#when miri went for that chair

[crehador]

me ferally writing fic based solely on vibes after only one episode of buddy daddies aired:

rei in episode two:

guess who psychically divined that shit (¬‿¬ )

[wyn-n-tonic]

That's a Real Fucking Legacy: The Marks You Saw

Pairing: Joel x f!reader (formerly Tommy x f!reader). Word Count: 2.1k+ Warning: Alcohol mention. Drugs mention. Emotional word vomit. Author's Note: And you can tell a friend to tell a friend...she's baaaaack. Not really but I have been dealing with some heavy stressors at work and in my personal life that has stunted my writing so it felt good to get something out that I'm actually proud of. I think? Anyway... no beta, we die like men.

“Do you ever see me?”

Leaning back, you assess the man across from you—the scar that’s nicked into his eyebrow, the freckles that are scattered like spray paint across his nose.

The deep brown, almost black, of his eyes that match his brother’s.

Your daughter’s.

“I'm looking at you right now,” you say and it’s immediately apparent that’s not what he meant.

But you knew that.

“No, sweetheart—“

“I asked you not to call me that,” you remind him. “That's not who we are to one another anymore, Tommy.”

A terse nod.

“And no, I do not see you when I’m with him.”

“Did you ever?”

Did you ever?

Did you?

It’s been so long.

Pushing out a breath, you suggest that maybe you did in the beginning. “I was devastated, Tommy,” you say. “I was imagining the worst things possible, I was having waking nightmares which”—you laugh—“says a lot given the state of our world today. Especially in the Zone.”

His eyes take on that glassy look, the one he gets when he thinks too hard or sits for too long. The same way his brother’s do.

Something you hope your daughter will never mirror.

“But never me? Never now?”

He’s so still, you wish he would move or stand—breathe. It’s still so weird to see him breathing, to see him talking. Instead he just sits there on the other side of the small living room where the only thing that seems to rise and fall is his gaze on every part of you not covered by the threadbare fabric of twenty year old clothes.

“Tommy, I saw you dead and then I saw white, hot blinding rage. But I didn’t go to your brother as a replacement for you, I went because you told me to. If you’re still holding a grudge, I suggest you find whatever’s left of a mirror and confront yourself about it because I didn’t do anything wrong and neither did he.”

“But—“

“Tommy,” you cut him off, “I will always love you but I will never again love you like I did.”

Another nod and he finally does move, readjusting himself slightly in the chair as if he’s uncomfortable. But this discomfort is his own fault. You tell him so as soon as he even dares to say it.

“At some point, Tommy, you have to find closure because we cannot keep having these conversations—“

“Because it’ll hurt my brother’s feelings?”

“Because it’s hurting you, it’s hurting me to hurt you like this over and over again. And, yes, it hurts Joel. If I had ran into your arms when you showed up out of nowhere, he would have stepped to the side and remained quiet and let you back into my life. He still would. He is still afraid that I will decide he is too far gone and too fucked up and he will wake up to an empty bed and an empty crib because I went back to you.”

“Because I’m so easy?” He asks. And, somehow, it’s the first time you smell the whiskey stuck so heavily to him.

At no point during the day have you seen him drinking. Not out in the gardens or the community center. He didn’t even smell like this when he showed up here and you didn’t think his presence was due to anything other than not wanting to be alone.

But that’s as far as memory can serve. Because your attention and all your senses have been occupied by other activities.

Like the smell of the stables when Miri wanted to see the horses.

Or the smell in the crook of her neck, the smell that lingers in her hair.

Pulling her sleeping form tight to your chest, you inhale it again—the soft baby smell that’s going away.

“You are far from easy, Thomas Miller,” you say. “An easy man wouldn’t torture himself like this. But that’s what you’ve always wanted, Tommy. You want to be some complicated soul who saves the day. You already did. Me, Joel, Miri… we’re all here.”

Tommy inhales, deep, and stands to his full height. “I should leave you,” he says, before laughing and pushing both hands through his hair. “I guess I already did that though, huh?”

“Tommy…”

Stopping at the door, he takes another deep breath, his broad back expanding and deflating just as fast as he says, “more and more, I see my brother wearing the same marks you used to give me but it’s different.” A hiccup escapes its way from deep within his chest and he turns until his back is to the door. “He is covered in you in every way I always thought I was.”

“Am I supposed to apologize?”

His head shakes. “No, I-I think I’m trying to apologize to you.”

Looking down again into Miriam’s fragile, sleeping face, you see all the parts of her father truly starting to take shape across her features. Golden skin with a smattering of freckles; a strong nose set against soft cheeks—perfect, gentle little girl who looks like such an imperfect but gentle man.

“You have nothing to be sorry for,” you say but when you look back for Tommy, he’s already slipped through the door to make the short walk back across the street to his own home.

Purple blooms beneath the golden skin just below his ear, in that spot that smells most like him. By now, it’s about as permanent as any tattoo ever was because you spend your days and nights putting it there.

But not just there.

He has marks along his collarbone, marks bitten into his chest and shoulders and the side of his hand.

Some happened as a byproduct of stifling your pleasure against his skin. Others because you didn’t catch the moans in time so he had to do it for you. But, if you’re being honest, all of them are a subtle way of saying back off.

Not just to the curious eyes of the horny, lonelier women in the compound but to the world, too.

After all, all these bruises sucked into his flesh are the same purple-red of the knotted scars that have risen like unwelcome mountains across his body.

Your way of saying lust-filled eyes can’t have him and neither can the earth.

Your way of saying mine.

He came home far too late with eyes way too tired. He showered, rubbed mint soap across his body and tried so hard to be quiet on his big, heavy feet. But you were already up, eyes open to stare at the wall while you waited for him to come to bed and the only thing that kept running through your mind is Tommy’s question.

“He asked me if I still saw him,” you whisper across the short distance between where you lay.

“You see him all the time,” Joel says lazily, one arm draped across your body. “Hell, you could go see him right now. Just open the window and throw a rock at his.”

“Joel, you know what he meant,” you say.

“I do,” he affirms. “And I think about the possibility enough already so I don’t need to commiserate it with the target of all my greatest fears.”

A beat passes and his breathing begins to even out and, when you ask him if Tommy is really his biggest fear, you hope he’s already asleep so he doesn’t have to answer it.

So you don’t have to hear it.

Instead, Joel pushes up onto his elbow, body coming to hover over yours as he flips you back into the mattress and says, “he is now.”

“Why?” You ask, circling the edge of one of those darker patches etched into his skin. “Why would Tommy be your biggest fear when you know what’s out there?”

He shrugs and the movement of his body slips your touch further down, over the ridge of the scar to shatter the illusion that it could’ve been just another one of yours. They all look the same in the dark.

In the dark, he was never hurt.

“My brother is always going to love you and he’s always going to think our daughter should be his,” he says. “He's always going to be the first one of us that you loved.”

“That Tommy is gone,” you say. You don’t know how many times you have to say it.

“I see the way he looks at you.”

“It should be the way I look at you that matters,” you tell him. “It should always only ever be the way that I look at you.”

Joel smiles, that lone dimple pocketing his left cheek, as he drops himself down across you and all of his weight from all of this world comes down with him as your arms wrap around his neck with fingers tangled into wild, unkempt curls that have gone so gray.

That’s when his breathing does even out, soft snores overtaking him as you keep lying there and looking at the ceiling.

In the dark, he was never hurt and it hits you then that the dark is the only place Tommy lets himself hurt.

Sunrises aren’t your thing but you’re already up and dressed by the time it comes around. Usually, by the time you wake, most of the compound is up and working—playing in the sun where you don’t like to be.

For so long, night hasn’t been safe. Not even back in Boston. But here? It’s safe for you. He was never hurt in the dark, your face was never gray and bloodshot in the dark. Miri never had to see her parents falling apart in the dark.

That’s where Tommy finds you. Sitting on the rickety old bench outside in his yard, watching your breath swirl through the air in the early morning light, your feet kicking like a little kid’s.

“You're up early,” he drawls. He sounds like shit.

“Couldn’t sleep,” you say.

“You want coffee?” He asks.

“That depends,” you say, “you still slipping Seth’s rust bucket”—your nose scrunches—“whatever he has the audacity to call that in there?”

Tommy smiles for the first time in a while. “It's alcohol,” he says.

“It's piss,” you retort. “And no, I don’t want that or the coffee it goes in. I just need to say something to you.”

He moves to sit before you stop him, pulling back further into the old, worn wood as you push your hand out. If he’s hurt about that, he doesn’t let it show.

“I’m giving you until the end of the day to toss every drop of everything you’re hoarding,” you tell him. “The pills, the booze. I find it incredibly disconcerting that we’ve made it this far in a world without everything that you’ve been able to find it.”

“Swee—“

“No,” you cut him off. “I let you do a whole lot of speaking last night, Tommy, and I let you hurt me. I have continued to let you hurt me and hurt my husband and I will not let you do that any longer. I don’t care that you’re a grown man, I don’t care that you blame me for this broken heart of yours, but I do care about you. Because, yeah, I put myself all over him. I dig my nails and my teeth and the heels of my feet into him every chance I get. But I do it because of you.”

“To make me jealous?” He asks, eyes narrowed.

Laughing, your head shakes. “Because I lost you,” you tell him. “All I had was a note that said you wanted better for me and all I thought about was how it really meant you wanted better than me. You pushed yourself out into this world without so much as a goodbye and you had no parts of me stuck to you reminding you to come home. I don’t make that mistake with Joel.”

“He's the better for you.” It’s not a question. Tommy Miller may be a lot of things but he is not a dumb man.

“Yeah,” you affirm, pushing off the bench to stand, “and I need you to get your shit together so you can find the better than me.”

He doesn’t speak, there’s no response even as you step back towards your own house across the street but it doesn’t matter and you won’t hear it.

Quietly, you push the door closed, toeing off your shoes at the entrance and pulling each layer from your body before crawling back into the bed you left an hour ago.

And if Joel noticed, if he woke up, it didn’t keep him that way. He doesn’t stir when you force your cold body back beneath his either. It’s enough to bring a very silent prayer forward from your lips to the same ceiling you stared at for so long last night.

The Tommy that could’ve been died in your heart a long time ago and it’s about time the one who scares Joel does, too.

[sugar-grigri]

It's all about the number 2 

Asa and Yoru, Nayuta and Denji, two Chainsaw Man, two camps of worshippers versus detractors, two protagonists, a second part, the two identities of Denji, a high-school student and a hero himself, both demon and human: Chainsaw - Man. 

But before we balance all that, let's take a closer look at this chapter.

First of all, I'd like to say how rich chapter 140 is. I see a lot of people criticizing Fujimoto's writing as someone who simply sets up absurd situations when absolutely nothing is left to chance. We're reading a manga by a film buff, so get your head around Chekov's rifle. 

I'd like to remind you that Chainsaw Man is set in Japanese society. 

Ejecting a sect from a building, or even belonging to a cult that has nothing to do with a dominant, ancestral religion, is more common than in the West. 

I've seen plenty of people wondering who could be at the head of the church for making people believe such a stupid story as a violet-ray weapon that would make adults stupid.

When it's the other way around, the church is exploiting the fact that high-school students are just thinking too much. And if there's one thing that saves Denji, it's that he thinks less. 

Let's put things in context: this is the '90s, and even if the idea of nuclear weapons has been erased by Pochita, meaning that the Cold War has surely taken a different form in Chainsaw Man, Fujimoto has never denied geopolitical tensions. 

Whether it's the mention of the USSR with Reze, Makima's instrumentalization of Japan, the history of weapons, the fact that the American government sought to eliminate Makima or that countries share the remains of the weapon demon...

Countries are in tension. The church exploits this atmosphere of anxiety among teenagers who are beginning to form opinions that dissent from their parents. 

Adolescence means coming into conflict with your parents' ideas, so come up with a story about how a gun makes them stupid. It's simply targeted manipulation that exploits the vulnerabilities of individuals in the midst of an identity crisis. 

Becoming a teenager also means freeing oneself from a certain carefree attitude and better understanding of the world around us, hence the mention of Americans on the same level as adults. 

I'd like to point out that this is not just a collection of absurdities. But for that, a bit of history... I hope I'm not teaching anyone that Japanese society has been turned upside down by the United States.

Without going into too much detail, during the 19th century, Japan went through the Meiji era. The Meiji government pursued a policy of modernization with the ultimate aim of bringing Japan up to the level of the Western powers. 

To compete with Western powers such as the United States, the government relied on centralized power to control citizens as much as possible... and this involved reforming the matrimonial system. With the popularization of "love marriage", the Meiji government changed tactics: the polygamous system was replaced by exclusive "love marriage". 

The church used the same method of control as the Meiji government: reforming the matrimonial system by overturning institutions. From now on, it's no longer sex after marriage, but before it.

It's this kind of talk that just digs into the cracks that allows them to be brainwashed. But talk has never worked with Denji, who thinks concretely with what he can grasp. A date with a pretty girl, steak, sex, feeling the buttocks when he does the chair. What one would point to as perversity is what saves Denji. He thinks through his senses, his literal needs, not the abstract. 

We can't say that Miri, who thinks he's free when he's being instrumentalized, repeating that it's the Americans' fault again, or asking Chainsaw Man if he's sure he hasn't picked up any ultraviolet weapons... that he’s stupid. Because weapons have lost their memory, they have no loved ones, no stories to refer to. 

Miri convinces himself he's free, filling the void of his own forgotten history with false stories. The lack of education, of pillars, of history is what had tortured Denji, who was so easily manipulated. I'd go so far as to say that Reze is the most striking example of this. 

It's impossible to determine Barem's psychology, but he still demonstrates a third reaction to manipulation: while Denji evolves, Miri locks himself in denial : Barem manipulates in return. Revenge, reproductive mechanism, any number of reasons could explain why Barem exploits one of Denji's weaknesses: Asa. 

Now you're thinking, yes, that's all very well, you talk a lot... but what's that got to do with the number two?

The scale is the very image of dichotomy, of a relationship between two forces, two weights, two entities. And what does it have to do with manipulation? Several things.

First of all, manipulation also means taking on ideas that are not our own. It means no longer questioning them, confronting them with dissident ideas that would contradict them, or balancing them. 

To balance is also to confront two options in a dilemma. Something that's come up several times, first initiated by Yoshida, then taken up in his own way by Barem: embrace his identity as Chainsaw Man or continue his normal life as Denji?

The manipulation since the start of Part 2 has been to split up Chainsaw Man. To have separated what constitutes his essence: human and demonic. To have split his nature, which has always been that of two beings in one. 

And what if I told you that the answer lies in chapter 2 (yes, man). Here, Makima clearly explains to Denji that Pochita is not dead but continues to live with him, that he has two smells.

Fami's project is openly to separate Chainsaw Man, to cut its essence in two: the reunion of two beings. 

That's why this chapter talks about marriage, which refers to the reunion of two individuals. 

Barem would have us believe that these two choices are antinomic, that they are contradictory and cannot be fulfilled together. Only Denji can have both choices, he had already answered that. His sign of strength is two fingers. Two is Denji's strength. Becoming two is what literally allowed him to be reborn. 

Of course, Denji doesn't want to marry; he's already one with one being through a contract: Pochita. 

Pochita had merged with him so that he could live a normal life. It was never a normal life, but the life Denji wanted to live. Chainsaw Man is literally the means, a better life, the end. 

The secret to surviving the manipulation then lies literally in Denji's heart. 

[lovelyyandereaddictionpoint]

Christmas Time: Yandere Buddy Daddies x Teen Delinquent Reader

The sight of snow behind the luxury condo’s window still felt odd to you

 Even with the fluffy insulating blanket around your body it still felt…weird

You didn’t look at the orange and flower embroidered blanket rustling next to you

With a yawn, Miri poked her head out to look for you

“(Y/n)? W-where oh, there you are.”

She scooched up to you 

Shoving her way past your arms and into the comfort of your blanket, cozying up to your body

The sight of snow behind the luxury condo’s window still felt odd to you

 Even with the fluffy insulating blanket around your body it still felt…weird

You didn’t look at the orange and flower embroidered blanket rustling next to you

With a yawn, Miri poked her head out to look for you

“(Y/n)? W-where oh, there you are.”

She scooched up to you 

Shoving her way past your arms and into the comfort of your blanket, cozying up to your body

“You always up so early… it's like you’re trying to leave me out.”

“I’d never Miri.”

She hummed clutching at your matching pajamas

You didn’t bother looking away from the snow sighing to yourself

“Is this your first time seeing snow?”

It was Re–Papa Rei who somehow quietly slotted himself next to you 

His hair was pulled back and he was wearing a nice suit with little tears

“Another...bad interview?”

“...Yeah…” He forgot that’s what they’ve been telling you two

“So first time?”

“...No, just the first time I’m inside for it.”

You could feel him looking at you 

“I heard…I know…the snow’s really different when you’re not surviving against it.”

You looked at him, listlessly worried for you 

Before turning your attention back to the window

“Alright, everyone! Are special cozy Christmas brunch is ready!”

Miri sluggishly perked up still wobbly with the effects of early morning/night gift giving

Thanks to circumstance Papa Kazuki had to be really roundabout when bringing Miri home

So all three of you spent the night napping irregularly and driving around

Only returning past midnight and forced to open presents early due to Miri’s demand Republic dictatorship

You didn’t mind it, getting more things you’d never imagine yourself holding in three lifetimes

And receiving kisses and hugs from everyone for gifts you don’t remember wrapping

It felt strange

With Miri slowly waking up her and Kazuki’s shouts of a feast almost underway

Beckoning you and Rei to join

With one more look at you, he went stripping off his work attire

It was Papa Kazuki who came to you 

Standing in front of you to block the window

“You too grumpy pants! Come on up you go!”

He made the motions with his hand before he went to grab you

Picking you up with ease as he made his way to the dinner table

you thought he’d put you down once you got there but he carries you still

Stopping before your designated chair

“Uhm Papa-Kazuki?”

“Yes, bug?”

“Can you put me down?”

“Hmmm?”

The blonde-brunette pretended to think 

To which you rolled your eyes

Giving a reluctant kiss to his cheek 

He finally let you down

“Awww you’re so well-behaved. Merry Christmas (Y/n)!”

“Mewwy Cwistmas!”

“Miri take your time and chew your food!”

“Omkay.”

“...Happy Christmas (Y/n).”

You sighed looking down at your plate full of all your favorites

Then back at your…family

“Thanks, guys, uh Merry Christmas?”

[dr-demi-bee]

Should've Noticed You Sooner

It's here! 🎉After some frantic typing and generous sillies, @lastlight-inn's reward for the 200 followers give-away is finished! She requested a literary reward, and dictated my next 8k - choosing to request a brand new oneshot. And I went substantially overboard!

I'm pleased to present: Should've Noticed You Sooner

A Miri x Gale Modern AU College Roommates Romance Friends -> Lovers ~ Modern AU ~ Primalweave ~ Self-indulgent af

Pairing: Gale x f!Tav - NSFW Word Count: 18k ------------------------------------------------------------------------------Summary:

Gale and Miri, international students in America, moved in together for their last year after forging a strong friendship early in their college careers. They've been close for years now, and despite a lot of banter and some generous flirting, they've never really tried to be anything more. Despite both being wildly interested in one another.

One late evening (well, morning, really) the tension finally simmers to a boiling point. ----------------------------Read on A03-----------------------------------

Miri closes her laptop with a heavy sigh. That was enough staring at her notes for one day. She wasn’t going to accomplish anything more at this point. Leaning back in her desk chair, she rakes clawed fingers through her long red hair.

She glances at the clock on her nightstand - 2:30. It would be 8:30 at home - the farm work would already be in motion, her siblings would be sitting down for breakfast. Even after more than two years in the US, Miri’s body still wanted to follow that same routine. Or maybe it was all the night shifts catching up to her.

Either way she should be asleep and cashing in on the fact that it’s a Friday night and she’s off tomorrow. But instead she’d buried herself in biochemistry notes for entirely too long. Miri scrubs a hand over her face as she stands from her desk. She stretches slightly, popping her back with a groan.

With a sigh, she trudges from her room and towards the kitchen. Nights like these she was exceptionally grateful she didn’t have to live in the on-campus international housing. Having her own space - albeit shared with her roommate, Gale- made being something of an irregular sleeper much more tolerable.

It made a handful of other things more difficult... Like staying focused when they were both in the same room.

Gale Dekarios was unreasonably handsome - and it seemed like every year he only became more so.

Miri and Gale had met during international student orientation a few years ago - her from Germany and him from England- and formed a fast friendship sharing classes. It was an easy decision to share rent on an apartment close to campus (that accepted international visas). They had loaded the apartment with thrifted and gifted furniture, and given their similar preferences around cooking and cleaning, generally got along really well as roommates.

This was their third semester living together. Gale had left briefly over the summer to visit his mother, and it had been a bit unsettling to not have him around, if she were honest. The two of them had developed a lot of pleasant routines. Breakfast and coffee before classes or work most days. They took turns making dinner (with Gale insisting on taking more turns, but Miri wasn’t going to argue when he was so good at it.) And most weekends they would do something together or with their other friends.

What she hadn’t expected when they moved in together was how often Gale was up in the middle of the night — either reading or working on some assignment or other. This semester they were both applying to grad school and Gale was already a bit...frantic. Despite more or less having his choice of programs

When Miri flips the switch for the kitchen (which, theoretically was unnecessary given her darkvision) there’s a surprised squawk from where Gale was apparently sitting in the living room. In the dark. Staring at his laptop. Again.

He rubs his sore eyes and turns to look at her, a bit sheepish. She stares back in surprise.

"I haven't kept you up, have I?" Gale asked.

"No," Miri returns with a soft smile and a huffed laugh, "Sorry, I didn't realize you were still out here."

"Ah, it's alright," Gale shook his head. He let out a weary yawn, the bags under his eyes a sign of lack of sleep. "I shouldn’t be - but I had to get this essay out while I had the inspiration."

Gale closes his laptop, stretching his arms and his back. Then rubbing the back of his neck as he sits up straight - clearly stiff from hunching over his computer too long.

"And why are you awake?" He watches her with a curiously. "Unless you're trying to pull an all-nighter like me, you should really be sleeping."

"Just restless," Miri replies as she makes her way into the small kitchen.

"Restless?" Gale's eyebrows raised, but he didn't press further.

Miri could be exceptionally hard to read. Coming into the kitchen well past midnight could mean she’s in a mood or she’s hungry or genuinely just can’t sleep. He knew better than to prod her to say more - he’s just as likely to get a growl in response as a conversation.

And it’s hard to guess which from her expression. Miri’s piercing green eyes paired with the German stare had a way of arresting him. It felt like she could see through to his very soul. But she was also witty and playful in unexpected ways. Not to mention absurdly beautiful.

So if Miri didn't want to talk about it, Gale wouldn't pry.

"Can't get my brain to turn off," Miri replies after a yawn. She covers her mouth with the back of her hand as she does it and Gale has to look pointedly away. The sight of her sharp teeth shouldn’t intrigue him as much as it does. But it’s rare and novel and something about it is a little too exciting.

"Maybe some tea will help ease you," Gale says, rising to his feet to join her in the kitchen. He’s the resident tea-steeper - a self-professed expert. He stretches his arms overhead, revealing the bare skin of his stomach where his top rides up. "Chamomile, perhaps?"

She gives a non-committal hum. Miri glances a bit surreptitiously at him as he stretches before opening the fridge. She’s not especially subtle with those bright eyes though, and Gale notices. He can’t but feel a little pleased at the way her cheeks flush slightly. He tries to act casual, crossing his arms and leaning against the doorway, but her attention definitely has a way of stroking his ego.

"Sounds like you have a lot on your mind," Gale says as he watches her rummage around the fridge.

Miri huffs a laugh, stooping to reach for one of her sparkling juices. Gale leans forward to see what she’s doing. And partly to avoid looking at her rear in those shorts. His eyebrows went up when he saw what was in her hand.

"Sparkling juice? At this time of night? Seems a little..." Gale pauses as he tries to think of the right word. "Unhealthy."

"It's juice, Gale." She gives him a skeptical brow raise. "Made of fruit."

"Sure, but it's still high in sugar, even if it is just fruit." He shrugged, his tone a tad judgmental. It wouldn’t be the first time she’s made a less than wise choice about food or drink. Gale personally found the American sweetness of things a bit grating, but Miri seemed to have quite the sweet tooth.

Miri looks at the can in her hand, turning to read the label. "That's not that much sugar," she grouses.

Gale pushed off the doorframe and walked to her side, curious and pre-emptively a bit disapproving. He peers down at her, crossing his arms and raising a brow as she shuts the fridge with her hip.

There’s a sizable height difference between them, but Gale always does his best not to loom over her. Except when she needs someone to reassess her choices.

Gale rolls his eyes and takes the can from her to read the label for himself.

"It probably tastes like the equivalent of a lollipop—" A pause. A glance at the nutritional information. "Oh."

Gale closes his mouth, a little sheepish as he puts the can back into her hand.

“I stand corrected."

"See?" Miri returns, "Juice."

"Fine, you win," Gale admits, though he does roll his eyes again. "Now why are you really drinking this? Unless you have a craving for some orange-flavored bubbles at..." he trails off to glance at the clock on the microwave. "...Nearly 3 am?”

Miri cracks open the can and glances at the clock before giving a slight shrug. "Sounded good."

"You don't seem like the type to be up in the middle of the night, let alone drinking orange juice at 3am." Gale chuckles as he leans against the counter beside her.

He gives her another look - one she’s all too familiar with at this point. Knowingly skeptical. Miri rolls her eyes at his pointed look to the lean muscles of her frame.

"And yet," Miri returns with a playful grin.

"Quite the conundrum," Gale teases back, returning a grin of his own.

Gale has a hard time not staring as she moves idly from the ball of one foot to the other. Her hair's messy and loose, out of it's usual style and braids, and she's wearing an oversized shirt and small pair of shorts for bed. He can’t stop his eyes from glancing at her legs as she moves, watching the muscles of her thighs flex.

“Did you go to the gym this morning?” The question blurts out of him before he can think it through. Thankfully she doesn’t seem to think anything of it as she replies casually.

“Yeah. It was swarming with first years, though... Fooling themselves into thinking they’ll stick to a routine if they start now.”

Gale chuckles at that. The cycle at the gym on campus was like clockwork. The beginning of every semester always had an increase in activity, and by the time the semester ended, there would hardly be anyone going not on a sports team. Save for Miri and her unwavering routine. How anyone could run and lift weights so often was a mystery. He certainly had his own routine, but it paled in comparison to hers. Maybe it was a lythari thing. Or a German thing. Hard to tell.

"Now that I think about it,” Gale muses, his tone a bit teasing, “You look like you could probably deadlift me.”

Despite the humor in his tone, Miri glances at him contemplatively. Oh gods she’s taking it seriously.

"How much do you weigh?"

Gale tilted his head back slightly, a smirk playing at his lips. He has to guess from what he remembers from last he weighed himself at the gym.

"Oh, almost 13 stone. So about... 82 kilos?" He answers, “Plus or minus one or two.”

"Then yes, I can."

Gale's smirk widens at her confidence. But it falters when she seems entirely serious. He pushes off the counter, straightening as he gives her a skeptical brow raise.

"Forgive me if I find that a bit hard to believe," he replies incredulously. "I don't think you could just pick me up like that."

"Picking you up is much easier than deadlifting."

Miri's lips split with a grin and she sets her juice down on the counter. The smirk fades from Gale's lips to be replaced with a slight look of wary surprise. When she doesn’t back down at all from her rather smug expression, Gale huffs a short laugh.

"Well then. By all means," He gestures towards himself with his hands. "Prove it."

"Alright," she returns playfully. As usual, he’s underestimating her. She’d hate thought after moving all that furniture in here he would’ve known by now she’s far from weak. (Though a part of her is convinced Gale used magic to lift his sides).

Miri moves beside him, slowly, allowing him time to reconsider - and when he doesn’t, she wraps her arms around his waist. Then she squeezes and pushes up with her legs, easily hefting him off his feet.

Gale let out a surprised laugh, his eyes wide with shock and his hands shooting up to grip her shoulders as his feet leave the floor. On instinct, he wraps his legs around her torso in a bid to avoid falling. Miri bursts out laughing as he clings on.

"I didn't think you'd hold on like a koala!"

Miri grins and Gale's face flushes a little red. When he glances down at her the position - and the feel of her arms snugly around him- only makes the redness grow worse.

"Of course I'm going to hold on," He retorts, "I don't want to fall. I like my spine not shattered..."

"What, you think I'll drop you?"

"Well I sure as hells am not going to find out," Gale grumbles, though it lacks any bite.

He tightens his legs slightly when she shifts, his hands clutching onto her. Miri watches his expression with a smug smile that broadens into a full grin. At this point he's clinging tight enough she hardly has to work to support his weight.

"Comfortable?"

Gale shoots her a glare as her smug smile grew. He knows she’ll never let this go. Any witty retort dies in his throat at how easily Miri can hold him up. Briefly, the thought flashes through him that he likes her holding him like this. And the red flush of his cheeks spreads up to his ears.

"Shut up..." He mumbles, avoiding her gaze.

"You realize you can just... put your legs down, right? I'm much shorter than you."

Gale glances down, realizing just how easy it would be for him to put his feet back on the ground, but he makes no attempt to do so.

"I don't...uh..." He tries to think of a good reason, but there really wasn't one. Only the fact that simply didn't want to let go yet. Sheepishly, he mumbles "...I like it up here.”

Miri huffs a cheerful laugh, grinning wide enough to show those lupine teeth. "I didn't peg you for the snuggly type."

Gale looks down at her his eyes narrowing playfully and his cheeks red. It's not as though Miri's made an effort to put him down or force him off either. Maybe she’s enjoying this a bit too?

Gale decides to push his luck a bit.

"Oh come on, it's not every day a pretty girl picks you up like you weigh no more than a box of feathers. Can you blame me for wanting to savor the moment?"

"Well, you're not the first to challenge me to lift them," she muses, with a smirk, "But you are the first to cling on like this."

Gale chuckles, still clinging to her letting a smug smile of his own grace his lips.

"Of course no one else has clung on like this," he answers as he rested his chin on her shoulder. He lets his voice drop a bit lower as he adds, "I'm also guessing none of them were as handsome as me."

"Mm. None come to mind," she returns playfully, turning her face to give him a coy smile, "A pretty lady or two, but no dashing gents like you."

"Good," Gale mumbles against her shoulder.

Something about knowing few have ever held her like this - that she thinks him dashing has his heart thumping. He smirks, and his arms wrapping around her shoulders a bit tighter. Emboldened a little further, his fingers cautiously trace the muscles of her shoulders. Almost reverently feeling the strength of her hidden beneath the baggy fabric of her well-worn shirt.

"If I ever do get down,” he murmurs a bit cheekily, “I expect a round of applause for being the only guy with the courage be carried by the muscle lady."

"'The muscle lady'?" Miri repeats a bit incredulously. She barks a laugh.

Gale chuckles along, a cheeky smile on his lips. He lets his fingers continue to trace the muscles in her shoulders, feeling the hard strength they held. Miri tries not to let out a sigh at the feel of it - surprisingly tender and affectionate. Something she’s not had in a long time.

"Well, forgive me, but you are pretty strong," Gale returns, giving her bicep a little squeeze. "And I'm not exactly light, so the fact you hauled me up like I weighed nothing... Pretty impressive, Miss Muscle Lady."

"Pfft. You're not heavy." Miri laughs heartily again, and the sound makes his stomach tighten.

"Hey, I'm not light either," Gale retorts, resting his chin on her shoulder again. He’s growing rather greedy to feel her warm touch. They’ve hugged plenty of times, sat close together before. Nothing quite like this.

He can’t help but notice that if he shifts his weight at all, Miri doesn’t seem phased by it. Strong as an ox...

"I feel like you're underappreciating my weight a little," he continues to tease, still clinging to the contact but trying to diffuse his nerves with humor, "I think I should be getting a bit more credit than just ‘not heavy’."

"You're lighter than I squat." Miri can’t help but tease him back, amused that his weight of all things could be a point of pride like this.

Gale huffs a short breath - momentarily silenced. His eyes widened and his brows furrow as his brain tries to work that out.

"Excuse me? You squat with my weight?"

"More than." She shifts so they're further away from the counter. "Watch-"

Gale's hands and legs tighten cautiously as she moves, his face going white with a mixture of shock and nerves.

"Y-you're not going to... drop me, right?" His voice fills with worry as she moves them towards the middle of the kitchen and away from the support of the counter.

"Hah! No."

Miri’s hands shift to grip him by his thighs, strengthening her hold. Gale only just manages to clamp down a rather undignified noise. The lythari takes a steadying breath and shifts her legs into proper position, then dips low and lifts them back up again.

Gale is almost completely speechless as she does a squat. With him clinging to her. Well. He’s certainly never had anyone do that to him before. His grip around her tightens from both concern and astonishment.

"Holy shit," he breathes. "How much weight can you squat?"

"210."

Gale's jaw drops. Miri appropriately returns the look with a smug grin.

"You can squat two hundred and ten pounds?"

Where the hells does she hide all that strength? She’s barely over five feet tall. He couldn't even begin to imagine...well, no, now he’s definitely imaging it. A bit too vividly. She could absolutely just heft him up and press him against the wall...

Miri laughs a bit smugly. It’s not often she could stun or surprise the magnificent Wizard of Waterdeep. She can’t help but picture how she could leverage her strength to her advantage. Maybe pin him underneath her and-

No, no, no, don’t go there.

"Yeah!" She glances at him with a surreptitious grin. "I should just haul you around the flat, then I wouldn't have to go to the gym."

A small part of Gale's mind wouldn't hate that. To be carried around and lifted by a gorgeous, strong woman? That's almost a dream come true. Especially if it were Miri. He swallows hard as he quickly pushes that thought out of his head.

"That'd be a bit extreme," he replies, trying his best to sound casual as he looks back at her.

"Mm. I guess." Miri looks thoughtful. IT would be nice to not have to go to the on campus gym... "I should get a pull up bar..."

"You could, or maybe just pick me up for your training instead." The offer slips out before he could stop himself, his mouth moving before his brain could register what was happening. Realizing what he'd said, Gale flushes a little pink again, his head bowing to rest his forehead against her shoulder and hide his face.

"You're a bit smart for a dumbbell," Miri teases back, unable to suppress a soft laugh at his reaction. Gale lets out a longsuffering sigh, burying his head further against her shoulder.

"At least make me your kettlebell," He mumbles, though there's an amused tone in his voice.

"How would that work?" Miri returns with a grin. "You're way too big."

"You could hold me by my ankles and swing me around," Gale suggests sarcastically. He tamps down the rather unhelpful thoughts his brain supplies after that. He smirks and suggests something else. "Or I could sit on your back and hold a weight while you do pushups."

Miri laughs heartily, her head tipped back. Gale smiles at the sound of her laughter, amused at his own stupid suggestions and the fact they made her laugh so much. It was often a goal of his to get her to break that stoic front and bring out the goofy streak beneath.

"Or maybe-" he pauses with another idea, a cheeky smile growing on his lips as he moves to wrap his arms more loosely around her neck once more and leaning back slightly "-you could do pull ups with me hanging on like this."

"Not sure they sell pull up bars for at home that could hold both our weight," Miri returns with a smirk, "At least, not that wouldn't violate the lease."

"Damn lease regulations," He returns with a chuckle and a commiserating grin. "They ruin everything."

"I know," she huffs, "The absolute tyranny."

"Utter tyranny," He agrees, shifting slightly as he tried to get more comfortable in his koala position. "Damn landlords have no compassion for those who wish to train their strength by pulling each other up."

Miri grunts slightly as he shifts his weight. She quirks a brow at him. Gale smirks as he adjusts himself, tightening his legs around her waist. She has to ignore the way that damned smirk never fails to make her chest warm.

"Staying are you?"

"What can I say? It's quite comfortable up here," Gale teases, clasping his hands behind her neck. With her unbothered reaction to all of it thus far, he grows increasingly bold. His fingers play idly with the soft strands of her long hair, twirling them between his fingers.

"Needy," Miri returns with a soft smile and playfully disapproving brows. The smile turns a bit mischievous as she continues, "Then at least pull your own weight."

Using her grip beneath his thighs, she pulls him closer so his weight is balanced more over her hips. Caught off guard, Gale makes a high sound of surprise. His legs reflexively lock behind her back and his arms tighten around her neck and shoulders.

With the adjustment she can have a hand free to grab her juice and take a swig.

"H-hey!" Gale protests. His counter point dies on his tongue when he realizes this new position was more comfortable for both of them. Although with the way his groin now pressed against her lower stomach... "You did that on purpose."

"Yeah?" Miri grins and quirks a brow up at him. Gale huffs, a hint of a pout on his lips. How cute... Miri can’t pass up an opportunity like this. To finally have Gale close. Even if it’s a bit awkward. She’s wanted to touch and feel his body for...well, entirely too long.

"Don't gimme that look," Gale grumbles, resting his head against her shoulder again. He’s silent for a moment, his hands shifting to trace idle patterns against the strong muscles of her back. Finally he murmurs softly in her ear - his tone caught somewhere between embarrassment and desire, "So...how long can you carry me for?"

Hearing that tone from Gale just makes her want to press her luck a little further.

"Oh, I dunno," Miri replies sounding playfully thoughtful, "Just standing here, probably a while."

"Oh really?" Gale says, lifting his head to give her a disbelieving look. A slow smirk returns to his lips, before he asks, “How long exactly is a while?"

He quirks a brow in challenge before shifting his upper body, pushing slightly away from her shoulders so some of his weight hangs away from her. Gale’s still holding tight with his legs, so it’s only a small fraction he’s moved - but it’s enough she has to adjust. Miri leans back slightly to counterbalance, tightening her core to hold steady.

“Hard to say. It's not exactly in my usual routine," she quips back with a gsrin.

Gale lets out a chuckle, tightening his grip around her shoulders with a mischievous glint in his eyes.

"Not? Maybe I should be added to your routine then," he teases.

"I'll be sure to pencil in 'Gale carries' for leg-day."

"Hey! That sounds like I’m the one doing the carrying," he quips back, shifting his weight again to hand even further away. Miri grunts again as he makes it more difficult. "Seems to me like it's more like 'Miri carries Gale'."

"Oh, forgive me, how unclear of me. I'll amend the record," she retorts, playing up her accent. Miri pretends to erase and write with one hand. Gale laughs as she 'writes down' the correction, his smirk growing even as his legs tighten around her waist at the feel of her hand leaving his thigh.

"And here I thought I was the smartass in this house," he teases, keeping up his playful tone while shifting once more in an attempt to push her limits. How long could she really hold him for? How long would she hold him...?

"I thought you didn't want me to drop you?" Miri grits with a grin.

Gale chuckles as he continues to press his luck and push her tolerance. The lilt of his lips is decidedly mischievous.

"What's the matter, worried I'll wear you out?"

Miri snorts. "Oh, excuse me. I didn't know I'd be getting an extra set in at 2:30 in the morning."

"Oh, I'm pretty light for someone your size," Gale teases back with a grin, "Shouldn't be too much of a strain for how strong you are."

"'My size' he says." Miri huffs a laugh, though it’s starting to sound a bit strained.

"I'm not wrong though," he replies, grinning as he continues to shift against her. Doing his best to feel the strength in her body for as long as she’ll let him. "You're only a few inches shorter than me, but you've absolutely got me beat in the muscle department."

"A few? Like 10."

Gale's grin widens.

"I stand corrected then," he replies cheekily, "You're a very short, very strong muscle lady."

Miri’s retort is cut short when Gale deliberately presses his hips against her - absolutely pressing his luck as far as it could go. This can either go very right, or they could pretend it never happened. They’ve flirted plenty before, right?

Miri arches a brow at him, noting his very intentional movement - and the very obvious way it presses his groin against her lower stomach. There’s no way that was an accident. She can feel her cheeks heating. And other things. Gale smirks back at her catching onto his not-so-subtle gesture.

"What can I say?” Gale murmurs with an air of smugness in the lilt of his lips. Despite his hard to suppress desire surging to the forefront in his probably too-tired mind, he can’t quite avoid the urge to mask it with humor. To hide in this usual dance of theirs. “I have a gorgeous, incredibly strong woman holding me up, it's kind of hard not to want to take advantage of the moment."

"Kind of hard, is it?"

Miri fingers grasp a bit more tightly to the meat of his thighs, sharp nails pressing gently into his skin through his shorts. Maybe he’s just joking. Maybe he’s teasing her. But that is not nothing...and neither is the flush of his cheeks. Bright green eyes roam his face curiously, searching.

Gale chuckles at her equally playful response - that she so quickly latched onto his little innuendo. The feel of her hands against him is nothing short of electric, and he’ll use any excuse to keep this going.

"You have a dirty mind," he teases, shifting once more. This time he presses hips pushed against her a little more firmly.

"Yes, I'm sure the fault lies entirely with me," Miri returns sarcastically. She pulls him closer - just a fraction.

"Of course it does," he agrees with an amused grin. "I don't know what you're talking about, I've done nothing wrong here."

Gale shifts once more - adjusting to how she pulls him against her. Decidedly a bit more than half hard now, his breath catches a little as he presses against her stomach a bit more. She feels so warm through that ratty old shirt. The plane of her stomach so firm.

"Mhmm." Miri arches her brow at him again. Two can play this game you absolute tease.

She grasps him more firmly by the thighs and bends forward intentionally, lowering his upper body towards the ground. Gale's smirked fades and his eyes widen at the sudden shift to almost parallel to the ground. He instinctively tightens his arms around her neck to keep himself from dangling, his thighs wrapping around her more firmly.

"F-fucking hells," he breathes.

"Something wrong?" Miri replies with a grin. She shakes slightly with the effort, but manages to hold him steady. Not like he has very far to fall if she did accidentally lose her grip.

Gale's heart hammers in his chest as he tries to remain as calm and collected as possible at the sudden and unexpected angle. Not to mention the way this puts her face rather close to his chest and her chest... He swallows, trying to ignore the growing tightness in his pants.

"Nothing's wrong," he says as casually as he can, his voice faltering slightly.

"Good," Miri says with a smirk.

Tightening her core to keep them steady, she slowly bends further, until Gale's shoulders finally make gentle contact with the floor. He lets out a small sound of surprise as the back of his shoulders finally touch the tile, his legs and upper body nearly vertical. If she weren’t straining Miri would be tempted to laugh at the small jolt of surprise that runs through him.

Gale slowly lowers his head to the floor, his hair a mess of tresses splaying out beneath him and he looks up at her wide-eyed and blushing. It’s rather adorable.

Being held almost upside-down the blood rushes to his face. Miri’s smirk widens into a full grin. Now he’s not just lightheaded from the angle, but also the way she looks at him. It’s almost predatory.

"F-fuck..." he whispers.

She huffs from the exertion. But with his shoulders finally on the ground, some of his weight is taken off her frame. It’s something of a relief to have some of his weight transferred off her waist. She lowers him a bit more so his back is on the ground. She's surprised when he keeps clinging to her.

"I've put you down," she pants, "You can let go."

A part of him wants to - to release his limbs from where they were tightly wrapped around her but...he was enjoying this too much. With an amused but slightly flustered expression, he tightens his legs around her instead.

"Why would I let go when I'm having so much fun?"

"I think I'm done carrying you, koala," Miri returns with a soft huff. His limbs around her keep her stuck in place.

"Oh, come on," Gale replies, a pout in his voice. "Just a few minutes longer? I'm not that heavy."

Miri barks a laugh. He tightens his grip, refusing to let her get away now that they’re in this new position. She has to plant her hands on the floor beside his shoulders to support herself with the way he still hangs on. And she vehemently ignores the little voice in her head pleading for her to just push him the rest of the way to the floor and climb on top. The singing tension in her back is enough to remind her not to.

"Gods, you're as bad as my nieces and nephews," she huffs, then playfully imitates a child's voice, "Five more minutes, Aunt Miri."

It earns her a hearty chuckle from the man-child over staying his welcome in her arms. She can’t tell if the reddening of his cheeks is from the blood flow or from the way he keeps pressing his hips upward.

"Your nieces and nephews have good taste," he quips, "Being carried like a baby in your very strong, very capable arms isn't a bad experience."

"Not quite how I'd hold a baby," she muses breathlessly, "But sure."

"Oh? How would you hold a baby then?" Gale’s eyes narrow playfully as he arches a brow. He shifts his legs middle again, trying to get a little more comfortable. But his efforts only seem to bring their hips closer together. Not that he minds.

"Usually cradled, or on one hip," Miri snorts, "Y'know, how babies are held."

"Am I not good enough to be held as a baby? Is cradling a 22-year-old man too hard for you?"

Gale smirks as he continues to shift his body against her, his legs squeezing around her waist. Miri laughs. She adjusts her arms slightly, trying not to let him pull her down on top of him. Gale grins at the sound of her laughter, his hands clutching tight to her shoulders.

"I'm starting to see more parallels," she teases back. When he shifts his hips again, Miri intentionally squeezes the meat of his thighs, drawing a gasp from him. The quick aversion of his eyes suggests he hopes she didn’t hear it. But he knows better.

“Is that so?” Gale certainly won’t let that go unchallenged. If they’re to dance, he’ll gladly escalate. He shifts his lower body against her, leveraging his legs around her waist to pull her tighter against his hips. “What parallels might those be?"

"Clingy. Needy." Miri smirks. "A bit fussy?"

"Me? Fussy? I beg your pardon," he replies, feigning offense. With another cheeky smirk and wiggle of his hips his presses his significantly less than half hard need against her. Breathless and teasing, he adds, "I prefer the term attention seeking.”

"Same thing," Miri returns shaking her head. She groans slightly, long canines biting at her lip as she strains. "Alright, I think my back is starting to get pretty mad at me."

"Alright, alright," he sigh reluctantly. He tries to ignore the sharp twist in his stomach at the thought that this might just end without anything more happening between them.

Gale unwinds himself from around her, letting go of her shoulders and transferring his weight to the floor. Miri pries his legs off and when she stands upright it’s with a loud groan. She leans back the opposite way with her hands on her lower back.

"Fucking hells," she grumbles before her back pops. Gale sit up and watches her with a soft smirk, wincing at the sound.

"Remind me to never make you angry," he teases, "I don't want to find out what a punch from those muscles would feel like."

“Hah! A good life lesson," she returns with a smirk. Miri rotates her upper body back and forth a few times to loosen the tension in her back.

"I suppose so," he murmurs, eyes lingering on what muscles he could make out in her arms past the sleeves of her oversized shirt. As she shifts the hem of that oversized shirt lifts to show more of those ridiculous little shorts, and those even more ridiculous thighs-

Having felt them supporting him, carrying him all too effortlessly, Gale found it impossible to tear his eyes away. Miri's small and lithe, but every inch of her frame is densely corded with muscle. The quiet intensity of her strength is somehow simultaneously terrifying and incredibly attractive.

She huffs and shakes her arms out before going to retrieve her juice. Gale's eyes can’t help but follow, his gaze lingering. If it were anyone else she would be intimidating. But it’s Miri. And if he’s honest he’s never had such a good friendship - such a good bond with just about anyone.

And yet here he is again, on his ass in their kitchen, just staring. His mind positively buzzing with questions. With images. Again. Is she leaning over the counter like that intentionally? Did that mean anything to her? Miri noticed, she grinned, she liked it...

Maybe he could do more-

What would she do if they finally kissed-

How would she sound if-

Miri leans over the counter, trying to steady the thundering of her heart. She’s grateful for the moment to turn away - to look away from his face. His perfect, smug, bearded face and those plush lips-

Her face is burning hot - though she can’t decide if it’s hotter than the churning in her stomach. Why had she done that? She shouldn’t have picked him up in the first place, let alone all of...that.

Miri takes a long swallow of her juice before scrubbing a hand over her face. This can is just about the same width as-

STOP.

Gale lets out a sigh, as he shakes his head, trying in vain to clear away the myriad images his mind unhelpfully supplies of Miri. Seen and unseen. But when his eyes finally drift back up to her, trailing up the thick, silky length of her wine dark hair they snag on her ears. One long tip exposed as he head tilts to one side.

And it’s pink.

Flushed enough it makes his heart stutter in his chest.

Miri only blushes like that for two reasons. She’s either drunk or someone she likes is flirting with her. Both rare, only one definitely not applicable here.

“Miri,” Gale blurts out her name - unable to mask the shock or the enthusiasm in his tone. And when she turns to look at him with an arched brow he realizes with a jolt his mouth has moved before his brain can catch up.

What on Toril is that look for? Miri’s grateful for the can still at her lips when she meets his gaze. There’s something there she’s never seen - his pupils are wide and his cheeks are still flushed, but she can’t put her finger on what that expression is. Whatever it is makes her breath catch.

“What?”

It’s there. Clear as day on her face. As they stare at one another a bit wide-eyed Gale sees that flush across the bridge of her nose and over her cheeks.

She liked it.

Likes him?

Gods damn him, he needs to find out. Just that little dusting of pink is enough to make his ego swell. Gale lifts a knee to prop up one of his arms, and doesn’t fail to notice the way her eyes flicker over the movement and across his chest before they’re back on his face. His lips quirk up slowly into a confident grin.

“Think you’d ever do that again?”

"Careful what you wish for," Miri returns with a laugh, brushing it off.

"Oh, don't worry," He chuckles, that damn confident smirk on his lips. "I'm not afraid of a little manhandling."

"Clearly," Miri retorts from over her can. She looks away briefly as she finishes her juice. That look in his eyes...

Gale nods. That’s all the confirmation he needs before he’s standing and swaggering his way to her side.

"In fact, I think I'm in the mood right now," he purrs, his eyes filled with mischief. Delighted at the way that’s enough to bring her eyes snapping back to him.

Miri quirks a brow at him as he approaches. His grin widens when she straightens in response to him moving closer. A thrill runs through them both when he places his hands on her hips.

"A mood?" Miri questions softly, looking up at him.

"Mhmm," he hums, running his hands down her hips in a way that could only be described as possessive. "I’d like to see how much you can handle..."

Gale leans closer, slowly guiding her - always gently and soft enough she could easily break away if she wanted. But she never once breaks eye contact as backs her out of the kitchen and towards the nearest wall.

Miri's brows raise with surprise as he steers her backwards. Her pulse skyrockets at the look in his eyes. That lilt of his lips is nearly wicked.

"Do you?"

"Oh, definitely," he replies with a smirk as he crowds her back against the wall.

Large, warm hands knead a path down her sides and over her hips, before grasping her thighs. It’s almost too easy to lift the lythari off the ground. Miri squeaks with surprise at the sudden move.

"Gotcha," he teases lowly, his grin thoroughly self-satisfied. His fingers knead the plush muscle of her thighs as he holds her up, leaning her back firmly against the wall.

"No escaping now," Gale murmurs firmly.

Miri laughs a bit nervously. Her hands grip onto his shoulders - hesitantly at first, always mindful of her sharp nails - before she squeezes a bit more firmly. Gale chuckles back, positively thrilling at having her pinned where he could do as he liked. His grip on her thighs tightens and he pushes himself against her, their bodies flush.

Tentatively, Miri wraps her legs around his waist. Her cheeks flush a darker pink, and Gale's smirk widens. The feel of her legs over his hips, of her wrapping herself around him, drives him to new heights. Gods above.

"Comfortable?" He asks in a tauntingly cheeky tone.

"Getting there," she returns softly.

"Just getting there?" He echoes with an arched brow. He shifts his body against hers again, his hands on her thighs pulling them apart slightly. Miri gasps. She reflexively tightens her grip around his shoulders. A wicked spike of heat pulses through his stomach at the sound, a raw sort of pride welling up inside him from her reaction. His voice low and sultry, he teases in her ear, "I could make her more than comfortable, if you want...”

Hearing that little sound of surprise and feelin her clutching onto him makes him want to tease her even further. Bold, he presses his hips more firmly against hers and leans his head slightly to breathe a dark murmur in her other ear.

"That little gasp you made was cute," he purrs.

"Cute?" Miri breathes back. Her face gets a bit redder as he presses against her and he chuckles huskily at the sight.

"Yeah, really cute," he repeats. He leans in even closer, his lips just inches from the sensitive skin of her long ear. He practically growls his next words, his tone dripping with the lust he can’t hold back anymore. "I could see myself getting really addicted to that sound."

Gods above, Miri, how did you get here ? And since when is Gale Dekarios this masterful at flustering you to all hells?

"Aren't you greedy?" Miri huffs back. She smirks slightly, but she's red to the tips of her long ears now.

"Definitely," he replies without shame, grinning as her tries to act cheeky despite being flustered. He rolls his hips against hers slowly, making sure to keep his body tight against hers.

Miri bites her lip slightly at the feel of him pressing his excitement against her - hot through the thin fabric of their shorts. Her breath catches.

"You have no idea how long I've wanted to have you trapped like this," he murmurs huskily.

"Oh-" she gasps again.

The sound is extremely satisfying, rushing straight between his legs, and he savors every little reaction from her. His hands knead her thighs, gripping and squeezing reflexively as he pushes himself against her again.

"Do you feel that?" he asks in a low, sultry tone.

"Ah- yes." Her voice sounds reedy even to her own ears. How could she not?

"That's all because of you," he whispers, his voice raw and deep. He groans softly as he continues to press against her, the feeling of her soft, warm body flush against his making him even harder. "You have no idea what kind of effect you have on me, Miri...”

Miri groans softly, the friction teasing her.

"Is this...new?"

His tilts his head and presses his lips tentatively to her neck, kissing at the skin there gently as he continues his agonizingly slow, rhythmic movements against her.

"No," he mutters between kisses, "Definitely not new."

Miri gasps another soft sound, her legs twitching slightly. She tilts her head for him, her long hair shifting out of the way.

"I've thought about this for a long time," he confesses in a low tone, his breaths coming hot and ragged against her neck.

"You have?" Miri questions softly.

“I have. A lot," he replied, his lips leaving a few more kisses along her skin before he continues.

"Every time you show off how strong you are, or when I see your muscles after you finish a workout-" Gale groans quietly against her throat, his hips continuing to press against her with a slow, rhythmic motion. Desperately fighting to maintain control now. "When I hear you growl when you're annoyed-"

His lips continue to tease at her throat, unable to stop himself from nibbling along the skin as he continues to speak. The friction and heat between them just seems to grow more and more.

"Mmhh-" Miri’s breath leaves her in a sharp exhale when she feels his teeth make contact with her skin. Her stomach feels practically molten under his attentions.

"You have no idea how many dreams I've had about you," he confesses, his voice low and sultry, "About your strong hands all over me, pinning me down..."

"Ah- really?" Miri’s voice is rough and low when she replies.

"I dream about you all the time," he continues in a whisper, his lips moving further down into the crook of her neck, "About all the things I want to do to you-"

"I didn't realize -" Miri pauses with a soft, breathless moan. Her hands squeeze a bit more firmly against his shoulders before one shifts to tangle in his hair. Something to ground herself and prove she didn’t actually fall asleep at her desk. He feels warm and real against her skin... "Like what?"

A satisfied smirk pulls his lips from her skin - the delicious sparks along his scalp as she plays with his hair is the cherry on top of the signs of her enjoyment. His hips continues to move against hers, continuing to tease her with that delicious friction. Gale moves back up to her ear, his lips ghosting over the sensitive skin there.

"You want me to go into specifics?"

"Yeah," she returns, hooking an arm around his shoulders. Miri tugs softly at his hair with the other hand, eliciting a soft groan that makes her smirk. "Give me a specific example."

"You really want to know that badly?" he teases, nipping at her ear before continuing, absolutely delighting in the soft sound she makes. "Alright, then..."

He leans back just far enough to meet her gaze, feeling the heat sparking between them.

"Remember when we watched that action movie last week?"

"Ugh that movie was terrible."

“Yes, it was. But that's not what I'm talking about," He chuckles lowly, a hint of amusement in his tone. "I'm referring to when you got frustrated by that rather asinine character being dense."

"What about it?" Miri's brows furrow with confusion. Gale chuckles again at her confusion, amused by her obliviousness.

"You got all annoyed and grumbly. I had to stop for a minute and remember to breathe," he confesses, his voice a low murmur against her ear, "I spent the whole damn night thinking about those little growls you made when you were pissed off."

"My growling?" Miri huffs a soft laugh, incredulous. "That's what you're dreaming about?"

"Yes," he answers simply, his breath hot against her skin, "I’m not sure what it is, but hearing you growl like that just makes me want you more."

Miri's lips tip up with a bemused smile - such a commonplace thing to be excited by. But it quickly turns mischievous. She leans in closer to his ear, making sure her chest is pressed flush against his.

"This growl?" She asks softly. The soft purr of her voice makes his breath hitch. Miri rumbles a low growl of irritation in her chest - just like what he would’ve heard that night. Gale stiffens against her as her growl vibrates through him. A shiver of pure desire runs through him.

"F- fuck," he curses softly, his grip on her thighs tightening on reflex.

"Ooh, it is," she murmurs smugly. Miri’s grin widens and she lets out another lower, more predatory growl.

He lets out a shaky breath, the effects of that low, guttural sound sending a shiver of pleasure straight to his core. Gale shifts against her, the friction between their bodies becoming downright intoxicating. Miri's confidence is bolstered by his response - especially the lack of verbal riposte.

"You know," she murmurs, pulling her fingers through his hair and drawing a soft shiver and another delightful groan from him, "Lythari don't only growl when they're mad."

His eyelids flutter slightly. Gale’s hips continues to grind against her - feeling practically on fire with desire. She seems bent on driving him absolutely mad.

"They don't?" he asks with a low, ragged breath. "What are other reasons they growl?"

"Lots of reasons," she returns, "Dominance, possession, passion, pleasure..." She leans in to press a kiss just below his ear. "Play your cards right and you can even make a lythari purr."

His breath hitches again, his heart racing in his chest. He was already hanging onto her every word, but at that last little tidbit he groans involuntarily, a shiver running through his body.

"Oh, please," he breathes, already delirious from her touch and her tone.

"Sorry, that's the only one I can't do on command," Miri says softly, lips a torturously smug expression showing a hint of those sharp teeth.

"Damn it," he curses under his breath, groaning again as his head involuntarily tilts to the side, giving her more access to his neck. "Why'd you have to say it now? I'll never be able to stop thinking about it."

Miri groans softly when he exposes his neck. She leans in but hesitates - even as Gale lets out a soft sound between whine and groan. She can't let that be first contact. So she pulls back, moving her hand to his face, tilting it towards hers.

"Consider it a goal," she breathes, before tugging him in - finally- for a kiss.

The moment her hand touches his face and tugs him closer, he eagerly follows her lead, practically meeting her halfway. This is what he'd dreamed of, what he'd hoped and longed for, for so long. She is soft and warm and perfect. Having her here in his arms, pressed up against him like this - it’s something out of his best fantasies.

Gods he’s wanted to kiss Miri for longer than he can recall. Maybe always. He responds immediately, his lips moving hungrily against hers, seeking more of her touch, of her taste, of her.

This she's dreamed of. He's good- or maybe she's just wildly out of practice- it's delightful. He’s heat and tenderness and need. Miri moans softly against his lips, tugging his hair softly to keep him close.

Gale groans into the kiss, the sound quickly turning into a quiet, throaty moan as she tugs at his hair. He practically melts beneath her touch, his brain going fuzzy with his desire.

Miri nips his bottom lip gently, drawing a gasp, before licking it with the tip of her tongue. The feeling of her tongue has his knees practically buckling. He returns the favor, his lips seeking hers again, his tongue delving into her mouth, tasting every inch of her he could reach. Gale's hands on her thighs grips tighter, the fingers of one hand slowly creeping up and under the hem of her shorts.

Miri whimpers softly, stroking her tongue against his when it comes between her lips. Her legs tighten around his waist and Gale grips at them reflexively. His hands run up the back of her thighs, slipping under her shorts and reaching the soft, sensitive skin of her rear.

His fingers dug into her flesh, firmly gripping her in his hands, pulling her closer against him even as he presses firmly against her. Miri jolts slightly with surprise, breaking their kiss with a gasp. But it melts into delight and she's kissing him again.

It’s all consuming - lips and tongue and teeth moving fiercely - taking, needing, feeling. Exploring one another at long last.

He needs more of her, practically craving her like a drug.

She can’t get enough needs him closer.

Miri tugs at his hair again and he moans. Her other hand trails nails over his back where she can reach - gentle, teasing. His body arches under her touch. He loves it, the little hint of pain and pleasure making him shiver as his hands grips her ass even tighter.

"I want you so badly," he breathes between kisses, his words a ragged gasp against her lips.

"Your room or mine?" Miri breathes back.

"Mine," he answers immediately, his voice a low, urgent murmur against her lips. "I want you in my bed-" He breaks off, one of his hands leaving her shorts to travel her back, his fingers tracing along her spine as he pulls her into him and away from the wall. "I need you in my bed-"

Her back arches at the touch and she shivers. She kisses over his face, and squeezes her legs a little tighter around his waist, locking her ankles together. He groans again, the feeling of being caught so completely by her making his head spin.

"Then let's go," she murmurs.

Her response had him practically growling, his lips moving on instinct against the skin of her face, seeking her mouth again, wanting more of her.

" Gods-, " he gasps. "I'm not sure I can make it down the hall like this-"

"I bet you can," Miri purrs. A huff of a laugh escapes him, a mix of amused and aroused, and he quickly shifts his arms under her body, lifting her up against him.

"You're a hell of a handful, y'know that?" he teased, starting his way toward his bedroom with her wrapped around him.

"What'd you say the other day?" Miri teases, tightening her arms around his neck, "'The best things in life are the most challenging'?"

Gale laughs softly, the sound rough and a little breathless as his body thrums with the desire to have her. At the feel of being so fucking close.

"Are you trying to turn me on even more than you already have?" he asks, turning the corner and striding toward his room.

"Maybe?" She nips at his earlobe.

He groans, the sound low and throaty. Between her teeth against his skin and her legs wraps around him, he is nearly aflame. Gale practically stumbles into his room, throwing the door open. He all but throws her down onto the bed, drawing a surprised shrieking laugh from her. It dies quickly as he climbs on, and she snakes her arms around him when he lays over top of her.

"I would've worn something nicer if I knew I was going to make it to your room," she murmurs with a soft grin.

"You're kidding, right?" he asked, his brow raising slightly. "You already look sexy as hell."

He leans forward and nuzzles at her hair, breathing in the scent of her, letting his body press down against hers. He shifts one of his legs between hers, pressing his knee up against her, wanting to feel more of her. Miri groans softly, her head tipping back.

"I'm not going to need anything else," he whispers against her ear.

"But it's pajamas-" she counters, "And not even cute ones."

He chuckles, his lips finding the exposed skin of her throat, pressing tender kisses all the way up.

"As if that matters," he breathes against her skin. With a smirk, his hands move to the hem of her shirt, sliding it up to bare the skin of her stomach. "I'm undressing you anyway."

Miri huffs, but feels some of the anxiety fizzling away with his reassurances. The muscles of her stomach tense and shift beneath the warmth of his hands . Her breath hitches in her throat as he makes his way higher.

His hands trail higher up along the skin of her stomach, his lips peppering her neck with kisses. When he reaches the bottom of her sports bra, his hands pause, his fingers playing with the elastic. He pulls back from her neck to look down at her, a smirk on his lips.

"May I?" he asked, his voice a low, eager murmur.

"Yeah," she answers breathlessly.

Gale smiles that charming grin of his and quickly peels her shirt and bra off, pausing to admire the sight of her, half naked, laid out beneath him on his bed. Gods it’s a dream come true - he fights the urge to pinch himself. His eyes roam over her form, taking in every detail, every freckle, the sharp planes of her body.

Miri shivers under his gaze, her chest moving with shallow breaths. Her flush spreads from her cheeks to her chest. She knows she's fit, sure, but she's self-conscious about being small and a bit flat (hard not to get in one's own head growing up with several very attractive sisters). She can't help but feel nervous to be appraised. At least, by someone she truly wants.

He notices her nerves, the little shiver that runs through her, the way her gaze flickers away under his gaze, and it almost breaks his heart. He can't fathom why she would feel nervous - she’s strong, and lean, and absolutely gorgeous. As he's concerned, Miri is perfect. Better than he had even imagined.

Holding her gaze, Gale leans down to press a kiss to the skin between her breasts. His hands shift to hold her sides as his lips continue to trail lower. It’s almost easy to get lost in her, the constellations on her skin, the smooth warmth of her. Miri’s fingers card through his hair and he lifts his gaze to hers, his lips still pressed to the skin of her stomach.

"You're adorable," he whispers, his voice filled with affection.

"Adorable?" She repeats. Her brows steeple. Not exactly the praise she had been hoping for. A bit...diminutive.

"Adorable, sexy, I would tell you you're beautiful too-” His lips go back to her skin, continuing the trail downwards, blazing a path down her torso. “-but I'm also in the middle of something very important-"

His hands slide down her sides, exploring every inch. Miri barks a laugh at his reply.

"Oh, sorry to interrupt," Miri returns sarcastically.

He laughs under his breath, shaking his head slightly.

"I'm trying to focus here," he protests in mock irritation, his hands still caressing her sides, his thumbs tracing small circles on her hips. Gale teases her with a playful expression, his fingers playing with the hem of her shorts. "How am I supposed to tell you how gorgeous you are when I'm trying to get you out of these damn shorts?"

"I thought you liked these?" Miri returns playfully.

"Oh, I do," he admits, "But they're in my way right now." He hooks his fingers into the waist of her shorts, slowly beginning to pull them down over her hips. Those large brown eyes are pleading and dark as he meets her gaze. "I'm more interested in what's under them-"

"So impatient," she returns with a smirk. Miri lifts her hips slightly to help.

"You’re damn right I am.” Gale watches enraptured as her shorts come off. Leaving her in just her underwear. Lying on his bed. Beneath him. And more radiantly beautiful than he ever imagined. His eyes drink her in, hungrily roving over her body, taking in every bit of her, and he groans in delight.

His words are a ragged murmur when he can finally speak. "You're gorgeous- More than- Divine...."

"Seems a bit unfair," Miri returns softly, gesturing towards him. She’s only ever afforded glimpses. The chance to see more - feel more- has her heart pounding and her core starting to ache.

He looks down at himself, realizing he's still fully clothed, and he chuckles.

"I suppose it is," Gale agrees. But he's not in a big rush to fix it, not when he has her like this, beneath him on his bed. Until he imagines her seeing him equally undressed, looking up at him like this-

That’s enough to make his body thrum with anticipation.

"Wanna take it off for me?" he teased, his eyes on hers, a smirk on his lips.

"Hells yeah," Miri replies with a grin. Miri holds her arms out and beckons with her fingers. "C'mere."

Gods- he loves how eager she is. The way she looks at him with those dark, hungry eyes - the sound of her voice as her arms are held out for him. He moves closer, leaning down over her and bracing his hands bracing on either side of her.

"Now what?" Gale asks with a smile, his voice low and playful.

"Now it's my turn," Miri replies with a grin. She wraps her arms around his middle, and with a twist rolls them both over so she's straddling his hips.

"Well," he says, his voice breathless with laughter, "You're not wasting any time, are you?"

"Your impatience is contagious," she returns playfully. "And I've been curious for ages about what you keep hidden under those baggy shirts."

Her hands find their way under his shirt, nimble fingers exploring the planes of his stomach as she works the fabric up. His breath hitches in his throat as her hands make their way under his shirt, her fingers tracing over his skin and making him shiver from her touch.

"You do realize I sleep topless right?" Gale teases, shifting under her touch, moving to help her pull his shirt off. Miri huffs a laugh.

"How would I know that?" She pulls his shirt the rest of the way off and tosses it towards his hamper.

"Fair point-" he admits, watching as the shirt goes flying.

He lays there, shirtless, his chest and stomach bare under her gaze, and suddenly, he feels vulnerable. Gale looks up at her, trying to see the look on her face, trying to figure out what she’s thinking.

"So, what do you think?" he asks, a hint of insecurity creeping into his voice.

"Absolutely ridiculous-" Miri returns, her eyes roaming him with a dark gaze, "That you've been keeping this to yourself." She looks up at him with an accusatory expression. "You're even hotter than I thought, and that's hardly fair."

A flush spreads across his cheeks and down his neck at her words, but the sight of her gaze roaming his body and the look on her face have his heart racing, his nerves replaced by a rush of heady arousal. He swallows hard, trying to collect his thoughts, his words.

"It- it's not my fault you never asked-" he protests faintly.

"Oh, yeah, I'm just supposed to waltz in, and 'hey Gale, you should take her shirt off'-" Miri blow a soft dismissive sound. She leans in to trail kisses down the side of his neck.

"Ridiculous," she breathes, her kisses moving lower, "Fucking Adonis..."

Gale laughs softly, the sound turning shaky as her lips move across his neck, her kisses sending jolts of electricity down his spine and straight to his groin. He arches slightly beneath her, the feeling of her body against his sending waves of heat through him. His hands move, resting on her hips, his fingers tracing over her bare skin.

"Are you really complaining?" he asks breathlessly as her kisses trail lower.

"Yes," she returns with mock severity. Her tongue flits out to taste his skin as she kisses her way down his chest. Her hands smooth down his sides before she hooks her fingers in the waistband of his shorts.

He can't help but groan in response to her ministrations, the feeling of her hands roaming and her tongue on his skin and her hands roaming over him nearly short-circuiting his brain completely. The sound of her voice calling him 'Adonis' is going to be on repeat in his mind for weeks, he just knows it.

His breath is quick and heavy when he answers her, though the words come out as a ragged gasp.

"Why the hells are you complaining if you think I'm hot?"

He laughs softly underneath her, but his laughter is cut off by a soft gasp as her teeth graze his chest. She alternates between teasing gentle kisses and the occasional sharp nip and it’s driving him mad.

"Because you've been keeping this to yourself," Miri purrs back nipping his chest. "Very selfish."

Gale watches her with half lidded eyes, his mind swimming in sensation, his thoughts filled with nothing but her, her body above his, the feeling of her tongue, her hands.

Miri’s words make his imagination start to run wild(er). He can’t help but picture the many ways she might 'punish' him for being so... selfish. He shifts slightly, his hands moving from her hips to the outsides of her thighs, his fingers playing with the edges of her underwear.

"You want me to make it up to you?" he whispers, his voice low and eager.

Miri looks up at him from where she's licking a path down his sternum with a quizzical expression.

"Make it up to me?" She repeats.

"You said I was being selfish-" he responds, breathing in deeply as she continues her path down his chest, his stomach, the muscles of his abdomen tensing under her lips.

"I should make it up to you-" he repeats, his hands tracing up her legs, his fingers reaching the edges of her underwear.

Miri huffs a soft laugh. "I'm joking, Gale."

Her fingers tug softly at the waistband of his shorts. Gale groans, his hips shifting instinctively underneath her, the feeling of her hands there making him shiver.

He gazes at her, ochre eyes dark and fixed on her face, not even trying to hide how much he wants her right now, not even trying to hide how badly he wants her. Miri can’t suppress the growl that rumbles through her at the sight of him - wanton and flushed beneath her.

"You might be joking-" he says, his voice ragged. "but I'm not-"

"No?" Miri gives him a cheeky, lopsided smile in response, some confusion evident in her tone.

She slides his shorts down and off when he lifts his hips slightly. She takes a moment to admire him - marveling at his tanned skin, his strong physique. He clearly takes care of himself...

And he clearly wants her. Gods, that much is very clear through the thin fabric of his boxer briefs. She almost startles herself at the feel of her hungry growl vibrating in her chest.

Gale watches, his breaths quick and heavy, as she looks over his body, admiring him, taking him in. He groans as those bright green eyes rove over him, that familiar flush of embarrassment returning, even as his desire for her just continues to soar higher and higher.

He can feel her eyes on him, there, as he strains against the fabric of his underwear, positively aching in his need for her.

"No," he breathes. "I'm entirely serious-"

That's...oh, that's a lot. Miri can feel her core throbbing at the very idea of it. But she's not even sure the last time she... Gods that's big. How...?

Miri's startled out of her thoughts at his words and looks up. Fuck that expression. Lips a little kiss swollen, cheeks flushed, eyes dark. Absolutely debauched before they’ve even really started.

He groans again at the way she bites her lip as she look at him. He wants to know what those lupine teeth feel like on his lips.

He can practically see the heat building inside her, the way her breath starts to hitch, how her face flushes, the way those sharp pupils round and grow. It only serves to make him want her more.

Months of dreaming and aching for her.

There's a hint of nervousness in his voice when he speaks this time, his words a low, ragged murmur.

"You okay up there, Mir...?"

"Ah- yeah!" She flushes a bit more, embarrassed by her reaction. "Yes, I'm good."

Her fingers trace idle patterns against his hips where she holds him. He laughs softly, the sound breathless.

"You sure...?" Gale asks, watching her, the nervousness still present in his voice. "I didn't break you, did I?"

It's a very real concern, a very real fear. As much as his body aches for her, as much as he wants her, he doesn't want to push her too far, to push her to do something she isn’t comfortable with.

Miri shakes her head with a soft grin. "Not yet, no."

A shudder runs down his spine. Yet. His mind swims once more with the possibilities, the way he wants her and the things he wants to do to her. The thought of how desperately he wants to make her come undone-

His fingers squeeze and flex against her thighs. Gale's not sure how much longer he's going to be able to hold back, how much longer he'll be able to control himself-

Miri leans forward, running her hands up his sides, and presses a few kisses to his chest. She needs to feel him. All of him. More than she can manage.

He shudders at the feeling of her hands on his skin, the kisses sending sparks down his spine that only increase his already unbearable arousal. Gale feels nearly breathless from the desperate need for her to be bare, the need to feel her skin against his everywhere-

"Can I-" he manages to gasp out, one hand moving to the edge of her underwear.

Miri shivers slightly, the request making her stomach clench with a coiling heat.

"O-okay," she breathes.

He almost stops in surprise as she agrees, her tone shaky and breathless. It’s almost too good to be true. He's careful, almost unsure he heard her correctly, his fingers tracing lightly over the edge of her underwear, hesitating.

"You- are you sure...?" Gale’s voice leaves him in a near reverent whisper. He needs to make sure he's not pushing her too far. Wants to be absolutely certain that she really want this. He couldn’t live with himself otherwise.

"Yes," Miri nods, more vehemently when she notices his hesitation. She’s not uncertain about him. Not even a little bit. Only of herself. So, softly, she adds, "I want you."

It's a simple three words. A simple admission of want.

And yet they affect him like nothing else.

With that simple phrase, the damn of his restraint breaks.

All of Gale’s need comes rushing free. His arms come around her, pulling her against him and rolling them back over so she’s once more beneath him, his body pressing against hers.

"Gods, I want you too," he breathes, his voice shaking with pure, unbridled need.

The heat in her stomach flares hotter with him above her. Looking at her with those dark, needful eyes. When he steals a heady kiss she moans. But he’s gone all too soon, sitting up and straddling her thighs.

He looks down at her beneath him, his eyes tracing over her body, taking in the sight of her, his body pressed up against hers. He's nearly trembling with his need for her. As if by finally letting it free Gale’s months long need for Miri is consuming him. And he feels ready to drown beneath it.

‘I want you’ echoes on repeat. He’s never felt so insatiable before.

His hands move to her hips, his fingers playing again with the edge of her underwear, wanting to pull them off, wanting to feel her against him bare-

Miri watches him with a dark, heated gaze. Equal parts curious and hungry. Her heart is hammering against her chest with anticipation.

Gale’s hands are trembling as they move to the sides of her underwear, slowly, carefully pulling them down over her hips, down her legs. He groans softly at the sight of her obvious desire.

His eyes are dark as he looks down at her, his eyes following his hands as they continue pulling the fabric away, his breaths coming in quick, shuddering rasps.

"Gods, you're beautiful," he whispers, as he pulls the garment completely off, tossing it to the floor. Heated gaze takes her in before looking up to lock on hers.

Miri’s breath catches at his reaction. His gaze is so intense it feels almost like a touch, leaving her skin feeling warm and tingling. And when it meets her gaze she feels frozen to the spot. She’s never felt more wanted more seen than under his unbelievably dark and hungry gaze.

He can't look away from her, can't tear his eyes away from the sight of her bare body beneath him, the sensation of her skin against his palms, the feel of her so close. He runs a hand down her side, the touch of his fingers soft and gentle. Reverent.

Miri sighs softly under his touch, her eyelids fluttering softly.

"Can I-" he breathes a ragged whisper, his eyes tracing over her, wanting more, desperate for more, "Can I taste you?"

Her eyes snap back open with surprise at his request. Pupils snapping tight before blowing wide once more. It feels like her whole body throbs with the very idea of it. Picturing it...

"You...want to?" Miri whispers back.

"Oh, gods yes," he replies, his voice shaking. His breath comes in quick puffs, his body practically aching to taste her. He leans in, pressing a trail of kisses down her neck, and shoulders.

She gasps at his answer - that husky, rough tone of his need, how fervently he wants it. Her head tilts back to give him better access and she's squirming slightly beneath him, her hands clutching at his waist.

"I want to taste all of you-" he whispers, his teeth nipping at her skin.

When he bites - oh, she growls.

The sound of her growl, the feeling of her hands on him, the sight of her beneath him, wanting, has his heart racing. He runs his hands over her hips, over her stomach, his fingers tracing over her skin, finding every spot that makes her gasp and shiver, every spot that makes her moan. And all the while, he kisses and nips at her skin, moving down, down, down-

Miri's a chorus of sounds under his attention. Panting with need, gasping and moaning at touch, growling at bites. Her eyes want to close with pleasure, but she can't tear her gaze away from the sight of him practically worshipping her body.

And Gale is. He is worshiping her, with every bite, every kiss, his very goal the sounds she makes as he moves his way down her body, loving the feel of her body shuddering beneath him, the way she gasps and moan.

And as he moves lower, Gale groans at the sight of her, his heart rate thundering as his mouth finally reaches her core, and he gently runs his tongue across it-

Miri jolts at the feeling - a sudden punched-out moan leaving her lips.

The sound of her moan filling his ears as her taste coats his tongue sends a wave of heat through him.

He takes his time, starting slow, his tongue gently exploring her sensitive flesh, savoring her taste, listening to the sounds she’s making, his hands moving over her hips, pulling her closer to him.

"Ohhh fuck-"

His eyes look up to watch her face as she curses, feeling the word like a bolt of heat straight to his own core. He continues his ministrations, his tongue running over her wet heat again and again.

Gale works slowly, wanting to thoroughly savor her, wanting to keep going until she can't even form words-

Miri whines - her back arching and her body writhing with the pleasure of it. One hand fists in the sheets, the other moves to his hair, pushing it back out of his face.

When their eyes meet she shivers. He's not just doing it performatively - gods the look in his eyes - he's enjoying it. Wants it. Fucking hells.

The feeling of her hand in his hair and the blissful look in her eyes is driving him insane, his own body aching with need as he continues his attention on her core. Gale loves the way she looks, the sounds she makes, the way she whines, how her body is twitching and writhing beneath his touch.

He responds to her look, his eyes darkened, dilated, practically devouring the way she looks right now. He hums a deep moan against her.

"Ahn gods Gale-"

She can't look away, completely captivated by him. By the raw, unfettered need in his eyes. Gale buries his face a little deeper, grasping her by the hips to hold her against his mouth. He grinds his own neglected, aching need into the bed absently as he savors her.

He flicks his tongue against her swollen bud and she bucks with a sharp gasp.

He shivers at the sound of her gasping his name, the feel of her bucking beneath him, every response from her driving him even more wild.

He loves this. Has maybe never loved anything mor than this. Seeing her like this - his strong, ferocious love completely at his mercy, practically writhing with pleasure.

And the taste of her, gods-

He focuses his attention on that sensitive spot, his tongue moving over it again and again in quick little laps.

Miri makes a stuttering series of high moans, each one spurred by the movement of his tongue. Her back bows and her hips jolt.

Gods how loves these sounds. Her every arch and gasp and twitch. He continues without pause, without slowing, savoring every second of driving her wild with his mouth. His tongue continues its relentless rhythm, his arms moving under her thighs to wrap around and grasp her hips, holding her open and in place against him even as she bucks and writhes beneath him-

Miri's legs start to tremble, toes curling. She's nearly dizzy with the effect of his mouth on her.

"Ah- ah! Gale!" She moans again, her hand in his hair tightening. "That's-! I'm-"

The sound of her practically whining his name, the way her legs are shaking, how she arches and gasps, it's all almost overwhelming, how she sounds, the way she looks right now, the way she’s shivering-

He keeps going, his tongue unrelenting, and one hand moves from her hip, sliding down to gently tease at her entrance.

Miri cries out, high and loud - she's so close.

The sound has his heart stuttering, the knowledge that she’s right on the edge-

He keeps his focus on her delicious little clit, his tongue continuing its relentless attention as he slides one finger into her, gods-

The tension in her core snaps. Her back bows up off the bed, every muscle tremoring and bunching. Miri can hardly catch her breath as she sees stars.

Gale moans a ragged sound in the back of his throat. It's everything he could have ever hoped for, the way she thrashes beneath him, the way she clenches around his finger and he can feel the wave of her climax as it overcomes her. Tasting her ecstasy on his tongue.

He continues his attention for a few more seconds, watching her expression as he works her through it, loving the way she looks as she rides out the wave, his heart hammering in his chest as he does.

Miri feels like boneless liquid as she comes back down. Soft shivers of aftershocks roll through her. One lick too many and she has to tug at Gale's hair to make him stop.

It's a struggle for him to tear himself away, the taste and sounds of her almost too enticing to resist.

But he does, reluctantly. Gale watches her with a satisfied grin as he slowly withdraws his finger, watching her as she shudders with aftershocks. Miri practically glows with pleasure. From him.

Miri lets out a soft groan that devolves into a low growl. She's not sure she's ever climaxed so hard. And he looks so pleased with himself. (And he should. Fuck.)

"Hells," she breathes, throwing one arm over her eyes as her chest heaves, "Where did you learn how to do that?"

He lets out a breathless laugh, his own heart still hammering in his chest. Gale can’t help but preen a bit at her praise. He savors licking his lips, almost mourns wiping her from his beard. His body aches for her.

"Lots of practice," he replies, the tone of his voice still ragged, still needy, "Paying attention to the responses you get from a person..."

He pulls himself up, crawling up her body and leaning over her to nuzzle at her hair. Miri huffs a soft laugh, a witty reply ready, but it dries up on her tongue when he whispers in her ear like sultry silk as he breathes her in, “And a lot of imagination involving a certain someone."

"What...?"

She turns to look at him with surprise. Her hands automatically find their way to his skin, holding him close to her. His breath catches as she touches him, his heart skipping a beat at the feel of her hands, how she holds onto him like she don't want to let go.

His own hands move to her waist, his thumbs tracing gentle little circles on her skin as he resumes nuzzling her hair, his lips at her ear.

"You wouldn't believe the things I've imagined doing to you..." he whispers, his voice low and rough.

Miri groans, feeling the embers of her arousal quickly sparking back to a roaring blaze.

"I had no idea," Miri murmurs back.

The sound of her voice, gods, the way she groans. Miri’s responses make his heart pound a fury against his ribs. He needs to hear more, needs to continue.

Gale hums a low sound, moving in closer still, his voice a low whisper, "How about I tell you some of the things I've thought of...?"

"Are you trying to drive me mad?" Miri returns.

"Oh, absolutely." There's a wicked grin on his face as he replies, his hands moving over her again. Over her breasts, her stomach, her hips. "Imagining all the ways I want to make you scream-"

Miri growls softly. Her own hands roam, exploring chest and stomach, the arches of his hips...

"I wish I'd known sooner," Miri returns with a breathless playfulness, "Could've saved me a few online purchases..."

He shivers at the feel of her hands, groans at her words. The very hint of what she might mean having his heart and mind racing, his tongue licking at his lips as he looks down at her-

"A few?" Gale asks, arching a brow at her. "How many online purchases are we talking, here?"

"Uh-" Miri bites her lip for a moment, "Just a few."

The sight of has his thoughts running away from him. He leans in, nuzzling her neck, letting his voice drop back to a murmur against her skin.

"A few purchases?" Gale repeats, needing to know. "Or a few boxes?"

"I mean, no one delivers things efficiently any more," Miri counters, "I don't think number of boxes is a fair question -"

His breath catches at her reply, his heart drumming in his chest as his imagination goes wild with the possibilities. The things she might have bought to satisfy those thoughts she was having...

His mind is filled with images, imagining her lying in bed, trying out each new acquisition on herself - the sounds she would make, how she would look.

Gale groans softly. He presses a few kisses to her neck, nuzzling her skin while he continues to speak, his voice still low, "And you're telling me you've used and enjoyed every single one of these purchases...?"

"It's silly to buy something and not try it. Not everything-" Miri pauses for a moment. Her cheeks flush a bit more, realizing she's probably said too much. "How did we even get here? I was trying to make a different point-"

Gale can't help the deep chuckle that escapes his lips at how flushed she is.

"And what was this ‘different point’, Miri?" He huffs a soft breath out of his nose with amusement as he presses more kisses to her neck, "Because I think this new topic of discussion is much more interesting."

"That I wouldn't've needed those things if I'd known you were not only willing," Miri breathes, "But quite skilled."

He lifts his head to look down at her, a slightly cheeky smile on his face, a hint of playfulness in his voice. "Did you just imply that I'm better than your online purchases?"

"Maybe-"

"Careful, Mir," he says, his voice low and rough as he barely suppresses a shiver of excitement and a smug grin, "Or I might get a bit full of myself and start demanding we demonstrate just how much better I am than all your toys."

Miri groans. "You don't need the ego boost."

He grins down at her, unable to stop himself as his pride swells and smugness practically bubbling out of him.

"Perhaps not," he agrees, still in that low, rough voice, "But I do need something right now-"

"Yeah?" Miri smiles sultrily up at him, one hand finding its way into his hair again. The other slides down to his hip and tugs him forward to press against her.

A soft gasp escapes his lips when their hips press together and he can feel the heat of her against him. Gale leans in closer, covering her body with his and nuzzling against her neck. His hands continue to roam, one grasping at her thigh, the other cupping a breast, his thumb rubbing the tight peak of her nipple.

"There are two very specific things I need right now..." he murmurs between kisses.

"Two?" Miri returns, puzzled. It’s hard to think with the way he explores her - touches so warm and inviting, soft and hard, sweet and amorous. Gods those kisses are like the lines of a litany. She always knew Gale was thorough - in just about everything he does- but this is a whole other level.

"The first," he murmurs, moving his lips to her ear, "Is that I need you. Right here, right now-"

He presses her down against the bed, wanting her to feel his need, the ache of his body drawn out inexorably by her every breath, her every movement.

Miri moans softly and parts her legs further to feel him pressing directly against her core. The room fills with the soft sound of their ragged breaths as they cling to one another.

Gale is positively aching at the feeling. He can’t decide whether he is grateful or vexed by the briefs that still cling to him. Entirely too small, but keeping him from rushing too quickly.

"The second...?"

"The second," he whispers at her ear when he manages to catch his breath, "Is that I need to hear you screaming my name."

Miri moans softly at the feel of him - hot and hard- sliding against her still sensitive flesh. Her breath catches at his whisper. The fabric of his briefs does little to dull the feeling - only adding friction despite the growing wetness of the fabric.

"I'm sure you can earn it," Miri purrs back, tugging softly at his hair.

Miri is trying to drive him insane with raw need, she must be. He aches and throbs for her. All he can do to respond is a low groan, heat rushing through his body at the mere suggestion.

"Challenge accepted," Gale breathes with a cheeky grin.

Miri grins back wolfishly. "Good."

She tugs him in for a kiss, moaning softly at the taste of herself on his lips. He returns the kiss with an fervor to match, the feel of her pressed against him, her hands in his hair, the taste of her... all of it makes his head spin with need and desperation.

Gale presses forward, leaning his weight against her. His hips grind against hers more purposefully, the ache in his body almost overwhelming him.

"Need you, Miri-" he whispers hoarsely between kisses, "Need you so badly-"

"I'm ready for you, Gale," Miri answers softly between kisses. Her fingers trail down to tug at the fabric of his briefs and his breath stutters.

The sound her voice, breathless and panting wrapped around his name fuels the fire burning in him. He needs to hear her scream it - but he doesn't want to rush, he wants to savor this moment. Savor every touch and taste of Miri he can have.

"Are you sure?" Gale’s voice is equal parts concern and barely constrained desire as he asks. "I don't want to rush-"

Miri huffs a soft laugh.

"Yes, I'm sure," she answers earnestly. She hooks one leg over his hips and tugs gently. His hips automatically move forward in response, and he moans at the friction. Then teasingly, she adds, "At this point you're being a tease."

"I'm just trying to be patient-" he gasps.

"And you're very good," Miri murmurs, pressing kisses to his jawline. Every tender kiss makes his heart pound. "But I'm not stopping you."

"I-I just don't want to-" his voice is laced with a soft whine as he responds. It breaks with another soft moan as his hips move against her again. His voice grows more pleading "-don’t want to hurt you."

Miri cups his jaw in one hand, tilting his face to hold her gaze. "You won't."

Her confidence sends a shiver down his spine and his heart aching in his chest. He swallows, his voice still pleading.

"But- but you just came-"

"And I would very much like to do it again."

Miri’s smirk is almost wicked, flashing a hint of those sharp teeth. His heart skips a beat and he groans, his body aching and his control hanging by a thread.

"Miri..." His voice is thick with desire. The sound of her name on his lips is almost a plea, "Miri- if you keep saying things like that-"

"What?" Miri murmurs with a grin, "Will you fuck me?"

Her leg tugs at his hip again, her fingers trailing sharp nails gently down his back. It draws another deep, low groan from him, his hips moving forward against her instinctively, needy and seeking friction. Miri groans appreciatively at the friction as he grinds against her again. Gale buries his face against her neck, his breath ragged.

The sound of her pleading for him, the friction as he grinds against her, the aching need to feel her, for her to feel pleasure-

"M-Miri, I swear to the gods-" his voice is low and shaky.

"Come on, Gale," she whispers, a gentle plea in his ear, "I need you. Please."

Gale’s pushed to the edge, teetering at the point of no control, and he lets out another groan, his voice almost shaking as he speaks. "Miri, I'm trying to hold back-"

"Why?" Miri cups his face between both hands now, forcing him to hold her gaze. "I’ve wanted you for months, Gale. Don’t make us wait a moment more when we both want this. Don't make me beg."

Miri tilts back to kiss him gently on the forehead before pressing hers to his. This tender affection has his heart in his throat. Gale wants nothing more than to give her everything. To please her.

And his body sings a near painful accord as he tries futilely to hold onto the last bit of his self-control. He swallows, and answers in a hoarse murmur, "Because I don't want to hurt you-"

"Gale, please," she returns, stroking his cheeks. "If it hurts I'll tell you."

Miri kisses his nose, his cheeks, his chin. He's so unbelievably sweet and good. And she adores that about him - always has. But gods, he's driving her mad.

"I know my body. I couldn't be much more ready. You have absolutely made sure of that."

"Gods-" he moans, "Miri-"

"Mmm," Miri hums low in approval when he moans her name. She can't hold back the passionate growl that rumbles in her chest. "Yes, Gale."

The sound of that growl goes straight through him, stirring up the fire raging inside him, adding to the maelstrom of need that consumes him. He has to give her what she wants, what she needs-

His hips move forward again, rubbing against her, teasing, his voice rough and strained, "You sure? You promise you'll tell me if it hurts?"

"Yes, gods, Gale, please-"

The way she’s pleading finally breaks his resolve, leaving only the raw need, the desperate ache to have her. Gale frees himself of his briefs in a quick movement, settling over her once more.

His knees shift her legs apart, his body thrumming with need as one hand moving to guide himself to her entrance. Miri moves eagerly at his touch, she threads her fingers into his hair, letting her gaze roam his face. Beauty and devotion both.

He lets out a low, shaky gasp, his head tilting back involuntarily as her fingers weave into his hair. The feeling of her hands against his scalp is sending shudders through him, his eyes searching hers with a mixture of desire and awe.

"A-anything-" he hesitates, his voice barely more than a husky whisper. Their gazes lock.

"I promise, Gale," Miri breathes, her hands clutching tightly to him.

He can't help but shiver at the sound of his name, his body thrumming with anticipation and need. Feeling her breath against his lips, her body pressed against his, her words making his heart skip a beat...

He begins to push into her, slowly, gently, his breath catching in his throat at the feel of her. It’s excruciating and euphoric all at once - hot, slick, tight, perfect.

"You... you feel so... so good," he manages to get out between quickened breaths, his voice tight and rough with the effort of holding himself back.

Miri moans a ragged reply, her head falling back onto the bed. The feel of it is overwhelming - a dull ache that quickly ebbs to pleasure. Fullness well before he's made any progress. The stretch is enough to drive the wind from her.

"Ahn fuck, Gale," Miri moans again.

He moans in response, gripping at the sheets beneath them as he continues. Gale moves slowly, gently, inching deeper and trying to give her time to adjust even as his need burning inside him like a wildfire.

Seeing her like this, the sight of her arching her back and tipping her head back, makes his grip on her hips tighten, his fingers digging into her skin.

Gale tries to hold himself back, to keep from drowning in her completely. He presses a messy kiss to her neck, his teeth nipping at the skin as he sucks and bites at it, wanting to leave his mark on her, wanting to claim her as his own. She growls and sighs with ecstasy. And when her hips finally meet his she moans again.

"Oh gods, Miri, oh gods-"

Miri lets out a breathy whine, her fingers flexing against him. He burns hotter, brighter as he pushes deeper. The pressure and the pleasure build in her like a tidal wave. He buries his face against her neck, breathing ragged, low hoarse moans escaping his lips in ragged gasps.

"Oh gods, Miri, you're so tight-"

"Ah- gods-" Miri's panting as she adjusts. "You're - ahn- fuck- so big-"

The sound of her struggling for breath, speaking in between gasps - the feeling of her so tight and warm around him - Gale feels unmoored at sea, lost in sensation and pleasure. The heat and pressure building in his stomach like a raging inferno as he continues to push deeper. Miri’s eyes roll with a cry and his heart stutters.

"Oh gods, I'm not- I'm not hurting you, am I? You feel so perfect-"

"N-nnnnnghh ah no-"Gods she can barely form words. That gasp and moan is like music to his ears, better than anything he’s ever heard. His heart thunders in his chest, every delicious squeeze like lightning up his spine.

"Are you sure-?”

"Ohhhh ffffuck. Yes, I'm sure-"

His hips move against her again, deeper, just a little bit deeper, a low moan coming up from his throat. His voice is little more than a low, ragged growl as he finally pushes all the way in.

Miri gasps at the stretch - so good but so much. It quickly dissolves into a satisfied moan. The sound breaks into a heated growl. Gale can't help the guttural moan that he lets out as she growls, the sound making his blood run hot.

The feel of her hips against his sends sparks through his body, the pleasure and sensation almost overwhelming. His hands let go of her hips, one of them moving up to grip the back of her neck as he pulls her in for a messy, hungry kiss, desperate to taste every moan and growl and gasp she makes.

"Oh dear gods, Mir-" he gasps out, his voice shaking, "You feel so- good-"

He tightens his grip on her hips, trembling as he holds back, desperate to move, but holding himself back to let her adjust.

Miri can barely think from the sensation - sharp pressure ebbing to delightful fullness. She gasps and whines while for a moment they simply cling to one another and all she can feel is him - Gale surrounding her, filling her. His warmth as he presses tender kisses to her crown as he holds her.The intimacy of this moment is like nothing he's ever felt before. He’s had partners sure. But he’s never wanted anyone quite the way he wants Miri. Never wanted to be with someone so wholly. And when he presses their foreheads together and their eyes meet - he can see it reflected in her gaze.

"Can I- move-?" he gasps out desperately.

She moans again at the way he shifts and presses against her so deep.

"Ah-" Miri gasps again, head tilting back, "Please."

He barely manages to hold back a whine as she gasps out that please. Gale lets out another groan, his fingers digging into the flesh of her hips a bit harder, holding her tight against him.

He lets out a soft hiss of breath before he speaks. "Gods, you feel...perfect, love. You take me so... so well."

"Ah- please-" Miri pants, "Gale-"

"Yes, love?" he gasps out shakily, his fingers digging into her waist. "Is this alright? Does this feel good-"

"Yes! Gale-" Miri moans, "Move please, move," she practically whines. Her hips shift against him desperately.

He takes a deep, shuddering breath before he slowly, carefully, withdraws, shifting his grip to keep her still. Gale groans low in his throat, before he slowly pushes back in, taking every ounce of effort to keep control. Miri whimpers and whines at the torturously slow pace. Her fingers clutch at the sheets. His head dips, nuzzling his face against her neck. Gale starts to move, slowly at first, still trying to be gentle, still trying to hold back, all the while whispering hoarse, ragged moans against her neck.

He surges in to capture her lips as he rocks slowly against her. His pace increases slightly as her hands tug against his hips. When Miri growls impatiently against his mouth and nips his bottom lip he finally relents. With a whine of his own he picks up his pace.

"Gods, love...," he gasps out, his breath coming in short, ragged gasps. "You just... Mir, you feel so... so good."

"Hells Gale," she breathes, burning at the thrill that races down her spine and coils in her stomach with every thrust. "You’re incredible-"

Gale’s so vocal, so torturously attentive - and when he makes eye contact, all flushed, dark need, Miri feels like she might melt entirely. She can feel the smoldering embers of her desire roaring like a furnace now.

His hands tighten, as if trying to press her impossibly closer and his lips leaving small, sucking kisses at every bit of skin he can reach. His motions pick up speed, his breaths and moans coming in short gasps and pants. Miri mewls, every time their hips connect sending a bolt of white hot pleasure up her spine.

Miri's legs tremble softly as she rocks her hips against his. Every few strokes they surge together to kiss again. All teeth and desire and sound. Full of their shared delight and hunger. Wet and needy.

His hands move over her body, caressing and touching her, his touches desperate and hungry, as if he was trying to memorize every inch of her skin. Gale traces the curves and lines of her figure, feeling her muscles, desperate and eager to touch her.

"You're so beautiful," he whispers between harsh breaths. “I want you to be mine, Miri...”

Miri's head tips back with a long, reedy moan. Her hands clutch at his arms as she trembles. He watches in fascination, his eyes tracing over the line of her throat, desperate to kiss and taste and bite the skin exposed to him.

“Gods, Miri, the way you sound-” he pants, "You're so responsive," he whispers, his voice low and thick with need, "I can't get enough of you."

She cries out softly, losing herself in his need, his touch, his heat. Miri moans at the snaps of his hips against hers, breathless bolts of lightning arcing up her spine. His touch is hot fire on her skin, his voice like honey in her ears.

"Gale...!"

The sound of his name on her lips makes something shiver and shiver within him. His touch traces paths of fire on her skin, mapping every curves and slopes wanting to know her body as well as his own.

"Say my name again," he whispers against her neck, his voice gruff and raw, "say it again."

"Gale!"

He lets out a low hiss, burying his face into the curve of her neck. Every movement of their hips adds fuel to the fire, every touch and caress and kiss sending sparks and shivers through his body.

"I love how you respond to me," he moans against her skin, "the sounds that you make when I touch you... I need more. I need to hear you moan my name like that again."

Miri hardly feels able to breathe - she can feel the hot tension spooling in her stomach, closer to bursting with every delicious snap of his hips, hitting that perfect spot.

"Ahhhn- Gale please- ah-" The sound of her speech breaking into moans, her voice becoming shaky and fragmented, sends a thrill through him that he can't even put into words. He lets out a low, almost animalistic noise from low in his throat, desperate and pleading.

"Gods, yes, just like that," he whispers, his breath coming in short, ragged gasps, "Keep making those sounds for me, Miri. Let me hear how good I make you feel."

Gale loses himself in the feel of her - perfect in every way, soft and pliant and hot beneath him. He can’t hold back anymore, and the sounds she’s making only make it clear she feels good.

She's almost dizzy with the frantic pace he sets - and gods it feels so good. Her back arches up into him and she whines before gasping his name again.

He can feel the pleasure building deep within, the need coiling low and tight and hot within his gut. He runs his hands down her body, his touch growing more and more frantic, desperate to bring her to the edge with him, to make her say his name like a prayer, a plea.

She gasps a high cry when he adds that sharp, bright pleasure, fingers playing her like a virtuoso. Her claws dig at his back with only half a mind to be gentle against his skin. Green eyes roll with sensation and she trembles beneath him.

"Gale!"

The feel of her nails against his skin grounds him, the sharp and stinging pain adding to the pleasure, keeping him at that almost delirious edge, riding on the pleasure. He bites at her neck, his teeth pressing hard enough to leave a mark, desperate and rough and hungry, desperate to make her feel everything, all the pleasure and need and heat thrumming inside him.

"Again, Miri, please! I want to hear you say my name again, I want to hear you say it until your voice is hoarse," he gasps against her skin, his voice thick with need.

"Ahn! Gale!" This time it's a sharp cry, a shout. Plea and prayer both. She feels full of molten heat - a bowstring overdrawn and ready to snap. His bite rips a growl from her - one of untempered pleasure. "Gale!"

His breath hitches at the sound of his name, at the feel of her voice saying his name, the way the words fall from her lips in gasps and moans and pleas. He feels like he's drowning in her, in the heat and in the pleasure, barely holding on to his control.

"Like that, gods, just like that," he growls, his voice thick with heat, raw with the need to make her feel good, to give her more, more and more and more.

Miri's voice is ragged with harsh breaths as she pleads with him. She's unbearably close. So near to that precipice, feeling almost all liquid in his arms as his touch renders her to pure sensation.

His mind is a haze of sensations, of the feel of her, of the sound of her voice and the way she calls out his name, how she makes him feel wanted and needed and like the most important person in the world. His own control is almost slipping, almost reaching his own edge, and he can only hold on tighter, pull her closer, his touch becoming almost frantic as he tries to bring her as much pleasure as he can.

"Say my name, love, gods- say my name again," he begs, his voice strained and tight with the effort to hold himself back.

That touch - delicious and demanding - wrings pleasure from her very bones. Miri gasps out a moan like a howl, her spine arching. As her body starts to tremble and writhe she cries out his name.

There's a feeling like sparks blazing over his skin at the sound of her cry, the raw pleasure in her voice, her body arching and writhing beneath him, and then, before he can think, before he can even catch his breath, he lets himself slip over the edge, riding the wave of pleasure that washes over him in overwhelming spikes. He buries his face into the curve of her neck, his name on her lips the sweetest sound he's ever heard.

She clutches him to her as they float in that nebulous space between dream and reality together. Her head tips back with heaving breaths and soft shivers. She mumbles out soft phrases, praise and adoration, bleary and love drunk.

Gale clings to her, his head buried in the crook of her shoulder, breathing in deep as he tries to come down from that overwhelming wave. Her words, spoken in that soft, dreamy, and love-drunk tone, wash over him like a soothing balm.

He presses a soft, almost lazy kiss to the skin of her neck, too sated and relaxed to do anything else. Her hair is tousled and messy where he ran his hands through it, her neck and shoulders bearing the red marks and indents of his mouth and teeth, and her eyes are still hazy and almost delirious with pleasure. He runs a hand over her jaw, tracing it with his thumb.

"You're so beautiful," he whispers, his voice low and soft.

Miri grins back at him, blinking slowly. His own hair is disheveled, down from it’s usual half bun and sticking to him with the sweat of his efforts. But he’s never looked more beautiful.

“Takes one to know one,” she murmurs back with a smirk. Gale snorts and shoves lightly at her.

They laugh together, still a tangled heap of limbs. When they settle, their gazes meet again. Soft, soothing touches exchanged slowly. Uncaring for the time or the mess or the world outside.

“We should’ve done this sooner,” Miri muses softly. Her smile is nothing short of radiant, full of a soft affection Gale’s only ever dreamed of until now. And he matches it with one of his own.

“We should have yes,” he returns, “But I am more than happy to make up for lost time.”

Gale pulls her closer, rolling onto his back and pulling her on top of him to a chorus of giggles.

“So am I,” Miri agrees softly, pressing a tender kiss to his lips. “And then some.”

[yandere-fics]

♡ Their Darling Is Trying To Hide Being A Yandere For Them ♡

(I Had no ideas for Sawyer for this one.)

You really do feel guilty about kidnapping Miriel, sure she's acting like she's okay with it, although she has pleaded for you to bring her her work laptop a few times so she can earn money for both of you and spoil you but you had no choice to kidnap her! She found your room dedicated to her and even though you know she's your soulmate, there's no way she would be okay with the shrine you have dedicated to her, sure if it was a different supernatural they wouldn't mind but your Miri was an elf and you were sure such a fragile supernatural wouldn't be able to handle your overwhelming affection.

"Babeeee, can you please untie me? How am I supposed to cuddle you like this?" You sobbed placing yourself on her lap on the chair you tied her to, why couldn't she just accept she was going to be here forever, you couldn't let her go, you just couldn't lose her!

It was a very bad idea to try to knock Eliza out and kidnap her, she definitely hated you now but what were you supposed to do, your Eliza wasn't very smart. You told her not to enter that room over and over again, you told her it was dirty and you needed to clean it but she went in anyways and well when you saw she had seen all the pictures you took of her you had to act quickly to keep her but she was much too quick and caught the metal pipe before it could slam into her head, she was definitely going to hate you now, you just knew it!

"Puppy?" She whimpered and you felt your heart drop for a moment, yeah she was never going to love you the same way again you were sure of it! Maybe you should try to knock her out again! You wanted to cover your ear so you didn't have to hear what she would say next, it would probably be about how she couldn't stand you anymore. "You were going to clean up all these photos of me? Why?"

Selene was... well frankly she was gross and you hated that you loved her so much. She could never know how much you thought about her, how badly you felt the need to constantly be attached to her side, you didn't even know why you liked her, she was just so... gross. But you really couldn't hold yourself back from obsessing over her which lead to you taking a lot of photos of her while she slept and while you were very sure she wasn't looking, you needed something to loo at when she went out on runs since you couldn't join her outside due to needing to pretend you really didn't want to be around her. It was extremely embarrassing how angry you felt hen she went out on runs and left you behind.

Leading you to today where you were crying in the closet with Selene trying to coax you out, she'd found your photos and had teased you for pretending not to love her for so long when she was staring point blank at evidence of your undeniable passion for her.

Kassien was your boss meaning strictly off limits to you so in order to cope with being unable to have her, you had to get creative at times, taking little pictures when you were sure she wasn't looking, snatching anything you could when she left her coat behind on a coat rack at work... threatening people who saw talking to her a bit too long through anonymous accounts. You made sure to never go in her office however, you didn't want to leave your scent behind in there, then it would be too obvious that you were obsessed with her and you would lose your job but you knew she'd be in meetings for a long time today so what would be the harm in going in there just for a bit to bask in the scent of her cologne, you thought about buying a bottle of it just so you could smell just like her but that might make you see crazy so you refrained. Still it was nice to sit at her desk for a second.

But then Kassien walked in and while you tried to dart under her desk to hide, she still saw you. Honestly you couldn't pay attention to anything she was saying, you just knew your entire life was over, you were going to get fired and you wouldn't be able to see the love of your life anymore, even as she spoke in a soft tone you just knew she was definitely judging you.

Nikki seemed very... oblivious to the way humans behaved which is how you knew you could get away with certain behaviors because it wasn't like she would know this was a creepy thing you were doing, she would just blame you being human on why you would constantly follow behind her everywhere she went glaring at anyone who approached her, there were things you kept hidden because you felt like a bad person for it, like threatening rivals or taking feathers that had shed from her wings and hiding them in a jar beneath the floor board, it was risky putting them there but knowing your collection was there for whenever she went to work made you feel safe and comfortable, as long as she never found out what was the harm in it. She did inevitably find out however...

"I'm so sorry! I know it was so creepy of me to collect your feathers! Please don't hate me!" You didn't want to look up at her as you heard her ruffle her wings, probably in anger, until you saw a bunch more of her feathers fall from them.

"I don't understand why you couldn't just ask, mate, is not asking for things a human trait?"

You felt really bad about drugging Nora at night but she had a tendency to get up in the middle of the night to do stuff, you didn't know what, and you just couldn't have your Nora wandering around at night and so you started to drug her food every night so you could make sure she slept straight through the night and couldn't leave you. You were very sure your entire relationship would be over if she ever found out, though you supposed if she did find out then you'd just have to kidnap her, kind of like what you were doing right now, you just hoped the ropes would hold her when she woke up.

"Don't worry Nora, your reason for living will keep you safe in our apartment!" Her eye twitched a little bit, you knew your Nora didn't like being tied up, she would prefer the bondage be used on you, but you had to keep her and she'd found out your little secret. It did not take long for her to break out of the ropes and tie you up instead, happily cuddling into your side.

You ran a fan account dedicated to the notorious serial killer in the city, an account you tied to keep under the radar, one because you didn't want her to gain a lot of fans and then you'd have to share just how amazing she was, and two because she was a supernatural and you were mostly sure you weren't her soulmate so you could only imagine what would happen if she saw someone who wasn't her soulmate vying for a spot that was supposed to be exclusive to her soulmate. Still you very much enjoyed taking pictures of her and just following her everywhere she went, getting off on watching you kill people. You almost wanted her to find you in the closet, it would be bliss to die by her hands.

"Please kill me gently." You closed your eyes waiting for her to butcher you but it didn't happen. Oh well you could make her regret not killing you when she had the chance so now you could kidnap her!

[drabblesandimagines]

Milkshake

Lil' follow-up to Syrup that I couldn't get outta my head after seeing the finale! Rei x reader, fluffy fluff

-

You blink – not quite believing your eyes when the grey dot has changed to green next to his name. You haven’t seen that in weeks. You’d spent literal hours on voice chat together, sometimes playing a multiplayer game, sometimes doing your own thing, sometimes just chatting and nothing else, right up until a couple of weeks before Christmas when things went radio silent. At first you shrugged it off, thinking that it was the run up to the holidays, things maybe just got busy, or maybe his internet was out, or maybe he’d even gone out of town and just hadn’t mentioned it… But then, when the Morio Kart DLC expansion came out – one that you knew both Rei and Miri had been so excited to play – you began to feel a little hurt. Your mind would often try and dissect the snippets of your last conversation, trying to work out if you’d offended him somehow, said something weird?

There’s another beep and a notification pops up. ReiSuwa1 is inviting you to voice chat. Your disbelief turns to annoyance – he’s ghosted you for so long, this better be one hell of an explanation.

You lean back in your gaming chair, kicking your feet up on the TV console as you hit accept. “Hello, stranger.�� Your tone is tense.

“What?!” A voice cries out – it’s too far from wherever the microphone is but it doesn’t sound like Rei. There’s a lot of racket – like someone’s scrambling around, looking for something, then it stops.

“Hello?” You try again.

“Who’s this?” Definitely not Rei. Had his account been hacked?

“Er, you called me.”

“I did?” They sound puzzled. “I was just trying to switch the damn thing off and then your voice started coming out the headset. Rei’s shown me but I can never remember the right buttons…”, the mysterious voice rambles on before stopping. There’s a twinge in your stomach at the mention of Rei’s name. “Oh… Are you that girl he was speaking to, from the video games shop?”

You try your best to sound casual. “Well, that depends on how many girls from video games shops he talks to.”

“You’ve met Rei, right? I don’t think you’ll be surprised to hear the amount is incredibly low, single digit low. One and under.”

“Ah, you must be Kazuki.”

“Huh, he mentioned me?” You hear him sit down on something with a loud exhale – must be getting comfortable.

“Yeah, loads of times.” He had – funny stories, usually.

“Well, I’m honoured.” He chuckles.

“Hey, just whilst I’ve got you on the line and all,” you pause and wonder if you’re going to regret this, but press on regardless, “Is Rei okay?”

“Yeah.” There’s a beat. “Why? Has he said something?”

“See, that’s the thing – he hasn’t said anything. I haven’t spoken to him since, like, mid-December. I was really surprised to see him calling, to be honest…” You trail off.

“Oh!” Kazuki sounds genuinely surprised, or is an incredible actor on his roommate’s behalf. “I mean, he’s been on here with Miri recently, but when I properly think about, I haven’t seen him play anything solo in a while.”

“Sorry, this is probably the worst conversation to have got yourself into. I think I misread things – I shouldn’t drag you into my woes.”

“No, he…” He sighs. “How do I say this? There was… There was an accident about two months ago. Rei really injured his right arm. He’s a lost a lot of the mobility in it, including his hand. He’s doing physio, but…”

“Oh, jeez.” You exhale.

“He’s okay now. Well, okay-ish. They don’t think he’s really going to get a lot of movement back in it. Shit.” He mutters, as if he’s had a realization. “I kinda forgot that means video games are off the table. I thought he wasn’t playing with Miri because he says she’s a bad loser, but I guess he can’t use the controller thing as well as he used to?”

“Mm, a lot of them do just work off the premise that everyone’s got two functioning hands. You can do some tactical button mapping on some, I think. Gotta admit I haven’t looked into it much.” You bite your lip in thought. “Poor Rei. That must be a big adjustment.”

“Yeah. I mean, he’s taking it really well. Never complains.” Another pause. “I mean, you haven’t even seen him by the shop? He took Miri a couple of weekends ago to get some new figure to unlock something.”

“Oh. No, I don’t work weekends. He… He knows that.” Your stomach is twisting in knots. There were a few times him and Miri would pop in when he picked her up from daycare to say hello and on a rare occasion, he would show up online on the weekend saying Kazuki was out somewhere with Miri, so he knew your rota.

“I’m sorry.” He sounds genuine, at least.

“No, I’m sorry – I just feel a bit of an idiot.” You don’t know what it is, but Kazuki is surprisingly easy to talk to and you need to get it off your chest. “Like, I was trying to build up the courage to ask if we could go for a real date instead of all these virtual ones we seemed to be having. Probably for the best he ghosted me, huh?”

“No, I think he would’ve liked that. Honestly, this…” he pauses, as if he’s choosing his words carefully, “accident has been a lot. Rei’s surprisingly sensitive, he’s probably worried that he wouldn’t be able to keep up with you. Did you guys do quests or some shit?”

“You do know video games!”

“I may have overheard some key terms, that’s it. And, er, don’t ignore the question.”

“Yeah, we did. He’s a much better player than me, though. He was dragging my stats up.” You sigh. It’s not what you wanted at all, but maybe it’s a sense of closure. “Well, I’m glad he’s okay-ish. I don’t know if you want to tell him you accidentally called the video games store girl, but if you do, tell him… Tell him I’m thinking of him, yeah?”

“Sure will. Erm, whilst I’ve got an expert on the line – A, how do I hang up and B, how do I turn this machine off?”

You laugh. “I’ll hang up so that’ll take care of that. Do you see the really big rectangular button in the middle of the controller?”

“Mm.”

“If you hold that down it’ll bring up a start up menu, kinda like a laptop? Then you can select power off and that’s you.”

“Thank you. And, hey, I will speak to Rei, okay?”

“Okay. Thanks. Bye, Kazuki.”

You press the end call button, as promised, and a few seconds later you see Rei’s icon change to offline so it looks like Kazuki at least managed to turn off the machine. You fling off your headset, spin your chair around to face your bed and collapse down onto it face-first, letting out an exhale. Poor Rei…

--

You’re so tired. You tossed and turned all night with an idea swirling around your head. You got up, wrote it down, and got back under the sheets but your brain still wouldn’t shut up about it. You’d spent until the really early hours conducting research and now, you’re on your third cup of coffee due to an early delivery you need to sign for at the shop, annoyed at yourself but you wouldn’t say you were full of regret what you’d discovered.

You’d been thinking about Rei and that, if he did want to play video games, there must be something out there to help. Whilst you found there were some consoles with “official” adaptive controllers in a way – and, ouch, eye-wateringly expensive, much? - your research also led you to a bunch of online videos where people shared their modded designs - even the schematics or a print bundle for you to 3D print your own to adapt the controller yourself for numerous different machines. The reviews are sometimes so-so, things are a work in progress, but you wonder if you could take parts of one and parts of another and try and make something workable.

As you watch the boxes get unloaded and put into the store room, you wonder if whether you’re getting way ahead of yourself. Sure, you could make the adaptor for the controller but if you did, how do you know he even wants such a thing, plus how would you even get it to him? You didn’t have his number – it was the shop policy to shred anything with customer’s details on right after the repair had been complete and you’d rang off the store’s phone those few months ago.

You sigh, before taking another deep sip of coffee. The problem is, you know you, and once you set your mind to a project you’re going to see it to the bitter end.

“Sign here, please.” The delivery driver pulls you out of your thoughts as he taps on the clipboard, after stacking up the last of the boxes.

Right – work first.

--

A week later, you’re sat at your desk fiddling with various parts. You’d found a place that offered 3D printing facilities, so you’d printed out a bunch of stuff on your day off that you’d bookmarked for possibilities and you’ve spent your evenings since placing bits and pieces together to try and make something workable. Luckily from your shared game play and access to his gaming history via his profile, you know what games Rei likes so you can begin to test your configurations a little, noting down what is and isn’t working to try and tweak things further.

Your console chimes – you’d turned it on when you got home to download an update. Looking at the screen, you see a notification. ReiSuwa1 is inviting you to voice chat.

You grab your headset and slip it on before picking up your own controller and hesitating. The conversation with Kazuki had popped up in your mind since you’d spoken and as you reflected, you’d begun to wonder if you’d just sounded so utterly sad and desperate.

You press accept and brace yourself. “Hello?”

“Hey!” It’s Kazuki again. “I deliberately called this time – I promise.”

“You’re learning.” You smile, rolling your seat back over to your desk. “What can I help you with?”

“I spoke to Rei.”

“Oh.”

“Don’t say it like that – I was covert.”

“Yeah?”

“I just said I noticed that I hadn’t seen him playing on here recently alone, or speaking to you… He admitted it’s difficult with the controller. He didn’t want to bother you.”

“Bother me?”

“Yeah. I didn’t quite get it either. I pressed him on it a bit – said something about holding you back in gameplay, that maybe you wouldn’t want to speak to him anymore.”

“What? No, that’s not right – we spoke loads of times when neither of us were even playing.”

“I know! I suggested he called you, I said you were probably worried about him since from what he and Miri had told me about you, you seemed a nice girl, but he shrugged it off in his usual Rei way.”

“It’s okay, you can’t force him.”

“Oh, I can. As his roommate and friend, it’s important that I aid him in his recovery, and that is reconnecting with his friends, if not more.” Is it possible to hear someone wink through a call? Cos you feel he definitely just did. “So, I was wondering, whatcha doing Saturday?”

“Huh?”

“Miri’s desperate for a new kart thing? We’ve got a chore chart, she gets a gold star every time she does her tasks and I said when she’s earned enough, Rei will get it for her. So, I thought, maybe, if you happened to be in a certain video games store on your day off and I sent a certain man to go in…”

“Ah, I don’t know.”

“Come on, what’s the worst that could happen?”

“He could think I’m stalking him.”

“Uh-uh, you’ll be in the store first.”

You look at the controller in your hand. “I’ve been working on something dumb.”

“Are you changing the subject?”

“No, it’s related. You know I repair controllers, right? Well, after our conversation, I’ve been fiddling around with some adaptors - you kinda clip them on the controller and then you can use it with one hand. I thought it might be something Rei would want to try, I mean, he might want to try…”

There’s silence from Kazuki’s end of the line.

“I’m sorry, is that creepy I’ve done that? It’s probably creepy.”

There’s a loud sniff.

“Are you…? Are you crying?”

“No! It’s just allergies.” There’s another loud sniff. “That settles it - we’re doing this. Give me your number.”

--

When Saturday rolls around, you’ve got the controller adapters into decent shape and they’ve passed all your self-created one hand tests. Kazuki and you have been texting off and on the last few days and he’s bringing both Rei and Miri to the mall – there’s some live performance of those dancing vegetables from the TV that kids seem to like so much. Whilst Kazuki takes Miri to that, he’s going to get Rei to head to the Joypad and pick up Miri’s figure as a surprise. You’d taken your spare controller with the adaptors in place to work yesterday and left your bag in the back office – more so as an excuse to your colleagues as to why you’re there on your day off. You don’t know how to explain that your crush’s roommate has set an elaborate meet-cute for you both, so with Kazuki’s detailed updates and ETAs, you time it perfectly to pop in the store, greeting Mr Kyoto himself before slipping into the back office to pick up your backpack. You got in the back office as Kazuki texted to say that he could see Rei entering the store now – oh, jeez, is this the creepiest thing you’ve ever done? – and you wait about a minute before exiting. The timing is almost too perfect - you’re walking down the aisle towards the exit as Rei’s walking up, looking for the figurine.

His right arm is strapped up in some sort of black immobilization aid, keeping it close to his chest, but he looks as good as ever and you suddenly feel queasy. This was a terrible idea, you’re considering spinning on your heels and diving back into the office until he leaves but it’s too late as the two of you make eye contact.

Rei looks almost embarrassed to see you, and there’s an awkward staring competition before you realise you’re the one that needs to break the ice.

“Hi, stranger,” you smile, casually.

“Hi.” His cheeks are tinged red and he looks down at the floor for a moment. “Er… I’m sorry that I haven’t been online, or in here for a while…”

“That’s okay, it seems a lot has happened since we last spoke.” A not so veiled reference to his arm. “Are you doing all right?”

“It is what it is.” He shrugs. “I’m… adjusting. How are you?”

“I’m okay.” A pause. “I… I’ve missed talking to you, though.”

“Me too.”

You swallow, “What brings you here today, then?”

“Oh, Miri wants another one of these.” He casts his eyes to the display and grabs the character she’s after. You’re not sure which one, you’re too busy staring at his face.

“Oh, er, cool.” There’s another awkward pause and you lose all confidence. “Erm, well, I should let you get on. It was nice to see you, though…”

“Yeah,” he nods. This was such a stupid idea, you berate yourself, as you go to walk past him. He suddenly steps in front of you. “Wait.”

“Yeah?”

“Are you busy right now?”

“Erm, no…”

“Can I buy you a milkshake?”

You smile. “A milkshake?”

“I seem to remember you like them,” there’s a smirk on his face. There was one evening when you enthusiastically described an incredible milkshake that one of the kiosks in the mall made for probably a solid five minutes.

“That is true. Okay, then.” You nod. “You can buy me a milkshake.”

“Cool. I’ll just go buy this…” He nods to the figurine in his head and heads up to the counter, where Mr Kyoto is beaming at you, giving you two thumbs up and you avoid eye contact, pretending you don’t see your boss’ celebration. Rei retrieves his phone from his pocket as Mr Kyoto is scanning the figurine through the register and about 45 seconds later, your own phone buzzes.

Kazuki has sent you a text message comprising entirely of emojis – a winking face and love hearts.

--

You’re sat at one of the tables in the food court, sipping on milkshakes and chatting away like no time has passed. Rei’s slowly been opening up about his online absence.

“I just… I wasn’t sure if you’d still want to hang out if I can’t play.”

“Rei, I wasn’t just talking to you because I wanted to game with you, I was talking to you because I like talking to you.” You take another slurp of milkshake for a shot of sugar rush courage. “And, just to make this absolutely clear because I don’t think I was in all of our previous conversations, I quite like you, actually.”

“You do?” He smirks.

“Mm. I was going to ask you on a date.”

“You were going to?”

“Yeah, but then you went offline. You’re a hard guy to track down.”

“Ah.” He nods, taking a sip of his own drink.

“And I need to be completely honest because I feel creepy - Kazuki accidentally called me from your profile a week or so ago.”

“Is that why he and Miri are hiding behind that plant?” He gestures lazily to the corner and you see a flash of blonde duck behind the greenery and hear the little girl giggle.

“Most likely, yes.” You sigh. “He’s a sweet guy.”

“He is.”

“Sorry, I think he just felt bad for me and my sob story. And, well, he kinda told me about your arm too…” You pick up your backpack and place it on the table. “And it got me thinking – you know how I like messing around with controllers anyway?”

He nods.

“Well, it turns out there’s some really clever people out there making devices to ensure people with limited hand movement can enjoy video games, so, I kinda got a little too into researching it and mixed and matched and came up with this,” you dig into your bag and remove the controller - it's got the plastic adaptors clipped over it - placing it onto the table.

“So, you can use all the joysticks and triggers across the whole thing with your left hand.” You demonstrate, taking him through what controls what. “You’ll need to do some button configuration still on start menus, but I tried it out on my console on a few things I know you’ve played and it’s super easy.” You look up and he’s just staring at you, almost in disbelief and you panic.

“I mean, I’m not expecting you to use it or even take it home with you because I know this whole thing has been super creepy and I’ve overstepped so many boundaries and, like, talking behind your back with Kazuki, but I…” Without any indication, he leans forward and kisses you on the lips, gently, cutting off your ramble. He tastes like his strawberry milkshake.

He has a dreamy smile on his face as he pulls back and you’re sure you look like a total idiot, your mouth open in disbelief at the turn of events.

“Huh.” You find your voice. “I take that means you like it?”

“Mm, and I like you.” He gets to his feet and holds out his left hand to you. “Kazuki and Miri are going to get kicked out if they continue to hide in the shrubbery any longer. Come back to ours, you can show me how this thing works again.”

You nod, stuffing the controller back into your backpack and taking his outstretched hand. He doesn’t let go as he leads you over to Miri and Kazuki. The little girl greets you eagerly, crashing into your legs.

You don’t even need to hear Kazuki to put a face to a voice – his loud sniff as he wipes away his tears is enough to give it away.

--

Check out my masterlist.

[heartlessfujoshi]

flufftober day 29 - kazurei 'say it back'

Title: Say It Back Chapter: 6 of 6 Fandom: Buddy Daddies Pairing: KazuRei (Kurusu Kazuki x Suwa Rei) Rating: Teen (Love Confessions - Domesticated Fluff - Fluff - Kisses) WordCount: ~2,125 Prompt: Hey, wake up!

Read: Ch 1 Ch 2 Ch 3 Ch 4 Ch 5

---

A heavy object fell on Kazuki’s chest, startling him awake with a loud gasp, his chest lifting up into the air. Two small hands touched his face, and it took a few seconds for Miri’s face to come into focus as he stared into her eyes. “Hey, wake up!” She spoke loud, making him wince as her hands stayed planted on his face. “Wake up, Kazuki Papa!” 

“I’m…awake.” He groaned, shifting her to be off of his chest, allowing him to breathe a bit easier as she laid down on his chest. “Why are you here so early?” He asked, yawning. He looked to his left, and saw that Rei was still sleeping soundly. Bastard. 

She giggled against his chest. “Because! You promised we would go out today! And it’s today, Papa!” She lifted her head, the excitement written all over her face. “We’re still going out today, aren’t we, Papa?” 

“We are.” Kazuki had forgotten that he’d promised Miri they would go out together. It had to have been a week ago when he’d mentioned it. Leave it to her to remember such an important day, while he completely had forgotten about it. “But we need to sleep for a little bit longer.”

“Nooooo!” She shook her entire body. “Breakfast now!” 

He knew it was a losing battle. “Yes, yes. Okay, let’s get up, Miri-chan.” 

“Yay!” 

Miri dropped down to the floor with a soft thud, then bounced out of the bedroom and headed down the stairs to the first floor. Kazuki got out of bed, groaning as his chest still hurt from how Miri had woken him up. Reaching down, he shook Rei’s shoulder. “Oy. Get up.” 

“No.” Rei mumbled, his head still turned in the opposite direction. “Sleep.” 

“You won’t get breakfast if you don’t get up now. And you have to wake up - we’re taking Miri out today.” 

The blankets were thrown off, and he saw Rei giving him a death glare. “Why.” 

“Because we told her we would.” He grinned, pleased to see Rei was much more miserable than he was. “Now get up, and help me with breakfast.” 

“I hate you.” 

“Yes, I know you do.” He left the bedroom, feeling much better at having gotten Rei to wake up too. He saw Miri was sitting on the couch, and was watching one of her shows. “Don’t watch for too long, Miri-chan. Breakfast will be ready soon.” 

“Okay, Papa!” She set the remote down, and got comfortable on the couch, singing along to the song being sung on the television. 

He started to put together the mix for pancakes when Rei stumbled into the kitchen, and draped himself against his back. “You’re not helping.” He teased, happy to have Rei’s weight on him as he whisked the ingredients together in a bowl. “Why are you so tired?” 

“Because someone decided last night would be a good time to-”

Kazuki dropped the bowl, and quickly turned around, putting his hand over Rei’s mouth. “Shhh! We can’t talk about that right now!” He nodded his head towards where Miri was sitting. He could see the smirk in Rei’s eyes, which made him cluck his tongue. “Tsch. You jerk.” 

“Right back at you.” Rei quickly pressed a kiss to his cheek, then went over to the couch with Miri, who quickly crawled into his lap to watch the show together. 

He got the pancakes all cooked, and carried them over to the dining room table. “Time to turn the program off.” He got pancakes arranged on their plates, and then sat down. Miri was carried over to her chair by Rei, who set her down gently, and then took a seat across from where Kazuki was sitting. “I hope you like banana pancakes.” 

“It looks yummy, Papa! Thank you for the food!” Miri clapped her hands together, reciting what he’d taught her months ago. 

Both him and Rei repeated the words, and tucked into the food. Kazuki was pleased to see everyone eating fast, glad that he’d made some extras as he knew they would be a hit with both Rei and Miri. He gave them the extras, and once everyone was finished, he got to work cleaning up the kitchen. 

“Miri-chan, would you like to dress up today?” 

“Can I?!” She bounced up and down, nodding her head. “Oh, please, Papa! Does that mean you and Papa will dress up too?” 

“Why not.” He nodded, and saw Rei’s shoulders drop. “It’ll be nice to look nice as a family.” 

“Yay!” 

Rei turned to look at him, a curious look on his face, which made Kazuki grin. “What?” He asked, wanting to hear what Rei thought about his comment. 

“Nothing.” Rei looked at the stairs, and saw Miri was already back on the second floor. “I’ll get her ready.” 

“Thank you, Rei.” He nodded, and saw him walk up the flight of stairs, and then could hear Miri’s peals of laughter as he got her into the bath. 

Kazuki went to their shared bedroom, and found a suit that would be perfect for the day. It was much cooler now, and wearing a wool suit wouldn’t be too much of an issue on a day like today. It was black, and he paired it with an all red shirt, choosing a black tie to complete the look. Rei came in, and gave him a very appreciative look, one that made Kazuki a little sad they had to leave soon, as the look held a promise that he would keep with him until they returned and Miri was in bed. 

He went downstairs and saw Miri was wearing a very beautiful gown that he’d picked up a month ago for her. It had been a little big then, but it fit her perfectly now. “Wow, Miri-chan! You look like a princess!” 

“Thank you, Papa!” She laughed, clapping her hands. “I feel like a princess!” 

Looking up, he saw Rei walking down the stairs, looking very handsome. He knew that wearing a suit meant something different to Rei, but he saw that he’d modified it to be worn with an all black shirt, and a black tie, giving off a menacing look at first glance, but the more you looked at him, the more you could see he wasn’t someone to be afraid of. His hair was up, but it wasn’t the usual ponytail to show his undercut - no, it was half up, with his sides exposed but not the back of his head. 

“Nice hair.” Kazuki complimented him, as Rei walked over to stand next to him. 

“Miri-chan helped me.” Rei commented, giving a wink to the four year old, who was giggling uncontrollably. “Are you ready to go?” 

“Yes, Papa!” Miri jumped up from the couch, her small heels clicking on the floor. “Where are we going again?” 

“Anywhere Miri-chan wants.” Kazuki hadn’t really set a specific place - it was more about spending the time together, rather than a destination. “Where would you like to go?” 

“Can we go get ice cream?” 

He looked at Rei, who had a look of hope in his eyes. Kazuki sighed. Of course Rei would want ice cream this early, because he was practically a child himself sometimes. “Yes, we can go get some ice cream. But then, that means extra veggies for lunch.” He made a point to look at Rei when saying it. 

“Fine.” Both Miri and Rei said, their heads tucked down with a pout on their faces. Kazuki wanted to pull his phone out and snap a picture, as they both looked adorable knowing they were going to have to eat healthy for lunch. 

The ice cream shop was open, and not at all busy. Kazuki bought a banana split for them to share, the three of them sitting at a counter, looking out at the busy street. People would stop and look at them, no doubt jealous that they were eating ice cream at half past nine in the morning, or maybe they were looking at them like they were crazy. Kazuki didn’t care. He listened to Miri tell a story about what had happened at school the day before, and listened to Rei get upset when Miri had said a boy had picked on her. Kazuki was quick to hop into the conversation, informing Rei that there was no need to do anything to the boy, and he would speak to Miss Anna to make sure everything was okay. 

After ice cream, Miri picked going to the Bargain Store, which Kazuki set a strict rule of only getting five things for the day. Rei gave him another look, but he shrugged, knowing that five would be plenty for Miri. They spent almost an hour in the store, as she took picking out her items very seriously, as she weighed the benefits of keeping certain items. To be truthful, Kazuki watched what she put back and made a note to pick it up for Christmas, which was right around the corner.  “Can I get something?” Rei asked him, after they went down the last aisle with Miri. 

He raised his eyebrow up. “Yes? Why are you asking me?” 

“I don’t know.” Rei shrugged. “Just seemed like the right thing to do.” 

Kazuki chuckled. “Go and get whatever. You don’t have to ask me.” 

“Right.” Rei turned on his heel, and went down another aisle. 

Miri picked her fifth item, and they took it up to the register to purchase. “I’ll hold onto this, Miri-chan.” Kazuki held the bag in his hand, as he offered his other hand to Miri, who took it without question. “Let’s go find Rei.” 

“Okay, Papa!” 

Rei was waiting for them outside, and as Miri came up to him, he held out his hand to her, so that she was holding both of their hands as they walked away from the shop. 

“Where to next, Princess?” Kazuki asked, as they came to a stop at a stoplight. 

“I’m hungry, Papa!” 

“Food it is.” 

They made a few turns, and came to a ramen shop that Miri liked. After a hearty meal of ramen, Miri started to yawn, making it painfully clear that the day was going to be coming to an end. He handed his bag to Rei, who took it without a word, as he scooped Miri up into his arms. She immediately put her head on his shoulder, and fell asleep, snoring softly as he carried her all the way home. 

He got her out of her dress, and into some pajamas, and then tucked her into bed. “We’ll go out again soon, Miri-chan.” He kissed her forehead, and heard her mumble something unintelligible as she buried her face into her pillow and fell right back asleep. 

Kazuki went downstairs, undoing his tie as he walked down the stairs, and saw Rei was sitting on the couch with the bag from the Bargain Store on his lap. “Close your eyes.” Rei said, as he came over to where he was. 

Closing his eyes, he heard the bag rustle. “What is this about, then?” He asked. 

“Nothing.” Rei put something soft into his hands. “You can open them now.” 

He opened his eyes, and saw a small blond stuffed bear was sitting on his palms. He looked up at Rei, who had a half-smile on his face. “What’s this?” 

“It’s a bear, Kaz.” 

“I know what it is!” He said, as he took a look at the stuffed animal. “But why?” 

“Saw it, and thought you needed it.” Rei shrugged his shoulders. “If you don’t like it, I’m sure Miri woul-” 

“I like it!” He quickly hugged the bear against his chest. Rei had never gotten him anything before. “I like it a lot.” 

“Then, it’s yours.” 

“Good!” 

He sat down on the couch next to Rei, cuddling the bear against his chest. “Do you think Miri-chan had a good time today?” 

“She’s asleep, isn’t she?” 

“Yes?” 

“Then, I’d say it was a good day.” Rei put his hand on his thigh. “Did you have a good day, Kaz?” 

Lifting his head, he looked at his partner, and smiled. “Any day I get to spend with you and Miri is a good day, Rei.” 

“I had a good day too.” 

“Then I would say this was a success.” 

He leaned forward and kissed Rei on the lips, but kept it chaste as they knew Miri was upstairs and could come down at any moment. Still, it was a nice kiss. Kazuki really had found his family with both Rei and Miri. What was to come was anyone’s guess, but right now - right now, they were his entire world, and he couldn’t have been any happier. 

---

Cross-posted to AO3

[lady-wallace]

Stronger Than Blood (Buddy Daddies)

New Buddy Daddies fic today! Here I am torturing Rei again...

~~~~~~~

Read the full story on Ao3

~~~~~~~

Rei was brought back around to a stinging blow to his face.

"Rise and shine, there's some guests the boss wants you to greet."

Rei groaned, barely registering everything at the moment, before the manacles around his wrists loosened and he was unable to do anything other than collapse on the floor, body singing with pain. His left arm was numb, the shoulder joint still dislocated.

"Let me fix that for you first." One of the men said and before Rei knew what was happening, he grabbed the arm and wrenched it back into place.

Rei gave a hoarse scream, crumbling back onto the floor as he fought to get his breath back.

He was hauled to his feet and dragged between two men. They took him to his father's office and that was when Rei caught sight of Kazuki, sitting tied to a chair with Ogino looming behind him.

"Rei!" the blond exclaimed, eyes widening as Rei was brought in and dropped onto the floor a few feet in front of him. "What did you bastards do to him? Agh!"

Ogino gripped Kazuki's shoulder where Rei could see the dark stain of blood. Kazuki's face went white and sweat broke out across his brow.

"The Suwa heir is undergoing his reeducation at the moment," Rei's father spoke up as he stood and came around the desk. "Of which you are a part of."

Kazuki met Rei's eyes, his terror obvious. Rei looked around briefly, and felt some relief when he didn't see Miri. He might be able to get them out of this, if he could get a hold of a gun…

His eyes traveled briefly to the box on the table his father had tried to present him with earlier.

He moved, slightly clumsy from his injuries, but the men holding him hadn't been expecting him to do anything. He kicked the legs out from under one of them and slammed his head back into the other's nose before he made a dive for the box, retrieving the gun and rolling over the desk, leveling it at Ogino.

His finger automatically went to squeeze the trigger before he heard Kazuki scream his name.

"Rei, don't!" The man's eyes were wide with terror, literally pleading with Rei. "They have Miri! If we do anything, they'll kill her!"

[the-broken-truth]

Can you make a fic of Mother Miranda x Male reader? where they live such a nice life, and she wants to have children 👨, 🏹, 🛡. Note: Mother Miranda clingy, loving, sensitive and motherly.

Broken Truth: So, Mother Miranda with a Male Archer Defender? And she wants kids?! Oh, yes, this is going to be good. Let the words weave together.

[A Cabin In The Center Of The Peaceful Forest]

The Lead Priestess of the Romanian Village sat at the head of the redwood table with a warm cup of coffee in her hands, smiling at the smell of fresh almonds that came from the mist flowing from the surface liquid. She took a deep inhale with her eyes closed and held it for a moment before opening her eyes, her smile widening when they laid upon the strong back of the man who stood across from her, making breakfast on the stove as he hummed a delightful tune.

This man was [Y/N] [L/N] - A Great Archer/Hunter & The Lover of the High Priestess.

He came into her life as a stranger - an outsider that came to the village with nothing but a bow on his back. Miranda watched him for a while and when she learned of his skills and power - there was nothing she wouldn't do to take him for herself. He built a small cabin in the center of the forest where the 4 territories of the Four Lords met but didn't connect - it was neutral turf. Miranda would watch as he trained and the more she did - the more she wanted to see him. One day, she approached him as the leader of the village and he smiled at her, kissing her hand, and called her angelic; they began seeing each other more and more until a love blossomed between them.

[Y'N] asked to meet the Lords - knowing that they were important to Miranda made him want to be a part of their lives, even when they were grown-ass men and women. He met them at the next lord meeting but none of the other lords - except for Salvatore - seemed happy to have a man alongside their mother and village leader; mainly Alcina. [Y/N] understood where they were coming from but he wanted to be there for them, a friend maybe - or even a father figure.

He started with Alcina - he knew she would be the most difficult; he learned from Miranda that she had 3 daughters who were obsessed with killing & Alcina was fond of wine. He went to the Duke and asked him to bring a few things from the other world - some modern world weapons and a few bottles of vintage wines. Once he got them, he went to Castle Dimitrescu and gave them to Alcina and her girls; it didn't win them over right away but he would continue to go there until the girls screamed 'GRANDFATHER!' when he would enter the castle doors & Alcina would greet him with a 'Father' whenever she saw him.

Then, there was Donna Beneviento - she was Miranda's Adoptive Daughter and the most fragile one she had. He found out she was fond of making dolls and went to purchase some fine silks, cloth, and wool, along with some doll parts, and would create with her. He would visit her and the dolls whenever he found the time; upon learning about the Cadou scar, he made her an eyepatch that covered it so she didn't have to wear the veil all the time. She didn't wear it at first but when Angie hid her veil, she wore the patch to the next Lord Meeting and was given compliments. When asked where she got it from, she said 'Father made it for me.'; that sentence alone made [Y/N]'s day.

Sal was the easiest to have a relationship with - he was so lonely all the time made him grateful for having a father figure that wanted to be around him. [Y/N] found out Salvatore had a fondness for different types of cheese; this caused to father figure to approached the Duke again to go around the world to collect different types of cheese for his water-bound son. Sal and [Y/N] would go swimming together or just sitting around to enjoy the sounds of the water but [Y/N] wanted Salvatore to have a real home and spend an entire summer to build his son a proper house; they have father-son movie nights there every Wednesday.

And then there was Karl - he was not easy to trust, only caring about his work. [Y/N] went to the factory once and found the last lord dealing with a robot of some kind, for some reason, he couldn't get it to work. The man offered his knowledge and went to work; imagine Karl's surprise when the robot sprung to life. The two of them would spend hours making new robots, eventually, Karl did call him 'Father' but never told his father what he needed all these robots for.

Miranda was happy her lover was able to win over the hearts of her 'children' but as time went on, she couldn't stop thinking if she was doing all of this - trying to play God - all for nothing when the answer was right there in front of her.

She was pulled from her thoughts when the sound of the plate of food was placed before her and her lover placed a kiss on her forehead before taking the chair beside her own. Miranda and her lover at for a while before she cleared her throat.

"Darling, there is something I want to tell you." Miranda said as she looked at her man, who looked back at her.

"What is it, Miri?" He asked her.

"[Y/N], I want children." She said bluntly.

"Miri, dear, you already have children - the four lords." He chuckled.

"No. I want biological children and I want them with you." Miranda said as her blue eyes looked into her lover's wide eyes and his red face.

"You...You want to make babies with me? Are you sure?" He asked.

"More than anything - I've been wondering what it would be like to hold a baby in my womb again and...I want those whores in the village to know you are spoken for." Miranda hissed at the end.

"Whores? What whores?" The man asked.

"Those harlots that throw themselves at you! They think I don't see them but I know they just want you to impregnate them but that's not gonna happen! The only place your seed is going is inside of me!" Miranda yelled with a glare.

"Miri?" He chuckled, "Are you jealous?"

"No! I'm not jealous!" Miranda yelled.

"Are you sure? It seems like your jealous to me." He chuckled as he reached for his cup, only to drop it as his lover grabs his ear and pulls him out of his chair, to the bedroom. 'Well, I'm screwed.'

[End]

[literaryfic]

Episode 11 breakdown

chayenzo has reached their bonnie & clyde peak in this episode and i’m living for it.

cha-young TORTURING and KILLING the three killers and vincenzo not holding her back

vincenzo letting her take the lead while ‘interrogating’ them... WHILE HOLDING HER COFFEE

at one point he looks worried when she ups the toxic smoke(?) flow (i think he doesn’t want her to lash out and regret what she did) but he doesn’t stop her.

he looks at her when they say they want to answer for their crimes in front of the law and she says “and who would that benefit?”

he’s letting her handle this all throughout the scene, and he’s seeing first hand what she’s capable of, what’s she comfortable with and how far she’s willing to go (which is all the way)

their dynamic has changed a lot from the previous episodes. they’ve truly become partners IN CRIME. (murder couple!!!!).

and as a good husband he tells her he’ll help her throw the people who killed her dad in the tiger’s cage when they’re done using them.

him telling her she belongs in the mafia!!!!!!!!!!! he fully recognised her as one of his own, someone who is capable of the same atrocities as he is and who he can rely on and trust as his equal.

her not reacting negatively when she finds out the extent of vincenzo’s mafia past / when shown the pictures of his killings. she even takes the picture of one of his murders out the prosecutor’s hand....

the HUG scene!!!!!!!!!!!! the chayenzo one, i should say. i think this is the most transparent vincenzo’s feelings have been made for cha-young and the audience to see (excluding the scene where he watches sleep).

first, he doesn’t want to stop drinking and uses the snacks as an excuse to continue drinking until 4 am. i think it’s important because so far vincenzo has done everything he’s said he would do. he does not lie or goes back on his words easily, EXCEPT WHEN CHA-YOUNG IS INVOLVED. the only time he does it for something else, it’s because he breaks the promise of not hurting others. although we’ve seen before how he lied about buying wine, it could just be because he was aware they were being followed and wanted to make sure nothing happened. but here, he clearly says they’ll only drink until 2 am, and when 3 am comes, HE’S THE ONE TO ASK HER TO DRINK UNTIL 4. he uses yet another excuse bc he doesn’t want to part ways with her yet.

then, she apologises for hugging him all of a sudden and he says there’s no need to say sorry, because she was worried. HE NOT ONLY DOESN’T MIND, HE’S TELLING HER IT’S A NORMAL REACTION. i truly think this says a lot bc all throughout the episode vincenzo is being hugged and he HATES it. he’s not a touchy person (except with cha-young ofc) and doesn’t like to be touched. but not only does he hug cha-young BACK, he’s saying she’s allowed to do that. They’re both testing their boundaries with each other.

also, when cha-young tells him she doesn’t know if her heart was beating bc of the situation or bc of her feelings for him, he looks like his own heart is beating really fast!! he swallows, looks away... vincenzo cassano, the mafia consigliere with no fear, is NERVOUS bc of hong cha-young 😭

finally, the HUG. when she says she’s testing to see if she has feelings for him, he smiles bc he finds her cute and he says he won’t move BC HE WANTS HER TO HUG HIM. he smiles as she’s hugging him bc he likes it UNTIL she hugs him harder and he feels nervous again (like he doesn’t want her to hear his fast heartbeat hahaha.) and his holding the chair bc he wants to hug her but he’s holding himself back. and then they look at each other and i just know he doesn’t know what to do hahaha.

meanwhile, cha-young looks at him intensely and i can just TELL that when she says “ah, i was wrong, it was because it was a dangerous situation” she’s LYING YOUR HONOR. she has the softest expression on her face, she’s definitely deeply in love with him lol.

then when she goes back to lie down, vincenzo literally doesn’t know what to do with himself. you can see he’s almost distraught!!! and the way he looks and smiles at her really softly just proves he knows she’s lying as well lol.

i think it’s interesting how the background music from chayenzo’s hug scene introduces his scene with his mom

in this episode vincenzo truly deepens his roots in South Korea, first with cha-young, then his mom, and finally the tenants

it’s also super symbolic that he picks up a thread and gives it back to her haha. it means that instead of serving their relationship, he’s ready to come back to her. he’s healing from the scar of being abandoned and he’s forgiving her.

also am i the only one who thinks the mom lowkey suspects/knows he’s her son? i really can’t tell if she can tell or not....

CHA-YOUNG BEING JEALOUS OF MIRI/POSSESSIVE OF VINCENZO IS SOMETHING I DIDN’T I NEEDED. the way she pushes her chair and hides her face hahahaha... and then she holds his arm!!!!!!

cha-young also puts her hand on his shoulder a lot this episode. they’re so naturally touchy with each other, and the contrast between how vincenzo handles physical touch from literally anyone but cha-young makes it even more domestic 😭

ALSO, vincenzo asking cha-young to come with him when he’s arrested... the parallels between him saying ‘let’s go, lawyer-nim’ when he protects her and ‘come with me, lawyer-nim’ when he’s in trouble...... PARTNERS IN CRIME

the tenants being not only understanding of his past, but PROUD and IMPRESSED???? they respect him much more now than before 😭

the whole Mr. An scene was soooo cool and satisfying!!!!!!

today’s episode was just ‘everyone wants to fuck vincenzo because he’s hot’ and where is the lie???

the tenants throwing him A LITERAL PARADE when he’s back. CHA-YOUNG ASKING IF IT’S A WEDDING HALL WHILE RESTING HER HAND ON HIS SHOULDER AND EVERYONE THROWING CONFETTI AT THEM????? they’re married in canon idc

she even tells him “with all the support that you have, why don’t you make your own family here?” YOU TELL HIM, HE CAN JUST SETTLE HERE WITH THE GEUMGA GANG BC THEY HAVE HIS BACK AND STAY WITH YOU

the tenants telling him about the gold was so funny... hopefully V finds a way to get the gold and they all divide the money equally or something

now the scene where he tortures the arms dealer..... THIS IS THE HOTTEST SCENE IN THE DRAMA IDC IDC IDC

playing the Russian Roulette himself and not blinking an eye i’m— “there’s no limit to fear” your honor i know he murdered countless people but have you seen him at work???? who wouldn’t forgive him

I’m so glad we’re getting darker!vincenzo... i want to see the ruthless consigliere everyone fears !!!! more vengeance and murder everyone !!!!

i’m thankful they didn’t drag on the “who’s babo” story line bc that would’ve been frustrating. when vincenzo called cha-young and told her who junwoo was WHILE SHE WAS WITH HIM!! AND SHE ACTED SO PERFECTLY!!!

also she didn’t doubt vincenzo for a second and she straight up asks him if he’ll stick to the plan (of killing him) without a beat

this episode just showed that everyone in this show is a morally grey villain and i don’t think they’re going to be like ‘the main couple went to jail for a few years to pay for their crimes and then lived happily ever after’. if we follow that logic everyone has to go to jail for something loool. i want them to win with no consequences, get away with everything they did and destroy Babel, idc!!!!!!

[mirobami]

Super natural oh death Jen Titus

The whole bamis like there backstory type of vibe

 ━ BEFORE

CHARACTER(S): The Bami Clan

SONG: Oh Death Jen Titus

A/N: omg I watched supernatural but I never heard of this song so this was so exciting !!! I was just like o_o when I saw it, it gives me chills. This one isn’t much of a self-insert with a specific person more than it is generally. It’s also a little long because I have so much to say to the Elders so let’s get to it!

The Momobami clan, all of them ruled under one person who had won her title by being the cream of the crop, or in their case, the best of them all. Even her older sister couldn’t compare to her. But the rest of them made up for being lethal and manipulative, grown up with only rules rather than rewards. 

Family reunions involved more gambling than anything and the ones most impacted by the childhood gambles were Terano, Yumi, Miroslava and especially Rin. Kirari and Ririka tricked them so often into guessing who was who and the end result would be the Momobami chair or something else. But the others had logic and they decided not to do it because of the grave consequences it could come with. 

However, the one thing all of them had in common, even if they didn’t want to say so, was the wish of having a normal childhood. Maybe if they had had a normal childhood, everything would’ve been better. Everything would’ve gone a different way and they’d probably have a good amount of friends that weren’t scared of them. Maybe they’d even be able to count on one another for cousin like things. 

Kirari and Ririka were the head of the clan therefore automatically, they were supposed to be formal and proper. Already having learned so many things by the age of six, they knew that they’d never be normal girls, in a bad way. They wouldn’t be able to get teddy bears as presents, they only got presents that were more for their parents than for them. Build A Bears? Out of the question. 

Miyo and Miri had grown up in the pharmaceutical field, in which they learned poisons at a young age. By the time they were seven, they knew 157 different ways on how to poison a grown man. They quietly went through with it because they wanted to see each other after being forced apart. That knowledge was stored in their heads because the Elders expected them to have it. It still hurt them to know that instead of making real poisons, they could’ve been like everyone else and made plant water. 

Yumi and Terano were part of the Totobami family and since Terano was a child, she could only remember repressing her emotions and compensating for being a child by reading obscure books that no seven year old should have to read. Yumi was the complete opposite of her, but even she knew that Terano would’ve been different if it wasn’t for the impact the Elders had on her. 

Ibara and Rin were the only boys in the next generation, giving them so much more pressure because of the ridiculous standards the Elders had for them. Besides that, the area they were in was worse than everyone else’s and they had to deal with the retorts that they were nothing compared to the rest of the clan. They never got to be normal brothers. 

Nozomi was practically hidden in the background because no one believed she could be as good as everyone else. Erimi was a child, the most anyone could take from her was that she came from the torture field but that was it. Miroslava was good enough to be used, according to the Elders, but even she didn’t want to do anything they said because of her morals. Sumika was thrown into the entertainment industry from a young age and she had to live with an alter ego. Her closest friend was Rin, probably because the Elders thought they could actually do something big. Rei? Rei was at the bottom of the chain. Since she was little, she never got any respect and wasn’t even treated as an actual human. She couldn’t blame her cousins either because of how they were raised and they were even forbidden from talking to her. 

The Momobami clan was made up of different branches and all of them wished they had had a normal childhood instead of seeing people handle life or death right in front of them. Mistakes were never made for fear of being tossed aside. None of them got what any child should have wanted and even to their waking hours, they thought of ways they were already disappointing the Elders. 

“Wow.” Y/N said, blinking as she stared at the clan before her, avoiding her eyes. “You guys need serious help.”

Ibara laughed, shaking his head. “That’s a nice way of putting it.”

“I want to throw the Elders into a commoner nursing home. All right, we’re going to Build A Bear and have you have a normal childhood in one day because you deserve it.” Y/N crossed her arms, staring at all of their faces. Those years had given them masks and different coping mechanisms. “So tomorrow, set aside your plans or whatever you have, you’re coming with me.”

Miroslava was the one to smile at her. No one knew how they ended up in the position where the clan was all in one room with this girl but once they had spilled everything, Y/N immediately resolved to giving them what they never had. They all had a fondness for this girl and now she was resorting to making sure they had happiness, at least for one day. 

“Okay, nerds, go home, I’ll text you all tonight.” Y/N waited until they left but instead they all took turns hugging her tightly. She had no idea how much she was helping them but through the hugs, she had some idea. Their childhoods were rough and here they were, being helped by a complete stranger. It was great.

[to-be-frank-i-dont-care]

After everything they told us, I didn’t think the stories would be true

When we were children the stories were innocent. Harmless. We used to laugh about them as we played on the borders of the forest. The stories didn’t scare us, because they had existed in our village for decades. At that point they were mere myths, tales that even the youngest children were not afraid of. They weren’t real. They couldn’t be.

People in our village died quickly. Once you reached a certain age, usually around fifty to sixty, it wasn’t long before “old age” claimed you. “Old age,” because we didn’t know that most people were supposed to live for much longer. But in our village, that was just how it went. That was how it had always been, so we never questioned it.

By the time we had grown up, the generation before us had all passed away. It was just us left, to have children and pass the stories of our youth on to them. Well— just us, except for an elderly man who had somehow lived past his sixties. He liked to make predictions, sitting in his weathered rocking chair. “They’re coming,” he told us. “They’re almost here.” We laughed. He didn’t tell us anything else.

We buried him a week later, after he was discovered prostrate on his front porch, his head imploded. His house was strange, full of dust and old relics. We found strange runes carved in the walls, hidden behind framed and yellowed photographs. None of us could read the runes. We left his house empty by the road, to rot and collect more dust.

The dreams started soon after. Hands, clawing up bare and blackened walls. Dark sludge trickling across tiled floors and vanishing down hungry drains. Empty bathrooms, the mirrors cracked and covered in illegible words. The feeling that something was always right behind you, in those abandoned nightmare rooms.

We didn’t talk about the dreams, but somehow we all knew about them. Footsteps began haunting our evenings. Quiet, soft pacing up above our heads. We all lived in one-story houses. The footsteps kept us awake, dragging up and down, vanishing with the dawn.

Some of us heard soft screams at night, followed by gurgling, like someone far away had been dragged into a miry, strangling pond. Scratches were found in the mud around the lake, deep and long and dragging. Objects went missing, and shadows slipped out of sight. I myself found an axe, lying on my front doorstep. The blade was tinged brown. I threw it deep into the forest and didn’t tell anyone.

The forest.

A woman went in there one day, shortly after it all started. Those who last saw her claimed she appeared to be asleep, a strange smile on her face. She disappeared into the dark and yawning trees, and the leaves swallowed her. They didn’t give her back.

The lake to the north of the village seemed to be getting larger, somehow. Deeper. Darker. One of the children fell in one day. They tried to save him, but when they dove under to grab him the only thing they could see was a black abyss, opening beneath them like an endless mouth. They never found the child.

They’re coming, the old man had said. He was referring to the stories, of course. The ones we grew up hearing, the ones we laughed about. They’re almost here, he said. We didn’t believe him.

They’re coming.

But who were they? The stories never specified. They just spoke of things, things deep in the forest, things beneath the waters. Things that howled in the silence of the night. Things that dragged you into the darkness forever.

We don’t know what they are.

Just yesterday a man tried to kill several of us. The tension gets to you. It knots between your shoulder blades and lodges painfully in your throat. He stabbed a few people. We hope they will live, but the graveyard is hungry. It wants more food.

These days the shadows are longer. The hours are quieter. The few children do not run and play. They are terrified for their lives. We adults look at each other warily. We speak very little, and when we do the silence shatters like glass.

The forest calls to us. The water beckons us. The days burn long and hot and eerie. Always we are thinking of the stories, trying to decipher what is happening. Always we are trying to figure out what they mean.

They are coming, the old man said.

Things that howl in the silence. Things that drag you into the depths. They haunt the bare and darkened rooms in our dreams, although we never see them. We try to hide. The days are long. The nights are longer. The footsteps do not cease. The nightmares fill our sleep.

They are coming.

They are already here.

[radwolf76]

My 2021 Tumblr Top 10

New Years Again, time to look back on 2021.

1). 428 notes - Nov 1 2021

You HALLOWEEN Miette?

You wear her costume like the Trick-Or-Treaters?

2). 138 notes - Oct 29 2021

My predictable take on the first episode of Star Trek: Prodigy

We had better see more of this little girl, and ABSOLUTELY NO LONG TERM HARM MUST EVER BEFALL HER, EVER.

3). 116 notes - Jul 31 2021

Been sick since last night, so my wife got me a few nice rocks from the craft store, including a geode.

Except Hennessey Decided It Was HIS Geode

(See also the followup posts.)

4). 112 notes - Jan 15 2021

Oh, hey, “Let’s Read Homestuck” dropped another upd8 on 13 January 2021

5). 92 notes - Sep 18 2021

So I had this big long post about the afternoon I spent building a Lego Mega Blocks Halo Energy Sword, but tumblr ate away two thirds of the post when I posted it, so I’m doing a simpler post with just the pictures and less commentary.

6). 70 notes - Jan 30 2021

Got a New Chair, Lower to the Floor For Ease of Petting Cats, But Percy the Chair Thief Had Another Idea

(See also the followup posts including the all important hashtags of “#is Percy bite the cher?? #CONFIRMED” and labeled photographic evidence of the “area of chomp”.)

7). 56 notes - Jan 22 2021

So I guess I’m obligated to post a pic of the time I cosplayed as Guy Fieri at DragonCon.

(This was the day that everything on Tumblr was inexplicably Guy Fieri.)

8). 50 notes - Jun 5 2021

So I heard it was Barricade Day.

(”Arm Joe” — The Les Mis Fighting Game)

9). 47 notes - Sep 29 2021

What’s “Taters”, Precious?

(See also my deep dive into the history of this and other LotR Flash-animated memes, one of the posts from my FLASHBack series that ran for the last two years of Adobe Flash’s life.)

10). 47 notes - Feb 7 2021

Percy, Doing a Snuggle

(We still miss you, you funky orange boi.)

Honorable Mentions:

My 866 Followers.

This important addendum to a post about Defunctland’s hour and forty-three minute long documentary on the History of Disney FastPass.

Tumblr’s own Year in Review generator, which only lists half the posts of @jetblackcode​‘s TumblrTop10 but does offer up a bunch of other stats.

The time I went absolute HAM(mer) when reblogging one of my Metamour’s sex toy reviews, only for our mutual Spouse to point out the one thing I missed.

Rick Toastly

This small infodump about where the TVA Archives scenes of Marvel’s Loki TV show were filmed.

This post about how my online persona’s user icon can be traced back to the .sig file I used over a quarter century ago on USENET.

This .gif of Maru the Guinness World Record YouTube Cat’s apprentice kitten, Miri, trying to learn how to use the swing.

This audio reading of one of my Metamour’s erotica stories, one in which I personally get blamed for the afternoon’s turn of events in the very first sentence.

Neil Gaiman reblogging my Metamour’s story of the time they got called out by another student for reading American Gods during Chapel at the Christian University. (Specifically the part of American gods with the weirdest sex scene ever put to paper.)

(Ok, I had absolutely nothing at all to do with that last one, and barely had anything to do with the one before it, but anyone who knows my tumblr knows that when I’m not reblogging cute cats, I’m usually hyping up the other members of my Polycule. My 2021 recap is no different.)

Previous Year’s Top Tens: 2020, 2019

Created by TumblrTop10

[arrowverse-next-gen]

Concert part 2 (Ch 11)

ao3 link

The performances didn't last longer than an hour, Miriam taking up a good percentage of that. Q could see her debating with herself as she went along with her stuff because Owen had told him earlier in the night that she was just testing it out. She didn't seem to enjoy it much herself, though the crowd went wild so he's interested to see where she lands on this situation.

Bex opened everything up with a few songs that he'd never heard before. It was nice seeing her out of scrubs for the first time in ages, and seeing her in general. He missed seeing her every day, he forgot about that being one of the perks of working at the hospital in Star City. He had a friendly face every day, even if the day wasn't friendly.

Owen closed everything out. He didn't have much to perform, just a song or two. Not because of the time crunch, but because he had just started working on a batch of new stuff and clearly wasn't ready for any of it to see the light of day yet. Still, Q was proud. He watched these kids grow up and it was nice to see that they were succeeding in the ways that they wanted to.

After the performances were over, the three of them made their way through the crowd and found Ashton and Q in the back corner, inviting themselves to sit down a row in front of them and turning in their seats to look at them.

"Hi, stranger." Bex leaned forward on the back of her seat. "How was it?"

Q looked at Ashton, he had his opinions, he knew what they were. But Ashton hadn't really expressed what she thought. This was a test run after all, and if she hated the most talented people in the family, this relationship was going to have to stay buried in the sand where it was safe and not causing issues, but still existing because Q was afraid he'd never be able to just let it go because of a family conflict.

"I enjoyed it," Ashton glanced towards Q, noticing he was waiting on her to respond first, she then ignored him and brought her focus back to the three in front of her. "Very different sounds from all of you, which I wasn't expecting."

Bex shrugged, resting her chin on her arms. "We get that a lot when it's the three of us."

"Be honest," Miriam started, looking at Ashton, "Did any of mine sound off?" She looked genuinely disgusted with her own question as she asked it.

Ashton responded with a head shake. "I thought they sounded nice."

"You did great, Miri." Q leaned forward to gently tap her hand that was hanging down from the back of the chair. "Don't overthink it."

She gave him a small smile, nodding to herself, letting his comment sink in. He could tell she wanted to bounce back with something sarcastic, but she held whatever it was in. He could appreciate that. Though, he wasn't sure how long that would last. He needed to get Ashton out of here soon.

"Owen," Q decided it was best to move on before Miriam could change her mind about whatever she wanted to say. "I like the direction you're going in. It's very mellow, still feels like you-"

"I liked the unplug feel." Ashton added. "Not that the other stuff wasn't good-"

"No, mine was the best, it's okay. You can say it." Owen nodded.

Miriam reached over and slapped his shoulder. He flinched a bit, but still kept the grin on his face.

"Still time for you to show us what you got, Q." Bex looked at him, he shook his head, he wasn't gonna bother responding to that.

"Good luck, he's still not played anything for me." Ashton sighed dramatically, leaning forward in her seat and looking back at him. His brows narrowed. He tried to earlier today. Did she forget that she's the reason that didn't work?

"He's not good with a guitar." Bex told her, assuming that was the instrument that she was referring to.

"I have a piano." Ashton corrected, looking over to Bex. "You won't believe what he told me-"

"Is Isaac still working on music?" Q interrupted, trying to keep his dumb lie between himself and Ash.

Bex moved her head back and forth, tilted and straight, a few times. "Here and there. He's been busy."

"With Jitters?"

Bex thought for a second, giving Q a specific look that says that it's not Jitters keeping him busy, then nodded. Q mimicked her nod.

"So, a family of musicians huh?" Ashton sat back again in her seat, looking between the four of them.

"We're not blood related." Miriam blurted. It wasn't a secret, but still, dangerous conversation. Q started looking for the exit signs.

"We might as well be, though." Bex jumped in, noticing Q's worry. "We all grew up together."

"Yeah, Q told me he spent a lot of time at the Queen house growing up because his mom was always out of town."

"I mean, Bex and I could be related. Still waiting on the test results." Q nodded, his tone completely serious.

Bex glared at him. "What test results? We didn't test anyone."

"The second I get home, I'm sticking a q-tip in your mouth-"

"You're not coming anywhere near me with that fucking-"

"You know all about the stubbornness and determination, we share it becau-"

"I'd rather work 48 hours with Elena Ro-"

"Don't fucking compare being related to me with working with Elena-"

"She's more bearable, I swear to god-"

"Don't-"

"I'm telling you right now-"

"I-"

"Guys!" Miriam laughed, "Chill."

Q and Bex both glared at each other, both trying desperately to hold in their laughter. Ashton, Miriam, and Owen looked between the two as this went on. When they finally broke, they let out a sigh of relief.

"Yeah, anyway," Q said, still looking at Bex as he said it, he brought his attention back to Ashton after. "Family of...some sort of talent."

"Any other secret talents in the family? Or just the music?" She asked, looking at Q.

"We're pretty good superheroes." Miriam said, catching both Q and Ashton by surprise. "We've all had a superhero dress up phase...Well, not Quincy." She looked at him. "He played nurse."

"Nurse?" Q raised his brows.

"Bandaids in a fannypack and everything." Bex added, clearly remembering this happy, wholesome, family memory that Q seemed to have forgotten about. "Went on until we were, what, 15?"

"I don't think it went on that lo-"

"The fannypack was pink. Not that it matters, but it does." Miriam joined in again. "He chose it. It was his."

"It was Quinn's." Q looked over at Ashton, then at Owen. "Help." His expression was very serious, full of concern but not in a "family secrets are begin revealed" way, in a "I'm losing my street credit" way.

Owen laughed, shaking his head.

"Bigger secret," Bex shifted her position, sitting more upright than before. "Q didn't have a date to homecoming so he taught himself how to juggle instead of going."

Ashton looked up at him, he didn't return the gaze. He stayed focused on Owen, trying to send mind messages. He's the only one who can get him out of this, short of the building catching on fire.

“You juggle?" She asked, trying to get him to look down at her. He remained still.

"What about that funeral?" Miriam looked at Bex, Q quickly sat up.

"No." He held a hand up, blocking them from Ashton as he looked over at her. "We've never been to a funeral. Ever."

Ashton looked concerned, Q looked panicked, and the girls behind him were trying not to break the silence with laughter.

"He loves glitter." Bex laughed.

Q glared over his shoulder at her.

"It was actual glitter." Miriam added. "There was a...it was a casket not a- It was actual glitter."

"Shut the fuck up." Q looked at Miriam now.

"What the hell did you do at a funeral?"

Q looked over at Ashton. "Nothing. I've never been to a funeral-"

"You were at this one-"

"That was Quinn." He cut Owen off, not breaking eye contact with Ashton.

"Who died?" She asked a followup question.

Q dropped his posture for a second, looking at the other three. "Who did die?"

Bex shrugged, Miriam shook her head, Owen also shrugged.

"Why the fuck were we at this funeral?" He leaned closer to the three, lowering his voice. Things were a bit more serious because he was less worried about his own image and more worried about what poor family they harassed.

"What did you do at the funeral?" Ashton repeated, still concerned.

"Nothing." Q answered, looking back at her, bringing his own concern down a few levels. Though, he was curious still.

"He also got written up a lot at the hospital for bad language in front of the kids." Bex decided to change the topic, trying desperately to think of any and every bad thing Q has ever done in his life.

Ashton raised her brows, Q shrugged.

"I didn't mean to swear..." He trailed, looking off into the distance. "In front of their mothers."

Ashton laughed, shaking her head. "What did I get myself into?"

Owen looked at her. "Run. There's still time."

"Dude." Q looked directly at him.

Owen shrugged, turning around in his seat so that he was facing the stage.

"Don't listen to him, he's had like 3 relationships in his life." Q looked back at Ashton.

"I'm 21, that's more than you had at my age."

"Dude." Q looked back towards Owen, though now it was just the back of his head.

"He's right." Bex nodded.

"Rebecca." He looked at her now.

"Quincy."

"Her middle name is Oliver." Q brought his focus back to Ashton. "She'll tell you it's Olivia, it isn't."

"Quincy's name is Quincy because he was an unexpected surprise. Quinn is short for Quentin and Quincy is a cute nickname for Quinn." Bex shot back.

"My name is Miriam Moira. Which isn't as bad as these two, but I like it. M&Ms." Miriam joined the conversation, laughing at herself as she finished her sentence.

Q shook his head, refusing to allow himself to laugh at that. It was fucking stupid. He wouldn't...So he held his fist out towards Miriam so she could bump it instead. It wasn't like it was a joke, it was the way she delivered it. She deserved the credit.

"Is your whole family like this?" Ashton asked, sitting up in her seat again.

The four of them nodded, followed by a tired "Yes."

She nodded, sitting back again. Q followed her back down, grabbing her hand when he reached the back of his seat and could reach her easier.

"What do you think?" He asked, his voice a whisper despite the room being quiet and his cousins sitting 3 feet away. "The doors are right over there if you do feel like running." He nodded towards the doors behind him, still keeping his gaze on her.

"It's probably smart to." Miriam dropped down in her seat, Bex following along with her.

"I didn't fucking ask." Q glanced towards where the girls previously were, but brought his attention back to Ash.

"Do it." Owen added.

"Stay out of it."

"You're the one having relationship defining conversations in front of us." Bex said.

"I'm having it behind your back now, actually." Q corrected. He shook his head, rubbing his temples with his free hand, then fully bringing himself back to Ashton. He gestured to the three heads in front of them.

She looked at them, then at Q, giving him a genuine smile, then leaning on his shoulder. That felt like a good sign to him. He looked down at his watch, sighed, then looked back out towards the stage. It was getting late. But he liked it here. It was dark, but it wasn't that dark. It was calm. It was quiet. It was the calm after the storm. He wasn't exactly sure if there was a storm coming, of course there was it's almost Thanksgiving in Star City, but still he liked the way things felt right now. It was safe. When he, when they leave, he's not sure what to expect next. What if she gets sick of him now? She's met his family, they're all the same. What if she doesn't like them and has now realized that this isn't just an odd one out situation, this is where he comes from, this is who he is. Not things he should be worried about, but he was.

A few more minutes of quiet went by before everyone collectively stood up. It's like they all had an internal timer that said it was time to go. They walked out of their seating areas and met in the aisle. Owen gave him a quick fist bump before falling back for the girls.

Miriam ran up to him for a quick hug before pulling back, "I'm coming back with Eliza after Thanksgiving and heading back home with her for New Years. Get off of Ronnie's couch."

"There's two couches." Q told her.

"You're sleeping on the one that pulls out, though, are you not?"

Q's mouth dropped for a split second. "It pulls- The fucking couch pulls out?"

She nodded.

He shook his head. This was new information he would have loved to have about 4 months ago when his back was shot from sleeping on a small couch for 2 previous months.

Miriam gave him a smile, then fell back with Owen.

Bex stepped up and gave him a side hug. "I miss having you around." Q sighed, giving Bex the knowledge that he felt the same way but didn't want to admit it. She looked up at him with a smile. "Thanks for coming."

"Anytime."

Bex looked to Ashton, "Take care of him." While that sentence was usually spoken with a scary, overbearing parent tone, she was sincere. "He might be dumb because the blood takes longer to get to his brain than most people, but we love him."

She nodded. "I d- I'll take care of him."

Q looked down at her, raising an eyebrow. Why'd she stutter? What'd she want to say? What was that? Instead of questioning it right now, he decided to bring himself back to the goodbyes, which they all said one last time before parting ways. The three performers walked back towards the stage so they could go back and collect their things, and Q lead Ashton out of the building.

***

In an hour, they were back where they began their day, at Ashton's apartment. Just as the two took off their shoes and jackets, Q sighed.

"I really need to start bringing clothes over."

She shrugged. "You can borrow mine."

"I don't think that works the same way it does from me to you." He told her, falling onto the couch. Ashton fell next to him a few moments later.

"Ah, well." She laughed, shifting her position so that she could use him as back support. "I tried."

He glanced over as he wrapped his arm around her. "Can I say something that may fuck everything up?"

"You just realized you're not into women?" She laid her head back so she could look up at him without moving her position again.

"The exact opposite."

"You're into multiple women?"

"Just one."

"One other?"

He shook his head, looking at their reflection in the TV, then back down at her.

"Just you."

"How's that fucking things up?" Her brows narrowed, her expression was genuinely concerned.

"I..." He thought for a second, looking back up, "Like you....in an amount that could be considered something a little more."

"How much more?"

He looked back down at her. She gave him a smile.

"It's early."

She shook her head. "It's not that early."

"It feels early."

"You can't help how you feel." She told him, sitting up and turning around to look at him. "Besides, I think I fall into that same....like in an amount that could be more than like category."

Q opened his mouth to respond, but hesitated, looking around the apartment. There had to be an easier way to go about things like this.

"I love you." She broke the silence. It wasn't a long silence, but it felt like it. He was thankful she broke it. His attention snapped back to her after she said it.

"I love your family." She continued. "I wish my family could be that close. I love how much you care about each other. Look out for each other-"

"I love you." He cut her off. It was rude to cut her off, she was talking about something important but he wanted her to know she didn't have to continue if she was only doing it so he didn't feel obligated to reply with something equally meaningful.

There was that silence again. Just the two of them. In this dimly lit living room. Not breaking eye contact. But somehow, it didn't matter that neither of them said anything else. They didn't need to. They said what they needed to say. That was out of the way. Q felt the need to continue further, explain that he's only ever felt similar to this way when he had his first girlfriend in High School but he didn't want to mess things up by comparing his first girlfriend, who he was way too young to have strong feelings for, to what he has with Ashton. It didn't need to be compared. It was how he felt, she felt the same way. That's what mattered.

Ashton finally nodded, moving back to her previous position of resting on Q, though this time she settled for resting her head on his lap rather than his shoulder.

"I'm never giving back your shirt now." She told him.

"Yeah, I've already mourned the loss of that one." He looked down at her. "I'll buy more."

"You're gonna have to, you can't keep wearing the same two shirts to my house, I'm not doing your laundry."

He laughed. "I'll trade out the stock when I head home tomorrow." He assured her, leaning down and giving her a quick forehead kiss.

"Pull out couch, huh?"

Q lifted his head again. "They fucking-" He stopped himself, looking down at her. "They kept that from me on purpose."

She laughed, nodding. "At least you've had my bed."

"For what? A little over a month? I have permanent problems now."

"You'll be okay." She reached up and placed a hand on his cheek.

"Yeah, when I switch the couches around and they can't figure out why it doesn't pull out anymore." He nodded.

Ashton laughed again.

It was hard to be even slightly upset about the couch situation when she did that. Even if he did have permanent back damage from that couch, or the floor on the nights where he just refused to suffer the couch again, he was dating someone who had a laugh that would somehow make those problems vanish, even if just for a second. And really, that's all he needed.

[robinofinashiro]

request: “could i get some MHA and NARUTO boys getting jealous? maybe they aren’t with the reader but they kinda get possessive?? who it is could be up to you but i just wanna see some jealous boys. obvs the naruto could be an AU if you’d like!” 

request status: open

pairing: multiple characters from Naruto and My Hero Academia 

- “I’m obsessed, I’m embarrassed, I don’t trust no one around us. I’m a mess for you love, it ain’t new.” 

mirio togata: 

- mirio isn’t a jealous guy but for you, he could get jealous rather easily. it isn’t a secret to some third years that one of the big three has his eyes on you so whenever a rather daring third year takes an interest for you, some may be surprised. 

- there had been an unprompted third year graduation party the friday before even was due to graduate. you had went for the mere idea that you could finally relax and lay back for a few hours. 

- you went with the big three as nejire had offered you to get ready in her room. you weren’t wearing anything too extravagant or eye catching but to mirio he thought you looked absolutely amazing in it but i mean, he thought whatever you wore at any given time looked amazing on you. 

- once all of you got to the party, you stayed with them for the most part. it wasn’t until you went to use the bathroom and upon going back downstairs, everyone had separated from each other. tamaki and nejire were talking to a few of their other classmates while mirio was no where to be seen. 

- after finding a few of your other classmates, you were talking to them when a song you wanted to dance to came up. one of your friends offered to dance with you to which you immediately agreed. being that it was EDM, you two weren’t exactly in close proximity. 

- mirio had walked out of the kitchen, water in hand to give to you when he saw you on the dance with your friend. he instantly started crushing the water he held. nejire looked at him before looking to his direction. she couldn’t help but start laughing, “someones jealous!” she giggled as he shot her an annoyed look. 

- you were dancing, your eyes half closed, not really paying attention to your surroundings until you felt a stare on you. you turned around to see it was Mirio. you shot him a smile, “miri! what’s up!” you asked. you watched as he stared at your friend with an tense look, “mirio! hey!” you asked again. 

- finally he snapped out of his trance, “i was wondering if you wanted to dance with me instead,” he asked. you couldn’t conjure up any words as you gave your friend a sympathizing look, “sure?” you whispered in more of a question. mirio took your friends place but wasn’t really dancing, just making sure no one was staring or even trying to touch you. 

- “mirio, what’s up?” you asked. he didn’t say anything for a moment as he scratched his head, trying to figure out what to say, “nothing. just didn’t like him that close with you,” you started laughing as you grabbed his hand, “if you’re jealous, you can say that!” you giggled. 

- he didn’t directly look at you as you tried to whisper in his ear, “you can ask me out, you know that? i will say yes,” Mirio’s eyes instantly lit up as he hugged you. 

- the rest of the night was spent next to him or with nejire and tamaki. at some point, the three of you dragged tamaki to the dance floor. he stood in the crowd, stiff as a board as you, nejire, and mirio tried getting him to dance. he didn’t but that didn’t stop the rest of you. 

tamaki amajiki: 

- this poor soul please don’t do this to him. he wasn’t even looking to crush on someone but here you are, a second year in the same internship as him with fatgum and boom, he just happened to start falling for you. 

- mirio and nejire instantly saw it. the way he would relax tenfold with you in comparison to literally anyone else was a big indicator. they wondered how you did it but whenever they saw you with him, all they could do is smile and be happy at the idea that tamaki might’ve actually found someone for him 

- the day tamaki got jealous was an ordinary thursday night. both of you were in fatgum’s agency, finishing up work for the day when a first year intern had came up to you with a question. tamaki knew he shouldn’t have gotten jealous but tamaki wasn’t stupid. he knew when others were hitting on you and this was one of those instances. 

- his heart was racing, mind absolutely bubbled up with ideas that you were going to drop him for the first year and get married or something. again, tamaki knew he was acting super irrationally but at this point, he didn’t really care to think this way. 

- the first year kept telling you jokes as you were filling out paperwork, sometimes even doubling over in laughter as Tamaki had finally had enough and practically slammed the office door shut as he stormed out. you whipped your head up, wondering what that was when you realized it was Tamaki. 

- “hey, i’ll be right back,” you told the first year before rushing out the door. you ran towards the direction you felt tamaki would have gone in and saw him on the phone in a dark hallway. you treaded lightly, trying not to make it known that you were there. 

- “s-she doesn’t l-like me,” he said as you heard mirio’s loud voice reply, “of course she does! we know more than anyone that she does!” you clutched your heart over your shirt, “she was t-talking to someone i-in a way that s-she doesn’t with me. she likes h-him,” he whispered, almost as if he was on the verge of tears. 

- you couldn’t help but walk into the hallway and make yourself known. tamaki stared at you over the fringe of his hair as you grabbed his phone, “mirio, i’ll have tamaki call you back,” you told him before hanging up and looking to tamaki again. 

- “amajiki, sweetheart,” you whispered as you cupped his face with your hand, “please, don’t think that I like someone else because i don’t,” you said as could tell he was going red in the face, “i promise, i don’t and whenever you’re ready to make it official, just tell me when i’ll be the one to take out on our first date!” 

- tamaki nodded as he remained in your embrace. 

naruto uzumaki: 

- PLEASE DON’T MAKE HIM FEEL JEALOUS FUCK. HE’S A RAY OF SUNSHINE THAT DOESN’T DESERVE ANY OF THAT. 

- anyway, he isn’t jealous as he is more possessive? he probably feels territorial over you whenever you’re around the well more liked people such as Lee, Neji, Kiba, or even Shikamaru but more than anyone, it’s probably Kiba that makes him get jealous. 

- the two of you were probably having lunch at your colleges’ cafe. since kiba always had his dog with him, it wasn’t unusual to see people surrounding Kiba because of Akamaru. you more than anyone loved Akamaru and constantly held him, walked him, and sometimes slept with him if Kiba let you. 

- you were with Kiba in the cafe, not really doing much except for talking as you were petting Akamaru. naruto had just gotten out of class, making a beeline for the food when he saw you and kiba together. the way naruto saw the two of you talking had him thinking as though the two of you were already a couple. 

- shikamaru was the one walking next to him as he saw his best friends mood change instantly. he didn’t know what it was that made him instantly get into a bad mood but once he watched what Naruto was watching, he instantly made the connection. in a way, he was happy that he was finally getting over Sakura but Shikamaru knew that if you didn’t rely the same feelings like Sakura did, he was going to be hearing about it for months. 

- after Naruto and Shikamaru got their snacks, they made their way over to the table. you waved at the two of them as Naruto instantly sat next to you, kicking his feet up in a way that caught you off guard. you felt a warm feeling cross your face, trying not pay attention that he had put his arm around your chair and essentially across your shoulder too. 

- the thing was that kiba held no feelings for you whatsoever. you knew that and he knew that. naruto being a bit oblivious to those kinds of social cues wasn’t exactly news so you could feel naruto’s jealousy whenever you and Kiba spoke for a little too long. 

- you were digging through your bag, trying to find you wallet when you realized that you had forgot it in your car, “hey, i’ll be right back, i need to go to my car, i think i left my wallet in the front seat and i want to get snacks,” you told everyone at the table. 

- you looked over to kiba, giving him the puppy dog eyes as you looked at akamaru, “can I take him for the walk?” you practically begged. kiba rolled his eyes before handing you his dog, “thank you!” you exclaimed before naruto spoke up, “i’ll come with!” he yelled as he got up. 

- the two of you walked to your car as naruto was basically talking your ear off about anything that came to mind. you didn’t mind naruto’s excessive babbling as you had found it more endearing than others did. you knew naruto’s past with his parents passing and since he didn’t have siblings, you knew that you as his friend (and crush), you were prone to getting vents, rants, and ramblings from him. 

- you handed akamaru to naruto as you grabbed your wallet from your car but unbeknownst to you, naruto had seen the small photo of the two of you in your car behind the wheel. it was a polaroid from a random day a bunch of you had went to see Christmas lights, an event that Sakura and Ino made everyone attend. 

- finally locking your car, you saw naruto’s mood instantly change, his smile plastering his face again. you didn’t know what brought you over to this idea but you held akamaru in one hand as you hugged naruto from one side. as soon as you did that, naruto.exe stopped working. 

- you stared at him wondering what happened but you started to laugh realizing that it was your hug that did it. you walked into the cafe area as you scanned the snacks, “heyyyyy,” naruto finally said looking at the food they were putting out. you sighed instantly knowing what he wanted, “you get one thing!” you said trying to contain your laugh. 

- he gave you a kiss on the cheek as he ran over to the buffet area plastering a bunch of food onto a plate as he wobbled his way over to you and akamaru once he finished putting everything he wanted to eat. 

neji hyuuga: 

- now neji is the last person you want to get jealous because he becomes PASSIVE AGGRESSIVE AS FUCK and doesn’t care whose feelings get hurt in return. 

- i also see neji as the more possessive kind of person rather than jealous but the instances that he does get jealous, he’ll give the person absolute hell. in this case, it was Lee who was making him jealous. he knew Lee’s very bright personality made it hard to hate him. 

- you were with Tenten and Lee as the three of you walked out of class. normal, right? well, Lee was the one giving you a piggyback ride for some reason and soured Neji’s mood and Hinata was the person who actually noticed her cousins change of attitude. 

- you were holding onto Lee a little too tightly for his liking. you were gripping his chest, trying not to fall as you met up with everyone else. Neji instantly stared at Lee, making the black haired boy shiver from fear. you weren’t exactly realizing that Neji giving your friend a death glare. 

- once Lee put you down, Neji instantly stood next to you, his stare now starting to become obvious to you. you gave Neji a smile as you tried to loosen him up, “what’s up?” you asked. he shook his head, not really in the mood to tell you the real reason. it was odd coming from Neji as he was the kind of person who always spoke what came to mind, regardless if came off as rude or not.

- “neji, seriously,” you told him, this time a bit more seriously. he grabbed you by the wrist before dragging you to a random hallway. you were now concerned as you had never seen him this way before, “hyuuga! seriously?” you exclaimed. 

- he laughed before basically trapped you, “you and Lee?” was all he said. you stared at him, seeing if he would elaborate, “what about us?” you asked. he laughed once again, “don’t play for an idiot,” he responded 

- you growled realizing that the conversation was going no where, “me and lee? yeah, friends?” you tried to say as he remained silent. he could tell that what you were saying was true, “you sure?” he asked. you nodded before basically realizing that he was getting jealous. 

- “i’m sure neji, don’t need to worry,” you responded before jumping on his back, “now piggyback me back to everyone,” you threatened as he didn’t say anything but did what you said. again, it was a bit odd seeing Neji comply to someones orders so easily but for you, he guessed he could make an exception.