#though she thought the vampire turning scene was pretty sick (in a good way)

[stiltonbasket]

I knew there is something familiar about the healing. You are inspired by the best romance novel ever written, no wonder it scene in your fic is so amazing.

It is so nice, even though Wangxian and MDZS is nowhere near the galaxy level of Twilight Saga and Edward/Bella ethereal story when it comes to loves, devotion, sacrifice and well-written book with the best characters' development.

I wish MXTX will learn one or two things from Twilight Saga because her writing desperately needs some improvement. I read the second book of Heaven Official Blessing and cringed so bad at it I can't even finish it.

anon eye—

[be-ready-when-i-say-go]

Amor Fati-- Chapter 11: Cyclone

Paul and Maelyn have been trying to keep their relationship under wraps, but it all comes out. Caveat: Neither is their imprint. How long can smooth sailing go on?

Paul Lahote x Black!Fem!OC.

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There is only the chaos of the haunting flashes in Maelyn’s eyes. They are all Jacob’s thoughts, jagged edges of the scene he just witnessed of Bella frail and pregnant. Her eyes are hollow in her skull. Her determination to carry the pregnancy through, even if it kills her. There was no knowing how bad it’d been until now. It was lingering in the background with how Bella had been ‘sick’. Perhaps Sam was waiting, trying to watch long enough to have enough information to make his next move without appearing rash. Jake, yet again, is spearheading the information campaign at all costs. Sometimes Maelyn worries that she was too right about him and Bella. 

Nevertheless, no matter why Sam was waiting, his orders were pretty clear: he wouldn’t intervene unless he had too. Bella changing into a vampire didn’t seem like so much of a threat to Sam given his continual reminders that the Cullens did not pose any sort of threat to them. The moment she was turned, or had plans, the Cullens would have to move out of Forks. It would be too suspicious and they wouldn’t run the risk unnecessarily. Until now. Maelyn’s paws push over the forest floor, carrying her deeper and deeper into the woods. She wonders if this is a moment that Sam deems as intervention worthy. 

Another howl cuts through the rampage of Jacob’s thought and Maelyn knows it’s Paul joining. There’s the small blip, the hint of something vanilla that lingers around him but only for a second before it’s gone. Just long enough for Maelyn to catch it, but not to hang onto the sensory input. His silver fur breaks in through the green in the periphery of Maelyn’s sight. He watches too, the horror that’s unfolding around them as Bella seemingly grows weaker and weaker by the passing days. 

This is not good, Paul mutters. It’s killing her. And it’s growing fast.

She’s still human right now, Maelyn counters. 

Human, yes. But I don’t know how much that matters if it kills her. The two big questions are: what does this mean for the Cullens and the Treaty and what happens if the baby actually survives too?

Paul’s right, but given the way Sam appears to be taking this information, Maelyn’s hopes that they don’t make rash decisions begins to wane. They carry on, side by side until they come to the clearing. It’s the closest they’ve been in a while, aside from sharing space at the meetings. If either one of them were to move just an inch to right or to the left, their shoulders would brush--save for the moments that they split to avoid fallen logs. Neither one of them truly acknowledges that fact though. 

The logging efforts have thinned some parts of the forest, but there are still pockets deep enough in that they shouldn’t get seen. All the other pack member’s thoughts are mingled now: abomination, monstrosity, unnatural. There are worries about the child being dangerous. Maelyn watches, listening to the swirl of voices in her head. Leah, Quil, Embry, Paul, Jared, all chiming in. The worry flashes now over Jake’s face at all the disdain, and sure he isn’t a fan either. But there’s something a bit vile in some of their voices.  There’s a little bit more distaste for the child, if one is gracious enough to call it that, considering that Alice hadn’t been as kind. 

Maelyn gets it, it worries her too about this kind of discovery. What would this mean for them? Would the child once born go on a rampage? It worries Maelyn more that she could lose both her mom and dad to the hands of such cold-hearted and vile creatures. But Maelyn can’t get the fragile state of Bella out of her mind’s eyes. She can’t shake the dark purple bruises. 

We have to protect the tribe, Sam’s voice booms. All of them turn to his entrance, watching him stalk over the stacked logs. What they’ve bred won’t be able to control its thirst.  Every human will be in danger. 

We’re ready, Jared pipes in. 

No time to waste, Leah adds on. 

The implication stings. Bella’s still human. She’s still fucking human. Maelyn hazards a step back. Now? Jacob asks. 

We must destroy it before it is born, Sam declares. 

You mean kill, Bella? Seth questions. 

Her choice affects us all. 

No. The word comes sharply, cutting above the snarls and agreements. Maelyn stands at the back. Jacob, Jared, Seth, Paul, Quil, Embry, and Leah all in front of her. But she stands, with her bright red and black spotted fur, in the back and shakes her head as the pack looks at her. 

It could hurt people,  Leah interjects.  What are you? A Bella lover all of a sudden?

Maelyn doesn’t listen to Leah hot jab. She stares straight ahead at Sam. He looks displeased. Not quite angry, but disappointed.  We don’t hurt humans, Maelyn counters. We protect them. 

Lyn’s right. Bella’s is human. Our protection applies to her as well, Jacob agrees. 

She’s dying anyway, Leah cuts in, snapping up at Jake. He returns with a snap in her direction, the two of them caught in a small physical exchange. A paw reaches out but doesn’t fully connect. There’s a bite that doesn’t yield anything. 

The child is a threat, Sam bites in their direction, a clashing of teeth that’s meant to be a warning. That is our top priority. 

If we kill a human, we’re no better than vampires, Maelyn defends, stalking forward. She nudges her way between Leah and Jacob--who separate at her protrusion with only snarls at each other. Maelyn knows she shouldn’t disagree so publicly with Sam. She should keep her mouth shut. But she can’t. She doesn’t like this child, but she won’t kill a human. She couldn’t stop her mother’s untimely and senseless death. But Maelyn would do whatever she could to avoid being the person to deliver such a damning blow. It would crush Charlie. 

It would make the pack just as bad as vampires, just as bad as the creatures that killed her mother, if they killed Bella while she was still human. 

Are you saying what I think you’re saying? Sam questions. He moves closer, watching Maelyn closely as he takes each step. There’s less worry about Sam’s displeasure as there’s now the growing heat of what’s not quite an order, but threatens to bubble into one. 

Maelyn settles into her stance, planting her feet. She shouldn’t be bracing, yet she is. She won’t back down, not now. I won’t fight a human, Maelyn counters.

We have real enemies to fight. Tonight. This pack is not your enemy, Sam barks. 

Tonight? Jake gasps. 

You two will fight with us, Sam orders. The order presses down on Maelyn and she digs her paw into the mud beneath her. She doesn’t want to bend, but the order presses down on her like falling bricks. She crouches under the weight, under the hot stare of Sam. But she doesn’t want to bow. She wants to snap, feels the growl bubbling at the back of her throat as her body starts to buckle at the weight.  

Jake snarls, flashing his teeth. He’s fighting, she can tell. Even though he’s bowing, there is resistance. She’s got to resist. There must be something weak, a point in the order that’s got just enough give that she can push back against it. All she needs is a little give. A little something in Sam that wavering just enough to allow Maelyn to resist the weight.

I will not, Jake snaps, pushing back up his full height. He pushes each word out with each inch he gains back. He grows taller and taller next to Maelyn, who stays bowed, pushing with all her might. 

There’s got to be a soft spot and right there in the middle of the weight, the part about having real enemies. Maelyn did. The entire town had real monsters and humans weren’t the enemy. Maelyn gives the middle a press back up at the soft spongy middle of Sam’s command. He’s too preoccupied now with Jake’s restraint to push down the order with full force. She’ll take any and every opening to her. 

Jake’s voice is hot and sharp as he continues on, pushing up from Sam’s order. I am the grandson of Ephraim Black. I am the grandson of a chief! I wasn’t born to follow you, or anyone else! 

They’d be no better than vampires if they killed Bella while she was still human. Her mother was human, killed senselessly by being in the wrong place at the wrong time. God, Maelyn misses her. Less like a sharp sting and more like a throbbing ache, the hip that acts up, or the one knee that’s a little bad. It’s not constant, just a dull persistence. Her mother flashes before Maelyn’s eyes, the red painted nails and the soft warm press of her palms against Maelyn’s cheeks. Her mother’s eyes were so dark brown, so liquefied with adoration, that Maelyn swore at some points she could swim in them. That her mother’s love would drown her and Maelyn wouldn’t fight it. The smile is small and a little bit lopsided in Maelyn’s memory. There was a warmth, the soft and firm press of her mother’s lips to the crown of Maelyn’s head--the action always came after her mother finished her hair. 

Now, even with the heavy press of Sam’s order over her head, Maelyn focuses on the warmth. On her mother’s kiss, her mother’s love, her mother’s body buried in the casket. The order from Sam becomes a little bit easier to push up against.

Jake gallops off and Maelyn watches him, pushing up and up just an inch at a time. The shock wave through the pack intensifies as Maelyn pushes up and up, and up. She keeps pressing at that soft middle. She keeps thinking about the warmth of her mother’s palms and mother’s kiss. Her mother was human. Her mother deserved better. 

Maelyn, Paul calls out. It’s paired with a whimper, a hauntingly choked and broken sound. Please. Don’t do this.

You will fight, Sam snaps at her. 

The weight presses down again but there, in the reflection of the hot stare in Maelyn, standing to her full height, focuses on radiating warmth from the top of her head, her mother’s blessing kiss. 

I will not, she barks. 

Final. No room for arguments. 

Silence follows. No thoughts. Just the snarl and snap, just wild sounds. Someone whimpers again. She thinks it’s Paul given how choked the sound comes. Then it stops, cut off as if someone lost all their breath in a single second so abruptly. But Maelyn doesn’t look back to confirm her suspicions. She’s sure that if she does, her resolve might crumble just a little bit more. 

She is alone with her own thoughts. And it scares her at first, until in the far reaching distance, in the woodline in front of her, she catches faintly as Jacob’s promises to himself he’ll be faster. He’ll get to the Cullens with enough time to warn them. She follows after him. Even though Sam snarls at her, barks something that she cannot understand. She’s swift up the logs and follows the sound of Jacob’s hurried and frantic thoughts. 

She’d have to deal with the consequences later, calling her dad, Shannon. For now, Maelyn has her own moral compass to follow and Jacob’s trail to catch up on. 

**************

Maelyn, Paul calls out again. Please don’t do--

Silence! Sam orders and the cry Paul was working up this throat cuts out before it’s fully released, leaving Paul to choke on the unfinished sound as Maelyn pushes forward up into the trees. We still fight tonight. No matter the losses, Sam continues on. 

Against Jacob and Maelyn, too? Seth questions. 

They’ve made it clear where they stand. Even if they stand in the way of our objective, you will fight. 

You’re talking about Maelyn’s life! It’s too risky, Paul cries out, turning now from the trees, after watching Maelyn dash off, back to Sam. He can’t hurt Maelyn. Not her. Maybe we can hear them out? He’d been all too eager to take care of the problem, but not if it meant that he’d been fighting Maelyn. Not when it meant that the person he loves would be on the line.

She made her choice, Paul, Sam answers. If you remain, you will obey my orders. Obeying orders is different, it’s not on you. It’s my call.

But I-I still love her. I don’t want to fight her.

I know you do. If you remain, you will obey my orders. You will fight, Paul. No matter what. This is the call I’m making. You don’t have to love it or me in the end.

Paul doesn’t think he could leave Sam’s pack. The child is a threat. Bella’s on the brink of death as is. Defending Bella and the Cullens would only futile. No one can change their fate. No one can change what’s already done. No one knows what a half human, half vampire child really means or the damage it could do. They don’t need to be the first ones to find out either. It’s better to be proactive than reactive in times like this. Yet, behind the thought is Marlyn’s horror stricken face, the furrow of her face and the twisted sharp curl of her muzzle. He can’t hurt her. Even if he doesn’t leave Sam, Paul cannot fight Maelyn. 

Right in the back of Sam’s mind, a whisper of a thought so quiet that Paul nearly misses it: I’m giving you an out. 

An out. Obeying orders is different, it’s not on you. If he chooses to stay of course. 

Paul’s loyalties aren’t to Jacob or to Bella. His loyalties lie with the pack, to the humans who deserve protection. Paul is loyal to Sam. Paul is loyal to Maelyn too. He couldn’t bring himself to fight Maelyn, nor would it be his choice. It would be Sam’s. But even at the order, even at the out, Paul’s worry doesn’t fade as he looks around the pack. There’s a possibility though if it isn't Paul who got into the fight with Maelyn, it could be Sam, it could be Embry, or Jared, or Quil, or Leah. They all would be just the following orders. That’s all it would be. An alpha order that could never be ignored or broken. His heartbeat roars in his ears. Would Paul hold that against them? Would he sit by idly if they followed through with it?  

It’s the safety we’re worried about, Quil reassures. We just don’t know. 

I mean, if she’s choosing to defend Bella I think it’s really ironic, Jared quips. Maelyn should be the last one defending a leech lover. 

Paul whips in the direction of Jared, teeth bared as a snarl rips through his throat. If you listened for half a fucking second, she was worried about hurting Bella while Bella is still human. You pathetic sack of shit. We don’t know what she feels beyond that now that she’s gone.

You do realize Rachel is your imprint, not Maelyn, right? Rachel’s the one you need to be worried about, Jared shoots back with a snort from his snout. Who cares what Maelyn thinks or doesn’t think. She’s turned her back on us now.

Paul stalks closer. He shouldn’t do anything rash. He can hear it now in the back of his mind the disappointment from Maelyn and probably even Rachel for making such a rash decision. But Jared’s sneer scrapes at Paul’s bones. It’s under his skin in a way that if Paul weren’t already in his wolf form, he would’ve exploded. 

Why the fuck do you think I’m still here? I know what’s at stake. You don’t get to put words in her mouth either, Paul snaps. You don’t get to assume a damn thing Maelyn feels or thinks.

Give it a break, Paul. She’s not going to take you back. You really should fuck Rachel and get over this already, Jared huffs. 

Paul shouldn’t. He really shouldn’t. But it’s only a leap. One press of his hindlegs and it sends Jared toppling over. Paul sinks his teeth into Jared’s paw, one of Jared’s limbs coming up to defend his face. The blood is hot in Paul’s mouth and drips down over his teeth. Jared connects a swipe at Paul’s snout. Paul takes the hit, feels the trickle of blood against his fur and snout, and goes in for another bite with little hesitation. The bite never connects, instead Paul’s knocked off Jared by Embry, a shoulder check that sends Paul skidding into the mud. 

Enough! Sam bellows. Jared, you’re out of line. Paul, I know this is far from ideal for you. But the tribe and this town are more important currently. We’re not fighting our brothers here, not in this pack. 

But that’s part of Paul’s heart gone. She walked away. The person he wanted to keep forever out of his own choice. Not a genetic code, not something programmable. It was something out of choice. He chose Maelyn and she chose him. She wanted to learn to love him, and did love him, in a way that wasn’t about him being perfect, but about him being a better person, learning to figure out his own path in life. It’s a bond stronger than Paul ever anticipated. He cares for Rachel. He knows he won’t do anything that would put her in danger. He’d want to keep her safe and make sure she’s happy. But the truth of the matter, as long as he had a choice, he’d still choose to care about Maelyn. That wouldn’t change regardless of his circumstances. Jared only had Kim and wouldn’t look for anyone else, wouldn’t have a desire to go anywhere else. Jared hadn’t experienced the power of choice. Not that it makes his own relationship insignificant. It just makes Jared inexperienced. 

And a dickhead, Leah chimes in. 

Paul’s thoughts are racing but he slows his breathing, watching the younger boy take in everything from Paul’s perspective--the photos still resting on Paul’s dresser of Maelyn and him together, the photo she took of him in the stupid Kiss The Cook apron, the picture of her form the beach right after playing soccer. Photos Paul can’t bring himself to put away. Jared only bows his head in the end, leaning into Quil now for additional support from the bite on his front right paw. 

I shouldn’t have done that, Paul offers. It is genuine, seeing the way Jared’s struggling to get his full weight down. Paul should’ve remained more calm. He should’ve thought longer about how to respond to Jared rather than starting a fight. I’m sorry for biting you. 

Yeah, well, maybe I shouldn’t have judged so fast, Jared offers in return. I’m sorry for being a dickhead. Don’t sweat it. 

Quil, Embry, take him to Sue’s and get him patched up. But we’re meeting back here, in  two hours, just before the sunsets. We’ll adjust if need be if Jared’s not in top shape. Now, everyone keep your cools in check. We can’t stand to lose any more numbers. Rest up for now. You’re going to need it. And, Seth, Sam starts, wanting to address the boy’s concern about Jacob and Maelyn. 

No answer comes. 

Sam turns to the spot Seth was last at, near the base of the logs Sam descended from, only to find him gone.  Seth? Sam tries again. 

No answer, no thoughts, not a laugh. There is only silence. 

Seth! Leah calls out. The panic in her voice, though it’s just in their heads, is palpable. Seth! She starts up, towards the trees, calling his name out over and over again. Paul carries on up after her. There’s a high likelihood he left too, in the commotion of Paul and Jared, but Paul knows this will worry Leah until no need. Even if she liked to act tough and sour, Seth would always be her soft spot. 

Fuck off, Paul, Leah retorts, eyes scanning out into the forest. She drops her head low, attempting to catch Seth’s scent on the fallen branches and low lying plants. 

That’s your brother, Leah. You can hate me all you want, but I’m not going anywhere. 

You’re bleeding all over the place. It’ll cover up his scent, she snaps. 

They don’t make it far into the trees before Sam calls them back. It’s clear though how uneasy Sam is with the rapid decline in his numbers. If they do have plans to take on the Cullens, and now Jacob, Maelyn, and Seth, they would need all the time to recover that they could get. Leah’s displeasure wafts off her, fills every step she takes and though she keeps her mind focused on the trace for Seth’s scent, Paul catches a thought so soft, so quick and tiny from Leah, he doesn’t nearly believe it: …until I get more informa… and then it’s gone. Shut away so swift Paul’s halfway tempted to think it’s his own thought.

What was that? Sam asks, looking back down at the two of them. 

Paul walks ahead of Leah by a beat. I was just thinking about some overdue books I have, that the library’s hounding me for. I got an extension on them, until I get all the information I need from them. 

Books? From the library? Sam’s mental voice carries the echo of his laughter. 

Self help stuff, Paul counters. Clearly, I need the extension on the anger management one.

Oh, don’t be too hard on Jared. He’s inexperienced, like you said. But I do think you might need to revisit a chapter or two in that anger management book. Might do you some good.

They return to their human selves just along the edges of the reservation again. Leah turns tail for her house once dressed and Paul follows, hoping now that Seth is maybe home instead of actually gone. “Paul, I hope you’re getting that nose checked out too,” Sam calls out. 

Paul nods, though from what he can tell it’s mostly just a scratch. Nothing feels broken. “I will.”

Sam continues on at the confirmation towards Emily after Leah and Paul stop in front of her house. When the door creaks open, Sue sits at the kitchen table with Jared. Quil and Embry are behind them. “Leah?” Sue questions. 

“Has Seth been back here yet?” Leah asks. 

“No, I thought he was with you,” she answers. Her glance lifts only for a second from Jared’s hand and the bandage she’s working around his palm. 

Leah continues on down the hallway, not quite a storm but close enough to it. She disappears from sight only for a second or two before her voice softly floats up to the kitchen, “He’s actually gone.”

Jared gives Paul a passing pat on his shoulder as he leaves, hand tapped up but thankfully not majorly broken--a hairline fracture from what Sue can tell that would within a few hours heal up and set just fine. Quil and Embry leave with him, but Embry pauses next to Paul. “You and I should run defense,” Embry states. “Not every fight has to be an offensive one.”

Then he’s gone, closing the door behind him. Sue waves Paul to the kitchen table. “What happened?” Her voice is soft and her hands are cold when she presses at the edges of his nose. 

“A stupid fight,” Paul returns. It feels wrong to say because fighting over Maelyn isn’t  stupid, but Paul shouldn’t have gotten physical. He’d been doing well. Even when Jacob broke his nose Paul didn’t feel the urge to phase. It’d hurt, but it was mostly shock that made it sting. Now as Sue presses and pokes, Paul can’t get the sight of Maelyn climbing up the logs behind Jake out from behind his retinas. 

“Jared told me he said something insensitive about Maelyn. That she left but Jared shouldn’t have overstepped that line. So, it couldn’t have been all that stupid.”

“I shouldn’t have bit him though. Even if his loudmouth did make me angry.”

“Well that’s progress,” Sue notes. “Not broken. It’s already scabbing up too. Next time, breathe a little before you do something that you might regret. Give yourself just an extra three to five seconds, you’ll be surprised how much time it actually is.”

Paul nods and Sue pats at his shoulder, moving now to collect the trash from her work on Jared. The crinkle of single use plastics echoes as Paul pushes up from the wooden chair. He pauses near the door, noticing a shift behind him. When Paul turns, Leah slides out from the back, out of Seth’s room Paul guesses. Her eyes locked in on Paul. “You didn’t have to cover.”

“I do have overdue books,” Paul returns. They’re standing on opposite ends of the house, neither one speaking much louder than normal, as if they’re standing right next to each other. The truth is Paul wonders if Leah’s going to leave. Now that Seth is truly gone, he thinks she might. She’d been looking for any reason and this would be as good as any. 

“You can’t tell Sam.”

“I can’t tell him what I don’t know.”

She scoffs. “I know you heard.”

Paul shakes head. The less he knows the better it is. He can play dumb because he won’t know anything. He might suspect. He might have guesses, but they’d mean nothing without confirmation. “I didn’t hear anything. Just look out for yourself. There are people counting on you.” Paul can’t say who. He wants to. He wants to name Maelyn, Seth, and even Jacob. But he doesn’t. 

“I will. I always will.” 

Leah’s words taste a little bit like hope. But Paul has to be careful, so he turns, giving a passing goodbye to Sue and then carries on back to his house. He has half a mind to go the long way, to see if Maelyn’s tucked up in her bedroom. But Paul knows she won’t be home. Paul doesn’t even know how far or how long Maelyn will be gone. She hadn’t left Paul. He couldn’t think that. He couldn’t let that thought grow roots. She’d left because of Sam. She left because she disagreed with Sam’s choice. 

Paul traces at the photograph--the wind catching in her curls, her smile big and bright. She hadn’t left because of him. The realization provides more relief than Paul is comfortable admitting. 

**********************

“She stays,” Maelyn says firmly, like she has authority to speak on the matter even though she doesn’t. Jacob huffs beside her, his grumble audible but not worth responding too. Jacob may not want Leah here, but Maelyn does. “Or I walk.” 

It’s not a fair demand. But Maelyn’s not in the business of being fair right now. If Sam still plans to attack tonight, Jake’s going to need the numbers. Maelyn doubts Sam’s plans have stayed the same. He’s lost his edge now with Leah gone. He would now need to take them by surprise if he still wants to get through to Bella. But even still, it’s better to be safe than it is to be sorry.

“Oh, fuck off, Lyn,” Jacob scoffs. “I can’t trust her with the Cullens.” He levels his gaze towards Leah and continues on with his thought, “You hate them too much.”

“I don’t have any other place to go,” Leah defends. 

“You don’t even like me,” Jake retorts. 

Leah stands a little taller. “I don’t have to like you. I just have to follow you.”

“The only person who wants you here is Lyn.” He says and then turns away from both of them, like it’s meant to be a detriment, but Maelyn knows it’s not a strong enough tactic. Yet, Jacob is trying. 

“Being unwanted isn’t exactly a new thing for me.” Leah looks like she almost wants to laugh, like if she doesn’t laugh she might cry at the reality she’d been dealt. Maelyn takes her hand, a clasp to the lifeline she once needed and now hopes to be for Leah. “But if you lose me, you lose Maelyn too. She said it already. I stay, or we both walk. Besides, I’m not looking to be in the way. I just can’t leave. I can’t go back to Sam’s pack and be the pathetic ex-girlfriend he can’t get away from. I’m sick of constantly reliving what happened. You don’t know how many times I have wished I could imprint on someone, anyone.”

Jacob turns again, to face them both. “Just to break the connection.” Even in the dark, Maelyn can see the understanding dawning on his face. How he’d gone and spent those weeks away trying to find his own imprint are echoing back at him through Leah’s words. “Alright. I’m about to do a perimeter check. Leah, you got my flank?”

She nods at the question, hand slipping now from Maelyn’s hold. It’s a small bit of relief knowing that there’s four of them now, definitively. With Bella’s fragile state, she’s sure Edward would do what he could to stay close to her in case of a fight. The more numbers the better. 

Jacob’s eyes fall to Maelyn, his brows furrowed together, almost like he doesn’t want to do what he’s about to do next, but has to do so anyway. “You told me your conditions were that you’d walk if Bella died or turned. Not if Leah showed up and I wanted to kick her out.”

“I’m not Alice. Sue me for not seeing the future,” Maelyn laughs. 

Jacob bites back his smile but nods with a teasing eye roll. “And do those conditions still stand? For the foreseeable future?”

Maelyn inhales at the question. She’d been clear with Jake when she caught up with him that she disagreed with Sam on attacking while Bella was still human, but she was worried about what the baby could turn out to be--if it’d be a threat or not. Maelyn holds no such hesitations about the child, should Bella not survive. And there would be major concerns on Maelyn’s end about Bella being turned. Rather than cause a deeper rift or starting a losing battle with Jacob and the Cullens, she’d leave. Her caveats make her a bigger wildcard than Leah, she knows. Leah would fight if ordered, but not Maelyn. 

 Maelyn nods. “Those haven’t changed.”

“What about Paul?”

She can hear now how Paul cried out for her not to disobey. How it was most likely his choked out cry that was the last sound she heard before she started into the thick of the woods. Could she fight him? Probably not. Most of her resolutions are strong. Maelyn is ready to fight Jared, or Quil, or Embry, even Sam for what she thinks is right. But Paul would be her weak spot. He’d be one person that could make her crumble. Even if she wants to hate his guts, she can’t. She’d never be able to hate Paul, she fears. 

“I figured as much,” Jake sighs after her silence lingers for a minute too long. He takes the back of her head into his palm and presses a kiss to her forehead. “We’ll figure something out. But he did sort of break your heart. So I’m going to need you to find that rage you had for me about Bella and Edward and do some damage if it comes to it. If it’s not Paul, that’s fine, but with the odds four to five, every second counts.”

In normal life or death situations, Maelyn would always choose life. She’d always choose herself. But when it comes to Paul, she’s not sure she has the same kind of self preservation. Yet, the seconds would matter regardless of where her loyalties were spliced. It would be do or die for them. She could hold her own, she knows. She’s just not sure how strong the conviction would be to fight Paul. 

“I can do that,” Maelyn agrees. 

It seems to be enough because he takes off into a jog and Leah follows, leaving only Maelyn and Seth behind. Jacob and Leah grow smaller in the distance, as they move further out from them. Even if she wanted to get away, even if she wanted to free herself from this cycle of emotions with Paul, Maelyn knows that she wouldn’t choose to actively harm him. But she would fight for what she felt was right. It’s not lost on her where she stands, with the house looming behind her, protecting Bella and to some degree the Cullens too. She just can’t cross that line. She can’t kill a human. 

The hours grow heavier. The days feel longer. The longer Bella holds out, the more it seems like her death becomes inevitable. It worries Jacob, a constant flurry of noises in all their minds now. But the last thing any of them actually want is for her to die. Maelyn, especially. As Bella marches closer toward what seems like surefire death, Maelyn finds herself hoping that Bella can hold out like she keeps promising. Even if it is only for selfish gains so Maelyn doesn’t have to figure out if she could fight Paul, so she doesn’t have to do the hard thing. 

“Do you think Mom’s going to ground me if we ever get a chance to go back?” Seth poises to Leah over their sandwiches. 

“Yes, right after she murders me first,” Leah hums in return.

The paper the sandwiches are wrapped in still smell like the Cullens, even though Esme’s tried her hardest to remove as much of the smell as possible when she cooks for them and does the laundry. The scent’s gotten easier to be around, quite possibly Maelyn’s only gotten used to, has gone nose blind to the sweet sickly stench. 

Maelyn reclines into the steps of the deck, looking out into the trees in front of her. Her father had been pissed when she finally called, but when Maelyn explained she was doing what she thought was best, that she was trying to do what no one had done for her mother, the anger quickly disappeared. Leah’s work at the sandwich is rather swift until she stiffens and Maelyn can sense someone behind her Maelyn turns, though the person’s not made any noise. Maelyn knows by Leah’s response it’s one of the Cullens. 

Edward stands, hands tucked into the pocket of his jeans. “Maelyn, may I speak with you for a moment?”

Her and Edward don’t have anything to talk about. Now that the picture of her mother and her is returned, she can’t think of anything that Edward would want to do with Maelyn specifically. Though he tries to withhold the smile, it breaks through. She sighs, knowing that he’s unknowingly heard her thoughts. “Don’t have a cow, Leah,” Maelyn quips, pushing up to stand. “I’d ask why you want to speak with me, but you already heard it.”

“I did,” he grins, a small tuft of laughter coming out at the confirmation. They take a few additional steps towards the back portion of the railing to speak. “I didn’t want you to think we’d forgotten about Sam’s request, to see about other personal effects that might’ve been missing from other victims. Sam talked to Charlie and Bella overheard it.”

Maelyn’s brows furrow, not recalling the specifics of the conversation. But she faintly recalls her father’s confusion about why the picture was missing in the first place. So she nods before speaking, “I hadn’t realized it had gotten back to you all.”

“It wasn’t a direct ask per se, but when we got wind of the concern, we decided to look for ourselves too,” Edward clarifies. “Please accept my sincerest apologies for this delay. Carlisle informed me that there were a few things missing amongst the other victims. This typically looked like clothing items, jewelry. It’s rare but at times some cash was missing from wallets. Inside your mother’s case, there’s a notation that she was missing cash because of the banking receipt left behind that showed a withdrawal. Among the receipts left behind, it looked like she’d only spent about eighty dollars, between food and some souvenirs in her two and a half days in Seattle. We think that it’s possible your mother had the photograph in her wallet with her cash, thus when the cash was grabbed so was the photograph. This sort of random assortment of missing items could’ve been attempts to make the murders seem random. We think your mother was targeted by the former coven, but not because of any suspicions or connections to the shapeshifting. It’s possible they were targeting her for hunting sake, and awful as that is it hear. This doesn’t explain, of course, why the photograph was kept by the vampires. However, unfortunately, we may never know.”

It’s somehow the best and worst news to get. It only further confirms what Maelyn suspected the entire time. Yet, still on the flat of her tongue is the bitter disappointment. Her mother had just been in the wrong place at the wrong time. At least if there were suspicions about the tribe being werewolves, her death would seem less random and more like fate. Perhaps, it is already fate, but that connection would make fate feel less awful. 

Maelyn nods, inhaling deeply for one second, then two, and a third. “Thank you, Edward,” she returns on her exhale. It’s not a phrase she’d ever thought she’d say. But she appreciates the due diligence, the way that the Cullens have at least attempted to help her close the chapter on her mother’s death and let it stay to rest. 

“Thank you,” Edward returns. “For choosing to defend Bella right now. Jacob’s informed us of your situation and your stipulations. But we, I especially, cannot begin to express the gratitude felt due to your sacrifice.”

“Don’t thank me just yet,” Maelyn urges. She hadn’t sacrificed anything just yet. Refusing an order is the easy part, even if it had taken everything in her to do so. Fighting would be the next hardest part. That would be the true sacrifice. 

“Bella, also, specifically asked me to pass along a thank you for the wedding gift. We greatly appreciate the ring holder.”

The sound of Bella’s name makes Maelyn almost cringe. He says it so lovingly, but also with an edge. She can hear their conversations, but hasn’t interjected regarding Bella’s pregnancy. The tensions are thick inside of the house as is, so Maelyn only enters as she needs to. It is nice to know that the gift is being well received. Maelyn noticed the ring dish on one of the coffee tables once, holding Bella’s ring now after it’s fallen off her finger once too many times. 

To go from being introduced topless to now being a bodyguard seemed like an interesting tract for Maelyn to be on, yet she’s on it regardless. “You two are welcome. I’m glad it’s of use, despite the circumstances.”

Edward’s response is only a nod, before excusing himself back inside. Maelyn leans into the railing of the desk, elbows digging into the wood. Would gratitude save them all? It surely wouldn’t undo anything. She drops her head on her neck and listens for the gentle breeze over the leaves. The days grow a little bit cooler but not by much, the telltale sign of autumn’s creeping descent. 

“I’m sorry there’s no better answers.” Seth’s voice is soft and comes from below her. When Maelyn opens her eyes, Seth is peering up at her from below the deck. 

“Thanks, Seth. Sometimes we get them, and sometimes, I guess we don’t.”

“Still, you deserve better.” Deserved and getting are two different things, but Maelyn only nods in return and lets the silence settle between them. 

“Soon,” Leah starts, “you’ll be away from here. And you’ll be a genius who finds a cure for cancer or something. And you’ll have little mini Maelyn’s to dote on.”

“That’s if phasing hasn’t fucked my fertility.”

The wave of Leah’s hand matches the scrunch of her face--a dismissive but not insensitive tone and gesture. “Details, details, there’s science or something to work that out.”

Maelyn laughs. “Something about that sounds like projection.”

“And if it is?” Leah returns, hips pressed into the railing as she faces Maelyn. She folds her arms over her chest and for a moment as Maelyn watches she feels like she’s looking into a mirror. Leah always wanted kids; how she’d previously envisioned life with kids with Sam. That wouldn’t be happening. Maelyn and Paul never got the point of discussing kids. Maelyn’s not sure she ever really wanted them and some part of her worried that if she asked Paul his answer most likely would’ve been a resounding yes about them. Not that this matters now. But still, the parallels are awfully hard to ignore between them. 

“I wouldn’t fault it,” Maelyn counters. 

“Good, because I wasn’t the one still carrying around tampons,” Leah teases. She nudges Maelyn’s food with her own, a soft and wicked grin on her face in reference to the beach day after Jacob’s return. 

“I just keep them in that bag out of habit. And just in case one of the girls at work needs them.”

“You think Shannon’s going to let you come back after this?” Seth asks. He’s been worried a lot about if there will ever be the same normal again. Though they’d managed in brief stints to talk to their parents, there hadn’t always been enough time to talk to everyone. Maelyn knows Shannon knows where she is because she asked her dad to beg on his hands and knees for her. 

“Her words to my dad were, and I quote, ‘She’s only welcomed back dine during a visit after she moves away.’ So, I don’t think she’d be too happy if I came back to work at the diner.”

“Tough one, she is,” Seth mutters. He’s working now on the second sandwich, chewing around his words and around the bite. 

“That she is,” Maelyn agrees just as Leah comes in with, “And she’s right.” 

Maelyn knows the agreement all too well, the way she promised to send a postcard so that Leah could have the address to visit, how she’s supposed to get away from here and make a life outside of the reservation, and Forks. “I intend to keep my promises,” Maelyn laughs. 

“Good, you better.” 

At the end of this, Maelyn wouldn’t want the sacrifices and time spent to go to waste. She’d make something of it. She’d make the suffering worth something beautiful, even if it is small and only for her in the end. Maelyn wouldn’t let opportunities past her by now that it feels like they may not come again. Even if it’s only a tiny apartment somewhere, and it’s just her studying over her textbooks. Something good would have to come from all this heartache. 

But the thing about sacrifice is that at times, it is silent. Maelyn’s learned to see sacrifice when it’s large, when it’s a show of bodily intervention, or the extra shifts she pulled to help make ends meet, or the new clothes she went without. No one prepared her for the silent sacrifices, when it’s in the subtle changes of the wind’s direction. Or when it’s Jacob approaching her about setting up a small ploy, a plan to help Esme, Carlisle, and Emmett cross over to hunt and feed. 

“Should I run with them? Sam may have other pack members running patrols now and if they get caught, they’ll need back up,” Maelyn states. 

Jake shakes his head. “If you’re missing, whoever shows up will immediately know it’s a trap. You cannot let it slip that this is just a set up. I need you on the same page as me, agree with whatever I say. If Paul shows up, he’s going to use you as a gauge. He’s going to try and read you first since he knows you the best.”

“Then why are you letting me know? Why not keep me in the dark?”

Jake laughs. “Besides, I’m not willing to lose my head. I’ve seen you angry enough to want to gut me once before, I don’t want to see it a second time.”

“Not my most shining moment,” Maelyn agrees. “But I’ll keep practicing my shock and horror.”

 “Good. We’re going to need it.”

Yet, there’s very little need to pretend to hold shock and horror on her face. Not when Paul’s the first one to show up, with Jared, Quil, and Embry on the newfound boundary lines. It was a naive thought, to hope that Paul wasn’t out on a shift, lurking now to watch for a moment of weakness, to look for an in. He was one of the strongest in the group. It is smart of Sam not to turn up at the intrusion.  Yet Maelyn still can’t shake the gaze. She can feel him watching her and she only looks at the side of Jacob’s face. 

“You coming home, Jake?” Quil questions. 

“Not until I finish this,” Jacob answers. And Maelyn’s counting the beats of her heart, the thudding against her ribs as the muscle works doubletime. 

“What do you mean?” Paul questions. His voice is rough, but sharp as he speaks. 

“I want Sam to take back Leah and Seth.”

The words strike Maelyn’s eardrums and her heart roars. She has to be in on this. She has to agree with whatever Jake is saying. Yet, she didn’t think she’d be singled out, that she’d be separate from whatever it is that Leah and Seth are grouped into.

 “What?” Leah spits, taking a step up as if to confront Jake. 

“No way!” Seth hotly agrees. 

They’re both stopped in the midst of their protests with Jacob’s sharp and fast reply, “Quiet!”

“But not Mae?” Embry questions. 

Every set of eyes falls to her and Maelyn can’t help it now, she looks up from the distance she’d settled her focus on and takes in the group. Leah and Seth first who look confused, hurt even, then Jake’s firm stare. She travels up the foliage towards the four boys above them. Paul’s gaze is transfixed, every move she makes, he’s watching. 

“Maelyn’s agreed to help me finish this,” Jake answers.

“Agreed to what?” Paul asks. But his eyes never leave hers. She doesn’t know what this agreement actually is. She should’ve asked, yet Jake hadn’t offered it. All too naive yet again. 

“Tell Sam--” Jacob starts again and Paul spits, the glob landing inches from Jacob’s shoes. It interrupts Jake’s sentence. 

“Not you,” Paul huffs. “Maelyn, what did you agree to do?” 

Her name falls almost broken from his lips. She can hear the strain behind the word. Oh, she’s in deep waters here. The sound nearly cracks her chest open. Maelyn has to lie and has to lie well and fast, so she resolves herself with an inhale. She can’t say she agreed to kill Bella--it would be a slap in the face of everything she’d left Sam’s pack for. But they wouldn’t know her thoughts about the child. “I agreed to stay until the child’s born. Leave Bella alive, if she survives, and then take care of the child.”

The hard line around Paul’s mouth softens, as if maybe he actually believes it. Or maybe it’s still a hint of sadness. She doesn’t know and she doesn’t want to look long enough to find out. Yet, Maelyn can’t look away. If she looks at Jake, it’ll be too obvious, so she has to play along like this all a part of the plan the entire time, so she stares back, hoping she can keep her face calmer than the thundering heart in her chest and trying not to dissect the meaning of Paul’s gaze. 

“Tell Sam,” Jake interjects, “that I want Leah and Seth safe and I want this over. When the moment comes, I’ll be the one to destroy it. Maelyn’s staying to ensure that possibility. They trust both of us.”

Maelyn’s not sure if the Cullens do trust her or not. Esme’s been nice enough and aside from Edward, Maelyn’s not talked much to the Cullens as a whole. Perhaps it’s the fact that she’s not openly hostile like Leah is. But Maelyn doesn’t think trust is the right word. Whatever the right word is, doesn’t matter though. Because all four of them need Paul, Jared, Quil, and Embry to buy this story. 

The seconds tick by and Maelyn’s not sure what they’re waiting for. She knows this is a distraction of some kind. Just as a soft acceptance begins to settle onto Paul’s face howls ring out into the night. They echo once, then twice, and all of them look up into the sky at the sound. Paul’s face falls hard again, eyes snapping into Jacob’s direction. “You played us?”

But there’s something haunting in the cut of his gaze, when he turns, ready now to return back to the woods. There’s something like disbelief, coated in disappointment. Paul expected Maelyn to play it honest with him of all people. But she’s not sure if or why Paul seems to care all that much about honesty at this point. They were now on opposite sides of the fence. He would have to do whatever needed in order to see Sam’s plan through. She would have to do whatever needed to see Jacob’s plan through. Two things inherently at odds with each other. They are inherently at odds with each other. 

But there’s a tiny blip, the cut of disappointment in Maelyn in having to play against Paul, in having to fight against him in these cutting seconds. It’s not that she wanted to, it’s that she had too. In order to protect Bella while she was still human, this is the play Maelyn had to make. She’d hope, watching him retreat into the forest, that Paul would understand. 

*******************

Paul knows he shouldn’t. Well after Emmett, Carlisle, and Esme have made it through their defenses thanks to Jacob’s ploy, Paul should stay with Sam. He should work to find a way through--they are now down three people so the odds have been evened just a hair. But he can’t get the small shock, the second long furrow of Maelyn’s brow before it settled. The plan, before it turned out to all be a lie, is that Maelyn would help Jacob kill the baby. That the two of them gained enough of the Cullens' trust to get that close. It nearly seemed believable until her face cracked. It didn’t last long, just long enough that Paul could see how much she was trying to keep the ploy going. 

It still stung. Paul understood that they’d be at odds, that they were fighting for the opposite sides. He just didn’t think Maelyn could lie to him. Though, if he ponders the thoughts long enough, he knows he too would do almost anything Sam asked of him to do. Maelyn might have her own lines, the ones she’s willing to cross and the ones she’s not willing. And maybe a small white lie in the grand scheme of things is the line she can stomach to cross.

The trees provide just enough coverage and Paul watches, catching the rustle of Leah and Seth who watch from outside the house. Maelyn’s not out; he can’t catch her scent. But Paul listens, hoping that maybe she turns a corner and opens a door. 

“Do you think they’ll actually do it?” Seth questions. 

“Depends,” Leah answers. Her voice is soft, head turning side to side like she might suspect something or someone is still around. Paul hazards just another step back, careful of the sticks and fallen branches beneath his paws. “If Bella doesn’t really make it, maybe Maelyn’s stipulations won’t mean much. But given Maelyn’s apology, I don’t know that she was all too well informed just like we weren’t.”

There’s a tiny bit of hope. Maybe her actions weren’t out of a devious desire; maybe they were out of dutiful obligation. Nonetheless, Paul continues to watch. He still needs to give Sam enough information for them to strike. That makes him no better, he knows. Both Paul and Maelyn are cogs in the machine. They’re both instruments of their own morals. 

The night grows eerily quiet until the screams start up, a rush of voices higher in the house that Paul listens to dissect. He can’t catch it all. There’s just so much screaming and he assumes it’s Bella. Maybe in the midst of delivery, or death. Either way, Paul knows he can’t leave now. The seconds pass by and feel like hours. But Jake comes stumbling out of the house, hands bloody and crying. 

“She didn’t make it,” Seth states, voice almost cracking at the realization. 

Paul waits for a moment longer. Maybe Maelyn will come out, maybe she can confirm more information. But when the minute passes and it’s only Jacob, still sobbing on the steps, Paul knows he can’t waste much more time. He backs away slowly, maneuvering over the brush and carries himself back to the reservation. Sam mentioned needing to speak to Billy first, so Paul assumes the pack will still be there at the Black’s. The news may not go over well, but in the end, they would all do as they believed was best. 

Paul catches the strong wind of Sam’s scent and the rest of the pack, following the trail right up to Billy’s. He continues on but above the soft part of his paws and the rush of the wind over his face, Paul worries about what’s to come. A fight is one thing. Paul can handle himself in a fight. But he knows it means Maelyn will be there. She’ll be a part of this fight and she won’t be at his side. 

Maelyn will be across from him. She’ll be at the whims and order of Sam and the rest of the pack. Sam’s orders were clear: Paul would fight. Embry offered that the two of them could run defense, which isn’t a bad strategy on the face of it. Every defensive play needs an offensive counterpart. And the thing Paul doesn’t know is if he can sit by while Maelyn’s safety is on the line. 

He phases back, pulling up close to Billy’s house. Maybe something will happen and it’ll stop the fight well before it happens. Maybe he’s worrying for nothing. But the thing he has to do, as he was asked to do, is report back. Sam comes down the ramp of Billy’s, the hard set line of his mouth letting Paul know that to some degree it doesn’t really matter what’s happening or has happened, Sam’s made up his mind. There’s a decision that won't be unmade unless absolutely necessary. 

“I don’t care what he’s done. He’s still my son,” Billy calls out after Sam. 

“I’m sorry Billy. I thought you should know,” Sam returns and Paul slides beside Sam. 

“Bella’s dead,” Paul whispers, knowing that the words he’s producing are the nail in the coffin. Yet Paul is still praying for some sort of intervention. He is nailing his own coffin shut and Paul knows it. 

“Let’s go!” Sam shouts. 

Quil, Embry, Jared, Paul, and the rest of the pack all turn to follow behind him. If Paul ever had to take a death march, or even a death jog, this would be it. He follows behind the rest of them, still praying to a universe that’s very clearly not going to answer. 

The pack’s arrival is clearly anticipated. Alice, Jasper, Edward, Leah, and Seth are lined up at the doors of the house. Paul wonders where Jacob is, but doesn’t get a moment to fully settle into the thought as the echoes of Sam’s order not to stand down ring out. Not that it matters where Jake is now. Bella is dead and the baby is a threat. They must continue on.

As Paul leaps in, ready to take on the vampires that come his way, he looks for Maelyn. He wants to know where she is, so he knows where to be. And it’s a false notation, Paul knows that. Maelyn is not a safe space anymore, not right now anyway. Yet, he can’t help the learned behaviour, can’t resist the draw and desire to make sure that she doesn’t get hurt. 

Esme, Carlisle, and Emmett descend into the fight in a flash. Though Paul’s caught up with Jasper, he notices when Sam’s knocked off Edward in the rush of the trio’s arrival. The margin of their win starts to close. And all the while, even with Paul taking hits from Emmett, he keeps looking towards the house. Another snarl joins and it grabs Sam’s attention, enough that the tiff he’s in with Edward stops nearly completely and Sam starts to stalk towards Jacob. The two of them snap, preparing for the impending bloodbath. 

And just above them, even with Jacob’s flash of thoughts something about the child not that Paul’s paying all that close attention, Maelyn comes barreling out. “She’s still, technically alive! Bella’s heart is still beating!” Her words are rushed, as if she’s still trying to beat some clock. 

Her clothes are bloody, but she carries on, down the steps. “She’s still alive,” Maelyn calls out again. Her voice booms over the snarls, snaps, grunts, and groans of the fight. 

The news doesn’t deter Sam. Paul understands in some ways. Just because Bella’s heart is still beating doesn’t mean that she wasn’t already on the verge of turning. It also doesn’t mean that the baby wouldn’t be a threat. Bella being alive, no matter how fleeting, doesn’t really stop the wheels now. What does matter is that Maelyn is not phased. She’s still flesh and even if she could handle more than the average person even in her human form, it doesn’t make it indestructible. Everything created would crumble eventually. It’s the natural order of things--everything made can be destroyed. 

Sam, hear her out, Paul wants it to be an ask, a fair plea.

Jake snaps again, his thoughts starting to break through, but not entirely. Paul only catches glimpses. He’s too focused on Maelyn, who’s pushing through and around the vampires. Sam’s already pushing off, his front paws are already lifting off the ground. Paul wishes Maelyn could hear him, warn her that Sam doesn’t have enough time. He wishes he could hear Maelyn, to know if she knows this already. 

Maybe she’ll stop. Her feet keep carrying her though. She keeps going. Maelyn’s slipping in. All too graceful with her arms spread wide at her sides, as if that will stop anything already in motion and protect Jacob from the impending blow. There’s seconds, maybe not even a full thirty of them. Sam and Maelyn are going to collide and Maelyn’s going to lose. 

Sam! Paul snaps, scrambling now around Jasper, to get some speed and he’s up. Leaping, and praying all the same. This is going to cost him. At least, though, he has his answer though. Paul would not sit idly by. He’s praying he’s fast enough. Sam’s bigger, not by much, but just enough. Paul knows that if and when necessary he could manage in a fight. He would manage in a fight. This one specifically. 

Sam skids into a tree, the impact of Paul’s weight sending him off his projected patch. Maelyn lands between Sam, Paul, and Jake. The scent of fresh blood hitting the rather stale and thick air around them. Her shirt is torn in the middle, parts of her chest exposed and wounded now. 

Paul would fight. Sam ordered it. But the thing Sam didn’t do is say against who. Paul’s stalk forward is careful. He places his body between Sam and Maelyn’s. She’s still behind him. The softest echo of her breathing hits his ear. At the very least, she’s still alive. That’s enough to satiate the worst of Paul, but not enough to temper the whole of him. The snarl is deep and nasty as it racks through Paul’s bones. 

Sam’s fast up but Paul’s already anticipating the incoming pounce, already knows what Sam is thinking as he’s thinking it. The thrashes and swipes are easily countered. Sam’s voice is muffled by the heat of Paul’s rage. How could Sam launch himself into the throws of an offensive strike when Maelyn wasn’t in her wolf form? Paul just barely misses the tufts of fur hiding away Sam’s throat before Sam bucks him off.

Paul’s up, paws digging into the dirt as he charges forward again. He wouldn’t throw the first punch. But Paul would make damn sure to throw the last one. A fair fight is one thing--or maybe a fair fight wouldn’t matter in the end. Sam could fight anyone, but Paul won’t let it be Maelyn and he for damn sure wouldn’t let it happen when she had no true means to protect herself.

Paul! It’s over! Embry calls out. It’s over anyway, we can’t fight them or the baby. 

Paul doesn’t care to understand what happened to make it so that they can’t fight anymore, or whatever it is that Embry said. None of that matters, what matters is that Maelyn is there, injured all because of Sam’s own fucking haste. But all Paul sees is Sam leaping. All he sees is the gaping wounds. Paul snaps again, pushing against the marble of Emmett in front of him. 

Emmett’s hold is stronger than anticipated as he speaks, “Easy, big guy. Carlisle can check her out. But it’s done. It’s done. Sam backed down. It’s over. She’s going to be alright.”

Paul pushes again. He wants Sam’s throat in his teeth. Paul wants to take Sam apart limb by fucking limb. How could you? Paul screams. It echoes with every bit of rage that he feels, every worry and every piece of anger coil around the words. 

Paul only needs to get through. But he can’t get through. Emmett, Jasper, Embry, and Jared are all surrounding him. Their bodies and heads make a window, a rounded angular hole just enough for Paul to see through. 

Sam’s head is lowered, backing further and further away. I was going to stop, Paul. I was trying to.

You could have killed her! 

“Look at Maelyn. For fuck sake, I do not want to hurt you,” Emmett huffs, pushing back against Paul’s strain to get forward. “Focus on her. Not on him.”

Paul obeys, only because it’s about Maelyn. Only because he loves her. Carlisle is gentle as he carries her inside. She’s still breathing, but not conscious, limp in Carlisle’s arms. 

Maelyn. It’s a broken cry even to his own ears. All the anger, all the desire to start a literal war disappears. There’s just Maelyn and the ache in his chest. 

Her blood is thick on the ground left behind. Paul sits at the base of the stairs, staring up into the house. There are vampires all around him, but he sits next to her blood and watches into the glass house as Carlisle works. 

Paul, Sam starts, the echo of his voice soft. 

Sam, Paul returns, hardly turning his head towards Sam. Paul hears the apology already dancing in the Alpha’s thoughts but can’t stomach them at the moment. Because all there is right now is the worry filling his blood now. All Paul can do now is worry and wait. 

I do need you to know that I was going to stop. 

Maybe Sam would’ve. Maybe Paul’s haste only made it worse. But none of that would undo what happened anyway. 

I saw her coming. I thought she was going to stop. Then Maelyn just didn’t. I knew I couldn’t hurt her, not intentionally. It would’ve been unfair. I am incredibly sorry for what happened and Maelyn getting hurt like she did. 

It just looked--Paul stops. Because he knows Sam knows what it looked like to him. Paul only wanted to keep her from getting hurt. Maybe he made it worse. But he doesn’t think if he had to redo this, he’d do much differently. She and you were going to--

I know. I think if anyone else were in your shoes, they’d react similarly. The important thing now is that Maelyn makes it out okay.

It’s all Sam says before he settles, just off to Paul’s left but not directly next to him. He sits and he waits too. Everyone does. Quil, Embry, Jared, and the rest of Sam's pack all settle onto the ground around him, waiting with their gazes locked into the first floor corner bedroom. 

“I’d offer you a spot inside, but I don’t think you’d take it,” Jacob states, the only one to have phased back. Not even Leah or Seth move from their spots, still sitting too on their paws, attention straight ahead. “Once Carlisle is done, you can go inside. You don’t have to worry.”

But all Paul has is worry. It’s heavy on his shoulders but he’d carry it. Even if Maelyn hated him, or wanted nothing to do with him, he’d still carry the worry because it’s what they do. They worry about each other. 

The Cullens house feels much too stark, and empty. It is full of decor, but it feels stiff and too still. Paul wouldn’t walk in here under any normal circumstances. But these aren’t normal circumstances. The hairs on the back of his neck stand up. The floors feel too pristine, like they’ve never been touched by actual muddy shoes or barefeet before. But Paul follows behind Carlisle into the first floor guestroom. 

The broken shoulder feels trivial now in comparison to the gauze wrapped around Maelyn’s torso. But she’s reclined now against the bed, mostly alert. Alert enough to ask for him by name. 

“It’s overkill,” she mutters. “But Carlisle is Carlisle and I couldn’t put up much of a fight.”

“Don’t,” Paul winces. She didn’t put up a fight because she wasn’t conscious. The knowledge hurts nearly as much as watching her body limp and being carried away. “You get to joke like that when you’re not wrapped up like a mummy.”

“So, in what, three days?”

He huffs, but nods. “Yeah, in three days.” Maelyn tries to push up against the pillows, but winches and stops before she makes it too far. Paul crosses the threshold, into the room, hand raising as if that will actually stop her. “Hey, don’t. Take it easy.”

She settles and motions to the bed for Paul to sit. But he doesn’t. Now that his feet are moving, he carries all the way to the side of the bed, kneeling next to her. It’s low enough that she doesn’t have to twist too much. He knows he shouldn’t, but he presses his face into her neck, careful of the bandages she’s wrapped up in. 

Maybe it was him. Maybe if he didn’t intervene none of this would be happening. Maybe it would've been much worse if he hadn’t. But it doesn’t matter now. None of his guilt would undo what happened. Paul’s saving grace is that Maelyn still smells the same, the thick of freshly cut grass breaking out over the metallic smell of blood and sweat. He’s just so fucking glad she’s alive. 

Maelyn’s embrace is slow. Her muscle tense for a beat, then two, and like chocolate melts in the summer sun, she slips her arms over his shoulder. Paul remembers how he fits, how she drags her nails up into his hair. Just like now. Just like the past six months haven’t happened at all. Just like he’s always meant to fit. 

“Jake told me that you got into a fight with Sam over this, over me.” Maelyn’s voice is soft, wispy with the fatigue that she undoubtedly feels. 

“I’d do it again,” Paul whispers against her neck. The tears are hot on his cheeks and he doesn’t stop them. Paul pushes up, settling so his butt presses into his heels. She still feels the same, the small groves in her kneecaps from tumbles past are still there beneath the sheet. “I’m sorry--if it was me. Sam said he was going to stop. But it just--I panicked. It didn’t look like you were going to back away and it didn’t look like Sam was going to move out of the way either. All I could think--”

“I wasn’t,” Maelyn admits. “I wasn’t going to move because Bella was still alive. Not so sure now.”

“That would have cost you your life.” He wants to be angry with her. He wants to say it was reckless and stupid. 

Maelyn’s gaze is unwavering. She stares back at him and there’s no remorse, no regret in her face. Unlike when she was worried about the fight with the newborns, worried she upset Paul, she now only gazes back with a sincerity that Paul feels down to his toes is real. Where previously she’d been shocked at how far she would’ve gone, she seemingly only has resolve. 

Paul takes her hand, squeezing at the bones and flesh in his palms. Maelyn’s still alive. “But something tells me that death doesn’t really matter.”

“Not this time. But thanks. For trying to keep me alive.”

“I made a promise that I very much intend on keeping. If you’ll let me.”

Maelyn’s nod is fast and she stares past Paul to the wall. He knows. Even if months had past, there was still always the connection. Paul squeezes at her hand again. “I thought you were with Rachel. Or at least trying.”

Paul’s not really sure where he stands with Rachel. It’s in limbo and seemingly would stay there as Rachel progressed to the second round of interviews. The job would take her out of state, to Colorado, and with her waiting on the final decision, it seemed imminent that she’d leave if she got the offer.  Paul hums before he speaks, “That’s unclear right now. But you don’t need to worry about that. What you need to focus on is actively not dying. You know, not putting yourself in dangerous situations.”

“Unclear?” Maelyn questions, eyes focusing back on him. “She’s your imprint.”

Besides himself, Paul laughs--a short exhale of air from his nose really, but still a laugh. “I know. I lived that day too, you know?”

“Alright, smartass.” The jab at his chest comes with both her hand and his still intertwined. The touch barely connects and he brings her hand up to his lips, a fleeting and quick press. But it reminds him of how things used to be. How they used to be and how he hopes they can be again. Maelyn huffs though, her words interrupting his thoughts, “You know what I mean.”

“She’s looking for a job and it’s probably going to take her out of state. We’re just friends. I think that’s going to be the way it is.”

“But Sam and Emily, Jared and Kim--wouldn’t it be inevitable?”

Paul shrugs. “I don’t know if I’m honest. All I do know is that you matter and you always will matter to me. If Rachel needs me, I know I’ll feel obligated to answer. And I will. That part I can’t fight against. But I’m a stubborn man. I know I’ll choose you, Maelyn. If given a second, not even a half of one, I’ll always choose you.”

“Like today, huh?”

He nods. “Exactly like today.”

Her smile is small and it makes his heart flutter. Though he’s still consciously not trying to look at the bandages, and he can still smell the thick sweet crushing scent of vampires, Maelyn’s tiny smile makes some of this feel just a little bit better. “I assumed you’d grow sick of me.”

“Sick of you nearly dying, but not sick of you, Maelyn. Never.” He’d never grow tired of her. 

“What if I couldn’t stay here? What if I had to leave too?” The question falls from her softly, like she’s scared to admit it. “What if I don’t know how I am anymore? After everything that’s happened, I feel like I need to learn myself again.”

Paul knew Maelyn wouldn’t stay on the rez forever, or in La Push, or Forks. He knows that she wants to get out, and get away. “Then go.” It’s such an easy sentence. Because he knows that just behind it is, “Just let me follow.”

Maelyn can go wherever she needs. Paul is fine with that. But he just needs to know he can follow. He wants to be in her life, anyway that she’ll let him. It’s always, always going to be her. What seemed inevitable, that he’d find himself away from Maelyn, seems insane to consider now. Now that he’s nearly lost her. Paul could live without limbs. He could find a way to live without Rachel, but this life wouldn’t be worth living if he didn’t have Maelyn.

The silence stretches. Maelyn’s lips parted into a near perfect ‘o’ and he wants to kiss her. Wants to promise against her lips that he will follow, he just needs her to say yes. And if even it’s not immediate, he would be okay just as long as he knows it would happen eventually. All he needs is the promise. The sweet sound of her voice promising him that he can be in her life.

 “You can have a head start. Want three years, easy. Need five? I can do that. Just let me follow,” Paul whispers, voice cracking with the begging plea.

“That’s not fair to you. Just doing whatever Rachel or I want. What about you?”

“I want you, Maelyn.” Because even though it feels easy with Rachel, makes him feel complete in a way that he wishes he could articulate better, Maelyn’s always felt like home. She is home. In a way that Paul knows can’t be a physical location anymore. Sure, he hadn’t dreamed of her in months. But his dresser still has all her pictures. His sheets still feel too empty without her shampoo and lotion on them. Maelyn is home and Paul doesn’t give a damn about an imprint. 

“Are you sure?” she questions. 

“I’ve never been more sure of something in my life. You can have the head start. You can have the time you need to yourself. The last year has been hell and I get that. Maybe the time will be good for me too. But I need you. I have and will always choose you.”

The air around them feels tight and maybe that’s just the ache of Paul’s lungs from the breath he’s holding, praying Maelyn will let him back in. Maelyn’s hold around his hand tightens. She’s searching his face and Paul’s positive it’s for something to tell her that he’s lying. But Paul can’t lie to Maelyn. Not about this. Not about how important she is to him.

“Three years and not a second more.”

Paul blinks, heart thundering in his chest. Did he hear her right? Is she saying what Paul thinks she is? He pushes up. Years were long. Three of them would be longer. 156 weeks. But he can do that. “You-you mean that?”

“I mean that. But I promise I’m going to go buck wild. The stories will give you a heart attack. And I can’t promise what things will look like in three years, if you and I will still want the same things. But just give me three years.”

Paul doesn’t mind that. Again, years were long. So much could change, but the promise. The relief that they won’t be strangers anymore makes his spine shiver. Before he can truly stop himself, his hand comes up to her cheek. “You deserve to go wild.” 

This close Paul traces the invisible lines between the moles--the one right at the upper corner of her left eye, down to the two moles on her cheekbones, almost a constellation etched into her skin. Before the imprint, he’d kiss her, close the measly centimeters between them. Her mouth would be soft and inviting. But this isn’t before. This is after. And Paul doesn’t want to make things messier than they already are. 

Instead, Paul leaves the space, traces every so lightly at her bottom lip with the pad of his thumb and nods, “I look forward to hearing them.”

[beoneofus]

The Lost Boys : Dwayne

- With discovering his S/O's Diary

I'm not sure I'll be too good at writing Dwayne, but here we go - hopefully it isn't too bad.

Unedited.

Like any other day in the cave, during the daylight hours, you, Star and the boys laid around doing your own shit.

Star slept, like she always did in the daytime. All vampires were supposed to rest during daylight, but the boys didn't seem to sleep often, thanks to the fact that they were used to being awake almost all hours of the twenty-four hour cycle. This, however, wasn't the same for your friend, for she hasn't really been turned 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 long.

David, like always, was lounging in his wheelchair throne in the heart of the room ; basking under the dim light that beamed through the shadowed, dark nets of ripped fabric, from above. He was surrendered to his thoughts, which was obvious by the far off look he had in his eyes.

Marko, instead of goofing around like he always did, surprisingly laid across the bench of the water fountain and tossed a rubber ball up in the air. Catching it, tossing it, and repeating the process over again. He was either bored and didn't know what to do, or was stuck in his own head as well.

Paul was actually doing something productive for once - reading. Although it was a novel that had various sex scenes in it, it was still better than a regular porn magazine. Still typical of him, though.

Now Dwayne - that quiet sweetheart was busy running his rough fingers through your hair, while reading his own book. His wasn't dirty like Paul's ; actually, it contained a heart wrenching tale that involved romance, heartache, a dark mystery and some drama. It's usually what he read, but this time he couldn't seem to stay focused.

With your head on his lap, and your luscious strands running between the cracks of his digits, he couldn't help but shift his attention onto your resting form.

You laid asleep, across his thighs, with your face buried into his abdomen and your legs curled up against you. You were practically in a ball, much like a small kitten.

It was adorable. 𝙔𝙤𝙪 were adorable. Which, is why, the ravenette couldn't keep his eyes on the words that once captured him.

You were far too pretty, for him not to look at you. The way your eyelashes curled, and lightly hit against your skin as your lids lightly twitched in your sleep, left you to look breathtakingly gorgeous. Let's not forget, how your soft lips parted, so that you could breathe gently out oc your mouth to quietly snore. Or, 𝙤𝙧, how your small, little nose twitched in annoyance subconsciously, in response to whatever dream you were having.

You were far too cute. Way too pretty, even for someone like him. How he ever landed you, he'd never know. But fuck, Dwayne sure was glad your angelic self entered his life. You were a blessing dropped down from the heavens.

That left him wondering, what exactly did you think of him? Hopefully it was something good. Hopefully, you weren't just using him to amuse yourself. 𝙃𝙤𝙥𝙚𝙛𝙪𝙡𝙡𝙮, this wasn't just some sick game you had panned out.

The vampire had to shake his head to rid himself of those thoughts. Although he was undead, he still had insecurities that even he himself, couldn't fully comprehend. How did those kinds of thoughts even still exist?

Dwayne decided to brush his entire self conscious, self conversation aside and close his book.

He sat it down beside him, only to slowly slide his arms under your sleeping form and pick you up. His hold was tight, so that he wouldn't drop you.

Quietly, standing up, the usually self kept vampire made his way to the shut off part of the cave, where your room was.

Upon entering, the flap of the black curtain fluttering behind him, he couldn't help but admired what you did with the place.

Your room wasn't like everyone else's. You actually kept it tidy, and decided to decorate it in your own way. For that, he couldn't help but find even more interest in you.

Laying you gently onto your bouncy mattress, he grabbed ahold of the thinly layered blanket and draped it over your small form. Watching as you snuggled up to the comforter, he couldn't help but manage a small grin ; finding the scene absolutely adorable.

Again, you were cute. You were simply 𝙥𝙧𝙚𝙘𝙞𝙤𝙪𝙨.

The vampire turned to leave so that you could rest without being bothered. But, the black cover of a leather book, seemed to catch his eye.

The book itself stood tightly nestled between two regular, hard cover books on the shelf above your make-shift desk. It, clearly, stood out from the rest of them, not only from the unique cover, but from the fact that the pages were tinged red.

Dwayne decided to approach the book slowly. He was cautious - it's almost as if he thought it would bite him, if he made the wrong move.

Funny, considering he bit for a living.

He paused, looked back at you to make sure you were still asleep, before extending a hand forward and wrapping his slender fingers around said book.

Removing it from the space slowly, only to pull it up into his chest. He felt as if it was wrong to take this, because it was in your room - your own solitude... which is why he was silent about stepping out.

He may be respectful... but it was only to a certain term. Dwayne was still a vampire, meaning he lacked many mannerisms. Being nosey, was clearly something he needed to work on.

Said vampire padded his way back to the main room. When he entered, David snapped himself out of his lucid thoughts and quietly eyed Dwayne.

His eyes darted to the book he wad holding.

A bow raised, but nothing was said. No questions were asked.

He knew - he could feel it - that Dwayne took something that he shouldn't have. It wasn't his business as to what. If Dwayne dug a hole, it was in his own doing ; David wouldn't be apart of if. Instead, he'd sit back and watch the shit go down - if something did, that is.

Dwayne quickly went back to his previous spot, and sat down ; one leg bent upwards, while the other stayed on the floor, tucked into a ‘ v ’ shape, booted foot facing the other in a sideways manner.

He didn't hesitate on opening the book - the 𝙟𝙤𝙪𝙧𝙣𝙖𝙡, he held in his grasp. Immediately, pages were flipped, starting at the vary beginning.

• 𝘋𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘋𝘪𝘢𝘳𝘺,

𝘐 𝘥𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘶𝘤𝘬 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰𝘯𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘢𝘯𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘵 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘸𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘣𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘥, 𝙖 𝙡𝙤𝙩 𝘰𝘧 𝘪𝘵. 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘐 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘐 𝘴𝘢𝘸 𝘧𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘴? 𝘐 𝘥𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘐'𝘮 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘺 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘷𝘢𝘮𝘱𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭. 𝘊𝘳𝘢𝘻𝘺, 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵? 𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵'𝘴 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶'𝘥 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘮𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘴! 𝘐𝘵'𝘴 𝘮𝘢𝘥 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘐 𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘢 𝘨𝘰𝘥 𝘥𝘢𝘮𝘯 𝘮𝘶𝘳𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝙙𝙞𝙙𝙣'𝙩 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵. 𝘐'𝘥 𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘭 ( 𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥'𝘴 𝘯𝘢𝘮𝘦 ) 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴... 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘵, 𝘴𝘩𝘦'𝘥 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘮𝘦 𝘢 𝘭𝘪𝘢𝘳 𝘰𝘳 𝘥𝘦𝘦𝘮 𝘮𝘦 𝘢𝘴 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘢𝘯𝘦.. 𝘐 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬, 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘯𝘰𝘸, 𝘐'𝘭𝘭 𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦. 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘐'𝘮 𝘥𝘦𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘧 𝘐 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘤𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘵.

Blinking in surprise.

Mouth slightly goes open ; lips parted.

That sounds like the night they killed those teenagers in the woods. Exactly three nights prior to meeting you.

Dwayne knew he smelled somebody. But when he looked, no one was there. They even searched the area and no trace of anybody was found.

You must've gotten out of there before the four of them could find you.

Quickly, he flipped to the next page ; eyes scanning over the words.

• 𝘋𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘋𝘪𝘢𝘳𝘺,

𝘋𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘨𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝙞𝙣𝙨𝙖𝙣𝙚? 𝘈𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘮𝘦𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘨𝘶𝘺𝘴 𝘵𝘰𝘥𝘢𝘺, 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵'𝘴 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘐 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘨𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘶𝘤𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘱𝘴, 𝘯𝘰 𝘥𝘰𝘶𝘣𝘵. ( 𝘍𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥'𝘴 𝘯𝘢𝘮𝘦 ) 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘱𝘢𝘵𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘫𝘢𝘤𝘬𝘦𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘩𝘰𝘵 - 𝘔𝘢𝘳𝘬𝘰, 𝘐 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘯𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴? 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘧𝘶𝘤𝘬, 𝘐 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘴𝘩𝘦'𝘴 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘢𝘴 𝘤𝘳𝘢𝘻𝘺 𝘢𝘴 𝘮𝘦. 𝘏𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘴 𝘪𝘧 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘢 𝘧𝘶𝘭𝘭 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘦 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘭. 𝘐𝘯 𝘮𝘺 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴, 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵'𝘴 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦, 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘴𝘦𝘹𝘺... 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘰.𝘢𝘥𝘮𝘪𝘵, 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘨𝘶𝘺 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘢𝘳𝘬 𝘩𝘢𝘪𝘳 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘤𝘶𝘵𝘦. 𝘐 𝘥𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘩𝘪𝘮.. 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘪𝘧 𝘐 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝙜𝙤𝙩 𝘵𝘰 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘩𝘪𝘮, 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘐'𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘱 𝘢 𝘤𝘳𝘶𝘴𝘩. 𝘎𝘰𝘥, 𝘥𝘰 𝘐 𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘢 𝘮𝘪𝘥𝘥𝘭𝘦 𝘴𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘰𝘭𝘦𝘳... 𝘪𝘵 𝘪𝘴𝘯'𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘰𝘭, 𝘢𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘭. 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘐 𝘤𝘢𝘯'𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘭 𝘮𝘺 𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘴. 𝘐𝘵'𝘴 𝘢 𝘣𝘶𝘴𝘵, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘐 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘪𝘵'𝘭𝘭 𝘨𝘰 𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘯 𝘪𝘯 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦. 𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵'𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘯𝘰𝘸 - 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘯𝘦𝘹𝘵 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘐 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘦 𝘨𝘶𝘺𝘴, 𝘐'𝘮 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘱𝘢𝘨𝘦.

Dwayne looked at the date the entry was written on... it was the night he had met you.

That obviously meant, the dark haired male was him.

He couldn't help but smirk in a smug way, at that. For sure, he'd hold onto this - in his mind of course. He couldn't keep the journal, or you'd know he read it.

Nonetheless, the vampire wasn't gonna let go of this so easily. You were crushing way before you got to know him. This, of course, was tease-worthy merchandise ; he'd never let you lube something like that, down.

But, obviously, he couldn't be upfront about it.

He'll just have to give more of a hard time, from now on.

The dark haired vampire continued reading on, in your journal. Each page he flipped, the entries just got more exciting. It almost 𝙬𝙖𝙨 like a real book.

You often talked about how weird him and the guys acted, or how Marko and Paul always had a look of hunger on their face. The fact that you feared them back then really didn't sit right with Dwayne, but he could understand - you guys weren't yet friends. You and hum weren't close yet, nor an item. It was understandable that they had gotten under your skin.

What really sent Dwayne for a ride though, was how much you talked about how handsome he was. How you loved his hair, how his jacket made him look sexy, how his lips look oh-so kissable.

Really, it amused him... but it also made his unbeating heart thump as if he it actually had human blood running through it again.

Weird, but exciting.

Clearly, the guy loved you. He was 𝙞𝙣 𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚 with you.

Too bad he didn't notice you grumpily standing behind him though, with your arms crossed over your chest and a mean glare set on your face.

“ What're you doing with my journal? ”

Cue him snapping the book shut!

He's slowly turning to look over his shoulder at you. Once he spots that look on your face... he knows he's in for it.

While he's getting up to explain everything to you, David is simply sitting back in his comfortable throne, with a grin of amusement on his face.

He knew something was going to happen.

[ruiyuki]

"Vanitas": The Name and Legacy

Vanitas declares early on that his motive for using the Book of Vanitas to save vampires of the Red Moon is to take "revenge against the Vampire of the Blue Moon". But some of his actions, reactions and expressions seem to contradict a conventional interpretation of "revenge". Seeing how MochiJun is a master of conveying things through facial expressions, nondescript panels, and double meanings, here's my stab at trying to figure out a bit of Vanitas' complexity and his (??hidden??) motives.

⚠️⚠️⚠️ MANGA SPOILERS, obv ⚠️⚠️⚠️

Also this analysis is really long. ‼Continuation in reblogs.‼

For the sake of minimizing confusion I'm going to refer to our!Vanitas as "Vani", Vampire of the Blue Moon (VotBM) as "Luna", and the name "Vanitas"/"Vanitas of the Blue Moon" as a title in this analysis.

0. "Revenge" against the VotBM

Now, what kicked me into this train of thought initially was watching the scene where Vani announces his revenge plot to all during the Bal Masque. Ofc Bones is doing quite a good job with the anime (I can honestly forgive them for leaving out some scenes knowing budget constraints and that this was probably produced during COVID; it's just more reason to get viewers to read the manga) but there are still some subtle nuances that MochiJun puts in her work that don't get translated into the adaptation. So I revisited Memoire 7 and something just didn't sit right upon looking at that scene retrospectively – which I'll get to that in a bit – but first let me recap what is my interpretation of Vani's proclamation:

The origin story we were told at the start of the series illustrates that vampires are typically born under the Red Moon, except for the one born under the Blue Moon. VotBM, given the moniker "Vanitas of the Blue Moon" by others at the time, is said to have created the Book of Vanitas capable of manipulating the World Formulas in order to curse all the RM vampires that casted them out of vampire society. Cursing the RM vampires = turning them into curse-bearers inflicted with malnomen.

Vani's "revenge" against the VotBM is to use their name "Vanitas" and the Book to cure all RM vampires of their curses and malnomen. In that sense, Vani saving the vampires is directly opposing the vow to curse all RM vampires as told in the VotBM origin story.

Vani's revenge claim seems pretty straight forward. There is nothing of the sort as to claiming he will turn the vampires into humans, or rewrite their existence into something they are not, etc. It is literally just "I will heal you from your sickness out of spite towards the thing that wants you to suffer". His feral revenge proclamation on top of the chandelier lines up with his feral "I will save you no matter what, using whatever method I choose" at the end of Memoire 1 as Noé points out:

So here's the thing that felt a little out of place upon my rereading of Memoire 7:

This panel. Idk about you but as a long time reader of Pandora Hearts, imo one thing that makes MochiJun such a talented artist and great storyteller of plot twists and angst is how she depicts emotions in facial expressions – it is very subtle with a certain finesse. With the above panel, Vani's expression doesn't necessarily look like "anger" or "vengeance" to me. Rather (and it took me a while to place it actually, flipping back and forth between newer and older chapters) his expression looks... melancholic? Melancholy with sense of conviction.

It's noteworthy that MochiJun has made an intentional choice to emphasize Vani gripping his closed fist and his distant stare here, so it has to be important. So, what could Vani be thinking of in this moment? And why?

I. Vani's hidden expressions and feelings towards Luna

To (attempt to) figure out what might be going through Vani's mind in this moment, let's take a look at some moments we've seen Vani making different expressions and when he's thinking back to the VotBM – or really, his time with Luna. Vani claims he hates vampires, but there are obvious exceptions (Jeanne, Noé). What's interesting though is that, despite claiming to hate the VotBM, I don't think he hates Luna. He may hate the being that Luna is but I don't think he hates Luna as a person.

We can see the difference between his hatred and active desire to kill Moreau, as well as his completely blank, no-remorse kinda expression toward the Chasseur's cross in the Catacombes arc vs the above panel after his revenge proclamation:

Also contrast the above chandelier expression to Vani's empty look of distain in Dante's flashback when they first meet:

I would say none of these Vani expressions look very similar to the chandelier one — the empty or blank stares are missing a sense of resolve and the teeth-gritting smirk lacks any bit of sadness felt in the scene. Now, when do we ever see Vani make another expression of what I would call melancholy?

Ughghgh these panels break my heart every time bc there is such a sense of sadness, it's distant but palpable and it is t r a g i c... but I digress.

We have no way of knowing what Vani is thinking in these panels but I have a few ideas:

Vani thinks back to something Luna said about how one should use the Book of Vanitas when Noé says using the Book's power to cure curse-bearers is "overwhelmingly right". What Luna said? Who knows, but it may be along the same lines of "despite its power" and "doing the right thing".

Vani realizes the reason Misha wants Noé to drink his blood is bc Misha doesn't remember what happened That Day. He repeats "... I see." twice as if he's reaffirming to himself that he's the only one left that remembers what happened. If Misha did remember, there would be another person to share the memory but Misha doesn't and Vani is alone in the world in that sense.

If we are to assume that this is what's going through Vani's mind in these moments, then we have to ask why? Vani thinking back to his time with Misha and Luna elicits this sadness (possibly likely?) bc Vani did truly enjoy his time with them and didn't actually hate Luna. In his own flashbacks of Luna teaching he and Misha about malnomen (first being Malnomen Prèdateur in the Catacombes arc, second of Chloé's Malnomen Millie) and the flashback of "love" during the Gevaudan Arc, we see that Vani may be grumpy or indifferent while being with Luna, but he is still attentively listening and comfortable enough around them for them to hug him:

Ofc, we can't forget that Vani, in his fever and poison-induced delirium, even mumbles to himself ".. didn't actually hate... I didn't... Lou..—" while recovering in the cabin with Jeanne. Given that just before this he asks "Is that what you really want? Truly?" in response to Jeanne saying "This time for sure, I'll kill the beast", perhaps we can even posit that Vani didn't actually hate Luna and didn't actually want to kill them? (I have another theory on what could have happened on That Day but let's get through this one first *wheeze*).

So let's summarize:

Vani claims he will cure RM vampires of their malnomen as revenge toward the VotBM, who is said to have created the Book of Vanitas to curse RM vampires that made them an outcast.

Curing RM vampires of malnomen = revenge since it is directly opposing using the Book to inflict curses

But Vani shows a look of sadness mixed with conviction that contradicts what would be thought of when claiming "revenge", which could possibly be him thinking back to his time with Luna, whom he did not actually hate and possibly did not want to kill but had to anyway.

So here's my theory: the reason why Vani has assumed the name "Vanitas" and is on a quest to cure RM vampires of their malnomen with the Book of Vanitas is to "rewrite" the reputation behind the name Vanitas of the Blue Moon.

... And I will continue explaining this in the reblogs ⤵️⤵️⤵️ bc holy fuck this meta is so long I have reached the image limit per post asjfklgs

[canary3d-obsessed]

Restless Rewatch: The Untamed Episode 17 second part

(Masterpost) (Previous Post) (Pinboard)

Warning: Spoilers for All 50 Episodes!!

Breaking Good

Wen Qing comes to visit Wen Ning in their backyard meth lab, and tells him that he fucked up a recipe, merely by taking a whiff of the concoction. She uses the approved "wave fumes toward self" way of smelling that you learn in high school science if you live in a country that believes in teaching science, which OP does not.

Wen Ning wants to know if they are going to have a feud, and she tells him there already is one. She tells explains to him that they're good Wens, not evil Wens, and that Jiang Cheng is fucked, and they should send the Jiangs away in the morning before Wen Chao comes around. 

Wen Ning whines at her about all of this, shifting into little-brother persona and acting like he didn't just take down 40 of Wen Chao's soldiers in a single night. He does this same persona shifting in his later unlife, with Wei Wuxian. When there is trouble, he's extremely effective, and can even tail WWX and Lan Wangji without getting caught, but then he is hopeless when dealing with turnips or children. 

Here, it seems like a version of Wei Wuxian's own little-brother persona, in which he pretends to be helpless so that his sister can take care of him.

#studyblr

Wei Wuxian comes into Wen Qing's head shop to ask her for medical books. He loves his brother so much he's volunteering for a research project. We've seen him be clever before; we've seen circumstantial evidence that he's a good student, but now we're going to see him actually buckling down and doing intellectual work.

Wen Qing thinks its hopeless and wants Wei Wuxian to get some rest. But he gives her puppydog eyes, so she sets him up in her library.

Wei Wuxian reads a huge pile of medical books and learns interesting things about the human body.   

(more after the cut)

Hopefully he does not splotch ink all over them while he holds this wet brush directly over the page. Why does he even have a brush in his hand? Is he taking notes in the margin? 

Wen Qing eventually tells him to take a break and go see Jiang Yanli.

Segmentation fault (core dumped)

Jiang Yanli is tending to Jiang Cheng, gently telling him to suck it up by citing their father, which is probably not the greatest idea. 

Yanli's wearing dark blue with white and looks awesome.  It's not Gusu Lan blue, but the blue and white is an interesting choice for the excruciating heart to heart they're about to have.  

Wei Wuxian shows up looking terrible, or the Xiao Zhan version of terrible, i.e. handsome and a little scruffy. But also worn out, unhappy, and fragile.

Jiang Yanli wants him to rest, but he wants to find a way to repair Jiang Cheng's core, and his mind races, trying to think of where he can get books and who can help him. His thoughts instantly go to Cloud Recesses and Lan Wangji. His face lights up at the thought that Lan Wangji will help him, and he hops up, ready to dash off and find him.

The first time I watched this I was like, dude yes you’re in love, but you can’t just dash off to find Lan Wangji, not when there’s a war on.  This time I was like, actually wow things would turn out a whole lot better if you got Lan Wangji to help you, instead of coming up with your own plan.

Mother Mother Can You Tell Me

Jiang Yanli tells him to slow his roll.  He's pushing himself too hard and she's afraid he will collapse. Then Wei Wuxian comes out and says what's driving him: maybe all these disasters are his fault.

It's telling, I think, that he cites Madame Yu, not Jiang Cheng, in this moment, even though Jiang Cheng has blamed him much more thoroughly and consistently. He's talking about one mother figure, to another mother figure, and looking for absolution.

He super does not get what he's looking for.

Jiang Yanli slowly lets go of him and goes the fuck off. She asks, rhetorically, what he's to blame for, and then lists off all of the shit that's happened.  She finishes up by saying, look at our situation; blaming won't help anything. 

It's unclear, because language/translation, if her answer is "it doesn't matter who's to blame" I.E. "yes, it's your fault, but I'm letting it go" or if she is saying "how does blaming yourself help anything?" I.E. "it's not your fault, stop being a drama llama."

Her body language, though, seems pretty blameful - she lets go of him, yells at him, sits down and turns away from him.  And his reaction is not one of shared grief, or of someone who is trying to get over himself; he's totally crushed, and he literally never unburdens himself to her again.  Even when he asks her, much later, about love, he immediately backs out of the conversation. 

There is no violence in this moment and her reaction is understandable, but this is kind of similar to that one time when his brother choked him in a beautiful field of grass, in order to make himself feel better. 

Then she kind of relents and takes his hand, telling him that she needs him and reminding him that he promised that they will go back to Lotus Pier. I don't remember him promising this, but okay. 

He puts his head on her lap and he cries, she cries, comatose Jiang Cheng cries; FUCK this episode.  

Jiang Cheng manages to cry only one tear and does it on the side of his face that his siblings can't see because he's not going to give them the satisfaction of sharing this moment with him, I guess.

When Wei Wuxian puts his head on Jiang Yanli's lap, it's part of a ritual for them, that they both are comforted by; he does it again much later, after they return to Lotus Pier. But this ritual does not actually do anything to relieve his burdens. As a male adult, and the only Jiang Clan disciple with any abilities, it falls to him to save the clan, whatever it takes, and he is heavily aware of it.

Wen Qing comes along and sees the sweet part of this complicated Shijie-Shidi dynamic, and decides to help with Wei Wuxian's research project. When the trio had just lost their parents, gotten sick, been pursued by enemies, & had one of Yanli's little brothers horribly wounded, Wen Qing was like, eh, I'll do the doctor stuff but that's it. But lap-crying is another level. 

Wen Qing: Nooo don't put your head on her knees I failed my saving throw

Group Project

Wen Qing goes and cleans up the mess in the library, putting everything in order and settling in to read systematically. Wen Qing probably has the prettiest bullet journal. (OP looks proudly at the 100 loose slips of paper and piles of random stuff on her own desk)

Wei Wuxian has shaved and rested and comes in with a tray of food for Wen Qing, and then goes to his table in the back to start working. He claims he made "porridge" for her and that she has to eat to gain strength, and she gives him an intrigued expression.  This moment is just blatant het baiting.  

In fact the food he brings her is clearly not porridge, which might just be a translation error, but also he totally can't cook, so it's not clear if he's joking and Yanli or Wen Ning made the food, or if this is just inedible.

The Things We Do For Love

Yanli is working in the meth lab and coughing a lot. Yanli's chronic illness is a sign of what's to come for Wei Wuxian, because strong cultivators don't get sick. Yet Yanli, as a physically vulnerable person, who has either a weak golden core, or none, is still intrinsically valuable.  Her presence in this scene is a reminder that Jiang Cheng's life is not, actually, over; he just feels like it is.

While Yanli cooks the meth, Wei Wuxian and Wen Qing have a study montage that is the equivalent of a training montage, except without "Eye of the Tiger" on the soundtrack.

Jiang Cheng remains unconscious. Apparently if you stick nails in the top of someone's head, you make them sleep, and in the back of their head, you turn them into part of your zombie army. Fortunately Wen Qing's aim is good. Jiang Cheng is looking devastatingly handsome as usual the TV version of unwell, and has grown a perfect Dorito-chip of stubble on his chin to go with his new 'stache.

Eventually Wei Wuxian changes back into his non-vampire robe and he finds the answer in an old scroll book. The Ikea instruction picture shows arrows going from the guy on the left to the guy on the right.  Clearly it's not a great procedure for the guy on the left.

Wei Wuxian's face shows us exactly how not great. 

Like walking in the rain and the snow and there’s no place to go and you’re feeling like a part of you is dying

He goes outside and gazes up at the trees and the sky as he contemplates the sacrifice that circumstance is forcing on him. He's not even making a choice at this point; his choice was made the moment he found the procedure. But it's going to be a tremendous loss for him. He values sword cultivation at least as much as Jiang Cheng does; he even fell in love with a boy over crossed swords. So he sits and just kind of comes to terms with this new understanding of his future. (Big gifs here)

Wen Qing finds him sitting, stunned, on the porch. She doesn't know what's up so she just sits quietly with him until he's ready to tell her.

She doesn't love the plan.  

Thunder, Th-th-thunder

Wen Ning is bringing food up when he sees them arguing, and he is startled by situationally appropriate thunder and lightning. Having recently watched The Lost Tomb Reboot I've come to expect thunder and lighting to appear on cue in any possible situation, so the fact that this mini-storm clears right up again doesn't bother me.

What About You?

Wen Ning dashes inside to see what Mom and Dad are fighting about. They're having a polite shouting match because Wen Qing refuses to yank out Wei Wuxian's core. 

Wen Qing: I hate the idea of harming you Wei Wuxian: I don’t even understand that sentence

Wei Wuxian doesn’t, of course, feel that he is important in any way, and ignores her concerned and appalled expressions in favor of telling her to just do it anyway. Amazingly, this does not convince her. 

OP’s 177cm-tall son keeps telling her this

Then Wei Wuxian plays the "you know Jiang Cheng" card, which...I guess she does? Maybe he was chatting her up more than we saw in Cloud Recesses? He hasn't given her the comb or anything yet. Wei Wuxian explains that Jiang Cheng cares about gain and loss, and cultivation is his life. If he can only be ordinary the rest of his life will be ruined.

Wen Qing asks the question that nobody ever asks him: What about you? 

Wei Wuxian has literally nothing to say to that, possibly because the question is so new to him. 

Wen Ning doesn't know what's going on but comes squarely in on team Wei, of course, and begs his sister to Do The Thing.  How fucking horrified is Wen Ning going to be when he learns what The Thing is? What he is personally going to help do to his beloved friend? Yikes.   

Wen Qing caves, warning them that the chance of success is only 50 percent. Wei Wuxian is happy to take those odds.

Lan Wangji, projecting his voice from Episode 46: fifty percent, are you fucking kidding me?

Soundtrack: 1. Mother Mother by Tracy Bonham 2. The Things We Do For Love by 10cc 3. Thunder by Imagine Dragons

[symphonyofthewrite]

Saw your post, getting stuff off your chest, I just wanted to say that I haven't seen the thing with the kids mentioned by anyone and it really stood out to me, I feel what you mean to some extent, because for me it was a stronger reaction, albeit you probably won't feel the same and that's, obviously, perfectly fine. I have an instant recoil these days whenever a character is around kids for like one second and everyone instantly goes "THEY LITERALLY ADOPTED THEM/THAT'S THEIR CHILD/THEY'RE A PARENT"... genuinely sick of it, and I went white as a sheet when I heard it, I wanted to pluck my eyes out. I don't know if it's an American thing but English speaking fandoms (well, those teeming with fancops that is) seem like they cannot process adult looking characters being in any near proximity to childlike characters without automatically imposing parenthood and family dynamics and it's becoming distressing to me. I feel like Alucard needed to process his trauma and learn to trust and be whole again, he's young himself too, why he needed to be a "father figure" all of a sudden is beyond me.

Thank you so much for the ask!! I don’t get many asks so it makes me happy when I can talk meta with people 💛💛 (Sorry I’m a bit late in answering.)

Funnily enough I actually do agree with you. I didn’t have quite so strong a reaction, but I definitely had a very similar one when I first hear it.

My feelings were and are a bit mixed. I was saying in my other post that I would have preferred that I got to actually see this interaction; see the kids run by him and call him father, and him smile when no ones looking. I still think that would have been a better, more touching way to do the scene, and would have had more chance of me liking it (though I probably still would have felt very weird about it). (I think it especially would have been better because it would show that Alucard himself liked it, not that Greta was forcing the role on him.) I know that it was meant to be something touching, and pretty much everyone seems to like it (and I have seen some cute posts about it), so I just tried to like it too, and focus on the fact that all they were really trying to say was he was having a nice relationship with the kids, and that was indeed sweet.

But yeah, when I heard Greta say “I heard some of them calling you father” for me it was less a reaction of horror, and more a “HUH??!!”moment. When I heard it I was like “Alucard...you agree with this???!! This is how you see yourself??!!” I almost expected Alucard to refute it and say he didn’t see himself as a father to them. Like I seriously do not see Alucard as anything remotely close to a father figure, and it felt weird and wrong to me.

Like when I saw him interacting with the kids the first time, I didn’t think “oh he’s a father figure to them.” I just thought “yay, Alucard’s playing with some kids, and getting out of his bubble!!” I didn’t have any thoughts as to what his relationship role was with them, I just thought that first interaction was lovely.

And if I saw him interacting with the kids again, I still wouldn’t go “father figure” I’d just be like “yay, Alucard’s playing with the kids again, how sweet!!”

Sometimes the relationship doesn’t need a role or a label, ya know?

And I thought it was especially strange because…he literally just met them?? Like how can they possibly start calling him father when he’s played with them once or twice? Regardless of Alucard’s side or things, what group of kids would randomly call a nice man they just met ‘father’? Is...Is this a normal thing??

Anyways, back to Alucard’s side of things, Sypha’s line about Alucard being a teenager trapped an adults body has always been something that stuck with me and shaped how I view Alucard. I definitely view him as internally much younger than he looks. No matter how much I might hate them for what they did to him, I think Sumi and Take are about the age he actually is, and their relationship with him made sense to me. He’s still a kid—or at least young—he still needs his parents in his life, really. (That’s part of why I didn’t like that Drac and Lisa don’t go to him at the end. I personally don’t think Alucard really got closure, and in my mind I think he still very much needed them, and that would have been the perfect ending to his story in my mind, where everything comes full circle; He was forced to lose his parents and grow up too early, and only when he’s started to truly grow up does he get them back.) So yeah, I really don’t see him like a father at all. One of my main focuses in my Castlevania fanfiction is his relationship with Dracula, so I very much see him as the son, not as the dad, even when Drac isn’t around.

(Sidenote, come to think of it, I think this is another reason why Greta x Alucard is a nope from me. She’s very much an adult, so I just see a discrepancy between them that makes me feel weird about them being in a romantic relationship. If we need a label I feel like she fits as an older sister for him, guiding him and giving him support. Him unloading all his problems on her within just meeting her makes more sense if he’s like a younger brother who needs to cry to his sister. I felt weird about it in a romantic context when it was so fast. I mean I know he was desperate to talk to someone, and I probably would have done the same, but still).

“I feel like Alucard needed to process his trauma and learn to trust and be whole again, he's young himself too, why he needed to be a "father figure" all of a sudden is beyond me”

^^ THIS. EXACTLY THIS.

I was honestly really hoping they’d go in depth into him dealing with his trauma, and how he’s still hurting from the wounds of it, and how he needs to heal. I thought that’s what his S4 arc would be about. I don’t think they gave him the chance to really process and work through everything that happened. (Again, I don’t think him just unloading all his problems on a nice stranger is truly working through his trauma. I would have much rather watched him struggle to trust her, and him telling her about his trauma happen later, and be difficult for him, and a deep, heartfelt moment).

Like I was saying in my other post, I think if they framed his arc in how he dealt with the town collectively, I think that would have fit better, and been more touching and satisfying. I would have liked to see him struggling to trust humans, and then see as time progressed how several different people in the town liked him and meant him no harm, and how he realized he could trust them, and that he liked them too. It wasn’t that he had a bad romantic partner and needed a new one. He believed he needed to be punished for killing his father, and in his deep loneliness he let these kids into his house and heart, and they turned on him because he was half vampire. That’s something pretty deeply ingrained, and not something a new romance just fixes by existing. He needed to work through that in a much deeper way.

I know this is gonna be a very unpopular opinion, and it's totally cool if you disagree, but in a weird way... I sort of disliked Alucard’s ending. Don’t get me wrong, Im glad he’s happy, and I’d certainly prefer it to him just getting more trauma like last season (*shudders*), and I don’t think him opening up his castle (and his heart) to humanity is a bad way to end his story, certainly not. I think that fits. And my heart did melt a bit at the "I'm weirdly happy" scene. But, where everyone else is like “*sobbing* happy endings for all our faves” ...I see the creators of the show trying to wrap everything up in a neat little bow, and while that’s certainly not all bad, I don’t love every aspect of that. Theres a time and place for that, but a show based on video games, for which there’s more content in these storylines isn’t one of them in my mind.

Sometimes some of the sadness needs to linger. At the very least, let it linger at the beginning of the season so you can work through it in a powerful way, you know? It may have been tough to see Alucard be more closed off, but I think it would have been more satisfying to see him open up his heart and go back to his old self if we saw his trauma leave lingering effects at the beginning.

To me it didn’t feel like a satisfying arc, it felt like the fairytale ending of “oh look he’s not apprehensive about humanity even after what happened! Oh look he got the girl! And the Castle’s a happy place now! Look he’s not sad anymore! He’s even a father figure to these kids! He’s totally moved on!” And all those things can be awesome when done properly, and when they have depth to them. But they didn’t work through the trauma to get there, so it felt surface level to me, and too fast. I really liked that first episode, and how we saw the two sides of him—one that's become more closed off, and the other that still buries the human despite his comments—and I also really liked the first interaction with the kids, and thought that was one of the few interactions that had depth to it and fit with his arc well. Having it go beyond “they’re helping him learn to like and trust humanity again, and displaying who he really is inside” ended up detracting from the power of his relationship with them in my mind.

Having played SOTN, I think an ingrained loneliness and sadness are, in a way, a key part of Alucard’s character. That sounds really sad and awful out loud but…there are some people that just have a sadness or a loneliness to them, and that's not entirely bad. Here’s the thing…it can make them that much more beautiful. The fact that they still fight for good, even when they see all the dark, those moments when they find true friends, despite how alone they are, those moments when they are happy, are so much more powerful. They just are always a bit…separate from other people. One of my favorite lines in anything is the line "We are connected by our darkness, not by our light" in Pandora Hearts. I think it's a line that fits Alucard well, and it’s always something that’s drawn me personally to him. Don't get me wrong, I don’t think Alucard’s all dark and sad and lonely, he’s definitely got a bright side to him too, of course he does. But I also don't think he ever is able to fully accept the vampire side of himself, and I find that interesting, and worth exploring. Personally I was honestly hoping for the show makers to come up with a bittersweet reason for why he went to sleep for 300 years, (and I thought that's why they set things up with Sumi and Taka that he’d have something against his vampire nature). Personally it felt like they were trying to say “oh he’s all better now, he’ll never be sad or lonely again” and while that’s nice I suppose…for me it sort of…stops feeling like Alucard, in a way? I don't know if I'm explaining it right, or if that sounds terrible...😅

Anyways, back to the topic at hand. I do agree that’s very common of fandom that people are like “boom! Just add water! Instant father figure!” and I don’t love it either. Sometimes it can be cute if it truly fits, but it doesn’t fit every relationship between an adult-looking character and a kid character, and shouldn't be the first place people go to. In the same way every relationship doesn’t have to be romantic, not every relationship has to be parental/familial either. Sometimes it feels like fandom culture isn't really okay to have some characters just be good friends. A good friendship can be more wonderful than a romance sometimes.

If we have to put a label on it, I think he seemed like a nice older brother figure to them? I think that fits who he is in my mind. But father? Nope. Not for me. And again, I don’t think it needs a label.

Thanks again for sending me this ask!! It was nice to get the chance to work through some more of my feelings here too. Sorry if I went too overboard. And I hope I don’t sound too terribly negative, it really was a great season, and I definitely liked some parts of his arc, just not all of it.

If you or anyone else reading would like to discuss with me more, be my guest!! 💕

[mybg3notebook]

Loving your analyses of Astarion's behaviour and character so far! It has really reaffirmed in my eyes just how much of a bastard he really is. (I say that fondly, of course.) Do you have any thoughts on why the general reaction on tumblr has leaned so much towards woobifying him? After looking at his actual (explicit and implicit) morals in game it seems quite odd that some people are reading him as an edgy soft boi who just needs a hug from the right person to fix him.

Hello!

Thank you very much! I really enjoy seeing chars in a deep way. It makes me change my opinion on them, sometimes. That's why I like to do these analysis, even though it's a lot of work for a person who doesn't speak English as a native.

Lol, please, I won't be offended. Astarion is a bastard in the whole sense of the word, lol.

However, I find Astarion an interesting evil (evil neutral imo) char to explore the narration of “abuser who found a greater abuser”, with all the topics I talked about in those posts. I would feel a bit disappointed if Larian suddenly changes him into a man who always had a gold heart (because for that, you need to give hints, even in EA, and none of that has been seen so far).

An example of how this is done is with Shadowheart, she is evil and she supports a lot of cruelty that Astarion does too, but we got meta-knowledge (and not so much meta when we see her heavily drunk after killing the tieflings) that gives us enough reasons to believe she has some heart in her, despite Shar and her teachings. I do not support the idea of “she is a softie”, because she is not, but she doesn't have the same level of cruelty nor revels in murder so much as Astarion does. They represent different degrees of evilness. What plays in her favour is her face, which gives the idea of more softness than she truly has; the same happens with Astarion. Lae'Zel is less cruel than Astarion in general, with more logical reasons to be so because her brainwashed culture made her to be more pragmatic than a taster of cruelty, and yet, she receives a lot of more hate in the fandom... and it is clear to me why: she is not “beautiful” in the traditional white euro-centric standard sense.

And this is my point to answer your question (remember all this is personal opinion): I think there are many reasons why people woobify Astarion (not only in tumblr, but also in Reddit or in Larian Forums, it's a big part of the EA fandom).

First and foremost, I believe it's his appearance. If he were a bugbear or a goblin, few in this fandom would give a thought about his abuse, his pain, Cazador, etc. They would focus on his “bastard” side and leave it at that (again, Lae'Zel has this treatment). I want to make clear that I'm not questioning people's taste, everyone can like whatever they want to. I'm saying that, for me, there it proof enough to sustain this idea that Astarion is woobified because he is beautiful: when you read that a lot of people in this fandom never had an interest in Larian's previous games, or isometric rpgs, or even turn-based combat games (there are some people who are giving feedback against the game being a turned-based combat one! It's the nonsense because it's basically Larian's style), but they bought bg3 because they saw Astarion, even though they knew nothing about him.... All this, clearly, shows to me that a lot of people approached this game for only one char, for only his design (a big amount of them say it explicitly), and it is not far-fetched to know that people justify more easily beautiful villains than ugly ones. We can explore a lot of examples of this in many fandoms. People can love villains because they have real complex reasons to be so (like Loghain in DAO), but they also can like whimsical villains just because they are “hot”. I feel this is Astarion's case, he is a “beautiful villain” who apparently has always been evil. His reasons for his whimsical evilness is more like “it's always been in his nature”. Unless the family part has a different role in his backstory (mirror option) and it's not a mere line for a player to play a “good aligned” Astarion when picked as Origin. I don't like to read much about it in that scene because the game still doesn't have companion Tags; those options in the mirror can be there just for the player to pick, flavoured with each origin, but not necessarily the three of them are canon. This will be seen once we have the companion tags activated as it happened in DOS2.

What we can say for sure is that Larian knew what they were doing when they picked Astarion's design; they choose a dangerous white guy with white hair and evil alignment: an archetype that catches a lot of people in many fandoms.

Part of his woobyfication process has a deep root there, in my opinion. Again, if he were a bugbear, a goblin, a githyanki, a monster-humanoid... we would not have 90% of the EA fandom collapsed with his image, or Larian focused on him to the point that after 4 patches he had new scenes, lines, corrections, and development, while Wyll is still there, sitting in the bench of “the less developed chars” (with around 2k less lines than the rest of the chars, and his personal quest bugged since the first day). Yes, I don't like the preference on one single companion when I am seeing the “future Beast” (from DOS2) in Wyll.

Second, he is a vampire. Vampires are a great element in any fantasy narrative. You know you will have a lot of fans behind a vampire char. Not by chance Vampire The Masquerade is one, if not the most important product of White Wolf, which keeps still giving them a lot of profit despite being decades old. Vampires are always a good element of personal horror, of lack of control of your own body, and also an allegory of abuse, power, and rape. This concept of “being a monster without control” that they embody helps a bit more for the woobification.

Third, people tend to mix a lot headcanon with what a character gives us as canon. We can have a long useless discussion about which is more worthy: canon or headcanon, or about why one should or should not respect canon, but putting all that discussion aside, and considering the previous two points, I see that a small part of his woobyfication comes from the fact that people love denial and self-projection instead of analysing of what they are given (and let's be honest, we know in tumblr, reddit and others social networks, people lack of reading comprehension skills, which makes analysis all about self projection without a real effort in understanding the character's perspective. It's all about the player unilateral perspective. How can you analyse a char you didn’t play with or explored in all its paths? ).

So if their beautiful character is behaving in a way they don't want to, they start considering him “random” (I read this so much that confuses me, because Astarion has clear patterns for everyone who wants to see them, like the rest of the companions. He is not random, he follows pretty well all what I listed here, that list helps you to predict what he will disapprove or approve) so they end up filling this apparent “randomness” with headcanons and self-projections. Don't get me wrong, I don't despise headcanons, I love them, I have a lot of them and create with them. But I also like honest analysis and separate what I want from what I get from a company (to correctly give them feedback, otherwise I will be giving them my headcanons).

If you don't want an aspect of a given char, and you want to deny it, it's perfectly fine. Do it, it's your entertainment, but be honest with the fandom about it, acknowledge this is a personal denial you enjoy. And mainly, don't use headcanons and self-projections to attack the rest of the chars you don't like in their own tags. We know how aggressive some people in this fandom are, and it's a bit frustrating to see aggression without the slightest effort in understanding the character they hate.

There is also something sad to say, related to self-projection, that contributes to Astarion's woobyfication too: a lot of players are survivors of abuse who connect with him from trauma, and I can understand if denying his past is a way to help them to release any kind of pain or need for vengeance against their abusers. It's a natural and totally understandable projection. The woobyfication, then, ends up in an intense self-projection where they give to the char something that they needed because their own trauma.

This is why I would like Larian to give us other survivor chars that people can project onto, whose stories are really about survivors of abuse who were not evil in the beginning. Because I feel a lot of people approached Astarion as a narration of a “victim who will become a victimiser” or as a “bad behaved victim”, instead of what I think it's shown: an abuser who found a greater abuser (and his story is about punishment of the abuser and the concept of justice in a world which has none), so trauma survivors will end up with disappointment if they think Astarion is something similar to the representation of what they experienced. Plus, vampirism is never good to use as allegories of abusers/victims because the relationship Sire/Childe is too sick and twisted. So, again, this is a mere opinion from all what I've been reading since the game came out.

I hope Larian sticks to the narration they seem to follow with Astarion: an abuser who found a greater one, and now wants to become the next Cazador, and this woobifycation doesn't change the real potential of a dark deep story that I believe they want to give us: not every char is redeemable, and sometimes evilness is capricious. We had chars like these in bg1 and bg2 after all. 

[marchioness-caprina]

The Vampire And The Hawk

Pairings : Hawks x Student! Reader

Writing Style : 3rd Person

Warning : Age Gap, Mild Cussing

Word Count : 2642

Note : In this Oneshot Dabi is Not a Villain since Endeavor is a Good Father in this AU and in this AU Hawks is adopted by the Todoroki Family so he's pretty much Endeavor's son now.

Note : Bare with Me. Your Quirk is Vampirism, So you have Midnight black hair and Crimson Red eyes on this Oneshot.

3rd Person's POV

It All started with a Mentoring Trial with Class 1-A . Everyone was hyped to know That The Pro Heroes Dabi and Hawks were assigned to their Class in teaching them how the actual field works while sharing their experience and giving advice to the Class.

Two people in Particular did not like the idea. The first one is undoubtedly Shoto knowing very well that his brothers will tease him nonstop and then there's y/n who really hated going outside because of her quirk. She hated the sun with all her being.

Her quirk is Vampirism, Meaning she pretty much has the Capabilities and Powers of a Vampire with a few minor upgrades but aside from that. She is allergic to Garlic and The Sun's Rays irritates her very sensitive skin.

And unlucky for her the training ground is on Ground Beta. Technically outside. It wasn't helping that today was extremely Sunny so now it led to her Bringing an Umbrella with her outside as she followed her class who were really enthusiastic with the idea of meeting two well known pro heroes.

" I hate this " Y/n grumbled and Shoto who was beside her couldn't help but agree.

" Come on you two! Be positive for once! Two of the most popular and not to mention good looking Heroes are here! " Mina cheered and she didn't get a positive reaction from y/n and Shoto.

Once they reached the middle of the training grounds they saw two figures standing there waiting for their arrival. One with blonde hair and the other with red crimson hair, similar to Todoroki's hair .

" It's Them! " Denki exclaimed and everyone came running towards their direction with delight and excitement leaving the two pessimistic people behind.

" Why does it have to be them? " Shoto growled.

" Why does it have to be outside? " Y/n grumbled.

" Hey! Slowpokes! You guys coming or what!? " Sero yelled at the two.

With a groan y/n slumped her shoulders hiding her face beneath the umbrella as she walked at an even slower pace.

She started cursing everything that lights up. Mostly the sun but within her train of thoughts she didn't notice a certain someone approach her.

A gloved hand grabbed the handle of her Umbrella yanking it away from her grasp and raising it above her head.

" Hey! What gives!? " Y/n hissed as she looked up , her red orbs clashing with a pair of golden ones.

" Kid, you're slowing Everyone down. Now hurry up! And stop walking around with an umbrella. Now's definitely not the time to be fancy " Hawks stated but his eyes couldn't help but admire the features of the girl before him.

Beautiful Midnight Hair with luscious curls, Big Crimson Eyes that stared right back to the depths of his soul, Delicate and Pale Skin, Captivating Lips that seemed to be Asking for his. It was actually too much because how the fuck is a First Year student so damn attractive!? .

" Excuse me? No wait.. Excuse you!? I am not being fancy you Prick! " Y/n objected his accusations while pointing at him angrily.

The man only chuckled giving her an amused smirk.

" Oh really? Then what's this doing here? Maybe I should throw it away " Hawks was about to do exactly as what he stated but he was stopped when y/n gripped his wrist.

She hissed at him showing her fangs and her red eyes glowed with menace, grabbing his chin with her free hand she forcefully turned his head to look at her at a very close and dangerous angle.

" I'm a Fucking Vampire you Little bitch but I must say. It's really bold of you to 'Tease' me but I warn you Not to do it... Don't tempt me" She whispered her lips inches away from his and he didn't know why he want to devour her lips in such a hungry way. Maybe it was because of how Suggestive her eyes are? .

Hawks's eyes couldn't leave hers the smirk on his face was long gone with his mouth slightly agape but he regained his composure and that same smug smirk from before came back to life.

Y/n rolled her eyes harshly letting go of his chin and snatching her umbrella away from the winged hero as she stalked her way towards her classmates who watched the entire scene unfold.

They were speechless because in their eyes their classmate pretty much owned the winged hero and not to mention they looked like they were about to tear each other's clothes off infront of them.

" Hawks.... I never knew you swung that way..." Dabi chuckled and the winged hero turned to him with a smirk on his face.

" I didn't know either " Hawks answered followed by a small laugh.

By now everyone was too shocked to say anything and y/n who had finally stood with her classmates gave a questioning look .

" .... I'm telling Dad about this " Shoto suddenly blurted out from the crowd and everyone turned to him.

" Shoto No... Unless you want me to show everyone what you did when you were 9 " Hawks threatened a sly smile plastered on his lips and shoto's eyes widened and it turned into a glare .

" You wouldn't " Shoto countered.

" Oh I will " Hawks Snickered.

And a glaring contest ensued between shoto and Hawks. The glares mostly coming from shoto though, since Hawks looked relaxed and unbothered.

" Ok enough you two. We're wasting Time here! Let's get started with training! " Dabi tried changing the subject and luckily everyone seemed to buy it.

_______________2 Hours Later

" So....Is it True that Vampires Can Turn into a Bat? " Hawks asked as he trailed behind y/n who tried her very best to ignore his random and very annoying comments.

Everyone was listening and watching their interaction from behind them after the physical exercise they did earlier and now they were just strolling around Ground Beta , The two heroes giving advice and telling the class their whole experience.

" If I could I would have turned into one and flew as far away as I can from you " Y/n snapped her eyes narrowed at his direction and Hawks put on a fake hurt expression that ticked the girl off.

" So... Can you Hypnotize people by Looking into their eyes like Dracula from Hotel Transylvania? Because I could get lost in your eyes forever " Hawks's Comments soon turned flirtatious and Dabi couldn't help but snort at how Terrible his brother was doing.

" If I could I would have hypnotized you to leave me the fuck alone and jump off a fucking cliff. Please stop annoying me, your very presence is pissing me off " Y/n growled glaring at Hawks who seemed unaffected by her words.

" Sheesh, your friend is really Harsh. Is she usually like that? " Dabi asked Shoto who gave him a shrug.

" She's usually like that when she's annoyed... Also because she noticed how bad of a flirt Hawks is " Shoto glanced at his older brother with a sigh.

Hawks leaned his head down over her shoulder from behind her as he glanced at the annoyed expression of the girl.

" So... Is it true? Some people on the internet claim that Vampires Sparkles--" Hawks was immediately silenced when y/n grabbed his cheeks and turned her head back to slam her lips against his in a dominating but lascivious kiss that got him going.

But the kiss ended a little bit too soon before he could even return the kiss.

" I didn't Know that the Pro Hero Hawks would actually Be interested in a Kid who's younger than him... Oh well I guess some people have nasty fantasies " Y/n's entire demeanor changed into a teasing and more playful.

The girl turned around completely her eyes hooded with an unreadable expression. Hawks's smirk began to falter as his eyes looked down to hers, His eyes flashing a hungry look.

He began to question his sanity. Was he really interested in a Kid? Well Fuck it. Call him sick but He is.

" Tell me Hawks. Wouldn't it be better to Have a woman instead of a Teenager? I suggest you start looking for one and stop playing Cat and mouse with a little girl " Y/n coaxed her index finger reaching over to brush against his lips.

Her soft skin touched his lips only to brush her finger down, staring at him with a teasing smirk on her lips, she kissed her finger that touched his lips before walking away from him.

" Holy shit.... What the Fuck was that!? " Dabi yelled and the class was rendered immobilized in their place and speechless.

Even Hawks was speechless as he stared at the retreating figure of y/n.

His emotions clashing with his growing desire for her and he knows he's pretty fucked up to like a kid but fuck everyone else he wants her and he intends to keep her.

" I don't fucking know but dude... I think I kinda got rejected " Hawks was finally able to answer but his eyes stayed glued to her figure.

" ... That was.... Highly inappropriate " Iida stated pushing his glasses back.

_____________________

It was finally lunch time and Class 1-A were of course in the Cafeteria eating.

However y/n who was happily snacking on her chocolate cake was bombarded with questions from her classmates.

" Y/n what the fuck was that "

" Do you Really Like him? "

" Oh shit that was so hot " ( mineta)

" Is that even legal? "

" That was not an appropriate interaction! "

" Guys Chill your tits. That was nothing " Y/n stated firmly but apparently she didn't notice that Dabi and Hawks were seated behind her.

" Was it really nothing baby bird? You wound me" Hawks frowned faking a pained expression as he placed his hand on his chest.

" Uhh yeah? " Y/n muttered unsure of what she should say.

" After that kiss? So now what? You're the type of girl who kisses me once and never again? " Hawks accused and y/n didn't really do anything to deny that which angered him but he was the type of person who had full control of his facial expressions and body language so it wasn't obvious but Dabi on the other hand noticed it clearly since he had known Hawks ever since he was a kid.

" That's pretty irresponsible of you Kid, Another rule of being a Hero Kids : Take responsiblity . And y/n you should take responsibility for stealing a kiss along with my heart " Hawks smirked poking her cheek.

" You know you're getting better at flirting...... Not " Y/n muttered as she scooped another small size of her cake pointing it at Hawks.

" Face it. I don't go for guys who are older than me. Sure maybe a year or two will be fine but more than 5 is a big NO NO. I like cute and young guys " Y/n smirked seeing Hawks's angered expression start to surface . Although his face was blank his eyes held anger and pain she kinda liked it.

She should probably start getting rid of her sadistic tendencies. She does like the Birdman but she wanted to tease him too.

Hawks was furious. He didn't really like how she got his hopes up and he wasn't the type to give up that easily. Now he was taught well and giving up is not an option. And the thought of her with another 'young' and 'cute' guy made his blood boil he wasn't that old but she sure as hell was making him feel like it .

He's an adult now but he doesn't know why he has the raging and jealous hormones of a teenager who foolishly fell in love at first sight. He's holding himself back from dragging her away and slamming her back against a random wall while kissing the hell out of her lips until she can't think of anything else but him.

You don't need a boy. Fuck it, you needed a Man and He was that Man. Because he'll screw up whoever tries to take his Baby bird away.

" Open up Hawks" Y/n cooed pointing her utensil at his mouth to which he replied with a glare and turning his head away

" Oh? You're butt hurt now and you refuse to talk? Ok then . Izuku say Ahh~" Y/n smiled as she turned stop Izuku who turned into a blushing mess while fearing for his life when Hawks flashed him a deadly glare.

" Come on Izuk--" Y/n was cut off mid-sentence when a gloved hand gripped her wrist and yanked her hand the other way.

Her hand now pointing at Hawks as he guided her hand up to his mouth. Opening his mouth he ate the small portion of chocolate cake on her spoon before letting go of her hand.

" I thought you didn't want to eat it? " Y/n raised a brow in amusement ignoring the intense stares of Dabi and almost Everyone in the Cafeteria.

" Oh, trust me baby bird. I'd rather eat you than any other treat in the world " Hawks grinned as he stood up bringing y/n along with him. On the other end of the table shoto was ready to cringe and Dabi held back a laugh.

" Hey Brats! Listen up! This girl here is Taken By yours truly! If any one flirts with her or even tries to take her from me... Good luck... You'll be at the Top of my list of people to eliminate ! " Hawks announced with a spine chilling tone making some people shiver.

Y/n was stupefied and couldn't utter a word.

Dabi was beyond flabbergasted he looked like a fish thrown out of the sea and directly onto the burning heat of a frying pan.

" What the hell? The fuck is wrong with you? What about your reputation?" Y/n gasped when she felt him cup her cheeks and kiss her. Right infront of everyone making the room tense up .

Y/n was stiff as Hawks let go of her staring at her with a grin on his face.

" Y-you.... " Y/n was speechless as a small hue of pink tinted her pale cheeks.

" Hawks you sick Fuck Get away from my student! " Aizawa said in fatherly tone and behind him were almight and endeavor.

" Young y/n! Is this true!? " Almight asked in disbelief.

" Well Keigo when do you want your wedding to take place? " Endeavor laughed staring fondly at his adopted son.

" Can I Marry her now? "

" Definitely No! Endeavor don't encourage him " Aizawa hissed and y/n who was too embarrassed to say anything kept trying to pry Hawks's grisly grip from her arm.

But in the end Hawks only pulled her forward pecking her lips .

" Don't try to run away from me Baby bird "

[obxcunt]

Love bites || (4)

pairing: jj maybank x reader [eventually] || rafe cameron x reader [currently]

warnings: cursing, typos.

summary: it was supposed to be a good summer for you, the last one in the obx before going to college, the last one with your friends and family. Unfortunately, a sudden and mysterious death is about to completely change your life, pushing you directly into a brand new world and into a very sexy vampire’s arms.

A/N: thank you so much guys, comments, likes, notes and dms means so much to me i’m glad you are enjoying my story! Love you all.

part three || masterlist || part five

“I can't see you right now, Rafe.” You said, holding the phone. “I— I need to help my mom with something at home.” You lied, glancing at the blond vampire next to you.

“Are you okay?” Rafe asked, concerned by how distant you've been recently. “Is it because of me? Shit, Y/N. I’m sorry if my—”

“Relax, it has nothing to do with you, Rafe.” You cut off, closing your eyes as you sat down on the ground with your guest, head falling back in a sigh. “It's just— It's just complicated for me to be around anyone right now. I need to be alone, but i’ll text you tomorrow, alright?”

He sighed. “Okay, i’ll see you later.”

You both hang up at the same time, guilt still occupying your mind as you threw the phone away. You looked at the horizon, the view from your backyard always calming you down when you need it. The last time you were there: Rafe and you were sharing your first kiss after a party: the heated memory making you smirk. But today you were sitting next to a vampire, discovering a brand new world.

“I don't like lying to people, especially my friends.” You said, breaking the silence, the nature’s noises accompanying your words. “They're also in danger—”

“Trust me, they know way more than you think.” JJ said, looking at the grass, his black-painted fingers wandering through it.

You ignored his sentence, too busy looking at him, examining his normal appearance: tanned skin, muscles, bright blue eyes, nothing seemed different. You weren't expecting vampires to look this good.

“What happened to you?” He briefly glanced at you. “You look so—” You paused shrugging your shoulders. “Human.”

He chuckled. “Remember my birthday party at John B’s, last year?” You hummed, he had invited you for some reason, but you couldn’t make it. “When everyone left, i decided to go home. I don’t know why, but i really wanted to see my dad on my eighteenth birthday.” He paused, a sad smile appearing on his face. “He was really high and drunk, we fought about it.” Your lips parted, guessing his next words. “My dad beat me to death.”

“JJ...” Your voice cracked, tears emerging once again. You couldn’t believe it. Everyone knew his father’s reputation and bad habits, but this was something else. “I— I don’t even know what to say. I’m sorry, you deserved so much better.” The blond boy looked at you, giving you a tiny smile. He wanted to wipe away the sad expression you were wearing. “But, how did you—”

“It happened outside, he left my body there.” He said, sniffing and looking at the rings on his fingers, nervously playing with them. “Marcus found me, he smelled my blood from miles away.” He smirked. “He felt extremely sorry as soon as he saw me, he knew my father and quickly understood. He thought i deserved a second chance. So, he saved me.”

“Who’s Marcus?” You asked. “Wait, are you talking about the old drug dealer?” JJ nodded. “He’s a vampire?” You raised your brows. “Wow... I always thought he was strange.”

“Yeah...” JJ continued. “He turned me, right in time.” Your eyes widened, imagining the scene. “It wasn’t easy, especially the first week. Marcus teached me how to survive, to control myself and everything i needed to know.”

“But...” He looked back at you, smirking at your confused face: you looked adorable. It was both surprising and comforting how easy you were to talk to. You were surprised too, feeling strangely good and safe with him. “What about, Luke? He killed himself, right?” You asked, remembering the event from last year. “Was it because of— Or did you?”

“I didn’t kill him.” He cut off, you nodded a bit reassured. “He killed himself a few hours after killing me. He really left the house, drove to Barry’s and shot himself. The cops didn’t even question it, since he had a poor reputation. They looked for me, obviously. I wasn’t in a good shape, dealing with the whole turning thing. Marcus lied to them, by saying that i was sick and they believed it. I think they just wanted to close the case. I’ve been living at John B’s since then.”

“Right.” You nodded, chin resting on your knees as you held your legs against your chest, trying to memorize everything. “Your friends know about you, don’t they?” He laughed. “Of course they do.” You added, feeling stupid for asking. “And, wasn’t it a bit awkward at first?”

“The hardest part was definitely accepting my death and what happened to me. I disappeared for a few days, ignored their calls and texts before telling them everything. I had to learn how to behave in public first, which wasn’t easy for me. I’m still struggling sometimes.” He explained, sighing. “But, since Kiara is a witch—” You chuckled at the irony, you ignored so much things. “They took it pretty well. Pope asked a lot of questions though, he was a bit nervous around me but mostly intrigued.”

You smirked. “I do have many questions as well!” You said with excitement, sitting down properly. “Like, why aren’t you burning right now?” He chuckled, enjoying your reaction to his condition. “We’ve been outside for hours. Also, how do you feed? Do you have powers?”

He sighed, smiling. “Okay, let’s start with this.” He pointed at the ring on his finger. “See this one? Well, Kie made it for me. It protects me from the sun.” You nodded, looking at it attentively. “I don’t feed on humans, but on animals and sometimes we steal blood-bags from the nearest hospital.” He looked at your neck, licking his lips just to tease you. “But, you look delicious.” You rolled your eyes, smiling. “Let me guess, type O?” He teased again, laughing as you smacked his arm. “My favorite...”

“Fuck off, JJ.” He laughed.

“And, we are not in Twilight. I’m far from Edward Cullen, even though we both share the same strength and speed.” You looked at the intriguing boy. “I won’t read your mind. Unfortunately, it’s not on the list.” You smirked, narrowing your eyes at him. “That’s too bad, i’m sure your thoughts are very interesting.”

“What about—” You sighed. “The other one, the vampire who killed my friend.” JJ hummed. “Do you know him?”

“No, that's the problem.” He replied. “And it seems like he's not alone. We think they are from another state, just passing by.” You looked around the garden, wondering if they were around here. “Don't worry, they won't bother anyone during the day. They're not coming out, which means they probably don't know any witches. They're either old school vampires or newborns, who don't care about consequences. They took so much risk by killing Kelce.”

“The police department knows about it, right? They know it's not an animal.” JJ nodded, chuckling. “I knew something was wrong the other day.”

“Vampires used to be a massive problem around here, in the past.” He explained. “That's when the slayers came around and eradicated them. It's a family thing, only touching the sons.” You frowned, rethinking about your conversation with Ward. “We were safe for a while. We are a small group, not messing around and respecting the rules. But, Kelce’s death changed the game.”

“They called the slayers back and now, they're all looking for vampires to kill.” He nodded. “That's not good…”

“Yeah…” He laughed. “Especially since you're dating one of them.” You frowned, jaw dropping. “Ward Cameron comes from one of the most famous families of slayers of all time. Which means that his wonderful son is going to join them anytime soon.”

“Holy shit.” You said, laughing nervously and running a hand through your hair. “The other day, while we were throwing a party for Kelce at their place, i heard a weird conversation he was having on the phone with someone. He was saying a lot of things, but nothing really made sense to me, until now. He seemed really nervous.” JJ wasn't surprised. “Peterkin was also there, she was supposed to meet him.”

“They're obviously preparing something.”

“I’m not dating him, JJ.” You added, annoyed by his comment. “I don't know why you keep—” He chuckled, interrupting you.

“Alright, Y/N.” He said. “You might not be dating him, officially. However, you were still having sex with him that night.” He smirked at the sight of your heated cheeks. “I saw it, while searching for the other vampire. Unfortunately, it was already too late for Kelce. I still managed to save you though when you walked back to the—”

“Wait!” You snapped. “It was you, behind me?”

“Technically, we were both behind you. He was looking at you and clearly enjoying your fear, he wanted to mess with your head. I chased him away while you were calling 911. He wanted to kill you too.” You remained silent, in shock. “I saved your pretty ass two times already, Y/N.” He joked, the hidden compliment making you blush once again.

“So, you can’t read minds?” You asked, wanting to switch subjects. “Or see the future? I thought vampires had more powers.” JJ smiled, standing up and offering you a hand. “What are you doing?” You asked, accepting it and standing up in front of the blond boy.

“I can't read minds or see the future, but—” You looked at him in the eyes and pouted, his heart melting at the sight. “I can do some other things though...” You raised a brow, curious.

In one second: the blond boy disappeared. You turned around, searching for him everywhere. “JJ?” He screamed your name and you looked up, noticing him sitting down on the roof with a playful smirk on his face. “How did you—” He moved again, making you laugh.

You tried to turn around, feeling his presence behind you. “Don't move.” He murmured close to your ear, both hands resting on your hips. “We can sense your blood from miles away.” He murmured, caressing your forearm: making you shiver against his body. “We can also hear your heartbeat from miles away.” His hand slowly moved up to your shoulder. “Even your moans…” He smirked against your ear: a silent moan escaping your lips.

“Stop it!” You whined, turning around to face him and smack his chest while he laughed at you. “Idiot.” He stopped, calming down. “I’m sorry, for calling you crazy earlier.”

He scoffed. “You’re adorable, but you don’t need to apologize. It was a normal reaction.” You nodded, smirking. “Anyway.” He continued. “I need your help. I'm pretty sure Ward is preparing something.” You crossed your arms. “I need to get access to his office, where he’s hiding shit.”

You frowned. “Wait, what?” You both started walking back to the front porch. “But, you're a vampire, you're way more discreet than me.”

“Probably, it seems like you have clumsy tendencies.” You stopped walking, rolling your eyes. “But it's impossible for me to get access to his office, since i'm not allowed to enter their mansion.”

“What do you mean?” You asked, following him. “Are they putting way too much Holy Water on the door handles or something?”

He laughed, gently pushing you. “That's very funny.” You smiled, taking the few stairs leaning to the porch before sitting down on the bench. “Vampires can't enter houses without getting invited in first.”

“Oh.” You said. “What about Sarah Cameron? Aren't you guys friends? And i’m pretty sure you came to a party at their house last year.”

“Kiara doesn’t want her girlfriend to be involved in this for now. And, this was before my death. I don’t think Ward Cameron the slayer wants me on his property anymore.” He said, sitting down next to you. “But, since you’re close to Rafe—”

“Shut up...” You whined, rubbing your face, your reaction making him laugh. “Wait, is this why you don’t want me to invite you inside my house? So, you can’t get any access?” He nodded, looking at his black combat boots. “Why not? I don’t understand.”

“It’s for your own safety.” You sighed. “I’m not gonna hurt you, it’s not in my intentions but—” He paused, clearing his throat. “Anyway, Ward and Rafe can’t know about this, obviously.”

“I won’t say anything to anyone.” You promised. “But i don’t think Rafe knows about any of this, JJ.” You said, trying to rassure him. “Don’t worry.”

“Not yet.” He sighed. “Ward is gonna have to inform him, at some point. Rafe won’t become an actual slayer until he kills a vampire by himself, that’s a part of their ritual.” He explained, visibly worried. “I don’t want my new family and friends to die. We— We need to take care of those vampires before anyone else dies.”

Shit, you thought. You didn’t want to lie to anyone, especially your family and friends but you had to. You also didn’t want to use Rafe but you couldn’t help feeling bad for JJ, who didn’t deserved to suffer either. He already went through enough shit.

JJ didn’t want to force you, he wouldn’t. But there was something about you, something telling him that he could trust you. You both remained silent for a moment, until you had made up your mind.

“Okay, fine.” You said, making him look back at you with a smirk. “I’ll help you, if you promise to not hurt anyone, especially Rafe.” He opened his mouth, ready to object. “He’s still innocent, we might not need to fight. We could do this before he turns into a slayer, okay? He’s still my friend and—”

“Okay, we won’t do anything to your boyfriend.” He cut off, the nickname making you growl. “Unless he starts attacking us first.”

“Don’t call him my boyfriend, or you’ll have to find someone else.” He rolled his eyes playfully. “Alright, what do you need, JJ?” He smirked, knowing you were both about to jump in a risky and exciting adventure together.

A/N: If you guys have any questions regarding the fic, feel free to ask me, requests are open!

———————————————————————

tag-list: @prejudic3-deactivated20201112 @starkeyrafe @thestorysofargone @ifilwtmfc @callmeimpetuous @katiaw2 @your-local-candle-addict @iccyyyybitch @agirlwholovescoffee @hvrcruxes

[tumblr won’t let me tag some people, comment if you wanna be add]

[sumire-bride]

Sumire and shuus route (demo) maniac 6

*scene starts in garden*

Sumire- … (…how pretty… I haven’t seen roses like this since I was… 15yrs old…. There truly pretty….)

*sumire holds the top part of the white rose in her hand*

Sumire- …(..even if the colour is white… I find that the flower is very colourful… although I do not think that will make sense to many people….)

(…but even so… it does not have to… I realize I don’t make sense to others…)

Shuu- oi.. what are doing..?

Sumire- …?!…

Shuu- you don’t have to jump like that.. geez

Sumire- …Oh… hello Shuu-sama… I am glad to see that you seem energetic and… active to get up…

Shuu- that’s getting old, it honestly isn’t that big of a deal to see me up

Sumire- …but it makes me happy to see you walking…. Most of the time you are on the ground… it worries me sometimes because I think your dead…

Shuu- tch..

Sumire- … (….sometimes though… I sometimes find it difficult to speak to shuu-sama… but sometimes… it’s easy in a way on its own….)

Shuu- why are you looking at me like that, pervert

Sumire- …uh… I am not a pervert I am sumire….

Shuu- at this point I’m not even going to stop you from saying that.. at this point it’s becoming even more of a hassle then it already was when I first met you..

Sumire- …I see…

Shuu- but you didn’t answer my question, what are you doing..?

Sumire- …hmm…? I was looking at the flowers….! These white roses are absolutely stunning…. Even if there white… I find them to be very colourful….

Shuu- your weird.. it’s just a flower there’s not a need to make it sound like a poem or whatever..

But I guess that suits you doesn’t it?

Sumire- …fufu… I realize it does not make sense to many people…. But I find that it does not matter whether what makes sense to people or not…..

*thumb*

…it really is such a beautiful night isn’t it… I never got to see the moon look like from outside… it looks prettier outside…. I only ever saw it from a window….

Shuu- hah..? You never went outside..?

Sumire- …father says that outside is cruel… and it causes stress and stress will turn me ugly….

So I never went outside at all…. I wasn’t aloud… He always focused on looks and little things like that…. So growing up I never got to see or focused on pretty things…. I didn’t have time or.. I had to focus on keeping myself together… but I was let out a few times….

Shuu- ….

You never tried to leave?

Sumire- ….?.. why would I ever want to leave that life…..? If I did father yell at me… father is my only savour… he is the only one who truly loves me….. he wanted to protect me… he is the only one I can turn to….

Shuu- your dad seems like a ass,

Sumire- ..uh… do not talk ill about father…! He is a good man and only wanted to protect me….!

Shuu- you can think whateverr you want about you father, doesn’t make difference to me, but from you just told me he sounds like lonely jackass of a man

Sumire- …shut up….! Do not say such things about him like that…!

Shuu- heeh.. stingy today aren’t you? Never thought you’d ever tell me to “shut up” did hell freeze or something?

Sumire- forgive me but… I do not like it when people speak so harshly of my father…. It really bugs… me… so do not do it….!

Shuu- trying to order me around now? Wow what great character development you’ve had over the months you’ve been here

Sumire- …I do not remember having any development done….

Shuu- your really dense Rapunzel, whatever..

Sumire- …mm… (…I feel like that he does respect somethings about me… it is getting quite annoying…! But… I it seems that both me and shuu-sama learn new things about each other each day…) hm..?

Uwahh…!!!

Shuu- ah.. what are you squealing for..?! Geez don’t yell like that.. break my ear drums then I won’t be able to listen to music anymore..

Sumire- Shuu-sama..! Shuu-sama…! Look…! What are these cute things….?! There in a line…!

Shuu- hah..? it’s just a line of ants, you don’t need to scream over it..

Sumire- so this thing here is a ant….! How lovely…! I think I saw a few of you when I was child….! Fufu… look how cute they Shuu-sama…! Come come..! Let’s follow them…!

Shuu- don’t wanna.. it’s just some insects,

Sumire- ..but cute ones….! Look at them go…! I’ve read a bit about these things called.. “ants”… they live in little mountains they make from dirt… right… wow such amazing power…! They could be stronger then you Shuu-sama….! Fufu..

Come on..! Come on…!

*sumire grabs shuus hand and drags him with her following the ants*

Shuu- haah… she sure switched personalities fast..

*TIMESKIP*

*scene is in the forest*

Sumire- ..I wonder where there taking us…! Do you think we’re close to where there going…? I truly wonder….!

Shuu- how would I know.. tch.. making me walk around like this, my legs are going to give out..

Sumire- ..fufu…

Shuu- …

Sumire- ..uh… looks like they stop here…. Aha…! How cool…! Look at there home…! It must be so big for these little guys but so small for us… haha…

Kinda like vampires and humans…

Shuu- huh..? What does that mean..?

Sumire- …vampires live longer lives… while humans live shorter ones…. Vampires are stronger and can not die as easily…. I know that much about them…

while humans can die quite easily and get injured easily… we’re like ants to vampires right….? Though that isn’t a bad thing…. If vampires weren’t the way they are then… I bet maybe just maybe they could protect humans right…?

Shuu- tut.. it take a whale to speak for that to happen, you have a weird way of thinking.. I shouldn’t be surprised though

Sumire- …but vampires and humans aren’t that different either… we’re the same in a way…

Fufu.. ah..! Look there going inside…! How cool…!

Shuu- your like a little kid..

Sumire- ..Is that bad…? If so that I will not act like a kid…

Shuu- ..don’t care do what you want.. the way you act doesn’t bother me

Sumire- ..I see… (..,I think this is the first time me Shuu-sama have spent time together like this… at least normally… I like it… spending time with Shuu-sama is very fun… fufu…)

..aw.. there gone… oh well… come on Shuu-sama… let’s go back…

Shuu- ..don’t wanna.. my legs gave out on me..

Sumire- …but… your legs are still there Shuu-sama… how did they give out…? And we have to go back.. if we don’t then everyone will wonder where we went…

Come on shuu-sama… we have to go back….! Come on…

Shuu- ..zz…

Sumire- ..don’t fall asleep….!! Oh goodness…

Haah…. Oh well… I have no chose

*sumire picks up Shuu dragging him on her back*

Sumire- ..hnnngg…. Shuu-sama you are… very heavy….!!

Haah…

*scene changes to inside the house*

Sumire- ..haah… haah.. haah… oh goodness..

Reiji- both of you.. you missed dinner

Sumire- ..hmm….? Oh…! Reiji-sama… hah.., hello…!

Reiji- I see that that deadbeat has you carrying him around everywhere.. quite literally.. honestly you poor thing

Sumire- ….?… what….?

Reiji- imagine making a women carry you around everywhere because you can’t bother doing anything for yourself.. good grief just the sight of him makes me sick..

Sumire- ….?..

Reiji- just leave him there it’s not like he doesn’t sleep on the floor anyway.. Goodness your all dirty too.. is he making you do his dirty work? Come on I’ll fix you a pair of clothes out of the kindness of my heart-

Sumire- …no thank you… first I want to put Shuu-sama in a soft place to sleep… I don’t want him to be uncomfortable…. We may talk when he is in a bed….

…Goodbye…

*sumire leaves*

Reiji- ..tut… what does she see in that eyesore..

—to be continued—

Maniac 5 — maniac 7

[stayextrafrosty]

I’m Dying for a Taste of You: Chapter 5

Chapter Title: The Side Effects of You

Chapter Summary: Michael and Alex follow Caber out to the middle of nowhere and witness a horrific sight. Michael makes a decision regarding Alex that doesn't work out the way he hopes.

A/N:  I've officially planned out the rest of this story! I've never planned anything before and it feels strangely liberating. The remaining chapters will be longer (like this one) so I can wrap up the plot of this story in a reasonable amount of time. There's a pretty graphic depiction of blood and body horror in here so be warned. And we have the return of highly possessive Michael. So enjoy!

Kinks Explored: Somnophilia, bondage, wax play

Read on AO3 // Masterlist

-

Alex and Michael followed Caber out but lost sight of him as he wove through the cars. Alex watched Michael’s eyes as he glared at every small movement that Alex wouldn’t be able to see. He rested a hand on his arm.

“Just stay calm. He wouldn’t stray far from Alayna right? Are we really going to assume she just left?” Michael rolled his shoulders in response.

“I can still smell the creep. Wait here,” he said. He quickly unhooked the chain from Alex’s neck and he vanished. He was only gone for a moment before he was back and shoving a sweatshirt and gun into his arms. Alex raised an eyebrow. “You didn’t think I’d come here without having a way to arm you, did you?” Alex didn’t know what he thought. He had been perfectly willing to let Michael handle the fighting if need be.

What’s wrong with me? I never completely put my life in someone else’s hands. It’s stupid.

Alex pulled the sweatshirt on and wrapped the strap of the holster around his waist. Michael looked him over once and grabbed his hand, pulling him in a direction away from the club. Alex knew this would be faster to let Michael go alone, but he didn’t seem to be willing to do that.

His prosthesis made it hard to run. Michael seemed to be conscious of it but the pace he was walking certainly wasn’t easy. Alex just clenched his jaw and kept pace. He wondered if turning into a vampire would heal his leg. He assumed not but the rumor was that becoming a vampire healed everything. He had learned to live with it and it wasn’t as though it bothered him, but what would it be like to actually experience sensation again?

Michael gripped his hand tightly and seemed to slow his pace. Alex just squeezed his hand back as they walked. Michael was scanning over everything, occasionally lifting his head like a dog would, smelling the air. Alex wanted to chuckle but he figured he could tease him about it when they weren’t hunting a killer vampire.

“Hey,” Alex said softly, tugging on his arm. Michael stopped walking.

“I don’t know if Caber is the vampire behind the murders. But even if he’s not, I have to kill him for breaking the rules of the club.”

“Not that I doubt your abilities, but isn’t he way stronger than you?”

“I’m a lot more pissed off. I know you can’t smell it, but he’s surrounded by blood.” Alex nodded slowly and Michael turned to keep walking.

They were walking into an open field next to the club. The neon lights still obscured the stars and served as a beacon to find their way back. Not that Michael would get lost. The rocky New Mexico ground made Alex stumble but he never fell with Michael holding onto him.

The walk was silent except for the dirt under their feet. The darkness grew as they moved further into the opening. His eyes were adjusting slowly but the moon was absent so natural light was minimal. Alex looked up at the stars, wondering just how he had gotten into this mess.

He could just barely see the dip of the water retention hole. No water would be there now but the spring and the melting snow usually filled it. Michael sped up his walking again, pulling Alex along behind him. He was at a light jog by the time they got to the edge.

A small hint of light coming from one of the sewers caught his attention. The biggest one. He glanced at Michael who was hyper focused and glaring at the light.

“Stay here and I’ll be back,” he ordered quietly. Alex shook his head.

“There’s no way I’m letting you go down there alone. You gave me a gun for a reason,” he whispered back.

“I can smell a lot of blood. Whatever’s down there… I don’t think you should see it.”

“This is my job remember? I need to find the identity of who’s killing girls to clear your name. And I have a strong feeling it’s Caber.” Michael clenched his jaw and ran a hand through his hair.

“Dammit, fine.” He released Alex’s hand and lifted his to his mouth, biting it. Alex didn’t flinch as Michael lifted his bleeding hand and wiped it from his chin down his neck. He repeated the same motion on the other side. Alex raised an eyebrow.

“What’s all that for?” he asked.

“It’ll cover your smell for a little while. Hopefully long enough to get some useful information.” Michael started walking down slope to the basin. Alex watched after him for a moment before following. He stumbled a bit but Michael was right in front of him, looking over his shoulder as they walked.

When they finally made it down, Michael, grabbed his face gently. Even in the dark, his sharp features stood out. He leaned in and pressed a soft kiss to his lips. It felt too much like a goodbye. When Michael tried to pull away, Alex grabbed his arm and yanked him back. Alex wasted no time running his fingers over his shoulders and up his neck to rest on his face. He kissed him again. Filling it with a promise of later that he wasn’t sure he would be able to keep.

Michael held him close for another few moments, sighing against his lips and hands slipping just under the sweatshirt so his fingers brushed over Alex’s skin.

“Stay behind me,” Michael mumbled. Alex nodded and they pulled apart. They walked as quietly as they could to the sewer opening, finding the grate cover set to the side of the hole. Michael had to duck slightly but it was wide enough for them to walk side by side. Alex followed him in, opting to stay only one step behind him as opposed to a few.

The light at the end of the tunnel pulsed and flickered every few seconds. Why would they light a fire in a place with almost no ventilation? Alex started to see the imperfections in the wall as they got closer. The tension in Michael’s shoulders refused to relax. Alex couldn’t smell what he did, but it must be torture.

They rounded the curve of the sewer, Michael trying to peak ahead before they accidentally walked out and gave themselves away. Alex grabbed his hand again, trying to make sure that he didn’t stumble too far forward. Michael squeezed his hand in a silent acknowledgment.

Suddenly he stopped and pressed himself against the wall as tightly as he could. He lifted a finger to his lips and inched his way along the stone. Alex tried to peak around his body but Michael kept him pressed back. Alex dropped his hand and reached for his gun. He finally picked up on the quiet talking.

“I promise baby girl, I’ll stop whenever you want. This is just a scene I’ve wanted to try,” he heard Caber say. His voice was weirdly gentle and reassuring.

“I don’t know if I like being tied up like this. I mean… what if you can’t stop?” A small voice squeaked out. They finally inched far enough that Alex could look around Michael.

Torches burned along the walls and in the center of the room. He watched a shirtless Caber walk around a stone slab. It was almost straight but rested at an angle with a girl who was still fully clothed chained to it. Alex chanced a look at Michael who looked sick to his stomach.

“You don’t trust me? I’m hurt. I promise you’ll enjoy this.” He stopped in front of the girl and leaned in, biting her shoulder. Her limbs pulled against the cuffs as she sighed in pleasure. Alex looked away. He started to feel hope. That maybe this girl wasn’t in danger, just at the mercy of some weird fantasy.

The tearing of fabric made him jump as his head jerked up to watch in horror as a knife ripped through her dress. She screamed and tried to cover herself but with her hands and legs restrained, she was helpless. Alex gripped the gun in his hand, ready to jump in and stop this.

“Stop! I don’t want this!”

“So you lied to me? That’s not very nice.” Alex could hear the sick joy he was getting from this. The girl’s eyes widened as he pressed the tip of the knife into her throat. She choked out a sob and desperately pulled at the cuffs.

Alex took less than a step towards them.

He thought he would go deaf from her scream.

Michael grabbed his arm.

“Your blood is for a good cause. Promise.”

Blood poured from the line running down her torso.

-

A hand clamped down over Alex’s mouth and pulled him back from the scene. His fingers trembled around the gun and his feet weren’t on the floor. Water spilled from his eyes and his stomach turned. The image burned into his mind replayed on every surface he looked at.

Michael held him so tightly he thought he might snap in half. But he also might fall apart otherwise. He mumbled soft hushing sounds into his ear. Telling him to wait for a bit longer. Michael pulled the gun from his hand and slipped it back into the holster on his hip.

Alex had seen the bodies after they had been drained. But they were never like what he just saw. He hadn’t considered what the other victims looked like while it was happening. Now he had a perfect visual. One that he couldn’t force away.

He could hear Michael mumbling words in his ear but couldn’t make any of them out. The light at the end of the tunnel was growing faint but even the dark couldn’t stop the replay of the knife cutting the girl open.

The night air brushed over his face, forcing him to finally blink. Tears still ran over his cheeks and the nausea hadn’t subsided. He struggled in Michael’s arms as his stomach flipped. He released him and Alex fell to his knees hurling. Sobs made his shoulders tremble and broke up the sounds of his emptying stomach.

Michael rubbed his back slowly, pulling him into his arms when he couldn’t puke anymore. They sat together as Alex cried, his eyes screwed shut, willing the image away.

“I know, I know. He won’t get away with this ok?” Michael reassured. But Alex couldn’t take it. The tears didn’t stop as he wrenched himself away from Michael, rage filling his body. “Alex—”

“I’m going to fucking kill him,” Alex growled out. He grabbed the gun and ran- as much as he could on shaking legs- back toward the entrance to the sewer. He didn’t get far before Michael was grabbing him again, arms wrapped around his waist as though he were a small child.

“You will die if you go back in there right now!”

“I don’t care! I’ll take that bastard with me!”

“Alex, listen to me! I will help you, ok? I will help you get rid of him but please, stop!”

“I can’t let him walk for another second!” Michael’s fingers dug into his waist as he was pulled back. Alex struggled but Michael held him fast. He was spun around to look at Michael’s face.

The background faded away and he couldn’t break eye contact. Michael’s eyes glowed bright red in the dark. His mark throbbed and he dropped the gun to the ground. His body relaxed and he struggled to remember what they were arguing about. Michael spoke slowly, but his mouth never moved.

Calm down. I’m here. Stop fighting.

And it was the best idea ever. Alex leaned in slowly and Michael pulled him to his chest. Soft kisses were dropped over his cheek and down his neck. He let his head roll to the side and eyes flutter shut.

Sleep. My love.

-

Light filtered in from the edges of the shade when Alex cracked open his eyes. He closed them again when he determined it was too bright. Feeling slowly returned to his body. The soft sheets were wrapped around him. Softer than normal cotton. They rested against skin all the way down his body. He was sore from the previous day but pleasantly so. He reached out and ran his fingers over the fabric before they brushed against another body. He turned over slowly and pulled his eyes open again.

Michael’s face was soft and his curls looked like a halo on the pillow where the light fell. Alex followed the lines of his face down his neck to his shoulders. He followed the hard lines until they disappeared under the covers at his waist.

Alex didn’t remember much after they followed Caber out of the club. It’s like there was a blank where memories should have been. Alex sighed and figured he would just ask Michael when he woke up.

He wanted the answers now but he couldn’t bring himself to disturb the peace that was the two of them in bed together. Alex reached out again, running his fingers over Michael’s cheek and over his neck. He snored softly and shifted under Alex’s touch but didn’t wake.

He scooted himself closer as his hand ran over his shoulder and down his side. He slipped his fingers under the sheet and pushed it away slowly. Alex kept his eyes on Michael’s face, making sure he didn’t wake up. He rolled him to his back carefully, leaning down and kissing his chest.

Michael was beautiful and Alex had known that since the first time they met. But now he had time to really take him in. He might have blushed if he had been awake but this was his time. His time to be selfish.

Alex kissed his chest, flicking his tongue over his nipples and watching them harden from the attention. Michael sighed in his sleep as he slowly worked his way down his torso. The lower he moved, the more Michael’s cock hardened.

“’lex…” Michael mumbled. Alex held in his laugh from the joy of knowing he could have this effect on him, even in his sleep. He let his fingers dance over his skin, barely brushing the surface. The hair on his chest tickled his fingers and face.

He moved lower, nipping gently at the skin on his hips. Michael’s breathing was picking up, and soft moans occasionally escaped. Alex wondered what he was dreaming about. He ran his hands down his arms and tickled the palms of his hands. Tracing his mouth along the V of his hips, Alex positioned himself between Michael’s legs.

Alex started slowly, taking the head of his half hard cock in his mouth. A small whimper made him grin. He scratched his sides gently, moving down to his hips and then legs. Michael’s mouth opened slightly as he sighed. Alex swirled his tongue around the head, tasting the pre cum that had started leaking.

He pushed Michael’s thighs apart slowly, running a finger along the crease of his ass. He sucked his cock in as deep as his gag reflex would allow. Michael whispered a broken sound that might have been his name. Alex teased his fingers around his hole as he wrapped his tongue around his cock as much as he could.

Alex kept watch on his face as he moved his head up and down at a steady pace. His free hand massaged his own growing erection as it throbbed and begged to be stimulated by something else.

If I wake him up, I’m sure he’d be more than willing to solve this problem.

Alex pushed the tip of his finger into Michael’s ass. He’d wanted to do this yesterday but he’d been spent. As fun as it had been to include Forrest, he needed to own Michael. Make sure he was the only one Michael wanted.

He released his cock from his mouth and ran his tongue down his shaft before sucking one of his balls into his mouth briefly. Michael’s eyebrows drew together along with a soft moan. Alex moved on quickly, pushing his tongue against his entrance alongside his finger. He only lingered a few seconds before pulling away. He glanced around the room and noticed a brand new bottle of lube on the dresser. He ran his eyes over Michael again and decided against pulling himself up and putting on his prosthesis just for that. He pulled his fingers out and spit on them before pushing them back in.

Alex kissed Michael’s thighs as his fingers moved in him slowly. He watched Michael’s cock jump every time he pushed in. He went back and forth between his legs, working his way back to his hips and the head of his now fully hard cock. Alex let his eyes flutter closed as he took Michael in his mouth again.

“Well this is certainly my favorite way to wake up,” a groggy voice mumbled. Fingers ran through Alex’s hair as he opened his eyes to find Michael smiling at him. He hummed around him and Michael sighed happily, gripping the strands of hair. “Fuck,” he breathed out.

Alex curved the two fingers buried in his ass, pressing against his prostate. Michael’s cock throbbed in his mouth as small moans slipped out. Michael let him take his time. Never thrusted though he could feel the way his legs were shaking.

“God Alex, I won’t last if you keep this up,” Michael joked, breathless. Alex released his cock from his lips and grinned up at him.

“Fine. Do me a favor and get the lube you so kindly picked up.” Michael smiled back as Alex pulled his fingers out. Michael moved quickly and was back on the bed kneeling next to Alex in no time at all.

Alex pushed himself up on his knees to meet him halfway. Michael cradled his face in his hands as their lips met softly. Alex reached of his hips, running his hands over them to the muscles in his lower back. He splayed them over as much skin as he could, feeling the muscles flex.

Michael licked at his lip before tugging on it gently, making Alex sigh. He ran his hands down to squeeze his ass before pushing a finger back in. Michael yanked their bodies flush against each other, save for the space where he was gripping both of their cocks and stroking at the same pace as Alex’s finger.

“I had never seen anything so beautiful. You sleeping next to me,” Alex said during a pause in their kisses. “Every part of you free for me to take. I couldn’t help myself.” Michael chuckled and Alex could have sworn his cheeks were dusted pink.

“You keep reminding me how much I don’t deserve you. But I refuse to let you go.” Michael nipped at his lip again, slightly elongated fangs catching the skin. Alex pulled his finger out of his ass and gripped his hips instead.

“The feeling is mutual,” Alex said. Then he pushed Michael onto his back again. He dragged his hands more roughly over his torso than he had earlier. Michael rolled into his touch and reached up to run his own hands down Alex’s arms. Alex didn’t allow it for long, grabbing his wrists and pinning them together above his head.

Michael’s fanged smile turned Alex on more than ever. Everything about Michael was perfect. He leaned down to press hungry kisses against his mouth that Michael gladly returned. Alex rubbed their cocks together, shuddering at the stickiness that leaked from both tips.

He grabbed the lube and pushed the cap open. He released Michael’s wrists but he never moved them as Alex coated himself. Michael’s eyes burned holes in his skin as they roamed his body. Alex closed the lube and tossed it aside. He grabbed Michael’s wrists again and let his now lube coated fingers slip inside him.

Michael moaned and rolled his hips. His noises cut short by Alex kissing him again. He moved his fingers quickly, spreading and twisting them to relax the muscles. But Alex was already impatient, and apparently so was Michael.

“Fuck Alex, I need you inside me,” he pleaded between kisses.

Alex pulled his fingers out roughly, making Michael yelp and grabbed his cock, pushing the head into his ass. Both of their mouths fell open at the tight squeeze. Alex rocked his hips slowly but his legs were shaking with need.

Michael wrapped his own legs around Alex’s hips and pulled him in. He thrusted forward, burying himself deep inside. Alex’s head fell to rest on Michael’s shoulder as they both moaned and panted.

Alex thrusted roughly again and again. His eyes closed, lost in the bliss of Michael clenching around him. He pressed his mouth to his shoulder and kissed once, twice, then bit. Michael met his next thrust, making them both gasp.

“Alex, please. I need to touch you,” Michael begged. Alex met his gaze before releasing him. Almost instantly his arms were around his neck, hands tangled in his hair, pulling their mouths together. Alex kept his rhythm steady but he was close and it wouldn’t stay that way much longer.

“You’re mine, Michael,” Alex said when they parted. “I don’t want you going to anyone else for anything, understand?” He watched as Michael’s eyes turned red and teeth extended. He tried to turn his face away but Alex grabbed his throat, forcing him to meet his eyes. “I refuse to let you go.”

Alex held Michael down by his throat. Knowing full well that if he wanted to, he could escape. He sat up and bent one of Michael’s legs back so he could hit deeper. They moaned together at the new angle. Michael grabbed himself and started stroking as Alex snapped his hips forward.

His mind was getting fuzzy. All he could focus on was chasing the edge that he wanted to fall over. He squeezed his hand around Michael’s throat tighter and watched as his back arched and his fist twisted into the sheets.

“Cum for me Michael,” Alex ordered. Michael moaned and grabbed his wrist, pulling his hand from his throat. Alex smirked down at him as he pressed his lips to the pulse point in his arm. “Go on baby. If you want it, it’s yours.”

Alex’s hips stuttered in their rhythm when he bit down. It hurt. So much more than usual. Alex hissed but kept his thrusts going. He cursed as he felt the pressure in his groin. Michael was staring up at him, eyes as red as the blood that escaped from the side of his mouth. He wanted to beg Michael to kill him. To turn him.

Michael released his wrist and pushed himself up with his free hand. Alex leaned in to rest his forehead against his. They panted together, chasing the relief that they both needed.

“Michael, I’m…” He didn’t have time to finish his sentence before he was filling Michael’s ass with his cum. Choking out a low moan and grabbing his legs, bending them back so he could pound into him. Michael’s ass gripped around him, sending waves of overstimulation to the rest of his body. His cock throbbed as it emptied itself.

“’lex…” Michael moaned out. A few more rough thrusts pushed him over the edge.

Michael’s back arched as his hand pumped his cock. He came over his abs and fist, moaning brokenly as Alex’s thrusts slowed. Alex pushed himself fully inside Michael before letting himself fall forward onto his chest. Michael squirmed beneath him, rubbing his cock against Alex’s stomach and grinding his ass against his hips where they were connected.

“Stop moving,” Alex mumbled, nuzzling his face into his chest.

“Can’t. You feel too good,” he replied though he did attempt to still his hips.

Alex lifted his head and rested his chin on Michael’s chest. He watched him curiously. The blood on his lips started to dry and he seemed to be biting his bottom lip to keep himself still. Alex leaned up and kissed him, pulling his lip from between his teeth. Fresh blood slipped over Alex’s tongue and he sighed happily.

“If you need more—” Alex started. Michael cut him off by flipping them over. The mess on his stomach was now covering Alex’s too. He grabbed his cock loosely and rubbed slowly, grinding his ass down.

Alex whimpered quietly but didn’t stop him. He ran his hands over his legs and hips, moving Michael back and forth. His cock throbbed from the continued stimulation but it wasn’t a bad feeling.

It wasn’t long before Michael was gasping and moaning above him, jerking himself off with shaking legs. Alex dug his fingers into his hips and thrusted his own up quickly. Their hips met a few times before Michael shuttered and came again with a low groan. There wasn’t nearly as much as the first time but his cum still made a mess between them.

Michael pulled himself off Alex carefully before rolling onto his back next to him. Alex turned his head to watch him run a hand through his hair and smile. The sun caught his hair again and Alex chuckled. Michael glanced in his direction with a raised eyebrow.

“You’re still the most stunning person I’ve ever seen.” Michael just rolled his eyes but Alex saw the small grin that snuck out.

“I’ve got nothing on you, hunter.” Alex blushed and Michael rolled onto his side, running a hand over his arm. “I don’t think I’ve ever had anyone as perfect as you. Even though you’re reckless and let me drink when you know you shouldn’t.”

“I just want you to be happy. And I want to be the one to make you happy.” Alex took the hand that was running over his arm and pulled it to his mouth, kissing his fingers.

They laid there for a couple hours, talking about nothing in particular. Michael teased Alex about their activities the previous night and Alex was reminded of the missing time in his memories.

“Hey, I can’t remember anything after we left the club. What happened?” Any part of Michael that had been relaxed tensed under Alex’s fingers. He sat up and pretty much jumped out of bed.

“I believe I promised you a warm bath. I’ll be right back.”

“Hey, wait a minute!” Michael was gone from the room before he finished speaking. Alex’s eyebrows drew together. What was he hiding? He had six days to solve the murders of the girls and he didn’t have time to worry if Michael was being honest.

He was almost certain it was Caber but couldn’t figure out why his gut insisted that. He needed proof if he was going to get Michael off the hook. Michael wandered back into the room a few minutes later with a cocky smile on his face. Alex didn’t have time to react before he was being scooped up into Michael’s arms and carried to the bathroom.

Michael’s tub was huge and had jets. He hadn’t used them last time he was here. But here he was, being set down into comfortably warm water with Michael sliding in behind him. His arms wrapped around his waist, pulling Alex against his chest. He kissed his shoulders and mark making Alex sigh.

This was obviously a distraction. Alex’s brain told him to just go with it. Michael would be happier if he did. Michael pressed a button on the side of the tub and the jets started shooting slightly warmer water. Alex tried to make sure he didn’t get lost in the therapeutic massage against his knee, just above where his missing leg was.

“Michael,” he mumbled out, letting his eyes drift closed for a moment. It would be so easy to just let it go…

“I’ll take care of you alright?” Michael said next to his ear. Alex slipped into the comfort of his arms. But only for a second.

He reached for the memories of last night again, only to come up blank. Something significant was cut from his recollection of the previous night.

“Michael. As much as I want to let you get away with the distraction, what happened after we followed Caber yesterday?” Alex leaned forward to put some distance between them. He looked over his shoulder at Michael.

His face was wrought with worry and nerves. He refused to look Alex in the eye as he grabbed the soap and lather his hands before rubbing the tension out of Alex’s shoulders. Michael washed slowly, digging his thumbs into the muscles. Alex sighed and looked away, allowing him time to think.

“You were horrified by what we found. So I took your memories,” he said quietly. For a minute, the only sounds were the water as it shifted with Michael’s movements.

Anger bubbled under Alex’s skin. Michael had told him he doesn’t use his powers like that. And now he’s gone and taken an entire evening of time from him. He wanted to jump up and run away but he was confined to the bath. He cursed his missing leg. Instead he gripped the sides of the tub until his knuckles turned white.

“Please understand Alex. I’ll tell you what you need to know but I wasn’t going to let you suffer with seeing visions.”

“You had no right to make that decision for me.”

“You were in a rage, Alex. I had to stop you. You didn’t handle what we found out well.” Alex paused but stood his ground. Even though it killed him to go against Michael.

“You’re going to give me every memory that you took back,” Alex said lowly. He glared at the white wall.

“Alex—”

“No! You are going to do as I say Michael Guerin. Or I swear to god I will leave.”

Alex’s throat burned with the words. He knew it was an empty threat but he didn’t know how to make Michael understand the betrayal he felt. Michael had gone silent behind him, fingers frozen in place on his skin. Alex turned to look over his shoulder at him.

He met Michael’s red eyes. Fury rolled off of him as his fingers started to dig into Alex’s skin. He flinched at the sharp pain.

“Michael. Let go of me.” He finally blinked and looked down to where his fingers were. He released Alex but it didn’t last long. Alex was yanked back by his waist and Michael was burying his teeth in his mark.

Alex yelped at the sudden intrusion and tried to squirm away from Michael. Tears pricked at his eyes as Michael sucked at the skin. He wasn’t drinking. The way his jaw clenched and bit made the message clear. This was intended to hurt. Alex pushed as much as he could but Michael refused to release him. Then words began to float into his mind.

You are mine. You will not leave.

His brain demanded that he believe those words. That they were the only right solution. Michael detached from his throat and Alex scrambled to the other side of the tub. The fear creeped into his mind and he grabbed at his neck, as though to stop the bleeding even though there was none. Michael’s eyes glowed bright red.

“What is wrong with you?” Alex snapped.

At his voice, Michael seemed to slump back. His eyes blinked rapidly as the red faded. He looked around the bathroom as though he didn’t know where he was. His gaze finally landed on Alex, who shook even though the water was warm.

“I— Alex I—” He shot up and climbed out of the tub, grabbing the towel and slamming the door closed behind him. Alex jumped at the sound.

-

Alex finished washing himself before climbing out of the tub and siting on the edge. Had he gone too far? Did threatening to leave send Michael into a frenzy?

He looked around and while there were new handrails on the wall, he wouldn’t be able to maneuver himself back to the room without crawling. He stared at the closed door for a few minutes before deciding to ask for help.

“Michael,” he called. He wasn’t sure if Michael was still here but he hoped. He let his anger get the best of him. While he didn’t think he was in the wrong, he could have gone about it differently. The door squeaked open slowly. Not fulling opening. Alex took a breath, thankful he hadn’t left.

“I need help getting back to the room,” he said quietly.

“I’ll bring your prosthesis to you,” Michael mumbled out before starting to close the door.

“No. I want you to help me.” Alex knew what Michael was feeling. He needed to make sure he understood that Alex still trusted him. Michael hesitated before pushing the door open. He had put on a pair of sweats with a loose t-shirt and he wouldn’t look at Alex. Just offered his hand. He shoved back the embarrassment of his next demand. “No. Carry me.”

“It would be better if I just got your prosthesis. You don’t need to pretend like you want me to help.” Alex’s nose twitched in annoyance.

“Carry me,” he repeated more firmly. Michael finally met his eyes and he could see they were red from crying. His heart broke. “Please,” he begged quietly.

Michael moved slowly but lifted him into his arms. Alex wrapped his arms around his neck, resting his head on his shoulder. Michael held him securely. There was no danger of being dropped. He wouldn’t hurt him.

He was placed on the bed gently and Michael stepped away before he could stop him. He walked across the room to pick up his prosthesis and bring it to him. He set it on the ground next to Alex.

Alex grabbed his wrist before he could move again. He tried to get Michael to look at him but he simply refused. He tugged on his arm to bring him closer. Michael hated himself and Alex could tell.

“Can you bring me some clothes?” he asked quietly. Michael nodded and moved to the dresser, pulling out more sweats and another shirt. He handed them to Alex before beelining for the door. “Wait!” He froze just as he stepped into the hall.

“I want to talk. About yesterday. About what just happened. About us.” Alex pulled the sweats on, then the shirt. Michael stayed in the hall while he got dressed. Only turning once he was done. He moved back into the room, leaning against the dresser on the opposite side of the room. Alex sighed.

“I’m sorry I said I would leave. I didn’t mean it.” Michael’s eyes flicked up to him for a second.

“I… You shouldn’t apologize. You have every right to want to leave. I shouldn’t have reacted the way I did.”

“It hurt Michael. The way you bit me.” His eyes screwed shut and he gripped his arms.

“I know. And I’m so sorry. I don’t know why I did it. I just wanted to find a way to keep you here. Keep you with me.” Alex knew this. Knew that he had tried to compel him to stay. But he fought it back. He was here because he wanted to be.

“You tried to compel me. It didn’t work.” Michael looked up at him, confusion written all over his face.

“It did. You wouldn’t be here otherwise.” Alex shook his head.

“No, Michael. I resisted the compulsion.”

“That’s not possible.”

“You’re the one who told me I had to learn how to fight off the influence of the mark. So I did. Compulsion is no different.” Michael stared at him. Dumbfounded. A small smile broke on his face before it vanished again.

“You never fail to amaze me,” he said quietly before looking away again. Alex sighed.

“That doesn’t change the fact that you compelled my memories away yesterday. When I probably wasn’t prepared. You still had no right. I need all the information to make an accurate judgement,” Alex explained. Michael ran a hand through his hair and bounced one of his legs.

“I just wanted to protect you. I was scared you were going to get yourself killed.”

“I get that but I want them back, Michael. Then we can figure out what to do.” He looked at him and took a few steps toward the bed.

“We?” Alex’s shoulders relaxed for the first time since the bath. He gave Michael a small smile.

“Yes. We.”

Michael kneeled down in front of Alex and took one of his hands gently. Alex squeezed back in response. He lifted his free hand to rest on Michael’s face as he leaned down to kiss his forehead.

“I forgive you for taking my memories as long as you return them. And I forgive you for what happened earlier. I trust you Michael. That hasn’t changed.” Michael lifted his head and chased Alex’s lips, pressing soft kisses to them.

Alex allowed this for a long while. He could feel Michael’s hesitation and fear in the way his hands trembled. The pleading in his kisses that begged Alex to reconsider. Their lips slipped over each other easily, soft sighs breaking the silence.

When Michael finally pulled back, he took a deep breath and ran his hands up Alex’s arms. Placing his hands on his face and pressing their foreheads together made Alex feel safe. Michael spoke softly.

“The part of your memories I took was when Caber sacrificed a girl. You froze and I had to drag you out. Once you regained your senses you were determined to kill him. I used compulsion to calm you down then seal your memories.”

Alex nodded, placing his hands over Michael’s. He swallowed, suddenly nervous about what he would see. What if Michael was right and he couldn’t handle it? Sacrifice was far off from any of the hypotheses the police force had. He would need to convince them of a new motive and that Michael wasn’t part of it.

“Alex, I’m going to need you to look at me,” Michael said softly. Alex opened his eyes to get lost in the golden brown of Michael’s. He watched as they slowly shifted to a glowing red. Mesmerized, Alex leaned forward, lips brushing against Michael again.

Remember everything that happened before I compelled you.

Like he was speaking into his mind, Alex felt like the answers to the universe had been laid out before him. A realization that he had been reaching for but could never quite understand.

Images began flashing through his mind. Some were fuzzy as the nature of memories go but there was no mistaking the blood drenching every part of the vision in front of him. A girl chained to a stone slab, a knife, a cut down her body. He distantly felt Michael’s hands on him, holding him upright.

Michael’s hand covering his mouth to stop the scream was when things blurred. He couldn’t make out any of the walls. The sacrifice replayed over in his mind until the outside came into view. He remembered the disgust and anger. He felt himself throw up in the memory and he wanted to gag all over again.

Then he was raging, grabbing for a gun and Michael was yelling. They both were. Alex needed to calm down and Michael overpowered him. Then they were pressed together and Michael’s eyes were red.

Alex slumped forward into Michael’s arms, trying to control the urge to start puking again. He tried closing his eyes but the image of the knife running down the girl’s torso wouldn’t let up. It felt like it wasn’t as vivid as the previous night, as though he was already starting to forget.

Michael pressed kisses to his head and held him close. He had moved to sit next to him on the bed. He made soft hushing noises and Alex was grateful. He felt the anger rising again. At himself. At Michael. But mostly at Caber.

“Why did you stop me?” he asked once the nausea ebbed.

“Like I said yesterday. He would have been too strong. You would have died.”

Alex didn’t respond, not wanting to get into the same argument. He had always been prepared to die to protect people. He lost his leg protecting someone from a vampire and he would happily lose more limbs to rid the world of vampires like Caber.

“I know what you’re thinking. But my first instinct will always be to protect you.” Alex laughed humorlessly.

“That’s technically my instinct too. But you told me I should suppress it,” he pointed out.

“It’s different for me.” Alex snorted.

“How so?” Michael blushed and looked away from him.

“Because I brought you into this life. It’s my job to keep you safe. Besides, if I wasn’t there then you probably would have died that night we met.” Alex fell silent. Would Isobel have killed him? Everything that Michael said seemed to imply that she wouldn’t do something like that.

After a few moments of silence, Alex pulled away from Michael and grabbed his prosthesis. He rolled the sweats to above his knee and began the process of putting it on. He was acutely aware of Michael’s eyes on him but he tried to ignore it.

Once he was done he stood slowly, walking back and forth around the room to make sure he had put it on correctly. Then he rolled the sweats back down to cover it. He met Michael’s eyes and smiled.

“Let me make you some food,” Michael said, standing and offering Alex his hand. He took it and they moved downstairs together.

-

Michael made him pancakes and sausage and Alex would never not be surprised that he could cook so well. They tread carefully around their topics of conversation, wanting to wait until there wasn’t food in danger of going to waste.

Alex insisted on rinsing the dishes because Michael had cooked. But Michael was still intent on making up for attacking him. At least that’s what he assumed. He had grabbed everything before Alex even had time to stand. He had rolled his eyes and just decided to watch him.

His thoughts drifted to their activities in bed and he smiled. He would make sure to wake him up like that more often. His cock twitched and he shifted in his seat.

“Alex. I’m trying to give you a break after yesterday but I’m only a man.” Michael didn’t even look away from the plate he was scrubbing down. Alex felt the heat in his cheeks and tried to think of anything to stop the arousal.

Once the dishes had been placed in the washer, they both moved to the couch. In an effort to keep things serious, Alex sat across from Michael. As opposed to straddling his hips like he wanted to.

“Look, I know you’re pissed at me for stopping you yesterday,” Michael started. “But just because we saw him do it doesn’t mean you have evidence right?” Alex nodded.

“It’s unlikely they’ll take my word on anything. Especially considering it’s not a theory they had come up with yet.” He took a breath. “You were right to stop me yesterday. I still disagree with your methods.” Michael looked away from him. “What sacrifice was he performing?” Alex asked. Michael ran a hand over his jaw and shrugged.

“There’s a handful of old rituals that call for sacrifices but they haven’t been used for hundreds, maybe thousands of years. They’re generally regarded to not work.”

“Well what are they?” Michael glanced at him before pushing himself up from the couch. Alex raised an eyebrow as he walked to a bookcase he had never inspected too closely. He ran his finger over the spines of a few books before grabbing one with a green cover. Michael flipped through the pages before handing it to Alex.

“This is just a record of the rituals that have been performed. Most didn’t work.” Alex skimmed through the script that he could barely read. The page seemed to talk about reducing the sensitivity to light.

“But some did?”

“Yes. The one’s that worked,” Michael pulled the book from his hand and flipped to the back, “are here.” He handed it back and there were a total of maybe fifteen rituals. Some of them even seem to be repeated.

Healing Sun Sensitivity Fertility Sun Sensitivity Human Immortality Sun Sensitivity

Alex read over them again and again. None of them sounded like something Caber would be interested in. He ran his finger over the word ‘immortality.’

“There’s a way to turn a human immortal?” Michael swallowed and shook his head, as though he was trying to get rid of bad memory.

“This is just a list of rituals that worked. That doesn’t mean it went well. It requires a horrific amount of sacrifices and the human killed themselves after finding out.” Alex couldn’t even imagine how many people were required.

“What about this sun thing? It’s done the most.”

“It’s repeated every few hundred years. How do you think I can go outside without burning to ash. It’s a… less intense… ritual. Only requires a few people.” Alex’s eyes snapped up to Michael, appalled at the way he talked like their lives didn’t matter. “Alex. I can promise you that we only use the worst of the worst for it. That one’s not picky with who’s blood is used.”

Alex swallowed. He believed Michael that they picked horrible people for the sacrifice. But his stomach still turned at the thought. Some of the rituals had requirements. Was it something stereotypical like women virgins? Or were there other specifications. He shook his head and flipped through the pages more.

“None of those sound like something Caber would want.” Michael took the book from his hand again. “Hey—” Michael pressed his mouth to Alex’s to silence any protest. It didn’t linger long but it was enough to leave him wanting.

“I will help you with this. Isobel and Max both have books with more information. We have a week right?” Alex nodded. It didn’t sound like much time to him but Michael seemed confident.

“I just want to keep you safe,” Alex mumbled. Michael smiled and cradled his face in his hands.

“I know.”

-

Michael was right when he said that Isobel and Max had more resources. They both brought by more dusty old books than he had ever seen outside of an actual library. Isobel had even hung around most days to help them. Alex was not spared the lecture that he was sure Michael had heard already.

“Look. I don’t know what Michael told you but these kinds of relationships almost never end well. Someone will end up hurt or dead. I love Michael and I don’t want him getting killed because you decide you hate vampires after all.” Alex chose his own words carefully.

“I care about Michael. I’m trying to clear his name so people stop coming after him,” he insisted. She glared at him, as though trying to determine if he was telling her the truth.

“You’re smart, Manes. I don’t have to tell you that I could kill you if you so much as breathe the wrong way.” Alex hoped the fear that made a chill run down his spine didn’t show on his face. She sighed and pulled out her phone. She tapped a few times before she turned the phone to show him a picture.

He looked at a photo of Caber with a new girl. Happy and seemingly all heart eyes for her. The nausea returned. Isobel scrolled and showed another girl. Then another.

“I’ve been keeping an eye on him since that night Michael said you saw the sacrifice. I’ll send these to you. It’s not definitive proof but it should be enough to get the police to look into it right?” Alex was dumbfounded. She had done that for them? Maybe it was more accurate to say she had done it for Michael. She cleared her throat and he realized he hadn’t answered her.

“Uh, yea. It should be enough. Thank you,” he said. “These girls haven’t been reported missing or dead yet. If they had, the police would already be on the porch. I’ll run over there now.”

Before he had time to stand, the front door opened and Michael rushed in and slammed it behind him. Alex would have asked a question but there was a pounding on the door.

“Your friend is on me again. Claiming that I broke the deal.” Alex’s eyes widened and he rushed to the door. One of the girls had turned up. He looked back at Isobel. She wasn’t part of this but if she was seen with Michael, she might be pulled into it.

“Stay out of sight,” he ordered her.

Alex pulled the door open just enough to squeeze out. He didn’t think before shoving Kyle back and glaring.

“What are you doing here? I have two more days.”

“That was only if no one else turned up dead. But your little pet or whatever killed another girl.” Alex shook his head and felt his phone buzz in his pocket.

“No. He’s been with me the whole time!”

“Oh really? He wasn’t with you just now when I found him.” Kyle spoke like he won and Alex fumed. The accusation was meant to trip him up. He had used it on suspects before.

“Listen to me Kyle. He didn’t do this. But I know who did. If you’d let me come with you to the station then I could show the chief too.” He grabbed his phone from his pocket and saw three attachments from an unregistered number that he assumed was Isobel. He clicked on the message to the three pictures she had sent and handed his phone to Kyle. “Look. This is the guy you should be focused on. His name is Caber.”

Kyle clicked through the photos. Alex saw him swallow and clench his fist around his phone. He shoved the device back against Alex’s chest.

“Send these to me and I can look into it. The chief will be back in two days and you better have something we can act on.” He stormed back to his car and Alex watched him until he disappeared around the corner. Only then did he let his shoulders relax.

He opened the door again to Michael and Isobel sitting on the couch. They talked in hushed voices, Isobel glaring at Michael. They stopped talking when the door clicked shut again. Michael stood again and moved to wrap his arm around Alex’s shoulders.

“Look, Alex is doing everything he can. If you insist on helping why don’t you seduce that cop?” Alex raised an eyebrow as he looked between the siblings.

“He is hot,” she said in a curious voice.

“Do me a favor and don’t kill him,” Alex replied half as a joke. He would be lying if he said that it wasn’t something he was concerned about.

“Oh honey, no. Just want to take him for a ride. You can bet that he won’t hate vampires after that,” she said, smirking. Alex chuckled and looked over at Michael who had a disgusted look on his face.

“Thanks for the gross image, now get out,” Michael said, gesturing to the door. Isobel rolled her eyes.

“Fine. I’ll be back when I figure out where the next sacrifice is. I trust you two can keep yourself occupied until then.” Alex felt the heat on his cheeks from the suggestion. She seemed to float out of the house and he and Michael were alone again.

Michael ran his hands over Alex’s shoulders, rubbing circles into his muscles. He sighed and let himself relax back against Michael’s chest. He ran his mouth over his neck as he rubbed, kissing softly. As much as Alex wanted to let this continue, he still had things to do.

“Michael, I have to send some emails. Not to mention I have to try and narrow down the search area for Isobel.” Michael just hummed and sucked gently at his pulse point. Alex moaned softly and let his head roll to the side. He cursed Michael for being so good at distractions.

It took all of his will power to pull himself away from his wandering hands and mouth. Michael pouted and grabbed his arms again. Alex stood his ground and gave him a disapproving look.

“You’ve done nothing but work all week. It’s ok to take a break.” Alex just sighed.

“Working on a way to save your life might I remind you,” he said.

“I feel like I should be insulted that you think I wouldn’t be able to get away from that little police force.” Alex couldn’t help but crack a grin. Michael made fun of him often for the education the academy provided.

“I’ll feel better when I’ve cleared your name.” Michael watched him for a moment before releasing his arms. Alex smiled and leaned in to kiss his cheek. Then he made his way over to his open laptop at the kitchen table.

The house was mostly silent for about twenty minutes apart from Michael moving around upstairs. Alex sent the pictures to Kyle and was searching through the police data base to see if there were any patterns to where the victims were found. He marked another red dot on the map for the most recent discovery.

They had sent Isobel and Max to the sewer area where he and Michael had witnessed the sacrifice but there was no indication that Caber had been back since then. If the rituals were moving around, then there must be a pattern. He had always hated ‘connect the dots’ but it’s what his map was turning into.

He was so focused on his map that he didn’t hear Michael come downstairs. In fact he had no idea he was nearby at all until he felt a pair of hands running over his thighs under the table. He jumped slightly and pushed his chair back so he could look down.

Michael just grinned up at him, trying to play innocent. Alex could only watch as he nuzzled his thigh and traced his nose up to where his cock was tucked. Excitement made him twitch under the attention. Michael kissed him through the fabric of his sweats and Alex shuddered.

“Can I ask what you’re doing?” Alex said sarcastically.

“I’m doing nothing. Feel free to keep working,” he replied almost innocently. Alex rolled his eyes and tried to ignore him, reading through the reports again.

Michael’s hands wandered, squeezing and rubbing his legs and thighs. His mouth was focused on gently teasing the outline of Alex’s cock that was slowly hardening. Michael ran his hands up and hooked his fingers in the waist of his sweats. He tugged gently and Alex considered making difficult for him but was more content letting him have his way. He lifted himself and Michael slipped his sweats down his legs and eventually off.

Alex scrolled to the next page of information as Michael’s breath hit his skin. Soft kisses landed on the inside of his thigh and traveled upward at a torturously slow pace. Right as Alex thought he would feel the warm wet of his mouth around him, he moved to the other side, avoiding his now annoying erection completely.

He read the same line for the fifth time as Michael kissed up his other thigh and nibbled at a spot that made him whimper. Alex looked down at his fingers on the keyboard as they trembled. He clenched his fists and demanded his brain focus on the task at hand. But Michael was making it hard to ignore him.

He tapped a few letters into the search bar before Michael was breathing right next to his cock, making it twitch. He ran his lips over him lightly, barely touching at all. Alex dug his nails into his palms and tried to read another sentence.

“You didn’t even ask where I was earlier,” Michael said sweetly from between his legs.

“I didn’t realize I was supposed to.” Alex cursed the way his voice shook.

“I got you a present. Of sorts.” The way he said it made his skin burn. It was then Michael wrapped his mouth around him. Alex’s hands flew from the keys to his hair. His eyes fluttered closed and he leaned back in the chair, spreading his legs wider.

Michael worked him slowly, using his tongue to tease the tip while his hands roamed. One moved to cup his balls and run a finger over his ass. Alex’s hips rolled slightly at the stimulation. He pulled on Michael’s hair and felt the rumble of his groan around him.

“The present isn’t this torture right?” Alex gasped out. Michael released him with a wet sound that made Alex tug on his hair again.

“No, it’s not. But I thought I was being nice.” Alex looked down at him in time to watch him drag his tongue from the base of his cock to the head before swallowing him again. His hips jerked up and he moaned loudly.

“What made you think this was nice,” he scolded halfheartedly. He saw the glimmer of mischief in his eyes as he pushed a finger into his ass, making Alex squirm. Michael refused to answer him as he took his cock in until it hit the back of his throat. Alex cursed and let his head fall back again.

Michael picked up the pace and Alex was spiraling fast. The finger in his ass moved in time with the bobbing of Michael’s head. It occasionally curved to just brush over his prostate. The chair he was sitting on squeaked every time his hips rocked forward.

Michael pushed the chair back so he wasn’t under the table anymore. He grabbed Alex’s leg and lifted it over his shoulder. He repeated the same process with the other leg. Alex called out as the finger inside him curved up again. He gripped the edge of the chair to keep himself steady.

“Oh fuck,” Alex moaned out. Michael was too good at this. He sucked harder and Alex was sure he would be content letting him do this forever. His body screamed for more as Michael’s tongue swirled around the tip of his leaking cock. He teetered on the edge of orgasm and he wanted to move but Michael had him pinned.

“Michael please,” he begged. The fingers inside him spread open to make sure he was prepped. Michael took his cock to the back of his throat once, twice… then pulled off. Alex whimpered as he backed away, smirk on his face.

“I need you sensitive,” he said smugly. Alex’s cock throbbed as he tried to glare at Michael who swept him up in his arms.

Michael carried Alex to his bedroom and the smell of rain and lavender overwhelmed him. The room was dark except for the candles scattered about. Alex’s mouth opened but no words came out. How was he supposed to react? His heart pounded in his chest as his emotions ran wild. Then Michael spoke next to his ear.

“Who said I wasn’t a romantic?” His tone was teasing and he set Alex down on the bed. His hand ran over Alex’s face gently.

“What is all this?” Alex asked nervously. The little light the candles actually provided was enough to see his wicked smile. Michael grabbed the hem of his shirt and yanked it off him. He tossed it to the side before grabbing his throat and squeezing.

“I’m going to remind your body exactly who it belongs to.” It didn’t answer his question but he didn’t care. He trusted Michael.

He tugged Alex’s hands forward and positioned them as though he were praying. He walked to the other side of the room and pulled something out of a bag. When he stood in front of him again, he could make out the braiding of rope. Alex’s cock jumped as he remembered the way some people had been suspended at the club.

He had almost forgotten his desperation and need in the surprise of the candles. His hormones hit him full force and his hips rocked on the bed. Michael wrapped the rope around his wrists in a figure eight, occasionally tugging to make sure it wasn’t too tight. Alex thought about squirming to see his reaction but it was too late for that.

Michael pushed him back on the bed and pulled his arms up by the rope, tying the ends around the headboard. The rope was soft but if he pulled too much, there would be marks on his wrists.

“I feel like I should be concerned that you knew how to do that so efficiently,” Alex teased. He heard Michael chuckle in response.

“Isobel taught me a long time ago. She claimed it would be ‘good to know.’” Once Michael was satisfied with the knot he traced his hands down over Alex’s body, making him squirm. He pulled but the rope held him mostly in place. Michael made quick work of his prosthesis and Alex couldn’t help but smile at how good he had gotten at it. He didn’t get to dwell on the sweet thought for long before Michael was back to his torture.

Alex’s hips rolled as Michael’s nails scratched lightly at his hips before one hand wrapped around his aching cock. He moaned and pulled at his ropes again, whining when they didn’t move.

“Makes it harder to be a brat doesn’t it?” His breath caught in his throat as he looked down his body to where Michael was unbuttoning his shirt with one hand and stroking Alex with the other. Alex rocked his hips into Michael’s fist a few times before he released him. He shrugged his shirt off his shoulders and crawled onto the bed, hovering above Alex.

“I need you,” Alex begged. Michael traced his finger over Alex’s lips before slipping a couple over his tongue.

“I know what you need, baby,” he said tauntingly. Alex’s hips rolled as Michael dragged his fingers from his mouth and down his body, nails scratching his skin. “You’ll only feel what I want you to.”

Michael vanished from above him and Alex tugged on the ropes, needing some kind of stimulation. His hips jerked up into nothing. He whimpered out Michael’s name and heard him chuckle. He watched as Michael picked up one of the small white candles and carried it back to the bed slowly. He met Alex’s gaze.

“Stay very still for me.” Alex could only nod in response, unsure if he would actually be able to keep the promise.

Michael tipped the candle and poured the wax into his palm. He closed his fist slowly and opened it again before the wax could harden. Then he placed his hand over Alex’s chest and he hissed in surprise. It wasn’t ‘hot’ per say but the warmth seemed to spread throughout his body.

The wax cooled quickly as Michael pulled his hand away. Alex’s muscles in his arms flexed as he tugged at the ropes. Michael leaved over his face and pressed a soft kiss to his mouth, avoiding touching any other part of his body.

“How did that feel?” he mumbled against his lips. Alex’s body shook with need but he forced himself to answer anyway.

“Warm. Nice.” His voice was breathy.

“Good. Now close your eyes,” he ordered gently. Alex did as he was told and his skin buzzed as he felt Michael’s breath travel down his body.

He jerked when Michael flicked his nipple with his tongue. He could feel the precum leaking from his cock as it rolled down his length. Michael didn’t focus on his nipple for long before he pulled away. Alex was tempted to crack open his eyes and peak.

A sharp burn hit his sternum. It rolled down towards his navel as his back arched and he cried out. The heat rippled over his skin as though it was Michael’s venom but it eventually cooled. His breath left him in small gasps as he felt Michael’s fingers trace the same path as the heat.

Alex’s cock jumped again and he rolled his hips. He needed to be filled. He needed the relief.

“Michael, please,” he whimpered out.

“Have a little patience. Doesn’t this feel good?” His voice was next to his ear, making him shudder.

“It’s too much,” Alex panted.

“Oh but we’re just getting started,” Michael taunted.

Alex could see the flickering of the candle behind his eyelids. Michael’s finger traced over his jaw and chin, tilting his head back. Alex expected a kiss.

His arms yanked on the ropes as an intense burn settled in the hollow of his throat. He squeaked out a moan that was swallowed by Michael’s lips. His cock begged for stimulation as it twitched and leaked. The wax ran out from the dip in his throat and over his neck. Michael pulled away and dragged his fingers through the wax and over Alex’s collarbone.

The wax hadn’t cooled before the burned started on his sternum again. This time it ran all the way down to his navel and Alex couldn’t help but squirm. He heard Michael chuckle.

“Am I going to have to tie your legs down just to keep you still?” A hot drop splattered over his abs near his hips. He gasped and felt the rope rub welts into his skin as he pulled. Michael’s fingers, covered in hot wax, ran over his bicep and Alex’s hips jerked up again.

“I need you to fuck me Michael. Please, I’m begging.” Michael just repeated the same movement over his other arm.

“Not yet,” he said, voice sweeter than honey. Alex could visualize the smirk that he would be wearing. His tongue would be running over his canines, taunting him with the idea that he might bite him.

Another hot drop splattered on his hips and upper thighs. His legs shook as he tried to stay still. If he moved too much, the wax would run between his legs. He moaned as Michael poured a long line of heat over his other thigh and down to his knee. Alex moaned.

“Michael,” he whispered out, voice shaking.

His cock throbbed again and every part of his body felt like it was on fire. He imagined Michael between his legs as another pool of wax was poured over his thighs, closer to where his legs connected to his pelvis than before.

Alex called out as his hips rocked more, making the wax drip down and over his ass. The heat continued to burn through him and on his skin. He imagined Michael bending his knees back and thrusting into him raw.

Every rough movement would hit just the right place. He would fist his own cock until Michael replaced Alex’s hand with his own. He would bend over him before sinking his fangs into the mark and Alex would grab at his back, leaving red scratches.

“Alex,” Michael panted out next to his ear. Another hot drop hit his pelvis and Alex’s body spasmed.

“Fuck, Michael!” His cock jerked and cum shot over him, mixing with the still cooling wax. His orgasm moved through him in waves, all as Michael whispered in his ear.

“Good boy… good boy… All mine. You’re all mine…”

As Alex came down, the wax cracked on his skin with movement. His eyes fluttered open and he turned his head, looking for Michael. The other candles around the room made sharp angles on his face but he could still see the gentle smile.

Alex lifted his head as much as he could and Michael met him halfway, pressing their mouths together sweetly. Fangs caught his lip and he sighed happily. Michael stood slowly and undid the buckle on his belt. Alex drooled at the way he popped the button. He pushed his jeans down in full view of Alex who’s cock twitched again.

Precum glistened on the head of Michael’s cock as his wrapped his hand around himself and stroked a few times. Then he was moving to grab the lube from the dresser and slicking himself up with the hand not covered in wax. Alex rocked his hips slightly and Michael smiled as he settled between his legs.

He pressed two cool fingers against his hole and pushed them inside easily. Alex’s toes curled and he rolled his hips. Michael scissored his fingers a few times before pulling them out and pressing the head of his cock inside instead. Alex sighed and clenched his fists that were still restrained above him.

“Fuck baby. I’m not going to last long,” Michael said, running his hands over Alex’s thighs and hips. He rolled his hips again and looked up at him, pleading.

“That’s ok. Use me however you need.” Alex rolled his head to the side, making it clear that he really meant what he said. Whatever he needed. He glanced at Michael again, noting the glowing red of his eyes.

Michael thrust his hips forward, burying himself inside Alex. Alex’s mouth dropped open in a silent moan. He felt Michael bend over him and there was a tearing sound as his hands were freed.

As soon as his arms weren’t blocking the mark, Michael’s head was buried in his neck, kissing and licking the mark before biting. Alex’s eyes rolled back as he wrapped his arms around Michael, digging his nails into his skin.

Michael’s hips started to slam into him with little restraint. Alex could hardly make a noise as his own oversensitive cock rubbed against Michael’s abs. He dragged his nails down over Michael’s skin, feeling the growl it elicited from him.

Michael fucked him roughly as he licked away the blood from his throat. Alex could feel the throbbing as he did his best to match Michael’s thrusts. He moaned louder with every move and could feel a second orgasm building fast.

Michael’s fingers dug into his hips as he guided the movement of Alex’s hips. His tongue pressed the wounds closed before he sat up and grabbed Alex’s legs, bending them back so Alex was spread wide.

“Ah—fuck!” Alex grabbed himself and stroked, watching Michael’s face.

His heart raced as he watched Michael’s look of pure ecstasy. He was so attentive. So sweet. Smart. Snarky. Helpful. Devoted. Perfect. Loving…

Alex’s mind went blank as Michael adjusted his hips again to rub against the sweet spot on every thrust. He called out Michael’s name over and over again, more breathless every time until it was just noises of pleasure. Alex twisted his free hand into the sheets and gripped his own cock harder.

“Gunna… cum…” he managed to moan out between noises. Michael grunted above him and any rhythm he had left was gone as he slammed into him.

“Cum with me, baby,” Michael encouraged, breathless. A few hard thrusts later, Alex was shooting another line of cum onto his abs and chest as Michael filled him. Michael ground his hips against Alex’s ass and it only served to drag out both of their orgasms.

Eventually Michael pulled himself out and collapsed beside Alex. He removed the rope from Alex’s wrists but they were clearly bruised. Michael kissed the welts and held Alex’s hands to his chest as his eyes drifted closed.

Alex watched him, knowing he wasn’t asleep. He traced the lines of Michael’s face with his eyes. His heart thumped in his chest and he was sure Michael could hear it, though he never said anything.

The wax on Alex’s body cracked and fell off as he shifted closer to Michael. He gently tugged one of his hands out of Michael’s and ran his fingers over the scratchy stubble along his jaw and cheek. His eyes opened again and they just stared at each other for a moment.

Alex was the one to lean in, kissing him more gently than they ever had before. There was no rush and no desperation in the way their lips pressed together. Everything felt easy with Michael. Even though there was all this outside drama, being with Michael was the only thing that felt right now.

He thought back to old books and poems. Every description of falling in love was defined by a moment. Maybe it was sudden. Maybe it was slow. But this was his moment. In the way their lips moved, hands touched, and the completeness of his heart.

I love you.

[wastelandcth]

Haunted House - cth

summary: dovey’s birthday leads her and calum to a field in the middle of nowhere for a night of fun and screams, hopefully. 

author’s notes: in celebration of dovey’s birthday, i present the haunted house! i love these two so much and i can’t believe calum really made her go through this for fun! 

warnings:  just fluff and dovey being scared of werewolves. 

masterlist || request

Calum knew his girlfriend was a badass. She was never bothered by the hate from the fans or the drama that usually came with dating him. She was fearless and that's exactly what Calum loved about her. He'd assumed that her only fears were the ones she had mentioned in passing before, heights and brown cows, which he never really questioned much. As her birthday rolled around and the nights got chillier with the fall season, Calum thought the best present to get her was taking her to a haunted house experience that had been all the rave the year before. He'd booked the tickets a week before her birthday weekend and told her to be ready to have the night of her life, not giving away many clues as to what he meant by that. 

Her birthday had been filled with breakfast with her parents, a small get together with their friends in the afternoon, and as the sun went down on the Los Angeles landscape, a trip to the outskirts of town. Calum had been keeping the entire night a secret, only laughing at Dovey when she complained about not knowing where they were going and why she had to be wearing a blindfold and asking if he was taking her to the middle of nowhere to murder her. 

"You can't murder me on my birthday, Calum, that'd be so mean!" she pouted as she leaned on the center console of his car, "Although it would look pretty sick on my tombstone for the dates to be the same, just different years. That's thoughtful of you, I guess." 

"You are the weirdest person I've ever met, have I ever told you that?" Calum asked and laughed, his hand finding hers as he pulled into the parking lot, "Don't have to worry, I'm too cute to get blood on me!" he nodded and parked the car before he undid the blindfold and let it fall onto her lap, "Surprise! It's a haunted house!" 

As Calum led them into the open field where the event was being held, the smell of kettle corn and barbecue flooded his senses and the lights and music playing reminded him of festivals back when he was a child. Dovey hadn't let go of his hand since they'd gotten their wristbands and tickets ripped at the entrance, her eyes scanning the crowds and looking around the entire field, not that he was complaining. It wasn't until they reached the entrance to the first haunted house exhibit that Calum realized why she'd been so quiet. 

"Are you...scared?" he asked softly and looked down at his girlfriend, who looked like she was seconds away from running off to the car again. 

"What? Of course not! Why would I be scared?" she laughed, shaking her head quickly, "There are children going into this Cal, maybe you're the one who is scared." she mumbled, scoffing a bit at him but never meeting his eyes. 

"Right, yeah. Well, good thing we have a few more houses after this one then, huh? It's going to be a fun night, doll." He chuckled, trying to slip his arm around her shoulder, which Dovey instantly rejected and just squeezed his hand harder. Calum had only been dating her for around eight months, but he knew when she was lying, she was a terrible liar. As the man standing at the entrance of the house scanned their wristbands, Calum realized exactly how terrified Dovey was by the shaky breath she let out once they were led into the dark hallway. 

In the darkness, Calum felt her death grip a lot more, he felt the way she pressed her body up against his side and how she shuffled along with him as their group moved forward. As they stepped into the first scene, which consisted of a dark graveyard with fog covering most of the room and a wolf howling through the speakers somewhere above them, Calum couldn't help but chuckle as he pulled Dovey along the scene. She'd freeze up every time an actor would jump out at them, letting out a shriek and hiding her face in his shoulder as they walked away. 

The first house was a blur of flashing lights, fog, and werewolves. If Calum had asked Dovey about the story, she would've tried to make up a summary but her hand was freezing in his and the thought of having to go through more dark hallways with people jumping out at them made a shiver run down her spine.  The second house, Dovey took with a bit more pride, since vampires made her laugh and Edward Cullen's sparkling skin was a good distraction from the dark hallway she and Calum were currently standing in. She still held onto Calum's arm for dear life as they walked through, trying to focus on the design of the rooms instead of the fact she almost punched one of the scare actors when they jumped out from a coffin. 

Near the end of the night, when Dovey's adrenaline had gone up and crashed with the number of times she screamed and hid behind Calum, they decided that sitting in the back of Calum's car and watching the stars was a better way to end the birthday celebrations. Calum had brought some blankets and had them spread out in the back, with the trunk open so that they both could lay down and watch the endless stars in the sky. Being out in the middle of nowhere meant that the lights were dimmed and the stars shined brighter for them both. 

"You know, even though I literally closed my eyes and screamed the entire time tonight, I think this has to be one of my favorite birthdays ever. Thank you, for spending it with me, Calum." Dovey said quietly as she turned to face him, pulling the blanket closer to her as the wind got chillier. It was one of the few moments where their normal banter seemed nonexistent, where Dovey opened up her heart and let Calum in further than before. It usually only happened when she was really tired, her brain too close to sleep to realize what she was saying, but it made Calum's heart race every time. 

"I'm glad you had fun, didn't realize you were so brave." Calum teased because it was one of the few times he got to tease her and still know she wouldn't reciprocate, "Happy birthday, Dovey. I love you." he whispered and pressed a kiss onto the top of her head, knowing she was already drifting off when she mumbled an I love you back onto his shoulder. 

[kilyra]

You Gotta F*ck Dead Guys?

A/N: My apologies right off the bat because Eric doesn’t actually make an appearance until towards the end - but until then, there are a few fun cameos! This follows immediately after “You Work for Him?” Like essentially a Pt 1, Pt 2 situation. 

After Eric’s display at Merlotte’s, you decide to head out outside and find him. That turns out to be a very, very bad idea.

Warnings: Bad language and violence. No spoilers though (I myself am only on S3 or 4, so this is an early Eric style fic…also, please don’t send me any spoilers).

If you want to be on my tag lists, (all or just a character) just let me know! (Credit for this amazing gif goes to @bonniebird​​​. Thank you SO much!)

Pressing your back against the wall, you were trapped by Lafayette's knowing stare when all you wanted to do was get back to your table. Finally, you raised your eyebrows in a silent question – what?

“You gonna tell me what that was all about or do I actually have to ask what the hell it is you got yourself into?”

“I didn't do this,” you snapped as your eyes darted to the side.

The adrenaline had yet to subside from your veins even more than an hour after Eric had left Merlotte's. Every time you calmed down, the scene would replay in your head and your anxiety spiked all over again. Taking a moment in the washroom and splashing cold water on your face didn't snap you out of it.

Your string of drinks almost had but...

Lafayette's voice dropped as he pointedly tilted his large metal spatula in your direction. "Girl, I'm not playing here. Eric fucking Northman would never come all up in this place for no good reason.”

Your mind skipped over why he had such strong opinions about the vampire and went straight to his accusations. Waving him off, you continued side-stepping along the wall – this was the last thing you needed. "Why don't you ask Sookie?"

“Well, honey, that's hard to do when she's a no show.”

Although he never tried to block your exit, his blunt statement stopped you just as effectively. As you swallowed back the new surge of panic that scrambled up from your chest, he leaned against the wall and crossed his arms. He was clearly waiting for you to come back to him with an expectant quirk of his eyebrow.

Running your tongue over your lips, you took a deep inhale. It didn't help. “She...didn't show up today? As in she's...missing?”

Taking a long moment, Lafayette's eyes dropped over you, making no effort to hide that he was searching you, head to toe, for visual clues of what was going on. “As in she called to say she couldn't make it. Again.”

A small glimmer of relief settled over your fear. It still wasn't good, but at least she wasn't dead. The fact that your mind went straight to death was something else you couldn't deal with. “I have to go.”

“Mmmhmm," he hummed in an irritated tone but didn't try to stop you. He had always been good at reading you and especially at knowing when it was pointless to push.

Hoyt and Jason immediately stopped their conversation as you approached the table and scooped your jacket from your side of the booth. Softly, Hoyt tapped his knuckles on the table to get your attention. “Oh, what? Sick of us already?”

You needed to find out what was going on, and Eric obviously wasn't coming back to the bar.

Scoffing lightly, you plastered a relaxed grin on your face. It came shockingly easily to you. “No, no, my ride's here is all. So thanks, it was fun...and hopefully tomorrow won't be such a shitty day.”

Rolling his eyes with a half shrug, Hoyt let it go. But Jason shoved himself from the booth and immediately stood in your way after you downed the last of your drink. His dark brown eyes were filled with deep-seated concern as he leaned towards you. "You sure it's a good idea to be alone right now? If you wait just a minute, I  can pay up and come with you."

Letting out a long sigh through your nose, you couldn't help the slight aggravation that swirled into your chest from his sweet gesture. Having him with you wasn't going to help. Finishing your sigh with a chuckle, and hoping that was a good enough cover, you added a nose crinkle to your ongoing smile. “Oh, come on now, there's nothing to worry about. I'm not in any danger.”

Jason's lips pinched together as he quietly thought everything over. “I don't know, Y/n. That didn't seem very friendly like.”

Resting your hand on his solidly toned arm, you gave a reassuring squeeze. “Seriously, Jason, it's fine. Besides, you have to invite a vampire into your home and you can't possibly think I'm that dumb.”

Because that would be dumb...

Glancing down at your hand, he rubbed the back of his neck before he finally nodded. “Aw, hell, of course I don't. I just...look you got my number, alright? Make sure you use it is all.”

After repeatedly promising, you were still shocked that he let you go without following you out. All it would have taken was a single glance outside to see there was no ride. But as you hurried out of the parking lot, no worried shouts came to try to stop you.

Although you had only walked to Merlotte's a time or two before, you were confident you knew the way back home. What you didn't count on, however, was how different everything looked in the dark. While it was unimposing during the day, the shadows from the trees seemed to reach out for you with clawing hands at night. You quickened the pace.

It didn't take long before the alcohol wore off enough that you started questioning how good of an idea it was. Truthfully, you hadn't expected to make it much past the bar before Eric turned up to confront you. But, as you made your way along the deserted rural road, the little voice of reason...the one that spent way too much time being quiet lately...spoke up.

Get back to Merlotte's. This was a stupid idea.

But, just as you paused to turn back, there was a rustling in the bush.

And, just like that, your doubts disappeared in a wave of anger – partly for confronting you like he did and partly for letting you walk alone as long as he did. Huffing forcefully, you spun on your heel. “Well holy shit, about time. You wanted to talk so badly, so come out of there and lets fucking talk.”

Silence.

Clenching your jaw, you scanned the trees, waiting for Eric or even Pam to emerge. After a few long moments, a figure finally came out of the brush. Flanked by a few other figures. None of them were the tall, slim silhouettes you were expecting. Your pulse raced just a little faster.

As they came onto the road, the silver moonlight lit up their faces and you recognized them immediately. The mouth-breathers from Merlotte's with the suspiciously clean trucker hats.

Your heart dropped.

“Bad news, you fangbanging bitch but it ain't your pretty boy vamp out here.” It was too dark to see which one said it. Not that it mattered.

“You think she was really just planning on talking?”

“No. What's a matter baby, is a real man too much for you? You gotta fuck dead guys?”

Their sneering comments back and forth flooded you with the horror of your situation. You were out there alone and severely outnumbered. Not even Jason's training could help the odds. Through your panic haze, one clear thought came to the surface.

Run.

Darting to the side, you scrambled headlong into the treeline, leaving them yelling after you as though it would stop you. Following their chorus of swears came the crunching of leaves and twigs as they trampled the ground behind you. Trying to part the way with your forearms up over your face, you ignored the thin vines and branches that scraped your skin.

Blindly running, you had no idea where you were going and sharply veered to the side to take a less predictable path. Stumbling forward, you caught yourself with one knee on the ground and your hand braced against a rough tree trunk. Holding your shaking breath, you listened for your pursuers but it was hard to hear anything over the rushing in your ears. It sounded like they had gone straight, that your turn might have helped...

Carefully, you pulled yourself to your feet, attempting to be quiet. Your chin quivered as the adrenaline caught up to you, railing against the painstakingly slow movements you were taking. As your heart hammered violently against your rib cage, you kept your panting to shallow sips of air and crept forward.

Your efforts didn't matter. Just as you came close to a clearing, thick arms wrapped around you from behind. Everything inside you screamed out, but you stayed silent as he growled. “Got you now, bitch.”

Dropping one foot back, you grabbed his elbow and bent forward, throwing yourself as hard as you could. He was too stunned to fight it as you pulled him with you, catching his side on your hip. His foot tripped on your shin, taking away his last chance of staying upright and he flipped onto his back in front of you, letting out a pained grunt.

It worked. Jason's relentless training worked.

The surprising victory was short-lived as you dropped your grip and started running. Suddenly, your face met the ground.

Blinking away the stars dancing over your vision, you turned back and saw his hand clamped over your ankle. His teeth seemed to glow in the dim light as he grinned and roughly yanked you back to him. Your body went on autopilot as you kicked your free leg at his face, grinding his nose under the heel of your boot.

Once. Twice. Three times.

Blood sprayed with each stomp, followed by the crunching, squelching sound of his broken nose being split open. His teeth didn't glow so much once they were coated in his dark blood.

Getting your feet under you, you didn't care how loud you were as you raced into the clearing. As you ran, you starting pulling a long, silver chain from around your neck. It was thicker than a decorative necklace so you kept it under your shirt, but it had been a good idea that Jason came up with. Or had gotten from Sookie, more likely.

Even though the assholes chasing you weren't vampires, the chain was solid enough to at least hurt if you whipped it hard enough. And you planned to.

Reaching the small clearing, you realized you didn't hear lumbering footsteps behind you. Not slowing, you scrambled to cross over to the trees on the opposite side. But before you dashed back into the bushes, an odd sound caught your attention. You couldn't help but freeze.

A rustle followed by a loud thud. And again. The sound got closer until the last one was just at the edge of the clearing where you kicked the man off you. But that time, you could hear a loud groan of pain. Something was very, very wrong.

Run.

A whooshing kicked up from behind as your feet came back to life and you dove forward. But the safety of the trees didn't get any closer. Distantly, you realized you weren't moving, your feet were just sliding on the grass. Something was holding you back.

Wrapping one end of the chain around your hand, you swung wildly as you turned. There was a blur and a hand caught your flailing wrist, the chain bouncing harmlessly off the sleeve of a leather jacket. The long, honey-blonde hair that framed your attacker's face didn't even stir at the unnatural motion. Looking up, you found yourself staring into piercing blue eyes before they dropped to the chain still swinging against the fabric.

Snapping back to you, with a high arch of the eyebrow, the memorizing eyes dulled with irritation. It took your scrambling mind a few seconds to realize who was holding you, frowning as though you were a child having a tantrum.

Pam.

Her grip was unyielding as she spoke over her shoulder. “Eric, if your pet burns me with silver...we won't have to worry about saving her anymore.”

“S-saving me? From...from those guys?”

Snorting, Pam finally let you go as she rolled her eyes. “Oh please. Like I'd waste my time saving you from idiot, drunken locals.”

“Speaking of those idiot, drunken locals, Pam...you didn't kill any of them, did you? Because we can't afford an incident like that right now.” Eric's cool voice seemed to drift to you from somewhere behind the vampire staring you down.

Shrugging, she turned towards the voice. “I wasn't trying to.”

“Pam.”

“What? They'll probably be fine. Hell, I couldn't have hurt them any worse than Y/n did. Did you see him? He hardly had a nose left...”

Your insides clenched as the image of his blood-covered face flashed through your mind, and Pam's grin made it worse. When she glanced down at you, there was even a hint of pride in her stare. It took everything you had left to force the bile back down your throat.

"Go get Chow from Y/n's house and bring the car here. We need to get back to Fangtasia." Apparently, they expected you to get a ride home as well.

Pam's smirk dropped, but she didn't argue. In a blur, she disappeared, leaving Eric standing before you. His eyebrows rose as he frowned. It almost looked apologetic, but you knew that couldn't be right.

Swallowing heavily, you desperately tried to stop your mind from reeling. Everything was a frenzied mess and you couldn't tell if you were relieved or angry to see his icy eyes drinking you in as he stood a few feet away.

“I suppose you expect me to be grateful or some shit?”

Your fire carved out a deep grin on his lips and...unless you were delusional..a similar look of pride to Pam's. But when he spoke, his voice was as dispassionate. “I only expect you to get in the car. As I said, we need to get back to Fangtasia.”

“A-as...as you said? Y-you haven't said anything! You cause this entire shit storm and then just start bossing me around?” The words sputtered out as you struggled to grasp any of your racing thoughts.

Blinking, Eric spread his hands apart, looking the part of the confused and innocent man. "I've spent this entire night trying to help you, at a great personal inconvenience I might add."

The chain rattled lightly as you balled your hands into tight fists. “None of this would have happened if you hadn't just shown up like that! What did you think would happen if you singled me out in front of a bunch of small-minded bigots?”

Stepping closer, he titled his head as a faint furrow traced a light line between his eyes. “And so you expect to keep this a secret? How well do you think that will work?”

Taking a subconscious step back, you thought you caught a fleeting look of disappointment flashing across his features. It stabbed at you. "I-I...this...This? What even is this​?”

Straightening, he turned his head slightly, as though he caught a distant noise that you had no hope of hearing. “At the moment? More of a problem for you than you realize.”

A thin layer of confusion rolled through you, forcing you into a sudden stillness. It wasn't the answer you were expecting. Even your voice grew softer. “Look...I'm sorry for how I reacted at Merlotte's but-”

His face snapped back towards you, cutting you short with just his hard stare. “While I'm sure it's tearing you up inside, that's not what I'm talking about.”

The sarcasm cut as deeply as his earlier look of disappointment, but you stayed quiet.

“It seems the declaration I was pushed into, claiming you as mine, has painted a target on your back.”

Your mouth went dry, and you stumbled back another step. Within that second, all the bolstering strength you found in training to defend yourself simply dissolved. What were you in his world but a lamb being led to slaughter?

“I...I don't understand?" Had there been even a slight breeze in the air, it would have swept your soft words away entirely.

Eric's cold features seemed to take on a mild hint of warmth as he moved towards you. His eyes bore into yours as he carefully set his hand on your arm. “I'll explain everything. But we need to go.”

Your gaze drifted past him, looking over the clearing. Somewhere in the trees laid several unconscious men. Bad men who were ready to do worse to someone they didn't even know. And yet, anyone passing by would have no idea. The world was still and calm. A quiet, deceptive lie in the soft light of the moon.

“Y/n, we need to leave. Now.”

Although his words had a trace of his usual, commanding tone, there was something subtly different. Almost like there was a plea buried deep in there. You both knew he could snatch you up and take you anywhere whether you wanted him to or not. And yet, there he was, asking you to see reason and make the choice to go with him.

A quiet confidence trickled through you, melting what was left of your anger. Things were changing and trying to keep fighting it was draining you to your core. Letting out a long sigh, you lowered the chain and stepped towards him, bumping your forehead against his chest. His heavy arm wrapped around your shoulder as you pulled yourself against him and finally nodded.

He gave a gentle squeeze before you pulled away and let him guide you from the clearing. “Good. Because we also have to get you cleaned up. You're a mess and we just can't have that.” 

That time, you were certain you saw a faint grin tug at the edge of his lips.

Taglist:  @foreverfaeries​  @flower-two​  @getlostinyourparadise​   @selfishkiddo​  @angelicshinigami​   @parkersbabey​  @thatchampagnebitch @mysteryoflovve  @edweirdoddlepot  @divadinag  @crazy-fandom-girl1  @givemeabite @breanime @shondlenoodle @hermionesalvatore84   @dyingformyships    @dreamers-wonderland @adriellej  @bitchader

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[ERS] Trap of Temptation ～ Leonardo & Faust

Duration: 10/25 (Fri) 04:00 PM ～ 11/1 (Fri) 09:00 PM

Called to a graveyard, the one who greets you and Leonardo is a calm and collected priest by the name of Faust. In front of a young boy who wishes for “eternal life,” the two men give completely contradictory answers...? 

Faust’s cold and pointed words sends tremors through your heart ——

Route Preview

[This is an unofficial work based on fan-translation. Copyright belongs to Cybird.]

Common Route

The story starts out with Leonardo and MC visiting the grave of Leonardo’s old friend. MC asks if it’s OK that she picked out the flowers instead of Leonardo, to which he says that his friend would much rather prefer someone young and pretty like MC to give the flowers as opposed to him. Leo then jokes that he decided that he should visit before his friend gets angry in the afterlife. They continue to converse, and MC notes that Leonardo must have many memories from all the years he’s lived. Then, they overhear the voice of a man — Faust.

Faust: Mourn not, for those who enter the land of the Lord are awarded with unending life, and shall live in unending happiness. 

He’s at the cemetery to perform a funeral, and beside him are a woman and a boy who looks to be around 14 years old. As MC looks on, she notices that Faust’s eyes are calm, eerily so, as if they’re frozen ice. Faust looks up and their eyes meet, Faust sending a simple nod at MC before turning away. Leonardo suggests to MC that the two of them leave, and they make for the exit of the graveyard. 

However, before they get too far, the 14 year-old boy from earlier runs up to them, asking if Leonardo and MC had seen his brother around; a boy around 6 years old. They agree to help, with Leonardo instructing the teen to stay with his mother. The older brother thanks them for the help, introducing himself as Kevin and his younger brother as Paul. 

Leonardo and MC leave to search for Paul, only to find him sitting on a bench outside the cemetery with a picture book. He says that he doesn’t want to go back to the grave, nor does he want to say goodbye to his deceased father. MC feels like it would be too cruel to force him to go back, and Leonardo suggests that they just stay here for now. Thus, MC and Paul sit on the bench and look at the picture book together. Paul flips to an entry with the picture of a vampire, asking what it is. MC flounders on how to explain, and just as Leonardo is about to chime in, Faust interrupts. 

Leonardo: Heh… Paul, a vampire is a creature of legends —

Faust: — A monster that lives by drinking the blood of humans. 

Faust introduces himself as a minister, explaining that he came to search for Paul now that the burial ceremony is complete. 

Paul: Father, are vampires scary people? 

Faust: That’s correct. It is because they target human beings, and prey upon them. 

Paul: … Prey? 

Faust: Furthermore, they neither age nor die, and live for an eternity. These are beings that are completely different from humans. 

Hearing Faust say such things, MC starts to interrupt, but Leonardo quickly gestures for her to stop. Paul latches onto the immortality aspect of being a vampire, and wistfully says that he also wants to become one. When Leonardo asks Paul why he wants to become a vampire, the young boy replies that he wants to be immortal to stay with his loved ones forever. Hearing this, MC feels sorry for Paul, as this desire clearly stemmed from the recent loss of his father.

Leonardo ruffles the boy’s hair, saying that while immortality is tempting, the longer one lives, the more sorrow there is to be found — so it’s better to just live each second the best that he could. However, Faust disagrees, saying that if one could find relief from suffering without having to die, then immortality might not be a bad choice. Then, he proceeds to ask for MC’s opinion on the topic. 

MC wavers back and forth between the two stances, both remembering the kindness of the residents of the mansion, but also unable to deny the logic in Faust’s words. In the end, Faust breaks the tension by excusing himself for saying something pointless, thanking the two of them for finding Paul before returning to the cemetery with the boy. Leo comments to MC that it’s not as if he doesn’t understand Faust’s line of thinking, and the two of them decide to head home. MC wonders about what Faust has experienced to lead him to his conclusion, his sharp eyes leaving a strong impression on her. 

A few days following the meeting at the cemetery, the scene opens with Kevin confessing to Faust that he has robbed and committed crimes to keep his family alive. They have no money nor food left, and at this rate, both his mother and Paul will soon fall ill and die. Faust eases his mind, saying that God recognizes his sin but forgives it all. Kevin is heartened by those words and bows low, but Faust’s eyes remain cold and emotionless behind his glasses as he gazes down. 

At the same time, MC is heading home from shopping when she runs into Kevin exiting the church, knocking her off balance and spilling apples everywhere. Kevin runs off, but Faust soon emerges and helps her retrieve the groceries, followed by an invitation to continue talking inside the church. MC asks if this is the church Faust works at, but he replies contrary. 

Faust: This church’s own minister has come down with an illness, and thus I came to assist after hearing it from Charlot… the town doctor. 

MC is once again struck by how still and frigid the air Faust is — almost like ice. Changing the topic, she then asks if the young man who walked out earlier was Kevin. Faust confirms that the teen had something to talk about and confess. MC then thinks about how a minister handles various tasks, seeing the different sides of life and human experiences, subsequently voicing these thoughts to the man himself. However, Faust merely sighs and grins.

Faust: Yes, you’re right. At times, a guide to lead the dead back to the Lord, and at other times, a stand-in to forgive the sins of others in place of the Lord…. Even though — I’ve never laid eyes on anything that could be called God. 

Hearing Faust say that, MC started feeling extremely uncomfortable and ended up blurting out that it seemed like Faust didn’t believe in God — an odd thing for a minister to say. Faust laughs again, commenting that she’s quite straightforward. He goes on to say that he feels like the unknown is for investigating and researching, be it humans or immortal monsters. 

Faust then grabs MC’s chin and tilts her head up, proposing she become his test subject as well. MC is shocked into silence, and Leonardo appears at this moment to intervene, telling Faust to let MC go. Faust does as told and excuses himself, taking his leave after a sarcastic comment on Leonardo’s overprotective-ness. 

Leonardo and MC exit the church and Leonardo explains that he was doing some work nearby when he spotted MC entering. Since it was somewhat unusual, Leonardo got worried and followed her in, coming onto that scene. MC apologizes for troubling him, to which Leonardo replies that it was him who was overprotective, like Faust said. Following this, a client comes up to Leonardo and requests him to repair their device, and MC and Leonardo part ways. 

As MC is walking down the path towards the mansion, a yell of “thief!” cuts through the air. She turns around and sees the young man from earlier, Kevin, barreling down the street with a pair of shoes in his arms and a small knife in his hand. Kevin heads straight for MC, and without time for Kevin to stop or MC to dodge, all she can do is shut her eyes and brace for collision. That is, until someone suddenly grabs her arm and pulls her out of the way. 

—

Sweet End

Deep in his eyes, glows an irresistible passion. 

“I’ll carve out proof that you’re my woman, cara mia.”

—

Leonardo pulls MC behind his back, telling her to take cover before turning to Kevin and tackling the boy to the ground. Faust also comes onto the scene, taking in what happened and muttering: “So forgiveness was meaningless, after all.” He then turns to MC, and points out that her arm is cut and bleeding. Leonardo procures medicine and bandages from a nearby house, which Faust uses to treat MC’s injury. 

MC: … Ouch. 

Faust: Please endure it.

Leonardo: Can’t you take it a bit easier, Father? 

Faust: … Monsieur Overprotective is, as expected, overprotective. 

Faust chuckles to himself, and MC feels a bit embarrassed hearing someone else mention it, though she appreciates that Leonardo obviously treasures her a lot. Arm wrapped, MC thanks Faust, who brushes it off. However, he also leans in to whisper to MC that her face when grimacing in pain was quite interesting is well. Faust then leaves, and Leonardo comes over, expressing that he’s glad MC wasn’t hurt too badly. 

That night, MC and Leonardo are in Leonardo’s room, where he’s explaining Kevin’s confession from the police station.

Leonardo: It seems like after Kevin’s father died, fear of his sick mother and younger brother going hungry led him to robbery. He said that even though it was to stay alive… his conscience was against it. 

MC's expression falls, and Leonardo hugs her, saying that she shouldn’t worry too much about it — their situation is not something that MC is involved in. However, MC elaborates that she feels a sense of helplessness; after all, a minister couldn’t do anything, what could she do? But she still wished there was something that could’ve been done for Kevin if they had known about his situation. Leonardo reassures her, saying that life goes on and they will find a way to continue on. MC is struck by how kind Leonardo is in his belief in human strength and hugs him back. 

Leonardo warns MC against opening her wound by moving around too much, to which MC replies that Faust did a good job bandaging the wound, so she’s fine. Leonardo frowns, and pushes MC over on the bed. He asks MC about what Faust whispered to her earlier on and MC tells him, to which it’s revealed that Leonardo got jealous at the interaction and over Faust’s handsy attitude around MC. 

MC feels a bit happy to see this side of Leonardo, and he affirms that he’s not going to hand over MC to anyone before kissing her. Leonardo sighs, saying that even though he’s being childish, he’s going to make sure everyone knows who MC’s lover is. After this, they spend the night together. 

Note: This is where the paid Epilogue starts.

—

Premium End

Bewitched by a dangerous allure, you fall into the palm of his hand  —

“Is there a certain special type of blood flowing within your veins? What an awfully alluring scent it has.”  

—

Faust gave MC’s arm a strong tug before pushing her away, wasting no time before moving to pin Kevin onto the ground. Leonardo also rushed over, prying the knife from Kevin’s hands. He remarks that Faust spares no mercy even against children, to which Faust replies that it’s standard procedure to act quickly to capture one’s quarry. 

With Kevin apprehended, Leonardo and a few of the surrounding adults escort Kevin to the police station, while Faust stays behind with MC. He asks her to show the arm where she got injured, but picks it up without waiting and starts inspecting the wound. To MC’s surprise, Faust comments that her blood looks “rather delicious,” and licks it up. MC is chilled by this action, and thinks that he’s almost like a vampire. 

However, Faust quickly returns to normal, and excuses the action by saying that it was a stopgap in the absence of antiseptic. He then quickly tears off a few shreds of MC’s sleeve and bandages the wound.  Leonardo returns to the scene and Faust hands MC’s care to him, leaving without another glance. 

As MC and Leonardo are heading home, Leonardo explains to MC the story he heard from Kevin at the police station similar to Leonardo’s end. Hearing this, MC thinks back to what Faust muttered earlier when he saved her, concluding that after all, those words were like arctic ice. 

Faust: … As expected; God saves none.

The scene then cuts to after the situation settled down, with MC opening the doors of a beautiful church in the woods. 

It turns out that MC is here to give Faust a basket of pastries as thanks for his aid the other day, having found out the location of this church from the one they were at earlier. Instead of accepting the gift, Faust remarks that MC seems to be someone with lots of free time, only taking the basket after MC got irritated by his words and pushed it towards him. She then gives a report on the situation of Kevin’s family, saying that the younger brother Paul is currently being looked after by the orphanage and their mother’s condition being managed by some neighbors. However, Faust’s only comment is that the neighbors are quite generous. MC is puzzled by this lack of concern, wondering if Faust didn’t care about Kevin or his family at all. 

They then have a conversation about whether Kevin could’ve been helped, had they knew of the circumstances beforehand. MC poses the question, while Faust mentions that there are many people like Kevin in Paris, and just because he forgives their sins and listens to their confessions day, doesn’t mean he can give them bread tomorrow. MC feels disheartened over his words, but cannot deny the truth they contain. She thinks that it’s almost as if Faust does not believe in a single thing in this world. 

Watching MC think, Faust starts chuckling and brings back the conversation about vampires from earlier, asking her what she would do if he was an actual vampire. He lays his hand over the wound on MC’s arm, and she suddenly remembers the feeling of his tongue with vivid clarity. 

Faust: I haven’t forgotten about it… the taste of your blood. Ha… I wonder if there’s a special type of blood flowing in your veins? What an awfully alluring scent it has. 

MC: You’re… a real vampire? 

Faust: It would be quite interesting to perform some research on vampire ecology with your blood and my fangs, as well. 

The two of them stand in silence, the tension stretching thin — before Faust starts laughing. He teases MC, saying that he already mentioned that there’s no way vampires exist and remarks that he understands why Leonardo is so overprotective when MC just walks into an isolated place with another man. MC gets flustered, embarrassed that she had fallen for such a joke, and thinks to herself that Faust is quite sadistic. Faust bids her goodbye after telling her to be careful on the trip home. 

That night, Vlad inquires about the girl that paid Faust a visit and Faust admonished him for watching, calling him an “ill-humoured old man.” Charles then chimes in with interest, and Vlad said that MC is quite a nice young lady, bringing sweets for Faust. The three banter back and for and both of them Vlad and Charles express surprise that Faust let MC get away. Faust ends up saying that while it would be simple to catch prey, MC could prove to be quite an interesting guinea pig. And thus, their conversations fade into the night.

—

Epilogue Preview ～ Leonardo

Drown in his body heat,  dripping with possessiveness —— 

MC: Leonardo... ah....

Leonardo throws his coat to the floor below, moving right to ravishing my mouth.

Entwining with the tongue that slips between my teeth, our sighs mix together in the space between our lips. 

Leonardo: MC....

Leonardo: Love of you is driving me crazy.... 

MC: — Nhn, ah...! 

Leonardo’s fingers slip under my skirt and gently rubs against my most sensitive place. 

His eyes narrow when a high voice slips leaks from me. 

Leonardo: The face you make while you can feel nothing else but me is... so lewdly admirable I can’t get enough of it.

MC: S-saying it like that is... ah....

Leonardo: I’m praising you. You’re adorable. 

—

Event Info | Napoleon/Vlad Route | Arthur/Charles Route

[shimzus-a2]

📝 give me 3,000 :)

📝: about half of their phone storage is just photos of each other. when they go out to eat, hikaru takes so many pictures of her, and because she’s not as comfortable using her camera for anything but landscape photos she gives her phone over to him so he can take selfies of himself, too. when he moves away from japan for school, she looks at his pictures a lot 🥺

📝: when they were younger and it was cold in the winter, shimizu would hold a blanket and wrap it— and herself— around hikaru’s back. then she put another blanket over top of herself. they kinda looked like a double-wrapped taco bell burrito : hikaru in the middle, then a blanket around him, then shimizu hugging him over the blanket, and a blanket over her too. she stopped doing it when he got super tall/his shoulders filled out and she couldn’t comfortably hug him all the way around. 

📝: on that note, puberty was ... wild. when hikaru started growing, shimizu was really suspicious and demanded to measure him every week to make sure that her eyes weren’t actually betraying her. she still has a notebook somewhere with a stray page titled “ hikaru-kun’s height, week by week ” !

📝: shimizu is normally on paper fan duty for him during festivals ... not because he asks for it, but because she’s thoughtful and thinks ahead of time that it might be hot for him if he doesn’t have a fan. she keeps him cool, but her wrists hurt by the end of the evening because of how much she fans him.

📝: when she took up track and field in middle school and was asked to give a self introduction to the team ( which included explaining her motivation for joining the team ), shimizu announced, “ i have a friend who i had to chase around a lot. i think he made me fast. please take care of me. ”

📝: she carries a spare inhaler in her bag everywhere she goes, including to karasuno even though he doesn’t attend with her. her parents and she have diligently learned about the proper protocol if he starts having an asthma attack near them, so they’re all fully prepared to take care of him should it ever happen. 

📝: hikaru is the ONLY person to ever hear shimizu sing at karaoke, and it was just once. she forbid him from taking videos.

📝: she writes him letters when he leaves japan ... 🥺🥺🥺

📝: sometimes, shimizu jokes that hikaru doesn’t actually have a twin brother. he off-handedly mentions something to her about kaoru, and she turns to him with a puzzled look, asking, “ eh ? kaoru ? who is that ? ” this joke lasts sometimes for hours as he tries to explain to her that he, in fact, has a twin brother named kaoru. she gives in eventually and admits that she knows, but she was just messing with him. 

📝: she names the parrotlet he got her after him— while “ hikaru ” means something like bright/light, she names the bird “ akari, ” meaning light ( girl’s name, different kanji ). 

📝: i just think ......... it’d be neat if hikaru helped her pick out a swimsuit like he did for haruhi ..... just think that would be kinda cute. then on their obligatory beach ova scene, they go fishing ( kiyoko pulls a record-size fish ) and cook it on the beach for dinner. i think that’s cute.

📝: when they go on long trips by train/bus and have to use that public transport, shimizu always ends up falling asleep. she tries not to because she knows that they’ll need to get off on the right stop, so she should be awake and listening for the right announcement ... but she can’t help it. public transport makes her sleepy, and she ends up falling asleep on hikaru all the time.

📝: matching socks !! in middle school they bought matching socks together, and from then on it kinda became a habit every year to buy a new pair of matching socks. shimizu wears them with her track suit regularly, and if karasuno didn’t uphold a uniform dress code then she’d probably wear them on her first day of classes too.

📝: she won every snowball fight he initiated in elementary school.

📝: they’ve done matching halloween costumes, absolutely. hikaru probably had to invite her to a party because she didn’t have many friends and wouldn’t have been invited otherwise, but she would definitely come if it was an invitation from him. they probably did something cute and tame ( and potentially got kaoru in on it ) like the three blind mice from shrek, or together decided they could be salt and pepper shakers or maybe a pair of vampires ! regardless, they were very cute.

📝: when he gets sick with a fever, shimizu goes out of her way to cook him some soup, pack it up in a little bag, traverse over to his house, and sit just outside his bedroom door to talk to him through the wall so he doesn’t feel alone. normally, she doesn’t like to come over to his super fancy rich person house, but if it’s for him, it doesn’t matter.

📝: she draws things for him all the time, and so long as he doesn’t tell her honestly how bad her art is, she’ll continue to do it. hundreds of tiny pieces of papers with little birds who have eyes too big, or tanuki with rat tails, or totally unclear blobs meant to resemble people they both know ...

📝: their purikura photo booth photos are so otherworldly and obnoxious. they put EVERY sticker on, and use the sparkle pen to write out “ best friends ! ” in any space they can. when they print them out, it’s one of the only times hikaru will be able to see shimizu actually laugh out loud. she didn’t realize it in the booth, but when the photos are in her hand she thinks they’re so stupid that it’s hilarious. she loves them !

📝: face mask saturdays. that’s all i’ll say on that.

📝: obligatory childhood moment where hikaru catches a frog and shows it to shimizu, who then says, “ it kinda looks like you. ” his eyes start to get big and sad, like ... really ? i look like that ? so she gives the frog a little kiss to make him feel better.

📝: another obligatory childhood moment when shimizu first gets her glasses, and hikaru puts them on and tells her, “ wow. you’re blind. ” she never forgets this. one day, he will know too ... she is waiting for his eyes to go bad ...

📝: i think we’ve already previously established this, but i’m running out of steam on these headcanons so i’ll re-use it. after her track and field matches, hikaru gives her piggy backs and treats her to snacks. if she ever twists her ankle, he’s the first person there offering to help her up and to carry her off the course to get it looked at/wrapped up properly.

📝: she’s not as nosy as him about crushes and love lives, but of course she’s absolutely curious about what kind of person he likes. she decides to spring it on him with no warning at lunch once, asking, “ ne, hikaru-kun. what’s your ideal type ? ” and after he gives her a legitimate answer she never brings it up again. it’s nice to note and file away, though.

📝: they go strawberry picking in the summer and i will NOT budge on this. alternatively, there are these flowers in japan ( idk what they’re called ) like honeysuckle, and you can suck out sweetness from the stems. hikaru and shimizu definitely have had afternoons playing with the flowers. 

📝: one time when she was asleep hikaru drew a smiley face on her chin using her beauty mark as one of the eyes.

📝: when pokemon go first came out, they played it together religiously. shimizu always beat him in 1v1 matches, but overall hikaru has rarer pokemon than she does ...

📝: they’ve definitely stayed up too late texting each other before. shimizu manages it well and doesn’t look super tired during class, which is a good thing, but when it happens a few days in a row she realizes she needs to find the heart to tell him to stop messaging her so late so she can sleep.

📝: he used to pick her wildflowers until she told him it was bad to just pick them right out of the ground. so to cooperate, hikaru just took her out on long walks to look at pretty flowers and would tell her, “ if i could pick them, i’d get you that one and that one ! ”

📝: she regularly buys him good luck charms from temples. when she knows that he has a test or a big host club event, shimizu will get a charm and give it to him before !

📝: when they hug it’s either like half a second long or three minutes long. there is no in between. he pets the back of her hair or rubs her shoulder, and she fists his shirt in her little hands. THEY’RE ADORABLE.

headcanons about our muses ! ,

[dammitadolfnomorecake]

Once Bitten, Twice Stupid prt 135

135

Standing at the terminal for the private airport, Keith was fighting the urges telling him to stay. Curtis was there. Shiro was there. Kosmo was there. Krolia, James, Ryan, Nadia, Ina, Matt, Rieva and Kolivan were all there... but the one person he wanted there the most wasn’t. Lance was with Mami at VOLTRON. His boyfriend opting to stay there for the next few days before he went into hiding with Mami. They were all going ahead. Allura would be coming with Lotor in a day or two with his generals that’d been barely saved in time by a team sent to the airfield, there just some things they needed to wrap up in Platt first. Leaving Lance hurt. Lance hadn’t been too well the night before. His boyfriend tried to reassure him at least a hundred times that they’d be able to talk over the phone and he’d answer all Keith’s calls once he had a second number. Coran would organise that, and Keith wasn’t allowed to know where Lance was going until he’d got there safely. He couldn’t tell the Vatican what he didn’t know.

Hearing a wolf whistle, Keith spun round. Pidge and Hunk coming towards him. Krolia seemed to expect this

“Finally! I thought you two were going to miss the flight!”

Pidge laughed at Krolia, though it was probably more the bewilderment on Keith’s face

“What are you two doing here?!”

“You didn’t think we’d miss this opportunity, did you?”

“But... what?”

“Lance told us to come. Because apparently you can’t tell your two best friends you’re off to Rome. Sheesh, you’re so rude”

“But you were... weren’t you staying in Garrison?”

“Pfft. We still are. We came to say goodbye to you, dummy”

As far as Keith knew the pair of them would be staying in Garrison. They were going to look after Lance’s house and his cow and Blue... and Lance. What about Lance? He’d thrown around the idea of asking them to go with Lance, but Lance didn’t want to interfere. Apparently this didn’t count as interference? He didn’t want to make a scene about leaving

“What about...?”

Pidge snickered at his failure to articulate the questions in his head

“Chillax, dude. It’s all sorted. Blue’s back with Lance now, and we’re gonna check on his house for him”

When did that happen? He hadn’t been able to see them much. Weren’t they mad about that?

“But... why?”

“Because we’re friends, doofus. Plus, have you met my brother? Leave him alone for too long and he gets all stupid in the head. Someone has to remind him he’s not as smart as he thinks he is”

From the group, Matt called out

“Fuck you, Katie! I’m smarter than you!”

“Go lick your balls!”

James and the others snickered. Somehow they managed to get along with Matt rather well. James had been less of dick towards him too. Maybe the mutt was scared of Lance? Because accepting him seemed too far of a stretch. Reaching out, Hunk pulled him into a hug, Keith returning it, still slightly shocked that his friends had made the effort to come see him when he’d tried to sneak away

“You stay safe, man. And let us know what’s going on”

“Thanks. I will. I’ll be back as soon as I can be”

“We know. We’ll take care of Lance the best we can until you come back... when he comes back... it feels like everyone’s leaving”

“Lance said “This isn’t goodbye, it’s see you later””

Pidge wrapped her arms around them both

“He’s right. We’re coming to Rome to get you ourselves if you think you can skip out on us”

“I wouldn’t have it any other way... I’m sorry... that we have to...”

Pidge stomped on his foot, scowling up at him when he looked down at her questioningly

“Stop it. Look. We don’t blame you over what happened with Lance. We don’t blame Lance either. Sendak was a bad man. What we want is both our friends to be okay”

Hunk backing Pidge up, though sounding super nervous

“You are okay, aren’t you? You’re not in some kind of super trouble?”

Maybe a little? For being distracted and letting Sendak get the drop on him...

“Not that I know of. I’ve been trying to stay outside the loop for Lance’s sake. Lance can be pretty forceful when he has to be”

Pidge nodded, dropping her head back down as she replied

“He’ll be okay. He’s going with Mami and he’s got Blue now. Are you going to have the same number?”

“I would pretend you didn’t already have my work number but I know you do”

“And Shiro’s... and Curtis’s... and Krolia’s Don’t think I won’t blow up their phones if you stop answering us”

“What do you expect? Daily reports?”

“Exactly! Hunk’s getting his passport processed. I’ve got mine. Rome isn’t too far to go to kick your arse”

He didn’t deserve his friends. He really fucking loved both of them.

Matt came over to them, lifting Pidge up off of him like she was rag doll, Pidge screeching at the sudden motion

“You put me down, Matthew Holt!”

“Where’s the fun in that?”

“I’ll burn all your stuff while you’re gone if you don’t put me down right now!”

Matt placed the angry gremlin down, ruffling her hair as she tried to straighten it up

“Don’t be mad because mum said you couldn’t come with us”

Pidge crossed her arms

“I didn’t ask her”

“We both know that’s a lie”

Pidge raised an eyebrow, seeming smug that Matt was wrong

“Actually I asked mum if I should go with Lance. She’s the one who said he needed a little time with his own mother instead of us”

Keith wished Pidge and Hunk were going with Lance. Lance only vaguely agreed if that Keith wasn’t going to be back for Christmas they could meet up with him. Keith was totally going to be back for Christmas. Three and a half weeks was plenty of time. He hoped it would go faster than it sounded out loud

“She’d be right. He needs a vacation, not to be babysitting you”

“He doesn’t babysit me”

“Remind me, did he not used to go ahead and check out the places you wanted to go ahead of time to make sure you wouldn’t be hurt”

“No one asked him too”

“All I’m hearing is a grumbling gremlin”

Pidge stomped on Matt’s foot. Rieva giggling at the pair of them. The werewolf seemed happier... and Loturd was to blame for it.

When they’d bumped into Matt and Rieva at VOLTRON, Lance had wound up ignoring his need for sleep in favour of having the pair over to the apartment. Where he went and fell asleep anyway after he and Rieva had made dinner for the four of them. Both Matt and Rieva were worried about Lance, Keith not wanting to talk about his boyfriend behind his back, but instead kind of sort of did, maybe a little jealously. Lance defending Lotor made his head hurt and his heart feel ugly with jealousy. Rieva having a hard time coming to grips with the fact that monster she’d heard so much about had seemed to soften into something almost human. She still hated him. Loathed his family. Wanted him to fuck off back to Europe and stay there with his family forever, all of which making Keith smile at her description. She liked him a tiny bit better now that he’d given her some answers about why her biological parents had to die.

It turned out Lotor was looking into it in his own way.

He couldn’t very well approach his parents and demand a list of everyone they and their underlinings had personally killed. It was disgustingly and shamefully long, Lotor actually admitting that to Rieva, as he hung his head before her. Part of his niceness still seemed like an act. Rieva didn’t trust him. He acknowledged that she had no need to and no need to forgive her. Her parents murders were nearly a footnote in Lotor’s research. Simply murdered because they were the wrong friends of friends of friends who’d lost a child to Honerva’s crazed experiments. Zarkon wiping out the chain of evidence back to them. He’d found a photo, giving Rieva something tangible of her parents. She and Matt were coming with them long enough to give statements, again, then going on to spend some time with Rieva’s adoptive parents, with the plan being to return home for Christmas. Krolia had personally promised them her protection... then Kolivan turned around and did the same. His mum could be scary when she wanted to be. Keith wishing he could have seen her scolding Kolivan who’s facial expression never really seemed to change that much.

Everything had changed since he’d last been standing here. It was only him and Shiro then. No Pidge. No Hunk. No Krolia he thought of as his mother now. No Lance as his boyfriend, just Lance that needed a bullet in his brain. No twins. No... friends... that he believed he’d never have because everyone left him in the end. No Kosmo or Blue. No good thoughts of vampires and werewolves. No Mami and her rebel antics. No apartment filled with memories to come back to. No house filled with love waiting a little further down the road for all this to be over and him to move there to be with his pregnant love. None of that. He was going to miss Lance so much. Pidge and Hunk too... but Lance... he missed him deeply already.

“Sorry, kids. It’s time to go. Keith will let you know when we get there. Take care of yourselves until we’re back”

Krolia hugged Pidge and Hunk, both of them hugging her back. They’d bonded. He used to believe as long as he had Shiro he had all he needed. The two of them. The two Paladins as Shiro would call them. Now there was 5 of them... Him, Lance, Shiro, Pidge and Hunk... and some kind of weird family bond between them all. Lance was right, as he usually was, it was past time putting this Sendak mess to bed. Keith knew at least two Blade agents were staying behind to deal with the spot fires left from Sendak. But Coran had that handled. For a weird old fae, he was kind of very special... He could be flaky, he could be slow, he could be frustrating, and his stories didn’t need to see the light of day again, but he did care. And fuck, he loved Lance so much. Everyone loved Lance so much... He hoped he was doing the right thing here. He hoped his boyfriend wasn’t crying his eyes out. He’d cried enough last night and into the morning. His morning sickness had seemed to almost double with stress. Keith didn’t want to spend their last night in the infirmary, but Lance had been so sick that he’d agreed maybe it was for the best. He and the twins were going to be okay... They were going to be okay and he was going to come back home to where he belonged.

Hugs did the rounds, Keith hugged by Matt who simply shrugged. Matt had the same kind of flare for dramatics as Lance. He loved love. Saying goodbye sucked, so it was “see you later”. Fresh determination in Keith’s steps as he led Kosmo over to the private jet. His doggo an idiot, trying to be part of the wolf pack... who were all in human form... He really was surrounded by idiots.

*

Cuba was hot. Hot and just the right place to be to forget how badly he missed Keith. Cuba was the holiday Lance’d wanted to take Mami and Keith on, but coming back with Mami was worth it to hear the way she lit up at the prospect of an adventure.

He’d cried so hard the day Keith left. Regretting letting him go without him. Mami held his hand, confined to bed thanks to dehydration. Keith had worried so much about leaving that Lance wondered if he would. Coran helped him make a gift for Keith. A small album of ultrasound photos and tummy photos from his phone, and surveillance footage. They’d had to get creative or he’d have had three full blank weeks there. He had another two albums. One for him and one for Mami. Mami getting into this baby thing too much. The knitting needles coming out and him being told to mind his own business. Luis had nearly lost his shit when Coran came to pick her back up. Mami had a few choice words about her overbearing son and the banning of her occasional nightcap, and he didn’t take her to church.

Picking up their rental car, Coran had organised it all. Special clearances, careful of customs, a nice hotel room with ocean views for a month, giving Keith the chance to come down and experience this with them before heading back to America. The only way to get a Cuban passport was to be born there or to marry a Cuban. Mami had hers, Lance her American born grandson... funnily enough named Lance. Amazing. It was also really the only time he could take this holiday with Mami. He could still hide his belly. He was small. He’d googled and seen some of the sizes of normal bellies, worrying his was to small for their twins. Mami called him an idiot for it told him “before too long he’d be wishing he was small again”. Seeing Keith didn’t need all his clothes in Rome, Lance had borrowed some of his... and packed the same body wash his boyfriend used... and Keith’s stinkiest jacket to stench up his luggage so he wouldn’t lose his scent.

Checking in, the hotel was ridiculously nice. Clean. Lots of white and arches, the smell of the beach in the air. Mami pointing out everything that had changed since she’d been there, even trying to send them down roads that no longer existed on the way to the hotel. Thank god for inbuilt GPS. Setting up their room was put on hold. The first thing he did was set up his laptop, using the hotel wifi. He had the phone Coran told him to take which was an encrypted Blade phone, as well as the laptop which he’d personalised a little with pictures of Keith, Blue and Kosmo. His own laptop, normal, and work phones locked away at VOLTRON. None of that mattered. His first port of call was logging into his “what’s app” with his new account just for him and Keith. Rome was 6 hours ahead. Making it 3am. He’d told Keith he’d call him when he’d arrived, like Keith had called him when he’d arrived and was able to.

Keith had been waiting up for him. His boyfriend nursing a cup of coffee, Kosmo trying to butt in over his shoulder. His fur son missed him... being a bad father, Blue was staying at VOLTRON. He couldn’t bring her down to Cuba, and she deserved to run and play, and he was paranoid about leaving her with Pidge

“Hey, babe. Hey, Kosmo!”

Keith pushed Kosmo off him, huffing

“How come he gets a happier hello?”

“Because he is best boy, and you are sleepy boy”

Keith sighed at him

“You know I had to wait until you landed before I could sleep”

“I know. Mami tried to get us lost”

Shooting a glance at his Mami, she was already making tea in the rooms kitchenette area

“Is that Keith? Hello, my mijo!”

Lance sighed, shooting Keith a look

“Hey, Mami!”

“Now who’s getting all the happy welcomes? How was today?”

“Boring. Long. I miss you”

“It’s only been a couple of days”

“Too long. How are my twins?”

Lance stood up, pulling his shirt up for Keith to see his belly

“Still in there”

“Hello, my little macaroons. Daddy loves you”

Lance rolled his eyes as he pulled his shirt down and sat back down

“They know. They have to hear it from me all the time”

Kosmo made another attempt at Keith’s laptop. Keith nearly spilling his coffee

“He’s a menace. Everyone keeps giving him treats and he’s stopped listening to me”

“That sounds about on par for him. Anyway, I only really called to let you know we got here safely”

“I’m glad... I really miss seeing you”

“You see me everyday”

Yeah. He missed Keith. He missed him so fucking much that he had to keep from crying during their calls

“You know it’s not the same”

“Yeah. It really isn’t but it’s not for that long”

“That’s true but it feels like forever”

“You’re not hanging up before I see my handsome son are you?”

Keith snorted at Mami, Lance had to fight for private Keith time

“I’m going to call him later”

“I want to see him”

“He’s still on the call!”

Lance groaned. All he wanted to do is talk to Keith

“Don’t hang up!”

“I’m not hanging up...”

“Good... Come make the tea so I can talk with Keith”

“He’s my boyfriend”

“Pish you”

The perils of your mother loving your boyfriend

“It’s okay, babe. Make the tea and come back”

Swapping place with his mother, Lance grabbed his suitcase of blood bags. Hopefully no one was going to be opening the hotel fridge... or that would be awkward. Coran had booked them a really, really nice suite. That Lance didn’t care about exploring until the following morning. The flight had been fine. Mami giving him a slight headache with her directions. They’d gotten in about 8pm. Perfect time for vampires to be flying. He had his box of grave soil. And he had his photos of Keith and his friends. Packing seemed like too much effort though. Especially with Keith right there on the laptop...

Bringing Mami’s tea over, he had his own blood bag in his teeth. Mami was filling Keith in on how nice the private plane was. She was gushing over how she’d be able to brag when they visited the family. Their holiday pretty much consisted of two weeks of being forced to “meet” everyone. Though he would be able to silently judge how they’d all aged. She was so excited. She’d been too excited really. Totally prepared for code names and assumed identities. She was going to be “Lola. The famous dancer with her younger, handsome, partner”. Coran dashed her hopes. They weren’t doing very many things other than seeing their family, so normal names were fine.

“Anyway, when are you coming down to see us...”

“Mami! We’re not allowed to tell Keith where we are!”

Mami chuckled at him

“You’re such a fuss pot”

“And Keith isn’t allowed to know where we are for his safety too. Sorry, babe...”

He’d love to tell Keith he was back in Cuba, waiting for him there. Coran would tell Keith when Keith was finally allowed to come see them

“It’s alright. I’ll just add to all the secrets Mami and I share”

Great. They were co-conspirators against him. If he wanted to be in danger, he’d still be in Platt

“I can’t win. Mami, go drink your tea. Keith, I’m sorry”

“It’s fine, babe. You look pretty tired...”

“I’ve been sleeping. These two are still keeping me up, but it’s okay”

Keith’s face softened. Lance wished he could reach through the screen and hug him

“I wish I could be there... It’s all grumpy people here”

“Grumpy people with dog treats”

“Yeah. There’s that. Fuck... I have to be up at 6. It’s inhumane”

Idiot. Keith was an idiot. He wasn’t going to be functional at all

“Babe! Go to bed. Put the coffee down and get some sleep!”

“I will now I know you’re okay. Oh, I’m supposed to say hi from the others”

“Tell them hello from us and we’re okay and I’m safe... ish”

His Mami smacked his arm

“He’s perfectly fine. He’s been a big baby without you”

Keith snorted. He was a traitor... a traitor Lance wished was waiting in the bed for him instead of in Rome

“I’m sure that’s not the case. I’m going to go, but I love you, babe. Love you too, Mami, and I’ll try call later”

“I love you too, give Kosmo extra hugs from me”

“He doesn’t need them. He’s a total himbo”

“He is best boy living his best life”

“Right. I’ll remember that the next time he pees on the bed. Anyway, I’m happy you’re safe. I love you”

“I love you, too. See you later”

Lance closed the chat with a sigh. He should have gone to Rome. He should have been there with Keith, and not with his boyfriend stealing mother

“Keith seemed tired”

“It’s 3am there, Mami”

There was a time difference she was forgetting

“What’s he doing awake then?”

Lance sighed again. They were barely in Cuba and he wanted to go home

“Because he wanted to know when landed safely. I know you’re excited, but we really can’t talk about Platt or about him”

“I know. Relax, mijo. I know. Let me be happy to see our Keith”

Ugh. He wanted to be happy to see his Keith. He didn’t want to share... Allura, Lotor, Acxa, Zethrid and Ezor had left on an earlier flight. They thought he was going north to Canada, where he was just a border away from coming back home if he needed to. He hadn’t even told Hunk and Pidge, only that Mami was coming with him and they’d be home for Christmas

“I know you know. I’m just being stupid. I’ll get unpacked and we can go to bed. I know Aunt Sarah’s supposed to see us tomorrow morning”

“You worry too much, mijo. I’m a tough old bird, and I finally get to show off my handsome son again”

“Grandson”

Mami shot him a look. Okay. Let a man worry

“Yes, yes. I know the story. Be a good boy and drink your blood up. We want those twins as health as they can be”

“They’re fine. They’re not doing much but taking up space rent free now”

“You’ve become much bossier. What happened to my sweet little boy?”

“He went and got pregnant. If I leave you alone with my laptop, you’re not going to get into mischief are you?”

“That’s for me to know. Now of you go. I’ll have my tea, then off to bed”

Great. What a great way to start a holiday. Would it really be too soon to call Coran and beg to come back? Why had he thought a family reunion was a great idea?