#we're sailing right behind

[thestuffedalligator]

The duchy was founded - unofficially - when some enterprising little thief had read through the royal lawbooks, looking for loopholes like a worm trying to wriggle its way through a brick, and had discovered that while the king's men could follow a man across mountains, forests, and plains, they were not granted the same jurisdiction over bodies of water.

This had started the popular idea amongst the kingdom's criminal underbelly that if a thief took a boat and paddled out into the middle of a pond, the king's men technically couldn't do anything about it.

Of course, the realist interjected, it'd never work; if you tried it, then you'd be one thief in the middle of a pond, with all those guards waiting on the shore for you to either wash up with the flotsam or die of starvation.

Still, the idea was alluring. It hung around the popular consciousness as a thought, an untested hypothesis, an interesting fact.

It would've remained so if it wasn't for Edmund Snood, an enterprising young thief who hadn't quite enterprised an escape plan, and with the guard closing behind him had grabbed a rowboat and cast himself out into the largest of the kingdom's lakes so fast that he had skipped like a thrown stone.

And as Edmund fended off the banks and the horrible, grinning, patient faces of the guards waiting for him there, word had spread across the kingdom. Soon enough, thieves and thugs were all paddling up to the little rowboat with a sandwich and a few words of encouragement, attaboy, Eddie, show them who's boss, eh? We're all rooting for you back home!

And after four days, the duchy was founded - unofficially - when Jack "Jackal" Jaseroque had lashed his rowboat to Edmund's and took over the duty of paddling while Edmund took the first sleep he had in half a week.

After that, another boat lashed together with the two. Then another. Then four more. A lean-to shelter was built, torn down, and rebuilt bigger. Walkways were tied together. And then in a wave of tidal force, the thieves and thugs, bandits and brigands, vandals and vagabonds of the kingdom all sailed out to the little assemblage. Leather bladders were inflated to help with bouyancy. Ramshackle halls were raised. A strict rotation of paddling duty was arranged to fend off the banks.

And the tune of the realist had changed - they can't be watching all the shores, right? So if we just spend a couple days here, keep an eye out, and head out again once we've spotted a gap, then who cares about a little bit of paddling in the meantime, right?

The duchy was founded - officially - when Edmund Snood took on the role of dukedom to universal acclaim. This was also when the name of the little commune had been agreed on, as the makeshift structure bobbed gently on the water's surface.

It was called the Robber Duchy.

[inkskinned]

she says he won't let her get a dog, which is fine, because they're in an apartment, and that's the kind of thing people say about their partners. he won't let me get a dog. and you're at a dinner party and you tilt your head a little to the side just like that dog he won't let her get, because is this the thing that's going to upset you? you don't know every corner of their relationship, she could be joking, they could have had so many healthy conversations about the dog, right, and maybe she's not letting herself get the dog because of money and time and whatever. but, like, she did say let

and she wants to move away from his hometown and he wants to stay and then he tells you with a wink and a conspiratorial stage whisper don't worry i'll convince her and she laughs about it - so clearly this is something they laugh about. but you do just stand there and stare at him like what the fuck, man. you can't say what you want to say which is why do you get the final say on everything because they're both obviously aware of the other person's stance on this and have obviously had private conversations about it and what are you going to do about it except make a scene and then he'll be mad at you and call you one of those bitches behind your back and she'll cut you off, which is a loss that doesn't feel worth it just because he makes you a little skeeved out every 3rd comment

and they both agree he just isn't the type to get flowers which is fine because everyone shows love differently, and are you really gonna judge someone based on their sense of individual relationship responsibility? maybe he's constantly cleaning her car and writing her poems and making her furniture or something. maybe she doesn't even like flowers and this is perfect, actually. and no you couldn't date him, obviously, ew; but like, she tells you she's happy. you almost send her a tiktok that says don't be 25 and the cool girl that doesn't need anything, you'll hate not getting flowers at 30, but that's like, starting drama & you shouldn't start drama needlessly.

and you're a little older than her but not so much older you can pull the whole trust me on this one babe thing and besides that wouldn't have worked anyway (when does it ever) and besides you have trauma so you and your therapist both agree that you're always looking for a problem even when there isn't one. and you tell yourself that just because you see them for 15 minutes every month does not mean you can identify every single red flag based on a single shitty half-joking(?) comment

and besides, what are you going to do? she says i actually wanted another stand mixer but thankfully he stops me when i'm about to spend too much money and you're standing there like are you okay? is this normal? is this just something people say? and again - what are you going to do?

to your therapist you try to language it - it's not, like, any of my business. but sometimes, doesn't it feel like - you should do something. there's got to be something, right? you've tried dropping little hints but they sail right through and you've tried having a single serious conversation and she got upset because why does it matter to you, yes it's different but we're happy, it doesn't need to make sense to you and you're like. really unwilling to push a boundary about it anymore; because the truth is that you know logically it shouldn't matter to you, as long as both parties are happy.

and besides, you've been wrong before. it's just... like, every time you see them both, something else happens, some kind of shiver down your spine like do you even hear each other when you talk. it's their strange, bickering orbit. just the way he's on his phone through dinner or watching sports instead of helping in the kitchen or, fuck, another one of these little throwaway comments he makes about we'll see about that, babe. she laughs when he calls her passions stupid shit and meanwhile she gets him tickets to see the knicks and he tells you well at least she's smart about something and still! it's none of your business.

you say get the dog anyway and she laughs. like, this is is you being funny. and not you saying - no really. get the dog. get the dog and get out of here. pack up and start running.

[hwaslayer]

wildfire (cs) | eight.

—spotify playlist | series masterlist

—summary: assistant professor in bioengineering, incredibly attractive, lonely and divorced; that’s how most people describe san. but despite the events that have happened in his life, san has a lot going for himself. he’s a successful, sought out professor due to his brilliant contributions to science at just an early age of 32. he worked hard to get where he was now; head deep into his research, his publications, building his lab and creating a name for himself. everything was good and smooth sailing— until it wasn’t. because when he meets you, a bioengineering grad student interested in rotating in his lab, he finds himself ready to risk all the blood, sweat and tears he put in throughout the years just to keep you close— his need for you spiraling out of control like a wildfire.

—pairing: asst. professor!choi san x grad student!f. reader

—genre: (18+ - minors dni) strangers to lovers, grad school au | fluff, angst, smut

—word count: 9.3k

—chapter content/warnings: cussing, mature language/sexually implied content, we see prof choi in full professor mode in this chapter rawrrrr, NAS (or NSA, i know i might've said both lmao same thing!) conference is here - time for everyone to get buck wild! jk lol, san gets slightly jealous, bar scenes, alcohol consumption/intoxication, unprotected sex, cowgirl 🤠, san x oc are just super cute and sweet per usual, iono ppl are onto them tho lol, some insecurities coming to surface

—a/n: a lil hongjoong piece for those who need it <33

"San." You pick up the phone as you start packing up the last bits of necessities into your luggage. You'd be out of town throughout the weekend until early next week— trying to get the full experience of the NAS conference for the first time.

"Hey baby." You smile to yourself. "All packed up?"

"Mhm. We're about to head to the airport in a few minutes."

"Can't wait to see you at some point." You let out a small laugh, knowing it'll be somewhat hard to be with San and to stay with him during the time you're out there. But, you hope you can at least make a night or something work— San has been too busy since he's gotten there. You're barely able to talk to him unless he's back at the hotel and resting; then, he falls asleep quickly. You know he's been working hard to deliver his talks in between meeting with colleagues he hasn't seen in awhile. Preparing for his highly anticipated lecture for the NAS conference.

You're hoping you'll get your alone time with him and get away from your friends for a little bit.

"You've been busy. Gotta get ready for all that partying too, huh Professor Choi?"

—FLASHBACK

"Are you ready to present at the NAS conference?" You sit criss-crossed on the table while Sunwoo sits next to you, the both of you indulging in the hot breakfast and coffee set out for lab meeting. 

"Shit, that's a good question." You laugh. "I don't think I'll ever be."

"You'll do great." You nudge him playfully. "That's why Professor Choi is here to chew your ass out first before you present it to the public."

"You're right. I'd rather have him chew my ass out than anyone else." San walks in with a few people from the lab trailing in behind, and you instantly feel the butterflies swarming your gut. He's dressed pretty casually today— jeans, a loose fitting shirt and a cardigan, his glasses sitting on the bridge of his nose. His cheeks are a rosy tint, soft, black hair framing his face.

"Morning!" He says, sitting in a chair in the first row. "The NAS conference is coming up and we've got about five people from the lab presenting posters. Let's take this time to go through them and discuss any edits or changes before finalizing them." He looks over to you and Sunwoo. "Sunwoo, wanna go first?"

"Not really, but I'll do it for you." You snort, the rest of the lab chuckling in their seats. Sunwoo hops off the table and plugs in his laptop— his poster quickly coming up on the projector screen. "10 minutes?" San nods.

"Try to keep it within 10 minutes, yeah." San leans over onto his knees, focusing on Sunwoo's poster while the rest of the lab listens intently as he presents his projects and relevant data. Sunwoo is speaking quickly, but clearly, trying to cover every important point before his 10-min mark is up. Every now and then, you find your eyes glazing over San and how incredibly sexy he is all focused and in professor mode—

You need to focus.

It doesn't help any further when Sunwoo finishes his presentation and San starts going into detail about the things he should remove from his poster, things he should focus on, even things like:

"And the titles on your poster should be your results." San points up at the screen. "Cause I promise this is great, but it'll be even better if you let your audience know what the result is right off the bat so they know what they can focus on right away. If you keep it vague, you might lose them." San furrows his brows. "Can you go to the middle panel really quickly?" Sunwoo fixes the presentation to San's liking. "Yeah, I think you should add the figure that you left out cause that was the key point. That difference you saw between A and B would be the highlight. It doesn't matter if it feels small, people are gonna wanna see it because it's data. And in your case, it's data that contributes to what your end goal was."

"Yessir!" Sunwoo types away to make sure he captures all the suggestions. Others start throwing their hands up to give Sunwoo more edits that they feel would be appropriate, along with making sure small typos get fixed before then. San looks around the room once the suggestions have died down, eyes quickly landing on you [and now Belle on your other free side] before praising Sunwoo for the poster and calling up the next presenter.

"Goodjob." Belle chuckles as he plops down next to you, letting out a deep sigh.

"Thank god for Professor Choi. I dunno how I'mma do this."

"You'll be fine! You did great up there. Your poster was already good, just add the minor tweaks and it'll be even better." You add.

"My hype women. Thanks." You both laugh and shake your head before listening in on the next poster presentation. The four other presentations go on just as Sunwoo's did— 10 minute presentations followed by San's feedback, along with the lab's. You chime in a few times on coloring choices for graphs and images, pointing out typos and suggesting better titles for some panels as well. San smiles toothlessly at you while he listens, overwhelmed by eagerness to kiss you. Hold you. Show you off.

But, he settles for a nod and a 'thank you' for the suggestions. Giving you one last smile before he turns to the lab around him.

"Any other questions?"

"Professor Choi, tell us about your wild times at NAS." San laughs.

"Sorry to break it to you guys, but I definitely don't have any wild stories from NAS." 

"It seemed to be so much crazier when you and the other professors started going a couple of years ago."

"I'm not a fossil." San teases, making the lab laugh. "But, yeah. I guess you could say that. There were lots of after parties throughout the week. If not, people always bar hopped at the bars nearby. I hung out a few times, but never got as wasted."

"It's cause he had Iseul." Belle whispers with a small head tilt. "She even took his fun away. Damn."

"Belle." You look at her and playfully squeeze her arm.

"What! Serious. I still can't believe her." She does a tiny huff and sits back against the wall.

"You should probably ask Professor Bahng or Professor Song for their wild stories cause they definitely had some." San smiles back at the lab.

"Oh, come on Professor Choi! Don't be so shy!" San laughs and shakes his head before standing.

"Any other questions? Great posters, by the way. Send me the final versions by next week so you all have time to print and get it sorted out before the conference."

—END

"Oh, certainly." He playfully rolls his eyes. "I know it's been hectic, and I'm sorry, sweetheart. I keep running into people I haven't seen so I get pulled into last minute things." San sighs a bit, running his hand down his face. "I gotta get ready to meet up with Chris and Mingi. But, I promise we'll get our time down here."

"I know, that's okay. Comes with dating a well known, brilliant professor, I guess." He laughs. "Have fun with them!"

"I miss you."

"I miss you, too." It's scary how much time you've spent with San over the past weeks because now, you're getting used to carving out time and being with him. On the weekends. Slipping out late nights and sleeping over. You don't think your friends are thinking too much about the details, but you just don't know. You've been gone a lot. But, at the end of the day, it still brings you to the fact that you're starting to always long for San and want him around. "I'll be there soon."

"How are you gonna get away? Aren't you sharing an airbnb with your friends?" You nod as if he can see you.

"Mhm. They all plan to go out and do different things throughout the trip, though."

"Let me know whenever you need me to send a car to get you. I'll drop everything." You giggle.

"Send a car for your secret lover? Hot." San snorts.

"Not even, baby. I'd show you off to the world if I could." You pause and let the statement sit a bit, the reality of your situation sinking in a little more than you'd like right now. But, you quickly brush it off; not wanting to ruin the mood or cast an attitude for no reason.

This wasn't San's fault, nor was it yours. 

"I know." You respond softly. "Anyway, I should probably head to Eunchae's soon before they start trying to break down my door again."

"Okay." San softly chuckles. "Text me along the way, sweetheart. I'll be waiting 'till you get here."

"I will." San bites his tongue, leaving a small pause in the conversation before he speaks again.

"Mmkay. Bye baby." You answer back before hanging up the call, briefly double-checking everything before you zip up your luggage, grab your personal bag and head out to Eunchae's.

"I was literally just about to go knock on your door." Jiung takes your luggage from you to free your hands.

"Was just making sure I had everything." Eunchae claps and flashes her phone.

"Yay! We're all here. I called the taxi to come and get us." Your group walks out of the building to stand on the curb, the taxi pulling up in the next 5 minutes. It's a van, and it'll fit your group perfectly. The rest of the people you know are either flying out tonight, or throughout the weekend. It'll be an empty week next week, especially for the neuroscience and bioengineering community; most classes have been cancelled due to the conference.

The airport is close to a 50-min drive from campus. As soon as you get there, your group checks in at the individual kiosks, breezing straight through security since it's not during the busy rush hour at the airport. You've got an hour until your flight departs, so once you've found the gate, you and the girlies walk around to buy coffee and snacks. You text San in between, giving him the play by play of what's going on.

San can't wait to see you. He knows you two will make time and figure it out, and he truly can't wait until he gets you all to himself. It's the only thing he can think of, even as he walks around the downtown area with Mingi and Chris before they hit the sports bar to catch the baseball game over some grub and drinks.

"When is everyone else coming?" San is pulled out of his thoughts when Christopher rings out the question while looking at a shirt in a clothing store they had stumbled into.

"Namjoon and Zara are coming tonight, I think Yeosang and Jongho are taking a red eye." Mingi says.

"Yeah, he is. Then they're gonna head to our breakfast get-together like nothing."

"Mhm." Chris puts the shirt back on the rack while continuing to chime in. "Ran into Yunho earlier, so they're definitely here already."

"Tomorrow's breakfast will be fun." Mingi says with a drip of sarcasm.

"Namjoon and his plans, for real." Chris takes a thick jean jacket off of the rack and heads over to the cashier with San and Mingi in tow. "You guys have any other plans while we're here?"

"Got a few meetings outside of the conference, but nothing too major this year." San responds.

"Same." Mingi adds. "Sad they didn't bring back that investigator after party." Chris snorts.

"Because people got too fucked up last time."

"Boo." Mingi playfully boo's.

you: getting on the plane! gonna put my phone on airplane mode. see you later, maybe? 🥰

San smiles at his phone when he sees the text, fingers swiftly typing away to text you back.

san: safe travels, angel. 

"Zara texting you?" Mingi tries to peek at his phone.

"No. Cut it out." San furrows his brows at Mingi before playfully pushing him and heading out of the store.

"Then why are you smiling like that, bro?" Chris laughs. "Who are you seeing?"

"No for real, cause I know you aren't distancing yourself from Zara for no reason." San smirks and shakes his head.

"Ready to eat? I'm hungry. The game is about to be on, too."

"Woooow." Chris jokes. "Nah, it'll come out one day."

"Maybe, maybe not." San continues to tease with a big smile.

Meanwhile— when it's time to depart, you sit at the window seat with Jiung and another classmate on the same flight next to you. It's a 3-hour flight, but you brought along your book to read in between taking small naps on Jiung's shoulder. He's busy playing on his switch, fingers moving at wharp speed as he battles through Breath of the Wild. You hear the game tunes while you're in and out of sleep, checking the monitor to see how much longer you've got on this flight. The last half feels like the longest, and it's got you itching in your seat until the captain finally announces they're preparing for landing.

With any flight, getting off always feels the most stressful. You've got people standing, impatiently waiting for their turn to grab their carry-on luggages before rushing down the aisle. You, Jiung and your other classmate are the first from your group to head off the plane, waiting for the rest near the side of the gate. When you've all reunited, Eunchae takes the lead towards the arrivals terminal, calling up another taxi that can take you and your friends to the AirBnB. It's a pretty spacious house right outside of the central downtown area where the conference venue and popular hotels, eateries and shops are located.

The weather feels perfect.

And as soon as you all shuttle over to the shared AirBnB house, it's time to get ready to eat, explore and head to the bars for the first night. Which, feels like crazy work after the airport and flight chaos, but the adrenaline and hype from everyone around you gets you going. 

"We're really just gonna go all out tonight?" You fix your outfit in the mirror, throwing on a leather jacket to provide some kinda warmth [and umph to your outfit].

"Yeah, fuck it. We're here!" Jiung finishes pouring shots for everyone. "Here." He carefully slides over a plastic shot glass filled to the brim.

"Jiung." He shrugs.

"Nah, drink up. When's the last time we drank and had fun together, busy bee?" He teases, giving you a look. You playfully roll your eyes and hold onto your serving, waiting for everyone to grab their share before yelling out a loud 'cheers!' and taking the nasty liquid down your throat. 

One shot turns to two. To three. Four for some.

It's probably a bad idea that you're strolling the streets tipsy; your arm loosely wrapped around Jiung's as you stroll down a few shops, stumbling into a museum with free admissions for the weekend. You and your friends actually enjoy the exhibits, taking a few pictures along the way for the memories. Eunchae whips out her Instax from time to time, shaking the polaroids she takes before showing it off to the group. You take a few polaroids to keep, slipping them into your wallet to show San when you see him.

After spending a good time roaming around and shopping, you and your friends head to a popular, casual thai restaurant that required a bit of a walk to get to. Luckily for everyone, there isn't much of a wait and you're seated within 15 minutes of arriving. You all decide on ordering a few plates to share from, saving room for more drinks and alcohol for the bar afterwards. As the group continues to talk while waiting for food, you decide this is the perfect opportunity to pull out your phone and see if you had any texts from San.

Which, of course you do. 

He just responded not too long ago after you had sent him a few pictures from the museum and roaming around. Reading his texts puts a small smile on your face, and you almost wish you could just be with him at this given moment.

san: you're so cute.

san: sorry my baby, i've been with chris and mingi. we've just been hanging out.

san: think i can see you later tonight?

you: i'll try, sannie. we're going to the bars in a bit.

san: ☹️ 

you: promise i'll try, okay?

san: okay, but don't sweat it, alright? have fun with your friends, beautiful. enjoy yourself!

"Bruh, hello?" You hear Jiung next to you just as you peep the last response from San, unknowingly wearing a small smile on your lips that has Jiung knitting his brows together. "Who are you texting?" He laughs.

"Nobody, sorry. Was just distracted. What were you saying?" Jiung pauses for a bit because you've been acting a little different and he can't exactly pinpoint what it is. He won't dwell on it now though, he's having a good time with you, your group of friends.

"I was just saying you used to like the cheap ass vodka. We were talking about how our tastes have changed over the years."

"Vodka was not that bad. But, I definitely would not drink it now."

"Iono. Sorry, I think you're alone in this." He shrugs and you playfully hit him on the arm.

"Says you with your nasty Captain Morgan liking ass."

"Oh, come on. That was way better." You pretend to gag. "Captain Morgan brought the best memories for a lot of people." You laugh.

"Shut up."

"Seriously though, why do you seem disconnected? Is everything okay?"

"Yeah, don't worry. I just got an email about something but it's no biggie."

"Okay, please don't check your emails." Jiung swipes your phone and you feel like your heart drops to your ass when it's in his possession. But, he doesn't glance at it and simply slips it into your bag. "No more. Let's just enjoy ourselves while we're out here." 

"You're right." You give him a small smile, knowing you should at least be present with your friends instead of thinking about San. If it's meant to happen, you'll find time for him later.

Once the food comes, the chit-chat dies down and everyone is busy getting their grub in. The group starts talking about some of the plans they have for the rest of the conference, most people planning to meet with old friends who are around. You didn't necessarily make any extra plans thinking you'd be able to sneak away with San for most of it.

It's kinda dumb now that you think about it. 

How the hell were you gonna do that?

"Maybe we should just roam around a little more. I can find some things to do." Jiung says and you quietly nod. 

"We can just figure it out later." Eunchae says, grabbing her purse. "Alright, russian roulette? Whose card are we putting down?! We gotta get to the bars!" Alas, russian roulette occurs and the waitress ends up picking Felix's card. The rest of you cheer loudly before telling Felix you'll send him your halves once the night has finished to cheer him up. All of you grab your things, making sure to check the table one last time before heading out and walking towards the first bar down the street. Your mind slips to San when you see his hotel come in view up ahead, standing tall some few miles away, but bright. Fancy. Modern. You wonder if he's still out and about with the boys, or if they're heading back to the hotel at this point.

Whatever it was, you were not expecting him to be at the same place, at the same time.

The first bar you get to is spacious, with the front panels of the bar opening out onto the street; high tables and chairs underneath umbrellas filled with groups of people drinking and playing games like Jenga and Connect Four.

You and Jurin are holding hands as you follow the group into the bar, heading off to a free section near the right hand of the establishment. As you walk deeper inside, Jurin suddenly stops in her tracks and you hear her audibly gasp.

"Oh my god." Jurin squeals. "No fucking way!" She turns to you and Eunchae, squeezing your hand. At first, you don't even realize it until Jurin nods behind her. Your eyes widen when you find San, Mingi and Christopher eyeing your group, drinking away at their beers. There's a few other people around them that you're familiar with— also bioengineering professors at other universities. He must have heard Jurin because his eyes shoot straight towards you and he has to force himself not to freeze or smile to big seeing you in the flesh.

"The students have made it out." Mingi laughs.

"Oh hey! Familiar faces!" Chris says, raising his almost empty glass of beer in the air as you all settle into the section in front of their table. San looks at you and gives you a small smirk, biting onto his bottom lip as he fiddles with the napkin beneath his empty glass. Although the chances were somewhat high, San didn't think he'd end up at the same bar with his friends.. and your friends. Truthfully, there's so many bars in the area— he just didn't think it would happen like this.

Literally just falling onto his lap and vice versa.

He's not mad about it, though. He's happy to see you. He's just upset he can't do shit about it.

You give him and his friends tiny curt nods before sitting around on the couches in front of a long table. The same kind of games sit in the center, the boys instantly reaching for Jenga while the girls start putting in orders of a mix of shots and cocktails.

Your group gets loud pretty quick.

Enough for San and his friends to watch as entertainment.

Jenga gets pretty heated, as it usually does. You and your friends are probably the loudest in this corner but you don't really care— everyone's have a good time and not causing trouble despite intoxicated. Chris even starts throwing in some side commentary as he watches the game unfold between you, Felix, Eunchae and Jiung. The tower falls as Jiung tries to slip the wooden piece from the third to last level, almost successful until he abruptly pulls it out from its spot and causes the tower to tumble with a loud crash.

"You're usually better than that!" You tease him. 

"Dude, I can't always be good at everything all the time." You laugh. "Besides, where were you?!" He slightly gets in your face, and you're having to playfully push him back by the chest.

San is so..?

He was never really the type to get jealous. San likes to think he's laid back in his relationships and maybe that's where he goes wrong. But tonight, he sees the little flirty tones coming from Jiung. You're drunk and you probably don't realize it, or San is just being dumb because that is your bestfriend. He shakes off the thought because his feelings run deep for you and he doesn't wanna run you off. Clearly, you respect him and vice versa, and not to compare, but you don't have the same mentality and attitude as Iseul.

You're like a breath of fresh air, if that paints a better picture.

He can't help himself when he slightly gets jealous simply because he can't just throw himself on the couch to join your game and tease you. He can't just swing his arm around you and kiss you in front of everyone, he can't just hold your hand and do all that cute, lovey-dovey shit. Which in hindsight, sucks. But, he has you and that's enough to keep him going at this point.

Your group continues to play and cheer loudly, providing entertainment for the professors until they find the bar getting too loud, too crowded and too.. full of university students and postdocs attending the conference— it's definitely a good time to head out.

"Let's head out?" Chris closes out the tab with his card. San's eyes subtly scan you heading to the bathroom, giving him an opportunity to see you for a second because god, he can't fucking help it.

"Yeah. Let me just head to the bathroom." The boys nod, telling him they'll wait outside in the crisp night air. Chris and the rest quickly say their byes to your group as they pass and head outside, San already turning the corner to the hidden hallway at the back of the bar that leads to the bathrooms. San lingers around the bathroom doors nervously, wiping his grubby hands down his jeans. When the bathroom door swings open, you jump at the sudden figure waiting around, the smile on your face growing quickly when you realize who it is.

"Hey you." San smiles that 100-watt, dimpled smile you cherish and adore so much, a small giggle leaving your lips when he leans against the wall and taps your nose.

"In public?"

"You think I wasn't gonna use the bathroom excuse to come see you for a quick second? Insanity." You laugh.

"Hi Sannie."

"So cute." He lets out a breath. "We're heading out, just wanted to say bye before we do." His hand falls on your hip and gives it a squeeze. "Was hoping to steal a kiss."

"We might get in trouble." He chuckles.

"By who?" He presses you against him. "C'mere." He almost whines. You tippy-toe and kiss him on the lips, leaving San to look at you dazed through hooded lids. He chases quickly for another small peck, feeling satisfied enough with the two kisses in a hidden hallway; could keep him going for the remainder of the night 'till he sees you again. "Can you let me know if you wanna come over? I'll hop in a car and come get you."

"Mmkay."

"Y/N! Bae! Are you yacking?!" You push off of San when you hear Jurin's voice echo into the hallway, tucking hair behind your ear as San turns over his shoulder to greet her nonchalantly. "Oh shit?— I mean, hi Professor Choi."

"Hey." He gives her a toothless smile. "Anyway, nice running into you, Y/N." He turns to you with a wink before excusing himself. "Be safe tonight, ladies."

"Will do." Jurin scurries off to your side, giggling while San makes his way back outside to meet his boys. "Girl, what the fuck did I just interrupt?"

"Nothing? He was just saying hi."

"In a secret hallway? Outside of the bathrooms?" She snorts. "Please. You know, I'd support you if you were getting into trouble with him."

"Jurin." You give her a look, internal temp rising at hearing Jurin say things like that.

"Okay, babe." She links her arm with yours. "Glad you weren't yacking, though. Unless Professor Choi saved you there, too."

"Oh my god." When you get back to your friends, as expected, Jurin continues to tease you about the whole San encounter. It doesn't make it any easier when Eunchae joins in, drunkly trying to convince everyone that San actually has the hots for you.

It goes over everyone's heads when the bar gives your friends another round of shots on the house. Thankfully.

When a good hour and a half passes, the group decides it's time to head to another bar. 

And another.

And another.

To drink more, to play games, to dance, to be loud. Though, all you really want now is to be with San.

As the last bar gets a little too crowded and chaotic for your liking, you start to wind down on the drinks— feeling a bit too full, too tipsy, than you planned to be tonight. You check the time, and it's getting close to 11pm, people still high on energy. The night doesn't seem to be dying down soon, but all you can think of is getting to San and cuddling up to him all night. The need to be with him is incredibly strong right now, and you don't think you'll let the night pass without being alone with him.

What can you tell your friends this time?

"I'm gonna head out." You let Jiung know, dipping close to his ear.

"What?" He looks at you, confused.

"I'm just gonna go—" He doesn't even let you finish when he's cutting you off, ready to leave with you.

"Then, let me come with—"

"No. I promise I'm good, Jiung. You stay and have fun, please."

"Who are you heading out with?" You pause for a second, trying to come up with anything that'll get you off the hook without being too suspicious.

"I'm meeting up with Sunwoo, Belle and people from the lab at another bar."

"Do you want me to at least head over with you if its close?"

"I'm calling Uber. Promise I'll be okay." He's hesitant, but he doesn't push.

"Text me when you get there, then." He gives you a look and you nod. At this point, the Uber is pulling up to the bar you're at— the driver giving you a call to let you know he's made it out front. You quickly tell Eunchae, Felix, Jurin and your other friends that you're heading out to see your labmates and luckily, no one bats an eye.

Besides Jiung, maybe. Only out of worry, you think. He's coming from a good place. Everyone else is too busy enjoying themselves, kick starting the trip on a good note. 

He just thinks it's weird.

When you hop in the Uber, you confirm your endpoint destination before leaning your head against the window. The driver's got the AC on blast, which is definitely your saving grace right now. You don't realize just how drunk you've gotten until you're resting in the back seat of this car, hoping the ride doesn't contain too many twists and turns on the side streets until you get to San's 5-star hotel.

It doesn't. Thankfully.

It's a good 15-min ride away from the bar, just a few turns and tiny hard brakes due to unexpected street traffic. But, the ride feels quick. You shoot San a text and he re-tells you he's on the 14th floor, room 1412. He asks if you need him to meet you downstairs and you say no, clearly remembering that San said the other professors typically stay at this hotel, too.

In which, you miss Yunho passing you on the opposite side of the lobby. He feels like he saw you, but wasn't confident enough to say exactly. It wasn't uncommon for students to book rooms at this hotel— it just wasn't a top choice due to price despite the close proximity to the conference venue. Yunho can't help but do a double take just as you head to the elevator, realizing it was too late to get a good look at you.

Definitely feels familiar.

You slip into an empty elevator, pressing the button to the 14th floor multiple times until the elevator doors shut. You shoot your friends a text to let them know you've arrived and all is well, giving them a heads up that you might be sticking with Belle for the night and to not wait up. No one responds, so you figured your friends were still busy enjoying themselves and they'd see the text at some point. You rub your arms at the sudden drop of temperature in the elevator, looking at your mesh shirt and your black leather mini skirt through the mirrors on the walls. Truthfully, after a couple of hours out and being enclosed in a stuffy bar, you're surprised you still look put-together. You fix at your baby hairs and adjust your skirt a bit, still feeling wobbly and like the world is slightly spinning. The elevator dings and the doors slide open, pulling you out of your thoughts as you step out and look around for the hallway that leads to San's room. It's at this moment you realize you don't have anything with you— no clothes or things to shower with— and you're praying San [or the hotel] has some extras he could spare for you. 

You know you're definitely staying the night.

1412 finally comes into view and you feel your heart skip a beat, a big smile growing on your lips as you knock on the door a few times. You hear shuffling in the background before San swings the door open, revealing himself in sweats and a white tank. 

You feel your knees buckle, core throbbing and aching for him badly.

"San!" You squeal, jumping onto him. He laughs, holding you tightly. "Finally!"

"Baby." He tuts. "You should've let me know when you were ready so I could come back out and get you."

"I made it, though! I told Jiung I was seeing Sunwoo and Belle somewhere."

"Hm." San hums. "Do you even know where Sunwoo and Belle are?"

"Nope." He laughs. "Mm'drunk." You pout as you drop down and look up at him.

"I see, pretty girl. Did you have fun?"

"I did. But, I wanted to come over already. I wanted to cuddle."

"You can have all the cuddles you want." San smiles, brushing your hair back before pressing a chaste kiss to your lips. "You look amazing, baby. Any guys slip you their number after we left?"

"Maybe?" You tease and he pouts. "I'm kidding. I'd toss it anyway."

"Yeah?" He laughs.

"Sannie." You whine, wrapping your arms around him drunkly. "You know what else sounds good right now?" He chuckles, holding you close while rubbing at your sides.

"What's that?"

"A chocolate chip cookie with ice cream."

"I can call room service again." He smiles, brushing your hair back. "Why don't you go get washed up and comfy, angel?"

"Mmkay." San presses a kiss to your forehead before grabbing you one of his shirts to change into and setting it on the edge of the bed. "Come on." He leads you to the bathroom, helping you out of your boots and your clothes before checking the water temp and getting you into the shower. The hot water feels good against your skin, almost helping you sober up a bit more as you let your body relax. San calls for room service to order your dessert, along with requesting for your clothes to be dry-cleaned and returned in the morning. San hears you drop one of the bottles in the shower, causing him to peek into the bathroom to hear you giggling. 

"You okay in there, love?"

"Yeah, sorry. Just trying to do the body wash but it slipped." San smiles to himself.

"Careful." He rests back against the headboard after hanging up your clothes on a hanger and slipping it through the plastic cover. You take another 10 minutes before you step out of the steamy shower in nothing but a towel. San turns to watch you from the bed, door cracked just enough to see you lathering up with the hotel's free lotion sitting on the bathroom counter. He has to pull himself together when the knock from room service comes, San hurriedly getting the door to grab the dessert and hand off your clothes. You hear San tell whoever is at the door to charge everything to his room before the door shuts close and he's back on the bed.

"Who was that?"

"Room service."

"Did you actually order the cookie?!" He nods.

"Yeah, and sent your clothes off for dry cleaning."

"San." You pout. "You didn't have to."

"Don't worry about it." He looks at you from the bed. "C'mere. Your ice cream is gonna melt." He has a hand behind his head as he lazily rests on the bed and against the headboard. He pats his free side, TV softly playing in the background.

"I gotta change." You walk out and sit on the edge of the bed near him, still wrapped in your towel.

"I mean, you don't really need to. I'll probably get you out of that shirt in a bit anyway." He smirks.

"Mm." You hum. "Don't say things like that, Choi San." You unwrap the bowl with a mini cookie pie sitting inside, vanilla ice cream on top starting to melt into it. 

"Still drunk?" San rubs your arm and presses a light kiss to your shoulder.

"Not too bad. Shower definitely helped. This will absolutely help." He chuckles. "Thank you." You turn to him just as you take a spoonful. 

"Course." He lets out a breath as he continues to watch you eat. "I missed you." He lays small, feathery kisses on your arm.

"I did too, Sannie. How was hanging out with the boys?" He shrugs.

"It was good. I'm just tired. But I'm glad you're here." You giggle as you look at him, his arm now wrapped behind you. 

"Want some? It's good!" You feed San another spoonful, a wad of vanilla ice cream sticking to the corner of his lips. Kinda brings you back to the first time you kissed him, except, circumstances are definitely different now.

Aka you missed San, and you've been yearning for him.

"It is good!" You smirk, placing the spoon down on the edge of the plate before coming down to lick the ice cream off from the corner of his lips. You maintain eye contact with him while you gently grip his jaw, placing a kiss to the same corner after licking off the ice cream clean. 

"I got you." You say softly, causing San to smirk wider.

"So fucking sexy, swear to God." It almost comes off as a low growl. "Uh-uh. You're not going anywhere after that." You squeal when San pulls you back down with some force, instantly pressing his lips to yours in a heated kiss.

"San—" You giggle in between kisses, letting out another loud squeal when he sits you on his lap, giving you full access to straddle him. "My towel!"

"Fuck the towel." You laugh, letting San tear off the towel from your body, tossing it aside. The kiss turns sloppy, wet; the both of you licking into each other's mouths while you slowly rut against him. He's quick to rip off his tank, chasing after your lips because he doesn't wanna waste a second away from you. The need, want, is strong; as if the universe has kept you and San away from each other for light years.

Every touch, every kiss, burned like ember— fueled by desire, cravings. Spreading quick like a wildfire: consuming, impossible to contain.

"Missed you so much, baby." San whispers against your skin as you settle back on his lap after shredding off his pants and boxer briefs, his hands caressing your back. You line him up at your entrance, slowly sinking down onto his hard cock. He nods eagerly, hazing eyes looking up at you as he relaxes again— hand behind his head while you lazily rock your hips back and forth to adjust the feeling. "Gonna be my good girl and ride me? Gonna use me like you need to?"

"San." You breathily moan, head cocking back in pure pleasure when you find the perfect rhythm to work with. Your hands rest on his abs, hips swirling and slowly working in circular motions on his rock hard cock. 

"Oh fuck— just like that sweetheart." He lets out a groan, looking up at you through hooded lids while he continues to let you do all the work. "Fuck, yes—" He moans loudly, matching your tone as you pick up your pace. He hisses in between, hearing your slickness against him while you go between bouncing on his cock to rolling your hips— clit rubbing against him so deliciously it's fulfilling that desire, craving, for San within you. San is completely taken by how mesmerizing, yet so sinful you look riding him the way that you are; pretty perked tits, beautifully shaped curves, plump lips.

"Sannie, feels so good— mmshit." You mewl, fucking him faster as your hands crawl up to his neck— gripping around the base at just the right pressure. 

"Baby. Gonna make me cum if you keep moving on my shit like that— fuuuuck." He lets out a loud, choked moan as you continue; fast, rough. Both of your moans blending into each other's, names being called like a mantra. The scene is nothing short of pornographic, loud, wet noises of skin against skin bouncing off of the walls while you continue to ride your man into the next lifetime. "Fucking me so good. So perfect. All mine." He praises you.

So pretty.

My girl.

All mine.

No one else's.

"Close. Please cum with me." You whimper and beg, hips now getting sloppier, messier.

"Yeah, that's it. Let me feel you." Your hips continue to work him, pleasure building at your core until you finally tip over the edge; stilling in your position while you moan filthily, trembling as your orgasm washes over you completely. "Yes baby, yes— give it to me." Your hands are now on San's chest to keep you steady, San roughly fucking up into you. Hearing you whine, along with the way your walls tightly clenching around his dick is enough for him to unravel; his turn to whine and whimper while digging his hands into the flesh of your hips. He groans as he releases every drop inside of you, chest heaving as he tries to regulate himself and calm down from the orgasm hitting him too hard.

"Oh my god." You pant, slowly sliding off of him when you finally muster the rest of your energy to do so. You plop next to him, San also still trying to regain some energy post-high.

"Sounds about right." He chuckles. "That was amazing, angel." San presses a kiss to your head before grabbing some napkins to help clean the both of you up.

"Was a good time using you." You tease, scooting next to him. "Before I forget, I have something." You lean over the side of the bed to grab the polaroid from your purse, turning onto your tummy to show it to San.

"You're so pretty, sweetheart." He smiles, grabbing it from your hands and slipping it into his phone case turned wallet. He slides it into one of the sleeves before setting his phone back down on the nightstand and pecking you on the lips. "Thank you."

"You're really gonna keep it there?" He nods.

"I always have my phone with me so, yeah."

"What if it slips out and falls?"

"I would never let that happen to your picture." He chuckles, watching as you fall back onto the mattress and allowing San to pull you into his arms. "You guys look like you really enjoyed yourselves on the first night."

"Mm. Yeah. We had fun. I'm just happy to be here now." 

"Thank whoever took that cute ass photo of you for me." You laugh and nod.

"What're you doing tomorrow? Any plans before or after the first day of the conference?"

"Hm. I have breakfast with Namjoon and everyone in the morning. Not sure about nighttime, but I'd carve out time for you." You smile.

"Breakfast with the group sounds nice. And god, I hope I can come over again, but I think Jiung and Eunchae wanna explore. We'll see." He nods, pressing a kiss to your head. "Wish I could just stay here, San."

"You could." You look at him and he lets out a small laugh, brushing your hair back. "I know, baby. One day, we won't have to keep planning around like this."

"I know."

"Would you travel with me?" San continues to look down at you as you rest on his bare chest.

"If I had the money to. And if it wasn't too suspicious for class and such." He nods. "You're traveling often these next weeks."

"Mhm. But, I wish you could be there with me. Wish I didn't have to leave you back there with my friends and Jeong Yunho." You chuckle.

"I wish I could too, Sannie."

"Come to the coast side with me for the Baskin conference, at least. Please?" San traces faint shapes on your side. "Students head off to conferences all the time. It won't be that suspicious for you to travel for this, too."

"You sure, babe? Cause what student can even afford to head to multiple conferences in a short amount of time?"

"I've seen a good amount. It's not that uncommon." He shrugs, and you let out a small sigh. "No pressure. But, I really want to be there with you. I'll take care of your ticket and everything. I'm sure your professors will understand, too." He gently kisses your forehead. "And.. maybe, I can take you around the world with me in the future."

"Is that what you want?"

"More than anything."

"I want that, too."

"Then, let's make it happen." You giggle against him, shutting your eyes as the exhaustion slowly takes over your body. San's warmth engulfs you as he continues to hold you close, keeping the TV on until he feels himself getting sleepy. Its nights like these that make him feel whole, that make him feel like he's on top of the world again. And god, does he love this feeling— the feeling that you bring to him, the euphoria he gets whenever he's around you.

Hugging you.

Kissing you.

Making love to you.

There's nothing more that he wants than to keep you happy, and he'll keep himself here for as long as he can. 

"Night, baby." He whispers against your forehead, leaving sweet, gentle kisses to your face until he settles under the sheets properly and keeps you close.

The next days are filled with jam-packed information from the conference, with you, Jiung and a few colleagues checking out the scheduled talks and chopping it up with vendors to see what the latest versions of supplies and equipment are. Today was San's talk, along with other keynote speeches and poster session day, so you were up and at 'em early to support your man and Sunwoo. You tried your best to not relive the weekend to avoid any mishaps or slip ups, avoiding any conversation or confrontation about it this entire time.

And you were doing good, especially since the days were hectic.

Until said tiny slip up passes by so unexpectedly. 

You were so, so close.

—FLASHBACK

"Oh, aye! She's here! Nice to see you!" Your labmates quickly say hello as they pass you in the opposite direction. "It would've been nice to see you at the bar the other night, Y/N!"

"Wait what, I thought you went?" Jiung furrows his brows at you, and you feel your palms get all sweaty.

"That group went somewhere else."

"Oh? But, you, Sunwoo and Belle stayed behind?"

"Mhm."

"Y/N, if you're hooking up with someone in the lab, you can just say so." He snorts and you playfully punch him on the bicep.

"Ew, no! I'm not, Jiung." You pout. "We just liked the bar we were at."

"Hm." Jiung hums. "Okay then." He shrugs, still not really believing you left to meet up with Sunwoo and them. But, he digresses. He'll let you open up to him when you're ready. Jiung just knows, though.

Jiung knows you haven't really been seeing your mom.

Jiung knows you didn't really see Sunwoo and Belle.

And he could probably thank the fact that he knows you so well— he knows that a lie is hard for you to keep up with. It'll unravel, eventually. It is. Slowly.

What it actually is, though, he's curious?

What is it that you can't even tell him, your bestfriend?

—END

"Where's Professor Choi's talk?"

"In the Verve conference room. I think it's on the opposite side." You pull out the venue map.

"We should go so we can get good seats. Same thing for Professor Kim's talk right after." You nod, clinging onto Jiung's arm to navigate the sea of people making their way around the venue to get to particular talks and poster sessions currently happening for different branches of neuroscience subjects. When you get to the Verve conference room, there's still some spots open, but not too many. You, Jiung and your colleagues slip into the fourth row towards the end, still getting a good view of the stage from the seats. There's still about another 10 minutes before San's scheduled to speak, but the room filled up quickly after you and your friends arrived. You spot Zara slipping into a front row seat with Mingi. Your eyes linger on her for a little longer than you'd like, seeing how she sits so prim and proper— a huge smile on her face as she patiently waits for San to get on stage.

You can't say you don't feel a little scared and insecure seeing her. You do. She's right up his alley, and one day, he could see that.

He could see the reality of this.

Before you can fall into the rabbit hole, the lights dim and the host steps on stage to introduce San. Your man steps onto the stage in black dress pants, a white button up and matching black vest and tie. He's got his rimless frames on, hair falling neatly to the sides of his face, his forehead. He kicks off his talk, his voice enough to captivate the audience from the get-go. You are truly enamored and in complete awe every time San does a talk. The stage isn't huge, but enough for him to pace around. He always has presentation slides, but his slides contain more photos and figures than words. He does a brief glance at the current slide, pacing around the stage slowly as he explains its contents in a smooth, calm manner. He has a hand in his pant pocket, while the other is used for hand gestures at the same time as holding the slide clicker. Other times, both hands are out for gestures. You know San never uses the same presentation for every talk, so it's crazy to see him discuss each point so perfectly; enough to paint its picture, but not overwhelming with details. He always scans the audience, his eyes falling on you a few times amidst the talk. He has brief pauses, speaks without slipping in filler words. When he smiles and slips in small jokes, he has the ability to make everyone feel the same energy tenfold— entire audience smiling, nodding or chuckling in response. He answers every question during the Q&A session, being able to express his thoughts and concerns freely without holding back.

He is honest, and he is the definition of passionate when it comes to his craft. 

When his time is up, he gives the audience a bow before seeing himself off the stage and down into the audience to talk to a few people. Most are heading out to catch other talks, while others are lingering to get even a second in with San. The first person that lingers around and sticks by San's side is Zara, along with Christopher. They all chat together before San is acknowledging colleagues around them— some very well-known professors from global universities, some Nobel laureates. It's crazy to see San in this environment outside of school, the lab, because it's still crazy to know he's considered young in his field but incredibly talented and sought out. 

"I'm gonna say hi to Professor Choi." Jiung nods.

"Okay. We should get to Professor Kim's talk soon, though."

"We will." You nod, leaving him behind with your colleagues who are now talking to other professors and familiar faces nearby. You waltz over to San, slowly slipping your way through while he's talking to Zara a bit more. His eyes land on you and they instantly light up, causing Zara to break and put a pause in their conversation when you approach them.

"Hi Professor Choi, Professor Cho. Really great talk you did." You shyly say to him, keeping it professional and lowkey.

"Thank you." He smiles at you. "This is Y/N, she's the rotation student in my lab." San looks over at Zara. She smiles at you and takes your hand in a gentle shake. She's sweet, you think. And she definitely still has the hots for your man.

"Yes, hi Y/N! I've heard lots about the work you've already done in Professor Choi's lab. He seems to be a big fan." You feel the heat rise to your cheeks before you chuckle and brush off the comment. 

"Oh, really? I'd hope so." You briefly look at San, who is just standing there— pursing his lips together in a fine line to prevent himself from smirking too big. But, his eyes tell all, and the brief moment Zara looks between you two; it's a little clearer to her who you might just be to him. "It's really nice to meet you Professor Cho. Your talk was great."

"Thank you. Definitely was not as major as Professor Choi's though, talk about the turnout." She looks around, then looks up at him. There's awe, admiration, probably even a sprinkle of lust if you look closely. 

Could be just you, but whatever. You know that look when you see it. Plus it's San— who the fuck wouldn't?

"Nah, not even. Your talk was amazing and had just the right amount of info. Not too heavy, flowed easily." He reassures her and you awkwardly stand there before tucking a strand of hair back and excusing yourself.

"I agree with him." You chime in. "Anyway, sorry have to cut this short, but I have to get going to Professor Kim's talk. Just wanted to pop in and praise you both for the amazing talks." You look at Zara again as she continues to stick to San's side. "It was lovely to formally meet you, Professor Cho." You give San one last, toothless smile before re-joining Jiung near the exit doors of the conference room, heading straight to the opposite end to hear Namjoon's lecture starting in the next 10 mins. As Zara returns her attention to San, she finds his eyes still lingering on you even as you leave.

And she could be reading it all wrong, but she, too, knows that look when she sees it.

"Uh, so." San says, finally meeting her eyes. "I'm gonna head over to Namjoon's in a few too, if you'd like to join me." She shakes her head.

"I've gotta meet up with an old colleague in a bit. We'll try and catch it if we can, but we've got lots of catching up to do." San nods.

"Well, enjoy yourself, Zara." He smiles. "I'll catch you around." He steps away, shaking hands and briefly greeting a few others on his way out, leaving Zara behind to navigate through the crowd on her own. She eventually finds her colleague going down the row of posters set up along the side of the main venue room, waving to her to get her attention. She jogs over and gives her a tight hug, one that she feels like she really needed at this time.

"Hey you!" Zara says. "Sorry, San's talk just wrapped up."

"Oh, you don't say?" Her colleague and friend, Yu, says teasingly. "How was San's talk? How's it been working with him? Have you two gotten closer or whatever?" She smirks at her and Zara shakes her head with a small, choked up chuckle.

"It was great! Amazing as usual." She looks at the ground. "We're just colleagues, and I'm afraid it'll stay that way. Probably best, anyway."

"What?! I thought there was a little spark?! It sounded like it was gonna go somewhere and I was so excited to hear the next episode!" Zara laughs. 

"It's fine, I promise. He's got his eyes on someone else and I think he's happy." Not gonna lie, as she explains this, all she can think about is: how heartbreaking.

Of course, she can't say for certain. She's going off of gut feelings and subtle [but obvious] actions. But even if it were true, she can't help but question: why? All of it would be so, so wrong on the surface level. You'd be dating your professor, and the both of you could ruin a lot of things for each other.

Perhaps, San sees it all as worth it. 

Zara wonders what you do that makes him feel that way. In hindsight, they could have been good for each other. It felt like it. She thought they'd hit it off from their small meetings and the way she slowly learned more things about him. They were professors well on their way to bigger things. Even though she had nothing but assumptions, she still couldn't shake the feeling she had in her gut.

Where did she lack that you made up for?

—read 8.5 here

—taglist: @asjkdk @interweab @woojirang @svintsandghosts @cheolliehugs @persphonesorchid @mxnsxngie @jycas @cowboydk @vcutparis @chngbnwf @struggling101 @sanhwalvr @angelqueendom @barbielibra @brown88 @choisansplushie @yunhoswrldddd @hyukssunflower @vickykazuya @lucid-galaxys-world @jaytheatiny @pommelex @thechaotictheoryy @vixensss @santineez @nopension @domfikeluva @in-somnias-world @my-atiny-kookie-rkive @mountiiny

[mistywaves98]

Okay.... but like, consider merman/siren (Not the bird kind of siren.) Scara sinking our ship and eating our crew. But we're a woman disguised as a man because they used to not let women on ships. He only eats men so when he notices we're different he takes an interest in our body, mainly our boobs? I don't know- just a random thought I had while trying to concentrate during biology. Can be read as a drabble/brainrot or a request. Whichever you'd prefer to read it as<3

This is a very interesting concept ngl 😮 also this was not as great as I'd hoped it would come out..

✧･ﾟ:* ->Siren! Scaramouche x Fem! Reader

✧･ﾟ:* ->¡Warnings!: (sort of) NSFW, Just him being entranced by your chest, Nipple sucking, Making out!

✧･ﾟ:* ->Smut written by a minor!

You had just begun to feel like everything was going according to plan until your ship was attacked and your crew disappearing beneath the water, only to resurface as mangled corpses. The water around you was a horrible mix of blood and guts as you clung desperately to a floating piece of board that passed by.

You couldn't see anything beneath you, it was just water that went deeper for miles. Suddenly, a webbed hand shot up behind you and covered your mouth. A shape emerged alongside it and you felt a firm, wet chest against your back. Another arm wrapped around your upper torso as a raspy voice whispered into your ear,"Looks like I missed one.."

You thought this was the end, and didn't even bother to struggle since you knew it was futile. This creature was going to turn you into one of the dismembered bodies that were still somewhere nearby. However, you didn't feel yourself pulled underwater. The hand on your chest suddenly moved, slowly tracing the curve of your breasts through your clothes. You couldn't help but feel embarrassed as the creature you assumed to be male straight up groped you.

Suddenly, you felt sharp nails dig into your shoulders as the webbed hands spun you around, giving you a clear view of your 'attacker'. Slit pupils bore holes into your chest as he studied you with a furrowed expression. There were fins in place of his ears and his indigo hair seemed to flow around him despite being dripping wet. His eyes then darted up to your face, his glare piercing you.

"You...you're not a man." He said in a flat tone. You slowly nodded your head,"You're right, I'm a woman... Aren't you going to eat me?" "Eat you? Don't be an idiot, I don't eat female humans," he scoffed as if it were the most obvious thing in the world,"...especially not such lovely specimens such as yourself..." his voice suddenly dropped an octave and a dark expression came over his face. He leaned in a bit, his nose almost touching yours,"You know that you're trespassing by sailing here, right? That's why I killed your crew as a punishment for disturbing my peace. But I won't kill you, though. I already have an idea of what I'll do to you..." His eyes flickered downwards for a split moment and you blushed in embarrassment as you caught onto his meaning,"O-Oh... Well I suppose I am in the wrong... Punish me as you see fit."

Your top was tugged open, even torn in some places due to the enthusiasm of his claws. His scaly tail curled around your lower body beneath the water to hold you still as he lowered his head down till it was level with those soft mounds now covered in droplets of water. Moans keened from your throat as he hungrily began to suck on your left nipple, pointy teeth grazing the already erect bud, eliciting a soft yelp from you.

Your hands weaved their way into the damp hair on the back of his head, tugging him closer,"Mmm...you're so eager, aren't you my little captain?" He teased with a smirk as he released your nipple with a pop and pulled back a bit. Your hands came down to grasp his shoulders as his hands moved up to toy with your breasts, squeezing and kneading them between his webbed hands. The sensation was strange yet pleasurable at the same time and it left you breathless and flushed in the face.

The siren seemed to notice how you seemed to writhe even more when he occasionally gave your nipples a light pinch,"These are so sensitive... Yet they taste delicious. I want to taste more of you." With that, he dove in and captured your lips in an intense kiss. His hands brought you closer, one holding the back of your head to ensure you didn't pull away. You moaned as you felt his tongue snake its way into your warm mouth. It was so sleek and long, practically choking you with how deep it reached, yet it felt so amazing, you didn't want to pull back.

However, the kiss inevitably ended when you needed to breathe. He licked his lips as he watched you catch your breath, appreciating the sight of your exposed chest heaving with every inhale,"Your mouth tasted even better than I imagined. I bet there's other places that would feel absolutely divine on my tongue...but for now I'm satisfied. But don't think that means I won't be coming back for you." He suddenly scoops you up in his arms and makes his way to the beach nearest to the mainland.

As expected of a siren, you arrive there in a matter of minutes. Once you get close enough, you decide to part ways and swim the rest of the way, but before you go he says,"The name's Scaramouche by the way. Remember it for our future encounters." After that final goodbye, he disappears beneath the water and you vaguely make out a dark shape heading back out to deeper waters. As you sit on the beach, attempting to cover up your torso so it looks somewhat decent, you can't help but think that you'll be venturing to that part of the ocean a bit more often now, but on purpose this time.

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

I've been dreaming of my First Friend.

In this strange new world, nothing is certain—not even one’s safety.

But through it all, you were with me. Always by my side.

Please don’t leave me behind.

How does a moment last forever? How can a story never die?

"Grrr...! This stupid thing won't close," Grim complains. He fumbles with the buttons on his robes, which refuse to be secured.

"That's because you've got two left thumbs... or, more accurately, no thumbs at all," his human companion teases. They crouch down, gesturing for him. "Here, I'll help you."

"Myahaha, that's my minion!" Grim scrambles over on all fours—definitely not like a cat. He's far more dignified than some glorified house pet or familiar.

"You're going to get your clothes dirty if you walk around like that," they scold him lightly as they cinch his robes shut, then dusts him off. They pause, going in to adjust his waistband, then the angle of his cap. "There you go." "All set for your big day."

"Our big day," Grim corrects, nudging them on the cheek with his paw. "We're a 2-for-1 deal, remember?"

"Right. Me and the almighty Grim-sama," they reply with a laugh, poking his little nose.

An ear-splitting sob disrupts the intimate scene. Three ghosts in top hats and gray cloaks sail in—one small, one plump, one scrawny—all wailing.

"I can't believe this day's finally arrived!"

"Grimmy and Prefect, all grown up... Off to tackle Twisted Wonderland head-on..."

"WAAAAH, I'm gonna miss my living roomies!!"

"Hey, hey, what's with the empty nest syndrome, guys?" The prefect huddles with the ghosts. They cannot physically touch, but the same energy is there, their arms lingering where the ghosts’ bodies float.

“B-But…!”

“Don't worry. No matter the time or place, we'll carry the spirit of Ramshackle dorm with us wherever we go.“ They smile sympathetically. “That means you’ll always be with us! This world, this life… and into the next.”

"D-Do you really think friendships can last more than a lifetime?" one ghost asks through his tears.

"For sure. So please… Don’t cry because it’s over. Smile because it happened. Can you do that for us?”

“O-Okay,” the trio blubbers and sniffles.

“Geez, you’re all a buncha babies,” Grim sighs, paws on his hips. “C’mon, we’re supposed to be celebratin’ US today!! Like my minion said, let’s see some smiles, yeah?”

“We’ll come see you off at the ceremony the,” the small ghost suggests. The cheer is strained, like he is holding back a torrent of tears.

"The ceremony…” The prefect’s eyes go wide and panicked. “Oh crap, we're going to be late! The headmaster should already be starting his speech...!"

"Not a problem, leave it to this Grim-sama. A teleportation spell's easy as takin' a tuna can from a kitten!"

"Sorry, guys. Gotta run...! We'll see you there?"

Grim expertly clambers onto the prefect's neck, making himself comfortable as a boa on their shoulders. The magestone dangling from his neck lights up, and the duo are enveloped in its glow.

The last sight before they blip away are the ghosts, waving good-bye with wet eyes.

A blink later, the two are among a crowd of students in the same uniform as them. Long robes, graduation caps affixed to their heads. They're lined up behind a stage, the curtain stained the dark sapphire of a night sky and dotted with sparkling stars.

Crowley's voice drones from the other side, amplified by a microphone. A waiting crowd murmurs appreciatively as he crows on about hard work, congratulations, and new beginnings.

"See?" Grim winks at his minion. "What'd I tell ya? Anything’s a cinch with my magic~”

"Great going, archmage-in-the-making. You really saved our butts," they say, ruffling his fur. “Come to think of it, were running late for our first day too… and the sorting ceremony before that. I guess we’re destined to be tardy together, huh, Grim?”

"Heh, you got that right!" He bumped his tiny fist with his partner's. “Let’s keep at it, you ‘n me! Grim-sama and his loyal minion, together forever.”

"Oiiiii! Grim, Prefect!!"

"Oh, that’s..."

They glance up, finding a group of boys making their way toward them in the crowd. One with a heart etched onto his face, the other, a spade. A wolf beastman, another with reptilian eyes and slicked back hair, trailed by a smaller, delicate boy and an android with a head of blue flames. Old friends from the other dorms.

"There you are. We thought we'd missed you." Deuce calls out, looking relieved.

"Idiot, we wouldn’t have missed them—you worried for nothin’. They're first on the chopping block cuz they're sooo special." Ace rolls his eyes. "Lu~cky. You get to show off and hog the spotlight before anyone else does.”

"We um... wanted to come and say good luck," Epel offers. "It's a big deal to have made it this far. Starting a new life in an unfamiliar world and all, it's a lot."

"Thanks, everyone. I really couldn't have made it these past few years without your support."

"Ah-HEM!" Grim coughs.

"... And Grim," the prefect added, scratching him behind the ears.

"This is really it, then." Jack is blunt, his arms folded. "Our last chapter at Night Raven College."

"Hmph! Is that all you have to say?! Surely you can muster up more oomph than that!! Today is not just that--it is the start of the rest of our lives." Sebek straightens, looking rather proud.

"Hmm..." Ortho taps at his chin contemplatively. "You know what? When words are not enough to express ourselves, action may be the next best thing!"

"... Wait, what exactly are you suggesting?" Ace asks suspiciously, an eyebrow raised.

"A group hug! For one final sendoff."

Sebek is the first to protest, his voice cutting through loud and clear. "I refuse!! There is absolutely NO WAY I am engaging in physical intimacy with you humans!"

"Not so hot on the idea either."

Ace and Deuce warily stare at each other. "Not happening," they chorus at the same time.

"Well, if the others don't want to, then..." Epel trails off.

"Guys, shut up and group hug already," the prefect groans, throwing their arms around their friends. Reluctant grumbles round the group, but no one makes an active effort to peel away.

“GACK!!” Grim chokes out, crushed between everyone’s chests. When their bodies recede, he collapses, vision spinning, seeing stars.

“Hahah, looks like Grim got flattened like a pancake,” Ace jeers. “Still got it in ya to waltz on stage after that?”

“C-Can it!! Of course I do!” he snaps back.

The timing is opportune. Right then, Crowley’s speech reaches them, a summons.

“… We will now begin calling up our students to receive their diplomas, starting with Ramshackle Dorm.”

“Looks like that’s our cue, Grim.”

“Let’s get goin’!!”

The prefect steps back and passes one final look to their peers. People from many different places, many different backgrounds. United at last.

“Go.”

They do.

Clutching onto their graduation cap, the prefect races up the steps from the wings. Grim bounding along by their side. Every stride equal against the other’s.

Like shooting stars, they’ve come so far. They can’t go back to where they used to be.

When they emerge from the darkness, they’re hit with bright sunshine and stage lights. Spring is in full bloom, welcoming them with balmy weather and armfuls of flowers.

The headmaster beams from behind a podium, gesturing for them to approach. In his grasp, two scrolls secured with navy ribbons.

Their diplomas.

“Presenting Grim and the Prefect, our special students sharing the spot of Valedictorian.”

Grim squeals, soaked up the adoration. He waves at the audience, flashes silly poses for the cameras. The prefect laughs, prodding him along with their hands.

“Come on, let’s not stall the ceremony for everyone else.”

“One moment.”

A smallish figure blocks their path. It’s a young man with crimson hair and heart-shaped ahoge. He holds out his hand--and the prefect, stunned, takes it.

"Riddle-senpai. You've returned."

"Prefect. Grim." He politely greets them, shaking their hands in turn. "May the Queen of Hearts and her spirit of strictness guide you as you cross this threshold in life. Remain disciplined, and I know you will both achieve even greater things."

Riddle releases, and another seizes their hands. This shake is rougher, looser.

"Congrats, you survived four years at this place," Leona purrs. He wears less of a smile and more of a bemused smirk. "Persisted, like the King of Beasts did."

His duty done, he casually drops them. Azul elegantly ducks in, his grasp firm and tone professional.

"Fufu. What an honor it is to reunite like this. Your benevolence has done much to improve our dear Night Raven College. The Sea Witch would surely extol your generosity."

"Prefect, Grim!!"

Azul steps back with a bow, making space for the next person.

Kalim practically collides with them, excitedly yanking their hands up and down as he chatters. "So good to see you again!! Gahahah, you haven't changed a bit! I bet you're much wiser now though--maybe just as mindful as the Sorcerer of the Sands was!”

Behind him, someone clears their throat. Awareness hits him and Kalim gasps, letting go of the graduates.

"It takes considerable tenacity to arrive at this milestone,” Vil says, clasping the prefect and Grim’s hands in his own. Then, he smiles ever so slightly. “… Be proud, potatoes. Your efforts have not gone unnoticed by the Beautiful Queen.”

He steps aside, allowing a gloomy, hooded figure to replace him. Idia grimaces, shielding his eyes from the lights glaring down at him.

“Tch… Dragged me out here for this,” he mutters, keeping his clammy, pale hands shoved squarely into his hoodie pockets.

A pause—and Idia managed an anxious smile. “GG or whatever. I guess even an amateur can clear hard levels if they’re diligent enough. The King of the Underworld was a noob at one point too.”

(“Is that really the most encouraging thing you could muster?” Vil tuts from the sidelines.)

With that, Idia shuffles off, joining the other ex-dorm leaders.

“Nyahahah, it feels nice to be recognized~” Grim snickers.

“Well, I certainly hope you haven’t had your fill yet.”

A frigid touch comes upon the prefect and Grim’s hands. That voice, like sudden nightfall. They find themselves staring up at a colossal shadow with leering green eyes, scales studding their forehead.

"M-Myah?!” Grim’s fur stands on end.

“Even you came, Tsunotaro!!” the prefect gasps.

“I wouldn’t miss this ceremony for the world,” Malleus smoothly reassures them. “I wished to lend my support to my dear friends and send them off with my blessing.”

He raises his arms to the open sky. Bright blue, barely a cloud in it. Sunlight pouring down, framing the ceremony in a golden spotlight.

“The Thorn Fairy’s utmost value is nobility. As you of the new generation sally forth into the world, let your souls shine as noble and true as her own.“

Uproarious applause rises, cheering and clapping combining into one frantic melody. The flowers blush, swelling large and healthy with color. The sun itself seems to brighten too, the wind lifting in a joyous, effervescent song.

“Congratulations...!!”

“Waaaah, Tsunotaro made the whole world light up!” Grim cries, eyes sparkling. “Heheh, okay, that’s a pretty good one—but watch out cuz one day I’ll be one of the top 5 strongest, most charismatic mages too!”

“Fufufu. I look forward to that day.”

Malleus bends down, his lips puling back to reveal luminous teeth.

“May you never be apart,” he whispers, so quiet that no one hears. Then, more loudly, “Congratulations. I wish you all a happily ever after.”

“I dunno what you’re goin’ on about, but thanks for hypin’ us up!!” Grim grins from ear to ear. “Today’s definitely… the best day ever!”

“I’m glad of it.”

And may it remain that way, forevermore.

[minminbunny]

Stalker X Stalker AU - Psychotic! Lee Felix/Love Straved Gender Neutral! Reader

*smut part - AFAB/AMAB

💕Drabble Masterlist

❤️Ultimate Masterlist

"We're done, Felix. I can't do this anymore," you scoffed, tugging your wrist back from his grip. Felix felt his blood boil, "What do you mean, we're done. I can't stay having another break from you just because you don't understand that I hate it when they stare at you, baby. You're mine, my little darling," he growled, glaring at you.

"Not a break, it's over. I'm sick of you being possessive of me. I'm sick of you watching over me. Just leave me alone, we're breaking up," you sniffled as angry tears dripped down your cheeks. Felix's eyes widened, "Baby, you can't do this to me. I'll give you more space. I just hate when people gawk at you like some toy. Darling, you're worth more than that. You're my everything. Please don't leave me," he pleaded, feeling his knees get weak.

You looked away, dragging your suitcase, "I'm sorry," you whispered, closing the front door behind you. Felix held his head in his palm, laughing controllably at the events that just happened, "It's a nightmare. It's all just a nightmare. They'll come back for me. They have to," he babbled, tears streaming down his cheeks as he wailed.

You curled up in a hotel bed, clutching the plush Felix won you at an arcade. You sighed, "It was for the best, right?" You sniffled, feeling the usual familiarity of loneliness. "It's not like he wouldn't find another. He's handsome, charming. He can easily get another partner that's just like me," you sniffled, your voice cracking as you spoke.

You looked at the plush, staring into its eyes, "This is where I belong," you whispered, crying yourself to sleep. Felix clenched his jaw and stared at the screen, his gaze icy and blank. Tear stains etched into his pale skin, "You can't escape me, darling. I understand where you're coming from though, those stupid ex partners of yours surely implanted those thoughts in your mind, but I'll come after you. I'll show you true affection, I'll teach you. Mark my words," he growled, staring at your sleeping face through the plush he gave.

Weeks went by and the loneliness grew heavier and heavier. It felt like Felix's constant affection was filling up the empty gaps throughout the day. It felt like he was distracting you from the heavy thoughts in your mind. You stared at the plush, "Is he right?" You whispered, stroking the plush. You questioned your decision, pondering if it were the right choice to make or were you just too caught up to escape.

You couldn't tell the difference, "Maybe I should go on a blind date and see how that goes," you murmured, calling a friend to step you up. Felix pressed his tongue against his cheek, "Not on my watch," he grits, eavesdropping on the call and forming his plan. You dressed up nice, it's been a while since your first date with Felix and you know that first impressions matter. You kissed your plush goodbye and left for the venue.

When you walked in, someone was seated at your table. You went up to them, but they were on a call. They gave you a guilty look and apologized. You nodded and waited for their call to end. It was a quick date, one with not many defences, just a smooth sailing date. You exchanged numbers and went to the bathroom. It wasn't like your first date with Felix. His eyes weren't glued to you and his smile was half-hearted.

When you first met Felix he gave you the brightest smile you've ever seen. He made you feel seen. You sighed, filling the bathroom with an odd sense of longing. Felix waited by your car, waiting and lurking for your arrival. He had a cloth drenched in chloroform, ready to kidnap you in your own car. You walked through the parking lot, mind still dazed from the odd longing in your chest, you missed him.

You missed the way he would cheer you up when you're down. You missed the way he would tighten his grip around your waist and bite the back of your nape to claim you. "I miss him," you whispered, holding the hood of your car. Felix shifted his jaw, 'You just met him, and you miss him?' he thought, waiting for the right moment. You sighed, unlocking your door when you felt a cloth over your nose and mouth.

You panicked, thrashing away when you heard a familiar deep voice, "You're mine," he purred, holding the cloth closer. You felt yourself subconsciously relax, knowing that it was Felix that's holding you. He furrowed his eyebrows, subtly questioning why you gave in so quickly, but he paid it no mind. You were in his arms, and that's where you'll stay. Felix placed you in the back seat, bound your ankles and wrist, and taped your mouth.

You stirred awake hours later, your arms bound to the back of the chair and your ankles tied apart. Felix sat in front of you, watching your sleeping body like a drug, "Wakey, wakey," he chuckled, seeing you stir. "Slept well?" he asked, twirling a pair of scissors in his hand. You blinked at him, "Where have you taken me?" You asked, your speech slurring.

Felix chuckled, "Curious, aren't you? We're in my relatives' cabin house, in the middle of nowhere, darling. Even if you run, I know these acres better than you," he warned, holding the knife to your throat. "Tell me, was all our love for nothing? I just want you to love me like I love you," he pleaded, tears dripping down his cheeks. You bit your bottom lip, staring at him with wavering eyes.

Felix threw the scissor aside, "Answer me, Godamnit!" He lashed, gripping the chair behind you. "I don't know! I don't know what love is, Lix," you sobbed, hunching over. Felix felt his breath hitch at the nickname, "I know you don't, darling. That's why I've been showing you. I didn't mean to overwhelm you," he said, wiping your tears.

You leaned into his palm, "Teach me? I can learn to be as lovesick as you. Please, I want to love like you," you sniffled, looking at him. Felix took in a deep inhale, "Okay, precious. You'll see the way I'm obsessed with you," he whispered, patting your cheek.

NSFW BELOW CUT

AFAB

"Fuck, you're so tight," Felix groaned, his hands tied behind your back and his ankles tied apart. You held a knife to his throat and rode his hot girthy cock, "Can't, can't," you moaned, trying to ease down to the hilt. Felix groaned, digging his nails into his fist, "Yes you can, darling. You can ride my cock without my help," he hissed, feeling your slicked tight walls clench around his cockhead.

You sniffled, bouncing your hips up and down his cock, barely taking half of his length up your puffy cunt. Felix chuckled, raising an eyebrow, "See precious. This is how you depend on me. This is how you let me take care of you," he said, removing his hands from behind, easily undoing the rope as he took the knife away from you. "Now let me help, yeah?" He said, thrusting his hips upwards with your bounces.

He held your waist tight as he buried his cock deep within your cunt. You cried into his shoulder, the stretch dulling your mind from the sheer pleasure and pain coating your senses. Felix kissed your shoulders, "There we go mmh down to the fucking hilt," he chuckled, kissing up your neck. You clawed his back, "Please make love to me?" You pleaded, looking into his eyes with a pitiful gaze. Felix smiled, kissing your cheek, "Of course, my darling. We have all night for this," he said, thrusting his hips at a languid and lazy pace. Taking his sweet time to engrain this moment into your heart.

AMAB

"Fuck, you're so tight," Felix groaned, his hands tied behind your back and his ankles tied apart. You held a knife to his throat and rode his hot girthy cock, "Can't, can't," you moaned, trying to ease down to the hilt. Felix groaned, digging his nails into his fist, "Yes you can, darling. You can ride my cock without my help," he hissed, feeling your slicked tight walls clench around his cockhead.

You sniffled, bouncing your hips up and down his cock, barely taking half of his length up your puffy hole. Felix chuckled, raising an eyebrow, "See precious. This is how you depend on me. This is how you let me take care of you," he said, removing his hands from behind, easily undoing the rope as he took the knife away from you. "Now let me help, yeah?" He said, thrusting his hips upwards with your bounces.

He held your waist tight as he buried his cock deep within your hole. You cried into his shoulder, the stretch dulling your mind from the sheer pleasure and pain coating your senses. Felix kissed your shoulders, "There we go mmh down to the fucking hilt," he chuckled, kissing up your neck. You clawed his back, "Please make love to me?" You pleaded, looking into his eyes with a pitiful gaze. Felix smiled, kissing your cheek, "Of course, my darling. We have all night for this," he said, thrusting his hips at a languid and lazy pace. Taking his sweet time to engrain this moment into your heart.

[cokou]

Note ✉* ~ ITS BEEN A WHILE SINCE I'VE POSTED OML😭😭 ENJOY THIS ONE GUYS.. :3 || Do not translate, transfer, or reform, this is my only account (exp. Ao3), will not be cross posted anywhere. || 𖤐٭┆Masterlist

Summary* ~ Knowing that your kind will vanish of the world soon enough as the population was running low, Law just wanted to help you. PT 2 now released😭 Warnings* ~ Breeding kink, || Genre* ~ NSFW, Smut

Author's note ✉* ~ I made up the species guys, it's not it one piece 😭 but id describe it as someone who has a pair of horns and thats it. You guys can imagine anything youll like for this one!!<33

—

Staring off into the distance of the Island, you notice that there was a ship docked along with a jolly roger up on the sail of the ship. Slowly, you notice that it's jolly roger belonged to the heart pirates. Curiosity peeked your interest to search their little ship for some treasures that you'd be interested in 'borrowing'. And so, you rushed excitedly to conseal your identity, starting of with a little hat to cover your little pair of horns.

As you made your way through the skimpy alleyway in order to get into the docks, you were met with a few of the ships pirate members. They were chattering and fighting on which place in the Island should they inspect or go first. As they were arguing on who was correct and who to follow, you hid behind a wall big enough to conceal your appearance.

You waited for everyone to completely come out of the ships surroundings and make the order of going into the island's plaza first. They hadn't notice your quiet appearance sneaking into the ships entrance as you tried to scatter around and find a perfect place to hide for a while. The ship was absolutely huge and big from the inside, everything was perfect. Their shipwright must've took their time to build such an amazing ship.

In the moment as you wait for the loud silence outside, you analyze all the pathways and hallways to be atleast a bit familiarized by the facility. The inside was cold and freezing, making you receive goosebumps and shivers. You walk around for a good minute and found a hallway full of unlocked but closed doors. Thinking that it would be your chance to scan them. You quietly open the door to reveal a small room enough to fit 2 persons in them. You welcome yourself inside and threw yourself into the soft, fluffy bed.

You open the drawers and closets one by one and scattered everything, looking for some treasures or maybe some extra berries to afford your new clothes. As you were scattering through their room, you hadn't notice the glancing made behind you as a particular person were watching you claw out everything off his crewmates items.

"Tsk." You froze. The excitement you felt faded and was replaced with heartbeats beating faster than its regular rate. Shit.

"And what exactly are you doing here?" You turn to look at the doorway, being met by a tall man looming over almost as tall as the doorway itself, looking at you. You murmured curses under your breath as you thought of the most possible way to get out of this situation.

Snarling at the man in attempt to threaten him doesn't seem to work at all, you thought of jumping on him to get away quickly.

"Well? Should've made effort to hide your identity atleast." The man still leaning against the doorway.

"That is not apart of your business!"

"It kindoff is, this is my ship we're talking about yes?"

"Oh yes, i heard that your species are worth beyond 10's of million right? That's a lot for a single one of you, although i heard your species might be running low on population eh?"

It was crazy how such a man knew about the brink population of your kind, yes it was true, that being said the prices of such kinds had raised by the human marketing. Only approximately 100 had been left due to the human marketing, ending their fates to become slaves in human houses or worser, celestial dragons.

"So what?!" You snarled.

"Want me to help you?" Help you? But with what? You notice a growing smirk on his face, making you a bit more confused.

"Whatever it is i don't need your help! I-" He pins you to the nearest wall, your hat falling off your hair revealing your horns. You quickly step up your hands to cover them but was stopped by the man.

"Name's Law by the way." Moments after that your mind had brought about seeing his wanted posters against city walls that you had been visiting. This was the heart pirates ship, you forgot. The one pinning you against the wall was their captain?!

Law latches his mouth onto your neck and suckles on it, causing you to jolt at the unfamiliar feeling of someones mouth against you. He lets go of your wrists, snaking his hands to your torso to keep you in place as he suckles on your neck. You respond with your hands wrapping on his hair, grabbing a handful of them.

"Ouhm...(Name).." you muttered.

"What?" Law removes himself from you.

"Thats uhm..my name."

"Great, I'll keep that in mind." Law drags you to the nearest bed, which wasnt his but his fellow crew member. He just hoped that no stains would be left behind.

He pushes you gently on the bed and climbs himself up, crawling towards you and gently snakes his hands over your body. He trails his fingers towards the curve of your body, starting with your tits, to your waists, to your legs and even to your toes. He cherishes all of you and slowly unbuttons your top.

"Wait what the hell do you think you're doing!?" You slap his hands off your top.

"What? I taught it was already clear what we were doing." He looks at you. "Course you'd like to expand a bit more of your kind right? Im just helping you." You definitely thought of outcomes such as this but never expected that this was all about, breeding.

You nod at his behalf to continue, he doesn't stop trailing his hands all over you, stopping midway onto your breasts to grasp them and giving them a little squeeze. He takes his opportunity to undress your too to reveal more of your chests. He tosses the now removed top from you onto the cold floor, now only in your bottoms as he plays with your bare titties.

Bringing his mouth towards the hardened nipple, he sucks on it like there was no tomorrow and continues massaging your other tit. His mouth and hands were so full with your breasts as he even barely fit your whole honkers on his hands. The fats spilling at the crack of his fingers from him grabbing them so hard he could rip them off.

Pulling off your nipples, he licks his mouth at the slight salty taste of your skin. He moves his hands at the waistband of your bottoms, slowly taking them off together with your underwear. Now leaving you fully naked for him, tossing the clothes aside once again.

"That's not fair!" You yelp.

"What's not fair?"

"You're fully dressed and I'm not!" You tug at his shirt, demanding him to take it off.

"Ah, ill take it off if that's what you want." He unbuttons his shirt and tosses it on the pile of your now mixed clothes on the floor. You tug at the waistband of his pants, demanding him to take it off too.

"Tsk, wait for a while yes?" You roll your eyes at his remarks, solely focusing now on him lifting your legs apart onto his shoulder. He slowly delves onto your core, making you release a soft gasp from the unfamiliar shockwave. His mouth latched onto your entrance, his nose nuzzles your clit.

Feeling a bit ticklish, you squirm in his touch and letting out a little chuckle. He tightens the grip on your waist to keep you firm. You moan and giggle as he eats you out, causing him to groan at the annoyance of you moving too much.

"Stop moving or I'll stop." You hold yourself from giggling. Focusing at the feeling of him eating you out, your moans kept getting louder and louder until you eventually gave out your orgasm, covering his face with your juices and his drool dripping down his chin. He wipes it off using his wrist.

Now, he takes off his bottoms (and tosses it again on the floor😭😭😭), leaving him bare. His cock was semi-hard yet its' veins were showcasing, it ran up from the bottom towards the top of his tip. Some how pre-cum was forming at the slit of his cock. He gives it a few strokes to harden in.

"You gonna keep looking? I suggest you work your mouth on it." He demands.

You get up from your bed and positions yourself on where his cock was facing you, you admired its' looks and its beautiful pallette. Giving the tip a little kiss, you slowly get your mouth on it. Slightly suffering on fitting his whole length inside your mouth. His hand grabs your horns, slowly guiding you by moving the pace of his grip on your horns at a better pace.

He bobs your head slowly according to his preferred rhythm. He thrusts his cock along your mouth, causing it to rub and hit the back of your throat, making you gag. The pace fastens as he continues guiding you towards his high. Your nose reaching his pubic area from the depth you were taking his cock in. Not far enough then, he cums dewp inside your throat, making you choke on it.

He lays you down on your back and secures you with pillows around.

"you good?" He asks.

"Y-yeah." He nods at your response.

Lining up his cock on your entrance, rubbing it and teasing your hole. You groan at his teasing and grabs his shoulder tightly. Slowly pushing in his cock inside you, pushing in his tip inside. You shiver at the feeling.

Once everything was set, he harshly pushes in you completely without a warning, making you moan loudly. Law covers your mouth and shushes you, giving you time to adjust at the size of him splitting you in half. You give him a thumbs up once you were feeling right.

Law moves slowly, he thrusts inside you reassuringly and softly, his cock glistens at the coverage of your juices on it. He thrusts again, this time a bit faster. He continues with it and eventually fucking you fastly and rough. His cock hits your cervix again and again and definitely is bruising it.

Your moans are muffled against his hand, sending him ticklish vibrations as your eyes roll at the back of your skull. The vibration of your moans intensifies as you get louder and louder every time he thrusts onto your cervix. His cock drags along your insides so well that your eyes start watering.

Law removes his hand from your mouth and moves it towards your hips, freeing your lewd moans and making it heard against the whole room. Law feels the deep coil on his abdomen and the heat creeping up the two of you as his motions become faster. Your orgasm wasn't too far behind, Law fucks you harder and faster, causing his high to approach sooner.

Your moans loudens and could be heard by rooms away, Law groans at the heat creeping up. Not too far after, you two cum at the same time, Law finishing deep inside your womb and you squirt on him, leaving everything wet.

"Fuck.. this isn't even my bed..." Law curses.

"WHAT?!" You slap him hard as he scratches his head.

©Cokou 2024, all works belong to me.

[scribblesofagoonerr]

— we brought a puppy home | buddy & monkey: double the trouble

monkey brings a puppy home and its' not completely smooth-sailing

check out the rest of buddy & monkey here: the masterlist

credit to @alotofpockets for her help with some of this and @lvnleah for the idea of this fic!

"Le, please!" You beg and plead with the blonde, who is all but firm on her decision much to your own disappointment.

"No, Monkey!" Leah states, sternly.

"Pretty please?" You still continue to try your luck with her.

"No, Monkey. I've already said it before!" Leah tells you in a stern tone of voice, which your all but used to hearing now.

What is it that you're trying to ask for? A puppy.

You love dogs, well you love all animals, other than pesky chickens of course, but your a huge fan of animals and you'd always had a dream of owning a lot of them.

You have always wanted your own dog, but of course growing up your father was always too selfish to want to spend on his money on booze and drugs, so therefor you never got to own your own dog before.

So here you are trying to convince the ever-stern blonde that you live with to get a dog, but that's easier said than done when shes' very much against the idea of it.

That answer still isn't good enough for you as you pout, "But why not? You've seen Myle, she's cute! Why can't we get our own?" You question, you love walking the little pup that Beth and Viv have, so you desperately want your own now.

"Because I've said no already and I'm not going to change my mind!" Leah repeats her words again, shaking her head in disagreement.

"Yeah, but just think about it..." You wonder off from your thoughts, "You know that Buddy would love a puppy as well!" You add, gesturing to your favourite little buddy who has been peacefully watching cartoons until you'd mentioned her name.

You were somewhat smart to play that at your advantage.

"Puppy, mummy!" Buddy pipes in to the conversation.

You smirk at the blonde mischievously, "See? I told you that Buddy would want one as well, Le!"

"Puppy, Mummy," Buddy repeats, excitedly as her eyes light up in awe, "Puppy!"

"Great, see what you've started now?" Leah murmurs, exhaling a sigh.

"You have to admit that a puppy in the house would be so much fun!" There's a glint of mischief in your eyes as you shrug your shoulders.

You knew exactly what you were doin' getting Buddy involved in this.

The blonde shakes her head again, "No, we're not gettin' a dog and that is final. End off!" She states firmly.

You knew that going behind Leah's back and buying a puppy might've been a bad thing that could definitely land you in trouble, however, you were in puppy heaven right now with your new adorable four-legged friend that was finding itself quite at home

"Leeeah!" You shout through the house, pushing it open carefully with your new little friend in your arms, "Are you home?" You continue to shout aloud.

"What's with all the noise?" Leah walks out into the hallway, mildly concerned about the loud volume of noise and thinking something is wrong straight away until she freezes in her step and narrows her eyes, "Monkey, please for the love of god tell me that isn't what I think it is!" She states, firmly.

You grin sheepishly at her, "Well, uh... What's it look like," You try and make a joke out of it.

You knew she would be mad, but you didn't realise she would be this mad.

Oops?

You swear you could see steam coming from the blondes' ears, "It looks like a puppy, although I know I specifically told you last week we was not gettin' one," She states in a sense of annoyance, "Please tell me that is one you're looking after!"

"Nope, hes' ours!" You beam a wide grin and hold the little guy out to her, "Isn't he cute?" You ask without much care in the world.

"Did my words literally just go in one ear and out of the other?" Leah is in disbelief as she all but refuses to even pet your new four-legged friend.

You continue to grin sheepishly at the blonde, "Uh, sorta. Maybe?" You admit, biting your bottom lip, "Le, meet Tate! Short for Tater-Tot!" You introduce the small pup.

"I... I thought you knew about this," Jordan stammers, her eyes widen in realisation before she looks at you, "Monkey, you told me she knew about this!" She states.

"What? No I didn't know!" Leah states, shaking her head profusely.

"Okay, so maybe I might've bent the truth ever so slightly," You confess, wincing as you await either of their reactions.

"Monkey!" Jordan exclaims in disbelief.

Leah huffs and shakes her head again in disbelief, "I cannot believe you went behind my back about this, Monkey. We're not keepin' it!" She tells you, firmly.

"He has a name, Le!" You pout, gesturing to look at the pup.

"I don't care what his name is, we're not keepin' him!" Leah grumbles.

You frown and fuss the small pup in her arms, "Awh, don't worry little guy. Les' grumpy an all now but she'll come around in no time to love you!" You coo at him, hoping to lighten the mood.

"I don't think so-- How did you even afford to buy him?" Leah questions in confusion, furrowing her eyebrows.

"Money, duh? I saved up!" You admit, resisting the urge to roll your eyes.

The blonde clicks her tongue in disapproval, "Unbelievable, absolutely unbelievable!"

"I... I would never have gone along with this and if I knew you didn't agree with it, Le," Jordan explains to her ex-girlfriend.

"Yeah... I know," Leah murmurs in response, "Monkey has a way of convincing people to get her way sometimes." She adds.

Jordan nods slowly and takes a click glance at the time on her phone, "Right, it's almost time to collect Buddy from pre-school-- Do you want me to go and pick her up instead so you can uh, sort out the issues with the puppy and what not?" She offers, your guess is that she is trying to leave the conversation as quick as she can.

"Yes, please. If you don't mind," Leah replies in agreement.

"Wait, no, Jord-- Don't leave me alone with her, she might kill me!" Your eyes widen in realisation.

The minute Jordan leaves, your really gonna be in trouble.

"Good luck, Monkey!" Jordan chuckles, waving her hand in the air as she heads back outside.

"Jord, no, wait, come back..." Your plea falls of deaf ears as you spin back round and take in the angry and annoyed expression that Leah has on her face, "Okay listen, I know you're mad an all about it now, but come on. You have to admit he is kinda cute though!" You insist, trying to hold Tater-Tot up in front of her to try and get her more approachable.

Leah scoffs and shakes her head, "Cute or not, he's goin' back to wherever it is that he came from!" She states, determinedly.

"Sh, Le, he can hear you!" You joke as an attempt to keep the conversation light still, despite how angry the blonde looks with you.

"You completely went against my words-- I told you under no circumstances, were we getting a dog!" Leah exclaims, pointing her finger in your face as she raises her voice, sounding like when she's in captain mode.

"Eh, I know but I thought maybe when you see how cute he is then you might change your mind, no?" You still hold up Tater-Tot in front of her face to get her to ease her sternness.

There's no luck whatsoever.

"No. Seriously, Monkey? I don't have time to take care of a dog and you sure as hell don't either-- Explain to me how an earth you expect to take care of a dog between training, games and not to mention your uni work!" The blonde still continues to stand firm on her decision

"Well, we can make it work! He can be like your emotional support dog!" You try and insist, hopeful to play your cards right with this one.

Leah is soon stumped from her on-going rant, "My what?"

"Emotional support dog," You repeat boldly with confidence, "Like Win at the club but this dog we can actually take home instead! Come on, look how adorable he is. I know things haven't been great with your injury and stuff, but like, Tater-Tot can help that now to cheer you up!" You try and make your point justified, trying to keep Tater-Tot held comfortably in your arms the whole time.

"Let me get this right," Leah pinches the bridge of her nose and chuckles slightly, "Your using my injury as an excuse for us to have a dog?" She questions.

You slowly nod in agreement with her, "Well, uh... Yeah, kinda-- Look, I know you're all mad and stuff now, but give in a few weeks and you'll learn to love Tater-Tot, yeah?" You try and suppress the grin on her face, but to no avail, it doesn't work.

"No, because we're not keeping him, Monkey!" Leah exclaims in disagreement.

You huff and pout at the blonde's words, "I can't take him back though when I've already paid for him!" You insist.

"Then get your money back, I don't care. We're not keeping him!" Leah states, throwing her hands up in the air.

"Come on, Le. Please?" You plead with her.

"Absolutely not, no way!" Leah continues to remain firm on her decision, "I already told you previously, no dog!"

"Seriously, Le? I can't... I don't want to take him back!" You pout at the blonde, in a hope that she will change her mind.

"Too bad. I'm sorry Monkey, but we can't keep him. He has to go back, alright? I'm not changing my mind on this one!" The blonde tells you, firmly as she shakes her head and refuses to give Tater-Tot another look.

"Hi, we're back!" Jordan shouts aloud as she pries open the front door and hesitates to walk inside in case you and Leah are still arguing about the puppy.

"Mummy!" Buddy all but throws herself at Leah's legs as soon as she sees her.

Leah smiles fondly at her little girl, "Hi, Buddy. Did you have fun at pre-school?" She wonders.

"Uh huh, lots' of fun!" Buddy nods enthusiastically.

Jordan hums in agreement and routes around in the 3 year old's backpack that she has in her hands, "Yeah, shes' drawn you a picture for you."

"You have?" Leah questions in faux surprise as Jordan hands over Buddy's latest masterpiece to her, "Wow. I absolutely love it! That is going right on the fridge!" She states determinedly, wrapping her free arm around the 3 year old.

Jordan smiles fondly at the pair of them, "Hows' things with the, you know what?" She wonders, curiously as Buddy pulls away from Leah after a few seconds.

Leah scoffs and shakes her head, "I can't believe she went behind my back about this," Unbeknownst to her, Buddy had decided to wander into the living room and find the new four-legged friend in the house, "I don't want Buddy to see it, because then I know I will--"

"Puppy!" Buddy gasps in excitement, her eyes wide in awe.

"Too late for that," Jordan chuckles.

"Puppy, Mummy!" Buddy repeats, excitedly.

Of course you are so excited to introduce them both, "His names' Tater-Tot, Buddy. How cool is that?" You ask her.

"Cool!" Buddy parrots, crouching down to lie on the floor next to the pup.

Leah exhales a sigh and walks into the living room, "Yeah it is, Bud. You have to be careful, okay? He's very tiny," She explains to the little girl.

"You have to admit that he seems very settled," Jordan chimes in.

Buddy peers up to look at Leah curiously, "Is he ours?" 

"Yes," Your quick to state.

"No," Leah disagrees, glaring at you.

"I wan' him Mummy!" Buddy insists, cuddling up to the four legged animal.

"See? Even Buddy wants him!" You gesture to your favourite little buddy and the pup together.

Leah glares at you, which kindly meant for you to shut up, "Enough, Monkey!" She states, firmly.

Buddy continues to gently cuddle with the puppy beside her, "I 'ove him, Mummy! Can we please keep him?" She questions, hopeful.

You feel like your hearts melting watching the adorableness from them both, "Come on, Le. Look at Buddy's face-- Please?" You beg and plead.

"You know, if you do decide to keep him and all then I can watch him when you're away and I'm sure that your mum wouldn't mind helping out to watch him either..." Jordan chips in, but knows when to shut up after she receives an all-too familiar glare thrown her way, "Yeah, alright, gotcha. I'll stop talkin' about this."

"No, no, I'm sorry. I don't have time to look after a dog, I already have 2 kids to look after," Leah states, shaking her head in disagreement.

"Hey! I'm an adult," You shout aloud in protest.

Leah scoffs and shakes her head, "You still order happy meals at McDonald's just so you can have the toys, you really wanna go there?" She questions.

"They currently have Minions, don't judge me!" You exclaim, shrugging your shoulders.

"Right, so what do you want to do?" Jordan shares a look with her ex-girlfriend, "I have to get on the road soon, but uh, I can hang around for a bit if you need help or what not?" She offers her help, not too sure what to do in this situation.

Leah exhales a sigh and shakes her head, "No, no, don't worry. You head back home. It's fine, we'll take him back tomorrow." She tells her ex.

"No I don' want him to go Mummy!" Buddy whines in protest.

Leah frowns slightly as she looks at Buddy, "I'm sorry Buddy but we can't have a doggie here, but its' okay because you can still see Myle, can't you?" She explains to your favourite little buddy, "And Blu as well at Mama's house." She adds.

"No, no. I don' like you, Mummy!" Buddy is quick to shout aloud, "No, mean Mummy!" She continues to shout.

Leah's heart clenches when she hears them words spill out of her little girls mouth, however, Jordan is able to get a quick handle on it.

"Hey, no, no, that's not nice is it, Buddy?" Jordan tells the 3 year old in a gentle tone of voice, "You don't mean that, you love Mummy, don't you?"

Buddy is more adamant as she shakes her head,"No, no. I don', she mean!" She exclaims, starting to tear up.

"Buddy, I know you're upset but its' not nice to say them sort of things," Jordan tells her little girl.

"Mummy's a meanie!" Buddy continues to cry, not really understanding the true hurt behind her words directed at Leah, "She won' let us keep the puppy! Mean Mummy!"

"Buddy, listen. I know you're upset with mummy about this and that's okay, but when you say words like that, they hurt mummy," Leah kneels in front of her daughter, she knew not to take the words to heart but it was a slight shock to the system to hear this come from the usual little sweetheart and well-behaved little girl that she is, "I know you want to keep the puppy, but it's just not possible, okay? I'm sorry about that."

"Monkey! That will be Wally!" Leah calls out to get your attention from where she is upstairs with Buddy, "Can you get the door?" She shouts aloud.

"Sure, cos' its' not like I weren't busy doin' something else or anything," You huff and pause the current game on your PlayStation before you wander over to the front door and open it to greet the older women, "Hi, Wally!" You greet, somewhat enthusiastically.

"Hey little one, how're you doin'?" Lia gives you a brief hug before she steps inside the house.

"I'm fine," You respond, giving her a faint smile, "Le's upstairs with Buddy so she made me get the door instead!" You explain to her.

"Ah, it's bath time," Lia jokes, hearing the commotion coming from upstairs.

"I'll be downstairs in a minute, Wally!" Leah shouts from upstairs, where she is no doubt being covered in water from Buddy having the time of a her splashing about in the bath.

Well it's better than the tears earlier on that Leah and Jordan both had to work together to calm her down before she got herself completely worked up about it.

"No problem," Lia shouts back upstairs before she turns to look at you, "So, I've brought some things round to make us dinner, I thought I could introduce you to one of the famous dishes in Switzerland." She offers, motioning to the dish in her hands that your yet to notice.

"Fancy," You murmur, wrinkling your nose slightly in disgust as you glance into the pot and don't like what you see at all.

You wish you had already eaten dinner earlier with Buddy, after all.

There's the always an option to order pizza if you get too hungry though-- Oh wait, you spent all your allowance on Tater-Tot.

Damn it.

"Oh my Goodness, who's this little guy?" Your thrown out of your thoughts when you hear Lia gush in awe and set her eyes on your new four-legged friend that had made his way into the kitchen.

"Tater-Tot," You grin as you scoop the fur ball up into your arms, "I brought him."

Lia looks surprised as she leans forwards and pets' Tater-Tots' soft fur, "I didn't know you guys were gettin' a dog, Leah never mentioned it-- Oh you're adorable, aren't you, little guy?" She gushes in awe, falling absolutely smitten for the little guy.

"That's because I didn't know," Leah responds, making her appearance known as she walks into the kitchen not long with Buddy trailing after her, dressed ready for bed in fresh pajamas.

"Auntie Wally!" Buddy squeals in excitement to see the women.

"Hi, Buddy!" Lia smiles and scoops up the 3 year old into her arms, "Oh, I see... And I take it that you're not too happy about it then?" She wonders, looking at her blonde friend.

"Well I can't say I'm too fond about it," Leah explains, shaking her head as she looks at you with a knowing look, "Monkey tricked Jord into getting it so Jord was under the impression that I knew. Apparently, she played us both, didn't you, Menace?" She wonders.

"Well, it worked didn't it?" You respond, shrugging your shoulders.

"Oh dear," Lia pulls a face.

"Look, auntie Wally, puppy!" Buddy is quick to jump in the conversation and shift the attention to your new four-legged-animal.

"I can see that, Buddy," Lia smiles at her, "He's very cute, isn't he?" She asks.

"Uh huh! So cute!" Your favourite little Buddy agrees, nodding her head in a fast motion.

You can't help but scoff in annoyance, "Yeah and meanie Malfoy is makin' me return him tomorrow! I mean its' cruel, right? Look at his little face!" You insist, pouting as you hold Tater-Tot up in front of Leahs' face to try and get her to cave in.

Leah shakes her head in disagreement, "It's not cruel when I told you we wasn't getting a dog in the first place!" She states, firmly.

"He is very cute, but I suppose Leah is right to say that when she told you no to the dog in the first place, no?" Lia can understand where her friend is coming from and tries to be the peace-keeper in the middle of things.

"It's totally unfair though!" You huff in annoyance before you do no more than start to stomp off upstairs to your bedroom with Tater-Tot in your arms still, showing how completely mature you are taking this situation.

"Wait for me, I got little legs-- Down please!" Buddy whines, starting to wriggle in the woman's arms, "I wan' go find 'Tater-Tot!" She insists.

"Go ahead little one," Lia chuckles and places Buddy down on the floor, who wastes no time in catching up to you and Tater-Tot before you help her climb up the stairs.

"Leave her to sulk about it," Leah tuts and shakes her head, watching carefully as Buddy climbs up the stairs with her help, "I'm not changing my mind on this. We're not keeping that dog." She states, firmly as she sticks her ground.

"Okay," Lia chuckles, agreeing with her friend.

"We're not, tomorrow morning, hes' going back to wherever it is that he came from," Leah tells the older woman.

"Okay," Lia repeats as she gets on with the cooking.

"You think I'm gonna change my mind, don't you?" Leah raises her eyebrow, curious to know her friends thoughts.

"I mean, would it really hurt to have the company round here?" Lia glances at the blonde as she makes her way round the kitchen and grabs a chopping board of the side, "It already looks like Buddy and Monkey both love him a lot, it looks like they're inseparable."

"We're never in, it wouldn't be fair on him, would it?" Leah states, shaking her head in disagreement.

"When would that be a problem? You can take him to the training grounds, there's ways around these things," Lia points out.

"Oh, and what about international camps?" Leah questions, passing Lia a kitchen knife that she needs, "Or pre-seasons in another country?" She wonders.

Lia gratefully accepts the knife and gives the blonde a knowing smile, "I'm sure your mum wouldn't mind looking after him if you asked her." She answers.

"It's not happening, we're not keeping the dog," Leah stands firm once again, repeating her words.

"Looks like the living room is safe from the puppy," Lia jokes, walking into the spacious living room to find the small pup fast asleep on the rug.

It's a bit later on in the evening, Buddy is upstairs fast asleep in bed and you are just in a general teenage sulk still about things upstairs, but somehow the small pup was able to climb off the bed and make his way down the stairs.

"He's spark out," Leah murmurs, letting out a small laugh, "Don't get too comfortable here, Buddy. Its' just for tonight and then tomorrow, you're goin' back to your old home." She states, determinedly.

Lia chuckles and shakes her head before she settles down on the sofa beside the blonde, "Sure you won't change your mind?" She jokes, giving her a knowing smirk.

Leah huffs and shakes her head, "Nope, I'm still not changing my mind. We're not keeping him," She states, reaching for the TV remote that's on the coffee table in front of her, "I'm not." She repeats.

"Okay," Lia chuckles, holding her hands up in mock surrender.

"I'm not," Leah repeats, not sure who she's trying to convince more, herself or her friend, "It's just not a practical situation, is it?" She adds.

"Okay," Lia repeats, trying to stifle her laughter, "What're we watchin' then?" She wonders.

"I don't know, anythin' will do though, won't it?" Leah answers, scrolling through the various channels, "I'll take anythin' other than another Shrek movie or Blues Clues, right now." She jokes, giving a subtle nod to your favourite movie and Buddys' favourite TV show.

"True," Lia chuckles in agreement.

Leah can't help but glance at the new four-legged-friend asleep on the rug in front of them.

It wouldn't practical to have a dog when she has her career, but at the same time, it might be good to have a distraction

Her opinion is even more swayed when the little pup yawns and wakes up, whining slightly as he makes his way over to the sofa and sits waiting to be picked up.

"Looks like he wants to make friends with you, eh?" Lia motions to the small pup, who is sat in front of the sofa as he whines quietly.

"Maybe hes' hungry?" Leah wonders, confused.

"No, hes' already been fed," Lia reminds her, motioning to the bowl of food that you had fed him before going back upstairs to sulk. Doing no more, she leans down and picks Tater-Tot up off the floor, "Hello little guy, are you feeling jealous down there on the floor, huh?" She speaks softly to the little pup.

The pup did no more than paw his way over to Leah and make himself comfortable on her lap, settling down and falling back to sleep.

"Seriously?" Leah groans, glancing down at the puppy.

"Oh, would you look at that. I think he likes you," Lia jokes, smiling at her friend.

"Well that's just great," Leah huffs and shakes her head.

"Don't be such a meany, hes' comfortable, clearly!" Lia chuckles, stroking the pups' fur.

Leah hums quietly, "Just as long as he doesn't eat any of my shoes tonight, we'll stay friends," The blonde remarks, pursing her lips as she reluctantly strokes the pups' fur.

"I'm sure they'll be fine," Lia chuckles in amusement.

"I suppose he is pretty cute," Leah breaks the silence after a few minutes, "And I guess he does seem pretty content on my lap." She adds.

Lia hums in agreement, "Happiest little guy in the world."

"And you have to admit that he does seem to fit in around here, and the kids' do seem happier with him around," Leah continues to state, biting her bottom lip.

"That they do," Lia nods in agreement.

"Yeah," Leah pauses for a few minutes, "But I refuse to call him that ridiculous name though."

"Oh?" Lia glances at her friend with a knowing look, "That sounds like something you would say if you are planning to keep him around," She states.

"I guess we could make it work," Leah states quietly, refusing to look at her friend, who's smirking to herself, "Like you said, we can make it work with the games and I'm sure that family and friends would be more than willing to take care of him if and when needed, huh?" She wonders.

"If I didn't know any better then I'd say it sounds like you had a change of heart there," Lia states amusedly, "Leah Williamson, are you having second thoughts?" She mocks a fake gasp.

"Shut up," Leah playfully nudges her best friend and rolls her eyes, "He's cute, I suppose... And maybe I was a bit too quick to jump and disagree, also this way it'll give Monkey some responsibility as well," She notes.

"You don't need to give them excuses to me. You can just admit that you like having him stick around, you know?" The older woman jokes with the blonde.

"Just as long as there's an agreement that he stays away from anything of mine that is, well, expensive," Leah chuckles, stroking Tater-Tot.

Lia laughs and shakes her head, "I'm sure it will be fine."

"And I'm still not happy that Monkey went behind my back and did this, the little menace," The blonde remarks, reminding the Swiss women about it.

"I know, so much not for changing your mind then, eh?" Lia nudges her friend playfully.

"This dog seems to like me," Leah remarks, shrugging her shoulders as she takes a quick glance down at the pup in her lap.

"I'd say you've found yourself a new best friend there," Lia chuckles, watching Leah and Tater-Tot beside her.

Given another hour or so, you had reluctantly given up your sulking and now you felt hungry again, given that you willingly skipped out on Lia's Switzerland dish, much to your absolute dismay.

"I'm hungry," You make your presence known as you wander into the living room, the small pup on the blondes' lap not even blinking an eye at you.

Leah turns her attention to you hovering in the living room doorway, "Oh, finally decided to come out of your room, have we?" She wonders, teasingly.

You resist the urge to roll your eyes and slump down on the arm of sofa, "I was annoyed with you," You mumble, quietly.

Leah snorts in response, "I never would have guessed that."

"Yeah, well, you deserve it," You continue to insist, shrugging your shoulders.

"Right, okay then,"Leah rolls her eyes and shakes her head, "We'll need to go shopping tomorrow then," She adds, trying to not give it away so easily.

"Food shopping, sounds like an absolute blast," You absolutely detest food shopping, its' the complete bane of your life.

Leah snickers a bit, "Well, we do need to re-stock the cupboards but we'll also need to visit the pet shop," She states, waiting for you to catch on.

You furrow your eyebrows in confusion, "Why do we need to a visit the pet shop-- Wait, are you serious?!" You finally realise as your eyes widen.

"On the terms and conditions--" Leah begins to speak.

"Seriously?! Yeah?" Your way too hyper and excited about this to care what she is saying as it goes in one ear and out the other.

"Hey, listen, this is serious! On the terms and conditions," Leah repeats aloud to get your attention, "On the terms and conditions that you look after him, remember to feed him and give him water, and also walk him as well, and the big one, make sure that he doesn't ruin anything that belongs to me!" She states, sternly as she points her finger in your direction.

"Okay," You nod, awaiting anything further.

"But to answer your question, yes, you can keep him!" Leah tells you, smiling at you.

Your eyes light up in glee and you want to scream, and you would if it wasn't for Buddy being fast asleep upstairs, "Yeah? You're the best, thank you, thank you, thank you! I didn't mean it about calling you meanie Malfoy, ah thank you, thank you!" You can't help but thank her over and over again.

"I'm still not happy with how you went behind my back about this, but I suppose that this little fella will fit in nicely around here," Leah remarks, glancing at the small pup, who surprisingly still hasn't moved from her lap even with all the noise.

You can't help but beam a wide smile, "I knew you would change your mind eventually!"

"What can I say? This little fella wormed his way into my heart," Leah states, shrugging her shoulders.

"Welcome home, Tater-Tot!" You grin at the small pup, whos' comfy enough to still curl up in the blondes' lap and snooze away.

"God, no. Absolutely not, I refuse to call him that ridiculous name!" Leah is quick to insist as she shakes her head for her clear detest of the name, "Welcome home... Tate," She corrects herself, still weary about the name overall.

© scribblesofagoonerr

[thebestofoneshots]

Gilded Constellations | (wolfstar x reader)

Series Masterlist | Previous episode

Pairing: Wolfstar x Reader Word Count: 7.3 K Warnings: The angst is still angsting Prompt: Vixen feels like she needs to run away but, Where to? How? This IS a Wolfstar x reader fic, but it's incredibly slow burn. They won't start all dating each other until we're very deep into the story, but I promise the long wait will be worth it Proofread by Lovely @aremuslupinsimp

Chapter 54: Sail Away Sweet Sister

Sail away sweet sister Sail across the sea I know you'll find somebody To love you as much as me

Your heart drummed in your ears as you ran upstairs. Taking the suitcase you’d brought and quickly filling it up with some of the clothes you’d left scattered around. Your coat was downstairs, so you took one of Remus’ fluffiest sweaters and put that on top of one of yours. 

Whatever you did, you couldn’t stay, because then you might run to Sirius’ arms and tell him all you said was a lie, that you loved him –because you did– and that you dreaded the idea of not being with him, which was also true. Your stomach was so twisted you had to swallow your will to puke at least once as you put whatever you found inside your suitcase. 

What the hell have I done? you wondered, as you remembered what you’d said to Sirius, as you remembered using something like charmspeak on Remus. No, it wasn’t like it, it had been it. You had seen your mother use it before, she had told you how it felt to use it, and your grandma had talked about the terrible thing it was, as powerful and disarming as imperius. And then you had gone and used it on your best friend. On the person that you’d left your boyfriend for, no matter how you saw it, you were awful. 

Even if you hadn’t meant to do it, even if you didn’t even know you could. You had manipulated –forced– him into leaving you crying on the stairwell and going with Sirius instead. He hadn’t had a say in it, he just mindlessly followed your stupid instructions. It made you feel even worse about the entire situation. You were still crying, hands trembling as you forced shut your suitcase and held it with one hand. You had pulled out Nina’s wand. You had never used it, and you didn’t want to do it either, but you weren’t about to leave the house without any means of producing magic, so you had carefully taken it out of the back drawer and stared at it for a second before shoving it in your shirt and finishing your task.

You looked around, the wonderful and lovely place you had been staying at and almost felt sorry for yourself. But you knew Remus and Sirius had to be alone with each other if they would sort things out and therefore you had to leave. 

But where to? 

You couldn’t go back to your house, you couldn’t go back to Remus’ house, and you couldn’t go back to the school without sending a note first. You took a deep breath. A place where you could do magic if necessary without being detected by the ministry, a place where you could get a new wand, a place where you could get the stuff you needed for school. Diagon. 

You had just stood up from the bed when you heard a faint knock on the door. 

Remus was completely disoriented by the time he reached the kitchen. Sirius was curled up on the floor, his head hidden in between his knees and quietly sobbing. Remus turned back to look at the stairs, but you were not there anymore. He swallowed, he wasn’t sure why he’d left, but he suspected what it might have been. You had always been charming, but you had never charmed anyone. Not like that, but it would make sense that you had such an ability, especially after being in close contact with fae things, not only the fruit his mother had given you but also the fae pool.

Either way, he didn’t even have time to process it properly, he was torn, should he stay with Sirius or should he run behind you? There was no easy choice, there was no right choice. He hesitated on the door for a second, and it was Sirius’ quiet sob that had him kneel down next to his friend. He’d talk to Sirius and then the two would talk to you, simple. He placed his hand on the boy’s shoulder. 

Sirius raised his head, hopeful, “Vi–” he started, and then he noticed who was on the other side. “Moony,” he breathed.

Sirius could tell he was worried, Moony looked at him with such a heavy look of concern, his brows almost touching from how deep his frown was. And yet he looked beautiful. Sirius felt horrible, how could he look at Moony and think of how incredible he was when you had just broken up with him for that same reason?!

“What happened?” Remus asked, kneeling down next to Sirius and shutting the door with a simple wave of his hand so no one would walk into the kitchen. He moved one of Sirius’ curls behind his ear to look at his face better. His beautiful eyes were red-rimmed, and his long lashes stuck to one another from the tears he’d shed. 

Sirius sobbed, he didn’t even know where to start. “I think…” he stammered, chest tight at the mere thought of it. “She broke up with me.” 

“What?!” Remus asked in disbelief. If there was something he was sure of, it was how much you loved each other. He was also feeling incredibly high levels of despair and anguish now. He was not expecting your break-up to be so harrowing for him. After all, if you were both single then that would mean he had a chance with at least one of you. 

But he didn’t care about chances, he didn’t care about being with either of you if you couldn’t be with each other. He had seen the pain in your eyes, he had seen the hurt in Sirius’, there was no way you had done it willingly.

“Maybe it’s a prank, an awful prank but a prank. Maybe someone’s forced her to–” 

“No,” Sirius mewled. “It was me, I fucked up.” His voice broke near the end of his sentence and he covered his face with his hands. “I ruined everything!” 

Remus’ gaze softened as he sat next to Sirius and started playing with his hair in the same reassuring way he had seen you do plenty of times, which just made Sirius’ sobbing increase. He loved and he hated that he did. Remus frowned, “Sirius–” 

“I fell in love with someone else,” Sirius admitted in a whisper. 

Remus’ hand stopped moving entirely. The sorrow and pain he felt for Sirius had turned into shock. With someone else? Something bubbled up inside him, he felt his muscles tense and his gaze harden. If Sirius had fallen for someone and you had found out about it, then he had broken your heart. Your already feeble fucking heart. Remus wasn’t sad anymore, he was furious. There was a growing hostility inside of him, because Sirius had fallen for someone else and in the process he had hurt you. He’d seen the tears streaming down your cheeks, he’d seen your red and puffy eyes, you had cried and it had been Sirius, of all people, the one that caused it. 

“And you told her?” Remus reproached, voice a little louder, judging. “You know what she went through in Christmas you–” 

“Of course, I didn’t fucking tell her!” Sirius retorted, borderline angry, he’d never been good at keeping his temper. “She figured it out, she’s always been clever like that.” 

“How could you?” Again, it was that judging gaze, Remus was frowning and leaning away from Sirius.  

Sirius noticed and huffed, “It wasn’t just me. We weren’t exactly subtle about it.” 

“You and who, Sirius?” Remus asked, he could barely hold back the expression of disgust. He loved Sirius but hurting you was crossing the line. “You cheated on her?” 

“Of course not! You and me!” Sirius responded, pointing at the two.

Remus froze again. Anger dissipated into confusion, his breath caught in his throat as Sirius’ stunning grey eyes fixated on his. “What…” Remus stuttered, mouth trembling as he thought of the words he needed to say next “What do you mean you and me?” 

Sirius huffed again and bit his lip before speaking, “She seems to be under the impression that you like me, Remus.” 

“That’s–” Remus’ breath was heavy, he was struggling to think properly, his head was all over the place. What did all of it mean? “Even if I did, she shouldn’t have broken up with you just because of that!” 

Sirius let out a pained sort of laugh, “She figured I–” he was cut off by his own sharp intake of breath, he exhaled, “She figured I liked you back.” 

Remus was barely processing the words that came out of Sirius’ mouth. His best friend, his everlasting crush, had just admitted how much he liked him and rather than feeling happy about it, he was feeling sorrow for you. 

“You’re an idiot!” 

“I know,” Sirius said simply. 

“How could you fall for someone else when you had her?” 

Oh– Hadn’t he done the same? Granted he’d never dated either of you, but he had fallen for both. 

“I’m sorry,” Sirius sobbed. “I didn’t even know I liked men until–” he averted his gaze, eyes trickling with tears as he tried to speak again. “She taught me it was possible to like both.” 

“And you fell in love with a man shortly after,” Remus reproached. He might have been the man, but it didn’t make it any better for you. 

“She said she didn’t love me anymore, she said she stopped loving me the minute she figured I liked you.” 

“I doubt that’s true,” Remus said honestly. He’d seen the way you looked at each other, he’d seen the love in both of your eyes. 

“It’s bullshit, I could tell!” 

“And why didn’t you go after her?” 

“You don’t understand,” Sirius said. “She’s stupid self-righteous. She’s not going to come back, not as long as she knows about us.” 

“There is nothing between us!” 

Sirius turned to him, his eyes still red and teary, but looking at Remus with a sort of accepting gaze, he let out a long breath. “We wouldn’t be in this situation if that were true.” 

He looked beautiful, even when his world was crumbling apart and had enough tears streaming down his face to fill oceans. It was ridiculous how much Remus could hate what he had done, and yet love him just the same. How could he hate him for hurting you, when Sirius had done it by doing the one thing he had hoped of him for years? 

Remus was hesitant as he leaned onto him, his hand heavy as he placed it on Sirius’ cheek, he wiped one of his tears and Sirius closed his eyes, basking in the calm and warmth that Remus’ touch brought. It had always been calming in some sort of way, but it had never been as soothing as that day. Remus leaned close to Sirius, close enough to feel his breath fan his face, he was about to kiss him, that kiss he’d longed for ages, but he stopped and pulled back. 

“We go, and we talk to her,” he said as he stood up, and pulled Sirius along with him. 

“What?” Sirius said confused, trying to wipe the tears with his hands, making his face grow redder with how harsh he was being. 

Remus was tempted to pull Sirius’ hands from his face but decided that maintaining a decent distance between the two would be better. “We tell her she’s wrong. We tell her I don’t like you, however the hell she might have gotten that idea. And you tell her you were confused and we’ve talked and–” 

“She won’t buy it.” 

“Sirius.” 

“You wouldn’t buy it if I told you I didn’t like her, Remus!” 

The former was taken aback, Sirius’ words meant a lot more than they let on: he liked both of them in equal amounts. But Remus was too distracted to listen to it, his breath short as he kept racking his brain for a solution, anything to have the both of you smiling again. 

“I barely know how she didn’t notice earlier, for fucks sake, I’ve drawn you none stop lately, I’ve been wearing your clothes as much as she does, we fucking sleep together every other night–” 

“That’s for Moony…” 

“Is it, though? Is it really for Moony? After the moon? After he accepted Vixen?” 

The three of you knew it wasn’t for Moony anymore, but neither would have dared to say it, Sirius might have been the only one brave enough. 

“There must be a way. We need to talk to her Sirius… we– I’ll step out of the way,” tears pricked in Remus’ eyes. It was hard to accept what had happened, he sighed. “I’m the one that got in between.” 

Sirius looked at Remus with a sort of understanding that only two people in the same situation could have for each other. “I’m as much to blame as you are.” 

There was a moment of silence, nothing other than each other’s breath was heard, the gentle and yet ragged way in which their breathing synchronised would have been romantic if they weren’t both close to falling apart. 

“We’ll show her then.” 

“What?” 

“We don’t try anything, I go back to Alice or whomever and when she realises I’m not interested then she’ll come back to you, guilt-free and–” 

“Remus,” Sirius interrupted. “For how long?” 

“How long what?” 

“How long have you liked me?” 

Remus’ gaze hardened. There was no easy answer. “It wouldn’t matter if I had a longer claim than she does–” 

“Longer than we dated?” 

Remus hesitated, looking anywhere but at Sirius until he had enough strength to turn back. Those piercing grey eyes, he couldn't lie to them anymore. “Probably since before you met her,” he admitted. “I didn’t know what it was until we kissed.” 

“Ugh, I’m so blind!” Sirius complained as he hid his face between his hands again. He remembered that kiss, it had been a wonderful kiss. Of course, he didn’t even think how gay that was until now. He turned to Remus again. “Why didn’t you say anything?” 

“You were dating any girl that winked at you, Sirius. I thought you were the straightest person I knew. I mean I would have thrown my money on James being queer before I threw it on you! Either way, it doesn’t matter, I didn’t say anything and I still wouldn’t have said anything, I’d never want to come in between. I’m sure I’ll get over it and–” 

“If you didn’t get over it for 2 years, Remus…” 

“Well, I don’t care! Sirius, she’s barely holding herself together after Christmas, you’ve seen her!” 

“I’m the worst boyfriend in the world,” Sirius sighed. 

“We should talk to her,” Remus said, “We have to go talk to her now!” 

“And say what, exactly?” 

“I don’t know, I don’t care, but we lock ourselves in a room and we don’t leave until we’ve talked this through. The three of us.” 

Sirius was hesitant, he wasn’t sure Remus’ solution would work. He didn’t see a way in which you could just talk it through. He had fallen in love with someone else, he had broken your heart, and he didn’t think there were enough words in the world to fix it. Not when you still loved him and had decided to move out of the way, for Remus and for him. 

Not when you thought, with such fallacious certainty that the only way in which either Remus and Sirius would be happy, was with each other and away from you. Sirius gulped and turned to Remus with a meek, almost begrudging nod. 

Remus handed Sirius a napkin and he was quick to wipe the track of his tears with it. 

“It’s obvious I’ve been crying,” he swallowed. “If anybody sees us…”

“Stand next to me,” Remus said before casting a Disillusionment Charm over his friend. Sirius hesitated before he leaned closer to Remus, he hated how good it felt to be able to stand this close to him, he hated that he kept thinking of how well Remus smelled and how incredible he was at handling these kinds of situations. The absolute reverence he felt for him was so akin to love that he felt he was betraying you, even while he was desperate to fix things, to hug you and pray for forgiveness until his throat was sore and you promised you’d take him back.

The two of them walked side by side, shoulders brushing against each other constantly, Sirius wasn’t sure if Remus was standing so close to him on purpose, if that was how it went with men. Sirius had never dated a man before, he had no idea what such relationships entailed, and he had no idea if Remus stood so close to him because of that or if it was because of how concerned he was. Knowing Remus, it might have been the latter. 

And it was, Remus was standing close to Sirius to remind himself that this was real. That it wasn’t a dream, that Sirius liked him back and that it was about the worst possible time for him to figure it out. But he was also there because he wanted to be there for Sirius, he wasn’t sure he’d seen him cry like that since he got kicked out of his house, and he hadn’t even been there, but rather it had been James the one that sent him a letter with the details of the situation before he took the Floo to the Potters. Perhaps the one time he had seen Sirius as upset as he was today, was after the incident with Severus, but back then, Remus had been so angry at him that he had done almost the exact same thing that you’d done to Sirius earlier. 

He had left him crying, alone. This time around, he hadn’t been the wronged one, but he had been on the wrong-doing side. And no matter how guilty he felt for it, how guilty the two of them felt for falling in love, there was still a magnetism that pulled them together like the wind called on the waves and like the stars called in the sky. 

This time around, Remus was determined to be a supportive friend, not only for Sirius but for you as well. It didn’t matter if he had to bear seeing the two of you together again, in fact, after seeing both of your reactions to what had happened, he wasn’t sure there was anything he wanted more. Or… perhaps deep down, a greedy part of him did. A selfish part of him could see one outcome that would make him the happiest man alive, but of course that was a dream. So unrealistic and ridiculous that he wouldn’t even dare speak it aloud. 

It would make him sound too selfish, too greedy, like the men who wanted to have it all and at the end of the story, ended with nothing, as atonement for asking too much of the world. Icarus, Midas, Macbeth, Dorian Grey; all their stories, their lives, they all ended despondently. 

Remus had always been coolheaded, and though he liked to think he was realistic, he often veered towards pessimism, and there was nothing more pessimistic going through the exact same thought process you had gone through. To step out of the way to make the other two happy. 

Sirius was still standing close to Remus, almost behind him, when Remus leaned over the door and knocked on the door. There was no answer, he knocked again, a little louder this time, and then placed his hand on the doorknob. The door creaked open, and they both looked inside. The bed was messy, your clothes were gone, and they had left along with you.

The knock on the door had been none other than Effie. She’d found you crying with Nina’s wand in your hand. You tried to wipe the tears away when she walked in, but it had been too late, she’d seen them, and she’d seen your luggage. 

She frowned and approached you slowly. “Darling, are you okay?” 

You swallowed, your breathing was hard, and your face was slightly scrunched up as you shook your head in response. She crossed the room in an instant and wrapped you in her arms. She was taller than you, and she held your face to her collarbone as she brushed her hand over your head. It was such a kind and motherly gesture, that you couldn’t help but shed tears again. 

It’s not that you would have gone straight to your mother in a situation like this, but it was the fact that you couldn’t, even if you wanted to, that had upset you even further. She was kind and soft, she was gentle as she brushed her hand over your hair and made a soft, shooing sound for you, almost like the ocean. 

“I–” you floundered, “need to leave.” 

She pulled back to look at you, she had a similar expression of concern as the one Remus had given you. “Darling, you can stay for as long as you want–”  

“No,” you interrupted, voice soft but determined. “I have to, Effie. Please.” 

She took a deep breath and licked her lips before focusing her face on you, “Why?”

“It’s complicated.” 

“You’re not leaving until you tell me.” 

You took a deep breath, your gaze cast downwards before you uttered the strength to say your next words, “I broke Sirius’ heart.” It was the truth, and you felt your own heart shatter with the realisation. It’s for the best, you thought. I must do it, for them. 

Effie looked at you, first confused and then, almost reproachingly. As if you hurting Sirius –her son– had changed the entire idea she had of you. But she had also seen the way you looked at Sirius and therefore, was more confused than angry. 

“What?” 

“Please, Effie. You said you’d help,” your voice was slow, broken. “I can’t see him again, not now. Not until we’ve both processed–” 

“You should talk instead.” 

“No,” you said again, just as determined as last time. “I can’t talk, or I will make it worse, so much worse. I’ve already made it bad enough. I’ll owe you one.” 

Effie bit her lip, “Where will you go?” 

“Diagon.” 

“You have anyone there?” 

“A friend of my mother,” you lied. She squinted her eyes at you, as if she didn’t quite believe you. But you had already lied that day, you had already told Sirius the biggest lie of your life and therefore, these smaller ones came out as simply and naturally as flying did to you. 

“We’re not close, but I’m sure he’ll take me, at least until school starts.” 

“Are you sure?” 

“I’ll write to you when I’m there.” 

Effie took a deep breath, a strong, wise part of her told her that she had to force you to stay, to talk to Sirius and to fix things, rather than run away. But she wasn’t sure you would, even if you stayed. Not with everything that had happened to you, not with everything that you’d gone through. She shook her head as if reproaching herself for the decision she’d made and then looked at you. “Okay.” 

You held back a sob, “Thank you.” 

She placed her hand behind your back and pulled you outside of the room. You heard a set of steps climbing up the stairwell on the right, but Effie was quick enough to walk the two of you inside a room, shutting the door shortly after. You heard the soft murmuring of Sirius and Remus as they knocked on the door of the other room, and you turned to Effie urgently.

She had taken you into her study. She had a lard chimney behind her desk. 

“If you don’t write, I’ll find you,” she said, it was something between a threat and a promise.

“Don’t tell them where I am.”

“I won’t,” she reassured as she handed you the bag with Floo powder. 

You took some in your hand and threw it on the chimney. The flames turned green and grew as you said “Diagon.”

You were about to step into the fire when she stopped you, she placed a hand on your shoulder. “Don’t run away.” 

You froze. You had been running, from your pain and from your problems and if you stopped they’d caught up with you and then you weren’t sure you’d be able to cope, you’d fall apart. You turned to her, there were tears in your eyes. “Thank you, Effie. I’ll owe you one for the rest of our lives.” 

She stared at you sadly. She had seen how distressed you were, she had felt it too. Emotions so strong they were perceived even by others, she had heard of that kind of magic, but she had never experienced it, not with sadness and sorrow, at least. 

“Is she here?” Sirius asked, voice on edge as he hastily opened the door. Remus stood behind him, equally pale.

“Who, darling?” Effie asked as if she didn’t know exactly what Sirius had meant.

The flames spit you out into the middle of Diagon, there was still light. You wiped the tears from your eyes and walked straight towards the one place you knew you’d be able to stay at: The Leaky Cauldron. There were a few witches and wizards sitting on the different tables, most of them looking worse for wear. There was a man with a very large bird in the corner. It wasn’t an owl, or an eagle, or anything you had seen on magical creatures and where to find them, but the bird cawed at the man until he threw him a piece of his steak. 

There was an old lady reading tarot to a man in one of the corners and she turned to you with a sinister smile, “5 sickles and I’ll tell you your destiny, pretty girl.”  

“Thank you, mam. But I don’t do readings.” 

“You don’t believe in the power of the cards?” 

“I have seen the power of them,” you admitted in a serious tone. 

She pulled your hand to hers with a sharp movement. Her grip was hard, and even as you tried to pull back she held you in place. 

“Do you want the good or the bad news?” She asked as she tilted her head to you.

“I said I don’t want any news,” you responded sharply. You didn’t like random strangers manhandling you, no matter how old and feeble-looking they might be. You considered taking out your wand but the last thing you wanted was to call more attention to yourself. Not to mention, you didn’t have a wand, and you had never tried to use Nina’s. You tried to pull your hand again and she tutted. 

“I’ll give you a free reading, just because of how upset you seem.” 

“I don’t–” 

“You’ll find love soon.” 

You scoffed, laughing at her words in a mocking-like, bitter manner, if you hadn’t done that, perhaps you would have cried.

“A lot of love, it seems to me here that two boys–” 

“Stop!” you interrupted angrily. “I said I didn’t want readings. And you’re absolutely terrible at it anyway. Find love? Yeah, sure,” you scoffed. “There are higher chances for me to find a terrible, uncalled-for dеath, than there are for me to find love again. Now, please,” it did not sound like a request, “give me my hand back.” 

She let go of your hand as she cocked her head to the side with a curious gaze. “You seem lost child, I can help you find yourself.” 

“I know exactly where I am, thank you,” you said as you pulled your hand away from her sharply. You were sure one of her nails had scratched you by the stinging sensation in your hand. You were quick to turn around and walk towards the back counter of the pub where they had a small sign that claimed they had available rooms. 

The woman shook her head as she saw you leave and turned to the friend next to her. “You saw it too, right?” 

The man in front of her nodded. “She’ll have a surprise when she figures it out.” 

“Poor thing, so bitter and yet so young,” responded the witch.

“She might be having a bad day,” said the man with a shrug as he pulled another card from the deck and placed it on the table. 

You rolled your eyes and quickened your pace towards the counter. Once you reached, a tall, slightly imposing man gave you an impassive look. “I’d like a room.” 

“How old are you?” 

“Old enough to rent a room,” you responded. “I’ll stay here for the rest of the week and pay in advance.” 

The man scoffed and nodded, handing you a key when you handed him enough Galleons to cover for your stay and then some. “Madam Rim will show you to your room,” he said and nodded towards a small woman sleeping in a chair in the corner. 

You approached her carefully and said her name a couple of times before she trembled and turned to you with an angry gaze. The man on the counter snickered when you jumped at her angry look. One of her eyes was completely black, and you weren’t sure if she could actually see you with it. Then when she closed it, it was like that of a reptile. 

“Why have you awoken me, child?” Her breath was foul, and you tried to keep the disgust you felt away from your face so as not to piss her off further. 

“I was told you’d bring me to my room.” 

She rolled her eyes, or well, her one eye, and then turned to you again, “Number?” 

“Thirteen,” you said after checking your keys.

“What a terrible omen,” she responded as she stood up, you would have sworn you heard her bones creak as she did. Her back was hunched from age and she looked like the kind of woman muggles would call a witch. In fact, you might have seen her on the cover of one of those children’s books at the Muggle Library. 

“Now, that,” you remarked. “Is a prediction that I’d believe in.” 

She turned to you with a confused and judging sort of gaze and then motioned for you to follow behind her. She guided you through a long set of stairs and then to a corridor, she stopped in front of a door and motioned towards it. “Your room.” 

“Thank you,” you said with a nod and placed the key on the lock.  You turned but the door wouldn’t budge. She was almost at the end of the hall when you called. “Madam Rim, I think I got the wrong key.” 

She shook her head, “Just push a bit more, it gets stuck often.” 

You sighed but did what told, twisting the door and pushing again. Nothing happened. Madam Rim had already left, and you were stuck outside of your room. You left the suitcase you’d been carrying on the floor and attempted to push again but it didn’t work either. 

You groaned, exasperated and tried once more, this time leaning all of your weight on your shoulder, but the door opened before you even touched it and you stumbled inside the room, your head would have hit the bed pole if you hadn’t used your hand to stop your fall. “Fuck.” 

“Ah,” you complained, looking at your hand. You tried to move it but it hurt, which had you wince in pain as you walked out of the room, grabbed the suitcase, and then walked back inside, closing the door with unnecessary force. It was like the fucking universe was trying to play a joke on you, the door had bounced back and you’d barely had enough time to get out of the way before getting hit. 

“Stupid fucking door,” you mumbled as you shut it again, this time being more gentle and pushing it slowly into the frame. When it finally shut, you sighed and walked back to the bed. You’d left the suitcase over the sheets, and that’s when you spotted the keychain Effie had given you. You looked at it and whispered “Green.” Suddenly the sand inside the small hourglass changed into green. Effie would know you were alright with that.

The room was old and worn, but it didn’t look dirty. You let yourself fall on the bedsheets and winced when your hand touched the mattress. You pulled your hand up, looking at it and trying to move it while you frowned. It hurt, it hurt like a bitch, and you still couldn’t compare it to how much more it had hurt to leave Sirius. 

I’m going to need a potion for this, you thought as you pushed the suitcase off the bed and accommodated yourself. It might have gotten a dent but frankly, you didn’t care. You let your hand fall again and groaned when it hurt just the same as before. There was a big window that allowed the waning afternoon light inside. You didn’t want to think, so you pulled Nina’s wand and pointed towards them. Surely you could perform a simple spell with it…

Instead, the chair next to the window flew towards you and smashed onto the bed pole. You sat on the bed and looked at the shreds with shock, instantly leaving Nina’s wand on the side, so fast it was as if it had burned you. You threw yourself back in the bed and sighed.

“I will also need another wand,” you said as you stared at the intricate details of the bed’s canopy. You stayed like that, thinking– or rather, just staring mindlessly at the squares and circles, and at the shadows cast by the low light that still came from the window. You must have dozed at some point, since the next thing you knew, it was dark. The shadows had grown so much that they were enveloping you almost entirely. You sighed, the temperature had diminished severely. 

For all you cared, you would have fallen asleep and gotten swallowed by the cold. But you had almost frozen to dеath a little while ago and something told you that it would be a terrible idea not to, at least, turn on the fire to warm the room. You had felt what freezing was like, the violent shivering that left you sore and aching the following day, you were not eager to feel like that again. 

The boys slept without any heating most of the time, and it didn’t bother you at all since you had always had them to warm you through the night. But today you’d be alone, and you’d be alone until you got back to school, so catching a cold for being too careless and indolent to turn on the fire was not an option. 

You considered taking Nina’s wand and using that to light up the fireplace, but you remembered what had happened with the chair, the shreds of it still all over the floor, and you decided you didn’t want to risk burning the entire place down. The last thing you needed was people realising you were in two places with a fire –in which you would have actually been the cause of both– and deeming you an arsonist. 

You sighed before leaning up, and wincing when you realised your hand had not gotten much better during the snooze you’d had. When you finally got up the bed you realised you had a bit of a runny nose –probably from the cold– and sniffed before getting to the bathroom and blowing your nose quickly. You stared at yourself in the mirror for a second. You looked terribly doleful, unhappy. You washed your teeth before walking back into the room and sitting on the wooden floor next to the fireplace. 

They had some kind of warming charm on them since they didn’t feel nearly as cold as they should have and then you spent at least a quarter of an hour trying to turn the fire on with wandless magic. You had never tried Incendio wandlessly before, and it had been bIoody hard. When eventually you did manage to get the flame going, you threw some old newspaper to liven it up, sighed and leaned in a little closer. 

It’s not nearly as warm as they are, you thought bitterly. But they might be warming each other now, as they should be. You didn’t want to be away from the warmth of the flames, so rather than moving back to the bed, you stayed crouched next to them and dug your head inside the jumper. It was Remus’ but Sirius had pinched it and it smelled so much like him, like the two of them, that you started to cry.

Thick hot tears streamed down your cheeks and dampened the sinfully soft fabric of the jumper. Your lips were dry and tasted like salt, and you cried, and cried, over everything that had happened so far. This time you knew there would be no one to bother you, that nobody would find you crying and that no one would ask if you were alright. In a way, you were glad that you didn’t have to hold back your tears anymore. No more fear of being found crying, of being thought of as weak, even if every tear you shed was more than justified. 

But there was still that selfish part of you that dared to wish you weren’t alone, that dared hope that you hadn’t left, that you had continued pretending you didn’t know and that you were cuddling with Sirius and Remus, rather than sitting by yourself in the middle of a small inn. 

Eventually, in your reluctance to move away from the flames, you decided to sleep there, and you turned into Vixen, but you took off Remus’ jumper off first and once you were a fox, you used your snout to find the bottom hem and slip inside of it, limping a little as you did. It was warm, and it smelled delightful. If you closed your eyes, you could almost pretend you weren’t in a lonely inn, but rather curled up in one of James’ soft beds, right on top of Remus’ chest, and with Padfoot’s snout pushing you as he too tried to get some chest space to rest his head on.

Perhaps once the boys sorted what they had to sort out, you could go back to cuddling them, maybe you could use the next full moon as an excuse. Once they were settled into their own relationship, and once things with Sirius went back to normal –or as normal as they could possibly be after what had happened.

When you woke up, it was because of a small, knocking on the glass. You were not on the first floor, so you shook your head, stirring inside Remus’ sweater before limping outside of it and peering at the room. The fire had almost gone out, but you were still warm, and the thing you’d heard on the window was nothing other than Reese, tapping his beak against the glass.

You turned back into yourself and stretched as you walked towards the window, unlocking the small hook at the top and pushing it open for Reese to come inside, your hand hurt as you did, so you had to manoeuvre it with only one of them. “Hey little one,” you said softly, you then realised he had something tied to his feet. 

You hesitated before untying and unrolling the small piece of parchment. 

He was flying frantically while looking for you today, he thought you’d abandoned him. Where the hell did you go off to, Vix? I know it has to do with Sirius, he looked upset, and he was whispering about with Remus all night too.  He might be my brother but if he did something to you, I’ll punch him for it. Mum told everyone you were feeling sick and that that was the reason you left early. Sirius and Remus seemed confused at it, but they don’t know Mum like I do, I knew she knew something. I went straight to her and asked her. She said it wasn’t her place to tell me what had happened and that I should ask you myself.  Problem was, I obviously had no fucking idea where you’d gone to. She didn’t want to tell me, but I can be very convincing you know that already. Don’t worry, I haven’t told Sirius and Remus, if they don’t tell me what’s going on, well then I won’t tell them the information I’ve gathered by myself. I assumed Reese would be able to find you, wherever in Diagon you had gone off to and decided to send my little note through him.  I know you’ve been upset lately. You should come back, I can send Sirius away with Remus if you want, I think it’s a bad idea for you to be alone now. Especially with everything that’s going on, but at the end of the day, it's your choice. You better fucking write me every day though, I’m worried sick. You are also like a sister to me. You know that, right? Anyway, I expect to hear from you today, or I might just go to Diagon and drag you back myself, don’t test my patience. Love, Prongs

Sirius and Remus were whispering about all night, that was good, that was great, it meant they were talking. It meant they would be together and then, once Sirius forgot about his infatuation with you –as if he could ever– he and Remus could be happy and you’d be able to talk to them both again, and things would be all right. 

You really did believe that to be a possibility, or at least you were desperate to believe in it, you couldn’t see the alternatives, let alone the answer that the entire world had been screaming at you. In the whispers of the mermaids kissing each other, in the loud teasing voices of the ghosts, in the eyes of the old hag that read you your destiny but that you were too obdurate to actually listen to. You looked through the drawers of the old room and found some parchment and a quill. You quickly scribbled something for Prongs. You had to write with your non-writing hand and the letters came askew, but you couldn’t exactly use a spell to fix them, so you tried your best to at least make it readable. 

I’m all right. Don’t worry about me. Sirius did nothing, it was me. I’m sorry if I ruined our trip, I was having lots of fun but it had to be done. I’ll send you notes every day, but it can’t be through Reese, or they’ll figure it out. 

You bit your lip thinking of a solution to the problem when you remembered the keychain that Effie had given you. Protean charm, you thought. That was the answer. But there was no way in hell you managed to perform a charm of the sort without your wand, let alone with Nina’s wand that seemed to refuse to work with you, so you’d have to buy something.

I have a plan, I’ll get us a way of communicating by the end of the night. I’ll send Reese to your rooftop, he’ll hide behind the chimney.  Thank you for caring, Prongs. I also think of you as a brother.  Love, Vix

You wrapped the small note on Reese’s feet, cursing as a jolt of pain hit your entire arm for forcing your wrist and sent him off, promising to get him something to eat by the time you came back with a new wand and something to charm.

Sail away sweet sister My heart is always with you No matter what you do I'll always be in love with you

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A/N: I questioned myself for making them suffer so much while revising this chapter. Some of Sirius' words are just heart wrenching to me, I swear <3

Read more Marauders Fiction

[loganwritesprobably]

– Law with the 1° genre, prompt (l.) ✨

Law is a character I have a lot of fun writing, even though I've never actually seen him on screen (I think I've consumed the anime in the weirdest way possible). Just love him. I also love this trope

This ended up being kind of long

Find the prompt list here

Content/Warnings: Law/GN!Reader, fluff, one bed, suggestive, friends to lovers, getting together, first kiss, Law has a nightmare

You were a Heart Pirate, a friend to your Captain and all your crewmates. You loved sailing, and being a pirate, you loved the Polar Tang and having one of the healthiest crews on the sea. You also loved Captain Trafalgar Law. You didn't mean to end up in this position, and yet here you were, with a huge crush on the one guy who was totally off limits. Probably anyway, you hadn't exactly asked where he stood on the entire thing.

You hopped onto the dock of the island you'd arrived at, planning to spend a few days on land. You needed to stock up, and Law was on a mission for information. That meant staying away from the Polar Tang for a while. A couple of crew members remained inside the sub, and once everyone was out, sailed away to keep it out of few. It was late, and pitch black, which would hopefully mean nobody would suspect you were pirates.

Since it was late, everyone was headed to the two inns on the island, splitting between them to increase chances of finding the information that you wanted.

When you arrived at the inn with Law, Bepo, Shachi and Ikkaku, Law set about getting rooms for everyone. You stepped in beside him at the front desk, stood shoulder to shoulder, while Bepo, Shachi and Ikkaku stood behind you both, rubbing their eyes and yawning, their exhaustion clear.

Law took the three keys you'd been given, two rooms to be shared and one solo room.

"Bepo snores! He can go on his own." Shachi protested, taking one of the keys for himself.

"I do not! .. Do I?" Bepo asked, taking another key for himself.

"Sorry big guy.. I'll get in with you Shachi." Ikkaku said, leaning heavily against her friend and nearly knocking him over.

"Looks like I'm with you then, Cap." You said, and you certainly weren't unhappy with that arrangement.

Bepo found his room first, heading in and locking the door behind himself. Then Shachi and Ikkaku found theirs, and headed inside with softly mumbled 'goodnight's. You and Law were last, and he headed in first, making a beeline for the bathroom. You closed the door behind yourself and locked it, setting the room key on a side table.

You ventured deeper into the room, only for your heart to drop when you made a key discovery: there was only one bed. Bepo had taken the wrong key, and gotten one of the rooms with twin beds. At least the bed was a double, silver linings you guess.

Law shuffled out of the bathroom a few minutes later, wearing just sleep pants, and no shirt. He had been about to say something to you when he saw exactly what you had.

"Shit." He muttered, rubbing a hand over his face. There was no sofa in the room, and you'd not really brought anything with you to sleep on if you were going to sleep on the floor. The bed was, realistically, the only option.

"Yeah." You mumbled in agreement.

"Bepo falls right asleep too, we couldn't get him to swap if we tried." You could only nod. It was true. You'd considered that already.

"Guess we're sharing." You said, finally walking away from the bed to use the bathroom for yourself. Suddenly worried about your hygiene, you decided to take a quick shower, careful not to get your hair wet. You got out, brushed your teeth and dried off before changing into your sleep clothes. You couldn't put off the inevitable any longer though, so you stepped out of the bathroom to find Law just sitting on the bed, polishing his sword.

You put your clothes from the day into your bag, and went to sit on the other side of the bed to Law, assuming that was where you'd be sleeping. You untucked the duvet from beneath the mattress, fluffed the pillow, and silently lay down. Law set aside his sword, and did the same on his own side of the bed, still distinctly lacking a shirt. Fuck.

You lay facing the wall, away from Law, your heart beating rapidly. You didn't dare turn to see what he was doing himself, just closing your eyes. Thankfully, you were exhausted, and so you didn't lay awake and anxious for long.

-·–·-–-·–·-

When you woke the next morning, after some particularly tantalising dreams about the man sleeping beside you, you opened your eyes to discover the man in question was now facing you, and you were facing him. His lips were slightly parted, and he looked.. peaceful. You couldn't help admiring the sight, even if it felt wrong to watch him sleep. You'd thankfully not woken up cuddling, like some sort of cliche, so eventually you managed to convince yourself to get up and head to the bathroom.

You washed your face in cold water, calming yourself down after your dreams, and waking up beside the man who'd been in your fantasises in months. You took a few deep breaths before returning to the room feeling more steady than before, to find Law still asleep. Should you wake him? He looked so peaceful, and he was always so exhausted. You were sure everything would be fine, you'd wake him before noon, or if the crew came knocking.

Slowly, carefully, you collected a book from your bag and returned to the bed, not wanting to wake Law. You slipped beneath the sheets, and got comfortable, opening your book to where you'd left off last. You managed to read for an hour before Law began to grumble and shift. You looked at him for a moment, and when he didn't stop, you reached out to rest a hand on his arm, hoping to gently wake him.

That didn't work.

He shot up, eyes wide and breathing rapid. He struck out as if to hit you, but thankfully you were just slightly faster than him, having the advantage of having been awake for over an hour already. You gently moved his hand to rest in his lap, hesitating for a moment before you rested a hand on his back.

"Want me to take a walk and let you chill out here for a while?"

"No-" he rasped, hand reaching out again, but this time he gripped your wrist tightly, as if you'd disappear if he didn't hold on.

"Okay. I'll stay here Cap." You confirmed, but he didn't let you go. He couldn't. A few silent minutes passed where Law's breathing slowly evened out, and you patiently waited.

"We can talk about it, if you want." You offered, when he finally released you, treading carefully so you didn't unsettle him again.

"Not really." Law replied, rubbing his eyes to get the sleep from the corners. No wonder he was always so exhausted. You wanted to know what it was that'd upset him so much, but if he didn't want to tell you then you wouldn't press him.

Law got up out of bed and headed to the bathroom, cleaning up like you already had, and you took the chance to change into your day clothes so you were ready to go whenever Law wanted to set off.

He returned after a few minutes, looking more composed, but still exhausted. You wanted to help, to ease his discomfort and take away whatever was hurting him. That wasn't your place.

"I have nightmares too, sometimes." You said into the silence of the room, perched on the edge of the bed. Law paused his movements, surprised by your words, then continued digging through his bag for his stuff.

"About what I've lost, and everything I have now, and how easy it is to lose that too. Nobody is invincible." You continued, hoping it would at least help Law feel a little less alone.

"You dream about losing us?" He asked, looking toward the main door to the room rather than at you.

"Yeah, pretty regularly actually. You guys are my family, I don't know what I'd do without you." He nodded and slipped back into the bathroom to chance into his day clothes. He returned, only missing his hat, which you tossed to him for him to put on.

"Hey, you don't have to worry about losing us, you know. I won't let that happen to any of us." Law said, but his expression said everything.

"Then why do you worry about it?" You asked, and Law once again stopped stock still. You were going to give him a heart attack if you weren't careful.

There was a long pause then, longer than the others, and you watched Law open and close his mouth repeatedly, trying to find the words that he needed to defend himself, or at least something smart to say, but he kept coming up fruitless.

He walked over to sit beside you on the bed, licking his lips. His eyes remained focused on the ground as he hooked his ankle with your own, and then reached out and took your hand to lace your fingers together.

"It doesn't matter if I worry, I'm the Captain, it's my job. But I care if you worry, I don't want you losing sleep over us." He told you, voice impossibly soft, like you'd never heard it before.

"It's not your job. It's your job to trust us, and believe we can work together as a team to all stay safe. But the worry will never go away, we'll probably all always worry because of everything we've been through before we met." You replied, gently squeezing his hand. Your heart fluttered in your chest when he returned the gesture.

"Can I kiss you?" He asked suddenly, and a part of you was sure you were still dreaming. Surely he hadn't just asked that?

"What?" You asked dumbly, and Law laughed softly. He'd watched your pupils dilate, he knew you were interested, you were just stunned.

"I dreamt about you specifically. About losing you. Can I kiss you? I just.. want to be sure you're really there."

You had never been able to say no to your captain.

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Tags: @claryeverlarkf @uselessboots @cainnoable

[that-basic-simp]

R&R

Lara Croft x Fem! Reader CW: N/A WC: 1.1k+

"Are you sure we're in the right place, Lara?" I asked.

"I was the one who gave you directions," she sighed.

"That is true, but I didn't expect your house to be this..."

"Big? Huge?"

"Yes," I whispered.

She chuckled, "I get that a lot."

She pulled her arm from around my shoulders and limped towards the gates.

"S-Should you be even walking on that leg?"

"No."

"Then why are you?"

"I don't want to burden you with carrying me."

"I can carry you, Lara. No problem."

"You're banged up, too, Y/N."

"I know I am, but I'm not the one with a sprained ankle."

"I'll walk it off."

"If you walk it off, it'll need more than just a splint."

As soon as the gates were pushed open, I grabbed Lara by her shoulders to turn her to face me.

"What?" she asked.

"Get on my back. I am carrying you to the door."

"It's a bit of a walk from here."

"I don't care. Just as long as you're off that leg, that's all that matters."

Lara sighed, "There's no saying no to this, right?"

"No. I know your charismatic ways, Lara, but let me take care of you for once. Please."

She smiled, "What would I do without you, Y/N?"

"Walk on a sprained ankle."

She laughed and I turned to where my back was facing her. She jumped up and I grabbed underneath her legs. I started to walk towards the door of the mansion after she had closed the gates to it. It wasn't a terrible walk, but I underestimated Lara's body mass. Of course it was mostly muscle, but damn. She sure has a lot of it. Once I reached the door, I set her down and fell to all fours.

"You ok?" Lara asked.

"Yeah," I huffed out. "J-Just give me a minute."

Lara unlocked the door and pushed it open. When I got up, she wrapped her arm around my shoulders and grabbed my other arm, wrapping it around her waist.

"Let's just do it how we did before."

I nodded and I followed her directions as she led me through the house. When I entered her room, I almost fell once more. It was huge. There were a lot of artifacts from ancient places. There were taxidermy animals in every corner and even mounted on the walls. A large bed sat against the far back wall and there was a door to the right.

"What do you need? I can get it for you," I said as I set her on the bed.

"I just need to rest for now," Lara said. "Afterwards, I need to get back out there."

"You're not going out there."

"What do you mean?"

"With a sprained ankle? You're not going anywhere until it is properly looked at and healed."

Lara shook her head, "I can't afford to rest and relax."

"Yes, you can. You need it, Lara," I reached down and grabbed her hand. "Please."

She let out a sigh, "Fine. I wouldn't mind if you drew me a bath."

"Of course," I said and walked towards the door that was behind me.

"Wrong door," she said.

"There's so many damn doors in here!"

"One over there," she pointed to the door that was on the other side of the room.

I walked over there and opened the door. Afterwards, it was smooth sailing from there.

"Do you want extra bubbles?"

"Just a normal amount," Lara responded.

"Extra it is!"

"Y/N! Don't overdo it!"

Once the water was hot and there were a good amount of bubbles, I headed over to Lara and helped her into the bathroom. I stepped out and closed the door to let her have her private time.

"You're not coming back in here?"

"I-I didn't know if you wanted me in there with you."

"I want someone to talk to aside from myself."

I opened the door and almost fell for a second time. Her back was facing me and her hair was out of her ponytail. I could see where every muscle creased and flexed, where her shoulder blades were if she moved her shoulders back enough. Not to mention, the many scars and scratches that were on her back. I stepped towards her and lightly ran a hand over one I distinctly remember. I was the cause of it. It didn't happen too long ago, but it healed to where it left a white jagged line in its wake.

It was also the first time I had run into Lara, starting our friendship. I had stolen a priceless artifact from people who were going to sell it people in the black market. From there, with the money they got, they were going to do illegal trading in the ivory business. When they saw my not so sneaky get away, they were after me. I tried to get rid of them, but they had cornered me. Lara came in to save the day, but while she was fighting the men, one came up behind her and cut along her back with a dagger. After her fight with them, I took her to see a doctor. Afterwards, we had become inseparable.

"Don't blame yourself," Lara said.

"I-I just can't forgive myself."

"It wasn't your fault," she turned over her shoulder. "You did the right thing."

"I didn't want to hear anymore news of the illegal trade."

"You did your best. And so did I. That's all that matters."

I pulled my hand away and sat on the stool that was in the bathroom. I rested my arms on the ledge of the bathtub and rested my head on my arms.

"Look where it brought the both of us," Lara said softly.

"I guess there is an upside to that situation."

"Always has been."

"How did you not get lonely out there?"

"I had other people beside me, but with our line of work, I kept people at arms length. I couldn't get close to them because I was afraid of them losing me or me losing them."

"Have you lost anyone so far?"

"So far, no. I am grateful for it."

"I'm glad I haven't lost you either," I smiled, my heart beat faster against my chest.

"You know, Y/N," Lara inched closer to me, placing a hand on my forearm. "Out of all the people I met, you're by far my favorite."

"Really?" I smiled giddily.

"Yeah," she inched closer. "I told myself to not get close to anyone, no matter what circumstances. When I tried to push you away, you just kept coming back harder and harder. There was a fire in your heart, in your soul that I couldn't understand until recently."

"It was hard to get through to you, but I'm glad I did," I whispered as I leaned closer to where every word grazed her lips.

Her one hand came up and was placed against the back of my head while the other cupped my cheek. She pressed her lips against mine and I happily kissed back. Oh how I waited, how I longed for this moment. I pulled away and pressed my forehead against Lara's.

"Good thing I am taking some R&R," Lara said.

"Yeah."

"Will you spend it with me?"

"Of course, Lara."

[syndrossi]

Reverberate AU Concept #2

Part 1 here. We're growing a plot because I am not capable of not doing so, apparently. Takes place roughly 3 months after the last, as we near the twins' first name day.

Aka "what if Resonant!Daemon woke up in the Stepstones shortly after the twins' conception, resolved the first Stepstones conflict in record time, and flew back to Runestone to convince Rhea to announce the pregnancy as her own?"

x~x~x

“Mooaw!” the voice on his left shoulder demanded. It was soon echoed by the one on his right. “Moooaw!”

Fighting back a grin, Daemon angled Caraxes upward for one more loop around Runestone and its northern coast. Spring had ushered itself in with great haste, quickly melting the remaining snow, until it had retreated back to only the very peaks of the mountains to the far west. The air was colder up high, but it lacked the bite of winter, and the very first wildflower blooms were visible in the grasslands.

As they neared the coast, Caraxes descended lower, passing over the occasional ship in the small bay. Most of the time, ships sailed past Runestone, their destination either Gulltown and eventually the Saltpans to ferry goods inland, or south to King’s Landing. One larger ship that they had passed last time heading northward had turned east, Daemon noted with interest, toward Runestone. It was difficult to make out details from their current height, but its giant mast seemed to be carved into the shape of a dragon’s head.

He ignored the demanding chant for more on their final descent, and Caraxes landed just outside the enclosure. As they neared their first name day, the twins were dangerously close to outgrowing Daemon’s own saddle-sling. He would need adjustments made soon.

He set them both down carefully, and they clung to a leg apiece to balance themselves before taking off as one toward Caraxes, whose contentment flowed easily through their bond as they grabbed for the smaller horns on his great head—though even those were far too large for such tiny hands to grasp.

It should not surprise him that they had already mastered the art of walking. Their first wobbling steps had come at nine moons, within a day of one another. They were yet too slow for their newfound mobility to greatly worry Daemon, but he feared when the day came that they could disappear of their own accord.

That was what Ser Willam was for, however. The dark-haired knight had stood in vigil at the enclosure during their ride, and watched the boys with alert eyes as they babbled to Caraxes. Their speech was growing more intelligible by the day, and Daemon took care to speak High Valyrian exclusively when alone with them, determined that neither would be forced to rely upon tutors to speak the tongue of their ancestors.

Free of his own saddle, Daemon came up behind the twins, mimicking the roar of a dragon as he swooped to pick them up in either arm, to delighted shrieks. “Let us bid Caraxes farewell,” he said to them. “And I shall fly you back to the castle.”

And fly they did, Daemon sprinting to the best of his ability with each tucked in one arm, growing heavier by the month. It no longer drew the same stares as it had the first few moons, though it was a struggle to maintain the breakneck speed for the full distance.

“You must not grow anymore,” Daemon informed them between pants once they’d reached the castle gates. He glanced behind to find Ser Willam trotting more leisurely to catch up. And ahead of them, Rhea had emerged from the castle to greet their return. Doubtless she had been watching from her solar.

“My brave dragonriders,” she said with a smile, kissing the boys on the cheek, and then Daemon. “We shall see if your father is so amicable when I take you out hawking.”

Daemon clutched the boys tighter, uncertain how he felt about them setting out on horse. “There are outlaws and hill tribesmen.”

To say nothing of the Craynes of the world who might be lurking for the opportunity to ambush and steal his children. His sons were safe up on Caraxes’s back. The same was not true of the roads and wilds of the Vale, which had seen them kidnapped before.

“Then we shall need brave knights to protect us,” Rhea said, nodding at Ser Willam.

Allard Stone—Willam’s squire this time, rather than legitimized and installed as keeper of the Gates of the Moon to further the plot to keep his sons hidden from him—slunk out of the shadows to stand at the knight’s side, shoulders tense in Daemon’s presence.

Rhea had intended for him to be yet another of the twins’ protectors, until Daemon had voiced his vehement objection through gritted teeth. His excuse had been that having a bastard guard the twins might call their own legitimacy into question, and that he was yet too green.

Rhea had been adamant, however, insisting that he be allowed to prove himself as Ser Willam’s squire. Perhaps the knight might make something of him, but Daemon would be damned before he let that cold-blooded snake near his children.

“They are yet too young,” Daemon said finally.

Rhea took Jon from him, bouncing him lightly in her arms. “What do you say, Jon?” She angled him toward the stables. “Would you like to ride with your mama on horseback sometime?” At his silence, she pointed at one that was out in the yard. “Can you say horsie?”

“Awazhee,” Jon said, with a stubborn loyalty that made Daemon smile.

“You ride Caraxes every day,” she said with a sigh. Rhea turned to Rhaegar, smiling at him with encouragement. “How about you, Rhaegar? Horsie with mama?”

His other son regarded her with uncertain purple eyes that looked to Daemon first, then back at her, then back at Daemon. Then he burst into tears. Daemon bounced him gently, and Jon began fussing, as he often did when his brother was upset, so he reclaimed him from Rhea.

“I fear you cannot compete with a dragon,” Daemon said, without the smugness he might ordinarily feel, because Rhea looked genuinely defeated by their reaction. “Perhaps some horse toys for their name day might change their minds?”

“Perhaps,” she said.

Rhaegar’s crying had subsided to sniffles, at which point Ser Willam drew his sword with a dramatic flourish, drawing the eyes of both babes. They quieted, staring as the knight angled the Valyrian steel blade back and forth to catch the sun. Jon reached out a hand, his chubby fist clenching and unclenching as though he wanted to hold it.

“That blade weighs half as much as you,” Daemon said, planting a kiss on the short locks of hair that had started growing in for both twins two moons ago.

Jon’s was lighter than he recalled, a brown almost like Rhea’s. He wondered if, like his and Rhaegar’s eyes, it would darken over time. Rhaegar’s own hair was almost completely silver currently, earning him the nickname of “old man” from Ser Willam, which both children found hilarious. Its final shade had been very near to Daemon’s own, but it was more than a little disconcerting just how similar in coloring Rhaegar was to his uncle Aemon in his first year.

Emotional turmoil averted, he dismissed Ser Willam to supervise Allard in the yard so that he would not have to contend with the sullen teenager lurking outside the solar. Rhea joined them for mealtime, which had progressed to the twins stubbornly trying to feed themselves and making an absolute mess in the process.

Daemon had a standing order in the kitchens for carrots and blueberries, but Rhea ensured there was always something new for them to try in addition to their staples. Today, it was a boiled cabbage that Rhea said had been a favorite of her mother’s. Jon chewed enthusiastically on his, once Daemon had cut it down to appropriate size, while Rhaegar seemed less convinced of its merits.

Maester Forsethe then poked his head in to summon Rhea to attend to lordly matters, leaving Daemon alone to clean up the mess afterward. He made ample use of the warmed water in the washing basin, then settled with both of them into a chair by the fire to read from an old collection of legends from the long history of House Royce, written for children.

Each tale had a full-page illustration that he let the twins study before moving on to the words themselves, but they seemed to derive their greatest enjoyment from his approximations of a wolf’s howl or the impact of a hurled boulder against the walls of a keep or even the chirping of birds.

There are no collections of tales for children of our own house, he thought with regret. And certainly none in High Valyrian. Perhaps I can find a suitable writer to commission such a work in King’s Landing, and translate into Valyrian.

“Woaf,” Jon demanded, head turning up to look at him.

Daemon pointed to the word on the page, then spoke its High Valyrian equivalent. “Zokla.”

Jon’s face scrunched up in determination. “Zogaa.” And when Daemon glanced at Rhaegar, his other son repeated it. “Zogaa.”

Daemon howled then, to squeals of amusement before his sons joined in, attempting to mimic him.

“Has a pack of wolves invaded my solar?” Rhea had returned, and though there was a smile on her face, it was a distracted one.

Daemon ceased his howling, feeling a stir of unease. “What is it?”

“I just received a delegation from Volantis that arrived in our port this afternoon. They seek an audience with you.”

His arms tightened around the twins, stomach twisting with equal parts fear and fury. “What do they want?”

It was a pointless question. He held what they wanted in his arms, in his very heart. Daemon glanced past Rhea, through the open doorway, his concern only partly allayed by Ser Willam’s presence outside it.

“They bear gifts for the twins, and a message from the triarchs for you and you alone. I was not permitted to receive it,” Rhea said, eyes narrowing as she noted his reaction. “One of them claims to be your cousin, by your aunt Saera.”

Daemon stared at her for a moment, thrown. He had assumed that his bastard cousins by his aunt Saera in Essos had either proved useless for Volantis’s plans before, or been killed by a warlock’s test. He had not thought he would ever meet one, let alone acting on behalf of the triarchs.

She had claimed to have carved out a kingdom of her own in Volantis, he recalled, spurning the opportunity to send any of her bastard sons to the Great Council to press their own claims. One of them had been the son of a triarch, if memory served. Whoever had been sent, presumably.

The twins had gone quiet, as though sensing his mood, and he kissed the top of their heads, mind still racing. Gifts. A message. He did not think they would be brazen enough to send a delegation, only to openly kidnap his sons. Did they think to try diplomacy instead?

“Where are they now?” he asked, already steeling himself for at least one sleepless night.

“Your cousin is acting as official envoy for Volantis. I had chambers set aside for his delegation.” Her lip curled in distaste. “He is ferried by two slaves on a golden litter. Only the lowly move about on their own feet, apparently.” She tilted her head at Daemon. “Their presence worries you. Why? Volantis is an enemy of the Triarchy, is it not?”

That was the excuse he had chosen, to convince Rhea that the twins needed protection. Triarchy retaliation. Daemon had no logical explanation for why they should fear Volantis.

“I do not know why they have come here, to me, rather than my brother,” Daemon said.

“Perhaps your victory in the Stepstones earned you the favor of their triarchs—a victory that was yours, not your brother’s.” Spoken by anyone else, that might have been flattery. From Rhea, it was a simple statement of fact. “They may seek to court your favor in return.”

The notion felt preposterous. Under no circumstances would he agree to part with his children, for whatever promised price. “What did you tell them?”

“Your cousin and his advisors have been invited to sup with us in the great hall.” She shut the door behind her and crossed the room, pulling the other chair over to sit facing Daemon. “Is there a threat that I should know of, Daemon?”

“I do not know,” Daemon said tightly. “I—” He flailed for anything that would not sound like utter madness. “What do you know of my family’s history? Do you know of Daenys the Dreamer?”

“She was…a seer, yes?” Rhea said with a look of faint recognition.

“Yes,” Daemon said, relieved she was familiar with the tales. House Royce believed in its own magic, after all. “She foresaw Valyria’s Doom, and urged our family to flee. Some members of my family have had this gift. We call them dragon dreams.”

Rhea studied him with something that was not quite skepticism. “Do you mean to say that you have had these dragon dreams?”

“Did you never wonder how I knew to return from the Stepstones? Or how I knew that we would have twin sons? I have seen it before, in something like a dream.” Daemon took a deep breath. “Just as I have seen a threat in the east, one that seeks to steal our children. At first I thought that it must be the Triarchy, but my dreams of late have been of Volantis.”

Rhea’s gaze went to the children, lips compressing into a tight line. “You think they will attempt such a thing here, in Runestone?”

“I do not know.” That was the problem. Before, Volantis had worked from the shadows. This was as open a confrontation as possible, and Daemon could not deny that he desired to see the face of his enemy, to take their measure. “I do not intend to let them out of my sight for a moment.”

“Nor out of Ser Willam’s,” Rhea said. “He must be informed to be at his most vigilant.”

She extended a hand, stroking Jon’s cheek and then Rhaegar’s, both twins still unnaturally quiet. When Daemon glanced down at them, their eyes were wide and solemn, and he kissed them each with a reassurance he did not feel. They are so very small. It was something he thought a dozen times a day, usually with glee, grateful for this second chance with them. But now it came with an undercurrent of fear.

An eight-year-old could fight, shout, run. An infant was utterly helpless, his only recourse to wail in fear. Someone could pick them up in either arm as easily as he held them now, could sprint as he had from the enclosure—

“Daemon.” Rhea’s hand found his cheek next, and his gaze locked on hers, her brown eyes calm and steady. “I will not let anything happen to them. I can send the delegation away, if you fear the danger is too great.”

“No,” Daemon said, once he had gathered himself. “It is better to know what they want.” Or were openly willing to state that they wanted. Sending them away would alert them to the fact that they knew of the danger. “Perhaps I am wrong.”

He desperately hoped to be wrong. But he could think of no other explanation for Volantis to send men directly to Runestone to approach him. His brother was king, not Daemon. The only thing he could offer that his brother couldn’t was his dragonriding ability—and his children.

Jon’s hand grabbed for Daemon’s hair, closing around a fistful to tug for his attention, grey eyes peering into him as though he held the secrets of the world. Would that I did, Daemon thought with regret, kissing his tiny fist.

“My apologies, Jon.” At Rhea’s questioning look, he explained, “We have not yet finished storytime.”

It was another three hours until supper. Time enough to read, put the twins down for their nap, and ponder whatever awaited from his cousin and the rest of the delegation. Rhea stayed for the next two stories, coaxed to join in on the animal noises, but the twins’ joy was muted. They have always been so sensitive to our moods.

Even Jon seemed upset when Rhea left to make the appropriate preparations for supper, and Daemon had to sing the sniffles away, bouncing them both on his lap as he did so. They were equally clingy as he set them in their cradle, a chorus of heartbroken kepas summoning him back within seconds.

“I will be no further than the desk,” he assured them, following words with kisses for good measure.

Daemon sang again, one gentle lullaby after another, until they both finally fell asleep—Rhaegar, as ever, the stubborn straggler. Rather than return to the desk, he lingered in his chair by their cradle, visions of their cradle—bare, empty—tormenting him.

He did not care how he managed it, they were not leaving his arms until the Volantenes were gone.

[exhaslo]

Kinktober Day 29- Zoro x Reader (Facesitting/overstimulation)

*Requested by reader ;) *

        If there was one thing that was hard to keep on the Sunny Go, it was a secret. With how small the crew was, it was bound that someone will find out whatever secret was being hidden. Which was why you and Zoro had to work harder than anyone else to make sure no one knew that the two of your were dating. It might literally be the end of both your worlds if the others find out. There would be no privacy in your lives at all.

        Luffy would be asking too many questions. Sanji would refuse to allow the two of you near each other at all. Nami and Robin would want to get all the details out of you about Zoro. Chopper would be giving you more check ups since you and Zoro were sexually active. Oh, that would be the worst if the others find out about that part. Zoro loved his sex. He liked to say it was a special form of training that only the two of you could do. Hell, you loved it too.

        Zoro had talent when it came to his tongue. Honestly, you were surprised the first time he ate you out. You were such a wreck after he fucked you that night that Chopper was very worried for your health. You couldn't move from the bed for two days. Zoro loved to test your limits with him. He would make sure you were so fucked out before he drilled his massive cock into your poor, overstimulated cunt. You never complained, you just wanted to make sure that you weren't too loud. Sometimes, Zoro had to stuff your mouth with his bandana to make sure no one heard your loud moans.

"We're getting closer to the island!" Usopp yelled out. Nami started to count their funds,

"Who's going to watch the ship while we get supplies?"

"I will," You said with a chirp. Zoro yawned as he woke up from his nap,

"Me too," He muttered before falling back asleep. You chuckled and kept poking his cheek, "I'm trying to go back to sleep,"

"But you need to stay up to protect me~" 

"Oi! Moss-Head! The lady is right!" Sanji spat, making his way over to Zoro.

        A smile curled against your lips as you watched Zoro and Sanji argue with each other. You guys had to play it cool. Every time you all landed on an island was free fucking time. Either the two of you stayed on the ship or went to the island to a motel. It was the only time where Zoro could go all out and hear your moans. 

        Once everyone was off the ship, both you and Zoro did a through check. It was clear! The two of you hurried to the lookout post, since Zoro mainly stayed up there and got ready. You got the mat set up and watched as Zoro moved his weights aside. You couldn't help but giggle at his complaints. Approaching him from behind, you kissed his back,

"Awe, sorry for waking you up~"

"You owe me," Zoro huffed, turning towards you, "And I have just the idea."

        You whined as Zoro spent no time waiting. His hands already rested on your breasts while he hungerly kissed you. His tongue forcing its way into your mouth as he grinded his harden erection against your cunt. Your body was already starting to warm up with his tough touches. This was the only time Zoro can go wild. He always kept testing the limits when they were sailing. 

        Your body trembled under Zoro's touch as he pinned you against the mast, rutting his hips into yours. You could feel your panties growing damper as his hands worked feverishly. Zoro trailed his tongue down from your lips to your neck, wanting to taste every part of you. You were already moaning from the friction of your clothing. You just wanted him to hurry and fuck you. 

        You gasped lowly as Zoro started to rub your slit. He had your nipple in his mouth while his hands started to touch your sensitive bud. You whimpered and moan to his touch, his fingers rubbing circles around your clit. You loved how hot he made you, how wet you got. Tangling your fingers in his hair, you moved your hips slightly, wanting more. Zoro chuckled in response as he bit you nipple, sliding your pants down. He licked down your side, grabbing your panties with his teeth and pulling them down.

"Z-Zoro!" You whined as he held you panties with his teeth.

        Zoro just smirked as he guided you towards him. He took his clothes off and sat on the mat, pulling you down. His eyes focused on your dripping sex, watching it start to twitch in anticipation. Zoro licked his lips in response and laid down, pulling your pussy to his face. Your cheeks burned read as Zoro sat you on his face, holding your hips down. You tried to complain and argue, but moaned loudly instead as his tongue started to swirl around your cunt.

"Zoro~!" You cried out, shaking in pleasure.

"You owe me, remember."

        You whimpered at the vibration of him talking against your pussy. Zoro's grip against you waist was tight, making sure that you did not move. Your breathe shuddered slightly as you focused on his tongue. Zoro was fucking talented alright. Holding that third sword in his mouth sure meant something. His tongue was dancing around your folds, exploring every inch of your pussy. Like a starved man, Zoro ate you out. You moaned loudly as his tongue entered your hole, causing you to cum hard.

        Zoro grunted in response, lapping up the mess you made on him. You squirmed slightly, but Zoro refused to have you move. His tongue kept ravishing your poor cunt, making sure that nothing was left untouched. You moans grew more erratic as Zoro rubbed your clit. He was about to make you cum again. Your vision started to blur as you trembled against his face. Zoro's tongue entered your dripping hole, exploring your insides. You whined as you felt your high returning.

"Z-Zoro~ P-Please!" You begged.

        Zoro moved you ever so slightly, his mouth now sucking against you clit. He focused on your fucked out face, enjoying the way he was making you break for him. You body was made for him to eat, fuck and destroy. Every orgasm you had was for him. Every moan was only for him. Zoro groaned as his erection was starting to grow painful. He watched as you cried from another orgasm. Your heavy breathing was a good sign.

"Alright, now for the main course," He said, licking his lips.

        You laid on your face, panting heavily from your second orgasm. You whimpered as Zoro spread your legs, your cunt clenching to nothing but air. You could barely focus on him. You arched your back, moaning loudly as Zoro started to slide his cock into you. Your eyes rolled back as he started to rut into you. His thrusts hard and deep. His grip was tight as he slammed himself into you, wanting to hear you cry his name. You did, but that was all you could really do. You body was shaking from the overstimulation.

"Z-Zo...s'much....ah...Zoro~" You babbled, bouncing to every thrust. Zoro kissed your neck, inhaling at each moan,

"What's too much? I haven't even cummed yet," He chuckled, teasing you. You whined, reaching another orgasm,

"S'good, hah....Zo...ro...m-more~" You begged.

"That's right, can't ever get enough."

        Zoro raised your hips slightly, enjoying the moment. Your cunt kept squeezing his cock, desperate for his cum. You were a moaning mess, unable to come up with a single sentence. All you could do was say his name and make those sexy noises. Zoro grunted as he started to reach his high. He rubbed your clit, wanting to have you cum again for him. He loved it when he got to see you all fucked out. You were always so beautiful after he ravished you.

        Zoro groaned as you tighten around his cock. He fasten his pace, ripping more of your sweet, delicious moans. He exhaled heavily before releasing his load inside your womb. Doing a few slow thrusts, Zoro made sure to empty everything into you. He took a moment to catch his breathe, before reaching for one of the waters he kept aside.

"C'mon," He lifted you up, planting you on his lap, "Drink up,"

        You muffled lowly, drinking the water with Zoro's help. He kissed you once more before taking his share of the water. You nuzzled your head into his chest, complaining quietly about him being too rough. Zoro just chuckled in response as his hands stroked your body once more. He hummed lowly,

"Just one more," He whispered, kissing your ear. 

"Mhpm, fine," You gave in.

        Zoro had you on your knees, rubbing your ass as he viewed your pussy. It was still dripping with both your juices and his cum. Zoro smirked as he smacked your ass, entering your abused hole once more. You whined in response, shaking under his touch as his cock filled you once more. He was so deep inside. His cock was pushing back his hot cum inside you. You gripped onto the mat, moaning as Zoro started his charade of rough thrusts.

        No matter how much you complained, you loved how Zoro fucked you. How full he made you and easy you were to bend to his will. You curled your toes, clenching to his dick as Zoro smacked your ass again. How good he made you feel. Your body was already reaching its limit with how many times he made you orgasm. The sheer amount of pleasure you felt was going to keep you in bed for the next few hours for sure. 

"The others probably won't be back for another few hours. We have all the time in the world to let loose," Zoro said with a smirk as he slapped himself into you deeper, "I wonder how full I can really make you?"

"Z-Zoro!" You cried out, reaching another orgasm. Zoro smacked your ass again, watching you shake,

"That's right, scream my name. I want to make sure the whole island hears you."

        You cried out as Zoro cam inside you again. You swore you saw stars this time. His dick twitched inside you as he kept thrusting. Your legs were already giving out. Zoro was the one holding you up as he kept pounding your poor cunt. Your face was rested against the mat, moaning to each thrust.

"Mr. Swordsman, Miss (Y/N), Nami and I are about to return." Robin said as her mouth appeared against the window.

"Fuck! How long have they known?!" Zoro cussed out.

        You couldn't even comprehend what was happening. All you knew was that Zoro's thrusts were now more erratic and quick. He pressed your whole body against the mat, rutting himself into you. You felt yourself fade out as you cam hard once more. Zoro on the other hand, groaned lowly as he gave you one last load. He slowly pulled out, panting heavily as he got himself dressed. Grabbing your clothes, Zoro fixed you up, having you sleep against him.

"Great, (Y/N) is going to blame me for them knowing."

[gogobootz1]

The Mentor Pt. 9

Finnick Odair x Reader

Summary: The tributes of the 75th Hunger Games take one punch after the next, leaving you to wonder how long they can stay standing.

Warnings: literally the hunger games idk what to tell you

Part 8

You gnawed at your lip as you watched tributes sail through the water and up toward the cornucopia. Only, your tribute splashed more than sailed. In fact, it was a miracle she was even floating. Darla was never a strong swimmer, and when she dragged herself up onto the rocks, it was her bad luck to find Enobaria a few paces in front of her. Thoroughly unprepared for that fight, Darla turned tail and booked it for the beach.

Your eyes quickly flicked to another video feed. Just in time to see Katniss aim at Finnick. Your breathing stopped.

"Good thing we're allies, right?" He asked pointedly, smirking at her after a second. He flashed the gold bangle Haymitch had passed off to him the night before.

"Where did you get that?" Katniss eyed him skeptically, her arrow still locked on its target.

Finnick's face dropped when he saw movement from over her shoulder, "Where do you think? Duck!" With one swift move of the arm, he launched his trident. The man behind Katniss fell, his knife clattering to the rocks of the island.

From the ground, Katniss gaped at the corpse with wide eyes. Finnick tugged his trident free of the man's chest, "Don't trust One and Two. I'll take this side- you hold them off. I'll go find Peeta!"

For a moment, she only stared after him, stunned at how quickly he killed and how easily he walked away from it.

"Haymitch," the look on her face made you nervous, but you couldn't tear your gaze from the screen.

"It's fine," he assured you, gruffly. Sure enough, the girl was up the next minute and firing at Enobaria. You silently cursed when she missed.

"Katniss," Finnick drew her attention, "Mags found him, he's over here." The two ran towards the old woman, who desperately pointed toward a podium where Peeta grappled with someone in the water.

In under a second, Finnick was in after them. He cut through the water like he was born swimming, showing off his agility for the second time in five minutes. He had been first to the cornucopia, no surprise. But by the time he'd reached where Peeta and the other tribute had gone under, the District 12 boy had already resurfaced.

From the corner of your eye, you saw the tension melt from Haymitch's shoulders.

The two made it back to dry land and started off toward the woods with Katniss and Mags. Only then did you feel any relief. But your most pragmatic self told you the worst was yet to come.

You scanned the various feeds playing simultaneously and honed in on Darla. She was hurtling through the thick brush when her foot got snagged on a rock. She stopped only to prevent herself from falling.

"Fuck," she heaved, curling forward to rest her hands on her knees.

Darla dropped her butt to the grassy floor, catching her breath, "All alone in the jungle." She took a look around, "Great!"

After a few more breaths, she let her head fall on her knees, "I fucking hate the jungle." Her bereaved whisper made you laugh.

You plopped down on the side of the couch opposite Haymitch, grabbing your tablet.

"I was worried you'd never sit down," the older man snarked, "Thought you might crawl through the screen to go help." You felt it better not to dignify him with a response, opting instead to throw a cashew at him from the bowl on the table.

He flinched when it made contact with his forehead. You quickly averted your gaze to the tablet and blinked at the number that stared back at you. It was an insanely large amount that was only increasing. Apparently, the Capitol had liked Darla's snarky comment, too. You shouldn't have been surprised, though, her wit and relatability made her a fan favorite last time. In fact, it had practically won her the games with the amount of help you sent her way.

As you customized her first gift, you prayed this time would be no different.

Darla lifted her gaze from the ground below when she heard a chime. The sight of a silver parachute brought a smile to her face, and she jumped up to snatch it from the air. Cracking the canister open, she first took the time to read the note you'd attached.

pleasure to serve you, Queen of the Jungle

Her nostrils flared as she huffed a laugh at your teasing. Darla tossed the scrap of paper aside to free her prize from its prison.

She unraveled the brand-new whip with ease, not even bothering to admire it before giving it a try.

An incredible crack filled the air, scaring birds from their trees. It turned some heads, too, not that Darla would know it from where she stood. Various video feeds showed some tributes momentarily puzzling at the noise. They all dismissed it, much to your relief. It seemed she'd been too far to distract Katniss and Co. from whatever spat they were having. You scowled at their distance, having hoped it wouldn't take Darla long to find her allies.

Darla grinned at her new toy and was even happier to spot something else in the canister. She eagerly tugged the flask out and unscrewed it, tilting her head back to take a long drink. She seemed surprised at the taste but happily took a second sip.

"You think booze will help with dehydration?" Haymitch asked skeptically from his side of the couch.

You glared at him, "It's lemonade." He scrunched his nose once proven wrong.

"Not very practical, is it?" He couldn't help himself.

"If you don't like my gifts, then send your own," you snarked.

"Fine," he bit back. "Let's see... what should I send my dear children?" He scrolled aimlessly on his tablet while the game makers highlighted the footage of the Four/Twelve alliance.

"Haymitch," you tried to grab his attention, to no avail. "Haymitch!" You leaned over to hit his arm just as Peeta was launched away from the forcefield. The District Twelve mentor sprang up, stepping toward the screen. You barely caught a glimpse of Finnick starting CPR before Haymitch eclipsed your view entirely.

Meeting Haymitch where he stood, you did your best to pull him away. "You can't crawl in there and save him yourself," you spoke quietly, lightly leading him back by his elbow. Once he was back on the couch, you tried to reassure him. "He can do it," Finnick had saved people from drowning before, why would this be any different? You sincerely hoped it wouldn't be, or this whole operation could go down the gutter.

Finally, a meek voice came through, "Careful. There's a force field up ahead." Relieved laughter came happily from Haymitch, and you cracked a smile. Katniss was especially grateful, kissing Peeta firmly before fawning over him as she brought him to stand.

Your gaze went to Finnick, as always, and you caught him blink at the hug the two shared. Katniss' hands shook as she held her 'husband' tight. You couldn't help but think the two of you would look similar when reuniting.

________________________

As the sun set, you were happy to see Darla settled in for the night. She had climbed a tree, using the gifted whip to secure herself to the trunk. You were also glad to see Johanna and Blight working with the District Three tributes. From what you'd gathered, they'd play a crucial role later on.

The other group you kept an eye on wasn't so peaceful.

You sighed when you saw Katniss and Finnick were at each other's throats yet again.

"If I'd wanted to kill either of you, I would have done it by now," he seethed, thoroughly frustrated. He'd saved Peeta's life and was still getting glares from the girl. You could tell he was at his wit's end. Covered in sweat from lugging an extra ninety pounds of Mags through the jungle. Not to mention extremely dehydrated.

It was true, too. Finnick would've had Katniss when her back was turned at the cornucopia. He could've killed her as easily as the man who came up behind her. And while the tribute Peeta had killed struggled against him in the water, Finnick would have had no such difficulties. If he was playing to win, it would've been a different game.

When the anthem came on, you turned to Haymitch, "How about some water?"

He nodded, focused on the slideshow of fallen tributes, "Yeah, I'll take a glass."

"For them," you spat, and he snapped out of his stupor.

"Right," he tapped a few things on his tablet before setting it aside. You only half-watched the slideshow, having taken careful notes on the deaths all day, but perked up when you heard a chime.

"Hey," Katniss noticed the parachute first, sliding downhill a bit to collect it. Finnick was quick to follow. "Drink up?" She read the note, confused.

"What is it?" Finnick's voice sounded from over her shoulder.

"It's from Haymitch," she shook her head, turning the metal device over in her hand. "I think it's a spile," she said, standing from her crouch.

"A what?" Finnick asked, turning his head to track her fast footsteps. When she started hammering it into a tree, he came to her side, as did Peeta.

There were smiles all around when water came pouring out.

"You're kidding me," Finnick laughed, "you're kidding me!" His big grin inspired one of your own. He encouraged Peeta to have some water before he greedily lapped up his own. He wiped his face, too, before attempting to fetch some water for Mags.

"Nice work," you praised Haymitch, "that's a consistent source."

"You might even call it... practical," he said jokingly. Your smile dropped.

"Last time I compliment you, old man," you sneered.

________________________

Haymitch retired back to his suite on the earlier side. You promised him you'd keep an eye on things, and that's exactly what you'd been doing. Along with Finnick and Katniss, you noted the twelve chimes when they went off and the lightning that followed. Darla slept right through both.

You cursed when blood started smothering Johanna's crew. Poor Blight died the same way Peeta would've gone. Clearly distraught and still half-blind, Johanna had managed to lead the District Three tributes out of the ghastly downpour.

Your stress only multiplied when the game makers chose to highlight Katniss's feed again. They only did that when they were sure something interesting was about to happen, as they had earlier when Peeta was heading straight for the forcefield.

Katniss perked up when the constant hum of the jungle was snuffed out. She looked up to find white, billowy fog moving in. Reaching out to the tendril that reached for her, she howled in pain when it made contact, snatching her hand back to find boils plaguing her skin.

"RUN! Run! The fog is poison!" She managed to warn her allies and took off away from the danger.

You leaned forward, eyes nervously darting across the screen as Finnick rushed Mags onto his back. The four raced away from the fog, coming up ever quicker at their heels. Your eyes grew glassy as you watched them fall and cry out from the pain. It swarmed them from all directions, and you stood when Finnick stumbled, screaming. You watched with bated breath as he managed to recover, taking Mags to reconvene with Katniss and Peeta.

"I can't carry him," Katniss cried, looking hopelessly at Finnick. His face dropped, and a pit formed in your stomach. When Mags grabbed his shoulder, you clapped a hand over your mouth. You knew they'd all promised to give their lives for Katniss and Peeta if it came down to it, but you also knew Finnick was determined they'd never get to that point. But Mags had made the decision for him, giving him a kiss and running headfirst into the fog.

You flinched when the cannon went off and felt hot tears spill down your cheeks as Finnick cried out for his mentor. Katniss stopped him from running after her, and together, they managed to drag Peeta away.

Gasping as they fell down a steep hill, you could only hope the fog would pass over. It proved not to be an issue when it met an invisible wall and rolled up that instead of onto your tributes. You could only sigh in relief when Katniss found that water sapped the gas trapped in her boils. Though you nearly cried again hearing Finnick's screams of agony when they dragged him into the pond.

It wasn't long before they faced yet another obstacle from the game makers. Pairs of glowing yellow eyes surrounded their position in the water. Finnick noticed first, nudging Katniss by the arm and nodding toward them. His eyes scanned around, assessing just how many they'd have to face. He didn't hesitate to grab his weapon as they continued to move in.

The first of the monkeys attacked when Peeta joined them, and the three made an impressive show of putting down one after the next. You were glad when they started moving, sure that the game makers had an endless supply of replacements at the ready.

As they ran, however, a monkey managed to pin Peeta. He only escaped when one of the District Six tributes tackled it off him, earning herself some nasty wounds in the process.

"Who is that?" Katniss asked him.

"A Morphling," he rushed out, "help me get her!" The two dragged the woman's body toward the beach, leaving Finnick to swat and stab at monkeys alone.

He took the chance to run after them when he managed to swing one monkey right into its companion. They were right at his heels, though, and one managed to scratch along his Achilles tendon as he leaped for the beach. Finnick quickly rolled over and stabbed his trident at the creatures who seemed unable to pass the tree line. As they retreated back into the brush, he tilted his head in confusion and adjusted his grip on his weapon.

You cringed when you noticed the blood leaking from his leg and staining the white sand. Clearly, the adrenaline prevented him from feeling the extent of the wound. He only looked away from the tree line when the canon from the tribute Peeta was cradling went off. Both Twelve tributes returned to the sand before the plane came to pick up the body.

After it departed, Finnick stood to head toward the water. He only then seemed to realize he was hurt. With one step, he was hissing in pain, glancing down to discover the wound. Grimacing, he dropped back to the sand.

You gnawed on the inside of your cheek. Obviously, some of the other Four victors could send him something. Sponsors would be lining up to help him out. And yet, you eyed the tablet Haymitch had abandoned when he turned in. A District Ten gift to tributes from Four and Twelve would seem suspicious. But a District Twelve gift to be shared with their ally.

Casting a swift glance over your shoulder, you lunged for the other tablet. Opening it up, it was clear Katniss and Peeta weren't hurting for sponsors. Money was currently coming into their account too- people were impressed at their performance. Certainly, Haymitch wouldn't miss some that he'd never realized he had.

You selected a large jar of salve, applicable to cuts and to soothe any leftover chemical burns from the acid fog. Along with some bandages, it'd make a fine gift. With the advancements in Capitol medicine, they'd all be good as new within a few hours.

The chime drew the three tributes' attention. Katniss stood from the sand to catch it as it sailed down. She cracked it open, briefly glancing at the medical supplies before picking up the note.

"Sharing is caring," she read aloud.

Peeta laughed a bit, "Look at Haymitch getting sentimental." Katniss didn't seem to find the same humor he did.

"Right," she said flatly, barely quirking a brow. Why didn't Haymitch sign this one?

Tension melted from your shoulders as you watched them pass around the salve. They let Finnick go first and use the gauze and bandages to wrap his lower leg. You were happy to see the three of them on the mend.

________________________

The sun was rising when Darla awoke, though she felt like it’d been beating down on her. With the amount of sweat dripping off of her, she was surprised it hadn’t been daylight for hours. The heat was so stifling, in fact, that she was actually finding it hard to get air.

Darla quickly untied herself from the tree, clambering down it with just her whip and flask in hand. 

The many supplies that she and the rest of the tributes lacked struck you. You couldn’t imagine why Snow and Plutarch wouldn’t want to keep their stars shining, a nice long and entertaining games with all of their favorite players would surely make the Capitol happy. Or maybe Snow just wanted Katniss in the ground as fast as possible. Either way, supplies only would’ve slowed Darla down in her climb.

You shifted uncomfortably when she didn’t seem to find any relief on the ground either. Having just seen Finnick flee poison fog and fend off monkeys, you were almost certain this was the start of another challenge from the game makers. Although, that struck you, too. Why go through all this trouble when bloody hand-to-hand combat would bring in better ratings? Who would want to see Darla sweat to death? Her fans would certainly rather see her die on her feet, fighting valiantly until her fight was done, though the thought sent shivers down your spine.

The same went for Finnick. Why force him to stab monkeys when they just as easily could’ve nudged his alliance toward potential adversaries?

Perhaps Plutarch thought confrontations would accidentally clue Katniss into the plan happening around her, without her. Seeing allies die for her would eventually arouse suspicion. That made sense, at least, but, unfortunately for him, it was already happening. Mags first, your throat clenched at the thought, and the District Six woman that jumped out of hiding for Peeta. It was a miracle they had yet to catch on, especially considering Finnick had saved Peeta's life twice.

Darla still didn’t seem to be doing great out in the jungle. She was sweating bullets, but it was only accumulating. No doubt the humidity in the dome was something fierce. She seemed to be heading for the beach but soon started swaying. Close after, she stumbled into a tree and propped herself up on it with an arm. She was still nowhere near the water of the beach.

You nervously bit at your cuticle as you watched her slide down that same tree a minute later. She was looking worse and worse, thoroughly exhausted. Darla managed to uncap her flask and finish off the lemonade, holding the bottle to her forehead to try to cool down. She set it on the ground after a moment, and her eyelids began fluttering only a moment later.

Now you were really concerned. If another tribute stumbled onto her in this state it’d be bad news. She was clearly suffering from heat exhaustion, and, despite having the rest of the lemonade, she would be deeply dehydrated. While the rest of the tributes seemed hot, she was the only one suffering like this.

Eventually, Darla shifted in her heat-induced slumber, and her hand grazed the metal container. She bolted straight up with a hiss, rubbing at her palm. Nervously, she poked at the flask quickly. The thing was red-hot, warmed from its contact with the ground. She made a face, finding it suspicious, but not surprising.

You were glad to see her awake again, seeming a bit sharper. And you were even happier to watch her hear water rushing, then discover a small brook. Darla gulped some up, then sunk into it like a bird in a fountain. It clearly brought her hot skin some relief.

Her peaceful moment was not meant to last long, however, and she looked up to find the source of a noise. You grimaced when the game makers chose that moment to highlight her video feed. The angle they chose came from behind Darla, her shoulder framing the entrance to a shadowy cave.

She tilted her head when she noticed it- the cave in the jungle. That noise she’d heard surely had to come from it. The low growl could’ve been whatever power the Capitol was using to run this place, but she knew better. Keeping her eyes locked on the cave, Darla felt around for her weapon. It didn’t take long to unravel the whip and perch on a rock along the stream. The fast move gave her a bit of a head rush. She determinedly blinked it off, and braced herself for whatever she was about to face.

The great hulking bear didn’t waste any time, it came hurtling from the dark opening at a sprint. Darla didn’t hesitate to crack the whip against the ground in front of it. The noise startled the creature enough to buy her a few seconds, but her own heat exhaustion ate them right back up. Her vision blurred as she stood, and she misstepped poorly enough to go stumbling downhill. She stopped rolling when she smacked back-first into a large rock.

You flinched at the impact, sure that if she hadn’t broken some ribs, she’d bruised them. Worse yet, her whip was sent flying from her hand. It landed against another rock further downhill.

While gravity worked fast, so did the beast. Its abnormally long legs and lengthened snout set it apart from the average bear. No doubt, the game makers had taken great pains crafting it. The thing caught up to her quickly.

Darla rolled onto her hands and knees before it could disembowel her. But she wasn’t fast enough to escape the attack entirely. One paw, practically the size of her back, pinned her to the jungle floor.

She cried out as her nose cracked against the ground, making her skull throb even worse. Head forced to one side, grass scratched lightly at her face as blood poured from her nostrils. All those issues faded away when the creature’s muzzle came into view. It sniffed right at her face, clearly interested in the blood, and she came to realize her window was closing. When it got just a centimeter closer, she stabbed her thumb into its eyes as hard as she could.

You couldn’t tell if it was black blood or motor oil that dripped from the knuckle of Darla’s thumb all the way down her forearm, but the squelch that came from her freeing her hand made you gag.

In an instant, the bear stumbled back, freeing her from its clutches. Darla practically dove down the hill, desperately trying to reach her whip. Jagged rocks scraped her legs and torso on the way.

Though disoriented, the scent of more of her blood was enough to have the beast righting itself. It ambled towards her, only too late. With a thundering crack, Darla landed a hit on its back. The beast tossed its head and howled out in pain. She refused to let up, sending the thing stumbling with a tug at its leg. And with a strong final throw, the whip wound itself around the abomination’s neck. Throwing the switch she’d found on the handle the night before, Darla could only pray that whatever surprise was in store would be enough to incapacitate it.

She smirked when it lit up a burning white, melting straight through the not-bear’s flesh. The smell of singed fur permeated the air as the thing’s head rolled to her feet. She looked down smugly and powered down her weapon.

“Fuck yeah!” You shouted at the screen and startled when you heard clapping behind you.

“I take it I didn’t miss much?” Haymitch asked sarcastically, seemingly stunned in the doorway.

________________________

You were a little concerned for Darla’s mental state when she chose to travel with the bear head. Haymitch assured you that you only had to intervene if she started talking to it.

When she stumbled onto the beach, Darla reared her arm back and chucked the head as hard as she could into the saltwater. It made a large splash out by an abandoned podium, and quickly sunk.

“Darla?” Came Finnick’s shocked voice.

“WHAT?!” She screamed back, causing you and Haymitch to wince. It took her a minute to realize who had spoken, and by then Finnick had already made his way over. She spun suddenly towards him and stumbled, dazed from the last hour and change she’d lived through. He was quick to steady her.

“Are you alright?” She glared back at him, feeling the answer was obvious. Mockingly, she shook her head, which only caused further aching.

Finnick winced and crouched down to give her a hug. Lightly, Darla hugged him back, accidentally wiping some of the black liquid onto his wetsuit. She shoved him away when he tried to soothingly pat her back.

“Watch it! A bear just stepped on me,” she scolded him.

“What?!”

Darla heaved a sigh, “Just- take me to your camp and get me water.”

Finnick blinked but chose not to argue. He guided her by the elbow back to where Katniss and Peeta sat, both on high alert.

"I guess we're at four again," Peeta whispered to Katniss as the two came closer.

Moving Darla by the shoulders, Finnick guided her to take a seat on the log he'd moved earlier. He snatched the spile from the sand along with the small basket he'd been weaving and made for a tree.

Darla silently addressed the District Twelve tributes sitting across from her. "Mags?" She asked them quietly, hoping Finnick was still out of earshot. They shook their heads in unison, and she nodded sadly. "What have you been facing?"

"Fog," Katniss supplied shortly, "monkeys." Darla seemed entirely unfazed by her attitude.

Peeta half-grimaced at her tone and tried to be more cordial, "How about you?"

"Well, I feel like I've been through hell and back," She snarked, scratching at her chin. Flecks of dried blood fell off as she did.

"Looks like it," Katniss mumbled, but not quietly enough. A wide smile split Darla's face at the comment, displaying the blood that had even coated her teeth.

"Aren't we a jolly crew?" She mocked. Peeta heaved a sigh, foreseeing Katniss bickering with yet another ally. Maybe Darla's presence would bring her around on Finnick. " 'Can't blame you," she shrugged, "I'd be mad too if I was in here and knocked up. You just can't win."

Katniss's jaw fell to the floor, and Darla turned smugly to Peeta. "But to answer your question," she started, "I was oven-baked to make a better snack for the giant mutant demon bear." She smiled again, expression lacking all joy. You couldn't blame Peeta for seeming a little scared.

Finnick chose that moment to return, "Sounds like they've put you through the wringer, too." He handed her the small basket filled with water and sat next to her on the log as she gulped its entire contents.

"Got any food?" Darla asked when she came up for air. Finnick's shoulders dropped.

"You just missed the fish," Peeta smiled sympathetically.

Darla turned instantly to the District Four tribute, "Catch me another?" It was more demand than question, and Finnick glared at her. "Come on," she sing-songed, "she wouldn't want me going hungry." Displeased but convinced, Finnick stood with a huff. He dramatically grabbed his trident from Darla when she held it out for him.

Watching him slowly limp toward the water, you shook your head at her. "Of all the lowdown ways..." Haymitch chuckled from beside you. Grabbing your tablet, you navigated to the food selection. After she took down that bear, you could have sent them a whole feast. You got pretty close, too.

Finnick heard the chime just as he began scanning the water. He smiled a bit and turned back toward camp, "Looks like she really didn't want you going hungry!"

He grabbed the gift where it landed in the sand, and happily lugged it back to their circle of logs. It was heavier than he'd expected, but that was a welcome surprise. Finnick placed it in the sand at Darla's feet and gestured for her to open it. He plopped down, eager to see what you'd sent.

The smell of breakfast hit his nose, and he just about groaned. A grin cracked Darla's face as she took a deep whiff, and she picked up the message that accompanied it.

bear-y impressive

Her grin dropped, and you snickered. She turned to Finnick, holding up the slip of paper, "I'll kill her." The snarl only made him grin, and he stole the message from her hands. It earned a strong chuckle at her expense, and she snatched it back. "You're insufferable, the both of you."

"You couldn't live without us," he grinned back cheekily, and Darla only glared.

She portioned out plates (you'd sent those too) for everyone, including eggs, potatoes, biscuits, sausage, and bacon. The plate she held out to Katniss was piled high, a helping larger than the boys got.

At her confused glance, Darla only shrugged, "You're eating for two." Finnick nearly choked on the eggs he'd been wolfing down. Katniss took the plate with a wry smile. "I only ask that you take the name of a great woman who once shared her breakfast into consideration."

"We will," Peeta nodded, smiling. Finnick practically shoved an entire biscuit in his mouth to muffle his laughter.

"A very humble woman, too," Katniss mumbled, taking a bite.

When the four finished eating, they packed up the leftovers. A semi-awkward silence took over for a while until they heard a cannon. A giant wave accompanied it, crashing in toward the cornucopia from across the arena. All of them stood as they watched the plane pick up another dead tribute.

Katniss's gaze slipped across the beach, "Someone's here." She was quick to draw an arrow and crouch out of sight. Peeta followed her lead, and Darla took a step back into the tree cover.

Finnick, the closest of them all, peaked around the leaves. "Johanna," he breathed, relieved to have found yet another of his friends. "Johanna!" He started jogging toward her. Darla wasn't far behind him.

"Finnick!" The woman cast her arms out wide and let out a great, relieved laugh. She hugged him happily, and pulled away to find her ex-girlfriend not far behind.

"Jo," Darla gave her a nod, with a small smile. You could tell she was happy to see the axe-wielding woman.

"Dee," Johanna greeted in turn, giving her a once over. "What the hell happened to you?" The blood from her nose had dripped off of her chin and onto her wetsuit earlier, leaving a nice stain behind on the grey part of the fabric.

"I could ask you the same," she narrowed her eyes.

Johanna didn't need to be asked twice, "Well," she heaved, "I got them out. We were all the way deep into the jungle, where I thought it was gonna be safe." Finnick winced at her tone, but it only got worse, "That's when the rain started. I thought it was water- it turned out to be blood. Hot. Thick. Blood. That was coming down," she pushed Wiress off of her and barreled on, "it was choking us."

You winced at the laugh of disbelief Johanna let out. It certainly hadn't been a pretty sight, and you could hardly imagine the feeling of living through it.

"We were stumbling around gagging on it blind," Johanna seethed. "That's when Blight hit the force field," she closed her eyes and tilted her head back. Taking in a breath, she centered herself, "He wasn't much, but he was from home." The whole time she had been ranting, Wiress had been chanting. It was getting hard to ignore.

"What's wrong with her?" Katniss asked, and Beetee responded as Finnick helped him stand from the sand.

"She's in shock," he replied, "dehydration isn't helping." The older man took his glasses off, "Do you have fresh water?"

Wiress seemed more determined than ever, taking Johanna by the shoulders and getting in her face, "Tick tock! Tick tock!"

"Listen!" Johanna was fed up, "Stop it!" She spun the older woman, attempting to free herself from her grasp.

"HEY! Lay off her," Katniss approached, furious, as Wiress stumbled to the sand. She shoved Johanna back at her neck, and in less than a second, Darla was yanking Katniss away by the arm.

"Don't fucking touch her," she snapped. Finnick could only put out one fire at a time, trying to prevent Johanna from getting a hit back on Katniss.

"What's your problem?" Johanna called at her, ignoring Finnick's attempts to shush her. "I got them out for you!"

Both you and Haymitch hissed at that. Johanna had always been straightforward, and that was the most overt indication of the plan that Katniss would probably get. Katniss freed herself from Darla's grip.

"Hey, hey, hey," Finnick seemed more keen than ever to drag Johanna off, "it's okay, it's okay."

"Let me go!" Johanna tried tugging out of his grasp.

"For me?" Katniss asked, confused, "What does that mean?"

"Maybe it means you shouldn't be so hostile to your allies," Darla spat from behind her, stalking off to join her friends.

"You did want Three as allies," Peeta offered, coming up beside Katniss. Katniss only shook her head and approached Wiress.

"Let's get you cleaned up," she offered, escorting the older woman into the water.

Katniss worked on scrubbing the blood from Wiress's hair as Johanna cleaned her axe. The two discussed Beetee and his wire, before Johanna got fed up with Wiress's mumblings again.

"Have fun with Nuts!" She called to Katniss as she trudged from the water.

Katniss ignored her but dipped her own head in the water as Wiress kept mumbling, "Tick tock!"

At the same time, lightning struck the tree again.

You blinked, "Holy shit."

"What?" Haymitch asked, confused. His eyes followed as you rose to your feet and walked at the screen.

"Tick tock," Wiress kept saying, and you pointed at her face.

"They're in a clock," he only squinted at your realization. "The wedges in the water, the many challenges they've faced," you shrugged, "Haven't you been wondering why the action has come from the arena and not from tribute conflict?"

"Now that you mention it-"

"They don't care that no one has killed each other since the bloodbath because it's not part of their theme," you posited. "This is great! We have to tell them," you lifted your tablet, ready to send something random just to get a message across.

"You really think that'll fly?" Haymitch's tone was judgmental, and it stopped you in your tracks. He was right, of course, the game makers wouldn't just let a gift message spoil their fun.

"So what then?" You huffed, falling back onto the couch. "We just sit on this?"

He nodded silently.

"What if I'm subtle?" You tried again.

Haymitch rolled his eyes, "You can try." You grabbed your tablet before he changed his mind and tried to stop you. Sending a bottle of pain pills, you could only hope they'd put two and two together.

________________________

Darla reached up to grab the parachute as it fell, tugging it into her lap. You'd really been going ham with your gifts- not that she was complaining.

Opening the gift drew Johanna's attention, and she raised a questioning brow.

Darla held up the pill bottle, "Painkillers."

"Nice," Johanna nodded, going back to drawing in the sand with a twig. "I might need one if she keeps at it." Johanna had gone as far from Wiress as possible, and yet the woman's mad ramblings were still annoying her

Darla set the jar aside and reached for the note.

LISTEN!

"'The hell is that supposed to mean?" Her face scrunched as she read the message. Pausing a moment, she then held the pills up to her ear and shook them

You clutched your brow, "Goddamnit, Darla."

Johanna seemed amused at her confusion, "What'd she say?"

Darla opened her mouth to reply, but Wiress took that moment to increase in volume.

Whipping around to glare at the older woman, Johanna shouted, "Would you SHUT IT?!"

Darla made a face and looked back at the note you'd sent her. "Wait," she murmured, standing from the log. She walked determinedly toward Wiress, Johanna hot on her heels.

"Wiress?" At the sound of her name, the woman looked up at the two younger tributes. She grabbed a handful of sand and let it pass through her fingers. "Can you repeat that?"

"Tick tock," Wiress smiled up at them, glad someone was finally taking an interest.

"Tick-tock," Darla nodded at her, still not getting it. She was sure, however, that this is what you'd meant. If you wanted her to relax and listen to the waves lapping at the shore, you would've just said so. She turned to Johanna, whispering, "What does tick-tock mean?"

Johanna only blinked at her, clearly angry to be entertaining the woman at all.

"Please?" Darla pleaded with her. The District Seven tribute rolled her eyes, but was unwilling to deny the request.

"We're... running out of time?" She tried. Her mood quickly soured when she felt it wasn't going anywhere, "It doesn't take a genius to see that. This is a death trap."

Darla huffed, losing hope, too. She perked up when she heard Wiress start humming. An old nursery rhyme she couldn't quite remember. Johanna had already started to walk away, but she caught her by the arm. "Do you recognize that?" Darla asked hurriedly.

"Hickory Dickory Dock?" Johanna asked failing to see the relevance.

"The mouse," Darla muttered the words to herself, and Johanna nodded along, "ran up," both of their heads snapped up, "the clock!"

"Yes!" You cheered from the edge of the sofa.

"Oh my God!" Johanna shouted, eyes wide.

"Don't tell me you're fighting already!" Finnick called at them from up the beach.

Darla pulled Wiress up and dragged her toward him and the rest of their camp, "You'll want to hear this!"

Haymitch let out an impressed sigh, "I really wasn't expecting that to work."

"You should know by now not to underestimate me," you shrugged smugly.

________________________________________________

Was it a fever dream to think I could fit the whole games in this chapter? Yes. So I didn't <3

(sorry for any editing mistakes im dead tired)

taglist: @emerald-09 @iwantmyredvelvetcupcake @daixylie @fandomhopped

@axelinchen

@whens-naptime

@avoxrising

@erindiggory

@commanderfreethatdust

@blackdxggr

@maxinehufflepuffprincess

@iheartspderman

@slytherinfolk25

@cassiecasluciluce

@jazzyyyyslife

@daechgustinad

@colmathgames2

@darerlin

@mushy-mushroom04

[anthroposeen]

tmagp 11 relisten notes!

celia:

- fell asleep in a random place/teleported to a random place while sleeping! (potentially related to how she universe hopped? or correlation to how sje used to see a fire ghost?)

- mentions a guy named jack who shes meeting! this could be a new character OR we're tying in tmagp universe jack barnabas, since lynne hammond (celia in tma universe pre-s5) saw what is thought to be agnes' ghost.

alice:

- sense of being followed and watched in london -> dont think this is related to mr bonzo, i think its directly caused from visiting the ruins either as psychological hallucinations or the unknown entity is actually following her

- dreamt about the ruins

- got celia a mocha but intentionally did not get gwen anything.

sam:

- doesnt mention the same symptoms as alice, i wonder if hes too used to the feeling or if his previous time in the institute changed his reaction to it

- still wants further insight into connecting incidents, rip ceaseless watcher you wouldve loved this special little boy

- knows the mocha isnt for gwen but still gives it to her, interesting especially knowing he likes celia

gwen:

- wants celia to excuse her absence, calls them subordinates

- implies she can keep them from leaving if the work load isnt complete (100% confident she cant do that)

- seems to be overcompensating for her lack of real control in this position by exercising authority over her coworkers (oh s1 jon, how i didn't miss you)

lena:

- unfazed by gwen or mr bonzo

- "did you scream? you should... and they usually like it" implying this universe does somewhat operate under the basis of the fears, similar to needles need for fear validation

- says gwen has the ability/context to work out who the hit was on, and to refer to the incidents to confirm the hit went right.

- "why comes later. process the what"

glitches/lies:

- "ill have the cinnamon swirl" sam

- "its nothing" alice

- "what have i told you about thinking?"/ "dont?" [glitch after 'dont'] sam

- "there was an emergency at home" celia

- "my radiator sprung a leak and flooded the lounge" celia

incident:

- gordon "gordy" -> gordon "gordy" goodman appears in mag84, different to "gordon j" in this incident. i dont think its another universe hop/duplicate

- excavation of cemetery and graves, ordered by the uk government

- old fears/elements involved: the end, the buried, the vast

- potential alchemy connections: salt, sea, death, tattoo symbolizing water/ship/being followed

- ink5oul is back! we've established they have a connection to salt through alchemy symbols in their online presence, may tie into the sea and preservation of dead bodies.

- david, the man working on the body, died. definitely not a coincidence

tattoo description:

- ship, sailing across open sea to the horizon. the sun is low, a shape in the water behind the ship chasing them

new names, mentioned by ink5oul:

- tattoo is by an artist named oscar jared

- sutherland mcdonald

[callmelittlesunshinefics]

Dancing On My Own (Gambit X Reader, Part One)

Alrighty folks, this was meant to be a quick fluffy one shot that keeps getting longer and more angsty and has been sitting in my drafts for entirely too long now. Still very much a WIP that will be continued this week or next, PG13 for the time being with potential to take a turn for spicy down the line :)

A/N: Some quick background, the reader (Y/N in fic, described with she/her pronouns) is based off of an OC I tend to pull out pretty frequently. Half human, half angel, displaced from their home universe and dropped into this one (in which Lucifer, the tv show, is also cannon because why not maybe do a crossover down the line?). Gambit x Reader is the main ship we're sailing towards, but there's definitely some Logan x Reader if you squint. OH and last last thing, there's a party and I'm shamelessly linking the dress I had in mind for the reader here.

gif credit :) : @counterspelling

Dropping below a read more, don't be shy, come say hi when you're done reading! :)

“‘Stay for the summer!’ they said, ‘quiet and relaxing’ they said!” You throw the words you were told back at Jubilee who looks back at you completely unfazed as you continue untangling string lights to hang in the garden. 

“Honestly Y/N if you had stopped for two seconds to think about who was telling you that, you probably would’ve gone back to LA.” 

She was completely right, of course. You showed up to Xavier’s school not a mutant, not fully human either, and just looking for a place on the east coast to stay. Your uncle Lucifer made a few calls, found a friend willing to host a universe-displaced nephilim, and the rest was history. You might not be a mutant, but you were a partial human with powers you couldn’t always understand, and even other angels in this universe weren’t always able to help. Charles met and understood you quicker than anyone you’ve ever encountered in this universe or the next, so when you were asked to extend your stay and take on some guardian duties over the summer you were happy enough to agree. 

“Jean is the one who told you it would be relaxing, and Jean’s idea of relaxing is staying at a constant level 8 of activity.” 

“How is that not like the school year?” You rolled your eyes, dropping the lights. 

“Well during the school year she bounces between a 9 and 10, reserving 7s and 8s for the weekend. I can make you a diagram or something if you need it.” 

“I’m going to need a lot more than that by the time we’re done here.” 

“Maybe Gambit can help you with that?” Remy had sauntered over from the basketball court, at least that’s what you assumed given his current state of undress. 

“Unless you’re here to help decorate, I don’t think so handsome. If Jean catches us behind schedule the phoenix might make a reappearance…” You looked around and took a deep breath, realizing that other than the lights, everything looked pretty set. There was a reasonable sized clearing in the garden and Jean had hired a company to install a temporary dance floor. Chairs and tables were scattered around picnic style, and Jubilee had done an amazing job of setting up the bar despite being the only one unable to drink, legally.

“I think it’s actually just the lights,” Jubilee nodded to the messy pile at your feet, “And I think Gambit would be more help with that than me anyway, so?” 

“Go ahead,” you nodded smiling and she ran over to hug you, “And if you go to the mall, bring me back a pretzel!!!” You yelled after her knowing it was useless, she’d bring you a pretzel whether she heard you or not. 

“Avoiding me, chere?” Gambit eyed you with his usual flirtatious undertone that you couldn’t make heads or tails of. 

“In fact, I am. Grab that end?” You handed him the lights as he waited for an explanation, “Okay, I’m going to sit in the tree, I just need you to feed me the lights as we move. Ready?” You didn’t give him a chance to answer, disappearing and reappearing in the branch just above his head. 

Gambit stared back troubled and suspicious, so you nodded and gave him the sarcastic, albeit not entirely untrue, answer he was waiting for, “Oh Remy my attraction to you is just so strong and all consuming that I had to avoid you in order to get anything done at all. Every second I can’t throw myself at you is torture. Et cetera, et cetera, please start passing me the lights so I can go inside and shower.” 

He laughed and finally did as you said, “You know if you wanted ol’Gambit all you had to do was ask.” 

The two of you worked in a comfortable silence passing the lights through the trees. Just as you finished wrapping the last string, your footing slipped and you let out a quick yelp before bracing yourself for a fall that never came. 

“I never would have guessed angels could be so clumsy.” 

“If we weren’t you’d be short of a pickup line. Tell me honestly, how many times have you asked a lady if she fell from heaven?” Remy laughed and began walking away with you still in his arms. 

“Not as many as you think, chere. Are we about done out here?” 

You looked around and nodded, “Finally, yes. It was a good catch by the way, but I think I can walk on my own.” 

Placing you back on the ground, the two of you walked towards the mansion in another comfortable silence. Remy was probably tied with Jubilee as your closest friend in the school. You could remember the first day you arrived, how he couldn’t stop watching you. It wasn’t until later that same night, you were out in the garden and could still sense him watching you, that you decided to do something about it. You walked right up to him, introduced yourself, and asked him to kindly explain why he was staring at you like he’s seeing a ghost. 

It turned out the boy who grew up being told he was a demon had a lot of mixed feelings discovering angels and demons were not only real, but one of them was living under his roof. Remy felt a bit silly admitting it to you, but he owed you an honest answer when you confronted him so directly. And when he told you what people had said about him, what he suspected his own parents must have thought of him, your heart broke. You told him stories of all the demons and monsters you’ve encountered, and reassured him that he didn’t come close to fitting the bill.

“What’s on your mind, Remy?” There was quiet and then there was Quiet. You were still pretty new, but you knew well enough when something was bothering him.   

“Are you heading back?” You stopped short, and he stopped to face you. 

“Back where, Rem?” 

“Anywhere that’s not here.” He was facing you but he wouldn’t quite look at you, as if he didn’t actually want to hear the answer.

You took a deep breath, “The honest answer is that I don’t know. I don’t really feel like LA is where I belong, but I’m not a mutant or a gifted youngster either. I mean, I’m not even from this u-” 

“Okay, okay.” Gambit interrupted you with a hug, correctly sensing an impending panic attack from you, “Gambit just worried he won’t get to see you s’all.” 

You took a deep breath, sighing into the hug, “Well that’s really stupid.”  He pulled back to look at you, full of confusion. “It’s really stupid because if I were going anywhere you’d be the first person I tell, and because it takes me about 5 seconds flat to get anywhere. I’d be back before you even knew I was gone.”

You smiled wistfully and he returned it, “I’d know.” 

The two of you continued heading in and you finally felt brave enough to ask the question you’ve really been wanting to ask. 

“Well, I have to head up and start getting ready for tonight. What about you, getting ready for your date?” Of course, you weren’t sure he actually had one, but that was as direct as you could bring yourself to be. 

“Suppose I should be doing the same. Save Gambit a dance?” He kissed your hand and walked away, leaving you flustered and confused. You immediately pulled out your phone.

Y/N: okay so i said ‘gotta go get ready! what about you, getting ready for your date?’ and he said ‘suppose i should do the same’ what do we do with that??

JB: does he think you have a date?? 

Y/N: SHOULD i have a date??? 

JB: yeah, one of you should have asked the other out by now 

You dropped your phone on your bed, having finally made it to your room after a flurry of texts. Complicated feelings for your maybe best friend aside, it was still important to you to be slightly better than presentable tonight. 

Tonight was the first time all summer the adults of the mansion could relax and have a good time, and some non-residential mutants would also be joining the mix. You had never really been to anything so strictly social with the gang, and you didn’t take your invitation lightly. 

It wasn’t exactly formal, but Jubilee was able to confirm your suspicion that it wasn’t exactly casual either. You showered, taking more time than usual to exfoliate and moisturize, trying to pamper yourself into relaxing and getting excited for the night ahead, trying to ignore Remy’s words from earlier bouncing around your head. 

Two simple words that have had you in a tailspin since he said them so casually. ‘I’d know.’

The trouble maker in you wanted to test him on it, and you did a quick assessment of yourself to see if you could. Fresh out of the shower but mostly dressed, you were presentable. Should you take a quick trip overseas, hop over to France for some wine for tonight and back in a blink? You closed your eyes and heard a knock on your door just as you were about to take off. 

You opened your door more suspicious than you’d care to admit, suddenly paranoid that Gambit sniffed you out, but you were met with Jubilee instead, weighed down with garment and shopping bags from the mall. 

“You never answered me! I have your pretzel and you promised we’d do makeup together so-“ it was all the preamble she gave before forcing the pretzel on you and making herself at home in your room. 

“I was showering! And I really thought you were going to be gone longer?” 

“I just had to pick up some stuff I ordered for tonight, plus giving you and Gambit some time to flirt didn’t seem like a bad thing.” 

You rolled your eyes, “We have banter, definitely, but I’m not sure I’d call it flirting. He flirts with everyone.” 

“So you realize that what he does with you is different?” She turns it on you but you’ve heard it before. 

“Yes, different as in he’s not interested!” 

Jubilee made a sound of frustration before giving up and asking for help with contour. You dropped the subject and fell back into your usual routine, an easy friendship that reminded you more of sisters than friends. You showed up at the mansion looking for a place to stay while you visited old haunts, and you made a friend in Jubilee who was willing to venture into those places with you, even if it meant confronting ghosts.

“Lucky for you I think I found the perfect way to test his level of interest. You didn’t pick out what you’re wearing yet, did you?” 

“Well yeah, I was just going to wear-” You started motioning to the dress you picked for tonight, but Jubilee was moving and cutting you off before you even finished.

“Okay so scrap that, I grabbed something for you at the mall,” she reached for one of the garment bags she had laid across your bed, “and if this doesn’t get a reaction out of him, I’m at a loss. What do you think?”

She unzipped the bag and your eyebrows flew up so fast you wondered if they were still there. It was hot pink, sequined, and most noticeably, short and backless. You reached out to touch it and couldn’t deny how beautiful it was. Sure, the pink was a lot and it showed more skin than you were strictly comfortable with, but you couldn’t deny that the striped details of the sequins were gorgeous, or that the dress would hug and accentuate your curves…dangerously. 

“Now tell me what’s really going on because there’s no way you were able to afford this dress.” 

Jubilee snorted, “You got me, it comes with a letter.” She handed you a small envelope you promptly opened and started reading. 

‘Your young friend told me you planned to attend a party wearing some frumpy thing off a rack and that’s simply unacceptable for my niece, I have a reputation to uphold, Y/N ;) Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do! Sincerely, your Fairy DevilFather (p.s. TRY to have fun?)’

“Lucifer intervened to send me a dress?? How did you two even contact each other?” 

“I answered your phone once when he called while you were showering. We really hit it off, he actually sent me one too!” She excitedly pulled out another bag and showed you an equally gorgeous, albeit much more modest dress. Part of you wanted to argue, but another part of you realized how exciting this was for your friend and you weren’t about to let her down when she was waiting for you to join her excitement. 

“I think we might be best dressed tonight?” You smirked and she whooped, celebrating her victory. 

“Oh I’m ready, maybe everyone will finally accept the fact that I’m 20 and stop treating me like I’m still 15.” 

You knew it was a sore point for her, but you still smiled. The way all of the x-men treated Jubilee as their adopted child was something that endlessly warmed your heart, even if it frustrated your friend. The two of you took your time helping each other get your hair and makeup perfect before donning your dresses and leaving your bedroom, having already started to hear the arrival of a few guests and the slight murmur of conversation. 

You stopped just short of the stairs, turning to face Jubilee, “Don’t they say ‘fashionably late’ is a good thing?” Your anxiety was starting to get the best of you, wearing such a risque dress to attend a party with lots of new faces. 

“I think we’ve already reached fashionably late, babe, if we wait any longer they’ll think something is wrong.” You took a deep breath and started to make your way down the stairs. The mansion was empty, signalling that everyone else had already made their way out to the garden. 

The sun was just beginning to set when the two of you arrived to find the party already in full swing. Jean and Scott were dancing, Logan and Hank sharing a drink by the bar, and around 20 faces you had never seen interspersed with the rest of the team. You heard a low wolf whistle behind you and felt a hand on your lower back. 

“Breaking hearts tonight, chere?” Remy was on you before you could even turn to look at the sound. 

“If I’m lucky.” You shrugged. 

“Think I have enough of that for the both of us.” He winked and you tried and failed to suppress a snort that only made him grin wider. 

You turned to say something to Jubilee and your eyes narrowed when you realized the little traitor had run over to greet her friends, leaving you and Gambit alone. She looked your way and winked as you openly glared at her. 

“Well it looks like I’ve been ditched so I’ll need to borrow some of it.” You grimaced in the direction of the crowd, not needing to elaborate.  

“All yours, chere.” He offered you his arm and you accepted, making your way into the party and jumping right into a flurry of introductions, hugs and handshakes that Remy led you through, guiding you away when it was time to move on. 

It seemed innocent enough but you couldn’t stop focusing on the fact that Remy’s hands never left you. Whether it was an arm wrapped protectively around your waist or his hand on your exposed lower back, lazily tracing shapes you couldn’t make out, it was becoming increasingly distracting. He introduced you to Kurt and you only caught 30% of the conversation, too distracted by Remy’s hand tracing the curve of the dip at the back of your dress. You were relieved when Remy excused the two of you to go grab a drink.

“Admit it, not as bad as you thought.” Gambit smirked at you, leading you to a table where Logan and Jubilee were catching up. 

You rolled your eyes, “I never thought it would be bad, I just,” You took a deep breath, “I don’t know, I guess I was worried I wouldn’t fit in here, or that everyone would be wondering why I’m even here but too polite to say anything.” 

Logan and Jubilee both looked in your direction, hearing the tail end of your conversation that you didn’t bother hiding from them. Logan very openly looked you up and down before chuckling and taking a sip of what you suspected to be whiskey. 

“No one’s kicking you out of here looking like that, that’s for sure.” It was maybe the first time the wolverine had ever given you a compliment and you blushed. 

“You clean up rather nicely yourself, Logan.” 

“Then why are you spending all night with the cajun instead of talking to me?” You were surprised but did your best to cover it up, meanwhile Jubilee was fighting off a laugh herself by taking a sip of her drink.

“Because the cajun knows how a lady should be treated.” Gambit grumbled, leveling Logan with a look before departing briefly to get the both of you drinks.  

“Does he?” Logan asked you while you sat to join them, shooting him a quizzical look before he continued, “Know how to treat a lady?” 

“How much have you had, Logan?” You asked, eyeing his drink. 

“Not that much, darlin’. Answer the question.” If there was one thing you loved about Logan it was his lack of bullshit, and judging by the look on Jubilee’s face as she waited for your answer, right now it was probably her favorite thing about him too, 

“He’s been a perfect gentleman, but we’re just friends.” You tried to say it in a way that wouldn’t reveal how much that bothered you, but both of them knew better. Gambit returned a second later with your drinks and you only got two sips in before Logan insisted on a round of shots. 

One round turned into two, turned into three, turned into…you lost count. Jubilee was swaying happily in her seat, having convinced the two men to let her join in with half shots somewhere around round three. Everyone’s judgement was impaired by that point, but she made a great argument about drinking for the first at home where she’s safe or something else you couldn’t remember anymore in your happily inebriated state.

A song came on and you gasped, turning towards the dancefloor and excitedly announcing your love for the song. What it was called? You couldn’t remember if your life depended on it, but you needed to dance. You locked eyes with Remy who smiled but shifted his eyes away awkwardly, causing you to quickly deflate. 

“Have you even had a dance yet tonight, Y/N?” Logan asked you suspiciously. 

“Not yet.” You pouted, considering heading out on your own, dance partner be damned. 

“Knows how to treat a lady my ass.” Logan grumbled in Gambit’s direction, shooting a glare at him before getting up and begrudgingly but kindly offering you his hand. 

“Oh. my. GOD.” Jubilee squealed, far too gone to contain her excitement at the drama, as she would say.  

You beamed at Logan, accepting his hand and making a run for the dance floor, pulling him along behind you. 

“That crazy cajun might try to take my head off later for this.” Logan grumbled, settling his arms at your waist while you threw yours around his neck, getting closer than was strictly necessary so the two of you could continue your talk while dancing. Your eyes shifted over to where you just left your friends and you felt a stabbing pain in your chest when you looked for Remy just to see he had also made his way over to the dance floor, with Rogue. 

“I don’t think you have anything to worry about, Logan.” Your eyes were starting to tear up and you looked up trying to stop it as Logan became worried, turning to figure out what made you so upset. His eyes landed on Gambit and he growled, holding you a little closer as he actively tried to calm down. 

“I’ll kill him.” 

“You won’t.” You laughed, “He’s allowed to be with whoever he wants.”

“Yeah, but he’s not allowed to follow you around all night like a lovesick puppy just to ditch you when he catches another scent.” 

You smiled sadly, “He was being a good friend earlier, that’s it.” 

Logan pulled you closer and leaned down to whisper in your ear, “I watched his hands stray all over you, Y/N,” He touched your bare back to emphasize his point, “He’s not a friend, he’s a coward.” You couldn’t take it anymore and hugged Logan, hiding your face in his chest to let a few tears escape, hoping you would feel a bit better if you could get some of your distress out. 

“Might have to kill em for making you cry.” Logan grumbled and you laughed, smiling up at him despite yourself. 

“Believe it or not you’re helping enough like this.” The two of you continued dancing and Logan’s discomfort wasn’t wasted on you, but he’d be damned if he let the two of you leave that dance floor before Gambit and Rogue. He was making a point. 

The music began to slow down and Rogue and Gambit finally went their separate ways. You watched as Remy found Jubilee again and made their way back over to the table, you turned to Logan.

“Think we should head back?” He looked behind you and shook his head.

“We finally get a song that’s more my speed and you want to leave?” He shook his head no and pulled you closer, making you laugh and rest your head on his chest as the two of you swayed lazily. 

“Thank you, Logan. It’s not how I expected the night to go but I wouldn’t have gotten through it without you.” 

“Dancing with you looking like that isn’t exactly a punishment.” He snarked and you chuckled.

“Mind if I cut in?” You looked up to meet red eyes, Remy looking between you and Logan harshly before addressing you again more quietly, “Didn’t Gambit ask you to save him a dance?” 

You hesitated and Logan took that as his cue, “Bad timing cajun, Y/N just said she was getting dizzy, we’re heading back to the table.” Logan put his arm around you and lead you out of there, leaving Gambit to grumble and trail the two of you back. 

Jean had joined Jubilee to rest and eyed the three of you quizzically as you made your return.

“Y/N!! I found out that shots of vodka with cranberry juice is amazing, look!” She held out a shot for you and you grabbed it and threw it back before Logan and Remy could even finish their protests.

“Chere! Didn’t you say you were dizzy?” Gambit took the shot glass out of your hand, leading you to a chair. 

“From the dancing, Rem! I definitely haven’t had enough to drink yet.” 

Jubilee whooped and passed you another shot, clinking it to her own before you both threw them back. Jean looked at you even more confused and you tapped your temple with a wink, an agreed upon gesture inviting her to read your mind. 

“Rough night but I promise everything is okay, just need to drown my sorrows a little with you guys. Logan’s been doing his best.” 

You heard Jean’s response in your head, “Fair enough. I’ve been cutting Jubilee’s shots with a lot of cranberry juice. Seriously, a LOT.” 

You struggled to mask your laugh, “As I was saying, definitely not enough to drink, I’m gonna go-“ You stood and made your way to the bar on your own before anyone else could say anything, but you could feel a few sets of eyes watching you leave. 

Someone had been manning the bar, but as the night wore on and the guests dwindled, those of you remaining were left to fend for yourself. You assessed your options and reached for the gin, giving that a generous pour before adding sprite, a splash of cranberry juice, and a lime wedge before you can talk yourself out of it. 

“That looks amazing, can you make me one too?” Jubilee had appeared at your side and you smiled before making her a much more restrained version of yours. “Now I need you to tell me eeeeevery detail of you and Wolvie dancing I mean I neeeever-“ 

“To be clear,” you interrupted, sipping at your drink, “It was a pity save when it became painfully obvious Remy wasn’t going to ask.” 

“After spending literally all night following you around and basically growling at anyone that tried to get near you, what’s up with that??” She made a good point but you weren’t sure what she meant by that first part. 

“Pause, rewind, what are you talking about ‘basically growling’?” 

“You seriously didn’t realize how handsy he got with you when Kurt started getting friendly?” 

You realized you were drunk when you couldn’t stop the words from coming out of your mouth, “I was so distracted by him being handsy I didn’t even hear whatever Kurt was saying to make the connection.” 

Jubilee nearly spat her drink in your face and she started smacking you excitedly, “Can you please please go tell him that??” 

“But then he didn’t ask me to dance!! He pointedly looked away!!” 

“So Logan? What happened there?” You were starting to suspect your friend wasn’t nearly as inebriated as you thought, her tone sounding surprisingly sharp shifting gears. 

“I really don’t think there’s anything more than his mother-hen instincts going on there.” 

Her eyes rolled and she shrugged, “I’d agree if it was just one dance, but-“ 

“Again, pretty sure that was to save me from being zeroed in on Gambit’s dance with Rogue..” 

She didn’t have a response for that one and she simply clinked your drink before you both took generous sips, “Don’t tell Jean.” You whispered as you topped both of your glasses off before heading back to the group.

Jean had left to track down Scott who was mingling in the small groups that remained, some still dancing but most everyone else was doing the same as your small group. Jubilee bounced into the seat next to Logan and you drifted a beat too long before sitting next to Gambit. The silence that stretched between the two of you was no longer as comfortable as it was earlier, so you broke and piped up first. 

“I almost tested you earlier, you know.” 

“Almost?” Remy squinted at you, “Been testing me all night, chere.” 

You narrowed your eyes back but decided not to engage, continuing your thought instead, “When you said you’d know if I left?” His playful glare dropped and he waited on your next words, “Just a quick trip before the party but still, decided against it.” 

Remy chewed on what you were saying and not saying, wondering how the night had gotten so far away from him. Everything started out better than he expected, getting to show you around the party, not letting you too far out of sight in that dress, and then the hesitation. His own doubt sneaking in, reminding him that Y/N is quite literally an angel, he knew her place in the world, but his? He looked over at you waiting for a response and decided that didn’t matter right now.

“Still have sea legs or are you about ready for that dance, chere?” He didn’t leave you much room to answer, already standing with his arm extended. 

“You know I literally just sat back down, right?” He rolled his eyes at you, grabbing your hand and pulling you to your feet alongside him. Your night was clearly nowhere near over and you gave in, letting Remy lead you back onto the dance floor and into his arms.