#well....... you can't help what kicks you behind your knees and leaves you for dead on the cold sandy floor.....

[fisheito]

Crimson Phantom: the one that gfkion got me

Flashback to my old yakutier list: in the top tier, you'll notice that one of these is not like the others:

SO WHAT IS IT DOING THERE????????

Perhaps the reason Crimson Phantom R5 ranks so high is cuz of the PERSONAL HISTORY i got with it. The straw that broke the fish's back? the last drop of water that makes the cup run over and spill onto my socks MOST iRRITATINGLY?Hm. Maybe. Prepare yourself for the longest post yet:

Let me give you a timeline...

May 2022: start playing nuca during Mystical Banquet. First SSR is Endless Banquet Garu. I am intrigued by his musculature and adorable puppy eyes. July 2022: Idol Fest. I only care about Olivine. Captain Oli is the one SSR i get, and i am exceedingly happy. October 2022: Eerie Escapade. I pull for Garu, but get 3 Yakumos. I am bitter and ignore him entirely. November 2022: I don't have many SSRs, so I consider building my 2-star vampire yaku. This would involve unlocking his rooms for the stat boost. I ask Friend A, who also plays nuca, what his rooms are like. Friend A says "it was roleplay cringe but free' I respond, "i expected as much" and do not build up vampire yaku. December 2022: I get Friend B to start playing nuca. Since we live together, it is very easy to spark impromptu , impassioned nuca discussions in the middle of the kitchen. February 2023: Friend B discovers the main menu- Past Events and Galleria, most notably. Their eyes sparkle as they look thru the events they missed. "When did you start playing?" they ask. "Since THIS event." i say, pointing to the Mystical Banquet banner. "Can I see who you have?" I give them my phone. They express mild awe as they scroll. We continue life as usual. March 2023: Friend B gets Spring Chaos Edmond and i am JEALOUS. I say so- regularly and loudly. During one such griping session, this occurs:

Me: you JUST started playing . you cannoT be destroying me in the rolls like this!!! i'm getting NOTHING!! Friend: but you have so many units that I don't! That I didn't even have a chance to get!!! Me: none of them are Beautiful Bride Edmond??!!! Friend: BUT YOU HAVE VAMPIRE YAKUMO Me: ?????????? so??? Friend: GOD HE'S SO BEAUTIFUL AND I'M SO SAD I MISSED HIM Me: you can have him. he's not doing anything over here. i wanted garu!! Friend: YOU HAVEN'T EVEN UNLOCKED HIS ROOMS? THAT'S NOT FAIR. GIVE HIM TO ME. I'LL TREAT HIM RIGHT Me: i wish i could dude i wish i could

Please imagine the utmost confusion on my face the moment my friend equated Bride Edmond's beauty to Vampire Yakumo's.

Because,, from the moment I started nuca, I had zero interest in yakumo's general aesthetic. I was long soured off the vibes due to an extensive history of dating sims shoving a Certain Guy into my face:

"Certain Guy AKA 1st potential love interest is imperious red/black guy who's also kinda the True Ending so we're only giving you the illusion of free will and you will be disappointed by the lack of care we give to other routes compared to this guy. You wanted a character that wasn't him? HAHAHA nah that nobody dies in a ditch offscreen. You were SUPPOSED to fall in love with the 1st guy we showed you and find his attitude problems attractive for the rest of your blissfully coupled life." (The freshest wound at the time was Nobunaga from that Specific branch of the ike series)

Butbutbut!! Yakumo is not imperious??? He's nothing like what you're describing??

Yes, dear reader, your assessment is fair. UNfORtUNATeLY, I'm a shallow ho and just the LOOK of his redblack skeleton embroidery was enough to repel me. The only thing that kept Yakumo in the Neutral zone was that his story self was Wibbly.

Looking at VAMPIRE yakumo, however... This was not wibbly. Here, with his hair slicked back and his torso seemingly widened and his generic bishonen-vampire-halloween-cosplay ...... it irked me. I did not like it. This look was everything I hated about those redblack domineering types haunting my past. The one interesting thing about yakumo (his wibble. his personality subversion of the aggro trope) and they GOT RID OF IT? Nah. I'm not into it. I refuse it out of principle.

I was steadfast in my dismissal of vampyaku for months.. But that was because I played alone- without outside influence.

Then that March conversation with Friend B happened.

SUDDENLY, SOMEONE introduces the POSSIBILITY that YAKUMO in THIS form can be attractive? Huh? Seriously? People think that?Legitimately never occurred to me. Unfortunately, my friend's words are in my head now.

During that convo (a convo which, unbeknownst to me, caused the first cracks in the healthy moderation i held for this game), i jokingly offered to unlock vampire yaku's rooms so my friend could watch them. A peace offering. "PLEASE!!!!!", they yelled,, with effusive sincerity.

Ah... well now I had to commit...

Determined to give my friend a Nice Thing, I threw excess knives at yakumo in my spare time. "I might as well unlock these rooms, and see how bland they are, and maybe sorta achieve vindication when I show them to my friend and they find out how Not Worth It vampire yakumo is compared to bride edmond" (I am fueled by spite and pettiness.)

thus, with time... ROOM 1 UNLOCKED!

Yakumo is wallowing again. Nothing new. He's handling the new cooking duties well, though. Good for him! Eiden is perceptive and wonderful, as usual... ah, eiden, beloved eiden.....i adore him and all the Sense he brings to these traumatised clan members ☺ Oop, there they go! initiating the cliche roleplay! Biting. Blood. Yep. Guess we're doing this.

AND NOW WE'RE GONNA TALK ABOUT ROOM 2

I was so self-satisfied when i unlocked R2. I mean, i wasn't going to show my friend until i unlocked EVERYTHING, but so far? From what I saw? this ain't it. this is SAD. this is... so very unsexy.

the only thing anchoring me to the present while watching this room was eiden's cheeky self. As Friend A remarked long ago, this was indeed cringe roleplay (but eiden is free).

I'm not very adept at voice reading/recognition, but i still felt something was up with yaku's voice. Meaning, it was different. he was REALLY laying it on heavy... It being the Role? Where was his tremulous soft voice? Naaaaaah, here in R2 we got yaku DROPPING octaves like they're on fire and affecting a drawl that...i think... is supposed to add to the seductive dangerous mood? i think? i'm really not good at parsing the horny from the Not fjkdrhgdu

with every extended vowel leaking thru yaku's fangs MY ANTI-NOBUNGA DEFENSES ARE BRISTLING yaku is REALLY playing it [Count Drakumo] up and he is NOT himself and, wait, he's spiralling? ooohhhhhh ok this is not good this is not fun he is not having fun

yes ok we've been over this my boner is dead killed by sadness that's just me not everybody is like me and i should let ppl like what they like MOVING ON

ROOM 3: OOOh Girl How they gonna react after THAT disastrous scene Woah!

Yakumo, angry???? Standoffish???? REfusing to be near Eiden? Interesting.... I mean. No! Not interesting! There's nothing interesting about vampire yakumo! Cliche as hell!!! Conventionally decent-lookin whatever-man is growling and hiding his face in a shadowy corner while saying things like "oh i'm a horrible monster .who could truly love me?!" and "stay away!! i'll only hurt you!!!"

Eiden: starts spouting truths about how the perception of "bad" and "undesirable" traits don't negate an entire person's positive traits and that someone's value can't be determined by such rigid thinking

Me: dammit eiden. stop making sense. i'm trying to hold a grudge here .............i'm starting to get hungry...

ROOM 4: OOPS I LOVE EIDEN AGAIN

I LOVE YOU EIDEN AND READING THIS ROOM MADE ME LOVE YOU EVEN MORE yakumo is, once again, spiralling in his self-hatred. i, on the other side of the screen, am getting weary. tbh, if you asked me to react to yakumo in real time, i would not know how to behave appropriately. i probably would have dismissed his concerns in some way (empty reassurances or bored ignoring).

but eiden??? ebeatutiiful emotionally UNconstipated FULL OF EMPATHY FIBRE eiden? candid... communicative... accepting yet not encouraging the dark thought patterns. . a self-aware king...

so when eiden gets in front of that mirror to demonstrate the self-talk "training":

I AM SO ENDEARED AND IM LO IBVE UHJIJM....

When Eiden gives yaku a chance to try, poor snakey doesn't know what to say. So Eiden whispers all these nice words and affirmations while standing behind yaku, expecting him to repeat them outloud THEN OF COURSE THE SILLY GUY ESCALATES TO HORNY AND I HAVE TO 🤣🤣🤣

ok, i'll begrudgingly admit... pretty cute interaction... and funny... if there's one way to win me over it's The Funny... how dare. how dare this room make me smile. I'm having a little giggle. Over a Yakumo room. THANKS eiden. For injecting humour into anything and making everything seem more tolerable...

After the practice run, Yaku ends up spilling his actual fears about his dual natures... but eiden insists that he can handle both.

yaku: if i think these dark thoughts does that make me a bad person eiden: well we all have layers n stuff so go wild yaku: if. if i. wanna lock u away all for myself and gnaw on your bones forever and keep u attached to my skin like an anglerfish absorbs mates into their flesh. will u hate me??? eiden: girl let your freak flag fly. i can take u ;););)

OKAY. SO MAYBE I CAN SORT OF SEE THE POTENTIAL FOR *NOT-AS-SAD* HORNY. THIS IS QUITE NICE (i comment mildly, gesturing to the emotional catharsis and deepening your understanding of another person). Now that yaku is emboldened in uh, being himself? all versions of himself? let's see how boinking is gonna go. hopefully it will be quite the departure from R2's struggle hours...

FUFIOKIN. ROOM 5: BANE OF MY EXISTENCE

The FIRST thing that strikes me when the room starts is

EIDEN YOU ARE SO HOT WHAT TH BRWOIJAOIEWFSKAESFKJLFEA?

INIPPL?

EIDEN'S HANDS? I'M BITING THEM? LET ME BITE THEM??? Yeah so i'm just staring at eiden displayed proudly in the mirror and a bird could probably land in my mouth with how it was hanging open, thinking, "yall know how to lewd your protagonist, nuca.... respect....." i'm distracted, but i need to move the room along so

.? ⚠! (ALERT NOISE) (ping!) the only yakumo room i've unlocked at this point is the OG SSR/Story H. i may have seen idol r2, too. so my current image of yakumo at this point is: -wet -crying -subby little baby

therefore, him saying he's GOING TO TEASE EIDEN causes my brow to upturn. 🤨🤨🤨🤨🤨🤨🤨🤨🤨 really? really, yakumo? YOU? are you even capable of doing that? can you do more than one thing [be wet baby]? i doubt it. these games always choose one niche for a character and stick to it... you caNNOT drift into switchery. try it i dare u (<- famously lesser-known last words)

eiden, in line with "i can take all of you", responds that he likes both. and btw, this ain't one-sided. he warns that he's about to weaponise bottoming again. if yakumo thinks he can just lead eiden around, lolollololo l good luck. my boy's gonna squeeze him dry (seriously. i have zero faith in yakumo's ability to stay in control of any situation)

OK! so! they're fukin *mundane hand gesture. rollin it along*

yakumo slows his roll and is all, actually, part of the fun is looking at you confused and needy :3 so he's going at a super lax pace and adjusting his dick angle and some other tactical penis feint that's edging eiden into horny frustration

as if i'm cheering on my fave racehorse, i start YELLING when eiden ~~snatches back the reins~~~~

WEAPONISE! 👏THAT!! 👏BOTTOM!!!!!!!👏🏭🎬ATTABOY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!📣📣📣🔊📢🔊🎖🥳📣🔊📢

wait what ........HOW HAS HE NOT LOST IT? if eiden went off on me like that, uhhhhhhhhhhh hahahaha rest in pesis i'm losing immediately but... crybaby.... is holding it together? in fact, he somehow TAKES CONTROL AGAIN??????? THET F ????

idk guess i'm shocked with processing another side of yakumo that i didn't expect,, i avoided yakumo because his look served potential for "2000s toxic seme" energy. but i tolerated him because his ACTUAL personality was NOT That. yet... now he's showing that exact domineery junk and i'm ..ok with it? Is it specifically because i've only seen him be pathetic in every other room?!

i'm just gonna...a. take a moment here to... maybe sort of understand the predicament i'm in along with my growing . something. admiration? for yakumo. uhhh.... hmmmm..........

yeah ok whatever people can be freaks about nipples i guess

SHIT I FORGOT HE HAS COLD HANDS . SHIT. I FORGOT I LIKE COLD HANDS SHIT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'M INTO THAT?

NOT THE NECK BITING AGAIN AHAHAHAHAAHHAHHA FOR REAL?????? VAMPIRE COSPLAY SERIOUS????? (<- my voice has gone an octave higher as i start panic laughing)

i don't know why i didn't expect that here. do i just not think ahead? it's stupid count drakumo. of course he's gonna suck blood. at least twice. maybe the rest of you saw it coming, and rolle dyour eyes. ahahaha, how very trite. how very standard.

did the active shattering of my preconceived yakumo.png weaken me THAT much? was i sudddenly swept up into the revelation thata game was Finally going beyond the yaoi dichotomy? to make someone subby AND dommy? Was i SO swept up that the "cringe vampire roleplay" bypassed my eyerolling sensor?!?!?!

i've got a single nervous bead of sweat making its way down my back and it's cuz of the very simple combo of hole/temperature/neck

so while i'm taking another impromptu wary pause , stewing at how DEVASTATED i may or may not be idk whatever it's not a big deal that the neck bite isn't shown on screen

LOGIC: that makes sense. animating and drawing that separate pose in this setup would be way too much work for 2 sentences. HORNY: TEAR INTO HIM. SUCK HIM DRY. LET ME

SEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

yeah for real. I'M feeling attacked right now. eiden trying his best not to splort from the three-pronged feel-up (struggling like an amorous salmon up a waterfall) when suDNDEnly

......?

*RECORD SCRATCH* ?!?!?!?!?!??!?????!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!???!!!!!??????????????????????? ?????!?!?!?!?????????????????!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!?????E?!?FKFOO>>>>?VFF??A""????":??"??????!?!!??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

👆

WHAT WAS THAT?

*runs into the adjacent room like it's a reality tv privacy booth* *slams the door and stares incredulously at the camcorder* *points toward the room i just left*

IS THAT ALLOWED?

Is Yakumo legally allowed to say "fuck"?????

*falls into a hushed and baffled whisper* i don't have enough Japanese comprehension to parse exactly what yakumo said oh god i wish i had the comprehension is this a translator liberty? is it real? because if the original speech was actually more reserved but the translators were like "bro that ain't sexy. just write FUCK"?? i guess that wouldn't be outside the realm of possibility? but if yakumo legitimately said "fuck" ...... AND dropped the honorific from eiden's name?! .......... huh! ohhhhhhhh *ruffles my hair out of confusion* did he really say that? i mean ok he's a grown ass snan i shouldnt ' be scandalised like i hear d an infant say FUCK as its first word , 11 months out of the womb ....... *deep breath* ok. don't dwell on it. gotta return to the task at hand. *steadfastly turns the doorknob and returns to my previous location*

so eiden looks like what i feel right now (in the key of: !?!?!?) thankfully the surprise doesn't last long in the face of his shamelessness (blessed be eito), so he tries to repeat after yakumo but yakumo's drilling him so hard that brain mysgh muysh can't really... speak..prororperly

SUHUT THE FUCCK UP YAKUMO I'VE NEVER BEEN SO OFFENDED BY SUCH A SHORT SENTENCE GO AWAY WITH YOUR THIRTY SHADES OF COUNT DOMKUMO PARADING IN HERE THINKIN YOU CAN DISH OUT ORDERS LIKE THSI WHEN YOU'R E NORMALLY A SOBBING MESS BY NOW=====----

*pinches in between my brows* uueugh...... eiden doesn't get to finish his task but they go at it until the screen goes white with that powerful SPLOOSH we all know and love

and yakumo FINALLY breaks character getting juiced released a bit of his control i guess we hear an "uhu" at last. he uses his pathetic wibble to ask eiden for more because he's still hard. of course he is...... mans is never done.......dick ouroboros with the way he never ends.......

BUT THEN EIDEN PULLS A FACE THAT GRABS MY ENTIRE BRAIN AND FLOODS ME WITH SO MUCH AFFECTION

I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHY JUST LOOK AT HIM SLUTTY BLEP i was having an out-of-body experience i was suddenly going over every BL i've ever played and how none of the protags were ever this unabashedly INTO IT (of course we are only here because we build upon the foundations of our gay ancestors THANK YOU GAYASS SPIRITS OF YORE , ) BUT! i'm experiencing a grand realisation of how far we've come and how eiden being a slutty versatile dweeb enriches my life to untold measures and his stupid cute little ;P thirsty look is going to sustain me for years and also i love it so much i'm going to screenshot it and keep it in my gallery just so i can look at it whenever i think about homophobia existing ever . i love u eiden get that dick and hole forever💖

now that yakumo is all vulnerable and Himself and freed from his edgy persona , he's just pounding into eiden liek 🥺 i'm just a normal snokai right? 🥺😥 so it's ok to act the way i truly want to❓ you'll accept all of me? 😖 i'm not a horrible irredeemable monster ?? 😧💦 you still want me? here?? with you???🥺🥺🥺 i'm allowed to make you feel good??😢?😭?😥 of course eiden affirms all this with a big moany yes (in surprisingly eloquent words despite the state of his anus)

and to top it all off, the room provides a full circle of plot by letting eiden complete his failed "repeat after me" task from before..- with a horny addendum about how he can't get enough of yakumo's dirty expressions, because of course our boy has to get the last word.

ahhh,,, like an epic movie,, it all comes together. loose ends tied and fucklines affirmed. tasks fulfilled; pervert's journey complete;; we, the audience, can go home with satisfied closure.

after-credits sceNe: when the post-nut clarity hits yakuei, i am brick'd with overwhelming concern about eiden's leg. how has it NOT cramped this entire time, being held up like that.? what was that? at least 15 minutes?! of lifting up one leg and spreading it so wide? damn, boy, is ya potassium that powerful? no calf cramps? nothing? eiden your sexual athleticism is unrivalled. i am in awe.

Note!

When i first watched these rooms, I didn't have headphones. Months later, i finally got to watch the scenes WITH SOUND. and i was so very pleased to hear that yakumo's voice in R5 was a nice middle ground between his suuuuper drawly heavy cosplay mode R2 angstvoice,, and his regular uhuu soft voice. it's definitely more himself, but with the added confidence of roleplaying ehuehue so it's just nice!! to hear him being more secure in himself!! and enjoying the situation!! but also teasing eiden and enjoying the power plays?? yay! near the end he returns almost fully to his regular voice due to , you know, whiny pleady 🥺 feels-too-good things afoot and that just .... upped the affection for me.... ugh... so he CAN do both......

in future watches, i eventually take the time to look at yakumo's face instead of eiden's. . .

and i do NOT like where my subsequent thoughts go

oh no he's hot.......................

WE RETURN TO REALITY. IT IS SOME TIME BETWEEN MARCH AND MAY (2023). I HAVE AT LAST UNLOCKED ALL OF CP YAKUMO'S ROOMS. I AM IN MY ROOM AND I AM SHOOKETHED. Shortly, I seek out Friend B, the catalyst for this train of horror and realisation. I tell them the task is done. Eventually, i give them my phone so they can watch their beloved vampire yakumo rooms. I couldn't even hand it over with the derisive scoff I THOUGHT I would show. the look of absolute dismissal that used to appear whenever someone mentioned crimson phantom yakumo. No, i handed it over with thinly concealed amusement . perhaps even excitement, that someone would soon share in something that so pleasantly surprised me. A part of me wished for them to return my phone with a disappointed "tch". to tell me that, oh, that wasn't very good after all. you were right. i could have missed out on vampire yakumo and lost nothing. Unfortunately, they returned my phone later that evening . their eyes glittered with the glee of someone whose hopes were beautifully fulfilled. "OH MY FUCKING GOD I KNEW it was gonna be amazing!", they bubbled. "Yeah." is all i could say... . I spend the following weeks slowly falling victim to yakumo's charms. By June, I am putting up posters of him all over my room while talking about how much i hate him.

SUMMARY: like nuca itself, it started as a joke and now the quences have conned. i'm suffering the cussions, reperfully. eiden did NOT help. he was beautiful and amazing from every angle and that added to the positive associations with these rooms,, and by extension, yakumo. and now? now i hate this snakeboy for what's he's done to me. i'm p sure he's actively moving the goalposts on my preferences as i type. i'm scared. he has too much power . that this mushy noodle would subvert tropes by following the old kabedon-seme script then DO IT AGAIN by hitting me with the SUBVERT REVERSE BEAM #2 and now i dream about railing him under the moonlight.

it was all downhill from that accursed roleplay. eiden's a gayteway drug. he fkoin got me. and now yakumo's got me too

[i-cant-sing]

Okay but I need yall to help me figure out the character(s) for the following scenario:

Imagine a romantic yandere falling for reader, and ofc reader isn't in love with yandere for obvious reasons like red flags. Maybe they did try dating, Yandere is a charmer, comes from a rich family, he's smart and hardworking and oh so head over heels in love with you. He's always taking you out on best dates, HAS to get you the largest fucking bouquets (excellent taste in flowers) and buys you expensive but well thought out gifts.

But for whatever reason, things dont work out and you break things off hastily and most likely over the phone before leaving the country. And yandere just- breaksdown. I mean my man does not have a good mental health as is, but you leaving, actually leaving him just breaks him down and he has a full blown panic attack.

I'm talking about yandere falling to his knees, clutching his chest and gasping for air, tears streaming down his face as he screams your name like a mad man. His family, they love him, they adore their son/brother/grandchild sm, it pains them to see him in such a miserable state. Yandere man is so delirious that he has to be sedated, tranquillised by medical professionals because he's just losing his fucking mind, babbling your name over and over again like a mad man. His condition only worsens as time passes, and so his family decides to take drastic measures because they can't see their beloved son/brother/grandkid so fucking dead and depressed and a shell of a once bright man. They love him so much, they only want ti see him happy, so they use their money and influence to track you down and try to convince you to return and take yandere back. When you refuse, they take the high way and force you to come with them, dragging you kicking and screaming to their private jet and fly all the way home, where yandere is.

You're in a dishevelled state, tears running down your cheeks as you struggle to free yourself from their grasps as they take you to yandere. And when yandere sees you... for the first time in months, his family sees the light return in his eyes as the yandere reaches out for you, scared that you're just his mind playing tricks. When he finally touches you, he is immeadiately pulling you into a hug, arms tightening around your body like a gilded cage as he cries into your shoulder and thanks his family for bringing you back. His family only smiles with tears in their eyes as they lock the door behind them when they leave, so that you don't go running away. Meanwhile, yandere has pulled you into his lap and he's looking at you with such sad eyes, staring at each feature of yours over and over again as if to memorise it all again. He can't help the tears that continue to slip out of his eyes, maybe he's crying that you're finally here, or maybe he's crying for all the time that's been lost when you weren't here. You fall asleep soon due to exhaustion, but yandere doesn't sleep a wink that night because he continues to stare at you and play with your hair very gently, finally closing his eyes when morning comes and he wraps his arms around you and traps your legs with his.

By now, you guys realise that the yandere's family is not only yandere for their son/brother/grandson but also for you. They are yandede for you too, but they're not allowing you to leave them or their son or even make him unhappy ever again. Some members are willing to let all you "tantrums" slide, while others are not so kind. BUT one thing is for sure, you're ALWAYS safe with yandere s/o, no matter what.

Now, for the characters I've had in kind for this scenario are:

Halim Mehmet Shah and the Shah Family (my ocs)

Dabi/Shotou and Todoroki clan (I am the OG creator of Yandere Todoroki Clan)

I wanna say Naoya or Toji but the Zenin clan hates them both....

Dick Grayson/Jason Todd and Batfam

What do you guys think?

Mood board for this scenario^^^(I love Pinterest)

[tojirights]

getting into a fight with billy and he pushes you against the wall, arm against your throat. he wants to be mad, to keep snarling in your face but he stops dead in his tracks when you moan. embarrassment surges through your body, taking the place of anger very quickly. "d'ya like this, hm?" billy smirks, finding yet another weakness he can use against you.

you struggle to get his arm off of you, but his muscles flex and hold you firmly in place. "fuck you." you cough out, barely able to find any air. butcher actually laughs this time, kicking your feet apart to slide his knee between your thighs. "i bet you’d love that, ya filthy little girl." he coos into your ear, breath ghosting over your skin. you can't help the strained whimper that leaves your constrained throat.

"are we fighting or fucking, butcher?" you snarl, gritting your teeth and trying to stand your ground but you can't deny the throb taking place between your legs. butcher relaxes the pressure on your throat in favor of pushing his body against yours. you can feel his cock digging into your hip, straining against the zipper of his jeans. "oy well, ain't that the million dollar question..." he grunts, and you're greatful that his body is reacting the same way.

"i do love me a good ol' hate fuck..." he mutters to himself before his lips crash into yours. its a frenzy to get his jeans undone and free his cock. unfortunately for you, your leggings weren't long for this world as butcher rips a hole straight through the crotch.

his hands quickly fly down your sides before landing on your hips. butcher's fingers dig into your skin, sure to leave puffy bruises in his wake as he easily lifts you up. it's almost insulting, the way he can just toss you around, but your body has thoughts of its own. in one swift move, butcher's pushing the thick head of his cock slowly inside your aching cunt. the stretch makes your thighs shake even while wrapped around billy's waist.

"aye, what a good little cunt..." billy groans, warmth enveloping his cock as your pussy takes in every thick inch. "fucking christ, billy." you whine, your arms coming around to dig into his back. he doesn't give you nearly enough time to adjust to his size, quickly bouncing you on his cock and using the wall as leverage. "what's that, love? too much cock for ya?" he teases, pushing impossibly deeper until the head of his cock has nowhere else to go.

you shoot him "shut up and fuck me, you perv." your words lack their usual venom, too turned on to bother with really insulting him. the amount of times you've thought about this exact scenario was maybe slightly embarrassing, but you can't say you're upset now that you finally have butcher balls deep inside of you. "aye, i never keep a lady waitin'..." he snickers, his lips finding the exposed skin of your neck and collarbone.

each nip of his teeth has your head spinning, pleasure and pain mixing in an incredibly intoxicating potion. you're going to have no good explanation for the bruises tomorrow, but all you can seem to care about is butcher's hand sneaking between your bodies to play with your swollen clit. "yer gonna sing pretty for me when ya cum on my cock, right princess?" he's pushing you to the edge, faster than you could have anticipated, your legs shaking with every tandem thrust and flick of his finger.

butcher's cock rubs so snugly against your sweet spot, your vision going blurry as the pleasure consumes you. "f-fuck you, billy." you gasp, back arched off the wall as he pounds your cunt relentlessly. he just chuckles, feeling the way your pussy flutters around him. "wouldn't wanna be doin' anythin' else right about now." the growl in his voice is enough to push you over the edge, stars exploding behind your eyes as the most intense orgasm you've ever had rolls over you.

you're left gasping, panting for breath as butcher keeps fucking your pulsing cunt. "fuckin' hell... just milkin' the cum out, ain't ya? ya want me ta fill this fuckin' cunt up, leave your poor pussy drippin'?" you whimper at his filthy words, clenching around his length as he puncuates every word with a thrust. butcher's groan is animalistic, coming deep from his throat as he releases deep inside of you. each thick rope of cum coats your fluttering walls before dripping down billy's legnth.

he holds you for a moment, panting as he rides out the pleasure. but the silent bliss only lasts for another moment before billy's hand is back around your throat. "don't think this gets you off the hook. still pissed about you lettin' that piece of shite live..." he grumbles, kissing your puffy lips before placing you gently back on your feet and turning his back to you.

you roll your eyes, leaning heavily against the walls as you regain feeling in your legs. "butcher i need pants!" you call as he goes to walk away from you, but he just gives you the middle finger over his shoulder while smirking, leaving you to find new clothes while still leaking cum down your thighs.

"what a fucking gentleman..." you groan.

[myth1cs]

Closing shift (Chou Tzuyu x M!Reader)

Twice Smut ... I'm sorry Word Count: 2283

Working the closing shift at a cafe was always relaxing for me.

It was always mostly empty and I was able to relax with the soft piano music playing in the cafe. Along with the fact that it was now snowing and I enjoyed seeing the snow fall making the outside look pretty. But today was even better as I got to work with Tzuyu.

I was behind the register counting the money and I couldn't help but stare at Tzuyu while she was cleaning the tables. The way her jeans hugged her legs so tightly was so addicting.

I must have been staring for too long because out of no where Tzuyu spoke up. "Can I help you Y/N?" Tzuyu said while looking at me in the eyes.

"O-oh no I was just lost in thought" I didn't know if Tzuyu would believe me.

"Well okay Y/N but just focus on finishing your work so we can close the cafe." Tzuyu said before she got back to work.

I tried to go back to doing my task but I couldn't stop thinking about Tzuyu. The way her hips swayed when she walked and her butt that looked like it would feel so tight around my cock. Everything about Tzuyu was just so addicting.

"Y/N when are you going to stop acting?" I looked up and saw Tzuyu was staring at me.

"What do you mean Tzuyu?"

"Oh don't act dumb Y/N I see you and how you stare at me. You want to have sex with me don't you?"

Tzuyu walked up to me crossing her arms and looked me dead in the eyes.

"No I would never-"

Tzuyu suddenly pulled me close to her and whispered into my ear. "It's okay cause I want to do it with you to."

I pulled Tzuyu into a kiss and started to put my hands on her body. Tzuyu kissed back roughly and we made out.

Suddenly Tzuyu dropped to her knees and started to pull my pants down. "Y/N are you ready?" I nodded to signal to Tzuyu she could start sucking.

She was really good my legs started shaking. I didn't know Tzuyu was so-

"Y/N WAKE UP"

I got up and saw Tzuyu looking at me slightly annoyed.

"Wh-what happened?"

"You fell asleep on the counter is what happened. I've been shaking you to wake up but you never did so I started screaming."

I felt embarrassed. I can't believe I dreamed having sex with Tzuyu.

"I'm sorry Tzuyu I'm just really tired right now." I apologized profusely to Tzuyu and she let out a sigh.

"Look Y/N I understand but I want to go home and I can't go until we both finish our tasks."

"It won't happen again I promise."

"Just hurry up and don't fall asleep this time." Tzuyu said as she went back to cleaning the tables. I pulled myself together before I went back to doing my tasks.

The next day came around and once again I had the closing shift with Tzuyu. This time I was doing the dishes while Tzuyu mopped the floor. Suddenly the power went out and the backup generator kicked in bringing back some light to the cafe.

Suddenly I got a weather alert on my phone and it said that there was a blizzard and to stay off the roads.

Suddenly Tzuyu came into the kitchen. "Did you get the weather alert to Y/N?" I nodded and Tzuyu sighed "Well we can't go home in this weather so I guess we're stuck here."

"Well blizzard or no blizzard we still have to get our tasks done."

"Ugh don't remind me!" Tzuyu said looking upset "But you're right let's just finish and we can figure out what to do from there." Tzuyu groaned as she went back to mop the floor.

After thirty minutes we both finished our tasks and we both went in the break room and were on our phones to pass the time until suddenly the lights went out and it started getting cold.

"Why is it getting so cold in here?" Tzuyu said while shivering.

"The backup generator probably failed."

"Well fuck Y/N what are we gonna do now? Freeze our asses off until the weather calms down?"

"Didn't you bring a jacket with you?"

"I did but I left it in my car." Tzuyu said probably regretting she didn't just bring it in and leave it in the break room.

"Y/N let's cuddle."

When I heard that I pinched myself to make sure I wasn't dreaming again.

"You want to cuddle?"

"Yeah so we can share body heat, I don't want to freeze in here."

I moved closer to Tzuyu and wrapped my arms around her while she did the same."

To say I felt slightly weird would be an understatement. I was having a hard time trying to calm myself so my cock wouldn't start rising. Being able to feel Tzuyu's breath on me wasn't helping.

I tried to push my dirty thoughts away but I felt my cock was rising.

"Tzuyu I need to go use the restroom do you mind?"

"Don't take too long Y/N." Tzuyu said as she unwrapped her arms around me.

I quickly got up and made my way to the bathroom that was in the break room. I quickly took my pants off and started to pump my cock so I could relieve myself. I tried keeping my moans low so Tzuyu wouldn't hear but I suddenly heard other moans that weren't mine.

I slightly opened the bathroom door and saw Tzuyu with her jeans off fingering herself. "Ah~ Y/N why would you dream about fucking me instead of just asking me to fuck you."

Without putting my pants back on I walked closer to Tzuyu to confirm I wasn't hearing things.

"Fuck Y/N why can't you just ask me out already?"

As I was walking closer to Tzuyu the floor suddenly creaked which made Tzuyu suddenly look in my direction.

"Y/N? I thought you were using the bathroom ... no wait why are your pants off?"

"Tzuyu why were you fingering yourself?" Tzuyu suddenly blushed and looked away.

"Why are you even asking I'm sure you heard what I was just saying."

I sat down next to Tzuyu feeling the cold couch.

"How did you know I was dreaming about having sex with you yesterday?"

"I heard you moaning my name while you were dreaming yesterday. You were also breathing heavily while we were cuddling so I just assumed." Tzuyu said with a smile looking at me once again.

"Well Tzuyu you said you were cold and that I should ask to fuck you so how about we take care of both those problems?"

Tzuyu took off her apron and her shirt and leaned in to kiss me. I kissed Tzuyu roughly and we held each other close.

Tzuyu started to take off my shirt and apron and threw it across the room. We were both extremely cold but we didn't care.

As our kiss turned more intimate I put a finger inside Tzuyu's pussy which elicited a moan from her. Tzuyu's pussy gripped my finger extremely tight. "Tzuyu is this your first time?"

Tzuyu nodded "Yes Y/N this is my first time. Am I also your first?" I shoved another finger inside of Tzuyu before responding "This is the first time for me also."

My other hand went up and grabbed Tzuyu's breasts. They were bigger than I thought. I squeezed her soft breasts and put another finger inside of Tzuyu.

"Ah ~ Fuck yes Y/N finger my pussy it's yours now."

The amount of heat we were in made us forget all about how cold it was. I continued thrusting my fingers into Tzuyu until she squirted all over my fingers. "Do you want to know how you taste like Tzuyu?" Tzuyu nodded and I let her suck my fingers clean.

While Tzuyu was laying down on the couch trying to calm herself down after reaching her high I walked over to the mini fridge in the break room and pulled out a block of ice. I walked back over to Tzuyu and shoved the ice block inside of Tzuyu's pussy.

"AH FUCK Y/N ARE YOU CRAZY?!" Tzuyu yelped from the extreme cold of the ice cube.

Before she could keep complaining I shoved my cock into Tzuyu's mouth and started thrusting in and out of her mouth. Tzuyu started running her tongue along my cock.

While I was using Tzuyu's mouth for my pleasure I used this opportunity to explore Tzuyu's body with my hands.

After some time I pulled out and Tzuyu started gasping for air. I pulled the ice cube out from Tzuyu's pussy to help her relax.

I turned Tzuyu over so her face was facing down on the couch. My cock was covered in Tzuyu's saliva so I wasn't worried about finding it hard to shove my cock inside Tzuyu's ass.

"Y/N please let me relax a bit first."

I didn't want to stop yet but I also didn't want Tzuyu to have a bad first time having sex.

I massaged Tzuyu's back while I grabbed the ice cube that was in Tzuyu's pussy and put it in my mouth.

Tzuyu's juices tasted delicious honestly I would want to taste her everyday if I could.

I continued to massage Tzuyu's back to help her relax. Eventually she spoke up "Okay Y/N I'm good now."

"Are you sure we can stop if you want."

"No Y/N trust me I'm fine."

With Tzuyu's permission I put my cock in Tzuyu's tight ass and started to thrust in her at a fast pace.

"YES Y/N FUCK MY ASS" Tzuyu screamed

I spanked her ass leaving a red mark on her ass cheek.

I started to pick up the place and started to squeeze Tzuyu's ass. Tzuyu couldn't stop moaning and she wasn't able to form any words.

I felt myself reaching my high and I thrusted as fast as I could inside Tzuyu. Eventually I came inside Tzuyu's ass. So much cum came out of me some started to leak out of Tzuyu's ass.

"Y/N that was great your cum made me so warm." Tzuyu looked at my cock and realized it was still hard. "Want to do one more round?"

I nodded and asked her if I could cum in her pussy.

Tzuyu smiled "You can go ahead, you can cum in my pussy if you want. Don't worry I'm on birth control so don't worry about me getting pregnant."

With Tzuyu's permission I went ahead and turned Tzuyu over so I could look at her face and then I put my cock inside of Tzuyu's pussy.

"Ah fuck Y/N stop for a minute and let me adjust to your cock."

I stopped and looked at Tzuyu worriedly. "I can pull out if you're in too much pain."

"No Y/N don't pull out just give me a minute."

"Okay Tzuyu but if it ever becomes too much for you just tell me. I don't want you to have a bad first time."

"Thank you for worrying about me Y/N."

After a few minutes Tzuyu told me to continue and I continued to put my cock deep inside Tzuyu.

I started off slow and Tzuyu whined for a while but eventually she adjusted and started to beg for me to go faster.

"Y/N ... faster please."

I quickened up my pace and we were both moaning as loud as we could not caring about anything else in the world other than each other.

"Y/N I'm going to cum."

"Tzuyu hold it for me. I want us to cum together."

"Please hurry Y/N I can't hold it for much longer."

I thrusted as fast as I could to help myself cum faster as I knew it was only a matter of moments before Tzuyu came.

"Y/N I'M CUMMING!"

We both came at the exact same time. Tzuyu's pussy was leaking a mix of both of our cum.

I pulled out and laid on top of Tzuyu and we started to kiss each other again. Our hands were on each others bodies again. Feeling Tzuyu's perfect body was something I could never get enough of.

Eventually we fell asleep on each other, exhausted.

The next morning came and we were both woken up by our manager yelling.

"Y/N AND TZUYU WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU GUYS DOING?!"

"Mrs. Minatozaki we have a good excuse!"

"REALLY Y/N? THEN EXPLAIN WHY YOU GUYS ARE NAKED AND WHY THE WHOLE ROOM SMELLS LIKE SEX! TELL MY WHY I SHOULDN'T FIRE BOTH OF YOU RIGHT NOW!"

Mrs. Minatozaki was right we didn't have a good excuse.

"Mrs. Minatozaki we'll clean this whole place up and leave." I said and looked at Tzuyu who nodded.

"Wait you guys don't have to leave I'm not firing you guys over this."

"Thank you Mrs. Minatozaki you have no idea how much-"

"Under one condition."

Mrs. Minatozaki walked closer to us looking at our naked bodies on top of each other.

"Let me join you guys next time."

Before I could even process what Mrs. Minatozaki said Tzuyu went ahead and agreed to her terms "You can join us next time."

"Great, oh and call me Sana from now on. Now get yourselves cleaned up and get dressed. Your both working extra hours today."

We both groaned knowing it was going to be a long day.

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

I've been busy recently so expect the next week or so to be slow. But I'll still try to write stuff.

[ageingfangirl2]

Fight Someone Your Own Size! Mihawk (OPLA)

Mihawk comes to your aid and is intrigued by you. Dracule Mihawk x Reader

Part 2

Y/N

You'd just finished a long shift at the local tavern and wanted nothing more than to go home and rest. The tavern wasn't in the nicest part of town, so you always made sure to have a blade on hand in case trouble came your way. Tonight you decided to take a well-known shortcut through a couple of notorious alleys because it would save you a few minutes. It wasn't that you couldn't fight, you could very well, you just weren't a big fan of confrontation.

You make it through the first alley with ease, but the second you step foot into the second alley the air changes and you immediately pull out your blade to defend yourself. Behind you, footsteps can be heard, and just as you pick up your pace, your path is blocked by four men in front of you. Looking over your shoulder you see three more.

The obvious leader of the group steps towards being a burly man with a scruffy beard and sneers at you through yellow teeth, 'Well, well, what do we have here, boys? A little birdie caught in our net.'

The rest of the men snigger and wolf whistle, as you take a deep breath and try to mask your fear, 'I don't want any trouble, just let me through. You can have my money if you want.'

The men shared a wicked laugh, and the leader stepped closer, his eyes filled with malevolence. 'Money? We'll take your money, sweetheart, but we also want a little fun.'

He reveals a blade much longer than you own, and you get into a defensive position not wanting to go down without a fight, 'not going to happen.'

Before you could react, one of the other men lunged at her, brandishing a gleaming switchblade. Instinct kicked in, and you managed to dodge his initial attack, but the odds were stacked against you. The rest of the group closed in, overpowering you with sheer numbers. You feel a sharp pain as a blade grazes your arm.

You managed to get some good stabs in before one punch to the gut sends you to your knees.

'You call yourself men yet you're a disgrace to our kind,' an unfamiliar male voice comes from behind you, his voice monotone, condescending, and a little bored.

You dare to look over your shoulder and see a tall man step out of the shadows, his eyes were piercing, and your eyes couldn't help but be drawn to his bare chest and a golden cross that looked heavy. You hadn't seen this man around town before.

Three of the men who attacked you sneer and run at the man weapons ready to strike, but the mystery man almost danced around their attacks with elegance.

'Who the hell are you?' the leader questions.

You use the distraction to get back to your feet, just in time to see the mystery man pull a large sword which was sheathed on his back that looked deadly and impressive, 'I'm bored now,' the man drawls.

He brings down the sword against all three men at once, and the sheer force actually pushes you back a bit.

The leader of the group, realising they were outmatched, grabbed his remaining men and yelled, 'Let's get out of here!' The remaining men flee, leaving you and your mysterious saviour alone in the alley.

The man sheathes his sword and ignores the three dead men at his feet as he turns towards you, 'Are you okay?' he asks in a low, soothing voice.

You nod and put your blade down, 'Err yeah...thank you...did you really have to go that far and kill them?'

The man tilts his head, and you can't help but admire the feather in his hat, 'oh my dear, trust me, I wanted to go much further but they ran away like cowards. You would have probably won if there were fewer, I'm intrigued y/n.'

Your eyes widen, 'how do you know my name? I haven't seen you around town.'

'I only show myself when I absolutely have to. You have a bit of a reputation around town so I was surprised to overhear those men decide to attack you.'

You scuff your feet on the ground, 'I swear I've seen your face somewhere, but I can't remember your name.'

The man turns to walk away, 'Dracule Mihawk, I sense we'll meet again y/n. You have potential.'

Before you can say anything else he all but disappears into the shadows he'd emerged from. Dracule Mihawk, that name meant something to you, but right now you needed to get out of the alley before anyone found the dead bodies and you were attacked again.

[swift-creates]

@chrumblr-whumblr day 9: mind control

wc: 757 | warnings: minor swearing, loved ones fighting (hand to hand not arguing), possession/mind control, minor blood, attempted strangulation, sedation | characters: Stephanie Brown (pov), Tim Drake, Cassandra Cain

—

Steph hopped down from the fire escape and landed neatly just to the left of a puddle. Tim jumped down after her and landed directly in it.

"Ah, shit." He shook the water off his cape, frowning so deeply Steph wanted to laugh. "What? It's wet," he said defensively when he noticed her staring. "Yeah, but you don't have to look like a sad little cat about it." She strolled past him, displaying her perfectly dry boots. "Spoiler one, Red Robin zero." "It's not a competition, Spoiler." "Now it is." He couldn't see her grin behind her mask, but she knew he knew she was.

They walked down the alley- Well, Tim walked. Steph pranced. As they were about to exit and climb up to the rooftops, Tim dropped behind, and Steph was about to run ahead when she heard a flump. She whirled to see Tim on the ground, clutching his head.

"Red Robin?!" Steph ran over and crouched beside him. "Hey, don't be like that. It was just a puddle." "Ngh. Steph" -- And it must have been bad, if he was too in pain to worry about using her real name -- "I- I can't…" "Can't what? Tim, what's going on?!" She tilted his face up; it was streaked with tears, and his fingers were digging mercilessly into his own head. "Tim?" "I- I- Steph, you gotta- run. Please."

Steph pulled him into what would have been a sitting position if he wasn't doubled over in agony. "Hey. I'm not going anywhere." He finally looked up at her, blue eyes wet and bloodshot. "Go." His voice had turned deep and guttural, and Steph recoiled instinctively before it returned to normal, shaky with sobs but his. "Please."

Against everything she rationally should do, Steph let go of him. Stepped a few paces away. "I'll go get help. You're gonna be okay." She turned to leave the alley, lifted one arm to signal the others on comms-

A cold hand grabbed her wrist, and she turned her head to look directly into dead blue eyes.

"Tim?" The name was barely a whisper, and she tried to pull her hand out of his grip, but couldn't. "You're not going anywhere." It wasn't Tim's voice anymore, not the voice she'd heard from the boy she'd loved so many ways over so many years, not the voice that had grown and changed with both of them.

He growled and aimed to sweep her legs from under her, but she dodged his blow, freeing her arm, and kicking him in the stomach. She tried to make it as light as possible, but he didn't make it easy.

"I don't say this often, but come to your senses, Red Robin! This isn't you." "This is what is left when all your little human weaknesses are stripped away. This is what you should be." He grinned, but it wasn't Tim's grin, and Steph felt her stomach twist.

He flew at her again, throwing a punch at her shoulder and a kick to her leg immediately after. The punch she deflected easily, but the kick was too fast, and she stumbled back.

"You can't make me hurt Tim." She said it as a fact, as if they weren’t in a situation where one or both of them might just end up dead. "Oh, can’t I?" The… thing tilted his head before reaching a pocket and flinging three Birdarangs at her. Steph’s breathing hitched as the last one grazed her leg, and she glared at him as a trickle of blood made its way down her boot.

No matter what happened, she would not hurt him. She swore it to herself as his fingers closed around her neck and shadows crowded around the edges of her vision.

THUD. She fell onto her hands and knees and gasped for oxygen when the vice on her windpipe disappeared, looking up to see Cass grapple with Tim on the ground. His sister pressed the end of a syringe into his neck, and his struggles quickly subsided, hands scrabbling weakly at her arm around his neck before going limp. She let him fall to the pavement and rushed over to Steph. "You okay?" "Yeah," she panted. Cass looked her up and down for a moment, then when she had apparently concluded that Steph wasn't secretly on the verge of collapsing, sharply pulled her into a hug. "Wh-?" "Bat thought ahead. Glad I got to you before something bad happened."

Steph smiled, and hugged her back. "Me too, Cassie. Me too."

[abitohoney]

I Just Want to Fuck You

(A sequel to Roses are Red)

Ch1, Ch2, Ch3, Ch4, Ch5

AO3

This contains Explicit smut, so NSFW, MDNI Sevika x female reader 3.9k words (why are my smut scenes always so dang long? And this is shorter than usual! 😭)

AN: Sorry I couldn’t get this last chapter out by Valentine's Day, but hopefully it’s still enjoyable!

"Your place or mine?"

Seems simple enough a question, but as Sevika only eyes you in contemplation, you start to wonder if perhaps you somehow misinterpreted the poem. But then again, how could you possibly misinterpret the words 'I just want to fuck you'?

"You got a key to the storage closet, don't you?"

What?

Oh.

OH!

"I- Well yes. I do," you reply dumbfounded. That was not the response you were expecting, but you're certainly not complaining either. "But my shift doesn't end for another hour," you add dejectedly.

Sevika looks past your shoulder, which you find odd, at least until she suddenly bellows, "Hey! Thieram!"

You nearly jump out of your skin at the abrupt and commanding call to your fellow bartender. And judging by the shrill little yelp from behind you, he was just as startled as you.

"Y-Yeah?" Thieram stammers nervously as he walks up beside you. He avoids Sevika's gaze like a trembling mouse, and you can't help but smile at how Sevika can bring men to their knees simply with her voice. Her presence.

"She's taking off early," Sevika states matter-of-factly, tilting her head towards you.

"Wha-?" He stops dead, catching the way Sevika narrows her eyes at him threateningly. "Oh. Uh- okay," he finishes meekly.

You almost feel sorry for him. Almost. Hard to feel too bad when you know what this is going to lead to. For you. His loss equals your benefit. A damn good one at that.

“Meet me in the back,” Sevika instructs, but before she can turn to leave, you hoist yourself up onto the bar-top. She arches a brow, clearly impressed.

You swing your legs over to her side of the counter. “My feet are tired. Carry me?” you ask with a playful pout.

Sevika’s lips curl into a smirk and she steps between your spread knees. Wrapping her arms around your waist, she grabs a handful of your ass and tugs you towards her.

You squeal, earning yourself a throaty chuckle from Sevika. The two of you smile at one another as you wrap your arms around her neck and legs around her waist. Neither of you give two shits that the other bar patrons are watching your little display. Not when both of you are so enamored with the other. And horny.

“You’ll be more than tired by the time I’m through with you,” Sevika husks as she carries you around the bar and towards the back.

Biting your lip, you try to contain your excitement. You don’t doubt for a second that she’s going to wear you out. You’re willing to bet a week's pay she’s a master between the sheets. Or in this case, between the mop and the sink.

"You're the one who sent me those flowers, right?" You ask.

"Yeah."

"Thank you. That was very sweet of you."

"Bet you're sweeter," she replies, gaze dropping to your mouth when you instinctively lick your lips.

Using the sole of her boot, Sevika kicks the door open that leads to the hallway behind the bar. Her plump lips are on yours before the door can swing shut behind her.

She kisses you with such fervor, such hunger, it’s enough to steal your breath. And she allows you no time to recover, her tongue immediately forcing entry.

Your soft moan turns into a muffled gasp when you feel your back press against something hard. Blinking several times, you gather your bearings and realize it’s the door to the storage closet.

Sevika finally breaks the kiss, leaving you desperately trying to refill your oxygen derived lungs. “Key,” she grunts, hands groping at your ass. But before you can recover enough to respond, her mouth is latching onto your neck, biting and sucking down the length of it.

“Fuck,” you groan, tilting your head to the side to give her easier access. Reaching down to your pants pocket, you struggle to retrieve your keys, cursing yourself for wearing such tight pants. And Sevika is not making it any easier by sandwiching you between the door and her large frame. Not to mention distracting you with her hands groping your ass and her mouth trailing down into your cleavage.

Nearly ripping your pocket with how violently you yank the damn keys out, your next hurdle is getting them into the lock behind you.

"Someone's impatient," Sevika chuckles as she lifts her head to press her lips to your ear.

"You're the one who couldn't wait to go to one of our places," you reply. Unfortunately, the way you're nearly breathless from being so worked up, your playful snark loses quite a bit of its edge.

Sevika nips at your ear, withdrawing a sharp inhale from you. She grabs the keys from your hand, pressing herself against you harder to keep you from slipping down her body while she hastily unlocks the door.

Though it should have been expected, you aren't prepared for how the door flies open from how damn hard Sevika is pushing you into it. Seems she isn't either, as she stumbles inside. The next thing you know, your back is slammed against yet another immovable object. Judging by the plethora of bottles that crash to the floor, it's a shelf.

The door swings shut, leaving the two of you in a very tiny closet with only a dim, dingy light hanging from above. Sevika wastes no time slipping her hand beneath your shirt to grope at a tit while her metal hand continues to squeeze your ass. She kisses down your jaw, dragging her teeth and nipping along the way.

"Sevika," you groan in protest. You want to touch her. Kiss her. But she's overpowering. Dominating. She gives you no room to return any of the attention, crushing you with her body and leaving your head muddled by her overwhelming presence. All you can manage is to cling to her shoulders and wrap your legs tighter around her waist while she starts grinding against you. And fuck, you can feel a bulge in her pants…

Oh dear Janna, she's wearing a strap.

And it's rubbing against your aching clit, leaving you desperately trying to bite back your moans.

Then she stops. And your resultant desperate whine doesn't go unnoticed.

Sevika smirks at your knitted brows and flushed cheeks. "Needy little thing, aren't you?"

Says the woman who can't seem to keep her hands or mouth off you.

"I thought you said you wanted to fuck me," you tease. And damn do you wish you could capture her expression and keep it forever. She just looks so stunned at your brazen comment. She's clearly not used to having someone brave enough to fire back at her. She's also clearly pleased, if the little smirk she wears is anything to go by.

"Alright sweetheart," Sevika purrs. Then, without warning, she backs up and unceremoniously drops you to your feet. "Fingers or strap?"

"What about mouth?" You ask with a sly grin.

"Your choice."

"Yes," you reply, and when she doesn't seem to take the hint, you add, "I'll take them all."

Her lopsided smile grows large enough to reveal a sliver of teeth.

Oh she likes that.

"Then drop those pants," she sneers.

You stand, unmoving, and watch as she pulls her cloak off over her head and tosses it on the handle of a mop. Smiling sweetly when she raises a brow at your still fully buttoned pants, you answer her unspoken question, "You forgot to say please."

You wonder, for a moment when her stormy gray eyes go wide, if perhaps you are being too brazen with Silco's right-hand woman. She could easily crush you with any part of her body. But you remind yourself; she came to you. She couldn't keep her eyes, hands or mouth off you. You've got this big, sexy brute under your thumb.

You raise an expectant brow to match hers and add, "Unless you've changed your mind." Slowly, deliberately, you run a fingertip down your chest, watching her pupils dilate as she follows the path down to your cleavage. "Would be such a pity," you add with a pout. "I've been so lonely. Needy." And when you see her metal and flesh fingers twitch at her sides, you know you've won.

"Please," she finally relents, but she refuses to meet your gaze. Her eyes remain glued to where your finger traces along the low collar of your shirt and over the swell of each breast.

Although she mumbles the word in the quietest voice, you opt to accept it. Not so much out of the kindness of your heart, but because you're aroused as high hell and want her touching you again. Without another word, you slowly undo your pants and pull them down to your ankles.

You're about to remove your boots when she's suddenly invading your space again; strong, thick thighs nearly touching your face. Peering up at her through your lashes, you find her smirking down at you while she unbuckles her belt, that smooth confidence apparently back in place. Now you can't seem to decide if you prefer her in that shocked, pussy-whipped state of mind, or this cocky, gonna take what I want version.

"Leave 'em," she states, placing her index finger beneath your chin and forcing you to rise.

You don't argue this time, deciding you want- at least for the time being- to let her take control again. Having only dropped your pants, you wonder if she plans to just fuck you with your panties on. But she quickly answers that question when she grabs said panties in her metal hand and just outright rips them like they're made of nothing more than tissue paper.

Sevika's haughty grin spreads wider at your startled yelp.

Okay, you're pretty sure you prefer this version. And as you watch her- this cocky, vast, powerful woman- slowly drop to her knees before you, you realize just how completely fucked you are. Or are about to be.

Sevika places a hand on the top of each of your thighs, and the contrast between the mechanical and organic is startling, but also thrilling. She’s certainly killed men with both, but one feels sharp, cold and crafted by mortals, while the other feels rough with callouses, warm and crafted by gods.

She slides the thumb of both between the apex of your thighs, gently prying them apart to reveal your dripping core. “Already so wet for me,” she hums appreciatively.

You release a shaky breath. Your sudden rise in arousal leaves your lower half aching for her touch. Your body shivers despite your skin feeling entirely too hot.

Sevika’s thumbs delve further, dangerously close to where you need her. But she simply spreads your folds and just… stares. Hungrily.

“Sev-” your whine is cut short, devolving into a broken moan when she drags the tip of her tongue through your folds, stopping just before your swollen clit. And then her mouth is on you, and the pleasure that courses through your body threatens to break any remaining composure you have.

She kisses you between your legs just as she did your mouth; hot, heavy, wild and downright insatiable. It's a myriad of sloppy licking, sucking and prodding. And paired with how fucking wet you are for her, the resulting crude noises should be enough to make you blush, but it feels so fucking good, you couldn't care less.

Then there's her nose. Oh Janna, her nose. She runs it along the throbbing bundle of nerves above while she laps at your cunt.

You card your hands through her silky hair, gripping the little half ponytail at the back. You tug when you feel her ease a finger inside your dripping hole. An impossibly long, thick finger.

"Fuck. Sevika, that feels good," you moan, eyes fluttering shut and head lolling back.

Sevika pulls that finger back out slowly, curling and dragging along your walls and with it another moan from your now slack mouth. Tongue swirling around your clit, she adds another finger, sinking both clear to the knuckle. Reaching up under your shirt with her prosthetic, she wraps her hand around one of your breasts, gently squeezing.

Her mouth sucks and tongue flicks at your clit. Her flesh fingers scissor and pump inside your cunt. And her metal fingers pinch and roll over the hardened peak of your breast. The sheer amount of stimulation is nearly overwhelming, leaving you reeling and struggling to remain standing.

Tugging her hair as you try to grind against her face and chase that rapidly approaching peak, you freeze when you feel the rumble of her threatening growl against your clit. It almost sends you over the edge. "Fuck, Sevika," you whimper. "I'm close. Please."

"Mmm. Not yet, sweetheart," she replies. And blessed Janna, her voice is so raspy, so full of lust, you think you might just collapse right then and there.

Peering down at her through half-lidded eyes, your legs tremble at the sight of this gorgeous brute of a woman with her face buried between your thighs, looking as if she's enjoying her last meal. Ravenous gray eyes meet yours and your knees finally give way.

Sevika catches you, her prosthetic leaving your breast to wrap around your waist and steady you. Removing her fingers from between your legs, she chuckles lowly at your fucked out expression. Wiping her mouth with the back of her free hand, she slowly rises.

Letting your hands drop to her shoulders, your lust-clouded eyes follow her smirking lips, neck craning as she reaches her full height.

Damn, she's so fucking tall. So sexy.

She suddenly pulls you against her firm body. Your resulting gasp is muffled by the press of her lips to yours. Her tongue forces entry and rolls over yours.

The taste of your own arousal fills your mouth, pulling an appreciative moan from deep in your chest.

When she pulls back, haughty smile still gracing her beautiful face, you’re too busy gaping to realize she’s reaching down to unzip her pants.

“Bend over the sink.”

You blink. Still light-headed from desire, you can’t quite process her statement. “What?”

She arches a brow. “Bend over the sink,” she repeats, slower this time.

Your gaze drops to her pants, eyes widening when you find her human hand languidly stroking the length of her long, purple strap.

Oh. Oh fuck yes.

Pants still at your ankles, you’re actually grateful for the absurdly small size of the closet, as you only have to waddle like a fool a short distance to position yourself facing the sink.

“That’s a good girl,” Sevika purrs as she steps up behind you, and your knees threaten to buckle again at that praise. She presses her metal hand to your back, gently forcing you to bend over. With the same hand, she spreads your thighs apart, her human hand guiding the head of the faux cock between them.

The anticipation that fills your entire being has you squeezing your eyes shut tight and biting your bottom lip. You’re certain the sharp tips of her metal fingers digging into the flesh of your thigh is the only thing keeping you grounded as she starts to ease the tip of her strap inside.

“Mmm,” she hums deeply from behind you, “Look at that. Such a hungry pussy. Wants me to fill her up.”

“Oh dear Janna,” you groan. She’s so fucking sexy.

“Forget my name, sweetheart?” she teases. She moves her human hand to your other thigh, helping spread you open as she ever-so-slowly sinks inside you.

Fuck, she’s going too slow. You need her inside you now. “Sevika,” you whimper.

“That’s right," she praises, thumbs gently stroking the insides of your thighs. "Bet I can get you to forget your own name though.”

You try to push back into her, but her nails dig almost painfully into your flesh, stilling you. You’re about to protest when she pushes the remainder of the silicone toy inside you, clear to the hilt. Shuddering at that delightfully full feeling, of her filling you completely, your breath comes out in a shaky moan.

Sevika moves her hands to your waist, holding you while she gives you a moment to adjust. “You still with me, beautiful?” she asks after a moment of just listening to you struggle to compose yourself.

Beautiful? Can this woman be any more perfect?

“I’m- I’m good,” you manage to breathe out. “More than good.”

"Ready?"

Yes!

"I was ready the-" your playful remark is cut short by her abrupt and hard thrust. "Fuck me!" You cry out, hands scrabbling to find purchase along the slick edges of the sink.

You barely register the short, throaty laugh coming from behind you, too focused on the pleasurable sensation between your thighs.

"That's what I'm doing, sweetheart," Sevika sneers as she slowly pulls back out before slamming into you again.

She sets a pace that's somehow both too slow and too fucking good. Using her grip on your waist, she pulls you back onto her faux cock with each snap of her hips.

It takes every ounce of your strength to withhold all the desperate noises brewing in your chest.

Sevika moves her hands to your shoulders for leverage as she bends over and presses her chest to your back. "Fuck! I've- been thinking- about this- for weeks," she grunts against your ear between perfectly timed thrusts.

"What? Fucking me- in a- tiny closet?" You try to tease. It doesn't hold quite the attitude you were hoping for. You're having just as much difficulty speaking as Sevika is, panting in synch with each deep stroke of the strap along your walls.

Without breaking rhythm, Sevika pulls her head back to regard you with an arched brow, to which you offer her a playful smile from over your shoulder.

"Fucking you-" she times her pause with the withdrawal of her strap, leaving just the tip inside. But before you can protest, she slams it back inside. "-anywhere," she finishes with her own cocky smile as you bury your face in the crook of your arm to muffle your cry of pleasure.

Her pace suddenly turns borderline brutal. Powerful thighs pounding against your ass hard enough to rattle the pipes connected to the sink.

Your grip on the sides starts to slip, knuckles turning white as you hold on for dear life. Your strangled moans and whines bounce off the walls of the tiny room, but you can’t hear it over the ringing in your ears as she slips her human hand around you to make messy circles around your wet, swollen clit.

It’s fucking heavenly. She’s a damn sex goddess, you’re certain. The way she rails into you mercilessly at just the right speed, at just the right angle to leave you seeing stars. The way her fingers apply just the right amount of pressure as they tease and toy with your clit. The way she leans over you, pressing her chest against your back in a move akin to an alpha claiming her mate.

You screw your eyes shut, tears pricking at the edges as your climax quickly approaches. Sucking in a deep breath, you hold it, your entire body tensing.

So close. So close!

"I can feel you clenching, sweetheart. You feel so fucking good." Sevika groans against your ear. "Say my name."

The tightly wound coil that burns low in your belly finally snaps. Your eyes roll back behind their closed lids. Sevika's name falls breathlessly from your slack mouth as your muscles contract with the waves of pleasure coursing through your body.

Although Sevika stills her fingers against your throbbing clit, she continues to pound into you mercilessly. It doesn't take long for that pleasure to run it's course and leave you feeling entirely too stimulated. "Sevika," you whimper, "too much!"

She takes pity on you (thank the heavens) and gradually slows to a complete stop, strap buried to the hilt in your weeping cunt.

The two of you breath heavily for several moments while you attempt to recover. Her chest presses against your back with each inhale, and you can't help but wonder how great it would feel if both of you were naked.

"Shit," you curse under your breath, "That was… amazing."

Sevika runs the side of her nose along the back of your ear, warm breath tickling the tiny hairs at your neck when she chuckles. "Worth the wait, hmm?" she hums.

Before you can reply, Sevika rises and you feel the overwhelming drag of the faux cock as she pulls it out.

"Shit."

Sevika merely grins at your mumbled curse. Then, as if she hasn't already caught you off guard enough, she brings her flesh hand down against your bare ass with a resounding smack. "I asked you a question."

There's no malice in her tone. You know she's simply teasing you, especially when you feel the terribly sweet rub of her hand over your prickling skin. "Would have preferred it sooner," you reply as you shakily straighten your jelly-filled legs.

Jelly covered legs. Damn, your thighs are coated.

With the help of Sevika's metal arm wrapped around your chest, you rise and turn to face her. She's wearing the most self-satisfied smirk you've ever seen, and it only makes your body flush all over again, arousal returning almost full force.

"Thanks," you say softly, not trusting your own mouth to contain your desire.

She bends down, grabbing your pants and pulling them up far enough for you to take without having to bend down yourself. It's a simple gesture, but you find yourself shocked at how sweet it is. That moment doesn't last long though, as she notices how messy your thighs are.

"Really enjoyed that, didn't you?" She teases and runs her fingers up along the trail, collecting as much as she can before bringing it towards her mouth.

"Wait. Let me," you insist.

Sevika arches a brow, crooked grin taking over as she brings her cum covered fingers to your mouth instead. Her gray eyes watch intently as you let her slip her fingers between your parted lips.

With her close proximity, you can feel how she sucks in a breath when you take the full length of those long digits. She looks delightfully pleased as you suck them clean, tongue swirling around each finger before she slowly slips them back out. Her lips part to say something, but you're pulling her mouth down to yours by the back of her neck before she can speak. This time you're the one to force your tongue into her mouth.

Sevika makes a quiet, deep, guttural sound. Something caught between a gasp and a groan. And when you break the kiss to peer up at her, you find her eyes filled with renewed lust.

"That good, hmm?" You tease.

"That mouth of yours could get you into a lot of trouble, sweetheart," she husks.

"Oh I can do so much more with my mouth," you reply with a sly grin.

Her mouth tugs up at the corner. "That so?"

"Mhmm." You're nearly teaming with how you've clearly, and oh so easily, caught the interest of Silco's right hand woman. How her eyes follow the tip of your tongue as you trace your lips.

"Come back to my place and show me."

You know it's not a request. She's insisting. Not that you have any problem with that. As a matter of fact, it's exactly what you were going for.

Stretching up on your tiptoes, you place a soft kiss to her scarred cheek before whispering, "Sure thing, Valentine."

Next chapter >

[totallynotawes]

SoulMates

WC: 1233 || CW: Suicide, Character Death, Mention of Self-Harms, Hurt/Comfort.

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Steve and Robin are high school sweethearts, two peas in a pod, twins from different parents, besties for life. They knew everything about each other, all the details, Steve knows Robin's secret about being a lesbian and can’t be as expressive as she wishes, how she’s terrified to talk to Vickie, how she was heartbroken when Chrissy died. He helped her through it all, Dealing with Venca and the upside down was not easy for anyone, if anyone knew how hard it was it was Steve, besides Will Byers. 

Barbara Holland died in Steve’s pool. He dragged Eddie’s dead body out of the upside down. He and Robin were drugged and beaten to almost death underneath Starcourt by Russians. Steve knows the depression, the PTSD, the feeling of it all. 

But when Robin suddenly shut him and the whole group out, Steve started worrying. She didn’t show up to school, work, or hangouts and when she did, she still shut everyone out. Steve made sure no one knew how he felt, he just shrugged off the children's concerns saying Robin was fine, She’s busy, She’s sick..again. He hated lying to the kids, they didn’t deserve that.

Once Steve got home, he closed the front door gently and leaned against it, sliding down to the floor. He hugs his knees and starts hyperventilating. Robin hated him, it's because he ran off to save Eddie and not her even if she wasn’t hurt. After a moment he gets up and quickly leaves his house, driving to Robin’s.

Steve walks up to Robin’s door and knocks on it. Robin opened the door and went to shut it but the brunette stopped it with his arm. “Come on, we’re getting burgers and going to the quarry, I’m not taking a no for an answer. Grab your shoes.”

Robin nods slowly, grabs her shoes by her door, and follows Steve to his car. They drive in silence only noise is the radio but very low. Steve left the car for five minutes to go into the diner and get their food. 

Robin is laying her head on the window, looking out and watching the houses disappear and trees becoming full sight as they make it up the quarry. She follows Steve out of the car to the cliffside of the quarry and watches him lay down a blanket. They both sit down and start eating quietly.

“You missed it today,” Steve spoke, “Dustin and Eddie came into Family Videos and they were talking about their nerdy shit. And you know how they get, They start laughing and pushing each other around, well Eddie pushes Dustin onto a shelf, and it just dominos down onto the other shelves. Keith got so pissed and kicked them out, but now I gotta clean it all up tomorrow.” He chuckles and sighs, looking at Robin “You think you’re gonna come to work tomorrow? I’ll need the help.”

“No,” Robin finally spoke for once and put relief in Steve’s body. “I’m not going to be around.”

Steve frowns “What do you mean?” He watches Robin get up and walks to the edge of the cliff. He scrambles to get up and get behind her. “What are you saying, Robin?!”

“I can't do it, no more. I’m tired.” Robin looks at Steve with tears streaming down her face. “We don’t know if Venca or that mind flayer thing is actually dead and I’m not staying to find out. I’m sorry.”

“Oh..” Steve realizes what she meant “Wait! Please, Robin! Don’t leave me!” He grabs her hands. “You’re my only friend, I can’t lose you.”

“You got Dustin and Eddie, I know how much you love Eddie and I know you’re scared to admit it to yourself, go be with him.”

“That doesn’t matter, you are my soulmate, my best friend for life, We were supposed to grow old and make the kids' life a living nightmare with their kids, we’re supposed to stay together til the end of time, not like- like-” Steve lets out a sob “Not like this Robin, please don’t.” 

“Steve, please, I can’t do it anymore, I can never sleep, I’ve covered myself in cuts,” Robin says and pulls off her jacket, revealing cuts all over her arms.

“I’m covered in cuts as well!” Steve cries out and pulls off his sweater. “Why else do you think I wear sweaters?! Robin, you can’t leave me alone, not like this. I don’t want to be alone, not again!” He cries out and grabs Robin's arms.

“I’ve made my decision, Steve. Thank you for the wonderful life despite the supernatural shit.” Robin grabs Steve’s cheek and kisses his forehead. “I love you, Steve.” She says as she backs away and falls off the cliff.

Steve stood there, frozen. He couldn’t move until he heard a splash. He moves closer to the edge and looks down, not seeing Robin's body in sight. He turns away and runs to his car before speeding, going well over a hundred, passing every stoplight and car.

Steve stops in front of Eddie’s trailer and quickly walks to the door, banging on the door. 

“Damnit! I’m tired of you reporters! It’s been months! What more do you want?!” Eddie yells as he opens the door “Steve?” He raised an eyebrow “What’s wrong?” He asked as Steve collapsed onto him.

Steve lets out a sob and nonsense that causes Eddie to pull the male inside and close the door. He leads them to the couch and sits down. “Hey, hey, what’s going? Why are you crying and banging on my door?” He forces Steve to look up at him.

“Ro-Robin!” Steve managed to get out.

“What about her? Did something happen to her?” Eddie asked worriedly.

“Sh-She,” Steve chokes on his sob. “She jumped.”

“Jumped? Where?” Eddie asks trying to puzzle everything together as well as being patient.

“Qu-Quarry.” Steve pushes his face into Eddie’s shoulders, letting out loud sobs.

“Robin jumped at the Quarry?” Eddie questioned and Steve shook his head hesiatedly.

“In quarry.” Steve corrects

“She jumped in the quarry?” Eddie asks and Steve nods. He was confused before realizing, “Oh.. Steve, baby, I’m sorry.” He hugs him tightly, pulling him into his lap.

“She said she couldn’t han-handle it anymore, said she’s tired, she left me, my only true soulmate left me before I could even process it all. I didn’t get to tell her I love her.” Steve cries out and sits up, looking at Eddie. “I know we’re only platonic soulmates because she’s gay but she meant the world to me. She h-help me figure out who I am, helped me discover new things in this god-forsaken world. Now she’s gone, abandoned me in this world all by myself.” He sniffles and buries his face into Eddie’s neck again. “I was going to follow her just so we aren’t separated from one another.”

Eddie listens to Steve and tightens his grip on the man. “I know, I know but I’m glad you didn’t take that leap, You still have so much to look forward to in life and Robin wouldn’t want you to follow, she wants you to continue on and live on your dreams.”

Steve nods and looks up at Eddie “Thank you, Eddie, I love you.”

“I love you too, Steve,” Eddie says and kisses his forehead. “I’m proud of you.”

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Sorry for any errors this is the first time I posted any of my fics. So please be kind and don't hate. If you hate it, block me idc. I go for more darker fic writing. I have tons of fics I've been working on just never finish and have been scared to share them. So have this one, sorry for making y'all cry.

[weministertomonsters]

god x a human he decides to kidnap

* * *

"He wouldn't leave," the guard on the left of the human male complained.

"Knelt on the prayer stones all night." The guard on his right added.

And he spits on us! The spirits in the temple pillars howled. Kicked at us and cried and cursed!

"I was trying to get your attention," the human muttered, his head reeling back as the guard punched him in the mouth.

"Is that how you get the attention of a god?" The guard hissed, turning to the god lounging on his temple throne, flicking his tail to the music he alone could hear. "Permission to kill him, your Brightness?"

"No," the god said, flexing his claws. "He interests me."

"You can't kill me!" the human protested, squirming in his restrained position.

"Do you want to put a prayer on that?" The guard sneered, partially unsheathing his sword.

"Ratha, at ease." The god stood and came down the steps, paws thumping against the marble and hair dragging on the floor after him like a veil.

The human male's eyes widened and the god opened his mouth in the smile of a predator; each of his teeth was its sword.

"Why... How? I pray to the goddess Ane. Why is it you that I see?" The mortal fumbled to speak.

"And do you know who I am?" As the god approached, the guards forced the man unto his knees.

"Tell me my name, mortal."

"M-M..."

"Oh? Are you struck dumb by my beauty?" The god smirked, crouching before him and trailing hands soft with fur over his neck.

"You are Maliuta. The demon god of lions."

"And death," Maliuta reminded him. "Your desperation was intoxicating when you prayed. I wanted to see for myself which human could pray so earnestly. What is it you wish to attain?"

"My wife is dying. I know she can be made well."

"But not by me," Maliuta snickered lowly, his tail scraping over the dry leaves on the floor as he circled the human, muscles rippling in his lion’s body. "Pity that I've taken an interest in you then."

"Please, let me go. Let me seek help for her. She'll die without it."

Maliuta leaned into the mortal's personal space, giving him a derisive look up and down.

"And what can you offer me? The scrappy flesh on your bones? Your soul which belongs to another? What wealth and glory could you offer that a god does not already possess?"

"I..." The mortal's eyes danced with desperate thoughts.

Maliuta turned and plopped on a couch, reclining his feline body while his human upper half reached for a goblet of wine as red as blood or blood as rich as wine. He took a sip.

"I could offer you my devotion. And my love."

Maliuta promptly spat and coughed until he thought he could taste his blood in his irritated throat.

"You think it funny to make baseless offers?" He sneered. "I should remove your fingers one by one and feed them to you."

"They aren't insincere offers," the mortal insisted. "You won't let me go until I offer you something, and this is all I have to offer."

"You would leave goddess Ane for the god of death and destruction?" Maliuta asked, hiding a grin behind his goblet.

"Heal my wife and I will give you my very heart while it still beats," the mortal said, suddenly looking very frail and tired.

"Mmm," Maliuta replied.

He didn't like making promises. He played with his goblet until the mortal's eyes fluttered and then closed. He slumped.

"Your Brightness?" The guards waited.

"Bring him here. Place him by my flank and let me watch him while he sleeps." Maliuta instructed.

"Will you grant his wish?" The curious guards asked.

"In my way. Bring him his wife. I will keep them both," the god answered, brushing the mortal's hair away from his face. "If she is even half as bold as him, I imagine I will be greatly entertained."

Dead as a dry sapling she will be, the spirits whispered. Into his black embrace, they go. Holy darkness, lonely darkness. Welcome!

[morvantmortuary]

for the request game, 64 + Hector. I can't stop thinking about it lord help

64: "I better leave my mark on you so everyone knows you're mine"

1. I’m sorry this took so long bestie, feel free to bonk me with a foam bat :’D

2. I’m sorry for what’s about to happen, bestie

el quiere sangre -

warnings: death scare, someone watches reader sleep, possessed!Hector, yandere behavior, ghosts, corpses, marking, possessiveness, some gore, dead person making less than wholesome insinuations to the reader. potential dead dove do not eat; we’re going scary and not smutty here.

reader notes: Hex’s Reader, established relationship! Reader uses ‘They’ pronouns, but Hex still refers to them by fem petnames and endearments in spanish bc those are what I know :’D Otherwise Reader is fairly neutral in all other aspects! Any tweaks to maintain that or to fix Hex’s spanish appreciated, as always!!

You knew the seance probably hadn’t gone well when Hex didn’t text you back that night. Or early the next morning.

Your concern was confirmed the following afternoon, when not only one but both of the twins were at the front door when you knocked and neither one looked like they’d come remotely close to sleeping.

“Oh! Hi there, sweetheart.” Maxi gave you his best attempt at a smile, but the circles under his eyes were darker than usual, and you could tell from the wrinkles at his elbows and knees that he was still in his dress shirt and slacks from the day before. “We, uh. Weren’t expectin’ company today. Sorry.” 

Rora was lurking against the wall behind him - her hair a frizzy mess, her dress similarly rumpled, and her mouth poised like she was sucking on her teeth against a bad taste. 

You blinked before you remembered to speak - it was unlike anyone in the family to look so rough in front of company. Sure, you’d been spending more time around the House lately, but you thought you still qualified on some level. No one had let you see the basement yet, for example.

 “No, you’re fine! Totally fine, no big deal, ” you said, looking between the two. “I hadn’t heard from Hector yet, so I thought I’d swing by and see if anyone, um, needed anything. …Rough night, huh?” You tried to smile even a little at your own bad joke. Hex had warned you that sometimes seances left him a bit worn out, sometimes for a couple of days. He’d made it sound like getting over a bug, though, or something as inconvenient as a common cold.

But the way Maxi’s smile immediately dropped to reveal his bone-deep exhaustion, and Rora glared at the floor like it insulted her personally, you immediately realized that Hex had been selective in exactly what he told you.

“I’m sorry,” you said quickly, looking between the two. “Sorry, if that was, um. Bad taste. I didn’t know— He didn’t tell me—“

“No, no, it’s fine,” Maxi said, gesturing for you to come inside. “Just.” He ran a hand under his glasses as he shut the door behind you, muffling a sigh into his palm. “We didn’t want to have to do it to begin with, and then things just kept escalatin’, and the person we were lookin’ for kept puttin’ Hex through his paces—“

“It was a goddamn mess,” Rora cut him off bluntly, folding her arms over her chest. “Ectoplasm everywhere, and we just barely got what we needed. He’s still a mess.” She jerked her chin up to the second floor, towards Hector’s room in the back of the House. “I can’t remember the last time it went that badly, and he’s been doin’ this for almost thirty years.”

You looked from her to Maxi as you slid out of your shoes, who was shooting her a warning glare - something that gave you the slightest pause when you saw a faint red reflected in his eyes, a reminder that even the softie of the bunch could still be a bit frightening when you didn’t expect it. “Is he okay? Is he hurt?” You should’ve known the lack of contact was a bad sign - normally he at least sent you a joking ‘I lived, bitch’ selfie, but today there’d been not so much as a whisper across the static ether. You kicked yourself for not thinking to come over earlier.

“He’s fine,” Maxi soothed, holding up a hand. “Took me a minute to get his vitals stable when it left him, and he spent the night on an IV drip in the prep room.” His mouth flattened into a hard line for a moment at the memory. “We at least seem to be past the part where he keeps purgin’ ectoplasm.”

“For now,” Rora remarked over Maxi’s shoulder, still leaning against the wall. “What?” She lifted a hand in a languid shrug as Maxi shot her another look. “It’s come back before. We could just be in the eye of it before he starts leaking purple from—”

“Can I see him?”

Your voice - having gone up a couple octaves, at least, as the twins were sniping at each other - caused them both to look around. You weren’t entirely sure what your face was doing, but it must have been sad enough that both of them immediately looked more guilty than annoyed with each other.

“Of course, hon.” Maxi said, his smile all sympathy. “He’s just upstairs, I’ll take you.” He gestured for you to follow him, and you hurried behind his long strides towards the staircase.

“He’s been askin’ after you,” Rora drawled, tilting her head to look at you as you passed by her. “…I think it’s him, at least,” she added, so quietly you almost didn’t catch it.

You heard Maxi sigh ahead of you as you reached the second floor. “Don’t mind her,” he muttered to you, slowing down so you could catch up with his long strides. “She’s only grouchy when she’s anxious.”

You looked from Maxi over the bannister again, making sure Rora wasn’t lurking in the parlor below before turning back to him with a furrow in your brow. “But… she’s always like that,” you whispered, not taking the chance of being overheard.

Maxi gave you a good-natured wink. “Family secret.” The smile faded just a bit as the two of you turned the corner towards Hex’s room. “Hex’s channelin’ has scared her since we were little. Scared all of us, really, but probably Ror the most. She can’t… see ghosts quite like we can,” he explained quietly. “So for her, it always looks like he’s havin’ a seizure or somethin’. She’s missin’ most of the context and has to bear with it until it’s over. I can usually see what’s happenin’,” he added, frowning now. “But that doesn’t mean I can help, really. It’s all him.”

You stared at him, feeling your jaw drop slightly in horror. Hex had never mentioned anything of the sort to you. “Holy shit, why is he doing this if they’re that bad?”

Maxi’s eyes fell to his feet for a moment. “We don’t like him to, but he insists he can take it,” he muttered, shaking his head. “I keep tryin’ to explain to him that ‘can’ doesn’t mean ‘should,’ but… well, you know him.” He gave you an exasperated side-long look. “And there are certain things we need that only the dead know, so…” He shrugged half-heartedly. “He volunteers.”

The two of you stopped outside a familiar door, clumsily painted a faded shade of black and covered in faded and blurry polaroids that were at least a few decades old by now. 

“Last I checked, he was sleepin’,” Maxi’s voice had lowered to a whisper. “If he still is—“

“It’s fine, I’ll just wait with him,” you whispered back, shaking your head. Even if he wasn’t awake, the idea of leaving now felt impossible. You were trying not to picture him unconscious on the other side of the door, wracked by whatever the fuck had just put his body through hell. The very idea made your chest ache like you’d been punched there.

Maxi smiled, but the weariness of it aged him a decade. “That’s fine, sugar. He’ll be happy to see you when he wakes up.” He turned as if to leave you there, but immediately stopped, as if just thinking of something. You watched his face, seeing him briefly worry his own lip as he chose his words. “…If he comes to and doesn’t seem… himself,” he said slowly, meeting your eyes. “Or if anythin’ feels off, in any way - even if you don’t know why - you holler for me and Ror, okay?” His eyes were serious again, moving between you and the door. “He should be fine,” he repeated, though you weren’t entirely sure if it was for his sake or yours. “We’re well outside the usual window for a relapse, but… still.”

“Define ‘relapse’.” Your mouth felt dry, and you found yourself crossing your arms over your chest. Not… protectively, per se. But something about the way even Maxi seemed hesitant, of all people, left you feeling ill at ease.

Indeed, he sighed, briefly rubbing the back of his neck. “Sometimes, when he was younger, we ran the risk of somethin’… resurfacin’, for a bit,” he said. “Somethin’ that might not have given its hold up on him - not yet, anyway. It’s been a long time since that’s happened, trust me. Years and years,” he reassured you quickly. “I’m only sayin’ somethin’ about it at all just to be overly cautious, y’know?”

“Oh.” You felt your shoulders relax as you nodded. “Cautious is good, yeah.” You smiled the best you could. “I’ll let you guys know if anything’s spookier than normal.”

“Much obliged.” Maxi returned it with a grimace of his own. “Now, if you two’ll excuse me, I’m gonna go try not to fall down dead on the couch. Text me or Rora if he’s ready to eat somethin’.”

“Thanks,” you whisper-called after him, and he waved over his shoulder as he descended the stairs. 

You turned back to the bedroom door, and caught yourself taking a deep breath before you realized what you were doing. What were you nervous about? It was just Hector. Your Hector. He wouldn’t be feeling well after… whatever the fuck that thing did to him, but even if he was just a glimmer of the clever, chatty weirdo you knew him to be, you’d be content.

Smiling briefly at the thought - and tapping a vintage Selena sticker stuck to the door for luck - you finally twisted the knob and stepped inside.

Hex’s childhood bedroom was dark to begin with, but despite the bright sun outside the House, it seemed completely engulfed in shadows with all the thick curtains drawn over the windows. You stood uncertainly in the doorway for a moment in the small cracks of light from the hallway, the silence within feeling somehow… thicker, than usual. Almost ominous.

Like you weren’t the only one in the room.

A flicker of movement in the dim caught your eye as your vision adjusted, and you stared at the bed until a shape swam into view —

A bundle at the center of the mattress, wrapped in an old quilt and stirring restlessly. A soft, unintelligible mumble and another roll of the lump revealed Hector, his mouth hidden by his blanket, his eyes closed serenely in sleep.

Dumbass, you scolded yourself. Of course you weren’t the only one in the room. You felt yourself exhale and your shoulders soften, your heart aching at the bruise-like shadows you could make out around his eyes in the dim light around the blackout curtains. Hex had a way of always looking like he was anticipating something when he was awake - a feeling of never quite sitting still even when the two of you were lying on the couch, as if expecting something or someone new to enter unannounced at any moment. It was only when he slept that you ever got to see him looking so at peace, so… young. For a moment, it was easier to picture him as he might have been as a boy, carefree and sweet. Away from… this.

You crept towards your usual side of his bed on tiptoes, carefully easing yourself onto the mattress over the covers so as not to jostle him too much. “Hey, baby,” you whispered as you lay down, your eyes at last adjusting to the pressing dark. “It’s just me, okay?”

Hex made a faint questioning noise, his eyes fluttering open like there were weights attached to his eyelids. When at last they seemed to fix on you, he mumbled something you couldn’t quite make out, but immediately scooted closer to you across his bed.

You cooed softly to him, wrapping your arms around his thin shoulders as he settled next to you with an exhausted sigh. You pressed your forehead against his feverish one, trying not to shrink away from the heat and sweat of it as you felt his arm squirm through his tangled sheets to wind around your waist.

“Que tal, Bonita?” he mumbled, and you fought the urge to wince at the way his voice sounded cracked - like his vocal chords were bruised.

“Hi there, Sexy,” you joked back, hoping your voice didn’t give away just how hard this was to see. You’d seen Hex sick, of course - a virus here or there, a bad flu once - but this was beyond any of that. He looked like it hurt to fucking blink. Indeed, when he did, he looked bleary and barely conscious. “Maxi and Ror told me you weren’t feeling so hot,” you whispered, snuggling to him. “So I’m here to be your lowly jello-fetcher while you recover, okay?” You were trying not to panic at just how ironically hot he felt through his covers; since the two of you had started sleeping together, you’d always known him to run cold, to the point you’d have a fluffy blanket all to yourself in the winter months. For him to be shirtless and still warm through the thin cotton sheets between you was… new. It scared you.

But Maxi and Rora said he was better than he had been, so. You’d have to trust them on that one.

“You hungry?” you whispered, hopeful.

But Hex only groaned, shaking his head as he withdrew into his blankets.

“Okay, okay, don’t sweat it,” you soothed, following him with your arms still around his shoulders. “Don’t sweat it, baby, there’ll be plenty of time for that later.” You felt him ease back against you, hugging him tightly as you tucked yourself under his chin. “I’m not going anywhere, okay?”

“Yo se,” Hex murmured, burying the end of his nose in your hair. “Te amo, Querida.”

“I love you too, babe,” you whispered back, listening carefully as his breathing quickly slid back into the deep rasp of sleep. You closed your eyes, trying to content yourself with just being close enough to hear him, to know he was recovering even if he hurt to look at. You made lists in your head to try to pass the time: of things you’d run back to your place and grab once he was awake, so you could camp out here for a few days; of dishes you thought you could try if he was having a hard time keeping stuff down - Rora and Maxi had mentioned ectoplasm, what the fuck was that? Was it anything like in the Ghostbusters movies? Of things you apparently fucking needed to Google, not realizing quite what it meant to have a medium for a lover —

You made lists until your breathing fell into sync with his, and Sleep carried you, too, away down its dark river.

You were so far gone, you didn’t notice when something else woke up.

It wasn’t the rustling that stirred you, or the broken-sounding giggle. It was the cold.

Hex had been so warm next to you that you’d eased into his heat, eventually rolling over so your back was against his chest. When at first the heat only disappeared, you continued to sleep, comforted by the weight of his quilt.

When the temperature dropped further, your dozing brain figured it was just the House’s rickety-ass air conditioning system kicking on at last - it was already temperamental, but in the summers it could be downright fickle, still as the grave one minute and then chilling everyone in the vicinity in the same hour.

…But this was something else.

You only woke up when you started shivering, pulling the quilt tighter around you until you were nearly tangled in it. Not quite wanting to open your eyes yet, you rolled over, one hand reaching out to feel for where Hex had obviously gotten up to go to the bathroom, or hell, even rolled off the mattress in a particularly restless dream.

Your hand skimmed flesh that was stone-cold to the touch.

Your eyes flew open, panicking. Oh god, oh god oh god what happened—

“Hex?” you croaked, squinting into the perfect impenetrable black of the room. Had it gotten dark outside? How long had you been asleep? How long had he?

He was still just asleep, right?

There was no answer. The figure beneath your hand, undeniably cold, stayed perfectly still.

You whimpered, the sound rising from your throat unbidden as your free hand frantically scrabbled across the mattress for your phone. You swear you’d had it with you when you walked in, you were keeping it close in case you needed the twins—

But that had been in case Hex got sick, or started running a fever.

No one told you he might not wake up at all.

The whimper in your throat rose in volume as you tried to get your brain to work, wanting to yell for someone to come help. This had to be a mistake, this was a nightmare, this couldn’t really be happening.

But your hand on his skin - his bare shoulder, you realized now - moved slowly upwards, desperately for a puff of breath of a pulse of warmth. You felt nothing, still, skimming his neck and finding his hair hanging in his face.

“Hex,” you demanded, your fingers desperately brushing his hair away as you still groped for your phone. “Hector, babe, wake up. Wake up right now.”

The only heat in the room seemed to be pooling behind your eyes as you begged yourself not to cry. This was a bad dream. This was a bad dream, or a prank. He was going to sit up laughing any minute now at how scared you’d been, how little it took.

But something in you knew that wasn’t true. Hex was a tease, but he wasn’t mean. He would never play a joke on you that made you cry.

He’d die before he’d do that, he was always telling you.

You let out a shaky breath as you finally found your fucking phone, fumbling not to drop it. “Hector, wake the fuck up and talk to me, goddammit.”

The dim light of your lock screen - a selfie of him ambushing you with kisses as you laughed - failed to penetrate the darkness around you, and you felt your panic begin to combine with a sense of claustrophobia.

You fumbled with your phone, trying to flip the flashlight on. Under your free hand, you felt Hector twitch ever so slightly, as if stirring from a dream.

“I’m awake.”

You jumped at the sound, feeling your own breath gush from you in a stuttering half-sob. “Hex, oh my god. I was so scared, you can’t do that to me.” You flipped your flashlight on at last, angling the phone upwards -

And seeing someone staring out of Hector’s face that was definitely not Hector.

You couldn’t explain it: it was his face, of course. But the expression - the grin, the rictus split of the lips - was entirely wrong. He didn’t smile with that much teeth, that much exposed gum. His lips were purple, like he’d been starved for air. His eyes were the wrong color, even: rather than his warm dark brown, staring out from between tangled locks of his hair, they were a sickeningly pale blue in his face. 

Or at least, from what you could see of the irises. The pupils, in the dark of the room, seemed to fill every available centimeter of space.

Worst of all - it still didn’t look like he was breathing.

The person wearing your boyfriend’s face stared at you, laying perfectly still with his nose an inch from yours on the pillow.

You stared back at him, struggling suddenly for words.

The room between you two fell completely, utterly silent.

The only light source in the room shook with your hand as your brain raced. He hadn’t moved yet. He was just… laying there. God knows how long he had been laying there; you realized with a sick jolt that you could’ve been sleeping for hours with this… thing right next to you, staring at you.

Remembering Maxi’s words from earlier, you took a breath as slowly and subtly as you could, trying to ready yourself to scream.

“Try,” croaked not-Hector, watching you from the pillow. “And see what happens.” His grin only grew wider, to the point where it threatened to tear the corners of Hex’s mouth.

You froze, your breath dying in your lungs. “…What are you?” you exhaled, staring at the thing next to you.

It didn’t blink, it never twitched save for its lips. “Dead.”

Somehow hearing it, having it confirmed, was worse. Of course it was dead - nothing living smiled that way. Nothing living had eyes that color blue, like they’d been soaked in some sort of preservatives. 

“Where’s Hector?” you whispered, the tears quickly returning to your eyes.

“Having his turn in the dark.” The thing clicked its teeth against each other in two sharp bites to punctuate this, then followed it with a laugh like a wheezing cough. Unbidden, you suddenly glanced towards the shadowy corners of the room, as if you felt something else standing there watching you. You couldn’t tell if the ringing in your ears was just fear, or the tail end of a distant shout.

You swallowed, trying to cover for the fact that you were definitely about to piss yourself. “G-give him back.”

“No.” The thing stiffly shook Hector’s head, and you covered your mouth as his neck made a noise that sounded entirely wrong. “No, no no, I like it here. I like this.” It gazed up at you and you wanted to vomit. “I like waking up next to you.”

You shivered, wanting to roll away but scared that moving would cause… something. Something worse. It took you a minute to try to breathe, your next question barely audible: “What do you want?”

“What we all want on the other side.” The too-pale eyes slid down to your neck, then slowly, torturously back up again, entirely silent in the process. “…To feel warm again.”

A black tongue moved wetly over the thing’s teeth, and as you finally went to scream, a withered hand shoved itself from under the covers to stick rotting fingers in your mouth.

You didn’t know when it pulled you under the sheets, but there was fabric everywhere - on your tongue, twisted around your wrists so you couldn’t thrash and between your legs so you couldn’t kick free. You were suffocated by moldering coffin breath as the thing above you laughed in a high pitched giggle, blue eyes still somehow luminous in the shadowy bedclothes. Every time you went to scream, you found cloth or hair in your mouth, and more than once you wretched, feeling like you’d drown in your own gag reflex. The thing holed up in your boyfriend, meanwhile, was pinning your chest with a chest that didn’t feel like Hector’s, like the chest of anything living - it felt too soft, somehow, and cold, like something left to rot in water. 

You felt something cold and wet drip onto the skin of your neck, and it felt like river water falling from the thing’s mouth, the black tongue inching closer and closer to your pulse —

Something shoved you both off the bed, like somebody had leapt on top of the covers in a blind attempt at a pile-driver. You cried out as your head hit the floor - thankfully with the old rug between you and the hardwood, but still hard enough to hurt.

You could breathe again, though. You sat up as fast as you could, tearing the sheets from over your face like a caul and practically drinking your breaths. Everything was still cold, and heavy, but you were out from under the dead man.

You looked around, spotting the soft outline of your overturned phone on the carpet, and snatched up the light to point it towards the sounds of the thing being attacked.

Then you wished you hadn’t.

The thing wearing your boyfriend’s body was sitting upright under the sheets and shrieking to bring the house down, furiously flailing at someone else that seemed to be under there with it. You heard hideous gagging noises, like a drowning victim throwing up brine, and the sheets quickly became soaked with a putrid-smelling dark liquid. The other figure wrestled the thing down and slammed his skull backwards against the hardwood floor once, then twice, causing you to panic as you wondered if that would somehow give Hex a concussion. You realized someone was yelling in a language you couldn’t recognize alongside the dead man’s screaming, and there was a third voice in there somewhere, wailing like the damned.

You looked around, terrified of another spectral assault, before you realized a full minute later that the screamer was you.

The dead man was losing, and at one point the water that hit the sheet was a pinkish color that made you scream even more. If he was bleeding, was Hector bleeding? Was Hector in there dying? What if he couldn’t get back, and his body strangled to death on whatever that was?

You screamed again as something banged loudly over your shoulder, like something crashing hard into the wall. For a moment, you thought something was trying to bust through into your world, another unholy terror - until you realized that was only the door.

“Fuck, it’s jammed!” You heard Maxi on the other side, and something hit it again, hard enough that you were surprised the door didn’t buckle. “Get me the shotgun. MAGGIE, GET UP HERE—“

But the sounds of outside were quickly drowned out by what sounded like the roof threatening to cave in, and you looked up, screaming as you saw what looked like a shower of disembodied arms reaching down through the ceiling. They swung backwards and forwards, groping blindly, and as they got closer to the floor you sank lower and lower towards the carpet, afraid they would try to grab your hair or your neck.

The struggle next to you on the floor suddenly had your attention again as the dead man wretched like something was pulling his esophagus out through his mouth, and you heard the sound of fabric tearing. A glimmer of purple slowly grew under the dense quilt, as if someone had lit slow-burning neon, and as you watched, it glowed until it was brighter than your phone.

Horrified, you watched the body suddenly throw the quilt off and sit up, panting. 

It was only when it forcefully pushed its hair back that you saw the eyes you knew.

“Hijo de puta, Duquesne,” Hex groaned, rolling onto his knees to wretch as he held his hair back out of his face. You watched, horrified, as black gunk like rotten plant matter ejected itself forcefully onto he floor. He sat there, panting, sounding on the verge of sobbing as he rocked back and forth to prepare for another wave. “Fuck you, you dead motherfucker—“

“Hector,” you croaked, and his eyes snapped up.

“Querida?“ he looked up at the sound of another rafter snapping, watching the ghostly hands wildly grabbing in his direction now. “What’re you— fuck, MAXI, WHERE THE FUCK ARE YOU BRO?” he yelled towards the door.

“I’M RIGHT HERE, HOLD ON!” You heard the sound of something clicking, then a loud crack like a car backfiring in the hallway, causing you to nearly jump right into a ghostly palm trying to grab at your face. “Fuck. HE JAMMED THE DOOR.”

You heard something scrabbling at the door like claws, like an animal was trying to dig underneath the door frame.

“I TOLD YOU WE NEEDED FUCKING BRONZE NAILS, YOU PRICK!” Hector bellowed, grabbing the hand next to your face and squeezing until you heard something squelch sickeningly. The hand in front of you glowed a bright purple and something above you wailed, dragging the appendage away from his grip as if it was broken. 

“YOU’RE THE ONE THAT DIDN’T WANNA WAIT TWO DAYS FOR PRIME, DIPSHIT!” Maxi yelled back. “Fuck, Rora—”

“Get out of my way.” You watched the door suddenly glow around the edges with an ominous shade of green, then heard what sounded like someone snapping a whole box of dry pasta in half one piece at a time. “C’mon, little girl,” you somehow heard Rora cooing over the din around you. “Your turn.”

Mesmerized in your fear, you saw something small begin to slide under the door, Rora was shoving pieces of fine china through the crack into the room.

You heard something scream in the rafters and whirled around, only to see Hector had just bitten into one of the hands in front of his face that had gotten too close to the back of your head. While the creature above you was obviously trying to pull it away, Hex only yanked it by the wrist and bit down harder, until you saw its thumb fold in a way it shouldn’t. It was only then he let it go, spitting something grey off to the side. “WE NEEDED THE MOON, I TOLD YOU—“ Hector ducked another hand, this one getting close enough to grab ahold of one of his ears for a moment. He swore through gritted teeth, twisting the wrist hard in his hands. “SOME HELP NOW WOULD BE FUCKING GREAT, YOU TWO!”

“DON’T RUSH HER, SHE’S DOIN’ HER BEST!” Rora yelled through the door. “Here, Maxi, give me the damn gun—“

“Be my goddamn guest,” Maxi spat back, and you heard something thud against the door again. This time the door itself seemed to glow a deep red…

But if you stared long enough, you realized it wasn’t the door that was glowing.

It was something in front of the door, something large that seemed to be blocking it. Something that seemed to pulse now with the red light, like the raw, scabbing flesh over a healing wound.

The little white pieces continued to pile up at the bottom of the floor, then sort themselves again, doing an odd little spiraling dance like debris in water. Eventually, they began to fold together into something, to build upon themselves one at a time with an alarming speed. It was only when you saw the skull fold itself back together out of flat little shards that you realized it was Magnolia, Maxi’s skeletal house cat. With a growl, she lunged at the pulsating door - and clung to something fleshy, dragging her claws down it and leaving bright green scratches behind her.

Horrified, you watched as the thing like a skin graft lifted itself off the doorframe, revealing itself to be some sort of creature trying to shove poor Maggie headfirst into a suddenly gaping, oozing mouth. Magnolia let out an eerie echo of a yowl, throwing herself at the thing headfirst and tackling it to the floor.

 Hector swore again, narrowly pulling you away from one of the hands. “You know what, fuck this.” He closed one eye as he looked up at the ceiling and began muttering something that was definitely not Spanish or English or any language you knew. He pointed with the index and middle fingers of his right hand and pulled back with his thumb, and you saw something worm-like in his familiar purple start to form and writhe around the extended digits. He made a sudden sharp gesture, like he was flinging it at the ceiling, and overhead you saw the spindly wraith arms suddenly lit up like there was a purple firework amongst them. The slimy, worm-like object spread across the ceiling and between the arms like a fungus or a root system, curling around the limbs and seeming to tighten around them painfully.

 Something in the attic wailed, and it sound like it was a crowd of people in terrible pain. 

You watched the hands turn on themselves, snatching at each other’s arms - only to scream when something grabbed the back of your shirt.

“It’s me!” Hector pulled you roughly across the floor so your back was against his chest, curling around you like a ball as soon as you made contact. “It’s me, Preciosa, I got you.”

“Hector!” You spun around to look at him as best you could in his tight grip, checking his eyes to avoid last time’s mistake. “Hector, what the entire fuck is going on?! Are you okay?”

“It’s okay,” Hector put one of his hands on the back of your head, pulling you closer to him and out of the path of a grasping hand that seemed to wither into a skeletal form before your eyes before crumbling to nothing. “It’s okay, it’s just some residual bullshit. It’s almost over.”

“Who the fuck is that?!” You pointed over his shoulder at the soaking wet quilt that seemed to sit up by itself, like there was a body from the embalming room underneath. 

Hector turned, following your gaze and swearing loudly. He looked back to you with wide, slightly panicked eyes. “Baby, tell me right now: do you trust me?”

You checked his eyes again, paranoid now. “It… is you, right?” you asked, your voice drowned out between the screaming creatures overhead, the sound of another aborted gunshot, and poor Magnolia caterwauling as she wrestled with something twice her size.

Hector leaned forward, pressing his forehead against yours. In his eyes, you saw a soft purple swirl of what looked like distant stars.

“It’s always me,” he said softly, and somehow you heard him over the cacophony of wailing around you. “And I’m going to give you something so you’re always mine.”

You stared at him, confused, your cheeks wet with sweat and bile from god knows what and your own tears - but you nodded, wordlessly.

Hex smiled, somehow soft despite how absolutely exhausted he looked, and he took your shoulder gently in one hand. He leaned down, finding your pulse - exactly where the dead man had been going earlier, you remembered with a wave of nausea - and kissed it gently —

Before you gasped in pain, feeling something cold and sharp puncture skin.

“It’s okay,” he whispered, and you whined in fright as you felt something drag through your flesh to tear it. “It’s okay, I swear you’re okay, I’m not gonna let anything hurt you anymore, just breathe. I got you, it’s just gonna hurt a little right now while it takes—“

Your hands flew up to seize at his wrists, wanting it to stop, to pull away whatever he was holding. God, it stung, you swore you felt your own hot blood flicking against your face as it felt like he was carving your throat open. 

But before you could establish a good grip, you saw something glow in a bright light you’d never seen before just out of your line of sight.

Hector sighed as if entirely absorbed in whatever was glowing on your neck. His eyes were soft, as if he was gazing at something sacred, despite the fact it hurt like all get-out. You gasped in turn, the wound now burning like something was being branded into you.

You gave another strangled cry when you saw the silhouette just behind his shoulder drag the quilt from its face, revealing the bloated flesh of a drowned man. Your mind reeled, panicking: if that thing had been hiding in Hector’s body — where did it get its own?

Hector saw your face and realized something was wrong, but time felt like it was moving in slow motion. He turned too late, just as the drowned man grabbed a handful of his hair and pulled backward—

But something bright green hit the intruder full in the face, dragging both the corpse and the necromancer to the floor.

You clapped your hand to where light seemed to be leaking from your neck, scrambling back to the end of the bed as you watched an enraged Maggie shove her claws into the eye sockets of the imposter beneath her. You watched, horrified and nauseated, as she freed her feet one at a time with a sucking squelch noise, the discolored milky eyeballs of the corpse speared on each of her feet. The corpse let out an unholy scream, splattering more murky brine as its head thrashed furiously.

In the distraction, Hector yanked himself free from the corpse’s grip, giving a muffled whimper as he sacrificed a good hank of his own hair in the process. He scrambled back with you, his hand shaking with fingers extended in front of him again as he landed back against the bed frame. 

But Magnolia seemed to be well in control of the situation, now ripping the corpse’s black oily tongue straight out of his jaw with her little needle teeth and standing triumphantly on the corpse’s collapsing, soggy chest as it writhed and gagged on more brackish-smelling bile.

The hands above all retreated as the door burst open, filling the room with a red so bright you thought it was fire, at first — until it was accompanied by a near-nuclear green just behind it.

“Maggie, move!” Rora called — but something about her voice was… unfamiliar. 

You saw Maggie leap nimbly onto the floor, and shrieked as the corpse seemed to explode with the force of a gunshot. Hector grabbed you and pulled your head against his chest, shielding you as you heard another loud bang and felt more cold water droplets against your face.

Under Hex’s arm, you saw Maxi and Rora walk into view, realizing they were indeed the source of the colored lights. 

You’d never seen them look like this before - not too unlike when Hector was… possessed, you guessed. Rora’s hair was wild around her from an unseen wind, her lips and the y-incision scar on her chest black as though with rot and age, her cheekbones ferociously prominent as though her skin only barely covered her skull. She tossed the shotgun to the side of the room and stepped hard on the corpse’s knee, and you heard it pop loose from its socket with a sickening noise. The crack almost seemed to reverberate down the corpse itself, and you watched as joints seemed to slide out of place in a wave of force, the thing howling in pain. 

Maxi knelt down next to her, and your stomach turned: his face looked… wrong. Like an accident victim without the funeral makeup, the flesh along his cheeks looking less solid and more like it was loosely holding his jaw together in thin strips. The red light shone through many vertical wounds in his face, and through them, you could see a tongue that looked like it’d been split in two. He kneeled in front of the corpse-like thing, peering at it with perfectly black eyes as though studying it. 

When he turned and said something to Rora, you couldn’t recognize the language. But something in you churned, as though some primal part of you wanted to get away from it as fast as possible. Like you shouldn’t be hearing it at all.

“Don’t look,” Hector whispered, trying to block your vision as you saw Maxi extend a hand with fingers like pointed bone towards the corpse itself.

You didn’t see what he did, exactly — but through Hector’s fingers, you could still see just enough.

Before your eyes, the corpse - still staring at you with unseeing too-pale eyes - seemed to eat itself inwards, flesh shrinking to bone, bone shrinking to dust, dust piling onto the carpet. 

Magnolia fell with an unceremonious rattling sound onto the floor, still chewing determinedly at the tongue in her mouth.

It took a moment for the twins to stop glowing, and a moment after that for the lights in Hector’s room to flicker back to life. You jumped at the sound of his laptop on his bedside table suddenly reviving, the rapid dialogue of one of his favorite old shows blaring through the tinny speakers in the relative silence.

You realized, with another sickening jolt, that the dark when you’d first walked into the room hadn’t been something he’d done on purpose. Something had been in here with you two the whole time, and had been holding the room in its sway.

Hex at last loosened his grip, letting you sit up. “Look at me, beautiful — you okay?”

You leaned back, studying him to make sure he still looked like himself. Like a human. “…Yeah,” you said at last, slowly. You didn’t know what you were, really, your head processing so much at once. 

You nervously glanced out of the corner of your eye, making sure the twins looked relatively normal before you let yourself look entirely. 

Rora was back to her usual self, her scars no more than a soft tissue on her décolletage that you only saw if you knew it was there. She was walking over to where she’d thrown the gun, picking it up and studying it with pursed lips before removing the empty shells and putting the safety back on.

Maxi was still kneeling next to the pile of corpse dust, human again but still frowning in deep concern. “They’re gettin’ better at that,” he mumbled. He shot Hex a look you didn’t quite understand. With a sigh and a slight crack of his knees, he got back to his feet. “We’re gonna have to figure out how, if we want to keep the House intact. …Maggie, honey,” he added, nudging her gently with the toe of his sock. “Spit that out, that’s nasty.”

Magnolia growled, clicking on her tiny toes with her prize under Hector’s bed, where she continued with her grisly chewing sounds. If anything, it just sounded like she was chewing faster.

“Claro, later.” Hex waved a hand at Maxi impatiently, still looking you over with concern. “Did anything grab you, love? Does anything hurt? How does your neck feel?” He added, glancing again towards the spot where you remembered it burning.

You took a breath to answer - and hissed as your skin moved, reaching up to the place where your neck still felt like there was an open wound. “What did you do to me…?” You pulled your hand away, expecting to see blood… but found none. Just a thick, viscous fluid that glowed with an odd purple sheen.

Hector opened his mouth to answer, looking oddly proud of himself —

“You didn’t.” 

You whipped around (wincing again), seeing Rora’s shocked expression. She frightened you further by crossing back and dropping abruptly to her knees in front of you on the carpet, one hand taking your chin to tilt your head further to one side so she could see your neck. “Hector, what the fuck.” She turned, glaring at him. “Did you tell them what this was?”

“What?” Hector gestured defensively to Maxi. “He did it to his!”

“Not on purpose.” Maxi was gazing at you with similar concern, kneeling down next to his sister. As a new tingling pain made its way up your neck, you distractedly noticed how eerily similar they were when they were that close together, despite looking fairly different when they were apart. “And I sure as hell didn’t do it the old fashioned way. Fuck, Hex, those lines are raw.” He winced, glancing at your face before looking back to Hector. “We gotta get some disinfectant on that.”

“Oh, I’m sorry, Doctors, I definitely should’ve asked Duquesne to wait a second so I could scrub up first,” Hex muttered bitterly, folding his arms as he glared at the twins. “I made a call. It was the right one.”

“Will someone please tell me what the fuck is going on?” you asked, looking between the twins and Hector with a mounting sick feeling.

“I told you, Querida,” Hector said softly, holding up his unfolded pocket knife, where the blade seemed dulled in the low light by a dark viscous fluid. “I put my mark on you, so everyone knows you’re mine.”

Rora closed the space between them so they were practically nose-to-nose, her eyes blazing. “Did you tell them what you were doing or not?”

“It was going to happen anyway, we all know that!” Hector gestured frustratedly with the still-unfolded knife. “I didn’t have time for it to happen the new way, Duquesne would’ve jumped to them next—“

“We could’ve handled that without this, Hector,” Rora said sharply. “This is something else. This is permanent.”

“No the fuck we couldn’t, Rora, I could barely handle that,” Hector spat. “It would’ve killed them if it had gotten to that point. I wasn’t about to let that happen. And they are permanent.” He said, gesturing furiously to you. “They’re mine. We knew that.”

“Did they agree to it, though?”

“I asked them if they trusted me!”

“Oh, fuck, Hector, you know that’s not—“

“Shut up.” Maxi growled over his shoulder. Hector and Rora turned in unison to glare at him instead, as if annoyed he’d interrupted. “For god’s sake, the pair of you, we have enough to deal with already. We can talk it out later. Here, hold on,” he pulled his already loose tie off completely, folding it up and holding it to the spot on your neck. “Hold this and keep some pressure on it, hon, okay?”

“I can handle that,” Hector snapped, sliding over to put his hand over it instead. 

“Then do it,” Maxi spat, getting to his feet. “I’m gonna go get the goddamn gauze. You’re lucky they don’t need stitches.”

“I knew what I was doing!” Hector called angrily after Maxi. He waited until he’d carefully yet firmly held the ruined tie to your new mark before turning to Rora, glaring again. “I wouldn’t have done this if I didn’t.”

“I guess I’ll have to take your word for it,” Rora drawled, her face skeptical as she sat back on her haunches. 

“Goddamn it, Rora—“

“Is it supposed to burn?” you rasped.

The two of them looked around as if they’d forgotten you were there, despite Hex being the one to press the makeshift bandage to your wound. Immediately, both their faces softened, and they shot each other a slightly guilty glance.

“Only for a little while,” Hector said softly. He lifted the tie carefully, peering at the mark. “It’s just settling in. Making itself at home in your skin, that’s all,” he explained. He smiled his crooked smile at what he saw, and you at least relaxed at him looking normal again, if still slightly tired. “It’ll feel better in a couple hours, I promise,” he added, leaning over to kiss the corner of your mouth. “And you can have whatever you want when you get hungry, okay?”

You let yourself smile just a little bit, your head still feeling like it was swimming. “I thought I was here to take care of you.”

Hector leaned back to look at you, frowning and clearly confused. “Is that… what you were doing here?” He hesitated a moment, looking back over his shoulder to Rora for confirmation. “I don’t remember you coming over after…” he trailed off, concerned.

Rora met his gaze and hemmed for a moment, clearly unsure how much to say. “You were out cold, after,” she said at last, her voice low. “They got nervous and came over. Apparently you hadn’t texted them in a while, or something.” You could tell she was trying to be flippant, but her face couldn’t hide the way she still seemed worried. “…You looked like roadkill, if I’m bein’ honest.”

Hex laughed, but something about it sounded false. “That bad, huh?” He sucked his teeth thoughtfully, looking back at where the tie covered your mark with a new grimness. “Huh. So I was cutting it close with this, then.”

“That’s part of it, yeah,” Rora sighed, suddenly looking tired.

You felt your eyes go wide, looking from Rora to Hex. “Are you going to be okay?” You weren’t sure quite what was happening - you didn’t know how the fuck necromancers worked, and honestly who could blame you when they talked in code around you half the time. But the idea that Hex could look as sick as he had before from… whatever he’d done to you made you feel a new kind of queasy.

“Fine,” Hector reassured you immediately, kissing your forehead. “I’m gonna be just fine, gatita, don’t worry about it. I just might want to stick to chill hangs for the next couple of days, that’s all.” He kissed the spot next to your ear, the one he knew made you shiver pleasantly. “So don’t get any ideas, huh?” He didn’t move, speaking so you could feel him smile against your skin.

You giggled before wincing again, the literal pain in your neck giving another insistent spike. “Yeah,” you agreed with a careful nod. “That… sounds good for me too, probably.”

Something thudded to the floor next to your thigh, and you had to try not to jump. 

“It’s my phone,” Rora sighed, leaning back against Hector’s bed and closing her eyes. “Pick whatever sounds good, my delivery app is hooked to Maxi’s credit card.”

“Goddammit, Aurore.” You looked around with the other two to see Maxi standing in the doorway with a neatly arranged tray of bandages, antiseptics, and a magnifying glass next to a tiny pair of tweezers. He was frowning deeply. “I just had a whole argument on the phone with the bank today about how all the burrito bowls at weird hours were from someone skimmin’ my card.”

“What? I don’t have one of my own,” Rora said, her lips pouting with false innocence. “Dead women don’t get credit cards, Maxi, you know the government throws a fit about that.”

“Shoulda thought of that before you up and died, then,” Maxi sighed, kneeling down in front of you.

You saw Rora stick her tongue out at him over his shoulder. 

“And you could’ve at least not ordered extra guac every time,” he added, as if sensing that even if he couldn’t see it. He gently nudged Hector’s arm so he would put down the tie, and leaned forward, appraising your new mark with some teeth-sucking of his own. “Well, your hand was steady, I’ll give you that,” he muttered, giving Hex a sideways glance. “…You all good?”

“M’good, just drained. Give me a day and I’ll be conjuring circles around your ass as usual,” Hector muttered back. But you swore you saw him straighten up just a little at the compliment, whether he realized it or not. “I told you I knew what I was doing.”

“Apparently,” Maxi muttered, adjusting his glasses as he studied the mark some more. He glanced up at you over the frames, his eyes softening. “How’re you feelin’, sweetheart?”

“…I— Okay, I think,” you said, glancing between them. You winced as Maxi carefully dabbed some hydrogen peroxide on the wound with a wipe. “…Kind of still processing, to be honest,” you added quietly. Between the adrenaline whirling through your system, the pain in your skin, and the fact that you were pretty sure you weren’t going to be able to sleep tonight without jumping at every sound, your body was finally feeling everything that had just happened. Not to mention, the longer you sat there, the more you started to feel like there was something… else, under your skin. A second heartbeat, almost, alongside yours. You swallowed. “Today was a lot.”

All three Morvants made varying noises of understanding and agreement, as if you were talking about having to show up for jury duty rather than surviving whatever had just succeeded in temporarily possessing Hector and the House.

“Well, this’ll heal up just fine,” Maxi said softly, carefully applying a bandage to the spot. “I’ll let Hex talk you through the basics of it — he’s the one who put it there, after all,” he added, giving Hex another look you couldn’t read. (Hector gave him one back that you definitely read as irritated.) “But basically… well,” he hedged, clearly trying to figure out how to say something. “We think of it as… declarin’ someone part of the family.” He gave you a smile, shy smile. “Or at least, as intertwined with it.”

“‘Inextricable’,” Hector murmured under his breath, his eyes distant and hazy as if looking far into the past. 

“Congratulations, I’m sure you’re thrilled,” Rora said flatly, sitting with her eyes closed again. Both men gave her a withering glance over their shoulders.

You slowly looked from them to Hector, feeling an entirely different type of fluttering in your system. “…Is that true, Hex?” You’d heard him call you permanent, in the aftermath of things. But so much had been going on, it had run off you like rain while your nerves were still swimming with whatever fire had been placed in them.

Hex’s eyes returned to yours immediately, as if you saying his name had woken him from a dream. As he continued to keep eye contact, you saw something you’d never seen before: he seemed… flustered, almost. He opened his mouth as if to say something, then hesitated, closing it again. His gaze turned inward, and you felt a new edge to the fluttering in your stomach. It was unlike him to so at a loss for words, especially for so long - since you’d known him, he’d always had something to say, some flippant response on the tip of his tongue at all times.

The worry that this prolonged silence caused you must’ve been written on your face because simultaneously, without even a look between the pair, both twins reached forward to give Hector a soft ‘thump’ on the back.

Hector shot them both another irritated look before turning back to you and taking a breath. “…We don’t always… do it that way, anymore,” he said slowly, nodding at your neck. “Sometimes, a mark like that just… shows up.” He glanced briefly at Maxi, who pointedly was still fussing with your bandages. Hex looked back to you. “We don’t always know how, though. So I figured, y’know, give it enough time and it’d just… happen,” he said quietly. He sucked the inside of his cheek, still somewhat restless. “But we didn’t have time, Querida,” he continued with an exhale. “So I thought I’d... improvise.” He went to push his hair out of his face, wincing visibly when his hand skimmed the raw patch of scalp the imposter had grabbed. 

You leaned forward instinctively, hand up to soothe the hurt and causing both Hex and Maxi to start slightly. 

“Sorry! Sorry,” Maxi muttered, quickly smoothing over the bandage that might have warped. Hex set a hand on his shoulder, and Maxi froze, glancing between the two of you. “Actually, it looks fine,” he said quickly, giving you a hurried smile you assumed was meant to be reassuring. “Uh, Rora and I will go figure out dinner.”

“We will?” Rora opened an eye, and Maxi fixed her with a pointed stare as he picked up the tray he’d brought in with him. She looked between Maxi and Hector, who gave her the slightest jerk of his head towards his bedroom door. “We will,” she said, standing up and popping her back with a sigh. She gave you a dry smile. “Don’t worry, sweetpea. It’s a quick learnin’ curve.”

Maxi was holding the door open, waiting for Rora to leave before he glanced back to Hex. “…Do you actually want me to call FT?” he added quietly, glancing between you and Hector. “Because I’m sure they’re probably done for the day, or nearly.”

“C’mon, you were gonna call them anyway.” Hex gave him a knowing smirk. “...But sure.” He nodded, as if thinking this over. He looked between you and Maxi himself. “Might be nice.”

Maxi nodded, giving you a last reassuring half-smile, before slipping quietly from the room and closing the door behind him.

You could feel the confusion etched on your brow. You’d met Maxi’s partner before, of course - it was inevitable, with the pair of you spending so much time at the house - but you couldn’t help but wonder what they had to do with all this. What had the others meant, that these… things, could show up on their own time?

You wondered what the fluttering was next to your own pulse, feeling so rapid it was almost like a second panic that wasn’t yours.

You looked to Hector, worried — only to see him staring at your bandage with wide, liquid eyes. 

“Hex?”

He met your gaze, looking like a sick little boy caught out of bed with the dark circles under his eyes. “…I would’ve done this different,” he said at last, his voice slightly raspy as the day seemed to be catching up with him too. He reached up with a finger, tracing the edge of the bandage as lightly as possible. “I would’ve waited for it to show up on its own, Querida, I swear. I know you’re mine,” he added in a hush, his eyes back on yours with a new softness to them. “I know it as sure as I know the Veil. As the stars in the sky.” He smiled, and you saw a flicker of his usual self. “If these things can just… happen, if they can just bloom on skin… then I would’ve waited. A hundred years, if I had to.” He took your hands gently - almost tentatively - in his, intertwining your fingers. The guilt returned, his eyes darkening. “But that thing felt like it wanted to tear me in half.” He shook his head. “And I couldn’t… if it got to you, I wouldn’t have been able to…” He trailed off, turning inward again at the possibility that clearly haunted him.

“Hey.” You pulled your hand loose to reach up, running your fingertips lightly through his beard and watching the tension in his forehead relax as his eyes closed. You waited until he opened them again, cupping his cheek. “You said it yourself: you made a call.” You gave him the best smile you could. “And I trust you, Hex. I do,” you emphasized, seeing him grimace. “I know you would’ve only done… this,” you gestured to the bandage, the thrumming still present underneath. “If you thought it would keep me safe.”

“That’s all I wanted,” Hex said quietly. His now-free arm wound around your waist, pulling you flush to him. He leaned down to kiss your forehead, lingering there for a long moment. 

You closed your eyes, enjoying the contact… and froze, feeling the thrumming in your neck slowing down. The longer the two of you stood there, the slower it became, until it moved like a weird echo of your own heart.

“…What,” you started, swallowing your nerves down. Hex leaned back so you could see his face, and you met his eyes. “…What does it do, though?”

Hex studied you for what felt like an age before he gave you a smile you couldn’t quite read — something adoring, and yet at the same time, the tiniest bit melancholy. “It means you’re mine, Preciosa.” He let it hang for a moment. “It means no one can hurt you… but me,” he added, almost as a whisper. His eyes were sharp, and his grip around your waist tightened. “And I swear to you, I would—“

“Die first,” you finished for him, holding his gaze. “I know, Hex.” You leaned up, kissing the end of his nose — and watching his face melt into an expression of relief. “I know.”

You would know much more by the end of the night, the three Morvants and Maxi’s partner fielding your questions over pizza at the kitchen table. The entire time, Hector held on to your hand under the table, squeezing it as if he seemed to know whenever your heart sped up in your chest.

When something thudded ominously upstairs during a quiet portion of the meal, the group of you barely looked up. 

There were more pressing matters at hand, now.

[*markiplier voice* IS THIS THE MARK OF ‘87?!

anyway. thank you again for your patience, rosie <3 idk for sure how the whole mark bit will play out in the actual arc coming up, but this was a fun hypothetical for sure. :) it was good to write some spooky shit, I obviously missed it.

thanks to everyone who read this far! sending you sweet dreams ;D]

[charliedawn]

What is their reaction when they find out that they may have grown attached to you ?

You know how Jason can be very insecure and self-conscious ? Well. Prepare for a whole new level. He will check himself in the mirror when you're not looking, and if he doesn't like what he is seeing ? He will smash the mirror and go in a corner to sit and move back and forth, to give himself some reassurance. He still remembers what his mother used to tell him.

" Persons are a nuisance, Jason. You don't need them to survive."

But then, why does he feel like he needs you ? He feels conflicted as to what to believe.

Super jumpy ! He will jump almost every time you touch him or lose his grip of the things he is holding, often ending broken and splattered on the floor. He would be as clumsy as Jason and would want you to spend more time with him. However, he would also be scared of you breaking his heart.

" I..I c..care.."

Like many of your patients, Brahms has trouble finding his words. At first, many thought he was mute, like Jason or Michael. This is why hearing him speak to you always means it is important.

" I..I care.."

He wants to say many things, how he cherishes every moment you spend together, how you make his heart race everytime you are near him or how he wants you to be by his side forever..But, he can't. He can just hope that what he feels can be expressed through eye contact. You may not understand what he wants to say, but you still try to understand. You put your hand on his and reply with a compassionate smile.

" I care about you too. You are a very good friend, Brahms.."

Did you just indirectly friendzone him ? Possibly..You walk out and Brahms sighs before sitting on his bed while hugging his doll to comfort him.

" You turn me on."

He will be absolutely frank about it. He will just step up and tell you in front of anyone. He doesn't give a damn if the others hear him as well. Also, creep alert, will watch you sleep. He will sneak in your bedroom in the middle of the night and just look at you sleep. He wants to touch you so bad, but he knows that that would wake you up. And he doesn't want that. He will just admire you from afar, even pretend that you may like him back. He would just want to get close to you, to look at you and wonder what you may be dreaming about..hoping that you are dreaming of him.

" Oh my sweet..You look so perfect when you sleep.."

Now..You know how Five is very serious about his relationship with Dolores ? Well, you better be prepared by lots of imaginary fights between the two of them, and even a break-up ! *gasp* Drama. He would be in a very bad mood and would scream and attack everyone that approaches his personal space. He would also smash everything in his room. Like, everything. So much that the other nurses would be too scared of him and ask you to handle it.

" Hey. Are you okay, Five ? Did something happen ?"

He would snort and look up at you with visible frustration.

" You happened. Dolores and I broke up. Not that she was one to share her feelings anyway."

You frown in incomprehension before asking with a small airy laugh.

" I don't understand, what does that have to do with me ?"

Your question seems to trigger a nerve and he suddenly stands up to look at you dead in the eye with anger and, somehow, pain..

" Everything ! You're too nice ! Too forgiving ! Too perfect ! You wiped our past as if it was nothing, goddammit ! We're serial killers, Y/N! We're monsters and you treat us as if we were..as if we were.."

He doesn't get to finish that sentence as he seems on the verge of tears. He jumps on his bed to sit and hide his face behind his knees. You seem to finally understand the problem and sigh before sitting next to Five.

" It's okay to have feelings, Five. You can't hide them forever. I'm sorry if it upsets you but, I don't think you're all that bad. Sure, you kill and even eat people. But, I've seen you change. You are a lot less violent and a few more months ? And I'm sure you'll be out of here in no time."

He looks up at you again with a sort of desperation, very uncharacteristic of Five, before finally asking in a tearful voice.

" What if..What if I don't want to go back ? Out there, I'm just a freak. But, here ? I got.."

He doesn't finish his sentence, but you guess what he is going to say and smile understandingly.

"..Friends ?"

He doesn't answer, he only suddenly hugs you tightly and hides his face in your skirt. You hesitate before slowly petting the top of his head affectionately. The gesture seems to relax him, but he quickly straightens up and wipes his tears away. He then stands up and apologizes.

" I..I'm sorry, it was highly inappropriate of me. I'll..I'll let you work."

Before you could say anything, he runs out of the room and leaves you confused and worried.

Lots of uncontrollable laughter. More than usual. He is very nervous when you're around him and sometimes cries while laughing, showing that he is deeply ashamed of his condition. He is very bipolar and will sometimes act very casually around you, only to break into tears when you leave the room. He will stare at you and turn his gaze away as soon as you would notice.

" Well, would you look at that ? Sir Sh*tty the clown seems to have a little crush on the nice nurse.."

Pennywise would tease him about it while Penny cackles behind him. Arthur glares at them both before either ignoring them or leaving the room.

No. Nope. Certainly not. He will try to hide from you. He knows very well what he is feeling, and also what happens to the people he feels this way towards. He just managed to get rid of his curse, he is not about to risk getting on a murder rampage again ! Every time he would see you, he would pretend to be busy or hide. One time, he even jumped out the window to get away from you. It is very odd since Michael is normally the most chill and calm out of all the patients. But one look at you ? And he becomes a panicking mess. He has to get away. He doesn't want to hurt you like he hurt everyone else close to him, like he hurt his family..

" Me ? Having feelings ? Ah !"

One word: denial. He doesn't want to hear about things like feelings. He saved you ? Bah. It was only because he was bored. He will deny everything, but still follow you and pop up out of nowhere to see what you're doing. He enjoys talking to you, even if he doesn't want to admit it.

" Pennywise..You're staring again."

Penny would gently warn him as his big brother would pretend to not have done such a thing.

" Can't an old clown appreciate to look at nice things sometimes ?"

Penny frowns, not understanding his big brother's words until Freddy intervenes by popping next to him with a huge grin.

" Let it go, kid. Your big bro is just too much of a chicken to go talk to her.."

Pennywise growls in annoyance at Freddy before raising his middle finger at him.

" F*ck off Freddy ! At least I don't watch her sleep like a total perv !"

That would result in a fight that you would have to break. Again..

" Pennywise..I think I'm sick.."

Pennywise would admit some day to Pennywise that would sigh in annoyance.

" Stop saying stupid sh*t. You know very well that we can't be sick."

But, upon seeing the devastated face of his brother, Pennywise sighs loudly before turning towards him to focus his whole attention on him.

" Fiiinnneee...Tell me."

Penny's mood seems to lit up as his brother seems to be willing to listen to him.

" OK, so it concerns the nurse, Y/N. Everytime they are near me, I feel things in my stomach, like a million kids were kicking me in there..Everytime they touch me, I feel as if a part of me in my chest is about to burst and I feel warm, very very warm. And then, I feel very very bad when they talk to anyone else..It's horrible. I want it to stop..Should I eat them ?"

Pennywise stays silent for a while before saying with an unusual straight face.

" Penny.."

He starts, but Penny starts panicking as he sees the sour look on his brother's face.

" Oh ! It's bad, isn't it ?! What is it ?! How long do I have ?!"

Pennywise rolls his eyes dramatically at his brother's exaggerated reaction before cutting him off in his worried questions.

" Shut up, you idiot ! You're not dying. You're just feeling.."things" for them."

Penny stops talking and frowns in confusion, his eyes diverging in deep concentration, as if trying to understand Pennywise's words.

" Things ?! What things ?!"

He finally asks with his eyes wide open in obvious loss and Pennywise face-palms himself before answering with a loud sigh.

" You're falling in love, you dumb f*ck !"

At the word, Penny's face freezes and his smile goes downwards as he realizes that his older brother is right.

" Oh, sh*t.."

He curses and Pennywise frowns, as Penny hates curses.

" Language ! I'm the only one allowed to use curses, remember ?!"

Penny nods before asking in a worried tone.

" How do I get rid of it ? I don't like it.."

Pennywise can't help but feel sorry for Penny, as he knew better than anyone that there was no turning back..

" I'm sorry kid. But if it's really love ? You can't..like I can't.."

Penny's eyes widen at his brother's confession.

" You..You..love her too ?"

Pennywise seems to realize what he just said and groans before walking away. He didn't want anyone to know, even though Penny is his brother. Penny understands the wish of his brother to be left alone and starts walking out in the garden to think over what his older brother said..Could it be ? Could he really be falling in love ?

Bonus : The deal

The Horde is blindfolded and dragged to another room where a man and a woman are waiting for them. At first look, he can already tell that this man is one of the unworthy. The unbroken. The weak..His interest is cut short and he then turns towards the woman sitting next to him. Now, this one was interesting..Her eyes betrayed a much deeper complexity and she had a scar running from her forehead to her left cheek that proved she was worthy.

" You..You are broken. Rejoice.."

The woman smiles, but before she could start talking, her partner does it for her.

" Mister Wendell Crumb, we have a mission for you."

But Kevin only grits his teeths at the man.

" You are impure..I want to kill you.."

The man arks an eyebrow, but ignores his threat.

" Fine. Whatever. But first, I want you to be my spy. We didn't get you out of this prison for nothing, mister Wendell Crumb. We want you to be our little spy in the facility. We want you to find out how a certain miss L/N managed to control the patients outside of the facility. Do that, and you'll be as free as a bird..Do we have a deal ?"

He frowns, they wanted him to spy on a nurse ? She must be quite special for them to go to such lengths, to use him as a spy..Yes, quite the unique prey. The Beast was already impatient and Kevin licks his lips before nodding.

" Fine, but on one condition. When you're finished with her, I get to eat her heart.."

The request seems to take the man aback, but it is the lady that Kevin is looking at. She smiles coldly before nodding in agreement.

" Deal."

Kevin finally smiles widely and can't help the excited giggle that gets out from deep within him. Then, the dark and low voice of the beast makes itself heard as the smile grows almost ferocious as he announces. .

" Let the hunt begin.."

[bakubub]

In which racer!kuroo is your roommate, and seems to only like it when you treat his wounds... (word count: 1.9k)

Ngl quite proud of this one!!

Warnings: 18+, a whole lot of swearing, a whole lot of blood, innuendos and implied nsfw, reader almost vomits (NOT from pregnancy chill, I know we're all scarred but its going to be just fine) and if you're squeamish perhaps skip the scene where reader stitches his wound?

Also bit of a disclaimer: I am in NO WAY a med student and literally all of my knowledge is from movies and other fics... so if you acc know what to do in this situation this may be a torturous for you :D

All due credits go to @aikk00​ for this AMAZING fanart!!!!

I watch as my roommate enters the penthouse, once again scratched up and bleeding, covered in so much blood there is no possible way that it was all his- if it was he would not be standing.

I launch myself off the couch- where I was sitting for the past hour nervously waiting for his return- and slip my arm under his, supporting him as we inched towards the bathroom.

"I can do this by myself you know," he grumbles, his grimace revealing just how much pain he was actually in.

"Mhm, I'm sure you can. Just like you boiled that poor egg by yourself last week, hmm?" I say sarcastically, trying to keep my mind calm and clear, because oh my god it looks really bad this time...

"Oi, its not my fault it fuckin' exploded," he mutters, voice laden with pain.

"You put it in the microwave because 'the shitty water wasn't doing its job.' Of course it would explode," I say, gently seating him on the closed toilet seat and taking out my supplies that I unfortunately have become rather accustomed to using. He's made it a habit to get himself injured.

"Where's the injury?" I ask, setting down my half-empty bottle of antiseptic and box of bandages. He peels off his shirt, cringing at the pain it brought him as the fabric was stuck to the gash that went from his left pectoral down to the middle of his chest.

"Pissed off a bidder after winning a race, fucker took out a knife once he realised he couldn't beat me up," he huffs out, arrogance still lacing his tone even with sweat dripping down his brow as he leans the back of his head onto the tile wall behind him. His Adam's apple bobs down his bloodstained neck as he speaks, and I quickly look away, focusing on the injury at hand.

Not his blood soaked, but nevertheless well defined pectoral muscles, nor the abs that my hands occasionally brush up against and know how hard they really are, and definitely not the trail of black hairs that lead down, down, down...

"What's wrong, the view too hot to focus on the work at hand?" He asks suggestively, raising his pierced brow, even in this state.

I'm quick to reply, having gotten used to his flirtatious remarks from the second I moved into his penthouse, "nope can't even see the view from that massive head of yours. Not to mention your permanent bed head."

He huffs out a laugh, then proceeds to flinch from the pain it must have caused.

"Stop moving, idiot. You're going to exacerbate the cut!" I say, quickly grabbing a damp towel and beginning to clean up his abdomen, whilst simultaneously pressing another rag to his wound to stop the bleeding.

“At least you admit that there is a hot view,” he says in his low voice, gazing at me from his position.

I simply roll my eyes.

No falling in love. That was the deal we had made on the day he offered me a place to stay in exchange for my services as a maid and apparently, a nurse. I cook, clean and basically keep the house running while this moron goes out and acts like the idiot he is. In my defense, dorms are expensive as hell, and his penthouse is nearby. Plus, I don't have to pay rent. It's a win-win situation.

But the feelings stirring up inside my heart might just ruin the dynamic we have going on and simultaneously take out a whole lot of cash out of my pocket.

At least, that's what I keep telling myself.

Once his skin isn't completely saturated in blood, and the wound has (thankfully) stopped bleeding, I add some antiseptic onto a make-up pad and begin to dab at his wound, earning winces and slight grunts from the massive man.

"The cut looks deep, Kuroo. You need to go to the hospital," I say, worry lacing my tone as my eyebrows crease and earn yet another huffing laugh.

"Do you want me to rot in prison for the rest of my life?"

I roll my eyes at his response, deliberately dabbing just a little harder which earns me a yelp and an attempted glare in my direction.

"First off, illegal street racing won't send you to prison for your entire life, just for like, half a year. Second, this wound needs stitches, and believe it or not, I'm not a fucking licensed medic. In fact, the only experience I have is with you!" I say, immediately regretting my choice of words as I wait for his remark.

"That's what she said," He says, chuckling at his own innuendo.

I sigh in frustration, pouring more antiseptic to make sure there was no chance of infection from whatever grimy ass knife stabbed him, and beginning to gently scrub the wound with a soft towel, so as to make sure there was no debris left in there.

"You're gonna have ta do it," he mutters, his hazel eyes boring into mine.

"I- I can't Kuroo, you can't possibly think-"

"Fine. I'll do it. Go get me a needle and thread," he states, struggling but nevertheless, sitting upright on the red stained toilet.

I stare at Kuroo in disbelief as he utters these words. Was he dumber than I thought? Does he have some sort of head injury too?

I examine his face and all I come up with is unnerving determination. I exhale out of my nose sharply, "fine, dammit. I'll sew your fucking wound shut."

I am extremely handy with a sewing needle and thread, used to really be into embroidery back when I had the time so...it should be fine.

He just shrugs, leaning his head back against the tiles and closing his eyes.

"Fucking asshole. Can't believe I'm saving your damn life," I mutter, leaving the bathroom to dig through my wardrobe for my sewing box and taking out a gold silk thread that I was saving for a special project.

Well, I guess that will never happen.

"Hey, I found some silk thread. It's literally known for its strength and durability in high temperatures, so it should work like a charm!" I say, walking back into the blood stained bathroom and trying to psych myself up.

He grunts in response. I sigh as I begin with mopping up the excess blood and sanitising the needle and thread before chucking on gloves.

I wipe the antiseptic over the wound once more, and examine it carefully.

Well, if his condition worsens, I can always knock him out and call an ambulance...

I decide, screw it, and thread the needle, pretending it was just another embroidery project.

It's okay, it's okay, it's okay, I chant as I puncture his skin with the thin needle.

Kuroo gasps in pain, and I place a hand on his knee, telling him to suck it up and deal with it, half talking to him but also to myself.

To my surprise, he listens, stretching his head back once more and gritting his teeth.

"Don't do that, here put this in-between your teeth," I say, grabbing yet another towel and shoving it into his mouth.

He obeys as I continue to stitch. I feel my gag reflex kicking in as I think about how stitching skin feels as though I am stitching leather, it feels hard and tough while pushing the thin needle through.

Must hurt like a bitch.

Once I've completed my neat stitches down the wound, without vomiting, I tie it off as I would with any embroidery, and clean the area free of any remaining blood. After rubbing some antibacterial ointment over the gold stitches, I stick on a particularly large bandage over the wound and start tidying up.

"Thank you," Kuroo mutters, still seated on the toilet seat and practically panting for breath.

"Ah, the criminal knows his damn manners!! Now get up and get in the damn shower. You ruined my pristine bathroom!" I complain, putting the last of the materials away before walking to the door.

"Wait, I- I can't get up." I turn around and look at him incredulously as he utters his next few words, "will you... shower me?"

My eyes just about pop out of their sockets at his request. "Are you insane?! I'm not your mother, nor your wife! Call your pudding haired friend and tell him to come shower you!"

He shakes his head, a rare pleading look taking the place of his usual arrogant smirk, "Kenma's too lazy to shower himself, Y/n, please!"

I contemplated it for a moment. Sure, I've seen him naked before, accidentally of course, and so what if I have to scrub him clean. God knows he can't do it himself with that damn injury.

Fuck this shit.

"Fine, get up right now." I bark at him, leaving to change out of my blood soaked pjs into a pair of shorts and a tank.

"...I just said I can't."

---

"Ow, y/n, you're scrubbing too hard!" He complains, his exfoliating glove around my hand as I rub his toned back clean of any dead skin-cells and blood remains.

"But look how much stuff is coming off!" I say gleefully, enjoying this a little too much.

Kuroo, seated on the built-in bench in the open shower with his red boxers on, looks back to see the satisfaction dripping from my features.

"Are you secretly a sadist?" he whispers. In response, I begin to rinse off his raw back with hot water, causing him to screech like a cat.

"It burns, it burns-”

“Shut the fuck up, moron! It's 4 in the morning, you’re going to annoy our neighbours. I tried very hard to get in their good graces, and Mrs. Suzuki still doesn’t like me! She definitely thinks I’m some kind of hooker…” Kuroo laughs at this, and I can’t help but watch as his whole face brightens up from his usual emotionless expression. I find myself smiling in response.

I grab his expensive shampoo and pour some into my hands, beginning to massage it into his scalp. With wet hair, his raven strands are for once flat on his head and reach down to his defined jawline. Kuroo groans under my touch, leaning into my fingers. I snatch my hands back and pour hot water over his head.

"ARGH! Y/N!" He screams, hastily getting up and wetting me in the process.

"Ah- what are you-" I don't get to finish my question as he grabs my arm and yanks me next to him under the hot water, soaking my clothes and my hair.

"You asshole!" I screech as I reach up to pull his hair in defiance, but he only grabs my arm and hooks it around his neck, leaning down to look directly into my eyes.

Our noses brushing against one another, he mutters, "You look pretty with your hair wet and your shirt see through."

It takes me a moment to get past the compliment and to hear the perverted comment that he just uttered.

He sees my look of confusion and laughs, bends over, clutches his stomach and laughs, before bellowing in pain because of his injury.

Smiling smugly down at him as he grimaces, I force him to sit back down and continue massaging the shampoo into his hair, warning him that if he so much as moaned I would leave him in here, dripping wet and in pain.

"That's what he said," is his reply.

I smack his head in response.

Notes, interactions and reblogs are highly appreciated <3

[genshingarbage]

hoii, is it okay if I request something with Diluc and Kaeya ? like, gn!reader feels very alone and unloved, because they can't make/keep friends and their family doesn't pay much attention to them ?

and if it's not too much, can the men be like big brother or father figures to the reader ?

it's okie if you don't want to write it!

have a good day/night ♡

This is too cute. Bless. Both I and Mod Kaeya worked together on this one, take a guess who wrote for who lmao hope this is okay sweetie! - Mod Diluc

I'll Always Care.

|| One - Shot ||

Kaeya / Diluc

Diluc

The sun was beating down like normal, the heat was unbearable and it was making you itch and sweat like nobodies business. You felt stuffy and so uncomfortable, but maybe you could give the sun a break from your insults; because deep down it wasn't the sun making you feel like utter nothingness right now. It was the fact you yet again were reminded of the harsh fact that no one cares for you, not even your own mother can pretend to wear a smile around you.

First your mother sighed and brushed you off this morning like a pestering bug, and to rub insult to injury your small group of friends (if you could even call them that.) Had conveniently forgotten to secure a place for you to go with them all on their expedition today. So here you were alone, curled up with your knees pressed against your chest and your eyes closed as to try prevent the threat of tears: despite you trying to convince yourself it's just to block the sunlight, even though you're under a tree that's already blocking the sun indefinitely.

You felt the pain sinking further inside you now and it just stung worse and worse. Why? Why do you always get forgotten about... why do they never care how you're feeling? No one seems to understand you ever. Was this world even meant for someone like you? You debated it sometimes, but all it ever did was work you up more into a crying mess because even if you'd conclude you're better off dead- you'd never have the guts to kill yourself; and you'd be way too terrified to let someone or something else do it for you.

Your head sunk further into your arms that coiled round your frail frame as you began to sniffle and sob softly. Your ears were ringing and your head was hurting so much from how much you'd been on and off crying the past two hours by yourself, nothing but the breeze and butterflies to keep you company in your own misery. Life was cruel, and you were starting to resent it in a whole. But all you could so was curl up and cry like you always do, why can you never fix yourself? Stupid.

You practically leaped out your skin however, shooting your head up fast, almost giving yourself whiplash from the force you done it at. The squeeze on your shoulder was most unexpected and most definitely an understatement to how shaken up you were. You felt the scream aching in your throat about to fly out your lips when you saw who it was, Diluc. His crimson eyes staring down at you, the matching hair tied neatly into a ponytail behind him. His claymore resting on his shoulder effortlessly.

"Why are you crying Y/N?" He spoke sternly, but under that tone you could hear the concern in his voice; as poorly as he was at showing his emotions on a day to day basis. You sniffed hard, an involuntarily rub of your eyes and nose following behind as you blinked away the tears quickly. "I- I'm not. Just resting is all." You wanted to cringe at your poor excuse there yourself, your voice was wavering in tone and cracking so badly, why did you even bother to lie?

He let out a deep sigh before slipping his claymore off his shoulder and swinging it in a circle before letting it peirce into the dirt, securing its position he let it go and stepped next to you, bending down and taking a seat beside you now. Inviting himself into your private affairs had become common ground for you now, then it hit you. He is always around when you feel at your lowest. You looked at him with a bewildered expression, eyebrow raised. The look of utter confusion evident on your face.

Finally he turned his head to you and then looked forward again, one of his knees lifting up for him to rest his arm on, the other sliding round the back of your neck and gently pulling you into his chest. You were confused at first, but then it hit you, he was hugging you and comforting you, in his best efforts at least. You laid there against him, cuddled up to him, your head pounding, your throat sore from crying, your eyes stinging. Face flushed red from your inner rage. You really looked like a mess right now.

"Rest. You need it. When someone's cried at lot it helps to get rest after." He spoke matter of fact like to you. You lifted your head ever so slightly about to attempt another pitiful protest, but his hand came up to your head and softly stroked through your hair. "Rest." He added. That silenced you and simply closed your eyes, feeling not so alone anymore and at actually at ease. He always helps you feel better, no matter how small of an action it was.

He always makes you feel loved and cared for, if you could describe Diluc in one word, it would be big brother. He really was like a big brother to you, always there to cheer you up and make you feel better, always there to remind you that you're not as alone as you always think you are. He's always kept you safe and always put you first before himself even sometimes. A smile crept onto your face ever so slightly when all of this was resurfaced in your mind.

You truly were grateful to have a friend like Diluc, even if you have no one else that's by your side, he is, and he always will be. "Thank you." You muttered the words ever so softly and breath like, as you'd mutter them out in your sleep, while your head rested against his chest. His eyes slowly trailed to the side, looking down at your peaceful sleeping state. His hand still stroking through your hair as it kept you huddled up to him. Not that you'd ever see it or know of it, a small smile made its way onto his lips too.

"Sweet dreams, Y/N".

Kaeya

The lanky man found you in his guest bedroom, knees tucked under you chin with a cloak of thick duvets framing your clearly exhausted face. He sighed softly before beginning to  pat over to you, chocolate milk in hand and heart on his sleeve.

Once you’d noticed him making his way over you shifted under the blankets to let him crawl into the little cave you’d constructed yourself. He placed the glass onto the night stand, interrupting the somber silence of the room with a gentle clink of glass against hardwood, then turned to you in order to pull you into his broad chest. He gently rubbed your back as his icy eyes observed the room with it’s askew drawers and new adornments of thrown pillows and tossed weapons or tools. The gentle moonlight pouring in from the still open curtain, tarnishing the peachy walls a soft periwinkle blue only telling him of the sadness you were feeling.

“You can stay here as long as you need.”

“I know Sir Kaeya.”

Your sniffles broke his heart a little, the way you buried your head into his nightshirt even more so. You were some sort of enigma to him. Like a puzzle he couldn’t solve yet was made of pieces of a mirror he had shattered.

You reminded him so much of how he was after Diluc had…well…

The blue haired man pulled you closer to him to bury his nose in your hair, beginning to frown, “Will you tell me what happened?”

“It is not really what has happened and more what keeps happening honestly.” Your voice was muffled slightly but he could still hear it clearly through your tight words forcing their way out of your throat. You didn’t really have the heart to tell him that since you became an adventurer your parents had all but kicked you out because they didn’t want to deal with the likely chance you wouldn’t be making any sort of money with your dream job. Your friends had began to leave one by one with teasing remarks about joining your adventure team or horrific monsters, leaving to study in far off corners of the world.

You were completely and utterly alone, with only Kaeya at your side. It didn’t take the feeling of his arms tightening around you to tell you he could already sense what you were thinking about.

“They weren’t your family or friends if they simply tossed you aside y’know? You should not spare them another thought.” He muttered this softly into your hair, hoping you could somehow find comfort in his backwards way of thinking. As much as he wanted to toughen you up…he didn’t want you to become him.

He’s well aware of your plights, has been since you were a kid and he was a fresh young face in the knights even if he doesn’t necessarily know what happened today to cause you to spiral into such a state. Maybe that’s why he took you in. He’d ponder over it as he tucked you in, brushing your hair out of your face afore lightly stepping out of the room to leave you to sleep finally.

[writingbywatson]

Genshin Boys With A Dense Crush (Part 2)

Here is part 2~ so, the reason why I didn't include Bennett and Razor is the fact that I can never write for them, like IDK why but its just very hard for me. So yeah, sorry about that. Part 1 (Albedo, Childe and Diluc)

Chongyun

Dense + Dense = more dense

It was painfully obvious that Chongyun likes you but for some reason, he can’t quite figure that out for himself

But everyone around them knows

Xingqiu is actually on the road to writing a book about the two of you

Xiangling, Xinyan, Hu Tao, and Yan Fei are betting on how long until Chongyun realizes his feelings

Chongyun doesn’t know why he likes to see you every day, wants to have meals with you, and why he gets uncomfortable when he sees you with another person and smiling at them

Maybe it was the work of g-

“Oh I like them” -Chongyun one day when he woke up

He consulted his best friend Xingqiu about this and Xingqiu just placed his books down and said “dear archons finally, it was getting very painful to watch”

So the two started planning a cute little confession scenario

Somewhere Xinyan and Yan Fei are crying because they lost the best but Yan Fei is arguing that betting was illegal and has no ground in the law… Yan Fei, you betted with your conscience please stop

Anyway!

The pair of best friends decided to go with a simple type of confession because less is more in Xingqiu’s books

It was going so well, a cute dinner and all of that

“I like you Y/N, can we be more than that?”

Oh is that Xingqiu, Xiangling, Xinyan, Hu Tao, and Yan Fei spying on both of you from the bushes? Why, yes indeed.

“You want to be best friends Chongyun? But don’t you have Xingqiu as your best friend already?” - you with your ever so innocent voice and expression

Chongyun is frozen in place

Xingqiu, Xiangling, Xinyan, Hu Tao and Yan Fei are betting again this time how many times will Chongyun get a friendzone

Kaeya

Someone revive him

He can’t take your dense nature anymore

This is Kaeya after all everything he does allude to something so WHY WON'T YOU GET IT STILL

“Oh, Kaeya? You like someone!? Can you introduce me to them?” - you asking excitedly upon hearing his and Rosaria’s conversation

Kaeya was pretty sure he was describing you

Rosaria is holding back her laugh, she can't breathe… SOMEONE SAVE HER

“I love them but this dense attitude is too much!” - Kaeya as he slams his fist on top of Diluc’s bar

“Have you tried wooing them?” - Diluc as his wiping a glass down, he's so nonchalant about this situation LMAO

“HAVE I TRIED?” - Kaeya sounding very offended

“How about getting a white bed sheet and painting “will you marry me Y/N” on it?” - Rosaria

“Yeah, they leave me no ch-”

“Sit down, don’t embarrass yourself like a child” - Diluc pushing his brother down to sit

“HOW WILL I GET MY FEELINGS ACROSS THOUGH!”

“Just confess, normally… like… a normal person” - Diluc

Kaeya decided that in two days time he was going to confess to you, two days because he needed to make sure it was perfect

But the moment he saw you laughing with some random guy all the planning was thrown out the window

“Meet me in front of the church when the sun rises” - Kaeya to you when he passes by you at the corridor of the headquarters

When you arrived, he made you stand at the flight of stairs in front of the church while he went down

He kneeled with his right knee touching the ground and he pulled a very neatly folded white sheet from his pocket

He unraveled it and wrote, “WILL YOU MARRY ME Y/N?”

But even before you can react a thunderous shouting can be heard and a chuckle

“WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING!? I SAID CONFESS NORMALLY!” -Diluc

Thoma

I’m going to try but still little info on this new pyro husband

Thoma is a very understanding boy

He likes you so much that he's willing to wait

But damn has he been waiting long

He decided he was going to confess to you today as well!

“Y/N! I like you!” - Thoma

“I like you too! You are like my best friend!” - you

Every time this happens Thoma stress eats.

Ayaka is giggling because he has never seen her friend like this

He's trying his best for you to like him, he cooks for you, takes care of you, guards you, protects you…

WHAT IS HE DOING WRONG!?

“You know the festival is ongoing” -Ayato as he watches his sister’s friend mop around like a puppy who has been kicked. “Why don’t you try confessing properly and straight-forwardly there?”

That gave him an idea

He dragged to the talisman-wishing thing and told you that you two should make one

When the both of you were done, you should each other what you made and to your surprise, Thoma made a drawing of the both of you holding hands

“It’s not us being best friends forever” - he clarified

“It’s me hoping to spend many more years beside you as your lover.”

Venti

Barbatos aka Venti the Bard has been singing a lot of love songs lately

Especially when you were in the audience watching

He always likes your smile especially when you were watching him

So when the two of you were strolling around near the church of Monstad

He decided that he was going to confess today

Years of being alone and he finally get what Vanessa told him about meeting the right person

“Y/N, I love you-”

“Aww, Venti, I love you too!”

“Really?!” - Venti very excitedly

“Yeah! I love you as a friend! We’re like besties!”

Dvalin felt that

Andrius felt that

Hell even Vanessa felt that from Celestia

“Oh I got to go, bestie, I have something to do! See you tomorrow!”

Lately, the winds of Monstad have been depressing?

“I don’t understand! I thought they liked me back!” Venti his chugging his alcohol while Diluc looked at him in irritation

Diluc wants to kick him out but Venti is Monstad’s archon so he decided against it

“Venti! There you are!” - you

Venti hears your voice and because his drunk his happy instead of upset

He throws himself at you in an attempt of a sloppy hug

“Y/N! I love you~”

“I love you too, we are fr-”

“NO! I LOVE YOU LIKE A SIGNIFICANT OTHER I LOVE YOU! THAT TYPE OF LOVE THAT IF YOU ASK ME TO FIGHT MORAX I WOULD!”

Xiao

When Xiao first had these feelings he was confused

He lived a long life and this was the first time in his life where when he sees someone his chest becomes constricted and warm

“Xiao! Do you like traveler!?” - you excitedly

Xiao felt a tightening in his chest not that good type but am i being stab right now type of tightening

His answer would usually be along the lines of no and he can’t have relationships with mortals

He usually has a lot more patience with you compared to others but hearing you say that he looks good with someone else just made something in him snap

He didn’t mean to shout at you nor did he mean it when he said you should leave him alone

That’s why he's waiting for you at Wangshun Inn, his loneliness grew into worry when after 2 days you weren’t back yet

Upon eavesdropping around he also found out that no one has seen you and your last known location was Mt. Hulao and he immediately began to worry because that place was prohibited to humans

“Are you looking for someone?” - Mountain Sharper appeared behind Xiao as he reached the top of Mt. Hulao. “Are you looking for a mortal perhaps?”

“How did-”

“-That mortal is pretty noisy, they don’t stop talking and they know you.”

Oh, the warm feeling in his chest is back because they were talking about him which means that they weren’t angry at him!

“Where are they!?” Xiao would realize and I swear to you his ready to break every amber rock around Mt.Hulao

“Calm down, they are currently collecting Qingxin flowers”

Right on cue, “XIAO!? IS THAT YOU!?” he heard your voice from behind him, when he saw you, he immediately rushes to you and hugs you

“What are you doing here!?” Xiao would ask, his voice was raised only because of relief

“Oh, I got lost! And Moon Sharper here saw me, we ended up chatting and I guess I forgot the time, he shared so many stories about y- WHY DO YOU LOOK LIKE THAT ARE YOU HURT!?”

“I’m alright… I just… I m-miss…”

Moon Sharper is just looking at this scene and he knows he's about to spill the hottest tea next time the adeptus (idk plural form okay) have a dinner party

Xingqiu

At first glance, it might look like that he isn’t affected at all

But internal his boiling

WHY WERE YOU SO DENSE

IF IT WEREN’T FOR HIS CLAN'S TEACHING AND WHAT NOT HIS PROBABLY ABOUT TO ASK YOU FOR A FIGHT

“You’ll make a great husband someday Xingqiu, I know it! Your future wife would be so happy!”

“I want you to be my wife though”

“What was that?”

“NOTHING!”

He knows he needs to move so he can win your heart but how can he when you were dodging every advance he makes

What is more frustrating is that YOU ARE NOT EVEN DOING IT ON PURPOSE

As an author he wants to experience romance first hand, so he tries to be romantic about it but this was frustrating

He decided to pull his last technique from his sleeves

He lent you a very romantic book and between one of the pages he inserted a paper that read “I wish for you to be my muse.”

If that doesn’t work Xingqiu is going to ask you to fight him

Zhongli

Zhongli, Rex Lapis aka Morax has lived thousands of years

Yet this is the first time he encountered someone so dense at first he taught you were just kidding and pretending but when he described what he likes in someone which was pertaining to you

You simply said “WOW THEY SOUND WONDERFUL AND YOU MUST REALLY LIKE THEM BECAUSE YOU SOUND SO IN LOVE” at his face with genuine awe, there was no sign of you being flustered and whatnot

Hu Tao was there to witness this and the younger female had a good laugh when she witnessed this

Zhongli is now praying to Guizhong for help and patience

He first wondered if the reason for such behavior was because you dislike him but it wasn’t the case because you would always smile when you see him

Which makes his knees very weak

In heaven, all the dead gods are laughing at him

He has lived for so many years and yet he doesn’t know what to do because he wants to spend years with you

But a part of him says this isn’t right because his an immortal and you were a mortal, someday him being a former god would drive an enigma in the future

That’s why he was also hesitating on his part

“Zhongli, look-look! A merchant from Monstad gave me a Cecilia!” - you snapping him from his thought, he's a tall man so you had to tip-toe to put the flower in his hair

“There you look even prettier now!” - you smiling up to him

As you were withdrawing your hand, Zhongli grabs it and places it in front of his lips

“I love you Y/N”

[oh-no-my-hand-slipped]

A new prompt for you! (Finally :3)

I'm picturing multiple couples or a family group (4+ adults) who share a cottage together in the middle of nowhere, living off the land. Winter is coming, bringing with it its chill winds and early dustings of snow. The people are hard at work every day, chopping wood and putting aside the last of the food for winter.

It's the worst possible time to get sick, yet someone does, coming down with a miserable, streaming cold and high fever. What do they do about it? How do the others respond?

Could have definite cottage core elements, or fantasy (since you're so good at writing that!) or contagion if you choose. Can't wait to see the results :)

It’s been so long since I’ve written a real, honest to god fic, so this will be my debut back into snzfucker favor!

Okay, okay, who to include in this house of contagion?

We need a soft healer boi that takes care of everyone before themselves, of course. A very strong, stoic, hardworking warrior with muscles of steel - but the same can’t be said for his immune system. A hyper comic relief (like if Scout from TF2 was in a fantasy setting) that insists he isn’t sick, but can’t keep back his sneezes long enough to prove his point. And, of course, a tall, thin scholar whose cold heart is only melted by his fever.

Adventurers packing it in for the winter and preparing for journeying in the spring, now only at most a few yards from each other and having shot immune systems from the exhausting work. Illness doesn’t have to travel far to infect…

Oh, this is gonna be good.

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

“Look look look! Otto, you’re not gonna believe this!”

Barlow skidded to a halt, almost tripping over his own two feet before regaining his balance. Otto chuckled.

“Alright, alright, que pasa? What is so exciting?”

Barlow fumbled with his cloak before pulling a shiny coin out of one of the pockets.

“I got this off a path when I was pickin’ berries! Must’ve been a merchant or something…”

Barlow’s eyes suddenly lit up.

“Or maybe a warrior! Ooh, or a knight! Definitely somebody with a cape.”

He flung the back of his cloak behind him and stood tall, crossing his arms with a self-satisfied grin. However, Barlow couldn’t keep the pose long - the frigid air made him close the thin burlap around himself again, shivering. Otto knitted their brow.

“You’re wearing your summer cloak,” they said, looking Barlow up and down. “You must be freezing, chiquito!”

Barlow waved his hand, as if batting away Otto’s concern.

“Don’t worry about it, doc. It’s gonna take more than a little wind to get me down.”

As if to prove a point, he spread out his arms and spun around, laughing at the many leaves he kicked up.

Otto would usually be charmed by the sprite’s antics, but their concern soon outweighed their amusement.

“Just make sure to change into your winter clothes soon, okay? I would hate for you to get sick.”

Barlow stopped spinning, coughing a bit as he caught his breath with chilly autumn air. His hot breath clouded around his face like smoke.

“Okay, okay,” he panted, “I’ll grab it when I go by the cottage. Forgot my basket anyway. See you around, doc.”

With a quick salute, Barlow ran off, cloak billowing behind him, still clenching the coin in a tight fist. Otto shook their head and sighed. They knew that Barlow just didn’t want them to worry - but that only made them worry more. The healer in them couldn’t help but notice red-tipped fingers, congested voices, and pallid complexions. Besides, with a harsh winter underway, a cold could very quickly rear its ugly head, turning into bronchitis, pneumonia, and even infect a person’s magic…

Otto took a deep breath. Their thoughts had run away with them - and now, more than ever, it was important to stay focused.

The doctor gathered up their scrolls, pulled their coat close, and started back to the cottage.

Perhaps a little tea would calm their nerves.

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

“it’CHEW! CHEW!”

“Salud.”

“Ugh…thanks, doc. Snf!”

Otto looked up from his knitting to see Barlow rubbing his long, pointy ears with a pained look on his face.

“Do your ears hurt?”

Barlow put his hands in his lap. “No! Just, uh, a little itchy.”

Severin, who had been reading on the sofa across from Otto, hid a smirk behind the yellowed pages.

“Someone must be talking about you,” he drawled smugly. “Considering the way you conduct yourself, I’m not surprised.”

Instead of snapping back, Barlow still scratched at his ears. Severin slit his eyes and continued to read. He almost seemed disappointed.

“Could be thragweed,” Godric rumbled from a large wooden stool, rubbing his beard in thought, “but they usually shrivel up by the first frost. Didja see any three-leaved plants while you were out foragin’?”

Barlow shrugged, wincing as he rubbed harder. “Um…maybe?”

Otto frowned. “Be careful. You’ll hurt yourself if you keep scratching like that.”

“S-sorry, I…huh-hold on…”

Barlow buried himself in his cloak, with only his mop of red hair showing.

“hit’SHEW! Huh…it’TCHEW!”

The sprite continued to let out sneeze after sneeze, his wrinkled, pink nose only showing when he needed to come up for air. Otto got up from their chair, and they were soon holding him by the shoulders to keep him from knocking himself over.

Barlow finally finished, snuffling into his sleeve. He looked up at Otto with bleary eyes.

“Sorry, doc, I don’d dow whad’s gotten into be…”

Otto hushed him with a gentle pat, using their free hand to feel Barlow’s forehead. They clucked their tongue.

“Oh, mijo, you have a fever...”

Barlow’s breath caught, and he coughed into his shoulder. “Nah, I…I’b okay, Otto, really. I’ll be…snrk…fide in the morning. Just gotta sleep it off…”

Otto smiled gently. “Well, you’re right about one thing. A good night’s sleep is exactly what you need. And maybe a little salve for your poor ears…”

Their hand still on Barlow’s shoulder, Otto guided the sprite to his bedroom, mumbled protests and miserable sneezes trailing behind them.

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

Barlow’s fever never grew very high - his burning ears and nose, however, kept him up for most of the night. By the time morning came, he was too exhausted to even feign health. Otto had to put him back to bed, which was only met with pitiful murmurings.

“‘M fide, doc, I…hetch’CHIIIEW!”

“Pobrecito! You sound even worse than yesterday…”

“C’mon, Otto, I…”

“I don’t want to see you out of bed today, okay, cariño? You need to rest.”

“Nngh…”

Otto and Severin split the foraging work, since their respective jobs were mostly planning and budgeting the winter ahead of them. Godric promised to keep a good eye on the patient, but that didn’t lessen the doctor’s worry any.

“I wonder how Barlow’s doing,” Otto murmured, probably for the umpteenth time since they’d begun their work.

Severin scrutinized his severely pricked thumb. “Children always carry around such nasty things. It’s a wonder he hasn’t caught the plague instead of a simple cold.”

Otto froze mid-pick, and Severin hurried to correct himself.

“Peace, my friend. It is just a cold, after all.

He grimaced.

“One I dearly hope he keeps to himself.”

They both continued to fill their baskets with berries, wiping the frost off their shiny, black skins. However, Otto’s mind continued to race.

I shouldn’t have left him. Godric only knows so much. What happens if his fever spikes? I’m a healer, I’m not supposed to leave the sick behind. Should I go back? I should go back. No, I promised Barlow I’d get his foraging done. But I can’t keep a promise if he’s dead. What if he’s already dead? What if Godric’s on his way right now to tell me? What if I’m already too late? How will we bury him, the ground is too hard. Otto, your friend has died and all you can think about is how to bury him. You must be the most selfish -

“Otto.”

Otto snapped back to reality to see Severin giving him a fierce side-eye.

“It’s only a cold.”

Otto took a deep breath. “Right. Gracias. I…I lost myself, didn’t I?”

The afternoon went by in a quiet fervor, both of them trying to fill their baskets before the sun went down. With Otto’s quick fingers and Severin’s thin ones, it was an easy job, and the managed to get back before it got too dark.

Otto wasn’t two steps through the door before they were at Godric’s heels, wringing their hands and stammering through the worries that had built up through the day.

“Are you sure…how…did he…should I…?”

The warrior just chuckled and put a gigantic, calloused hand on the their head.

“He’s on tha’ mend, doc, on the mend. Sneezin’ his head off, sure, but gettin’ better.”

As if on cue, two loud sneezes interrupted them from one of the bedrooms, followed by a mumbled curse and a few wet sniffles. Godric shook his head.

“Been like that all day, poor tyke. When he wasn’ dozin’ off, tha’ is.”

Severin took a few scrolls out of his dragon-scale satchel.

“I understand you have a more…pressing engagement. Why don’t I take the calculations tonight?”

But Otto was already on their way to Barlow’s bedside, medicine bag in tow. Severin only lifted his eyebrows and turned on his heel, setting up the many notes he had taken and a few quills on the oaken table.

“Besides,” he murmured to himself, “I don’t want to get near whatever affliction that sprite’s come down with.”

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

Barlow was scratching at his drooping ears, which were now covered in a red, peeling rash. Otto gently pushed his hands back under the quilt.

“I know it itches, but you need to try not to scratch.”

The healer took a small glass container out of their bag, dipping two fingers into the greenish-gray ointment inside. They began to apply the salve to Barlow’s ears, taking care not to put on too much.

“Tell me when you need a break,” Otto said.

Barlow nodded, eyes squeezed shut. After a few minutes, his nostrils started to twitch, and he held up a hand.

“G-gudda…huh…!”

He jerked forward into his knees.

“hit’CHEW! hhhit’SHEW! Uh…hut’SHIEW!”

Barlow snuffled into the quilt, and Otto handed him a tissue.

“Salud.”

“Ugh…sorry, doc…”

Otto put the cork back into the glass bottle and set it on the bedside table.

“It’s alright - most sprites have the same reflex.”

“No, I beant…for…”

Barlow bit his lip, his ears drooping even lower.

“For geddin’ sick.”

Otto put a hand on the sprite’s back.

“Oh, mijo…”

“I-I didn’d mean to,” Barlow whimpered. “I…I should’ve god by coat like you told be to…and dow w-we’re - hic - gudda starve…”

Otto hushed him, pulling Barlow into an embrace and rocking him slowly back and forth.

“We will be fine, mijo,” they whispered, their voice soothing Barlow into a sniffle. “We will forage until you are better, and not a day before. That is what friends do. They protect each other, they take care of each other, and they love each other like family. And that is how I love you. Like my family.”

Barlow hiccuped, trying to speak through his tears.

“Shhh, mijo…it’s okay…”

Otto wrapped the quilt tighter around Barlow and laid him down, pushing hair damp with both tears and sweat out of his face. The sobs quieted, then dissolved into shaky breaths. Before Otto even made it through the doorway, they could hear small, congested snores coming from the pile of blankets.

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

Scritch scritch scritch…scriiiitch…

Harried quill scratching filled the air as Otto entered the living room, putting on their tweed coat and wool gloves. They stretched out their arms.

“Buenos días!”

Godric lifted his coffee mug as a greeting, his famous half-smile dancing over his lips.

“Well, aren’tcha bright as tha’ north star this mornin’!”

Otto beamed. Barlow had slept soundly through the night, and he was still fast asleep when they had checked on him. Not a sniffle or a sneeze came from that room.

“Severin, I was thinking we could pick up acorns today,” Otto thought aloud, buttoning their coat. “There is a beautiful place in the forest…”

Silence. The quill scratching only grew more manic. Otto glanced up.

Severin was hunched over the table, writing madly on several open scrolls, only pausing to move a few beads on his abacus. Otto went back to getting ready. Sometimes it took a while for Severin to answer if he was engrossed in his calculations. He would respond when he got to a stopping point.

After about fifteen minutes of fidgeting with their scarf, though, Otto tried again.

“From what I’ve seen, we should be ready for winter in a week, maybe less. All that’s left is the dried vegetables and a few more logs for firewood.”

Again, there was no answer. But now that Otto was a little closer, they could see why.

Severin’s eyes were inflamed and painful, as were his gaunt cheeks. His long, usually well-preened hair was matted against his forehead, with stray hairs sticking up this way and that. Thin shoulder blades came together with each labored breath. Long fingers shivered around a red quill, leaving stray marks on the parchment.

“Mi sombro,” Otto breathed.

The shadowling blinked, raising his head stiffly. Pools of sweat, shaken loose by the movement, streaked down their face.

“I…couldn’t sleep,” Severin croaked. “Have I…have I been awake…?”

Godric looked up from his mug, finally noticing the sorcerer’s state. “Stars above, lad! Ya look like hell frozen over!”

The shadowling stared straight ahead, his breath coming in ragged strains.

“Could someone…please put out the fireplace…?”

Otto clucked their tongue, putting their hands on either side of Severin’s neck. His dark eyes fluttered shut, as if with great relief.

“Mm…”

“Ay, tu cabeza,” Otto cooed, putting their hand on Severin’s forehead. “You’re burning up.”

Severin finally looked down at the doctor. His tense gaze was now dazed, vulnerable - even afraid.

“I couldn’t sleep,” he said again, hoarsely.

Otto rubbed their thumb on Severin’s feverish cheek. “I know, cariño. I know.”

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

It took a lot more doing to get Severin to bed than it did Barlow. Not only did he insist he was perfectly well, only warm from the unlit fireplace, but that he had seen terrifying visions outside the window.

“Their eyes, doctor…they stared into my very essence…a…a beast of some kind…we’ll be killed…”

“Shhh, my love. It’s only a nightmare from your fever. You will feel better soon.”

In the end, the only way Otto could leave the cottage was by taking a small talisman Severin had in his cloak. They weren’t superstitious, but Otto wanted to do anything they could to put the sick sorcerer at ease.

Now with one less healthy person in the group, Otto rushed to get the last of the supplies for the cold winter ahead. The first snowflakes were beginning to fall, which made finding acorns that much more difficult. Before the sun reached its peak, the ground was completely covered in a thin layer of snow. But, for once, Otto’s anxiety was an advantage.

They plowed through every task as if their life depended on it. Another of their friends falling ill had kicked their healer instinct into high gear; whenever they were fatigued or sore, all it took was a few words of the healing oath to get them going again.

“From the monsters of the cave, of the sea, of the heart,” they whispered while peeling wild wolf onions, “I shall protect and provide for those who cannot.”

As morning turned to afternoon, the light flurry of the morning became a bitter gale that howled through the trees like a hungry animal. The world was silent except for the frigid wind - all the creatures of the forest knew well enough that the winter ahead would not be kind to them.

But Otto knew nothing of this.

And so they marched forward.

It was quite past dark when Otto returned to the cottage. Much to their delight, a fire was flickering in the fireplace, and a wonderful, familiar smell lingered in the air - a mixture of tender meat and spices.

As Otto had hoped, there was a pot of stew left over the flames. The broth still bubbled with warmth, and the chicken and vegetables gave off a heavenly steam. Their stomach suddenly felt very hollow.

They hadn’t eaten all day, had they?

With raw fingers, the doctor tried their best to use the ladle, which was as big as their entire arm and weighed twice as much. Gripping the handle with both hands, they brought the brew to their lips, taking care not to burn their tongue.

A beautiful, soothing flavor poured down Otto’s throat. They leaned their head back and closed their eyes, making sure to drink up every last tasty morsel. It was a long time before the ladle was empty again.

Once they were finished, the healer felt a heaviness collect around their eyes. Finally, at long last, they could rest. The cottage was fast asleep - and now it was time for Otto to follow suit.

Sleep came upon Otto too quickly for them to retire to their own bed. Like a hound after a successful hunt, they crawled onto the sofa and curled into a ball, dead to the world before their head hit the soft cushions.

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

Otto wasn’t sure how long they slept. They remembered bits and pieces of dreams, of words, or memories - but mostly a comforting darkness that lulled them into a deep drowse.

When they finally awoke, the first thing they saw was the flitting of the fire. The flame had all but burned itself out during the night. Otto rolled over, stretching and sighing with satisfaction. That was the best they had slept in several days.

They indulged themselves in a large yawn and shifted off the sofa, cringing from cold stone against their bare feet.

The cottage was still silent with sleep - not a thing stirred but the creaks and groans of the wooden beams. A frigid wind had picked up outside, and bits of snow swirled in the air.

How cold Godric must be this morning, Otto thought as they padded towards the hallway. The warrior was always up and working by first light - quite before anyone else was awake - but came back inside to drink some hot coffee and see how the preparations were going. Godric made a strong cup of coffee. One could smell it and be ready for a new day; that’s usually all most could stand without sputtering.

Today, however, there was no earthy aroma of it brewing. All Otto could smell was a hint of the stew they had eaten the night before - the husk of a beautiful, delicious dream.

The doctor peeked his head into Barlow’s room. The sprite was laying on his stomach, eyes closed and breath soft. Though they had been feeling better for the past day or so, Barlow’s nose frequently ran away with him, and was still very pink and sensitive. His upright ear twitched ever so slightly, but there was no sign of him stirring any time soon.

Severin, on the other hand, had fared much worse. Despite the many wet rags coating almost every inch of his febrile body, his breathing was still heavy and labored, and his eyes darted under closed eyelids. Bite marks covered cracking lips. Otto made sure they made little noise as they tiptoed from the doorway. Severin needed all the rest he could get.

Otto turned from his patients, a familiar heaviness weighing upon their heart. Such misery in what was supposed to be a warm season of reaping and feasting.

Perhaps it came back with them from market, or from the many travelers that take the nearby road into town. With how hard everyone had been working, and how many nights were left unslept…

Otto massaged the bridge of their nose, dashing from one possibility to the next, feeling more and more ashamed by how little they prepared, how stupid they must have been, how utterly selfish! They had been so busy with preparations that they had barely noticed that their journeymates were wasting away!

They could have done something. This was all their fault, wasn’t it? How could they be a healer if they couldn’t even keep the ones they loved safe?

Otto was roused from their guilt by the sound of harsh coughing. They peeked their head into the past two rooms, fearing that one of them had been awakened by their footsteps. However, both of them were still out cold. Or out warm, in Severin’s case.

No, the coughing wasn’t coming from their rooms, Otto realized. It was coming from the third bedroom - the one that they and Godric shared.

The door creaked open as Otto shuffled inside, already knowing the worst was yet to come.

“Doc? Is tha’ you?”

Godric was sitting up in bed, quilt wrapped around him, his chest heaving with another hacking fit. His cheeks were flushed with effort and fever. Otto went to his bedside, their heart dropping into their stomach.

“Real nice ‘a this cold to leave the healer last, eh?” the warrior joked before laying back down with a quiet groan.

Otto pushed the hair off Godric’s neck and felt his lymph nodes, which were not only hot, but terribly swollen.

“I can chop those few pieces ‘a wood, an’ then I’ll-”

“You are not getting out of this bed,” Otto said sternly. Then, with a kinder tone, “I know you want to finish your work, but you are very sick. You shouldn’t be out in the snow.”

“But how-”

“I will take care of it, cariño. Just rest.”

Godric opened his mouth to say something else, but just coughed and covered himself up with his quilt.

“Take care of yerself, doc,” he said before Otto went to check on the others. “There isn’t anythin’ I can’t do after I’m back on m’feet.”

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

Between taking care of three sick creatures and the final preparations, Otto ran themselves ragged over the next few days. None of their friends were particularly hard to take care of - especially after Severin’s fever broke - but the heaviness of their heart continued to weigh upon them.

With no other options, they threw themselves into work.

If they chopped enough wood for an extra week, they chopped enough wood for two extra weeks. The larder was more than full. Their fingers and hands and back and everything else was sore, but they couldn’t stop for long without feeling their guilt gnaw away at them.

One frigid morning, Otto had taken to the axe, splitting wood and putting them in the shed to keep them dry. They had run out of pre-cut trunks a long time ago, so they started cutting sticks in half for kindling. Out of the corner of their eye, mid-swing, they saw a figure marching through the snow - lifting their foot high before stomping it down again with a crunch.

After a few minutes, Otto could finally see a pair of long ears fluttering in the cold wind.

“Barlow!”

The sprite grinned as he approached Otto, holding up a steaming container of something in his mittened hands.

“I got soup!” he called out, trying to move faster in the deep snow. “Godric felt a lot better today, so he wanted to try somethin’ new. It’s real good! Even Severin ate a whole bowl of it, so you know it’s gotta be great.”

Barlow sat next to the chopping block, and patted a mound of snow next to him. Otto sat down, wincing as their sore muscles twinged.

“Godric says we’re all packed up for winter,” Barlow continued as he handed Otto the food. “And we’ll even have stuff to eat in the spring, too.”

Otto didn’t answer, but tucked into the soup, not even blowing it off before putting the spoon in their mouth. Barlow thought for a little bit, then spoke again.

“Doc, Godric told me that we got more than enough food and wood to last through the winter. If you wanna come inside, we’ve got a checker game goin’…”

Otto didn’t respond, but they had started to shiver from the cold. Barlow took of his coat and draped it around Otto’s shoulders.

“C’mon, let’s get back. Everybody’s waitin’ for us.”

Barlow took Otto by the hand and pulled them up, then led them back towards the cottage. Otto trailed behind like a quivering lamb, both exhausted and numb. They couldn’t think of much else than putting one foot in front of the other.

When the pair finally got back to the cottage, a warm, cozy scene awaited them. Severin was on the couch, doing needlepoint with half-open eyes and content look on his face. Godric was above the stove, stirring a pot and putting one seasoning or another into it. The fire was blazing in a lovely orange hue that painted the scene with a beautiful glow.

While Barlow went right inside and was greeted by the others, Otto stood in the doorway, weary eyes closed, soaking up the light and warmth as much as they could.

“Doctor?”

Severin was up now, his quiet wisdom regained. Before Otto could answer, the sorcerer started to remove their soaked outer layers with quick fingers.

“If Barlow didn’t bring you here,” Severin said, “you would have worked yourself to a frozen skeleton.”

Otto suddenly jerked his head to the side.

“het’TCH! TCH! TCH’UH!”

“Many blessings, doctor.”

Severin smiled and tilted his head.

“Many, many blessings.”

Otto sniffled, rubbing their nose with stiff fingers.

“Nngh…gracias. Just a little…heh…htch’CHU!”

“Aye, I don’ like tha’ sound of that,” Godric rumbled from the kitchen, turning his head to see the sickly healer.

Otto waved their hand. “Just a li-hih-ttle sdiffle…”

“One that is long overdue, I think,” Severin said, putting the last of their wet things away.

Otto was ushered in front of the fire, still at the mercy of his nose. With each sneeze came a chorus of blessings and, if need be, another handkerchief.

“That’s a real nasty cold, huh?” Barlow commented after a particularly forceful fit. “Even I didn’t sneeze that much.”

As the day came to a close, the group all gathered on the couch, listening to the wind howling outside and treating themselves to Godric’s famous roast and sweet apple tea. Otto didn’t eat very much, but the hot tea soothed their sore throat.

“Tank you for taking such good care of be,” Otto snuffled.

Godric chuckled. “Ya care so much about us, doc. It only makes sense that we’s care an awful lot about you, ‘specially when ya aren’t feelin’ well.”

“And after you tended so well to us, may I add,” Severin said, leaning his head back.

“Yeah!” Barlow agreed, not exactly as good with words as the others, but still just as thankful.

Otto, overcome, buried their face in Godric’s side and began to cry, letting out everything that they had felt in the past few days. They wanted to stop, they wanted to explain, but it was lost in desperate sobs and hiccuping. Godric held them closer to him while the others offered quiet support until the doctor quieted.

“There ya go,” Godric said, putting a large hand on Otto’s head. “It’s gonna be alright.”

Filled with comfort and warm food, Otto quickly dozed off, and the others weren’t far behind. The only sounds were the falling of fresh snow, the crackling of the fireplace, and the snores of deep, contented sleep.

And, as winter finally settled into Harbinger Woods, they all settled down for their long winter’s rest.

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

Not only do I want to dedicate this to @perfectpaperbluebirds , who gave me the prompt, but also @sneezytomatosquish , who has been feeling emotionally and physically under the weather lately. That may have changed by the time this fic is finished, but I shall gift it to you anyway. You are one of my favorite creators, but I want to create something for you for a change. You deserve it.

Get well soon!

[sorryimananti-romantic]

Mist | Choi San | Chapter 1

Pairing: Choi San x OC (Seohyun)

Genre: supernatural (ghost), romance, high school

Trigger Warnings: paranormal, death mentions, violence

Words: 7.2k

Disclaimer: I do not own anything except my original character and the story. I do not own any gifs or pictures used.

Full story on Wattpad (don’t spoil here if you read there too)

chapter directory

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Seohyun kicked a pebble with her boot, sending it flying in the air. The black cat following Seohyun meowed as it wandered between her legs, rubbing itself along her naked legs. Seohyun kicked another pebble, and the cat meowed louder.

"I know, I know," she said, sighing, "I shouldn't have helped him."

The cat's grey eyes twinkled and it jumped a little to keep pace with Seohyun. She adjusted her sunglasses with the tip of her finger and tucked her long hair behind her ears, keeping her eyes fixed to the ground in hopes of finding more pebbles that she could kick.

Seohyun's hands went to the straps of her school bag on her shoulders as she finally found one, and she smirked. "Hey kitty, I'm gonna kick this one real hard."

As if the cat understood, it sat near her to watch the scene. Seohyun aimed her foot, sending the pebble flying with full force as a short laugh escaped her. She waited for the satisfying sound of the pebble hitting something hard, but a wail of pain answered her instead.

"Oops," Seohyun grimaced as she motioned the cat to follow her, trying to flee before she was caught. However, luck was rarely on her side.

"It was you, right?" She heard a boyish voice call out. She sneaked a peek, seeing a group of colourful heads belonging to boys that grew larger and larger as more joined them.

"I thought I hit one? Why are there so many..." she muttered, then turned back, bowing her head in a quick apology and turning again to run away, almost tripping on the cat and it howled in pain before following her.

"Hey, stop!" She heard voices, and she just sped up. She had enough to worry about.

"Where are my ghost friends when I need them.." Seohyun muttered under her breath as she sped up, cursing mentally. She could hear steps draw closer by every second, and she finally turned abruptly, making the group of boys stop dead in their tracks, bumping at each other.

"I apologized, what do you all want now?"

"You never apologized," the blue haired one said.

"Why do you think I bowed? To thank you?" Seohyun retorted. The blonde snickered, earning a kick in his ribs from not one but two of them.

"We couldn't see from so far, at least apologize properly!"

"Alright, alright. Was it you who got hit?"

"No, it was-"

Seohyun sighed out loud. "What got you so worked up then, if it wasn't even you?"

"He's my friend?" The blue haired boy said, making it sound more like a question.

"I told you all not to make a fuss, it's not like she did it on purpose," Seohyun heard one of them say, and her eyes shifted towards the boy with black hair, the eyebrow slit further defining his sharp features. Indeed, he was hurt. There was a painful scratch where the pebble must have grazed his cheekbone.

"Ah, so it was you..." Seohyun bit her lip. She thought she should apologize properly, so she bowed properly this time, and got up. "I never meant to hurt anyone. I'm sorry."

His eyes burned holes in her even though she wore sunglasses. He pursed his lips, nodding. "It's okay, just be careful next time."

She nodded. "Can I go now?" She didn't wait for an answer and turned, motioning the cat to come along, who meowed.

"Wait!" The eyebrow-slit boy sat down on one knee, motioning the cat to come to him, who gladly obliged and Seohyun rolled her eyes. He smiled at the cat, rubbing its head and offering it a biscuit, which the cat graciously accepted, munching right into it.

"Do you even give your cat food? It's so thin."

"It's not mine," Seohyun said and the boy's head turned up to look at her, curiosity in his eyes obvious. "It followed you rather gladly."

Seohyun just shrugged, looking away from his gaze and observing the group now. They were all dressed in school uniform like her, but it looked like it was a different school. She internally smiled at the interesting mix that stood in front of her.

"San, let's go," she heard the red-head call out. San, she thought.

"I need to go now too." Seohyun said, waiting for the boy to stop playing with the cat.

The boy- San- got up and said, "You said it's not yours. Can I take it then?"

Seohyun almost said yes, but hesitated. It was true the cat was not hers, but at this point, she could call it hers, the way it always followed her around whenever she was out. She had rather grown attached to the constant presence of her black furry friend.

"Uhh, I mean you could, but..." she bit her lip as she looked back as if for help, and then turned back to the boy. "This cat is my only friend."

Seohyun hated how it had almost come as a whisper, but the boy looked like he understood as he nodded, taking a step back. "I'll see you around then," he smiled sweetly at the cat, who meowed at him.

Seohyun finally turned, not bothering to check if the cat followed her or that boy, San. She was too scared to check. But when she heard the cat meow and rub at her legs, she smiled in relief.

"I'll feed you more now, I promise," she smiled at the cat.

Meanwhile, San watched the odd pair walk away in the distance.

"So rude!" the blue haired boy said, and everyone laughed. San turned and shook his head. "Not my fault you decided to act like my parent, Hongjoong."

"Doesn't look like she's from our school, but isn't it the school near the place we usually go to eat dinner?" The blonde asked.

"Yeah, it looks like it. You're treating us to dinner there tomorrow. You remember, right Yeosang?"

"You're always hungry for food Wooyoung, how could I forget?" He answered.

The group started to walk their way, talking about their plans for dinner, but San couldn't stop thinking about the girl with the grey streaks in her hair, the girl who had no friends other than a black cat. He unconsciously shook his head, finally paying attention to his present.

----------

"I said I'm sorry!" Seohyun yelled, "Now you leave my hair, and I'll leave yours."

"You first," the woman replied.

"Together, okay? One, two, three- YOU! You lied!"

"You lied too!" The woman shouted, and pulled at Seohyun's hair, earning a satisfactory groan from her.

"It's not like you can feel pain! You're a freaking ghost!"

"Doesn't mean I'm not insulted," the woman smirked, "Alright, I'll leave you first, and you leave no more than a second after, otherwise I'll make sure you feel the pain you love." The woman let go of Seohyun's hair and Seohyun did so right after, taking quick steps backward as she massaged her head.

"Bitch..." she muttered, and the woman laughed out loud.

The woman- ghost- had been keeping Seohyun company for about two months now, occasionally popping out of nowhere and leaving just as abruptly. At first, Seohyun had tried to help her in some way, help her move on and come to terms with her sudden death by accident, but the young woman had quite a difficult death and she was the first of a kind- a ghost with amnesia. No memories of how she had died and why she hadn't moved on.

Seohyun had to admit that she had grown used to her presence. She often found herself narrating her uneventful day to her, just like today, when she had excessively complained how useless of a friend she was and how none of her ghost friends had ever done her a favour. Somehow that had turned into an argument and then to them resorting to pulling each other's hair our, except her ghost friend couldn't feel any pain since she was, well, a ghost. Dead.

"I mean," Seohyun continued, fiddling with her hair, "it would have saved me from embarrassment had you popped up and helped me out there."

"What could I have done?" The woman sat down on the pavement, the black cat gladly jumping on her lap as the woman ran her hands through her fur. "It's not like anyone else can see me."

"Hello? You could have made me disappear."

"You know it's not good for your health. Why do it unless absolutely, absolutely necessary?" The woman glared at her.

"YES! That was absolutely, absolutely necessary. There were 8 of them! I was alone!" Seohyun whined and the woman just ignored her.

"Unnie~" Seohyun sat down near her, and the woman slid away from her.

"I told you not to call me that. I have a name, and it's Jiwoo."

"How can I call you by your name? You're much older than me." Seohyun grinned.

"And that's why I don't help you. Because you're a stubborn one. Also, I'm pretty sure I'm not that old."

"That's rich coming from you," Seohyun retorted, ignoring the last remark, "I'm not the one refusing to move on just because I can't get enough of worldly pleasures."

"And that's my cue to leave you alone, like you always are. There's a reason you don't have friends, Seohyun." Jiwoo got up, putting the curled cat on the pavement.

"I do have friends-"

"I'm talking about human friends. Your sharp tongue and stubborn heart, it's about time you change that."

"I-" Before Seohyun could complete, Jiwoo disappeared. Seohyun sighed, her heart sinking a bit at her harsh but true words.

There was indeed a reason that she had no friends. And it wasn't her ability to see ghosts.

Seohyun pulled her knees to her chest, shutting her eyes. She wanted to disappear.

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

Senior year of high school was supposed to be tough, yes, but Seohyun had to face challenges other than academic ones.

And it wasn't just the fact that she had no social life at all; she only had a group of people she could interact with if need be, otherwise she was perfectly content on being on her own. She had no problem staying amused in her own company.

The problem was with Seohyun, though not directly. It was the problem that she could see and interact with some of the dead. And the dead made sure she got in trouble if she didn't hear their woes and skipped school to maybe find them something (or someone) they had an attachment to, or didn't take them to their loved ones immediately.

She had often tried to reason with them; she tried to explain that she was perfectly aware how bad they must have it, but she had it worse since she was still alive, and with life came unforeseen consequences, such as having to face her mother if they caused a scene (which they usually did), or if they tried to grab her attention by any means necessary, such as causing her desk to fall, her stuff to fly (where she would immediately have to either hold it or pretend to have thrown it).

She tried, oh she tried so hard to tell them to wait until she was free from school and then she would do whatever they asked her to, but no. Apparently whatever they wanted to do was more important than her school, her reputation (already in ruins), everything. There rarely was someone patient enough, and those she made sure she looked after properly. Like Jiwoo.

She wished Jiwoo was here so she could get rid of the old wrinkly man in front of her. She was trying to focus on her mathematics but it was hard to when a fat belly blocked her vision. And she couldn't even say anything out loud, so she just sent daggers through her eyes, the message in her eyes clear. But the old man just smirked, continuing to block her vision.

Seohyun sighed and turned the page of her notebook, scribbling in it, then turned the notebook to the ghost in front of her. The man was short so he didn't have to bend as he read what she had written.

"IF YOU COULD STOP PESTERING ME FOR A FEW MINUTES YOU WRINKLY OLD MAN I CAN'T FOCUS ON MATHS BECAUSE OF YOU"

The old man smirked, and Seohyun wished she could kick him somewhere he would surely feel pain even though ghosts couldn't feel pain. She was so absorbed in thinking of ways that she could make this ghost feel pain that she didn't notice him take her notebook and run away before she could snatch it back.

As soon as Seohyun noticed, she jerked in her seat, stopping herself from getting up and following him. He stopped a few feet away, teasingly coming closer and closer, the frown on Seohyun's face getting deeper and deeper until he stopped near the girl sitting in front of her, tore a page from her notebook and gave it back.

And then he did what she dreaded. He made a ball out of that paper, aimed at the teacher, taking one last look at the very satisfying horrified face of the girl who could see ghosts but refused to help them, and threw the paper ball at the teacher with considerable force, hitting him on his head.

The teacher turned, running his eyes across the classroom, not missing how everyone was glancing between the teacher and Seohyun, who folded her arms rather defensively, silently praying he wouldn't actually pick the paper ball. But the teacher bent down, and it so happened that he was also old, and a bit wrinkly, so when he read the scribbled message, his face went red.

"Who was it?!" The teacher pushed his glasses up his nose-bridge and watched as the students hesitantly pointed to Seohyun, who sank deeper into her chair, as if somehow a pit would open and swallow her.

"You meet me in my office after class." The teacher shook his head in disappointment and continued where he left.

Seohyun was given a warning, and it was her second. She had only one left before she would be kicked out of school (if something big happened, which usually did if she waited for the third warning) so she decided it was time for her to move on again.

And this time she dreaded. It was always a hassle to explain to her mom what had happened. Her mom knew she could see ghosts and when she was little, she had tried all sorts of methods, of almost all religions she could think of, hoping her only daughter would turn out normal, but she had failed. But now she liked to pretend that she had forgotten all about it, and when Seohyun told her she had gotten into trouble, she would silently nod and get her to change schools before something big happened and it got written in her school record.

So a few attempts from the old ghost trying to get her in trouble and a few days later, Seohyun was finally free of struggling. She changed schools. And tomorrow would be her first day, hopefully the last time she had to change schools before her senior year ended. Before high school ended.

Seohyun was still dressed in her old school's uniform when she went to her new school to submit her files and make sure everything was good before her first day. She had her baseball cap on this time, making sure she would hide most of her face since a lot of people would be staring at her. It was normal to stare when someone from another school came.

The black cat found her once again, following her as she walked to the building. Seohyun motioned the cat to stay and it obeyed, watching the girl walk into the building.

From a distance, San and his friends were watching the whole scene. They had recognized the girl not by her face, which was half-hidden anyway, but her cat and the grey streaks in her hair.

"Let's hope she doesn't attack you with a pebble again," Yunho snickered, and San smiled, his hand unconsciously going to the now faint scratch on his face.

"I'm not going to your rescue if that happens," Hongjoong said and Seonghwa chimed in, "Neither will I."

"I never asked you anyway..." San trailed off.

"The cat looks like it wants to escape," Jongho pointed his finger at the hoard of girls that gathered around the poor cat. "Poor cat."

"San, you should go bring the cat. It would recognize you," Mingi suggested and San considered. The cat was worth saving.

A few moments later, San was back with the cat in his arms. The cat did recognize him. He bought the cat to the boys, who lightly patted her one by one, taking turns so she wouldn't feel scared.

After about five minutes, the boys heard someone clear their throat right behind them. They turned to see it was that girl.

"Aren't you the same group from that day?" Seohyun wondered out loud.

"The cat was scared because people were gathering around her, so we brought her here," Yeosang said.

"That's... kind of you," Seohyun met eyes with each of them, and the boys got a proper look at her face for the first time without her glasses. She had light eyes. The shadows beneath her eyes were dark, which contrasted with her eyes rather strikingly.

"What were you doing here? You're not from our school," Wooyoung commented.

"Oh, I'll be joining from tomorrow..." Seohyun realized somehow she's ended up in the same school as the boys. "What class are you in?"

"Senior year, all of us," Wooyoung replied, and they didn't miss her groan.

"I'm guessing you're senior year too," Seonghwa asked, earning a nod of confirmation.

"How ironic. What if you end up in our class?" Yeosang wondered.

"God forbid," Seohyun shook her head, making them smile despite her remark. "Now, should I leave the cat here, or..."

"Does it have a name?" San asked, rubbing under the cat's chin.

"Uh, no actually," Seohyun faltered when she saw San give her a disappointed look, "I just call her kitty. You can give it a name if you want to."

"I'll think about it," San shifted his arms to hand the cat over to Seohyun, and she took it, placing the cat on her shoulders, waiting until she sat around her neck like she usually did.

"I guess I'll go now," she met eyes with San for the last time, noticing the mole on his eyelid. San nodded, and she muttered an awkward bye before walking past them, cursing at herself mentally for being so awkward with them.

"It's you who got me in trouble, you dumb cat," she muttered under her breath. The cat didn't even bother reply.

The boys watched her leave, and Yeosang finally spoke, "I have a feeling she'll be in our class now. Oh, how the tables have turned."

"Interesting," Jongho smiled, "Does San have a new friend now?"

"The cat? Sure." San smirked.

"Ah, let's see how that changes," Jongho retorted, smirking back.

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

Seohyun tried to calm her nerves as she looked at herself in the mirror of the girls' toilet in her new school.

The nerves always got the better of her whenever it was her first day at a school. It usually took her about three days to get comfortable with a new environment. Seohyun sighed as she wiped her sweaty palms on her black skirt, staring at her light brown eyes. She wished she could cover them with her sunglasses so she could avoid the excessive eye contact with humans and ghosts. Sadly, she couldn't do that in class.

She finally took a deep breath and somehow managed to make herself walk to the office, where she met her homeroom teacher, a middle-aged woman. She walked along with her to her class, and the teacher smiled warmly at her as she nudged her to come along.

They entered the class and watched as the boys and girls went back to sit at their seats, the room slowly falling silent. The teacher cleared her throat.

"Good morning class, we have a new student today. Please introduce yourself."

Seohyun, who had been looking down the entire time, finally gathered whatever courage she had and ran her eyes along the class as she finally spoke.

"Good morning, I am Lee Seohyun. I hope we can get along well."

"Alright, why don't you find yourself a seat?" The teacher said and Seohyun nodded, looking at the few empty seats and considering her choices.

Her first priority was to sit as far away as possible. Preferably by the window. There was one empty seat in the furthest row, but it was next to the seat by the window already occupied by someone-

It was one of those boys. She only knew San's name for now, and it was the blonde one. She quickly scanned her other options and decided this was the best for now.

As she made her way, she realized the 8 of them were all sitting around the empty seat that she was about to sit on. San was in front of her, the strawberry blonde on her other side, the rest around them too. She wondered if the seat belonged to one of their friends so she quietly asked the blonde, "Is this seat free?"

He shook his head and she internally sighed in relief as she settled herself, focusing on whatever the homeroom teacher said, trying not to stare holes at the back of San's head, until she left a few minutes later and she slumped back in her chair.

San finally turned, raising his brows, "What a coincidence."

Seohyun shrugged, straightening her skirt. "Ironic, really."

"Is there a reason you changed schools?" The blonde turned towards her, resting his head on his hand as he looked at her curiously.

"Uh," Seohyun hesitated as she tried to recall her excuse for every time someone asked her this, "for convenience. It's closer to home."

"That's an interesting reason to change school," he replied, earning a shrug.

"Maybe she doesn't want to tell you why exactly. Am I right?" San locked eyes with her, his smirk growing.

"Maybe," Seohyun teased back.

"How's your cat?" She heard someone call, and she looked at the black haired boy.

"It's not exactly mine, but it's fine. Probably."

"That's... reassuring. I'm Wooyoung by the way. This is Yeosang-" he pointed to the blonde next to her, "San, and that's Yunho next to you."

She looked at Yunho and he waved shyly. "That's Seonghwa," he pointed in front of him, and when Seohyun nodded, he continued, "The blueberry is Hongjoong, the red one is Jongho, and that's Mingi over there."

Seohyun nodded slowly, looking at them all slowly. "Yunho, Seonghwa, Hongjoong blueberry,-"

"I heard that!" Hongjoong shouted, turning around and making a pout at Seonghwa. Ignoring him, she continued, "San, Jongho in the front, then Mingi beside him, Wooyoung and Yeosang. I got it."

"You're quick," Yunho grinned. Seohyun wished she could tell him that it was because of the several hundred ghosts she had met and had promised never to forget their names.

"So the 8 of you are friends?" She asked, and San nodded. "Why was this seat in the middle empty then?"

"Mingi used to sit here but his eyesight got worse so he moved to the front."

"Well, that explains..."

Their teacher walked in, a man in his 30s, and she found out he was to be her math teacher. At least he's not old and wrinkly, she thought as she took out her notebook.

---------

The rest of her day was uneventful, except for the break when the boys asked if she wanted to join them but she didn't. She said she had to go to the office, but that was a lie. She wanted to take a breather.

When they left, she looked again at her options. She was already regretting sitting among the group of friends. She was going to be a disturbance to them, or something even worse. She didn't want them to think she was weird. Not yet.

She surprised herself at the thought. Why did she care? She had never cared before. But she told herself it was probably because she had a few encounters with them before and it would be weirder if they found out now. That she was strange. They'd probably stop talking to her very suddenly. That part always hurt her, which was why she always avoided making friends.

Seohyun shook her head and looked at the empty seat in the middle of the room. The spot was out of question. Being in the middle of the room meant she could be surprised from anywhere by those damned ghosts.

Then there was one in the very front with the wall. She could go there, but...

She felt more comfortable here. The spot was perfect. The problem was the boys. They were in for disappointment.

She saw some girls staring at her. They were probably considering if they should talk and make friends with her. But Seohyun was in no mood for friends, so she just put her head on the desk and closed her eyes.

She almost drifted to sleep when she heard someone put something on her desk. She got up and saw that it was San. "We figured you didn't have time for lunch, so."

Seohyun looked from the bread and juice to San, and back at the food presented to her. "Thank you, that's uh... very kind of you?" She looked at San and Yeosang, and they laughed shamelessly at her.

"You don't sound so happy," Yeosang commented and she shook her head, sipping at the juice to prove her point as she said, "No, actually I'm glad, but it wasn't necessary."

They just shook her head at her, smiling as they absorbed themselves in some discussion. Seohyun silently ate the bread, wishing she could disappear because she didn't even know how to thank people properly.

At that moment, Jiwoo the ghost appeared, and Seohyun muttered, "About freaking time."

Jiwoo laughed and said, "I see you're having a good day."

"And I don't expect you to ruin it, so please live up to my expectations for once," Seohyun hissed, keeping her voice as low as possible, but it still made Seonghwa look at her once before he focused back on his friends.

Seohyun sighed. She couldn't write in her notebook now because they would definitely see it. And she couldn't talk. So she just folded her arms as she slowly sipped on the juice while Jiwoo danced around the classroom.

As soon as the bell rang indicating the end of the day, Seohyun sighed in relief. The day was over without any incident. She slowly packed her bag, thinking about her promise to meet a new ghost after her school. It was a girl about her age, and thankfully she understood what school demanded of her, so she had promised to not disturb her.

"You look ready to go to your bed and fall right asleep," Yeosang commented.

"Tell me about it," Seohyun muttered, wearing her bag and making her way out of the class, the boys not far behind.

San watched Seohyun walk as if she was in a hurry but couldn't care less at the same time. She would speed up, then slow down again, and repeat.

"Are you in a hurry?" Wooyoung asked her, falling in step with her.

"Uh, not really. Just can't wait to get home," she said, but her voice didn't match what she said. She sounded the least excited to do that.

"Long day, huh?" Wooyoung said and she finally passed him a smile. "So you know no one at this school?"

"Well," she said, "I am new."

"Well, you can be our friend. Only if you want to."

She stopped in her track, making San almost bump in her, and she muttered a sorry to him as she continued walking again. San decided he would join them now.

"Something wrong?" he asked.

"Not sure you'd like me as a friend."

"And why do you think that?" San looked at her curiously.

Seohyun sighed, "I'm... how do I put it? I don't think I need friends. But that sounds rude. I don't mean to sound rude, it's just... better if you all don't mind me. I'd only be a bother and make everyone uncomfortable."

"We don't mind. We weren't all friends from the beginning. The group grew larger with time."

"And why do you think you don't need friends?" San asked.

Seohyun looked at him, then looked away, trying to avoid his steel gaze. "Not the type of person anyone would like as a friend."

"We won't know until we try though," Wooyoung said and smiled at her, making Seohyun wonder why the world didn't have more Wooyoungs.

"No harm in trying, right?" Yunho, who was behind her, vouched in.

Seohyun stopped to look at the odd group of friends, who were all smiling cheekily.

"You sure, blueberry?" She asked Hongjoong, who gasped in surprise. Yunho laughed out loud.

"If you don't call me blueberry, then why not?"

"Blueberry." Seohyun said and turned to walk away, hearing everyone laugh and make fun of Hongjoong. She saw the familiar figure of the ghost she had decided to meet, and she motioned with her eyes to turn to their left.

The ghost understood and it waited for her to turn left too. Seohyun looked back once at the boys who were now a good few steps behind, and she turned left, hoping no one had seen her, saw the empty road and joined hands with the ghost. She felt the familiar feeling of her heart sinking and her stomach flipping as the ghost teleported her to where it wanted to go.

The boys, who did notice her turning left in a hurry, followed soon after, only to find a very empty road with no where she could have gone or hidden.

"She did turn left. Right?" Mingi asked.

"She did. Didn't she? Or am I losing it finally?" Jongho muttered.

"Maybe it wasn't her?" Wooyoung suggested.

"But it was her. The grey in her hair..." Yunho said. "Maybe she turned right?" He looked at his right, where a few students were walking too.

San had been watching her and he was very sure she had turned left. Where she had gone... was a mystery.

"Strange..."

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

"That's... horrible."

Seohyun stood in front of a small house, the white walls glaring back at her. The ghost, a young girl only her age, had just teleported her to an empty alley near this house, which belonged to her best friend. The ghost had just finished telling her how she had died; a road accident by a drunk driver. Since she had died an untimely death, she couldn't do anything about it except mourn over her own death.

"But... people who die in such accidents usually like to make sure justice is served, and get the perpetrator punished. Don't you wanna do that?"

"Oh, I did," the girl pushed her long black hair back, "my parents are doing a good job there, so I wanna let them continue. I don't... want them to know that I'm still here. They should find their peace with all this."

"Wow," Seohyun couldn't help but be amazed at how thoughtful this girl was, "that's very wise of you actually. So what are we doing here?"

"I checked on my friend, Chaeyoung, and it seems like she's not... doing well. I want to somehow let her know that I'm okay. I think that's when I'll be able to move on."

Seohyun, for once, felt actually sorry for the friend. She didn't have a best friend so she couldn't relate, but having someone like that in your life and so suddenly losing them... must be very sad.

"Okay, let's do this," Seohyun said, taking a deep breath and taking off her baseball cap off. She smoothened her uniform and finally rang the bell.

"What if someone else is home, and she creates a ruckus-"

"I checked, she's alone for now." The girl said, and again, she mentally applauded the girl for being so thoughtful.

"Hey, what was your name again? I mean how do I introduce-"

At that moment, a tall girl sporting a bob and puffy eyes fresh from crying opened the door.

"Hi," Seohyun said.

"Do I know you?" Chaeyeong asked.

"You don't, but I'm here to talk to you. I heard your friend recently passed away-" Seohyun paused when Chaeyoung rolled her eyes and attempted to shut the door at her face.

"Wait!" Seohyun said and Chaeyoung paused.

"My name is Soojin." The ghost finally said, and Seohyun looked at her once, catching her nervous stance before turning back to Chaeyoung.

"You might not believe it, but Soojin is here," Seohyun said, and Chaeyoung pursed her lips. "And I don't have all day, so I'll just prove it. Soojin told me some stuff only the two of you would know. How you had a crush on her brother for the longest time, how you want to meet your childhood best friend who's moved to the States, how-"

"Wait," Chaeyoung stepped out, "How- when did Soojin tell you this? Are you Soojin's friend?"

"My name is Seohyun. and I'm sure you've never heard of me from Soojin," Chaeyoung nodded and Seohyun continued, "Soojin is here. She hasn't been able to move on to the afterlife or whatever it is ahead because she can't stand seeing you in pain and blaming yourself because you invited her over to meet with you. She wants you to know that her parents are doing a great job at making sure the drunk driver gets punished, and she wants you to know it's not your fault."

Seohyun watched Chaeyoung's eyes fill with tears at that, and she put a hand in front of her mouth as tears fell, "She's really here?"

"Right here," Seohyun pointed towards where Soojin stood.

"Can't I see her?" Chaeyoung asked, "I want to see her one last time. If I can."

"I'm afraid not," Seohyun sighed, "I don't know if that's possible. But she can see you and hear you right now, just like me. So I'll leave you to say your last goodbye. You can call me when you're done, okay Soojin?"

Soojin nodded and Seohyun went into the little garden in the house to give them some space. She watched as Chaeyoung cried and spoke to her best friend for the last time, falling to her knees. Soojin couldn't touch her, but she patted her head and it was like Chaeyoung could actually feel it.

Seohyun looked up at the cloudy sky. For once, she wished it was sunnier.

After a few minutes, Soojin called out to Seohyun. She awkwardly patted Chaeyoung on the back, and Soojin started speaking as Seohyun told Chaeyoung that Soojin loved her, and yes, it was her who kept sticking their photo back at the wall to give her a sign, and she wanted Chaeyoung to stop talking to the walls because she won't be there to listen to her anymore and that would only make her look crazy (at which Chaeyoung laughed).

"I don't have a best friend, but you guys, you both had something special. And I'm saying this from my self, that I hope you cherish the bond you both had in your heart and really move on. Do what you want to, because life is short," Seohyun said and smiled.

"Thank you. I'll do my best," Chaeyoung wiped the last of her tears.

"She's going now," Seohyun said, "She wants you to smile so that's the last thing she sees."

Chaeyoung smiled as tears fell from her eyes, and Soojin said, "This fool. I told her to smile."

"Stop being so petty, Soojin, she is smiling!"

"What did she say?" Chaeyoung asked.

"She said she asked you to smile, not cry," Seohyun said and Chaeyoung burst out laughing.

Soojin thanked Seohyun for helping her, and she watched as she shut her eyes, and disappeared in an instant.

Seohyun sighed, and Chaeyoung understood. "Thank you, Seohyun. I hope we can meet again?"

"Oh, you don't have to do that," Seohyun shook her head, "I just hope you'll have a good life ahead."

"I feel bad for not doing anything for you, maybe I could take you for some coffee next time?"

"Well, actually," Seohyun looked around, "there is something you can do. Can you tell me where I am? And can you call me a taxi?"

-----------

It turned out Seohyun was actually quite a while from home, so Chaeyoung ended up paying for the taxi because she felt bad for Soojin being so thoughtless when she teleported her here (at which Seohyun admitted Soojin was one of the wisest ghosts she had encountered). About 40 minutes later, Seohyun decided to drop by at a food street, because she was starving.

Seohyun walked through the hustling street, various food carts lining the street, several restaurants and cafes amidst them. She decided jjajangmyeon would do, so she sat alone at the table in the street, waiting for her meal. She was too tired to look at her phone so she just watched the people walking and eating.

She wished Jiwoo was here. Better than having no company. She wouldn't admit it, but she had grown quite used to her company. Jiwoo still hadn't been able to recall her memories of who she was and how she died, and why she was still hanging around. So Seohyun had left her at it.

Seohyun was so lost thinking about Jiwoo that she didn't notice Seonghwa, Hongjoong and Mingi approaching her until they stopped right in front of her.

"Of all the places," Seohyun wondered out loud, not caring how it might sound to them.

"It seems like we were meant to meet today," Mingi said dramatically, and Hongjoong slapped his arm as he said, "It looks like you haven't gone home yet. Isn't it very late?"

Seohyun sat back in her chair, putting one leg on top of the other. "And what do you care?"

"Ah, so that's what you meant when you said people don't like to have you as a friend," Hongjoong said, and Seonghwa gasped at his friend as he scolded him, but stopped when Seohyun laughed out loud.

"Since you're here, are you gonna take a seat or will you be continuing to walk aimlessly?"

"I guess we'll take a seat," Mingi said, and they all sat and decided to order food first.

"Aren't you cold?" Seonghwa asked, as he noticed how Seohyun put her bag on her bare legs.

"I am. But I'm okay," she said, and Seonghwa shook his head as he started to take off his jacket. "Oh please, I'm okay, I'll feel really bad if you do this."

"Nonsense, this is an extra layer anyway," Seonghwa handed her the jacket and she realized it was true; he did have many layers on him. So Seohyun put his jacket on her legs, muttering a thank you.

"So what's your story?" Hongjoong asked, and Seohyun raised her brows as she said, "You first. I'll talk after I have some food."

"Alright then," Hongjoong said, and told her how they all had been classmates since elementary, with Seonghwa and Hongjoong being friends since that time, until Wooyoung and Yeosang who had also been friends joined, then one by one the group grew.

"Interesting," Seohyun said, "And the 8 of you... How do you get along peacefully? I can't even get along with one."

Mingi pfft-ed at her. "We aren't exactly saints ourselves, but with us being 8, it becomes hard to take anyone serious."

Seohyun scoffed, "So the reason you all get along so well is because you all don't take anyone serious."

"Basically, yes," Mingi answered proudly, and food was served. Seohyun hungrily dig in, and Seonghwa scolded her for eating so quick.

"So with Seonghwa as a mother figure of the group," Seohyun began, "I can imagine why there is peace among all of you."

"Ha. ha. Very funny," Seonghwa rolled his eyes but Hongjoong and Mingi laughed, agreeing with her as they said, "She's not wrong."

She watched them bicker back and forth and wondered if this could really work out. They seemed very tightly knit, and she felt like an intruder. She wasn't even sure if they would feel comfortable with her. Why had they even asked her to be their friend?

"It really does show. That you've been friends for a long time," Seohyun commented, fiddling with her noodles.

"It does, huh?" Mingi smiled at her.

"Can I ask you something?" Seohyun said, and they nodded, "Why did you ask me to be your friend? I mean, you guys look okay as you are now. You don't need an extra friend in this group of yours. So why ask, and why me?"

"Well, how do I put it..." Hongjoong wondered out loud.

"You've got good aim," Mingi said, and for a second, Seohyun was lost before she realized.

"I didn't do that on purpose!" Seohyun's eyes were wide, and Mingi told her that he, of course, was joking, But he winked right after, which made her wonder if that was actually one of the reasons.

"Our group needs a girl. There are too many boys." Seonghwa said, and Seohyun raised an eyebrow.

"I'm sure there's no lack of girls in your school."

"There isn't... but they are too... girly?" Hongjoong seemed to think how to put it, and Seohyun folded her arms.

"And what if I am girly too?" Seohyun countered.

"You're just the right amount of weird. Yeosang already clicked so well with you. San loves your cat. You sit in the middle of us. You have no friends. Now you can't avoid it."

"Wow, okay," Seohyun finished her noodles as she thought about what they had said. "And what if... we don't get along?" Seohyun asked.

"We're not exactly forcing you, are we?" Hongjoong asked and she nodded, "If you like to stay alone, then fine. But Wooyoung, it was his idea. And he really knows when a person needs a friend."

"Oh," Seohyun realized what he meant. She looked like she needed friends.

"Plus, we do get along well, don't you think?" Mingi smiled.

"Well, what can I say, except that you'll find me really weird. And okay, I can try. But one day, you're gonna wonder why you even thought we could be friends. You'll wish you'd never asked me."

The three of them stared at her. Seohyun stared back and once again, the three of them burst out laughing.

"We're already regretting. Was it so hard to make friends, Hongjoong?" Mingi asked.

"I don't even remember. Wow."

Seohyun couldn't help but laugh as she thought how it was gonna be. It was true. No one took anything serious.

Maybe they'll never find out about her ghost problems then.

Or maybe they'll never believe her.

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