#you already saw me crying because cooking wasn’t going well for me

[eatyourdamnpears]

a very “fuck you” to people who slam things around when they’re angry to get the attention of the people around them

[newtkive]

shift shenanigans - s1 social media au

note: jus for fun ! may or may not do more parts.

warnings: crude humor, slightly offensive jokes from richie sry

part two

liked by syd_adamu, marcus.brooks11 and 30 others

chefboyardee: my friends! i love my friends! the two on the right more than the left (i’m joking i promise) 😁😁😁😁

see all 8 comments

syd_adamu: brave of you to call him your friend y/n

↳ chefboyardee: boss man carmy save me

↳ syd_adamu: oh.. :///

marcus.brooks11: you did me so dirty, friend.

↳ chefboyardee: love you marcus you look spectacular

↳ marcus.brooks11: don’t start

richietheking: Where am I?

↳ chefboyardee: ya motha

liked by syd_adamu, chefboyardee and 10 others

richietheking: Getting sh$!t done.

see all 8 comments

marcus.brooks11: This is coolllddd.

↳ richietheking: You already know it man.

syd_adamu: this is actually crazy

carmyberzatto: can you show this on instagram? i think you should delete this.

↳ richietheking: Delete your life.

chefboyardee: come down to the beef for a number 6 the occy way 💯 the safest joint on the block 🤑💯we are 🔛🔝

↳ richietheking: Eyyy I know that’s right.

↳ carmyberzatto: please don’t advertise this.

WE HAVE THE BEEF 🥩

[ 8:25 am ]

y/n:

bruh im about to lose it. heads up when you guys get to work.

marcus: that catering order is about to be crazy

DO NOT REPLY: These white boards are stressing me out.

syd: we know, probably giving you ptsd from not finishing high school

DO NOT REPLY: Fuck you I did finish it.

y/n: oh i gotta change ur contact name richie

richie poo: ????? What

y/n: it was ‘DO NOT REPLY’ lols

marcus: valid

syd: real

richie poo: What? Why?! That’s so rude

y/n: cuz you piss me off

and you kept blowing up my phone yesterday

richie poo: You weren’t answering, and we needed help at the cook out.

syd: the one where you poisoned everyone?

richie poo: Fuck off.

y/n: when i’m off work, i’m off work.

marcus: don’t let carmy hear that, y/n

y/n: don’t remind me

syd: he’s trying at least, go easy on him. he really has great ideas

richie poo: You mean you have great ideas in that little notebook

tina: Never trust a broad with a notebook.

syd: hey! i’m just being helpful

y/n: do you guys think my ig post will hurt carmys feelings

marcus: it would make me a little sad if i were him, but i don’t think he cares

y/n: great i’m gonna cry now

syd: i doubt he even saw it y/n it’s fine

richie poo: Check the work chat. Cousin is in a mood.

y/n: oh great

tina: Help us all.

syd: be nice you guys

WORK

[ 9:15 am ]

carmy: Everyone, we have huge catering orders tomorrow to prep for today. Please get here as soon as you can, the earlier you clock in the better. Additionally, please be careful what you post on social media. I don’t want people to get the wrong impression

y/n: yes chef 👨‍🍳

syd: ok sounds good

richie poo: Cool it, Cousin. What’s the issue with the social media

tina: I use FaceBook. That not allowed now??

carmy: Tina, you’re fine. I’m talking about those who post work things on public accounts

marcus: facebook is crazy

richie poo: I can’t go private

y/n: he needs the likes

richie poo: No I’m disabled from doing so. Not sure why

y/n: liar

richie poo: 😑I don’t like you

carmy: Then please don’t post pics of yourself posting up with a gun and an air horn outside of my shop anymore.

marcus: that pic was fire can’t lie

carmy: Well, it’s bad for business.

richie poo: Fine, whatever

y/n: carmy

carmy: What, Y/n?

y/n: is this because of my caption on my post i’m sorry i promise i wasn’t being for real

carmy: I don’t care Y/n.

y/n: is that code for ‘i care a lot and i’m crying in the office right now and that’s why the door is closed’

oh

syd: ? why the oh

y/n: he opened the door and yelled no 🤨 but i think i saw red eyes

carmy: Please get back to work and I’ll comp a meal for you later

y/n: OMG yes chef 😍

richie poo: Inappropriate emojis and you shouldn’t have to incentivize her to work

y/n: shut up acting like HR i’m gonna beat your ass

jealousy is ugly which is why you have that mug on your face

carmy: Stop

y/n: yes chef 👨‍🍳

i heard your giggle tho

richie poo: Again with the schizo episode

syd: you can’t say that richie

richie poo: Oh sorry

[wildestdreamsblog]

Latibule Spinoff: Elysian

Pairing: Doctor/Mafia!Kim Seokjin x Intern!Reader 

Warnings: Yandere behavior, Possessiveness, Manipulative behavior, If you’re not 18+ please, PLEASE, do not interact. Be mindful of the warnings. Let me know if I miss anything.

A/N: if this ain't the most unserious hiatus ever XD

Masterlist, Part IV of __

“If you know in one glimpse it’s legendary…what we thought was for all time was momentary…”

You tilted your head to the side as you watched the young man mumbled the lyrics to a song, his head resting on his forearm on the table. He was holding the glass of soju on his other. His voice had a certain melodic tone in it, and you were certain that he could be a singer had he wanted to. But now, he was a man that was too drunk to sit straight.

“Still alive killing time at the cemetery. Never quite buried…”

You blinked from your seat across him before turning to the doctor beside you who was busy grilling meat. Kim Seokjin appeared to not be bothered by how his brother was acting, only flashing you a smile when he saw you looking at him. He added another one on the pile of grilled meat he kept on placing on your plate. Meanwhile, Jungkook’s was almost gone and Seokjin still prioritized your plate over his.

You leaned closer, your voice barely a whisper amidst the din of the restaurant. "Is he going to be okay?" you asked, your gaze never leaving Jungkook's slouched form as he continued to sing. The noise inside the tented restaurant made it harder for him to hear you. It was like he wasn’t thinking too hard for the first time since you came barging in his life as he leaned down his head to hear you, his ear almost touching your lips from his proximity.

This seemed right, he thought, to be near you. It was like he was finally following his urges, letting his control slip for just a little for you.

And for the second time that night, your heart beat so loud it was a miracle that he couldn’t hear it, or that you didn’t go into cardiac arrest.

“Hmm?”

You cleared your throat before repeating your question. “He’s singing Taylor Swift’s new song. The album only came out this morning and it seems like he already memorized it…Is he okay?”

Seokjin looked up to watch his brokenhearted brother who was now unstealthily stealing meat from your plate, unaware of both your eyes on him. “Talking rings and talking cradles………I wish I could unrecall-“

Jungkook sniffed before eating the meat. It would have been hilarious to watch the tears falling from his eyes as he chewed, except that he looked like a child that was abandoned by the way his lips were pouted. The tattoos and the lip piercing did nothing to make him less endearing. You thought he was really just a charming person. But now he was just sad, as though he lost something he could never get back.

“-how we almost had it all.”

And then cue the endless tears.

Seokjin sighed, his eyes trained on the younger man he claimed to have raised on his own since he was thirteen. It was rare to see him cry. He always toughed it out, always had this innate need to prove himself to his older brothers despite the repeated assurance they gave him that they were tough so he wouldn’t need to. But he was stubborn. And in turn, he became a hardened man, a no-nonsense CEO and a violent leader of the underworld.

Well, until he married her. Suddenly, the sun seemed to have finally shone on his world. Seokjin could remember how happy and giddy Jungkook looked when he put the ring on her finger. He could remember how excited he was to come home to her everyday, even going as far as telling them how wonderful she was, or that cute thing she did for him, or how her cooking was the best he ever had.

Spoiler alert, though, she was the worst cook. She didn’t know that there was a distinct difference between a sugar and a salt, and no, just because they looked the same didn’t mean that they tasted the same.

See what love did to Jeon Jungkook, the pickiest person when it came to food?

Well, until she left.

“It’s not his birthday today,” Seokjin finally answered. “And eat. You’re far too thin.”

“Excuse me! I’m not!”

“Uhuh,” he said as he rolled his eyes. “Are you even eating three times a day?”

“Wh- well. N-no! Who has the time?” you sputtered, cheeks warming up from the attention you were getting from him.

He raised his brows at that before pointedly looking at your plate, making a mental note to ensure that your schedule from now on wouldn’t be so tight that you forgot to eat. Or better yet, he would personally visit the head of your department to berate him for not ensuring your well-being!

“And what do you mean that it’s not his birthday?”

 “It’s his wedding anniversary today.”

Huh? Your eyes automatically went to his ring finger, only to find a tattoo that you didn’t notice before. It was a name. You thought that he must have been so in love to have permanently etched his wife’s name on his skin. However, another question popped in your mind.

“Then why is he here instead of with her?”

“She left her more than a year ago. He doesn’t know where she is right now.”

Your heart went out to the young man. He seemed to be so heartbroken evident from his tears and the sadness in his doe eyes. He was too young to be this sad, you thought. Seokjin’s eyes were on you as you looked at Jungkook. You were so soft, he thought. You wore your emotions on your sleeves, genuine concern etched on your face and he couldn’t help but marvel at your capacity for compassion despite only meeting him today.

“That’s so sad. No wonder he’s crying his heart out,” you mumbled, reaching out to pat the younger man’s broad back in display of silent support. “I don’t know how anyone can carry it.”

He nodded, “I don’t think I’ll ever have to know.”

You blinked owlishly at his statement. And when you turned to him, his eyes were dark. He was now looking at the glass of soju, twirling the liquid contents slowly.

“Why?” you asked what you shouldn’t have.

He smirked before drinking. His movements were languid before turning his dark and cold eyes to you. “Because, sunshine, I don’t think I have it in me to allow my wife to leave me.”

That should have been your first warning.

And to Kim Seokjin, that was his first warning to himself.

---

He didn’t avoid you. No.

But for the following week, he was distant. He smiled at you when he saw you, but other than that, he did not engage. He greeted you when you greeted him, but other than that, he claimed to have an urgent appointment every time.

See, one step forward was two steps backward when it came to him, you thought. And perhaps, it was for the better. Had this progressed beyond a harmless crush, you would have been hurt. You would only bring him down with you. So for the next days, you threw yourself at work, saying yes to whatever assistance your colleagues needed, even going as far as offering your help to their research.

What? It was an overtime which equated to overtime pay!

That was what you reasoned to yourself, and nope, it was not because you were avoiding excess time to think about that handsome doctor.

Perhaps, what deviated in your work was the amount of free meals the department was getting. It even came to the point was when you didn’t go out of the office for lunch, the department head himself went in and demanded you to eat. You were confused as you followed him out and wondered why he looked a bit terrified. Other than that, you week was calm.

This was good, you convinced yourself as you waited in line for your turn to order, less time with him meant that whatever crush you had for him would die a natural death. You certainly weren’t hurt that your last interaction meant nothing to him when he claimed to have wanted you there with him. You nodded to yourself as you thought that Seokjin looked like a walking heartbreak just waiting to happen.

“Come on, just admit you like her! Why else would you reallocate the budget to cater the food for their department?!”

Seokjin rolled his eyes at his Doctor Seong-min and his obnoxious voice. The two doctors decided to step out for the afternoon to grab a decent coffee. He shifted impatiently in line, silently willing the people ahead him to order faster so he could physically separate himself from his colleague and escape the conversation. He had yet to forgive him for almost getting the coffee his sunshine got for him.

Wait, what?!

His?

See, this was why he needed coffee!

“I heard our branch in the far province desperately needs a resident surgeon. Maybe you want to transfer there?” he asked quietly, the tone of threat not even hidden as he smiled at the man. The mention of transferring to a far-flung province was a thinly veiled threat, one that Seong-min knew Seokjin was all too capable of carrying out if pushed far enough.

“Damn, dude. Chill. If you don’t like her, just say so. I’m just 307% sure that you do-“

“We can’t have doctors that are bad at math! What do you mean 307%?!-“

“Oh, is it 400% now?” he blinked innocently at the man who was berating him, his voice increasing and his ears reddening from his emotions. It was fun to see him like this, Seong-min noted. He was always calm and collected even in the face of emergencies. Seokjin seemed to always know what to do in every situation, and now, one mention of your name and he became like this.

With a forced smile, Seokjin turned to face Seong-min, his voice low and tinged with frustration. "I don't know what you're talking about," he muttered, though the denial rang hollow even to his own ears.

Seong-min merely chuckled, unfazed by Seokjin's attempt at deflection. "Come on, Jin. It's written all over your face," he teased, leaning in closer as if sharing a secret. "You can't fool me.”

He glared at him and Seong-min felt a shiver down his spine as though he was facing a dangerous person and not the peace-loving and hardworking doctor he knew since they were in university. “Fine! I just asked because my friend saw Doctor Y/N and asked me to set her up with him! I was just being a good friend to you-“

What?

See, the mention of another man was what finally pushed him to the very edge and he could feel the fragile sanity of his breaking. However, what he didn’t expect from his genius brain was stupidity.

“Seong-min, are you even using your brain? Why would I, the perfect and genius Doctor Kim Seokjin, ever like someone as bland as her? I have taste. And she could never reach my taste in women. She’s not the same stature as me. She’s so far below me that it’s embarrassing to even insinuate that I feel something for her. Besides, I only entertain her because she’s funny-“

Seong-min’s eyes went in front as the line moved, and it was because of you.

With the steaming cup of hot coffee in your hand, you turned to them. You didn’t say anything. You just watched as Seokjin continued his tirade, completely unaware of your presence, adding lashes to your heart and ego.

God, you were so embarrassed. How could you have thought that he was anything but a rich man who looked down at people beneath him? How could he hurt you where it hurts?

“Honestly, the least she could do is to move faraway from me. She’s nothing-“

It was only when Seong-min pushed his shoulder that he finally noticed you and your tear-filled eyes. He blinked repeatedly as though he was just starting to understand of your presence here, that you were not just a figment of his worst nightmare came to life.

He called for you.

He knew he did.

But instead, you stalked away from him as you tried to salvage whatever was left of your dignity.

“Seriously, Seokjin, you’re an idiot,” Seong-min said, shaking his head in disdain. Seokjin had no choice but to agree.

He was the biggest idiot.

[sc0tters]

Forever Yours | Mat Barzal

summary: when Mat’s words send the argument too far it sends him into a day of true self reflection.

request: yes/no

warnings: swearing.

word count: 3.41k

authors note: this request was really good and I tried to fulfil it as well as I could and do that little bit more for it too. It took my an embarrassingly long amount of time to write this but I think that it was all worth it in the end. I really did love this one so I’m hoping that you guys did too, so to those of you who do read it all, thank you.

Today was one of those days.

The one where you want to crawl into a ball and hope that if you shut your eyes tight enough you’ll wake up and realise that it was all just some bad dream.

Zack your youngest has been clinging to your side as he is going through teething. Then the twins who were weeks away from turning four were having the worst time of their lives. Whilst Oscar lost his teddy bear to the family lab Marley, Marcus only wanted his father who was far too busy preparing for the end of the season’s playoff run.

And that brings that to why you were having a bad day.

The crockpot decided to turn off at some point during the day so you no longer had dinner cooking, Amazon delivered your package that had the boys presents in it to the scary neighbour. The boys had you chasing them around publix because they kept on running away. And to top it all off you had dirty laundry that could have been coming out of your ears you had so much to do.

Which is why you were honestly giving yourself a pat on the back for getting Zack to sleep before Mat came home “daddy!” Marcus cheered running over to his father who came in the front door.

You wiped your hands on the kitchen cloth that was in front of you before you turned to where the noise had been coming from “hi love.” You yawned as your eyes grew heavy when the lack of sleep that you had began to catch up with you.

Mat furrowed his brows as he saw that the dinner table wasn’t even set yet “boys already eat?” He asked giving you a side hug.

A quick shake of your head had him scoffing “what the hell was so important today that you couldn’t get dinner ready for five thirty?” The hockey player had a rough day where he couldn’t seem to score a single goal during practice today and he brought that negative mood home with him “boys why don’t you go to the playroom?” You asked the twins sending their father a glare “we are not doing this with them here.” You warned as the boys ran off unaware of the glaring match that their parents held.

Mat crossed his arms as he tapped his foot against the floor “you haven’t answered my question yet.” His voice was condescending as it made you feel sick to your stomach.

You sighed “day just got really out of hand.” You mumbled picking up that he wasn’t going to be interested in hearing about what your sons had gotten up to today.

From the lost teeth to breakdowns in the grocery store, if you could name it the event probably happened.

Yet your words didn’t harbour the response you hoped “I don’t go to work for you guys to sit on your fucking asses all day!” Mat hadn’t noted when his frustration on his day morphed into frustration about you.

At this point one of the twins began crying “sitting on my ass?” You let out a laugh “do you know how hard it is to raise these boys myself?” You crossed your arms. You loved your kids but you were getting spread far too thin to keep yourself afloat.

Now you had both clearly gone too far “from where I stand it’s a pretty easy job.” Those words came with a slash of a knife that couldn’t exactly be taken back.

The look on your face in that very moment was one that Mat hadn’t seen before “if you think it is so easy then you take the kids tomorrow.” You proposed with a smirk “what are you gonna do?” Mat couldn’t believe that he was entertaining your thoughts.

Quickly the penny dropped in your head “the girls haven’t seen me in months. They want to go to a spa.” You raised your eyebrows with a smirk “deal.” Mat nodded his head as he reached his hand out to shake yours.

Part of you found it sad to believe that this was what you had gotten to “where are you going?” Mat wrapped his hand around your arm as you went to move away “to deal with our crying child because it clearly seems that you aren’t planning on it!” You shot back clenching your fists as you walked into the playroom.

Whilst you spent the night taking care of your boys tucking them in Mat was on the phone to Anthony debriefing the events that had happened “you were an ass dude.” The younger boy rolled his eyes as he rubbed his hand along his jaw.

Years ago you would have been Anthony’s dream girl, you were Anthony’s dream girl but when Mat won you the younger boy took his defeat gracefully “look I can’t exactly go and tell her I fucked up now?” Mat grumbled as he stared at the ring in the box.

Six years of dating and three kids to show for it yet no ring on your finger, or at least not yet “sorry dude.” Anthony apologised as he shook his head “you have to lie in the bed that you have made.” He shrugged seeing Mat’s face soaked in regret.

So Mat got to watch as he realised the consequences of his actions “I will say that she does love you just as much as she loves those kids.” As godfather to all three Tito could see just how much all three of those kids meant to you “so if y/n is y/n then I suggest you start looking for the checklists.” The comment about your organisation skills made both boys laugh.

Getting to watch you craft the step by step lists that you loved so much made Mat’s days “I should get going.” The Islander player sighed seeing the bedroom door open as your body appeared.

You sent Mat an awkward smile as you watched him throw his phone to the side “hey-” Mat spoke up as you went to your closet.

Pulling random items of clothing together you tried to ignore your boyfriend “the boys are down.” You announced grabbing onto some old band tee that you had found in your closet “so I’m going to sleep in the guest room tonight.” Mat wanted to argue, he wanted you in his bed because as much as you so badly wanted him to feel a of the ounce of the stress that you had felt dealing with the rough parts of the single parenting lifestyle this week.

But instead he watched on “you sure?” Were the only words that he could find in his mind that his mouth would let out.

It was a far cry from the fight you wanted him to put up “I thought I’d been sleeping with a guy who wanted to see me today, but since that isn’t the case I’d rather be alone.” You sent Mat a nod feeling too tired to cause a fight tonight.

The guest bedroom was bleak in comparison to your bedroom. The walls were decorated yet the love that had been soaked into the walls of your room hadn’t been carried to the very room that you sat in.

Playing with the beaten up hem of the band tee you had grabbed only now realising the memories that had woven themselves into the stitched fabric.

This was more than just a simple shirt to you and Mat. This was the first shirt you stole from him, the shirt you were in when he asked you to move in. The one when you went into labour with Zack. If something could capture your relationship. It was that shirt.

ABBA blared through the speakers of your apartment as you danced to it. Mat had been on a road trip for the last two weeks and you being heavily pregnant you were in nothing but Mat’s shirt.

The boy ended up arriving quietly as you couldn’t hear him over the sound of the music “holy shit!” You clutched at your chest as you locked eyes with the boy “I was just starting to enjoy that show.” Mat frowned as he pushed off from against the doorframe.

His hands ran over your stomach as he smiled “missed you.” His words were soft as he kissed your lips.

You looked like a sight for sore eyes in his shirt “missed you too.” You smiled as you ran your finger over his cheek.

So you couldn’t help it when you stared in the mirror and watched on as tears welled in your eyes making you unlock your phone “momma.” You sobbed as the call connected “Mat and I had a fight.”

When Mat woke up that next morning the mix of the irritated looks on the twins faces and the lack of your presence on the other side of the bed served as a reminder for the events of the previous night.

Oscar was the first to speak up “we’re gonna be late.” He pointed to the clock making Mat’s eyes go wide “where is your mom?” Mat groaned rubbing his eyes as the sleep caught in his fingers.

Marcus pulled the note out of his pyjama shorts pocket “momma gave this to me.” Of course you had gone and kissed the boys before you left to head to New Jersey for the day.

𝒯𝓌𝒾𝓃𝓈 𝒽𝒶𝓋𝑒 𝓉𝑜 𝒷𝑒 𝓅𝒾𝒸𝓀𝑒𝒹 𝓊𝓅 𝒻𝓇𝑜𝓂 𝓃𝓊𝓇𝓈𝑒𝓇𝓎 𝒶𝓉 𝒷𝑒𝒻𝑜𝓇𝑒 𝓈𝑜𝒸𝒸𝑒𝓇 𝒶𝓉 𝓉𝒽𝓇𝑒𝑒 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝒵𝒶𝒸𝓀 𝒽𝒶𝓈 𝒶 𝒹𝑜𝒸𝓉𝑜𝓇𝓈 𝒶𝓅𝓅𝑜𝒾𝓃𝓉𝓂𝑒𝓃𝓉 𝒶𝓉 𝑜𝓃𝑒. 𝒟𝑜𝓃’𝓉 𝓁𝑒𝓉 𝓎𝑜𝓊𝓇 𝓅𝓇𝒾𝒹𝑒 𝑔𝑒𝓉 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝒷𝑒𝓈𝓉 𝑜𝒻 𝓎𝑜𝓊, 𝒾𝒻 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝓃𝑒𝑒𝒹 𝓂𝑒 𝒸𝒶𝓁𝓁 𝓂𝑒.

Getting both boys dressed was one thing but almost forgetting that Zack was asleep in his cot truly took the cake “forgetting someone?” Oscar furrowed his eyebrows as he pointed at the picture of the three boys you had taken for Christmas “fuck me!” Mat pinched the bridge of his nose “swear jar!” The twins spoke at the same time as they watched Mat run back upstairs.

Mat had realised that he had truly screwed up when the boys didn’t even say goodbye to him when they left “tell mom we miss her.” Oscar mumbled as he let the car door shut with a slam behind him.

Zack was peacefully playing with the toy that Marcus had dropped into his hands “you okay buddy?” Mat looked into the rear view mirror to see that his youngest was now looking back at him “mama!” Zack cooed as he let out a giggle “I know, I miss her too.” The hockey player let out a sigh as he tapped his fingers against the steering wheel in front of him.

You let the warm water of the jacuzzi calm your nerves as you peacefully sipped on your mimosa “so what did Mat do?” Maisie asked as she cocked her head.

It pulled your attention away from the bubbling water “what makes you think that he did something?” You shot back ignoring her smirk “it’s been three years since we last went to the spa. What has your husband done to bring you back here?” Before kids the spa was a bimonthly tradition for the two of you.

Maisie sighed as you kept quiet “boyfriend and we fought.” You corrected her looking down at your bare ring finger “tell me what happened.” She reached out to hold your hand “basically-” you were cut off by the sound of your phone ringing “hello?” You asked quickly answering it.

“I know you said that Mr Barzal was picking the boys up today but the boys are still here.” It was forty minutes after the boys were meant to be picked up “I’ll be right there.” You cursed the universe as you got up.

Water ran down your body “Mat forgot the twins at school.” You explained shaking your head “I’m sorry but I have to-” stress made your cheeks turn red “go, I’ll come with.” Maisie didn’t even have you finish talking before she followed you out of there.

Mat bounced Zack in his arms as they walked back to the car “what does your mom want?” Mat furrowed his eyebrows to see that you had sent him twenty missed calls.

You didn’t let him get a word in “Mat you have done some stupid things in your life but this truly takes the cake.” You spat pinching the bridge of your nose.

Thankfully for you the twins always assumed that you were the one meant to pick them up so they didn’t realise that they had been forgotten about “hi dad!” Marcus giggled from the back of the car “shit.” Mat slapped his hand over his mouth “swear jar!”

Mat knew he had screwed up once more “Zack had a good check up and that ear infection is gone!” The hockey player let out an awkward sigh as he watched Zack babble on to himself.

You wanted to yell at him but for now you were going to have to remain quiet “we can talk about it at home.” You hung up before Mat could say anything more to you “I think momma’s gonna kill me.” Mat groaned shaking his head as he placed Zack into his car seat.

Maisie had kept you calm until she left wanting to give you a moment to gather your thoughts before Mat came home “mama!” Zack cooed as the front door opened.

He was happy on his fathers hip until he saw you “he didn’t take his bottle today.” Mat explained as Zack reached out to grab you “it’s because he’s teething.” You explained handing your baby the teething toy you had grabbed when you heard the door open.

That served as another reminder to Mat about your strengths as a parent “where are the boys?” Guilt began to consume him as he thought about what he had done to the twins “playroom.” You tilted your head in their direction.

Mat sent you a nod “can we talk?” He pleaded wanting everything to go back to how it was.

All of his teammates had sent him messages expressing how they were on your side because Mat fucked up “you go talk to your sons, I’m gonna feed this one.” You shook your head not agreeing with him “then we can talk.” You sent him a soft smile before you walked upstairs wanting to feed Zack in peace.

The twins were forever on your side no matter how much they missed their father “you know mom told Nana.” Oscar knew about his grandmother’s distaste for Mat. She always did believe that her daughter deserved more than a hockey player who was keeping her in New York.

Mat frowned at the news “I’m sorry I’ve been really shitty to you both.” He apologised watching the twins look at each other with a smirk “I know I’ll put another dollar in the swear jar.” He added in a predictable tone.

The twins got up when their father dropped his head to stare at the ground as he crouched in front of them “I think we can let you get a free pass.” Oscar announced wrapping his arms around Mat “but only if you go apologise to mom.” Marcus added on replicating his brothers actions “yeah I miss moms waffles.” Oscars complaints brought a smile to Mat’s face.

It made him laugh as he nodded “I think I can find a way to make sure you guys get those.” The boys let out a cheer at the news.

Zack had fallen asleep the moment he finished eating “can we talk?” Mat asked as he knocked on the door to see you sat on the bed as you folded laundry.

Your absolute definition of the worst thing on the planet.

Mat laughed as he watched you scrunched up your face reacting to how he folded clothes “you got something you want to say?” Mat raised his eyebrows as he placed his boxers on the table in front of him.

You sighed “you’re doing it wrong.” You shook your head as you reached out to fix what he had done.

It made him smirk “what?” You looked for an answer to his amused expression “as someone who hates folding laundry you are doing a pretty good job.” Mat pointed out as he crossed his arms.

Your mouth formed an o as you let out a gasp “cause you’re doing it wrong!” You threw his boxers at him “want to show me the right way to do it?” You raised your eyebrows as you heard his offer “if that was to get me into your bed once more-” your relationship with the boy had only been going on for a few weeks but you had been friends for years.

The hockey player grabbed your hand as he pulled you onto his lap “then I’d have to try a lot less to be a lot more successful.” Mat brushed his hand along your cheek “I’d like to see you try.” You let out a squeal when he picked you up and carried you to his bedroom.

When Mat’s body weight pressed against the mattress it pulled you away from that memory “I don’t know how you do that everyday.” Mat blurted out as he looked at you.

It brought you some comfort hearing his apology “you are incredible and I was stupid.” The hockey player continued as he ran his fingers through his hair “that’s one way to put it.” You let out a soft laugh “I’m so sorry for everything I did.” Mat reached out to grab your hand.

You smiled at the contact “thank you.” Your voice was soft as you sent him a smile “and I promise I will never leave our children at school again.” His words made you laugh “I’m not letting you live that one down.” You shook your head as he grinned “thought as much.”

Both of you remained silent for a moment just enjoying the peace “I appreciate your apology.” You mumbled fiddling with your nails.

Mat stopped you as he forced your fingers down to the mattress “I have something I need to tell you.” The hockey player announced reaching over to his bedside cabinet.

You shook your head stopping him “I have something to say first.” Amit the chaos that was yesterday you failed to tell Mat the news “you go first then.” He let the box drop into his drawer as he waited to hear what it was that you had to say.

He smiled as he watched you run into the bathroom with a smile on your face “Zack was meant to wear this really cute onesie that I ordered when I thought about this but-” Mat cut you off as he got up to follow you “just spit it out.” His voice was soft as he sent you a thumbs up.

You showed him the pregnancy test as you chewed at the inside of your cheek “say something?” Somehow you were more nervous about showing it to him now than you had for any of the other three pregnancies combined.

Mat pursed his lips together “I was going to say this to you in a few minutes but I’ll do it now.” A moment truly hadn’t felt better than this one did.

He dropped to his knee “I can’t see my life without you and today cemented that more than any other did.” Mat confessed making you smile “the ring is in my drawer-” he rambled making you grin “just ask me so I can say yes you big goof!” You kneeled as you smiled locking your hand with his.

“Marry me so I can spend the rest of my life with you?”

Eight and a half months later

Mat and you enjoyed the last moments of silence as you stared at your newest edition of the family.

But of course the moment had to end eventually when Anthony opened the door with the twins and Zack in tow “is my goddaughter everything we thought she would be and more?” Anthony smiled as he carried a bouquet in his hands as he pressed a kiss to your temple.

Mat nodded crouching down to show the boys their sister “couldn’t have said it better myself.” He nodded knowing that this was going to be the child that was truly going to wrap everyone around her finger.

[houpss]

Dawg I’m actually begging crying on my knees for you to do a reverse version where like reader dies protecting skz 😭😭😭 ofc obvi no pressure, like only if you’d like to 🙏🏻🩷 you write so well im like obsessed

ububububu.....I'm very pleased to hear this! thanks for the idea, love 🩷🫂

I'm eating strawberries and crying, I literally feel bad about this job 😭😭😭

SKZ's reaction to your death ver. hyung line

maknae line

It pains me to write this work, my heart breaks and I begin to believe in this nonsense... BUT REMEMBER THAT ONLY PERSONALITIES ARE TAKEN FROM THE REAL SKZ, EVERYTHING REST IS FICTION!

Bang Chan

It happened...suddenly.

Chan returned home before you, he wanted to cook you dinner and then turn on a new movie that he recently found.

He knew that you were stuck at work, so he wasn’t too worried.

An hour has passed... you're gone, but you should be back by now. Two hours have passed, Chan is nervous.

He called you, you didn’t pick up, he called you so many times, but you didn’t hear.

At two o'clock in the morning he receives a call on his phone. He jumps out of bed, hoping it's you calling, but it's just an unfamiliar number.

He picks up the phone, he just hopes you're okay.

"Are you Bang Christopher Chan? I'm sorry..Y/N Bang died."

Chan thought it was a joke, a very unfunny joke.

He can only come to consciousness when he sees your body. Road accident, you didn't survive.

He will ask Changbin, Jisung and Hyunjin to come out quite aggressively, because they came with him.

He ran his fingers over your pale face, tears forming in his eyes. Impossible.

He strokes your hair, strokes your hands, stopping at your fingers...he squeezes your hand tightly. Why did you leave him?

Tears fall on your lifeless body, you would be very upset if you saw Chan crying.

They can only drag him out of your room in the morning, he didn’t want to let go of your body until the end, it was like he was possessed.

"No, don't take me...I have to stay with her! I don't want to be taken away from her"

"she’s probably so cold and scared... she’s alone there, she’s already lifeless.”

He blamed himself, he could have taken you away from work, but why didn’t you ask?

The exit from the hospital is filled with reporters and paparazzi, the shocking news shocked many: “Model and Actress, Bang Chan’s wife Y/N Bang died in a car accident.”

Thanks to the members, they protected Chan from reporters and endless paparazzi. Chan did not walk behind as usual, but in the middle, and a ring was created around the participant.

Chan doesn’t remember anything, he just cried, he cries so much and loudly.

The members refused to leave him, although he asked so. They went to the dorm.

A day has passed... two days have passed... a week has passed. Funeral.

He remembers everything very vaguely, he was the last one to kiss your forehead before the coffin lid was closed.

Now he is completely alone.

He eats very little and hardly leaves the room. Minho literally force feeds him.

Your photos are open on his phone, you are on his wallpaper.

He doesn’t want to live without you, he wants you so much.

His tears never dry, he cries constantly. There are no emotions inside him, he is dead.

He looked through your correspondence... his heart ached madly.

He just loves you so much, he loves only you.

He apologized profusely to your family, it was his fault.

In the end he won't cope and he will leave for you. Chan was found hanged in his room. There was a note on the table with the words: “I can’t live without her, I’m nothing without her... forgive me.”

Lee Minho

People come and go. The simple meaning of life

But you couldn't leave him...not you

If you loved, then you would not have left...WHY DID YOU LEAVE HIM?

Overdose of antidepressants.

He found you in your apartment, you were lying on the bed, wrapped in a blanket... you seemed to be sleeping, but your heart was not beating.

What if he had found you earlier?

He would have stopped you.

He found a letter next to you... your last will and love for him

"𝐈'𝐦 𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐰𝐞𝐚𝐤...𝐈 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰"

"𝐈 𝐜𝐚𝐧'𝐭 𝐜𝐨𝐩𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐲𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞, 𝐇𝐨"

"𝐈'𝐦 𝐰𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐈 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐦𝐚𝐝𝐥𝐲. 𝐈𝐭 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐛𝐞 𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐢𝐞𝐫 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐦𝐞."

IT'S NOT EASIER WITHOUT YOU

He has been crying for several days in a row. Even the members can't pull it out.

He became so aggressive and closed.

His heart rotted and broke without you

He falls asleep with your sweatshirt on, with your perfume on it.

The company releases a statement that Minho is taking an indefinite hiatus from activities.

He wants to close his eyes, open his eyes and have you next to him.

He went through many treatments with you and visited many psychiatrists.

You smiled at him so much, so what happened?

Minho cried for the first time in front of the members, everyone was broken with your death.

After your death, he smoked for the first time.

The cigarette smoke calmed him down at least a little. And in your dreams you came to him, you talked to him a lot.

He became very closed off to himself, even Jisung couldn’t get him to talk.

Everything and everywhere reminded him of you

Your bottle of perfume...your drawings, your rings, your elastic bands, your sweaters

You would curse if you saw him like this.

Only a month later, after your funeral, he dared to pick up your phone.

To mom, dad and sister: “I’m sorry that I’m so weak.. I would like a better life for you, I wanted to live better and happier. I’m a bad daughter.”

To SKZ:"Sorry...be strong, you are world stars and become even more popular..."

To Minho:"I repent of you, I hate myself for what I did. I have about ten minutes left...And in these ten minutes I will continue to love you, Lee Minho. Maybe we will meet in the next life?"

The emotions he had been holding back burst out.

He screamed, his scream deafening the silence.

Physical pain in his heart pierced him. how the bitch it hurts.

Now he's wearing your big jacket.

“Please protect me, Y/N.”

SEO CHANGBIN

"Police lieutenant Seo Y/N was shot..she died while intercepting a drug gang. The ambulance did not have time to arrive"

What did he just hear? Why are they saying your name?

Is this a mistake? Maybe they got it wrong?

He refused to believe it until he was asked to come to the morgue to identify the body.

Yes, you were lying there...a bullet in the forehead.

Changbin turned away, he couldn’t look at you. He's scared.

Probably then he realized all the pain, he stopped living.

Felix and Seungmin forcibly dragged him away from the morgue.

He was never against your work, he was just proud of you. Of course, his wife is a police lieutenant.

He knew it was dangerous, but could anything bad happen to you?

"Changbin, she died a hero, please...be the same hero for her."

There were so many people at your funeral, why did they all come?

Changbin felt lost, Chan was holding his hand. Changbin couldn't navigate the space.

Time doesn't heal anything, remember.

He lost the desire to exist

He hated your job after your death, it's all your damn job.

Will you protect Changbin? Are you his guardian angel?

From time to time he hears your voice.

He will come to your parents and ask for forgiveness.

Really, forgive him.

He will take your dog with him, it seems... the dog really misses you, where is his owner?

Changbin doesn't like music anymore, he stopped working out, he stopped eating.

"Y/N would be upset if she knew that you wanted to leave the group."

"She told you to create for the sake of people's happiness."

"WITHOUT HER THERE IS NO FUCKING THIS HAPPINESS..."

You would like him to continue writing and working.

He will stay for your sake... and for the sake of the members, these three months they kept him afloat, he literally clung to them.

Your dog now has 8 caring men

Changbin brings red Lilies, your favorite flowers, to your grave every week.

Hwang Hyunjin

You have been married for five years, recently celebrated your anniversary.

You were the happiest couple! STAY blessed couple , the participants were incredibly happy about your couple.

You found out that you are pregnant.

Hyunjin was incredibly happy! Members will become uncles to your baby.

Felix took the place of godfather.

Chan and Minho were responsible for choosing the name.

And Changbin, Jisung, Seungmin and Jeongin made rooms for your baby!

But...you had a back injury, which made it dangerous to give birth.

You didn't care, you were going to have the baby.

Difficulties began immediately during contractions, Hyunjin was with you all the time.

He was forced to leave the room in the middle of labor.

The members who were waiting in the corridor were very worried.

Sudden silence.

The doctor came out of the maternity room and said: “Congratulations, you have a daughter... please accept my condolences, your wife has died.”

What?

It sounded so absurd.

Hyunjin walked into your room, you looked so tired...so sad. sad aphrodite.

Hyunjin kissed your forehead, one hand on your neck, the other holding your hand.

"Thank you for daughter...and forgive me, I love you very much"

Tears rolled down Hyunjin's cheeks, the tears were like pearls.

Hyunjin went home with the members.. The workers left your daughter in the hospital for several days.

Hyunjin seemed to understand nothing, he understood absolutely nothing.

"The baby will grow up in love, Hyunjin"

"We will all take care of her..she is an extension of Y/N" These words from Chan hurt Hyunjin's heart...He will protect and love his daughter.

Hyunjin is always crying, his eyes are red, his face is swollen from crying.

It hurt even more when Seungmin brought your favorite coffee.

In three days we could pick up our daughter.

All eight participants went to the maternity hospital.

They brought out a small package for you, what a tiny little thing.

Hyunjin looked at the little baby as if he were the eighth wonder of the world, the girl was sleeping. Hyunjin could have sworn that she would look like you.

"We'll call her Viyoung" Why is this in tune with Vendetta?

The guy nodded approvingly, tears flowing down his cheeks again.

The members took turns holding the bundle with the baby in their hands.

"I will love you so much, Viyoung...just like your mother loved you."

“Your uncles will take care of you...you will grow up with complete love.”

They went home, everything will be fine. Your memory will never fade away. Hyunjin will raise a beautiful daughter. She's a copy of you, but with Hyunjin's eyes.

[luvv-nikki]

Stay with me

Pairing: College!Minho X Fem!Reader (the rest of skz is also mentioned)

Genre: Fluff, a lil angst

WC: 2463

Warnings: Cussing (only like twice), Sweet Minho, mentions of a break up, insecurity, crying, kissing, super sweet and cheesy relationship, mentions of drinking the reader and Minho are already best friends ^^ (I think that’s it)

Summary: Your bestfriend comforts you after a breakup and ends up kissing you leaving you confused

A/N: random brain thought idk how I feel about this though…

You used your spare key to open the door to your best friend's apartment, locking it behind you. You slowly trudged your way to his room, knocking on the door. “Come in.” You heard on the other side of the door and opened it without hesitation. You saw the confusion on Minho’s face as you walked in. “What’re you-“

Before he could finish his sentence, you broke down into tears. He immediately rushed over to you, holding you steady as you hunched over, slowly lowering you to the floor. Minho wasn’t a man of many words, and he knew you were going to tell him anyway, so he didn’t say anything; he just held you close in his embrace, which is all you wanted.

After rocking you back and forth for a little, he picked you up with ease, carrying you bridal style to his bed. He gently put you down, tucking you in and slowly wiping the tears from your face, but it didn’t matter because you were ugly crying, so the tears just came right back. “Stay here," he said before walking out of the room.

You heard parts of the conversation as Minho called Chris. He explained that he was busy and that the boys would have to wait a little later to come over. You then heard commotion in the kitchen before he came back into the room, closing the door behind him. He placed a glass of water on the nightstand next to you before getting in the bed next to you.

You took a sip of the water before putting it back and cuddling up to Minho. It wasn’t weird since you had done it multiple times before. He was your best friend after all. He put your head on his chest, softly caressing your shoulder. It was almost as if it was on cue as you started talking.

“Michael left me.” You choked out through your sobs, and Minho’s face immediately dropped as you rambled to him. “He said Rachel was better, and I just don’t understand. I did everything for him.” Minho never liked your boyfriend—well, your ex-boyfriend now—and he made it obvious with his looks alone. He held you closer, letting you cry on him.

“It’s not fair. Why can’t I be pretty or the perfect girl? I always have to be clumsy or annoying. I wish I could cook without burning the food; I wish I could clean without knocking something over; and I wish I was beautiful. I just wish I was the perfect girl.” Before you could continue, you were cut off by Minho’s lips on yours. Your body reacted before your brain, and you kissed back, letting yourself melt into the touch. He pulled away but didn’t seem bothered in the least; in fact, he didn’t even move away. His face was still inches away from his as you slightly tilted your head up, making eye contact.

“You are the perfect girl. He’s an idiot for losing you, and... you’re so beautiful it makes my head spin even while you’re crying.” He said quietly before wiping the tears from your face, except this time you had stop crying. You slowly slid out the bed and thanked him quickly before making up some stupid excuse for having to leave and rushing out of the apartment.

——

You spent the next few days ignoring Minho, though it was really hard, mostly because you guys were in the same friend group and he had been your best friend nonstop since middle school. You needed him. He was the person you talked to, ate with, did homework with and spent all of your spare time with. You stared down at your homework and realized you haven’t understood anything since high school, but it didn’t affect you until now because Minho would help you with everything, but he can’t now because you were avoiding him.

He had texted and called multiple times. The texts started with him asking if you were avoiding him, then it slowly turned to him asking how you’re handling the breakup, and then there was the “I’m sorry.” Text at 3 a.m.; eventually, he gave up. You have told the other 7 boys about the breakup, and they had been trying to convince you to come out the house, but they didn’t know about what happened between you and Minho.

Your thoughts were interrupted by a knock on the door. You didn’t even think twice before opening it, thinking it was your food. You were very wrong. All eight boys entered your apartment with food, games and drinks. You immediately closed the door and rushed over to Hyunjin. “What are you all doing here?” You asked frantically, looking around.

Hyunjin laughed and patted your head. “You’ve refused to come out your house, so we came to you, plus it’s Friday. Game night.” He said, gesturing over to the boys, who were setting up the board games, card games and Nintendo. You sighed, pinching your nose.

“Game night.” You repeated cursing under your breath.

“Y/N!” Felix said before hugging you from behind and lifting you off the floor, causing you to yelp. “I missed you! Let’s play Mario Kart.” He was so loud, and finally you felt the eyes you'd been avoiding landing on you. You could feel the rage radiating off of Minho from where you were standing, and it was the scariest thing you'd experienced.

Felix put you down, and you slowly backed up to your room. "Listen, I really have work to do, but you guys can," Seungmin’s hand gripped your wrist, stopping you.

“You can’t keep avoiding us. Eat something.” He said simply before leading you to the kitchen, only to be met with Jeongin, who was standing on the other side of the counter, picking up some sushi with his chopsticks and force-feeding it to you.

“We’re your friends,” he said with a fake gag before continuing. “We’re not gonna let you sulk over some idiot for the rest of your life.” He said before eating some sushi himself.

“I’m dying without the only other genius in our friend group.” Hyunjin cried dramatically, getting a synchronized “hey!” from some of the other boys.

They kept you in the kitchen and living room, forcing you to eat and talk to them no matter how hard you tried to get away, and eventually you accepted it and even had fun. Though Minho still hadn’t said a word to you, you could definitely feel him burning holes into the back of your head.

The guys decided to take a few shots, but you opted out along with Minho. Still, the boys begged to play uno. So here you were, all circled around the table, playing a heated card game. “Hey, you guys notice Y/N isn’t all cuddled up with Minho tonight.” Hyunjin teased, causing everyone’s eyes to fall to you and then to Minho, who was all the way on the other side of the table.

“Now this is the breakup of the century.” Jisung whined before letting out a very loud fake cry. You cringed, and he put his hands up in surrender. “Too early? My bad.” He said, and you gestured towards the game so they would keep playing, but the awkward tension was getting the best of you.

“I have to piss.” You said before putting your cards on the table and getting up to go to the bathroom. You could hear the boys humming and calling out as if you had just been called to the principal's office, but you didn’t think much of it. That was until you were trapped in between Minho’s arms against the wall.

“What the fuck is your problem? We’ve been friends for almost our entire lives, and now you’re gonna act like I don’t exist over a stupid kiss?” He said in a whisper, not wanting to cause a scene.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” You said simply while trying to duck under his arm, but he just moved it down and put his leg out further, trapping you.

“You won’t even look at me. Look at me.” He said turning your head with his other hand. “Are my feelings a joke to you?"

“What?” You question and he leaned in further his gaze enough to make you weak in the knees.

“You kissed me back, then completely shut me out. You know I like you, so what? Are you just using me for your own personal gain because you know I can’t say no to you?” He asked, and you immediately had a confused expression on your face.

“Wait back up. What do you mean I know you like me?” You asked, and he took a deep breath, his hands moving to your waist and pulling you close to him.

“Don’t play stupid. I’ve been giving you hints since high school.” He muttered, and this only confused you further.

“What? What are you talking about, Min?” You asked and watched how he was now just as shocked as you.

"Y/N, you’re the only girl I talk to and hang out with on a daily basis; I’m nice to you and only you; I do anything you ask; I always try to impress you; I always ask you to go places or do things with me; I’m always looking at you or touching you; and I even sent you flowers on Valentine’s Day, telling you how I felt, and you rejected me and started dating Michael.” He said that, and the last sentence especially made you physically recoil.

“Min… I never rejected you. Michael brought the flowers inside and said they were from him. There was no note. I had no clue you liked me, and I thought you just kissed me out of pity or the heat of the moment. I didn’t want to ruin our friendship with my feelings, so I ignored you.” You explained and watched as the rage fell from his face.

“Are you seriously that oblivious? Must I confess to you in person?” He asked with a small smile. “Alright fine. Y/N, you are the most beautiful girl I’ve ever laid eyes on, and I never want you out of my sight. I love you, so will you stop being dense and kiss me already? I’ve already been waiting 8 years.” You didn’t hesitate, and you kissed him immediately after he finished. He smirked and kissed you back, pulling you closer.

He slightly pulled away, placing another peck on your lips. “Does this mean I can be your boyfriend?” He asked, and the way Minho worded things was always so perfect. He was so perfect.

“Only if I can be your girlfriend.” You replied, and he smiled, leaning in again.

“Sounds like a deal to me.” He whispered before kissing you again. It was like he was addicted to your lips, especially with his small praises in between kisses.

The two of you were so distracted that you didn’t even notice the presence of Changbin, Jisung and Felix until Changbin squealed like a little girl. Minho immediately let go of you, slightly embarrassed. Changbin was fake fainting and being the biggest fanboy along with Jisung as Felix apologized and tried to get them back to the living room, which didn’t help since Changbin and Jisung started screaming to the rest of the boys about Minho being a sweetheart and how “their ship has finally sailed."

The two of you walked back to the living room, all eyes on you, waiting to see if the news was true or not. Minho slowly grabbed your hand, walking over to the table that was now surrounded by cheering boys. Minho quickly got embarrassed by this and let go of your hand, reclaiming his spot while you reclaimed yours and picked back up the uno game as if nothing happened. That didn’t stop you and Minho from sharing small glances a small smile on both of your faces until one of you got nervous or one of the other boys caught Minho, and his smile would immediately drop back to his neutral face.

Eventually the boys drank themselves to sleep, and it was just you and Min. You didn’t move them much, but the two of you gave them pillows and blankets before silently agreeing to go to your room. You quietly closed the door before sitting on your bed. Minho sat at your desk, looking at the empty paper. Without a second thought, he picked up your pencil and worked through it. You didn’t even realize until he turned around and showed you the paper. “You really can't do anything without me, huh?” He said with a teasing tone, and you rolled your eyes, standing up and walking over to him.

“I didn’t need help; I just didn’t get to it yet.” You replied, causing him to laugh. “Ok seriously? You don’t have to brag about it, smartass.” You replied, snatching the paper out his hand and putting it in your bag.

“What about thank you? I don’t work for free, you know.” He said putting his hands on your waist and pulling you closer.

“I didn’t ask for your help.”

“But you were going to.”

You couldn’t believe this guy’s ego. You scoffed and shook your head because, honestly, he was right, but you wouldn’t admit that. “Thank you, Minho.” You said and tried to walk away, but he pulled you down on his lap.

“You’re welcome, Kitten.” He whispered, his hands caressing your waist while your eyebrow raised slightly.

“Kitten?” You asked, and he smiled.

“What? too soon?” You shook your head and smiled.

“I like it.” You muttered, and he leaned in. You closed the gap, kissing him softly.

“Now that’s a proper thank you.” He said making you giggle. “Let’s get you to bed, hm?” He said while lifting you and carrying you over to the bed. He tucked you in before kissing your head. He went to leave, but you grabbed his hand, causing him to turn back.

“Where are you going?” You asked, and he looked confused.

“To the living room to sleep? Why? are you okay?”

“Stay with me.”

“What?”

“Stay with me.” You repeated, and he scanned your face to see any sign that you were joking. Once he realized you were serious, he came and got in the bed with you, waiting until you turned the lamp off to hold you close.

“If any of the boys see this, I’m telling them you’re holding me hostage.” He said, and you giggled again.

He kissed your shoulder, then your ear. “Goodnight Kitten.” He whispered before leaving more small kisses on your shoulders and neck.

“Goodnight Min.” You whispered back.

[thefandomdirtymind]

Sanji x reader where shes a bit of a spoiled girl with high standards, who was raised by a group of pirates who couldn’t have children of their own. When they retire, they encourage reader to go out on her own and she meets the straw hats and joins them because of her talent for stealing without getting caught. When Sanji joins the crew, he forms a crush on reader and does everything he can to impress her from his cooking to flowers to small gifts, but reader isn’t impressed one bit because her family always went big and made sure she never settled for the small things.

A/N IMPORTANT:  Hi anon ! Thank you for your request ! You seem to have a precise idea so I hope you will accept the little modification I did. It at first start very well and then I get sick and to be fair I had kind of a hard time with the end. But I hope you will like it .

His High Standard Princess

OPLA - Sanji

Sanji / OPLA Masterlist and Coming Soon

* English is not my first language, I tried really hard to correct myself but, I hope you will excuse me if some mistakes are still there.

—

If we were asking your adoptive fathers and their crew of fearsome pirates, they would call you their little miracle. Lost in the sea, booping on the wave like a message in a bottle, they had found you, infant in your little basket, crying with all the force of your small lungs. Not so far, they also found the rest of the wreckage of what seemed like two ships. They never had truly searched for what happened. Accidents weren't uncommon on the East blue, it suffice of an abordage going wrong, waking a sea monster of his nap or a storm to finish your life with the fishes.  

The pirate ship wasn’t, of course, the best place for raising a child, but they both did their best, searching at each port they made a halt, to ask mothers about tricks and parental advice. Soon, you become a brave, smart and skilled woman, returning to your fathers their love, with the interest that you have grown to be one of the best thieves the world has ever seen. And it was a good thing that you were as quiet as a mouse on your feet, because being the little princess of a group of pirates meant they had cherished you and covered you in gold, giving you a strong appetite for the precious metal and some pretty high standard. Or, like your adoptive fathers always said, you knew your worth and didn’t settle for less. 

That’s why you knew, when you saw the golden pendant in his bed of velvet, that you had to steal it, because you deserved it. It didn’t take you more than fifteen minutes, in broad daylight, for it to be your. Of course, you already had multiple necklaces, even one that looked like this one, but the truth was that you were bored and the stone in the center had your favorite shade of blue.

The action in your life was in a dangerous decline since your adoptive parent had decided to retire. You could understand, their life had been rough, with all the battles, storms and adventures. They deserve their peaceful life and as much as they encourage you to abandon them and go explore the world, you couldn’t bring in you the force to let them. But as you walk for the fifth time that road sinding the village in two, you can't help yourself to wonder what you could see and steal if you leave to live your own adventure.

You were taking a little snack, previously the propriety of the mayor's daughter, when you heard words you hadn't heard outside of your own house for a long time.  

“ Nami, how far do you think we are from the Grand Line ? “  A young man wearing a straw hat, but nothing apparently valuable, said, passing in front of you. 

The grand line, the place where most of your children's fairy tales took place. Every member of the crew had told you stories about rumors of incredible treasure, sea monsters covered in gold, dangerous pirates and of course, the legendary One Piece. Child, all those stories had made you head spin, making you beg your fathers to bring you there. Now adults, you understand that it was way too dangerous with you on board. And, without a great crew ready to take you in, you hadn’t no way to leave this small village. That's why you had tried to forget as much as possible the idea of all the richesses and the mysterious treasure. Until now.

Turning on your heels, throwing your/not your half eaten sandwich in a trash can, you followed the small group from a safe distance, admiring their chemistry. As you try, as much as you can, to stay silent and learn what they know about your dream destination. Soon,you couldn’t help yourself, quietly approaching their group more and more at each change of direction. As much as you love your adoptive parents and guilt would hunt you down, you couldn’t deny that the quiet life was slowly killing you, and, if that was your exit ticket sent by fate, you will not step back. 

Taking another turn, now just behind them, you suddenly stop on your track as the orange haired girl spoke. 

“ I don’t know why you follow us, but I wouldn't try to rob us if I were you “

“ Nami, who do you talk to ? “ The young man asked, confused as he looked around him. 

“ That girl followed us for a while now, she isn’t a marine, neither a welcome committee and as her bag can assure you she’s a thief. And a good one, I didn’t hear her until a few streets away and it was because of a puddle. “ She said, facing you. Her expression wasn’t really friendly, and,as much as you were yourself embarrassed and hurt that she had unveiled you, you put your hands in fist and brave yourself. After all, you did nothing wrong. For once.

“ I didn’t want to rob you, I heard you talk about the Grand Line and I was curious,that's all. It’s my dream to discover its treasure. Did you really head there ?” You asked, your hope coloring your word. 

“ Yes,I’m Monkey D. Luffy, she’s Nami. We will go to the grand line, find the One Piece and I will become king of the pirates !  Do you want to join our crew ? “ Luffy happily proclaimed, asking you to join them like if it was a stroll in the park.

“Luffy, we didn’t even know her, we can’t take every dreamer who crosses our path“ Nami almost protested, his gaze more amical but still trying to determine if you were a threat or not.

“ Nami, she’s good, you said to yourself, that if it wasn’t from that puddle you could never have known she was following us. We will need a good ally and I trust her ! “

“ I’m Y/N. I swear I will not steal something which belongs to you “ You promised “ I will worth it , please it’s my dream. If I stay here I will die of boredom.” 

“ We have other crew members, it has to apply to them too “ Nami sighs, finally smiling at you. An understanding of your situation in her gaze “ We leave in two hours, will you be ready ?“ 

“ I will, “ You smiled. 

–

Your goodbye, emotional but proud, had been brief but full of happiness. You all knew that the world wasn’t prepared for you, but you were ready to steal it dry with a smile and without making a sound.After taking your bag, hearing your papa sad complaint that with your extraordinary talent he will not have a warrant to put on their wall, you leave for the port. 

–

The place was busy and noisy, many varieties of boat were leaving or arriving and the common sense of communication seemed to yell at each other, creating a brouhaha who gave Sanji a headache. As if he already had one at guiding Usopp and Zoro charging the crate of fresh provisions, while trying to stop Luffy from opening them and serving himself. Securing the rope of the last barrel, he heard a feminine voice.

“ I’m sorry sir, is that yours ? “

Turning himself to face you, his breath stayed stuck in his throat as you beauty caught him unguard. Sure, he had seen beautiful women pass the door of the Barratie and Nami in herself was a perpetual sunrise. But you, was a true vision. Sadly, the handkerchief in your hand wasn’t his and as stupid as it seems he was almost jealous of the mysterious owner. 

“ I...Hello Madam, I'm almost sorry that isn’t mine, but I would gladly help you if you need help returning it to its owner. You know... keeping you company during this kind quest “ He offered, tittling his head, his seductive smile already spreading his lips.

“ Y/N, didn’t we agree that you will not steal something from us, give it back to him, Sanji is our cook “ Nami joyfully yells from the Going Merry upper deck rail. 

“ Y/N, you made it ! “ Luffy joined, two pieces of bread in his hand. “ Sanji, it’s Y/N, she will go with us now “

“ Sorry Nami, I didn’t know ! Hi Luffy “ You replied, the tissue disappearing in your pocket as you pulled out Sanji’s golden lighter. “ Sorry for that…nice to meet you “ You smiled in front of his surprised face. Taking back his property, putting it back in his pocket, trying to understand at which moment you could have taken it without him noticing. 

“ Y/N, what a pretty name. I’m Sanji “ He introduced himself, your soft smile making him weak in the knees. “ May I offer you to help you come aboard “ 

“ I will be fine thank you, I grew up on a ship. I was kind of a small pirate princess. “ You confessed, climbing the ramp leading to the lower deck. 

“ Princess indeed suits you, you seem straight from a fairy tale “ Sanji flirts, following you, saving ,as he passes alongside Luffy, one of the small breeds. 

“ You have a hell of a silver tongue, be careful that nobody tries to steal it “ You joked. 

“ If I could, I would gladly give it to you “ He sweetly said, trying to help you with your bag. “ Sadly it would mean never tasting food so it was kind of a disadvantage for my job.”

Laughing, you made your way to the cabin where you put down your bag. 

“ What food do you like ? “ He asked, eager to know more about you “ I can do everything you want “

“ No offense,but, from the cook of a pirate ship, I doubt it. My father had kidnapped a reputable chef who had stayed in our crew until they retired. I never tasted food like his after that.” 

“Test me “ He replied, an amused smile on his lips. 

To his surprise, your response to his usual question wasn’t any basic dishes and would truly be worth it to be served in a five star restaurant. No meat directly in the bones or rice ball. But an actual meal who’s will required him to work his skill for hours to obtain the perfect result. And you wouldn’t stop at the main course, telling him stories of delicate desserts you had eaten.

It was that moment that Sanji knew that you were made for each other. Sure, you weren't the only woman with a delicate palate in all the east blue. But even if his talent in the kitchen wasn’t contested, he wanted you to enjoy his version of those dishes and forget all the memories of those lower poor attempts( in his opinion) you had before. And if at the same time he could win you over with his charm additionned to his food, it would even be better. 

It was on that base that he was starting his crusade. Months passed without you even being impressed by his effort. Sure you had been surprised that he was a great cook, but that was all. Days after days, he made for your favorite meals and dishes Zeff would never allow past the door of the Baratie kitchen, judging it too fancy for his clientèle.

If you go on a mission or just a resupply in an island, the man would come back to you, a flower bouquet bought or handmade in hand, every time different flowers that he proclaimed knew the significance. And, each time, the flower was an affirmation of his affection.  He even went to give you a small pendant of a golden rose.  

It wasn’t that you didn’t acknowledge his effort or his affection. His cooking was impeccable and yes, even better than you had previously tasted. But, even if you think it was indeed sweet that he always tries to prove himself to you, you couldn’t stop yourself to think that you could have stolen every one of those gifts he gave you. And, if it's that easy to steal, will you really settle for some easy stuff. Weren't you worth at least a or many treasure chests?

It didn’t take long, in a strange way, for you to have your answer.

You had been sent, in the cover of the night, in a stealing or like Luffy prefer to call it, a rescue artifact mission. The mayor of the village you currently stop at asks the straw hat crew for help and there you are, tip-toeing in the almost deserted rival ship, while the others were distracting the crew at the tavern or had your back walking the dock. Even if, when you had left a few minutes ago, Zoro and Sanji were more into annoying each other, than looking at the horizon for possible danger. 

The ship was mostly in the dark, helping you as much as causing you troubles. The only sound you could hear, beside the wave crashing slowly against the hull, was a distante snoring you couldn’t exactly pinpoint in the many rooms you had to explore. 

You could never have expected that it was in fact not a snore you had heard but the noise of the machine guarding the many treasure chests and the precious artifact.

Entering the room, you couldn’t believe your luck. Everywhere you were looking, open treasure chests full of gold and jewels were calling for you, making you put your guard down. Grabbing the golden statue, you didn’t notice the noise becoming slightly louder as you put a handful of coins in your pocket. 

“ Y/N ! Where are you ?! We have to go, it's bad ! “ You heard Sanji, somewhere behind you, his footsteps like he was running.

“ Sanji ? Lower your voice you will wake the sleepy dude somewhere “ You order him, seeing him pass the door.

“ We have to get out now ! It’s not a snore, it's the ship blocking every exit. When I came in, the hull was already covered in metal.” He explained. 

“ Shit, it must be something I miss when I check the security...okay okay, hm...take the handle of this chest, I take the other and we can go” You said, already moving to the larger one. 

“ What, no we don’t have time for this, we have to go now ! “ He repeat, looking at you confused that you didn’t take more seriously the closing ship problem. 

“ Sanji, look at all this gold. I don’t go without it, it could be insanity” You said, confusing yourself that he can’t understand that. “ If you don’t want to fine, I will take it by myself.”

“ Y/N, I don’t leave you behind and that gold is too heavy we have to go, now “ He still patiently tries to make you understand, advancing his hand to reach yours. 

“ Think of all the things we could do with that much gold, the quality ingredient you can buy “ 

“ Not if we are caught there and killed. You worth for me way more than that gold and ingredient, Y/N Please “ He pleaded, taking your free hand. “ Let’s go “

His words at first shock you, after all knowing your worth and not settling for less was almost the motto in your family. But, you had to admit it was right, all the gold was way too heavy and you couldn’t do anything with it if you end up being caught. It was then, still unsure that you took his hand, the artifact in your bag, you ran until you could see the star above your head. 

Few hours later, as the villagers were celebrating the return of their precious idol, you find a quiet place on the beach, admiring the stars and waves crashing on the sand. You had heard his footsteps coming your way, recognizable by his controlled but relaxed rhythm, but, you choose to not let him know, you gaze still lost in the wave. 

“ Still think about all the gold ? “ Sanji asked, taking a seat by your side. “ I know it isn’t even a quarter but it’s still gold. “ 

Turning your head, you notice the golden lighter in his hand, the same you had stolen from him the first day. But, your interest toward it has changed, his strange words earlier had stuck a sensible cord changing for you a lot of thought when it came to him. 

“ Did you mean it ? What you told earlier “ You asked. “ About me worthing more that all that gold” 

“ Of course “ He replied, putting back the lighter in his pocket seeing you hadn’t any interest in it. “ You’re more precious to me than those things. Sure I could have bought many high quality items for my kitchen and cooked dishes with five star ingredients.But it wasn't worth it if it put you in danger and resulted in you not being there anymore to enjoy those meals.” 

All your life, gold and treasure had always been given to you on a platter and your stealing service had usually been discussed with a large sum of Berries at the end. Then, the fact that Sanji wasn’t interested in either your talent or the gold but simply in you, was truly shocking to your core. 

Turning your gaze on him, seeing him, with the light of the moon illuminating his features gently, you smiled. 

“ I knew I should have stolen that silver tongue of yours” You joked, your heartbeat taking a faster beat.  

" I’m still afraid I still need it to pre-taste the food, but I gave my heart in exchange” He offered, happily watching you chuckle to his cheesy line. 

“ Fine, I accept the trade “ You answer finally “ But I still expected high quality meal “ 

“ Of course my Princess, I would never give you less than the best, ” Sanji replied, his adoration gaze fixed on you. After all, for him, you’re the most precious thing in the world.  

[mah-t-wordblog]

hey, can you write the tokito twins pls? 🩵🩵 I feel like yuichiro would often use tickling against muichiro whenever he annoys him or does something stupid, and he would be very mean with his tickles too! but secretly he just loves to see his adorable little brother smiling & happy 🩵🩵 thanks!

I write this and completely forgot to read your quest, I’m so so sorry 😭, if u want another, ask me and say that it is you, I can write another one very fast, I’m so sorry 😭😭😭😭

You're not well

Lee: Muichiro Tokito

Ler: Yuuichiro Tokito

❤️🧡💛💚🩵💙💜❤️🧡💛💚🩵💙💜❤️🧡

Ships: NONE

Warnings: This is a tickle fic, if you don’t like it, just scroll down

This fanfic is originally in Portuguese, my English is translated using an automatic translator, if there are any big errors you can tell me so I can fix them

❤️🧡💛💚🩵💙💜❤️🧡💛💚🩵💙💜❤️🧡

It had been a few months since the Tokito twins' parents had passed away

Yuuichiro felt responsible for taking care of his home and his life, but mainly for taking care of his little brother Muichiro

Muichiro had always been a smiling, happy and lively boy, but loneliness and the death of his parents caused a great drop in the boy's mood

Yuuichiro seems cold, but inside, he misses his brother's smile

That day the older twin came home with a bucket of water and saw Muichiro sitting on the floor, staring at the ceiling

"Muichiro, I asked you to prepare the vegetables for us"

The boy looked at his brother

"I'm sorry, brother, I forgot"

Muichiro had always been a bit absent-minded, but he was more so than usual

Yuuichiro crossed his arms and looked at his brother, who was getting up to cut the vegetables

“Muichiro”

“Yes?”

“You don’t have to cook now”

“Why?”

“Because you’re not well”

Muichiro was surprised by the statement

“I- I-“

Yuuichiro wasn’t very good at affection, but even so, he approached his brother and hugged him

Muichiro started to cry and sob

“Hey, I’m sorry for always being so rude, but right now, I feel like there’s something I need to tell you” Yuuichiro said “it’ll be okay”

Muichiro nodded, wiping his tears

“I-I’ll cook” Muichiro tried to turn his back and leave, but was held back

“You don’t have to” Yuuichiro really didn’t know how to be affectionate

“B-but…”

“I already told you there’s no need, I want to help you”

Muichiro looked at him and nodded

“I already know what I’m going to do” Yuuichiro said

“What?”

The older one smiled

“I’ll tickle you, like I always did”

Muichiro blushed

“Yuuichiro!”

The boy attacked the other, starting to squeeze his sides

Muichiro fell to the ground and started laughing

“Nohohohoho, Yuhuhui!”

“But wasn’t that what you wanted?”

Yuuichiro moved to his brother’s belly, which he knew was a much more sensitive spot

“HEHEHEHEHEY”

“See? It’s okay!”

Muichiro shook his head

“No?”

“IT IHIHIS IT IHIHIHIS”

“Are you sure, Mui?”

“YEHEHEHEHES PLEHEHEASHEHE”

“Hm… let me think…”

Yuuichiro gave to his brother some big raspberries, he know Muichiro loves raspberries

“PLEHEHEASHEHEHE”

“So are you okay now?”

“YEHEHEHEHES”

Yuuichiro smiled, he usually wasn’t so affectionate with his brother, but now he felt like he needed to

“Your smile is beautiful, please smile more often”

Muichiro sobbed when his brother stopped his hands

“Thank- *hic* thank you”

Yuuichiro ruffled the other’s hair

“It’ll be okay” the older one got up and grabbed the bucket of water he had brought home “now let’s make the food”

Muichiro laughed “of *hic* course”

He quickly got up and went back to cutting the vegetables

Even though Yuuichiro can be rude sometimes, he cares about his brother’s well-being, after all he would give his whole life for him

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

Muichiro looked up at the sky, and out of nowhere he started smiling

“What’s wrong?” Tanjiro asked

“Nothing, I just remembered my brother” Muichiro smiled

Tanjiro smiled back at him

❤️🧡💛💚🩵💙💜❤️🧡💛💚🩵💙💜❤️🧡

Thanks for reading (I’m so so sorry 😭 please don’t hate me)

[saintsr]

Fluffy new story

Sweet Raven

In a kitchen you could hear sounds of pots falling to the floor, crashing against each other, spoons stirring something, plastic  and closing, until everything stopped and very loud screams were heard.

 “Pinche Dora!  That blind girl, she is on your right!  Yes to your right!  Finally you see, it wasn’t that difficult, and because she made me angry it’s just a caricature” Missa laughs only when he turns to look at his hand and sees the jar carefully “No, the salt!”

 Now you could hear screams and cries, Missa still finished cooking what he was doing, in the end he saw her culinary work in a plastic packaging while he continued crying and put her hands to her head, immediately her cell phone rang.

 “Hello?”

 “You’re crying?”  The person on the other side started laughing.  “El pendejo, El  pendejo” then a second voice is heard from afar.

 “Is Mariana crying?”

 “That?  No, it’s Missa.” 

 “Ahh, who hurt him?  Let’s fuck it up”

 “To Missa?”

 “No, Who made him cry ” said the somewhat annoyed voice. “Who made you cry?”

 

 “It wasn’t someone, it was something, Quackity.” Missa wiped her tears with the sleeve of her sweatshirt. “Do you remember, what was I going to make a chocolate for Philza?”

 

 “Yes” the two voices responded in unison.

 

 “Well, instead of sugar I added salt.”

 

 “But couldn’t you add a little bit?”

 

 “Yes, the recipe sometimes says a pinch of salt with sugar to enhance the flavor and reduce the bitter taste a little”

 

 “That’s the problem, I added half a shaker of salt” he started crying again while the voices were holding back the urge to laugh “and I’m already out of money, time and ingredients.”

 

 “Well, is the Sprite home yet?”

 

 “No Roier, why?  “I’m not going to steal money from you.”

 

 “Who talked about stealing?  Although it would be interesting, look for the bandages and Band-Aids that I have saved.”

 

 “So that?”

 

 “Oh, just have faith in your brother.”

 

 So Quackity and Roier finally hung up, letting out the laughter they were holding in, while Missa went up to Spreen’s room, hurriedly looking for the bandages and Band-Aids, hoping not to mess up too much, then she went down to the living room, leaving everything on a small table and looking for what to watch on television. Maybe his favorite program that was on at all hours.

 

 After an hour, Roier and Quackity came in with bags from the pantry, watching Missa entertained by the static on the television, and without further ado, they went to the kitchen and saw all the mess he had left in her attempt to make something nice with chocolate.  They sighed, leaving the bags on the counter with slight annoyance and went to Missa to pull his ear to force him to clean, so while Missa cleaned and picked up the dishes, the other two cleaned and washed the fruits and vegetables as well as putting away the meats, between them. Jokes, songs and dances ended in the end they went to the living room again.

 

 “So what is all this for?”  Missa pointed to everything on the little table, while Roier grabbed a bandage.

 

 “You, Cala a boca, cala a boca and have faith in me. Do you trust me or not?”

 

 “Well if you put it like that, I don’t” Quackity crossed his arms while he curled up on the couch and grabbed the control until he turned on an interesting program.

 

 “No one spoke to you, I’m talking to Missa” Roier looked with slight annoyance at Quackity while he turned his gaze to Missa and smiled at him.

 

 “You know that I always trust although now I am doubting”

“You offend me” so the two with light laughter Roier began to bandage Missa’s palms up to her elbows and put band-aids on all her fingers, while Quackity and Missa looked at him carefully, after finishing they went to leave everything in Spreen’s room and they prepared dinner or rather Missa gave the instructions while the other two cooked until they finished just in time and when Shaudone, Spreen, Rubius and Mariana arrived, sniffing the air they all went to the kitchen to find the food about to be served and Missa sitting at the bar.

 

 “What happened?”  Rubius carefully grabbed his hands, checking back and forth.

 

 “yes against who did you fight?”  Spreen asked as he went to help Roier and Quackity serve the food after washing his hands.

 

 “At least say that he didn’t leave clean so that at least he can get your blood all over him.” Mariana also washed his hands and then grabbed the glasses and the pitcher full of lemonade.

 

 “Mariana!   Who do we have to piss off?”  Shaudone also asked with a slight annoyed tone as he set the tablecloths and cutlery for everyone.

 

 “Misso only hurt anyone by making his gift,” Roier responded quickly as he sat down to start eating like the others.

 

 “Yes, you hurt yourself to give a gift, you don’t deserve it.” The black-haired boy with bear ears took a spoonful of food with some annoyance.

 

 “Spreen!”  All the men shouted at the black bear as he raised his shoulders in a gesture of indifference.

 

 “That?  It’s just an opinion, don’t be intense”

 

 “Oh, the bear is jealous,” Quackity said as Roier poked his cheek while the black bear blushed and growled.

“Is it true Missa, did you get hurt cooking?”  Shaudone looked at him between amusement and concern.

 

 “Ehh, yes, yes, if it weren’t for Quackity and Roier I would have died.” Missa looked away from him while he blushed.

 

 “Hmm, what did you hurt yourself with?”  Shaudone was a little suspicious since the best cook among them was Missa but maybe there was always a first time for everything after all desserts were difficult.

 

 “You know, cutting it into pieces and with the melted chocolate it was very hot” Missa moved in his place while he was sweating from nerves.

 

 “Did you put on ointment?”  Rubius was sniffing around to discover the severity of the injuries.

 

 “Now, mother bear, calm down, if he says it’s okay, it’s okay, let’s eat, these pibes have classes tomorrow.” Spreen got bored and wanted everyone to eat so he could rest, although just like Rubius he sniffed the air to know the severity, but when he saw At Roier and Quackity looking at each other, I’m a little suspicious of the three’s version. Maybe it wasn’t his business. He had better things to think about, like making crow soup if he hurt his little brother.

 

 After finishing they got everything up to clean and go to get ready for bed, putting on their pajamas and brushing their teeth, Shaudone being the last one making a round of all the rooms while wishing them goodnight.

 

 The next day everyone prepared to go to school and their respective jobs, Roier, Quackity, Missa and Mariana grabbed their bicycles to get to school, although Missa avoided bumps, potholes and most importantly the running and pushing of his brothers since he carried his special load in a luggage basket so that it would not be damaged and preventing it from heating up to melting.

 

 Thus, when he arrived at his classroom, he greeted all his classmates, nervously waiting for the rest to arrive so he could talk alone with Philza. While he was there, he had noticed the band-aids on Missa’s fingers and the object he was taking care of, but he returned to his talk with Fit. And Etoiles.

Thus the hours passed and the closer the time to rest approached, Missa became more nervous, putting his sweaty hands under the bandages and glancing askance at Philza when he thought it was necessary.

 

 While Philza occasionally noticed Missa moving strangely in his chair and muttering things under her breath, he only managed to detect “liked” and “hidden” but nothing that would reveal anything else.  When the last class finished to start the break Philza quickly approached Missa putting his hand on his  shoulder so that Missa raised her head scared and jumped in place making her tail and cat ears come out from the fright, Philza laughed and went down. He tenderly caressed his head, when their eyes finally met he spoke.

 

 “Come on Missy, it’s time to eat.”

 

 “Yes, see, I’ll catch up with you in a little while, what’s happening is that I have to take care of something.” He stood up quickly from his place while he looked away from Philza and focused it from time to time on the little box under his seat. .

 

 “How mysterious, if it were you I would be scared” Philza smiled a little as he crossed his arms over his chest.

 

 “What do you mean by that?  I’m dangerous too” Missa pouted and replicated the blonde’s pose.

 

 “I know, I know, don’t get angry, buddy, let’s go eat and I’ll also accompany you to do your errand.” He unfolded his arms to extend a hand to Missa.

 

 “No!  I say it’s not necessary I can just” he waved his hands in denial as he looked at the floor.

 

 “Does this have to do with your mysterious box?”  He didn’t want to sound sharp but the situation made him feel bad.

 

 “Ehh, Yes, I said no maybe, it's nonsense ” I lowered his voice a little.

 

 “Are you going to give it to someone important?”  He felt like he was getting a twitch in his eye.

 

 “Yes, no, I already told you it’s stupid, we’re going to eat better.” Missa was going to head to the door but Philza’s voice stopped him.

“Missa, tell me, we are companions, friends, trust me,” he tried to persuade while trying to keep his wings from showing in an aggressive pose.

 

 “Yes, it’s okay, it’s for” he gave a light sigh while Philza grew impatient while the faces of his other classmates came to mind trying to figure out who was the lucky one to receive a gift from his Missa “it’s for you but it didn’t turn out well and I wanted it for you  because you are very good to me, and with everyone you help whoever needs it, you are always willing to help, plus you are very handsome, I like being with you, not because you are handsome, I also like your personality and your laugh, and your hat is very pretty. Ehh better keep me quiet”

 

 I carefully placed the box in Philza’s hands, while he looked at it surprised and with a slight blush, but with care from the box he took out a little chocolate crow that was standing on a base thanks to its chocolate legs and bulging chocolate eyes. Plastic that moved when he shook it, that made him laugh a little.

 

 “Look at him, he’s so cute” Philza shook him so that his eyes moved but not so abruptly as to destroy him “thank you Missa, you know that I will always like everything you make, I will try it”

 

 “I- I wouldn’t do that” Philza looked at him with curiosity then grabbed some of the chocolate that had fallen from shaking it so much while he put it in his mouth. Missa looked at him with horror and then put her hands on his face.

Philza was paralyzed for a moment as the taste of salt filled his entire mouth, he didn’t know whether to spit or vomit, maybe both, his wings spread to fluff up the not so pleasant surprise on his tongue but when he looked at Missa’s hands He observed more clearly the hands with bandages and band-aids, so extending his hand to take the black-haired man’s, he observed the teary eyes and how little by little his tears ran down his face, he combined with some whimpers, so he could not resist any longer and went to his side. Missa and hugged him while cooing at him.

 

 “Oh, Missa, everything is fine, I really liked the gift.”

 

 “but the taste is horrible, I swear I tried hard.”

 

 “I know, but it’s my gift now so don’t say anything bad about my things, but can I ask, how did you get hurt?”

 

 Missa was paralyzed for a moment while he remembered what Roier told him and tried not to let the lie come through in his voice.

“I burned myself when I had to melt the chocolate and I cut myself when I was breaking it” he said this while hiding his face more in his partner’s shoulder, to hide his embarrassment for lying to the blonde while Philza looked again at the little crow, perhaps the The taste wasn’t good but the chocolate sculpture combined with the effort was worth it. He hugged Missa tighter while he rested his cheek on the black-haired man’s silky hair and inhaled a little of the smell.

 

 “I really like you too Missy.”

 

  

 

 “That’s how her father and I got together until we got married and then we adopted them,” said the black-haired man while he wrapped up her children and then arranged her hair so that it didn’t get in the way of her eyes.

 

 “But when did Dad discover your lie?”  the blonde boy asked as he looked at her father with curiosity, Missa couldn’t help but see a grimace similar to Philza’s when he was curious “well that was…”

 

 “The same day, his father was nervous and later he confessed it to me, he asked for forgiveness many times, he told me the original story and I laughed a lot so don't tell lies” Philza said it while watching his family from the door and then approaching and hug Missa.

 “Trapped ~~” The black-haired girl looked at her parents mockingly. “But then that’s why we’re going to make chocolate crows?”

“Of course, it’s our celebration and this celebrates your first year with us making us a family of four.”

 

 “What a quick year,” the girl said, surprised as she looked at the three remaining members of her family. “Is that why we also have those chocolate crows that tell us not to touch?”

 

 “Yes, but it seems like yesterday when you arrived,” Philza said with a nostalgic look.

 

 “That’s right, her name is Pachuca, the second one I made is called Brian and it was to celebrate the arrival of Chayanne.” Missa rested his head on Philza’s while he looked at her children.

 

 “Can I name the new crow?” Lulla asked in a timid voice.

 

 “Of course, what will you call it?” Philza asked excitedly.

 

 “Hope, why did I feel that way when they chose me at the adoption center when everyone ignored me” Lulla looked away a little and then felt Chayanne take her hand and hold it tight.

 

 “Oh no,” Missa’s eyes watered and he whimpered softly and then hid his face in the blonde’s neck.

 

 “No, Lulla was a happy moment, not about making Papa Missa cry,” Philza said as he caressed the black-haired man’s head and laughed softly.

 

 “but , are we going to eat chocolate?”  Chayanne asked after calming Papa Missa's emotion a little.

 

 “Yes, son, we will make eggs, crows, kittens and skeletons to eat,” Missa finally said, separating herself from the blonde and then kissing the heads of each child.  “Well, let’s go to sleep, good night kids, tomorrow will be a fantastic day.”

 

 “Good night, Buenas noches  Lulla, Gute Nacht Chayanne.  Descansen mis hijos”

 

 The two adults left the room, turning off the lights and trying not to make noise while they shook hands and their rings jingling lightly until they reached their room.

[sopiloveshobi]

Back theory

Inspired by insanely buff Joon pictures that dropped today. Also I needed to make sure my friend can imagine what is like to feel a heavy, buff Joon on her 🤭 Love you Sam!

!Warnings: +18

Your phone buzzed in your pocket. You took it out and saw a text message from the man you have been missing so much lately.

KNJ 8:45pm I can’t wait to get out of here. Another day where I felt useless as fuck. Honestly get me out of here already.

You chuckled reading the message. You received a message like that twice a week at least. He would moan about feeling useless and wanting to get out of his military service often. There were days when he felt proud to serve and when he achieved something, you would know about it the same evening. His free time was limited and so was his time off. Because of that last time you have seen him was few months ago and when you did it was only for a short amount of time. You had a coffee and a short walk around the park and then a meal together. There wasn’t enough of alone time. One on one time. Any sexy time. You have seen he has changed. Physically and mentally. Mentally he has been softer, there has been much more yearning going on, he was needy and he would occasionally send you a text or a picture with him admitting how much he misses you. Physically he has gotten bigger, bigger in general. At first you thought it was because he wasn’t dealing well with the fact that he was locked up there for a year and a half. He would just eat more than usual and skipped workouts. But you couldn’t have been more wrong, because he spent so much time exercising that all the weight he gained was already turned into muscle. At least that’s what you saw on the very last picture you found of him online. You weren’t doing it often but you knew you could find some of the more recent pictures of him floating around the web, because the fans just like you were yearning to Kim Namjoon. They were curious how was he doing and if he has changed at all.

KNJ 8:55pm I swear the day that I am out of here will be happiest day of my life. Second happiest. The first one was when you agreed to date me.

Another messaged popped on your phone. You smiled again. You were still thinking how to comfort him through the screen of a phone. What could you possibly say to him to make him feel better, less lonely, less like he should escape that place.

‘I miss you so much, when can I see you next?’ you responded to his text and locked your phone. You were in the middle of cooking yourself very late dinner. You were so busy all day and stayed at work longer than usually and completely forgot to eat. Your phone chimed again.

KNJ 9:01pm Soon angel, soon.

You didn’t know what kind of soon he had in mind. You didn’t want to know either. The days would only go by longer and as much as you would love to count them down, it was just easier not to. You have pulled the pasta out of the pot and strained it in the sink. The sauce was also ready and you poured it all over the pasta, grabbed glass of wine that has been your cooking companion since you got home. Tomorrow was Saturday and you were really looking forward to your weekly cleaning schedule. Religiously, every Saturday you would go around your entire flat and clean every nook and cranny. It was part of your routine that helped you feel grounded and in control. Because if you didn’t manage to ground yourself this way, you would be upset, ugly crying in your pillow all day missing Joon. It was difficult. It was worse than you thought it would be. When he announced that he will have to enlist, your heart broke into millions of pieces. You were unsure whether he would even continue your relationship in this scenario. Being away from him wasn’t unusual, but it felt more restraining. You knew you wouldn’t be able to be surprised by him coming from tour one day early, or fly you over to a random concert so you could watch from backstage and spend few hours together. But this felt different. It felt like he was further away than when he was on the other side of the world. You felt empty without him, because he was your home. You didn’t live together and there weren’t any recent mentions of this to change, yet still he was your comfort. Your home. And you were his. He very rarely would open up in front of you, but when he did, he made you realised how much he appreciated you, how much he loved you and how much of a safe zone you were for him.

You finished your pasta and your wine and were considering having another glass. But you decided against it, got up from your table and cleaned up after your dinner. Your phone buzzed again and you were hoping it was Joon but it was just a junk mail, about free vouchers you can claim. Since you already had your phone out you decided to snoop about the internet again and see if there was any newer pictures of your own boyfriend. How low have you stooped and how much have you been missing him to resort to looking him up. But you couldn’t find anything new. It was getting even later in the night and after a really long and tiring weekend you decided to get in bed and unplug. You have gotten ready for bed, brushed your teeth and completed your extended skin care routine, which you have always done on the weekends. You looked at the time and it was past 10 in the evening already. You turned all the lights in the apartment and got into your really cosy bed. You thought you might have trouble sleeping, but the second your head hit the pillow you felt like you’re floating and sailing away. Before you did actually fall asleep you sent a text to Namjoon: ‘Goodnight my love’. But you didn’t wait for an answer. You knew the answer might never come, at least not this evening. You put your phone away and closed your eyes. It was time for a sweet rest you felt like you deserved after the entire week of hustling.

The door lock clicked and a pair of heavy boots walked into the flat. The thumbing didn’t last very long and it got changed for a very quiet sliding noise. Quiet steps making their way to your bedroom. And you had no idea, sound asleep. Occasionally snoring and turning around. He walked into your bedroom and stood by the door. The moonlight poking through your unevenly closed curtains, straight at the bed, lighting your sleepy face. He would of sworn he could have looked at you like that for hours. But there was no time to waste. He slowly made his way around the bed towards the somewhat empty side of the bed. He slowly put his legs on top of the duvet and slowly put all of his weight on that side of the bed. You felt it but you only moved a little and turned around to face away. You were a heavy sleeper and at this very moment Joon wished you weren’t. He slowly got himself lower on the bed and moved towards your back. He put his hand on your side and the other slid behind your head, which you automatically lifted. Like it was natural, like it was a habit of yours. He put his chin as close to your ear as he could and whispered:

‘Angel, I’m home’ and he slowly glided his hand up and down the side of you. You didn’t budge. Nothing. Still sound asleep, sweetly unaware of the surprise waiting for you in your own bed. He repeated himself one more time but still nothing. It made him chuckle, it was so endearing that you were just so fast asleep and he was also amused by his own inability to wake you up. He decided kisses surely will be the way to go. He pressed his soft lips on the nook of your neck, and he kept peppering your cheek and neck with them until you finally started moving. You turned around, feeling another person around you and his smell surrounded you. You thought you were dreaming.

‘Joon?!’ you finally got your vision back after it has been blurry for a few seconds.

‘Yes angel, I told you I will see you soon’ his low raspy voice answered you and soon after you saw his gorgeous smile, his dimples on his face and his eyes turned into half moons.

‘Is this a dream?’ you asked him, not really fully believing your luck.

‘Not a dream, im off until Sunday and I will be staying with you until then if that’s okay’ he admitted and peppered another few kisses on your cheek. It was more than okay. You were in a little bit of a shock but once you managed to process the information you jumped on him. You lifted yourself slightly and crawled on top of him, wrapping both of your arms under his back and placing your head on his chest.

‘I’ve missed you so much’ you finally spoke, hearing his heart beating really fast in his chest. You looked up and locked your eyes with his. He smiled again and leaned his head down to reach your lips. And you reached back to him and his soft lips met yours. It started sweet and soft but it very quickly started turning fast. The both of you were yearning for each other for so long and the day has finally come. Neither of you would even come up for air, you would just take quick breaths in between the rushed kisses. You quickly felt him getting excited, as you were still laying on top of him and you were sure he could felt your excitement as well, through your very thin pj bottoms. You broke the kiss and got from him and from the bed.

‘Where are you..?’ he got really confused and instantly felt abandoned, missing you next to him.

‘I need to see you. I want the light on’ you answered, turning the corner light on. Still moody, not as obnoxious light as the top light would have been. You turned around and saw him laying in your bed, in his uniform. The expression on your face changed from excited to in awe. You couldn’t comprehend that he was there, he came home, he came to see you. He woke you up in the middle of the night to see you. You walked back to the bed and sat right next to him. He pulled himself up and was now half sitting with his back to the headboard, following your every move with his eyes.

‘Here I am’ he chuckled and made a funny ‘ta da’ like pose showing himself to you. And you giggled. He was so cute and so adorable yet so insanely hot.

‘Would you mind taking this jacket off? I need to check a theory’ you said with a cheeky smile on your face and he looked puzzled. A theory? Theory of what?

‘Theory of what exactly?’ he asked slowly unbuttoning his jacket. He took his time with it, knowing exactly what he was doing to you. He knew it would drive you crazy, as much as he played such an innocent soul, he knew all the weapons he was carrying.

‘Back theory’ you answered with a smile, as your pupils grew wider and wider, whilst he was working on unbuttoning his jacket. And he finally did, dog tags fell out dangling around his neck on his black undershirt. You spotted them but then you also noticed how they are dangling in front of his now huge chest. He has definitely changed. He is bigger now. Stronger. And your brain couldn’t handle it. You squeezed your eyes closed and opened them again just to make sure you aren’t actually dreaming. He took the jacket off completely, uncovering his really broad shoulders and incredibly buffed arms.

‘Do you want me to..?’ he asked, knowing you will not be able to say no to him continuing stripping for you. The black ROKA t-shirt that was now very tight around his upper body, slowly started rolling up as he kept pulling at the top of it. And with one fast move he pulled it fast, through his head and it landed on the floor. His dog tags still around his neck, now in front of his naked huge chest.

‘FUCK’ you only managed to squeak out when you saw him dropping the shirt on the floor. He was insane. He looked insane. All those pictures you have seen of him recently didn’t give him his justice. He looked even bigger in person than on those photos. You put your hand over your opened mouth and shook your head.

You sat there, feeling your underwear getting wetter and wetter. You could call it an ocean at this point. He got up from the bed and walked all the way around it to get to you. He helped you stand up on the bed and he was still somehow taller than you, even when you were on top of the bed. You bit your lip staring deeply into his eyes and you saw he wasn’t smiling anymore. You have also spotted a tent in his camo trousers. He grabbed you and pulled you to himself and you felt his strong arms around you now. He slowly glided his hand from your knee through your thigh and slipped his hand into your bottoms. He didn’t have to look for it long and his fingers felt the ocean that was currently drowning your cunt.

‘Fuck. Youre so wet’ he whispered into your ear and pulled your bottoms completely down. You unbuckled his belt and unzipped his trousers, slowly pulling them down. And they fell down, stopping briefly at his perky ass but you helped them make their way down. He stood out of them and was now standing in front of you, only in his underwear with a very visible and feelable boner at your service.

He grabbed you, and you wrapped your legs around his hips. He turned away from the bed and pushed you to the wall. He nearly squeezed you at that wall. And started attacking your neck. Your wetness now coating his still hidden away but hard length. You wrapped your arms around him, and started exploring his back. It was rock hard, you could feel the muscles tensing whilst he was holding you and you enjoyed every second of it. You also moved your hands to his shoulders and arms to feel his soft skin and also all the places he grew. To remember it. To keep it in your closest memories. As he kept kissing your neck, he finally slowly put you down, on the floor this time, still pinning you to the wall. And he took both of your wrists into his hands and held them for a second above your head, kissed you aggressively and let go. He lowered himself on his knees and burrier himself in between your legs. Slowly moved on them onto his shoulder and held onto your other leg, slowly kissing your lower belly and reaching the sweet spot. He nudged your clit with his nose and started peppering the entire area with kisses, eventually stopping and slowly licking your folds. Very gently at first, almost like saying a polite hello to your body, acknowledging that he was gone from it for too long. But then he picked up his pace and started circulating around your clit, eventually adding a finger or two and sliding it inside you. You banged your head on the wall and moaned the second you felt his lips on your lower area. Your leg on his shoulder drove you mad but gave him more access. You put both of your hands on his head and let him explore. And be explored and took his time, like a thirsty adventurer who hasn’t been home in weeks. Like his life depended on it. And when he felt like he was finished and your knees started to shake and he was slowly pushing you into an orgasm he stopped.

He pulled himself out of you, smirked and slowly moved you from the wall to the bed. And he pushed you, delicately but he still pushed you on the bed and you fell on your front. He followed you right away and trapped you under the weight of his body. He laid his body on yours, pulled his hard length out of his underwear and aimed it right at your entrance. Slowly slid inside you, grabbing you into his arms and pushing into himself. He kept sliding until he got to your cervix. Balls deep inside you. But he didn’t move, he freezes there. He lets you adjust to him, and when he does he can hear your whimpers and moans. When he feels you relaxed around him he started moving his his hips and he started thrusting into you. And he didn’t take him time, he picked up his pace at the same time kissing your back, up your spine.

‘Joon…’ you whimpered, feeling his huge bulky body on top of yours, thrusting the life in and out of you.

‘Little bit longer angel’ he grunted into your back. He pulled out of you and entered again, really deep, reaching the deepest ends of you. And be picked up the pace again, now ramming into you. Wet skin sounds slapping fills the room, mixed with his grunts and your moaning. And he finally reaches forward with his arm and putting his fingers on top of your clit. That was when you couldn’t hold it anymore. You closed your eyes and pushed your ass higher up almost trying to escape him and your body got flooded with ecstasy. You kept moaning and whining and he wouldn’t stop. He kept going and then be pulled himself up and grabbed your hips and added another thrust or two before he reached his top and painted you inside. Painted you white and kept going for a few more minutes.

Your heavy breathing filled the room and he pulled out, slowly turned you around and placed you on the bed. He cleaned himself up with his black tshirt that was still on the floor and disappeared in the bathroom. He came back with warm towel and he wiped your legs and tummy with it.

After that he moved you slightly to the side and got into bed right next to you. His strong arm wrapped you around and you folded forward laying your head on his chest again.

‘Your back is ridiculously buffed Joonie’ you whispered slowly petting his chest with your palm.

‘There is nothing better to do in that shithole angel’ you murmured back ‘but i also liked the look of your back tonight angel’ he added and put his hand into yours and planted a soft kiss on your forehead.

‘I’m so happy you are here’ you added, you closed your eyes and wrapped yourself around him, dozed off back to sleep.

[dreamescapeswriting]

Stray Kids Reaction || Helping You With Your PMDD

⤜WORD COUNT: 2.6K all together

⤜Copyright: © DreamEscapesWriting - January 2023

⤜MASTERLIST

A/N: I’ll be honest, I couldn’t find much info on PMDD - but from what I found I hope this is okay!

CHAN:

Chan wasn't the kind of guy to take time off work when he needed to rest he was more of the guy to work through his pain or stress because he was devoted to his work. Which was what was most shocking to you when you woke up that late morning to see him still in the dorms, pottering around the kitchen and doing something that wasn't connected to music in any way shape or form.

"Channie?" You frowned as you stepped out into the living room, watching in amusement as your boyfriend continued to cook something in the kitchen while staring down at a recipe in his hand.

"You're awake already? It's not even-" Chan stopped himself from speaking, he hadn't realised it was 11 and he cursed himself for being so slow in the cooking department. Minho told him the recipe wouldn't take long to prepare at all and yet he'd spent the last two hours trying to get it right.

"What are you doing home, I thought you had things to do today?" You questioned with a smile on your face, you weren't in any way complaining about your boyfriend being here but it was a little jarring. 

"You need me, so I'm here." Maybe it was the extra hormones flooding around your body right now but tears rushed to your eyes and you began to let out a small sniffle.

"Hey, hey," He whined out rushing over to you and holding you tightly in his arms as you wrapped your arms around his waist. 

"This won't be done for a few hours, but do you want something else to eat? Pancakes? Cereal? Mcdonalds breakfast?" He questioned making you laugh out through his suggestions, his hand gently ran over your cheek wiping away the tears that had fallen.

"Anything you want, you get." He promised before gently leaning down and pressing his lips to yours smiling at you when he saw how happy you were with him there. Chan knew that when it came to this time of your cycle he needed to be there for you no matter what, even if you said you didn't want him he knew you really did and he was going to be there no matter what.

MINHO:

When you'd first explained your PMDD to Minho he'd been completely confused by it all, he thought that PMS was the same thing not realising that PMDD was more severe than it. But now he knew and every time it was close to your cycle Minho would make sure he had everything prepared for you. There was a "self-care" box in his place, filled with everything you could ever possibly need, including painkillers for your cramps, cooling pads for your headaches and heating pads. Minho wanted to make sure you had everything,

"What did I do to deserve you?" You cried out, tears running down your cheeks as you cried harder than you probably needed to over your boyfriend's box. 

"It should be me asking you that," He chuckled, wiping away your tears and bringing you into a tight embrace while you continued to cry against his chest. 

"You're the best," You told him as you took the painkillers he was holding out for you, your head was a wreck right now with a pounding headache and all you needed was to sleep - only you hadn't all night because of your onset insomnia that accompanied your PMDD. 

"We should go and nap, yeah? Get comfortable on the sofa and just sleep." Your boyfriend suggested while you nodded, you knew you needed to get some sleep or you'd only be more irritable as the day passed by.

CHANGBIN:

Changbin had grown up with an older sister so he knew what to expect when it came to periods only he hadn't expected them to be as severe as yours were. Nevertheless, he did everything he could to try and make your suffering a little easier to deal with or manage whenever it came to that time of the month.

"Here, sit up a little." He nudged against your back so he could sit behind you on the bed, gently lifting up your shirt to expose your stomach. As well as all of the mental symptoms that came with PMDD you also suffered from a lot of the physical ones which meant you had cramps that felt like your insides were being ripped apart. 

"What's that?" You questioned, looking at the small vial that was in his hand, he smiled at you opening it up and letting you take a sniff of the oil inside. He'd read somewhere that using scented oils could help reduce some of the pain as well as alleviate some of the cramps you were experiencing,

"Lavander oil," He said softly, dropping a couple of drops onto your stomach before putting the vial to the side and beginning to gently massage it into your skin, pressing a little harder on your stomach whenever he felt the need to. Your whole body seemed to relax as you took in deep breaths of the scent, letting yourself give in to the way it felt to have him so close to you right now.

"That's really good," You whined out, continuing to relax further into his touch while Changbin gently rubbed and massaged your skin until you fell asleep in his arms.

HYUNJIN:

It was no secret that Hyunjin had no idea what he was doing when it came to your PMDD but every time your suffering came around he would do everything he could to somehow make it better for you.

"What are we doing here?" You laughed, looking around at the secluded air B&B that Hyunjin appeared to have bought you for the weekend. It was a weekend away together he'd been planning for a while since he knew your cycle, he'd been reading up on PMDD whenever he had the time and he saw that the less stress you had would be better for you.

"I thought you might like time away from everyone and everything. A secret get away, out in nature so you can just relax and not worry about anything," He explained, getting the bags out of the car and taking them up to the small house that was in the middle of the mountains. It was completely beautiful up here and you'd be a fool to let this pass.

"You did this because of my PMDD?" You questioned, a little shocked that all of this was for you to feel less stressed. 

"I wanted to make sure you could feel better here...With me, I know I haven't been the best in the past when it came to this but I wanted to make it up to you-" As soon as he finished his sentence you pressed your lips to his and giggled as he let out a small whine.

"You're perfect Hyunjin...Don't worry about me, okay? I'm fine as long as I have you," It was a little bit of a lie, you and Hyunjin both know how bad you get when it comes to your PMDD but you wanted him to know it had nothing to do with him. In fact, with him you always felt a little better even if he didn't know the best way to comfort you.

JISUNG:

It would be a complete understatement to say that Jisung had been worried about you, in fact, he was completely and utterly anxious about you or rather for you. For the last week now you'd done nothing but snap at him or get angry over the silliest of things and he thought that maybe he'd done something wrong or that you were trying to distance yourself from him to make it easier to break up with him. It wasn't until he told Felix about your PMDD that everything clicked into place, Felix explained what your PMDD was to Jisung and he instantly realised he should have been looking after you more.

"Baby, I came home early and I thought you'd want your favourite take-out," Jisung called out into the flat, standing still and listening out for any sounds coming from you but all he could hear was the sound of water running.

"Baby?" He called out again, putting the bag of food in the kitchen and making his way toward the bathroom, the sound of the bath running was soon joined by sobs coming from you and he rushed into the room.

"Shit, baby. Come here," He whispered, quickly shutting off the taps and cradling you into his arms. You whined out, balling his shirt up in your fist as you sobbed into his chest, you hated yourself for yelling and snapping at him all week but when it came to this it was like you were a whole other person.

"I'm sorry Jisung, I-I didn't mean to shout all week and say everything I said I'm just-"

"I know." He whispered, rubbing your back softly as he placed gentle kisses on the top of your head, rubbing your back a little harder as he tried his best to comfort you - even if he wasn't the best at it.

"You know?"

"Felix sort of explained everything to me...I'm sorry I haven't been here all that much," He spoke clearly, wiping away the tears from your cheek and smiling down at you.

"I got heat pads, painkillers, snacks and all your favourite foods." Your eyes lit up at the idea of it all and he looked at the bath.

"Take a nice bath though, I'll reheat the food whenever you're ready,"

FELIX:

During your PMDD episodes, you didn't sleep much, you didn't know what it was but whenever it got close to your period you just couldn't seem to fall asleep. Doctors had all told you it was another symptom of your PMDD but all you knew was that you hated it, you needed sleep to function without yelling at people throughout the day.

"Hey you," Felix whispered as he walked into the living room to see you quietly watching a movie by yourself, wrapped in a mound of blankets and eating his ice cream.

"Hey, I didn't want to wake you up so I came out here." You explained, pausing the movie to take a look at your boyfriend who appeared just as tired as you were. You knew if you'd stayed in there you'd only make his sleeping worse than it already was.

"You don't have to worry about that, make room." He mumbled, climbing onto the sofa and under the blankets with you as he pulled you into his arms, yawning a little as he did so. It was clear how tired he was but he couldn't sleep without you by his side.

"What are you watching?" He quizzed, staring at the Tv before you let out a small laugh.

"Barbie Princess and the pauper," You answered plainly, staring at the screen as the scene where the pauper sang to her cat.

"Ah, your comfort movie." He chuckled, moving the two of you so that you were half laying down on the sofa, your chest between his legs while he wrapped his arms around you.

"You know me too well," You stated as you fed him a spoonful of ice cream, enjoying the way it felt to be cuddled up close to him like this. It wasn't often you got to do this but whenever you got the chance it was magical. The two of you continued to lay there like that until the movie was over, cuddling into one another's arms as you did your best to relax.

SEUNGMIN: 

Seungmin had always been the kind and considerate boyfriend when it came to your time of the month even before you told him that you experienced PMDD. After you'd told him it was like a switch had flipped inside of him and he was only more kind and caring toward you whenever it was that time of the month.

"You didn't have to do this," You explained, looking at the bed as you noticed the things that Seungmin had come home with today. You'd text him to tell him you were feeling a little down about something and because your PMDD it was causing you to feel a whole lot worse over it,

"I know, I wanted to." He said with a proud smirk plastered across his cheeks grinning from ear to ear as you looked at everything he'd gotten. He'd come home earlier than expected from work - promising the boys that he would make it up to them - but he'd stopped off at the shops. Bringing up snacks, and all the supplies you could possibly need for this time of the month. 

"I needed to restock the drawers in the bathroom anyway," He explained as you noticed the different packs of tampons and pads that he'd bought back with him even though you weren't bleeding just yet.

"You're incredible." You sniffled, biting back the tears that were threatening to spill out everywhere. You knew it was probably a stupid reason to cry but having Seungmin understand and WANT to be there for you while you were going through this meant the world to you.

"I love you," You cuddled into his chest and he smiled to himself, kissing your forehead.

"I love you too...We have two hours before food, shall we watch a movie or go and have a hot bubble bath? I got your favourite bath bomb too," He explained as he pulled out your favourite bath bomb from your favourite store and you began to tear up once again.

JEONGIN:

Whenever it came to your PMDD Jeongin made sure that he was always prepared for it even if he "didn't have to be" he wanted to. The boy always made sure he had extra period products at his place just in case you came on earlier than expected and he also had an entire box devoted to you. 

"I got this last week and forgot to add it." He said as he walked into his room, there you were curled up on his bed wearing one of his hoodies and some sweatpants and yet you'd never looked more beautiful to him.

"What is it?" You frowned watching as he took out a mat from a box and came closer to you.

"Heating pad, we wrap it around your stomach and I connect it to the laptop through the USB, it'll give you constant heat," He explained as he carefully wrapped the heating pad around your midsection and looked at you,

"Best part...It has a pocket, I know your hands get cold sometimes," He said with a small laugh, doing his best to brighten up your mood a little but it wasn't working. You'd woken up that morning in an awful mood and just wanted everything and everyone to leave you alone - not that Jeongin would ever let that happen, he wasn't going to let you go through this alone. 

"Why are you still here? Don't you have work?" You bit out a little angry but Jeongin just smiled and shook his head,

"Practice got cancelled so I'm here with you all day," You smiled a little and snuggled into the sheets, the heating pad was doing wonders for your cramps and you did like the idea of having your boyfriend with you all day.

"Can we watch movies and eat junk food?" You questioned, resting your head down on the pillows and Jeongin smirked at you.

"I already got all your favourites," He quickly kissed the top of your head and left to go and grab everything.

tagline: @chiisaiblog @hanasonmi @sw33tnight @taestannie @illicee @army24--7 @acciocriativity @scarletemeterio @halesandy @aerastus @lost-leopard-beanie @laylasbunbunny @critssq @pearlygraysky @lensfilm​ @btsiguess-kpop @meowmeowisdaname @imafivestarkpopstan

[analogwriting]

Childhood Crush

Chapter 7: Wrought Iron

Killer x gn!reader

word count: 2k

next

Life at sea wasn’t so bad. It didn’t take your brother very long to obtain a fairly decent sized crew. He had a way with people - in his own brash way that seemed to charm a lot of folks. Everyone that seemed to join was easy enough to get along with - at least to you. It wasn’t long before the ship was as rowdy as your brother. 

You loved it.

Even so, you did spend a lot of time in your lab, wanting to make use of this amazing space your brother had made for you as well as feel like you were of some use. You couldn’t fight, so this was the next best thing. You tried to enhance and make everyday life easier. Sometimes, you’d come up with some kind of contraption to make for the crew, but your arm proved difficult when it came to smaller, more precise movements. That’s where your brother stepped in.

One night, you were struggling with a contraption of yours, getting upset and frustrated. You felt like crying. Whenever you were unable to do something, you were painfully reminded of what happened. It was just a lot sometimes. You were typically good at keeping this from everyone, but your brother had caught you mid crises. 

You had taken a small piece and chucked it across the room. It slammed into the wall next to the door and shattered. Eustass also happened to be standing in the doorway when it happened. He looked shocked to see you like this. You were always cool, calm, collected. Aside from when you bickered, but that was a given considering you were siblings. 

“What do you want?” You turned away from him, sniffling and wiping away what tears had started forming in your eyes. 

“What’s going on, Bigs?” His voice was softer than usual, clearly concerned for you. You sighed, shaking your head. “It’s nothing.”

“I think whatever you just shattered in a million pieces says otherwise.”

“Fuck off.”

“No can do.” With his ability, he gathered up the pieces off the ground with ease, holding them in his hand and out to you. “What are you working on?”

“It’s supposed to be a contraption that helps us dry out meat in a more efficient manner. But I…” You stopped, knowing you were gonna start crying out of frustration again. You took a deep breath. “Sorry, it’s just been a long day.” A lie.

As usual, your brother saw right through it, shaking his head. “I wish you wouldn’t lie to me,” he mumbled, taking a look at the schematic you had. “This actually doesn’t seem too hard. Why don’t I help you?”

“You are already busy and doing other things. I don’t want to bother you with this.”

“Bigs, literally what am I doing right now?” You just looked at him. “Exactly. Not shit. Now shut up and walk me through it.” 

And that’s how your brother started helping you on your little projects. Whenever he had free time, he’d come by and help you out on whatever project you had that you couldn’t finish. Sometimes, you’d build to a certain point then leave it for Eustass to finish once you couldn’t work on it anymore.

It was something you found yourself loving. You loved your brother and spending this time with him was always nice. You both would be so in the zone doing what you love that no arguing happened and sometimes the rest of the crew would watch in awe because of how well you worked together.

Hell, Eustass even gave you some good ideas. You could be in the middle of a project and he had an idea of how to make it even better or he even came up with things on his own. He’d come up with the idea, you drew up the schematic, and you’d work on it together. You worked like a well oiled machine. Quality time with your brother was something you never passed up. 

--

Along with working in the lab and patching everyone up after fights, you also helped Killer cook often. You had made a list of everyone’s likes, dislikes, and allergies. Whenever someone joined, it was the first thing you asked them - along with medical questions that you needed to know as the ship’s doctor. 

You had created your own recipe book containing recipes that everyone would like. They were all labeled who’s favorite was what, who didn’t like what. It was like a cookbook with lots of notes written inside. In the beginning, you wrote in your own shorthand, but with all of Killer’s questions on what meant what, you realized that probably wasn’t the best idea.

Especially because you couldn’t always help out with cooking. Sometimes you would get caught up working on something in the lab or you were just patching people up. Though, sometimes your arm gave you such a hard time, you weren’t exactly much help. Again, you would feel awful when you felt useless.

“I’m sorry, Killi,” you mumbled, standing in the doorway of the kitchen.

“For what?” He turned to look at you, tilting his head to the side. He used more body language now that he wore his helmet just about all the time. 

“Not being able to help.” You frowned and you heard him chuckle. “You can still help. Come here.” You blinked, walking over to him.

“How about you read to me what’s in the cookbook - the steps. You can also measure some things out, no?” You stared at him for a moment before nodding. You supposed he was right. There were still things you could do. You just hated asking for help. After helping everyone else all your life, having it be the other way around was just…weird. 

With Killer’s help, you realized there was plenty you could do in the kitchen on the days where your arm was of no use. Just like when you worked with your brother, you worked with him well. It was another part of your ship life that you thoroughly enjoyed. 

The eye candy was also a plus in everything.

--

Along with cooking and building, you were teaching Heat and Wire how to make weapons. You had somewhat shown them back on your home island. They had always had an interest in it, but you never got around to teaching them. Now was as good of a time as any. 

“You know what would make this even easier?” Heat said, pulling metal out of the furnace. You blinked, looking at him. “Hm?”

“If I could breathe fire.” He nodded as if it was the most obvious thing in the word.

You snorted. “Breathe fire? I’m pretty sure the only way to do that is with a devil fruit. I’m afraid that Fire Fist kid has you beat.” Heat shrugged, seemingly unbothered.

“Or have someone who is good at science and inventing things.” 

You stopped, narrowing your eyes as you immediately caught on to what he was going on about.

“You want me to help you breathe fire?” 

Again, he nodded as if it was obvious. 

“That’s literally impossible.”

“Is it though?”

You just stared at him. You had no idea how you would even start to develop something that could help him breathe fire. Fire weapon? Yeah. No issue. But breathing it? Without the aid of a devil fruit? Imp-

“Too hard of a task? It’s okay to admit you can’t do it.”

Your eyes snapped in his direction. “Excuse me?”

“I said if it’s too hard, that’s okay.”

Heat smirked at you and you clicked your tongue. Dammit. He knew you too well. He knew you had a competitive side - just like your brother. “Fucking….” You let out a long sigh, running your fingers through your hair.

“You know what? Fucking okay. I’ll get you to breathe fire. Just you fucking watch me.”

Then you stormed out of the room and down to your lab.

--

You worked tirelessly day and night for a couple of weeks after that. You were determined to figure out how to make him breathe fire. There had to be a way, right? 

Eventually, you think you figured it out. You were running through the ship, bursting into the kitchen where Heat and Killer were. You had ran around trying to find him until Dive finally told you where he was located. 

The two boys looked up at you, surprised to see you. “You’re out.”

“I think I figured it out.” There was an unhinged look in your eye. You held out your hand, revealing what looked like a candy. 

“No shot,” Heat said, standing up and looking in your hand. “It’s not a permanent solution,” you said, dropping it into his hand.

“But it should give you temporary ability. It’s something I’ll have to work on to give you a long lasting effect.” 

He stared at you, clearly in disbelief.

“How long does it last?” Killer asked. You looked over to him. “About…six hours?”

You looked back to Heat, launching into how to use it. It was as easy as eating a candy, but you had to position your mouth just right to make it work so that he wasn’t just breathing fire whenever. 

Heat looked at the small thing in his hand. “It won’t explode will it?”

“I swear to fuck if you guys bring that up one more time-”

Your threats fell on deaf ears as everyone started laughing. 

A few hours later, you were back in your lab, working on something when your brother barrelled through the door. “Bigs, what the fuck!” You looked up, eyes wide.

“What I’d do?”

“How the hell did you give Heat the ability to fucking breathe fire?” Though, what he was asking and the facial expression he was having weren’t matching up to how you thought he’d react to such a thing. 

“He asked and I just did my job.” You shrugged.

“He set the deck on fire!” 

“That’s not my fault!”

“You gave him the ability to!”

“But I didn’t tell him to do that!” 

“Not to mention, that new toothpaste you gave Dive? The one to help her strengthen her teeth since she uses them to fight? Now she’s biting everything on the ship! There’s teeth marks everywhere!”

“That’s also not my fault!”

“It’s your invention!”

“Sounds like you need to control your crew better,” you said, folding your arms and glaring at him. Why the hell was he blaming you for mishaps? You were just trying to help. It wasn’t your fault people acted crazy with what you provided. 

He returned your glare. “Oh, you saying I’m a bad captain?” 

“If the shoe fits, asshole.”

However, you quickly ate your words as you saw the look on Eustass’ face. You immediately softened, unfolding your arms. It seemed like this was a soft subject that you had no idea about. “Tungsten…”

“No, no. You’re right.” He let out a harsh sigh, pinching the bridge of hsi nose. “If I can’t control my crew, I don’t deserve to be a captain.” He groaned. “I just fucking hate it when you’re right.”

You chuckled, patting his shoulder. “It ain’t easy bein’ captain. Which is why you love it. You’d be bored if it was an easy job. Besides, you picked spunky crewmates for this exact reason. Again, you’d be bored otherwise.”

Eustass laughed. “You’re not wrong. I would be so fucking bored if I had a crew that did everything I asked.” You laughed along with him.

“Now, get outta here and be a captain. Don’t be afraid to make them afraid, you know?” A smirk spread across your face and he responded with his own shiteating grin. “You’re right.” You knew he wouldn’t hurt them to make them afraid. He would never hurt his own, but he knew how to make people listen. It seemed like he just needed a little push. He had a natural talent for leading and you weren’t going to let him get discouraged.

Or maybe it was just because he was an ass. Living up to his name, honestly.

“Thanks, Bigs.”

“Anytime, tungsten.”

[jackalopesao3]

What are your headcanons for how the brothers and undatables react to an MC who’s a worse cook than Solomon? (To the point that even Solomon gets food poisoning)

Well, if they survive a worse cook than Solomon…

Note: Some of these are long

CW: symptoms of gastrointestinal illness, maybe some swearing, general feeling unwell, a touch of chaos

Characters: All

Lucifer

He doesn’t physically punish MC but this is the one and only time they are strung from the ceiling. It’s not because he took one bite, gagged violently, spat it out into his napkin, and needed three bottles of the strongest flavored Devildom seltzer to knock the taste out of his mouth. It’s because MC’s cooking made his brothers cry and made them physically ill.

“MC, if your cooking was truly that abominable, why did you not just say so?”

Mammon

Mammon is one of the brothers that cried. He tried not to let MC see by putting his shades on at the dinner table. He was the only one of his brothers to go for another bite as he didn’t want to hurt their feelings. The boy somehow forced down a few bites before finding a reason to excuse himself so he could sneak away to vomit. He called off sick the next day. Lucifer surprisingly let him stay home.

“It’s *hrk* great, MC!”

Leviathan

Also cried. He also projectile vomited immediately, coating whoever had the misfortune of being in front of him. Unfortunately for everyone, that was Satan. No one had ever seen Leviathan move so fast. Before anyone could blink, you heard his bedroom door slam shut.

“MC, please don’t ever cook again! That was worse than the one time Ayane-chan made devil-buffalo autumn crunch rolls on How I Leveled Up My Pet Slime To The Max!”

Satan

Being well cultured on most things, he recognized what dish MC made and that it did not look or smell like said dish. He took a forkful up to his mouth and cautiously tasted it with the tip of his tongue before instantly dropping his fork and gulped down a glass of water. As he stood up, he felt something hot and wet collide with his chest. The room fell eerily silent as he looked down to see vomit and hear Levi’s door slamming shut. He closed his eyes, body trembling with rage as he counted to ten before walking to the bathroom to clean himself up.

“MC, you will repay me by helping me with laundry this week,” he says this with a smile but anyone who can hear can tell that’s a threat in his voice.

Meanwhile, Levi discovers a curse on one of his favorite RAD shirts that makes the buttons on it scream loudly in different octaves whenever he starts to think about Ruri-chan during class. He gets detention multiple times that day.

Asmo

“Awww! MC you’re so sweet cooking for us tonight! I can’t wait! It looks so yummy!” Asmo chirped as he sat down at the dinner table, totally unaware of the lovecraftian horror that awaited his tastebuds.

One bite and he was convinced this was the end. The poor demon was coughing, heaving, and wailing all at the same time. Between sobs and coughs, everyone heard shouts of, “Help! I think I’m dying!” alternatively, “I’m too pretty to die! Help me!” Asmo was so hysterical he ended up wearing himself out and passed out on the floor.

“MC, how could you! I almost diiiiiieeeed!”

Beel

Beel wasn’t at the dinner table, which wasn’t unusual at first because he’d get impatient and pre-game by munching on food in the refrigerator. The brothers used this time to get a plate of food before he realized it was dinner time and everything on the table.

What no one knew was that Beel had snuck an entire plate of MC’s dish from the abyss, before they had brought it out. He was so excited that he had to be the first one to try it. Hungry boy gobbled it all down, shoveling it all into his mouth at once.

MC is so lucky they never saw the absolute look of betrayal on his face - it would have killed them. He had never tasted anything so horrible before. He had already swallowed half of it and his body was covered in a thin glaze of sweat. The avatar of gluttony was torn between swallowing the rest of this truly terrifying concoction or spitting it out. He hardened his resolve to not let food go to waste and swallowed the remaining glob in his mouth. A sharp pain ripped through his abdomen and he quickly looked down to see if he was stabbed, his demon form coming out on pure instinct. No stab wound, just pain from whatever MC cooked. The room spun around him as he gripped the counter for support. He couldn’t even call for MC, Belphie, or Lucifer for help before he passed out.

“MC, if you’re hungry or need to cook let me do it or we can order out!”

Belphie

Belphie was nearly falling asleep at the table before you placed the food in front of him. He gave MC a sleepy smile before taking a bite. His half-lidded eyes snapped open in complete horror as he spat the food out and took a glass of water to rinse his mouth out right at the table, spitting the water back on the table, much to Lucifer’s dismay.

“Is this revenge for me killing you? Is that it? Is this poison?” He asked, tears welling in his eyes with guilt.

When he saw the genuine confused look on MC’s face and heard their apologies he realized the truth, that they were a nightmare of a cook.

“Wait…Beel’s normally here by now. Oh no!” Like Levi, MC had never seen Belphie run so fast in his life.

“Beel?! BEEL!!!!!” Belphie’s anguished cries come from the kitchen where everyone finds the unconscious demon.

As Beel slowly woke up, everyone relaxed.

“MC, Beel almost died! No more cooking unless it’s for Lucifer!”

Diavolo

“Oh! MC, you brought food to afternoon tea! How splendid!”

Before Dia can even take one bite Barbatos swept in like demon butler dressed in a shining apron set of armor.

In the future, Barbatos saw Diavolo taking one bite and choking it down with a fake smile. Despite both his and Dia’s best efforts, nobles saw it as an attempt to poison the future king and MC was facing a possible execution.

“Pardon the intrusion but it appears as if some fiend-flies landed on this dish as soon as it was uncovered. This is inexcusable. My apologies to you both,” Barbatos explained with a quick bow before he replaced the monstrosity with something much more edible.

“I’m I couldn’t try your cooking this time, MC. Maybe next time!”

*If Dia ever did have the chance to try MC’s cooking without Barb saving him he’d likely be in shock at first. He’d cough and swallow it. Then he’d ghost MC like he does Solomon anytime they say they’re cooking.

Barbatos

After saving the day, Barbatos pulled MC aside before they could leave. He smiled but it was a smile that was making the temperature drop around them.

“MC, a word, if you have a moment,” he didn’t wait to hear their response and with a firm hand on the small of their back he guided them into the kitchen.

“What in the three realms were you thinking serving this to the young master?” Barbatos gestured to the abomination MC made, that he brought back to the kitchen.

“What is in this….concoction of yours could kill a human and make a demon fall seriously ill. Were you intent on causing harm today?” MC could feel the temperature in the room dropping lower and lower as Barbatos spat the question at them.

They shrunk against the door and shivered from both the cold and fright, absolutely bewildered. Their lower lip wobbled and their legs gave out. Amidst the whimpers of apologies Barbatos could make out, “cook like this all the time” and “didn’t know it was bad”. This left Barbatos equally bewildered as he never thought someone could surpass Solomon in bad cooking.

It took him a moment to recover from shock before he grabbed a box of tissues and was kneeling beside MC while the temperature of the room returned to normal. An awkward silence hung in the air for a moment before MC weakly laughed.

“That bad, huh?”

“You managed to surpass Solomon in worst cook in all of the three realms. That is quite the feat, MC,” Barbatos gently placed a hand on their shoulder, giving it a soft squeeze, before helping them up.

“I apologize for scaring you. I honestly thought for a second this was…poison.”

“If you truly wish to learn and do better, I can teach you.”

Solomon

He didn’t notice how terrible it tasted. This man either doesn’t have taste buds or his tastes are just extremely weird. To him your food tasted normal, good even.

It wasn’t until after dinner, when he notices he’s been sweating more than usual, that he realizes something’s wrong. Chills followed the sweats. Confused, he stepped away from the potion he was about to brew, a wave of lightheadedness hit him and he caught himself on his desk.

“Maybe I should rest,” the sorcerer thought to himself as he settled down on his bed.

He immediately sat back up as the most unimaginable pain ripped through his digestive track. He sprinted to the bathroom, summoning a bucket along the way.

If any of you have ever seen the photo where the person is on the toilet having diarrhea and also puking into a bucket at the same time, that’s Solomon after eating MC’s cooking.

If it weren’t for Simeon having had the intuition to check on him, Solomon would have crashed on the bathroom floor that night. Lucky for him that Simeon helped clean him up and tucked him into bed after that. Both him and Luke kept watch on the poor guy throughout the night.

“Hey MC, ummm….last night wasn’t revenge for anything was it? …oh? Never mind! Why don’t I do the cooking next time? You want to order out instead? Okay!”

He couldn’t believe this wasn’t revenge for his own bad cooking. He chuckled. His cute apprentice was even more like him than he thought. This just makes him more fond MC.

Simeon

He took one bite, did his best not to cough, and discreetly spat it out in a napkin. He looked puzzled at the food and then at you before taking a sip of water. How could you be a worse cook than Solomon? Being used to feigning politeness and dealing with the abominations Solomon comes up with, Simeon maintained a great poker face. It was when Luke started violently coughing that Simeon saw an out.

“Oh no! Luke! You must be allergic to something!” He exclaimed as he came to Luke’s aid with a glass of water, whispering, “just go along with this and we can get out of here alive.”

The frightened child nodded and Simeon ran out of the room to grab an “allergy pill” aka a child’s multivitamin and has Luke take that.

“I’m so sorry MC. Luke has some rare allergies we are still figuring out, let me treat all three of us to dinner at Hell’s Kitchen instead!”

Luke

Immediately started coughing and wrenching violently. He cried. Simeon covered for him by blaming it on an allergy.

After Simeon took them out for dinner and disposed of the toxic creation he checked up on Luke who was still shaken from the earlier events.

“I-is MC actually a demon?” He asked, wide and glossy eyes peered up at his elder from under his sheets.

Simeon shook his head with a soft smile and handed him a plate of cookies with a glass of milk.

“Not at all, Luke. Remember how we keep Solomon out of the kitchen?”

Luke groaned in response. What was it with humans and cooking?

Thirteen

Considering she hates Solomon and a big reason for that is because of his cooking, she got pretty angry when MC gave her some food they made.

“What the?! How are you a worse cook than that idiot sorcerer?! I know there are good chefs in the human world! I oughtta get you good for that, you know!” She threatened after spitting the food out but then an idea struck.

“Actually I’ll forgive you! Let me take the rest of that off your hands and cook for me whenever I ask you but no questions, okay?” Her eyes twinkled and she shot MC a mischievous grin and MC couldn’t find themselves saying no.

Thirteen utilized MC’s cooking as a weapon. MC even joined in on the fun in some of Thirteen’s pranks. Diavolo even got a kick out of it until Lucifer made him put a stop to it.

“We had a good run! Didn’t we?” Thirteen grinned and put her arm around MC before she whispered, “we’ll just wait until this blows over. Maybe I’ll even let you name my next invention that I’m designing to shoot your food out like a cannonball! It’ll go straight towards their mouths so there’s no way some of that is not getting in!”

Mephisto

MC was helping him with something for the newspaper and was on snack duty that day. Mephistopheles normally just ordered food for himself since he’s a spoiled wine aunt but forgot his wallet. “Well, the human did bring snacks and if they’re eating it must be edible” he thought with a resigned sigh as he went to grab a sandwich.

Hesitantly, he took a bite and went completely rigid as the horrid flavor assaulted his tastebuds. His reaction is one swift, thorough cough into a napkin. Mephisto grabs his thermos and downs the rest of his coffee to get the rest of the taste out of his mouth. How is MC eating that and not dying?!

He tossed the remaining snacks in the garbage and snatched the one MC was eating right out of their hand. They just stared in confusion as Mephisto stormed back to the trash can and threw it in before he turned on his heel back towards them.

“Human! What in the three realms is wrong with you?!” He didn’t give MC a chance to answer before stomping out of the room.

MC was used to him being dramatic at that point so they weren’t bothered and continued working on the project.

About thirty minutes later a nice takeout meal along with a drink is placed on their desk.

Mephisto sat down with his own meal at the desk across from their’s, pinching the bridge of his nose in frustration.

“Well that took nearly an hour of my time going home to get my card to buy us edible food, the least you could do is say, ‘thank you’ you know,” he tutted.

“Thanks,” MC replied, stunned that he actually bought them something too.

“Oh don’t act so surprised, human. Whatever you were eating before was going to kill you and you’ve actually become quite the asset to the club. If you haven’t noticed, membership has been….lacking.

Besides, despite the fact that you’re human and have terrible taste in roommates, I find you tolerable. No making yourself sick or dying from your own abysmal cooking, alright? While you are here I will take care of food. I trust those awful brothers aren’t stupid enough to let you cook at home, right? Good.”

And that’s when MC realized they finally made Mephistopheles their friend. Talk about plot twist!

Raphael

This weirdo (I do mean that affectionately) actually likes Solomon’s cooking. Even if MC is somehow worse, I’m assuming he has tastebuds of steel.

Raphael finished his plate and asked for seconds, leaving everyone else horrified yet in awe at his indestructible digestive system. (Theology states that he has healing powers so maybe he’s just immune idk.)

“That was really good, MC! Feel free to cook for us anytime when you visit Purgatory Hall!”

He did not feel the glares of his hall mates on his back when he said that but he did get goosebumps.

[raccoon-eyed-rebel]

Part 25

Masterlist

Series masterlist

Part 24 🍂 Part 26

Pairing: Syverson x ofc

Series summary: Life with Sy, what more can you wish for? The most amazing husband and father to a whole litter of cute little kids... Sometimes you wonder "how did you get here?"

Chapter warnings: I secretly hate having to fucking spoil this here Mentions of pregnancy, angst, fluff...

Word count: 1.3k

A/N: Well, well, well... I managed to drag this out for over 40k words. I'm proud of myself. @keanureevesisbae, are you proud of me too? (And are you finally happy, now that the whole buikgriep thing is over? XD)

@deandoesthingstome @geralts-yenn @omgkatinka @summersong69 @beck07990 @peaches1958 @sillyrabbit81 @ellethespaceunicorn @livisss @sofiebstar

You had done the math thirteen times in the shower. Then twice when you got out, then six more times while you waited the exact amount of time recommended by the not-to-be-missed blue numbers on the box you had hoped to keep stashed in the back of the bottom shelf of your medicine cabinet for at least another year. Maybe two. Or three. Or more. Now, tears were streaming down your face while you looked at the two life-changing pink lines. You had no idea how long you had been sitting there when you heard footsteps in the hall. They were way too light to belong to Pat, and they definitely weren’t Sy’s, so it had to be Jules. It honestly could have been a satanic easter bunny with a chainsaw; you wouldn’t have moved either way.

“Lara, we’re going h-” Jules shut her mouth mid-sentence and rushed over to you as soon as she saw you sitting on your bed. “What’s going on? Can you hear me?” She sounded really scared. There was nothing you could do other than hum softly at her question, all other functions of your body seemed to have been turned off. It was only a matter of time before she looked down at what you were holding in your hands.

“Oh.” That was all she said for a while, but when you still didn’t reply, she continued: “I don’t know what to say. If you’re happy, I’m happy for you. It’s just that you don’t look happy.” Probably because you weren’t feeling very happy, and though you were mostly shocked and definitely more than a little bit freaked out, you weren’t unhappy, either.

“I don’t know, Jules,” you said, now entirely unable to stop your crying. How was this even possible? You didn’t remember throwing up anywhere in the past weeks, there were no unexplained pills left in your strip, or the last one. No antibiotics, nothing. Of course, a one percent chance was still a chance… The footsteps on the stairs were clearly Sy’s – you’d recognize them from a mile away. Normally, the sound comforted you, because… Well, because it was Sy. That was plenty. Now, it just threatened to send you into hysterics.

“Lara, listen to me,” Jules said, “I’m going to leave. You two are gonna talk. It’s going to be fine. I promise.” You just hoped she was able to gauge Sy’s reaction better than you were, because your brain was cooking up doom scenario’s left and right.

“Talk about what?” Sy said as he opened the door. Jules didn’t leave in a gigantic hurry. You appreciated that, it calmed you down somewhat. It gave you some time to take a few deep breaths while she said goodnight to Sy before leaving him by the door in a state of bewilderment and suspicion.

When he walked over to you, you turned your head to look at him– which was the first time you moved in what you now guessed would have to be about fifteen minutes.

“Sugar, you’re scarin’ me,” Sy said with one raised eyebrow and a hesitant half-smile on his face. Without looking, he sat down on the bed in front of you, and put a hand on yours. “What’s that you’re holdin’?” There was no point in lying to him. Besides, he was already holding the test – and his initial reaction wasn’t that much different from yours.

“I’m pregnant,” you said. It was the first time you said it out loud – although ‘loud’ was a serious overstatement. Was a part of you banking on the off chance that this was a false positive? Probably. Sy’s reaction didn’t help. Why didn’t he look happy? He’d known he wanted kids for God knows how long! He should be ecstatic, right?

“I can see that,” he said softly. In his voice, you heard the tears you saw in his eyes, but he didn’t give you any indication of whether they were happy tears or… You didn’t even want to think about the alternative. The idea of Sy not being happy about this absolutely shattered your heart, which could really only mean one thing… You’d made up your mind. “What I really wanna know is… Sugar, are we havin’ a baby?”

“Yes,” you said, your voice remarkably strong as you did. The word was barely out of your mouth, or Sy’s lips were on yours. The kiss was fierce, gentle, caring, full of love, protective, intense, relentless, very thorough – and so much more. It was everything he was, everything he had to offer, and all of it was for you, and you alone.

Seeing him cry was something else: it broke your heart, even though you were absolutely convinced they were tears of joy. He didn’t speak. He just pulled you into his lap, and let you curl up into a ball.

“A week ago, we were fighting about whether or not I saw a future for us,” you murmured. You’d never been more certain of that future, but at the same time, you were terrified. Having a baby with the guy you’d only been dating for four months sounded crazy, everyone could see that. Even if that guy was Sy. The two of you got into bed, and you didn’t waste a second to crawl back into his arms.

“Sugar, we don’t have to do this. Whatever you decide, I’m right there with ya.” How could he even say that? Did that mean…

“You don’t want this…” It wasn’t a question. Why else would he even suggest not seeing this through?

“Whoa! Sugar, let me tell ya somethin’,” he said, “I was there when Wes was born. Actually, I’d just spent a day or two in jail for chasin’ Betty’s good for nothin’ son of a bitch ex, Joe Warren, down and punching his lights out, but that’s not important right now.”

“Jail?” That seemed excessive…

“Small town, Sheriff saw me, I gave him a li’l too much of an attitude. Parents weren’t too eager to come pick me up, figured it’d do me good to spend the night.” He was smiling, clearly it hadn’t left any kind of permanent trauma. Still seemed weird, though. “They were a few towns over for a funeral, anyway, so they weren’t even thinkin’bout picking my sorry ass up. Sheriff let me go when my sister called the office, said she needed me at the hospital.”

“Wait, if your parents weren’t home, how did she get to the hospital?”

“Georgie had driven her,” Sy said as he smiled at the memory. Somewhere, instinctively, the math didn’t work out there. “Fifteen years old. They let ‘em keep their learner’s permits, him and Ricky. Like I said, small town.” Sy shook his head while you silently jumped for joy: You’d been right, the math didn’t work out.

“Sheriff took ‘em back home. I stayed with Betty. I’ll tell ya, Sugar, I wanted to run, I was freaked out.” “But you didn’t.” That had to be the point, right?

“I didn’t. He’s Jonathan Wesley Syverson for a reason,” he said. Shortly after, his expression turned the slightest bit sour. “McGraw, nowadays.”

“Your sister’s husband adopted him?” you asked. Why did Sy seem upset about that? “I’m a little shaky on the names, still, sorry.”

“Bill,” Sy reminded you. “He did. I shouldn’t be mad about it, he’s a good man. Great father. But it pissed me off when he waltzed in and… What I’m tryin’ to say, Sugar: The moment I held my nephew, I knew I wanted kids of my own someday. I’ve been wantin’ this since I was seventeen years old. Ain’t gon’ change my mind about it now.” Somehow, that story helped a lot, and what’s more; you noticed Sy’s hand had moved – without you realizing it – to your stomach.

“I’m scared,” you whispered. Sy’s lips found your temple and kissed it softly.

“I’m right here.”

[naivemlnd]

Always in Your Shadow Part 2

Read part 1 here!

Yuki was withdrawn on Friday morning. Before I left for work, I showed her the cot I set up in the basement for her. I even bought her her own iPad to play around on while my parents were here so she wouldn’t get too bored.

Still, she was clinging onto my side like she never wanted to let go. Her tiny arms dug into the chub on my waist. 

When I started to leave for work, she burst into tears and I had to spend fifteen minutes calming her down before she let me get out the door. I felt so horrible and guilty that I picked up a dozen donuts on my way to the office and ate four in the car. I wasn’t even sure where that impulse had come from, just that I knew Yuki would’ve encouraged me to get the treats purely because I wanted them. I felt like I owed Yuki something for making her hide away in her own home and somehow that something was… eating donuts. Even though I’d already eaten breakfast.

Yep, that was solid logic.

After work, I had to drive through rush hour traffic to get to the airport, and the whole time I had Yuki on my mind. What was she doing? Was she okay? Was she crying? God, I hoped she wasn’t crying alone in that dark basement. It was too heartbreaking to consider.

When I saw my parents appear outside of ‘arrivals’ it broke me out of my melancholy mood. I was too pleased to see them to stay sad. I hopped out of the car and popped the trunk for their luggage.

“Peter! You look wonderful honey,” my mom fussed, hugging me tightly. My dad patted my shoulder once my mom released me.

“Colorado seems to agree with you,” he said with an amused glance at my belly. I laughed and rubbed the back of my neck.

“Yeah, well. The new job keeps me too busy to exercise much,” I shrugged.

“You look great sweetie, don’t worry, your father is just grumpy from the flight,” my mom said, shooting daggers at my dad. 

“I’m just joking, Pete. You look fine,” my dad said as we all got into the car. 

“So, how’s everyone back home?” I asked to change the subject. That got my mom started, and on the ride home I got an in-depth update on all the hometown gossip I could possibly want. 

I couldn’t help but feel relaxed and happy listening to my mom prattle on about her church friends and their drama. It was so familiar. I’d missed my parents more than I realized. 

Once we pulled into my garage, my parents started an excited commentary about how nice my house was. They wanted a tour so I walked them around the place. Nerves hit when they went in my bedroom since I knew Yuki had a drawer and section of my closet filled with her things, but my parents thankfully didn’t go through anything. That would’ve been difficult to explain.

I got my parent’s bags all set up in the guest room and then we ordered in some Thai food. It was weird not having Yuki’s cooking for dinner. I’d gotten so used to being spoiled by her. I tried to keep the frown off of my face as we ate.

While we picked at our food, I talked about my job and how I was liking the new place. I ended up excusing myself at nine since that was when I usually started getting ready for bed. My parents weren’t used to the one hour time difference, so it only felt like eight to them and they decided to stay up for a bit longer.

I headed upstairs to shower and get ready for bed. Once again, I found myself missing Yuki’s presence. I wondered how she was doing. I felt like a parent who’d sent their kid to daycare for the first time. Which was ridiculous. She was a perfectly capable grown woman (demon). I shouldn’t have to worry. 

But I was. I was worrying.

When I slipped under the covers of my bed, I stared at the ceiling until my eyes got heavy. I was dozing a bit when Yuki literally appeared out of thin air at the foot of my bed.

“What the,” I said, startled. 

Yuki hushed me. 

“Sorry, I just. I missed Peter,” Yuki said through a pathetic sniffle.

God, I was like putty in her hands when she did that. 

“Yuki…” I glanced at the closed bedroom door. “Come here,” I said, opening my arms for her. She immediately scuttled onto the bed next to me and cuddled up to my side. She fussed, nuzzling me and hugging me all over. She chirped a few times, happy as a clam now that I was giving her attention.

“I know you said to stay downstairs but,” Yuki said apologetically, “I thought of something.” Yuki looked up at me. “You said no one could see me because I don’t look human.”

I nodded sadly.

“So what if I looked human, then I could be here with you and your parents wouldn’t know I’m a demon!” Yuki said excitedly. 

I frowned. “How exactly would you do that?” I asked.

Yuki sat up out of my arms and got on her knees on the bed. 

“Like this!” And then suddenly Yuki’s horns receded into nothing and her eyes turned dark brown and her tail literally vanished into nothing.

I was staring at a beautiful human woman. 

“What? How?!” I stammered in a whisper-yell. She looked so different. It was almost wrong to see her without her distinct demon features, which was ironic since when I first saw her those things freaked me out. Now she looked naked without the horns framing her face like a crown. Her eyes looked so mundane.

“I tried it when you were working to see if I could do it and I can! It’s transformation magic. It’s all thanks to you for making me so strong, Peter,” she said, and then she launched herself back into my arms for a hug.

I laughed into her fluffy black hair. 

“You’re brilliant, Yuki. Absolutely amazing,” I whispered.

Yuki shuddered and made a funny excited growl sort of noise.

“Thank you,” she whispered back.

*

In the morning, my mom made pancakes. She served me four, which I doused in syrup and inhaled in an embarrassingly short amount of time. I tried to pretend like I wasn’t still hungry, but my stomach rumbled audibly.

“Oh, someone’s hungry,” my mom commented, and put a single extra pancake on my plate. Like that was going to sate my hunger.

“Uh, yeah,” I said before stuffing the pancake in my mouth. My parents finished eating and I offered to clean up since it was my house, and also because my mom cooked. They reluctantly agreed and went upstairs to get dressed for the day. Instead of putting the leftover pancakes away, I shoved two in my mouth dry. Chewed. Swallowed. Shoved more in.

It was absolutely humiliating that I had to stuff my face in secret just as to not be embarrassed in front of my own parents. Yuki had been spoiling me too much, it seemed, if my belly couldn’t even go one morning without being jammed full of calories.

I ate all five leftover pancakes and then had a pop tart for good measure. Once I loaded everything in the dishwasher, I went up to get myself dressed.

Yuki and I had stayed up way too late last night planning, and so I had to stifle some yawns as I put on some stretchy athletic shorts and a t-shirt. The shirt clung to my stuffed belly a little too much for my liking, so I spent a minute pulling on the fabric with my fists from the inside of the shirt until it was stretched out enough to hang a little looser over my body.

My parents were already downstairs when I made my way down. 

“Do you mind if I invite my friend with us on the hike today?” I asked. 

My parents looked surprised for a second before my dad was smiling and my mom was gasping excitedly.

“Of course! Is this a friend from work?” she asked. 

I smiled. “No, she’s just someone I met when I was at the grocery store but she also just moved here so we connected through that,” I said, rehashing the story Yuki and I had agreed on last night. 

My mom unsubtly mouthed ‘she?’ at my dad. I rolled my eyes fondly. My mom couldn’t help herself. 

“I’d love to meet her!” my mom said.

“The more the merrier,” my dad agreed. 

Here came the more difficult part. I had to really sell this…

“But, uh I should warn you guys,” I said, furrowing my brow to make it more believable. It worked, as my parents both swiveled to give me their undivided attention. “She was raised in a cult apparently. I don’t know all the details, but you know… She doesn’t know a lot of things about like normal life. So be cool, okay. Don’t embarrass her. She might be shy and stuff too,” I said seriously. 

My parents both had matching sympathetic looks on their faces.

“A cult?” my dad repeated, “How horrible.”

“That poor thing,” my mom said sadly. My dad nodded along.

Well, they bought it. So far so good.

Truthfully, the part of this plan I was most nervous about was how Yuki was going to act. I’d had to give her tons of rules and instructions last night on how to act human. Hopefully it would be alright and if she acted odd I could just say that she was eccentric because of her traumatic upbringing.

I pretended to text my ‘friend’ and then announced a few minutes later that she’d agreed to come along.

When eleven A.M. rolled around, Yuki materialized in the backyard in her human disguise and I watched her walk around the house to knock on the front door. Luckily the houses in my neighborhood were a bit spread out and separated further by trees, making it unlikely that anyone could see Yuki appearing out of thin air. My parents were too busy packing bug spray and sunscreen to be looking out the windows too, thankfully.

Yuki knocked on the door. I grinned, excited to see her even though we’d talked through half the night.

“My friend’s here,” I called as I walked to the door.

“Oh how wonderful!” my mom murmured.

I swung open the door and there Yuki was. Only she looked so weird as a human. It was even more disorienting in the daylight. Her fluffy black hair was the same, but her skin no longer looked ashen and grayish, but rather a realistic pale, milky-white. She smiled at me with normal straight teeth.

She looked incredibly nervous.

“Um,” she cleared her throat. “H-Hi Peter!”

My chest fluttered. She was just so…

“What are you doing, Pete? Invite her in,” my dad said from behind me. I rolled my eyes.

“Come on in Yuki,” I said. “This is my dad Ken, and my mom Wendy.”

Yuki hovered near my side but dutifully put her hand out to shake just like we practiced.

“Hello,” she mumbled. “I’m Yuki. Nice to meet you.” 

Her voice wavered but my heart was bursting with pride anyway. She was amazing. My parents were easily charmed by her shyness as well.

“It’s great to meet you, honey. Look how sweet you are. Oh good lord, Peter, where did you find her?” my mother gushed. 

Yuki looked slightly overwhelmed, so I put a hand on my mom’s shoulder.

“Mom, stop freaking her out. I told you, we met at the store,” I scolded.

My mother tsk-ed with her tongue but let it go.

“Ready to head out?” my dad asked.

So we all loaded into my car, my parents insisting that Yuki take the passenger seat, and we drove off to a nearby nature park.

I tried to focus on the road but Yuki was staring out the window in awe which was very distracting. She’d never been in a car before. My parents didn’t seem to notice, thankfully, keeping up a steady conversation about the weather amongst themselves in the backseat.

Eventually, I parked by the entrance to the hiking trails and we all got out and put on sunscreen and bug spray. 

“Ticks are no joke!” as my dad pointed out.

We got started at a relatively slow pace. My parents were both in their 60s after all. I found myself feeling grateful for the easy pace because I hadn’t been doing much exercising lately. My job sort of demanded I be sedentary for at least eight hours a day and with Yuki doting on me all the time whenever I was home… Well it’s safe to say my fitness was pretty much neglected as of late.

Yuki on the other hand was absolutely thriving out here. 

“The sun feels so good,” she said quietly to me as we wandered through the trail. It was a beautiful day. I hadn’t realized that she’d enjoy the feeling of sun on her skin. I felt retroactively bad for depriving her all this time even though neither of us had known she could look human until yesterday. 

“Look Peter!” Yuki exclaimed loudly, grabbing onto my forearm. “You can see the mountains over there! And, oh my gosh, look at that bird! It’s so pretty!” she gushed. 

I couldn’t keep a smile off my face as I watched her excitement. It was contagious. 

“Very cool,” I agreed and Yuki looked so pleased that I’d validated her observations.

My parents also noticed and glanced at me with some very suggestive expressions on their faces, mainly my mother.

“Yuki,” my mom said, watching with interest as Yuki dropped her hand from my arm with uncharacteristic shyness. It was probably because Yuki was nervous about blowing her cover as a human.

“Y-Yes?” Yuki replied shyly.

“Where are you from? Peter mentioned that you just moved to Denver,” my mom said with a reassuring smile. It seemed to work since Yuki relaxed a bit.

“Um, Montana,” she said, just like I’d told her to. 

My dad hummed. “You liking it here?”

Yuki nodded, an easy smile lighting up her face.

“I like it here too, in case anyone was wondering,” I chimed in, and my parents laughed. 

“We didn’t forget about you, honey. But your new friend is just so sweet. What do you do for work, Yuki?” my mom asked.

I knew my mother would be like this. She was nosy by nature. But hopefully Yuki would be alright since we’d talked over her supposed backstory.

“I work for a cleaning agency,” Yuki said slowly. 

“Oh, that’s nice! Cleaning can be very therapeutic,” my mom said sagely. I huffed at her attempts at prying. 

Yuki didn’t seem to notice that my mom was hungrily digging for information, as she just said, “I love being useful!” with a cheery smile. 

My dad raised an eyebrow. 

“Yeah,” I said with a tiny laugh. “Yuki is always helping anyone who needs it, aren’t you?”

Yuki started purring from my praise so I coughed loudly before anyone could catch on to what she was doing. 

“You alright, Pete?” my dad asked, thumping me on the back.

“Fine,” I said, clearing my throat. “Just swallowed my spit wrong.”

“Don’t you hate when that happens?” my mom said with a shake of her head. 

Crisis adverted. 

*

When we got to the lookout over a deep canyon, we stayed and admired the view for a few minutes. My mom took about 100 pictures with all of us in various combinations and poses. Yuki seemed to be having a blast, grinning from ear to ear in every one. 

By the time we hiked back to our car, everyone was starving. 

My dad suggested we go out to lunch, and my mom readily agreed. Yuki didn’t say anything and I couldn’t think of a reason to decline the request, so we all started googling restaurants nearby.

The issue was that Yuki couldn’t eat. Or she could but she didn’t like to. For some reason, I’d failed to consider the possibility that my parents would want to take my new friend out to eat with us. I felt so dumb. I tried to come up with an excuse for why Yuki couldn’t eat but aside from disclosing some kind of anxiety or eating disorder, I had nothing.

“How about this one? It’s a local bistro, that sounds nice,” my dad suggested.

“Yuki? That sound good to you?” my mom asked.

Yuki looked at me and then back at my parents. “Whatever Peter wants, that’s what I want.”

I could feel my parents’ eyes on me but I just looked at Yuki. My cheeks were probably red but I could blame that on the sun.

“I’m good with that,” I said.

We piled into the car.

The bistro was very quaint. Yuki sat pressed against my side in the booth. While my parents had menus in their faces, she whispered, “My tail really itches but I can’t itch it because it’s gone,” with a sad little pout

I grimaced. “Just hold on a little longer, okay?”

Yuki nodded.

A middle aged lady walked up to our table to take our orders.

My parents got soup and salads, but I wasn’t a big fan of most soups and salads were probably my least favorite food type. 

“I’ll have the cheeseburger with no lettuce or tomato and can I make the fries steak fries?” I asked.

“Sure thing, hon,” the waitress said. “And you?” she asked Yuki.

I braced, waiting to see what she’d say. I’m not hungry, I have severe allergies so I don’t eat out, I’m in the middle of a cleanse and I can’t have anything but juice for two weeks…

Yuki said none of those things. 

“I’ll have the same as him,” Yuki told the waitress, looking at me.

Well, alright. We’d just have to make enough of her food disappear so that my parents didn’t notice that she didn’t eat. I brainstormed. Maybe we could hide it in napkins or something…

After the waitress disappeared with our menus, my parents got right back to their conversation. 

“So Yuki,” my mom started. “Do you have any plans for the holidays? Thanksgiving is only a few months away,” she said.

Yuki shifted her gaze to look at me. “Uh, I-I don’t think so.”

“No?” My mom’s expression turned sightly pitiful. “You should come to Wisconsin with Pete! We always have extra room at our house. We’d love to have you.”

My dad nodded along.

I rolled my eyes. Real subtle, Wendy. My parents were absolutely shameless in trying to get me a girlfriend. It was kind of endearing but ultimately annoying.

“Um, can I?” Yuki asked me, looking up pleadingly. Even though her eyes were an average shade of brown, the puppy dog effect still worked its usual magic on me.

“Of course. If you want to,” I said with a reassuring smile. 

“Okay!” Yuki’s face lit up into a breathtaking smile and I swear my heart grew three sizes like in The Grinch.

My mom threw me a knowing look that I ignored.

Luckily the waitress saved me by bringing our food out.

“That was fast!” my dad said.

“It looks great, thank you,” my mom told the waitress.

“Awesome, let me know if you need anything,” the waitress said and then walked off. 

My burger looked amazing. I was hungry enough that I dug in without really thinking about anything else, even though Yuki had the same huge portion in front of her that I knew she’d rather not eat. It wasn’t until I’d taken a few bites of juicy burger that I realized Yuki’s ingenious plan.

I watched her just to make sure my mind wasn’t playing tricks on me, but no. Yuki picked up her fork, stabbed her steak fries and brought them to her mouth. Only when they were about to breach her lips, they disappeared and she mimed chewing. In the same instant, my pile of fries grew on my plate. With each bite, she magicked her food onto my own plate. The same thing happened when she took a ‘bite’ of her burger. I stared at my own plate and saw the missing bites I’d already taken of my burger reappear whilst her own burger disappeared with each fake bite she took.

Yuki was an evil genius. Because now I had to eat two burgers and heaping portions of fries. 

I figured I needed to eat fast in order to keep up the charade before anyone noticed my food was refilling. It was easy enough at first since I was hungry, but by the time I’d eaten my entire portion and still had a half of a burger on my plate, I was getting full. Not to mention a large pile of steak fries. I shouldn’t have stuffed myself full of extra pancakes this morning.

My parents didn’t seem to notice anything amiss, thankfully. They continued on talking about how nice of an area my new house was in and how pretty the scenery was. Yuki and I nodded along, not contributing much.

I shifted, spreading my legs to give my belly more room because yes somehow my gut started filling up into my lap and hanging a tiny bit between my legs recently whereas before it would only barely brush against my lap. I was getting fatter everyday it seemed. And eating two entire entrees wasn’t going to help. Yuki’s plate was pretty much empty, and mine was still half full. Ugh.

I felt a tiny hand brush over my thigh and give it a supportive squeeze. Yuki. It gave me a little encouragement to keep going. 

While I probably had enough room to eat all of this, I knew I had to be able to get out of this booth and drive everyone home. 

Again, ugh.

I burped into my fist and then picked up the burger. Ate a few forkfuls of fries. More burger. I was getting pretty full, but it felt sort of good in a weird way. Like a nice stretch from the inside. It made me squirm in my seat a bit. I pressed on the side of my belly to relieve some pressure. More burger, more fries. Everyone else was finished eating and that made me feel strangely embarrassed to be the only person still stuffing their face. 

“The portion sizes are big here, huh?” My mom commented, watching me eat. My cheeks were surely on fire. “Just because Yuki ate it all doesn’t mean you have to dear,” she said. “Honestly, I don’t know where you put it, Yuki.”

Yuki smiled innocently. “Dunno either ma’am,” she replied.

“Oh sweetie, please call me Wendy!”

As they talked, I finally finished my final bite and leaned back into the booth with a groan. 

The waitress dropped off the bill and I had to fight my parents to let me pay for everyone. Once I got my receipt, I sighed and started shuffling out of the booth, wincing as my tender stuffed belly was jostled.

I really needed to quit this habit of overeating.

The whole ride home, I was stifling burps, belly bouncing at any bump in the road. I could feel Yuki’s gaze on me but I focused on the road instead. 

When we got back to my house, I offered to walk Yuki to her ‘car.’

My parents each gave her a hug goodbye, which again had my heart thumping way too hard in my chest. Yuki seemed to like the affection too, if her ear to ear grin was anything to go by. 

I walked Yuki to the end of the block where the woods got a little thicker. We hovered near the tree line and hopefully out of sight from our neighbors.

“Alright, you can, um, disappear back to the basement from here, right?” I asked.

Yuki hummed and nodded. “Can I go back to our room to sleep again tonight?” she asked.

My stomach filled with butterflies when she said ‘our room’ instead of ‘your room.’

“Of course,” I said and then Yuki stepped up to give me a hug, careful of my bloated tummy, and then promptly disappeared. 

My brain didn’t quite understand what I was seeing, Yuki there one second and gone the next, dissolving into thin air, but maybe that was a good thing. It’d probably break my mind if I attempted to comprehend it. 

When I walked back to my house, my parents were giving me this annoying look that basically said I’ve known you your whole life, you can’t pull one over on me!

“What?” I asked tiredly.

My mom seemed to visibly contemplate her answer before saying, “Your girlfriend is adorable.”

I eye-rolled hard enough to give myself a headache. My dad burst out laughing at me.

“Mom, Yuki is just a friend,” I said in the patient tone of voice that I often used at work.

“Mhmm,” she hummed, unconvinced. “Did you try telling her that? She looks like a lovestruck puppy every time you look at her.”

Yeah, that did sound like Yuki. I’d thought she’d toned it down today though… Did that mean her adoring looks were usually more intense than a lovestruck puppy? 

“Well—,” I started, but then I didn’t know what to say. “I’m going to shower off all this gross bug spray and sunscreen,” I announced and then practically ran upstairs, which was particularly impressive on such a full stomach.

“You’re not fooling anyone, Pete!” my mother called. 

“I’m going to put you in a nursing home if you don’t cut it out!” I called back.

*

That night, Yuki appeared in my bedroom after I’d gone to bed. I was so relieved to see her in her true form that I pretty much tackled her in a hug, which was usually the opposite of how it went with us.

“Oof,” Yuki huffed in surprise as I tugged her body into mine. She started purring immediately though.

“I missed seeing you like this,” I mumbled into her fluffy black hair. 

Yuki chirped. “Did I do good today?”

I hummed, rocking us both from side to side while we embraced. “You did perfect. Absolutely perfect.”

Yuki nuzzled me, careful of her horns. My heart felt so light I feared it would break through my chest and fly away. 

“My eyes got kind of dry and itchy after a while, and not having a tail made me feel a little off balance, but I will work on it! I’ll just get better every time!” she announced optimistically. 

“Of course you will. You’re incredible, Yuki.”

I pulled back just enough to look at her face. I wanted to see her eyes, her natural eyes.

She blinked owlishly at me, a watery smile on her face. I’d even missed seeing those shark teeth today.

“Your eyes are gorgeous, you know that?” I whispered. Looking at her now after seeing her in a human form all day, I finally noticed what it was about her eyes that enraptured me so. It wasn’t even the color, though that was the most noticeable thing. Nor was it the size, since her eyeball was fairly normal in size.

No, it was that the iris of her eye was far bigger than a normal person’s. The whites of her eyes were mere slivers on each side. That purple iris and huge black pupil were endearingly big, cartoonish even. It was just another thing that added to her beauty.

I yawned, still holding tight to Yuki’s waist.

“Bedtime?” Yuki whispered tiredly.

I loathed letting her go, but I knew we should both get some sleep. So I reluctantly opened my arms and watched her slither under my bed like she did every night. 

“Night, Peter,” said the quiet demon under my bed.

“Goodnight, Yuki.”

Even though Yuki was right below me, I felt lonely.

*

My parents flew out Sunday morning, leaving Yuki and I the entire rest of the day to recover from the stress of the weekend. Yuki was cuddly as usual, but a bit more clingy. Almost like she’d been when she first manifested here. I was clinging right back, to be honest. I didn’t want to examine why that was.

Either way, I decided that since Yuki’s human disguise had worked so well this weekend, that I could start integrating her into the human world a little bit. After all, I wanted Yuki to have some independence. 

So Yuki accompanied me to the grocery store that evening. She had on some sweatpants and a t-shirt, and by all means should have looked fairly average. But Yuki was still very beautiful without her demon features, and I became slightly worried as the humans in the grocery store seemed to notice this as well. It probably didn’t help that she was clinging onto me with no shame nor concept of PDA.

“Do humans always stare like this?” Yuki whispered once we’d gotten a cart.

“Sometimes,” I said, “when the person they’re looking at is very pretty.”

Yuki blushed adorably. She was basically glued to my side, hugging my arm and occasionally putting her face into my shoulder to hide from wandering eyes.

“Lots of impure thoughts going on here,” she said with a scrunched nose, glancing at fellow shoppers. I laughed. 

“Humans are a bit rotten, aren’t we?”

Yuki’s arms migrated to my middle to give me a tight squeeze. “Not Peter! Peter is a nice person. Never felt anything vile coming from you, never,” she said with a smile.

Ah, well, I guessed I should take that as a compliment.

“You can sense what they’re thinking just by being near them?” I asked while I examined the meat section. Chicken thighs were on sale. 

“Mhm! I can only tell when it’s a deviant thought. Pure thoughts are safe from me,” she said, than added, “I don’t really know how it works.”

I put my arm around her shoulder. “That’s alright. Thanks for telling me.”

Once we had all of the fresh ingredients from our list, I led Yuki to the bakery isle. I loved having bread with my meals. 

“Get this one!” Yuki picked up the biggest baguette and held it up to me with a grin. 

“Okay, fine,” I relented. We went through isle after isle and Yuki convinced me to add more food to my cart than I normally would. It was too hard to say no when she was just so excited over the most mundane things.

When we passed a little display that had glittery snow globes, Yuki basically lost her mind. She shook the thing and watched little reflective pieces float around with an awestruck look on her face.

“It’s soooo cool, can we get it? Please?”

Of course we got that snow globe. And then she smelled some candles that we just had to get! 

I never said no to anything she held up to me. Purple oven mitts, a sparkly keychain, a birthday card that sang a stupid song when it was opened… All things that Yuki didn’t need, necessarily. But Yuki wanted them, so she was going to get them. It was possible that I was spoiling her a bit. I reasoned that Yuki spoiled me too, so it all evened out in the end. 

By the time we were in the check out line, Yuki pretty much declared that she loved the supermarket. 

After the success of that first trip, I was happy to have Yuki tag along with me on other errands. She seemed to love being outside. When I’d come home from work, Yuki would sometimes tell me about how she’d taken to sitting on the patio in the afternoons, basking in the sun. So long as she was in her human form, she was welcome to do that. 

And so we settled into a new routine where Yuki had more freedom. She could go with me on errands and potentially in the future once she understood human customs a little better, she would be able to go places on her own. 

Just the thought of it made me feel a lot less guilty. Yuki was actually able to exist in the world without being held prisoner in my house now. It was a weight off my chest.

Ironically, the extra weight on my body hadn’t gone anywhere. Instead, I was just getting even fatter. It was out of control, really. I’d only had Yuki back in my life for four months, but I’d gained about 35 lbs. Every dinner was elaborate and delicious, and I typically ate every last bit. And these recipes made enough food for four people!!

It didn’t help that Yuki had begun dabbling in baking too. Now there were pies or cakes or pastries made every few days, and I’d of course eat multiple helpings of those every night after I’d digested enough from my dinner feast. 

As a result of all of this overindulgence, I started to be hungrier. In the mornings, a few pieces of toast or frozen waffles used to be enough to fill me up. Now after eating that, I was hungry by mid morning and would snack on vending machine food to tide me over until lunch.

My lunch order was growing along with my waist. It wasn’t intentional, but when I was hungry I had a propensity to over-order. And then when there was food in front of me well… 

I couldn’t blame this on Yuki, per se. She wasn’t making me hungrier. But she was encouraging this side of me. Any time I mentioned that my clothes were getting tight or that I should cut back, she’d tell me that she wanted me to be happy. That she could sense that I wanted to eat more. It wasn’t necessarily untrue; I enjoyed letting myself go, eating whatever I wanted, but it was a headache to have to buy new work clothes for the second time in just a few months. It wasn’t like I couldn’t get my clothes on or anything, but I didn’t want to torture myself by having my my pants digging into me all day while I was working, nor did I want to risk looking unprofessional in button downs that were loose enough to fit around me, but were tight enough that my flesh puckered around each button.

My gains were pretty obvious with or without new clothes. My belly, which before looked like a ball belly, or a beer gut, was now drooping a little over my waistband and forming rolls on my sides. My chest had puffed up too, forming two mounds of fat where before had been just hints of softness. Even my fingers looked puffy lately. My face wasn’t showing much, maybe some softness around my chin but, my belly was definitely taking the brunt of the gain, for sure. 

I wasn’t particularly bothered by it, which was probably weird. Most people would freak out if they gained so much weight so fast. But for some reason, I only felt like I should be upset, rather than actually feeling that way. It was embarrassing, sure, but not in a bad way. I shrugged it off pretty easily. 

As time went on, I began to consider that Yuki had been right about me and my so-called desires.

Eating whatever I wanted was fun. I grew used to being constantly full, and I found that having a full stomach was soothing in a way. Whereas before I would push these feelings away, shame and guilt eating at me, I now tried to embrace them. Yuki wanted me happy. Seeing me happy made her happy. Ergo… I should eat as much as my heart desires. For me. For her. 

The mental gymnastics necessary for me to reach this conclusion were irrelevant. 

What was relevant was that in a matter of weeks, I was up another 10 lbs. It wasn’t super noticeable, at least to me. Yeah so what if my gut was sitting more in my lap everyday? Or if my upper arms were getting puffier, and that my face and neck were getting thicker? That was normal for a man entering his 30’s!

Anytime I mentioned these changes to Yuki she would coo at me, saying how handsome I looked with a little softness added on. And she said everything so earnestly! I was pretty sure she wasn’t even capable of lying, so I believed her. 

Anyway. 

As one would suspect, I’d gotten a few lighthearted comments from other execs. My secretary at work, Denise, was too polite to make a comment, but she had been taking lingering looks at my belly, particularly if she’d just seen me eat a huge spread for lunch.

Overall, it wasn’t too bad. Most of the other men I worked with were overweight. The CEO was pretty portly himself, so most of the teasing was self-deprecating, and it never bothered me.

There was one issue, however, that needed to be resolved. 

I needed to get Yuki an identity. A real one. One that would let her get on a plane to Wisconsin come November because I’d promised Yuki that she could have Thanksgiving with my family. 

And yes, I was willing to commit a crime to make that happen. 

In order to get Yuki an enhanced ID good enough to go through airport security, I had to delve back into my old habits as a young teenager with way too much unsupervised internet access. 

I reintroduced myself to the dark web. 

It was a testament to how close I’d grown to Yuki that I was even willing to go to such lengths for her. 

Going on the dark web was my last resort. I had tried asking Yuki if she could make an ID for herself using demon magic, but she said that she had no power like that. She couldn’t conjure things from nothing, nor could she transform anything but herself, and even that only lasted a short period of time. Her ability to dissolve into shadows was also exclusive to only herself. Yuki explained that she couldn’t take anyone or anything with her when she did so.

So I got my VPN going and searched my way through darknets I hadn’t visited since I was in college. It took the better part of an afternoon before I found what I was looking for: someone who made and sold birth certificate and state ID forgeries. The person’s services supposedly included forging military ID’s and security badges good enough to get into the pentagon, so I hoped it was as legit as it seemed. It was insanely expensive (I only gave partial payment upfront, I’m not an idiot) and I had to send in several photos of Yuki’s human face so that the person could complete my order. It was supposedly going to arrive in my P.O. Box next month. 

Several thousands of dollars poorer, I would finally have a genuine identity for my strange, little lurking demon. I hoped she wouldn’t mind that I’d put my last name as hers as well. I just figured it would be easier that way. 

*

Soon, it was Halloween. We passed out candy all night, which Yuki found fascinating.

She probably made every kid’s night by sharing enthusiastic praise about every child’s costumes as they came up our walkway. I couldn’t help but grin at seeing her interact with humans. She was a bit childlike herself, especially when she got excited. She would gush over every cool mask or pretty dress. She squealed in delight at the one boy dressed as a superhero. 

And then at the end of the night, Yuki hand-fed me all of the leftover candies, looking all sweet and doting. 

No matter what she did, Yuki was always gentle, and kind, and caring, and beautiful, and…

Stop, I mentally slapped myself. 

Yuki’s (forged) ID came in in the mail with only a week to spare before our Thanksgiving trip to Milwaukee. I was a mess of nerves all week, worried about whether or not Yuki would be able to get through TSA with her forged license. I ate my stress a bit, munching on snacks all throughout my workday and eating my now-typical dinner feast.

The day of the flight, Yuki was a bundle of nerves, so I pushed my own worries down deep. I had to be strong for her. 

As we stood in line, I ran a hand over Yuki’s back. She was biting her lip and I knew that if she hadn’t been in her human form, her tail would have been nervously flicking from side to side. This had to work. We’d taken an Uber to the airport since it was cheaper than paying for parking, so if this forgery caused even the slightest of problems, we’d be stranded here with no real escape plan.

Think positively, I admonished myself.

Eventually, it was our turn to approach. I showed them our tickets on my phone, and then the man scanned my ID. The scanner light was all green. 

Yuki’s hand shook as she handed him her ID.

I tried not to look suspicious but I was sweating in places I didn’t even know I could sweat.

It turned green.

“Here you go, have a nice flight,” the man said in a monotone voice. I nodded and we hurried into the next line.

“See, it’s fine,” I told Yuki.

Yuki purred quietly.

“Peter’s amazing,” she said softly. 

The rest of the security check was uneventful, if you didn’t mind the casual verbal harassment from airport security as we loaded up our belongings to get x-rayed. That always seemed to happen whenever I traveled. I wondered why airport security was so grouchy. 

They did pat down Yuki’s back because apparently, her hair was too fluffy for the body scanner or something, but Yuki was her usual good sport about it as a woman ran her hand over Yuki’s shoulders and upper back. 

We made it through. I smiled to myself as we put our shoes back on. 

*

“AH! It’s so good to see you! How was the flight?!” My mom gushed. Yuki smiled sweetly, but she looked tired. Keeping her human form up for so many hours was draining, though I knew she wouldn’t complain.

“Not bad,” I said, hugging my mom and dad before putting mine and Yuki’s bags in the SUV.

“Didn’t like it,” Yuki said quietly. My mom cooed and pulled Yuki in for a motherly hug.

“Oh, was this your first time flying?”

Yuki nodded into my mom’s shoulder.

“I don’t like flying either,” my dad said. “Human’s aren’t supposed to be so high in the air.” He said it with a ‘tsk’ and a shake of his head.

Yuki met my eye and smiled like we had some kind of private joke. Because Yuki wasn’t human. And yet, she wasn’t meant to be up in the air either. She was meant to be very much below.

It was true that Yuki wasn’t a fan of flying. She hugged my arm and hid her face into it for the whole flight, shaking and whining whenever there was turbulence. I wished I could’ve given her something to relax but I honestly wasn’t sure if human medicine would even have an effect on her.

My parents, predictably, talked Yuki’s ear off for the whole drive. My childhood home wasn’t too far from the airport, so it only took about 20 minutes.

When we arrived, Yuki leaned very close to me. 

“I remember being here,” she said in a quiet voice. “Here is where I met Peter.”

I felt my cheeks heat. “Yeah,” I said, throat tight with… something.

But then my dad was getting bags from the trunk so I went over to help him. He had a bad back, so really he shouldn’t be lifting all that, but he never listens.

“I’ve set up Peter’s old room for you two,” my mom was telling Yuki.

“O-Oh,” Yuki said. She had to be exhausted. I needed to get her alone so she could transform back. She was pushing her limits.

“Wait, what?” I asked once my mom’s words registered.

My mother sent me an absolutely devious smile. “We made the guest room dad’s office so she’ll have to share with you. Don’t worry,” she said to Yuki, “the bed’s big enough for two.”

Yuki smiled and nodded. I looked at my dad pleadingly, but he just shrugged. He knew better than to interfere with Wendy when she was playing match-maker.

“Happy wife happy life,” he mumbled to me. 

My father probably deserved to be sainted for being married to my mom for all these years. 

Once we got the bags put away, Yuki and I had a second alone when my parents were downstairs ordering a pizza.

“Did I do… good?” Yuki asked, nuzzling my chest with her forehead. Her human form melted away, revealing the gray-tinted skin, horns, and tail, which was currently poking its way out of the waistband of her pants.

“You did amazing, Yuki,” I said, holding her close. She was pressed right against my belly, and she seemed to like how it felt, squeezing the rolls on my sides with her tiny hands. 

“Mmm, so tired,” she mumbled into my plush chest. 

“Go to sleep,” I whispered. “I’ll tell them you aren’t feeling well from the flight, okay?”

Yuki groaned lightly which I took as an affirmative. 

“Get some rest,” I said, leaning back to look at her face. I cupped her chin in my hand. She blinked her owlish purple eyes at me sleepily. “I’ll be back up later.”

Yuki grinned and her predatory teeth dazzled. “Peter’s the best,” she said as she slithered under the sheets. We hadn’t discussed her sleeping on the bed rather than under like she did at home, but Yuki was so exhausted that I didn’t correct it. “Peter always takes such good care of me,” she mumbled into the pillow. She dissolved into a fit of boneless, relaxed purring.

Oh no. 

Yuki’s words hit like bullets to the chest. 

Peter always takes such good care of me.

I’m not supposed to feel this way. I had promised myself.

Yuki was docile. Worshipful. That was just how Yuki was. It wasn’t a reflection of how she truly felt about me, was it? She’d say this to anyone in my position.

It didn’t mean she… wanted me. 

I went downstairs. 

“Where’s Yuki?” My mom immediately asked.

“She wasn’t feeling great from the flight still,” I said. “Decided to turn in early.”

“Oh, that’s too bad. Well, we ordered extra pizza since we thought she’d be eating but…” my dad looked me up and down. “Maybe that was a blessing in disguise.”

“Ken!” My mom smacked him with a kitchen towel. 

“No, he’s right. I guess I’ve let myself go recently. Job stress,” I said with a shrug. 

“That’s perfectly normal,” my mom chimed in. “Eat as much as you want.”

I did. Probably a whole pizza and a few slices extra. I ate until I felt vaguely sick, which was turning into my default setting as of late. 

I crawled into bed next to Yuki with a sore stomach, bloated from all the carbonated pop and cheesy-meaty pizza. I burped into my fist a few times as I got settled. Yuki didn’t stir, but she shifted closer to me once I got settled.

“Hick, ugh,” I groaned quietly. My poor stomach was gurgling, struggling to digest.

Yuki turned, and her hand landed on the crest of my gut. I stared at her to see if she was awake. She looked asleep. Steady breathing, eyes closed. 

Her fingers slid under the hem of my t-shirt.

I felt myself slipping to sleep as well. The last thing I remember was feeling her hand softly rubbing my belly in soothing circles.

*

Thanksgiving was a parade of gluttony. It was one of my favorite holidays.

Even as a kid, I loved watching football with my dad, eating until I was groaning, and then getting multiple helpings of dessert after. 

Waking up in the middle of the night to have leftovers.

It was comforting in a way.

Yuki seemed to have recovered well overnight. She took her time getting ready before she left the bedroom, only donning her human form at the last second. 

“Sure you’ll be okay all day today?” I asked, slightly worried. Yes, she’d done well at the airport in her disguise, but today would be more hours. I didn’t want her to be uncomfortable.

“Mhm!” Yuki said cheerily. She latched onto me like a leech, wrapping me in her arms. I knew if her tail was out, it would’ve been wound around my leg. “Today will be different! Can feed off of Peter today, yes, your aura should be so very filling for me today,” she said. I yelped when her little teeth bit my upper arm where it was most flabby. 

“Yuki,” I scolded.

The little demon knew she had me wrapped around her finger, as she just giggled and kissed the sore spot. I was grateful she didn’t do that with her normal teeth.

Although, under a certain circumstance, those teeth could feel…

Danger. Stop. This train of thought is prohibited.

We made our way downstairs where my dad had already gotten the turkey in the oven and my mom was making eggs and bacon to tide us over until dinner.

We took seats at the kitchen barstools.

I watched my mom plate Yuki up some breakfast and licked my own lips in anticipation.

This time, I was excited at the prospect of secretly eating double. I don’t know what exactly changed since the last time she’d done this, but now I wanted it. I wanted to eat as much as I could. I knew it would feel good. I felt warmth spreading through me, pooling in my gut, just thinking about it.

So when Yuki took a big heaping bite of bacon, I stuffed some of my own bacon in my mouth. Sure enough, Yuki magicked her food into my mouth and I smiled as I chewed through a doubled mouthful.

I felt immense satisfaction as I scarfed down two giant platefuls. I also felt very full.

Yuki blinked at me with her typical adoring gaze. I put a hand on her leg under the bar, thinking she was feeling as satisfied as I felt.

“More please!” Yuki said innocently.

I bit the inside of my cheek. 

“You’re feeling very devious today, aren’t you?” I murmured quietly to Yuki as my mom eagerly refilled her dish.

Yuki giggled. “I can sense it.”

I frowned at her. “Sense what?”

“Can sense the impure thoughts you’re having about being a glutton. It’s making me feel oh so floaty!” she whispered with a slightly crazed smile. 

Impure thoughts. About being a what?

But I didn’t get to ask because my mom was walking up to the kitchen island and handing Yuki a plate. 

Now to awkwardly chew without being noticed since I was supposed to be done eating… I hid my mouth behind my napkin as Yuki scarfed down ‘her’ second helping.

I sat down on the couch to watch the game. Yuki had offered to help my mom, unsurprisingly. I watched out of the corner of my eye as Yuki dutifully sliced potatoes. 

I had hoped to digest more of my breakfast, but it seemed like no time at all had passed before it the turkey was done and I was setting the dining room table. 

I didn’t’ know what was wrong with me, but I was feeling that same perverted sort of excitement I’d felt earlier. Even though I wasn’t at all hungry, I just. Wanted food anyway.

“Let’s say grace,” my mom said once all of her side dishes had been plated around the big golden-brown bird in the center of the table.

“Bless us, oh Lord, for these thy gifts….” We recited.

Yuki went ridged before she started to squirm uncomfortably in her chair next to me. 

“Amen!” 

Yuki melted back into her seat.

“Who wants white meat, who wants dark?” My dad asked, getting up to start carving.

The next hour or so was a blur of flavors. Every bite I took, I was getting a surprise second bite from Yuki. Sometimes the combinations were better than others. Mashed potatoes and turkey? Great. 

Green bean casserole and cranberry sauce? Not so great.

But. I kept eating beyond all common sense, because that was what Thanksgiving was about as far as I was concerned. 

Everyone was groaning appreciatively at the flavors, paying compliments to my dad (for the turkey) and to my mom (for everything else). Long after everyone else claimed themselves to be stuffed, leaned back in their chairs and wishing they had worn stretchy pants, I kept eating. My stomach was aching by then, but I didn’t care. I’d unbuttoned my pants in preparation before we’d even started eating so I wasn’t phased. And it all tasted so good. Yuki seemed to know it too, as she kept eating as well, secretly feeding me every bit.

I lost count of how many rolls, how many helpings of turkey, potatoes, casseroles, corn I’d eaten. It was an excess, that was all I knew. And when I truly felt like I couldn’t eat even one more bite, absolutely stuffed, painful stretching and shooting pains from my absolute tank of a gut filling my lap, Yuki pushed one more bite of buttery bread down.

I couldn’t help but moan around it.

“We really did a number on that bird, didn’t we?” My mom was boxing up leftovers and yes, there was only about a quarter of the turkey left. The rest of the dishes were either gone or nearly. 

It was easily enough food for six people, but three had almost wiped the table clear.

I felt a sick sense of pride, even though my gut ached something fierce and all I wanted to do was lay down.

“Ate too much?” My dad asked. I was in a major food coma, watching Yuki’s fluffy black hair fall over one shoulder as she helped pick up plates.

“You could say that,” I wheezed.

*

After our trip to Wisconsin, something between Yuki and I changed. It was like some kind of wall had crumbled. Neither of us were acting differently per se, but there was an energy there that hadn’t been there before. Knowing glances replaced innocent ones. I replaced my favorite belt with a larger one.

Whatever was going on with us, this feeding thing, it was no longer ignorable. Before, I could write it off. Yuki was simply engrossed in her new hobby, cooking, and of course my waistband was suffering because of it. That made sense. And Yuki used to have to push me to overeat, back when I was still in denial about how much I liked it. 

Then, over time, it became more natural to let myself indulge. I didn’t need prompting to eat enough food for four people at meals anymore. But lately… It was more than indulgence. I was falling into a cycle of gluttony. And I knew that Yuki was pleased at herself for thoroughly corrupting my self-control. 

I wished I didn’t find it incredibly attractive.

I did.

Soon the first snowfall of the season was upon us. Denver didn’t get as cold as the midwest winters I was used to, but the storm that came in early December was substantial. We stayed inside, bundled up in blankets cuddling on the couch as we watched it fall. Yuki made me a hot chocolate.

“The snow looks so fluffy,” Yuki commented, and a contented chirp rumbled from her chest. 

“We can go out there if you want. But it’s cold,” I warned her.

Yuki’s cheeks flushed with her excitement. “Really?!”

Just that look on her face made me inhale shakily. This was so dangerous. I had been ignoring this feeling for months. 

I couldn’t ignore it right then. Not with Yuki’s purple eyes glittering, staring at me like I was her entire universe.

I was falling in love with my demon. 

We went outside. Yuki didn’t like being cold as a general rule. She much preferred the heat, as evidenced by her scalding hot baths. But still, she excitedly tromped all around our backyard, even sticking her tongue out to catch some snow flakes.

“Let’s make snow angels,” I said. 

“Okay!” Yuki nodded, happy to go along with any suggestion of mine. Then, “What are those?”

After a short explanation, I lowered myself onto the wet, snowy ground. This was a lot more fun when I was a kid, I realized. Yuki followed along until we were both settled in the white snow. 

“Now you just move your arms and legs like this,” I said, demonstrating. 

“Oh my!”

Yuki giggled happily as we made snow angels. 

“Now, here’s the most important part,” I said. “You have to try to get up without messing up your angel.”

Yuki’s brow furrowed. I couldn’t help but smile, thinking I’d never seen such a look of serious concentration on her face.

I tried getting up, noting that it was more difficult since I’d last done this. I didn’t generally get on the floor often, and I definitely hadn’t done it since about 30 lbs ago. 

I felt my belly awkwardly pushing into my leg as I got myself into a kneel. I had to take a second to catch my breath.

“Okay, let’s see how we did.” I pushed myself up and then jumped out of my angel. I didn’t do a great job; there was a big boot print in my angel’s wing.

Yuki did much better. Hers was pristine. 

“SO COOL!” she gushed. I quickly had an armful of a squirming Yuki. She nuzzled me, even licked my neck, which I thought was a rather strange thing to do, but well. That was Yuki for you.

Yuki purred against me. We risked her coming outside in her true form since her horns were covered by a hat and her tail was tucked somewhere in her snow pants. Her ashen cheeks were pink from the cold and her eyes reflected the white that was falling around us. I found myself looking at her lips. 

They were turning a bit blue.

I wondered if she was really purring that hard or if she was trembling from the cold.

“We should go inside and warm up,” I said.

“O-O-ka-ka-ka-y,” she said through a frozen tremble. Her smile didn’t dim at all even as we shuffled inside. 

We shed our wet outer garments and thawed on the couch covered in blankets. It was perfect. I couldn’t ever remember a day when I’d been more at peace. 

Especially when Yuki decided to warm up the house by baking cookies. I may have eaten 10 in one sitting. 

 I got up to go to the bathroom later that day and was shocked at how fat I looked in my reflection. Sure, I had decided to just embrace my climbing weight since it seemed to make Yuki and Iboth happy. But seeing myself was still jarring sometimes. 

I had a proper double chin these days. My arms, which used to be toned and muscled, now looked swollen with fat. Even my wrists and hands were pudgy. My legs weren’t really that big; I was decidedly top-heavy, but even so, my thighs had started to rub together. My gut was surely the biggest thing about me, but my love handles had swelled to the point where I had an exaggerated muffin top at all times now. I could see that my belly was drooping too. I could barely see my pants-button. And of course when I turned to the side to look at my profile, it was even more obvious how fat I was. My stomach stuck out far enough that it was a little hard to hold my belly button with both hands. I lifted my belly up and watched it jiggle as I let it go.

“Peter! Dinner!” Yuki called.

I sighed and patted my stomach. 

“Be right there!”

* 

December was flying by. In what seemed like no time at all, I woke up one morning realizing it was nearly Christmas. I shuffled out of bed rubbing my tired eyes. I could hear Yuki’s heavy sighs and occasional purrs from under my bed and I couldn’t help but smile fondly. 

Yuki was not a morning person. She only got up when I was about tot leave to say goodbye to me before I went to work, and even then she always looked sleepy and soft. With swollen eyes and a wrinkles from her pillowcase on her cheeks.

God. Ever since I admitted to myself that I had feelings for Yuki it was like I couldn’t help but thinking of her all the time anymore. My love for her was spilling over into my every waking thought. I was turning into such a sap. 

I didn’t act on my feelings. For one, I wasn’t sure if Yuki could even feel romantic love. She wasn’t human. It was easy to forget because she was so kind, compassionate, caring, all attributes that I associated with humanity. But she was a demon and I wasn’t sure if she was capable of human love. I knew Yuki cared about me in her way, but caring about someone and loving them were different. I didn’t know if I could handle it if I confessed only to have her say she couldn’t reciprocate.

For two, I recalled all of the workplace harassment training I’d taken for my job. Hours of my life sitting through modules where relationships with power imbalances were discussed, along with the potential legal ramifications for engaging in such a relationship. Of course, these were geared toward workplace relationships. It’d be unethical for me to date someone in my company, particularly someone who I was a direct supervisor to. 

But after everything that happened when Yuki reappeared in my life, I was certain that Yuki and I were in a similar situation. After all, she was beholden to me. She was my demon. That was an uneven power dynamic if I’d ever heard one. And I’d repressed my own growing feelings for her because, on some level, I thought that I would be taking advantage of her if I ever acted on my feelings. And Yuki’s docile nature didn’t dispel that illusion for me. It felt wrong to force my affections on her, even though it was usually Yuki who initiated physical affection. Cuddling could be platonic, after all, so I still felt weird about aiming for more than that. 

But I wasn’t so sure anymore. Yuki had the ability to have her own life outside of me now. She’d met my parents, gone out in public with me several times, and we were working on her becoming even more independent. So maybe it could work. Maybe it wouldn’t be wrong to love her. 

Assuming Yuki returned my feelings, of course. 

I splashed cold water on my face to wake me up before I went downstairs to eat some breakfast. I’d always started my day with a hearty breakfast, but lately I’d been waking up ravenous. My stomach would rumble like I hadn’t eaten in weeks like I hadn’t in fact eaten a meal for four only ten hours earlier. 

I threw four frozen waffles into the toaster and started the coffee machine. I picked at some cookies while I waited. It seemed like only a short while ago, two waffles would be more than enough to hold me over until lunch. But of course, I now needed at least five. I could probably eat eight if I really put my mind to it.

I loaded up my coffee with flavored creamer and sat down with my syrup and waffles. As I stuffed my face, I thought about the upcoming holiday. I had my last week of work and then my parents would be flying in for Christmas. 

I also had the annual Christmas party for work to attend. It wasn’t mandatory, but it would look bad if I didn’t show up, seeing as it was my first year working as an exec.

It was black tie, and so I’d had to order a new tux for the occasion. I was debating asking Yuki to accompany me. My secretary, Denise, said that most people bring a date. A spouse, a fiancé, a fling…

I had none of the above, but I did have a Yuki. 

Would that be weird? Would Yuki even want to go? Moreover, Yuki didn’t have any formal clothes. I’d have to take her shopping. It sounded like a chore, but then the more I thought about it, I realized seeing Yuki try on clothes might be sort of fun. She’d surely look stunning in anything she wore…

I put away my dishes and got dressed. Yuki slithered out from under my bed while I was tying my tie. 

“Leaving?” She asked. I nodded. “I’ll miss you!” Yuki clung to my middle and nuzzled my chest. I could feel myself blushing. 

“I’ll miss you too. Be good,” I said, petting her hair. She purred lethargically. 

“Always good,” she mumbled.

“I know you are.”

*

I didn’t bring up the Christmas party until I got home that night. Yuki was finishing off a big pan of shrimp Alfredo that smelled absolutely delicious. She put the fettuccine into a pot of boiling water, tail swaying from side to side as she did. She always cooked barefoot, tiny gray-ish feet padding around the kitchen tiles as she stirred and chopped. 

“Hey Yuki,” I said.

“Mmm?”

“How would you feel about going somewhere with me? For my work.”

Yuki tilted her head, considering. “Go somewhere?” she echoed. “I’ve never been to Peter’s work.”

I smiled. “I know. Ah, well, it’s a work party. So it isn’t actually the place I really work at. But most of the people there will bring someone. I thought, maybe, if you wanted to, I could bring…you,” I said lamely. I felt like a goddamn middle schooler, stuttering trying to ask out some girl. 

But Yuki just lit right up. Her face brightened into a pleased and slightly surprised smile, and she hopped a little in place, clapping her hands together.

“Peter wants me to go with him! Of course I’ll go! Any place with Peter there will be the best place for Yuki to be,” she said with a feverish smile. She even ran over to where I was sitting at the kitchen bar to hug my arm to her chest.

“I’m glad,” I said, putting my arm around her instead and pulling her into a proper hug. “We’ll have to get you a nice dress to wear. It’s kind of fancy,” I said. 

Yuki lifted her head super fast at that, and I dodged blindness by horn-point. 

“I get to wear a dress?!” she whisper-yelled.

“You sure do,” I said. 

“EEEE!”

It turned out that getting Yuki a dress wasn’t actually too hard. I recalled how Yuki used to be scared at when we went out in public at first, as she was naturally a bit flighty and nervous, but over time, she began to love being around other people. 

The sales attendant that helped Yuki pick out her dress (she ended up choosing a gorgeous midnight blue number, floor-length with silver accents) chatted Yuki up and I could tell, Yuki liked the attention. It helped that everything she tried on looked gorgeous on her. Even without her demon features, she was a knockout. 

Apparently Yuki was a winter undertone so cool colors will compliment best… I didn’t know what any of that meant, so I just nodded along and swiped my card to pay for it and carried the garment bag to the car. 

 The day of the party, I decided to step on the scale for the first time in a while. It wasn’t like I was avoiding it, but I had been sort of enjoying the mystery of not having my weight gain confirmed. It was nice to think I might still be somewhere around 280. 

When the scale said 303, I bit my lip. Well, I supposed I’d maybe been underestimating just how many extra calories I’d been eating every day. How could I have put on another 20 pounds without hardly noticing? Sure it was the holiday season so everyone was gaining a bit of winter fluff, but this was putting my gain at over 50 lbs in just 6 months. That seemed… substantial. 

I decided not to think too hard about it, and just started getting dressed instead. My new was loose actually, which was good. With the way I was going, it probably wouldn’t be loose on me for long.

Meanwhile, Yuki was nearly bouncing off the walls with excitement as she got ready. 

She looked stunning. She’d even curled her hair with the new curling iron we’d picked up, so her black hair fell in silky spirals on her back. 

The saleswoman at the dress shop must’ve been onto something because Yuki’s pale skin looked fantastic against the deep blue tones of her dress. And even though I missed her purple eyes, she was still a sight to behold in her human guise. 

“What do you think?” Yuki asked, giving me a little twirl. And was I imagining it, or were her cheeks looking a little pink?

“You look absolutely beautiful, Yuki,” I said. 

Yuki’s face lit up and she swayed on her feet a little from the compliment. It was so cute how flustered she got sometimes.

“I think Peter looks the most beautiful,” Yuki muttered. She was definitely blushing now, but so was I.

So I just held out my arm. “Let’s go.”

*

Everyone at the party thought Yuki was my girlfriend. Maybe I should’ve foreseen this and prepared for it, but for some reason it hadn’t even occurred to me. Stupid.

“Oh my, I didn’t realize Peter had a partner, it’s so nice to meet you.”

“And who might you be? Peter never mentioned having such a beautiful girlfriend.”

It just went on and on like that with every acquaintance I came across. I didn’t correct anyone, because me having Yuki as a girlfriend was much more believable than the truth.

Yuki, for her part, did extremely well. She didn’t talk much, but that was mostly because she was still pretty shy around big groups. She only replied to direct questions, or said “Nice to meet you as well,” and she didn’t let go of my hand the whole time. 

Meanwhile, everyone we passed couldn’t seem to keep their eyes off of her. I didn’t blame them, she was radiant. If only they knew how much more beautiful she was in her true form… Still, the attention was a bit much. Men’s eyes followed her around the room. I imagined them wondering to themselves how I was able to find someone as gorgeous as Yuki looking how I did. For some reason, their jealousy was turning me on. I felt sort of like an asshole for thinking it, but I was oddly pleased at the amount of attention Yuki was receiving. There was something so hot about having the most attractive person in a room, when they only have eyes for you.

If only Yuki really felt that way about me. 

“How are you feeling? So far so good?” I whispered to Yuki as we finally made our way to our table for dinner. 

“Mhm!” Yuki nodded her head enthusiastically. “Everybody is so nice. I feel so energized from all of the envy and greed here. Very lush,” she said with a tiny giggle. 

“Envy and greed huh… I suppose that is the world of business,” I acknowledged with a laugh. 

We found our table pretty easily; we were sitting with a few executives I liked and their spouses. I was relieved that Carl wasn’t sitting near me. That man was insufferable. 

We got our champagne and listened to our CEO give a brief speak before we cheers-ed. Yuki had never tried alcohol before, so I told her to just take a tiny sip or not drink it at all. 

I watched out of the corner of my eye as she sniffed the glass, made a face, and then pushed it into my hand.

One of my colleague’s wives noticed and said, “Don’t like it?” When Yuki shook her head, she said, “I never used to either. It’s an acquired taste.”

“I don’t think that is a taste I will be acquiring, ma’am,” Yuki said with a worried expression. The woman laughed.

“Oh my, you’re such a sweetie!” 

I was inclined to agree. 

After a few minutes, they started bringing food out, and I was relieved. Even though I’d hit the appetizer tables a little hard, that fancy finger food hadn’t done much to stave off my hunger. I was starving. 

As had become our routine, I ate my food while Yuki covertly magicked her own food on my plate. Over the course of the dinner, I ate two helpings of salad, soup, porterhouse steak, mashed potatoes and gravy, and finished off with two big slices of cake. I was feeling pretty stuffed and drowsy after so much rich food. Yuki seemed worn out as well, since I knew that keeping up her human appearance was tiring, and socializing with so many people was out of her comfort zone. We decided we would have a photo taken of us in front of the gorgeous holiday display and then leave early. The photographer had a short line, so we made our way over there to get that done before we planned to slip out of the party. 

Yuki slipped her small arm around my middle and squeezed at the flesh there. 

“Thank you for bringing me,” she purred, tucking herself into my side.

“Of course, Yuki. I wouldn’t want to be here with anyone else.”

Her hands rubbed my swollen sides. 

“I love Peter. Peter’s the best. Always… always so nice to me,” Yuki murmured sleepily. I instantly froze. Yuki… Yuki said what? She… loved me?

“Next!” the photographer called, and oh my god that was us. Of course it would be. Of course I wouldn’t be able to talk to her about what she’d just said. 

Yuki pulled away and we positioned ourselves where we were directed. 

“Now smile on three. One, two, three!”

Flash. 

I started walking in a daze. It felt like time had stopped the minute I’d heard Yuki say she loved me. Did she actually say that? Was I projecting? Memory is fallible so it was hard to say… 

“And then, when the picture comes in, can we put it on the fireplace? In a nice frame. Because we have so many nice pictures on there already, but none of them have me in them, so I was thinking, maybe you would like it if there was one of us on there. Do you think we can do that? Please?” Yuki rambled as we walked towards the doors. 

I tried to focus back on what she was saying. “Sure, I’d like that,” I said quickly.

“Yay! I’m so excited to see it,” she chirped. 

*

We were almost to the exit of the venue when I heard someone call my name.

“Peter, leaving so soon?”

Carl Wellington, the man I’d successfully avoided all night (until now, that is) was walking towards us.

I was instantly irritated. Yuki stiffened next to me. I glanced over at her, and the look on her face… it was like nothing I’d ever seen before. Even without the horns or anything, she looked… menacing.

A low, rumbly growl started emanating from her chest as Carl walked closer. 

“What..?” I began to say, but then Carl started speaking.

“Oh my.” He genuinely looked surprised as he glanced between Yuki and myself. After a moment, a look of realization dawned on his face. “Ol’ Saint Pete has himself a demon? Now that is unexpected,” Carl said, and I could see something far more evil showing in his face than I ever had before. His eyes looked… void of any humanity altogether. His pupils were dilated and cruel. 

“A d-demon?” I echoed dumbly.

Yuki growled louder, even going so far as to put her arm in front of me and taking a step forward. The shadows in the room suddenly seemed darker. I swear I saw Yuki’s human guise flickering in and out, but any time I noticed purple eyes or horns or shark teeth, they were gone in the next moment. 

“Stay away from him,” Yuki snarled, and her voice sounded horrible. Her growl had turned into more of a hiss. The sound made me feel a chill down my spine. I felt goosebumps rising on my arms. I glanced around, all the sudden nervous about someone witnessing this altercation, but luckily the hall was empty aside from us. 

“I didn’t realized another of us had already claimed you, Peter.” 

Wait, had he said another one of us?

Carl’s eyes lingered on Yuki. “She is lovely. And very attached, I see.” His gaze bounced between Yuki and I with an intelligent glint that I absolutely hated. “Well, that does explain your good fortune. But my, how interesting. I’m oh so glad I was able to run into you both. This has been very informative. Have a pleasant night you two,” Carl said with thick condescension, and then he turned on his heel and walked away. 

I watched, shocked and bewildered by the entire conversation, as Carl disappeared back into the main banquet room.

Beside me, Yuki was no longer growling. In fact, she was shaking. I watched as her eyes welled with tears.

“Yuki, it’s okay. Come on, he’s gone. We need to get out of here, let’s go,” I said. 

Yuki slumped like a deflated ballon and let herself be led outside and to the parking lot. 

My mind was reeling as I buckled her into the front seat of my car. I’d never seen Yuki so hostile before. And what in the world was my colleague? Was he a demon too? 

Yuki made a pitiful, whining sort of sound, like a wounded dog, as I put the car into gear and started driving.

I reached over and put my free hand on her thigh, rubbing soothing circles into her skin with my thumb.

“It’s alright, you’re okay,” I said gently. I had to keep it together, since clearly whatever Carl was, Yuki was afraid of it. 

“S-Sorry,” Yuki mumbled after a few minutes of silence. I looked at her before quickly shifting my gaze back to the road.

“For what?”

“Was s’posed to protect Peter, but I got scared,” she sniffled. “Bad Yuki.”

“Huh?!” My face twisted in confusion. “Yuki, you did protect me. You were marvelous. A bit scary, honestly, but amazing nonetheless. I was the one who was helpless back there.”

Yuki pursed her lips like she didn’t agree. 

“What was that anyway? Is Carl… a demon too?” I asked hesitantly. I mean, it wouldn’t be so hard to believe. Carl certainly acted devilish at times. 

Yuki shook her head before leaning over the console to put her forehead against my bicep.

“Not a demon. But he’s being possessed by one,” she mumbled.

My eyebrows shot up. That sounded worse for some reason.

“He’s… possessed?” 

“Mhm,” Yuki mumbled. “Not by a very strong demon, though. Just a demon of greed. It’s clinging to the man’s soul, using his body,” Yuki said quietly.

I tried to pretend that this wasn’t the most horrifying thing I’d ever heard. 

Jesus. How many people in the world had demons attached to them right now? How many do I see everyday without ever knowing? How many were as good as Yuki? Probably not many. 

That wasn’t terrifying or anything. 

“If he’s possessed,” I considered for a second, “is there something we can do to get the real Carl back?” I asked. 

Yuki hummed, thinking. “Demons like that can’t possess just anyone. The person has to let them in,” Yuki said. “It’s not like in the movies. It was probably able to take over because Carl wanted whatever it is that the demon was offering.”

“A deal,” I said, remembering a very young Yuki in my basement, desperate for one hair off of my head in exchange for her protection. I wondered what Carl had wanted badly enough to make a deal like that, but then I didn’t really want to think about Carl’s possession anymore.

When Yuki changed the subject, I was grateful. 

“Those kinds of us aren’t usually very strong. I guess I froze up back there because…” Yuki sighed heavily. “I was still scared like how I used to be b-before. Before I met Peter. I forgot that I’m stronger now.”

I pondered that for a second before speaking. “You thought it’d be like it was when you were with your siblings?” I guessed.

Yuki whined in confirmation. 

“It won’t ever be like that again, do you hear me?” I told her. “Because I have the best demon, don’t I?” Warmth bled into my tone as I spoke. “I have the smartest, sweetest, most incredible demon in the world. And no one is better than you, Yuki. No one.”

Yuki sniffled before smiling a little. “You mean it?” she asked.

“Of course I do.”

Yuki didn’t say anything for a while, so I risked a glance over at her and oh god, she was giving me that look. The one that melted my heart like candle wax. The devoted, worshiping, loving, look. Damnit. 

The car felt too stuffy all off the sudden, but we were nearly home already, so I only had to bear it for a few more minutes before we were pulling into the garage. 

Except that tight feeling in my chest didn’t ease once we got inside the house. No, it was getting strong and stronger every second.

It was like my body could’t contain all of the emotions I felt for Yuki. They were spilling out, bubbling over like a pot left unattended. 

I made myself act normal despite the storm brewing in my head. 

Yuki and I were both tired from the party, and worn out from the confrontation with another demon (I had yet to fully process that to be honest) and our conversation in the car. 

We headed up to our bedroom to get ready for bed. I started to untie my tie, but I kept messing it up with my shaky hands.

“Here, let me,” Yuki said quietly. Her hands gently pushed mine aside and she started to slowly undo the knot. Then she started unbuttoning my shirt. She was looking at me demurely, shyly, peeking up at me from beneath her lashes, slowly undoing each button one at a time. 

We were standing very close to each other. I looked down at her since she was shorter. 

Then, and all at once I blurted out what I’d been wanting to ask all night, “Let me see your real face.” 

Yuki looked up at me in surprise. But whatever expression she saw in my face seemed to reassure her, and after a second, her human disguise melted away. 

I was looking down at my beautiful demon, my scary gorgeous, sweet demon. Her purple eyes glittered in the soft light from the bedside lamp. Her razor-sharp teeth shone as she smiled up at me. Her glossy black horns framed her face, and her tail poked its way out of her dress to caress my ankle. 

I loved her so much it ached. 

I was about to do something I might later regret. But, in that moment, there was nothing I could do about it. It felt like if I let that moment pass, I was sure that I would miss my chance forever. 

So I leaned down. 

Yuki caught on to what I was doing and met me halfway. Our lips met in the middle, and it was everything I had wanted for so long. I was instantly groaning and grabbing at her shoulders to mesh our lips together more deeply. 

Yuki purred, and I could feel it in my own chest, since she was pressed against me. Her hands wound around my waist, fondling and squeezing at the rolls on my sides. It felt so good, so incredibly good. 

I opened my mouth for more, and Yuki did the same, our tongues swirling together. I felt the edge of one of her teeth brush lightly against my tongue, and I swear something about the threat of getting nicked by one of those sharp things was just making me burn even hotter.

Eventually, I moved to kissing Yuki’s neck. She was moaning softly and chanting my name as I kissed every part of her I could reach.

“Peter Peter Peter Peter…”

Yuki’s tail was moving up my right leg, squeezing and un-squeezing around my calf. It should have been weird, but it was just another sensation adding to my arousal. 

I pulled back, loving how wrecked Yuki looked. Eyes glassy, cheeks flushed even through her natural ashen skin. 

“Yuki, about earlier,” I started to say, but then I felt nervous. She was still clinging to me, looking up at me like I was her world. “You said something. Back when we were about to have our photo taken….Uhm, you said you loved me,” I said, voice a little uneven. “What-what did you mean by that?”

Yuki blinked slowly. Her purr came back in full force and she leaned her head into my chubby chest to nuzzle at me.

“I said I love Peter! And I do, I love you Peter. Peter finally kissed Yuki!” she muttered excitedly, the words still clear though slightly muffled by my chest. “I’m so happy,” she sighed.

I felt like I was on cloud nine. 

“You really do?” I asked, slightly amazed. 

“Mmmm, yes!” She sprang her head back up with a slightly feral grin on her face. “Does this mean Peter wants to be with me?”

I swear my heart nearly burst with how much I loved her just then. She was so freaking cute I could just squeeze her to death. 

But my logical head chimed in to dim my high before I got too carried away. 

“Only if you wantthat Yuki. Remember, you get to choose now. You always have a choice with me. If you don’t want to be with me like that, that’s fine. I’ll still be your Peter. You don’t have to be mine in that way if you don’t want to.” 

I tried to make myself sound objective, like Yuki wouldn’t be crushing my hopes and dreams by saying no. If that was what she wanted, that would be what she’d get. I would just have to bear it. She needed to choose me. 

No matter my own feelings, I didn’t want her that way if it wasn’t by her own choice.

Yuki pouted adorably. “But that’s all I want! Yuki wants to be Peter’s in every way,” she said, sounding petulant.

God, she really was precious, wasn’t she?

“You do? You want to be my partner? Romantically?” I needed clarification like I needed oxygen. Yuki looked a little fed up, rolling her eyes like I was just being stupid on purpose.

“Yes! Yuki already belongs to Peter. I want Peter to belong to me too!” she said, and her voice shaky with excitement. Her eyes were a little teary, but her smile could light up the darkest of rooms.

Overcome with emotion, I kissed her again, softly this time.

“I’m yours,” I whispered against her mouth. 

*

Yuki and I slept together (literally—we just slept, nothing else! Get your head out of the gutter) that night and I woke up to her sleeping half on top of me. Her tail had wrapped its way around my ankle and her hair was in my mouth and her chest was rumbling with a contented purr that made my own heart pitter patter. 

Typically, I didn’t linger in bed. I liked to get up, take a nice long morning shower, and then eat breakfast, since I usually woke up ravenous these days. But today, I let myself laze around in bed, enjoying the feeling of holding Yuki close. 

When Yuki woke up, she lifted her head and blinked dazedly for a few seconds before hugging me in a crushing grip. 

“Ah,” I gasped, “good… morning,” I huffed, getting the words out as best I could with a demon clinging onto my midsection. Her little arms dug into the ample flesh around my waist, and after a second, she relented her grip in order to kneed my softness. It felt so nice. 

“Mmmm, waking up next to Peter… It is a good morning,” Yuki said cheekily. 

I blushed, flustered at Yuki’s flirty tone.

Before I could reply, my stomach growled audibly.

Yuki popped up immediately at that, and I admired her morning face, puffy from sleep with lines from her pillowcase on her cheek.

“Peter’s hungry!” she exclaimed, wide-eyed. “I’ll go make something!” Yuki hopped off the bed, tail wagging behind her as she hurried out of the room and down the stairs. I blinked at the empty space in the bed.

Well, I supposed I should get into the shower. Yuki would probably have something cooked up by the time I got out. I shuffled to the bathroom with more of a kick in my step than usual. 

When I got in and soaped up my body, I found myself whistling to myself. 

I wasn’t put off by how jiggly I felt as I washed my belly, still riding high from my confession last night and Yuki’s eager reciprocation. 

After I got dressed, I followed the tantalizing smell of vanilla and cinnamon and went downstairs. Yuki was frying up some French toast and god did it smell amazing. 

“Here!” She shoved a plate stacked high with about for pieces of thick, brioche bread, which I then smothered in syrup and powdered sugar. 

I groaned at the taste. It was perfect, not overly sweet, gooey but not soggy. I inhaled my first plate and Yuki quickly served me up another. I sipped coffee with lots of creamer in between bites. Per usual, I overate. After possibly 12 slices, I felt full. My stomach was bloated up, and I rested a hand on the top where it jutted out from under my chest. But I kept going past common sense. It was getting easier and easier to eat past my limits every day, and Yuki was only making it easier by cooking up so much tempting food. 

I sighed heavily past my fullness and tucked into another helping. It was getting harder to swallow, each bite weighing heavily, like a cement block in my stomach.

Yuki took her usual place on my lap and started rubbing on my swollen, aching stomach. Only today, she started kissing and licking on my neck as I ate. If it was meant as a distraction, it surely worked, since I absentmindedly shoved more food into my mouth, focusing only on the hot lips and tongue loving on my neck. 

By the time I cleared that plate I felt sweaty and vaguely sick. Even Yuki’s hands weren’t soothing the stretched out skin on my belly. Even my loose cotton t-shirt felt too constricting, so I pulled it up over my belly, letting the cool air hit my poor skin. 

“Poor Peter, you ate too much,” Yuki cooed, and I watched, breathing harder than an athlete, and she slid down to her knees in front of me. I spread my legs and she glanced up at me from beneath her lashes. Her purple eyes were shining with a different sort of look than I was used to. It was a devious look, surely, but also tender. 

She watched me and kissed my poor abused belly before reaching underneath it to fiddle with the waistband of my sweatpants.

“Yuki,” I tried to say, not wanting her to feel obligated to go any further than kissing, but she didn’t listen. 

She kissed my belly again, open mouthed. “Need you,” she breathed.

I swear, my eyes probably rolled back at that comment, with how needy and sweet and sexy she was being. So I let her shimmy my waistband down and tuck me into her mouth. 

Oh god. 

Yuki… Her mouth was so hot, and her hands kept rubbing on the sides of my belly, and her tail was rubbing up against my shin, up and down.

I reached down over my swollen gut, carefully as to not jostle it too much, and ran my hands through her hair. It was so soft. 

Jesus. Somehow my hands found themselves using her horns like handlebars, and holy god was that doing something to me. 

Yuki hummed her encouragement as I started tugging her mouth to and fro. 

I came with a grunt, and Yuki just swallowed me down. I swear I saw white. I’d never come that hard in my life.

“Yuki…” I muttered once my breathing returned to normal. 

“Love Peter,” she said, nuzzling her face into my belly. She was purring again, loudly. 

“I love Yuki,” I said, giving her head another loving pat. 

*

As it turns out, dating your own personal demon was very different than just living with your demon. It was so much better.

Yuki didn’t sleep under my bed anymore. I got to cuddle her all night. Or actually, Yuki usually cuddled me. She would wrap herself around me from behind, clinging from head to tail, all night long. It was a little strange at first to shift in the night and feel a tail groping you, but as most things about Yuki were strange, I loved it anyway. 

I’d had girlfriends before, but I’d never had a serious relationship. Most of my experience with dating were superficial college flings. Being with Yuki was drastically different. It made me feel like a novice to relationships. Yuki brought out feelings in me I didn’t even know I could have. Yuki was it for me. 

There was a part of me that wondered if this was wrong. Yuki wasn’t human, so was this some kind of cross-species relationship? 

But Yuki reassured me that humans and demons have had relationships for as long as humans have been around, and it wasn’t and odd as it maybe seemed.

The timing of this new relationship development was… unfortunate. 

We had only a few days of bliss exploring this new romantic side to our relationship, until it was Christmas Eve’s Eve.

 My parents decided to come to me for Christmas this year, so they came in early that morning and I picked them up from the airport. 

But the upside was that I could finally tell my parents that me and Yuki were together. Officially. 

“Oh thank GOD!” my mom said with a dramatic sigh when I broke the news. “What took so long?”

Yuki giggled and put her arms around me. 

“Peter didn’t wanna take advantage of me,” Yuki said, giving me a soft look. I felt myself blush.

“Oh, I really did raise such a sweet boy, didn’t I?” My mom pinched my cheeks like I was five.

“Get off,” I demanded half-heartedly, "and dad don’t laugh, you’re egging her on!” I said, affronted.

Everyone laughed. 

It was safe to say my parents were supportive. They loved Yuki. Who wouldn’t? She was perfect. 

My mom had even surprised Yuki with her very own stocking. It was family tradition that everyone has handmade stocking with their name on it. We’d even made them for our pets growing up. My mom had written Yuki’s name out with a silver glitter pen on a red stocking. My mom even went all out and drew some cute little snowflakes on it.

Yuki started tearing up when she saw it hanging on the mantle along side everyone else’s. 

“What’s wrong?” I asked, even though I knew they were happy tears.

“I f-feel so happy!” she said tentatively.

I hugged her close. “I’m happy too,” I said, and I kissed the top of her head. 

*

Opening presents on Christmas morning didn’t take long since my parents and I had a rule of only one gift per person. This meant that gifts were typically more sentimental or based on experiences rather than purely materialistic. 

I liked this better anyway, since I really didn’t need more junk around my house. 

But a part of me felt bad since it was Yuki’s first human Christmas. I knew she would be happy opening a few small gifts, but it was difficult not to go all out and spoil her rotten. I justified it by promising myself that. I would just spoil her the rest of the year to make up for it. 

My parents got Yuki and I tickets to go on an Alaskan cruise next summer, which was very generous of them. Yuki looked curious, but when I explained what a cruise was, she got excited. 

I got my dad a voucher for golfing lessons and I enrolled my mom in an advanced French cooking class.

I was surprised when Yuki handed me a poorly wrapped lump. For some reason I hadn’t been expecting her to get me anything. I’d signed both of our names of my gifts for my parents, knowing that she wouldn’t know what to buy someone as a present. But the fact that she’d somehow gotten me something without my even knowing was so… sweet. 

I loved her so much, it was ridiculous.

I opened the wrapping paper and instantly let out a pleased laugh.

It was the picture of us from my work party, placed in an elegant wooden picture frame. How had she even gotten this printed so fast? I wondered briefly if she’d used her magic on it, but then decided it didn’t even matter. The photo had turned out beautifully. It was us standing in front of a gorgeous staircase, decorated with garland and lights. Yuki looked so stunning, with a big beaming smile on her face. I stood slightly behind her with one arm around her waist. You could tell how happy I looked in the picture. I didn’t even look particularly handsome, not when standing next to someone like Yuki anyway, but there was something radiant about my expression that made the photo so special. 

“Okay, this is going on the fireplace right now,” I said, throat thick with emotion, and Yuki squealed with excitement. When I had it set where I wanted it, the picture looked like it belonged there.

“Last one,” my mom said, reaching for one last tiny box from under the tree. 

She handed it to Yuki.

“To Yuki from Peter,” Yuki said aloud. She looked up at me and smiled. 

I hoped she liked it.

“Oh my!” she said when she opened the box. The amethyst necklace was very pretty, a big sparkly gem on a silver chain. It was almost the exact color of her eyes, her real ones. 

“Do you like it?” I asked.

Yuki’s eyes teared up, and I wished they were her eyes right now, but they were just mundane brown ones. “I love it!” And she tackled me in a huge hug. 

With the holiday came a lot more eating. Well, more eating than normal, I should say. I had gotten used to Yuki over feeding me, but of course, she went above and beyond for Christmas. She and my mom cooked up a storm in my kitchen (which was for all intents and purposes, Yuki’s kitchen). I had to eat double meals of course, and Yuki didn’t go easy on me. She loaded up her plate with massive amounts of food and got seconds.

“Where does she put it?” my dad asked as he watched Yuki refill her dinner plate. She knew what I liked, so her dish mostly consisted of potatoes and meat, as I didn’t really like veggies or casserole as much. 

I looked at my own swollen stomach, which was brushing up against the table even though I was leaning back and stifled a groan. I knew exactly where she was putting it. 

I was relieved my parents decided not to mention my eating habits or climbing weight. I overheard my mom mention to Yuki that she must have been ‘treating me well.’ If only she knew the half of it. 

My parents had to fly home a few days after the holiday, so I had the rest of my break from work to relax alone with Yuki.

I swear during the days between Christmas and New Year’s, I don’t think there was a moment where I didn’t have some kind of food in front of me that Yuki expected me to eat. Except maybe when I was asleep. I felt hugely swollen and lazy, barely getting up from the couch the whole time. I could tell I had put on weight just by the way my back started to hurt when I stood up, and by how many new stretch marks appeared on my belly. 

And with this time off, Yuki and I took advantage of our empty house. 

I hadn’t exactly known what to expect when it came to our sexual relationship. I mean, my girlfriend had a tail for god’s sake. 

But it was mostly sweet and romantic, if a little weird. That was just Yuki’s personality though. She’d kiss me and tell me she loved me and chant my name, but also she’d bite me with her shark teeth and tie my hands together with her tail.

I don’t know if all demons were insatiable when it comes to sex, or if that was just Yuki, but she seemed to be able to go on and on with no refractory period whatsoever. I’d have to tap out from pure exhaustion and she would still be rearing to go. 

And Yuki’s general submissive personality manifested in a very interesting way in the bedroom. I got used to Yuki on her knees begging for me, catering to my every whim, sometimes before I could even think to ask. She’d always be offering whatever I wanted. At first I was hesitant, thinking maybe she just wanted to please me for some demon/master-related reason or something. But as it turned out, Yuki just loved giving pleasure. 

Part of the pleasure was food. Yuki kept me even more well fed after we got together than she had been before. I quickly got used to eating a big meal, getting absolutely stuffed full until my belly ached, only for Yuki to slide down onto the floor to suck me off while I digested. I loved it so much. 

I would sometimes grab her horns in my hands and she’d just open her mouth for me and I could just buck right into her mouth— And when she started purring when I was inside… oh good god.

Ahem. Anyway. 

I was so so spoiled. Yuki ruined me for anyone else. 

*

I had to go back to work eventually, but even then our relationship continued to strengthen. I avoided Carl at work, which seemed to suit him fine. I’d noticed that he looked rather sickly lately, which hit me with a strange pang of pity. But there wasn’t anything I could do about it anyhow. 

I’d been spending more time with our CEO Seth, which made it easier to avoid Carl anyhow. Seth seemed to have taken a liking to me, which was flattering. I hoped that meant good things for my future in the company. 

Time passed. Winter turned to spring and Yuki and I fell deeper and deeper in love.

In May, Yuki was getting bored around the house, and I suggested she should try out a hobby since she’d gotten very good at blending in with humans. After a few days of researching (Googling), we ended up signing her up for adult-only beginners dance class.

The first day, Yuki was visibly nervous. She was holding the little dance bag which contained her leather dance shoes close to her chest the whole drive over, bouncing her knees, all jitters. I found a place to park and decided she probably needed a pep talk. This would be her first time around other people without me.

“Yuki,” I said, pivoting in my seat to look at her. My gut was pushing up into the steering wheel from that angle, but I ignored it. 

Yuki looked at me with puppy eyes. 

“This is for fun, remember? If you decide you don’t like it, you can always pick something else,” I said. Yuki nodded. She’d been deciding between dance and pottery, but she thought dancing would be more fun since she wanted to get better at balance when she was in her human form. (The missing tail did tend to make her little wobbly).  

“Okay,” Yuki said, giving a brave smile though her anxiety was still showing in her face.

“And you know,” I said, reaching over to grab Yuki’s hand in mine, “they’re going to absolutely love you. And if they don’t then they must be idiots.” I relished in how Yuki’s pale face blushed furiously at my praise. “Knock ‘em dead, baby.”

“Mhm!” 

I walked her inside, where Yuki was greeted with several women of varying ages. They all seemed pleasant and welcoming, so I left feeling pretty good about the whole thing. 

I had an hour to kill before her class finished up, so I decided to take a walk. I probably could use some exercise, I thought to myself. I still wasn’t really used to my recent weight gain, and I was sure that the amount I weighed now was surely higher than it had been even just a few months ago. I started down the block, but I only got about 12 feet away when I saw what was next to the dance studio. 

A casual restaurant that sold street tacos. Well, I had to check that out, obviously. 

After Yuki’s first day at dance class, I was was always full of tacos by the time Yuki got out. As it turned out, Yuki really liked to dance, and she loved the friends she made from the class. She’d barrel out of the studio every week with a big grin on her face, looking sweaty and flustered from all of the dancing. But even on those nights, Yuki still insisted on making dinner for me when we got home. So apparently I was eating two dinners these days, if you counted the six or so tacos I ate while Yuki twirled around… 

This trend also continued at work. I’d stay late working on some project or another and realize that lunch was a pretty long time ago and really, I’d be much more productive if my stomach wasn’t growling, and I’d end up ordering more takeout to eat. Only then to come home to Yuki’s homemade spread. It was like my body had gotten accustomed to eating between 4:30 and 5:00 PM from all of the dance-class-taco-eating, so when I didn’t have something to snack on, my stomach would start rumbling like mad.

And yes this was probably gluttonous or greedy of me, but I sort of enjoyed the excess of it all. I wasn’t eating because I was hungry at that point. Oftentimes, I’d eat myself into a stomach ache. 

But it was addicting to eat so much. For the past year and a half I’d been overeating past fullness, but having four large meals a day felt like a different level. And my body was showing it. 

By the time summer rolled around, I was up a few more clothes sizes, and my gains weren’t slowing at all. I had gotten used to the two dinners now, and it was becoming easier to eat more all the time. I supposed the stomach was a muscle, wasn’t it? By that logic, I must have been some kind of athlete, stretching it out so I could eat even more.

One day, I decided to figure out how much ‘relationship weight’ I’d put on since the new year. I got out of the shower, feeling fatter than usual. I’d spent a good while scrubbing my body, feeling it jiggle in places it never used to, since there seemed to be more and more flesh to clean these days. 

I glanced at the bathroom scale when I stepped out and started toweling off. 

Didn’t people say to weigh yourself in the morning, before you eat, to get a more accurate result? It was only 7 am, and I hadn’t yet had breakfast. I shrugged and stepped on the scale. 

Except, I couldn’t actually see the number over my belly. I leaned forward.

Still nothing. 

“Yuki!” I called from the bathroom. She was probably still in bed, but I knew she was awake.

“Hmm?” Yuki shuffled into the bathroom, eyes still puffy from sleep. Her hair was all tangled up around her horns and her tail was making her pajama shorts slide down awkwardly on her hip. 

She looked perfect.

“Can you see what the number says?” I asked, looking down. “I’m too fat,” I said with a self-deprecating laugh.

Yuki’s purple eyes lit up. 

“Oh my!” She ran over and glanced down at the scale. “It says…” she bit her lips, holding in a grin, “377!”

My mouth dropped open. “What?”

Yuki giggled gleefully and then pulled my flabby body into a crushing hug.

“Peter’s so handsome! So big and soft! Perfect,” she purred, tail caressing my legs.

I sighed and petted her head a little. 

“You like this, you little perv? You like me being all big and fat?” I accused her mockingly. But Yuki just nodded her head emphatically.

“Peter’s giving into his desires, it makes me so pleased,” she said with a crazed smile, and then she started nibbling at my double chin with her teeth. 

“Ow, Yuki…” But I couldn’t really scold her when she looked so sweet, could I?

“God, I’m almost 400 pounds,” I realized aloud.

“Almost,” Yuki said, but the way she said it, it sounded like she was looking forward to that number… 

We went on our cruise in June. Yuki had never seen the ocean before, so I was pretty excited to see her reaction once we got on the ship. Yuki was like a kid at Disney Land when she saw the darn thing. Once we boarded, we made our way to one of the high decks to see the view. 

“It’s… amazing!” Yuki squealed. When she turned her head to look at me, her eyes were wet with happy tears.

I put my arm around her waist and kissed the side of her head. 

The best part about cruises is that drinks and food are included. And well. Yuki and I took advantage of that.

For five days, I pretty much ate at a never ending buffet of junk. I was tipsy pretty much all day, only alternating beers and cocktails with soda or water when I was feeling a little too close to drunk. Yuki fed me insane amounts of food with her magic, and I did pretty well stuffing my face on my own too. I felt huge at the end of every day, waddling back to our room, groaning and stumbling from excess.

“Peter’s looks so pretty,” Yuki would mumble at night as she helped me get undressed. I was usually too full to help much by that point.

“Pretty, huh?” That wasn’t an adjective that I’d say really fit how I looked just then. ‘Swollen like a tick’ seemed more apt.

But Yuki insisted that I looked good stuffed to the gills, and who was I to disagree? 

Nighttime was my favorite part of the cruise because in the privacy of our room, Yuki could drop her human guise. I got to look at the real Yuki as she rode me or cuddled me or kissed me.

I really was one lucky bastard. 

I gained 10 pounds on the cruise. 

It seemed impossible to put on two pounds a day. Part of it had to be water weight, right? But the pounds stuck. When I looked back at the amount of food I’d been consuming, it seemed very possible that I really had stuffed my face enough to accomplish that.

But it wasn’t until September that I actually hit 400. It was a small accumulation of events, eating breakfast at home followed by ‘mid-morning snacks’ at the office, huge spreads of takeout for lunch, quick dinner before I went home for the day, followed by what I was now referring to as ‘big dinner’ when I got home, followed by Yuki’s baked goods and ice cream for dessert. I was eating like a fiend.

And I really enjoyed it.

Being so hugely fat was kind of hot, if I was honest. I liked feeling so big, always having a big ol’ gut in my lap, always feeling comforted by all the weight. And Yuki clearly enjoyed it. She was constantly pushing me to eat even more, and always gave my body such loving attention and affection. 

There were downsides as well. It was getting really hard to fit into my office chair at work. My sides sort of swallowed up the arms of the chair, and my stomach pushed into the desk, which wasn’t really very comfortable. I knew other people in the office were close to my size, but these days, I was one of the biggest, if not the biggest. It felt embarrassing to ask my secretary to put in an order for a new chair, but I figured this one might actually break under my weight one of these days, which would be infinitely more embarrassing. Plus, it was really hard to un-stick myself from the chair after a long day’s work.

I was putting off mentioning it, hoping magically that the chair would expand or something. The CEO, Seth, was always a bit of a portly man himself, so I didn’t feel overly ashamed when he suggested we all get newer chairs after one awkward incident when he’d stopped by my office and it had taken me several seconds of vigorous wiggling and shimmying to stand up from the stupid chair. And I was out of breath from all that moving, too. 

Seth phrased the newer chairs as being ‘decorative, a new modern design to fit the culture of the office’, but when I saw the design (retractable armrests and extra-wide seats) I knew I was probably the cause for the change. 

But boy did I love how the new chair didn’t groan when I sat, that I could push the armrests out of the way so my love handles could spread out in peace, and that my butt wasn’t squished so much. It didn’t change the fact that my gut pushed up against my desk when I typed at my computer but maybe I’d had my expectations too high on that front.

Yuki and I flew to Wisconsin again for Thanksgiving with my folks, and I realized with dismay that the seats on the plane were becoming a tight fit as well… I’d had to ask for a seatbelt extender. Luckily the flight attendant had been very nice about the whole thing, so I wasn’t too embarrassed. I wondered if I’d have to buy two tickets next year. Right as I thought that, Yuki started smiling and nuzzling up at my fat neck.

I knew she couldn’t actually read my mind, but at times like these, I wondered if her ability to feel my ‘desires’ almost worked just as good. 

My parents didn’t bring up my weight anymore, though I was sure they noticed it. Maybe because I was with Yuki they stopped caring about how fat I was getting. I’d already found a nice girl and settled down, so who cared if I was obese, right? As long as I was happy. 

And I was. Obese, that is.

Yeah, sometimes it sucked getting out of breath just walking to and from the bathroom. And going up and down the stairs at home was getting to be a pain, but I only did that twice a day. But it was worth it to be able to eat as much as I wanted. To be able to live with no abandon, without restriction. 

While Yuki and I were in my hometown for the holiday, I decided to meet up with some of my old high school friends at a local bar. Yuki was a little nervous, but she perked up once the waitress dropped off the food menu. 

Honestly, I was probably more nervous than her. My friends hadn’t seen me since I’d been around 150 pounds slimmer.

“Oh my god, is that you Pete?”

I lifted my head to see my old buddy Taylor absolutely gaping at me. I scooted my chair back and then hefted myself up to give him a hug. Taylor hugged me back, pressing his flat stomach against my beach ball sized one. 

“Yeah, I know I’ve put on a few,” I said, blushing a little.

Taylor scoffed. “A few?”

“Ahem.” That would be Yuki, who had gotten up and was standing beside me. 

Taylor glanced at her and then back at me.

“Taylor, this is my girlfriend, Yuki.”

Yuki pushed herself into my side and I wrapped my big arm over her shoulders. She put one hand on my gut, almost daring Taylor to say something about it.

“Ah, oh. Hello. Nice to meet you,” Taylor muttered. 

I relished in his surprise. I almost wanted to say See? Fat guys deserve love too. And from beautiful women, no less. But seeing as Taylor just went through a nasty divorce, that might be in poor taste.

It wasn’t long before our other friend Allen showed up. The three of us caught up on current events in our lives, while Yuki kept ordering appetizers. Boneless wings, onion rings, jalapeño poppers… 

Yuki and I ate most of them, which is to say, I ate most of them. 

“I’m glad you’re doing so well in Colorado, man,” Allen said as I licked buffalo sauce off my fingers.

“Yeah, we were sad that you were moving, but I’m happy it all worked out for you,” Taylor added, sparing Yuki a lingering glance. 

“Me too,” I said. “How’s it going with your partner, Allen?” I asked.

“Oh, he’s terrible,” Allen said with a conspiring smile. “Never marry your yoga instructor!”

After a while, I had to go to the bathroom, so I excused myself, leaving Yuki at the table with Taylor and Allen.

Bar bathrooms were never the cleanest, but I did my business as quickly as I could and then started to wash my hands. I looked up as someone entered the bathroom behind me. I could see them in the mirror. A person I hadn’t seen in at least 12 years.

Mike.

He locked eyes with my reflection but didn’t seem to recognize me at all. He walked passed the sinks like I was a stranger. 

I looked at myself in the dirty mirror. Sure I had a big double chin, and maybe I was getting some wrinkles around my eyes. But I looked mostly the same, didn’t I? I glanced down and saw my huge stomach, which was not very well disguised in my almost-toot-tight black t-shirt and flannel. 

I didn’t look chubby or big. I looked fat, but not even just normal fat. I looked fat fat. 400+ lbs fat. 

Damn. I dried my hands and then stood to the side in the mirror, taking in just how far my belly jutted out. I reached to touch the front of my belly where it hung the lowest and found myself struggling to even reach it all. I knew logically that this wasn’t new. I wasn’t even particularly shocked or upset by the discovery of how shockingly fat I’d gotten, how I’d totally let myself go. But for some reason becoming fat enough that my old friend from middle school didn’t even recognize me? That was … surprising. 

I must’ve lingered there staring at myself for a while because Mike was leaving when I turned to go. He did a double take then, staring at my eyes for a second too long before I saw him put two and two together.

“Hi Mike,” I sighed. This wouldn’t have been as embarrassing if he would’ve just recognized me from the get go. But now we both had to acknowledge awkwardly why he didn’t.

“Oh, wow Pete! It’s been… so long,” Mike said delicately, glancing at my belly. Mike looked a little out of shape himself, but it was a modest beer gut. I was in another league of fatness. 

I didn’t really want to deal with awkward small talk where we avoided how much we’d changed after graduation, so I said “Yeah, I’m here with Taylor and Allen, come say hi.” I quickly ushered us both out of the men’s room and towards the table.

Mike followed me and I wondered if he was staring at my gait as I walked. I had to take wide steps since my thighs rubbed together. 

“Look who I found in the bathroom!” I said as we approached the table. Yuki looked pleased to see me back, and I felt a little guilty to have left her sitting with people she hardly knew for longer than I’d intended. 

“Mike! What’s up buddy, how’ve you been?” Taylor said, pulling him into a side hug. I sat back in my seat with a thud. Yuki quickly clung to me, hugging my arm like a teddy bear. I glanced up to see Mike eyeing Yuki sharply. 

There was no way he’d… would he?

“You met Pete’s girlfriend yet?” Allen asked, noticing Mike staring.

“N-No,” Mike stuttered.

I swallowed a lump. “Ah, this is Yuki, Yuki this is Mike,” I said calmly. Mike wouldn’t recognize Yuki from that night. That was so long ago. And she looked so different now! Plus she was in her human form, anyhow.

But then why was I so nervous?

“Hello,” Yuki said shyly, hiding into my side a little bit. 

Mike’s eyes widened a fraction. “Hi,” he said stiffly. He shook his head and then backed up. “I’d better,” he gestured to where his friends were gathered by the pool table. 

“Nice seeing you,” Taylor said. Mike nodded, looked at Yuki once more, and then wandered back.

We didn’t stay long after that. 

In the car, I asked Yuki what she thought of the encounter. 

“I couldn’t tell much about him since he wasn’t having impure thoughts,” she mused, tapping her chin with one finger. “I remembered him though,” she said with a little grin. “His energy wasn’t as good or strong as Peter’s, even now!” And then she leaned over to place a big juicy kiss on my cheek. 

I stopped worrying. Maybe Mike’s reaction could be chalked up to some deja vu from seeing her? If so, that was relatively harmless. And even if he did make the leap that she was the demon from the basement, who would believe him?

No one. 

I put the whole thing out of my mind. I should probably be thankful for Mike, actually, because if I hadn’t been trying to impress him all those years ago, I would’ve never met my Yuki. 

And Yuki was my everything. 

Now it’s been about 5 years since Yuki reappeared in my life and I couldn’t be happier. 

Eventually, as I gained more and more weight, I had to make some adjustments to my life. I moved our bedroom downstairs where the office used to be. It just wasn’t safe for me to be climbing those things anymore. I’m almost 500 lbs nowadays. 

Yuki likes how big I am, and how much space I take up. She even likes it when I lay on her and squish her under my blubber.  She says it feels better than soaking in a hot bathtub even! It isn’t even dangerous since Yuki doesn’t need to breathe.

Sometimes I think we should slow down on my gaining, but I’m pretty much addicted to food. If I go a few hours without a meal I get serious hunger pains. It probably sounds very spoiled, but it’s true! 

I ended up asking if I could work from home sometime last year, which was approved. As I said, I think my CEO Seth has a soft spot for me. He even ended up promoting me again, as the his right hand man. He says I can work from home whenever I want so long as I still get work done. 

So for the past year, my lifestyle has started to become more and more sedentary. I’m either sitting on the couch (which is feeling a little small these days. Or maybe that’s because I’m wearing a crater-sized dent in the middle of it…) or I’m working at my desk, doing meetings and reports. Yuki makes sure I have everything I need. 

At night, she still purrs in happy rumbles, holding any part of me she can latch on to.

“Peter is happy,” Yuki sighed into my chest. She was leaning over my belly, fitting into whatever amount of lap I still had. I scooped another spoonful of ice cream into my mouth. I was still pretty full from dinner, but I had room. And it tasted good.

“I am. Very happy,” I sighed, taking another bite. Yuki’s tail caressed my sides, slipping between rolls.

“Hey Yuki,” I said.

“Hmm?”

“Your power… you’ve made me fortunate, right?” I asked.

Yuki licked my double chin sensuously. “Mhmm.”  

I sucked on my cold spoon. “But me being so, erm, wanting excess…” I mumbled through another scoop of rocky road. I didn’t really want to say a gluttonous, fat greedy pig out loud. “That wasn’t you, was it?”

Yuki sat up, her purple eyes gleaming in the low light from the TV. I loved how her black horns reflected light, like obsidian. 

“Nope,” she popped the P. “That’s all Peter. Yuki only wanted Peter to get what he wants,” Yuki said, running a hand through my swollen chest (I loathed admitting I had moobs). 

“Does it matter either way?” Yuki asked after a second.

I thought about it. Took another bite.

“No, I guess it doesn’t.” 

I used to wonder if I would’ve ended up this way without someone like Yuki to encourage me to live authentically, but I supposed that wasn’t important. I had my perfect demon Yuki to love and care for, so it only made sense for Yuki to want to love and care for me too.

I scraped the bottom of the carton.

“More?” I asked. Yuki sprang up to fetch another ice cream. I smiled to myself as she raced back over to the couch. 

“Here! I got you your favorite, cookie dough!” Yuki smiled at me, her big eyes warm and loving and doting. The kind of look that made my heart melt like candle wax. The look that I loved more than anything else in the world.

“You’re the best, baby,” I said, and Yuki settled back on my lap and started purring. Her tail swished back and forth in a lazy rhythm. I really did have the best demon, didn’t I?

THE END

Epilogue

Mike gathered all of his supplies. Oil, wine, water, a candle… Mike couldn’t remember the exact ritual he’d done with Pete. That was like 20 years ago, after all. But he found one online that seemed legit enough. He recited the latin words as best he could. 

Mike knew that whatever had happened way back when was real. He’d had nightmares for weeks following that horrible sleep over. It ended up driving a wedge between them, since Mike unconsciously associated Pete with that terrible night.

But somehow the thing they’d done… it’d worked. The summoning or whatever. Mike saw her, that girl, the girl from the basement, she was at the bar with Pete just a few years ago. She was real. And they were… together.

Mike wanted that. He’d never felt such envy. After all, Mike had been there that night too. Should’t he get an equal cut of whatever benefits Pete got from the demon? 

Wy was Mike working as a science teacher struggling to pay bills while Pete was living the corporate American dream? It just wasn’t fair. 

So he’d started researching. It took a while for him to build up the nerve, and even longer to recall the exact things they’d done way back when. But now he’d finally done it. He would finally get his own demon. Maybe his would be a hot girl too, and he could date her like Pete was doing with his. That’d be nice. But Mike supposed he could settle for something a little less attractive. 

For a few minutes after Mike finished the ritual, nothing happened. The silence went on and on. How annoying. He hadn’t really thought it’d work, but it still sucked that his hard work was wasted. Mike sighed, getting up from the floor and beginning to clean up. 

Then, there was a rustle behind him

“Did you call for me?”

[angrytreemartensmain]

This is not an “Am I the Asshole” but it might as well be 🤦

I was trying to fall asleep because I’m probably going back to school tomorrow if the roads aren’t icy and my mom tells me to go and clean up from my lunch. I had already agreed but I had forgotten but I was halfway to sleepwhen she got me up so I was a bit grumpy. I warned both her and my brother that I was grumpy, and I started cleaning up. Halfway through my brother puts a homework video on at full fucking volume and I get mad at him, since he’s less than ten feet away in our couch room. My mom, who was sitting at the same table I was cleaning off then yelled at me to not “blame my brother just because”. I had already been noticing her started to show some signs of favoritism towards my brother, so it kind of set me off. I yelled back at her that I wasn’t blaming him for anything, I just wanted him to turn the volume down, but she took it the wrong way and kept yelling at me. I knew where this was headed so I chose to ignore her for the rest of the time I was out there. I then went into the kitchen and saw a paper from a pizza box in a bowl filled with dirty water in the sink and I yelled at my brother again, this time for being stupid, as all good big sisters do, and then I turned around after throwing the paper away and low and behold: my brother was cooking pepperoni pizza when he hates pepperoni and when there was very clearly a cheese pizza, which was his favorite, in the freezer. I got pissed at that point and when I got mad at my brother, and let mom know I was not going to listen so that the fight wouldn’t escalate, she very clearly, in these exact words said “No, screw you! You can’t just blame (brother) for everything! Besides! We have pepperoni in the fridge! You can put that on the cheese one!”. At that point I was so mad at her that I felt like I was going to cry, so I went back to my room and locked the door. I know that she sees tears as a form of “manipulation” at this point because I cry a lot, but I’m just overly sensitive. I knew she’d just yell more if she saw me cry so right now I’m just laying in bed, holding in tears, trying not to make noise.

And my brother didn’t even try to help even once.

This isn’t an “Am I the Asshole” its a “Am I Being Too Sensitive”

I can’t tell if I’m just a crybaby or if my tears are justified