/n still made sure the chores were taken care of, most of the wives worked on dinner for everyone and she had kept an eye out for the kids while she cleaned.

Things felt a little more relaxed without the matriarch and patriarch to oversee things. They were able to have a little more fun, a little more freedom to move about the farm without a watchful eye making sure you were doing what you were supposed to. Dan had made sure things were still getting done, as he seemed to be trying to break in his desired role as the man in charge.

He had pulled Y/n aside twice to talk to her about her intentions to stay as an unwed woman in their family and how one day she might have to become a plural wife. The idea coming from Dan's mouth was unsettling, as he was not the Lafferty brother she was interested in but she made sure to put on a smile letting him know that she has an open mind and an open heart for the prophet.

"There you are. I feel like I haven't seen you all day." Samuel popped into the storage closet where Y/n was stacking some of the kids toys.

"Hey stranger. I've been keeping busy all day while you boys have been running around playing." She teased seeing how sweaty he was. She could smell the musk coming off of his skin and she wanted to taste it.

"I wish we had been playin' all day. I feel like I've worked twice as hard today and we weren't even supposed to be working at all." She watched as Sam chugged ice water from a glass, letting some of it drip down his chin into his collared shirt that was unbuttoned at the top.

"You should take a break and cool off. You are quite sweaty." Y/n tossed him a rag and he laughed taking it.

"Sorry if my being is offensive right now." He wiped his face and she rolled her eyes, walking out of the closet towards the sink and rinsing the rag in cold water to bring back over to his face and running it down his neck.

"I would never be offended by your presence in any state Samuel. You should know that by now." She smiled sweetly.

"I find that hard to believe. You should see me after trash day. I'm covered, head to toe in cow crap." Samuel smiled back at her and she shook her head.

"Well that might be a my limit but you in this current state doesn't bother me at all. I actually prefer you a little sweaty, smelling of a hard days work." Samuel cocked his eyebrow at her.

"Good to know." Samuel made a mental note of this moment and filed it away in his brain for potential fantasies. He hasn't been able to stop thinking about the last time they were together for her baptism. The taste of her on his tongue, the color of her nipples shown thrown her wet baptism gown. She was in the forefront of his desires since they met.

"I had an interesting conversation with your brother Dan earlier. I wasn't aware you all were considering plural marriage." Samuel looked at her with concern.

"Dan said that? When?" he questioned as though he had never talked to him about it.

"Just today. He found me doing the laundry and told me how great of a wife I would make and that once you all make the switch, he would happily take me on as a plural wife." Y/n watched Samuel's jaw clench.

"I assure you, the last person who you would want to be married to would be Dan. He is far too high-strung." Samuel tried to say without seeming as angry as he felt.

"Dan is a very nice man but he's not my type. Certainly not my favorite Lafferty brother." She winked.

"Oh yeah? And who might that be?" Samuel leaned against the door frame of the storage closet making her laugh.

"I don't feel like it should be said out loud. That just seems rude." She knew he knew it was him.

"Well I don't know how close we are with plural marriage but it hasn't come up with our father so he's probably just blowing smoke. I think your secret is safe." Samuel watched her bend over to push the bin of toys under the shelf and she sighed.

"Good to know. I think staying unwed is probably for the best anyway." Y/n turned her full attention to Samuel now.

"Although, if I were to take another wife, you would absolutely be the only choice I would have." He walked towards her, letting the door shut behind him.

"And how exactly would you treat me as your wife Samuel?" She crossed her arms over her chest and he chuckled taking her arms away from her chest to hold her hands.

"I would treat you well, how well would depend on how you treated me as your husband I suppose. How would you treat me as your husband?" Samuel challenged as she took a step into his space, removing her hands from his to run down his shirt towards the button of his pants.

"Would you like to see how I would treat you as my husband?" She asked undoing the button of his pants and he licked his lips as she kissed the corner of his mouth. Words escaped him as he watched her fall to her knees gracefully.

"You're already off to a perfect start...Sara...she doesn't like to use her mouth..." Samuel gasped feeling her warm mouth engulf his cock. Her fingertips stroked his thighs before gripping his balls firmly.

"F-fuck." Samuel gripped a shelf that stood next to them, full of children's toys and books. Y/n pulled her lips all the way to the tip making Samuel look down to see her chasing his eye contact.

"I want you to look me in the eyes." Y/n swirled her tongue around him and he bit his lip, shaking his head silently. He held her gaze desperately as she bobbed her head back and forth along his cock, letting the tears run down her cheeks as his tip continuously met the back of her throat. He felt how hard he was breathing and didn't realize it was himself who was groaning until she started cooing around his cock, the vibrations shooting directly to his balls.

"Do you want my cum down your throat? Is that what you want?" Samuel breathed putting his hand on the back of her head. She nodded, not slowing her pace.

"Such a perfect wife, taking my cock down your throat, sucking my seed and letting it swim in your belly the whole day. God made your mouth just for me to fuck." Samuel pulled her hair tightly and slammed her face against his crotch, feeling her choking on him as he pulsed cum down her throat. She gagged and he felt the push on his thighs but he didn't let her up yet. He waited until he was spent before pulling back and releasing her hair. She gasped and cleaned the spit and cum from her chin as he relaxed back against the locked down, cock hanging completely drained.

Once she managed to catch her breath, she crawled forward and took his flaccid cock in her hands, putting him gently back in his pants so she could rebutton and zip him as she got to her feet.

"As a wife, I would start and end my husbands day just like that." She ran her hands down his chest, smoothing his shirt out. He smiled at her and nodded his head.

"you would make the perfect wife." He pulled gently on the back of her neck to kiss her but before their lips could meet, he heard feet coming down the steps. They straighten themselves out and managed to open the door before Ron emerged at the bottom of the steps.

"We need you out here. Breaks over." Ron said with minimal expression. Samuel nodded his head and Y/n cleared her throat.

"Ron, please stop long enough to get a glass of ice water. You look simply parched." She handed him a glass and Ron gave her a small smile before taking the glass from her and going up the steps.

"Back to work Mr. Lafferty." She smirked walking past Samuel and going back into the closet. He tried to hide his grin as he climbed the steps to get back to work. She was simply feeding his every fantasy as if God sent her to him directly.

[yonemurishiroku]

(tags via @smartichokes) In light of new addition to my Luke & Nico replacement post, I have so much to say about this.

Firstly, there is a fanfic in which Kronos switched to Nico as his host halfway through the series. I said fic, Nico went to Tartarus wayyyyy sooner than he should (which is sometime right after TTC I think?), and got captured by Kronos' force. The Titan considered seizing him, so Luke left the Titan Army and returned to the light side.

With that being said, the Nico in said fic didn't become the host, as Luke (and Ethan) got him out before the taking-over.

In another fic, which is about Nico's apotheosis, It is established that Kronos has been taunting Hades to become his host since he is his eldest child, and as a result, Nico would suffer the same fate should he become a God. Nico didn't, of course, but we can see that he can be a great candidate for the position of Kronos’ host Due to the potential he possesses as a child of Hades. I have talked so much about how powerful he is so I suppose this goes without saying.

On the other hand, the child of the prophecy was supposed to be the son of an eldest god, so let's imagine: Nico is a child of an elder god and now is basically One of the main factors that dictate their fate being the central of Kronos' power. Can you imagine the thrill of having both the antagonist and the protagonist a child of the big three, knowing both of them have the power to change the flow of the story? Nico might as well be the child of the prophecy and now he is in the hands of the big bad villain? Who is to say he wouldn't choose to raze the Olympic to the ground? Please, I cannot be the only one seeing the thrill of second-guessing yourself and watching Percy second-guessing himself, page by page.

Back to our AU.

- Absolutely invested in Nico with Kronos' golden eyes.

- Idk if you have noticed, but there are a number of people who would very much be delighted to see Nico joining the Titan Army - so that's a plus. Though we haven't thought as far as putting him directly in Luke's place, this is such a fun territory to play with.

On the other hand, we should have thought about that lmao what's with Minos having done exactly like this in the canon. The King did manipulate Nico in order to accelerate his uprising (tho Rick wasn't unhinged enough to give the Underworld ghosts the benefit of possessing living things except for the eidolons).

Minos failed ofc. But surely the scenario is there. Furthermore, a big reason that hindered Minos was Nico's true control over him, which returned to him upon his enlightenment, thus breaking the fake power balance. But Nico didn't have any control over Kronos. Once he's in, there's no way out. Kronos is on another level compared to Minos. Luke had one way out and that was his death. Who to say the arms of Hades wouldn't be Nico's ending should he succumb to Kronos anw.

- I like the way you mention Percy - because as it turns out, Nico can perfectly mirror Luke regarding how Percy's fatal flaw is portrayed.

Percy's fatal flaw can be summed up in one sentence - "You would sacrifice the world to save a friend". Now, for Luke, it was thanks to the guy's friendly facade at the start that Percy had trouble deeming him as the enemy at first. For Nico, that's a little different. It's not friendship - bc surely Percy didn't consider 'friend' at that time. So what could it be?

The guilt. And the Loyalty from which it sprouted.

But loyalty to what?

To Bianca's promise.

And this varies between perspectives, but I suspect this can be much, much worse than what transpired with Luke if you know how to play it right. Why? Because it weighs on Percy's kindness, his conscience, his loyalty, his morals. It feels heavier. For Luke, it was a personal betrayal. For Nico, it would be a repeated failure that resulted in two deaths.

And I doubt Percy is fond of failures and deaths.

Do you know the saying that we tend to remember bad things rather than good memories? That. Failures stuck with us, whilst success paled in comparison (Not to mention the vague depiction of Percy's lost self-esteem, but I digress).

For Luke, it might be easier: the guy's now an enemy, Percy just had to put him down - straight and clear. For Nico, it's a little bit different. The kid's obviously an enemy - but he's also that: a kid. Whose sister died in front of Percy, whom he blamed still. You can tell that the setup itself might make it harder for Percy to just straight-up consider Nico an enemy - because as it was, Nico could very well be a victim of Percy's broken promise. Percy is half a reason he fell into the hands of Kronos - as you've said.

And Percy isn't evil. He's a protagonist and he's kind. His morals would prevent him from seeing Nico as an enemy that must be taken out - not before trying restlessly to bring the kid back.

- Percy aside, Hades’ support - and all the little benefits gained from Nico's side quest - should also be taken into account. Without Nico, there wouldn't be the Curse of Achilles. Without Nico, there would be no undead army rushing to save them in the last minute in the last Olympian, but rather a flock of unbeatable enemies that would persist like Nico’s grief for Bianca.

I wouldn't say that guarantees their failure but you have to admit that it would make things hella more difficult for them to win this war.

So that is for the advantages. Now let's talk about the drawbacks. Because obviously things wouldn't be so fun if everything goes that smoothly. 👍

The most noticeable difference between Luke and Nico is their ages, and further, their experiences. At the time he was chosen, Luke has lived until his 17, 18 as a demigod, has seen the mythological world more than Nico ever did. He would know better how to navigate the system, which would benefit Kronos more than a clueless Nico. You can argue that Kronos can properly train him as Minos did, but the fact remains that Luke has experiences that can only be gained through living, aging, and seeing.

On the same topic, after losing his sister, Nico was just a rage-driven, angry, lost 11-12-year-old kid. He could barely take care of himself. He obviously cannot govern and command an entire army. Luke, on the other hand, has many skills required to be a leader. I have talked about this once. He has the tongue, he has his charms, he's manipulative enough. As a tool and a weapon, Luke proves to be a better choice to be the pioneer of Kronos' revolution.

Of course, unless you need a puppet, in which case Nico proves to be a better choice. He was naive .he didn't know better. Luke try to resist because he saw how devastating his actions were/ would be. It should be much easier to fool a kid like Nico rather than an adult, thus limiting the chances of rebuke. I cannot recall exactly what Kronos was trying to do though, so I'll just leave this here.

The best method is of course to keep Luke while getting Nico ready, however, it would put kronos plans back a few years and I'm not really sure the guy would be that patient provided that he has been waiting thousand years to make a come back. So we will just leave it like that.

All in all, it's fun to think about a scenario in which the one whose contribution directly leads to their victory in the original series now becomes the main antagonist, the main reason they will likely fail. Thank you @smartichokes for the delightful idea!! 🥺🥺🥺

[bwabys-scenarios]

Fixer Upper

Part 15

Perv!Kurapika x Fem!Reader

part 14

part 16

taglist: @fabitheraven @tsukilover11 @ashdownunderscorebeloved @lemonslut @homeinmydreams @superweeniehutjrsblog @bugmomwrites @heartsforseo @lixiawinter @altaircc @itszenava @fiightforlovee @mimi-sanisanidiot @monainanuttshell @wow-im-gay @whorermoviestar @lightshowerrr @mama-m1na @aceywaceyboobybear

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They rode by airship for a day, before switching to riding by train.

(Name) stretched as they excited the airship, now wearing a soft blue sweater with a drop shoulder and bishop sleeves, along with a white, pleated skirt. One of her legs had a knitted white and blue thigh high, the other covered in her white cast.

“That flight was so relaxing!” Leorio said, pulling (Name)’s suitcase behind him.

“Well this time we were in first class, not like when we flew during the exam.” Kurapika said, watching (Name) and Gon with a small smile.

“What are we going to do now?” Gon asked as he trailed behind (Name), holding onto her sweater so he wouldn’t get lost on the crowd.

“Now, we need to find a train.” (Name) said, giggling when Gon jumped in excitement.

(Name) followed behind the two, occasionally being helped up steps by Kurapika or Leorio.

Gon opened the door to their first class room, the group gasping.

“So this what a first class cabin looks like!”

Gon jumped onto the red couch. “Oh this is great, it’s so soft!”

He began sinking, Kurapika walking over. “What’s the matter, Gon?”

“I don’t think I’ll ever be able to get out of this thing.”

“You’re injured, so you should be taking it easy.” He turned to look at (Name). “You too, sunshine. Go ahead and rest.”

She sighed, plopping down on the couch next to Kurapika.

“I was hoping we could go and explore the train together!”

(Name) blinked as she began sinking into the plush couch, hearing Kurapika gasp beside her.

“Are you kidding? What makes you think I wanna do that? You always try to poke your nose where it doesn’t belong, no thanks.”

“So what am I supposed to do then?”

“Why don’t you ask Kurapika or (Name)? Maybe they’ll go with you.”

“Hmm… well Kurapika, (Name), what the-“

(Name) had fallen sideways, pretty much all up in Kurapika’s lap. Her upper half rested between his legs, and when he pulled them up to try and hide himself he kneed her in the face.

“Ouch!”

“Ahh, (Name), I’m so sorry!”

Gon sighed. “Yeah, never mind.”

Kurapika hovered around (Name) as Leorio held her face. “You’re fine, there won’t even be a bruise.”

The blonde sighed in relief, sitting next to her again. “I’m so sorry, (Name). I didn’t mean to, I-“

She shushed him with a finger to his lips. “I already told you, it’s okay. It was accident, you didn’t mean to.”

He pursed his lips, before realizing it looked like he was kissing her finger. She giggled, pulling away.

“… it still hurt you though, and I’m sorry for that.”

He leaned down and pulled her into a hug. “I want to protect you, always be there for you.”

She patted his back. “Thank you, Pika. I know you would never hurt me on purpose.”

The blonde sighed against her shoulder. “You’re too kind, (Name). Thank you for putting your trust in me, you won’t regret it.”

They pulled away from each other, Leorio stepping between them. “Okay, (Name), it’s time for your medicine. You can get all lovey dovey with each other after.”

“Lovey dovey!?” Kurapika exclaimed, face going red. (Name) glanced at the blonde before her face also heated up.

She took her medicine before sitting back down. “Oh, it’s a pretty high dose… meh, you should be okay. You’ll just be a little…”

“High?”

“Yeah.”

It took only 10 minutes for the medicine to take effect. “Leorio… my head feels funny…”

She started to sway, before Kurapika laid her down. “Hey, you should lie down before you hit your head.”

The girl whined, grabbing his tabard and pulling him into his arms. “Pikaaa! Don’t wanna!”

He attempted to break free of her grasp, but couldn’t without hurting her. ‘Looks like I’m stuck here.’

But really, lying next to her as she cuddled into him, occasionally feeling her lips brush against his cheek wasn’t… awful.

In fact Kurapika was enjoying himself quite a bit. She was in his arms, gently holding onto him like he was something precious to her. He found himself returning her cuddles, nuzzling into her shoulder.

The girl eventually fell asleep, keeping a tight hold on him even as she slept. “Wow, look at you Kurapika. Got yourself a girlfriend.”

The blonde flipped Leorio off. “Shut up, she’s asleep.”

“What does that mean?” Gon asked, holding up his middle finger.

Kurapika blinked before hiding his face in (Name)’s shoulder to avoid accountability. Leorio sighed. “Gon, don’t do that. It’s an offensive gesture.”

The boy quickly hid his finger. “Oh, I’m sorry!”

When (Name) woke up, she released Kurapika, but still kept her head on his shoulder. That was, until she needed to use the bathroom.

The other two were getting dressed for the day and brushing their teeth, but Kurapika was helping her stand up. “Do you want me to come with you?”

The still loopy (Name) giggled. “Pikaa, why would you come with me? We can’t pee together, it’s the women’s restroom!”

He blushed, but she wasn’t done. “Well… you do kinda look like a girl…”

Leorio interrupted to save his blonde friend the embarrassment. “Go on, (Name). If you’re not back in 10 minutes we’ll come looking for you.”

She whined. “But I’ll miss my Pika!”

Kurapika patted her shoulder. “I’ll be right here. Just go ahead, the sooner you get it over with the sooner you can lie back down.”

She sighed, walking away slowly on her crutches.

“Will she be alright? It’s hard enough walking while… loopy, but with crutches-“

Leorio snickered. “Why don’t you go hold her hand while she pees if you’re so worried?”

Kurapika huffed, plopping back down on the couch. “You’re so crude. Is it so wrong to worry about a friend?”

Gon smiled. “No, I think it’s nice. You gotta protect her after all, right?”

The blonde nodded, a smile returning to his face. “Yeah, I do.”

———————

Gon held up a roll of tape, already wearing several bits of tape on his face like a beard.

“Gon, that’s going to hurt when you pull it off.” Kurapika said, glancing up from his book. The boy tilted his head, looking him dead in the eye as he sticks another piece of tape to his cheek.

“Don’t come crying to me when your face is red and swollen.” Leorio chimed in.

“Be nice to my baby!”

They looked to to see (Name) poking her head in through the door, pouting.

“We weren’t being mean we-“

(Name) huffed, walking in and plopping down next to Gon. “Excuses. Gon, I think your… beard looks great!”

He beamed, before looking down to her cast. “It sucks that you can’t wear your socks on your other leg, now you aren’t matching.”

She sighed, a pout on her lips as she stared down at her white cast. “Yeah, it sucks but what can you do.”

Kurapika patted her hand before standing up to leave. “I’ll go grab us some drinks. I’ll be right back, (Name).”

(Name) watched him leave, sighing. “(Name), no pouting. He’s not gonna be gone for long.”

“But…”

She crossed her arms, Gon frowning. ‘What can I do to cheer her up..?’

Gon glanced down at the tape, an idea coming to mind.

He held the roll of tape up to her thigh high, seeing the color nearly perfectly matched the color.

“(Name), can I see you cast?”

Kurapika walked down the hallway, holding a few cans of juice in his arms. He smiled to himself thinking of (Name)’s reaction when she saw he’d gotten her strawberry juice.

“(Name), I’m b-“

He felt his cheeks turn a light pink at the scene in front of him. Gon was putting the final touches on his idea, the girl beaming at Kurapika.

“Pika, Pika look! Gon made them match!”

He looked at her cast, seeing Gon lean back after putting on the last piece of tape. He’d made little stripes along the cast, attempting to match her thigh high. It wasn’t perfect, but (Name)’s excited face made Kurapika’s heart melt.

‘This is the cutest thing I’ve ever seen.’

He walked over, quietly squishing her cheeks. “It’s… it’s cute. Your cast, I mean.”

She giggled, Leorio smacking Kurapika’s arm. “Hey, what are you doing?”

Kurapika blinked, realizing what he did. “Oh-“

He pulled his hands away from her cheeks, the girl immediately reaching out to pull his hands back. “Noo, don’t stop!”

Kurapika’s eyes softened when he saw her lip quiver lightly. “Alright, I won’t.”

He cupped her cheeks again, squeezing gently this time. ‘Soft…’

Leorio groaned. “You two make me SICK! Gon, let’s get out of here.”

The boy giggled, waving to the two before following Leorio out the door.

(Name) seemed perfectly content in that moment, nuzzling against his palm.

And he didn’t mind, not one bit.

———————

They arrived at the town where they would find Kukuroo Mountain. As they excited the train, Kurapika was beginning to realize how much walking they’d be doing.

“(Name), do you want me to-“

She was already being hoisted up into Leorio’s arms. “Come on, princess. You shouldn’t be walking on that leg.”

The blondes eyebrow twitched, and he was a little happy when (Name) began to struggle in Leorio’s arms. “Noooo, I want Pika!”

Kurapika marched over, pulling her into his arms and sticking his tongue out at the taller man. “I’ve got you, (Name). I’m right here.”

Gon tilted his head. “Wouldn’t it be better if Leorio held her, since he’s a doctor in training?”

(Name) teared up, shaking her head. “No! Only Pika!”

“Well, can’t argue with that.”

Gon patted her back. “It’s okay, Kurapika will carry you. He’s gonna keep you safe.”

Kurapika felt his chest swell with pride, his tummy full of butterflies as she chose him. She wanted him, and only him.

He couldn’t deny that it felt good to be the one she sought after when she was in need.

“A tour bus?”

“They really have that?”

(Name) grumbled when she heard them talking, burying her face in Kurapika’s shoulder. The woman they’d asked directions from smiled softly at the sight, lowering her voice as to not wake the sleeping girl.

She woke up when she was jostled by the bumpy bus ride. “Ugh…”

She held her head, looking up at the ceiling of some vehicle, feeling herself jump a little.

“Oh, (Name), you’re awake. Did you sleep well?”

She blinked, not answering his question. “Where am I… how am I…”

She looking down, to see her lower half sitting in Leorio’s lap. “Oh, we’re on a bus. We figured lying across us would be the most c-“

(Name) immediately tried to roll off of them, Leorio pulling her back up by the hips until she was sitting upright in his lap.

“Hey, stay still! You’re gonna hurt y-“

He hissed when she began wiggling around, squeezing the fat of her hips until she stopped.

“Owie!”

He let go, instead wrapping his arms around her waist. “You can’t be trusted to not fall and hurt yourself, so I’m going to keep a hold on your until we come to a stop.”

Kurapika smacked Leorio’s arm. “Hey, why is she saying ow? Did you hurt her?”

His eyes flashed red, the girl whining and reaching out for Kurapika.

“Want my Pika…”

Leorio groaned. “Kurapika, trust me, you can’t handle all this.”

He gestured to the girls wide hips, that rested right on top of his crotch. Kurapika raised an eyebrow. “And you can?”

Leorio scowled. “Better than you could.”

(Name) eventually fell back asleep, this time looking miserable. “Ya know, she could at least be a little grateful I’m holding onto her.”

“Well she didn’t want you, she wanted me.”

Leorio didn’t quite like the way Kurapika said it with that smug smile on his face. “Uh huh.”

(Name) whimpered in her sleep, hiding her face in Leorio’s neck. He groaned when he felt her lips brush against his sensitive skin.

“What was that?”

Kurapika gave the blushing man a suspicious look. “N-nothing! Just… ready to get to our destination.”

(Name) mumbled something against his skin, Leorio shivering. “(N-Name)? Did you say something?”

She was quiet, and he could feel that her breathing was steady. “Pika…”

He sighed, glancing at the blonde, he was holding onto (Name)’s hand, thumb grazing her knuckles.

‘Can she feel him comforting her, even in her sleep?’

(Name) woke up again when she heard people screaming. She groaned, eyes fluttering open to see she was outside now.

She was being shielded from something, Kurapika crouched over her as something exploded in the distance.

“There’s not a scratch on it!” Gon said.

(Name) rubbed her eyes, slowly trying to stand before Kurapika offered his help. “(Name)!”

He seemed happy to see her awake, offering her crutches. “There you are, (Name). Can you walk?”

She nodded slowly, standing next to them as two people shook down an old man and took his keys. They entered the small doors, the guard sighing to himself.

“Ahh, now they’re going spike Mikes appetite.”

“Mike?”

“Doesn’t that sound like the name of a cat?”

(Name) yawned as people screamed from behind the gate, and only blinked sleepily when a claw dropped off two skeletons through the door.

“Alright everybody, time to get back on the bus!” Coco, the tour guide called. Gon only shook his head.

“It’s okay, you go ahead. We’re going to stay here, thanks!”

————————

(Name) sat in Leorio’s lap again as Zebro spoke to the group. She was trying her best to listen, but her head still felt fuzzy. She was able to stay awake long enough for Zebro to finish his explanation.

The keys were a distraction, the only true way to get into the estate was through the heavy main doors.

Leorio handed (Name) off to Kurapika as they walked outside so he could try pushing the gate open.

When he couldn’t, the old man nodded. “This gate is also known as the testing gate. If you can’t open it, then you have no business entering the Zoldyck property. Now if you’ll please stand aside.”

Zebro took off his jacket and tie before pushing open the gate. (Name) gasped. “Wow, you’re jacked!”

Leorio pouted next to her, before attempting to push the gate again.

“You’re a very clever young man, you know that? Never attack anyone that comes through the testing gate. That’s the other order Mikes been giving.”

He smiled at the girl in Kurapika’s arms, who looked perfectly content. She’d fallen asleep again.

“(NAME)!”

(Name) whined a little when she felt something nuzzle into her side. She heard Gon laugh nearby, slowly opening her eyes to see it was now dark, and some wolf like animal was curling up next to her.

The two older boys had their weapons out, assumably ready to defend Gon and (Name) if needed, but the animals seemed to become tame in their arms, a few even surrounding the girl as she drifted back off to sleep.

“Do you think it’s okay to leave her out here?”

“She should be okay, I can sense that none of these animals wanna h-“

“I’m not leaving her out here alone. Not when it’s dark and she’s surrounded by those beasts. One of them chomped on Gon’s head earlier!”

“Aww, but he was just being-“

He was silenced when they watched the wolf do the same to (Name), Kurapika having to be held back to not kill the animal.

(Name) yelped when she was snatched up, the wolves that had surrounded her growling at the blonde.

——————

“Hey Gon, would you like to go in and meet Mike now?”

“Sure!”

“Then I’ll open the testing gate so you can see him face to face this time.”

“I’d like that!”

(Name) felt Kurapika hold onto her tighter as they walked the testing gate. When she opened her eyes, there was a beast of a dog staring at them. “Puppy?”

When it made eye contact with (Name), it faltered for just a second, then tilted its head. Zebro seemed surprised, but didn’t say anything. ‘In all my years, I’ve never seen Mike act that way when taking in the scent of someone new…’

“No, (Name), that is NOT a puppy.” Kurapika said, patting her back. “Go back to sleep.”

“Well, we should probably get moving. The servant quarters aren’t too far from here. We’ll put you up for the night, come, follow me.”

(Name) hummed, spotting Gon next to her. “Gon, sweetheart, you getting sleepy?”

She played with his hair, before squeezing his cheek. Gon laughed, leaning into her touch. “Haha, not as sleepy as you I bet!”

She laughed, before Kurapika readjusted her in his arms for the walk to the servants quarters.

(Name) was sat down once they reached the servants quarters, yawning as Kurapika helped her good foot into a slipper. Zebro moved just in time to catch her when all of the others fell.

“What’s with the slippers??” Kurapika asked.

“Oh right, I forgot, they each weigh 20 kilograms.”

Zebro set her down at the table, fixing the group cups of tea.

Leorio gasped when he took the cup.

“Hey, what’s wrong with you?”

“You’ll know soon… enough! Just try to take a sip of your tea.”

(Name) watched as the two struggled to lift their cups before leaning down to lap at it like a cat.

Kurapika pushed her back a little. “(Name), don’t do that. It’s bad manners.”

He instead lifted her cup to her lips, allowing her to sip. She drank, then smiled up at him. “I love you Pika…”

He blushed, dropping the cup. “Love? I…”

She yawned, leaning her head on the table again. He wasn’t sure what to do, watching the girl sleep with his face as red as his new tabard.

“Wow, was the tea that good?” Leorio joked, elbowing his blonde friend. Kurapika didn’t answer, only leaning down to kiss the top of her head.

Gon and Leorio glanced at each other, the boy smiling wide.

——————

When she awoke again, she was sleeping resting in a bed, the sky dark. She sat up slowly, holding her head.

She looked around, wondering if her friends were nearby, only to be greeted by an empty room.

“Gon? Leorio?”

Her voice became more frantic by the second. “P-Pika?”

She stumbled out of bed, yelping when she fell to the floor. (Name) groaned, reaching for her crutches when she heard the door open.

“(Name)- oh no, are you hurt?”

It was Kurapika. He wasn’t wearing his tabard, just his tanktop and pants. Kurapika rushed over and helped her up, sitting her back in her bed.

“I’m okay… but…”

She began tearing up, pawing at his shirt. “You left me all alone… where did you go?”

He sighed, sitting on the bed next to her. “Zebro thought it was best if you slept in this bedroom. It’s the only room in the house with normal appliances, so you can open the door to use the bathroom easily. Considering you need to use crutches and are still taking your pain medication, it’s only fair.”

She whimpered, holding onto his hand. “But why did you leave me?”

He blinked, seeing that her eyes were still half lidded, meaning she was still not fully there. “(Name), I’m… I’m a man, I was sleeping in the same room as Gon and Leorio.”

“B-but…”

Tears fell from her eyes as she tugged on his shirt. “But we’ve been sleeping together most of the exam…”

He attempted to reason with her, holding onto her hand. “But (Name), the exam is over. We don’t need t-“

She began fully crying then, pulling away to rub at her eyes. “Th-then you only wanted to sleep with me b-because you had to?”

His blood ran cold at her tears, the blondes hands hovering around her as he frantically tried to think of what to do.

“N-no! I…”

He pulled her into his chest, holding onto her like she was something precious to him, something he couldn’t bare to lose.

“Being… being next to you is all I could ever want. I…”

He went quiet, simply tucking her into bed before climbing in next to her. She sniffles, snuggling up to him as he soothed her, planting sweet kisses on the top of her head.

“Doesn’t feel right without my Pika…” she said softly as she drifted off to sleep. The blonde felt his heart thump against his ribs painfully, resting his chin on the top of her head.

“Your Pika is right here. So no more tears, okay?”

She nodded before leaning up to give him a kiss on his cheek, barely missing his lips. “Mhm… love you, Pika…”

The blonde could barely contain his excitement, wanting to squeeze her tightly and kiss her all over, but she was asleep again. Instead, he wiped away her tears and tried to sleep too.

But it was hard when his heart felt like it was going to beat out of his chest.

————————

“Oh wow, and he calls ME a pervert. I don’t sneak into girls rooms in the middle of the night, but he gets to!”

Kurapika and (Name) groaned at the loud voice of Leorio, the former throwing a pillow at him.

“Hey! Just because you’re tired from your fun night with (Name) doesn’t mean you get to sleep in!”

The blonde sat up, rubbing his eyes as the girl next to him whined, scooting towards him to cuddle into his tummy. This surprised him, causing him to giggle. “Hey, (Name)! That tickles!”

She giggled as well, sticking her tongue out at him. “Now you know how I felt!”

Leorio groaned. “Come on, it’s time for breakfast. Kurapika, let’s leave so she can get dressed.”

(Name) was suddenly wide awake at that. “Wait, no! Don’t leave!”

She wrapped her arms around Kurapika’s waist, staring up at him. He tilted his head, cheeks beginning to turn pink again. “(Name) I have to leave while you change.”

She frowned, but sighed. “Well… can you wait outside the door for me? Please?”

He couldn’t say no to that cute face. “Alright, but hurry up.”

(Name) nodded, moving to throw her shirt off before the door was even all the way closed. The blonde decided to ignore the fact he’d nearly seen her shirtless, sighing to himself. ‘That girl…’

She pushed the door open, Kurapika pushing off of the wall he was leaning against to greet her. Today, she wore another sweater, this one a lilac color. She wore shorts toady, another pair of knitted striped thigh highs.

Or well, one thigh high, since she couldn’t wear one of her broken leg. She looked cute, but he was frustrated for her. It was winter, and she couldn’t even wear pants to keep herself warm. Thankfully, the knitted thigh high seemed to help a bit.

He helped her walk down the stairs, spinning her around a little when he helped her down the final stair.

“Hehe, Pikaa!”

She giggled as he spun her, the blonde soon joining in on her laughter. “Sorry, I couldn’t help it.”

He pulled out her chair for her when she sat down at the table, almost about to feed her, but she shook her head. “Thanks Pika, but I’ve gotta train too!”

“She’s right. We’ll need everyone’s help if we’re going to see Killua before we have to leave!” Gon said, taking a bite of his breakfast.

For a bit, she struggled to lift up her fork, eventually able to lift a bite of eggs to her mouth. Once she was able to do that, Kurapika sighed and began to eat his own food.

——————

(Name) fell over when they put the weighted vest on her. “(Name)!”

She sat up with a great effort, being pulled to her feet by the blonde. “Maybe it’s best if she doesn’t wear-“

“No, I can wear it! It’s…”

She grunted, holding onto her crutches. “It’s just going to take some getting used to.”

Zebro watched the two with great interest. ‘That girl, they worry a great deal about her, but she seems capable to me…’

He didn’t miss the way Leorio hovered around her, the tall man’s eyebrows furrowed. ‘Something else must be causing his anxieties.’

(Name) began training with the group, but because of her injury, she was stuck doing things that allowed her to sit down.

The girl grumbled as she washed dishes, struggling to lift the heavy glass plates.

“You’re doing a great job, (Name).”

The girl glanced up from her work to see Zebro pulling on his jacket. “With your injury, I’m surprised you’re able to do even this.”

She sighed, placing her rag in the water. “Thanks, Mr. Zebro. I’ll continue to try my best.”

He gave her a friendly pat on the back before he left.

(Name) was tasked with cooking dinner, keeping the downstairs clean, and helping Kurapika with any tasks that he had to do sitting down.

Currently, she was making sandwiches. The girl peeked out the window where the boys were training. “Hey, guys, how do you like your sandwiches?”

“I like ham and cheese!” Gon said, smiling. Leorio agreed with him.

“Yeah, me too but add some lettuce on mine!”

She glanced at Kurapika, who let out a tired sigh before smiling. “I’m not picky, but…”

He scratched the back of his head sheepishly. “Could you cut off the crust?”

“Yeah, sure! Gon likes the crust cut off too, Killua as w-“

(Name) went quiet, her face falling. The three exchanged a look before Gon walked forward. “Hey, don’t be sad, (Name). We’re gonna get him back. No matter what!”

She sighed before giving him a smile. “Yeah, no matter what!”

The three continued their work, coming inside to eat lunch.

———————

When it was time for bed, both Gon and Leorio snuck glances at the blonde as he pulled off his tabard.

“Are you you going to sleep with (Name) tonight?” Gon asked after brushing his teeth.

The blonde shook his head. “No, she’s sleeping by herself tonight. To heal properly, she needs plenty of rest and room to move around. I told her as much.”

Leorio snickered. “What did you do to get her to agree to that?”

“…”

Kurapika narrowed his eyes, before sighing. “I promised I would… I would cuddle with her before bed.”

His cheeks began to turn pink, Gon laughing. “Aww, you’re so nice, Kurapika. I’m sure she feels nice and safe now!”

Kurapika nodded slowly, climbing into bed. “Yes, I hope she does.”

Leorio pulled off his shirt before turning off the light. “Aight, lights out. Goodnight, guys.”

“Goodnight Leorio!”

“Goodnight.”

They all drifted off to sleep as the moon watched over them.

——————

Kurapika sat in the Kurta Clan Elders room, kneeling on the floor.

‘I’m… here? Why…’

“So, I heard from Pairo that you lied about the outside seeing your scarlet eyes.”

He felt his blood run cold, pale hands clutching at his tabard. “Elder, I… I just wanted to see the outside world, I’d didn’t mean to trick you.”

“You didn’t just trick us, Kurapika. You killed us.”

The man turned around, the blondes eyes going wide with shock and fear. His elder’s eyes were gone, the empty eye sockets crying tears of blood.

“Was it worth it, Kurapika? Was the outside worth getting all of us killed?”

The elder stepped forward, grabbing Kurapika’s shoulder and shaking him. “They desecrated our corpses, took our eyes, killed our children, and you weren’t there. You should have died with us!”

Kurapika shot up, clutching his chest as his heart hammered against his ribs. Tears streamed down his face, the blonde gasping for air as he frantically felt around the bed.

‘Need her… where is she?’

He looked down to the empty spot next to him, remembering he hadn’t slept next to (Name) tonight. Before he could even think, he was walking out of the bedroom door and down the hall.

Kurapika stumbled into (Name)’s bedroom, consequentially waking up the sleeping girl. “Pika? Pika are you alright?”

He didn’t answer, and it was almost like he was on autopilot. Kurapika didn’t fully register climbing into her bed and burying his head into her chest, only able to feel the warmth of her embrace around his body as he sobbed.

(Name) wasn’t sure what was going on, but she knew he was distressed. He choked out a few words, mostly apologies and promises to make things right. She had the feeling he wasn’t saying this to her.

“Shh, shh, just breathe, okay? Deep breaths, Pika.”

He struggled, his breath coming out shaky as he attempted to listen to her instruction. She felt her shirt become wet with snot and tears, but that was the furthest from her mind.

“Breathe with me, okay?”

She cupped his cheeks, wiping his tears as she breathed. It took a few attempts, but he started to follow her lead, taking in a shaky breathe with her and letting it out.

Kurapika calmed down gradually, his racing heart slowing enough for him to breathe normally. After a few minutes, he sighed, leaning into her touch as she wiped away his tears. “There, that’s better.”

Kurapika opened his eyes, seeing her looking at him with those pretty (e/c) eyes. He didn’t realize just how much her presence alone could comfort him, the blonde leaning forward to press his forward against hers.

“You okay, Pika? You don’t have to tell me what happened, but if you want to talk it out I’m here for you.”

He took a moment to respond, his eyelids fluttering shut. “It… it was a nightmare.”

She waited for him to continue, rubbing soothing circles into his back.

“My… as you know, my clan was…”

He began to choke up again, quickly raising a hand to covers his watery eyes.

“You don’t have to tell me, I-“

He shook his head, lowering his hand to give her a soft smile. “No, no I would feel a lot better if I… talked it out with you.”

(Name) allowed Kurapika to take the lead, the blonde gesturing for her to sit up. She did, holding herself back from giggling when he wiggled around to lay his head in her lap.

He stared up at her, those pretty brown eyes seemingly waiting for her to do something.

She giggled slightly before placing her hand in his hair. “This what you wanted, sweetheart?”

He melted under her touch, nodding slightly. In this moment, Kurapika didn’t have the capacity to be embarrassed. All he could feel was the overwhelming need to be comforted.

And she was the only one that could fulfill that need.

“Whenever… whenever my clan was massacred, I was away trying to find a doctor for my friend.”

She frowned, the blonde sighing softly as her fingers combed through his hair.

“Before I was able to leave, I had to go to the outside world and return without my eyes turning red.”

(Name) tilted her head. “Why’s that?”

Kurapika cuddled into her stomach, smilingly lightly when she giggled. “Well, most people fear or covet our eyes, so them being seen by outsiders is considered dangerous.”

She’d forgotten about that. “Oh, yeah…”

Kurapika resisted the urge to plant kisses along her soft skin, instead nuzzling his cheek against her tummy. “Whenever we left, the elder gave us special eye drops so if they turned scarlet they would stay that way until we came home.”

(Name) nodded, brushing the hair out of his face so it wouldn’t get in his eyes.

“My friend switched out the eye drops for water, and when I failed the challenge, my eyes were able to fade back to brown before we got home.”

Kurapika let out a shaky breath, burying his face again. She felt his grip on her tighten, continuing to play with his hair.

This seemed to help a little, and after a few more tears, he was able to speak again. “… in my dream, my friend told the elder about my lie. I… I fear that my lie may have been the cause of their death. The elder… he was angry. He told me it was my fault…”

(Name) pushed him a little so she could look him in the eye. “Pika… let’s talk this out, okay?”

He nodded slowly, giving her his trust.

“Would your friend have done all that he did just to tell the elder you lied about your eyes?”

He was quiet for a moment before shaking his head. “No, that wouldn’t make sense.”

“And would your elder really blame a child for a simple mistake?”

Kurapika shook his head again, his eyes clearing up a bit. “He wouldn’t. The elder was a bit strict, but he was kind. He would never…”

Kurapika sighed in relief, like a burden had been lifted off his shoulders. “(Name), I can’t thank you enough. My mind is much clearer now.”

She smiled, leaning down to kiss his forehead. “No need to thank me. I’ll always be here for you, Kurapika.”

The blonde felt his entire body relax, his eyes softening as he looked up at her. Again, when he was looking up at her all he could think of was how angelic she looked.

“May I…”

He sat up, and fidgeted with her comforter. “May I sleep here tonight? If I get another nightmare, I d-“

She pulled him down again, this time cuddling into his chest. “Let’s get to sleep, or Leorio will scold us tomorrow.”

He wrapped his arms around her, sighing into her hair. “Thank you, (Name). You’re wonderful.”

She laughed, Kurapika unable to keep himself from smiling at the pretty sound. “You are too, Pika.”

As they embraced, Kurapika couldn’t help but sigh. ‘I’m sorry for being selfish, (Name). I woke you up, and now I’m taking up space in your bed again.’

He didn’t say this, though, instead drifting off to sleep as the girl in his arms hummed softly.

——————

8 days passed by, the two now sleeping together every night. It made sense to, since Kurapika had frequent nightmares that could only be helped by (Name), and (Name) didn’t like sleeping alone.

Kurapika was teased a few times by Leorio, but for the most part no one turned blinked an eye at the pair heading to bed together.

They grew closer by the day, now comfortable enough to change with the other in the room. Of course, being the gentleman he was Kurapika always turned away while she changed, but couldn’t bare to leave her alone for too long. He told himself it was for her sake, but even he knew it was a lie. Kurapika wanted to be near her just as much as she wanted to be near him.

(Name) yawned, Kurapika helping her put her vest on after she changed. “I’m getting used to it, but it’s still a hassle.”

He nodded, pulling his own vest over his head. “You’re doing so well, though. The first day, you were barely able to pick up the glass plates, now you lift them with ease.”

(Name)’s face heated up at this comment, her hands playing with the fabric of her knee length skirt.

“I hadn’t even noticed, I guess the change was so gradual that I didn’t register it.”

He patted her head before pulling her to her feet. “It’s hard to notice change in yourself, but others can see it more easily.”

(Name) nodded, grabbing her crutches and standing in front of him. “Yeah, I guess you’re right. I can see you changing too, Pika!”

“How so?” he asked, ever curious.

“Well for one, you’re becoming a lot cuddlier.” she teased, pointing to his hand absentmindedly holding hers. Kurapika dropped her hand, cheeks turning red.

‘Wait, when did I grab her hand?’

Holding her, touching her had become second nature. He hadn’t even realized he’d been holding her hand until she pointed it out.

(Name) giggled at his reaction. “It’s alright, I don’t mind!”

She took his hand again, squeezing lightly. “If it’s you, I’ll never mind.”

That fuzzy feeling returned, Kurapika’s eyes softening as she led him out of their shared room. ‘I don’t mind, either, (Name).’

————————

(Name) cheered as Kurapika opened up the testing gate. “You did it Pika!!”

She cheered, the blonde laughing when she jumped into his arms. “Couldn’t have done it without you cheering for me, (Name).”

They hugged, Kurapika taking in her warmth before letting go. “Alright Gon, your turn.”

Gon opened up the gate last, the other three congratulating him.

They said their goodbyes, (Name) following behind the others as they walked towards the Zoldyck manor.

(Name) winced as she struggled down the rocky path. Kurapika was quick to catch this. “(Name), are you…”

He looked down at the path, sighing. “I should have thought about this. Come here, (Name).”

She did as she was told, yelping when he picked her up, holding her bridal style. “I don’t want you hurting yourself.”

She stuttered out a response as he began walking. “B-but I’m way too…”

He tapped her thigh lightly. “Shh, I’ve got you. I’m not going to drop you.”

Now she was blushing, staring at his hand on her thigh. “Ok…”

Leorio rolled his eyes before picking up her crutches. “Stupid blonde and his stupid natural charisma…”

“What was that Leorio?” Kurapika asked, raising an eyebrow at the man.

“Nothing…”

(Name) poked her lip out in a pout, the blonde laughing. “Oh, don’t pout, (Name). You need your rest.”

But that wasn’t the only reason he was holding her now, only an excuse for his true intentions. He wanted to hold her.

Kurapika knew that their time together would be coming to an end soon, and when it did, he was afraid he wouldn’t seen her again.

(Name) held onto his red tabard, snuggling into the soft fabric. “Alright, but I get to hold you later.”

“H-hold me?”

His grip loosened, the girl squeaking as she began to slip from his grasp. Kurapika quickly repositioned her, giving an apologetic look.

“Sorry, you… surprised me.”

‘What does she mean by getting to hold me?’

(Name) continued pouting as they continued down the path, Gon occasionally trying to cheer her up.

“Look (Name), a ladybug!”

Although she did smile for a moment each time he showed her a new thing, she always went back to pouting.

Leorio saw a girl up ahead, glancing to (Name) and Kurapika.

“Hey, let’s leave (Name) at a safe location. In case…”

He glanced at the girl waiting for them, then back to (Name). “… that sounds like a good idea. I’ll be right back.”

(Name) blinked. “Wait, why can’t I come with you?”

Kurapika placed her down near a stream, smoothing out his tabard. “It won’t be long, once we find out if the girl is a threat or not, we’ll come back for you.”

(Name) tugged on his sleeve, her lip quivering. “But…”

Kurapika patted her head until she let go. “I’ll be back soon, (Name). Stay here, okay?”

She said watched him go before turning to watch the stream.

———————

The three returned around 15 minutes later, Leorio and Gon being injured.

(Name) was quick to help them. “What happened?”

They explained that the girl they had seen was guarding the gate, and every time they stepped over a line drawn in the dirt, she removed them by force.

“That complicates things. Did you tell her we’re Killua’s friends?”

Gon nodded, staying quiet. He was frustrated, she could tell. She placed a comforting hand on his shoulder, the boy relaxing slightly. “Gon, if anyone can get through to her, it’s you. We haven’t known each other long, but you’re one of- no, THE most stubborn boy I know. If it weren’t endearing it would be annoying.”

Gon cracked a smile at this, glancing at her. “Thank you, (Name). I’ll keep trying.”

“That’s my boy!”

He giggled when she pulled him into her arms, ruffling his hair. Kurapika watched the scene with soft eyes, holding onto his tabard.

Leorio glanced at his blonde friend, face softening when he say Kurapika staring at (Name) with those lovesick eyes.

(Name) spent the next few hours making flowers crowns to cull her boredom. Every once and a while, she could hear the sound of something making impact with something else.

And in her heart, she could feel Gon’s resolve. He was the one being hit, she knew it.

(Name) jolted when she felt eyes on her. “Hello? Is anyone there?”

She grabbed her crutches, ready to use them as a weapon when she spotted them.

There was a child standing on the other side of the stream, staring at her with inquisitive pink eyes.

“… hello.”

(Name) glanced towards the path, estimating how much time it would take her to reach the others if the person decided to attack.

“Hello.”

The two stared at each other, the child unmoving. “You are (Name), correct?”

The girl frowned, her grip on her crutches tightening. “Yes, why do you ask?”

The child didn’t respond, continuing to stare at her before turning and leaving. (Name) decided not to question the strange incident. She just kept a good grip on her crutches, hoping her friends would be back soon.

When the sun began to set, Kurapika returned. He gave her a small smile before picking her up again.

“We’re headed to the butlers quarters now. Supposedly we’ll be able to make a direct call to the house.”

(Name) nodded, brushing some dirt off of his cheek. “You alright, Pika?”

He laughed. “Yes, if there’s anyone you need to worry about, it’s Gon. You were right, he is incredibly stubborn.”

This caused the girl to fidget with his tabard uneasily. Kurapika noticed this, sighing. “He’s also alright, just a little bruised and swollen.”

She bit her lip. “Really?”

“Yes, now let’s get going.”

The two met up with Leorio, Gon, and Canary. (Name) chatted with the girl as they walked, Gon joining in as well. The other two stayed quiet, Kurapika’s grip on (Name) tightening occasionally.

‘This could be dangerous. At the first sign of trouble, I’ll run with her.’

He felt a little bad for this thought, but knew his friends would understand.

——————

They arrived at the butlers quarters soon after, being welcomed in like esteemed guests. Kurapika sat (Name) down on the couch, sitting next to her soon after. He kept a hand on her shoulder as he scanned the room.

“Ah, I gotta pee…”

She tugged at one of the butlers sleeves. “Which way is the bathroom?”

The butler gave her a polite smile and pointed to the left hallway. “Thank you!”

Kurapika stood to follow her, but (Name) shook her head. “I’ll be fine! You stay here and make sure Gon doesn’t do anything stupid.”

He wanted to follow her, but wouldn’t go against her wishes. “… alright, but don’t take too long.”

She wobbled away, Kurapika watching her walk away with a sigh. “Oh god if you start sighing again I’m going to throw myself out a window.”

Kurapika scowled at the taller man. “Hmph.”

(Name) walked down the long hallway, occasionally peeking into rooms to see if it was the bathroom. She got a few weird looks from butlers but other than that nothing particularly unusual.

“Weird, there’s no bathroom this way…”

She glanced up the staircase. “Maybe there’s one up here…”

(Name) glanced down at her cast then back to the stairs. “Whelp. Yolo.”

She began walking upstairs, one at a time. It wasn’t easy, but she was slowly getting the hang of it!

That was until her crutches slipped, causing her to lose balance.

As she closed her eyes to brace herself for falling, ready to feel the pain of tumbling down the stairs, she paused.

“Wait, I’m… I’m not falling?”

“Yeah, that’s because I caught you.”

She blinked, opening her eyes to see killua holding onto her arm, looking both mildly irritated and amused.

This expression shifted to one of surprise when she launched herself forward to wrap her arms around him. “Killua!”

He felt tears begin to stain his shoulder, the girl not able to hold back her sobs as she held the boy tight. “You’re okay! Oh my god, I was so worried!”

He held onto the back of his shirt. “… I don’t understand. Why… why do you care about me so much?”

She sniffled, pulling away a little to give him a warm smile. “Because you’re my friend, Killua. Of course id worry about you.”

He didn’t know what to do, how to react. He could only bury his face in her shoulder, taking a minute to compose himself.

She held him gently as he steadied his breathing. Once he had regained his composure, he pulled away slowly. “… let’s go see Gon.”

The two walked downstairs, Killua keeping an eye on her to make sure she didn’t slip again.

(Name) opened the door, Killua right behind her. Kurapika’s eyes widened, the man shooting up to join her. “(Name)!”

He hugged her, burying his face in your shoulder. “I… you took so long, I was worried.”

“Sorry, Pika. I just couldn’t find the bathroom.”

Gotoh, the head butler heard this. “The bathroom? It’s just beyond that door.”

He pointed to a door on the right side of the room. She cast a glare at the butler that gave her the wrong directions. “I see…”

Kurapika followed her to the bathroom this time, waiting outside the door for her.

———————

The five traveled by bus into town, all smiling and laughing. The group was back together again, and just in time too.

“Hey Kurapika, your flight isn’t until tonight, right? We should all spend the day together, since we’ll be going our separate ways.”

Kurapika nodded slowly, glancing at the girl next to him. “Yes… I think that’s a good idea.”

She snuggled closer into his side. “You know, I’m gonna miss you a lot, Pika.”

His breath hitched, squeezing her hand. “I…”

Leorio spoke up. “I’m starving, what are we eating for lunch?”

Killua perked up, about to speak but was stopped by (Name). “We can’t eat chocolate robots for lunch.”

“Buzzkill.”

They reached town soon after, the group splitting into two groups to sight see. Kurapika and (Name) were an automatic pair, the blonde not even considering going with anyone else.

“Alright, I’ll go with Killua and Gon. Kurapika…”

He put a hand on the blondes shoulder. “Don’t get her pregnant.”

(Name) began laughing while Kurapika turned bright red. He smacked Leorio’s hand, unable to even speak.

“Oh don’t tease him, Leorio.”

She looped her arm with his. “My Pika would never have thoughts like that. Right?”

He stuttered out a response. “Y-yes of course!”

They began walking away, Kurapika feeling his heart beat against his chest. ‘Pregnant? That’s…’

The image of her, sitting at the kitchen table with a cute baby bump, making cookies appeared in his mind. “Pika, you’re home!”

She kissed his cheek, giving him that pretty smile that he would never get tired of. “Look, she’s kicking!”

She placed his hand on her baby bump, and he could feel tears brimming in his eyes. “She’s saying ‘hi daddy!’”

“Pika? Earth to Pika!”

The blonde jumped when he saw her hovering in front of him, waving her hand in front of his face.

‘Did I really just imagine…’

“Sorry, what were you saying (Name)?”

The two continued to chat as they walked around town. Eventually, they met up with the others for lunch.

“Mmm!”

(Name) sipped on her favorite milkshake, kicking her feet. Kurapika smiled, his head in his hand as he watched her.

“Is it good?”

She nodded quickly, continuing to sip on it. Kurapika couldn’t help but sigh dreamily. She looked adorable, really, enjoying her milkshake under the little umbrella over their table.

“Man, I wish I ordered one, you’re really selling it.”

Leorio stared at her milkshake, and (Name), being the sweet girl she is, offered it to him. “Here, you can have the rest! If I drink too much I’ll get a tummy ache.”

Leorio cheered, reaching out to grab the milkshake, but it was quickly snatched away by Kurapika. “Hey! Y-“

He watched as the blonde placed the straw in his mouth while making direct eye contact with him.

“Oh, Pika! That’s not nice.” (Name) scolded, but by the time she did, he’d already sucked down the rest of the milkshake.

“Pikaa, you’re gonna get a tummy ache.”

“And a knuckle sandwich you little-“

The waitress approached their table. “Hi, will you be paying together, or do I need to split the bill?”

(Name) paused, her face going pale. ‘Oh crap, I don’t have any money.’

She made a distressed noise as she began to dig around in her backpack, but Leorio was quick to speak up. “It’s together, I’ll be paying.”

Kurapika held up a card. “No, I’ll be paying.”

Gon pulled out a few bills. “Wait I’ve got it!”

But they all paused when Killua pulled out a card that obviously didn’t belong to him. “Here.”

The waitress smiled and took the card. “I’ll be right back with your receipt.”

Kurapika was pouting. ‘I wanted to pay for her lunch…’

(Name) shyly toyed with her napkin. “Thank you, everyone. I really appreciate it.”

The all gave her a smile, Gon stuffing his money back into his bag. “It’s no problem! I know you would have done the same for me!”

She smiled, reaching over to pat the boys head. “Of course!”

———————

“Ugh…”

Leorio blinked as the blonde walking next to him groaned. “Are you seriously dragging your feet like a child?”

Kurapika huffed. “No.”

“You are. You are and it’s actually pretty funny. Just because (Name) isn’t around doesn’t mean you have to turn into a brat.”

“Brat!?”

Just a few minutes ago, (Name) parted ways with them to hang out with Killua and Gon for a bit. They were headed to the arcade, and when Kurapika began to pout about not getting to come with her, she pulled him to the side.

“Pika, I need you to do something very important for me, okay?”

He nodded slowly, allowing her to gently pull him down so she could whisper in his ear. “I need you to make sure Leorio doesn’t get into any trouble, okay?”

Kurapika sighed. “Okay, I can do that.”

She patted his cheek. “Good boy.”

His face erupted into a dark red blush at the pet name. “M-mhm.”

Kurapika didn’t want to leave her side, not even for a second, but he would do next to anything to please her.

“What can I do to get you to stop pouting?”

Kurapika glanced at his taller friend, who was giving him a sympathetic look.

“… well…”

He twiddled his thumbs, staring at the ground as his cheeks turned pink again. “I, um… I wanted to get (Name)… a gift.”

Leorio’s eyebrow raised, the blonde quickly waving his hands. “J-just to have something to remember me by! It’s not anything… anything…”

To help his poor friend out, Leorio sighed. “Yeah, yeah. You want to get her a souvenir, huh? Well let’s start looking.”

The two searched all over town for somewhere to shop for (Name), but their efforts produced nothing.

“Shit, this town sucks. Not a single store that sells her size…” Leorio grumbled. Kurapika nodded, seemingly frustrated.

“That’s stupid. How is it fair that she doesn’t get to wear the same clothing other women do?”

He kicked a rock, Leorio nodding in agreement. “Hmm, maybe we’re going about this the wrong way. What besides clothes would she like?” Kurapika asked.

Leorio hummed, spotting a building in the distance. “Pika, I know where we can go.”

“Don’t call me that.”

The two entered the bright pink shop, Leorio immediately leaving his friend to browse.

That was a mistake.

When he glanced back up to see what the blonde was doing, he had to do a double take.

“Kurapika.”

“… yes?”

“She doesn’t need thirty keychains.”

“…”

“Also all of those are hideous. How did you find every single one of the worst keychains in the store?”

He helped the blonde put them up, now pulling him around by the arm. “Here, look in this section. Don’t wander off, STAY here.”

The blonde grumbled while he browsed, but he had to admit, the little trinkets here fit her a lot better. “What do you think she’d like best?” Kurapika asked.

“She likes cute things. Like Sanrio products.”

“Sanrio? What’s that?”

Leorio stared at the man. “Are you being serious? Hello Kitty, My Melody, Keroppi.”

Kurapika gave him a confused look.

“Oh my god, just get her this.”

Leorio shoved a keychain into his hands. It was small, pink, and had a cartoon cat holding a strawberry at the end.

‘She does like strawberries…’

——————

It was getting late. The group planned to take a bus together to the airport, and Kurapika was both dreading and looking forward to seeing her again.

‘Maybe… maybe I could ask her if she’d like to come with me…’

His heart thumped against his heart painfully at the thought. ‘No, I couldn’t ask her to put herself in danger like that… but…’

He held onto his tabard, looking into the distance. ‘I can’t bare to be away from her…’

Leorio was having a similar crisis, tapping his foot against the concrete. ‘I need to think of something, quick…’

He looked down at his phone and stared at his ticket.

As Leorio typed away at his phone, the three arrived at the bus station. Kurapika immediately jumped up to greet them, his eyes softening when they landed on (Name).

“Hello…”

He seemed nervous, hiding something behind his back. “Hi, Pika.”

She tilted her head at his shy expression. “Is something wrong?”

“No! No… I…”

He fidgeted for a second more before revealing his hands, showing her the small gift bag. “I… wanted to give you this.”

She stared at the small gift bag, her cheeks heating up. “For me?”

He nodded, not making eye contact as she took the bag. She glanced at him before opening it carefully.“Oh my gosh!”

She pulled it out, her face morphing into one of pure joy. “Pika, you didn’t!”

She giggled, dangling the keychain from her finger. “It’s so cute, I love it!”

He let out a sigh of relief. “Thank god, I-“

He turned red when she pulled him into a hug, planting a few kisses on his cheeks. “You’re so sweet, thank you so much!”

He attempted to stutter out a response, but could only pat her back in return.

The five boarded the bus, and much to Kurapika’s annoyance, Leorio was very adamant about sitting with (Name). “Consider it payback for helping you earlier.”

Kurapika couldn’t argue with that, so he left to sit with the two boys. “Geez, can’t you look at least a little happier to see us?”

Leorio and (Name) sat in silence for the first half of the ride. She could sense something was off with him, sneaking glances every few minutes.

“(Name)?”

She looked up. “Yes?”

He sighed, running his fingers through his hair. “There’s no easy way to talk about this. I’ve been trying to figure out exactly how to say this to you since the fourth phase. (Name), I…”

He reached for her hand, trying to keep his tears at bay. “I… saw the letter.”

He could almost hear her world crashing down around her. She went deadly quiet, and eyes now staring at the floor.

“Oh.”

(Name) had suspected he knew something, but didn’t think it was that. She thought she did a good job at hiding everything…

“I…”

He squeezed her hand, attempting to kill two birds with one stone by comforting them both. “I don’t think you’re selfish for your feelings, for your pain, but…”

She stiffened when she noticed tears falling from his eyes. “I don’t want you to die. So…”

He wiped at his eyes. “So hear me out, okay?”

(Name) nodded slowly, squeezing his hand back. “Okay, go on.”

“I want you to come with me.”

She looked up in surprise, eyes wide. “Go… with you?”

“Yes. You can stay at my apartment until you… are feeling better. I… I’m sorry to say this but I can’t in good conscience let you leave by yourself. You don’t have anywhere to go to, do you?”

She sighed, pulling per backpack into her lap to hug. “… no, I don’t.”

He placed a hand on her shoulder, giving her a reassuring squeeze. “Could you… give life a chance again? If not for yourself, for me, Gon, Killua… and Kurapika.”

Tears were beading at the corners of her eyes. “Do I really deserve to be so happy?”

“Of course you do!”

He pulled her closer as she cried, letting her make his shirt wet with her tears. “You deserve that and so much more, (Name). So much more.”

He shielded her breakdown from the others, giving her a five minute heads up before their stop. She wiped her tears and tidied herself up as much as possible as to not indicate she had been crying.

Leorio looked her over, grabbing her chin to keep her face steady as he touched up her mascara. “There, all better.”

She smiled at him, pulling him closer to kiss his cheek. “Thank you, Leorio. I love you.”

His cheeks turned pink before he ruffled her hair so she couldn’t see how flustered he was. “Yeah, yeah, I love you too, sunshine.”

When they excited the bus, Kurapika was waiting for her. He didn’t say anything, but the way he smiled when he saw her made her heart race. “Pika!”

She jumped off the last stair, being caught and spun around by the blonde. They both laughed, holding onto each other for a moment before letting go.

“Thanks for always being there to catch me, Pika!”

Kurapika looked at her lips for a moment, feeling his face heat up before he looked away. “You can always rely on me, (Name). I’ll catch you every time.”

They began their journey to the airport, Kurapika stopping midway.

“I’ll be in York New on September 1st.”

They paused, looking back at the blonde.

“Hisoka… Hisoka told me to meet him there then, that he’d have some information on the Spiders.”

(Name)’s eyes lit up, looking up at him. “That means…”

He nodded, cupping her cheeks. “Yes, we’ll see wa h other again.”

He swiped away her tears, laughing when she started crying. “You’re so mean, why didn’t you tell me sooner?!”

He held her as she cried, patting her back. “Sorry, sorry.”

The walked through the airport, Leorio passing (Name) her ticket. “Got you one earlier.” he whispered into her ear. She nodded, giving him a quick hug.

Kurapika was leaving first, so the group gathered at his side around 20 minutes before he’d have to leave. They exchanged numbers and goodbyes, Kurapika saving (Name) for last.

“(Name)…”

He stood awkwardly, hand on his arm. “I…”

Kurapika wasn’t expecting what happened next.

(Name) stepped forward, looking up at him with those pretty (e/c) eyes. She pulled him down by his tabard, pressing her lips against his.

She pulled away much too soon, looking away from him. “Goodbye, Pika. I’ll miss you!”

He pulled her into his arms, and she could feel his heart racing against her chest. Kurapika couldn’t speak, couldn’t do anything besides bury his face into her shoulder.

He wanted to do more. He wanted to kiss her back, to pull her in by her waist and pepper her face in kisses, but Kurapika was having trouble thinking with all the heat rushing to his face.

“(Name), we have to go.”

Leorio tapped her shoulder, the girl sighing before pulling away a bit. “Will you miss me too, Pika?”

He stared at her with half lidded eyes, face red. “Yes.”

‘Unbearably so.’

(Name) giggled, giving him one last peck on the cheek. “I’ll call you when I land, okay?”

He nodded, watching her and Leorio leave with a sigh. A sinking, unpleasant feeling settled in his chest.

Gon placed a hand on his shoulder, giving him a smile. “It’s just a few months, then you’ll see her again!”

Kurapika smiled back. “Yeah…”

But when he saw Leorio help her put her suitcase up, his hand brushing against her waist, he knew that missing her wasn’t the only reason his chest hurt.

(Name) squealed, burying her face in Leorio’s chest. “Ahh! I kissed him!”

Leorio snickered. “Yeah, I saw.”

The two boarded their airship soon after, (Name) glancing down at her phone with a giddy smile. She swiped through the pictures she’d taken of her friends. Leorio peeked over her shoulder. “Sneaky girl, hit pictures of all of us, huh?”

“Haha, sorry, but yeah. I hope you don’t mind.”

“Of course not, why, I wouldn’t mind you taking some more!”

He posed, and (Name) giggled before taking another picture. “Wow, Leorio, you’re so photogenic!”

———————

(Name) sighed, plopping down on Leorio’s couch after the finally got home. The tall man laughed. “Tired?”

She nodded, groaning against the leather cushion. Leorio pulled her suitcase inside, setting it by his room. “Stay here, I need to get my room cleaned up.”

(Name) sat up, rubbing her eyes as he closed his bedroom door behind him.

Leorio’s apartment was small, having one bedroom and one bathroom with a washer and dryer. There was a kitchen and a living room, and that was it.

“Hmm…”

The fridge was empty, which made sense. He’d probably thrown everything out before. ‘Looks like we’ll have to go grocery shopping tomorrow…’

Leorio exited his room carrying a trash bag in one hand and a hamper in another. He winked at her before leaving to take the trash out.

When he returned, he was scrolling on his phone. He handed it over. “Here, place an order. I already got what I wanted.”

She nodded, quickly ordering her food before handing his phone back. “Thank you, Leorio. For… everything.”

The taller man plopped down on the couch next to her, allowing her to cuddle up next to him. “It’s no problem, don’t worry about it.”

They were quiet as they watched some TV, waiting for their food to arrive. Leorio wrapped his arm around her shoulder, pulling her in closer. (Name) didn’t seem to mind, humming contentedly when he ran his hand over her hair.

‘She doesn’t like being alone. And especially during a time like this, she shouldn’t be alone.’

The two ate when their food got their, Leorio happily trying her food. It was nice, getting to spend time with her. Just the two of them.

———————

(Name) was getting sleepy, and Leorio was having trouble keeping his eyes open. “Leorioooo!”

He blinked at her sleepily, watching as she yawned. “I’m tired.”

He nodded before standing up. “Alright, let’s get to bed then.”

He helped her to his room, which was now clean. He’d hidden all of his… private things. Like his porno magazines, sex toys, and dirty laundry.

She climbed into his bed, snuggling into his sheets. The tall man pulled his comforter over her form. “G’night. If you need anything, I’ll be on the couch.”

Her hand shot out to grab his wrist. “Wait, I can’t let you sleep on the couch after you took me in. I will.”

He shook his head, sitting down on the bed. “No, you need to sleep somewhere comfortable to heal properly. The couch isn’t a good place for that.”

“Then…”

She held onto his arm, looking up at him shyly. “Why don’t we just sleep in the same bed?”

He groaned, running a hand through his hair. “I’m not Kurapika, you know.”

She tilted her head at that, leaning forward to get a better look at her face. “Why does that matter?”

She gasped when he pinned her down, hovering over her form. Even if the girl wanted to move, she wouldn’t be able to, he was way stronger than her. “I’m not like him, (Name). I have urges.”

Her expression didn’t change, looking up at him with those sleepy eyes. “Leorio…”

She reached a hand up to cup his cheek, the man’s lip quivering slightly. “I know you wouldn’t hurt me. You don’t have to convince me otherwise.”

Leorio sat back, sighing as he slid off of her. “How can you read me like an open book?”

She laughed, patting the empty space next to her. “I can’t, I just know you’re too nice to ever do something like that.”

He sat down, eventually allowing himself to cuddle up with her. She was a bit clingy, wrapping her arms around him, but he didn’t mind.

Not when it was her.

“Goodnight, Leorio. Sweet dreams!”

“Sweet dreams, sunshine.”

——————

Kurapika impatiently waited for his phone to ring, tapping against the table he sat at.

Bzzt! Bzzt!

Kurapika snatched his phone up, butterflies when he saw her contact light up the screen.

“(Name)!”

He blinked when her face also popped up. “Hey Pika! Sorry for taking so long, had a rough day at work yesterday so I slept in.”

It had been nearly four months since the two had seen each other at the Zoldyck Estate. In that time, (Name) had gotten a part time job while living with Leorio, which Kurapika still wasn’t aware of.

“I see. If you need longer to sleep, we can always call l-“

“No, I’m fine! Please, stay.”

The two stayed in touch through the months, calling and FaceTiming everyday.

“I can stay while you sleep, if that would help.”

She pouted, the blonde unable to hold back a laugh at her cute face. “Pika…”

It wasn’t unusual for them to fall asleep on call, in fact it was more unusual for them to end their nightly call before they fell asleep. It annoyed Leorio, who slept next to her, just a little, but if it helped them both sleep peacefully he couldn’t complain.

There had been multiple times Kurapika had awoken from a nightmare, waking up (Name) with his screams. She would calm him down with breathing exercises before humming lullabies to help him get back to sleep.

“Sorry, sorry. Are you almost packed up?”

She groaned, Kurapika watching as she carried her phone into the bathroom, propping up the camera near the sink so she could talk to him as she washed her face.

“Yeah, pretty much. Now all I’ve got left to do is… move to York New.”

She splashed water in her face then began rubbing her cleanser into her skin. Kurapika hummed, leaning back against his chair. “You live in the same area as Leorio, right? Will he be coming with you?”

(Name) shook her head. “No, I couldn’t ask him for that. He’s busy with school, so I’ll be moving in alone.”

Kurapika was quiet for a moment, but she was quick to continue. “Oh, but Ponzu and Pokkle will be visiting me, so I won’t be alone for long!”

He forgot that (Name) and the couple were closer than he thought. She had kept contact with the two as well, occasionally meeting up to chat and catch up.

“That’s nice, it’s been a few weeks since you’ve last seen them, correct?”

“Yeah, Pokkle’s been pretty busy lately, and Ponzu usually follows him around.”

The two continued to chat, until (Name) gasped. “Oh yeah! Did I tell you I was going to whale island next month to visit Gon and Killua? They have a few things to take care of, then we’ll be meeting on the boat there.”

Kurapika blinked. “Really? That’s… nice.”

He had to try his best to hide his jealousy. After all, it wasn’t her fault the two of them hadn’t been able to meet up. (Name) was more than willing to see him, he was the one that was too busy.

After an hour or so, (Name) sighed. “I have to let you go, Pika, I’ve got some errands to run before I leave tonight.”

He huffed, causing the (h/c) haired girl to giggle. “Sorry, I’ll call you back later, okay?”

He nodded. “Goodbye, (Name).”

“Bye, Pika!”

———————

(Name) groaned, setting her suitcase down before plopping down onto her couch. She’d just moved in, with not much to show for it.

‘This is just temporary. No need to decorate or get any new furniture, I just need somewhere to live while I save up for a house.’

She sat up and started to unpack her measly belongings.

‘I really meant it when I said I would get us a house where we could all live together.’ (Name) thought as she looked over the framed picture of her and her friends.

She glanced at the calendar, smiling.

‘Only three months until I see you again, Pika.’