#well if it is another one to the pile on this awful website

[rosesntea2]

I don't think I posted this here yet...

If I have uhhh oops your seeing it again.

Live reannactment will be posted in October pinky promise

[azzypzazzy]

hear me out… schlatt helping you relax after finals (its finals for summer semester i am dying rn)

ok so i misread this and didn’t see the after finals but i refuse to go rewrite everything because i am sleepy. hope finals went well and you enjoy regardless <3

smut warning btw!! it’s not too explicit, but it’s under the cut. dont wanna read it? don’t. it’s also my first one, so it might be bad

𝜗𝜚

Droopy eyes stared at your laptop, blue light reflecting onto your face. All you had to do was finish the chapter, you just had to finish it and hope to retain enough to lazily reread the rest later. That’s all you had to do. 

You grabbed your water bottle, sipping down the reminds of a cheap energy drink you got this morning, when you were a far more ambitious woman. Maybe if you drank enough of these you could have a heart attack and sue. Drop out and live your limited years on some beach making stupid decisions, instead of this. 

That’s it. You can’t do this anymore. You would just have to continue tomorrow, because if you spent another second trying to read the mess in front of you you’d explode. 

Was there anything else vaguely productive you could do? You weren’t gonna sit and do any more work, but you still had to do something. You switched over to your email, leaving your study tabs open “for later”. You seriously have to check this thing more often, 223 unread? You skimmed through them, deleting as you went. Fortunately, most were only from Google Classroom or websites you landed on the spam list for, meaning you didn’t miss anything. Anything except an email from some guy in your Spanish II? Spanish II. You never should’ve taken that awful class. It wasn’t even required, but you took it regardless, and you were too deep in to drop. You opened it, confused on what it could even be. 

Eric Thompson <eric.thompson@cix.cuny.edu>  to: me Found a great quizlet for the exam https://quizlet.com/940117849/spanish-2-flash-cards/. Please let me know if anyone's having a study session (I’m desperate.) 

This just felt cruel. Like a cruel sign reminding you you were gonna fail, and probably him too. And for some odd reason, this email seemed to be the thing which made you realize that. 

You shut your laptop, grabbing your phone. Before you could even think, you went to Schlatt. 

to: Schlutt busy?

You set your phone down, leaning back in your chair. You just needed to relax a bit, that’s all. One night off and you’d be back. 

You grabbed your phone, realizing Schlatt already responded. Maybe you weren’t the only one having a rough night. 

from: Schlutt  Nope. You

to: Schlutt just exhausted

from: Schlutt  Want me to come over?

to: Schlutt please

from: Schlutt Be there in five

- 

You opened the door, immediately going in for a tight hug, “Hi!” 

“Hey, missed you,” Schlatt said, resting his head on the crook of your neck.

“Yeah, me too,” you whispered, taking a deep breath. God, he smelled good. Did he usually smell like this? Must be a new cologne. 

After a moment you pulled away, letting him in your cramped dorm. You turned around, realizing how much of a mess your room actually was. “Sorry for the mess, I’ve just been so busy with finals and completely forgot to clean.” 

Schlatt shook his head, taking a seat on your bed, “No worries, not like I gave you much time. This is nothin’, you should see mine.”

“Oh god, I don’t think I want to,” You grinned, sitting next to him. “Finals beating your ass too?” 

“Yeah,” He sighed, running a hand through his hair, “Trying not to think about it for a bit.” 

Now that you’re looking, his head was pretty messy today. Most of him was, and it definitely fit. “Well, we’ve got time. Chloe’s not here,” you whispered, leaning a head on his shoulder. 

He smiled, his arm wrapping around your shoulder, “Then maybe we could watch a movie or somethin’?” 

“Sounds good to me,” you stood up, moving to your desk. You paused, looking at the mess of papers and trash which piled up in the past few days. You unplugged your laptop, opening it to close out your previous window, “Netflix?” 

“Sure,” he replied, eyes fixated on you as you sat back down next to him. He shifted over, allowing the two of you to lay down on the small space. 

You grabbed one of your pillows, using it as a table on your lap for the laptop. “Anything you wanted to watch?” You asked, entering the search bar. 

“Up to you, toots.” Toots. You felt your stomach flip, face looking straight forward to avoid the embarrassment of Schlatt seeing how flustered you were over a simple nickname. 

You nodded, scrolling until you landed on some old detective show, hoping it would be plain enough to bore him, “How’s this?” You clicked on it, “Says it’s a crime drama series following two detectives who have to solve a case 21 years after it was closed.” 

His eyes never went to the screen, still watching you as you chose, “Perfect.” 

- 

You weren’t sure how long you two had been watching this crap, but it had been long enough. There was no way you could even try to focus on the show, but you were far too nervous to make a move. 

Luckily, a warm hand reached your thigh under the covers, circling slowly. 

It didn’t take long for you to realize what Schlatt was doing. Leaned on him, glancing up at him from the corner of your eye to see him staring back. 

Within seconds you found your arms around his shoulders, ass on his lap, tongue in his mouth. 

Schlatt moaned into you, the kiss becoming sloppy and desperate. You pulled away, heart beating out of your chest, a rushed confession escaping your mouth, “I really like you, Schlatt.” 

“Fuck,” he groaned, throbbing under you, “Love you too.” He planted a hand on your ass, his breath hot on your face, “So fuckin’ much.” 

You bit the bottom of your cheek to stifle a moan, before wrapping him into another frantic kiss. Schlatt fingers gripped your hair, pulling you in closer. He was seriously gonna be the death of you. 

You slid a hand under his shirt, able to feel his heart erratically beating under your touch. His lips left yours, panting. You rested your forehead on his temple, admiring his eyes. Fuck. Without thinking, your free hand slipped to his shorts, toying with the waistband. 

Schlatt tilted his head back, mumbling a plea. You stopped, looking up at him with a cocky grin, “You’re gonna need to speak up.” 

“Please,” he looked back down at you. 

Now this was a sight. The way his chest rose and fell, the way his eyes shined in the low light, it all was perfect, and you could feel it. Days of pent up tension and stress weighing on the both of you, begging to be released. 

𝜗𝜚

okay i got tired and gave up. hope it was okay though!! maybe ill continue it eventually not sure be nice please

[cyberpxnk]

until the moon and stars fall | jeong yunho

♡ pairing: yunho x chubby!reader ♡ chapters: 1 out of 1 ♡ word count: 2.3k ♡ genre: nonidol! au, comfort/hurt, fluff, established relationship

♡ synopsis: your bad day at work takes a turn for the worse but despite it all, jeong yunho never fails to be there for you.

♡ warnings/tags: chubby!reader, no gendered terms for reader, a lil self indulgent, cussing, body/fat shaming, mentions of body image, bullying, minor kissing, maybe a lil cliche but bear w/ me

♡ author’s note:  this one is for all my chubby babes and customer service workers !! i've never rly written comfort before..,,.. so i hope it's like... ok for y'all :sweating_emoji: maybe i was a lil self indulgent on this one, but i hope u all enjoy it !!

The big fat zero in your face taunted you, reminding you of the awful day you have to endure for another hour. It wasn't often that you received no tip for your services, but the gods really rained down on you today, offering little sympathy.

Being a restaurant worker was tough shit, just as every other food industry and customer service job was. You hate it, really, but it was good money for a broke college student like yourself. 

Between classes, there were days you managed to muster up your feigned smile of politeness to customers, serving them while dealing with their all too present bullshit attitude. Of course, not all your patrons were so unlovely but today... Man.

Two hours in and you're ready to rip off your apron and book it home. You're not sure what's going on with you, but clearly nothing good. Already having spilled several drinks and messing up an order, you know it's not your day.

Even the zero tip didn't surprise you at this point. What did matter is that you had to make it through the rest of your ungodly shift and just get the hell out of there. Maybe you would look for a new job or something, anything to sate your present worries. 

What seemed worst of all was the ceaseless teasing that came from your coworker. She's the new girl, having barely worked with you, yet she was pompous and held herself with an air of arrogance as if you were someone of lowly status and she, royalty. 

Unlike yourself, she radiated haughtiness and garnered attention from all types of people. You're not sure why she even worked as a server, but you suppose her pretty looks helped her out quite a bit. If not for her atrocious attitude hidden beneath her sickening saccharine smile, perhaps you would be swayed too. 

"Didn't get tipped, porky? Serves you right for messing up so much today." 

Yeah, there it was. Cliche beautiful and slender girl poking fun at her less than fortunate chubby coworker. Let's get one thing straight though, you don't hate yourself or your body. But her? That's a different story. Well, she certainly made it a little harder not to be self conscious, even if you tried your best on most days. 

"Mhm," is all you manage back to her, lips pulled tight in a grimace as you continue to go about your work. Dealing with her was just another thing upon the pile of shit you didn’t have the energy for. 

And you don’t particularly enjoy being reminded of how your uniform stretched uncomfortably over your larger frame or how your thick thighs often chafed together, holes forming in the fabric between your legs, which resulted in you buying way too many new pairs of work pants. Ugh. 

Your coworker did enough complaining for the both of you, oftentimes taking a tone of mockery. On more than one occasion, you could recall her poking at your stomach in disgust before asking something along the lines of, "how do you even fit in the uniform? Did you have to order those rags off a plus size website?" 

Yeah, in fact you did but that's irrelevant! You wonder when a grown woman like herself would get tired of teasing you, but it's been months and she's still going strong. 

You can deal with it. You hope. Just one more hour, just one more hour — one more hellish hour and maybe you'll quit. 

Another fifty minutes of waiting tables and withholding your anger, you know you're at the homestretch. As you balance a tray of dirty dishes, you mosey your way over to the back when you suddenly find yourself stumbling, barely catching how your coworker stuck her foot out before you. 

No, no, no! What the hell kind of movie-esque moment was this? Surely enough, you trip over her leg and crumple to the ground, food and plates scattering messily along the floor. 

The sound of her obnoxious laughter fills the air, growing louder in volume as she cackles, throwing her head back in a fit of malevolent glee. 

"Oh my god! Can you do anything right, fatso?" 

A rush of emotions and you're on your feet, wiping away some of the food remnants from your uniform. Hot anger is flooding through you and you're visibly seething. 

"What is your issue, bitch?" You've held your tongue for too long and your eyes are welling up with tears, though you're unsure if it's from the unbridled rage or the overwhelming flood of negative feelings you're experiencing. 

"Your fat ass is my issue! I hate seeing you at work. Nobody wants you here. Even the customers don't tip you because they lose their appetite after they see they're being waited on by a whale!" 

The silence that falls over the restaurant is unsettling, tension palpable as nobody utters a word, hers still ringing in your ears. Even your manager who peers from behind the kitchen keeps quiet, unsure of how to handle the escalating situation. 

Not that they were very helpful anyway, always allowing your coworker to have her way — insisting that she was just "joking" and that she didn't mean any harm. Ha, pretty privilege. 

It was fine though. You had enough. This was the last straw and you would be sure to show them that you wouldn't take her shit any longer. You didn't deserve it. 

In your flurry of emotions, what you fail to see is your boyfriend hovering near the front door. Clutched in his hands, he holds a paper cup filled with a latte and the other is a crumpled paper baggie with your favorite pastry. 

Jeong Yunho was truly the epitome of sweet. Even after his long shifts as a barista, he never failed to make time for you. It was different today though. Something in the winds whispered to him that day, the energy unnerving as his stomach churned nervously during the last few hours on the clock. 

Not wanting to ignore the feeling, he was determined to see you. If whatever gods or deities were compelling him to check up on his partner today, then that's just what he would do. 

What he didn't expect to find was his said lover covered in slop, hair astray and tears threatening to fall from your eyes. If not for the last semblance of his senses steadying him, he would have stomped over in a fit of fury. 

Yunho nearly did though, hands just barely unclenching the items he held. The scene unfolding before him... he should have stopped it, yet he couldn't will himself. The determined look in your eyes advised him otherwise.

It was clear that you had snapped. Despite your current state of disarray, you held up your head high and pressed your pointer finger to your coworker's chest, practically spitting out your next words, venom dripping with each syllable. 

"You must get some sick sense of pleasure tearing other people down," you stepped forward and she stumbled back, eyes wide with bewilderment, "you're projecting pretty hard."

"Excuse m-" you interrupted her, moving another stride forward until she was cornered to the wall. 

"You must hate yourself so much that you need to resort to shitty high school bullying tactics to feel better about yourself. I feel sorry for you." 

Watching as you defend yourself, Yunho feels his chest swell with pride yet it pained him knowing you had been handling this problem all alone and he didn't know for how long. Several times in passing, you had mentioned your troublesome colleague to him but he never realized how awful to an extent it was.

"I'm done here, honestly. I'm sick of your attitude and I'm sick of management's negligence." You untie your apron and toss it at her face, watching as she fumbles slightly whilst trying to catch the fabric.

She sputters in response, her face twisting with rage as she points an accusing finger to you. 

"Even if you leave here, you'll never be liked and loved. Not with that disgusting body of yours. Do us all a favor and hit the gym after you're gone."

It is Yunho's turn to intervene as he steps closer to you all, protectively hooking one arm around your side. The gifts he previously held were long forgotten, abandoned at some table in favor of defending you. 

His entrance seems to startle everyone, including yourself as you jump slightly before you reach over, curling into the familiarity of his hold. The man squeezes you once, pressing a kiss to the side of your head.

You don't know how long he's been standing there, but you can see his gaze narrowed in a sharp glare. There's a fire alight in his eyes, wisps of anger that you rarely find on your gentle boyfriend's features. The heart shaped lips you're so used to seeing upturned are pulled taut in a line, displeasure clear upon his face. 

"You're wrong. It's you who will never feel true love. Not with that nasty, ugly heart of yours." There's a sharp edge to his voice, steely and void of any remorse. You know he wants to say more with how his jaw clenches yet he turns you both around with haste and leads you toward the exit without another sound.

As you both walk out in silence, his hold drops from your waist and his hand is reaching for yours, fingers intertwining with a gentle weave. It's only seconds later before he's helping you into his car, buckling you in before he gets in the opposite side and begins driving home.

No words are exchanged, a quiet stillness in the air. Though he has one hand on the wheel, the other still grips yours as you idly play with his fingers. You try to distract yourself from the earlier events, tracing gentle shapes along his knuckles. 

It's only until you're back within the safety of your shared home do the tears you've withheld finally drip down your cheeks. You sniffle once and then twice before you're sobbing. 

Yunho's arms around you are immediate, holding you against his frame as he gently rocks you within the security of his protective embrace.

His soft whispers of reassurance and comfort fill your ears as you soak through his shirt with your tears. He clutches you tighter, never letting go even as your cries begin to wane.  Minutes pass, and you're unsure of how long you're standing there before you sniffle quietly and reluctantly pull yourself from his chest.

When you finally look to meet his eyes, your breath catches in your throat. Yunho looks at you painstakingly, his gaze so tender that you practically melt in his arms. Your lip quivers at the sight.

"I love you," he whispers so faintly that you barely hear him. The warmth of his affections flood you, shaking your very heart to the core. Though he need not say more than those three things, he relents. 

"You're everything to me..." He speaks breathlessly, his lips repeatedly finding yours between sweet and inaudible murmurs. You're sinking into his touch, blinking back the wetness in your eyes as his loving touches ghost along the soft curves of your body.  

"Your size doesn't matter and it will never dictate how you should be loved. It doesn't make you any less attractive, any less desirable, any less lovable, any less you." 

The tears begin to form in your eyes again, and you're unable to stop the steady stream of waterworks as your heart trembles from his admission. Your hands grasp his shirt and you open your mouth, though no sound follows.

"Jagiya..." Your eyes flutter as his breath fans over your face, his lips brushing away each tear as they fall.

You know there aren't enough words to express how he looks to you in adoration, how delicately he reaches to cup your tear stained cheeks, how he kisses you as if you're so fragile you may break from his dainty touches. 

"The love I have for you seeps from my soul. I never want to waste a minute without loving you to the fullest." 

There is a brief pause as he rests his forehead to yours, his palms still clutching your face with the utmost care. 

"To me, you are ethereal. To me, you are divine. To me, you are perfect. If I am without you, then I would travel the stars just to see you." 

His proclamation strikes your soul so deeply that you can't help the way your heart beats readily, nearly bursting from your rib cage. He describes you as if you were of the heavens and you almost feel unworthy of his affections, yet you can't help but to believe the sincerity of his words.

The feeling of his unyielding passion is all it takes for another wave of tears and he's no sooner repeating his actions, kissing away each drop that slips from your eyes. 

"I love you so much," you say, unable to elicit anything more than just that between your soft cries. Your voice trembles with such emotion that Yunho understands you needn't say more. 

With your hand grasping his, you lay it over your chest and allow him to feel your heartbeat, showing him just how much his radiance and purity of love stirs you so.  

Yunho mirrors your action, and you feel his pulse steady to your palm. The lull of his essence roots you and grounds you to the very earth. 

Until the stars and moon fell from the sky, just as he cherished you, you would cherish him tenfold. Just as he loved you, you would love him eternally.

[brazenskald]

In my first year of university, I was going through a very tumultuous time. There was all the many new things that come from leaving home, some good, some bad. There were the difficulties of a demanding if rewarding job, and I first became acquainted with the not-so-fondly-remembered and not yet fully un-internalized “student lifestyle.” Terrible food, awful sleep schedule, and this omnipresent sense of impending doom that was, at least in my case in Fall 2019, surprisingly prescient. Throughout all of this, I was not prepared to be struck by the warmth and depth and resonant Truth that cut through the noise and spoke to me with a certain book I picked up, by happenstance, because of its pretty cover. That book was A Conspiracy of Truths by @ariaste. You may have heard of them. https://www.alexandrarowland.net/a-conspiracy-of-truths

Now, needless to say I devoured aCoT, and subsequently its excellent sequel A Choir of Lies. I was sorrowfully disappointed to find out after finishing the absolute rollercoaster of Choir that there was in fact, no further reading yet to do. And so, profoundly affected as I was by this (for now) duology, which I will doubtless craft a dedicated and appropriately lengthy treatise at some point in the future, I set the books in a prime place upon my shelf and turned to face the rest of the year buoyed in my hopes for the brightness of Spring and the long lusty laughter of Summer. Alas, they were all of them deceived for another global epidemic was to begin. One (or two) life-altering years in a pandemic later… I returned to university, fully prepared to enjoy the hell out of an actual honest-to-gods academic institution that didn’t begin and end with a computer screen. It hit like a truck. Same awful student lifestyle, more bad habits piling up, and a rapidly growing sense of my own undiagnosed issue rearing its ugly head. I made one decision that saved me, probably. I kept buying and reading phenomenal books. I kept looking for stories to motivate, enervate, and inspire. Somewhere deep in my subconscious, I remembered that fateful message spoken by a Chant on a page three years past. To loosely paraphrase, “Stories [are] people, and the way people are.” I chose to focus on resilience, made it my motto, and sure I still had lots of work to do, but it helped. It gave me the push I needed to keep going.

That last long Winter that seemed so dark that the sun was never going to come back? I went a-wandering, and lo, a new instalment from @ariaste ‘s Mithalgeard universe! Not a Chant sequel as such, but I couldn’t get my hands on it fast enough. It was an oasis. A respite from the grind and dreary routines. It was also gay as… well as gay as a rainbow covered in gold, let’s say. And I cannot recommend A Taste of Gold and Iron fiercely enough, because although in many ways I managed to end my degree on a high note, that book drew me out of the darkness of the coldest part of the year. It gave me the sense to smell the flowers, to bask in the green and golden glow of a soon-to-be-attained victory, long overdue.

Alex had by this point also published several shorter works, (and a whole library’s worth of content on AO3, naturally) which I leapt to read whenever they crossed my radar. It helped that I joined their discord community which was leaps and bounds more reliable in terms of getting updates and also just having the chance to share in mutual fandom gushing. If you’re even remotely interested in learning more about what I’ve talked about here, you should join in! https://discord.gg/XHJ9Uy5gef Everybody there is absolutely lovely. So why do I bring all this up? To summarize a preamble that is, to put it mildly, not short, Alex’s writing sings to my soul. I love it more deeply than my non-existent children, and their body of work continues to evolve and grow and deliver on the themes and core messages that hooked me with that first book.

But wait, there’s more! Life carries on, and with it comes new stories! Specifically, Running Close to the Wind! It’s Our Flag Means Death meets Mithalgeard, which if I haven’t convinced you to go and read those other instalments, well just trust me when I say that is a potent and persuasive pairing! It’s also going to be dropping at an important time for me, what with convocation, another big move in my life, and a whole whack of uncertainty. Much like Avra, Teveri, and Julian though, I’ll just have to brave the rocky waters and hold on to those nearest to me, and that’s what I’d like to focus on at the end of this post. A Conspiracy of Truth taught me that stories are people, A Choir of Lies showed how stories can change people, and A Taste of Gold and Iron drove home that stories we tell ourselves are the hardest to rewrite, but also the most rewarding when we take ownership of them. I anticipate that with Running Close to the Wind, Alex will likely show us (with ample amounts of pomp and queer circumstances) how the story of ourselves can only ever be written by interweaving the tales of those closest to us. Perhaps, we’ll even discover how to navigate the often stormy seas of uncertainty that seem omnipresent these days, whenever we deign to pull our noses out from whichever books we’re currently nestled within. I know that’s certainly something I’ll be looking out for, come this June, and now hopefully you will be too! (This last link does go to the webpage for Running Close to the Wind, Tumblr’s just being weird I guess.)

[tainted-wine]

I didn’t apply all of these descriptions but these are the main three I had in mind while writing this. How did I attract so many fans of the crusty boi? Either way, welcome to the club!

Words: 1.5k (how the hell did that happen there’s barely any sex)

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

The website didn’t explain what the “LOVER” cheat does. Probably unlocks a deleted path that didn’t make it into the official game. Or maybe he just gets a head-start on his Affection progress with you at the very beginning. Or maybe it doesn’t do shit – that could be why there’s no explanation.

Well, now that he knows how to do it, it wouldn’t hurt to test it himself. Shigaraki absently scratches at the irritated skin on his neck as he boots up the game. The directions were fairly simple and easy to remember.

1. Start a brand new file.

Ugh, he despises games that hold only one save file. It’s not like a visual novel holds up much space. What if you want different files in order to experiment with different choices? It doesn’t matter in his case anyway; he 100% completed the game months ago. With no regrets, his original game was deleted and a new one began.

> What is your name?

He might as well stick with the one he used last time.

‘SHIGGY-SENPAI’

The introduction cutscene began, the protagonist going on about the new town he just moved into. Pretty by-the-books, as far as romance openings go.

2. Finish the intro. Once you meet Y/N, go to the menu. 

After skipping through a bunch of fluffy dialogue, you finally appear in all of your cute glory. Once you’re done introducing yourself, Shigaraki brings up the main menu.

3. Type in “LOVER”

Just like that? Alright then...

Right after inputting the final letter, a sparkly ping sound straight out of a magical girl anime could be heard, and that was it. Okay...it sounds like he did it correctly.

When he returned to the game, his success was much more evident. You were staring directly at the screen - almost through the screen - with a glowing expression he’s never seen. Each and every one of your reactions have been seared into his brain after so many hours of gameplay. This was new.

“You...do you really mean that, SHIGGY-SENPAI?”

What? Voice acting? Though you did say his name pretty stiffly, as expected when a computer tries to pronounce custom text, but what the hell? Why would this be hidden as a cheat?

“But it’s so soon, and I’m not very experienced...” You blushed and shyly twiddled your fingers.

Oh.

“But I already trust you, and I want you too.”

Oh.

It’s that kind of path.

A hidden adult route. Shigaraki really likes that, even though this would’ve had a much stronger impact if it happened on his original file, the one where he was fully bonded to you. Sucks that he needs a fresh file in order to fuck you.

Shit, he’s not even prepared for this. Maybe he should go grab the lotion and a couple of tissues, assuming that this special scene will make for pretty decent fap material.

But the dialogue continued automatically. You creeped closer to the screen as you gushed about your feelings for him. “I want to make love to you forever and ever!”

You were getting really close, and with a show of impressive animation, your hand reached out to touch the fourth wall...

And the screen began to distort and ripple.

What the fuck?

“I just can’t wait to feel your amazing cock.” Your fingers began to phase through the fucking computer screenWHAT THE FUCK?!

“Take me, SHIGGY-SENPAI!”

Just like that, a full-sized bitch materialized out of the game and onto his lap, nearly toppling his gamer chair.

Even in the darkness of his room, your eyes shined brightly as they studied his pale face. “You’re even more handsome up close!”

Shigaraki was still too stunned to even respond to the rare compliment. Only when you began to pull down his pants did he finally find his voice again.

“Wha–ah–who the–hey!” He knows that he shouldn’t be afraid of a hottie touching his cock but ooooh shit she’s already stroking him.

“Ah, you’re so big!” You stared at his untouched manhood in awe, watching him become more erect after every pump of your soft hand.

“Fuck, am I?” He gasped.

“Mmhmm! And I bet you’re really tasty too!” You say before he’s suddenly engulfed with the very real warmth of a mouth.

Fuck fuck fuck he isn’t gonna last. He was ready to jerk off, not actually get his dick sucked. It feels more amazing than he ever imagined, your tongue working along his sensitive flesh, and those lips sucking at him so eagerly.

When his hand grabs the top of your head, he realizes too late that all five of his fingers are tangled in your hair.

You nearly fall over from how suddenly Shigaraki rolls back in his chair. You look shocked, confused, and...very much not a pile of dust.

“What’s wrong, SHIGGY-SENPAI?”

He looked at his hands, then at you, then at his hands again.

Then he takes hold of your face and shoves you back into his groin, because he can touch you, he can touch another fucking living thing without any worries about completely destroying it. Must be some crazy logic about you being data from a videogame or something. He doesn’t care, he’s so horny, feels so good having his cock so far down a hot tight throat, he just might burst...

Wait, he might have just done exactly that.

“Ah, shit,” he watches you pull back and swallow with the most satisfied grin.

“That was quick, SHIGGY-SENPAI!” You really need to stop saying his name like that. It’s fuckin’ weird. “I didn’t even get to feel you inside me.”

“Shut up,” the mixture of emotions he’s been experiencing ever since your ass crawled out of the screen like a girl in a cursed video is starting to piss him off. He’s so insulted and thankful that this fictional bitch gave him his first blowjob and made him nut in the span of sixty seconds. “Just give me a few minutes.” 

A few knocks on the room’s door startles both of you.

“Tomura, the Vanguard Action Squad is ready to move out.”

Shit!

“I’ll be out in a damn minute, Kurogiri.” Shigaraki moves to get out of his seat, only to be stopped by his new partner.

Your sparkly puppy eyes are so grossly cute, yet it has his dick twitching again already. “Are you leaving me already, SHIGGY-SENPAI?”

“Quit saying my name in all caps.”

“Okay, ˢʰᶦᵍᵍʸ⁻ˢᵉⁿᵖᵃᶦ.”

“Not like that. I can barely hear it.”

“How about SHIGGY-SENPAI?”

He slaps a hand over your mouth. “Just stop saying my name.”

A much harsher knock rocks the old door. “Hey, you ugly bastard,” That sounded like the Dabi asshole. “The hell are you doing in there? Jacking off to anime girls?”

Shigaraki scoffed. When’s the last time that burnt Stain fanboy got his dick sucked?

As much as he wants to join in on terrorizing the brats at U.A, he really wants to get laid today.

“Just go without me!” He yells through the walls. He nearly misses your muted squeak of joy.

“Eh?” Hearing Dabi’s annoyed muffled voice was pretty amusing. “You’re just gonna sit on your ass in your room while we do the work?”

The villain’s retort catches in his throat when you take his hand and begin to slowly lick at his fingers, all while pinning him with an innocent gaze.

“Your fingers are so pretty,” You whispered.

It’s so difficult to pay attention to the words being uttered outside of the room while his hands are being placed on your chest. BOOBS.

“Please trust Tomura. I’m sure he has faith in you all handling this mission on your own,” Kurogiri tries to explain. Shigaraki knows him well enough to know that he’s probably irritated as well, but there are titties in his hands so who gives a fuck.

Dabi releases an exasperated groan. “I knew this whole League of Villains thing was bullshit. Shouldn’t have bothered.”

Shigaraki slows his exploration of your breasts to shout, “If I make you the leader of the mission, will you shut up?”

“......Yes.”

“Well, I pronounce you leader of the Vanguard Action Squad. I’ll even give you a Nomu. Have fun.” The two of you are rushing to lift your shirt off for better access to your skin.

“Fuck yeah,” Dabi’s voice is still fairly close. The sooner he pisses off, the better. “I can probably pull this off better than you, anyway. Come on, psycho girl, we’re gonna go round up everyone else.”

Toga can be heard squealing excitedly as they both step away and finally give him his privacy back. You look absolutely lovestruck by the entire exchange.

“You gave up an important mission just for me? You really do love me!” 

He just rolled his eyes and lowered his head to take a hardened nipple into his mouth, enjoying your sounds of delight.

He can’t wait for the next time he faces those stupid heroes. He’ll be smarter, stronger, and can even tell them that he got his dick wet.

Oh, the collapse of hero society is going to be glorious.

[peaktotheocean]

Rivia Removals

pairing: geralt/jaskier notes: written for Flash FIc 36 summary:

🎶 Rivia Removals, call us up when you see pests Rivia Removals, we *clap clap* remove your houseguests 🎶

Jaskier finished and held his hands out in front of him, wiggling his fingers, way too proud of himself.

"I said I didn't want a jingle," Geralt growled.

"But it is in my trees!" The woman stamped her foot on the wood of her front patio but Geralt didn't budge. Truthfully, he had been worried that her leg would go right through the near-rotted planks and then he would have a whole nother issue on his hand. 

Well, not his hand exactly. Unless there were termites.

But he could have recommended Eskel's company for a fix. Let his brother deal with this delusional and rich old woman and her problems, which were very different from Geralt's problems, which, right now, were singular and just her. 

Well, her and Jaskier behind him, using Geralt's bulk to hide the fact that he was silently shaking from laughter. 

"They aren’t in your house. So they are not my problem," Geralt emphasized his words. He felt Jaskier's hand patting his back, the warmth even though his uniform t-shirt. He couldn't stand when people referred to animals as 'it.' They were living creatures and deserved respect. 

The woman's red face could light fire to the dry forest that surrounded her mansion. "But I called you to remove pests! That's your job!" 

"You said over the phone that they were wrecking havoc," Jaskier contributed, peeking over Geralt's shoulder. 

She gestured to the piles of red and orange leaves that littered the ground around the base of the tree trunks. "Yes! Look at all the leaves!" 

Geralt wondered if he had done something truly awful in a past life that led to him having this conversation. Jaskier behind him, trying not to laugh again, certainly wasn’t helping. "Ma'am, it is autumn. The leaves were going to fall without the help of opossums in your trees."

The woman gaped at him, no doubt getting ready to ask for their manager, which Jaskier would take pride in answering that Geralt was the owner, but Geralt had lost all patience. He turned around before she could say more or slam the door in their faces. 

He gently tugged Jaskier's wrist, just for a moment, before letting go, so his friend followed him down the stairs and back out the van. 

Jaskier opened the passenger side door but in lieu of getting in, he perched on the running board. He peered over the roof and Geralt’s head at the trees in the clearing, nearly empty of their leaves but full of opossums. “Part of me thinks we should rescue those poor dears from living on this woman’s property.”

Geralt hummed. It wasn’t the worst idea Jaskier had ever had. She might call another company with less morals and stubbornness. Geralt wondered if an opossum or two from this place would end up in his wildlife rehabilitation facility anyway. He hoped not, but he had to trust the animals. 

Climbing trees to remove docile animals from their homes, even to relocate them because of “just in case”, didn’t sit well with Geralt. 

But if he swung by in a few days, perhaps after the sun had set…well, no one would be the wiser.

Not even Jaskier, who insisted on naming every animal in the center regardless of if they stayed for half a day or forever.

Thankfully, Geralt’s rehabilitations had high rates success but every once in a while, there was an animal who needed more help than he, or anyone, could give.

And if it were just those animals being named and serenaded to, Geralt never minded.

But just last week, Jaskier made up a tune for a bird brought in by a little girl. The poor thing had just been stunned after flying into a window but the parents didn’t know that. They snatched up the bird and their daughter and rushed over to the center. 

“They’d know the proper procedure if you made your website a little friendlier to operate. Honestly, Geralt. I know you said that your brother made it as an exercise for you when he was in high school but you need more information on there! Tips on waiting for stunned birds, not going near courageous animals that aren’t brave so much as they have a disease. You know, the top five questions you answer dozens of times a week.”

The child was charmed but the bird wasn’t and flew away almost immediately after righting itself.

“That bird didn’t take off because of my singing. Don’t you even start with me, Geralt.”

"Seatbelt," he grumbled and Jaskier perked up. He reached behind him to grab his ukulele from the backseat before situating himself and obeying Geralt. 

“There’s something there though. Unnecessary destruction. And for what.” Jaskier hummed. He had barely plucked at a few strings before digging into his Rivia Removals hoodie for his little notebook. “Maybe that could be in the jingle."

"No jingle," Geralt repeated for at least the two hundredth time in all the years he had known Jaskier.

“Fine. But radio is the perfect marketing tool for this business Geralt. Or it is until you finally let Yennefer and I make a commercial that’s just you snuggling with baby animal rescues.” Jaskier ignored Geralt’s huff in favor of scribbling some more. “Just allusions to pairing the rich with destruction then. I feel like that's a common theme in my work now. For good reason but I can't remember if the last one was about opossums too. Do we have an usual amount of opossums in this city, Geralt?"  

“You with me for the whole day?” Geralt asked instead of answering the question.

“If that’s all right.”

Geralt didn’t say no. He didn’t, much, anymore. Not to Jaskier. 

It was more than okay. Geralt didn’t need another worker for on-site calls and truthfully, he couldn’t afford one. But having Jaskier around as an observer was…pleasant.

“We’ve got to go to Lambert’s first. He says something is in his attic. He might feed us though.” Geralt stared straight ahead at the road, acting as if this was a normal stop the two of them made whenever Jaskier came out with Geralt.

“I get to meet one of your brothers?” Jaskier seemed too pleased by the idea. “The baker brother?”

“Not if that’s what your smile looks like.” Geralt began to mentally brace himself for the two most chaotic people in his life meeting. “I already regret this.”

He thought selfishly that at least Lambert had Aiden. He didn’t have to worry about watching Jaskier flirt with someone he might really get along with and pretend to be happy or amused by it. 

Jaskier had attached himself to Geralt like a limpet nearly a decade earlier. The current-musician, then-grad student, had been feeding stray cats in his flat on the university campus and had subsequently been shocked when a family of raccoons moved in.

Geralt had refused to be charmed by Jaskier throwing out another pest removal company who had lied about rehabilitation and had just planned on euthanizing the animals. Geralt had showed up to an open door and Jaskier standing between a family of raccoons and the city animal control. He had been armed with only a violin bow and threw himself into a relieved hug upon seeing Geralt. 

Geralt had immediately pushed him off but the rest was history. 

Jaskier didn’t care if Geralt was grumpy and covered in shit after a late night shift at the wildlife center.

He helped Geralt bottlefeed baby raccoons, climbed a tree to rescue a kitten even after Geralt told him not to. He sat through every safety training Geralt had insisted upon once Jaskier made it clear he would be coming along on house calls for “musical inspiration.” 

Geralt couldn’t think straight the first time that he had seen Jaskier in a Rivia Removals hoodie. He could barely think at all the summer that Jaskier had custom-ordered himself a hot pink version of the shirt and cut it into a crop top.

Fortunately, or unfortunately, Geralt had immediately pointed to the training manual on proper personal protective equipment. 

Geralt was in deep shit. And he knew introducing Lambert into the mix wouldn’t help but it was done now.

They heard Lambert before they saw him, which was pretty common. Even though the front door, Lambert's grumbling was evident. “All right fucker. You know I can call any other pest—“

The door swung open and Lambert blinked.

“That’s Jaskier.” He pointed. Jaskier waved.

“I know that’s Jaskier,” Geralt said distractedly.

He wondered if he had enough peanut butter in the car to catch Lambert's supposed attic squirrels. Surely Lambert had a jar of his own that Geralt could use.

Geralt’s brain caught up the conversation and he squinted at Lambert. “How do you know that’s Jaskier?” 

“He doesn’t know who I am,” Jaskier spoke up. He sounded nervous. Geralt wanted to block Jaskier from view until his tone evened out. Lambert wasn’t a danger to Jaskier. Geralt knew that, logically. 

But wait. Jaskier had said that to Lambert. To Lambert. About Geralt?

“Of course I know you," Geralt told him, worried he had fallen into a parallel dimension. "I’ve known you for seven years.”

“Darling, I didn’t mean it like that.” Jaskier put his hand on Geralt’s forearm. Skin on skin. Geralt stared at it.

Lambert's eyes widened. “Darling?”

“Shush,” Jaskier snapped at him. He turned his attention back towards Geralt. “You know how I write songs while we’re out on jobs? A few of them have gotten popular.”

“Popular?” Lambert crossed his arms over his chest. He looked as though he wanted to shove Jaskier out the door and slam it in his face.

Jaskier’s hand was still on Geralt’s arm. If he concentrated, Geralt could feel the individual fingers against his arm hair.

Lambert squinted at Jaskier and Geralt wondered if this floor was rotted too or if it just felt as though he had lost the ground beneath his feet. “You mean to tell me that Creatures in the Night isn’t an allegory for politicians blindly arguing above their constituents but rather actual raccoons in a fucking attic?”

"Fucking in the attic, actually. The pair were rather randy.” Jaskier hadn’t taken his eyes off of Geralt.

“Oh my god.” Lambert’s eyes widened. “Is White Wolf’s Howl about—“

"Respirator," Geralt interrupted them, maybe a bit harsher than he had planned on. Jaskier was— He couldn't think about it yet. 

He needed to get into Lambert's attic. He could keep moving forward if he focused on one thing at a time. "Eskel hasn't redone Lambert's attic yet. You need a respirator.”

“You had him fitted for a respirator?”

“He comes on house calls,” Geralt said robotically. 

Wanted him safe, he didn’t say at all.

“I’m OSHA-certified,” Jaskier boasted. “He made me go through the courses.”

“What the fuck?” Lambert rubbed his hand over his face. Some flour transferred to his forehead. “How has no one recognized you?”

“Well, it's fairly new,” Jaskier said slowly and clearly, very aware that Geralt was right next to him. “Also, it’s amazing how unobservant people are, especially when it’s someone they’ve hired to do a rather important job that they don’t think highly of.” He took his hand off of Geralt‘a arm to take possession of his respirator mask. “Plus, everyone clears out because they don’t want to see bitey little monsters.”

Lambert leaned even closer to Jaskier, watching him carefully and clearly blind to his brother’s emotional crisis. “Are you insured for this?” 

“I got him trained,” Geralt insisted. 

“I took the training.”

“I wasn’t talking to you, Geralt,” Lambert snapped. “Does your new management insure you for this, Jaskier? I know what the cost is to have your partner going in and out of your workplace. I have to treat Aiden like an employee when it comes to insurance in the kitchen. I’m sure Geralt did that paperwork. I’m asking if your management did the same.”

“Ah, well.” Jaskier took out his phone and began typing. “That’s a good tip. And not one I considered. I’ll talk to someone about it.”

“And you know what a shit show that would cause for Geralt if you got hurt in a job with him?”

“Lambert.”

“Shut up, Geralt.” Lambert glared daggers at Jaskier and Geralt spoke up again. Or at least made a noise.

He dropped the metal squirrel traps in Lambert’s front hallway with a loud clang. 

Lambert and Jaskier both looked at him.

Geralt swallowed and announced, “I have another appointment.”

“We have another appointment,” Jaskier corrected him and Geralt felt sick.

“Do you have peanut butter?” Geralt asked Lambert, feeling like he was in another universe.

Lambert watched him carefully, trying to read his brother’s blank expression. “Fine. I’ll set them but I’m calling you the moment I catch one.” He glanced at Jaskier quickly before saying earnestly to Geralt, “Figure out your shit and bring him to family dinner next week or I’ll tell Vesemir for you.”

Geralt half-expected to Jaskier to leave from Lambert’s house. Call a cab to take him far away from Geralt now that the jig was up. Whatever the jig even was. Find another person with a weird job to be his muse. 

But he didn’t. 

And instead, Geralt had to sit through an awkward car ride to their last appointment of the day. Riding with Jaskier was never quiet, whether it was music or chatter, Geralt couldn’t get him to shut up. But the ukulele stayed in the back, silent. 

Neither of them spoke, with Jaskier doing an impressive Geralt routine.

Even when they got to the next and last appointment, Jaskier distracted himself with wooing the family’s dog as Geralt explained to the customer that they couldn’t remove moths that easily.

“Traps,” he repeated.

“You can’t do anything else?”

“Wash everything in hot water. Bag it. Set the traps. Wait.”

“Seriously?”

“We don’t fumigate for moths. Not unless it’s a major infestation.”

"They ate my grandmother's quilt!"

Geralt stared at the quilt and wished the moths had finished the job. He wondered if there were any diseases moths could transit to humans. "Get it dry-cleaned and seal it in plastic until the moths are gone."

And then, that quickly, they were in the van again.

“She wasn’t very polite,” Jaskier offered, breaking the silence.

“Few people are.”

“Hmph. Come on then, lunch is on me.”

Geralt let Jaskier direct him back to his apartment instead of their usual diner. But after they parked, neither of them moved to leave the van. 

“So you’re a celebrity?” Geralt asked quietly. He had been thinking about it since they left Lambert. Jaskier having a whole amazing life outside of the rehab center. A shiny music career that didn’t involve any fourteen year old vans or bat feces or Geralt.

“Kind of. It’s rather recent, that part wasn’t a lie. My latest EP really took off about four months ago.” Jaskier sounded almost embarrassed. He had never talked about his music like that before. Geralt wasn’t sure where he went wrong.

“Oh.”

“When I said I went to visit my friend from grad school last month, that was true. However, it was in the midst of…a little tour,” Jaskier managed to get out. 

A tour. Jaskier playing his music in front of people who weren’t on the internet or Geralt. A whole life that Geralt didn't know about. 

Why didn't you tell me?

"I'm sorry. I know you don't want to hear about music things so I wasn’t sure how—“

"What?" Geralt croaked out.

"You...you told me back when I first started coming with you. You said I was welcome to stick around so long as I listened to you and never told you anything about any of songs inspired by you." Jaskier watched him carefully. "I assumed you meant the songs or any music."

"Oh god." Geralt felt his face growing flush. He was such a fool.

“You always yell at me when I sing in the van,” Jaskier pointed out.

“Because the animals have sensitive hearing," Geralt explained slowly. 

“They’re not the only ones, eh?”

Geralt leaned his head against the steering wheel and closed his eyes. He felt Jaskier's nervous energy rising next to him but Geralt had never been more relieved in his life.

"I thought you didn't tell me because..."

"Oh. Oh Geralt, no." There was his hand again. Jaskier’s hand was on Geralt’s arm and things were maybe going to be okay. “I was just trying to respect your wishes."

"Sod my wishes,” Geralt said into the cracked leather of the steering wheel. “I know that now.“

He straightened up and turned towards Jaskier. He smiled, a relieved, goofy grin at Jaskier. And in return, Jaskier’s fingers tightened on Geralt’s arm.

"Darling, I would leave you a ticket at will call for every one of my shows if I--"

"Yes."

"What?"

"Yes. That. Do that,” Geralt said in a hurry. He needed to get it out. Jaskier had to know.

"Geralt..."

"I thought--"

"I know what you thought, darling." Geralt closed his eyes and felt long fingers going through his hair now. He had always wondered what the animals felt like whenever Jaskier stroked them. Now he knew. And he never wanted it to end. 

“I want to be here with you, Geralt. Not just because of the musical inspiration. I like— well, I don’t like getting dirty but I can stand it if it means that I get to see you speak softly to scared baby opossums.”

Geralt opened his eyes and took the initiative. He leaned over the gearshift, around which Jaskier had bestowed a tie-dye scrunchie (“Just in case!”), and kissed Jaskier before he could overthink it.

Now it was Geralt’s fingers through Jaskier’s hair and his hand on Jaskier’s arm. And it was glorious.

Jaskier’s hand was tight, fisted around Geralt’s t-shirt collar,  stretching and ruining it and Geralt could care less. 

Even as they pulled away, Geralt came back once, twice, just for a few smaller kisses, promises of longer ones to come. Hopefully soon.

Jaskier breathed a laugh and let Geralt come back to his lips as many times as he wanted. “Now will you let me write a radio jingle for the wildlife center?” He asked, nuzzling against his temple. 

Geralt kissed him again, slow and sweet. “No.”

on ao3 here

[taehyungsgrowl]

uhhhh duncan in prison angst 👀👀

hey 👋🏽

i’m sorry this took me so long to answer! but i did make a lil moodboard to go w it :•)

also i've written quite a bit of angst lately so this will be a little angsty, but also smutty.

long distance(?) old school version of sexting, really

hope y'all enjoy!

(yes, i did just discover the indention feature!)

warnings: angst if you squint, h*rny love letters, prisoners cat calling y/n, aaaand smut

word count: 3.5 k (i really don't know how this was supposed to be less than 1,000)

i don't love how this came out but the idea kept floating around in my head so i wanted to share!

Y/N didn't think what started as a harmless little experiment would show her just how powerful words could be.

She scrolled through row after row of photos on the 'write a prisoner' website on a boring evening just for something to do. And now each time she got a letter in the mail from him, her stomach would flutter.

Her finger stopped mid scroll as she came across the photo of the scruffy faced man with cheekbones carved by the gods and eyes clearer than the skies.

Duncan Shepherd.

Her eyes scanned his profile, learning that he was being held in a minimum security prison out of D.C for numerous white collar crimes, including bribery and extortion. He listed his interests as fine arts and finer wines. He'd be out for parole soon but was looking for a way to pass his time in prison.

Out of the hundreds of prisoners Y/N had scrolled past, none of them held her interest like Duncan.

It started off innocently enough. She grabbed a piece of paper from her drawer and her favorite pen and wrote him a simple introduction letter. Even if Duncan didn't seem like a dangerous or violent criminal, she felt a sense of adrenaline in writing him.

Duncan,

I hope this letter finds you well. I like to imagine you get a lot of mail sent to you. I read on your profile that you're a fan of the arts, I'd love to know more about you and what kind of art you enjoy. Truth is, I don't even know why I'm doing this, but figured prison must be lonely so I hope this helps pass the time.

I included a print of one of my favorite pieces of art to hopefully liven up your cell.

All the best,

Y/N

Y/N knew it wasn't much to start off with, but she had no clue what to send to a strange she knew next to nothing about. She printed off a print of one of Monet's Water Lillies and sealed it in an envelope with her first letter.

She let herself forget she sent the letter, not making any expectations. For all she knew, Duncan Shepherd wouldn't even reply to her. It would be hard to imagine that other people browsing the site would ignore Duncan's profile. His beauty, even in a mugshot was beyond compare.

But before long, she'd gotten a beat up envelope in her mailbox from none other than Duncan Shepherd. Excitement buzzed around her as she took a seat in her bed and tore it open.

Y/N,

Thank you for the lovely picture. I've got it hanging above my bed as a reminder of things I loved about my freedom. My mother has an original piece hanging in my childhood home. I remember staring at it for hours, enthralled by the beauty of it.

I could hardly believe my eyes when I saw the print in your envelope.

You know what they say about great minds.

Sometimes I wonder if my family would have let me pursue the arts if I'd be where I am today.

But I am eagerly counting the days until I am able to stroll through a museum in Paris again.

I am dying to know more about you. Tell me what makes up Y/N.

At the bottom of the sheet, was a rough sketch of a garden Duncan had drawn out for her.

The letters continued like that for a few weeks, slowly learning little bits and pieces of each other through writing.

She'd learned a lot about him very quickly. He told her about how troubles with his app and his powerful family led to him going to prison. And he also told her about all of the things he loved to do. Much to her surprise, she had more in common with him than she thought she would have,

Y/N,

We've been writing to each other for some time now and I must admit, curiosity is killing me. Not to mention, I do believe it's unfair that you've known what I look like from the start.

Tell me, did my photograph have anything to do with your interest in me?

I'd love to see you Y/N.

Y/N re-read the letter over and over trying to justify the butterflies in her stomach at the idea of Duncan thinking about her. Wondering what she looks like.

Duncan kept every letter Y/N had sent him using them as a way to fuel his daydreams of the woman behind the letters.

-

Y/N dug through her things in search of an old polaroid camera she had. - she thought Duncan would appreciate the use of instant film. Even if she felt a little silly doing so, she did her hair and makeup and searched her closet for the perfect outfit. In some way, this would be like Duncan's first impression of her. Little did she know, she'd already made a huge first impression with him.

She settled for a deep burgundy silk tank with a cowl neckline. She tossed her favorite leather jacket over it and put on her favorite dainty gold necklaces, letting them rest above her cleavage.

She made a little set up by the window in her room, where the light came in just right for a photo, and propped the camera up on a pile of books before setting it on an automatic timer to have it snap the photo of her.

She stared at the photo, smiling - happy with the results.

Y/N sat at her desk, writing him another letter and including her photo along with it.

-

Duncan opened his new letter from Y/N letting the photo fall from the envelope. He picked it up and stared in awe. He couldn't even focus on reading the words on the page as he stared at her picture.

In his mind, he expected her to be beautiful but was blown away by her photo.

He kept it safe, tucked under his pillow. He would take it out every night to look at it until he fell asleep dreaming of her.

Duncan saw her face... eyes clenched shut... pouty lips formed into a perfect "O" as her thighs surrounded his face.

He saw his hands traveling up her legs... kissing up her bare stomach... kissing her lips.

Everything felt so real.

Duncan woke up in a hot sweat from his over realistic dream. He could almost imagine her taste on his tongue.

The moon shone into his room giving him a sliver of silver light and he pulled her photo out, tracing his finger over her face.

He turned on the little lamp at his desk and sat down to write her back.

I can't tell you the time, but I believe it's past midnight and I can't sleep without dreaming of you.

Forgive me if I'm being forward, but I can't get you off my mind.

What I would give to be with you now...

Y/N, I want to feel your skin on mine. I imagine what it must feel like to have your lips pressed against my own.

I can't stop myself from thinking of all the ways I want to make you mine.

D.S.

--

I want to make you mine.

Y/N kept going back to those words.

If it weren't for the prison bars keeping Duncan away...

Her daydreams of spending the afternoons sipping coffee and strolling through colorful cities with Duncan began to change after the last letter. Knowing that he wanted her sent shivers down her spine.

I can't stop thinking about you either... Especially your last letter.

I want to know all the ways you'd make me yours.

I'd be lying if I said I hadn't thought about it as well. I'm counting the days with you until you're able to get out and do just that...

Y/N colored her lips with her favorite lipstick and kissed the bottom of the page, leaving the perfect kiss mark on it.

She had unlocked something with Duncan with the last letter. Ever since he and Y/N started to exchange letters back and forth, he hadn't even bothered to open mail from other admirers. He only had eyes for Y/N.

Y/N.

Wish you could hear how your name falls off my lips as I chant it over and over when I bring myself relief - picturing your lips around my cock.

God.

It's hard to think clearly when you're on my mind.

You want to know of all the ways I'd make you mine? My hand would fall off by the time it took to write out each and every way I'd do that, sweetheart.

For starters, I'd love to skin my teeth into your skin. Leaving sweet love bites along your neck. Would you like that?

I wouldn't want you to worry about a thing.

You'd let me take care of you, right baby?

Maybe I'd tie up your wrists to make sure you keep still while I work on making you cum.

I hope you know I plan on keeping these promises the moment I get out.

Y/N touched herself as she read Duncan's letter again. His words making her pool between her legs. She dipped her hand into her panties and imagined everything Duncan described that he'd do to her.

Y/N wanted to do something special for Duncan.

She changed into a lacy lingerie set and grabbed her old camera again. Her heartbeat was beating fast with excitement. She held one hand up with her finger on the shutter and pointed it towards her bottoms. As she dipped her free hand into the waistband of her panties, she took the teasing shot of her hand inside her underwear.

Her cheeks felt hot as she took a look at the photo.

She took a few more. A few more teasing pictures - like the one she took wearing her leather jacket barely covering her - along with more R- rated photos.

She grabbed her small stack of photos and tied them with a piece of ribbon in order from least to most risque and added them to the letter she sent off to him.

Do you know what you do to me?

My letters make you touch yourself? What I would give to be able to see it in more than just your pictures. To be able to hear you for myself.

You don't know how much I loved your photos. You make my cock throb, thinking of just how much I want to fuck you.

I need to see you. Hear you.

How would you feel about coming to see me?

I can arrange with my assistants (the ones not in prison) to arrange a flight for you...

Please let me know what you think.

Love, D.S.

Love D.S.

-

"Shepherd. You got a call," the guard buzzed Duncan out of his cell and took him to the phone booth where the phone was waiting for him.

He wasn't expecting a call from his lawyer until later this week so he wasn't sure who would be calling him. Not like he and his family were on great terms at the moment.

Y/N tapped her foot anxiously on the other end of the call, trying to fight the nerves off.

"Hello?"

His voice was lower than she expected.

"Hi," she spoke barely above a whisper. "It's Y/N," she continued.

"Y/N? Y/N? Oh my god." Duncan smiled in a way he hadn't since he stepped foot into prison. "Your voice!" he laughed, "I'm hearing your voice! Wait, how? I - why? How?" he was at loss for words at the surprise.

"I hope it's okay. I called the office where I send my letters to and asked to call you," she bit her lip. "I like your voice."

Duncan chuckled, shaking his head. "Wow. It's so good to hear yours."

They knew they didn't have much time but they were both so wrapped up in the fact that they were hearing each other for the first time.

"I, uh, also wanted to talk to you about your... proposal from your last letter... about visiting you I mean." she paced back and forth in her room. "I'd like that. A lot."

His cheeks would be hurting from how hard he was smiling.

"You've got it, baby. We'll make it happen, I promise."

There was a brief pause, "Don't know how I'm gonna control myself when I have you in front of me, princess."

"Two minutes, Shepherd," the guard called over making Duncan roll his eyes.

"I have to go soon. But include your info in the next letter and I'll have my lawyers work something out with you, okay?"

"Okay," she smiled. "And Dunc, it's so good to hear your voice too,"

"You'll call me again?" he asked, desperation almost bleeding into his tone.

"Yes. I promise."

"Good." he grinned. "I'll talk to you soon. Bye, baby."

-

Over the next few weeks, Y/N and Duncan continued to have phone calls more often, but their letters never stopped. He got in touch with his attorney and passed along Y/N's information for him to follow up and help arrange a trip for her.

Before she knew it, she was being flown out in a first class seat to D.C.

They had her stay in a luxury suite the night before she got to finally meet Duncan.

The morning of, Y/N had piles of clothes tossed around the room as she searched for what to wear.

She'd known Duncan and his taste pretty well from his letters and phone calls to know what he liked. Y/N put on a baby pink silk mini slip dress that tiptoed the line between streetwear and lingerie, and strappy heels.

"Damn, baby. Haven't seen you around here..."

"Are you here for me?"

Along with countless other cat calls flooded her ears as the guard led her to Duncan's cell.

Duncan heard the commotion down the hall and he knew Y/N would be there any second. He frowned, wanting to take her away. None of those creeps deserved to even look at her, and here they were harassing her. It was his fault for bringing her there. He tried to tune them out, wanting to be okay when he saw Y/N.

Y/N was standing behind the guard as they came to Duncan's cell.

"Follow me, Shepherd. You both have an hour," the guard let Duncan out and he could finally lock eyes with Y/N.

She froze, finally seeing. His photo on the website did him no justice. The piercing stare of his eyes couldn't be recaptured on camera. His pink, full lips were even prettier in person.

"Hi," Duncan broke the silence between them. He was handcuffed immediately so he couldn't touch her the way he wished he could have right away.

But they were taken to the parloir where they would finally have some sense of privacy. Duncan's lawyers had worked out for this conjugal visit. They might have slipped the guards a few extra bills to ensure Duncan and Y/N had extra privacy for a moment. But Duncan had been a model prisoner (in one of the comfiest prisons in the country), so the guards had no reason to say no.

"One hour." he reminded Dunc, as he removed his handcuffs and left the room, leaving Y/N and Duncan alone.

"You're here," he closed the gap between them and embraced her. She smelled even better than he imagined.

"Duncan," she smiled with tears in her eyes, "I can't believe it's really you," she giggled.

"It's me," he pulled back, holding her hands as he admired her. "God, you're gorgeous."

Y/N couldn't help herself. She threw her arms around Duncan and kissed him.

Duncan stumbled back a little before steadying them. He cupped her face and deepened the kiss. He could feel her pulse quickening under his hand.

"God, can't believe you're here," he mumbled against her lips.

It'd be so long since he'd be this intimate with anyone - let alone someone he liked so much. He tried to push back the thoughts of the ticking clock counting their time and the cold industrial feel of the room they were in.

"I'm here... I'm yours," she tangled her fingers in his hair before kissing him again.

Duncan led her to the table, setting her on top of it. He towered above her, his hands on her thighs, slowly inching up her dress. She was everything he imagined and more.

"Open your legs for me," he instructed, parting them open.

He lowered himself until he was face to face with her dripping cunt. Her panties, if they could even be called that - they were a piece of barely-there cloth - were soaked. Duncan pressed her lips to the wet spot on her underwear and kissed it slowly, letting his tongue poke out through his lips and coat them with his saliva as well.

"Taste so sweet," he murmured, pulling her panties aside and putting his tongue on her wet pussy.

He lapped her wetness with his tongue, letting it massage her clit. Sucking and kissing her - watching how every move he made caused a different reaction from her.

Y/N tried to keep quiet, biting down on her lip to stifle her moans.

Duncan peeked up at her, holding in her sounds. He remembered the way the other prisoners hollered at her.

"I wanna hear you, baby. Please," he begged. He kissed along her thighs, "Want everyone in this god damn prison to know you're mine."

Y/N let the sounds she was holding in fall freely.

"Duncan. Duncan..." she called his name over and over getting closer to the sweet relief his tongue promised.

"Cum for me, sweetheart."

Duncan felt her heels digging into his shoulder blades as she trembled, finishing on his lips.

"Good girl," he praised, kissing along her thighs.

Duncan stood up as Y/N watched him with her hands pressed on the table, leaning back slightly to watch him.

"What?" Duncan chuckled, slowly undoing his jumpsuit.

"Just can't stop looking at you! You're real!" she laughed.

"Sure am," he grabbed his shaft, closing the gap between them. "I don't know when we'll be able to see each other.. like this again," he leaned down to kiss her. "Wanna make sure I make you feel good,"

He rubbed the end of his cock against her pussy. "Are you ready?"

"Waited so long," she whined, nodding her head.

Duncan pushed inside her, slowly. Savoring the way he stretched her open.

"Fuck," he groaned. "You're so tight," he panted, feeling her clench around his length.

He focused on the way he snapped his hips into hers, keeping a steady pace trying not to finish before she did.

But it had been so long. It had been a long time coming for this moment.

His head was in the crook of her neck, panting heavily. "Fuck, baby." he sunk his teeth into her soft skin. "Gonna cum," before he could finish his statement, he shot his load into her.

He stayed inside her as he rode out his orgasm.

Flushed Duncan faced her; embarrassed for finishing before he wanted to. "I'm sor-" she stopped him by pulling him in for a hard, deep kiss.

She pushed his hair out of his face, bumping her nose with his, "Nothing to be sorry for."

She had Duncan lay on the floor, using his jumpsuit to hold his head up, and then straddled his waist.

Her silky mini dress was bunched around her hips. Duncan found himself getting hard again as she climbed on top of him.

"Thought about doing this for so long," she kissed him. "Can't tell you how often I touched myself reading your letters... thinking about riding you," she sighed, positioning herself over his cock and sinking down.

She rode his cock, bouncing up and down his length. Her nails dug into his chest as she used it for support. The curve of his cock hitting her core made her eyes roll back with each roll of her hips.

Hot sweaty bodies had the coldness of the room forgotten.

Y/N grabbed Duncan's hands, intertwining their fingers, "Gonna.." she started, her legs shaking as her movement got sloppier.

"Me too," he grunted.

She felt Duncan fill her to the brim for the second time.

After a few moments of stillness, Y/N finally stood up, helping Duncan up with her. Her legs were shaky and Duncan helped her sit down.

She reached into her purse for a rag she brought. Duncan took it from her hand and got on his knees again. He cleaned their cum off her thighs, stopping only to give her small little kisses on her legs.

He heard Y/N sniffle and looked up, concern painted across his face. "Are you okay? Did I hurt you?" Is she regretting it? He thought.

"No! Of course not," she sniffled again, "I just wish... you could come with me. Leave this place with me."

"Oh, baby," he stood up and kissed her forehead. "Soon. I promise," he tilted her chin up to kiss her.

And Y/N knew he meant what he said. Soon they'd be able to be together all the time, but it still broke her heart to leave and have to see him stay behind the metal bars.

tags:

@desertsunflower00 @celestialrequiem @dhampiravidi @ritualmichael @blakescoven @dark-mei-rose @xavierplympton @langdonswhoreprobably @feralthoughtdump @wroteclassicaly @melodylangdon @bloodcoatedeclipse @kitty4860

bonus: screenshot from a very good point drunk!anon made vkfsjk

[lovemeleo]

Cat Dads

Well, I’m finally back. Hope you all are doing well! This idea popped into my head out of nowhere. It’s the third part to my Nuny fic where Jackson gets injured. I’ll link those two fics below! This is completely un-beta’d so I apologize for any errors. These amazing characters belong to the always fantastic @lumosinlove. 

- Ignite Your Bones

- Love You Through It

***

There is no way to explain the sweet relief of seeing your leg again after 8.5 weeks of it being covered by a cast. 

Zhenya’s nose crinkled when he saw Jackson’s leg, “You have skin. Like fish.” And honestly he wasn’t wrong. Jackson had made the same face when the cast was fully removed but it’s apparently normal.

“Scales, babe. And my skin’s just dry. The doctor said it should flake off though, like in the shower.” Jackson said, fixing the boot back over his jeans. Zhenya’s English was really good, but there were some words that he still didn’t know just because it didn’t come up in conversation. Like scales.

Zhenya picked him up from the doctor’s office and now they were on their way to get lunch, which was apparently a surprise. Jackson had been asking since before they left for the appointment but Zhenya was holding strong.

He thought it might be the pasta place they both loved that was down the street from the rink, but Zhenya drove right by that as well. Actually, he drove all the way out of Gryffindor.

“You gonna tell me where we’re going yet?” Jackson asked, looking out the window to see if he could possibly guess. To be completely honest, he didn’t really know the area very well. For as long as they’d lived here, they didn’t tend to leave Gryffindor too often.

Zhenya gave him an exasperated look as he drove, “I tell you, it’s not surprise. We’re almost there anyway, котенок. So impatient.” He muttered, though the corner of his lips quirked up into a smile as his boyfriend grumbled next to him.

Not long after, a smile appeared on Zhenya’s face as he turned into a parking lot, “Okay, котенок. We’re here.”

Jackson was looking out the window as soon as they turned into the lot, his eyes on the sign. It read ‘Cats in Cups’ across the sign with a cute little picture of a kitten in a coffee mug.

His head whipped to look at Zhenya who couldn’t help the giant grin that had spread on his face, “A cat cafe?” Jackson said, unable to help the childlike excitement that seeped into his voice. He had always loved cats. When he was a kid, they always had at least two or three in their house.

“Surprise!” Zhenya said, as he pulled into a spot. “Good surprise, yeah? I bring my котенок to see all the little котенок.” As soon as he put the car in park, Zhenya was pulled in for a deep kiss.

Jackson smiled into the kiss, his hands on either side of Zhenya’s face as he pulled away, “A great surprise, babe. Thank you.” He murmured, leaning in to give him a quick peck before opening his door. Zhenya quickly ran over to his boyfriend’s side of the car, helping him get out.

Putting pressure on his foot again was weird, a bit achy, but it was nice to be able to walk without crutches, “Let’s go see some kitties.” Jackson said, a giddy smile spreading on his face as they made their way inside.

The cafe was empty other than the worker behind the counter when they stepped in, Jackson’s eyes quickly flitting over the room to all of the cats. There were around fifteen or so, some wandering around while others were sprawled on tables or cat trees. It was practically heaven.

A younger woman stood behind the counter, her name tag on the red apron reading Jaz. “Welcome to Cats in Cups!” She said, a wide welcoming smile on her face as she glanced down at a clipboard on the counter in front of her. “My name is Jaz, and I’m gonna guess that you’re Evgeni and Jackson?” 

Zhenya nodded, “Yes, that’s us. You can just call me Kuny.” He said as they walked up to the counter.

“Well, welcome! We can get your order in and then you guys can play with the cats.” She said, checking them off on the list.

Looking up at the menu, they both ordered different lattes to try before finding a spot to sit. Jackson plopped himself right in the middle of the carpeted floor, stretching his left leg out as he watched all the cats watch them. 

As Zhenya sat down next to him, a small gray kitten found its way into Jackson’s lap. Trailing a gentle hand down the kitten’s back, Jackson smiled, “What’s this one’s name?” He asked, glancing up to where Jaz was carrying over their drinks.

Glancing down at the small ball of fluff, she smiled, “That’s Milo, he’s a scottish fold.”

Milo began making his way up Jackson’s chest, tiny paws carrying him up to cuddle into his shoulder. Zhenya quickly snuck a picture as the small kitten nuzzled into his boyfriend’s neck. 

Just as he was tucking his phone away, a large fluffy orange cat nudged at his hand, meowing at him indignantly. Zhenya couldn’t help but laugh as the cat rubbed up against his leg, “Hello there.” He murmured, carefully picking the cat up and cradling her in his arms like a giant baby.

Jaz laughed as she set down their drinks, watching as the giant men turned into puddles of soft at the sight of cats, “It seems Pumpkin has taken a liking to you.”

“I have taken liking to Pumpkin too.” Zhenya said, pressing a kiss to the top of her head. The cat practically vibrated out of his arms, purring so dramatically.

At this point, Jackson had collected another cat in his lap. Milo was still nuzzled into his neck but in his lap was a massive black cat. Zhenya thought Pumpkin was big but oh my goodness, the black cat definitely had her beat.

Evgeni reached over, letting the giant cat sniff him before gently scratching behind his ears, “He’s so big.” He murmured, watching as he flopped back onto Jackson’s lap.

“Yeah, that’s Loki, our god of mischief. He’s a maine coon with a habit of knocking drinks over as well as chairs. He normally sprawls across our front counter.” Jaz said with a laugh as she made her way back to the counter.

Jackson’s face lit up as he reached down to pet the giant cat, “Loki’s one of my favorite Marvel characters!” Loki leaned into his touch, a deep purr coming from his chest.

Leaning onto the counter, Jaz smiled, “Well, keep in mind: all of our cats are adoptable. It’s a three day process because we give them an veterinary exam and a cleaning, and everything. But then you could take them home.” She said before going back to work, unaware of the wide-eyed looks the two men shared. 

“We could get cats!” Jackson said, almost scaring both cats off of him. He quickly murmured soft apologies into their fur, holding them both close. Milo climbed down off his shoulder into his lap, curling up on top of Loki. Neither of them could help back the soft “aw” as Zhenya took another picture. 

Upset at the lack of attention, Pumpkin swatted her paw at Zhenya’s hand and let out what could only be equivalent to a heavy sigh. He couldn’t help but laugh as he started petting her again, “So sorry, милашка.” He murmured before glancing up at Jackson again. “You want cat?” 

Jackson nodded, unable to stop watching his boyfriend cuddle the orange fluff, “Yeah… yeah I really do. If it was a possibility, I would adopt all of these cats.” He said, gently petting the pile of cats in his lap.

They were both quiet for a while, enjoying their drinks, the cats as well as each other’s company. Just as Jackson took a sip of his coffee, Zhenya turned to him as he held Pumpkin closer.

“Let’s keep them.”

Jackson choked a bit, wiping the coffee that had fallen from his mouth before looking at Zhenya, “W-what? Keep?”

The other man was already nodding, his face hidden by Pumpkin’s fur, “Don’t want to leave her. Or them. We keep them all. Take them home. C’mon, котенок!” 

Jackson didn’t need him to beg. Honestly, he hadn’t even needed Zhenya to ask because as soon as these cats had crawled on top of him, he knew he couldn’t leave them behind, “Alright. Alright, yeah. Let’s keep them.”

You would’ve thought they’d won the lottery with the way Zhenya’s face lit up. And Jackson, being the smitten bastard he was, couldn’t help but smile right back at him.

“We need supplies.” Zhenya said, quickly pulling his phone back out. 

Jackson couldn’t help his little happy dance as he held onto the cats in his lap, “Just order it and we can have it delivered to the house.” Zhenya nodded as he ordered everything he could find on the pet store website that they’d need. Litter boxes, food, toys, beds and towers. 

“Jaz! We need paperwork!” Zhenya said, looking up from his phone.

A big smile lit up her face as she grabbed some paperwork from behind the counter, “I had a feeling we’d need some paperwork, so I started filling it out. Which one are you planning to adopt?”

Jackson smiled, gently running his hand over Loki’s back, “We’d like all three actually.” 

Her eyebrows went up in surprise, but if possible, her smile got exponentially bigger, “All three? Oh that’s fantastic.” She quickly grabbed more paperwork and they all started filling it out, one of them filling out each form.

It took around 20 minutes, but they were finally done. They were going to be cat dads. 

Jaz smiled, stapling together all the papers before she looked up at the guys, “Alright, you two. We just have to do their exams and such, as well as speak to your references, but you should be able to bring them home in two days!”

They both shook her hand, the giant smiles still stuck on their faces, “Thanks so much for your help, Jaz.” 

“Of course, I’m so happy you guys came in and that some of our cats are finding their forever homes with you.” She said with a smile. Both boys gave their last cuddles to the cats before it was time to go.

Jackson pressed a kiss to the top of Milo’s head, “We’ll be back for you three.”

Leaving the cafe was hard, especially when Loki tried to follow them out but they eventually made their way out to the car.

Before they got into the car, Jackson pulled Zhenya to him, pressing a gentle kiss to his lips as he leaned into the taller man’s chest, “I love you.” He said softly, his hands making their way around Zhenya’s waist.

“I love you. Always.” Zhenya murmured, holding Jackson close.

Getting to bring their cats home was one of the best days they’ve had. The cats were a bit skittish with being in a new environment but by bedtime, they had really calmed down. All three cats joined the two men on their bed. Milo curling up on Jackson’s pillow, Pumpkin sprawled on Zhenya’s stomach with Loki stretched across the foot of the bed. 

As they all got comfortable, Jackson couldn’t help but smile at his boyfriend, squeezing the hand that was intertwined with his, “I’m so happy to be a cat dad with you, babe.”

Zhenya pressed a kiss to the other man’s knuckles, “You and I, Best cat dads. Always.”

[fleetingpieces]

My One in a Million CH 5

Ok ok it’s here!! Once again, thank you @knittingdreams and @inloveoknutzy for being such amazing betas ❤️ And thank you @wonder-womans-ex for the idea of Sirius making awful cookies haha @donttouchmycarrots @sunflowerfox87 @justdyingontheinside @heyoitslysso @whataboutmyfries Please let me know if I forgot anyone that wanted to be tagged! :)

And of course, the lovely characters are from @lumosinlove ‘s world 

Thank you so much for reading y’all! ❤️

Masterlist

Chapter 5 - Making amends

Sirius had a plan.

It was very simple. He wanted to clear the air with Remus, show him he wasn’t a horrible person. And to do that, he needed to stop being an ass.

Sirius had never been more self-conscious of how much his family affected his moods. He hated the idea of them having that kind of power over him. After all, he’d escaped that house years ago to avoid precisely that: having no control over his own life.

He had a tendency to go on a self-destructive streak whenever he felt overwhelmed by his parents' demands, it was the only way he knew how to cope with it. It was unhealthy, he was perfectly aware of that, and he was tired of not being able to find another way. Yeah, he wanted to do something nice for Remus to compensate for his behaviour, but he also wanted to do this for himself. So, now that he was feeling like his own person again, Sirius was going to fix all of his bad habits, go back to being a decent human being, and apologize to Remus. 

It was going to work.

“That’s not gonna work.”

Sirius stared at Finn. He was sprawled on the couch, carding his fingers through Logan’s hair, who was sitting between his legs. Sirius would never admit it, but sometimes he was jealous of the relationship they had. He yearned for something like that.

“What do you mean?” he asked.

“Well, you can do all of that, but it will all be for nothing if he still refuses to even look at your face.”

“Why don’t you just tell him you’re Padfoot?” James asked as he walked into the room with two bowls of snacks in his hands, before he plopped down on the floor. “D’you think he’d tell?”

“No, I don’t believe Remus would do something like that. He would definitely try to keep Padfoot’s identity. I just…” Sirius trailed off and stared down at his hands, fiddling with them on his lap. Then he lifted his head to look at James’ confused expression. “I just don’t want the same thing to happen again. Not that I think Remus would try to take advantage of my popularity, but I…” he heaved a sigh, “I don’t want him to like me just because I’m Padfoot. I want him to like me because of me.”

There was a short silence as his three friends glanced at each other, and then Logan snorted.

“You big softie,” he said with a smirk. Sirius threw a cushion to his face.

He didn’t tell them the other reason why he was reluctant to tell Remus the truth: he was scared he would disappoint him.

The man thought so highly of Padfoot, it was so obvious by the way he spoke of him and how his eyes shone when he did. But would he still think the same if he knew that Padfoot was in fact his annoying neighbour? It seemed so important to him, for reasons Sirius didn’t understand, but still. He didn’t want to ruin that for Remus.

“So what are you going to do?” James said through a mouthful of chips.

Sirius perked up and smiled wickedly at his friends, making them groan even before he started talking.

“I’m glad you asked, Prongs. I’m gonna start by soundproofing my recording room. Which is why you lot are here today.”

James let out an audible gasp, “and here I thought you actually enjoyed our company. You were planning on using us all along!” he tilted his head up, placing his wrist on his forehead like he was about to faint.

“Outrageous.”

“I’m shocked.”

“I never expected this of you, Sirius,” Finn added, pretending to wipe the corner of his eyes.

“D’accord, d’accord!” Sirius huffed. “Dinner’s on me, oui? Don’t look at me like that, Prongs. I know you’ll be recording in here as well, so you might as well stop complaining and help.”

“Why are we here then?” Logan grumbled as he burrowed closer to Finn’s front, searching for his warmth.

“Cause you love me too much, and cause me and James alone would probably end up building a fort instead.”

James grinned cheekily at him, like he hadn’t dismissed that idea yet, but he got up. The four of them went to the room at the end of the hall, where Sirius had a couple of computers, lots of collectibles, and piles of acoustic foam and command strips to do the job.

“You know, you could probably teach Remus a thing or two about video editing. Leo showed us some of them and they’re good, but they are missing a little something,” Finn said offhandedly.

Sirius tripped over a chair, sending it wheeling against the desk.

“You...you saw the videos?” he asked, trying to sound nonchalant about it, but the effect was completely ruined with Logan snickering in the background. 

“Wait, since when are you friends with Leo?” James raised his eyebrows as he stared suspiciously from Logan to Finn.

Finn blushed slightly, but it was Logan who answered. “Oh, you know... we hung out a couple of times after the party. He’s cool.”

“He’s cool,” Sirius snorted. He hadn’t missed the way all three of them had thrown glances at each other all night at Halloween. There was something going on that he didn’t quite understand yet, but he wanted to give them the space they needed to talk about it if they wanted to.

Besides, there were other things on his mind as of then.

He’d completely forgotten about the existence of those videos. How that had happened after the display he saw on the balcony the other day was beyond him. Working on the room and waiting for the guys to be distracted enough was torture for Sirius. He had to keep reminding himself it was for a good cause, that Remus and his other neighbours would appreciate it.

But as soon as the food arrived and the guys sat down in the living room to watch TV, Sirius disappeared back into his recording room.

Finding the videos wasn’t hard. Apparently, there weren’t that many Remuses out there that were yoga instructors. Shocking, he knew. He pulled up the first video that appeared and almost choked on his breath.

There was Remus, bent backwards in the air over another man’s feet. Sirius registered at the back of his mind that the man was Leo, but he was more focused on the way Remus seemed to be flying as Leo, who was lying on the floor, kept him up by pressing his feet at Remus’ lower back and curve of his ass. A pop-up note at the bottom of the screen said the pose was called “back bow”. Sirius could understand why Finn thought he could use some help with editing, but right then, he didn’t really give a crap about that. Not with Remus’ muscles stretched taught to keep himself balanced and in shape, the tights he was wearing hugging the length of his legs and hips snugly, leaving very little to the imagination.

Sirius watched, transfixed, at the way Remus bent gracefully, his lean body arching and flipping in the air before Leo caught him. It was fucking gorgeous.

At the end of the video, a link was dropped that Sirius clicked almost on instinct. He was led to a website that offered all sorts of merchandise: mats, t-shirts, hoodies, sweatpants, leggings, and a few more things. Before Sirius could stop to analyse his fanboy (and slightly stalkerish) behaviour, he started adding stuff to the cart.

“Sirius, what the hell are you doing? Your food is getting cold.” James entered the room but stopped short when Sirius hastily got up and stood in front of the computer screen. He raised an eyebrow and glanced around his best friend, surprise marking his features when he got a look at what he was doing. “You really are smitten, aren’t you?”

Sirius rubbed a hand over his face, dropping himself back on the chair. He could talk about it with James, James wouldn’t make fun of him. “I...I don’t know. I’m just so curious about him. Like...I really want to talk to him more? Is that weird?”

“Nah, it’s not.” He walked over and propped himself on the desk next to Sirius, “I think it’s great that you’re actually trying. Don’t…” he sighed, “don’t close yourself off. You don’t need to do that anymore.”

Finn and Logan’s laughs drifted in through the door, breaking the haze in Sirius’ thoughts.

“Yeah...Yeah, thanks Potts.”

James bumped his fist against Sirius’ shoulder, smiling fondly at him. “No problem. Now get your ass there and eat your food.” He slung an arm around Sirius’ neck and started dragging him to the living room.

Sirius laughed and let himself be steered into a chair as he stole a glance at his two other friends, who were stealing kisses and food from each other, thinking that maybe James had a point. Maybe it was ok for him to want this.

***

Standing in front of the door with the number ten on it, Sirius felt a bit like an idiot. He was there, with a canvas painting -wrapped neatly in parchment paper- under one arm, and a box of homemade cookies in his hand.

Lily had mentioned what it was exactly that Sirius had broken, and Sirius had looked at many local artists until he found one he thought was perfect.

The cookies had been Sirius’ idea. He’d made them himself and vowed to never let any of his friends find out about it or he wouldn’t be able to live it down. 

Pumping himself up, Sirius plastered his best smile on his face and knocked on the door. A few moments later it swung open, and then Remus was in front of him, still looking back into his apartment with a smile.

“I’ll be back in a sec,” he said, but when he turned around and looked at Sirius, his smile faltered. The waver of those lips made Sirius’ heart tremble too. “Hi.”

“Hello,” Sirius breathed. After a few seconds of both of them just staring at each other, Sirius cleared his throat. “Can I...um...Can I talk to you?”

“Sure.” Remus seemed surprised, but he crossed his arms and stared at him, waiting.

Oh, this is worse than I thought. Sirius shifted his weight. “Is it ok if I come in?” he asked, and then he thought about Remus’ first words. “Or..oh shit, do you have company?”

“No,” Remus frowned. He glanced suspiciously at the stuff on Sirius’ hands before he heaved a sigh and stepped back to let him through.

Sirius’ first impression of Remus’ flat was that it suited him. It was warm, just like Remus seemed to be with anyone that wasn’t Sirius. It hadn’t gone unnoticed by him in the past few weeks how sweet and kind he was, always smiling and helping others. Sirius really wanted to be his friend. Ok, maybe more than friends, but right now, he would be happy with just that.

“What do you need?” Remus asked in an uninterested tone. He didn’t invite Sirius to sit down, and instead just stood there in the middle of the living room.

Sirius turned to look at him, his mouth opening to start apologising, but his attention was drawn to something behind the other man. Cocoa was approaching them slowly, placing one paw in front of the other without making a sound, his yellow eyes focused on Sirius’ face and his lips slightly pulled up.

A wide smile pulled at Sirius’ mouth, his eyes lighting up. “Hey doggy!” He crouched, extending a hand towards the animal.

“Sirius, don’t!” Remus tried to stop the dog, but Cocoa was already onto Sirius. And then he froze altogether at what he saw. Cocoa merely sniffed Sirius’ hand, sat down, and started wagging his tail.

Sirius laughed, “whoa, you’re even larger up close.” His eyes found Remus’. “Why are you so jumpy? He’s such a good dog,” he said as he started scratching Cocoa’s ears, “aren’t you?”

The wolfdog barked once and leaned into Sirius’ hand with its tongue hanging out.

“I...I don’t get it,” Remus was staring at him in awe, his mouth hanging open as his dog got closer to Sirius.

“What?”

“Cocoa is never so friendly with strangers. It usually takes him a long time to stop being alert and wary...but he seems to like you.”

Cocoa licked Sirius’ face as if to confirm that statement, making Sirius laugh again.

“Of course he does. We’re the same, aren’t we boy?”

“What do you mean?” Remus asked, still looking slightly disoriented.

“Well, I’m named after the dog star, aren’t I? And I’m a Black,” he gestured between himself and Cocoa as if he was stating something obvious.

The corners of Remus’ lips lifted up like he was trying really hard not to smile.

“Oh my God, that’s the silliest thing I’ve ever heard!” he said, covering his mouth with a hand.

“You can deny it all you want, but he loves me.”

Cocoa inched even closer to Sirius and put his nose on the box that was still in his hand.

“Oh no, that’s not for you. Sorry, boy.”

“I’ve actually been meaning to ask, but what exactly is that?” Remus frowned.

“Oh, right.” Sirius petted Cocoa one last time and got up, fidgeting with the paper covering the present he’d brought. “Well, this is why I wanted to talk to you. I um…I only found out a few days ago that you were the person I bumped into that day. I just wanted to make amends.”

He handed Remus the big square package and waited anxiously as the other man narrowed his eyes at him and started ripping the paper off. He was pretty confident in the choice he’d made, but he hoped Remus would like it.

“What the hell is this?”

Remus was staring down at the landscape peeking out of the torn paper: a beautiful impressionist rendition of a full moon over a waterfall, with a pack of wolves peeking out of a forest. It was very well done, and not at all deserving of the glare Remus was throwing its way. Sirius’ head was reeling. How did he manage to make someone so kind and polite react in this way every time?

“I know it’s not the same as the one I broke, but I-”

“Damn right it’s not!” Remus snapped. His hands were shaking. Cocoa seemed to sense something was wrong, cause he was there in an instant, standing in front of Remus, trying to find where the threat was. Remus plunged on, his voice rising with an emotion Sirius couldn’t place, “My mum made that for me! You think you can just replace it with any expensive crap? You can’t possibly believe this is the same as something that meant so much to me, something that kept me going during-” Remus cut himself off and looked up to the ceiling. He was breathing hard, rubbing his temple with one hand while he held the painting in the other.

“I...I didn’t know. I… fuck,” Sirius closed his eyes, cursing himself, before looking pleadingly at Remus, trying to convey his emotions properly. “I’m so, so sorry. I never intended it to be a replacement. I...I just wanted to apologise.”

He’d fucked up. He’d fucked up royally before he’d even properly met the guy, all because he couldn’t control his bad temper. He should probably go before making things worse. But he didn’t want to. He’d come here to make everything better, not to leave things like this. Glancing around to buy some time, he tried to think of a way to reverse the situation.

His eyes found something and, without even thinking about it, he blurted, “oh, so you bought the game?”

“What?” 

Sirius pointed awkwardly to the NHL game box sitting on top of the coffee table. “I know we started on the wrong foot, but maybe we can have a rematch? Break the ice with something we’re both comfortable with?”

Remus stared at him like he was crazy. Maybe he was right, but Sirius was anything if not determined.

“Remus, I’m trying, ok? Just...I have cookies?” He shook the box hopefully, making the cookies rattle inside.

Remus took a deep breath, thinking it over as he stared at Sirius. He heaved a sigh when he reached a conclusion, his chest deflating as some of the anger left his body. "Fine."

He gestured for Sirius to take a seat while he went over to place the half-opened package in another room. Sirius opened the box of cookies and left it on the coffee table before sitting down on the couch, tapping his fingers over his legs as he waited.

The couch was probably big enough for three people, but when Remus walked over, he eyed the free spot next to Sirius and sat on the floor in front of the table instead.

Well, their thighs were definitely not touching this time.

The air was so tense as Remus started up the game, that Sirius thought it would snap and hit them both in the face.

Cocoa padded over and jumped onto the sofa, placing his head on Sirius' lap.

"Traitor," Remus muttered, making Sirius snort despite the heavy atmosphere. From where he was sitting, Sirius could only see his profile, but he was sure he saw the man throw a sideway glance at him and purse his lips. He reached over to grab a cookie, biting into it with extra force, and he instantly pulled a face. "These cookies suck."

Sirius was surprised by such a blatant answer. He leaned forward on his elbows, placing his chin on his hands to try and hide the blush he could feel creeping up his neck.

"They can't be that bad." He snatched one from the box, propping it in his mouth under Remus' attentive eyes, and instantly started coughing. "Oh my god."

"Where the hell did you buy them?"

"How did they turn out so bad?!"

"Wait…" Remus turned to look at him fully, his lips pressed in a thin line to suppress a smile, "did you make these?"

"No," Sirius replied instantly.

"Oh God, you did!"

"Très bien, je les ai faits! I'm sorry I offended you with my awful cooking skills, I just wanted to give you the neighbourly welcome I owed you, d'accord?"

"What are you, 60? Minnie from the floor below made biscuits for me when I moved in."

Sirius sputtered, placing a hand over his heart, "what?! She never made cookies for me!"

“It’s not a competition, jeez.”

“But I wanted cookies,” Sirius pouted.

“You can have these,” Remus deadpanned as he flicked the box.

“Ugh, stop that. That’s the last time I try doing something nice for you,” he grumbled. Remus looked stunned for a second before he turned away.

It was quiet while each of them chose their team and started playing. They were a lot more relaxed in their game than they'd been last time, although that didn't mean they weren't giving it their best.

After a while of being absolutely silent, Sirius sighed. He felt Remus throw a quick side glance at him before looking back at the front.

"I owe you another apology."

The sound of the buttons being pressed and the low noises from the TV were the only things that could be heard as they both stared stubbornly at the screen.

"What for?"

"I've been an ass."

"Yeah, you have."

Sirius chuckled once, "yeah, I have," he said softly. He ran a hand through his hair, checking the score. He was winning, but he didn't really care this time around. "My family...they don't approve of my line of work. I'm not trying to make excuses for my behavior or anything, I just...I was having a really rough time that day." Remus raised an eyebrow at the TV, making Sirius laugh again, "and the days after that too. Damn, my friends had to check up on me every day to make sure I didn’t do anything stupid.” He glanced down nervously, afraid that he’d said too much, but Remus was still staring at the tiny players. “I just needed to get out of the flat as fast as possible. I wanted to apologise afterwards, but I didn't even know it was you. Bottom line is, I am on edge whenever they get involved in my life, and I act stupidly, and I am sorry you got caught up in that. I promise I am working on it."

Remus was silent for a few minutes, mulling something over in his head.

"Hospital," he whispered finally.

"What?"

"I was in the hospital when my mum gave me that." He hesitated before saying more. Sirius wanted to see what expression he was making. "I was stuck there for a long time, alone, and that painting was the only thing that kept me from feeling trapped. It helped me calm down."

Sirius’ heart gave a painful tug at the desolation in Remus’ voice. He had no idea how they’d gotten into this heart-to-heart moment, but his hand instinctively left the controller as he bent down to place it on top of Remus’, giving it a light squeeze.

Remus was startled, finally turning to look at Sirius. The sounds from the game kept ringing in the background, but none of them were looking at it anymore.

“I really am sorry,” he said, gazing intently at him. Remus’ eyes were the richest shade of gold he’d ever seen, glowing warmly, and Sirius was sure that he could light up even the darkest corners of his being. How had he not noticed this before?

The room went a bit colder when those eyes left his to glance at their hands.

“Are you ok?” Sirius asked.

“Yeah, I just-” Remus removed his hand to rub at his neck. “I have things to do. You should go.”

It was clearly a lie, and Sirius knew not to push it.

As he made his way back to his own flat, he had no idea if he’d fixed anything or if he’d just made everything worse.

[jenomark]

Part 1

➔Pairing: Camboy!Jeno x Reader (Female) ➔Other Members/ Characters: -.- ➔Genre: Smut  ➔Warnings: Masturbation (M) ➔Word count: 4,446

➔Summary: You’ve been out of the dating game for awhile, but your best friend thinks a push in the right direction is all you need. She sets you up for the cam boy experience, complete with the cute boy and a discovery. 

>>Part 2<<

“You’re lonely.”

“I’m not lonely.”

  She was always in your business. She had been married for years, so what did she know about loneliness? You looked at the sparkling diamond ring on her finger before you paid attention to her accusatory expression. When you were teens, she always talked to you like an insufferable know-it-all, the girl who was never fully living unless she had one foot in the lives of everyone around her. When it came to your life, she always made you feel like she was stepping in a pile of dog shit.

“I’m. not. lonely.” you reiterated, making sure every word was felt.

 “Then, what is this?” she asked.

  The plants on your windowsill sat in her shadow. She gestured to the new ones you had bought, that diamond ring stealing all the sunlight. It’s true that in your single life, you had found yourself buying more and more plants to decorate your space, plants which gave you something to care for, and something to talk to when you were feeling…...

“ I’m not lonely,” you said. “I like plants, and there is nothing wrong with that.”

 She sighed. “You’re filling a void.”

“I’m happy.”

“You’re full of shit.”

  You could feel yourself growing hotter from her interrogation. “Since when is buying plants a sin?” you asked. 

  She moved away from the plants and looked at your open bedroom door. At the same time, both of you ran towards it, your bodies getting stuck in the doorway. You screamed like a warrior ready to protect her space.

“Stop,” you yelled. “Leave me alone!” 

  You were holding onto her, your hands pulling her jacket back. You did everything short of using your fingernails to scratch her skin. She was stronger than you, and she played even dirtier. She pulled your hair to make you let go of her, breaking through the doorway first and bolting for the drawer beside your bed. With one swift motion, she swung it open to reveal multiple sex toys. 

“And what about these?” she asked. 

  You kicked the drawer shut when you reached it and sat on the edge of the table so she couldn’t open it again. Standing with arms folded, she looked down at you. You felt like a child being scolded by an adult, their assessment of your pathetic-ness making you shrink back inside of yourself.

“I don’t use them. I didn’t get the chance to,” you said. “Stop bullying me.”

“I’m not bullying you,” she said. “But you need to look at things from my side. Your last relationship was awful. He beat you down until you were nothing. “

“I know,” you said, sourly, “I lived it.”

 Your ex was someone you were trying to forget. It had been almost a year since you broke up, and yet, he still had you in his clutches. Like a ghost, he moved through your life, making sure you never forgot his presence. 

“You deserve happiness,” she said. “Which is why I think you should go on a date. I know I pester you all the time but-”

“-I don’t want to date,” you said. “I’m perfectly fine on my own.”

  She sat on the edge of your bed. She looked ashamed to be pushing you, her facial expression momentarily apologetic, and her hands playing with a loose thread on your blanket.

“I know you don’t talk about him,” she said. “And as your best friend, I have accepted that. I only want what is best for you. You sit here every day, and I know you’re only saying you’re okay because it’s easier than being honest.  I just want you to be happy.”

 You thought about telling her again that you were happy, but you knew you didn’t feel it inside. After breaking up, you vowed to take a break from men. For a while, it worked out well. You worked on your self-esteem, worked on building yourself back up from the bottom. You bought the sex toys to get back into the swing of things but never used them because you couldn’t stand the thought of facing your body alone. The solitude, in a way, was good for your mental health. But as someone who found themselves coupled more than not, you could admit you missed having someone there. Buying plants did fill the void. You didn’t have to face any of your fears navigating the dating world, and it made you feel safe.

“I know,” you said. “I’m trying.”

 You sat in silence for a moment, contemplating her words. Deep down, your best friend cared for you a lot. She reached over and placed a hand on your knee.

“I know it’s not easy.”

“ I don’t think I’m ready to date just yet.”

“What about sex?” she asked. “No strings attached passionate sex, the kind of sex that makes you blush.”

 Truthfully, you hadn’t thought seriously about intimacy with another person. You thought about the treasure trove beneath your ass. Occasionally, you took them out to feel them against your hand but put them back in the drawer when you felt dread in the pit of your stomach. You missed the feeling of having a human mouth on you, of looking into someone's eyes and knowing all they wanted most in the world was to make you feel good.

“No strings attached?” you asked. “Do people actually do that?”

She nodded. “All the time. I was talking last week with a work friend about these men who do video sex for money.”

“Like porn?”

“Not quite,” she said. “Most do solo work. Masturbation. Ordinary things like working out in their underwear. Men and women watch them, paying by the minute.”

“I am not paying for sex.” you said, shaking your head.

“It doesn't-” she sighed. “It doesn’t have to be sex. You can watch them. It’s a start, you know? Watch someone on the internet who is in touch with their sexuality and..I don’t know..get inspired.”

“No,” you said. “I’m not doing that. I understand you’re just trying to help, but I don’t think that’s what I want to be doing with my extra time.”

“More plants, then?” she asked, smiling briskly.

“Guess so.”

  She got up from your bed and walked out of your bedroom. You followed behind her like a dog at her feet, your eyes hoping for a treat from her hand. You wanted her to fix you, to give you the magic cure, even though you didn’t ask for it or believe in it.

“What are you doing?” you asked.

  She sat down at your desktop computer. Your work assignments were on top of it, so she pushed them out of the way to take hold of your computer mouse. She looked comfortable in your place, her eyes scanning your browser. You watched her type a few words into the search bar and pull up a website. Inviting herself, she opened your desk drawer and took out your wallet, opening up to your credit card and plugging in the information. You wanted to reach out and stop her, but you were too intrigued. 

“You’re being surprisingly chill about this.” she said.

“I don’t want to fight,” you murmured. “I know you’ll win.”

  She pressed ENTER. After searching a few minutes, a video of an empty bedroom came up. The bedroom was minimal, with a tall green plant in the left corner and a bed with white blankets and pillows to the right.

“This is what I mean,” she said. “Look, it’s a cam boy, or rather, a cam man. You see, on the side of the screen is a chat room. You and others can chat together, and you can chat to him.”

“To whom?” you asked. “There is no one there.”

  On cue, a man came into the camera view. He laughed softly, bending over the camera to adjust something you couldn’t see. He leaned down to look into the camera and smile before sitting in his own computer chair.

“Oh, he’s handsome.” she said.

 She was right. He had the prettiest smile you had ever seen. You scaled back as if he could see you. You didn’t like how he looked right into the camera, his eyes peering through your soul. Of course, he was paid to do so, and it meant nothing.

“How much am I paying for this?” you asked her.

“Don’t worry about it, “ she said. “Just watch and enjoy.” 

“This feels dirty.” you said, but you pulled up a chair next to her.

 The man smiled again, reading someone’s text in the chat. “Is everyone well today?” he asked.

  Both of you looked where the chat was. The room was full of you and a few other people, most of them women with various screen names.  You watched him type, the “Jen_Yes” screen name highlighted in blue. You looked to where your chat bar remained empty, the little “Plantful00” highlighted in the color red. 

“You couldn’t come up with a better name?” you asked her. 

She shrugged. “It’s cute. It’s very you.”

“For those who don’t know,” he said, his voice making you jump. “My name is Jeno. I see a new person here. Welcome. I hope you like what you see.”

 Jeno waved cutely to the camera. You started to say something about how he smiled a lot but Jeno leaning back in his chair and slowly cracking his neck made you stop in your tracks. You were so aware of him and his body, the delicate bones on his neck and how soft his skin looked in HD.

“He can’t video chat with us?” you asked. “Can he? I don’t want him to see me.”

  She leaned forward in her chair and started typing. Before you could stop her, she sent it.

Plantful00: Sexy!

  Horrified, you covered your face. Jeno read what she had written, his face wreathed in smiles. Reading that he had started typing in the chat room made you want to vomit. You didn’t see the point of him typing if he could just say it out loud to the camera, but it also made you feel less exposed. 

Jen_Yes: Thank you.

Jen_Yes: You’re new. I have a rule that anyone new gets to choose what they want from me. No extra charge. Anything you want.

“What does that mean?” you asked. “Anything I want? Like what?”

“I don’t know, “ she said. “My work friend mentioned that some of these people do sexual favors over cam. Should we ask?”

“No!” you shouted as she reached for the keyboard. “Don’t. We should log out. I have seen enough.”

  Both of you stared at the screen but made no move to log out. Jeno was focused on your reply his eyes unblinking. A bunch of other people were throwing out suggestions, some of them egging you on to choose something good. When Jeno realized you wouldn’t reply, he looked into the camera and bit his lip.

“It’s okay,” he said. “You don’t have to choose right away. You can take a rain check.”

 You made eye contact with his warm brown eyes. Your mind was racing, your body reacting to how sexy he was. You felt like he was looking only at you, like he knew exactly where and who you were. Without thinking about it, you leaned down and pulled the plug to your computer, erasing Jeno from your screen.

  After your best friend left, you sat with your legs folded on your couch, your eyes burning holes into your desktop. You had done nothing but think of Jeno since you dramatically turned the computer off, your friend looking at you like you were a lost case. 

“It wouldn’t kill you to have a little fun.” she said before she left.

 Your idea of fun was sitting watching dramas and perusing the internet in search of cheesy quizzes. None of those things occupied your mind quite like the boy behind the camera, his mannerisms very down-to-earth. You just sat and stared, your body willing you to get up and finish what you had started. 

“No.” you said, getting up and going in a different direction. 

  You went into your bathroom, deciding that you would get ready for bed. You washed your face and brushed your teeth, taking extra care to avoid your reflection. On your way to the bedroom, you started removing your clothes and getting into your pajamas. You crawled into bed and pulled the covers up to your chin. After turning off your lamp, you could see the orange light from the laptop blinking furiously. You rolled over so you wouldn’t have to see it anymore, closing your eyes tightly and hoping that your mind would stop thinking about him.

“Fuck.” you said. 

 You practically threw yourself out of bed and swiped your laptop off the table. You turned on your lamp and sat on the bed, opening up the machine and looking down at the search bar. You found the site from memory and plugged in your username and the horrible password she set for you: inneedofdick00

“Fuck,” you said. “He’s on. Fuck. Fuck.”

  A little green dot next to Jeno’s name beckoned you forth. You could see that his cam room was empty except for you. His camera wasn’t on, but his chat was open. You looked down at the chat box far too long before losing your courage. 

Jen_Yes: You’re back.

  Another user entered the room, their username a collection of numbers. They didn’t type, but it said they were there watching and waiting.

Plantful00: My friend made this account without me knowing about. I’m sorry for wasting your time. 

Jen_Yes: That’s okay. We all have friends like that.

93489348398394: Can we see you?

  In a flash, Jeno’s webcam came on. He was wearing brown plaid pajamas and a pair of prescription glasses. His hair was messy and wet. He waved so innocently at the camera that you couldn’t imagine him doing sexual things for money. In your eyes, there was nothing wrong with anyone doing so, but Jeno wasn’t the type of guy you thought would do it.

“I guess everyone is sleeping,” he said. “Is something keeping you up?”

You typed “YOU!!!!” into the chat box and quickly erased it. The truth never came easily to you.

Plantful00: Nope, just trying to delete this site from my history. 

Jen_Yes: And leave without getting what you paid for?

93489348398394: If she doesn’t use it, can I? 

Jen_Yes: Baby, you know that isn’t the rule.

93489348398394: I like when you call me baby.

“Baby.” Jeno said, his voice going deeper.

93489348398394: I will never get tired of hearing you say it.

   Jeno got up from his chair and disappeared. You looked at his minimalist bedroom once again. On his bed was now an open book spread face down on the sheets. He had been reading before you entered the room, your curious ping! no doubt causing him to check you out. While he was away, you were messing with a few of the features to figure out how to get your credit card off the site. You weren’t made out of money and couldn’t afford to keep paying a man to chat with you by the minute.

“I’m paying three dollars a minute?” you said. “What the fuck? What a con man.”

“It pays the bills.” Jeno said into his microphone.

“Yeah, well, I have bills to pay, too.”

 You clicked another button before you realized that Jeno had heard you and that he had replied. You clicked back to the main screen to see a split screen cam of yourself and him, your kitty pajamas in full view. You screeched and moved the laptop away from you.

Jeno laughed. “I can still see you.”

 You got down on your bedroom floor and looked at him from the side. He was so amused by you. He put his hand on his chin and smiled.

“You’re very pretty.” he said. “Do you have a name?”

  You stayed silent for a minute until you realized he could probably hear you breathing. All you had to do was click out of the site and you’d never have to see him again. You could forget all about the embarrassment of the night and keep collecting plants and being blissfully ignorant that men existed at all.

“I’m not telling you my real name.” you said

93489348398394: Scared bitch

“Hey!” you said. “That’s not nice.”

“I agree,” Jeno said. “I think you’ve had enough for the night.” 

  With that, your third party member vanished from the room. Jeno quietly coaxed you to come back to cam since you were both alone. You got up from the floor and placed yourself in front of the laptop, slouching down a little.

“I get a lot of people coming through,” he said “A lot of regulars that don’t take too well to new people. “

“I can imagine.”

“Did your friend really make your account?” he asked, his tone slightly disbelieving.

  Jeno’s forthrightness caught you off guard. You took a deep breath and told him the full story, complete with the bad ex-boyfriend. You didn’t know why you had told him so much about your personal life, but it kept spilling out of your mouth the moment you opened it.

“Ouch,” he said. “He sounds like an asshole...and she sounds…”

“Invasive?”

“I was gonna say lucky,” he said. “She led you to me.”

“You have to say that,” you said. “I’m paying you.” 

“Mmmm,” he said. “True. I guess I should keep you on here for a little longer. My car insurance bill is coming up.”

 When he winked, you nearly buried your head into your pillow. The log out sign had never looked so enticing. A few people joined the chat but didn’t write in the chat box.

“Are you nervous knowing that people are watching us?” he asked.

“Not really,” you said and meant it. “It sort of feels like they don’t exist. Is that what it’s like for you?”

“No,” he said. “They exist to me. That’s the part I like most. They can tell me to do anything. The intimacy we share is exhilarating. The friendship, too.”

“Friendship?”

“Genuinely,” Jeno said. “We’re all friends here. Do you want to be my friend?”

  You looked at your own video, your eyes trying to see what he saw. You looked terrified, wary, and a little tired. When you looked at him, he was leaning so close into the camera that you could see into his pajama shirt. Seeing his skin made you feel like time was speeding up. His collarbone was really so pretty, and you could tell that underneath his pajamas, he was built nicely.

“Do I still get one thing?” you asked. “One wish.”

“Yeah,” he said. “Anything you want from me.”

“Take your shirt off.”

Zone5: is she serious?

Cloverz: Nooooo!! Please have him masturbate!! He cums so much!!

5050: This is underwhelming

“Give her credit, ” Jeno said. “She’s never done this before.” 

  You read the first three responses before stopping. You tried to keep your face as passive as possible, but the chat turning on you made you feel terrified. You looked at the log out button and closed your eyes. When you opened them back up, Jeno was removing his shirt starting from the top button. Every time he released a button, he opened the shirt a little wider to reveal parts of his chest. When he got down to the last button, he stood up so that you could see his abs.

5050: I take that back. 

Cloverz: Jeno, how do you look so good all of the time? Give me a break!!

Zone5: o_o

 Jeno didn’t flex, didn’t touch his body. You thought someone who made a living showing themselves off on a camera would whore himself out a little more. He simply sat back in his chair and ran his fingers through his hair. He leaned up and adjusted his camera so that you could see the top of his head, to his crotch area.

Jen_Yes: It’s late. I should be sleeping.

Cloverz: Sleep with me!?

Zone5: Can you let us watch you sleep like you did a few weeks ago? Worth every penny.

5050: Hey, Plantful00, do you like what you see?

  Jeno read the responses and made eye contact with the camera. Though he had to entertain a room full of people, it still felt like it was only you and him. You swallowed hard and began typing. 

“Please speak,” Jeno said. “I like the sound of your voice.” 

  You looked down at his body and looked back into your camera. You nodded frantically and said something that resembled a yes. Jeno licked his lips and went back to typing.

Jen_Yes: If our beautiful plantful00 says yes, how would you all like a little show?

5050: Jeno, I would gnaw my own arm off for a show

Zone5: Don’t tease us king.

Cloverz: Girl, I will fuck your shit up if you don’t say yes.

Plantful00:.....this is very new for me.

5050: get a grip!!!

Zone5: say yes..please...please you have no idea how much i need this right now

5050: Jeno can I say yes in her place

  You could see the money virtually slipping out of your wallet and into his. So far, it wasn’t worth it. You put your fingers on the keyboards and played with the Y, E, and S buttons.

Jen_Yes: Only if you are comfortable, plantful00. I know how it feels. You can leave at any time and end our relationship. This is only fun if you want it.

5050: this is fun no one is ever brave enough to get on cam with him

Zone5: I almost did once but im ugly

5050: lmao mood

Jen_Yes: I need an answer. I’m feeling tired.

Cloverz: babe..please

Plantful00: Yes.

“I want you to stay on the webcam for me, ” Jeno said, smiling. “Okay?”

  He rolled his computer chair across the room. You watched how his arm muscles tightened as they held onto the chair. In the light shining across his body, his abs were so well defined you wondered what it would be like to have your tongue run across them. 

“Okay.” you said.

 When Jeno came back into view, he stood up to adjust the webcam once more. When he sat back down, he rotated his shoulders back and placed his hand over his crotch. His pajama pants were so loose that you couldn’t make anything out. He rubbed himself and licked his lips, his eyes looking directly into his lens.

“It’s been awhile since I’ve come,” he said. “I might be a little backed up.”

 You leaned back a little on your bed when Jeno took his cock out of his pants. He didn’t seem shy about showing a bunch of strangers his body. It was like he was jerking off in a room by himself, his only goal to release his load as fast as possible. You knew people liked it that way. The more real it was, the sexier. For you, things were moving so fast you got whiplash.

“It's so hard,” he said. “This is a new experience for me, too. Watching you watching me makes this even hotter.”

 You didn’t know how to act on camera. You tried not to think about any of the strangers looking at your reaction, tried not to think about Jeno masturbating to a video of your face. You wanted to breathe heavily, to drool a little bit every time he stroked himself, but you didn’t want anyone to know that you liked what you saw. Instinctively, you palmed your hand against your pussy and started moving your fingers. It wasn’t enough pressure against your clit. You felt frustrated by not being able to orgasm. It was the first time you had genuinely felt horny since you broke up with your ex-boyfriend. Knowing that no one could see you made you feel dirty, but there was something so addictive about that feeling. You wondered if Jeno got the same feeling by being so open on camera. You wanted Jeno to press his pretty cock head against the lens so that you could see him up close. It had been too long since you’d seen a penis that you almost forgot what they looked like. 

Cloverz: She looks dead. Show him how appreciative you are.

5050: hahaha Jeno your so sexy!!

Zone5: This must be so hot for you having her watch you like that..you’re coming quicker than you normally do.

  Just like that, Jeno had reached for a tissue and held it in front of his cock. He moaned and clenched his jaw, leaning his head back a little bit in his chair. He ejaculated, missing the shot a little bit, his semen glistening against his fingertips. It was over not too long after it had begun, but it felt like it had lasted forever. You felt worn out, even though you didn’t come, and no one had touched you. You watched Jeno wipe his finger against his bare chest.

Cloverz: There is so much cum. I want to clean it off jeno

Zone5: get in line

5050: idk how she’s still sitting after this i would be dry humping everything in sight

Plantful00: ..is typing..

Plantful00:

5050: just say it

  You didn’t know what you should say. Jeno was hanging onto your every word, his eyes watching the chat box for your response. He was leaning forward so you couldn’t see his cock, but you could see his arm moving. He was stroking himself slowly. 

Plantful00: 

Jen_Yes: Tell me what else you want. I want more.

  You were getting ready to tell him what you wanted when the fire alarm to your apartment building went off. You covered your ears and looked at Jeno to see that he was also covering his ears. The confusion hit both of you at once. You thought he might have just heard your alarm on his end, but the sound was also clearly coming from where he lived, too. 

5050: Is that an echo? Why can I hear the fire alarm coming from both of you? what is going on?

Cloverz: what are the chances of both their fire alarms going off? at the same time? hello??

Zone5: Holy shit!! Do you two live in the same building??

  You read the chat and looked back at the video to see Jeno’s reaction. He had already cut the feed and removed himself from the chat room.

[mst3kproject]

Caltiki, the Immortal Monster

We've talked about how there are an awful lot of fishman movies.  There are way too many Bigfoot movies.  There are even a surprising number of movies about monsters named Paul, but one thing I swear I never thought would be in two different movies is growing space blobs in the Mexican jungle.  Yet here we, are following up The Flame Barrier with Caltiki, the Immortal Monster. The cast includes Gérard Herter from Secret Agent Super Dragon and Daniele Vargas from Hercules Unchained. Mario Bava insists he didn't direct this but Riccardo Freda says he did, while most film websites blame both of them.

Long, long ago, the Maya were doing math and building pyramids in Mexico when a sudden unknown cataclysm forced them to abandon their cities. In the present (or at least the 60s), a group of scientists have come to the ruins to see if they can solve this mystery.  Two of them venture into a cave, and only one returns, raving about Caltiki, a Mayan goddess.  The rest of the party set out to find out what happened and perhaps rescue the other man, but instead discover a huge carnivorous blob monster!  Most of this beast is destroyed by crashing a gasoline truck into it, but they take a sample back to Mexico City with them for analysis.  Because that's a great idea that won't bite them in the ass at all.

The opening titles of this movie tell us that it is 'based on an ancient Mexican legend'.  I don't know anything about Mexican folklore but I did look through the List of Mayan Gods and Supernatural Beings page on Wikipedia and there are no names there that you can remotely bend into 'Caltiki'.  I'm going to assume this movie has about as much to do with ancient Mexican legends as Village of the Giants has to do with H. G. Wells' Food of the Gods. The same credits also tell us that the dancer we see ripping her own clothes off in some 'native ceremony' was a woman named Gay Pearl. The early 60's was around when the word 'gay' stopped being used to mean anything other than 'homosexual', so I suspect she changed it shortly thereafter.

Although the basic premise of a growing space blob in the jungles of Mexico is strongly reminiscent of The Flame Barrier, in several ways Caltiki, the Immortal Monster takes an opposite approach to telling the story.  One of the things that made The Flame Barrier kind of annoying was how it puttered around in the jungle with character-driven stuff for ages before it even introduced the monster.  Caltiki goes almost entirely in the other direction.  The first thing we see is the aftermath of a monster attack, with the dying archaeologist staggering back to camp.  In the minutes that follow, we watch the rest of the expedition puzzle over what happened to their colleagues, but we have almost no idea of who they are.  Most of the character development has to wait until they get back to Mexico City.

Unfortunately, the characters are really not very interesting people.  Our supposed hero is the dishwater-dull Dr. John Fielding, who is one of those movie science guys whose significant other whines because he would rather look down a microscope than gaze into her eyes.  Fielding promises his wife Ellen that he'll pay more attention to her, and I guess he does because next time we see him he appears to be happy with her and their little daughter, but if I were to call the issue 'minimally addressed' I would be giving it way too much credit.  The other subplot in the movie is about a mixed-race woman named Linda (repeatedly described as a 'half-breed') and her relationship with one of the archaeologists, Max.  Max was a dick to begin with, and when he goes mad with pain after being attacked by the blob monster he only gets worse.  He never seems very interesting or threatening, and since the audience knows there's a blob monster coming, we feel our time is being wasted.  Linda, as the only major character who isn't white, is killed when Max decides she is no longer useful to him.

Another place where Caltiki does exactly what The Flame Barrier didn't, but with far better results, is with the monster itself.  In The Flame Barrier the space blob was immobile and basically just looked like somebody spilled a truckload of petroleum jelly.  The blob of Caltiki, however, truly is the coolest thing in the movie.  It's a pulsating, leathery mass that reproduces by stickily dividing in two, and dissolves people's flesh to leave only their skeletons.  There were worse monsters on Star Trek: the Next Generation nearly thirty years later.  Not only that, but the blobs are active, able to roll around and grow to engulf screaming victims, with a satisfying sense of weight and volume to their movements.  There are also some pretty good gore effects, my favourite of which is a guy who's still breathing despite having had his face dissolved.

The Flame Barrier kept its blob in the distant jungle, where the only people it was menacing were three explorers and a chimp.  We were told about the threat of its exponential growth, but that was fairly abstract.  In Caltiki we still don't get the city-smashing rampage depicted in one of the posters, but just knowing that the city is there and having Fielding's wife and daughter around to be chased by swarms of blobs makes the threat feel far more concrete.

So this movie gets right a lot of things the other Mexican Space Blob movie got wrong, but I wouldn't be reviewing it if it wasn't still a bad movie.  The dull characters and the refusal to deal with their arcs is one big problem.  Another is the poor picture quality.  The lighting is mostly good enough that you can tell where people are and what they're doing, but the film stock itself is not very good, which makes for a loss of detail.  In some of the wide shots you can't tell who's supposed to be talking because it's impossible to see whose mouths are moving.  In another, Fielding consults a book that appears to consist entirely of blank pages.

The dubbing is also not great.  Fielding and his wife have very bland voices, which is a big contributor to them seeming like very bland characters.  The guy voicing Max gnaws on the scenery, sounding like a villain from an old Disney movie.  Fielding's daughter Jenny has the voice of an adult woman trying to talk like a child, and it sounds even worse than the same thing did in Manos: the Hands of Fate.

The script is pretty ham-fisted at times, particularly in the character scenes that tell us things far more often than they show us.  Much of this is the fault of whoever wrote the English dialogue, but there's also the series of ridiculous plot devices that prevent anyone from warning Ellen Fielding that the blob in her basement has begun to grow.  First, Max escapes from the hospital and goes to the house to get help from Linda, and pulls out the phone cord so nobody can turn him in.  One of the scientists, finding no answer on the phone, tries to drive out to the house to talk to Ellen, but gets into a car crash.  The police block the road off while they investigate the wreck, and Fielding runs the road block in his own haste to get home, leading him to be arrested and thrown into jail!  I have to admit, it was pretty funny just watching these contrived events pile up.

As far as having a point to make goes, Caltiki, the Immortal Monster kind of shaves by one in two different places, but never quite gets there.  For starters, there's the idea of archaeology as a treasure hunt.  When the diver first ventures into Caltiki's sacred underground lake, he finds the bottom littered with bones but also with the gold jewelry the sacrificial victims were wearing.  He returns to the surface and does not even mention the skeletons, but brings fistfuls of gold and goes back for more despite the risk of running out of oxygen.  I suppose he is punished for this, as is Max when he tries to retrieve a piece somebody else dropped, since they're both attacked by the blob.  It doesn't really qualify as a thematic thread, though, since the gold is never mentioned again. For the rest of the movie, the characters are motivated by scientific interest in the blob itself.

This leads into what's sort of a second motif, people disregarding the danger posed by the blob.  Fielding has a sample he wants to study (the movie has no idea what kind of scientist he is.  An archaeologist?  A microbiologist?), and upon discovering that radiation makes it grow, he pumps more into it to see what happens.  He and his colleagues are admittedly more cautious about this than the characters  in Reptilicus, but the idea's still there: scientists who think they have everything under control, but don't understand how dangerous what they're working with really is.  Again, this doesn't really go anywhere.  At the end they about-face and insist on destroying every scrap, not even leaving enough for an “... or is it?” ending.

Caltiki, the Immortal Monster comes very close to being so bad it's good.  There's plenty of stuff to laugh at, while the actual monster is threatening and well-executed enough to be entertaining in the way it was intended to be.  If the film-makers had diverted a little of that money into better film stock, I probably would have enjoyed the movie very much.

[reallytiredartstudent]

Shoto hummed and put down the groceries. It was time to spend some time in his own flat again. Katsuki had refused to let him go without making sure his fridge was full, because quote ‘your dumbass would willingly go on a fucking instant-shit-diet’ and ‘I won’t let my fucking work go to waste’. Shoto was only mildly offended, mostly because it was true. Yet he was certain that he could handle some rice and miso soup. Even without Katsuki. He had yet to teach Shoto how to make soba, which was a shame.

Really, Kaminari had been right. Katsuki was a mother hen.

It has gotten colder, the summer slowly saying goodbye. Shoto shrugged out of his coat, Katsuki’s ‘hang it up idiot!’ in his ears as he walked back to the door to put it on the required hook.

As much as Shoto loved Katsuki and being around him, he was glad for the break. Shoto was a creature of solitude, a habit not even enthusiastic Midoriya had been able to rid him of. He needed time alone to decompress, time where he knew no one would interrupt him. Just him and a few cat videos. Not to mention the amount of work that had piled up. He needed to stay on top of his game and not slack of.

Not that Katsuki had been to blame for that one. No, Katsuki had working morals that bordered on maniac. Shoto had yet to meet another human who planned their day as meticulous, and even more important, managed to stick to it.

No, Shoto’s slacking was mostly the fault of The Flatmates. Kaminari had taken it upon him to teach Shoto every game – or as Kaminari had put it ‘the basics’ – while Ashido tended to flop on the sofa next to them and tell them about the newest gossip. Shoto was very invested in at least three separate love stories, one of them, in Ashido’s words ‘the love story of the century starring one maniac and an oblivious idiot’. Forbidden love between two dance groups.

Kirishima had dragged Shoto onto Katsuki and his jogging rounds in the morning. Shoto did not appreciate that. Kirishima’s logic of ‘well I’m waking you anyway when I wake Baku-bro’ had not convinced Shoto in the slightest. Yet he found himself grumpily jogging along, only saved by Kirishima’s cheery, awful wake-ness from walking accidently into traffic. Shoto wasn’t sure why he bothered, literally everything was preferable over waking up.

After Shoto had put away the groceries, he pulled out his violin. His sister had sent it to him some weeks ago. Just a few months of near to none practice and his skills weren’t adequate anymore. He tried to get back into a regular schedule again, but since he couldn’t even tell when he would be at home at all, it was a rather slow progress. But just like most skills Shoto had learned over the years, this one too was ingrained in his muscle memory, even when he himself couldn’t remember. It was easier to just let his fingers move, up and down, calluses build over years sourly missed.

After a good two hours of practice, he made himself something to eat. Only then he collapsed on the sofa; pulling out his laptop and plugging in the charger. Time to figure out how much he needed to do to stay on track.

He had planned for a day at the library tomorrow to get the hang of the new semester material. They were only a couple weeks into, but they already tried to bury them under the sheer number of things required of them to hand in every week.

As usual he checked his mails first. One of his professors had the annoying habit of sending extra work without context over mail and Shoto had no plans of getting in trouble for not handing in an assignment he hadn’t even known about.

Shoto scrolled through his various mail addresses, deleted spam, replied quickly to two or three mails he could handle directly and made notes for three other ones where he needed to look something up.

When he ended at his last one, the private one, he stumbled over one email. It looked like spam, but there wasn’t even a header to it. Curiously he clicked on it. He didn’t use that address on any website, it was purely for private communication. Who would write to him from an unknown –

Dabi.

Of course. Who else? Well Hawks maybe, but then it could just essentially also be from his brother.

Shoto frowned. But since when did Touya send him mails? There hasn’t happened anything significant in recent weeks and Touya only ever contacted him first if something happened. Shoto carefully inspected the mail. There wasn’t a lot of text. Just one short sentence and a drop box link.

‘Make your own picture. Dabi’

Confused and intrigued Shoto clicked on the link. He probably should be more careful, but he had gotten used to Touya sending him random links. Normally that happened over the phone or over Hawks, but still. Potential blackmail material maybe for their father? Another collection of memes? No, that would have been Hawks. Blackmail sounded more logical.

There were no memes, just files, ordered and named. Shoto clicked on the first one, curious and slightly amused as to what Touya had found out now.  

With every line he read, every picture he saw, every file he went trough his amusement turned into horror.

Chapter 19 is up!

(fair warning, chapter 20 will be up tmw, could be a good idea to wait on that :D)

[chemicallady]

Matching

Greg Sanders x Reader!

A/N: Hi everyone! Have you ever noticed that there are not enough Greg Sanders fanfiction in the world? I have looked for some for a while, but nothing. Now, stop complaining and let's have fun togheter, this is my first Greg Sanders x Reader! I hope you will like it! Besos! 

 Couple: Greg Sanders/Female!Reader 

Category: Fluff 

Content Warning: // 

 Summary:  this is the first time Greg tries to find love with an app. Who knows whohe  is gonna meet with a cyber matching?

  ***

Las Vegas, October 5th 2015 

The last month was rough for him. Many things had changed forever. Nick had resigned from the team, Sarah decided to take a break after a big promotion in order to restore her relationship with Grissom, Catherine is back to her position as the leader of the night shift. 

Russell is moving on with his life and Finn is gone. Forever. No matter how much his tried to save her life or they prayed for her, she is gone. 

Greg is not confortable with big changes. For the first time in forever he is feeling like he is flooting. Dr Robbins said that is normal, in a moment like this one, in which he has escaped the death again, to feel this way.

«Maybe you need a fresh new start.»

Everyone is starting something, whatever. Nick is a boss now, Sarah is happy with her ex husband and former director of the lab. Even Hodges is living the moment, with a new girlfriend. 

«He met her on a website», Henry said to Greg during a coffee break. 

He laughted, then he used this information against Hodges. 

«It isnt a website... I am not dating a russian wife!»

Greg smirked, «No more girls interested in your Visa after the italian one?»

«Shut the fuck up, Sanders. Nowdays is normal using dating app. You should try and stop wasting my time!»

****

He didnt download Tinder only because Hodges suggested it. 

Of course.

He decided to try the app only to dimostrate that is a poor life choice. 

But the amounth of time he have spent in looking at girls profiles is already too much to look credible. Furthermore, Lindsay have noticed him swapping girls away and she giggled amused. «You should try to go on a date. Dont tell my mom, but I met a guy once, on Tinder. He was really awsome, but he was a tourist. An advice, always take a loool if she is a resident!»

And he followed her suggestion, making the opposite. Just to have some fun. 

There are many people who only are in Vegas for having fun and even if was cool, meeting girls who only want a one night stand, after three or four date started to make him feel bored. 

He always talk a little about is job, fake interesting in the girl’s plan for her vacation and everything ending in the morning. 

So he decided to try something else. 

A serious date, for once. 

***

He is exploring your profile since the moment you two matched. He is fascinating by your (y/e/c) eyes in the profile picture. You look smart but gentle at the same time. No mention to the fact that even if you are linving in Vegas, you are from (you hometown/nation) and you are a PhD candidate in Archaelogy. 

You dont look like the other girls he met in the last period. You are a student, a really good one. You have a picture in front of Columbia University, which you attended for your MSc and graduated.

So you are not only smart, but really intelligent. 

You have those beautiful (y/h/c) hair and a gentle smile. 

So he picks all his courage and writes you a simple ‘hi’. 

You dont answer immediatly, even if you have read the message. So Greg closes the app with disappointed. Well. It’s proved. You cant find love in one of this app. 

He decides that is far better to start with the awfull pile of documents on the desk, before is too late. Or to early, depends by the point of view. 

*** 

He had finished with paperwork around 7 am and so he decided to go home.

In the moment he enters the living room, he feels so lonely. It’s happening quite often in the last period. He kicks his shoes away and sits on the sofa, taking a deep breath. With his eyes close, he starts to thing about the last serious date and its look like a century ago.

And it was a complete failure.

Everytime he fell for a girl is always the same old story. Firstly, amazing. Then a mess because of his job.

But he doesn't have to change is life only because he feels the emptiness of his house. He has worked so much to achieve this results and now...

Now? What he has? A good position in an horrible schedule shift. An amazing group of team mates - unfortunately Hodges is still working in the materials lab, but who cares- but no social life. No family. He is 40 now and he was looking for a 25 years girl.

So silly.

So stupid.

But what's is even silliest? Losing himself in those throughs instead of sleep. He has his shift starting at 11 pm, but he has the laudary to do. And he need to clean the apartment. Is full of dust.

****

After seven hours sleeping, he feels himself far more positive. It's around 2 pm when he wakes up and start with the laudary. He gets a look on the phone and answer to Morgan under a pic on facebook, than he notices that he has a new notification on Tinder.

He is so surprise when he realises that is you.

-who wrote 'hi' at 4.30 in the morning?-

He blushes a little, thinking about it. It was really early and he hasnt realised it.

-someone who is working at night...?-

The answer is not the best. But you are smart and you bring a good observation.

-like a hooker?-

He laught a little, rising his elbow.

-sorta. But not so well paid.-

Making fun of the hookers is not a good way to start a conversation, but someway, it works. You two share some messages and then you give your phone number to him.

You are free tomorrow for lunch, even if is unusual meeting someone with the sun in the sky, in Vegas.

And he is totaly down.

***

Is strange for you to go on a date with someone you don't know. But it is even strangest go for a lunch date. It's look so formal to you, but the guy in the profile pic looks potentially awsome. You have read from his description that he works for the Clark Country Police Department and this is a hot detail: you have a thing for cops.

You dressed nicely for the lunch inside The Venice's restaurant. Classy choice by the way. But not elegant because is 12 am. You also decide to go easy on your make up, because after this date you have to help in teaching a bacherlo class and you are hoping that you won't have enough time to change, after the meal.

So here we go.

In front of the restaurant.

You look around and see a figure a couple of meters away from you. He is pretty tall and with dark blonde hair. He is also well dressed, better then you, but not formal.

Your glazes meet in the middle of the atrium and you both smile embarrassed. He is the first one to move some steps near to you.

《Hi. You are (y/n)?》

《Yes. And you must be Greg.》

You shake his hand and then catch his invitation to enter in the restaurant first. The waiter reserved you a nice place on the balcony. The cannel is fake, not even similar to the Italian one, but is romantic.

One score for Greg.

《What would you like to eat?》, he asked so politely that you can't help yourself, but smile back.

《I thing I'll go with a sandwich for lunch》

《Nice choice, I am down. Wine?》

《Sorry, but I have a class in the afternoon...》

This time he is smiling. 《Then water for two.》

He is so kind. He decides to drink water because you can't drink wine. This is another score.

After you two have made your orders, it's time for questions.

《Do you usually meet people this way?》, je asks, nicely. Even if there is no accusation in the tune of his voice, you blush a little.

《It's not the first time, but I am still a skeptical, by the way.》

《Why?》

《Because I've met only morons on Tinder. 》 You try your best smile. 《Hope you are not one of them.》

《I share this hope with you》, he jokes. 《I am looking for your verdict at the end of the meal, so.》

You both laught. Is a nice company and the tension is going away.

《So you are a cop?》

《Not exactly. I work for the crime like as a crime scene investigator.》

You looked impressed. 《Sounds amazing but hard at the same time. I am asking to my self you an awsome guy like you is still single.... is for your job?》

This time is Greg the one who blushes. 《Yes is really... It takes most of my time. Someday all of my time.》

《I can relate》, you say. 《I am not cool as you are, I don't save people for live, neither I am good in puzzle but... I work on field so I spend several weeks abroad. Sometimes even a month or two and when I come back...》

《...You have the feeling that everyone is carries on with his life but you are static》 he ends your statement. 《Yes, you can relate, totaly.》

You two share a smile and then he starts to ask you some questiom about your job, your position at the UNLV and stuffs.

In the end, after a sweet fight, he insists to pay the meal, but you put on the table the tips.

《It was really nice 》, you say and he agrees. 《We should do that again. What's your spare night?》

《Monday》 he aswers, immediately 《If my boss wont tell me otherwise.》

《If you are agree, you can see eachother again on Monday, so.》

《It will be amazing.》

Another smile and a little silence. You have no idea of what to do now. Is too soon for a kiss, but an hand shake would be awful. So you decide to come closer to him and kiss his cheek. Is so cute the way he blushes again. Greg is near now and you can feel his breath on your lips. For him, is not too soon. He gently puts a hands on you hip and drag you into a soft kiss.

The best way to end a good date.

****

《So how is she?》

After two weeks dating, Greg decides to tell the guys about you.

Terrible idea.

《She is so nice!》 He starts excited, while Catherine is laught, shaking is head and look at David Philips in the classical 'told ya' way. 《She is beautiful and gentle. She is also tremendously determinate. More than anything, she is so intelligent and her smell is amazing.》

《She can cook?》, Super Dave asks, joking.

《Everything you can say, she can do it. Is incredible. She speaks like five languages and is so sexy in bed.》

《This information is not necessary 》 is Catherine's comment.

But Dave wants to prove a point now. 《....She speaks five languages in bed or it was not correlated?》

《Guys, we are on a crime scene.》

The two boys share a small smile and wait for Russell to be far enough. So Dave asks one last question. 《Are you only fancy her... or maybe you are already in love?》

Greg thinks about it for a couple of second. 《I am already fucked.》

Dave laughs, 《of couse you are.》

[drazzilder]

A Hellish Encounter

By Drazzilder

Chapter 14: Christmas

The week flew by as everyone was preparing for Christmas, the city full of shoppers and flooded with the sights and sounds of the holiday. Everyone was doing their part to make things happen. Sanji and Enji were busy looking at every website, every production facility, anywhere they could think to find that toy for you. They are putting in the hours to try to make it by Christmas. You have your suspicions when he is staying late at work but you want to keep the surprise.

You are having much better luck at getting his present ready in time. You help pack the kids’ things, making sure the they are ok with moving back. They even wrote some ground rules to make sure things don’t go back to the way they were. Even though Hina is just a live-in nanny, she has been with the kids long enough to grow attached to them and she is doing everything she can to help them as well. Every time you come over, she greets you as if your family and the kids are even getting used to your presence.

H: “It looks like that should be everything. Are you ready for tomorrow?”

(Y/N): “I think so. Enji always wakes up around 6 so if I get up at 5 that should give me enough time to get here and move everything to your rooms. Then I’ll teleport all of us to the kitchen where we can start cooking breakfast. He did say his favorite way to wake up is to the sounds and smells of me cooking.”

F: “Don’t you think he will be suspicious?”

(Y/N): “With the long hours he is been putting at work lately, he sleeps like a rock.”

N: “There he goes, overworking again…”

H: “Actually, I think it’s a little different this time. Think about it, that man isn’t the best with emotions, he is probably trying to find the perfect gift for everyone.”

S: “Dad is actually thinking about us?”

(Y/N): “I can tell you that he has been asking me for some ideas for you.”

F: “SPILL IT!!I want to know if he is getting us something good.” She says practically jumping up and down like a little kid.

N: “It’s probably just going to be money and some clothes like it always is.”

(Y/N): “You will have to wait till tomorrow to see.” You say with a smile.

S: “I can wait till tomorrow to be disappointed.”

Z: “Gosh, you boys need to lighten up, can’t you see the man is trying!”

Everyone laughs a little as you finish up the last of the packing. You hug everyone and you quickly head back home.

~

“DAMN IT!” Enji yells in anger at his computer. “Another fan made doll. Why does this have to be so hard to find!”

His phone rings. “What?!”

“Hello Enji.”

“Oh…sorry Sanji. I’m just a little worked up right now”

“I know, but I called you to give you some news.”

“Did you find it?” He says with a little excitement in his voice.

“Not quite, but I have a lead in working on. Apparently, some Yakuza have been seen with a few of them. They were selling them on the black market.”

“Don’t tell me you’re going to go buy one from them?”

“Ok, I won’t. Bye.”

“SANJI WAIT, IT’S TOO DANGEROUS!” He pleads but she already hung up. “Damn it, if she gets hurt, I’ll….”

“You’ll what, Enji?” You say as you come into the home office.

“Oh….um…. it’s nothing.” He sometimes forgets you can teleport and you caught him off guard.

“Ok....So you want to watch a cheesy Christmas movie and cuddle?”

“That sounds awful….” He says rolling his eyes.

You two spend the rest of the evening together ‘watching’ a movie. You are in your new favorite sitting position on the couch: Enji sitting behind you with his arms around you and his chin on your head, you slouched in his lap with a blanket over the both of you. You’re sitting on the couch together shirtless, the more contact you get with that warm skin of his, the better. Enji can’t help himself during the movie and begins to kiss your head and nibble your ear. You push back against his chest to get more contact with him and he responds by tightening his grip and warming up some more. The movie becomes background noise as you both put your attention on each other. After the movie is over you both head off to bed. Even though it’s the middle of winter you both still strip down to your underwear, partly because it’s so comfortable being next to Enji but also, he radiates so much heat when you’re around you practically sweat each night.

~

Christmas morning you managed to wake up 5 minutes before your scheduled time, so you gently move off of Enji and get dressed in the dark. You quickly head downstairs as to not wake him up with the flash of light. You then appear at the apartment.

(Y/N): “Is everyone ready?”

H: “Just give Natsuo a minute to get up. Go ahead and start with the boxes.”

Z: “With pleasure.”

H: “You really like (Y/N) don’t you.”

Z: “He is the only human I don’t mind being put inside of.”

F: “You were inside other people before (Y/N)?”

Z: “12 before I meet (Y/N). Each one either couldn’t handle the testing or they took their own life.”

N: “How come he got to live.” He says as he enters rubbing his eyes.

Z: “Honestly, I’m not entirely sure. He was the youngest human I was put inside of but he had one of the strongest wills.”

(Y/N): “Thank you Zaheer but we got to get going if we are going to make it on time.”

Z “Sorry, let’s go.”

You then quickly start to go to each room and teleport the boxes back to the house, making sure when you move them not to make too much noise. This takes about 10 minutes or so when you finally are done and just the kids and Hina are left. You all create a circle of hands and you teleport them to the kitchen at the house. Through the door they see the Christmas tree with large presents under it. They are about to get excited but you quickly remind them of what you are doing. You sense Enji is still sleeping so you all get to work cooking. Shoto is on rice, Fuyumi is on salmon, Natsuo takes care of the eggs and Hina gets the tea ready. You’re just about finished when you hear movement from upstairs.

“(Y/N), did you get up early to surprise me?” You all hear from a distance.

“Why don’t you come down and see your surprise!”

He slowly makes his way down; he is probably still groggy from a week of less sleep. You now remember the new habit you two formed of walking around the house without shirts on. At first it was to help with your self-confidence with your scars but you both can’t keep your hands of each other. It just turned into a habit after a little bit. You probably should have warned him to get dressed but it’s too late when he rounds the corner with just the pajama bottoms he put on. Once he sees what’s happening in the kitchen, he just stares for a moment, completely silent.

F: “Merry Christmas Dad.”

S and N: “Merry Christmas.”

H: “Merry Christmas.”

(Y/N): “Merry Christmas, Enji.”

Even though you have gone up and hugged him he is still in disbelief and hasn’t moved. It is only when you look at his eyes do you see why. A few tears start to well up and you kiss him on the cheek to break his stare.

E: “What is going on?”

F: “We are here for Christmas, cooking breakfast dad. Are you ok?”

E: “I…I…. I didn’t think you guys would actually want to come here ever again. Why are you here.”

N: “That demon you are dating is very persuasive.”

Z: “He isn’t dating me, he is dating (Y/N).”

(Y/N): “Why don’t you follow me and see the rest of your gift.”

You take his hand and lead everyone down the hallway to Shoto’s old bedroom. You slide the door open and turn on the light. Enji sees a pile of plain boxes neatly arranged in the middle.

E: “What are all of these? Are all these for me?”

H: “(Y/N), you’re going to have to spell it out for him. He doesn’t do subtle very well.”

(Y/N): “Enji, these boxes are your kids’ belongings. They are moving back home, today.”

With those words Enji just slams down on his knees, he couldn’t take the emotions as he starts to cry uncontrollably. You go to comfort him and Hina and Fuyumi join you. They motion to the boys and they come reluctantly.

E: “You can’t be serious? Is this a dream? Are you really moving back in with me?”

F: “Yes dad, we are back but you have to know it’s because of (Y/N) that we are willing to try.”

E: “What?” He manages to get out through sobs.

N: “We have laid out some ground rules we can go over but I don’t think you will remember them if we tell you now.”

E: “I don’t care what I have to do. I’ll do whatever it takes to have you back in my life.”

You all stand in your embrace a little while more when Enji finally stopped crying and gets up.

(Y/N): “Ok, now that things have settled down, let’s go eat. And Enji, go get a shirt on.”

Enji looks down at himself and quickly goes red in embarrassment as he didn’t realize until now that he didn’t have on a shirt. He quickly bolts upstairs and comes down and everyone is sitting at the table with food in the center. After he sits everyone begins to eat. The food was really good, like always when you’re cooking. After some coffee and tea, you all moved into the living room to open presents. The kids only got you each a card but you both agreed you’re just happy they are home.

E: “Fuyumi why don’t we start with you.”

F: “Ok” she heads over to the pile of gifts and find she has the largest present out of all of them. She quickly moves it and starts to unwrap the package. “A bike?”

E: “I thought you could use a new bike for college. This one is the top-of-the-line model and is fully electric but can be pedaled manually as well. It has large baskets for your books and groceries. I hope you can use it.”

F: “I love it! Thank you!” She says as she hugs Enji.

E: “Natsuo, your next.” He says a little more relaxed knowing the last present went well.

N: “Well, if her gift was good then I hope mine is good too.”

As Natsuo opens his 2 boxes, the first one is a bunch of video games. He looks with confusion because they are for a console he doesn’t have. He then quickly rips the wrapping off the other box and finds it is the brand-new console that isn’t out for another 3 months.

N: “How did you get this? It’s not even out yet.”

E: “As the number 2 hero, you make some connections. (Y/N) told me you really wanted one of these so I pulled a few strings.

N: “Thank you so much! I can’t believe you did this.”

E: “Im glad you like it. Shoto, it’s your turn.”

S: “I’m on it.”

Shoto finds he has a large box that sounds like a bunch of smaller boxes in it. When he opens it is a bunch of hand and power tools. He looks at Enji with confusion.

E: “I was told you like to work with your hands and like working on DIY projects and building things. If you don’t like it, I can exchange this for something else.”

S: “I like it, I can use these for a few projects I want to work on.”

E: “Really? That’s good. I worked hard to try to get you all something that you would enjoy. Hina, I even got you something.”

He hands her a small box. When she opens it, she finds a gold tennis bracelet.

H: “Oh my gosh, Enji! You didn’t have to get my anything, this is so wonderful.”

E: “It’s a thank you for having to deal with me and raising my kids by yourself.”

H: “Um, I don’t know how to say this but there is nothing left under the tree, (Y/N) where is your gift?”

Enji sits up with horror in his eyes. He never managed to find the toy for you. He was so busy trying to get the best gift that he didn’t even think of a backup. His mind is racing and he starts to feel sick when you grab his hand.

(Y/N): “Its ok Enji. I wanted you to make you and your kids happy. I’m just happy that everyone is here.”

E: “But you didn’t get anythi….”

The doorbell interrupts his train of thought. He gets up to see who could possibly be at the door on Christmas Day. He opens the door and is surprised to see Sanji.

S: “Good morning, Enji.” As she hands him a package.

E: “What is this?”

S: “Give it to (Y/N).”

E: “You found it?”

S: “Yes, I did. Merry Christmas, Enji.”

E: “Did you want to stay?”

S: “No, I have my own family to get to but thank you.”

E: “Well you will be getting a large bonus this year.”

He closes the door and comes back to the living room. He sits down looking at the box.

F: “Who was that dad?”

E: “That was Sanji, she was dropping of my present to you.”

(Y/N): “Really? You didn’t have to get me anything, Enji.”

You slowly unwrap the box. It is just a plain brown box. You still are curious as you open the box. You take the object out and start to take the tissue paper off. When you finally see what was inside, your speechless.

(Y/N): “What? How did you? Where did you?”

E: “This is what I have been doing at the office. I have even looking for this.”

You hold up the stuffed doll of Endeavor, it is about a foot and a half tall with fake flames. It has a little zipper on the back to replace the batteries. You’re a little afraid to squeeze it but once you do, you hear ‘Prominence Burn!’ and you feel it start to warm up in your hands. You begin hugging it as you start to tear up just saying “Thank you.”

F: “Dad, I didn’t know there was a stuffed doll of toy that big.”

E: “There was a batch made as a test. They warm up when you squeeze them but it would catch fire too often so they didn’t make more. Apparently, (Y/N) got one as a kid to keep him warm in the test facility. I can’t believe there are any left.”

(Y/N): “It was the only warm thing I had as a kid. I thought I had the only one of these. Funny, when I first meet you, I saw the flames coming off of you and I wanted to go and hug you. I was so cold but looking at you was enough to give the energy to stop the bomb.”

E: “Merry Christmas (Y/N).”

(Y/N): “As much as I love this, I’m glad I don’t need to use it anymore.”

F: “Why’s that?”

“Because I have the real thing right here.” You say giving Enji a big squeeze. He responds by pulling you in for a kiss. The rest of the day flies by as the whole family is enjoying the time together. Everyone helps unpacking each other’s rooms and clean up a bit. You all have dinner, afterwards everyone goes to the living room to watch the Grinch. After the long day, everyone was exhausted from the excitement of the day. The kids fall asleep before you two.

“Thank you so much (Y/N). This is the best Christmas I ever had.”

“I think I can say the same thing. Thank you Enji.”

You two hug each other tightly in bed, causing the doll between you to sound and start to heat up. You both laugh a little and kiss one last time before going to sleep.

Next Chapter

[spacegaywritings]

Little Tales (An age regression series) - Story 4: Stories

General Audience

Little!Patton

Summary: Patton felt the fuzzy feeling his whole day and now it is time to give in to his coping mechanism and prepare some nice things.

Tags: nostalgia mention, food, eating, snuggles, cuddles, self-care, babyspeak babytalk!, also I write like a smol at points, mom/grandmom mention, pasta, story, cartoons, hugs, blankets, comfort, Eurus the uwu snatcher!,neo pronouns, nb rep,

Please be mindful to not tag/ add any ships or shipping content - this is age regression and there are no relationships of any kind happening. Please respect that. Also don’t add any NSFW comments to this work. I appreciate this.

My KoFi  - Support me ♥ or Commission me

Note: If you miss any tags, have issues with links or any other concerns, please feel free to contact me. Anon is on and my DMs are open.♥ Links broken? Inform me, please!

Previous parts: 1 // 2 // 3 // ao3 1 // ao3 2 // ao3 3 // ao3 overview //  story on ao3 4 // masterlist.

 Story under the cut - Word count: ~2.7k

Patton snuggled up into his bed. It was time for a seriously calm time.

 In the background, his TV was running. It was a baking show with little kids and Patton smiled just hearing it. They had pretty things to bake with!

But he had used pretty things today and he had made special choccy cookies for himself. They had extra choccy because he really liked them.

 Patton snuggled up, hugging his favourite blanket. It had little cats and dogs on them and they snuggled and made him really happy! He smiled and cuddled the bundle of blanket in his arms. Another blanket was over him, covering him with its thin and rather cool fabric. It was patchwork and pink and had lotsa flowers on them. He had made it himself over a looooong amount of time.

 He smiled, satisfied with himself and brushed over his happy blanket.

 His soft blanket in his hands and his light blanket on his body had him snuggle up happily and just retreat into his pile of pillows. It was his soft happy place and he couldn’t feel better.

Well.. except he could because he had made himself happy tiny noods! His noods were perfect bc they were cut tiny for himself and they had nostalgia in them. He had made them like his granny and mommy used to make them for him when he was a kid.

 He pulled his bowl of pasta close to his chest and hugged it along with his little blanket. He had tiny cutlery ready. It was made of wood and for small hands and small people and he was more than happy to use it. Seeing the tiny pieces of kitchenware had him go all soft already.

His little heart was yearning for his time to come.

 Well, the time was now.

 The last bit he had to had was just this one thing..

 Patton pulled his phone up to him and opened a bookmarked website. His phone was put on “Do not disturb” which disabled all apps for him that he did not want to access or be notified about when regressed.

 “ ‘Cus ‘m a gud boi..”, he mumbled to himself.

 The praise left a reddish mark all over his cheeks and made his heart feel really soft and warm.

 Patton curled up on his side and slowly put the first spoon of tiny pasta into his mouth. There was so much cheese on it, it had to be good. Nostalgia exploded within him as the flavour hit his tongue. The familiar taste of childhood-impatience engulfed him and sparked the simple joy of being alive and having tasty food in his heart.

 “Aw..”, he mumbled to himself, nodding as if to show appreciation for the person who had made it. Neither his momma nor his grandma was with him but he routinely did so as a kid. So, now he did it, too, because he was small and a good and appreciative boy!

 Patton munched on his happy food, enjoying the savoury tastes.

 The regressed bean cuddled his food and focused on eating. No spill, no nothing but his light brain and simple mind made it harder to coordinate his hand movements in regard to his field of vision. Patton squinted a bit but the fact he got nostalgia food out of it made him more than compliant to the task.

 “Not the pretty blankie”, he reminded himself with a content smile.

 Meanwhile, the website he had opened was loading his favourite little gem. It was fanfiction, sure. It was not from his childhood like the happy cartoons he was watching (it was about little geometric figures befriending one another) but it was just as good in his opinion. It made him soft.

 There.

 He was done with his bowl of food and slowly put it aside, patting the bowl after resting it on the table. The bowl had done a good job in not spilling anything and holding the food for him. He, in turn, had done a great job in not spilling anything.

 “Gud bowl.. gud fud..”, he commented gently.

 The cartoon friends hugged and Patton cheered.

 “Yay!Frens!”

 He put his arms up, hands spread out as if to show his palms ever so proudly. The little beamed up at the TV and giggled along with Mister Triangle, Darling Circle and Miss Square. They were friends and he felt like a friend of them.

They turned to the viewer - Patton - and opened their hug to include him and the little squeaked into his room.

 “Fren!!”

 Patton giggled along with the geometric shapes who were his little friends. He hugged his blankie close and simply relished in the feeling of a warm and nice hug. Upon imagining this was what it was like to be snuggled at the moment, he focused on the softness of his blanket and its weight in his arms.

The regressed adult sighed out in relief, in contentment. A feeling flooded his insides like the ocean, waves rising and falling, breaking all over him with the sheer happiness of being “touched” and loved.

 He let out another squeak, mumbling to himself.

 “Fren ! Frens!”

 He giggled.

 His mind was fully smol. All adult worries and thoughts had slipped off his shoulders by now. The food, the cartoon, the happy blanket and the soft snuggles.

It was great, albeit not perfect.

 Patton clicked his tongue, thinking about his name. It was so soft! Pat pat - hihi. Patt-on. He giggled more and buried his face in the snuggle companion, rolling from side to side with his blanket hugged close to him. The soft bundle was tightly held by his arms while the little shook his body, thrashing around like an exited puppy out in the fields. The overwhelming urge to just roll and turn and wiggle around on his couch was strong and amplified his innocent joy.

 It was pure and it felt real and genuine in his heart.

His whole soul was taking the vacation of feeling and experiencing. Something he often abandoned in favour of being a reliable and fully functioning adult.

 But adult time was nu now! Bad adulting! It was nice time!

 “Nu adult, only baby!”, he assured himself.

  He bapy! He B A B Y !!!

 “b a p e y”, he repeated to himself.

Sometimes he had to voice his thoughts. It made him grin like a dummy but he liked it and it was happy feels for him! Gud feels!!

 Now that he was smol, there was the final step. Back to his story.

The website was fully loaded and Patton blabbered to himself in impatience, in childish, pleasant anticipation.

 “Euwus..”, he softly whispered to himself as he drew his phone close like the little treasure it was. To his mind, a smartphone was akin to magical power. He could watch cats and dogs and look at cute pictures of them, too! He could also just read and play anything and enjoy soft little games.

For now, he settled on reading.

 He wanted to read his favourite little story. It was content made by a creator called “Faeling”, someone using really fancy pronouns like neo-pronouns and such. Hence the name according to their primarily used pronouns: fae/faem

The story was written by faem and was about a hero stealing all the uwus! Or rather, making other people so soft, they gave faem these uwus. It was funny and cute and ended in a lot of nice smooches and cuddles and snuggles.

 Patton smiled and started scrolling.

 Prinxe Eurus was a well-liked person and so adorable and soft, everyone squeaked and said “uwu” when fae was around. There were happy pictures of faem with red hair. Fae walked around in funky gowns and hugged people who would say “UwU” and other things like that really loud. Then Eurus would reach up to snatch these things. The prinxe was young and short than others but fae was athletic.

 “Euwus has uwus..”, Pat observed happily.

 His heart was throbbing in happiness as he read. It was beating fast and hard with how excited he was, anticipating any action that had yet to happen.

This was the best day! Bes!!

 The story continued and Patton read.

Eurus was termed “Euwus” for possessing so many uwus. In fact, Eurus-Euwus had all the uwus of faer kingdom! Faer parents were upset but had no right to intervene. People had given their uwus to Eurus consensually and the people had risked getting their uwus snatched by interacting with them. A lot of people called to stop interacting with the prinxe but a lot of them only talked and were too captivated to stay away from faem.

The vicious circle continued.

 People worked hard to regain more uwus and feel the same rush of happiness when Eurus-Euwus did adorable things like giggle, do the happy stimmy thing or gently just get excited. Fae would gasp and make really funny faces. Sometimes, the prinxe would squeak out nice words, compliments and other things alike and absolutely rob everyone of their uwus.

 Pat hugged his blankie closer.

He was all soft for Euwus and was convinced fae had all his uwus. If not, he would make sure fae would get them.

 There was another illustration. It was the parents looking at Euwus while people secretly smuggled their uwus over under skirts, in bags and other things. It was a row of people, so so long that the queue reached faaaar outside of their castle’s realm. The window showed people standing outside, trying to juggle their uwus in their arms.

 Patton giggled.

There was a little dog and a snake bringing their uwus and putting them down before a delighted-looking Eurus-Euwus.

The little shook his head at the cute puns. They were adorable and made him tear up in happiness. All the good emotions welled up inside of him and piled up - stacked up - until he was full of all the good feelings.

It was called a “recharge” - at least he called it that when he was tol and realised he ran out of patience and adulting juice, so he knew it was time to be smol for a while.

 Without further worrying, the little scrolled more. The best part was yet to come.

 The prinxe soon had all the uwus and collected so many uwus that even neighbouring kingdoms were empty after people travelling from all the lands to come over and experience the lovely joy that was the younger royal.They all had lost their uwus to the charming giggles and delightful demeanour of Eurus. Still, they all hungered for more interaction.

There was an illustration of people lacking ALL the uwus to give to Eurus but they did nto look mad. They looked sad about not having the uwus to fully enjoy Eurus’ company.

 Meanwhile, the next page showed how fae was desperate too, in a way. Fae had so many uwus, it was hard to move around as they took up all this space. Eurus could not even stop taking the uwus as they seemed to just come over and stick to faem as soon as the others were so excited, they just revealed the happy feelings in the form of uwus.

 Patton gasped at the turn of events.

 Eurus had too many uwus and the villages and kingdoms had too little! Fae had become Eurus the uwu snatcher, known to all people in all the lands!

 The prinxe was a clever bunch of royal genes and decided to do something about the uwu situation. Fae decided to run tests while also silently smuggling the uwus back into faer people’s systems. Uwus were used to cook and everyone was invited to a special celebration. The extra sprinkles of uwus made the food even tastier. It was usually tasty because the royal cooks and bakers were great at their jobs and always made the best of foods, using the right ingredients. But this time, the food was astonishingly scrumptious.

 Patton nodded at the words, his mind slurping up the story like Euwus snatched uwus. It was his favourite part.

 He had to admit, he was silently blabbering little uwus whenever he saw them in the illustrations. The next illustration had some uwus too! There were uwus put into cooking pots, pans and other kitchenware. The cooks and baker were busy processing all the uwus in order to make the best of all the meals.

 The citizens deserved regular free meals via invitation of the royal family. This one meal was just a bit more special than usual.

 “Uwu uwu..”, Patton nodded.

 His lips were moving, slightly curved in euphoria. His fingers were wrapped tightly around the phone, his excitement flowing into holding the phone as if even the least bit of letting go could lead to the story vanishing forever.

 (To soothe this fear, he had saved it online, offline and had it ordered as a physical book.)

 Patton kept reading.

 Eurus had fed everyone these uwus and they all felt happiness filling them again but when fae announced this, they realised the change. They had interacted with one another so much, they were happy even without uwus! Being together was a delight and upon seeing the precious prinxe, people fell into a chorus of “aww”s anyway.

 “I snatched all your uwus!”, Eurus had said.

 The people were awestruck but oddly impressed. They agreed but everyone was delighted, still. Filled bellies and glasses provided a satisfaction that paired with the pure gift that was being around fae. But Eurus continued.

 “You are still happy to see me. I could feel your uwus even before I gave you the food.”

 They all agreed, a realisation slowly dawning on the faster thinkers among them. Eurus made sure to explain it to everyone for knowledge was important and fae appreciated faer clever people.

 “I gave you all your uwus back! I had them be put into the food and now you all have your uwus back. Order is restored. I now rule you to use your uwus on one another!”

 The people looked up at Eurus, still too stunned to react.

After a while, people clapped.

 There was another illustration.

Eurus was on the stage, before a few benches and tables of wood standing outside. It was a sunny day and people were dressed casually.Everyone had bowls of food and cups of drinks and seemed to laugh and enjoy all around them. There was a big uwu around faem.

 Fae continued and explaind how all were happy without uwus and that they had a wrong belief about it but had to learn and move on with the new knowledge. Still, as celebration, the prinxe explained fae would send and process uwus from everywhere to give to people who smiled less, so the uwus would be more evenly distributed.

 The people cheered and Eurus was crowned to be “Euwus”. Everyone remembered fae as hero and equaliser of uwus. The food festivals became more regular and the kingdom was the happiest and richest in all the lands.

Not to speak of, it had all the uwus and prospered in people and nature.

 Patton smiled contently and looked at the last illustration.

It showed the people being happy and the kingdom becoming exceptionally green and opulent. There was life everywhere and Euwus and faer family looked at them from their castle and they smiled, having all their own uwus.

 The little put the phone away and snuggled his blanket. Soft noises escaped his mouth. He was blabbering himself to sleep as some young beans did.

His mind was soft and his heart was heavy and all he kind think of was the story.

 “mmmuwu.. mwuwu..”, he mumbled deliriously.

 His head rested on the mess of pillows and he curled up a bit, eyes heavy and slipping close. It had been a successful little time and he was ready to nap in his little happiness now. His mind mind promised dreams of snatching uwus alongside Euwus, the heroic figure of his favourite story.

 “Mw..Euwuw..”

 Patton’s eyes were too heavy to open anymore albeit fluttering a bit for just a moment. He put his face into his soft blanket and curled up like a sleeping dog, innocence in his heart and dreams in his head.

[dopescotlandwarrior]

Sinners & Saints-Chapter 13

           A special thank you to @statell​ for your help and wisdom

Previous chapters on AO3

Chapter Thirteen  (nsfw)

In Washington DC, Hesser’s second in command watched the crime scene, grinding his teeth. The forensic team worked quickly to finish before dawn to keep a lid on this. They had not prepared for a tourist with insomnia who wandered the streets of the Capitol taking pictures with his phone. A week later the man and his family were back home in Flint Michigan where it would take another several days for him to review the shots of their vacation.

The pictures were sent to the Washington Post where they were forwarded to the CIA without printing them. They were also sent to a popular political vlogger who devoted a ten-minute stream showing the pictures and sharing his guesses like they were facts.

An unmarked van pulled up to the tourist’s home in Michigan and held the family at gunpoint while six other men removed every cell phone and computer in the house. They threatened the man within an inch of his life and piled all of their electronic devices into the van and drove away. The vlogger was spared the rough treatment but every platform he used on social media was closed and his content was deleted. Gab, YouTube, twitter, Instagram, and numerous boards, went black. One hour after he posted the pictures he was out of social media, lost his lively hood, and had absolutely no recourse.

Little Maia was a gossip junkie and that included the conspiracy channels that whipped her mind into a tornado of awful scenarios coming to the world. Darius teased her so badly about it she started watching her saved videos when she was alone. The Washington crime scene was in her downloaded videos which she watched some days later. When she mentioned a murder in Washington, supposedly at the CIA building, Jamie launched from his chair and pulled Maia out of her seat, almost dragging her upstairs. They all gathered in front of her laptop and watched the vlogger show pictures of a late-night crime scene.

“Jamie, do you think that’s Hesser?”

“I know it’s Hesser. Thank Christ."

“Does this mean we’re free?”

“Of Hesser, yes. He said no one in the government will know us, so we can hope.”

The days ahead were kind to the four of them. Jamaica’s perfect weather, great fishing with rods and spears, gorgeous water to swim, snorkel, and treasure hunt made the days speed by with nary a care. Jamie spent time in his studio each day and occasionally all night. There was still an aggressive edge to the way he made love and Claire tried to be patient until he wanted to talk about it.

After spearfishing with Darius one afternoon, Jamie asked if he would come with him to the island the next day.

“I can’t live with this thing in my arm anymore, it’s driving me crazy not knowing if they will be coming for us. Nor can I forget your warning the ping might be keeping us alive. I have to do something.” Jamie looked around at the beautiful surroundings and then focused on Darius. “I’m going back to the doctor to have it removed tomorrow. I want you there, just in case.”

“In case you die, is that what you mean? Before you take the ultimate risk, maybe look for an expert in this technology or super-spy stuff that you can talk to.”

“I’ve already done that and learned even more that terrifies me. Apparently, it takes a fair amount of energy to be an RFID and even more for the sonar pulses. The battery will go dead at some point and the pinging will stop. We have no way to know how long the battery will last.”

“Same doctor?”

“Yes, I spoke to him yesterday, he said he would do it.”

“Claire knows?”

“No.”

“What kind of a partner does that?”

“One who loves the other more than anything in this universe Darius.”

Claire lowered the aft deck and sat with her legs in the water, deep in thought. Adso sat next to her waiting for something interesting to happen and then left to find a soft seat in the saloon. Claire hardly noticed. Jamie seemed distant the past week, spending nights in his studio, and days with Darius or hiding with his laptop. When she walked into the bedroom the previous day she saw him click off the website he was on and slam the lid down. He was hiding a secret, and with every woman and girl fawning over him on the island she wondered if she should be worried. She missed him and hoped she was wrong.

Later, in the evening, a time the four of them usually sat on the foredeck and played cards or watched a movie, Jamie was painting, Darius carried Maia upstairs, and Claire sat by herself and cried, contriving multiple scenarios of Jamie cheating. She wandered into her bed and fell asleep with her clothes on.

Jamie wanted to write a note to Claire, just in case he didn’t return from the island the next day. He knew they were well into a movie above deck so he took his time. He tried over and over again and the trash can filled with balled-up paper. When the words wouldn’t come he gave up trying and climbed the stairs to a dark and lonely saloon with no one in sight. He laid down behind his Sassenach, filled with sadness this might be the last time to hold her while she slept.

The next morning, Claire poured coffee into a mug and asked Maia where Jamie was. When she heard he and Darius had tendered to shore the tears came tumbling down her cheeks, leaving Maia speechless. Claire shared her suspicions that Jamie had hooked up with someone on the island and Maia’s eyes became slits of anger.

“So Darius is helping him? Or maybe she has a sister? Oh, hell no. We are going after them so get your suit on and bring something to wear into town.”

“Maia, we don’t even know where they are, we can’t start knocking down doors.”

“I know exactly where Darius is every minute of the day.” She held her phone up and punched one of her apps that opened to the streets of the island with a glowing red circle in the middle. “He is here. Let’s go.”

Maia tied her flipflops and waterproof canister to her waist and Claire did the same. From their mooring, the island looked very close but as they swam toward it Claire was getting tired. Maia looked around and waved at a tender with a big smile and let’s-party eyes. Soon after, they were helped onboard by two very hopeful young men. She dismissed them on shore with a kiss on the cheek and pointed to someone else’s yacht while blowing kisses. Claire looked at Maia’s phone over her shoulder. They headed in the direction of the red circle.

“This can’t be right Maia, it’s the doctor’s office we visited before.”

“There is no mistake, Claire, at least Darius’s phone is in there.”

The doctor had closed his office while he performed the extraction, just in case. He heard pounding on the front door and motioned for his nurse to check on the commotion. She glanced at the monitor behind the front desk and recognized the woman who sneered at her the previous week. Quickly she unbuttoned the top of her nurse's uniform and pulled it open so her push-up bra could display her ample bosom, then she tossed her hair pulling stray pieces of her updo into her face. She grabbed a nail file from the pencil holder and rubbed it savagely against her lips making them puffy and red.

Maia pounded on the door again and both women gasped when the nurse pulled the door open five inches, enough to see her bouncing breasts and disheveled look. She was panting and whispering she was at lunch and they had to go away.

Claire looked at the hair in the nurse's face, her breasts pouring out of her loosened uniform, and her lips that looked ravaged. It was the same nurse that waited by the door to watch Jamie leave. Her heart dropped into her stomach and she turned around and walked away while Maia was arguing with the nurse. She was almost to the water’s edge when Maia grabbed her arm.

“Have you condemned Jamie already?”

“What else would he be doing there during their lunch. Do you know how to drive that thing?”

“Yes, I’ll get you home.”

The nurse put herself back together before taking her seat next to the doctor. She looked at Jamie’s beautiful face, relaxed from a shot of Valium, and watched him strip her in her mind.

“Nurse!”

She jerked out of her daydream and held the instrument tray for the doctor. He teased the tissue back exposing the RFID chip and locked the forceps on it.

“Mister Smith, do you want me to pull it out?”

Jamie turned his head from the window and said yes, then he smiled like he had not a thing to worry about.

“Wait just a minute.” Darius sounded angry and closed his hand on the doctor’s arm. “He is high as a kite and you’re asking him if he’s ready to die?”

Jamie looked at Darius and his eyes cleared suddenly. He recited the navigational terms he learned and named the doors on the yacht that closed with a watertight seal in case they were sinking. He looked at Darius, “I love my wife more than my next breath and this will save her.”

Darius released the doctor’s arm and watched him pull the chip out of Jamie’s arm. They waited, silently, while the tension crushed them. One minute, nothing happened, two minutes, then three. Sweat rolled down the doctor’s temple as he pumped up the blood pressure cuff on Jamie’s arm and then pressed a stethoscope to his chest. He repeated the procedure at five minutes, ten, and then fifteen minutes while Jamie dozed from the Valium. He pulled his equipment away and slumped in his stool.

“I do not know if there is some kind of poison in the second object, but if it was strong enough to kill him, he would have a reaction already. I am too old for this. He wiped his forehead with his sleeve and started suturing the incision.

Darius smiled and handed the doctor five one-hundred-dollar bills before helping Jamie stand up and walk toward the door. They both watched the sky as they walked to the beach and half expected black SUV’s to come screeching around a corner, but there was nothing out of the ordinary.

When Jamie saw the ocean in front of them his smile was huge. It felt foreign to him and he realized there hadn’t been much smiling for the past week. It was time to make up for all of that. If he didn’t drop dead in the next twelve hours they were completely free…and rich…and in love.

There was a strange vibe in the saloon that was uncharacteristically quiet. They both felt it and went in separate directions to find the girls.

Claire was breathing hard from the heavy suitcases she carried from the closet. She looked up at Jamie and jumped back, pushing the hair out of her face. He could see she was completely undone and wondered what had happened.

“What’s this then?”

“I think I got all of it. There was more than I thought so I gave you my new suitcases.”

Her voice was so quiet he could barely hear her, so he got closer and she backed away.

“Thank you, love, that was a lot of work, and very generous to give me your cases. What am I to do with them now?”

Jamie took another step toward her, and another until she was pressed against the wall, still looking at her feet. Something huge had happened to Claire and it was not based in truth so he acted authentically until she found the strength to tell him.

“Do you love her?” It was no more than a whisper.

He was standing toe to toe with her, looking down on the top of her head, there was no room for Jesus between them.

“Oh yes, more than the air that fills my lungs,” he whispered. “I am fascinated by her mind, and soft coiled curls, not to mention her body that steals my soul. He ran his fingertips up her thigh as she shook with the confusing arousal caused by his touch. He pulled her chin up so she was forced to look at him. “Mostly, I love her whisky eyes because I see all of my tomorrows in them.”

Claire was under his spell so he brought his mouth down on hers and tasted her fear, her love, and her growing passion. He studied her eyes and her confusion. Clearly she doubted his love for her and that hurt her deeply.

“I would give my life for her,” he whispered, “and I did, today.”

Jamie’s large warm hand covered her globes before inching up her back. She was fighting her need to touch and claim him so he continued his soft touch that came closer to her heat making her exhale into his chest. There were noises upstairs, shattering glass, and tumbling furniture that threatened to break the spell so he kissed the sounds from her mind and let his tongue dance with hers. He moved with her toward the bed, like a dance that she followed. He grimaced when he laid down and quickly moved to her other side so his good arm could support his head.

Claire was in a love stupor and she asked why his arm hurt. Her eyes were foggy with lust and pain from her broken heart. Jamie pushed the hair behind her ear and studied the tragedy on her face wanting to carry her away to a world without threat or danger to erode her faith in him. He dragged his fingertips up her thigh and under her sundress. His warm hand covered her abdomen from side to side and moved slowly toward her breasts.

“Unbutton my shirt love, help me out of it.”

When Claire pushed the shirt off his shoulders she looked at the bandage that circled his arm and he could see her confusion.

“Like I said, she is my everything, her love is so honest and sweet, how could I not give my life for hers.” He kissed her deeply and she could feel his need. In her tortured mind she decided something was interpreted wrong and she opened herself up to his body as he covered her. She felt drunk from relief and gave herself over to his unrelenting soft hand and his power between her legs. The remaining clothes fell away and he pushed into her while he kissed her face, neck, breasts, and mouth. It was a soft, slow build of passion while their eyes affirmed what was in their hearts.

When they came back to earth, Claire held him tightly and buried her face in his neck. He could feel her slight puffs of air as she fell asleep. He held her and let himself truly rest for the first time in days.

Claire’s eyes opened and her stomach growled from the smell of food. Jamie watched her mind clear and then she looked around and gripped his arm. She expected to wake up alone, that was obvious, and he felt shame for leaving their bed so many nights. She smiled at him and he pulled her close. `

“I plan to have a bit of fun loving you back to me.”

“What do you mean?”

“We are truly free Sassenach. It’s over, forever. I know you’re confused and I am so sorry about that. I smell lobster, your favorite. How about a nice dinner while Darius and I clear things up.”

Jamie and Darius went into battle with an invisible foe and won the day. Claire and Maia were brought to their knees but rescued by love in the end. Their story came out over a delicious meal that provided enough distraction to soften the shock of what had transpired.

“We realized a new threat with removing the chip. Maybe it would cause the second object to release something deadly.”

“I found experts online who were more concerned with the battery dying because sonar takes so much power.

“I thought he was nuts to take the risk but he was determined, with or without me.”

“It looked so obvious she had been kissed senseless and her boobs were overflowing her uniform.”

“I grabbed the doctor’s arm before he could pull the chip out. I didn’t think Jamie was capable of giving him the go-ahead. Then he listed the navigation definitions and watertight doors on the yacht and I knew he was clear-headed.”

“I took Claire back in the tender, then returned it and swam back to the boat. If I hadn’t been so pissed at you Darius I never would have made it.”

“I thought you went to her and she did nothing to change my mind, that fluzzy. Coming to the door with her hair in her face and puffy lips.”

"So all those nights and closed doors with your laptop was researching the chip?

"I was looking for proof they could not kill a person with it and found just the opposite. The CIA has studied mind control and building the perfect soldier for forty years. A chip that costs ten cents to make solved both problems."

"So you had it removed, why?"

"So you could turn yourself in and force them to remove it. You would be out in your early fifties and still have decades to live."

Jamie put his arm around Claire protectively. It was over, all of it. They had been on the run for so long and now they were free. Two people, complete strangers at first, had given so much to see them safe were now trusted friends. It was overwhelming.

“I suppose I’m next to get this thing cut out of my arm.”

Jamie kissed her neck, “right, tomorrow it’s your turn.”

”Well, I say we have drinks on the deck and enjoy the beautiful evening. By the way, Maia, will I need to order a new bedroom set?”

“Not all of it.”

The breeze touched her skin like a whisper, so soft and lovely. She dropped her head back on Jamie’s arm and sighed. Looking in his beautiful eyes she asked for a kiss and when his lips were millimeters from her she jumped at the sound of a boat horn.

They looked at the superyacht getting ready to drop anchor beside them with the crew running around on every deck. They almost missed the small woman waving to them.

“Hello, neighbors! I don’t want to intrude but might you come and bring me over so we could have a chat?”

Darius raised his eyebrows at Jamie who asked the woman if she was ready to come now, and they went to fetch her.

“I like people who are straight forward, I suck at subtleties. Sut-el-tees,” she said slowly, “is that the right word?”

“Yes, although depending on the person hearing it, you might want to skip the suck part.”

Claire never realized how little Maia actually spoke because she had grand gestures that made it clear what she was thinking. A bit of encouragement and she was trying out her growing English vocabulary regularly. They went to meet their guest while Maia practiced the word under her breath.

Claire held her breath while Jamie and Darius helped the elderly woman on board and then led her into the saloon and offered her a seat.

“This lovely saloon is entirely comfortable for a chat but weren’t you all sitting outside before I butted in?”

“Of course, let’s sit on the deck and get to know each other.”

The woman seemed so happy to meet new people and sat with a warm smile on her face. “I believe you were drinking, is that right?”

“What can I get for you?”

She looked Jamie up and down, “You in fifty years perhaps, for now, I’ll have beer if you have it.”

Jamie smiled at her, “we never run out of beer.”

The woman looked around at the young faces and healthy smiles, “my name is Sepora. My mother insisted and my father could not pronounce it so he called me Danny and that is the name that stuck to me. It’s just me and my crew, sailing around the world, looking for something to do.”

“I’m Claire, this is Maia, Darius, and Jamie.”

The old woman watched Claire’s face when she said each name and knew Jamie to be loved like no other. He was a special man, she could see that and wanted to know more. But first, she turned toward Darius, “You are the captain, and you love your first mate.”

She touched Maia’s skin and smiled at her. “I see you at the United Nations, telling men what they have come to hear. You are desperately unhappy surrounded by concrete, bricks, and glass. The sea calls to you but you have left it behind. Don’t do it Maia dear, money won’t make you happy.”

Looking back at Darius she smiled disarmingly and told him to take the honest path and leave his family behind.

“When you doubt your path is the right one you have only to look at the picture. It is the real you, and honestly shows your strength.”

The four friends were stealing looks at each other, wondering who this crazy old woman was, but fascinated, hanging on her every word. They didn’t speak fearing they would miss something.

Darius did not believe in seeing the future but couldn’t help his curiosity about some picture. “Ma’am? What picture shows the real me?”

“It’s downstairs dear. Let it guide you toward your path.”

“Jesus,” Jamie whispered and moved from foot to foot.

Danny looked at Jamie, “the dusty old masters could not bend paint into emotion like you can Jamie dear. Paint your world authentically, from your heart, like, the conversation. The world will beat a path to your door.”

Jamie was entranced by her, “how could you…”

“The next one will see you remembered as one of the masters, you will belong to the ages, but the conversation will see you better.”

Jamie’s eyes bored into the woman’s, “How…how could you know my paintings?”

“It is time for me to go home. Could I trouble you boys for a ride back?”

Suddenly she looked pale and tired so Jamie and Darius helped her to the tender and took her back. Five of her crew were waiting on the aft deck to help her aboard. She nodded and smiled at them and then batted at their over-eager hands to assist her. She turned and looked into Jamie’s eyes as they waved, “she is still a mystery that thrills me.” He heard every word and felt the hair on his neck stand up.

Jamie and Darius were arguing when they joined the girls on deck. Darius was begging to see the painting of him and Jamie was saying his paintings were not shared with anyone. “How in God’s name did she know about those paintings Jamie, and what painting is called the conversation?”

Jamie turned a strange look on Claire as the old woman’s words came back. There was no denying she knew what she couldn’t possibly know and if her suggestions were a gift to each of them he had better get out of the way of the message.

“I’ll be back.”

Jamie invited them into the saloon where his paintings were propped up on chairs and couches. They walked through the huge room admiring his talent and use of color but mostly looking from one to another.

“Darius! Oh my God, it’s you. Oh my God,” she whispered and blinked her eyes to clear her vision.

He stared at the image of the man he aspired to be and felt a shiver go up his spine, “someday…I hope.”

From behind him, Jamie said, “I have a photographic memory, and that is the man on the bridge the morning of our wedding. You are him, my friend.”

“What a beautiful place, it’s how I see Scotland in my mind.”

It is Scotland indeed, my boyhood friends, Ian, Rupert, and Angus,” pointing to each of them when he said their names. “The painting is for Rupert, in a few years.”

In her mind, Claire heard boys laughing, twigs snapping, and screams of glee as they dropped from the rope into the ravine. It was rare when a painting pulled her to another place where she felt the emotion of the scene. She looked up at Jamie with wonder and he pressed his forehead to hers for a moment.

There were a dozen more canvases in some stage of completion and all were commented on. Darius was trying to remember all that Danny said.

“Where is The Conversation?”

Jamie blushed and looked at the floor shaking his head side to side. “It is private and it is in our bedroom Claire if you want to see it.”

Claire looked up at him and took his hand, leading him into their room where she gasped and stood rooted to the ground. She was stunned by the life-like tones of her skin, the clear eyes of Adso watching her like he was listening to something profound. Claire was painted naked, laying on her side in their bed. Her one finger was under Adso’s chin so he would listen. Her naked breasts looked lifelike as did her ample butt and flat stomach. Her black coils spilled across her shoulders and down her back and her mouth was open in conversation with the kitten. Adso’s body was stretched out but his eyes were fixed on hers. There were so many emotions conveyed in the picture. Sweet, parental, sleepy beauty, enticingly sexual. Claire’s chiseled features were perfectly painted, full lips, loving eyes, playfully serious. The colors were muted giving the viewer an almost voyeuristic experience.

“My God, Jamie, have I ever looked like that?”

“Every morning love,” he breathed in her ear.

“I keep feeling different things, happiness, love, teaching Adso how to be a good cat, our bed in the morning awe, sexual energy, Adso’s worship. It’s absolutely marvelous Jamie but if we don’t let them see it, I fear they will search for it every time we leave.”

“It is your beautiful body mo chridhe, do you mind them seeing it?”

“I don’t mind, besides, the cute energy between me and Adso is predominant, they won’t even notice.”

Jamie got control of his spontaneous laugh and looked at his wife, as you wish Sassenach.

Claire walked Darius and Maia into their room and apologized for being in her birthday suit. Not a word was spoken from the mouths that hung open. Jamie watched their eyes move around on the canvas, delighted in the exchange between adorable cat and owner being the central focus.

Jamie dropped a sheet over the canvas and blushed at the comments. When they walked out on the deck Maia had grown quiet and pensive. When Darius asked about the new painting she tried to act interested and push down her hurt feelings because she was the only one he didn’t paint.

“What is the subject of your new painting Jamie? She said it would make you famous as a master painter, so what is it?”

Maia stared at her toes, trying not to cry when she heard, “it’s Maia.” She jerked her head up and her heart jumped to her throat.

When Jamie heard Danny comment about how famous it would become, he closed his mind to her abilities to see the future. It was just sweet Maia being iconic and would never be a promoter of his talent. He kept that to himself because the others were having so much fun with the predictions.

“Bring it up! Let us see,” Darius was about to bust with his desire to see the painting. Jamie was worried Maia would be offended after the seriousness of the other paintings.

“Maia, last month I walked into the galley when you were baking, remember?”

Maia was smiling and shaking her head no.

“Come with me and I’ll let you decide.” She followed Jamie into his studio and watched the covered canvas with anticipation as Jamie exposed the picture. She didn’t smile, or bounce around, nor did she make a sound as her eyes flicked all over the canvas.

The painting was life-sized showing Maia from the waist up leaning forward to exert force on the rolling pin over dough. Her face looked like beautiful determination punctuated by the tip of her tongue sticking out the side of her mouth. Her bikini could be seen under her white shirt and her long ponytail had slipped to the front of her shoulder and was covered with white floor. Adso was in the foreground shaking flour off of his fur. “Morning” was painted in a lower corner.

“Oh Maia, you sweet baby girl.”

Darius pushed into the studio and wrapped his arms around Maia while he studied the picture.

“I walked into the galley, early in the morning, and this is what I saw. It was cuteness overload when Adso shook flour all over her. It’s a very intimate picture Maia, I hope you like it when it’s done.” She turned her happy face to him and Jamie was relieved.

Darius looked at every line and shadow in the painting feeling weird about her floppy white shirt exposing part of her bikini-clad chest. One nipple pushed against the fabric and Darius smiled to himself. Maia’s nipples didn’t look like that, they were much bigger, so it was creative-license and not Jamie memorizing his girlfriend’s breast. He turned a knowing smile on his friend.

Jamie felt self-conscious with all the attention and covered the canvas before ushering everyone out. The evening had been extraordinary and the day, a roller coaster of highs and lows that suddenly felt exhausting.

Jamie slid into bed and turned the last light off before pulling Claire to him. He thought about all the crazy things that happened since morning and felt overwhelmed. He cuddled with Claire.

“Life is a journey Sassenach and there are no absolutes except one…me.”

He pulled her close and felt her let go of her conscious world. He would ride the night next to her, a happy occupant of that sacred position.