#and ESPECIALLY fuck the Upper Class

[jolteongirltja]

Don’t be quiet about this. Be mad. Be PISSED.

They want you scared to fight back.

They want us scared of each other so we can’t realize what they’re doing to us.

We are livestock to them and they’re foregoing the slaughterhouse in exchange for riling us up until we start maiming each other. They’ll wait for us to tear ourselves apart before picking the meat from our bones and the coin from our wallets like vultures. They tote the right to free speech around like a shield until we pick up our own and suddenly the concept of free speech is blasphemy. They want us dead but they want us to live long enough to be drained of our money, our labor, and our bodies. As long as a new generation is born for them to start taking from, we are worth keeping around. There’s no water, just poisons sweetened to the point of being detrimental. Either way, you die while they wait to reap the rewards of their “hard work”, all the while drinking water by the gallon. Spitting it into your face as they tell you, scream at you that there’s no water. “I’m a victim of the world too!” They’ll lie to you. They will lie to you time and time again as you can do nothing but feed them more power, sprawled out and fattened on the cheapest processed ingredients upon their dinner tables, carved open to make your innards easier to access.

There’s this habit I had as a kid. Nothing bad or hurtful. The kind of habit you’d reminisce about years later in a conversation with friends. It’ll draw out some chuckles at how bizarre it was, maybe even a few ‘I did that too’s. Simple kid stuff.

I’d pluck the heads off dandelions when they reached that stage where they closed up and the petals would be exchanged for the fluff. When they’d get like that, usually in mid to late summer, I’d think they were the softest thing. I’d pick them off their stems and brush them against my cheek as if painting on it. And sometimes I’d put them in my pockets or on my desk for later fidgeting. One time, I forgot to toss one. Left it sitting out on my desk for days until one day I looked over and there were seeds everywhere. Without realizing, the little bud had dried up over time and burst. It made a bit of a mess.

People’s suffering, their desperation, I think they’re a bit like those seeds. If left unattended for too long, left to fester, they eventually burst. And gosh, I think we’ve been on these people’s desk long enough.

[quantumshade]

people who have privilege in some areas and not in others haaaate acknowledging that fact because they don’t want to think about the things that make their lives easier they just want pity for the things that make their lives harder

[designernishiki]

okay but. why does it seem like 24 year old majima’s ridden a horse before. why does he talk like he has Experience. what is this lost lore

[big-tees-and-short-skirts]

healthcare bullshit cw

HEY. LOCAL HOSPITAL. WHY DUD I HAVE TO FUCKING CALL TO FIND OUT WHICH PROCEDURE IM GETTING TOMORROW MORNING?!?!? NO INSTRUCTIONS SENT, JUST, "dont eat or drink for 4 hrs pls," AND NOTHING ELSE?!???

heres a baby snapper to apologize for the caps spam <3 thats about to follow

[ouroboobos]

What is it about middle/upper class older women and the urge to go "erm 😳😧 you guys better get over here" and act like Jason Vorhees is en route every time a homeless person so much as enters their peripheral vision. Like ik everyone is horrible to homeless people but its such a specific pattern of behavior I've almost exclusively seen in 50+ y/o white women. They start acting like they're in a fucking movie and its literally just a guy with scraggly hair walking into a store

[sensitivegoblin]

Vent

Tw: gross TMI info

[isitovernow-ootw]

when people talk shit about hippies i feel similarly to when people talk shit about my city, like hey! i know they have problems, but I'm the one that gets to talk about them like that! you dont know them like i do! they raised me!

[catgirlsupremacist]

First 10 minutes of Saltburn and dear god this film is so fucking english

[sidsinning]

Apothecary Diaries is pog as fuck bc serious political issues and dynamics from a woman's POV are rarely depicted in ANY form of media

It's always a man's world where women's issues surround him. Even if we get a female perspective once in awhile- it all comes back to how it facilitates his game in the end. She's a footnote in the overarching scheme of things. Misogyny exists. Back to the real plot.

Apothecary Diaries is strictly from a female perspective and how each class of woman has to act, what limits they have, what rights they have and don't have between each class, etc. These women have to behave a certain way under a patriarchy, which you would think makes it a man's story, but it never is. The women are THE focus of this show, their struggles are THE plot. The focus is about how the patriarch effects them.

Take the concubines for example. The show dives into how bearing a child affects their rank, how traumatizing it is to lose that child, the consequences of that, etc. We have barely seen the emperor who sired all these kids because this is not about him.

Jinshi's personal plot is secondary to Mao Mao's journey- he is mostly there to provide new cases for Mao Mao to solve and to learn more about the shortcomings of his class when taking care of citizens like Mao Mao.

Jinshi is not a bad person, but by virtue of his position in the higher classes, he cannot understand how harsh life as a poor WOMAN is specifically- he can only catch glimpses of it from what Mao Mao tells him and feel outrage but powerless in his wealth and luxury

Mao Mao is a fortunate commoner woman for what privileges someone in her class should and shouldn't have. She happened to be adopted by a knowledgeable man. She is allowed to read, write, learn, and has enough skill to be a poison tester and have a job EXTREMELY out of her class limit as an apothecary, also a job not traditionally meant for women

Mao Mao is not a "noT lIkE oThER gIrLs" protagonist, she is FOR THE GIRLIES. She only wants to help the women around her, and women are whom she has the closest relationships to. She sees a woman being harassed and can't let it stand. She sees a frail, traumatized woman dying from the recklessness of those who should be caring for her and spends day and night nursing her back to health, while also punishing the people who were so careless with her needs.

My girl has STUDIED UP on THE BODY to TEACH these upper class ladies on how to really HEAT things up in the BEDROOM

Sex depicted in Apothecary Diaries is both something women are not shamed to be enjoying, while at the same time being acknowledged as an unfortunately huge economic necessity to market themselves.

Like shit is just so real in this series???

Listen, I can go on and on about how GOATED the series and especially Mao Mao is but you get the picture

[cosmogenous]

oh and another thing

[caitlynsrighteye]

Our Secret

G!P Caitlyn Kiramman x Reader

Heir to the high social status name, Kiramman, should only be paired within the same class standard. Yet, she's fallen for (reader), a girl that is, let's say, not upper class.

Contains: Modern AU, fluff, smut with plot, secret relationship, basketball!G!P!Caitlyn wlw, fem!reader, cunnilingus, couch sex, car sex, almost getting caught, characters are 18+, in 4th year high school (old enough to fuck, but young enough for parents to still have control of their lives lol)

wc: 3.5k

Masterlist Part 2

Born into generational wealth with high status due to her parents' success in business and entrepreneurship. Caitlyn is expected to live up to the same fate, whether it's from her own success or married into another rich family.

That is what Caitlyn planned in order to please her parents.

Until her eyes landed upon you. Beautiful, nonchalant. The sway of your hips as you roam the halls of Piltover High. You were simply walking to your next class before the bell rang, but to Caitlyn, why did time seem too slow when her gaze averted to you?

You, on the other hand, did not bat an eye or spare a second glance. You paid no attention to snotty rich athletes. Especially one as popular as the navy-haired girl. Whom always seemed to have a new girl wrapped around her slim finger every week. She wasn't just the school's top basketball player she WAS a player, and you had no interest in being used.

She noticed you around more. During the passing period, the library, even sitting in the stands as you watch her team, play on the court.

Vi, your best friend. Practically grew up with each other along her sister and brothers. The redhead was also on that team you were cheering for. The game was going well with Piltover in the lead. Each shot Caitlyn took, she always looked your way to make sure you were watching (show-off) and surprisingly didn't miss a single one, like you were her goodluck charm (or maybe just being a try hard to impress you).

The team of Piltover Blue jerseys ran onto the other teams side, ready to score again. Vi passed up all opponent team players, dribbling the ball with skilled precision, ready to pass to Caitlyn. The tall athlete was ready for the pass, yet subconsciously glanced your way, and the ball being passed to her hit her straight in the head. The impact created an embarrassingly loud boing sound. While you watched too.

After the game, Caitlyn walked out of the lockerroom, icepack in hand was placed on her black swollen left eye. She saw you talking with your strong built friend. Before Caitlyn could walk away and sulk, Vi looked over her shoulder and called the girl over.

"Oye! Super star, come over here," said Vi. The blue-eyed player sighed and turned around slowly before walking in your direction. Her face was flushed. Not a clue if it was from the recent game or the embarrassment of you looking at her in her current state.

"We won, but at what cost?" The redhead laughed, patting Caitlyn on the shoulder. Caitlyn usually had this confident demeanor in her stance, but now her back was slightly slouched, and the hand that wasn't holding onto the icepack was cluthing onto one of her backpack straps.

"There was something in my eye, wasn't ready to- " she was interrupted by vi, "Yeah sure, Cupcake," Caitlyn scoffed at the nickname. Violet's phone dings as she gets a text message. "Oh, Powder's waiting for me in the car, gotta go, see ya later, pirate," she says, teasing Caitlyn. She nods in your direction as a fair well, leaving you and the tall player alone.

All was silent until you broke it. "Don't mind Vi, are you alright?" You chuckle in between your sentences. Her gaze leaves the floor where she is staring down at her untied laces. "Yeah, totally. T'is no big deal, didn't even hurt," she tried to play it off, even knowing that her eye throbbed against the coolness of the bag.

Looking back, you never actually talked to the girl, nor did you know that she had an accent. It was quite cute if you were being completely honest.

"So, uh, nice to meet you... cupcake?" She sighed before speaking. "You can just call me Caitlyn, please," you bit your lip, surpressing a laugh, ready to burst out.

"Alright, Caitlyn," the sound of her name rolling off your tongue sent butterflies to her stomach. "I'm Y/n-".

"We had bio together 2nd year," she blurted out, unaware of how she just happened to remember that in that moment. You stared at her with wide eyes as she let go of her bag strap to scratch behind her neck that didn't even itch, tugging on the small hairs that couldn't be pulled into a ponytail.

She stood there even more embarrassed. Where did all this awkwardness come from. It was usually so easy for her to talk to girls, but something about you made her knees buckle and stomach turn.

There was some small talk between the two of you before you realized it was getting late and you're still standing in the halls of the school. Caitlyn offered to walk you back to your car, and you obliged in appreciation.

-

For the next few weeks, the only messages Caitlyn waits and picks up for are yours. The both of you had grown fond of each other. Hanging out, at first, it was with Vi, but soon ended up with just the two of you alone. She would walk you to your classes, not bothering about the time she had left for passing period. Jogging towards your spot in the bleachers after games.

All the girls she was once in contact with were blocked on her phone. She only had eyes for you.

Months pass, and you finally give in to her flirtatious gestures. One study night at her place, you both laid on her queen sized bed. Your backpacks are sitting on the floor of her bed, binders and papers cover the end of her matress as you both were making out on her freshly cleaned sheets. Legs tangled with each other as you and her laid on your sides. Your arms around her neck as she has one hand behind your head, pulling you impossibly close, and her other roaming the curves of your side. You were both lost in each others grasp.

For so long, she dreamt of finally being able to touch you as she palmed herself late at night in her bed. And here you were, tongues exploring each others mouths, saliva strings connecting your lips to her plump ones.

So lost in each other that you almost missed the knock at her bedroom doors. The handle turned, and the door creaked open. You both pushed off each other. Your push was accidentally too aggressive as she fell off the side of her bed with a thud. The bed was angled enough from the door so that when Caitlyn's mom, Cassandra, entered the room, the blue-haired girl was out of sight.

"Hello, Y/n, do you happen to know where Caitlyn had gone off to?" Her poor mother, so polite. You are sat up on her comforter with homework placed in front of your lap. "She's in the restroom, Mrs. Kiramman," you say, hiding the fact that you're out of breath and your face is bright red like a tomato. "So, I see. When she comes back, please let her know to come to my office for a moment," The older woman closes the door behind her after you say, "Of course, maam".

After a long minute of waiting for her mother to leave down the hall, you crawl to the side of the bed and see Caitlyn on her back with her arm slung over her face, holding back a silent laugh. You both begin to laugh as you asked, "Are you okay?" You grab her arm to remove it from her beautifully sculpted features. Her deep blue eyes meet yours, and you're mesmerized. "I'm alright, thank you," she sits up, and before you can say another word, she pulls you from the back of your neck and pulls you into a kiss.

-

Soon after, she takes you out and asks you to be her girlfriend, but with a boundary of keeping it a secret. The more people are aware of the newfound relationship, the more likely her parents would find out. It didn't bother you to the core, but it was different.

As if luck wasn't on your side, her parents almost always managed to catch you both barely while you work at each others bodies.

One evening, she invited you over for a movie night, and the next thing you know, you're pushed deep into the plush couch of her living room with your thighs squeezing around her head tightly, as she's kneeled on the floor with your fingers tangled into her luscious navy blue hair and your other hand gripping the cushions behind you. The Kiramman heir is talented with her tongue. Swiping up long stripes from your entrance to your aching clit. The sounds were lewd, wet and loud, of her ravaging your pussy that needed her mouth so badly. You've ever felt such ecstacy before meeting her. Feels as if the moment you two began being intimate with each other, she knew where to please you and knew what would feel good.

Your irises rolled back, and your toes clung to the fabric of her shirt. Your moans were like music to her ears, wishing she could have you like this always. Both her hands grabbed at your flesh. One giving special attention to the mounds of fat on your chest and the other thrusting two fingers into your pulsing heat, curling them at a certain angle that drove you over the edge.

The air felt hot and heavy. Caitlyn's dick was out free and soaked in your spit from your ealier oral attention, her tip rubbing against the cloth of the couch. She humped against it, creating friction she needed. All was well till you saw silhouettes of a man and woman outside the window curtains near the front door.

Through broken moans you panick, "Ah- Fuck... Cait," you tug her hair and she looks at you confused before turning to the door. She quickly, but carefully picks you up off the couch. As soon as your feet hit the cold floor, you felt like jelly. Bad timing for Caitlyn to take your ability to walk. She brought you over to a nearby closet filled with hanging jackets and shelves of shoes and shoved your clothes into your arms before giving you a quick peck to your lips.

She practically jumped into her sweatpants and tucked her spit-slicked cock into the waistband to hide her hardened length. Her parents' keys could be heard as it worked to open the large door. When the noble couple stepped inside, their daughter sat on the couch watching where you and her left off on the movie.

"Hello, Caitlyn," her mother greets. Her father was about to say the same before he sniffed the air and tugged to loosen the business tie around his neck. "Darling, what is that smell?" He says, looking around the room. Caitlyn, with a nonchalant look to her face while she lights a candle on the side table next to the couch. "Im not sure," Sweat threatened to slide down her temple. Her blue eyes darted to the closet door that you hid in. Mr. Kiramman walked in your direction to put his coat away. She never stood so fast in her life she thought she'd pass out. Walking over to her father, she guides him to a small table where she had put the mail. "Dad, I saw this envelope from earlier, looks important," she put the pile of mail in his hands. "Oh well, thank you, Caitlyn," he says before heading towards his office where his wife followed after him.

"Phew," she sighed, hurrying towards your hiding spot where you had your hand covering your mouth to shield your heavy breaths. She opened the sliding doors to your shocked state, worried that you had been caught. You were still naked, legs shaking with arousal dripping down your skin. She gently caresses your cheek, comforting a soft smile from your lips. You take her hand as she helps you out of the closet, bringing you to the closest bathroom where she had you sit on the counter and helped you back into your clothes. Unfortunately, you both blue balled that night.

-

There was one place where Mr and Mrs. Kiramman couldn't catch you and your super hot girlfriend, the backseat of her car in a dark empty parking lot being lit by the tall light polls. Being the offspring of two rich, important people, she drove a huge murdered out cadillac escalade. The windows were tinted, and the interior was expensive leather. The backseat was large enough and had room for you both to lay.

The sun had gone down a few hours ago. Caitlyn had taken you out to a nice dinner after her team had won a basketball championship while being mvp on the court. The gym was filled in cheers from the crowd, and her teammates shouted in victory. Vi ran up to Cait and lifted her off her feet to congratulate the star of the game. The restaurant was dimly lit by glass chandeliers hanging from the ceiling and candles placed on tables. The navy-haired woman was cleaned up, wearing a black pant suit with her hair down resting on her broad shoulders.

As you sat down, she wanted to be extra fancy by ordering wine, but she got ID'd for not being 21 by the waiter (buzz kill). She was romantic and knew how to bring your face to a bright red. Knew how to make you laugh and overall make you want to bend over for her. Dinner was good, yet unbearable with the ache between your legs. The two of you basically hurried out of there, almost forgetting to pay.

Now, here you are, both sat in the backseat, straddling her bare lap as you bounced on her hardened cock. Your bodies fully exposed to each other with goosebumps along your skin. Hands on her shoulders, as hers gripped your hips with bruising strength. Your lips were attached to her neck, sucking and biting the flesh, turning it purple. Her head was thrown back on the seat with her eyes closed tightly. You watched in awe how undone you've made her. Her face wincing from the squeezing pleasure you've given her. Causing you to gain the stamina to bounce harder on her.

Caitlyn was lost in the deep red sea of your pussy as you tightened around her shaft. Each bounce stroked her from tip to hilt repeatedly. Her cock was so deep inside, it kissed your cervix painfully, your clit making contact with her pelvis as you landed.

The windows were completely fogged over, with handprints scattering its area. Her car rocked with each movement. Both your moans overcame the music playing on the bluetooth. The claps of your skin colliding with hers rang in your ears.

"Ha- fuck," you moaned. Caitlyn was not paying attention. Her head was still thrown back as she just sat there enjoying as you rode her. You took one of your hands from her shoulders to tug at her ponytail, bringing her face towards yours. Her eyelids drooped, looking fucked out and exhausted. She crashes her lips onto yours, kissing you hard. The kiss was messy, and your tongues danced together. Saliva strings connecting you both together.

Your movements began to slow as you grew tired. As if energy was transferred over, her kiss became brutal. Tongue dominating yours to explore the inside of your mouth. Her body leaned into you to get closer. If getting closer was even possible at this point. She pulled away from the kiss to watch as your body moved.

Grinding down on her, her erection rubbed against your sweet spot deliciously. Her sapphire eyes stared onto your perfectly round boobs, taking one nipple into her mouth sucking it hard like a hungry babe. "Fuck baby, you're so good," she said, mouth full of your chest mounds. The grip on your hips started to get rough as she helped you move, getting your body to continue bouncing. The sounds of your moans against her ear and your wet cunt swollowing her long cock whole was obscene. Straight out of a porno.

She had never felt this good before. Never with any other girl she's fucked for her own enjoyment made her feel the way she feels in this moment. Never had one of those girls made her fall head over heels. She was in love with you and wanted only you.

Her mouth left your boob with a pop. With the remaining strength and endurance she had left in her, she lifted you. Without pulling out of your cunt to pushed you down onto the center console. Your body getting stuck between the driver and passenger seat. With a shocked expression on your face, you watched her smirk stupidly before her hips took off. Pounding into you with such speed and force behind each thrust till her thighs burned from the awkward position. Your body moved upwards with each stroke she gave you, and you winced in pain when your skin skid along the leather seats. Your fingernails dug into her shoulders, creating scratch marks ready to bleed.

Your moans grew louder, and her balls slapped against your ass. You felt evey thick vein of her cock rubbing your inner walls. The head breaking through you made you feel like you'd be split into two. "Ahh Cait! You're gonna m-make me fucking cum," you lifted your head to watch her dick disappear within you. Your eyes almost rolled back at the sight of her thrusting into you. Her forhead slick with sweat, bottom lip between her teeth, her boobs bouncing with each pound of her hips onto yours. She gasped, close to her nut bust she watched her dick print on your lower tummy. It turned her on so much more. Her palms pressed down onto where she could see her dick going in and out of you, tickling your g-spot from the outside. Your eyes rolled to the back of your skull and your velvet walls clenched onto her girth. She moan in unison with you. "Shit so tight. Wanna cum in you," her jaw tensed as you were clamped down hard onto her.

"Fuck fuck Cait!" You screamed. Squeezing her member hard, her balls tightened. You squirted all over her. Your hot fluids coating her pelvis. White cum burst from her tip and into you. Her strokes were slower, riding out both your highs. Long and deep strokes. Your body shook from the intense orgasm. Her eyes were glued to you the whole time while she took control. She craved the faces you made while she fucked you into a mindless sack of flesh. Regaining consciousness from your high, your eyes locked to hers. She stood awkwardly over you, trying to catch her breath before pulling her sore cock out of you.

It's as if the whole world went silent, and you and her were at the center of it all. Your gaze lingered onto hers before following a bead of sweat down to her swollen glossy lips. Wrapping your arms around her neck, you pulled her in to taste the sweet padding of her lips. She sighed into it, feeling relaxed and loved within your grasp. Something she felt safe and vulnerable in.

The kiss broke, and she nuzzled her face in the crook of your neck, inhaling the sent of your perfume and sweat. She placed soft pecks to the hickeys on your neck. Kisses that lead up your jaw to your cheek, then reached your forhead. After one final peck to your hairline, she looked up to see the time on the dashboard screen.

She sighed, "It's 3am," she watched as your eyebrows rose and your forhead wrinkled. "Oh shit," you say. A smile widened across your face as you do your best not to giggle. Yet, failed once she began to laugh with you. It wasn't a hilarious laugh it was more comfortable and soft sounding. Like, 'Oh my gosh, we were so caught up in the moment we didn't realize how late it had gotten'.

"Mum and dad are going to kill me," she rested her forhead against yours. You chucked and said, "We'll come up with an excuse."

"I love you."

You stared into her eyes blankly. Surprised by the sudden confession. Her body lifted, just as shocked as you were before taking a deep breath to keep eye contact with you.

"I love you, Y/n," she said it more confidently. It's been months since you both began dating, and you've gotten to know each other for almost a year by now. Confessing love was bound to happen sooner or later.

Your expression relaxed, and a sly smile spread on your lips. "About time, cupcake," you teased. "Oh, you shut up," she laughed.

"I love you too, Caitlyn Kiramman"

_________________________________________

Note: IT IS SO HARD FOR ME TO WRITE SMUT BC I JS WANNA WRITE BACKGROUND AND PLOT TO ITTTT AHHHH!

Also ps: i keep seeing hcs of Caitlyn loving to have reader ride in cowgirl position... and never see it in fics like i eat up that hc sm ugh, need to save a horse so bad🧎🏻‍♀️

Thanks for reading♡ lemme know what you think :)

[teaboot]

One thing nobody prepares you for in a uniformed security position is the reflex defensiveness people get out of nowhere- upper class people especially. Like “Hey, I saw you looking at me! What, you think I’m stealing or something? I’m not fucking poor”

Like damn, good for you Walter. I am. Your shirt’s on backwards

[axkirak]

Kiss and Make up

(𝐕𝐢𝐤𝐭𝐨𝐫 𝐱 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫)

Read in Ao3 : here

Pairings:  Viktor x f!reader

Fandom : Arcane (TV Series)

Content waring : 18+ smut/nsfw, fingering, oral (f!receiving), p in v, vanilla sex, creampie, slightly OOC because they fucking COMMUNICATE

tags : porn with plot, argument, makeup sex, angst and fluff and smut, purposeful teasing, workaholic viktor, canon compliant, these character's aren't perfect and sometimes do stupid things (english isn't my first language)

Summary: As a Zaunite, Viktor always knew he had to work five times harder to prove himself in Piltover. His work always came first, even before you. But when you finally reached your breaking point and decided to leave him, he realized what truly mattered.

A/N : just binged Arcane season one and and immediately decided I had to write a Viktor fic. Please enjoy my 6,517-word smut fic Lol.

Viktor’s workaholic tendencies were, without question, his greatest flaw, one no amount of effort could ever fix.

He was painfully aware that his place in Piltover society was worlds apart from everyone else’s. After all, he had been born a Zaunite. He wasn’t one of the privileged from the Upper City, blessed with wealth and comfort. On the contrary, he had grown up in crushing poverty. His body, too, had never been his ally—frail, thin, and broken. His right leg was useless, permanently braced with metal and reliant on a cane he could never part with.

But for all his physical shortcomings, Viktor’s brilliance more than made up for them. His intellect bordered on the extraordinary. At a young age, his talents stood out so starkly they caught the attention of Professor Heimerdinger himself. It was Heimerdinger who plucked Viktor out of the Undercity slums, gave him shelter and a scholarship that opened the doors to the University of Piltover. Viktor graduated with a doctorate in his early twenties, becoming the youngest PhD holder in the city’s history, and secured a position at the academy as assistant dean not long after.

Nothing in Viktor’s life had ever come easily. Every inch of progress had to be earned through sheer determination and relentless effort. From his school days through to his professional life, he worked at least five times harder than everyone else. All of it—every sleepless night, every sacrificed comfort—had been for one purpose: to prove he belonged. That he wasn’t just some crippled, penniless boy from Zaun who had lucked out and stumbled upon Heimerdinger’s charity.

His relentless need to prove his worth had slowly consumed him, transforming what was once an admirable work ethic into outright obsession. What began as ambition had long since crossed into compulsion—until, at last, Viktor became the very embodiment of a workaholic.

Every breath he took was devoted to his work and research, which had become more important to him than anything else in the world.

…Perhaps even more than you.

You and Viktor had been together for years, lovers since your university days, when you, two years his junior, first crossed paths in a physics class. It was your sharp wit and incisive questions that caught his attention from the start.

You weren’t afraid to challenge him, especially when it came to his research, which you believed still had plenty of room for refinement. Viktor had expected to be irritated by your constant critiques. Instead, he found himself utterly captivated. Your confidence, your mind, the way you spoke with such unwavering clarity drew him in completely.

He fell for you hard, and fast.

And it terrified him.

Despite being hailed as a prodigy among his peers, Viktor knew he was painfully inexperienced in matters of the heart. His attempts at courting you were nothing short of disastrous. He was always awkward, flustered, and hopelessly out of his depth, fumbling over words every time he tried to talk to you.

So it was a complete mystery to him, what did you see in a crippled, ordinary man like him? Why did you say yes when he finally confessed his feelings? He had braced himself for rejection, fully expecting a ninety percent chance that you would gently turn him down. But you didn’t.

You said yes.

And from that day onward, Viktor felt like the luckiest man in all of Piltover.

You cared for him with quiet devotion, never once faltering through all the years you’d been together. You made him meals three times a day, brewed his favorite black coffee each morning so he could take it with him to the Academy. You reminded him, almost pleadingly, to eat at proper hours and to sleep at least six hours a night. You begged him not to get so absorbed in his research that he worked straight through until dawn, just like he used to during his university days.

Viktor always promised you he’d try. He meant it, every time. But he never managed to keep his word.

Time after time, he would lose himself in his work, completely oblivious to the hour. He would drag his body home near dawn, exhaustion etched deep into his features, as if this was the only way he knew how to live.

He assumed, mistakenly, that you had grown used to his way of life, too.

It never once crossed Viktor’s mind that the day might come...

The day when your patience finally ran out.

Tonight is another night Viktor returns to the apartment later than expected.

After spending countless hours working in the Academy’s lab, exhaustion weighs heavily on every inch of his body as he steps through the door. The clock on the living room wall strikes three in the morning just as Viktor enters.

All he wants right now is to crawl into bed, wrap his arms around you, and drift off to sleep with your body warm against his chest. That’s the moment he cherishes most—the fleeting pause when he can let go of his burdens, wash away the physical and mental fatigue, simply by lying beside you each night.

But tonight is different.

You're wearing a silky sky-blue nightgown, your favorite color and a familiar sight to him. But this time, you're not lying on the bed like you usually do. You're sitting at the kitchen table, chin resting in your hand as you gaze blankly out the apartment window. Moonlight spills across your face, casting delicate shadows and making your features appear even more striking in the dim room. Your brows are slightly furrowed, as if you're lost in thought.

Viktor frowns as well, sensing that something isn’t quite right, though he can’t put his finger on it, and that uncertainty leaves him uneasy. He quickly shrugs off his coat and hangs it by the door before carefully walking toward you, the soft tap of his cane on the floor the only sound breaking the tense silence.

“You’re late. Again.”

You speak without looking at him. Though Viktor hasn’t yet seen your expression clearly, your tone carries a trace of irritation, and that alone is enough to tell him exactly what kind of situation he’s walking into.

Viktor sighs. This isn’t the first time the two of you have argued about this, even though it doesn’t happen often. Still, he never quite gets used to dealing with your anger. You’re not the type to snap or raise your voice when you’re angry. Quite the opposite. When you’re mad at him, you become eerily calm, quiet like the surface of the ocean before a tsunami.

And that, frankly, terrifies him.

Viktor’s expression softens slightly as he steps closer, steady but careful, stopping just short of where you sit, close enough to reach, but not close enough to invade your space. He braces one hand on the edge of the table to steady himself, amber eyes fixed on you.

“I didn’t mean to,” Viktor says simply. “I lost track of time.”.

There’s no excuse, and he doesn’t offer one. The two of you know each other too well for lies. A single glance speaks louder than any words could. And Viktor knows he’s at fault. He buried himself in work and forgot everything else, including your request for him to come home on time.

Once again, he’s broken his promise to you.

You fall silent, not saying a word or even glancing his way. Your gaze stays on the window, your thoughts miles away. “Go to bed, Vik. It’s late. You have to wake up early tomorrow.”

Your voice is cold, emotionless. You don’t even bother to look at him, as if he isn’t here at all.

Silence stretches between you. Viktor watches you closely, his sharp eyes scanning from head to toe before settling on your face beneath the soft glow of moonlight. It’s the face of the woman he loves, steady and unchanged, just as it has been day after day.

“You’re… still upset,” he says bluntly. It’s not a question, just another one of Viktor’s logical conclusions. To him, everything runs on cause and effect—patterns he can analyze, break down, and solve.

It’s one of the things you both admire and resent about him: that analytical mind of his, always dissecting everything and searching for a clear answer, especially when it comes to you.

You let out a long sigh. “I’m not. I’m just tired,” you reply flatly, still refusing to meet his gaze. Your eyes remain fixed on the night sky beyond the glass, as if there’s something out there far more interesting than him.

Viktor scoffs under his breath, clearly unconvinced.

His slender fingers gently take your chin, coaxing you to look at him. “Don’t lie to me,” he says, voice low but firm. His gaze pierces into yours, unwavering and intense, refusing to let you look away. “You’re angry because I came home late. Aren’t you?”

You meet his gaze coldly before pulling his hand away. “Do I even have the right to be mad at you, Vik?” you snap, sarcasm edging your voice. “This is your life. Your job. None of it has anything to do with me.”

Viktor’s eyes narrow, brows furrowing. There’s hurt in his expression, mixed with a flicker of frustration. “Nothing to do with you?” he echoes, stepping closer until only inches separate you. His jaw tightens as tension builds in his chest. “Don’t be ridiculous. You’re my girlfriend. Of course it has everything to do with you.”

Now it’s your turn to scoffs “Oh, so now you remember I’m your girlfriend? I thought you were already in a relationship with your work.”

The words hit him like ice water, chilling him to the core and leaving a dull ache right in his chest.

Viktor presses his lips into a thin line. His expression hardens, laced with hurt and barely restrained anger. But he keeps his voice steady, not wanting this to spiral. “Don’t say that, Zlato[1]. You know how important my work is.” he murmurs, his tone softening. “I’m doing this for a better future. Not just for the world, but for us.”

You know exactly what he’s talking about.

Hextech—the revolutionary arcane technology project that’s taken all of Piltover by storm. A project he co-founded with Jayce Talis, another rising young scientist at the Academy.

"Hextech will change the world.”

That’s how he once described it to you. And deep down, you’ve always known Viktor is an ambitious man. He’s always wanted to make his mark. That’s why he’s poured everything into this project, because he truly believes it’s the key to making his dream come true.

So when he says he’s ‘doing it for both of us’ you let out a quiet, bitter laugh.

Because you know it’s not true. It never has been. He’s doing it for himself.

But you don’t argue. There’s no point. You’ve tried to change Viktor before, more times than you can count. Every time, it ends the same.

Disappointment. Loneliness. Being left behind.

And each time, it chips away at something inside you. You’re growing tired. Tired of chasing him. Tired of waiting.

Maybe... maybe it’s time for you to be the one who changes.

"I don’t want to talk about this anymore, Vik. Let’s just go to bed." You cut him off, rising from the chair and heading back to the bedroom.

You’ve given up, at least for tonight.

But Viktor hasn’t.

His eyes stay fixed on your back as you walk away. His expression remains unchanged, firm and determined. He grabs his cane in haste and follows closely behind.

As soon as he steps inside the bedroom, he shuts the door and turns to face you again.  "No. This isn’t over," he says firmly. "You’re angry with me. And we need to talk this through. Now."

His stubbornness makes you pinch the bridge of your nose. You exhale slowly, doing your best not to snap. But it’s getting harder, especially with those amber eyes locked on you, relentless and unwavering.

"What’s the point, Viktor?" you say, your voice growing colder with each word.  "In the end, you always go back to being the same. You’ve never once cared about me"

Your words are sharp now. There’s no hiding your anger anymore.

"Maybe you really are better off alone than in a relationship."

That line cuts deeper than anything you’ve said before.

Viktor freezes, momentarily speechless. Your words strike like a blade: deep, merciless, straight to his heart.

And he knows. Deep down, he knows you’re right. He’s never been the boyfriend you deserved. His work has always come first. You have every right to be angry with him. But hearing you say it so plainly hurts in ways he never expected. It feels like you’re no longer his lover, just a stranger who happens to be sharing the same roof.

He swallows the sting of your words, forcing his face into a hard, unreadable mask. His fingers tighten around the cane until his knuckles turn white.

"Maybe you’re right…" he finally says. His voice comes out hoarse and flat, an attempt to sound unaffected, but the pain in his tone is unmistakable. "Maybe I’m just not cut out for this. Maybe it would be better for both of us… if we ended this."

He doesn’t mean it. Not really.

Somewhere inside, he’s hoping you’ll take it back. That you’ll say you’re sorry. That you’ll realize you still love him. That you don’t actually want to leave.

But what he gets in return is the exact opposite.

You look at him with that same icy expression, unflinching and unreadable. You don’t argue. You don’t apologize. You simply walk over to the wardrobe, pull out your things, and toss them onto the bed. Then you grab your suitcase and begin packing, swift and eerily calm.

Viktor’s eyes widen. He never thought you’d actually go.

He wants to say something, anything, to stop you. To make you stay. But his mind is a storm of emotion: panic, guilt, and sorrow, all hitting him at once. He’s too overwhelmed to speak, too paralyzed to act. So he stands there, frozen, watching as you shove the last of your belongings into the suitcase.

He snaps back only when you finish packing and drag your suitcase to a stop right in front of him.

“You’re in the way,” you say flatly. “Move.”

And that’s when he knows you’re serious.

Once you step out of this room, this apartment, it’ll all be over. Nearly a decade together, gone in a single night.

And in that moment, it finally hits him.

Hextech was never what mattered most.

It was you.

You were the one thing he couldn’t afford to lose. You were what truly mattered, more than his work, more than his legacy. And now, he's about to lose you for good.

He can’t let that happen. Not now. Not ever.

Viktor still stands in place, unmoved by your command.

“Where are you even going to stay? It’s so late,” he says, desperate to stall and grasping at anything that might buy him time to fix this.

But you shut that hope down instantly.

“Not your business,”  you snap, locking eyes with him. You're standing close now, close enough to see the tiny mole above his thin upper lip and the one on his forehead. “Move, Viktor,” you say again, firmer this time.

His jaw clenches. He stares back at you without budging, plants himself firmly in front of the door.

“No,” he says, voice steely.

Viktor knows how pathetic this is. He knows he's being selfish. He never once treated you the way he should’ve. You were always second to his work. He thought you’d stay no matter what. Only now, as you’re walking away, does he realize what he’s losing.

Deep down, he knows he doesn’t deserve your love. You should be with someone who treats you right.

But there’s a part of him, buried deeper and darker, that refuses to let you go.

He has no right to ask you to stay. And yet, he says it anyway.

“I don’t want you to go.” The words come out barely above a whisper, raw and pleading. The sharpness in his voice is gone. “Please don’t go, Koloušek[2]”

Then he moves. His tall, wiry frame steps closer. One hand still grips his cane, while the other latches tightly onto your suitcase handle, refusing to let it go.

You caught off guard by his sudden action. “Vik! What the hell is wrong with you? Let go of my suitcase!” You yank it, but he only tightens his grip.

“No,” he snaps. His eyes blaze with stubborn fire. There’s no way in hell he’s letting go.

You struggle for a while, tugging the suitcase back and forth, but he won’t budge. He’s not strong by any means, not physically. But adrenaline gives him an unexpected surge of strength, and he uses all of it just to keep you from taking it.

Realizing he’s not going to let go, you finally give in. For now.

You release the handle, cross your arms with a sharp sigh, and glare at him in frustration.

He meets your gaze, unflinching.

For a few seconds, neither of you speaks. The silence thickens as you stare each other down, testing and daring each other to move first.

The air thickens, saturated with an unspoken tension that weighs heavy between you.

And in the end, it’s you who cracks.

“I hate you,” you say, hoping your voice will sound firm, resolute. But it comes out soft and trembling, like even you don’t quite believe your own words.

And he sees it. Of course he does. 

Viktor lets out a short, dry laugh and shakes his head. “No, you don’t.”

He steps in, this time closer than before. So close your chests nearly touch. He’s only slightly taller, so when you’re face to face like this, his amber eyes are nearly level with yours. You catch every flicker of emotion in them. And you know, without question, he reads yours just as clearly.

“You’re just angry. I get it,” he murmurs. “But you don’t actually hate me.”

He speaks with such calm certainty that it’s maddening.

“You’ll never hate me. Even if you try. Even if you push me away or tell yourself a thousand times you’re fine without me. It’s a lie, and you know it.” His voice drops to a whisper, warm breath brushing your skin as he leans in. “Want to know why?”

You already do. And Viktor does too.

“Because you know I love you,” he breathes. The words fall like a confession, weighted and unshakable.

His hand lifts to your face, fingers tracing the line of your jaw before stopping at your chin. He tilts it up gently, his eyes never leaving yours. He sees the hitch in your breath, the flicker in your gaze, both undeniable signs that he’s right.

���And you still love me.”

You freeze, stunned by the sudden kiss that follows.

His lips crash into yours, and before you can step away, his arms wrap around your waist and pull you flush against him, leaving no space between your bodies and no chance to escape.

The kiss is desperate and deep, hungry yet heartbreakingly tender. It steals your breath away. You can feel it all in the way he kisses you: the longing, the guilt, the silent apology he can’t voice but tries to show with every motion of his mouth against yours.

And for a moment, the world fades.

Your mind goes blank. Everything disappears except for the feel of him, his lips devouring yours over and over, his tongue slipping past your lips with impatient yearning.

Without realizing it, your hands reach up to circle his neck, and you kiss him back, just as fiercely, just as helplessly.

You only realize it when your back hits the mattress, guided down by Viktor’s gentle push.

Now, you're lying beneath him, completely bare, your nightgown already stripped away. Your hair fans across the pillow, and your half-lidded eyes shimmer with the heat of unrelenting desire. Your cheeks burn, flushed a deep red. You breathe in ragged gasps as you stare up at him, questions trembling behind your gaze, waiting to see what he’ll do next.

You catch the way his eyes roam over every inch of you, drinking in every detail now exposed to him. His palm glides over your body like a man desperate for redemption, his fingertips trailing across your soft skin with a touch that feels both reverent and ravenous. Then he lowers himself, pressing his bare chest flush against your warm body. His lips move to your neck, sucking and nipping lightly, just enough to leave a mark.

Suddenly, he lifts his head and leans toward your ear. “Say it,” he whispers, voice low and possessive. “Tell me you want me.”

His hand drifts lower, fingertips teasing the sensitive peak of your breast until it hardens under his touch. The caress is featherlight, intentionally to make you squirm.

You jolt, sucking in a sharp breath. Your desire is unmistakable, tangled with frustration, both at him and at yourself. You want so badly to say no, just to deny him the satisfaction, to bruise his ego. But instead, what slips from your lips is, “I want you.”

And that’s exactly what Viktor wants to hear.

A faint smile curves across his lips as he watches you shudder beneath each increasingly intimate touch. Whatever resistance you were trying to hold onto is slowly crumbling, melting into the fire steadily consuming you.

His hand continues toying with your breast, fingers brushing over the swell, feeling the rapid beat of your heart beneath his palm and the shallow rise and fall of your breath. He doesn’t make you wait. Leaning down, he exhales warmly against your skin before wrapping his lips around the sensitive bud. His tongue curls and licks as his other hand rises to cup your other breast, kneading the soft flesh with purposeful pressure.

A moan escapes you before you can stop it. The pleasure surges, impossible to contain. Your hands grip the sheets tightly, desperate for something to hold onto as his mouth ravishes your chest, licking, sucking, biting, driving you wild with every deliberate stroke of his tongue.

His mouth and tongue travel lower, slowly, almost torturously. From your ribs down to your navel, he worships your body with kisses that alternate between soft and firm, leaving behind damp heat and the occasional playful scrape of teeth, gentle enough not to hurt, sharp enough to mark you as his: a claim, a brand.

Viktor halts when his lips reach the warm, damp heat between your thighs. His breath makes you twitch. You instinctively try to close your legs, but his hands catch your thighs and hold them apart, keeping you open beneath him. His eyes fixate on your glistening sex, unblinking, as his fingers slide gently through your slick folds. The more he touches, the wetter you get.

He can feel the tension coiled in your body, every breath hitching with anticipation. And it only excites him more.

Without wasting another second, he lowers his head and presses his mouth to your core, giving you a deep, lingering kiss between your thighs. He takes his time, tasting you thoroughly, his tongue lapping through every crease and fold with worshipful precision. He lingers over your clit, drawing it into his mouth with a suck that makes your hips buck. Then, he slips his index and middle fingers inside your tight heat, pumping them slowly in and out, stirring you with maddening rhythm until your sanity begins to fray.

Your head falls back against the pillow as your hands abandon the sheets and move to clutch his hair. A sob of pleasure escapes your throat while Viktor remains utterly focused, devouring you with lips and tongue, touching you with fingers that seem to know your body better than you do. He worships every inch of you as though your body were sacred.

He’s mesmerized by you, by your reactions, by the way you respond to him, by every trembling moan that spills from your lips. Everything about you drives him wild. He could spend hours like this, savoring every moment, tasting you, exalting you, pushing you over the edge again and again.

But no, not yet.

The moment Viktor senses your body twitching in small spasms, an unmistakable sign that you're teetering on the brink, he abruptly pulls away. A frustrated moan escapes you, irritation flaring as you're left aching and unsatisfied.

“Vik! I want to come,” you protest, voice thick with need, eyes pleading for him to return to you.

That look in your eyes nearly breaks him.

But he forces himself to hold back. Just for now. He needs something from you first.

He shifts his weight, bracing himself above you once more, lining up his eyes with yours. You see the glisten on his lips, still slick with your essence. His hand moves to your hip, giving it a playful squeeze.

"You want me to make you come, don’t you?" he murmurs hoarsely against your ear before dragging those messy lips down your neck, leaving wet, deliberate kisses that mark your skin anew.

God, you feel even wetter just hearing him talk like that.

Dirty talk isn’t exactly a common feature when the two of you are in bed. But every time he lets it slip,  it wrecks you in the best way.

And he knows that. He always knows how to push your buttons.

You nod rapidly, breath catching. “Vik, please don’t tease me…”

That sly grin returns, curling at the corner of his lips as he looks down at you, shaking, desperate, pleading with that raw, aching need in your voice. He knows you’re exactly where he wants you. And he’s not about to waste it.

“I’ll give you what you want,” he says, voice slow and deliberate, as his hand glides lower. His thumb traces lazy circles on the inside of your thigh, stoking the desire already burning within you. “But you have to promise me something first...”

“...Don’t leave me. Don’t ever break up with me again.”

You freeze, staring at him in disbelief. You can’t believe he’s using this moment to negotiate terms. “Seriously, Vik?” Even though you're squirming and desperate, you can't help but throw some sass back. “Did you forget you’re the one who said, ‘Maybe it would be better for both of us if we ended this’?”

He lets out a long sigh. He knows he’s partly to blame, but he never meant for you to leave. And now, he’s doing everything he can to find a reason, any reason, to convince you to stay.

“I know I said that, but I didn’t mean it,” he mumbles, kissing along your jaw now, soft and slow, almost apologetic. “Just… promise me, Milaček[3]"

You hate to admit it, but part of you is starting to soften. Still, the bitterness from your last fight hasn’t fully faded. “Didn’t mean it? Of course you never do. Unless it’s about work, that’s the only thing you ever seem to mean,” you shoot back, quick and sharp.

Viktor stops short, then pulls back just enough to look at you, eyes narrowing at your jab. “You really have a talent for ruining the mood, you know that?” he mutters, dry and irritated.

“Oh, really? I don’t think so”  You smirk knowingly, teasing glint in your eyes. “I can tell how much you love it when I get under your skin like this. It turns you on every single time, doesn’t it?”

You don’t wait for an answer. You grind into him, and the way he hardens beneath you says it all.

Your movement catches him off guard, and he stiffens, a low growl slipping from his throat as the friction sets his nerves ablaze.

Viktor isn’t the only one who knows how to push buttons. You’ve mastered his just as well.

His hand lifts to your face, fingers pressing into your cheeks in mock frustration. His eyes are dark with want, breath coming shallow and uneven. He knows he’s about to lose control, just from your taunts and that wicked smile on your lips.

“Quiet, you,” he growls, trying to sound scolding, but his hoarse voice betrays him, showing just how right you were.

You chuckle softly, raising an eyebrow at him in defiance. “Then make me... Miláček.”

And just like that, the final thread of Viktor’s restraint snaps.

“You asked for it.”

He doesn’t silence you. Quite the opposite. He pulls even louder moans from your lips as he grips your thigh, pushing you open and thrusting into you with a single, forceful motion, burying himself deep inside your dripping cunt. The way you're already wet makes it easier, though you're still so tight that Viktor has to pause, his face pressing into the crook of your neck as he collects himself. The sensation of your velvety warmth tightening around him, enveloping him so perfectly, is almost too much to bear.

Then, he braces your hips and begins to move, slow and steady at first, but with growing intensity.

Moans rise and fall from your lips along with the rhythm of his thrusts, growing sharper as he goes harder and deeper. His tip hits that perfect spot inside you every time, grinding against it with relentless precision, drawing gasps and shivers from you, your whole body trembling from the pleasure building inside you, coiling tighter with each push.

Your voice cuts off  when Viktor captures your lips in a bruising kiss, mouths and tongues tangled, the taste of him like coffee, his scent a heady mix of sweat, metal, and chemicals. Everything about him makes your head spin.

Viktor may be a scientist, methodical and precise in every thought and action when he’s working. But in bed, he lets go. Here, he moves on instinct alone, hips snapping forward in steady, punishing rhythm. And the moment he feels your inner walls clenching tighter around him, his control slips even further. He grunts low in his throat, pace turning rough and uncoordinated, lips abandoning your mouth in favor of your neck. He kisses along the frantic pulse under your skin, dragging his teeth over sensitive flesh, leaving fresh marks wherever he can reach.

You melt beneath him, every inch of you yielding to his touch. Your hips lift to meet his every thrust, bodies tangled and pressed so close there’s no telling where one ends and the other begins. The room fills with the sounds of their fervent coupling, the slap of skin against skin, and your moans mixing with him echoing through the room.

He starts to lose his rhythm, thrusts growing uneven and frantic as the edge pulls him closer. He’s close, so close, and he knows you are too. Just a little more. His hand slips down, thumb finding your clit, circling and pressing the sensitive bud in sync with his driving thrusts. The dual sensations of being filled and rubbed, stretched and stroked, short-circuit your mind, all of it igniting sparks of ecstasy that race along your nerves. You arch with a gasp, clutching at him when suddenly your climax crashes into you like a tidal wave, a sharp cry tearing from your throat louder than before, eyes rolling back as intense pleasure seizes your entire body in a blinding surge, consumed by all-encompassing bliss.

The sound of your voice, the way you clamp down around him is more than enough.

With a final string of ragged thrusts, Viktor follows, groaning against your shoulder as he spills into you. His cock pulsing as he empties himself deep inside your clinging heat. Jet after jet of hot seed coated your sticky walls, his hips jerk with the aftershocks, then finally still. He rests his head there, letting out a long, shuddering breath. Neither of you has ever minded finishing inside; Viktor knows you’ve never once missed a dose of birth control.

For a while, he just stays there, catching his breath. His body still quivers with the afterglow, and he can tell you’re just as wrecked. Both of you lie there in silence, panting, drained from the intensity of what just happened. Too tired to speak. Too blissed out to think. The only thing left is the quiet gaze you share.

Eventually, Viktor slowly pushes himself up, bracing on one arm, though he doesn’t pull away. He’s still inside you. His eyes roam over you, studying every detail: the mess of your hair, the sweat glistening on your skin, the steady rise and fall of your chest. You look completely undone, and yet you’re breathtaking. So beautiful that he can't tear his eyes away.

Then suddenly, something inside him bursts without warning.

“I love you,” Viktor murmurs, his voice low and trembling as he presses his forehead to yours. He inhales deeply, as if the weight of his feelings is too much to bear. “Please don’t leave me. Stay with me,” he whispers again, this time his voice thick with raw emotion. “You’re everything to me. I don’t even know who I am without you.”

The image of the cold, unfeeling scientist who once lived for nothing but his work is gone. Now, he’s just a man, desperate, pleading, terrified you’ll walk away.

He kisses your forehead, then your cheek, the tip of your nose, and finally your lips in a slow, lingering kiss. His arms wrap tightly around you, as if even the slightest distance might make you slip through his fingers forever.

“Are we... good now?” Viktor asks as he pulls away, his eyes soft with yearning. He is trying everything he can to coax a bit of forgiveness from you.

You let out a tired, breathless laugh, half amused and half exasperated. Though your expression says he’s being ridiculous, your touch tells a different story. Your hand moves gently over his shoulder, fingers trailing across the sweat-damp skin with quiet affection.

“Alright, fine. I forgive you,” you say affectionately, poking his nose. “But you’re still annoying, just so you know.

“I probably am,” he replies with a relieved smile, grateful beyond words that you’ve finally forgiven him. “But we’ve made up now. No take-backs. That’s final.”

He studies you again, then reaches up to brush a damp lock of hair from your forehead. His fingertips linger as he caresses your cheek with a gesture so tender it makes your breath catch.

And in that moment, he realizes just how lucky he is to have been given a second chance.

He knows he doesn’t deserve you. Not even close. But he’s far too selfish to let you go.

“I know I’m not exactly the best boyfriend,” he whispers against your skin, planting soft kisses all over your face. “I’ve got plenty of flaws, and I drive you crazy more often than not. But I’m not going anywhere. And I promise I’ll love you for the rest of my life.” He lifts his head to meet your gaze, eyes filled with sincerity. Then his voice turns playful. “So you better get used to me, Milaček. You’re not getting rid of me that easily.”

After a while of cuddling, Viktor finally, reluctantly rolls off you and lies down beside you. But even then, he pulls you back into his arms, unwilling to let you go. Your head comes to rest against his chest, where you can hear the steady beat of his heart. He places his chin atop your head and closes his eyes for a moment. “Just try breaking up with me again. I dare you.”

“Oh yeah? And what would you do if I did?” you tease, your voice full of playful defiance.

Viktor squints at you, grinning slyly as he tightens his hold. “I’d just do this all over again. As many times as it takes until you change your mind.” His hand glides over your thigh, massaging gently near the sensitive spot he’s just thoroughly explored. The touch makes you jolt from overstimulation, and in retaliation, you nip his earlobe, drawing a low growl from his throat.

“Maybe that’s exactly what I want,” you tease, giggling softly before nestling back against his chest. You breathe in the faint scent of sweat clinging to his skin, strangely comforted by it. “But for tonight, let’s just stay like this. I want a quiet cuddle. Let’s save the arguing and round two for another night.”

Viktor can feel how exhausted you are in the way your body relaxes and melts into his embrace. His hand strokes your back slowly, coaxing you toward sleep. “Goodnight, Milaček,” he whispers, pressing a kiss to the crown of your head and lingering there for a long while. 

Once he’s sure you’re truly asleep, he shifts carefully to make you more comfortable, then reaches down to pull the blanket up over both of you.

He knows he should get some sleep too. He has to be at work early, with a thousand tasks waiting for him. But his mind refuses to settle. He lies awake in the dark, eyes fixed on the ceiling, replaying the night’s events again and again.

He almost lost you.

The thought terrifies him more than anything ever has. It’s a kind of fear he’s never known before. So he reminds himself over and over that you’re still here. Still in his arms. Still his.

Viktor knows he’s never been the easiest person to be with. Reserved, withdrawn, too wrapped up in his work to truly connect with people, he’s pushed others away for most of his life, sometimes without even realizing it. And he never cared who stayed or left.

But not you.

You’ve always been a part of him. His other half. But he never truly saw how deeply you were rooted in his life. He didn’t realize how much you meant to him until he almost lost you.

Now he has another chance, and he swears he won’t make the same mistake twice.

The road ahead won’t be easy. Even after everything you’ve been through together, there are still things you’ll both need to work on. There will be days when you’ll make him want to pull his hair out, or when he’ll drive you up the wall. But Viktor is ready for that. He’s ready to fix things and do better every single day, because you matter more to him than anything. Even his work.

You are the best thing that has ever happened to him. And he’s never letting go.

He listens to the steady rhythm of your breathing. The quiet presence of you beside him eases the tightness in his chest. Slowly, he begins to relax, and his eyes finally drift closed. He exhales, surrendering to the pull of sleep. But even as drowsiness settles over him, his mind keeps moving, quiet and focused on tomorrow.

Viktor has made up his mind.

Starting tomorrow, he’s going to change.

And for the first time in years, he’s taking a day off. Just to be with you. To savor every moment of the second chance you’ve given him.

『• • • ✎Footnotes • • •』

[1] Zlato is a Czech word meaning darling, gold, or something precious.

[2] Koloušek is a Czech word meaning little deer and can be used as a term of endearment. (In this fic, Viktor never calls the reader 'Koloušek,' before, but uses it here to be affectionate, like 'Please don’t leave me, my little deer.')

[3] Miláček is a Czech word meaning "darling" or "beloved." It is commonly used as a warm and affectionate way to refer to a loved one or someone who is important in one's life.

[ccazimi]

Nightingale

read pt. 2 here

CW: stepcest, noncon/dubcon, f!reader, dacryphilia, handjob, playing with panties, biting, degradation, slapping, cumplay?, reader is a bit insecure, modern au, lmk if i missed anything else WC: 4.3k 18+, MDNI a/n: props to anyone that knows the title's reference

You sit in your room, mouth open in a small O as you concentrate on meticulously applying a few finishing touches of mascara to the ends of your lashes. The warm light of the lamp illuminates the wash of color on your cheeks and lips, a floral chypre perfume hanging redolent in the air.

Careful, spread the lashes evenly-

Your door swings open and in bursts your menace of a stepbrother Sukuna, causing you to lose your steadfast focus and smear some of the mascara on your upper lid.

Immediately you feel rage snap in you, gritting your teeth and grabbing an earbud to pour some micellar water on it to try and erase the black marks as cleanly as you can.

“Hey,” he greets you as he saunters across your room and sinks onto the mattress of your bed like it's his own. “So what’s my dumb little sis getting all dolled up for? Or should I say who?”

You take a deep breath, focusing on soaking the earbud in the makeup remover. He's just trying to rile you up as usual.

“Stepsister,” you correct him calmly. “And that’s none of your business.”

“Do you want me to come over there and slap you?” He's lounging across your bed as he casually threatens you, arms crossed behind his head.

You wince, not wanting to find out whether he's bluffing or not.

Truth was, you're intimidated by him.

Your parents might be blind to it (routinely giving the three of you sappy lectures on how it didn’t matter now that you were “step” siblings and that you should consider each other as blood), but both Sukuna and Yuuji know.

Yuuji being the good sibling he is, takes it upon himself to shield you from Sukuna’s antics whenever possible. But with the end of the semester nearing, he's been busier with classes lately, leaving you alone here with his older brother.

“I have a date,” you sigh. “So if you could please just not bother m-”

“’Sukuna, please leave me alone!’” he mocks your voice before laughing meanly, a deep sound that threatens to heat your cheeks a little more than you’d like to admit. “Shut up. God, you’re such a spoiled fucking brat.”

You purse your lips, trying to focus on dabbing away the mascara and keeping his words from stinging you.

But they do, maybe because you know that it's somewhat true. After all, it's the very reason why Sukuna feels entitled to the room you have to yourself while he has to share one with Yuuji. It's not your fault you're treated as such, and while you are grateful you do also feel a bit guilty.

“Well at least my stupid little sister’s finally getting some play,” he laments, sitting up over the edge of your bed and stretching. “Twenty-one and still a virgin…as a girl too.”

Whatever that means.

You finish removing the smeared mascara and sit back, hoping the warm lighting and painted blush will conceal the hints of pink creeping into your cheeks.

“How would you even know if I was a virgin or not?” you try to defend yourself. But a falter in your voice when you catch his large frame making its way towards you in the mirror gives away your trepidation.

You weren’t like Yuuji or Sukuna, a bit quieter and shyer than the two of them. You especially couldn’t live up to Sukuna who was, unfortunately, actually quite good-looking and knew it too - hooking up with random girls every other weekend and coming back home disheveled, covered in the smell of women’s perfume or with lipstick stains on his skin.

You feel outclassed, perhaps part of the reason you’d decided to put yourself a bit more out there and had landed a date with some funny mutual you’d met in college.

“Oh, come on.” Sukuna kneels beside you and it takes all your willpower not to flinch when he runs darkly painted nails through the locks of your hair, tucking a strand behind your ear. “Its so embarrassingly obvious you’ve never been with a man. I mean look at how stiff you are with me right next to you right now.”

He's too close to you for your comfort right now, and you catch your body instinctively tensing away. You drop your eyes, unable to meet his in the mirror. They're the most peculiar shade of brown you’ve ever seen -closer to red if anything- and if you don't control yourself, you’d get lost looking into them a bit too long.

“I need to brush my hair,” you mutter, hoping to loosen some of the air constricting itself around your chest. “I’ll be late.”

This was a lie, of course. You’d begun getting ready so you could take your time and still be fully ready by the time your date came to pick you up at 8. It's currently only 6:45.

You reach for the wooden brush on the dresser but Sukuna catches your wrist before you can grab it.

“Let me.”

His tone is low and velvety but you know it's more of a demand than an offer from the glint in his eyes.

Did he always look so…hungry?

“I wanna brush my little sister’s pretty hair.”

A lump had formed itself in your throat that you now try to force down. You're not stupid; you've damn well caught onto the fact that he's mocking you, that this act is just an imitation of gentle affection for what would normally be a wholesome act between two siblings.

“You...um…you really don’t have to…”

Sukuna just chuckles as he tightens his grip on your wrist and stands, forcing you to rise to your legs alongside him as he drags you to the edge of the bed in front of the mirror.

“I don’t have to do anything. I only do what I want.” He sits and pulls you down unceremoniously onto his lap before you can resist. “Do whatever I want, and take whatever I want.”

You stifle a small gasp, heart in your mouth at the uncomfortable position you're suddenly in- between his spread legs.

Unfortunately, he feels you trying to stand back up and delivers a swift swat to the side of your thigh. “Sit properly.”

You oblige, more out of intimidation than anything else, that gnawing feeling in your gut only growing as you position yourself on his firm thigh. The faint scent of his cologne curls into your nostrils, a cold woody masculine scent mingling with the sweet fragrance of your own perfume that clings to your skin and hair.

This isn’t weird…right? He's only brushing your hair, much like your mother used to do when you were younger.

“Start at the ends,” you tell him, hoping to get through this ordeal as quickly as possible.

Your hair doesn’t have too many knots anyway, it's just freshly washed and a little disarrayed.

“Don’t tell me what to do.” And as if to prove a point, he drags the brush down all the way from the crown of your skull. “Just sit there and look pretty, okay?”

You shift uncomfortably, mentally cursing yourself out for being so stiff. Why were you so uneasy?

You don’t want to entertain the thought that he's getting you worked up- not before a date, and most definitely not because of your stepbrother.

Either you have more tangles in your hair than you’d thought or Sukuna just really doesn’t care to make the process of combing it painless. He guides the brush through with firm strokes, going straight through rougher or more matted areas, causing you to squirm on his lap as your scalp stings with the pull of strands.

“Ow! Sukuna that hurts, can you please be more gentle? You’re gonna rip out all my hair,” you whine trying to claw at the brush, earning another slap to your thigh, harder than the last. “Hey!”

“Aww, it hurts does it?” he coos, voice dripping with taunting pity. “Poor baby. I’ll make sure it hurts a lot worse if you don’t stay still.” He emphasizes his point with a particularly harsh yanking of the bristles through a small knot near your neck.

“Why are you being like this?”

“What do you mean?” The major knots are mostly out now, but you still have to suppress some whimpers as he drags the comb through patches of remaining tangles. “I just want my little sis to look good for her first ever date. Maybe after getting a taste of some dick you won’t be so much of a stuck-up prissy bitch anymore.”

You stiffen at his words, crass and shameless as ever. “Huh? Is that what you think of me?”

“You really wanna know all the things I think of you?”

“No, I’m sure I don’t,” you say quickly, shifting your hair so that it covers the burning tips of your ears.

Finally the long drags of the brush come to an end, and to his credit your hair does feel silky despite the pain you’d been put through.

Sukuna stares at you for a second before breaking into a smirk and pushing you off his lap like he didn’t seat you there in the first place.

“What are you wearing?”

It would be a fair question if you weren’t already dressed in the outfit you’d chosen- a black corset top and an elegant laced skirt that dropped till your ankles, complete with a sheer black cardigan.

“Well…this is what I’m wearing,” you mutter uncertainly, suddenly unsure of your outfit of choice and doubting yourself.

Were your clothes too formal? Did you put on too much makeup? What if you bored your date?

It hits you that this is the first time you're ever going out with a guy and suddenly you can feel your nerves fraying.

You hate it, but you are inexperienced just like how Sukuna always agonizes you for.

Sukuna’s smirk grows, sharp canines proudly showing themselves off. “I meant underneath, you dumb girl.”

Your brain short circuited as you try to process what he's talking about. “Wha-”

Sukuna abruptly hooks a finger at the waistband of your skirt and tugs it downwards to reveal the new pair of lacy blank panties you’d saved just for tonight.

“Ohh, scandalous. I like those,” he purrs.

Your skin burns as his salacious eyes rove across the fabric before you finally pull out of his grasp and jerk your skirt back into place, a familiar pinch in your sinuses warning you of the tears that are threatening to well up in humiliation.

To make matters worse, he's unmoved and cold as ever. “Too bad such sexy lingerie is wasted on a girl with no experience. That poor fucker doesn’t know what he’s in for.”

“We’re not even going to have sex!”

He rolls his eyes. “Oh, please. You don’t wear panties like those for yourself- I bet even your bra matches.”

….How did he know that? Were you really that predictable?

“Stop it!” You tried to blink away droplets that began to blur the corners of your vision. "What the hell is your problem, Sukuna?"

“You’ve never even seen a dick in real life, have you?”

In real life.

Well, he got you there. Again.

His tactic had worked, leaving you to feel stupid and inadequate, especially when confronted about it by Sukuna and put to shame.

Tears finally cascade and you quickly turn your cheek, desperately wiping so he won’t catch them.

But it's too late.

“Aww, are you crying?” he asks with what might’ve sounded like concern if it weren’t for the wicked pleasure painted all over his face. “Of course you are, that’s all you know how to do. Cry and whine pathetically now that there’s no Yuuji to white knight you. You’re so fucking pathetic.”

The pressure in your head builds painfully until you can no longer contain it and you turn away, rubbing your nose on your sleeve and crying even more once you realize your makeup is probably ruined, only adding to the mess.

It's stupid, he's just saying mean shit on purpose, but god does it burn in all the right spots.

Having had enough, you twist away and bolt towards the open door so that you can cry out the rest of your tears away from his unbearable presence.

But somehow his arm's wrapping around you as you’d barely made it through the doorframe, and lifting you up over his shoulder.

“Don’t you dare walk away when I’m talking to you. Where the fuck are your manners?”

Teardrops continue to roll down your cheeks as he carries you back into your room and drops you on the ground before sitting back on the bed.

“What…what do you want from me?” you choke out, looking up at him from where you're crumpled on the floor. “You’ve ruined my date before it even started. Are you happy now? Is this what you wanted?”

Sukuna peers down at you over the bridge of his nose, the black tattoos framing his face seeming sharper than before.

“Take off your panties.”

Your blood goes cold, face draining of color before the heat returns even more intensely, burning at your cheeks.

“Are you…you’re not serious…” You let out a high laugh, sure that this is another sick joke he's playing to further torment you.

Your stomach sinks when his gaze only hardens, taking on an unsettling, almost predatory quality.

“Do I not look serious to you?”

The air feels like it's rapidly leaving the room, and suddenly there isn’t enough oxygen in your lungs, the last of your breath stuck inside your throat.

He sighs. “I won’t ask again.”

You scramble to your feet, anger now beginning to surge through you.

“What the fuck is wrong with you? This isn’t funny. I’m gonna tell mom and da-”

Within the blink of an eye he gets up and a crack cuts through the room in time with a sharp stinging across your cheek. You stare at him in shock through wide glossy eyes, heat blooming across your skin where his palm had connected with it.

You’ve never felt so disrespected, so demeaned. One would only dare lay hands on another like that if they considered them less than human.

It reminds you of how your mother used to slap as you as a child.

And with how coldly he's glaring down at you with nothing but a glint of amusement in his piercing eyes, your tears overflow once again before you can stop them.

“Take. Them. Off.”

You try to steady your breathing despite the concoction of hurt, disgust and shame roiling in your stomach.

“You’re fucked in the head, you know that?” you spit as he sits back down and you bend to lift the length of your skirt, reaching for the hem of your panties.

“Better than you think, princess.” He flashes you a sleazy grin, watching intently as you drag the underwear down your legs, draping your skirt over your cunt to preserve some modesty.

Finally you lift one foot to remove it entirely, and then another. You bunch the cloth up in your fist before either of you can get a good look at it.

But Sukuna grabs your arm, pulling you harshly back into his lap like before but this time with his leg slotted between yours. You cringe inwardly at the feeling of your now bare pussy rubbing on the thin fabric against the shape of his leg through his sweats.

“What are you doing?” you question shakily, heart jumping erratically in your chest.

Sukuna snatches the bundled ball of your panties from your fingers in response, eliciting a yelp from you.

Your phone buzzes from where it lays on your dresser though the noise goes completely unheard by you.

“I’m gonna show you how to please a man, doll,” he breathes against your ear, depraved words dripping with something dark and ravaged enough to send a shiver down your spine. “My cock is gonna be the first one you ever touch.” He presses you further into his lap, pushing up something long and hard against your ass.

Your mind blanks again, fresh tears collecting at your lash line at the feel of his hard dick against you, a reminder that seals your fate of whatever's going to happen.

“I don’t want this…Please stop, I won’t tell mom, dad, or Yuuji, or anyone I swear. I’ll even give you my room, anything,” you try to bargain desperately though deep down you know it's all to no avail.

Sukuna only laughs and holds up your panties, unfurling them to inspect the crotch.

To your horror it's considerably damp, your slick reflecting in a thin sheen that tells you it's fresh too.

“Don’t want this, huh?”

You screw your eyes shut, too chagrined to even defend yourself or excuse it as just normal discharge.

Even though that has to be what it is, because there's no way in hell your body was actually turned on by this.

And you absolutely refuse to acknowledge the warmth slipping out from between your thighs right now.

“Hey.” He lightly slaps your cheek. “Open your eyes. No looking away.”

You force yourself to open your lids, immediately wanting to close them again when you find him lifting your underwear to his lips. He sticks out a tattooed tongue, dragging it through some of the wetness that you’d left on it.

“Oh fuck yes.” Sukuna lets out the most obscene groan of pleasure, and you blush as you feel his dick twitch beneath you.

It's fucked up and disgusts you to no end, yet you can’t deny the smallest sliver of pleasure seeing that he clearly likes your taste.

He quickly fumbles with the waistband of his pants, shifting them low enough to slip his erect cock out. You let out a small gasp at the sight of his manhood- it looks angry, with a fat weeping reddened tip and branches of veins that crawl up the sides of his massive girth.

And is that a tattoo around the base-

He laughs cockily at your reaction of being so taken aback by the sight that you’d temporarily stopped crying. “Like what you see lil sis?”

You open your mouth planning to say ‘no’, but nothing comes out except a stupid noise somewhere between a cry and a squeak.

“Jerk me off with your panties.”

“Huh?”

“What, are you dumb or something? Want me to say it in another language?”

The audacity of him to look at you like you're the problem here.

To be fair you do feel effectively stupefied right now, panicked eyes shifting between his dead serious face and leaking dick. “I don’t know how to…”

“Right, how could I forget what a prude my sister is,” Sukuna sighs.

He takes your panties, wrapping the damp part of the crotch around his shaft under his fist, and begins pumping.

Somewhere in the distance your phone buzzes again, but you're too absorbed in how he breathes out in relief at the pressure, eyes growing hazier before he stops again. “Like that. Your turn now.”

You swallow and without thinking, curl your fingers around the fabric to hold it in place as you grip his cock. You begin moving your hand up and down, copying his motions, a bit hesitantly at first.

His lips part, hot breath ghosting across your face as his breathing becomes heavier. “Fuck, do it harder.”

You tighten your grip and speed up your movements, reveling in the effect it has on him.

“Ahh, yes, that’s a good girl.” He grips the side of your thigh, nails digging into the soft flesh. “Keep this up and you might actually be worth something for once.”

You bite your lip, hating that you aren’t hating this whole thing as much anymore. Despising the way you feel more wetness seep out of you, nipples stiffening underneath your bra.

Sukuna’s large hands are roaming now, grabbing the flesh around your ass and trailing up to grope your chest through your clothes. He squeezes your right tit harshly, causing an involuntary moan to fall out of your mouth.

Oh god, you were really losing it now.

“Mmm, I wish those pretty noises were the only ones that came outta your mouth instead of that bitching and whining you do all the time.”

Even when he's in the middle of getting pleasured he's so mean to you, and you hadn’t even realized you're crying again as you jerk him off with increasing fervor.

You vaguely think about resigning to not let out another sound for his satisfaction but the idea is quickly snatched away from you before you can even consider it as he dips his head to place open lips on the hollow of your neck under your jaw.

A wet tongue runs across the surface before he starts hungrily sucking the delicate skin wherever he can, as sloppily as possible.

“You’re so lucky your first time doing something like this is with your older brother, don’t you think?” he murmurs against your skin. “You should thank me.”

“You’re disgusting,” you whimper, watching sticky precum continuously leak from his slit. “Ouch!”

He bites your neck, causing a sharp pinch where his teeth press painfully down into the skin, threatening to break it. “Say it, bitch.”

“Th-thank you…”

You squeal as he nips your neck again, even harder. “Thank you for what? And address me properly.”

Your cheeks burn even more if that's even possible, but the thin stretch of sore skin held between his teeth has the words rolling off your tongue. “Thank you for letting me jerk you off, big brother.”

You cringe at what you’d just said as his hips jerk up, thrusting his cock into your fist.

“Oh, you’re so welcome my darling little sister,” he drawls.

Sukuna lifts his head and you steal a glance at his drunken face. The look on it has your own pussy reflexively clenching around nothing, against his leg. You quickly shift, praying he didn’t feel the movement, but of course,

“Even your poor little pussy’s begging for my cock right now. Should I give her what she needs?”

You draw in a breath as your stomach flips, about to panic when the sound of a car pulling up into your driveway gives you something different to freak out over instead.

“Sukuna, I think…I think my date’s here…” You slow your movements to reach for your phone, now registering the buzzing that had been coming from it earlier.

But he wraps his own hand around yours and squeezes, rapidly picking up the pace and forcing you to jerk him off with increasing intensity. “You’ll just-fuck-have to make me cum even faster then, huh?”

Your eyes widen but you comply, trying to ignore your anxiety as you reach a thumb over and it grazes his tip, spreading the liquid that had collected there and dragging it down with the movements.

“Oh, shit-” He throws his head back as with a final thrust of his hips, his whole body tenses and suddenly ropes upon ropes of hot cum are spurting out, most of it catching on the inside of your panties he's wrapped around his tip.

After a few entrancing moments he stills and you look incredulously at the white that paints the fancy new pair of underwear you’d bought.

“Sukuna! I just got these-”

“Wear them.” He holds them up to you, black lace now a stained, dirtied mess.

“What?”

“Seriously, are you hard of hearing or something? I said wear them. Don’t wanna keep your date waiting, do you?”

“Sukuna…” you plead through a new wave of tears, unable to even look at the soiled panties now.

“Keep crying and I’ll get hard again. Which you’ll have to take care, by the way.”

You don’t bother to wipe your tears, just letting them fall as you snatch your underwear from him and stand to hastily slip it back on. The sensation of his drying seed against your folds sends a shudder through you, the liquid cool and tacky now.

It feels fucking filthy.

Even dirtier when you think of how you’ll be wearing his cum stains as you sit across from your date in a nice restaurant, realizing that there's no chance you could show them off now even if you wanted to.

You can’t stand to face Sukuna, the most lecherous grin wiped across his face at you trying to collect yourself after the ruined state he’s left you in.

Your phone rings and you quickly pick it up, the call from your date just like you’d expected.

“Hey! I don’t know if you saw my messages but I came to pick you up a bit earlier than expected, if that’s alright.”

You look at the time. 7:30.

You turn away from Sukuna and clear your throat, trying to sound as lighthearted as possible. “Oh, sorry I was in the shower. It's alright, just give me five and I’ll be out, okay- ah-”

You stifle a yelp as you feel a large hand suddenly shoved into the waist of your skirt, long fingers pressing against your mound to rub the dirtied fabric against your cunt, smearing his cum along your damp skin.

“Is everything alright?”

“Yes!” you say a little too quickly, stomach twisting at how he's touching you while you're on the phone with the man you're about to go out with. “I’ll be out.” You quickly hang up as Sukuna’s hand slips back out from under your skirt.

Your cheeks burn in shame as you turn towards him, wanting to say something, anything, to Sukuna who’s already tucked back into his pants and heading for the door. But it'ss all too much and you end up remaining utterly silent in your overwhelmed state.

He stops by you, giving you an almost endearing pat to the head with a shit-eating grin. “Have fun, lil sis.”

With that, you're left alone in your room, like nothing had even happened.

[hexhomos]

little random but i really appreciate your dissections and analysis of Mel mainly bc the fandom either adore her and won't admit she is a flawed character and get over defensive when you call her out, or straight up hate her and make her out to be completely evil.

Mel is written as morally grey for a reason and when ppl try to act like she was morally correct in everything she did, it goes against the whole plot. yes, she regrets most of her actions by the end of the series and is left to deal with her family's leagacy and the weight of her actions, but that doesn't undo anything she did. and her eventually starting to care about Jayce doesn't just cancel out that she manipulated him (you'd think this would be obvious)

what bothers me the most i think is meljay shippers who say Jayce mistreated her and that Mel only ever helped and care about him and aided him in rising to power politically, and how she was so understanding of Jayce's and Viktor's friendship. yes, encouraging methods of political corruption in order to gain more power is so caring and kind of her! ❤️

Mel might've told Jayce to go spend time with Viktor after finding out he was ill, but the one time in the show she interacted with Viktor was... prejudiced to say the least. she never directly spoke to or answered Viktor, and the expression on her face any time she looked over at Viktor was so clearly full of dislike. it shocks me ppl still believe Mel and Viktor could get along and respect one another, especially romantically. no way.

anyways, sorry for the rant. just tired of how many bad takes there are in this fandom and very fond of your account lol

you are right and you SHOULD say it re: that oft repeated argument about her "only wanting what's best for him" bothers me so much. Its just... weirdly patronizing and spousing pro-piltover nationalism every time i see it being brought up. "She's doing what anyone would do/what is best for the city!" IDK MAN I AM NOT ROCKING WITH THAT. Im not an ubercapitalist. I don't think any of that was the good option actually lol. Probably I hate piltover too much to humor these arguments but from day 1 we are shown this is a city of immense class inequality in which the elite few holds all the power and all the profit gains at the cost of everyone else's submission and humanity. (Not for nothing: these are also the classic old guard Noxian tenets of supremacy. That's how they do colonization.)

The interactions Mel has with Jayce for majority of the series, before she watches that bomb come in and has her rapid onset change of heart, are her talking about how investors want his work and how she can use his discovery to advance this city (which is already built on exploitation!) or instigating his rise to power as a new ringleader for the council's rigged mercantile operations, and this is just not good or heroic in any way to me. This isn't love either, it's industrial convenience. The fact that she's conflicted by the end doesn't cancel these actions out! Jayce realizes that he's been used in ways he strongly disagrees with and any the affection in that dynamic vanishes instantly. The time he spends in isolation replaying his mistakes in that cave has an emphasis on mel/heimerdinger's voice on the council too, all of his regrets with blindly following someone else's vision or disappointing an idol he held in high regards.

And Jayce DOES care about the state of the cities, or he did before the writers forgot: He's the one who pleads for Zaun's independence at the end of season 1! He's the one who spent all his life trying to work towards improving the lives of common people, giving them the miracles they've been denied!

Viktor is a fucking nobody. He is extremely worthless in the eyes of the piltovan upper crust, only kept around on the merits working with Jayce have afforded him; and they still don't care. They're probably hoping he dies quicker. We *SEE* him being singled out and alienated during that weapons discussion where Mel is pleading for Jayce to think about "protecting his people" (only piltovans, never, ever zaunites- protecting piltovans against the zaunite menace.) and Viktor is set off at that whole exchange because it doesn't matter how loud he screams, these people can just tune him off and pretend he doesn't exist anyway. It's what they're used to doing. It drives me insane!!!!! His indignation is extremely under-explored and very inline with his act1 speech of feeling like an undesirable presence in piltover and having to push through with the grit of his teeth. It's open faced classism and I still see people pretending it didn't happen. Fandom makes all of these characters FAR less interesting by defanging them. The heart is in the friction and in the ugliness of them fucking up because they have very, very different conceptions of "utopia" - and some of those utopias require the death of the other characters present.

A lot of the Arcane character arcs have to do with realizing the above, and weighing if the sacrifice is worth the risk. Sometimes it turns out their utopias were shit.

[justlemmeadoreyou]

rain-kissed* (footballer!harry x

nerd!y/n)

summary: y/n and harry, former rivals turned reluctant partners, find unexpected chemistry. heated glances, playful banter ignite a spark. a near-tragedy makes y/n confront feelings, and...will they be reciprocated? ft. lots of mutual pining

words: 6.1k

warnings: Angst, fluff, mentions of a major injury, cursing, kissing, hints of smut, mutual pining.

Y/N groaned as she walked into the lecture hall for her literature class. "Are you kidding me?"

There in the very front row sat Harry Styles - captain of the football team, president of one of the biggest frats on campus, and certified douchebag extraordinaire. His feet were obnoxiously propped up on the desk in front of him as he laughed loudly with his friends. 

"This class is gonna be a nightmare," Y/N muttered, taking a seat as far away from Harry's circle as possible. She couldn't stand arrogant jocks like him.

Class started and the professor cleared her throat loudly, shooting Harry a pointed look until he dropped his feet to the floor with an eye roll. "Alright, since this is an upper-level lit course, we're going to kick things off with a big group project."

A collective groan went through the class. Group projects were the worst, especially when half the group didn't pull their weight. Harry raised his hand lazily.

"What's the project, Millers?"

The prof narrowed her eyes at Harry's casual address but proceeded. "You'll be analyzing the themes and formatting an anthology of poems, plays, and short stories from a particular era or movement. I'll be assigning the groups and topics."

Y/N mentally prepared herself to get stuck doing all the work as usual for her group when Millers started listing off the pairings. 

"Styles and Y/L/N - you'll be covering the Romantic period."

Y/N's head whipped up in horror as Harry scoffed loudly. Of course they'd get partnered up. This was quite literally her worst nightmare.

"Fucking kill me," Harry grumbled, slumping back in his seat rudely.

"I'd rather work alone," Y/N couldn't stop herself from retorting. Immediately, Millers zeroed in on her with a stern look.

"I don't recall there being a choice, Ms. Y/L/N. Unless either of you plans to drop this course, I suggest you learn to work together effectively."

Gritting her teeth, Y/N forced out a tight, "Yes, Professor."

Harry was already texting rapidly on his phone, not paying any attention. This project was going to be utter hell.

The rest of the semester only proved Y/N right about what a nightmare it would be to work with Harry. Their first meeting to divide up the work went about as well as could be expected - which is to say it was a total disaster.

"Look, I don't have a bunch of time for this bullshit poetry stuff," Harry kicked back in a creaky chair, looking entirely too at home in the empty classroom they'd claimed for their work session. "How about you just do the whole thing and I'll, like, proofread it at the end or whatever?"

Y/N stared at him incredulously. "Absolutely not! This is a hugely weighted project, Styles. I'm not doing all the work myself."

He shrugged impatiently. "Why not? You seem like a big ol' nerd who'd be into this."

Biting back a retort, Y/N forced herself to remain calm and reasonable. If he was going to act like a damn child,she had to be the adult in the relationship–or whatever this was.

 "Forget it. We're going to split everything 50/50 whether you like it or not. I'll take the poetry analysis and you can have the plays. We'll swap sections to proofread before compiling the final thing."

Harry made a face like she'd asked him to perform surgery. "Do I have to? Plays are so boring."

"Don't care," Y/N said flatly. "You're pulling your weight on this one way or another."

With a melodramatic huff, Harry finally agreed and they were able to separate the reading materials and due dates before parting ways, both dreading the long weeks ahead.

Except...after trading several heated email chains and a couple disastrous coffee shop meetups, something shifted. Maybe it was the punctuality that struck after virtually living in the library for a week straight. Maybe it was how they both surprised each other by not being complete idiots about the subject matter. But at some point, the bickering and resentful silences turned to a bearable truce and even - dare Y/N think it - a hint of reluctant respect between them.

Y/N had assumed Harry was just another brainless party bro who skated by on his looks and family money. But to her surprise, he actually had intelligent insights into the Romantic poets and playwrights - even if he still whined about having to read "this dramalogy crap." 

And Harry, who had fully expected Y/N to be an uptight, pretentious book nerd, found himself caught off guard by her whip-smart analysis...and her unexpected sarcastic quips that had him stifling laughs more than once during their study sessions. He called her nerd instead of her usual name, but was now slipping back to using Y/n more often.

"Oh my god, you did not just say that about Lord Byron!" Harry snickered as Y/N made another scalding comment about the poet's arrogant womanizing. 

"What? The man was an infamous manwhore by all accounts," Y/N shrugged unapologetically. "Self-important dickhead thought his brooding and philandering made him a genius."

Harry gasped in mock offense. "How very unromantic of you, love! Have you no poetic soul?"

Without missing a beat, Y/N deadpanned, "I prefer to admire poets who didn't give the clap to half of London."

The startled laugh that burst from Harry's lips was so warm and uninhibited that Y/N felt an unexpected little flip in her stomach at the sight. Whoa, what was that?

Shaking it off, she hid her face behind her book again, tamping down an oddly giddy–sort of feeling. Just because she'd managed to find Harry slightly less insufferable lately didn't mean anything.

And so it went, their bickering gradually becoming more lighthearted and playful rather than biting. The weeks ticked by as they somehow formed an unlikely...friendship? Bros? Sure, they'd go with that for simplicity's sake.

At some point, they started expanding their hangouts beyond just study sessions too. Grabbing food after class turned into actually sitting together, Harry regaling Y/N with stories from his frat's latest shenanigans as she pretended not to be entertained. 

On the rare nights Y/N wasn't holed up writing papers, she started joining Harry and his boys at their favorite dive bar, quickly becoming the calm voice of reason trying in vain to talk them out of their next boneheaded plan.

"Come on, PlainJane! Live a little!" Harry teased, throwing an arm around her shoulders at the bar. 

The rowdy group cackled at Harry's horrible attempt at a literary-themed nickname for Y/N, as per tradition when any new face got absorbed into their friend circle. Personally, Y/N thought it was a lame pun, but she secretly loved how easily she'd slotted into their bizarre fratty family...and maybe especially how Harry always seemed to plaster himself to her side whenever they went out.

The camaraderie and effortless banter flowing between them should've been a huge red flag that something was shifting. But Y/N was quite stubbornly oblivious, as was Harry in his own way.

At least, that was until their big group presentation day rolled around. They'd been prepping and quizzing each other for weeks, reviewing notes and analysis essays till they were cross-eyed. Harry had really stepped up, much to Y/N's surprise, retaining way more than she'd expected about the playwrights and their major works.

The whole lit class was spread out in the lecture hall, with bullet-pointed notecards and thick anthologies ready as the first group took the floor. When it was finally Harry and Y/N's turn, they moved to the front in sync, Harry shooting her a subtle wink as he grabbed the microphone first.

"Buckle up, kids - this is how you do a proper literary presentation," he drawled cockily.

Y/N rolled her eyes on reflex, biting her lip and bumping his hip with hers in playful admonishment. "Shut up and just start already."

Neither of them noticed the amused looks being swapped by their classmates at their easy rapport. Or Millers leaning back with a knowing smirk, clearly recognizing the chemistry flying between her formerly antagonistic partners.

For the next hour, Harry and Y/N launched into their meticulously prepared overview of the key figures and works emerging from the Romantic period. Their back-and-forth was flawless yet casual, almost playful at times with little ad-libs and jokes only they were in on.

At one point, Harry lightly mocked Lord Byron's arrogance with a pompous impression that had Y/N doubled over giggling into the mic, barely choking out the next lines through her laughter. When she managed to catch her breath, she shot him a look that was equal parts fond exasperation and...something more heated.

There was a noticeable spark between them that had clearly evolved far beyond the adversarial classmates they'd started as. And if anyone could miss that subtext, it became blindingly obvious at the end when they seamlessly transitioned into their concluding remarks, standing shoulder to shoulder.

"So in summary, while the Romantics may have been a pretentious bunch of melancholic lads-" Harry began.

"-their pioneering works cemented their place as quintessential figures in literary history," Y/N picked up without missing a beat. 

They shared a grin before finishing in unison, "And that's the tea, no cap."

A surprised burst of laughter rang out from their classmates at their cheeky sign-off, even the prof hiding a smile behind her hand. Everyone could see it - the easy chemistry, the almost electric undercurrent between the former rivals.

Everyone, that is, except Harry and Y/N themselves. 

As they moved to return to their seats amid the applause, neither seemed to register the weighted looks and muffled whispers following them. Harry just ducked his head with an almost bashful smile, still riding the high of how flawlessly they'd worked together. While Y/N felt her cheeks flushing under the weight of what she convinced herself was just residual adrenaline.

In the weeks after their wildly successful presentation, that same strain of electrifying connection only grew stronger between them. You'd never know they'd spent the first half of the semester low-key loathing each other based on their current vibe.

Now, when Harry's frat brothers tried to rib him about his "study buddy" at their typical dive bar hangout, he just threw an arm around Y/N's shoulders and proudly declared, "More like my brain twin!"

Y/N would just duck her head with a bashful grin, pointedly ignoring how her heart did a little somersault at both the affectionate nickname and Harry's easy touch.

Or like when they sprawled out on the quad between classes, passing a bag of chips back and forth as Harry ranted about his coach riding his ass over the big rivalry game next week. Without even thinking about it, Y/N would reach out to squeeze his knee consolingly as he huffed out his frustrations. It was such a simple, natural gesture between them now that she didn't even register the slightly stunned look Harry shot her before clearing his throat gruffly.

Even their friends couldn't resist commenting on their respective obliviousness at this point.

"Bruh, Y/N literally lets you call her 'love' without punching you in the dick," Niall pointed out bluntly one night when Harry claimed, once again, he and Y/N were "just friends." His Irish buddy arched a skeptical eyebrow. "Pretty sure she wants to ride your lancer if you know what I mean."

Harry smacked him hard while trying not to get flustered. "Shut the fuck up, asshole."

While on Y/N's end...

"Sooooo, when are you gonna admit you have a huge crush on Styles?" Her friend Riley asked point blank over brunch, making Y/N nearly choke on her mimosa.

"What? No I don't!" She insisted a little too quickly, refusing to meet Riley's all-knowing gaze. "We're just...really good friends."

Riley hummed disbelievingly. "Right. And I'm the Queen of England."

Y/N opened her mouth to protest further before clamping it shut as her mind started helplessly rehashing all her favourite little moments with Harry over the past few weeks. His warm, anthracite eyes crinkled at the corners when he laughed at her jokes. The proud grin he'd get whenever she successfully understood something he'd tried explaining. The way she felt this inexplicable magnetic pull to stay pressed into his side for as long as possible whenever they hung out...

"Oh my god," she breathed out, smile slipping as the enormity of her revelation dawned. "I'm in love with Harry fucking Styles."

That's not to say the smitten epiphany immediately changed anything between the two. Well, maybe it made their lingering hugs and casual touches go on for a few beats too long. Or had them both shyly stealing glances when the other's back was turned.

***

Mostly though, they just continued their cozy, obliviously pining routine of late night FaceTimes and weekends holed up studying together for finals. All while Harry's team prepared for their annual football rivalry game - the biggest matchup of the season that would make or break their championship chances.

The night before the game, Y/N found herself inexplicably anxious as she sat in the stands amid a drunk, raucous crowd. Harry kept shooting cheesy grins and double finger-gunged winks her way whenever he trotted past her section, clearly buzzed on adrenaline.

"Go get 'em, superstar!" She shouted at one point, laughing as Harry blew her an obnoxious kiss before getting back in the huddle.

The energy in the stadium was electric and infectious, Y/N finding herself caught up in the cheers and chants despite not being a huge football fan normally. Something about watching her...Harry out there gave her swirling butterflies low in her belly though.

As the intense game raged on, Y/N was on the edge of her seat, nails digging into her palms whenever Harry took a brutal hit or made a heart-stoppingly risky play. At one point he got absolutely leveled by a linebacker twice his size, his helmet bouncing sickeningly off the turf.The roar of the crowd faded into the background as Y/N watched in horror as Harry's body slammed violently into the turf. She felt her heart stop as he didn't immediately get back up after the brutal hit.

"Harry!" she screamed, her voice drowned out by the gasps of the other spectators. 

The medical team rushed out onto the field as Harry lay unmoving. Y/N's hands shook with fear as she watched them carefully roll him onto a backboard and load him into the ambulance. She felt tears streaking down her cheeks as the ambulance pulled away, sirens blaring.

After what felt like an eternity, she finally received word that Harry was going to be okay. The doctors said he had suffered a severe concussion and possible spinal injury from the whiplash of the hit. He would need weeks of rest and recovery.

Y/N rushed to the hospital, desperate to see him. When she entered his room, her heart broke at the sight of Harry's battered body hooked up to various machines, a cervical collar immobilizing his neck.

"Harry..." she whispered, taking his hand gently in hers. "I'm so sorry."

Harry's eyes fluttered open at the sound of her voice. "Y/N? You're here..."

"Of course I'm here, you idiot," she tried to joke, blinking back more tears. "I was so worried about you."

A small smile tugged at his bruised lips. "I'll be okay, love. Harry is a thick skull, remember?"

Y/N rolled her eyes but couldn't help grinning at his terrible joke. "Don't scare me like that again, Styles. I don't know what I'd do without you."

A look of tenderness crossed Harry's face that made Y/N's breath catch in her throat. But before either could say anything further, the doctor entered to check on Harry's condition.

***

Over the next week, Y/N diligently stayed by Harry's side in the hospital. She helped feed him, kept him company, and supported him through the difficult early recovery stages. Harry quickly grew restless being cooped up, but every time he tried to get out of bed against doctor's orders, Y/N was there to scold him.

"You heard what the doctor said, Harry. You need to rest and let your body heal properly," she chastised him one day as he tried to get up.

Harry groaned in frustration. "But I'm going stir crazy in this damn bed! I feel fine, Y/N, honestly."

"No, you don't," Y/N said firmly. "You could have had a serious spinal injury. You're lucky it wasn't worse. Now lie back down before I get the nurses to strap you in."

Grumbling, Harry reluctantly complied, though he continued to hate being so confined and immobile. Little did Y/N know, he was already hatching a plan.

A few days later, Y/N arrived at the hospital only to find Harry's bed empty. Her heart leapt into her throat as she rushed to the nurses' station in a panic.

"Where is he? Where's Harry Styles?" she demanded.

The nurse gave her an apologetic look. "I'm sorry, he checked himself out against medical advice earlier today."

"What? No, he can't have!" Y/N cried. She knew immediately where he would have gone.

Sure enough, when she ran across campus to the football practice field, she found Harry standing on the sidelines in his gear, acting as if nothing had happened. White hot fury blazed through her veins.

"Harry!" she yelled, storming toward him as the first raindrops began to fall. "What the hell do you think you're doing?"

Harry turned with a cocky grin as he saw her approach. "There's my favourite nerd. What's got your panties in a twist, love?"

"You insufferable asshole!" Y/N exploded, not caring that they had an audience of his confused teammates. "The doctor said you needed weeks of rest and recovery! You could have permanently injured your spine!"

Harry rolled his eyes. "Relax, babe, I feel great. Probably just overreacted with that whole backboard and neck brace nonsense."

"Are you kidding me right now?" Y/N seethed, hands balling into fists at her sides. Rain began pouring down around them, quickly soaking them both, but she didn't care. "You're incredible, you know that? You have zero self-preservation! No regard for your own safety and well-being!"

"That's a bit dramatic, don't you think?" Harry scoffed, though his casual demeanor faltered slightly under her furious glare.

"Dramatic? You could've been paralyzed, Harry! Doesn't that mean anything to you?" Her voice broke with frustrated tears. "Don't you understand how terrified I was watching you lying there, not moving? I thought...I thought I might lose you."

Something flickered across Harry's features then. His cavalier mask slipped for just a moment, allowing a flash of guilt and tenderness to shine through that sent Y/N's heart lurching treacherously. Then it was gone, the wall snapping back into place.

"Well, I'm right as rain now, so you can quit your worrying," he said gruffly, turning his back on her.

That was the final straw for Y/N. She grabbed his arm and whirled him around to face her, not caring that they were getting drenched by the downpour.

"You're so fucking reckless with yourself, Harry! Like you have zero self-preservation or even an ounce of common sense! Do you have any idea how scary that was to see you lying there, not moving? How I thought..." Her voice hitched, throat growing too tight to continue as burning tears pricked the corners of her eyes.

Through the rapidly blurring vision, Y/N registered Harry staring, chest heaving like she'd actually winded him with her outburst. His hands hung frozen at his sides, knuckles going white as he watched her come completely unraveled. And still she wasn't finished.

"You can't just keep putting yourself in danger like that! Pulling stupid fucking stunts and flipping off your own safety like it doesn't matter! Because it does, Harry. It matters so much to...to me," she finished in a thick whisper, finally allowing a tear to escape and streak down her flushed cheek.  

A weighted silence stretched between them, Y/N struggling to regain her ragged breathing as Harry continued gaping at her, utterly shocked by her reaction. Waves of tension rippled through the small space separating them.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity but was probably only seconds, Harry seemed to recalibrate. His expression went utterly blank for a beat before, out of nowhere, his eyes hardened into flashing jade. When he spoke, his tone was laced with a chilling detachment.  

"Why?"

Y/N blinked owlishly. "W-What?"

"Why the fuck do you care so much, huh?" Harry exploded, eyes flashing as he aimed his scathing hostility directly at Y/N. "Last I checked, I'm not your boyfriend or your family. I'm just some dumb jock you study with, right?"

Y/N flinched at the biting sarcasm, feeling tears prick her eyes anew at his harsh dismissal. But Harry was on a roll, fists clenching and unclenching as he visibly wrestled with...what? Anger? Fear? She couldn't tell, but his next words sliced deep regardless.

"So why do you get to flip out and pass judgment every time I take a hit, huh? You think I don't know how to handle myself out on that field?"

"That's not what I-"

"No, clearly you don't think I have any sense of self-preservation or whatever psychobabble bullshit diagnosis you want to armchair next!" Harry barreled over her attempted protest, voice rising in a sharp crescendo. 

He took a menacing step closer, using his full height to loom over her in a move that likely would've been intimidating...if his eyes didn't look so pained and conflicted behind that mask of bitter anger. "Tell me, Y/N - what gives you the right to freak out like that, huh? To look at me with those scared eyes like you have any claim over whether I live or die or-"

"Because I love you, dammit!" The confession exploded from Y/N with the force of a meteor strike.

A stunned silence fell over the field as Harry gaped at her, mouth hanging open in shock. Even the rain seemed to pause in the heavy tension between them.

After several moments where Y/N felt her panic rising, Harry finally found his voice again. "You...you what?"

Y/N took a shuddering breath, bracing herself. She had come too far to back down now.  

"I love you, Harry," she repeated, slower and more sure this time. "I have for a long time, you idiot. But you're always so reckless and careless 'bout your own safety. You take stupid risks and shrug it off like getting hurt is no big deal!"

She stepped closer, feeling tears mingling with the raindrops on her cheeks. "Don't you understand? The thought of you being seriously injured, or worse...it terrifies me. Because I couldn't handle losing you. You mean everything to me."

Harry continued staring at her, eyes blown wide and lips parted as if her confession had utterly short-circuited his brain. Y/N pressed on, needing to finally unleash all the feelings she had kept bottled up for far too long.

"I love your stupid jokes and your kind heart. I love how passionate you are about football, even if it drives me mental sometimes. I love the way you always smell like sandalwood and make me feel so safe when I'm with you. I'm in love with every obnoxious, laddish, reckless part of you and I can't keep ignoring it anymore."

She let out a wet chuckle, wiping futilely at her drenched face, her hands still shaking. "So yeah, that's why I care, you absolute wanker. That's why seeing you get hurt destroys me every single time, because the thought of being in a world without Harry Styles in it is just too much for me to bear!"

The words hung heavy in the rain-soaked air between them. Y/N watched Harry open and close his mouth a few times, clearly struggling to find a response. For once, his swagger and cockiness had completely deserted him as her feelings poured over him in an unstoppable tide.

Just when the silence was becoming too much for Y/N to bear, Harry finally seemed to find his voice again.

"You...you love me?" he rasped out, the disbelief and wonder evident in his tone. "Like, you're in love with me?"

Y/N felt her cheeks flush hot despite the cold rain. She gave a small nod, unable to meet his intense gaze. Her heart was thundering so loudly in her ears, she barely registered the shouts and hoots coming from Harry's teammates who had witnessed the whole emotional outburst.

"Shut it, you wankers!" Harry barked over his shoulder, never taking his eyes off Y/N.

In two long strides, he closed the distance between them until they were mere inches apart. Y/N's breath caught in her throat as Harry reached up with one hand to gently cup her jaw, tilting her face up toward his.

"Y/N..." he murmured, emerald eyes searching hers intently. "Why didn't you ever say anything?"

She let out a shaky laugh, leaning into his touch despite herself. "And ruin our friendship if you didn't feel the same way? I couldn't risk that, Harry. You mean too much to me."

Something blazing and tender flickered across Harry's face at her confession. Slowly, giving her every chance to pull away, he leaned in until their foreheads were resting together. Y/N shivered at the intimate proximity, at the way his familiar woodsy scent surrounded her completely.

"You daft woman," he murmured, the words fanning warmly across her lips and making her shiver for an entirely different reason. "Don't you know there's nothing I want more than for you to be my girlfriend? To be able to love you the way you deserve?"

Y/N's eyes fluttered closed at that, her heart feeling fit to burst from her chest. She had spent so long forcing herself not to hope, not to read into the heated glances and lingering touches she shared with Harry. Could he truly feel the same earth-shattering connection she did?

Her eyes blinked open again at the feeling of Harry's calloused thumb brushing reverently across her rain-soaked cheek. He was staring at her with such naked adoration and longing that it stole the breath from her lungs.

"I'm so bloody gone for you, Y/N," he confessed roughly. "Have been for ages now, if I'm being honest. Thought maybe I was imagining things between us or reading too much into it since I couldn't fathom someone as incredible as you wanting a mug like me."

Y/N opened her mouth to protest, to reassure him that she wanted every infuriatingly charming part of him, but Harry pressed on before she could get the words out.

"Then today, hearing how scared you were when I got laid out...how you thought you could lose me?" He shook his head slowly, curls dripping rivulets of rainwater down the sharp planes of his face and throat. "Don't know how I didn't see it before, love. The way you care about me, put up with all my shite...it's because you love me. Isn't it?"

It wasn't really a question, more like Harry was testing the words out for the first time and savoring the way they sounded. A thrill went through Y/N at getting to be the one to put that Look of rare, hushed awe on his handsome face for once.

"Yes, Harry," she answered anyway, both hands coming up to cradle his beloved face. "I'm desperately in love with you. The good, the bad, the reckless...all of it."

A crinkly-eyed grin stretched across Harry's lips then, brighter and more vibrant than Y/N had ever seen before. He wasted no more time closing that minuscule distance between them, capturing her mouth in a searing, all-consuming kiss.

Y/N gasped against his lips as the dam finally broke, months of too-long denied want and need bubbling over in heated waves. Harry's hands slid into her soaked hair, angling her head to deepen the embrace as he licked hungrily into her mouth. Y/N clung to him just as fiercely, fingernails scraping against his scalp and shoulders as if trying to physically pull him closer.

They were both panting harshly by the time they wrenched apart, sharing the same air in the infinitesimal space between their swollen mouths. Y/N felt drugged by the glazed, predatory darkness swimming in Harry's blown pupils,by the intimate glide of their rain-drenched bodies.

"Fucking finally," he growled against her lips before diving back in, one large hand splaying possessively across the small of her back.

Y/N hummed in ardent agreement, getting lost in his dizzying taste and scent and touch once more.  It felt like a cosmic star had been reborn between them, the force of their crashing inevitability obliterating all the hurt and confusion from before.

Neither was sure how long they stayed like that, trading desperate, drugging kisses amongst the pouring rain. But eventually, Harry pulled away just enough to nose his way along Y/N's jaw, lips dragging hotly up to her ear.

"Let's get out of this downpour, hmm?" he husked, teeth grazing her shell and making her shudder. "Got some making up to do for being such a blind tosser."

Y/N pulled back just enough to catch the incandescent fire blazing in his darkened gaze. Her breath hitched at the onceiled promise flickering there, at the tips of his wicked fingers already slipping beneath the drenched hem of her top.

It seemed she wasn't the only one who had been harboring some pent-up longing and hunger.

Still, there was one loose end she couldn't resist tugging before allowing Harry to whisk them away...  "Does this mean you're finally going to start taking better care of yourself?" she asked archly, arching one pointed brow. "No more stupid, reckless stunts for my idiotically brave footballer?"

Harry audibly groaned, dropping his forehead dramatically against her clavicle as his hands flexed with bruising force against her hips.

"Whatever you want, love," he conceded gruffly. "No more injuries or shite, I swear it. Now can we please get the fuck out of here before I embarrass myself further by ravishing you in the mud right in front of my teammates?"

Y/N gave a squeak of surprise as Harry abruptly ducked to gather her up in his arms, hitching her legs around his waist in one fluid movement. He sealed his wicked promise with another lingering, molten kiss that left her head spinning.

"Now, where were we..." he growled darkly before striding determinedly off the field, Y/N clinging just as fiercely in his embrace.

The teammates' raucous catcalls and laughter faded into the rainy background as Y/N tucked her face into the curve of Harry's neck, savoring his familiar sandalwood and smoke and the feeling of being wrapped in his arms at last.

She was never letting him go again. Not if she had any say in it.

♡~~~♡~~~♡~~~♡~~~♡~~~♡~~~♡~~~♡~~~♡~~~♡~~~♡~~~♡~~~♡~~~♡

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