#Need to to think of something better for moustache though..

[daily-tf2-demo]

Day 17

I said I'm going to work on my style, but instead I was just drawing demo furries and chibies all day xdd So here's a little Chibi Demo Cat for you :3

[captainlondonman]

STUDENT TO WORKIE

‘Dave, can you deliver this present to my father when you are back in town.’

Tony asked.

Dave had been spending the weekend with his friend in his university town. and was on his way home.

‘Sure thing mate,’ Dave replied. ‘I haven’t seen your father for years’

‘Neither have I much as he and Mum rarely speak.’

‘What does he do?’

‘Something in the building sector. He should be around in the evening. I’ll give you the address. Just hand it over on the doorstep and anyway I’m sure he won’t even ask you in. He is a bit rough but to be honest he buggered off soon after I was born. Never remarried, probably because he is so difficult.’

The day after getting home, Dave took his bike and went round to the address given by his friend. Ringing the doorbell he heard a deep voice shouting from the other side.

‘No need to push so fucking hard I heard you.’

The door flew open and standing in front of Dave taking up most of the doorway was a man with full HiViz kit. This was not what Dave was expecting.

Something in the building sector, Dave thought he would be a bit like himself a Surveyor. But standing in front of him was a well built hunk of a man wearing only a HIViz waistcoat his large hairy chest from neck down showing, with a slight beer belly pushing out over his workgear trousers. The waistcoat was back enough to show a pair of nipples that looked unreal as if they had been pulled out to be large and juicy. Both arms were hairy and covered in tats all the way down to is wrists which then a fat hands with nails ingrained with dirt. The man had a thick moustache and unshaven around the chin, his hair cut to a No 1.

‘Christ’ thought Dave h’ow can this be Tony’s father. No wonder they hardly talk. Who’d want this guy as a father?’

‘Who the fuck are you,’ the man said staring at Dave

‘Er, I’m a mate of Tony and he asked if I would drop by and give you a present. I suppose it’s your birthday.’

‘I get a present once a year from that little shit and he never bothers to contact me. Mind you I ain’t any better. He’s a right little ponce thinking he is much better than me. I suppose you are also a little mister big shot eh?’.

‘I don’t think Tony is at all like that and a bit unfair of you to say that.’

‘Oh a right little mouthy are you?’

‘Well I suppose if you have cycled across town you might as well come in and have a beer. I have just opened a bottle for myself.’

As Dave walked into the kitchen he could smell the man, unwashed and a smell of stale ciggies. The guy handed Dave a bottle and said

‘Want a ciggie?’

‘No I don’t smoke.

‘Well all workies like a good smoke so if you don’t mind I will.’ he said lighting up.

‘So tell me a bit about yourself.’

Dave explained how he knew Tony and how he was studying surveying.

‘So you are the posh guys that come on site and tell me what to do eh.’ The man said laughing. ‘Anyway I am Pete which you probably know from my son. Not like me is he. Probably like his ma all slim and pretty, a bit like you eh?’

‘I wouldn’t describe myself as pretty.’

‘Well you’re hardly man mountain are you?’

The two guys continued to talk and had another beer and then another till Dave said ‘I think I need to get back but after all these beers can I go for a pee please.’

‘Just before you do let me get you a HiViz waistcoat as its now dark and you are on a bicycle. Hold on.’

A minute later Pete returned with a dirty Hi Viz waistcoat.

‘There you are, the bathroom is just next door.’

Dave went in and could smell pee and saw piss marks around the rim of WC. It all looked pretty untidy and then his eye caught sight of a jockstrap hanging out of a dirty laundry basket.

Normally Dave would have turned his nose up in disgust but there was something so manly and uncouth about Pete that he could not resist touching the jockstrap. It was covered in piss marks and as he handled it he could almost feel it slightly crusty as though it was died cum.

Before he knew what he was doing he stuffed the jockstrap into his pocket feeling his cock start to stir in his chinos. 

‘Shit I’d better get out before my cock is stiff.’

With the jockstrap in his pocket he walked back into the kitchen and thanked Pete for the HIViz.

‘Not a prob mate, bring it back any time I’m sure I’ll see you again’. he smirked.

Once home Dave for some reason kept his HiViz on, he wanted to keep it on but most of all when he took the stained jockstrap out of his pocket he wanted so much to smell it. He instinctively put it over his head and brought the deep yellow stained pouch down over his face rubbing it all over  as he took deep breaths. The odour of dried piss was overwhelming as he pressed the material tight against his nose. He could feel the dried cum brush against his face. The smell was intoxicating, it was almost making him dizzy but it so excited him knowing that this jockstrap belonged to his friend’s father, the uncouth workie, the beer swilling cigarette smoker with the hairy body and his HiViz gear. As he breathed deeper and deeper so the blood rush moved down to his cock. It was ramrod hard and he had got so excited the precum was oozing out of the tip. He smothered his face with the jockstrap feeling the stench become part of his face. He wanted to smell, he wanted to be dirty like Tony’s father. Shit the man was so fucking sexy even with his large belly but all that hair and unsahevn look was such a turn on. Knowing it was his best friends’ father made it even better. As he sucked the jockstrap so he could feel the piss and dried cum soften he let the taste run down his throat..His hand was now wrapped around his dick. The more he sucked at the jockstrap the more his hand slid up and down the shaft.

‘Shit I want Tony’s dad .I want to suck and fuck with the bloody workie.’

As the throbbing came to a climax he shouted

‘I only want fucking workies.’ And with that he shot his load over the floor whilst almost gagging with the jockstrap down his throat taking in every bit of piss and cum.

Without cleaning his dick he put on the jockstrap so the last few drops of his cum mixed with Tony’s father’s piss and cum. His cock immediately got hard again but Dave wanted his cock encased in the dirty jockstrap and he could feel his shaft rubbing against hardened piss and cum. It felt good to be wearing it and he put the Hiviz waistcoat back on and went to bed feeling almost as if he was part of Tony’ father workie body. He woke up the next day and stretched but as he did so he thought his body felt slightly different. Looking at himself there was a change but he could not quite understand what the difference was. He looked as if he had been working out a bit, there was more definition to his muscle arms and even the beginning of a 6 pack. His shoulders had widened a bit and the bulge within his jockstrap seemed a bit larger. He decided not to shower but kept the jockstrap on. He liked feeling dirty and having the older man’s piss make its smell . When he put his T shirt on he put the waistcoat back on.

There was something about Tony’s father that was drawing him to go back. The main was uncouth, a dirty workie with a high body smell.. Someone that Dave would quickly walk by, but it seemed odd but he found the man had a sexual power and thinking of him standing there with his bare hairy chest had his cock rigid. It was like a magnet but how could he go back. He decided he could make the excuse of returning the HiViz waistcoat and by going back a few hours later he reckoned he was being polite. Shit what would Tony think if he knew that Dave was getting off thinking about his father and wearing the filthy jockstrap.

He knocked on the door at the same time as the previous day and when the door opened Pete just smiled. He was wearing the same HiViz jacket with his hairy chest protruding but this time he was wearing a dirty very stained pair of joggers  which his belly fell over as well as a mud stained pair of rubber boots up to his knees. When the door opened Dave almost had to step back with the smell.

‘I thought you might be back sometime. Sorry about the turn out mate but it’ been a busy day down in sewers. Stinks a bit eh, but you quickly get used to it. Better than any aftershave’ he smirked. He waved Dave it and Dave could see that Pete’s hands were still filthy and probably covered in sewer shit.

‘I just wanted to return your HIViz.’

‘You can keep it. You can always try to wash it and get rid of all the stains. Anyway come in and have a beer.  The kitchen stunk of sewage But to Dave’s surprise the more he smelt it and was repulsed the more he started to take deeper breaths and found his crotch was responding and stiffening under his chinos. ‘Christ how could I like this bloody awful smell ‘he thought ‘but its turning me on.’

‘You told me you don’t smoke but if you have a beer with me you really should have a puff. It helps the stink in here. What say you eh?’

Dave didn’t even consider saying no, he almost instinctively took a ciggie out of Pete’s pack.

‘That’s better, let me light it for you.’

Having never smoked before Dave found he knew exactly what to do and he held the ciggie just like Pete drawing deeply and exhaling a large cloud of smoke.

‘See I told you . All real men smoke mate. Talking about real men, you seemed to have bulked up a bit. I thought you and Tony looked a pair of wimps but today you look better. Perhaps it’s the HiViz waistcoat, ha ha.’

Pete came forward to give Dave a can of beer and standing in front of him at eye level Dave could make out a long line of cock stretching down one side of the joggers. He was clearly commando.

As Dave took his first gulp, with Pete still standing in front of him staring down.

‘So you stole my jockstrap did you?’

Dave almost spat out his mouthful of beer

‘Don’t give me a fucking excuse boy. I left it out knowing full well what you would do. You couldn’t resist it could you, all nice a crusty and yellow stained with my piss. Bet when you got home the first thing you did was have a massive wank eh. Thinking of me wearing it no doubt. You liked the idea of Tony’s dirty workie of a dad wearing it The problem is mate that I ain’t got anything under me joggers so me cock has been bouncing around all day and the more it moves around inside the more horny I become.

As he said this he put one hand down inside his joggers and stroked the full length of his cock moving forward to stand right in front of Dave. As he took his hand out the cock was like a rigid pole tenting outwards and a small stain of precum showed itself through the cotton.

‘Bet you got my jockstrap on now. Admit it.’

‘Er yes.’

‘And bet you love it and don’t want to take it off.’

Dave was silent.

‘Well if you steal something then you have to pay back.’

Dave’s eyes were glued to the crotch with Pete’s erection forming a good 8inch tent. Pete put down his beer and with one hand slipped his hand down his belly and into the joggers, pulling out a massive erect prick. Dave could not believe it, the guy was wearing a thick steel cock ring, making every vein of his shaft stand out almost pulsating. As the cock sprang out so the foreskin was pushed back revealing a large glistening head. The slit of the cock was straight in front of Dave’s face and he could smell the unwashed cock.

‘So you take from me and now you pay back. You love the smell of my piss stained jockstrap so now you can suck the real thing, unwashed and smelling of several days of piss. Don’t think you are just going to lick my tool, you are taking the full length down that throat of yours.’

Dave could smell the rank cock in front of his face but the smell was like an aphrodisiac. It made him so horny and he knew the only thing he now wanted was to have the massive cock all the way down his throat

‘What are you fucking looking at. You don’t give blowjob just looking boy.’

Pete grabbed hold of Dave’s hair and pulled him in. For a moment Dave almost gagged at the smell but at the same time he wanted to savour the stench of the cock before swallowing it down his throat.

‘I want you to take the whole throbbing fucking length of my dick so your mouth is pressed up against my cock ring and you can taste the metal.’ With his free hand Pete wrapped his dirty hand around his shaft and pushed it to force Dave’s mouth open.

‘That’s it boy take my fucking stinking cock. Open yer mouth nice and wide.

As Dave opened his lips he felt the precum tip of cock force its way into his mouth and the smell of piss rode up through his nostrils. The more he smelt the piss the wider his mouth opened. 

Pete still held tight Dave’s hair pushing his head further and further up to take more and more of the throbbing shaft.

‘You love my cock don’t you. Wonder what Tony would think of you gagging to give his father a blow job. Not such a prissy boy now are you taking a workie’s dirty cock all the way down yer throat.’

Dave let his saliva work overtime to allow the cock to sink further and further into his throat.

The idea of sucking off Tony’s father was even more of a turn on. By now Dave’s cock was sore it was so hard in the jockstrap but he was so engaged in sucking he could not unzip himself.

‘Don’t even think of wanking yerself. I want all your concentration on my big cock.

‘That’s good boy I can feel my prick sliding down the back of your throat.. Nice and big for you. Not really a pay back though as you are loving it. Now I can see your lips touching my cockring. Feel the metal pushing against you and now you have the full length and can feel my precum slipping down inside you. It’s time to thrust this dick up and down inside that throat of yours.’

Dave did not need to be told what to do. With his mouth fully into Pete’s thick hairy bush, the piss smell ran through his body down to his own cock and the jockstrap was nearly ready to burst inside him. Pete took hold of Dave’s head with both hands and gripping him he started to move his prick back and forth at first slowly so he could savour Dave’s spit around his shaft.

‘You fucking know how to suck. Bet you have only ever sucked a boy off before but now you are giving a good workie blowjob. Keep your spit going boy as I love pumping you.’

Pete pushed in and out with greater speed taking his head almost to the edge of Dave’s lips so he could feel his helmet ridge on the point of coming out and then he rammed back in right up to his pubes. Faster and faster he pumped and the more he pumped the more Dave wanted.. 

‘Shit boy you are fucking great I am ready to fucking explode.’

With that Pete withdrew his cock grabbing his spit covered shaft and shed his thick white creamy cum over Dave’s face and down the front of his T shirt.

‘That’s it boy lick it all up around your face.’ 

Dave could feel the cum dripping down his chin onto his shirt. 

Having all the cum over him was too much for Dave’s cock and he exploded his load into Pete’s jockstrap the cum oozing out through the cotton and through his chinos forming a large stain in his groin.

‘Fucking great. That’s what I call a blowjob.’ Pete said and looking down at Dave and saw the large cum stain on his chinos.

‘Looks as if you enjoyed it too mate. You can’t go home looking like that all my cum on your shirt and now that nice big stain on your trousers.’

Strip off and I’ll get you something to go home in. But keep my jockstrap on as a minder as you obviously love it.’

Pete came back in with a Hi Viz short sleeved shirt and a pair of De Walt  grey workgear trousers , both covered in mud and grease marks.

They ain’t clean but at least better that all that cum. Go on and the get the fuck out of here and you can take a can of beer and this pack of ciggies with you.’

As Dave put on the gear thrown at him he could smell how much they had been used and it was as if they had been down the sewers with Pete. For a second Dave thought it would be better to wear his own gear but the smell of what he had been given was good and made him feel more like a man.

Pete looked at him. ‘They look for now as if they are a bit big but don’t worry about that. Keep the Hi viz waistcoat, tell you what, you are looking a bit more like a workie. So why don’t you come a see me at work and see that you think. It’s in Bank Street and you will see the portacabin. Come later tomorrow afternoon. OK?’

It seemed more of a command to Dave rather than something to consider. Besides, that had been the best blowjob ever and even now Dave could still smell the man’s cum as well as his piss and now the sewage smell of the borrowed clothes

‘I’ll bring this gear back to you.’

‘That’s up to you. So now get off I need a few beers after this.’

When Dave got home  the first thing he did was open the beer and slurp it down. There were 5 ciggies left in the packet Pete had given him. He was desperate to smoke them all just the way Pete had done. He hoped by smoking them all his hands would look covered in nicotine, just like Pete. He now loved puffing. Why the fuck had he never smoked before. In all the workie gear it seemed only natural to smoke, right down to the tip. He had decided to keep the clothes on when he went to bed. He wanted to feel  the Hiviz against his skin and he liked the smell of the gear he had been given. The clothes did seem a bit large but so what? The next morning he work up and the smell hit him. It felt great and when he got out of bed to look at himself he could not believe it, the clothes were no longer big but a snug fit, the yellow HiViz shirt was tight against his chest showing off a true 6 pack, the arms were bulging with muscles. He looked at the De Walt trousers. They were no longer too long but he seemed to have grown 4 inches and were now nice a tight around his crotch showing a decent bulge. He was almost looking like a workie but his hair was still that floppy fringe though he thought he seemed to have a darker heavier growth around his face. When he went to piss and opened up his flies to take his cock out from the jockstrap it seemed so tight in the jockstrap. The first thing to hit him was the rancid smell of piss and cum and then as he flipped his cock out to pee his cock was now thicker, really thick where it jutted out of his now dark really hairy pubes with a long foreskin sliding over his helmet.

‘Fuck’ he said ‘this looks a whopper. A real workie cock’

After breakfast we knew there was a place he needed to go to. The barbers. He chose a place he knew was frequented by the local workies having seen then sitting waiting for a cut with all their Hiviz gear on. There were a couple of guys being cut when he went in all in their HiViz They looked round and one said.

‘You’ve been down a fucking sewer mate. Doing a real dirty job eh.?’

Dave just smiled and sat down. One guy was then finished and left so Dave sat in the chair. The barber said

‘So what do you want?’

The other workie said “Get rid of that stupid long hair for a start’

Dave knew what to say. ‘I want you to take a razor to the sides and then cut the top to give me a full chav cut with a really short straight cut across the forehead.’

‘That’s it mate give him a real chav cut . Then he will start to look like a workie.’

The barber took the razor and gave a number one cut going on to give a real pudding bowl cut to his top.

Even the barber said, ‘That’s better mate I think we all agree this suits your clothing and as you are a workie then you need to look like one.’

The other workie got out the chair and leant over to whisper into Dave’s ear.

‘Great bod you go there mate Would like to see a bit more of that sometime. You could do with a few tats. I go to a place just right for a new boy. Gimme yer phone and I’ll give you my number. Us workies need to stick together.’

Dave handed his phone over as the guy typed in his number. As he did Dave looked at the guys crotch which had a good bulge showing in his Hi Viz.

As the guy handed back the phone he again whispered

‘I see what yer looking at. You won’t be disappointed. By the way I like yer smell a real turn on for us workies.’ And with that he paid and left the shop.

The barber smiled as he finished Dave off .’Think you have made a conquest there. That’s what a good chav haircut has done for you.’

Dave looked in the mirror, with his chav haircut and those muscles he really did look like a workie. Gone was the prissy student. He now wanted to go and show his friend’s father his new look so walked down to Bank Street and saw the portacabin door open.

Looking inside he saw Pete sitting at a desk who looked up and spluttered

‘Christ what a change in you boy. Thank fucking Christ you are now looking the part. A real little chavvy workie eh. See those rubber boots over there put them on. They are nice a dirty but that won’t matter when I take you down into the sewer. Also put the hard hat on, need to be safe. I’ll put a torch on mine so lets go. Dave caught sight of himself with the full kit on and with such a covering of mud on his clothes and the hard hat he could hardly believe the change.

Pete opened up the manhole and told Dave to climb down the ladder into the bottom tunnel. Once both were down Pete switched on the torch. The first thing Dave was aware off was the smell but it was only a stronger version of how he smelt. He breathed it in and found his cock starting to rise.

‘Like the smell now don’t you ‘Pete said. ‘Turns me on every time I am down here.’

Before Dave could reply Pete grabbed hold of Dave and spun him round pressing him up against the wall of the tunnel. Leaning in against Dave’s back Pete whispered in his ear. ‘You and I have some unfinished business. Its payback time again. First you steal my jockstrap but now you owe me for making you a man and Christ you now look fucking horny. And don’t tell me that having my dirty cock down yer throat you don’t want it up that nice bubble butt of yours. I know the idea of being fucked in a sewer by a real man turns you on.’

Pete took his big rough hands and let them ride over Dave’s cheeks and then placing his hands around Dave’s waist unbuttoned the workgear trousers pulling them down to his knees. Dave was now unable to move

‘I wanna fuck you with the jockstrap on, my jockstrap. Now stick that nice arse of your out to take my prick. ‘

As Dave did as commanded so Pete undid his flies and flipped his sweaty cock out letting a large godbof spit onto the shaft

‘I’m nice and sweaty after working down here today and you can feel that stick of my dick going right up to the hilt in yer arse.’

Dave now only wanted to be fucked Since giving Pete the blowjob he knew that he had to be fucked by this monster tool. Shit what could be better that being fucked in a sewer by his best friend’s father.

‘Go gentle will you please.’

‘That arse of yours could take a baseball bat so quit the pathetic tone with me. You had my cock rammed in your mouth so you managed that no prob. Then you can take my prick up inside you.’

Dave felt his cheeks being parted as Pete pressed against him. His cock searching for the hole

‘Nice big hole you got there mate. No probs taking my dick or perhaps you’d prefer the baseball bat?’

‘No just let me have your cock. Make me feel like a real workie being fucked.’

Dave could feel the spit on Pete’s head finding the hole and then the push. For a moment he winced as the head found its way into the hole. But once past he was ready for the full length of Pete’s shaft.  As Pete pushed his tool up the hole he put one hand to his mouth releasing a large gob of spit then put his arm around Dave’s head smearing the spit all over his face before wiping the dirt and muck off the wall in front of Dave and wiping that on top of the spit.

‘Now you look like a real dirty workie who has been down the sewer. Your vface all covered in sewer shit and spit. Bet you like the smell of my spit and the muck eh?’ 

‘Sure  it is making me feel like a real workie. Fuck any studies. This is what I want to be a real man always dirty with me beers and ciggies like you and have a good fuck with the lads.’

‘That’s what I knew you wanted as soon as I set eyes on you. Now take my cock right up to the hilt.’

‘Shove as far up as you want, I want to feel your spunk shooting right up my body and now your cock is so far up get my cock out of this jockstrap.’

Pete moved his hand down to Dave’s groin and peeled back the jockstrap to let Dave’s cock spring out. As it did so Pete grabbed hold of the shaft wrapping his hand around the throbbing cock.

‘Shit man you’ve got a good one there. Any workie would be glad to have that rammed up them. Now let me give you a good wank and have you shoot all over the sewer wall.’

As Pete slid his hand up and down the down the shaft so he pushed his own cock in and out with increasing ferocity his cock ring almost vanishing into Dave’s hole. Both men started groaning with pleasure and Pete leant forward to kiss the back of Dave’s neck. One hand was now round Dave’s waist so he could have full hold and the other was wanking faster and faster. He knew from the throbbing that Dave was on the point of orgasm and this made him so horny and ready to cum himself. Dave wiped some more sewer mucj off the wall to smear across his face. He wanted to feel fucking dirty

‘Let it go mate I’m about to shoot my load into that lovely arse of yours .’ Pete shouted

‘Fuck me man let me have every drop of your spunk.’ As Dave thrust his arse out to take in the full length of the cock so he came his spunk spurting out against the sewer wall. Pete unloaded his cum inside Dave making Dave feel as if it would come out his mouth such was the force of spunk.

Pete took his cock out giving a quick wipe before putting it back into his joggers.

‘No point is washing it mate. Smells better this way. As for you, cover that smeared cock of yours with the jockstrap and make it even more crusty

So Workie Dave, happy now?’

‘Too fucking right, this is the real me , a man and fucking workie. Give me all the dirty jobs. Who wants to wash when you can stink like this. Being fucked by my best mate’s father was awesome.’

‘Tell you what boy, why don’t you ask Tony to come home. You and I can have some fun and make a man out of him. That would be a turn on eh? Tony you and feel sucking and fucking.’

‘Fucking amazing’ Dave replied ‘ I’ve always wanted to get my cock up his arse.’

Dave then took his phone out of his pocket.

‘Being a workie sure gets the pick ups from the other guys. This real hot workie gave me his number and I reckon now my cock would love a good fuck and his bod looked just right. Plus he said he’d take me to his tattoo place. Can’t be a workie without a good few tats, just like you. Shit man give me a ciggie’ 

Handing over his packet Pete said

‘Well make sure we keep your workie gear on when you meet the guy’

‘Is there any other way to fuck?’

[sorryimananti-romantic]

Hearts Awakened, Live Alive

demon!mingi x human!reader

fantasy au (inspired by howl's moving castle)

word count: ~26k

genres: fluff, really angsty, suggestive, mention of hostage situation, violence warnings, whiplash warning lol

synopsis: you finally run away from the clutches of your stepmother and encounter mingi, infamously known as 'the child of shadows'. you join his gang of three- the high healer wooyoung and the white flame seonghwa and start living with them. you find out mingi is cursed to share a body with the shadow demon that goes by the name erebos and start falling for it and mingi eventually, though tragic consequences await you as you find out more about the demon's curse.

manager-nim: @eightmakesonebraincell (we were writing diff fics side by side on docs and messed up the tenses so bad)

The last thing you remembered as you woke up after what had to be another fainting spell was that your wrists had been tied together and you were locked in the tower of your house– but as you looked around and found nothing but the woods and greens of the forests, you started to feel dread creep up your chest and bubble out in the form of a short sob.

You spent only a few seconds trying to recall how you got here- you had run away from home and this time, you had succeeded, but now you needed to get as far away from the town as possible. You got up, not bothering to brush the leaves and dirt off your cloak and instead tried to figure out what direction you had been aiming for- the setting sun. Thankfully, it wasn’t dark just yet so you followed the rays of the sun and started running a little more carefully this time, head still dizzy from the overwhelmingness of the situation.

Sieun’s plan was perfect. She was one of the servants back at the castle house, a place that had once been your home when your father was still alive- under the reign of your stepmother, though, everything had gone to hell. She was the only one who had dared to help you escape and succeeded. You did not want to think about what had happened to those who failed.

You licked your dry lips and wondered if the sound of water you could hear was actually a stream or just a bait- afterall, this was a town of mages. It might be a trick to lure people- but…

There was someone else in your town now, someone feared by mages and humans alike. ‘The Child of Shadows’, they called him among his many other names. You had only heard rumours about him and you weren’t sure if they were true. What you did know was that as a mere human, you had to avoid him at absolutely all costs. You’d had enough of living in the shadows already.

The sun was starting to set so you decided to find shelter and followed the sound of the stream. The running water was cool to touch and you washed your face and hands before drinking it. You searched in the pockets of your cloak, finding a piece of bread and devouring it in a few bites, almost choking on it- you felt a sudden sense of dread when you realised that something about this whole situation was off-

Silence. It was awfully silent- you didn’t realise when the birds stopped chirping and the bugs stopped buzzing- not even the sound of a leaf in the air. The water and the unsteady beats of your heart were the only thing you could hear. You gulped, trying to recall when exactly the forest fell silent when you heard the sounds of leaves rustling behind you. You whipped your head around and pulled the knife out of your sleeve, pointing it at-

Not one, but a bunch of soldiers. You immediately put your knife back.

“Are you lost, miss?” One of them asked, a middle aged man with a unique moustache. “You look pale.”

“No, I… I’m travelling so I just stopped to eat-”

“Travelling? Alone?” Another soldier said, not buying your story. “Miss, you know the protocols, right? We would need to see your identification.”

This was it. 

Without any identification, travelling alone? They were going to put you behind bars. That would be better than going back to the dungeons of your house, you thought, as the little spark of hope you had been harbouring ever since you escaped started to dim-

“She’s not alone,” a deep, raspy voice boomed and for a moment you froze, wondering if it had reverberated inside you. You found yourself unable to turn, instead letting the source of the voice come in your vision.

Nothing about him screamed normal, from his ragged appearance to his unmistakable dark aura, and even the soldiers took a step back. You remained frozen as he passed you a glance- such sharp eyes- and dug something from his bag, showing it to the soldiers. They looked from the card to you and back, straightening, and as if a spell had been casted over them, they bowed and turned back to join their squad.

The man who had just saved you turned and you scanned him again- hair swept back in black and blue spikes adding more sharpness to his pointy features, the dark cloak on his broad body not helping with the air he exuded-

“Who are you?” You managed to ask, taking a step back and finally understanding why the soldiers had too.

He passed an awkward smile and held his bag close. “Just a passerby.”

“What did you show to the soldiers? And where did you come from?”

“So many questions for someone who’s travelling alone, in this state,” he glanced at your rags hidden under your cloak before stepping towards you and you reflexively pointed your knife at him, making him scoff in amusement. “I’m sorry but this knife won’t do much to me,” he waved a hand and the knife turned to ashes and you gaped at it.

“You’re a mage…” your heart sank to your feet- you really were done for this time. He shrugged and started down on the path, turning to you after a few steps.

“Aren’t you gonna follow me?”

You hated how his voice made you obey instantly- more out of curiosity than fear, which was new considering the stories you’d heard about mages. Your own experience with mages was not the best either. You cleared your throat, falling just a step behind him and matching his pace from there. “Where are we going?”

“Where are you going? You seemed to have run away,” he said casually. You wondered if he often encountered runaways on the road.

“I just need to get as far away from this town as possible,” you almost shivered and he nodded.

“I’m travelling anyway. I don’t mind if you join- as long as you don’t make too much noise.”

“I can be as silent as a pin,” you told him and he glanced at you in amusement. 

“Aren’t you scared of travelling with a stranger?” You ignored that, wondering what you would do if he tried something with you. However, his shoulders shook from laughter and he said, “Relax. I’m not alone either- I have company.”

You should have known that by company he meant more mages, and you were cursing internally at the thought of being surrounded by mages, because what if someone decided to take advantage of the fact that you were a mere human? Your stepmother had, even when she was human herself- and all she wanted was for you to hand over your assets to her. You wouldn’t put it past this bunch to not do the same.

What you didn’t expect was how incredibly normal they seemed. Their appearance? Not so much, but the way they approached the mage who accompanied you? You frowned as you watched their comfortable interaction- you couldn’t sense anything from them that would give you a hint of who they were, but you wondered if you were the only one who felt that dark, crushing aura of your companion. 

“And who’s our new guest?” The man with white hair approached with a gentle smile though he passed a sceptical glance at your companion. “Another one, Mingi? Already?” 

“What do you mean, already, it’s been a few decades. Don’t scare her off,” the shorter one tsk-ed at him and approached you with the warmest smile. “I’m Jung Wooyoung- you can call me Wooyoung. You might know me as the High Healer-”

“Wooyoung-”

“The High Healer?” You gasped.

Wooyoung folded his arms. “Yes?”

You looked at the other two in disbelief but when they didn’t react, you shook your head, trying to make sense of it. “You’re the High Healer.”

“I am,” Wooyoung’s voice was low and contained a hint of worry. “What’s the matter?”

You had been out to find him.

“Nothing, just-” you looked at the man who had accompanied you. “Who are you then?”

“Song Mingi,” he told you and you raised a brow, expecting more but he didn’t give in. You looked at the white-haired man.

“Park Seonghwa. The White Flame,” he muttered and you nodded- you had heard of him, alright. The Fallen Angel. You were wondering if that really was the case or if it was just a title he earned because he looked like one. “Did you lose your way while travelling?”

“I ran away,” you straightened- might as well pretend not to be a coward than quivering in their company. The healer hooted at that and you were once again surprised by the man’s behaviour- nothing like your father had told you. “You’re not how I imagined you to be.”

“Ah, I get that a lot,” he winked, “Everyone imagines a boring old balding man with a long beard, don’t they?”

“I mean,” you shrugged. “You are supposed to be old, aren’t you?”

“I’m not even that old,” he waved his hand dismissively. “They’ve got multiple centuries over me- they’re older.”

“Centuries?” You gaped at Mingi- you weren’t surprised about the White Flame- he was as old as time itself, and you wondered if part of his magic was exuding a calm air so you wouldn’t panic in his presence. Because nothing about the White Flame shook you to the core like Mingi’s presence did. 

“That’s enough,” Mingi exhaled. “Let’s go home.”

You followed the three, wondering what was up with this odd bunch- the White Flame and the High Healer living in the same place didn’t make sense at all. So who was this Song Mingi? You tried recalling anything that rung a bell, but-

You paused when the three abruptly stopped and watched Mingi wave a hand in the air, and what you saw next took your breath away- it was as if a layer of fog had been lifted and you could suddenly see-

“That’s your home?”

Ruins was what it was. A house falling apart on itself. It was as if someone had gathered planks of wood and nailed them wherever they could- there were windows, yes, but everything was absolutely crooked.

Mingi turned slowly to glare at you, once again making you gulp. Wooyoung butted in between the two of you. “The inside is not that bad, I promise.”

Mingi and Seonghwa ignored the two of you, talking in hushed voices as they started to go inside. You stood frozen in place, feeling an odd sense of danger and calm battling for dominance within you. Wooyoung nudged you along but when you stopped again, he asked, “Do you not want to come inside?”

“Should I?” You locked eyes with him. “I’ve heard you’re a good person, High Healer.”

“I’ve heard that too,” he said with a smug smile.

“People- humans trust you. You help them, right?” When he nodded, you continued. “Tell me then, would I regret joining the three of you? Even if it’s for just one night?”

“If it’s for one night? Not really. You could be on your way tomorrow. But if you choose to stay,” Wooyoung pursed his lips. “I can’t guarantee you won’t regret it.”

“Well, at least you’re candid about it,” you started walking and Wooyoung grinned. “Just know I wouldn’t be walking towards that ‘house’ right now if it weren’t for you.”

“You seem to know me,” Wooyoung’s eyes twinkled. “Have we met?”

You simply smiled- he wouldn’t know you. This was your first time meeting him as well, however, your father was acquainted with him. You decided not to mention it to him right now.

The house did look better inside, you had to agree- it was a mess, still, but it did look like people were actually living in it. Seonghwa was in the kitchen and you tried to let the image of the White Flame doing dishes sink in. Wooyoung was laughing loudly at your expressions and you awkwardly glanced around, taking off your cloak and sitting by the fireplace. 

“I always get such a kick out of whenever someone sees Seonghwa in the kitchen,” Wooyoung wiped his eyes, handing you a glass of what looked like orange juice which you gladly accepted. “Who would have thought the White Flame was obsessed with keeping his kitchen clean, right?”

“I don’t know where all of you got the impression that I would be doing something else,” Seonghwa muttered. “I have a house to manage and two kids to take care of.”

“Two children?” You frowned and Wooyoung guiltily raised his hand, you realised he was referring to Wooyoung and Mingi as the two kids. You looked at Wooyoung, “Well, where are the others?”

“What others?”

“You said you get a kick out of people watching Seonghwa in the kitchen. Do you often have visitors or are there others here?”

When Seonghwa and Wooyoung met eyes and shared a look, you knew whatever he’d tell you would be a lie so you decided to ask something else. “What happens to those who decide to stay with you for longer than a day?”

“You’re very sceptical of us,” Seonghwa tossed the washcloth in the sink and folded his arms as he leaned against the counter to almost glare at you. “If you’re going to keep asking questions when we’ve given you shelter, you might as well leave at the crack of dawn.”

And, there it was. Your suspicions that Seonghwa was making a conscious effort to emanate a calm air were confirmed when you felt a shift in the air and something heavy started settling in your heart, making your throat feel tight. Wooyoung called Seonghwa’s name in warning.

“Let’s be patient with a curious guest, we don’t often get that,” he waved dismissively and Seonghwa went back to fiddling with the utensils. You didn’t realise how hard you were clutching the glass until Wooyoung patted your back. “Don’t mind him. He’s so old he gets cranky sometimes. Would you like to take a tour of the mansion?”

“Mansion?” You almost laughed and he grinned.

“What better name to call this beauty?” He looked around and as if on cue, a pipe at the far end of the room burst, spraying water and startling all of you. Seonghwa muttered a curse under his breath before he went to examine it and you turned to the healer in amusement.

“Sure,” you smiled. “I would like a tour.”

—--------------------

The thing about mages was that they did not care for humans. They really, really didn’t- they were not humans. They would not understand the simple human struggles, such as why they always think selfishly- humans had a shorter lifespan after all, unlike most mages. Mages also didn’t quite understand that some humans had more things to worry about than death- there were more important things.

Such as finally being able to live.

You were sitting in front of the fireplace in the middle of the night, not quite sleepy. You reckoned it was because you still hadn’t made a decision- did you want to leave? What would you do if you left? How far could you make it travelling on your own, really? Sooner or later, someone was going to take advantage of you and you would meet a fate worse than death- something similar to what your life had been before you finally ran away from home.

And if you decided to stick with these mages… 

“What are you doing here?” 

You turned to the source of voice, identifying his presence first. Mingi. Why did his voice feel different this time? You straightened your dress and posture, not feeling a need to answer, wondering if it was the lack of sleep that was making you hear things-

“I asked you something.”

You frowned as you looked at him again- yes, he was Mingi, but why did he sound… different? 

“Just… thinking.”

“About?”

“I thought you’d know that- it is you all who gave me the ultimatum,” you narrowed your eyes as you scanned him- he was wearing a cloak. Was he going out at this hour of the night? 

“Ah, did we?” He suddenly sounded… cockier. You watched him step closer and pick something from the mantel and bury it in his pockets before you could see it. When he turned, you noticed the colour of his eyes now that the fire illuminated half of his face-

His eyes were almost glowing.

“Say, would you like some fresh air?” He suggested and you all but gaped at his sudden change of demeanour. 

“Why would I go out to get some fresh air with someone I don’t even know at this hour of the night?”

“Well, you are staying in a house with three strangers who just happen to be mages, aren’t you?” He shifted his weight to one leg. “I told them not to let more of you humans in, but they always insist it’s for ‘the better’.”

“Why?” You dared to ask.

“Why would mages welcome human company, right?” Mingi scoffed. “Think about that before you go to sleep tonight, little bird.”

Even though your heart sank, you dared to ask, “Would you mind if I stayed?”

His almost devilish smirk made you wish you had never asked that. He stepped closer, slowly, until he was right in front of you and you had to crane your neck to meet his eyes. You let him trace the side of your face, feeling in your bones first that this wasn’t the person you had met in the woods, not the one with the warm smile who had saved you, not the one who had been so hesitant to meet your eyes.

This wasn’t Song Mingi.

“Who are you?” You almost whispered and his eyes twinkled.

“I’m the shadows that you fear, little bird,” his voice sounded ancient, spreading like the very shadows he mentioned around you. He patted your cheek once, almost condescendingly, before disappearing and you wondered just what you were getting into. “And you should fly away when you still have the chance.”

You, of course, decided to stay. Simply out of spite.

You have always been like this. When your father died, you were far too young to exercise your authority and influence as the inheritor of the noble title and all of his assets, and you let your stepmother take advantage of you as you succumbed to grief. But as the grief started becoming something like background and you finally realised how you were trapped, you decided you would never let anyone get the better of you again.

Your stepmother had treated you like an inconvenience, and as you started rebelling, it took the shape of an ugly war. You, however, did not have anyone who had your back. Your stepmother had influence around town and she used that, hired mages to put wards around her house to keep you from leaving. You always asked her why she wouldn’t simply let you go. Perhaps, she was afraid she would lose. But it got to the point that you wondered if she was paranoid- especially when she started using numbing potions on you, locking you in a room in the tower. 

Now that you hadn’t had that potion in two days, it was as if you were finally regaining your senses. The world was clearer and you felt awake for once. You owed it all to Sieun who had gained your stepmother’s trust, only to pretend to give you those numbing potions and a chance to run away. You could do nothing but pray she wasn’t locked in that tower like you, that she didn’t meet a fate worse than you did.

So maybe, it was spite. Maybe you simply didn’t want to be told what to do anymore that you decided to stick with this odd group of mages and see where it took you- after all, you had nowhere to go.

But it was also slightly because you knew you could trust the healer because your father had told you so, and because you were so intrigued about who this Song Mingi was. He had to be someone you had heard about- he felt too powerful to be a simple mage. He was too old to be a simple mage. The White Flame you had heard enough tales about. But…

A knock sounded on your door and you, who had been in the middle of making the bed, cleared your throat. The door opened and a mess of white hair greeted you, eyes curious. 

“I’m surprised you didn’t run away in the night,” Seonghwa commented and you shrugged. “Slept well?”

“Not really, but that’s the nerves,” you finished straightening the duvet, glancing around. “And might also be the abundance of spiders in your ‘beautiful mansion’.”

“Ah, I swear I cleaned this room two days ago but the spiders keep coming,” he stood awkwardly in the doorway and you had to stop and stare at him- was he actually taking you seriously? “So you decided to stay?”

“For now,” you nodded slowly. “If you’re fine with it?”

“Oh, I don’t care,” Seonghwa admitted. “Wooyoung would love to talk to someone else other than the two of us too.”

“And… Mingi?”

Seonghwa raised a brow and you felt a shift in the air that almost made you bend. You frowned in confusion but Seonghwa was eyeing you knowingly. “Did you talk to him in private or something?”

“In the middle of the night…” you told him. “He basically told me to go away.”

“Ah. But you’re staying?”

“Yes,” you folded your arms. “That’s not a problem, is it?”

“Not at all,” he said with a smile that didn’t quite meet his eyes. “But a word of advice for you- stay in your own room during the night. You don’t want to see things that you won’t like.”

You narrowed your eyes at him. “That’s for me to decide, but thank you.”

Seonghwa shook his head in mild amusement. “I guess the potion is wearing off.”

“You can tell?” You wowed. Of course he could. He was a mage. 

“You’re not the same person who almost cowered at our feet,” he tilted his head up a fraction, making you wonder if he was looking down at you- in every sense possible. “I like you better this way, but now I know what to do if you become too much-”

“You would not-”

Seonghwa paused- you sounded like a wounded animal but there was a hint of threat in there which made him intrigued despite himself. Somehow, he could relate to you in that moment, share the sense of once being trapped by your own people even though a lifetime had passed for him. 

“I would not,” he assured you, this time without a smile. “Join us for breakfast?”

You exhaled somewhat in relief and followed him downstairs, surprised to see everyone on the table. You wondered if ‘breakfast’ was a regular thing here. You could not remember the last time you sat at a table to eat- you were too used to seating yourself in corners. 

And you could not move when Seonghwa pushed out a chair for you. When he cleared his throat, you finally came back to your senses and sat, studying the others. Wooyoung waved at you and Mingi seemed to be too interested in his almost finished plate.

“Help yourself,” Wooyoung pushed a plate of eggs towards you. “I’m a good cook.”

“I’m sure you are…” you felt the need to take a nibble first, see if you could detect the faint scent of lavender in it which was a key ingredient for any numbing potion- however, you knew that the White Flame could probably read your thoughts from your body language alone. He was called the ‘Seer of the Hearts’ for a reason. So you stomped on your hesitation and took a bite-

Of the most heavenly eggs you could have ever tasted.

“There’s no way you did not mix magic in that,” you muttered to yourself, mostly, but Wooyoung caught that.

“I do not mix magic with my daily routine, I’m a healer,” Wooyoung laughed. “I’m glad you think it’s good. People here don’t really appreciate good food and the effort behind it, you know?”

You glanced at Mingi who sported a faint smile. “Tastes normal enough to me.”

You knew they were teasing each other- bickering back and forth so naturally in an argument about who was the best cook in the house. You couldn’t help but wonder if that is how they usually were, and Mingi-

He sounded like the same person you had met in the woods. Not the one who talked to you last night. No hint of that cockiness nor a sharp glint in the eyes. He sounded warm.

“Well,” Mingi, who had just finished eating, spoke out loud, seemingly addressing you and you straightened, breaking out of your trance. “Have you decided if you want to stay?”

“So the decision is in my hands?” You asked with a raise of brow, not able to hold yourself back. Seonghwa looked at you in warning but you ignored that. “I thought you decided for me last night.”

And then something flashed in his eyes making you wonder if you were imagining it. “Sorry if it seemed that way.”

Again, you were confused. “I think I’ll stay after all, and see what exactly are those shadows that I should fear.”

That made Mingi drop his fists on the table as he almost glared at you.

“You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Mingi-”

“No,” Mingi interrupted Wooyoung. “If she’s staying, she should know who I am. She should know to stay away from me- and she shouldn’t be here for much longer. There’s only so much I can do about this.”

You wiped your hands as you processed what he said- you had asked him who he was last night.

“Take it slow,” Seonghwa reminded him softly. “We do not make our guests feel unwelcome, Mingi, you know that.” 

Mingi slumped back in his seat then, muttering an apology and you did the same, making the High Healer stifle his smile. “Kids, both of you. You should know that Mingi is publicly called ‘The Child of Shadows’ though, before you decide to stay. We don’t want you to think that we tricked you into staying or something.”

Seonghwa groaned loudly but you couldn’t hear that, because-

The Child of Shadows. 

You had heard enough tales about him. The mage who could make you think you were blind in broad daylight. The mage who drove the best insane, the one who made you face years worth of nightmares in a second. The Cursed, the Prophesied, they also called him, though you had heard quite a bit of variations of that one. Cursed why? Prophesied to do what? The question remained even after centuries-

Centuries over you, these three mages had. You had never felt smaller in your life before, so insignificant, so-

When Seonghwa called your name, that’s when you broke out of your trance. You found yourself out of breath and locked eyes with Mingi again. 

I’m the shadows that you fear, little bird. And you should fly away when you still have the chance.

His words from last night rang in your head and you sighed internally. It was a miracle you were alive right now, but then you supposed if you didn’t encounter them, you would have been dead anyway. So you cleared your throat, reeling yourself back in. “I’m here.”

“I understand that you are scared,” Seonghwa smiled. “He doesn’t have the best reputation, does he?”

“None of you have, except The High Healer,” you looked at Wooyoung who smiled proudly. “I just don’t know what to believe. I know your magic is keeping me calm- part of it anyway,” you admitted to Seonghwa who seemed genuinely surprised that you knew. “But I don’t know what to expect.”

Seonghwa looked at Mingi who kept his face void of any emotions. “The Child of Shadows… There's a very simple reason he is called that. And he’s not as bad as they made him to be- I can vouch for that.”

“I’d like to believe that,” you almost whispered and Mingi met your eyes, something like understanding passing between you two- you had no idea what exactly you understood of Mingi now, but somehow, you weren’t sour about the events of last night anymore. “Mages must struggle with their own magic too, as humans struggle with… being human.”

Seonghwa smiled knowingly at Mingi who awkwardly stood up, glancing at the three of you. “I have some business in town so if you need something, let me know now. I’ll be back in the evening and then we will move.”

“Move where?” You asked.

“We’re travellers,” Wooyoung sighed dramatically. “We don’t have a place we can call home.”

“But what about this… mansion?” You asked, making the three chuckle. 

You were in for a surprise. In the evening, after you spent the rest of the day lurking around and watching Seonghwa prepare food and Wooyoung experiment with his potions, Mingi arrived, seeming out of breath, hair all messy as if he had been on the run. Your suspicions were confirmed when he talked with Seonghwa in hushed voices and the two went outside. You glanced at Wooyoung who was observing you already.

“It’s normal. No one really likes them. Me, though? I’m the only reason we get to stay in one place for a while.”

You reckoned it was true- the High Healer was a mage that every human wanted to meet at least once in their lifetime- and not because he was a ‘healer’. His wisdom was for the books, though you had to say you never imagined the High Healer was this cheeky personally. You wondered if he was like this with everyone.

“You still haven’t told me how we’re gonna travel. Don’t you need to pack or something?”

Wooyoung smirked yet again, like he had been doing ever since the morning whenever you inquired about their means or mode of travel. You passed him an annoyed look and the doors burst open, the two looking as calm as they could.

“Fuel the engines, Wooyoung,” Seonghwa ordered. “I’m going to the roof- Mingi will wait until it’s time.”

“Fuel what engines?” Your voice shook and you went for the window to get a look outside, not finding any sort of a transport, much less one with an engine. You turned to see Wooyoung at the fireplace with one hand in the fire and you had to swallow an instinctive scream. Seonghwa had disappeared and you felt a tap on your arm.

“You might want to take a seat,” Mingi motioned to the table. “First time can be scary.”

“I don’t understand,” you confessed. 

“You’ll see,” he placed a hand on your back, urging you to do as he said. Unconvinced, you sat down and braced yourself for the biggest surprise of your life- 

It started with Wooyoung shouting okay and Seonghwa responding. When the utensils on the table started shaking a bit, you wondered if there was an earthquake and almost screamed when you felt the floor rock. You could practically feel the foundations of the house shaking as it rose, finally earning a scream from you which went unnoticed. You spotted Wooyoung who looked amused and you finally got it then.

This house moves.

You had never heard of such a thing in your life. Not even in the stories. Your horror turned into something like surprise and perhaps a little bit of glee as you walked cautiously towards Wooyoung, holding on to whatever was near for support and when he extended his hand, you took it.

“I could have had a heart attack, Wooyoung,” you finally laughed, more in disbelief.

“And that’s why they have a healer here,” his eyes twinkled with amusement and you found him scanning your face. You realised it was your first time laughing in years and your smile fell but you let a hint of it remain. 

“How do you do it?”

Wooyoung explained the mechanics- it was basically running due to Seonghwa. They had figured this mechanism out a few decades ago- Wooyoung, who had a fire affinity, would fuel the house through the fireplace. The house had a soul at this point which was thanks to Seonghwa, and he admitted even he did not know how Seonghwa did it. You realised why he adored this house then, despite its tattered form- and perhaps, it was tattered due to all the travelling they did.

You also learned that without Mingi’s magic the house could not move. The shadows materialised and binded the house in places you could not see and they also worked as tyres. Wooyoung showed you how it looked through the window and you were amazed. You spotted Seonghwa dangling from the edge of the roof, moving his limbs as if he himself was driving the house but when he looked down and waved, you figured it must be for the initial kick. 

“So where’s Mingi?” You finally asked, unable to hold back your curiosity.

“Outside the space in his room, maybe,” Wooyoung considered for a second. “You can go and see him if you like. You don’t have to be scared of him.”

You pursed your lips and when you started to inch away, Wooyoung smiled, motioning at you to go ahead. You started climbing the stairs, heart filled with profound feelings of appreciation for the structure that was doing its best to simply remain and not fall apart. A house built on magic and friendship- on love. You could appreciate that, because you knew that no matter how pretty or magnificent a house could look, it could still be the ugliest place to live in and feel like a prison.

You didn’t knock on his door since it was wide open and you could spot him standing outside with his hands extended towards the front, shadows surrounding him- black, inky fog. You figured he would detect your presence anyway so you just watched, not once feeling fear- strange since the townspeople cried when they heard his name-

Why? What had he done to earn that reputation? You did not understand how the Child of Shadows you knew from the rumours and stories from people around you was the same person who had the warmest gaze at times, who looked almost scared at times- especially when he had come back today.

However, it was not the warm gaze that greeted you when he turned his neck back to look at you. It was the same glowing eyes from last night- the ones that looked like silver stars dipped in shadows. And when his lips curved not in a smile but a smirk, you knew that he was not the same person you had breakfast with today.

Swallowing, you stepped forward as if possessed by those very shadows, as if they were moving your feet in the first place. You stopped by the window- the entrance to the little space outside, when he finally spoke.

“You stayed, little bird.”

You didn’t answer but stood beside him and watched how the magic worked. When you finally spoke, it was to say, “You’re not Mingi.”

“That’s the quickest a stranger has guessed, and the calmest they have been,” it smiled- this time, it was void of taunt. “What made you stay when I warned you of the consequences?”

“Exactly that,” you admitted, peeking up at it, liking how focused it looked. “I’ll die anyway.” 

Mingi- or whoever was in that body, shrugged, so you asked it. “What are you?”

“Humans called me a demon before I possessed this body, so maybe I am a demon.”

You considered that- was that why Mingi was called the Child of Shadows? A shadow demon of sorts? 

“Well, what’s your name then?”

It paused, the outstretched arms falling back as it turned to look at you and consider your question- in all of its time as a demon in a human vessel, no one had ever bothered to ask its name. Such a simple, human question yet it felt something bubbling in its throat- perhaps those human emotions it despised. Perhaps it was Mingi fighting back for conscious control. Whatever it was… the demon found it so strange that someone was not immediately quivering and kneeling despite the visible shadows around it, despite the knowledge that it was a demon as old as time, perhaps. 

As if someone was looking at the demon itself for the first time- not Mingi’s eyes, but its own eyes.

“I might have forgotten my name,” it admitted. “I haven’t been called by my name in aeons.”

Aeons. Your heart sank and the demon felt that, but did not comment. 

“What do they call you then? They must refer to you by some name, right?”

“They just call me Erebos.”

“So you won’t tell me what your name is?”

Again. The demon found itself looking at you and for the first time in a while, a genuine chuckle escaped it. You, amused, turned to look at the stretch of the night sky, not wanting it to feel satisfaction- if it could feel anything in the first place.

“You’re funny, little bird. I quite like you already.”

You shrugged. “I bet you say that to every human who talks to you. A demon starved of company.”

This time, it roared in laughter and you couldn’t help but compare it to the sound of Mingi’s own laughter you had heard in the morning. Somehow, this one sounded more human than Mingi’s own laugh. “Feisty. You’re not like this when you’re talking to Mingi. You sounded like you hated him.”

“It’s not him I hate, he saved me. He was the one who saved me, right?” You asked and it nodded. “It’s you who confused me. I didn’t know you were… two separate people. How does that even work? Where is Mingi now?”

“So many questions,” it tsk-ed. “Mingi saved you. It was me last night. Mingi during the day, and me right now. Since we have to live in one body, we might as well get along and divide our hours, was the White Flame’s genius plan.”

“And is… is Mingi here right now?” You looked at him.

“Over the years, we’ve started sharing our consciousness. We might not always be able to control it, but we can see, hear and feel what the other does.”

Oh. So Mingi was there last night too. And he was probably here, watching you interact with the demon who had possessed his body. 

“Why did you possess him?”

The demon’s smile fell right as it heard the question and it almost glared at you. You understood why but you refused to cower under its scrutinising gaze. “That is not something you ask a demon, little bird.”

If you had any more questions, they were lost with the shadows now. Its gaze was hard and unwelcoming and you thought you might have made a mistake. You didn’t leave, though. Somehow, these shadows were still comforting enough.

—-----------------------

You may have given Erebos some company last night, but Mingi was hell-bent on pretending you did not exist. You supposed it was awkward for him too- to watch from afar, someone inside him taking control of his thoughts and actions. You were not sure what to make of it- did he not want you talking to Erebos at all? Even Seonghwa, who had warned you to stay in your room at nights, didn’t say much when he spotted you and the demon sharing silence.

Somehow, that seemed to weigh on your mind more than the fact that you were not in your town anymore. You had travelled all through the night and stopped at the vast expanse of field that bordered the river in the neighbouring town. Most of the day was spent sleeping and you finally woke up around sunset when you heard the faint tinkling of utensils in the kitchen. After washing up, you peeked through your door and spotted Seonghwa who seemed to sense you, turning around with a smile.

“Breakfast- or I suppose, dinner is ready,” he tasted one of the dishes and nodded to himself in satisfaction. You joined him near the counter and fiddled with the ends of your plain emerald dress that had ‘magically’ appeared in your wardrobe after Mingi went to town yesterday. 

“The others?” You asked.

“Wooyoung’s out cold, Mingi is outside inspecting our new location,” he told you. “I hope we get to stay here longer this time. It’s beautiful here.”

“Really?” The sound of creaks filled the room as you walked towards the window and you audibly gasped as you took in the pink and golden hues reflecting on the crystal clear river with hills across it, the fluffiest clouds in the sky and the grass a beautiful, darker shade of green than you had seen in the forest. 

You also spotted Mingi, standing at the back of the river and staring into the distance. With a nod from Seonghwa who muttered something about him waking Wooyoung up, you stepped outside and inhaled the scent of wet mud which calmed your otherwise raging nerves. You cautiously walked towards the looming figure and cleared your throat, making him glance back at you.

“Uh, dinner is ready,” you said, hating the way you sounded. You scanned his eyes and confirmed it was Mingi. 

Even though he didn’t answer, you remained standing a few feet behind him, drowning in questions that you wished to ask but didn’t have the guts to- why was talking to the demon somehow easier than talking to the human? Before you could open your mouth to ask something that was already at the tip of your tongue, Seonghwa shouted for you two to get inside and you clicked your tongue in annoyance, not waiting for him this time as you returned to the house. 

The silence that hung uncomfortably during dinner almost made you choke. You saw Seonghwa cautiously glance between you and Mingi multiple times, and if Wooyoung had not been so sleepy, he might have dared to comment on it. As soon as Mingi finished eating, he dropped his plates in the sink and said something about going into his room. When he disappeared, it felt like you could finally breathe.

“Is Mingi avoiding me?” You asked, worried you were disturbing the peace in this house- you had heard him laugh with the other two when you were not present and it hurt you that he was shutting you out more as time passed. “Is it because of something I did?”

“It’s just because he doesn’t like anyone interacting with Erebos,” Wooyoung answered. “It took us a lot of time to find the balance between our interactions with Erebos and Mingi too.”

“Well,” you pouted. “He should have warned me himself then, shouldn’t he?”

The two shrugged, perhaps used to these mood swings. You pouted further. “He shouldn’t have saved me in the forest and asked me to accompany him then.”

“You should say that to Mingi,” Wooyoung was stifling a smirk. “See how he answers that.”

“Wooyoung,” Seonghwa warned, turning to you. “Mingi helps anyone who needs it. We help anyone who needs it, because we all know what it is like to feel trapped and helpless. Mingi knows that better than any of us, so do not question him on that. Just… give him some time. He’ll warm up to you.”

You sighed deeply, understanding. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay,” Seonghwa smiled. “You’ll be fine.”

You did not go to find Erebos that night, waiting instead for Mingi the next morning at the same spot he had been in yesterday, at the bank of the river. And surprisingly, it was him who joined you with a book this time.

“Are you feeling well?” He inquired and you tried not to let the surprise show on your face. 

“I am, thank you for asking,” you tucked the hair that blew with the breeze back in the clip. “Are you okay?”

“Why would I not be okay?” He glanced at you.

“Are we okay?” You rephrased it and he sighed.

“I’m sorry if I was being an ass. You’ve… met Erebos, right?” You nodded and he continued. “Over time, I’ve learned to cohabitate with the demon in my body. It wasn’t always so manageable but it’s unusual for a human body to contain a demon within it for such a long period of time.”

Human body. Mingi was once human.

“Do you wish to be free?”

Mingi smiled at that. “I was anything but free when I was human. Ironically, the demon possessing me gave me more freedom than I ever had. I guess that is why we can tolerate each other now.”

“Why did you say you want me to stay away from you then?” You asked, curiosity taking the better of you.

Mingi’s smile seemed to be painful. “Why would you not stay away from a demon, y/n?”

“But you’re human… aren’t you? Or a mage now,” you wondered out loud. “Should I stay away from you too?”

Mingi didn’t answer that. He opened his book and scrolled through a few pages, buying time to think. You kept watching him- it felt like he was finally opening up to you, still so cautious and hesitant. “I don’t know.”

Despite the impending sense of danger, you found your frown relaxing and lips curving into a smile and when Mingi saw you, he smiled back.

Perhaps, this was the first step the two of you took together. 

“I’d say we should stay away from you,” Mingi found himself saying with a teasing tone. “You humans are always so reckless. And that smile is unnerving.”

Your smile widened. “You don’t get human company often, do you?”

Mingi’s smile fell again and you decided it wasn’t a topic they wanted to talk about- neither of them. You cleared your throat. “Thank you for saving me that day. I don’t think I got the chance to thank you.”

“It’s nothing,” he shook his head, looking back at his book. “I felt your senses numbed because of the potions. I couldn’t simply leave you be.”

“Thank you for today too,” you almost whispered.

“Today?”

“For finally talking to me- I thought you were cross with me,” you explained. 

“I still am, a little, just not with you,” he admitted, sighing deeply. “I don’t like the way Erebos talks to you, if I’m honest. It’s new.”

You pursed your lips- that explained his behaviour and the way he avoided you. He continued, “I won’t stop you from interacting with Erebos. Just be careful, okay?”

You nodded and sank your feet in the bare grass as Mingi went back to reading his book, the silence between you two comfortable for the first time.

—--------------------

You were settling into a routine in the house and it seemed like they had accepted you as a housemate.

It would have been much more difficult if it weren’t for the White Flame’s warm nature. You wondered how time hadn’t hardened him- he was more considerate than any human or mage you had ever met. You found his nature almost doting as he instructed you on the tasks you had to practically beg to share. As he taught you how to fix broken pipes or dangling planks, you shared stories of your life. He learned that you had been a servant in your own house before your stepmother resorted to imprisoning you in the tower because you tried to run away a few too many times. 

You learned that he wasn’t an angel at all- he was also a demon, though a different kind than Erebos. He resembled angels too much- both in his appearance and mannerisms and was outcasted by the demons. The angels didn’t accept him either. That’s how he earned one of his names ‘The Fallen Angel’, though he complained about the inaccuracy. You asked him if he was still calming you with his magic when you were around him, and he revealed that he had stopped doing that when you decided to stay. 

When Seonghwa was busy, you were with Wooyoung who didn’t have a fixed room for his experiments- he would drag his bag of potions anywhere he pleased and make home there, much to Seonghwa’s annoyance, though his smile would betray him. He filled any room with his presence, with his annoying but lovable loud laughter, with his stories and jokes. You finally told him that he had once come to your home and treated your father when he was suffering from the plague a few years ago, the one that took his life. He remembered that and was very surprised to learn that you were that man’s daughter.

“He told me I could trust you if the time ever came,” you had explained. “He told me to find you if things ever went south. I think he knew what was coming but couldn’t do anything about it.”

“He was a wise man,” Wooyoung had admitted. “And he couldn’t stop talking about you while I tried to heal him. You were so young, y/n. What did they do to you? You used to live like a princess.”

And that was the first time in years you shed tears for the life that was taken from you. When you cried, Seonghwa passed you a cup of tea and Wooyoung continued burning incense, muttering something about how some humans were worse than monsters. They let you cry in silence for as long as you wanted.

That night, it was Erebos who found you sitting on the roof, legs dangling. It tsk-ed as it nudged your thigh with its bare foot.

“I’m trying to attempt shadow-travel but I can’t focus because I can practically smell your tears and grief.”

“Shadow-travel?” You asked, and he scoffed at the curiosity behind your glazed eyes.

“I have some business to take care of in town, and it’s quicker to travel that way.”

“What business would you have?”

“I, too, have a life,” it slumped down next to you. “Would you like to join, little bird?”

“Can I?” You asked, wondering if Mingi would be okay with it in the morning.

“Yes, Mingi would be okay with it,” it rolled its eyes. “Can practically hear your thoughts.”

You stifled a grin, wiping your eyes. “Shall I get my cloak then?”

Erebos showed you around town- you decided to walk instead of shadow-travel- travelling that way with a human was risky business, it explained. You felt nostalgic as you walked in the lantern-lit streets, the smell of food and smoke filling you with an unexplainable glee in your heart. Erebos made you sit on one of the benches with a sandwich to keep you busy while it disappeared in the shadows. You didn’t complain- you were more than pleased to simply sit and observe the bustle. You hadn’t had such luxury in a while.

You almost didn’t notice the commotion behind you until you heard the faint sound of screams and you whipped your head towards the source, wondering where Erebos had disappeared. You decided to stick to its strict order not to move from this bench until it found you. Moments later, the demon was back, the people making way for it and you gaped at it.

“At least wipe the smug look off your face,” you muttered, making it grin. “What were you doing?”

“I don’t like unfinished business- especially when it’s people trying to start things that shouldn’t be messed with in the first place.”

You gulped at the threatening tone and it shook its head. “I can taste your fear, little bird.”

“I’m human, demon,” you taunted, making it laugh. “And I do not want to know what happened there. Just tell me if you hurt innocent people.”

“I may be a demon but I have morals too,” it tsk-ed in disappointment and you shrugged, falling in step with it as you went further away from town. “I never attack a human first.”

You asked why it needed morals when it was a demon and could do as it pleased. It told you that demons weren’t like how humans sketched them out to be in their poems and tales- they were much more than that. Despite being dark in nature, they weren’t consumed by evil just like humans weren’t all good, and angels not all that pure. Even as you reached the house, you spent the night learning about how demons were creatures with strict principles that they followed. You learnt that demons could feel emotions too, though time hardened them and morphed them, often into something unrecognisable. Erebos appreciated Seonghwa and told you how it was saved by him when it found itself in Mingi’s body, and how ever since they met Wooyoung, he was trying his best to make it easier for the two to cohabitate in one body.

And every time you interacted with the demon, just before you parted ways for the night, you would ask its name and it would look at you with unreadable eyes. You never got an answer.

Though your appreciation for Seonghwa and Wooyoung grew, you couldn’t help but appreciate Erebos too, you told it, for simply cooperating when it could have given up and taken control of Mingi long ago. It smiled and told you it wasn’t always so compliant and only settled down when it learned that it needed to find a way to leave this vessel without dying.

Mingi, you felt, was making a conscious effort to check up on you everyday- especially if you interacted with Erebos the night before. He never asked why or what you talked about, and you thought it was for the better. Since everyone else treated them as separate persons, you might as well too. 

But it was so hard to look at Mingi and not see his lips curled in a smirk- something that you had started to look forward to, an expression that once put distaste in your mouth but now made your heart skip a beat. It was hard to see his eyes and not find the twinkle of stars in his dark irises. It was hard to hear his voice and not find it almost echoing within your skull.

And tonight, as your feet padded down the stairs, wanting to get fresh air having just woken up from a nightmare that you were back in the tower, you found Mingi relaxing in the sofa seat next to the fireplace-

Not Mingi. Erebos.

“Way past your bedtime, little bird,” it said without looking at you.

“Very unlike you to just sit and stare at the fire… demon,” you countered, watching its body shake with laughter as you went to the kitchen to drink water. You joined it, sitting on the other seat with the glass half full. “No hunting humans tonight?”

“There’s you,” it commented. “I don’t even need to go to town.”

This time, your heart didn’t sink to your feet in fear but skipped a beat, drawing a frown on its face. You sipped the water, suddenly very interested in the burning fire as you recovered. 

“Someone couldn’t sleep well.”

“Right,” you sighed. “Do you need sleep?”

“Not at all.”

“You’re abusing Mingi’s body with lack of sleep.”

“He can sleep as long as he pleases when it’s his shift,” Erebos waved a hand in dismissal. “I have better things to do.”

“Definitely,” you muttered and Erebos raised a brow before leaning forward so it could meet your eyes.

“I don’t like that mocking tone, little bird.”

Though it was meant to threaten you, you rolled your eyes simply because Erebos was looking like it was enjoying this way too much. “Mean it when you say it then.”

Erebos clenched its jaws before relaxing back. “You’re not like this when you talk to Mingi or the others.”

You mirrored its posture. “You’re different.”

Perhaps, that’s not how you should have worded it. You saw Erebos’s eyes flash before you could correct yourself, its fists clenching and unclenching as if it was trying to control a response. You cleared your throat. “I mean… they don’t go around calling me ‘little bird’ and try to scare me or something. Wooyoung said it might be because you feed on fear.”

“Wooyoung was right, and I’ve been starving recently,” it licked its lips. “You’ve stopped fearing me, little bird. Not like you used to. I don’t know what to make of it.”

“That’s such a shallow way of thinking!” You couldn’t help the outburst. “When’s the last time you had a friend other than Seonghwa and Wooyoung?”

“They’re not my friends.” This time, Erebos’s voice did shake you. “They’ve been trying to get rid of me ever since they met me.”

“They’re trying to help you both,” you corrected and Erebos scoffed. “Do you like pushing people away? Do you like being alone, Erebos?”

“I’m not human enough to crave company or ‘like’ anything,” Erebos replied. “But I suppose I prefer when a certain human is not eating my ears off.”

You deadpan stared at the demon and it laughed in response. You shook your head, getting up. “Well, you can have the rest of the night with the one you love the most- your own self.”

Before you could take your third step, your wrist was grabbed and you were pulled towards a body- Mingi’s body, towards Erebos. It intertwined its hand with yours, noticing the glass still in the other hand. With a smirk, it twirled you around, earning a surprised yelp from you, leading you to the mantle of the fireplace. You placed the glass there just in time before you were pulled back.

“What are you doing?” You asked between laughs as you tried regaining your balance, your free hand instinctively going to hold Erebos’s. It scoffed in amusement, towering over you as it looked down at you. 

Erebos didn’t bother responding, simply shifting its hands in yours, watching your small hands intertwine in its large ones and you felt butterflies as you detected wonder in its eyes. The demon was then swaying you in small motions as it scanned every inch of you, practically drinking in the sight and you felt so exposed that you wished you could go back to the darkness you were so used to in the tower back home. 

“What are you doing?” You repeated, this time a whisper. Erebos met your eyes and you thought you saw its defences fall for a fraction of a second before it passed. The demon pulled you closer, just a step but enough that your bodies almost brushed.

“Why are you doing this to me, little bird?” It tilted its head.

“What did I do?” You dared to ask, feeling overwhelmed by the closeness of your bodies, by the fact that this was a demon in front of you, by the shadows that had now started to seep out of it. 

Erebos scanned you one last time. “You should go back to sleep.”

None of you made a move to let go of the other’s hands, none of you looked away from the other. Not until you saw Erebos clench its eyes shut in pain. You squeezed its hands once, softly, before drawing back. The demon opened its eyes, almost out of breath. You stepped away, turning to go but stopping midway.

You turned to look at it one last time. “What is your name… demon?”

For the first time since you were here, Erebos passed an actual smile, waving its hand in dismissal. You smiled back before going back to your room-

Unable to sleep for the remainder of the night. 

—--------------------

This time, Mingi was avoiding you on purpose. It was unsettling- you tried to strike up a conversation with him but his answers were dry and his smile didn’t meet his eyes. You ignored it until a few days passed, neither Mingi nor Erebos in your sight and when you were making your way to Mingi’s room to confront him, you noticed him in the hallway instead, bending down in the left corner and placing what looked like a scroll under the gap, sealing the plank back. You reckoned it must be something important he had to hide so you waited a few minutes until he got up.

You came into his sight and said, “You’ve been busy these days.”

“I have been,” he confirmed. For a second, you wondered if it really was just him being busy, having some ‘business’ to deal with in town, which he had explained a few days ago was attending the Conference of Mages which dealt with peace and accountability of rogue mages. But when his eyes didn’t meet yours, your suspicions were confirmed. He tried passing you but you spread your arms.

“I’m not letting you pass until you tell me why you are avoiding me- and don’t give me the same excuse.”

Mingi sighed in defeat- one thing he had learned about you was that you could be very, very stubborn. “I just needed to clear my head. We both did.”

We both.

You finally dropped your arms and followed him to the kitchen- he told you he just came home and wanted to grab something to eat. You stood awkwardly by the dainty glass decorations that Wooyoung had glued to the surface of one of the shelves so they wouldn’t fall when the house moved. You cleared your throat. “Did I do something wrong?”

Mingi didn’t like the way your voice shook when you asked that. He passed you a tight smile as he came to stand near the bookshelf, watching you. “You didn’t. It’s me this time.”

You stopped wiping, locking eyes with him. “What did you do?”

“I broke a rule- when Erebos and you were having… a moment… a few nights ago, I tried to take over. Erebos didn’t like it.”

You instantly knew what Mingi was talking about- when Erebos had clenched its eyes shut in pain. Your mouth parted and shut multiple times, trying to think of how to word your next question-

“I know,” Mingi answered anyway. “I shouldn’t have done it, but… I didn’t like it. I didn’t like the way Erebos was looking at you.”

What way was Erebos looking at you, and why did Mingi not like it? 

“I didn’t mean for it to happen,” you almost whispered, drawing a step away, feeling overwhelmed by the proximity and his curious eyes on you. “I… I don’t like when you avoid me, Mingi. If my presence here is making it hard for you, I can leave-”

“Not at all,” he stepped forward as if to reach for you but stopped himself. “That’s not it.”

“I just miss you,” you exhaled in relief. “I wish you could tell me these things. I wish you would let me in, Mingi.”

Mingi looked like he was in pain and for a moment, you wondered if you had said something wrong. He finally smiled, taking another step forward and this time, you let him. You let him put his hands hesitantly on your shoulders. 

“You’re right- I should have just talked to you. Avoiding you won’t make anything right. I’m sorry.”

“I wish you would stop saying sorry too,” you smiled and he finally laughed. 

“I just am. I’ll try not to do that again, but I can’t promise. It’s hard when you’re not in control of your own actions, and if Erebos tries something with you, I don’t want you to look at me differently.”

So that’s what it was. You put your hands over his. “You’re not Erebos. Erebos is not you. I know that very well. Even though you share a body, you don’t look the same, don’t feel the same,” you said and Mingi gave your shoulders a squeeze. “We’re just y/n and Mingi right now, so talk to me, okay?”

Mingi nodded and asked if you wanted to join him for dinner- he didn’t have much time until Erebos would take over. You nodded and started setting the table, Mingi helping and he told you about the conference that took place today and how Erebos was also a part of it, helping eliminate threats to both humans and mages. You told him you learned to make bread pudding with Seonghwa and waited for him to try it, grinning when he told you it was better than Seonghwa’s. 

It was so easy to talk to Mingi like this- an exchange of how your day went, sharing bits and pieces of your past sometimes, joking with each other- Mingi wasn’t very shy when talking which helped a lot. He enjoyed chatting with everyone but sometimes, you wondered if he was reminded of something from his past when he would zone out or his smile would fade. Just like now.

“Are you with me?” You asked cautiously, wondering if you were going to see the shift. 

“I’m here,” Mingi blinked, shaking his head. “Just got lost for a second.”

“Is my company that boring to you?” You pouted.

“It’s not that,” he shook his head. “It’s just been a while since I’ve had such mundane interactions.”

“Does it remind you of the time when you were human?” You dared to ask. He didn’t mind, thankfully.

“Not really, but… we’ve had a few human guests over the time. Some stayed until their end. Some left because they saw what living here would mean for them. Now that we have you in our house, we enjoy the company. We’re a bit bored of each other, the rest of us, so we really don’t mind you. It’s just sad to think how it will come to an end one day.”

“You’re worrying about the future when you haven’t even tried living in the present… aren’t you?”

“It’s you humans who think living in the present is the right way. You understand later that every decision you make in the present influences the future. And when something bad happens, you start tracing it back to the moment it started going wrong. It’s too late then.”

“Then there’s no way of knowing if the decisions I make will be good for me. Does it really matter if they are good for me?” You paused, thinking about Erebos all of a sudden. Thinking about the way your skin ignited with pleasure for the first time and how you longed to feel that way again. “Sometimes you just can’t help yourself, can you?”

“You don’t mean that,” Mingi almost whispered, his raspy voice making you shiver involuntarily. You wondered if he had read your mind.

“Do you feel what Erebos does too?” You asked, leaning forward as well. “Where do your feelings differentiate?”

“Erebos is a demon, it doesn’t feel-”

“You’re wrong,” you shook your head. “You can’t tell me that when you haven’t seen the way its eyes changed that night.”

“Y/n-” Mingi warned, the left side of his face twitching. “I know I said I don’t mind you talking to Erebos, but it is a demon. It will take advantage of you at some point- that is its nature.”

“I can take care of myself,” you drew back and watched Mingi sigh in frustration. “You should understand that Erebos hasn’t done anything that I didn’t like.”

You let that confession hang in the air and Mingi tried processing it but he was so confused. Just why were you so fearless, so stubborn, especially about this? It’s almost like-

Like you had no reason to be afraid of.

Mingi got up abruptly, almost giving you a jumpscare. He looked at you, feeling out of breath. “You’re on your own then. But please be careful.”

You made a mental note to ask Erebos just what he had done to their human guests in the past as you watched Mingi disappear into his room. You didn’t want to see Erebos tonight, though. If the demon could give you this cold treatment, you could return that too. Even if for one night.

—------------------

“There’s something wrong with her.”

“Are you sure she’s not simply sulking?” Wooyoung glanced at Seonghwa who shook his head in denial. 

“She’s never been this quiet since she came. She’s like you- always babbling-”

“I can hear you,” you called out, not bothering to look at the duo, instead continuing to stare into the fire with an unfinished black crochet scarf in your hands. 

“Why are you so quiet today? Is it because I scolded you when you forgot to turn the oven off?” Seonghwa asked.

You finally looked at the Fallen Angel who thought you were worried because you left the burner on. He scoffed at your amused expressions. “That’s not it.”

“Let her be, everyone needs some peace and quiet sometimes,” Wooyoung waved a hand in dismissal, going back to messing with his potions. “I need some peace and quiet today too.”

“Right,” Seonghwa muttered. “If you make it past half an hour without speaking a word, I’ll let you use me as your lab rat for your next experiment.”

You gasped at his offer because you had seen Wooyoung dissect dead animals and it was not a pretty sight. Wooyoung’s eyes, however, glinted as he accepted the challenge. You sighed, going back to staring at the fire.

You kept thinking about every interaction you had had with Mingi and Erebos so far. Even though you knew they were two separate entities, you were worried you weren’t making the distinction clear- when you were angry with Erebos, Mingi got to deal with the aftermath and vice versa. 

Mingi was still the same old person he was from the first day he met you. You would join him with a book by the river when he wasn’t out or you would exchange stories at the table. He stopped asking you about Erebos- you figured you had struck the right chord that day. Instead, he now answered your silly but curious questions about magic, about their travels and adventures. He would ask if you had a good sleep or if you learned anything new from the boys who were teaching you anything you were willing to learn. It was comfortable to talk to Mingi now and you had started looking forward to your interactions with him.

Erebos, however, was not the same person you had encountered on your first night here, the one who was so unwilling to look at you and wanted you to run away. If you could look at it from an objective lens, you were pretty sure Erebos was warming up to you. You had a habit of sleeping very late at night so you spent most nights hanging out with the demon- sometimes inside as you both fought your own battles in silence, occasionally exchanging words. Or sometimes, you would lie down with him on the grass and stare at the sky until you fell asleep and later wake up in your bed.

And when you had a moment with one of them, one that made you feel unexplainable things, one that made you shiver or made your heart flutter, you found yourself expecting it to be the same with the other. It wasn’t fair, but you couldn’t help it. 

You kept mindlessly crocheting or resorting to staring into the fire even when Wooyoung finally gave up staying silent and Seonghwa and him started to argue like children. Mingi came and joined the ruckus and you only passed a small smile, busying yourself. The day passed just like that and at some point, you must have fallen asleep on the sofa because when you woke up, Erebos was seated right in front of you, watching you with curious eyes.

You blinked away the sleep, suddenly feeling conscious of the way the neckline of your dress exposed your left shoulder more than intended. You straightened your dress and watched Erebos relax back.

“How long have you been sitting and staring?”

“Not long,” it replied. You were pretty sure that was a lie. 

“Not going to the conference tonight?” You inquired.

“I got a message- it has been delayed,” Erebos licked its lips slowly. “Why were you sleeping here?”

“I was…” waiting to see you- “crocheting…”

“I don’t see any evidence of that.”

You looked down in your lap and laughed a little- it must have been Wooyoung or Seonghwa who placed the material away and put a blanket on you. You pursed your lips. “You’re talkative tonight.”

“I bet you like that,” Erebos cocked its head.

“See?” You managed to say despite the fluttering of your stomach. “Very talkative. Go scare a human in town or something…”

Erebos let out a deep laugh and you joined, shaking your head. You stretched, spotting the new moon outside. “The sky is lovely tonight.”

“Do you want to climb the hill you’ve been watching every day since you came here? Might give you a better view.”

An offer. You smiled and nodded, getting up and drinking a glass of water before joining the demon outside. The hill was across the river and you wondered if you were going to make a round trip, but-

“We’re going through the river. I’ll make a boat for you.”

“There’s no way I’m going through the river,” you halted, Erebos laughing yet again. “I’ll drown!”

“Just like this house moves on tyres made of shadow, I can materialise a boat for us to travel in. It will be safe-”

“No-”

“And I will be right next to you,” the demon completed and you pressed your lips in a tight line. “You won’t drown.”

You didn’t answer, looking at the awfully still surface of the river. Erebos stood next to you and you felt your fingers brush its own.

“I won’t let you drown. Do you trust me, little bird?”

Did you trust the demon with your life? You could practically hear the sound of your own heart as you nudged its fingers with yours. A leap of faith. You watched Erebos’s lips curl into a smile and it spread his hands forward, shadow seeping out of the body until a black boat stood in the river. Erebos stepped inside first and even though you had seen the shadow tyres support the weight of this house, you still gasped in surprise. 

The demon extended its hand for you. You didn’t hesitate to take it this time and it helped you settle in the boat but you refused to let its hand go and it made it chuckle. With its other hand, it steered the boat swiftly towards the other end and you laughed in both surprise and fear, water droplets spraying your face when you peeked out of the boat though you didn’t mind one bit- it was so thrilling. More thrilling than anything you had ever experienced in your lifetime.

And when you looked at Erebos with the biggest smile on your face, the demon felt its heart ache and it wondered if it was because of Mingi even though it had pushed Mingi far, far away into its subconscious. You felt its hands grip yours tighter as if squeezing it and you didn’t look away from its face until you reached.

The climb up the hill was just as silent, none of you letting go of the other’s hand. You let it be- it certainly helped you move faster as Erebos instructed you where to step and where not to. When you reached the peak and you were out of breath, Erebos helped you settle on a rock, finally leaving your hand only to shake its head and dig out a handkerchief from its pocket.

“Look at you, all spent just because you climbed a few rocks,” it tsk-ed and you pouted. Shaking its head again, it started wiping the sweat off your forehead, grinning to itself at the state of your hair blown back. Putting its handkerchief away, the demon pushed your hair away from your face, caressing your head with a faint smile-

And finally noticing the look on your face. The wide, curious eyes, the hesitant look in them, the parted lips. The uneven breaths. 

You watched its eyes flash with something indecipherable yet again as it scanned your face, noticing its thumb almost at the corner of your lips. You watched its brows furrow as a flurry of emotions crossed its face- emotions you had never seen on anyone’s face before. You couldn’t hear the sound of cicadas or the wind anymore, only the rustling of your hair as its hand moved away from your face only to slide its thumb across your lower lip.

Even if Erebos didn’t watch your eyes to confirm, it could feel your heart beating as if it was an extension of its own pulse, taste the excitement mixed with a little bit of fear in the air. And locking eyes with you only made the demon more confused- you looked so vulnerable in that moment that its primal instincts shouted at it to shatter you, but it pushed them away. It pushed everything away and drew its hand back, about to move away but-

But you grabbed its hand in yours. You did not know what took over you in that moment, but you placed its thumb back where it was- between your parted lips. 

And then you kissed it softly.

You heard the demon stifle a cry- of pain? Of surprise? You did not care. You locked eyes with the figure towering over you, ready to meet your fate.

And when the demon cupped your face with a hesitancy that almost broke you, you licked your lips, so eager to meet its own. When it inched closer, you let your hands grip its wrists, and when your nose brushed with its own sharp nose, you let out a small exhale. You were both at a loss of words at that moment, so you only arched your neck up to let it know you needed this, perhaps as much as the demon itself.

A demon starved of love, starved of affection. That’s what Erebos was. And when it pushed every thought away and brushed its lips across yours, it finally understood that it never craved fear-

It craved this. 

Parting its own lips, it kissed you, for the first time in its life- it did not count the times Mingi had kissed his past lovers because Erebos thought it was disgusting and hid itself so far away in Mingi’s subconscious that it didn’t even remember what happened later. This was the first time the demon itself was in charge, and it had no idea what to do but found itself locking and unlocking its lips with yours, its hand automatically going to grip your neck. It swallowed your moan of pleasure, kissing you deeper and deeper until you almost slipped from the rock and your hands went around its neck for support, breaking apart from the kiss-

And looking at the demon, its eyes wide and perhaps as vulnerable as yours.

Erebos picked you up effortlessly, making you yelp in surprise and wrap your legs around its waist- perhaps, a wrong move because there was an unquestionable fire in its eyes. It led you to another rock and placed you on it so that your heights matched, out of breath- you wondered how a demon was out of breath now. You didn’t unwrap your legs, not quite, and you didn’t need to because it gripped your hip with one hand and brought you closer, craning your neck with the other and going back to kissing you, deeper and more desperate this time. You kissed back with equal urgency, welcoming its tongue in yours, feeling its hand creep up inside your dress and you finally drew back-

“Erebos-”

It swallowed your name back in another kiss and for a moment, you saw stars. This couldn’t be how it felt kissing a human, you wondered. Was it because Erebos was a demon? It couldn’t be like this, setting you on fire wherever its hands traced your skin and nails dug in, making you buzz with excitement and want-

“Erebos, please,” you broke away, pushing the blue and black strand of its hair back. “Look at me.”

Erebos locked its eyes with you and you felt your heart sink when you saw nothing but darkness in its eyes. It inched closer, kissing your jaw and sucking and nibbling on your neck almost harshly, and you stifled your moans-

“Not like this, Erebos,” you pleaded, cupping its face again and making it lock eyes with you. “Where are the stars in your eyes, demon?”

That seemed to click something in its minds as the pupils lightened and the twinkle of its eyes returned. It took deep, uneven breaths, caressing your face with both hands. 

“I- I don’t know what happened.”

“It’s okay,” you assured the demon, though you had no idea either. “It’s okay-”

“Did I hurt you?” Erebos voice sounded so fragile that you felt the sting of tears in your eyes- this was the demon they warned you to stay away from? You watched its eyes darken when it inspected a bruise forming on your neck. “...I hurt you.”

“No, no you didn’t, look at me,” you scolded, pecking its lips again. “You didn’t hurt me. You just… I don’t know. Where did you go?”

Erebos looked so confused. You buried your face in its neck as you brought its body closer to you. “Thank you for bringing me here tonight.”

The demon caressed your head as it clenched its eyes shut again, in pain- Mingi was doing it again, trying to take over. Erebos supposed he had every right to now. However, it would not let Mingi take this moment from it, not again. So with all its willpower, Erebos pushed Mingi away and kissed the top of your head.

“Little bird,” it whispered. “What have you gotten yourself into?”

—---------------------

What had you gotten yourself into? 

It was your turn to avoid Mingi this time, simply because you couldn’t face him. Not when you did what you did last night and Mingi shared the same body as Erebos. 

What were you thinking?

You were mortified, yes, but you also did not regret one bit of it, if you were honest with yourself. Mingi could be angry with you all he wanted.

You might have regretted it- Erebos was a demon. You still didn’t understand why its eyes went so dark as if the demon lost itself for a moment, but when you called its name and it came back, when it asked if you were hurt as if it pained the demon itself… 

You simply couldn’t imagine why Erebos looked at you with such worried eyes. Why would a demon care if it hurt you or not, unless it actually cared?

And if it actually cared… What did it mean for you?

“Little bird, what have you gotten yourself into?”

You refused to leave your room even after you woke up, even when your stomach grumbled with hunger. Even Seonghwa got worried and checked in on you with a tray of food, understanding something must have happened between you and Mingi- or Erebos. Thankfully, he didn’t insist you join them. He let you have your space and you were grateful for that. 

That night, Erebos didn’t come to look for you either. You remained cooped up in your room, obsessively cleaning it to make up for the guilt of slacking on your other duties and sometimes peeking out of the window- neither Mingi nor Erebos seemed to have gone out today. 

The next day, Seonghwa had had enough of your moping and came into your room, clicking a wooden spoon on a metal dish as morning bells to wake you up. You groaned and hid your face in the pillow but Seonghwa made the pillow burst into feathers with his magic, making you almost cry.

“I only tolerate moping for one day, y/n,” he told you as if it was a rule you had to abide by to live in this house. “Get up. Fix any broken planks- the wind last night was strong- and then join me on the roof for cleaning.”

“Why won’t you use your magic to clean?” You sighed and he ignored that, going in the next room to wake Wooyoung up- you could hear him yelling in response. Smiling at that, you finally got up and stumbled towards the bathroom, nearly forgetting Mingi lived in this very house until you bumped into a body in the hallway and muttered apologies-

Only to look up and see Mingi.

“Uh, I was just,” you pointed to the bathroom and he scanned your face, making you gulp. He muttered a sorry before letting you walk past him and when you entered the bathroom, you shut the door and nearly sank down the door.

How were you going to face him?

You were very distracted as you fixed the planks dangling by the window in the hallway, almost nailing your finger a couple of times. When you were done, you were about to head to the roof when you almost tripped on your feet-

You looked down and spotted a plank a little lifted in the air that had caused you to almost fall face-first. You were about to nail it when you recalled that this was the spot Mingi had hid something that day- you should probably not nail it.

Curiosity took the better of you and you moved the plank- there was indeed a scroll inside. Looking around, you hesitated a bit before you took out the scroll and unrolled it, a few verses of what looked like a poem on it-

“Once the shadow, once the light 

As one, the two must thrive  

A curse both must fight 

To one’s end, they dive 

For love, with all their might 

Hearts awakened, live alive”

You figured it might be Mingi’s sad attempt at poetry and put the scroll back where it was, fixing the plank better- if he had to hide it, he could at least hide it properly. 

Thankfully, he was not on roof cleaning duty with you and when you went to join Seonghwa there after a light breakfast, he passed you a sceptical look before handing you the mop.

“What’s up with you these days?” 

You wondered how to answer that. Seonghwa tsk-ed at you. “Why are you avoiding Mingi?”

“Erebos,” you gave in and Seonghwa raised a brow. “Because of Erebos. Because…” you groaned in frustration. “I don’t know. I might have done something stupid. I don’t know how to face Mingi.”

“Just talk to him,” he told you, attacking a corner on the floor with a mop and you suppressed a giggle at his dedication. “Avoiding each other won’t do either of you any good. It might calm Erebos down too.”

“Why? What happened to Erebos?”

“I think it’s angry with Mingi for trying to take control of him again,” Seonghwa revealed and you wondered if that happened while you were on the hill two nights ago. “The last time this happened, the conflict grew until Erebos took full control of Mingi and didn’t let him back in for a while. So my advice is, just talk and smother their conflict if you’re involved.”

You bit your lips- you were messing things up. You didn’t mean for it to happen this way, and you needed to confront Mingi now. 

So after you were done for the day, when there were a few hours left until sunset, you knocked on Mingi’s door. When he opened the door and looked surprised, you half expected him to slam the door in your face but he simply passed a smile.

“What brings you here?”

He noticed the flush on your cheeks. He didn’t need your answer, he knew why you were here. So before you could say something, he opened the door wider and let you in. 

You had been in his room maybe twice before, but you still enjoyed looking around at the desk next to the window with a lamp and notes sprawled across its surface, the blue and grey curtains and pillows- had he matched on purpose? The paintings of shadows on his wall that must have been Erebos’s doing. You sat at the edge of the bed and he took the seat near you.

“Are you okay?” You asked.

“I am,” his voice was low. “Are you?”

“I think, yes,” you wanted to meet his eyes but couldn’t look at him. “I wanted to talk to you about… two nights ago.” Mingi shifted uncomfortably at the mention and you licked your suddenly dry lips as you finally locked eyes with him. “Are you angry with me?”

“Why would I be angry with you?” Mingi’s voice was almost a whisper and it only confused you further.

“I… I don’t know what you’re thinking, Mingi,” you sighed. “I expected you to come bursting through my room and yell at me, warn me to be careful or something, but you… both of you- why are you giving me space now?”

Mingi took a deep breath. “I do want to ask you why you kissed Erebos. But… it’s not my place to ask, is it?”

“I mean…” your cheeks were flushing. “You do share a body, unfortunately. Maybe you do have a right to ask.”

Mingi took another deep breath. “I’ve lived a long life, y/n. I’ve had lovers in the past too. At first, navigating my relationships was awkward- especially when Erebos and I didn’t have better control of ourselves. And Erebos drove away anyone I got close to- more often unintentionally. No one likes demons- but you,” he cocked his head. “You’re different when you’re with Erebos. You’re not like that with me.”

“Do you wish I was?”

“And you ask the most unexpected questions,” he smiled in defeat. “So tell me, why did you do it?”

“I don’t know,” you shrugged, finally feeling a bit relaxed now that he had broken the ice. A part of you wished you and Mingi could talk about it as if Erebos was a separate, independent entity. “I like Erebos. The demon… is not all that bad. And I might have regretted it but… sometimes I feel like it has a heart too, you know? The way it talks or looks at certain things…”

“Erebos does not have a heart,” Mingi reminded you softly, leaning forward. “And I’m scared the demon might take advantage of you.”

“I understand your worries, Mingi,” you nodded. “But really, I think I know what I’m doing. I just want to know if you’re okay with that. I will take a step back but I won’t stop spending time with Erebos.”

“I’m not okay with that,” Mingi said after a moment and you frowned in confusion. “I… I don’t want you to get hurt. If Erebos does something… I fear you’ll look at me with hatred and disgust in your eyes.”

“Oh, Mingi,” you got up- he was genuinely worried about you. How stupid had you been to dismiss that? “I would never…”

“That’s the thing, y/n,” he shook his head with a sad smile. “I’ve always had to deal with the aftermath of things I didn’t do. I’m afraid it will happen again.”

“What did Erebos do?” You asked, walking cautiously towards him and he looked up at you with guarded eyes. “I’m sorry for your pain.”

“It’s okay,” he looked down. “I haven’t been all that good either. I’m no better than a demon myself-”

“You’re wrong,” you brought shaking hands to hold his face and make him look at you. “You’re one of the kindest souls I’ve met, Mingi. You saved me and I am forever in your debt-”

“There’s no debt-”

“No, listen,” your brows furrowed in focus as you locked eyes with his dark pupils, trying not to imagine the stars in his eyes you had started to love. “I like where we are, Mingi. I wish you would open up to me more and stop being cautious. I wish you would tell me exactly what bothers you so I can at least do something about it instead of treading carefully around you. I wish you would… look at me, Mingi.”

You didn’t know where the words came from, but one thing you were sure about was that you were addressing Mingi, not Erebos. 

“How can I look at you when every time you look at me, you think of the demon inside me?”

You smiled at that. “These brown eyes of yours don’t belong to the demon. Nor does the kindness in them. Neither are they so guarded-” you traced his brows and Mingi inhaled sharply. “And your smile- it isn’t taunting. It isn’t demanding. It is the loveliest smile I’ve seen and produces the loveliest sounds I’ve heard- they’re yours.”

This time, you couldn’t help but trace his lips. The same lips that had kissed you, the same softness of them- your heart fluttered at the proximity and switch of positions now. Mingi, however, was in a trance and didn’t move at all, only watching you staring at his lips for the longest time until you blinked, finally coming back to reality. You smiled again, leaning in and pressing a chaste kiss to his forehead. 

“When I see you, I only see you,” you said- it wasn’t a lie. “And when I see Erebos… I only see the demon. I’m trying my best not to mix the two. You don’t have to be worried about what Erebos does to me, just as Erebos is not worried about what you do with me.”

“And what makes you think Erebos is not worried?” Mingi said and you raised a brow, drawing your hands away from his face. “Do you know why I didn’t come yelling at you yesterday? Because Erebos took over me every time I thought of that.”

Despite the graveness of the topic, you couldn’t help but laugh at that and soon Mingi joined, both of you shaking your heads in amusement. “So I was right about you. I do know you.”

“No you don’t,” Mingi scoffed and for a moment, you saw Erebos behind those eyes. “Anyways, it’s really not a good idea, whatever you think you’re doing. Ask Erebos tonight what he wants with you, will you?”

So you waited for Erebos by the fireplace like you usually did. And this time, Erebos joined, hesitancy in its steps so unlike its usual behaviour. The demon slumped down on the sofa across you and stared daggers into the fireplace.

“Someone’s sulking,” you commented.

“Not in the mood tonight, little bird.”

You narrowed your eyes. “Why?”

“You know why.”

“I don’t,” you straightened, not liking its tone. “So tell me why.”

“Why did you talk to Mingi about us?”

The demon finally met eyes with you and you wiped any expressions off your face before you replied, “I didn’t realise I was not allowed to talk with Mingi about the very demon who lives inside him.”

“You know what I’m talking about,” it clenched its jaw and you realised you did. But you weren’t going to admit it.

“Why don’t you tell me what exactly you didn’t like?”

“Look at you,” it scoffed. “What answers are you trying to get out of me?”

You slumped back in defeat. “First of all, I can talk to Mingi about whatever I want. You don’t get to have a say in it. And secondly… I haven’t even asked you anything yet.”

Erebos mirrored your position. “Then why does Mingi get to have a say in what we do?”

“He doesn’t-”

“But you told him you will take a step back because he’s interfering-”

“That’s not why-” you paused as realisation dawned on you. “Are you pissed because I said I’d take a step back from what we did?”

When Erebos didn’t answer, you leaned forward. “I am taking a step back from you because when you kissed me that night, it wasn’t you. What happened to you that night, Erebos? You scared me for a moment and then you looked hurt. What am I supposed to make of it?”

Erebos didn’t meet your eyes, fiddling with the ends of its shirt. 

“What do you want with me, Erebos?” You finally asked the question that had been gnawing on your mind before Mingi ever instructed you. However, Erebos remained quiet. You let the demon have a few moments until you couldn’t take it anymore and then you got up.

“Don’t come to me until your head is clear.”

“Wait-” 

You stopped walking away when you heard the urgency in the demon’s voice. You turned to find Erebos standing as if it was about to come after you if you didn’t stop. The demon came near you, running a hand through its messy hair and you turned to hear it. 

“I don’t know what happened to me,” Erebos finally admitted, its voice low and your heart tugged. “All I know is that I’ve never wanted anything more in that moment and I was consumed by something foreign even for me. If you hadn’t stopped me, you would have regretted it. I thought I hurt you, and I didn’t like it, even when I usually enjoy hurting humans. What do I make of it, little bird? Why don’t you tell me?”

You knew you were treading on such dangerous territories but the fact that Erebos was making all these confessions, you simply couldn’t find it in your heart to leave it be. You bit the inside of your cheek as you tried to work out a response but you found yourself speechless instead.

“I don’t like the way you’re looking at me, little bird,” the demon whispered and you shook your head. 

“What will we do, Erebos?”

“Do we have to worry?” Erebos stepped towards you, making you take a step back out of habit. It smirked and you rolled your eyes, knowing it was in teasing mode now. It stepped towards you, making you step back until your back hit the wall and you were trapped. You glared at the demon.

“Now this is what I like to see,” Erebos grinned. You pushed its chest but it grabbed your wrists, making you gape at it but when it caressed them softly, your eyes changed-

“This look in your eyes,” the demon’s raspy voice practically sounded inside you. “I don’t want you to look at anyone else with that look in your eyes.”

“I didn’t-”

“Not even Mingi,” it almost snarled and instead of fear, warmth coursed through your body. “No one else, you understand?”

“I don’t look at Mingi that way-”

“Don’t make me shut you up,” it cocked its head dangerously. “Now… what were you saying about taking a step back from us? When I can practically taste your needs?”

“Erebos,” you sighed in defeat, resting your head on its chest. “Please. Let me think this through.”

“Why do you need to think this through?” Erebos practically whined. “Look at me, little bird.”

With immense effort, you raised your head. If you expected to see the same darkness that took over the demon that night, it wasn’t there. It was just… Erebos being itself. However, you were a bit startled by the sudden proximity as if it finally sank in that you were in its arms yet again. Erebos’s eyes were glazed and it pressed its lips to your temple, lingering before drawing back.

“You can think all you want,” the demon whispered in your ear, tugging at your earlobe with its teeth, making a whimper leave your mouth. “But I know you’ll come back to me, little bird.”

You instinctively craned your neck and you could feel Erebos smirk as it trailed its lips along your neck, resting at your collarbone, its warm breath caressing your skin. You longed to touch the demon but its grip on your wrists was strong. When its full lips pressed on the edge of your collarbone, your knees nearly gave in and you struggled to stand.

As if having proved a point, Erebos stepped back. “I’m not human so I can wait for you as long as you want,” it said, gaze travelling everywhere on your face. “So you can take your time.”

You narrowed your eyes, snatching your wrists away and rubbing them. “You could have simply said that.”

“Now where’s the fun in that?” Erebos smirked and you tried to calm your thumping heart. “Talking about fun… want to go mage-hunting with me? I have some rogue mages I plan to catch tonight.”

“I’m sure I’ll only slow you down,” you retorted but the demon shook its head, saying you wouldn’t.

It couldn’t have been more wrong.

“You may have the ability to see in the dark but in case you forgot, I’m a mere human,” you spat, scoffing when Erebos stifled its laugh, tripping yet again on another object in the narrow alley you were navigating through. 

“Hold my hand then,” Erebos sounded so smug that you refused to comply. You knew the demon was trying to initiate physical contact through any means possible- all night, it had been a battle of finger brushes, stolen pecks to the cheek or forehead which may have made your heart skip a beat at first but was now annoying you to death-

Another kiss on your temple and a deep laughter boomed and you nearly screamed in frustration. “Erebos, I swear to the heavens above I will obliterate you-”

“Shh,” you felt a finger on your lips in the utter darkness. “Someone’s here- don’t move.”

You obeyed, eyes wide as you glanced around, barely seeing anything in the cloudy night. What were you thinking when you decided this was a good idea?

“I sense one of them,” the demon whispered in your ear, guiding you to stand next to the wall and stay there. “I’ll be back. You have your knife, yes?”

“Oh, I do, completely forgot,” you muttered, checking in your cloak. “Should have stabbed you when I had the chance.”

“I’m going to remove the shadows from around you,” Erebos said and slowly, your vision became better. With a gentle pat to your cheek, the demon went after the mage, leaving you smiling to yourself.

The smile fell when you heard a scream that did not belong to Erebos. You waited for the sounds to die, almost moving from your spot but you knew better than to disobey the demon. After a few minutes, it was back looking proud of itself and you shook your head.

“Are we done?” You asked and Erebos nodded. “Did you… kill the mage?”

“Only put shadow cuffs on him,” Erebos answered. “They nullify magic.”

Your mouth shaped into an O and you asked if you were going home now. Erebos told you it had one last spot to visit and you followed, this time hand intertwined with its own.

You never expected the spot to be a graveyard. You squeezed the demon’s hand but it didn’t respond, simply navigating through the graves until it stopped in front of an unnamed one with a cherry blossom tree sprouting from it.

You watched Erebos look up as if it was praying- who did demons pray to? Did they share the same gods as humans? It didn’t leave your hand once, though, and you felt as if you were invading a private moment. 

When Erebos was done, it passed you a smile and led you further to a bench where you sat. “You must have questions.”

“I do, but you don’t have to answer them,” you told the demon who looked at you gratefully, though it decided to tell you.

“The first time Mingi fell in love after we started sharing a body, I was disgusted by those foreign emotions. It was like the human lost all control of who he was, of his heart and mind. And at that time, we did not know how to live with each other and often slipped into each other’s consciousness unknowingly. And with that… my magic was unstable as well. One wrong move on my part and I took away something from Mingi that I’m still sorry for.”

Your heart sank as you glanced towards the grave and then back at Erebos. “You blame yourself.”

Erebos nodded at your statement. “It’s the only thing I have felt sorry for in my life, because I, too, experienced the love when it was not meant for me. When I didn’t welcome it.”

It explained so much of Mingi’s hesitant and cautious behaviour, of his worries and fears. It also explained some of Erebos’s behaviour. You put a hand on top of the demon’s hand, caressing it. 

“Actions like these wouldn’t have meant anything for me, but after centuries, my heart feels warm again- I don’t know if it’s Mingi’s heart or mine, and it’s making me confused. That night… I almost made the same mistake again and I was so scared. I’m not scared to face the consequences, I’m scared to live with them.”

“But you didn’t,” you whispered. “You didn’t lose control.”

“And what if I do?” Erebos looked at you, eyes dark. “Perhaps, living inside a human has changed me. All I wanted was to destroy yet here I am. I want you all to myself, so selfishly. I want to feel these funny and strange feelings more. I want you, but what if I make the same mistake, this time with someone I-”

With someone I love- the statement hung in the air- perhaps because the demon was not sure if it was love though it had never desired for anything more, perhaps because it was afraid to say it in case things went south, perhaps because it couldn’t bear to see the disgust in your eyes at its confession-

But then you rested your head on Erebos’s shoulder and all its worries dissipated. “I don’t know what it’s like to love,” you said. “I don’t know what this is either, but… I like it. And I’m not afraid of you, Erebos. I feel safe with you- I don’t know why. I never once felt unsafe with you, even when you nearly lost control.”

You felt Erebos relax considerably at your confession. You continued. “I’m sorry for what happened. It must have been hard for you too.”

There it was- your consideration. The one thing that drew Erebos to you from the first moment you met. No one had ever talked to the demon like that in its entire life- how could it not love it?

So the demon rested its face against your head, an impending feeling of doom swirling in its gut, because there was one thing both Mingi and Erebos hid from you-

That you could not love the both of them at the same time. Even if you were halfway there already and neither of them was able to stop you, you could not. It would be the end of one or the other, but…

Did it matter if they got a taste of your love?

—-----------------------

“Wait- don’t light the fire just yet- Wooyoung!”

You shut your eyes more in defeat than to brace yourself from the loud blast that sounded because Wooyoung lit the match at the wrong time during the middle of creating a potion. You could smell smoke and hear Wooyoung’s low giggles and you wondered why you ever agreed to experiment with the healer.

Your father had worked with mages for a long time, and when he was sick and had contacted Wooyoung, they had come up with recipes for new potions while Wooyoung healed him. Your father gave you his notes before his death and you still remembered the recipes, deciding to work with Wooyoung, trying the one for- 

“Agility, you said?” Wooyoung asked, coughing a bit and you finally opened your eyes to see him draw a cross on his notes. 

“Yes, and if you hadn’t been hell-bent on tweaking it, we wouldn’t be covered in soot,” you groaned. “I said light the fire after the lavender is soaked in the liquid, not when it’s still floating.”

“Are you sure it works?” Wooyoung passed you a cryptic look. “Maybe I do need to tweak it…”

“It’s worked,” you folded your arms defensively. “I’ve used them,” you said, recalling when you once saw your father and Wooyoung working in his lab. “You must remember from his notes, right?”

“Always sneaking around, were you?” Wooyoung cooed. “I distinctly remember your father telling you to go play in your room or something- you were always hiding in the corners.”

“I don’t sneak around now-”

“I saw you shadowing Mingi earlier,” he winked at you and you pouted. “Why do you keep following him around?”

You looked away from Wooyoung’s searching gaze but found yourself caged when he continued to stare at you, waiting for an answer. You sighed deeply.

“Because he’s either hiding something from me or he hates me and I need to know what it is.”

You did not miss Wooyoung’s subtle eye roll but only you were aware of how Mingi was trying to avoid your eyes, would look at you when you thought you didn’t know he was, and appeared to be about to say something but would then stop. It was a game of push and pull now, and you were losing.

“That’s not it,” Wooyoung shook his head. “It’s probably something else.”

“I’m just confused, Wooyoung. Is it because Erebos told me about Mingi’s first love? Is that a topic the demon should have avoided? Or is it because…”

Because you continued to tread on dangerous lines with Erebos. And because Mingi could probably see some of it himself- after all, how much could Erebos push him back into their subconscious? Was it making Mingi confused because it always used to be the other way round?

“Erebos, huh?” Wooyoung tsk-ed. “If your father saw you today…”

You glared at him. “He’d be proud of me for running away and making it alive. And proud that I’m tolerating you lot.”

“Isn’t it us tolerating the human?” Wooyoung wondered out loud and you threw the nearest object- a flask- at him, which he caught, grinning. “I can tell you he’s not avoiding you on purpose. Something must be bothering him. He couldn’t hate you even if he tried.”

You looked at the healer. “Why?”

“Why don’t you ask him that?” Wooyoung got up and began to clean the mess, tossing you a washcloth so you could help. “He’s not always like this. He looks like something is eating him up.”

Wooyoung wasn’t wrong. Over the course of the past few days, while you and Erebos only grew friendlier- the demon even more teasing and reckless than ever, you and Mingi had also settled into something calm and… cosy. Where Erebos was a literal manifestation of shadows and being with him felt dark and thrilling, Mingi radiated warmth like none other- his voice grounded you and being with him washed a sense of tranquillity over you. You did not know what you craved more, especially because Erebos had been busier recently and you spent more time with Mingi.

Mingi didn’t talk about whatever you and Erebos discussed that night in the graveyard, but his smile had become kinder as if he himself was grateful that you didn’t run away from him. You wondered how many people ran away from him simply because of the demon inside him- he, too, must have been hurt because of the looks of fear or disgust he received. You recalled a couple of days ago when you were watching him trim the plants surrounding the house and he had looked so shy that it made your heart ache unexpectedly-

“Don’t look at me like that, y/n.” 

“Like what?”

“Like how you look at Erebos. As if he’s everything you’ve ever wanted.”

“But-”

“I just can’t take it”, he smiled helplessly. “It makes me want something that isn’t mine.”

Despite this, Mingi didn’t push you away. He continued to find you during the day and engage you in some activity, and even if you two didn’t talk you’d find solace being in each other’s company. However, his casual finger brushes and pats hadn’t escaped your notice. You knew he was very physically affectionate even with Seonghwa and Wooyoung and perhaps this was the same, but he didn’t look at you the way he looked at the others. You knew that well and good.

After cleaning the soot, you went outside for a breather, spotting Mingi at the bank of the river, this time with his feet dipped in the water. He seemed to be enjoying the warm rays of sun, head tipped backwards. Despite your quiet steps, he seemed to have heard the ruffle of grass and motioned for you to join him. You rolled your trousers up a little before sinking your feet into the cool water, grinning to yourself as you settled down.

“Such a nice day today, isn’t it?” You looked up at the fluffy clouds spreading across the sky. “The sun is about to set. I should have joined you earlier.”

“We still have some time,” he smiled. “I heard a little blast inside. Wooyoung again?”

“Me, but it was Wooyoung who messed us up,” you laughed. “Did you manage to find the missing mage?”

“Not yet. I’ve been searching since sunrise but there’s no sign. Erebos might be able to sense the mage better so I’ll leave it to the demon. I’m done for the day.”

“Well, at least the demon is useful for one thing,” you joked and he laughed- he quite enjoyed when you made fun of Erebos and you were glad talking about the demon wasn’t something that made you two awkward anymore. 

“But you should know,” Mingi started, “We don’t work for the Mage Society willingly. It’s something we have to do so they will allow us to live.”

You frowned- that was news to you. “Why?”

“They just don’t like the idea that a human is a mage now,” he looked at you. “You know they’ve always discriminated between pure mages and mages who were once human.”

You were aware that Mingi was once human, however, you were not aware of the circumstances that brought Erebos to possess Mingi. “Can I ask how…”

Mingi seemed to understand and he nodded. “I was simply at the wrong place, at the wrong time. Erebos needed a human vessel who it could coexist with. Not all humans can live with a demon inside them, you know.”

You made an impressed face. “So there was something special about you?”

“You could say. Perhaps I was stronger- maybe physically, maybe mentally. We did have a rough time coexisting in the beginning but we’re used to each other now.”

“And why did Erebos need a human vessel? Because it was cursed?”

Mingi paused and you realised he was wondering if you should have asked that from him. He took a deep breath before he said, “Cursed and exiled from the demon realm, like Seonghwa.”

You were satisfied with his answer. “Do you ever wonder if there was a reason why you had to be the human that Erebos possessed?”

“I do,” he admitted. “Even though we haven’t found any answer yet. I guess it was fate, then. So I could meet the people and be here at this moment?” He looked at you and smiled. “Something like that?”

Before you could respond, his brows furrowed and he brought his hand to the side of your face, his fingers gripping the crevice between your ear and neck as he ran his thumb across your cheekbone. “Were you playing with fire? You’re smudged with soot-”

Perhaps, he noticed the way your eyes opened a fraction wider or your lips parted as if it was suddenly hard to breathe. Perhaps, he could hear the loud thumping of your heart. Or maybe he noticed the way your eyes scanned his face- you could see the browns in his eyes, the shadow his lashes casted over them, the mole under his eye. Maybe he could tell you loved the way his hair fell over his forehead, the dark and blue strands resembling the night sky.

You blinked and waited for him to draw away but he didn’t and it only made you more anxious for what was next. Swallowing once, you barely managed to whisper his name. He only caressed your cheekbone in answer, still seeming to be in a trance as he locked eyes with you. When he started leaning forward, you wondered if your eyes betrayed you in that moment- that he saw that you wanted this. Wanted him-

He paused when your noses almost brushed. “I-I shouldn’t-”

“It’s okay,” you breathed, locking eyes. “It’s… okay.”

What was okay, he wondered? The fact that he had come back to his senses before he did anything? Or was it an approval to go ahead and do whatever he wanted to do at that moment? 

Mingi looked down and smiled a bit- whatever this was… it had been such a long time since he felt like this- like his nerves were on fire. When he found you smiling shyly as well, he couldn’t take it- he planted a kiss on your cheek, patting it once before saying he was heading inside, leaving you wondering how during that moment, not once did you think about the demon inside him.

Not once.

—----------------------

Later that night, when you were fixing up a loose thread on your dress in your room, you heard two sharp knocks- a sound you were very familiar with now. Somehow, Erebos and you had come up with this- if your door was slightly open, he could knock and come in, otherwise he would take it as a sign to bug off. It also applied to you and being on the end of a shut door was not a pleasant feeling, but you two were also crossing these boundaries now- opening a shut door just a fraction to check if the other was okay.

“What you doing?” Erebos sang as it entered, making itself home on your bed. You hummed in response- the demon could clearly see what you were doing. Breaking the thread with your teeth, you secured the stitch and put it aside, folding your arms as you shook your head at how comfortable the demon looked.

“I thought I made it clear that I don’t want you in my bed.”

Erebos scoffed. “The seat is not empty.”

You glanced towards the seat- you did not remember putting a bunch of clothes on it. You narrowed your eyes at the demon but decided to let it go. “Did you find the mage?”

“Just returned,” the demon answered, “Was my little bird waiting for me?”

“As if,” you tsk-ed, looking away- of course you were. You just wouldn’t ever admit it. After all, you waited all day for this part of the night.

And all night to see Mingi-

“I can taste the lies in the air, human,” the demon licked its lips. “Tell me… why did you ask Mingi about why I possessed him today?”

So it had been listening. You gulped, wondering if the demon had also witnessed the look in your eyes when Mingi was so close-

“I didn’t mean to ask,” you glared at it- Erebos knew you never probed. You never even asked it, save for that one time you did and got the silent treatment. 

“I know,” the demon’s gaze softened for a mere second before it darkened. “And why did you look at Mingi like that? I thought I made it clear that you cannot look at anyone else that way?”

You rolled your eyes even though your heart sank. You did feel guilty, but somehow… it felt alright. “I can look at whoever I want whatever way I want.”

“Oh? Can you now?” Erebos chuckled deeply and you passed it an annoyed look, getting up to put your clothes back in the cupboard. 

However, you did not expect to find it standing- no, towering over you when you turned around- you hadn’t even heard the demon move. You shut your eyes as you tried to calm your heart, but-

But the demon’s hands cupped your face so softly that for a second, you wondered if it was Mingi instead. Only upon opening your eyes and spotting the stars in its irises confirmed that it was indeed the demon.

Erebos looked conflicted as it scanned your eyes. Your gaze softened too- it had been a while since the demon looked at you like you were not a meal- an inside joke now. It reminded you of your first and only kiss, in the hills when the demon had nearly lost control. You leaned into the demon’s touch when it caressed your face and saw the telltale signs of a smile on its lips.

“Can you not look at Mingi with these eyes, little bird?” Erebos almost sounded hurt. “I don’t like it.”

“Erebos, I-”

“No,” the demon shook its head. “I don’t want to know- just let me…”

If the demon was going to ask for permission, it must have decided against it because it crashed its lips on yours, earning a surprised groan from you but you immediately melted into the kiss, clutching at the demon’s shirt. Erebos leaned down to kiss you better and it was just like the first time again, making you breathless and your heart ached as it yearned to be closer to the demon in every way possible. 

You broke apart, already out of breath but Erebos’s lips were back on your skin, peppering kisses all the way down your jaw to your neck and then back up, looking at you once- perhaps to make sure if you were okay- before diving back in to kiss your lips. You responded more eagerly this time, your arms wrapping around its neck and the demon took that sign to pick you up, earning a giggle from you and you absolutely loved the way the demon smiled at you- it was pure. You didn’t doubt the demon’s intentions once and this just strengthened your beliefs. 

Erebos placed you on the bed- not so gently this time- and you both laughed a bit, taking a moment to simply look at the other. You crawled on the demon’s lap, its arms going to hold your waist, and ran a hand through the soft strands of its hair- Mingi’s hair- that you so loved. You traced the edges of its face- Mingi’s face- and kissed the mole under its eye-

How could you kiss him and not see Mingi?

Erebos seemed to notice the hesitation in your eyes and you thought the demon looked sad for a moment before it craned its neck to kiss you again, slower this time, deeper, as if it wanted to say a lot but didn’t have the words for it. You kissed the demon back just like that, making out endlessly with its hands everywhere on your body until you heard it suppress a little groan. You drew back for a second but then it pushed you back on the bed, getting on top of you and-

Pressing its thigh between your legs as it kissed you almost hungrily- the sudden shift almost made you a little dizzy and you cupped its face, breaking apart-

“Erebos- tell me your name, please-”

The demon kissed you again, slowing down just a notch and you moaned into the kiss, loving as its hands found your bare skin, loving the way it rocked its body against yours, loving the way its plump lips tasted on yours, loving the gasp that left its mouth-

Not Erebos, your mind screamed and you broke apart for breath, noticing even in the faint light of the lamp that the eyes no longer had stars in it. 

Mingi had taken over.

Mingi seemed to understand that you knew, yet, when he drew in and brushed his nose against you, you almost moaned. You became hyper aware of his hand on your bare waist where your shirt had lifted, of his other hand squeezing your neck gently as if all his self-control lay there, of his chest rocking against yours as he took deep breaths. This time, you were the one who pulled him in and swallowed all his hesitation as you kissed him, with a dreadful realisation that perhaps, you had failed to keep the boundaries, the distinctions clear. Mingi didn’t seem to mind though- he kissed you back just as enthusiastically, welcoming your tongue in his mouth.

Just as Mingi groaned in pleasure into the kiss, it changed into one of pain and he drew back abruptly. You noticed how his eyes blackened altogether as he clutched his head. You got up into a sitting position and leaned towards him to help but he pushed you away-

“Y/n, run.”

“No, Mingi- please-”

“No,” Mingi clenched his jaw and buried his head in the bed. You realised it was Erebos and the demon must be so, so angry- not only with Mingi, but you. You caressed his head despite his constant warnings and held him.

“Erebos,” you almost cried. “Please. Not like this.”

Mingi calmed down almost completely and you wondered if he had lost consciousness before he raised his head and you saw the stars in his angry eyes as it looked at you questioningly.

“I’m sorry,” you cried, wiping your eyes. “I don’t have anything else to say.”

Erebos was silent and you wondered if the demon hadn’t heard you until you noticed the shadows seeping out of it and spreading in the room. You squeezed the demon’s hand, locking eyes with it. “Look at me, Erebos.”

“Why?”

A strangled cry left you when you heard how broken, how devastated the demon sounded. Erebos buried its head in your lap and shadows continued to seep out of its body and you dared to touch the edge of one, drawing away with a cry- it seemed to burn. 

“Erebos?” You caressed its head. “Erebos, please-”

“Go away,” the demon simply said. “I don’t want to hurt you.”

You pursed your lips, looking towards the door when you heard the sound of footsteps- it was Seonghwa and he looked utterly surprised. He rushed towards you and said, “You need to get away from Erebos- the shadows are not safe right now.”

“I can’t leave Erebos like this,” you cried. 

“Take her before I hurt her,” Erebos said, almost falling limp and you snatched your arm away when Seonghwa tried to grab it.

“I’m sorry, but I can’t leave them like this- both Mingi and Erebos,” you told him and he looked conflicted. You shut your eyes and hugged their body, not minding the way your skin burned wherever it came in contact with the shadows. You hummed a melody that your father used to sing at your bed and Seonghwa gasped, drawing away from you-

The shadows were not hurting you- not anymore.

He watched both your and Mingi’s body melt into each other as you lost consciousness, the shadows no longer in the air. He made sure the two of you were breathing and were alright before he left the room and found his way to the kitchen, slumping on a chair-

Maybe it was time- never had Erebos been able to control its magic from hurting someone until this moment. It was as if even though the demon had lost consciousness, it still knew to protect you.

Seonghwa smiled at the two bodies that clung to each other, as if providing comfort. His smile was sad though- it looked like the curse would soon break. 

It was going to be a mess.

—---------------------

You woke up with every muscle in your body aching as if you had overused it. Groaning, you turned in the bed, biting your lips to swallow the cry of pain that would have left you. You blinked a few times, trying to recall just what you had done last night to be this tired-

Mingi.

You got up with immense effort- he was not here anymore and it was dark outside- just how long had you been sleeping? You noticed the glass of water and a potion next to you, a note attached in Wooyoung’s handwriting that said ‘you better drink this before you move’. Knowing Wooyoung’s potion would probably do you some good, you drank the bitter pink liquid before exiting the room-

It was so, so dark outside. Unnaturally dark and you could barely see anything. With a dreadful realisation, you started towards Mingi’s room, letting your hand against the wall guide you towards the end of the hall. You found a faint light from the room and when you entered, you first saw Seonghwa leaning towards something, a white flame lighting the lone candle in the corner-

Seonghwa was caressing something- someone. Mingi. 

Seonghwa’s head turned when a strangled cry left your mouth and he urged you to wait outside. You stood like a little kid behind the door until he urged you to follow him to Wooyoung’s room, who was going through some notes.

“I can’t find anything,” Wooyoung sighed in defeat, slumping on the couch. “Don’t you remember if something like this has happened in the past?”

“Each curse is unique,” Seonghwa simply said as if that explained everything.

“What’s happening?” You tried not to sound frantic but failed. “Why are they like this?”

“Do you remember what happened before you passed out?” Seonghwa asked.

“I… I was trying to calm them down- Mingi and Erebos.” you recalled. “I was humming a song my father taught me and then… why did I pass out? Was it because of their magic?”

“You could have died, y/n,” Seonghwa shook his head. “Somehow, they protected you with their magic, even when they lost control. Do you know that’s the first time they’ve ever been able to do that?”

Your heart sank- you recalled all the stories Mingi and Erebos had told you about not being able to protect the people they loved when they lost control and the shadows burned them- they burned you a bit too but when you hummed…

“They must have felt you even when they were far gone,” Wooyoung smiled sadly. “I don’t know if I should be pleased about it though…”

“Well, we have got to do something about Mingi and Erebos,” Seonghwa said. “I wouldn’t suggest you going to them right now- it might not work in your favour.”

You didn’t quite understand what they were getting at. “But it happened because of me. I… I knew Erebos wouldn’t like it if I became closer to Mingi, but…”

“It was bound to happen sooner or later,” Wooyoung muttered and Seonghwa looked at him in warning but he shook his head. “She should know.”

“What now?” Your voice quivered.

“You should know that it’s not your fault,” Wooyoung said gently. “The demon was cursed. Did they ever tell you why?”

You shook your head in denial and Wooyoung motioned at Seonghwa to continue. “Ages ago, Erebos was a high status demon in their realm. The Lord of Shadows. Erebos was powerful enough to control other demons, and though it had better things to do than involve itself in petty mischief, it was also powerful enough to undo their damage- mainly human possession which was very rampant at that time. One day… Erebos came across some demon who was violating the demon code- we are not allowed to leave evidence of demon possession, but that demon wanted to show the world that it could do whatever it pleased.

“Erebos wasn’t going to involve itself but one thing led to another and since Erebos held the authority, it killed that demon. Turns out the demon was some other high lord’s underling who got pissed and reported it to the court where Erebos was going to receive its judgement.”

“But… it wasn’t Erebos’s fault,” you said and Seonghwa nodded.

“The demons aren’t forgiving. If they forgive, wouldn’t that make them human?” He smiled. “Erebos could have been ‘grounded’, in layman terms, or stripped of his title but demons are a sadistic bunch. They twisted his intentions thinking that the demon ‘pitied’ the human. They cursed him to live inside a human, to feel like a human does, until-”

“Until?” You waited but Seonghwa glanced at Wooyoung now. Your heart sank as you recalled something familiar-

The scroll Mingi had hid under the plank in the hallway.

You got up and went outside, walking almost mechanically towards the end of the hallway and took out the scroll and watched Wooyoung shake his head, confirming your suspicions. You opened it and read it again:

“Once the shadow, once the light 

As one, the two must thrive  

A curse both must fight 

To one’s end, they dive 

For love, with all their might 

Hearts awakened, live alive”

“What does it mean?” You went back inside the room and spread the scroll on the table. “They’re clearly talking about Erebos, but…”

“‘A curse both must fight, to one’s end they dive, for love’,” Seonghwa quoted. “They will continue to fight the curse to one’s end because ultimately, only one of them can live inside that body. No matter how much they try to coexist, it’s not possible- this episode they’re having is not their first one but it might be their final one, because…”

“‘For love’,” Wooyoung’s smile was sad. “Once the two fall in love with the same person… the curse will break. It’s twisted because a demon is not supposed to feel those emotions but Erebos can feel them now, because of Mingi. Mingi has fallen in love a few times in the past centuries but Erebos never gave in, until…”

It couldn’t be.

“This does not make any sense, it’s stupid,” you almost spat. “Is the curse even real or was it just to mock Erebos? And Erebos is a demon, it cannot love-”

You recalled that night in the graveyard well and good. You recalled what Erebos said about wanting you, wanting to be with you. Could you not call it love when it did so much for you, waited to be with you, touched you like you could break, kissed you like time was running short?

And Mingi… He told you not to look at him the way you looked at Erebos, like the demon was everything you ever wanted. 

“It… cannot be,” you said, not realising your face was wet and your vision was blurry. “What will happen?”

“We do not know,” Wooyoung patted your back. “Maybe try talking to them. Seonghwa, let’s allow her to. We need to know if this is just another episode or if the curse is breaking- if this might be the end.”

“Why did no one tell me about the curse?” You looked at the two.

“Not our place to tell you, and they have forbidden us to,” Seonghwa shook his head. “We only let you know now because the situation called for it.”

“If I had known-”

“If you had known, it would have still happened anyway,” Wooyoung squeezed your shoulder. “Love is not a feeling you can control.”

You stared into the fire for the longest moment, wishing you could undo everything from the moment you met Mingi and Erebos. You wished you had not decided to stay, nor found a family in this odd group. You wished you hadn’t fallen for a demon and then the human who coexisted in one body. But no matter how much you cursed yourself over it, it was no use. 

Love was not a feeling you could control.

You had long since stopped crying, now in a state of numbness. Seonghwa and Wooyoung were patiently waiting for you to make a decision.

“I’m going to try talking to them,” you swallowed the choking feeling in your throat. “I can’t give up- not like this.”

“You’re strong,” Wooyoung smiled proudly. “And I think only you could have done this- make a demon fall for you. How crazy is that?”

You laughed at that, hiding your face as it settled in and a sob left your body. Wooyoung was quick to get up and rub your back.

“It’s tragic, I know, but it has been very painful for them to coexist in one body,” he told you. “We helped in any way we could but it was never enough. I think they found comfort in you- both Mingi and Erebos. It’s going to be okay, don’t lose faith.”

“I don’t want to lose them,” you cried. “I don’t want to lose either of them. It’s very selfish of me, but-”

“We’ve grown quite attached to them too,” Seonghwa admitted. “But we can’t avoid it. It’s cruel, but it is the way it is.”

You nodded, preparing yourself for what was next, hoping for a miracle that you knew might not come.

—------------------------

It was dark and it was cold. There was no way out. The darkness hugged Mingi and the cold settled in his bones. There was not a sound- not even of his own breath. The shadows were endless.

Mingi wondered how he had gotten here but there was no answer. It was just the way it was, how it happened. There was no one to blame, no one to point fingers at. He had learned not to question how cruel the hands of fate could be. Still, he couldn’t help but wonder if it really had to be this way.

Mingi called Erebos’s name, hoping to find solace in the darkness of their subconsciousness but Erebos seemed to have given in to the void as well. So Mingi waited, not alone but so lonely. He waited for Erebos to wake up, for a miracle to happen-

“Mingi? Can you hear me?”

It was your voice, so distant that he wondered if he was imagining it. 

“Erebos? Mingi? Please, talk to me.”

No- it was real. Their names were being called. Mingi looked around, blindly thrashing around in hopes of finding Erebos, wondering if the demon could hear it too. 

As Mingi started gaining a bit of consciousness, he could make out another figure in the void- Erebos’s figure- he did not know if the demon had a body of its own but whenever the two interacted in their subconscious, it was like they were looking in a mirror. The only difference had always been in their eyes. 

“Erebos,” Mingi nudged the demon’s body, sitting with its head buried between its knees, arms wrapped around itself as if that could protect the demon from what was ahead. “Wake up.”

The demon didn’t budge and Mingi heard your voice call for them again. He was pretty sure Erebos was ignoring it on purpose now. “Hey, I know you can hear me and her. Look at me.”

The demon finally gave an indication of not having lost it completely by tapping its fingers- a sign Mingi would have missed had he not been paying attention. Mingi sighed deeply. “How long are you going to be like this?”

“I’m just wondering…” Erebos finally said, not looking up. “If this is the end.”

Mingi was wondering too- it had never been so dark here. He could feel their magic getting out of control, nothing like they had ever experienced before. No matter how much he tried to get back into his consciousness, it wasn’t working. 

“The curse, huh?” Mingi shook his head. “So you’re in love with y/n? I thought you were incapable of love.”

“I thought I was too,” Erebos finally looked up. “Until I found myself protecting her with all my might when you kissed her and we lost control.”

Mingi looked away- it was his fault too. The first time the demon fell in love and he had to be there and mess things up-

“I know what you’re thinking,” Erebos smiled. “I’m not sure I could have fallen in love if it weren’t for you.”

“What do you mean?”

“I am a demon, Mingi,” Erebos scoffed. “I may only be feeling these human emotions because I live within a human body now.”

“That is not how this works, and you know it,” Mingi tsk-ed. 

“You’re the one who insisted that demons do not have a heart,” Erebos tsk-ed back. 

“I was wrong. Seonghwa is also a demon- he would not have been helping us for centuries if he did not have a heart. He never demanded anything in return. And you…” Mingi shook his head. “I know you blame yourself over what happened when I first fell in love. It was not your fault, and if you were a demon, you wouldn’t have been wallowing in guilt. You would have enjoyed my misery.”

“Who says I didn’t?”

“Don’t pretend to be heartless now when you visit the grave every year and pray to god knows who,” Mingi said and Erebos pursed its lips- it had always tried to force Mingi the furthest back in their consciousness whenever it did that, but it looked like the demon may have slipped. “My point is, you don’t love y/n because of me. You love her because she looked at you- from the beginning. She didn’t care that you were a demon. And you love her because you have a heart of your own, no matter how… dark or ugly it may be.”

Erebos laughed at that and Mingi shared a grin as well, silence settling once again. “Okay, you’re right. We wouldn’t be here right now if I wasn’t in love with her. And you’re in love with her too.”

Mingi smiled sadly. “How could I not be in love with her when she is the way she is?”

“Little bird,” Erebos smiled fondly and Mingi was taken aback by the display of those emotions in the demon’s eyes. Its smile fell when your voice rang in the void again, calling for them both, begging for them to come back. “I know I wished I was never cursed to be in a human body, but I can’t say that I regret it now that I know what it is like to be loved.”

Mingi felt his heart sink. “What are you getting at?”

“I shouldn’t have been in this body in the first place,” Erebos sounded determined. “I do not deserve to choose to live on and kill you in the process.”

Mingi was taken aback by the sudden declaration. “I know only one of us can make it out alive but… I’m only human. I will grow old and die anyway. If you choose to live… I don’t think I would mind, I…” Mingi laughed in disbelief. “I can’t believe I’m willingly giving you the choice to live in my body and kill me in the process, but Erebos… that human loves you. You deserve to be loved too.”

Erebos shook its head. “I do not deserve to be loved, but I am thankful for the love I have received. I cannot go back and choose to live. The human loves you too, Mingi. I think she deserves a human, not a demon by her side for the rest of her life.”

“But-”

“No buts,” Erebos got up. “She’s human, Mingi. I would ruin her. And even if I love her with all my heart, I wouldn’t be able to live when she dies- because I will outlive her. I would rather kill myself than see her dead. You humans… you’re used to the notion of death. You understand that you grow old and die. I do not.”

Erebos raised its hands and the shadows gathered in its palms. Mingi took a step back, almost panicking. “What are you doing?”

“Putting an end to this for once and for all,” Erebos announced.

“Wait- wait,” Mingi pounced on him, surprising the demon as they fell. “You don’t get to go just like this. You can’t do this to her- you have to tell her.”

“I can’t face her again-”

“No, you listen to me,” Mingi groaned in frustration. “You can’t do this without saying goodbye.”

“If you think my mind will change once I see her, you’re wrong.”

“I know it won’t,” Mingi shook his head. “But she deserves a goodbye too.”

Erebos thought about it and Mingi could see the doubt in the demon’s eyes. Before Erebos could make a decision, Mingi grabbed Erebos’s hands, the shadows looping around his arm now.

“What do you think you are doing?” Erebos tried snatching its hands away but Mingi smiled, forcing the shadows to shift to himself and-

Forcing Erebos into consciousness.

You felt the shift in the air instantly and watched Erebos lift its head and look at you, almost in disbelief and confusion. A short sob left you as you knelt down next to him, bringing your hands to the demon’s face but hesitating, letting them hover until Erebos relaxed.

“You’re… back,” you caressed its face. “Are you okay?”

Erebos didn’t say anything, simply leaned forward to wrap its arms around you as if it, too, had been afraid. You smiled- this was the first time Erebos actually hugged you. You looped your own arms around its neck and the demon shifted under you, burying its face in the crook of your neck and staying like that for the longest time, not saying a word, simply relishing the feeling-

“Erebos,” you finally whispered. “What happened?”

Erebos didn’t respond, instead nudged your neck with its nose and you would have thought the demon was just having a moment until you felt something wet on your neck and you drew back to see-

The demon was crying.

“What’s the matter?” Your heart broke at the way Erebos was looking at you. Its hands were shaking as they cupped your face and caressed your skin, scanning you as if it was memorising the way you looked. “Erebos, please, tell me what’s going on.”

The demon only smiled, tears streaking down its face. You felt your heart sink in the worst possible way, looking around to see the shadows still wild around you. “The curse… it hasn’t broken yet, has it? Is Mingi okay?”

“He’s okay,” Erebos assured you but you couldn’t relax.

“Is the curse going to break?”

The demon’s silence was enough. You took a deep breath. “Tell me how to undo everything. I will leave. I don’t want you two to live like this-”

“It’s already done,” Erebos wiped the tears from your eyes. “It’s going to end soon, little bird.”

“What do you mean?” You cried out. “What’s going to happen?”

“It’s been an honour to have been loved by you.” 

“No, no, please,” you gripped the demon’s hands. “What are you doing?”

“I was going to leave but Mingi forced me back here so I could… say goodbye,” Erebos laughed a little. “I think it was wise of him to do so.”

“Leave where?” You whispered and you heard a shuffle of sound behind you, Wooyoung and Seonghwa now present in the room. Erebos nodded at them, mouthing a ‘thank you’. Seonghwa took a deep breath, turning around and facing the white flame while Wooyoung put one hand over his heart and one over Seonghwa’s shoulder.

“I was never meant to be here,” Erebos kissed your forehead, lingering. “This is how it is supposed to end. You deserve to be loved by a human, not a demon.”

“That makes no sense,” you let out a short laugh. “I… Please, don’t do this. Tell me how to make it better- there must be a loophole. It doesn’t have to end with one of you-”

You couldn’t say it, hiding your face in Erebos’s lap as you cried your heart out, the demon caressing your body. The sobs racked through your body and you felt like you were in physical pain- you simply couldn’t seem to catch your breath. There was so much you wanted to say to Erebos, so much you wished to tell the demon but you couldn’t form the words.

“I don’t want to leave seeing you cry,” Erebos’s voice was filled with sadness. “I want to see you smiling before I leave. Please, little bird? I don’t have much time.”

You willed everything in you to tone down your sobs and got up, the demon shaking its head in amusement at your state. “What a mess. Still so pretty.”

Erebos tucked your hair back. “It’s been… a long life in this human body. I’ve never felt alive, not once, until I met you. There’s so much I want to thank you for. I’m not even sure if it’s because I am in a human body that I feel all this. Maybe if I was the Lord of Shadows, I still would have found you and still would have loved you. I feel like I was meant to be here.”

“Stop being so sappy,” you pouted and the demon chuckled, wiping the fresh stream of tears from your eyes. You shut your eyes, memorising the way the demon’s skin felt- cold. Too cold to be human. When the demon hugged you again, you memorised the pattern of its breathing- uneven. It had always been irregular. And when the demon kissed your cheek, you memorised the way it felt- like a feather. When the demon joined its forehead with yours, you noted in your heart the sound of its breath against yours. And when the demon kissed you on your lips, you tucked that feeling into the deepest corner of your heart- the feeling of being enveloped in the safest of shadows. 

You stayed like that for a few moments before its body shook and you finally opened your eyes. You could see the light in Erebos’s eyes fade away and it smiled, struggling to keep upright. You sucked in your tears, remembering that Erebos wished for you to smile. You patted your lap and the demon lied down, looking up at you.

“Will you tell me your name now?” You asked.

The demon smiled. “It’s nothing much.”

“Just tell me your name,” you glared at it and the demon laughed. You memorised the sound of it as well.

“Tirich,” it said. “My name is Tirich. It means darkness- or shadow.”

“Tirich,” you called and the demon shut its eyes, taking in a deep breath. “Such a beautiful name. Tirich,” you repeated again, kissing its forehead. 

“Y/n,” it called and you shut your eyes, willing yourself not to cry at the way it said your name. “My little bird.” You laughed and Tirich took one of your hands in its own, while your other caressed its head. “Can you sing me that song again? Before I go to sleep?”

You nodded. Tirich looked over at the healer and the demon still hanging by. “Come here, you two. Stop hanging like bats in the corner.”

You laughed at the duo, looking as messy as you with tear-stained faces and trembling hands. They came to sit near Tirich and the demon looked fondly at them for once, making Wooyoung shake his head.

“Not how I imagined you’d go, but this is better,” he grinned. Tirich grinned back and looked at Seonghwa, tsk-ing. 

“Remind me why they kicked you out of the demon realm again?”

“Shut up,” Seonghwa muttered and everyone laughed at that. “At least I accept that this is the way I am. You’re still wondering if you’re looking at us with heart eyes because of Mingi.”

“It’s definitely Erebos- Tirich,” Wooyoung smiled as he corrected. “I must say I’m disappointed. We’ve spent centuries with you but you go ahead and tell your name to the girl you just met-”

“You wish you were me,” you stuck out your tongue at the healer and he did the same. Tirich coughed a little, drawing everyone’s attention back.

“I’m going now,” the demon said. “Please… sing me the song.”

You kissed the demon’s forehead one last time, whispering in its ear that you loved every moment you got to be with it and will never forget it. You hummed the song, caressing the demon’s face, your voice starting to tremble as you felt the shadows around you recede back and back until nothing was left. You didn’t stop- not when Seonghwa and Wooyoung hugged each other and cried. Not when the demon’s body went limp in your lap. The tears fell and you continued singing until the sobs took over when nothing was left and you felt the body in your lap move again.

Mingi was back.

Mingi let you cry with your face buried in his chest for the longest time until you passed out from exhaustion. He tucked you in his bed and he finally sat down, feeling the most empty even though his heart felt full for once. It was as if a part of him was gone now. He stared at his palm, so very human. He felt weak, and he couldn’t make it to the bed- he passed out as well, though Wooyoung came right on time, knowing it would be tough for Mingi to use a body that was fully human without the strength of a demon that had braced it for centuries.

The healer tucked Mingi beside you, shaking his head at the irony- two humans who lost a demon that they loved in their own twisted ways. 

—----------------------

“I thought I said I wanted this in red and black, not blue and black.”

“I distinctly remember you saying how blue was a nice colour-”

“For you!” Wooyoung groaned. “I wanted my scarf in red and black!”

“Well…” you considered for a moment, looking down at the bundle of your knitted scarfs. “My bad?”

Seonghwa, who was watching you two bicker, snorted loudly, making Wooyoung jump up and down in frustration and you promised between breathless laughter that you would make him another scarf. Seonghwa shook his head. “We know you’re obsessed with the colour blue, but I want mine in pink and white. Not blue and white.”

You pursed your lips, muttering, “Noted.” The duo nodded at you before continuing to set the table for dinner. At that moment, Mingi came from outside, having collected fresh oranges from the trees not far from your house. You waved at him and he smiled, placing the basket on the kitchen counter before hopping to you and planting a kiss on your temple.

“That’s mine, right?” Mingi pointed at the blue and black scarf in your lap.

“You like it?”

Mingi nodded and you handed him the scarf, smiling at how his eyes lit up. He went to try it on in front of the mirror near the door and you gathered your wool, getting up. One of the balls of wool rolled down and before you could grab it, it continued to roll down endlessly across the living room and you groaned.

“Seonghwa, can you please make this house stand straighter? Look at that,” you pointed at the ball of wool still unrolling, bumping into whatever was in the way and changing directions. “The elevation is all messed up.”

“I’ll see what I can do,” Seonghwa rolled his eyes. You made a face before gathering the thread and following it to see where it unrolled off to, sitting under the stairs now. You picked it up and started rolling it, looking up and halting entirely- 

On the table where you collected your candles, one of them was burning with a black flame- you wondered if you were imagining it but you took a closer look, in awe at how dark the flame was- you had never seen a flame that was shades of black. You picked the candle up, running your finger over the flame but it didn’t burn. You wondered if this was one of Wooyoung’s strange objects he used for healing-

You frowned, putting your finger right over the flame and feeling the familiarity of the flame, no, the shadow. 

It couldn’t be.

“Uh, Seonghwa!” You almost screamed, making everyone look at you. “Is this your flame?”

Before Seonghwa could even make his way to you, you were rushing to him, surprised when the air didn’t make the flame budge, not one bit. You stopped when you reached them, blowing at the flame and everyone collectively gasped when it didn’t blow out. 

“Wait, is this you?” Wooyoung looked at Seonghwa who shook his head furiously.

“My flame is white- you’ve seen it.”

“That’s not me. Mingi?”

“Isn’t this-” Mingi narrowed his eyes. “Douse it with water.”

“No,” you hid the candle away from him but Wooyoung was quick to grab the glass of water and spill it on the candle, making you shout and almost cry but you recovered when you saw the flame was still burning in its full glory. You settled the candle on the table and everyone stared at it.

“Should I say it?” Seonghwa looked at everyone. “It’s a shadow flame. It has to be Tirich.”

Your heart sank. “How?”

“I don’t know,” Seonghwa smiled in disbelief, looking at Mingi. “You tell.”

Mingi poked his tongue in his cheek, a clear indication that he knew something. You waited for him to spill but he groaned, overwhelmed by everyone’s questioning gaze. “Look, it’s something Tirich said long ago as a joke- I didn’t know the demon could actually do it.”

“So it’s Tirich?”

“I’m not sure,” Mingi touched the flame. “Feels like it but I don’t feel its presence, you know?” Seonghwa nodded in agreement. “Maybe the demon gathered all its remaining energy to be this undying-” Mingi pressed his fingers on the wick of the candle, the flame disappearing but reappearing right when he pulled his fingers back, “-stubborn flame.”

Wooyoung cackled, clapping his hands in amusement. “It’s something Tirich would do. Just can’t leave us alone, can it?”

You laughed, nodding, happy tears leaving your eyes as you watched the flame burn endlessly, the candle wax not even melting. Mingi patted your back and the two of you shared a grin, a sense of relief settling over you.

The candle was placed on the fireplace mantel by you. You insisted that this was Tirich’s favourite spot though Wooyoung argued that it was the roof but you refused to give in. This was where you had first talked to Tirich and this was where you met every night. Once in a while, someone would try to see if the flame would budge- mostly Wooyoung again. He would try water, salt, everything in his book but the flame seemed to be immortal. Sometimes, when you watched it as you thought of Erebos, you could swear it flickered in response. You could swear it burned brighter whenever Mingi and you watched it together with the fondest memories of the demon in your hearts. 

It didn’t hurt anymore, not like it did earlier. It was like the demon was still with you, in the form of that flame, watching over you. Whenever you felt like crying, you recalled how Tirich said it wanted to see you smile, always. So you never cried, at least not at your favourite spot where the candle stood. You only cried in Mingi’s arms who was always there for you, so loving and caring, so warm. He understood that you missed the demon- he, too, did. He had to cope not only emotionally but physically as well, so you focused your energy on trying to make it easier for him as well.

You learned how to etch on metal and with the help of Seonghwa, you created a candle stand for ‘Tirich’s candle’, as you all called it. It was a beautiful shade of silver and you etched a phrase on it that you would always remember. When you showed it off to everyone, they loved your idea and agreed the candle looked better with the new stand. You took to decorating the mantle next, everyone leaving a little something that they had associated with Tirich on it- a small bottle that Wooyoung used for storing their potion, a piece of mirror Seonghwa had brought from the demon realm where sometimes he could see his home, and the blue ribbon Mingi had tied the scroll with- the scroll which had turned to ashes the moment the curse broke.

You stared at the finished product now that the mantle was full of things surrounding the candle, your heart full as you read the etching on the candle stand.

Hearts Awakened, Live Alive.

[onesiesdaydream]

Love Me Like the End is Coming I Dream x Reader

Ch. 1 I Ch. 2 I Ch. 3 I Ch. 4

Chapter 3 (A Chocolate Chip Cookie)

Summary: Hidden deep within the shadows of the Burgess estate, Dream remains trapped in a glass prison—silent, ageless, and watching. Through the shimmer of enchantment, he sees you for the first time: a child with curious eyes and a gentle presence, so different from the rest. Over the years, you return, drawn to the quiet figure beyond the glass, unaware of the ancient power your gaze stirs awake. Time passes. You grow. And still, he watches. And when the time comes, you are the one who sets him free. What begins as an unlikely friendship between a god of dreams and a mortal girl blossoms into something stranger, something beautiful. But as you help Dream reclaim what was stolen from him, you begin to uncover buried pieces of your own past — pieces that may not have been meant to surface.

MASTERLIST

'Oh shit.'

You really screwed up this time.

"I uh…I-"

The guard rolled his eyes with a loud huff that rustled his bushy moustache, his rough Welsh accent shining through as he let go of your collar "Look kid, I ain't fond of the big man myself so I'm not about to go saunterin' to tell him about this. But I'm warning you. I better not see you around here again or we'll both be in deep shit. Got it? Now go on."

He gently pushes you back towards the stairs.

You didn't think twice about it before bolting back to where you came from. When you were almost at the top though, you couldn't help but sneak one final glance at the mysterious being, now looking slightly more comfortable thanks to the blanket an pillow.

He was staring straight at you but this time, to your pleasant surprise, it wasn't as intense as before, maybe even slightly curious.

You sent a small wave his way before booking it back to your room, flopping down into bed and heading to sleep with a lighter heart.

That morning you were woken up by the shrill buzz of the doorbell once more. You heard Mr. Burgess call out to Mr. Sykes and Alex. You were just about to fall back to sleep when you heard a strange voice inside the house.

You quickly got up and put on your slippers from last night, quietly going over to the railing that peeped over the first floor to get a look at who was inside the mansion. There you found a tidy blond man with a chiseled face strolling his way around the first floor. Was he wearing sunglasses indoors?

Despite being crouched down, the man looked up towards the railing before spotting you peeking at the scene through the intricate wooden railing. He shot you a small smile, raising his hand and waving slightly towards you. Curious about the stranger, you stayed rooted in place but nonetheless waved back .

The second Mr. Burgess turned the corner you slunk back enough so you could hear the conversation but not be seen. The man's smile had fallen at how quick you were to leave but thought nothing of it.

"Do I know you?" questioned the Magus.

"No, but I know all about you, Roderick," the peculiar man replied in a sing-songy way,

"and the being you've trapped in your cellar."

That immediately piqued your interest.

A groggy looking Alex came out of his bedroom before making his way next to you to look over the balcony.

"Blackmail, then, is it? A shakedown?" It was clear Mr. Burgess didn't trust the stranger.

"Not at all. I'm here to help you. You're gonna need all the help you can get."

That was the last you heard of the mysterious conversation before they both walked into the study, shutting the door to continue their chat.

You turned to Alex, "What do you think that was all about?"

He shrugged. "Let's go get breakfast, yeah?"

On your way to the kitchen, you caught sight of the two men making their way towards the front door. The man with the sunglasses saw you waving at you once more before taking his leave.

Alex went over with Mr. Sykes briefly to the door to observe the departure of the strange man with the cream colored suit.

You never saw him again.

After you finished eating the delicious breakfast that Mr. Sykes had prepared for the both of you, Mr. Burgess didn't take long before beckoning Alex to his study. Probably to boss him around again.

You decided now was as good of a time as any to sneak back into the cellar and talk to the being downstairs.

'Maybe I should bring him something to eat. Does he even eat?'

You took 2 chocolate chip cookies from one of the plates Mr. Sykes had set out and wrapped them up neatly in a napkin.

Making your way to the entrance of the cellar with the light of day this time made the trip much less terrifying. You carefully tiptoed down the stairs, checking the area out to see where the guards were. Luckily, there was no one in sight.

He was still wrapped up in the blanket you had given him last night but you could see his pale feet poking out from the bottom. Maybe he was able to get a little bit of rest.

"Good morning! I'm back." you whispered, just in case.

He opened his eyes and you could feel the shivers creeping up your spine. His eyes were beautiful yet so so terrifying. They looked at you inquisitively, not trusting but not glowering either.

You sat crisscrossed in front of the binding circle, scooching back slightly once you saw him trying to move.

He gingerly propped himself up on the pillow with one elbow before straining to lift himself up into a sitting position. It seemed to be taking him a colossal amount of effort, his face glistening with newly formed sweat. But nonetheless, after a bit of struggle, he managed to sit up without showing you any of his privates, placing the blanket over his lap.

"I brought you some of Mr. Sykes chocolate chip cookies! He's an amazing baker and they're my absolute favorite! I don't know if you're hungry or not but you should definitely eat some so you can get your strength back and move around more easily." you explained, taking out the neatly folded up cookies from our pocket.

That's when you hesitated.

'Should I hand them to him? Or would it be better to place them in the circle? What if he tires to grab me? What should I do!?'

You unwrapped them, opting for placing them inside the circle for him to take as quickly as you could.

He stared down at the cookies before glancing up at you through his thick, long eyelashes.

Without removing his gaze from yours, he slowly picked up one of the brown cookies and took a miniscule bite. He strained to grab the remaining cookie, picking it up with the napkin and pointing it in your direction. His eyebrows were raised as he motioned the cookie your way as if telling you to take it.

You stared at him surprised by the interaction before smiling and taking the one he was handing you taking a big ol' bite.

With your mouth full you asked "were you cold last night?", before going back to enjoying your treat.

He seemed to be working on his cookie very slowly, swallowing a small bite before staring at you. He hesitated for a moment before giving you a a tiny shake of his head.

It took him by surprise when your small eyes lit up like a city at night just because of his acknowledgement.

"Great! I know it's probably not really comfortable to sleep on this floor but at least the blanket kept you warm." you said, gradually losing your fear of him after seeing that he hadn't made any move to hurt you in the two days that you had gotten near him and was actually semi-communicating with you.

You had just finished up your cookie when you heard the sound of people upstairs. Probably the guards getting ready to switch shifts.

He started lying back down, exhaustion taking over.

"I really need to go now. I don't want a repeat of last night. I'll try to come see you again tomorrow. Bye Mr.! Hope you liked the cookie!"

And with that, you made your way back up the dreary old steps to the main house, mindful of the crack in the floor this time.

That very same afternoon and the days after that, the mansion was flooded by a series of men who meandered about the house with a large sheets of glass, iron, and various construction tools. But that was the least of your problems. The problem was that they kept trudging into the basement.

'What could they be doing down there?'

You didn't dare step near the cellar with so many people loitering inside of it. So you went to find Alex. Maybe he knew what all of this was about.

"Hey Alex, what's going on inside with so many people?" you asked. He was in the garden.

"Father said they were doing some very important work and it's crucial that no one interrupts them. He didn't say much else so I'm not really sure. Guess we'll just have to wait an see." he said.

"Maybe it has something to do with that gentleman that stopped earlier this morning." you pondered, looking over at the young boy besides you.

You couldn't help but feel like there was something more going on.

"Maybe. Let's stop thinking about that and let's go help Mr. Sykes with the dusting. Maybe he'll give us some more of those delicious cookies!" he stated, standing up and turning to face you.

You forced yourself to forget about the people in the cellar. About the pale man in the binding circle. It was probably nothing.

With a bright smile towards Alex, you took his hand and marched your way back inside with him.

'Everything will be just fine.'

You should've known better than that.

[howlingday]

Everybody on Beacon thinks that Weiss Schnee hates Jaune Arc, but that really far from the truth. The truth both Jaune and Weiss are childhood friends that are secretly dating, mostly beacuse Jaquess sees the Arc family not as a noble family of heroes like Nicholas Schnee saw the Arcs, but peasants that are skiled with the sword. So Jaquess dosen't let Weiss see Jaune for years, until the meet again in Beacon.

Another Time, Another Life

Knightshade

"I see you've been playing out in the snow all day." Nicholas chuckled. "And where are your gloves, young man?"

"I... I forgot." Jaune meekly answered.

"Huh?" His father lifted his hand to his ear. "What's that? Couldn't quite hear ya! I'm gettin' old, ya know!"

"I forgot." Jaune said a little louder. His father sighed, shaking his head, though his smile never faded. "I'm sorry."

"You think you're sorry? What do you think's gonna happen to me when your mother sees you without your fingers?" He took off his glove and held his son's hand between his index finger and thumb. "I don't think my hand's small enough to match yours."

"It was my fault, Mr. Arc." Nicholas turned around to see Weiss, his employer's youngest daughter, standing close by with her hands folded over lap. She knelt forward a bit. "I apologize."

Looking behind her, he found the family butler, Klein, with a pleased look on his face. Even a princess needs to be raised right, right? That she doesn't end up-

"Apoligize? For what?!" -like that. Nicholas watched as the CEO of the Schnee Dust Company, Weiss' father, and his current employer held a twisted sneer beneath his burly moustache. "It's hardly your fault. If anything, it's the boy's own foolishness that brings his own misfortune!"

"Well, kids will be kids." Nicholas said, resisting the urge to deck the man who just insulted his kid. Unfortunately, lien was tight and the patriarch of the Schnee name paid more than well enough for the family.

"Perhaps your children, but my daughters, and my son, will bring glory to our family name, rather than frostbite from engaging in childish nonsense." He straightened a bit. "Why, Weiss is clearly smart enough to know that we Schnees are resistant to all types of cold weather!" The urge to punch him became harder and harder to resist the more they talked on it, so Nicholas yielded.

"Is there more work tonight?"

"Indeed." He extended an arm out towards the den at the end of the hallway. "You're familiar with my office?"

"Yeah." Nicholas knelt to his son. "Get those hands warmed up. I wanna hear all about the fun you had when I get back."

"Okay. I love you, Dad."

"Love you, too, Jaune." Nicholas walked away with a smile.

Weiss stood nearby, looking expectantly to her father for words of praise, or comfort, or anything. But instead, he passed her by, giving little if any attention after his boasting of the family name. She resisted the urge to call out to him. She knew better than to do that now.

"If I may, Miss Weiss, but I believe your father is right about one thing." Klein stepped in. "Your family is naturally resistant to cold. Perhaps even to the point of taking the cold away from others?"

Weiss perked at this. She nodded to Klein before getting close to Jaune. Without warning, she held his hands between hers and closed her eyes, willing herself to take the cold from him. And while she was red in the face from effort, Jaune was flush from something else.

He'd heard many a tale about knights and princesses, but normally it was the knight holding the princess' hands like this. She rubbed her hands over his before pulling away to turn them over. She turned to call for Klein, only to realize he was standing behind her. And like a mind-reader, he answered what she thought to ask him.

"He seems to be warm enough now. What do you think, Mister Jaune?" He nodded and Weiss released his hands, backing away and smiling. "Now, what would the two of you like for lunch? We have the greatest chefs in the world, and I will not let a day's worth of play end with empty tummies."

As the two followed Klein, Jaune glanced now and then to Weiss' hand. He could remember how soft and warm they were. True, they were warmer than his hands because he was in the snow without gloves, but she also went without gloves, but her hands weren't as chilled, nor as red, as his.

"What's wrong?" Jaune realized he'd been staring too long when Weiss was suddenly in his face. "Are you sick?"

"N-No, I... I was just..."

"Miss Weiss, I believe his hand is cold again." Klein explained with a grin.

"Already?!" Weiss replied in shock. "Here!" She gripped his hand tightly in hers. "Anytime you feel cold, just let me know, okay?"

Jaune gulped, then gave a nod. "O-Okay!"

--------------------------------------------------

A loud noise awoke Weiss in her bed. She gave a gasp, looking to her door, then saw a shadow moving on the other side. Fearing a burglar, she held her breath, diving deep into her covers in hopes that they would ignore her. It was then she noticed she was alone.

Jaune was sleeping next to her, but now he was gone.

She heard shouting that sounded like her father get closer to the door. As he passed, she heard him clear as day.

"...YOU'LL PAY FOR THIS, ARC!" His voice, though still angry, grew softer as he passed. "I'll see to it that your family never works in..."

What happened to Jaune? The boy she'd known for only so short as a month was gone in the night, and her father shouting and cursing his family name wasn't pure coincidence, she thought. Steeling her nerves, she leapt from her bed and hurried to the door. Opening it, she found her sister, Winter, standing outside.

"Go back to bed, Weiss."

"But sister-"

"Go to bed, Weiss." The older sibling repeated, this time much firmer. "I'll tuck you in and explain everything."

Unable to resist, Weiss retreated into her room with her big sister shutting the door behind her. As she climbed into bed, Winter was tossing the blanket back before draping them over her little sister. She then climbed up and sat next to her.

"Where's Jaune?"

"He's gone, Weiss. His father came and took him."

"When will he be back?" Winter was silent. "Sister?"

"He... won't, Weiss. Not after tonight."

"What?!" Weiss sat up, only to be met by Winter's grip on her shoulders. She could feel the tears building in her eyes. "Was it something Mr. Arc did? Why is father yelling at him?"

"Mr. Arc did... nothing. So his employment with father is terminated as of a few minutes ago. I was worried when I saw him enter your room, but I'm relieved to see he hasn't hurt you."

"Why would he hurt me?! Sister, you're not making any sense!" Weiss tried to shake herself free, only to be met with a firm jostle by the elder Schnee.

"Stay still, Weiss!" Winter barked. "Jaune is gone, and he's never coming back!"

At this, Weiss stopped fighting back. Tears spilled over her cheeks, and she turned in towards her pillow as she did her best to hide her anger and frustration and sadness. She felt the bed shift and heard the door open.

"Good night, sister." Winter said. "And... I'm sorry."

Once the door shut, Weiss didn't bother keeping quiet anymore.

--------------------------------------------------

"Dad... Where are we going?"

"Home, son."

"But... I didn't get to say good-bye to Weiss." His father was quiet, making small hisses and grunts. "Dad?"

"She's... She was sleeping when I picked you up. Did you say good night to her?"

"Yeah?"

"That's... good." His father nodded, lifting his hand to point up. "Because, uh, remember when grandma passed away? We had to say good-bye because good-byes are forever! But a good night means you'll see them another day!"

"Another day?" Jaune blinked. He rubbed his eyes and yawned. It was still dark outside. "When are we coming back?"

"I... can't come back."

"Why not?" A wind blew, making Jaune huddle his coat closer to him. His father opened his coat and brought his son inside. "Dad?"

"Jaune, there's... There's bad people here in Atlas. And there's a lot of problems that need to be fixed. Problems that I can't fix, but maybe you can one day."

"Bad people?"

"Mhm. Bad, terrible, awful people who make their money off the misery of others... and making sure they stay miserable." He shook his head. "I don't want to be that kind of person, Jaune. I want to make people happy. Make them smile. Because that's what a hero does, Jaune. And me... I'm no hero."

Nicholas couldn't tell his son the truth. How could he tell him in a way that he could understand? Not only in a manner appropriate for a boy his age, but in a way that doesn't make him sound like some sort of evil henchman. Jacques Schnee made a fool of him, sending him to a Faunus rally to act as a strike-breaker for peaceful protesters, and when he realized why he was there, he'd had more than enough. Grimm were one thing, and so were street punks and hijackers, but he refused to be the kind of monster who attacked innocent people asking for their fair share.

"...You're my hero, Dad."

Nicholas nearly broke as his son hugged him. Thankfully, the bullhead arrived to blow any tears away.

--------------------------------------------------

"Yeah, and we can paint our nails and talk about tall, blond, and scraggly over there~!"

Jaune perked as he heard that. Was someone talking about him? He looked over and saw Ruby talking, or rather being talked down to with an overbearing girl in a white dress. Her long, white ponytail reminded him of his childhood friend, but there was no way she was the same girl. It had to be a coincidence.

"Wow, really?!" Ruby perked up.

The other girl was quiet for a moment. "No." Yeah, definitely not her. It would be pretty weird if she just happened to be at the same school he was after all these years. Like one of those sappy rom-com stories some of his sisters loved to read.

All thoughts stopped when a man took the stage to give a speech.

--------------------------------------------------

"Stop."

"H-Huh?"

"What did you say your name was?"

"Uh... Jaune. Jaune Arc."

"Jaune... Arc... As in the son of Nicholas Arc, the former sellsword of the Schnee Family?"

"I... take it you're not a fan?"

"Hardly. Your father was responsible for the most heartbreaking years of my life."

Jaune paled. When he was finally old enough to be told, he was horrified to hear what his father was asked to do. He was glad to hear his father finally said no, but there was a part of him that feared just how far into this business he went before he finally said no and left the Schnee Mansion.

"Oh, gosh, I'm... I'm so sorry about my dad." Jaune held up his hands defensively. "Whatever he did to your family, I promise to help you however I can. I give you my word, and an Arc never goes back on his word!"

"Really?" She stepped into his guard. "And did your father give his word when he fled my home in the middle of the night?"

"Uh-"

"Did your father give his word when he stole my only friend out of my life?"

"H-Hang on a sec-"

"Well, did your father give his word?!"

Jaune had his back to the wall, both literally and figuratively. Everyone was staring as this girl, half his size, had him pinned and fearing for his life. When she stepped away, he didn't have it in him to relax. She glanced down before turning away.

"At least you're wearing gloves this time."

"...Weiss?"

"I expect a full explanation AFTER initiation." She walked away. "You better make it in."

"Uh... Sure thing..."

"...I'm Pyrrha, by the way. It was nice to meet you, Jaune~!"

--------------------------------------------------

"So that's what happened." Weiss set her cup down. "No one ever told me what my father asked of yours, but to think he'd stoop so low."

"Yeah, and it doesn't look like he's getting better, either."

"No?" Weiss lifted her brow. "And here I thought the threats of embargo and discrimination within his facilities were points on the buck by now."

"Points on the..."

"Oh, right." Weiss straightened. "I forgot that we've been separated for so long. I've picked up a few hobbies."

"Like what?"

"Stag hunting, for one."

"What's stag hunting?"

"Hunting stags." The two sat silently for a moment. "Deer. Stags are deer."

"Oh..." He cleared his throat. "I've, uh, been reading comic books."

"I see."

The two became silent once more. Making it into Beacon was the easy part, apparently, because talking to each other now felt so... off. Were all long lost friendships like this? If so, how did they ever reunite in the story books? Some people just clicked after seeing each other after a long time, but this? There was no click. Just two people, sitting together, for the first time in probably ten years.

"Oh, uh... Good morning."

"Excuse me?" Weiss looked at the clock on the wall. "It's a half hour past noon."

"Y-Yeah, but..." He sighed. "When my dad took me, he said it was good I didn't say good-bye, because good-bye is forever. Saying good night means you'll see them again another day." He gave a sheepish grin. "And, well, good morning."

Weiss smiled. "Good morning."

As he chuckled and smiled, there was the click.

[jnw1813]

"What will you have after a hundred years?"

The angst 'ending'.

A cold wind rustles the trees, making his hair sway; it stings his eyes.

Staring down, his fingers flex at his sides as he clenches them into fists. Taking a deep breath, he kneels, head bowed, respectful; it's the least you deserve.

“Hello, darlin’.”

His voice cuts through the silence, filling the void around him with sound. It wasn't fair, though. Every moment of your life had been filled with so much colour, so much ambient noise. To have your grave be so quiet seemed like an injustice.

“I… I'm sorry I couldn't visit on our anniversary.” He sighs, shoulders slumping as he just… deflates. “There was an issue at the edge of the galaxy. Mark needed me and… I know you would've wanted that. Me helpin’ others. You were good like that.”

He swallows, an uncomfortable lump in his throat. He can barely speak around it.

“Still. You– you deserve better. It's our anniversary, after all! Hope you didn't think I'd forget.” He forces a laugh. It comes out wet and weak.

His hands shake in his lap.

“... I'd never forget it.” His voice trembles as he whispers. “Never. Not in a million years.”

He takes a few deep breaths, trying to stay calm before he truly broke down.

It never got easier, even after all these years. It just… hurt. So. Damn. Much.

“So–” his voice wobbles, “–happy anniversary, darlin’.” He whispers, finally letting the tears fall, feeling every bit his age as he stares at your tombstone, the weight of his wedding ring the only thing keeping him tethered right now.

For a while, it was quiet. He lets it be. He gazes at the inscription of your name, the photo of your smiling face, and the trinkets and half withered flowers left for you by those that knew you.

Gazing into those pale imitations of your eyes, he begins telling you about all that's happened since his last visit. He proudly tells you about how your eldest son, Orion, had recently had his third child, a boy.

“Another grandkid! Can you believe it, darlin’? We…” He huffs out a soft laugh; his moustache quivers on his upper lip. “We did good, huh?”

He rubs at his face, distracting himself, getting himself back under control. It never got easier– this, coming here, talking to you like you– like you could actually hear him.

He hopes you can though. Viltrumites didn't have religious beliefs like other species did, but he hoped, prayed, there was some sort of afterlife you were listening from.

Another breath, another shaky sigh.

“... Cassandra is finally getting married. Ain't that something? I can barely believe it myself.” Their Cassie had always been more focused on hobbies and work than personal relationships; Conquest would be a liar if he said it hadn't worried him when she was younger. He wanted the best for his kids, and them having everything he hadn't had prior to you was a part of that. “She's going to have a spring wedding, on the beach we always took her to… says it… makes her feel closer to you.

“She feels bad.” He tells you, eyes straying as he notices a caterpillar crawling onto him.

He lets it be.

 

“Silly things thinks she shouldn't have put it off so long, that if she'd just listened and focused on making relationships earlier, you would've been able to see our little girl walk down the aisle.” He lets out a huff, shaking his head. “For such a smart girl, she sure misses the obvious, huh? I told her straight how you'd have felt about it. That you would've wanted her to take her time and only take this step when she was ready for it.”

He extends a finger as he stops speaking for a moment, the caterpillar shuffling onto his finger. He lifts it to eye level, considering it.

Once, he would've squished it without reserve. Now, he considers it precious.

Looking back at your tombstone, he smiles sadly. You truly did weaken me. The old me would be sickened.

Gently, he lays the caterpillar down on the sun-warmed stone. Maybe, if it chooses to, it'll turn into a butterfly right here. You'd like that.

“... so I'll be walking her down the aisle come spring.” He concludes. A ray of sunlight pierces through the clouds, bright, and reflects off of some sea glass pooled in front of your grave. He spends a moment pulling some weeds out, smoothing out the pile.

“I know you'll be there. I can… feel it, as stupid as that sounds.” He says, laying a hand over his chest. “Mostly ‘cus I know you wouldn't miss it for the world if you were still–” alive “–around. Why would that change now that you're…”

And he can't get the words out. No matter how many years passed, he just couldn't say it out loud. It just made it all the more real. It just made him feel how alone he truly was.

Because while you'd given him multiple beautiful, intelligent children, Viltrumite children who'd live long past him, they weren't you. They could never be you. And it wasn't fair for him to look for you in them, even if they tried to fill that gap in his heart.

So, even as his family grew and expanded, even as he was surrounded by people, the spot at his side was still empty; the other side of the bed still cold.

He was still alone.

[tgmsunmontue]

Build you brick by brick... 9/? (WIP)

A Hangster fic that starts with a Lego set...

Still for @phisworld14... 💛

PART ONE PART TWO PART THREE PART FOUR PART FIVE PART SIX PART SEVEN PART EIGHT

PART NINE

Things don’t go long into the evening, those with kids want to get them home to bed. Amelia has been looking bored for over an hour. Natasha is buzzed and happy. It’s been a good night and everyone helps tidy up the worst of the mess before they leave. Except for Hangman; who has been walking around collecting empties and putting them in the recycling bin. Then wiping down surfaces and covering leftovers with clingfilm and doing dishes until he’s the last one there and Bradley watches him as he scrubs.

“You good Rooster?”

“Yeah. I am. Thanks,” Bradley mumbles, hopes he’s not blushing too badly at effectively being caught staring.

“Good.”

Silence falls then and it’s… awkward. Hangman keeps giving him sideways looks, like he’s waiting for something, or maybe considering something and Bradley wonders what he’s missing exactly. Maybe Hangman is trying to pretend to be more sober than he is, because he’s unusually quiet. Although Bradley’s seen him with a few drinks in him, as well as stone-cold sober, and neither state have ever kept him quiet so he isn’t sure what’s keeping him quiet now.

“You want to crash? I’ve got a guest room,” he offers, because it only seems polite considering it’s coming up to midnight. Maybe he’s just really tired? Hangman stops and looks at him, expression flat like Bradley has said something annoying.

“See… I know you’re smart Rooster. No one gets to where we are without being smart. But sometimes I really wonder…”

“What?”

“What if I don’t want to use your guest room?”

“You could get an Uber or Lyft or something?”

“Seriously, why do I find you attractive…”

“Fuck off… wait. What?”

Hangman has braced himself against the kitchen bench, is staring into the sink full of dirty dishwater like it has the answer to life and Bradley stares. Thinks it’s justified now.

“You… like me?”

“Sometimes. Against my better judgement.”

“Really?”

“It’s fine Bradshaw. You don’t need to rub it in. Just… let me dry my hands and I’ll get out of here.”

Bradley doesn’t want him to leave, doesn’t let him move away, deliberately steps to block his path. Then he’s cupping Hangman’s face between his hands, pressing their lips together and it feels like the comfort of coming home and the exhilaration of freefalling all at once. It’s a much softer kiss than their first was however many years ago, he’s not as angry at the world as he used to be. He’s no less terrified though, but it’s for so many different reasons this time.

He feels hands curling and tugging into the fabric of his shirt and then he’s feeling damp hands on bare skin. He gives in to the urge to manoeuvre Hangman so the fridge is at his back, presses himself against Hangman’s front and lets his hands travel, fingers tracing featherlight over the fabric of Hangman’s shirt, despite everything he still feels a little unsure of his footing right now.

Hangman seems to have no such qualms, his hands on Bradley are gripping, fingers of one hand digging into his waist and back under his shirt, while the other is in his hair, tugging and flexing and despite the fact that their bodies are rubbing and pressing against each other like they both trying to climb inside the other, their lips remain softer, gentler, far more tentative and the contrast is a little disorientating.

“You really had no idea?” Hangman asks when Bradley has pulled away, just enough to lick and kiss along his ridiculous jaw line. He at least is obliging enough to throw his head back, giving Bradley easy access to the column of his throat.

“Nope.”

“Clueless… you got an idea now?”

“I’ve got several,” Bradley breathes, lets his lips move against the delicate skin just below Hangman’s earlobe, knows his moustache is no doubt prickling and tickling; nips at the earlobe gently before sliding his mouth back over Hangman’s. He feels Hangman’s hips grind and flex against him, can feel his cock getting firmer. The speed at which they’ve gone from simply being friendly to suddenly making out with intent for… well. More, if Bradley gets a say in the matter.

“My ideas.... You want me to tell you or show you?”

“Always been a man of action. Show me…”

PART TEN

[sxcretricciardo]

good luck charm

Daniel Ricciardo x reader

It's race day here in Monaco and you're walking around the paddock with your airpods in your ears, a sight that everyone was used to seeing every Sunday. Walking makes your muscles stay warm and the music helps you remain focus, cutting out every outside noise that's going around the paddock.

You like to look inside the team's garages as you walk past, you love to see everyone working and giving their best to have their cars sharp and ready to go into the track. You like to see the driver's rituals before racing too. Some sit in their drivers rooms, others like to stand in the garage and others like to sit in their cars.

You make your way to the AlphaTauri garage, wanting to see your boyfriend, Daniel, to whish him good luck. You and Daniel had this agreement that as soon as you walk into the paddock, there's no PDA. When you both started dating, the papers went wild, claiming that you were only in F1 because of your boyfriend and every question when you were on press it would be about Daniel and your relationship with him. You hated that. Being a woman in the F1 is already hard, having to prove yourself more than the men and you wanted to be recognized by people because of your career in Formula 1 and not because of your boyfriend so, you don't kiss when you're inside the paddocks, you don't to give the media something to talk about. You love Daniel nonetheless, and that affection is showed a lot outside the tracks. You both just like to keep it in a private circle. You still talk and tease each other in here, but there are no kisses or hugs, at least not in the public eye. You know each other's drivers room pretty well, though.

You see Daniel sitting in the corner of the garage, with his headphones on his head. It took you a while to figure out the thing he had under his nose.

You approach him and start laughing your butt off. Daniel Ricciardo has a moustache.

"What?" He asks, like he didn't know why you are laughing.

"What the hell is that?" You ask, pointing to his moustache.

"It's just a moustache." He says, brushing it with his fingers.

"Yeah, I can see that. You didn't have that when I left our hotel room this morning." You say.

"I told you I had a surprise for you. You don't like it?" He asks, with puppy eyes. Suddenly, you feel bad for laughing.

"I mean, it's a different look, that's all. It's suits you, alright." You say, smiling.

"So, you like it." He says, smiling.

"I mean, kinda?"

"Be honest." He says.

You look at him closer, tilting your head in a thinking motion. You put your mouth closer to his ear and whisper "I think it's very hot." As you push yourself away, you see him smirking.

"Well, I just came here to wish you good luck, you're gonna need it." You say, walking away.

"I already have my good luck charm." He says.

"Aw, thank you." You say, almost exiting the garage.

"Not you, the moustache." He says, smirking. You look back at him to see him smirking and then looking away from you.

"You're gonna regret that." You shout for him to hear and walk to your garage to get ready for the race.

-after the race-

You exit your car in the paddock and make your way into to the garage. You crossed the finish line in P4, and your were satisfied with your result, eager to do better next weekend. You passed Daniel twice, so you knew he hadn't done better than you.

You take of your helmet and you baclava and drink some water. After you're done with the press, you put on your regular clothes and make your way to the parking lot, where you see Daniel waiting, leaning against his car.

"Congrats on P4, sweets." He says, smiling.

"I told you were gonna regret it." I say, as you walk closer to him. "But P7 is not bad at all, at least you got some points."

You kiss him on the lips and he says "Well, it could have gone worse."

"It could have gone better, but you got a new good luck charm, shouldn't that have help you?" You ask, smirking. You both put your stuff in the trunk of the car and then enter it. Danny drives away to the hotel. And let's just say, his moustache is actually amazing when it comes to other stuff.

[stuckyslut8]

Right where you belong

Summary: lloyd comforts you after a long shitty day.

A/N: THSI IS JUST a comfort drabble i made one day, felt like posting it

warning: fluff, angst, lloyd is a cutie as always.

You felt like absolute shit, you didn't know what to do, you just got fired from your job, it didn't matter , you never liked it anyway, but it still didn't hurt any less, you should've known your boss wasn't kidding on the submission of the work on time. The one time you forget to submit on due this happens.

You didn't know what to do, that's why you were currently on your way back to your apartment, sure you're job paid you good enough to rent out a big apartment in New York, one with a great view of the city, but it suddenly felt lonely. Like you had no one to share your sorrows with, when you entered, you weren't in the mood to deal with your mom , and didn't wanna worry her . Your "friend" Sam from work is such a bitch you didn't know why you still hang out with her, she was partially the reason you got fired.

You opened the door of your apartment, and entered in , expecting silence that you knew you had to wash down with some whiskey along with your sorrows, but instead you found lloyd , the 6 foot moustache man sitting in your couch in an ugly Christmas sweater and loafers, wearing a santa hat,he gave you a big grin. "Didn't expect me did ya sunshine?"

You froze , overwhelmed with emotions, you only remember tears streaming down your face as you let it all out, being cradled again Lloyds chest. "Shh..shh .. calm down didn't know you missed me so much " he joked , but he knew this was about something more than that, he'd never seen you cry before ,we'll except for those stupid movies you'd watch, he'd never seen you upset over real world things.

You wept and wept and wept before you finally told him everything, it was not just getting fired from your job, but your bitch friends, having the worst week of your life, having to spend Christmas alone without lloyd because he had been away for work . "Shh it's okay sunshine...so what that asshole fired you, you'll find a better job at a bigger place, that company was not good enough for you anyway . " He reasoned. Just those words made you feel better .

"thanks Lloyd, that's what I think too, i ...maybe i should leave new york and look for a job elsewhere." Lloyd rubbed your back soothingly, calming you down.

"of course sunshine.....move to masechussetes with me yeah? Move in with me yeahh, I can wake up to you everyday." Lloyd says. You were shocked , didn't expect it from lloyd hansen of all people, you both were just hooking up , never wanting to put labels , but couldn't stay away from each other ,though you both lived in different states, but you always knew he cared for you in his own way, you just never expected these words to come out of his mouth.

"Lloyd.." you smile at his words."I need to find a job in Massachusetts first ..."

"ohh come on ,just be with me I'll take care of ya, you don't need a job..."

"you don't get to decide that if I need a job or not.." though you knew he was just messing with you and trying to cheer you up.

"hmm I know that ,...how bout this,you move to masechussetes with me first and we'll make up for all the most time , and I'll apologize for working through Christmas..."

"you better -" you glared at lloyd playfully.

"oh or course i plan to, why did you think i wore a fucking Christmas sweater and this hat.."

"hmm looks good on on you" you says laughing.

"well thanks sunshine...as I was saying, move to masechussetes first and then maybe we'll look for a job for you." He said placing his hands gently on your hips

"that's not how it works.. lloyd, I need to find a job first , and then move-"

"oh come on you don't even need a job, just stay in my place you'll get whatever you want , you can just stay there painting or reading books all day or whatever it is you feel like doing, maybe me, you can do me all day... And then if you really want to we can get you a job there."

"that does sound like a dream ..but I'm fine i don't expect you to take care of me I can take care of my-"

"yeahh yeahh you can take care of yourself, I know, you're very capable sunshine I've seen it first hand, but just ...let me " he pressed a kiss to the back of your palm.

"I have no problem in letting you take care of me baby...i - " you held yourself back from saying those words though you've both said it multiple times during sex or when you were drunk. It wasn't offical y/n , don't make a fool of yourself,don't make a scene.

"what was that sunshine, complete your words .." lloyd said grinning.

"I love you" lloyd pressed his lips to yours the moment you said it.

"I know babygirl, i love you too ." You allowed your arms around him. "And i want you to be mine, that's all in asking."

"you want me to move to masechussetes?" You ask head still buried in between his arms and firm chest.

"I'd love for you to... but only if you want to, if you wanna stay in new york that's fine too"

"noo i ...I wanna be with you." You said.

"then move to masechussetes?" Lloyd asked hopefully.

"gimme kisses first and maybe put that mouth of yours to good use." You said poking at Lloyds chest.

"well somebody's demanding." While he was already on his knees spreading your legs wide open .

"I've had a shitty day ,I deserve this " .

[constanthaunt]

⭐may we know more about john and gale's first time in born right in the doorway MWAH

“Good thing you’re so pretty, huh?” John says, jamming a thumb to Gale’s chin. 

His fingers are wet. Wet from being inside himself, from fucking himself open where Gale flagged to softness. It’s an unsteadiness more than a nervousness that gathers in his belly. Half inside John, it hits him at the most inopportune moment; the reminder that this is the first time he’s fucked anything other than his own hand since his wife died. Since Marge. 

Marge, he thinks. 

“Gale,” John says, wet fingers caressing him under his chin. “What’s eatin’ ya?” 

My wife died, he thinks.

“Nothing,” he says. 

Please don’t leave me. 

John shifts. He’s half sitting, pushed up onto his elbows with Gale draped over him. It’s an improvement from the distance Gale puts between them, touching his dick over the slippery surface of the condom, sitting at the edge of the bed with his back turned. It makes him feel seventeen, eaten up from the newness and staring at Marge’s New Kids on the Block poster on the wall, Joey McIntyre smiling back at him sweetly. There’s nothing on John’s wall but a Playboy calendar and fist-sized hole in the plaster. Bigger, but not deeper than the ones Gale leaves behind. 

“You wanna get going?” 

Gale’s mostly hard again, working his dick to the meat of John’s thigh with a lazy intent. They’ve been kissing, too. Gale likes kissing John. Likes the grate of his moustache and the smell of his aftershave and the wet fucking fingers he holds his face with. His grip is so tight it hurts to nod, but John eases up when he does. 

“Yeah?” he says. “You gonna give it to me, Buck?” 

“Uh-huh,” he says. 

John grins. Gale can see all the little flecks of paint sitting in the creases of his skin, inked there forever like a tattoo. There’s some at the back of his neck too, dried into the hair at his nape. That’s what Gale gets a look at when John settles himself onto his stomach again, one knee hitching up a little higher on the bed sheets, exposing where he’s wet and open and ready for it. 

John likes it like this. He makes a joke about it, says, no way I could look at that face and not bust in a minute, but Gale’s not that naive or self-centered to believe it. He just likes it like that, from the back, hard. Likes taking it like that. To prove something? Gale hasn’t worked it out yet. Maybe he would, if he did; let John fuck him. He’s thought about it, in the interest of fairness, even though John says it doesn’t work like that. 

“No sssweat,” he says once, nose to his neck as he pawed at his ass. 

Gale’s all sweat now, sitting up on the backs of John’s thighs, hand to his dick as he guides it into him. It feels a little better this time. Not like his dick is going to break in half. John had been too tight, but he likes it like that too. Gale doesn’t know if he does, watching the tense lines of his arms as he’d gripped the pillow, asking for it as Gale’s body aborted its mission. 

Now, he’s sighing into the feeling, nuzzling the pillow sweetly. Gale’s eyes are on the slab of him, skin blotching from the exertion and pricked white around the fingertip-press of Gale’s hand to his shoulder to keep his balance. There’s age-old acne scars on his back, fine hair running the length of his spine and thickening at his ass. It’s a nice ass. Does Gale like ass? He likes the feeling of it, being inside. Likes the thought of it even more. Being inside John. Being allowed. Someone letting him again. 

“Fuck, John,” he says, shunting his hips forward, inside. It makes a wet sound. Louder than John’s fingers. 

John’s making little happy noise, not talking anymore. Before, he says, that’s it, Buck, you got it, but now he doesn’t need to hear it. He’s got it. A quick learner. Gale likes the way his rib cage moves when he breathes. How big. He imagines his lungs, his heart. John’s got a big heart. A big, big heart. Gale feels it thud when he flattens himself across the back of him. Lublublub. He kisses the side of John’s face because his mouth is there. John turns his face for a proper kiss and moans. 

“Gale,” he says. 

Gale finishes before he does. He can’t keep going, heaving a breath into the back of John’s neck, even though John asks him to. Just a little longer, but he can’t. Sorry, he mumbles, pulling out and flopping over, boneless and selfish in the aftermath. John turns over onto his back. His dick is big and thick and hard. Gale’s gut seizes at the thought, watching John finish himself off, teeth deep in his bottom lift and making a noise out his nose. One of his arms is tucked behind his head, swell of his bicep weirdly mouthwatering. 

Gale sets his teeth to it. John comes, splashing hot against his belly. And then it cools. He laughs as he moves it around. It darkens the hair of his belly and dries there. Gale takes the condom off and throws it in the bin. 

“C’mere,” John says. 

Gale tucks himself to John, fingernail nudging the tackiness of his skin. He wants to shower. Can feel the wet heat of John’s underarms as he throws an arm around him and doesn’t know if he likes it so much. John kisses his face. 

“New York ain’t seen pitching like that since Whitey Ford,” he says, and Gale appreciates the flattery, if only because of the way John’s moustache moves across his skin as he’s spouting it. “You like it? Relieved I didn’t shit on your dick?” 

“John,” Gale grouses.

“Everybody thinks it, baby,” he says, bumping his knuckles to the underside of Gale’s chin. He put the same ones through the drywall. Gale thinks about New Kids on the Block instead, humming Cover Girl under his breath in a poor imitation of a lullaby. John’s snoring pretty soon regardless.

[icallhimjoey]

you wanna try to get back into writing? Say no more! The other day I saw a insta reel (it was in Spanish) but it was about a couple and the guy had asked his gf to shave his beard for him and that was the cutest thing ever. The delicacy of it all. So I was thinking, possibly write something like that but with joe? He needs to shave for an upcoming movie role and he asks if reader wants to do it, and it’s the most intimate thing ever!

girl... just, fuck all the way off, jesus christ Wordcount: 2.9K

---

Love You A Twelve

"So, good news and bad news,"

"Uh oh," you'd only just gotten in and toed off your shoes by the front door as Joe appeared in the hallway to welcome you home.

You narrowed your eyes to gather how serious Joe was being.

Sometimes, the bad news was hardly bad news, but just some stupid silly shit like, "You've got to hang out with me all night." and you'd pretend to be so disappointed for a second.

Other times, it was the good news that was hardly good and didn't make up for the bad news at all.

Unfortunately, going by Joe's apologetic eyes, it was probably the latter.

"Bad first," you winced as you said it.

"They need me clean-shaven tomorrow,"

Your stomach dropped.

"What? But– noo," you whined, eyebrows immediately knitting, mouth pulling into a pout.

Joe copied your face and revealed he was holding a trimmer.

"Yea, sorry... it's got to go,"

"Is the good news that you're joking?"

Out of your coat, with your shoes neatly placed to the side, you didn't waste time to get your hands on his scruff.

"No, the good news is, I thought it'd be nice to let you do it," Joe said, sticking out his chin a little as your fingers curled to scratch him underneath.

You gasped a little gasp, eyes immediately twinkling.

"Yea?" Joe asked for confirmation on your sudden excitement.

"I mean, no," you let your eyes roam his jawline. "But, yes."

You loved your boyfriend either way, but there was something about Joe with a little facial hair. Made him look extra relaxed. Extra soft. And it helped that you got to see his hands more when he had a little scruff going. Joe was a fidgeter, and when there was a little bit of beard to touch, that's just what he would do.

Smooth bare-cheeked Joe was cute.

But ungroomed bristle-cheeked Joe was just... better.

Joe moved the trimmer he was holding until it hovered right in front of your face. You used your forehead to push against it, scrunching up your nose as you did. Made Joe laugh.

"Later, let me... I want to enjoy this for a bit first," you let your fingers comb through the hair underneath his chin, backcombing it and then smoothing it back down again.

"Will have to be before dinner, though," Joe said, struggling to get the words out because your thumbs were pushing his top lip down as you stroked his little moustache.

So shiny.

The light caught it just right.

"Why?"

"You'll have wine,"

That made you huff out a laugh.

Yea, all right. You understood wanting to avoid putting a double edge safety razor into your hands when there was alcohol in your system.

You suggested sitting down to watch a new episode of the show you were watching together, then shave Joe after, and then have dinner together. That would give you at least forty minutes to touch his face.

"It's just hair," Joe said, pretending for a second that he didn't like how dramatic you were about it. "Grows back."

"If they want you clean-shaven, they're not just going to want it for tomorrow, are they?" you reasoned, plopping down onto the sofa, reaching for him with grabby hands until he sat down next to you.

"You're judging me for loving you," you cradled his full head in your arms.

"Not judging," Joe mumbled, unable to hide his grin. "But on a scale of one to ten of loving me, right now? Ten."

"Always a ten," you argued, using both hands to scratch at his cheeks, careful to not hurt him with your nails.

"No," Joe laughed, turning his head a little to look at you. "Without this?" he pointed at his own face, looked up at the ceiling to think for a second, and then concluded, "Like a six, maybe."

You gasped through a shocked laugh and bumped your shoulder into his. "Piss off, it's always a ten, you idiot,"

Joe scrunched his nose up at you through a smile and used the remote to find the right show and right episode to turn on.

You took a moment to look at him a second.

"Maybe right now it's just a little more. Like, a twelve," you leant over to press a kiss to his cheek that Joe accepted easily. "Just a little extra."

"You love me a twelve?" Joe pretended like the extra numbers added made his heart explode in his chest as the TV launched itself into a short recap from last week's episode.

"So healthy," you mused, "For us to measure love in numbers."

It prompted Joe to whisper numbers at you all throughout the forty minutes of jaw touches and chin scratches as you stared at the TV.

"Seventeen,"

"Twenty-one,"

"Twenty-eight,"

You had your full attention with what was happening on the screen, but then Joe breathed, "Ooh, fifty-four," and you looked to see him with his eyes closed, relishing under your touch. You'd just started circling a fingertip in the little area underneath his ear, sort of on the edge of his hair growth.

"That's a big jump,"

"Mhmm," Joe hummed, leaning into you a little more. When you moved fingers to rake through the hair just below his jaw, where it was longest and thickest, Joe protested, said, "No, fifty-three," and used his own hand to place yours back where he wanted it. "Fifty-four."

It was so stupidly cute, it made you break into a slow smile because you just adored him so fucking much. Made you snuggle up a little more, thinking Joe's a dork and you just wanted to eat him up.

Just when Joe started considering not shaving at all, and letting hair and make-up deal with it tomorrow morning, the episode ended and you smacked his leg as you got up.

"Okay, let's do this,"

You weren't the biggest fan of Joe's bare face, not compared to what you were looking at right now, but you were the biggest fan of getting to groom him.

You loved it when Joe let you scrunch mouse into his curls. Or when you'd get to cut a weird eyebrow hair that stuck out. The big task of shaving the beard off had you excited. Nervous, but excited.

Stood in front of the mirror, Joe got all the things out that you needed and you squealed as you gripped tightly onto the trimmer you were holding. You made eye-contact with Joe in the mirror, and your wild eyes made Joe pause a second.

"Your nerves are making me nervous,"

You gasped dramatically. "You don't trust me?"

Joe carried on, found the shaving cream to place down next to the sink.

"No, I trust you. I don't trust that you trust you,"

Okay, fair. Maybe you didn't need to look at Joe's trimmer like it was a weapon of mass destruction, and maybe you didn't need to hold it like it was one either.

You placed it down next to the tub of moisturizer that Joe placed down as the last thing that was needed.

"All right," Joe turned, ready to give instructions. You directed all your attention towards him, back straight, expression open, ready to convince Joe you were an excellent student. Valedictorian top of the class sort of thing. Joe put his hands on your shoulders and smiled through a shaky exhale which told you you were overdoing it.

You softened your face and turned actual serious for a moment. You saw how it immediately relaxed Joe a little more.

"So," Joe pointed, turning your attention to the counter. "Trimmer first. We're going to get it as short as possible before we go in with the real scary stuff," his fingers moved from the trimmer to the razor.

You nodded. Sounded easy enough.

You looked up and saw Joe looking at you in the mirror, finger still pointing at the razor, and fuck, you loved this man with a beard. Just the look of him made you scrunch your features and reach for his face to hold for one last time.

"You're so cute, are you scared?"

"I'm not scared if you're not scared," Joe cooed.

You let your eyes twinkle, fingers curling to scratch, "Can I play?"

Joe's eyes nearly popped out of his head. "Play?!"

You shrugged through a smile, petting his beard then, soft touches.

"Yea, cut you all up, slit your throat,"

Joe grabbed onto your wrists in a faux panic, making you laugh.

"No, like, give you a stupid moustache first, like, full Hulk Hogan, and like– no, what if... so, no moustache, get rid of that, and then leave a stupid thin line along your jaw," as you said it, you let your fingers draw a line from his chin up to his ears.

Joe pursed his lips into a smile and slow blinked at you.

"Fifty-five."

Sap.

You made Joe sit on the edge of the bath and stood between his legs, trimmer in hand. You turned it on, the buzz of it strong in your palm, and were about to move it over when you suddenly pulled your hand back, like you'd forgotten something.

"Sorry, sorry, bye, bye babes," you leant in and kissed Joe on each cheek a couple of times, quick little pecks. "So sorry, you've got to go or he won't make any money and we won't be able to go out to nice restaurants again,"

"Stop," Joe laughed, squeezing your sides.

"Do you need to take your T-shirt off?"

"Oh, you want it off, do you?" Joe wiggled his eyebrows, nearly making you roll your eyes.

"Because we'll get hair everywhere, won't we?"

Before you'd even been able to finish the sentence, Joe'd already pulled his T-shirt over his head and let it fall to the floor right next to you.

Clicking the trimmer back on, you got to work.

Your tactic was, clean him up first. Get the neckbeard gone and get the stray hairs up higher on his cheeks. You were concentrated on your task, brow furrowed and bottom lip bitten into your mouth, and Joe loved that he just got to look at you up close for a little while. You had him stand up to be able to get underneath his chin easier, and then sat him back down when you needed to get his sideburns. Careful fingers placed his head in the position you needed it for the easiest access.

Joe thought of flinching and scream ow really loudly to scare you, but how could he? You looked fucking precious all focussed, so close to his face. Made him think of higher numbers as his scalp tingled with the attention.

When you thought you'd cleaned Joe up enough, made him look as symmetrical as you could, you stepped back and smiled.

"Look," you said, stepping back to make room for him to stand up and see himself in the mirror. "This is what you'd look like if you put effort in," it was a half-joke, commenting on Joe's laziness in beard upkeep.

Joe smiled, turned his head to view it from all angles and then asked, "Do you think it looks better like this? Or like before?"

"Before, this is awful, sit back down," you pushed him back as Joe laughed loudly, holding onto you for leverage as he got sat back down onto the bath ledge.

Time to get most of it off.

With a little less precision, you got back to work and with a little more confidence now, you trimmed all that needed trimming and let Joe hold you by the hips.

You stopped when there were just two really long weird sideburns left, the rest all gone. You clicked the trimmer off and kissed the tips of your fingers, exclaimed, "I'm an artist," pronouncing artist the French way.

Joe touched his cheeks and grimaced. "I don't even want to see this,"

"Can I take a picture?"

"Absolutely not,"

"I'm going to take a picture," you reached for your phone in your pocket.

"No you're fucking not, give me that," a little wrestle broke out where Joe grabbed onto your arm before trying to take your phone from you. It had you shouting, "The artist's canvas isn't meant to talk back!" and "It looks so good, babe!" which was so obviously a lie, you weren't able to say that without giggling.

In the end, you didn't take a picture. Instead trimmed the sideburns down too, and then it was time to get your hands dirty.

Whilst shaking the loose hair from his body, Joe instructed you on how to apply shaving cream, gave you tips on how to hold the razor, which direction to go, how hard to press down...

"You're talking to me like I've never shaved before,"

You'd argue that you'd put far more time into shaving various body parts than he had.

"Not around an Adam's apple, no, so be careful,"

"Listen," you started, slapping shaving cream to Joe's face, slightly offended now because trimming his beard had been so easy. "This isn't a vicious attack, this is a loving shave. If I can shave around my own ankle bones and– my vagina, my literal vagina, my labia, my–"

"All right, all right, all right," Joe held onto both your wrists because you were getting shaving cream a little too close to his eyes. "Just, be careful, is all I'm asking."

He straightened his back and got a quick kiss in before you could move back, getting the white foam onto your face as well.

All right.

Time to get serious now. You wiped your own face down, made sure you had all of Joe's beard covered, left some water in the sink so you could rinse the razor in between strokes and got into the right position.

Joe wrapped his arms around you this time and you felt his thighs squeeze together on either side of your legs.

"Ready?"

"Ready."

You honestly didn't understand what Joe seemed so nervous for. You had this. Joe helped by moving his mouth to the side and sticking his chin out to pull the skin tight, and it was easy. So easy. You didn't like how scratchy all of it sounded, and how Joe's arms tensed around you when you moved around his throat, but the double edge razor worked like a charm.

You were definitely going to use it on your legs in the shower later.

You spent way longer than you needed to on him. The fact that the hair wasn't very dark and a little difficult to see in some areas was a good excuse, but you didn't need it. Joe just let you work until you declared it finished and enjoyed the time it granted him to stare at your features. At everything that made you you.

He'd be unaware how he'd slowly move his face to look at you, and you had to move it back to face the side several times. He tried to hide his smile every time you did that, but it was pointless. You witnessed every single little muscle twitch in his face and loved him more for every single one of them.

"There," you finally said, patting his face with a towel and admiring your work as you moved around him to see him from all angles. "Done."

Joe smiled into the towel and before going in to touch it himself, or getting up to look at the results in the mirror, he cupped your face with both his hands and pulled you into a kiss.

"Does it look good?" Joe asked in between kisses.

"Looks amazing," you answered. "I did a great job." Joe saw how you eyed the bare skin.

"Yea? Not a six, but a ten like you said?"

You grinned and leant back down for another kiss.

"Not a ten." you whispered, fingers now sliding down the new smooth softness of his face. Not as satisfying as freshly shaved dolphin legs, but still nice. "A twelve still."

Joe was expecting you to tease and give him a stupid number, like a negative four, or whatever. Going up more made his stomach flutter. Made him pull you into him even more. Made him kiss you stupid, which was extra enjoyable, because Joe was all soft and smelled all fresh now.

"Love you a twelve too."

"Just a twelve? Was a fifty-five before..."

Joe tilted his head, squeezed an eye shut as he looked up at you and he just felt drunk with love, it was a little ridiculous.

"Fifty-six, then."

"No, I think twelve is the highest number you're allowed to love someone."

Joe let out a frustrated sigh, clearly joking. A what-the-fuck-do-you-want sort of thing that made you laugh loudly.

"All right, a twelve then." Joe stood up, kissed you once more before taking a look at himself in the mirror.

He looked normal.

Like he'd just shaved himself.

Except when he shaved himself, he didn't have a beaming girlfriend stood next to him, giddily awaiting his reaction and approval of her work.

"Looks amazing,"

"Yea?"

"Absolutely." Joe curled an arm around your shoulder to hook your neck and pull you in to kiss you on the cheek as you each looked at each other in the mirror.

"Twelve out of ten."

---

The Taglisted

@a-time-for-wolvess, @adoreyouusugar, @alana4610, @ali-in-w0nderland, @alwayslindie, @babybluebex, @barfightzanddiscolightz, @bettyfrommars, @cancankiki, @capricornrisingsstuff, @chaoticgood-munson, @choke-me-eddie, @demonsanddemogorgons, @did-it-work, @dirtyeddietini, @dylanmunson, @eddie-joe-munson, @eddies-puppet, @electricmunson, @emma77645, @emmamooney, @everythinghasafacee, @figmentofquinn, @frogers, @frootvelvet, @ghost-proofbaby, @ghostinthebackofyourhead, @harringtonfan4, @haylaansmi, @jasminearondottir, @jewellethief, @joesquinns, @kellyxo1, @kennedy-brooke, @lovelyblueness, @miserybeans, @nadixq, @ohmeg, @paola-carter, @pepperstories, @phyllosilicate-s, @roosterisdaddy36, @sherrylyn628, @sidthedollface2, @thebellenouvelle, @thefemininemystiquee, @thewondernanazombie, @tlclick73, @werepartnersnow, @yelyahcardella

taglist currently full, sorry

[polaroidcats]

okay so in honor of @lynxindisguise finishing her incredible fic, everywhere, everything here is a silly little bit called everywhere, everything (Jeff's version)! Just for you, lynx, hope you like it:)

If sourdough starters had a concept of time, Jeff would be able to tell you it has been 47 days since anyone has last paid attention to him. Luckily though, they don't really have a concept of hours or days or even years so all he knows is that he's slowly drying up, slipping into hibernation mode and barely bubbling anymore. He doesn't mind though, it's a peaceful existence and he likes his jar.

The neighbours could be better (the rotten baby spinach is alright, but the mouldy swiss cheese has been stinking up the dark humming box for... well Jeff can't tell you for how long it has been in days, but he can tell you that The Human's moustache grew 1,2 centimeters since he last even attempted to clean out their shared floor in the dark humming box, and even then he just grabbed two mysterious bottles and ignored everything and everyone else).

Jeff knows that The Human is called Remus, but since humans (Remus excluded) generally like to refer to him as a "Sourdough Starter" he retaliates by thinking of Remus as The Human whenever he neglects him. When (if) he gets back into one of his breadmaking phases and lovingly cares for him and sings to him again as he feeds him, that's when Jeff will call him Remus again. Until then, The Human is a good enough name for someone who barely meets the requirements of what Jeff thinks humans need to do to stay alive.

Aren't humans meant to be self-sufficient? Did they not build these dark cold humming boxes for the specific purpose of having quick, easy access to nutritious foods? At least that's what Jeff has been told by the hums of the box. Why is his human so bad at the most basic human tasks like feeding himself?

Jeff is not even asking him to feed his loving, innocent, perfect, beautiful sourdough starter who really deserves to be loved and cherished a lot more, at this point he's just really worried about where The Human even gets his nutrients from. Hopefully not the baby spinach, that's currently a darker brown and looks more liquidy than Jeff himself.

Jeff's memory is not the best, the oldest parts of him that carry the most memores having been diluted so many times, back when he was being cared for lovingly, back when there was The Other Human (he's not sure he would remember his name actually, if it weren't for The Human, okay Remus, singing to Jeff about his husband's multiversal travel adventures).

He doesn't remember much of the good old times when he got to go on adventures to the kitchen counter, even lived there in his jar most of the time, enjoying the sunshine and a view of the kitchen from behind the rosemary and basil bushes in matching pots, not only hearing the hums of the cold dark box but so many other beautiful sounds too - the whisper of the rosemary and the gentle lullabies of the basil leaves, the rythmic dances of the cutlery and the sharp screams of the plates, but most of all, the laughter and soft voices of The Human and his Other Human.

Those days seem like hazy dreams from a different life to him now. All he knows now is the humming dark box that gets small moments of light sometimes, when The Human opens the portal to the kitchen and looks around, searching for something that's obviously not there, scratching his stubbly chin and sighing a sad little sigh before closing the portal again, returning the inhabitants of the humming box to their peaceful but cold and lonely life in the darkness.

[the-real-treasure]

Treasure Treasure!

A OPLA Sanji x Reader

Master List Here

Chapter One: Shipwrecks and Hopeless Dreams

Summary: There’s a boy in the kitchen you would rip out your heart for. He hopes it will never come to that.

Trigger Warning: Threats and descriptions of violence, blood and gore, starvation, depressing language(?), Reader's Devil Fruit power is overwhelming and overstimulating Word Count: 2,828 **Edited 12/09/24**

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Standing in the crows nest of the mizzenmast, the sea salted wind burned your cheeks. Two years aboard the Orbit, and you still weren't used to the grittiness of the air when out at sea. The whipping winds and swirling storm clouds did not ease your discomfort, especially with the growing height of the waves and the discontented rumblings of the wood beneath your feet.

Before you had stepped foot on the Orbit, before your and Sanji's new lives had started, if someone, anyone, had told you that ships could have dreams, you would have called them crazy. What would wooden planks and cloth sails know about dreams, wishes or aspirations you would have wondered to yourself. Now though, now, with the Orbit creaking and moaning for more adventurous tidings than carting cruising passengers across the seas of the East Blue, you knew better. Anything, anything, if imbued with enough spirit and life could dream of more.

You closed your eyes. You couldn't think about that now. The storm was already causing a headache.

Then, amongst the screaming of the wind and the roaring crash of the heightening waves around you, the sound of splintering wood cracks below you. Snapping your eyes open, you peered through the darkness below you, only to spot another ship lurching through the water towards you, yellow duck figurehead near indiscernible in the darkness of the sea's blackness.

Pirates.

The shout rang out alongside the continuing of cannon fire. The man in the far crows nest screamed as he toppled from his perch into the frothing and dark water below, but you paid no mind. It wasn't the most brutal death you'd seen and it wouldn't be the last, you were sure of it. There were more pressing matters to attend.

Sanji. I need to find Sanji.

Your heart was pounding in your ears as you scrambled down to the deck, guns firing and people screaming around you. To others, it would look disconcerting how calm an eight year old appeared in the presence of the scourge of the seas but in that moment you were solely focused on escaping below deck to find your reason for being your best and only friend aboard.

SANJI-SANJI-SANJI

Your mind screamed his name along to the roaring of your heartbeat, pushing, punching and driving through crowds of panicking cruisers, crewmembers and cackling pirates equipped with cooking utensils and wicked sharp knives.

(The planks below your feet roared with joy and ache. Finally something, finally adventure)

Finally reaching the door to the galley, the roaring of your heartbeat turned into an all out shriek, seeing your Sanji, your Sanji, held to the wall by a giant with a stupid braided moustache and a knife to his throat.

Your mind went blank and your blood boiled. The act was on of instinct as you leapt onto the pirates back with a ear rending screech, tearing at his face and eyes with your nails, desperate to pull his attention away from your Sanji. The blond idiot decided to ignore your obvious attempt to save him as he joined in your screeching and clawing of the giant man between you, wracking his nails against the hand holding him hostage as the ship around you roared in encouragement of your bloodthirsty nature.

So enraged were you with the threat to Sanji, that you didn't realise the roar was coming from the tearing of the wood as the combined rage of the storm, the boundless strength of the sea and the continued barrage of cannon fire tore the hull in twain, the entire ship toppling into the salty water.

(The Orbit ached. She was so alive, if only for a moment, she lived.)

It was as the sea lapped your ears, soaking the bandages wrapped around your palms and weighing down your forearms, that your blood pressure cooled and your thoughts started to drift away from you, all fight and blind rage lost to the frigid water. You didn't register the desperate arms of a terrified child wrapping around your torso, or being scooped up like a sack of potatoes as your consciousness slipped into the dark depths of the East Blue. All you could see in front of misty eyes was the warm glow of yellow light on a stormy night, a blonde haired blue eyed figure looking down at you. Making you promise to try.

I'm sorry. I really did try.

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It was the unfiltered sunlight and warm stone below your cheek that woke you. Prying open your salt encrusted lashes was a trial, but catching a glimpse of Sanji lying strewn across the rockface beside you spurred your body to action, legs launching you up right and towards him before your surroundings had even registered.

You nearly collapsed on top of him, grasping desperately at his clammy and bloody cheeks. He was breathing and you joined him after a moment of pure stillness. Rage began to rattle trough you as he roused and you made eye contact with the man who had held him in harms way, stupid braided moustache drooping in the intense sun. Sanji's voice called from behind you to the man perched on the rock's edge.

"What happened?"

"A storm." The man's voice sounded gritty, like the wind had felt last night. Your nails dug into your palms. "Sunk both our ships."

"But..." His voice was weak and tired. "But the crew?"

"They're dead, aren't they?" It wasn't a question, not with the way you snarled it around your mouth like a sour juice. "Your pirates killed them all, left us to get shipwrecked!"

"All dead," he didn't blink at the accusation, "except for us."

You could hear the shuffling on the rocks as Sanji sat up behind you. "What d'we do?"

"We wait. And we hope that a passing ship spots us before that sun," he gestured to the horizon, "bleaches our bones."

“Now. This is all the food we got.” He stands from his perch at the edge, grabbing the smaller of 2 canvas sacks and tossing it at the two of you. “So eat slow. There’s no more after this.”

Rage swells in you but, still weak from the sea water and already starting to bake under the bright sun, you know none of you are in a fit state to start picking fights just yet. Sanji disagrees with you, glaring between the old man and the larger sack behind him.

”Why do you get the bigger one?!” H pulled himself up off the rocks and lurched into your back, steadfastness refusing to let him approach the pirate in front of you.

”’Cause I’m three times your size, that’s why!”

”There are two of us!” Sanji roared back.

The man snarled down at him over your shoulder and you nudged him further behind you.

”You know something? You should be glad that I’m giving you anything at all. Now,” Looking between the pair of you with a glare, “go over to the other side and keep lookout. And I mean it. Don’t bother me unless you see a ship.” He tilted his head, “You got it?”

He makes eye contact with you and crowds your space, spittle flicking into your eyes and making you yearn for the salty winds of the crows nest.

”I said, you got it?!” You feel Sanji shying into your back, he was two years your senior but you refused to do anything other than put yourself between him and potential threats. “Now go!”

Sanji grabs the sack and begins storming his way up the rock face behind you. You step back, intending to follow but refusing to be the first to drop eye contact. Deeming you no threat, how could you be with no weapons and nails torn blunt and bloody from the scratches in his face, he turns and returns to his sea-facing vigil. You turn and follow Sanji over the rocks.

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The island was cone shaped from what you could gather. Peering over the edge as you skirted around the perimeter, you saw the rock fall away into the sea, having worn away from decades, maybe centuries of corrosion by the sea. Thick needles jutted out of the surrounding water, and you think for a second on how funny and strange the luck of your life was. Any other group thrown against these rocks would have been naught but shreds of meat, not even a carcass left for seabirds to pick at but no. Not you and Sanji, you just had to survive and be left stranded on a ridiculous rock in the middle of the ocean with a blood soaked, waterlogged and irritable pirate to boot.

(Hatred, paranoia, apathy. They rang through your bones like vibrations through a bell, ringing through your head. The island hated you being here as much as you hated being here.)

It had been almost a month on the rock and as the rain pelted down on you and your golden boy, a familiar hopelessness  had landed squarely in your mind. Hidden in a small outcropping in the barren rock, you both shielded yourselves as best you could from the torrential downpour. You were barely dozing, trying to keep in front of the idiot boy beside you as the wind howled across the darkness of the sea, soaking you in cold and noise and bells-

Bells? Both your heads raised as the faintest ringing of a ships bells echoed out of the storm, and in the distance you could barely make out the outline of a ship on the horizon. Wild panic seized you both as you leapt out of your cover screaming for its attention. You both pushed through the hunger and exhaustion and screamed at the top of your lungs,  begging for them to hear you.

They didn’t.

(Hatred, paranoia, apathy. Hatred, paranoia, apathy. The cycle rang and rang and rang.)

A few days later you both sat at the edge of your island. It was yours now. No one else would want it and the only other person here was an awful silent pirate you hadn’t seen in weeks.

(You quietly hoped he was dead.)

You both looked at the last loaf of bread, blue mouldy and hard. Sanji tore off two pieces, handing one to you and quietly looking at the other.

You both eat in silence.

Over two months had passed on the barren rock. There was no food left from your sack.

(You had stopped counting the cycles.)

You had lost the sense of hunger to a complete emptiness a few days ago, after having spent days passing back and forth the tiniest morsels of anything, both refusing to take the last bite until you were trying to shovel crumbs into his mouth. You had nearly broken your promise already and you refused to let hunger make you break it truly this time.

(But they just wouldn’t stop ringing.)

Sanji sat beside you with his arms wrapped around his stomach, grimacing and quivering almost imperceptibly.

”The old man had twice as much food.” Your eyes moved slowly over to him as his trembling grew more noticiable.

(Hatred.)

”We can last a few more days.” His head snapped to you.

”Can we?” He was near hysterics.

(Paranoia.)

”Give it a few more days, we can’t afford to be stupid-” He staggered to his feet ignoring you.

”We can’t afford to be this hungry. He has twice. As much. Food.” And he was off. “If he won’t give us any, I’ll kill him myself.”

(Apathy.)

”No, Sanji-” You pulled yourself up after him, scrabbling for purchase on the rocks as your torn and blistered hands pushed you up.

(The ringing won’t stop)

He grabbed the knife and climbed over the rock separating the two of you from the old man. The bedraggled pirate, hair a mess but moustache still neat looked up at you as you both stumbled down towards him.

”Thought I told you both to stay put?” Sanji gasped and panted as he reached the sack on the ground, you barely caught yourself from falling into his back as you caught the back of his shirt.

(Hatred.)

”You still have some food. You gotta give us some!” Metal clinked against metal as he tore through the bag with the small knife, ripping the canvas and allowing the contents to spill on to the stone.

(Paranoia.)

Gold and jewels tumbled out of the bag, no food in sight. You pulled yourself away from Sanji as he gutted the bag, slowly approaching the worn down man as the boy was yanking out more and more gems and treasure in a desperate search for sustenance. You stopped short of him as Sanji gasped behind you.

”Where is it?! Where is it?” He advanced on you both waving the knife through the air, “There’s no food, how are you still alive?!” He stumbled to a stop beside you, following your gaze to the tied off and bloody trouser where the man’s limb used to be. Your voice was barely a whisper, throat dry and cracking from dehydration.

(Apathy.)

”Your leg…” Sanji finished the question for you.

(The ringing stopped.)

”What happened?” Two pairs of eyes followed his averted gaze to the sharp flat rock a few feet from him, the tip coated with a small layer of gore and stained in blood. “You ate it?! You ate your own leg?”

A wave of exhaustion hit you, and you slowly lowered yourself to sit again on the rock, eyes focused on the gorey sight but unseeing.

”You gave us all the food. Why?! You don’t even know us, why would you do that for a stranger?”

”Because, little eggplant…” His voice suddenly sounded as tired as you felt, head sinking, “I have been searching for the All Blue… my whole life. But now my time has come to an end. You share the same dream as me.”

(Your head pounds and the feeling -ever present, ever cloying- in your chest swells. Something inside you whispers thrills to you.)

”Believe me, the All Blue is real.”

(Believe me)

“It’s real. And if I can’t find it, then maybe you can.”

(Swirling blues, giant fish alien to you swimming in endless circles)

”So I’m gonna need you to live on. And I’m gonna need you…”

(Crystal waters as clear as glass)

”…to fulfil that dream…”

(Far far away, but it pulses and you feel it in your heart and your mind and your whole being)

”…for both of us.”

Sanji collapses onto the rock beside you, his head rested on your shoulder as, not for the first time, you wish that stupid disgusting fruit you were force fed as a child was actually useful. Of the three left for you to pick from, of course yours was a compass for the fools and idiots who had a hope of an immense and impressive future.

There was a world in which your ridiculous Treasure Treasure fruit had been replaced with the Gem Gem fruit, at least you could have created a shelter, as sparkly as it may have been, or the Pal Pal fruit and you could have enlisted the assistance of some dolphins or sharks, maybe even a passing Sea Beast to aid you off this rock.

No. You were left with the image of a brilliant swirling cerulean lagoon, teaming with fish and plant life the likes of which no man could even dream of in his wildest most ludicrous musings. You couldn’t even pinpoint it on a map if you wanted, only the vaguest of directions and destinations were afforded to your brain.

You raised your arm, jostling Sanji’s head and both men turned their head to follow it as you pointed off into the horizon. A small smile grows on his exhausted, sun soaked, blood encrusted face as he realises where you’re pointing.

”It’s still far away.” Your mumble barely audible.

(It reminds you of hiding in a dark dank corridor, clutching a book to your chest as you stare into the sobbing eyes of a terrified child and your chest clutches at the memory.)

”Too far?” The man is looking at you both like you’ve finally lost it, but this is a routine, well practiced but almost forgotten to the hopeless situation you’re all in.

(You wished you had remembered earlier. This will have to do.)

”Never too far. Not for us.” Your misty eyes turn to meet cloudy blue that start to clear for the stars to sparkle in.

”Have you worked out how long it’ll take to get there yet?” You chuckle and smile, the first real one in weeks.

”No. Weeks maybe. More likely months, could even be years.” Your eyes clear up with his and you turn a bright grin to the confused pirate beside you. “But the All Blue is out there.”

”And I can lead you to what you'll treasure most!”

Next Chapter: Straw Hats and Treasure Maps

[lovekabaneri]

Mini Magnus in Mecha AU

A fun idea I had for the TF Mecha AU by @keferon.

So, at least in my version of the storyline, Optimus is still the leader of the bots and Shockwave is a mad scientist on Earth with absolutely no morals and acting like a b-movie villain. So, no plotline with Shockwave and OP being friends BUT I started thinking about other characters and then another idea hit me: What about Ultra Magnus?

The pilot of Ultra Magnus is a dwarf human and the Magnus armor is the biggest and heaviest mech humanity has managed to build. It is even more armed and powerful than Vortex and the pilot is… just this tiny, mustachioed Italian man. It would be quite the shocker for everyone, since Magnus is not stationed in the same base as the main cast and he's mostly protecting Washington and is called only for emergencies.

Ultra Magnus is not only one of the oldest mechs but also considered a legend, since it has been protecting USA for so long and has never fallen in combat. Imagine the marketing team using pictures of Magnus and saying stuff like "The invincible mecha!" or "Ultra Magnus - proof of humanity's infallible spirit!" but never actually shared pictures of UM's pilot. So, naturally everyone imagines a classical American movie hero, a jock with square chin, to be piloting the biggest mech ever. But actually because the mech has become something of a mascot, like Blurr is the face of the pilots, the Ultra Magnus mech is always getting new improvements and is always equipped with the latest heavy weapons the R&D has released, so despite being one of the first mechs UM is actually very modern... and a b!tch to pilot because of all the new stuff they always put in!

They never show the pilot not only not to hurt the image of the "Infallible Mech" by attaching a human face with flaws to it, but because like Vortex, UM has changed several pilots during the years. Not as often as Vortex, mind you, but because of the strain of a single person driving UM, there always are health complications after prolonged use. The first Magnus died after fending off a lot of aliens from Washington on his own and defeated them all, but was brought to the hospital afterwards and died due to the link overloading his brain and causing bleeding. After him, all other pilots lasted around a year, year and half before their worsening health forced them to retire or they up and died! That is... Until 3 years before the "Jazz lost in space" fiasco.

Minimus is a dwarf, his family came from Italy when he was young, around 20 or more years pre-invasion. He though he'd have to work a desk job or take over his father's pottery business, but then the invasion happened and his home was destroyed in the first attack, his mother died. He wanted revenge, since after that his family almost fell apart, but due to his... stature, his enlistment was denied multiple times and eventually became a cook for the Washington base. He got lucky, however, when they were desperate to find new pilot for Magnus and accepted literally any applicant, as long as they were already employed in said base and signed the NDA for UM's secret. He had done both, so he was accepted for the trial runs. Everyone laughed but then that darf, that tiny mustachioed Italian, not only made the UM armor move but his compatibility was the best of the applicants! Obviously, the higher-ups didn't want to let him do it, but eventually relented, since they had no one better and needed a pilot for an upcoming event!

That's how Minimus became the pilot for Magnus mech and has held the position for the longest time(3 years), after the original Magnus (4 years), at least up to the point where Jazz is yeeted through an alien portal.

I imagined the eventual reveal of who pilots UM would be kind of like Minimus' reveal in the comics but with a dwarf human! So, everyone expects some tough guy, then human Minimus pops out of UM like a rat with his gorgeous, bushy moustache and starts scolding everyone about discipline with a deep voice and doing the signature 🤏 Italian hand gesture as he's shouting. Both humans and cybertronians would be shocked!

Just imagine this absolute unit of a mech, even taller than Prime and Vortex, comes with lumbering steps and the pilot is this *tiny* human! The bots thought humans were tiny, then they see Minimus, who is definitely under 150cm and are like "You humans also have Miniboths?!".

[sneezingisnotnormal]

The Definitive Best Episodes of DnDads

What do I mean by best? These are the episodes that have so many good emotional/hilarious beats that it’s hard to pick out any single moment in it. Every second is iconic. They are in chronological order, but they coincidentally also build from least iconic to most iconic. Spoilers, obviously.

Season 1, Ep. 44: Deck Picks

I think about this episode so much. The literal terror in the air from every which way. The jokes about this being the last episode. Ron literally getting punted out of the story forever. Mr. Moustache weighing the options of getting back his only friend ever or the person he used to be, then completely unrepentantly choosing Scam Likely. Scam Likely then IMMEDIATELY becoming Well Actually. Henry just casually getting a card that makes Lark hate him, literally setting up the ENTIRETY of season 2. Glenn picking a fight with a literal squirrel. Glenn winning AGAIN AND AGAIN AND AGAIN. Glen losing. So. Hard. It’s the ultimate karma episode. Every moment feels predestined. There is nothing that makes a story better than complete and utter chance.

Season 1, Ep. 55: Mark! A Vagrant

Just conceptually, this episode is absolutely perfect. Bringing Ashly in to add to the utter chaos of the Jodie/Glenn dynamic was the PERFECT CHOICE. You have Goliath!Darryl having an identity crisis in the background. You have Will playing Jezball. You have Ashly and Anthony whipping out every embarrassing childhood memory they can think of. And of course, the crème de la crème, you have Glenn and Jodie fighting so hard to get the last word that they can’t even finish the goddamn fight. I swear to god I think about that shit every day.

Season 1, Ep. 56: SWAP (SWitched Ass Papas)

I mean. It’s a body swap episode. Of course I’m going to love it. Everyone’s interpretations of each others characters are so fucking perfect. Will!Ron looking to Beth!Darryl for advice on how to be a better Ron?? Immaculate, no notes. Beth!Darryl being fully just handshake and Catholicism? Hilarious. Matt!Henry basically just having a panic attack the whole time? 10000% accurate. Jimmy!Glenn and Freddie!Jodie sniping at each other every 5 seconds? I love it. One of my fave Beth May lines of all time: “I see the dramatic irony and I stick out my hand and say ‘Hi, I’m Darryl Wilson.’”

And THEN the conversation between Jodie and Dee Snyder. The call from Morgan that Jimmy!Glenn picks up and the pain of Glenn hearing his dead wife alive and well but no longer his wife. All of reality crashing down around these two men. A perfect blend of sad and utterly hilarious.

Season 1, Ep. 61: Death of a Salesman

Ron Stampler my absolute beloved. This is the only episode on this list that isn’t really funny and that’s because Beth May and Anthony Burch can tell a story like no one else oh my god. Going through Ron’s memories to find his anchor was such a clutch move. Starting off with something simple like Willie pushing him into the pool to teach him how to swim. Going on to Ron trying to cook dinner by himself. Then finally doing something good, something that made him worthwhile, only for Willie to walk in the second there’s an accident. Having to give up his dog. And finally, the fishing trip. Older Ron watching his younger self sadly, trying to prod him to do what Willie wants him to do, to not be a fuck-up, even though everyone else can see that it’s not his fault at all. Glenn going back to punch his principal. Finding the anchor in the fishhook, the thing Willie told him was special, that led Willie to trying to kill Ron, falling and dying in the process. It’s so fucking poetic and it makes me cry every time and everything about it is so well done. I could write essays about this episode.

Season 2, Ep. 34: Finding Tori

This is the episode I come back to if I need something to listen to because there’s no slow moment in this episode. It’s bit after bit after bit and I just cackle my way through it. I’m just gonna have to go chronologically through it.

First, the tight fives. Linc earnestly sitting down and over-explaining his favourite funny movie for 5 minutes is actually the most realistic thing I’ve ever seen. Taylor as Austin Powers doing anime themed stand-up to an utterly unimpressed Tori. Will being so fucking mad that he doesn’t get to be Austin Powers. Beth completely misunderstanding the assignment and doing 5 minutes of Napoleon Dynamite standup that’s 90% sexist jokes and 10% “wanna hear my Goofy impression? Gorsh.” Normal getting flustered and just completely ruining his chances with Hermie, who just fully to his face goes “you never loved me.” Anthony putting on full Joker makeup and delivering the BEST Gotham stand up the world has to offer. Tori just completely ripping each of them to shreds. Hermie’s “oh that’s ok I’ll kill myself.”

And like. That feels like a whole episode right? BUT NO. SCAM LIKELY JUST THROWS THEM INTO SPACE WITH A LIMBLESS NICHOLAS.

And now we have such bangers as Scary going insane! The wildest plans you’ve ever heard! ALL OF THE TEENS GETTING MARRIED SO THAT THEY BECOME ONE SOUL AND CAN USE BANISHMENT. The second they go to space it’s just a complete scramble to find a mechanic they could possibly use to get out of this. It’s truly DnD to its MAX, using the tools available to you to think outside the box.

Season 2, Episode 35: Apollo Four Teens

This episode, man. It almost feels like a completely different genre. I literally can’t pick a favourite part.

I mean you have them being forced to navigate their CANONIZED AND LEGAL POLYCULE. Anthony sending them back into space for 12 hours every time they try and say that their marriage isn’t real is maybe my favourite bit of DMing ever. Linc dealing with the episode 2 trauma of having a whole other life with a whole other wife who told him that she never wanted him to remarry???? Literally Matt is the king of random bits of lore that are brought up and resolved within 5 minutes I love it. Terry calling her mom to tell her she’s married is so fucking funny, I love Terry Marlowe. All the conversations about what pet names to call each other and the logistics of potentially opening up their relationship?? I love these guys being forced to seriously handle the consequences of their bullshit, it’s actually beautiful.

And then the fucking love triangle drama?? The Hero/Taylor enemies to lovers suddenly being shattered by Linc just trying his best to wingman for his husband?? Hero forcing Normal into all of this as HER wingman??? Normal pining like crazy over Hermie while Hermie suddenly falls HARD back into his crush on Terry??? And then Hermie offering a thruple to Normal to get him to wingman for HIM??? Peak comedy, someone get Normal therapy, he needs it after this shit.

And then you’ve got their plan to get Red Bull to sponsor them. Fucking insane plan to start with, and then they almost fuck it up just by literally doing the lamest stunts possible. I just can’t these teens are so stupid I love them so much.

Season 2, Ep. 37: Cut My Life into Pizzas

Ok. This is my favorite episode of DnDads. Hard stop. No other thoughts behind it. And that’s because it makes me laugh, it makes me cry, it makes me scream. It’s perfect.

First off, the All Star parody. Why did they do that to me. My heart simply cannot take it.

And then you have Terry freaking out, trying to find a way to fix the problem, putting on the hat just to get it out of the way, having all the memories flood back in. And Scary just can’t process what happened. And you get to see in real time as Scary realises that Willie doesn’t actually give a shit about her. And she decides that she CAN’T lose her stepdad. And you get to see in real time as Scary tries to fight back only to find that she’s given all her power to a man that wants to use her as a telephone. And you watch her lose all hope. She leaves her friends. She leaves her stepdad. She joins the kiddads and goes to help them get the final anchor.

The final anchor, which is the garlic knot heart of a pizza king. And it’s that kind of crazy ass piece of this world that makes DnDads the funniest fucking podcast out there. You will never make me laugh as hard as when I’m about to start crying.

And then you have the whole battle of Linc, Taylor, and Normal trying to get up the tower. Linc and Taylor becoming a fighting machine. The absolute insanity of Linc using Taylor’s toes a la ratatouille??? And of course, completely leaving Normal behind, causing Normal to officially snap: “LOOKS LIKE EVERYONE’S FALLING IN LOVE EXCEPT ME.” Deeply hilarious, and also deeply tragic in such a small and painfully familiar way. Meanwhile Scary is trying to find consolation in Sparrow’s stories about Terry Jr. and just feeling worse and worse. The👏emotional 👏turmoil👏

And then they get to the top and it’s a fucking meat door labelled vegans only. Anthony you motherfucker. And Scary just teleports in and rips that man’s heart out and offers it to anyone who can revive her stepdad. And she just completely shuts down when everyone says they can’t because she’ll never get to tell him what he meant to her.

And THEN, AS IF I’M NOT CRYING ENOUGH ALREADY, Linc confronts Grant. This kid who IDOLIZES his dads has to confront his dad and say “you’re doing the wrong thing. You had a choice and you chose wrong. And I can’t forgive you for that.” Grant trying so hard to explain to Linc that he can’t change who he is, only for Linc to say “well you knew you were messed up and you still chose to raise me. You chose to put all this onto me one day.” Jesus Christ. I need a character study on the Wilson’s. They hurt me. So bad.

Honorable Mention: 3.6 A Car is Born

An episode so fucking insane that the least memorable part is Francis getting a FUCKING GUN. The Tony Collette backstory. The moth Jesus. Dewar. I can’t with these idiots

[ayotofu]

✂️✂️✂️✂️✂️✂️✂️✂️✂️✂️✂️✂️✂️✂️✂️✂️💰💰💰💰💰💰💰💰💰💰💰💰💰💰💰💰

Enjoy!

yayayay!!!!!

48 for leverage/911

The man—Gerrard, according to his nametag and to the way that everyone looks like there’s a rotten fish under their noses—walks in front of them, steps slow and deliberate. He berates one firefighter with a dark brown moustache for not rolling the hoses fast enough and, in the same breath, badgers another man with a bruise-like birthmark for rolling them too fast. He implies that Chimney in particular ought to be more deferential and that their client, Hen Wilson, can only keep up with the men because she’s black.

Eliot has spent time under actual torture that was less painful than this.

Finally, Gerrard stops in front of Eliot. “So you’re the new recruit.”

Eliot says nothing, inclining his head just enough that the man knows he heard him.

“Logan Mars, eh? Joining us from such dangerous areas as Tulsa, Oklahoma. Tell me, how often did you get calls about escaped cattle?”

“Tulsa’s a city. No cows.”

“I’m sure. Well, things are a little different here. Little higher paced. So I demand quality from my men. That’s why they put me in charge here, see. This station needed shaping up, and I’m the man for the job.”

“Why do blowhards always have to tell you how great they are when you didn’t even ask?” Hardison says over the earpiece. Which Eliot had turned off, by the way. Hardison does that sometimes: turns his earpiece back on remotely just to make sure Eliot hears his little quips.

(At least, that’s what he said when Eliot asked him about it. It didn’t use to be something he could do remotely, though. Hardison only made the change a few months ago, when Eliot had turned his comm off before Hardison could warn him that he was walking into a trap. He made it out with three cracked ribs and a new version of the earbuds was waiting for him a week later.)

“Is that so?” Eliot says.

“It is.”

“You know, people who are good at their jobs don’t usually have to make a big production about it.” Eliot crossed his arms. “Sir.”

The firefighters to his left leaned over to stare at him in concert. The one with the birthmark looked thrilled, eyes bright and a smile dancing around his lips.

Gerrard’s face turns red, then purple, but he doesn’t quite yell when he speaks again. “Well, then, you can be an example. Go clean the bathrooms and do so silently. Your work should speak for itself, right?”

As he says so, the alarm sounds. Firefighters rush to the engine, but Gerrard holds a hand out to Eliot.

“You’re man behind today,” he says. “I wanna be able to eat off the bathroom floor when I’m back.”

“That is just nasty,” Hardison says. “Who does this man think he is?”

The firefighters give him sympathetic looks as they leave. Chimney even mouths sorry before climbing into the engine.

Once they leave, sirens blaring, Eliot drops his shoulders. “I know this isn’t our primary goal, but we better fuck this guy up, too.”

“Get me hooked up to his computer and I’ll steal all his data and give him a virus that plays non-stop gay porn.”

Eliot ran up the stairs to the Captain’s office. “Seriously?”

“And one that blares rap music. You know the man hates hip hop.”

--

and another 48 for breakdown fic

With the whirlwind around Maddie's kidnapping and injuries and Chimney's near death ("At least it wasn't rebar," Hen says, but she's crying, too), other things fall by the wayside.

Eddie gets it.

So he waits. He waits a full three days after Maddie gets out of the hospital, when Danny finally starts leaving her alone to go out to his favorite cafe to edit the latest episode of their podcast.

("I've always hated working at home," he told Eddie the one time he asked why he worked in cafes. "Now, though, I'm basically self-employed. I gotta take every chance I got to go out and see the world.")

The Bramble is nice enough, Eddie supposes as he steps inside. The bell over the door tinkles a greeting, the seating looks comfortable, with plenty of outlets. Potted plants are all over the place, bright green against the muted tones of the walls. Soft jazz pipes over the speakers, quiet enough not to be distracting.

It's expensive as shit, though. Six bucks for a medium coffee? Even for LA, that's ridiculous.

Danny's in the corner, headphones on, typing something on his computer. He doesn't look up as Eddie comes over, even as Eddie sits down across from him. It takes Eddie waving his hand in front of the screen for Danny to even notice he's there.

"Eddie?" Danny says with a frown, pulling off his headphones and tilting the screen of his laptop down. "Is—Is something wrong?"

"No, no. Well, kind of." Danny's frowned deepens and Eddie scrubs a hand down his face. "I mean, not something new or anything. And I'm not even here about the problem, but actually the solution, anyway."

Fuck, he sounds like Buck, stumbling all over his words like that.

"Okay… maybe start from the beginning."

Eddie takes a deep breath, and the bell over the door tinkles again. Eddie turns to look—it's a reflex, from years in the army, one he'll probably never be able to shake—and there's Bobby, scanning the cafe before spotting them both and ambling over.

"The coffee here is exorbitantly expensive," he says, sitting down next to Eddie.

"Yeah, but they have free refills, which is worth it if you're sitting here for ten hours editing a podcast." Danny looks between the two of them. "Uh, is this like… an intervention? Or something?"

"I suspect Eddie and I are here for the same reason," Bobby says. "Not for an intervention. Unless… you need one?"

"I don't think so?" Danny looks, if anything, more confused.

"Bobby, you don't need to be here," Eddie says. "I can do this."

"You are maybe the worst possible choice for this aside from Hen. You have a son—"

"You have Athena and the entire 118. Not to mention Buck!"

"Oh and you don't have Buck?"

"What are you two talking about?"

A man two tables over gives them a side eye. He sits like someone who's trying not to look like he's eavesdropping.