#I decided to go without the mirror for now just for a bit of change. :)

[mothmagesdv]

Got a new shirt today while mining that ended up being the perfect shirt for mining. 👍

[alleiwentcrazy]

“Wait,” Steve propped himself on his elbow, getting into a half-lying, half-sitting up position, “you’d do that for me?”

“Yeah man,” Eddie replied. He shimmied a little bit closer to the middle of the mattress and snuggled to his pillow. His eyebrows furrowed as he yawned. “I mean, I kind of did that already, didn’t I?”

Steve just kept on looking at him, stunned. It felt so strange to be cared for; to be remembered, known. He’d never had been, not like that—with Robin, sure, but that was different. He’d never felt like that with Nancy. With anyone. He hadn’t had to try and make out someone’s silhouette in the darkness, just to read their face and decide whether they were just selfless and nice or doing something for him. Truly for him, for the sake of doing it for him. It had never been an issue, because there had never been anyone about whom he’d had to wonder things like that. It had always been an exchange of sorts in this context.

But not with Eddie.

Steve’s head started to spin.

“Honestly I can’t wait for you to see it. You know she’s not really my type, but even I can see how fucking cool this car is. It felt a little like tuning my guitar or—”

Steve didn’t even register it when he reached for Eddie’s face, his consciousness wasn’t in the room when he lowered himself down and sank even closer to the boy who’d put his heart in a wrench. He just kissed him, and when he did – momentarily, it was a complete bliss. As long as his lips were gently pressed to Eddie’s, no matter how hard his heart was beating, it felt like he would be okay after all. Nothing else was important; he was kissing Eddie. He felt warm and cared for; he was kissing Eddie. 

Eddie.

Steve felt a finger hook at the rim of his shirt, he felt himself being pulled closer.

The panic came approximately three seconds later.

Their lips parted with the softest tsk, but Steve heard it several times louder. His senses were screaming at him, all alarms set off; the smell of Eddie’s shampoo lingered around his face, the sensation of chapped lips lingered against his, his fingers were tingling where they came in contact with Eddie’s slightest stubble.

It was curious how much Eddie reminded him of a cat at that moment. He was rigid, but ready to spring into action whenever, and his eyes were ridiculously big, almost fluorescent in the dim moonlight that was seeping through the trailer’s curtains. The longer Steve looked into those eyes, the more he felt like he might have fucked up. Bad.

“Should I—I should, I mean I…” He trailed off, getting a little further away from Eddie with every word. “I should, yeah, probably. Go.”

He practically jumped out of the bed, and it pained him how cold it was without Eddie close to him. He’d gotten so used to sleeping here, just sleeping, whenever Wayne was out and no uncomfortable questions would be asked, so that they both could feel a little less alone.

“I’ll take the van, we’ll exchange cars later today, alright?” Steve looked for his change of clothes in the darkness. They were, as usual, neatly stacked in his designated space at Eddie’s desk. “I’m sorry, I didn’t—I mean, I did, but I’m, uh. I’m…” He trailed off, his cheeks getting embarrassingly hot and pink, he supposed, even though he couldn’t see himself in the mirror.

It felt wrong to say he was sorry. He was, obviously, he just kissed Eddie out of nowhere, but it didn’t feel like a mistake. His lips were still warm. He wanted to purse them tightly to keep the memory of Eddie’s lips on his firmly in place.

“We should do it again.”

Steve froze.

“What?”

He turned back towards the bed. It was much easier to make out Eddie’s form now. He was sitting up, chewing his thumbnail, his eyes barely flickering to Steve. His hair stood out against the white-ish wall and Eddie’s gray T-shirt. The waves were quite disheveled, but still cascaded beautifully over his shoulders.

Damn, Steven.

“We should do it again. If you’re not sure, we should do it again.”

Not sure about what? Steve did not dare ask. Eddie looked so nervous, maybe even more nervous than Steve felt. Both of their breaths were coming short now, as if they’d just run a marathon.

Apprehensively, Steve sat back down on the edge of the bed. The mattress dipped underneath him and he swayed a bit forward.

“We should kiss. Again?” That really was what it was, right?

Eddie nodded his head quickly. Steve’s breath hitched when the smell of Eddie’s shampoo reached his nose once again.

There were very few thoughts in Steve’s head. There was just Eddie, right in front of him, chewing his nail, nodding away. Wanting to kiss him, again, having been kissed once already. Steve was confused and more than a little queasy, but his willpower wasn’t quite strong enough to get him questioning things.

“Okay,” he mumbled. Eddie finally looked at him, lowered his hand to his lap and nodded.

Some sort of nervous sound rumbled in the back of Steve’s throat. Okay. It was okay. He leaned in—and Eddie leaned in at the same time. Warm breath tickled Steve’s lips, and he stopped just before meeting Eddie half-way.

“Are you su—”

Eddie was kissing him before the sentence got out of his mouth in its entirety. Really kissing him, not just pressing their lips together, kissing him, still incredibly stiff and distanced, but kissing him. Oh, with something more than just curiosity, Steve could tell. He let out one heavy breath through his nose and felt Eddie relax right away with him. Their lips were in perfect harmony; Steve’s chest tightened. His stomach felt heavy and full and squirmy and for some reason Steve had never felt better than in this moment, even though his eyes stung and he could barely breathe.

His hands acted on their own accord, one settling on Eddie’s shoulder, the other on his cheek, keeping him close, closer, closer still.

Their lips parted. Steve felt the loss immediately.

“I’m gonna…” Eddie whispered huskily, untangling his legs from the cover and shifting his position. It was funny how one of his knees kind of hovered over Steve’s lap in silent question – it was even funnier how long it took Steve to process that.

“Yeah, feel free, please.”

What the fuck, Steven.

Eddie straddled his lap and leaned right back for another kiss, pressing their chests together. Their hearts kept thump thump thumping loudly against their chests, and Steve was kind of actively losing his mind over that. Eddie, in his gray T-shirt and stupid plaid shorts, was straddling his lap, kissing him, making him believe that he had the whole world in the palm of his hand. Was it even real? Could Steve touch him? Would it really be alright? He laid his hand on Eddie’s thigh, feeling hair and goosebumps underneath his fingers. Another conclusion from that night: Eddie was hot. Steve kissed him harder, and he reciprocated, grabbing Steve’s neck.

Steve had no idea for how long they had been kissing, until Eddie swayed dangerously close to the edge of the bed and Steve’s neck started to hurt. It wasn’t nearly enough, but that was it.

For now, hopefully.

“It’s getting late,” he mumbled against Eddie’s lips, “and you’ve got to be at the shop at 8 sharp tomorrow.”

“Yeah,” Eddie said and stole one more peck. “You wanna sleep?”

Fuck me if I can, Steve thought, but nodded yes.

“But let’s talk tomorrow? Okay?”

Eddie’s hands were still cupping his cheeks. His lips seemed sleek and shiny, shinier than his eyes, even.

“We must,” he replied. They both nodded. For some reason Steve’s heart started beating even faster now.

Eddie scrambled from his lap, cleared his throat and rearranged the covers, getting back into his favourite position. Steve followed suit. The gap between them seemed enormous and immediately got filled with anxious energy.

Steve reached between them hesitantly. For a few seconds his hand just lay there, empty and suddenly very cold. Eddie’s open palm touched his. He let out a big breath.

They would figure it out. For sure. Tomorrow.

[sweetshuga]

✰ 𝑪𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝑺𝒆𝒙 𝑰𝒎𝒂𝒈𝒊𝒏𝒆𝒔 ✧

𝒊𝒅𝒆𝒂. «𝑯𝒆𝒓𝒆»

𝒏𝒐𝒕𝒆. English is not my first language!

───~𓆩♡𓆪~───

𝒃𝒇.ᐟ𝒎𝒂𝒕𝒕... loves to see your cock-drunk face as he pounds into you while hugging your thighs with your back flush against the fogged up mirror.

𝒘𝒄. 337

✰ Matt’s eyebrows furrowed in concentration as he held your thighs tightly, your legs up in the air on one side of his shoulders and his arms wrapped in an iron grip around them—rendering you immobile. Your moans echoed throughout the bathroom as he pulled your hips forward, changing the angle and every thrust from him hit the spot inside you that made your toes curl. Your hands scrambled to hold onto anything you could, your shoulders flush against the fogged up mirror behind you. The overwhelming pleasure making your mind go numb.

𝑨 𝒇𝒆𝒘 𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒖𝒕𝒆𝒔 𝒑𝒓𝒊𝒐𝒓... You had just gotten out of the shower when he suddenly walked in. Matt’s face flushed when he saw your naked form, even though he’s seen it plenty of times by now. "Sorry—" you chuckled when you heard the slightly panicked tone, "hey, it’s fine, should’ve locked the door, but since Chris and Nick are out I thought it was alright, no?" He nodded slowly, his eyes raking over your body appreciatively before snapping back up to your face. A sheepish grin plastered on his lips as he shifted his weight on one leg, trying to discreetly hide the growing arousal in his pants. You raised your eyebrows, noticing the telltale signs of his desire right away.

𝑩𝒂𝒄𝒌 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒆𝒏𝒕... You struggled to keep your eyes from rolling back as he worked his magic. The thick head of his length hit spots that made you let out sounds even you didn’t know you could make. The sounds of your pleasure spurred him on, grunting in exertion as he surged forward with renewed vigor. Determined to please you. "Fu—ck sweets, you feel me?" His arm left your thighs, and with gentle fingers, pressed on the bulge appearing and disappearing on your abdomen from his cock. His gaze momentarily shifted from your stomach to your face, a groan leaving his lips when he saw the look of pure ecstasy on your face. "Look at you, so fucking drunk on my dick, mffh—" ✰

𓆩♡𓆪

───~𓆩♡𓆪~───

𝒃𝒇.ᐟ𝒄𝒉𝒓𝒊𝒔... loves when your ass recoils against his hips when he pounds into you from behind, holding your hair in a makeshift ponytail and pulling on it until you look up at your fucked-dumb reflection in the mirror.

𝒘𝒄. 362

✧ Chris groaned lowly as he drew back before slamming hard into you. Your backside recoiled from the force and your legs trembled, loud moans spewing out of your parted lips. He bit his lips, putting his hand on the small of your back and firmly pressing on it. The edge of the countertop in front of your upper thighs only made it easier for him to go as deep as he wanted without your body bouncing away. Your eyes rolled back in your skull before closing shut and reopening a few seconds later, widened like saucers when he increased his pace. Your hand travelled back in a futile attempt to slow him down, your moans nothing short of pornographic.

𝑨 𝒇𝒆𝒘 𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒖𝒕𝒆𝒔 𝒑𝒓𝒊𝒐𝒓... Nick and Matt had gone to get food. They did ask you if you wanted to tag along, but you just wanted to stay in and Chris being Chris, your sweet boyfriend, decided to stay home with you. As much as you wanted to keep cuddling with your boyfriend on the couch – cozied up in blankets – you really had to pee. And so, you disentangled yourself from Chris with a heavy sigh, "I’ll be right back, gotta piss." You could hear him chuckling and shouting an "okay" from his place on the couch as you walked towards the bathroom. A few minutes later, you heard the bathroom door opening while you washed your hands. A pair of hands pushing you down to bend over the counter.

𝑩𝒂𝒄𝒌 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒆𝒏𝒕... Chris’ free hand tangled in your locks, gripping it into a make-shift ponytail before pulling on it. Your head involuntarily leaned back, your thoroughly-pleasured expression reflecting in the mirror. Chris’ pace quickened, the sound of wet squelching filling the air as he pounded into your sopping pussy from behind. "Look at that, baby," he cooed as he saw your face in the mirror, "look at yourself, the fucked dumb look on your face." He grunted as he pulled your hair with more force, making you look at yourself and a loud shaky moan left his lips when he felt your walls flutter rhythmically around his pistoning cock. ✧

𓆩♡𓆪

taglist: @strnilolover @mattsfavoritestar @sophand4n4 @tpwktahlz @lilyyliloo @slut4angstt @pvssychicken @poolover123 @loud-sturniolos @inlovewchrissturniolo @sagesturns @chrisstopherfilmed @billiesbabya @h3arts4nat @moosegirl96 @sofiaaguilaxx @sturniolo-fann @goingtojohnkramershouseee @sturniolosluttt @chrislilcumslvt @mattsninja @bilssturns @sturnioloszn @slvtf0rchr1s @knowingnothingnoel @shadowthesim @brookheartsmatt @starstrucktyrantinfluencer @m00nl1ghts1vt @strnlslut @ribread03 @hearts4werka @larallott @ivysturnss @chrisfavoritewhore @peiivnao

© sweetshuga

[deadsetobsessions]

Alley Drunk! Danny AU- Part 1

[Pt.2] [Pt.3] [Pt.4]

To not turn into a giant raging asshole hell bent on murdering people and destroying the world after everyone he loved died, Danny had ran from Amity with his chosen vice.

A bottle. That’s right. Even after Jazz’s talks about alcoholism as a poor coping mechanism as a form of self harm, he still chose alcohol. Or maybe that’s why he picked it, because it reminded him of her, right before the booze took the sting of grief off of her memory. He was never really all that good at listening to Jazz.

And now she’s gone, so it’s moot point. Danny really hated Nasty Burger.

Danny made it all the way to Gotham, bottle constantly glued to his hand. It’s better than Vlad’s creep-o-self looming over him all of the time. He bummed out on the streets, fitting into crime alley like a native. Danny learned to pickpocket. Not much, just enough for a bottle when his ran out. He stayed human. At first he tried to convince himself that it was because he didn’t want to be perceived as a meta in a city where Batman notoriously disliked metas. Then, as he sunk deeper, he admitted to himself in a shameful curl of a whisper that it was really because alcohol affected his human side much easier.

Ghosts need an ungodly amount of alcohol to even get slightly buzzed. Danny’s human side? Only one full bottle the shittiest tequila he could find could even hope to be more than buzzed. It sucked.

He’s spent two years being an alcoholic that didn’t actually get that drunk. Technically, underage drinking was a crime. But then again, so was being a vigilante ghost. So, whatever. He does what he can to dull the grief. Mostly, he slept on covered and hidden nooks on top of Crime Alley’s roofs. Gotham city had taken pity on him and cleared her smog clouds when he was awake at night. Stargazing helped, at least. It gave him a little hope. It gave him a little wish to change and better and live like he wants. But then the night ends and when the day comes, Jazz isn’t there. Sam isn’t there. Tucker isn’t there. His mom and dad are not there.

Danny always went back to the bottle, in the end. Not that it did much.

Which was why, when he saw three looming figures over a tiny child, Danny’s saving people thing flared with a vengeance and his surprised ectoplasm burned what little buzz he had achieved by downing most of the bottle away, leaving him stone cold sober and pissed.

Danny sighed, dumping the rest of the nasty tasting liquid out. There’s no point drinking that little.

He approached the trio, who were beating up an actual child. Ancients, he hated Crime Alley sometimes.

“Give me your shit, you little punk!” Asshole 1 decided to say like a typical mugger, raising his leg to kick the curled up kid below. Danny doesn’t let him land the kick, smashing the bottle on the asshole’s head before any of them clocked his presence. He pivots, pushing a bit of that extra strength he normally keeps on a tight leash into his hands, and punched the other two in a quick fashion, knocking them out.

With that taken care of, Danny turned back to the kid who was still curled up. Danny sighed again, the trembles in small shoulders plucking on his heartstrings.

“You okay, kid?”

The kid uncurls, and Danny stared. Holy shit, is he looking into a mirror? Blue eyes, black hair, and tanned skin. Holy shit, he’s even got similar jaws to Danny.

“Huh.”

The kid flinched.

“Y-y’er the drunk,” the kid flinched again, eyes darting to the broken bottle still clenched in Danny’s hand. “I- I ain’t got money, honest. Please-”

Danny blinked down at the kid, brain connecting the dots after so long without actual interaction. He’s panicking and staring at the bottle in Danny’s hand like it’ll kill him. Danny raised the bottle and the kid closed his mouth with a click, terror worming its way into the kid’s eyes.

“I wasn’t going to mug you myself, kid.”

“But- y’er the- the Alley drunk.”

Danny blinked. Did he get a reputation without knowing again? Goddammit.

“I guess. Am I famous or somethin’?”

“Nobody- nobody fucks wit’ ya.”

“I also don’t hurt kids.”

“…”

The kid stared at him dubiously and with a sinking feeling, Danny realized that maybe the kid already had some terrible experiences with a heavy drunken hand. He promptly chucks the bottle further into the alley.

“I drink, yes. But I’m also not the kind of scum that would lay hands on a kid, let alone anyone that didn’t provoke it first.”

“Oh.” The kid uncurled more, looking at Danny warily, more at ease now that the bottle has left the chat.

“Yeah. I’m Danny. Stone cold sober, right now.”

“…”

Danny waited.

“Peters.”

“Okay. Peters, do you wanna take their shit?” Danny pointed a thumb at the knocked out would-be-muggers behind him.

“Y… yeah, sure. What’s my cut?”

“All of it.”

Peters stared.

Danny shrugged and started looting.

"Y'er so fuckin' weird."

----

See, the thing is, Danny hadn't anticipated saving Peters- "'s actually Jason"- would result in having a duckling following him around. The kid, Jason, glared at everyone who even looked at them wrong. But that's not the problem, because Danny could take anyone who took issue with Jason's looks, it's more like there's a child following him around now and Danny doesn't want to be the reason Jason turns into an alcoholic. It's- well, it made him cut down on the drinking. He even got jobs- legitimate jobs that sucks out his his poor ectoplasmic soul.

Why? Because Jason's apparently homeless. While that's something Danny's okay with for himself, he can't ever condone that for an actual child. Jason's walking around in threadbare clothes and thin soled shoes in the middle of Fall, for Ancient's sake.

Danny grumbles as he piled a bunch of clothes into the shopping bag as he checked out. Gotham's Walmart is a different kind of hell, but Danny feels right at home.

Sure, the work might suck out his soul and he might hate being sober, but Jason's face every time he comes home to an actual place to live, warm clothes, and food was worth everything.

[delusional-day-dreamer]

Reflections - e.e

‣ emily engstler x reader

‣ wc: 2958

‣‣ synopsis: emily had no choice but to bail on your planned day together, so you decide to get a little revenge, leaving your reflection as the only thing on her mind all day.

‣‣‣ a/n: sorry this took SO LONG to release, i was a little nervous to write smut for the first time so hopefully this isn't too bad! i'm still working on more fics and hopefully i can still follow my plan to release one a day!

You adjusted the position of your body in front of the mirror, lifting Emily's shirt to reveal just a sliver of your boobs as you posed for your selfie in your lacy thong. You weren't posing for a social media post or anything of the sort, you were just trying to torture your poor girlfriend a little bit.

The two of you had planned a day-long date today, as she wasn't supposed to go in for practice or any sort of team events, but her coaches had changed their mind, calling the team early in the morning for mid-day practice, followed by a workout session, ice baths and checkups with their athletic trainer, and a film session to end their packed day.

Unfortunately for you, the text had come in during an early morning makeout session, causing Emily to leave the comfort of your bed to eat breakfast, get ready, and head out for her long day. Leaving you a needy, pleading mess for her in the process. You knew the change in plans wasn't her fault, nor was it in her control.

You were just seeking revenge for the fact that she chose to leave you orgasmless before heading out, promising to finish what the two of you had started later in the evening.

Grinning as you finally got the perfect shot, you sent off a text to Emily, containing both the selfie and a short text that read, can't wait for you to get back Em. Now, all you had to do was wait for her response, which you knew wouldn't come until a little later, when she finally got the chance to check her phone during a water break.

To your delight, Emily's response came in sooner than you had expected, not even ten minutes after you had sent the text, your phone pinged with a new text. you better find a way to wait, don't you dare touch yourself without me.

You knew that was one of Emily's "rules", if she wasn't away for a game, your pleasure was hers and hers only. And usually, that was always enough for you, as you had no need to get yourself off either by hand or with any of the toys hidden in your shared closet, Emily was always there to take care of you. But today, you found yourself struggling to hold off on relieving the deep ache that had settled in your core.

You swear you did everything in attempt to pass by the time that Emily was gone. You ate breakfast, dusted nearly every surface in your apartment, wiped down every mirror, scrubbed down the bathrooms, ate lunch, cooked dinner for you two to enjoy later, took an everything shower, and finally settled down in on your bed to watch t.v. around four in the afternoon, knowing Emily would be home before six.

Just as your eyes began to shut, drifting off into a light sleep, you heard the front door open as Emily entered the apartment, dropping the keys in the little ceramic bowl you had bought for the apartment and taking off her shoes, walking towards your bedroom.

You shot up in bed, eager for Emily to walk through the door so you could capture her in your grasp and lure her into bed, finally able to relieve the throbbing between your legs. She greeted you as she entered the room, dropping her practice bag over by the laundry hamper before making her way to you, not that you were paying attention.

You leaned in and grabbed the back of her neck, smashing your lips onto hers the second she was close enough. She climbed onto the bed with you, laying her body over yours as you continued to make out, her tongue intertwined with yours as her hands moved up and down, from kneading your braless tits to squeezing your waist, the two of you just couldn't get enough of each other.

You whined as she pulled away from your kiss, she chuckled before ducking her head down to kiss across your jaw to your ear, "missed me that much baby?" She questioned smugly as she moved her lips under your ear, alternating between sharply nipping at your skin, open mouthed kisses, and soothing licks over the trail of reddish-purple marks she left behind.

"Please Em, don't tease. Been waiting for you all day," you begged, arching your chest into her, hoping she would get the hint. She popped her lips off your neck with a smirk, gazing at your needy expression before moving her hands to pull her t-shirt off your body, uncovering your perky nipples, begging for her touch.

Her lips began a trail of kisses, licking, biting, and sucking her way down from the base of your neck to your chest, leaving hickeys at the very tops of your breast before finally latching her mouth onto your right nipple, her hand coming up to twist and tug at the other.

Your hands flew to her ponytail, gripping it as you moaned at her teasing, urging her head to continue its descent down to where you needed her the most. Thankfully, she continued to kiss down your abdomen, stopping at the edge of your lace thong to nip at the fat of your hips. She continued to tease you, leaving hickeys around the perimeter of your inner thighs as you whimpered the arousal continuing to pool within your panties, yet Emily purposely avoided your throbbing pussy.

“God Em, please I can’t take it anymore, need you so bad,” you propped yourself up on your elbows to look down at her as you pleaded, your mind far too hazy to feel embarrassed of how desperate you sounded. She propped herself, perching herself to the perfect position in between your thighs as she finally ran her fingers up and down your lace-covered slit, feeling the wetness that had begun to soak through.

“You have no idea how long I’ve been waiting for this baby,” she hummed, “Wanna try something different with you, that okay?” She asked as she pulled your thong down, a strand of your slick sticking to the fabric. "You're this wet for me and I haven't even touched you yet baby," Emily rose to lean back on her knees, moving her hands to rest upon your thighs.

“Please Em, do anything, I just need you,” you whispered back, sitting up as you watched her rise from the bed, walking over to the floor length mirror you had taken the picture in. She picked it up and adjusted it so that it leaned against the wall in front of your bed, such that you were now gazing at your own naked reflection.

Your attention, however, was quickly drawn back to Emily, who had now stripped her t-shirt and sweatpants off her body, leaving her in just a plain black sports bra and a matching pair of boxers. She walked back over to the bed, settling against the headboard and planting her feet flat on the bed to take a seat behind you.

"Come here baby," she requested, and with such a low, sultry tone, how could you resist for even a second? You quickly turned onto your hands and knees, crawling up the expanse of your California king bed to kneel in between her thighs, capturing her lips once again.

You took the chance to tease Emily back a bit, taking control of the kiss by biting and dragging out her bottom lip before slipping your tongue back into her mouth, moaning eagerly into her as your hands tugged at the straps of her sports bra.

She didn't allow you to continue for long, grabbing your waist and manhandling your back into her front before you could take off her bra. She traced her hands down your body, grabbing the back of your thighs to rest them over her bent legs, spreading you open in front of the mirror.

"You see how wrecked you are for me?" She mumbled into your ear, you watched as her tattooed hands kneaded at your hickey covered tits, pinching and tugging at your nipples once again. "Mhm," you nodded, biting your bottom lip to hold back the moans threatening to spill from your lips.

Emily, however, wouldn't accept that as an answer. She grabbed your jaw firmly with her right hand, using her thumb to pull your lip out in between your teeth. "None of that tonight ma, I wanna hear you properly, whether your answering me," she spoke softly, beginning to suck hickeys into the unmarked side of your neck, "swearing," she flicked her tongue out to soothe a particularly rough area, the skin already turning purple, "or moaning my name, begging me for more," she whispered into your ear.

Your brain turned to mush at her words, which meant you didn't notice how her left hand dropped from massaging your breast to reach your cunt as she was whispering filthy things into your ear, turning you on even more. A borderline pornographic moan tore from the back of your through as Emily finally pressed her middle and ring fingers onto your clit, rubbing small circles at first.

You threw your head back against her shoulder as your body arched against her, desperate moans spilling from your lips as your hips moved upwards to search for more friction in her touch. Her right hand wrapped around your waist, holding down your bottom half before she quickly lifted her fingers from rubbing circles on your clit to lightly slapping it, not nearly hard enough to hurt, but the pressure was enough for your head to shoot up at the sparks it sent through your core.

"I want you to watch yourself in the mirror, you stop looking and I stop touching you, okay baby?" Emily insisted, her fingers only moving down from your clit to trace your folds after you agreed, dragging her fingers to collect the arousal dripping from your entrance back up to your clit, this time adding more pressure onto your clit.

Your body squirmed in her hold, your mouth emitting a near constant stream of desperate whines, begging Emily for more. "C'mon ma, tell me what you want from me," she murmured, her breath warm against the bruised skin of your neck. "Fuck me, please Emily, need you to fuck me so bad I," your words were cut off by a guttural moan leaving your mouth as she plunged two fingers into your sopping heat, the prolonged foreplay had made you so wet she slipped in without any discomfort.

Your eyes fluttered, as your body melted into hers, illegible pleas, swears, and cries of ecstasy continuously fell from your lips, all the while maintaining eye contact with Emily through the mirror. Her fingers increasing their speed as she plunged a third into you, continuing to pump in and out of you, curling into you with such precision you preened her grasp, rolling your hips forward to meet her thrusts. In the process, the heel of her palm brushed against your clit, causing you to writhe in her arms, all the while Emily ducked her head down to suck at your sweet spot.

Her name fell from your lips repeatedly, the coil in your abdomen was so close to snapping, you could almost taste how close your orgasm was. Sensing this from how tight your cunt was squeezing her fingers, she moves her unoccupied hand up to your nipples, roughly tugging at them while she moved her lips up to whisper filth into your ear.

"Just like that baby... see how pretty you look while taking my fingers, my dirty little slut getting off on being finger fucked in front of a mirror, thought about fucking you like this all day... such a good girl for me," her continuous praise and encouragements, combined with the sensation of her playing with your tits, her fingers curling so deep inside of you, and her palm providing friction to your clit was all too much for you to withstand any longer.

Your moans turned into near screams as you finally came, your orgasm hitting you full-force as your legs shook on top of Emily's, full body shudders coursing through you as Emily continued to fuck into you at the same pace, insistent on having you ride out the full extent of your orgasm.

As your orgasm finally began to subside, your body going limp against hers, Emily slowed the pace of her fingers until they stilled within you. To distract you from the emptiness she knew you felt as she withdrew her fingers from your soaking cunt, she peppered kisses along the side of your face and placed a few gentle pecks on you lips accompanied with soft praises as you tuned to face her.

She brought her fingers up to your lips, shoving them into your mouth so you could clean off your own slick, humming as she felt your tongue swirling around her fingers. After popping your mouth off her fingers, you removed your legs from on top of hers, twisting your body around in her grip to face her as your hands reached upwards to cup her face, pulling her mouth down to yours in a searing kiss, all the while your knee pressed into her core.

You were acutely aware of the fact that you hadn't even touched Emily yet, and as stubborn as she was, you could feel the throbbing of her pussy against your knee, and you would be damned if you didn't get her off after the earth-shattering orgasm she gave you.

Your lips continue to move roughly against hers, attempting to establish dominance and only separating when you tugged her sports bra over head. Your lips met the soft skin of her neck, peppering gentle kisses as you knew you couldn't leave hickeys on such a visible area just two days before her next game.

You continued placing kisses to her chest, circling her nipple with your tongue as right hand reached down to cup her warm cunt through her boxers, forcing an airy moan from her. You were able to feel through the fabric how aroused she had gotten from making you cum.

You paused your ministrations to retract your hands from her body, moving to grab at the waistband of her boxers, the only material still separating the two of you. You looked up at her glazed over eyes, nonverbally checking for her consent. Emily's past relationships and hookups always had the same dynamic, she gave a lot more than she received, if they even made an effort to reciprocate her pleasure.

With you, that was never the case. You were just as concerned with Emily's satisfaction as she was yours, despite her having the more dominant personality, you almost never allowed her to leave without at least one orgasm.

With her approval and the slight lift of her hips, you discarded her underwear, laying down on your stomach and spreading open her thighs to be eye-level with her glistening cunt. "All this just from watching my reflection Em?" You teased, your breath warm against her inner thighs as you sucked and nipped at the skin closest to her center, knowing no one would be able to see the bruises left there.

"Yeah baby, it's all for you," she breathed our, grabbing your tousled hair into a makeshift ponytail, using it to guide you closer to her sopping pussy. Even now, she still Deciding she had waited long enough, you dove your tongue into her, licking a long stripe from her entrance up to her throbbing clit, causing her to throw her head back into the headboard as she moaned deeply.

"Right there ma, just like that," she encouraged as you devoured her, running your tongue through her folds to lap at her leaking arousal like a woman starved. You gather her wetness to move up and press your tongue flat against her clit, sucking and lapping at her bud. "Oh fuck baby, doing so good for me," her hips moving up to meet your mouth.

She groaned loudly as you began to hum against her clit, holding her hips tighter as moved down to her entrance again, dipping your tongue to curl into her as your nose moved against her clit, her orgasm quickly approaching from the friction you provided. You moved back up to her clit, knowing just what she needed to be pushed over the edge.

You latched onto her nub, sucking and slightly grazing her with your teeth, humming and pressing into her as she came with a throaty moan, pushing your head deeper into her to draw out as much of her orgasm as possible.

You continued to suck at her for a few moments after, slowly reducing your touch to a few soft kitten licks as her body went limp against the headboard, relaxing fully as you detached your lips from her, rubbing your hands up and down her thighs.

Her thumb wiped the slick that covered your lips and dripped down your chin, grinning at your wrecked state. “Worth the wait ma?” Her smug but somehow genuine demeanor took in the blissed out expression on your face, exhausted from your previous activities.

“Well worth Em, should mess with you more often if this is what happens,” you beamed, only half joking. “Yea right, try that again and I won’t be so nice next time, I could barely make a single shot at practice,” she grumbled, leaning in to place a gentle kiss on your lips, crawling off the bed to grab a washcloth from your joint bathroom. Your reflection had truly served you well today.

[azrielbrainrot]

Moonlit Shadows - Act I

Pairing: Azriel x F!Reader

Description: When tasked to find the once famed Temple of the Moon Goddess, Azriel only expected to find old, forgotten ruins if anything at all. He could have never imagined that not only would he find a temple but also someone who would change his life forever.

Tropes/Tags: Star Crossed Lovers (in a way), Forbidden Romance (kinda), Slow Burn, Mutual Pining, Strangers to Friends to Lovers, some Angst with a Happy Ending

Warnings: a bit of angst

Word Count: 12,4k

Rating: 18+ (this part is actually kinda chill)

Notes: Just as a warning (?) reader has white hair and white silvery eyes in this story but those are the only physical descriptions I will make, they're kind of part of her magic. Also when I started writing this I totally intended on it being a one-shot but the story got away from me and I decided to split it up into 3 parts. I really hope you enjoy!

Act II

You've been pacing in front of the temple's door ever since the sun set over the mountain, the warm rays slowly being replaced with the brilliant pale moonlight. You keep wringing your hands together and smoothing down any possible wrinkle on your dress, repositioning the diadem perched on your head to make sure it sits perfectly. It's not often you get visitors up in the temple, let alone any your Goddess went out of Her way to warn you about and gave clear instructions to help in any way you could. You can't quite distinguish if the anxiety building inside you is the result of excitement or wariness - possibly a healthy dose of both.

The last time someone climbed these steps had been almost a full decade ago. It was a quite short affair as well since the visitor only needed a book long forgotten in the temple's library. You'd read it multiple times before, and offered it without hesitation, prompting the traveler to thank you and immediately start descending the mountain, going on his way all the while muttering about finally having all the knowledge he needed to achieve his goal. That small interaction served as a reminder of your purpose in this temple, filled you with a sense of accomplishment you usually felt in such situations, but you've been alone in between these walls since then.

After almost four centuries you're more than used to the quiet, to the way your steps echoe in the grand empty space. The loneliness had been a more prominent companion, but even that had come and gone throughout the years. You had no place in the world, nor family or friends waiting for you anymore. All you had left was your duty to the temple. But you're still only fae and the longing for some company catches up to you every once in a while. At times you think you only want the reminder that you're still alive.

There wasn't much to do around the temple either, it magically gave you food and kept itself clean so you didn't even need to bother with that. You could recite every book in the library at this point and you found you weren't the best artist as you tried your hand at painting and sculpting, even music and dancing. The flowers around the temple seemed to grow effortlessly, not even needing you to tend to them either. Even keeping a journal proved inefficient as there was little to write down, the monotony of your life not interesting enough for such a thing. When tasked with guarding the temple, you would never have imagined boredom would end up being your biggest problem.

You still recall the day your hair started turning white and your eyes dulling, losing their color slowly until they turned into the silver, almost white color they were now, mirroring the moonlight. At first your parents thought it could be some disease or even a curse, they were scared for your health and safety beyond measure, but when the Goddess contacted you and sent you the amulet you now wear religiously around your neck, it guided you and your parents to this very temple hidden in the mountains of the Night Court. She then told you Herself what the fates had written for you, presenting you with an oath and sharing her power with you, making you the Keeper of the Moon Temple.

Everything had seemed impossible to believe at first, the time of the Gods had passed millenia ago, it was hard to find someone who could even name any of them anymore, you certainly couldn't at the time. So when you were told what your role in life was going to be you had been completely blindsided, not even knowing what to make of your new occupation, of being trusted with such an important task when you weren't even three decades old.

Truthfully, you expected at least a few people to show up every once in a while, asking for help or guidance. You even prepared yourself for there to be some threats to the temple, but things had been mostly peaceful and quiet, so quiet. You understand why guarding the temple is important, this type of knowledge and power can't ever fall into the wrong hands, the safety of the world depends on it, but sometimes you wonder what your life could have been like if you hadn't been chosen by fate to hold such a heavy burden by yourself.

Your heart stalls in your chest when you feel a presence approaching, used to feeling them pass by unannounced as the temple remains hidden in its protective spell. When it's clear this is the visitor the Goddess had warned you about, as they entered the wards seamlessly, you take a deep calming breath, adjusting the diadem one last time, and open the heavy doors, revealing the temple to the moonlight. As the stairs come into view, you step up to the threshold and clasp your hands together behind your back, waiting to be of help as your Goddess instructed you to.

Distractedly rehearsing your greeting, unused as it was, you almost miss the dark shadows swirling up the milky steps, passing by you and escaping to all corners of the temple before you have time to react. Your head snaps back to follow them, breaking the calming character you were falling into in preparation to fulfill your duty. Some of your power drips down to your fingertips, casting a white glow under your skin, as you study these shadows intently. Not finding any ill intent in them, as strange as they were, some of the tension leaves your body. They simply lay before you, more and more of these wispy shadows gathering together as they swirled around themselves, not paling even a fraction under the bright moonlight or your powers. Strange little things indeed.

You wonder for a moment if this was the visitor the Goddess had mentioned, not knowing what to make of it or how to approach such a situation. She had not specified if the visitor was fae, though you're not so sure how you would be able to help shadows. Before you could embarrass yourself in trying to speak to these creatures, the same presence you felt earlier makes itself known, much closer than before. Looking up at the starry sky, you find strong, dark wings carrying someone directly to the temple, a glimpse of blue shining over their dark form.

This was already the most interesting visitor you've ever had. You'd never had the pleasure of meeting any winged fae before, and, given their reaction to the fae approaching, you were confident the shadows were under their command. Those were definitely even rarer than winged fae - Shadowsingers, you remember them being called.

As they fly down closer to you and the temple, slowly letting the wind guide them, you feel a strange tug on your chest, and then another, this time strong enough that it makes you look down at yourself with furrowed eyebrows. Your confusion only deepens when you notice a bright string connected to your heart, raising your hand to try and touch it. Your fingers pass right through it, as if it wasn't there in the first place, and soon after you try catching it, the string disappears from sight.

You lay a hand down over your chest, feeling your heart beating under your palm. The string was invisible now, but you could still feel it tugging incessantly, as if urging you to look up. You follow its silent command, almost gasping out loud when you find the winged fae a lot closer than you had expected, catching him as he lands with a harsh tud on top of the steps, arms bracing out to maintain his balance as if he isn't quite used to landing yet. The shadows swirling at your feet rush to him, and a bewildered expression takes over his face, likely mirroring your own, as he stares at you, mouth agape.

Wide leathery wings stand behind him, open in a somewhat awkward angle as he stands frozen in place. As the moonlight filters through them you realize they're not quite black as they appeared before, the insides actually have a beautiful crimson hue to them. Your eyes seem to have a mind of their own as they keep cataloging his entire form, taking note of every detail as if it was crucial information. He was covered from head to toe in black leathers, you recognize it as an armor of sorts. It clung to his every muscle, showcasing them as much as it protected him from harm. You find the same blue light from before twinkling in the midst of all the black, studying it closer to find it came from gems scattered across his armor, you're almost certain they hold some of his magic somehow.

Moving up his neck, you find tan skin shining under the moonlight and black hair curling into his forehead softly, locks messy and a little damp from the flight. The stranger also had striking hazel eyes, and you find yourself struggling to not get lost in them, only bringing yourself to break eye contact when you notice the glittery string once more in the corner of your eye, only this time it's connected to his chest.

Your breath catches in your throat as you follow its path slowly, careful not to lose the thin thread once more, finding it leading back to your own heart. You feel another tug, prompting you to look back up at the male in front of you. A hand falls over your heart at the implication, right where you could feel the phantom string had tied itself. Yet another tug confirming your suspicions.

How could this be?

⭒.˚ ☾⭒.˚

Azriel wasn't expecting his evening to turn out like this when he was called to Rhys' office. While he knew there was going to be a mission of sorts, he never imagined it would involve a temple no one has ever heard of or a Goddess long forgotten. Even with Amren's knowledge and the old books she found corroborating her words, Azriel was still anticipating coming back to Velaris empty handed. He's flown over these same mountains at least a million times in the five centuries he's been alive, and never once has he noticed a temple or any signs of magic.

The woods under him looked completely untouched as far as he could tell, no one choosing to live so far from the neighboring towns, isolated between the trees and steep mountains. His shadows filtered through the woods in case he missed something from his high position, even if he thought this search was in vain, it didn't mean he wasn't going to give it his best to fulfill his High Lord's order. He felt almost naked without his shadows latching onto his body though, the single companion still perched on his shoulder in order to relay him information not giving him nearly enough coverage to feel at ease when he was so far from home.

Mission and discomfort aside, the wind felt heavenly hitting his skin on this warm summer evening. It had been a while since he was able to fly for this long without dreading his destination as it usually meant he was visiting the Illyrian mountains, the Hewn City or a much more gruesome mission than the one he found himself in at the moment. It also feels good to step away from the full houses he found himself in nowadays. As much as he loved his family, Azriel had always valued his alone time and it was getting harder to find himself completely alone in the midst of missions and the ever growing inner circle.

As he was flying over the edge of the mountain, Azriel was getting ready to make the trip back and throw a very satisfying “I told you so” at his brother's face when his shadows suddenly disappeared right before his eyes. The abruptness of it made him panic for a few seconds, clapping his wings so he was hovering in the same place and was able to study the space ahead of him, trying to feel for any type of ward or shield but coming up empty. He could still feel his shadows, and knew they were alright given how calm the remaining one was as it sat on his shoulder and simply urged him forward, as if confused why he had stopped in the first place.

Azriel trusted his shadows blindly, they had never steered him wrong after all, and so he did as he was told and slowly started moving forward once again. After living for five hundred years surrounded by magic, there isn't much that can surprise the shadowsinger, but he can safely say he's never seen anything like this. He felt his body pass through some sort of gateway, one that went unnoticed by him until now, and as he did his surroundings began changing as if they had only been a mirage before.

In between the trees a path carved in white stone could now be seen, glinting under the moonlight in complete contrast to the rest of the dark woods. As his eyes followed this path, going up stairs of the same stone carved into the side of the mountain, he found a white temple sitting right at the top. It wasn't a huge building by any means, but the white eerie glow it emitted made it impossible to miss had it not been the spell covering it - one that would make the one who kept Velaris safe for centuries pale in comparison - and keeping it hidden from the world and unwanted eyes.

Amren had been right after all, something that happens more often than he would ever care to admit. The Goddess of the Moon still had at least a temple left in this world, leaving it behind when She took to the sky. Not much is known about the old Gods, but Azriel, born and raised in the Night Court, felt himself relax as he looked up at the moon shining above him, not believing this Goddess could be anything but benevolent. She had watched him fly over from Velaris after all, it almost felt like he was guided here.

The entire temple was made of white stone - it appeared to be the same type of stones used for the path and stairs leading up to it, only more polished. There were silver highlights carved into the walls and columns, these glowed with an intensity Azriel had never seen. Most of the roof was a huge skylight, likely so the moon could illuminate Her temple and Her followers could bask in Her brilliant light.

Given the color scheme of the entire building, his shadows were easy enough to spot, which would have been a big problem had he decided on a more covert operation when coming to the temple, he was more than glad he came here in peace. His little companions seemed perfectly content as they swirled around and over themselves right in front of the temple's doors, a few steps from a figure completely clad in white.

Even after finding the temple where he had only seen trees and shrubs before, he couldn't help but feel even more surprised that there was someone inside it. A sudden spark of magic has the shadowsinger moving faster, a gasp catching in his throat when he sees bright, pale light coming from the figure's palms. Even this wasn't enough to send the shadows that would be at the receiving hand of it into alarm, something curious on its own as they were usually as suspicious and careful as their master.

Azriel was already within earshot when the person in front of him decided his shadows posed no threat and the white light disappeared from her hands. At first glance she might have looked like a regular high fae female, but there was a different kind of power flowing through her, as shown by the strange way this light magic manifested itself, something Azriel had never felt before.

Upon flying down closer, his feet almost touching the top of the steps in front of the temple, he realizes she had not been wearing a white hood or veil as he initially thought but her hair was completely white. There was an unnatural element to it as each strand shone under the moonlight, almost rivaling it in its intensity. The floor length dress she wore was of the same color, made of a light, breathable fabric, almost translucent in certain areas, swishing softly in the faint breeze. She had not looked up at him yet, seemingly intrigued as she watched her own chest. Perhaps looking at the pendant she wore around her neck, the magic coming from it could almost be seen in its intensity.

Azriel took this moment to take her in, not knowing what to say since he was the one possibly trespassing. She was absolutely gorgeous, truly mesmerizing in her beauty and demeanor. It was almost impossible to believe she was real, standing right in front of him and not a Goddess walking his dreams. For a moment Azriel wonders if this is truly the Goddess, if She never left the land of the mortals as it was once believed, instead keeping herself safely hidden in these uninhabited mountains, but when she looks up from her necklace, eyes falling on him for the first time, all thoughts evaporate from his mind. White, silvery eyes meet hazel and a sudden rush of inexplicable feelings hit him right in the chest, squeezing his heart tight and taking his breath away. It felt as if the world had broken apart and put itself together, as if everything finally made sense. The only thing he could make sense of was one word, swirling around in his mind and completely taking over every cell on his body. Mate. You were his mate.

In his stupor, Azriel forgets he was still up in the air, wings freezing along with the rest of his body and sending him falling towards the ground. Thankfully, he hadn't been too high up, and was still able to land on his feet, knees only buckling under his weight slightly as he steadied himself. This had to be the most ungraceful landing he's performed since his brothers were training him between giggles and harmless teasing when he first joined the Illyrian camps. If he wasn't so surprised and his brain was able to formulate a single thought, he would be cringing at the fact that you had just witnessed it, his mate had witnessed it.

It takes several moments before he starts catching on to the situation, the ringing in his ears subsiding and the rest of the world re-emerging around you. He hadn't even noticed his shadows had returned to him, ecstatic for their master finally found his equal. Azriel tries to school his features in an attempt to keep at least some dignity, in fear of coming on too strong as well, especially since it seemed you were in the same predicament as him, a curious but stunned expression locked in your beautiful face as you studied him. His stupid Illyrian senses make him flare out his wings a little before he has the chance to fully take control of his body. When your gaze finds his once more, his heart stalls in his chest before speeding up at an alarming rate. You haven't even spoken a single word to him, but his heart already sang for yours.

⭒.˚ ☾⭒.˚

The oath you made before your Goddess rushes into your head as you study the handsome male in front of you. How could this be possible? The fates had decided your life lied within the temple long before you were born, so why give you a mate? A bond like this is extremely rare, you'd never seen one in your entire lifetime, albeit you lived isolated from the world for most of it. Still, this was something only a few were blessed with, a bond stronger than what mortal minds could even comprehend, so why waste it on you? Could the fates and the Mother be this cruel?

You can't even bring yourself to hope he didn't notice the brilliant bond forming between you - an angry twist pulling at your heartstrings when you dare to think of hiding it - considering the expression on his face and his silence, it seems he's already more than aware of it. All it took was a single glance and it had fallen into place for both of you.

In the midst of the rushing thoughts invading your brain, you try to remember what you've read about mating bonds. There was a book talking about them in the library, of this much you were sure, but its contents were evading your racing mind.

Gaze falling to the floor, trying to sober up from what you imagine to be one of the most intense occurrences anyone could go through, you almost miss the step he takes towards you. The surprise of it makes you flinch slightly, but it was enough for him to notice and take the same step back, wings coiling up tightly to his back and shadows moving to cover him almost completely, excitement wiped off his face and replaced with a hurt expression.

Your gaze falls on him once more, a self loathing feeling crawling up your throat and making you want to beg for his forgiveness on your knees at the thought that you put that expression on his face. This bond would take some getting used to, in what world would you kneel before a male you've just met. Still, you didn't want him to think he scared or even disgusted you in any way, mate or no mate, that was extremely rude.

You clear your throat softly, remembering the weight of your role in this temple and trying desperately to fall back into character, hoping the familiarity of your duties will bring your mind some peace and help you get through this moment.

“Forgive me, it isn't often that we get visitors,” his entire body tenses up even further at your words, but it relaxes as you keep speaking, “I welcome you to the last Temple of the Moon. I'm the keeper and sole habitant of this temple. I've been tasked to keep it safe from any possible threats, but also do my best to help anyone the Goddess deems worthy of being shown the way, just as you have been.”

You try not to look too long in his general direction in fear of getting lost in his eyes once more, but that's close to impossible when you're talking to him and he might be the most beautiful male you've ever encountered. Taking a step to the side, you hold out a hand towards the door, inviting him into the temple, something you should have already done.

He nods his head once after watching your outstretched arm for a moment longer, and then makes his way inside slowly. As he passes by, you can't help but breathe in his scent, it feels intoxicating and it takes every bit of strength in your body to not let your mind linger on how well it would smell mixed with yours, until you couldn't point out where one ended and the other began.

A gasp pulls you out of your betraying thoughts, a smile finding its way to your lips, knowing the sight was making him speechless. It always sparks a little pride in you when someone gazes upon the temple for the first time. Even after living here for centuries, this temple's beauty still takes your breath away. The entire floor was made of replandescent white stones, silver gems weave highlights into them, creating patterns across the entire room, maps of constellations and lunar phases, and giving it a particular glow of their own. They were illuminated by the giant skylight making up most of the ceiling, as to allow both the moon and sunlight to enter. You've tried identifying the materials used in this construction before but ended up coming up empty. It seems the precious stones and gems used no longer grew in this world, perhaps they never did.

At the far corner of the room there was an altar, one without statue or offering table, but an altar all the same. Even when She walked this world, your Goddess never accepted gifts or ever allowed anyone to replicate her image because even that could end up leaving traces of her power behind. The altar looks empty right now, and you catch yourself wishing he could be here to see it on a full moon, when the moon rays fall right over it and you can communicate with and receive any orders the Goddess might have for you. The entire room holds an even more intense glow during that night of the month as well, you're sure he would find it fascinating.

Making your way around him, careful not to step too close or accidentally touch his wings, you catch sight of his awe stricken face, tan skin glowing beautifully under the moonlight. A small, fond smile appears on his face when his gaze falls back on yours, and you almost curse the Mother for the challenge she just put in front of you. His beauty was truly otherworldly, it rivaled every shiny gem and stone in this room, maybe even the moon herself. How were you supposed to act normally knowing this was your mate?

“I've never seen anything like this before,” he admits softly, eyes never straying from yours. The sound of his voice makes you pause, it feels strangely familiar, like something you've been waiting to hear your entire life. There's a curious kind of magic around mating bonds, you don't know how it's possible for someone you've just met to already have so much power over you, even when you're trying your best to ignore him.

“I still find myself at a loss for words when gazing at this room as well,” you agree, wanting to cringe at the bashful expression you know has fallen over your face. Your plan of keeping a detached demeanor while fulfilling your duties was doomed from the start. You clasp your hands behind your back before continuing in what you hope is a professional voice. “The Goddess warned me of your arrival and left orders for me to help you in any way I can. If you tell me what you seek, I will give you what you came here for as long as it's within my abilities.”

His eyebrows furrow slightly at your words. “How did you know I was coming?”

“The Goddess knows more than us mortals will ever be able to grasp,” you explain as vaguely as possible while hopefully not raising any suspicions. There's not a single cell in your body that thinks he's untrustworthy, but they're incredibly biased, and the inner workings of your role as the Moon's keeper must be protected.

He seems satisfied enough with your answer, but there's a different kind of air about him now. As if remembering he doesn't know you, and has found himself at your mercy.

“You haven't told me what you came for,” you remind him. If you sit in silence for long your thoughts will start drifting again.

“Right,” he clears his throat, a pinkish tint covering the tips of his rounded ears. “I come on behalf of the High Lord and Lady of the Night Court.” Your eyebrows raise at this, not expecting him to be such an important person. “One of the High Lady's sisters has been turned into a seer recently, and given that she wasn't even born fae, these powers have proven extremely hard to control.”

You've heard the story of the human who saved the fae from the evil clutches of Amarantha, and her sisters who were tragically thrown in the cauldron by King Hybern and turned into fae against their will. Your Goddess had even told you one of the sisters vengefully stole her powers from the cauldron, and the other was gifted seer abilities. Given the circumstances in which this all went down, it's understandable that she has been having trouble controlling her powers. Being a seer is an exceptionally heavy burden, and she's still so young too.

“We have some books that might be able to help, both in controlling one's power and pulling an entranced fae out of any visions or dreams they've found themselves stuck in. Was that what you were hoping for?”

“Yes,” he admits, apparently relieved at having found what he was looking for, “We found texts mentioning the followers of the Moon Goddess often had prophetic dreams, and wrote entire manuals on how to navigate them. Since Elain wasn't born with these powers these books seemed perfect to help her, and so the High Lady sent me searching for them.” You nod, motioning for him to follow you as you turn and start walking to the library, already making a mental list of all the books that might help his friend.

Even lost in thought, you sense him stopping in his steps as you're walking down the corridor, overwhelmingly aware of his every move as you were. This prompts you to turn around and face him in question, only to find him watching you in amazement.

“You're breathtaking,” he blurts out before he can catch himself, making heat rush up your neck and settle over your entire face. He looks away embarrassed for a moment, one of his shadows crawling up his neck and over his ear, before looking back at you with a bashful look. “I'm sorry. I just- Is it normal for you to glow like this?”

This power has been a part of you for so long, you almost forget about the way your hair lights up in the dark, an aura surrounding you as well, giving you an overall ethereal glow. “Yes, I harness power from the moon and She glows so…” you trail off, biting your lip as he keeps studying you. “The library is right up ahead,” you add, turning your back to him once more so you can gather your thoughts for the nth time since he stepped foot into this temple.

As you navigate through the familiar rows of shelves your heart finally calms, easily picking up the pertinent books. You can't help but keep watching him out of the corner of your eye, not out of suspicion, but curiosity for his every reaction. He seems content with following after you as he watches the decorations and studies the books sitting on the shelves, not once asking you what you're giving him, simply carrying the books you hand him. It makes you wonder if he usually trusts everyone this easily or if it's something reserved for you.

When you hand him the last book, you move to the back of the room slowly, the place where you keep some important magical amulets and tools, waiting on any sign from the Goddess forbidding you from lending him any of them. He comes to stand beside you then, likely noticing your hesitation.

“There is also an artifact that I think could help your friend,” you start, picking up the bracelet in question and holding it up as you explain its power, “This can help numb one's powers.”

“Like faebane?”

You shake your head, “No, this is completely painless, but it's vital that it is only used when she's finding herself lost in her visions and you're struggling to pull her out. This is not to be used as a crutch. If she used it to suppress her powers too often, she might never be able to take control of her full powers and this bracelet could become something she can't live without.” He nods, hopefully understanding the gravity behind your words. “It's also extremely rare and dangerous so I ask that, as soon as she has a better grasp of her abilities, I would say within a few years at most, this bracelet is delivered back to the temple so it can be kept safe.”

“What happens if we don't return it?”

The question makes you tense up and close your hands around the bracelet, your voice coming out clipped as you answer him. “I'm not entirely sure as no one has ever attempted something so foolish as long as I've been here, but those types of transgressions are handled by the Goddess so I imagine you would not be able to keep it even if you tried.”

“I wasn't considering keeping it. I was merely curious,” he rushes to explain, sincerity dripping from every word and making you relax a bit.

“Curious?”

“If you would be the one to come for it,” he confessed.

A warm tingly feeling spreads through your body as you digest his words. Would he seriously consider stealing from a God just for a chance to see you again? Even if it meant being at the end of your wrath? Can you be confident the bond wouldn't drive you to such extremes as well?

“I can't leave the temple unattended,” you murmur, much too softly for your own good. Your emotions are running all over the place, it almost seems like they're fighting to see which one will take control of your body, and unfortunately, you have an inkling as to which is winning as his scent overwhelms your senses once again.

“Of course,” he says, taking a small step closer to you, shadows mostly retreating from his body, “Forgive me. I didn't mean to upset you.” Must his voice sound like a cup of hot chocolate after a day spent playing in the snow?

It doesn't help that you've been in this temple for so long that you can't even recall the last time someone touched you, not even sexually, no one has so much as held your hand or hugged you in decades, ever since your parents passed. Looking at him, you know you could get lost in his arms, your head resting against his strong chest.

It's only when you squeeze the bracelet too hard, a bit of its power zapping through you, that you're finally able to pull yourself from the beautiful hazel of his eyes, and your consuming thoughts. Clearing your throat and handing him the bracelet. He only hesitates a second, likely pulling himself out of the moment as well, before carefully taking it from your hand, conscious of not letting his skin touch yours, much to your dismay.

You can feel your eyes widen at the sight of his scarred hands before you have a chance to school your features. The armor he wears and the sword strapped between his wings tell you he's a warrior, but you can't imagine what could have happened for this injury to scar like this. Someone employed directly under the High Lord must have access to the best healers in the court. Suddenly, anger bubbles in the pit of your stomach at the thought that someone dared to hurt your mate.

This time he's the one to pull away from you abruptly, shadows returning to their master, and that infuriating string tugging at your heart as he does. It makes you want to reach out and hold his hand, reassure him somehow, but thankfully your brain catches up to the thought that might be overstepping, and so you simply nod at him and ask him to follow you back to the temple's main room once more.

The walk back is filled with a heavy atmosphere, not only considering your oversight, but also at the realization that you must send him away now, likely never to see him again. If you're lucky he will be the one to return the bracelet, and you will be able to see him in a few years. The thought makes you slow your pace.

It's only when you reach the heavy doors, that you allow yourself to turn to him, his face reflecting your feelings perfectly. You briefly consider mentioning the bond, at least to make sure he feels it too, but you fail to see what good that would bring. You still can't leave the temple and, now that he's gotten what he came for, he will not be able to return either. This will be the last time you see each other, regardless of your feelings.

He studies your face carefully, perhaps wondering the same. It seems he reaches a conclusion as he speaks up, “Can you tell me your name?” He sounded hopeful, but somehow scared of asking, as if denying him could hurt him beyond comparison.

You whisper your name hesitantly, knowing this isn't just another stranger, this was your mate. He repeats it, tasting it on his tongue as he stares at you with an intensity you almost couldn't bear, but were unable to look away from.

“My name is Azriel,” he offers willingly, like he wanted nothing more than to hear you say his name, and who were you to deny him this when you were already withholding so much? You repeat his name the same way he did yours, the impertinent little silver string connecting you and your mate reappearing as the delicious word left your lips.

You keep repeating it in your mind as he thanks you for your help and you watch him take flight, hesitation written in his entire body language as his wings slowly carry him over the clouds, looking back down multiple times as if fighting himself to keep moving. You repeat it once more out loud, when you can't see him anymore and you know he's out of earshot. This time his name is followed by a broken whisper of an apology.

⭒.˚ ☾⭒.˚

The flight back to Velaris was one of the hardest ones Azriel has ever attempted, noticeably taking him much longer than it would have under normal circumstances. He has had to fly back home on an injured body and even injured wings, carrying another with him – Cassian of all people – and he's had to fly through the most extreme weather, heavy rain, snow and the torrid desert sun. All of those things had seemed easy compared to what he was experiencing now with a well rested body.

Both Rhysand and Cassian had mentioned how the mating bond made them act differently, how it seemed like it was taking control of their body and pushing them to act a certain way, but he didn't expect it to be this bad. His every instinct was screaming at him to turn around and go back for his mate.

He even had to take a break along the way, after watching the temple disappear right before his eyes, hidden inside the spell that had kept it safe for millenia. As the sight of the brilliant building was replaced with trees and rocks, the only thing going through Azriel's mind was that he might never see his mate again, the mere thought sending his heart into disarray. He spends a good while sitting under the moonlight, looking ahead at where he knows she is, while his shadows do their best to comfort him. Trying desperately to wrap his head around everything that happened, and how much his life changed in such a short time.

If he had been given a warning, a chance to prepare himself, then maybe he would have approached things differently, but getting blindsided by a mating bond wasn't in his plans. In fact, it had been a good while since he had stopped hoping for a mate.

He had longed for one most of his life. For someone that not only was his equal, but was also able to connect to him in ways only those who have experienced such a thing can begin to comprehend. A person that would accept him no matter how wretched he was, how much blood he has had to wash off his hands for the sake of his court. Someone he would love with every breath in him, even if it ruined him completely.

So many don't truly believe in mating bonds until they see them in front of them, but Azriel always did. He'd seen the worst this world had to offer and knew that if there was such darkness, then its counterpart would be equally as strong. And what could be stronger and brighter than love?

It wasn't until his brothers found mates of their own within a year of each other that Azriel started truly wishing for one though. Before, it was nothing more than a dream, just as he had dreamt of flying when he was locked in his cell, of seeing his mother when his cruel father kept him away from her, but seeing the happiness the mating bond had brought his brothers and how amazing the connection they shared with their mates was, he couldn't help longing for the same.

That was until enough years passed, everyone around him happily mated or in loving relationships while he stood by and watched from the same dark corner of the room. Azriel had convinced himself he wasn't worthy of a mate, even now after seeing you he can't help but feel the same. You were perfect in every aspect of the word, a beacon of light even kept away in your temple, while Azriel was nothing more than a monster. The feared Spymaster of the Night Court. Always ready to drench his hands in blood for the sake of his family and his home, always covered in shadows. A lesser fae, Illyrian of all kinds.

You deserve someone better, of that much he's sure, but the Mother had decided you were equals, and Azriel didn't mind doing his best to be worthy of you even if he had to work for it for the rest of his life. He's been waiting to love someone for so long, has been saving all of that inside him, and he wants nothing more than to shower you in affection, in reverence. Except it didn't seem like he would have the chance.

For most of your interaction, Azriel was convinced you had also felt the bond forming between you two, but he couldn't be sure, not when you hadn't even mentioned it or alluded to it before showing him out. Maybe he had read too much into things, let his own feelings bleed into his analysis, or maybe you simply didn't want a mating bond, not with someone like him. It didn't seem like you knew of him, but who's to say you haven't heard of the awful things he's done, and decided you didn't want anything to do with a monster like him.

The thought had his shadows rushing to soothe him once more, whispering vehement denials of his unworthiness as they covered him. Unfortunately, they wouldn't answer any of his questions about you, claiming it wasn't their place to explain your feelings or situation. In a way they were right, but that left him with no idea of what to think.

Azriel sat on that mountain, mulling over everything that had happened until the first rays of the sun started rising over the horizon. It wasn't until Rhysand reached out to check on him, worried at his spymaster's unusual tardiness, that he resumed his trip back to Velaris, this time passing through shadows along the way to cut his time shorter, hoping his brother hadn't caught glimpse of the heartbreakingly beautiful female consuming his every thought. Trying desperately to clear his mind as the cool wind hit his face, preparing for the meeting that was waiting for him as soon as he got home.

“So the temple truly exists?” Rhysand had been as skeptical about the temple's existence as Azriel, finding it hard to believe that such a thing could be hidden in his own court without his knowledge.

Azriel nods and sets the books you've given him on the dark desk, dropping the bracelet on top of the pile carefully, trying not to be reminded of the way you had handed it to him, or focus on your scent still clinging to it faintly. Shaking himself out of it and letting the spymaster mask fall over his face, he starts explaining how he had found the temple behind a powerful spell, going into detail about the building itself, the keeper who had helped him and the books and bracelet given to him, including the warnings you gave him, making sure to stress the fact that the bracelet was to be returned as soon as Elain gained enough control of her abilities.

“You really didn't feel the wards around the temple?”

“No, if my shadows hadn't disappeared right before my eyes I wouldn't have even noticed they were there.” So much had happened that Azriel almost forgot how peculiar those wards were, in fact all the magic present in the temple and in you had felt different.

“And this keeper?” His heart speeds up treacherously, enough so that Rhys gets a curious glint in his purple eyes, undoubtedly noticing it. “Tell me about her.”

A soft scowl takes over his features, a strange possessiveness creeping up before has the chance to quell it. “She was waiting for me at the entrance. Apparently the Moon Goddess warned her there was a visitor coming.”

“She can talk to the Goddess?”

“It seems so,” Azriel hesitates for a moment, “Her magic is different from any fae I've seen. Her hair is completely white, and her eyes aren't much darker, maybe a bit more silver. There was a certain aura about her, her entire being seemed to glow beautifully under the moonlight, even more when we moved inside. She truly looked otherworldly. In that moment, she looked even more radiant than the stars and the moon combined.”

A moment of silence falls over the room as everyone digests Azriel's words, tiny gasps leaving Feyre and Elain, who had been out of it for most of the conversation as a result of yet another one of her visions, and Nesta's jaw dropping significantly as they were not used to hearing the Shadowsinger muse about someone like this. Unfortunately, the others have seen him drunk enough when he was younger, so it wasn't as much of a surprise.

“What was that, brother?” Cassian's teasing voice cuts through his thoughts, “I thought you didn't resort to poetry.”

Azriel looks up at this, heat rising to his cheeks at the amused looks shared by everyone in the room, realizing he had lost himself in his descriptions of you, unable to keep them as clinical as he normally would, especially when it came to a mission.

“I just meant her magic manifests in a way I've never seen before,” he finishes lamely, one of his shadows oh so helpfully crawling up his neck to notify him that no one seemed to believe his excuse.

“Right, her magic,” Nesta mocks, suddenly interested in hearing about the temple after focusing on the books that would be helping her sister.

Thankfully, Amren didn't care about whether he found the keeper beautiful or not, and wanted to keep the conversation on track, a bored expression on her face as she pulled the attention back to her and the topic at hand.

“You said she called herself the keeper of the temple, correct?”

Azriel nods at her while checking his mental walls just in case, lest he also let them fall in his moment of distraction, and his High Lord or Lady saw something they shouldn't. He can only guess what feelings and thoughts would be attached to your image in his mind. If they saw this he would never hear the end of it.

“I believe she not only can communicate with the Goddess but also shares some of her powers. It's hard to determine just how powerful she truly is,” the ancient one turns to Rhys and Feyre, a serious look taking over her features, “She could become a threat to us.”

“She's not a threat,” his voice cuts through the room, protecting his mate instinctively.

Rhysand raises one annoyingly perfect eyebrow at Azriel's sudden outburst. Some of the amusement still lingers around the room, but the anger behind his statement was undeniable, creating some tension and confusion between everyone. It's not often they see him so on edge, to the point of raising his voice at Amren of all people.

He tries to calm himself as much as possible, knowing this is a symptom of the mating bond and that his brothers and sister-in-laws might be able to figure that out, and tries to explain himself once again.

“I was the one who talked to her, there were no ill intentions when she guided me through the temple and gave me the books. She even added more books than we wanted or knew existed, and the bracelet. She helped us willingly.”

Amren studies him through narrowed eyes for a moment longer before finishing her earlier thought. “Even if she had any ill intentions, keepers are bound to their temples and can't physically leave, so there wouldn't be much to worry about.”

It feels like the world stops when Azriel hears these words. Every little hope he was clinging to in regards to your bond escaped him in that moment. If what Amren said was true, you couldn't leave the temple, even if you wanted to come and find him, and he couldn't find the temple unless he needed something and the Goddess showed him the way. He could very well never see you again, or only once more, when Elain got better and he had to deliver the books and bracelet back to the temple. Was that why you ignored the bond? Because you knew there was no hope for the two of you?

Azriel spends the rest of the meeting in a sort of trance, barely able to listen to what his family was talking about, or even register what they decided when it came to helping Elain use the books. It was impossible to focus on anything when it felt like his life, a dream that had barely started was crumbling right before his eyes. He only tunes back in when the meeting is over and most of the Inner Circle starts leaving, hoping he can at least go rest from his flight, take a long bath and find a quiet place to be alone and digest these life changing last few hours.

He was already on his feet, dragging his exhausted body to the door when Rhys called out his name, making him turn around in question. “There's something else we need to discuss.” His brother was always the most perceptive at the worst times. The last thing Azriel wants to do right now is discuss his miserable fate with anyone.

Everyone filters out the room then, even Feyre who drops a kiss on her mate's cheek before following her sister out - a gesture he's more than used to witnessing but bears a different weight today - leaving the two brothers alone in the quiet office. Azriel doesn't move from his spot, standing in the middle of the room with crossed arms as Rhysand studies him, daring him to start the conversation, secretly praying he simply has another mission to send him on instead of the conversation he's almost sure is about to start.

“Are you going to tell me what happened with this keeper?”

Azriel has to physically stop himself from sighing. Why couldn't the Mother let him have a moment after everything that has already happened in the last few hours?

“Nothing happened,” he sounds defensive even to himself, his mind too preoccupied to try and mask his emotions, “She gave me the books and then I left.” This much was true, unfortunately.

Rhys simply hums, always sounding irritatingly sure of himself. “So you wouldn't mind showing me your memories of last night, right? I'd like to take a good look at the temple. It seemed quite intriguing,” he pauses for a second, head tilting a fraction to the side, mouth forming into a smirk, “and so did she.”

A snarl escapes Azriel's mouth at his brother's words. Even if he knew he was being baited, controlling this damned bond was impossible right now. Rhysand's smirk only deepens, like a predator who successfully lured its prey, since his brother gives him the exact reaction he was expecting with that little comment. No wonder Azriel has to work so hard as his Spymaster, it's a miracle Rhys has lived this long.

“You look very defensive of a female you've only exchanged one simple conversation with.”

“Like I said before,” he says, that snarl not quite leaving his lips no matter how hard he tries, “She helped us without a second thought, even more than we expected. I just don't understand why everyone keeps insisting that she might be a threat.”

“I didn't say she was a threat, I simply asked you to show me what she looked like.” The High Lord taps his purple painted nails on the table, waiting for a response. When it becomes clear that Azriel isn't taking the bait, Rhys keeps going, “Can't blame me for being curious of how this keeper beautifully glows under the moonlight. She looked otherworldly, you said?”

The thought of assassinating his loving brother crosses Azriel's mind. He doesn't even know what to respond knowing those were his own words, and any reaction would be amplified by the mating bond. The High Lord had him right where he wanted him.

As he keeps staring at his brother, shadows climbing up his body until most of him is covered from those intense violet eyes, Rhysand's expression changes, a somewhat defeated look replacing the earlier amusement as he accepts that he'll have to pry the truth from his spymaster.

“Azriel, I've known you for over five centuries. I can tell when you're hiding something from me,” his face and tone turning even more serious as he continues, “I also know what a fresh mating bond feels like, the emotions it evokes in us.”

Azriel stares at his brother for another moment, before realizing there was no need to try and pretend he wasn't right, letting out a sigh before sitting down in the chair across from him defeatedly, shadows settling while his wings drooped, enough to touch the floor.

“If you already know, why are you asking me about it?”

“I didn't expect this to be your reaction,” he says, thoroughly studying Azriel's face. “I don't understand why you wouldn't be happy. I know it can be scary, but you've always wanted a mate, Az.”

“There's nothing to be happy about.”

Rhys simply rolls his eyes, “I know a bit more about mating bonds than you do. Trust me there's a lot to be happy about.”

His temper rises at this, emotions still not having settled - he's starting to wonder if they ever will. Even his shadows were becoming overstimulated, not knowing how to soothe their singer in these circumstances.

“Didn't you hear what Amren said? She can't leave the temple, she's bound to it, and I can't go back there since it's hidden under whatever spell that was,” the words almost caught in his throat, “I'm never seeing her again.”

Saying it out loud makes the whole situation unbearably real. It's not often Azriel sees himself in conversation such as these, always one to ignore his feelings for as long as possible, and then isolating himself when they become too much, but his brother knows him too well, as he said before, and was prying out everything too easily.

“I don't even know if she wanted this,” he finds himself whispering.

“Why wouldn't she?”

Azriel swallows all the self-pity, the unworthiness he felt when it came to you, or anyone else really. Diving into these feelings would lead them into a different conversation, one he wasn't sure he could handle, much less right now, and so he opts for the simpler answer.

“She didn't mention the bond once, she was ignoring it – if she even felt it at all,” he leans back and runs his hand through his hair, “my feelings were muddled the whole time I was there so I can't even know for sure.”

“You didn't tell her you were her mate either,” Rhysand reminds him.

Would things have gone a different way if he had? Or would you simply let him down as soon as he brought it up? Did it even matter? Would he be able to survive your rejection?

“She told you the temple showed itself for the people who needed it, right?” Azriel looks up at his brother, nodding. “Seems to me like you need to talk to her.”

⭒.˚ ☾⭒.˚

You're not entirely sure what one is supposed to do after finding their Mother-blessed mate, and then proceed to send them on their way, possibly to never return. Not being able to get even a wink of sleep and spending the next few hours searching your library for any information on mating bonds seems appropriate though. There wasn't anything written in these books that you didn't already know about mating bonds: extreme attraction, a connection of emotions, feelings of primal possessiveness, the possibility for a love unlike any other.

There was no mention of the silver string you'd seen tied around both of your hearts, but the bond seems to manifest itself differently for everyone, and the magic your Goddess has poured into you was peculiar to say the least. Even Azriel might not have seen or felt it manifest the same way you did, but that doesn't mean it's not there. Denying it is out of the picture at this point.

The section about rejecting mating bonds caught your eye, but it quickly soured your mood. It seems there's no way to reject a mating bond and hope for life to ever go back to normal, especially for males as they would always feel like a part of them was missing. The book didn't exactly go into depth on the topic – there can't be too many other idiots thinking of turning down a mating bond, – so it didn't mention anything about just ignoring the bond. Would it just fizzle out until you could barely feel anything, or would it end up with the same effects of a rejected bond? As much as you knew this bond was doomed from the start, you didn't want to convict Azriel to a lifetime of madness, or even worse. It was bad enough he couldn't get a mate out of you.

After your mood deflates at the bleak prospect for your future, and the sun has already replaced the moon, you decide to indulge yourself for a moment. Since your encounter had been so brief, you ended up not finding out too much about Azriel aside from his name, and, as much as there was a voice nagging at the back of your mind, warning you that trying to learn more about your mate won't help you in successfully ignoring the bond at all, you're still only fae and curiosity got the best of you. How could you not be curious about your mate?

You'd heard stories about a shadowsinger working under the High Lord of the Night Court, but you didn't know if that was him as the High Lord had changed since then. If it was though, this would make him a truly important figure for this court, country even. You can't help but feel proud at the thought.

Your search for information on Shadowsingers soon proves fruitless, not being able to find much else aside from their abilities to communicate with shadows, rare as they are, so you move onto researching winged fae instead, in hopes of finding out what kind he is. There are various kinds, this much you know, but for some reason you've always imagined them all to have feathered wings. It's at times like these that you wished you had traveled more when you were younger.

Most of the day is spent like this, tucked into your favorite sofa in the library, the temple refilling your teacup and offering you little snacks as you search for any bit of information that could help you understand who Azriel is. A tug on your silver string finally pulls you out of the moment, body immediately going into alert as you feel your mate nearing. These feelings are entirely too abstract, there's no way of knowing if he's flying over the temple or simply a bit closer than he had been an hour prior - which could still be halfway across the Night Court. You'd also found in one of the books that mates could attempt reaching out to each other through the bond, the descriptions of the resulting feeling appearing quite similar to what you were experiencing at the moment.

You try to ignore it and carry on reading your book on wings - the irony not lost on you - but the string keeps tugging incessantly, even more firmly now, and you suddenly get the feeling that he was actually close, possibly even trying to reach out at the same time or following the bond.

Had he come looking for you? You told him the temple kept itself hidden unless the visitor needed something from within these walls and the Goddess allowed them passage. He had to know that he wouldn't find anything more than trees and shrubs in this forest, the temple keeping itself out of sight even if he had been here before and knew its exact location, such were the wards around this place.

Putting away the book and sitting up on the sofa, you wonder what you should do. There's no way of communicating with him, and you won't be able to let him in, no matter how desperate you were since that decision was not your own to make. Your role was to protect the temple, but you knew he wasn't a threat either. Were you to simply stand by and watch while he looked for you, only to be met with silence? The Mother seems to have a twisted sense of humor.

As you were preparing yourself mentally for what you assumed were going to be a tough few hours, you feel the unmistakable sign of someone passing through the barrier, prompting you to stand up and winnow straight to the main hall, opening the front doors in a rush, only to find a familiar dark figure waiting for you.

If you weren't witnessing it with your own eyes, if your heart wasn't beating at that rhythm that seemed reserved solely for him, you wouldn't have believed this to be true. Your feet move of their own accord, carrying you towards your mate as he stands at the entrance to your temple, a contagiously hopeful expression on his face as he watches you move to him.

“How did you get here?” You can't help the dumb question, not being able to understand what is happening in the midst of your surprise and every other feeling that came with his presence.

“I needed to talk to you,” he explains in a breathy tone, smiling down at you like he wasn't sure if this would have worked either, if he was actually going to be able to find you.

The Goddess showed him the way, if She hadn't he wouldn't have been able to find you, even with any shadowsinger trick he might have had up his sleeve. Could She know he's your mate? She had been the one to warn you of his arrival the day before after all.

You're still trying to gather your thoughts when he continues, skipping over all the pleasantries as if he couldn't keep the words in any longer.

“You're my mate.”

Hearing the word coming from his mouth makes your heart soar, a tingling feeling spreading over your entire body as if lava was now running through your veins. This was not a confession you needed to hear, but the bond welcomed it anyway.

“I know,” you admit, a bittersweet smile overtaking your features.

“Are you unhappy with it? With me?” You quickly shake your head in denial, but he continues before you have the chance to explain, “I would understand it if you were, and if you don't want the bond, I won't force you to accept it. I promise I will never hurt you.”

Is this what has been going through his mind since he left? That you wouldn't want him? The thought makes you swallow, you've only wanted to spare him as much pain as you could, not hurt him more yourself.

“Azriel, that's not it. There's nothing wrong with you, or any reason I wouldn't want you as my mate” you assure, “but I swore my life to protecting this temple, and I can't physically leave the grounds. That's not fair to you.”

He doesn't seem to be surprised at the information, meaning he was probably already aware of your predicament and decided to come talk to you anyway, but he still takes a moment before speaking, thinking through his words as he watches you, shadows coming up to whisper in his ear.

“Did you make a vow of chastity or anything similar?” The question takes you aback for a second, heat rising to your cheeks at the implication.

“Not explicitly, no,” you clear your throat, “but it's hard to keep a relationship when you're bound to a temple hidden in the middle of nowhere. I can't even walk past the first few steps.”

Azriel looks behind him at your words. If he took a few steps down, you wouldn't be able to follow him, a different set of wards keeping you within these grounds. When he meets your eyes once again, you add carefully, “This isn't a relationship worth pursuing when we both know it won't end up working.”

“I think I would like to decide that for myself,” he says as he takes a small step closer to you, “if you'll allow me.”

“What?”

“I would like to come visit you whenever I can, and get to know you. This… I don't think we should throw away a chance like this so lightly, not without at least giving it a try.” He closes most of the distance between you, raising up his hand and holding his palm up for you to take, “Even if it never becomes a romantic relationship, or if it ends up breaking both of our hearts, I don't want to be the person who didn't fight for something so special in fear of getting hurt.”

You watch his hand as you mull over his words. It's not as if he doesn't make sense in his argument, you're more than aware how downright stupid it is to throw away a mating bond when some people spend their whole lives searching for one, but you're scared, for both of your sakes. Letting your mate into your life, even without accepting the bond, knowing that there will come a time when you will want more from it than what you're capable of having would not simply hurt you both, but change both of your lives beyond recognition – it could even kill you. And yet, staring into his hopeful eyes every little reason why you should be turning him down, walking back into the temple and closing the door behind you, seems to escape your mind.

When his hand lowers slightly, wings drooping as well, possibly taking your hesitation as denial, your hand moves to hold his instinctively, surprising the both of you. You had been kidding yourself into thinking you could fight a bond like this. The smallest sign that your mate would leave and your body moved to keep him by your side. Your decision has been made. You can only hope the Gods will have mercy on you.

“I would like to get to know you too, Azriel,” you say, squeezing his hand in yours as a blinding smile takes over his devastatingly handsome face. “As long as the Goddess shows you the way to the temple, I don't see anything wrong with… talking.”

He lets his thumb run over the back of your hand before raising it to his lips, sending your heart into disarray as he leaves a soft kiss on your skin. A flush covers the tip of his ears, and you catch a flash of the silver string connecting the both of you.

“Then I promise to come see you as often as I can.” He lets your hands fall between you two, fingers still intertwined as you stare at each other like fools. You catch yourself after a moment, thanking the Mother for living in this isolated mountain for once so no one could witness this.

“Do you want to come in? You must be tired after your flight,” you invite, letting go of his hand, missing the warmth of his skin immediately.

His gaze drops to your hand before meeting yours once again and nodding, following you inside into the main hall he had been in before. It looked different in the light of day, his hazel eyes studying it once more.

“I didn't fly all the way here,” he starts, gaze still stuck on the stone covered walls, “I can travel through shadows, similarly to how most high fae can winnow.”

“Oh.” You watch as his shadows move lazily around him, coming up his legs. “Is that one of your shadowsinger abilities?”

“Yes.” You wanted to ask more, your earlier curiosity returning, but you find a conflicted expression when he meets your eyes, you can also feel it in your chest, and so you wait for him to decide if he wants to share it with you.

“I'm not high fae,” he admits.

“Right, the wings,” you let out, much too excitedly, as your eyes fall on the huge appendages on his back, “I've never met anyone with wings, and haven't even heard of featherless wings. I searched in the library for types of winged fae, but most of our collection is a bit outdated, and the Goddess was never too interested in those sorts of things so I couldn't find anything that fit your description.” Your mind finally catches up to your words then, eyes widening before falling to your hands as you play with your fingers, and add lamely, “I have a lot of time on my hands here, and I didn't think I'd see you again so…”

You dare a look at his face when his silence drags on too long, finding him watching you with a surprised expression, wide hazel eyes staring into your white ones. His shadows had crept up his neck once again - singing to him you suppose.

Azriel finally finds his words after another moment, your eyes not straying from his for a second, “I'm Illyrian,” he starts, studying your face carefully before continuing, “As far as I know, we're the only ones whose wings have no feathers.”

“Illyrian?”

“Have you heard of it?” He seems scared somehow, but you're not exactly sure why he would be. You try to remember where you've heard the word before, only taking you a moment to remember them as people who live in the mountains up in the north, and were part of the High Lord's army.

“Yes. I know they're people who live in the mountains, and fought in the war but I didn't even know you had wings,” you gesture to them, “I didn't get much of a chance to travel before I came to the temple, so I've never met any Illyrians.”

“That's all you've heard?” You nod slowly, eyebrows furrowing at his insistence. “Illyrians have an unfavorable reputation. The males train their whole lives to fight, and the females aren't regarded as much more than a means for procreation,” he explains further, “Some have started changing their ways, slowly, but most camps insist on their traditions, no matter how cruel. They- We just don't have a good reputation.”

You start understanding where he was getting at. Some fae had trouble opening their eyes to how the world was changing around them, choosing to remain willfully ignorant to the harm it brought those who were different from them, who they deemed as lesser. He was scared that, had you heard about whatever cruelty he's seen from his peers, you would judge him for it. You feel a little offended that he would think so lowly of you, but the truth is he doesn't know you at all, or you him.

“It's hard to outlive archaic traditions when we live for centuries. I wouldn't ever dream of passing judgment on an entire group of people for the beliefs some of its members insist on clinging onto,” you clasp your hands together behind your back, shrugging as you smile up at him, “and I might be biased, or even wrong, but I think you're very kind, Azriel. You came all the way here to help your friend, with no real proof that you'd find what you were looking for, and then you came back to ask permission to visit me, even when you thought I might not accept it. Cruel is the last word I'd use to describe you. I'd rather go with sweet.”

“Sweet?” He asks, a flush rising to his cheeks and a bashful smile finally erasing that conflicted expression off his face. “You think I'm sweet?” You hum in agreement, your grin growing so large it hurts your cheeks. “I'll have to let my mother know at last someone agrees with her.”

You let out a laugh, the image of a baby Azriel getting showered in praises from his mother entering your mind. You almost have trouble imagining him as a child, but you have no doubts he was more than sweet, adorable even, with his round cheeks and small wings.

“So…” You lean back on your heels, intertwining your hands behind your back. “Do you want me to show you around the temple?”

“I would love to,” he agrees with a blinding smile on his face.

[baisemains]

Elements of Desire

Chapter 4: Simple Truths (and Lies)

single mom!sevika x fem!reader

word count: 8k

contains: mentions of past relationship trauma/cheating, language, alcohol, fluff, angst

description: right when you and sevika have independently come to an acceptance, a surprise guest changes the course of your relationship.

ao3 link | spotify playlist

previous | next // sevika masterlist

The next time you see Sevika, it’s a little awkward, you’ll admit, but you can’t help the thoughts running through your head.

Should you hug her as a greeting now? Are you looking at her differently? Oh god, did she feel the same?

Overthinking was always an issue for you but you feel like this situation has made it so much worse. You haven’t talked about it with your roommates much, partly because they’d ask more questions, but mostly because you weren’t sure it was even worth discussing. Okay, yeah, you’ll admit, you had a teeny tiny schoolgirl crush on Sevika, but wouldn’t anyone? If anything, that just proves you’re human.

And maybe a little horny, it has been a while, actually…

As far as you can tell, Sevika hasn’t been acting any different around you, and you’ll take that as a positive sign, at least your crush isn’t obvious and creeping her out. Although, as much as you want to believe that’s a good thing, a small part of you is hurt. One sided feelings were nothing new to you, but it was a bit soul crushing that you were still going through this as an adult.

Sevika’s internal struggles are mirrored in yours, with the addition of one other thing: her denial. She’s been trying extremely hard to tell herself that it was nothing, just a friendly little dinner. Maybe if she keeps telling herself that, it’ll drive away the memories from that night, how you were sitting on her couch, so close, the soft smile on your face when talking to her girls. She’s annoyed that she can’t look at you without a warm feeling filling her chest or her thoughts running a mile a minute.

Groaning, she slams the hood of her car shut, not being able to focus on what she was working on.

“Everything okay, Sev?”

Refocusing her eyes and looking over her shoulder, she glares at one of her oldest friends before remembering he’d been there a while and schools her face into something more neutral. Seeing her expression, Vander chuckles, being on the receiving end of Sevika’s death stares was nothing new to him.

“Um, yeah. Just thinking, I guess.”

“About what? I thought you were gonna break the damn hood off closing it like that.”

A smile threatens to break through Sevika’s expression but she’s able to contain it.

“Mm, just this project Powder’s been working on, the one she was telling you guys about the other day.”

Vander raises an eyebrow at that. He knew Sevika had a lot on her plate, but a science project that wasn’t even hers didn’t seem like reason enough for her sulky mood.

“Right…it’s been that stressful?”

Sevika’s mouth twitches at that, almost opening her mouth to tell Vander the truth but deciding against it. Vander sees the internal struggle written clearly on her face and decides to call her out on it. Their friendship is nothing if not brutally honest, and he’ll be damned if they start keeping secrets now.

“Sev, what’s going on? You’ve been acting weird the last couple weeks, especially when Powder talks about her project. You’re not as good of a liar as you think, at least not with me.”

Sevika lets out a quiet sigh at that, knowing she’s been caught. She doesn’t really know why she’s been hesitant to tell Vander about you, hell, he’s heard all the details about her past relationships, even the ones he’d rather not know. That’s just how close they are. This time just felt…different. More important, somehow? She didn’t know how else to describe it.

The longer Sevika takes to respond, the more worried Vander gets, and his mind starts drifting to bad scenarios.

“Wait, it’s nothing to do with the girls, right? Or you, you’re not sick or something?”

That instantly snaps Sevika out of her thoughts.

“No! It’s nothing bad, nothing like that, we’re all fine. It’s just, um…I…”

She pushes past Vander to make sure the door to the house is closed, the last thing she needs is her girls overhearing this conversation. Walking back over to him, she takes a seat on her work bench and Vander does the same, patiently waiting for her to finish her thought.

“I might have a thing for Powder’s teacher. The one helping with the science fair thing.”

Sevika rubs a hand over her face at that, she can’t believe she said that out loud. After a few seconds of silence, she looks over at Vander, who has a shit eating grin on his face.

“No fuckin’ way. I wanna talk shit but you look embarrassed enough.”

Sevika punches his shoulder at that, Vander only slightly flinching but laughing regardless.

“Fuck off…”, she grumbles, heat starting to creep up her neck.

Vander gets up from the bench and walks over to the fridge in the corner, grabbing two beers and handing one to Sevika as he sits back down. The two of them open the beers bare handed, clinking them together before taking a sip. Vander decides to broach the subject again, hoping he’ll get a better result.

“So, what’s she like? Better yet, you got a picture?”

Sevika just shakes her head, laughing. Her first instinct was to shrug the question off, but then the image of you popped into her mind and she couldn’t help but smile.

“She is…so smart. Like obviously she’s a teacher, but we’ve talked about a lot of things and she knows a little about all of it. Really nerdy too, but I also kind of expected that.”

Memories of you float through her head and she just lets herself ramble, much to Vander’s amusement.

“She’s well read, we’ve swapped books a couple times now and we always have long discussions after. Big on sci fi movies too, she stayed for movie night not too long ago after we had dinner here and it was really nice, the girls adore her.”

Vander takes a pause from drinking his beer and turns to look at Sevika.

“Hold on, she had dinner here and you didn’t tell me anything? Was this before or after Silco and I came back from our trip?”

Sevika clears her throat, side eyeing Vander sheepishly.

“After…”

Vander scoffs, jaw dropping as his eyes widen.

“Sev! How long has this been going on, you haven’t told me shit!”

She rolls her eyes at that, gay people are so dramatic.

“We officially met a couple months ago when we first moved here, Powder was having some trouble with a kid in her class and we had to have a parent/teacher conference. And then she asked Powder to join this science fair thing and it’s a full time project so we have to meet up almost every day, it’s been a lot.”

She eventually just spills everything, from Halloween night to how she started giving you food to take home to how she’s caught you looking at her before. Vander is shaking his head the entire time Sevika is talking, he can’t believe his best friend has been withholding all of this information from him.

“Wow, I’m hurt. You finally meet someone half decent and don’t tell me about it, I thought we were closer than that.”

Sevika cackles at that, elbowing him in the ribcage.

“Don’t even, I barely admitted it to myself. I can’t go around having a crush on my kid’s teacher.”

“And why not?”

Sevika pauses, beer halfway to her mouth before she lowers her hand and turns towards Vander.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, why can’t you have a crush on her? Or heavens forbid, ask her out?”

She starts sputtering at that, half baked excuses spilling out of her mouth.

“Well— because— that wouldn’t be right—“

“And why not? You’re both two consenting adults, and from everything you just told me, she’s got a crush too.”

Sevika’s ears burn at that, there’s no way that’s true. Who would want all the baggage she comes with, especially someone like you, you could have anyone you wanted.

“You don’t know that, she’s probably just being nice. Probably talks like that to all the parents or whatever.”

Vander laughs at her again, shaking his head in disbelief at the woman in front of him. Sevika’s frown just deepens as he continues chuckling.

“Do you know how ridiculous you sound right now? I haven’t seen you talk about anyone like this since…”

He bites his words, catching himself before he brings up something he’s sure Sevika doesn’t want to talk about.

“Sev, I didn’t mean to—“

He’s cut off by Sevika shaking her head and sighing.

“Don’t, it’s fine. I just….fuck, it’s really been that long?”

Vander nods at that, realizing that she hadn’t dated anyone in a couple of years.

“Yeah, it has. You haven’t even hooked up with anyone, you’re basically a nun.”

Sevika playfully glares at him, flicking him on the ear.

“And what’s wrong with that? I’m focusing on myself and my girls, that’s all I need to be happy.”

Vander gives her a dubious look at that, knowing her well enough to know that it was bullshit.

“Oh really? So you’re trying to tell me you don’t miss any physical affection? Not even a little?”

Sevika bristles at that, trying to deny the truth in his words. She was never an overly affectionate person, and didn’t mind going without it for a while, but lately it was starting to bug her.

“I’m doing fine, don’t worry about it.”

The dismissive tone in Sevika’s voice just made Vander roll his eyes, no way was he buying that lie.

“Oh come on, don’t give me that bullshit. I know you’re a damn good mom, but I also know you’re not a robot. You still have needs.”

Sevika sighs at that, taking a swig of her beer before responding.

“And? I’m not gonna go out and look for a one night stand just for that, I’m not that desperate.”

“No one is saying that, but if you hit it off with this woman, then you can get the emotional and the physical together, it’s a win-win.”

Sevika rubs the back of her neck, the mental image of you and her together suddenly popping up in her head, completely involuntarily.

“I don’t know. It’s not that simple, we’re both too old to be acting like this.”

Vander rolls his eyes at that, once again wondering how the hell this woman could be so smart yet so damn oblivious.

“Too old to be acting like what? To go after something you want?”

Sevika sighs and rubs her forehead. She knows she’s going to lose this argument, but still she pushes on.

“It’s a terrible idea, she’s my kid’s teacher for fuck’s sake. If she’s not interested, we’ll still have to be around each other the rest of this school year, and maybe the next, Powder’s only in eleventh grade. Not to mention when Isha gets to high school–”

Vander scoffs at that, shaking his head in disbelief.

“You’re making so many assumptions right now, how the hell do you know how she might react? Also, how is any of this a bad thing? A woman who’s good with your kids, who you're attracted to, who you say seems just as interested, how could you pass that up?”

Sevika’s mind reels as she tries to think of a rebuttal, but all she can think about is you, how sweet you are to her girls, how your conversations seemed to last hours without her noticing.

Vander frowns at Sevika, seeing the battle in her eyes as she tries to rationalize her thoughts. He leans back in the chair, sipping on his beer before speaking.

“You’re really scared to take a chance, huh?”

Sevika drops her head and sighs, her whole body suddenly feeling tired.

“I just don’t have another failed relationship left in me. Every time I decide to give someone a chance, they show me exactly why I shouldn’t have. I’m getting too old for this.”

Vander’s expression softens at that, hating how her heart had been repeatedly broken.

“Sev, you’re not too old for anything. Yeah, you’ve had some bad exes, but you can’t let them stop you from trying again.”

Sevika just rolls her eyes, downing the rest of her beer.

“Easy for you to say, you and Silco have been together for years.”

“And it didn’t happen by chance that we ended up together. I’m the one who made the first move, remember?”

Sevika remembers that day very clearly. Vander and Silco’s awkward flirting, her eventual eye roll that got them to just get it over with and get together was one for the books. Vander catches Sevika’s look and smirks at her, leaning forward.

“Don’t you ever get tired of waiting for something to happen on its own? It’s never gonna pan out that way, you know this.”

Sevika lets out a shaky breath, her mind playing a cruel, torturous movie in her head. All of her previous relationships flashed before her, with each ending in pain and anguish. She clenches her hands, her jaw, every part of her body suddenly tense. Vander sees the pain in her eyes, but refuses to let up, knowing that she needs the push. He knows she won’t admit to it, but she’s been lonely. And she deserves to be happy.

“C’mon, even you have to admit that she’s different. You said it yourself, she’s smart, caring, and she’s been helping out so much with Powder.”

Vander may not have met you yet, but Sevika has never talked about anyone this fondly, and that says enough to him.

“You can’t tell me that it doesn’t mean anything to you, how she seems to care about the girls. I seriously doubt they would like some random teacher this much.”

Sevika slumps in her seat, completely defeated. She knows he’s right, every single point he made was correct. Sighing and looking back up, she sees the smug smile on Vander’s face.

“I hate you.”

He just chuckles at that, patting her on the shoulder.

“Yeah, you love me. You know I’m not trying to give you a hard time, you just need a kick in the ass to get on with it sometimes.”

Sevika opens her mouth to give a sarcastic reply when the garage door opens and Isha pops in, running to her mom and climbing onto the bench.

Uncle Silco said dinner’s ready.

Vander scoops her up before anyone can react, and Isha’s laughs can be heard the entire way he carries her inside.

Taking a moment longer to gather her thoughts, Sevika lets out a sigh and stands up, heading inside to have dinner with her family.

The next week at school is finals week, and you’re definitely feeling it. Between tests and projects, you’re swamped with grading, and Powder and Ekko’s science fair submissions are also due at the beginning of next week, so you’ve gotta look over those to make sure they’re up to standard.

You’ve barely had time to eat or sleep, so you haven’t been in contact with Sevika as much as usual, much to her dismay. Powder keeps her in the loop so she knows it’s a busy time at school, but still, after her conversation with Vander, she was eager to see you in person, or at least talk on the phone.

Opportunity finally knocks on a Friday morning when you text her after days of radio silence.

“Hey, is it okay if I swing by after school to check on Powder’s project? I wanna make sure it all looks good before submissions on Monday.”

The grin that threatens to split her face catches the attention of none other than her best friend, and he walks over to see what’s got Sevika so giddy.

“Teach finally get back to you?”

She looks up from her phone, becoming aware of the expression on her face and dissolving it immediately.

“Yeah, she wants to come over tonight to look at Powder’s project.”

Vander’s eyes shine with a mischievous glint and one eyebrow slightly raised as he responds.

“Oh? What time, me and Silco were planning on coming over for dinner.”

Sevika huffs at that.

“Since when? I thought Fridays were date nights for you two.”

“Since right now. I wanna meet this elusive woman.”

With a roll of her eyes, Sevika just gives your message a thumbs ups and slides her phone into her back pocket. She’ll text you a specific time later.

“You make her sound like she’s a figment of my imagination.”

“Well you still haven’t shown me a picture of her, so for now, that’s exactly how I’m picturing her.”

Vander has a smug expression on, but Sevika refuses to give him the satisfaction of showing what you look like. Not that she has any pictures anyway, all your social media accounts are private, and she barely knows how to Google so that’s out of the question.

“And that’s how I like it. Get back to work, that engine’s not gonna fix itself.”

Sevika walks into the office and sends you a message telling you to come over between six and seven.

Maybe she’ll be able to convince you to stay for dinner again.

You’re in the middle of scarfing down your lunch when your phone buzzes and you see that Sevika responded to you. Hearting the message, you finish your food and get back to grading final tests, hoping to be done by the time you have to go over.

That evening, around five, a knock at the front door resounds throughout the house, and Sevika pokes her head out from the kitchen. Looking over her shoulder, she sees Silco and Vander sitting in the living room with Isha and Powder, playing some board game they brought with them from their last vacation.

Walking to the front door, she’s a bit confused, you’ve never shown up an hour early, and you didn’t text her you were on your way like you usually do. Not bothering to look through the peephole, she opens the front door and her jaw drops.

“Vi!”

She reaches out and engulfs the girl in a hug, lifting her off the ground in the process.

“Hey Sev.”

The muffled reply makes Sevika laugh, and she puts Vi down, grabbing her shoulders so she can get a better look at her.

“What are you doing here, I thought you weren’t getting back ‘til next wee— Did you cut your hair?”

Sevika brushes her hand onto the side of Vi’s head, feeling the prickliness there.

“It suits you.”

“That’s what I said.”

A voice Sevika doesn’t recognize speaks up, and she slowly turns her head towards the source. A girl stands there, the same age as Vi, wearing a coat way fancier than anything she’s ever owned. The moment Sevika makes eye contact with her, the girl’s smile drops and an air of nervousness surrounds her.

“And who might you be?”

“Oh, I’m sorry, I’m Caitlyn, Kiramman, I’m Vi’s fr—“

“Girlfriend. She’s my girlfriend.”

Sevika glances back towards Vi, eyebrow raised. She’s never mentioned a girlfriend in all the phone calls and video chats they’ve had this year.

Looking back towards the girl, Caitlyn, she decides to ask her the questions running through her head.

“Since when?”

Caitlyn starts rambling, reeking of anxiety.

“Well, um we started talking at the beginning of this year, but it didn’t get serious until the spring, and then over summer break we made it official—“

Sevika cuts her off, just wanting a straight answer.

“Months. How many months?”

“Oh! Um, six? Six.”

A nervous smile creeps onto her face, and her eyes bounce back and forth between Sevika and Vi, the latter pinching the bridge of her nose in embarrassment. She knew the introductions would go like this.

“Right…and you two are official enough to start meeting each other’s families?”

That’s when Vi steps in, moving to stand next to Caitlyn and interlock their fingers.

“Yeah. I’ve already met her family, and they like me.”

“Hm.”

Sevika’s gaze flits back and forth between the two teenagers, deciding how to go about this.

Obviously Vi is serious about this girl if she’s bringing her home, but the fact that she just sprung this on her without any warning warrants a conversation.

Later though, it’s cold and Sevika didn’t grab a coat before opening the door.

“Well… Caitlyn?”

The girl nods, an actual smile gracing her face now, and even Vi’s mouth quirks up.

Sevika sticks her hand out in greeting, now that the shock has worn off.

“It’s nice to meet you, you can call me Sevika.”

Caitlyn’s eyes widen at the sheer size of her hand, but she takes it in her own, making sure to firmly shake it and keep eye contact with Sevika while doing so.

“Pleasure to meet you, as well.”

Sevika nods, maybe this girl isn’t as meek as she looks.

“Let’s head inside, it’s cold out here.”

Sevika steps aside and lets the two girls walk in first, helping with their bags before shutting the door and walking over to the living room, noticing the concerned looks Silco and Vander are sending her over the now forgotten game.

“Relax, everything’s fine.”

She smiles big.

“We just had some unexpected guests.”

Moving out of the way so everyone can see who was at the door, Powder and Isha run to Vi, crushing her in a hug on either side.

“No way, I thought you weren’t getting here until next week!”

Vi hugs her sisters back with equally as much enthusiasm, even lifting Isha up into her arms.

“Yeah, I took my finals ahead of time so we decided to head down early.”

At that very moment, all eyes in the room realize there’s another person there, and it goes silent.

“Um, hi everyone, I’m Caitlyn, Vi’s fr— girlfriend.”

She lightly waves, unsure of what else to say. Sevika takes the opportunity to stand next to her and clap a hand on her shoulder. The girl is just as tall as her, she realizes, but that doesn’t change her approach.

“Yup, her girlfriend, so Powder, why don’t you set an extra place for her at the table?”

Forcing a smile, Powder laughs and walks into the kitchen, grabbing one more of everything.

Making sure none of the adults can see her, she catches Vi’s eye and mouths I thought you guys broke up?

Vi replies long story, I’ll tell you later to which Powder just chuckles to herself and walks back to the couch.

“I’m gonna go finish dinner, girls, why don’t you join everyone in the living room? I’ll call you when the food’s ready.”

Sevika makes sure to give Vander a look that says keep an eye on them and he nods with a smile, knowing exactly what she means.

Almost another hour passes, and Sevika’s just about to start serving the food when the doorbell rings. She quickly checks her phone, and yup, you text her that you were on your way a few minutes ago.

“I’ll get it!”

Letting out a sigh, Sevika checks herself in the mirror in the entryway, making sure no messy hair or stray food crumbs are visible, and answers the door.

“Hey.”

Your usual beaming smile is instead replaced by a tired one, and it’s not reaching your eyes the way it normally does.

“Hi.”

Sevika’s mouth twists into a slight frown at the sight of you.

“Rough day?”

You let out a weary sigh and nod, rubbing your eyes.

“Yeah, this week’s been hell. I don’t think I’ve slept more than five hours combined in the last few days.”

Seeing you like this doesn’t sit right with Sevika. She’s never seen you so run down before, and she wishes she could do something about it.

“Sounds about right, but on the bright side, it’s all over after this weekend.”

This gets an actual smile out of you, the first one of the day.

“That’s pretty much the only thing keeping me going.”

Sevika chuckles and stands to the side, gesturing you inside.

“Come on in, I’ve got food on the stove but I’m sure the girls would be happy to see you.”

You give her another smile and walk through the doorway, Sevika not realizing that she was holding her breath until you’re all the way in.

After kicking your shoes off and placing your bag in the corner, Sevika guides you over to the couch where Silco, Vander, and the two younger girls are sitting.

Hearing footsteps, Powder and Isha turn around and jump up immediately upon seeing you.

“Teach, hi!”

You give them each hugs, seeing them definitely boosts your mood and Sevika notices.

Upon hearing someone clearing their throat, you and Sevika both look over at the two men sitting on the couch, wearing matching grins.

“Oh right, this is Vander, my best friend and coworker, and next to him is Silco, my other best friend and Vander’s husband and our boss.”

The two of them stand up and make their way over to you, shaking your hand as you introduce yourself.

“Nice to meet you both, it’s good to know there’s even more adults in the girls’ lives. It truly takes a village.”

That gets a chuckle out of them, and they nod as Vander answers you.

“It definitely does, especially when Sevika first took the girls in, it was all hands on deck. But I’d say they turned out all right.”

He punctuates his sentence by clapping his hand on Sevika’s shoulder and winking.

She rolls her eyes at him, looking at you to say something snarky about him, but it gets caught in her throat when she sees that you’re already looking her way, eyes locked onto hers, a curious look in them.

First took the girls in?

Sevika quickly looks away and clears her throat, scanning the room and looking for a change in subject.

“We should go check on Powder’s project! Don’t wanna keep you here longer than you have to be.”

You nod your head at that, remembering what you came over for.

“Yeah, of course.”

Vander and Silco sit back down on the couch, Isha following, continuing their game from before.

“I’ll show you, teach.”

Powder leads you into the garage, Sevika starting to follow behind until a realization pops into her head.

“Where’s Vi?”

“Oh, she said she had to grab something from her room.”

Vander replied nonchalantly, but something doesn’t seem quite right.

“And the girlfriend?”

“She— oh.”

Sevika groans, heading down the hallway to Vi’s room, turning the handle to open the door, but it’s locked.

Sevika grumbles and starts knocking, loud enough to alert the entire neighborhood if need be.

“Vi!”

A couple seconds pass and there’s no response. Sevika knocks again, even more loudly.

“Vi!”

Sevika presses her ear up to the door to hear a shuffling noise on the other side, but nothing else.

Gritting her teeth, it takes everything in Sevika to not knock the door down, knowing you’re in the house.

She’s been through this with Vi before, her rebellious phase in high school cost Sevika more than a few grey hairs.

“Vi, open the damn door, now!”

There’s another shuffle on the other side, but nothing more after that. Sevika’s just about to try the door again when it finally opens, revealing a sheepish looking Vi.

Sevika crosses her arms and glares daggers into her daughter.

“Mind telling me what you’re doing in there?”

Vi winces, she knows what it looks like, but she scrambles to explain herself.

“Caitlyn was taking a nap! That’s all it was, I swear. Well, we were taking a nap, I guess, but I locked the door out of habit, not because we were doing anything. We just had a long drive.”

Sevika’s eyebrow is arched, and she peers into the room to see Caitlyn laid on the bed, soft snores coming from her.

“That girl must be one hell of a heavy sleeper, I was knocking on the door good.”

Vi nods in agreement.

“She is, she sleeps through all the fire alarms at school.”

As soon as the sentence escapes her mouth, Vi squeezes her lips together and Sevika just sighs.

Remembering how she acted at this age, she couldn’t fault Vi too much, but she was still going to set boundaries.

“Look, Vi…if you’re both gonna stay here, we need some ground rules. You guys don’t sleep in the same room, she can stay on the pullout couch for the time being, and if the two of you are gonna hang out, it needs to be where I can see you, with the door open.”

Vi sighs, knowing that she’s being completely reasonable, especially with her history.

“Yeah, that’s fair.”

Sevika puts a hand on her hip and raises an eyebrow.

“I’m trusting you, kid. Don’t make me regret it.”

Sevika walks back into the living room, but not before making sure Vi’s door is wide open.

Heading into the garage, she sees you and Powder looking over her project, using scientific terms that are lost on her.

You hear Sevika walk in and look up, shooting her a warm smile. She stands over the two of you, watching the project closely.

Feeling her presence, Powder looks up at her, but there’s a mischievous glimmer in her eyes that she hides when the two of you look at her.

“I need to go ask Vi something, I’ll be right back!”

Powder leaves before either of you can say anything, and you realize you’re alone with Sevika for the first time in a while.

Sevika can practically feel the weight of being alone with you, it’s making her heart thrum with such intensity, she wonders how you can’t hear it.

Clearing her throat, she nods at the project.

“It looks really good.”

You let out a content sigh, staring at the piece in front of you.

“Yeah, it looks even better than I imagined, she’s really talented. As long as she nails the oral presentation, I think she’s in.”

Sevika nods, crossing her arms, not knowing what else to say. She steals a quick glance at you and is stunned by how amazing you look even under the fluorescent lights of the garage.

She quickly looks away, heat crawling up her face. Her thoughts running all over the place, the silence in the garage is deafening. It’s never been this awkward with you, but she’s too in her own head to relax.

Sensing the anticipation in the air, you turn towards her, but Sevika quickly looks away. You realize that there’s been an underlying level of tension between the two of you, one that you’ve been trying to justify, but it’s suddenly become hard to do so now that you’re standing next to her and the tension is permeating the room.

Taking a step towards her, unable to help yourself, her eyes dart up to yours, unsure of what you’re doing.

“You sure? You seem…off.”

Reaching out and putting a hand on her shoulder, the feel of her muscle under your palm sends a jolt of warmth through your system.

Sevika’s cheeks begin to heat up, and she’s suddenly thankful her blush isn’t visible.

She feels like she’s burning under your touch, the feeling sending her mind into a whirl, and before she can think, she reaches up and covers your hand with her own.

“I’m fine, I swear, I’m not sick.”

You open your mouth to say something when the door opens and the two of you break apart immediately.

“Hey, Sev—“

A girl you don’t recognize walks in, but you see a resemblance to Powder, so you assume she’s the oldest daughter you’ve seen in pictures around the house.

Sevika curses under her breath, and her skin is still on fire from your touch.

“What is it, Vi?”

She rubs her forehead, trying to bring her heartbeat down to its normal rate.

“Uncle Silco’s asking where the extra chairs are…who’s this?”

Sevika’s mind takes a second to catch up to the conversation before answering.

“This is Powder’s teacher, she was just finishing up looking over her project—“

Vi’s eyes widen and her lips curl into a smile, she’s heard all about you from both her sisters.

“Ah, okay. Nice to finally meet you, Powder talks about you a lot.”

You smile at that, albeit a bit nervously.

“All good things, I hope.”

Vi just nods, not giving you much to go on.

“Yeah. You know, you look really familiar.”

Suddenly, she cocks her head and you’re unsure if you like her tone.

“Oh?”

Eyebrows furrow at that, you don’t know where you’d know each other from considering you never had Vi as a student.

And she’s definitely too young to hang out at the lesbian bar you like.

She shrugs, giving an air of nonchalance but there’s something in her eyes you can’t quite place.

“I’ll figure it out eventually.”

Sevika looks between the two of you, confusion laced in her features. The air feels stuffy, and she feels the need to break the sudden tension.

“Dinner’s about ready guys, we should head in.”

The unofficial staring contest between you and Vi is broken and you both look at Sevika, Vi nodding and you giving her a small smile.

Vi heads in first, with you following and Sevika bringing up the rear.

Once you’re all in the kitchen, you see another girl you don’t recognize talking with the two men you met earlier.

“Guys, come sit down! You too, Caitlyn.”

Sevika calls everyone over to the table, and she introduces you to the unfamiliar face when she gets close enough.

“Oh, sorry, this is Caitlyn, Vi’s girlfriend.”

You smile at the teenager, shaking her hand in a polite manner and introducing yourself as well.

You’re about to tell Sevika that you’re going to head out when Powder asks if you’ll be staying for dinner.

Truth be told, you’d never turn down Sevika’s cooking, but with the addition of their two uncles and Vi and her girlfriend, you don’t feel like adding to the crowd.

“I would, but I’ve got to finish grading finals by this weekend and—“

“They’ll still be there when you get back, we’d love to get to know you better.”

Your eyes flick over to the taller of the two men, Vander, you remember. Silco sitting next to him smacks his arm, reminding him of his manners.

“Don’t cut her off, babe, that’s rude.”

Vander just chuckles and lays his arm on the back of his chair, squeezing his shoulder.

“My apologies. I just meant, we’d love for you to stay but if you have work to get back to, we understand.”

Flashing him a tight smile, you open your mouth to answer when another voice speaks up.

“You should stay. Seriously.”

Vi’s sitting at the table pouring herself something to drink when she looks up at you expectantly. For some reason, her asking feels more serious and you feel obligated to say yes.

Vander sees the surprise on your face at Vi’s request and tries to keep the curiosity off his own. Sevika can’t help but mirror his thoughts, finding it surprising that Vi seems to want you to stay. You look around the table, seeing all eyes waiting on you to answer.

“Well, I guess I’ll have time tomorrow…”

“Great, glad to have you.”

Sevika says it louder than she intended to, but seeing the smile appear on your face makes her regret it less. Powder grins from across the table and gets up to set an extra place for you. You’re seated directly across from Vi, which makes you a bit nervous but you try to brush it off.

Despite the initial awkwardness between the two of you, there’s a lot of chatter during dinner.

Silco and Vander get into a heated debate over some new law the city council is proposing. Powder is explaining to Caitlyn why her project works the way it does and gets lost in the technical jargon, Isha asking questions once in a while.

Sevika and you spend the entire dinner in your own world, the time spent apart catching up to you both and you’ve almost forgotten how much you enjoy her company. Vi watches the two of you engrossed in each other, but she stays silent.

That changes towards the end of dinner when she directs a question towards you that makes you wish you’d never accepted the invitation tonight.

“Wait, I think I remember where I know you from. Do you know someone named Gert?”

You almost drop your fork. There’s no way she’s talking about the same person you’re thinking about, right?

“Gert…?”

Vi goes on to describe exactly who you were dreading she meant, and it makes you feel sick. You try to swallow down your nausea and figure out where this conversation is going.

“What about her? How do you know her?”

Your answer sounds a bit more defensive than you meant it to be, but Sevika hears the slight shift in your tone.

Vi picks up on it as well, and a look you can’t read flickers across her face. She shrugs and replies nonchalantly.

“Oh, me and her daughter are close friends, we used to go to school together.”

Shifting in her chair to lean forward a little, Vi locks eyes with you to see how you’ll react.

“Is that right?”

You don’t like where this is going, but with all eyes at the table on you, choosing your words carefully is important.

Breaking eye contact with you, Vi starts scraping her fork on her plate.

“Yeah, I remember her telling me about someone her mom was dating a few years back. A teacher, chemistry teacher, actually.”

Your breathing starts picking up, but you try not to let any emotion show.

“They even ended up getting engaged. But right before the wedding, the woman called it off. No explanation, nothing.”

Your eyes close in frustration, that is not what happened but of course that’s what Gert told people. At this point, everyone else’s conversations have slowly faded away and they’re all tuned into this one.

“Not until later on, people found out that Gert’s fianceé was having an affair and that’s why she called off the wedding.”

Eyes snapping open, your jaw clenches but you can’t bring yourself to say anything, frozen in shock and anger and sadness. You’ve spent years trying to heal from that event in your life, and now it’s being brought up with no regard for the truth.

“So that’s why you ended up moving here? To get away from what you did to that family?”

That causes Sevika to break from her trance and she speaks up.

“Vi, what are you talking about?”

The teenager ignores her, opting to lean back in her chair and cross her arms, locking eyes with you.

Your mouth is opening and closing like a fish gasping for air. You can’t get out the explanation you want to give, the truth.

It was the other way around, Gert cheated on you and you called off the wedding when you found out. You only moved because you couldn’t take seeing her around town, surrounded by the memories of your former life. But the panic settling in your chest prevented you from saying any of that.

“Um, I…”

Your fight or flight kicked in, and for the first time in your life, you didn’t choose fight.

Maybe it was because you were caught off guard, or because it was in front of people you cared about, but you just couldn’t take it anymore.

“I need to go, I’m sorry.”

Scrambling up from the table, you shoot Sevika an apologetic look and rush to the door, grabbing your things and slamming it on your way out.

The entire table is silent, and Sevika is fuming.

“Everyone out.”

Sevika keeps her tone level, but her look is hard enough to have even Silco and Vander standing up without question.

“Um, girls, let’s go to the store and get some dessert, yeah? You too, Caitlyn.”

They rush out the door with the girls in tow, leaving Vi and Sevika in a silent staring contest.

“What in the hell was that about?”

Sevika didn’t like cursing at her daughters, but it was taking every ounce of self restraint to not blow up right now.

Vi just scoffs.

“Do you think I’m stupid? I’ve been watching you two all night, plus all the stuff Powder’s been telling me. You like her.”

Now it’s Sevika’s turn to scoff.

“First of all, I don’t like her, she’s Powder’s teacher and she’s been helping out with her project. Second of all, and more importantly, what do you think you’re doing dropping a bomb like that during dinner?!”

Now Vi has an incredulous look on her face, how did Sevika not get it?

“She’s a cheater! And a liar! I was trying to open your eyes before you get hurt again.”

Sevika freezes at that, now she understands the teenager’s motives.

“Vi…”

The girl cuts her off before she can say anything else.

“I know how much you got hurt last time, Sev. And I talk to the girls, they really like her too, but it wouldn’t feel right if I didn’t tell you what I know.”

“And you thought the best way to do that was in front of everyone at dinner?”

Vi shrugs a bit, a small scowl gracing her features.

“I didn’t really plan it that way, it just happened.”

Sevika sighs, leaning back in her chair.

“How sure are you that that’s what even happened?”

Looking back up at her, Vi’s mouth twists a bit.

“100%. My friend told me all the details when it happened and her mom was really torn up about it for a while. I put it all together when I saw her in person. You deserve someone better than that.”

Sevika’s eyes narrow in annoyance.

“It’s not your job to protect me.”

Vi lets out a bitter scoff.

“No? Then who’s supposed to?”

At this Sevika’s face softens, but she doesn’t have an answer for her.

She starts rubbing her face, this whole situation was fucked now.

“I know you meant well, Vi, but that was not the way to go about it. She’s still Powder’s teacher, and if your sister goes to the next round of this competition, we both still have to be in contact with her.”

Vi hadn’t thought that far, and now she feels guilty for putting them in that position.

“Oh…I didn’t realize that.”

All Sevika can do is groan, rubbing her forehead as she feels the beginning of a headache coming on.

“Exactly. I know you think you have to be an adult, but you don’t. Just…be a kid, and leave the rest up to me, okay?”

Vi finally makes eye contact with Sevika, eyes slightly watering as the gravity of the situation settles on her shoulders.

“Okay.”

“Go hang out in your room or something, okay? I need a minute.”

Vi gets up from the table slowly, walking into her room and shutting the door. As soon as she’s alone, Sevika lets out a heavy breath.

Seeing the look on your face combined with the fact that you didn’t deny it…it didn’t bode well, she’ll admit. Sevika’s mind is racing, trying to process everything that’s happened in the last thirty minutes. Hearing that you cheated on someone you were with, let alone engaged to is hitting her hard. Of course you have a past, but that was always something she never tolerated in a relationship, and this has her rethinking the fact that she wanted to pursue you.

Sevika gets up from the table and walks over to the kitchen window, looking out at the night sky, trying to find some clarity in her thoughts.

She wonders if she should even bring it up to you, but she’s terrified of what she’ll find out. Sevika always prided herself on being a great judge of character, never trusting someone unless they’ve earned it. She can’t help but wonder where things went wrong regarding you.

Walking into the kitchen and pouring herself a glass of bourbon, she heads into the garage to listen to her music as loud as possible to try and drown out her thoughts.

That doesn’t last long as her mind immediately drifts to you and how you’re doing. She even pulls out her phone to call you, staring at your contact card for what seems like ages but ultimately deciding against it.

Not that you would’ve answered even if she had, as soon as you got home, you ran into your room and dove under the covers, crying your eyes out.

You had done so much work to heal from that relationship, and to hear how she lied to everyone to make herself the victim made you sick. It shouldn’t surprise you, she was always selfish like that, you just wish you had realized it sooner. What hurt more was that her daughter believed it all too, but why wouldn’t she take her mom’s side?

That was a big reason why you were hesitant to approach anything with Sevika, the fact that she had daughters who were attached to you would make a breakup that much harder.

The tears came faster at that realization and you cried yourself to sleep soon after that, finally escaping the emotional turmoil of the night.

After a couple hours of trying to think of anything else at all, Sevika decides to grab a quick shower. As she undresses, her mind replays the last couple hours. She can’t help but linger on the last look you gave her before you left, the betrayal and pain on your face.

Stepping in the shower, Sevika lets out a sigh relishing the way the hot water feels against her skin. Eventually the water runs cold and she realizes how long she’s been in there, quickly jumping out and wrapping a towel around herself.

Feeling sluggish now, she puts her pajamas on and slides into bed, unable to close her eyes even though her body is begging for sleep. A million thoughts running through her head, she decides to go on her phone for a little, hoping that’ll help. Eventually, she sees a notification for a suggested friend, and it’s you.

Clicking on the same profile she’s seen a thousand times, she stares at your profile picture until she feels the need to talk to you.

Sevika opens up her text messages and clicks on the tab with your name, starting to type out her thoughts. She pours everything she’s been feeling, about tonight, the last couple months, everything. It’s more therapeutic than she expected, and by the end of her lengthy message, she actually feels relaxed.

Suddenly feeling vulnerable, a wave of panic washes over her and she deletes everything she had typed out. No, it’s better this way, she tells herself. A relationship with someone who cheated in the past isn’t something she’s interested in at this stage in her life, for herself or her girls.

Putting her phone down, she closes her eyes and tries to forget about how your face looked tonight, never wanting to see it that way again.

Little does she know, you’ve woken up from your dreamless slumber and had the same idea to reach out, so you’ve been staring at your screen with bated breath. After what feels like ages, you’re expecting a book length text when all of a sudden, the bubble disappears.

Sitting up in bed, you wait for it to pop back up, but after a few minutes of staring at your screen, you realize she’s not going to send it and crumple into your sheets. Feeling a new wave of sadness take over you, a fresh set of tears brim behind your closed eyelids, and you try to resign yourself to sleep yet again.

taglist! @daughterofthemoons-stuff @vii-v @runawaybaby3 @ferxanda @sevikas-whore @vikashoneybee @sleepingwasp

[klausysworld]

can u write something about damon just being soft and whipped for his girl. just need a damon fluffy fic rn 😩😩

Everything to him

Damon stood with his arms around his girl’s waist as she finished her makeup in the mirror. His chin on top her head as he watched as she layered the romantic red lipstick onto her soft plump lips. He could only hope to have their prints all over him by later that night as she looked herself over.

“You look perfect” he mumbled when she frowned a little and tilted her head. “There’s absolutely nothing I would change, in fact although the makeup has you looking all this much sexier, even without you wear the face of an angel” he purred seeing her lips lift into a smile and her head turn to look at him.

“I’d say flattery gets you no where but it seems to have gotten you rather far as of now” she lifted her arms over his head and round his neck while batting her lashes as him. He pulled her closer so his lips ghosted hers and his eyes dropped at the feeling of her fingers in his hair.

“I only tell the truth to you” he whispered gravelly and she hummed in reply, scratching at his head slowly knowing how it affected him. His eyes shut and pressed his forehead to hers “god I love you” he muttered and her smile grew

“I love you Damon Salvatore” she grinned and he tilted his head slightly to have his lips against hers. He allowed her to take the lead, moving her mouth against his and Brighton’s her other hand up to cup his face as both his hands slid up her back to hold the tops of her arms.

“You’re going to ruin my hair” he muttered and she laughed lightly against his lips before pulling back to look at him, her fingers running through each lock

“I like it messy” she decided before brushing it through with her hands and positioning it in a way that she found suited him best. His eyes glossed over as he watched her loving smile and felt her gentle touches. Her fingertips dances down the back of his neck and round to the front before she adjusted his leather, pulling it tighter on him and wetting her painted lips. Her palms smoothed down his chest, her deep red nails dragging down his black t-shirt before pulling up the hem only to groan at his display of abs. Her thumb tracing his happy trail and stopping at the top of his low-hanging jeans. Her fingers skimming over his belt in a teasing manner.

“Y/n…” he muttered feeling his body getting aroused by her actions “we have a reservation”he reminded, a breath of air leaving him as her hand cupped his crotch through his trousers “baby…” he whispered “you can almost never get a table there”

She sighed and gave him a light squeeze, listened to him grunt and then fixed his shirt and stepped back admiring him “okay…but after…” she pouted and he nodded eagerly

“After you can do anything you want.”

“Anything?”

“Anything.”

She bit her bottom lip gently and held her hand out which he quickly took with a lustful smirk in place.

He kept a hand in hers the whole drive there, only breaking the hold for a second as they got out the car before an arm was back round her hips. She smoothed her cherry coloured dress down, adjusting it to rest a little lower on her thighs as it had ridden up in the car. His gaze dropped to her heels which make a distinct ‘click’ with each step she took. His eyes followed back up her gorgeous legs, along her beautiful figure and back to her face. Watching as she spoke to the waiter at the front who was finding their reservation in the system with a bashful blush on his cheeks as she flashed her pearly white teeth. Damon knew how easy it was to get lost in her charm.

He was barely aware of the world around them as he followed her to their table by the window, overlooking the sunset which was already meeting the stary night sky. Menus were slipped into both their hands and wine glasses filled as though the staff just knew what they would order.

She looked to him with admiration in her eyes and his lips curled up “I can’t believe you managed to book us in here” she whispered and he smiled back

“I can’t believe you almost had us miss our time slot, we only just made it”

“I’m sure I would’ve made up for it”

his mouth formed a lip lifted grin in response and he glanced down to his wine glass “I don’t doubt that, not for even a second” he muttered under his breath and she offered him another award winning smile which consequently brought his own upon his lips.

Her foot slipped out of her heel to leisurely brush along his leg as their food came and they engaged in pointless yet meaningful conversation and ate their meals. And for one of those rare moments, he felt like he was human again. He felt no urges, no lust for blood or chaos, he was calm. Happy.

He loved Y/n in ways he had never explored. Ways he wasn’t sure how to but he did them regardless and if he was doing it wrong, she didn’t tell him. She just helped him feel it, she chose him first and loved him and solely him and it was all he had ever wanted. All he had ever needed.

His mind often wondered at times like this, just listening to her voice and watching her lips move, and then the way her eyes would shine under the light and her hair would bounce over her shoulders as she waved her hands around in unnecessary gestures.

He knew he was smiling like a teenage boy with a crush but he couldn’t help it, even when she stopped talking and just grinned back at him knowingly. Her hand finding his and squeezing gently as their desserts were placed before them.

“If you’d like…we could skip dessert” Damon whispered suggestively making her smile

“Oh but then we’d have wasted our reservation” she sighed and leaned back in her seat, digging into her sweet dish and watching his eyes darken over slightly before he looked down to his food and begrudgingly ate the heavenly portion.

By the time they had both finished, paid and gotten to the door, a horrific amount of rain was bouncing off the ground.

Y/n turned her head to him before swiping the car keys from his hand and dashing for car making him let out a laugh and chase after her, completely forgetting his vampire abilities and just managing to get into the car before she locked it. Both of them looked at each other with large smiles on their faces before each bursting into fits of laughed and flicking their hands at one another to throw rain-water on their faces.

Eventually they got home and Damon had he run his arms, spinning in circles and running for the ridiculously big bathtub so they could soak together in the warmth of both the water and each others arms.

[pitchsidestories]

early twenties II Barcelona Femení x Reader

masterlist I word count: 1886

a/n: thanks for your lovely request anon, we hope you all enjoy this one. <3

You laid in your bed, staring up at the ceiling. You could pretend you’re sick. You could just say that you didn’t feel like going out tonight. Maybe fake a university assignment that you didn't have.

You heard the door to your bedroom open a crack. Without looking, you knew it was Alexia standing there.

“Do I really have to go? I’d rather stay in my room tonight.“, you only half-joked towards the ceiling.

“No, you’re coming with us. It’s a team thing.“, Alexia replied firmly.

You sat up: “But…“

“Not wanting to see your crush is no excuse. Come on, we don’t want to be late.“, she interrupted your protests quickly.

For a second you just stared at her. Then you gave in. “Okay, fine. Just let me get ready first.“

“Good.“ Your teammate nodded once, seemingly satisfied with your decision. As if you had a choice.

“See you.“ You looked at her expectantly, hoping that she would take the hint.

Luckily she understood and wordlessly closed the door behind her.

You sighed before crawling out of your bed. Since it was only a team event, you decided to keep it simple. You changed into a pair of dark pants and a thin sweater. You studied yourself in the mirror. You decided that you looked nice but not as if you were trying too hard.

You slipped on your shoes, grabbed your bag and left your room.

Alexia who stood outside and pushed a pair of sunglasses back into her hair in front of the hallway mirror, turned to you and gave you an approving smile: “You look great. Now we’re ready to go.“

She shrugged into her trench coat and took her keys.

“Okay…" you mumbled as you followed her outside.

Since the bar was down the street, you decided to walk. Lost in your own thoughts, you walked alongside Alexia for a while until she suddenly asked: “So, who is it?”

You looked up, surprised by the unexpected question and blinked at her a few times. “Who?”

You could feel the heat rise in your cheeks.

“Your crush.“, Alexia said matter-of-factly, either not noticing or deliberately ignoring your embarrassment.

“I…“, you began. The two of you were already right in front of the bar. You just had to open the door and maybe you could get away without answering.

“Ona, Luce, Mario, hey!”, you beamed at the players already sitting at a table. You could feel Alexias eyes on you, signalling you that sooner or later she would get her answer.

But for now, you took the seat next to Lucy.

“Hi, you look good today.“, she grinned at you.

You laughed: “You’re the second person who said that today. What a weird coincidence.“

“Because it’s true.“, Mariona chimed in.

“Yes, your hair looks so nice.”, Ona added. The loving attention of your teammates made your cheeks only blush harder.  You were grateful for the dimmed lightning, so no one was able to tell that your face turned red from the slight embarrassment you felt when they complimented you.

“Thanks, Oni. We’ll go home when our social battery runs out right?”, you asked the fellow introverted footballer with a half-crooked smile on your lips.

“Right.”, she returned your grin. Her reassurance let you breathe a little easier.

“But first we’ll have some fun.”, Lucy padded encouragingly your back. After a short pause the English defender posed a question smirking. “What do you guys’ think is it too early for a first round of aperitifs?”

“I thought we were here to do shots!”, Mapi protested playfully.

“Yes, but this is classier, Maria.”, the older woman countered.

Accidentally your eyes linked with Claudias who was in a deep conversation with Patri, your cheeks started to burn as you felt her looking intensely back at you.

To the two teammates who were still in a discussion on what drinks were the best to start the night you declared nervously.

“I don’t care what it’s I just need a bit of alcohol.”

“I’ll order us some wine.”, Alexia decided who was sitting opposite to you.

“Sounds good.”, you agreed, you were glad that she helped you with this decision because knowing yourself you would’ve taken forever until you decided on something to drink.

“I’ll make you drink shots with me later.”, Mapi threw in amused at the thought of it.

“Are you trying to get me drunk?”, you asked her chuckling.

“No, that would be irresponsible only slightly tipsy so..”, she begun to explain.

“So I tell you more about my crush?”, you finished the sentence for her.

“That was the plan.”, the heavily tattooed Spaniard admitted sighing.

“I thought the plan was to say goodbye to a few of our favourite teammates.”, you pointed towards Mariona and Lucy who would both leave Barcelona for London. Your heart sank while you thought about their nearing departure both teammates meant a lot to you, they and Alexia were like the big sisters you never had but always wanted.

“That too.”, Alexia revealed as the waiter brought two glasses filled with wine, you clinked them solemnly together before taking a first long sip of the dark-red liquid.

“Aw, we’re your faves?”, the English defender questioned teasingly.

“No, you’re the most annoying and I’m glad you’re leaving Lucia.”, you joked rolling your eyes at her. The wine provided you the ease and confidence you needed to be more chilled around Claudia. But God, why did she had to look so good tonight, you asked yourself.

“Yeah, yeah. Don’t cry too hard when we leave.”, she replied cockily seeing right through your jokes.

Mapi moved closer to you, studying your face: “I think the alcohol is working, girls. It’s Claudia, right? Your crush?”

You almost spilled your drink, a few drops landing on your sweater. You swallowed hard: “Uhm… what?”

“That’s a yes.“, Alexia confirmed with a smirk.

Ona smiled: “Without a doubt.“

You flinched subconsciously and hoped that it was dark enough in the room that the others couldn’t see you blush. Your gaze shifted towards Claudia at the other end of the table, deep in talk with Patri. “Guys, be quiet!”

Alexia deliberately ignored you and called over to her: “Clau?“

“Ale, no!”, you whispered slightly panicked.

“Let’s switch seats.“, Alexia said and got up. Of course, Claudia followed her captains instructions.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea.“, you said to no one in particular and then greeted Claudia. “Clau, hello.“

“Hi.“, she beamed. Nothing about her gave you the impression that she would have preferred to stay at her seat, she seamed genuinely happy to talk to you.

You tried to cover up any awkwardness by asking: “Do you have any plans for your free days yet?”

Claudia shook her head: “No, not yet. Do you?”

“No, me neither. Apart from relaxing.“, you bit your lip, wishing you had something more interesting to tell her.

“Me too. Happy for a break after this season.“, she laughed and sighed deeply for emphasis.

“Yes, maybe I’ll go home to Menorca…“, you thought out loud.

Claudia looked at you. “Oh.“

“Maybe.“, you added, unsure about how to interpret her reaction but Claudia shook her head determinedly: “You should go. It’ll be good for you. But if you’re here at one point…“

You waited for her to finish her thought: “Yes?”

The attacking midfielder shrugged, gaze directed towards the table: “Maybe we could go out together at some point.“

“Wait, really? You frowned. “But what about Patri and you… aren’t you two a thing?”

She stared at you for a moment and said nothing but then she burst into laughter: “What? No!”

You suddenly felt hot. Could your cheeks get any redder at this point?

“Sorry, maybe I misread something…“

“You really thought we were dating the whole time? Maybe Patri and I have to reevaluate the boundaries of our friendship.“, Claudia still grinned, wiping a tear of laughter from her cheek.

“No, I didn’t. I just thought… maybe you fancied her.“, you admitted and guiltily bit down on your lower lip.

The young player suddenly turned serious again, searching for your eyes: “I do fancy someone… but it’s not her.“

“So do I…“

“Tell me who it is.“, Claudia begged. She cautiously watched you as she waited for your answer.

There it was, the perfect opportunity. It was now or never. So you took a deep breath and gathered all your courage.

“It’s y-you.“

“Me? I think we should go on a date then.”, much to your surprise the forward beamed at you.  

“Wait, I’m your crush?”, you tried to process what the girl you had feelings for a while just said.

“Yes.”, Claudia affirmed still smiling. Even in the bad lit room you could see her adorable dimple.

“This deserves another shot!”, Mapi yelled excitedly in the background.

“Mapi.”, you wanted her to stay calm and don’t make a big thing out of it, yet over the years you had been this team you got to know her very well the Spanish defender would do as she pleases.

“Too soon?”, Mapi responded sounding innocent.

“Bring the shots anyway.”, Lucy waved it off.

“You had enough, amor.”, Ona stated firmly, resting a hand on her girlfriend’s arm.

“You just didn’t have enough. It’s the last one anyway.”, the older defender reminded the younger one pressing a soft kiss to her lover’s forehead. It genuinely warmed your heart seeing them this openly affectionate around the team. Maybe the young forward and you could have something similar very soon.

Still, something else made you shudder pleasantly. It was Claudias voice near to your ear.

“Let’s go to my place after the shots.”

“Deal., you whispered, before continuing louder for everyone to hear, cheers.”

Pleased how the evening had unfolded Lucy turned around to face Mariona, wearing a satisfied smile on her lips.

“Mario, I guess that means we can safely leave. Everyone here is taken care of.”

The midfielder quickly agreed with her while Ona remembered your talk from earlier reaching out to you with her free hand. “Is your social battery low now, y/n?”

“Yes. I’ll go with Claus to her home though.”, you told her.

“Okay, have fun.”, she winked mischievously at you.

Meanwhile Lucy didn’t let you leave that easy without a big sister remark.

“Claudia if you don’t treat her right I swear..”, she warned the young forward laughing.

“Clau is a good one.”, Alexia interjected.

“She’s and if you don’t treat Clau right, y/n.”, Patri picked up on what the older Englishwoman had said with twinkling eyes.

“Patri we’re talking about sweet y/n here.”, Mariona protested.

“And Claudia isn’t an absolute angel?!”, the other Mallorquin replied promptly.

“Clau, I think it’s time to leave.”, you cleared your throat, pulling her sleeve slightly.

“Please. This is getting embarrassing.”, Claudia muttered.

“Agreed. Good night, guys.”, you waved at your teammates.

“Night girls.”, Alexia answered.

“Do everything I’d do!”, Lucy called after you two grinning. You could hear her girlfriend clicking her tongue reprovingly.

“Let’s just go.”, you pleaded.

“Please before it gets weird.”, Claudia nodded taking your hand in hers as you went into the night together. You both were in your early twenties, everything was still ahead of you and you were excited for what was to come.

[scvrgrl]

my heart belongs to you | portgas d. ace x fem!reader

Throughout the entire night, it had been Ace's suave advances toward you that allowed you to fall at his feet. But right now, in the dim light of your desk lamp, you decided to take control — wanting him to crumble and beg from inside you.

word count: 9.2k

cw/tags: fem!reader, x reader, college/modern!au, drinking/getting drunk, slight tw for sexual harassment, smut!!, p in v, unprotected sex, oral sex (reader receiving), backshots (reader receiving), missionary sex, and other things I probably forgot, if there's grammar errors no there isn't, MDNI pls!!

“But why nottttt?”

It’s nine PM on a Friday night and your lively red-headed roommate is, yet again, attempting to drag you out from the warmth of your fluffy sheets. Nami fixes herself in the mirror, running her gold hoops through the healed tissue of her delicate ears. She was dressed in a noisy costume that resembled a belly dancer, her purple/blue skirt jingling as if to announce every movement. She’d mentioned a party with an “Arabian Nights” theme. What’s a PWI without a little cultural appropriation?

“‘Cause I’ve just spent my entire day studying for my chem midterm that’s in a week! I can’t afford to fail this one or I swear I’m gonna drop out,” you responded, hands covering your face with an exasperated sigh. It was times like these where you seriously regretted declaring a STEM major. 

“Oh come on! You trap yourself in this dorm all day, [y/n]. Why don’t you just let loose for one night? I promise you it’ll be fun!” 

Nami’s big, warm eyes tempted you for a moment. Getting your mind to focus on literally anything other than the impending exam enticed you. What’s the harm in blowing off a bit of steam?  

“I don’t even have anything to-” 

Before you could even complete that sentence, Nami raises a nearly identical outfit to the one on her body. Her teasing smirk revealed that she had gotten what she wanted. After all, it was hard saying no to her. You let out a frustrated sigh, “I hate you.” 

…

You stared at your exposed chest in the mirror, overanalyzing the way the thin, almost see-through fabric hugged your waist. There was extra room surrounding your chest, which made sense considering the top was meant to fit your blessed friend just right. You’ve never been the most secure person, body issues being your number one enemy. Comparison is the thief of joy, they say. However, no matter which way you poked and prodded at your dismal appearance, Nami never failed to boost your confidence. 

“You’re stunning!” she exclaimed, taking your hand and twirling you around. This playful gesture was rewarded with a soft smile from your lips. “Seriously, these guys are gonna be all over you.” 

“I’m not sure if I want that,” you chuckled, your laughter trailing off into a shy smile. Your hands instinctively wrapped around your exposed stomach, hugging yourself to accessorize the foreign look with a familiar feeling. 

Nami collected her things, disregarding your last comment, almost as if she was purposely ignoring you. “As long as we have fun, it’ll be a good night. Now, let’s go before the guys change their mind! Luffy and the others are already downstairs, probably looking like creeps waiting for someone to key them in.” 

You gave Nami a hearty laugh, recalling the last time you’d gone out. A tipsy Luffy and high Usopp trying to convince residents to let them enter your building after a small pregame had been a recipe for disaster. They made sure to let you know how many times they’d been met with “hell no”-’s and weird stares. Eventually, Zoro was able to coax someone into letting only him in, which hadn’t been hard since many of the girls favored the captain of the school’s ice hockey team. 

…

Arriving at the party had been enough of an adventure to make you want to crawl back in bed. The chill of the early October air prickled your skin, foreshadowing the “Bikinis and Beanies” season that was upcoming for every frat to exploit. The catcalling and wandering eyes that followed your every move is what really sent chills down your spine. You’d never been perceived so much at once that it was becoming overwhelming. Sanji, the observant gentleman he is, caught on to your discomfort, “Something the matter, princess?” 

His unrelenting corny nicknames had earned their fair share of grievances over the last few months, so much so that you’ve learned to completely ignore them overall.

 “Nuh uh, just cold. Thanks though,” you gave him a soft smile, despite the fact that you really just wanted to go back to your dorm. When you’d turn back around, he made sure to glare menacingly at the groups of men who made you feel uncomfortable. Only I’m allowed to bother these girls, he thought to himself. 

After weaving through multiple sweaty bodies, bumping into not-so-friendly women (and men), and risking your feet getting crushed under the weight of the crowd, you guys had finally made your way in. Thanks to Zoro and Luffy’s street cred, passing through “security” had been a breeze. A quick dap-up and head nod from the pair was enough to let your group of seven pass through smoothly. It wasn’t long before the crew dispersed – you, Nami, and Robin making your way to the drinks (with Sanji following close behind, of course); Luffy and Usopp spotting some friends in a nearby corner; and Zoro bee-lining to the back of the party to partake in his usual wallflower activities, surveying the area in case something went down. A brief pang of sadness struck your heart as you watched Zoro’s back move in silence. The small ember of feelings lingered from your unrequited crush. You’d never dare tell him about your feelings though, secretly hoping that they would subside to avoid conflict within the group. 

You turned back to your girlfriends, a red solo cup already meeting your gaze. Nami gives you a knowing smirk, “Looks like you’re gonna need this.”

Nami and Robin had known about your crush for quite some time, for they were the only members of your group to be trusting enough not to tell Zoro. You gladly accepted the mystery beverage, I’ll figure out what’s in it sooner or later. As the cup met your lips, your tongue was greeted with a sweet and sour flavor, accompanied by a burning sensation down your throat. Your brows furrowed instinctively, wincing at the horrid flavor, but gradually accepted the drink into your mouth. You’d always hated the process of getting drunk, but it was always worth it when you’d leave the party a giggly (and flirty) mess. 

“How is it?” Robin queried, although she already knew the answer based on your initial reaction. 

“Oh it’s terrible,” you stated bluntly, followed by a giggle from each of you. “But I know it’ll be worth it so what’s the harm?”

Little did you know, the “harm” would arrive later, a consequence of your drunken attempt to clear your mind from the yearning. 

… 

It was well into the night, music still blasting from every direction and no sign of the party dying down. Luffy had spotted a familiar face in the crowd of sweaty, gyrating bodies on his way to the bathroom (or at least he hoped he had, the alcohol made his vision a bit wobbly). 

“That you, Ace??” he shouted, gaining the attention of the muscular man. He wore long black shorts with a red scarf tied around his waistband. His shaggy black hair fit snugly under an orange cap, small beads of sweat allowing some of its strands to stick to his forehead just right. It wasn’t until Luffy could make out the constellation of freckles on his rosy cheeks and the thick tattoo down his arm that read “ASCE”, that he could officially identify his older brother.  

“Luffy!” the man beamed. “What’s up? I didn’t know you’d be here! Hey guys, this is my little brother, Luffy!” 

Ace wasn’t your typical “older brother”. Despite being three years older than him, Ace had never been ashamed or embarrassed of Luffy, but rather, embraced him proudly whenever he came around. It was the other way around, really, Ace always meddling into Luffy’s business and Luffy pushing him away. Which is why when Ace pulled him into a headlock, ruffling up his brother’s hair, Luffy pleaded to be set free, “Oh c’mon Ace! Let me go already!” 

Ace’s booming belly laughter combined with Luffy’s grunts and giggles attracted the attention of people around them, including your group. It’s not everyday you see a guy and his bungling kid brother tussle at a frat party. 

“Is that…Luffy?” Robin asked, her slender fingers pointing in the direction past your left shoulder. You turned around, immediately laying eyes on the scene of flailing arms and legs. The shorter, more lean figure uttered something loud and obnoxious, you presume. However, you missed it entirely, as your focus was set on the big, sculpted bicep that held your friend in place. 

“...and Ace, I guess,” Nami added, her voice tinged with annoyance, bothered that they had begun to cause such a scene. 

“Wait, that’s Ace??” 

Luffy had mentioned his older brothers Ace and Sabo before, but failed to acknowledge that one of those boys was incredibly beautiful. Then, as if he had heard your inner thoughts, the young man lifted his head, meeting your gaze from across the room. His strikingly dark eyes burned a hole right through yours, filling your entire body up with a familiar kind of electricity you’ve only felt once before. You felt your cheeks flush instantly, turning back around swiftly to avoid eye contact any longer. So much for “liquid courage,” you thought to yourself. Your bashful reaction made the man smile, releasing his brother and slinging an arm around Luffy’s shoulders, guiding him through the sea of people to approach your group. Anxiety flowed through your entire nervous system as you heard large footsteps advancing toward you. 

“Hello ladies,” Ace greeted, his voice deeper and mellow compared to the enthusiasm that filled it moments ago. 

Nami scoffed, Was he trying to make himself sound cooler? “What brings you here, Ace?” 

“Oh c’mon Nami, you know my school is socially dead. It’s community college – everyone goes to class then gets the hell out,” Ace stated plainly. “Plus the parties here are some of the best I’ve been to. 

You felt the presence of the man directly behind you, the warmth of his sweaty body lingering around the small of your back. At this point you’d still avoided eye contact, not even turning around to acknowledge the pair behind you. Without even realizing it, you began to nibble at the edge of the plastic cup, a nervous tick you had developed in these social settings. 

Ace knew that you were avoiding him, sparking his interest in you just a little more. “And who’s this?” 

You winced upon hearing the smile in his voice, cursing yourself for being so awkward. You decided to blame it on the alcohol, after all, you were a little rusty coming back into the party scene. 

“Oh! That’s [y/n]!” Luffy exclaimed. He was always excited to introduce you to new people because he knew you were a little timid. “She’s totally awesome and one of my best friends and- wait,” the boy turned to you, a puzzled look flashing across his face, “What’re you actin’ so shy for, [y/n]?? It’s just Ace.” 

Geez Luffy, any more obvious???? You took a deep breath and finally decided to turn around, greeting your goofy friend with a tight smile and a “I’ll kill you” look in your eyes. As you reluctantly take a step forward to bring Luffy into a hug, Ace shifts to the side to make room for the both of you. Luffy, completely absorbed in an alternate reality due to his drunkenness, gladly accepts your embrace. He lifts you into the air and twirls you around, the spinning room colliding with the alcohol in your system. When he (not very gracefully) places you back on the floor, you stumble a little bit from the buzz, almost as if the spinning accelerated the intoxication process. The brown strapped sandals that Nami had lent you didn’t help ground you either, lacking their usual traction from excessive use. Suddenly, you feel firm, hot hands stabilizing your exposed waist. Your breath hitched suddenly, uh oh. 

“Woah there,” Ace chuckled, “You okay?” 

You hadn’t even spoken a single word to this man, yet made several embarrassing attempts to keep it that way. Mortified, you decided that you had to redeem yourself somehow. The easiest way to cope with embarrassment has always been your sense of humor, so that’s exactly what you did. 

Opposed to stiffening in his grasp, you relaxed and rested your back onto his bare chest. You could feel the rise and fall, taking in the feeling of his solid pecs on your shoulder blades. As you turned your head to meet the man’s gaze, your eyes trailed the path from his glistening collarbones, to his brawny neck and tracing the sharpness of his jaw. You admired the way his jet black hair contrasted with his fair, peachy skin, allowing yourself to wonder how good he would look with a summer tan. To your surprise, Ace had already been looking down, waiting for your soft eyes to meet his gaze. 

Your eyes quickly flickered to his lips, and then back to his eyes. With the retort already in mind, you smirked, anticipating his reaction to the words about to leave your lips, “Y’know, I usually let a guy take me out on a date before I let him start touching me.” 

You had still been chuckling at the jab you threw at the man that you almost missed the words that followed, “Then maybe you should go out with me.”

Ace had said it so matter-of-factly that you could’ve played it off as someone casually making conversation next to you. The smug grin on his face is not exactly helping. What?? 

The amusement that colored your face quickly bled into horror, taken aback by the certainty of his voice. Peeling yourself off of him, you escaped his grasp and turned your body to face him correctly. A deep scoff and the giggles from your friends helped reel you back into reality. 

“Yeah right,” you scoffed. It wasn’t exactly what you wanted to say, but you couldn’t really just accept a date from a man you just met. Yes, you’d been one of Luffy’s (many) best friend’s, however, this friendship was an entirely new development. 

…

You’d met Luffy and his crew at the beginning of your first semester at the university. It was a warm summer evening, the blazing September sun setting on your move-in day. You watched the mixture of vibrant oranges and pinks color the sky from your dorm window, when a sudden burst of commotion startled you. Nami had burst through the door with a large suitcase in her left hand and tote bag in her right. 

“God, Luffy, can you wait five seconds?! These heavy ass bags already make it nearly impossible to open the door so the last thing I need is your fatass breathing down my neck-” Nami cut her outburst short when she saw you standing and staring at her with a frightened look in your eyes. “Oh my god, I am so sorry! I’m Nami.” 

She placed her bags down and extended a hand out to you, her fingers and wrist decorated with dainty golden rings and bangles. You nearly experienced whiplash adjusting to the sudden switch in her demeanor. Reluctantly, you took her hand, worried that if you hadn’t you’d be met with the same wrath. Taking a peek over her shoulder, you spotted the source of her anger, grimacing and mocking her with rolled eyes. However, this childish act ceased when he noticed you looking at him, holding back your laughter. 

“I’m [y/n]…and I take it that you must be Luffy,” you extended your hand to the boy, his firm and eager hand immediately taking yours. 

“Yup! Just ignore her, she doesn’t know what she’s talking about. I was totally helping!” 

“Yeah, if the helping was you whining and begging for something to eat, you definitely succeeded!” 

After you had helped Nami finish moving into your shared room, they had both invited you out with them to explore the college town. From there you met the rest of the group: Robin, Vivi, Usopp, Sanji, and Zoro. It was this very first night where you fell in love with the group’s dynamic. Their lively attitude and close bond made you feel as if you had known them your whole life, providing you with a sense of both friendship and family. Luffy and his group had become your home-away-from-home. 

…

It was until this very moment, however, where you let your mind indulge in selfish thoughts. You had cursed yourself for meeting such a loving and forgiving group of people, wishing that you could break the forbidden rule of hooking up with your best friend’s brother for just one night.

Luffy glared at his older brother and groaned, “Ace can you stop flirting with my friends?? [y/n] would never wanna go out with an ape like you.” 

“Yeah whatever,” Ace chuckled lightly. Whether it was the alcohol or delusion that fed your mind, you couldn’t help notice the hint of embarrassment in his tone. “I’ll catch you guys later. It was a pleasure meeting you, [y/n].” 

The man tipped his hat in your direction, accompanying the gesture with a small wink. You couldn’t help but blush, “Bye Ace.” 

As Ace begins to make his way back to his group, Luffy follows suit, saying his goodbyes and looking to return to Usopp. You giggle at the sight of Luffy carelessly bumping into others, brushing them off when they start bitching at him for being so clumsy. 

“Soooo, it looks like Ace has taken a liking to you,” Vivi teased with a knowing smile. Your group had met up with hers around the drinks table, unaware that she was even at this party.

“Does..that happen often?” you asked, worried that you had just fallen for the stereotypical fuck-boy tactic of wooing you solely for his entertainment. 

Nami chimes in, her lips smacking after finishing her drink, “Not necessarily, Ace just has a naturally flirty personality. At some point I thought he wanted me until I realized that’s just who he is — a flirty, more handsome version of Luffy.”

The thought of Ace taking an interest in Nami suddenly made your mouth go sour, a pit of envy and sadness twisting in your stomach. Then, as if she had noticed the discomfort on your face, Nami reassured you, “But I promise he doesn’t! Like I said, he’s just naturally flirty so there’s nothing there at all. Like seriously, never in a million years.” 

“It’s okay Nami,” you chuckled. “It’s not like I’d actually go after him. That’s crazy! I could never do that to Luffy. Plus I’ve already toed the line with my feelings for Zoro…I just could never risk losing someone so close to me.” 

The feeling of Zoro’s name rolling off your tongue stung, wishing you’d been using it under a different circumstance. Zoro had always failed to reciprocate your feelings, whether that was laughing off your flirty advances toward him or just simply putting you in the friend zone. 

“You know you’re one of my best friends, right?” was his famous line, a sweet gesture considering you’d seen him let other girls down more harshly. The truth was that Zoro hadn’t been interested in anything romantic with anyone. Sure, he flirted and entertained girls here and there, but it never went further than a clean cut hook up. He had been more concerned with achieving his personal goals — fulfilling his duties as becoming a great hockey player and creating a name for himself in the big leagues. He believed that a craving for a “real” romance would be a wasteful distraction. Of course, you didn’t know that (or chose not to believe it anyway). Reminiscing on such embarrassing and pathetic memories stung your throat, scolding yourself for being so bold back then. The embarrassment rising in your throat caused you to quickly grab another cup, nearly filling it to the brim with the similar concoction you had begun to drink earlier only with more alcohol.

“Hey, are you okay [y/n]?” Robin asked, her sincere voice filled with concern. 

You took a long sip, hoping to wash away the discomfort. Turning to the blue-eyed woman, you flashed her an attempt of a soft smile, “Never been better.”

…

The events of the night began to blend together hazily, the alcohol almost completely consuming you at this point. Your feet felt light, almost as if you were floating through the party, your heavy eyelids being the only thing weighing you down. Eventually, your bladder had angrily let you know it was time to relieve itself before humiliating you in the sea of people. Nami and the girls asked if you needed any help making your way over to the bathroom but you assured them you’d be okay. It wasn’t until you got a considerable distance away from your group that you realized you actually didn’t know where the bathroom was. The obnoxiously loud music and the half-shrugs of drunken bystanders led you to a dead end. It wasn’t until you noticed a familiar silhouette that you began to see the light at the end of the tunnel. However, that light quickly faded when you realized that your saving grace was the king of getting lost — Roronoa Zoro himself. 

You swallowed your pride after a small fit of whining and dragged your feet over to the young man leaning against the wall, silently praying that he at least knew the bathroom’s general direction. The sharp sensation that consumed the lower half of your body was suddenly redirected to your stomach at the sight before you, causing you to stop in your tracks. Zoro was talking to someone…and that someone was a girl. You could make out the dark, harsh shadow that traced his jawline moving slowly, whispering something intently into the girl’s ear. The smug grin on his rosy lips let you know that he wasn’t just talking to her, but flirting. And by the look on her face, he was doing it well, her dark eyes filled with lust and mischief. She began to play with the thin gold chain that draped across his collarbone, twirling it in between her long, slender fingers. Tears began to prickle behind your eyes, a lump forming in your throat as you passed the scene, refusing to make eye contact. I didn’t want your fucking help anyway. 

The combination of tears and intoxication made it incredibly hard to see, feeling your way through the crowd as your only form of navigation. You hadn’t been watching where you were going — all you knew was that you needed to find a bathroom and STAT. This fit of jealousy and carelessness led you straight into a hard surface, which would have easily been mistaken for a wall had you not felt the squishiness of flesh that accompanied it. It wasn’t long before you realized that you had run head-first into someone’s spine, causing them to frantically turn around. 

“Hey! Watch where you’re-“ the irritated voice began, however, it became soft immediately upon seeing the expression on your face. “[y/n]? What's the matter??” 

Removing the hand from your forehead after the dull pain subsided, you made eye contact with the tall figure. The tight squeezing of your eyes had finally let the tears fall, small streaks of black trickling down your cheeks. The person you collided with was none other than Portgas D. Ace. He gently began to wipe the tears away, his large hand cupping your jaw and the other resting on your bare shoulder. The tenderness behind his every move made you melt into his touch. You had no time to feel embarrassed or sorry for yourself as the stinging in your bladder had returned once again. 

“I really need to use the bathroom,” was all you could muster between the soft sobs that escaped your lips. Ace chuckled softly, relieved that you hadn’t been in any actual danger. 

“C’mon I’ll show you,” he said, lightly grabbing your hand and guiding you through the masses of people. Unfortunately for you, he had been leading you right back to where Zoro had been. It turns out the bathroom was directly adjacent to where he had made his post for the night. Only a few more steps and you would’ve made it (almost) scotch-free. 

You could’ve fell to your knees at the sight of a free bathroom with no line, a rare commodity at any college party. You threw a brief “thanks” at Ace, fumbling with the door knob as the pain of an overly full bladder consumes your entire being. After relieving yourself, you stared deeply into your own eyes, your reflection warped and swaying like a fun-house mirror. You began to breathe heavily, hunched over the sink attempting to sober yourself up so you wouldn’t get lost on the way back to Nami’s group—also so they wouldn’t notice that you had been crying. The more you stared, the more you noticed how disheveled you truly were: dried mascara smeared across your cheeks, your lip liner and gloss completely gone, hair frizzy and sticking to your sweaty forehead. Wow so this night actually could get worse. Quickly, you cleaned your face up with your fingers and some warm water, figuring everyone was too drunk to notice the difference. Reapplying your staple lip combination, you assure yourself that it’s close enough to the way you always wear it. 

Upon leaving the bathroom, you’re met with the hairy chest of a larger man, beads of sweat allowing his olive skin to glisten under the faint hallway light. Startled from the sudden contact, you jump back, a small squeal escaping your throat. 

“Shit, sorry!” you shout, hoping the man can hear you over the blaring music. His eyes are drooping and his movements are slowed, the pungent smell of alcohol radiating off his body. You attempt to scooch your way past him, however, he blocks your path by putting his arm against the doorframe. The remnants of alcohol now clash with his disgusting body odor, the smell so strong it’s enough to make you heave. 

“Whereya’ off to, beautiful?” the strange man slurs, his lips turning up into an awkward smirk. This cannot be happening right now. 

You scoff, growing more and more irritated by the second. The last thing you needed right now was to be harassed by a disgusting frat brother at a party you begrudgingly agreed to attend. 

“Nowhere that should concern you,” you stated curtly, hoping the man would take the hint that you were completely uninterested. 

You aggressively shoved his arm out of the way, clearing an opening for your escape. However, you hadn’t even gotten four paces away from the scene when you felt a harsh grip pulling on your arm. Horrified at the audacity, you turn around and meet the man’s drunken glaze, his face still decorated with that terrible grin. 

“Dude! Leave me the fuck alone!” you exclaim, tugging your arm in an attempt to escape his death grip. 

“Oh c’monn,” he hiccuped, “Don’t be like that. I can show ya’ a g’d time, ya know?” 

It wasn’t long until you realized that trying to escape was going to be a lot harder than you had anticipated. As the man began to drag you further into the dark abyss of the empty restroom, your breath hitched and your heart began to race. Whatever trace of alcohol that had plagued your system merely a few minutes prior was now completely gone, the adrenaline kick-starting your fight-or-flight. You frantically begin to search around, praying to the heavens above that someone, anyone, would come to your aid. The rapid breathing made it extremely hard to speak, let alone scream. 

“Please, just let me go,” you pleaded, sobs beginning to get caught on the lump in your throat. You’d heard of the horror stories of girls who had been taken advantage of at events like these, never imagining that it would happen to you. 

Seconds before you had accepted your fate, a blur of a fleshy pink ball flashed across your face, the wind from its speed grazing your nose. The man holding you captive was suddenly thrown into the wall, a loud crash following the sound of blood splattering. The party suddenly went still, the air thick with tension. You snapped your head around, your eyes landing on Ace, who had been glaring intensely at the unconscious figure on the floor. 

“She said to leave her alone, asshole!” he shouted, his booming voice startling you. His gaze quickly met yours, and suddenly, Ace’s dark eyes had color to them. The aged yellowish lighting of the overhead lamp illuminated the deep chestnut brown that lined his pupils, bleeding into a fiery amber. Ace’s expression immediately softened upon noticing the frightened look across your face, “Are you okay?”

His eyes darted to the bruised imprint of the man’s hand that colored your arm. Ace’s brows furrowed as he watched you wince, a stinging pain radiating through your arm as you attempted to wave him off, “Yeah I’m okay. Thank you, Ace” 

Swarms of bystanders rush to the scene, some recording on their phones, others whispering and muttering “what the fuck”-s and “what just happened”-s as they attempt to assess the situation. The adrenaline quickly wears off as you realize what just happened, a pit forming in your stomach and tears stinging your eyes for the millionth time, unsure if you had any left to cry. Ace gently places a hand on the small of your back to guide you away from the scene, wincing slightly from the contact. He scans the crowd for familiar faces, hoping to see Luffy or anyone that would be able to take better care of you in this situation. He understands that he cannot properly tend to your needs because doesn’t know you. He’s afraid of hurting you any further, afraid of saying or doing something inappropriate that could lead you to resent him in the future. 

“Do you know where Luffy is?” he asks you, voiced riddled with urgency. He huffs a strained sigh when you shake your head, his rosy lips flapping as he blows a small raspberry. “Okay, I‘ll just take you to Nami—she’ll know what to d-” 

The music is suddenly cut, the clamoring of confused voices and boos filling the room. A large man climbs on top of a rather unstable and disgusting table, cupping his hands around his mouth to amplify his announcement, “IF YOURE NOT A BROTHER, FUCKING A BROTHER, OR IF YOURE PORTGAS D. ACE THEN GET THE FUCK OUT BEFORE WE CALL THE COPS!!!” 

You and Ace turn to each other and immediately lock eyes, your wide-eyed expressions mirroring each other. A sinister smirk creeps onto the man's face as he begins to chuckle, his velvet eyelashes brushing against his freckled cheeks as he begins to laugh harder. Annoyed groans fill the room as people begin to make their way out of the party, one voice in particular muttering a “not again”. Ace fully latches on to your wrist now, his large, calloused hands enveloping your soft skin. He rushes you through the sea of people, holding onto his hat as he quickly weaves in between them. Occasionally, he’ll look back at you to make sure you’re still in one piece as you try to keep up with him. Based on his mischievous attitude, you infer that this was not his first rodeo. 

…

It turns out that Ace had accumulated many fraternity enemies, usually for keeping the brothers in check and correcting their disgusting habits. 

“Serving justice is apparently frowned upon nowadays,” Ace had retorted. The two of you had taken refuge on a curb a few houses down from the scene of the party, the cold pavement scratching your hardly-covered thighs. You brought your knees to your chest to seek some warmth, the heat from the man next to you helped ease the chill that prickled your skin. Ace’s charming sarcasm made it easy to talk to him, almost as if you two had been friends for years. 

“So what made you choose community college — not that it’s bad or anything!” you reassured, hoping your innocent curiosity didn’t come off as ignorantly presumptuous. “I just ask because Luffy attends the university, so I wonder why…you didn’t do the same?” 

Ace gives you a soft smile, letting you know that he was not at all offended by your question. “It definitely wasn’t my first choice, but I realized that it would’ve been much easier to be closer to home.”

You notice the way he nervously fidgets with the ends of his shorts, pinching and twisting the fabric into intricate positions. I really shouldn't pry...

"Listen, we don't have to talk about this if you don't want to. Trust me, I get how uncomfortable these things can be," you chuckled, attempting to lighten the mood.

"It's no big deal, really," Ace replied, a warm smile creeping across his face. He turned to look into the early morning sky, the faint constellation of the night's stars remaining. You traced the sharp curve of his jawline with your eyes, soaking in all of the features you had failed to notice before. In the crook of his neck, you found a cluster of freckles that had made their home there. You memorized the way his hair pooled at the base of his neck, dusky waves surrounding his delicate skin. His dark eyes flickered back and forth as they traced the stars — you could almost see the words he was trying to begin with.

"I never enjoyed my father's presence, not that he was at home much anyway. He always pushed my brothers and I to 'follow in his footsteps,' even though we made it abundantly clear we wanted nothing to do with him," Ace scoffed, the venom in his words causing him to grimace. The down curve of his lips accentuated the small scar that rested on his bottom lip. "He never cared much for any of us, always leaving for days on end. Hell, I got so used to him being gone that I had to step in and help my mom raise my two brothers. His main target was always Luffy, just cause he's the youngest he thought he could easily be manipulated. That obviously didn't get him very far though — you know how hardheaded Luffy can be when he really sets his mind to stuff."

You chuckled softly at the thought, oh do I ever. The memory of the time Luffy had helped you rearrange your dorm sprang into your mind. It was originally Nami's idea, believing that a "change of scenery" would help clear her mind from her impending statistics exam. Luffy had relentlessly insisted that you loft your bed a little higher to "make more room for activities," ultimately clearing some of the clutter that gathered across the floor. You had argued that it would make getting comfortable in your bed 1000x more difficult. However, as much as you pleaded, Luffy refused to listen to you, believing that it was his way or the high way. You reluctantly gave in to his suggestion (which had actually been an incredible upgrade as you were able to organize the room much easier — but you'd never admit that to Luffy).

"Yeah, he's a handful," you smiled, deciding to relieve your hair from its exhausted updo. "but I love him, nonetheless. He talks a lot about you, y'know."

Ace smiled, "Yeah well, it wasn't always like that. At the same time, him and I always butted heads — selfishly, I wanted him to stay closer to home to help me with mom, while he wanted to get away and have his own freedom. It took me a while to realize that I was just projecting my feelings onto him, a funny habit I learned from my father"

You hadn't expected to get on such a vulnerable level with Portgas D. Ace, but here you were — sitting on a curb listening to him open up about his childhood. The way his body completely relaxed while he spoke to you made you forget about your romantic feelings toward him. The facade of the flirty older brother had slipped. Instead, the comfortable silence between you two allowed you to admire him at a respectable distance, taking in every syllable that escaped his lips as he revealed his heart to you.

"...which is why when he got accepted here, I knew that I had to let him go be his own man. I owe everything to my mother, and I just couldn't leave home knowing that her life would be a living hell."

"I'm glad it all worked out for you guys. Your selflessness led me to meet the best people I've ever met in my entire life," you jested, bumping into his side with your exposed shoulder. The ease surrounding you caused you to be a little more bold. "...including you. If it weren't for you tonight, I would've gotten seriously hurt. So thank you again, truly."

The air between you two grew unexpectedly warm, the gap filling in with his heat as he leaned in. His large, calloused hand gently cupped your jaw, tracing the smooth skin as if to memorize your delicate features. Ace's firm fingers raked through the hair that resides on the nape of your neck, pulling your closer to him. His lips stopped millimeters before clashing with yours, his breath mingling and teasing yours.

"Is this okay?" he asked, his honey-colored eyes burning holes into yours. Speechlessly, you nod your head, eyes flickering back and forth between his eyes and his lips. Your eagerness dragged a husky laugh from his throat "I was hoping you'd say that."

So much for non-romantic feelings

Ace's warm, plushy lips smashed into yours, drinking in the way you taste. His tongue peeked through to part your lips, creating an entrance to the deep labyrinth behind them. You allowed him to dominate the kiss, your back arching to meet his warm chest as you both breathe heavily into each other. Ace places a gentle hand on the small of your back, gesturing you to relax your weight into his arms. You do so with pleasure, using his strength as leverage to meet his pace. Your hands hungrily find their way into his hair, ruffling up the sides as you grip onto his jet black locks. The two of you momentarily break away, catching your breath before Ace's red-hot lips travel down your neck. He ravenously suckles on the exposed skin before biting down, causing you to huff a moan from the painful sensation. Your hands escaped from his hair as you brought his face to meet yours, the two of you smiling through the kiss as you briefly locked eyes. It was as if you had never sobered up — drunk on the pheromones and lust that radiated from his body. The two of you were so enveloped in each other that you hadn't noticed the large, white vehicle pull up in front of you. The moment was over as quickly as it began, a long, blaring horn echoing down the street. The sudden change in volume caused you to jump, Ace accidentally biting your bottom lip. You pulled away instantly, wiping your mouth and refusing to make eye contact with anyone as the horror settled in on what you had just done.

"Sanji??? What the hell are you doing here?!" you shouted angrily into the void, carving out the silhouette of the man in the driver's seat through the dimly lit tip of his cigarette.

"What am I doing here? You're the one perched up on the curb sucking face! Get in the car, I'm taking everyone back to the dorms."

"Don't worry, [y/n]!! Luffy's in the back passed out, didn't see a thing I promise!" Nami hiccuped, the slight slurring of her words alerted you that she was intoxicated.

Reluctantly, you enter through the side door, climbing over the seemingly lifeless bodies of your friends. A pang of guilt strikes your chest as your eyes land on Zoro, peacefully sleeping with Luffy on his shoulder. You quickly shake off the feeling, preventing your heart from getting caught in a web of conflict, spiraling out of control. Instead, you allow your heart to beat for someone else — turning back to Ace and giving him a warm smile as you take a seat next to his little brother.

"Why don't you join us? I'm sure your buddies won't mind you staying with one of the guys," you said, your random act of kindness earning a grimace from Sanji in the front seat, cursing you under his breath.

The glimmer in his eyes shifted from excitement to mischief, his bright smile curving into something more sinister, "Why don't I stay with you?"

Your breath hitches, the air in the car becoming tense as you feel pairs of wide eyes burning holes into the side of your face. Sanji nearly tips the car over as he whips his body around, the ash of the cigarette falling on the center console as his jaw hangs open. The boy behind you stirs as the Zoro wakes, his brows contorting into an expression of disgust and confusion.

"She's not easy, y'know" Zoro argues, his voice raspy from the combination of sleep and alcohol. "I know you're used to that kinda thing but [y/n] is different, so have someone else pick you up. There's not even room for you in here."

Ace's expression never faltered. In fact, it quirked into something even more playful as he shrugged, "Well then I guess [y/n] will just have to sit on my lap."

Your cheeks burned hot, anger and embarrassment morphing your face into a bright crimson. Why is Zoro acting out now?? Since when has he ever cared about my love life? Zoro sucked his teeth as he turned to face the window, huffing a sigh of frustration as he shook his head.

"Since when do you care?" you snapped, your previous bout of irritation rising in your throat.

"I don't. I'm just looking out for you," Zoro replied, hardly maintaining eye contact with you. He'd never admit this to your face, but you kinda scared him whenever you got upset — almost as much as Nami did.

"Well don't. I can make my own decisions." You stepped out of the car to make some room for Ace, whose eyes watched you with admiration. As soon as he made his way in, you hoisted yourself onto his lap, Ace's rough hands guiding you to a spot that was comfortable enough for the two of you. You had become hypersensitive to his touch — the feeling of Ace's legs spreading beneath you, the way his hands never left your waist, his warm breath huffing against your exposed back caused warmth to pool between your legs.

"Are we at McDonalds?" Luffy queried, his eyes half-open as he bobbles his head to assess the situation. His silly question relieved some of the tension that had built up in the car, everyone chuckling and releasing the breath they had been holding throughout the small quarrel.

"Lemme get a Big Mac and large fries," Usopp shouts from the back, his legs sprawled across Vivi and Robin's laps.

...

After sneaking past the RA's room with a giggly Nami, Vivi offers to take her off your hands for the night.

"Don't worry [y/n], we'll take her for the night," the blue-haired woman smiled, "She can borrow a pair of my pajamas for now. I'll make sure she stays in one piece."

You gave her a small chuckle, thanking her and Robin for their service.

"Be safe and let me know if you need anything! We're just down the hall."

"Use protection!" Robin added, chuckling as you gave her a stern, mortified look.

Upon opening the door, you pave the way into your dorm room by picking up the articles of clothing left sprawled across the floor. You shove them into your closet quickly, hoping Ace hadn't seen the disgusting mess you and Nami left the room in. He did.

"You can take my bed if you want," you said, smoothing out your sheets and fluffing your pillows so that it's comfortable for your unexpected guest. Ace watched you as you did so, his bare back pressed against the large wooden door. He took note of the way your back arched to pull the sheets straight, your hair draping over your right shoulder to reveal the tone of your back muscles. His eyes traced over the curve of your ass, wishing your skirt had been just a little shorter so that he could see your silky legs. Using his heels, Ace pushed off the door and made his way over to you. You turn around to meet his gaze, attempting to read his thoughts through his dark eyes. His hands wrap around your waist as he leans in, planting a soft, yet hungry, kiss on your lips. Your arms travel to drape around his neck, pressing your body against his. Ace picks you up in one swift motion, gripping the back of your thighs for support as you straddle his waist.

Ace pulls away, lips a deep red and slick with your saliva mixed with his. "We both know that's not what you want."

His sly words worked their way straight down to your core, huffing a laugh as you nuzzled your face into the crook of his neck, "Is it that obvious?"

Ace trails gentle kisses down your neck, his warmth bleeding across your skin as he works his way down your shoulder, "Maybe a little."

You cup his cheeks between your hands, bringing his attention back to your lips. Ace shifts your entire weight onto one of his arms, using his free hand to fumble with the strings of your top. Once undone, you shrug off the fabric, revealing the supple skin of your breasts. Ace spins around and throws you onto your fluffy comforter, admiring the way your tits bounced upon impact. You kept your arms raised by your head, allowing him to take in your curves as you maintained eye contact. Before you knew it, Ace is already fumbling with his shorts, kicking them off to reveal the length pitching underneath his boxers. He slowly peels off your long skirt, leaving just your white lacy panties. Ace makes room for himself between your legs, his hard cock grinding against your slick entrance. You gasped from the friction against your swollen clit, unsure of how you were gonna handle the way he would fill you up.

"Please, Ace. I need you," you gasped, begging him to take it further. You can feel his smile against your skin. Ace never would've taken you for the submissive type. Recognizing your request, Ace makes his way down to your core, leaving kisses from down your stomach to the inside of your thighs. Getting on his knees, Ace lifts you up from the small of your back, dragging you down to meet his mouth. He leaves small hickeys dangerously close to your already-throbbing cunt, biting and suckling the thin layer of skin that resides there. Frustrated from the teasing, you direct your attitude toward the black waves that decorate his head — tugging and ruffling his hair. Ace huffs a breathy laugh into your core, the warmth from his mouth causing your back to arch off the twin-sized mattress.

After what felt like ages of foreplay, Ace finally peels your panties to the side, revealing your dripping cunt. He places a long kiss onto your swollen clit before relieving you of your bottoms entirely. You spread your legs wider out of instinct, inviting him to drink in the way you taste. Ace brings your legs to rest over his shoulders as he dives into your core, hungrily exploring every fold with his tongue. His strong nose glides across your sensitive bud as he eats you out, his tongue rhythmically sliding in and out of your entrance. The sweet sounds of your slick against his mouth fill the room, your moans following closely behind. You begin to squirm underneath his grasp as you approach your climax, pressure building inside your stomach.

"I'm close, Ace" you plead breathlessly. "Please don't stop."

The trembling of your thighs was Ace's queue to increase his speed, lapping and suckling harder and faster to help you finish. He inserts his long, girth fingers into your slick entrance, hooking them up to find your sweet spot. The hiss of pleasure that escaped your mouth let him know that he succeeded, pumping his fingers in and out until your nectar coated them entirely.

"Fuck, Ace! I'm comingggnh ah-" you shouted, the combination of his strong fingers and his nimble tongue pushing you over the edge, your cunt squirting its sweet release all over his face and your freshly washed sheets.

"That's it, baby," Ace reassured, using his tongue to clean the mess from between your legs. He's always been a firm believer of prioritizing a woman's pleasure over his own, making sure you were attended to before he got his share. Once his hunger was satisfied (and you were a pulsing, shaking mess), Ace placed a kiss on your lips, giving you a taste of your own slick. Hungrily, you accepted the favor — wrestling against his tongue to absorb every fiber of his being. Ace pulls away abruptly, moving upward to nestle his mouth into your ear.

"Get up and turn around," he ordered, pulling back to give you enough room to do so. You complied with ease, climbing onto all-fours waiting for his next command. Ace places a firm hand between your shoulder blades, slowly applying pressure to push your chest and face into the mattress. He grabs a handful of your ass, playing with the plump flesh that steadies before him, ready to take him in at a moment's notice. Ace frees his pulsing cock from the confines of his boxers, lining his dripping tip with your buzzing entrance. Gripping onto your hips to stabilize himself, Ace slowly inserts himself into you, memorizing the way you snugly fit around him. A loud groan escaped your lips as you feel Ace bottom out, his cock being way bigger than you had expected. You gripped the sheets underneath you as he began to slide in and out of you, the friction both painful and overwhelmingly good as you're still riding out your previous orgasm.

"God you feel so good," Ace moans, eyes mesmerized on the way you bounce off his cock. Your slow, rhythmic pace increases as you crave more and more of his length, pushing your ass into his hips as you rock your own. You can feel Ace's hips buck and tense as your core pulses along his sensitive shaft, a rewarding whimper fleeing from his lips. "Fuck [y/n], slow down."

Strings of saliva connect your mouth and the sheet beneath you as you lift your head, turning around to meet Ace's eyes. You huff a laugh as you sinisterly decide to use your effect on the man behind you to your advantage. "Pull my hair, Ace."

Throughout the entire night, it had been Ace's suave advances toward you that allowed you to fall at his feet. But right now, in the dim light of your desk lamp, you decided to take control — wanting him to crumble and beg from inside you. Ace's concentrated expression quickly faltered, a mix of shock and excitement flushing his cheeks. "You sure?"

You nodded breathlessly, maintaining eye contact becoming more difficult as his pace quickens. He crouches over and plants kisses down the nape of your neck, traveling further down your spine as his lips mingling with the beads of sweat that pool in your curves. Ace places one final kiss before grabbing a fistful of your hair, swiftly wrapping it multiple times around his large hands to ensure a tight grip. The stinging sensation from your scalp causes you to wince, a moan of pain overrides the previous melodies that poured from your throat. Ace immediately loosens his grip, checking in and making sure you were okay.

"We can stop if it hurts too much," he reassures. You cursed yourself for worrying him, and let him know that you were okay and wanted to keep going. Ace trusted your word, easing back into his rhythm. The sounds of flesh slapping together fill the room as his pace quickens once more — this time you can feel Ace's knees begin to buckle as he reaches his climax. Sweet moans and whimpers rise from your throat, you thighs shaking as you come dangerously close to finishing once more.

"Don't come yet," Ace ordered, the authority in his voice returning, thick and firm. "I wanna see how beautiful you look when you do it all over my cock."

Before you could argue with him to keep going, he pulls out and flips you onto your back. The hair that was once in his firm grasp was now pooled behind your head, wet and sticky from your sweat and his mingling in his palm. Ace makes himself comfortable in the space between your thighs, scooping his arms underneath you to lift your chest to his mouth. He places kisses along your breasts, teasing your sensitive nipples as he suckles gently on the skin. Slowly, he inserts himself back into your slick entrance, navigating through your warmth to find the center of your pleasure point.

Your face contorts into an expression you were entirely unaware of being able to create, eyes lolling to the back of your head as Ace slams into your g-spot just right. The words of encouragement that coaxed out from his mouth pushed you further and further to the edge, "That's it, baby. Just relax. You're doing great, mama."

"Fuck Ace, please go faster," you pant, begging him to ravage your body. Thankfully, he complied — quickening his pace, leaving loving bites on the soft skin of your shoulders. Ace's gaze returned to yours, watching intently as you reach your climax. He grips the handles on your waist as you shake and moan uncontrollably beneath him, letting you ride out your orgasm before releasing his own. You feel the thick ropes of Ace's cum fill you up, his pace slowing to watch the river of white pour out of your already-leaking hole. Ace releases you from his grasp, placing one final kiss on your cheek as he pulls out.

...

"Luffy's gonna hate me y'know," Ace teased, playing with strands of your hair as he spoons you from behind. The two of you had abandoned the soiled sheets and cuddled beneath one of your clean back-up blankets. Laundry day is gonna be a pain.

"He's gonna have to get through me first," you retorted, chuckling breathlessly as you catch your breath. Every problem, every stressor you had completely washed away at this moment. It was as if you had never felt peace and contentment until this very moment. You smiled to yourself, knowing that Nami would put this night into your never-ending pool of debt.

y'all have no idea how long this fic took me omg my chains are gone and i've been set free. but jokes aside this is one of my favorite things i have ever written and i hope u enjoyed reading it as much as i enjoyed writing it :))

[terras-domain]

Who can't afford to pay the delivery driver extra and offers to "take their tip" as a tip?

Culture Shock

Miyawaki Sakura

California, USA

Le Sserafim just finished their second performance for Coachella. Whether it was loved or hated, the girls could only pat on their backs for their performance. A good night rest helps the girls sleep through the thoughts of their whole trip to a foreign country (barring Yunjin). The next day arises, and most of the girls are still sound asleep, but only Sakura was awake, maybe being the mom of the group really awakened her mom abilities to be up early and get a cup of coffee to start the day. Sitting by the kitchen counter, slurping her cup of black coffee as she scrolls through her Instagram, yet the negative comments starts to overwhelm her, making her hands slowly lose grip on her mug. Thankfully she managed to put it down safely before she drops it on the floor, that'll definitely be a mess. Before she closed the app, a post caught her eye. A post compiling a pictures of a bundle at a Target somewhere near California. Excited, she quickly googled the area, and lucky for her it's only 20 minutes away! "Oh, that's not too bad! I could get a taxi to get there." She monologued, but her mind shifted to the other members. Will they be fine without her? Eeeeh, they probably will, she thought. She got up to her room and quickly got herself changed, while her phone still rests on her palm, texting without looking. "I'm off to go shopping for a bit. Be good whilst I'm away okie~ 💜" and sent. She got herself ready, fully changed from her PJs and now in a presentable manner, ready to move out.

Kkura had to recap on how to book an Uber ride, because usually Yunjin does it and she barely focuses what the members do sometimes, so it took her a good minute to get to it. "Oh, that's pretty easy." She smiled, celebrating her victorious achievement by humming to Easy, reminiscing her wonderful time on the big stage. She wanted to scroll on her phone to kill time, but she remembered how crazy her social media feed at the moment so she decides to just fidget around, moving back and forth to look at the cool breezy morning, blowing her hair back as she enjoys the mixture of greenery and concrete. She must've spaced out too much since she didn't realized the Uber driver was already there. "Ahem, miss? Are you, Miyawaki?" A strong Californian accent jolted into Sakura's mind, popping the bubbles of her own world which made her realized she's been daydreaming and spacing out in to the view. "Oh! I'm sorry! Yes yes I'm Miyawaki." Kkura bowed repeatedly as she enters the backseat of the car, covering her face with her palms from the embarrassment. "So....Target right, Miss Miyawaki?" He asked, the taxi driver looking through his back mirror to see the flustered Japanese lady, her pale skin turning red from shame. Sakura only replied with a nod, which was enough for him to shift his gear from neutral back to drive to take her to her destination.

Judging by the way the driver wasn't fazed by the fact a singer that performed in Coachella yesterday made Sakura deduced that he doesn't know her. Cool, less talking needed for her. It's early in the morning anyways, so she couldn't gather enough social energy to be making conversations this early. The 40-ish year old driver seems like he knew the road in the back of his head, taking turns to maneuver the busy city life traffic. It was surprisingly short, a ride that was expected to be 40 minutes long due to traffic turned to a 20-minute leisure drive with the cab driver's help. "Thank you sir, how much did I owe you again?" Kkura asked, taking out her purse from her small handbag. "It's...30 bucks miss." He replied, looking at the meter counter, to calculate how much the lady needs to pay him. "Would you also like to lend a tip?"

"A tip?" Sakura was shocked, nearly jumped from shock from hearing the driver's request. The moment she heard the word tip, her mind immediately shifted to the night where she and Yunjin were sharing a room. Yunjin booted up porn on her laptop for them both to watch while touching each other. The scene included the woman sucking off the man's "tip", which made Kkura assume that's what the driver is requesting. Nervous, Sakura gave a reply, "I-I mean I would. But isn't it a bit too cramped here to be giving you a tip?" Her reply made the cab driver just as confused. "Huh? What do you mean, ma'am?" His confusion intimidated Sakura, making her heart beat faster. "O-oh, we can do it at the backseat of course! I forgot here it has more space."

The Uber driver got himself to the backseat to the backseat after parking his car. He was just trying to get some answers to the lady's answers to him asking for a tip. And this, was not what he expected. The moment he got in, Sakura helped him to sit up on the seat while she adjusted the front seat forward so there's space for her to kneel down. "Wa-wait, ma'am-" he paused as he stares at the japanese doing her thing, taking down his pants and revealing his cock. "I thought you wanted me to give you a tip?" She asked, looking up. Her eyes sprinkles innocence, that convinced the driver to understand that Sakura genuinely believes this is what he wanted. He meant money, but this works too. "W-well Miss Miyawaki, please give it to me." Sakura enjoyed the words that the man gave her, as her mouth starts to envelope his cock, beginning to suck on his growing shaft. The sight of a beauty like Sakura sucking him off made the driver extremely turned on, his cock growing bigger fast, he was ecstatic to see it. Sakura was into it, her lips wrapping around his size whilst her tongue worked his tip. The sensation was too good to hold on. "M-miss, I wa-wanna cum!" He grunted, warning Sakura who's running an assault on his cock. Sakura continues to bob her head back and forth on his cock, until eventually she takes it all inside her throat, taking it to the base as he came deep inside her throat, filling up the sweet japanese singer with cum.

Sakura's inviting lips traps his cock, not letting him free as he starts shooting cum, rope after rope of cum shooting in her mouth, reaching the back of her throat. "Fuuck...Miss. Your mouth game really surprised me." The driver panted, leaning to his seat as Kkura starts to clean her lips, licking the residue of semen and swallow. Sakura grinned as she grabs her stuff, and starts to leave the car. "It was nice meeting you mister, hope you enjoy your tip!" She waved goodbye as her hips sway, spending her day and money joyfully at the mall. Well now the US isn't as scary as she thought, heck she might've enjoyed it too much.

[burntheedges]

Awake

Marcus Moreno x f!reader | 6.6k | 18+ | ao3

summary: Marcus is fine. He wakes up, goes to work, goes home, goes to sleep, and then does it all over again, just the same, every day. And he's fine.

And then he meets you.

a/n: this is for @guiltyasdave and @sizzlingcloudmentality's writing through the seasons challenge! you can see my prompt and moodboard here (which I borrowed from for the header). I had the prompt ("to live with the delusion of being found") banging around in my head for days and it just screams Marcus to me. thank you @katareyoudrilling for being a wonderful beta, as always.

tags/warnings: angst, fluff, flirting, meet cute, Missy is a fun teenager, texting, coffee shop, touching, I named Miracle Guy Rob and Missy's mom Melissa, self deprecation (Marcus), shifting POV, kissing, grinding, reader has no description other than being a woman and having a job, no age mentioned but just FYI I was imagining her in her 30s or 40s, first date, coffee, pet names (beautiful, sweetheart), some Spanish (mija, calmate)

...

On Monday, Marcus woke up with his alarm. 

Missy had picked it out – it wasn’t one of the sounds that came with his phone. She’d used some app to make it play part of “Takin’ Care of Business,” but only on weekdays. He didn’t know how to change it. He probably could have looked it up but he wouldn’t, anyway – she’d said it made her think of him going to work every day. So now it made him think of her, and at least he had that thought, if nothing else, to warm him as he got out of bed.

(His mood never quite matched the song’s, but at least he had a goal to work towards. Right?)

So he woke up when the piano came in, and sighed as he swung his legs off the bed. He sat there for a moment, letting Randy Bachman sing to him about getting to work by nine.

He sighed again.

He turned off the alarm, finally, and stood. He did not look in the mirror on top of his dresser as he walked past it into the bathroom.

Marcus showered and dressed on autopilot, mind almost blank. As always he just picked the next slacks, jacket, and shirt, whatever was at the front of his closet. He’d done this so many times, on so many mornings, it barely required him to be awake.

When the coffee maker beeped, he found himself standing fully dressed in his kitchen without really noticing that he’d walked there. He poured his coffee – just a splash of cream – and sat at the kitchen table to turn on the news. As he let the sound of yet another day wash over him, he texted Missy, smiling when she responded almost instantly.

Marcus 08:27 AM: Good morning, mija

Missy 08:28 AM: dad 08:28 AM: why did I sign up for a 9am dad 08:29 AM: i’m dying

Marcus 8:30 AM: if I’m remembering correctly, you had “big gym plans”

Missy 8:32 AM: never listen to me about gym plans again 8:33 AM: what was I thinkinggggg 😩

Marcus let his amusement at Missy’s texts buoy him to the sink and then out to his car, feeling a bit lighter. 

Like his morning routine at home, he barely noticed the drive to work. It was the same as always, and in 17 minutes he was getting out of his parked car at HQ. He felt his shoulders stiffen as he stepped through the double doors into the lobby.

On his floor, Marcus walked to the kitchen first to drop off his lunch. He nodded at the same people he walked past every morning. Then he sat at his desk, answered his emails, and attended some meetings about upcoming missions for the current active teams. On his way to the break room for lunch he nodded at the same people again. After lunch he attended a few more meetings, dodged Rob in the hallway when he asked about Marcus’ weekend, and answered more emails.

At 5pm he stood up from his desk and walked to his car, nodding to the same people again on his way out.

Marcus drove home on autopilot, and 17 minutes later he found himself walking into his kitchen from the garage. He sighed as he opened the fridge, and decided dinner would be leftovers. Again.

Since it was Monday, and Missy wouldn’t be calling, he sat on the couch and turned the TV to the Food Network. He let the soothing sounds of low stakes cooking problems take over and crowd himself out of his own head.

10pm found Marcus in bed, setting his alarm. He got comfortable, stretched out his back, which always seemed to be aching these days, and pointedly did not think about the fact that he couldn’t think of a single thing he’d done at work that day.

As he fell asleep, he thought idly that he was glad his time as an active member of the Heroics had taught him how to fall asleep anywhere, if nothing else.

…

On Tuesday, Marcus woke up with his alarm.

His morning unfolded almost identically to Monday’s, aside from the fact that Missy wasn’t awake yet to respond to his good morning text – her Tuesday classes started at 11:30 and she usually took full advantage of the chance to sleep in.

As he sat and sipped his coffee, something on the news briefly caught his interest, until he realized it was something that had already crossed his desk the week before. 

He sighed.

Marcus drove to work – 17 minutes – and went through the motions of another day at the office. 

He ate lunch with Rob in his office, which had bigger windows than Marcus’s, and got his regular updates on how Rob’s family was doing (Peter had gone off to college, too, and they commiserated about their kids abandoning them). 

Rob, as always, asked Marcus how he was doing with a knowing look that Marcus, as always, pointedly ignored.

“I’m fine,” he said, as always, stabbing a piece of chicken in his tupperware dish with a bit too much force. He was always fine. What else would he be?

Rob eyed him. “Are you?”

Marcus chewed and did not sigh. “Yes, I am,” he promised.

Rob squinted, and Marcus squinted back. That made his friend laugh, at least, and they changed the subject.

Marcus left the office a bit quicker that night and 17 minutes later he walked in the house just as his phone rang.

“Hi, mija,” he said, smiling as he picked up his daughter’s regular Tuesday phone call. She had a long walk home from her last class and usually called him to pass the time.

He let her voice wash over him, soothing the tension that had crept into his shoulders when Rob had squinted at him over lunch. Missy’s updates on her classes and her friends carried him through reheating his leftovers and collapsing on the couch. By the time she had to go he was more relaxed than he’d been in days. (Since her last call, probably, he did not let himself think, and made sure to tell her he loved her before she hung up.)

With a bit more help from the Food Network, Marcus successfully distracted himself until it was time for bed.

…

On Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, Marcus woke up with his alarm. 

He got dressed, went to work, nodded at his coworkers, answered emails, ate lunch, nodded a bit more, and went home.

And through all of it, he was fine. 

He was fine. 

…

Marcus spent Saturday at home doing chores, and Sunday at the farmer’s market and the grocery store. Missy called once, and Rob texted him to invite him to Corina’s birthday dinner in two weeks. Marcus added it to his calendar and took care not to notice how every other weekend was empty.

…

On Monday, Marcus woke up with his alarm.

He moved automatically from his bed to his bathroom and then to his closet, showering and dressing as usual. 

He walked downstairs, thinking idly about the meetings he had scheduled in the morning, and the training he needed to plan for the newest crop of Heroics.

Lost in thought, Marcus stood holding an empty mug in front of his coffee maker for almost 5 minutes before he realized it hadn’t beeped. 

He blinked and looked down, confused. 

There was no coffee in the pot. He realized he hadn’t smelled the coffee as he usually did while he was getting ready. He looked it over and saw that the setting was right, but there was no coffee.

He frowned. 

Poking at the coffee maker revealed that the screen wouldn’t come on, even though it was plugged in. A few more moments of tinkering and he knew – it was broken.

Marcus sighed and checked the time – 8:10 AM. He texted Missy.

Marcus 08:10 AM: Mija, I am sorry to report that after a long and fruitful life, our beloved Mr. Coffee has percolated his last brew. May he rest in peace 🪦

Missy 08:12 AM: nooo!! not Mr. Coffee 💔 08:13 AM: your best friend, taken from us too soon 08:13 AM: how will you go on without him

He smiled. He knew she’d be able to cheer him up.

Marcus 08:15 AM: with difficulty, but I will persevere

Missy 08:17 AM: wait! 08:17 AM: dad you should go to the Bean Box!! I know you never actually did when I told you to 08:18 AM: it’s on your way to work dad you have to go 08:18 AM: it’s the best the coffee is so good 08:19 AM: daaaaaad

Marcus 08:20 AM: ok ok, calmate 08:20 AM: I’m going

Missy 08:22 AM: good! and get a scone to eat in my honor 08:23 AM: I miss those scones

15 minutes later Marcus pulled up in front of the small facade of the Bean Box and couldn’t help but smile. It was exactly the type of place Missy would like – cozy and colorful, with lots of tables stuffed inside and flower boxes overflowing along the bottom of each of the large windows in the front.

When he stepped inside, the smell of freshly roasted coffee filled his nose and he almost stopped in the doorway. It smelled good. 

He joined the long line for coffee and scrolled idly on his phone, checking the news, a bit oblivious to his surroundings. 

So he was surprised when his phone almost flew out of his hand a few moments later. Someone knocked into him from behind and he stumbled forward. He made some sort of noise as he juggled his phone between his hands, just barely catching it before it could fall.

“Good catch,” an admiring voice said from behind him. He turned as they continued, “Wait, I mean, I’m so sorry about that! Shit.”

Marcus turned around fully and almost froze. A woman was standing there with her hands out, as if she had just caught her balance, grimacing at him. A very beautiful woman, he couldn’t help but notice. He blinked, trying to clear his vision, but she was just as beautiful as she’d been a moment before. His eyes darted across her features but he didn’t let himself sweep his gaze over the rest of her. He didn’t want to be a creep.

Suddenly it felt much warmer in the coffee shop, and he was very aware of how close they were standing to each other.

“Shit,” she repeated. “Sorry, again. I tripped,” she pointed at the leg of a chair that was almost in the aisle, “and ended up sort of falling on you. But I’m glad you caught your phone! Nice catch, really.” She looked down and he did, too. She’d dropped her bag and some of her belongings had spilled out. She sighed. “Shit.”

Marcus was crouching before he’d even thought about bending down. “It’s alright,” he said, smiling a bit. “No harm done. Sorry about your stuff.” he gathered some papers and held them out to her. She had followed him down, kneeling as she gathered her things back into her bag.

She took them and said, “wait, you don’t have to do that! I already almost knocked you over, you don't have to help me.”

He shook his head. “Like I said, it’s fine.” He realized she had all of her things but they were both still crouching. He stood and offered her his hand to help her up. 

She slid her hand into his easily and his breath caught as she said, “well, thank you, and sorry, again.” Her hand was warm and he ignored the way his fingers tingled at her touch. 

She was smiling, then, and Marcus couldn’t help but notice that her smile was very pretty. So pretty he had to drag his eyes away from it, trying not to stare.

He couldn’t remember the last time he’d felt like this. There was warmth in his chest and a floaty feeling in his stomach and the tips of his fingers were still tingling where they’d touched hers. It felt almost foreign, it had been so long. He felt lightheaded. 

“Please don’t worry about it.” He looked around and realized the line had moved a little, so he took a step forward to move with it. She did the same. “I’m Marcus, by the way.”

She gave her name and he smiled. It suited her.

“Can I buy you an apology coffee?” she asked, looking hopeful. “I still feel bad.”

He shook his head, laughing. “No, it’s really ok. I mean it.”

“Hmm,” she hummed, looking suddenly thoughtful and amused. “I’ve never had anyone turn down a free cup of coffee from here before. You must be new.”

Marcus was smiling. He realized he might have been smiling at her the whole time, and felt a bit of wonder at that. “It’s that obvious? I am. New, I mean. My daughter has been telling me to come here for months but this is my first time.”

Her eyebrows raised and he hoped he was imagining the way her expression closed off a bit. But in the next moment he wondered at himself for even thinking of it. Don’t be a fool, he warned himself, even as he felt the urge to explain. She’s just nice, she’s not interested. 

“She has good taste,” she said lightly. “What took you so long, then?”

Marcus sighed and gave in to the urge. “It’s just me at home, with her away at college, and I’ve just been torturing my ancient coffee maker by keeping it alive. But it took its last dying breaths this morning and I was forced to venture out for coffee, instead.”

She nodded solemnly. “Rest in peace, ancient coffee maker.” The jokingly serious look on her face reminded him of the way Missy would tease him and he couldn’t help but smile. Again.

Suddenly Marcus realized they’d made it to the front of the line. He wasn’t ready to order, or to stop talking to this beautiful woman who had almost knocked him over. 

“I guess I’m up,” he said, as the person in front of him started to pay. 

He tried not to watch as she bit her lip, hesitating for just a moment. “Well, Marcus,” she said, voice light again. “I’m here most mornings, so you’ll have to come back and let me know if you liked it.”

Marcus felt his cheeks warm and he smiled. “Ok then. I’ll try.”

For the rest of the day, he found he couldn’t quite wipe that smile off of his face, not even when Rob teased him about it.

…

On Tuesday, Marcus woke up with his alarm, already smiling.

He glanced at himself in the mirror as he got dressed, and was stunned to see his face looking so relaxed for once.

Is that all it takes? He wondered, amused at his own expense. A bit of flirting and a pretty smile? But it wasn’t just about her pretty smile, he knew that. He’d felt something the day before, something he hadn’t felt in years.

Something he wanted to feel again.

He’d told Missy he liked her coffee shop the night before and promised he’d be back (and that he’d get a scone, this time). So he hurried downstairs and out to his car as soon as he was dressed, ready to find out if he would run into her again.

When he pulled up outside The Bean Box, he took a deep, slow breath. Sure, he was a teensy bit invested. Something about her had kindled a tiny fire in his chest. But he didn’t want to get his hopes too high. He shouldn’t. Right?

But as he stepped inside, he realized he needn’t have worried. She was standing by the door, looking just as stunning as the day before. And she was watching the people coming in.

When she saw him, she grinned. “I knew you’d be back! It’s good, right?”

Marcus nodded as felt a smile stretch across his face. “It is. And I promised my daughter I’d get a scone this time.”

Her eyes lit up. He couldn’t look away. “Oh, you definitely need to get a scone. They’re amazing.”

She stepped into line next to him and he noticed they both kept their bodies turned towards each other as they talked. 

“You said she’s in college, right?” She tilted her head at him. Marcus tried not to trace the line of her neck with his eyes. “Is she enjoying it?”

He nodded. “She’s a freshman, but she settled in quick. She’s so independent, I knew she would.” He looked down, smiling as he thought about his daughter, and told her about Missy’s major. “She blows me away, honestly.”

When he looked back up he found her smiling softly at him. “Sounds like she’s got a great dad.”

Marcus smiled and ducked his head again. “I miss her, but it helps that she’s doing so well. And we talk a lot. More than I expected, really. Figured she’d be too busy.”

He felt something warm on his arm and realized she had reached out and lightly rested her hand on his forearm. He blinked and felt a flush rise in his cheeks and start to travel down his neck. He suddenly wished he wasn’t wearing a sweater over his dress shirt, wished he could feel her hand on his skin again.

“I’d say that means you’re definitely a great dad.” She was still smiling. “Take it from me, and my memories of college. I definitely didn’t talk to my parents that much.” She laughed and Marcus felt his breath catch at the way it lit up her features. Her hand was still on his arm and he fought the urge to cover it with his own, to keep it there.

He shook himself and nodded. “It’s been just us for so long. We are pretty close.”

She squeezed his arm lightly and he felt a shiver run up his spine. When her hand fell away, he missed it immediately. “Has it been tough? Adjusting without her.”

Marcus sighed and nodded. “My house is so empty now.” He laughed, ruefully. “I swear, it echoes in there. Never expected I would miss all the noise.”

She nodded. “I’ve got nieces and nephews, and they’re so loud, but I always miss it when they’re gone. It’s not the same, but I get that.”

As the line moved forward, she told him more about her sister’s kids and their antics. Marcus found himself smiling and laughing more than he had outside of a call with Missy in… months. Longer? He didn’t want to think about it, not when he was caught up in feeling like this instead. 

By the time they reached the front of the line, he was only wishing they had more time.

She hesitated when it was almost her turn to step up to the counter. “Did you get your coffee maker fixed?”

He shook his head. “No, I don’t think it’s fixable, and honestly it deserves to rest. It lived a long life.”

She laughed and then bit her lip. It drew his eyes like a magnet. 

“So, will I see you again tomorrow?” She looked hopeful and he wanted so badly to read into it.

“I think so,” he agreed, smiling a bit shyly. 

She grinned at him. “Good.”

He carried the memory of that grin with him through the rest of the day, until Rob managed to weasel the whole story out of him over lunch. He told his friend about the way they’d met and how she’d been standing inside the door that morning.

But somehow telling it to someone else had Marcus second guessing the whole thing. 

“I’m probably just imagining it.” He was standing with Rob in the hall by his office, coming back from lunch, wishing it had never come up. 

“Well, I think you should go back and you should talk to her again.” Rob furrowed his brow at Marcus and poked him in the arm. 

Marcus frowned and brushed his hand away. “Rob, she’s probably not interested.” 

His friend frowned back, exaggerating the expression until it was comical. “Sounded like she was. Why wouldn’t she be?”

Marcus shook his head and grimaced. “Why would she be? I’m a sad, boring, almost 50-year old man who does nothing but go to work and wait for his daughter to call him. I’m not delusional, ok, I know no one wants to deal with that. Especially not someone like her.”

Rob sighed. He reached out and grabbed Marcus’ shoulders and squeezed. “Marcus. Listen to me. You are a smart, funny, and caring man who loves his daughter and his friends. You deserve more, ok? Tell me you know that.”

Marcus shook his head. “Know what?”

“That it’s not a delusion to think you deserve to be loved.”

“Loved?” Marcus shook his head and tried not to scoff. “We’re just talking about someone I met at a coffee shop.” He ignored that his heart had started to beat just a bit faster when he thought about her, just like it had in The Bean Box when she’d touched his arm. And when she’d smiled at him, looking so hopeful that she’d see him again.

Rob raised his eyebrows. “Someone you can’t stop thinking about, and who flirted with you and got you out of your shell. Right?”

Marcus sighed.

“Marcus,” Rob said, voice careful, and Marcus knew what was coming next. “Is this about Melissa? I–”

He shook his head, interrupting. “No, I mean, not really. You know I’ve gone on dates, well, a while ago. It’s just…” He closed his eyes. “It’s been so long, and since Missy left for college, I’ve just been…” he trailed off, looking for the right word. “Asleep, I think. It’s so quiet. Every day is the same.”

Marcus opened his eyes to find his best friend frowning at him.

“I get it. But it sounds like this shook you out of that routine, right?” Marcus sighed. “Marcus, look, just– promise me you won’t just dismiss it, ok? Give it a chance.”

He wanted to scrub his hands over his eyes but Rob was still holding his shoulders. “How do I do that?”

Rob shrugged. “You’ve already run into her twice. Just keep going back. See what happens.”

Marcus closed his eyes and finally broke out of his friend’s hold. He leaned against the wall behind him. “Ok. Ok, I can do that.”

Rob let out a long breath, clearly relieved. “Good. And just let yourself enjoy it, ok? I know you know how to flirt. Even if you’re rusty.”

Marcus rolled his eyes and shoved Rob back a bit. “Yeah, yeah. I thought you wanted me to go back, huh? Stop making me nervous.”

Rob waved his hand, laughing. “You’re already nervous. But I’ve seen you flirt, man, even if it’s been a minute. I believe in you.”

At least someone did.

…

On Wednesday, Marcus woke up with his alarm, and immediately felt nervous.

He paused in front of his closet, actually looking at his clothes for the first time in a long time. Should I wear this shirt? Or a sweater? He hesitated, cursed himself for wasting time, and then grabbed the next shirt and slacks, as always. 

He walked straight past his kitchen on his way to his car, only glancing at the clock. 08:14 AM.

Missy 08:17 AM: are you going to the Bean Box again 08:18 AM: have I created a monster

Marcus 08:27 AM: just pulled up 08:27 AM: I’ll eat a scone for you

Missy 08:28 AM: mail me one 🙏

Marcus 08:29 AM: counter offer: I’ll buy you one when you’re home next

Missy 08:29 AM: deal 

Marcus was smiling at his phone as he opened the door into the coffee shop, belatedly looking up at his surroundings after he stepped inside. He didn’t see her and started to frown.

“Let me guess – your daughter?” 

He turned to find her behind him, leaning against the high table by the door. She gestured at his phone with a smile. He nodded. “How’d you know?”

She stepped closer and looked down at his phone. “You were smiling at it as you walked in.”

He couldn’t help but smile again. “She asked me to mail her a scone.”

She laughed and Marcus watched the way it changed her face. Beautiful. 

“Would it survive?” She grinned and fell into step next to him in the line for coffee.

He shook his head. “No, but I promised I’d buy her one next time she’s home.”

“When’s that?”

“Spring break.”

She frowned sympathetically. “So far away! That’s too bad.”

Marcus sighed, agreeing. “It is, but it helps knowing that she’s having such a great time.”

She looked thoughtful and nudged Marcus with her shoulder. He felt himself flush. “You know, you could look up coffee shops near her campus and buy her a gift card or something. Somewhere similar. Probably better than mailing a scone.”

He blinked, surprised. That was a good idea. “I…” he trailed off. “That’s–”

“Sorry,” she interrupted, wincing. “I didn’t mean–”

“No,” he said, not wanting her to apologize. He touched his fingertips lightly to her arm – she was wearing short sleeves, and the touch of his skin against hers deepened his flush. His fingertips started to tingle and he felt his heart start to beat faster in his chest. “I was going to say, that’s a great idea. Thank you.”

She grinned at him and leaned forward, which brought her arm more in contact with his hand. Suddenly he found himself with a light hold on her forearm, gripping it gently. He stroked his thumb across her skin before he even realized what he was doing. 

“I was worried I’d overstepped,” she said without moving away from him.

Marcus shook his head, momentarily speechless at the feel of her skin and the knowledge that she hadn’t pulled away.

“No,” he murmured. “I’m definitely going to do that. She’ll love it.”

For a moment he didn’t move, and neither did she. He noticed the line moving out of the corner of his eye but didn’t do anything about it until the person behind them in line cleared their throat.

Startled, he stepped forward, losing contact with her arm. She was still smiling at him as she turned.

“You know,” he said, wishing he could reach out to touch her hand. “I never asked what brings you here every day.”

She hummed. “Well the coffee, of course,” she winked at him, “but I also work from here most mornings. I like the atmosphere, and all of my meetings are in the afternoon.”

He nodded, thinking that sounded nice.  “So if I were to keep up my new coffee habit, you’d be here in the mornings?”

She turned towards him then and he leaned closer. 

“Yep,” she agreed. “Most days. Maybe you could stick around sometime.” She raised her eyebrows but he sighed. 

“I can’t,” he said, looking down. “Have to be in the office.”

Her face fell and he felt something twist inside his chest. She opened her mouth to reply but he interrupted. He didn’t want her to feel like that, not when he was feeling like this.

“Maybe we could,” his voice came out a bit strangled and he cleared his throat. “Maybe we could have dinner sometime instead?”

Marcus watched as her face transformed from disappointed to hopeful. He smiled. 

“I’d like that, Marcus.”

…

Marcus couldn’t remember the last time he’d been on a date, it had been so long.

(That was a lie – he just didn’t want to remember, it had gone so badly. But it had been years – he was pretty sure Missy had been in middle school at the time.)

He spent way too long staring at his clothes and trying to ignore Rob’s encouraging texts. He settled on dark jeans and a sweater. When his phone pinged again, he finally looked down to check it. 

Rob (5:37 PM): Corina says wear the dark green sweater (5:38 PM): I don’t even know which sweater she’s talking about but I assume you do

Marcus looked down and laughed. He had, in fact, chosen the dark green sweater.

Marcus (5:41 PM): tell her I am and that I had the same idea

Rob (5:43 PM): she says good choice and have a great time (5:44 PM): I mean, me too

Marcus smiled as he walked downstairs. He was glad for the support, but he knew he looked good in this sweater. It was one of the few purchases he’d made in recent years just because he liked the way it looked.

He got in the car and headed towards the restaurant where they’d agreed to meet. It was a short drive but he could feel himself getting more and more nervous the closer he got. 

After he parked, he stopped and took a deep breath. He thought of Melissa, as he’d done quite a bit since he met the beautiful woman in the coffee shop. It had been so long since they’d lost her, and he’d had quite a bit of time to think about dating again. This wasn’t even his first try.

But it always made him a little wistful. He took a moment to think about what she’d say – probably something about how his arms looked in the sweater. The thought made him laugh and shake his head. He got out of the car.

She was waiting by the door, and she was stunning.

…

You tried not to fidget as you stood by the door to the restaurant. It was a place your coworker had recommended, but you’d never been. Your nerves had driven you to arrive ten minutes early and now you had nothing to do but wait, and think of the gorgeous man you were waiting for.

And he really was gorgeous. You’d known that from the moment he’d turned around after you’d almost knocked him over in your favorite coffee shop – a memory that made your cheeks burn, even now, you’d been so embarrassed. He was tall with a jawline that made you want to bite, shoulders that were so broad you needed to get your hands on them, and warm brown eyes that had so much feeling in them, it took your breath away.

And then he’d smiled at you, and helped you with your things. And flirted. And then he’d come back, and kept coming back. For coffee, of course, but also to talk to you.

Every time he walked into The Bean Box, he looked around, looking for you. And when he saw you, his face lit up. You couldn’t help but smile just thinking about it.

How is he single? It was a question you’d been wondering about all week. You figured it was probably because he was a single dad, and his daughter had just gone to college. But at the same time you couldn’t comprehend that no one had locked this gorgeous, thoughtful, funny, caring man down. Their loss, you thought, and smiled again.

At that moment you looked up, and caught sight of Marcus getting out of his car. Your smile stretched into a grin.

“Hello there,” he said, smiling as he walked closer to you. “You look stunning this evening.”

You looked him over and tilted your head. “So do you, in that sweater.”

He blushed and you bit your lip. It was so charming when he did that. 

“Ready for dinner?” he asked, and when you nodded he turned to guide you inside. You felt his hand come up to rest on your lower back. It was big and warm, just as warm as it had been when he’d held your arm. You shivered.

The restaurant had a table waiting for you, and you turned to look at him with a raised eyebrow. He smiled and shrugged. “I called two days ago when you said yes to dinner.”

The table they led you to was cozy – tucked in a corner with a window, a romantic candle flickering in the center. When you sat, you realized a couple of plants hid you from the rest of the room.

“Cozy,” you said, smiling. 

Marcus nodded. “My best friend has brought his wife here, says it’s fantastic. And romantic.”

“Hmm,” you hummed, reaching out to nudge his hand where it rested on the table. “Romantic, huh?”

Marcus looked suddenly unsure, which made you slide your hand over his and squeeze. “Is that alright?”

You nodded. “It’s more than alright, Marcus. It’s perfect.”

He smiled again, and the two of you settled into an easy conversation about your weeks, about his daughter, and about your work. It flowed just as comfortably as it had at the coffee shop and you felt the warmth that Marcus had kindled inside of you from the first moment start to burn again. It carried you through dinner.

You watched his face as he talked and couldn’t help but marvel again at how handsome he was. He seemed to notice your focus and smirked a bit. “What?”

“Hmm?” you blinked, eyes snapping back to meet his.

He reached across the table and laced his fingers with yours. “I was just wondering what you were thinking.”

Your face warmed but you wanted to tell him, anyway. “Just got distracted by how handsome you are.”

Marcus blushed again and you grinned. “Really?” he looked doubtful, and you couldn’t have that.

“Oh yes,” you said, leaning towards him. “Not for the first time. You know how hard it was not to stare, in the coffee shop?”

He laughed and picked up your hand. He leaned forward, too, and pressed a soft kiss to your knuckles. You bit your lip at the sensation of his lips against your skin. “Me?” he asked, smiling against your knuckles. “What about you? You’re so beautiful I couldn’t take my eyes off you. And then you smiled, and well.” He kissed your knuckles again. “Still can’t look away from you, even if I wanted to.”

For a moment you just stared at each other, smiling. 

“Marcus,” you started, lifting your fingers to press against his jaw. He held on, but let you turn your hand until you could cup his cheek. “Do you want to come home with me?”

He blinked, clearly surprised. “I–” He swallowed, looking nervous. “It’s been a while, since…” he trailed off. “It’s been a while,” he repeated, smiling shyly.

You traced his cheekbone with your thumb. “There’s no rush,” you promised. You leaned a little closer and he leaned in to meet you. “I just want you to kiss me, Marcus,” you murmured, and watched his pleasure at that idea take over his handsome face. “And then we can just see where it takes us. No rush, no pressure.”

His eyes darkened as he smiled, a new sort of smile you hadn’t seen before. It made you press your thighs together under the table. “No rush,” he repeated, “but I’ve been wanting to kiss you, too,” he said, voice low and warm. He moved to stand. “Let’s go.”

…

Marcus stepped up close behind you at your door, and you smiled at the feeling of his warm body almost touching yours. His hand came to rest on your waist and you shivered. 

You finally managed to unlock the door and he followed you in. 

So quickly it made your head spin, Marcus turned and pressed you up against the inside of your door. you gasped. His chest was just as broad and firm as you’d thought, and he held you easily in place, right where he wanted you. You marveled at his sudden confidence – it looked very good on him.

“Hi there, beautiful,” he murmured, looking down at your lips. “Can I kiss you?”

“Please,” you breathed. Before you could say anything else, he leaned in and pressed his lips to yours.

Marcus’s lips were warm, and soft, and his kiss was slow and gentle. It seeped into you and you felt his warmth light you up from the inside. 

Your hands found his hips and you tugged him forwards until your bodies were touching from shoulder to knee. He moaned lightly, into your mouth, and suddenly his kiss wasn’t so gentle anymore.

It was fierce. Your head was spinning as you opened your mouth to him and felt his tongue stroke along yours.

His thigh came to rest between yours and you shivered.

“Marcus,” you sighed, breaking the kiss. He pressed soft kisses along your cheek and jaw before he let his head drop to your shoulder.

“You feel perfect against me, you know that?” His voice sounded almost hoarse, and you wrapped your arms around his waist. His sweater was soft and it made you smile. His right hand was flat against the door by your head but his left came up to cup your jaw and neck. “Shit, sweetheart. You’re perfect.”

You pressed a kiss to the side of his head. “I’m not perfect,” you laughed. 

He shook his head against your shoulder. “Feels pretty perfect.” He thrust his hips forward and pressed his thigh against you more firmly. You moaned. 

You felt Marcus huff a small laugh against your shoulder and pulled back to eye him. “What?”

He was smiling. “It’s nothing.” He shook his head as you raised your eyebrow, still confused. “I was just thinking how lucky I am that my coffee machine broke that day. Never would have met you, otherwise.”

You felt your face relax as you smiled back and leaned in for another soft kiss. “Sounded like it was on its last legs, from what you told me.”

He laughed again, and you grinned. “It was. RIP, Mr. Coffee, and thank you for your timely death.”

You hummed. “I like to think I would have found you, anyway. Maybe on another day at the Box.”

Marcus pressed forward and buried his face in your neck again. You felt his soft kisses working their way down to your shoulder and shivered. “Yeah? How?”

You shrugged and he nipped at your shoulder. “Just feels right, you know? I felt it the moment I met you.” You leaned your head to the side and he took advantage, worrying a mark at the spot where it met your shoulder. It made you squirm and his grip on you tightened. “Like I’d found something I’d been looking for, and didn’t even know it.”

He lifted his head again and the look in his eyes made your breath catch in your throat. “I know exactly what you mean, sweetheart. You woke me up when you almost knocked me over.” He grinned, teasing you.

“What do you mean?” You lifted one of your hands and let your fingers trail through his hair.

He leaned into it, smiling. “I’ve been… asleep. Living the same day, over and over again. And then I met you, and it’s like I’m awake for the first time since Missy left. Before that, probably.” He leaned forward and kissed you, gently. “You woke me up,” he repeated. You smiled, surprised and pleased that you’d had such an effect on him, too.

Marcus kissed you again, and for a while after that there wasn’t a lot of talking. You could only manage his name, and please, and don’t stop.

He didn’t.

...

a/n: 🥰

[idkwhatever580]

Breaking up with you

Masterlist

Pairings: Natasha romanoff x reader

Prompt: y/n is already having a bad day, what happens when she overhears Natasha and Clint’s conversation?

Warnings: angst but fluff at the end (don’t worry I am incapable of writing a sad ending 😭), swearing, breaking up, mentions of upcoming period, crying

Y/n’s pov

I wake up feeling clingy today. I don’t even know why it’s just one of those days.

I whine when I realize there is sun seeping in through the windows and onto my face so I flip around to find Natasha but she isn’t there.

I pout and reach for her until I find the end of the bed but no natty

“Natty?”

I mumble still with my morning sleepy voice.

No answer

Of course. She’s probably training. But she usually waits for me to wake up or at least leaves a note

I never did check if she left a note. So I look at both of our bedside tables. Nothing. I check my phone. Nothing. I get up to go to the bathroom. Not even a sticky note on the mirror.

Tragic

Maybe she got called on a last minute mission. No. She’d have someone tell me if she couldn’t tell me herself.

So why isn’t she here? I just want to cuddle with my girlfriend and eat takis.

Ohhhh. I get it now. I’m gonna start my period soon. I always crave takis when I’m about to be on my period. Which is probably also why I’m feeling so clingy.

So I check the time and shrug thinking what’s the worst that can happen if I eat a bag of takis for breakfast?

I grab one of the throw blankets as I pass the living room to the kitchen and walk into the pantry.

I look at my section and find the line of takis that says ‘OFF LIMITS I’LL BITE YOU!’ On its label. And I grab a bag happily knowing that nobody has tried taking them.

Except for Peter. Poor kid. I was actively on my period and he didn’t know since he was new. Ended up with his aunt laughing next to me when he was showing her the bite marks on his arm. She told him that he should have read the label.

I agree. Always listen when someone says they’ll bite you. They probably mean it.

Anyways. I go to the living room and plop down and then I say

“Friday?”

“Yes miss y/l/n?”

“Where is everyone?”

It’s a bit muffled since I’m stuffing my face with takis but Friday is able to understand.

“They are all in a meeting right now”

I furrow my eyebrows and say

“Without me?”

“It seems to be that way yes”

I frown and get up going to the meeting room.

##################

Natasha’s pov

We are having a meeting without y/n and suddenly Friday speaks up

“Miss y/l/n is on her way to the meeting room now. I would advise you hurry.”

We all scramble to change the scenery to make it look like a normal meeting about an upcoming mission.

Y/n walks in and says

“What’s going on guys?”

Wanda invades my brain and says

“Ignore her. Do not say a thing. I’ll handle it”

I nod once. I don’t really need to ignore her, but it fuels the fire I guess.

Wanda speaks up finally

“Oh we’re just having a meeting about our next mission. We decided to let you sleep in since your skill set isn’t required for this one.”

She shrugs her shoulders and says

“Okay. Hi nat”

She smiles and waves before leaving and I don’t say a thing.

Once she’s gone and Friday says that she is not coming back we let our breaths out and tony says

“That was a close one”

##################

Y/n’s pov

I sit back down and start to overthink.

I usually am able to keep my thoughts at bay but today is just not my day. So I get lost in my head.

Why did nat not say anything? She always says something. Always makes an effort to get up and show me some affection. Maybe it’s an off day for her too. Sometimes she doesn’t like to be affectionate and maybe that’s why.

I break myself out of my head when some of the avengers come tumbling into the room.

Nat is not one of them so I say

“Where’d nat go?”

A bunch of them shrug but Wanda says

“I think she might have gone upstairs.”

I nod my head and say in a slightly more hushed tone just to Wanda

“Did she seem off?”

Wanda shakes her head and says

“No? Why?”

I say

“Oh”

And shrug my shoulders and pick myself up

“No reason. Just wondering. Thanks!”

So I head upstairs and find Natasha in our room. She’s sitting on the bed and reading a book.

“Hey baby! You didn’t leave a note telling me where you were”

I fake pout at her and she doesn’t do anything just mumbles a quick apology.

I try to get a conversation going.

“No it’s okay baby. I just got a little lonely for a sec.”

She ignores me but I can’t catch a signal so I keep trying.

“What are we doing today?”

She just ignores me again and I sigh and say

“I guess that book is real good. I’ll leave you to it. I think I left my takis in the living room anyways. So I’ll be down there probably on my phone if you need me. I love you”

She doesn’t even say I love you back to me.

Alright. Im a bit hurt by that one. But nevertheless I do what I said I would.

I finished my bag of takis a while ago and I’m falling asleep on this couch. It’s definitely not as comfortable as nats arms but she probably needs space. Maybe the meeting made her have a few flashbacks or something.

Whatever it is I’ll give her enough space to process it.

My thoughts are cut off when the sweet escape of sleep overtakes me.

…

I wake up about an hour later and find that someone had put a blanket over me while I was out. Thanks.

I get up and go to our room hoping nat is ready to talk now. But she’s not there when I get there so I go in search of her.

After a while I find her in Clint’s room but I don’t go in. They’re talking and for some reason I get the urge to eavesdrop. So I do.

“Well you have to say something. You can’t just be leading her on. It’ll hurt her worse.”

“I don’t know Clint”

“Nat. I think you should just tell her”

Wait. Are they talking about me?

“How am I even supposed to go about that? I mean. It’s gonna be so awkward! Not to mention it’ll break the poor girl’s heart”

“Well sometimes you have to do things that aren’t comfortable for you.”

“Okay so I have to go and tell this girl who is head over heels for me that I’m not?! I mean. It’s so obvious right?”

“It is pretty obvious that you don’t like her”

“Yeah well she’s clearly not catching any signs. She’s really naive and besides, I’m literally-”

Fuck this shit.

I walk back to our room to get away from it all.

I can’t even handle this right now. My own girlfriend isn’t in love with me anymore. Of course.

Just when I think she’s in it with me forever. She doesn’t even like me.

And I’m so stupid to not notice that she was feeling this way. I’m probably holding her back.

This is bullshit. Why today? Why me?

I sulk in my room for a while and then I realize that I should surprise her and break up with her first. It’ll make it easier anyways.

I huff and decide to finally get dressed. I probably shouldn’t break up with her in my stitch pajamas.

So I change into some decent clothes and make sure I look presentable. Then I once again go in search of my soon-to-be ex-girlfriend.

This time I find her in the living room. I stand tall and say

“Natasha”

She ignores me. Fucking bitch. At least get the balls to break up with me. I’m having to do it for you.

“Natalia”

I use her name and she looks at me. Her face is still but I know she’s listening.

“May I have a word with you? Alone”

I emphasize the alone part and she nods her head softly. We walk in silence to our room and I close the door behind me.

We stare at each other for a second when she breaks the silence

“You wanted to tell me something? Is everything alright?”

I cross my arms and say

“No everything is not alright. I just want to say a few things and then I’ll be on my way.”

She nods her head and quirks a brow. I know she notices my standoffish behavior.

“I’m breaking up with you”

I tell it to her blunt. And her face goes through so many emotions before she’s able to say

“What?!”

I look at her and say

“You heard me”

She shakes her head to break out of her thoughts and she says

“Yes I heard you but you can’t be serious right?”

I narrow my eyes at her and give her a nasty look and say

“What? Didn’t see it coming?”

She shakes her head and says

“Wha- wh- why?”

I roll my eyes and say

“You act like you didn’t want this in the first place. There’s a few things you should know. Im not naive. I’m not oblivious. And I’m not your girlfriend. Don’t worry. I made it easy for you now you don’t have to break my heart.”

She tears up and before she can make her case I walk out. I don’t want to hear it.

And I’m about to break down. So I quickly walk to Wanda’s room and storm in.

She stands up quickly and vision, who was sitting on the bed with her watching sitcoms, makes a speedy exit upon seeing my state.

“What’s wrong?”

I sniffle and try to hold back my tears and I say

“I broke up with Natasha”

“WHAT?!”

I start completely sobbing by now. Wanda picks me up and carries me into her bed and she comforts me until I can speak in full sentences again.

“Okay what happened? I thought she was your endgame”

I nod and say

“She was. Until I heard her talking to Clint earlier”

She furrows her eyebrows and says

“What did you hear?”

I tell her about the conversation I overheard and she squints analyzing my retelling.

“Is it okay if I call Clint in here? It sounds like you didn’t get the full story and I want to hear another side to it”

I shrug my shoulders and nod my head so Wanda texts him. After a few minutes he comes in with an angry face and a wet patch on his shoulder.

Great. Natasha’s already gotten to him.

“Why would you do that y/n?!”

Wanda cuts him off and says

“Hold on Clint. Before we get to that we need to hear something from you okay? So calm down”

Wanda explains to him what I’ve told and he sighs. Then he starts chuckling softly and then full on laughing and I frown and say

“What’s so funny!?”

He shakes his head and says

“Y/n. Natasha wasn’t talking to me about you. She was talking to me about Reese. The new intern. She’s been all over Natasha recently and cannot pick up any signs. If you had stayed a second later you would have heard Natasha say ‘and besides. I’m literally in love with y/n’ and none of this would have happened.”

I look down a little embarrassed.

“I guess sometimes I get a little bit angry. I didn’t even think.”

He nods his head and pats my shoulder and says

“I think you should go and fix this.”

I nod my head and go to his room where Natasha is.

I knock softly and say

“Nat?”

She jumps up and wipes her tears trying to seem strong and says

“Oh. What’s up. Did you need me to get my things?”

I shake my head and say

“I’m so sorry baby. I was eaves dropping on your conversation with Clint earlier and I missed some parts and thought you were talking about me! So I got angry and sad and then I was like ‘well if she’s thinking about doing it to me I’m gonna do it first’ because I was protecting myself from the inevitability of a heart break. I love you so much and I just was scared. I didn’t even think to ask you about it first and I’m sorry I was just being sensitive today and I had no idea! I am so sorry and I compl-”

Natasha cuts off my ramble with a kiss and I obviously kiss back.

We somehow end up half way making out until Clint says

“Hey! Not in my room you fucking horndogs!”

We pull away and giggle and Natasha grabs my hand and pulls me to our room and I say

“I’m sorry”

She shakes her head and says

“Y/n when you said that to me it made my heart split in two. I love you entirely too much to make the mistake of letting you go. I’m sure I would have come after you if it weren’t for my initial shock. I guess I just thought we were so endgame that the thoughts of a breakup would have never crossed my mind.”

I smile and say

“I’m sorry.”

Then all of a sudden I get nervous and play with my hands and look at the ground and she says

“What’s on your mind sweetheart?”

I bite my lip and say

“Since I um. Since I broke up with you like thirty minutes ago will you- um- will you be my girlfriend again?”

She laughs and says

“Yes of course baby”

I smile and say

“Sorry. It felt informal to not ask.”

She cups my face in her hands and says

“Next time let’s talk about it before we go breaking up with each other yes?”

I nod my head and say

“Sorry. I think I’m starting my period soon so I’m kind of having some fog brain.”

She nods her head in understanding and I say

“Now that we’re okay, can I have cuddles?”

She smiles and says

“Yes dorogoy. Of course we can.”

I smile and then say in a teasing tone

“This is actually your fault”

She scoffs as I cuddle next to her and plays along

“How is this my fault?!”

“You didn’t leave a note for me this morning.”

She rolls her eyes and says

“I am sorry baby. I was rushed out of bed and it slipped my mind. I guess it’s because I usually don’t have meetings without you so I forgot”

I nod my head and say

“You forgort”

I giggle a bit and she says

“You and your fricken vocal stims.”

I smile and say

“I think I’m pretty cool”

She smiles and says

“The coolest. Now let me cuddle my girlfriend in peace”

I smile and pull her super close to me. Then push her away as a joke and half way yell

“Leave room for Jesus!”

She rolls her eyes and says

“Come here.”

I get closer and say

“I love you”

She smiles and says

“I love you too”

##################

Taglist

@ilovesnat @ihartnat @marvelnatasha12346

A/N: sometimes I’ll use the most random things to separate my section 😭

[slytherinboysvip]

Surprise| T.N

summary; it’s a surprise with a romantic Theo, and some annoying friends

(sfw, fluff? kissing) loosely based off of an older request, but can’t find it :<

It wasn't strange for your boyfriend to mysteriously wonder off after dinner at the great hall, in fact it was almost nightly when he did whatever it was that he did, you didn't want to assume it was smoking for your own state of mind.

It was a bit stranger this night however, he seemed to hurry off quicker than usual but you decided not to think much of it just continuing on to your dorm as per usual.

Walking into the common room Pansy immediately popped up from her spot on the couch and scurried toward you, "Y/nnn! I have some new muggle makeup I'm dying to try on you, come on" She didn't give you much of a choice, yanking your arm to her dorm "Slow down Pansy I'm coming” You semi protested but still excited

𓆙

"Hm, this makeup is cute but It's missing an outfit. Let's get you out of this awful uniform go properly execute my vision!" Pansy clapped her hands together and ran to her closet, throwing out a black mini skirt and a simple dark green sweater. "I think just the makeup alone is cute" I admired my mascara in the mirror.

"Just change!!" She huffed pushing the clothes into my lap. "Fine but after this I'm running far away from this madness" | exaggerated, walking to the restroom to change. I won't admit it to her face but she was right, this outfit made my makeup look so much better.

I walked out and Pansy immediately smiled "You need to go walk to the black lake miss" She squealed. I raised my eyebrow suspiciously "What exactly do you mean?". You couldn't think of any reason why you'd need to go to the black lake, especially when the sun is setting.

"Trust me Y/n, it's worth it" She winked, once again shoving me out the door. “Fine but just do you know I’m keeping this outfit!”. You contemplated whether or not to actually go but there's no harm in it only feeling a bit weird in your outfit and makeup.

𓆙

As you got closer to leaving the castle Theo jogged up to you and snaked his hand around your waist pulling you in "Amore Mio, you look beautiful" He spun you around, kissing you at the end. "How did I get so lucky, bella"

You looked up at him blushing "You're not so bad yourself you know" winking at him and giving him another kiss. "You know what's weird? Pansy told me to go to the black lake right now that's why I'm even here". Theo looked at me and smirked a bit before he straightened his face "No idea, let's go check yeah?"

He intertwined our hands and we started walking just enjoying the crisp air, feeling perfect with the sun nearly set "It feels amazing out here" You smiled up towards your boyfriend, "Its the perfect weather for something romantic don't you think?" He smiled a bit, and you gave him a confused look.

"What do you mean?" Still confused you waited for him to respond before he turned your body towards the lake revealing a few candles, and a small picnic blanket with your favorite snacks."Solo il meglio per il mio unico e solo"(only the best for my one and only”)

"Go on principessa, I want you to enjoy it all".Theo directed me towards the blanket and we sat down beside eachother. Examining everything he got you noticed a little jewelry box at the bottom of the picnic basket and you picked it up, "Teddy what's this?" You began to open it and he smiled wide without saying a word

Your eyes lit up the second you saw a diamond heart necklace with a pink stone in the middle,"Go on and turn it around too"; Doing as he said you saw T.N engraved on it, the period being a smaller heart. "Thank you so much I love it! I love you!" You lunged onto Theo giving him a big kiss.

"Now turn around so I can get this on that pretty little neck of yours baby." His hands brushed up around your neck and lingered for a moment "Hold you hair for me Amore". His rough hands made their way delicately around your neck with the necklace and clasping it together, turning you back to him with his hand wrapped on your neck "Perfetta." (perfect)

"So was pansy in on this all?" | looked up at him smiling still so happy about all of it "No she just saw me setting up and made me let her help, I'm glad I did though you look gorgeous, La mia bella ragazza"(my beautiful girl). You blushed at all of his compliments and rested your head onto his lap looking up at the stars, theo's hand stated softly stroking your hair and you noticed him staring at you.

You tried ignoring his stares but you couldn't help yourself from blushing and you can tell he caught on by the small chuckle he let out, "Stop starring!!" Your face was getting redder by the second and he wouldn't stop nor stop laughing.

During this process he somehow managed to tackle you onto the blanket and shower your face in small pecks “I".."Will"..”Never".."Stop".."Starring". Each word separated by a kiss making you laugh and attempt to push him off, it was all fun till you two heard laughter from afar.

Both looking up to see Draco, Enzo, Blaise, And Mattheo all fake barfing. Enzo and Mattheo doing fake kissing with themselves, Draco gagging, and Blaise enjoying it all. "Fuck off!" Theo yelled flicking them off annoyed returning swiftly to kissing you disregarding them completely.

"Ew we're still here" Mattheo fake barfed "Not the fuck anymore" Enzo shuddered walking away with the rest of them following. "Annoying pricks"

Theo shook his head, "Now back to my girl" He smiled pulling you in for a kiss.

Let me know if you enjoyed this or not!! I’m honestly good with smut but I need to work on fluff 😭😭 So take this as some of my practice <3

[weirdsht]

Hii 😞😞

I genuinely can't help myself but request for sweet stuff

Bc I'm lonely

Cale w reader who always wears pants and barely dolls themselves up, but then they decide to wear a dress one day and WOWZA

Something New - Cale/Reader

tags: fluff, a tiny bit of insecure! reader, jealous Cale if you squint, established relationship, reader's gender isn't specified but they are wearing a dress.

Pls don't repost my work anywhere without my permission

Requests are open and welcome

Navigation Masterlist

It happened on a whim, starting when you saw a lone dress in the closet while trying to spring clean.

You bought the dress impulsively a few months ago, finding it cute at the time. You swore to yourself that you’d find an occasion to wear it, but you never did. 

It’s not because the dress isn’t cute anymore. No, no, it still is, it’s so cute you had to take a few minutes to admire the glory of it after taking it out of the hanger. The design of the frame wasn’t the issue. Rather, it was just the simple fact that it was a dress. Something you don’t usually wear.

And so its elegance didn’t stop the dress from being stashed at the back of your closet.

Well until today that is.

Once you were done sorting your closet you abruptly decided to change into the dress. Wear something different for a change.

You can’t help but feel a tad bit insecure as you look in the mirror. The dress is pretty and it frames your body as though it was made specifically for you. The ruffles of the off-shoulder clings to your skin while its see-through puff sleeves showcase your arm underneath the fabric.

The skirt has three layers; two sheer fabrics at the top and an opaque layer underneath. It sways beautifully alongside the ribbon in the back whenever you twirl, the hem grazing your thighs as you giggle in front of the mirror.

It’s a beautiful dress and you look so good wearing it. However, it doesn’t take away the uncomfortable fact that it’s not something you would usually wear, doesn’t take away the smidge of insecurity you feel as you play with the cut-outs of the dress around your waist area.

Perhaps the dress can’t soothe your mind but Cale’s reaction definitely can.

“Can I hide here for a while? The kids have been bugging me to train and we both know I’d rather drown in lemonade than do that.”

Cale knocks on your door as he asks for solace. Taking pity on him, you opened the door to let him in. Your room is the safest place to get away from the kids’ antics, they actually respect your alone time and wouldn’t go in unless given a go signal.

The redhead stops in his tracks as he sees what you’re wearing. His actions make you gnaw your lips. Did it look bad? It is too unusual? Maybe you shouldn’t have tried it on.

You were about to speak up, ask him if you should change, when he beat you to it.

“Let’s sneak out and go on a date.”

“Is it– wait what? I thought you wanted to sleep today.”

You shot Cale an incredulous look. Just where did that come from? He has always had an impulsive side, no matter how rare it showed itself, but this was something that had never happened.

“Yes, but you look too good right now. It would be a shame to just stay here.”

“Excuse me? Wait! Cale!”

Before you can wrap your head around what your lover said he was already whisking you away with his ancient power. The two of you exited through the window and proceeded to go to town to have an impromptu date.

“Maybe we shouldn’t have gone hear…”

Cale grumbled under his breath a few minutes after roaming around town. The townfolks were kind enough to not bother their young master silver shield today after seeing that he was on a date. Despite that, Cale was still frowning and grumbling under his breath.

“What’s the matter, love?”

You inquired, concerned that perhaps his social battery had run out. Cale was never one to socialise much after all.

“It’s nothing… it’s just that everyone keeps looking at you.”

He frowned before activating his dominating aura. He just let it ooze a little, just enough for people to steer clear of the both of you.

Confused at what he meant, you tilted your head towards him, silently asking him to elaborate.

Finding your gesture cute, Cale kissed the top of your head surprising you once more. He was never one for public shows of affection, preferring to indulge you in his love in private.

“You just look too good okay? That dress looks too good on you and now everyone’s eyes are glued to you. It doesn’t help that this is the first time you wore one.”

He might have murmured something about going on a picnic in the forest instead but you didn’t quite catch it. 

Your mind reels at the accidental compliment. Well, Cale already said you looked beautiful earlier, but still, it didn’t feel real until now.

“You mean it?”

You hesitantly asked making Cale stop in his tracks just outside your favourite restaurant.

“Yes.”

He nonchalantly said before linking your arms with his and entering the establishment.

The two of you spent the entire day having fun. The news will definitely have a field day writing various articles of how Roan Kingdom’s it couple are seen enjoying the day as if they were the only people in the world.

You had so much fun that you almost forgot you left the villa without telling anyone.

Don’t worry though, Ron will make sure you remember and understand the heart attack you accidentally gave everyone.

[jenchan-writingmultis]

What do the dorm leaders + a few more students do when you leave them without saying goodbye / you go missing? (Series: Part 2)

──────⊱⁜⊰──────

Genre: Fluff/ Angst

Pairing: Leona x Gn Reader

A/n: Ooh It took me a while to create an update of this, I’m still in my second semester hell but I got a bit of time! So, I decided to write something for our dearest Lion, also I wanted to note that I’ll be doing this based on the book chapters, for example, Riddle First, Leona Second, Azul Third, and so on… I hope you like this part! I loved writing every part of it.

Credits: The design was made by me in Canva and the art that was used is all from the Official Twisted Wonderland Cards.

Warning: Cussing, OOC Crowley (lmao), smitten Leona, slight blood mention Masterlist Part one (Riddle x Gn Reader)

──────⊱⁜⊰────── Sypnosis: You went off already, actually, they didn’t even know where you were right now, Grimm was worried about you, where have you gone? You just vanished into the mirror that you were talking to every midnight, he knew that he should have listened to his gut feeling when he realized that you were warning him about your sudden disappearance. The moment he went dashing out of Ramshackle, paws cold from the snow that he stepped on and it was really bad that when he needed Hornton he wasn’t there.  Savanaclaw:

Leona: He was annoyed when Grim started screaming outside of his dorm in the middle of the night causing all beastmen to wake up due to his ruckus, but his annoyance vanished when he realized what the furball was saying. You were gone, while he looked indifferent outside, telling Grim to calm the fuck down because he can easily hear him without him screaming in his ears, he was a bit worried. (Just a bit)

“Oi, can you tone down your screaming?” he grabbed Grim by the collar as the kitty sobbed, “Calm down, we’ll help” He sighed, causing Ruggie to stare at him surprised, “What do you mean we?” Leona scoffed before he threw Grim at him. 

“This furball will just keep on screaming if we leave him” He sighed, scratching the back of his neck. Ruggie huffed “Well, it’s surprising for you to immediately agree to help though” he whispered to himself, Leona could clearly hear him, but he ignored what the other said. It was rare for you to leave Grim all alone, you two were practically attached to the hip, so you vanishing out of nowhere was odd, did you finally get back to your homeland? You didn’t talk about it, but he can see how you look at others when they’re with their families and he knows that look. It was a look he had when he was younger, when Farena was the golden child, and he was the black sheep. 

He wanted that kind of familial love from his parents before, but they never gave it to him. You probably missed your family in your original world, he understands the feeling, but he can’t help but feel a bitter ache in his heart. Did he and the others not make you feel at home here? Sure, they overblotted and probably could have killed an herbivore like you, but he’s a changed man, surely you didn’t leave because you got sick of him or the others, right?

Of course, he went to interrogate Grim, asking him various questions, and after a few hours of barking orders to his fellow beastmen, he went to Crowley personally to ask, he was running out of options, and he was starting to feel that his theory that you went home was right. The last time Grim saw you was you got sucked in the mirror that was inside your bedroom. He tried to check on that mirror too, he didn’t feel any type of magic in it, it was just an ordinary mirror. You’d know he’s already at the edge of his seat trying to find you when he asked Crowley out of all people for help, denying the feeling in his gut that you were truly wiped out of this world.

“You’re saying that the prefect vanished?” Crowley put his hand on his chin, he was a bit annoyed about how calm Crowley was, and he crossed his arms glaring at the guy. “Did you send them home?” He questioned, getting straight to the point, which made Crowley shake his head “No, I didn’t, I have yet to find the portal back to their homeland, but this is certainly worrisome, I’ll try to help you find them, and can you summon the other head wardens for a meeting?” Crowley walked past him, Leona’s eyes following him. “I’ll be getting the teachers involved, this is a missing student case after all” He murmured, now that’s the sight he likes to see, somehow his opinion of Crowley increased. He guessed Mc became important to him as well. 

However, despite the ton of effort to find you, none of them got any leads, the ache he was feeling from before got worse, he found himself awake than asleep most of the time, his head was aching, it was affecting his health too. When the housewarden meeting along with the teachers happened, of course, the majority of them volunteered to have their housemates search for you outside and inside, Crowley couldn’t get any officers involved since you weren’t officially in Twisted Wonderland, you were a walking unregistered herbivore; it was dangerous, it could get the school closed so he had to ask his staffs and students to help around, which no one complained. Everyone cared for you, you helped them one way or another; helped them grow as a person and as a mage, it made him fascinated that you get to change almost everyone in this school in just a few months of your presence, and you’re magicless even. 

The improvement of the school happened because of you, and you just vanished out of thin air just like that, like some God who graced everyone with their presence only to leave once everything was sorted out. What about him? 

Leona couldn’t help but feel numb, eyebags evident on his face, it was so unlike him to be overworking trying to find you, you were just a herbivore to him, someone who had the audacity to annoy him before just to gain his help. Ruggie was worried about him too, the guy tried to ease him into that he would try to use his “connections” to gain more manpower to search the whole twisted wonderland, it made him laugh, he was a second prince, he had more connections that can help with the search than Ruggie, plus he knew that you weren’t here anymore. He couldn’t accept it at first, it was just slapped on his face multiple times.

Your scent continued to fade as the days continued, he didn’t have any motivation to do anything else but try to find you, find you, and find you for the first few weeks health be damned, but when you manifested in his mind, festering him to do something else, to try to finish third year, then maybe during internship he can find leads to you. He decided that if he plans to continue to persevere, then he will. After all, he was known for his tenacity before. 

Ruggie was surprised when one day, Leona started to become focus on his studies, Leona was sometimes going to class, just enough to the point he could be promoted to 4th year, where he could do internships.  He thought that Leona might have forgotten about you, which kind of annoyed him, was Leona only good at doing stuff in the first place and abandoning it once he realized it was futile? Of course not! Ruggie slapped his cheeks and shook his head, Leona could never, he’s mischaracterizing his Housewarden. 

While the search died down, plenty of students gave up because they kept reaching dead end after dead end in their search. Grim was often with Ace and Deuce, he noticed that the furball lost a lot of weight and he often seemed out of it. Most of the students who knew Grim understood the devastation of losing someone whom he treated as family. They try to get Grim to eat more, but he always ends up either overeating or not eating at all, the only housewardens who get him to eat normally are Vil and Riddle who have strict diets for him. Riddle is more lenient due to knowing Grim longer than Vil. 

The housewardens get split custody of the Cat, and the main custody being with Riddle, Ace, and Deuce. Leona barely gets any time with Grim, and when he does, he usually just gives him to Ruggie. One time, Grim got really upset at him though.

Leona flinched in pain, blood seeping out of his arm, a scratch mark forming on it. Jack jolted and grabbed Grim’s arms, subduing him immediately. “Grim! What are you doing!?” Jack yelled out, gripping on the squirming cat. 

 “You! Out of everyone here, you’re the one who’s always so calm and relaxed!” Grim cried out, glaring at the Lion. Leona glared at him as he used his magic to heal his arm. “Do you even care! You just gave up after a few months!” He continued, biting Jack making Jack let go out of pain, and when Grim jumped on Leona. He got grabbed by the scuffle. 

 “What makes you think I stopped trying to find them?!” Leona snapped, gripping on the cat, as if he’s a cub misbehaving, this was annoying, people thinking that he doesn’t do a lot when in fact he’s been giving more than just effort  “You think I’m not trying my best here!?” He lets Grim go who is surprised at his outburst. “Shit” He pinched the bridge of his nose, Jack carrying Grim again. “I’m really sorry Leona” He apologized on Grim’s behalf, but Leona just waved him off. “It’s fine,” he said, looking down at the cat. “But I want you to understand that some people just prefer doing work behind the scenes, just because you don’t see it doesn’t mean they’re not trying.” 

He really was trying. The you that was cuddling him in his dreams, playing with his hair and kissing him, telling him to do his best. That had kept him sane while trying to find you. It was stupid and pathetic, but at least he knew that somehow, he never forgot your face, your scent, and your voice even if it took years. Even once he graduated, even if Falena tried to set him up with other Beastwomen or some high-ranking princess. He rejected them all, in favor of waiting for you, despite not knowing if you’ll ever come back. 

He never even got to tell you his feelings before you vanished, if he did would that make you not go back to your own world? Even after a few years, your friends had already graduated, he was working in Sunset Savanna, temporarily because his brother asked him for help, he was busy jumping from place to place to maintain connections and build new ones so while his brother is gone, he was the one in charge, Cheka was already in Junior High school dreaming of getting inside Royal Sword Academy where his friends would be around as well as his father encouraging him to enroll there due to being an alumni, and his sister in law kept festering Leona about mates and stuff. 

Right, did he tell you that he kept the mirror that you vanished from to his room? When he finally graduated, he felt that he needed the mirror, so he decided to buy it from Crowley, who graciously gave him the mirror without any complaints. Sometimes, he looks at himself in the mirror, hoping to see you behind it. He really wishes you would come back. 

He went to sit down on the edge of his bed, sliding himself into the covers, his bed feeling cold and needing another, he stared at the ceiling, wishing in his mind that when he woke up, you’d be there, touching his cheek. 

Drifting into sleep, he dreamt of you again, a dream that he saw multiple times after you vanished, his head laying on the soft plush of your thighs, he stared up at you, who was looking down at him with a soft smile, he nuzzled the hand that you placed on his cheek, placing his hand on it as he guides your hand to his lips, kissing it. 

 “I miss you” he murmured in his dream, your hand felt incredibly warm and soft right now, it felt… real. Maybe whatever Deity from above decided to pity him today and give him your touch that he was constantly seeking.

He didn’t want to wake up, the warmth of the sun hitting his body except for his face which you were shielding it from. The moment he lifted himself up, to go nearer your face, he wanted to kiss you now or else he might never feel this surreal experience ever again, a blinding light suddenly flashed in his vision, causing him to flinch. 

 “Oh, sorry Leona” a familiar voice apologized, making him groan and blink a few times, was he still dreaming? He felt his head resting on something else and not his pillow, it felt softer. When he finally was fully awake, he realized that he was in fact, not dreaming anymore. He looked up only to see you, in the same position as you did in his dream. 

“Herbivore…” he froze as you rubbed his cheek gently. “Yes, I’m here” You hummed as you pushed away a bit of his hair just to see his face better. “Oh wow, Leona you became prettier!” you giggled, causing him to sit up, grabbing your cheeks, he examined you. He can’t believe it, it really is you, he’s not dreaming anymore. 

“How? What?” he questioned, glaring at you maybe this was a trap, if this was some doppelganger or some shapeshifter, he’d turn you to dust, but the way you weren’t scared of his glare made his will falter, you were warm, you were there, your scent was there too, nobody can replicate that.  “Herbivore you’re back” he finally caved in, pulling you into a crushing hug, which you gave back happily. “I’m back Leona, I’m sorry I vanished,” you said, burying your face into his shoulder. “You idiot, I definitely deserve an explanation for this” He growled out, not letting you go at all. 

Word Count: 2,359