#and try to power through and get them to let me explain to them without actually seeing their computer

[birdofwildness]

♱Favorite.

♱Dark lord!Tom Riddle X deatheater!reader

Sumarry::Your boss has a soft spot for you,and you need to talk.

Warnings::power imbalance,possessiveness,tension,mentions of violence

you knew tom riddle didn’t tolerate weakness.

he preached discipline like it was scripture, punished failure without hesitation, and regarded most people with the same cold stare he’d give a dying insect.

but you were an exception.

or at least… you thought you were.

he never raised his voice with you. never forced you to kneel. you got away with remarks the others wouldn’t even think. and when you failed—rarely, but it happened—he didn’t crucio you. he let you explain.

and that’s why, when one of the lower-ranking death eaters said the dark lord wants to see you, you didn’t flinch. didn’t bow. just straightened your robes and walked the halls like you belonged there.

he was alone in the room when you entered. not his usual throne, just standing by the window, fingers folded behind his back.

“you wanted to see me?” you said, trying to keep it light, like the silence between you wasn’t thick enough to choke on.

“shut the door,” he said. voice even. unreadable.

you did. and for a second, you stood there, hands behind your back, waiting. then he turned.

“we need to talk,” he said.

that alone was unusual. tom riddle didn’t talk. he ordered. he commanded.

“okay,” you replied, one brow raised. “talk then.”

he sighed. actually sighed. dragged a hand through his dark hair like he’d spent the whole day suppressing the urge.

“they’ve started to notice,” he said simply.

“who?”

“the others. my inner circle. they’re wondering why you haven’t been punished like the rest of them. why you’re allowed… leniencies.”

you tilted your head. “and what did you tell them?”

he looked at you like it annoyed him that you’d even ask. then he stepped forward.

“i told them nothing. but that’s the problem.”

he was close now. not touching. just standing there, looking down at you like he was trying to decide something.

“tom,” you said, soft enough that it felt like a risk. “if you want me to fall in line, i will. just say the word.”

his hand moved, not quickly, but deliberately—fingers brushing a lock of your hair behind your ear, grazing the edge of your jaw.

“it’s not that simple,” he murmured. “you don’t understand what it does to me. letting you get away with things. watching you walk into rooms like you belong to no one.”

you didn’t move. didn’t blink.

“i don’t belong to anyone,” you said, but it came out quieter than you meant.

he leaned down, voice low and calm, venom-sweet.

“you do,” he whispered. “you just don’t realize it yet.”

his hand slipped away. the moment broke. tom stepped back like nothing happened, like he hadn’t just claimed you without even touching you.

“you’ll be on the raid tonight,” he said. “and after, we’ll… talk again.”

you swallowed hard. “yes, my lord.”

[twilitgoddess]

hello, everyone!

okay, this is going to be a biggish one - not just because i’m tired of harping on about it, but also because i feel like i’ve found the best and concise way to both explain and demonstrate what i’m trying to say. please consider this my final treatise on the subject of deciding, because moving on i want to talk more about WHAT to do with the power to manifest, rather than how!

so, without further ado: how to decide! ✨

from all base points of view, manifestation is the fusion of desire x will. you want something, and you understand that it IS possible for you to have it - the biggest roadblock for people in this equation seems to be obtaining the desire in question, and this is almost always a matter of will. 

as most of you know, i talk about will and self CONSTANTLY in reference to manifestation, because the self is all there IS. you are ALL of this. the trees, the ground, the planet, other people, energy, your phone, your dog, WHATEVER - everything you see and experience is a reflection of your perception, and nothing more. the way the weather is today, how somebody treats you, how events play out in real time or even just if that amazon package you’re waiting for is coming today or not - these are all things that can either be nebulous or absolute, but what ultimately happens is up to you. let me explain! ✨

remember this comic strip i posted a while ago? i loved it because it demonstrates what i’m trying to say PERFECTLY - wanda is in danger of an incoming arrow to the heart, with a ONE in a million chance to miss hitting her.

instead of running around or trying to shield herself or call for help, wanda simply decided it wouldn’t happen - a flick of the wrist, and reality changed in her favour simply because she wished it to - her perception was that her will was stronger than literal probability, and so it was.

so using this example, how can we apply this to manifestation?

let’s use SP! so you’ve been having fights, they’re not as affectionate before, you feel like things are on the rocks - in this scenario, you are wanda, and your SP breaking up with you is the arrow.

when you waver and worry and cry and try to ‘fix’ it,  you’re telling the world that not only is it POSSIBLE, it’s PROBABLE, and hence the arrow strikes your heart - your SP breaks up with you, or says something that degrades your trust in them more, or that one thing you were REALLY worried about ends up being true!

and then you lose your faith in manifestation, yourself, you spiral over and over and so nothing gets better… it’s a harsh cycle, isn’t it?

but you have to remember that you are ALWAYS wanda in this situation; you dictate, reality listens. instead of allowing THAT fate to come to pass, for THOSE bad things to happen -  why not just decide it doesn’t matter at all? instead of choosing to believe it MIGHT be true he’s cheating, or she DOESN’T love you, or they DON’T want commitment - why not simply flick your wrist and decide that none of that is true? 

you could apply this to LITERALLY anything else; getting hired, getting a raise, someone you hate going through a humiliation conga line, maybe you want to win the lottery, change your body, get recognized by someone or something, WHATEVER - you just need to decide it will, and it WILL. that’s literally IT.

this is the crux of what i’ve always meant about decision, all the way back from when i was mollyhailing - you are not AFFIRMING, you are not PERSISTING, you are deciding something true and then it IS.  INSTANTLY.

i do this all the time in my daily life, and many of my clients will tell you the same - the other day someone i wanted to talk to wasn’t around, so i decided they were and wanted to talk to me and i literally saw them log onto discord about 20 seconds later, and guess who got her message? or i’ll decide someone favour me over someone else for a job position, or that people feel a certain way about me, that [X] will happen when i want it to, and it DOES - it’s real to me, so it translates to my reality. 

“but what if it’s taking time?” 

“i’ve been affirming FOR MONTHS and nothing has changed”

”but i said i already had it, why isn’t it here?”

“if i don’t manifest it by [X] i won’t get it!” 

 ⬆️ people who don’t see their manifestations in the way and time they like are usually too unsure to be decisive, don’t believe with conviction that their worlds or need ‘proof’ to know things are ‘working’ - YOU are the proof, YOU decide what’s true or not. if you don’t think you can change things, then why would they? ever?

raise your self-concept - raise your OWN ideas about what’s possible or not, it’s LITERALLY YOUR REALITY.

the odds are now one in one.

[adelaidedrubman]

ah yes the obligatory hurdle of accessing the medication prescribed by your doctor that is teaching the pharmacist how to use their own damn computer

[krystella-shifts]

EVERYTHING IS CLICKING FOR ME Y'ALL!!! *ੈ✩‧₊˚

The only post you'll ever need for LOA. Literally.

It's so easy to manifest literally so easy once you do this. JUST SIT BACK AND RELAX, BE IN RECIVING MODE INSTEAD OF CONSTANTLY FEELING LIKE YOU HAVE TO DO SOMETHING. Yes sometimes it can be hard when you feel panic that you have to manifest as fast as possible but trust me once you TRUST, it'll all fall into your lap at the snap of a finger! Literally. You'll even feel better and happy instead of worrying and feel like waiting forever. The universe/god/your higher self, whatever you believe in is telling you or teaching you that the way isn't through worry, stress, pain, suffering. The way is through ease, love, trust. Once you understand this you'll ALWAYS and I mean ALWAYS be able to manifest without any effort. Yes, no need for that 21 days challenge, no need to set a reminder for every hour to affirm, no need to try hard to visualise every teeny tiny detail. Just have this inner knowing and relax. That's the cheat code. How easy is that? You literally have the cheat code and it doesn't require ANY effort outside and the most minimal effort inside.

Now let me explain all the manifestation techniques in more detail.

Every manifestation technique has one goal:

Think about any technique. Affirming, visualising, scripting,etc. All of these are for what? To remind you, you have your desire. YES not to get something. That's why Neville said feel it real is very powerful technique. Cuz that's what happens when we receive something right. But what we do in loa is we feel it rn and get it rn, and because the 3d is in the past, yes it's our past assumptions, that's why we say it's not real. So when we feel it real we already have our desire in the present, but the 3d is not in the present. So don't react to it. Just remember that. And after a few days of having our desire we don't get THAT excited, do we? So when you think about it again you don't have to feel anything or do anything cuz you already have it. AND THEN WE JUST SIT BACK AND RELAX. Again the same conclusion. Cuz that's it!

ALL YOU NEED TO EVER DO:

Decide what you want. And feel having it.

Remind yourself that you have ___ either saying it in your head, writing it down, etc

RELAX. SIT TF BACK. YES YOU DON'T NEED TO DO ANYTHING.

Whenever you think about ___ always remember you have it. And think naturally. How would you think having ___ cuz you do now.

Remember the 3d is a product of your past assumptions. Just like how we see the stars 8 years later of their actual form. Just like it takes 8 minutes for sunlight to reach the earth. If you remember this you won't ask "where it is" you know it is here. And yes u can manifest Shifting too.

Allow it to come to you. I don't chase i attract.

Yes that's what it means. And I am the living proof for that 😌💅🏻✨ I am literally living my dream life and bestie you are too. That's all you need to manifest (aka yourself). It's very simple but if you have any questions feel free to comment and keep me updated on your manifestation journey and success stories cuz I'd love to read them and know if my post helped you 🤭🥂 (atleast you can do that for me, right? ;p)

Love, ... redkittyjellyfish? Wait i need to change my user name 💀 (ps. I changed my user from redkittyjellyfish - Krystella-Shifts (⁠人��� ⁠•͈⁠ᴗ⁠•͈⁠) )

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*

[kakashisacademia]

pairing: hooker Toji Fushiguro x you | warnings: paid sex

summary; you’re a shy sweet girl until you book Toji one day for an hour and he ruins you completely

ೃ⁀➷ Break For The Man You Paid For

“You sure about this, sweetheart?” His voice is low, rough. And worse, almost bored. Like he’s just confirming an order at a takeout window. He’s leaning against your doorframe in a dark jacket, arms crossed, eyes dragging over your body like you’re a price tag.

You nod barely. You can’t even look him in the eyes. “Y-Yes. I… I want to.”

He smirks. “Alright. Let’s see the money.”

Your hands tremble slightly as you hand him the envelope. He takes it without a word, flips through the bills, and raises a brow when he sees the tip tucked in. “Didn’t say you had to pay me extra.”

“I… I just thought, um, you should have it,” you mumble. “Since… you’re doing this.”

Toji lets out a quiet, humorless chuckle. “Doing you, you mean.”

You freeze. He sees it. Sees the flush rise in your cheeks, the way your thighs press together a little.

He jerks his chin. “Lead the way, then. Time’s ticking.”

You nod again, turning to walk toward your bedroom, and he follows, his eyes locked on the sway of your hips in your too-soft, too-cute little dress.

You sit on the edge of the bed, hands folded in your lap. Toji shrugs off his jacket and sets it on your chair like this is any other job.

“You ever done this before?” he asks, voice low as he kicks off his boots.

Your eyes flick to his and then back to your lap. “No. I’ve never…”

“Figured.” He pauses, gaze dark. “You nervous?”

You nod. “Y-Yeah.”

He hums. “You should be.”

And then he steps between your knees, tilts your chin up with a single finger. “You paid me to fuck you, sweetheart,” he says, voice calm and heavy. “So unless you’ve changed your mind, I’m gonna give you what you paid for.”

Your breath catches. And god, that look in his eyes like he doesn’t care, like you’re just another client, but there’s a flicker, just a flicker, of something sharper. Like he’s already guessing how you’ll sound when you break.

He steps back then and already stripping in a slow, methodical way. Shirt off, scars on display, pants dropping low on his hips before he slides them off. You can’t help but stare. His body is… terrifying. Thick muscle. Power. And that heavy cock he rolls the condom onto without ceremony.

You undress then too, hands shaking, the urge to hide thickens. God, this is a mistake, you think over and over again when you sit back down. And it only gets worse.

He doesn’t ask what you like. Doesn’t touch you first. He just kneels on the bed, grips your hips, and pulls you toward the center like you’re nothing more than a pillow to fuck.

You gasp, arms fluttering a little as you adjust. “W-Wait… just, um-”

“I’m not gonna hurt you,” he mutters. “Unless you want me to.”

Your face burns. He leans over you, knee spreading your thighs apart, positioning himself with practiced ease. You feel the thick press of him, blunt and unrelenting, against your entrance.

“Try to relax,” he says, flat. “Won’t take long.”

He pushes in. Your breath stutters, more from the stretch than the pain. He’s big. So much bigger than you expected. And he’s not slow about it either, just steady, deep, filling.

You grip the sheets. He watches your face as you squirm. Not out of concern, but curiosity. Like he’s trying to decide if you’re enjoying it or regretting everything.

“You’re tight,” he mutters. “Thought you said you wanted this.”

“I- I do,” you whisper. “It’s just-”

He stills. There’s a second. Just one. Where something shifts in his eyes. A flicker of… not tenderness, but awareness. Maybe even guilt. He exhales, low.

Then, he says softer. “You ever had a guy inside you before?”

You hesitate. Then nod. “Only once. It was years ago.”

That explains it. Toji braces himself on one arm and slowly rocks his hips, less force this time, more glide. Watching your lashes flutter, the way your lips part in surprise.

“Feels good?” he asks, voice still flat, but quieter now.

You nod. You’re trying. So hard to enjoy it. But your face is flushed, lips bitten pink, thighs trembling like you’re trying not to embarrass yourself.

And Toji, bored, cold Toji, watches it all.

“…You’re cute,” he mutters, almost to himself.

You blink up at him.

“I mean,” he continues, fucking you with lazy, deep strokes, “for a shy little thing who paid for dick like it’s takeout.”

Your face burns. But your body clenches, just a little, and he feels it.

He smirks. “Oh. So that does do something for you.”

His hips roll slow, deep. Not lazy now, intentional.

Your hands clutch the sheets, chest heaving, mouth parted in the softest moan. He can feel you pulsing around him, every little squeeze sending heat right to his spine.

“Fuck,” he mutters, voice darker now, no longer bored. “You’re soaked.”

You whimper, turning your face away in embarrassment.

“Don’t hide,” he growls, hand catching your chin and turning you back. “I wanna see.”

Your lip trembles. And it shouldn’t affect him. You’re a client. This is a job. But the way you look at him like he’s something more, like he’s the first man who’s ever really touched you… fuck, it does something to him.

“You want me to make you feel good?” he asks, voice low and rough against your cheek.

You nod.

“Use your words, sweetheart.”

“…Yes. Please.”

His hand slides down between your bodies, fingers finding your clit, rough and warm, not gentle, but good. Your body jolts, breath catching.

“You this sensitive from just a few strokes?” he murmurs. “Fuckin’ hell, baby. You were made to be fucked.”

You choke on a moan. He thrusts deeper now, fingers circling your clit, watching your expression twist with pleasure you’re too shy to admit.

“Say it,” he growls. “Say you like it.”

“I… I like it.”

“Say you like being used.”

Your breath hitches. You hesitate. “I like being used.”

And that’s it. Toji’s control starts to crack. His rhythm picks up, harder now, more intense. Your body bounces beneath him, thighs shaking, eyes glossy with overwhelmed pleasure.

He leans down, mouth hot at your ear. “Still shy, princess?” he taunts. “Even while you’re clenching around me like you’re about to cum?”

You let out a soft, desperate noise. So close you’re shaking. And that makes him grin.

“You gonna cum for the cock you paid for?” he growls. “Gonna soak it like a good little client?”

Toji can feel the way your walls flutter, the way your legs tighten, your hips bucking just slightly against the force of his thrusts. You’re panting now, clutching the sheets like they’ll save you, like if you just focus hard enough, you won’t cum. But that’s not gonna fly.

“Uh-uh,” he growls, grabbing your wrists and pinning them above your head with one hand. “Don’t you fucking dare hold back on me.”

Your eyes go wide. “I…I can’t… Toji!”

“You will.” His hips slam into yours harder, deeper. “You think I came all this way for you to hold that pretty little orgasm in?”

You shake your head, trembling.

“Paid good money, didn’t you?” His voice is hot against your ear. “So cum, sweetheart. Soak my cock. Make it worth my time.”

Your back arches, the force of him, his filthy voice, his control. All of it tears through you.

You break. You cry out, legs locking around his waist, body spasming under him as the orgasm crashes through you so hard it nearly knocks the air from your lungs. It’s loud. It’s messy. And worst of all, it’s so much better than you ever expected.

Toji watches you fall apart with a dark, satisfied grin.

“Fuck,” he mutters, thrusting through the aftershocks as your pussy clenches helplessly around him. “Didn’t think you had it in you.”

You whimper, tears at the corners of your eyes, face hot and flushed. And he’s still hard. Still moving. Still inside you, deep and full and relentless.

“Cute thing like you should get used to cumming for me,” he murmurs, dragging his lips across your jaw. “You think this is over?”

You blink up at him, dazed. He gives your thighs a squeeze, grinding his hips just right.

“It’s a flat rate, sweetheart,” he smirks. “I don’t stop till the hour’s up.”

Your eyes widen. You’re still shaking. Still dazed from your first orgasm, thighs sticky and trembling, lips parted in soft, shattered whimpers.

Toji doesn’t give her a break. He grabs her waist, flips her like she weighs nothing, and drags her up onto all fours. Her body is limp, pliant, already wrecked.

“C’mon, sweetheart,” he grunts, kneeling behind her, cock still thick and hard, glistening with her slick. “You wanted the full hour, right?”

You try to protest, whimpering. “I…I need a second.”

But his chest is suddenly pressed to your back, hot and heavy, making you arch. His hand slides around your front, palm wide against your belly, holding you in place.

“You’ll be fine,” he breathes against your ear. “Just keep that pretty little pussy open for me.”

And then he slams into you again. You cry out, voice raw, high-pitched, barely human. The angle is deeper. Devastating. Like he’s reshaping you from the inside out.

His hand moves. Rough fingers sliding up, curling under your jaw and suddenly he’s got you by the throat. Not choking. Not cruel. Just holding. Like he owns you now.

You whimper, hips rocking back into him without thinking.

“Fuckin’ hell,” he mutters, voice a dark growl. “Look at you.”

His pace is filthy. Brutal. Skin slapping. Your body jerking forward with every thrust, eyes rolling.

“Your sweet little act’s slipping, baby,” he snarls, lips brushing your temple. “Didn’t think you’d beg for it like this.”

You try to form words, but they melt on your tongue.

“Thought you’d be quiet. Thought you’d be polite.” His grip on your throat tightens, just enough to make your heart stutter. “But now you’re moaning like a goddamn porn star.”

“Toji, pl-please.”

“Yeah?” he snarls. “Beg again. Beg like you’re gonna pay me to own you.”

Your body convulses. Another orgasm crashing through you before you even realize it’s coming. Your legs collapse. He holds you up, still thrusting, not letting you fall, not letting you hide.

“You gonna remember this?” he growls. “Next time you’re wet and lonely and thinkin’ about booking a nice, quiet boy to fuck you gentle?”His hand curls tighter around your neck. “You’ll think about me.”

Your body’s gone limp beneath him. Eyes glassy, lips trembling, drool at the corner of your mouth. You’re barely upright, shaking with every thrust, every drag of his cock splitting you wide open from behind.

But Toji isn’t done. Not even close. He fists your hair and pulls you up against his chest, dragging your back flush to his soaked torso, your knees barely supporting you. Your breath stutters, weak and ragged.

“That’s it,” he breathes at your ear, voice low, dangerous, almost giddy in its cruelty. “That’s the face I wanted.”

You can’t speak. You just moan, open-mouthed and broken. His hand catches your jaw, turns your face toward the mirror across the room.

“Look at you,” he growls. “Fucked stupid. Paid me to break you, and now you don’t even know what day it is.”

You stare. You see yourself. Red faced, hair a mess, mouth hanging open, tits bouncing with every hard, punishing thrust. Your thighs are glistening, your eyes wet, your body marked where his hands gripped too tight.

And Toji behind you looks feral. Chest heaving. Muscles flexed. That usual bored smirk nowhere to be found. He looks hungry.

“See what you do to me?” he hisses, snapping his hips hard. “You see what you fucking unlocked, sweetheart?”

You whimper, nodding helplessly.

“You thought this was just business,” he growls. “But look at me. Look at how fuckin’ hard I still am after making you cum twice. Look at how I can’t stop.”

You let out a strangled moan as another orgasm builds, your body clenching down on him involuntarily.

“That’s it,” he breathes, voice dark and reverent. “Let it hit you. Fall apart. I want you gone, baby. I want you wrecked. Ruined. Cryin’.”

He grips your throat again, thumb brushing your spit-slick lips.

“Cum,” he growls, voice low and guttural, hips pounding into you so deep you feel it in your ribs. “Fucking cum for me.”

And you do. It hits you so hard you scream. Legs give out. Vision goes white. Your body folds in on itself and he catches you. Hand in your hair, cock still inside you, eyes locked on your twitching reflection like it’s the most beautiful thing he’s ever seen.

And all he can say, voice wrecked and chest heaving, “Fuck.” And then he comes, hard. His groan long and croaked as he fills the condom.

The shower’s warm. Steam curling around you, hands braced to the tile, trying to keep from sliding down. Toji’s behind you, his massive palm gently guiding water down your back. It should feel awkward. Transactional.

But instead, it feels… safe. And quiet.

You’re trembling, flushed from heat and adrenaline, and the only thing you can whisper, soft and confused, “…But the hour’s up?”

He goes still behind you. Then a low, short laugh like you just asked if the sky is blue.

“The fuck’s your point?”

You glance over your shoulder. He’s not even looking at you. He just grabs the body wash and starts rubbing it into his chest like he belongs there, like this is nothing.

“I just…” You blink. “I thought you’d leave.”

He snorts. “What, you got somewhere to be?”

You flush deeper. “No…”

“Good.” He reaches around you, hand brushing your waist not sexual, just familiar. Steady. “Me neither.”

Your heart thuds painfully. Then quieter, almost shy, you murmur, “You didn’t have to stay…”

And his eyes finally meet yours. There’s no grin now. No smirk. Just a slow blink, a shrug of his broad shoulders.

“I wanted to.”

That’s it. No flirt. No seduction. Just truth.

And suddenly, you’re really trembling. Not from the sex, not from the heat, but from how seen you feel. How safe. How real this moment has become. Toji notices.

“Hey,” he murmurs, stepping close, crowding you into the warm tile with his chest. “I’m not goin’ anywhere yet. So relax.”

His hand curls gently under your jaw, tilts your face up to him. “You’re not just another lay,” he mutters, eyes softer now. “I don’t do this. I don’t stay. So don’t look at me like that.”

You whisper. “Like what?”

“…Like I’m something good.”

You smile anyway.

And even though he curses under his breath, even though he turns away and grabs the shampoo like it never happened his hand stays on your waist.

She falls asleep on his chest after the shower. Just like that. Naked, boneless, her cheek smushed into his pec like it’s her damn pillow. Her fingers curl softly against his ribs. Her breath is warm. Even in sleep, she clings.

Toji’s staring at the ceiling like it personally offended him. He should leave. He should have left hours ago. Fuck, he should’ve never stayed in the first place.

But here he is. Flat on his back. Smelling like her shampoo. Spent. With a soft little thing drooling on his chest and wearing his damn heart like it’s hers now.

The room is quiet. Too quiet. He should move. Should shove her off. Should say something. But all he can do is stare at the ceiling fan spinning above them and think, ‘fuck. I’m so screwed’.

Because he’s been with women. Dozens. All shapes, all types. Loud ones. Wild ones. Girls who knew what they wanted and weren’t shy about it.

But this one? She was quiet. Sweet. Nervous. She whispered, not moaned. She looked at him like he mattered.

And now after he fucked her out so hard she could barely stand, she just… trusted him. Fell asleep like he wasn’t the coldest, meanest son of a bitch alive.

His arm moves before he can stop it, sliding around her waist, holding her a little closer. His fingers press against her soft hip, just to feel her warmth. Her realness. She sighs, content in her sleep, and burrows in deeper.

And Toji, the fucker who’s broken bones and walked away from love like it was nothing, feels something shift behind his ribs.

His heart stutters. Catches. And for the first time in a long, long time… he whispers something soft, like it hurts.

“…What the hell are you doing to me, sweetheart.”

No answer. Just the hum of the fan, the warmth of her breath, and the quiet ache of something he might not survive. But he stays.

And when morning comes he’ll still be there.

[m-ayo-o]

can't come!

nsfw; reader can't come, guess who helps her! (aged up 21+) <3

You've had trouble with this all of your adult life.

And right now it's getting more than a little frustrating.

You're pent up. Needy.

Unable to come.

Through no amount of touching, fingering, licking or fucking can you achieve an orgasm.

You feel pleasure, sure. It's amazing.

But your girlfriends so often remind you that this kind of pleasure is different.

"It's not the same, trust me.."

"You'd know if you had an orgasm"

"Maybe you should try a vibrator?"

And with all of their help and advice in the world- hell, one particularly close friend even offered to.. you know.. do it for you- you still can't come.

Maybe it's just not possible???

But your current boyfriend seems to have a plan in mind.

You know what he can do to you, with his hands and mouth.. and the way he fucks is just gentle and rough enough to make you whimper and bite into his shoulder.

But still no O.

So one day he sits you down and explains something to you.

About his 'power'.

Sure, he's told you about it before. You know what the deal is. He's a fucking sorcerer with the most beautiful markings on his face and he can barely speak to you without being concerned he's going to hurt you.

I can do it.

If you want me to.

He types out on his phone screen and shows you.

"You can do.. what? Toge?"

Let me show you.

Lie down please.

He has been so cautious with you- a non sorcerer.

A cute, sexy non sorcerer, who he cares about a whole lot.

He didn't want to scare you off with the way his mouth works.

So he lays you down gently and gets you warmed up, kissing you, touching you, feeling between your legs and starting to dip his fingers under your panties.

He drags them down slowly and gives you that look, asking for permission to take this a little further. You nod and watch him smile, kissing your thighs and ending up with his lips grazing your clit.

Such a familiar place- he studies your body and spreads your lips with his tongue, eyeing you up and down to see your reactions.

Then he hears that short, sharp breath when his tongue connects.

It never gets old.

But now, this time will be different.

"mm--" he hums into you and you loosen up, spreading your legs a little wider.

He gets closer.

"mm mmhmm--" you can hear the excitement in his soft moans. And he gets so greedy, his grip on your thighs getting tighter, spreading you open a little wider.

More. More. More.

He needs more of your body, more of those sounds.

"mmhh-" fuck, he's going to lose his mind in a second.

But no. He's gotta focus.

Now he can feel your body reacting to every tap and dip of his tongue.

Your breathing is getting so shaky, your face is flushed and your legs feel so tense.

With any girl he's been with before, this would be his cue to push her over the edge. A few more taps of his tongue would do. Maybe he could slide his fingers through your pussy lips, dipping them in to give you something to grip around.

But no.

You're close.

But you're not there.

So he pulls his lips off you with a sloppy, wet, sucking sound.

He disconnects his tongue but replaces it with his fingers.

Soft pads grazing your entrance, enticing you to get even wetter.

He looks up at your pretty face, your eyes half lidded, full of lust and desire.

So much desire.

To...

"come"

The word falls from his lips so casually.

But the power behind it leaves you reeling.

"ah- ah- w-w-w.... wait- Toge- oh--"

Your body is overwhelmed by the trembling.

He holds onto your legs to stop the shivering and shaking, watching you enjoy your first orgasm.

He wants to tell you what a good girl you are.

How pretty you look right now.

He wants to ask how it feels, although he's pretty sure he understands from the way you're moaning, nearly screaming his name and grappling onto the sheets of your bed.

"Toge- Toge---" you pant out his name, breathing laboured. You're on your way down, but you can still feel the pleasure tingling through your body, especially focusing around the bundle of nerves it all came from.

And you're amazed.

How did he do this?

Why.... Why hasn't he done this before???

"Toge--" your breath is returning to you slowly, just enough oxygen getting back into your brain to form a sentence-

"Toge- that was.. that was ah- amazing--"

He watches you sigh and collapse into the bed.

Weary that you're a beginner to all this, he debates for a few seconds before opening his mouth again.

But fuck it, the demons won today.

"come"

He does it again.

And again.

Needless to say, your first experience with this new found pleasure is unforgettable.

And your boyfriend? You might just have to hang onto him, seeing as he's the only person who can make you come.

toge

[sturnsdarling]

'Chris likes girls who don't like him back'

Late night streaming with your best friends turns to a conversation about the boys' type, and Chris gets called out

vibe check: flirty fluffy fun, 3/4 of my favourite f words

1.4k words

A/N: i had this idea literally straight away after what Matt said about Chris' type.........the idea of being Chris' best friend that he openly fancies but you're 'not interested' makes MY TOES CURL BRO LIKE ARE YOU KIDDING anyway I hope you love this. PART TWO IS HERE

love and cigs, merc

"Matt he's right there what the fuck are you doing?!" you scream down the mic, nearly throwing your controller across the room as you jolt back in your chair.

You watch as Matt gets sniped in the head from the back, laughing as he wails on this desk, making the whole stream glitch and nearly crash. Chris is laughing along with you, trying not to make it obvious that he's watching you, and not Matt.

"Matt, bro you need to fuckin' up your game, y/n/n is actually carrying us right now." Chris says as Matt picks his chair up off the floor and sits back down in a huff.

"I always carry when I come on with you boys" you smirk, looking at the tiny square of Chris on your screen.

"yeah because you're a little sweat" Matt chuckles.

The boys had been streaming everyday for over a week now and, after some convincing, they managed to get you to join in on one of their games. At first you were apprehensive, obviously, but they explained that they were trying to diversify their platform and find a more mature audience so, actually interacting with girls on the internet was their first step.

You and the boys had been friends for forever, you met them through Nick in elementary school and had basically all been inseparable ever since, you'd been in some earlier videos but the fans back then made it very difficult to just exist around them so, you took it upon yourself to only exist in their real life, not their online one.

Cut to right now, you're nearly two hours deep in fortnite trios with the boys on stream, everyone was super excited to see you when they announced that they'd be joining and, other than a couple comments that you all ignored, it was going really well.

"Matt, someone asked what our types are" Chris laughed, reading the chat.

"I'm not answering that" Matt dead panned, screwing his face up at the camera

"I can answer it for you both, for sure" you chuckle, "chat do you want me to answer it?"

"yes, yes, yes, yes, omg yes" Chris was reeling off the answers in chat, "everyone wants y/n/n to answer, Matt should we let her?" Chris asked.

Matt rolled his eyes with a smile, "g'head, y/n/n, expose us" He chuckled.

"okay, so" you said, in your best girly gossip voice, "Matt likes nerdy, reader, soft girls" you begin to explain, your train of thought is interrupted by Chris erupting into laughter.

"dude she's so right! you love a girl that looks like she's always buried in a book" Chris wails.

"what are you guys even saying?" Matt complains, the smile etched across his face giving his tone a lot less power.

"you definitely want a girl who will go on a hike with you or some shit, Matt" You say, enjoying this whole interaction a bit too much.

Chris was keeled over in laughter, loving finally being able to talk about this kind of stuff on the internet without everyone going insane.

"I dunno why you're laughing so much, Chris, you're next" Matt states, Chris shrugs in reply.

"i don't give a fuck, call me out y/n/n, gimme the best you got" Chris sits back in his chair, arms folded over his chest.

"hmmmm" you say, exaggerating your thinking, "what is the famous Christopher Sturniolos type" you rub your chin, pretending to be thinking deeply.

A knowing smirk is spread wide across Chris' face as he stares at your face on his screen, tongue prodding the side of his cheek.

"I know Chris' type" Matt adds, a menacing smile on his face.

"g'head matt, you take this one" you gesture to the boy on your screen.

"Chris likes girls who don't like him back" Matts brows raise in accusation towards Chris.

You try and hide the smile forming on your face, attempting to look as focused on the game as possible as your tongue prods at your teeth. Neither of the boys say anything, both of them cheesing, Matt in a teasing and knowing kind of way and Chris more so in a 'I cant say what I wanna say' kind of way.

"damn, Matt, you just called me the fuck out" Chris shakes his head, looking to the tiny version of you on his screen.

You're still quiet, trying to fight the smile on your face and look as focused as possible, you catch Chris looking as if he's looking at you on his screen and shake your head with a chuckle.

"what you grinnin' at, kid?" Chris smirks.

You raise your brows, shaking your head with a downwards smile, "no, nothin', nothin" you say, returning your focus back to the game.

All of the viewers watched the interaction and were blowing up the chat with comments about how Chris definitely likes you, saying things like 'did you guys see that?!', and 'think they're slick look at how they're both smiling!!!!!'. Chris was reading the comments and trying to hide the red blush crawling its way onto his cheeks, Matt was relishing in the fact that Chris was so obviously nervous, and you were just trying not to react.

"Chris, dude, you better wipe that smile off your face, chat's onto you" Matt pokes the bear.

"chat ain't onto shit, Matt, shut the fuck up" Chris says, trying to be serious but unable to push his smile down.

"you know i'm right though, you do like girls who don't want you" Matt pushed on with his joke.

"Matt, shut your fuckin' mouth, dude" Chris rolled his eyes and shook his head, his smile still prevalent.

You couldn't help but laugh, still pretending to not care about the situation unfolding. In hindsight, it probably made it all the more obvious that you knew exactly what Matt was referring to.

"you're awful quiet, y/n/n, you got nothing to say on Chris' type?" Matt extends his joke over to you and your attention is immediately on him.

"nah, you hit the nail on the head, I think" you shrug, stretching back in your chair and adjusting your headset.

"oh really?" Chris replies, brows raised in accusation.

"mhm" you nod, faux innocently.

Chris kisses his teeth, nodding and trying to hide the smile on his face once again.

"yeah, chat, Matts right, I like pretty girls, who don't like me back" Chris says, subtly turning his attention to you and then back to chat.

You roll your eyes with a smile, leaning forward once more to lock into the game.

"you're ridiculous, Chris" Matt chuckles into the mic, watching you shift in your seat, trying not to blush.

The rest of the game went off without a hitch, you guys went on to win multiple times and all the viewers eventually stopped trying to get the conversation back to Chris' obvious crush on you. You played until the early hours of the morning, joking and laughing with the boys' just like old times and relishing in the fact that you were finally able to be a part of their online presence again. When it hit around three a.m you told them you had to sign off, explaining that you had to be up early for college that morning.

"guys, I gotta go, but I'll text you when I wake up" you said, pulling off your headset, and brushing your hair back with your hand.

"alright, y/n/n, thanks for helping us bury kids, its always a treat" Matt grinned at you, shooting you his token boyish smile.

"you know I live to humble kids on fort, Matt" You shrugged, putting on your best boyish persona, earning a laugh from Matt

"okay seriously, I gotta go, bye chat!" you smile, "bye boys" you go to switch off your computer but you're stopped by Chris booming voice.

"bye, beautiful" he says, a cheesy grin on his face.

your eyes roll to the back of your head as an uncontrollable smile finds your lips, "bye, Chris" you reply, switching off your computer.

The whole chat erupts with people losing their minds over Chris calling you beautiful, the boys say nothing, Matt just shakes his head, laughing at the chat as he watches Chris, grinning with pride and completely unashamed of his very obvious crush on you.

taglist: @sturniozalt@mattslolita@shaquilles-0atmeal@blahbel668@sleepysturniolo@le4hsblog @sarosfilms @joemamaaa42069 @2muchofaslvt @seluky10

[aphrvdisiac]

TO LIE AND LOVE LIKE YOU DO.

ellie williams & abby anderson x fem!reader.

part two of off to the races.

part three — the blackest day

summary — it’s been months since you ran away from the loves of your life. you think you have escaped them forever — only for them to return, with a sick game of cat and mouse coming into play as they remind you just how much you belong to them.

warning tags — adult language. extremely dark content; m*rder, stalking, possessive and obsessive behavior, threats of kidnapping, lowkey blackmail (?), threats made with a weapon. strong adult content; slapping, spitting, double penetration, edging, mommy and daddy kink(s), gun play, bondage, threesomes.

author’s message — let me know if i forgot any important missing tags for this. please proceed with caution as this part is extremely heavier than the first part; ellie and abby are so not nice in here, and it gets dark pretty quickly.

“Where the fuck could she have gone?” Abby asked, her and Ellie frantically searching the penthouse. “She knows better than to turn off her location, or leave unannounced.”

“She was just here, sleeping and resting,” Ellie stated, and their panic was overcomed with frustration and anger instead. You knew that if you went anywhere without them, that you had to tell them exactly where and your location could never go off.

They would chip you if they could. They have thought about it numerous times.

Ellie’s phone rang, and she grabbed it out of her back pocket, noticing Joel’s contact. “Hello?” She answered, irritation playing into her tone. “What’s goin’ on, Joel?”

“The police are heading to your place,” Joel said, and Ellie put the call on speaker. “I don’t know what you two have done this time, but it is bad and I am not helpin’ out with any clean ups.”

“What are you talking about?” Ellie asked.

“I’m not some moron, Ellie!” He yelled, and she rolled her eyes. “They know you killed someone. They know your girlfriend was with you, too. I called her, and asked questions.”

“You did what?” Abby shouted. “Joel, what the fuck!”

That’s how they knew you had run away from them. You were a timid and easily frightened individual, and now that you were aware of what they had done, you scurried away and were going to hide. The pair knew they had some time to track you down to your home.

“Fuck off, Joel,” Ellie cursed, ending the call. “We have time to get her, to make up a story or whatever. We can avoid the police for the night?”

They agreed to find you and explain everything, to lure you back to them as they assured that there was nothing to worry about.

Abby’s eyes go wide. “The shirt.”

Ellie cursed under her breath, running to the closet and into the hamper — only to find the shirt completely gone. You had taken it, and now many possibilities surged through their heads.

“It’s gone!” Ellie yelled, and before the two could leave the penthouse to go to you, two detectives walked in.

The amusing yet realistic part of everything is that even though they knew that you thought you had gotten away for good, they were preparing on how to get you back, and never be able to escape again.

You had a particular interest in Philosophy during high school.

You loved to read the knowledge these scholar men would try to pass on, what they had to say about life, beauty, or death. You wanted to understand their wisdom, their perspective of all things, of everything around them, and how they got to a certain point about it.

You remembered a certain quote from Plato, of how Zeus feared the power of two humans mending together as one, leaving them with four arms, four legs, a head with two faces on it. However, he was so threatened by this that he split them into two, and left them to wander Earth to find each other again.

You had believed in that quote when Ellie and Abby entered your life. These two girls, the most threatening pair, would put a grand shift on your life, and how you perceived it as. They utterly shifted your world, they took you in, and prioritized your needs.

You were worshiped by them.

You couldn’t see beyond the horizon of the world without them there, and in your isolation, you still didn’t know how to.

More than sixty-five days since your departure, leaving them behind, and not hearing a single word from them.

When you came to your parent’s villa, your mother opened the door, and you sobbed into her arms, clutching onto her. She hugged you, stroked your hair, and didn’t know if she should’ve spoken or not.

Your tears soaked into her shirt, and she had to nearly drag you inside, afraid of what was happening with you.

“My dear, what’s going on?” She asked, clear to see the exhausted look on your face, your eyes bloodshot as she sat you both down on the couch. “I haven’t seen you like this in a while.”

“I just… Abby and Ellie,” you sobbed, heavily breathing, and shook your head, still in denial of what they did. “I just need to be here for a while. I’m going to transfer to Oxford.”

“You already decided on Columbia,” your mother stated, and you continued to cry, earning a sigh out of her. “You can’t just drop it now.”

You wanted to scream, “they might kill me if I return. They may never let me go after that.” You knew that they were combing through New York, probably already onto their next target — you knew the lengths they would go to just to have you back.

That was something you couldn’t fucking stomach.

“Mom, please,” you whispered, your voice jagged and shaky. “I just can’t go back to the city.” You stared up at her, and she cradled your face in her hands for a moment before nodding, and let you rest your head on her lap.

“Okay, love. You can stay here,” she assured, rubbing your back, and let you sob until you finally calmed down and fell asleep.

The next morning, your father was telling you about Abby and Ellie, wondering if you had any idea about it.

“They’re in deep shit,” he said, glaring at you. “What are you not telling us?”

“I don’t know anything, dad!” You denied, and your mother stood aside, arms folded. “Joel already asked me the same things that you are! I don’t remember shit from that night!”

“So you were there?” Your dad asked, and you fell quiet. He took your silence as an answer, sighing heavily and rubbed his temple in frustration. “You weren’t with any one of them? At all?”

“I… Ellie gave me some coke,” you confessed, guilt reeling into you as you were partially lying, and throwing her under the rug. “I was having a tough night after this guy was harassing me, and after she gave it to me, I was left with Dina and Jesse.”

An exasperated sigh came from your mother, simply frustrated that you had been doing drugs. You were never going to be her perfect daughter, and you didn’t know how long it was going to take until she accepted that fact.

Your dad took a minute to process this information before grabbing your shoulders, and forcing you to look at him. “From here on out, you know nothing. Do you understand me?”

You nodded, and he brought you into a hug, coddling the back of your head. Your father’s affection was never this tender or earnest, and you knew he was only being protective for the family image, but you didn’t care for that — your father was holding you for the first time since you were eleven.

You had to change your phone number, deactivate any social media you had, and new butlers, maids, and chauffeurs were put into place. Your parents allowed you to move to London a month later, staying in a comfortable flat, but were patrolled by bodyguards in answer to your paranoia.

After your readjustment to life, you prevented yourself from hearing anything Abby or Ellie, or if they were at trial. You needed to focus on yourself, get your shit together, and focus on your classes at Oxford.

A few months into the new school, you kept your head low and isolated — something you were used to doing when at Faye Academy, before they made themselves stuck in your existence.

You considered taking your courses online, but knew you’d only lose your mind being stuck in your flat for days on end.

All in four months, your life was granted something that you’d forgotten — freedom.

Not that Abby and Ellie were extremely possessive, but you haven't known anyone besides them in a while. You were able to make friends at Oxford, go out to bars and diners, without the fear they may kill someone who even breathed in your general direction.

It was a relief. And you felt human again.

Your parents constantly checked in on you, and often tried to visit. It was the first time in a while since they hovered over you, and were concerned for your well being.

“Yes, mom. I’m fine,” you assured over the phone, the device stuck between your shoulder and ear as you were returning your textbooks. “I finished classes early, so I was thinking of going back to Milan for semester break.”

“Well, honey, you see,” your mother started off, clearing her throat. “Your father and I were going to attend a gala tomorrow; Joel is throwing it.”

“I thought you guys cut him off,” you said, rushing out of the library, and to your car. “Especially after everything.”

There was silence.

“Mom?”

“Ellie and Abby were found not guilty,” she said, and your heart sank to your stomach. “The trial concluded yesterday— we didn’t want to say anything.”

You froze in your tracks. “What?”

“They didn’t kill that boy. I guess he had enemies all along,” she continued, and your head spun. “If you come with us, they won’t be there. Joel assured us of it.”

“So everything is just fine now because they’re innocent?” You questioned.

“Honey, you’re acting as if you know something,” she stated, and you exasperatingly sighed, continuing your walk to your vehicle. “But Jerry and Joel did say they were going to get the girls in contact with a psychiatrist.”

“Huh, and why is that?”

“I’m not sure,” she muttered, and you hopped into your car, locking the doors. “Would you like to come? And maybe we can then spend a few days in the city. Shop around Fifth.”

“I’ll think about it, momma. Still unsure about the city,” you said, and she sighed, visibly exasperated with your nerves. “I just don’t want an accidental run in with the girls.”

“You guys were so close,” she remembered. “I don’t know what happened, but I hope you all make up soon; they were the best part of your life.”

“Bye, mom,” is all you said, hanging up the call, and tossed your phone into the passenger seat, along with your book bag. You heavily sighed, staring blankly out into the parking lot.

They were the best part of your life.

They were the tragedy of you. They were Hell masked as Heaven, where their lure was nothing more than a ticket to damnation.

Yet, all of them were bestowed to you. You were their alter, their religion, the only reason as to why they believed in life, as you did with them.

But in your time of being free from their grasp, you could breathe, and find a newer light where nothing could dim it.

Your phone dinged, and your eyes snapped over to it, hands fiddling for the device. You opened up the lock screen to see a message from a random number.

Unknown: Image Attached.

You swallowed thickly, your hands numbing as you unlocked your phone and went to the conversation.

It was a picture of you from last night, hanging out with your friend, Delilah. She was someone you had been fond of since attending Oxford, and you had gotten close to her.

Unknown: Cute girl.

R: Who the fuck is this???

Unknown: Didn’t know running made you so dumb.

Nausea washed over you, and fear rattled in your bones.

Unknown: Hi, little lamb. You miss us?

R: I’ll call the police.

Unknown: I’ll tell them you tampered with evidence. We wouldn’t want that, right? Pretty baby like you isn’t suitable for jail time.

R: You would go down with me.

Unknown: You betrayed us. What makes you think we wouldn’t betray you?

You wanted to break your phone on your steering wheel, and you searched the outside of your car, checking your surroundings. There were only a few students, and it was still light outside.

But you knew they were watching you.

Unknown: You run again, and we will find you.

R: Why now?

Unknown: Had some troubles along the way, baby. But we took our time keeping tabs on you. Oxford treating you nice? How’s every bitch who fucks you?

R: You’re stalking me?

Unknown: You really are fucking stupid.

R: Don’t think I won’t get a restraining order against you.

Unknown: Why would you want that, little lamb? After everything we have done for you? Didn’t take you for an ungrateful brat, you know. We have been there when you needed us, taken care of you, dealt with people for you.

R: You mean murder people.

Unknown: Mhm.

Unknown: Be careful, honey. Scary world we live in.

You tried to send another message, but it wouldn’t go through. “What the fuck, what the fuck!” You screamed, going to your phone contacts, and bringing your phone up to your ear.

“Miss, are you alright?” Carson asked. He had been your personal bodyguard since you moved to London, and was respectful of when you wanted to be alone. “Are you in danger?”

“I need my house and the surrounding area to be checked out,” you said, reviving your car engine, and pressed on the gas. “Check for any sort of security cameras, too. Tell Rosaline to pack a suitcase for me as well, I’m heading to Los Angeles.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Carson answered, the call dropping, and you put your phone in your lap. You were trying not to get into a car accident on your way back to your flat, but you needed to leave the city immediately. You were just happy you finished your courses on time, and you didn’t need to worry about your education for a while.

About to reach home, your phone started to buzz in your lap. You pulled over to the side to look at the contact, only for it to be unknown again.

You hesitated on answering, just wanting to let it ring through, but a part of you wanted to know what sick agenda they had planned out for you. You knew they weren’t going to stop, that they needed you vulnerable and scared in order for them to pounce at you at the perfect moment; just like a prey and predator situation.

A game of cat and mouse.

You accepted the call, putting it on speaker. “Hello?”

“Hi, bunny,” you heard Abby’s voice, and your head spun. It had been so long since you heard either girl's voice, that you frowned at the sound of it, and almost how comforting it could be. “Missed you.”

“Abby…” you whispered out, tears pricking at the corner of your eyes. “I… You both need to stop this.”

“Why, bun? You don’t like it?” She asked.

“You and Ellie killed Brandon, and probably many others,” you told her, sniffling as tears carelessly dropped out of your eyes. “I know you thought you were doing the right thing, but murder is wrong.”

“You have the shirt, bunny,” Abby stated, and you went quiet. “Why would you do that, hm? If you really wanted to dispose and run from us, you would’ve left it behind, or turned it over to the police.”

You couldn’t tell her your logic or reasoning behind taking the shirt. It even sounded unreal to you, unbelievable, given the circumstances, and how you ran off.

“I couldn’t help but think of what would happen if you both went to prison,” you admitted, hot water running down your cheeks. “I… You and Ellie protected me, and I thought it was only fair I returned the favor. But that didn’t mean I wanted you in my life again.”

Abby hummed. “And why is that?”

“I’m free,” you muttered, inhaling sharply. “You and her wanted to keep me in a cage, keep me locked up forever. You have done it ever since you stepped into my life, and I couldn’t see it until that evening.”

“You make it sound so horrible, bunny,” she breathily chuckled, able to hear Ellie’s own laughter roughly in the background. “Let me ask you again; who’s going to put up with you? Who was fucking there when Miranda Rhodes was fucking spilling rumors about you having eating disorders? Who the fuck handled Timothy Yales after he said he had sex with you after Winter formal?”

“HOW WAS I SUPPOSED TO KNOW THAT!” You shouted, millions of emotions flooding over you, and taking you at once, drowning “I never once fucking told you or Ellie to go out of your way to do that shit! I can fucking handle myself, and being away from you both has proved that.”

“Oh, bunny. You have no idea what you’re getting yourself into,” Abby stated, sharp and clear with you. She talked as if you were dumb, that you were about out of your mind.

You could nearly burst apart, everything of you filled with terror and rage. You weren’t sure if they expected you to bow at their feet for all their maniacal endeavors they willingly decided to partake in, but you weren’t going to.

You had come this far without them, you had managed to escape them for a good time, and you weren’t planning on stopping everything now. You weren’t going to surrender your freedom and life all for them, all because you knew what they were, and what they could do.

“If I have to turn in that shirt to make sure I never see either of you ever again, I will,” you said, and hung up the call, dropping your phone back into your lap, and continued to drive back home.

The moment your car was parked, you rushed up the stairs of the building, and bursted through your front door. Your guards were all there, Rosaline getting finished up with your second suitcase as Carson approached you from the side.

“Miss, we have searched the area,” he stated, following you while you walked into your bedroom. “We found no sort of threat, especially here. I have called your family’s plane to be prepped and ready for take off to Los Angeles.”

“Carson, please close the door,” you said, sitting down on the edge of your naked bed. He listened, shutting it, leaving you and him in your bedroom as you looked up at him. “I need to ask a question, and this stays between us. Do you get that?”

“Of course, ma’am. I am under your and your parents serving,” he reassured, keeping himself near the door, a secure radius between the both of you.

“Is it possible for me to avoid the law? Few months ago, I may or may have not tampered with evidence,” you blurted, and he inhaled heavily, but nodded, tuned in with you. “My reason is so stupid, but I’m regretting keeping it in my possession, and I don’t want to anymore.”

“Well, what is it?” He wondered.

“A shirt,” you began, and he cocked his head to the side. “With blood on it. Someone’s blood who isn’t mine, because my ex-girlfriends in New York beat this dude who was harassing me.”

“And you want to turn this in now?” Carson asked, and you nodded. “Okay, miss. I’m going to see what I can do, and once I do, you can hand it over to me.”

“Thank you so much, Carson,” you smiled, standing up. “Now, let’s head to the city of angels.”

You had your own bungalow at the Chateau Marmont. It was cozy and spacious, everything to your liking, but only stayed at it when you wanted to escape home. You had once brought Abby and Ellie, and to that, you had to undergo a whole alias, and a different room.

You didn’t have much anxiety about being at Chateau, you were packed with protection, and knew the pair wouldn’t make so much time or risks since their trial had concluded, also sure that Abby understood your threat about the shirt.

You had flown late into the night, it was about three in the morning of the next day, and you were drained with exhaustion. Sleep was becoming you, yet you were on high alert, and couldn’t help but to keep checking your phone.

You worried that there would be another call, or a text; that they weren’t quite finished with their game. In your isolation, you had much time to mull over Abby and Ellie, the things they were capable of, or the people they were.

You knew blood and carnage were them. Their beauty and charm was a simple mask that only you were able to see past as violence and cruelty rotted in their souls. Maybe they couldn’t help how callous and aggressive they could be, but they lived off of it; it was all they were. There was nothing to stop them, nothing that could change them.

In a sense, you assumed your presence and soul balanced them out well — you were a complete polar opposite to them, and that’s what stood out to people at Faye Academy.

They were terrorizing, vicious females, standing with you — a loving, and free-spirited person who didn’t do much, and just kept to herself. Nobody understood or could comprehend it, but that didn't matter to them — you were the solace in their life.

You knew that they were still rough with people — mostly men — in high school, but you didn’t know you were the cause behind each act of violence that they performed. But it made sense, even as you built a timeline.

There was Teresa Doles; she had nitpicked at your appearance for weeks. When you had finally gone to Ellie and Abby about it, pictures of her partying, doing drugs, and medical records of her being in rehab had been leaked everywhere. Her family came from a prestigious lineage, and her reckless behavior put a great indent to it. She had to move to England.

Jonathan White had to be admitted to the hospital after an event for the school. Doctors said they found traces of drugs and poison in his system — which made you laugh because he said he would murder you for rejecting him for Junior prom. You recall him shouting at you, calling you a series of derogatory names, but paid no mind. Ellie and Abby weren’t happy when he told you such a thing.

Kayla Lynn was sent to the ER after her body had been found beaten and bloody in the bathroom. She was barely conscious, unrecognizable to those who found her — the doctors had to pull a tooth and fingerprints from her just to get an ID. You remembered how she bullied you for liking girls, calling you derogatory names, and even said she hoped you would be killed for it.

And you knew there just had to be more than those people. So many of your bullies either switched schools, dropped off the face of Earth, or were in physical therapy after you had told Abby and Ellie about what each of those people did to you.

You were too gullible and head over heels in love with the duo to know they were doing so much behind your back. You had been completely tuned in with love and the relationship, all you saw was them as your blessing.

They meant it when they said they would do anything for you.

“We handled it,” Ellie’s voice would play in your head from that morning. It would repeat itself like a broken record, never shutting up.

We handled it.

We handled it.

We murdered someone.

You didn’t know exactly why the murder scared you, or what provoked you to exactly take the shirt.

You were about to close your eyes until a knock tapped at your door. “Ma’am, it’s Carson,” he said, and you welcomed him in, sitting up on your bed.

You turned on the nightstand's lamp, and he gave you a small smile. “I found a way to submit the evidence without it being traced to you,” Carson said, and your heartbeat went still. “If only you’re wanting to give up the shirt, of course.”

“Well, that was quick,” you nervously laughed, staring down at your lap. “What’s the plan to turn it in?”

“I have trusted connections to the NYPD. Some officers work as guards like I do,” Carson reassured, and you hummed, chewing on your lower lip. “We can send the shirt to them as anonymous, and you won’t have to worry about the shipping coming back to you; it’ll be under my name.”

“Are you positive about that?”

“Absolutely, ma’am,” he said, and your body trembled, mind hazy. You knew it would be the moral thing to do; the guy harassed you, but Ellie and Abby could’ve done anything else besides murder.

The only murder you were aware of, of course.

These girls protected and defended you and your name. They would put the world on fire, yet never let a flame brush on your skin; they were the poisonous paradise you couldn’t see as Heaven or Hell.

You had to release them, though. You needed to grow up without them by your side, because you were more than them, and they were more than you.

And if the shirt didn’t get them anywhere, at least it was out of your grasp.

You got up from your bed, padding over to your suitcase and opened it up. You grabbed a brown paper bag, and held it close to your chest. “Please make sure I don’t get in trouble for this,” you said, pleading eyes looking into Carson’s soft ones.

He could tell you were beyond frightened. That you were just someone who didn’t mean to do this, that your kind heart thought you were doing something right.

You had absolutely nothing to do with this crime, but somehow, you looked ashamed and guilty as if you did. In a sense, you were — you called Abby about the guy, you knew very well what she was capable of. It was no secret how violent and cruel Abby and Ellie could be — physically or emotionally.

“You’re safe with me,” Carson promised, and you smiled small, hesitantly handing him the bag. “Are you sure about this?”

The bag was out of your hold, Carson grasping onto it. “They need to learn their lesson,” you said, all your logic and thoughts mixed up in your head, utterly brainless at this given rate. “And I just want them to stay out of my life for good.”

He just nodded, taking the bag with him as he exited the room, leaving you alone again.

You couldn’t sleep after that. You couldn’t even try to rest knowing you were going to ruin their lives, putting into consideration all they did for you.

But, you had just regained your freedom, discovered who you were without them. You were able to make friends without their eyes boring into your soul, you could live in peace.

You couldn’t accept anymore threats or violence, just so you could remain theirs forever. Because you knew if they truly loved you, they wouldn’t put you in harm's way.

You stared blankly at the ceiling, trapped in your mind when your phone had a sudden ring to it. Your heart stopped, and you froze, your body wanting to sink into the mattress.

You let your phone ring through, letting silence fall pass after the noise stopped.

Not even a minute ticked by as the phone rang again.

You reached for your device, answering the call and brought it up to your ear. “What?”

“So much attitude, little lamb. You’re going to hurt my feelings,” Ellie's voice came through, and you sighed, sitting up. “I’m starting to like this game. Because I know you’re fucking scared.”

You scoffed. “No I’m not. I’m just wanting you to leave me alone.”

“You can’t deal with the idea of what might happen if we catch you,” she began, and shivers cascaded on your body, holding in your breath. “You want to keep running, baby? I don’t mind the chase— it’s exhilarating.”

“You’re fucking sick.”

“You knew that, bunny,” Abby joined in, taking over the call. “Why are you acting so surprised? You fucking got off on how insane we got about you, don’t act clueless now.”

“I was naive,” you retorted. “I was manipulated and blinded by you two.”

“Manipulated? Big idea for you to get at,” she continued, and you heard Ellie’s cruel laugh in the background of the call. “You knew what you were doing when coming to us about your bullies. You knew what we all would get out of it.”

“Shut the fuck up,” you muttered.

“You liked us hurting you too, bunny,” she stated, and your breaths were becoming uneven. “Always in skimpy outfits, flirting with others to get our attention. We fucking saw through you. You’re just as sick as us.”

“Shut the fuck up, Abigail!”

“Using my full name? I’m so frightened,” Abby chuckled, amused and lightened by your poor intimidation act. “Got me shaking in my boots here, sweetheart.”

“I hope you die— both of you.”

“God forbid, right? Then who’ll take care of you?” Ellie returned into the conversation. “Not even that Delilah bitch could do it. Or Holly, Nicole, Emily, Zaya— no one.”

You fell quiet for a moment, your eyes widened in disbelief. “How do you know them?”

“Baby, we told you this,” Ellie reminded you, sighing. “If you were to leave us, we would get you again.”

You zipped your mouth, anxiety surging through you.

“Having fun at the Marmont?” Ellie asked, and you shot up from your bed. “Nice name you got— Emily Dickinson. Really… that name?”

“You’re fucking here?” You asked.

Ellie snickered. “Always in your corner.”

“I have people here, patrolling—“

“Oh, we get it, you fucking princess!” She yelled. “We know you have men, we aren’t idiots. For a valedictorian, you are sure fucking dense. You think you’re always one step ahead, but you aren’t.”

“Fuck you, Williams,” you sneered.

“See you real soon, lamb,” she said, and the call ended. You knew there was no point in trying to reach the number again, it was unknown and a useless line.

Ellie and Abby stood at the top of the hotel, Delilah beaten as cable ties strapped her wrists behind her back. “Alright, you bitch,” Abby picked up Delilah from the ground, adjusting the feeble girl on her feet.

“She’s…. she’ll hate you for this,” Delilah croaked out. “And no one will believe I’ve jumped to my death.” Her head was spinning, barely conscious enough to process what these two random, strange women wanted with her, or why they cared so much. She swore a second ago she was in her flat, sound asleep and relaxed, and now she was on top of the roof of the Chateau Marmont.

None of this made sense.

“We are going to share this little secret with you since you will be dying,” Ellie said, taking out a cigarette from her pocket. “You’re not the first person who has pleaded for their life, or thought their death wouldn’t be convincing. We do this all for her, and unfortunately, she does enjoy it.”

Delilah shook her head. “No, no. You don’t know her whatsoever.”

“She brought you here to your death, sweet Delilah,” Ellie continued on, puffing out a blow. “She knows that whoever tries to steal or touch her, will be either beaten or killed by us.”

“She wanted you dead,” Abby added, and Delilah broke into hysterical sobs. “And we do give our girl whatever she wants.”

Ellie cut off the cable ties, and Abby maneuvered the frail girl over to the ledge. “Anything else you need to say, honey?” Abby asked, and Delilah’s lips parted, prepared to speak. “I don’t give a shit,” the blonde said, pushing her off as her and Ellie watched attentively, grinning to themselves as Delilah’s body splat on the concrete, blood making a river around herself.

It wasn’t long until your guards were shouting, and there were sirens in the distance.

“Ma’am, there’s been an incident on the grounds,” Carson bursted into your room, and you swallowed thickly, your phone grasped in your hands.

You threw on a robe and your slippers, pushing your way through the men. “Let me go!” You shouted, Carson being the one to shove them off. “I need to see what happened outside!”

“It’s for your safety that you don’t!” One of the men, Jackson, protested, but Carson seized your arm, and tugged you outside by your bicep.

“We listen to her,” he reminded the group as they all followed you outside. You could hear a wave of voices and distress, police officers talking to one another. In your gut, you knew something wasn’t right, and you were overwhelmed with nausea.

The noise drew you closer to the entrance of the hotel, where a symphony of shouts were clattering, and police lights mixed into the moon’s gleam. A part of you told yourself to get back into your abode, but you couldn’t help yourself. Your feet tugged your forward, curiosity tingling in your body.

You shoved yourself through a heavy crowd, officers trying to get everyone to back away or stop filming what was happening.

“Excuse me!” You yelled, and pulled yourself further in.

You regretted listening to yourself for another time. Fiery and stressed voices shifted into echoes, banging off the earth’s walls, your eyes struck open by a corpse splashed on the pavement.

Your heart beated in your throat, vomit coating it, and knots twisted in your stomach.

Delilah.

Delilah was on the ground. In front of you.

Your brain didn’t dare register any part of the gory, morbid scene that was plastered in front of you. Blood pooled around her head, her scalp visibly cracked open and her eyes open. You swore she was staring at you, everything in you shaking and trembling with great fear.

“Ma’am, get back!” An officer shouted at you, taking you out of your trance. “Please, this is a crime scene!”

“I… I know her,” you stated, and Carson approached your side. “That’s my friend— her name is Delilah Morse.”

“Please sir, let us get through,” Carson chimed in, and the officer sighed, shaking his head. “This is someone she knows. Only she’ll give you details.”

The officer went to discuss with another official, and your hand buzzed. You flinched to it, not realizing you kept your phone in your hold.

You received a message from Unknown.

Unknown: Want to keep playing, baby?

Unknown: Look at you, so scared and sick. It’ll stop once you give up.

A tear from you covered the screen, and Carson had to push you out of your stare. “Ma’am, let’s go,” he said, and you had not realized the officer was holding up the caution tape to let you through.

You heard a female’s voice come to the side of you. “I’m Detective Anna Blake. What’s your name, and relationship to the victim, miss?”

You stated your name, your voice hush and shaky as you couldn’t look away from Delilah’s body.

“And your relationship?” Anna asked.

“We… I was her friend,” you answered. “What… what did she do?”

“It looks like an apparent suicide,” she responded, and that was enough for her to gain your full attention, a confused expression plastered on your face. “She dropped from the rooftop, and ate it right here.”

“That can’t be,” you shook your head. “Delilah wasn’t at all suicidal, or had any ideations. She was the most positive person I knew.”

“Yeah, but people have personas,” Anna stated, and you furrowed your brows. “She could’ve been acting for you, and everyone else.”

“She’s from London, Detective,” you said, and she stared at you appalled, but intrigued. “She wouldn’t kill herself here.”

Anna was quiet for a sparse second. “Huh… do you know something we don’t?”

Why couldn’t you just shut the fuck up?

There was an open entrance for the vehicles to come through, and for a moment, you swore you saw Ellie and Abby standing across the street.

You knew their silhouettes. And they were watching you, witnessing their crime.

You stared at them back, because now you accepted the truth that no matter where you ran off, that would be there. They would create mess and murder back to back until you gave up the running, and realized you only belonged to them.

Fear was a disease in you, and the only way to kill it was to face them.

Your mother wanted you back in New York. She gave you no choice but to attend the Gala with her and your father.

You tried your best to talk your way out of it, explaining that you had just witnessed your best friend’s corpse the previous evening.

Your mother said the Gala would be a great distraction. You tried to make any point or excuse to stay home, until your father had himself step into the argument. He tended to never insert himself into fights with you and your mom, but this time he felt the need to, and that’s when you were left with no choice.

Of course, your main concern was that Ellie and Abby were going to be there, and confronting them was going to be an inevitable situation. You had to prepare yourself the most as to what to say or do if they were to be in your eye radius.

“This dress is killing me,” you muttered, patting down the bottom part of the simple, yet elegant dress you wore. “And the corset of this is smashing my boobs.”

“Your dress is lovely, dear,” your mother assured, and you scowled. “You have always loved long dresses like this; so long at the bottom, we can’t even see your heels. And you always adored sleeveless corset tops on them, too!”

“You look perfect, honey. You wore this exact dress for junior prom,” your dad reminded, and you shivered to the memory of it. Abby and Ellie were your escort — of course — and everyone adored your dress, even making it into a page in Vogue because it was Vivienne Westwood.

“I just… I don’t want to see them,” you muttered, and the limousine came to a halt. “And it just doesn’t feel right being here, having fun and socializing, when my friend just fucking died.”

“Cherie, Delilah’s death was not your fault or anything,” your mother said, and you glared at her. “It is unfortunate it took place at the same time you were there, but she was just an unhappy girl.”

You didn’t want to converse with her anymore, only getting out of the car before any of them, and were immediately blinded by flashing lights. Your parents stood behind you, and you fixed up a promising smile, making your way into the gala.

The second cameras and screaming men were out of your way, you hunted down a busboy for a glass of champagne. “I will take that!” You grabbed the drink from the silver tray, thanking the man, and earned a groan from your parents.

“Can you at least greet people before you get wasted?” Your father asked, and you shrugged, letting him drag you over to the familiar faces of Jerry Anderson and Joel Miller. You hadn’t seen them since the few days before the murder.

“Ah, there she is!” Jerry exclaimed, and you exchanged a cheek kiss with him, and Joel. “We heard you moved to London. Oxford, right?”

“Yes. It’s been quite delightful,” you shortly shared. “I finished exams early, so I came back into town for the meantime.”

“And do you plan to catch up with the girls?” Joel asked.

You knew at that moment that no one quite understood what really took place that night, and you would never confess to it. They all blindly assumed that there was a great falling out in response to the murder of Brandon James, that you simply didn’t tolerate that behavior, and in some parts of that, it was true.

You had no place or reason to tell the whole truth, or to be honest, when there was an exact, appropriate place to share such a thing. Yet however, if you did, no one would believe you — there was no evidential proof or key to say that Ellie and Abby killed him.

They thought the girls were saints, who were being wronged by another higher power.

The actual case would have them dropping to the ground, and you couldn’t exactly say, “Abby and Ellie are sadistic killers who get off to the pain and torture.”

God fucking forbid, though.

“I’m not so sure,” you answered, taking a light sip of your champagne. “I want to keep to myself for the meantime, and make more goals for my future.”

“Well, if they came tonight, I’m sure it would’ve been lovely,” Jerry said, and you dryly laughed with them.

Champagne wasn’t enough to fill the hollow in you. You needed the strongest shit to exist at the bar.

You had a clear cue to let yourself leave their conversation, leaving you alone in the event. You went to the bar, and sat there, requesting a martini. You put your clutch purse in front of you, and sighed heavily, a migraine coming to your head.

You weren’t used to going to these high class functions by yourself — hell, you didn’t even go until the girls became a part of your life, and would be by your side at each and every one of them. It made your parents happy that they were there to tug you out of your shell, make you more extroverted.

A figure sat at the chair next to you, yet you didn’t pay any mind to it.

Until they said your name, and the voice was familiar.

Your eyes flickered to the side, and you saw Dina. Your eyes widened, your body directing toward her, and she smiled. “How have you been!” She cheered, pulling you into a hug, and you could only hug back. “You fell off the face of planet Earth!”

“Oh, yeah,” you broke the hug, facing her. “I… I decided to do school at Oxford. I just needed to get out of the city.”

“Oxford is nice,” she said, smiling small. “Jesse and I were worried about you. The girls said you had broken up with them.”

You gawked at her in disbelief as she went on to order herself a drink.

Who else was fucking clueless?

“Well, I guess,” you mumbled, your martini set down in front of you. “We just had issues we couldn’t resolve from the night before.”

“Oh shit, that sucks,” she sighed, shaking her head. “The breakup must have been terrible to have you move to London.”

Her glass of tequila on rocks came to her as she took a refreshing sip of it, and you were about to claw out your eyes. Either she had brain damage, was lying, or truly wasn’t aware of what occurred that night, but must have since it happened at Jesse’s club.

“Dina Woodward, be fucking serious with me,” you said, and she raised a brow. “You know what happened. That night.”

She blankly stared at you.

“That night… at your boyfriend’s club…”

Dina shrugged, and you were taken aback. “Jesse must know, then.”

“Ellie and Abby were accused of a serious crime,” she began, and you bitterly scoffed, “which they were found innocent to. They had to go through that trial alone, they went through Hell without you.”

“They killed him, Dina,” you told her, yet lowered your voice due to the gossip crowd that circulated. “You cannot seriously be defending them.”

“I’m not defending them,” Dina stated, and you rolled your eyes, downing your martini. “They have plenty of enemies, and you know that, too. Everyone wants to see them at their absolute worst, and do their own dirty work to make it happen.”

You got up from your seat, grabbing your purse. “It was nice seeing you, Dina.”

You shoved your way through the bustling crowd, and were stuck in the middle as soon as your phone began to buzz.

“Not this shit again,” you mumbled to yourself, and pulled out your phone, putting it up to your ear. “What the fuck can I do for you?”

“You look pretty, sweetheart,” Ellie said. “Don’t you worry, we aren’t in your vicinity.”

“Oh, I’m so fucking pleased to hear that,” you exasperated, rubbing your temple in frustration. “Then how do you know I’m here?”

“You’re right, my apologies,” Ellie laughed, and you heard rustling over the line.

“Bunny, we are going to play a game,” Abby came to the line, and your heart jumped rapidly. “We can see you, but we’ve made sure you can’t catch a glimpse of us.”

“What do you want?” You asked.

“You still don’t get it, darling. But that’s okay,” she took a hast pause, collecting her thoughts. “We told you many times that if you were to run, we would catch you, because you are ours. You can hide, change your name, go to different universities, but we will always be there.”

You swallowed thickly, knowing you were getting stares to your frightened look on your face.

“Your parents don’t give a shit about you, they only kept you away so their image wouldn’t be ruined,” she said, and you knew that was more than true; your parents would do anything to remain prestigious and clean, and you were the taint in their life. “You said you kept that shirt to return the favor, but there’s more than that.”

“You don’t know what you are talking about, Anderson,” you scoffed, and she hummed. “I gave that shirt away; you and Ellie are going to prison for good.”

“We’ll see about that, bunny,” she said, and the line went flat. You rushed yourself to the ladies room, nausea building in you as the room spun, and your nerves weakened your muscles. Laughter and shouts from strangers rang in your ears as you dragged yourself further to the bathroom, and the sickening gut feeling came back to you.

You couldn’t pull apart if you were truly just sick to your stomach, or your intuition was stronger than ever.

You pushed the door open to the ladies room, and to your luck, it was completely empty. You lunged yourself into a stall, and collapsed down on your knees, yucking it up into the toilet. Your anxiety and worry got the best of you, making you a mess so easily, and you were embarrassed by it.

You stood up after a few minutes, taking in slow, steady breaths, and gathered yourself, standing back up. You moved over to the sink, and settled your purse down, opening it up to grab your lipstick. You rinsed out your mouth with the faucet water, and sighed heavily, turning off the sink.

You reapplied your scarlet red lipstick, and put the item back into your purse, along with your phone.

Then a click was made from the side of you, gaining your attention.

The nausea came back, but not in a wave, yet in a violent crash. You swore your heart stopped for a moment, but could hear it violently beat in your eardrums while bile stung inside your throat, threatening to come out again.

Your body trembled, knees about to bring you down, and all you wanted to do was die at this very moment.

“Hey, little lamb,” Ellie said, grinning in pride. Your body pressed back against the sink’s counter, and tears approached over your eyes as you stared at her. “What’s the matter, baby? Cat got your tongue?”

“No… no,” you said, able to take yourself to the bathroom’s entrance. You opened it, only to be met with Abby instead, a wicked smile playing on her lips. “You are both not here.”

“Oh, but we are,” Abby said, moving forward in sync to your steps going backwards. She maintained a fairly safe distance, but one close enough to grab you if you tried to run. “Why so surprised, bunny? We promised this.”

Something about them was gravely different this time. There was a darker energy to them, a sense of evil and anger heating off of them as they stared at you down in the way the predator does when they have finally cornered their prey.

Yes, they got you, and you had no way out anymore — what a fucking terrifying and cruel revalation.

The cat got their little mouse, right by the tail.

You had fallen right into their trap perfectly, in all the ways they wanted you to. It took great cunning patience and practice to get you in this position, to have you trapped.

You were beyond scared; this was the reoccurring nightmare you dreamt of since the night you left. You always tried to consider or plan out what you would do if they were to approach you in any way, but you never paid mind to how methodical and intelligent they were.

You doubted their skills and abilities, and you were dumb to think they wouldn’t get you any time soon, that you would be free from them for a few more months, maybe a year or two – maybe even a lifetime — you wished and prayed upon it.

You were stuck now. The cat and mouse game came to their precise ending.

“Are you going to kill me now?” You asked, and they hummed, shrugging to themselves.

“Well, if we wanted that, we would have done it back in LA,” Abby said, and your eyes averted back and forth between them, trying to see if there was a possible way out. “Or back in London, who knows. We had so many open opportunities to kidnap you, but we liked this little game.”

“Is that what you’re planning to do now? Kidnap me?” You asked, snickering dryly. “Keep me hostage forever? Wouldn’t be anything new to me.”

“Don’t act like you didn’t like it,” Ellie told you, tilting her head to the side. “You liked this claim we have on you. You will never admit it and that’s okay, because we know it, baby.”

“Now let’s not be so rude,” Abby said, and you glanced at her. “Let’s say bye to our guests, and go back home, little bunny.”

Ellie and Abby had seemed to have enough time to decorate the penthouse. To your last memory of it, only the shared bedroom was furnished, and now, they had everything perfectly perched in precise spots.

You sat in the living room, on the black velvet couch as you stared out the window with a mindfulness of thoughts. The city was bustling, sirens louder than ever, and traffic stacked up. You tried to concentrate on the noise outside because it would be last time you would hear it.

The pair had finished fixing themselves up a drink, returning to the room, and sat across from you. You didn’t pay attention to them, fits of rage and terror consuming you inside. You don’t know why you thought you would actually escape them, and you had only dug yourself in a deep grave.

The familiar silence moved through the home, and you could feel their eyes spiking into you, waiting for you to say something. You had more than to say and ask, but you didn’t know where exactly to start, or if you were allowed to question certain things.

“You killed Delilah,” you blurted out, your eyes averting from the window. “You killed Brandon James, and many others, I assume.”

“We have,” Ellie answered, drinking her bourbon.

“I don’t get why. Why do you kill people? How do you even get away with it?” You asked, and Abby glanced over at Ellie, communicating to each other through their eyes. “Are you in like a fucking cartel or some shit?”

“Joel didn’t have an easy time getting to where he is,” Ellie began, setting her glass down, and slouched back on the couch. “He has some connections, and so does Jerry. It’s hard to get into it all, but they were doing illegal shit on the side to get money, build their legacies.”

“We didn’t kill until you,” Abby said, and you raised a brow, positioning your body in their direction. They could tell you were now intrigued, and you were; you were more than curious. “It was two months into knowing you, and you told us about Rachel Wayne. Remember her?”

“Of course I do. That bitch bullied me like it was her life’s purpose,” you lightly joked, and she sighed. “Why?”

“It was the day when she beat you in the girl’s bathroom, ramming your face into the blow dryer all because you got a higher score on your SAT,” Abby said, and you hissed at the memory. You were a good fighter, but Rachel’s envy possessed her strength that day, and she kicked you around like an animal in the bathroom.

She locked the door, keeping her friends, you, and herself locked in, while they recorded the whole moment. You went home with a concussion, a busted face, and cried to the girls about it.

“We were so fucking pissed,” Ellie said, scoffing to herself. “We knew Rachel well. We invited her over to my place, and made small talk, getting the information out of her about what occurred. We got names, and everything.”

You remained quiet, but stayed tuned in and fully focused.

“We got her high off cocaine, and once she was zoned out, we beat the fuck out of her,” she explained, and your heart thumped against your chest, about to pop out. “She was crying, and screaming; but it made us think of how that was you previously because of her. Our anger overrode us to the edge, and we started cracking her body in. We didn’t know we had killed her until she was completely fucking limp.”

“Those who had the video were dealt with too,” Abby assured. “If they refused to delete it, we made sure their lives would be ruined, their parents would be left with nothing. We knew how to obliterate these spoiled fucks.”

“Are you serious?” You asked. It was rumored that Rachel ran away to her boyfriend in Spain, and refused to come back because her parents were assholes to her, and just a straight disappointment to them. “How did you clean up your tracks?”

“Well, I called Joel in a panic, and told him everything,” Ellie answered, finishing her drink. “Joel told Abby and I to get ourselves cleaned up, and these men came over like an hour later, picking up after us.”

“They wiped our phones and tracks completely,” Abby said, and slid you forward her glass of whiskey. “And then we did it again, and Joel quickly realized we were doing it for you. He saw that you were our purpose, so he let us use his connections, and everything.”

“He was worried everything was going to collapse the second the cops came about Brandon,” Ellie recalled, and took out a fresh cigarette. “That was a mess we had to fix, of course. Like, I’d never seen Joel so pissed off before, it was insane.”

“How did you get away with the murder?” You questioned.

“Easy shit,” Abby laughed, shrugging. “He had himself in rough, bad business. We basically found someone who he owed money to, planted all the evidence and shit on that dude.”

“Now that motherfucker is serving life,” Ellie lit up the stick, inhaling sharply. “We made sure it wouldn’t come back to us.”

“But the shirt,” you reminded them, and they stared at you for a moment before aweing at your little tactic. “The shirt is with the cops.”

“Is it, though?” Abby teased, and a faint ding of the penthouse elevator chimed, footsteps approaching into the living room. “Right on time, too! God, I fucking love dramatics.”

Your eyes shifted to the noise, a broad and muscular figure walking to everyone; and you swore it was the night you were going to go into shock, or have an aneurysm.

Carson stood before you with the shirt in a clear zipped bag, and Abby stood up. “Thank you so much,” she grinned, and Ellie shook his head. “Your money has been transferred to your offshore account.”

“What the fuck?” You blurted, Carson directing his eyes towards you. “You knew?”

“I’m the one who’s been cleaning up their messes,” he admitted, and Abby opened up the bag, taking out the shirt. “It didn’t take much to convince your parents to hire me. I just needed a believable resume.”

You shot up from the couch, staring him down. “You told them where I was at, and everything! You are a fucking narc!”

“I didn’t have to tell them anything,” Carson dryly chuckled, amused by your terrified expression. “They were able to do that all on their own; I just gave them the starting point, and left it at that.”

You smacked him, the skin contact echoing in the home. He only laughed, finding you childish and weak, and shrugged. “I’ll have you fucking killed!”

“Loved to see you try,” he said, and took his exit, waving to the pair. You stared at where he was in utter shock, widely appalled with slight betrayal hitting your heart. You had trusted Carson wholeheartedly, felt secure and safe with him, and it all was a blinding lie.

Ellie started up the fireplace, and your eyes flickered to the ghostly fire. “No, no!” You shouted, trying to seize the shirt from Abby, but the auburn haired girl entrapped you in her hold, forcing you to watch the shirt to be burned.

“You know, I hope you start to learn tonight,” Abby tossed the shirt into the fire, and you wailed, thrashing in Ellie’s arms, yet it was pointless; in every way, they would always be stronger, you being a weakling.

The shirt crinkled and disappeared in a matter of seconds.

Ellie let go of you, and you glared at her. “We aren’t done talking,” she settled you back on the couch, and Abby brought a glass of chardonnay to you. “Now we want our answers.”

“I’ll fuck you up!” You spat, and they tried not to laugh. “What else shit do you have to say?”

“What did you expect to happen when you came to us about your bullies?” Abby asked, genuine and engrossed. “Did you think we would just have chit chats?”

You took a second to yourself, and you stared down at your lap, fidgeting at your dress. Before Abby and Ellie came into your life for good, they were notorious at the academy, and held that title with such pride. You knew what they were capable of, what they could do, and you saw them as your defenders from everything.

Did a part of you know what you were doing? Yes, but not that it would lead them to murder. You never understood or knew why they were so fixated on you, even before they decided to lure you into their lives. They had been riveted by you, and there was not a clear indication as to why, but you used it to your full advantage.

Your parents didn’t care about you, and they knew that. All three of you played a dangerous, deadly role in the relationship; it was volatile and brutal, but it was all you had, and they were all you wanted.

You spent so much time running and hiding from them, you never took a particular moment to realize your role in everything. You took that shirt because it was a part of you; you had Brandon killed, he was a deadman the second you called Abby about him.

You were just as guilty as them, you were just as part of their games and murder.

No one else was going to do this for you, nobody would burn and tear apart the Earth just to have you in their grasp again.

“There’s our girl,” Abby cooed, and you looked up at them, tears in your eyes. “You finally understand. After these years, now it has come to you.”

“You gave us the cards, we just played them the way you liked,” Ellie said, and you downed the chardonnay, exhaling shakily as you set it down. “We knew you were too much like us, we couldn’t deny you anymore. We had to have you.”

“Every time you said we handled it,” you sucked in a hard, jagged breath, “was that code for ‘we killed someone”?”

“What else would it mean, princess?” She mused, burning her cigarette out alas in the ashtray on the coffee table.

A silence slowly creeped into the room, crinkling of the fire and outside traffic filling it as it lasted what felt like moments.

“You know the first time we say you — God, we just knew we had to have you,” Abby spoke, and your eyes trained focused on them. “You hypnotized us by simply existing, by being in our vicinity. It was like we were blessed to come across one of God’s angels.”

You were always sure that they were attracted to you because you simply co-existed within their class status, and because they knew you were the only girl at Faye Academy that wasn’t corrupted or tainted. You were like this fresh breath for them to use — and you still thought like that after everything they had done for you, and even prove that they did love you beyond your body.

“Why me?” You asked.

“We don’t know what you did to simply draw us in, but we couldn’t resist. Every time I saw you in class, in your nicely ironed pleated skirt, in your dark blue polo sweater… your makeup done so pretty…” Ellie reminisced, a crude grin playing onto her lips as she recalled the first moment she laid eyes on you. “You were so pure, so perfect for us. It was no longer about wanting you, it was about needing you — we had to; everyday that passed by where you weren’t in our grasp, we could almost die from it.”

“You will never truly know how much you have us at our knees for you, sweetheart, and that’s okay,” Abby said, and you sucked in a sharp breath, not knowing you had been barely breathing the entire time they spoke about you. “But understand the risks we would go through for you; we live and breathe you. We crave and yearn for you, despite the fact you are already ours. What is our purpose if you simply don’t exist in our lives?”

There was not much you could say to that, only able to break down. They sat up from the couch, and Ellie reached her hand out for yours, softly looking at you.

“Let’s go upstairs, baby,” she gently spoke to you, and peered up, hesitantly interlocking your fingers with hers. She walked you with her, Abby trailing close behind as an easy quietude settled in place, though your sniffles were the only thing to be heard.

Walking into the bedroom, you were momentarily paralyzed by the memory of your last moment in it. You were on that same bed when you put all the pieces together, and had left them with no letter or anything; you took your absence, and that was that.

Ellie guided you over to the wall mirror, her and Abby brushing up close on your back, the two attentively admiring you. “We would do anything for you, sweet girl,” Abby said, and your sobs slowly came to a halt. “We’ll always happily be your executioner, for the rest of our lives.”

“You’re our girl,” she whispered, pressing a kiss to your shoulder. “But I think you need a fresh reminder of what you put us through.” Her hand hid behind her for a moment, grabbing something from the back of her jeans. A gun came into your vision, and your breath hitched, but she kept it by her side.

Your neck was met with Abby’s soft lips, her warm breath fanning against your skin, and her fingers loosened the strings of the corset. You softly moaned, Ellie fixated on the sight of you easily falling apart to Abby’s kissing, and grinned to herself. “Doesn’t take much to have you under us,” she said, and you eyed her, nodding.

The dress was undone, and easily dropped off your body, the duo getting the view they had longed for all this time. You were bare and exposed, only in underwear, and a primal urge had shadowed over them, wanting to ruin you without any thought.

“Oh, bunny,” Abby whispered. “Just as perfect as we remembered.”

Her lips separated from your marked neck, and you whimpered as Ellie pressed her gun to your abdomen. “What a sweet sight that I will never get tired of,” she mumbled, kissing your cheek. “Seeing you fucking petrified as if we will kill you at any moment.”

“But you won’t,” you retorted. “Right?”

“No,” she promised as the gun was slowly dragged to your temple, and she clicked the trigger, only for the barrel to be empty. You flinched to the trigger, your heart racing. “But we will hurt you, I can assure you that, little lamb.”

She used the gun to steer you to the foot of the bed. “On your fucking knees,” Abby demanded, and you collapsed to them, your knees thudding against the cold, hard granite tiles. “Anytime you stop, we use this gun, and you can find out yourself if the barrel is cleaned out.”

“Yes, mommy,” you muttered, and they amusingly hummed. Ellie kept the gun in position, using one hand to unbuckle her belt, and strip off her jeans as Abby did the same. It was a rare thing for them to have their straps under their pants, only if they knew they would have to handle you at any given moment, and this was one of them. You were going to come crawling back, and they were prepared for it, to claim and destroy you all in one.

“Mama gets to have you first,” Ellie said, and you parted your mouth open, Abby’s stuffing your mouth full with her cock, careless to your gagging. She had her way with you, her hand holding the top of your head as she thrusted herself into your mouth, trying your best to not pull back and gasp for air. The gun was there to keep you place, and you couldn’t ignore how it pressed deeply into the side of your head.

“That’s right, baby. Fuckin’ whore,” Abby said, and you tried to best out of your nose, desperate for more air. You used whatever strength you had, forcing your head back, and engulfed amounts of oxygen into your lungs. “What the fuck did we say?”

The trigger was pressed, and your ears rang with it. Empty, again.

“You’ve been away too long, princess,” Ellie said, and Abby retrieved your head, your mouth filled with the silicone object again. “Was too busy fucking other girls, huh? I bet they couldn’t make you like this; I can see you fucking dripping through your panties.”

Your arousal was a wildfire in you, spreading through your stomach, and down into your thighs. You could feel the mess you were making, seemingly ashamed and embarrassed how you got wet from their threats, with a gun pointed to you that was possibly clipped.

“There she is, now you are being good,” Abby praised, her thumb pressing away the tears that fell on your apple cheeks. “Always doing your best for us, hm? Knew you missed us too, baby.”

Ellie crouched down to your level, the gun lined up under your head as her grin turned into a twisted smirk. “All that we did for you, little one,” she mocked a frown, sighing. “And you just ran away like that? Coming home to find you gone, and betraying us?”

You were lightheaded and dizzy, your mind hazy, yet tried to stay focused. Your moans and whimpers gargled in your throat, drool running out of the corners of your mouth, and falling down onto your breasts.

“You belong to us, and you better start getting that through your fucking skull,” Ellie seethed, her bitter fury coating her mind. “You are only hurting yourself by doing the shit you do. A fucking brat you are.”

Abby decided to give up on you, your mouth hollow and free. She grabbed you by your throat, a sinister shade lingering in her eyes, and air whistled through her teeth. “Little bunny, you have no clue what you’ve done to yourself.”

You were put in the middle of the bed, and Ellie looked at her gun. “Let’s see if she can still take us,” she said, and Abby hummed, nodding. Ellie adjusted herself in between your legs, shoving them open, and stripped off your underwear, moaning at the sight of your cunt. “Fucking hell. She’s fucking soaking, babe.”

Abby had bunched ropes in her hand, kneeling into the bed, and stared at your cunt. “What a sick bitch you are, bunny,” she teased, running a finger down your slick folds, and you whined. “All of this from a gun, Ellie. She fucking loves it.”

Nothing else was said as Abby grasped onto your legs, and pushed your legs up against your chest. Her hands gripped on your wrists, having you hug the underneath of your legs, and made sure you kept yourself locked in the placement.

Ellie tied your wrists together, tight enough to not cut off any blood supply, and then went on to your ankles, knotting them in one. She used another string of rope to connect your ankles to your wrists, making your position trapped and stuck.

“We don’t want to hear you enjoying this,” Ellie said, and gave the gun over to Abby as the blonde sat herself in front of you. Ellie took off her strap, letting it drop to the ground, and took off her underwear, only to move herself over your face. She carefully lowered herself down on, and her aching cunt met your mouth as you obediently sucked and ran your tongue on it.

Abby slowly slipped the gun into you, yet you were soaked enough to let it easily be fucked into you. She pressed down onto your stomach as she rammed the cold weapon into your pussy, and you tried to muzzle your needy noises, tending to Ellie’s needs.

The auburn girl rutted herself against your mouth, eliciting shaky moans and cursed under her breath. “Yeah, just like that, sweetheart,” she muttered, looking over at Abby while she continued to fist the gun into you.

You lathered Ellie’s slick on your tongue, pleased how it dripped over your lips as you moaned to the sweet taste of her. If your wrists weren’t restrained, you would keep your arms around her thighs just to eat her out for hours on end.

Abby and Ellie were intensely dominant, it was unwonted when you gave them pleasure. They were refusing about it, saying that you were the one who needed to be desired and tended to whenever you wanted to be.

You couldn’t tell if you were immensely desperate or if the gun was fucking you so well, that you were already at the peak of your climax. You denied your orgasm, needing to get Ellie to hers, and harshly ate her out, fucking her hole with your tongue, sending her into a moaning, pleading mess for you.

“Oh shit, sweetheart— yeah, keep going,” she softly moaned. “Being such a good girl for daddy, gonna make sure to cum in your pretty mouth.”

“She’s making a mess on your gun and sheets,” Abby said, and for a moment, your cunt was not filled until she pushed her cock into you. “There we fuckin’ go, this is exactly what she needs.”

Ellie craned her body near Abby, the two kissing each other in a sloppy manner as the blonde roughly fucked into you. Abby kept her close as Ellie’s jagged moans and whines breathed into her mouth, doing all she could to keep herself up and close.

“You going to cum, baby, hm?” Abby asked, and Ellie moaned against her lips, nodding. “Go on, cum for us. You can do it.”

Ellie’s orgasm came crashing down as she squirmed and cried out, twitching on your mouth. Ellie pushed herself up, kneeling beside your head and leaned down to kiss you, both of you moaning at the taste of her. You sucked on each other’s tongues, Ellie slipping her hand down your stomach, and made way in between your thighs, rubbing your cunt.

She broke apart the kiss, her free hand gripping onto your jaw to make forced eye contact, and spat into your mouth. “Make us proud, baby. Want you to give daddy a good one,” she whispered, and you kept your eyes trained into hers as Abby pounded herself deeper into you, the squelching noises of your slick mixing in with your whimpers and throaty moans.

“So fucking tight, never gonna get enough of this perfect pussy,” Abby breathed, her hands squeezing the back of your thighs. “Made just for us, sweet girl. Everything about you was made for us to worship and ruin.”

“No one fucked you like this back in London, huh?” Ellie asked, and you shook your head. “Oh, I know, sweetheart. Probably had to get off all by yourself while you thought of us, too.”

“Just… just thought of you two the entire time,” you confessed, brows knitted together. “I need you so bad, ‘m sorry.”

“We’re here, baby,” she said, kissing the side of your head. “Next time you try to escape, you’ll absolutely fucking regret it. Got that?”

You nodded, and a warm sensation kindled in the pits of your stomach, knowing the familiar feeling. You squirmed, and Abby glanced over at Ellie. “If she doesn’t understand, we’ll just beat it into her,” she said, making it a sincere promise, and a chaste kiss was made to your forehead. “I would hate to do that, but it might just happen.”

Your approaching orgasm made it too troubling to know if they would harm you in such a way, but you were at the point that you couldn’t put it past them.

“Cum for mommy,” Abby insisted, and you moaned, your hips jittering as your climax broke out of you, broken moans escaping from you. “That was fucking nothing, you crybaby.”

The cum from her strap leaked with yours, dripping out of your hole, and making a puddle in the bedsheets. She unknotted the ropes, tossing them to the ground shortly after, and massaged your wrists.

You laid there for a second before bursting out in a fit of laughter, the two confused by it.

“What?” Ellie bluntly asked.

“Surprised you even let me cum,” you said, laughing a little more. “Usually you have me work for it.”

Abby and Ellie looked at each other before their eyes went back to you as they puckered their lips in thought nodding to themselves. Ellie picked you up from the bed, and brought a violent backhand slap to your cheek, halting your laughter altogether.

“You want to keep fucking laughing!” She yelled, giving you another one. “You are even fucking lucky we are touching you. We could have had you strapped to a vibrator for hours, and hit you every time you tried to cum.” Your lightness turned into sobs, and you stared at her through glossy vision, your pout shaking on your lips. They had simply run over their limit and patience with you, and you no longer doubted the sadism they would lay on you.

Abby just stood by, soaking in your tears and how easy it was to crack you. It was enough for the both of them to get off. She took you from Ellie, putting your arms behind your back as her chest brushed up against it, and Ellie took off her shirt, harnessing back on her strap.

God, I know you hate me, you thought to yourself. But please, have mercy on me.

Abby spat down your ass, using the saliva as lubrication, and dipped you down onto her strap, your ass hole brutally being stretched open. She kept you steady and positioned right for Ellie, who was not far behind as she shoved her cock into you.

“Ride us, bitch,” Abby said, and you obliged, hissing under your breath. The pain lasted longer than you thought, tears flooding into your ears while their size brutalized your cunt. “Such a sensitive cry baby. So easy for us to break you.”

Your head fell back on her shoulder, looking up at her. “Please, mama. ‘M sorry, I’ll be so good for you.”

Ellie grabbed your jaw, a violent smack struck against your cheek. “You enjoy lying to us, all the fuckin’ time. We should’ve disposed of you a while ago, see how you would’ve done without us.”

“What a pity that would be,” Abby taunted, laughing breathily in your laugh. As they found humor at the thought of you being a lost lamb without them, you were ripping at the seams as you went on to ride them at a gentle pace for you, the discomfort shifting into grand pleasure. “I would like to see that. Maybe next time we will leave, have you feel what we did.”

“No no!” You cried, shaking your head, and broke into hysterical sobs. “Didn’t mean to go, swear I didn’t.”

“Yeah,” Ellie jested, that eerie smirk of hers resting on her lips. “Because who will put up with you? Make you feel like this? Give into your fucking sick desires?”

“That’s why you’re perfect for us,” Abby noted, her hand creeping up to your neck, and viciously gripped on your throat. “Just as twisted and fucked in the head as us, more than you’d care to admit. No one will want or need you the way we do.”

You refused to deny them that. They were what you craved, they were the epitome of your lust and dreams, everything you yearned for, and were the helping hand to expose who you were to yourself. You would’ve done the same as them if they tried to leave; you would fucking slaughter those who they cared for just to have them again.

A match made in the ninth circle of Hell.

Your next high came to you, making it easily known as your noises got high pitched, making it an indicator. “Let me cum, please,” you pleaded, sobbing. “Want to cum, I need to— I’ll do anything you want.”

“We like you this way, stupid whore,” Abby said, and made the gun useful again, pointing it to your ribcage. “You cum, I pull the trigger.”

You body tensed, and you nodded, trying to ignore your unbearable high as it was becoming raw ecstasy to you. Your thighs trembled, about to give up on you, and you looked at Ellie through wettened eyelashes, your face drenched with tears and sweat.

The bedroom was rare filth, you could smell sin and vices burning through it. Your life was in their hands in every literal sense, but you wouldn’t have it any other way; you would rather die than not have them, and if that meant they would have to kill you themselves, you would let them. You were utterly nothing without them, and they knew it, too.

You had all the fucking wealth and privilege in the world to be someone, but you couldn’t be if they weren’t there on your side. You were them, and they were you. Your souls were eternally intertwined, and no matter where you went, you would always come back to them because they were it. They were all you sought out for.

Despite their desecration and souls being planted from Hell, they were Heaven and all things bliss.

You needed them. You would always need them.

You were winded out of your head as your orgasm stung inside of you, crying to be freed. You sobbed with it, shaking your head, but had to consider the gun that was indented into your skin. You had not known how much was passing when holding in your cum, but you couldn’t take it, and it was easily making you fall apart.

“Mommy, please!” You cried, blubbering in your tears. “I have to— ahh, please! I can’t do it, I can’t!”

“Yes you can, and you will, you fucking whore,” Ellie argued. “Unless you want to find out if the next shot has a bullet in it.”

You shook your head, and continued to break into sobs, your orgasm threatening to be released at the edge of you. It was becoming too much, your vision was blurring, and your heart was overwhelmed, almost frightened you would have a heart attack of some sort.

Ellie and Abby gave in, violently and recklessly pounding into you, putting your riding to a complete stop. You placed your hands on Ellie’s shoulders for support, Abby’s nails clawing into your throat as she continued to hold onto it for leverage while she maintained to hold you at gunpoint.

Utter euphoria rode over you, your eyes rolling to the inside of your head, and your back perfectly arched, crying out for the both of them. Your nails scratched at Ellie’s skin, your eyes getting a hast look at her fucking your cunt. Your noises and voice grated like rust at the back of your throat, breaths shuddering in your ribcage.

“You want to fucking cum, bunny?” Abby breathily asked. “Cry for it more if you really want it, sweetheart.”

“Mama, please!” You sobbed loudly, your mewls and cries faltering in your cries. “Want to be full of you, need to be bred by you two, please. Make me a pretty mommy for you, keep me trapped with you.”

They fucking lost it on you, ferociously driving themselves deeper into your wet, abused holes, and were coming to their own high. “Yeah, baby? Want daddy to fuck a baby into you?” Ellie cooed, a faux pout dangling on her lips. “Then you wouldn’t have anywhere to go.”

You nodded, on the brink of being braindead. “Yes, yes! I wanna be leaking of you. Wan’ mama and daddy to breed me so badly, please!”

You were an incoherent babbling mess, your voice raw and rough as you cried with your noises of gratification. They easily had you at the tip, and were ready to push you all the way down, keep you sobbing.

“Fucking cum for us, fuck!” Abby demanded, dropping the gun, and let go of your throat. She laid her hands on your torso, her nails scraping against your skin, and you hissed to it. Wanton moans and whimpers echoed throughout the room, and a second hadn’t passed when your climax ran out of you, riding it out as the girls went on to fuck you.

You let them use you like a fucktoy until they had come to their own orgasm, stuffing their cum into you as a symphony of curses sputtered from their lips. All movements came to a stop, bodies trembling and sticky.

You had to internally keep yourself conscious, but it was seeming impossible. You collapsed onto the bed the moment you were unfilled with their cocks, letting them handle themselves before you.

You could feel a warm, wet rag running over your legs, and you stared up at the ceiling, your eyes lazily blinking. “We need to clean you up, sweetheart. C’mon,” Ellie said, and picked you up, carrying you into the bathroom.

The three of you shared a warm bath, sitting in the middle of them as they cleaned you up nice and well, being sure to be gentle to touch you. You had missed the sweet scent of them, or how their violent hands could be so kind to your body, chaste kisses being pressed on your spine and forehead here and there.

It took you a few years for you to figure out your purpose with them, and all that they did for you. It was more than enough. To many, it would seem insane of your justifications and reasonings to why they did what they did for you, but no one else's opinion mattered in the fact. They worshiped you, they devoted every inch and breath of themselves to your protection and well being.

This is all you wanted. You and them forever the rest of your life. If carnage and bloodshed had to present, then so be it; because as long as you had them there by you, it was okay.

It was going to be okay forever.

[e1e4n0r5]

Their Little Plaything: 3

Part 1, Part 2

Fandom: Arcane: League of Legends

Pairing: Bullies Cait & Vi x Loner Nerd Reader

Words: 4650

Synopsis: Cait and Vi introduce a few new things to you

Warnings: Bullying/mocking, power imbalance, FFF threesome, secret filming of sex*, mention of masturbation with toy, fingering (r! receiving), sex toys (anal beads, nipple clamps, butt plugs, vibrators, dildos) strap-on, strap-on referred to as cock, description of masturbation with sex toys, squirting, mild degradation, mild spit play, dirty talk, praise kink, finger sucking, anal fingering (r! receiving), anal sex (r! receiving), double strap usage, mild choking/breath play

Notes: We've got more of this to come!

Secret filming of sex*: I don't want to spoil the story but I need to disclaim this now: this is not a revenge porn/public humiliation scenario. Those recording do not intend to release the footage or show it to any third parties. It's a toxic behaviour that will be addressed in a future chapter. I do not condone or encourage this behaviour.

A few days later, and thankfully without a second visit from Sky, you got a text in the group chat. You still hated the chat name ‘Plaything’ but your tummy always got fluttery when you saw a message come in.

It was Cait, sending you an address.

Caitlyn K: 7pm?

You: That works for me

Caitlyn K: You remember we talked about those toys of yours?

You: …Yes? 😳

Caitlyn K: Bring everything you have, we’ll see what we like when you get here

At 7pm, the Uber pulled up outside a large ornate house. Not quite a mansion, but a house most people would dream of living in. You thanked the driver, then walked up to the front door, admiring the house as you went.

Ringing the doorbell, you waited.

Cait answered a few seconds later. She looked as perfect as she always did, tight-fitting navy blue blouse pristinely tucked into tailored pants. “You’re on time. Good.” She stepped aside, letting you in.

“This is your house?” you asked in amazement, looking around at the marble floors and ornate decorations. Art covered the walls, expensive rugs protected the shining floor.

“Her family’s rich,” Vi explained, leaning against a doorframe as she looked you up and down, “remember?”

“My parents purchased the house in the summer before we started at Piltover, so we could live somewhere suitable.”

“Live somewhere forever? Because this is beautiful,” you gushed, not even noticing Cait taking your hand and pulling you into the kitchen.

She chuckled. “Don’t be silly; this is just our college home. We’ll move somewhere else when we graduate.”

“Another family property,” Vi smirked, joking, “I’m gonna be a trophy wife.”

“Is your wife single?” you joked back.

Cait eased the Piltover Uni tote bag off your shoulder. “Is this all of it?” she asked, not looking through it yet.

You blushed, suddenly remembering why you were there. “Yeah, that’s everything.”

Vi leant one elbow against the kitchen island. “Hey, sweetheart,” she called to you, “come here.”

You walked over, standing in front of Vi. And waited.

She smirked back at you, looking you up and down ravenously. “Pretty skirt.”

You looked down, touching your blue flowy knee-length skirt. “Thank you.”

“Bend over,” Vi instructed, nodding her head to the counter.

You flushed. “Bend…?”

“Bend. Over.”

You hesitated but obeyed. The counter was a little higher than your hips, so you had to pull yourself up a little, your feet dangling off the floor.

Vi lifted your skirt over your hips and snickered when she saw your underwear. “How many times do we have to tell you, sweetheart?” she teased, pulling them down and stuffing them into her back pocket.

“Are you going to take them every time?” you demanded, trying not to blush as Vi’s fingers spread your pussy, exposing your moist hole.

“Damn right we are, until you learn not to wear them.”

“But people will see-”

You gasped as, in a split second, Vi bent down to your pussy, spat on your hole, and slid two fingers into you.

Cait laughed as she looked inside the bag. “I said bring what you have, not go and buy out a sex store.”

You trembled as Vi turned her fingers inside you. “I didn’t!”

She did a double take at the bag’s contents. “You already had all this?”

“Yes,” you whined.

“And you’ve used all of it?”

“Most of it.”

Cait laughed, rummaging through the toys inside. “Well, you were a horny little freak.”

Vi curled her fingers inside you. “Don’t keep me in suspense, Cupcake; what’s she got?”

Cait just shook her head in disbelief, laughing as she started pulling out items, placing them one by one on the counter next to you. Multiple sets of anal beads; nipple clamps; half a dozen butt plugs; several vibrators of different sizes; different brands of lubricant; and an unopened beginner’s leather bondage kit, including a blindfold, ball-gag, wrist and ankle cuffs, a small paddle, and a small flogger.

Vi’s fingers stopped in your pussy. Looking over the array of toys now spread out on the counter, she grinned at Cait, then into the camera recording you all from the side from its hiding place in an outlet in the wall,. “Well, well, sweetheart. You are just full of surprises.”

“This,” Cait said, picking up the bondage kit, still in its clear packaging, “I’m curious about. You clearly haven’t used it; were you too scared?” she asked in a patronising tone, bending down in front of your face, holding up the kit.

You shook your head, lip trembling as Vi resumed fucking you. “It was a joke gift-”

“A gag gift, you mean?” Vi mocked with a chuckle.

“From some people I worked with over a summer. They said it would get me out of my shell.”

Cait ran her thumb over your bottom lip. “Oh, but you had no-one to use it with,” she taunted.

You shook your head, your clit throbbing as Vi started curling her fingers.

“How about we open it when we go upstairs? Finally put it to use?” She slipped her thumb into your mouth, and you sucked it with a moan. “Which of those is your favourite?” she asked, nodding her head to your collection but keeping her eyes on yours.

You blushed as you glanced at them from the corner of your eye, Cait’s grip on your mouth keeping your head straight. “Lots.”

She raised an eyebrow at you. “Tell us.” She kept her grip on you, turning your head to the side so you could see more clearly. “How did the lonely little virgin spend her Friday nights?”

“I’d…” Vi started thrusting faster, like a woman on a mission, “Oh god…I’d put the clamps on.”

“Hmmm,” Cait nodded.

“Put in some beads.”

“Any particular ones?”

“I like those ones best,” you pointed to the average sized black beads connected by a flexible thread.

She nodded again, feeling her own pussy grow wet at the thought. “And then?”

“And I’d play with my pussy with that vibe,” you finished, pointing at a relatively small pink realistic vibrator.

“Very nice,” Cait praised. “Shall we recreate that upstairs?”

“Not yet, Cupcake, we’re not finished here,” Vi insisted, reaching a hand under you and starting to rub your clit.

A strange feeling started to build up inside your pussy, making your legs shake. “Wait, Vi, stop! I-I need to pee!”

“No, you don’t,” she ignored you, continuing her thrusts.

You gritted your teeth, fighting against the feeling. “No, really, stop! I don’t want to pee!”

“Sweetheart,” Cait said softly, turning your head back to look at her, giving you a firm but reassuring look. “You are not going to pee. Just let go, and see what happens.”

You wanted to resist – it seriously felt like you needed to pee! – but they were both so sure you wouldn’t. And they would know better…

You forced your body to relax, taking a deep breath, allowing the feeling to build up inside you. You panted as you rocked your hips on Vi’s hand.

“Good girl,” Vi praised, rubbing your clit a little faster, “Just let go, baby. Let go.”

With that, your pussy clamped down on her fingers and violently squirted all over her hands and the floor. You gasped for breath as your hips writhed on the counter, your feet scrambling for purchase against the cupboard doors.

“Fuuuck,” you breathed out, moaning as your eyes rolled back, flopping down on the counter.

“Good girl,” Cait praised, placing a kiss to the top of your head. “Let’s take a few things upstairs.”

You sprawled across the counter as they moved around you, Vi washing her hands in the sink, and then helping you up on shaky legs. You looked down at the floor, seeing the large amount of liquid splattered there.

“Oh god!”

“It’s not pee,” Vi assured somewhat testily, holding you against her front.

How could it not be?! you wanted to ask. “Are you sure?”

Vi’s hand cupped your cheek, turning your head to hers. “What did we say before you came?”

You whimpered. “That I wouldn’t pee.”

“So, are you calling us liars?”

Your eyes widened. “No! No, I swear.”

“It’s squirt, not pee. So, stop fussing.” She started pulling you upstairs, leaving Cait in the kitchen to choose some toys.

Their bedroom was just as finely decorated as the kitchen and foyer. A large rug covering most of the marble floor, one wall covered in spotless floor-to-ceiling mirrors, a bookcase filled to the brim with books and knick-knacks on another wall. Against the wall in front of the door was an extra-large bed covered in fresh sage green sheets, a violet-coloured throw spread across the end.

You were only able to marvel at the décor for a second, before Vi nudged you further inside, pulling her shirt over her head. You watched in awe as her torso and breasts were revealed, your hands automatically reaching for her.

She chuckled. “Eager, are we?”

You just nodded, cupping her breasts.

“Good,” she said, cupping the back of your head and pulling you in for a deep kiss. You moved your arms over her shoulders, running your hand through her hair as she cupped and squeezed your ass. Pulling you against her front, something hard rubbed into your lower tummy.

You pulled away briefly, giving her a playful squint. “Have you got something in your pocket?”

“Something that’ll wipe that smile off your face,” she challenged. “On your knees.”

Your cheeks turned redder, but you obeyed as Vi opened her jeans. Around her hips was strapped a larger toy than before, thicker and more detailed. Without Vi saying it, you sat on your heels, opening your mouth and waiting patiently.

She chuckled as she looked down at you. “Oh, such an eager little slut, aren't you?” You didn't blush; you nodded. She was impressed at your eagerness. “Then get to work.”

You leaned forward, taking the tip of the toy into your mouth. You slowly slid your mouth up and down the toy, unsure of your movements but enthusiastically trying your best. You couldn’t get very far down before you coughed and gagged, but Vi soothed you, stroking your cheek until you tried again. You didn’t get any further, whining unhappily.

Vi laughed, pulling out. “Don’t worry, sweetheart; you’ve got plenty of time to practice.” She sat down on the floor, only a few feet away from the large mirrors, pulling you into her lap. “Open again,” she held up her middle and ring fingers, sliding them into your mouth. You moaned around the digits, moving your tongue over them, keeping your eyes locked with hers.

Pupils blown wide, her own cheeks flushed, she smirked at you. “Little slut,” she said affectionately. Pulling her fingers out, she moved them to your pussy, sliding inside again. “Gotta get you warmed up for this strap.”

“I’m warm!” you protested, riding her fingers.

“Oh really?” she raised an eyebrow. “You think you can take this?” she nodded down at the toy glistening with your spit.

“Yes,” you whined. “Just fuck me!”

She laughed. “Alright then, you asked for it.”

Pulling her fingers out, she aimed the toy at your entrance, pulling your hips to slowly lower you onto it. It stretched you immediately, making you gasp and groan. Your breath caught in your throat as she forced you further down, not stopping until your hips pressed against hers, the toy pushing against your cervix.

“See? I told you,” she mocked, rocking your hips back and forth a little, letting you adjust.

“Fuck,” you breathed, trying to hide your wince.

“Think you’re a big girl now? That you can take any cock you see?” she challenged.

You shook your head. “No,” you pouted.

“You gonna believe us in future when we say you need warming up?”

You bit your lip, nodding. “Yes. I’m sorry.”

“Good, so you’ll listen to me now.” Cait appeared in the doorway, your tote bag hanging from her hand, a strap around her own waist. Looking closely, you saw your small pink vibrator attached the harness.

“Cait?”

She approached you seductively, her hips swaying as she walked. “Where do you think I’m going to put this, darling?”

You paused, opening your mouth as a guess when she stopped in front of you.

They both laughed at you.

“Try again,” she taunted, kneeling behind you.

“What?” you squeaked, trying to look around but Vi held your cheeks, forcing you to look at her.

“You can’t dangle those toys in front of us and not expect us to play with your ass,” Vi smirked.

“But you’re already in-”

“And this is why I’m going to warm you up,” Cait chided, taking a tub of lubricant out of your bag, “If you’ll allow me to, Your Highness,” she mocked.

“Ohhh…” you moaned, a little worried.

Vi held you tightly, moving you both to lie on your side, her hips sliding her toy in and out of you slowly. “Just relax, baby,” she soothed, kissing your neck. “We’ll take care of you.”

Warm fingers pressed cold lube to your back hole, making you twitch. Cait rubbed the lube around, before gently sliding a finger inside. It was so much, with the toy already stretching your pussy, but not enough at the same time. They both filled you slowly, carefully, letting your body adjust to both of them.

When you were moaning loud enough for them, your head thrown back and eyes closed, Cait reached into your bag, pulling out a small camera. Half the size of a Rubik’s cube, she turned it on and angled it between your legs, directly at your holes. Vi pulled your top leg up, holding it back to your side, opening and exposing both your holes.

Slowly, she added a second finger, making you gasp and shudder as she stretched your ass just a little. “Breathe,” she coaxed in your ear. “Well done.” She pumped her fingers inside you gently, turning them slowly, stretching you a little. With her free hand, she coated your toy with some more lube, moving onto her side behind you.

“Ready?” Cait asked softly in your ear, pulling her fingers out of your ass, holding the base of the vibe to your hole.

You nodded desperately. “Yes. Please!”

“Please what?”

“Please fuck my ass,” you begged, and were rewarded with Cait sliding the toy into your waiting hole. You moaned softly, your eyes closing as you felt Cait turn on the vibe, the sensations moving through your body.

Cait rocked inside you, letting you adapt to the feeling of being filled fully in both holes. “Are you alright, darling?”

You panted. “So full,” you whined when Vi slowly started moving again. You let your head hang down to the side, too weak to keep it up.

Vi gave Cait a look above you. “Sweetheart, look in the mirror,” she said, knowing you were too tired to do so.

As if you’d planned it together, you whined sadly. “I'm too tired.”

“C'mon, try for me,” she encouraged, knowing you wouldn't be able to see anything anyway.

You weakly lifted your head up, but you couldn't see around your propped up leg. “I can't see,” you complained, flopping your head back down.

Vi hummed thoughtfully. “Do you want us to show you later?”

“Show...later?” you asked weakly, your clit throbbing from the sensations in both holes.

“We could record it? Show you later?”

You whimpered at the thought of them filming you. “But…Who else would see?”

“No-one,” Cait promised firmly from behind you, kissing under your ear. “No-one else gets to see you like this.”

“Just for us, sweetheart.”

You hesitated. That sounded risky…

Vi continued. “Imagine having something you can look back on, something to remember this moment.”

Cait added, “And you’d remember how your body felt, how we feel inside you right now, filling these little holes. You could remember that every time you watched it back.”

You whimpered again, it did sound fun when they said it like that. “O-Okay. Just for us though!”

Cait smiled at the successful ruse, reached for her phone inside the bag, and resting it on the floor between all your legs, next to the small camera that was already recording. She angled it directly at your holes, pressing the record button. When the timer started counting, she returned to kissing your neck.

“You’ll look so pretty for us, sweetheart, our star of the show.”

“You wanna say how this feels?” Vi asked, stroking your thigh as she supports it.

“It feels so good,” you whined weakly.

“Louder for the camera, baby,” Cait coaxed in your ear.

You trembled at the mention of the camera, even as it made your pussy leak. “It-It feels good,” you said louder. Vi raised an eyebrow at you, urging you to continue. “It feels good in my pussy. In my ass too.”

She smiled proudly. “You like having a vibe in your ass?”

You nodded. “It feels really good. It's making my clit throb.”

Cait smiled against your cheek. “Well done, sweet girl,” she praised. “Reach your hand down, play with that button for us.”

You moved your hand down your body and rested it on your clit, rubbing gently. You didn't want to cum straight away.

“Good girl,” Vi praised, looking down at you rubbing yourself. “Show the camera how much you want to cum.”

You moaned loudly, rubbing faster as you imagined what the camera was capturing. As you drew closer, your holes started clenching on the toys, your hips rocking between the two women.

“I’m cumming,” you gasped, your fingers moving faster.

“Wait for us, sweetheart,” Cait breathed in your ear, chasing her own climax as her strap vibrated against her clit.

Shaking your head, you panted, “I can’t.”

Vi took hold of your throat, squeezing firmly. “Cait said wait, baby. Do as she says.”

The blood rushed to your head as Vi kept her grip on your throat, both women working themselves towards orgasm. You’d stopped rubbing your clit as it threatened to send you over the edge too soon, but Cait took over, forcing you to hold yourself back until they were ready.

When they were just about to cum, Vi released your throat. The sudden rush of air and blood, combined with Cait’s manicured fingers on your aching clit, sent your brain into overdrive. All three of you climaxed simultaneously, all writhing and moaning together, your bodies moving as one.

When you all settled down and caught your breath, Cait gently pulled out of your ass, earning a groan from your tired throat. Sitting up, she picked up the small camera off the bed, stopping the recording. Switching it to photo mode, she quickly pointed it at the three of you, taking a few post-sex selfies, you and Vi clearly visible in the background. With your head down and breathing deeply, you were none the wiser about what Cait was doing, but Vi smirked at the camera, kissing you or rubbing your body, at one point giving the camera a ‘rock on’ hand sign as she stuck her tongue out. Pointing it at you, she took a few more, then stood up, heading into the bathroom. She hid the turned off camera in a drawer, slipping the harness off.

Heading back into the bedroom, she picked up her phone, stopping that recording. Stroking your leg gently, she called your name.

“Sweetheart? You want to take a look?”

It had been a few weeks since that night, since Vi and Cait had finally asked, out loud and deliberately, if they could film you. You’d said yes, conditionally. From then on, you always said yes when they held up a camera or their phones, and they grinned like you were giving them a gift each time.

At first, it felt like control. Like a choice. And the look in their eyes, how hungry they were to capture you, to remember you; it had made you feel flattered, even powerful. You’d flushed under Cait’s praise as she scrolled through shots afterwards, and Vi’s rough kisses had made your heart flutter in ways you hadn’t expected.

After that, it became something regular. Not constant. Not predictable. Just often.

They’d ask. Usually. Cait with her soft, coaxing tone, or Vi with a smirk and a tilt of her phone. Sometimes it was during sex, sometimes it was after, when you were curled up in their bed, bare-chested, blinking blearily as your brain tried to function again after being fucked dumb. Sometimes it was video, sometimes pics. Sometimes both.

You tried to keep track. Tried to remember all the times you’d agreed. You told yourself it was fine. That you trusted them. That the way Cait sometimes didn't ask was just forgetfulness, or heat-of-the-moment urgency. That the one time you noticed Vi filming from the side of the bed as you ate Cait out on your knees…Well, maybe she’d just assumed you���d be okay with it, since you always were.

Your stomach always twisted after those moments.

But you didn’t stop. You never stopped.

Your dorm room was quiet, late afternoon sun stretching long and lazy across the carpet. The warmth clung to your skin as you sat on your bed, your phone buzzing steadily in your hands.

Cait had been sending more photos again. A drip-feed of images from the past few weeks. Ones you remembered approving. You tapped through them slowly, mouth watering. As they had told you during the first time they asked, your body flushed and throbbed as you remembered what you were doing when the photos were taken.

You saved each one.

Your phone buzzed again. Another image. You tapped the screen.

It was from two nights ago: their room, soft lighting, Cait’s fingers splayed across your bare stomach, Vi’s hands on your breasts. The photo was angled from above, beautifully framed, almost cinematic. You remembered that moment. You remembered saying yes.

A knock on your door broke you out of it. Heading over, you opened the door for Powder.

“Hey, babe!” she greeted cheerfully. Holding up a bag of snacks and drinks, she stepped inside. “Ready for that new season?”

The two of you lay together on your bed, her phone connected to a mini projector, casting the TV show onto your ceiling. The volume wasn’t too loud – you were still paranoid about a formal noise complaint, even though the three of you had stopped having sex in your room. Cait had added you to her Uber account, so you go over whenever you wanted, her family's card footing the bill.

Your phone buzzed every so often, but you ignored it. It was most likely Cait, sending you more things. You couldn’t open those messages next to Powder!

After about the tenth buzz, Powder paused the show.

“Just answer that, would you?” she teased, sitting up and getting a drink.

You sat up too, turning a little so she wouldn’t be able to see your screen. You were right, it was Cait. And the photos were rather intimate. She’d sent a few photos, but also made some GIFs from videos. Your own body parts and theirs filled your group chat.

“What are you looking at?” Powder asked teasingly, seeing your blushing face.

You held your phone against your chest. “Nothing!”

“I don't think ‘nothing’ makes people blush like that. Oh wait, is it Vi?” she grimaced.

“No. No, it's Cait.”

“What's going on?”

“Just some pics.”

Powder oooh'd playfully. “What kind of pics? Naughty pics?”

You blushed. “Maybe. Of us.”

“Of you? Together?” You nodded. “Like, sex pics?”

“Uh, yeah,” you laughed nervously.

“Oh my god, show me! Nothing with Vi in it!”

Your eyes widened. “Really? You want to see that?”

“I bet you look hot! C'mon, show me,” she winked.

You supposed one pic couldn't hurt. You held your phone close to you, so Powder couldn't see – to which she groaned dramatically and looked away – and looked through all the pics Cait had shared with you over the weeks. You flicked through, looking for one that was either just you or just you and Cait.

You found one, turning your phone to Powder. “For both our sakes, don't swipe!”

“Alright, alright, jeez...”

The pic you'd selected was of you and Cait. You both knelt on the bed in front of the large floor-length mirror, her front pressed to your back as she filled you with a strap. You couldn’t see her breasts or pelvis, only her side profile, so you’d felt comfortable showing Powder. Her hand closest to the mirror held the phone by her side, her other hand turning your face to the mirror and the phone. She was smiling, you looked blissfully fucked out.

“Wow! Holy shit, Y/N, you're gorgeous! Look at your tits, they’re so perky. Why do you hide them under those clothes?”

You blushed but enjoyed the compliments.

“What's that?” Powder asked, zooming in on the image.

“Don't zoom in! You might see something you don't want to see! What if Vi’s in the background?”

“Well, what's that? Is it a camera?”

Your head shot up, grabbing the phone from her. You squinted at the zoomed in image. Your slightly old phone didn't cope very well with the pixels but even you could tell what you were looking at. In the back of the room, obscured on a shelf in the back, was undeniably a small camera. Pointed directly at the bed, a small red pixel above the lens. Had the camera been recording? You remember that day, Cait hadn’t said anything recording videos, she only asked for that one photo.

“You guys record too? Jeez, I don't even want to imagine what footage you have. You could probably make a fortune online though.”

You felt sick.

And you continued to feel sick for days. You felt like there were bugs crawling all over your skin, and your stomach twisted and flipped anytime you thought of the women. You'd successfully avoided them since you made the discovery of the camera in the background of that photo, telling them you’d caught a stomach bug and were recovering in your dorm. They wished you well but didn’t come over, though Cait had sent a courier with rehydration meds, anti-nausea pills, and some food packs.

Since then, you'd spent hours trawling over every frame in every photo and video Cait and Vi had sent you. You didn't find any other cameras, but some of the files felt off to you. You couldn't always remember when they'd been taken.

Most of them, like the one with you and Cait on the bed, you definitely remember happening. You remember seeing one of them pick up the phone or camera, ask you if they could take something, and the files matched what you'd been doing in the moment. But some other files...You weren't sure you remembered. One video was you on your back, Vi riding your face as you fucked yourself with a toy. Cait had been with you, but she had supposedly been pleasuring herself too, not taking videos of you. Some photos of either woman using a strap on you, normally with your ass up, face buried in a pillow or the covers.

Like you hadn't known the camera was there.

You went to the coffee shop early one morning, hoping to get your mind off those images. You knew it was too early for Vi or Cait to be on campus; on Thursdays their first class was at 11 and they stayed home until then.

You sat at your usual corner table, quietly and miserably reading a textbook, trying to get back into your study habits, when a soft accented voice spoke.

“Sorry to bother you; are you Y/N?”

You looked up, really not wanting to talk to the pretty redhead with freckles. “Can I help you?”

“Sorry, we haven't met before. I'm Maddie. Can we talk?”

@sevikas-whore, @djstinkyfartz, @jinririz, @abbyandcaitlover, @ayuxiru, @bebeluvvv, @youdoyou-andiwilldome, @kittymrtnezz69, @wyprettylilone, @jlb20416, @autisticratbagtm, @theoreticalfreak, @riotstemple29, @zaunite-516

[missadangel]

MAKE HIM DISLIKE LOVE YOU

Harry Castillo x Reader (The Materialists)

Chapter 10: Here Without You

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Chapter Summary: As you try to heal from your heartbreak, you find out that Harry is leaving NYC. Warnings: 18+ (smut, MDNI) kinda romantic comedy stuff, fluffy, angst, lying, soft and caring Harry Castillo, Lucy as his ex, John as Lucy's ex, wealth, expensive gifts, drinks, money, cars, language, sexual tension, oral sex, p in v sex, kissing, slow burn, power imbalance, I might have missed some warnings; I will update them in due time. Chapter Word Count: 9,2k, ANGST, LONGING, HURT, jealousy, love, feelings, fluffy, rom-com, lust, passion, dirty talk, stuck in elevator (sorry for the cliche or not sorry) authors note: changed the main moodboard according the rest of the story hope you like :) Thank you all for your support, asks, comments, reblogs and likes. I appreciate each and every one of you! Love you all!

"I don't know what happened… It was just after midnight. At first, I thought you had come back early since you told me you’d return in the morning. When I opened the door, I was so shocked and heartbroken that I froze for a moment. It was her. She was drenched from the rain outside—not just a little wet, but completely soaked, as if she had walked through the downpour. She was wearing a black trench coat, expensive high heels, and diamond earrings, a necklace that hinted she had just come back from some fancy event, but everything was drenched. I initially thought her face was wet from the rain until I realized I was mistaken when I heard her uncontrollable sobs...

...She was shaking from crying so hard. Instinctively, I wrapped my arms around her and asked what was wrong. I let her in, but she remained silent, only sobbing and crying. I figured she would eventually calm down and share what was wrong, but she didn’t. She cried for so long that I ended up scolding her, worried that something was seriously wrong. She’s a strong woman, someone who has cried before, but this felt different—her tears took me back to the time she lost her mother. I panicked; you can't imagine how long it took to bring her out of that state. She was just 14, a teenager, and the grief was overwhelming. I didn’t know how to help her now that she was in such a state again. When she finally got her sobs under control, I thought she would explain, but instead, she asked..." Zoe let out a deep, troubled sigh, filled with frustration.

“She asked, ‘Can I stay here for a few days?’ and that was that.”

John propped himself up on his elbow, studying Zoe's face in the dim light. “So, she didn’t tell you what made her so upset, what brought on the tears?”

“No, not a word.”

“What could have happened between them? They seemed so happy together.”

“I can’t say for sure, but whatever it was, it feels pretty serious.” Zoe sat up in bed, looking troubled. “John, she didn’t even bring her suitcase. Can you believe it? And she wandered the streets for hours dressed like that. I don't know what that Castillo did to her, but the next time I see him, I'm gonna kick his ass.” 

John lightly brushed her back. "Chill out. Maybe we shouldn't jump in just yet. Once she feels better and gets her head straight, she’ll tell us everything. This is all new—she just broke up. Let's give her some space."

"John, it's been three days. She hasn't stepped out of her room, not eating anything, and I'm going out of my mind with worry. I really think it was a bad idea for her to date him. I mean, he’s a billionaire, and they just don’t really fit together, do they? What do guys like him know about people like us? We always end up getting hurt in the end, right? They can throw around millions to deal with their issues and feel better, while we’re stuck in our small apartments, still having to drag ourselves to work the next day, no matter how we feel sad."

“Zoe, baby, I’m not a fan of Harry, but I think you’re being a bit unfair. He does seem to care about her; he even introduced her to his family. That's a big deal for a guy like him—it's kind of like the first step before tying the knot."

Zoe frowned at him. "I don't fuckin' care. My cousin is crying in the next room because of him, and she means more to me than anything else. From now on, we officially hate Harry Castillo, period."

John sighed and shrugged. “Alright, whatever you want. I’ve hated him before, so it won’t be too hard for me,” he said with a smile. “Should we start by unfollowing him on Instagram?”

Zoe rolled her eyes, grinning back at him. “You silly goose.” She wrapped her arms around him and planted a kiss on his lips.

"What do you mean he didn't come out of the bedroom?"

"I'm telling you, he said he didn’t want to come out. He handed me these documents and said, ‘You know what to do, get it done.’"

Maria examined the documents Oliver had mentioned, this time with greater scrutiny.

“How the heck did that fucker even sign these?”

Oliver crossed his arms. "I have no clue. Like I said, Harry didn’t mention anything."

Maria narrowed her eyes in thought. "This is really bizarre, Ollie. The day Alan signed these, Harry broke up with his girlfriend—the one he loved so much he was practically ready to propose—and locked himself in his bedroom."

“Yeah, it’s odd,” Oliver agreed. “But these documents are pretty detailed. Look at this clause—here, it says Party A will voluntarily withdraw from all lawsuits.”

"How is it that, after all that plotting to take Harry down, he suddenly signed these overnight and gave up?  I need to figure this out."

"Maybe, but now’s not the time. I have to head to the company right away," he said, taking the documents back from Maria and carefully placing them in his briefcase.

As Maria slowly approached Harry's bedroom, Oliver noticed her.

“We should go together,” he warned. “Leave him be; he needs some space."

Maria shook her head, deep in thought. She wanted answers to the whirlwind of questions racing through her mind, but she had to push them aside for now and concentrate on the task at hand. She grabbed her coat and bag, ready to leave, when she spotted Harry's phone on the counter.

Glancing at Oliver, who was walking through the hall toward the elevator, she quickly picked up the phone. She was desperate to find any clue about Harry’s situation, consequences be damned. Knowing the screen lock, she dialed it in and unlocked the phone. She immediately launched the messaging app. The last message was from you, accompanied by a smiling photo of you at the fair.

"Sopapilla pie is a hit at our booth today. Thanks for the idea, ol' man."

She let out a sigh and went back to the main screen, freezing when she saw a message from an unregistered number sent at 10:29 last night. Shock coursed through her—it was your photo taken in the lobby of Alan's hotel. The caption below was even more alarming:

"It’s an interesting feeling to have a man’s most prized possession. Yes, I’m talking about your girlfriend, Castillo."

"Son of a bitch," Maria murmured. "Now it all makes sense.”

“John!”

Zoe’s worried voice jolted John awake. He rubbed his eyes and squinted in her direction, still half-asleep. “Zoe, are you okay?” he mumbled.

“I’m fine, but she…” Zoe glanced back, her concern clear.

John quickly moved to her side. “What happened?” he asked, running a hand through his messy hair, stepping into the living room.

As they walked in, the warm, sweet smell of freshly made pastries filled the air, catching John off guard. He was even more surprised by what he saw.

“This happened,” Zoe said, pointing at you.

You had just placed a stack of pancakes on a plate and set it on the table, and when you noticed their shocked expressions, you tried to ignore, lightening the mood. “Come on, guys. Breakfast is ready—I made pancakes.” you said, forcing a cheerful tone.

Zoe and John exchanged glances, looking both confused and hesitant as they approached the table. While you went to grab the syrup, Zoe sat down and stared at the food you’d prepared. When you returned, you felt their eyes boring into you.

“Stop looking at me like I’ve killed someone in front of you and start eating,” you muttered, taking your own seat.

John grinned at your joke, reaching for a pancake. “They look delicious—”

But before he could take a bite, Zoe slapped his hand, causing him to drop it. “Seriously?" She turned to you. “You’ve barely said a word in days, and suddenly you decide to make pancakes?”

Zoe’s straightforward personality usually didn’t phase you, but today it felt like a punch. You took a deep breath and drizzled syrup on your pancake, keeping your voice even. “I thought it’d be nice to do something for you since you’ve put up with my grumpy face for days.”

Just then, your phone buzzed in your pocket, and you pulled it out, feeling a tightness in your chest when you saw it was the shopkeeper calling. Noticing Zoe's steady gaze, you slipped into the kitchen to take the call.

“Can I eat now?” John whispered to Zoe. She rolled her eyes at him then turned her gaze, watching you.

After the call, you rejoined them at the table, feeling heavy with what you needed to say.

“Who called?” Zoe asked, curious.

“The owner wants to meet today to finalize the lease. If I don’t go, he’ll rent it to someone else,” you said, your eyes fixed on the table. “I need to tell him I can’t do it.”

Zoe leaped up. “Are you kidding? Do you really want to throw away all the hard work you’ve put in? This is your dream for fuck sake.”

"We can handle the first month's rent, but I'm really concerned about the second. What if the shop's income isn't enough to cover it? Plus, there are still more supplies we need to buy. I'm just not sure if I can manage all of this," you admitted, meeting her gaze.

Harry would rent the shop on your behalf, and by the end of the month, you’d settle the payment between the two of you. That was the arrangement, but it all became complicated clearly because of the last incident that occurred between you.

That’s when Zoe asked the question you’d been dreading. “What happened between you two?”

There was a long silence, and you knew they were waiting for an answer, but you just weren’t ready.

John broke the quiet, finishing off his last pancake. “Girls, I can help with the second month's rent.”

Zoe turned to him, looking surprised. “But your audition is coming up.”

He shrugged. “I’ll catch the next one. This is way more important. Auditions can wait.”

“No!” Zoe shot back. “No one gives up on their dreams. You’re going to that audition, and you…” she said, pointing at you, “are going to open that bakery. As for me, I’ll work in your shop, serving customers the desserts you make, and I’ll keep the tips. We’ll probably argue about it too. Yes, my dream is that simple—so what?”

You smiled at her.

"Look, everyone was amazed at the fair, raving about your desserts and bakery. You did an amazing job, girl. They can’t wait for you to open the shop. We’ll make this happen together. We don’t need anyone else's financial support. We’ve been doing just fine on our own, and we’ll continue to do so," Zoe said confidently.

You nodded, feeling a burst of determination. “We will make it work.”

Zoe reached out and wiped a tear from your cheek. “Now tell me everything, because you can't really let it go if you keep it inside. I know you well.”

You sighed, tears started to flow harder. 

John stood up. “I think I'd better go to work now,” he said, kissed Zoe on the cheek, and then touched your shoulder. The pancakes were so yummy. And as for the other thing, Zoe and I are here for you, no matter what. I really believe your bakery café is going to shine in Manhattan. But I do have some worries about the other shops in the city; I’m not sure if NYC is quite ready for it all yet,” he said, grinning.

“It better be ready,” Zoe said. “Because we're coming in roaring.”

“Thanks, guys,” you said, smiling at them both. “Appreciate it.”

John waved to you both as he walked out the door and left the apartment.

“Alright, now I want to hear all about it,” Zoe urged, her eyes fixed on you. You felt the urge to share, but a wave of shame washed over you.

“I’m really sorry, but I’m just not ready to talk about it yet, Zoe. So please don’t ask.” You sighed. “But I promise you, regardless of how things unfold, I will open that shop,” you declared, pledging not only to her but also to the determined spark within yourself.

The following day, after breakfast, you and Zoe were busy compiling a list of essentials as you prepared for the shop's opening day. Meanwhile, John was watching the news on TV when a mention of Harry's company made you freeze.

“It appears castillofunds.co has pulled itself back from the brink of bankruptcy. This significant turnaround seems to have eased market tensions, with the company's shares rising again. Speaking to our cameras, castillofunds.co CEO and billionaire Harry Castillo—”

John turned off the TV with a sigh, and an awkward silence fell over the room. You returned to your list, trying to shake off the impact of what you had just heard.

“They managed to save the company so quickly; I wonder how they managed that,” Zoe remarked, glancing at you out of the corner of her eye.

You kept writing, even as your hand trembled slightly. “Oven,” you sighed. “I think a functional oven might be too small. An industrial one would be more suitable for our 200-sq-ft kitchen, but we could also look into commercial options to save space. Then we can decide with how many levels we’ll need.” You spoke as if hearing his name hadn't affected you, though deep down, you felt your heart tighten. You knew that adjusting to this would be difficult, but you had to push through it.

Later that evening, after a long shopping trip to the supplier, you and Zoe returned to the shop. As you tallied everything up on the list, you checked off items one by one. You had set your sights on opening during the weekend, and by then, everything needed to be in order. The busy schedule had become a welcome distraction from the painful memories that lingered in your mind.

However, as you walked down the street to head home, your heart sank once more when your phone rang.

It was Valeria calling.

You hesitated to answer, but curiosity got the best of you. She asked you to drop by her house. What could that be about?

Had she heard about your breakup with Harry?

You really didn’t want to go, yet knowing she couldn’t leave the house, you decided to visit since her place was close to yours.

When you arrived at Valeria’s house, memories flooded back, and anxiety washed over you. Your heart still ached and you missed his face dearly, you weren’t emotionally or mentally prepared for this encounter. Yet, you suspected he wouldn’t be there—after all, he was busy with the company these days. It seemed absurd to think he’d be waiting for his ex-girlfriend at his mother’s house, especially one he was still angry with.

Valeria spotted you as you walked in, and to your surprise, she opened her arms and hugged you tightly.

“Thank you for coming,” she said, stepping back to scrutinize your face. “You look so pale, dear,” she remarked, gently touching your cheek. “Just like him,” she added with a frown. “What’s going on?”

You sighed, frustrated at how unprepared you felt to answer that question. She took your arm and guided you to the couch, settling across from you. “Harry returned this a few days ago,” she said, showing you the ring.

Your heart clenched at the sight, yanking you back to that night. You blinked rapidly, trying to hold back tears. “Valeria, it doesn’t matter what happened. It’s just... it’s over.”

“But you two were so happy together. What changed so suddenly?” she pressed, concern etched on her face. “If I could just get out of this house, I'd go and kick his 42-year-old ass, but I'm stuck here because of this damn illness."

“Maybe this is better for both of us,” you murmured, though the words stung as you spoke.

Valeria frowned, reaching for your hand, holding it firmly. “How can this be better for both of you, dear? I may not see my son often, but I know him. If he loved you enough to bring you here, he won’t let you go easily. I saw it in his eyes—something I haven’t seen in a long time. You care deeply for him too. A love like that is rare; don’t lose it.”

“Valeria, you’re right. However, when the person you love is also the one who broke your heart, healing can feel almost impossible.”

Just then, Sofia walked into the living room. “Maria is here,” she announced, her eyes landing on you, filled with a mixture of sympathy and concern.

Moments later, Mia dashed into the room, nearly tackling Valeria with a hug. “Valeria!”

“Hey, cariño,” she said, spreading her arms wide for the embrace.

As Valeria stood up, you and Maria locked eyes, both taken aback by the unexpected meeting. You glanced over her shoulder, relieved to see that only they had arrived.

You definitely weren't ready to see him yet.

Mia hugged you tightly. “There you are too.”

“How’s it going, Mia?” you asked.

“Not so good,” she said with a frown. “Why don’t you come by Uncle Harry’s place anymore? Did you break up?”

You felt a lump in your throat.

“Baby, how about going to swing in the garden?” Maria suggested, trying to change subject.

Sofia took Mia’s hand. “Come on, sweetie, I’ll push you on the swing. And then we can check the little pot for strawberries and see if they’re ripe.”

“Yes, yes. I want some strawberries!” Mia clapped her hands, full of excitement.

You watched them head into the garden with a smile, then turned back to Valeria. “I should probably get going. Our bakery opens this weekend. I know you can't leave the house, but I wanted to invite you anyway.”

“I wish I could, dear. I hope you have a ton of customers,” she said, giving you a warm hug.

“Thanks so much.”

“We’ll come with Mia,” Maria chimed in with a smile. “She was super curious about the bakery anyway."

"Totally, I'd love to have you both."

"I’ll walk you to the door.”

"Sure." You nodded and said goodbye to Valeria. Once you reached the door, Maria finally broke the silence. She looked like she had something important to say.

“I know everything,” she said, catching you by surprise.

You looked at her, bewildered.

How did she find out?

“Did he tell you?” you asked, feeling a surge of anger at yourself for still finding it hard to say his name.

“No, Harry’s pretty quiet these days. All he says is 'yes,' 'no,' or 'okay,'” she joked, but you looked down at your feet, unable to laugh.

“Look, I’m really sorry. This is all my stupid husband Gerardo’s fault and mine. He’s been drinking and gambling since the divorce stuff came out. He’s done this before, but losing that much in one night in Vegas and then stealing from the company—that was all Alan’s doing. I met with him that day to work out some sort of payment plan, but of course, he refused. All he cared about was Harry, trying to play him and turn him against his friends. His final move was you; that one hit him hardest.Even if the company crumbles, he had you by his side; you were there for him, you know. But once you turned to Alan, he likely experienced a profound sense of loss, as if something truly valuable was slipping away from him.

“Are you saying I’m at fault here?” you probed.

“No, that’s not what I meant. I hate that we let that motherfucker win. The reason I requested some time from Alan was to have the opportunity to finish him off.”

“What do you mean?”

“Alan is a drug dealer. I’ve been trying to prove it, but he’s too slick with hiding his tracks.”

"Are you sure? How are you going to figure that out by yourself anyway?"

“If he’s got people backing him, then so do I. I’ll make sure he pays for everything he’s done, for every tear my daughter has shed because of her dad.” Then Maria pulled you in for a hug. “Thanks to you, we didn’t get kicked out of our house and the company stayed afloat. I really appreciate it. However you can’t underestimate how tough this must be for Harry. But I believe your love can pull you through."

“If it had, he wouldn’t have said those things to me.”

"I have no idea what he said, but he was probably super hurt and pissed off. Anyone would lose it after seeing that pic and the kind of message that jerk sent."

“Message?”

“You didn't know?”

You recalled that moment; you only saw the photo, not the message.

Maria pulled out her phone to show you the screenshot she had taken from Harry's phone.

That asshole, send both a photo and a disgusting message to Harry.

And he promised you he wouldn’t. You could feel the frustration building up for ever getting involved with him.

Seriously, why did you even trust that fucker in the first place?

“Maria, are you really sure he’s a drug dealer?”

“Yes, and money laundering is part of the equation too. My friend at the OCCB has been after him for ages, just waiting for him to slip up."

You stood there, stunned.

Secret meetings in his penthouse or at that restaurant where the waiters always seem to gossip—yeah, you brushed it all off because he didn’t really matter to you. But you never thought it could actually be this serious. “I want in on this. I want to help take him down,” you said, feeling determined.

Maria’s eyes widened. “What the... Are you serious? This is way too risky. What can you even do? No, no, you need to stay out of it, especially after everything he's already put you through.”

Well she was right; you were no longer his employer. And you really didn’t want to get close to him—no closer than a hundred inches.

“I just hope the police can figure this out so he pays for what he’s done.”

“He will, don’t worry.”

You sighed. “Anyway, it’s getting late. I need to get ready for the opening. I’ll see you this weekend.”

She nodded. “Okay, we’ll be there,” she said, smiling back at you.

As the opening day approached, the hustle and bustle intensified, but everything was finally in place. The signage was up, all business documents were ready, and the cake and bakery display cabinets were stocked. Tables, chairs, cutlery, crockery, and the cash register were all set, along with cupboards and everything else necessary for a smooth operation. Early that morning, you arrived at the shop with Zoe and John to start preparations.

After hours of baking freshly made pastries and designing decadent desserts, you finally sank into a chair, sweat glistening on your forehead. Glancing at the wall clock—its hands creeping toward opening time—you felt a wave of relief wash over you; every last detail had finally come together. With a shared spark of anticipation, you and Zoe stepped outside to flip the "Open" sign for the first time. The thrill of possibility raced through your veins, the fulfillment of a dream that had burned brightly for so long. Yet, a nagging feeling of bitterness lingered, as something didn’t feel quite right, and you knew exactly what it was.

You always pictured this day with him by your side, but now it’s clear he’s missing, and no matter how hard you try to pretend ignoring that reality, you can't escape it, and the pain just lingers.

The opening attracted a crowd—Zoe, some mutual friends, and even Melanie, who surprised you with her presence. Dressed more conservatively than usual, she managed to deliver a decent speech, though her forced demeanor gave you pause. Valeria couldn't attend, but she called to congratulate you and sent a beautiful bouquet through Sofia, for which you were grateful to have as well. Everyone was gathered—everyone, that is, except him. His absence weighed heavily on your heart, and surrounded by laughter and smiling faces, you felt more alone than ever. No matter the anger or pain you felt toward him, a part of you ached for his presence; you realized you needed him.

If the crowd hadn’t been so thick, you might have caught a glimpse of him in the street, watching from his car. You could have seen the way his eyes, filled with longing, would search for you in the sea of faces, but you were oblivious to his presence.

Amidst the bouquets of flowers arriving, one arrangement caught your eye. A stunning mix of pink roses and peonies—your favorites—was clearly crafted by someone who knew you well. You picked up the card, it read, 'Congratulations on your grand opening. H.'

Your instincts kicked in, and you scanned the street, but he had already disappeared. A small smile crept onto your lips, grateful for his kindness, yet the pain of his absence only deepened. Memories of his last words replayed in your mind, stinging deeper with each recollection.

"Hey!" A familiar voice snapped you back to reality. It was Oliver, who came over to embrace you.

“Thanks for coming,” you replied, mustering a smile.

He returned your smile, and for a moment, you both gazed at the bouquet of flowers. “He wanted to do one last thing for you before he leaves,” Oliver murmured.

“Before he leaves?”

Just then, Maria, who had spotted Oliver from a distance, rushed over. "Who's leaving?"

"Harry," Oliver said. “He has a flight to Paris at 10 PM.”

“Are you serious? Why didn’t you tell me sooner?”

"He didn't want me to. He’s still upset with you, Maria."

"You should have told me anyway! I thought he was staying for a few months. Why’s he in such a rush?"

Oliver’s gaze shifted to you. Your heart tightened as you noticed the sadness in his eyes.

“Damn, he’s doing it again. He’s leaving just like he did before, isn’t he?”

Oliver exhaled sharply.  “I’m afraid he doesn’t plan on returning this time, He then handed you a large envelope. “He asked me to give you this.” Your heart raced as you opened the envelope, curiosity piqued. As you pulled out the contents, both you and Maria stood in stunned silence. The documents revealed that he had transferred over 56% of the company’s shares into your name, accompanied by the deed to his penthouse and several other crucial papers. Notably, there was a handwritten note that read, 'If you won’t be in my life, I don’t need any of this.'

“He’s giving up the company?” Maria wailed in disbelief.

"Yes. He transferred the company shares to her, as you can see, and entrusted the day-to-day management to the board of directors. Additionally, he put a new policy in place to safeguard the company ahead of the upcoming court case. He plans to take the helm of the subsidiary in Paris, where he has previously made investments with private equity."

Maria was furious. “Fuck, Harry. He can’t just leave like this. We have to do something to stop him."

“I agree, which is why I came here,” Oliver said, fixing his gaze on you again. “His flight is in about an hour.”

You struggled to respond—your brain was buzzing.

Maria turned to you with pleading eyes. "You need to stop him. You’re the only one who can do it. He won’t listen to me."

Oliver gave you a similar look. “He won't listen to anyone else, but if he sees you, maybe he’ll change his mind.”

“She's not going anywhere!” Zoe exclaimed, clearly having overheard the entire conversation. She approached Maria, her anger palpable. "She's already been through so much, and now she’s just supposed to beg him not to leave?"

While inside the shop, everyone was reveling in the opening party, outside, a very different scene was unfolding.

You gently touched Zoe’s shoulder. “Zoe.”

Maria ignored her and locked eyes with you. "I’m not saying this for the company's sake, I swear. I think of Harry as my brother and you as my sister. Look, I know you still care about him. If not stopping him from leaving means saying goodbye to Harry forever, can you really live with that?."

Deep down, you already knew the answer.  The thought of not speaking to him again loomed large, and while separation might seem bearable with him still in the city, the impending reality of him being miles away—perhaps forever—was a crushing weight on your chest.

"Please, don’t let him leave like this," Maria pleaded.

“You don’t have to do this,” Zoe insisted.

With tears welling in your eyes, you replied, “Yes, I do.”

As the taxi rolled to a stop at the airport, you instinctively checked your watch—9:54 PM winked back at you. A wave of urgency washed over you, making your heart race as if it were caught in your throat. The relentless questions clawing at your mind—what if you couldn't reach him in time?

What if he had already slipped away?—stirred a palpable dread within you. Bursting through the glass doors, you stepped into the cool, crisp night air. Your eyes were immediately drawn to a sleek jet, its metallic skin glimmering under the harsh airport floodlights, poised for takeoff. Nearby, a black Mercedes loomed, its polished surface reflecting the shimmering lights of the tarmac. A rush of relief flooded your veins—it hadn’t all slipped away yet; the jet was still grounded, holding the promise of a chance.

You moved in closer and spotted him just behind, slowly ascending the steps of the jet. Without hesitation, you took off running. “Harry!” you called out, your voice ringing out like a desperate plea for help.

For a moment, he stood frozen, eyebrows raised in disbelief, as if he couldn’t believe the voice he had longed to hear was actually there. Slowly, he turned in your direction. Everything around you faded away, and you felt a magnetic pull towards him, your eyes locked together. When you got close enough, you could feel the heat radiating off him. Realizing how much you missed him hit you like a punch in the gut. Looking into his deep brown eyes, glistening in the light, you struggled to keep the tears at bay. He was wearing a caramel blazer and black pants, his dark curls dancing in the breeze.

Neither of you dared to speak for a while, unsure of what to say, yet the emotions in your eyes told a different story. You finally took a deep breath, breaking the silence. "You were just going to leave? Without saying goodbye?"

He looked away, then back at you. "I thought you wouldn't want to talk to me anymore, or maybe you'd even slap me again," he said with a faint smile.

"I wanted to, especially in my dreams."

He nodded slightly, a smile lingering, though a hint of sadness crossed his face.

You held out the envelope. "This isn’t who Harry Castillo is. The man I know wouldn’t just run off like a coward. He would face his mistakes head-on and work to make things right."

His expression hardened as tears glistened in his eyes, on the brink of falling. "I’m just a foolish man who didn’t value the woman he loved and lost her love."

Gazing into his eyes, you could see the regret reflected there, and you struggled to hold back a sob. "Maybe," you whispered softly. Sniffling, you handed him the envelope. "Take this back." He hesitated before reaching for it. "Your mother, your friends, and your company need you."

He glanced at the envelope in his hand. "What about you?" he asked then, looking deeply into your eyes.

You searched for the right words, a tear sliding down your cheek slowly. "You were right about what you said. I shouldn’t have gone to him, but my love for you blinded me to everything else. I was willing to sacrifice everything for your well-being, even my own self. I see now that it was a huge mistake." You exhaled with a shaky breath. "I guess when you put someone before yourself, you can end up making some pretty foolish choices. Even if nothing happened, I felt terrible. It wasn't the right thing to do."

Harry frowned, the corners of his lips turning up slightly. "Nothing happened?"

You shot him a glare. "Why are you smiling?"

He grabbed your shoulders. "Why didn't you mention that earlier?"

You pushed his arms away in frustration. "What difference does it make?"

"It makes a huge difference."

With a troubled sigh, you turned your gaze down. "You don’t understand. When I went there, I accepted everything; I was ready. All I could think about was you. I threw aside my pride. But now I see how big of a mistake that was. How could I have done something like that? I've never felt so ashamed in my life." You sobbed, tears flowed freely now.

He stepped forward, wrapping you in his arms. "You don’t have anything to be ashamed of. It’s that bastard who should be ashamed. I’m truly sorry for how I reacted. I was consumed with anger, and knowing he touched you... I wanted to kill him.”

You pulled back just enough to meet his gaze. "Yeah, you were angry— so angry that you didn’t care how I felt.”

"You’re right," he admitted, his voice heavy with regret as he averted his gaze. "But we can leave this all behind us. We can get through it together," he added with a glimmer of hope.

“I'm sorry, Harry, but I don’t think I can,” you said resolutely, wiping away the tears that streaked your face and pushing back the whirlwind of feelings within.

His frown deepened as he looked at your eyes, clearly surprised and perhaps even more hurt than before.

"I loved you so much that I lost myself, my dreams, and what I truly wanted. When I made that choice, I believed wholeheartedly that our love could overcome anything, but I was mistaken. It didn't."

He gently cradled your face in his hands. "Give me a chance—one opportunity to show you that we can overcome anything together."

“Harry,” you whispered, holding his hands tightly. "I can't. I don't know if I’ll ever be able to forgive myself or forget everything, but I can't do it now."

His brown eyes glistened with tears as he saw the determination mixed with hurt in yours. He had hurt you more than he realized. "It wasn’t cowardice that led me to want to walk away," he said, his voice breaking slightly as he withdrew his hands. "I was aware of the pain I caused you, and I thought your life might be better off without me. I wanted to step back and let you move on."

You shook your head. "No matter how angry I get with you, no matter how much you hurt me, my world means nothing without you in it, Harry Castillo." A small, bittersweet smile crossed his lips. "So don’t go anywhere. Embrace your responsibilities, and then maybe we can revisit this conversation later."

He nodded with resolve. "As you wish. But I promise, this time, I will make things right.”

“What do you mean you’re not together?”

Zoe asked one morning as you both arrived at the bakery.

You glanced at her while tying your apron. “I told you, there’s nothing between us.” She moved closer as you poured flour into the kneading machine.

“Nothing? My ass! Girl, you went to the airport and brought him back. I just don’t understand how you ended up in the ‘let’s stay friends’ mode.”

“We decided to talk about it later.”

“You’re going to talk later? That's not a good idea I'm telling you. One must be blind not to see the attraction between you. How can you stay away from each other with that kind of chemistry?”

“Can you pass the sugar?” you asked, brushing off her question.

She fetched some sugar from the sack and measured it into the machine. “Fine, but this is silly. I don’t get why you’re acting like this when it’s clear you both really care about each other. You guys are nuts.”

You chuckled; in a way, she was right.

It felt good that Harry hadn't disappeared and that you still had the chance to bump into him on the street and chat, even if he wasn't your boyfriend anymore. The attraction was undeniable, but staying apart for now would probably be better for both of you, wouldn’t it?

After baking all the pastries, as you prepped the cake batter, customers began trickling in. You’d hired another waiter since you and Zoe were struggling to manage the shop. He was a friend of John’s, around your age, a little clumsy, but he was the only one you could find who was willing to work for cheap. Zoe was showing him the ropes. Maybe someday you’d get someone with more experience, but for now, you were just focused on keeping the shop afloat.

Fortunately, business was booming more than you had anticipated, and you were confident it would only improve. Your mind was always churning with ideas for new recipes.

“Here we go,” Zoe grumbled.

You looked up to see what had caught her attention. She was staring at someone sitting at a table outside. You recognized him instantly, even with his sunglasses on—the way he sat, his tailored suit, that gleaming wristwatch, and that grin. He waved at you, and you couldn’t help but let out a sigh.

It had only been two days since you last spoke at the airport. As he promised, he had taken over the company and moved back into his penthouse. But what was he doing here in your shop? You fought the impulse to smile and walked over to him.

“Good morning, sunshine. Your bakery is lovely,” he said, glancing around.

“Harry, what are you doing?”

“Just trying to order breakfast.”

You crossed your arms. “So you’re here as a customer?”

He leaned toward you, removed his sunglasses, and smirked. “Exactly.”

You narrowed your eyes. “What would you like?”

He scanned the menu. “What would you suggest, chef?” he said, pointing to the title next to your name on the name tag of your apron.

“Well, it depends on how hungry you are. If you’re really hungry, I’d recommend the classic American breakfast—your choice of any two eggs with either sausage or ham, served with roasted potatoes.”

He made a thoughtful face. “Sounds good, but it’s not really an egg day for me,” he said, continuing to read. “I think I’ll go with the Croissant Parisien Ham and Cheese. If I’d been in Paris this morning, that’s what I’d have eaten.”

You jotted down his order. “Hmm, would you rather be there?”

“No, I’m happy and lucky to be right here.”

You pressed your lips together to suppress a smile. “Would you like juice or coffee with that?”

“Espresso Vaniglia—I want to try that,” he replied.

Your smile widened.

You knew he loved vanilla, and you had talked about bringing that coffee to life together. “Our signature drink: Vanilla-flavored coffee with espresso and velvety steamed milk, topped with a light foam—you'll absolutely love it.” He grinned in response, recalling that conversation. “I’m sure I will.”

“Your order will be up shortly,” you said, smiling, taking the menu back.

“I can’t wait.” His eyes followed you until you turned away and headed inside. It wasn’t until he ran into Zoe’s scrutinizing gaze that he finally looked away.

“What does he want?” she asked.

“Breakfast,” you replied casually.

“Yeah right," she mumbled. "And by the way, John’s agency called; they accepted the offer we discussed last time; they want some of our pastries for the meeting,” she said happily.

“Hey, that’s fantastic. I’ll prep those orders right away. Can you take Harry’s order?” you asked as she poured kvass into a cup.

"I can't believe I'm serving breakfast to your ex-boyfriend, whom I wasn't too fond of until just two days ago."

“That rich-looking guy is your boyfriend?” Nick asked, staring at you in disbelief.

You shot Zoe a glare. “Ex-boyfriend. But that’s none of your business. He’s just a customer, nothing more.”

“Yeah, right, keep saying that,” Zoe quipped, picking up the tray.

"Get back to work," you said to Nick as you headed inside to the cold storage area to grab the couverture chocolates for the orders.

“Here’s your order, Mr. I don't plan to apologize I'm just here because I enjoy teasing,” Zoe mumbled, placing Harry’s order from the tray onto the table.

Harry raised an eyebrow. "What was that?"

"Oh, I meant to say Mr. Castillo." she replied with mock astonishment.

Harry smirked. "First, you're mistaken; I already apologized. Second, I'm not here to tease anyone."

"Then what’s your purpose here?"

"I came for breakfast," he replied, taking a sip of his coffee.

"So you apologized, huh? If that's the case, why hasn’t anything changed between you two?" she seemed to be musing.

"We're still working through our issues."

"Hm, so that’s your approach."

“Harry! Oh my God, is it really you?”

They both turned at the sound of a high-pitched female voice. Zoe was taken aback as a tall blonde woman rushed over to Harry, wrapping her arms around his neck happily.

"Is this how you working through your issues with your ex-girlfriend, Mr Castillo?"

"Zoe, it’s not what you think. Don't go spreading any nonsense to your cousin." Harry was trying to wiggle free from Stella's hug. Zoe simply shrugged and walked back inside. Harry gently pushed Stella away. "What are you doing here?"

Stella frowned. "I got back to New York yesterday and I was surprised to see you. We haven’t talked in ages," she said as she settled into a seat across from him.

"We can talk later," Harry replied, glancing nervously toward the kitchen. "Can you please leave?"

“Wow, you’ve become so rude. You used to be nice to me,” she retorted.

Harry swallowed hard when he noticed you coming out of the kitchen, making your way to the counter to talk to Zoe. "Well, that was then. I'm a rude man now. So, just go, leave,” he said, waving her off with his hand.

But it was too late; you had seen everything. When you realized that Stella was even more stunning in person than in the photo, you nearly dropped the tray of freshly baked donuts.

Harry stood up and Stella left, walking away angrily. You went back to work, trying your best not to let it bother you.

As Harry entered, he approached you directly, but not before Zoe shot him a dirty look while delivering another order to a customer. “We just crossed paths,” Harry said, glancing at you nervously.

You looked at him, rolling your eyes. "Why are you explaining yourself?"

"I just don’t want you to get the wrong idea."

“I really don’t care, Harry. You can move on,” you replied.

He sighed.

"Because I’m moving on too," you countered, looking him in the eye.

Harry placed his hands on his hips. "What does that mean?”

"It means she's seeing someone now," Zoe chimed in, appearing beside him and winking at you.

You shot her a puzzled look but quickly regained your composure, realizing what she was hinting at. "Zoe, cut it out."

"Just tell him about Theo," she insisted, nodding discreetly toward Harry.

Theo was a friend of John from the talent agency. You only met him once, focusing on work, but Zoe had told you how much he liked you.

"I think you just made that up, ladies," Harry said smugly. "Are you really planning to take revenge like this?"

Suddenly, your feminine side kicked in defensively. "Why? Can’t I move on with my life? Do I belong to you or something? Theo’s a nice guy; I was just delivering these orders. You’re welcome to come see for yourself if you don’t believe me," you said, turning away.

"Okay, I’ll come with you," he said, catching you off guard.

"Wait, you’ll come?"

"Yes, let’s get this sorted. I noticed you don’t have a delivery guy, so how are you going to manage on your own?" He pulled out his phone and called his driver as you and Zoe exchanged nervous glances.

Shit.

You were in trouble now.

On the way to John's agency, Harry kept throwing questions at you, but you managed to dodge them all. What could you even say? You didn’t know anything about Theo yourself. This car ride was awkward enough, and you were kicking yourself for bringing up that Theo lie in the first place.

Damn jealousy.

When you finally got to the agency, you opened the car door and looked over at him. “Thanks for the ride.”

He hopped out, looked back, “Don’t move,” before heading around to your side to take the package from your hands. You got out and said, “You don’t need to come in; I can handle it.”

“At least let me help with that; it’s heavy,” he replied, walking toward the building while you kept pace with him. “Aren’t you late for work?”

“I run the company, remember?”

“Show-off,” you rolled your eyes, fighting back a smile.

Upon entering the building, the receptionist informed you that you needed to head to the twentieth floor. Harry stood next to you beside the elevator door as it ascended from the lower levels, glancing at the digital display. “You should go on ahead; I just need to get to the 20th floor.”

“I doubt that Theo guy is here,” he said, scanning the area.

“He’s probably upstairs,” you replied, feigning confidence.

Just then, Harry's phone rang. “Crap, I’ve got to take this.”

“See? I told you, the elevator’s here. You should go,” you urged.

He carefully handed you the package. “We need to talk about this Theo thing later.”

You shrugged, trying to keep your cool. “Okay, but I have nothing to hide,” you said, dismissing any nerves he might have felt.

The elevator dinged as it reached your floor, and the doors slid open. You couldn't believe your eyes—inside was a bunch of really good-looking guys, all dressed to impress.

It must be audition day or something.

They smiled at you and made room as you stepped inside, turning to press the button for the 20th floor. One of the men beat you to it and offered a charming smile.

“Why are they all so attractive?” Harry muttered, irritation lacing his voice.

You waved to him just as the elevator doors began to close, but he quickly stuck his hand in to stop them. He stepped back inside, looking at someone nearby. “Could you move back a bit?” he asked, reaching around you to press the button to close the doors, his arm lingering behind you.

“What are you doing?” you whispered.

“Nothing."

“I can carry your package if you’d like,” one of the men offered, grinning.

“It smells amazing,” another chimed in.

“Thanks,” you said, returning their smiles.

Harry, ever the protector, took the package back from you. “I’m carrying it.”

“You look a bit too dapper for a delivery guy.”

“If you ask me, that guy looks like that billionaire guy Harry Castillo,” one of them joked.

All the men turned to scrutinize Harry's face, laughter bubbling up from the group. “No way, why would a billionaire be delivering packages?” one of them chuckled.

You chuckled softly as you looked at Harry, who gave you a playful wink.

After a rather odd ride to the 20th floor, you delivered the orders.

When you bumped into John and Theo, you had a quick chat. You intended to tell him that nothing could happen between you. However, to your surprise, Zoe called him on your way here and made things sound much worse than they actually were.

As a result, you ended up promising to go out to dinner with Theo.

Just great.

Harry was waiting for you by the elevator when you returned, the next ride down completely empty. He glanced at you from the corner of his eye as the elevator descended, and you couldn’t help but gaze back at him.

Suddenly, there was a loud noise, and the elevator lurched to a stop. The lights flickered out before turning red. Instinctively, you grabbed Harry’s arm. “What’s happening?”

“Just relax; it’s probably a malfunction,” he said, calmly pressing the emergency button. You listened as the staff assured him they would resolve the issue shortly, but that reassurance did little to quell the panic rising in you. “Hurry, please!” you called out over the loudspeaker.

Harry wrapped his arms around you, and you found solace resting your head against his chest. “It’s okay, baby,” he murmured, gently stroking your hair.

Then it hit you—you were clinging to him, and he called you 'baby'.

Damn.

You quickly pulled back when you felt his lips brush your head.

What the hell?

Shouldn’t you still be upset with him? After all, you weren’t together anymore.

“Sorry, I just panicked,” you said, embarrassed.

“No worries,” he said with a grin.

“Stop looking at me like that,” you snapped, turning your gaze away.

But on the contrary, he moved closer, locking his gaze onto you. In the dim light, the red hue accentuated your features, giving off an irresistibly seductive vibe that was hard to ignore.

Raw. 

The way your body quivered under his penetrating gaze revealed a deep-seated longing, a desperate yearning for his touch that sent shivers through your very core. 

Intense. 

In that moment, just the two of you existed, where feelings entwined with time; a storm of emotions and desires raged within you, turning your thoughts into a chaotic battlefield of longing. 

Dangerous. 

A flicker of fear danced in your chest, the unsettling realization that the instant his fingers brushed against your skin, you would surrender utterly, yielding every fragment of your being to him without reservation. 

Harry leaned against the elevator wall, his hand just inches from your face as he bent down slightly. The intensity of his stare made you swallow hard.

"Please. Don’t," you pleaded, your voice barely above a whisper, yet your body betrayed you, yearning for his touch.

But he did, closing the gap as he leaned in toward your lips.

"Just a kiss," he whispered gently, his warm breath mingling with his familiar cologne, his tone filled with tenderness that sent shivers down your spine.

Shit.

You were barely able to stop yourself from throwing yourself into his arms, and he certainly wasn’t making it any easier. His hand traced along the side of your neck and settled over your heart. A sly smile crept onto his face as he felt it racing. "I think you want this too.”

"I don't, uh, we shouldn't, don't you, um, this is not--" 

You tilted your head back, hit the wall before you had time to finish your sentence, and before you could breathe, his tongue was in your mouth. The kiss enveloped you in a tantalizing mix of heat and passion, leaving you breathless and yearning for more. It sparked a fire deep inside, awakening a desire that only such a moment could fulfill. This kiss swept over you like a tidal wave, leaving you both dizzy and exhilarated. You found yourself trapped, so trapped—pulled helplessly between fierce desires and an aching longing and a rock-hard super-hot ex-boyfriend. You let out a yelp when your ass slammed against the cold steel of the elevator wall, but you didn't care; you were way too far gone now.

You both moaned when he pressed his full weight against you, pinning you against the steel wall, his hands slid down your waist, under the hem of your dress, to your hips and gripped them tightly. You pulled away from the kiss, gasping for breath, desperately trying to stop him but he seized the moment. Wasting no time, he moved on to your neck, licking, sucking the spot where you were most aroused, a spot he now knew too well. Just like he knew the fastest way to get you wet immediately.

Fuck.

It felt wrong, yet it was also dangerously hot.

You had to stop him or there was no turning back…

Just then, you heard the elevator door slide open, and the lights flickered back to life, causing both of you to freeze. You glanced at each other, stepped back, and quickly tidied your clothes and messy hair. The technical staff offered you nervous smiles. "I hope you're both alright. We sincerely apologize for the technical issue."

“We're fine,” Harry replied, licking his lips as he adjusted his shirt collar, while you smoothed out your dress, your face burning.

As you stepped outside the building, the shock of what had just happened still lingered. You broke the silence as he drove you back to the bakery. “Listen, what just happened there—will stay there, alright?”

“I can still taste you on my tongue, baby,” he said with a chuckle.

You shot him a glare. “I hate you.”

“No, you don’t,” he replied, laughter bubbling up from him.

When the car stopped in front of the shop, you opened the door, glancing at him before stepping out. “Like I said, it never happened. There’s nothing between us, got it?”

“Keep telling yourself that, darling.”

“Hey,” you snapped, raising your finger at him. “Just say 'deal' or I’ll never talk to you again.”

He sighed dramatically. “Okay, okay, it’s a deal.”

“Great. Thanks for the ride,” you said as you closed the door behind you.

“My pleasure,” he said, grinning.

He found himself laughing all the way to work, the memory of those electrifying moments in the elevator replaying in his mind like a favorite song. The rush of adrenaline coursed through him, making him feel alive once more.

It was amazing to be back with you, especially after he thought he might have lost you for good. For the first time, he truly felt grateful.

Now, he had a purpose: to win you back.

Thanks for reading! I really appreciate your comments, likes, and reblogs. I'd love to hear what you think about the chapter!

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[writeriguess]

Reader has a solar-powered quirk, and is weakened by rain or bad weather. Trying to push past that weakness, she trains in the pouring rain, only to push herself to collapsing, running out of energy. Katsuki finds her, thinking the worst-and takes reader to recovery girl. She explains her reason behind pushing herself and some feelings are confessed. Maybe title it Little Miss Sunshine?

Little Miss Sunshine

The rain is relentless, a constant, drumming assault against your skin as you push yourself through another round of drills. Your limbs feel heavier with each passing second, every movement sluggish, like you’re fighting against an invisible force pressing down on you. You know it’s reckless to train in weather like this—your quirk thrives on sunlight, and without it, your strength dwindles to nothing. But that’s exactly why you’re here.

Because if you ever want to stand on the same battlefield as everyone else, you need to be strong—even when the sun isn’t shining.

You grit your teeth, throwing another punch. It’s weak. Useless. You try to pivot, but your legs tremble under you. Another step. Another breath. Another—

The world tilts violently. Your body gives out, hitting the drenched pavement with a dull thud.

You hear a voice before you see him.

“The hell do you think you’re doing, dumbass?!”

You blink blearily, rainwater stinging your eyes. Katsuki stands over you, drenched to the bone, crimson eyes wild with something between fury and panic. His hands are clenched into tight fists, tiny explosions crackling between his fingers. You can’t tell if it’s from anger or the sheer force of his emotions.

You try to push yourself up. Your arms don’t cooperate.

His expression darkens, and before you can protest, he’s crouching down and grabbing you, hauling you into his arms as if you weigh nothing.

“Wait—Katsuki—”

“Shut up,” he snaps, voice strained. “Just shut the hell up.”

Your head lolls against his shoulder. He’s warm. Unfairly warm. Your eyelids flutter, but you force them open, staring at the side of his face. There’s something tight about his expression, his jaw locked in a way that makes your chest ache.

“I’m fine,” you mutter weakly.

His hold tightens. “No, you’re not.”

—

By the time you regain full awareness, you’re in Recovery Girl’s office, wrapped in a thick, scratchy blanket. The rain is still audible outside, but here, the air is warm. Safe. Katsuki stands a few feet away, arms crossed, looking about two seconds away from blowing something up.

Recovery Girl clicks her tongue. “You’re lucky Bakugo found you when he did. If you’d stayed out there much longer, you could’ve gone into shock.”

You wince, guilt curling in your stomach. “I just wanted to get stronger.”

Katsuki’s head snaps toward you. “By nearly killing yourself?” His voice is sharp, but underneath it, there’s something else. Something raw.

You swallow hard. “I—” You inhale deeply. “I know my quirk has a huge weakness. If I can’t fight when the weather’s bad, what’s the point? I don’t want to be a liability. I don’t want to hold anyone back.”

His expression twists. His hands clench. When he finally speaks, his voice is quieter. Rougher.

“You think that’s what we think of you?”

You freeze.

His eyes burn into yours. “You think I’d let some weakling fight beside me?”

Your breath catches.

“You’re not a liability, dumbass.” His jaw works. “You don’t have to kill yourself to prove something that’s already fucking obvious.”

Something inside you cracks. You duck your head, squeezing your eyes shut. “You don’t get it, Katsuki. You’re strong, always. Even on your worst days, you don’t—” Your voice wavers. “I just wanted to be strong, too.”

Silence.

Then, the mattress dips. A hand lands on your head, fingers threading through your damp hair. Your eyes fly open, and Katsuki is right there, close enough that you can see the way his throat bobs.

“You are.”

The words are quiet, barely above a whisper.

Your chest tightens.

His fingers twitch, then tighten in your hair. “Just—don’t do something that stupid again.” His eyes flick away, then back. “You scared the shit out of me.”

Warmth blooms under your ribs, something fragile and unbearably soft. You reach up, covering his hand with your own.

“I won’t,” you murmur.

Katsuki doesn’t move his hand. And for the first time since stepping into the rain, you finally feel warm.

[system-to-the-madness]

Slipping through my Fingers - Viktor x Reader

Pairing: Viktor (Arcane) x Reader (can be read as any gender, no pronouns used) Genre: angst/fluff Word Count: 7 449 Warnings: no use of (y/n), Viktor behaves like an ass in the beginning, self-doubts Summary: Your routine of checking up on Viktor, who fell asleep in the lab takes an unexpected turn Prompts: enemies (not really) to lovers A/N: For @spongelll (let me know if you want to be tagged in any future Bucky and or/Viktor stuff) Before writing: I have so many long ideas, but I know I can’t finish them, so I’m trying to write something short and sweet here.

You feel like an intruder in your own laboratory, as you quietly crank open the heavy, double winged door, peeking inside. The lights are turned off, safe for the one on the wide desk at the far end of the room. And there, in the halo of a lamp that bravely beats on against the oppressive push of the darkness of the late hour, sits Viktor. His back is to the door, his cane leaning against the table next to him, and his head? hanging so low over his notes that you know he must be asleep.

The smile on your lips is accompanied by a tucking in your chest, that is not entirely positive. Another night he spends in the lab, another night he misses out on his soft bed, doubtlessly the same academy-sponsored bed sheets in his dorm room staying cool for another night, just like the ones in your own dorm room.

The thought, that it probably isn’t good for him to never take off that chest brace, or the one for his knee, pushes into your mind, and for a short, delirious moment you consider waking him, walking over, shaking his shoulder, telling him to go to his room and rest properly. Sitting like that can’t be good for his neck either. It isn’t. You’ve seen him enough times, after nights like this one, how he spends the next day rolling his head from left to right, shrugging his shoulders, hoping to get rid of the painful tensions in them.

But before you even step into the room fully, you already know that you will not wake him, less for his sake than for yours. You’re selfish, maybe, not wanting to be met with the harsh and unforgiving stare and a scoff that tells you not to bother him while he is working. You have enough of these reactions memorized as it is, and each one feels like the sting of a needle in your soul, needles that get pushed in a little further each time another one gets added, another scoff, a dismissive wave of his hand, a gaze averted too quickly, as if he couldn’t stand looking at someone he so clearly deems below himself by so much.

And it hurts. You wish it didn’t, that you could be indifferent to his jabs and degradations, but you aren’t. Maybe, because you don’t understand why he is like this towards you. Everyone else he treats with the respect any living being inherently deserves, everyone, without exceptions. Sure, he rolls his eyes at the naive questions of first year students, but he answers them patiently. He sometimes assumes too much experience from his assistants and shakes his head at them when he has to explain again. But you, who is not his assistant but his equal in the laboratory, you he treats as if you should know every one of his complex thoughts and understand them without him having to explain.

Maybe it was a compliment, and you really try to see it as such, but somewhere along the line his reactions to your questions become a painful sting, an experience you try to avoid. Where he is kind a gentle with others, he is harsh and prickly with you, his patience thinning into anger as if you were intentionally not understanding his leaps in thoughts. You have gotten better at finding the thin lines that connect one idea to the next inside his mind, but sometimes you still have to ask, lest the situation become dangerous while working with something as powerful as HexTech, and each of his annoyed reactions is another needle added to your heart, which feels like a pincushion by now.

It irritates you, his insistence to keep you at arm’s length, ensuring you can never become more than a co-worker, even though you try, try becoming something like a friend, the way you became friends with Jayce and Sky so easily. Even when friendship isn’t what you wish for, deep down in your heart, not when you look at his whiskey-golden eyes or his tousled hair that refuses to obey the restrictions of any product he ever might have tried using to flatten it down, not when you see the adorably delighted grin on his lips whenever an experiment ended up working out the way he had planned it. His distance irritates you all the more, seeing how he tries to engage with everyone else, trying to find a place to fit in, with his science and HexTech-experiments, a place that accepts him for him, and not a crooked, perverted version of himself, made to fit into the tight frame of societal expectations. You wonder what it is about you that makes him push you away, if it is a misunderstanding, or just you as a person. You wish he wouldn’t look down on you, shush you harshly, ignore you, make you feel like you are worth less than you are, but whatever it is about you that makes him act this way, even if you knew, you would not change it. You like the way you are, and even if he hurts you, maybe more than he is aware of, maybe even more than he could forgive himself for, you would rather stay true to yourself than let him bend you into a person you do not wish to be. 

Which leads you here, standing in the dimly lit lab holding a thin blanket, instead of waking him and sending him to his room to sleep. A thin blanket, which you have gotten used to keeping around for moments like this, moments when Viktor falls asleep in the lab as if it were the only place that offers him the peace to shut his eyes. Quietly you walk over to him, careful to keep the clicking of your hard-soled shoes to a minimum, vigilant not to disturb him. 

His head is sunken to his chest, chocolate-brown strands of hair having fallen into his face, and your fingers tingle with the urge to brush them away, out of his eyes, tuck them behind his ear, or maybe just to feel them against your skin. Of course you don’t reach out, instead take a moment longer to admire his sleeping form. For once the crease between his brows has smoothed out, the problems in his experiments and equations forgotten momentarily while he has escaped to the realm of dreams, and you wonder which pictures paint themselves behind his eyelids. You catch yourself wishing your portrait is hung in his mind, not even big, you know it wouldn’t be, but maybe a small acknowledgment, a footnote in his memory of the work you accomplished together.

You shoo the thought away, reaching past him, and move the cup next to his notebook a safe distance away from his hand and the edge of the desk. You have seen Viktor fall asleep at his desk often enough to know that sometimes he flinches in his sleep, and you don’t want to risk him pouring the remaining contents of his cup over his notes.

For a moment you linger, hesitate as you look at the pen in his hand. It’s still touched to the paper, already having left some lines that don’t belong between the neatly written calculations. A glance at his face, and you make your decision, very slowly reaching out. You almost hold your breath as your fingers close around the back end of the pen, and- you’re lucky, Viktor’s hold on the pen isn’t tight. Carefully you pull the pen out of his hand, his fingers only twitching once, trying to grasp at what is no longer there, but then his hand relaxes and falls to the desk, more relaxed than before.

Quickly you check to see if the intrusion into his space has woken him up, but Viktor’s eyes are still closed, his breath still deep and even, blissfully unaware of the care he receives by the very same hands he so often refuses to acknowledge. His long lashes rest against his faintly freckled cheeks, and for a moment you can’t help but think that the ladies of Piltover would certainly kill for lashes as full and long as Viktor’s. Maybe it’s for the best that he hides away behind books and lab equipment; you’re certain he could throw the high society of the city into love-drunk chaos if he used the charms, you know he possesses, for evil.

You know he has charms because you have been unfortunate to have witness him weaponize it during a meeting discussing the funding for future HexTech funding, and in equal parts shock and amusement you found his charms had worked. So, he can be charming, you concluded afterwards, and simply consciously decides not to be with you.

Jerk.

The word pushes so close to your lips, tinted with unjustified admiration, that it almost spills over, before you swallow it back down into a hidden place in your chest, the deepest part of your heart, where you never have to acknowledge it again.

Taking a deep breath, you turn away, unfolding the thin blanket next to Viktor. This is the most difficult part - covering him with it, without him noticing. But not once in the many times you have done him this favour has he ever woken, so your nerves are not nearly as on edge as the first few times. Indeed, this time too, he doesn’t even stir, just keeps breathing, keeps dreaming of you-don’t-know-what. And maybe you don’t even want to know. 

For a moment you stand and look at him, wondering why after all this dismissive behaviour towards you, you still care, still try to melt the ice he has piled up in blocks between you.

Maybe it’s because you feel attracted to his brilliance, you think. But then again, Jayce is brilliant too, and what you feel towards him is so different from the gravity Viktor’s character exerts on you. Maybe it’s because he is beautiful, not like a fairy tale prince, but more like the brilliant scientist who struggled his whole life to be allowed to conduct the studies his heart aches to perform with the goal to acquire the knowledge to help the people. Well, he is that scientist, isn’t he. Or maybe it’s his kindness, the one he shows everyone but you, the one you almost enviously watch him hand out to the people in his life, while you hide in the corner with a smile on your face, like the child that snuck in to see a play, hiding under the seats while watching their favourite fairy tale unfold before their very eyes, maybe the one about the kind scientist. 

In the end, you conclude, it doesn’t matter why you ended up with your feelings so entangled in non-sense, the answer to the why wouldn’t change the fact, which is that you care for Viktor and he not for you. But you are not yet ready to let go of that care, even when you long have given up hope.

Instead, you adjust the blanket a little to cover him fully, and step back. Tomorrow morning, when you come in to resume your work, your own equations and calculations, the blanket will sit neatly folded on the corner of Viktor’s table, while he is leaning over his notebooks, pen in one hand, a steaming cup of hot tea in the other. He will not mention the blanket, not even when you grab it on your way to your lunch break. If he will acknowledge your presence beyond the discussion of his latest findings, it will be to tell you to close the door, or to demand you should breathe more quietly.

An inaudible sigh frees itself from your throat without your permission, and then you reach to his desk lamp, dimming the light. It’s too dark now to work, but just right for napping. Should Viktor wake up before the sunlight of a new day floods the laboratory high above the city, he will neither wake to darkness nor to blinding light.

With a last glance you check the still peacefully sleeping Viktor and his desk. The cup is safe from being pushed over, the pen no longer drawing lines over his notebook, the blanket covering Victor to keep him warm though the night. Everything is as it should be. Well, should be beyond the fact that Viktor is sleeping here, instead of his bed.

You turn to leave, are halfway across the room, when suddenly the sound of your name being spoken breaks the silence and makes you freeze.

~*~

It’s the distinct feeling of something slipping through his fingers, something intangible, something he cannot put into words. Maybe it’s not even something physical, never was, just a feeling, but Viktor’s fingers try to keep holding on, try to keep this something in his palm, but it slips, slips away beyond where he can reach it.

No, he realises with the panic setting in of a realisation that comes too late, not something. It’s you, he’s losing. He knows it. Isn’t this what you wanted, a part of his mind mocks him. He isn’t sure why he would ever treat you with anything but the purest affection, the gentlest words, the most heartfelt reassurances, but he does. He never lets the warmth in his heart bleed into his words, much less his actions.

You irritate him, with your sweetness, how you never treat him like someone who needs help, but rather someone you care for. It’s dangerous, why can’t you see that? You wouldn’t want him, not really. He knows this much. Why do you keep being so kind to him, when all you do, knowingly or not, is bind his heart to you, each understanding word, every question about his work, even the smallest gestures of holding open a door, not to mention the big ones, the blankets you cover him with when he fell asleep at his desk, and the lunchboxes you put next to his notes, are one sling of the rope after the other binding his heart to you, a tangle of his soul to your very being.

He tried to keep you away, a wordless warning that you wouldn’t want him, not with his unrelenting focus on his work, not with his broken body and his distracted mind, not with how much less he is of what you deserve. But you stay around, and it kills him inside every time he forces himself not to react to how sweet you are to him, instead of taking your face between his hands, which - he is sure - could cover your whole face.

He wishes he could be delicate with you, as soft and caring as you are with him, but to keep you safe he grows thorns and sharp edges, and even when he scratches you, you still push through.

Things get even more difficult, infinitely more torturous when you stop being sweet. When the caring, human side of you melts away into the cool, analytical side that juggles formulas and theories and numbers and ideas through the room as if you had never done anything else. Underneath your hands working chalk against blackboard walls, brilliance takes shape in the form of equations. The way you write them down is like light, refracting in a drop of water, making what seemed dull and well known suddenly like an explosion of colour and possibilities, and Viktor hates himself every time he doesn’t tell you that without your approaches to HexTech he never could have made progress in his own work.

But between the sweetness of your character and the brilliance fall a million other things that make him want to wrap his heart around you and never let you go. The way you laugh, especially when you feel like you don’t have to hide it for reasons of politeness. The way you jump up stairs or storm down corridors when you have an idea you need to write down. The way you explain, gesticulating, voice tight with excitement. The way you respect and admire the people you work with, encouraging, supporting, ever curious for new insights, new approaches. And there is so much more of you, things Viktor can’t even begin to understand while he keeps himself at arm’s length.

Last week you brushed his arm by accident, and the short contact, really just the sensation of his shirt being pressed to his skin for a split second has made him strangely aware of your physicality- you are real. You are human. Your skin is soft, even though he may never touch it. Your hands might be warm, like his, or maybe they’re cool. They might be cool, considering you often wear a layer more than him, as if you’re cold. He suspects the clean smell of simple soap to cling to you, even though he has never allowed himself to lean in far enough to inhale it. Beneath your skin there is blood rushing, breath filling your lungs, a heart beating in your chest, and it hurts knowing those are parts of you he will never feel. Even if you were to let him, he can’t let himself. For your sake. For your safety. 

Then why- then why is there panic now in the way his fingers tighten around nothing, grasping for you, the thing he has sworn himself to never reach for? Why is his heart racing, why does the warmth that suddenly engulfs him feel like it’s the last time he will ever feel its comfort?

Panic surged through him, and rises, rises, constricts his breath, claws at his throat, makes him gag and thrash against the darkness that swallows him. It’s dark and warm, but soon enough the warmth will fade, and you will be gone.

And then?

Then what?

What is he without you but a heart unravelled, torn to pieces by his own cowardice? Why does he have to be the strong one, he wonders, his head light as he drowns in dark warmth. Why does he have to protect you? Can’t he let himself fall into your arms, which you have been holding out so willingly for so long? You offer him your arm, offer yourself as a crutch, so when you offer, why does he insist on refusing to lay his weight on you?

He sputters at the despair filling his lungs, reaches and reaches for what has slipped through his fingers.

Why can he not allow himself to accept your offer? Because he thinks there is nothing he can give you in return. But can he not support you, too? You help him walk, and he catches you, should you ever stumble. He will carry his weight, not put more on you than he must, but he can accept your help, can he not? Can he not put his heart into your hands? Would you let him hold yours in return? He would hold it carefully, the way one holds a baby bird in the hollow of their hands. He would hold your heart, and if you let him, he would hold you, too.

All of you.

Not just the parts he sees now, not just the parts he likes, the parts that fit him.

All of you.

But you’re slipping through his fingers, just as he allows himself to feel, just as he allows himself to tear down the walls he tried to build. And his fingers close around nothing, his chest fills with warmth he knows will evaporate soon enough into the darkness beyond his eyelids, and in one last, desperate plea, your name falls from his lips.

~*~

It’s just a whisper, your name spoken in the silence of the dimly lit laboratory, and for a moment you think you just imagined Viktor’s familiar voice sounding out your name. He hardly ever uses it, the times he does, so rare and few between, you sometimes wonder if he even remembers it. But now it bridges the short distance between where he sits, and where you are on your way towards the door. It reaches out, brushes against you and then evaporates into nothingness, but is enough to make you halt your steps, wondering if maybe you yourself have fallen asleep and are dreaming up a world in which he cared enough to know your name. 

Just as you come to the conclusion that your own, sleep-deprived mind played a trick on you, there is the faint sound of fabric rustling, before your name is spoken again, clearer this time, more than a whisper, almost desperate, Viktor’s accent wrapping thickly into the vowels and consonants, as if making it his own, something only he gets to call you. 

You want to stand your ground, refuse turning around and tell him “You shouldn’t sleep in the lab, Viktor. Go to bed.” But you don’t. Maybe you can’t. You can’t ever be strict or curt with him, even when he deserves it. So instead, you turn around, your heart hammering hard in your chest.

Why?

Because you have been caught in the act of caring for someone who discards every service as irrelevant, worse, less than that? Or because his voice sounds so frail, so scared, but is still enough to make the air around you vibrate, fill the high-ceiling room with the sudden awareness that it is just you and him here, him wrapped into the blanket you put over him, your name wrapped in his gentle voice. Gentle… something he has never been with you. It makes alarm bells ring in your mind, and your racing heart is over-written by sudden concern. 

“Viktor,” you breath the quiet reply as you twist, turning to look back at him. 

He has sat up in his chair, turned enough to look at you over his shoulder, his face shrouded in shadow, his expression unreadable. The blanket you so carefully pulled over his shoulders has slipped down to where it catches in his elbows that remain propped up on the table.

For a moment you just look at each other, hesitant, neither of you sure where this is going, a confrontation you had attempted to avoid, one Viktor couldn’t deny having anticipated. But you don’t know that, don’t know of the panic that surged in his chest at the thought you might slip from between his fingers, not even aware that was where you had been, thinking you were separated by oceans he had filled with buckets upon buckets of indifference.

You expect a scolding, a scoff, a “you’re too loud” or “why’d you wake me”, at least a roll of his eyes and him to turn away, so when he lifts his hand of the table and reaches out, a feeble attempt to bridge the meters between you, you are not sure what to make of it. All you do is stare at his hand for a moment, stare at the way he stretches, reaches for you, a silent, unvoiced plea that you almost swear you just imagine in the gesture.

Hesitating another moment, you finally turn around fully, slowly walking back over, but when you reach him, his eyes never leaving your face, you don’t take his hand, just consider it for a moment before abandoning the idea. He makes the decision for you, wrapping his fingers, long and warm and blotted with ink stains, around yours, pulling you closer. There is a tension in his shoulders, that begins to fall away as soon as his skin is against yours, a tension that loosens with every inch you close.

“You’re still here,” he observes, looking up at you from where he sits, his head finally turned enough towards the light to have his face lit up.

His eyes shine golden, but they lack the sharp edge he usually considers you with. Instead, they are open, like he forgot to lock the gates to his soul this time before looking at you. Behind them, there is vulnerability you are not used to seeing from him, and even after years of knowing him, you are not sure you have ever seen him like this, laid bare, every feeling in the open. But you don’t know how to read him. You know the closed version of him, and the carefully friendly version he shares with the others close to him, but this Viktor is a book written in a language you have never seen before. It is all right there, right before your eyes, pleading you to understand, and you lack the experience with him to do so. It’s painful and frustrating, because you are certain, in this moment, that you will never get another chance, will never get the time to decode the signs that put together the emotions he shows you now. 

A flicker of understanding brushes over his face, his lips lift in a small smile, as if he had heard your thoughts, your internal scolding of not holding a dictionary for his most inner motions ready at hand.

“You’re still here,” he repeats, and you don’t know what to answer.

It doesn’t seem like he expects an answer though, because he gets up from his chair, his hand still closed around yours, and stands before you. The blanket you so carefully had wrapped him in unravelled itself, slipped from his lap, caught against his trousers in something that made it almost seem reluctant to follow the physics of gravity, before piling at his feet.

Now that he stands, Viktor is taller than you, and you almost have to tilt your head a little to look into his face. His expression is still open, still unguarded maybe for the first time since you met him, and his mouth opens as if to say something, maybe explain himself.

And then he falls forwards. 

At first you think he lost his balance, or collapsed, but the moment his body comes to meet yours, you realise it’s none of that. He still stands, carries his own weight, but is leaning against you, his arms, thin but surprisingly strong, come around you, pulling you into him. Not harsh, not oppressive, not in a way that wouldn’t allow you immediate escape, but steady, present, intentional.

He knows what he’s doing and he’s doing nothing he didn’t mean to, and he lets you know, let’s you take in the shock for a moment, before his arms wrap tighter around you, his feet move him closer, and one of his hands travels to the spot between your shoulder blades, holding you against him, his hands warm enough to bleed unfamiliar comfort through your jacket, right into your skin.

You’re still hesitating, completely overwhelmed and so confused. What is this, what does this mean? Why does he let you in, searches your touch?

You give in without meaning to, let your own arms circle around him, not as tight as he holds you, but with just enough strength to signal him you want this, want him. Slowly, almost hesitantly, you let your head fall against him, let your temple rest against his vest.

He’s warm, you realise the longer the contact gets drawn out. Even the parts of his body where you feel the rigid brace over his torso are warm, hard metal digging into your stomach, and doubtlessly into his as well.

You can’t help but allow yourself to be overwhelmed by the sensations attacking your senses, the shape of his chest against yours, uneven and interrupted by metal hidden underneath the silky fabric of his shirt, adorned with hard, metal buttons, the weight of his arms around you, the caress of his hands, holding you, confident in a way you hadn’t expected him to be. The fabric of his vest is smooth under your fingertips, the buttons on the back stretching the fabric around his slim waist, a waist that now, that you got your arms around it, you realise isn’t really that slim, only in comparison to the rest of the body. Something to hold on to, someone to sink into. Somehow you had always imagined Viktor to be more fragile than he is, now, that his arms are holding you to him. But there is nothing fragile about his body, only lean muscle and soft skin and warmth that engulfs you in way you hadn’t even dared dreaming about.

Then you feel his lips against your forehead, plush and soft, the brush of his nose against your hair, the tickle of beard stubble he ignored for a day too long on the skin underneath. His lips linger, make your breath hitch, and then stop as your hold your breath, waiting, not capable of imagining what could possibly have tempted him enough to do that. But his lips stay pressed to your skin, soft, caressing, his breath fanning over your face, reminding you to take a breath of your own before your lungs ache for oxygen.

You could swear you feel a soundless chuckle in his chest, as if it amuses him that you cannot fathom what is happening, that he holds you as if he intended to never let go, but what you don’t know is the pain that makes his chest ache along with his amusement, pain over having made you believe he could ever want anything other than being this close to you. 

You stand like this for a long time, his body steady and warm against yours, while you are stiff from surprise and disbelief. But he waits, waits for the tension to fall away, waits until you relax enough to let your body melt against him. And finally, finally it feels like he is complete. Your touch, the way you mould yourself against him, fills every creak and crevance in his torn, little heart and he holds you a little tighter, breaths a little deeper, and closes his eyes so tight he thinks he might never get them open again. He wouldn’t mind if he didn’t, as long as it meant you never had to step away from him.

But you do eventually. Not before not a long while has passed, not before not your hearts have gotten so used to feeling each other’s rhythms against ribs and metal braces that they calmed down to a calm duet of affection that doesn’t need words to make the other body understand.

You do understand, at least that’s what Viktor hopes, because he isn’t strong enough to find a verbal language to express the fear he holds so tight in his chest. The fear that he is too much trouble for a free soul like yours, or maybe not enough of everything you desire. And he most certainly doesn’t know how to tell you that despite every word and every gesture, every action and rejection he used to make you believe he wouldn’t care, he loves you.

He will figure out that it takes just three words, but sometimes the simplest solutions seem the most difficult to find under the rubble of grand declarations and impossibly tight-wound feelings.

So, he doesn’t have the words to answer the questions that swim in your eyes when you pull away to look at him. Your hands are on his waist, pushing yourself away from him, like he once pushed himself away from you, but now the stuffy air that separates you from him, even if it’s just a few inches, feels like a cruel abyss, cold and insurmountable.

He knows you deserve better, deserve to know why he was once so distant and what made this distance turn into a burning fire of need to feel you by his side, but he doesn’t know how to do better, and you don’t demand him to be better either. You search his face, for something he wishes he could phrase, but you don’t need words it seems, finding your answers in his eyes, because you reach up, cupping his cheek in your palm, just a short contact of your fingers against his skin and- you smile. Viktor swears the sun just rose right in front of him, warm and gentle and so absolutely necessary for life as he knows it, beautiful enough for him to be able to push aside the fear of getting burned. 

Your fingers drop away again, a chill replacing their brushed caress, and finally Viktor can speak, even if it’s not what you deserve to be told, only what he selfishly wants to take. 

“Stay with me,” he breathes, and a shiver runs down your spine as you look up into those golden irises that have burned themselves so deep into your mind you can even see them when you close your eyes. “Stay with me.”

You blink, slowly regaining a sense of your surroundings, which had melted away the moment Viktor’s hand had met yours, and you remember where you are, why you are here, the blanket pooling around Viktor’s ankles. 

“Not here,” you tell him, and he almost startles, you feel the shock ripple through his body as if coming to the same realisation as you: You’re still standing at his desk in his lab. He looks like he has been torn out of a dream, blinking at you before suddenly looking away, his eyes scanning the walls of books and windows and blackboards. “Not tonight.”

When he looks back at you, his gaze has changed, and you brace for what you had been waiting for the whole time: him pushing you away again, reeling back in the vulnerability and shutting the gates to his soul, never to open them for you again. 

When he reaches back out to you, mirroring the way you hold him by the waist, you can tell he relishes in your surprise. 

“Not here,” he repeats your words back at you, his eyes still soft, and he leans in a little closer. “Not tonight. Not here tonight. Where then?”

You understand what he’s going for, even if it’s not what you had meant. At the same time, you cannot deny that what he’s asking is what you want to ask but haven’t allowed yourself. Instead, you had tried making it sound like it’s about the time rather the place. But Viktor sees through you, even through the mask you put on so that what’s inside your soul doesn’t scare him away. Either he has sharper eyes than you had realised until now or he simply knows no fear. While for now you assume the latter, the truth lies in the former.

His question still hangs between you, his “th” more a “d” due to his accent, and even though the familiar sound of it tries coaxing you to speak your mind, you cannot admit that right now all you want is to curl up against him, or around him, on your bed, so you remain silent.

He looks at you, as if your reply is written in your eyes, and maybe it is, because he nods, as if to agree, or maybe he decided for himself what he wants to do, because he pulls away and reaches for the button of the desk lamp, switching it off.

In the darkness that engulfs you instantly your ears feel like their hearing has improved a hundred-fold, hearing him move as he picks up the blanket from the floor and throws it on his chair, even when all you can think about is how cold you feel where his hands had rested moments ago.

In the absolute dark Viktor’s hand finds yours, not unlike the first touch he shared with you tonight - no, not just tonight, but ever. You hear the clicking of his cane, as it hits the floor and then he tucks at your hand, guiding you towards the door you slipped through like a thief in the night. The only thing you have stolen though is Viktor’s heart, but that was long before tonight. Although perhaps it could be said that tonight’s loot is nobody other than the brilliant scientist himself, stolen away from his desk by the realization gained in a nightmare that he must not let love slip through his fingers. 

As Viktor leads you through the corridors of the Academy, you barely pay attention to anything but his hand in yours, larger, with long fingers that close around yours in a certainty and confidence you find yourself admiring. Perhaps it’s simply the fact that you admire him. You don’t pay much mind where he brings you, trusting him, knowing he wouldn’t harm you or do anything you object. 

When he stops in front of his dorm room door, you’re calm, almost as if the way he had held you before had drained all the nerves from your body, and so you let him lead you inside, kick your shoes off next to the door, and follow him to the bed, onto which he pulls you down on top of him. His arms come back around you, holding you in place when you try shifting off him, worried you might hurt him with your weight. 

“Stay,” he whispers, his lips brushing against your ear, his breath like an intoxicating mist on your skin.

“I’m heavy,” you attempt to argue weakly, “I’ll hurt you.”

His arms tighten on you, pulling you closer, and you can hear more than see him shake his head.

“Stay.” A single word, a command, a plea.

“Your braces-”

Viktor sighs, and for a moment you wonder if this is where he kicks you back out of his life as his arms loosen around you, and you push up to lean over him.

“You care-” 

too much, is what you’re certain he wanted to say, but he just stares at you, as you’re propped up over him, and if you weren’t waiting for rejection, you might have closed the gap and kissed him. 

But the last two words never come, swallowed up in affection and disbelieving bliss as his aureate eyes read the concern in yours. Concern that shifts as you get distracted by the specks of bronze in his irises, the light freckles that dot over his nose and cheeks all the way down to his neck, where they disappear under the collar of his shirt. They’re so faint you never noticed them until you almost had your nose pressed to them, and you find you love every single one of them, wish you could lean down to show them - show Viktor - your affection with the brush of your lips.

“You care.” Viktor’s mind feels like a scratched record, unable to come up with any new words, only repeating the ones his throat had already fought to rasp out, and he regrets the way your eyes jump from where they were running over the skin of his neck back to his eyes. Their caress was soft and appreciative, and he vows to himself to ask you to do it again, just not tonight. Maybe under bright sunlight where he can see your eyes shine and make out the baby hair that grows where your face ends and your hair begins. 

It is as if his words have torn you out of your stupor, and quickly you sit up.

“You have to change out of the braces,” you tell him, and Viktor shakes his head in defeat, before obeying your order, limping to the bathroom to change.

You watch him disappear, and suddenly you feel too awkward to move. Your body suddenly is heavy with sleep, but you resist the temptation of his soft looking pillow, the one that is sure to wrap you in his scent, and instead stay seated, waiting for him to come back.

When he does, his hair is tousled from pulling his shirt over his head, the clothes he is wearing now looking soft and comfortable, not unlike the ones you had thrown on before sneaking into the laboratory to take care of him.

The memory of how the evening started makes a smile tuck at your lips, and Viktor raises an eyebrow at you, in equal parts amused and curious.

“Won’t you share your thoughts,” he asks, glad to finally have access to his vocabulary again. Most of it anyways.

“Just-” You watch as he sits down next to you, before laying down and reaching his hands out for you; an invitation to come back into his arms. You don’t hesitate. “When I came into the lab, I wanted to make sure you would sleep at least a little more comfortably.”

Viktor pulls you against his chest, now a lot softer than a few minutes ago with the brace. His chest expands and deflates evenly as he shifts you to lay half on top of him. It is the first time you are so close to him, so intimate in his bed even before having tasted his kiss or spoken words of confessions. Still, it feels natural, like you belong, like you are meant to be in his arms. He feels the same.

“I’m sure I’ll sleep more comfortably tonight than any night before,” he admits, an affectionate glint in his eyes that makes your knees weak. “And…” he hesitates, his eyes flickering away, his tongue coming out to wet his lips, “I do hope it’s just the first night of many.”

Your heart jumps and your cheeks heat up, so you drop your head to his shoulder, hiding the embarrassment of hearing words you had dreamt about hearing for so long. His hands rub your back in slow, firm circles, but the quiet laugh that rumbles in his chest gives away not just his amusement at your reaction but also his melting anxiety about your answer.

“Fine,” you agree, your words muffled against his shirt. “Only the first.”

A shimmer of fear remains as you bid your good night to him, curled against his warm body, that things will be different in the morning, that his resentment will have returned, that he might kick you out or have disappeared by the time you wake. But Viktor still holds you tight when you wake up, brushing his nose against your cheek and smiling at you as if there’s a secret only the two of you know.

Brushes of his nose against your cheek that morning turn to brushes of his hands against yours throughout the day and the next weeks, then to brushes against your elbow, brushes of his nose against your hair, his lips against your cheeks and finally an explanation of what had changed so suddenly before you take the leap and press your lips to his in a kiss that neither of you would have dared hoping for three months ago.

It’s easy to take your time, to slowly work up from one display of affection to the next, because you know you’re in the right place, and there is no haste.

And life goes on.

Different, and yet the same. Still equations and formulas paint themselves against the blackboards in the laboratory, directed by your hand, and still Viktor watches you, watches the brilliant colours of unlocking nature’s secrets coming to life through you, but he no longer turns his gaze away, when you look over to him. He no longer sends you away when you offer him lunchboxes, but invites you to sit with him, or even joins you for lunch outside in the gardens.

He lets himself lean on you, even if it’s not much, it eases the weight he sometimes feels on his shoulders, and he catches you, when you stumble through nights of little sleep or low moods. And even though it is perhaps the one thing nobody else notices, it's the one thing that makes the biggest difference to him, and to you: he no longer sleeps in the lab. Even when he stays late, there is always a point in which his body aches for sleep, sleep in the arms of the one person he trusts most, the one person he loves with more of his heart than he ever thought was possible to give.

So, he sneaks down the corridors on those nights when he hasn’t pulled you back into his own room, tries to mute the sound of his cane against the tiles as he moves towards your door and slips in, like an intruder. But he isn’t. Not when it’s your arms he falls into, not when it’s your body that presses to him and tells him he is home.

A/N: This turned out not short (for me) and only sweet towards the end. Also, I feel like I was on drugs while writing this (I promise, I wasn't).

[the-cosmic-cauldron]

Today, we’re going to talk about the Mars sign and how it influences the way you take action. Action is what drives our day-to-day lives. Without it, nothing would come to fruition. Your Mars sign shapes your approach to action in ways that many people have never fully explored. Let me guide you through how your Mars sign dictates how you take action.

Aries Mars

With an Aries Mars, your life is all about movement. You dislike stillness, boredom, and feeling useless. You’re a natural worker, and when you’re not working, it negatively impacts your self-worth and empowerment. You feel defeated and weakened without constant action.

In this position, Aries Mars doesn’t like to overthink. They avoid people who crowd their mind with too many ideas. Instead, they prefer to act based on instinct and what feels right in the moment. They are the ultimate guide and compass for their own life and dislike being told what to do. If you try to get an Aries Mars to listen to others, they will become aggressive and shut you down or refuse to listen. They want to rule their own lives.

As a cardinal sign, Aries Mars is quick to start things. They’re quick to apply for a job, try something new, or go after what they want. They don’t like being bossed around; instead, they expect others to take orders from them. If you’re interacting with an Aries Mars, you must listen to what they say and obey their rules.

Ruled by Mars, Aries Mars is hot-headed, creative, and aggressive. They don’t know how to dial back their energy. They express themselves directly, preferring a clear yes or no—nothing in between. Aries Mars loves to be dominant, and submissive roles never suit them. They won’t last long in situations where they aren’t in control.

They want to show strength and capability, so they’ll always gravitate toward opportunities that allow them to demonstrate their power. Aries Mars doesn’t like being told no; they’ll knock down walls just to prove they’re strong enough to do it. If you plant a seed of doubt in their mind, they’ll quickly show you why you’re wrong.

Fearless by nature, Aries Mars will often try to push through challenges—even when they’re not fully capable—driven by adrenaline. They run on this adrenaline, ensuring that everything they do is done in a big way. Their motto is “Go big or go home.”

With this placement, you might rise to the top or crash to the bottom. But even if you fall, you always have the resilience to get back up. Life for Aries Mars flows in cycles—cycles of danger and cycles of success. But no matter what, you have the ability to rise above it all.

Taurus Mars

You can’t be bothered with people who don’t understand how you do things, because it annoys you to explain yourself to those who aren’t willing to understand. You have the ability to be discerning, and you can easily spot when someone is asking you to do something just because it’s different from how you do things, versus when someone truly wants to assist you. However, in this action-oriented placement, you often move too slowly for Mars. While Mars is racing ahead, you take your sweet time, falling far behind. Although, one day, you will catch up with Mars—it just might take a while. For you, Taurus Mars, it’s all about being slow and steady, but sometimes, you might fall out of the race entirely.

Taurus Mars prefers to stick to tried-and-true methods. You dislike doing anything unconventional. You need traditional, proven, scientifically researched methods. You want to know what your grandmother did and replicate it because, frankly, you don’t care about modern technology or the latest ideologies. What works is what you’ll do, because you don’t have the energy to explore new ideas.

At your core, Taurus Mars is all about pleasure. You hardly want to move unless there’s something in it for you. You’re transactional—refusing to take on tasks for trivial amounts of money. You know your worth and won’t settle for small change. You need to know exactly how much you’ll be compensated before you’ll even consider moving.

Taurus Mars is motivated by pleasure. Anything that makes life feel more beautiful, relaxing, and luxurious is what draws you in. If you’re only offering exercise as an incentive, forget it. Taurus Mars doesn’t care about working out; it cares about sitting back and enjoying life. Your movements are slow and deliberate, as you’re playing a long game. You’re not concerned with building muscle or being the strongest—you’re aiming to enjoy life to the fullest in your own way.

Your actions are meticulous and intentional, and this often frustrates others who are always in a rush. While they’re eager to get somewhere, Taurus Mars is focused on enjoying the ride. You’re all about sensuality and taking pleasure in movement, but only in ways that make you feel beautiful, useful, and at peace. You don’t want to work at a construction site; you’d rather paint, water the garden, dance, or create something beautiful.

The Mars energy can be too strong for Taurus, causing a clash. Mars urges you to act quickly, but Taurus is reluctant to rush. This makes it take a long time for you to take any significant action because you need to know that what you’re doing will produce tangible results.

There are two things that are crucial for Taurus Mars to move:

1. It needs to feel like an investment. You need to see that what you’re doing is worth the effort and will yield results.

2. You cannot be bothered by things that require too much physical exertion or mental strain. You prefer tasks that allow you to use your eye for beauty and aesthetics rather than relying on brute strength or intense mental effort.

Taurus Mars sits between physical strength and mental power when taking action. You also need to know that whatever you’re doing is sustainable. If something requires too much energy, you won’t pursue it. But if it’s low energy and leads nowhere, you’ll also avoid it.

What sets Taurus Mars apart is that when they finally take action, they do so with such discernment and efficiency that they often produce far greater results than others who are taking constant action. While others might rush through their tasks, Taurus Mars moves slowly, but when they take that one step, the payoff is significant. People might get jealous when they see that after taking three months to decide, Taurus Mars ends up with more than the person who’s been acting every day. Taurus Mars doesn’t leap without thought—they only take action when they know it will work. And that’s why, in the end, they often end up in a better position than others.

Gemini Mars

How did the planet Mercury meet Mars? Well, they talked their way over to Mars, who was busy working, and now they’re distracting Mars from getting things done. Yes, Gemini Mars is always distracted from taking action.

Seeing a Gemini Mars take action is like seeing a rainbow in the sky—a rare and beautiful occurrence. Everyone gathers around to admire it, but it doesn’t happen often. For Gemini Mars, they are cerebral thinkers. They don’t care much about doing. In fact, they prefer to watch others do the work because they can’t be bothered to lift a finger.

Why would they exert physical effort when their strength lies in their mental capacity? Instead of doing, they prefer to instruct others who are willing to act. They’ll share their ideas, plan things out, and let others carry out the tasks. That’s the essence of Gemini Mars.

In this position, Mars is full of energy and ready to take action, but it’s facing Mercury, who is just talking. So, Gemini Mars doesn’t thrive here. Why? Because Mars is waiting for Gemini to act, but Gemini is too busy talking. If you meet someone with Gemini Mars, they’ll be a big talker—full of grand ideas, theories, and ideologies. They can talk about everything from social groups and celebrities to the latest trends. But when you ask them what they’ve actually done today, they haven’t done much because it’s all in their head.

One thing Gemini Mars is good at is meeting new people and finding ways to externalize their thoughts. They can convince others to be the ones who do what needs to be done. For example, a Gemini Mars might have a girlfriend who does all the cooking and cleaning, while the Gemini Mars doesn’t lift a finger. Why? Because the Gemini Mars has charmed and persuaded the person into doing these things, using their charisma and Mercury energy to convince them that it’s the best thing for them to do. Now, the Gemini Mars doesn’t have to cook dinner or clean clothes because they’ve convinced someone else to do it.

That’s the essence of Gemini Mars. They will persuade you to do what they don’t want to do. They’ll give you the ideas, make lists for you, and tell you exactly how to do it, but they won’t execute it themselves. They’re thinkers, not doers. Gemini Mars excels in jobs that require them to use their creativity and intellect but not physical labor. If the job requires them to be hands-on, they’ll likely fail or quit because that’s not where their strength lies.

When it comes to decision-making, Gemini Mars is also slow. They don’t like to make decisions because they’re constantly processing information. They’re never set in stone with their conclusions. Instead, they’re always transitioning between different ideas, theories, and thoughts without committing to one. This indecisiveness makes Gemini Mars a poor decision-maker.

While this might not be the best placement in times when people were expected to take action and do physical labor, Gemini Mars functions well in modern, intellectual eras where new ideas and technological advancements are valued. In today’s world, Gemini Mars thrives in environments that require efficient thinking, ideation, and constant mental stimulation. They’re not going to do the work—they’re just going to tell you how to do it.

Cancer Mars

When we think of Mars, we think of action—raw, animalistic, pure energy. And then here comes the soft, subtle Moon. Mars doesn’t even notice the Moon because it’s too busy working, while the Moon is focused on comfort and feeling. Mars has no time for that.

Now, imagine the position of Cancer Mars. Mars doesn’t like this placement. Mars wants the Moon as far away as possible because the Moon brings “yucky, icky” feelings. Mars is all about action—so why sit in emotions and feelings without doing something about it? For Cancer, they’re such strong feelers, and in the Mars position, this impedes their ability to take action because they’re stuck in the realm of emotions, comfort, and familiarity. Action feels chaotic, aggressive, and all over the place. Cancer Mars prefers to stay in their comfort zone.

As a cardinal sign, Cancer wants to lead, but they also don’t want to take action. They feel propelled to act but may impulsively start something before their emotions take over. Once that emotional wave rises, Cancer Mars becomes paralyzed by feelings—overwhelmed by emotions, unsure of where to go, and unsure of what action to take. One minute they feel happy, the next minute they feel sad, and then they might feel angry. They don’t know where to go or how to move forward because they’re consumed by their emotions.

So, Cancer Mars takes a long time before making any moves. They’re the type to feel sudden inspiration to do something because they have cardinal energy and they’re ready to start—but once they feel that urge to begin, their emotions kick in. The overthinking starts, and now Cancer is uncertain. They wonder if they should take action, or if it’s the right time to do so. They’re caught up in their emotions and not sure which direction to take.

A Cancer Mars needs to process through cyclical emotional states before they can make a decision. If you’ve ever met a Cancer Mars, you might have noticed they can never make a decision on the spot. That’s because they want to say “yes,” but they know their emotions are going to influence them, and they can’t make a firm decision until they’ve worked through those emotions.

By the time Cancer Mars is ready to make a decision, they’re trying to operate from the highest emotional state possible. So if they’re feeling down or going through a somber period, they’ll wait to make any decisions until they feel like they’re in a more elevated emotional state. This can slow things down even more.

Cancer Mars is like the person you rely on, but you never know what mood they’ll be in. On Monday, they say they’ll pick you up on Thursday, and you think you can count on that. But by Tuesday, their emotions have shifted, and they change their mind. By Wednesday, they may change it back to “yes,” and now you’re left wondering if they’ll actually follow through. This fluctuation creates uncertainty, and by Thursday, you’re on pins and needles, wondering whether or not Cancer Mars will show up.

This placement is terrible for decision-making until Cancer Mars grows emotional intelligence and learns to understand their emotions without being completely absorbed by them. In the meantime, they’ll make decisions slowly. Even when Cancer Mars does make decisions, there’s still that cardinal energy. Sometimes the decision is impulsive—just a sheer desire to take action—but it might change repeatedly.

So while Libra might be known for being indecisive, Cancer Mars is even more indecisive because their moods and emotions create a barrier to taking action. However, once Cancer Mars finally takes action, they’re committed. After all the back-and-forth and emotional processing, when they do move forward, they really want to do it.

But remember, Cancer Mars doesn’t like aggression, harshness, or fast-paced action. When they take action, they’ll want to do it with grace, moving demurely and with class. That’s the Cancer Mars way.

Leo Mars

When we think of Mars, we think of action—raw, powerful energy. Now, imagine the Sun coming into the picture. Mars looks over its shoulder and smiles because the Sun brings enthusiasm, positivity, and light. With the Sun’s radiant energy, Mars feels motivated to do more, shine brighter, and keep pursuing what it wants. This is the essence of Leo Mars.

For Leo Mars, they bring positivity to action. While some Mars placements can make action seem serious, Leo injects fun, joy, and light-hearted energy into it. Mars feels it can smile more with Leo around. Leo Mars doesn’t just want to do things—they want to do them with purpose, passion, and the best energy they can offer. When they act, they are fired up and unstoppable. However, because Leo Mars is a fixed sign, they’re not always the initiators.

Leo Mars isn’t as original as people often assume. Unlike Aries Mars, which is known for being a leader and trailblazer, Leo Mars tends to follow in the footsteps of the Cardinal signs. They observe and then act, especially when they see something successful. Leo Mars is drawn to established success and often finds themselves following what’s already been built, rather than starting something from scratch.

For example, if Leo Mars sees someone doing well—gaining followers, making money, or growing influence—they’ll jump on board. As a fixed sign, they don’t want to create something new but will instead take what already works and build upon it. They want to enhance and magnify what is already established. So, if you’re making money or gaining followers, Leo Mars will take notice and figure out how they can make it bigger, better, and more powerful.

This tendency to build on existing success is why Leo Mars often develops a big ego. They want to outdo the person who showed them the way or introduced them to something new. If you teach a Leo Mars anything, be prepared for them to want to do it better than you. If you have more money, expect Leo Mars to eventually surpass you in that area, too. This is the nature of fixed energy—it makes decisions with confidence and believes it can work because they see the potential to build on what’s already there.

When Leo Mars takes action, they need recognition for it. They thrive on praise, acknowledgment, and admiration. This is why Leo Mars tends to follow trends or go after what’s already working—they know that if they master it, they will receive recognition, whether it’s through more followers, more money, or more praise.

While this is a great position for Mars, as Leo Mars is not afraid to take action and doesn’t overthink things, it does have its shadow side. Leo Mars often hops onto trends or opportunities that are already established, simply to get the best out of them.

I’ve personally seen Leo Mars individuals outdo others by taking what’s already successful and making it their own. They’re great at making friends and gaining popularity, which is part of why they can take action so easily. Leo Mars knows how to charm people and make them feel good, often offering compliments and encouragement. But secretly, they’re calculating how to rise to the top of the group, become the leader, and take control.

So, if you have a Leo Mars around you, watch out. While they might seem friendly and encouraging, they’re often quietly working their way to the top, taking what’s already established and making it theirs. As with all fixed signs, Leo Mars can be sneaky, as they tend to build off of what’s already there, rather than creating something entirely new.

Virgo Mars

When we talk about Virgo Mars, we’re talking about the energy of Mercury. Just like Gemini Mars, Mercury talks its way over to Mars, distracting Mars from its hard work. Mars gets irritated because Mercury just keeps talking while Mars wants to focus and work. Virgo Mars is similar, but unlike the mental energy of Gemini, the Earth energy of Virgo is more pragmatic and focused on tangible results, rather than just conveying information.

This placement isn’t ideal because Mars’ energy is fast and impulsive. It wants to work quickly, get the job done, and move on—without worrying about every single detail. But Virgo? Virgo is all about analyzing the details, and Mars hates that. This creates a conflict. Even when Virgo Mars does take action, they’ve already burned through most of Mars’ energy by overanalyzing and overthinking the details. Mars doesn’t care about the details—that’s Mercury’s domain. When Mars is in play, it’s about taking action, not slowing things down with unnecessary analysis.

Virgo Mars struggles because they feel the need to make decisions, but they can’t until they’ve gathered all the information. They’re caught up in the details, unsure of what’s right or what they should do. While Mars is already down the street, Virgo Mars is still at home, trying to decide what shoes to wear or what hat to put on. By the time they’ve made a decision, Mars has already moved on.

Because of this tendency to overthink and focus on the minutiae, Virgo Mars misses many opportunities in life. They’re great at making good decisions, but they take so long to decide that by the time they’re ready, the opportunity is gone.

For example, if a Virgo Mars has a crush on someone, they will notice every detail about that person: how their eyes look, how they talk, how they dress, even their strengths and weaknesses. Virgo Mars will analyze the person deeply, thinking about how they would fit into their life if they were to date or marry them. All of this is happening in Virgo Mars’ mind—yet, they never take action. They think, think, think, but don’t do anything.

By the time Virgo Mars finally decides to act, months have passed, and the person they had their eye on is already in a relationship. They took so long to make a move that the opportunity slipped away. This is how Virgo Mars works—slow to take action but very detailed and prepared when they finally do.

Similarly, if Virgo Mars is applying for a job, they might miss out because they’re too focused on getting the perfect resume, researching everything about the company, and preparing for the interview. By the time they’re ready, someone else has already gotten the job. Virgo Mars moves too slowly and overthinks everything. They’re obsessed with getting everything right, but by taking too long, they miss out on opportunities.

Virgo Mars is different from Taurus Mars. While Taurus Mars takes their time to pursue what pleases them, Virgo Mars focuses on the details of the process. They want everything to be perfect, down to the smallest detail, but that can cause them to miss out on life’s bigger opportunities. They think they’re doing things the right way, but they can’t get out of their own mindset and, as a result, they get stuck.

Virgo Mars is driven by the need to function and operate efficiently, but that drive often results in paralysis by analysis. They get caught up in the small stuff, and because of their perfectionism, they end up taking too long to act. Their need for everything to be perfect in a certain way, in a certain form, often prevents them from taking action at all.

This is how Virgo Mars takes action—slow, methodical, and focused on details. But their overthinking and obsession with perfection often cause them to miss out on what’s really important in life.

Libra Mars

Libra Mars, like Taurus Mars, is ruled by Venus. However, with Libra Mars, the energy is in the air element, making things more complex and trickier. Venus, as we know, doesn’t like Mars because Mars is aggressive, feisty, and action-oriented, while Venus just wants to relax, look beautiful, and be pampered. These two energies are quite different and often collide.

For Libra Mars, the Venus energy can’t handle the raw force of Mars. Mars is too harsh, too demanding, and too forceful for the more balanced and calm nature of Libra. Libra doesn’t like demands—it values space, balance, and harmony. So, when we look at Libra Mars, we see a person who is very much in their head. They don’t want to take action, because Air signs are more about mental energy than physical action. They prefer to have others do things for them while they create ideas and communicate what needs to be done. They want others to bring their thoughts and theories to life, but they don’t want to do the hard work themselves.

Libra Mars is great at interpersonal connections. Like Gemini Mars, they enjoy talking to people, but Libra Mars tends to be more one-on-one and personal. While Gemini Mars is sociable in a larger sense, Libra Mars seeks to build meaningful connections with individuals, not groups. They find someone they can communicate their ideas to, and once they find that person, they feel empowered to share their thoughts. They will have many conversations, but their goal is to find someone who can act on those ideas.

Libra Mars, much like Taurus Mars, doesn’t like to move for petty change or engage in hard, physical labor. They’re not like Aries Mars, who thrives on action and strength. Libra Mars wants to show their intellect and creativity, not their physical strength. They prefer to relax, enjoy themselves, and talk to others. They’re charismatic, charming, and flirtatious, able to make people feel good with their words. They’ll often inflate someone’s ego, encourage them, and make them feel like they can achieve anything.

Once they’ve made someone feel good, Libra Mars will convey their ideas and ask that person to carry out the work. They’re all about balance and think they are providing the mental energy while others bring the physical action. For example, Libra Mars may have a business idea they think is great, but they don’t like to take action. They’re too caught up in the details, the balance, and the perfection of the idea. They’re always overthinking, trying to make everything perfect, and this prevents them from moving forward.

What Libra Mars wants is for others to do the hard work. They want someone to make the money, build the business, or take care of the physical aspects of a project while they sit back and be the brain behind it. They don’t mind working in a team, as long as they don’t have to take the lead in the execution. Libra Mars thrives when they can make connections and delegate tasks to others.

However, this placement isn’t always the best. Libra Mars can be so focused on balance that it takes them a long time to figure out exactly what they want or need. They’re constantly going back and forth in their mind, weighing options, and trying to make everything “just right.” This overthinking process can delay their ability to take action or even decide what they want others to do. They may lead others on with their charm and ideas, but when it comes time to act, they often don’t know what they want or how to proceed.

By the time Libra Mars figures out what they want, they’ve worn others out. They have a lot of ideas, and since they’re cardinal energy, they’re always coming up with new thoughts and inspirations. However, the problem is that they often don’t follow through. They have no follow-through because they’re too focused on the mental side of things and not the action side.

The best thing Libra Mars can do is build relationships with others who can help them bring their ideas to life. But it takes time for them to fully understand what they want, communicate it clearly, and work harmoniously with others to make it happen. This results in a delayed, sometimes chaotic process before they can achieve their desires.

Scorpio Mars

When Mars is hard at work, taking action, and making things materialize, Scorpio sneaks up from behind. Mars feels Scorpio’s energy permeating through them—Mars can feel both the Mars energy from Scorpio and the deeper, darker, murky energy from Pluto. When Mars turns around, they see nothing but Scorpio Mars.

Scorpio Mars is a strong placement because Mars rules Scorpio, and because of this, Mars appreciates how Scorpio operates. Scorpio gets straight to the point and doesn’t waste time, which is something Mars loves. However, Scorpio has a deeper, darker side that Mars doesn’t fully understand. While Scorpio Mars is effective at getting things done, using Mars energy to take action without overthinking or becoming too emotional, Pluto’s energy slows them down.

Mars wants fast results—it’s quick, action-oriented, and aggressive. But Pluto, which rules Scorpio, is about long-term, transformative results. Pluto doesn’t rush; it seeks to change things profoundly. This creates a collision. While Mars seeks quick results, Pluto requires a deeper, more gradual process. Scorpio Mars, therefore, tends to take longer to accomplish their goals because they’re focused on transformation and regeneration.

This long-term focus is actually beneficial because, unlike Aries Mars, which can burn out quickly, Scorpio Mars aims for lasting success. However, this comes with its challenges. Pluto demands hard work and persistence. In this placement, Scorpio Mars is fixed energy, which means it prefers to build upon what already exists rather than start something new.

When Scorpio Mars wants to transform something, they look at what’s already progressing or developing and decide, “I can make this better.” They thrive on improving what others may overlook. This makes them different from Aries Mars, as Scorpio Mars has the foresight to see potential before it’s fully realized. They don’t plan like Virgo Mars, which overthinks; instead, Scorpio Mars intuitively senses what could be improved and has the stamina to work toward that goal.

Scorpio Mars is the “rags to riches” type. They start with nothing, but they can see potential in what others view as broken. Their intuition and ability to transform situations make them smarter than Aries Mars in some ways. They see what others can’t, and they use their fixed energy to continue working toward that vision.

They also have Pluto’s energy, which grants them incredible resilience. When something breaks or fails, Scorpio Mars rises from the ashes, powered by Pluto’s regenerative force. This resilience is even stronger than Aries Mars because Pluto can endure harsher challenges. Pluto doesn’t just get through tough situations—it transforms them.

As Scorpio Mars ages, they begin to notice that things others have given up on, or neglected, are the very things they’ve transformed into something greater. By the time Scorpio Mars is older, they have profited and thrived from opportunities that others overlooked.

Scorpio, being a water sign, brings intuition to the action-oriented Mars energy. Mars is instinctive, while Pluto’s energy is intuitive, allowing Scorpio Mars to make decisions quickly. They don’t need to overthink because they trust their intuition, which often leads them to success. This combination of Mars’ action and Pluto’s depth makes Scorpio Mars incredibly powerful.

In summary, Scorpio Mars is a placement of transformation and power. Mars loves Mars, and Pluto’s energy makes it even stronger, adding depth and resilience. Scorpio Mars has the ability to endure, transform, and achieve success through their intuition and unyielding determination.

Sagittarius Mars

Now, let’s talk about Sagittarius Mars. Sagittarius is ruled by Jupiter, the planet of expansion, abundance, higher learning, and beliefs. But does Mars really care about beliefs or philosophy? Not at all. Does Mars care about higher learning? No. What Mars does care about is the energy of Sagittarius. Jupiter is all about expansion and abundance, and when it meets Mars, Jupiter makes Mars feel like it can work for more—more energy, more results, more success. This creates a sense of greed in Sagittarius Mars, making it feel like it can keep pushing for more, building stamina in the process.

Additionally, Sagittarius is a fire sign, and fire signs are action-oriented. When Mars is in a fire sign, it feels lit up and encouraged to take action, so Mars actually doesn’t do too bad in this placement. It’s not the worst position for Mars, but there are some challenges. Let me explain why Sagittarius Mars also isn’t the best placement for Mars.

As I mentioned, Jupiter is abundant, optimistic, and always looking toward the future. It overextends itself and tends to be overly hopeful. When this energy is placed in Mars, a doer and worker by nature, Mars becomes prone to overworking itself. Sagittarius Mars can overexert its energy in pursuit of action, and the combination of Jupiter’s optimism and Mars’ drive can lead to burnout. Sagittarius Mars tends to keep going, pushing forward without realizing it until they crash. This overexertion is a downside of having both Mars and Jupiter in one placement—Mars wants to work, but Jupiter’s energy encourages overdoing things without grounding or realism.

Another issue arises because Jupiter represents freedom, and Mars is all about action. Mars is not like Saturn, where discipline and hard work are the focus. Mars likes to get things done, but Sagittarius, being ruled by Jupiter, can often prioritize freedom and fun over hard work. Sagittarius Mars can be impulsive and abandon its drive for action when it finds something more enjoyable or adventurous.

Sagittarius Mars is mutable energy, which means it’s constantly moving, exploring, and looking for new experiences. It doesn’t like to stay in one place or focus on one task for too long. This lack of focus means that, while Sagittarius Mars is action-oriented, it may abandon the task at hand in favor of pursuing something more exciting, fun, or liberating.

Sagittarius Mars tends to split its energy: half the time, it’s burning through action, overexerting itself in the process; the other half, it’s seeking freedom and excitement, abandoning work to explore new ideas or enjoy life. This creates a 50-50 balance where Sagittarius Mars is both productive and lazy, depending on where their curiosity or desire for adventure takes them.

Overall, this is not a bad placement for Mars, but it’s a bit of a split energy. Sagittarius Mars is better than some placements like Earth or Water signs, as it brings action, but it’s also prone to distractions and overexertion. The key challenge is balancing the desire for action with the need for freedom and exploration.

Capricorn Mars

Capricorn Mars is a great position for Mars because Saturn, which rules Capricorn, is all about hard work, and Mars is all about action. Saturn’s influence means that Capricorn Mars is willing to put in the work necessary to take action. People with Capricorn Mars succeed far greater than other signs because they’re willing to do the hard work that others shy away from.

Unlike the Air Mars signs, who often want to facilitate, convey ideas, or translate thoughts, Capricorn Mars wants to get their hands dirty, dig in, and do the work. With Saturn’s influence, Capricorn Mars has the strength and endurance to push through any obstacle, giving them the longevity needed to reach their goals. They have the discipline and focus to achieve results.

Capricorn Mars is in a powerful position because Saturn loves discipline, and Mars is action-oriented. Saturn’s influence brings structure and focus to Mars’ energy, ensuring that it’s not scattered or impulsive. Instead, Capricorn Mars has a clear plan, a solid strategy, and a well-thought-out approach to materializing their goals. They use tried-and-true methods to turn their desires into reality, rather than relying solely on intuition or instinct.

Not only does Capricorn Mars take action, but they also do the dirty work that others might avoid. Just like the Capricorn sign, which is known for ambition, Capricorn Mars is decisive and knows exactly what they want. When they take action, they do so with purpose and drive. They can execute much faster than someone who is indecisive or overly emotional, as they know what they want and are focused on achieving it.

Saturn’s influence also teaches Capricorn Mars to take their time and understand that obstacles will come. Having the foresight to recognize potential challenges means they have the endurance to face them and still succeed. Capricorn Mars is methodical, patient, and determined to reach their goals, even if it takes longer than expected.

This makes Capricorn Mars an excellent placement for both work and action. Capricorn Mars doesn’t get caught up in emotions or overthinking. They focus on the facts and truth of the situation and take action based on that. They’re pragmatic and clear-sighted, working with what is in front of them—right or wrong—without getting lost in feelings or excessive analysis.

Capricorn Mars has a clear, steady approach to life, hitting milestones and achieving goals, even if it takes longer than others. Think of Capricorn Mars as someone who can go through years of schooling to become a doctor. Yes, an Aries Mars might make money quickly or lose weight rapidly, but Capricorn Mars is in it for the long haul. By the time they reach their goal, they are not only highly skilled but also financially secure in a sustainable way.

While an Aries Mars can achieve fast, short-term results—like earning money or achieving a quick transformation—Capricorn Mars is about long-term sustainability. An Aries Mars may make money quickly, only to lose it, or might shed weight fast but struggle to keep it off. In contrast, Capricorn Mars thinks ahead, planning for the future and building solid foundations for long-term success.

Thirty years from now, the payoff for Capricorn Mars will be immense, as they’ve built something lasting and sustainable. This is how Capricorn Mars operates—they don’t rush. They think about stability, longevity, and how their actions today will pay off in the future. They don’t force this process; it’s a natural way of working that ensures lasting results.

Aquarius Mars

Aquarius Mars brings a lot of goodness to the Mars energy. It introduces innovation, progressive ideas, and a future-oriented focus. Aquarius is great at facilitating change and progress, especially with an eye toward the future. In this position, Aquarius Mars helps the action-oriented Fire Mars take action and seize the moment through initiatives that benefit the long term or create a more cohesive, humanitarian society. They excel at organizing groups of people to work toward a collective goal and can guide others to take action toward creating positive change.

However, the downside of Aquarius Mars, which sometimes makes it a less effective Mars placement, is the rebellious and chaotic energy of Uranus, which rules Aquarius. Uranus brings abrupt changes that people may not always understand. It’s often focused on big dreams and ideals, which can be far-fetched and impractical. These ideals focus on the potential for success, but sometimes they don’t account for the practical steps needed to achieve it.

Because of this, Aquarius Mars can sometimes clash with others when it comes to their ideas or when trying to get others to act on them. Their ideas, though progressive, can be too disruptive or unconventional, leading to disagreements or friction within a group. It can take time for Aquarius Mars to find like-minded individuals who align with their vision and can help bring their ideas to fruition.

When it comes to decision-making, Aquarius Mars is good at making decisions about the future, but not as effective when it comes to the present. They are less interested in the mundane, day-to-day tasks or the practical details of life. These tasks don’t capture their attention. As a result, they might struggle to make decisions that require focus on the here and now. They’re more adept at communicating ideas and getting others to act on them, but actually taking action themselves can be challenging. Like other air Mars placements, Aquarius Mars may prefer to let others do the hard work while they contribute their ideas and vision.

Aquarius Mars can also struggle with making realistic, tangible decisions for the present. They tend to get caught up in their lofty, future-oriented goals, which can make them detached from what needs to be done in the moment. This detachment can cause them to neglect the practical actions needed for their own life, focusing more on larger, collective goals.

Moreover, Aquarius Mars is more focused on groups, social circles, and communities than on the individual. Their drive to take action is often geared toward collective causes, which can make it difficult for them to make decisions for their personal life. For example, they may struggle to make decisions regarding their personal relationships or daily routines because they’re more focused on their contribution to a larger, overarching purpose.

In the process, Aquarius Mars may shift their energy away from their own personal goals in favor of collective goals, sometimes causing them to lose track of what’s necessary for their own growth. This can lead to actions that may not be as functional or grounded in practicality. Their focus on the future, while valuable, may result in decisions that don’t necessarily pay off in the present moment.

Ultimately, Aquarius Mars can lack the functionality needed for practical decision-making. While their future-oriented ideas may pay off in some cases, they can also fail to produce results if not properly grounded in the present.

Pisces Mars

When we talk about Pisces Mars, we’re discussing a watery, elusive energy in the position of action. Mars, with its fiery, action-oriented energy, doesn’t align well with the water element. Water puts out fire, and while Mars wants to take action, the water from Pisces slows it down. Pisces Mars is more focused on emotions than on taking action. It’s caught up in the realm of imagination, sensitivity, and feeling, making it difficult to act.

Mars energy is too aggressive, direct, and passionate for Pisces Mars. Pisces prefers soft, subtle actions. They’re focused on their imagination and want to manifest their dreams and visions into reality. These are the true dreamers—not doers. Pisces Mars envisions everything they want out of life, but they struggle to make those dreams a reality. Why? Because they’re caught up in the passivity, subtlety, and emotional essence of their energy. The harshness of Mars pulls them away from their true nature, causing them to internalize too much.

Pisces Mars is a visionary, but their vivid imagination sometimes prevents them from taking action. The water energy of Pisces makes decisions based on feelings, not just action. Pisces Mars tends to feel out what they can do, and as a result, their dreams are often watered down by self-doubt or a lack of belief in their ability to follow through.

Pisces is a passive sign, a lover who doesn’t like aggression or harshness. They prefer calm and serenity, and taking action can feel too intense for them. It requires too much energy, and it’s not aligned with the peaceful energy they crave. Pisces Mars struggles with the mechanical, action-oriented nature of Mars, and may find it difficult to execute their dreams and make them real.

This makes Pisces Mars a challenging placement because they often just dream and envision but struggle to accomplish or do anything. Pisces Mars is highly sensitive, so any form of aggression, hardship, or rigidity—qualities inherent in Mars—will cause them to retreat. They may become introverted, withdraw into themselves, and shy away from the demands of the outside world. Mars’ direct energy doesn’t know how to deal with Neptune’s elusive, intangible qualities, and Pisces, ruled by Neptune, can’t easily channel Mars’ aggressive energy into concrete actions.

Furthermore, Pisces is ruled by Jupiter, and being a mutable sign, Pisces often flows through different stages and places in life. This makes it hard for Pisces Mars to focus on one task or goal. The mutable energy of Pisces doesn’t lend itself well to a constant, decisive course of action. Pisces Mars often craves freedom and choice, avoiding grounding themselves in any one thing for too long. Taking action can feel too rigid and confining, as Pisces just wants to explore, have options, and enjoy life on their terms.

This is the type of person who struggles to take things seriously, or to assert themselves and their ambitions. Pisces Mars may find themselves retreating into their imagination rather than stepping forward and actively pursuing their desires.

The combination of Pisces’ elusive energy with Mars’ direct energy makes it difficult for Pisces Mars to gain clarity. The lines between action and inaction blur, making it hard for them to pin down their direction. This confusion ultimately makes it harder for Pisces Mars to take decisive action in their life, further delaying their ability to turn their dreams into reality.

[tranquilreign]

hi can i request a female reader x jk angst? the plot is jk's wife passed away like a year~2 years ago but he never moved on bcs he loves her so much maybe she's his first love?? but he's a well-known ceo so his family cant afford public seeing jk weak or it will affect their business, so they arranged his marriage with reader, a daughter of their business partner. jk always ignore her in their marriage but she never stops trying, but at one point jk did something that hurts her so she ran away and plan to divorce.. thats when jk realise how bad he's been treating her.. sorry for being too specific, u can change anything as u like 😭🙏🏻 i'm hoping for a happy ending but after jk has suffered LMAO anyways thank u so much in advance if u could write this request 🥹🫶🏻

without you | requested oneshot

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🗒 details

pairing; jungkook/reader genre: angst, fluff, arranged marriage au! ceo au! warnings: loss, swearing, slight neglect, arranged marriage word count: 4.2k

🖋 synopsis

without (pre.) wuh·thowt in the absence of

when jungkook's image begins to crumble due to the loss of his wife, his family force him into an arranged marriage to keep their strong influence.

🖇links

jungkook masterlist main masterlist request | request rules prompt list

Jeon Jungkook. CEO of Golden Closet Corporations. A powerful, wealthy man. But broken. The news of his wife's death spread like wildfire when it was confirmed. He couldn't escape the images of his wife's face. She was everywhere he looked.

Being who he was, Jungkook couldn't properly grieve. Maintaining the perfect, pristine image as CEO. Though months passed by, Jungkook stayed the same. Stoic, unhappy. His employees had noticed the cracks first.

The way he would stay in his office for hours, claiming he was working, when in fact he was weeks behind. Lashing out at employees and even trashing his own office at one point.

Rumours quickly spread throughout the building, then into the press about Jungkook's behaviour. Contracts were cut, and new connections were declined due to Jungkooks state.

Eventually, his family had to get involved, turning up unannounced one evening at his home. Jungkook reluctantly let them in, letting them walk into the living room to sit down.

The house wasn't as clean as it used to be. Dirty dishes sat piled in the sink with the dishwasher open, showing clean dishes that hadn't been put away. The lights and table surfaces were dusty, something which Jungkook typically hated. It made his parents cringe at his lack of hygiene.

"Son," Jungkook's father began, leaning forward on the couch, elbows resting on his knees.

His eyes were stern, disapproving of his son's behaviour. Jungkook would usually shrink at his father's gaze, but he was numb. No amount of dissatisfaction he felt from his father fazed him. His own disappointment in himself clouded that.

"Kookie," his mother spoke faintly, moving to place her hand on his knee.

He looked at her, his eyes filled with nothing. Empty. She squeezed his knee reassuringly, but the look in her eyes told a different story. She was looking at him apologetically, which confused Jungkook. His eyes moved back to his father.

"Your past actions are having a severe impact on the company. On us," Jungkook's father explained.

Jungkook scoffed.

"Is that what you are here to talk to me about? My reputation. Your reputation," Jungkook snapped. "In case you've forgotten, my wife-" he paused, feeling the lump in his throat.

"Yes, we know. Your wife died... a year and a half ago," his father brushed off.

"What your father means to say-" his mother responded quickly. "Is that we know you are going through a difficult time, but lashing out at your employees isn't helping you."

Jungkook huffed, leaning back in his seat, looking out the window, staring at the city skyline. He remembered how he would sit with his wife, watching the sunset together as he held her close. He would whisper sweet nothings into her ear, embracing her in a long, loving kiss, as the sun sank behind the skyscrapers.

"You're getting married."

Jungkook's head shot round, now glaring at his father. How could he be expected to remarry when he hadn't even been given the chance to properly grieve his wife?

"No."

The two men stared at one another, silently challenging each other. Their gazes were intense, the atmosphere making Jungkook's mother shift in her seat uncomfortably. Jungkook's jaw clenched at his father, who wasn't backing down.

"If you don't remarry-" his father paused, "we'll take everything away from you. Your position, your home. We'll take every memory you have with your wife out of this house away from you."

Jungkook's eyes softened. He had built a life with the woman he loved in this home. It was their dream house, exactly how they wanted it. He couldn't give it up, letting go of all those memories. He would never see her again in his dreams, the only time he felt truly at peace.

"That's what I thought," his father spoke, tone low. Jungkook's head hung, staring at the floor.

His mother made a move to comfort him, but was stopped by her husband. They stood, making a move to leave the house.

"Will you at least tell me whom I am to marry?" Jungkook asked, looking up at his parents.

His father turned around, his grip on his wife's hand loosened, letting it drop to her side. She looked at her son with sorrowful eyes, wishing nothing more than to see her son happy again.

"Her name is Y/n L/n. She is the daughter of a rival company, but through this marriage, we will unite under one name."

His father walked out of the apartment, leaving Jungkook's mother as she looked at her helpless son.

"I'm so sorry, sweetheart," she soothed. "I know this isn't what you wanted, or what you'd ever want. But please, at least try."

Jungkook's eyes stung from the tears that rolled down his cheeks. His mother's heart broke at the sight, wanting nothing more than to embrace her son and reassure him that everything would be okay.

With one final goodbye, she left, leaving him completely and utterly alone.

⊱ ────── {⋅. ♪ .⋅} ────── ⊰

Jungkook stood silently at the altar, the crowd muttering amongst themselves as they waited for the ceremony to start. The CEO unknowingly fiddled with his watch, feeling exposed. His father had made sure to make this a large, extravagant wedding, which was against Jungkook's wishes.

"It's to make a statement, Jungkook. Showing the world that we've made peace with our rivals."

At that moment, the crowd quietened down as the music picked up. Jungkook looked at the double doors at the back of the room. His mind wandered back to the day when his wife walked through similar doors, her face hidden by her veil. But he knew she would be beautiful. She always was.

He smiled slightly, expecting his wife to be behind the doors. Knowing it was too good to be true, his smile faltered back into his stoic expression. The doors opened, revealing a woman.

In her hands, she held a stunning arrangement of white tulips and roses, elegantly spaced among each other. Her dress was beautiful, featuring off-the-shoulder sleeves that showcased her radiant skin. It struck the perfect balance between lace and silk. Small rhinestones adorned the dress, creating an ombre effect that cascaded from the bodice to the floor.

Her face was not hidden behind a veil; instead, her hair was styled delicately, with a few curled strands falling down the sides and framing her face. Her chest rose and fell quickly, clearly indicating her nervousness.

Jungkook locked eyes with you, noting your innocence. But you still smiled at him, appreciating his presence. Jungkook hesitantly held out his hand to you when you reached the altar, which you gladly took.

Gracefully, you lifted your dress, making sure not to tread on the expensive fabrics as you ascended the stairs. You stood in front of Jungkook now, looking between him and the priest to your left.

Jungkook stood, imagining it was his deceased wife in front of him, hoping there was some escape in this nightmare.

"Mr. Jeon?" the priest asked.

The man looked at the priest, then at you. You were looking around, biting your lip nervously.

"Do you take Y/n to be your lawfully wedded wife?"

Jungkook hesitated for a moment, the tension in the room growing thicker as the silence continued. He closed his eyes and let out a sigh.

"Yes. I do," he replied dryly.

You let out the breath you didn't realise you had been holding. You had responded immediately to the priest's question, smiling reassuringly at Jungkook.

"You may now kiss the bride."

Jungkook didn't hesitate, wanting this to be over with. He pulled you in by the waist and kissed you. It was short, with no passion lingering in his touch. He pulled away, both of you turning to the guests who clapped excitedly for you.

You tried to slide your hand into his, but he retracted. He had eventually moved it into yours as he escorted you out of the hall and into the street, which was bustling with reporters and paparazzi.

All questions were ignored as he guided you to the limousine, opening the door and indicating for you to get in. You compiled, the flashing of the cameras beginning to bother your eyes. Jungkook moved around to the other side, quickly getting in. The vehicle sped off, leaving the reporters and guests behind.

⊱ ────── {⋅. ♪ .⋅} ────── ⊰

The after party was uneventful, parents and friends giving speeches, dancing and drinking. You and Jungkook hadn't had anything to drink, growing uncomfortable in the growing silence between the two of you.

When you had made it back to his place, Jungkook tugged his tie off and threw his jacket onto the couch. He sighed, his head falling back, the realisation finally sinking in. You had been arranged to live with him.

"Take the bed, I'll sleep on the couch," he muttered.

Jungkook didn't want to disrespect the loving nights he shared with his past wife. It was their bed, and he wouldn't ruin those memories by having another woman beside him.

"Are you sure? I can take the couch instead," you suggested.

You were well aware of Jungkook's loss. Having seen the rumours in the news about his behaviour and coldness. You knew he would never love you and that there would be no way you could replace his previous wife. But you wanted to try and make things as easy for him as possible.

"No. What kind of gentleman would I be if I let you sleep on the couch?"

You hummed in response, bowing a quick thank you to him, then disappeared into the bathroom. Your belongings had been moved in the previous day, while you and Jungkook's families were sorting the final few details of the wedding.

You gently took off your makeup and did your regular skin-care routine. Sliding your dress off your body, you changed into pyjamas and draped your wedding dress over your left arm.

Leaving the bathroom, you took notice of Jungkook, who was still in his suit, shoes now kicked off, lying down on the couch, watching as the sun set. You slowly approached him, sitting down on the chair to his left and looked out at the city.

"I'm sorry," you spoke softly.

Jungkook didn't look at you, making no movement or sound to indicate that he acknowledged your words. You continued nonetheless.

"I know this isn't what you wanted. And I am deeply sorry for the loss of your wife."

Jungkook stiffened at your words. No one had given him an ounce of sympathy since she had passed. It felt strange, unnatural, now receiving that comfort.

"I also know I will never be her. And I won't try to be her either," you paused. "But please know, I will do my best to make your life comfortable and happy."

For the first time since the ceremony, he looked at you. He said nothing, eyes almost empty. You caught a slight sliver of appreciation for your words. He then moved, lying on his back and closing his eyes. You took that as your cue to leave.

"Good night," you whispered, standing up and making your way over to the bedroom.

⊱ ────── {⋅. ♪ .⋅} ────── ⊰

A few months had passed since you had been wed. Not much had changed; Jungkook was still quiet and barely acknowledged your presence. But he showed his appreciation for you being there for him in small ways.

Whether it was bringing home take-out for both of you when you'd had a long day. Or when he would silently run a bath for you when he had noticed you rubbing your shoulders in discomfort.

The awkwardness had eased between you, but sometimes it was still there. You never knew what exactly to say to him. He wore the same stoic expression, never once smiling or becoming angry.

You had awoken early one morning, yawning and climbing out of bed, and groggily walking into the kitchen. You glanced at the clock ticking away quietly on the tiled wall. 5:00 am.

Jungkook slept peacefully on the couch, still refusing to share a room with you. Yet you had often caught him in your supposed shared bedroom. He would gently graze the bedsheets with his fingertips, memories of his passed wife easing into his mind. It was the only time you'd truly see him at peace.

Jungkook inhaled the sweet scent of bacon, the aroma waking him up from his slumber. He groaned slightly, sitting up on the couch and looking around the room. Turning in his seat, he looked at you, his eyes still foggy.

"Good morning," you mused, giving him a gentle smile.

"Mina?"

Your smile faltered, turning back around to flip the bacon in the pan. Jungkook stood up, rubbing his eyes. Realisation came to him when he finally saw it was you in the kitchen, not the woman he loved so dearly. He cursed under his breath.

"Sorry."

"It's fine," you mumbled in response. "Like I said, I will never be her, or try to be her. I have no expectations from you."

Your words, for some reason, hurt Jungkook's heart. He was confused by the feeling growing in his chest. Shaking it off, he shuffled over to the island table in the kitchen and sat down at one of the seats.

"Mina used to make me this," he sighed, looking at the display before him.

Pancakes sat in the middle of the table, with an assortment of fruits and nuts, all in separate bowls. A glass jug of orange juice sat to his left, which Jungkook made a grab for immediately. He poured himself a glass, then looked around for yours.

"Are you not eating?" he asked.

"Hmm?" you asked, in a moment of confusion. "Oh, no. I'm not hungry."

Jungkook eyed you warily, watching you closely. You turned around, scooping the bacon out of the pan and placing it on his plate. He looked down, and it was exactly how he liked it.

"Thank you."

"It's alright. I won't make it again, though, if it was something Mina did. I don't want you to think-"

"No," Jungkook suddenly responded, taking both of you aback. "I appreciate you doing this for me. Please don't stop, if it's something you enjoy making."

A gentle smile graced your features as you sat down opposite him. You watched him eat, looking at his messy hair and baggy t-shirt. As time passed, with you and Jungkook living together, you had slowly begun to develop feelings for him.

You would never act on those feelings, however. Knowing Jungkook would never accept you. The loss of his wife still affected him so deeply to the point he still dreamt of her, and even envisioned her in the house.

You stretched, stepped out of your seat. Jungkook looked up from his food and couldn't help but stare at the way your t-shirt rode up, exposing a little bit of your stomach. He swallowed and looked away, scolding himself for his wandering eyes.

"Do you have any plans today?" you asked suddenly, moving out from the kitchen and to the living room, picking up the discarded pillows on the floor.

"No," Jungkook responded blankly. "You?"

"I was planning on doing some cleaning," you responded, fluffing the pillows that now sat on the couch. "I typically do it while you are at work, but I was so tired yesterday..." you trailed off, a slight blush spreading across your cheeks.

"Do you want me to help?"

You were surprised by his offer, not expecting him to want to help. You shook your head, holding up your hands and waving them in the air.

"No, no. It's alright, you just relax. I shouldn't be too long anyway," you explained sheepishly.

Jungkook finished the last of his food and picked up the empty plates. He moved over to the sink on the other side of the island, turning on the tap.

"At least let me do the dishes. It's the least I can do for you, making me breakfast," he spoke, his tone soft.

It was the first time he had sounded... human. It was surprising. You smiled at him and nodded, confirming his request.

"I'll start in the bedroom. If you need anything, just give me a shout," you said. "Excuse me."

You walked in behind him, trying to squeeze past him. You accidentally tripped, stumbling over your feet. Jungkook was quick to react, his arms wrapped around your waist, halting your fall. You jerked at the sudden stop, turning your head to look at him. Both of you held eye contact for a moment until he let out a grunt, helping you stand back upright.

"Thank you. Sorry."

"It's fine," Jungkook muttered shyly.

You bent down next to him, opening the bottom cupboard door and grabbing the feather duster. Instead of trying to squeeze past him again, you walked in the opposite direction around the island and into the bedroom.

Quietly, you hummed to yourself, dusting away and moving anything that could get in the way or get knocked over. You silently cursed to yourself when you had elbowed a small box off the bookshelf.

You bent down to pick it up, stopping when you noticed the contents had spilt out. A beautiful emerald ring encased in silver glittered against the sunlight. Carefully, you picked it up and examined it. It was beautiful.

You moved to pick up the box, and you placed it onto the set of drawers in front of the bed. Looking at it one more time, you were about to put it back in its box when Jungkook's voice boomed throughout the room.

"What the fuck are you doing!?"

You spun on the spot, stunned by his sudden tone. He was angry. With no hesitation, he stormed over to you and snatched the box and ring from you.

"I-I'm sorry," you stuttered out. "I accidentally knocked-"

"Shut the fuck up."

You fell silent. His glare didn't once leave you as he pocketed the box, ring now inside. He grabbed you by the arms tightly. You winced.

"Jungkook, you're hurting me."

"You will never touch that again. Do you hear me?!" he spat, his grip continuing to tighten until a scream escaped your lips.

In that moment, Jungkook felt his world crash down around him. He panicked, letting you go. You fell to the ground, holding your arms, trying to ease the pain.

"Fuck... Y/n, I'm so sorry," he went to move towards you, but you slid away from him, fear evident in your eyes.

Tears fell down your cheeks as you moved as far away as you could from him, your back hitting the wall when you could move no further. He ran both of his hands through his hair, fear and frustration clouding his mind.

He hurt you.

"I'm- I'm sorry," he breathed, backing away. "So... so sorry."

He ran for it, grabbing his jacket and leaving the house, the door creating a loud slam as he did so.

You sat back flush against the wall, exhaling in relief. You had never seen Jungkook so angry, and it terrified you. Based on his reaction, it must have been Mina's engagement ring, something which was clearly precious to Jungkook.

"That's gonna bruise," you muttered, examining your arms as you slowly stood up.

Grabbing the discarded feather duster, you shuffled back into the kitchen, putting it away. The ache in your arms was still evident, and in that moment, you decided that a bath was probably the best way to ease the pain.

⊱ ────── {⋅. ♪ .⋅} ────── ⊰

Jungkook continued to run, the hard rain hitting against his face. He couldn't believe what he had just done. He put his hands on you. To hurt you. He wanted to hurt you. Because you had touched something precious to him. Something you weren't allowed to touch.

He stopped, catching his breath. He cried, not knowing what to do. Jungkook knew you weren't going to do anything with the ring. But the sight of you looking at it had him see red.

He leaned against the railings in the park, staring out at the pond, its usually still water disturbed by the pattering of the rain. Thunder crashed as the sky continued to darken, Jungkook's already soaked hair beginning to stick to his neck and face.

Jungkook had to make this right. He pushed himself off the railing and sprinted back to the apartment, praying you weren't already packing your things to leave him.

He pushed himself, lungs burning as they begged for breath, but he didn't stop. Turning the last corner to the street where you lived, he slid. He lost his breath, pitching forward and catching himself with his hands on the ground. He stumbled forward, eventually balancing out when he regained himself.

He barged into the apartment, not caring that he was leaving water all over the floor. He glanced around the room, looking for any sight of you. Running to the bedroom, his eyes widened when he saw the suitcase that sat on the bed, with clothes laid out.

"Y/n!" he shouted, between panting breaths.

No response. Without thinking, he turned to the bathroom, starting his search for you there.

You let out a high-pitched scream when Jungkook suddenly burst through the door. You move to cover yourself with your hands, trying to hide the most desirable parts of you.

"What the hell, Jungkook," you squeaked.

Your head was resting on your knees, which were tucked up against your chest. You were looking right at him, eyes blown wide at the circumstance you both were now in.

The sight before Jungkook didn't bother him. Instead, he dropped to his knees and shuffled towards you. He plunged his hand into the hot water, pulling your hand out and holding it in his.

"Please, don't leave Y/n," he begged, his head bowed as he did so.

"What-"

"Please. I don't know what I would do if you weren't here. You've helped me through so much. You have shown me kindness and that you care about me."

You were dumbstruck, unsure of the situation at hand. Had Jungkook hit his head while he was out? You didn't know, but you were more confused than ever.

"Jungkook, who said I was leaving?" you asked, lifting your head up.

Jungkook's head shot up, looking at you with tears in his eyes. He stuttered over his words, trying to find a way to explain his thought process. He stopped when his eyes wandered to your arm, a bruise beginning to form from where he grabbed you.

"I'm so sorry," he breathed, lifting your arm closer to him.

He planted a soft kiss against the bruise, his actions taking you by surprise. Jungkook pulled away, gently running his thumb over the injury, ashamed of his actions. He promised himself, from then on, that he would love and protect you. Forever.

In that moment, it was as if Jungkook had an epiphany. In the recent days of your relationship, whenever he closed his eyes, he thought he saw Mina. The love of his life.

Instead, he was seeing you. Smiling and holding out your hand for him to take. As if Jungkook was dreaming, he looked behind him, seeing Mina holding his other hand, caressing his knuckles lovingly.

"Go to her," Mina whispered. "Be happy again."

For the first time, after so long, Jungkook smiled, looking up at you. You raised an eyebrow, confused at his sudden reaction, but your heart warmed at his smile.

Jungkook moved his hands to cup your face. You stared at him, unsure of what he was doing. He didn't think, moving forward and pulling you into a soft, gentle kiss.

You immediately melted into him, closing your eyes, manoeuvring around in the bath so you faced him. His touch was warm, moving from your face to your jaw, holding you delicately, passion exploding between the two of you.

You were the first to pull away, moving your arm back around to cover your chest. Jungkook kept his eyes shut, panting softly. He felt warm, happy, something he had yearned for, for so long.

"It's taken me so long to realise," Jungkook whispered.

He placed his forehead against yours, opening his eyes and looking at you lovingly.

"That you are what I needed. Who I needed. You've helped me see, helped me realise that Mina wouldn't want me to grieve. To push everyone away."

You smiled at his words, moving away from him. He took your free hand in his, running his thumb over the back of your hand softly.

"I love you, Y/n," he breathed.

It was as if the world had stopped spinning. You looked at Jungkook, whose eyes held every emotion he had seemed to have forgotten long ago. Tears welled in your eyes, your hand squeezing his reassuringly.

"I love you, too."

hello guys! hope you enjoyed! this one felt rather long so i am sorry for that! and to the lovely person who requested. thank you so much!! you are the first to have requested and I really appreciate you doing so!

this was so much fun to write, despite it being sad, but it truly was a blast! i do hope this is what you had in mind when you requested. when I saw your ask this type of story immediately came to mind! i do hope that is okay!

tranquilreign~

[bangchangbinnie]

The Door That Shouldn’t Have Closed c.b

Pairing: Bang Chan x Reader

Chan’s anger drives y/n out into the cold

(I love writing angst and worn out plots YIPPEEE)

The apartment was warm with the scent of home—his home, which over time had become their home. The overhead light cast a soft glow on the wooden floors, reflecting against the large window that framed the city skyline in the distance. The gentle hum of the heater filled the quiet air, a comfort against the cold that lingered outside.

Y/N sat cross-legged on the couch, her laptop open in front of her as she absentmindedly sipped on a cup of tea. The ceramic mug was warm in her hands, the steam curling into the air as she scrolled through pages of job listings. Living in Korea had been a whirlwind, a mix of excitement and challenges, but with Chan beside her, it felt worth it. He had reassured her time and time again that she didn’t have to worry, that she didn’t need to rush into finding work, but she wanted to—needed to. She wanted to feel like she belonged, like she wasn’t just lingering in his world without purpose.

Her gaze flickered over to the sleek black laptop resting on the edge of the coffee table, its screen glowing with an unfinished project. Chan had been working tirelessly on a track, pouring every ounce of his energy into fine-tuning the smallest details. It was his everything—the beating heart of his career, of his passion, of him. She knew how much it meant to him.

Maybe that’s why, when she reached for her phone and accidentally nudged the edge of the coffee table, her heart stopped as the laptop teetered, wobbled, and in the slowest, most horrifying second of her life—

—crashed to the floor.

The impact was deafening in the silence. The sharp crack of metal and plastic colliding against hardwood rang in her ears, freezing her in place. Her breath hitched as she scrambled forward, hands trembling as she turned the device over. The screen was black, unresponsive, the keyboard slightly misaligned from the fall. Her stomach twisted into a sickening knot.

No, no, no, no—

“Y/N?”

His voice came from the hallway, muffled but laced with exhaustion. Heavy footsteps echoed as he approached, and before she could even attempt to explain, he was there—standing in the doorway, his tired eyes locking onto the sight before him.

For a moment, there was only silence.

Then, in an instant, the exhaustion in his face was replaced by something else entirely. His features hardened, lips parting as if trying to process what he was seeing.

“What—” His voice caught, eyes flicking between her and the laptop. “What the hell did you do?”

“I—I didn’t mean to,” she stammered, panic lacing her words as she held the laptop up like an offering. “It was an accident, I swear! I barely touched the table, and it—”

“Are you fucking kidding me?” His voice rose, sharp and cutting. He stormed forward, snatching the laptop from her hands. His fingers ghosted over the edges, flipping it open, pressing the power button over and over again. Nothing. “Do you have any idea how much was on here?”

“I know, I—”

“No, you don’t know.” His words came fast, heated, filled with frustration. “That was weeks—months of work! Gone. Just like that.” His jaw clenched, his fingers tightening around the broken laptop as if willing it to come back to life. His breaths were ragged, uneven, his head shaking as he let out a bitter laugh. “God, Y/N, do you even think before you do things?”

The words hit like a slap. She flinched, hands curling into fists in her lap. “I said I didn’t mean to,” she whispered, voice small, fragile. “I’m sorry.”

“Sorry doesn’t fix this!” His voice cracked, raw and unrestrained. “You don’t get it, do you? Fuck! This isn’t just some random thing you broke—this was everything I’ve been working on. Every file, every project, every unfinished song—it’s all gone now because you couldn’t be careful.”

Tears burned behind her eyes, but she refused to let them fall. She knew he was upset, knew that this was important to him, but the way he was speaking to her—like she was careless, like she didn’t care—it stung in ways she couldn’t describe.

She swallowed, forcing herself to keep her voice steady. “I’ll help you fix it,” she tried, reaching out. “There are data recovery places, we can—”

“Just stop.” His tone was sharp enough to cut. “Just… stop.” He ran a hand through his curls, his shoulders rising and falling with each labored breath. His eyes flickered with something unreadable, something dark and stormy. Then, before she could say anything else, he did something she never expected.

“Get out.”

The words were low, clipped, but they sent dread washing over her.

She blinked. “W-What?”

“You heard me.” His gaze was unwavering, lips pressing into a thin line. “I can’t deal with this right now. Just… go.”

The air in the room turned suffocating.

Go.

Leave.

He was kicking her out.

Her chest tightened, heart hammering against her ribs as she slowly stood. “Chan… I—I don’t have anywhere else to go,” she admitted, voice barely above a whisper.

For a split second, something flickered in his expression—regret, hesitation—but it vanished just as quickly as it appeared.

“I don’t care.”

The words settled like lead in her stomach. Her hands trembled as she grabbed her coat, slipping it on with numb fingers. The apartment that once felt like a sanctuary now felt cold, foreign, unwelcoming. She didn’t beg, didn’t plead—if this was what he wanted, then she wouldn’t fight.

She turned towards the door, fingers hesitating on the handle. One last time, she glanced over her shoulder. He was standing there, back to her, running a hand through his hair as he stared blankly at the broken laptop on the table.

She bit her lip, swallowing the lump in her throat. “I’m sorry,” she whispered.

Then, she stepped out into the night.

The cold hit her instantly, biting through her thin coat as she wrapped her arms around herself. The streets were quiet, the distant hum of traffic the only sound accompanying her as she stood there, frozen, unsure of where to go.

She had nowhere. Nowhere but him, and now… not even that.

The apartment was eerily silent, save for the rhythmic ticking of the clock hanging above the kitchen. Each second that passed felt like a taunt, like it was counting down to something he didn’t quite understand but could feel settling into the pit of his stomach like a weight.

Chan sat hunched over on the couch, elbows resting on his knees, fingers tangled in his curls. The broken laptop sat on the coffee table in front of him, its cracked frame a haunting reminder of everything that had transpired just hours ago. His jaw was tight, his breath shallow as his mind replayed the argument on an endless loop.

The way her voice had wavered. The way her hands had trembled. The way she had looked at him—like he had gutted her.

And then she was gone.

At first, he had told himself he didn’t care. That he needed the space. That she needed to understand how much she had screwed up. The frustration had still been burning too hot in his veins for him to feel anything else.

But now?

Now, the embers had long since cooled, leaving only the empty ache of realization.

It had been hours.

And she still hadn’t come back.

His knee bounced anxiously as he pulled out his phone, unlocking it with swift fingers. No messages. No missed calls. Nothing.

His stomach twisted uncomfortably. Where the hell was she? She had said it herself—she had nowhere else to go.

His mind reeled with possibilities, none of them good. Was she wandering around aimlessly? Sitting on some freezing bench in the middle of the city? God, what if something happened to her? Korea wasn’t dangerous, but that didn’t mean she was safe. She wasn’t fluent in the language, she didn’t have family here—hell, she barely had friends. She had him.

And he had thrown her out.

A sharp breath shuddered from his lips as he ran a hand over his face. His body was buzzing with nerves now, his earlier anger replaced by something far worse—guilt.

How could he have been so stupid?

Yeah, she had broken his laptop. Yeah, it hurt knowing all that work was lost. But was it really worth the way he had spoken to her? The way he had made her feel so disposable, so unwanted?

His chest tightened as he remembered the way she had looked at him when she had whispered those last words—I’m sorry.

He had told her he didn’t care, but that was a lie.

He cared too much.

And now he had no idea where she was.

Chan shot up from the couch, grabbing his coat and shoving his feet into his sneakers with hurried, frantic movements. He didn’t bother turning off the lights or locking the door—none of it mattered. The only thing that mattered was finding her.

The second he stepped outside, the cold slammed into him like a brick wall. The temperature had dropped significantly since earlier, the kind of cold that seeped into your bones, merciless and unrelenting.

She wasn’t prepared for this.

Panic clawed at his throat as he moved down the dimly lit streets, scanning every alleyway, every bench, every corner. Where the hell was she?

He pulled out his phone, dialing her number with shaking fingers. It rang once. Twice. Three times.

Voicemail.

“Shit,” he hissed under his breath, shoving the phone back into his pocket. His heart pounded wildly, each beat a deafening reminder of how badly he had messed up.

Then, just as he was about to turn another corner, he saw it—

A small figure curled up on a bench just beneath a flickering streetlamp, her head tucked against her knees, arms wrapped tightly around herself.

His breath caught in his throat.

Y/N.

He rushed forward, kneeling down in front of her, his hands hovering over her shaking form. She was trembling violently, her coat barely doing anything to shield her from the brutal cold. Strands of hair stuck to her damp cheeks—had she been crying?

Guilt slammed into him like a freight train.

“Y/N,” he breathed, his voice tight. She flinched, her shoulders tensing at the sound of his voice, but she didn’t look up.

Chan’s heart cracked wide open.

“Oh my god,” he whispered, finally reaching out to touch her, his hands carefully settling on her arms. She was freezing. Ice-cold. His stomach churned. “Baby, what are you doing out here? Why didn’t you go somewhere warmer?”

A bitter, shaky laugh slipped from her lips, muffled against her knees. “Where?” she croaked, voice hoarse, barely above a whisper. “You told me to leave, remember?”

Chan felt physically sick.

“Y/N, I—” He swallowed, his throat tightening. “I didn’t mean it. I was angry, I—I wasn’t thinking. But I never wanted this. I never wanted you out here like this.” His voice broke, raw with regret.

She sniffled, finally lifting her head just enough for him to see her face. Her eyes were red-rimmed, her cheeks blotchy from the cold and her tears. The sight of her like this—because of him—made his chest constrict painfully.

“You didn’t stop me,” she whispered. “You just let me go.” Chan’s breath hitched. There was no excuse for that. None.

He exhaled sharply, his hands gently cupping her face, thumbs brushing away the stray tears still clinging to her skin. His fingers were warm—too warm against her freezing face.

“I’m so sorry,” he murmured, his voice breaking under the weight of his guilt. “I was an idiot. I was cruel. I should’ve never let you leave, I should’ve never—” His voice cracked, his forehead pressing against hers as his hands cradled her gently. “Please, baby, please come home.”

Y/N swallowed, her lips quivering. “Are you still mad?”

Chan shook his head instantly. “No. God, no. The only thing I’m mad at is myself.” He pulled back just enough to look her in the eyes, his own gaze brimming with emotion. “I don’t care about the laptop. I don’t care about the files. I care about you. And I swear, I will never, ever make you feel like that again.”

A shaky breath escaped her lips. For a long moment, she didn’t say anything, just stared at him with that same exhausted, heartbroken expression that made his insides twist painfully.

Then, finally, her body slumped against his, her face burying into his chest.

Chan let out a breath of pure relief, his arms wrapping around her tightly, securely, as if he was trying to shield her from the cold, from the night, from everything.

“I’m so sorry,” he murmured into her hair, pressing desperate, lingering kisses against her temple. “I love you, I love you, I love you—please don’t ever think for a second that I don’t.”

Her fingers clutched onto his coat weakly, and after a long pause, she whispered, “Take me home.”

Chan swallowed past the lump in his throat, standing and pulling her up with him, his arms never leaving her as he guided her back toward the place she should have never had to leave in the first place.

And as they stepped into the warm embrace of their apartment, Chan vowed to himself—

He would never let his anger cost him her again.

[urrmomzfavorite]

PAC WHY PEOPLE FALL FOR YOU

HEYY bestieee ✨ Let’s move on from that man who’s been making you cry and check out my MASTERLIST instead.Time to upgrade to someone who doesn’t make you question your life choices, okay? 😘

Pile One

You come into people’s lives like a quiet storm. You look so innocent, so pure—but you come with surprises. You will never be what is expected of you, and that’s what people love about you. They never know what they’re going to get; their preconceived ideas of you shatter the second you open your mouth.

You’re incredibly smart, clever with your words, and skilled at finding creative solutions to problems. Your good looks, ability to identify people’s strengths, and ease in forming connections (or conundrums) make you the perfect leader. People get close to admire your beauty, bask in your light, and quickly find themselves wrapped around your finger.

You make people surrender to you—they have no choice but to bow to your power. Some find this uncomfortable, but the ones who swim in the sauce? They demand more, getting lost trying to decipher you. You’re multidimensional, a force to be reckoned with, a beauty that commands worship, and a sharp mind. How could anyone not fall for you?

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Pile Two

“Did it hurt falling from heaven?” You little demon. Pile Two, you’re intoxicating—a sweet poison. (I’m hearing Sweet Nothing by Calvin Harris playing in the background.) It’s hard to resist you; your sweet words turn people into believers of your gospel. They need to hear you, be near you, and earn your attention. It’s fun… until it gets clingy.

Pile Two, that push-and-pull power play you act so coy about? It’s dangerous. You’re the match to their gasoline. They’d been floating in still water, comfortable in their stillness—then you disrupted it all. You glide through life with ease and charm, and they find you refreshing. “It’s exactly what I needed,” they say. You’re a cold glass of water in the desert—needed, awaited.

You break a lot of hearts, some intentionally, others because people take care of that themselves. They get intrigued by you and talk themselves out of approaching you. But oh boy, no matter what, you linger, becoming a core memory, a core regret.

By the time they realize you’re what they needed, you’re already gone. It’s hard to hold onto you; you feel like a dream. They’ll swear they imagined you, like a mirage… until you reappear, reminding them how dull life felt without you.

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Pile Three

It’s your world, and we’re just living in it. Yes, babe—we’re aware, and we’re into it. (I’m the voice of the people!) Pile Three, you’re impossible to miss. That Easy A line? “Google could find me if I was a crack in concrete.” You know, when she comes back to school after the rumor about her losing her "virginity" spreads. You could easily be sexualized by your peers. They fantasize about having you because you seem unreachable, like they’d need to be someone important just to stand next to you.

You’ve got the it factor, that star quality. You belong under a spotlight, and everyone sees it. Your style? The way you put outfits together? Chef’s kiss. People want to be your friend, your lover, part of your circle—but stay wary of energy vampires. They don’t know if they want to be you or be with you. A little bit of both, perhaps? Probably.

Copycats try to mimic you, but it’s never quite right. You’re authentic; they’re just desperate to be liked. Even if others can’t explain it, they feel the difference. You’re put on a pedestal—and honestly? That’s where you belong. 😘

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