#you got to meet SUN (briefly) before he was cut

[muzzlemouths]

sooo... how would we feel about more Dream-Eater!Moon stuff?

[seafarersdream]

Thinking about Reader who has the ability to sleep everywhere and the cast always bothers her for that and they put things on her to see how long it takes her to wake up. But on one occasion she falls asleep on Ewan/Tom's shoulder and he's just a mess?? 😭

I don't know if it makes sense but the idea is there!! I love your work by the way

Out Of It (Ewan Mitchell x Y/N)

Y/N had always considered herself pretty grounded. Sure, she got to hang out with the cast, swapping jokes and stories like they were all old friends. But there was one little secret she kept tucked away, like a guilty pleasure—a huge, and she meant huge, crush on Ewan Mitchell. But, she reminded herself on the regular, it was just a celebrity crush. Nothing serious. A harmless little fantasy she kept to herself, because let’s be real—she was just the makeup girl, and he was, well, him. Then, one day, the universe decided to have a laugh at her expense.

TW // Strong language and profanities.

PS: I decided to take a different approach to the plot, hope it’s okay!

The sun was barely rising over the horizon when the makeup department bustled with activity, its team members moved with choreographed precision. The trailer was alive with the scent of coffee mingling with the chemical tang of latex and adhesive, the lifeblood of the team that assembled at ungodly hours to work their magic.

The door creaked open, letting in a gust of cool air, along with the unmistakable presence of Ewan Mitchell. He leaned against the doorframe for a moment, taking in the scene with a wry smile. Dressed casually in a worn leather jacket, another one of his band t-shirt, and dark jeans.

“Morning, sunshine,” Y/N greeted, her voice dripping with sarcasm as she glanced up from the prosthetic jaw she was carefully painting.

“Morning, Y/N. You look absolutely thrilled to be here,” Ewan replied dryly, his mouth curling into a smirk. He perched himself on a nearby chair, his lean frame relaxed but his gaze keen as it flicked over the team’s work.

Tom Glynn-Carney was already in the chair, his eyes closed as he tried to find some inner peace amidst the whirlwind around him. His usual charismatic energy was subdued, replaced with a resigned patience that only came from enduring this process multiple times. “Fucking hell, Y/N,” he muttered, peeking out from under his lashes. “Are we sure we need all this crap? It's just a flesh wound, right?”

Y/N laughed, a bright sound that cut through the tension like a knife. “Just a flesh wound? Sure, if you call half your face melting off just a flesh wound.”

He groaned slightly as one of the other makeup artists adjusted a piece of latex on his forehead. “Maybe just light me on fire for real next time.”

“I swear to God, Tom,” Y/N said, her voice cutting through the soft murmur of the trailer. She leaned in, squinting at the edges of the prosthetic around his left eye. “If you move your face one more time, I’m going to staple it in place.”

Tom’s laugh was muffled, careful not to disrupt the delicate work being done on his cheeks. “Sorry, boss. Just trying to keep the old face from going numb. Can’t feel my arse either, for that matter.”

“Is he behaving, or do I need to step in?” Ewan said from behind them.

“Barely,” Y/N replied without looking up, her hands steady as she pressed down the edge of the prosthetic along Tom’s jawline. “You can take him if you want, though. Maybe scare him into sitting still.”

“Fuck off,” Tom muttered, his voice laced with annoyance. “Last thing I need is Ewan glaring at me while I’m trying to get through this torture.”

Ewan chuckled as he stands up and walked further into the trailer, his boots making soft thuds against the floor. “Don’t worry, mate. I’m just here for moral support.” He glanced at Y/N, his eyes lingering a bit longer on her than the others might have noticed. “How’s it going?”

“It’s going,” Y/N said, her tone matter-of-fact. She finally glanced up, meeting Ewan’s gaze briefly before returning to her work. “This is a fucking beast of a job, though. Five hours minimum, and that’s if Tom doesn’t fidget.”

Ewan nodded, folding his arms across his chest as he leaned against the counter beside Tom. “You’re a miracle worker, Y/N. Don’t let this tosser tell you otherwise.”

“Hey, I’m the victim here!” Tom protested, though his grin betrayed the seriousness of his words.

“Victim, my ass,” Y/N shot back, a playful edge returning to her voice.

Tom chuckled, though the movement caused Y/N to pause and glare at him. He immediately stilled, raising his hands in surrender. “Sorry, sorry. I’ll be good.”

Ewan watched the process with interest, his eyes following Y/N’s every move. He was always impressed by her skill, the way she could take something so gruesome and make it look so real. It was an art form, one that required patience, precision, and a bit of madness. And Y/N had all three in spades.

As Y/N worked, she could feel Ewan’s gaze on her, a constant presence that was both comforting and distracting. She ignored it as best as she could, focusing on blending the colors to create the perfect shade of burnt skin. But it was hard to ignore the way her pulse quickened whenever he was around, the way his voice seemed to vibrate in her chest whenever he spoke.

After what felt like an eternity, Y/N finally leaned back, surveying her work with a critical eye. The prosthetics were in place, the scarring realistic and horrifying, just as it needed to be. She let out a small sigh of relief, wiping her hands on a cloth before tossing it aside.

“So, Ewan,” Y/N said, breaking the silence, “what do we think? Does our dear Tom look like he’s had a close encounter with dragonfire?”

Ewan stood, walking over to examine Tom up close. His face was thoughtful, eyes narrowing as he took in the horrifying sight. “You know, I think we could go a bit heavier on the singed eyebrows. Aegon doesn’t exactly seem the type to worry about grooming after this.”

Tom let out a groan. “Fucking hell, you two. I’m gonna look like I went through a meat grinder.”

Y/N laughed again. “Relax, Tom. You’ll be the prettiest corpse on set.”

Ewan smirked, stepping back to lean against the counter, his arms crossed over his chest. “Gorgeous, really. You’ll be the talk of King’s Landing.”

Tom rolled his eyes, clearly fed up but too deep into the process to protest further. “Great. Just what I always wanted.”

As the final touches were completed, Y/N stepped back, her eyes scanning over her work with a critical eye. “Okay, you’re done. How does it feel?”

Tom slowly opened his eyes, his gaze meeting Y/N’s in the mirror. “Like I’ve been fucking roasted alive, which, I guess, is the point.”

“Perfect,” Y/N said, satisfaction in her voice as she began cleaning up her tools. “Alright, Glynn-Carney,” she continues, with a wave of her hand. “You’re done. Get out of my trailer before I change my mind and add a few more scars for good measure.”

Tom stood, stretching his arms and rolling his neck. “God, I can’t wait to see the reactions on set. Thanks, Y/N. You’re a fucking genius.”

“Don’t I know it,” Y/N replied with a grin. She watched as Tom exited the trailer. A spring in his steps.

Ewan stayed where he was, watching Y/N as she cleaned up her station. “You really are something, you know that?”

Y/N glanced up at him, a small smile tugging at the corner of her lips. “Just doing my job, Mitchell.”

“No,” Ewan said, shaking his head slightly. “It’s more than that. You’ve got a talent, Y/N. And a way of keeping us all in line.”

Y/N felt a warmth spread through her chest at his words. “Somebody’s got to keep you lot in check.”

Ewan’s smile was slow, genuine, and it made Y/N’s heart skip a beat. “Lucky for us, we’ve got you.”

They stood there for a moment, the silence stretching out between them, thick with possibilities. Finally, Y/N broke the gaze, clearing her throat.

“Well,” she said, her voice a little softer now. “Off you go then.”

Ewan nodded, still watching her as she moved around the trailer, his eyes never leaving her. “Yeah… I’ll see you on set.”

“See you,” Y/N replied, her voice barely above a whisper as he turned to leave.

As the door clicked shut behind him, Y/N let out a breath she didn’t know she’d been holding. She shook her head, a small smile playing on her lips as she continued to tidy up.

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A hush falling over the room as the cameras rolled. The bedchamber set was dimly lit, the heavy velvet curtains drawn to block out the sunlight, casting long shadows that danced eerily across the stone walls.

Y/N stood on the sidelines, her arms crossed loosely over her chest as she watched the actors take their places. Andrij Parekh, the director for this episode, was seated in his chair just a few feet away, his sharp eyes focused intently on the monitors in front of him.

On the bed, Tom, fully transformed into the broken and battered Aegon II, looked like a man who had been to hell and back. The prosthetics had turned his face into a grotesque mask of burns and scars, his once vibrant features now hidden beneath layers of latex and makeup. His eyes, however, remained sharp, flickering with a mix of pain and defiance as he prepared for the scene.

Ewan, in full costume as Aemond Targaryen, stood near the foot of the bed, his posture rigid, every inch the cold, calculating Prince Regent. His long silver hair cascaded over his shoulders, the eyepatch over his left eye adding to the menacing aura that surrounded him. There was something chilling about the way he carried himself, a quiet intensity that made even the most seasoned crew members uneasy.

“Action,” Andrij’s voice cut through the silence, a single word that set everything into motion.

Ewan stepped forward, his boots barely making a sound on the stone floor. “Brother,” he began, his voice low and smooth, almost soothing, though the underlying threat was unmistakable. “How fortunate that you are awake. I was beginning to think you might sleep through the entire war.”

Tom shifted slightly on the bed, his movements slow, labored, as if even the act of breathing was painful. “Aemond,” he croaked, his voice hoarse, almost a whisper. “What… what do you want?”

Ewan’s lips curved into a thin smile, the kind that never reached his eye. “Only to ensure your comfort, Aegon. You’ve been through a lot, after all. It’s a wonder you even survived.”

Tom’s gaze flickered, a mix of confusion and fear crossing his features. “I don’t remember,” he muttered, his brow furrowing as if trying to piece together fragments of a nightmare. “I don’t remember what happened.”

Y/N watched intently, her eyes following every subtle shift in their expressions, every carefully chosen word. This was the kind of scene that could make or break an episode—the tension between the brothers, the unspoken accusations hanging heavy in the air.

Ewan leaned in closer, his voice dropping to a near whisper, yet each word was laced with ice. “Good. Best you don’t remember. There’s nothing to be gained from dwelling on the past, after all. The future, however… that’s what matters now.”

Tom’s eyes darted to Ewan’s face, searching for something, anything, in the cold, indifferent mask that stared back at him. “I don’t… I wouldn’t…”

Ewan cut him off, his tone sharp, his patience clearly wearing thin. “You wouldn’t what, Aegon? Speak of things best left unsaid? Confess to some… imagined slight? No, I’m sure you wouldn’t.” He straightened, the threat clear in the deliberate casualness of his movements. “We’re brothers, after all. Blood of my blood. We wouldn’t want anything to come between us. Not now, not ever.”

Tom swallowed hard, his throat working as he tried to form words, but nothing came. The fear in his eyes was real, a reflection of the strained relationship that had been growing between the two of them, now laid bare in this moment of vulnerability.

“Good,” Ewan said softly, almost tenderly. He reached out, his hand hovering over Tom’s burned face, but he didn’t touch him, didn’t need to. The implication was clear enough. “Rest now, Aegon. Leave the burdens of the realm to me. You’ve earned your peace.”

With that, Ewan turned and walked away, the scene coming to a close as Andrij called out, “And.. cut!”

The tension in the room broke, the spell lifted as the crew sprang into action, adjusting lights, resetting props, preparing for the next take. Ewan relaxed his shoulders, the hard edge of Aemond’s persona slipping away as he returned to his usual self. Tom let out a long breath, his body sinking deeper into the bed, clearly relieved that the intense scene was over.

Y/N couldn’t help but smile, impressed by the depth they’d brought to the scene. Ewan caught her eye as he walked over, his expression softening as he approached. “So, what do you think, Y/N?” he asked, his voice warm, a stark contrast to the cold menace he’d displayed just moments before.

She raised an eyebrow, her smirk playful. “Not bad, Mitchell. You almost made me believe you’re the cruel bastard you play on screen.”

Ewan chuckled, a low, rumbling sound that made Y/N’s heart skip a beat. “Almost?”

“Hey, I know you too well,” she teased, crossing her arms as she leaned against a nearby prop table. “But seriously, you guys nailed it. That was intense.”

“Thanks,” he replied, his smile genuine, a hint of pride in his eyes. “It helps when you’ve got a good team watching your back.”

Y/N spied Tom’s hand moving from the corner of her eyes. “Fucking hell,” Tom muttered, reaching up to touch his prosthetic-covered face.

“Don’t even think about it,” she scolded, her voice carrying a mix of playful sarcasm and genuine concern. “You start messing with that, and we’ll be here for another few hours fixing it.”

Andrij approached them, nodding in approval. “Great work, everyone. We’ll take a short break before moving on to the next scene.”

As the crew began to disperse, Y/N caught Ewan’s eye again, her heart doing a little flip at the intensity of his gaze. There was something in the way he looked at her, something that made her pulse quicken, but before she could dwell on it, he was already turning away, slipping back into the role of Aemond, preparing for the next bit.

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The set was finally quiet, the last echoes of the day's filming fading into the background as Y/N, Ewan, Tom, Fabien, and Phia settled themselves near the steps of the Iron Throne. The towering seat of power loomed above them, but for now, it was just a backdrop to their impromptu snack break.

“God, I’m starving,” Tom groaned as he unwrapped a sandwich, his voice muffled as he took a massive bite. “You’d think they were trying to kill us with these hours.”

Phia laughed, shaking her head as she reached into a bag of crisps. “You’re such a drama queen, Tom. It’s only been, what? Twelve hours?”

“Twelve hours of torture,” Tom countered, wagging the half-eaten sandwich at her before taking another bite. “I deserve a medal, not just a bloody sandwich.”

Fabien grinned as he popped open a can of soda. “Maybe we’ll get you one shaped like the Iron Throne. Then you can lord it over everyone else even more.”

Y/N, perched comfortably beside Ewan, raised an eyebrow as she munched on a kebab. “Speaking of the Iron Throne, did you know that Emma and Matt tried to recruit me to Team Black today?”

That got their attention. Ewan, who had been quietly eating beside her, looked over with a curious glint in his eye. “Oh yeah? How’d they manage that?”

Y/N leaned in, her eyes gleaming with mischief. “They promised me a seat on the Iron Throne, no questions asked. Said it’s about time someone else gets a chance, since someone” she shot a pointed look at Tom, “—has been hogging it all season.”

Tom feigned shock, placing a hand dramatically over his chest. “I’m just fulfilling my royal duties, Y/N. It’s not my fault you lot don’t have the je ne sais quoi to claim the throne.”

“Je ne sais quoi? Really? You’re so full of crap.” Phia repeated, barely containing her laughter.

“Exactly,” Y/N chimed in, leaning back on her hands as she eyed the throne. “But seriously, Tom, I need that selfie, okay? You’ve been banning everyone else from even getting close, and I’m not above switching sides to get my shot.”

Fabien smirked, leaning back against the stairs. “It’s true. You’re a tyrant, Glynn-Carney.”

Tom shook his head, his eyes narrowing playfully. “You all talk a lot of shit, but the throne belongs to me. You want a selfie? You’ll have to pry it from my cold, dead hands.”

“That can be arranged,” Ewan deadpanned, causing everyone to burst into laughter.

As the conversation continued, the weariness of the day began to catch up with them. The energy slowly ebbed away, leaving a comfortable silence in its wake. Y/N, who had been unusually animated, started to feel her eyelids grow heavy. The warmth of the room and the low murmur of voices lulled her into a drowsy state, and before she realized it, her head began to droop.

Without warning, she leaned over, her head coming to rest on Ewan’s shoulder. The sudden contact made Ewan go rigid, his eyes wide with shock. His pulse quickened, and for a moment, he didn’t know what to do. Should he move? Say something? Wake her up? But the last thing he wanted to do was disturb her, especially since he had been harboring a massive crush on Y/N for what felt like forever.

Tom, who noticed the situation first, nearly choked on his sandwich, desperately trying to stifle his laughter. He nudged Fabien, who quickly caught on and shot Ewan a wicked grin. “Looks like someone’s got a new pillow,” Fabien teased in a singsong voice, causing Phia to glance over and giggle.

Ewan’s face turned an impressive shade of red, his usual cool composure completely shattered. “Shut up,” he hissed, his voice low and tense as he tried to keep still, not wanting to wake Y/N. He could feel the warmth of her body against his, her hair tickling his neck, and despite his best efforts, his heart raced.

Y/N, oblivious to the chaos she’d unintentionally caused, snuggled a little closer, her breathing soft and steady. Ewan’s mind was in overdrive. Okay, don’t freak out. She’s just tired. She doesn’t even know she’s leaning on you. Just… act natural.

Tom, unable to resist, leaned over and whispered, “Careful there, Mitchell. Wouldn’t want her to wake up and realize she’s been cuddling with you.”

“Tom, I swear to God—” Ewan began, his voice a strained whisper, but he was cut off by Y/N shifting slightly in her sleep, making him freeze once more.

Phia, trying to be the voice of reason but failing miserably, leaned in with a grin. “Maybe she just knows you’re a softy, Ewan. Perfect for napping.”

Ewan shot her a death glare, his embarrassment only growing. “You’re all assholes, you know that?”

Fabien chuckled, shaking his head. “Yeah, but let’s be real, mate—this is adorable.”

Ewan groaned inwardly, knowing there was no escaping the teasing he’d endure from this moment. But as much as he wanted to retort, a part of him couldn’t help but enjoy the feeling of Y/N resting against him, even if it was just because she was exhausted. His hand twitched slightly, tempted to brush a strand of hair from her face, but he resisted, not wanting to push his luck.

The ribbing continued around him, but Ewan barely heard it, his focus entirely on Y/N. For now, he’d let her sleep. And if it meant enduring the endless teasing from his friends, well… it was a small price to pay.

“Just wait until she sees the photos,” Tom whispered to Phia, pulling out his phone to capture the moment. Ewan’s eyes widened in horror, but it was too late.

“Don’t you dare!” Ewan hissed, trying to keep his voice down so he wouldn’t wake Y/N, but Tom just smirked, already snapping a few shots.

“This one’s going in the group chat,” Tom said smugly, causing Fabien and Phia to dissolve into laughter.

Ewan could only sigh, resigned to his fate. But despite the teasing and the inevitable jokes that would follow, a small, secretive smile tugged at his lips.

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Y/N had barely made it through the door of her flat before she collapsed onto the couch, her body finally catching up with the exhaustion of the day. She kicked off her shoes, letting them land haphazardly across the room, and leaned back with a groan, rubbing her temples as she tried to shake off the lingering embarrassment from the day’s events.

The picture of her sleeping on Ewan’s shoulder had exploded in the group chat, with the cast and crew having an absolute field day over it. The jokes had ranged from harmless teasing to outright accusations of a backstreet romance, leaving Y/N feeling mortified beyond belief.

God, I can't believe I fell asleep on him, she thought, covering her face with her hands for a moment before letting out a frustrated groan. She knew she had to address it, to apologize for the awkwardness, but the thought of actually texting Ewan made her stomach churn with nerves.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity, she steeled herself and typed out a message.

Hey, Ewan. Just wanted to say sorry for crashing on you earlier. I was so embarrassed when I saw that picture in the group chat. I hope I didn’t make things weird or uncomfortable for you.

She hit send and then dropped her phone on her lap, closing her eyes and letting out a long breath. The flat was quiet, save for the distant hum of the city outside her window, and for a moment, she allowed herself to simply exist in the stillness, trying not to overthink the situation.

When her phone buzzed a few minutes later, she opened one eye and glanced at the screen. Seeing Ewan’s name made her stomach flip, and she quickly unlocked her phone to read his reply.

Hey, sleepy head. Honestly, don’t worry about it. I wasn’t uncomfortable at all. You looked like you really needed the rest, and it was no trouble at all. Seriously, it’s no big deal.

Y/N felt a small wave of relief wash over her, the tension in her shoulders easing slightly. But just as she was about to put her phone down, another message came through.

Fuck it, this is me shooting my shot—are you free this weekend?

She froze, staring at the screen as her brain tried to process what she was seeing. Was Ewan really asking her out? She reread the message a few times, half-convinced she was imagining things, but it was still there, plain as day.

A mix of shock and excitement surged through her, making her heart race. She sat up straighter, her mind spinning with possibilities. After what felt like an eternity, she finally mustered the courage to respond.

Wait, are you serious? Because if you are, then yes, I’m free. But if this is some kind of joke, I swear to God, Mitchell…

She held her breath, waiting for his reply, her fingers tapping nervously against her thigh. When her phone buzzed again, she almost dropped it in her haste to read the message.

Not a joke, I promise. I’ve been wanting to ask you for a while, just never found the right moment. And, well, maybe now’s the time.

Y/N felt a giddy warmth spread through her, the earlier embarrassment completely forgotten. Her fingers hovered over the keyboard as she tried to come up with something clever to say, but in the end, she opted for honesty.

I’d love to, Ewan. I guess I’ll see you this weekend then?

His reply came swiftly.

Definitely. And hey, if you need a nap while we’re out, I’ve got a shoulder for you anytime.

She couldn’t help but laugh, the tension in her chest finally releasing as she typed out her response.

You better be careful with offers like that, or I might just take you up on it.

Another ping.

Looking forward to it, Y/N.

As she put her phone down, Y/N found herself grinning like an idiot. She curled up on the couch, the weight of exhaustion lifting slightly as she thought about the weekend ahead. It seemed like this little nap incident might have been the best thing that happened after all.

[abysswalkerastraea1]

Art with a psycho girly partner? 🥺

Beguiling Perniciousness 🎀

I love this ask! 💗

Your eyes briefly swept over the decapitated body and the viscous fluid oozing out of it; you didn't bat an eye. You were bubbly, but there was something downright malicious simmering below the surface; He knew you'd cross paths again as he watched your amiable self skip down the road and fade into the distance.

6k words

Girly reader who is obsessed with Art 🎀

Do I even need to say that it's smut it's all I ever write

You played the part well, he'd give you that. Art had first caught sight of you in the old costume shop in Miles County, lurking towards the back where all the nauseating pinks and creams amalgamated to create it's own fantasy-like microcosm, full of various princess and fairy costumes and similar varieties.

He didn't particularly pay you much mind initially, his focus solely on the girl he often terrorised, grinning eerily at her with a sense of foreboding. He remained cruelly amused even as the adolescent with the ironic angel wings dashed out of the shop, eager to flee his suffocating presence.

His mind had slipped the possibility that you had remained within the shop, excitedly trying on pretty tiaras and adorning yourself with sparkly jewellery, all the while remaining oblivious to the grotesque murder of the store assistant, his head cut clean from his neck. Blood pooled upon the floor, draining from the ugly orifice. His head had been tossed haphazardly to the side.

He had heard your bubbly self round the corner, humming happily with an armful of items and clothes, before bumping into his side hastily. Art peered down at your mildly shocked expression, gauging the way your round cheeks appled out into a smile.

Blood lightly covered his form, and specs of it had been transferred onto you. You didn't react, as happy as ever, giggling at your mistake. "Pardon me! I'm sorry, I'm in a world of my own.", your curls bounced as you gazed around the shop, bypassing the crude, decapitated head, and instead focusing on the locked door at the entrance of the shop.

"Oh! I didn't realise they shut so early. That's okay, I've got everything I need.", you whirled past him, almost skipping over to the door and unlocking it. The dresses and other items in your hands still had the tags on them, unscanned and unpaid for. As soon as you stepped a foot out the door, the alarm rang.

Even still, you remained as unperturbed as ever, glancing back at the clown. "You won't tell, will you?", you had indicated to your stolen goods, flashing him a dazzling smile. "You look like someone who knows how to keep a secret.", your eyes briefly swept over the decapitated body and the viscous fluid oozing out of it; you didn't bat an eye.

In fact, your smile rivalled Arts as he nodded slowly that, yes, he could definitely keep a secret. His head tilted inquisitively, searching your expression for a semblance of fear or shock, but he genuinely found none. As you offered him a cheerful goodbye and skipped off down the road, Art bet most people thought you were ditzy and dumb.

Staring at your receding form in the distance, Arts keen eyes knew the aura of darkness when he saw it. You were bubbly, but there was something downright malicious simmering below the surface. He didn't bother seeking you out, you were bound to cross paths.

That had been a year ago. A few weeks after your initial meeting, Art had paused his laborious work of crafting within the dilapidated house due to the sound of male shouting tinged with irritation.

"You've brought me out here for what? You said I could fuck you, so why the fuck are you leading me into the middle of nowhere? Got your boyfriend out here or something?"

The tone was downright condescending and full of unrighteous anger; he believed you owed him something. Art stood amongst the shadows of the lowering sun, arms crossed languidly as he watched, recognising your melodious voice instantly.

"You don't have to be so crude about it, I just want to have a romantic walk in the forest." You pouted, eyelashes fluttering at him as a small smile tugged at your lips, a pretty sheen of lipgloss staining them rosy.

The man gave you a disgusted grimace, checking his phone repetitively. He seemed aggravated, pawing at your skirt covered hips and backing you into a nearby tree. He outright ignored everything sweet you had to say, barely sparing you a glance as he scrutinised your form hugging jumper appreciatively.

Still, you prattled on and on, rambling kindly about how beautiful the forest became in the autumn, how refreshingly cold it was and that it was the perfect weather for a nice walk-

"You've got such a slutty body. Shut your mouth for me, yeah?" Hands began smoothing the already short skirt up your thighs, bunching the fabric, before they were slapped away. You ducked past him, skipping over to your bag that you had dropped earlier on and started searching for something.

"I just need to grab a condom. I'm a good girl, you know." You twirled a lock of hair with a sly smirk, digging through the multitude of items within your handbag. You pouted your lips in mild irritation, hand swiftly seeking what you needed, before you nodded to yourself happily, hand clutching what you desired.

Standing straight, you twirled around and offered the man a wink, to which he scoffed. Barely a second later, his kneecap was blown off as a resounding bang echoed throughout the thicket.

He screamed and fell to the floor in a heap, blood pouring grotesquely over the leaves that blanketed the damp ground. You held the gun out in front of you, aiming steadily. You shot the other knee, face stoic, and rolled your eyes at the blood curdling scream he released.

Art remained in the shadows, arms folded with intrigue as he chuckled to himself, eyebrows low. He watched the man roll back and forth upon the ground, crying out for help and for mercy. Peering back at you, he cocked his head at the way you giggled with a delicate hand covering your mouth, gun held high.

"You're so silly for thinking I'd ever let you touch me. At least take a girl out for dinner first, you know?"

With a playful wave goodbye, you shot him in the head, watching the way his body collapsed backwards, twitching. All fell silent. You sighed contentedly at the peace, smoothing your skirt back into place pristinely.

A rustle of leaves drew your attention, a tall, monochromatic man standing eerily still, lurking behind a tree at you. He was grinning. You waved at him amicably; he returned the gesture.

"Oh, I'd recognise you anywhere! From the costume shop, right?"

Art nodded slowly, stepping out from behind the tree and taking measured steps towards you. You still held the gun in your hand, but it was pointed at the floor.

As the clown approached, you found your neck craning upwards, his body swallowing you in it's shadow. He was lithe and lumbersome, grinning down at you.

"Think you could keep another secret, Mr tall and handsome?" You giggled, face a light pink from his close proximity and intense stare; he was alluring. In fact, you found yourself downright infatuated with him. You could sense the danger oozing off of him in waves, and although a bolt of caution shot through you, you couldn't deny the peculiar attraction you felt to his unique and theatrical self.

Art declined his head down at you, pointing softly to himself, humbly, as though to say 'who, me?', before comically twisting to look behind him, seeking out the other person you were surely complimenting.

It made you giggle again, smiling sweetly up at him as you shook your head at his playfulness. "Sorry, I shouldn't be so bold. You're the miles county killer, aren't you? It makes me nervous being in the presence of someone way above my calibre."

Your eyes fluttered around cutely, before returning up at him with a beautiful sparkle. Art waved off your compliment dramatically, grin sharpening at your girlish giggle. To anyone else, his rigid closeness and predatory stare down would immediately raise flags. But you seemed happy enough, cheeks a cute pink.

"It's so difficult though, being efficient, secretive and untraceable just like you. If I had half of your strength, it would make my life so much easier. It really takes it out of me having to lug these bodies around. And also-"

Art didn't take notice of when you both had begun to walk slowly through the shadowed forest, only that he didn't mind hearing your rambling. He watched you gesture dramatically as you told your stories of having to lure horrible men into the woods before shooting them, and cocked an eyebrow as you suddenly changed subject and fawned over the falling leaves, excitedly proclaiming your love for the various reds, oranges and yellows.

Art nodded thoughtfully at most things you said, even if the gesture was slightly mocking in its sincerity. Even still, he quite liked your voice, and he found himself laughing at some of the tales you told. You were delicate, short of stature compared to him; It would be incredibly easy to reach over and snap your neck. Art found that he didn't want to.

He wasn't restraining himself out of kindness, and he wasn't even actively attempting to be polite. He simply wanted to act this way, here and now, as spontaneous as always. It was humorous, for once he was the one listening calmly, and you were the one grinning far too widely at him.

That was some time ago. Since your first real introduction, you had seen Art here and there, pleasantly surprised when he'd turn up just as you were about to clean up the mess you made of a body, only to drag it with ease to whichever location you desired and burn it.

From there on, sightings of him became even more frequent, moreso to the point that one day you heard a crash in your kitchen, running down with gun in hand, only to bare witness to Art standing menacingly with a horrific smile, blood coating his form and a scissors and pliers held intimidatingly.

Upon seeing you, confusion entered his eyes, his hands lowering. You had never seen the clown appear bashful at his own mistake, raising his hands and shrugging as though to say 'oops'.

It made you giggle, hand to mouth. You pointed towards the window, indicating to the house nearby. "Art, weren't you supposed to be killing my neighbour tonight? You've trespassed the wrong house!" You snickered, bounding over to him excitedly and staring up at him with the most innocent, adoring expression; it made him want to lift the pliers and rip your stunning eyes out and keep them forever.

Art had the decency to realise his mistake, scratching the back of his head awkwardly before rolling his eyes up to the ceiling. He remembered you saying you lived close to his next victim, but he didn't realise you were adjacent. Mistakes for him were so rare.

Art scoffed at himself, shaking his head and throwing his hands up in the air as though saying 'ive made a real mess of this'. His theatrics made you laugh, increasing drastically as you watched the way he perched his hands on his hips in exasperation.

"I'm really glad you're here. I've never shown you around my home before, so..if you've got time..." You trailed off softly, lifting your hands and crossing your fingers with hope as you danced side to side, awaiting his response.

Art deliberated upon that, taking his time as he watched you dance, before shrugging once with a grin. Sure, why not. He could spare a minute or two before he absolutely maimed your neighbour.

He felt your smaller form bolt over to his side and lock arms with him, and he let you. You pulled him along, showing him each room swiftly before dragging him up to your bedroom and pushing him in.

"You look soo dangerous in my room! I love it!"

You had a point. Perusing the room, he found it to be incredibly girly. You had a lot of pinks, fairy lights everywhere and a few teddies here and there. His monochromatic self standing eerily still within your room feels like he's siphoning the pretty colours out of it.

Regardless, you utterly beamed at him, more than happy. You bordered on manic, he thought, body shaking in excitement and fists clenched so hard. Your bright grin stretched wide, eyes round and watchful, focusing solely on him and his reaction.

After what felt like ages, Art lifted a finger up to his neck and mimicked a cutting motion, head tilted to the side and tongue poking out like a comical cartoon character that had been killed. This room was far too bright for him, sickeningly sweet and adorable, but your high pitched giggles of glee at his honest opinion had him chuckling silently too, eyebrows low as he watched you dazzle.

That had been one of your biggest turning points with the clown, and from that day you saw him almost daily. In fact, he walked into your home whenever he felt like it. You'd find him lounging on your chair by the TV at random times in the night, or eating at your kitchen table serenely.

What you cherished the most was when he took you to his dilapidated hideout, dark and dingy and cold, fully juxtaposing your little home; you were now the only beacon of light and colour in this place.

He did enjoy terrifying you now and again, especially in his hideout, his tall form no longer behind you, silently waiting for the moment to make you scream. Each time it made you incredibly excited, anxiety building up inside of you giddily.

When you'd least expect it, Art would be there, coming at you with a hatchet and swinging it downwards playfully. He'd listen to your high pitched squeals and relish in the way you'd flinch and cover yourself protectively. He'd laugh and point at you, shaking his head; it got you every time.

"You're so scary! But honestly, you're so attractive when you do that. Surely some of your victims admit that? The women? Maybe some men?" You swayed your shoulders bashfully, cheeks turning pink like they so often did in his presence.

Art paused at that, a mild look of bewilderment shaping his face at your proclamation, before a sinister smirk darkened the expression considerably. You blinked owlishly as the clown began to take measured, predatory steps towards you, backing you into a damp wall.

He was so tall, caging you against his body, and all you could do was stare up at him with wide eyes, gnawing your pretty lips in anticipation of his next move. He chuckled silently at your reddening cheeks and the way you reached your hands up to cup them delicately. Finally, as an answer, he shook his head slowly.

You seemed mortified. "Did you cut their eyes out first or something? You're handsome to me! Tall, intimidating, dark, incredibly strong--", you began counting on your hand all of Arts best qualities, all the while the clown crossed his arms and nodded patiently, egging you on to continue with a wave of his hand.

"--Honestly, I've always thought this, but I didn't want to be too bold, and I'm feeling really shy with you backing me up against the wall but I also love it, and--and I'm rambling because I'm nervous."

Your admittance seemed to be the biggest factor that contributed to how the two of you were now: You completely smitten with him, and him accepting the fact that he would never kill you. You were sweet and you made the best hot chocolate, and you did make the killings more fun so he'd keep you around.

You were incredibly bubbly, always smiling at him beautifully and helping him cut up body parts with your constant giggles that rivalled his own. He had unintentionally made you cry once, and a foreign emotion had struck him.

Art thought it would be incredibly amusing to offer you a badly wrapped gift with a human body part inside it. He did it mostly to shock you and hear your shrieks of surprise that would eventually melt into laughter, and he didn't particularly put much thought into what body part he would gift you with.

Upon opening the box, you were stunned into silence at seeing the rotten, maggot infested heart staring back at you. You didn't cry out or scream, and you didn't giggle or smile. Instead, your large eyes filled to the brim with tears, lips quivering before the fat droplets spilled over and a sob was wrenched from you.

"Oh my God.", you held a hand to your mouth, mascara streaking your cheeks messily. "Is that a heart? For..for me?", you spoke in utter disbelief, words whispered and shaking. Art cocked his head at your peculiar display of sadness, but nodded nonetheless. He had never seen you cry before.

"That's the most romantic thing that anyone has ever done for me.", you rushed out in a broken sob, sniffling and wiping your tears profusely. Art blinked, face depicting confusion, lips tilted downward. His mind blanked as he awaited your explanation, amusement doused temporarily.

"Id always appreciate anything you gift me, but a heart? Of course I'll be your girlfriend!" You shrieked out with a sob, box dropping to the floor as you jumped and lunged at the clown, arms wrapping tightly around his neck.

He felt your tears soak his neck, his hands lifted up in mild shock, face deadpan, frozen as you wrapped your body around his own, perched upon his lap. Art rolled his eyes up to the ceiling in amusement and exasperation, mimicking your emotional sobs over your shoulder with a dramatic pout, wiping imaginary tears from his eyes.

He eventually threw his hands up in defeat, chuckling to himself. He did not foresee a reaction like this coming when you opened that box. He was more than content to play along, and eventually wrapped his strong hands around your body, charcoal eyes swirling with evil. He rather enjoyed your spontaneity.

Following the initiation into an apparent 'relationship', Art received a few gifts from you too. He himself received a human heart in a black, satin box. It was relatively fresh, and he couldn't help but sigh dreamily and flutter his eyelashes at the romantic gesture. His theatrics were over the top and evidently condescending, but it flew over your pretty head.

He was mildly impressed. You often used guns to kill your victims, lacking the strength and speed to ever out maneuver anyone bigger than yourself. Your hands were never that dirty either, you were not acquainted with using sharp weapons on the human body, so to be gifted a heart of all things, carved with effort from somebody's chest - it made Art nod in genuine approval.

The rest was history.

Art felt unnaturally domesticated within your presence, but he really didn't mind. You had a lot of uses, and he couldn't deny the possession he held for you. If claiming you as his own meant that you were in a 'relationship', then so be it.

He remained nonchalant to your girlish romanticism. He found it to be amusing and peculiarly cute, and even when he'd coo at you mockingly like a little dog, you loved it. In fact, a lot of his condescension did not perturb you. You were overjoyed at him mocking your kissy faces, pouting petulantly, mirroring your own actions.

Art couldn't deny enjoying the tender moments too. He had come to the conclusion long ago that he would never kill you - you were the only exception - and would display surprising levels of intimacy if only to hear your high pitched giggles and tease you for your pinkening cheeks.

Like right now, how he had his large palm delicately stroking your soft hair, brushing strands out of your face. His hand reached down to cup the side of your face, thumb tenderly rubbing circles upon your cheekbone.

You sighed dreamily, the exhale leaving your nose as you bobbed your head up and down his thick length. You sat perched on your knees between his wide thighs on the living room floor, sticky lipgloss leaving a messy residue on his shaft, your lips glistening with saliva.

You had been doing this for a while, languidly pleasuring him, and he let you. He allowed you to sink to your knees and fondle him until he was half hard before your loving mouth engulfed him. All the while, he watched whatever movie you had on TV.

Even when his dick was fully hard, splitting your jaw apart, he barely looked at you. He was focused on the movie, a masked killer hunting a woman down, and hardly spared you a glance even as you worked him faster, slurping and sucking him messily.

It made you unbearably wet, craving his attention, craving even a semblance of pleasure in his expression, or a buck of his hips to indicate that he was enjoying it. Instead, he stroked your cheek delicately, lazily, as though you were a pet that was doing a satisfactory job and nothing more.

Your brows knit together frustratedly, and you took him deep into your throat, saliva pooling down your chin as you choked and moaned quietly at the pulsating between your thighs. You were so wet it was beginning to coat them.

Granted, you had foregone the underwear, instead wearing an incredibly short skirt that had your plump ass cheeks hanging out. You were needy today, you depended on his attention, but he refused to spare you even a thought and it made childish tears well up in your eyes.

Your knees spread below you, skirt rising up higher upon your hips. If he had spared even a moments gaze upon you, he'd see the way your tight, puckered hole swallowed a pretty buttplug, embellished with a sparkling pink diamond on the end.

The pressure was pleasant, and you used your inner muscles to squeeze the toy, wiggling desperately as you did. You closed your eyes as you began sucking him lewdly now, the sounds becoming sloppy and loud as you reached a hand between your legs to play with your aching clitoris.

You were dripping whorishly upon the floor, moaning around his huge cock as you rubbed circles around the pulsating nub before slipping your fingers over it directly, hips bucking in relieved pleasure.

Arousal surged through you as you felt his hips lift the slightest, seeking the back of your throat, and your eyes flew open to witness the serenely blissful expression on his face, only to widen your eyes.

His gaze had been unknowingly on you for a while now, lacking it's usual grin and instead staring sternly, eyebrows low and shadowing his dark eyes. There was a lecherous blackness in his gaze, drinking in the way your cheeks reddened considerably, eyelashes fluttering bashfully against your cheeks.

You had his full, undivided attention now, and it only served to make you increase your efforts tenfold, bobbing your head up to the very tip to suckle the sensitive nerves, lapping up his salty precum with your hot tongue, before sinking back down as far as you could go, lifting a hand to fondle his swollen balls, encouraging them to unload inside your wanting mouth.

Arts intimidating stoicism faltered momentarily at your ministrations, head leaning back into the cushioned chair as his mouth opened in a silent, pleasured exhale, his sharp and angular jawline emphasised greatly from this angle.

That subtle, minor expression of bliss shot bolts of unfiltered arousal through you. You moaned around his cock, redoubling your efforts even as your jaw ached. You suckled your way to the tip, releasing his solid length with a pop; your hand took over, jerking him steadily.

"Mm, I get so wet whenever I give you a blowjob. If you had spared half a second to look at me, you'd notice.", your voice came out in a quiet, childish whine, lips pouted dramatically.

Art lolled his head to the side and stared down at you, eyebrow cocked in a silent question. He scrutinised your little pout and the way your eyes sparkled with unshed tears and a slow, sharp smirk etched it's way onto his face.

Aw, did you crave attention? Are you his little attention whore? Art snickered at the thought, but found that this must surely be the answer; you craved his affections, and he chuckled as your lips quivered.

Art stroked your face tenderly and pouted right back at you, nodding and mockingly agreeing with your little outburst. It really was awful of him, wasn't it? He'd have to rectify that.

Before you knew it, you found yourself bent over the arm of the chair, legs kicked apart as he toyed with the little plug in your ass, wiggling it back and forth. You had a glorious ass, round and fat and smooth, and even he wasn't immune to its juiciness.

He jiggled your cheeks playfully, watching the skin mold to his hand and ripple outwards under the pressure. One day, he'd fuck your tight little rim raw, and the thought had him rock hard as he pushed his cock against your sodden pussy and glided in halfway with a teasing smirk.

"Nng, don't tease me. P-put it all in, stretch me out-", you begged pathetically, pushing your luscious ass back against him.

Art pulled out slowly to the tip, rubbing along your folds for a moment, before catching the tip against your hole. With a playful wiggle of his eyebrows, he sunk in as deep as he could, parting your velvety walls. The stretch was always considerable, always tinged with pain. It made you shudder beautifully, back arching.

"Yes, yes--Love this feeling, love you--", you rambled in a high pitched, girlish tenor, moaning as he filled you to the brim and more.

Arts face split into a nasty, smug grin behind you, shoulders shaking with laughter. It was pretty clear that you loved him, he thought. Each time his cock found your sodden hole you'd proclaim this proudly, delirious and euphoric.

Gripping your waist, Art smoothed his calloused hands down to your hips and back up rhythmically, hearing you sigh in delight.  He fucked you the way he knew you loved, hard and deep, and had no issue acting so intimately, so romantically, as you'd say.

You were his, and he enjoyed your feminine noises of pleasure. He felt that you were the only instance where he would ever act this way. With you, he didn't merely act on a whim anymore, dangerously spontaneous. Of course, that did happen on occasion, but in moments like these, when he was paired up with someone so bizarrely loving, so warm and bubbly and intimate, he found that reciprocating wasn't all that hard anymore.

He revelled in your little adoring sighs as he smoothed his way up your womanly figure, and the way you'd nuzzle into his palm every time he'd trail a strong hand down your jaw and onto your neck to hold possessively.

You were as unhinged as him, but you were also..gentle. He didn't particularly want to hurt you too much anymore. He did want to fuck you into a crying mess, however.

Art pressed a thumb to the dazzling diamond sticking out between your cheeks, applying pressure so it sunk in deeper, all the while fucking you hard and filling you so full.

He had a feeling that you were hinting at something with the way this delectable little toy jutted out of you. You were so pure on times, he imagined you found it hard to admit. That was fine, he'd get it out of you one way or another. If you wanted your ass played with so much, all you had to do was ask.

He wiggled the toy back and forth, pulling on it slightly and feeling the way your tight hole suctioned it back in. You whined at the feeling, your ass and pussy deliciously full, and stared back at him with dazzling, loving eyes.

"Ahh-Art--Feels so good-!", you gasped, moaning sweetly to him, so high pitched and whiny that he couldn't help but coo down at you in faux affection. His cock pummelled into you rhythmically, the wet slap of skin permeating the air. His heavy balls slapped sinfully against your pulsing little clitoris causing your legs to quiver and shake.

Art gripped the base of the toy more firmly, wiggling it side to side once again, before pulling it out from your tight rim. You whined noisily at the feeling, shuddering as you felt his fingers dip down between your legs to gather lubrication, before prodding at your hole once more and sinking in to the knuckles.

You cried out, back arching and legs widening further at the feeling of his thick fingers rhythmically filling your ass. It felt dirty and forbidden, something you had never done before, but each and every time he gave your virgin hole attention, whether it be a delicate stroke of his thumb or his tongue lavishing the area, it had you so wet and sticky that you could barely handle it.

Art grinned salaciously as his digits pumped into you deeply, all the while his rigid cock slipped into your pussy relentlessly, stretching you in ways that you should be used to by now, but you never were. He was so long and thick and it made your mind whirl with pleasure.

"S-so dirty putting your fingers in there I--ahh-- I shouldn't like it but I do!", you rambled adorably, your tongue loosening as he fucked you harder, snapping his hips against your bouncing cheeks.

Art snickered and shook his head at your innocence; A finger in your ass was probably one of the least dirtiest things he had touched. Another digit entered your passage, his hot length ravaging your pliant form. You cried out in broken whimpers, rambling little, soft compliments about his sheer size and how you needed him to fuck you, how you loved him.

You became dumb once his cock was near you, he found. He quite liked it, revelled in your incoherent stammering, or the way your eyes would be glued to his massive length.

Art grinned cruelly down at you, a sudden darkness enveloping his irises as he gripped painful handfuls of your hips, his fingers no doubt bruising the tender area, before he pushed your body forward so your upper half fell down with a yelp, your ass fully on display for him and fucked you so mind numbingly rough that tears streaked down your cheeks, your high pitched sobs and cries to slow down were music to his ears. In the next breath, you'd beg him to never stop.

Your thighs quivered and shook as his balls slapped hard against your clitoris, his cock fucking into you so sinfully you were outright weeping. You shrieked when your orgasm peaked, splattering down your quaking thighs as you gasped and fisted the blankets desperately.

Art grit his teeth in concentration, feeling that overwhelming urge to unload himself within you. He placed a rough hand against your head and forced you downwards, his head tilting back and lips parting in bliss as his cock filled your crammed little hole with ropes of hot cum. His hips stuttered as each powerful rope shot out, your pulsating walls milking him and lapping up as much as it could before the excess spilled messily out of your pussy, around his girth and down his balls.

You were panting shallowly as he finished, unceremoniously dropped as his hands and body removed themselves from you. Cum dribbled out of your used hole, and you flushed darkly as Art righted your bunched up skirt, smoothing it back down over your ass and putting his cock back inside his costume as though he hadn't just decimated your body and mind brutally.

You pushed yourself up on weak arms, turning to face the cheeky grin of the clown who looked as pristine as ever, not at all out of breath and sweaty like you were. Art indicated to the forgotten movie on the screen, nodding over to the settee so that you could both take a seat and finish it, but upon taking a step forward your legs felt so shaky you thought you were about to collapse.

You stumbled forward and gripped his costume tightly, gravity making the thick, warm cum inside of you dribble down your thighs messily. Art outright laughed at your unstable legs, cooing down at you and winking at you slyly. He shrugged nonchalantly, raising his hands as though to say 'oops'.

You giggled up at him bashfully, feeling him lead you to the settee before you promptly flopped backwards onto it and spread your legs out over his lap. Art didn't mind, from how short your skirt was he got a good eyeful of your glistening, puffy pussy. It made him scoff darkly to himself, shaking his head.

"Oh, Halloweens on. This used to be my favourite film, I had a massive crush on Michael Myers for the longest time-".

Ah, there it was - your silly ramblings had started again, and Art cocked an eyebrow at your admittance, peering at the character on the screen who seemed to be choking a stupid teenage girl.

"--And I guess I do like Jason too but, I don't know, he never appealed to me as much as Michael--"

Art nodded along to your cute outburst, watching the way your eyes sparkled passionately. He smoothed a hand up your calf, smirking.

"--But Jason is so much faster than Michael, which is kind of attractive, you know, the whole predator/prey thing, and--"

Art raised both brows now, grin positively evil. You wanted to be chased, did you? Hunted down and captured like a victim? Interesting. He began to chuckle to himself, arms folded and turning in his seat so he could give you his undivided attention.

You felt your cheeks pinken at his look and realized you had probably admitted too much. From the way he wiggled his eyebrows, stare turning predatory, you knew he was plotting something.

"What? It can't be that surprising that I'd..kind of like to be on the receiving end one day. We hunt so many people, it must be hot being hunted," you sighed dreamily, hand reaching over to his and stroking it tenderly. It was rough and calloused.

"Especially by you. That would be..", you paused, biting your lip in a sultry display. You imagined the scene: Him undoubtedly capturing you and having his way with you. You could feel heat blooming in your abdomen. "-Exhilarating. I-Ive thought about it a few times.", you shrugged softly, embarrassed. You struggled to meet his gaze, but when you finally did, it made your breath hitch.

Long gone was that teasing grin, instead replaced by a stern austerity, eyebrows low and shadowing his dark, smouldering eyes. He chuckled once, demonstrated by the way his shoulders lifted in amusement, but his face remained downright terrifying and blank.

You fluttered your eyes to your lap, crimson faced and fidgeting, rubbing soothing circles into his veiny, strong hand.

"Do you...like that idea? I-if not that's okay. It's weird. I shouldn't have said anything.", you trailed off vulnerably, uncertain. You struggled to decipher his moods when he wasn't smiling, and it scared you.

A firm hand gripped your chin, tugging it upwards to meet his fiery gaze forcefully. He was so close, suddenly leaning halfway over your body and with a deliberate, slow nod, he wanted to make it clear that he would very much enjoy that.

You bit your lip in nervousness despite his clear agreement, studying his expression cautiously, but a smile soon graced your lips as Art wiggled your chin fondly back and forth, offering a small smirk; He liked that idea.

Soon, your face brightened up, and you practically jumped at him and snuggled against his chest, his thigh between your own. "You make me so happy.", you whispered, sighing in delight as you watched Michael kill another teenage girl.

Art shrugged playfully, patting your head. You probably should have never admitted that fantasy to him. He'll chase you like you wanted, give you a little head start, but after that he'd treat you like a real victim. You'll be so terrified that you're shaking, having second thoughts about the ordeal.

Then he'd fuck you into the dirt like a whore, knife held too close to your neck, borderline cutting into your flesh. He wouldn't go too far - Some light cutting, some choking, a gun to your head. It was all relatively toned down.

Even still, no matter how much you begged and screamed and pleaded, you'd still hold that adoring infatuation for him. It made him tilt his head back fully, unhinge his jaw and laugh so violently it actually scared you.

You knew what he was. You knew the dark, unfathomable pit of evil inside of him would swallow you whole too, making you his victim one way or another.

You knew he wouldn't kill you, but that doesn't mean that he'd never torment you. These were facts that you simply accepted; you loved him, you didn't know if he was capable of such an emotion, but him keeping you alive and treating you tenderly now and again was enough for you.

It made your heart sing and your insides pulse with need. Leaning your head fully against his chest, you curled up against him as he almost naturally enveloped you in his arms, holding you close. You nuzzled into him and savoured the moment.

You couldn't wait for the future ahead. You couldn't wait to maim more people with him and make love to him in their blood. You couldn't wait to become his next victim.

The thought made you wet all over again.

[servicpop]

CURRENTLY VIEWING : slightly obsessive deliquent oc x good student male!reader

「ㅤSFWㅤ」ㅤbandaging up your (almost) bf adrien after a bad fight!

✙ warnings — mention of violence / blood / slight homophobia / slight suggestions of stalking or obsession

notes ,, first actual writing post... hope you guys like it "

Adrien and you lived two worlds. You were a model student, perfect in every way, whereas Adrien was nothing but a deliquent who skipped all his classes and failed all of his subjects (except for sports). If you two were so different, how did you end up together?

It started with an exchange of glances when you both started your first year of being a senior, somehow your presence was never known by Adrien until that one glance turned into never ending eye-contact, briefly smiling at eachother as you two met eyes from across the courtyard. His heart felt like it was about to crumble whenever you smiled at him. Your lips, your perfectly imperfect teeth shining at him. He had definitely fallen for you.

But how would his friends feel if they knew he was crushing on another guy?

As much as he wanted to hide it he couldn't. Everytime he went home and sat down in his chair, he would be welcomed with your face in the form of printed pictures stored in his top drawer. He knew it was wrong but he couldn't help it, you were so attractive you reeled him in like a fish. But somehow. Somehow. You and him talked more and more, exchanged numbers, hung out a few times and even brushed hands once! Adrien for sure didn't wash his hand after that. You weren't confirmed to be dating but it sure seemed like it.

And that was the start of Adrien's fall for you.

It was around 5:00pm, the sun still shining brightly but casted a slight orange hue into the empty council room, indicating that sunset would near. You were currently in said room, sorting the books, cleaning the tables, finishing off the work your teachers assigned you because you were such a good student. Yeah it was nice for them to rely on you but to be honest, all you wanted to do was go home but alas you couldn't.

Almost as if the universe pitied your unbearable boredom, the door to the council room clicked opened. At first you thought it was a teacher, but turning around you met the deep eyes of Adrien. His soulless eyes bore into yours, his knuckles dripping with blood as he stumbled into the room, almost collapsing on the couch.

"Got into another fight," He grumbled, his deep sultry voice reverberated in the room. Shit, his voice was hot. Snapping out of your thoughts, you quickly rushed over to him, viewing his bloody and bruised knuckles. It looked bad. Probably from beating the shit out of someone but you wouldn't question it. After some rummaging around you finally found the first aid kit, clicking the white box open before kneeling down infront of Adrien, a small smirk plastered his face.

"You don't have to you know? I just wanted—" Adrien's voice was cut out by a sharp hiss as you applied the alcohol to his wounds.

"Let me be a good friend to you."

Ooh... friend? That hit Adrien straight to the gut

"I just wanted company."

"Then your not allowed to hold my hand with those bloody knuckles."

"..."

"please bandage my fingers."

A wholehearted chuckle left your throat as you fished out the puppy patterned bandages around his knuckles, making sure you kissed each and every knuckles after. Just to make sure that there was no lingering pain of course, not because you two were had something for eachother or anything. You looked up at Adrien to see a small smile on his face, he was always so serious looking and whenever he smiled it was usually the shit eating grin type of smile. You had only really grown closer with him for a few weeks now so... why were you already hooked on him?

"You lost in thought?" He asked, snapping you out of your little trance. You shook your head, and he brought your chin up to meet his in a light kiss, his calloused fingertips gripping your chin lightly while his other hand found solace in your own. It was something straight out of a romance movie, his warm fingers against yours, his lips against your soft ones in such a gentle kiss. You never knew deliquents could be this gentle. Pulling away you wiped your lips and tugged your hands from Adrien's. You weren't dating him. You can't do this. You turned your head a pout adorned your lips, "Don't just casually kiss me," you huffed.

"But I know you liked it." Adrien hummed.

extra notes ,, I didn't have a full goal for what relationship reader and Adrien would have but i really liked the enemies to lovers sort of denial trope. I also experimented with the colour coding of the text, I find it easier to identify when they're speaking but let me know your preferences! I'm a bit nervous posting this since its my first time ever posting on tumblr but yeah! Also no smut yet, still getting warmed up you know

[tiramisuc0ffee]

Warm Afternoons.

☆~~~~☆~~~~☆

pairing: Gojo Satoru x F!reader

Summary: After wrapping up a more than pesky mission, you and Satoru decide to laze about for a few hours before returning to Jujutsu Tech... which leads to Satoru being a lot more sentimental than you both are used to.

warnings/tags: Takes place before "The Ghost of You" (which you can read here), this is just a further look into the reader's dynamic with Satoru :), reader and Satoru are close friends, and themes of unspoken feelings, it's like pretty clear that they like each other.

word count: 1.9k (THIS IS MUCH LONGER THEN I THOUGHT OOPS)

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"God that was so annoying"

Your voice slices through the tranquil evening, disrupting and overtaking the buzz of cicadas and the gentle symphony of the wind as you approach a lonesome bench that stands planted before a river. The sky is a canvas of orange and yellow as the sun dips towards the horizon, its warmth kissing your skin. A gentle breeze rustles through the grass and nearby foliage, creating a mesmerizing, smooth oceanic hum that cushions your approaching footsteps.

A soft snicker meets your ears and you can't stop yourself from rolling your eyes as you prepare for one of his usual snarky remarks.

"You got knocked on your ass pretty hard. You sure you're okay?" Satoru speaks, his eyes meeting yours as you sit beside him on the bench. He sports a teasing grin but his eyes betray his demeanor as you easily spot the specks of concern lingering in them.

The mission the two of you had wrapped up no more than an hour ago had been undeniably frustrating. What was supposed to be a routine exorcism of two second-grade curses had turned into a chaotic struggle against two first-grades, both capable of using cursed techniques. While it was nothing more than a small adjustment for Satoru given his well-praised Infinity and Six Eyes, you definitely had been taken off-guard. Not anticipating the usage of cursed techniques and the sheer force behind them led to a few cuts and bruises that honestly stung more from frustration than pain.

You couldn't shake the feeling that you had been set up for failure by being fed false information by Yaga.

Scoffing at his words, you give his arm a gentle nudge with your elbow, sinking further into the curve of the bench, "Shut up, I was just caught off guard for a moment..." you murmur before a soft smile tugs at your lips, "But I'm okay. Just a few scrapes here and there.... I'll see if Shoko can patch me up when we get back..."

Satoru simply nods at your reassurances, a soft hum escaping his lips as he gives you a once over as if to confirm that you were actually telling him the truth.

It was annoyingly stupid how he tended to do this. He had these moments where he seemingly stared into you, seeing through your being, opening you up, dissecting and picking apart your every feature.

It made you feel so exposed—being under the microscope that was his cerulean eyes. His eyes were breathtaking, there was no doubt about that, but these moments made you realize how those blue oceans could be oh-so intimidating and you briefly wondered if this is how most cursed spirits felt when being face to face with his power.

You shudder slightly, and he quirks an eyebrow, his head tilting to the side ever so slightly before grinning, "what?" he asks, though his eyes never leave you.

You shake your head waving him off wordlessly, and you can't help but smile just a little wider before bringing the straw of your smoothie that you bought beforehand to your lips. You hum softly as the cold sweetness coats your tongue, bringing a refreshing calm.

After spending so much time with him since the two of you met in your first year, you've come to understand that this simply was his way of showing concern. He never was one for soft words or heartfelt expressions; his awkward attempts at sentiment were as endearing as they were clumsy.

"You don't think the higher-ups will be mad if we're a few hours late with our report, do you?" He then asks, shifting his gaze off of you and watching the sun through his dark round sunglasses.

You let out a soft chuckle, wordlessly pressing the straw of your drink to Satoru's lips watching him take a sip without hesitation.

He hums, smiling softly as the cool liquid coats his tongue. "Mango?" he inquires, his tone light and curious.

"Mhmm" you hum out, bringing the straw to your lips as he finishes taking another sip.

His arm slips around your shoulders, drawing you closer to his side. You find yourself leaning into him, the closeness feeling as natural as breathing. It's a simple gesture, but it's one that feels like a second skin for both of you. The way Satoru effortlessly bridges the gap between you two speaks volumes more than any words could.

You were magnetic to him. Being close to you, talking to you, being in your presence, it all just felt so correct, it felt so easy. He honestly couldn't pinpoint when this physical aspect of your friendship first developed...

Maybe it was when you welcomed him back with a bone-crushing hug after he had been away on a 2-week mission with Suguru. Maybe it was when he brushed and braided your hair during one of your many sleepovers in your dorm room, the two of you sitting on your bed, his long fingers, delicately touching your hair and somehow perfectly braiding your hair despite him insisting it was his first time.

...Maybe it was when he awoke the following morning, with you in his arms, your head resting on his chest and your arms around his waist.

He really wasn't sure when it became so normalized, but slowly, he was getting to a point where he stopped questioning why. When everything felt so right, why did he need to question it? This was just the way things were between you two.

Even though he knew for a fact that you weren't this way with anyone else just as he was only this way with you, there was no need to think too deeply about the implications, right?

"I'm sure they may have a lot to say if you're gone for too long, Mr. golden child of the jujutsu world," you remarked sarcastically, finally responding to his question with a smirk. He rolled his eyes at you, pursing his lips at your words, "Me on the other hand, I don't think they're all that concerned.." you then grumble, clearly still irritated by the miscommunication that occurred during the mission.

He laughs, the rumbling of his chest being felt against your arm as he saw through you so easily. "Don't pout too much like that, you'll get wrinkles and look like a grandpa," he teased, the hand around your shoulders reaching up to pull at your cheek. You immediately hiss swatting his hand away, "...don't pinch me, asshole," you said through teeth which only earned you another laugh from him.

You could be so crude at times, and he frankly adored that about you, because, he was the same. He wondered if that's why he felt so drawn to you since day one. He liked how you carried yourself with this lightheartedness, the way you were just so effortlessly... you. Dead serious when you needed to be, strong, dependable, but also the way you were able to keep up with him. Sending snarky remarks right back at him and telling jokes that were so stupid, he would genuinely laugh until his stomach hurt.

He smiled softly to himself, feeling a gentle warmth spread in his chest.

His eyes shifted to your face and he just... took you in.

Watching as you happily sipped on your smoothie, your fingers gently smoothing out the spot where he pinched you. You definitely looked a little more roughed up than usual... but you still... looked so nice.

As your eyes shifted to meet his gaze, he noticed a small scratch on your cheek, and thoughtlessly, his long fingers gently took hold of your chin. He tilted your face to the side ever so slightly, his eyes tracing along the split skin, taking note of the redness and irritation.

You nearly choked on your drink as your fingers gripped your cup a little tighter, crinkling the plastic. Not a word was shared as you looked at each other and you felt your entire being start to warm, a sense of shyness growing deep within you.

You awkwardly laughed, "You're acting like a creep, Satoru" you joked, trying to lighten the air and get some air into your lungs. His eyes snapped back to yours and you noticed how his eyes widened slightly as if he only just realized how intimately he was touching you.

"Sorry..." he murmurs, but not making any sort of attempt to remove his gentle hold on you.

His lips parted, then closed. His eyebrows furrowed, and his throat bobbed when he swallowed. You took note of each of these actions as they played out before you.

"You know.." he suddenly says after a beat of silence passes, his voice trailing off as his mind searches for the right words to say. He wanted to say something, he knew he wanted to express something to you. But he wasn't used to this, not used to soft words of gratitude and appreciation. He'd grown accustomed to interacting with others rather bluntly or in a lighthearted, sarcastic, joking manner, but ever since he met you, it was as if he had no choice but to break this routine of his.

He furrowed his eyebrows again. Fuck...He really was trying.

"I really do appreciate us... you-" he tried to continue, pouting slightly as he stumbled over his words, which led to you letting out a lighthearted chuckle.

"Are you being sentimental with me right now, Satoru?" you grinned widely, words carrying a teasing undertone as you attempted to mask your growing fondness.

He groans slightly, finally removing his hand from your face and letting it drop to your shoulder. "Could you not right now?" he huffs out, "I'm trying to say something nice to you".

And there's a certain look in his eyes that you couldn't quite decipher.

"Sorry, sorry," you giggle softly "I know you're trying...I appreciate you too Satoru" You smile softly at him, trying to reassure him that you understood what he was trying to communicate.

"It's not just that," he interjects, sighing softly as his free hand runs through his snowy locks and makes a mess out of them, "It's just nice... to have someone who simply, understands," his voice is quiet and delicate and his words are careful, coming out slow and precise.

"Having you here, having you with me... that means a lot to me... I know I don't normally say shit like this- but I do really appreciate what we have..." His eyes are now focused on the darkening sky as the sun officially says its goodbye, setting past the horizon.

"I hope you don't plan on going anywhere" he then chuckles, his smooth demeanor returning as fast as it left as he gives you a lopsided grin.

You're rendered speechless for a moment.

There's a lot you wanted to say, certain feelings that are just dying to be expressed sitting right at the tip of your tongue as you can't help but melt from Satoru's words.

But you let them sit there, those will be for another day. When it's right.

"You're stuck with me, that's for sure" You grin widely at him watching as his smile grows at your reassurance.

"Good," he says, gently ruffling your hair which has you whining softly. "...Let's head back, gotta get you all fixed up before you start crying from the pain" he snickers, removing his arm from you and standing up from the bench, offering his hand to you.

You laugh softly, taking his hand as he helps you to your feet. "Shut up..." you murmur before shoving his shoulder slightly once again.

The two of you walk side by side in a comfortable silence, the evening growing cooler and the river’s gentle rhythm growing distant. You couldn't help but smile to yourself, the fondness in your heart continuing to grow the longer you mauled over Satoru's words.

Yeah... you definitely didn't plan on going anywhere.

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A/N: I went overboard with this I can't lie LMFAO. I'm so sorry about the delay on this, I can't lie I've been putting it off because I have been drawing Gojo instead of writing about him hehehehe. This is 1 of 2 snippets I have planned as little prequels to "The Ghost of You" I will try to work on the next one as soon as possible. It will be ANGSTTYYYYY so prepare yourselves for it if you are interested in reading it!

also- like completely unrelated but I learned about the ask feature! So you guys can send me fun little messages now yippie!!

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Taglist: @hyori2 @kalulakunundrum @smolbeanzzz @numblytemporary @satxoru

(I hope I didn't miss anyone LMFAO)

[ks-dreams-fantasies]

TEACH ME PT.2 - TRAVIS KELCE

a/n: I'm so glad you guys liked the first chapter, I really hope you enjoy the rest of this mini series 🥰

Warnings: Nothing much, first getting to know each other, some flirt hère and there

Words: 1,553 (Not proofread)

Pairing: Travis Kelce x Reader

Part 1

TEACH ME PT.2 - TRAVIS KELCE

’’Stop doubting yourself, you look great Y/N.  Now hurry up or we’re never going to make it’’ Camille said chuckling at your nervousness. She had seen you try half of the items you had in your closet to find the perfect outfit for the occasion. 

You listened to her, grabbing your bag as well as the gift you had wrapped for Wyatt before heading out the door. You were so grateful when Kylie told you, you could bring a plus one to the party, you felt relieved to be able to bring your best friend with you to calm you down a little. 

It was just a kid’s birthday party but the fact that Travis was going to be there had your mind racing with anticipation. 

You entered the lively scene of the Kelce’s backyard, amidst the laughter and chatter, a tall figure caught your attention the moment you arrived. You locked eyes for a second before tiny hands reached for you.

‘’Miss Y/N, you came.’’ Wyatt said hugging your leg tightly as you chuckled ‘’Is it for me?’’ she asked pointing at the gift box in your hands. ‘’It is. Happy birthday little one. Where can I put this?’’ you asked her, referring to the box in your hand.

‘’I’ll take care of it.’’ A deep voice said before you looked up to meet a pair of mesmerizing blue ones. ‘’Oh thank you.’’ You handed him the present before replacing a strand of hair behind your ear. 

‘’I'm glad you could make it," Travis greeted, his smile sending a delightful shiver down your spine.

‘’Me too’’ you responded blushing slightly before you remembered your best friend. ‘’You remember Camille?’’

‘’We met briefly, it’s nice to see you again, I’m Travis.’’ He said reaching for her hand. ‘’Oh, I know.’’ She responded as she looked at you with a smirk before meeting his eyes again ‘’great to meet you too.’’ She said shaking his hand in return. 

You soon got interrupted by Jason and Kylie, greeting you and offering you a drink. They had done an amazing job at decorating the backyard. The garden was transformed into a whimsical wonderland, with every detail carefully curated to bring Wyatt’s dreams to life. It was a pastel wonderland, giant balloon arches everywhere, banners with her name on it and a big inflatable bouncy castle. There was a dessert table and an open bar for the adults.

As the day progressed, you and Travis gravitated towards each other. You exchanged stories about your own childhoods and discussed Wyatt’s potential. Laughter flowed easily, and conversation felt like second nature. It was as if you had known each other for years. 

Hours passed like minutes, and soon it was time for the cake-cutting ceremony. Wyatt insisted that you stand close to her. You felt a sense of belonging that was rare to find outside of your classroom.

‘’You know Wyatt was so happy that you came today, she really adores you, actually she won’t stop talking about you.’’ Travis remarked.

‘’I have something to admit, but if I tell you… you have to promise me not to tell anyone.’’ You said a playful glint in your eyes. ‘’Anything for you’’ he said getting closer to you.

You looked up to him and got on your tiptoes trying to get closer to his ear. ‘’Wyatt might be my favorite, but I’m not supposed to admit that.’’ You said leaning back and smiling at him. Your breath tickled his neck, creating small goosebumps on his skin. He brushed it off chuckling at you. ‘’You’re secret his safe with me.’’ 

As the evening sun cast a warm golden hue over the backyard, Travis invited you to take a walk in the neighborhood which you agreed to. You both strolled along the winding path, the soft rustle of leaves accompanying your conversation. The easy banter and shared laughter made the world seem lighter, more vibrant.

"You know, Miss Y/N, spending time with you makes me wish I had a teacher like you back in the day," Travis admitted with a grin. "I might've actually enjoyed school."

You couldn't help but chuckle at his playful remark. "Well, you know, it's never too late to start learning something new."

He flashed a charming smile, his eyes gleaming mischievously. "Maybe you could be my personal tutor, then. I've always wanted to learn a second language."

You raised an eyebrow, feigning contemplation. "I suppose I could make an exception for a dedicated student like yourself."

The flirtatious undertone was unmistakable, yet it danced around the edges of propriety. It was a delicate balance, one that left you feeling both exhilarated and cautious.

As the conversation flowed, Travis shared anecdotes about his football career, often finding ways to slip in compliments about your intelligence and warmth.

‘’You really like football uh?’’ you asked him playfully but in awe at how dedicated he sounded.

‘’It really is my life. There’s nothing like the adrenaline of stepping on the field, people chanting your name and having fun with your teammates. I just know I was made for this…’’ he said daydreaming, ‘’sorry, I’m ranting.’’

‘’No, no it’s fine, I love hearing you talk about your passion and your career, it sounds pretty fun actually.’’ ‘’Yeah?’’ he asked surprised, you nodded.

‘’Well, you should come see me play sometimes’’ he said walking slowly, looking right at you. ‘’I would love that.’’ You said with confidence, the action surprising you more than it surprised him. You had been walking for 45 minutes and came back to the front of the house without even realizing it. 

You went back into the backyards, enjoying the rest of the evening with the other guests. It was now time to head out with Camille, you scanned the room for Travis and Wyatt and saw them laughing loudly near the photobooth area. He had her in his arms, to take photos and he had opted for a little pink wig to make her laugh.

‘’Take it off’’ ‘’Why do I have to take it off?’’ he asked his niece, ‘’Because I don’t like it.’’ ‘’You don’t like it? I thought you said you wanted dad to have pink hair.’’ She leaned in, pointing at his head, ‘’Yeah, but I don’t want you to have pink hair.’’

‘’Why can’t I have pink hair?’’ he asked her, looking offended, ‘’Because you’re naughty and you’re sneaky.’’ You chuckled at their conversation making Travis turn around to look at you with a smile on his face, pulling off the wig from his head. 

‘’Can you believe that?’’ he said fake gasping at what Wyatt said to him. ‘’That your naughty and sneaky? Actually, yeah, I believe that’’ you said smirking back at him. He laughed pulling you closer into his chest so that the photographer could take a couple pictures of the three of you. You blushed at the proximity of his body against yours. You could feel his arm snake around your waist, as he smiled at the camera, Wyatt in his arms and you by his side.

Camille was staring at the both of you from where she stood, talking with Jason and Kylie.

‘’He won’t shut up about her since they met earlier this week’’ Jason admitted making your best friend chuckled quietly. ‘’Well, he made a good first impression, she was so nervous before coming here today.’’ They all laughed. ‘’I mean they look good together.’’ Kylie added before you joined them.

‘’Thank you so much for the wonderful day, it was really fun.’’ You said, before hugging Wyatt’s parents. ‘’The pleasure was ours, Wyatt was so happy her favorite teacher could come, and she loved the gift you picked for her.’’ Kylie said smiling widely at you. 

‘’I’ll walk you out’’ he said before you both followed Camille as she got in the driver seat leaving you and Travis outside the car. You were about to open your mouth to say your goodbyes when Travis beat you to hit.

‘’Listen, I won’t beat around the bush, I had a good day with you, and I find you so beautiful and kind and … and I’d like to take you out.’’ You gulped slowly. You had an amazing day too, but you couldn’t help but wonder if you were ready, ready for something new. You hadn’t gone on a date in forever, and the last time you opened up to a guy, he broke your heart. You could hear Camille’s voice in your head, screaming at you to go out with the man. You couldn't deny the magnetic pull between you and Travis and the undeniable chemistry that seemed to swirl around you both. 

‘’I’m sorry, forget it, I… I just thought we had a connection today and…’’ he rushed in response to your long silence before you cut him up rapidly.

‘’No, no … I would love to. I’m sorry I just wasn’t expecting you to ask me out’’ you laughed quietly ‘’but I would love to go out with you’’ As you bid each other goodbye and exchanged numbers, there was a charged moment of unspoken attraction. The world seemed to hold its breath as you parted ways, leaving you with a feeling that the story between the both of you was far from over.

To Be Continued

Taglist : @kkrenae @spencerreidisbootiful @nabiiturner @ilove-tswizzle

Part 3

[nickfowlerrr]

Hey! Such a fan of your work. Do you still take requests for pwyc Bucky? Is there any chance you could do a reader having a down day bit? Been having a hard time lately and I find so much of myself in her and Bucky soothes the soul. NO worries if not, or if you’re trying to enjoy the holidays and not be put on a downer. So grateful for your work x

pretty when you cry series masterlist

bad day

pairing: pwyc!bucky x curvy!reader

warnings: 18+ only. female receiving smut. comfort fic. if i’m missing something you think should be tagged, pls let me know!

words: 2.3k

notes: thank you so much for sending this in. i have been feeling much the same lately so i was really glad to write this little drabble. i hope you find some comfort in it and hopefully it can help brighten up your monday 🖤 sending you love and wishing you a happy holiday season, anon! and to everyone else who reads this, too. 🥰

“Sweetheart?”

Bucky’s voice called out into the silence of the house, receiving no answer in response. All the lights were off, letting him know you hadn’t been downstairs, at least not since the sun started to set.

He knew something was wrong, he had been feeling it all day. He was worried about you, texted you repeatedly and tried to call when he got a chance, but you didn’t answer. If he could have left that meeting with Stark earlier, he would have in a heartbeat. He’d been itching to get home since he started feeling something was off with you. Steve called him out on not paying attention to much of what was being said at the meeting, but he couldn’t have cared less. He was antsy and on edge, annoyed at every question he was asked and clearly irritated any time someone spoke directly to him. The only thing on his mind was you.

“Baby,” he called out, softer as he approached the door to your shared room.

He had no idea what was wrong, but the heaviness he had felt from you all day was starting to get near paralyzing. It was like you were overwhelmed and completely numb at the same time. All he wanted to do was comfort you, make you feel better. Whatever he could, whatever you needed him to do, he would do. He couldn’t take feeling this much longer knowing it was all radiating from you. You must’ve been drowning at that point, the weight of these unknown emotions hadn’t let up all day except the few times you had probably fallen asleep.

Still not getting a response from you, Bucky quietly opened the door and walked in to find you lying on the bed still in the pajamas you were wearing when he left you this morning. You were curled up on his side of the bed, cuddling with his pillow, a delicate pout on your lips as you stared at nothing, breathing steady. Your eyes were bleary when you looked up as he came in.

“Hi,” he said softly, moving to sit next to where you laid on the bed. His hand immediately going to your back, running it up and down soothingly.

You didn’t respond right away, instead letting go of his pillow that you’d been using as a surrogate for him, and grabbing his arm, urging him to lay with you. He got the hint right away and let you pull him down before he adjusted himself so he was facing you better. Your arms wrapped around him and you buried your face in his neck as he returned your embrace.

“Hi,” you mumbled against him.

“What’s wrong, princess?”

“Noth-”

“Don’t say ‘nothing’,” he cut you off before you could finish replying.

You closed your mouth, thinking briefly before deciding not to answer.

Bucky allowed the silence as he returned to rubbing your back, taking a breath as the ache in his chest eased just the slightest.

“Bad day,” you finally responded quietly.

“That makes two of us,”

“Sorry,” you winced at the reminder that he was forced to feel what you had been feeling.

“Don’t be. All I wanted to do today was be here with you,” he assured you.

It was quiet again before he heard your small sniffling and the dampness of your cheeks on his skin as you nuzzled even further into him.

“Hey, it’s okay. You’re okay, doll. I got you, you’re okay,” he cooed as he leaned down to place a kiss on top of your head.

“Talk to me, sweetheart. Tell me what’s wrong. I’ve been feeling this all week, I know you’ve been trying to push it off,”

“I just,” you took a breath before trailing off, not knowing how to explain properly.

“You can tell me anything,” he reminded you.

“I know, I just..”

All words left your head, any semblance of an explanation you could try and offer went flying right out of the window. Not being able to pinpoint it only made it that much worse. He was asking a sensible question. What was wrong?

What was wrong?

What is wrong? Why are you feeling like this?

Why don’t you have a single fucking idea as to why you’re feeling so…bad.

Your heartbeat picked up and so did your breathing. You were trying to find a reason, just one. But you couldn’t. You just felt like this. No real logic to it. You couldn’t give him an answer and you only made yourself feel worse knowing you were making him feel the same.

“I don’t know,” you cried, dejectedly into his neck. More tears falling freely now.

“Shhh,” he whispered into your hair, cradling you against him now. “It’s okay, baby. ‘S’okay.”

You calmed as he held you, feeling slightly better having acknowledged that you were feeling bad instead of fighting the feeling as it had been threatening to drag you down all week, trudging through each day and only finding any kind of reprieve when Bucky was near. Your breath was beginning to steady when he pulled you back from him slightly, looking in your glassy eyes before he gently wiped the remaining tears from your face and you leaned into his hand.

“Have you eaten today?” he questioned.

“No,” you answered, looking away from him, feeling embarrassed that you hadn’t really left your room at all. You had started getting ready in the morning, lazily brushed your teeth and even washed your face. You were going to get in the shower, but when you went to start it, decided to do it later. You just felt so tired still. You crawled back into bed and slept for another hour before you awoke. You felt even worse then. Bucky had left and you had no distractions from the black cloud that had been following you around lately. So you just let it storm over you. Sleeping on and off throughout the day and wallowing in self pity and despair when you were awake. Everything and nothing was wrong all at once. But now, as you were coming back to yourself, your lack of living today was clear and you felt stupid and lazy for it.

“I need to shower,” you mumbled, moving to get off of him. He held you down, keeping you in his embrace, not letting you up just yet.

“I’m gonna make you dinner, first,” he told you.

“Okay,” you allowed as you looked up at him to meet his eye, “Well, I can shower while you make it,” you suggested, thinking it was the obvious course of action.

“No,” he stated, with a shake of his head as he held your eye. You furrowed your brow in response. “We’re gonna shower after,” he told you.

“We?” you repeated softly, looking him in his eyes. The warmth and affection that swam in them was comforting as he nodded before pulling your face closer to place a gentle kiss on your lips.

“Then I’ll light a fire and we can watch that show you keep telling me about. How’s that sound?”

“Good,” you answered, nodding slightly. “Honestly…Anything’s good as long as you’re here,” you simpered.

“Someone’s feeling sappy,” he smirked, repeating the words you always shoot at him when he gets too sentimental or cheesy on you, earning a light eye roll and smile from you at his teasing as you laid your head back down on his chest, taking another moment to just relax in his arms.

“Actually, can we just.. I don’t know, order pizza? Then we can shower right now and just go downstairs to eat and watch the show when it gets here.”

He nodded in response.

“We can definitely do that,” he agreed, a relaxed smile on his face as he felt the heaviness slowly lifting from you.

You pulled yourself up again, this time he let you go as he sat up, grabbing his phone from his pocket to place your usual order. You wandered into the bathroom, starting the shower to let the water warm up before you began to slowly take your clothes off. You were stepping out of your sweats as Bucky came in behind you, tugging you to him. You leaned back against him as he hugged you before his hands found the hem of your tank top, slowly pulling it up and over your head. He nudged you toward the shower that was beginning to fog up already as he began to undress.

You stood under the water, the warmth helping you relax further. Your body felt so sore though you hadn’t done a thing all day. As Bucky got in with you, his arms wrapped around your waist and you sighed at the added relief he brought you. You stood there for a while, swaying in his arms slightly as the water fell on the both of you. Eventually, his arms slipped from around you and when his touch returned, he was gently washing your body, the suds of your soap slowly washing down your skin with the stream of water that was directly above you. Bucky placed soft kisses on every area of your body he washed for you, worshiping every inch of you. He knew you weren’t feeling great, but he wanted you to know how much he loved you - and how incredible you were to him. He needed you to know he would always be there for you, no matter what. On your best days and your worst. He wasn’t going anywhere.

It was like you could feel his love for you radiating off of him and it warmed you. You grabbed his hand as he dragged it back up your hip once you were done washing off. You turned to him and wrapped your own arms around his torso, your hands now traveling up and down his back as you rested your head on his chest. He didn’t force you to talk, didn’t need you to explain. He just understood. Intuitively, instinctively. He knew what you needed right now.

You needed someone to be there.

You were so used to being alone, relying on no one but yourself, but it got tiring after a while. Having no other choice but to stay strong. Things were different now and you knew that. You knew you had Bucky, and you knew you didn’t have to be so strong all the time, but old habits die hard.

When you were together like this, though, you were reminded that you could let yourself feel. It was okay to break down because he’d be right there to pick you back up.

“You okay, princess?”

“‘M’okay,” you nodded. “Bucky, I...Thank you,” you whispered as you looked up to him, one hand reaching up to touch him, your thumb stroking his cheek as your nails gently raked along his neck and into his hair before pulling him down to kiss him softly, lips brushing delicately before you kissed him a bit harder, pressing yourself closer to him.

“I love you,” you breathed against his lips.

“I love you,” he responded, leaning down to kiss you again.

You stayed like that for another minute, just holding each other.

You grimaced as your stomach suddenly grumbled, the hunger you hadn’t even noticed just an hour ago now making itself known.

“I think I might be hungry,” you admitted as Bucky chuckled.

“That’s what happens when you don’t eat all day,” he lightly admonished. “Let’s finish up in here, by the time we’re done the pizza should be here.”

“What do you mean ‘finish up’? I thought we were done?” you said, confused. You’d both washed up and rinsed off - hair and body. You had thought you were both ready to get out and dry off.

“No, I’m not done with you just yet,'' he said as his hand slipped down between your bodies, his knee nudging your legs apart carefully. You leaned further into him as his fingers found their way to your sensitive folds, rubbing you gently before he slipped two of his thick digits into your tight heat as you gasped and shuddered against him, keeping your balance by holding onto his shoulders while he cooed in your ear, whispering sweet nothings to you as he pumped his fingers expertly in and out of you, curling them perfectly, hitting your sweet spots just right as you let out breathy moans at the stimulation. His thumb began rubbing tight circles on your swollen clit as he coaxed you to your orgasm, working you through your high once the pleasure finally overtook you, the white hot warmth erupting through you as you held onto him, muscles tensing and thighs shaking as you came.

You were trying to catch your breath as he suddenly picked you up by your thighs, making you wrap them around his waist. He kissed you again, stealing your breath as he did before you pulled away, nearly gasping as you rested your forehead against his.

“How long do we have until they get here?”

“Long enough,” he breathed huskily, crashing his lips into yours once again. You moaned into his mouth, mewling as you felt his erection throbbing against you, nearly teasing your entrance with the angle he was holding you at.

“Tell me what you want, pretty girl,” he said as he nuzzled his face into your neck.

“You,” you sighed. “I want you.”

You pulled his face back to yours, kissing him as gently as you could, trying to get across how grateful you were that he was there, and how much love you had for him, how much you felt for him as he held you so surely, so securely in his arms.

“Always you.”

[soullessdianthus]

𝐁𝐮𝐭𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐲 | 𝐓𝐚𝐬𝐤 𝐅𝐨𝐫𝐜𝐞 𝟏𝟒𝟏 𝐱 𝐌𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐜!𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫

Requested by anon:

A/N: I AM SO SORRY FOR SUCH DELAY, I kept postponing it and then I had other things on my head.

Summary: Task Force 141 is sent to gather intel from cartel's warehouse. However, their informations were flawed and they were cornered by hostiles. Soap got shot and it doesn't look good. What will they do in a stalemate as such?

Warnings:reader is eastern european coded (just briefly), some gruesome desc. of wounds, blood and fights, talk of killing people

Word count: 3.8k

GIF by oleworldblues

The flight wasn’t a steady one, turbulence occurring every minute on board. Although such voyages weren't anything new, those tremors were irritating to say the least. You managed to stay in the seat for the most part of it, cursing the pilot, Nikolai for such an unpleasant ride.

A flick of regret crossed your mind, scolding yourself for being so strict on him. But all the remorse passed, when another turbulence made you hit your head over the helo’s wall.

When you crossed through the storm cloud, the helicopter twitched so suddenly and you jumped in your seat. Afraid of falling off the bench, without much thinking you grabbed what was the nearest to search for support. And it was Soap’s thigh.

 ━ Jesus, since when th’ lass‘ so handsy? ━ Scott laughed it off as you straighten your back against the helo’s surface. 

━ Since Nikolai forgot how to navigate damn thing. 

━ Then ye hadn’t seen Ghost drivin’ a car. That was somethin’ to be terrified of. 

Soap chuckled while jokingly mocking the lieutenant sitting across them. As always the skull face remained solid, still and emotionless. You spent enough time in Task Force 141 to know that he had to be smirking under that thick layer of balaclava. Even if the big, grumpy guy denied it verbally. The spark in his eyes revealed all you had to know. Some people laugh with their eyes, you know?

━ I hope we won’t live that long to repeat the thing. ━ Gaz cut in, leaving the cockpit and entering space, where they were sitting. It meant they were close to landing. 

Thank God, because if the flight would continue like this, you would have bumped into all of them by the time of your arrival at the meeting point. 

The lights went off, when you got closer to the ground. A one, stronger jolt and the helo landed, dust floating in the air due to the propellers spinning around.

All of you gathered up near the exit, doing the last weapon and inventory check up. When everything was proper and intact, you were ready for the ramp to open.

━ Gonna wait for your signal on the radio ━ Nikolai said with a Russian accent, flicking some of the controls above his head. ━ Nadrat im zadnitsu [rus.: Kick their asses].

━ Sure will. ━ Gaz patted the pilot on his shoulder, before joining the rest of the team. The platform began lowering itself until it hit the ground beneath, hard.

You were supposed to meet up with Captain Price, leading a group of his own, just a few kliks from your landing location. Team’s sole purpose that night was to infiltrate the cartel’s hideout, north of Mexico's border. It wasn’t a fortress, but a well equipped warehouse at most. 

Well, at least that's what your superiors were suspecting.

They needed proof of the cartel's affiliation with powerful drug traders overseas and any other information you managed to find inside, while Price’s team created a diversion. You were a group of professionals, what could go wrong?

When all of you walked out the helo, you took a look around, eyes getting used to the darkness flooding the field around. The night has fallen as the sun disappeared over the horizon. 

You stuck closely to MacTavish as it was never smart to split up without strict order. Your main task as a medic was to keep an eye on them, patch them up if needed – overall, keep them alive.

There were no crickets to be heard, creatures hiding somewhere in the grass. But the gut feeling, or rather a natural intuition convinced you, something else was lurking in the plain field. When Nikolai started the engine again of the helo and flew off the ground, your eyes crossed with Ghost’s. 

It was too quiet.

He believed something was off too and the Englishman was much more experienced in a field than you. That could only mean trouble. 

You pinched your lips together into a fine line, involuntarily holding a breath in. Your muscles and joints were in a preparation mode. If the military had a medal for prophetic abilities, you would have a stack of them by now. 

Just as you started moving towards the old, abandoned truck in the middle of the grassy field, the first shots got fired. Your knees softened, when you sprinted towards the rusty vehicle to take a cover. 

You managed to take a quick look through the scope on your rifle, trying to asses – where were the fuckers coming from. But they hid in the bushes quite well. Those who were foolish enough to come closer to your group, quickly got eliminated.

Kyle was right by your side by the rusty car, shooting just above your head as you kneeled down. Suddenly an enemy troop jumped from his cover swinging a knife at your comrade. The steel shimmered in the moonlight.

It was a matter of seconds – despite the training sergeant had received, he couldn’t break the laws of time and space. You, on the other hand, were facing the threat directly. 

━ Gaz, down! ━ You yelled, before taking down the man, piercing his chest with few bullets. You held the rifle up and steady, meanwhile the attacker stumbled backwards and fell onto the coarse grass beneath. Lifeless. 

Kyle nodded in your direction, not exchanging a word of gratitude, but he didn’t have to. Besides, there was no time for courtesy. You were under fire. 

━ Piece ‘f cake, eh? Real nice fuckin’ cake, Lt. ━  Soap mocked Ghost earlier words, as his predictions regarding this mission didn’t include an ambush right off the bat. ━ What now?

━ Focus, MacTavish, we need to take a cover. There’s an ol’ farm, only a klik east-south ━ The lieutenant reloaded his own rifle with a firm tug on the empty magazine. As always, he kept a cold blood even when surprised by unpredictable ━  We’re headin’ there, is that clear? 

━ Aye. ━ Gaz approved and you silently nodded, feeling the raging pulse of your own heart in the neck artery. 

You noticed that his dark gaze got stuck on your face, that probably got a little too pale due to the adrenaline. You were still getting used to working in a field, you’ve never been cornered like this before. Verbatim. 

Every time after the mission, when you lay still in the barrack at night time, you wonder if Ghost felt like he was actually babysitting the whole Task Force. At least sometimes. Because it was usually you, Soap or Gaz who got into trouble.

Kyle and Johnny were around the same age, still fairly young to be in special forces, but you? You were even younger and less skilled, though you managed to catch up with different abilities than your male mates. 

And Lieutenant Riley? He was older than all of you, that’s for sure. You didn’t know how much exactly, but that’s what you managed to deduce since your joining the squad. 

So it wasn't an uncommon occurrence, where Ghost took the lead during a crisis and led you all to safety. He was more than sure all of you would manage on your own, if the circumstances were different. 

━ Y/C, with me ━ the lieutenant stated, getting ready for the next step. ━ Soap, Gaz, you go together. We’re movin’, now. 

Each soldier with a rifle held steadily in their hands, began to move swiftly through the darkness of the upcoming night. While Gaz and Soap took the right flank, you and Ghost took care of the left. The lieutenant kept in mind checking the back too. All you had to do was push forward.

It was a challenging task to keep up with their longer strides, but they were mindful of your struggles. You would never be left behind. One for one. 

The outline of the old barn appeared in the reach of your hand as you pointed the rifle’s barrel towards the two men coming from your left. You managed to take one down, by shooting through his knee, however you missed the other one.

You cursed in your native language, letting the frustration out. Within the span of a couple seconds you collected your breath and aimed once again. This time you shot him, right through his shoulder. They had bullet proof vests, therefore shooting at their chest made no sense at all. 

Shooting at the vest from up close – then, that’s a different story.

Muppets, as Captain Price called them, took down each one of the enemies without a slip up on their flank. 

You’ve never said it outloud to anyone, especially not any member of Task Force, but in a work field you looked up to…well, some of them. They executed their tasks immaculately. Whilst you still had some things to learn, they were usually understanding, willing to help out. Usually, not always. 

Sometimes, due to his harsh comments, you thought that Ghost expected you to be born with skills he achieved through the years in a service. Which, for obvious reasons, was not fair.

The way to the farm was a bumpy one, tall grass covering any holes in the ground, but you finally made it. Ghost and Gaz broke into the old stable and began checking out the insides. You were just behind them, when you heard Soap’s grunt through clenched teeth.

It could only mean one thing – Johnny got shot. You reached to touch his arm, maybe to pull him inside, but the Scottish sergeant did it anyway. With Kyle’s help you shut the heavy doors behind to give the team extra coverage. 

You finally took a deep breath. 

Ghost spoke through the radio, slowly walking up to the barn's other end. You deduced that he spoke with Price about the ambush, but your focus was on blood pouring out of the fresh wound.

You stepped closer and MacTavish leaned in, letting you take a look. And it didn’t look good. Soap inhaled the chilly air, a droplet of sweat rolling down his temple.

━ Shit. ━ You felt Ghost’s gaze upon your back, when you cursed with such passion. He was waiting on a report. ━ Bullet went through his arm. 

━ The cartel wasn’t wasting money on security, huh?  ━ Gaz mentioned, still quite not believing himself they encountered such skilled soldiers. Why weren’t they informed about that beforehand? They would take a bigger team.

━ But ━ you continued ━ because Soap is so bulky, the ammo didn’t scratch any important artery. 

━ I knew you’d appreciate my form, lass. 

━ Nevertheless, I insist on patching him up.

━ Insist? ━ The big Englishman repeated what he just heard, surely raising an eyebrow beneath mysterious balaclava. At least that's what you imagined him to do. When he looked at you, he saw your scowl. ━ Fuckin’ hell, fine. We need to stay ‘ere until Price comes with backup. 

Ghost’s voice sounded firm and emotionless as always. Maybe there was a hint of annoyance, but who wouldn’t be? The intel wasn’t good enough if the cartel's security managed to take you by surprise and outsmart the special forces. 

Kyle silently went outside to take a look around, patrol the surroundings when you took care of John’s nasty wound.

━ Hey, I’ll manage, no need to–

━ Don’t even start ━ you interrupted Scottish man, rummaging through the medic bag.  ━ You want them to follow us by the trickle of blood you left behind? Or do you want to faint due to blood loss?

━ Alright, alright, I get it, lass. Sweet Jesus. 

━ You’re like children. ━ The lieutenant pointed out at your foolish scuffle, checking each corner of the barn. 

━ Do you know children that carry M4s?━ An even more stupid joke escaped your mouth, before you giggled silently, opening the new package of gause. Even Johnny chuckled, when you began applying pressure on top of his wound. 

━ Keep your morals like this and we just might fulfill our task. 

Ghost definitely had the charisma of an exhausted father, but that was one of his characteristics that not many people were fond of. But you were. You liked his tacky humor, always a way to brighten the day.

━ One-four-one, do you copy? 

A sudden sound of the radio on your vest broke the silence. It was a voice belonging to Gaz, but usually his tone wasn’t so… nervous. Another bad omen. 

━ We need to get out of ‘ere! ━ Just as he finished the sentence, Kyle ran through the barn’s door, M4 rifle in his hand. ━ They’ve got their own reinforcement. 

━ How many? ━ You asked, finishing wrapping a tight bandage over Soap’s bicep. 

━ I saw four cars riding through that bush we came from. ━ Dark skinned soldier answered, glaring through his shoulder. You have to be very aware of your surroundings from now on.

━ Y/C, you feel like sniping? ━ The skull had spoken, the brown eyes looking at you. No, through you. ━ Can you cover us?

━ Yes, I’ll keep an eye from the attic. 

━ Good. 

━ What about Price? Where is he? ━ Soap asked, reloading his weapon. 

The Englishman pressed the button on his radio.

━ Bravo 0-6 this is Ghost, how long?

━ Hang on, four more kliks. Are you still in the barn? ━ Captain asked through the speaking channel only your team had access to.

━ Positive.

━ Good, stay there. Over and out. 

Price’s voice vanished as soon as he echoed through the old stable. Situation wasn’t looking good for your team, but what else could you do? If Gaz was right and the enemy managed to distribute groups of his soldiers around the farm, there was no way out. 

So you had to defend your position and wait. For what? At this point for a backup that miraculously appears from the skies.

You swiftly climbed onto the wooden ladder until you reached the upper floor of the old stable. There were bales of hay scattered around and few windows. One of the bigger ones was facing the courtyard between the buildings. When you were in a position, you took a look around the property. 

Ghost was already prepared on the right side of the building you were in and Gaz was on the other. Meanwhile Soap was slowly walking around the antique fountain in the middle of the courtyard. 

Everyone was ready and anticipating the enemy’s next move. 

━ Gaz, three coming from your left. ━ You warned him through the speaking channel, before pointing the rifle’s end to those mentioned soldiers. 

When the adrenaline bursts inside of your veins, time passes quite fast. Which was a dangerous thing, because if you lost track of it or a consciousness about your surroundings – you would be dead quickly.

You had to withhold your nerves and focus on one task at the time.

After a deep breath in, you slowly let it out. Looking through the rifle’s loupe, you began shooting at the group that just got out of the truck. A gunfire right beneath their feet, before they got perforated with your bullets. 

A bitter, metallic taste spreaded over your tongue. You swallowed some saliva, checking up if you had bit the inside of your cheek. It happened before, when you completely zoned out during a shooting. You were so fixated on the task, you clenched your jaw on the delicate tissue. 

But this time it was just remorse, building up each time you pulled the trigger. Of course, you knew not each inflicted harm caused inevitable death, some just made the enemy’s soldiers… indisposed. Nonetheless, it was a burden you had to carry on your shoulders.

When you cleared out the zone near the parked car, your sight moved to the Ghost outpost. He was stabbing the soldier's neck and shoulder with short and quick movements. In your assessment, he was doing fine.

Then when you wanted to check on Gaz and Soap, there was a thud over the wooden surface that got your attention. You snapped your head towards the sound and saw one soldier that managed to climb  here. 

━ I found the sniper. ━ The man said into his own radio, hooked over his tactical vest. 

He rushed towards you and you tried to point your rifle at him. The man was faster and he grabbed the weapon, stopping you from shooting at him. There was only a little window of time to decide what to do next. So you used all your body weight to tackle that soldier to the ground.

Your arms wrapped around his thighs and you pushed forwards, causing him to fall backwards. Meanwhile, still having an upper hand, you reached for a karambit that was stacked behind your belt. 

You managed to climb on top of him swiftly, because that was your advantage in a clash with big, muscular men. You raised your hand and before the blade reached his chest, the man grabbed your wrist in the air, blocking your further movements. 

For a short while you struggled against his grip, trying to push the knife into his ribcage with the mass of your upper body. However, the mercenary locked you with his leg and rolled over you, trapping you beneath him. 

You took a quick look around – both of you rolled over dangerously close to the edge of the attic. A sight of a few meters depth made you lightheaded. So you continued struggling, as the soldier held a firm grip over your wrist, cutting the blood flow. Even when your wrist went numb, you did not drop that karambit. 

It was your most valuable bargaining chip in this situation.

You huffed a couple of times, slightly changing the position under the man’s frame. But when he finally reached for his gun, you grabbed the short barrel and pointed it far from your head. 

Calculating the next step carefully, you decided to let him win over the knife in your hand. Because with the drop of it, he released your wrist. The man swung his whole shoulder to punch you in the face. 

For a short moment you saw spots in front of your eyes, when his clenched fist met your cheekbone. Ouch. 

And finally, when your arms began to give up, you focused your defense on your legs – they were stronger. You managed to tuck them beneath his pelvis and strengthen your legs, kicking him over your head. Only then, you released the barrel of the gun. 

The mercenary fell over the edge of the attic and onto the ground beneath. You heard the loud thud followed by a crack. He broke his neck.

You laid there for a while, collecting your breath as you just faced death. Quite a normal day in the life of a soldier. The shootouts from the outside began to fade and it got you worried. You had to check that out.

━ Steaming Jesus ━ a familiar voice, brought you back to your full strength. You got up on your knees and carefully looked through the hole in the floor. ━ Is that how you greet people?

The American was standing above the body you just threw from the upper floor. A puddle of blood staining the ground. 

━ Alex! ━ You expressed your enjoyment, seeing your college for the first time in a while. It meant he came with a backup. A miracle of tonight's ambush.  ━ You’re saving our asses. 

━ Come down now, the situation is under control. 

You ran to gather your weapon, before hooking it around your shoulder. You quickly climbed down the ladder and walked up to a man with bright eyes and trimmed mustache. 

━ Laswell send her regards. Price team wouldn’t make it on time ━ Alex Keller explained, putting one of his hands on your shoulder as the two of you slowly walked out of the barn to the courtyard. ━ A bloodbath, huh? Only the four of you?

Soap was sitting on the fountain’s edge, the material hugging his arm wasn’t soaked with blood. “Good” you thought. Some of Alex’s soldiers that were sent here by Kate Laswell walked around the farm to check every corner. 

━ We don’t like crowds. ━ Gaz reached his hand to greet their friend, who was in Urzikstan. At least, that's what they thought. Until now. 

━ Understandable, sergeant. ━ The ends of his mustache lifted up as he smiled. ━ We should wait here for Price and regroup. 

━ So we continue what we started? ━ Just before you asked, Soap and Ghost joined the conversation in the middle of the courtyard, the pathways laid out with stones.

━ We can’t retreat now, they would know we’re after ‘em. ━ The lieutenant explained, why the retreat was an idea not even being speculated here. The presumed cartel would move along with their belongings, the proof you needed to gather. 

So therefore withdrawal was off the table. 

━ We need to strike ‘ard, now. ━ Ghost continued his talk, when the soldiers began to talk between each other from the other side of the abandoned house. 

All of you turned around to see the upcoming Captain Price, pressing his rifle to his chest. 

━ Took ya long enough, Captain. ━ Gaz stated bluntly, few droplets of blood appearing on his forehead. 

━ Yeah, the intel was shit, we’re gonna take care of it later. Now, we have different targets. Gather up. Everyone in one piece? 

The man in his forties looked at each one of you – from head to toes. Obviously, his eyes were locked with the bandage over Soap’s arm, but MacTavish quickly assured him it was only a scratch on the surface. 

Which it wasn’t, yet he wasn’t bleeding, so for the sake of peace you nodded your head to assure Price.

━ Alright, the real fun can begin. We got ‘em outnumbered, this is going to be a quick and smooth operation. No slip ups from now on, understood?

The whole team agreed and began to mentally prepare for what was coming. Captain patted Gaz on his shoulder, before slowly walking away.

━ No more flying corpses? ━ Alex whispered, leaning towards you. It seemed that only the two of you heard the conversation. 

And maybe Ghost who was standing on the other side of Sergeant Keller, because he looked at you with amusement. 

━ We’ll see about that. Just try to get on my bad side, American boy. 

Price whistled in a high pitched tone, announcing that all of you should gather up. 

Once again you had that feeling in your guts, that it was going to be a long, exhausting night. And at the end of the day, your hand would be covered in blood, like a butcher (which you swore you wouldn’t be).

[psychedelic-ink]

𝐒𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐍𝐞𝐰 - 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐮𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐲 𝐈𝐧 𝐁𝐞𝐝

pairing: pre outbreak!joel miller x f!reader, one sided tommy miller x f!reader

genre: angst, smut, romance, slow burn, mutual pining, secret relationship

series summary: After your grandfather’s passing, you find yourself moving into his home in Texas. You meet the Millers; Tommy, his older brother Joel and his daughter Sarah. With time, you and Tommy become close friends and Sarah visits you often. But Joel…Joel keeps his distance. The reason for this is due to one crucial fact you don’t know but he does; Tommy has a crush on you. Which means you’re off limits no matter what. But as your own feelings for Joel grow, things start to get more and more complicated.

additional notes: Joel is 36 and since I saw Tommy's age nowhere, I decided to give them a five-year age gap which will make Tommy 31 in this story. Reader is in her late twenties.

word count: 1.2k

chapter summary: Joel gets a new neighbor.

warnings: none for now!

a/n: thank you to my dearest @pedrito-friskito for editing and allowing me to scream at her over this as always, love you to the moon and back ❤️❤️❤️

chapter one

Joel sits with Tommy on the porch, surrounded by the brilliant warmth of the sun. The sky is a canvas of blue, with a few fluffy clouds lazily drifting by. The air is filled with the sweet scent of blooming flowers, and the gentle breeze feels soft and tender over his sunburnt skin. A car passes by their house and comes to a stop at the next. Sarah is at school, and for the first time in weeks, Joel feels that he can fully relax. He’s speaking to Tommy, but as always, his brother only half-listens, nodding absently as his gaze remains fixed on the woman emerging from the vehicle.

Joel observes the woman stepping out of the car. She looks young, likely closer in age to Tommy than to himself. She carries a box with her as she makes her way into her new home. Her expression is in complete contrast with the bright sunshine and blooming flowers. He knows why. Losing a family member is never easy.

"We should go say hi," Tommy suggests, pulling Joel out of his contemplations. "And maybe help her with the rest of her stuff."

Joel raises an eyebrow, running his tongue over the roof of his mouth before speaking. "You do know how she got the house, right? Her grandpa died. Not exactly a happy occasion."

"Maybe they despised each other—" Tommy counters, but his sentence is cut short as Joel smacks him on the back of the head. The younger brother rubs at the throbbing pain, shooting a glare at Joel, who remains unfazed.

Joel’s eyes drop to the green grass, observing each and every green blade, “The old man talked about her all the time. I doubt there was nothin’ but love going on between them. Have some respect will ya,” 

“I feel like that’s all the more reason to go help,” 

Joel releases a heavy sigh, loathing the fact that his brother is correct. Without a word, he rises from his seat, the short wooden stairs groaning beneath him as he descends. Tommy is quick to follow, a little too enthusiastically, Joel observes.

Joel approaches the door and gives a short, booming knock. He takes a step back when the door opens, the woman looks at the two men with a confused expression, her eyebrow raised in question.

“May I help you?” she asks, eyes flitting between the two. 

Tommy takes the lead, which surprises no one. 

"Hi there, we're your neighbors," Tommy says, his eyes briefly scanning the inside of the house. "Thought we might offer some help?"

"Oh," the woman gasps, realization hitting. She quickly extends a hand, a nervous chuckle falling from her chapped lips. She introduces herself, squeezing Tommy's hand first, then Joel's.

Joel notices the way her gaze seems to see right through him, which makes him feel at unease. He clears his throat and points at Tommy, "He actually doesn't live next door, I'm your real neighbor, me and my daughter Sarah," he says, his hand still cradling hers. "Nice to meet you,"

Tommy shoots Joel an exaggerated look of offense, which he ignores but she laughs at. "It's nice to meet you too," she says, her laughter circling them both.

 It’s a pleasant sound, one that leaves both men speechless. 

“I’m actually done with all the boxes,” she says with a hint of pride. “But I would love to have you and your family over.” she addresses this part to Joel, then she adds as an afterthought; “After I get everything sorted, that is,”  

Joel opens his mouth to answer but Tommy beats him to it, “You got it, sweetheart. If you need anything, don’t hesitate to knock on our door,” 

“My door,” Joel grumbles, his eyes digging holes into Tommy’s skull. 

Luckily his new neighbor doesn’t hear him. The only evidence that the words actually left his mouth is provided by the sharp elbow Tommy digs into his stomach. 

Bastard. 

He winces in pain, hand shooting to his stomach with a cough caught in his throat. Joel doesn’t know how to react when she reaches over and places a soft hand on his shoulder, his pulse skyrockets, crimson red peppering all over his skin. 

“Are you alright?” she asks. “Do you need me to get you a glass of water?” 

“Oh, don’t worry about him,” Tommy says. “He’ll be fine.” 

When Joel manages to catch his breath, her hand is still on his shoulder. His body reacts impulsively, taking her hand and holding it between his fingers. Blood tingles under his fingernails. He doesn’t know why, but in that moment she reminds him of stained glass; beautiful, mesmerizing, delicate. 

What the hell is going on with him? 

“I’m fine, don't worry,” he croaks, letting go of her hand. She seems just as flabbergasted as him. “Well then, we’ll be off.” 

Tommy chirps next to him, his voice like nails on a chalkboard, “Are you sure you don’t want that water, Joel?” 

“I’m sure,” he answers, his brows furrowing. “Let’s not trouble our new neighbor any longer,” 

If Tommy wants to object, he doesn’t. Just as they’re about to leave, her voice calls out to him. He turns, and the world around him shifts into slow motion. Your eyes are glossed over, not looking at him but down to the pavement underneath. He cocks an eyebrow. 

“Did you know my grandfather?” she asks, stunning him further. Joel finds the strength to nod but his mouth is drained of all moisture. “If—If you don’t mind, could you tell me about him sometime? What his life was like living here. I…I hadn’t spoken to him for a while. I didn’t even notice a month had passed since…” 

Her voice breaks and trails off. Joel’s heart beats slow and steady. He looks at her with a sympathetic smile and when he turns to Tommy he sees that his brother is looking at her the same way. Grief is a cruel teacher, they both know.

“Of course,” Joel replies and your face lights up.

With that the brothers walk away from the house. The brief exchange replays in Joel’s mind in a constant loop, lingering on the memory of her smile and the tears that threatened to fall. 

“She’s quite somethin’ isn’t she?”

“Huh?”

Wide-eyed, Joel turns to Tommy. His stomach drops when he sees that same love-struck expression he’s seen his baby brother make since they were youngins. He sharply sucks his bottom lip through his teeth and bites it, he’s feeling anxious all of a sudden. The clear oxygen around him feels polluted, somehow.

“I said, she’s quite somethin’, isn’t she?” Tommy repeats, agitated. “You never listen to me do you? Anyway, you think she’d say yes if I asked her out?” 

“I don’t see why not,” Joel answers with a forced shrug. “Y’re not a complete eyesore which is a plus,” 

“Yeah?” Tommy grins, throwing his arm over Joel’s shoulder. “I think I will.” 

Joel doesn’t have anything to say to that. He allows Tommy to drag him back to their home, the subject has already changed to something mundane. 

But his mind is left at her porch. Wondering when their next conversation will be. 

[e-dubbc11]

For a summer activity, how about Billy and you in battle of the water guns. It would give Billy a chance to do things he never got to do as a kid. 🩶🩷

My dear sweet Katherine,

Thank you so much for participating in my summer sleepover, for reading my fics and for being such a good friend to me. I love you to pieces and I hope you like what I did. I wasn’t exactly sure if you just wanted a moodboard or a fic so I just did both for you. I hope you like it! 💜

Splish Splash

Photos are not mine. They are courtesy of Pinterest/Google.

Pairing: Billy Russo x F! Reader

Warnings: Couple of swear words, fluffy bunnies and unicorns, smooches

Word Count: 1.1K-ish

Summary: You surprise Billy at work and help each other cool off with something fun.

As always, thank you for reading!  I appreciate it so much and comments, reblogs are welcome and encouraged. Don’t be shy to tell me your favorite part. 💕💕 💕

The walk through the park to get to his office wasn’t necessary but you couldn’t resist on a day like today. The fluffy white clouds were latched to a sky that seemed unending and behind those cotton-like clouds, the early afternoon sky was the brightest of blues.

You could feel the sweat gathering at your hairline and at the back of your neck and beads of perspiration slowly trickled down your chest and disappeared behind the V in your crisp white t-shirt.

You wanted to surprise your boyfriend Billy with something fun.

Briefly, you glanced down into your purse to make sure you had packed them. You couldn’t help yourself when you saw those cheap little plastic water pistols in the window of the toy shop on your way home from work last night. This will be a fun surprise for Billy.

You pictured his childlike smile, the smile that would don his face every time he was able to do something he never got to do as a kid. His childhood and innocence taken from him so abruptly, forcing him to grow up when he wasn’t ready to and to constantly look over his shoulder is something no child should ever have to go through.

And there was nothing you wouldn’t do to help him cope with that.

With each long stride along the sidewalk path was a step closer to getting to see that perfect Billy Russo smile which made your heart soar and flutter with excitement.

Fresh cut blades of grass looked soft as silk and the myriad of scents from the summer flowers floated through the air above their petals which were as soft as satin. The sweet aroma of the summer air was the work of the honeybees that were dancing from flower to flower and they continued to hum at a very low frequency, almost hypnotizing you as you walked.

On their break, construction workers wiped the sweat from their brow as they hid under the trees to escape the heat. Park benches lined with well-dressed people, eating their lunches and letting the sun kiss the high points of their faces before they had to go back to work.

You were getting close to Anvil so you texted Frank. You had given him a heads up about what you planned on doing when Billy was finished with his meeting with Homeland Security.

Please tell me he’s not back yet.

You texted.

Frank’s reply came quickly.

Not yet, kid. You got time and one of those water guns better be for me.

He said with a laughing emoji next to it.

Of course I have one for you too! Be there soon!

Outside Billy’s office was a small table for papers and forms that needed his signature but today there was only one piece of paper that read…

“Choose your weapon, soldier. XO”

And you left three water guns on top of the paper, already filled and ready to go.

You waited patiently under his desk for him to walk through the door. His voice carried into his office, complaining to others about the heat, and to not disturb him until after lunch.

Grabbing the door handle, you heard him pause as he read the piece of paper on the table and if you knew Billy at all, you knew he would take two of the three water guns, leaving one behind for Frank’s taking.

The office door opened slowly but only a little bit, you knew he was sweeping the room for you. Then you heard his firm silvery voice.

“You in here, sweet girl? Come out, come out, wherever you are, my love. I know you’re here somewhere.” He said.

You could tell he was smiling.

Carefully and slowly, you pushed the chair away from the desk and peeked above the large wooden desk plane. You took a blind shot in his direction and hit him in the hand with a stream of water.

Not wanting him to get too close so you would be trapped under the desk, you popped out from under the desk and started shooting but so did he. Every shot he took, he hit you somewhere.

The ice cold water actually felt refreshing as it splashed against your warm skin. Billy’s dress shirt sleeves were rolled up to his elbows, his arms were outstretched as he continued to shoot in your direction.

Suddenly, Billy felt cold water hit him in the back.

“Ah, SHIT!” He exclaimed.

Frank had a wide grin stretched across his mouth as he yelled out, “You shoulda been watchin’ your six, Bill!”

And he let out a laugh.

Billy had two guns so he could shoot at you and Frank at the same time.

“Billy Russo, I knew you would take two of them!” You said with a laugh.

And there it was, that childlike smile you had waited all morning to see, it finally happened. Water from your pistol hit him in the face and water from Frank’s left water marks on his dress shirt.

“Well, I’m outta ammo and I gotta get back to work. You two kids have fun.” Said Frank, shutting the door behind him.

With your arms outstretched, you aimed your water gun at Billy.

“Hands up, lieutenant.” You said with a sly smile.

Raising his hands, Billy let the water guns dangle from his forefingers by the triggers.

“Two against one is hardly fair, baby.” He said with a devilish grin.

You started to walk toward him.

“But you had two guns, handsome.” You stated.

Still smiling, he hung his head in defeat.

“You’re not wrong, beautiful. How ‘bout you come claim your prize.” Said Billy, playfully.

You both dropped your water guns on the floor as he cupped your cheeks and claimed your lips like it had been weeks since he had seen you last.

The bristles of his beard gently scraped against your soft cheeks as his tongue parted your lips, gaining access to your mouth so it could entangle with yours. Smiling against your mouth, his kisses were hungry as they moved up and down the sides of your neck.

“Y/n, my love, you always seem to know exactly what I need at the right time, don’t you.” He said. “Thank you, sweet girl.”

Billy never talked a lot about his childhood. He hated it, made him angry, but out of everyone, he chose to talk about it with you.

“You’re welcome, Billy.” You replied, along with a gentle kiss on his cheek.

The bad memories had been replaced with good ones, like today, and they’re memories he’ll never forget. You strived to give Billy the experiences he missed out on when he was young. In your eyes, he’ll always be good enough and he never failed to thank you every single day for telling him that.

Tag List: @wheresthesunshinesblog @idaoftheburningmind @rafaelakelley @snowkestrel @fakehappy27 @music-indie-tv @fictional-hooman @kayhi808 @munsonownsmyass @gijos @celestialend @nutmeg17 @rosaleenablack @vaguekayla @qu1etwolf @danzer8705 @fireeyes-on-teller-dixon-grimes @mysteriouslydeafeningwerewolf @aoi-targaryen

Others that might enjoy: @itwasthereaminuteago @fluffyprettykitty @jvanilly @ittybxttykxttytxtty @imagine-a-fictional-boyfriend @mrsbillyrusso

If you’d like to be added (or removed from) my tag list(s) for the ever so handsome Billy Russo, just let me know and thank you again for reading! 💕💕💕 If I tagged you but you didn’t want to be, just let me know and I’ll never do it again.

[tommys-little-writing-corner]

My doctor says I’m ill and the only thing that’ll cure me is if you write something about Shang Tsung

Note: If you're ill, then my recommendation is simple--

Another Note: KIDDING!!! Love ya lots, Mango!!!

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Shang Tsung Headcanons -- A Huckster's Love

》 Just a little ramble about our favorite huckster, Shang Tsung. The little meow-meow... what went from being simple to now possibly just a whole oneshot fic in the form of bullet points. 》 Notes: Gender Neutral Reader, Typical Canon, Broke Ass Hoes, Fruitier Than Fruit Cake, Mortal Kombat 1 Spoilers Ahead-- You've Been Warned 》 Word Count: 700+ ▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂

Meeting the man himself, before he became a sorcerer thanks to Damanshi's help, was rather interesting

While Liu Kang deemed that Shang Tsung would live a life of misery, to pay for the pain he had done in previous timelines, he did not consider the possibility of someone changing what he had planned

Shang would live life begging for coin, in rags, and maybe die in the streets with no coin to his name

As Shang finished his daily beatings from the local angry villagers (with pitchforks no less), you came along to drag his worn body back to the shop-- creating a sort of companionship neither one could put a name on

Before meeting Shang, you also struggled much like he did-- no family to your name, always on the run from officials and Umgadi alike

He didn't trust you at first, hesitant on your kindness from making sure he wasn't getting beat up in his sleep or continue sleeping outside

Shang did not trust you until you both agreed on a deal-- with the two of you clearly struggling, maybe there was a way to help one another

With your skills as a thief, you could steal not only high-quality materials for Shang to use for his false medicines to give them truth-- but other high value items as well such as jewelry and books

Shang would use whatever you found and give you a portion of the money he made, since you would keep some of the valuables you've found for yourself

This was your relationship for the next few years-- two people using tricks to meet end's meet

You would both wake a little before the sun rose, preparing yourselves for the day ahead

Sometimes you'd catch Shang trying to pull his long hair back into a bun, eyes examining how his hands-- covered in small cuts and bruises-- brushed loose strands back as he looked in the small mirror the makeup box offered him

Sometime's he would watch you get ready, admiring your bare back as muscles rolled and flexed while you put on your clothes for the day-- he admired your strength and tenacity, as you admired his cleverness and deceit

You both complimented and contrasted one another, almost balanced with one another as you would head out to collect more items for Shang to use or sell and he would use his charms to take money from those who would have it

Feelings for one another did not come about until things started to become... more casual with one another

The back of your hands would briefly brush up against one another more often, mumbling apologies whenever it occurred

Sometimes, though, those "accidents" would happen more often and sometimes linger, beckoning you to try another taste of his touch-- to feel his thin hand in your own

Other times came to sleep, whenever it got too cold during the night, Shang would suggest sharing the one bed to preserve warmth the best you two could

Sometimes, when your back is turned against him, you can feel the slow and steady breathing of his lungs in the state of sleep, a sign that he was alive.

Sometimes you could feel him shiver, and if he was asleep, bring him closer to you to help with the cold or was he simply faking it for attention, hmmm??? *(eyebrow raise and wiggle)*

When feelings began to become more obvious, as did the more accidents

But you both seem to understand that something was growing, something was blossoming beyond simple companionship

How to say it in words, you didn't know. Shang didn't know either.

It was something that neither one could ignore for long

So after years of it being "business" only to friends to now... whatever this was now

Everything felt right

Even though you were not rich like the kings of old, constantly remained on the move from village to village in Outworld, occasionally beaten by villagers

At the end of the day, when the moon stood high in the dark sky, pale light shining on the carriage, you two still had one another

Tending to one another's wounds, making light jokes about what happened, reminiscing about the past

The last thing you both would always see is each other's faces as you both lied down and dimmed the candle that served as light for the small room-- tired, exhausted, but happy

This was the huckster's love, before something much grander than your own home-- your own world-- intervened

[alicedopey]

Random thought: Harald pulling you close on a cold morning, asking if you're willing to spend the day keeping each other warm under the covers. - Zombie

In Bed with the King

(gif credits to its creator)

Fandom: Vikings Pairing: Harald x (Wife) Reader Genre: Smut(-ish) Words: 614 (Drabble) Warning(s): It's a little bit smutty people so don't like it, don't read it. A/N: I wanted fluff but Harald would not cooperate so it turned naughtier than I thought. Hope you will like it @thezombieprostitute

Your eyes fluttered open as the soft hues of the morning sun lightened the royal chamber. The snowstorm that has started yesterday evening was apparently done. It was still very cold though, you thought as you slid out an arm to rub the sleep from your eyes. A faint shiver ran through your body and you quickly put your limb back under the furs, meeting the hand of your husband resting possessively on your middle. You smiled and tenderly stroked his skin, enjoying the contrast between the two of you. He grumbled but pulled you closer and kissed your neck. The tickle of his beard made you giggle and you tried to get away from him. 

“Stay still, woman. Let me enjoy my morning kisses”. His lips followed a path down your neck and along your shoulder, sending shivers of pleasure through your whole body. His hand slowly glided along your upper body and stopped on your breast before kneading it.

“Harald, we have to stop”. You whispered though you did nothing to stop him and your body even started oscillating against his. 

“Why is that, my Queen?” Harald asked between kisses, never ceasing his sweet torture. His hand left your breast to travel down your body and you found the strength to stop him just as he was about to reach your sex. 

“Because, my King.” You inhaled deeply, fighting your own lust. “We have some duties to attend.”

“No, we don’t.”

“Yes, we do.”

“No, we don’t.” He intertwined your fingers and kissed your shoulder again. “In fact, we are going to spend the day under those furs and keep each other warm.”

“Must I remind you there was a snowstorm yesterday and that our people…”

He cut you off with one of his hoarse and seductive chuckles. “Who do you take me for, woman? I’m not a heavy sleeper like you. I have been up since dawn with several of my men.” 

You let out a mock outraged scoff and managed to turn around so that you were facing him. “Really? An old man like you?”

Harald laughed heartily. He did not take any offense on this recurring banter between the two of you, especially because he only was a few years older than you.  “You did not think I was an old man last night”. He pulled you close and rubbed his nose against yours. “You even praised my stamina, if I remember correctly.”

“I admit you are insatiable.” 

“Only with you, my Queen. Only with you.” He kissed your nose tenderly. “As I was saying, my men and I checked the surroundings as much as we could. Most of us are stuck inside because of the snow. There is nothing we can do for the moment but keep each other warm. What do you say, dear Queen of mine? Shouldn’t we take advantage of this opportunity to work on our most important project: making an heir for the throne?”

His hand under the furs traveled down your body and hooked one your legs on his hip. You could feel his leaking tip against your dripping center which clenched around nothing. Letting go of your leg, he grabbed his cock and rubbed it against your cunt. A needy whimper left your lips and you slid your hand between the two of you to grab his sex and put it inside of you in a swift motion. He groaned as you let out another whimper, this time filled with want and need. Your breaths mingled as you got even closer and put your forehead against his. Your eyes met briefly, full of lust and naughty promises.

“Anything for you, my King.”

Tagging (feel free to ask to be added or removed): @naaladareia @gearhead66 @flowers-in-your-hayr @medievalfangirl @girlonfireice

[callofdudes]

Celebrating your birthday with the boys.

A/N: Guess whose birthday it is today. Definitely not mine 😉 so I'm breaking from requests for a day to give myself, and yourself, a treat. I apologize in advance for any mistakes. This was written on the day of even though I tried to start before. 😅

Celebrating your birthday with them. (Platonically)

Word Count: 3.3K

"Do you really want to see? It's a mess there." Ghost grumbled, walking the halls with Alejandro and Rudy. "I'm sure it's fine." But Rodolfo's face contorted in horror when he saw it. Gaz and Soap were messing around while the cake was sagging and there was flower everywhere.

"¿¡Qué estáis haciendo todos!? ¿¡Queréis hacer de este sitio un puto granero!?" What are you all doing!? Do you want to make this place look like a fucking barn!? Rodolfo stormed in and grabbed Soap by the collar. "Alejandro help me get them out of here."

"Si." Alejandro rushed in and pushed the two men out. "Oh but we were baking-"

"No! This is not baking! This is a disaster! You leave the baking to the professionals while you go decorate or something!"

"Rudy-"

"¡Si vuelves a entrar en esta cocina empujaré esta espátula tan lejos que no brille el sol!" If you come back into this kitchen I will shove this spatula so far the sun doesn't shine!

They had no idea what he said but he was getting louder and angrier so they quickly slipped away.

Alejandro grabbed an apron and quickly threw away the saggy cake and wiped the counter. They emptied all the bowls and got out the ingredients they really needed. "Now we do this properly." Rodolfo huffed.

Ghost stepped down from the office wall and looked at the banner across the front. He hummed softly, and then he noticed it. "The tac is almost a centimeter off."

"Good graces Ghost, leave it alone!" Soap demanded and grabbed Ghost away before he could go back again. Let's fix up the table and add the table cloth. Ghost grumbled but left the banner alone. For now.

And Price was stuck writing a birthday card since he'd been so busy with meetings as to forget.

And all of this was happening at two in the morning.

It was around 4AM that Gaz slumped against the couch and passed out. Soap was too tired to go to his room and stole a pillow to use for the floor, and Price relaxed in his desk chair. Simon was still awake so he went to check on Alejandro and Rudy who were still awake surprisingly.

They were bustling around the kitchen like a machine at work, the second he appeared Rudy turned with a spatula. "¡Cabrones, os dije que os mantuvierais fuera de la cocina o me ayudaríais!" Fuckers I told you to stay out of the kitchen or so help me! He paused. "Oh. Hi Ghost."

"Parra. How is the cake coming along?"

"Much better than before." Alejandro peeped from the back where he looked to be layering icing onto a finely cut and well cooked looking cake. "Good. They're all passed out there so…"

"Serves them right. Me and Alejandro will clean up when we're done. Thank you." Ghost nodded and started to head towards his room. He had a long day tomorrow.

Birthday's in the military were a normal thing. Usually recruits would celebrate with each other and spend the day trying to get away from their drill sergeants. But once you have been serving for a while the idea of your birthday becomes almost numb. You have bigger things to worry about than your birthday. That was you. You had a stressful year and the idea of your birthday was out the window.

You just felt like laying in bed all day. You rolled out of bed and started to slip on your loose uniform. You looked briefly at your clock and cursed yourself. You were supposed to report to lieutenant Riley for today. Which would have been an hour ago. Hopefully you could get off easily, Ghost wasn't harsh with you unless you really acted out.

You yawned and slipped out of bed and to your door. The hallway was quiet and it almost felt empty. You looked around for any noises. Usually Gaz would be clattering by the kitchen and you could hear Soap blasting his music from the shower room. But it was dead silent.

"Ok..?"

You closed the door and started to walk down the hallway when you saw Simon. You smiled, finally, a familiar face. But your smile faltered when you realized how fast he was walking. His steps were usually silent but he was making a point to announce himself. His shoulders seemed more firm than usual. And he was headed right for you.

"Ghost?"

He looked down at you downright angry. "What is you're problem? Did you think you'd actually be able to get away with it?" He growled.

"I- Ghost I don't know what you're talking about-" He grabbed your wrist and pulled you close. "Don't play games with me sergeant, it will not go over well."

"What did I do?" You looked down at Simon's grip and attempted foolishly to pull away. "Come with me. Price wants a word with you."

You gasped when he turned and started back down the hallway. "I don't know what I did! What's going on!?"

"Mhm. Tell that to Price and Laswell."

"Laswell is here!? Ghost what is going on-"

"Quiet sergeant!"

You shut your mouth and bowed your head. Guess you'd have to learn the hard way of whatever Ghost thought you were doing. But Ghost seemed very serious and you weren't going to test him with questions. Surely Price would be much more understanding.

As you walked the hall you looked around but everything was dead quiet. The kitchen was empty, other barrack doors were closed tight and not even the recruits made a noise. You felt your heart start to pump when you neared Price's office.

You just had to calm down. There was no way you could have done anything. But the way Ghost was walking he looked beyond pissed with you. So you kept your head low when Ghost opened the dark office. It was pitch black, all the lights cut and you could barely see the edge of the desk. Ghost shoved you inside and closed the door behind him.

"Ghost..?"

"You honestly thought we'd forget, didn't you?" His voice was a downright growl. You gulped. What in the hell was going on.

Ghost reached over and flicked the lights. You hissed and covered your face as Alejandro, and Rodolfo jumped out from behind the desk and Price, Gaz, Soap, and König jumped out from behind the couch. How they all fit back there must have been a miracle.

"Happy birthday!!"

Simon hugged you around the neck and smirked under his mask. "Thought we wouldn't remember?"

You blinked slowly and sighed. "So in not in trouble..?"

They all burst out into laughter and crowded around you. "The top tier acting was brought to you by Ghost- over there Alejandro and Rodolfo slaved over your cake." You briefly looked over and saw the three tier cake decorated in your favorite color fondant.

"And decorations were brought to you by us three." You looked over at König and smiled. "So when did he get here?"

"Oh he flew in yesterday when we called. He had about a four hour notice and has had no sleep." Johnny pronounced.

König drooped. "Happy birthday. Didn't want to miss it y'know?"

"Oh, guys." You felt tears in your eyes. You smiled and opened your arms. Johnny was the first one to sweep you into a warm and very tight hug. "We love you so much. Another year of awesomeness eh?" You chuckled. "If you say so, sergeant."

Price was the next one who managed to squeeze in. He wrapped you in his arms and patted your back. "I've known you for so long and yet I keep seeing you grow and grow." You held that hug for a minute before Gaz was able to hug you. Followed by König who slumped over.

"Hey big guy."

He hummed.

"Long flight?"

He nodded and bent down to drape himself against you. "I'm glad you came. It means the absolute world to me." He hummed and squeezed you tighter. And then Alejandro and Rodolfo bugged In. "Amigo!" Alejandro greeted you.

"Alejandro!" They slammed you between them and sandwiched you between them. "We are proud of you." Rodolfo whispered so the others couldn't hear. "So proud, friend." Alejandro whispered after.

They pulled away and you smiled up at Simon, who nodded softly. You turned around and smirked. "Come on! I'm not letting you off that easily!" He scoffed, but hugged you anyway. "Happy birthday." He whispered.

Soap grabbed your hand and pulled you away. "Alright! Enough of the greetings, we need to open presents- please!"

"Soap. We talked about presents after cake and games." Price spoke.

"Oh pleeeease! I really want them to see what I got for them!!"

Price rolled his eyes. "Let's ask Y/N then. Y/N, what do you want to do?"

Both men looked at you and you shrugged. "Games and cake?"

Soap slouched. "Oh come on!"

"Birthday rules son. Go get the games."

"Fine." Soap muttered and trudged off toward the closet where the games were being stashed for the time being.

You chuckled as Soap rummaged to through the closet and came back with four separate games. Twister of course, a classic around the base. Battleship, Ghost always kicked your asses. Uno, a classic Gaz game. And regular cards which Price was pretty good at in all the games. Soap was good at Twister and that was about it. He was a good sport about it until he lost battleship to Ghost 24 times in a row and now he doesn't like the game anymore. Ghost still teases him about it.

You sat down at Price's desk as Soap brought the games over and you jokingly chose to play battleship.

"No! I'm not playing! Ye 'n' ghost wi' yer glaikit radge games!"

"Oh come on John, don't be upset." You teased.

"i'll shaw ye pure upset ye twa faced birthday con. Th' lot o' ye!"

"Soap that's enough." Price said.

You only chuckled. "I think he's upset. What do you say Ghost? Are we on?"

The man uncrossed his arms and walked over to his seat. "Don't expect me to go easy on you just because it's one silly day in the month."

"Never."

Anyway. Skipping the detail, half an hour and four games in you and Ghost were 4-0… and you were about ready to cry.

"B-4!? Where the fuck did you hide this thing!!?" Ghost chuckled at your fury. "Yes."

"Wait- I hit something?"

"Yes."

"What did I hit!!?"

"I'm not going to tell you until we're finished."

"Ghost-"

"And considering my last two guesses vertical along the board were correct I'm going to guess A-6."

You whined as Ghost had sunk your last ship. "You win…"

And then you played Twister with Soap and König. Now you have a fair chance.

Price spun the dial and looked down at his paper. "Y/N, left hand red."

You reached your hand over and planted it on the closest red to you. You were stretched out almost in a plank with Soap hunched over diagonally. König was off in the corner stretched out comfortably between yellow, yellow, blue and green. Curse his long limbs.

"How are you doing down there? Feel like giving up?" Soap teased.

"In your dreams!" You cursed back.

Price spun again. This time it landed on red. "König, right hand to red." König moved and was now converging on Soap and your two person tower.

"Soap. Left foot green."

The man complied and shuffled awkwardly to the closest spot.

"Y/N. Right foot yellow." You groaned as you were now almost starfished across the board.

"You look mighty comfy over there!” you yelled at König who still looked very peaceful. "Yes. I am."

Price spun and sighed. "König, left hand Yellow." König winced. His feet were already set on yellow. He stretched his hand over toward Soap and slowly crawled his way further up the board. Your arms were shaking by the time König was almost trying to maneuver on top of you two as well.

"König, right hand to green."

König tried to move but his feet slipped from under him on the mat and he came crashing down on top of you two. You cried when Soap plummeted on top of you, followed by an even heavier König.

"König!!! Off! Off! OFFFFF!!!"

"Sorry! Sorry! Sorry!" König rolled off and rushed to help the two of you. Soap groaned. "You're heavy dude…" Once Soap was off of you König hesitantly reached to help you. But you were now a flattened starfish.

"Just leave me here for a bit."

And so you watched from the floor as the boys all played Go Fish.

Rodolfo ended up winning.

Once you'd sufficiently recovered you played Uno. You played four rounds in which Alejandro won, then you, then Gaz, then Price…

"Ghost! You're not making this easy!" You pleaded with your game partner who frowned at you before silently trying to reinact his game card. "Princess?? Royalty??" He pointed and nodded, meaning you were close. "Uhh, long hair- stick??" Ghost smacked his forehead. He tried again and made a small shape with his hand. "Mushroom?? Ghost what are you talking about???"

Next to you Rodolfo was rereading his card before looking back up at Alejandro. He raised his hands high and spread his arms. "Oh! Oh! I know what you're talking about!" Alejandro gasped. "The statue of the Redeemer!" Rodolfo jumped, able to break his silence. "Yes! Yes!"

You slumped. "That's not fair! You guys are like twins! Ghost, what were you?"

"Princess Peach. Gosh, you're stupid."

"How was I supposed to know!? Price, get over here you're my new partner." The man stood from his chair and placed down his coffee. "Alright, give me a card, König, Soap, you two are up next."

Price looked down at the card and sighed. When Soap and König were ready he got down on his knees and looked up at you with the best eyes he could.

"Oh! Puppy?"

"Yes!!" You cheered when he stood.

"How did you get that!?" Ghost scoffed. "I'm starting to think you're just bias."

"König, you try." Price urged. The taller man sighed but grabbed a card from the box. He looked down at it and whined. But fine.

He stood in front of you while Ghost and Soap teamed up. Soap started to make motions and the two of you got to guessing.

König stood tall and brought one arm up above his head and the other to his side at an angle.

"Uhh…" You gaped.

He sighed and started to move the head to his side around him. "Oh! Clock?" König nodded but he kept going. It needed to be specific. "Grandfather clock?" König shook his head. He tapped the top of his head and pointed upward.

"Oh! A big clock!"

He nodded. "Ok… what big clock? Is it famous?" He nodded. "Oooh, ok… where is this clock?"

König bounced. He took a new position and got down on his knees and pointed above him. "What??" You looked over at Soap who was trying to show he was riding a bicycle while Ghost just sat there utterly defeated by the sight.

You looked back at König who was standing and pretended to open a door. He stepped into that door and pressed his knuckles to the side of his face with his thumb and pinky out.

"Phone- phone booth?" He nodded.

"What does that have to do with the clock??"

König slumped against. He started to spell words by dragging his fingers through the air. R.E.D

"Red? The phone booth is red?"

He nodded.

"Red phone booth and clock??? Oh! Big Ben in London!"

"Yes! Thank goodness!" König gasped.

"Oh finally."

Soap sighed. "I was on a bicycle." He confessed.

"Bicycle?? You looked like you were having a stroke sergeant!"

"Alright everyone. Cake and presents." Price motioned over to the table where Rodolfo, Alejandro, Gaz and he were sitting.

You took your seat at the head of table where Soap snapped a party hat onto your head and Simon brandished one of his lesser valuable knives. "I can't believe such a a blade is demoted to this." He grumbled and cut you a piece of the top.

Your smile grew so wide when you saw the inside and how your favorite fruit had stained the compote.

"Compliments to the baker's: Rodolfo and Alejandro worked all night. It originally was going to be made by Gaz and Soap but…" you laughed. "I wouldn't eat that If it was my last meal!"

Ghost chuckled. "Told you both."

König sat next to you and nudged a small box toward you with a shy gaze. "For later, ok?" You nodded and tucked the present into your pocket.

The cake was wonderful. Those two were as good of bakers as they were cooks.

You all told jokes and talked as you are until presents went around. Ghost went first, naturally because that's how it always went. He slid over the package and you were surprised by how nice it was wrapped. When you opened it you weren't surprised to see a throwing knife. The blade end was jagged and the tip was freshly sharpened. On the handle your initials had been carved into it. "Thank you, Ghost. As lovely as always." He shrugged it off but was secretly happy you loved it. Even if you loved the knife he got you for Thanksgiving, and Christmas, and Easter, and your last birthday. You loved each one.

Soap was next to shove his gift. I'm your face and practically squirming when you opened it.

"Soap…" You looked at the giant metal briefcase with a large WARNING label on it, and a CAUTION label underneath it. "I'm scared to ask…"

Soap squealed. "It's an experiment kit. You can make your own concocted explosions!!"

You blinked. "Thanks. I guess." Soap giggled and sat back down. You were about to move on when you saw Soap still looking at you expectantly. "Yes Soap. I will let you use it. ONCE!"

"Yeeeesss!"

Gaz got you a shirt from your favorite band, Alejandro got you a chain necklace and Rodolfo gave you a collage of several photos you took during your time in Mexico with them.

"Thank you guys. These are wonderful."

Price got you more comic books from your favorite series since he's always hearing you talk about how you have to read the same ones over and over again, unable to leave base to get more until your next leave.

You all hung out for a while longer until Price and Ghost were ultimately called away to tend to their duties. You hung out with the others until it was getting late.

"Well, this was amazing." You yawned. "But I should be getting to bed, it's late and I have training in the morning." They all waved you off to bed with your new gifts.

You were walking down the quiet hallway, smiling all the way as you thought about what a great day you'd had. You placed your gifts safely in their assorted places and flopped into bed. Something knocked into your hip and you gasped in pain. You pulled the thing out of your pocket and looked down at the small package. König's gift. He usually didn't like you opening his gifts in front of others.

You smiled and pulled off the plain wrapping and twine. It was a little more with the bright orange words "Thanks for being my best friend!" On it. You chuckled and opened it. Inside was a small Polaroid photo of your first mission with him.

You had been downed and he was forced to carry you on his back to the helicopter with a bad knee. You were both bloody and covered in dirt. Your clothes were ripped but you were smiling bright and you could see the excitement in his eyes. You were on his shoulders and both of you were flexing your muscles, back safely on base.

You held the photo to your chest and felt a tear slip down your cheek. You really did have amazing friends.

[sequinsmile-x]

Our Great Divide - Chapter 5: The Blood and Bruise, the Curses and Cries

It's what they'd hoped would happen for years. For close to a decade it's what they would talk about late at night whilst snuggled up in bed together, quiet voices whispering about a life where Jack and Haley came back, where Jack could meet his siblings and their family would finally feel complete. Now it was finally happening, Emily had a pit in her stomach. A heavy weight made of fear and guilt as she worried that this could actually be the thing that tore them apart.

A Foyet Arc AU

-x-

Hi friends <3

I continue to be blown away by the love for this fic, thank you so so much. I am really enjoying writing this fic and it means so much that you're enjoying reading it too <3

As always, let me know what you think of this chapter !

-x-

Warnings: Full list of warnings can be found on the Master List

Words: 4.1k

Read over on Ao3, or below the cut

A familiar sense of dread settles over her as they step into the park, the Capitol building looming over them from a distance, a flash of a memory from a previous life briefly taking over as they walk past the round picnic tables. Abandoned coffee cups a talisman from her past, the smell of the sunscreen she’d dutifully rubbed into the kid's skin briefly replaced by cigar smoke and whiskey before she feels a small hand on her thigh. She looks down at Stella, the little girl smiling as she opens her arms wide. 

“Mama - up.”

Emily leans down to pick her up and stamps a kiss against her temple as she settles her youngest on her hip, “Mama’s got you, baby,” she says, grateful for the weight of her little girl in her arms and against her chest. Stella curls one of her hands into Emily’s hair and the other into the neckline of her shirt. “You excited to meet Jack?” 

Stella nods, “We can go on the swings.” 

She chuckles and kisses the toddler's head, her sweet innocence a balm on her simmering nerves, a much-needed reminder of all the good in the world. That her life hadn’t ended as a result of the conversation she’d had with Ian just a few feet away, “Yeah we can,” she says as she starts to walk again, “I bet if you ask Daddy nicely he’ll push you.” She smiles softly as she makes it to where Aaron and the boys had stopped to wait for them, “Sorry,” she directs at her husband, “Someone decided she didn’t want to walk anymore.” 

“No need to apologise,” Aaron says, his hand on her lower back as they walk deeper into the park as a family, “Everything okay?” 

She’d never told him what significance this place held for her, not wanting to take the shine off the memories he had here with Jack. The first time he’d brought her here, on Jack’s first birthday after they got together, it had taken her aback. The sky a burning orange fading into black, the streetlights slowly coming on, and the sense of danger in the air that she’d always associate with this place. She’d almost told him, almost admitted why she’d faltered when he suggested sitting at a picnic table with the hot chocolates they’d brought with them, but she’d stopped herself. His eyes golden in the setting sun, happiness at having this thin thread of connection to his son reflecting back at her, and she knew she couldn’t take that from him. 

“Everything’s fine,” she says, smiling as Hugo and Leo walk just a few paces in front of them hand in hand, both of them giggling as they talk excitedly to each other. She looks up at Aaron and sees the barely hidden anxiety making his body tight. She adjusts her hold on Stella so she is holding her with one arm and sneaks the other hand into his, linking their fingers together and squeezing, “Are you okay?” 

He clears his throat and nods, “Yeah, I’m…” he drifts off and squeezes her hand back, saying everything he couldn’t find the words for with the press of his skin against hers, “It’s a big day.” 

It was everything he’d spent years hoping for. The shine never coming off of the dream that one day he’d get his eldest back, that his children would all be together and his family would finally be whole. Now it was here, it was more difficult than he’d imagined. There hadn’t been any great reunion. No movie worthy moment where it felt like no time had passed as they fell into having what they always should have had. He felt naive that he’d expected it, embarrassment filling his lungs as he actively ignored everything he knew about people and their emotions because just once he’d wanted it to be easy. 

“I know, honey,” she says, “But remember what we said - just one step at a time.” She adds, and he nods in agreement and his shoulders tense when he sees Haley and Jack sitting next to each other on a bench, their nerves obvious even across the distance still between them. 

“That’s Jack!” Stella exclaims, loud enough that Haley and Jack must hear her, their attention pulled towards the family of five as they remain sitting on the bench. 

“That’s right, Princess,” Aaron says, running his fingers through the girl's dark hair, “That’s Jack.” 

The introductions are a little awkward, each of the kids staring wide-eyed at the brother they’d always known about as he looked back at the siblings he’d only known about for a week. They all talk as a group for a while, but she watches as the kids get bored, their attention spans giving out one by one. She suggests that they go to the swings, and Aaron says he’ll take them, his delight at having all his children in one place clear despite the slight awkwardness that remains. 

“Jack can push me on the swings,” Stella demands, standing up and offering the teenager her hand, a look of insistence on her face that no one had ever been able to say no to. It eases something in Emily’s chest when she watches Jack smile, a softness to it she recognised from her sons, and he nods, standing up and taking the girl's small hand. 

“Okay, Stell,” Jack says, the nickname slipping free easily, “I’ll push you.” 

She watches as they walk away, Jack and Stella hand in hand, Aaron on the other side of them and Hugo and Leo just ahead of them. It’s only when they are halfway to the swings Emily realises she’s alone with Haley, and she offers her a tight smile. 

“He always wanted a little sister, you know,” Haley says, her smile sad as Emily furrows her brow, “He spent years asking me for one. Eventually, he stopped but…” she clears her throat, “I never intended for him to be an only child.” She says, not telling Emily anything new. Aaron had told her once that he and Haley had always planned on at least having two children since they’d both grown up with a sibling, but life had other plans. It took them a long time to conceive Jack, and by the time he was old enough for them to consider trying again things were already falling apart, their marriage crumbling around them, the dust of it still clinging to his jacket when he showed up on Emily’s doorstep all those years ago asking her to go on one more case. “I didn’t intend for a lot of things.” 

Emily sighs, “Haley-”

“I really wish I could hate you for it, you know?” She says, finally pulling her gaze away from where Aaron and the children were playing, “I wish I could hate the fact you got to have a family that stayed together, or that Aaron retired for you and your kids,” she shakes her head, her sigh heavy and painful as it escapes her lungs, “But it’s not anymore your fault than it is his. Or mine,” she presses her lips together and looks over, smiling at the sight of Jack carefully pushing Stella on the swing, Hugo doing the same with Leo on the swing next to them, already copying his older brother intently, “It isn’t even Aaron’s fault,” she blows out a shaky breath, “It would be a whole lot easier if it was.” 

Emily feels a flash of defensiveness flare in her lungs, burning hot and fast as she has to swallow it down. She’d watched him blame himself for years, lament why he hadn’t taken the deal that would have saved them all this heartache. Her gentle assurances that he wouldn’t be the man she loved, who Haley had loved, if he had taken the deal doing nothing to make him feel better. She knows Haley is blameless in this too, that her anger and desire to pin it all on something was a natural reaction to what she’d been through, and Emily once again finds herself wondering when it all got so complicated. 

“When Hugo was about 3 months old I was driving with him in the car and we got rear-ended,” she says, swallowing thickly as she looks over at the now 7-year-old, “It was at a traffic light, low collision. We weren’t even hurt. But…” she blows out a shaky breath, “For a moment, I thought it was Foyet. I thought he’d found us and that it was all over,” she presses her lips together and looks back at Haley, “I didn’t even have my gun with me because I was just…out with my son. Turns out it was just some idiot who was looking at his phone instead of paying attention to the fact there was a red light.” 

Haley frowns at her, “Why are you telling me this?” 

Emily smiles tightly, “Because you might be looking at where we are now and think we’ve always had it easy. But when I first found out I was pregnant with Hugo we…” she closes her eyes, memories from that time hitting her with full force, “We were terrified.” 

“He wasn’t planned?” 

She shakes her head, “No. We always said we wouldn’t have kids, Aaron didn’t want to tempt Foyet into anything, and I…I loved him enough that I was willing to give up the idea of something I was never sure I’d get to have anyway.” 

Haley hums thoughtfully, “And then you got pregnant.” 

Emily laughs humourlessly, “Yeah. Then I got pregnant,” she looks at her children again, Stella now in Aaron’s arms as Jack pushes Hugo on the swings, “And now I can’t imagine life without them.” 

“And Leo and Stella?”

The question feels intrusive in a way she knows is more about her feelings than Haley’s, the lingering guilt that her firstborn hadn’t been planned but her other two had been something she’d never been able to shake off, “We planned to have them,” she says, choosing her next few words as carefully as she can, “We decided in the end, after Foyet didn’t come out of the woodwork, that we didn’t want to live in fear anymore. We considered calling the US Marshalls, asking them to bring you both home but…” 

“You didn’t know if that would be what would bring Foyet back.” 

Emily nods as Haley finishes her sentence for her, “Yeah. If only we knew then what we know now.” 

Haley laughs humourlessly and nods, “Does it make me a bad person that I hope he suffered?” 

Emily smiles and shakes her head, “If it does, I guess we’re both bad people.”

They share a smile, their children's laughter echoing in the distance, and for the first time since they met in her office, Emily thinks things might just be okay.

___

She sighs contentedly as she walks into the kitchen, a smile washing over her face as she watches Aaron load the last of the dishes into the dishwasher. 

“The kids all asleep?” He asks and she nods, leaning her hip against the kitchen counter. 

“Leo scammed a second story out of me. As always.” 

He chuckles and steps towards the cabinet to get out two wine glasses, “That boy has you wrapped around his little finger.” 

She hums, knowing she can’t argue, and she narrows her eyes at him, “Says the guy who lets Stella paint his nails.” 

He smiles and pulls a bottle of red from the wine rack to pour them both a glass, “God help us both when they become teenagers.” 

She chuckles and slips onto one of the stools at the breakfast bar, “Today went well. Leo couldn’t stop talking about his cool new ‘even bigger’ brother.”

He nods and smiles, an ease to it that makes her heart sing, “Yeah. Jack was…” he shakes his head, his smile trembling, “He’s amazing, Em.” His voice cracks and she reaches over the counter and places her hand over his, rubbing her thumb back and forth over the heel of his hand, “Haley’s done a great job with him.”

She can hear the guilt and regret dripping from his voice and it makes her ache, “He’s got your smile,” she says, smiling when he does, “It’s the same as the boys.” 

He’d seen it too. The similarities between Jack, Hugo and Leo had been as incredible to see as they had been painful. Everything he’d remembered about his son had been there, but there had been other things too. Key parts of his eldest’s personality that Aaron couldn’t remember if he’d forgotten over the years or if they were new, things that had developed in the long time they’d been apart. 

“I was thinking,” he says, passing her one of the glasses of wine, “Maybe he should come over and spend time with us and the kids here at the house.” 

“That sounds good,” she replies, “I could take some time off work, make sure I’m here.” 

He nods, “We could find out what kind of movies he likes, rent a couple for when the kids go to bed. We’ll have to make up one of the spare rooms for him-”

“You want him to stay over already?” She asks, furrowing her brow, anxiety blooming in her chest, “Are you sure we’re there yet?” 

He frowns, his jaw visibly tight, “Why wouldn’t we be?” 

She sighs, her eyes drifting shut for a moment before she looks up at him, “Honey, I’m so glad today went well, I really am, but we’ve still got to do this one step at a time. He hasn’t even been here yet. We’ve got to ease into all of this.” 

He knows she doesn’t deserve the anger he feels swell in his gut, the feeling he’d repressed since they found out Foyet was dead finally growing from where it had planted. “He’s my son.” 

“I know that,” she replies, pulling her hand back from his, “But we’ve got to think about our children too. This is their home, this is where they feel safe and I don’t want to take that from them.” 

“What about their brother won’t make them feel safe?” He insists, his tone one he rarely used with her, “You said yourself they had a good day.” 

She sighs again, desperate to keep her cool, to keep level-headed so this didn’t descend into an argument, “They did. But Aaron, he’s still a stranger to them-”

“He’s not a stranger-”

“But honey, he is. And I know that’s hard. I know it’s not what you want to hear, but this morning they’d never even met. And asking him to walk into a home full of pictures of his siblings he’s only known about for a week getting everything he didn’t isn’t fair on him either.” 

He knows he shouldn’t say it, he knows he’s wrong even before he does, but he can’t stop himself. His famous control torn to shreds by the knowledge that it didn’t have to be this way, that the man he’d let keep him away from his son hadn’t been a threat in years. It’s worn down by the fact he could have had a relationship with Jack and that Jack could have known his brothers and sister their entire lives. 

Mostly, when he looks back on it later, he’s sure he says it because he selfishly knows she’ll forgive him. That she loves him even at his worst, and right now that was what he needed. 

“It’s almost like you’d be happier if they’d never come back.” 

She sucks in a breath, her chest aching with it as her lungs fill with grief instead. Her lips pressed together as her cheeks feel warm with anger despite the colour draining out of them. 

“You can’t honestly believe that,” she says eventually, grateful that her voice doesn’t shake, and she stares at him, daring him to say something, anything, else, but she shakes her head when he remains silent, his gaze fixed on the granite worktop between them. She huffs out a bitter laugh and stands up, “I’m going to bed.” 

He sighs, the fight draining out of him, “Em-”

“No,” she says, turning to look at him, “You don’t get to accuse me of something like that and just…pretend you didn’t. I have spent years of my life hoping we’d have exactly this. I have spent years making sure you keep your memories of your son alive, sometimes to my own detriment so you don’t get to-” she’s cut off as her phone rings from her pocket and she pulls it out, sighing when she sees Penelope’s name on the screen. She blows out a breath and wipes a stray tear from her cheek before she turns away from her husband as she answers, “Pen, Hi.” 

“Sorry to call you so late, Peaches. But we’ve had an urgent request from Bonners Ferry, Idaho. They want us there by morning.” 

Emily clenches her teeth, not sure if she is grateful or not for the interruption and she nods even though Penelope can’t see her, “Okay, call the others. We’ll meet at the jet in 90 minutes.” She exchanges goodbyes with Penelope and hangs up, giving herself a moment before she turns back to look at Aaron, “I’ve got to go - we’ve got a case.” 

“Emily-”

“I should go,” she says, “I’ll go give the kids a kiss, but can you tell them I love them in the morning?” 

He steps towards her, his heart aching as she steps back, and he knows he has no one else to blame, “Of course I will,” he says, “I love you, sweetheart.” 

She presses her lips together and she nods before she leaves the kitchen, ignoring the itch in her palms to step towards him and hug him, to say their usual goodbyes before she leaves for work. 

“Yeah,” she replies, smiling tightly at him, “I know.” 

___

June 2013

As he runs into the emergency room, he desperately tries not to think about the fact this is the same hospital where Hugo had been born just three months ago. 

He’d spoken to Emily on the phone, she’d told him they were okay, that the paramedics had insisted they came to the hospital just to be checked over, but he needs to see her. Needs to see them to believe it, to know that history wasn’t repeating itself. 

His first thought had been Foyet. The man's taunting smile flashing in his eyes whenever he blinked and the smell of blood filling his senses the moment Emily told him they’d been in an accident, a car slamming into the back of hers as she sat at a traffic light. The shake to her voice let him know that she’d made the same leap at first, that she’d thought she was stuck on a mostly empty street as she drove around to try to get Hugo to sleep, a last-ditch attempt on what had been a long evening of trying to soothe him. 

He shouts her and Hugo’s name at the slightly startled nurse on the reception desk, and she points him in the direction of a side room, a small smile on her face that lets him know Emily likely warned her that he’d be a mess. 

The relief hits him like a wave, almost knocking him off his feet, when he steps into the room and finds Emily sitting on the bed, Hugo asleep in her arms, her smile soft and reassuring despite a slight shake to it as she looks up at him, “Hi.” 

“Hi,” he sighs, walking over and pulling them into a fierce hug, only remembering to soften it as he holds them close, the press of his son against his chest soothing some more of the tension there, “Are you both okay? What happened?” 

“We’re both fine. I wouldn’t have even come here if it had just been me,” she admits against his skin, kissing his cheek as she pulls back, shifting along the bed just enough to make room for him, tapping the space next to her to encourage him to sit with them, “Some asshole was texting and didn’t realise the light had turned red.” 

He growls, the sound passing from his chest to hers as he pulls her closer, “If I’d been there…”

“Don’t worry honey,” she says, kissing his cheek again, “I gave him a piece of my mind,” she smiles, “If Hugo was older we might have to worry about his first word being one of the many curse words I used.” 

He sighs lovingly, “Em.” 

“It’s fine,” she says, passing the baby over to him, her smile getting wider as he holds Hugo with such reverence it makes her ache, makes her wish they could do this again - that her only chance of motherhood wouldn’t be a happy accident, “Most of them weren’t even in English,” she rests her head against his shoulder, reaching out to run her fingers over Hugo’s dark hair as she looks up at Aaron, the tightness in his shoulders still obvious, “Are you okay?” 

He blows out a breath and drops a kiss on the top of Hugo’s head, taking a moment to breathe him in, “When you first said you’d been in an accident…I thought it was him.” 

He doesn’t need to say anything else, to clarify who he is speaking about, and she sighs, her lips pressed together as she nods, “Me too,” she admits, “It’s the first thing I thought,” she pulls back to look at him properly, “I was so mad at myself for not having my gun with me to protect us,” she shakes her head and runs her fingers through Aaron’s hair, “I was just…driving my son around to make him fall asleep and all of a sudden I thought it was all over,” she clears her throat, “And then when I saw it was just this…kid, he couldn’t have been older than 18, tripping over his apology with his phone still in his hand…I lost it.” 

“I should never have let you go by yourself.”

“Hey, no,” she says, cupping his cheek and making him look at her, “Don’t do that. We take it in turns. We always have,” she smiles as she looks down at Hugo, “One of us needs to be at home to clean up the mess our home has become because of this one.” 

He chokes on a laugh, “I didn’t make as much progress as I would have liked.” 

She smiles and presses her forehead against his, “I think I can let it slide this time.” 

He kisses her, and anything he was going to say is cut off by Hugo crying, his face screwed up in displeasure as they both look down at him, “Sorry, buddy. I know it must be disappointing to fall asleep in Mommy’s arms and wake up in mine.” 

Emily rolls her eyes at him and takes Hugo back from him, “You’re just hungry, huh sweet boy?” She says, adjusting her shirt so she can start to feed him, “Once we’re done we can head home. Hopefully, he'll fall asleep again in the car otherwise we’re in for a long night.” 

“The doctor said you’re okay to leave?” 

She nods, looking up from Hugo, “We were just waiting for you to get here. We’re absolutely fine. I promise.” 

He smiles tightly and places his hand on her leg, squeezing it just above her knee joint, and she’s not sure which one of them he’s trying to reassure, “We’re never going to be free of him, are we?” 

She sighs sadly, “One day we will be honey,” she says, looking down at Hugo and smiling, the comfort she found in the little boy, in the innocence she’d spend her whole life protecting, washing over her, “We’ll find him, or he’ll make a mistake and we won’t worry about him being around every corner. We’ll get Jack and Haley back and things will be better.” 

“You really believe that?” 

She nods, “I have to.”

Aaron leans in to kiss her, hoping some of her hope is passed to him by the press of her lips against his, “I love you.” 

She kisses him before she rests her forehead against his, “I love you too.” 

[rainintheevening]

She expects them to feel different, after three months, but it's a different 'different' from what she was expecting, though if she were honest, she wouldn't be able to say exactly what she was expecting.

She enjoys the train ride through the country, through the bare trees and dark cold earth, and she can relax a little against the carriage window, close her weary eyes and rest. Then the train spits her out into the cold air onto a tiny country platform, and there are her children! Rushing at her, Lucy in the lead as she would have expected, and she drops to her knees to take the full force of Lucy's onslaught in her heart and her arms.

"Mummy!" Lucy cries into her collar, and Helen's vision blurs. She blinks it back, looks up at Susan and Edmund standing over her, both smiling, Susan on the verge of tears.

When she stands, Lucy still clinging to her side like a limpet, there is more hugging and kissing, and she is surprised, but far more grateful, for Ed’s tight squeeze and kiss to her cheek. Susan clutches her tightly, and there are a few tears on her part as well.

"Where’s Peter?" Helen asks at last, turning this way and that to search for her eldest, notes both Edmund and her luggage have also disappeared.

"Oh, he's with Fee and the carriage," Lucy says, pulling out a handkerchief to dry her face, and smiling brightly.

And when they step down to the roadway there is a two-wheeled cart and a grey horse, and Peter holding its head, half-turned to speak with Edmund who stands close beside, and then Peter looks up and meets her gaze, and he smiles so bright it's as if the sun has come out. She doesn't miss how he pushes the reins into Edmund's hands before he steps forward to hug her, and he is... taller? Straighter, she can feel strength and muscle in the arms that wrap tight around her, and she lays her head on his shoulder, just for a moment, closes her eyes.

"Alright, Mother?" Peter says, soft, exactly the way Richard always did, and she smiles into his collar.

"Quite," she says, pulling back to kiss his cold-pinked cheek, and she finds she means it.

"Perhaps we should be off?" Edmund suggests. "Don't need Mum getting off on the wrong foot with the MacCready by letting her tea get cold," he adds as they all look at him.

Peter laughs. "Always thinking with your stomach, Ed," and Helen braces herself for the snap, for the offense and the glares and the barbed exchange.

"Well, someone's got to," Ed grins back, and briefly something glows in the chill air between them, something bright and warm, and Helen does not quite dare to relax, but she thinks she might be able to. "If we left everything to you lot," Edmund goes on, "it would nothing but swords and arrows and..."—a glance at Lucy, who is being swung up into the cart in one smooth motion by Peter—"flowers."

"What about hunting?" Susan says, climbing up quite gracefully with Peter's assistance. "Good shooting can make for a good meal."

"And swords can be useful to cut things up," Lucy pipes up, grinning down at Helen, who... does not quite understand.

"Yes, like the bread and butter," Peter says, laughing a little, as he turns to offer his mother a gloved hand. "Hush now, you lot, and we'll get Mother and Ed home for tea before one freezes and the other gets sulky."

"Hey!" Ed yelps, but again he is grinning, and as Helen settles herself in the back of the cart, Lucy squeezing in tight against her side, Susan smiling across at her, the joy and happiness in the air is thicker than the clouds their breath makes, and she sighs, from somewhere deep, and something done up very, very tightly inside her loosens.

She misses whatever else Peter has been saying as he climbs up onto the seat, blurting out, "Oh, Peter. You're driving?"

He smiles over his shoulder, pleased and soft into the face of her embarrassment over stating the obvious. "I've been doing a lot of it lately."

"He does almost all the shopping in the village now," Susan says proudly.

"Got on the good side of the MacCready, so he wouldn't race those farm boys in Kitchers Lane like I suggested," Ed grumbles.

"This isn't a chariot in Rome," Peter says, shaking his head, all exasperated affection. He clicks his tongue. "Chirrup, Fee."

Peter's comment sparks a lively retelling of Ben-Hur, which the children have apparently been reading with Professor Kirke as part of their lessons, peppered with many other comments about the mansion, the Professor, and its other inhabitants. Edmund settles in beside Susan, who wraps an arm around his shoulders, and Helen's stare lingers on them, on their new-found closeness.

Lucy is talking fast, and Helen strokes a hand over her youngest daughter's bare head, finally noticing— "Oh Lucy, your hair has gotten so long!"

Lucy blushes, reaches up to her half-crown of braids, an intricate thing which Helen has never seen before. "I like it long. Not too long of course, never as long as Susan had–"

"Look, I know it's not the most practical," Susan interrupts, "but it can be very pretty. Perhaps someday I'll grow mine as long as my waist."

"Why are girls always thinking about their hair?" Edmund rolls his eyes.

"Why are boys always thinking about their stomachs?"

"Well, an army marches on its stomach, not its head."

"Stop it you two," Peter says over his shoulder, calm, firm, and they leave off their argument at once. "Mum's here, and we want to give her the nicest Christmas she's ever had."

"Ooh, yes!" Lucy bounces suddenly, face lighting up. "Professor Kirke says we can go out into the woods to pick an enormous Christmas tree, and we'll all decorate it–"

"And Ivy told me the MacCready has been saving on sugar," Edmund chimes in, "so we'll have sugar biscuits and plum pudding and even a chocolate cake, she thinks."

"And the Professor said we'll have goose from the farmer Adams," Peter says over his shoulder.

"It‐ it all sounds absolutely delightful." Helen tries to keep the tremble out of her voice, but doesn't quite succeed, judging by the way Susan's smile goes soft, and Lucy squeezes her hand.

The air is crisp and cold, smelling of damp earth and leaf mould, and her children are all smiling, and the pale grey sky is quiet, there are birds chattering in the trees they pass, horses graze in a field, there are no explosions, no planes, no ground shaking under her as she huddles in the dark, and she has to swallow very hard, she would much rather not cry in front of her children...

In the moment of quiet as she bows her head, and grips Lucy's hand very tight, she hears Peter stop humming, and begin to sing.

Venite adoremus, he sings.

Venite adoremus... Susan joins in at once, and then they are all singing around her, voices rising in the December air, joyful and trumphant.

Venite adoremus

Dominum

Helen closes her eyes as her children sing on into the next verse, keeping time with the horse's trot, and the tears that slide down her cheeks are warm.

Lucy stops singing just long enough to press a handkerchief into her mother's hand, smiling up with a whispered, "You need it more than I do."

Magic, she thinks in a bewildered way, it's like magic, all this. Or perhaps even something holy, whatever it is that hangs in the air with their breath, and brightens the browns and dark greens and greys of the countryside, when she looks up from wiping her eyes.

She joins in at last, a little tremulous, but by the fourth verse, she is adding harmonies over Susan's, and they finish 'Adeste Fideles' wish something akin to a shout, a cry of hope and determination that rings through the woods they're passing, and makes the animals lift their heads.

Peter starts in on another before they've had time to draw breath, 'Hark the Harald Angels Sing', and so they ride singing all the rest of the way to the Professor's house, singing in the light and joy of Christmastide, even as evening shadows fall around them.

They are breathless and laughing as Fee slows to a walk, and they come up to the grand old house, spilling golden light into the night, and Helen Pevensie thinks that perhaps she should have hoped for different, rather than expected it, because different can be good, and this... oh, this is truly good.

[echantedtoon]

In The Moon's Shadow (Yandere Kokushibo x Reader) Ch6 My Name

(Warning: Kokushibo threatens someone. Y/n gets a cut on her hand. Mentioning of scars on her hands. Mentioning of discrimination against demons.

The patterns for the candles Kokushibo wants is linked below. Pics not mine, they're all found on Pinterest:

Pale White-Blue blueberry scented Candle:

https://pin.it/68rfj8GYM

Green mint scented Candle:

https://pin.it/1H0fAWex8

Pink cherry blossom scented candle:

https://pin.it/62SIvvgnP

Baby blue violet scented candle:

https://pin.it/1uhbbKt9l

White vanilla scented candle:

https://pin.it/ELGQDvXq9

Beige peach scented candle:

https://pin.it/65y6gUwD0

"He was real."

"I KNOW THAT! STOP RUBBING IT IN MY FACE!!"

"I'm not-"

"DON'T TALK BACK TO ME!!"

You sighed and only rolled your eyes before just going back to carving small lemon scented soap into a sun. A few more of your little soaps had been bought since the mysterious samurai had finally left nearly three weeks ago now. A feeling of relief flooded you after that for one because finally the demon was gone, and because he had showed up on time proving to your boss that you'd been right all along. Since that day  things were awkward and oddly quiet around work with your boss only speaking to you about work related things..Until you decided to finally address the elephant in the room and quietly brought up the man, only for her to snap back to her old self again and bark orders. She muttered to herself now not looking at you and busing herself by dusting off the lower shelves. 

It certainly had been an experience.

You had never expected to run into a demon. You never expected to be paid in gold. And you certainly wasn't expecting to ever see him again after this. After all why would he even come back here? He had gotten what he wanted from you and didn't need anything else if he was passing through to his brother's engagement party then there really wasn't any reason for him to come back. He stayed around kong enough anyways. He paid, he took what he wanted, and then he left. Nothing more, nothing less. Life resumed as usual as soon as he left. Your regular local customers came and went. You smiled at people and waved at them. It was as peaceful as it had been before you met the demon.. Although you had forgotten his name. He only said it once and the situation had been overwhelming enough for you to not focus on that small detail.

However life went on as normal.

You weren't sure what to do with the gold you'd gotten so for now you put it in a small hiding spot in your home for safe keeping. Never knew when an emergency might pop up. For now you were content with just going about your life and carving your cute little soap sculptures. A sun hadn't been one you were planning on carving but you were reminded of the red candle you carved the sun on when you saw your boss making more of them. This particular soap bar was yellow, so why not carve it into a sun? You got halfway done that particular day and you weren't in any hurry.  It could be worked on more tomorrow.

"I want you to meet someone for me. Please."

Well....That was certainly something you weren't expecting this morning.

You had just arrived back to work that morning, your boss requested you cook for her which you obliged. It wasn't out of the ordinary for her to request you to do things like her laundry or cooking. And you had just grabbed the broom to start sweeping the front again. However you had looked up briefly hearing the familiar shuffling footsteps of your boss as she came in. At the time you didn't pay her too much mind other than saying good morning but when she spoke that sentence you were so taken aback you ended up silently staring at her. Did ...Did your boss just say please? YOUR boss? To YOU of all people?! You stared at her for what must've been forever before she rolled her eyes and sighed.

"I need you to make a delivery for me," she clarified holding up a box covered by a cloth. The fain scent of food came from inside. 

...oh..OH. A delivery. Of course it was involving something work related. Silently you leaned the broom against a shelf and reached out to take it from her. ".. Isn't this the good I made for you just a little while ago?"

"Yes, but it doesn't matter. I need you to take it to my grandson." She waved you off as you blinked confused before pointing towards the door. "He lives on the street just behind my home. You can't miss it. It's the only home with a bush next to it."

You weren't sure what to think about this. She wanted you to make her food only to go give it to her grandson?? If she wanted you to cook some food for her grandson then why didn't she just ask you to cook for him in the beginning? Instead of arguing with her you just decided to take it from her. 

"Right...Is there any reason why he wanted this?"

"He's busy working and I simply promised to send over food to him. He already knows you're making it for him."

You slowly nodded. "Alright."

Strange but nothing too out of the ordinary. In fact you found it kinda sweet she'd care about her grandson like that. So you were off. Carrying the small bento box wrapped up in your hands and you slipped between two houses to make it quicker. After all it was just the street right behind your boss's house. You popped right out and stopped in the middle of the dirt road. Scanning your eyes around, you easily spotted a house with a bush by its door just two homes away from you. It took no time at all for you to walk on over, hop up the steps, and then knock loudly on the door. There was silence were a few seconds before footsteps approached and a second later the door slid open. You smiled..but paused when you saw who it was.

"O-Oh...Are uh..Are you the grandson of the later that owns the fragrance store?"

Before you stood a...man. About your age. He lazily looked at you with  glasses that made his eyes look too tiny. He yawned in your face and rubbed his neck. Hair a mess and clothes wrinkled like he had just crawled back out of bed. Wasn't he supposed to be working? He took his sweet time staring at you before finally answering.

"Yes." You visibly winced at his voice. It sounded like a cross between a chicken with a cold and a raspy old man who smoked for the past forty years. "What do you want, Woman?"

...You rose a bold brow at him but wanting to get this over with you just held up the box. "Your grandmother asked me to bring this to you."

He stared at the box before looking back at you with a frown. "Oh. You must be the girl. Well it's about time you showed up!" He snatched it away from you harshly. "I expect things from now on to be on time! I'm busy copying important documents."

From now on? It's not like you worked for him! With an inhale you stepped back. "Well. It was..nice to know you got your food. Excuse me. I have to get back to work." With a grimace you turned and walked off quickly grimacing. "Oh. I really see the family resemblance." You muttered under your breath.

"Well?" That was the first thing your boss said to you as you stepped back into the shop.

"Oh. He got his food like you asked."

Her brows furrowed. "Is that all? What did he say?"

"Well...." He was incredibly rude. "He said he was working on copying important documents." Even though you didn't believe him.

"That's my Sabo!," she gushed proudly. "Such a hard worker. Just like his grandfather."

You grimaced at her. "He certainly is... something else."

"Yes he is. He's not like other men."

You briefly wondered what poor woman married her son and was unfortunate enough to give birth to that 'something else'. "Right. I'm just going to finish sweeping now."

You assumed that would be the last time her grandson would be brought up but you were again surprised by the fact he was brought up three days later.

"You want me to clean his house this week?"

You were absolutely not expecting her to be assigning this task to you at all. But your boss just nodded confusing you further. Why would she want you to clean her grandson's house?

"And everything else he might need done. Windows, dusting, laundry, dishes- I want it all done by at least sunset tomorrow."

"Doesn't he take care of that himself? Or have his family help him with that?"

She scowled. "You'll do as I say. Poor Sabo is taking a well deserved break from work and spending some well deserved quality time with me and my son today. You're to go over immediately and get started!"

You gave her a deadpanned look. Now you were cleaning up her grandson's home today? Sigh. Ok. His home was a two roomed house and not very big. It shouldn't take too long. However you severely underestimated the state of the home. You opened the door to an empty house...And a very MESSY house. Where was dishes and laundry strewn about EVERYWHERE!! Crumpled up papers, apple cores, and other forms of trash were littered the floor alongside the dishes and laundry. And the whole place STANK!! A mountain of ashes was stacked high in the fireplace as if it had never been cleaned out after winter! And his bedsheets...You turned your head and coughed trying not to be sick. How could one person let their house be this bad? Sucking in a deep breath you braced yourself and turned to walk in.

The first thing you did was open up all the doors and windows you could find letting in fresh air to filter through the place. The second thing you did was the laundry wanting to get that done before tackling the floor. If you did all the laundry before you cleaned the floor then they'll dry before the end of the day...and they seemed like the worst part so you might as well do it and get it over with. Out went the whole futon pillows and all along with any other laundry to be washed. The next thing you did was to pick up the dishes and throw them aside to be washed before grabbing the broom and sweeping any and all trash just put the door and onto the streets with the ashes. They could deal with the trash if they didn't like it in front of the house. You were only told to take care of the house not the roads. The floors were scrubbed clean from any leftover grime before you could move onto the less stressful tasks of actually cleaning the dishes and dusting off what little furniture that was actually in the house which wasn't a lot. So you were making excellent progress. 

The bathroom was the worst to clean out though. You were NEVER doing it again. A shudder ran down your spine just remembering what it looked like before you cleansed it from the pits of hell it was drowned in.

You were just finishing up cleaning what windows the house had when the door was suddenly wretched open causing you to jump as someone stomped in. That someone was your boss's grandson. Sabo if you remembered right. He just came right in and paused looking around everywhere. Behind him shuffled in the form of your boss as she suddenly clasped her hands and pushed at her...'precious' grandson. 

"See? What did I tell you?"

His eyes looked around the place. A hand reached out to run a finger along a shelf before examining it and humming when he saw no dust. Then he look at you in the middle of cleaning the windows ... before scowling. "She still hasn't finished! You said everything would be finished by the time we got back!"

"I'm almost done with the windows," you calmly assured him even if you were completely annoyed on the inside. His stupid voice hurt your ears. "Then I can go bring the wash in. It should be dry by now."

"Where's my dinner?!," he rudely demanded ignoring everything you completely said. "A man expects to come back home to a clean house and home cooked meal waiting for him!"

"No one asked me to cook for you."

"I shouldn't have to! It should already be common sense!"

You gave him a deadpanned look before just turning and finished with what you started. "I'll get your laundry in just a moment."

"Why you-!"

"It's alright, Dear." His grandmother cooed at him patting his arm. "I'll make you dinner tonight. Let her finish taking care of you."

He huffed and crossed his arms. "Hmph. She has a lot to learn still. My porch hasn't even been scrubbed."

"It's alright, Dear. I'll take care of it." She shot you a dirty look. "How could you forget something as important as the front of the house?!"

"You just asked me to take care of the inside of the house and most of the chores. The only thing outside I was aware that I needed to do was clean the outside of the windows."

"Forgive her, Sabo. She's always like this." You gave her a look as she continued to scold you. "Finish up and go clean off the porch! You've wasted enough of our time!"

You only sighed and continued finishing up the last window. This would indeed be a long day. You didn't get a chance to even go home until around sundown. You just silently brought in the cleaned wash up, listened to them both complain that you didn't fold them before bringing them inside, and then just went out to scrub the porch and steps. You left right after without telling either of them. If they didn't like it then his grandmother could cook for him and fold his laundry, of he could not be a lazy dirty pig and clean it up himself. He was a grown man for crying out loud. Also if your boss was so worried about her precious grandson then why doesn't she just take care of him? Or get his parents to do it? Whatever. You did what was asked of you, you shouldn't be bothered with it anymore.

Oh how fate loved dealing you a bad hand. 

"You want me to what?"

"Restock his firewood supply."

 You ended up staring at her like she was crazy. "And how exactly am I to do that?"

She scoffed. "There's already a pile of firewood behind his house. Bring some inside to place by the fire pit and take care of anything else you see that needs to be dealt with before you come back."

"... Didn't I just clean his entire home yesterday? And why doesn't he do those things himself?"

"I'll let you have the rest of this week off. WITH pay."

"...."

Well...When she put it like that. You could use a few days off for relaxing by yourself, and she'd still pay you too! Guess she didn't want to do everything for her lazy grandson as well. But-

"Won't be be home?"

"He's with his father conducting business with the Kadashi family up the road. So he won't be in your way."

Well if he wasn't going to be there then you guessed it would be fine. You're also getting a reasonable compensation out of it so it wouldn't be so bad. Besides it was just bringing in some firewood.

...It was not just bringing in some firewood.

You got there and opened the door and found a small pile of dirty dishes leftover from the night before from what you assumed your boss made dinner with, and all the clean laundry from yesterday just dropped in a pile by an unmade bed. THEY HADN'T FOLDED THEM AT ALL?! OR AT LEAST DID THE DISHES!? Your anger rose as you shot a scowl back towards your boss's home. Why those greedy people! They must've left these for you to do for daring not to do it yesterday. Rotten people! At least the rest of the home was still clean. You made quick work folding, washing, making the bed, and bringing in enough firewood to last him for a few days leaving the chopped logs by the fireplace before returning to finish what work you had to your boss. 

"Well?" She asked you as you came back in and grabbed a small crate of sage incense bundles to put on one of the shelves. But for some reason she had a..hopeful smile on her face.

This time you didn't bother to hide your annoyance at the situation. "Everything is in order like you asked but he could've not have left a giant mess for me to fix."

Immediately her hopeful smile at you frowned. "Is that it? Nothing else to say?"

You rose a brow at her in the middle of putting another bundle on the shelf. "Yes. What else is there to say about it?"

She scoffed and waved you off looking angry. "Nevermind. Just finish restocking that shelf and then mop up the front here."

Your brow rose higher than before but you were already annoyed so you just decided to finish the work before you could go home. You didn't feel like fighting with the walking headache anymore today. What was that about anyways? Whatever. Her weird family was none of your concern. You just hoped she didn't think you'd put up with taking care of a man child on top of your job here and already doing things for her. However you'd unfortunately run into them again a lot sooner than you thought.

It had been a two days into your peaceful little vacation away from work. You decided to go to one of the local farmers and see if you could buy a pound of rice from him. So...there you were. Minding your own business. And then you turned to leave once you gave the money to the farmer and got your rice. And you saw them. Or more correctly they saw you. Your boss stopped walking and stared at you for a long moment before turning to bark at a two men and a woman behind her, pointed out you, and then all four walked over to you.

Oh no .

What did she want now? She better not ask you to do anything for her on your days off. You'd DEFINITELY not be doing anything else for her grandson. Especially now. A tired sigh escaped your body before you braced yourself as they stopped in front of you.

"Y/n!," she barked your name loudly.

"Oh hello. It's...nice to see you today," you politely greeted despite how you felt. "What are you doing out today?"

The old woman proudly pointed behind her. "I'm going to lunch with my family. My son has just finished his business with a tenant and allowed his wife to join us."

'Allowed?' You didn't like how that sounded. You looked behind her. There was a middle aged man and woman, not as old as your boss but definitely a lot older than you. The man looked exactly like his mother. Resting annoyed face and looked incredibly annoyed just staring at you as if you were the cause of it. The woman standing next to him just looked bored and uninterested in anything. And the third man was Sabo. He looked a little more presentable but like his father and grandmother, wore an annoyed face. Yep. They were all definitely related to one another.

"Oh yes. I see them around town sometimes." You nodded at them. "How do you do? It's a nice day today. Don't you think?"

"Yes," the man said rudely and bluntly as his wife just...stared. 

You waited for them to say anything else...but they didn't do you awkwardly smiled. "Well it was nice to meet you but I have some chores to do at home-"

"She's taken adequate care of Sabo's house as of late," your boss interrupted you, "She even cooked him a meal."

"She could've been more precise," Sabo complained with a scoff crossing his arms, "It took her two days to get everything done and didn't even cook me dinner!"

"Well, I am not working as a maid, Sir," you spoke up with an annoyed narrow of your eyes, "I am an assistant at a fragrance store. I'm sure cooking and cleaning doesn't come with the job."

"Women working," his father spoke up annoying, "A laughable reality really." Your brow twitched annoyed. "A woman's place is at home with the children."

".... Doesn't your mother own the shop and employ me?"

"I own the house."

Yet he allows his mother to run a shop and at the same time demean other women for working? You decided that you didn't like any of these people. "WELL...It was certainly a surprise to see you all again but I need to go home and make lunch-"

"Good. You can show them how well you cook."

You looked back to your boss. "...What?"

She looked at you like it should be obvious. "You need to show your possible in-laws how well you can take care of house and husband obviously. Cooking is one of the most important skills a wife needs to know." 

Silence.

You stared at them blankly. Going to each of their faces before back to your boss. You didn't say anything processing the words that she had had just spoken to you. "...I'm.. sorry. Come again? I don't think I heard you correctly."

She scoffed. "How naive are you?!" She crossed her arms looking at you with a scowl. "Obviously if you're going to marry Sabo you need to show worth to your in-laws first!"

"WHAT?!" You nearly dropped the bag of uncooked rice in your hands out of shock. Jaw dropping and eyes going wide. There's no possible way you heard that right! Who in their right mind would think that you two were together?! "WHO SAID THAT I WAS GOING TO MARRY HIM?"

"Well obviously you would," she said matter of factly like it was obviously her fantasy world would come to life if she demanded it enough. "After you turned down that nice Nori boy for years, there's hardly anyone else your age in town for you to marry. My Sabo isn't going to be young forever and he's graciously agreed to do you the favor of offering marriage when clearly you won't be able to find anyone else." She sighed. "He's such a sweet boy."

"Whoa! Wait a moment!" You held up a hand frowning deeply. "When did I ever agree to marry him or even shown interest in that?!"

Again she scoffed. "You were supposed to take initiative when you brought over his food and saw what good things he could provide you in his home!"

You ...you just blinked. "Are you serious? ...I made that food for YOU because you asked me too, and then I brought it to him because YOU asked me too. I didn't cook it for him!"

"It was a test for you so he can see how well you cooked. You obviously need more lessons but he found it edible enough."

'Edible enough?' "I didn't assume it was a test! And about the other thing, I only cleaned his house the first time because again you asked me too! I wouldn't have done it otherwise for any other reason!" You still had nightmares about cleaning that bathroom. "And I only went back a second time because you made a deal with me for my break off! I wasn't cleaning his home to show off my cleaning skills!"

"Yes. About that, you still need more practice to be more thorough and quick," Sabo piped up again annoyed, "And then you left without finishing up or making me dinner. That reflects bad on a prospective wife."

"I'm NOT your wife!" You all but bellowed out causing a few people on the street to look at you. "I'm not even interested in you! You're rude to me and can't even clean!"

Your boss gasped clutching her kimono offended as if you called her grandson every curse word under the sun. "HOW DARE YOU?! MY GRANDSON IS THE MOST ELIGIBLE BACHELOR IN TOWN!! IF ALL THESE OTHER WOMEN WEREN'T ALREADY MARRIED, THEY'D ALL BE FIGHTING FOR HIM!!" Oh yeah? Then how come he wasn't already married off then? "YOU SHOULD BE GRATEFUL I'D EVEN CONSIDER TAKING YOU AS A GRANDDAUGHTER-IN-LAW!!"

"I'd be more grateful if you didn't." You bluntly spoke deadpanned before bowing. "It was very nice to meet all of you but I'll have to decline your offer. I'm NOT interested. Excuse me. I have to go home now. Please have a nice day. I'll see you again at work next Monday, Ma'am." With that you quickly turned and walked off leaving them floored.

"HOW DARE YOU?! YOU CAN FORGET ABOUT BEING PAID FOR THE REST OF THIS YEAR THEN!!"

You walk faltered. Slowly coming to a stop... before you suddenly inhaled and continued walking. Fine then! If she wanted to play that game then fine. You could survive by gathering food from the woods and there's not many things you had to actually buy anyways. You already learnt a long time ago how to spread your money  thin to survive. You could survive the rest of the year like that if you had to. She continued to curse you out as you stomped away feeling frustrated, annoyed, and so, so angry!! 

What was seriously wrong with these people?!

Making you take care of her grown adult lazy rude good for nothing grandson with the ulterior motive of you just magically falling for his repulsive personality! It sounded like a bad romance novel!  Oh yes! Surely you would enjoy cleaning up his filth so much that you would have no choice but to dedicate the rest of your life to being a second mother to this man child-  WHAT THE HELL WERE THEY THINKING!?  And the nerve of trying to matchmake you without even asking! You may tolerate a lot in order to survive around here but that doesn't mean you're going to just marry someone because they want you to! THAT'S LUDICROUS!!

AND WHAT THE HELL DID SHE MEAN BY POOR NORI!?

That guy was never a good man to begin with!! He nearly killed an old man last December after getting drunk and picking a fight with him because he bumped into him!! There was a reason why he was exiled by everyone else!! Thank the gods too.  You didn't know how much more you could take of him bothering you. He was almost as bad as your boss and her family. But you weren't surprised that she didn't see anything wrong with another terrible person. With annoyance  you stomped off back towards your home. It looks like instead of relaxing you'd be busy planning out the rest of the year's budget with what money you had.

"You'd be set for life! You're making a foolish mistake!" That was the first thing said to you when you came back to work on Monday.

Set up to be someone's caretaker for life she met. "Thank you for the offer but I'm not interested."

And again a little while later you met Sabo. Or more like he showed up to his grandmother's home as she left. Although by the wink she gave him before going out to 'run errands' you doubted it was a coincidence. He proceeded to drone on and on and ON about nothing but himself-

"So my family makes pretty good money in town. My father practically owns all of it." He leaned against the shelf as you picked up the many things he knocked off but didn't pick up. "He gained even more property when he married my mother. Now he rents all the buildings out to everyone else who uses them. I don't have to work a day in my life thanks to his fortune and I'll just inherit everything when they die-"

"Fascinating.. Really." Your sarcastic blunt tone went right over his head as you shot him an annoyed look still picking up the mess he made.

"I know. So you wouldn't have to do anything but tend to my needs."

"I'm really not interested-"

"Did I mention that he owns those people? If he wanted to he could demand half their crops as payment!"

You tuned him out and ignored him after that. He didn't even notice you left to go back home at the end of the day too busy complaining that you didn't cook him anything while you were busy working (duh you were WORKING) and his grandmother hadn't left him anything to eat either. You just went home. The next day you were scolded for not dropping everything to cook her precious grandson lunch and dinner... Despite the fact she left you alone to run the ENTIRE store by yourself all day AND Sabo kept making messes you had to clean up. Constantly knocking things over, moving things around from their rightful place, and anything else else he did. It was like he was a literal walking natural disaster! Like Sabo, you tuned her out and just did what you had to do before going back home. The next week was the same. Sometimes Sabo would visit only to talk at you about himself or to just complain about everything. He never bothered to talk to YOU about stuff YOU like. He only ever asked how  well you could cook and clean and raise hypothetical children if he ever bothered to ask you anything at all. You had tried ONE day to try and talk to him putting in a lot of effort. But he always either somehow always steered the conversation back onto himself, ignored what you said completely, shouted over you for 'interrupting him', complained, and insulted you. You gave up halfway through and went back to tuning him out which is what he seemed to want the most.

Until one day things changed and got a lot more complicated. 

You had been sitting there in the middle of carving a blue violet scented soup into a small fish. Ignoring him and tuning him out as usual except the door was open with how warm it was. He never seemed to notice the difference anyways. Well today he seemed to finally notice because he scowled. Then suddenly you felt a hand grabbed your shoulder making you jump.

"WHEN I'M TALKING TO YOU I EXPECT YOU TO PAY ATTENTION TO ME!!"

And he yanked you back by the shoulder. And your hand slipped. And a cut was made right across your your hand. You screamed out in pain dropping the carving knife and soap to clutch your wrist! Immediately he let go and the sounds of your scream attracted your boss who shuffled out of the back.

"What is with all that racket?!," she demanded.

"Your stupid helper was clumsy and cut herself!," Sabo spat pointing at you annoyed.

You paid them no mind clutching your hand hissing as a stinging pain throbbed from it. You slowly opened your alm and saw a three inch cut along your calm up and down. Thank goodness it wasn't deep at all but that doesn't mean it still didn't sting-

"It seems not only are you an annoying wench, but incredibly stupid too."

All three of them stopped and turned to the doorway. Your boss froze and her face paled. Sabo looked annoyed and confused. And you went wide eyed. A very tall man stood in the door, long burgundy hair and a large hat hiding his upper face. A black and purple checkered haori coat around his shoulders and a katana secured to his side. All the color drained from your face as your eyes widened and a pit formed in your stomach. 

The demon had returned .

He casually took a step inside when no one spoke and turned his head towards. "... You are harmed."

...You blinked. "I...I-Its not a deep cut." You managed to softly speak out. 

A second later a large hand holding a white cloth was held out to you. You blinked looking at it before looking up at him. "Stop the bleeding and clean the wound. You'll be needing your hands."

You looked between him and the handkerchief.. before you slowly took it from him. "T-Thank you."

"You also had a cut hand when we first met. Has that healed correctly?"

Surprised you blinked again. You didn't even know that he noticed that. "Um." You nodded. "Yes. I'm alright. Thank you for asking. I cut myself by accident all the time-"

"This was not an accident." His harsh tone made you stop talking as he slowly turned now to Sabo. "You are at fault."

Sabo scoffed. "If she wasn't so clumsy then she wouldn't have gotten hurt." He crossed his arms sneering at the demon. "She should've listened to me from the start. A wife needs to learn her place-"

"I AM NOT YOUR WIFE!" The demon tilted his head back to you as you stood up with a scowl. "For the last time I'm not marrying you, I never agreed to have anything to do with you, and I want nothing to do with you!"

"Shut up and know your place! If we're courting-"

"We're NOT courting! You just bother me at work!"

"Yes we are! Now why don't you shut up and actually be useful by making me some lunch you-"

SHING- 

Sabo. Froze. As a shiny metal blade was pressed against his throat where the jugular was. It happened so fast no one saw it coming. The demon blankly stood firm, holding the sword to his neck. 

"Hold your tongue or I will cut it out to shut you up." The demon spoke calmly.

"How DARE you! My father owns half this village and-" He was silenced when the sword pushed further into his skin.

"I will not repeat myself. Get out now. If I should hear you came to bother this woman again, I'll keep my promise and be sure that you never speak again." The sword was removed from his neck. Sabo nearly collapsed hitting a shelf and knocking multiple soap bars and bags of bath salts down before he scrambled to his wobbly legs and ran out the open doorway. You watched Sabo disappear before a hum got your attention back onto the demon. "You are very troublesome aren't you?"

You blinked before frowning. "It's not my fault. He's a stubborn man that couldn't take a hint."

The katana was out away with a small click. "It seems like you two know each other."

"Only as acquaintances. His family tried to set us up for a marriage but I refuse."

His head turned to you and you saw one of his lower eyes peek out at you between his bangs. "You didn't accept his offer? If his family owns half this village then that would mean you would marry into a well off family."

"He wasn't interested in me for that." He hummed in question at you. "He's lazy, spoiled, and self centered. And that's me putting it nicely. I was paid to clean his house and a literal pig pen was cleaner than it."

"Disgusting."

You nodded. "I'm not marrying a man only to become a second mother to him."

He didn't comment on that. "Go treat your wound and come back. I have more business for you." 

Business? He came back here for more business from you? Wonder what he wanted. You silently just turned to walk past him and your frozen boss into the back to take care of your hand leaving the two there. After a moment of silence his head tilted at the pale woman.

"That man has the same disgusting smell as you. Your entire family disgusts me. Away from my sight." 

The sword was quickly popped up enough to show a glint of the blade making her squeak like a mouse in fright and shuffle as quick as her legs could carry her. You weren't surprised finding your boss cowering in the back, even if you didn't know that he had threatened her. You only slowly shuffled back into the room where the demon still was waiting. Staring directly in your direction even before you stepped back in. Pausing in your steps, you took a breath, and smiled at him with a customer smile.

"I-It's a surprise to see you again," you greeted him with a small bow. "What brings you back to our store?'

"... I'm here to see about your wares."

"Oh..Did you not like ones you bought?," you asked slightly worried.

"They were acceptable. My brother and his bride found them quite to their liking," he confirmed making you sigh in relief, "However our mother saw their gifts and was interested in having a few of her own."

Oh...OH! He was just here for some more candles! That was a huge relief. "Of course. It's very sweet of you to get so many things for your family." 

He hummed. "How is your hand?"

"Oh." You held up your bandaged hand with a smile. "It's much better now! It's not very deep so it should heal really quickly, but I thank you for your help." 

He glanced over at her. Her sweet smile and soft looking lips aimed at him and those eyes-...Those turquoise eyes that had plagued his thoughts catching the morning sunlight through the windows just right and making them sparkle like diamonds. She looked the same as the day he met her. Instead of commenting on her compliment, he instead turned back to the colorful variety of pleasant smelling candles. Unlike his city's festivals, this shop didn't overstimulate his senses. On the contrary he found the mixed scents of different herbs and flowers delightful. However now what he liked didn't matter. What he needed to think about was what his mother would like...

A slight fruity scent his attention and guided him to the bottom of the tall shelf. He knelt down to look and found his curiosity drawn to a few pale blue candles. They looked a milky blue almost white and it carried the fruity smell of blueberries. A hand reached out to grab the biggest one out of all of them and leaned back up.

"Those were made just yesterday," she spoke up behind him. "They're some of my favorites so far." He looked at her. "They smell almost good enough to eat." She giggled at her own humor, and he felt his heart jump ahead two normal beats.

A small of his head turned from her. Claws sunk right into his palms leaving small cuts that easily healed instantly once he breathed in and out slowly relaxing his hands. Off guard. ...Yes. He was just caught off guard by a woman other than his mother so freely laughing and acting so casually around him. ... Someone so beautiful- He forced those thoughts from his mind but couldn't help but look back at the candle he just picked out.. before kneeling down to grab another sweet blueberry scented one. One after another he picked up five more. Taking his time to slowly scan the shelves and picked ones he was sure his mother would enjoy.

A grass green one that smelt like mint. A pink one that smelt of cherry blossoms. A darker blue one that smelt like the violets in his garden. His mother would definitely like that. A pure white one that smelt like sweet vanilla. And lastly a beige candle that smelt like the wild peach trees he'd visit. After looking over each and every one carefully deciding that he indeed wanted these ones specifically, he turned and walked right up to her. Her big, sparkly eyes blinked at him before speaking. 

"Are you finished choosing?"

"Not yet. I have more work for you." She gave him her full attention as he held up one of the seven candles in his hands. The blueberry scented one. "I want you to carve clouds into this one as it reminds me of the sky." She nodded and it was carefully placed on the small table next to them before he held up the green one. "Carve plants into this one. I do not care what kind." Again it was placed down with the first before he held up the pink one. "Sakura flowers." The darker blue one. "Ocean waves." The white one. "Snowflakes." And finally the beige one. "I do not want a pattern for this one. Instead I wish for you to carve a dove on it's surface. Can you do all of this?"

He watched those beautiful eyes carefully regard the candle in his hand before glancing at the other five on the table still thinking. Calculating. But never loosing that soft smile. Before she nodded. "Yes. I can do all of that but it'll take me about a month to finish everything."

"That is acceptable." 

He already thought of what he wanted for the candles before he got here. His mother loved nature so it would only make sense for him to pick patterns based around that. The peach scented candle was placed down with the others but she seemed confused as he still held the other blueberry scented candle. He walked back over to the place he remembered finding carved soaps and sure enough found a few more. His mother expressed interest in wanting a few of these too and what his mother wanted she got. A few caught his eyes and automatically he reached out to pick up one purple lavender scented one carved into the shape of a bird, and a second grey one that smelt of sage and caved into a maple leaf. However he paused when his eyes saw something else.

A SUN

A bright yellow lemon scented sun stared up at him...A hand hovered over it for a moment before slowly enclosing itself around it and picking it up to silently stare at it. 

"I carved that one last week. I was reminded of the candle you had me first carve, and theolor seemed to fit so well."

He didn't respond to her at first but did eventually turn around and walk up to her again with everything he wanted. "I want these."

She still smiled at him and smiled. "Of course. If you want I'll-" She didn't get a chance to speak before a bag big enough to hold a single full sized cantaloupe was held up to her, a metal jingling coming from inside it.

"As said before, money is no issue. This should be adequate enough pay for everything."

She blinked-Before slowly reaching out to grab the bag and nearly dropped it from the weight behind it. "I-Is this-"

"Gold. Yes." She looked at him wide eyed. "Take it. I have enough of it to buy everything in this entire town if I wanted to." He watched as her eyes filled with a mix of disbelief and awe looked at the heavy bag in her hands.

"I..I don't know what to say." She eventually smiled. "This should last me all year." A relieved sigh left her soft lips. "At least now I won't have to worry about having to support myself and struggle."

He perked up at that and tilted his head. "Struggle? Did you lose your home?"

She looked at him before frowning again. "No. Thank goodness I didn't. But I'm afraid I had accidentally made my boss very angry with me. She's making me work without pay for the rest of the year."

"What?"

She nodded her head to the oddly stiff man. "I..might have offended someone close to her and she took great offense to it. B-But I'll be alright especially now with your generous job!"

He continued to stare. "...It is none of my business but why do you stay and receive such treatment from her?"

Her smile turned sad as she stared at the bag. "I wouldn't feel comfortable working at the tavern when the men go and get drunk. For a single woman in such a small village, my options are limited. Especially without being married. As you probably witnessed, not many people around here like the idea of that."

"Is that so?" His eyes narrowed slightly but otherwise his stance did not change. "That is petty."

She shrugged. "It's just how it is in a small village like this."

Multiple eyes scanned her saddened features for a long moment. It shouldn't bother him that a woman he barely knows was going through something like this. He's had more devastating things happen to him before. He's had to go days without food and water fighting constantly on the battlefield. He's had wounds so bad he had to bite down on his sword as they treated him to repress his screams. He's nearly been killed on multiple occasions. He's grown separated from his mother's warmth. His own twin kept away from him like the plague. And he had to endure severe punishments from his father if he so much as even questioned him. A stranger suffering from just being poor and having a pushy suiter should mean nothing to him but yet-...

It was just because he was doing business with her. Yes. He didn't want the woman he was doing business with evicted or dying of hunger before she completed the job he assigned to her. Yes. That was it. He doubted he'd find someone else to complete this job like she would so he'd have to remedy the fact to protect his investments.

The scent of blueberries caused her to look back up and blink her eyes in surprise as the pretty candle was extended to her. "Take it."

He waited patiently for her to place the bag down on the small table and take the seventh candle from his hand. "Oh. What did you want me to carve in this one?"

"Nothing. It's for you." Turquoise eyes blinked at him. "Take it as a thank you."

She blinked bewildered. "Thank you for..what exactly?"

"I take it that you have not revealed to anyone who or what I actually am. Otherwise I would have been treated with disdain as soon as I stepped foot into town." He nodded at you. "I would like to keep it that way. It just makes it easier for everyone."

She stared at him again- "And I thought I told you that it doesn't matter to me what you are. You're a man. Just like anyone else I've seen."

BU-BUMP-

She flinched as he quickly snapped his head away from her eyes. "... Pardon. The sun was getting in my eyes."

Her brow rose. The sun was in his eyes?? His eyes that were covered by his bangs and the hat he wore?? He paid no mind turning to leave. He already got his business over with and he'd gotten what he paid for. His father was still incredibly busy. With their forces being restless and resources being scarce in their areas, he's been having to deal with a few problems on the inside and out. So the peace talks have been pushed back until the men could be pushed back in line which he didn't see happening anytime soon. He had time to fulfill his mother's reau-

He froze from a pressure on his hand. ...His head turned. His lower eyes looking down. A much tinier bandaged hand had grabbed his own. It's nothing special. Weak really. If he wanted to he could easily throw her hand off of his and yet- His looked up at her in question. Her smile was back directed at him.

"Thank you." His entire head turned to her now. "I mean it. Thank you for everything. You don't know how much I needed this money, and I appreciate your kindness so much." Her smile softened. "I-...I know this probably won't make a difference to anything, but I don't think you're as bad as people assume you are, and I'm sorry for that."

There was a longer amount of silence before she looked down as his own hand enclosed around hers gently to avoid hurting her more. "..Your name?"

"What?"

"Your name. ..What is your name?"

She smiled wider. "It's Y/n. My name is Y/n."

Y/n....

B E A U T I F U L

"And your name? I know you told me before but I'm afraid I've forgotten."

He gently pulled his hand away from hers. "You may call me Kokushibo."

He turned without saying anything else and walked out the door.

Night fell upon the town. She had long since left for home and others were already snug in their houses for the night. Most lights were off except for a few working late. One of which was an old woman putting a few last overstock candles into a crate when she paused by the sounds of a door opened. Her resting scowl looked up ..but quickly fell in fear as something stared at her from the darkness. A single gleam of metal glowed reflected from the fireplace. Their face hidden from view.

"Don't bother screaming. You and I will be talking very briefly."

The door closed silently as they stepped inside.