#we're shaken but we're okay at least!

[fedoraspooky]

Holy shit you guys

So we were on the way home from an escape room when we suddenly hit a bad storm. All at once we started getting emergency alerts on our phones: "TORNADO WARNING: SEEK SHELTER IMMEDIATELY."

We were on a twisty rural road with nowhere to pull off, and thats when the hail started hitting. It was raining so hard we couldn't even see out the windows.

A long trip of navigating rain, hail, dangerously high winds, fallen trees and downed powerlines later, we made it back to mom's house. A tree had fallen and blocked the front door, miraculously no windows are broken.

We're without power and water, but thankfully we're all safe. I'll probably have to turn my phone off to conserve battery in case of emergencies, but with any luck the power lines will be fixed tomorrow.

[lovecolibri]

Thinking of scenes we could get post-Buddie canon, and I absolutely need a callback to s2 and Buck trying to find a pet-name for Eddie because "We're dating now, I can't just call you Eddie!" And he keeps going through more and more ridiculous names like snookums, and sugarplum, while Eddie rolls his eyes the whole time.

But then something happens, either Eddie in danger on a call and they're both shaken up after, or they lose someone on a call, and Eddie is upset. And Buck just folds him in his giant arms and holds him close and quietly just shushes him and says "it's okay, baby, I got you". Eddie just *melts* and Buck is kinda suprised and pulls back a little and goes "yeah?" and Eddie just buries his face in Buck's neck and nods while Buck gives a soft chuckle and pulls him in tighter and calls him "baby" again.

After that, Buck goes back to ridiculous pet names when they're around the station and on calls, joking around, but whenever they both need some comfort or are having an intimate moment, Buck always calls him "baby".

Until they get married and then Buck exclusively calls him "husband" at all times at any given opportunity for several months at least, and then it gets folded into regular rotation.

[dyeher]

FIVE WAYS TO END A FIRST DATE| shouto, suna, draken, megumi, eren.

warnings| sexy time, fluff, unedited (obviously).

author's note| for @ikkakvs ❤️

Let's be real. When your nineteen-year-old son says he needs to talk to you during breakfast the last thing you expect him to say around the table with his three year old sister not even a foot away is-

"I want to fuck her on the first date..."

His father absolutely spits his morning coffee across the kitchen counter. You're frozen, a forkful of your breakfast halfway to your lips. He continues to eat like he didn't just say what he said. You make eye contact with your husband who is on the verge of hacking up a lung as your son gently wipes baby food from his little sister's face.

You drop your fork into your plate and attempt to muster your most serious mom face. Not the kind you use when he's fucked up but the one where you are on the fence about whether or not he needs to have sense shaken into him.

He doesn't even have the wherewithal to look chagrined. Instead, he musters a small, smug smile...something identical to his father's (still dying by the way). You narrow your eyes, he shrugs.

"Dad always says when you know you know...and trust me. I know. Besides didn't you-" he glances at his sister who is happily making a mess of her breakfast and then whispers (like it makes a difference, the child is three she has no idea what is going on)"-you know...have sex on the first-"

"Okay!" His father interrupts. And bless his soon-to-be-dead ass because you did not volunteer this information to your son so it must have been your husband. The one you did fuck after the first date.

"What?" Your son shrugs. "Dad tells me everything."

You glare at the dad in question, only to receive an identical shrug.

"Baby," you start carefully. "What if she doesn't want to fuck after the first date?"

He gives you a quizzical look. "That's fine, we have like forever together. We can fuck after date one hundred for all I care."

"Oh, thank God," you share a relieved glance with your husband. At least you haven't completely failed at raising him.

"But- I guess...I mean the vibes are there, you know? We're totally gonna f-"

"Small ears, kid," your husband covers your daughter's ears and eyes him meaningfully.

You let out a breath and start eating your breakfast. If parenting has taught you anything is that every conversation with our teenager can become a lesson.

"There are other ways to end the first date, baby. A kiss on the cheek. Asking for a second date. Making sure she knows you enjoyed spending time with her-"

"Is that how your first dates ended? With cheek kisses and reassurance?"

You don't like the way he's staring knowingly at you. And your husband's snort disguised as a cough doesn't go unnoticed.

"Well-"

You can feel your husband's eyes on you as you open your mouth. You have to sift through your exes quickly but the most memorable end to your first dates were from-

SUNA RINTARO

Car sex.

Suna Rintaro fucked you in the backseat of his car and the memory is fresh in your mind as though it happened yesterday and not almost twenty years ago.

The leather seats were sticky and slippery with your mixed cum. The squeaking as your body slid up the seat with each of his hurried thrusts. The scent of his cologne as he shoved his face into your neck. The way your body bowed against his. The harsh sound of your breaths. His whispered 'fuck' when he slid in for the first time.

His promises. And of course...his unplanned I love you.

And no, this is definitely not something you do not want to suggest to your son.

2. SHOUTO TODOROKI

He bought you flowers.

Of course, it was more of a 'oh my goodness, look shouto a flower shop' 'do you want to get flowers?' kind of situation where he bought you every flower you looked at for too long (because you deserved it, his words not yours) plus a bouquet of fresh roses and sunflowers.

And...and then he fucked you in his king-sized bed on those flower petals. Used the stem of a rose with the thorns still attached for a bit of fun. Laid you on your side facing his mirror so you could see as his cock disappeared into your body. Spoke filthy, disgusting things into your ear.

You shudder at the reminder.

No. That's also not appropriate...

3. KEN RYUGUUJI

You drove his bike.

Actually one of the scariest experiences of your existence. But also one of the most exhilarating. The purr of the bike's engine between your thighs, the grip Ken had on you. The deep rumble of his voice in your ear gently coaching you. Guiding and praising you.

Okay, to be fair the adrenaline is to blame for the sex that occurred after that. It was wild, and God if you both didn't make promises that to this day have you ducking your head in embarrassment whenever you see him.

The reality is, that this particular first date ended in two creampies, a promise to be the best mother to his children, and a marriage proposal.

You glance at your son quickly only to find him already staring at you. Your husband is smirking in the background.

4. MEGUMI FUSHIGURO

First of all.

It was a picnic. How fucking cute is that?

And to be fair, he was adorably nervous and you thought kissing him would ease the tension but one thing led to another and...

He fucked you beneath the stars to the symphony of crickets. Once he got inside you became an entirely different person. The way he propped the soles of your feet on his shoulders and fucked you until you were weeping into the soft blankets, your nails digging into his skin.

Unprepared for the way Megumi became a sex god you'd squirted all over his chest, much to your mortification. And he had the audacity to drag his fingers through the mess and suck it off his fingers.

The man was a whore.

You're almost dismayed when you realize the last first date you had was-

5. EREN YEAGER

A child.

That's right.

Eren Yeager fucked you after the first date and left you with a mini version of himself growing inside you. Granted he married you before you gave birth and you've been living happily ever after since but still.

You glare at your husband as he reaches across the table to take your plate. Your son sits back in his chair, his arms folded across his chest.

"Wear a condom," you grunt.

Your son cackles as he stands from the table. He bends to scoop his sister out of her high chair. "Don't be silly-" he coos to her, "-wrap your willy."

As he disappears around the corner your husband chuckles.

"How was your trip down memory lane?"

He steps in close to you as you stand and prop yourself against the dining table.

"I hate you, deeply," you groan. Eren laughs as he bends to brush his lips against yours.

"Sure baby, anything you say," he smiles against your mouth. "Anyway, I've been thinking..."

You frown, pulling back to look up at him. "About what?"

"Sharing."

Your breath leaves you in a rush. "Sharing what?"

His eyes darken to a shade of green you've never seen.

"You."

[senawashere]

We're on this together...(Chapter V):

Bradley Bradshaw x Fem!Wife!Reader

Summary: Wind of Change by Scorpions

A/n: Please fasten your seatbelts cause none of yall are ready for this!!

Warnings: MAJOR SMUT (MDI!!) ,Infertility,mentions of miscarrige,mentions of hospital,mentions of getting pregnant,mentiones of ivf.Use of alcohol,arguing,use of bad languange. Mostly angst.

June 4, 2022.

Now, as Bradley drives, he thinks maybe you both need something else, the purring ball of fur in his lap being proof of that.

Excited, he taps his fingers on the steering wheel of his Bronco and hums a song from an 80's rock album, too impatient to park his car in his driveway, as he drives down the street to park in front of his door.

"Okay, man. We're here." He whispers to the barking little brown dog as he leaves his new comfort zone.

Bradley opens the door to his house, holding the puppy, who clings to his black shirt, in utter terror. He can hear Taylor Swift on the speakers, and it makes him smile that you are well enough to get back to your routine.

He walks into the living room, barefoot, and sees you in front of the TV, watching the Reputation Stadium Tour documentary as if it's the first time you're seeing it, and he can't help but feel like everything in him is screaming for this woman.

"Don't blame! Love made me crazy!" You sing the song, your whole body mimicking the choreography until you see him out of the corner of your eye. "Oh, my darling husband...!"

You were in the middle of standing up when you froze at the sight of the puppu, and your eyes and mouth widened as Bradley suppressed his laughter and stayed that way for at least five seconds.

You don't let out a small yelp before the puppy barks. "Did you get us a dog?" You ask, approaching them.

"Yes." He replies with a smile. "Do you want to hold it?"

You look up to meet his eyes and nods slowly, tucking the little animal into your chest, which instantly starts to purr, melting him with your love. This is the first time the two of you have shared a pet.

"He's so cute." You say, kissing his little head. "God, I love him already."

Bradley laughs and wraps his arms around your hips, pulling you closer and resting his cheek on your head, looking at the puppy as he shifts his gaze between his new parents. He already loves you too.

You turn your head to look into his eyes and smile shyly. "Thanks, I love you."

"I love you too." He answers without hesitation, kissing you softly before pulling away. “But we really need to think of a name.”

“Maybe later?” you kneel down, placing the dog on the floor and your gaze drifts to the coffee table in front of the couch.

“The tests came, I didn’t want to open them without you.”

The smile on his face fell, replaced by a nervous grimace, and he nodded quickly, walking with puppy and sitting down with the new family member who had made room for him on the backrest.

He holds one hand on his shaking knee as you open the envelope, holding two letters, one from the doctor and the other with the results.

He looks into your eyes and says;

“No matter what, we’ll be fine and i love you,always will.”

“We’ll be fine.” You repeat, and you look down at the papers to start reading.

“Blood tests, sperm tests, everything – everything’s fine…” You mumble, reading them a few times to make sure you weren’t mistaken. “Everything’s fine.”

“Read the other letter.” Bradley says impatiently, and you drop the piece of paper in your hand to start reading the other one.

“There, everything’s fine! I’m sure it’s all nerves and stress, calm down guys, I know you can do it, but you should always put your health first. Best regards, Dr.Evans .”

Both of is silent, the only thing that can be heard is the purring of the unnamed dog, Bradley is also shaken by the news, excited, and you keep your eyes on the TV, slowly opening his mouth to say it.

“Okay, fuck it.”

You both laugh, then you laugh out loud and he wraps his arms around you, pulling you closer, making the dog yelp at the sudden movement.

He kisses all over your face, shaking you from side to side as you try to escape, laughing.

“Stop, Roo!” You scream, stopping to look into his eyes.

His dimples, the big, tight-lipped grin that breaks out on his face when he sees you, his hair messy, his face clean, and his mustache are looking better than it should be.

God, now that he knows it’s okay, there’s nothing he wants more than to put a baby in your womb.

“Brad?” You ask, reaching out to brush the sandy brown hair that has fallen across his forehead.

“I love you so much.” He whispers, pressing kisses to your neck. “You look so beautiful right now.”

“Did the good news turn you on?” Your question makes him laugh and he picks you up in his arms and starts walking towards the stairs.

“But we have to find a name for the puppy!” You exclaim, wrapping your arms around your man’s neck.

“The puppy can wait.” He replies, leading you up the stairs to the shared bedroom and sitting you on the bed. “We’re going to have a baby right away.”

“Oh, really?” You ask, pressing your palms against the mattress and looking down at him. “So how do you know it’ll work this time?”

“I don’t know, but at least we’ll have fun trying.”

He places one hand on your chin, leaning down and guiding your head up so he can kiss you. Slowly, he tastes your lips, making you moan, and you thrust your tongue into his mouth and brush it against his.

You love when Bradley acts like this, he’s so dominant and his hand on your chin slides down to your neck, making you shiver.

You can feel your panties getting wetter and wetter and you shift uncomfortably, rubbing against the bed to create dome friction, making you moan.

Bradley grins and continues kissing you for a few more seconds, sort of just eating your mouth.

When you kiss like this, you always try to kiss long enough for it to be intimate, making him remember that that’s all you do because you don’t have the courage to do more.

He doesn't complain, because Bradley loves to put his bottom lip between his and you love when he sticks his tongue out for you to lick and suck. (I’m sorry it’s weird writing this.)

Like when he inches away to whisper. “Stick out your tongue for me.” And you do, sliding your pink tongue between his lips and looking into his eyes, the sight making him shiver. (It made me shiver too.)

“Fuck, I can’t believe I’m married to the most beautiful woman on the whole fucking planet.” He continues to lean into you, biting your bottom lip.

Bradley, who had his hand on your neck to steady you, stuck his tongue out and licked yours, laughing when he felt your saliva in his mouth. He took it between his lips and pulled it slightly to spit it into your mouth.

Damn, you hadn’t thought you’d been this turned on in a long time, and he looked into your eyes before swallowing, moaning at the eroticism of the action.

“Good girl, let me do whatever I want with your mouth, maybe I should fuck your throat to finish the show, mhm?” Bradley mumbled, tucking a few strands of hair behind your ear.

He grinned as you listened to him, spreading your legs and propping your feet up on the mattress, exposing yourself to him, despite the fact that your hole wasn’t tightening around anything.

“Are you going to fuck me or are you still going to think you’re Christian Grey?” He laughs too, and his insides heat up with joy knowing that you both can go from perverted to stupid in a second.

“Shut up.”

He grabs you by the waist to lift you up, throwing you towards the middle of the bed so he has space to position himself above you, and when he does, he starts kissing your collarbone, biting and sucking on your skin.

You sigh and feel his skin tingle with the kisses, tugging at the hair at the back of his neck, making him growl, and you slide your hands up to the hem of Bradley’s shirt, pulling it up.

He gets the message and pulls away to remove the shirt, revealing his bare sun tanned chest, and your hands are instantly all over him.

You admire him from below, gently dragging your nails down his chest, playing with his little dog chains, running your fingers down to his muscles and happy mark and those damn, hot laurels.

You couldn’t understand how you had the perfect man all by yourself, and you never would.

His eyes burned with the emotion that washed over you like a wave, the knowledge that he was as deeply and madly in love with you as you were, and you wouldn’t have gotten married without it.

Your gaze met his dark brown gaze as he slid his palms under the fabric of your shirt, reaching for your tits and cupping them with a familiarity that pulled you closer to him, lifting your hips to press against his bulge as he squeezed you by your titts.

“Are you ready,baby?” he asked, wrinkling his nose and taking a deep breath, a gesture that stuck with you after all these years.

You arched your back, causing Bradley’s hands to press into you even harder. “Just fuck me, please.” Your voice was shaky, and you could see the stupid, cocky grin forming on his face.

It’s been maybe ten minutes since they both moved the subject to the bedroom, but the wetness that has gathered in your panties is making you even more nervous, as is your clit that continues to throb at the sight of your half-naked hot husband. .

Bradley just stares at you with a serious look on his face, but there’s a spark of lust in his eyes, and he lifts his hands from where they were supposed to rest on your knees, bringing them up.

He leaves his left hand there, but the other goes straight to your panties, running his index finger up and down the fabric, making you close your eyes and take a nervous breath.

“You’re so wet, you’ve ruined your panties,” he says, smiling wryly. "You're so desperate for me to fuck you, aren't you?

The questions he shouted in his thick and husky voice only made you hornier, and you knew your wetness was probably on the sheets right now, but you couldn't care less.

"Yes, please." Your eyes were open now, and Bradley felt himself shifting in his pants when he saw the desperation and need in your eyes.

His arms pull you closer so you can kiss him, and you let him do whatever he wants, bite and suck and leave those sweet little kisses that make your eyes squeeze tightly because he's so crazy about you.

His girl. His wife. His soul. His everything.

Your hands are messing with Bradley’s hair even more, trying to get his pants off and pressing your body against his, both of you moaning as you both rub against the thin clothing, he is rushing to lick and mark your breasts, making sure to give you some extra kisses and bites on the heart tattoo from when both first got together.

“These breasts…” he says, sticking his tongue out to lick your nipple. “They’ll be filled with milk for my baby soon.”

Your mouth opens at the stimulation from Bradleys thrusts into your clothed hole, and a longing fills you as you remember the first time you did this. And now you were about to have a baby.

Or at least you were trying to.

He was licking your breasts and then blowing some air on them, making you shiver. You put your hands behind his ears, forcing him to look into your eyes, and in a voice choked with need;

“Roo, fuck me so we can have a baby.” you said.

Your cracked, trembling voice makes him search your face for any tears, but it’s the arousal that makes you so.

You need him and you can’t keep playing these games, not when you think you’re going to cum at any moment because of him and his entire being.

Bradley quickly throws off the rest of his clothes and you’re both naked, pressed together as he kisses the weak spot on your jaw that makes your eyes go black. One of his hands resists his weight so he doesn’t crush you, the other cups your breasts, moaning at the relaxing contact on the sensitive shaft.

His tip brushes against the warmth of your folds and you moan in unison, admiring him with narrowed eyes, your head tilted back, your hair disheveled, your eyes closed and your mouth open with a trickle of drool escaping the corner. From yout mouth.

For Bradley Rooster Bradshaw, seeing you fucked this hard was a work of art, if only for his eyes.

He presses the dripping tip against your clit, making himself make a noise in the back of his throat, and leaves kisses behind your ear, murmuring words of love as he slowly pushes inside.

You both remain still as your wetness greets him like it always does, he thinks he’s about to cum and you do, knowing that with just one lean and one thrust you’ll hit his soft spot.

You hug him back and let your head fall onto his shoulder.

“How come you’re still so tight every time,hmm baby?”

You laugh, tightening around him and he braces himself for the first thrust, grunting when he looks down and sees his member emerge, covered in all your wetness.

“Fuck, Roo.” Your breaths match his deep thrusts and you lift your hips halfway to meet his.

His pelvic bone hits your clit perfectly, making Bradley moan and lose himself as his thrusts become more erratic, his chest pushing away from yours so that he grabs your hips with both hands, holding you in place.

You don’t know what to do with his hands, he squeezes the skin of your stomach as you continue to moan from the way his tip brushes that weak spot, you don’t know how he manages to fuck you properly every time, but he does, he fucks you.

He watches you from above as his hips continue to thrust wildly, but your mind is filled with love, your eyes closed, your hair at the pillow and your body at his mercy, he was your dream, his only dream.

“Fuck, look at you.” He’s out of breath, unable to take his eyes off you. “I can’t wait to fill you up, and when I’m done, I’m going to do it over and over again until the house is full of our babies.”

“Brad.” You moan, your mind clouded by the image, and you feel your orgasm coming closer.

“Yes, you want it, don’t you?” He asks, licking his thumb between your bodies and pressing it against your clit, increasing the volume of your moans.

“Walking around full of babies. Full of my seed,huh baby?”

You can’t believe your ears, as Bradley hasn’t heard it as loud as he does now, and you feel your climax through your fingertips with every thrust, word, and caress your husband gives you.

You look at each other, and your bright gaze contrasts with his dark one.

“Please, make it drip from me.” You babble, leaning your weight on one arm, pressing your foreheads together so you can get closer to him. “I want to make you a daddy.”

Bradley feels himself about to cum at your words, and despite the burning in his muscles, he continues.

"Is that so? and you're gonna be a mother, the best, the hottest, fuck, my love-"

You place your hand on the back of his neck and kiss him, messy from his movements and the desire for release you both have.

You pull away to murmur against his lips.

"I love you no matter what."

He cums inside you in long white ribbons that paint your walls, and the stimulation in your clit makes you cry out his name, tensing all your muscles, squeezing your eyes shut and opening your mouth in a silent scream.

“I love you, I love you, I love you.” Bradley murmurs, leaving kisses across your open mouth, your cheeks, and all over your face.

You both collapse onto the bed and stay silent for a few minutes, catching your breath and you snuggle under the covers, knowing that you won’t be making the bed later, thanks to him not having the strength to make the bed.

Bradley slides his now soft member out of you, you are hissing at the sensation and seeing how his cum wants to drip from your hole, so he forces it back with three fingers, feeling himself shift and almost harden again. He pulls them out, quickly wiping them off with his mouth, so he can pick up his shirt from the floor and carefully clean his wife.

You wait for him to take the shirt between your legs and throw it away before looking into his eyes, and you grab his hands, making him smile and roll his eyes, you grab his arms and pull him down onto your chest.

"We're trying to have a baby here while you're still acting like a baby." You joke, but he pinches your nipple. "Ouch!"

"You think it worked?" Your hopeful voice makes him smile, and you both look at each other, satisfied with what happened.

"Of course." He replies, playing with your hair, a little sweaty from the exercise. "The next test will be positive, I believe."

THEY GOT A PUPPY🥹🥹 AND maybe more😏😏

I'm tagging people who might be interested:@ohtobeleah @sebsxphia @callsign-fox @greenorangevioletgrass @roosterforme @teacupsandtopgun @floydsglasses @lyn-js @its-dee-lovely @its-the-pilot @friedchips94 @hardballoonlove @topguncortez @bradshawsbaddie @shanimallina87 @djs8891 @themusingofagothicsoul @promisingyounglady @the-romanian-is-bae @mamachasesmayhem @jessicab1991 @iefitzgerald-blog @charcole-grey @waterriseslew @desert-fern @eternalsams @callsigns-haze @promisingyounglady @els-marvelvsp @cevansbaby-dove if you are not comfortable please tell me!!

[livesworthlivingau]

Behind the Vale Chapter 23

Spoilers for ISAT/Two Hats below! CW: Panic attacks, some mental spiraling.

"Do you have to wear that outfit still?" [Nille asked as you walked side by side down the trail to the next town. You smirk and put your hands behind your head as you stepped along.]

"What's the matter, am I distracting you~?" [She rolls her eyes, elbowing you lightly in the side, though you actually get the wind knocked out of you slightly, wheezing out and gripping your side.]

"Oh crab! S-Sorry! Don't know my own strength sometimes."

"I-I'm fine." [You wheeze out, clearly not. She chuckles and stops in her tracks, letting you catch your breath for a moment.]

"So... We're probably getting real close, you gonna be okay?"

"P-Probably not..."

"Vale..."

"Would you prefer I lie?"

"No! Just... Ugh, we gotta figure this out Vay, I don't want you running off again!" [You take a very deep breath, sighing it back out.]

"I promise... I won't run away, at least not without saying anything... I don't know if I'll be able to stay, but I won't just leave you... is that enough?" [You ask genuinely. Nille crosses her arms, a bit upset that that's the best she could get out of you for now, but seeming to accept it.]

"Alright... but if you start feeling the need to run, we're gonna talk, and I'm gonna help you work through it, no running from your feelings without a proper talk! Maybe a few skull bashes with the hammer, y'know, for good measure~." [She laughs out heavily. You just smile, appreciating the way she showed she cared. You find a weird comfort in it involving threats for some reason. Perhaps it would be best to not look into that for now.]

-------------------------------------------------------

[You browse along through the stalls of the town's open market, curiously glancing about at what each one had for sale. Nille was off refilling her own supplies somewhere else in the hustle and bustle, this being one of the larger towns you had stopped in. You go to pick up some fancy looking trinket only for a voice to cause you to freeze solid.]

"Does everyone have their shopping lists and coin?" [Crab... The Researcher,]

"Yup! Got mine! Camping supply duty!" [The Fighter,]

"A-And mine! Bonnie and I are food duty!" [The Housemaiden,]

"Yeah! I gotta find everything to make Nille's favorite!!" [The Kid...]

[You finally turn to glance in their direction, seeing them all together... minus your Stardust. Though that felt like a blessing in this very moment. You quickly look around for a place to hide, doing a very poor job of 'casually' walking away, keeping them in the corner of your vision. You finally duck behind a wall, placing your back to it and panting frantically. It's okay, we don't need to panic, they probably won't even recognize us! You try to logic out to yourself, only to look down and realize what you were wearing. The lightless skin of your arms speckled with stars fully visible through the sheer fabric. WHY DID WE HAVE TO WEAR THIS YOU BLINDING IDIOT?!]

[You try your best to regain your composure before suddenly feeling a hand on your shoulder. You nearly jump 3 feet into the air, holding up a paper sign in shock only to find Nille standing beside you, pulling her hand back.]

"S-Sorry! You good? You looked like you just saw a ghost." [She said, though her own words starting to help her realize what you might have just seen.]

"Wait, did you- Are they here?! Did you see Bonnie?!" [She asked excitedly, you're still quite shaken up, but you just manage to nod, pointing in the direction you saw them.]

"Thank you, Vay! I-I'll... I'll give you a few minutes and then introduce you, alright?" [She caught herself getting lost in her excitement, wanting to be there for you as well but wanting so dearly to see her sibling. You just give a light nod of permission and acceptance, letting her rush off before you lean against the wall again. You were hyperventilating, you couldn't catch your breath, just gasping in tiny puffs at a time and letting them back out before they could help. We need to calm down, Vale! Get a hold of ourself! Stardust isn't here, we can handle this! Just calm down! You finally manage to catch a full breath, sighing it back out, then taking another, and another, and another...]

[You start pacing back and forth in the little alley you were stewing in. How do we go about this? What do we tell them? The fact we were Loop has to come up certainly, no hiding it in this... We've already told Nille nearly every other blinding thing... well, all but one... No! No! We can't get into that right now! Okay, so we tell them we were Loop, and go from there... simple, right? A part of you is sure it won't be that simple, but there's not much else to be done at this point. You simply practice your breathing exercising for a few moments longer, finally heading out to try and find them all.]

[You stay far behind, but you spot them fairly quickly, Nille is kneeling down to give Bonnie the tightest hug you've ever seen. The both of them are crying, and the rest of the party is happily watching this touching moment like a scene from a play. It's nice, you're happy for Nille, as happy as you can be all things considered. You wish this moment could last... but you know you can't keep your distance for long, she'd drag you in to 'meeting' them all soon enough. You do your best to keep calm as you wait.]

[Finally the two of them have had their moment, Nille gets introduced to the other members of the party, and after a moment she turns back to look around, spotting you and waving you over. With one last deep breath you begin to walk over, your heart racing quickly again, doing your best to keep your mask firmly attached.]

"Everyone, this is Vale, we've been travelling together for a little while. They saved me from a sadness that got the jump on me, about a week after y'all unfroze everyone." [Nille explains, showing you off a bit. You give a nervous smile and wave as you're introduced. They all examine you like some strange beast, focusing on the visible skin of your arms. Before you can even manage to start talking, they realize who you are.]

"LOOP?!" [The Housemaiden and Fighter cry out in unison, being called that again makes you wince. The Researcher has a raised brow, almost inspecting you, ever curious as always. The Kid is looking up at you with a confused expression.]

"What happened to your face?"

"Bonnie! Mind your manners!" [Nille scolds their sibling some, only for you to chuckle a bit.]

"No, no, it's fine. It was quite a shock for me as well, but that's a story for another time~! Just call me Vale from now on, alright? That name has some... painful memories associated." [The Fighter and Housemaiden seem to understand quite well, being used to the change belief and all. The researcher hasn't taken that studious look off their face the whole time, it feels like you're being examined like some sort of experiment... The kid still looked a bit confused, but seemed to accept this for now.]

"Hey Vale, uhhh... We kinda thought you were dead? Did something happen? Sif woke up one day and was sure you were just gone..." [The Fighter starts to explain with a nervous look, as if unsure they wanted an answers, you notice then taking a little glace at the tip of the scar on your chest.]

"Right... that's part of that 'story for another time'... Where is Stardust anyways?"

"Back at the Inn, resting up, he had quite an... 'episode' when he thought you were dead..." [He looks disturbed, recalling several parts of the week. Was Stardust okay?... Did he really care that much about us?...]

"E-Episode?..."

"Like you said, Story for another time!" [The fighter parrots back at you, getting a bright smile back on their face.]

"O-Oh! Speaking of Siffrin, we need to tell him! He'd love to hear you're actually okay!" [The Housemaiden adds, The Fighter perking up.]

"Oh Change! You're right! Uhh… You all continue shopping, Vale, do you mind coming to see Sif?"

"Lead the way!" [You declare confidently, or at least try to. You feel Nille patting your back, you turn back to her, and she gives a reassuring smile, whispering to you.]

"You got this, I'll cya soon?" [You nod in response, smiling back lightly, then heading off with The Fighter.]

---------------------------------------------------

"Alright, here we are, should I... give you two some privacy?" [The fighter asked as you both stood outside of the house they were staying at, Stardust just inside.]

"I think that would be for the best, yes. Thank you."

"Of course! I'm sure you two went through a lot together, I can't imagine what it would be like stuck in those loops for so long..." [You wince at that, rubbing your arm lightly, he had no idea how right he truly was...]

"I better go back to the others, still gotta finish my shopping after all. You know where to find us if you need us!" [He offers with a bright smile, heading back to the market. You are left alone standing in front of the door.]

[Minutes pass as you just stare at it... the one last barrier between you and your stardust... We could run away again... but we promised Nille we wouldn't... Come on, we've come this far! it's just a door knob! Stars, we don't even have to open it, we can just knock! You take a deep breath and bring a hand up, ready to knock...]

[... Why aren't we knocking?! Why are we just standing here like a blinding idiot?! WE CANNOT TURN BACK!! KNOCK ON THE BLINDING DOOR YOU FOOL!! You finally summon enough courage, anger, annoyance, whatever emotion it was that finally pushed you over the edge, flicking your first at the door a few times. Stars... we did it... we did it, it's happening, we can't go back, we can't run, it's over, it's all over, why can't we run? It would be so easy, just turn and head in a random direction again, what's another week of endless running? We've done it once we can do it again, just live in the woods like some hermit! Yes this is a great idea, just pick a direction and-]

[Suddenly the door starts to crack open, Stardust poking their head out of it. They blink a couple times, confused at the sight before him.]

"Uhm... Can I help yo-" [They start to speak, their voice was weak and raspy. They examine you before something clicks in their brain, seeing your arms, seeing your face, likely noticing how nervous you looked in this moment. Your heart raced like mad. You notice their eye getting watery already.]

"L... Loop?..." [You wince again at that blinding name... but you let it slide for now. You don't want to ruin this for him.]

"... Hello, Stranger~." [Is all you can manage to force yourself to say, trying to paint that smile back onto your face. You stand there awkwardly a moment as tears roll down their face. Before you can even react, they had their arms wrapped around you, wincing as he gripped you tighter than was comfortable, even squeezing some air out of your lungs. He sobbed into your clothes all the while.]

"I thought you were gone..." [He choked out through his weeping. You eventually manage to bring your arms up to hug him back, lightly rubbing their back.]

"I'm here Stardust... I'm... I'm sorry, I'm so sorry..." [You finally manage to speak again, your own tears welling up now. You rest your head on theirs, hugging back even tighter.]

"I'm sorry to-"

"No!" [You suddenly shout, gripping tighter.]

"N-No... Don't apologize, please... You did nothing wrong, Stardust. I'm the one who... who messed up..." [You struggle out, your tears dripping down into their hair as flashes of the memory of the last time you were together enter your mind.]

"... I'm so glad you're okay, Loop..."

"It's... It's Vale now..." [You correct as gently as you can, still holding each other close.]

"Vale... That's a nice name." [They note with a soft smile, sniffling some as their tears began to slow. You both stand there for a while in the close embrace. You savor this moment where everything feels oddly okay, after all, you know that feeling won't last for very long...]

[buckevantommy]

what sort of bucktommy pda do you think we'll get with the new episode?

part of me wants to go in with low expectations so i won't be disappointed, but the rest of me (the majority) is thinking like this:

it's going to be couples a-plenty at the ceremony (madney, bathena, henren, eddie/marisol, bucktommy) which i think bodes well for something with bucktommy, because we know there will be pda all around them (madney rose dance, henren lack of personal space, eddie and marisol) and so to not let bucktommy have any pda would look.. weird. it would make them look like coworkers/friends and we know buck and tommy don't want that - everyone knows they're together and they want to be out together - and that's not the vibe we've been given so far; tommy's hand on the small of buck's back, the cafe hand holding, the sooty public kiss - it wouldn't make sense for them to remove all romantic touches now.

the only reason i foresee them holding back at the ceremony would be because they're both in uniform (all the other couples only have half in their blues) and maybe that's frowned upon? although if it were a het couple i'm sure that wouldn't be a hindrance and this is fiction so they can fudge whatever details they want. i suppose gerrard's presence might deter tommy putting his hands on buck, but honestly I don't think so - or at least, i don't want to see that happen. they can give me tommy being affected by gerrard's presence, but i don't think i'd accept him stepping back in the closet because of it, and even if tommy was hesitant to touch buck i think buck would still touch him.

so: what kind of bucktommy pda will we get?

1 - they're seated next to each other in the audience, so i'm thinking maybe a knee touch of comfort/pride.

2 - tommy's hand on the small of buck's back when they leave the podium or are mingling and getting cake.

3 - lack of personal space, plastered to each other's side even for a moment; maybe even leaning into each other.

4 - if tommy encounters gerrard and is shaken by it, we might see buck asking if he's okay with a hand on the small of his back, or his arm, maybe even hand-holding.

^^^^ those are the bare minimum types of pda i'd expect. but if we're talking about raising hopes a little:

a - holding hands, maybe while entering the station for the ceremony, maybe in the crowd after.

b - a KISS !! congratulatory after the ceremony, soft and sweet and brief but it's there.

c - soft intimate touches: adjusting the medals around each other's neck, fingertips tracing over hands, close-talking with lips grazing an ear, close-talking with noses brushing cheeks.

...i could go on. basically, there are a myriad of touches they could give us that wouldn't pull focus but which would once again remind the audience that they are dating, they are a romantic pairing, they are ✨ thriving ✨ and given that other romantic pairings around them are allowed some pda i think we'll get something from our boys, i'm just not sure what exactly.

[propertyofyoutube]

Hey guys! Thought I’d post one of my one shots on here and see how it goes for those who don’t use Wattpad! This was the first of my Sam one shots, I promise the writing gets better! Thanks you !xx

Summary: reader has been good friends with Sam and Colby for a few years now and has featured on the channel multiple times. Sam has a fat crush on reader but hasn't mentioned anything until now, after a ghostly investigation, reader is seriously shook up so Sam insists that reader spend the night with him...

WARNINGS: SMUT 18+, unprotected sex, foreplay, panic attack, mentions of ghosts, pure and utter FILTH and FLUFF!!!

——————————————————————————————————————————————————

You took a deep breath as you sat in the back of Sam's Tesla, pulling you knees tightly to your chest as Colby turned back from the passenger seat to look at you, "you okay, y/n?" He said worried. You don't respond at first trying to comprehend what just happened in there. Colby sigh as he reached behind and rubbed your arm slightly in comfort. "Don't worry, demons lie... nothing is going to do anything to you." He said with reassurance in his voice.

You take another breath as you look up at Colby, your body shaking slightly but you appreciated his attempt to make you feel better. So you gave him a soft smile, nodding your head slowly at him.

Suddenly the trunk slammed closed, closely followed by the drivers side door opening as Sam climbed in. "Right that's everything," he said as he exhaled holding a camera tightly in his hand. As he closed the door and turned his attention to Colby and the uneasy environment as he looked around confused before turning to see you in the back clearly not okay. "Woah, are you alright?" The look on Sam's face made you melt as you could see the genuine worry in his eyes as he reached out. Since you met Sam a couple of years ago, he had been all you think about, your friendship was pure and exciting, he was the one you turned to for everything! Something good happened? Call Sam. Something bad happened? Call Sam. Feeling down? Call Sam. But you were also that rock for him too. You loved coming on these investigations, you truly were interested in learning everything about the afterlife, you would stay up on the phone with Sam for hours, discussing theories and telling each other ghost stories you've heard. But tonight was different, and Sam knew it was affecting you in worser ways than usual.

You lifted your head as you give him a small smile, but your eyes were giving away just how shaken up you were, "I'm okay, don't worry. Let's just get this outro done," you say as you take a deep breath and move to position yourself between the two front seats.

Sam is reluctant at first but he can tell by your face and tone of voice, you just needed to get out of here. He nodded before quickly turning back around and putting the camera on the dash board pressing record, "well then guys..." Sam said as the three of you exhaled weirdly in unison as you suddenly looked at each other shocked before laughing.

"It's been a night to say the least!" Colby chuckled out.

Sam looked at you as you laughed, glad to see a bit of a relief come across your face for a moment before the shaking kicked back in. He turned back to the camera "I think... it's been a wild night for us all, especially y/n back there..." he said looking at you through the camera screen.

You gave the camera a look, "you think?" You giggle slightly, "I will not be sleeping for a least a week after a demon literally threatened to kill me slowly...." You say with a joking tone however, there was no joke about it. You were kind of terrified.

Sam looked back at you, his heart breaking slightly as he knew that you were downplaying how you were truly feeling. "Don't worry, we will keep y/n safe. No demons will get her!" Sam said to the camera as Colby also chimed in.

"Nope! Not whilst we're around!" Colby smiled at you as you rolled your eyes trying to fight back your own smile.

You look back at Sam as you leaned forward, as he turned his head to face you, you were just inches away from each other's face. Your close proximity made your brain freeze and heart pound. Sam's too, but you didn't know that he had frozen for the exact same reason. Colby looked at you both, almost awkwardly like he was interrupting something until he spoke, "well, I'm hungry as shit, I don't want to have to stay here for any longer!" He laughed as you and Sam both snapped your attention back to Colby and then the camera.

"I agree," you giggle, "I need Taco Bell." You say as Sam looks at you with a smile, "and you're paying, because it's your fault I got threatened tonight!" You smirked at Sam as he held his hands up laughing.

"That is absolutely fair enough," he said to the camera. "Well guys, don't forget to head to shopxplr.com to get the new merch!" He said excited as all three of you pointed at the t-shirts and hoodies you were wearing.

"And we'll see you in the next one, peace." Colby said as both him and Sam put their hands over their mouths before blowing a kiss to the screen. Sam reached up and turned off the camera, slowly turning to face you again.

"Right... shall we get you a Taco Bell?" He said with a smirk.

You nodded your head as you pouted at him with puppy dog eyes. He laughed at your reaction as he turned back to the stirring wheel as he accidentally whispered under his breath, "you're so cute."

"What dude?" Colby said, as no one in the car heard exactly what he said.

Sam's eyes went wide as he stumbled to find the right words to say, "uh... I was just thinking, I think you should come back to our house with us and we'll watch a movie before you go home... might make you feeling better?" Sam said with a smile as he turned to look at you.

You take a deep breath thinking about going home alone and your shakes return and your body is filled with nervousness and fear, "I'd really like that actually..." you say softly As Colby turns to face you too.

"I think that's a great idea," Colby smiled as you put on your seatbelt ready for this night to be over.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

The Taco Bell was exactly what you needed, you hadn't realised just how hungry you were before the antics of the night. As you all got comfy on the sofa, the boys let you pick the movie, "y/f/m" you say as they both turn to face you with their eyebrows raised.

"Seriously?" Sam giggled.

You scrunched your face at him as you pulled out your Crunchwrap, "yes I'm serious! It's my comfort movie!" You say before taking a bite.

Sam watches you as he can't help but smile. You didn't know this, but Sam has been head over heels for you since you were there for him last year, whilst he went through one of the hardest few months of his life, but he didn't think you felt the same as you had been friends for so long and you never even flirted with him.

"Sounds good to me!" Colby said, breaking Sam's stare. Sam laughed again and he put on the movie.

After around an hour into the movie, Colby looked over and chuckled as he whispered to Sam, "Sam..." Sam turned his head to Colby away from the TV. "Look," Colby whispered again gesturing towards you as you laid between them, your eyes tightly closed as you slept soundly. Sam looked at you and felt his heart twinge and butterflies fill his body. You were so peaceful, and so beautiful. He thought to himself, as he couldn't take his eyes off you. Colby watched how he looked at you before whispering once again, "you should tell her, brother" he said with a smile.

Sam's attention snapped back to him, "what do you mean?" He whispered back clearly trying to mask his feelings.

"Dude" Colby said sternly, giving him a look. Sam looked at him as he tried to hide his smile. "You love her." Colby says straight to the point.

"Dude... come on" Sam says as he shakes his head. Suddenly you stir in your sleep slightly causing Sam's attention to land back on you as he looked at you with worry in his eyes once again.

Colby watched him, how his eyes examined your features as you slept, he tried his hardest to fight back his smiles just at the sight of you. Colby sigh as he too had to smile at the sight of his best friend being so in love, "dude... tell her."

Sam didn't look back at Colby, he just continued to watch as your chest rose and fell with each breath you took. He whispered, "I will."

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

As the movie came to an end, Colby stood up slowly, trying not to wake you as he walked past you both, "night brother," he said as Sam looked up from his phone.

"Night dude," he said as he looked back down at you still fast asleep. He looked as you began to shiver slightly, fidgeting in your sleep before he thought. She must be cold. He got up slowly and left the room to go and get you a blanket.

Whilst he was gone, your heart began to pound in your sleep, as you squirmed and began to shake from a nightmare. All of a sudden you are sprung awake, as your body jolts and you sit up sweating slightly, your breath becoming shorter as you look around the dark room, no one in sight. You raise your hand to your chest as the memories of tonight come flooding back and paranoia sets in. Panic. "Sam..." you whispered out, hardly able to speak. "Sam!" You called out a little louder just as Sam appeared in the door holding a blanket.

"Woah," he also panicked as he noticed your state, he threw the blanket onto the sofa as he ran to you, grabbing you quickly pulling you into his chest, "hey hey hey..." he said softly as tears fell from your eyes. He rocked you rocked you back and forth his hand running up and down your back. "You're okay... you're safe." He whispered softly as you slowly came back down to earth, your heart rate slowing down and your breathing settling. "I'm so sorry, I just went to get you a blanket." Sam said softly as you could hear guilt in his voice.

You suddenly noticed what was happening as you woke up properly, your thoughts returning to its normal processing speed. You couldn't help but feel as though you've overstayed your welcome and this panic attack was an inconvenience to him as you felt your spiral about to come back. You pulled back from Sam as he gave you a soft smile. "I'm so sorry." You said looking around the room.

Sam looked at you confused, "what for?" He said with a slightly chuckle but his voice was still riddled with concern.

"I um..." you quickly jumped up from the sofa to find your shoes in the now dimly lit room, from the light coming in from the door. "I better let you get to bed, and get home..." you said scrambling.

Sam watched you as he stood up confused, "woah, no. Absolutely not." He said, quickly causing you to freeze. You turned to face him as he crossed his arms at you. "You are not going home like this, you're staying here." He said sternly.

"Sam I-" you tried to speak but Sam cut you off.

"No y/n. Please. In insist. You can take my bed, I'll sleep on the sofa if you'd be more comfortable..." he said, he really didn't want you leaving, especially not after the night you'd had, and you clearly weren't okay. You looked at him ,your eyes glistening over. Every single thing he does, how he is with you, how he treats you, how much he cares, makes you fall for him even harder. Sam took a deep breath before he spoke again, but this time his voice had a hint of nervousness, "but I... to be honest, I'd rather you weren't-"

"Alone..." you cut him off, "I'd... I'd really like to not be alone." You said softly as Sam looked up at you, his heart breaking seeing how vulnerable you are right now.

"Of course, you don't need to be... come here" he said holding his arms out to you as you quickly moved into them wrapping your hands around his waist hugging him tightly. He swayed with you, as a smile came onto his face, his embrace was so comforting and you felt so safe in his arms. This hug felt different, it felt more tighter than usual, it felt more honest... Sam slowly pulled back slightly to look at you, he lifted your head so your eyes met his as a small smile came onto his face. "Before we go to bed..." Sam said as he pulled out his phone from his back pocket, "I think you need cheering up a little." Sam smirked at you as you looked up at him. Suddenly, he began to play your favourite song as your eyes widened at him. How did he know you so well? Did he really pay this much attention to the little things you've mentioned over the years? You can't help but smile as he held his hands out to take yours. He pulled you in tight to his chest as you both began to rock to the music.

After a moment, you couldn't take it anymore, this secret. Sam was like no one you'd ever met before, and for years, you'd held onto this secret, and your heart needed to know, if there was even the slightest possibility he loved you back, you had to take the risk. Just as you conjured up the courage, you said his name softly at the exact same time he said yours. You both looked at each other still rocking to the music as you both let out a laugh.

"You go," you said giggling.

"No no it's okay, you first..." Sam said and you could suddenly feel him shaking slightly in your grasp. Was he nervous?

You took a deep breath before looking into his eyes, your body melting into his gaze, "I just wanted to tell you that... I really appreciate everything you do for me... and well it means more to me than what you think-"

"I'm in love with you, y/n." Sam suddenly blurted out as you froze and looked up at him. Sam's body trembled as his anxiety filled him entirely, afraid of how you would react. "I'm so sorry it has taken me till now to say something..." he said resting his head against your forehead. You felt your eyes fill as you've wanted nothing more than to hear him say this for so long. You were struggling to process what he had said. "I'm sorry, I just couldn't hold it in anymore, please, finish what you were saying." Sam said, with a hint of a sadness in his voice, almost as though he thought you were reacting badly from your silence.

You let out a chuckle, as Sam pulled back looking at you confused. "You stole my speech Sam!" You said giggling.

"Wait what? How?" Sam said , not realising what you were saying.

"You took my speech!" You smiled up at him, "word for word actually..." Sam started to realise what you were talking about as the swaying slowly came to a stop.

"You..." Sam examined your face his heart pounding through his chest, "you love me?" He said in disbelief.

"Why are you saying that like it's something crazy?" You laugh, "wasn't it obvious?"

Sam looks down at you dumbfounded as he began to laugh himself, "no y/n, it wasn't." You both chuckle as you begin to sway to the music again, "do you really?" Sam said, still finding it hard to believe.

You look up at him with so much love in your eyes, your eyes moved to his lip before flicking back up to meet his blue oceans, you slowly leaned in connecting your lips, taking Sam by surprise as goosebumps covered his body before he completely relaxed into the kiss. You pulled away slowly, "does that answer your question?" You giggled.

A smile appeared on Sam's face as he held you closer and tighter than ever, "no... I think you better try again..." he bit his lip as you giggled and you both connected your lips once again for a much more deep and passionate kiss. A kiss that was years overdue.

You had never felt more complete in your life as you did in this moment. Your lips pressed together, you and him. Together, finally. The kiss depended as his hands explored your entire body, pulling you closely to him as neither if you would take a breath for air. His hands on your body sent a wave of electricity through your muscles as you felt yourself becoming hot, and your body trembled wanting to feel more of him. You needed to closer to him, if that were even possible. You started to tug on his clothes pressing yourself into his body, your need for him becoming clear.

Sam suddenly pulled back, as you both gasped for air catching your breath, he grabbed your face with both hands looking into your eyes as he spoke, breathlessly, "are you sure?" His care for you made you need him even more. After the night you've had, he cared more about you being okay than anything else.

You quickly lifted your arms, grabbing his face in response, running your hand up the back of his head as he took a sharp breath at your touch, "I've never been more certain of anything in my life." You looked deep into his eyes as they seen them change from worry to hunger. He too needed you, just as much as you needed him. He wasted no more time before crashing his lips back onto yours as he reached down grabbing the back of your knees, hoisting you up as you wrapped your legs around his waist.

Sam mumbled against your lips, "shall we go upstairs?"

You pulled away for a second looking around and see the huge sofa, looking very inviting, "I think here will be just fine," you said as you bit your lip.

Sam smiled wide as he too bit his lip and reconnected the kiss once again. Sam walked you over to the sofa before slowly lowering you down, positioning himself perfectly between your legs, hovering just inches above you. Both of you being so careful not to break this kiss. You reached down gripping onto the bottom of his sweater, before quickly pulling it up over his head. As his face reappeared you seen nothing but love and happiness on his face as he admired you lying beneath him. He sat you up taking off you shirt and unclasped your bra in one swift movement as you giggle, "you're not wasting any time are you?" You pulled him back down with you, your lips moving in sync.

Sam groaned against your lips as he mumbled, "you have no idea, how long I've wanted to do this" he said between breaths.

"I think I do," you laugh as he suddenly kissed down your jaw to your neck. As he found your sweet spot almost Instantly you couldn't help but let out a soft moan, and you could feel Sam smile as he sucked and bit into your skin. As he worked away on your neck, he took his hand slowly making its way down your body, his touch sending shivers up your entire body. He eventually reached the top of your XPLR sweats, you were wearing for the video. As he kissed your neck his fingers ran along the band making your body squirm beneath him. He knew what you wanted and he wanted to do everything he could to make you feel as good as you deserved. He slid his hand into your sweats finding your clit instantly, your core already soaked. "Fuck Sam..." you moaned out as Sam rubbed in circles at a caring pace. Your hands tangling up in his hair tugging slightly.

Sam moaned out at the sounds you were making, "fuck baby, you're so fucking not." He gasped as he moved at a quicker pace.

You felt your body itching for more, as you found yourself grinding against his hand. You quickly reached down and began to undo the button on his jeans as you both moaned into each other's necks. Sam suddenly lifted himself up slightly to look at you, as you pleaded, "Sam... please..." a smirk appeared on Sam's face as he moved his hand further down slipping two fingers inside you as you let out a much louder gasp.

"There's Colby awake..." Sam laughed as you couldn't help but giggle with him. That was quickly cut off by another loud moan as Sam curled him fingers hitting your g-spot. Sam reconnected your lips kissing you like you've never been kissed before. You leaned down again tugging on his jeans, almost whimpering for more. Sam pulled away again still moving his fingers at a fast pace, "don't worry about me yet baby, I need you to come first..." he said breathing deeply. His voice alone sent you even closer to your climax. Your body desperate to feel that sweet relief. Sam could feel you starting to clench around his fingers as he moved quicker, your moans getting louder.

"Fuck Sam!" You screamed out as Sam bit his lip, having you feel this good because of him was enough to make him cum.

"Shit y/n, I can't wait to fuck you." He groaned as he leaned down against muffling you noises. He felt you clench again, and this time he was determined to send you flying, he leaned back up to get a better angle and his fingers pumped in and out faster and deeper than ever, "that's it baby, come for me..."

That was all you need to hear as his voice echoed down your ear canal, your body exploding into ecstasy as you came all over his fingers. Sam groaned as you moaned loudly, calling his name. He slowed down his pace before pulling his fingers out slowly, not breaking eye contact with you as he placed his fingers in his mouth sucking them clean. Your eyes went wide at the sight. "Fuck baby, I can't wait to taste you properly, but that's for another time. I can't wait any longer." Sam sat up quickly jumping off the sofa and taking off his jeans and boxers in one quick movement, kicking them across the floor. As he done this, you quickly took off your sweats and underwear, throwing it out of the way and Sam instantly repositioned himself between your legs. You felt as his already hard cock grazed your entrance. He teased you with his tip as you squirmed beneath him desperately.

"Sam, please baby..." you whined as Sam examined your face.

"I need to hear you say it..." Sam said, with a hint of dominance in his voice. You looked up at him confused, your mind struggling to focus on anything other than his cock that was waiting to push into you. "Tell me how you feel... you didn't actually say it," Sam said with a smile on his face.

You reached your hands up, cupping his jaw as your thumbs rubbed his cheeks, "I love you, Sam Golbach." You said, with nothing but truth in your voice, "I've loved you since the day I met you..." suddenly Sam slowly pushed himself inside of you as you both let out moans. His pace was slow and punishing as you needed more of him.

"Fuck y/n" Sam moaned out as he didn't break your stare.

You threw your head back in pleasure as Sam continued his slow thrust, he felt as though he was going to cum at any second. "I'm gonna cum already..." he whispered out between breaths. "You mean everything to me..." you could hear the passion and love in his voice and it made you melt as you pulled him closer to you.

"I'm yours, from now on... all yours" you breathed out as Sam began to pick up his pace. "Oh fuck!" You threw your head back as your eyes rolled once again. "That's it baby,"

"Fuck" Sam grunted.

"Faster, please" you begged.

"Fuck baby, I'm so close." You could feel Sam's body desperately trying to hold it back.

"Me too baby, just a little longer," you pushed your lips to his. You could feel his groans mumble against you as he thrusted in and out, his pace picking up with each push. "Fuck fuck fuck...." Your moans hit the ceiling, not caring if Colby heard or even the neighbours for that matter. "Don't stop,"

"Cum for me baby, you can do it," Sam said sternly as you felt your body twitch once again at his demands.

"Shit, I'm gonna- I'm gonna" before you could finish you came all over his dick as it continued to pump in and out, "fuck Sam!" You shouted your body melting as it was filled with pleasure and passion.

"I can't hold on much longer," Sam groaned out.

You looked at him, pulling on his head as he let out a louder groan, you leaned his head down and whispered down his ear, "cum for me baby." As soon as you spoke it sent Sam over the edge. He began to pound into you harder and deeper and within seconds you felt him twitch inside you.

"Fuckkk..." he moaned out loudly as he suddenly pulled out of you, spilling himself all over you lower stomach. "Holy shit..." he said as he stroked himself, riding out his own high.

You both tried to catch your breath as you became lightheaded from the pleasure pulsating through your body. "Fuck yeah...." You chuckled as Sam looked at you with the warmest smile on his face.

"Are you okay?" He asked moving the hair out of your face.

You nodded slowly as you fought to keep your eyes open.

"I love you, y/n" Sam said sincerely as this moment between you felt more real than anything in the last year.

"I love you too." You said slowly as Sam slowly leaned down placing a soft and loving kiss against your lips.

——————————————————————————————————————————————————

I hope you liked it! Let me know if you have any pointers, I'm not used to writing y/n. I usually write in third person with characters... I tried my best!

I'm also taking requests, let me know if there's something you'd love to read! Xx

[captainsophiestark]

Exceptions

Grant Ward x Reader

Masterlist - Join My Taglist!

Written for my personal fic writing challenge for 2024, Sophie's Year of Fic! Featuring a new fic being posted every Friday, all year long :)

Fandom: Marvel

Summary: The Bus kids are stuck at the Triskelion for a while since May and Coulson have a meeting with Fury, but Ward already has important plans that he can't cancel.

Word Count: 1,287

Category: Fluff, Humor

A/N: To the anon who sent me an idea outline for this, I hope you like it! It got merged with another idea I had, but hopefully, it's still pretty close to what you had in mind :) Thanks for continuing to read stuff for Grant Ward and enabling me to keep writing him- he's my fave, so I'm glad I have at least a few people to share the love with!

Putting work into an AI program without permission is illegal. You do not have my permission. Do not do it.

Skye's POV

"Alright. May and I will head into our meeting with Director Fury. We'll meet you back here when we're done."

I frowned at Coulson, glancing at FitzSimmons and Ward to see if any of them would say anything. As expected, FitzSimmons just looked at each other, and Ward nodded to Coulson like he'd known this was the plan from the beginning, which I super doubted.

"Okay... and what are we supposed to do in the meantime?" I asked, turning back to Coulson and asking the question that must've been on the rest of our minds. May was already halfway out of the room, and Coulson stopped mid-step to address my question. He smiled.

"I'm sure you'll think of something."

With that, he turned and headed off with May again. I watched him go for a few steps, then put my hands on my hips and turned back to the rest of my group with a sigh.

"Alright, we've been abandoned at one of the biggest SHIELD bases in the world. I probably know the least about this place out of all of us, so... how about you guys? Any ideas?"

I glanced at FitzSimmons, then looked right at Ward. He had his arms crossed, and he shook his head and took a step back the minute my gaze landed on him.

"I don't know what you all are going to do, but I have somewhere I need to be. I'll meet you back here when May and Coulson are done with their meeting. Try not to break anything until then."

With that, he turned on his heel and started marching away. I let him get a few steps, then turned to FitzSimmons.

"So we're gonna follow him, right?"

"Oh, of course."

"Absolutely."

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

Y/N's POV

A took a slow, steady breath, then refocused on the sample in front of me. I'd been staring through the eyepiece of this microscope for what felt like an eterity, finally getting somewhere with samples I'd been working with for months. I'd been stuck at the Triskelion that whole time, in a lab with the loudest of the loud field and ops agents coming in and out, constant noise and business no matter where we went. All of that was about to be worth it.

The rest of the lab completely faded out around me, even as I scribbled notes without looking at the paper beside me. The handwriting wouldn't be good, but it would be decent enough that I could decipher it later, and it meant I didn't have to take my eyes off the results of the experiment in front of me for a single moment. I'd carefully built my corner of the lab into what it was, a sanctuary from the noise and chaos, the perfect place to tuck away and lose myself in my research.

At least, normally it was. Today, someone had apparently decided to venture into my corner, as a hand on my shoulder made me shoot out of my chair and almost gave me a heart attack.

"Sorry!" came the frantic voice of my best friend, Mandy. "I didn't mean to scare you! I swear, I said your name, like, three times while walking over here."

I put a hand to my chest, taking half a second to catch my breath before turning back to Mandy.

"It's okay. Honestly, I don't think anything could've shaken me out of my focus without scaring me like that. Did you need something?"

"Just wanted to give you a warning. One of the ops agents broke containment and just wandered into the lab. Figured it'd be better if I interrupted you than if he did."

I sighed, long and heavy, pinching the bridge of my nose.

"Are you kidding me? How did one of them even get in here-"

I turned to see the man in question and stopped dead in my tracks. Grant Ward, my boyfriend, had just stepped into the lab. I grinned.

"Oh, actually, never mind Mandy. This one's the exception to the rest of the ops people."

"Wow, no kidding. I don't think I've seen you smile like that since your experiment at the Academy won our final projects presentation."

I rolled my eyes, but didn't bother with more than that as Mandy took her leave and Grant finally made his way over to me. His smile matched mine, the two of us bringing out sides of each other most people weren't lucky enough to see.

"You didn't tell me you were coming!" I said as Grant finally reached me, wrapping his arms around my waist and pulling me tight to his chest. He leaned in to kiss me, and it lasted a few moments longer than I would've let him get away with in public if I hadn't missed him so much.

"I thought I'd make it a surprise. Our team got detoured here last minute for Coulson to have some meeting with Fury. Lucky for us, they didn't need me to be there."

"That is lucky," I agreed, the two of us sharing a smile again. Grant reached up and gently cuped my chin in his hand, pulling me back in for a sweeter, slower version of our earlier kiss. I sighed when he pulled back and settled onto the lab stool next to me, his thigh pressed against mine.

"So. Wanna tell me what you're working on?"

"Happily. But I don't want to spend all the time we have together in this lab, so don't let me get carried away-"

"Don't worry, we should have all of tonight and tomorrow morning, with a small exception in a few hours when I have to meet back up with my team. I thought I could keep you company while you finish up here, and then we could grab some dinner. I found a great restaurant in the city last time I had an undercover mission there, and it'll leave us plenty of time for you to tell me all about this project you're working on."

"Grant, that sounds perfect. How did I get so lucky with you?"

"Trust me, the feeling's mutual." We shared a smile, smaller and softer this time, but no less special. Then, Grant turned to the microscope in front of us. "So... I take it you're doing something with this?"

"Yes! I finally have interesting results to look at, so your visit was well-timed. Let me tell you about what you're seeing here..."

Grant leaned into the microsope, bracing one hand on my thigh as I put one arm around his shoulders and rubbed gentle cirlces there, narrating what he was seeing on the slide as I went. Within the lab, I'd gotten a bit of a reputation for liking my space while I worked. But Grant would always be the exception to that. I was on cloud nine that he was here, and I wasn't going to waste a single moment we had together.

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

Skye's POV

"I've never seen him smile like that!" Simmons hissed.

"And he always complains about 'technobabble' when I say more than a few three-syllable words in a sentence!" Fitz agreed. I just huffed a laugh.

"Yeah, well, he's not kissing any of us either. I think that might have something to do with the change."

Fitz and Simmons scoffed right along with me, the three of us watching the scene in the Triskelion's lab for a few more moments before finally shaking it off and heading back into the hallway. Whether or not we found something else to occupy our time until May and Coulson were done with their meeting, we at least had something to tease Ward about for the rest of our lives, which I'd take as a win any day.

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

Everything Taglist: @rosecentury @kmc1989 @space-helen

Marvel Taglist: @valkyriepirate @infinitelyforgotten @sagesmelts @gaychaosgremlin

[speedycoffeedelight]

An Animalistic Disaster

Summery:Angel and Cherri reacts to their song and you realize a embarrassing truth

Ch-11: A Brutal Acceptance

Masterlist

'I.... don't know...' Angel answered. He was scared. He didn't like how you looked at him and asked him the question.

'Charlie.. could you tell her to show me the video first? I..I want to see what's in there'

He knew the song 'Addict' from somewhere in his mind. He knew the lyrics somehow, like he sang it before. But he needed to know what would be shown in this video. Which he did not know. But from the lyrics alone he could feel it's something really personal to him.

Charlie looked at him worringly and translated it for you. You nodded in understanding. 'Cherri.. could ya come with me? It might be best if we see it together ' Angel said with a quivering voice. Cherri looked at him sadly and nodded her head. She too could remember singing it but not the scenarios.

You held out your palm in front of Angel where he climbed on. And Cherri climbed on your shoulder. "I'm really sorry guys, but it's something Angel needs to see for himself first. I'll show you guys later" you said as you went to the other room besides yours.

'Soo..tell me, Charlie and Vaggie..just exactly how you turned into this?' Alastor asked as soon as you left. 'You clearly don't expect me to believe so easily that it happened all of a sudden like that girl did'

"We told you, nothing happened. We were just talking about random stuffs and we suddenly turned into this, that's all" Vaggie scoffed looking at Alastor. Alastor tilted his head looking at them.

'Is that so....'

You sat down on the lounge of the other room as Cherri and Angel climbed down from your body. You opened up your phone this time as you left the laptop in your room. Finding the video on YouTube you turned to the pair.

"Angel, Cherri, are you guys ready?"

Angel gulped as he saw the warning sign on the paused video but they nodded their head. You put the phone in front of them as you played the song.

'Till death do us part...'

'But we're already past that phase...'

Angel's face scrunched up seeing Valentino's face. Even in cartoon, his face looked as terrifying as in real life . Actually it's because it's in cartoon, that his hideous smirks and menacing smiles were all the more clear.

'I'm addicted...to this madness...'

'This hotel is..my Atlantis...'

Angel's eyes shot wide open seeing him on the video crying and Cherri comforting him. 'T-they got this part of me here....?' he whispered in a broken voice. 'Shh, it's okay Angie..' Cherri attempted to cheer him up by placing one of her small arms on his back.

'Just concede and give into your inner demons again '

'Hey, at least we look badass here right? Look!' Cherri pointed at them dancing trying to distract him from his thoughts. She hoped there weren't more of those moments. But that was quickly broken.

Angel let out a shaky breath seeing the scene of Valentino forcefully kissing him and then his breakdown right after. A silent tear fell from his eye unbeknownst to him as the memories of that day came flooding back in his mind.

You gave Angel a sad look as you tried to pat him gently on his head. But you quickly took back your hand seeing him flinch a little. "I'm sorry Angel... I'm really really sorry.." you said looking down.

Cherri patted Angel on his back. He didn't flinch this time as more tears fell. He didn't mean to flinch in front of you. He knew you were just trying to help. But he didn't know you quite well yet and couldn't help it.

'Your money and power'

'my sinfull delight'

'A hit of that heaven and hell'

'One helluva high'

'Thank you Cherri. For doing all of these for me' Angel said with a broken voice as he watched Cherri blow up Valentino's studio. 'Anything for my best bud' Cherri said with a fake cheerful voice. She was pretty shaken seeing that...guy pop up during her song. But she swatted it down.

'Just concede and give into your inner demons again '

'Ohhh,look at you go Angel! You look hot as fuck here' Cherri said as another part of them dancing together came on. 'You too toots..' Angel said he tried to collect himself. 'We fuckin rock ' Cherri smiled at him. He tried to give her a small smile back.

'And I fucking blew that place to bits! Serves em right!' Cherri cheered as the song came to its end music. 'Yeah!' Angel said with bit more energy this time. Relived that it was finally ending.

"There's a bit left guys.." you said with a small voice as they turned to the screen again. 'Oh no..what else..' Angel thought worringly.

'Lookin awesome... feeling helpless'

Angel tried to hug himself seeing that scene. But the only thing he managed was to lower his head more between all his legs and cower.

'And I know I'm raising Cain by every highway in hell'

'Maybe things won't be so terrible inside this hotel'

"And that was the end guys.." you said softly looking at the pair. You picked up your phone as you looked down at them with sad eyes. "Angel....are..are you doing okay..?"

It sucked that you couldn't talk with either of them to know what they're feeling now. You wanted, no, needed to know that Angel was alright. "Tap on my hand if either of you are ready to head back to the other room"

Cherri looked at you and nodded. 'I..I can't show this to them... they'll use me just like Val..' Angel choked out.

"Angel, I don't know how well you're doing and I don't think it's that good....but I just want you to know, I'm here for you. Thousands of people on the internet are here for you too. As long as you're with me, I won't let that fucker touch you even if it costs my life" you said with determination in your voice.

Angel looked up at you teary eyed. 'It's gonna be okay Angie. We're all here for you okay?' Angel nodded. 'I really need a drink right now...' He said as he calmed down a little and wiped his tears. He prepared his fake self again to show the others.'You can tap on her hand now Cherri... I'll handle it somehow...I know I can't run away from this..'

"Angel if you want we can show them the video tomorrow. You can use tonight to collect yourself if you'd like" you said as softly as you could.

"I get why you wouldn't want to show them, but this song is out on the internet. They can see it whenever they like once they're human again. It's better if you explain things to them first by yourself. And I'm sure everyone will support you here"

You weren't trying to be insensitive  to him. But you knew he had to show them eventually, it was inevitable. Since they are in you world, if they wanted, they could watch it anytime they want. It's better if Angel was prepared for this beforehand.

Angel gave you a sad smile and nodded. He really needed some more time to think through about these stuffs. Cherri tapped on your hand as they both climbed on top of your body again.

"Tomorrow it is then. We'll show them tomorrow" you said as you headed towards your room again. Charlie immediately rushed towards you as all of them looked at you guys with worry except Alastor.

"How did it go? I-is everything alright?" Charlie asked the last part looking at Angel. You looked down at Angel as he took a shallow breath.

'You guys can see that video tomorrow, not today. That music video... shows things very personal and sensitive to me that If I had my way, I would never let that see the light of day...' Angel said as he looked away.

'But (Y/n) was right. You guys would see it sooner or later since it's on the internet already. And god knows if something's on the internet, it'll be there forever no matter how much you try to hide it..' Angel said sighing.

"It's alright Angel, we understand. We'll wait till you feel comfortable right guys?" She looked at the others in the room.

'Now could you please ask the girl about the flirting thingy with our voice...actors? Or whatever that was?'  Alastor chipped in.

"Oh yes that part. Hey (Y/n) could you tell us about our voice actor thing? The one you were playing of us flirting and stuffs?"

"Oh that was the Hunicast! It's a podcast thingy your VA's did. But it won't happen again since your va's have been replaced in the new season" you replied happily talking about the videos. But then suddenly a realization hit you like a bullet.

'Wait a minute...flirting.......me playing the video...' you thought quickly as you remembered just how you acted during those.

"Please don't tell me you were watching me during those times..." You meekly said.

"Yes we were.." Vaggie replied looking confused at your sudden change of mood."We were still with you as animals remember?"

"Fuuuuuckkk"

You sank to your knees, holding your now burning face with embarrassment. If they were here that means they saw you simping for them. God they knew just how much of a fangirl you were.

"Please let me dig a hole and die! I don't want to live with this embarrassment any more!!" You squeaked out.

"Why? What's wrong?" Charlie asked concernly as she crouched down with you.

'I think I might have an idea of what's going on' Angel said said with a real smile tracing his lips this time. 'Our little host here is embarrassed for being seen acting like a little fangirl in front of her crush's!'

Alastor grin widened in amusement as he watched you squeak on the ground. "There there, I don't think it was that bad..." Charlie attempted to console you.

"Yes it was!" You looked up at Charlie from your hands. "Ahhhhh, please kill me..." You groaned in your hands.

"It's truly fine dear. I don't think any of us thought any negatively about you" Vaggie looked at you softly from the bed.

Alastor snickered and looked away making Vaggie glare draggers at him.

"Whatever... it's past recovering at this point.." you slowly got up, still refusing to look at them at the eye, especially Alastor.

"It's getting late, let's have dinner and go to sleep for now. We can talk more tomorrow" you wanted to change the topic quickly and pray everyone forgets about this as soon as possible.

"Let us help you out this time! You can just relax, me and Vaggie will take care of everything!"

"But-"

"No buts, you took care of us all these time! It's only fair we repay you" Charlie said as she marched to the kitchen holding Vaggie's hand with enthusiasm.

Charlie, Vaggie and you shared a delicious meal later as the other animals got their respective food.

"Now time to sleep" you announced tiredly. As you walked into your room you realised an important thing.

You only had one bed in the cabin. Nervously laughing, you looked back at the human duo behind you.

"You two can take the bed, I'll go rest on the lounge in the other room"

You didn't have any spare mattresses lying around. Cause you never thought you needed one in the first place. But that might have to change from now.

"Oh no no, we wouldn't want to overstep, maybe we can take the -"

"Nah it's fine, the two of you need a bed more then me. I'll be fine by myself on the lounge " you reassured Charlie as you went to that room.

You ignored Alastor staring at your form as you polpped into the soft cushion, ready to call it a day.

Exhaustion and weariness of today's events soon caught up to you as you drifted into a deep sleep.

Husk and Niffty joined you soon. Husk kept his distance as Niffty cuddled up to you. You smiled in your sleep as you held her close.

*Some time ago*

Jake lowered the dead rabbit's body from today's hunt to the cutting board. He missed a big catch today, but meeting you was been quite a reward to forget about that easily. A small grin plastered his face as he begins to skin the rabbit for his dinner.

The head of the rabbit looked up at him with wide open eyes as he begun to prepare the meat. It reminded him when you both met today.

This rabbit was a mother rabbit, ready to protect it's kids when he found them. Just as you were ready to defend your 'Friends' as you called them, while looking at him with those big eyes of yours fearfully.

His knife sliced through the meat easily as blood splattered around it.

A.N: I really had to put my thinking cap on for this chapter on how tackle this. Since this is a sensitive subject, I tried to be as careful as possible with my reasonings.

Hopefully the chapter lived up to your expectations :')

[brayneworms]

wide eyes (cherry pies).

featuring. kobeni higashiyama/reader

word count. 1.07k

content. gender-neutral reader, kissing, intoxication, kobeni-typical crying, reader is kobeni's boss but no power dynamics, thorough consent checks, no smut but EXTREMELY suggestive, love confessions.

notes. this is an 18+ blog. minors and ageless blogs do not interact, you will be blocked.

The hand with your key had shaken trying to unlock the door to your apartment.

It might've been the nerve, or the drink, or the fact that Kobeni had stuffed her face into the crook of your neck, breathing hard and fast, her hands pawing at the back of your suit jacket, squirming like a kitten.

Regardless, they're not shaking now.

The moment the both of you stumble through the cramped parlour and kitchenette to the bedroom, dimly lit with orange string-lights and a salt lamp petulantly aglow in the corner, Kobeni is on you with a vigour you see from her once in a blue moon and always on the field. She's slightly... damp, from sweat or rain or drool or just whatever keeps her perpetually sustained in a state of unspooling anxiety, but her strong fingers have a grip on your blazer, tugging it off like it had offended her.

"S-slow—" you manage to gasp out before she reaches up to kiss you again, fast and needy, parting her lips to lick into your mouth and you groan. "Beni," you pant between breaks for air. "Ben, Beni—"

She whines when you grip her narrow shoulders and push her down, bracketing her fast with your strength. When she peers up at you, your brain flatlines a little; her usual flouncy ponytail has unravelled, leaving two scarlet clips adrift in a wave of messy brunette hair, and it frames a face scarlet with blush from cheekbone to jawline. Her lips are red, full as candy apples, wet with spit, her dark brows knitted up, her dark eyes big and deep and starving.

She makes a needy noise, tries to lean in to kiss you again, but you manage to force her back down.

"Just—just lemme breathe a minute, babe," you pant out. Kobeni goes painfully redder and nods. "Alright. Okay. Look, we've both had a little to drink. Are you sure—"

"Yes," she blurts out, before you've even finished the question. "Th—I mean—that's the only reason I f-feel brave enough to..." Her voice wilts a little, but you can suddenly feel your pulse in your skull.

"Kobeni," you say, lowly. "I... overheard you talking with Himeno a week back. I know you... you haven't done this before. I just want to make sure you want—I mean, that you know what you want. With me, of all people."

Kobeni's eyes fill with tears. "I—I only want you," she hiccups. "I m-mean... God, this is so embarrassing, but I—ever since I got assigned to you, and working under you, I mean, oh, I'm messing this up but I j-just..."

"Breathe, dove," you murmur, and—trusting her to stop jumping you like she's springlocked—move your hands to cup her face. She burns beneath your touch, eyes pools of ink staring urgently up at you. "You're not messing anything up, 'kay? I just need to make sure here. I'm not some kinda scummy boss. I—I care about you. That's half the fuckin' problem, I mean—fuck. I don't want you to regret this. That's all. Okay?"

Kobeni sniffles. "I won't. I've always... it's all I've b-been thinking about. I—every night. And tonight, going out, I thought I was being annoying, clinging to you like I did b-but now we're here and—and I'm so close, please don't send me away." She hiccups pathetically. "I, mm. I love you. I love you."

Something presses down on your chest like a weight, compressing your heart into your ribcage. And you love her too, you love her too, so you lean forwards and kiss the tear tracks on her face whilst she huffs and squirms, craning her neck; her wet lips brush yours once, twice before she makes a whiny noise of desperation and you finally bring her in.

She's jittery, switching between being too enthusiastic and freezing up—presumably because she has no idea what to do. But at least she's moving slower now, satiated apparently by getting her feelings off her chest, and she lets you guide her this time.

"On the bed," you murmur against her lips. "If you're sure."

Kobeni nods frantically, clambering upon your mattress so eagerly that the sheets tangle around her. You bite back a giggle at the sight of her, sitting on her haunches like a dog awaiting its owners return.

"Tell me, okay?" you reiterate as you start undoing your shirt of your own admission; it slips off your shoulders, and Kobeni squeaks, eyes tracking your every moment like it's the last thing she'll ever see. Lamplight glints in the onyx of her eyes. "Kobeni. You can stop whenever. Whatever you're comfortable with. I need you to tell me what to do, how far you wanna go. Okay? You hear me?"

"Y-yes," she whimpers. "I, um..." Her hands wring together, eyes averting into her lap. "I want to... I don't know. I want... you to... t-touch me?"

"That's a start," you agree mildly. "How about we start smaller, though... you wanna take your shirt off?"

Her cheeks burn, but she nods, shaky hands moving to untuck her shirt from her slacks and start on the buttons. Pale skin slices down the middle, adorned with a worn, plain black bra. It looks like it's been through the washer two dozen times—you know Kobeni sends most of her paycheck home to her family. She must not be able to afford luxuries.

You could buy her one. Not in a weird way, like an old geezer sending lace thongs to his twenty-something secretary, obviously. Just... something that doesn't look like it's held together by two threads.

Kobeni covers the exposed skin. "Sorry," she mumbles, and you realise with a lurch you've been staring in silence. "I know I'm not—y-you're probably used to more—"

"Don't think that," you interrupt, walking over and slotting yourself between her legs. The fabric of her slacks strains against her thighs, and she stares up at you, slack-jawed, starry-eyed, alight with blush. "You're so gorgeous," you murmur. "So—the second you walked into my office, oh my god. Haven't been able to get you outta my head. Do I sound creepy? You can tell me if I do."

She shakes her head wildly. "N-no! Me too! I—like you said, the second I walked in—and you've been so kind. Nobody's ever..." Her lower lip trembles. "I really love you. Sorry. I love you."

"I love you too," you murmur, and swoop in to touch her.

[priksie]

Koba x Reader

PRT 2

Words count : 1248

Warnings : mild violence ( mention of murder ) / mentions of blood

a change in your plan

The second part of my fanfiction , like before please do not hesitate if you have any advice and more for me.

This is the first time I'm writing something and English is also not my first language :))))

Also I decided that I wouldn't be following a lot of the plot of the movies , I'll keep the actions he did. But I don't feel like following the whole story.

-------------------------------------------

A few hours passed , the tension and the panic was slowly buildings every where. The glass of almost all door were broken and laying around you and your colleagues that didn't already got attacked. You weren't sure what was happening exactly , no one was telling you what was going on and you couldn't figure out what went wrong.

We're is he ? Is he safe ? Did he finally escape from there ?

People were screaming , animals were too.Television was diffusing in people house horrible images of ape escaping from zoo and from the same places she was working at , they were destroying everything theirs hands could get a hold off.

You could hear siren outside and shooting noise.

People were getting killed, even the one that never hurted them. You didn't even know how you managed to hide yourself , supposing that it was only your luck that this small room with brooms and household products was open. You had closed the door behind you and turned the light off before sitting down next to the door and glued yourself to the wall hoping that no one will be coming here.

You couldn't hide there forever, it was just until it was calmer inside of that particular place so you could escape.

As you tried to think about everything to forget what was happening you couldn't get out of your mind that it wasn't a surprise, they finally had enough and started to fight back , human can't keep them in cage forever without them fighting and run away one day.

WE deserved it. Even you , even if you tried to help them you still helped those people by working for them. You didn't deserve to just run away.

The way your heart was beating gave you the impression that it was going to explose , tears rolling down your face as you tried to calm yourself down. A hand on your mouth hoping to hide the noise of fear that was coming out of you.

It was the first time your body was sweating so much , it had never shaken that much before either .

distress , that's the only thing you felt.

How long ago did all of this started ? the feeling of having been sitting there for hours started to drive you crazy but the shock was keeping ou frozen in place , there weren't as much noise outside of your small room anymore tho so slowly, you started to wonder if you could come out.

It took another Ten minutes before you could start moving again and standing up with those trembling legs.

Hand slowly reached for the door handle, taking a deep breath you turned it to open the door before being stopped by a new dose of fear, adrenaline taking over your entire body when the shadow of what appeared to be one of those monkeys was in front of the door. He was visible through the window of the door, no proof that he saw you but you were convinced of it. despite everything, he simply leaves after giving you a quick glance. You weren't even really sure he saw you, it was dark inside the room you were in , the light had been turned off after all..because if he had seen you , he would have killed you right ?

It was him, you were sure. He Knew you were here and some part of you hoped he had been there still to look if you were okay.

Your head peaked out of the room , still hiding a bit behind the door you tried to look if he was still around but you only saw debris, blood...and even the corpse of at least one of your former colleagues lying on the ground.

your heart was still beating like it was going to stop. but everything seemed strangely calmer, you must find shelter, other people with whom you can protect yourself from danger.

It's only the beginning

---

FREEDOM , he was finally free and he will not let anyone approach him or hurt him ever again. His hatred for human , the fear of what they could do to him again got so much more intense now that he had real control of himself and now that he tasted the freedom after being locked up in a cage.

He will have revenge , he will not them forget what happened to him because of human selfishness.

His own heart was beating fast , the adrenaline through his vein wasn't helping to calmhis nerves.

I don't want to be alone. I'm free now and I don't want to be as alone as I always was here

He hasn't seen her , did she die ? Did she run away ? He hasn't seen her body anywhere so she must be gone. He was so confused , she needed to die too she didn't help him and she hasn't saved him either she didn't deserve any pity but at the same time....koba didn't want her dead , not by his hand or not in front of him at least he doesn't want to see her like that...but why?! He hated that feeling it was confusing him and he was getting irritated by it too.

Unconsciously he had been looking for her as he was going around in what was a few hours ago his prison.

Hoping in the back of his mind that he would see her at least one more time before leaving for good. As much as he would want to , he wouldn't trust her either. What if she treated him like a monster now that he was out ? Now that he could actually fight back? She would treat him like a horrible animal that needed to be put down like they all did and he was so sure of it.

Wandering alone , in that place that was so familiar to him...he had that strange feeling.

He was walking , exploring that place alone without anyone around him guiding him into a place to prepare him for another torture. It still didn't feel reassuring , he was so used to being around only for human sick nature that he didn't feel like he should be there at all.

Koba had the impression that at any moment , he will be opening his eyes and be back in the sell he grow up into.

Someone was still there , he knew it. Someone hasn't left this place and was still alive.

There wasn't a lot of room that hadn't been destroyed yet , only a small number of rooms were still like before. And he was close to one of them.

He was a few feet away from a door with some hope that you will be inside of there but at the same time he didn't want you to be here , still maybe waiting for your death or your possible escape.

The ape slowly walked towards the door when he started to hear a slight sound. someone was in there and he could hear it.

Please be alive , but don't come close to me. Hide like you hoped I didn't see you and just go away.

He stopped Infront of the door , the glass that was making a small window for people to see in made him able to look inside....it was surely dark but you were close enough to the door and finally he saw you , still alive and you were about to run away. He didn't stay long enough for you to realize that it was actually him , at least he hoped so and he didn't wait to see if you did before he went away . He got his confirmation, you didn't die yet and if you do die it wouldn't be because of him.

[rising-volteccers]

I've been working on this piece slowly over a few months and finally had the motivation to complete it. This is just a self indulgent piece on the aftermath of HZ044-HZ045. Obvious spoilers for those episodes of course. I'm a bit rusty but hopefully it's still an enjoyable read!

Series: Pokemon Horizons

Characters: Friede, Orla (Major) | Mollie, Murdock, Cap (Minor)

Warnings: Description of a character experiencing a panic attack

---

It's only after the kids have retired for the night that Friede calls for a private meeting. He doesn't have to elaborate on its reason, a quiet sort of understanding prevalent as they all made their way to the meeting room. 

Friede doesn't immediately enter once everyone else does. He stands outside, forehead pressed against the cool wall as he breathes deeply. Once, twice, three times. When he feels a little more centered, that's when Friede slips into the room.

Four sets of eyes turn to him. Graciously, no one comments on the tightness around his own eyes, the way his assuring smile is simply a knee jerk reaction in the face of trouble. It takes a moment for Friede to remember that he doesn't have to, and the smile drops.

Friede gracelessly drops onto his chair. Cap joins him moments later. Usually he perches on Friede's shoulder but his partner, likely sensing the heavy atmosphere, opts to stand on the table instead so he can get a proper view of everyone.

Heavy frowns marred all of their features. No one speaks for a good while, as if fearful of what'll spill out the moment this tentative silence is shattered. The Copperajah in the room is something that needed to be discussed but…

“... I'm glad that you're all alright,” Friede finally whispers. He can't easily shake off the pure dread upon seeing Rayquaza crash into the ship, to see the Brave Olivine fall out of the sky and towards the ocean. If not for Murdock's skill in making an emergency landing and his assuring call afterwards, he wouldn't have been able to focus on the immediate danger in front of him.

“Yeah, us too,” Orla responds steadily. Friede doesn't realize that his fists are clenched until Murdock's warm hand settles atop of them. Friede breathes out, recalls the exercise Mollie taught him. 

In for four, hold for seven, release for eight. Repeat until his head clears up.

Friede is grateful that they give him the time to ease himself back into someone that's not crumbling around the edges. That's better left in private, after he can have a moment to really let the severity of what happened sink in. 

Right now, Friede has to pull himself into the leader of the Rising Volt Tacklers. They're turning to him for support and he'll do his best to become their pillar.

“Okay, so. How badly damaged is the ship?” Friede asks, turning his attention to Orla.

“I'll need time to properly assess it but it's bad enough that we won't be able to fly any time soon,” she replies, lips set into a thin frown. “This isn't like patching up holes. We just about fixed the damage done by that Orthworm last time but the damage here is to the balloon itself, not the ship.”

“Alright, so we're grounded until the balloon can be fixed. At least the ship can sail, so I'll see about getting permission to dock the ship at one of Levincia’s ports.” Friede supposed if there's one thing to be grateful for, is that they’re already close to a major city so that repairs can go underway as soon as Orla gets a full assessment. 

“How are the Pokemon? No one sustained any injuries?” Friede turns his attention to Mollie next. 

“All of them are understandably shaken. It's different from turbulence,” Mollie responds, leaning back against her chair. “Some stuff fell off the shelves but none of it hit the Pokemon. Chansey made sure to keep everyone calm while we made multiple trips towards land.”

“Good, good,” he mutters. It guts him inside to put the Pokemon through such a harrowing experience but at the very least, they’re in good hands with Mollie. Friede will bring Charizard to her later for a check-up.

Friede asks a few more questions about affected areas within the Brave Olivine before they tackle the next course of action: the repairs needed to be done.

“Orla, is the damage something you’re able to fix by yourself?” Friede questions.

She hums, arms crossed as her brows furrow in deep thought. “It’s definitely the most damage the ship’s experienced so far, and while I’ll need to get a good, proper look, I think I can fix it.”

That is gladdening news, even if it’s hard for Friede to feel properly happy about it. “Right. You’ll be having your hands full with it. As for the rest of us, we’re going to have to find ways in drumming up funds for the repair.” It’s not going to be cheap, that’s for certain.

“I know I saw an ad before in the city,” Murdock pipes up, having stayed silent for most of the conversation earlier. “About part-time work at Patisserie Soapberry in Cortondo. The bakery owned by Katy, the Gym Leader there.”

“I can do private consultations,” Mollie adds. “If we’re going to be grounded for a while, I can set something up on the ship. That, or I’ll do online consultations if safety’s a concern.”

“And I can offer online classes or take up researching gigs,” Friede says. “Or take on whatever jobs we get.” 

“That sounds good. Though, now the question is what are the kids going to do?” Murdock’s sporting a deep frown now. “I don’t want them to get bored staying here when we’re doing work.”

“Don’t worry about that.” For the first time since this meeting started, Friede’s lips from a small smile. “They’ve expressed interest in learning about Terastallization. I know someone that I can contact with so they can learn just that.”

He’s going to be pretty busy in the coming days. People to contact, plans to hash out, things to do. Nothing left to do but go at it full steam ahead if he wants the Brave Olivine to be airborne again. 

Seeing that it’s been a long, stressful day for everyone, Friede won’t hold them up any longer. He hangs back long enough to pass Charizard’s Pokeball to Mollie before returning back to his room with Cap trailing behind him. 

Inside, he finds the aftermath of such a violent collision. Anything that’s not taped down is strewn all over the floor. Fallen over books and research papers that are going to be a pain to rearrange greets him. 

Friede sighs deeply. He wants nothing more than to fall onto his bed and sleep but his head is still buzzing with all sorts of thoughts, wanting nothing more than to scratch the itch to be productive. He knows that he’ll feel much better later if he begins the task of cleaning his room up now.

After he hangs up his jacket and rolls up the sleeves of his shirt, Friede gets to work. 

------

It hits Friede thirty minutes later.

The mildly buzzing thoughts rush to the front of his mind all at once. A heavy weight drops in his stomach like an anvil. While he knows what’s happening logically, he's still powerless to stop his own spiraling. 

“Pika?”

Friede has experienced freefall before. Reckless flights on Charizard in his younger years meant instances where he flew too close to the sun. His body is like that right now, floaty in a way that gives him little control. Tremors ripple down his arms, causing his hands to start shaking. 

“Pikapi? Pika!”

Things could have gone terribly wrong. Every time he blinks, the scene plays out behind closed eyelids. The Brave Olivine with a gaping wound to its side falling into the ocean, most of the occupants inside powerless to do anything. 

He was powerless to do anything. 

Friede thinks Cap's trying to catch his attention. It's hard to tell over his increasingly labored breaths. He wants to carefully place the book down in a last ditch effort to exert control but he knows it's not working. 

Sadly, this isn't an unfamiliar sensation. Friede remembers the long and terrible nights where he questions his purpose in life, his brilliant mind viciously turning in on itself. All the times where he shook beneath the covers, grounded only by Charizard's head resting atop his legs. His partner is being checked up at the moment by Mollie after–everything.

Friede hates the cold but the trembles wracking his frame isn't caused by it. Muscle spasms perhaps from the sheer effort, futile as it is, to fight off his own thoughts and feelings. He sucks in air through the tiniest straw in the world and wheezes out a pathetic breath.

I should probably sit down, Friede thinks distantly, eyes flickering down towards his trembling hands. He quietly pleads for his emotions to give him more time to–not think about the memories that are coming out of their hiding place. Shoved to the darkest corners in the heat of the moment, prioritizing what’s in front of him (of Roy and Liko and Dot’s safety) instead of–

The Brave Olivine is fallingfallingfalling he’s not able to do ANYTHING but watch as his friendsfamilyhome falls out of the sky and they’re going to sink in the ocean they’re going to die–

Friede bites his lips, nails biting into the palm of his hands as he hunches over. His vision darkens, white sparks flashing behind closed eyelids from how tightly he squeezes them shut. His shaky legs stumble back, and he trips over nothing before he falls heavily onto his bed. A soft cry slips out when pain erupts from the back of his head as it smacks against the wall but he barely registers it. He’s too busy fighting back the stupid panic clawing at his chest, knowing that he’s being an idiot cause he’s fine, they’re all fine and well and present and they discussed on what to do so there’s no reason to dwell on it anymore.

Yet his ever traitorous mind keeps spinning what-ifs, of scenarios gone horribly, tragically wrong. People he’d have to contact, to comfort, to accept all the vitriol and hate from because he’s the leader so all of their safety should have been his top priority. Friede trusts his friends explicitly but he imagines they’d have regretted placing their trust on him. Can visually see their fear and terror and despair over having followed him in the first place cause now it’ll result in their untimely end.

Friede’s eyes burn. Amidst the sharp panic, he distantly feels a bitter anger growing in himself, at himself, and it’s not helping any. His chest hurt, his head ached, his everything is one giant mass of agony. He hates it. Hates it so so much cause now he’s being reminded just how much it hurts to be afraid.

Above all else, Friede is afraid. Terrified. He’s faced the world with reckless abandon that seeing how his world can easily crumble is a harsh smack to the face. 

He whines softly. Unsure whether the chill he feels now is real, Friede still tries to pull his blanket up to cover himself, hoping that the soft fabric is able to secure him in a way that he’s incapable of. His shaky hands struggle to get a solid grip, and for some reason, this small inconvenience is what finally made the tears bubble over. 

Arceus, this is such a stupid thing to cry over. (In between choked sobs, he fights for air). Friede’s just making a mountain out of an Excadrill hill. (He’s convinced he’s drowning). Everyone’s fine. (He feels lightheaded). The ship is grounded and in need of repairs but with Orla’s handiwork, it’ll be fit to sail in no time. (Black spots dances around his vision). He’s fine so why is he–?

“Friede!”

Warm hands gently enveloped his tight fists. A soft voice gently shushes into his ears.

“It’s going to be alright.” One of his hands is maneuvered into pressing against a soft surface. Vaguely, he feels the gentle rise and fall beneath his palm.

“Try and follow my breathing, okay?”

As he blinks waterlogged eyes, the orange blob slowly sharpens into a familiar face. It’s Orla, sweet, kind Orla who’s looking at him with such soft concern in her eyes. 

Friede doesn’t deserve it. She would have been in the engine room, the first place that would’ve exploded had the ship crashed. The thought causes his breath to hitch, triggering a fit of watery coughs that renewed his tears.

“O-Orla,” he gasps. “I’m–I’m so s-sorry–”

“Shh, none of that now,” Orla gently shushes him. “Just focus on my breathing, okay? I know you can do it. In… Out… In… Out…”

He still desperately wants to apologize but the want to appease her is stronger. So Friede tries his best to follow along. He feels her drawing in a long, deep breath, holding it for a few seconds before slowly exhaling. Orla repeats this for the next couple of minutes, purposefully exaggerating the sound of each inhale and exhale so Friede can more easily follow along.

Friede focuses everything into following along, and soon enough he’s doing it more of his own volition than simply copying Orla’s motions. Slowly but surely, his mind winds down from the nigh high panic it was in before. At some point, one of Orla’s hands gently settles on the nape of his sweaty neck, easing his head down into resting atop her chest. 

Orla’s steady heartbeat further grounds him. It enables him to focus on the fact that she’s alive, unlike what his mind tries to claim earlier. Friede sighs quietly, frozen in this position for what feels like hours until Orla speaks up.

“Hey, are you back with me now?”

“Yeah,” he mouths, then clears his throat to say in a steadier voice. “Yeah, ‘m good now.”

Orla hums in response, and while she seems content to leave him like this for as long as he wants, Friede now feels the deep pangs of shame hitting him. Biting his inner cheek, he slowly pushes himself off of Orla, quickly turning his head to swipe at his eyes. It’s a feeble attempt of regaining back his tattered pride, not when a brief glance at her showcases the evidence of his breakdown on her shirt.

“So… I’d ask if you’re alright but–” Orla gestures lightly between the two of them. “–I’m guessing that’s not the case.”

“I’m sorry,” Friede coughs, feelings his cheeks burn in embarrassment. “I–I didn’t expect you to…”

“Oh, Cap came to get me,” Orla says, sporting a faint smile. “He seems–insistent that I follow him, so I did. And I’m glad.”

Right, Cap would do that. His partner always looked out for him, and in a situation where he’s unable to Volt Tackle his way through, it’s reasonable to assume that he’ll seek out someone who can deal with the issue. 

Friede’s grateful, even if it’s something that he’ll realize much later. Right now, he’s battling both shame and exhaustion. His brows furrow from the stress of it all, but they smoothed out when Orla pressed her finger against his forehead.

“I can practically hear the gears turning in that big noggin’ of yours,” she states. “Whatever it is, stop it. I know you’re going to just work yourself up again.”

Her light tone manages to make the corners of his lip quirk up. Friede’s eyes shift downwards and to the right, unable to properly meet her gaze.

“Heh, you know me well.” The faint smile drops moments later. He’s quiet for awhile, and Orla seems to understand that he needs time to regroup his thoughts. Once again, Friede’s grateful, even if there’s a part of him that thinks it’s undeserved.

“Look, with what happened today…” Friede swallows through the heavy lump in his throat. “It… it could’ve ended up a lot worse than it did. I’m sorry, it’s all my fau–hey!” 

The sudden flick to his forehead cuts off his apology. Friede instinctively covers the sting with his hand, looking confused at Orla.

Orla gazes back, nods once before lowering her hand. She crosses her arms. “Sorry but it sounded to me that you were trying to apologize for something that was completely out of your power.”

“But–”

“Nu-uh. All of us agreed to go. We all understood the risks of going up against the Explorers and Rayquaza.”

“Yes, but–”

“What happened was something no one could’ve expected. The ship suffered damage but everyone got out of it safely, did we not?”

“Yeah but it–”

“Should be all that matters, yes? Then I don’t see why–”

“Because you all trusted me, okay!?” Friede doesn’t mean to raise his voice but it does surprise Orla into silence. He covers half of his face with his hand, heaving out a deep sigh. “I’m the captain of the Rising Volt Tacklers. All of you trusted me and that trust nearly got you all killed.”

Friede closes his eyes, unwilling to see what kind of expression Orla makes. That only serves to make him vulnerable to the next flick on his forehead, this one seemingly harder than the last.

“Ow! Why do you keep doing that!?” Friede’s a bit annoyed now, gaze narrowing at Orla.

“It’s because someone’s being an idiot right now,” Orla replies, meeting his eyes with an unimpressed look of her own. “Look, do you trust me to make sure the ship’s engine runs smoothly?”

“Yeah?” Despite the confused note to it, he responds without any hesitation.

“Do you trust Mollie to look after the Pokemon in the event of an emergency?”

“Yeah.”

“Okay, then do you trust Murdock to steer the ship in the event that you’re unable to?”

“Of course.”

“So we trusted you to look after the kids and deal with whatever trouble that came their way, simple as that,” Orla concluded. “I can confidently say that as infuriating as you can get, no one here regrets trusting you Friede.”

Stunned into silence, he remains still when Orla reaches out to bump her fist against his chest. “So put you trust in that at least.”

Friede stares down at the fist. Abruptly, he exhales deeply, shoulders dropping. “Alright, you made your point Orla.”

When she puts it like that, Friede can’t help but think his previous thoughts were silly. It deepens the embarrassment he feels earlier, though he also feels like a weight has been lifted off of his shoulders. At the same time, the physical and emotional exhaustion of today hits him like a full bodied Volt Tackle. 

“I think it’s better for you to get some rest,” Orla gently suggests. Friede thinks he nodded at her suggestion, though it’s hard to tell when it feels like his head is stuffed with cotton. There seems to be hands helping him lay down, and when his head hits the pillow, his blanket is covering him. 

“Mmm… but I still gotta…”

“Shh… don’t worry about everything.” A gentle hand settles over his forehead, slowly sliding down till it covers his eyes. “Just rest. Trust us to keep everything safe, okay?”

Trust. That’s something he can do.

[citadelsanchez]

Hi! How about one where Rick takes reader out to dinner or to another planet or something and it’s totally a date but he won’t admit it & they have a nice time together

Loved this prompt! I left it gender neutral so there will only be Y/N to describe the character. Hope you like it!! Feedback is appreciated. xx

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"COME ON, COME ON, PLEASE PLE- YES!!" You exclaimed, finally beating Morty in Street Fighter. You slam the controller down and pump your fist in the air.

"Noooo, dammit! Rematch me immediately Y/N!" Morty wailed out in response.

"Don't be, like, the sorest loser ever Morty. Y/N is clearly THE Street Fighter God" Summer said from her seat on the recliner.

You and Morty were sat on the Smith's couch, and had been playing this game for about an hour or so.

I laughed. "Well Morty, I would love to, but y-"

"BuUUUUT Y/N is gonna be coming with me now so you'll have to find something else to preoccupy your pea sized prepubescent mind" Rick burps, entering the room.

You and Rick have been seeing each other for about 2 months now. And you phrase it that way because you're not officially a couple, but you think both of you would like to be. Unless you're just delusional. For now you guess that you could just call each other good friends. Great, even.

"A-aw geez Rick, y-you could at least let me get a shot at redemption" Morty protested.

Rick rolled his eyes. "From what I heard through the walls, you will never have a chance against ANYONE in this house-somehow including Jerry- let alone Y/N."

You snickered at this, which made Morty wail some more and Rick give you an approving smile.

"AnyyywaaAAAY, bottoms up!" Rick yelled and shot his portal gun at the floor, grabbing you gently and pulling you through with him.

"RICK, WHAT THE F-"

"Don't worry sweetie, I gotcha" he reassures you as you land on what looks to be a blue cloud in the sky with tiny, white lights in it.

You turn to him kind of sternly. "Why did you have to do that? And where are we?"

Rick rolled onto his stomach dramatically, also placed upon a cloud. But his was green and had little pieces of candy around it.

"B-because it's more fun than taking the ship a-and we're in Javastellar, where you can move on f-fucking clouds!" He put his arms around the cloud he was perched on and it moved forward.

"Whoa, what the fuck?"

You took this time to look around fully and saw what must've been an infinite amount of clouds, each different shapes, sizes, and colors and adorned with unique items. Squirrel looking people and regular people like you and Rick were floating amongst them, laughing and talking.

Below the clouds was a lit up town, complete with tall bridges and art sculptures. The streets were bustling with stores and restaurants and you noted that no one was using a car or bus, as the clouds sufficed as transportation.

You gently placed your hands on the cloud and moved towards Rick, who was watching the town. You felt light as a feather, you were literally floating.

"Wow Rick... this is amazing" you said, gawking at everything.

You didn't catch it, but he was staring at you lovingly, pleased that he made the right decision to bring you here. He wasn't gonna let it show though.

"O-okay well enough of this already, I'm fuUUCKing hungry. Let's go" he belched and lightly grabbed your hand to yank you onto his cloud. Typical Rick.

You closed your eyes in fear as he steered downwards towards the town, driving the cloud like a racecar. You had no choice but to wrap your arms meekly around Rick's waist and hope he wouldn't eject you both into the buildings he was looming over.

He stopped at the edge of a rooftop restaurant, getting off and snickering at your shaken up state.

"P-please Y/N, you're fine. You should be used to it by now."

You both sat at a table, to find out that it had wine prepared and a hologram of a heart displayed in the middle with the words "Lovers Special" displayed over it.

You felt a blush creep up as Rick sat across from you and scoffed.

"I-I-I had no idea that was a thing here, d-don't get the wrong idea" he spoke.

The waitress, suited with a long bushy squirrel-like tail, waddled over to the table and gave you both a big smile. "What will the beautiful couple be dining on tonight?"

Rick slightly choked on the wine that was brought up to his mouth and started stuttering more than usual.

"J-just u-uh we're not a c-couple or anything okay, we'll just take the b-"

The waitress cocked her head a bit. "But Mr. Sanchez, you were in earlier this week to reserve this table specifically."

A deep blush now grew on his cheeks as you smiled and laughed playfully.

"I-I didn't know it would be THIS cheesy, I mean Jesus fucking C-"

"So it's a date then, Rick? That's what this is?" You nudged his legs gently under the table.

He sighed and gave a look of defeat but also hopefulness.

"No. Yes. If you want it to be, I guess" he said, raising his glass to drink more wine.

You smiled warmly now, leaning forward.

"Absolutely."

[desultory-novice]

...My muse is fickle and HIGHLY opportunistic and hearing @deepseamuse share their idea for a bad ending to Apologies where Adeleine refuses to leave Noir's side at Shiver Star, we~ll...

:guilty cough:

I-found-myself-writing-my-own-take-on-how-such-a-conversation-between-the-two-of-them-might-fall-before-I-knew-what-was-happening-I'm-so-sorry!

My apologies, Noir Defense Force... Unlike other writers, I have only tragic siblings for you today...

"Snowflakes"

Warning: This story is SO self-indulgent of me 200% pure melancholy, bittersweet Dess (scriptfic) angst

-

:At the gates, Noir sees his sister off with a pained smile: :But she plants her feet, spinning back toward him:

Adeleine: "...I won't go."

:Noir shakes his head, gently chiding:

Noir: "Adeleine. C'mon." Adeleine: "Not without you, Noir!" Noir: "It's...It's not possible, okay? Not on this ride up, at least." Adeleine: "Okay. Then my going is impossible too!" Noir: "Don't be stubborn. Why're you acting like a kid about this?" Adeleine: "I AM a kid. And you're only three years older, Noir!"  "Are you my brother or are you trying to be dad...?"

:Adeleine is beginning to shake, worry taking root in her:

Adeleine: "...Let's just wait till we can go together, please?" Noir: "We're already here. This is the better option. Trust me." "And I'll find you again soon. I swear it." "It'll be so fast you won't notice I wasn't there the whole time!" Adeleine: "...I don't want us to be separated, Noir." "Not for any length of time!" Noir: "It's not..." "Adeleine, that's..."

:Noir grits his teeth hard, the pressure building in him snaps:  :In a moment of weakness, he voices his own fears aloud:

Noir: "We're going to be separated anyway..." Adeleine: "...Noir? What do you mean by that...?"

:He looks away, regretting ever opening his stupid mouth:

Adeleine: "What is it? What's going to happen?" Noir: "...Nothing. It's nothing, okay?" Adeleine: "Noir!" Noir: "Just forget I said anything, all right?!" Adeleine: "Now who's being stubborn?! Talk to me!"

:He tries to turn away from her, she grabs his hand to pull him back:

:He yanks it away quickly, only for his glove to slip off with it: :She sees his withered, blackened hand:

Adeleine: "...Your hand..."

:She looks up at him in shock and finally sees it: :That's not just his turtleneck pulled up extra high: :The decay has extended all the way to his jaw:

Adeleine: "Your neck too...? "...What is that? I-It's all over you..." "Noir...? Are you sick...?"

:Noir balls his fists, unable to face her: :Facing her means telling the truth:

Noir: "Just go... please..." "...I'm begging you." Adeleine: "N-Noir... Noir, I'm scared..."

:Adeleine is shaken, her gaze unfocused: :Noir kneels down next to her, trying to calm both of them:

Noir: "I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I messed up, Adeleine... Badly." "And this time... was worse than all the others." Adeleine: "Y-You're gonna be okay though, right?"  "Tell me you're going to be okay?"

:He take a half-hearted shot at faking the worst lie ever:

Noir: "......Yeah. Yeah, I mean, when have I not been fine? It's okay...!"

:But even if she wants to believe this lie too, she can't:

Adeleine: "No... You don't mean it though... Tell me the truth, Noir!" Noir: "The truth is..." "...I can't stop what's happening to me."  "And I don't think I've got long left. That's why you have to go."

:Adeleine shakes her head, panic taking over:

Adeleine: "Mm-mm. Mm-mm. No, no. Noir, no. Nononono..." Noir: "Adeleine..." Adeleine: "Nononononononononono..." Noir: "Get on the ship, Adeleine." Adeleine: "Nononononononononnononono...!" Noir: "Ade-..." Adeleine: "Wa...-Waaaaaahhhh!!"

:She breaks into childlike, inconsolable sobbing: :Noir bites his lip, realizing she won't leave on her own now: :He gets up, shouts at a guard some distance away:

Noir: "You! This girl's a passenger, right?! Get her on board already!" Guard: "I'll need to double-check with-..." Noir: "She's already cleared for passage, dammit!" "Could we have gotten this close to the gates if she wasn't?!" "Get...her...on...the...ship! Now!"

:Noir is as threatening as your average scrawny teenager: :But he is right about passing through all the gates:

Guard: "...All right. Come on, you." "You had time to say your goodbyes." Adeleine: "Noooooooo!"

:Adeleine cries as the guard lifts her up off her feet:

Noir: "Goodbye, Ade-..." "...Gh?!"

:Noir falls to his knees, negativity causing the corruption to spike: :Adeleine kicks and punches to free herself from the guard:

Adeleine: "NOIR!" Guard: "Hey! Stop struggling!" Noir: "...G-guh! ...H-Hgh...!!"

:Bent over, Noir vomits sizzling black goo onto the ground:  :Cloudy, dark particles rise menacingly into the air: :Adeleine slips free as the guard backs away in shock:

Adeleine: "Noir! Noir!" Noir: "S-stay...away..." Guard: "?! The hell is that stuff?! Shit!"  "Security here; I need the bio team on this, stat!" "We got some kind of potential toxin or pathogen or something! "Tell the launch team to seal the shuttle and go!" Noir: "N-No...!" Adeleine: "Noir... Noir..." Noir: "A-Ade...leine..."

:Adeleine clings to Noir, sobbing: :The "bio team" arrives. Fully suited and fully armed:

Team: "You said there was some kind of contaminate?" Guard: "Over there! It's them! It's the children...!" "I think they're carriers for some experimental disease!" Team: "...Sickos. Thinking they can get by us using kids..."

:As the the security guard masks up and flees, the helmeted bio team leader looks impassively at the two huddled children; Adeleine in tears while Noir, still sick, stares daggers at the leader:

Team: "Hate to do this when there are hardly any of you left but..." "...We can't risk anything getting into this sector. My apologies."

:Flamethrowers are aimed at Noir and Adeleine:

Team:"Squad. On my command-!" Noir: "Rgh...! DAMMIT...!!"

:Noir hugs Adeleine in his arms and squeezes his eyes shut; the Dark Matter Blade is summoned before him as he uses his powers to teleport them away in a swirling vortex of darkness:

:They reappear in the familiar back alleys of the shelter district:

Noir: "...Huff... huff..."  "Adeleine?! Are you here...?!" Adeleine: "Yeah..." Noir: "...You're not hurt, are you...?"

:He touches her cheek with a gloved hand to be sure she's there: :He had never teleported with another person and wasn't sure he could:

Adeleine: "No. But, Noir..."

:She's too shaken to finish what she was saying: :He lets go of her and falls back into the cold snow:

Noir: "Heh... I really ruined everything, huh...?" Adeleine: "Nuh-uh... You didn't. Cause you're still here..." 

:Adeleine nestles up as close as she can to him:

Adeleine: "...Stay. We have to stay together, Noir..." "Mom and dad made us promise to watch out for each other." Noir: "...I know. That's how I know...I messed up as bad as I did..." "And it's all thanks to this stupid thing..."

:He yanks at his scarf, revealing the control gear turned collar:

Adeleine: "Is that...the thing that lets you call your sword...?" Noir: "And some other stuff. Like that teleportation trick."

:Adeleine sits up and attempts to take it off him: :She can't even slip her small fingers through to pry at it:

Adeleine: "Ngh! It's...so tight around your neck." "...How does this come off again?" Noir: "It doesn't. Not anymore. Heh... I told you I messed up..."

:He smiles, blocking his eyes with the back of a withered hand: :He is finally confessing all the things he should have earlier:

Noir: "I thought I could protect you with it. Become stronger." "So, I kept on wearing it... Way longer than I should have."  "And...I used it...to do some really awful stuff..." "Raquelle... I'm the reason she's gone..."

:This day has already been so traumatic for Adeleine she doesn't even know how to begin to react to the news of their friend's death:

Adeleine: "Noir..." Noir: "Whatever justifications I thought I had..." "...I wish I hadn't done any of it now." "You and I could have just stayed as we were." "But wearing it connected me...to something dark." "I feel it now, always at the back of my mind."

:He pulls his hand away, his eyes a thousand yards away:

Noir: "It's like a void... But it's teeming too... Constant whispers..." "It's coming for me, soon. It even has a spot lined up special." "There's no escaping it now... When it gets out, e-...I..."

:Adeleine slips back into the crook of his arm, holding onto him:

Adeleine: "...You're not allowed to leave." "You're not allowed to leave, Noir." Noir: "...I don't want to leave you either..."

:His voice cracking, he turns to hug her tight: :They stay snuggled together in the cold snow: :No more painstakingly crafted illusions and lies: :Just two kids facing a cruel fate with aching honesty:

:After a time, Adeleine whispers softly:

Adeleine: "...I just want to lay here until we become snowflakes..." "You and I...would melt together. Then we'd never have to be apart..." Noir: "...Heh. You're so warm, you'd turn us into water in no time..." Adeleine: "I'd still follow you... Wherever you flowed off to..."

Noir: "...Maybe the ocean. We could finally have that beach trip?" "But, Adeleine, you deserve so much more than that." "Not being stuck with me..."

Adeleine: "Don't you deserve anything nice, Noir...?" Noir: "...That's a silly question."

"...I already got something beyond precious."

-

It was a most unusual form of salvation...

People who believe in The Theory of the Four Matters have suggested that the various types can counteract or overpower each other, existing in a cycle of destructive mutual domination. Still others believe that when two forms of matter come into close contact, they are capable of peacefully transmuting into a third.

...Darkness and Soul...

Is it any surprise Dream would emerge from their union? 

Those who saw the sleeping "snowflake" children, whom nothing could wake nor separate, nor could anything harm, had no doubts they were protected by a most powerful form of Dream Matter. All that was left to question is, were their dreams happy ones...? 

Though that too could be answered with a glance at their faces.

-

[Apologies AU Masterpost]

-

Author Notes:

The last part is based around the theory that Soul Matter is related to life (the soul forms being based around a powerful desire to live) and that art in Kirby is often treated as "the giving of life."

So, in this situation, while Noir is a perfect container for an immense amount of Dark Matter (why he is unusually powerful and capable even as a drone) Adeleine is the same for Soul Matter (why she is unusually good at imbuing life into her creations)

After the disastrous, highly traumatizing events at the spaceport, with nothing left but each other, the two privately but simultaneously wished for time to stop and to never have to be separated. It came true as they fell asleep in each other's arms...

"Will this version of them ever be saved?"

^^; Like the text says, it's a most unusual form of salvation, but in a weird way, they kinda are saved? At least from present dangers (Noir's corruption has ceased while they are like this, and both are protected from starvation or freezing. As implied by the last line, they are living better (?) happier lives than they ever got in reality within their everlasting, idealistic dreamscape.)

Even as I was writing it, I realized once the situation rolled out of hand and Adeleine learned Noir's fate, there was no simple way to solve this. He could force Adeleine to leave him or talk to her until he had convinced her leaving was the best choice, but she would never be truly happy knowing what she knows. (And they were never getting that good of a chance to get her off planet again either.)

Meanwhile she could stay with him and try use all the powers at her disposal (drawing magical hacksaws and drillbits XD) but Noir had only been holding on as long as he had to see her off, and in main Apologies, dies soon after she leaves. She has no means of saving him nor freeing him from eternal bondage to Zero. Not alone, that is.

...But if you prefer your Shiver Siblings alive, conscious, and free of the looming specter of death, luckily, Kirby of the Stars is a powerful enough channel for Dream Matter that he could awaken/free them.

At least, XX number of years later when he finally visits Shiver Star in Kirby 64. Plus, Zero would be gone by then! Though 02.... >.>

(I'm betting there's a crystal shard near them also! You probably have to use the very cursed Burn-Spark power combo to melt the snow to get close enough to the two; red + yellow being the puzzle's color "hint," courtesy of Noir's perpetually ugly scarf XD)

-

PS: I'm rather shocked how well my fake game hint above works with the power combos, their colors, and Noir's scarf?! Go, muse~!

[zukkaoru]

oooh prompt 28: “It’s okay, you will move on. We will move on.”? with whatever fandom you want lol

ummm it's bungou stray dogs bc this prompt just gave me post-doa arc kunidazai feels fdgfhgjhk also it got a bit longer than intended but it's fine we're fine we're doing great!

tw: dazai-typical suicide mentions/suicidal ideation

-

“It’s okay,” Dazai whispers, his fingers carding through Kunikida’s hair. He isn’t good at this—he has never known how to comfort another person—but he refuses to leave Kunikida to suffer alone. Not when there’s something hanging heavy between them, not when Kunikida is trusting Dazai enough to be this vulnerable around him, not when Dazai is the only one Kunikida will come to for help.

Kunikida sniffs, but he doesn’t respond verbally, so Dazai continues.

“You will move on,” he says, because he knows this to be true. He knows what it is to face the empty void of loss and not see a way forward. He knows what it is to be trapped in the darkness, unsure if you’ll ever make it through to the light. “We will move on.”

Kunikida nods, faintly, which Dazai feels more than he sees. He stares at Kunikida’s glasses, abandoned on the floor nearby, unsure if he should say more. Unsure if there is anything else to say. It’s been months, and no one in the Agency has fully recovered. Kunikida is not the only one losing sleep to nightmares and spiraling anxieties. Dazai would be lying if he said he hadn’t noticed the growing bags under most of his coworkers’ eyes.

“How do you…” Kunikida’s muffled voice trails off. He tightens his grip on Dazai’s shirt, then lets out a shaky breath. “How do you deal with this?”

“The trauma?” Dazai asks, his tone lighter than it should be for such a topic. “Or the insomnia? Or the knowing your body will never work as good as it used to?”

“I don’t know. All of it?”

Dazai snorts. It’s not funny, really, except—

“I don’t.”

Kunikida lifts his head. He offers Dazai a half-hearted glare, made weaker by the wetness of his eyes. “That can’t be true. You’re still here.”

Dazai blinks.

Something in his chest tightens. It’s almost painful, but vaguely pleasant too. He scoffs, looking away.

“I don’t deal with it,” he whispers. “I just ignore it. It’s not healthy, but I’ve never planned on living long enough to deal with the consequences. So.” He shrugs. “It’s not genuine. No part of me is genuine. Not for as long as you’ve known me, at least.”

“I don’t believe that for a moment,” Kunikida argues. He sighs, leaning his head back against Dazai. “And anyway, how can you assure me I’ll move on if you haven’t?”

“Well…” Dazai frowns. Instead of answering, he pinches Kunikida’s arm and mumbles, “You’re mean.”

Kunikida hums. The lack of an argument is enough to tell Dazai that he’s still shaken from whatever nightmare woke him. So Dazai swallows down a joke that wouldn’t have landed and searches for something honest to say. If Kunikida thinks he can be a truthful person, maybe he should give it at least half a shot.

“It takes time,” is what he finally settles on. “Grief, loss, pain—only time can lessen the weight. And even if they never go away, you will learn to live with them as time goes on.” It’s a miserable sentiment, knowing that there is nothing you can do to ease your ailments. Knowing that the only solution is to wait them out and hope death doesn’t come for you first.

(Or, in Dazai’s case, hope death does come for you.)

But it’s the only advice Dazai has that is true. Any other claims he could make would provide Kunikida with nothing but false hope.

“I was afraid you might say that,” Kunikida whispers. “I don’t have time.”

“Nonsense! You’ve got your whole life planned out, and I’m sure you didn’t plan your death before thirty.” Dazai pokes his cheek. “That gives you at least seven years.”

“Not what I meant.”

Dazai ignores that comment. “Me, on the other hand? Well— I’ve only got til about twenty-five before I—”

“No,” Kunikida cuts him off, lifting his head sharply. He reaches for Dazai, then stops himself midway, curling his hand into a fist and dropping it back into his lap. “Don’t…don’t say that. If I have to take all that time to heal and move on, then so do you.”

Dazai grimaces. It sounds nothing short of torturous—living to thirty? Three decades spent walking through such miserable existence? He never even wanted to make it to eighteen.

But he did make it to eighteen—he made it past eighteen. And now he’s twenty-three, still putting in the effort to navigate the new life he’s found himself in. Maybe hanging around for a few extra years wouldn’t be the worst fate he could suffer.

After all, his dream of a completely painless suicide cannot be fulfilled if the people he leaves behind will grieve him.

This isn’t about him, though. This is about Kunikida.

“Fine,” he relents, the lie falling easily from his lips. “But that won’t make it any easier to pass the time.”

“It will,” Kunikida says. And before Dazai can argue, he kisses him softly. “It’s easier, knowing I’m not alone.”

Dazai’s brain short-circuits, for a moment, and then he buries his face in Kunikida’s shoulder to his whatever horrid expression he must be making. “Stupid,” he mumbles, his cheeks burning. Traitorously, his heartbeat won’t slow like he wants it to.

Kunikida chuckles. “You said yourself that we will move on. That means you have to be there too.”

“Shut up.”

“My point still stands whether I continue talking or not.”

Dazai purses his lips. Kunikida doesn’t say anything else, but he doesn’t need to, because he’s right. He already made his point. Dazai included himself in Kunikida’s healing process, and he can’t quite bring himself to regret it, though he knows he’ll be no good at helping. Even now, when he was trying to offer Kunikida comfort, the conversation got turned onto him instead.

He sighs, allowing his eyes to slip shut. “Kunikida-kun?”

“Hm?”

“You’re too kind to me.”

“I’m not,” Kunikida argues. “But perhaps we can have this conversation when it’s not two in the morning?”

Dazai nods. Then, for good measure, he turns his face so he can press a kiss to Kunikida’s neck. “In the meantime, can we—?”

“No,” Kunikida interrupts. He peels Dazai off of him, and Dazai whines, but he allows it to happen. “We still have work tomorrow. Or…later today.” He shakes his head. “We should try to fall back asleep.”

Dazai pouts, but when Kunikida only glares back, he gives in with a melodramatic sigh, flopping back down on the bed. “Fine.”

He goes completely limp, forcing Kunikida to maneuver him back into a normal sleeping position. He half-expects him to just give up part way through, turn over onto his side, and leave Dazai to sort himself out. But he doesn’t, of course, because Kunikida is too kind and when he’s finally comfortable, his head is lying on Dazai’s chest.

“Goodnight,” he whispers.

Dazai’s response gets stuck in his throat, so he just resumes running his fingers through Kunikida’s hair and listens to his breathing until it evens out and he’s drifted back to sleep.

[eridanidreams]

WIP Wednesday

Tagging: @bearlytolerant, @silurisanguine, @aro-pancake, @fangbangerghoul, @atonalginger, @aislingdmdt, @fshenkoescape, @ninjaofnaps, @lisa-and-shadow, @a-cosmic-elf, @thatsgoodsquishy0, @hockeydemon42, @fomagranfalloon, @violenceandviolets, @therealgchu, @staticpallour and @artemis-crimson

I'm late to the party tonight, so enjoy!

from stars through my fingers like grains of sand

Lillian agreed, then took a deep breath. "But Sam, I need something. I need to see my daughter more. These messages, they're just a tease."

"And she misses you," Sam countered, before Cait could draw breath to speak herself. "But, Lillian, the last three times we planned something, you bailed twice. Twice." His jaw set, his eyes burned the hot blue of stars, and his anger fueled the embers of her own. Before it could go out of control again (she'd wanted to—what? the memory had gone up in smoke), she leashed it, channeled it into words.

"Cora knows you're not really invested in her, Lillian," Cait said, choosing every word with exquisite care. "She certainly knows that you put being a Ranger over spending time with her. And pretty soon now, she's going to figure out that you aren't actually interested in your reading club. Right now, she just thinks you're a slow reader."

Lillian flushed. "How dare you say that?"

Cait felt a slow, angry smile cross her face. "Life is a storm, my young friend. You will bask in the sunlight one moment, be shattered on the rocks the next. What makes you a man is what you do when that storm comes. You must look into that storm and shout as you did in Rome: Do your worst, for I will do mine! Then the fates will know you as we know you." Lillian still looked confused. "That's only one of the most famous quotes from the book you're supposed to be reading right now."

"Do you have any idea the looks I get when I'm reading Dumas around the other Rangers?" Lillian demanded.

"If you really cared about Cora," Cait said softly, "it wouldn't matter."

"For crying out loud, Lillian," Sam added, "where do you think the whole 'Rangers always have each other's back' thing comes from?" Lillian looked at him in complete astonishment. "I'm not the reader Cora or Cait is—" His anger was dissipating, replaced with a sort of grim amusement that damped Cait's anger like a fire extinguisher "—but I'm not immune to a rousing adventure. Like, oh, The Three Musketeers." He let that hang in the air.

"All for one, and one for all," Cait murmured.

"And books aside, what this all boils down to," Sam said, "is that every time you bail out on Cora, it destroys her. And I'm the one left to pick up the pieces." Now that her own anger was more-or-less quenched, Cait could clearly sense the memory of Sam's devastation as it shivered coldly through him.

"Be honest with yourself, Lillian," Cait commanded. "Do you really think you can put Cora first? Every time? Because if you can't, then you need to stop pretending that you can."

Lillian winced, shaken to the core by Cait's brutal honesty, as Sam added, "Whatever you've got going on with Cora right now, I won't stand in the way of that. But we're not going to make plans again if you can't be sure you're going to make them. Even if there's an emergency."

Lillian sighed. "It's so often a matter of life and death, you know that—" There are other Rangers, Cait thought, but did not say. Lillian needed to make this decision herself. "—but you're right. Maybe—maybe when she's older." When she's older, Cait knew, would never happen; Lillian had just driven a stake through the heart of any hope of a closer relationship with Cora. Unless she changed drastically, and soon, this was the most she would ever have. Cait couldn't find it in herself to be sorry—at least, not for Lillian. Silently, she vowed to do everything she could to make the inevitable easier on Cora.

Sam nodded solemnly; Cait wondered if he'd heard the same thing she had. "Okay. Friends, right?"

Lillian set herself, and underneath all the turmoil, the anger, the resentment, Cait thought she heard a faint note of relief. "Friends." She gave a soft, rueful laugh. "You and me—we were over before we ever began." Cait hadn't expected the turn of conversation, and now she did feel like she was intruding. She took a half-step back, intending to make a discreet exit, but the ice cracking beneath her foot betrayed her. Lillian offered her a soft half-smile, but her emotions had sharpened into something almost—speculative. "No need," she said. "Sam and I—we didn't really choose each other, we just sort of—fell into it. I admire him, and he's one of the few people in the Systems that can make me laugh… but he's right. What we had, was never love. Not then, and not now."

"Truth," Sam agreed.

"All right," Cait said, feeling like the ground itself was shaking underneath her. She was teetering on the edge of emotional overload, and she knew it. "Do you think you two can go on from here? Is there anything else you need to address?"

Sam shook his head in silence. "No," Lillian met her gaze without flinching; after a moment, a half-smile curved her lips. "Sam's found himself one hell of an advocate."

Cait shook her head. "Sam didn't need me to support him—he did just fine." Sam's surprised appreciation curled up through her, adding itself to the storm already raging inside of her. "He needed it for Cora." She breathed deeply of the cold air, trying to use the shock to steady her for just a few moments more. "I'll go take a walk while the two of you finish up whatever you need to. Lillian, I presume we're dropping you back at Neon?"

"No need," Lillian said. "I've arranged for pickup. But I will make sure to say goodbye to Cora before you lift off." She gave Cait a long, considering look. "And thank you. You've given both of us a real gift. Not a comfortable gift, but…" she let out a sigh. "Honesty is the best way to go... however painful. As if I didn't owe you already."

"I'm not one to keep score," Cait said. "But I'm glad I could help. If you'll excuse me…" She nodded to them both, then walked away quickly before either of them could draw her back in.