#you may have to turn your brightness up i didn't realize how dark i had made it. haha

[sallymew4]

bro was shrouded in the evil disney villain green light while pulling this face and Mob had the gall to say he looked "sunnier". there is not a speck of joy behind those eyes what do you mean

[queenuchiha89]

hello! love u! would you pretty please consider writing itachi violently non conning his younger sister after an argument when they're home alone but teen sasuke returned early from his mission with team 7? sasuke loves his big sis but he doesn't really help her, incredibly liking the sight of his sibs together.

*** NSFW ***

*** 18+ MINORS DNI! ***

*** TW. DARK CONTENT ***

⚠️WARNING ⚠️ this story contains noncon, foul language, incest, voyeurism, and other themes that may not be suitable for some audience. Viewer discretion is STRONGLY advised!

Itachi and his little sister Y/N had been at each other's throats all day long. Their parents were gone, Sasuke was off on an assignment with team 7 and every time Itachi and Y/N were alone, they always seemed to fight. "I'm so sick of you acting like you're better than everyone else in the family Itachi! You really look down on me and Sasuke!" She yelled at him as he turned to walk off towards his room in an effort to end the argument before I went too far. She watched him as he walked off, her arms folded, cheeks red in anger and frustration. Why he couldn't just... Be nice to her?! "You're just like Father..." She mumbled under her breath, but with his hearing and skill, of course itachi heard her. He stopped in his tracks, slowly turning his attention back towards his little sister at the opposite end of the hall. "What did you say Y/N..?" Itachi asked, his voice low and flat with a different kind of angered tone she had never before heard come from her older brother.

The color began to drain from Y/N's face as he swiftly began to walk towards her, and she had no time to attempt to block herself from any actions he may have took on her. He was far too fast, and she knew it. He grabbed her by the arm, spinning her around, and pinning her body to wall. All his weight was against her as she struggled helplessly to escape his grasp. "If you think I'm like father, then I will show you just how cruel Father really is!" He said viciously, his rage boiling over as her words echoed in her head. He spun her around, grabbing her by her hair and dragging her into his bedroom kicking and pleading for him to let her go. "Itachi stop! Let me go!" She screamed but to no avail. No one was around to hear her.

Itachi yanked Y/N up by her hair, and threw her on to his bed, wasting no time climbing on top of her. He pinned her arms down to the bed, and watched with a smirk as she kicked and flailed trying to get him off of her. "Itachi please!! Stop!" She cried out realizing that this was not a good situation to be in. She was in serious danger. Tears began to stream down her face, as all hope of her escaping his clutches left her. He was far too strong for her to over power, and all she could think to do was plead her case. "Itachi I'm sorry! Please, I didn't mean it!" She cried, and whimpered under him, powerless to stop his vicious assault. "Too late for apologies princess. You're going to take your medicine!" He growled as he gripped her throat in his hand, squeezing and watching her eyes widen in fear as she felt her airway closing in his grip. She gasped and choked as she struggled to break free of his grip, this only excited Itachi more.

While all this was going on in the Uchiha family household, Sasuke had returned from his mission earlier than expected, and was about open the front door and announce his arrival. However, as he entered, he stopped before calling out hearing strange sounds coming from upstairs, and what sounded like the voices of his elder siblings. Curious as to what could be going on, and getting an ominous feeling that something was definitely wrong, he slowly made his way up the stairs. He walked down the hallway, inching ever closer to Itachi's room- the origin of the sounds- and when he looked inside he was frozen in shock by what he saw. There was his older brother Itachi, pinning his big sister beneath him, fingers round her throat and her face turning a bright red color. "I-itachi? Y/N???" He whispered to himself, a strange fear creeping up this spine.

Itachi reached down between them, and fumbled with his pants as he removed his thick cock from his pants. Y/N wriggled harder as she saw her older brother's sizeable cock spring free from his pants and slap against her inner thigh. "You're going to take every last inch of my cock, and you're going to like it!" He threatened, as he held her still, and positioned himself against her open. "Are you- are you enjoying this??" Itachi said feeling how wet her pussy was in the moment. "You twisted little bitch..." He grunted as he pushed his cock deep inside her tight cunt. She cried out in pain as itachi stretched out her tight walls, feeling him rip her as he did. Sasuke watched in horror as Itachi raped their sister, watching his big sister's face contort in pain as he forced his cock inside her. It was awful... But he still couldn't look away, and as Itachi began to fuck into their sister, he felt a twinge of something else begin to rise up from within him.

Y/N took every inch of her big brother's cock, her body shivering in pain, and then in an unwilling pleasure as he continued his vicious assault. Itachi could feel her walls gripping around his cock, and knew she was about to cum against her will. "That's it. Don't fight it, just let this happen. Doesn't your big brother feel so good fucking you?" Itachi teased making her feel ashamed. With a gasp, and a small cry that sounded more akin to a cry of grief than pleasure, her walls gripped around his cock, and she came for him, shame filling her being as she did. "That's it, cum for me. Fuck little sis, I'm going to fill up that tight little pussy." Itachi growled as his thrusts became more erratic. With one final thrust, Itachi grabbed his little sister's hips and held her still as he shot his hot potent Uchiha cum deep inside her fertile womb.

From the hallway, Sasuke watched. Helpless, but achingly hard inside those shorts of his. He watched as his big sister was forced to cum all over Itachi's cock, and pumped full of his seed. Without warning, Sasuke's cock twitched, and he gasped steadying himself by grabbing the door frame as he came in his pants. The sight of his older brother viciously taking his big sis was far more than he could handle. Itachi caught his breath before giving his little sis a kiss on the forehead, and putting his cock away. "Maybe next time you'll learn to quit while you're ahead..." Itachi said cruelly as he reached for the towel on his bedroom floor. "Go clean yourself up princess..." He said before turning towards the cracked door. "You too Sasuke..."

A.N: spelling errors, and other such typos will be corrected when I am able. In the meantime, have fun and enjoy responsibly! 🥰

[clanwarrior-tumbly]

Maybe a drabble in which our Lamb meets Chimaera Reader, the maker of all crowns? Like, he stumbles upon their lair, and sees all types of the crowns, big and small, black and white, one-eyed and two-eyed, etc.? Maybe even a little inter actions between the Reader and the Red Crown in which it recognises them as their maker?

Sorry for my English, it is not my native language-

Also sorry if this request repeats, tumblr May have doubled it-

I swear I'm gonna turn this into an OC one day because I LOVE the concept of a crown maker in the COTL universe

........

'Where am I now..?' Lamb pondered as they stepped into a cavern--one most unfamiliar to them.

It was strange, considering they've scoured nearly every corner of the Old Faith for resources, potential rival cult activity, and even martyrs for the Bishops.

But this area was entirely new to them.

With their weapon drawn, they cautiously ventured further inward, eventually arriving into a larger room that was almost entirely cloaked in darkness. They could barely see a thing even with the few torches scattered around lighting the way.

Then suddenly, they saw a bunch of eyes opening up on all sides of them, varying in shape, size, color, and number. And they just stared down at the little sheep.

While they were accustomed to having so many eyes on them, this was completely different.

These eyes certainly didn't belong to any follower of theirs.

What if this was a trap?

What if-?

"Welcome, little Lamb! Promised liberator of the Old Faith!"

Looking upwards, they could see you descending from the darkness. You looked like a tradition chimera: a lion, goat, dragon, and snake all mixed into one. Both of your heads smiled as you took a seat upon your throne, although you frowned a bit upon realizing how poor the lighting must have been.

"Oh forgive me, it is awful dim in here, isn't it? Hold on one moment." Your lion head breathed out a small blast of fire, aimed towards a nearby candle that lit up.

That set off a chain reaction which lit up dozens of other candles around your lair, and burned the torches bright enough for Lamb to see what all those eyes belonged to:

Crowns.

So many crowns.

Big and small, black and white, one-eyed and two-eyed..and even multi-eyed; some sported horns and some did not. Others had bare surfaces while others were decorated with jewels or marred with scars from time.

It was an astonishing sight, and when Lamb looked back up at you, they could see a crown on each of your heads--snake tail included.

Not to mention your seat was adorned with four familiar ones...

"So you..take crowns from fallen gods?"

"Do I take them?" You repeated, before laughing uproariously. "No, but I can see why you'd assume that. I'm [y/n], Maker of the Crowns."

They blinked. "You created the crowns?"

"I have since the first gods ruled over these lands." You chuckled, taking the Green Crown into your paw. "I mold them into a design of my liking, give them life, and then send them off into the world to find a worthy host. They're like my children, so I do get sentimental at times...but I know they'll do great things."

'Huh...Leshy did say the crown found him..' Lamb mused.

"Of all the ones I've created, though, I never thought to see the Bishops' crowns again. But they were in such terrible condition...falling apart, barely able to keep their eyes open....I couldn't believe it." Your gaze shifted down to the sheep. "You wouldn't happen to know why, would you?"

They tensed. "...well...um-"

"Haha! I only jest, Lamb. I know everything." You smiled reassuringly. "I've sensed strong spikes in their energy, and I'm well aware they've been used as aids for the bishops after Narinder's betrayal. Speaking of whom...."

Pausing, you outstretched your paws towards them. "I see the Red Crown has found a new master."

"It's a long story, but--hey!!" All of the sudden, the Red Crown slipped out of their hands, morphing back into its normal form as it began floating up to you. They were shocked and angered, feeling extremely vulnerable without it. "What are you doing?!"

"Nothing, little one. It came to me all on its own. Welcome home, my darling." With the crown nestled into your paw, your smile grew as its eye stared back up at you with happiness. You sighed and brought it closer to your cheek, allowing it to nuzzle up to you. "Oh how I've missed you, mighty crown of Death. I'm glad you have not forgotten me."

"Give it back!!" Lamb snarled, baring their sharp teeth as they tried storming up to your throne. But their little hooves kept slipping on the skull pile that served as its foundation, and they eventually tumbled downwards, landing on their rear. "I need it back right now!"

"...are they always like this?" You muttered to the Red Crown, who just rolled its pupil in response. "Huh, I thought so. Arrogant, entitled, paranoid....just like your first master-"

"Don't compare us." They scowled. "Narinder was worse than arrogant...he would have destroyed this entire world, along with you and all these crowns if I returned it to him! We are NOTHING alike."

"Hm, I see I've touched a nerve. My apologies. I just wanted to take care of this little chip in its horn." Smiling, you manifested some black ichor to seal the crack you discovered on the crown, before sharpening up its horns a little bit. "There. Much better."

"....thank you. Now may I have it back?" Lamb put their hand out, growing more anxious with each passing second they were separated from it. 'Why isn't it returning to me?"

"It doesn't see why it has to right at this very moment...and quite frankly, I don't either. It's not connected to your lifeforce. You're still standing without it-"

"Because I'm its new master! I gave it new purpose. I gave it freedom...and it should be obeying me unconditionally and I don't understand why it's being so stubborn. That crown wouldn't be anywhere NEAR as powerful if it weren't for-!!"

"Choose your next words carefully," you tutted, shaking your head as you gestured to the walls. "My children do not look it, but they too have ears."

Falling silent, they looked all around, noticing that the crowns were now glaring at them. They tensed up, a feeling of heavy discomfort and embarrassment washing over them as they slowly realized how childish they were acting.

And in front of the crown creator, of all people?

"Tell me..do you see the crown as nothing without you? Or perhaps you feel like you are nothing without the crown?"

"........"

"Your mistake, little lamb, is that you see crowns as simple tools to do your bidding. A conduit for your godhood. But do not forget, they are also living breathing creatures like you and I." You chastised. "As such, they deserve respect. I figured you would've been more grateful to meet their maker...such few have the privilege to enter my lair and receive such a warm welcome."

The Red Crown bobbed up and down in agreement, before it scowled down at Lamb, as though to say "you better listen to them and treat me better".

They just looked at the ground, unable to form words as shame creeped up their spine.

You sighed softly. "I understand your worries as a new god. The mere thought of separation from it drives you to rage, especially after what happened between you and Narinder. But I have no desire to take it from you. Not when you've fought so hard for it. All I wish is that you continue caring for it."

"....I'm sorry, Great Crown Maker.." Lamb muttered, finally letting themselves be humbled. "I don't mean to act like I did. It's just...he's been annoying me all day today, shouting about "divine right" and making my life a living hell. He still can't accept that it chose me over him.."

They felt the familiar and comforting weight of the Red Crown returning to the wool atop their head, but they only looked up at you with respect. "Thank you."

"Of course, young one." You nodded, smiling once more. "Narinder has possessed that crown since he was a wee little kit, so it's going to be quite a long time before he lets that grudge go. Perhaps in a hundred years, give or take."

"I understand...so.." Lamb looked around. "Do you have any wares?"

"Oh, plenty!" You clapped your paws together. "Feel free to take a gander! Since this is your first visit, you may have one of the tarot cards over there on the house. But just know that the crowns aren't for sale."

[wutheringcaterpillar]

A Bump In The Night: Part 5- The End

Summary: With the baby growing, it is becoming to difficult to hide it anymore. Threats were made, Pol hardly even batting an eye at you still worried sick about Michael. Meanwhile Lizzie still has her intentions and is willing to make a bargain with the devil himself in order to ensure Tommy is hers, and James is yours as it should have always been. The only thing is, they don't realize Tommy is and will always be one step ahead and has plans of his own, he knows how to press people to tell the truth.

Warnings: Kidnapping, incest, pregnancy, mentions of arranged marriage, violence, assault, non consensual touching, guns

Taglist: taglist: @calmingmelody96 @sunflower-tia @haydenpookiebear @star017 @sweetcheesecakesblog @mamawiggers1980 @calam-arii

3 months prior

"Oh for godsake Thomas" Polly rushed through the kitchen like a bat out of hell in disbelief that thing could get any worse, anymore disturbing what in the fuck were you thinking! She slammed her hands down on the wooden table, spitting her venomous words with such vile and anger.

"She will marry James! Word will get out about the two of you fucking in that filth riddled forbidden bedroom! Enough people know already! You can't marry her! It isn't right and neither is that rotted fruit in the womb! Are you out of your god damn righteous mind because I will help the both of you find it!" You cowered in your seat shamefully, your feelings hurt while your heart was racing about ready to burst out of your chest. How could someone that you love say such hateful words about he r own kin? Yes it was wrong but the child bared no play in this family affair.

Tommy stood their clenching his jaw, an animalistic anger widening his blue eyes as he noticed your lip quivering. You hated conflict he needed to remind himself and Pol of that but she was too far gone to hear anything he had to say, there was only when option which was to level the playing field.

"She will not marry him! You want to know why Pol, eh? You want to know why?" Spit was flying from between his lips, anger rising and pumping and in his chest. He flicked his cigarette in Polly's tea, slamming a fist at one of the cabinets.

"She is pregnant with my child! Those boys, those Birmingham low life fucking scum don't give a fuck about her! But I do! I will not throw her or our child in harms way. So with the utmost, tumultuous disrespect go on and fuck yourself as far as your bastard of a son goes. You bring up one more word about my unborn child I will ensure Michael will never been seen or heard again, and I will blow all of us up in this fucking house and if you want to play me, you should know better than anyone, I will win." Polly went quiet, gulping back her fear and anger. What was she to do when she still had no clue of Michael's whereabouts or what Tommy may have told his men to do with him. What if he gave him away to someone as bargaining chip? The Shelby's had many many enemies over the years, the list going on and on to the point Pol didn't even know where to start.

Th dark turn of events made you nauseous, what will happen when this child is born? Will these problems still occur, are you going to have to walk on eggshells, constantly being terried that your own family would be out to get you? Maybe Pol was right, maybe it would be better just to get rid of it but the idea of aborting something, someone that was made from a powerful, endearing form of love hurt you immensely. You could just picture it now their baby bright blue eyes that looked just like Tommy's yearning to be loved and taken care of. Excusing yourself from the table Tommy raised his hands up in irritation with Pol about her insensitive comments toward you.

Fast forward to now...

Your bump was growing, you were becoming too big for your typical everyday clothes but Tommy has been such a lamb in giving you his, ensuring the maids were checking in with you when he was away for business. Today's business in particular was a cause for concern as he had a meeting with Lizzie. You weren't so much worried about Tommy as you were her making a move on him or trying to outsmart him to where you would marry James in just a few days.

Your hands cradled your tummy anxiously, nibbling on your nails while you paced the room waiting for him to return. Tommy knew how you were and insisted everything would be alright. A knock at the door startled you from your thoughts, probably Frances again seeing if you needed anything. She really lived up to Tommy's expectations in caring for you, not going more than thirty minutes of checking on you in fear of losing her job, which you couldn't blame her the family paid her very well, even insisting on free time for herself and occasionally allowing her to have dinner with everyone, she did make the meals after all.

Twisting the knob, the phone started to ring, your heart thudding in your chest thinking about how maybe it was Tommy calling to check in on you and give you an update on the situation, but before you could think any further, you were met with a wetted cloth pressed harshly against you nose and mouth, the last thing you saw being a blurry image of a man that looked familiar...

"Shhh, shh, it'll all be over soon sweetheart..."

Meanwhile Tommy tapped his foot anxiously, Lizzie sitting across from him with an unhappy face and her arms crossed. She had been getting nowhere with her plan. When you didn't or Frances hadn't answered the phone his eyebrows furrowed together as he rang again, and once more after. Still no response, something seemed dreadfully wrong.

"You're not trying to get a hold of that whore of a sister you have are you. Don't play stupid with me Tommy, the town talks and it's quite obvious she is baring with child isn't she? We know it's yours. I can assure you it's far too late though, she should be gone by now. This is the part where you thank for taking care of your problem." At her bold statement, reality set in that she was behind this or at least was involved. Tommy hung the phone up calmly, taking in a deep breath and raising his eyebrows with a narrowed look of threatening, crystal blue eyes.

In a hasty hurricane of emotions Tommy whipped his hand back, slapping Lizzie across the face, not once but twice cheek to cheek, knocking the wind out of her hair and disheveling her once perfect hair. She grasped at her jaw in shock before Tommy cusped her chin, forcing her to look into his dead sea eyes.

"Listen to me and listen closely. There has never been a connection to us. Now you can dream on in this fairytale word of yours but what happens between my family is none of your business. As far as I'm concerned you are just another whore on the street, opening your legs to any man who will give you what you won't work for yourself. If you think your life is hard now, then tell me where she is before I make it worse." Lizzie was blindsided by the intimidating man's harsh words. He had never snapped at her like that before but maybe that was what she needed for him to get his point across that this was not a game she wanted to play.

"Now, if you know something I suggest you tell me."

-

Sirens were the first thing you heard as you slowly came back to reality, vision blurry and hearing rendered. The fuzzy image was like looking at an etch a sketch a child drew, all you could make out was two men chatting across the room, one being tall and dressed in a white long sleeve shirt, the other one slightly shorter but the more submissive one by the way he was slouched over cowering.

When you released a low groan, it was clear you were being gagged by what felt like cloth, limbs tied to the chair you were sat in, along with your wrists nowhere for you to go. Your vision became clearer as you blinked rapidly, now able to make out who this man was. Tommy had tried to kill him long ago, he was a dangerous man.

Perching his eyebrow up with your sudden cognitive awareness, he picked up a shiny metal object approaching you like an animal did it's prey, yelling at the other man to get out.

Fucking Mosley...

"Good morning sweetheart, you look quite rough but that body-" His hand flicked at the buttons of your shift, revealing your cleavage, wasting no time ins grasping at the cushiony skin, causing you to wince and shake your head vigorously.

"Ravishing, aren't you?" You tried to scream through the makeshit gag, only making him chuckle darkly, green eyes shimmering in the dimlit room. Glancing behind him, the walls were coated with luxurious wallpaper and you could hear the sounds of music just outside the door, surely there were other people here, only intensifying your fear. Where the fuck was Tommy?

"Now let's see what else we are working with, hm?" He untied the sweat pants you were wearing, the bump now resting out as clear as day. Your breathing increased rapidly when he slid the blade down your stomach, tears flowing freely.

"If you wanted a child and not an abomination, I'd love to give you the pleasure Y/N.. but first this has to go." He pressed the blade into your skin sharply, shedding blood instantly. In a fight or flight response, you headbutted him with all the force you could. He dropped the blade, but perhaps that wasn't a smart move after all.

"Why you little bitch!" He sent a powerful blow across your face, knocking you out once more.

"Fucking Shelby's."

-

Walking into the pub, wind rustling his hair, there he found Arthur sat at the bar wasting away the same as any other day. When they locked eyes, Arthur huffed not having anything to say to Tommy as he demanded another glass of whiskey from the barmaid, taking a glance at her cleavage when she wasn't paying attention and smirking to himself.

"Everybody out! Family business." Well there went Arthur's fun, fucking Tommy always sucking it right out of the room.

Tossing his hat onto the bar, he sat on the stool throwing Arthur's glass over the bar onto the floor where it shattered.

"What the fuck Tommy, can't have one fucking drink, eh?"

"Y/N's missing. I have an idea of where she is, but we need to move fast eh?" As soon as Tommy mentioned that you were gone, he demanded information as to who took his baby sister.

"James and fucking Lizzie thought up a grand plan, only reason I got it out of her was because I know her fucking past, parts she didn't know I knew but that's besides the point. They've made contact with someone from our past Arthur, and I have a great idea of where she may be. She didn't give me a name but I didn't need one. My men saw James after our meeting going into a club 5 miles from here." Arthur sat their contemplating the right thing to do, you were his sister after all but that didn't mean he wasn't disgusted by the revelations he encountered that first night.

Still not speaking, he ignored Tommy simply huffing in disbelief that Tommy would come to him for help. Why should he? Incest was a crime, a disgusting relationship and he would not stand by it, he was disappointed in both of you. Taking the hint Tommy carried on.

"Arthur I don't ask much of you, I've never once judged you from your past, I've always been at your side now I need you to be here for me...You may not agree with the situation but I need not remind you she is our sister, she needs us. Who knows who the fuck has her or what they are doing with her. I need you brother." Arthur brushed his hand through his oily hair, down over his beard contemplating. Tommy had a point and fuck did he hate when he always did, however you were not the only Shelby missing.

"What about Michael? Hm? He's a Shelby too that only one of us in the room knows where he is. He's Pol's kid for fucks sake Tom. Where is he?" Tom shook his head, uninterested in relaying those details just yet, once you were back and he could see with his very own that you were unharmed and the baby was okay then he would spill.

"That information is not important now is it? Y/N is a sweet, innocent girl and she's always been there for everyone Arthur, can you say the same about Michael, 'cause I can't." He had a point there, Arthur remembering all the times Michael screwed him over and Pol expecting them to just forgive him because of the last name he shared. It was bullshit.

Tommy had plenty of dirt on his brother but he didn't operate like that, he was Arthur's weakspot and he knew that, he didn't have to use his past against him for him to give in and fall in line with his requests and orders. Nodding, Arthur slammed the rest of his drink, groaning and following Tommy out the door.

"You smell like shit." Tommy tried to make light of the situation, setting a subtle reminder that neither had to agree with the others decisions they just needed to be there for one another.

"Ah shut up Tom. Who's ass are we killing this time, hm?"

-

With Tommy being gone, Polly was making herself at home in his office, digging through the drawers of his desk, scattering papers across the room looking for any information that might help her find her son, but there was nothing. Now that you were missing, she'd be damned if she was going to lose her own kid, putting him first in a selfish way.

A knock at the door startled her, thinking it may be Tommy until the voice spoke.

"Relax Pol, it's just me." Oh thank god, it was just John.

He walked in with sympathetic eyes, hating see his aunt in such a desperate state of mind without a hint of a starting point to find Michael but he knew something and she could tell.

In a moment of silence, Pol pointed her cigarette accusingly at him, blowing smoke into the brisk air of the room.

"You never come in to Tommy's office unless he's here. What do you know, where is he?!" John put his hands up surrendering the idea of him indeed knowing something, but he wasn't here just for that.

Tommy clued him in on the plan, asking him to stay home and keep Pol subdued, and to inform her Michael would be home soon unharmed but only after you were safely secured in his arms once again.

"Michael is safe. He will be home later after Y/N is found alive and safe. He forced him to work in the states and keep business affairs civil to bring the company in money.

A wave of relief washed over her, but when she heard who they think had taken you a dreadful, terrified feeling rushed through her veins. She didn't think it would go this far, that James and Lizzie would be so spiteful, not that she was much better herself. But never this bad.

"Where's Arthur?" John scoffed with a surprised yet irritated look on his face.

"Don't you in the least bit care about y/n and Tommy? I know they are on your shit list but they're family Pol, they're blood. We've all made mistakes but if they are happy just let them fucking be happy."

Pol stood their contemplating on the right thing to say, she couldn't separate her love for the both of you from her views on this relationship.

-

Kicking the door in Tommy walked into the club with determined eyes, searching for his target while Arthur walked behind him smoking a cigarette, waiting for the younger Shelby's queue to start fucking people up.

"You see him Tom?" He shook his head, but was still scanning the room while keeping his composure. Heads turned toward the family with looks of disgust, some with fear as they knew very well who the brothers were.

After a few sharp turns and corners, Tommy motioned toward Arthur to light this god damn place on fire and kill anyone that got in his way as they were both carrying. The boy spotted Tommy out of the corner of his eye but Tommy was faster, shoving him against the wall and cocking his gun beneath his chin.

"Where the fuck is she? I knew you were no good from the fucking start. What can't pull a beautiful, innocent girl so you go and have her fucking killed eh? Sounds like an insecure little bitch to me. You didn't think I'd find you did you James?" He eyed the boy skeptically, his eyes beaming with anger, giving off a profound sense of dominance. He kneed him in the stomach, causing him to groan out in agony, almost falling to the floor if it weren't for Tommy holding up, ignoring the chaos behind him his brother was causing, a table flipping in the air and hitting the wall besides James's head. A piece of wood flying of a broken leg and striking him in the eye.

"Take me to the fucking room." He dropped the boy, kicking him in is back to go on and crawl if he had to. He didn't care, he just needed you.

The room was in a far back, closed off area of the club, away from people that no one would have heard your screams.

Barging in the room Tommy threw James's bruised, and battered body on the floor, ignoring his whimpers, seeing red when he saw Mosley's lips against the warmth of your neck, his hand caressing your breast while blood flowed freely from your nose. The cut mark of the sharp knife glistening in the light beaming in through the dirty window.

"Ah well if it isn't Mr. Shelby. It's been quite some time no?" When Tommy pulled out his gun once more, Mosley was quick to yank your head back by your hair, pressing the blade roughly into your skin.

"Ah, ah. Temper, temper. I was simply doing what the young lad here couldn't. You should know by now you can't escape me." When Arthur screamed angrily and bolted forward, Mosley dug the knife in deeper, causing you to scream out in pain, making Tommy grab Arthur by the arm and yank him back. He didn't want to risk it, not yet.

He breathed in the sea breeze scent of your hair, continuing to pepper kissed to your temple, making you squirm in discomfort from the man's unwanted advances. Your eyes locked with Tommy to put a stop to this, to end this right here right now. Seeing you in such a pitiful, abused state angered him but also shattered his heart to think Pol couldn't be trusted to look after you.

"What do you want eh? The campaign is fucking over, she has nothing to do with this. This fight is between us, the men. Now why don't we handle this like proper gentlemen eh? Let the girl go." Mosley wasn't convinced, shaking his head no. That would be too easy. He expected adventure, excitement, he wanted to see his enemy crumble, to have no choice but to admit to defeat.

"And why would I do that hm? If I recall correctly you tried to kill me. You've lost my trust Mr. Shelby. Quite the disappointment you turned out to be, now here I am trying to rid your baby sister of this rotted fruit in the womb that belongs to you." Tommy was blindsided, no one had actual proof that there was any relation more than a sister and brother relationship. Lizzie didn't have solid proof, James hadn't either just speculation he was bluffing but Tommy couldn't risk egging him on instead standing there silently with his hands folded in front of him in a gentlemanly manner as he tried to keep his composure.

"Mr. Mosley, not quite sure where you are getting false information from. After all I think the only one that may have fucked his sister is you, you do like to keep it in the family if I recall correctly." Mosley stiffened his jaw, grabbing a tightening his fist in your hair before shoving your head down and smacking his gun down on your head merely knocking you out as blood trickled down your forehead.

He was moving away from you slightly, they just had to wait for the opportunity, even though Tommy's heart was thudding inside his chest rapidly in fear of what would happen if they didn't make a move soon. Just a few more steps away from you...

"The per-petulant know it all, walking into my fucking club. These are my grounds Mr. Shelby, what kind of host am I not offering you a drink first? Maria-" Before he could finish yelling for a woman, in a swift motion Tommy went to throw a punch and reach for his hat to scrape his skin off while Arthur rushed to your unconscious aide.

Mosley was faster though, head butting the younger Shelby as he fumbled to take his gun from his jacket. The weapon falling out and sliding across the floor.

As Arthur undid your bindings, he noticed his brother needed help. Unlike Tommy, Mosley wasn't messing with him at the moment, giving him an advantage.

Pulling his gun from the back of his trousers he aimed it at Mosley, who grasped his own gun in his hand now, holding Tommy in a head lock with his forearm wrapped around Tommy's neck.

"Put the gun down Arthur, or a bullet goes through her head." Tommy was losing air and attempted to scream for Arthur to take the fucking shot.

Simultaneously, Arthur screamed a "fuck you" Mosley's way, both guns going off in a poetic yet dreadful scene of the dangerous men at play.

Blood splattered across the wall, Mosley's grip on Tommy loosening, making him drop to the floor on his knees as he tried to catch his breath with weary, fuzzy eyes glancing up. The bullet Mosley shot had only just missed your head by a centimeter, his lifeless body flailing to the ground as Arthur managed to him with a killshot in the middle of his forehead.

"You alright Tommy, hm?" He waved him off, stumbling to get up and pull you out of the chair at this godforesaken place. Carrying you out in his arms while Arthur picked his gun up off the floor, taking Mosley's in the process.

"C'mon sweet girl, let's go home." Relief washed over Tommy like an immense wait had been lifted from his shoulders.

He gave Arthur the go ahead to call the man he put Michael with to allow him to be released from his duties, too zoned out and only focused on you, worried if the baby was alright.

-

Your dreary, restless head rested against Tommy' shoulder as he walked you inside, spotting Pol and Michael standing by the fire place. A look of pity washing over your aunt's face when she noticed the bruises on your face, the dried blood painted from your hair down your forehead. She hadn't wished this upon you, she never would, she hadn't realized just how serious this situation was or how perhaps James wasn't the man she thought he could be for you.

Now with the family reunited even with strained ties, the house settled, the fire crackling in the background, Tommy laying your cold body down on the sofa beside it to warm you up, tossing a wool throw blanket over you in the process.

Pol was the first one to speak.

"I-I'm so sorry I-I didn't know I-" Tommy cut her off abruptly with the raise of his hand not even batting an eye at Michael standing in the room, acting as if he wasn't present.

"No, no you didn't know. You didn't take the time to know. Frances has already informed me that you were too wasted to even hear someone breaking in the fucking house. She had to hide in a fucking closet Pol. Look at her now, tell me is this far enough for you, or do you want her dead along with our child?" This place was no longer a safe space for you, and Tommy refused to put you in harms way ever again, too worried to even risk it because it was clear he could not trust anyone in the family to even care about your safety just because of one unplanned pregnancy.

When the early morning light peered in through the window, the sounds of bird chirping in the harmonious summer day, you woke up head pounding from the painful blows Mosley striked you with. Tommy was layed beside you, caressing your cheek delicately and lovingly, glancing down at your weak state with sympathetic eyes.

"Good morning love. I set two tylenol on the table with a glass of water. We should get going soon, we don't have long until the others wake." With a puzzled look, you glanced around the room only to see your belongings no longer there. Only the dusty old furniture that was handed down through generations.

"W-what?"

"We're going away for awhile, at least until she is born." Your eyebrows propped up with excitement and surprise, how did he know the gender?

"That's right she. I had Frances contact the doctor. Now take your pills and let's get the hell out of hear because I won't risk your health and safety again nor hers." The tears started welling up in your eyes, insisting on taking the pills to go in the car. You were finally getting away, having the light at the end of the tunnel with Tommy by your side. He assisted you up, holding on to you with a protective, and caring hold to help you into the car.

The two of you sat in silence for a moment, the events from the previous night still washing over you, reminding you both as you stared back at the house you grew up in of why you were leaving.

"Well, wh-where are we going?"

"Far, far away from here my beautiful girl." He took your hand in his, digits scanning over you smooth skin before resting a kiss to your forehead, smiling like a fool in love that the day had come, he finally was going to have the ability to be happy, no arguments, no danger, just a family of his own with the girl he shouldn't have loved the way he did.

[yoonmetogether]

Not In the Cards teaser!

pairing: bodyguard!Yoongi x CEO!fem reader

genre: mafia, e2l

summary: yoongi realizes something about you, about himself, and runs. It's what he does best afterall.

warnings: implications of sex, angst, trauma, yoongi has a dark past. i hope y'all will stick around to find out, this is a long winded story i'm sorry! also reader uses a pseudonym as it’s relative to the plot.

minors dni

wc: 1k

teaser I part i. I part ii. I

When he wakes up next to you, it’s still dark out and you’re still fast asleep. Your face is just a silhouette to him, but he knows you’re beautiful, even in slumber. His heart jumps when he remembers you’re in his hoodie and he doesn’t think too much about how much he likes that. 

How is it possible to like someone he just met this much? He hands it off to the (great fucking) sex he just had. 

He does his best not to disturb you as he maneuvers out of bed and into the bathroom, needing to wash off remnants of sticky sex and sweat now that he’s cognizant. He waits until he’s started the shower to turn the lights on, ignoring his reflection as he takes off his favorite silver chain and places it on the shelf above the toilet to avoid any drains, dog tags swinging on his chest when he steps into the tub.

You're still sleeping when he returns so he quietly gets dressed, trying not to hate putting back on the clothes he wore yesterday now that's he's freshly showered but it can't be helped. A little of the sunrise has made the room a low mix of blue and grey so he can see you better as he goes to the nightstand to put on his watch. He looks over at you and smiles to himself when he hears you snoring softly. You shift on your stomach, facing away from him and just as he turns to leave the room for a morning cigarette, an etching on the back of your neck catches his attention. He has yet to put in his contacts and it's still not bright enough to see well so he slowly sits on the edge of the bed to have a better look, curiosity piqued. It has the shape of some kind of bird or plane, something with wings so he leans a little closer, pressing a fist on the mattress to hold himself up. He expects the wings to be that of an angel, a nod to your name, but when he finally sees what it is, albeit a bit blurry, his heart stops and drops to his stomach.

It is indeed a small bird but not one he expected to see on your skin. A crow. And it's drawn as if it were flying high in the sky, it's talons digging into a human skull. To anyone else, its meaning is ambiguous, but to him, to others like him, it's the symbol of enormous power, made by blood, money and greed. He would know - he has a tattoo that speaks to the gang he got caught up in as a teenager that branded him to force his loyalty. A gang that could be shredded and not missed by the organization that owns the symbol tatted on your neck.

Shit. Being who he is, relying solely on intuition and reading between the lines, he had a gut feeling that you may not be as innocent as you seem. To the average bystander, maybe. But not to him. The crow on your neck confirms it.

And for the first time in a long time, he's terrified.

Before seeing that, he'd already considered leaving before you wake up, doubting what good would come out of him staying. You don't need someone marred and sinful like him in your life.

But now if you find out about the coiled cobra on the back of his left shoulder, one of the many reasons he didn't take his shirt off or keep the lights on once you both fell into bed, he’ll be screwed for a whole different reason.

So he makes the decision that there's nothing for him to do but leave you in the dust and never look back, tacking this night onto the murky cloud of his many mistakes. Even though it makes his heart ache. All the more reason to coat it in tar, making it impenetrable to him and anyone else. In the weeks to come, he'll force it to forget you.

But it will only make him colder and bitter. Forlorn. He fucking deserves that.

He grabs his phone and his keys he left on the couch and hauls ass to the door and down to the lobby so you don't wake in time to see him disappear without a trace. But in the rush, he forgets the one thing most precious to him that he took off before he showered. It isn't until he's zipping away on his motorcycle towards the ferry, blaming the cold and whipping wind for the tears piercing the corners of his eyes, that he realizes and curses himself. The one thing he was supposed to never lose, to always take care of, he forgot. His mother was right - if his grandfather was still around he’d be so disappointed. For the rest of the way home, his mother’s words ring in his ears - he’s a fuck up who’s lost all chances to redeem himself. No one will want him. So going forth, that's what he carries with him every day when you come up in his thoughts, no matter how hard he tries to keep you out.

It's better this way. He did you a favor.

When you wake up alone, it’s not your empty stomach that makes you feel nauseous.

You rush to the convenience store for a morning after pill, because you’ll be damned if you get knocked up, especially not by someone who doesn’t have the fucking decency to leave a note, much less a phone number, after a night like that.

Fuck him. Fuck him big time for being just like everyone else. You know what your father and brothers would say - that's what you get for letting your guard down. Naive and weak-minded people only get themselves hurt. So just like you have done countless times, you pick up the pieces of your heart that were stomped and crushed and left for dead, and bury them in the recesses of your mind, keeping all of your pain to yourself. Pain is weakness, especially the kind you can’t see on your skin, and weakness is forbidden in the blood you share with your family. Maybe now the lesson will stick. But for the years to come, his eyes, his touch, his voice will haunt you in your dreams and your nightmares. You hope to all hell you never see him again.

If you do, he better watch his fucking back.

.

.

.

part i. coming soon!!! masterlist

thank you for reading! this is all very nerve wracking to me bc i'm an anxious girl and a perfectionist when it comes to writing and i kind of pulled this scene outta my ass so i could get a teaser out there so i'm not 100% confident about it.

but let me know what you think here or leave a comment if you want.

xxx - claret

thanks k bye :)

p.s this is what i imagine as reader’s tattoo

[casewonnie]

For books and all - Park Sunghoon

Pairing: Park Sunghoon x fem!reader

Summary: the day arrives where one of your favorite book series gets another part of the series and you can't wait to go and get a copy. little did you know it wouldn't be as easy as you think

Genre: dislike to friends, fluff, attempt at humor, chaotic?, talk of books, i dont know how to promote this it came to me in a vision

Warnings: none really, nothing explicit just mild swearing, oh and nonsensical insults, i am cringe but i am free, sunghoon is weird, y/n is weird, both of them have mild anger issues, sunoo is sassy, he also gets dragged and tickled, all of enha are here of course <3 i put the hunger games as the chosen book but you can imagine whatever

Word count: 5.2k

a/n: Hello! First of all, my writing debut wow. Second, thank you for being here and choosing to read my au. I decided to get back into writing, and this is my first ever fic that I finish and actually leaves the vault. I didn't know how to do the text messages so I just left them. If it sucks I apologise it was not beta-read, english is not my first language and I haven't written in a while but I really hope it's not too bad. I also didn't proof read the whole thing. I'm kind of scared to post this.

Sunghoon being chosen for this random prompt was purely based on the fact that I would love to fight him (affectionately, positively)

Any constructive criticism or praise is greatly appreciated. I love interactions.

ENOUGH WITH THE YAP LET'S BEGIN

>The day before the incident<

“Do you know who I love the most?” Niki, the youngest of Sunghoon’s friend group barged in his room all smiles and bright energy. 

“How’d you get in, the apartment was locked.” Sunghoon lived with the rest of his friend group who were currently out and about with him enjoying the peace and quiet, well, up until a minute ago... As the youngest, Niki was still living with his family but he stayed over and hung out with them more times than he can count. This wasn’t a complaint, they all loved him like their own little brother, what concerned him is that he was fairly certain Niki didn’t have a spare key to the apartment and the door was definitely locked, so he had no idea how he got in. 

“You! I love you the most! Also, don’t worry about it I have my ways.” Niki dismissed him like he asked a banal question. 

“That is terrifying?” he replied. 

“Anyways, my dear Hoonie, do you know how much I appreciate and look up to you as an older brother?” oh no. Niki was a sweet and thoughtful kid, wrapped in like a... dark, emo-looking exterior that wasn’t fooling anyone, but when he was this sweet, it usually meant he wanted something... “Okay now I’m really scared. You’re not gonna make me like, do something illegal... are you?” 

Niki let out a laugh. “Don't be ridiculous... I just need a favor.” he assured him. “So... you know the hunger games, right?” 

“You mean one of the most famous book series and movie franchise? Yeah, I’m familiar.” Sunghoon deadpanned. 

“The newest book comes out tomorrow, and I need you to go to the store and get me a copy. I have the money and everything I just can’t go because I have a class in the morning. I asked the others but Heeseung and Jake apparently had some math project to finish and Jungwon said he was supposed to go to a... dora the explorer convention...”  

Sunghoon scrunched his face in confusion, not even wanting to comment on that last one, and then he realized something. “Wait, wait, wait a second... I wasn’t the first person you asked, not even second, but fourth!? What’s up with that?” 

“Oh, well umm, I just didn’t think you’d be up for it that’s all.” Niki didn’t think it would be a big deal to Sunghoon but seems like he was wrong. 

“Of course I’m up for it! I’m wayy up... I’m flying with the birds! I’ve basically turned into a satellite.” Sunghoon tried not to sound offended by his friends’ statement but it may not sound as convincing as he thought. “Whatever!”  

Niki hadn’t said a word, he just kind of stood there with his hand on his mouth, slightly frozen as if his friend would turn him into a shish kebab if he moved. 

Sunghoon got up from where he was laying on his bed to stand in front of Niki, he put his hands on the others’ shoulders and looked him in the eyes, Niki tilting his head backwards now, wondering what he got himself into. “Don’t you worry about a damn thing! I’ll make sure I get you that book. Even if it’s the last thing I do.” he finished the last sentence by shaking the other man back and forth. “I’ll go get it right now!” 

Sunghoon let go and sprinted out of the room as fast as he could, Niki snapped out of the weird trance and realized what was happening. “Sunghoon where are you going?! The book comes out tomorrow!” he ran after him out of the apartment and into the hallway but couldn’t see his friend. “I haven’t even shown you how the book looks like!” he tried but just ended up yelling into an empty hallway. 

“Man, what the hell...” he whispered to himself lightly rubbing the back of his head, huffed and put his hands on his hips awkwardly. “He’s so odd.” he said and went back inside.

>Day of the incident<

This was it. Today was the big day. You have been anticipating this for almost a year and in just a few hours you will get your hands on what would be your most prized possession, because later today comes out the second prequel to one of your favorite book series. You haven’t been able to stop thinking about it ever since the news came out, and you even decided to re-read all the previous books and rewatch all the movies. You made a whole event out of it and watched the movies together with your friends Sunoo and Jay, who were big fans as well, maybe not on the same level as you... you had the tendency to get a little too obsessed with certain things... but hey, at least they were supportive. Anyways, the whole thing made you even more excited for the release, which is why you were currently sweating out of your eyeballs trying to think of anything else that will calm you down. 

“Oh god I really need to relax.” you said to yourself out loud, even though you were currently alone in your room because to your disdain, both your roommates had their respective uni classes that morning. Wondering if you should text the group chat anyway, not wanting to bother them, you made yourself some food, got a glass of water and sat down to eat before you started getting ready and decided to message your friends. 

>text messages<

Y/N: GUYS... IM REALLY NERVOUS PLS HELP ME 

Y/N: ignore this if you’re in class 

Jay: Is this about the book that comes out later 

Jay: Also we have like an hour break rn 

Sunoo: oh my god get a LIFE 

Y/N: WHAT THE FUCK SUNOO 

Y/N: and yes my dearest and only friend jay... it is 

Jay: It’s going to be fine don’t worry about it! You’ll get a copy 

Sunoo: this is what having only two friends does to you 

Y/N: STOPPP WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU 

Y/N: yk what i see how it is 

Jay: Hey come on now you two 

Jay: Let’s all love each other <3 

Y/N: Sunoo you’ve just lost all your privileges and are now demoted to “some guy i live with”. from now on you may refer me to Miss Awesome-Sauce or M’lady 

Sunoo: NEVER say awesome sauce again 

Jay: You should’ve gone with pumpkin spice 

Y/N: what? 

Sunoo: and also what privileges lmaoooo 

Sunoo: if its your weekly concerts then im not really at a loss am i 

Y/N: im revoking your... “can i borrow the book” privilege :) 

Y/N: *mic drop* 

Jay: GASP 

Jay: oh no she didn’t 

Sunoo: .... 

Sunoo: Listen... 

Sunoo: My dear, lovely Y/N, my best friend, light of my life, the moon to my sun 

Sunoo: the palm to my tree 

Sunoo: the swimming to my pool 

Jay: I have never heard anyone say those... 

Sunoo: the lip to my stick 

Jay: HELLO???”@#@$% 

Y/N: I feel uncomfortable... 

Sunoo: I have made a grave mistake and from now on I’ll think about my words and how they can affect people. I will take time off of social media to deeply reflect on myself. 

Sunoo: *sends a selfie* 

Sunoo: Me self-reflecting 

Jay: NOT THE LEE MINHO REF 

Y/N: omg who is this DIVA  

Y/N: okay you’re forgiven but only because you’re cute 

Sunoo: I know <3  

>end of text messages<

You turned off your phone now that you’ve calmed down a bit due to you and your friends’ goofy antics. You looked at the clock and realized you had just over 3 hours to properly get ready, catch the bus to go to your nearest bookstore and be there at least 30 minutes before they stock up on the books.  You haven’t done math this much since graduating high school. The next question was what to wear.... I mean it was kind of a special occasion, right? If you could say that. Man, maybe Sunoo was right, you did need to make more friends... Whatever! Now was not the time for that. 

You got ready and got to the bus station 10 minutes early just in case. The ride there was calm with no incidents with you listening to your playlist with songs you loved lately. It was just before 10:30am when you arrived but when you got to the bookstore it was surprisingly... empty. Too empty. Something was wrong.  

Never in your life have you seen the bookstore so free of life before, with a just a couple of customers roaming around. You looked around for the table with new releases and just as you saw it you noticed that, that too... was free of books... umm... okay so they might just have not taken them out yet, that must be it. You asked the bookseller at the cash register and she kindly informed you that the book was in fact, ahem... sold out. 

Your jaw dropped. “There’s no way, you must have some copies left.” you had to make sure you understood right and that this wasn’t a case of miscommunication. “I’m so sorry, we had to open an hour early today and everyone just got here after that. It sold out in like 20 minutes.” the cashier spoke with a little smile, her eyebrows scrunched as if she was looking at a hurt puppy. 

“Can you please check your stock again? Or if I can make an early order if you receive a new batch soon?” you tried the only thing you can think of. Luckily the lady was nice and let you leave your phone number, marked down your order and told you she’ll give you a call if they have a copy left or get new ones. 

“Thank you so much!” oh dear, that wasn’t your plan in the slightest. It’s alright though! You weren’t going to lose hope but you still wanted to search the store just in case there was another copy on the loose, maybe it was hidden somewhere, misplaced, mixed up with the others, in another genre section, you get it. 

Looking thoroughly on the shelves where it could be sorted by genre was to no avail, so the only option left was to roam around and quite possibly stumble upon it, I mean if it’s meant to be it will find you. Something about not chasing but attracting it instead. Yeah, that could work, delusion was the best motivator in this case.  

You got to the “thriller” section just as you noticed a book on one of the shelves, well you saw the spine to be exact, with a similar color scheme to the one you were searching for and gasped. Okay Y/N, calm down, maybe it’s not that one, don’t get your hopes up too high now, was your initial thought, but as you got closer to it, the book became all the more familiar. Could this really be it? Huh, maybe you weren’t surrounded by misfortunes and the universe granted you a lucky break. It took everything in you not to scream out loud or jump around in excitement but instead you walked normally to the shelf, the second you grabbed the lower half of the book to pull it, another hand landed on the top half of it. Oh you must be joking right now...  

You turned to the stranger who was trying to get between you and the most important thing in your life right now, a fictional world... still important nonetheless. It surprised you to see that the person next to you was probably the most handsome man you’ve ever laid your eyes upon. He looked like he was your age and was fairly taller than you, with jet black hair, dressed in casual clothes and a face that could launch fifty spaceships into the orbit. Okay you didn’t really know how to explain it but the point still stands. He had a few moles on his face, the prettiest eyes and eyebrows that seemed like they were drawn by a single stroke of an artists’ brush, which made him even more gorgeous. If that was possible. 

“Hi there.” he spoke after a few seconds. 

“Hello.” you replied confidently not wanting to back down even a bit because realistically, you knew what was about to go down. “Looks like we reached for the same book.” you added. 

“Yeah, seems so.” he answered cockily both of your hands tightly holding the book, you could tell he was a stubborn one and it pissed you off, this was not going to be easy... 

“Are you sure you aren’t lost? The self-help section is over by the entrance.” you tried to rile him up and pointed in the direction behind him but he didn’t even blink. Instead, he just turned fully in your direction, hand still firmly on the book. 

“Nope. This is the book I was looking for.” you were expecting a snarky comeback that never came and instead he got closer, towering over you just enough for you to feel a teeny-tiny bit intimated. “This is the only copy left and I’m not leaving this store without it darling.” his voice was sweet and tender but his words weren’t. You narrowed your eyes at him. 

“Your bogus charm won’t work on me.” as if you’d let a man deceive you with such cheap tricks. You sighed. “Alright, how about this. We both put the book on that table over there...” you pointed to the small seating area behind you, near the windows “...and then we have a calm, rational talk on who should have it, okay? What’s your name?” 

The guy studied you for a bit, unsure on whether he should trust you or not. After a moment he released a long breath and let go of the book, you pulled it out of its place on the shelf, got over to the table and placed it down. “It’s Sunghoon by the way.” he said quietly. 

“What?”  

“My name. It’s Sunghoon.” he repeated. 

“Oh.” pretty name, you thought. “I’m Y/N.” it was only fair to let him know yours too. 

“So... how will we decide this?” he continued the conversation. You thought about it but nothing really came to mind. “Umm… maybe we could list of our reasons and whoever has a better reason wins?” 

Sunghoon opened his mouth in an attempt to speak but you interrupted him instead. “I’ll start first,” you said without letting him have a word in, you did him dirty but this was not the time to play nice. Your life depended on it, or more like... a couple of hours of enjoyment. 

“My reason is that I really like the series and want to read it.” you continued. 

“Right. Well, I promised a dear friend of mine that I’ll get it for him because he couldn’t come.” damn him, that was an infinitely better reason, why did he have to be so selfless. 

“How do I know you’re not lying? I mean at least I gave an honest reason.” you didn’t know why you just said that but in all honestly it was the only way you could’ve stalled this until, well... whatever you planned to do, but you had to think of something first. 

“Are you kidding me?” you could tell he was getting more annoyed by the minute and you decided to push it further. God why were you like this. 

“I mean… I just want to make sure we’re both being a hundred percent transparent with each other. Is there even a “friend” you’re helping?” oh yeah he definitely bought that. 

“Oh, I see what you’re doing. Your reason sucked compared to mine so now you’re just trying to slither your way through an excuse. Well it’s not going to work, so you can stop with the air quotes.” Sunghoon was getting really tired of your shit and he sure as hell wasn’t gonna go down without a fight. 

“Slither my way through? What does that even mean?! And my reason doesn’t suck. It's just as valid as yours but I'm making sure the copy is not going to waste and that your “friend" actually appreciates the story.” maybe it would’ve been a better idea to be more... civil, but something about him made you want to keep pushing his buttons and he was no better either so you didn’t really feel guilty. 

“Hey! My best friend Niki, who is very much real, has been a fan of this series since the first book came out, so this copy is basically his birth right and there’s no way I’ll let some sea urchin have it!” Sunghoon was, let’s say a bit surprised at his own tone, he wasn’t the type of person to just have beef with random strangers over silly things, but I guess he was just feeling protective over Niki and wanted to win this for him. 

“A... a sea urchin?! How dare you, you... potato peeler...” way to call someone names. 

Sunghoon gasped as he clutched his chest.  

“I’ve been a fan for a whole YEAR, your friends’ love for it has been on stand-by, okay? Mine is fresh in my memory and if I don’t read that book immediately, I’m going to explode.” You emphasized with your hands.  

“Well gosh darn that’s just awful, what will the world do without a life ruining angry kitten like you.” he crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes. 

“Oh real funny Mr. Probably wears coats all the time.” in your defense he did seem like a coat guy. 

“Wow you got me... I’m so embarrassed, you carrot muffin.” yeah let’s go with that, he thought. 

“What did you just call me?!”   

“You heard me!” 

“Screw you, pencil biter!”  you were starting to get sick of this pointless “battle” so it was the best you could come up with. 

“Bet you like plain pasta, don’t you?” he put his hands on his hips. 

Sunghoon scoffed but then noticed the way your face sank at the last “insult”. There’s no way you actually got offended from that, is there? Maybe it was a touchy subject for you... dang it, how could he have been so stupid. What was going on with him today, this whole thing was so stupid, he didn't actually want to offend you... aaand great now he felt bad... 

“Hey look, I’m sorry, I didn’t actually mean what I said, it’s just the first thing that popped into my mind. It wasn’t my intention to hurt you.” you were standing very still while awkwardly fiddling with your hands looking anywhere but at him and frankly, he didn’t know what else to do.  

“It’s not like I always eat it plain, you know.” you spoke softly and sighed. “My friends make fun of me for it so it’s a bit of a touchy subject but...it’s just so good! If you make it right, cook it for long enough and then... leave a bit of the uhh... left-over pasta flavored water. It’s amazing.” you were scrambling for words which at this point made it 10 times weirder than it was. 

Sunghoon nodded while listening intently. “I know, I know. Forget your friends, you eat pasta however you want to! Don’t let anyone tell you it’s wrong, okay? If you want to eat it plain then do that, who cares...” you still had your head down and after some internal debating and awkward back and forth hand movement, Sunghoon reached his hand and pat your head a few times with a soft “There, there. It’ll be okay.” 

You feel like your eyes bulged out of the pop sockets from the shock of feeling his hand on your head. Was he... comforting you? Never mind the weird air around you both and the weight of his gaze on you, it was... warm and tender. 

In Sunghoon’s case however, he didn’t know what he was saying nor why he just patted you head but at this point he would’ve done anything to stop you from sulking and bring back that insane fiery energy of yours from before and... wait a minute. Why was he thinking all this and why did he even care? Oh god he was going mad... he hadn’t thought any of this trough.  

At that moment, you slowly raised your head and looked at him with a small smile on your face, thanked him and... okay he was definitely going insane because he just found you so cute, he felt like a butterfly gave birth to a million small butterflies in his stomach...or was it the gut? Either way, this was not good, he needed to get his head out of the clouds and remember what his objective was.  

“Okay! Enough with the dilly-dallying!” you exclaimed, stopping his train of thought but the complete 180 change from arguing to whatever the other thing was to arguing again was going to give him a migraine.  

“We need to settle this once and for all. And I’m afraid there’s only one way to do it...”  

Sunghoon nodded. “A sword fight!” he declared. 

You stopped for a second to scowl at him. “What? No. Where would we find swords, although I would love that, it always seemed really fun on tv. I was thinking more of like rock, paper, scissors?” 

“Okay, yeah, that’s way more doable.” he straightened his posture and squeezed his hand into a fist “Let’s settle this once and for all.” 

“Ready? Rock, paper, scissors, sho-” 

“Excuse me?...” Before you were able to throw the hand signs, a lady came up to you. “May I ask if you need any help, is there a specific book you’re looking for? Maybe I can help you look for it?” she had a nametag on her shirt and you could make out a small ‘Louise’ so you figured she was one of the store sellers. 

Sunghoon spoke first “Oh no ma’am. Thank you very much for offering, but we were just about to decide who gets to have this book...” He turned to show the book where they last left it on the table next to them, only to realize it wasn’t there. Both of their jaws dropped in disbelief. 

“It’s... gone.” You looked up right at the register as another girl about their age was checking out, the same book she had in her hands just a few minutes ago... The girl turned away from the counter, now with the book in a tiny bag heading towards the exit. As she opened the door, she turned back to them and gave them a snarky smile and wriggled her fingers in a wave and exited the store. 

“Oh, that little...” You were about to head in her direction but Sunghoon grabbed your shoulders and stopped you from doing something stupid. 

“Alright~ Let’s calm down a bit. She already bought it, there’s nothing you can do. We should’ve paid more attention to our surroundings. It’s over let’s just leave it.” 

“You’re right. How are you more clear-headed than me? It’s odd.” 

“I have my strong points.” he flashed a grin in your direction and you froze for a second. Wow his smile was so... gorgeous. How can someone be this good looking... it wasn’t fair to anyone. You turned to the woman before she witnessed any more stupid shenanigans, thanked her and exited the store with Sunghoon following behind. 

“Hey, can we both agree that this entire morning and everything that happened in there was genuinely insane and definitely not something we should be fighting over?” you said once you were both out on the sidewalk. The sun was peeking out through some clouds so it was still quite cold, the streets were busy with cars and people going on about their day. 

“Yeah, I mean, it does seem quite silly now, doesn’t it?” he laughed, leaving a big goofy grin on his face. “I guess this means we’re friends now?” he added, looking at you with anticipation. Well that was new, you weren’t expecting that, especially not from him but hey, what the hell. 

“I guess so.” you nodded, smiling back at him and extended your hand for a handshake which he gladly accepted and shook it with his own. 

It got quiet and after a few seconds you asked “So... what do we do now?” 

“Umm...” he answered which gave you the impression that he probably didn’t know either “If you want, we can go hangout at my apartment, it’s close by, maybe we can have some of that plain pasta. And don’t worry I have roommates and you can invite your friends over. Niki will be there because, one, I want you to know that he’s real” you rolled your eyes “and two, since he’s a big fan of the series you’ll probably get along well.”  

NEVER go to a complete strangers house or invite one over, stay safe please <3 

“Okay. Yeah sure, why not. I’ll call my friends we can go together once they get here.” you knew their class had already ended so you texted Sunoo and Jay to come to a nearby cafe since you made plans with Sunghoon to wait for them there and chat in the meantime until you headed to the original hang-out location. 

When the four of you got there you got greeted by 3 of Sunghoon friends which you found out were Jungwon, Jake and Niki who, to your surprise ended up being very real and for the next 5 minutes you didn’t hear the end of it from Sunghoon, meaning you were bombarded with a bunch of attacks like “See? I told you he exists.” or “I can’t believe you’d think I’d lie about having friends, how low do you think of me?” to which your answers were either intense eye rolls or random outbursts of “Okay! I get it! Stop bothering me!” 

Once you filled everyone in on your...disagreement and everything from the moment you and Sunghoon met that led to you becoming friends of some sort, which to be fair, was very silly everyone fell into a comfortable small talk, slowly getting to know each other. 

Sunghoon was right about you getting along with the youngest, about whom you found out later on, that Niki was just a combination of his last and first name and his actual name was Riki. Your main topics of conversations being, of course, the hunger games but also the pain of not managing to get your hands on a copy of the newest book. Call that a tragic inconvenience bonding. 

Jay and Sunoo seemed to be getting along well with the others considering that for the past 15 minutes Jungwon explained, in great detail, all about his time at the dora the explorer convention and then dragged off Sunoo into the kitchen to show him his favorite episodes of the show. Jay bonded with Sunghoon and Jake over all three of them being born in the same year, called it fate that they met and something about soulmatism or whatever... they ended up putting their birth times into an astrology calculator to see if they, in Jake’s words, “match each other's freak”. 

As Niki stood up from the couch and into the kitchen with Sunoo and Jungwon, the space next to Y/N was free for just a few seconds before Sunghoon decided to take it up. 

“So...I think everything is going well. Heesung said he’d be back soon, said he was on some side quest. Are you having fun?” he asked expectantly. 

“Yeah, your friends are really cool, I really like them. And I’m glad the guys are getting along.” a high-pitched scream came from the kitchen the moment you said that, both your heads turning in the direction of the scream just in time to see Sunoo getting dragged by both Niki and Jungwon, followed by a bunch of cackles. You could see them trying to tickle Sunoo which forced him to get on the floor in an armadillo position, a surprised expression landing on your face. 

“Will he be okay or should I intervene?” Sunghoon asked, voice drowned in concern.  

“Oh don’t worry about Sunoo, he may not look like it but he can fend for himself if he wants to.” you said dismissively and Sunghoon mumbled an “alright then”, still a bit worried because he knew how his friends could be, but listened to you anyway. 

“You know, I’m kind of glad all the books were sold out, otherwise we might’ve never met. I got to be honest, you’re completely insane but it’s been a while since I’ve gotten into an argument with a stranger over a banal reason. It was honestly refreshing.” Sunghoon’s rambling was honestly so cute you didn’t even mind he called you crazy, and by the way he said it so excitedly and joyfully, you were sure he meant that as a compliment, and you didn’t mind it. 

“Aww, thanks. I think you’re pretty insane too, if it’s under any consolation.” the two of you fell into a bit of small talk, giggling and laughing over something the other one has said, getting along quite well, that is until Heeseung showed up. 

“Guys! I’m back and you’ll never believe what I found.” the guy you guessed was Heeseung, based on the single blurry picture Jungwon showed you, burst into the apartment without a care that, what was once his home, was now a chaos playground full of adult children running around and screaming. “Look what I got at a discount in a random mini market.” both you and Sunghoon stared in disbelief, eyes bulged out and jaws down to the floor as Heeseung pulled out a brand-new copy of the hunger games book you spent the whole morning fighting over. “Oh no.” mumbled Sunoo once he noticed what was happening. 

“It’s mine!” Sunghoon and you burst out simultaneously, turning to look at each other to once again continue your squabble from before your friends arc. The others now going over to Heeseung to see what the fuss was all about before collectively groaning in understanding.  

“Do you think Sunghoon remembers he went to get the book for Niki and not himself?” asked Jake, crossing his arms. 

“I didn’t know it was gonna cause this much drama or I would’ve just stayed silent.” Heeseung put the book back in his bag, now clearly worried about the damage he accidentally caused. 

“Knowing Y/N, she will stop at nothing to win this, since she basically let him off the hook earlier.” Jay joined in. 

“Umm,” Niki began a bit unsure of himself. “Does anyone wanna leave them at it and go get coffee or something?” 

“Sure.” Sunoo said without a second thought.  

“Oh! I know this cafe nearby that just opened up it’s really cute and has a bunch of delicious looking pastries, if you guys are up for it.” suggested Jake, already on his way to put on his shoes and went out on his own. 

“Well I guess we’re going either way. Let’s go everyone, we’ll text them when we get there. I wonder how long it takes them to notice they’ve been abandoned.” Jungwon giggled sneakily pushing the others out the door and closed it, the faint sound of muffled voices still audible from the hallway slowly disappearing as the boys went on with their mission, leaving the two angry penguins to fend for themselves. 

-the end- hope you enjoyed :)

[sweetbillwriting]

In The Dead of Night

ONE

Description: Delilah is on sick leave from her job and doesn't have much to do in the days. Her life has always been safe and a bit boring but everything changes when she falls in love with her best friend's dead brother.

Characters: AU Eric, played by Bill Skarsgård, from The Crow (2024)

Setting: This story is set in A WHOLE OTHER WORLD than the movie. Shelley isn't a part of this story. Eric will be different from the movie, especially because I haven't seen the movie.

Warnings: 18+. I've stopped writing out specific warnings. All of my stories are 18+, have heavy themes and are NSFW.

Notes: This is really just inspired by Bill Skarsgård's looks and the atmosphere of The Crow, nothing else.

You can find the prologue here

Green eyes. 

Green, big eyes looked at me intensely but more than that I couldn't see. It was like everything around was eaten up by complete darkness but the eyes were its own source of light. It didn't look like they floated around like two planets tossed out in space, no, it was obvious they were attached to a face, but a face I couldn't see. I tried to reach my hands out to touch the face, the shoulders, touch something belonging to the person with the intense green eyes but I didn't succeed. It was me who was the one who was bodiless, or at least I didn't have any contact with my body. Was I paralyzed? How could I know? 

Maybe I was no substance anymore, maybe I was just the air in front of the person with the green eyes. 

Eric. Even if I had just seen his eyes one time in a photo I knew it was his eyes in front of me. The big, sad eyes. In that moment he looked at me with searching eyes, like he wondered who I was or how I was feeling. Nothing with his eyes were hostile. I felt seen. Seen for real, in that way you probably just get to be seen a few times in your life. 

××× 

I stretched out in bed after waking up slowly and pleased, like you do when you've got the sleep hours you need and didn't have anything that rushed you to leave your bed's warm sheets. I didn't even have Odin to think about because he was living with his dad that week so I could stretch a bit more. 

I left my bed when I felt hunger growing deep in my belly. I rose up from bed with a smile and on my way to the bathroom I started to hum an old kids song I hadn't thought about for years, it wasn't until I saw myself in the bathroom mirror I realized how abnormal my behavior was. I wasn't a cheery person and I was definitely not the person singing for myself. 

My cheeks glowed of redness and my eyes were shiny. It looked like I've been out running in cold, crisp weather. I looked healthy. I wouldn't say I had looked unhealthy before, just a bit tired and paler than others because I rather stayed inside in front of a series than walk out in the warm weather, but now I looked like such a person that did pilates in the morning. I smiled for myself but it wasn't until later when my tongue met the bitter taste of coffee I understood why. 

Green eyes. 

I remembered my dream I had and felt his eyes crawl into my chest and built a nest in one of the ventricles. My blood turned warm and shot out in my body and made my cheeks heat and even more flushed. It was embarrassing. It was really painful, sadly, embarrassing. 

I had seen one picture of him and now I dreamt about his eyes like they were two pools made of love and happiness. 

It was five days ago I was at Lotti's and saw the big photo of him together with my best friend Robin, his brother. Robin was always well groomed, clean and bright in a Instagram friendly way, his brother looked like the complete opposite. Tall, dark and scribbled with tattoos that looked washed out on his pale skin but he was beautiful. Robin was attractive but he didn't have that thing Eric had. As I said, I saw one picture of him but it was obvious his beauty was mysterious and dark, like a night sky in December. Robin was more like a morning sky in May. 

I had thought about Eric a lot since that day. I had stood next to Lotti and looked at the portrait in silence and didn't dare to ask anything. It felt like a religious moment when we stood there, like we had a wake for him and I didn't want to disturb her in her grieve by asking about his age or occupation. I was also a bit afraid I would say something that would confuse her. I had no idea how her brain worked after her stroke. She maybe would get violent if I asked about his death.

I left when a nurse came and said Robin was waiting for me but I took a last look at Eric's sad eyes and then turned my eyes at Lotti with a small smile: 

“Is it okay if I come to get the dress another day? I really, really like it but I have some things to do now so it would be better if I could pick it up next week?” 

Lotti nodded a little and then took my hand in hers: 

“Of course, Delilah. Maybe we can take a cup of tea then and I can tell you a bit about Eric? It would be so nice to talk about my boy.” 

It wasn't my plan that she would invite me to talk about Eric. I wanted to know more but my plan were just to be able to visit her again and ask some simple question. I didn't need to know much, just a few things I just wanted to know out of pure curiosity, he was dead after all so there wasn't much to say about him today. 

It felt strange Robin hadn't told me about him but I also knew how sensitive he was. If you got him to cry it took ages for him to stop. He had opened the faucet and they wouldn't close until he had cried out everything he had inside of him. He probably hadn't told me because of the wounds it had created in him and how talking about it would feel like putting needles in an open wound. 

That was why I didn't tell him that I went to his mom two days later. He didn't need to know we would talk about his brother's death. 

××× 

I rarely dressed up. It didn't really feel like there was a point doing so when I didn't have so much to do and the last two weeks it had been so hot I would have been most comfortable just walking around in a big shirt and panties. To meet Lotti again felt like a moment to pull on a dress tho and I chose one with care. I wanted to show her that her dress would get a good new home but also that I was a good, reliable friend to Robin and someone also she could trust. I thought about bringing something with me that we could have to the tea but the time disappeared, I couldn't say where but it probably had something to do with the green eyes staring at me from the inside of my chest. 

I hoped it would be okay the time I had picked to go to her. It was a Wednesday, 10 am. It felt like a good time to come, she would probably have lunch by 12. I went into the entrance with the colorful birds also that day but had time to see more than that this time. It was a desk to the left when I got in, a simple wooden desk that didn't seem to be used so much because it looked empty. Behind it was a door to a smaller room. I could see a glimpse of a dask with a laptop. 

From the corridor from my left came a younger nurse in her blue scrubs and smiled at me questioning. 

“Hi, I'm here to see Lotti… Ehm, I'm a friend to her son?” 

The nurse stopped some steps from me and nodded a little. 

“I think you met Fiona yesterday… I will find her to see if she can let you in, we just want to know who's visiting,” she said carefully and looked out one of the windows at the yard, probably looking after Fiona. 

“Oh, sure, of course,” I answered and played with the voluminous skirt of my white polka dotted dress. 

The young nurse left and a few minutes later Fiona came back. She wore a smile then she looked at my ID and wrote me on a visitor list. 

“The morning have been a little rocky so you know… She didn't recognize the nurse who came into her this morning.” 

I nodded a little and looked around nervously but still followed the nurse to Lotti's room. I was more or less preparing myself for her to have forgotten me. 

“There is no real pattern in her memory, it can even feel like she remember new people better than us others,” said Fiona before knocking on Fiona's door. I didn't have time to answer before Lotti's round face peaked out from the door. She smiled brightly and gave my dress a big eyed look. 

“That's an amazing dress, Delilah!” 

The nurse gave me a pointed smile then she left me to Lotti. I smiled surprised at her and followed her into her apartment. 

“Thank you, you can call me Della, that's what everyone calls me.” 

××× 

“Della, Della, my Della…” sang Lotti sweetly while she looked through a big bag with her old clothes. I stood in her bathroom with the door a jar trying a skirt with big roses. I smiled a little for myself. I had a good relationship with my mom and would never complain on her but Lotti had a much more typical motherly way and made me feel like a child again. 

“I think the coffee is done now,” she said and I heard her light feet walk to the kitchen. I let my own dress and the clothes I've tried from Lotti hang in the bathroom and went to her little kitchen. She was on her way to pouring coffee in two green, ceramic mugs and I sat down by the table, still with her rose skirt on and a white blouse. I felt blessed being able to look through Lotti’s colorful 80’s clothes but I felt even more blessed that I would hear the story about her son. Her son, who had passed away at a young age. Eric. To my surprise and worry, Lotti left the kitchen after putting down the mugs on the table but came back with two photo albums in her arms. I felt my heart crawl up my chest to my throat and I took a sip of my coffee to try to cure the burn that had spread throughout my air ways. I gave the picture by the bed a fast look. I would know his story now and silently in my head I asked for his forgiveness. If he was alive it would be his story to tell, now his mother chose to share it with me, just like that. 

“Are you Robin's girlfriend?” Lotti suddenly asked while putting down the albums on the table. “I can get his albums too if you want to see? This is just Eric's but there is pictures of Robin in them too of course.” 

“No, I'm not Robin’s girlfriend… We aren't really ‘each other's type’,” I said, without going into the subject too much. Lotti nodded a little and looked at me with an examining look. Maybe she felt I should be interested by Robin's albums anyway but I weren't if I was honest. I wouldn't have been interested in anyone's childhood pictures in normal case but Eric… I looked at his photo again. It was hard to understand and even harder to explain. 

“They're so different from each other your son's… It's sweet,” I said with a little smiling, watching Lotti drag her fingers over the album, she continued to do that for a moment and I started to wonder if I already said something hurting. 

“Eric… Eric came to us when he was two years old. We had some problems getting more children and we wanted to do something good and opened our home for a foster child… We never thought we would start to love the boy like he was as much our own as Robin.” 

Lotti have me a sad little smile then she opened up the light green album so I could see little Eric in a woman's lap. He looked like any other baby but his eyes were bigger and looked into my soul just like he did on the other picture, just like he did in my dream. The woman were Lotti, in her thirties. 

“And you named him after your husband,” I said with a nod, like it was obvious. 

“No, no. It was just coincidence they had the same name but it was sweet, he didn't share our last name but he could share his first name with the man he would call ‘dad’.” 

Lotti's eyes got shiny but she smiled big. It was sweet, that Eric could be a part of the family, even by name. I felt my own eyes get shiny and Lotti took my hand in hers.

“I've talked with some of the nurses about him and they all got so uncomfortable but it feels like you understand. Eric was so special…” The tears run down her cheeks but she continued to smile. Bot of us looked at the portrait again then down at young Eric. We looked at every picture. Big, sad eyes looked back at us, even if his smile was bright. In his pre teens you started to see him change, his hair became black, a simple silver ring in his ear. The older he got the darker his appearance became and the green hypnotic eyes became framed with blackness. 

“Was this just a style for him, or was it something more?” I pointed to a picture of him sitting in the grass, looking away with squinting eyes and a spider web tattoo behind his ear. He was probably just eighteen or something but looked sad like a man meeting years of struggle. 

“Eric… We did everything for him. He was liked by everyone he met even if he looked the way he did but…” Lotti sighed and looked down at her hands. She still had on her wedding ring even if she was a widow. 

“We really thought we could change his faith… But his inheritance was rooted in his, much deeper than we thought and the depressive tendencies sneaked up on him even before his teens. He probably searched for the darkness because it was a place he fitted in… And then came the drugs… The same problems his biological parents had, that had made us be blessed with his presence…” Both she and I cried now and hugged each other's hand like we've known each other for ages. 

Drugs. As soon as she said the word it was also more or less obvious that was his murderer. I had never even met a person taking any serious drugs and I felt mixed feelings about Eric's problems. In some way I couldn't believe her, because the man looking at me from the picture over the bed looked healthy and strong but I could also see that intense sadness in his eyes.

“Was it the drugs that..?” I asked carefully  and dragged my thumb over the back of her hand. She just nodded and dried her tears with her other hand. 

“An overdose. We don't know if it was on purpose or not.” 

Both of us sat quiet, holding each other's hand. I could feel Eric's eyes on me and I think Lotti could too because she looked up at the framed picture with a smile then she browsed the pages of the album to the last pages. Their was newer pictures of Eric. A grown man, heavily tattooed but with the same eyes. It was more or less professional pictures of him, sweet pictures of him dressed in Adidas joggers and a loose tank top in a couch. He looked boyishly handsome even with the tattoos crawling all the way up to his face and down to his fingertips. I couldn't even count the tattoos in his face, so full of them was his skin. I thought to myself that he probably did them for the adrenaline rush, something to give his sad heart a kick but then I saw the picture of him smiling big. He had a deep dimple in his flawless cheek and straight white teeth. He looked happy, even if his eyes had a hint of something dark.

“It was his girlfriend who took the pictures and I'm really glad for that today. They were just taken some months before he died and she sent them to me.” 

I looked at the smiling picture again. He was in love. That's why his eyes had changed.

As a hairdresser I couldn't stop myself from furrowing my brows while watching his hair. He had a short mullet, something he didn't have on the picture by Lotti's bed. His hair in these pictures was cut in different layers and angles and I couldn't decide if it was made by an experimental hairdresser or a wild amateur. It didn't look so bad for being a mullet but it still was a mullet. 

Lotti giggled a little amused when she browsed to the next page and I understood why. Their was four pictures in the same style as the ones before but with another sort of Eric. 

“I thought it was odd she sent these to his mother but never would I put pictures of Eric away.” 

My cheeks heated when I watched the pictures of Eric in bed. He laid in just a pair of silky boxer shorts so you could see all his tattoos, both the good ones and the horrible ones. You could also see his incredible body. I never thought he would look like that. Everywhere it was lean muscles and defined lines. His abs were taken from a underwear model, his shoulders from a swimmer. I could feel Lotti's eyes on me and knew what kind of look she gave me. He maybe wasn't alive but he could still make every woman blush. I cleared my throat but continued to look at Eric, his body but also his beautiful face. 

“He must have been a heartbreaker…” I joked and put my hands on my glowing cheeks. 

“Oh no. No. Not my Eric,” said Lotti. “He was a shy boy. He probably knew he was handsome but he was still shy and didn't talk just to talk. Such a sweet, humble boy.” 

I looked at her with a warm smile. It was a sweet thought, especially because his brother wasn't at all like that. Robin liked attention and talked most often loudly over others. 

Lotti give me a smile and stood up. 

“I'm just going to the bathroom, you can continue to look in the albums,” she said and then walked to the bathroom. 

I continue to look through the albums. Cute baby Eric, him as a bit older doing martial arts, his style changes to goth but then changed more to an eclectic style. His green big eyes, the tattoos, the abs. He was magnetic in all shapes and I grieved in silence his death. If Lotti was right he was a great, sweet, shy guy that looked like that. If it wasn't for the drugs he seemed to be so wonderful. I was rarely impressed by men but this one… Why was he dead? 

“Excuse me?” Said Lotti behind me and I turned around. “Who are you?” She said suspiciously and pressed the emergency button so staff would come to her room. I heard my heart in my ears. It felt like I had done something wrong even if I hadn't. I had been invited in, she just couldn't remember that. 

“I'm Della, Robin's friend?” I tried and stood up. Lotti looked at me up and down. She didn't look scared, probably because I was just an ordinary young woman. It was nothing weird with me, I would even say I looked sweet and kind. 

“Robin's girlfriend?” She asked and smiled unsurely. 

“No, just friend.” 

Just when Lotti smiled and was on her way to answer, Fiona came in. 

“Lotti, are you okay?” Asked Fiona and patted her arm calmly. 

“Yes… Yes… When did you let the girl in?” 

“That was earlier, maybe you need to rest a little?” Asked Fiona and steered her towards the bed. She gave me a resurging smile and said lowly that Lotti needed to sleep a little. That was my sign I should go. I felt awful, even if her memory failed her often and I changed to my own dress. I left her dresses because it felt wrong taking them when she didn't feel well. I gave Lotti and Fiona a finale look and when I saw that they were busy I did the unforgivingly thing. I couldn't take the dresses but I stole three of the pictures of Eric. I took them out from the album and held them against my heart when I sneaked out from the entrance door. 

××× 

In the dead of night I walked. It was much darker than it usually was in May and at first I couldn't tell where I was. The anxious feeling of being stalked I've felt since my teens crept up on me and I walked faster, more determinedly even if I didn't know where I was going. Odin was attached to my hand with the leash, much longer than it usually was but I didn't feel that uncomfortable feeling in my hand when he pulled, but he did pull. He pulled so hard I could hear his strangled breath but he continued to try to run like he was in a hurry somewhere. 

I finally recognized the place I was in. It was in the park lying close to my childhood home but completely dark, otherwise it was lit up with light poles. I looked around at the familiar but also unfamiliar place. It was like experiencing it all again. The jungle gym, the slide, the silly lady bugs to ride and the swings. 

A tall dark silhouette sat on one of the swings with its feet dug into the sand. They swayed on the swing back and forth slowly and it gave it even more a spooky feel. I wanted to go back, go to my parents house but Odin had other plans and pulled so hard in the leach I dropped him. 

“Odin!” I shouted after him when he ran towards the silhouette. I felt my heart beat in panic, catastrophic thinking about losing him completely took over my head. Odin barked happily and ran up to the silhouette that stood up and bent down on its knees to greet the dog. It was obvious now it was just a tall man, a tall man with broad shoulders and his hood pulled up over his head. Odin greeted him like he was an old friend, in so much joy he didn't seem to know what to do with himself but the man took the leach in his hand and with just a light movement with it he got Odin to lay down in the sand and look up at him while he himself stood up on long legs. I walked carefully towards the man and got a stronger and stronger feeling I knew who it was. He was taller than I had understood and it was intimidating to walk up to him. He pulled down the hood of his dark hoodie and revealed his striking feature and the dark mullet. Suddenly one of the light poles by us was turned on and a warm, but dimmed light spread out over the park. It lit up his face and made me see plump lips and facial tattoos but also his most distinctive facial feature. The big green eyes. 

I walked up to him with a beating heart and felt the anxiousness and fear transform to overwhelming happiness to see him. I never thought I would see him but there he now stood in front of me, healthy and handsome. When I had come up to him I didn't know what to do and even Odin seemed to react to my awkward behavior where I stood looking at Eric like I had never seen a man over 6 '0. 

“I believed you wanted to see me,” he said with a shoulder shrug and a shy smile. He looked sweet when he lowered his eyes in a timid way but with a contagious, dimpled smile. 

Suddenly it felt like I was on a first date with a guy I already was madly in love with. Like when I was fifteen and met in secrecy one of my older sister's classmates to make out in the play house by the daycare. 

“Of course I wanted to, Eric,” I said with an embarrassed giggle and he looked up at me with those mazmirazing eyes. I giggled again just by meeting his eyes. 

He smiled and reached out Odin's leach towards me.

“Do you want to take a walk?”

 I looked down at Odin who just looked at Eric without acknowledging me. I gave him a smirk then I looked at Eric again. He was dressed in the black Adidas joggers he had in the photos with a black hoodie.

“I would love to take a walk but I think you can keep the leach…” I nodded down to Odin and Eric looked down too on the dog worshiping him by his feet. Eric made a low chuckle that warmed my chest and made me giggle. 

“I can keep it…” 

He looked at me with an embarrassed smile and big, boyish eyes. 

He may be a dead man but he made me feel more alive than any other man had. 

× 

[lovelyladyabsinthewrites]

Do you find it all right, my dragonfly?

Warnings: downright traumatized adults who need to fucking heal their inner child, reader is also like hl where she's mentally unstable too but at least has a bit of her sanity, not really siblingxsibling, but there is implications, weird/uncomfortable relationships, god mentality, she may not be as bad as hl or sb she still sb's kid, i'm getting a hera and zeus vibe from them honestly, vought should hire a supe therapist or something, finale

Words: 1884

Summary: Years have passed since Soldier Boy's death in Nicaragua. But you and Homelander still suffer the curse of his blood.

🌸Did you get enough love, my little dove 🌸Well you do enough talk, my little hawk. 🌸shall we look at the moon, my little loon

Homelander's eyes pop open, immediately accomodating to the darkness in his room. Even in sleep he caught the subtle noise of the front door to his penthouse suite opening and closing. Normally he would have sprung into action and apprehend whoever dared to break into his home. Only taking him a millisecond to realize who it was, Homelander relaxes back into the mattress.

When he hears you tiptoe your way into his room, he sleepily mutters "Couldn't sleep?"

You don't reply. Simply peeling back the covers of his bed and slipping in next to him. You never imagined how much you'd miss your small home in the middle of nowhere until you moved into Vought Tower with your brother. There was no way you could live by yourself during your last year in high school. Vought wouldn't allow it and neither would Homelander.

Humming at your silence, Homelander shifts to lay on his side to face you. You didn't like how far away your suite was from your brother's. Back at home, he'd been on the other side of the paper-thin wall.

After a moment of quiet, you look up at him through your lashes. "Is it fucked up that I miss him?"

He sadly smiles. "No. I think it's natural. I kinda miss that asshole too."

It was always thought that Soldier Boy was invincible. As indestructible as a cockroach. Stan Edgar was the one to bring you the news from Nicaragua. You simply couldn't believe it as the truth. Soldier Boy killed. You'd sat there in a daze, Homelander to your left as he too stares at the stained carpet under the couch.

Every night since then you'd go to Homelander's room in the dead of night; unable to take how quiet and big it was in your own rooms. Embarrassing at your age that you still needed your big brother's company to sleep.

Homelander was the only person you can seek comfort from. Someone you'd bonded with through trauma.

His blue eyes are so bright in the darkness of his room. Your shade was much more subdued, like Soldier Boy's. Vivid and bold, like a streak of lightening.

"C'mere." He scooches closer to you and wraps his arms around your frame.

All too easily, you accept the security. As long as Homelander was there, you'd be fine.

Years later and it was still the same.

Only now the spotlight was on the both of you and if word ever got out that you shared a bed with your brother, heads would turn and Vought stock would plummet. No one would understand. Everyone would think it utterly disgusting. Not that anything bad happened. You simply couldn't sleep without Homelander being in the same bed as you and vice versa.

Maybe it was odd, but you ceased to care what others thought was normal. It was only Stillwell's private words to you an hour ago. scolding you like you're still that teenager who'd just lost her toxic father. And damnit did her condescending tone still work on you. Why was there a part of you that wanted her praise? Possibly that same teenager who'd grown up without a mother.

"Who cares what they think." Homelander scoffs when you hesitate to go into his suite. He still had his tacky supe suite on, the both of you having come back from a Vought gala event.

Vought's golden children. They sure did love to tote you and your brother out to the public. Everyone ate it up. The most powerful supes in the world. You were legacies after all. Born from the seed of the infamous Soldier Boy who died for his country. There were always Vought events that exploited this fact. It was fucking tiring.

You purse your lips, looking up and down the hall. As you expected though, no one was in sight. A strict rule that no one was to disturb this corridor as it contained the suites of you and the Homelander, the top supes in the entire world. Translucent didn't even dare to peep in on you and Homelander. You always knew he was there. He didn't need any warning. You were even more popular than Payback's twin duo. Both of you having been at the forefront in the creation of Vought's team known as the Seven. The members who would join soon after knew early on not to mess with you and Homelander. You were leagues above any of them. Not only that, but due to your childhoods being not so. . . ideal, both of you had your fair share of mental instabilities.

Try as you may, you were Soldier Boy's daughter. That enough meant you carried his curse. He cursed you with an unhealthy attachment to your brother. You saw how far off he was, having suffered more from Soldier Boy and Vought than you did. Even then you ignored some of the more questionable actions you'd witnessed Homelander commit while on assignments.

Blind loyalty.

"John." You quietly use his birth name to show that you were serious. His smile dampens until his brows fall too. "You know what they're saying."

"What they're saying, or what Edgar told you?"

"Actually your girlfriend told me." Snidely you remark on Homelander's twisted relationship with Madelyn. Seems both of you were to be doomed by unusual relationships.

The muscle below his eye twitches, a note of agitation which only your eyes were capable of catching.

"Regardless, there's truth behind her words. They're lower beings than us, to be sure, but if this gets out it'll be bad press for both of us and Vought." You heave before moving to go back down the hall. "At least. . . for a little bit."

After a moment, Homelander's obnoxious grin returns to his face and he rolls his eyes. He plays along. "Okay. If you say so. But you better not try to crawl into my bed tonight."

You scrunch up your nose before chuckling. "Ah c'mon. That's definitely something you shouldn't be saying to your sister!"

He doesn't attempt to stop you from going back to your suite though you feel his heavy gaze on your back.

As he'd predicted, you indeed came crawling back later that night to curl up against his back. You knew he had a smug smirk on his face, his eyes closed in contentment. Your brother was always aware of your actions before you even knew what you were going to do.

"You're annoying." You mumble.

"I'm not gonna say 'I told you so', but. . ."

You lightly punch him in the ribs but good enough to make him jolt from the abrupt action.

"Don't worry about what others think." You close your eyes to listen to his soothing words, remembering how the two of you would lay under the stars as little kids. A beautiful dream. "We're gods."

Yes. Ichor pumped through your veins. You and Homelander were able to separate your identities from Soldier Boy. He may have started the both of you with his sperm, but you'd forged your own way through blood, sweat and tears.

Incinerators.

Soldier Boy's brutality.

All of it molded you and your brother into the most powerful beings.

"We can do as we please." Homelander turns around under his covers to face toward you. Legs weave together so that you were perfectly configured to his form that latched onto you.

This was how he held you during those long, lonely nights when it was just the two of you in your small house. The nostalgic sound of the rain hitting the windowpane of his bedroom window.

He nuzzles his nose against the soft roundness of your cheek. Your perfume from earlier in the day still clinging to your skin.

This world could take whatever it wanted from him except for you. In the end Homelander plans for it to be just the two of you, the world a pile of ashes around you. Your smile would once again belong only to him. If it came to it, he'd even kill Madelyn if it meant you could remain in his arms.

If he heard a peep out of anyone about you harmlessly cuddling up to him in the middle of the night, he'd tear them apart. Destroy the tower in order to protect you. To protect this.

Did you get enough love, my little dove, why do you cry?

Homelander thinks back to that sweet little girl you once were. Clinging onto your beloved brother's leg for dear life in an attempt to not be swept up in Soldier Boy's darkness.

Such a funny thought to wrap you up in cloth, do you find it alright, my dragon?

Remembers standing next to you as Stan Edgar stood at your front door with several other Vought agents to tell you about Soldier Boy. How there was nothing left of him to even bury. Not a trace physical of him remained on the earth. Only you and Homelander as a testament. A sense of relief washing over both of you and yet. . . a knowledge of doom and the end of your childhood; if you'd ever had a proper one. No matter the mixed feelings you had toward your father, it was a strange thing to now be in a world without him.

Stan Edgar saw to the finishing of your academic studies. He eased his way as your guardian figure while Homelander fell under Madelyn's wing.

Shall we look at the moon my little loon? Why do you cry?

Nights of looking up at the night sky with your brother weren't gone. Just different. The light pollution from the city chased off any chance of seeing stars. The moon refused to be covered though and you could still gaze at it's lonesome fixture above. Your heads pressed together in the same manner you used to do as your sprawled out on a blanket atop of the roof of Vought Tower.

He damned himself for missing the days when it was just you, Homelander, and even Soldier Boy occasionally. Where your backyard bled into the wilderness. Running through the trees while Homelander tried to catch you. Soldier Boy teaching both of you how to shoot a gun, using trees and beer cans as targets. Even picking up a drunken Soldier Boy from the bar at least meant he got to spend more time with you as you accompanied him in Soldier Boy's truck.

Well you do enough talk my little hawk, why do you cry?

You still possessed a scar from your first training day with your dad. Where he gave you a concussion. There were some days where Soldier Boy's training felt more like a punishment as he used you as a punching bag. Never did you cry in front of him. Only in the privacy of the bathroom you and Homelander shared while he cleaned you up. His strong, brave girl.

Homelander brushes back a few stray strands of your dark hair away from your face. You always fell asleep fast when in his arms. You were still that little girl. You always would be to Homelander though he acknowledges you as his equal. He would always be by your side.

After all, you promised to take him to the moon with you.

Thanks for reading!

[sonicblueartist]

Bullfrog x h!reader

Summery; You and Bullfrog having some talk on a rooftop.

A/N: Gonna try a different style this time. I can't get enough of this frog.

Warnings: mention of physical fresh wounds and a bit blood, maybe a little bit angsty?

Masterlist

Word Count: 2.2k

Btw does anyone want to be in the tag list?

Rooftop Talks

Your eyes were glued to the building in front of you, you were watching this city that was plunged the appetite of the stars into darkness due to the light population, your attention was not on those around you, they might think that the city did not need the brightness of the stars, but they definitely needed something that could illuminate its somewhat nescient darkness. They couldn't walk around with their eyes closed every day. A sour expression appeared on your face with your aching body, your feet dangling off the rooftop you were sitting on. Your eyes turned to look at the moon, which is casting a gentle beam of light upon you causing a soft smile appear on your lips. You had always loved the quiet of the night, though even as darkness fell it was too early for most of the citizens to be asleep and there was still a distinct amount of noise in the city, but not as much as in the morning... And you still valued it, taking advantage of these quiet moments. You used the silence it could give you as much as possible and relaxed your tired body by taking a deep breath.

“Mon cherie?” You blinked with a familiar accent, easing you to come out of your thoughts, “I'm sorry to interrupt your serenity, but… maybe you should put this on your eye first… umm… before a bruising forms.”

You looked at his hand reaching out to you with a sympathetic expression. He had a can of soda in his hand, obviously cold, “Desole, that was all I could find, mon soleil.”

You couldn't help but smile when you saw that he looked upset that he couldn't help you much right now. You rejected his offer without any feedback and gently pushed his hand back, shivering at the touch of the cold soda, it was a cold enough night as it was, not wanting to press it against your body was just another excuse, "Don't apologize for that. Besides, you need it more than I do." You pointed out his obvious state. When he lowered his hand and frowned at your answer, you sighed, “Have you ever looked in the mirror? You may have stopped bleeding, but you're covered in more blood than I am." You'd be lying if you said you weren't too worried about his well-being, but he gave you plenty of assurances that he was fine. You are still unsure if you believe it. You also objected when he offered to get something cold for your eye, which of course wasn't a real offer, he was just trying to be nice, he was going to bring you one and he did. You knew he was tired after the previous events, you didn't want to wear him out any further.

A small smile formed on his lips: "Most of it isn't mine. So, worry not! I do not normally do such a messy job, but... how was I supposed to know you'd suddenly show up? (It's not your fault but still) It's my job to make sure you're okay... and no one should know that I... know you. I will not put you in further danger." Before you could open your mouth to question his concerns and talk about his worries, he suddenly slid in next to you and pressed the cold can over your swollen eye. You pulled back slightly, hissing at the cold and pain you felt. His face turned sour and he immediately uttered words of apology. Exhaling, you tried to relax your body and let him touch the can over your eye again, making you shiver, but this time you didn't pull away.

You almost turned red when you suddenly realized how close your bodies were. His gentle touch always felt nice, and under his soft eyes he observed with great attention as he scanned your facial features for any other injuries. Your face burned, your heart was almost beating out of its place. When you started talking, his honey colored eyes met with yours, "Y-You know I'm fine. You need to stop worrying about me and start taking care of yourself for once.”

He smiled at that, “Look who is talking.” You pouted with his words.

He shrugged, smiling in response to your half-lidded gaze. You two were seemingly ignoring what had happend, neither of you wanting to talk about it right now and ruin the moment. Although you knew that he wouldn't let this issue go easily and that you wouldn't be able to run from it for a long time. But you were still having a hard time with him, your faces were too close to each other, he is still pressing the cold can to your eye so carefully... Yes, you can do it yourself, but you didn't know if you could point it out and save yourself for your sake of mind or if you actually liked it. You know he is in close contact for your own good. You felt like he was getting closer to you with each passing second, you weren't sure if it was intentional or not. You knew he liked warm things, maybe your warmth is what draws him to you? You didn't know.

You tried to glance anywhere else other then him, though it was hard to do with how close he is. You mustered up a bit corage to move a bit backwards and swallowed, you didn't wanted to seem like you are fleeing from him or worse.

He didn't seem to notice or give a much thought about it. But he did lowered his hand a bit from your eye, "You know, Mon amour, I'm glad we met." You didn't expected those words slipping out of his lips, to be honest you were actually expecting for something like a comment about your slight uncomfortableness but it wasn't true you were just nervous. He chuckled lightheartedly at your wide eye expression.

"You are glad that my father hired you?"

"Well, I've never had this much fun before." You blinked with his words. He was being genuine. You softly laughed at that, “Well, I'm glad I met you too. In fact, you're kinder and nicer than most men I've ever encounter..."

Yeah, you know he is an assasin hired by your father. (You learned this far far later of course, when someone tried to hurt you, he was suddenly there?, so you can guess the rest.) And, yes, your father worked for Eden. But then why is Bullfrog helping him? Things were really complicated, even for you. In short, Bullfrog was sent for you. No, not to kill you. To protect you. You learned this not too far after you two met. Of course, your father never mentioned him before. He always followed very close, like your shadow wherever you went, as if he was your guardian angel or something. You didn't know why, but you felt attracted to him in some kind of way. You couldn't explain why you were never afraid of him or why you were so close to him, but you guessed that might be because how gentle he is and kind? Maybe something entirely else. Oh, and why Bullfrog is helping a worker of Eden you may ask? Well, you just find out about it today. It's beacuse he never worked with them to began with! Maybe you should be proud of it. Your father planning his betrayal from the very beginning. And he worked so hard for your life to be as normal and happy as possible. He doesn’t want you to get involve any of his job. And you might just done that today… That’s something you don’t wanna worry about right now.

You two stared into each others eyes without any further word. He didn’t leaned in and neither did you… just observed each other. You gently grabbed his hand, he seemingly sighed with your warmth on top of his. “I think I’ll handle the rest.”

He blinked then smiled, “Whatever you say, miel. Just tell me whenever your pretty hand gets cold I could return back the job.” He sighed as he leave the can to your hold.

“Of course—“ You paused. Did he just called your hand pretty or you misheard it? You nervously pressed the cold can over your eye. His smile growed seeing your flustered expression but it as quickly faded as he saw you shiver with the breeze. He got up to his feet and quickly inform you he will be back quickly and without letting you say anything he was out of your sight with a blink of an eye.

You pouted at that, “He is gone again.” You heaved a sigh and continue pressing the can over your eye. Your flushed cheeks are went back to normal by now. Your eye not hurting anymore, instead it felt numb with the cold.

You flinched when you felt something on your shoulders. You find Bullfrog behind you resting a blanket over your shoulders with a warm smile. He tilted his head with your surprise stare, “How do you feel now, better?” His accent flowing heavily in the air until it reached your ear. Your eyes widen as if you just understand what just happend. You quickly wrapped yourself in the warmth. “Yes! Oh god, thank you!” You happily gasped. You didn’t even question where he get this from, you were too happy and relieved to care at the moment.

He smiled at that and sat next to you, “Well, I am happy you are comfortable, mon cherie. It’s a bit windy up hereeEE!!!—” His sentence abruptly stoped as he yelped when your hands reached and wrapped around his small body, forcefully pulling him in. You wrapped the blanket around both of you and sighed happily as you rested your head over his head. Now it was his time to get flustered.

He cleared his throat mostly to get himself back to shape, you were sure he was about to melt under you along with the warmth, he was trying so hard to not lean back and suck it all in. You rolled your eyes at his tense body, “Come on, don’t be like this, relax. It’s not like I am gonna eat you or anything… Or have I?” You playfully nudge his sides as he sighed at your comment and attempts to cause him to squeal or laugh, “Okay, you are not ticklish, noted.” It wouldn’t be pleasant if he was anyway, so you guess it’s good for his sake. He shoked his head at that and leaned on your body without any words. You could see he was flustered but you didn’t point it out, instead you give him some time to relax. You reached out for the can and press it back on your eye while you were at it, not wanting a black eye. Your mind pondered a bit, while he pressed on your warm body, quite, a bit out of his character.

“Hey, can I ask you something… if that’s okay?”

“Of course, why wouldn’t it be?” You chuckled nervously with his answer. “Well, I don’t wanna… uhmm… sound offensive?”

He hummed at that, “I know you won't insult me ​​on purpose, so it's okay, you can ask whatever you're wondering about, I'll try to answer as best as I can.” You felt a bit more on ease with his gentle reassurance. You pressed your lips and laid your head on his, after a little sigh you mustered up your question, “Have you ever… I dunno… croaked before?”

He snorted at that, “R-Really? That was what you were wondering?”

You pressed your flushed face on his head, trying to hide yourself as your arms tighten a bit more around him, “Y-Yes…?” You stuttered out.

His laughter died down as he sucked a deep breath, “To answer your question. Not intentionally but yes. It doesn’t happen often either. You can think them as like hiccups.”

"Oh…"

He patted your cheek affectionately, “Don’t worry, mon amour. I sometimes have questions about humans too, not specifically towards you but yes…”

“Really? Like what?” You were actually surprised with that but you guessed it must be normal.

He pondered a bit, “Well, nothing comes to my mind right now…”

You hummed at the fact that he seemed to be a bit flustered about it but you didn’t pursue his behavior, “Like you said, you can ask me anything whenever you want.” He nodded at that rather quickly like dismissing it.

He smiled at himself and hummed, you notice him pulling out a can of juice. He took out its straw and dipped it into the box, "Want some?"

You breathed out a laugh, "Sure." You leaned in for a sip as he reached it out to you.

After taking a long sip you sighed, now recalling the little issue back at your house, “Hey, I think we need to go shopping tomorrow. There's nothing in the house for us to cook or eat. Nor clothes for me to wear for the winter much.”

He snickered, “You mean for me to cook for you?”

You muttered, glancing away, “Well, I admit you can cook better than me. In fact, I've never had better food than what you cook."

He smiled proudly at that, “Thanks!” He sipped his juice happily.

There was silence, a pause. You grumbled now noticing your empty stomach. "Speaking of your cooking. I think I'm really hungry. I guess I shouldn't be surprised after all that hustle and bustle. I could really use some." Your stomach ached and growled angrily at you causing Bullfrog to smile.

"Let's order something."

"Let's go back to my place then."

[cirilla-fiona-riannon]

Kenshin's Sequel Chapter 7

Translations may not always capture the exact nuances or tone of the original text. Expect grammatical errors and inaccuracies. Not a full translation.

(Hot. It hurts.)

Light was radiating from my entire body, and it felt like my head was about to split open.

It felt like something was about to overflow from within me.

Kenshin: "Wait, let's find somewhere to rest!"

Mai: "No, we need to get Shingen back to camp quickly."

Before I realized it, the number of enemy soldiers had dwindled, and the once-fierce battlefield began to fade into the distance.

Even so, stopping the horse here was risky; we didn't know when the enemy might catch up.

Sasuke: "Mai, I'm sorry to ask this when you're in pain, but I need a quick answer!"

Sasuke: "What did you wish for just now?"

(My wish…?)

Pressing my throbbing temple, I turned to face Sasuke.

Mai: "The power to time-slip and bring Shingen into the future."

Sasuke: "Then that’s...?"

A look of realization crossed Sasuke's face as he glanced up at the dark sky.

Sasuke: "Is your power evolving?"

(Evolving?)

Kenshin glared at Sasuke with impatience.

Kenshin: "Explain, Sasuke."

Sasuke: "I think a wormhole is about to open because of her wish."

(Because of my wish?)

Mai: "Then let's quickly get Shingen to the present!"

I desperately gathered my strength and focused even harder.

Shingen: "No, Mai."

Shingen: "That would be too much of a burden for you!"

Shingen, lifting his face slightly, coughed violently.

Mai: "But I want to help you!"

Mai: "Besides, I can't stop now!"

My vision got all fuzzy from the pain and heat, and the light became so bright it was almost blinding.

Sasuke: "A lightning is approaching. We don't have much time left."

Kenshin: "..........."

After a moment's hesitation, Kenshin stopped the horse he had been riding.

(Kenshin?)

Sasuke quickly followed suit and turned back towards us.

Kenshin: "Sasuke, this is an order. Go to the present with Shingen."

Kenshin: "No matter what, heal that man and come back."

Sasuke: "----!"

Before Sasuke could respond, Shingen spoke up.

Shingen: "Stop! What are you saying?"

Shingen: "Letting Sasuke go in this situation could cost you your life."

Kenshin's sharp gaze pierced through Shingen, who was breathing heavily.

Kenshin: "Are you underestimating me, Shingen Takeda?"

Kenshin: "Just go. If I have to keep watching you be this pathetic any longer, I might just kill you myself."

Kenshin placed his hand on the hilt of his sword.

No one said anything, but you could definitely feel how deeply he cared.

Shingen: "You're such an awkward man."

Mai: "Shingen, I'm asking you too."

Mai: "I said before that I wouldn't give up on you."

(So please don't let this chance slip away.)

I desperately weaved my words together to avoid losing consciousness from the pain in my head.

Shingen: "Understood. Thank you."

Sasuke: "I'll gladly take you. Please be careful, Lord Kenshin, Mai."

Shingen: "Lord Shingen, over here."

Sasuke supported Shingen as he dismounted from the horse and stood beside us.

I used Kenshin's hand to help me down, facing the two of them.

Mai: "Sasuke, I’m counting on you."

Sasuke: "I'll do my best."

I closed my eyes and raised my hand toward them.

(Please, I'm begging you.)

The sound of thunder echoed, and the figures of Shingen and Sasuke distorted before my eyes.

(Send these two to the world where Sasuke and I originally came from!)

The roaring sound faded away, and the two figures vanished.

(Did it work?)

Mai: "Ah..."

Kenshin: "Mai!"

Kenshin caught me from behind as I collapsed to my knees.

He wrapped his arms around me tightly, furrowing his brow with concern. I leaned against him, allowing my body to relax.

Mai: "Finally, he will be treated."

Kenshin: "Yeah, he'll definitely be saved. I know that, so stop talking.”

Kenshin: “You're pale enough as it is.”

(Kenshin.)

I tried to nod, but my body felt weak, probably from the fever.

Kenshin: "Look at me, Mai."

(My body feels like it's being burned.)

In an instant, my vision went completely dark, and my consciousness slipped away.

(What is this?)

I had no idea how much time had passed, but when I regained my senses, I found myself enveloped in a strange mist.

Slowly, my vision came into focus.

I was standing in the grand hall of Kasugayama Castle.

(When did I come back?)

(Wait, those voices…)

I turned my face toward the familiar voices and saw two shadows.

(Yukimura and Sasuke.)

(They seem different. Did something happen?)

There were no other people around, and the two of them were looking down.

Yukimura: "I'm happy that Lord Shingen recovered from his illness, and you guys came back, but why isn't Mai here?"

(Huh? I'm not here?)

I glanced down at my body and noticed it was transparent.

(Could it be that I'm dreaming about the future?)

(This has happened a few times before, hasn't it?)

Sasuke: "The distortion of time and space isn't something humans can control."

Sasuke: "She didn't realize how much her life force was being drained by using a time leap."

Sasuke: "Moreover, the burden during the time slip was unimaginably great."

Sasuke: "At that time, just causing it once used up all her life force."

Sasuke: "Lord Shingen regretted using this power after knowing that."

Yukimura: "........."

(I see. So that's how it was.)

I certainly had my suspicions.

Whenever I used that power, I was always hit with a terrible headache and fever.

Not only that, but when I dreamed about something related to the future, my body would also scream in agony.

When I summoned a wormhole, I experienced pain, unlike anything I had ever felt before, causing me to lose consciousness.

It made sense that my life force was being drained so much.

Yukimura: "After sending Lord Shingen and you into the future, Mai continued to wander between life and death."

Yukimura: "Then she finally woke up three days later. But from that night onward, it seems time started to rewind, regardless of her will."

His words trailed off, and Yukimura clenched his fists tightly on his knees.

Sasuke exhaled deeply, still keeping his gaze downcast.

Sasuke: "Using too much power at once caused things to go out of control."

Sasuke: "As a result, Mai's life force was drained, and four days later, her existence, along with the distortion of time, disappeared."

Sasuke: "I believe that's what happened."

(My existence disappeared?)

I gasped in shock.

My thoughts couldn't keep up, and I felt dizzy.

Yukimura: "Is that even possible?"

Yukimura: "It's just too cruel for Mai!"

Sasuke: "I wanted to avoid it too."

Sasuke's voice trembled and grew hoarse, a rare display of emotion toward the frustrated Yukimura.

Sasuke: "If I could rewind time and change things, I want to save her."

Yukimura: "I feel the same way."

(Yukimura, Sasuke.)

A heavy silence lingered for a while.

Sasuke: "Yukimura. Where's Lord Kenshin now?"

Yukimura: "Well…"

(Ah!)

The scene in front of me warped again, and the dream continued to play.

(What battlefield is this?)

(Is that Kanetsugu?)

Kanetsugu dismounted his horse and quietly approached the figure standing amidst the battlefield.

Kanetsugu: "Lord Kenshin."

Kenshin: "........."

(Huh!?)

A strong wind swept through, and Kenshin turned around.

His eyes, stained red with blood, were unsettlingly dark.

(This expression is the same as when I almost lost him before.)

(No, it's even worse than when he became a demon.)

His clouded eyes reflected nothing.

Kenshin: "Where's the next enemy?"

Kenshin: "I'll annihilate them."

Kenshin: "I'll chase them to the ends of the earth, and not a single one will return alive."

Kanetsugu faltered at his emotionless, low voice.

Kanetsugu: "Lord Kenshin. The battle is over. Please, return."

Kanetsugu: "You've been fighting ever since then."

Kanetsugu: "Kicho and everyone connected to him are gone now."

(Kenshin.)

My heart thudded uncomfortably, and my fingertips trembled.

Kenshin: "I see. It's over."

[circeyoru]

I just wanna see alastor and reader (from unwanted soul) slowly dance in a big dark empty room and for him to give her/them a kiss ❤️ (no matter if it's forehead, cheek or mouth kiss) I just love thinking about such soft moments with them

Go to MASTERLIST for the works. This ask is for {Unwanted Souls}.

Yes!! Another sweet moment!!

This one had me thinking of a certain video in mind, you can watch it if you like, but I imagine them dancing like this. Somewhat. @angel-tsugikuni-kamukura, I wonder if you've seen this one.

You pouted, staring menacingly at the scribbled-out ideas you had been thinking while rewatching a few anime and TV shows to give you some sort of idea.

"What's all this?"

"Oh, something I'm thinking about our next dat-!" You realized your mistake but it was already too late. Turning your head, Alastor's face was right next to you. "Hey! What did I say about you taking advantage of my thinking moments!?"

"To not take advantage or leave you alone." Alastor answered proudly, ignoring your glare. He grinned and sat next to you, "Darling Love, I truly don't mind what you have planned as long as it concerns you. I'll be enjoying it all the same." He laughed, "Hahaha! Why even watching a picture show would do!" His eyes gently glaze towards you with that loving look on his face, "What I care for is the time we spend together, not the activity itself."

That didn't make you feel better, though it did make your heart skip a beat. Alastor has been very much the same; the only thing that has changed is your perception of it all. You sighed, not even bothering to look away to hide the brush that Alastor so loved to paint you in, the perfect red as he claimed.

"Still..." You looked back down to your notes.

Alastor hummed loudly, his eyes scanned through the page now that you had let him know what you were planning. He respected your privacy beforehand; if you had lied, he would have taken it without saying another word. But you were pretty honest when you were in your own little world, he gotten a few pass on you, never when it was something deeply guarded.

"Why not have a slow dance? Like waltz or ballroom dances! Ha! Those are perfect excuses to be close to one another, don't you agree?" Alastor suggested, the idea pumping his blood and energy surging high at the thought.

But at your silence, he turned his attention to you. Your hands clenched to fists, a bit white. Your lips pressed against each other to a thin straight. Why were you tense?

"Dearest, you know how to dance, it's not that hard when you include another in your steps." Alastor tried to understand your hesitation. "Besides, I'll be leading! So you only need to follow."

You internally sighed, Alastor's excitement clouding your thoughts. He's excited, no, ecstatic at the idea. You gave him your hand with a wonky smile, "Fine. Lead away."

With a snap of his fingers, your surroundings changed to a ballroom. Themes of red and black all around. Fitting for Alastor. The lighting was dim but comfortable for your eyes and bright enough to know what you were looking at. Even your outfit has changed to match the occasion. Your eyes stopped at Alastor, who was bowing, with his hand offered to you, "May I have this dance?"

"You may." You put your hands in his.

His shadow minions took their places, playing instruments of all kinds to fill the giant room with music. Alastor took your hand and placed his other on your waist, you put your other hand on his shoulder. You smiled when Alastor gave you a look that meant he noticed your familiarity with the pose.

He took the lead and moved, bringing you along. In the beginning, your head was tilted down, staring at the two pairs of feet moving to the music. A while into the music, you were staring ahead at Alastor. The two of you moved in sync, like you were each other's fated dance partner.

Alastor had danced with other ladies in his prime. None were up to his standards, though now he wondered if it was because they were you. Those other ladies stared up at him with lovesick eyes in hopes of being his or fiery eyes with the goal of taming him. Then there was you who stared at the feet to get the feel of things before looking up at him. Eyes of uncertainty.

"My Love, you dance wonderfully. I didn't even need to help you!" Alastor praised. His words always brought you comfort and solace.

"I may have been taught a lesson or two in this." You looked away as if recalling a memory. "Family standards to uphold and all that. The wealthy love their pride. I don't particularly like dancing with others too, like a partner."

Alastor's smile twitched. He made you uncomfortable. He made you—

"But now that I'm dancing with you, Alastor," There was that smile he loved so much. A smile to die for. "I think I quite like it." Touch to go numb over. "We make quite the pair," Words to melt over and be further entangled under your command and wish. "Yes?"

In a swift move, Alastor gave you a twirl before dipping you down and helped himself to a kiss that you returned.

"That we do, My Heart."

The soul to kill for.

[cosmicobubisi]

Cosmic's Malleyuu Whump vs Flufftober: Day 15

CHILDHOOD TRAUMA moment of clarity

Yuu was used to being lonely, in one form or another.

Being left behind, sitting alone in bare, empty rooms, with only their own thoughts to accompany them. This sort of thing just tended to happen to Yuu.

They knew they should get up. Say something, assert themselves, grow a backbone and get some self-worth. But it was easier to wallow in their own tragedy than do all of that.

Reveling in their own pain and hurt feelings was more comfortable for them than trying to break out of their mold. There was no guarantee that Yuu's hurt feelings would be accepted, anyway. It was better to just stay alone, bottle up their feelings, and wait until their wounds had sealed shut, ready to be reopened again.

Their own friend group had forgotten them. Not much, and not for long, but they'd managed to have a little outing in town, all without them.

Yuu flopped over onto their bed. It was just better to never get attached, ever.

What was the point, anyway? When people consistently strived disappoint. Those who said they'd be there for their friends usually abandoned them at their lowest, too busy with their own problems to live up to their promises.

A knock at the door.

"Huh?" said Yuu, a bit confused but mostly just wanting the person to identify themselves.

"Hello," he said mysteriously. Yuu recognized the voice, though. It was Malleus.

"Hey," they replied, pushing themselves off of their bed into an upright sitting position. They rubbed at their face, trying to get the sadness off.

"May I come in?" he asked, and Yuu said he could.

He crept in, bright eyes glowing faintly in the artificial darkness of the room. By now, it wasn't unusual for Malleus to bypass the front door and go to whatever room Yuu was in directly.

"My, my, what has you in such a mood?" he asked. "Surely, there are much better things you could be doing at this time."

"I guess," Yuu said, trying to fight their own bitterness. "It's just that all my friends are out right now."

"Ah," he nodded, sitting on the bed. "And you are hurt by this because you wanted to join them."

"I guess. It just hurts more that they didn't think about me."

"I understand," he said, leaning in closer. "It is a common impulse to want others to think of you as naturally as you may think of them."

He reached out to gently and hesitantly rest his hand over Yuu's, lying on the bed.

It was cold, and Yuu shivered.

"It's just... I dunno why I'm so forgettable to all my friends," they said stiffly. "It feels like I'm just waiting for them to disappoint me."

The coldness suddenly left their hand. "You think... I am simply going to abandon you at a moment's notice?"

Yuu stared at him, realizing that it was unfair to cast judgement so quickly and harshly.

"No," they insisted, their heart skipping a beat. "No, t-that's not what I meant. I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that."

Malleus's shoulders relaxed a bit. "Good. I'm glad, after all, that our friendship could survive such things. But why, if you know where your friends are, do you not go to them now?"

"There's no way I'd make it now. By the time I'd get out of the dorm, they'd probably be heading back. And who likes a third wheel anyway?"

Malleus shot them another look. "Do you truly believe them to consider you a third wheel in this situation?"

"No," they confessed. "But still."

"Well," he said, brushing off his pants. "Lucky for you, I know of a way to get there very quickly." He positioned himself in front of Yuu, and reached his hand out.

With a small smile, and a little giggle at how fast Malleus was able to turn around their mood, Yuu took his hand.

[tooti-fruiti]

Since some people liked my last Wally Darling fanfic

I've decided to write another one

WALLY DARLING X GN! READER

It was Julie's birthday and she wanted to throw a dance party to celebrate it

Everyone attended, including you

Except, you sat by yourself on the sidelines

You didn't know how to dance, and you didn't want to make a fool of yourself

Especially since Wally's here too

You adored Wally and obviously didn't want to embarrass yourself in front of him

Everyone's dancing and having a good time while you sit in the corner trying to not feel bad for yourself

That was until Wally himself walked up to you

"Come on, my friend. Give me your hand." He said, offering you his hand

You ask him what he's doing and he smiles

"I'm walking you back to your house."

As he ushers you out of the party, you keep asking him why he's leaving and that you'll be okay by yourself

"It's okay (Y/n)!" He says

"We already gave Julie our gifts, and she understands that you weren't having fun. And besides, we can hang out with her another day."

You ask him why he decided to leave

"I can't have you walking all by yourself in dark, now can I?"

Your face turned a little red and you two walked together in silence

"(Y/n)?" Wally asked

"Why were you sitting by yourself? You could have joined us."

After deciding to be honest with him, you tell him it's because you don't know how to dance

Wally starts to laugh his awkward monotone laugh

Why was he laughing?

You looked away and he realized he had accidentally offended you

"Oh I'm sorry. I don't mean to be rude. I was laughing because I could have taught you how to dance."

You turn to face him again and he smiles.

"This way." He says taking your hand

Wally starts to lead you away from your house and you ask him where you two are going

"We're going to teach you how to dance!"

He leads you to Home and gently knocks on the door

You try to explain to him that he doesn't have to do this

"Of course I do! What kind of friend would I be if I didn't help you out? What if Julie wants another dance party for her birthday?"

Home's eyes fluttered open and smoke blew out of their chimney.

"Good evening Home. I'm sorry to wake you up. May we come in please?"

More smoke blew out of the chimney

"Yes. We. I brought (Y/n) with me."

After a little bit of silence, Home opened the door and Wally led you inside.

"Thank you, Home."

You always found it a little bit endearing how Wally talked to his house, it was cute.

In a weird way

"This way my friend." Wally said as he led you to his art studio.

"Wait right here."

He moved his easel to a corner in the room and led you to the center

"Home?" Wally called out

He got a small creak in response

"Can you play a slow song for me? Please?"

You heard a low and long creak from a floorboard, as if Home was annoyed in someway

"Thank you." Wally smiled then turned back to you

"Follow my lead, we'll take things slow." He said as he put his hand on your waist and held your other hand in his own

"Put your free hand on my shoulder."

You did as you were told and a slow classical song began to play throughout the room

"Step to the left, step forward, step to the right, step back, and repeat!"

After stepping on his shoes for the first few times, you eventually got the hang of it and spun around the art room as Wally held you in his arms

After dancing for you a few minutes, you told him this wasn't the kind of dancing that Julie was doing at her party

"I know." He said with a wink

Your face turned a bright red again

Wally smiled and held onto your waist tighter before slowly dipping you as the song ended

You felt as if you were going to melt into a puddle

"See how much fun dancing can be?"

You nodded, still too flustered to say anything

Wally stood up straight and let go of your waist

"Looks like Home fell asleep again." He whispered. "That means it's time for us to go to bed too."

You asked him what he meant by "us"

"You're spending the night of course!" He whisper yelled

You knew at this point that you couldn't win against him so you just accepted it

"So, I'll show you my bed and I'll sleep on the couch."

You quickly stopped him and reassured him that you could both sleep in the bed

"Well, if it's alright with you. Then it's alright with me."

Wally gave you a robe of his that you could sleep in when he went to the bathroom to change into his pajamas

The robe smelled like green apple

After you and Wally laid down in bed, you turned away from him as an attempt to not make things more awkward than they already were

That was until you felt him grab your hand

"Turn to me." He whispered

You did and saw him smiling at you. "Did you have fun?"

You nodded and smiled back at him

"I had fun too. I really enjoy your company."

Wally pulled you into his chest for a hug and held you there. "If you know what I mean."

You hugged him back and told him you understood, your face turning red

You heard him laugh a little before he gave you a kiss on top of your head.

"Goodnight my dear."

This was stupidly long

But I enjoyed writing it

[kiki-sleeps]

Dark!Jack Frost x reader

A/N: a one-shot from one of my many delusions of the night. Might become more, who knows. Always liked the idea of an evil jack frost, hope you enjoy!

The Guardian's Investigative Journal

Entry #1

Middle of February, 20XX - New Headquarters

Whoever said the winter cold was beautiful was lying. Definitely and terribly so. 'Oh your breath creates pretty shapes and sparkles!' Yeah… what a load of bullshit. 

Winter is awful, at least for me. Winter is the annoying feeling of stiff muscles, of runny noses, of numb fingers. Winter is crazy. Winter is mad. Winter has black hair, dark as coal, and yellow eyes, not warm like honey, no, but chilling, like the ones of a predator.

Winter has a name, and as much as the whole of our system wished it wasn't alive, it's Jack Frost. 

He’s infuriating, and rotten, and whatever synonym you may add to describe him. 

The day he turned his back on the Guardians, was the day I was chosen. It took a while for the entire ordeal to settle in their minds, actually. At first, and reasonably so, they thought it was a joke. A prank, one of those that made him disappear for days and suddenly pop up back again with a weird smile that promised trouble. But it wasn't. The blizzard made of cold and sharp black sand came out and wiped the North Pole from existence, just one random day. One would think his love of irony would have made him choose a special day, like Christmas or such, but instead he picked a normal, ordinary, unassuming day. And it was twice as terrifying. What was left? Dust and coal. Coventrized so hard they thought it was my fault, they thought I burned it down accidentally, with a sneeze. Can you imagine that? Not controlling your power enough that you wipe out not just a building, but the huge headquarters. I laughed, then. After all, not a single one of us had realized the magnitude of what had truly happened. 

His voice came then. It was the first time I actually heard anything that came from him and not from one of the others’ stories, and it turned the status quo upside down. Just a wicked voice, saying how he was tired of doing this and that, that the humans were never grateful for what he brought, and a bunch of things that I didn't really hear. The one who took it the hardest was Bunnymund. It had taken him the longest to really open up apparently, and maybe that's one of the reasons he doesn't talk much to me now. Bruised trust. I’m not taking it personally, I'm the newbie, after all. I was mostly confused, rather than betrayed. I'd never met him at that point and I genuinely couldn't put together how somebody who was supposed to be an ally, and a quite good one at that, just went bonkers on a casual Wednesday. This whole idea I had of him didn't match, so I assumed something had happened to him to do a full 180.

So, as soon as the boring ‘new Guardian’ training ended, I started my investigation. Which is why I was in the middle of nowhere multiple times, in a white wasteland of twisted and dry trees that repeated itself no matter the continent. It was eerily uncomfortable, and the glistening atmosphere I used to admire from afar in my time as a wandering spirit was gone. Then, the snow almost looked like ashes.

I can make the black ones that come from a bright fire, an ode to life that burns with vitality. Those just looked like a past disaster. When a volcano erupts, it's a spectacular view, and nowadays the show is basically without consequences. But I remember. When the grey cloud wraps everything after, and the only sound is the reverbing echo of coughs from the smoke. A cinereum snow that covers what is gone. Such was the feeling that made my skin get goosebumps, and not from the temperature. And yet, exactly as all the places I checked in this season, the overbearing sensation of just being watched, was there. It felt like Pompeii over again, but this time the footprints were mine instead of ancient romans'.

I couldn't have possibly known he was truly there. I mean, there's a million lakes in the world and most of them are in North America, so really, how was I supposed to know he fancied this one particular. But I guess bad luck comes with Terms and Conditions of being a Guardian.

I think he actually wanted to make himself known, then. Because honestly, a powerful spirit who flies on the daily and hides constantly in the shadows, all of a sudden makes an accidental noise? Be for real. When I heard the cracking sound of a twig I thought it was an animal. ‘Not very smart warrior’ of me, as in North's words. It took him a couple of more tries to actually make me turn around, and even then I had to squint to even see the outline of something. But what really made me breathless for a second, were the eyes. He was perched up on a branch, piercing me with a vibrant gold that promised not fun, but deceit. In what I'd say was not my brightest moment, I thought he looked like an owl. The kind that want to look threatening but only manage to sit awkwardly in a standoffish stance. I almost snorted, but thank god for Sandy’s lessons of calm and meditation.

And then he spoke. And I swear on the Man in the Moon, I've never heard a more irksome voice. It was grating on my nerves, and that was the least of his attitude that made me want to sucker punch him into oblivion. I thought it was bad when I'd heard it on the catastrophe day, but in person? It was ten times worse. But what incensed me the most was that he actually had the fucking audacity to call me a pet name.

“And what's a sparkly spirit like you doing here, doll?”

“None of your business.”

Ok, I lied. Technically it is his business,  since I'm investigating his recent fall to madness, but he definitely doesn't need to know that.

Slowly, he walked into the light, and how I wish my traitorous mind did not think he was cute. He had a black hoodie, presumably for fitting into the whole ‘evil’ package, and brown pants that fell around his calves, tied by leather strings. Seriously, what is it with villains and their obsession with this color? As if somebody couldn't act badly if they're dressed in, I don't know, pink. But I'm losing the focus here.

While his eyes were what had struck my attention before, now his cheekbones were doing the trick. They were high and connected by a lean nose and immersed in pale skin, the sickly withering Victorian child kind. The smirk –that I immediately wanted to wipe from his face just out of spite– was stretched across perfectly chiselled lips and a jawline carved in the finest marble. Now that's what I call unfair. Choosing somebody like that to be on the bad side? Foul, I tell you. 

And apparently my answer only amused him further, because he gave a dry chuckle and sauntered around, with a cocky stride perfectly in line with his overall insufferableness. 

I decided to get to the point, “What do you want, Frost?”

“Surprised you know my name, doll.”, he grinned, and the urge to smack him had never been stronger.

“Ah yes, who would know the name of only the biggest traitor in the history of humanity.”

I think it was obvious it was meant to be sarcastic, but he still rolled his eyes and then put on a ridiculous diva act, faking a gasp and placing a hand over his chest.

“Traitor? Ouch, doll, that hurts my poor feelings!”

I could not have been less impressed than I already was.

“Are you sure you have those? Wasn't aware.”

He didn't deign me with an answer, the buffoon, and simply circled around me, humming in confidence. I didn't want to give him the satisfaction of even a slight twitch of my expression, so I side eyed him as he moved agonizingly slow around me, but never stopping in my blind spot in what I believe was a puke-inducing superiority assertion. When he stopped, he was right in front of my glare, mirrored by a devilish grin of his.

I grit my teeth, “You never answered my question.” 

In turn, I got a provoking fake ‘deep-in-thought’ performance, complete with a finger under his chin. “Mmm, I don't know, why would I do that?” He started strolling again, “It's not like you have any way of making me tell you anything, and on the other side we have the magnificent me, who can have anything he desires.”

Jesus, did he really say that? Could his ego be any more inflated? Nevertheless, he droned on, “I suppose I could make it an act of charity, yes? I'm sure that would be more appropriate considering the enormous amount of difference in our strength.”

And now I was utterly disgusted, forget the poker face. 

“What did Pitch inject you with, condensed delusion?”

He laughed, and as quickly as he had gloated a second before, he flipped another switch, leaning dangerously in my safe space, and licked his lips.

“Feisty, I like that.” “Ew.”

I couldn't stop myself from saying it. It was a completely involuntary reaction, and an adequate one, after hearing that corny sentence. What he thought about my genuine revulsion at the thought? Still funny, apparently, because, and thank god, he cracked up at my reaction and backed away.

After this, I really had enough. It was my first time meeting him and I couldn't have wanted him more dead. By my fire, possibly. Hence why, after giving an eye roll for good measure, I started walking away. Or at least, that was the plan, but the switch flipped again, and it was looking at a shark that had just smelled fresh blood, a piercing stare almost freezing me in place. It was menacing.

He gripped my wrist hard, and the icy sensation of his skin made me jump so much I had to physically repress a shiver. 

“I'm not done yet.”

I just stared back, and for what felt like hours, the only movement was the snow still wistfully falling around us. It was like a stalemate, of sorts. From the bits and pieces I had gathered here and there, he was arrogant, sure, and full of himself, but not stupid. He hadn't gone on a full offense because he doesn't know my full capability, and if it goes how I want in the future, he won't know. This has two possible reasons: I'm the newest Guardian and I haven't really done anything after becoming one, and whatever information he has got from the time before isn't sufficient, since I mostly laid low. In conclusion, I had the advantage. His powers might have been different from when he was one of us, but they still make up a good portion of his attack range, which I knew and had prepared to fight against – courtesy of the memories from the Tooth Fairy archive.

So, to maintain my upper hand, I heated it up. In the span of milliseconds the skin that stood firmly in his grasp became so scalding he had no choice but to let it go. It seems he is even more sensitive than I thought - for future reference - because he jumped back with a hiss, looking like a scorned cat, and from what I could see I actually had left a quite significant burn mark on his palm. I couldn't help my eyes widening in surprise, and he must've seen that because he quickly regained his composure, as much as he could, and smirked. If he wanted to go for a full round, then so be it. I was perfectly ready. Only for him to change his mind as fast as he had done before and vanish in a coat of black. What a coward. And yet, he still wouldn't let me have the last word, so in the silence of the woods, his voice echoed:

“Wow, you got some fire in you, HA!”

It seems I was wrong about him. He's a coward AND a clown.

[catt-leya]

Ummmm listen that one about seducing Rick in Negans bed…. If that’s been written could you let me know what it’s titled? And if not, then here is my request to write it 🥹

Claim Me || Rick Grimes 18+

Trigger: degrading (?), dirty talk, breeding (?), sextape

You're already circling the sanctuary for the 3rd time and still Rick doesn't want to go inside the building and prefers to sneak around in the bushes in front of it.

Annoyed, you follow him and as he wants to make a 4th round you sigh heavily, "What are you looking for, Rick?"

You see him wince slightly and then turn to you hesitantly, "I…well, you know."

Your eyebrows go up and you put your hands on your hips, "No, Rick. I have no idea why we're supposed to sneak around the square for the 4th time when we saw everything was quiet the first time. So feel free to explain why I've been staring at your back for what seems like an eternity and we're not finally going in."

At your challenging tone, he straightens up a bit more and points vaguely at the buildings near you: "There could be someone else here, and I don't intend to put you at risk."

At his words, you frown and he avoids your gaze.

You remember very well the time when Rick would have liked to throw you to the walkers. That wasn't even that long ago.

At the beginning of the war with Negan, Daryl took you out of Sanctuary to join his people because you helped him escape from his there.

God, you remember the first time Rick looked at you like he wanted to rip your head off, and that was just because you were living under the same roof as Negan.

You never expected him to take you on a tour behind the walls of Alexandria, and when you realized he wanted to go off with you ALONE, you stared at him for minutes as if he had just fallen from the sky and landed right in front of you.

But really, the two of you going out is nothing compared, you to the statement that he would worry about you.

Sure, you didn't expect him to feed you to Walkers, or you wouldn't have run off with him, but the sincerity in his eyes and the honest concern is more than surprising.

He may not be looking at you, but you can't take your eyes off him for that.

As judgmental as he was in the beginning, you actually never resented him and perhaps admired him a bit for how protective he was of his people.

Even now, he exudes something that just makes you feel safe around him, and you barely recognize your own voice as you say softly, "Thank you, Rick. I really appreciate it, but don't you think we've taken enough safety precautions?"

His whole body tenses as he glances at you again and because you're standing not far away next to him, you reach out and rest your hand lightly on his upper arm, "Come on, let's get this over with and then we can get out of here."

Briefly his eyes twitch to your hand, which you immediately lower in response, and he nods at you, "Okay."

Silently you walk together to the entrance and you don't say a word as Rick pushes himself in front of you and goes in first. It's probably just his way of making sure he can protect the people who are with him.

The whole building is filled with silence and as you look around the old halls, you could swear you can still hear the voices of the people who lived here months ago.

It's clear why Rick brought you along and you clear your throat quietly, "Would you like to see the weapons or the medical room first?"

With his revolver in hand, he slowly turns to face you and his blue eyes seem to glow in the dim room.

His eyes were the first thing you noticed about him. The world is so dull and barely drenched in color, so those bright eyes just seem even more powerful, especially in contrast to his dark hair and slowly graying beard.

You'd probably rather bite yourself in the ass than say it out loud, but yes, you find him incredibly attractive.

Even now, Rick is just scrumptious and you don't even realize you're staring at him silently until he waves his hand back and forth in front of your face, "Are you even listening to me?"

You blink several times before shaking your head slightly to clear your mind of thoughts and then say in a voice hoarser than you'd like, "Sorry, I was in thought. What did you say?"

He lowers his gun and then takes a small step toward the door that stands wide open beside you, "What's upstairs?"

Only now do you look in that direction and shrug, "There were just the bedrooms of the people who lived here. Many had adjoining bathrooms. Maybe there's medicine."

You used to live here too, and with each step up the stairs and Rick just ahead of you, you realize how much your life has changed since then.

As Rick reaches the last step of the stairs, he turns to you and offers his hand to help you up the last few steps (for whatever reason), but you put your hand in his without hesitation so he can pull you up to him and then maneuver you back behind him before letting go of your hand again and asking, "Left or right?"

You peek over his shoulder as he blocks your view with his height, "Doesn't really matter. This is the only staircase, so we might as well split up."

You can literally see his reluctance to let you go off on your own, but you squeeze past him and grin widely at him, "Relax Rick. I'll be fine."

Before he can reach for you again, you disappear into the nearest room, and you hear him quietly shuffling in the hallway before he, too, goes into another room.

You've been with Negan long enough to know every room upstairs, and it's not long before you've searched every possible hiding place and find a small pack of aspirin.

You stuff it into your backpack and then stroll from room to room.

Every now and then you catch a glimpse of Rick as he, too, changes rooms, and you whistle a soft tune as you go into the next room.

In the middle of it, you stop as if rooted to the spot and bite your lower lip.

You didn't even remember that Negan's room was on this floor, too.

Not that you would have avoided the room otherwise, but seeing the bed again that you spent more than one night on doesn't faze you either.

It's not that Negan forced you to sleep with him and you were raped by him.

No, he didn't want that, but for you the visit to his bedroom was always more of a duty than a pleasure.

Negan is an attractive man and you didn't think it was a bad thing to sleep with him, but when you think about it with Rick here….

You wince as you realize where your thoughts have landed and you cry out softly as Rick's deep voice comes to you from the door, "Are you all right?"

You press the flat of your hand over your heart and turn to your companion, "Holy shit, you scared me."

Rick leans his shoulder against the door frame and lets his gaze wander around the room, "Was this your room?"

Slowly you drop your hand and shake your head, "No…it was Negan's."

As you mention his name, his blue eyes immediately land on you again and he pushes away from the door slightly to walk across the room.

Closer than necessary, he passes you and you close your eyes briefly as his hand brushes yours.

It's strange to see Rick in Negan's room.

Even though the two of them may also be somewhat similar, Rick exudes something completely different and you just can't stop staring at him as he sets his revolver down on the nightstand and walks around the bed, "Been here a lot?"

Rick knows full well the role you've played in Negan's life, but he's never been interested.

Until now, at least.

He looks at you for a moment and slides his flat hand across the bed sheet.

You try to find your voice again and breathe, "Regularly."

All you get from him is a "Hmmm" and he continues slowly across the room.

The light coming through the window makes his hair shine in all different shades of brown and you would love to touch his curls.

You don't know what he's thinking about right now, but you force yourself to start moving and head for the bed, "It wasn't bad, if that's what you're getting at, Rick."

Slowly you sit down on the edge of the bed, not taking your eyes off his back as he looks at a picture on the wall.

"No?"

You can't interpret the undertone in his voice and swallow hard, "He never forced me to have sex with him. I could have refused him, but it was just easier to have that position in his life. I was trying to survive. Nothing more, nothing less."

You're not even sure why you're explaining it to him, but you want him to understand.

Hesitantly, you pull your feet up on the bed as well and murmur softly, "Why do you even care all of a sudden?"

"I don't" he turns back to you and looks at you languidly "You bought your protection with your body. You may not think of it that way, but in a way he pushed you to sleep with him."

At his words, you have to blink in surprise, "I…maybe you're right."

Quietly you take a breath, "But it doesn't change the fact that that's the way it was, and I hope I never have to do it again."

For a brief moment it's completely silent and his gaze burns on your skin, "You do realize that I would never ask you to do something like that, right? I know I didn't welcome you with open arms, but I would never go so far as to push you into letting me fuck you."

You're not sure why you're reacting this way to his words, but you slide around on the bed, "I know you wouldn't pressure me into sleeping with you. You wouldn't even have to."

You quickly slap your hand over your mouth as you realize what you just said, and the glint in Rick's eyes tells you he heard you clearly.

He tilts his head a little and says in a raspy voice, "So I wouldn't even have to push you to spread your legs for me?"

You don't dare say anything and Rick bites his lower lip, "Even though I'd be asking you to do that right now?"

Your heart skips a beat and your body starts to shake with anticipation, "Rick…"

He closes his eyes briefly and laughs to himself, "Hey, relax. I just want to tease you a little."

Those are his words, but when he looks at you again, you can see the excitement in his eyes, making your middle twitch in anticipation.

The thought of letting Rick take you on Negan's bed is so incredibly dirty that your middle gets treacherously wet and you slide around on the bed again.

You watch him make his way slowly toward the door and you call his name softly.

Immediately he stops and sighs softly without looking at you, "That was a tasteless joke, so let it go and let's look for weapons."

You don't know where this knee-jerk reaction comes from, but you purr, "No."

Irritated, he looks at you again, "No?"

Your heart is up to your throat as you slide onto the middle of the bed, batting your eyelashes, "So you want me to spread my legs for you? Would you like that, Rick?"

Immediately his gaze slides between your legs before he pulls himself together and looks at you with flushed cheeks, "Cut the crap. I'm sorry, okay? I shouldn't have said that."

His blue shirt tightens a little against his chest as he takes a deep breath and all you want to do is touch him.

God, you want him to fuck you so badly you feel dizzy and you clutch at the sheets under your hands, "Come on. Don't you want to claim me right here where Negan fucked me before?"

Something dark slips into the way he watches you on the bed and, what might have really been a game before, now becomes bitterly serious as you kneel down and pull your shirt over your head.

Even though your breasts are still covered by a bra, you feel exposed and tremble as he continues to stare at you, "Stop it."

You bite your lower lip and reach behind you for the clasp, "Why?"

He takes a step toward you and you pause.

"Shit, this is really going too far. Please just put your clothes back on" he pleads softly and your breath quickens "If you don't want me, you can just walk out of the room and I promise I won't say another word about how much I want you inside me."

Groaning, he closes his eyes, "Not here."

Briefly, you dare a glance at his crotch, which is already clearly showing, and that gives you the mouth you need to unhook your bra and toss it on the floor next to the bed, "I've never offered myself to Negan the way I'm offering myself to you right now. Please."

He can't help but stare at your breasts, which you willingly show him, and then you murmur his name softly again.

His cock twitches in his pants as you ask lasciviously, "How would you like me? On all fours so you can take me from behind and press my face into the mattress so I don't attract walkers while screaming your name? Or would I rather be on my back so you can see my bouncing tits while you use my pussy to cum?

He moans, "Fuck," and you can see the greed in his gaze as you take a deep breath, "I want this, Rick. Right here, right now."

You can see the exact moment he drops the wall he's built around himself and he slowly walks toward you as he mumbles into his beard, "Fuck it."

Your middle tightens again as you watch him unbutton his shirt one button at a time and then brush it off his shoulders.

Immediately your eyes drop to his belt and you swallow hard as he now reaches for his low-slung pants as well and says to you, "Pants off."

All your brain can manage is "Yes yes yes" as you finally convince him to kneel on the bed in just his boxers and throw your underpants, including your panties, on the floor.

Your first reflex would be to squeeze your legs together but, because Rick is kneeling right in between, you can't and instead you drop onto the bed and look up at him, "Rick?"

Slowly he lets his gaze slide over your body and sighs softly when he gets to your face, "I never told you, but you're beautiful."

The way he looks at you is like a touch right in the middle of your heart and his big hands on your thighs feels like you're going to burst into flames right then and there.

Gently he continues upward and when he reaches your hip and you flinch, he laughs softly, "Now all of a sudden you're not so forward and offering me to do the dirtiest things with you, huh?"

You place your hands on top of his as he draws little circles on your skin with his thumb and nods towards your breasts, "Do they feel heavier than usual yet?"

Agonized, you gasp and nod vigorously, "Yes."

Rick's hands aren't really doing anything sexual and yet you squirm under him and he patiently looks down at you, "I didn't know you wanted me to fuck you so badly. I mean, sure I've thought about how you'd feel around my cock, but fuck that you need it so badly that you're begging me to fuck you is damn hot."

Slowly he leans over you and his lips hover over yours, "Go. Beg me again."

You arch your back and finally your erect nipples press against his hard chest, "Please, Rick. Show me who's in charge."

Growling, he lunges forward and you groan as his lips meet yours.

As soon as he leans forward, you feel his cock pressed against your thigh through the fabric of his boxers and you rub against him, "Rick…"

Surprisingly gentle, he slides his tongue into your mouth and moves his hand up enough to take your breast in his hand, relieving the pressure you can't suppress with arousal.

He knows exactly how to touch you to make you wriggle under him and moan into his mouth.

Under your protest, he pulls away from your lips and turns his attention to your neck, "Is this how you imagined it, baby?"

You whimper in agreement and he presses his hard-on against your pussy, "Use your words."

Softly you breathe, "Yes, Rick."

You are rewarded as he slowly rubs against you, making you lift your legs and wrap them around his narrow hips.

You hear him laugh softly in your ear, "You can put your legs right back down, baby. I want you on all fours like you so loudly offered."

Briefly, your thoughts flit to Negan, who also took you on all fours most of the time, but when Rick flips you onto your stomach and grabs your waist to stand you up for him, it feels different.

He knows what he wants, but the way his hands slide over your naked body makes you think that he might actually care about you.

That you're not just another willing pussy for him to fuck.

Shit, you know the stories from Alexandria where women rave about having been in bed with him or swarm around him to get fucked in the mattress by the one and only Rick Grimes.

He notices your hesitation and runs his hand down your spine, "What are you thinking about?"

You prop yourself up on your elbows and look over your shoulder at him, "It's nothing."

Skeptically, he raises an eyebrow and slides his hand from your back lower to between your legs and you thrust your hips toward him as his rough fingers slide over your wetness, "Tell me."

You hang your head and gasp, "Forget it, please. It's…" He slides a finger inside you and you moan, "Nothing."

At a moderate pace, he penetrates you with his hand and the other he wraps around you so he can play with your nipples again.

The man is going to drive you crazy and he doesn't even have to do much to do it.

His voice is rough with excitement, "If you want my cock, you'll have to tell me."

Panting, you gasp as he slides a second finger inside you and you know you wouldn't survive not being allowed to cum on his cock.

Uncertainly you close your eyes and murmur, "How many women have you slept with? And I mean only in Alexandria."

You expected him to pause, but instead he just penetrates you faster and you keep moaning as he starts to explain, "I don't know exactly, I mean, I'm not actively counting. Why do you ask?"

You moan softly, "I told you to forget it. It was just a stupid thought."

But there's nothing you can do about the fact that you sound jealous and Rick can tell right away, "Well someone is crazy jealous that I've fucked other women before."

He presses on your clit, "Maybe it will make you feel better that I've never wanted anyone as much as I want you."

At his words, your pussy tightens and he murmurs softly, "Bit of reassurance and already your pussy is clinging to my fingers, huh?"

An "Oh God" slips from your lips and before you can come on his fingers, he withdraws them from you and you whimper, "Please."

Gently, he puts a hand to the back of your head and pushes you down so that your cheek is on the bed sheet, giving him a better angle to thrust into you.

Breathlessly, you watch him pull down his boxers and precum just waiting to slide into your wet tightness.

Submissively, you whimper, "You don't just want me because Negan had me, do you?"

He positions himself at your entrance and then looks you in the eye as he answers honestly, "No" and then pushes into you.

You can't help but squint your eyes shut and moan his name as he stretches and fills you inch by inch.

You push against him to take him deeper inside you and he growls, "Fuck, what I'd give to film this and watch it over and over again."

Your mind pretty much goes blank as you gasp, "Then you do it. Film me."

Up to the hilt inside you, he pauses, "What?"

Sluggishly you open your eyes, "There should be an old camera in the nightstand if someone didn't take it. It runs on batteries and you can record me with it if you want."

For several seconds he holds perfectly still and you could swear he's stopped breathing when he finally hisses, "Fuck, you're filthy," and contorts a bit to get to the nightstand.

Sure enough, the camera is still there and after a few seconds of him setting up and you getting used to his thick cock inside you, he starts moving inside you while the camera is pointed at your body below him.

The awareness that he'll be watching it later to jerk off lifts you to unimagined clouds, and you tighten around him again and again as he thrusts into you, growling, "Who did you offer yourself up for, baby?"

To yips, "For you."

Dangerously soft, he hisses, "Louder." and thrusts harder, eliciting a soft yelp from you, "Just for you."

He moans harshly and you feel his cock twitch inside you as you can barely breathe.

Rick does it perfectly.

The way he talks to you and touches you.

It's addictive and you have to muster all the strength you have left not to beg him to never let you go again.

The smacking sound your pussy makes as he takes you must be abundantly clear on the recording and you know you can't take it much longer taking his cock inside you again and again without cumming, but before you can even say a word Rick moans, "Fuck…Once Negan sees me fucking your little pussy in his bed while you moan that you only want me…"

You're supposed to be panicking that he's going to show someone else, or at least put him in his place, but you just howl, "Yeah…I just want you."

A single hard thrust from Rick makes you wince, and you have to stifle a cry as you pulse around his cock, pulling him deeper into you in rhythmic thrusts.

The camera is forgotten as he just drops it and has to brace himself over you and asks hoarsely, "Can I cum inside you?"

Still on your climax you gasp out a "Yes oh god yes" and that's all it takes for Rick to chase his climax into you shuddering and moaning until you think you won't be able to walk after.

You haven't caught your breath yet when he brushes your hair out of your face and presses a kiss to your cheek, "Thank you" and with one last thrust he pauses inside you.

Somewhere in the back of your mind you notice him pulling out of you and then pulling you up so you can sit on his lap.

Hanging in his arms like a doll, you murmur softly, "Rick…I…"

You don't really know what to say.

Quickly he kisses you on the mouth, "Shhhh…was I too rough?"

Silently you shake your head and yawn, "No."

You look into his eyes and can't help it your heart starts to flutter as you see the warmth in them, "You're a good girl."

You think of the sexual way it comes across, but he murmurs softly afterward, "And by that I mean you're a good person. You didn't deserve to be treated as badly by me as I've done time and time again until today. I'm sorry."

Slowly, you blink before whispering to his lips, "I have some ideas on how you can make it up to me" and kiss him on the swollen lips.

@hail-yourselves  @bean-is-reading  @chanlvr2  @criminalwalkingsupernatural  @sunshinevirus  @toxic-ink  @kingtwhiddleston  @bloodycherry22  @vane28282  @bamslover  @revesephemeres  @emo-potato-virgil  @tropodyn  @mrsashleybarnes18-blog  @igotbasicdrag @moonshine147 @1-800-isabellapotter @starkstiless

(If anyone else would like to be tagged, just let me know 💗)

[hawthorne-swift-enthusiasttt]

Cozy Little December Nights (Nevermoor Fanfic)

Hi besties!!! 🫶 How are u guys doing?? I decided to be productive for once and write a Nevermor fic!! I currently have like, 12 unfinished nevermoor fanfics in my drafts that have been sitting like that for weeks but I managed to finish this one in a day lmao. No real plot, just a cozy little thing for winter <3 This fic is brought to you by my endless gawking at r/TheNightFeeling, the snow outside my window, and my deep appreciation for christmas vibes and cozy besties 👍

One thing you may notice: It's from Lam's perspective and I'm totally going off of headcanons here so she uses She/They pronouns throughout. <33

She stood silent, in the middle of the road. It was night. The dim luminescence from the street lights above pierced the snow-coated sidewalk with an amber yellow that shone solemnly. The air was cold enough to make you put your hands in your pockets, but it wasn't unbearable. It might have been because the wind was quiet. Small flakes of snow started to build up and melt on her soft boots, and her rich, charcoal black hair had bits of white scattered throughout.

They heard the faint hum of a car driving by in the distance. Speeding up, they jogged towards a lone wooden bench outside a small, cozy, cottage-looking home with a big window and warm fireplace light seeping out through cracks in the curtains. The light from the house reflected onto the bench and seemed to engulf it in a sheltering warmth.

She sat carefully on the bench, trying not to slip on the ice underneath it. Her hands rested in her lap as she absentmindedly fiddled with them, picking the indigo purple polish off her nails and sending tiny chips flying. She blinked twice. Her hair tickled her hand slightly as she moved a strand behind her ear.

Looking up, they could see the moon's ghostish beam shining directly on their face. They squinted instinctively at it's brightness, and focused their eyes on the dark night in front of them instead. It was stunning. The stark contrast between the light-as-air glistening snowfall and the black night backdrop would probably be seared in her mind for years to come. This moment. It was peace.

She looked back at the warm house with the warm fireplace and the warm reflecting light. It was kind of beautiful. Sure, there were spots where the cream paint had chipped away on the windowsill, and the front porch swing was old and rusty and looked like it had seen some rough days but...that warm glow. The coarse stone bricks and weathered wood on the outside held something so tender, so home-feeling, on the inside, and that made her soul smile.

As they were about to stand up and continue the silent, frigid walk home, they were stopped by a noise. It sounded like something between a "squeak" and a "creak". Being a short-range oracle, they already knew what was coming. They turned their head towards the house and saw a familiar face. A blonde boy with light blue eyes and fluffy hair stood there, hanging half-in and half-out the house, with a beckoning grin on his face.

"Lam? Is that you?", he asked softly.

"Yes", she responded

"Are you heading home? I didn't see you on hometrain this afternoon."

"I was just about to, yeah. Sorry I wasn't there..I fell asleep in a Relaxation Pod and only woke up 30 minutes ago. I hadn't realized this was your house, though. It's very pretty."

He gave a small chuckle and said, "Well actually, this is my Gran's house. I like to visit her around the holidays. She makes the BEST hot chocolate. Hey, if it's not a bother, do you wanna come in and try some with me?"

She glanced at the time on the big clock tower a few miles away: 8:00pm. They didn't need to be home until 9, so surely a sip of hot chocolate wouldn't hurt.

"Okay."

Arch smiled, leaning into the house.

"Hey Gran!", he called, "could you please make one more cup of hot chocolate? I've got a friend who wants to join us!"

"Will do, Archan", she called back contently.

The pair headed inside, and Lam hung her coat and yellow-striped scarf up on a hook. She gazed around the house. Lovely acrylic paintings of charming little countrysides were hung on the back wall of the dining room. The room's walls were a canary yellow that had an easing nature about them. Looking further, into the living room, they could see a soft, cream-colored wool carpet, with plush, squishy seating to match. The fireplace she had noticed from the window seemed to crackle comfortably. A giant lamp was turned on beside it, making the whole place glow invitingly.

"Your hot chocolate's ready! Careful, it's quite hot", Arch's Gran's voice sounded, taking Lam out of her cozy little reverie

She sat at the dining table, and watched as Arch dropped tiny, colorful marshmallows into his drink. He handed some over to her, nodding towards them.

"You want any?"

"Okay", she said, taking a few.

She dunked the marshmallows in the hot chocolate, sinking them in the liquid with the spoon, and smiling when they popped back up.

It was nice, she thought, spending time with someone who cared so deeply about them. Growing up with the pressures of being a princess, they were always so worried as to what other people thought about them. The comfort of having a good friend who saw her as equal meant everything to her.

She gazed out through the window, her deep brown eyes catching the gleam of one of the streetlights outside. The snow was still falling gently, and the sky had managed to become an even darker shade than it was when she saw it last.

I love cozy little December nights like these, she thought happily.