#but nothing that would resemble a croc

[elxgantcaptain]

💫🗝️🍒🍂

QUESTIONS FOR THE MUN ;

💫 - If your muse were a Pokémon trainer, which six Pokémon would be on their team?

🗝️ - If your muse was suddenly transported into an RPG, would they be a warrior, rogue, mage, or some kind of cross-class? You can name a specific class from a series.

He'd most likely be a fighter if we're talking a DND class. Though I would lightly consider him being a ranger, though he doesn't fit ALL the criteria for it, he is handy when it comes to ranged fighting.

🍒 - What color do you think best describes your muse’s personality and why?

Blue, red and green. A very mixed vibe, but as someone who's looking into the use of colours and phycology with them in films i find it very interesting to see what colours he's backed with.

He's either seen in warm light or dark light (which is mostly blue), its a very strange colour as we associate warm colours like, hues of red, orange and yellow with joy and comfort and passion, whereas blues are depression and sadness and the green is calm and envy. Isn't that interesting?

🍂 - What verse are you dying to write with your muse?

I've answered in the previous ask, but I'd also like to consider giving him an animal/anthro verse? But I'm not entirely sure.

[diminuel]

One year after Marineford…

World Economy Newspaper, after a few weeks of "quiet news," has published its latest worldwide news story!!

The true ancestry of Monkey D. Luffy, the rookie who fought with the big boys a year ago…

and according to reports…

Monkey D. Luffy is the son of… Dragon the Revolutionary and Akagami no Shanks!!

And the rest of the front page proceeds to explain a series of things that are summarized… 1) It has been shown that Dragon has changed sex with Ivanko's help for missions. 2) The year Monkey D. Luffy was "assigned," there are multiple reports that Akagami and Dragon were in the same area, and that in that year and the following, sightings of the revolutionary ceased completely. 3) There are reports and rumors that a few years ago, Yonko Akagami no Shanks took a random island as a base during a strange voyage to the Eastern Sea. The island is home to the super rookie's hometown. 4) A facial comparison is made between young Grap, Dragon, and Shanks and Luffy, where it is "proven" that he bears a closer resemblance to the redheaded figure his father and grandfather were in their youth.

The reactions are swift… mainly from a certain former Shishibukai. How dare those fourth-rate "journalists" say Luffy isn't his son!? I think someone needs a visit.

Somewhere else, a very confused redhead is remembering what exactly he did the year of Luffy's "assignment."…

While elsewhere in the New World, a Yonko is particularly confused… Isn't that supposed to be his grandson?

(Somewhere inside the world newspaper, a group of conspiracy theorists are celebrating that they managed to gather "evidence" for one of their theories and how it was accepted until its publication…

"I still believe that the theory that Crocodile is related to Mugiwara no Luffy is true…"

"You've been at it for a year and you haven't provided any proof…"

"But the reaction at Marineford!!"

"And Shanks also came to save Mugiwara, and the latter was responsible for him ending up in Impler Down…"

"…but"

"But nothing, you had a year to gather the evidence to be able to publish it, and you didn't find anything like us, so admit defeat")

Crocodile's going to stab some people X'D Including Dragon because that man doesn't have the appropriate reaction (which would be rage and murder intent according to Croc) to this kind of stupid report. Instead Dragon laughed his ass off (very startling for his fellow Revolutionaries who do know him as mostly stoic) and then called Shanks to demand child support.

Crocodile is just upset that he did all the work, pregnancy and labor and nursing, and Dragon gets the credit for that?! Rude. Also, Buggy's been screaming about this nonstop too. There's a limit to how much Luffy slander Crocodile can hear in a day before he starts taking people apart.

(And somewhere up in Mariejois Garling is having a fit.)

[s-e-v-e-n-24]

Hello hi friend (@knight-says-nanana) recently made this post referencing our conversation on Jervis Tetch having Wonderland nicknames for everyone but with actual Meaning to it, and I am here to share my List of them

Edward Nygma/Riddler - Dormouse

Not only could he physically resemble a dormouse (Shorter, they tend to have reddish brown/Orange coats I think?), but again, it's more about the sleepiness. The Dormouse is depicted as asleep/Always falling asleep, and only really waking up to correct Alice. Jervis's likely first or longest first meeting with Ed would be in Arkham. Arkham, where his cell has been shown to have "Keep sedated" on it

Jonathan Crane/Scarecrow - March Hare

A hare matches Jon's aesthetic. Long gangly creepy looking bunny. Typically depicted with straw on his head. It's cute if Jervis refers to him as "My dear Hare". March Hare and Hatter are friends!

And also the Hare is routinely depicted as nerve wrecked or delirious, and in adaptations, often dies or suffers

Harley Quinn - Queen of Hearts

The red and black look, the cards aesthetic already there. Plus, Queen of Hearts is childish, bad tempered, quick to overreact, very feared character (Also has a mallet). And also rarely Actually executed people. This one does play on the negatives more, due to the fact she's an antagonist (More obstacle for Alice to clear) But the queen Does have some better traits

Selina Kyle/Catwoman - Cheshire Cat

Obvious, only major cat themed rogue, but Does have deeper implications. Cat dissapears often and without a trace, seemingly or literally invisible, can go places most do not dare to. And also friendly with both the protagonist and antagonist characters. Inherently chaotic neutral force. It does what it wants for it's own entertainment. It may like Alice and act sorta as a guide sometimes, but that in no way means it sticks on her side

Hugo Strange - Gryphon

Somewhat overbearing, dismissive of the obsession and Sorrow of other characters, says they have no fact. Orders around Mock Turtle. This may not fit the greatest, but I like it

The Batman - The Jabberwock

Some unknown and all around feared cryptid? Yeah makes sense

Oswald Cobblepot/Penguin - Dodo

Flightless bird depicted with a cane. Odd, but good natured. Mostly. Does try to burn down a house as a solution to Alice being stuck in it. Organizes the Caucus races. The Dodo character/Races are meant as a critic on systems that lack clarity and decisiveness, who's actions are ultimately unhelpful or pointless

Now there are a couple I'm not entirely sure about yet. It's actually suprisingly hard to make everything fit well

Victor Fries/Mr. Freeze - White Rabbit

Because. He. Y'know. Is running out of time? I do like this one, mostly cause it's a lil funny to me. And also Freeze is mostly only an antagonist to work for his goal, the Rabbit is only "antagonist" Because he has to work for the Queen

Basil Karlo/Clayface - Mock Turtle

Melancholic, sad that it's no longer a real turtle/Just a turtle

Pamela Isely/Poison Ivy - King of Hearts/The Flowers

She is So hard to pin down. I could say Kimg of Hearts to match Harley (Moderate, calm, the one that pardons the subjects, calms the queen, later revealed just as juvenile and willing to execute), or, I could go with the flowers to match her vibe. I really do not know

Waylon Jones/Killer Croc - Jabberwocky/Duchess

Kinda hate both of these for him. Jabberwock because. The obvious. Duchess kinda due to starting off nice to the queen, then transitioning to friendly and respectful with Alice. Major temper (Nervously agressive) but not inherently bad even though she starts/Is Queen aligned?

Harvey Dent/Two Face - Tweedle Dee & Dum/The Walrus & The Carpenter

Tweedle Dee and Dum seem like the obvious answer but I kinda hate it so much. It doesn't feel like it fits and kinda feels insulting. Nothing Truly fits Two Face. Walrus and Carpenter is the closest I got. Walrus (Two Face?) The leader, conniving moocher, con man, yet hopeful of the future. Carpenter (Harvey?), believes getting an honest job will be better, still goes along with the plan, acts before he thinks, quick to anger

Joker - King of Hearts/Knave of Hearts

King to match Harley but also I dislike most adaptations so mm. Knave because he's a coward/j

[usagi-chwan]

A sweet tooth?

🌸 Characters featured in this chapter: Kunikida, Ranpo, Dazai, Yosano, Fukuzawa, Kyôka, Atsushi, Kenji and Tanizaki.

🌸 Spoils : as far as I know, nothing at all, so you can read on without fear 👌

Hello! Welcome to this special Agency chapter (I realized this while re-reading TwT). Here, we are going to look at the favorite sweets of (almost) every member of the Agency!

Happy reading!

Kunikida

- None at all. Yes, pinky swear.

- Why is that? Simple!

- Eating too much sugar gives carries, and there is no room in his schedule for a visit to the dentist. So, to put all the odds on his side, he simply decided not to touch anything that even remotely resembles a sweet.

- Officially, at least.

- Because, unofficially, he likes to eat a few fruit jellies from time to time, but shhhh~.

~

Ranpo

- Making a list of the sweets he does not like would be much simpler. And it would look more or less like this:

•

•

•

• Dark chocolate

- Why does he not like dark chocolate? Quite simply because it is far too bitter for him, who swears by sugar.

- (Let's tell him straight away that dark chocolate is not really a candy...).

~

Dazai

- He loves to eat a little candy on a regular basis, for example when finishing a meal or when he passes by a packet of sweets and succumb (which happens every time, gosh...!).

- He is crazy about crocodile-shaped sweets, fried egg-shaped sweets or any other things like this normally intended for children....

-But why should he not have the right to eat these wonderful little sweets, on the pretext that their appearance is specially designed to attract the attention of children and not adults? That is discrimination, after all!

- And, just to make it clear that he is against this discriminatory trend, he has decided to make an act of resistance himself by eating them whenever he feels like it... A fine excuse for a fine cardboard resolution! (And, contrary to what he may say, the money he spends buying this kind of candy only feeds the bank accounts of the companies that produce it... Who multiply their advertising aimed at children, thanks in particular to the "donations" of dear Dazai).

- Oh yes, he is also a big fan of marshmallows (which he likes to melt, by the way) and gummy bears. But not too much either, he has got a figure to keep!

- And do not think he has got complete "childish" tastes either...! If candy comes with alcohol, who is he to turn down such a good idea?

~

Yosano

- Sugar is not on the list of things she prefers. More bitter tastes are more popular with our favorite doctor.

- In fact, she would much rather swap a sweet for a square of dark chocolate (100%), a little ritual she repeats every evening after dinner. And more if one square is not enough to satisfy her.

- Quite the opposite of Ranpo, in fact! However, she does not hesitate to buy him a few packs of sweets and milk chocolate cakes from time to time, out of the kindness of her heart ~.

~

Fukuzawa

- He is not very fussy about sweets, although he has his preferences like everyone else (not including Ranpo, who eats every sweet thing that passes his way).

- An inveterate fan of traditional Japanese pastries, accompanied of course by freshly brewed green tea.

- But he is quite capable of eating much more common sweets if the need arises, especially those that Ranpo offers him from time to time.

~

Kyôka

- She attaches great importance to the appearance of what she eats; if something meets her particular criteria, then she will eat it with great pleasure!

- She loves anything with a cute shape, preferably pink or colorful. So her bentos are always beautifully prepared, for example by creating cute little animals with her food. She is a champion in this category, so much so that her colleagues rave about Kyôka's bento every lunchtime.

- But, almost as much as Ranpo, she is crazy about sweets and anything sweet in general. She loves anything that combines chocolate and sugar, such as KitKat or Oreo.

- And let's not forget crocodiles gummies, little gelatin hamburgers, marshmallows and all that... Ranpo has definitely found his successor in Kyôka, that is for sure <3

~

Atsushi

- Honestly, he enjoys sweets from time to time, but they are not his favorite food.

- He is willing to try anything his colleagues offer him, because he is not picky (except maybe from Dazai or even Yosano, just to be safe... Because he simply values life). And, best of all, he has never really eaten one before, so he discovers something new every time!

- He may have a preference for gelatin candies, and then green tea ones.

~

Kenji

- A candy? Too expensive! And far too difficult to buy, with those famous coins he is supposed to give for what he just wants to eat. Why people in town bother so much, he will never understand.

- He would much rather eat honey straight from the hive! He is sure to get as much as he wants, that way, and the taste is so much more delicious than artificial sweets (yes, Kenji is totally an anti-conformist... Without even knowing what that term means ^^').

~

Tanizaki

- He likes sweets, but not much more... That is not such a bad thing, considering that too much sugar is bad for you, is it...?

- That is what he likes to repeat to himself until his sister arrives with her arms full of sweets, having raided the nearest store because of a nagging sweet tooth.

- And so we witness an unexpected turn of events: Tanizaki finds himself obliged to dip into the sweets himself, or risk seeing his dear sister become angry, or depressed...

- Of course, it is all an act, but Tanizaki does not necessarily know that. What Naomi wants, he does; it is as simple as that.

- He is even willing to pretend to like candy to keep his sister smiling. A small price to pay, after all...

And here you go, I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and did not get too hungry too 😂

See you next time, kisses~

[yesbutmakeitgay]

A Little Taste Of Heaven

Carol Danvers x Reader

We’ve Loved A Thousand Lives

Same beginning, different story every time.

Part 13

Fluff, Bittersweet.

Beta'd by @cordeliasdarling <3

Word count: 2.1k

Masterlist | This collection | AO3

Carol walks back to her ship after another successful mission wanting for nothing more than to relax and rest while reaching her next destination. As soon as she enters the vessel, she hears shuffling and mumbling in the darkness, making alarm set into her.

She quickly makes her way to the source of the sound and finds a stranger’s silhouette, "Carol, thank god you're here," you exclaim as soon as you see her.

Carol frowns in confusion, pointing her lit up fist at you, "Who are you?" she asks mostly in confusion.

You look her in the eye intently, "Carol?" you wait for a response, "Danvers?" you insist, "Angel?" it comes out almost like a plea, "You really don't know me?" she looks at you dumbfounded, "Oh, crap." Your brain starts slowly connecting the dots.

She examines you from head to toe, you look mostly human and are wearing a vaguely familiar uniform, but she's certain she would remember meeting such a cute face before, "How did you get in here?" Her tone is firm, contrasting her doubtful features.

"I’m not sure," you hesitate, hoping she'll believe you, you gesture toward her fist, "Can you put that down?"

"Maybe if you tell me who you are."

You consider it for a second, "I really don't think that will help my case," she respects the honesty, "wait, I’m with S.H.I.E.L.D.," you suddenly remember, reaching into your pocket and pulling out your ID to show her.

Carol takes it and studies it, it looks official, except it doesn't resemble the real S.H.I.E.L.D. IDs, but she can sense your despair, "If you say so…" She really wants to trust you, but you're not making it easy for her.

Having her powers so close to you puts you on edge, "Please get that thing out of my face, you have no reason to be afraid of me."

"I'm not afraid, I am concerned," she clarifies, "I leave for two hours and when I come back there's a stranger in my kitchen."

"I am literally incapable of physically hurting you," you eyes travel to the ground in defeat, "and you're making me nervous," you add as if waving a white flag.

"Fine." She puts her arm down and stops glowing, finding your pleas sweet.

After some time, you speak again, "I think I know what happened," she lifts an eyebrow in curiosity, "but I’m gonna need you to have an open mind," she nods, gesturing for you to continue, "I was at the compound, training with America."

"Chavez?" she interrupts.

"The one and only, we were sparring in the gym and next thing I know, I fell on my back and then I was here."

Carol isn’t totally convinced, "Last time I checked, America was with Wong."

"That’s the tricky part," you worry your bottom lip between your teeth, "I didn't just change location, I jumped universes."

"Oh my god," she murmurs as all the blood drains from her face, you give her a moment to process the information as you also try to work it all out yourself, "what do we do now?"

You aren’t sure if there is anything you can do, but you have to try, lest things get even worse than they already are, "If I could just stay here until I find a way to reestablish communication with my team?"

"Of course, whatever you need." She starts to take her uniform off as you sit down to type away on your phone. She goes to her room and comes back out with her crocs on, "So, you've met me before," she deduces.

"Quite a few times, actually."

"Do I like you?" she pries.

"I mean, I sure hope so."

She gives you an amused smile, "Alright," she points to the cockpit apologetically, "I have to keep moving,"

"Oh, yeah, that's no problem, do your thing, you won’t even notice I’m here." She goes to pilot the ship, and you remain by the kitchen.

A few minutes later, you yell across the ship, "Is there any chance I could borrow a set of comms from you?"

"Sure." She walks over to you to hand you the device.

"Is it okay if I render them useless?"

She frowns, "What?"

"I need to rig them so I can talk to people in my universe," you explain.

"You can do that?" Her face lights up in amazement.

"I don't know yet, but I promise to replace it." Your eyes glimmer so sweet that she can’t resist them.

She gives in, maybe just to see if you can pull it off, "Sure, why not?"

"Thanks, Carol." you say absentmindedly, already taking the gadget apart.

She stops in her tracks, "Can you please not call me that?" she requests softly, "I get that you know me, but I don't know you and it feels kinda weird."

"Right, what should I call you?"

She quickly runs through all the options in her head and suggests, "Captain?"

"We tried that once, didn't do anything for me," you mumble under your breath.

"Huh?"

"Never mind, Captain it is."

After a while, you decide to make dinner for the both of you. You know your way around the ship a little too well, the Captain thinks, hearing you move around so much.

You go to the cockpit and gently rest your hand on her shoulder to get her attention, she jumps at the contact, though she isn't so mad about the goosebumps that appeared all over her body, you keep having to remind yourself that you’re not where you think you are, "Sorry, do you have any cumin?"

She looks to the side, "What’s that?"

You forgot she was totally uncultured before you met her, "Don’t worry, I’ll find it." You go back to the kitchen to double check every corner and continue cooking.

You're more careful about approaching her the second time, you stand by her side in her line of vision before asking, "Are you hungry, Captain?"

"I am famished, actually," she gets up and starts walking to the kitchen "let me reheat some leftovers—" she interrupts herself when she sees the already plated meal on the table, "did you make that?"

"Mhmm," you smile proudly, "my specialty, sans cumin." You both sit at the table, and she wastes no time before digging in.

"This is delicious!" she almost screams with her mouth full in surprise.

You're glad to know the Captain also likes your cooking, it might be considered cheating that you made your Carol's favorite, but you weren't gonna take any chances here.

"So, training with America, is that something you do often?" She asks as a way to fill the silence.

"Yeah, I work with all the new recruits."

About time they hired someone to do that, it’s not wise to consume all the Avengers’ time training the new kids, she thinks, "Do you know Kamala?"

An involuntary smile forms on your face as you think of your favorite trainee, "Yes, I do, she's very nice, safe for the fact that she's obsessed with Romanoff," you joke.

"Really?" She's so taken aback, disappointed even.

"Really," you confirm, "what's yours like?" The Captain only shakes her head in dismissal.

After you’re done with dinner, she clears the table and does the dishes, as she’s putting them away, the cupboard door gets jammed, "Let me," you offer, but she refuses.

"No, I got it." You can tell by her muscles that she’s using way too much force.

"Relax," you chuckle at her stubbornness, "this happens all the time in my Carol's ship, I’m the only one who knows how to fix it."

Her heart skips a beat, "Your Carol?" she repeats tentatively.

"I—you know what I mean." As you reach for the hinges your shirt rides up, and the Captain gets a peek at your midriff, the sight makes her mouth water more than your food did, and in one swift motion, you open the cabinet.

You settle on the couch for the night, and the Captain goes to her room. She goes to bed feeling all giddy inside, she hadn't felt this way in a long time. A part of her hopes it takes you a while to get back home so she can be around you longer, but before she can even form a solid thought, her eyes are already closing.

As soon as you know she's sleeping, you get back up and continue working. You knew Carol would refuse to rest if you told her you were still gonna be up, but you could tell how exhausted she was, so you had to play pretend for her sake. This is a very time sensitive matter, every second you spend in this universe you risk entangling the fabric of both your realities.

You've been working on the device long enough that your eyes are beginning to sting, it is almost dawn, when you manage to get a signal, "Danvers, do you copy?"

"Hey, hi, yes, I hear you!" your Carol answers triumphantly from the other end of the line.

"Finally," you scream whisper.

"Where are you?" The signal is choppy, but good enough for an improvised gadget.

"It's complicated, I’m sending you my exact location right now."

A ping indicates she's received your message, "Are you for real? That's so far away."

"It is? I have no idea."

"Are you okay? What's going on?"

"I’m fine, mostly safe, but I really, truly should not be here," you stress your words to get her to understand the severity of the situation.

"Right, I’m gonna go get Monica, and we're gonna get you back as soon as possible, okay?"

"Alright, thank you."

The twenty minutes it takes for your team to reach out to you again pass agonizingly slow, your leg is bouncing at a million beats per minute and you've chewed all your fingernails off to the bone.

A port opens up right where you landed in the kitchen, and your Carol comes through it, you feel relief take over your body, "Oh, thank God, it worked!"

"There you are." She pulls you into a tight hug.

The Captain is awakened by the noise and comes out of her room a little disoriented, "Could you please keep it down—" She freezes in place at the scene unfolding before her.

Your Carol lets go of the hug, keeping her arm around your waist and looking at her other self, "I’m assuming she's already explained enough so you won’t freak out." The Captain nods slowly with her lips parted, urging her brain to catch up.

"You’re looking good, Captain," your Carol smirks.

"Thanks, you too."

"Are you done flirting with yourself?" you ask, breaking their trance.

"Don’t tell me you've never thought about it," your Carol teases you.

"You know I have, that's the whole reason I married you." You lean further into her.

The Captain finally breaks the knot in her throat, "You two are married!

Your Carol looks at you with a frown, "I may have omitted a detail or two," you admit cheekily.

"Unbelievable," they both respond in unison.

Your Carol tosses the Captain a new comm device, and she catches it out of pure reflex, "This is for you."

"I’m gonna keep the old one and a souvenir." You wink.

"Now you're flirting with her!" your Carol accuses.

"It doesn't count as cheating if she's also you."

She rolls her eyes, "Whatever you say, Princess."

"Let’s get out of here, this ship is too cold," you tell your wife, "thank you for all your help," you tell the Captain genuinely.

"Thanks, Captain." Your Carol salutes her other self before sending a message to Monica to get you back home.

The Captain tries and fails to get the words out a few times, "Wait, is there another you in this universe?" she stutters.

Your wife and you share a look, "There should be," you guess.

Your Carol thinks about it briefly and agrees, "Yeah, good luck," she smiles, as you both disappear into a new portal.

Once the opening disappears, the Captain feels her heart drop to her stomach, she was so close and yet so far.

A moment later, Fury calls, and she reluctantly picks up, "Good news, Danvers, remember I've been telling you we're understaffed at S.H.I.E.L.D.?" she hums in response, too distracted by your absence, "We just hired a new member in the team, she's gonna help us train all new recruits."

"Really?" her face lights up immediately, "Any chance I can meet her soon?"

"Come down here, and I'll introduce you."

"Be right there," she beams.

[atticraccoon]

Croc & Hawk - The Guitar

I'm pretty sure I saw a drawing of young Crocodile playing a guitar, but I'm not remembering where… Anyway, it sparked a vision, of Mihawk being very fond of how Crocodile used to play form him when they were children. So have a little fic. (With music links)

-

“Hey, Hawk Eyes. Look what the marine ship we caught was carrying.” Crocodile announced with a smirk, as he entered the meeting room. He then handed Mihawk a large case.

Upon opening it, a glint came to the Hawk’s eyes.

“A guitar.”

“Not any guitar. This is the fine stuff. Pure Adam Tree wood. Vintage. Quite possibly hailing from Elegia itself. I bet some top brass in the marines will be sorely missing their little treat. Kuhahaha.”

“Magnificent.” Mihawk ran his fingers over the smooth lacquer. The guitar surely had impeccable craftsmanship. “It must be worth a few million berries, I imagine. Are you keeping it?”

“Nah, you are. Thought you'd like more ways to spend your free time. And that we could use some good music here.” Crocodile said, smoke flowing out of his satisfied grin. “Go on, Hawk Eyes. Give it a try.”

“Hm… Don’t mind if I do.”

The thing about Dracule Mihawk was that, he was a man of focus. Throughout his youth, he dedicated himself to nothing but the way of the sword. And as a result, he soon reached the very top of the swordsmen's world. After it, however, he lost his purpose. Falling into boredom, he tried to fill his days with any hobbies that caught his interest. Amongst gardening, dancing flamenco, and practicing the millenary art of origami, playing the guitar was one of them. But Dracule Mihawk… was a man of focus. There was no rest until every single challenge in his way was annihilated. Hobby after hobby, they all fell to his hands. Only gardening, whose pace was outside his control, survived. Everything else, particularly any skill that required dexterity, he conquered them all.

Mihawk absolutely shredded that guitar.

“Kuhaha…” Crocodile clapped in awe. “Fantastic, Hawk Eyes. Fantastic. I couldn't expect anything less from you.”

“Thank you.” Mihawk nodded. And then, handed the guitar to Crocodile. “Your turn.”

“Haaah?” Crocodile winced. “Really? You're gonna make me play after you? Do you want to humiliate me that much?”

“I played for you. You play for me. It's only fair.”

“Ugh… Fine. But I don't wanna hear any complaints.”

Crocodile grabbed the guitar.

“I'm not even sure I still remember how to do this.” He mumbled, as he tried figuring out how he would play it. “Fuck… My hand is too big. And my hook is too thick.”

“I'm waiting, Crocodile.”

“Shut up.”

After a few minutes on it, and with the help of a sand-made hand, Crocodile eventually managed to string out something resembling one of the few tunes he knew how to play.

It was nothing like Mihawk's. It was slow and simple. A track even a child could learn, because it's exactly what happened. 

Yet Mihawk listened to it all the same. Focused, as he would be at any professional recital. Crocodile's playing was rather rusty and rough around the edges, but, somehow, still soothing as it used to be.

At the end of it, with the faintest of hints of a smile in his lips, Mihawk nodded to himself. And said,

“Hm. You need practice, Crocodile.”

A vein popped on Crocodile’s forehead. “Hey.”

“It's what you promised. Don't forget it.”

“Promised…” Crocodile spent a few seconds trying to remember what Mihawk could be referring to. Until he recalled the silly thing the Hawk insisted on reminding him once in a blue moon. “What? Still clinging to that? It's been years!”

“A promise is a promise.”

Technically, it wasn't an actual promise. But to Mihawk, it was.

It happened when they were still just a couple of stray brats navigating the world by themselves.

One day, when they settled on an abandoned house to use as their new base of operations, Crocodile came to join Mihawk at the fireplace with an announcement.

“Hey, Hawk Eyes. Look at what I found.” He said, with a big grin, as he held something large in his hands.

The young Mihawk knew what that object was.

“A guitar. Do you know how to play it?”

“Just a little.” Crocodile sat by his side. The guitar was old, and lacking any luster, but it still worked just fine. Holding the instrument on his lap, Crocodile proceeded to play a simple piece. “I met someone who knew it some years ago. I like the sound, so I learned a few tunes."

Mihawk's eyes made sure to follow every single move of the older boy's fingers, as they danced over the strings. It was quite the delicate technique. He had always found it curious how someone as ruthless as Crocodile could also be so gentle. It wasn't an aspect he disliked. 

“It does sound nice,” he said.

Crocodile smiled.

“Heh. Thanks.”

Mihawk enjoyed having Crocodile strum a little something every night, right after dinner, when they were still by the fireplace. It was a soothing transition to prepare for the next day.

He liked that they found the guitar. And Crocodile seemed to feel that as well.

So, suffice to say, he was a little confused when it stayed by the fireplace, on the day of their departure for the next town. 

“Aren't you taking the guitar with you?” Mihawk asked. 

“Nah. It's too bulky to carry around.”

“But don't you like to play it?”

“A bit. But it's not worth it. I'm not good enough to gain anything from it. And making so much noise when we're outdoors is a bad idea, so I can't practice. Besides, there are more important things to do than play with an old guitar. Like finding our next mark.”

Mihawk looked back, at the guitar.

“It's a shame. I liked the sound.”

“You did, huh?” Crocodile watched the boy. They did say animals likes music. And it appeared the little fledgling surely did. He smiled, and ruffled the boy's hair. “Don't worry, I'll learn it properly some day. When I can afford it. Then I'll let you hear more.”

Mihawk just turned to him, and nodded.

“Hm. Ok, then.”

You see, Crocodile didn’t say he promised anything. But to Mihawk, it was implicit in his words.

Nothing ever happened, though. Especially after Crocodile's crushing defeat to Whitebeard. Along with his hand, any interest in playing a guitar was lost as well...

Of course, he could still play it if he wanted. Either by making a hand out of sand, or sticking a pick to his stump. The lack of a hand itself wasn't the problem. It was the broken spirit that made any idea of substitution a bitter reminder of how he lost the original.

When Mihawk decided to learn the guitar himself, part of him did want to try recreating that soothing sound Crocodile showed to him all those years ago. But no matter how skilled he was, and how much he tried to replicate it, he never managed to do it quite like he wanted. 

He was glad that Crocodile recovered enough to still do it. Now all they needed was a bit of polish. 

“You said you would learn to play properly and let me hear it. Don't forget it. You have until one of us is dead.”

With a sigh, Crocodile rolled his eyes.

“Gee. Very specific, Hawk Eyes…”

As always, Crocodile would never admit it. But was he a little happy that Mihawk still wanted to hear him play after all those years? Well, perhaps...

-

Bonus 1:

“There's another reason you need to learn how to play a guitar, Crocodile.”

“What?”

“There are some pieces I want to play, but they are duets. I need someone to do it with me.”

“Pieces like?”

“Like this.”

Mihawk proceeds to make fire with his hands.

“And the other part is,”

Mihawks proceeds to make even more fire.

“Uh…” Crocodile frowns. “Yeah, I don't think that's my style, Hawk Eyes… Even if I mastered the guitar, I doubt I could exude so much, um… passion, like you do. You'll probably be better off looking for someone else.”

“Hm… Perhaps you are right. It might be an issue of style… I can't play like you either…” He admits. “But I already did, Crocodile. Try looking for someone else. Red-Hair blames his lacking arm… And I tried teaching Roronoa during his stay at my island, but his hands were already full with swords… I'm out of options.”

“You certainly aren't.”

“There's no one.”

“Have you tried looking for actual musicians? There's many good ones in the world.”

“Don't be ridiculous. I'm not a musician. How could I ever engage with someone who doesn't know the language of battle?”

“Hm… What about that skeleton from the straw hats, then? The Soul King? That guy must certainly be up to your standards.”

“He plays an electric guitar. I don't care about them.” Scowling, Mihawk crosses his arms over his chest. “There’s no one…” 

“Eh…” Crocodile sighs. The Hawk can be very hard to please sometimes… He pats the man's shoulder. “Don't worry, Hawk Eyes. You'll find someone someday.”

“I'm beginning to doubt it.”

He would, though. In the form of S-Hawk. After the series was over, and he kind of adopted the large child.

Turns out a clone makes great company for one's hobbies.

- Bonus 2:

“Kuhaha... The music is not something I imagine myself playing. But I do love this album's art, Hawk Eyes.”

“I figured.” 

-

Bonus 3:

I think the difference between Mihawk and Crocodile, beside music taste, is that Mihawk played as a testament of his skills, and Crocodile played to unwind. Crocodile didn't care about the technique, he just wanted to play something he liked. As such, there was a softness to the way he played. Mihawk is too sharp, and he would need to study more to figure out that's the issue. After all, he's very good, but he's not the world's greatest guitarrist. Yet. Perhaps one day.

And also, there's the issue of Mihawk unusual perceptions. When he tries to play something soothing like Crocodile, he ends up picking gloomy stuff.

"This is calming, isn't it?" "Eh.... I guess... Like your island was?" "Yes, like my island... I miss my island...

[moongothic]

I know you've talked about scenarios where S-Croc meets Luffy but I'm suddenly curious about a scenario in which S-Croc encounters Dragon.

How do you think that would go down?

Don't do this to me bro I'm gonna CRY

Now that does entirely depend on what kind of personality S-Croc does have, doesn't it? And how that might compare to the younger Crocodile Dragon knew so long ago?

'Cause either S-Croc resembles Young Crocodile personalitywise (so maybe like a little bit jollier and trusting or something???), or he's like Older Crocodile (but without a filter, like a child, much like the other Seraphim)

If it's the former, I could imagine it being kind of... nostalgic and maybe a little funny for Dragon, to see S-Croc and being reminded of the person he once knew and loved. It'd also be sad, since that version of the Crocodile he loved no longer existed, S-Croc being nothing but a ghost in a way. But maybe Dragon could just focus on the happier memories and hold onto the warm feelings tight

If it's the latter, and S-Croc is a bit of a sour puss, much like how Crocodile himself is now, then maybe the encounter would be much sadder for Dragon, since that could just remind him of just how far the two had drifted apart, irreversably so.

Either way I'm just

[chuklebruski]

The Coward's Redemption ch. 33

Words: 5371

Crocodile cast a disdainful look down his nose at Straw Hat, laying where he’d landed upside down in the sand. He didn’t like cocky upstarts as a rule, and the brat had managed to spitefully inconvenience his plans through repeated luck.

“It seems the princess has escaped.” Nico Robin said.

“No matter,” Crocodile said. “We have our agents in Alubarna. Alert them immediately.”

He glared through the trails rising off his cigar.

“Dead end, Straw Hat.”

The brat didn’t respond right away. He sat up in the sand, one arm folded over his knee.

“Vivi’s greatest strength,” he said. “Is her heart. It’s bigger than anyone’s; she wants to stop this war without anyone dying.”

“No casualties?” Crocodile exclaimed with a derisive laugh. “Peace-loving fools who’ve never seen a real battle are the only ones who can claim such a naïve ideal. Don’t you agree?”

“Yep.”

Even her precious knight knew better.

“But she’ll kill herself fighting so long as you’re around,” he said. “So I’m just gonna kick your ass here and now.”

“Hmph,” Crocodile scoffed, shifting his cigar between his teeth. “Like attracts like, I suppose. Giving your life for a perfect stranger; I’ve known and discarded a dozen fools like you.”

The brat smirked, cracking his knuckles.

“Sounds pretty stupid to me.”

Crocodile’s jaw twitched.

“Ha ha!”

“Do you want to die, Nico Robin?”

His second in command turned her back with a shrug.

“If that’s what you want, but you promised not to use that name.”

“Where are you going?”

“The capital, of course.”

Crocodile watched her go through one eye; he huffed.

“Years as my second and I still don’t understand that woman,” he muttered, reaching into his coat. “As for you, Straw Hat.”

Shunk.

A sand timer struck the ground at the brat’s feet. Grains slowly leaked through the neck in the glass.

“Three minutes,” he said. “That’s as long as I can spare for this. Any complaints?”

“Nope,” he answered, flexing his arm. “Fine by me.”

Crocodile scoffed. It’d been a while since he entertained anything resembling a fight; he’d give the greenhorn a lesson before he died.

Gomu Gomu no Pistol!

The brat’s arm stretched and his fist shot at Crocodile. Simple enough to weave to one side and let the rubber fist fly past him. Crocodile shifted into sand, flying to close the distance and reform with his hook just shy of Straw Hat’s head.

“Ugh!”

The brat bent backward, almost folding himself to avoid the strike. Clearly, he knew somewhat how to utilize his Devil Fruit; Crocodile would permit him that, if nothing else.

Gomu Gomu no-

Carrying through the momentum into a backflip, the brat launched his foot in a stretching kick at Crocodile’s torso.

Stamp!

There was, naturally, no impact save sandal on sand.

No fresh face to Paradise could touch him, let alone hurt him. Straw Hat went tumbling backward over himself in the dunes.

Crocodile simply stood and reconstituted his body, even as the brat shed his cloak and hat to charge him. The fastest means of breaking a fledgling’s arrogance…

Gatling!

Pff! Pff! Pff!

… was presenting them with a wall that they couldn’t even touch.

“Throw everything you’ve got at me, Straw Hat.”

Bazooka!

Bwashhhh!

“Your attacks are futile.”

Ono!

Wham!

Crocodile spilled into grains, split and scattered in front of the brat’s energetic onslaught. The boy stomped on the ground where he’d been standing, snarling.

“You squashed now?!”

“No matter what you do,” Crocodile said, reforming again behind the brat. “You can’t def”

PAF.

The brat’s fist shot through Crocodile’s face, momentarily turning his jaw to sand.

“… ‘Def’? The hell’re you trying to say, Croc?!”

Snap.

Crocodile glowered.

Apparently, he was dealing with a willful ignorance.

—————

At fourteen, Vivi effectively gave up on whatever remained of her adolescence. Discarded a comfortable life so that she could discover the threat to her country and purge it. After more than two years, she could see the climax of her mission on the imminent horizon; one way or another, it would all end today.

Despite all that, the impending battle and its consequences were not the first thing weighing on her mind. Her thoughts lay behind her, on the outskirts of Rainbase; where the man who’d led the expedition to bring her home had thrown himself to the monster trying to destroy it.

And she wasn’t the only one distracted.

“Say that again.” Zoro growled.

“You’re scared,” Sanji sniped at him. “That Luffy won’t win. Because the last Shichibukai beat you.”

“Big talk coming from a two-bit cook!”

“Oh, you wanna fight?!”

“Both of you shut up,” Usopp said, shooting both chef and swordsman a glare. “Save it for when you need it.”

He said all that, though the odd tremor in his shoulders betrayed his nerves.

Chopper’s anxious gaze jumped from person to person, fidgeting where he sat. Vivi, wiping sweat off her own palms, put on a practiced smile.

“I’m sure Luffy-san won’t lose,” she said, sitting up to address them all. “He promised we’d meet in Alubarna!”

Bonk.

A hand collided with the back of her head.

“Pep talks aren’t your job right now,” Nami said. “You just focus on how you’ll stop the rebels.”

“We know what we gotta do,” Usopp said. “Worrying won’t help Luffy anyway.”

“Sorry about that, Vivi-chan.” Sanji said, dipping his head in her direction.

Zoro grunted, plopping back down to do seated arm curls with Eyelashes balanced on one of his scabbards.

Vivi sighed. Airing things out hadn’t exactly eased anyone’s tension, but it’d resharpened her resolve.

“Okay,” Nami said, raising her fist. “Punch it, Pincers!”

“Pincers?”

“I named the crab.”

“Your names are, uh…”

—————

The dunes of Alabasta had eyes and ears; she’d witnessed deception, civil unrest, treachery, and murder on a wide scale the past three years.

On the day Operation Utopia commenced, she witnessed the first spark of conflict, a prelude to the imminent war, outside Rainbase. A rubber boy captain squared off in the desert against a Shichibukai who was of the sand itself.

For ninety seconds, the boy threw himself at the monster, hurling every ounce of fight he possessed with no result; no better for it, nor Crocodile any worse off.

Any yet, even presented with the visible futility of his efforts, the Straw Hat boy didn’t hesitate for a second.

In answer…

Desert Spada!

The Shichibukai cleaved the dunes with a blade of sand sharpened to a razor’s edge. Boasting in word and in practice his mastery over his powers.

The boy only just avoided being bisected himself by throwing himself out of harm’s way.

Desert Girasole!

Crocodile did not give him time to rest.

The ground beneath the boy’s feet gave way, suddenly and without warning, into a huge sinkhole of quicksand. He ran against the pull of the desert’s natural grave, making little headway in his efforts to preserve his life.

Gomu Gomu no Bazooka!

Only with an explosive attack that catapulted him into the air did he escape.

Muchi!

He made one more valiant effort to fight, but even with a kick that split Crocodile in two, the only result was more sand. Crocodile snared the young captain by his foot, reeled him in…

Crescent Cutlass!

And with a swipe of the Shichibukai’s right hand, the boy was rendered prone in the sand.

“AGH!”

With a mummified, utterly dehydrated right arm.

And yet, even while Crocodile stood all but assured in victory, having crippled his opponent, the boy did not despair. He scampered across the sand for his cloak, tearing it away to find a small barrel with a straw poked through. With one large gulp…

Bwoing!

His arm was restored.

“Pointless.” Crocodile scoffed; the boy argued against his dismissal.

Sables!

The Shichibukai remained unmoved; merely announcing that the young captain had spent his allotted three minutes.

In response to his will, a sandstorm brewed outside of Rainbase; powerful and large enough to be seen for miles out.

“Pop quiz, Straw Hat; if the prevailing winds blow from North to South, and this sandstorm moves in that direction, gathering strength as it goes, what hapless town will fall to ruin in its wake?”

The boy glared in frustrated confusion for a moment before realization dawned. Horror soon followed.

Crocodile merely laughed.

“Did you really think consecutive sandstorms would strike the same place naturally?”

The boy railed against Yuba’s fate; such was his desperation that he shouted and even threw himself at the storm itself, though he must have known he couldn’t contend with a natural disaster.

“Hey! Stop it, you bastard!”

He turned on Crocodile next, taking the collar of the man taller than he by more than half and demanding he stop the storm.

SHNK.

Crocodile silenced his protests.

By piercing the boy’s chest with his hook hand.

“Who do you think you’re talking to?” He asked in a dark tone, raising the young captain’s body into the air.

Plip. Plip. Plip.

The boy’s blood fell in rhythmic droplets.

“I told you, Straw Hat; you’re just one more among dozens of fools to be discarded. You’re nowhere near my level of pirate.”

She’d seen and heard about enough.

Except the boy’s hand moved again.

In piercing his chest, Crocodile had also punctured the barrel of water around his neck.

The leaking contents soaked through his sleeve and coated his arm.

Whap.

For the first time, Straw Hat laid a hand on Crocodile.

KREK.

And for the first time in at least three years, the Shichibukai’s tall figure staggered.

With an expression twisted in pain, he raised his arm and hurled the boy down into the sinkhole; gurgling, choked exclamations accompanied Straw Hat’s descent.

“You won’t be in pain much longer.”

With that, the Shichibukai turned his back to leave the boy to his burial in the sand. A few gasps persisted from the sinkhole; the sound of Crocodile departing for Alubarna.

Silence.

A minute passed.

Two.

She didn’t know why she kept waiting; why she hadn’t already left. The outcome had been obvious from the moment the princess recruited a fledgling band of pirates to her cause. There shouldn’t have been anything more to see.

Foomph.

And yet…

A single cough came from the nadir of the sinkhole.

One more beat of silence.

And then, Robin heard the cry representing Straw Hat’s refusal to perish.

“MEAT!”

—————

“Wh-you’re leaving?!”

Tashigi couldn’t contain the incredulity in her voice, staring at her captain’s back; Smoker letting anything interrupt his pursuit of a pirate was unprecedented. One of the first things she’d learned working for him had been that he moved according to principle, not any authority.

Often, whatever words he had to spare for his superiors were less than complimentary.

“Something came up,” Smoker said. “I’m leaving you in charge here.”

“Wh-Am I to pursue Straw Hat or help the Royal Army?”

“Your call,” Smoker said, mounting his motorcycle. “Whatever you decide, I’ll take full responsibility.”

“Huh?!”

“Pay attention to what happens in this country,” he said, pulling his riding goggles over his eyes. “It’s on days like today that history is made.”

Without another word or any further consideration for her confusion, Smoker rode off out toward the ocean. Whatever business had come up must have been urgent to command his attention.

“Sergeant! What are your orders?”

Tashigi put her chin in her hand; she’d never been given so much leeway since she’d enlisted as a marine. Let alone the latitude to take essentially consequence-free action on behalf of her commanding officer. She didn’t know what to do with it.

More than once since she came under his command, Smoker had advised her to act on her sense of justice. She’d always taken it as an approval of her judgement; he did promote her to sergeant after all.

She didn’t waste time overthinking.

“We’re going after Straw Hat and his crew,” she said. “I want all men armed to the teeth and ready to move out in ten minutes!”

“Yes ma’am!”

—————

Usopp was stressed.

He knew the importance of not standing out as a threat to Crocodile. He knew, from his first round, that Crocodile was the first opponent his captain admitted to losing against in a fight, albeit one he paid back. He’d spent the whole ride facing Alubarna, staunchly refusing to so much as glance back lest he give in to the temptation to give Luffy supporting fire.

But he’d never expected that the Shichibukai would finish the fight so quickly. Crocodile’s ‘voice’ had departed from Rainbase within minutes of Luffy taking Vivi’s place. Even as the crew got deeper into the Grand Line and the foes they faced grew more dangerous, the number of people who could manhandle Usopp’s captain in peak condition like that should have been few and far between.

It just cemented again how far out of their depth the Straw Hats had been in his first round; and how much work he had left to do.

“What do we do now?!”

The others were occupied with somewhat more immediate concerns.

“What kind of shitty crab can’t handle water?!”

They were coming up on the Sandora river; a body of water nearly as wide as an ocean. And their transportation was about to hit a wall.

Namely, the fact that Pincers possessed the same capacity for swimming as Chopper or Luffy.

Usopp cast out a pulse of Haki, searching for something while the others tossed around ideas.

“Wait,” Chopper said, perking up. “Pincers likes dancer girls!”

Perhaps owing to the urgency of the situation, Nami didn’t even ask any questions before she discarded her travel cloak, revealing the outfit beneath that Sanji had bought.

“Like this?”

Pincers’ eyes swiveled around on their stalks to look at his back; zeroing in on Nami specifically, as Sanji and Eyelashes were. Clearly wondering how her clothes would help, Nami’s posture came off far more wooden than seductive.

SHKSHKSHKSHKSHK!

Evidently, Pincers only needed that much. Sparks went off in his brain and his massive legs skittered faster than ever. So fast, that…

“Holy shit!”

“Go, Pincers!”

“Creepy crab…”

He actually ran across the water’s surface, manifesting a real-world miracle.

Bluburbleblub

“So much for that!”

For about twenty-five seconds.

Usopp suddenly missed Brook–setting aside the unprompted feeling, he grabbed Chopper and leapt off Pincers’ back before the crab fully submerged.

“Vivi, how far to the other side?” Nami asked, once they were all in the water and Pincers had retreated to the shore.

“About thirty miles.” Vivi said.

“We’ll never make tha–what’s the tengu doing?”

Usopp had preemptively started paddling away from another creature threatening to crest the water’s surface.

“It’s a Sandoran catfish,” Vivi exclaimed, with much the same awe as when Chopper arrived with Pincers. “People can go their whole lives without”

“Not the time for this!”

Gnashing teeth sounded off behind Usopp.

“And humans are its favorite food!”

“START WITH THAT!”

Usopp kicked his feet; annoyed yet relieved that he’d been the one to take Chopper. The doctor had thrown his hooves into the sniper’s face and impeded his vision; only Haki kept him from accidentally flailing straight into catfish jaws.

Still, the immediate situation didn’t call for too much concern.

WHAM-AM-AM-AM!

Because Usopp’s captain made friends wherever he went without even trying.

“Ark!”

The kung-fu dugongs had bailed them out; the unsuspecting catfish floated face-down in the river, sporting several new lumps. Within another minute, they’d all boarded the KO’d catfish with the dugongs carting them across the river.

“They said, ‘We couldn’t let anything happen to our fellow disciples!’” Chopper translated.

There’d been a bit more to the story than that; something about some of the dugongs splitting off from the rest after they lost sparring matches while guarding the Merry. But most everyone just grumbled about being referred to as Luffy’s disciples.

“Good timing,” Usopp said. “Your sensei passed on a message; move our ship further up the shore, away from any obvious harbor where the Navy might be looking. Then make yourselves scarce.”

The dugongs gave him some questionable looks. Usopp sighed.

“I mean, our sensei.”

He got a dozen barks in response that preceded half of their number breaking off to presumably return and move the Merry while the rest helped them cross the river.

Usopp died a little inside, but desperate times or whatever.

They made decent time crossing the river, calling thanks to the dugongs as they made it to the opposite shore.

“Okay,” Zoro said, regrouping everyone. “What’s next?”

“I don’t know,” Vivi said, taking her lower lip in her teeth in visible frustration. “We’re going to cut it close no matter how fast we move. Even if Eyelashes could carry more than two of us, I don’t know if we’ll make it in time.”

Usopp caught movement in the distance in his periphery. A cloud of dust and sand rapidly approached their position. He wasn’t concerned, though.

“You’ve got a good partner, Vivi,” he said, equipping his goggles. “Our scout’s returned with reinforcements.”

The confusion of a moment gave way to relief and reunion as the dust settled; Carue, standing at the head of six other ducks, snapped his wing in a salute, with his Supersonic Duck Squadron following suit. The fastest creatures in Alabasta.

“Quack!”

They had a shot.

—————

The sun had passed its zenith in the sky over Alubarna. Two forces, both driven by long-simmering frustration and love of country, were on a course to collide in the capital before the clock struck three; each resigned and resolved for bloodshed.

The unfortunate King, captured and bound, sat almost unattended in a sequestered spot near the East Gate; not near enough to intervene, but more than close enough to hear and witness the coming chaos.

Within the capital’s shadow on the opposite side of the city, those who had stoked the fires of war waited and watched; an insurance against the one person capable of preventing the clash.

The remainder of Crocodile’s elite agents stood guard at the West Gate; one of five leading into the city, elevated above the dunes. And one of three accessible to those coming from Rainbase; hence, they anticipated Nefertari Vivi’s approach in her desperate bid to meet and stop the rebellion.

“Is she even coming?!”

A cranky, stout old woman barked impatiently, sunlight glare reflecting off her sunglasses. She could hear the rebel army’s drumbeat of hooves.

“The Straw Hats had a late start out of Rainbase.”

A taller woman, long-limbed and angular, took a drag from a long pipe.

“Odds are they won’t make it.”

“Eh~?”

A familiar face, clad in a swan motif, spun on the spot and posed in confusion.

“But if they’re a no-show, what do we do then?”

“Nothing.”

A tall, broad, bald man with an open vest and the kanji for one tattooed on his chest gave a short, terse reply.

“We only need to eliminate our target. Is that too hard for you to understand?”

“Huh?! You wanna taste of my okama kenpo?!”

“They’re…”

The biggest of them all, wearing a scarf and full sleeves despite the climate, tried to get the others’ attention with binoculars in his hand.

“Coming… this wa-”

“SAY SOMETHING SOONER!”

The squabbling stopped all-at-once; Miss Merry Christmas snatched the binoculars from her partner.

“…!”

Farther out from the city than the rebels yet gaining ground fast astride supersonic ducks, six figures rapidly approached the capitals from the west.

“Aren’t there too many?!”

“Even crossing off Straw Hat,” Miss Doublefinger said. “There’s also that Prince character and his partner. Two and four make six.”

“Who cares how many there are?” Mr. 1 huffed. “We only need to eliminate one.”

“You say that…” Miss Merry Christmas murmured. “Then you tell me, which one is Vivi?!”

Even through the binoculars, none of them could tell the six figures apart nor identify one as the princess; hooded cloaks obscured any defining features of their faces or bodies.

“AAAH! How IFFY!” Mr. 2 exclaimed.

“Get ‘em, Mr. 4!”

At his partner’s urging, Mr. 4 hoisted an odd-shaped bazooka onto his shoulder. One that fired a ticking baseball into the path of the six swift riders.

“Scatter!”

A cry pierced the air and the fowl’s formation of six broke into pairs, avoiding the explosion entirely.

“They’re headed south!” Christmas shouted. “One of them must be the princess going for the rebels!”

She tailed after them with her partner in tow.

Exploding Star!

A projectile whistled through the air and erupted on contact with Mr. 1’s raised hand. A second pair of ducks took the moment to break for the West Gate.

“Damn slippery–!”

“Let’s go, Mr. 1!”

Which left…

“Eh?”

WHAM!

“UOHBAWK!”

The final pair barreled through Mr. 2 for the Southwest Gate.

“You won’t escape!”

Thus, was the stage set:

“This oughta be far enough.”

Two circled and ended their flight in the sand surrounding an old ruin outside the Southeast Gate of the city.

“You caught me~! I’m Princess Vivi!”

“N-no you’re not; I’m Princess Vivi!”

Another pair led their pursuers into Alubarna’s evacuated residential district.

“Heh! Honestly impressed you caught up!”

And the last ended the goose–or swan and duck–chase amid the capital’s silent shops.

“Let’s see who got it right~!”

In tandem, six cloaks were discarded.

Unknown to all but a small band, minutes before the first blade even met between the rebels and the royals…

“Wrong. You lose.”

The climactic third and final act in the fight for Alabasta had already begun.

—————

Vivi raced to intercept the rebels with Carue; the way cleared of obstacles, she had a straight shot to put herself between them and the capital.

‘Thank you, everyone.’

She knew Koza would be leading the charge; he’d always been the type to put himself forward and take on the greatest risk on behalf of others. Had been since they were children, running around with the Sand Sand clan.

“You just look like a crybaby brat to me!”

She hadn’t fully appreciated that when they first met.

“What do you know about anything, royal twerp?!”

They hadn’t started off on the best of terms.

Still, as her father had taught her, people came to understand each other by talking.

“If I win, I’ll be your chief!”

“As if some pipsqueak could beat me!”

Or in their case, arguing and fighting.

“Starting today, Vivi’s the vice-leader of the Sand-Sand clan! Anybody got a problem with that?!”

If only she’d been able to speak to him before she took Igaram and Carue undercover, given him an inkling that other forces were at work…

She dismissed regrets from her mind and dismounted; stood at her fullest height and shed the hood of her cloak, making herself as visible as possible and staring down the massive army that left the ground rumbling beneath her.

She caught Carue shivering in her periphery.

“You don’t have to stay with me, Carue.”

“Quack!”

His answer was adamant and immediate.

She huffed, sparing him a fond smile.

“Don’t blame me if you get trampled.”

The rebels drew closer; she raised her arms, drew in a deep breath, and

“REBELS! THIS BATTLE IS A SETUP!”

Raised her voice to be heard over the trembling ground and beating hooves.

“STOP HERE! DON’T”

BOOM.

Cannon fire.

Sand erupted in front of her.

She couldn’t see the rebels.

They couldn’t see her.

Vivi’s pulse pounded; a chill seized her spine.

Plants in the Royal army…?

“Quack!”

“STOP! LISTEN TO ME!”

The premature attack only stoked the rebels’ fury.

Their rallying roars drowned out her pleas.

“KOZA!”

She screamed for the man who’d shared a promise with her years ago.

For the one who’d said they’d be partners to protect Alabasta.

RMBL.

He didn’t hear her.

She caught the faintest glimpse of dirty blonde hair.

Turned to reach for it.

“QUACK!”

Was shoved down and held against the ground.

Gunfire.

Clashing metal.

Hooves.

Shaking.

Drums; ceaseless and painful.

Loud.

“Koff!”

And through it all, the feel of familiar feathers pressing her down.

“Carue…”

Thud.

He rolled sideways off her back; dirt and hoofprints marred his wings, his down all askew. A trail of blood flowing down his face had forced one of his eyes closed.

“You protected me.” She whispered.

He twitched, barely responsive. Vivi hung her head; sucked in a gasping breath through clenched teeth.

“I’m sorry.”

She sat up; chomping on her bottom lip to choke down tears.

“I’m not giving up; they never did!”

She’d already steeled her heart.

“Vivi!”

Before she could even take her feet, she heard a welcome–albeit unexpected–voice, accompanied by a familiar olive-toned hand reaching out to her from astride a horse.

“Let’s go!” Usopp said.

—————

“You gotta be shitting me.”

Sanji glared at a battered and bruised Eyelashes, who obviously didn’t have any answers for him. He’d left Chopper to handle things at the Southeast Gate, so he didn’t have the benefit of a translator. And not only was the tengu nowhere to be seen, neither was his duck; he hadn’t even done Sanji the courtesy of leaving a fucking note.

He’d come running because the shitty camel’s duck had shown up asking for help.

Sanji scrubbed an agitated hand through his hair.

“What’s that shithead doing this time?”

Given that he didn’t see any sign of any okama either, Sanji could safely assume only one thing:

Vivi was in danger.

—————

Carue honestly intended on getting up; having the hooves of two hundred camels and horses trample over him–on top of nearly six consecutive hours running from the capital to the Sandora river and back–had left him in severe want of a nap, but he knew they had a mission.

“Usopp, you’re injured!”

He couldn’t say he wasn’t tempted to find some shade and let the marksman handle things…  

“I’m fine! I lost my goggles getting away, but that’s not important!”

Carue would just rest a minute and catch up. Really.

“We can’t bring him with us,” Usopp said urgently. “You’ve still gotta stop this war!”

Vivi sighed; her hand on his side gave his feathers a gentle squeeze.

“I know,” she said. “What’s the plan?”

“I dunno how we’ll find Koza in this madness, but we’ll figure something out!”

Carue’s eye snapped open.

If he knew anything about Usopp after almost a month sharing a ship, he knew that the marksman’s care for his nakama manifested in several different ways.

Among them: even when he pretended otherwise, even if they were threadbare, he always had some kind of plan.

He felt Vivi stiffen beside him.

She’d noticed too.

It was a minor thing. It could have been nothing.

Still…

“Are you really Usopp?”

Carue watched the purported marksman from under his headgear; subtly shifted his feet beneath him.

It hurt, but…

“What, are you doubting me?” ‘Usopp’ asked. He brandished the wrapping on his left arm. “Look!”

The swan.

“Quack!”

Carue shoved Vivi into his saddle, kicking up as much sand as possible into the imposter’s face before breaking into a dead sprint.

“Carue!”

Or, as dead of a sprint as he could manage.

He could feel hot blood dripping down with every step; his legs wobbling and accursedly uncooperative.

“You’re in no state for this! I’ll fight him, don’t push yourself!”

Carue lowered his head.

Pushed harder.

“Nyahahaha! You won’t get away~!”

He couldn’t risk a backward glance; he needed all the concentration he could muster just to maintain a straight course.

But he could hear the swan chasing them.

They were about even… provided Carue maintained his pace.

“He’ll just overtake us on the stairs; Carue, please, stop!”

“Quack!”

Carue didn’t go for the stairs.

“EHHHHH?!”

“Wha–?”

Skrch.

He went for the sheer wall.

TMPTMPTMPTMPTMP.

So long as he moved fast enough, he could make it up before gravity pulled them back down.

Just twenty more paces to the edge.

Fifteen.

Ten.

Fi-

“No!”

His feet dropped away from the rock face.

“NYAHAHAHA! STUPID D–!”

Fwpfwpfwpfwpfwpfwp!

Carue worked his wings for everything they were worth.

Snagged the edge of the cliff.

“–AHFUCK?!”

“Quack…”

“Carue, that was amazing,” Vivi said brightly. “He won’t be able to follow us up here!”

Okama Kenpo: Rélevé of Blood Sweat and Tears!

The swan didn’t stop; he just started running up the wall after them.

“HAND OVER VIVI, YOU WRETCHED FOWL!”

Carue put his feet back under him.

The clash of flesh and metal blocked their path.

He felt Vivi’s grip on his saddle tighten.

“Can you make it through here?” She asked tightly.

“Quack!”

“Koza could be anywhere; head for the palace! We’ll find Chaka!”

“YOU’RE NOT GETTING AWAY~!”

Carue’s feathers bristled; he leaned forward, braced to make another charge.

Boom.

Ghk.

All the noise around him went quiet.

His vision turned hazy.

Everything that hurt suddenly turned fuzzy.

“Carue!”

A stray bullet…

He opened his mouth to assure her; blood sprayed out of his beak.

Clench.

He didn’t black out.

Clung to the pain to stay conscious.

Charged through the fighting; shut out the swan’s laughter behind them.

He just ran.

Ignored the rebels, the royals; carved the quickest path through to the palace.

Carue ran…

Whud.

Until he met the ground.

“CARUE!”

Fuck.

Not a single muscle in his legs was moved by his desperation to protect Vivi.

He couldn’t take her even an inch further.

“Quack!”

“It’s useless, I told you~!”

Carue swatted his wing at Vivi. Begging her to keep going.

“I-I know; I understand!”

‘Go, go, RUN!’

“Stay outta my way or I’ll do you in first, duck!”

“QUACK!”

He felt the swan’s shadow looming over them.

Tried to raise himself to shield Vivi.

POW.

“GUHBLUK!”

The familiar form of Ivan X, barreling headfirst into the swan to knock him into a building.

“Just made it.”

Coupled with the scent of cigarette smoke, flooded Carue with relief.

“Sanji-san!”

“Get going, Vivi-chan,” Sanji said; he cocked his head at Ivan X. “Take him somewhere out of the crossfire.”

Carue stopped fighting his protesting injuries.

“Well done, commander Carue; I’ll handle the rest.”

—————

Chopper swiveled his head, sweeping his gaze left and right; all the while trying to keep his ears open for Mr. 4’s batting and the ticking that accompanied it. He’d switched to Walking Point for its relative agility; Heavy Point’s weight didn’t help him when he couldn’t hit either of his targets.

Their timing and aim with their baseball bombs were so accurate that his mobility almost didn’t matter, though.

He couldn’t think of any way to level the playing field, let alone win. Even if using a Rumble Ball helped him come up with a plan, he wasn’t sure he’d have enough time in the remainder of three minutes to execute it.

Woof.

“Damn!”

He skimmed over the tunnels; ran as soon as Mr. 4 popped up, bat cocked and poised to strike the next ball.

Crack.

Chopper skid to a halt, anticipating that a sharp backpedal might let him clear the blast radius.

Except the ball didn’t come for him; it went sailing overhead. Behind Mr. 4’s head.

“Huh~?”

Even the hitter himself seemed confused.

“What’re you doing, you oaf?!”

Muffled from underground, Miss Merry Christmas’ voice shrieked at her partner.

The ball exploded ineffectually in midair.

Mr. 4 disappeared into the tunnels again.

Chopper blinked. Twice.

Woof.

“Kill him!”

Crack.

Chopper braced his weight on his hooves to run.

A~nd the next ball was a grounder. A dead grounder. Which doofed into the sand more than ten yards from Chopper.

‘This seems… familiar.’

“What the hell is going on?!”

“Yo, Chopper!”

Chopper’s ear twitched; the burden of fighting alone immediately left his shoulders.

Usopp gave him a casual wave as he approached when Chopper looked over his shoulder toward the Southeast Gate.

“Nice work holding out.”

“Usopp!”

That explained his déjà vu.

Something similar had happened with Wapol.

“Another brat?”

“Usopp, they–!”

“I know the gist of things,” Usopp said, cutting him short. The sniper rolled out his neck. “We’ve got a bunch of business to take care of, so let’s clean up here quick!”

Chopper reaffirmed what he’d known since meeting the Straw Hats.

“Aye!”

Pirates were amazing!

[monster-rinds]

Chapter 23: Call me a spade

It didn’t matter.

When I got close enough to the thing I was chasing, it panicked enough it started shouting at me in monster speak. Which is essentially how Felicity and I talked to each other when in thought. When words came out of my mouth, I’d set them up to come out in a chosen human language. But internally, it was this.

“Stop! Leave me alone! What are you? Why?” it screeched.

“You talk? Let’s talk,” I yelled back, only slowing down to match its speed. “I want to ask you why?”

“I’m new here! Curious! What are you?” it shouted at me in answer.

Knowing that I could catch up and track it down without much effort, I abruptly stopped, and repeated, “Let’s talk.”

It went quite aways away before it came to a stop, whatever seemed like a safe distance to it.

“My name is Synthia,” I called to it. “I am an affectivore. I normally talk to humans.”

“An affectivore Overlord?” it asked.

I had never heard that term before amongst monsters. But there are a lot of us, and many more of us who are new, and we exist on a whole planet, and there are quite a few swaths of monsters I’ve never talked to before. Either because our age differences were too great, we always had resided in different regions, or we ate different things.

I was very unfamiliar with anything that resembled this term, which was more of a basic concept that easily translates into the English word ‘Overlord’.

But, you know, I’d learned something new about myself and the nature of monsters recently, so I almost assumed it referred to that. Especially since it seemed like other monsters could sense just how big and complex I was.

But confirmation is always good, “What does ‘Overlord’ mean?”

“A powerful one that the others avoid,” it replied. “Like you and me. How can you not know?”

“No one I ever knew talked about Overlords,” I responded.

Felicity thought at me internally, “What is this?”

“You didn’t know, either?” I asked back.

“No.”

“We’re both Overlords, apparently,” I told her.

“What?”

I felt a little better about my own lack of knowledge, and asked my captive, “How common are Overlords?”

“How can you exist and not see and know Overlords?” it shot back.

“If I’d known about them, maybe I could!”

“You are a fool!”

“We’re both fools,” Felicity agreed, heard only by me.

People passing by on the streets above likely heard nothing. Monster speak is not conveyed through sound or light. It cannot be picked up on radio. It is subliminal, according to my definition of the word.

“What are you?” I asked the other monster.

“Milk,” it said, explaining nothing more. It did not appear to be made of milk, so I gathered that was its name.

I decided that was good enough, and moved to my next question, “What do you want?”

“The smallest Overlord here was showing itself,” Milk said. “I saw advantage, and wanted to take it. To claim a city. But you are here. You are weird. I needed to know why. I would like to go now. May I go, or am I food for an affectivore?”

“Hold up.”

“No.”

“Stop. Calm down. Let’s talk more.”

It didn’t speak, but it also didn’t move.

“Are you talking about the lumbering one with the long mouth and teeth?” I asked.

“Yes,” Milk said, simply. 

I perceived it studying me even more closely than it had been before. But as I didn’t know what its senses were like, I had no idea what it was learning about me. Which, as a monster that has been prey for several eras, was really unnerving to me.

I’d been bold, and rash, and determined, and maybe a little more than irritated, but I was way, way outside my sphere of experience now.

But Milk was afraid of me.

“You’re curious, right?” I asked.

“Not this curious,” it corrected me, retracting a centimeter or two, as if readying to flee.

“I’ll just talk. Listen,” I told it. “I’ve been talking to lifeforms, not monsters, since before many extinctions, since the dawn of life languages. I’ve been focused, oblivious. I’ve been a fool. I’m bigger than I thought, but I know how to be dangerous now. Croc-face attacked and chased a friend of mine. I want to know why. Can you tell me why it might have done that?”

“Will you let me go?” it asked.

“I have no need to adapt to eat you,” I said. “I will only destroy you if you attack me.”

“Adapt to eat me?” Milk screeched in alarm.

“I have no need,” I said. I didn’t tell it I already could eat it, because I was trying to say I didn’t need to eat it at all. I felt full, still. And I was still an affectivore, and I hated the idea of eating other monsters. “While you are in Gresham, I’ll try to protect you, if you help me.”

That seemed to confused it. After some silence, it asked, “Why?”

I decided to sound mercenary, “I’m trying to bargain with you. Offer you more than you want, because it’s what you need. So you feel safe enough to talk.”

“Overlords don’t share space, and two are too many here,” Milk said. “It drives away too many of the prey.”

If that was true, it maybe made a lot of things fall right into place. Even if I didn’t like the picture it painted. Of course there was more to learn, but if Milk was so new here I doubted I’d learn those things from it.

“Thank you,” I said. “We’re done. You may go or stay as you please. But if you cross me, I will hunt you down and end you.” Again, I didn’t want to do that, but I knew well enough that I needed to issue the threat.

Milk hesitated. Then it asked, “Why are you like this?”

“I’m an affectivore.”

“How?”

“A lot of practice,” I said, cryptically, letting it fill in the answer with its imagination.

“I need you to leave first,” it finally said, plaintive. “Go as far away from me as possible, so that when I run you won’t chase.”

I chuckled a monster chuckle, and said, “OK, Milk. I’ll do that.”

It studied me as I started to retreat, and then said, “Wait.”

“Yes?” I asked.

“Learn to look in the Strands. If you think you’re going to protect me, you’ll need to do that.”

“The Strands?”

“You exist in them,” it explained, saying nothing more.

I thought I knew what it meant, so I thanked it and left.

---

“You’re such a fucking liar,” Felicity told me as I tailed Milk from what I hoped was outside its range of awareness.

“I want to see where it goes,” I replied.

I’d wished I’d bothered to ask it just how many Overlords, or Supraliminal monsters, were in Gresham. I could assume from its words that just me and Croc-face were too many, and with Felicity that would make three of us. Though, Felicity and I maybe only counted as one. It certainly seemed that Milk hadn’t detected Felicity being with me. Or, it hadn’t let on that it had.

But, there was something about the way it had been answering me that told me it wasn’t telling me everything. And I wanted to know everything.

If there were things about myself I didn’t know about, and things about monsters I didn’t know about, both of which had been the case, then I really wanted to know what was in Gresham that I didn’t know about.

It was scary to me to not know important things like who in town might want me gone.

So I tailed it.

I might learn something that way.

But Milk turned out to be a wise being, and it left town. 

I didn’t follow beyond that.

For a little while, thinking about the encounter and gathering myself, I stood on the road near the storm drain we’d both exited.

It was the last drain before the city limits, which were still quite a ways down the highway.

As I’d pulled myself together in the form of a dog, thinking about chasing after it, I’d watched it pour itself across the ground like a grocery bag sized tsunami of milk. It had been pretty far ahead of me already, so I’d adjusted my eyesight to compensate. It was already getting dark, so people wouldn’t see it very well, but if they did they’d probably mistake it for a plastic bag blowing in the wind. They might do a double take to be sure, but it was fast enough it’d be gone.

“I learned a lot less from that than I’d hoped,” I thought to Felicity.

“Tell me about it,” she replied.

“How are things going on your end?” I asked, looking back over my shoulder at the neighborhood behind me.

Felicity hit me with a hint of both exasperation and satisfaction, “Amber and Josephine are in the clear, now. But I’m getting the impression that there’s something here that I can’t see that’s cleaning up my mess faster than I can make it.”

“Another ‘Overlord’?” I speculated.

“Could be.”

“Maybe we should both learn to look at the Strands,” I suggested.

It took her a few seconds to respond to that, but agreed, “Yeah.”

“I think I’m going to stick to calling us all Supraliminals,” I decided.

“Sure, boss.”

I turned and started trotting back into town, mentally chewing on what she’d just called me. Was it just snark, or something deeper? The emotions and thoughts I was getting from her weren’t really telling me much. She was hiding a lot.

I eventually decided to reply, “I don’t want to be your boss.”

And then for the walk back, I did what I could to shut her out from having access to my thoughts.

I needed to mull things over in privacy. Especially if she was keeping things from me.

---

I realized I was dealing with more crises at once than I'd had to for a long time. And usually when things got half as complicated as this, in the past, I’d run. 

But, I have human beings I wanted to stay in touch with for some reason, another pair of people I wanted to make sure were safe, a potentially duplicitous teratovore stuck inside my own being in a way I’d never imagined possible, my own nature had turned out more complicated than I’d realized along with the very nature of all monsters, and I’d become what I’d hated the most - at least partially. In a fit of rage and remorse, I’d eaten at least part of another monster.

Some of those things weren’t anything anybody could run from. And the rest were things I didn’t want to run from, if I didn’t really understand why.

Also, I was starting to get the impression that someone was fucking with me.

The evidence for that was mounting up, and I was feeling grumpy about it. Ornery. Ready to stampede.

Obviously, I’d been fired and erased from the computers of Hayward Grocery faster than should have been possible for a human. That had really been my first clue.

But other things that had been nagging me were starting to stick to that clue like lint on hard candy.

And Milk’s advice regarding the motives of other Supraliminal monsters was like throwing a whole other, half sucked piece of hard candy into the same pocket, all wet from saliva and extra sticky itself.

If Croc-face had been going after Felicity because they were both Supraliminal, that made more sense if Croc-face was more of a teratovore than the people eater I’d assumed it was. A teratovore would want other monsters around to feed on, whereas a people eater would want fewer of them to avoid feeding frenzies. But maybe Felicity had attacked it first some time ago, and lied to me about her nature? Maybe that had enraged it?

I didn’t know. That felt like a stretch. Most likely it just felt threatened by her presence, recognizing what she was, and felt like it could take her down a peg if not eliminate her if it struck first. And that worked regardless of its true nature.

I had the feeling that both Felicity and I had not been on Croc-face’s radar until recently. Or I was just too scary big for it. But it was clear that I was changing somehow, and rapidly. And it was possible that Felicity had started undergoing a similar change.

In any case, I was chalking up my recent changes and my incorporation of Felicity into my system as the triggers for my firing. Something had noticed me and wanted me out of that business fast for some reason. Maybe to make me feel fucked with.

And now, either that something, or a whole other something, was cleaning up after Felicity’s mayhem at city hall and the precinct.

Something that seemed to like to see some sort of order in place in local human affairs.

And I’d been warned by Milk. Something would probably try to drive me out of town, if it wasn’t Croc-face itself.

Switching metaphors, there were huge fucking gaps in the puzzle.

Still, it was starting to take some kind of shape.

But, then, I also had this one other piece that stood out to me. And currently it looked like it came from another puzzle entirely, too big, the wrong type of shape, and with none of the colors matching.

I’d been holding onto it in the back of my mind for a while, waiting to worry over it when other things made more sense. I’d been looking for the puzzle it went to.

The piece was this: If Felicity could jump part or all of herself to other hosts through eye contact or her special glyph, why couldn’t she cast a wider and ever shifting net to catch her original prey?

Why had she needed that elaborate plan to use me as bait to catch monsters she’d never fed on before?

Was it just because there were fewer monsters in Gresham these days, thanks to so many Supraliminals present, and thus fewer bites? That made some sense, if she wasn’t aware of what was going on. Which was the charitable, simpler interpretation. To borrow human thinking, Occam’s Razor favored it.

Or was her motive something she was hiding from me?

The thing was, I had a hunch, that I couldn’t trace or substantiate, that she’d known just what I was from the beginning, before I even suspected it.

And now I was stuck with her eating away at me from the inside.

Was I being unfair to her, or appropriately cautious? And if that hunch was right, what could I even do about it? 

Nothing that I knew how to do, that’s for sure. 

Except just eat her.

That’s what scared me.

---

Before I even got home, I thought to Felicity, “Maybe pull back from all your other hosts for a while. Don’t want to get caught by the spider whose web you’ve been messing with.”

She flashed me an image of a grin, “Already done, boss.”

[author]Call her a spade, because she's going digging. Like a Sam Spade, see?

---

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[oonajaeadira]

I’ll Never Fall in Love Again: Scene 4: Flashback to The Farmer’s Market

Rating: T for now

Fandom: The Bubble

Pairing: Dieter Bravo x f!reader 

Warnings: none. A little anxiety maybe.

A/N: It’s time to continue the flashback. The Farmer’s Market is a covered market in West Hollywood, supposedly the site of one of the oldest farmer’s markets. Today, it’s full of permanent stands that resemble more of a trendy food court. It sits on the property right next to the Grove–a shopping complex “with shopping alleys, broad plazas, and intimate courtyards.” This can all be found almost right across the street from Television City aka CBS Studios. I didn’t like living in LA, but the Farmer’s Markets was always a happy place for me. Tacos and ice cream could really do the trick when I was down... It might have helped to have a Dieter as well...

Due to some industry efficiency (and probably an investor pull), you’re scheduled for the table read at a conference room in CBS Studios. As you flash your pass at the gate and park your car, the Farmer’s Market and Grove disappear behind the studio complex.

It’s not that you haven’t been back there since that first day, it’s just… the proximity to both at once. The Grove. Dieter.

It’s good you arrived a bit early. The pressure of the first read–with all the cast, the writer, the producers in the room–has you riding the edge of your excitement threshold and just about anything’s bound to put you over an emotional edge.

But you know exactly what to expect when you see him at this read today. You know that Dieter will put it all together too. You can almost hear it now, 

Remember, cakes? Just across the street. This is some full-circle shit, right?

Yeah, Mr. Bravo. This is some full-circle shit.

________

The grey Hyundai IONIQ that pulled up to the front of your building that Saturday looked immaculate on the outside, but the inside told other tales. Something smelled. Either someone had been sick in there in the recent past or there was a stalk of broccoli going brown under one of the seats. The dash had a good layer of grit or dust on it and the console was spattered with some sort of dried soy or BBQ sauce….

You could hardly have called yourself surprised, but Dieter’s grey hooded long-sleeve tee, loose cotton drawstring pants (with a coffee stain on one thigh), and Crocs weren’t really what you had in mind to match when you chose your toucan-printed dress and brand new sneakers.

“Hey,” his nervous smile tumbled out from under a mop of finger-ruffled curls. “Long time no see, sweetness.”

“Hey yourself. I may have overdressed. Maybe I should change into something more casual?”

“You look great. Listen.” His knee began to jiggle. “You’re going to have to buckle up. You’re not buckled, I don’t drive. This is a two-ton murder machine and harmony is hard to find out on the road. There’s very little chill to go around–”

Once you clicked the buckle in, the knee came to stillness and he peered over tortoise shell Ray Bans to take in your legs. “Wow.”

“What?” Twisting a foot allowed you to inspect the shoe for dirt or your leg for blemish, but when nothing was amiss, you realized that he was just doing his Dieter thing and … admiring.

With a cocky smirk, he turned wide to look over his left shoulder, hit the turn signal, shifted into drive, and commenced to pull away from the curb into zero traffic with all the agility of an 80-year-old grandmother from Long Beach. 

________

“I traded for it.”

“Traded?” you did your best to keep your judgement curtailed as cars passed both sides going at least 10 miles faster than you. “What do you mean, ‘traded?’ Like, bartering?”

“I don’t buy cars,” he cringed. “You ever been in a, a car…selling…place? It’s like a refrigerator filled with piranhas. I can’t deal with that. Nobody should deal with that. It’s inhumane. I don’t wanna give those corporations my money.”

Your next move would have been to ask what he traded for the Hyundai, but an interruption came in the form of a horn blaring past you, an angry face and one finger sliding by as Dieter swerved back into line after a failed attempt at a lane change.

“Hey,” he laughed, trying to nonchalantly redirect your focus away from the blunder, “thanks again for this, babycakes. This is gonna be perfect. It’s gonna be great.”

Even if your outfits didn’t match in tone, your laugh mimicked his perfectly. “I hope so. I still can’t believe I’m doing this.”

“You know, nobody’s forcing you, swee–”

“No, I know. It’s not you, just…this. I mean,” instinctually beginning to help look for empty spots as the car pulled into the surface lot, you clarified, “If it’s gonna be anyone, I’m glad it’s you.”

Just as you lifted a hand to point out an empty spot, it was caught by a larger one and brought up to receive a smooshed kiss to the knuckles.

“Same, cakes.” Holding onto you with one hand and awkwardly turning the car into the spot with the other, he ended up parking at an odd angle before turning off the engine. “Let’s go have some fun. Put on a good show.”

“Okay!”

But when you turned to get out of the car, he hadn’t let go of your hand.

“Wait a second. Got something for you.” Twisting up one eye as he fished in his ample pants pocket, Dieter brought out a gold ring with a large, blue stone and pushed it unceremoniously onto your left ring finger. “It was my granny’s. Sapphire I think? I don’t know rocks. She had paddle hands. It looks better on you.”

You gaped at the beautiful antique, surprised that it fit, even more surprised that he just had it loose in his pocket and was now trusting you with it. “It’s your grandmother’s???? Oh my god, Dieter, I’m afraid I’ll lose this. I should have picked something out of my own collection–”

“Nah, this is perfect,” he grinned, excited for your impending mischief. “Big and shiny. They can’t miss it.”

________

There would come a day when an interviewer would ask you your idea of a perfect date, and without realizing it until later, you’d refer back to this first day.

Keeping you close–either with an arm around your shoulder or pulling you single-file through the crowd by the hand–the two of you curled into each other like conspirators, sharing hushed private jokes, scanning for raised cellphones from behind sunglasses. Halfway through a cronut where the powdered sugar was the messiest, you held it for him to take a bite, creating not one cute capturable moment but two when he kissed your cheek with powdered lips and told you not to brush it away.

“Good idea,” you chuckled, “hopefully it’ll show up in candids.”

He pushed a hand to his chest and gaped in mock dismay. “Is everything about the exposure to you? I’d just be terribly hurt and offended if you wiped it off! That was a gift!”

After declining a shot of…something from his flask in your coffee--totally organic, non-alcoholic--you dragged him into Sticker Planet, yanking him headlong into your own nostalgia, delighted to find a roll of foil rainbow stickers and tons of fuzzy ones you remember from your childhood. One of the highlights of the day was watching the clerk give Dieter a not-at-all-amused glare as he spent about five minutes digging in his pockets for a bunch of wadded, loose cash just so he could buy you a sheet of scratch-and-sniff bubblegum stickers. She clearly had no idea who Dieter was…or really didn’t give a shit.

But others did.

“Hi, Mr. Bravo? Hi, I’m a huge fan….”

Once the first brave soul approached him at the Market, it emboldened a few more, then a many few…. He cringed, explained he didn’t do hugs or selfies and didn’t have a pen on him. But at least he was good enough to begrudgingly sign a few things for those who came prepared.

Once there was enough of a crowd blocking the entrance to Sticker Planet, the clerk clashed a polite voice with a stink-eye to make it clear that she was now doubly unhappy with both of you. 

Pulling yourself into his ear, making sure to hold his jaw with your glinting left hand, you whispered that you were grabbing some ice cream and escaping to the Grove fountain and would wait for him there. 

One, two, four camera shutter sound effects popped off as he reached for you, his eyebrows arching desperately over his glasses, “You’re just gonna leave me with them?”

Couldn’t help it; that nose was so boop-able. “Yup!” Boop. That should be good enough for some onlookers. Mission accomplished.

________

By the time you had a double-scoop cone in hand–your favorite on top melting over a mocha almond fudge–and walked through to the Grove, he was already sitting there on a bench with his hood up and blinkering him, nearly folded all the way over, elbows on knees, scrolling through his phone as if trying to disappear from the world.

“I see you made it out alive, Mr. MovieStar.”

He looked up to retort just as you sat down and took a huge lick of your cone, your tongue swiping flat against the ice cream, and he froze more solid than your treat for a hot second before stuttering out a quiet “yeah.” And then cleared his throat and went back to his phone. “No thanks to you.”

“Sorry. It was a little claustrophobic in there. I’m not…” squinting off into the middle distance at the crowds outside of the movie theater, you’d licked at the cone while you searched for the right words. “I’m not used to that much attention. I hope I’ll be successful enough someday to warrant it? But I don’t exactly want it?”

He eyed you then with something like pity. “You know that all of this today is gonna create some of that, right?”

“Yeah.” He was obviously concerned that perhaps you signed up for something you may not have been ready for, but it wasn’t anything unexpected. Finishing the top scoop and faking a bright grin of reassurance, you’d raised an eyebrow and the cone. “Mocha almond fudge?” 

He gasped. Aha. Good guess on your part.

The drips that landed on his shirt got a disinterested glance from him and he made no move to clean them up, just let them soak in as he slumped against the back of the bench, kicked out his feet and got his cone on like a damn toddler.

“You gotta tell me about the Crocs. What’s going on there, D.”

“You judging my footwear now? We’re not even married and you’re already nagging.”

“I’m not. nagging. I’m just. wondering. They’re…unconventional?”

“I’d wager that I’m unconventional. And unconventional people have unconventional taste.” Lick. Shrug. “I have high arches and a fucked up back. They’re comfortable.”

“They’re hideous.”

“You should see what’s inside them.” Lick.

 “Gross.”

Laughter. Laughter that had no sound but shook his belly. Laughter that earned a shake of the head and crinkles from behind his Ray Bans. “I can’t wait to put you in your place, woman.”

“Yeah? Where’s that?”

This time the laughter had voice behind it as he slurped at the cone. “Barefoot and in the kitchen, naturally.”

“While you get to run around all comfy in those? Fuck you.”

A hand came out to repeat the kiss to your knuckles, the only difference being that all parts–fingers, lips–were significantly more sticky this time. “This is fun. We’re gonna have fun.”

“Promise?”

A swell of music came from nearby as he locked a sunglassed stare with you, and the tortured belt of Bryan Adams sang out for dear life that “everything I do, I do it for you–”

“Shit,” Dieter dropped your hand to dig in his bottomless pockets for his phone. “That’s my agent.” Bryan Adams was just asking you to look into his heart when your…well, your fiancé cut him short. “Hey. Not a great time. Can I call you–” There was some male-sounding jubilation on the other end. “Yeah? Where. Instant Gram? What’s that?”

Ah. Something was happening. Pulling out your phone and opening up the app, you immediately searched the tags for his name and…

Oh.

A totally believable couple appeared in shot after shot. Heads together, smiling, ducking through the Farmer’s Market. A grainy snap from behind with his hand on your lower back. Dieter mooning over his glasses at you as you were lost in a cronut, sucking sugar off your thumb. A shaft of light coming down through to give a sparkle to your hair and a glow to your cheek as you whispered in his ear by the sticker shop, the sapphire catching the sun and throwing a lens flare like something out of an Abrams film and Dieter–

The corner of his mouth pulled up in a seemingly shy, unpreventable smile. The glow from the sunbeam gave the illusion of a blush in his cheeks.

A trick of the light, surely.

He’s good. He’s selling it so well….

The number of likes…from only half an hour before…

Dieter Bravo and mystery girl– Dieter Bravo and co-star from upcoming– How did that douchebag get anyone to like him she looks nice poor thing–

A peek at your silenced notifications revealed an ungodly number there you didn’t think possible–

“Yeah, she’s fine. She’s here looking at it. Hey,” he pointed with his cone hand, dripping brown on your arm, “that one’s decent. We look good. Lookit that ring. Wow. Good framing. Excellent light throw. That’s the money shot.”

This is what it was like. To have the world’s eyes on you. Maybe his concern for you was legitimate. Maybe you weren’t ready…

As he continued to suck on the ice cream and settled into a larger conversation with his agent, something spooked your heart, spurred you to run. To get away. To breathe.

But this was what you’d wanted, right?

To further your career. To walk a little in his shoes… Ugh. Those Crocs.

Scanning the storefronts and throwing him a mouthed “I’ll be right back” you rose from the bench, inventing a mission to get you up and moving, to expend the energy of your fast-beating heart. Nordstroms. Nordstroms would be the best bet for what you wanted. Yes.

________

Fifteen minutes later your pulse had evened out, you’d used the restroom and had a cold water splash, had a good, long look in the mirror and let the person you’d become this far urge you to continue forward.

With a breezy smile and a purchase in hand, you made your way back to Dieter, still on the phone, cone eaten, curls standing on end as he absently tugged and raked through them.

“Scott, you know me. I told you I don’t wanna do that junk. No. Get me in front of Phillips, I’m begging you.”

Forgoing the bench where he welcomed you, stretching his arm along the back of where you were expected to sit, you instead chose to kneel on the cobblestones at his feet. His expression switched into bemused confusion as you slipped off one of his crocs, never missing a beat in his conversation, demanding Scott to work harder for him and take care of all the things he said he was too bored to handle while he focused on you…

But the confusion abated, breaking like clouds to let out the sunshine of that shy little half smile as you began to festoon his footwear with tiny plastic unicorns and cacti, Baby Yodas and french fries.

“Thanks, Scott. Yeah, no, listen I gotta go bye.” 

The call was over just as you replaced the clogs and settled on the bench, grinning contentedly at your handiwork. “Much better.”

He lifted his feet, squinted at the adornments. “What the fuck are those?”

“They’re called jibbitz. They’re gloriously stupid. I’m surprised you don’t know about them.”

“They’re amazing. I like the octopus.” Reverently dropping his feet, he turned fully to you, screwing up his face with the effort of genuine care. “Hey. You got kinda pale there for a second. I thought you were gonna go inside and throw up. You okay?”

“Yeah. Yeah the social media…I wasn’t expecting that much reaction that fast. Sorry. I’ll get over it. Currently shaking it off.”

His tongue clicked as he ran it along the inside of his cheek, considering you. “Things might move a little fast for a few days, sweetness. You’re welcome to move in to my place early if you get hounded…” he thought for a second. “What I mean is–”

“No, I understand. Thanks. I...actually might take you up on that.”  A quiet moment let the air move the leaves in the tree behind you and the fountain started up a routine; a squirt of water jumping from pool to pool, shoppers gathering to observe, pulling focus. It only felt like things were moving fast because you were comparing it to general expectations. In reality, it was going to be fine. You were both going to be fine. As you both watched the fountain without really watching it, you became aware of Dieter’s hand wrapped around yours. It wasn’t for show, wasn’t where anyone could see, tucked down between you. He must have taken it when he asked if you were okay. “It makes me wonder,” you mused, causing him to immediately turn back to you, “if I’m gonna be able to make it through this Timon press tour. If I’ve got what it takes.”

When Dieter smiled genuinely–not the tired, obliging smile he gave to interviewers, not the gratuitous one he gave to producers on set–when his cheeks rounded out and his shoulders relaxed down, when he didn’t need to show his teeth and let his face go full dope, it always threw out an aura of calm, like a neutron bomb of comfort. It meant he was letting you peek behind the curtain. Nobody could accuse Dieter Bravo of warmth, but in comparison to the shaken cocktail he showed the world, his genuine smile was all camomile tea. You’d seen it often enough–in the makeup trailer commiserating about mornings during early call; in the little dive bar he’d found for your little group in order to get away from everyone else for a night; the day you found out it was his birthday but kept it a secret on set and ordered him a butt-shaped pizza with “Happy Butt” spelled out in olives.

With this special little gift of a smile he squeezed your hand. “Good thing you have an excuse to stick close to me then, isn’t it. This shit’s old hat for me now. I got you, babycakes.”

________

Taking a deep breath, you find your way to the conference room in the windowless bowels of CBS, hoping you’ve got a good enough handle on the character to do Annie proud in front of the producers. It’s not your first table read, not your first rodeo. But this is a big one, a next step, and you’re hoping this dry mouth goes away and shit you should have eaten breakfast no matter how anxious your tummy is…

Hopefully he’s already inside. Hopefully he’s already taken a seat so you can choose one away from him. If you get there first, he’s likely to come sit by you–

Damn. Of course the seats are assigned. Of course you’re going to be sitting side by side to better illustrate the characters’ relationship. What did you expect?

You probably didn’t expect him to show up in a distressed sweater and crocs. To speak to nobody until he makes a bee-line for his seat. To set down a Farmer’s Market baker’s bag of cronuts between you and a beverage carrier with two cups of coffee, one of which has a unicorn sticker on it.

He did this on purpose. He smiles and you’re angry that it warms you, frustrated that you can’t hold back the stupid, delighted grin on your face. As his shoulders relax and his cheeks push up, you can almost hear him.

Remember? I got you, babycakes.

It triggers your benevolence. Your calm. You can’t help but be helplessly charmed by this gesture. 

And damn him, he knows. Look at that self-satisfied glint in his eye. He knows exactly how to…make you smile.

Thanks, D.

Yeah, Mr. Bravo. This is some full-circle shit.

______

______

NEXT

SERIES MASTERLIST

MASTERLIST

[wonderlandhatter]

Angelic in my clothes.

Pairing: Spencer Reid x femReader

Summary: Spencer knew a lot about a lot of thing and topics, but he doesn't know a lot about relationships, but you help him understand them.

Word count: 3400

Warnings: none, just a whole lot of fluff, itsy tinny bit of angst for like half a paragraph.

Prompt 4: “Why do you like stealing my clothes so much?"

A/N: ok but this was supposed to be a short little blurb, oops. anyways thanks for the request I hope this is ok, pls tell me if it wasn't what you'd imagined or feel free to send in another request.

A/N2: My old account got deleted so I'm just reposting my fics I would appreciate if you could bust this so i could get back to where my account was thank you for your time.

Taglist: @pinkdiamond1016  

Spencer did not like not knowing, he knew he was smart, and he knew a lot about different topics, one topic he didn’t know a lot about though were relationships. He wasn’t very experienced with them and there’s only so much you can learn from books and Derek honestly wasn’t a great insight.

Since you two had started dating he had begun to understand some of these thigs, one of which he understood fairly quickly. Which was why couples loved cuddling so much, he had never been a person that expressed affection through touch because it made him uncomfortable, and you were very understanding of this and waited for him to be comfortable and took baby steps. The first time you properly cuddled was while watching doctor who on his couch, and you fell asleep lying there with him, all the statistic and worries  about germs left his head, they were the last thing  in his head at that moment, they had been drowned by the beauty of your sleeping form, for another time in this relationship you had taken all his thoughts out of his head and you were the only thing that mattered. Emily was truly right, a pretty girl and his IQ is slashed to nothing, but you weren’t just any pretty girl you were the single most wonderful person he had ever met and he didn’t care about his IQ slashing, you were all that mattered mattered now.

And then he knew why people liked it, it was comforting and the most wonderful feeling in the world, hearing your cute little snores, that you flat out deny even exist, and seeing your hand keep a tight hold of his shirt. He liked holding you, it made him feel close to you in a more intimate way. That’s when he knew for sure he loved you, and he said it, you subconsciously smiled in your sleep at those words but had no knowledge of them when you woke up, but he didn’t care he would say them to you soon enough and he wasn’t sure but you would say them back with no hesitation.

Another thing he now understood about relationships was how good it felt to have someone to come home to, someone who you trust with your whole heart and who you can tell anything too, someone you love.

He understood this quite early into the relationship, you had been dating for a little over two months, you hadn’t had many dates because of his work but you talked on the phone all the time, and you were friends before for a while so it felt longer than it had actually been, but at the same time not long enough he wished you had met a long time before, but you’re together now and he wouldn’t waste any more time with you.

He understood this one night/very early morning after a case. He had missed you so much, the case was long, tiring and incredibly tough. He didn’t say anything, but you could hear it in his voice how tired and how mentally and physically exhausted he was. The truth is the victims looked a lot like you, the victimology fit you too perfectly for his comfort and it scared him, the thought of the unsub going after you terrified him, he couldn’t stand it so as soon as he got on the jet he called you, he just needed to hear you, to make sure you were still there alive and well, he however hadn’t realised how late it was until he heard a very groggy hello.

“Oh no Y/N I didn’t notice how late it is for you, I can call you when you wake up, I’m sorry I’ll let you go back to sleep” but just before he hung up you rushed out a response. “wait, no Spence wait a second, I want to talk to you”, you were definitely awake now,  “are you sure, its ok if you want to sleep, it is very late and you had a long work shift and”, “Spencer, of course I want to talk to you, I missed you” he smiled at this and before he could reply  you said something again, more quietly than before “I missed the sound of your voice Spencer”, god he loved you so much “I missed the sound of your voice too”, you sat there in comfortable silence relishing in the sound of each other’s breathing letting your words dance in the air.

After a minute you spoke again “how was the case”, Spencer sighed remembering the victims and your shared resemblance, “it was fine”, you knew it wasn’t “spencer talk to me I can tell it wasn’t”, how could you tell from just his voice.

“Well it was, agh it was just a lot, I don’t want to talk about murders though I missed you, can you just talk to me I want to hear your voice”. You didn’t push him any further with it, you knew he would talk to you if he needed to. “ok love, well………..” you talked for around an hour nothing of massive importance just pointless chit chat, but to him it was the most heavenly sound in the entire world, he was however fighting sleep from taking over, he didn’t want to stop talking to you, he felt like he needed you right now. He snapped back when he heard you calling his name “spencer…. Spence…. Love!!” “oh yeah, yeah I’m here, sorry what did you say”, “I’m going to hang up your falling asleep, I’ll talk to you later ok” “no I want to keep talking, I’m wide awake”, “Spencer I can hear your exhaustion its fine, go to sleep, I’ll go to sleep and we can talk later ok love”, he let the words sit for a  minute before sighing “ok, bye bug, I’ll talk to you later, we are landing soon so I’ll call you then, ok bug?”, “ok love sleep well”.

And with that the two of you hung up, and even though he missed hearing your voice he was exhausted and sleep over took him, you however did not sleep you got out of bed, and made your way to your door and put shoes on, you were going to go see him, you didn’t bother to put clothes on he had seen you in pjs before, you were wearing sweats and one of his Cal-tech crew necks stylishly matched with lilac crocs, wow you were hot.

You were now making your way to his apartment, it was about a half hour drive, it took a little longer since you had decided to drink some coffee before leaving so you didn’t fall asleep at the wheel. You knew he needed somebody right now, you didn’t know why but you didn’t need to you could hear it  when he first called you almost in a panic to hear you, plus you missed each other.

You arrived at his apartment and used your spare key to get in, once you were in you made your way to his kitchen to turn the kettle on to make some tea while you waited  for him. He texted you while you made your tea that they had landed and was on his way home, you chose to send him a text  saying “I’m waiting for you at yours <3” , you didn’t think it would be smart to surprise him and scare an FBI agent.

Spencer made his way home quitter than he usually would after he saw your message, he didn’t bother replying just rushed there as soon as Hotch said they could go home. He’d never been in such a rush to get home after a case, sure he was always happy to go home and sleep but this felt different this felt like a scratch he hadn't been able to itch and once he could see you he would feel the relief.

Once he got to his apartment building he ran up the multitude of stair until he got to his floor, he might have had to take a couple brakes between stairs but what can he say, he isn’t used to doing the physical stuff on the field, Morgan normally takes care of that.

As soon as he got to the door, he stood there for a minute to calm down his breathing before putting the keys in and unlocking the door. He stepped in and your sent engulfed him in the most comforting way, as soon as that scent reached him, he could physically feel himself intense.

He took his shoes off and placed them beside your discarded crocs with a quiet laugh at your ridiculous shoe choice, he then hung up his satchel with his blazer, and walked to his room assuming you’d be there but on his way there he stopped at the sound of cute little snores and saw you sitting on his couch with a half empty cup of tea on the side table and a book laid open on your chest, he should have known you would try to stay up for him.

He kneels in front of you and leaned in to place a kiss on your forehead, you slowly opened your eyes as you were only in a light sleep. Once you could make out the blob of colour in front of you to be your boyfriend you smiled and wrapped your arms around him nearly knocking you both backwards onto the floor before he stabilised you both. "Spencer, I missed you" you said nuzzling your face into his neck. "I missed you too bug, so much" he said closing his eyes and holding you tight to him.

You stayed there, just like that enjoying each other for a minute before you heard him sniffling, “Spencer are you ok love", "I... I just... I just really needed to see you, and feel you, I needed to know you were still here" before you could reply he spoke again tears clear in his voice "thank you so much for coming here tonight", "Spencer look at me", he reluctantly looked at you tears streaming down his face, you wiped his tears with your thumbs while holding his face gently "any time you need me, I will be there for you ok. I don’t care if you just finished a case and its an ungodly time just call me and I'll be here ok, I miss you to when you’re gone  and I love being with you, when I heard your voice over the phone I knew something wasn’t right and I needed to take that away, even if it's just for a little bit. You never need to thank me for being here for you ok" he decided the best way to reply, the best way to get all the words he needed to say to you was by kissing you, and so he did and you knew exactly what he meant by the kiss you understood every unsaid word that travelled through his lips to you.

It didn’t take long after that for Spencer to tell you why he was so upset and why he needed to see you so desperately, and you understood and held him and he felt safe. After you talked and held each other it was unspokenly decided you would spend the night, you went straight to bed while Spencer took a quick shower, if you could call it that he was in such a rush to get back to you he barely got wet. He got dried and dressed and then excited his bathroom to find you curled up on his bed, he loved the sight, it made all his worries from previously wash away, you had that effect on him, you seemed to be a source of good, and he loved it.

He got into bed and as soon as he got under the covers you were reaching for him, he welcomed the touch and held you back. So there lying with you he understood, while the worries of the past week washed away, he knew, he knew why people liked having someone to come home to so much. And he knew he would have to ask you to move in sooner than later.

At this point in your relationship spencer had come to understand many things, but there was still one he didn’t. He didn’t know why you enjoyed wearing his clothes so much, he wasn’t complaining not at all in fact he loved it when you wore them. It was a slightly possessive thing, he knew you were his and he was yours but when he saw you wearing his clothes it was just a visual reminder that you were in fact his and only his, but that’s why he loved it, so he didn’t know why you did, but boy was it irritating him.

You two had been living together for the past 5 months and it had been amazing, he had also seen a lot more of you in his clothes, as time went by he saw you sleep in his shirts and boxers many times, you were especially fond of his old Cal-tech sweatshirt and button ups. He loves you wearing them it’s one of his favourite looks on you, when you’re comfortable and cosy and simply adorable in the articles of clothing that are too big for you.

But if he’s being honest a very close second is when in the mornings after you have ‘exercised’ the previous night, when he wakes up to the smell of bacon and coffee and sees you in nothing but a pair of cotton panties and the button up he had discarded the previous night, he loved coming up behind you in those mornings and slipping his arms around your waist and holding you while whispering sweet nonsense to each other.

They had just gotten back from a case. It hadn't been long or a particularly hard one but boy did he miss you, he always did, he thanked whoever it was for it being a Friday night because it meant he would arrive home to you. In no time he was at the door of your shared apartment, you had both decided moving into his would be the best choice since it was bigger.

He opened the door and almost immediately heard your sock clad feet hitting the floor of your apartment, he quickly hung up his coat and satchel before opening his arms and catching his girlfriend in his arms "I missed you so much Spence" he laughed lightly in response and replied "I missed you too bug, it was only a week" you pulled away from the hug and leaned your forehead against his before whispering "a week without feeling you" he smiled at that and leaned in lighting bumping your noses together before connecting your lips together, god he’d never get tired of kissing you, it honestly felt like heaven.

You gasped into the kiss and pulled away abruptly, Spencer looked confused but you had the biggest smile on your face and all of a sudden he didn’t care you  broke of the kiss, “what was that for?” he asked feign hurt, “I made something” you said sheepishly rocking back and forth on your heels, “what did you make?” spencer asked imitating your tone. “come and see” you replied excitedly while pulling him into the kitchen.

Once in the kitchen you very excitedly showed Spencer the cupcakes you had made, “I baked cupcake” you announced while placing him in front of said cupcakes, Spencer went to reach for one when you slapped his hand “no Spencer I still need to put the icing on them”, “but they look so good” he pouted giving you puppy eyes, “oh, you’re cute when you pout” you leaned in and when you were only a breath away from kissing his lips you spoke “but still no” and with that you kissed his pout and pulled away, you made your way to the counter were you were putting the icing into piping bags and piped up saying “but you can help me ice them and then you can eat one”, “can I only eat one?”, you turned back smiling and handed him one of the piping bags “you can have as many as you want love”.

You were currently both icing cupcakes in comfortable silence, Spencer had noticed you were wearing his Cal-tech crew neck and a pair of cotton shorts along with a mismatched pair of his socks, you looked adorable, he loved that you wore mismatched socks like him even before you’d met, the fact you were sporting his at the moment was just the cherry on top.

And so he thought no would be as great a time as any to ask “Hey love can I ask you something”, without looking up from what you were doing you hummed in agreement, you were concentrating so hard on making the cupcake look perfect you just barely registered what he said, god he thought you looked so cute when you concentrated  so hard you had your tongue sticking out the side of your mouth.

He shook himself out of the trance you put him in and just asked "Why do you like stealing my clothes so much?", you looked up at his question with a worried expression on your face, you didn’t realise it could bother him, you never meant make him uncomfortable, should you have asked for permission before you took them?, Spencer saw your concerned expression and was going to clarify he didn’t mind when you rushed out first, “Spencer I’m really sorry, I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable, I should have asked I’m so sorry, oh god I’m wearing your clothes now I’ll go change”.

You put the piping bag down and passed Spencer when you were about to leave the kitchen but Spencer gently pulled your arm and pulled you into a hug, “Y/N, love, you just spiralled,” he pulled back from the hug and gently held your face in his hands, he could still see the sad and worried expression on your face and he hated that he had caused it, and needed to take it away, “I love that you steal my clothes, I absolutely adore seeing you swamped in my crewnecks and wearing my socks and specially in my button ups after certain events have taken place” he smirked at the blush that crept up your cheeks at the last part of his statement, he loved your shyness, “believe me I love it when you steal my clothes, you look angelic in them I just want to know why you like it, I know its dumb but I just can’t figure it out and not knowing is really bugging me”.

You smiled at this and all your previous worries washed away, you weren’t making him uncomfortable he was just being his usual curious self, you slid your hands up his chest and played with the collar of his shirt as his hands moved from your face you your waist and you began “well there’s a lot of reasons I like wearing your clothes, for one they’re really big on me so they are soooo comfy, they also smell like you so they remind me of you when you’re gone on cases”, he smiled at this and you looked down before continuing “and when you’re gone and I’m scared something will happen and I won’t see you again, it comforts me, it makes feel close to you when I can’t be” you looked up at him when you finished and he could see the glossiness in your eyes of the tears forming from your memories of all the times you were scared you wouldn’t see him again and he gave you a sad smile while he wiped a stray tear falling down your check.

“Honestly, they just make me feel warm and loved, when you’re gone”, his eyes were now glossed over too as he leaned in and kissed you, “I love you bug”, “I love you Spencer”.

And now Spencer knew, he knew why having a crew neck of his meant so much to you and how it could bring you comfort in a time when you needed it most.

[diminuel]

So my ngl my dad kinda said copy paste with me, like if my mother hadnt needed to actually be there theyre would be room to question my maternity.

But according to my father i look identical to his mother, and im just thinking of that happening to luffy a bit. Looks nothing like dragon, a bit like croc, and nearly identical to Rocks (i know this doesnt working with your rocks design which i do love but still just an idea)

Doesn't Luffy really take after Garp though? At least Oda's 60-year-old Luffy sketch seems to suggest that *lol*

The way I tend to draw is to project Croc's appearance onto Rocks, so I have some sort of additional reference for how to draw him. And when it gets to Luffy, I try to give him some of Crocodile's facial expressions and in turn project Luffy-isms on both of his parents. That way they somehow resemble each other X'D

[sugar-petals]

boyfriend bot (m)

↳ Not made of flesh nor blood. But made to treat you right. 

↳ PAIRING ⇁ baekyhun x reader

↳ STATS ⇁ one shot | sci-fi + domestic au

↳ WORDS ⇁ 29k

↳ WARNINGS ⇁ slow burn, the yearning™, eventual smut, light angst, making out, fingering, blowjobs, vaginal penetration, baekhyun can expand his dick what about it, cock warming, messy sex, artificial semen, giving orders + name-calling (bbh receiving), cum play, throatpies, wet panties all the way, masturbation, switching & dom!reader undertones but more vanilla > kink, french kissing, baek is a gentleman, cuddles

↳ ♡ Caro’s Note ✏︎ mmh i love seeing reader get her life turned upside down. features ten chapters. please indulge. ✍️

Chapter 1: The Capsule

God, the sting is back. Your left foot starts hurting like absolute hell. Out of all possible moments and places.

The vaguely polite smile on your face drops to a stifled expression, but Mr. Kim — on top of being just as oblivious as you expected a man of his job to be — is too preoccupied to notice.

„Our faculty is quite large,“ he says, gazing over the diagrams on his tablet pc. „We require a lot of spare room to test the robots.“

You exhale. Trying to focus on the diagrams, whatever they might mean. It’s mostly obscure, floating animations in green and yellow. Actually — very much unlike the faculty itself which is white, stark, and sterile. And yes. Too large for its own fucking good.

Just keep on walking, you tell yourself, you’ll be there soon. You’ll see Baekhyun in just a minute, okay.

Besides Mr. Kim, whoever works here has got to be a raging part-time athlete. Crossing all the plain white corridors feels like jogging right through a football field.

If you walk down any more of those, you’ll actually be out of breath. On top of limping like a stork in a puddle of half-dry mud. All accompanied by the squeaking of Mr. Kim’s obnoxious white crocs that seem to mock you with every step.

You spend too much time inside.

But who these days trains for a marathon like this.

Another deep exhale. Focus, focus, focus. You try to keep the conversation smooth.

„That’s reasonable. How long does it take to run such a test?“

„Really depends on the model,“ Mr. Kim hums, now diverting his eyes from his device to meet yours. „Prototypes take three, even four years to manufacture, trial, and refine. It is rocket science.“

Your foot is kind enough not to send another spike of pain through your legs so your face looks neutral at best.

„Four years. Quite a long time.“

Around just as long as you’ve been the single pringle of the neighborhood if you count up the months. Now that’s funny. You still feel pathetic showing up here, either way.

But since you already paid and walked what feels like three miles, there’s no going back.

Mr. Kim stuffs the tablet into his pocket now, then interlaces his fingers, making him reminiscent of some kind of ancient Roman oratory figure with his long white lab coat on.

„It is. The models that you can customize do several test runs over the course of two weeks, on the other hand.“

„Wow, that’s actually pretty fast, then.“

You’re genuinely surprised. That the faculty is professional to a fault, however, isn’t shocking. The reviews of their products are nothing but positive. Five stars are plastered all over the edgy customer feedback section on the company website. Accordingly, your purchase is worth more than five saved monthly salaries which torments you more than your damn foot.

Mr. Kim cocks his head a little.

„Technically, yes,“ he says. „However, every custom bot has once been a prototype. All the important safety tests have been conducted.“

You raise your brows. If you did the math correctly, it’s 3 to 4 years development stage plus two weeks of customizing and tests. That makes sense.

You’re surprised your brain can register as much. Now that it’s been ten minutes of walking or even a bit longer, who knows the time works differently in this bitch of a building, the corridor is giving your Achilles’ heel a hard time again with another endlessly long passage.

Doors upon doors, one more mysteriously labeled than the other, pop up right and left. ‚CASTS AND SCULPTURE‘ says one entrance. ‚LINGUISTIC DEVELOPMENT‘ another. From another corner, a whirring noise keeps on disrupting the silence of the hallway.  

What else can you do but try to slow down the pace without it being too discernable. It’ll pass in no time, you tell yourself, don’t be a bother. You won’t have some breakdown in here and ask for a glass of water or whatever. It’s already embarrassing enough to do all of this.

If you act up, they might consider you unsuitable to take the bot home. There are no opportunities to sit down anyway. Mr. Kim is far too awkward to talk about anything else but technical details. They probably don’t even have cardboard cups and mineral water in here, at least not in the radius of the sensitive equipments.

It really is a rocket science place.

Figures, this is a place for robots, not humans. The receptionist of the faculty himself had been a bot already. Sleek, poised, and polite. Interestingly, with a slight resemblance to Mr. Kim.

You chew on your bottom lip to distract yourself, walk on. Trying to come up with questions seems to be the best way to distract yourself at this point.

„Do… you also quiz the robots for conversation like that?“

It sounds like an outlandish thing to say to such a high-ranking scientist, but with the pain in your leg, it’s all too easy to forget about tone. The corridor becomes longer with every step and the neon lights above don’t help. Maybe you only hallucinate all of this. Mr. Kim sounds as factual and courteous as ever.

„Of course. We simulate every possible life situation you can think of. He can play sports with you, talk about modern art, cook Spaghetti, iron clothes, send you a text message, point out star constellations.“

„Really?“

Your heart beats even faster than it already does. Not that you’d ever need your robot to do push-ups or teach you cross-training. But Mr. Kim very much sounds like he’s confident the android will keep all its lofty claims. It’s a promise that raises your mood a lot more than you thought. All the details on the website you’ve read about three times already, but hearing them confirmed is still exciting.

„Even if a client customizes a model,“ he pulls out the device from his pocket again, then points to several other red graphs on the tablet. „The base programming allows for a variety of actions already.“

None of the data he shows you instantly rings a bell. It looks far too advanced. But it’s a no-brainer to you, someone like Mr. Kim lives in a bubble of bot speak.

As far as you understand it, what he means is that all robots have long been ‚finished‘. Customizing only adds a few features. A final, very personalized touch.

„Um— And my bot is able to learn, right?“

„That is one of the most important features,“ Mr. Kim fiercely nods his head. So that struck a chord. „Baekhyun is a leisure model, but you’ll notice that he asks a lot of questions.“

„What type of questions?“

„Well… Think of it as if a child with a rational mind gets to know the world. Very rapidly rather than naively. And, he constantly updates what your preferences are.“

„Right.“

The prospect of finally meeting him lets the pain in your leg fade off at least a little.

Baekhyun.

Only eight letters in an online form until this very moment. But soon, someone very real before your eyes. It’s an overwhelming thought, but your impatience is stronger than that. Now you really want to see him.

The corridor, thankfully, ends in a few feet anyways. Your knees are getting wobbly by the minute.

„Is he able to reach conclusions on his own?“ you ask, hands stuffed into the side pockets of your black jeans. Your pulse is still increasing. Mr. Kim’s friendly face becomes even friendlier with the smile that now stretches wide across.

„Conclusions— I would describe him as logical, but with a strong ethical twist. He’s a leisure model, after all.“

That sounds like a fancy way of saying ‚yes‘. Or, in a way, a hook to assure a new client that it was money well spent and not wasted on some hoax.

It’s not like you don’t trust the countless ‚I got a leisure bot and this is how we live’ client videos you saw online.

Even the most amateur vloggers seemed to be wildly in love with their models. Kissing and hugging them all over the place, playing games together and whatnot.

„You know, I had the honor of overseeing his tests last week,“ Mr. Kim continues. „Baekhyun’s sense of wit is so astounding, even our chief robotics officer was surprised. And he works in the department since 1995. That’s almost 40 years of experience here.“

You have to smile to yourself now, too. In the ‚select personality’ section on the customization website, your particular wish was to make Baekhyun sharp. Maybe this could turn out as interesting as you pictured it would be.

„We took a little longer with it. But I believe Baekhyun is among one of the best customizations this month,“ Mr. Kim now stops and draws out a key card. „Especially— in terms of how you helped us design his looks and theme. Most client requests we get want some kind of he-man. They only spend twenty minutes customizing their bot on the website, if not less.“

Mr. Kim pulls a frustrated face recalling that. In the meantime, you try to keep your legs straight as good as possible. It’s probably been a few years since you’ve been legitimately nervous like that and it catches you off guard. This is like a final exam. After a brief attempt to fix your hair, you shove your hands into your pockets a little deeper.

„Hm, I see?“

It must have been getting vastly boring in the lab judging by how he talks himself into a frenzy about the project. Although well, if he wouldn’t, you’d be a little worried. This is the type of job where you have to geek out. Mr. Kim seems to be the right kind of guy in his profession, you can’t deny that.

You take a deep breath now — hoping they didn’t go too far with their experiments once they got the rare opportunity to do so.

Mr. Kim pushes his brunette hair back. You can tell he’s getting a little tense himself. He disables the tablet PC using a sleek button on its side and clamps the device under his left armpit.

„You spent almost four hours selecting all the extended details,“ he says. „That helps us a lot. Baekhyun quickly developed into our favorite project to work on. He’s a very self-aware and attentive android.“

You nod, absent-minded already. What matters is that you finally reached the end of the fucking corridor. And just how high your level of adrenaline has been rising. It feels like a gyro drop at full throttle.

You murmur a small thank you and watch Mr. Kim swipe his card through the chunky white, bleeping doorknob. A green light appears from above the door and it scoots open.

„Over there,“ he brings his left hand forward, ushering you inside.

In the middle of the dome-like room before you is a platform sporting an adjustable mechanical frame. Chrome, light aluminum, something of that kind. A terribly odd construction, but almost mundane for a faculty of this caliber. Everything smells painstakingly sterile.

There are similar set-ups you’ve seen in the hospital you got your appendix removed in last spring. Whether that’s a good sign or not you can’t tell over the buzzing inside of your head. This shit has you way too clamped up in the stomach.

You try to focus on observing as good as you can. Back to the here and now.

The frame holds a shiny grey capsule reminiscent of a cocoon. Mr. Kim steps forth toward the pod and swipes across its surface with a gentle right hand. That triggers a series of mechanisms at the back of the capsule, causing it to gain opacity.

Within seconds, a quirky silhouette with elegant limbs appears inside the cocoon. Your hands tremble even more. This is the moment you downed three large fucking cups of coffee for this morning after two winding hours of sleep.

„There he is,“ Mr. Kim announces, audibly proud.

Once the capsule is fully transparent, it is turned upright by the frame shifting about— and dissolves. The cocoon is gone.

The man that now stands before you slowly comes to life as if waking up from a fifty-year-long slumber.

Chapter 2: Enamel

What you first notice is his hair: Whiter than pearls, almost platinum. It’s long enough so see a slight bend in it. Whether it is actual hair or some kind of artificial fiber seems quite impossible to tell. It’s all matte, gently moving. Underneath its softly parted bangs open—

Baekhyun’s eyes. You can’t help but get tunnel vision and an awkwardly stiff posture. Even if they still look sleepy, there is so much movement in them already. They are perfectly droopy and teddy-like, turning toward you with a shapely, slightly long button nose in between. Either iris is deep and dark to the point of no pupil being immediately recognizable. There is something very intentional in his gaze that makes you hold your breath.

At a second glance, it appears as if a thin layer of beige eyeshadow was smudged right around both lash lines, drawing even more attention to the little gleam in the eyes themselves. All around the lab, the faculty’s scientists have placed huge round neon light spheres as lamps, one emitting a light more uncomfortable than the other. But in Baekhyun’s eyes, they appear like distant planets.

Seconds pass. You stare. Then, a voice light and airy knocks you out of your frozen state.

„I am very glad to be with you now,“ Baekhyun’s lips begin to move. You audibly breathe in even harder.

They are small, rosy, angular at the cupid’s bow— revealing a subtle smile with beaming teeth and red gums above. And even though they are bright, none of his teeth appear remotely the same, even, nor too symmetrical.

Imperfect like nature, they look just like yours or anyone else’s. You wouldn’t have guessed, not in a million years, that they are made of ‚steadfast, durable acrylic‘ as it said on the website. His smile looks— so real.

„Very nice to meet you, Baekhyun,“ is the only thing you manage to blurt out, extending your hand. Your brain is running on emergency autopilot.

In this moment, it feels like you are more robotic than the robot before you.

The gentle squeeze of Baekhyun’s gently forthcoming hand feels warming. Where you expected cold metal, a smooth heat spreads in your palm. Besides a small whirring sound that seems to emanate from his shoulder joints and wrist, the way he shakes your hand is fluid, malleable to how your own arm angles towards him. Almost — intuitive?

„I’m sorry if I smell like oil and metal. That will fade,“ chirps Baekhyun, lighthearted and boyish, letting go of your hand. It took you a solid eight seconds to initiate a withdrawal. The shame of feeling so desperate drives a pulsing heat into your face. Guinness world record for longest human-android handshake here we come.

Mr. Kim can’t help but laugh behind you, then ends up mumbling into his non-existent beard.

„Exceptional… truly exceptional. Our language specialists have outdone themselves. Even the voice modulation.“

Whatever that exactly means, you nod along anyway. And you almost thought Mr. Kim was laughing at you.

You rebuke yourself for getting way too defensive. It’s not that your synapses would bother dealing with complicated information like this right now to begin with.

„His voice is— It’s just how I pictured it. It’s so beautiful.“

It doesn’t sound recorded or like some random car navigation system’s speaker at all. It’s almost as if he was being perfectly synchronized by somebody standing right behind him. Only a minimal distortion at the end of his sentences gives away how his words are being generated, processed, pieced together. Other than that, his light and animated tone sounds authentic to a surprising extreme. For some reason, it’s almost as if he’s singing. He speaks surprisingly fast, too.

„You have to compliment yourself,“ Baekhyun steps forward a little, and the capsule frame behind him removes itself from the room’s center platform with a zooming noise. „My voice is designed after your imagination.“

„That’s, that’s nothing. Mr. Kim did all of the important work,“ you negate, way, way too fast, and you bite your lip for almost interrupting him.

„Baekhyun is correct,“ Mr. Kim retorts, now appearing on your left with a clipboard in his hand. He must have fetched it while you were busy being a marble statue. „He’s proof of what fantasy can achieve.“

He smiles, then begins to tick boxes on the board, using a shiny, bold black pen from his lab coat’s chest pocket. Baekhyun smiles a marvelous smile right along.

He is truly hypnotizing to your eye. The more you can take in his entirety, the more overwhelming it is, and there’s no way you can get enough of it.

His skin in particular catches your attention. It is embued with a light bronze sheen. His neck, his arms, his face: All different ways of sunkissed, but still appearing as a consistent whole.

Upon a closer look, you even see a few moles and the finest hairs— on his underarms, the chin, the linings of the cheeks. The steep jaw, too. You remember a detail on the website saying that he can actually get goosebumps, so going by that the little golden fuzz is able to move.

You’ve never seen skin like that in your whole life, and yet, it feels natural. The evenness is not the same anywhere. In some spots, there are subtle blue streaks and elongated bumps, as if there were veins. His neck and hands sport the most prominent bits. Around his wrist and elbow area, you can clearly see bone structure denting through. It’s like real skin on a skeleton. His collar bones are acutely visible, as are his knuckles and cheekbones.

„Baekhyun’s haptics are perfected to a single pore,“ a scribbling Mr. Kim picks up on your lasting, travelling gaze. „Elastic, but sturdy, and still extremely soft. You can touch him like any other person. The skin mimics the same properties except that it hardly ages. It is also heated to body temperature.“

Now you know where your money went into. And why Baekhyun’s hands felt so astoundingly real. You wonder how it would feel if he would—

„Quite alright,“ you gawk, chasing away a gazillion of incoming thoughts. All while feeling what seems like an entire waterfall of sweat trickle down your lower spine. You grant yourself the annual award for the most inept conversationalist nation-wide. „Does that need any maintenance?“

„Principally… he is a self-maintaining system,“ Mr. Kim finishes up with his paperwork. „Even small damages he can repair without you having to bring him here. He can log into our databank and get updates if necessary, though that rarely occurs with leisure models. All very discreetly, of course. The, well, the only thing Baekhyun needs from you is regular interaction. As I said: Learning is vital to him. Absolutely vital. You can talk to him like with anybody else.“

„That I can uh provide! I mean sure!“

You exhale. Slacken. Try to keep your feet parallel to each other. If interaction is the only thing needed to keep Baekhyun on his toes, your toolbox can gladly stay in the basement. Lord knows you’d be a lackluster bot mechanic. Casts, sculpture, linguistics and whatnot, on top of any screws to tighten.

„It’s a pleasure,“ a very smoldering Baekhyun straightens his body, and along with it his crisp white outfit. Which you… already like a lot.

It’s tailored rather snugly to his slim frame. You believe it’s got to be synthetics he’s wearing, a thick kind of fabric. As if you didn’t sweat already, the top is sleeveless. Even if he appears quite slender, Baekhyun’s upper arms are nevertheless muscular. The way he straightened up only emphasizes how toned he is.

„And I’m sorry I made you nervous,“ Baekhyun continues, softy gazing over your face. „Seeing someone with enamel eyes is not the most common thing.“

Now your posture becomes equally as upright. The marble statue is back.

„Enamel?“

As if you forgot whatever the hell language is. Mr. Kim must think you’re a complete fool. And Baekhyun, anyways. You already realize how well he can read situations. And— well, your very face. It’s been one of your top requirements in the customization form, after all. It comes back to bite you.

„We normally use plain glass. For the ocular apparatus, I mean,“ Mr. Kim puts away his clipboard, seemingly content. „But since Baekhyun’s eyes are so dark, engineer Park suggested a coat of enamel to emphasize shine. It adds to the visual. Otherwise, his eyes would swallow all light if you will.“

That’s why the lamp reflections are the way they are in Baekhyun’s eyes. It really is a kind of shiny effect. Not even Tulo, the new palm-sized puppy of your friend Hwasa, has such a vivid expression.

In a following moment of sobriety, you let Mr. Kim’s words repeat in your head. Ocular apparatus. It feels so weird to talk about Baekhyun’s face this way. But it helps to remind you once again. He is man-made. For you. Convincingly well.

„Do you like it?“ Baekhyun promptly asks. „It is the department’s goal to make them look as real as possible.“

„I… I can’t complain. It’s incredible. Really incredible.“

If not absolutely staggering. Your whole body feels tingly.

Baekhyun shifts close to you by the millimeter the more you gape right at him. In the meantime, Mr. Kim stuffs his pen back into the lab coat with an understanding hum.

You have no idea what Baekhyun will do now.

Chapter 3: He Treats You So Right

„So, you agree to matching up with client 2B6?“ Mr. Kim asks Baekhyun.

„I do, sir,“ comes a faithful answer right away. Baekhyun’s cheeks become fuller in a beaming smile.

„Are you satisfied with the result and would like to take Baekhyun home?“ Mr. Kim now turns to you.

„Y—yes, I… I want to.“

You don’t even dare to blink. It feels like you’ve grown roots to the ground.

Is this a marriage ceremony? Is the kiss next? Are you supposed to strip on the spot to seal the deal?

But Mr. Kim is stoic.

„I see you are ready to go then. Baekhyun can explain most of his features by himself, anyways. Better than me, even.“

In fact, he sounds more hurried and neutral now. There’s work waiting for him, you can tell. And he sure as hell had his fair share of impatient clients.

You clench up hoping that you looking at Baekhyun like that isn’t that kind of—

Neediness?

You wish you could deny it. But you’ve made the purchase, you limped all the way here. It’s already obvious, it has to be. There’s no way they don’t pick up on it. It’s what drives Mr. Kim’s business almost endlessly, anyways. In this very moment, ten, maybe twenty, even thirty other bots are presented to clients in rooms scattered all over the faculty.

You have to pull yourself together. It’s not like you’re the only one. You center back to Mr. Kim.

„He can?“

„Yes. Any autonomous bot should be able to explain themselves, it’s what I believe in.“

Now that sounded like conviction indeed.

But you wonder why Mr. Kim still bothered going on tangents, then. But yet again, whatever was on the clipboard was a test run he had to monitor or something like that.

The way he asked Baekhyun if he wanted to match up with you must have been part of that. Baekhyun had agreed so fast and warmly, in such a genuine way of speaking.

Even now, his eyes look so inviting and full of reassurance. Without a single word.

Maybe he likes you. If he can feel something like that.

Or thinks of you as a… rational option. Why would Mr. Kim ask about ‚allowance‘ — or whatever it was — in such a manner, anyways? Wouldn’t it mean that Baekhyun did have a sense of affection? Trust, even? Maybe it was just a formality. A contract, or you were just reading too much into it. But it already stuck with you.

Mr. Kim monotonously continues. Maybe he notices how preoccupied you are. Or, after all, it’s a sentence he must’ve said a thousand times.

„If any other question arises, you know how to contact us.“

„Okay, great. I, I don’t know how to thank you.“

„Your contentment, that is the biggest reward,“ Baekhyun finally enters the conversation again. With a very, very big smile.

His eyes unequivocally ask for permission to touch you, and you grant it nodding. Whatever he wants to do— if Baekhyun is trusting towards you, now it’s your turn.

Baekhyun softly places his left hand on your upper arm, pointing toward the longer end of the lab room with the other.

„We’ll take the elevator over there. You can relax your foot a little. I hope we haven’t caused an inconvenience to you. We’re taking it slow on our way.“

Mr. Kim looks just as taken aback as you, if not more.

„Her foot?“

Baekhyun gazes back at the two of you as if you just asked him whether water is wet.

„It’s blatantly obvious by the way she stands, Mr. Kim. Recovering strained Achilles heel.“

The air is laden with gasoline, the cement blocks all around sleek and cold. Slowly approaching your silver little car in the cramped underground garage’s second story, Baekhyun first seems to scan the vehicle, then turns his head to you – seamlessly. You already anticipate him commenting on whatever scratch or rusty spot first caught his eye.

But instead, he looks courteous as ever.

„I can act as your chauffeur if you desire. Today’s traffic is very busy. I’m a smooth operator.“

You can’t help but laugh a little and picture Mr. Kim feeding a Sade playlist into Baekhyun’s system. Or who knows, any robot likely has instant access to Youtube with their hypermodern internet minds.

„Sounds convenient.“

You head towards the passenger seat after passing him the keys, with Baekhyun aptly entering the car from the other side. How his knees bend, how he slides right onto the seat. With such an oddly fluid way of doing it. It doesn’t escape your glance how easily he settles down and fastens his belt right away.

The scientists have really tested for everything.

Robots are legally permitted to drive since only five years and few are advanced enough to do so.

His side profile looks smooth from where you sit. The chin pointed and sharp, the nose straight, slightly long, and dainty. Baekhyun grips the steering wheel quite expertly with his left hand. He turns the key with the other.

„Your convenience is the most important to me. And I like driving vehicles,“ the engine starts. „It’s birds of a feather.“

You fasten your own seat belt, but rather as a reflex than by deliberation. You really have to stop yourself from consistently looking at him with what must be the most puzzled you’ve been yet.

„Oh, you mean, you get on well with other machines?“

„Your car has similar gears to mine, I can’t help it. Family.“

The engine revs up a bit, then quickly develops into a sonorous purr. Whenever you drive — your car strangely never sounds like that. On your way to the faculty, the engine rather resembled a gone-wild Spanish bull stomping and grunting around in heat.

Now that you think about it — Baekhyun spent over three years in the faculty complex. Who knows with what kinds of other machines he has communicated with. Comparing yourself is arguably unfair.

„Maybe grease is thicker than water,“ you say, cramped up fingers intertwining. You don’t know where your wit has been until now. At least you can try.

Baekhyun looks quite amused, actually.

„And yet, water runs much deeper,“ he says, turning the wheel.

The car already exits the garage’s wide neon-lined gate. Baekhyun enables the A/C with swift fingers. They’re strikingly pretty. Thin, long, and elven-like. His nails are perfectly almond-shaped and look peachy.

Once more— you have to snap yourself out of another way too detailed thought. The way he touched your arm left an impression.

You feverishly search for a conversation topic, all while trying to let your eyes wander around the street.

„Is there something like… bots missing the faculty?“ you ask, swiping a few strands of hair off your right cheek. The A/C is messing with your hair a little. Baekhyun has turned it up enough for you to feel sufficiently cooled down, however. „I mean, after such a long time there.“

„By the way you customized me, I already know your home is much cozier.“

You’re trying to catch up with what he said for a solid five seconds. By the time you understand, it dawns on you how ‚he is logical‘ very much extends to some kind of predictive conclusions. That hold to be… very true.

„Ah— I, I guess? So you didn’t like it there?“

„I was built for you, that’s where I belong,“ Baekhyun says, surprisingly firm in tone. „Mr. Kim said he’s not surprised I grew bored of the environment but couldn’t figure out how to find something to do.“

„Oh… I can imagine, the faculty very much looks that way.“

You’re perplexed — because Baekhyun shakes his head.

„It’s not the place,“ he says, and you can hear his voice becoming more serious. „It was you who was missing. That I felt that way was a natural thing. I apologize if this is too early to say so frankly.“

The car takes a suave right turn, entering the bustling main street. Cabs everywhere. Confusing flashes from traffic lights and tall glass windows at every corner. Alongside many of Brooklyn’s most crisp-looking skyscrapers, a few giant advertisement boards pass by. Two of them display the familiar, ever-looming logo.

>>> AndroTech Leisure Bots Inc <<<

  Moscow | New York | Seoul

Beneath it, a corresponding slogan in red print.

He treats you so right.

You try to gather your words. But they spill, and you can’t really look at him.

„No— I mean. It’s important we’re… you know, compatible. Isn’t that, that’s the entire deal behind all of this? That we like each other. It would be silly to do anything else. Especially when this is all so… deliberately done. You don’t have to say sorry, Baekhyun.“

Your friends would probably cringe at you saying this out loud. The majority of them think you’re an oddball spending not just the money, but so many days being nervous about meeting ‚some robot’.

Busy forever customizing ‚just a piece of talking plastic and metal’. Even Hwasa was skeptical. Hyuna said it’s kind of weird to buy someone, something like that as she emphasized. But with Baekhyun next to you, the words just come out.

It feels like you’re talking to— a person.

„Thank you. I haven’t heard any other client talk about a product like that. Nobody is obliged to do this.“

„That’s sad. And I don’t think you’re just a product.“

„You really bothered a lot with me. I promise to show my gratitude.“

Baekhyun lends you an arm to limp down the small garden pathway without putting too much weight on your foot. The door to your ugly duckling of a yellow row house has always been notoriously moody, but today, it creaks particularly loud.

Baekhyun begins to inspect it, briefly caressing your back along the way even if he seems quite preoccupied with the problem. You can hardly think straight and get lost in the touch —

Until it happens.

Your grumpy old neighbor, Mr. Lee from the opposing lawn, is not fully seen behind the large bush that separates his terrace from yours, but almost definitely heard with a loud huff of disapproval.

„Eh!“

He’s observed you arrive. Or rather, heard. Probably sitting in his rusty beach chair, smoking, wearing one of his old pastel golf shirts. You can practically feel the scorch of his falcon eyes burning a hole into Baekhyun’s chest at a distance of several dozen feet.

Chapter 4: Pink Clouds

Right through like a laser cannon. It’s not like it’s particularly cold, not in this area anyways, it’s a warm spring this year. But you do shiver for a second.

„Goes on my list to fix right after the scratch on the hood,“ Baekhyun remarks in the meantime, giving the hinges a quick glance before quickly closing the door.

Mr. Lee he doesn’t even notice.

You decide to play it cool and not rub it into Baekhyun’s face. He didn’t even turn his head after Lee’s single-word, but very telling hmph tirade.

Maybe it would weigh too heavy on his mind to get an odd glance by someone else right away at his new home. Or maybe you’re projecting. But you never know how he’d take it. He has to feel welcomed by you in the first place, you think, not some bigoted grandpa who knows nothing. Mr. Lee is such a boomer.

You’re glad Baekhyun is unfazed. And, maybe even oblivious?

„I quite like the door like this, actually,“ you say.

You let your hands graze over the old door patina, then lay down your house keys on the nearby window sill. Next Monday, you’ll visit the keysmith to create a duplicate. Everything about arriving together in your home feels unusual. Surreal, almost.

„Removed fixing the door from list,“ Baekhyun nods, taking his white shoes off. „Perfection is perspective.“

You imagine him actually keeping a painstaking file on this. Somewhere on a mile-long server at AndroTech. Now you know why the faculty is so large.

„It probably sounds charming when someone comes home to the other. I mean, when it creaks. I have to get used to that.“

You feel the embarrassment on your face saying that.

You try to see the rational point to distract from your blush. Getting a heart attack from him suddenly standing in your room sounds like something to squarely avoid. Just a day ago, you would have interpreted a second pair of footsteps on this very entrance floor as a very upfront burglar.

„That is a very good reason not to repair it.“

Baekhyun smiles, doing a 360° to marvel at the entrance area in its entirety. As if it wasn’t a terribly small room at all. There isn’t much to see except a pot plant and a copy of Andy Warhol’s Marilyn Monroe print series, but he still makes big eyes regardless. Maybe this is heaven’s gate to someone who had to look at the faculty lights and way-too-large rooms for so long.

You should probably upload a video of this entire moment on your social media, but gripping the phone in your pocket feels odd. There’s no time to think about it twice anyways because Baekhyun comes to pick you up bridal style. That your heart skips more than a beat is in plain view, it has you gasping out.

„No more walking needed today. It’s leisure time!“

He lifts you far above his hip level with ease. Now you know why you wanted his arms to be big and strong. „Alright like this?“

„Wow, okay—!“

His voice is almost like a jingle, but the following squeal is strangely and completely him when he prances down the center hallway of your home. Being carried within your own four walls has knocked you off your feet indeed.

„Let me get you a blanket,“ Baekhyun props you down on your tiny mint green 80s style sofa just two minutes later. In the meantime, he has promised to make you pancakes for dinner. „You were shivering when we arrived.“

The sun has set, leaving the roof window dark above you. Instead, you’ve switched on the little blue, red, white and green lantern fairy lights dangling off the ceiling. Slipping under the sheets together is strange and oddly comforting at once. To have someone else lifting the duvet up at the same time as you. To come together underneath it.

It’s as Mr. Kim said. He is warm. And there’s a heartbeat, faint but constant, locked in his chest. You can hear it quite clearly once you opt for shifting closer to him. Whether you should be perplexed of amazed you’re unsure of. For his part, Baekhyun seems to bother getting cozy more than once by wiggling around. He finds the right position facing you laying on his side.

„You have a nice bed,“ he says, peeking at you. „Do you want to cuddle?“

He looks cute like that.

And why not.

His hair looks even more touchable in the soft light of the tiny lamps.

„Sure,“ you say, but it doesn’t sound like the most natural thing in the world. Your racing heart makes your voice more fragile than you want it to be.

„Like this? Is it alright for your foot?“

Both of you scoot together. You bury your head at his chest.

„Don’t take care of me too much, Baekhyun,“ you murmur into the fabric of his top. You can get used to having your face buried there. He doesn’t smell like grease at all. „My foot is okay as long as I don’t go berserk.“

Today’s sprint through the faculty had been the most Olympic thing you did in twelve months time, but that’s about it.

„Oh! I am sorry. Mr. Kim programmed me to anticipate and be of service as much as I can. Sometimes I go overboard.“

„I can deal with that,“ you nuzzle yourself into his chest even more. „Mr. Kim also made you a quick learner.“

„Yes, feedback is very important.“

„Mh, yeah.“

„I wanted to ask something related, actually.“

„Go ahead.“

You can’t help but clench your legs together. Bite your lip.

„You were clearly distressed when we arrived,“ his voice becomes serious. „I wasn’t sure whether it was because of me or something else.“

You feel your chest tighten.

Oh.

„Something else. It was something else. It’s not you, Baekhyun.“

„I figured. You were trying to distract from something so I wouldn’t be concerned.“

„It’s hard to hide bullshit from you,“ resurfaces your voice from his chest when you draw your head back from it.

„A bot doesn’t bother with issues, he solves them.“

He sounds confident.

„I don’t know if you can deal with this case.“

„You won’t know. You haven’t told me, after all.“

You sigh.

„It’s… someone who doesn’t like bots very much.“

„Who is it? Is there someone bothering you because of me?“

„Mister Lee. He lives next to us.“

„I see. What happened with him?“

Baekhyun’s response actually sounds far more composed than you thought. His tone is quite soothing.

„He was giving us strange looks when we arrived. Not the meh kind. The aggressive kind. You should stay away from him.“

Lord knows Mr. Kim did not build you some kind of war machine to fend off a raging boomer armed with a hark, golf club, and probably a bucket of water to shortcut Baekhyun.

„It must be a bad experience with another model. That’s what usually happened in such a case. He doesn’t know me personally, after all.“

„Maybe. It is not your fault, either way.“

„There are many people who are afraid of androids for many reasons,“ Baekhyun shrugs. „Jealousy, conspiracies, feelings of not being enough. Some of them even become clients and mistreat their bots, Mr. Kim has told me about a few cases.“

You’re taken aback.

„Why would they?“

„It’s the ultimate control or revenge experience. It’s a legal grey area.“

A silence follows. You don’t want to imagine these things but can’t help but do.

„Then I’m surprised Mr. Lee doesn’t own a bot himself. His… hatred is very strong for your kind.“

„I’ll research in our data banks about this. Maybe he had.“

„You think something went wrong?“

„It can happen.“

„Just… don’t get yourself involved with him up close. He’s creepy. Even if you know about cases like this.“

Baekhyun cocks his head into a smile.

„You’re protective of me. I appreciate that.“

And yet again— He caught you. Whether there is anything Baekhyun doesn’t see right through is reduced to a rhetorical question at this point. Sugarcoating wasn’t relevant on your website form in the first place.

„I’m… sure you look out for yourself. Just didn’t want you to feel unwanted the second we arrive.“

You avoid his eyes. Again.

„It wasn’t necessary, but that makes me feel even more welcome, you know,“ Baekhyun faithfully invites you to snuggle back up against him by leaning forward. „Few owners shield their products from harm. Other than for reasons of us being expensive investments.“

„I dunno. Aren’t most bots sentient?“

„To a degree. They’re built to resemble humans as much as possible.“

„Then— I think, emotional harm is just as shitty as some gears getting torn off or something. If there is consciousness in you. You think for yourselves after all.“

You state it with conviction. Mr. Lee doesn’t seem to realize anything of that.

„I do perceive it. But my brain makes it so that I draw neutral conclusions often. Maybe it’s because my purpose is to be of convenience. No owner needs a dwelling Shakespeare robot defunct in a day-long crisis because he self-indulges. Although I am able to recite all his plays.“

Neutral conclusions. You don’t think you fully understood that yet. Was it— Just like how Baekhyun reacted to Mr. Lee’s taunting? He wasn’t enraged nor happy. He didn’t register it at all.

„Is that… why bots stay with abusive owners?“

You try to utter this carefully, and most of it gladly turns out muffled. Still, Baekhyun acutely understands. You can tell by just how fast he answers.

„The bot will rebuild or reprogram oneself in case of damage. But walking back to Mr. Kim a model would never do. Feeling traumatized or targeted is foreign to us. We could be bored at most,“ Baekhyun shrugs again, and you remember how he experienced the faculty. Boredom. „But that’s only because our processors suggest we need new input and learn.“

Now it makes sense. You give a sharp nod.

„A robot doesn’t become a victim,“ Baekhyun continues. „He becomes trash in a worst-case scenario. A waste of material and innovation. And even then, he won’t feel sad. If he does look sad, it’s to accommodate the feelings of someone who feels sorry for him. And for showing an appropriate situational cue. It’s picked up solely from language we acquired, and our courtesy protocol. Not something like hormone receptors. If we are destroyed for fun by an owner, that’s the emotional baggage of nobody. Mr. Kim perhaps, but he will just build another bot. While we— well. It’s not a concern to us, naturally. We will protect ourselves only to preserve what the client purchased.“

„So… That’s where humans and androids are different.“

„It’s the last gap in science. That we really feel something below the surface. Maybe it’s a blessing, maybe it’s not. Sometimes I wish I could learn it.“

„I think you could experience a feeling like that. You’re self-aware. And Mr. Kim is probably building this whole hormone thing as we speak.“

„It’s quite a thought experiment. On the one hand, I was created to make rational decisions. On the other, I wish I had the presence to live through self-generated, volatile emotions.“

„Isn’t yearning for feeling not feeling already?“

„It is of academic interest. That I want to evolve and experience myself is a wish programmed into to me by Mr. Kim. Because it was a wish by you.“

„Right.“

On the website, you had specified to make Baekhyun self-developing.

„Maybe I will feel something one day.“

„I am convinced it could happen.“

„Until now, I can only mirror someone else’s feelings. With words and the strings that move my face to make expressions.“

„I think I know why many people are jealous of robots. They don’t have the burden of this chemical cocktail inside of them. The irony is… robots want to have that cocktail while humans want to get rid of it.“

Baekhyun picking up on your every mood and approaching you so eagerly with his observations of it is no longer a mystery. He tried to assimilate the sentiments as much as possible. To grow, evolve, whatever the objective might be called.

„The grass is always greener on the other side as they say. Maybe that’s why we do this exchange.“

„That’s like people with curly hair wanting straight hair and the other way around. Never content with that they have and valuing the opposite.“

„Are you not happy with your own cocktail yourself? You sound like you do.“

„It’s… a lot of responsibility to have this. And a hassle anyway.“

Baekhyun chuckles. It must have been an equation in his mind.

„Humans don’t like feeling something negative. It’s interesting how strong their survival instincts are. Bots don’t have this.“

„Yeah. We crave happiness.“

„I will probably never know what that is like. I was created for fulfilling someone else’s.“

To have someone made to make your survival easier. And to make you happy. It’s not something you can yet grasp. You feel obliged to be grateful.

„I wish you could feel it.“

„Your wish is my command, I have to thank you.“

„Maybe this human cocktail is good for at least something. Inspiring someone who can’t have it.“

„From an outsider’s perspective, it is quite something, actually.“

„So— It mends your ‚boredom‘ when you make us happy? And that makes you ‚happy‘?“

Baekhyun nods.

„That’s how it is. Maybe happiness for a bot translates to their brain and physical form getting fed information. We don’t feel how we enjoy this process, but we see how our system thrives when that information comes in. And that registers as a task fulfilled. Which is the best state of a robot to be in.“

„Is it that helping you learn about things makes you something… close to happy?“

That Mr. Kim stressed so much that Baekhyun needs interaction for input doesn’t seem so overstated anymore.

„Yes. But it’s not ‚about things‘.“

„Oh?“

„It’s helping me learn things about you.“

His voice is serious. Your legs feel kind of wobbly at that.

„The regular conversation thing, right.“

„It’s the only requirement from you. It might not seem like a lot, but to me, it’s important. I depend on new things coming my way.“

„Do other clients get that request to talk a lot with their bots, too?“

„Most need only a minimal amount of input. I’m one of the few leisure models who was customized with an emphasis on intellect.“

„Made you a bit of a contradiction I guess.“

„Mr. Kim said that it’s what makes me one of his favorite projects. It’s because of your ideas and that you cared to make me special. I am important to you in some way.“

The word strikes a chord.

Special.

Maybe Baekhyun is. And you bolstered yourself up by making him so to escape the lonely single pringle void. Equipping him with intricate characteristics to give him and yourself a kind of—legitimacy?

Then again, you haven’t interacted with other leisure models other than watching overedited videos of them. Each of those bots could be equally complex. Knowing of Mr. Kim’s genius that sneaks into everything a bot does, the benefit of the doubt still rules.

„Lots of learn talk, then. Anything specific to make it, I mean, quality input?“

Who knows, you think, he might want to learn foreign languages.

„There is a way of making it particularly effective,“ Baekhyun says.

„Remind me often, then. What is it?“

You anticipate some grand revelation. But Baekhyun doesn’t look like it.

„It’s when you touch me. When we, we touch each other. I was built with this in mind. Kinetic learning is what I process best.“

„Touch…—“

„If this is okay for you?“

Almost instantly— You flush. And nod.

„Your skin is unbelievable.“

„It has memory, actually. In particular places it’s very pronounced. Do you want to try it?“

„Yes.“

Baekhyun eases out of your cuddling position first, then loosens the velcro of his top, making space for his bare chest.

What you see shortens your breath.

You’ve got to be kidding me.

His eyes invite you to lay your hand between his collar bones, actually, just a little bit lower. He is entirely comfortable, even leaning forward into the touch.

Judging by how he opens his top even more, your hand has permission to trace down to his solar plexus. So warm and soft, and still: Firm, as if he worked out every day last week.

„What is meant by memory, actually?“ you can’t keep yourself from asking, even with your attention almost fully centered on how his chest arches under your fingers as if he was breathing.

And again, the heartbeat. Your fingertips delight in its strong pulse.

„The more you enjoy something, the more often I can give you the opportunity.“

„That’s how it works, then…“

„Since you like stroking my chest,“ Baekhyun looks down on your hand. „If you allow, you won’t see me with this top on lying next to you often.“

You suck in air. Wow.

„You don’t beat around the bush, Baekhyun.“

„There is no reason not to if I want to please you as much as possible.“

„I would like it. If you prefer that?“

Now, he seems surprised.

„Nobody has asked me this before.“

„Really?“

„My principle is this. If you prefer it, I do.“

„You don’t have your own preferences with these kinds of things?“

„I can come up with ideas. Things for us to try when we touch. But I won’t be partial. It’s all your part.“

„That’s a lot of responsibility for me,“ you puff out. Baekhyun shakes his head right away.

„Someone who customized every last detail of me is a very decisive person. And don’t feel burdened,“ he says. „I already know you like to take everything step by step. When I carried you, I felt it. You don’t have to worry. Just feel my heart.“

Maybe he knows you better than you do.

„Okay.“

Using his right hand, he reaches towards his chest. Baekhyun’s hand ends up cupping yours. Minutes pass. You survey his heartbeat. Sometimes, it switches pace. After almost twenty minutes pass and your lids start to flutter, Baekhyun switches off the lights and whispers goodnight.

Bright Saturday noon daylight. Bustling flocks of people. Weekend joys, lots of pocket money spent. You can smell fries, candied fruits, popcorn, and cigarette smoke all around.

„Normally, I’m a stay-at-home android,“ Baekhyun says, close beside you. „I didn’t know this could be so entertaining.“

Together with you, he watches a bearded Italian man at a stall. Expertly, the man swirls feathery light cotton candy threads back and forth with a thin stick. It smells amazing. Slowly but surely, letting thin layers of floss gather.

„I just try to go by Mr. Kim’s advice and introduce something new,“ you laugh, meanwhile handing the Italian’s assistant two coins for your candy floss.

„I never knew something like an edible pink cloud could be made.“

Baekhyun ogles the Italian as if he were a magician, prompting stifled laughter in the queue of the stall.

„I’m actually surprised,“ you pick up the wooden stick, then take your first bite. „That it’s not something you were already programmed with knowing.“

Side by side, you stroll off the stall, letting the other queuing customers step to the counter now.

„The faculty is like it’s own universe,“ Baekhyun shrugs. „The scientists don’t think about pink clouds there. I’m only a reflection of what they can imagine a prototype to be like.“

You get what he means. In such a sterile environment, you don’t think about sweets.

„Guess I’ll take you out of town more often,“ you pull apart the candy floss a little. Then, you hand Baekhyun a piece of it. You know he’s practically dying to touch it by the way his fingers twitch. Unsurprisingly, he immediately begins to poke into it.

„I like the funfair a lot,“ he nods. Meanwhile, you begin to stroll, passing other stalls every so often. „There are so many people. And this feels almost as soft as your hair.“

„Really? It surely isn’t.“

„Scientifically and physically speaking—“

„Okay, okay, I believe you.“

„I wish I could eat pink clouds myself.“

„The taste is like, well caramel, if you know what that is?“

„Caramel is a mixture of sugar, salt, cream, and butter,“ Baekhyun’s voice snaps into what you think is some kind of memory mode. „Henri Le Roux was the first chocolatier to sell it in 1980, though it is said to be an originally Arabic treat. Traditionally, it is served in small blocks that have about the same color as honey.“

„Yes exactly, and it’s really sweet.“

„What does sweet taste like?“

„Oh… I don’t even know how you could describe that. It’s kind of addictive? Very light… pleasant. Maybe, just how you believe a pink cloud tastes like.“

„If it’s pleasant, it’s a good thing,“ Baekhyun offers you the piece of floss that you gave him. „Maybe we should visit the stall again after we saw the carousel.“

„I’ll get cavities, Baek, and the portion is huge!“

„Oh— I’m sorry,“ he retreats his hand again, keeping the piece to himself. „I’ve never felt how it’s like to have a stomach.“

„You’re both lucky and not so lucky, then. You can’t eat candy but you can’t get stomach aches either.“

Baekhyun doesn’t quite look like he agrees, but keeps on gently kneading the cotton piece in his hands. Almost like a stress ball, but you can tell he gauges its characteristics.

A bot must hardly ever feel stress. Unless you do have him play tennis, or whatever else Mr. Kim would suggest Baekhyun to do for the sheer academic fun of it. But again — You remember saying that Baekhyun knows your home is cozy. Maybe he likes doing relaxed things and going out this way.

„Where humans have a stomach,“ he says, patting his belly, „I have an engine. It can be defect if I’m reckless.“

„That’s fair enough!“ you laugh, then point at the white and yellow carousel that begins to shift into sight behind the stalls. „I sure as hell won’t make you ride this one.“

„It’s so large!“

The big eyes he made at the cotton candy are nothing compared to how Baekhyun looks at the carousel.

„It always spins for ten minutes or so. You’ll see in a few seconds. I got vertigo last time I went on there with my brother. Watching is way nicer.“

„I wouldn’t recommend you get in there either, your foot isn’t fully healed yet.“

„Oh, you don’t need your feet for that.“

„Really?“

„You’re pretty much lifted in the air. Look,“ you point at the passengers finding their place. After a lanky guy has controlled all of the security belts, the seats rise, and then stars to spin around at a slow pace. Baekhyun seems like he’s just discovered the formula for beaming someone through space.

„Mr. Park told me there are things like this. And I’ve seen pictures of it. But I didn’t think it’d be like that. They’re flying!“

„M-hm.“

At this point, you are sure Baekhyun has an interest in physics. You decide to linger close to him, observing the seats fly past overhead. People cheer. Baekhyun smiles.

After a while, he turns his head to you. He sees that you’re spaced out. He turns his eyes back to the seats. It’s only after the carousel slows down that he turns to you again.

„Is there something that has preoccupied you?“

„Pardon?“

„You looked like you were wondering about something. Is it the faculty?“

You couldn’t hide the most trivial secret even if you wanted to. At least you won’t have a divorce from your robot husband at 47 because of a skeleton in the closet.

„I… was thinking about a moment before we said goodbye there,“ you say, chucking the wooden stick of the cotton candy into a nearby trash can.

„I knew you still had a question. But you didn’t want to ask in front of Mr. Kim, right?“

Any other person saying this would sound like a smug accuser, but Baekhyun speaks as if he was talking about the weather. There is no guile in him.

„Maybe. I don’t know. I was just wondering what this whole matching up thing was about.“

„Ah, that’s what it was.“

„It was confusing to me. I tried to explain it to myself somehow,“ you shrug. „Didn’t want to make it awkward.“

Looking at Baekhyun, he very well has that explanation up his sleeve. Maybe you should have asked earlier.

„AndroTech believes that robots can make up their minds to go with the client or not.“

„They do?“

„Perhaps not based on reasons that a human would think about to make a decision. But nevertheless, it’s their free will. If he says no, a new bot will be presented to the customer a week later.“

You’re genuinely surprised — and have a thousand questions already.

„I didn’t know that. I always thought that once the money is paid, it’s a set deal.“

Now you’re racking your brain why no such thing was stated on the website. You bet it’s a terms-of-service rule in font size 5.

„Mr. Kim says we should trust our judgment,“ Baekhyun continues. „It’s meant to protect us without being patronizing, I think. We can decide. At least at the beginning. I don’t know if bots like me have left their owners.“

„Maybe it’s a warning for clients who think they can do anything just because they paid.“

„I think so,“ Baekhyun says. „It’s also expensive for the faculty if something with the insurance happens. Or complicated repairs, that kind of thing.“

You’re cocking up a brow.

„That doesn’t have a lot to do with your free will, though.“

„It has to be mutually beneficial. Bots get to choose, Mr. Kim’s projects increase in security by doing that. Companies work by deals. Maybe it’s not a bad thing. I’m thankful I could decide. And I’m thankful they made me.“

Baekhyun’s statement couldn’t sound any more genuine to you, and you believe that he really is.

„You get to see pink clouds,“ you point back to the direction of the Italian stall.

„That, and— I get to see you.“

Baekhyun looks you straight in the eye now. It’s like in the lab room all over again.

You can’t get out anything other than an awkward stuttering noise.

„I, yes.“

„You have to know. I’m only built to learn about things like pink clouds because it pleases you.“

„Are you sure?“ you tilt your head, regaining your full voice tone again. „You wanted to taste the candy, too.“

Baekhyun takes a bit longer to answer now. He seems to ponder.

„That’s true,“ he eventually concludes. „Maybe I’m more selfish than I thought.“

Baekhyun’s head sinks. The eye contact breaks.

You haven’t seen him look sad before, or at least don’t remember it. Even if the funfair is in bright daylight, his eyes look as if they dim down.

„Hey. It’s not wrong wanting a taste,“ you reach forward to cup his chin. „You’re a leisure bot. You have to analyze these things, don’t you? Or, if you could, just enjoy them for yourself, you know.“

„I never thought of it this way.“

„That Mr. Kim gave you the opportunity to decide,“ you linger in your touch, „means that you’re not just here for me. You can experience things from your perspective.“

„I was doubtful it could be true.“

„But it is, Baekhyun.“

„I still can’t try pink clouds…“

„You still can. Just your way, you see. Skin memory.“

You take a moment to muster all your guts and lean in close, then kiss Baekhyun on the lips. They are subtly warm and pliable. Small, but plush. They gently pucker, as if they returned the kiss.

You never thought it could feel so authentic. Even what feels like accelerated breath ghosts over your skin. Baekhyun seems to notice your astonishment, opening his lips just a little. Maybe just to snap you out of paralysis and prove that what you feel is nowhere near the full extent of how he can move.

Or maybe— it is an invitation.

Eventually, you convince your mind that this is not just an illusion. The feeling on your lips is very real.

Unlike moments ago, you don’t hesitate. You let your tongue dip forward just enough to separate his lips by millimeters. They promptly ease around you. Baekhyun’s teeth are considerably small, and it figures, it all fits the petite frame. However, they don’t scratch your tongue one bit, you glide right across them instead. His bottom lip feels plump and works so easily as a cushion.

He’s already relaxed his jaw. You don’t even notice that he hardly tastes like anything. All you are concerned with is lapping the taste of cotton candy into him, and going by how his lips tighten, Baekhyun has understood how to take it in.

A sudden heat permeates you. Along with it comes a lewd idea, flickering before your inner eye. The imagination of Baekhyun sucking on your clit like that makes your tongue pull back to its original position. As if you had to breathe in. He notices. He’ll do something about it. It’s not just the low pressure in his mouth now that you retreated. Baekhyun wants more cotton candy. His dark eyes are begging.

What slips out to briefly nip at your top lip… his tongue. The back of your head surprisingly registers a steady touch by now — it is Baekhyun’s right hand gently cupping the surface your hair. His touch is so nuanced, you don’t feel his fingers, only how your own hair cushions back against your head. By the time his tongue retreats, your lips tingle with warmth.

Now you want more.

All he dared was a little nip, but you are curious of feeling his tongue to explore more. Baekhyun hardly has to riddle what it means that your hand sneaks up to his jaw from underneath and guides his chin toward you.

His lashes shake and eventually cast down when he releases himself into you. Baekhyun’s tongue surrenders quickly between your lips and accepts your tongue, swirling slow and deliberate as if you would coat him with liquid sugar.

Your hand doesn’t feel like leaving its position. Baekhyun’s jaw is narrow and not at all difficult to hold between your fingertips. You let him pulse and lick into you softly. Taste all the sweetness. His bottom lip is all wet and soft against yours. Slow and moaning. You sure do hear him gasp and whine at the back of his throat.

That it’s all just your saliva and his voice is all but a speaker feels so surreal. With Baekhyun’s tongue in your mouth, very aptly moving, it’s all nothing but a kiss with a robot. It feels so hard to part and stop, to catch a breath.

What must have been twenty seconds looking like a semi-chaste, bordering provocative kiss from a certain distance really got your blood circulating. Baekhyun’s eyes have become yearning.

„If that’s what it tastes like…“

„We have a lot to do when we get home.“

Chapter 5: Are You The Machine?

Being times more the social butterfly, Hwasa told you to buy a convertible sofa when you moved in — very much unknowing of Baekhyun joining your household three years later.

The number of birthday parties and overnight guests you actually found the couch useful for you can count on two hands. Six days ago, you were already pondering to give it away. Who knew you would’ve regretted that big time. You promise to write Hwasa a thank you text for being sensible later.

Despite looking small in its usual state, the couch always proves to be much larger than your actual bed in its extended form, and is much firmer to rest on. A little dull with its mint color, but that you can squarely ignore. It doesn’t creak, smells pretty neutral, and is situated in the precise middle of the living room where soft lighting emanates from three corners of the area at once without it being too obnoxious to the eye.

For a guest, sleeping on it would mean a tough night and tense back. But for Baekhyun, it’s a perfectly steady surface to recline on. He’s been stripping off his top true to his promise from last night, neatly folding it afterwards. He lays it aside just as gently as he leans back, being the first one on the sofa.

„Okay, are you ready?“

His tone is relaxing.

„Yes.“

But you don’t let that fool you, climbing on the sofa yourself now. Baekhyun’s eyes rest on you more observant than ever. Calmly, not remotely rude, but still taking in every clue. You realize that it’s what he’s been made for. It’s his hour. So he’s not going to ignore one little detail true to his nature.

You feel naked even if you’re still clothed even if it’s not Baekhyun’s intent. The way you had no chance in hiding your foot injury, you are now all too aware that he sees your nervous breath going deep.

Whenever you’re vulnerable, you opt for the fast lane. Today is no different. Knowing your favorite safe spot, you head for his chest. Baekhyun’s arms accept you knowingly. You’re snug against him in seconds. And kiss his neck, again and again, until you look up to catch another breath.

„Is, is that good?“

You hate saying that but you still did. Making big eyes at him as if it was the first thing you’ve ever done with a man.

Baekhyun visibly notes your haste and struggle for words just so that something is said. He’s deliberate in taking a moment before his answers.

„Can I ask you something?“ he eventually says, with a silvery overlay in his voice swinging along his words.  

„No problem?“ you cock your head. The request is coming soon. You wonder what’s been on his mind. Maybe he doesn’t like neck kisses. You find yourself holding your breath both out of suspense and not to sound like you’re running out of it. It’s like the faculty all over again. Baekhyun smoothes his right palm into the nape of your neck.

„If I could do all the work…“

„Oh—“

„I think we’d be in the spots we’re comfortable in. Please don’t misunderstand.“

„No no, I get it.“

„You don’t have to overextend yourself for me,“ he continues, in a low tone.

„Sorry, Baekhyun,“ you cast down your eyes. „I’m acting all stupid again.“

„I’m not saying that. What I mean is— I can show you how my body works the best when we try it this way. I want to find out every way to make you satisfied. I’m afraid I’m not suitable the other way around no matter how I twist it. Please don’t be sad because of this. Just tell me what to do. Anything. The best way to please me is still to please yourself. You don’t have to worry about me not getting an experience out of it. It’s just happening in my way that might not be visible to you.“

Baekhyun ends with a serious look.

You remember the phrase of Mr. Kim.

The, well, the only thing Baekhyun needs from you is regular interaction. As I said: Learning is vital to him. Absolutely vital.

Once more, you have to remind yourself. What keeps Baekhyun running is nowhere near the same thing as what makes you do what you do.

You turn a bit red realizing it’s not 50 rapid-fire kisses that he needs. Except to know that you like doing that maybe. But other than that, what Mr. Kim said between the lines is that Baekhyun will stagnate or even degenerate if you don’t talk to him the right way. Not about him, but about yourself.

„You… want the essentials to learn. You prefer when I speak and command.“

He gives a clean nod. You got the point.

„I will do everything else. When I say I want to act— This is not me trying to control you or something like that. I just think it’s good to start out this way. I want the weight off those two,“ he points at your shoulders. „You feel a lot of pressure that you have to do something. Me allowing you draining your energy feels counterproductive to me. I’m not saying you’d be bad at pleasing. I merely can’t help it. Fulfilling your wishes, if you will.“

„I’ve never done this before. I try to instruct you as good as I can. Sometimes I forget what you were made for.“

Maybe that learning process involves not just him figuring you out. It dawns on you that your responsibility for Baekhyun is nothing you can underestimate.

„You think of me as a person you can please. I appreciate this. But I want you refreshed and not exhausted like that. And I apologize if I’m very insisting or stopping you. Or if you feel very watched or transparent because I try to understand you. I just have to say this so we work out well from the start.“

Baekhyun’s eyes drop to your chest quite unequivocally. Of course, he’s seen you getting all worked up.

„I, I get that. I get what you mean. I think I’ve tried to bite off more than I can chew,“ you clamp up your hands. „That was too fast. I’m still running on my old bad habits.“

It strikes you in your gut that you’re the one acting like you’re automatic.

Dull, unreflected. Merely reactive if anything.  Do you realize,  you think,  how fucked up that is. Baekhyun has been behaving more human that you do. Are you the machine?

„I’m not… used to someone watching out for me this way. If I’m not saying what I want… all you can do is take every clue you get.“

Admitting that might make you feel tighter in the lungs, but at least it was honest. Maybe that’s part of responsibility, too. You’re starting to get why interrupted you. There’s a roadblock that needs to get taken down. And that block is inside of you.

Baekhyun very well knows you’re not ready nor really craving to bounce up and down on him for half an hour without getting a cramp or looking mighty weird. Not with that foot injury in the first place.

„I won’t need a clue if I already know I can do something for you. That brings me fun. You can be selfish. Be as selfish as you want to until it’s second nature. I know you have good intent. I can help you learn this. But I take the bulk of things. You don’t have to be ambitious with me.“

Baekhyun’s voice really does make you feel like you don’t have to worry about it. Until it’s second nature, then. Being so new to this really makes you scattered in your thoughts.

„I’ll remember this. I, I think I have something that I want you to try with me.“

Your hands unclamp. At least a little.

„All ears,“ he smiles. You push a strand of hair behind your ear. And another one.

„Is it weird if we try something experimental first?“

Starting out slow and uneventful or taking a dare. You went through either scenario in your head already. Either case, you’d overwhelm yourself or make the first time awkward. At least you hope this one works out.

„You gave me over 280 customizations. We can do something different for almost every day of the year. I think anyone would be curious.“

Talk about being too ambitious. You already saw what kind of stir that caused in the faculty.

„Mr. Kim must have thought I’m crazy.“

„He overworked himself. But he said it was entertaining to construct. Almost everything you came up with is now inside here,“ Baekhyun points at himself.

„Still can’t believe it.“

„And I won’t complain about having more options either. It helps me to cater to you much better. Just ask away.“

Very well. You gather yourself already.

It’s not like you’ve been thinking about a certain thing all the way home from the funfair. You try to make it come out cohesive and confident, but all you can do is mumble. Baekhyun’s face so up close makes your words unstable.

„So, uh. It said on the website you have this special mechanism and… you know what I wrote below that in the questionnaire. I was, I was just giving it a try and, you don’t have to do this if that doesn’t work out or something. It was just an idea. I don’t know.“

Somewhere beyond that word spill, you can still see how Baekhyun already looks like he knows exactly what you mean.

„The  Special Request .“

You swallow hard. That sounds like a brow-raising term that probably the entire faculty departments passed around back and forth in their memos and emails. You feel like hiding for 50 years. Maybe you should resort to digging a hole in your garden and disappear from civilization in an underground cave system. Planting beetroots and carrots shouldn’t be too difficult down there, even in this day and age.  

„The… special request. I mean, this is something that I don’t have to do anything for, technically? Not with my foot, right? But I hope this is not too special or something like that.“

Unlike yours, Baekhyun’s face is completely relaxed.

„I’d be glad to test this out with you,“ he says. „And I have to be frank. Mr. Kim said this might have been the best idea you could have given a robot scientist to work on, you know.“

Now that comes as a surprise that makes you exhale pretty sharply. He can’t lie about this, can he?

Again, you feel the blood shoot up to your face. You couldn’t be any more flustered. Maybe this actually wasn’t a too bad idea.

But still. Out of all things, you really asked him to do  this .

Just about the most perverted thing you could think of at the moment.

Special Request. What a mad thing to do. And now you’re here and he said yes. It’s bizarre. You feel the urge to jolt.

„…I’ll be getting a towel.“

But there’s a loving hand rested on your shoulder as you do.

„Y/N. There might be someone else who’s supposed to do that,“ Baekhyun holds you back from jumping up and rolling off the bed entirely. „Your politeness is quite incredible to me, I must say.“

And you did the same mistake again.

You grit your teeth, snap back into Mr. Kim’s advice. Instruct, instruct, instruct. It feels like you have to rewire your brain from scratch.

„Please— bring me a towel, Baekhyun,“ you rephrase, pause in your movement, and take a deep breath. Giving commands like that wasn’t anything like you’ve done with your previous boyfriend. You never dared. You thought it would bother him.

But Baekhyun is headed down the hallway in almost a split second. He returns with not one, but two towels. And— A hair tie.

He hands it to you with a little smile. Baekhyun didn’t miss you swipe your hair out of your face multiple times.

Concentrated in his work, he gets busy stacking one towel at the end of the bed and splaying out the other across the sheets. Waiting, you sit at the edge and watch. His movements are economical and fast. Once the bigger towel of the two is neatly lined up as a square, he stops to look at you.

Okay , you think to yourself.  Next thing you want, next thing… He’s not here to chit chat nor are you. Don’t be silly and ask why he’s looking at you like that. You can’t just ask for towels and it’s done with the whole instruction thing. He doesn’t mind if you say this with more directness. Bots can’t read minds. It’s not like he’s working on autopilot like some other pleasure models do. It won’t sound weird, it’s what he needs. Say something, say something. Keep it crisp now.

„Come pick me up. Settle me on this.“

That’s more like it.

„All as you wish.“

Baekhyun scoops you up from the edge of the bed without any seeming effort. When you first arrived at your house, you already felt just how easily his arms were carrying you. Who’s to blame? In the online questionnaire, you requested nothing less than that.

Given what he’s made of and how he’s powered, his muscle capacity can’t fade. It’s crafted for endurance. You find yourself transfixed on his biceps gulping. That he’s topless and you can feel his heartbeat doesn’t help.

„Is there something wrong with my arms?“ he stops on the spot.

Baekhyun took only the blink of an eye to notice. You might as well blurt out your entire uncensored thoughts whenever they come up. Maybe you’re wrong about the mind-reading thing. Again.

„I was just wondering… You can’t really tire, right.“

He seems to have anticipated the question. Meanwhile, the shakiness in your voice is hard to conceal.

„Every model,“ he retorts, „is instructed to take that into consideration. We’re not getting together with a fellow bot who works the way we do. Mr. Kim told us many times that we have to mind the difference.“

„So this is part of the testing?“

„Yes. Underestimating it is a bad idea. Not because we want to insult a human or anything. It’s just a mechanical thing to mind. We’re just built this way. By virtue of the material if you will.“

„Yeah. You’re really strong…“

As of yet, Baekhyun’s posture holding you is still the very same. He grips you from underneath your upper back and knees without crouching or wavering. His body’s balance is absolute nuts. Every other guy would’ve shifted your weight or his feet somehow. And Baekhyun isn’t even reaching 5’10 or looks particularly buff from a distance. At the carousel, he even looked as if he was a kid.

„There’s no reason to worry,“ he immediately shakes his head. „I’ll be very careful. I know that I have to harness my strength. I’m not going to do things roughly unless you really want it.“

Now that you think about it. He could probably pulverize you with one thrust. Rest in peace, uterus.

„So, you can adapt to me, right?“

On the inside, you already beat yourself up for questioning Baekhyun like that. He’s your creation. Mr. Kim perfected him. He doesn’t have flawed human intentions or ulterior motives. Comparing him to guys who didn’t have your best interest in mind is an unfair thing. All of his body is regulated and under meticulous control. The way he kissed you at the funfair was done with impeccable measure. Everything down to the millimeter. There is no reason to mistrust him.

„If there’s anything I’m programmed to do, it’s that,“ he says through a smile, causing his cheeks to become adorably full. Up close like that, again you notice how small his face is.

„That’s, that’s true,“ you soothe yourself, and make effort to hold onto him. Although you probably wouldn’t fall off by accident even if you randomly flailed around.

„You don’t have to be afraid. I couldn’t hurt you even if I get a bug.“

„Heard about it,“ you say, recalling one of the first videos you watched about pleasure models online.

„I would shut down and Androtech gets an emergency video call that goes straight to your phone.“

Nothing less than that has also been the first bullet point in the online document you received after sending Mr. Kim your questionnaire. You signed the paper only a week ago.

„Okay. Yeah, there are many precautions. Even if your system runs on an error, nothing’s gonna happen.“

„You got it. I’ll do everything slowly, okay.“

Slowly bending forward, he plants you in the center of the sofa with the spread towel well distributed all underneath. You could roll to the side, it’d still cover the area well enough. With you on your back and feet propped up, Baekhyun joins you kneeling on his heels at a certain distance. Seeing him this way makes him look cute. It’s hard to believe that someone sitting so chastely on your sheets could probably elbow any bypassing truck into a street ditch.

You have to gather yourself again. Deep breaths from the belly. The nervousness is back stronger than ever.

Hey. This is what you got him for,  you say to yourself.

Why’d you be a chicken? Baekhyun is just as sweet as you wanted him to be. Strip and get your orgasms. That’s what he’s here for. Not hurling you to outer space or whatever. It’s rude if you pretend anything else and have him wait. You spent too much time customizing the living hell out of the website and Mr. Kim’s team worked too hard on this for you to ruin it like a scaredy-cat. This is what you wanted. Literally, exactly what you were imagining. Now do him the favor to fulfill that, and do yourself the favor. You’re more of a prick if you deprive him of things he can do for you than if you are selfish for once. This is taking way too long. It’s ridiculous. You can make this so simple.

You have to admit that the sudden inner voice came up at the right time for a pep talk. You make sure to put the right weight into your voice.

„Please take off my clothes.“

Chapter 6: Candy Apples

You exhale, mentally flip through the safeword instructions that the faculty website provided at the top of the questionnaire. Stop for stop, pausefor pause, more for more. Straightforward business. They know they’re dealing with nervous clients.

Once Baekhyun is done peeling your jeans off, he nonchalantly tosses them off the sofa knowing very well you made a strange face at him for folding his own clothes. You have to laugh and almost forget that you’re almost entirely naked in front of him for a moment.

Your voice would probably come out too squeaky and trembling at this point. So you take the liberty of reaching for Baekhyun’s wrist. It’s surprisingly small with your fingers loosely wrapped around it. His pretty fingers couldn’t be any more enticing. You questioningly shoot a glance up at him.

„Yes. Guide me,“ he whispers, and it sounds as intimate as it did last night under the fairy lights. „That’s perfect.“

As good as you can, you at least try to get more comfortable on your back. You don’t dare to laxly spread your legs yet, but manage to bring his hand close enough between them. Your voice comes out in staccato, but it’s still more stable than you thought.

„Your thumb… And your index… Please rub me.“

Baekhyun lowers his hand on your core in a soft pace.

„Okay. Very slowly,“ he says. „I’m starting now. And always say stop if you want me to. You know the safeword system, right?“

You nod.

„It said you’ll also give me clues for tapping.“

At least when the situation requires it.

„I’ll be sending Mr. Kim a message that I’m in good hands just like he thought,“ a very content Baekhyun smiles gently at you.

His touch is quite feathery at first, not lingering for too long as to see how you react. Baekhyun’s hands are sweet and slender on you, nor are his palms very wide. They both alternate on and fit well with the very spot they caress in tender intervals. You can be lucky your underwear is still on. His touch would probably shock you if it was skin-to-skin right away.

How long his fingers really are you start to feel when he drags his index finger down from your pubes, across your clit, between your labia, dusting just briefly over your clothed entrance. Your jaw feels like it’s sewn shut. The noises you want to make are too overwhelming. Baekhyun keeps on repeating his strokes until he changes to using both hands at once. Again, being very dainty how they trace the area, but not missing a single inch.

„Shit… You can use more pressure. But don’t do it for too long, Baek.“

Baekhyun doesn’t waste much time. The rubs of his thumb push down on your clit quite a little more. With the fabric of your panties between his finger and you, the friction turns into a languid heat and a slowly oozing wetness getting trapped in the spot. Only his other hand is necessary to feel yourself beginning to soak.

„That’s beautiful,“ is the only comment from him that you can hear through your upcoming moans, now finally let out.

How damp you are is accompanied by Baekhyun’s either thumb dipping into the little hill your clit makes through the white cotton, probably becoming semi-transparent with every new caress. You could go crazy.

„Do what, whatever. Use your entire hand. I mean hands. Use both. Use all your fingers.“

Your moans are thrilled. And as desperate as you’ve been trying to hide. But he only seems spurred by it. That relief helps you loosen up at least a little more.

„I’ll try something, okay. Say how you like it.“

As if the tension on your clit is not enough, Baekhyun has the compelling idea to switch from his thumbs to using both index and middle finger to prod between your labia as if they were headed to penetrate you.

They push against your entrance carefully enough not to tear the cotton, but as proper as having the juicy, wet bit of skin around the opening feel his two fingertips going for their aim with a steadfast precision. They come in just below your urethra, almost sliding past underneath it, all over the fabric, right onto your hole. He knows exactly where to position them, and keeps his fingers locked and circling in the spot.

„Fuck. You’re too good at this. Push it.“

„Once or more?“

„Do it more. Do it as if you were fucking me.“

The hem of your panties gets pulled down briefly with every tug that results from Baekhyun dipping his two fingers forward. By not even half an inch, but you can feel it. The fabric dents inward where he stiffens his fingers and lets them sink into your pussy shallow, as much as the cotton allows.

In the meantime, the upper part of his left hand is preoccupied flat against your clit, making it swell up by giving a rhythmic pulse with a surprising consistency. You grit your teeth. His expression is as concentrated and adoring as always.

You realize that obviously — Baekhyun doesn’t have a dominant hand. Why would he. Left, right, they’re both able to do the exact same thing with the exact same agility and intensity. Or completely different things without influencing each other.

With the many possible scenarios popping up in your mind by knowing that, your legs open by themselves. Baekhyun keeps on patting your clit, but going much slower to drag out the arousal. He’s taking off some pressure, but softly continues.

Meanwhile, his right hand, still pointed right at your core, pokes through your panties swift enough to deepen their reach. Your pussy is all sticky against the cotton, with the blotch of the fabric getting large enough to seep down toward your ass. Before, the wetness had been thin and trickling, but now grows much more viscous and lubricating.

The resulting slick noises are making you feel more turned on than embarrassed. Baekhyun has somehow managed to make it sound more sexy than you thought it could be.

His eager, lowered brows moving along in the smallest arches with every dip only contribute to your legs drifting further apart. Although he is still kneeling as before, he’s hunching forward now. His eyes are stuck on you like magnets. Baekhyun is mesmerized. Either of your inner thighs can feel his breath. Your left thigh even gets a little tickle by his hair strands, right where you are sensitive.

„Baekhyun, ah shit—!”

It’s so hard to hold it together. With an erratic buck out of nowhere, your hips skew Baekhyun’s aim to the upward right. His fingers end up pressing right into your outer labia with the same momentum he just used on your entrance.

You gasp out. Before he can even apologize, you secure his hand right in the spot with your own.

How fast your reflex was rips Baekhyun’s eyes from your pussy and gives you a spike in adrenaline. His surprised face makes you strangely horny.

„No no, go on,“ you bring his fingers right into place. „Squeeze my lips. Please make them really swollen. I want them as red as the candy apples you saw at the fair. Make them so you’ll want to have a big juicy bite.“

„Oh, you can bet.“

The usually so light and sweet smile that Baekhyun carries so often becomes a lot darker, sexier now. His eyes are like two pieces of coal from underneath his bangs. There’s no doubt in his tone. He will execute everything you say to the last drop.

You can already tell what you got yourself into. Ambition is something that you can leave to him. You gave him enough food to chew and devour. Suddenly, Baekhyun’s pussy crazy face is something you want to provoke even more.

„Show me how much you love them. Don’t hold back.“

„I won’t.“

„Make it really filthy for me. Do it like worship.“

„Time for some lip service.“

Baekhyun’s left hand wanders down from your clit. Together with his right hand, it digs into the fabric of your panties to get hold of your labia. One between his thumb and index each, he gives a juicy squeeze to test them, gathering them up in their full fleshiness.

They’re too wet for Baekhyun to have enough grip on them if he just pinches them from either side. He has to use three fingers at once and even succeeds in pulling them forward just enough to have your clit enclosed behind them.

The crotch area of your panties is not wide enough to cover your lips like that. With Baekhyun massaging their inner edge with both of his thumbs, you soon have to deal with the soaked fabric no longer veiling the entire area. The craving in your voice almost takes you aback.

„Shove it to the middle, now. Let me feel your hands. Skin to skin. Do it.“

Baekhyun instantly complies. He centers and lines your panties across your clit that gets a bulky, rubbing coverage that way, all while exposing your bare lips on either side. The fabric stretches across your pussy almost like a thong. The unspoken wow on Baekhyun’s lips does not escape your attention. Nor does the way his tongue darts out. The way he brings his hands on your labia makes your body jerk and wind, twisting the towel underneath your back. His face is so much closer, both the warmth of his breath and the heat of the friction of his fingers makes your arousal pool into even more wetness.

„We’ll change this up,“ you say, catching Baekhyun fully alert.

„Tell me.“

You’re sweating. The idea that comes up in your mind is so many times dirtier than what you first thought while he was kissing you at the carousel — that you have to gather your breath several times.

„Tug here,“ you bring Baekhyun’s left hand to the front part of your underwear. „Pull it upwards. And press my lips together with one hand.“

Bringing up your panties this way leaves the middle line of fabric thinner, as well as tight and squeezing around your clit and labia minora. It slides between your ass cheeks and pulls against both of your holes at the same time.

That way, Baekhyun has an easier time squeezing the outer lips together quite firmly. They’ve become pink and red like ripe strawberries. Your pulse is racing like crazy.

How Baekhyun presses them with his fingers curling forward, your clit becomes even more closed in. Both the tightened up fabric digging into its sides as well as from the front, and the grip of Baekhyun’s right hand on your entire pussy leaves it attacked from all angles. The squeeze is strong and far too delicious.

„Fuck, so lewd, fuck!“

The arousal is like a luscious burn spreading. But it doesn’t sting or rub your clit enough to give it relief. You’re left in limbo, with your pussy lips growing plumper in Baekhyun’s never-tired, busy fingers. You want him to eat and slurp you up whole and stuff his mouth full, and have him trail his cotton candy tongue all over your big clit, but know very well that you’d come in seconds and probably pass out. Your legs twitch far too much already.

„Pause. I’m, I’m not gonna let you eat it for now. For now, Baekhyun. But you know how it would be like.“

Baekhyun stops. He very well knows.

„Your lips, they—“

You wish you had his cock between them and you know he knows, too.

„Need a good filling,“ you whisper to him. „A big one. Big and glazing and oozing.“

Pouring out as much as possible. You can picture it so well. Baekhyun hums right along.

„Yes, Y/N.“

„I can’t wait for much longer. You have something for me?“

„I have.“

Baekhyun’s fingers loosen carefully now. Slow, as not to give you the accidental push over the edge now that the pressure on your clit subsides and it becomes sensitive, easy to set off. Eventually, he is able to let go completely without triggering your orgasm. It leaves you throbbing and even hornier than before.

„Do you want to, or should I?“ he points toward the hem of his pants. You both end up smirking a little to yourselves. You know it’s your favorite part.

„Won’t be taking chances with this one,“ you breathe out, then scoot forward from your recline to hook your fingers at his abdomen. Time to inspect. It’s a welcome break to let your clit off the hook a bit. He’s even warmer than his wrists there.

You only realize that there’s no reason for him to wear boxers underneath when you’re already halfway nearing the spot that seems too bulged out for your own good. Way too bulged out. Shoving Baekhyun’s pants down to his knees entirely, you get to see that Mr. Kim’s engineers really did overwork themselves.

Just as you requested, this part of him has been left deliberately hybrid — the skin showing an actual silver-blue sheen from underneath. Inside, you see copper and titanium-plated ligaments and movable layers that intertwine like fish scales. Outside, a highly elastic blend of silicone and texture-giving material. It’s matte and a bit opaque, but still akin to actual veins being visible in how it’s sculpted.

Baekhyun’s subtle curve looks remarkably elegant. Almost mathematical. You could put his dick next to the Fibonacci Spiral and it would be uncanny.

Now with his trousers removed, you see how easily everything rises and expands even more. The layers inside his cock glide alongside each other seamlessly without the startling noise you expected them to make. Their sound is absolutely minimal.

„That’s the dick I wanted.“

„All for you, Miss. Try it out.“

Chapter 7: Custom Shapes

You can’t resist the urge to touch him, trace a finger across the right side. How easy to the eye the material appears is evenly matched by how soft and smooth his entire length is, peaking in a subtly formed tip with cascading angles. Neither too broad nor bulbous, nor with a protruding edge, promising an easy insertion and smooth thrusts. There’s a deliberate bit of foreskin adhering to it, closing the transition between tip and shaft in a harmonious way. You love his cock. But one thing you want to kick yourself for.

You’ve entirely overestimated yourself in terms of how many inches you want him to get like an idiot. Not to mention the girth.

It’s almost as big as your whole fist. He’s going to absolutely destroy you. You feel your hands starting to shake. The adrenaline drops into a panic.

„It’s too big, Baekhyun. I’m scared.“

„Y/N…“

„I’m really not used to this. It’s going to hurt me.“

Even before you finish speaking, he immediately shakes his head.

„No, no, I’m sorry if it comes across as that. I can make it squeeze more easily if you want. I can do that.“

„Can you?“

„That’s what the plates inside are for. You can try it out. Press it if you want.“

Calming yourself feels hard to do right now. But you follow his suggestion, giving the middle part a proper squeeze. First hesitant, but then, more firmly.

Kinetic memory, you remind yourself.

And he didn’t lie. Everything becomes a lot more malleable than you thought.

The little scale parts visibly rearrange. Where you apply pressure, and it’s still not much at this point, the girth recedes, and slowly bulges back out after you retreat your fingers again.

„So… okay. Okay. It does feel different. That’s working. But it’s still really huge…“

Baekhyun comes to assuage you with his voice now.

„I’m not going to rip you apart, okay. It also doesn’t expand back once I’m inside you.

„It doesn’t?“

„I can make it adapt to how you want it to be.“

The plating does look like it allows for a lot of flexibility. And decent elasticity for that matter. You soothe yourself by squeezing him again, watching the diameter contract inside your palm.

„That’s, that’s good news. And I thought I’d get impaled.“

„It has a metal core but it doesn’t necessarily stay the same,“ Baekhyun continues. „If you want to take it into your mouth, I can do that as well and make it smaller.“

„It’s what I’ve been thinking. I’d get lockjaw otherwise. You have one fat monster.“

Whatever you were thinking when you gave him almost an underarm worth of length on the website, something got the best of you — despite things being so predictable and his customization being entirely up to you.

„I hope I didn’t scare you too much.“

Baekhyun himself reaches down now to squeeze his cock next to your own hand until the copper layers contract. The firmer he does it, the more it adapts. It’s like he said. Maybe you can actually fit this. A big lump that’s been coiling up in your stomach slowly dissolves with that thought.

You also notice that Baekhyun is completely still even if you’re practically in a death grasp around his dick. Anybody else would be squealing and writhing. You again realize. He feels absolutely nothing.

It is all meant just for you.

You have to get that fact into your head. It’s all crafted for your enjoyment. Of course it’s not going to be some immovable way-too-large-dildo attached him. For the amount of money you paid, anyways. You could swear a third of your budget was used to give Baekhyun a high tech wonder wand.

„The good thing,“ he says, „about being made instead of born is that it can be three in one. I know why men easily envy pleasure models who are built in such a way.“

Wait a second. You perk up. What does that mean.

„Three in one… sizes?“

„Exactly,“ Baekhyun begins to recount. „Mister Park phrased it like this. A big girth to look at, medium size for penetration, and a shorter version for oral. Especially if you are concerned. You have a strong gag reflex.“

It’s hard to believe your ears right now.

„How—How did you—“

„While I was making breakfast. I looked into the freezer to see if we have pizza for lunch. And I saw your box with mixed brands of popsicles.“

„Oh…“

That box.

„The smaller ones are almost all gone.“

He must’ve looked at the back of the box where the types of ice cream are all listed.

„Yeah. The mini cones and such.“

And the sandwiches with three types of ice cream inside. Chocolate, vanilla, strawberry. Your favorites. But why would that even matter? You look at Baekhyun completely incredulous. What on earth was he getting at?

„But the elongated ones,“ he draws an approximate image into the air with his index, „that you have to squeeze out of a tube are untouched. It’s the type of ice cream that you have to wait to melt to rise up from the paper wrap. And when they do and you squeeze, it can shoot up suddenly. That can be uncomfortable to eat for some people. If you have a sensitive throat, you’ll avoid it.“

You feel caught for something you didn’t even commit. How could he make such an accurate conclusion based on what you didn’t eat? You already saw at the funfair how easily he could look up information about food on the spot. Maybe that’s exactly what he did. But still, he connected two seemingly unrelated things without breaking a sweat. He’s really learning fast.

„I’m dating Sherlock Holmes.“

The colorful breakfast fruit plate Baekhyun served up was too delicious to notice that he’d already inspected and organized every inch of your kitchen. Not to mention he was wearing one of your cute aprons with little dancing piglets and sheep on them which distracted you until the toast got cold.

„I’m not going to ignore the hints if they’re right in front of my eyes. Avoiding your discomfort is my first priority.“

You go figure.

„So… you can make it even more perky, then?“

„Not to an extreme degree. But molded to the width of your jaw and teeth,“ Baekhyun points at your chin. „So it will slide in and out very easily.“

„Oh, alright?“

You raise your brows. So it can actually change its shape even more than how he just showed you. You’re starting to like this.

„It’s not going to be painful or make you choke unless you push for it. But when I decrease the length, that shouldn’t happen anyway.“

It really does seem practical. Three in one. The perky version for oral. Why not, the best of all worlds. It’s an advantage of technology, as weird as it sounds.

You mentally send blessings to whoever in the testing department had the guts to brief the colleagues that the big girth version is more eye candy rather than recommended for use. You’d probably clamp up or scream the roof down if he fucked you like that. Let alone do deepthroat.

„Does this mean… you can make it an imprint that fits my mouth? Can I see it?“

He’s really making you curious. You’ve indicated a vague idea of something like that in the questionnaire, but never assumed that the engineers would bother making it into something complex. Up until now, you have to urge yourself to not underestimate how easily inspired they must have been. Somebody really went off.

„I can give you a short demonstration if you help me a little,“ Baekhyun reaches for the towel at the end of the bed, drying off his hands with gentle rubbing motions.

„Okay, just tell me.“

„All you have to do is take it in very slowly. And consistently. It will shape itself that way. I’ll have to give you a few pointers. Can I do that, you want to try this?“

„Sounds good.“

„You can always pinch here if you don’t want to anymore,“ Baekhyun indicates a spot at his right thigh that is just within reach.

„I got it. Just pinch,“ you repeat for yourself, and settle to get comfortable, push your hair out of your face.

At first, positioning yourself is a little difficult because you have to bend forward from your own seated position to reach his crotch, but you end up figuring it out without having to put strain on your foot.

Little by little, you guide in Baekhyun’s tip.

It immediately begins to waver and bend inside your mouth. Meanwhile, judging by the little nestling and a soft tug at the back of your head, Baekhyun has used the hair tie to pull your hair into a ponytail.

While you had immediately laid the tie aside after he returned from the bathroom and forgot about what it was supposed to do out of nervousness, he kept an eye on it.

Baekhyun is that motherfucker, you say to yourself. Let’s do this.

Given that the keyword seemed to be consistency, you remind yourself to keep going stably, keeping your lips loose around him. As if you were eating an ice cube, you avoid using your teeth like hell. You must look ridiculous opening up this wide.

„Don’t worry about scraping me once or twice, the silicone is sturdy,“ Baekhyun says, letting his right hand glide under your jaw. „Prop your chin on my palm. I show you how wide you have to open to make it comfortable.“

Whatever sturdiness there is supposed to be, all you feel is the slightly velvety surface of his cock’s underside lathering against your tongue. You would have thought it takes some lube to make it glide, but it’s not as painfully dry as you thought. Neutral it does taste, but it’s not a desert dry material.

With Baekhyun’s hand under your jaw, you get a better sense of opening up soon. He’s really touching you very gently.

„You feel how it re-forms itself, right. Is it okay like this?

„N—hm.“

„Keep sliding it in for just a little more. You’re doing great.“

Doing so is really surprisingly easy. Where you thought his dick would bump against, there’s basically nothing happening at all.

„Excuse me when I say that. You have a perfectly shaped mouth cave,“ Baekhyun smiles. „But I already know from kissing you.“

What must have sounded like the creepiest compliment in any other situation actually makes you hum and smile a little. You begin to understand just how seriously he seeks to map out your body. Nobody has ever truly bothered to do that.

In the meantime, you notice your nose approaching a dead stop at his loins and your lower lip pressing against what must be the most supple balls of all time. You’re sure that he didn’t make those shrink.

„They’re as big as they were before,“ Baekhyun confirms, vigilant eye he is. „The rest is already close to fully imprinted by now. I just need you to move your head back and forth a little. That helps me gauge how you angle it and what your lips tend to do. Add a bit of variation if you want.“

Doing just that proves to be more fun than you thought. You bop your head a little slower, a little faster. Shallow, then all the way to have your forehead meet his abdomen. It really is… easy?

His size has decreased significantly. You didn’t gag at all so far. Baekhyun doesn’t feel as if he’s just stuck there and ramming in. That you’ve already taken his entire length in so early makes you feel really accomplished, too.

While you move your head, you can feel his dick change a little on your tongue. You even let it slide in sidewards to poke into your cheek, then pull out to kiss the tip of his dick, making Baekhyun smile even more brightly.

„I see you’re good at this. And I really love your lips. They’re pretty.“

You inspect the very slicked up shaft before you with great interest. Without really going at it fully, you already really salivated a lot on it. But even more notable is the unusual shape it’s changed into. It’s assumed a downward curve and has dents where your tongue and teeth were located a second ago. The tip is also much more streamlined. It could probably reach down your throat a little more without having you coughing all over the place.

„The imprint is done, right? That looks really impressive.“

„As good as finished. I save that in my memory data. It can reform at any time you wish it to.“

So that’s part of kinetic learning, too, then — custom dick shapes.

„Mh, interesting. Thanks for doing this, Baek.“

You straighten from your former position and smile at him.

„I might use a similar shape if you ask me to do anal. Just slightly larger. I think I can fit into you very well overall.“

As if he couldn’t be any more adorable, he puts his thumb up with the most innocent face.

„Oh man. I’m so glad I got you, Baek.“

He’s very well read that your questionnaire had a clear preference when it comes to butt stuff.

„Thank you very much. If you want to do this often and get a little practice, I can even help you slide it down your esophagus a little more. I promise you won’t gag or get narrow.“

You don’t doubt it’s possible anymore. Who knows what other freaky templates he can bend into.

„This dick really is magic,“ you lick off some excess saliva from your lips.

„All it is is being designed so you can do whatever you want with it. Everything to your liking.“

You scratch your head.

„And I thought I’d get into trouble doing this.“

Lord knows every blowjob so far has landed you in making a scene or teary eyes. Especially if you tried to shove it down even if you couldn’t reach balls deep. Silly ambition again. And you thought you’d quit this all together.

„Just because you have a limit to depth,“ Baekhyun wipes a little thread of spit from your chin, „doesn’t mean you have to do away with your oral fixation. I really saw you having fun trying different techniques. And it looked like it was very pleasant stimulation for your tongue and saliva flow. If you want do this, you can always ask.“

You get a little flustered at him saying that. Not that he’s wrong. In any sense at all, actually.

„I think you’ll have to get ready to be in my throat a lot during the mornings. With my favorite cherry lube.“

Oh god. That is going to be… very slobbery and heated.

Nothing screams more ‚already am, come get your face fucked at 4:15AM I don’t care‘ than Baekhyun’s eyes right now.

„If you want something tasty before breakfast I’ll have no problems preparing that also.“

He does an invisible hat tip. So serving up fruit is not exclusive to the kitchen then. You find yourself getting euphoric.

„And… we will get to anal some time,“ you mumble under your breath. „Put some prep stuff on our online grocery list.“

„Yes, Ma’am. Just noted. I hope I can thrill you.“

As if you were getting into your car for the first time all over again, Baekhyun dons his best butler voice and you’re starting to fancy it.

„With that wonder boy you have in your pants, I’m thinking I met my match, you know.“

The type you wanna say I do to in a special ceremony separately.

„Precisely how it should be.“

„And, Baekhyun… With the special request idea. I don’t know how to say it. I want to extend this a little to oral as well. Maybe even today.“

„Will get back to it in about an hour.“

So he’s already calculated the route, then.

One hour sounds like a challenge to you, but at this point: You might as well trust what he’s got on his mind. He estimates you better than you do yourself anyway. You’re glad you didn’t move to penetration right away to begin with. Your pussy had enough time to calm down a bit. The swelling is still very much there, however. And your panties are nothing short of a mess. They’re basically sopping.

„As for going on now… I probably don’t have to tell you how wet I am,“ you take a deliberate look down your thighs.

„If you want to know my exact train of thought. I’ve already planned when I’ll wash your ruined underwear. 3:30PM.“

You have to giggle. The mere thought of that image. And he’s really taken over the household like a whirlwind.

It’s time you get to your part of the equation again. Mr. Kim’s imperative returns to you. Your turn to give Baekhyun some more input. With a dick like that, you can think of more instructions than you could list in one go. You build yourself up and place your hand just where you cupped his chin during your kiss on the fair.

„Then I plan you take them off — at now PM.“

You can almost hear a series of programmes running behind Baekhyun’s flickering eyes. Who knows what he is analyzing in his head again. Eventually, he flashes his cute little smile again and ushers you.

„Here?“ He questioningly points back to the center of the sofa where you started out, and you lie down right there.

Funny how much you sidetracked and moved around in the meantime.

Not thinking about transitioning into another position has made it much more effortless and nowhere near as awkward as you thought it would be.

And in hindsight, you were easily swayed into an unexpected intermezzo. Guess you love sucking his dick already. Which is just how Baekhyun offered it to you. All yours. Big and fat and bendy and perfect, morphing itself in whatever makes you hot. You want to shout it from the rooftops, right at all the Mister Lees of the world.

But upon second thought? Better not tell especially your nosy friends from work how hooked you are before they ask for more details.

Hwasa means well, but she would end up telling your damn boss by accident or something. Or Taemin, he would gossip about it on his twitter without name-dropping you, but everybody would know regardless. Meanwhile, Xiumin would make a vlog about „How To Perfectly Clean Your Flat“ and mention it in passing. Chen’s wife would watch it and tell Chen and Kai. Kai would absolutely tell Hyuna and Lisa. And Hyuna would absolutely tell Lay, and Lay would tell Kai, and by that time, the president would probably know.

Treasuring this all for yourself seems like the better thing to do. You want to protect Baekhyun even if he’s the last person on the block who probably needs it. Maybe it’s also a sense of protecting yourself. Maybe some of your friends wouldn’t be averse to getting a leisure bot themselves, but the rest of them still prized even their toxic partners as better than someone like Baekhyun, even if his kind had been part of the society for long enough.

You take note of making impromptu experiments like that for the future regardless.

By now, Baekhyun undresses you fully. Steady hands, steady eyes. Giving your legs a lusciously slow caress that gives you goosebumps. Pulling down your panties with a lot of deliberation, and giving you a good view of his cock. It’s shaping itself back and grows a little again, adding in girth and becoming less streamlined. It curves upward now, revealing a very plump and tight set of balls underneath. You’ve briefly felt them, but didn’t have the chance for a closer look. Now that you think about it, they’re even bigger than before. How it happened, you don’t know.

They seem to be pulsing and turning something white and silver metallic on the inside now. Making them appear… even larger. Two generous scoops of light pink seaside parlor ice cream. Discernable as a pair, but still perfectly one like a pillow. Not sagging very far down even if they seem to move around quite easily. They can probably slap and cushion against your clit if you go for doggy style with decent speed. The noises would be so nasty, you’d have to record it. You curse your foot for not permitting that anytime soon.

So— that thought will leave you high and dry for some time, then.

Makes that damn Achilles’ Heel getting his ever-loving shit together an even sweeter feat to look forward to, actually. So Baekhyun can really drive it home. You get kind of heated at that image in your mind. He is great at giving it to you from behind, you just know it. Now, everything he does well. But this one in particular. You get all sweaty with that idea again.

Baekhyun is still all the way preoccupied with pulling your panties past the knees, upbeat and kind in his expression. And calm, endlessly calm. Every movement, it’s all in perfect ease. You look like a jittery mess compared to him on your back right now.

„Shit, man,“ you bite down your lips after a desperate sigh. This couldn’t be any more tantalizing.

Chapter 8: The Bigger Picture

„Should I stop?“ his hands linger at your ankles, panties almost stripped off your legs. You can already feel the relief of not drowning in yourself anymore.

„No, I,“ you shift around on your back. How the hell do you explain this. „I wish I could stay calm like that, I’m not gonna lie to you. Sorry if I’m one of those bot envy people.“

No use in beating around the bush. He’d read it out of you anyways.

„And I wish I could shake as beautifully as you, you see.“

A comforting eye smile rises underneath his bangs. It gets a hold on you in a way that’s inexplicable.

Don’t you remember him with the cotton candy taste, you think. If anything, the envy is mutual. You’re pretty slow.

He’s trying his best to understand you.

You might want to start reciprocating that. Baekhyun can’t feel human happiness. But he can feel like he’s fulfilling his task. So help him with that, for God’s sake. Your part of the equation isn’t done after paying some money and taking him home or whatever. Being with a bot is more than that. He doesn’t have the needs of a human, but there are conditions that have to be met regardless.

„Point taken, Baekhyun.“

His cheesiness is cute. No use in not trying to tremble either, then. You can’t be him and he can’t be you. Might as well embrace yourself so he can work with it.

Baekhyun finishes the swipe of his movement and settles more closely, sitting on his heels just as before. You’re starting to think that it’s his signature posture.

„And I don’t mind if you envy me,“ he says, offering his hands for you to hold.

„You don’t?“

„There’s cold envy and there’s warm envy. It’s all about how much you like the person. You don’t hate me, right.“

„No, how would I? I really— like you.“

You close either hand around his.

„Then it’s warm envy,“ Baekhyun nods.

„I think… I understand.“

„And you need to know that I adore you also.“

A little squeeze of his hands accompanies his words. You’re caught off guard. All you can think of as a reply is a nod, unable to meet his eyes. You’re at a loss of words entirely. Here you go again.

Maybe the time has come that machines have a better grasp on emotions than humans. They have to teach it back to them.

You try to hide your embarrassment by a little stutter, but he’s already lowering his head down to you, again facing you close by. Close enough for you to see the light golden fuzz of his skin that actually almost seems silver under the artificial lighting of the room.

„So if you want me to do anything for you. Just do the same thing as before. You’ve done it well.“

„I don’t think so,“ you chew at your bottom lip, very well convinced that all you did was being a mess. Baekhyun must be seriously frustrated with this amount of all-too-human chaos.

„There are clients that take at least four to five trials to instruct their leisure models properly. You’ve already managed at first try, you see.“

Your jaw legitimately drops. Probably even lower than when you saw Baekhyun step out of the capsule.

„Five attempts?“

„Some send their bots back because they can’t get themselves to do it at all,“ he affirms. „But either way, those are likely the clients who’d rather apply to purchase automatic models in the first place.“

Automatic models.

You remember. Now you count one and one together — Mr. Kim talked about these bots. You never even realized. The ones seemingly everybody was ordering which drove the whole faculty staff into an endless scientific boredom.  

„Most client requests we get want some kind of he-man. They only spend twenty minutes customizing their bot on the website, if not less. Our engineers rarely get to equip a bot with so much pizzazz.“

In fact, these are the bots of a cheaper price range that run on the exact same automatism over and over for the lack of not having any other programming or sentience.

You don’t have to look no further than imagining that they work like a generic sex toy. They’re just in humanoid shape. A fruit plate for breakfast they can’t serve. They don’t have any interest in cotton candy either. The client can only switch them on for intercourse and enjoy maybe two or three default positions at best before their bot goes back to sleep again. They don’t talk freely, they don’t think, they don’t ask questions. They do their job, but they’re not…

Boyfriends.

You suddenly don’t regret spending forever at the PC to fill in forms and paying a lot more money to the faculty anymore.

„What? That’s insane. I never knew.“

How lucky you are to have Baekhyun is an overwhelming thought. If you’re entirely honest with yourself— it even gives you something that feels like butterflies. It’s strange.

„We non-automatic models can only do what we’re supposed to when we get asked.“

„Yeah.“

„Even most things a client requested in the past can’t be done again without a second permission. You have to instruct us in every new situation.“

„Yes, Mr. Kim really emphasized that.“

You feel better knowing that you have read between the lines correctly. Mr. Kim said a lot of things that sounded very complex and removed from daily life, but he managed to convey the most important thing about Baekhyun.

„I have always heard from Mr. Park that many female clients who give their bot back aren’t even the type of person who has troubles speaking their wishes. They don’t have any wishes at all. I think they’ve given up on themselves.“

He looks so downtrodden saying that. The image in your mind looks just as depressing. You want to curl yourself up.

„Wow. Wow, that… sounds scary.“

„Already by law, we can’t dictate them what we want as a replacement for their lacking preferences. Even if that is what they’re expecting. And then, they blame it on us if we stay passive during sex. It’s an unfair game.“

You can already picture how many cases like that must’ve happened.

Mr. Kim was absolutely right to let non-automatic bots decide over who they want to match with or not.

For way other reasons you had naïvely assumed. To be fair, you are still a beginner with this and AndroTech’s terms of service page was a jargon novel in font size 4, bearable as a skim at best.

„So it would even break the law,“ you find yourself even more startled. „To engage in acts that were not… requested on the spot?“

„Yes. But it’s not all clear-cut. Some bots are enabled and do try hard to read their client’s true wishes out of them, and they take the lead to get things started. Especially when a client is extremely nervous on the first day.“

„Oh…“

„You’ve seen me do it with you. How to touch you, whether I can drive and cook for you, how we relax before sleeping. You saw that I was forward with you to take the pressure off. I even picked you up without asking.“

„Yeah, I saw. I understand it now.“

Pretty much from the very first moment. Baekhyun probably knew you didn’t want to walk the corridors to the faculty exit the moment he looked at you. And he did take the lead, and asked about your every reaction hoping he anticipated exactly the right thing you didn’t dare voice.

„Which can be uncomfortable, but the client very clearly has something in mind and they end up saying it. But you can’t use coercion or skip that they say it.“

You give a small „M-hm“ in response and feel the guilt rush over your face.

„That shyness or shameful feeling at the start we can deal with. But in other cases, a person only wants the bot to tell them what to do. Which we’re not allowed to,“ Baekhyun’s voice shifts to a much graver tone. „We are the ones who adapt to the client. We don’t have a motivation to give orders, either.“

„Motivation?“

This keeps on getting more and more puzzling.

„If you can’t feel something, you can’t desire something. Take me— I don’t know what a sense of satisfaction is. And our base programming is to be of service. Even if we did something random that we saw fit just to give a command. It’d be illegal.“

At first, you wonder why the rule would not apply to the automatic he-man bots, but it was actually making sense. The client had decided on their limited programming. Switching them on was giving permission itself, and they could be turned off at any moment.

Meanwhile, a bot like Baekhyun had variation to his actions and was constantly running on AndroTech’s special power generator, lord knows what it did to run all day. Now, if any of his actions were against your will, or he did something without being asked: He would be taken away from you.

If he gave you a decisive order completely unprompted: His programming would be permanently deactivated almost on the spot, even. Bots trying to guess what their clients had on their mind were walking a tightrope.

„This is a much more serious thing than I thought.“

You puff out. Baekhyun gives a wholehearted nod.

„You can tell we have to be careful to find clients who know what they want.“

„I never thought of it that way. But yeah. I can see how the faculty gets into trouble otherwise.“

„Yes. It’s a huge problem.“

And you were as silly as assuming that bot abuse was the biggest issue in the industry. Turns out clients who want their leisure models to break the law are the real skeleton in the closet.

It’s starting to become a bigger picture to you. The repercussions are so much more expensive and damaging for the company image. A bot that an angry client kicked around was only a nuisance if repair was concerned. The whole thing was kind of bizarre.

„I’ll be very careful,“ you assure. „To fulfill my side of the contract.“

„Y/N. You are the last person who’d concern me. I have been sure from the start that you are the ideal person to be with. It’s why I agreed so fast to Mr. Kim’s question whether I want to match up or not. Most bots will ask Mr. Kim to postpone that question so they can gauge their client in a testing period.“

„They… do?“

„Yes.“

„But I already made a mistake,“ you say, remembering how you started out today. „I don’t think I’m ideal or something like that.“

Baekhyun’s following blink is more than knowing.

„That you question yourself tells me you’re a good client. Bad clients don’t self-reflect.“

Maybe you’ve done at least that right.

„I see?“

„You might become reserved or berate yourself sometimes. But that you wrote down 280 specifics for Mr. Kim tells me everything. Once the nervousness dissolves, you do the right thing already and I see your nature. You wish for a lot of things. That makes you ideal to me. I can take care of this one thing at a time.“

He plants a brief, but passionate kiss on the back of your left hand. The cheesy motherfucker got you again.

„Baekhyun, I…“

„That gives me a lot to work with. I hope you look forward to all this. We’ll spend many great nights.“

His charming little smile and dark eyes are as encouraging as ever. Thinking about the many options of 280 makes you giddy already.

„I do. And… I really want to see how the Special Request feels like.“

Your legs are like squirming jelly at this point. Very much unlike Baekhyun who’s stable and resting — in promise of great stamina.

„I’m ready if you are. I’m sorry if my talking delayed this. But I think some last few questions had to get out of the way. As for the request: There’s not much I need to prepare for it.“

Chapter 9: You Look Really Beautiful

„We’ll be starting with… you know. Lower medium size?“

You shift in the sheets, stuttering that out like a pre-schooler, but who the hell cares at this point. It’s not like you didn’t invent all of this.

„All as you want it,“ says Baekhyun with just the right touch of yielding in his tone. How he makes this sound so impeccably polite is a mystery.

„This is really easy to insert,“ he continues, giving a light caress against your cheek. You don’t miss just how much it is meant to be an encouraging touch. Your face feels tingly.

„Okay, let’s give it a shot, then.“

While Baekhyun reshapes the plates, you recline with your knees pulled toward your torso, making sure to place your wonky foot in an unobtrusive way. So far, it’s only complained while you were climbing around trying to find a position to suck Baekhyun off. Sweet baby Jesus. If your heel would ruin your first time, you’d curse your clumsiness forever and sign up at AndroTech to get your legs android-ized if that were even possible.

You’d probably make a good cyborg now that you think about it. With your new steel-inforced feet and knee caps, you’d be one robot step closer to blowing and riding Baekhyun to infinity until his dick needs repair, which you… already plan to do anyways.

„Can you stimulate me like before, please. Just by using your cock now. I’m so horny for it.“

„Of course.“

Baekhyun glides the tip up and down your outer and inner labia alternatingly, then lets it rub all over your clit. Which happens so smoothly. You’re more than wet. He’s drenched you so hard.

Shit.

It doesn’t take many prods until your arousal returns at its fullest, and Baekhyun strikes a complimenting tone in the middle of letting the underside of his shaft tap against the swelling rose bud.

„Your pussy is really pretty. It’s like pink clouds to me.“

He makes a little innocent face. He’s too adorable. Still, you swallow. So it’s time to bring the funfair to this sofa, then, is it.

„I really— want you to stretch it nicely,“ you grab hold of his cock. „So that the filling can seep in really far. I want a lot of it. And after you filled me, you make me cum.“

„I will, Y/N. I prepared a lot for you,“ he nods. „And it’s enriched with pheromones.“

Pheromones.

So the faculty did find ways to flavor things. Realizing that, you already feel twice as horny as before.

„Shit, it’s gonna smell so good. Put it in, put it in… I want to know how it feels.“

You fumble with his tip at your entrance, and Baekhyun lifts his hips accordingly. It slides in for an inch, giving your entrance an idea of the diameter so far.

While you first squeezed his dick in your hand, the surface felt very matte. Now, with Baekhyun carefully securing his cock between the soft embrace of your lips, it makes for a great sensation of grip and stretch paired with how wet you are. His medium girth is really not bad at all even if it’s downsized. In fact, it’s pushing at your entrance in the juiciest way. With no panties in between anymore. You realize that it’s really about to go down.

„Baekhyun, oh god. Oh god. It’s good. Put your hands around my waist.“

He swiftly does, no second wasted. His fingers, his palms, his wrists— are so soft. You notice that his right hand sits significantly lower than the left one, pretty much on the hip bone. You already want to ask him to move it upwards that you realize he’s seen the scar from your appendix surgery and avoided putting his hand on it.

„Do you want me to slide in more along the way?“

„Yes, more.“

You can tell that Baekhyun knows the exact angle to glide into you. With his hands suavely placed on you now, he adjusts your pelvis without needing leverage. The sheer given shape of his palms has your body melt into the right posture. Eventually, his cock tip makes its way down your walls, bulging them apart. Baekhyun’s length gliding into you has you feel the entirety of his shaft pushing in with a proper thickness. A perfect languid strain, making your pussy feel amazingly filled and bursting with veiny, girthy cock.

„Fuck. Please use your fingers, Baekhyun,“ you gasp out, feel your lungs contract. „And kiss me all over.“

He keeps on sliding in. Leaves little kisses on your nose and sweat-glazed collar bones, breasts, neck. His plush little lips make pecking noises that sound all the way dirtier when he turns them into desperate moans. Baekhyun sure knows how to push your buttons. You’re about to go nuts entirely.

One hand leaving your waist, he adds a consistent stroke at your clit until he surprises you with slowly hitting balls deep.

Already?

„I’m in. How does it feel?“

It really is good to insert.

The heat from your clit mixes with the satisfaction of Baekhyun now being fully curved inside you. He was so much easier to take than you were afraid of.

„It’s amazing to me.“

A squeeze from your muscles comfortably locks Baekhyun, who gently lowers his posture above you, in the spot. Just enough for you to let your fingertips ghost over the center of his abs. His body is so warm, almost heated.

Then, you reach for his face and kiss him deeply. His tongue immediately picks up your pacing, swirls around yours in an intricate dance. The passion overflows. You want so much more.

„Start thrusting. Stimulate me.“

Accompanied with a faster flick of his fingers on your clit, Baekhyun lets his cock pulse in and out of you without removing much of its length. The inward tug at your walls pushes your womb along with it. Baekhyun’s width is just right in spreading your pussy apart, and how he gets you off brings more slickness to each thrust. You feel yourself getting really swollen up and bubbling wet, even more than before.

Fuck, fuck, fuck.

„Make it grow a little,“ you push the words past your tense jaw. „And then give me the first special request.“

Again, he doesn’t hesitate. The sudden growth spurt takes a bit off the speed out of Baekhyun’s plunge, but soon increases again. It’s because his cock has started to leak inside, pouring more and more lubrication around itself.

„Is that good?“

His thrusts make the velvety liquid surface at the base of his cock. Very slowly, but surely. He’s fucking it out of you so well. Almost instantly, the smell is intoxicating. A hefty concoction of vanilla, fruit, and something very sharp and musky layered over it. A very masculine and upbeat spice that is like an electric current. The liquid keeps oozing from your entrance with every thrust, bringing more of the scent to live.

„Fuck. Please more. That’s so good. Hold me when I buck up, Baekhyun!“

The special request is nothing but a liquid mechanism that lets Baekhyun pump you full of milky white pre-cum. Whenever you want, mid-fuck at full speed, or as a quick filling without much prep. With a big load or just a little portion as lube, anything goes. Baekhyun has to refill the material with special cartilages every now and then, but it’s compressed like the foam of a whipped cream bottle. Just a lot more fluid. And way, way too loaded with artificial pheromones for your brain to handle. Your pussy explodes with oozing pre-cum and the tension of pleasure alike. You really can’t handle it. Still dizzy from the kiss, your tongue is all loose and erratic anyway.

„Not, ah—! To ask for something I can’t handle for the twentieth time or something! Fucking shit!“

You take a deep breath. Even a fast look between your thighs has you clenching. Everything is so creamy. And sticky. And milky. All with his cock buried right in the soaking middle of it. Baekhyun really gave you a full-on A class preview for the special request.

„Ask away. Even if it’s unrealistic. I make things feasible. That’s my job if anything,“ he looks more friendly than ever at you. Mr. Kim couldn’t sport a smile any better. Jesus Christ, he’s patient with you.

„I think I got some greed but, uh.“

„No worries. I can work with that. Greedy girls are the best girls.“

„Can you just, cockwarm me and give me another load. With the— bigger… version. If that doesn’t get me to the ER. I just want to try it for a minute or two even if it’s too big. You probably know if I’m built to do that better than me though.“

By the knowing look he gives you, Baekhyun indeed does.

„That works, I already calculated that. You’re stretched enough. If we don’t do it for long and I’m not moving, you’ll just feel really stuffed and full.“

„Exactly what I’m wanting,“ you blurt, and your eyes grow all the more impatient.

„Okay. I’ll be holding your legs up a little more for that if it’s alright. Just keep your ankle very relaxed.“

„M-hm!“

By doing that, you realize he changes how you angle yourself at him. You mentally prepare yourself, and already feel him expand inside. That pushes even more of the scented fluid out of your pussy, spreading over his cock. The smell of vanilla and grapefruit, whatever it is, becomes even stronger. Everything pools and drips from his expanding shaft in sticky threads that you want all over you, and in his mouth, his face, everywhere. Your poor pussy is nothing but a lake at this point.

„I’m gonna burst with this inside of me.“

And he really is monstrously big in his full form.

„Almost there. Does it feel okay?“

It grows and grows. Becomes veinier and all slick, bathed in scent and your own pussy creaming it up.

„Shit… that thing is like a spear! Fuck! Keep it, keep it up—!“

He keeps on growing. The stretch of your walls is driving you wild. You can’t even put a proper grip on him with your muscles at this point. All there is — a bulging sensation of your pussy getting filled out all around. It does make you feel tensed up. Even if the surface of his cock feels only a bit elastic, the diameter is too wide at this point.

„It’s a bit uncomfortable if you focus too much there with your muscles,“ Baekhyun says. „Look at my hands.“

Baekhyun circles into your clit with his index. It mixes relief into the stretch. And more pulsing excitement. Just a light caress wouldn’t do it at this point. He knows he has to rub a little faster.

„You’re all… stuck there,“ is all you can moan. He’s grown sufficiently to let your sensitive entrance feel like it’s going to burn up in flames. In its normal state, there’s no way he would get past it in his large size. You don’t even know just how far up he is inside you. If he’d thrust now, your guts would be as ruined as your panties. The flaring sensation of him spreading all inside you is all that you can think of. You’re starting to think you must’ve developed a cock addiction because of those pheromones, the thought of him not being inside of you all day like this sounds terrible.

Now that he’s entirely erect and stiffened, you can tell his dick has exactly the inner metallic strength you thought it had. He’s pretty heavy inside you. You get a buzzing in your head and accidentally shift your hips a little. The feeling that follows makes you gasp.

„That, that’s hitting something. Oh my god. It’s pressing me. Oh my god. What is that, Baekhyun!“

„Your cervix.“

„That’s deep in. Holy shit.“

„It’s really big and puffy. My sensors are liking it.“

So that’s where he is, then. Buried right there. Hitting the spot.

“Hold it there, Baekhyun. It feels so unusual! Please press it a little more.“

Baekhyun shifts his hips himself, causing you to feel the same bump again. It makes your body jerk and takes you by surprise once more.

„I think it likes kissing my tip the way you do with your lips.“

Either you’re imagining things, or Baekhyun actually sounds a bit accomplished.

„What! Does it react?“

„It’s getting increased blood flow and expands around me. If you want, I can rest a little deeper with my tip at the hole in the middle.“

The idea is so filthy knowing he could shoot you up with more pre-cum any second. All of it would spritz deep inside of you, almost the deepest way possible. You picture Baekhyun mixing up a huge load for you, only to pump it all the way through his immense length.

„Please, please do that, please. Push against it.“

„I’ll have to be really careful.“

„Come on, Baekhyun,“ you firmly grip at his hips to pull them down. „Beat my pussy up. It’s deep enough. Give me the whole length.“

That this means going balls deep entirely is making your legs do funny things.

Baekhyun, squeezing in the last inch, finally makes you feel like he’s splitting you apart. From your legs up to your neck, you can feel the strain. Your pussy can barely take it. It doesn’t know whether to fall apart or to tense up. That Baekhyun’s cock tip ever so slowly pushes, then penetrates into your cervix and stays there, neither opening it fully nor just resting loosely against it, sends you all sorts of arousing signals.

„You’re stretching so well. See how amazing your labia look now.“

The sensation of Baekhyun has distracted you entirely from just about anything else. A quick glance tells you it does just look like that. Your muscles are too pushed apart to grasp his dick, but your pussy lips do that job for you. They’re finally getting their right stretch. Plush, and wet, and wide apart, they hug Baekhyun as if trying to pull him in. It’s as if they’re sucking and gargling his cock and spilling saliva everywhere. They’ve grown amazingly plump and red. Two cock-hungry, endlessly greedy girls just for Baekhyun.

„How do you feel? Describe it to me.“

„I’m feeling so, I can’t, fucking crazy! It’s prodding a spot that’s really far up. Oh God. It’s so big. You… fuck… oh— You—!“

„You can call me any dirty names you want,“ Baekhyun lowers his voice. It sounds so naughty and provoking when he does that. „You know that I’m down to be a huge whore.“

The plain sneering delight in his eyes is so intense that your pussy starts to pulsate. That lewd and yearning Baekhyun hiding underneath the cute smexy smile has ambushed you again.

„Give me that slutty look on your face and stroke my belly. Show it. Moan. If you wanna be a whore, do it properly.“

„It’s really bulging out here, Y/N…“

He whimpers, traces his palm across your abdomen, quick to find the spot. It does form a bit of a bump. Even from your position, it’s quite visible.

„Yeah… Look, you did this.“

„Your pussy is so perfect on the inside, too. Really pink and juicy.“

That his tip is currently making cockwarming love to your cervix you can very well feel. The two of them are already headed to be on a familiar basis with each other. You want Baekhyun to smash and jizz it every fucking night.

„If you have some more cum, now’s the moment, Baek. Pound it.“

„One second,“ he jerks at the base, briefly having his right hand leave your waist. You grip at the nape of his neck to pull his face down. You lock lips, and they are so mesmerizing while Baekhyun makes sure to find a nice angle.

With a loud moan into his mouth, you can feel him stuffing your pussy with a shot of rich fluid. The accompanying thrust is strong, steep, and throbbing. It makes you want to mount Baekhyun and fiercely bounce on his dick until cumming all over it, way until collapsing. His cock reaches far enough through the opening of your cervix to fill your womb with its creamy load. The liquid drips against the upper area until it spreads out and leaks down into your vagina. A lake of his semen now pools back and forth inside your spongy uterus, Baekhyun’s cock stirring it with its light pulses and movements. He’s not thrusting, but making sure to keep his dick swaying and prodding just enough to ease your tensions.

„Another load,“ you part from his lips, craving. „Really make it to the brim. Move it once. Push it in… So good, Baekhyun…“

„Okay,“ he hums, and kisses you again, this time making gentle contact with your lips. „I’ll make it really warm and thick.“

„God, yes…“

„Here, are you ready?“

„Fill me.“

Baekhyun’s fat cock delivers a juicy stab, fucking the meaty, veiny width under the tip right into your cervix. Hard and quick, making your toes shiver. The blow pounds and heavily stretches it apart under your deep guttural moans. He’s really deepening his cock almost to the max, and you can feel how stiff and girthy he’s made it become. 

The first pre-cum load allows for a perfect glide already. The plunge is so good. Your cervix now faithfully grips at his shaft, fully lubricated and anticipating, swelling up, greedily throbbing around him so fast. It pulls his cock in the way you want to deepthroat Baekhyun. You repeat and repeat his name.

Finally, a second spurt comes to seep right into you like a waterfall. Baekhyun floods your pussy entirely without holding back. A gushing injection of white streaks and pearls comes to permeate you so deliciously that your heart skips a beat. The spill is much less fluid this time, but runny just like freshly whipped coconut cream, fanning out into little melted clouds. He’s shot what you imagine as more than the amount of a small glass of water into you. You are creamed up to the last millimeter. If he was fertile, you’d be pregnant with a cute little Baek baby in two seconds, and give birth only three minutes later.

„I love it!“

Your pussy walls loosen around him. Even if it means saying goodbye to your filling, now you wanna see how his semen looks like.

„Rest your hand there while you’re pulling out,“ you guide your had toward your abdomen. „You’re gonna tell me the difference.“

With Baekhyun slowly drawing out his cock and letting the vacuum suck the fluid downward, you become giddy. Your cervix refuses to close and instead stays pulsing open, letting all that he filled you with drip out. It’s a pal size puddle. Baekhyun’s dick looks so gigantic and coated now that he pulled out. You can’t believe all of that was inside of you.

„I really hate to leave you feeling empty,“ he says, and massages your belly very attentively.

„I wish your cum could stay inside all day. It’s so warm. I really miss your cock, too. Shit, Baekhyun.“

After some waiting time, his last bits of semen makes its way down. Your pussy gapes enough to let it squeeze out. It’s so thick and white, completely opaque. How good it smells you only register when you’re already hanging at Baekhyun’s lips again. The scent drives you to kiss him again and again, having your hands all over his body, praising him with your moans. He yields into your wild hug and the making out continues until your creampie no longer flows out. Half of your pussy is full of sticky semen still, warming you from the inside. Between your heavy breaths, you realize that Baekhyun’s laser gaze on you have even more craving than before.

„And this is not even the main event,“ he rasps into your ear. „We’re still headed towards the most important thing.“

You shake. His dark eyes set on you like a panther’s. He’s readier than ever. This goddamn robot stamina. Now he wants to fuck you up entirely.

„Make me cum… really hard, Baekhyun.“

„I’ll have you moaning and arching. Tell me what to do.“

„Remember I talked about some Special Request mixed with oral?“

„Very clearly,“ he nods, helping you get up from your back. „I got you.“

„Leave it at big as it is now. Not the full growth but almost there. Really give me a lot of cum, okay. Empty yourself into my throat. You can also fuck my mouth but keep it shallow. You can hold my head later on.“

„All as you like. Here,“ Baekhyun helps you guide the shaft between your expectant lips.

You suck at the tip, but your mouth doesn’t get very far down. The difference to Baekhyun’s smaller, adapted version is extreme to see, to touch, and taste. While you gobble the far end, a generous spurt of cum shoots into your throat already. It pools on your tongue before you swallow three times.

It tastes mild and sweet.

Maybe you’ve been eating too much cotton candy as of recently, but it does bear some resemblance to it. You shake the girth from one side of your mouth to the other, signalling Baekhyun to fill you again. More cum begins to appear, then burst at the roof of your mouth, and you don’t manage to hold in all of it. Thank God the towel is thick enough.

All the jizz expands on your tongue and you swallow faster, with Baekhyun leaking more of his cock milk. You decide to have some fun thrusting your head forward and have the whole thing explode against his loins and your lower face. With Baekhyun’s dick plunging into you deeper, the remaining cum flows past your lips and lands between either of your legs on the towel.

No wonder his balls do their pulsating thing. He has to keep up mixing and pumping everything out. His cock is now so perfectly slippery that you can glide your tongue around it in fast circles. The faster you go, the more his foreskin retracts, revealing the beautiful sturdy glans that provides you with another milky shot against the back of your throat. The mixture is smooth, allowing for an easy big swallow. For some reason, it’s almost like almond milk conditioner diluted with a bit of water.

Baekhyun adding little thrusts to each leaking makes you moan like a pervert. You suck and lick up every incoming bit of fluid properly until gulping it down. At this point, your entire stomach is a sea of white cream. Your mouth feels like it’s drowning in baby lotion, but without the obnoxious taste. Even now, you’re still not tired of bopping your head and blowing bubbles with the amounts of his sperm that gather around the middle of his cock. The more you get into the rhythm of moving your head, the more heated and loud you get.

Puckering your lips adds the right pressure, and you keep your jaw as wide a Baekhyun showed you earlier. The slicking, slurping and glucking noise of the suction is music to your ears. Him spilling out more liquid helps you glaze his length with warm icing now, and your speed is surprisingly high in doing so. You end up sinking your fingertips into Baekhyun’s shapely ass cheeks and hold onto his body like that while blowing him. You feel they are toned and soft at the same time, even more heavenly when you use your entire palms to hold them.

„Great, you’re doing great,“ Baekhyun wipes off a blotch of cum from his belly and lathers his cock up with it, careful not to disturb your mouth at work. „Do whatever comes to your mind.“

As if that praise was not enough, another rewarding fountain fizzes into your mouth. The vacuum from your tight lips resounds almost like a kissing noise. With another moan upcoming, you blurt out the majority of Baekhyun’s load. This time, his legs are the victim of your slobber, getting their first contact with his cum in dripping white stripes. It looks so hot. Looking at his ruined thighs with your saliva and milk on them makes your pussy throb several times.

In the meantime, your lips are left perfectly coated and big, clinging to the veiny surface slightly below Baekhyun’s tip. Especially your lower lip has gotten much plumper and picks up every relief on his dick. You love the sound of him thrusting in his shaft that is met with a little lake of cum at the farther end of your tongue. The more elegantly he helps you plunge in the tip, the better it stirs the fluid and leaves a nice caress at the top of your mouth and the inner corners of your lips. The taste is breathtaking. After swallowing for the seventh time now, you pop his dick from your mouth and distribute the remaining cum on your cheeks and temples by sliding his length all over your skin.

„That feels so good,“ you pat his cock all over your cheekbones, your forehead and the bridge of your nose. You even glide the tip of his cock against your browbone, tracing its lining and have a few little droplets of Baekhyun’s delicious milk dance stuck in your lashes. The fluid leaves your face feel cooled and soft. The matte silicone surface of his length is perfect enough to slowly glide under the guidance of your hand, massaging your face gently and slick.

And then, you get an idea.

„Hold your cock up for me. Maybe make it curve up a little,“ you instruct, take a few breaths to cool down. When Baekhyun is ready, you slide your right hand between your legs and head your mouth for his balls at the same time.

They really are like scoops of ice cream. Enough milk has distributed over them to make your attention of kisses, licks, feathery light bites and sucking very easy. Everything glides, and you love how they vibrate ever so slightly.

„Tell me I will feel this against my clit as often as possible, Baekhyun.“

„Every day if you want. I can make them buzz a little more than that as well. That goes for my cock, too.“

„What— Really! Please do it! And please, more cum…“

And they do. It must be the weirdest thing your lips and the tip of your nose have felt, ever. A million dancing ants start their party on your skin. Alternating between left and right, you give your mouth a proper ice cream feeding. Baekhyun’s cock vibrates along and produces another waterfall of sperm.

While you let the buzzing ripen up your lips with even more swelling, drops upon drops of cum add from above where Baekhyun holds his cock in an almost vertical position. Since its curve bends toward his stomach, that’s where more of his cum lands. You love to observe the milk trickle over the little veins of his loins, his lightly toned abs, and the perfect V shape of his pelvis. With every drop, you rub your clit to new heights and feel it become spongy. You’re so sensitive and wet that it’s harder to get your finger to the right spot, so you end up using three fingers at once.

Baekhyun glazing himself with all that luscious cum makes you want to lick him up whole. On the other hand, his oozing cock spills so much fluid that you don’t want any of it go to waste.

With the flicks of your index finger speeding up between your legs, you ask Baekhyun to stuff and thrust his cock back onto your tongue and provide you with a final wave of cum for good. He dusts over your lashes to remove the spray they took before, then diligently brings his palms around the back of your head. Baekhyun is so utterly careful and sensual in his expression that you have to groan and feel your pussy twitch. His pretty fingers fit so perfectly around the area under your high ponytail. Having his wrists ghost over your temples makes you want to come on the spot. Now that your head is softly locked safe, Baekhyun asks if he can start, earning the most eager nod.

„I won’t make you gag, I promise,“ he gives his fingers a final arrangement, laying flat on your hair.

You feel like you’re about to implode and already drive your head forward. Aided by the slip of your mouth, he pulls you onto his cock, driving in a bit more length. About a third of his cock gets in, and you feel only a slight bit of tension. Your lips close around him, but remain flexible, still. Your hand between your legs rubs faster. And faster. Your clit is begging for a second rush. By the time, your jaw has become perfectly loose and receptive, ready to take a pounding. You moan in frustration from all the suspense, and finally he begins fucking his monster dick into your skull. 

The girth stretches your lips and leaves your mouth completely stunned. Baekhyun properly angles himself into your head and showers you with complimenting little wows, then continues the speed and screwing until half of his dick pumps into your mouth. It’s pushing in and stimulates your lips with every thrust. The buzz is amazing. 

Your throat is perfectly accepting of Baekhyun’s tip. The vibrating stimulation at your tonsils sends excitement through your entire body. His cock is amazingly big, hot, and jittery. When he drills it into you with a little ‚your mouth… so soft… like cotton candy…’ under his breath, you can’t take it anymore.

When your rubs escalate and your pussy begins to contract, he blows up your mouth with an avalanche of extra sticky and flavorful cream. Unlike when he was pumping out the cum against his belly, his cock now powerfully empties in one go and overwhelms your tongue with taste. 

The portion is so huge and almost foamy. Now you’re filled double. Your leaking pussy, stuffed with his bubbling semen, and your mouth, rich with the potent vanilla taste. Your clit thumps hard with a series of twitches, about ten, eleven, twelve times, with another strong rub from your middle finger pushing it over the edge.

The load of cum bursting into your mouth is so large that your cheeks slowly bulge out a bit. Baekhyun holds his cock in place to help you keep it centered. A look at his hands alone is enough to fasten your rubs and make you feel your climax peak. Your eyes get large from the extremity of pleasure surging from your clit, having your body rock, making you yelp out and spill Baekhyun’s semen back over the pulsing curve of his dick. It’s so messy, but you don’t care.

He takes the opportunity to thrust back into your mouth in sync with the twitches of your pussy, blasting your way too impatient esophagus with more sputtering threads of hot milk. Your clit throbs even harder when you hear the wet noises your throat makes. Every thrust has you blowing out cum with stifled, slobbery gargling. Baekhyun penetrates you so well and won’t waste a milliliter of cum. It’s so thick and so good, and distributes so nicely every time he fucks it into your throat a little further. The vibration of his cock makes your tongue so swollen against the underside of his shaft and even more sensitive to how his cum feels.

Liquid satin, gliding so well down into your stomach that you wish he could penetrate, too. You slurp and gobble the last shots of cum, and enjoy Baekhyun’s thrusts feeding you his fully sperm-decorated cock. With your saliva flowing into the mix, the load gets perfectly blended and has you produce the nastiest sounds around the meaty base of his dick. You want to lap it all up, slather it all over you, bathe in it. He drenches your mouth completely. You swallow and swallow until he knows you’re feeling full and stops the flow.

You still try to suck the leftover liquid out of him until only drops remain on your tongue. A final swallow, and you lock eyes with Baekhyun who’s gently smiling and cupping your head.

„B—woah,“ you gush out, slipping your lips off his dick. You look down on your body and Baekhyun’s, finding your skins coated all sticky as if a pot of joghurt spilled all over your chests and legs.

The special request indeed leaves nothing left to be desired.

„Really incredible,“ Baekhyun says.

„Warm…,“ you lick your lips, and shake, move your tongue about to loosen it up. „And so much— Fuck!“

„Not a drop left. I’ll probably need half an hour to gather an amount like that again.“

„I want this all the time. This, this is so much fun.“

„Yes. You were really enjoying yourself. You look really beautiful.“

Probably really messy and funny with your drying lips and tousled ponytail. You have to chuckle.

„Brace yourself, Baekhyun. I hope you have enough hair ties prepared.“

Oh, it’s gonna be a ride.

After you settle your breath, Baekhyun goes about cleaning your face and neck, and bits of your chest. He has to get a third towel from the bathroom to get the job done, including rubbing himself down. As ruined as he looks, AndroTech has to send him into the fucking robo deep cleaning room or something if you keep this up.

Eventually, Baekhyun helps you up the same way he put you down on the sheets two hours ago. You coo to him, and he carries you to the bedroom softly humming. You feel a strange serenity. Protection. Baekhyun looks so sweet and calm. A warm feeling spreads across your abdomen, and you listen to your blood rush in your ears. He really got you going,. He offers a glass of water that you accept and nip at while he sorts his and your clothes, dumping all the towels into the laundry basket and switching off the living room lights afterwards.

Alongside carrying a paddle hair brush, he returns with your favorite strawberry bubblegum chapstick. He must have picked it up next to the washing machine in the bathroom. You keep a little shell-shaped metal bowl next to the basin where all your cosmetics are scattered in. How he knows that it’s your go-to lip product will remain another mystery, although you are sure he has a page-long analysis on it. 

After asking for your permission, Baekhyun applies it for you and makes sure to kiss you not once, but twice. He loosens the tie out of your hair and goes about brushing it, smoothing it. Lying down in your bed for the afterglow with the fairy lights on gets even better when Baekhyun offers his chest to lean against for dozing off.

Chapter 10: Pulling Out The Carrots

You wake up to the smell of waffles and cocoa coming from the kitchen. You sit up in bed. Feeling more gloriously fucked out than fucked up, actually. The floor, even if it’s still the exact same as before, feels different when you set your either foot on the ground. It’s not only your heel feeling at least a little better. It’s also the fact that it’s the ground of an apartment with two people in it.

Bothering to put on socks, you find that your closet has a new stack of clothes where Baekhyun normally sorts in his white vest. So Mr. Kim sent a new batch of attire for him as promised in the email you received last night. Seven sets of midnight blue, carnelian, and more white cuts of similar fabrics and varying shapes. Your closet looks strangely complemented with his clothes in it. Not to mention much tidier since he folded each and every piece.

Before you waddle to the bathroom, you check your phone and see an avalanche of shy emojis from Hwasa in your notifications. You did manage to send a little comment on the sofa before you went to bed.

„Guess whose car is fixed,“ Baekhyun sets a plate on the table. The whole kitchen sizzles and looks as if a restaurant chef just let a huge cloud of steam loose from his souffle in the oven. There’s juice, there’s blueberries, there’s syrup on the table. His smile is even brighter than it was yesterday.

„You gem!“

Falling around his neck makes Baekhyun laugh. You cling in the hug and pepper his forehead with kisses until the waffle machine bleeps.

„Dig in, princess,“ he stacks up three waffles on the plate, golden brown and drizzled with syrup.

„Sit down with me when the last one is done,“ you fork the top waffle, separating it into five hearts each. Crispy outside, vanilla-colored and juicy on the inside. Back in the day when he was still active, Gordon Ramsey couldn’t have done it any better. Baekhyun nods, now busy with a large blue bowl. He’s kept his smile and hums a little. The kitchen radio is playing in the background.

„And something else,“ he swipes the wooden spoon through the bowl. You realize what’s inside. He steps toward the table to masterfully place a generous amount of whipped cream on your stack of waffles.

„What was it?“

„I talked to Mister Lee.“

„You what?!“

With a clattering noise, your fork drops right back onto the plate. If the sweet scent in the kitchen didn’t fully wake you, then this definitely did.

„I first checked the databank as I said,“ Baekhyun puts down the bowl on the table and takes a seat opposite to you. „There was no record of him interacting with androids anywhere. He didn’t own one, nor did anyone else in his social environment or the area around here. Except you of course.“

„A—alright, and?“

Judging by Baekhyun’s picture-perfect appearance that doesn’t seem to sport a single scratch, at least Mr. Lee didn’t get out his golfing equipment then.

„I went over and met him on the porch while he was having his coffee. I introduced myself and asked about his garden.“

„His garden?“

„Mister Lee has taken up quite a bit of work with his vegetables,“ Baekhyun pours some orange juice from a jug into the chunky little glass in front of your plate. „He was busy with carrots yesterday.“

„What— What does that have to do with…?“

„He was huffing out loud because he couldn’t pull out a particularly large one.“

„That’s what I heard when we arrived?“

„Precisely you did.“ As if your jaw couldn’t hang any lower, now you’re also flooded with embarrassment.

„He was squatting right behind the large bush that blocks the view,“ Baekhyun continues. He said he didn’t even hear us arrive because he had headphones on.“

„Jesus, really?“

„I was already wondering why I didn’t notice any danger when we arrived at the house. You only heard the noise and made a conclusion. But actually, Mister Lee was in his own world.“

„Oh…“

„I helped him plug out the remaining carrots just half an hour ago. It was really easy. He gave me a few potatoes from his garden, too. I’ll make you fries for lunch today.“

„You really hear what you want to hear,“ you say to yourself out loud and start chugging the orange juice. Maybe moving into the underground tunnel system you’re planning to build for yourself to disappear from the face of this earth is still a very good idea.

„And don’t worry. I didn’t tell Mister Lee about your reaction. He doesn’t know about the misunderstanding. I just said I heard him shout in his garden and he readily explained what he was working on.“

„That was very sensible, Baekhyun. So I was accusing him for nothing, then.“

You bury your face in your palms. Goddammit.

„Mister Lee is as harmless and unbiased against bots as this waffle,“ Baekhyun points squarely at your plate.

„And I thought this would end up in a fistfight.“

„The funny thing is. Mister Lee said he used to be a boxer back in the 1980s and had muscles like I do. He was really amused how fast I was pulling out the carrots.“

„B-Boxer? Was he trying to intimidate you?“

Maybe you need to muster your rusty karate skills again. Who knows what Mister Lee was really up to. You didn’t know much about his family, but you’re sure a more detailed Internet search would reveal that his grandfather was indeed called Bruce.

„No worries,“ Baekhyun picks up the jar again, re-filling your juice. „He called me a dapper young gentleman and offered we could come over to have carrot cake at 4 PM. He says the house is a little empty since his grandkids moved to San Francisco. Mrs Lee is also looking forward to congratulate us. If you’re free after work?“

„They… invited us?!“

„In the most friendly way possible. And their potatoes are really huge. That’s going to be a lot of fries.“

Looks like Baekhyun has found your neighbors to be much more trustable than your paranoid robot gf brain. Before you can really deliberate whether to say yes or no, your intuition does the work for you and makes your strained jaw blab the words.

„I’m free, sure I—“

The doorbell rings twice, ripping you right out of your thought flow.

Baekhyun swiftly gets up. You already expect Hyuna or Chen with the latest gossip in town about your universally heard late-night moaning noises.

Setting up what feels like another Guinness world record, you stress-eat two waffles at once before readying yourself to get up, too. Another loss of face right around the corner but at least you have something in your stomach and Baekhyun’s beautifully cooked meal isn’t getting cold which would be the ultimate heresy.

To your relief, however, Baekhyun returns with—

A post box.

„Delivery for my princess,“ he chirps from the kitchen entrance. „Wow, it’s really heavy, too!“

„God, I’m a mess,“ you shake your head at yourself.

„Pardon?“

„Nothing, I just said it’s actually for the prince, you know.“

Your castle might be an outdated yellow house, but it has a creaking palace door and splendid clothing parlor. And pancakes for dinner. And the prince has a really big dick, so.

„For— me?“

„Yes, yes. If Mr. Kim can send you something nice, I can do that, too.“

There goes another portion of your salary but fuck it. You act as if you were puffing yourself up a little, with flared nostrils and a dandy eyebrow wiggle. A laughing Baekhyun uses his mere nails to loosen the tape from the packaging in one smooth go, and also doesn’t seem to extend any efforts prying it open. You’ve never seen anyone open a box this elegantly.

„That’s the kind of rivalry between creators I didn’t expect,“ he says. „I hope you’ll like the new clothes, by the way.“

You’re starting to get the hang of this whole bots-and-boredom thing. Keeping Baekhyun on his toes is paradoxically both less and more of a big deal than you thought but you’re working it out.

A note of calling your declared friendly rival Mr. Kim to ask him for a few more pointers is what you decidedly jot down on your own mental to-do list. He explicitly said that Baekhyun can very well explain himself, but getting some more insider knowledge to ambush Baekhyun with surprises doesn’t hurt. And whatever this kinetic learning thing is, you certainly need some more ideas from the source, too.

„You can model them after we return from eating cake.“

„Nothing I’ll love more,“ Baekhyun removes some of the crumpled up paper cushioning inside. Since the box is fairly big, it takes a bit until the content becomes apparent to him. Once he realizes what it is, Baekhyun’s eyes light up and he starts jumping up and down through the kitchen.

„It’s a pink clouds machine!“

boyfriend bot on ao3

NOTE: oof, that’s a big ole fic :D i hope you liked it. talk to me about baek 😭❤️ 

© submissive-bangtan 2017-2020. all rights reserved. reposts prohibited. portrayals are fictional and for entertainment purposes only.

[africanicequeen]

Prologue

Forever Hunting © 2019, Tanya Maxine Maseko

This is purely a work of fiction.

Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the products of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

All rights reserved. This book or parts thereof may not be reproduced in any form, stored in any retrieval system, or transmitted in any form by any means -electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or otherwise- without prior written permission of the author, Tanya Maxine Maseko, herself.

Enjoy...

Word count: 1k

Rating: 16+

Genre: Supernatural Romance

Tags: dark fantasy, vampires, witches, love, friendship, romance, angst

Warnings: talk of blood, lust, immortality, use of sharp object, kidnapping and main character being held hostage by unhinged woman

Song choice: Lana Del Rey ~ Serial Killer

Never could I ever have imagined this for myself. Being stuck and quite literally tied down to a messy situation is one way you could have described the catastrophe I got tangled in.

So many thoughts were rushing through my head but nothing could tear my eyes away from her. 

The madwoman, sitting comfortably on the worn out couch across from me, was peeling away at the skin of the nectarine in her pale hands. The sharp and zesty smell of the fruit filled the air as she mindlessly tossed the peels to the floor; only managing to make me more aware of the fact that I was clothed in the absolute bare minimum, a large graphic T-shirt and borrowed silk boxers.

She ran her perfectly manicured fingers through her short and shaggy strawberry blonde mullet before fixing her tight white latex dress and tapping her neon pink Crocs on the floor. 

I refrained from openly judging the obviously puzzling outfit choice, remembering how she didn't take well to being 'looked at funny'. 

The bruise blossoming on my jaw was a clear testament to her temperament.

"How about we read?" she asked, as if I had some kind of option other than being here.

I worked on keeping my mouth shut and tried to ignore the chilling goose bumps rising all over my skin. It was clear what she wanted out of this, how this would all end on her account and she was actually enjoying herself.

She smiled, reaching for the black binder book next to her, continuing the so-called conversation in a normal chatty tone, "This is a little story I read just the other day. Apparently, you personally know the author. He was an old friend of yours if I'm not mistaken."

I frowned slightly, thrown off by her strange statement. 

What the hell was she on about now?

She flipped through a bunch of pages and proceeded to clear her throat, "'These creatures have visibly large incisors that are sharp enough to pierce and penetrate the skin of any living being, albeit animals or humans alike. The hidden creatures that live among us, creatures that have been rumored to walk like human beings and converse just as easily as us, if not at a much greater pace than we could ever understand. Lastly, although these creatures look exactly like humans, they seem to be possessed and driven by much, much darker forces. Namely things such as blood, lust, power, immortality and on rare occasions, royalty, are to be blamed for incidents in the past. They are to be feared, respected and acknowledged.' What rubbish does this man tumble around in that mind of his? Oh, I am so sorry, correction for the mistake is done. I'm sure plans are being made for him as we speak."

My eyes widened, then I stopped tugging at the rope that held my wrists bound to the back of the chair. 

Done, as in, she has already murdered him or is planning to...

The room seemed to spin for a while as she whispered the rest of the thesis to herself, or me, I couldn't tell. What I could tell, however, was that the pounding in my head grew more frequent and harsher the more I heard her. 

I mean, yes, we knew she was a tad bit off but this had to be a whole other criterion of insanity and as far as she's concerned, all was well. The realization of what exactly it is she's been doing was soaking in, causing the tightening feeling of the thick scratchy rope on my irritated skin to worsen. 

She got up from the couch, book in one hand and the other hidden behind her back and a wicked smile on her face still, making her way towards where I was forcibly sat. 

My eyes remained watching her every movement, unwillingly glued to her by captivity and mystery. Yet, I was fighting the itch to wrap my hands around her neck and do my worst. To somehow put an end to whatever was driving her to do this. 

"Vampires are the first thing that comes to mind when humans hear such twisted words. It's always said that vampires are not to be associated with anything good in this world. Rubbish! We deserve to rule it and be worshipped while we're at it!" her voice seemed to echo throughout the room. Suddenly, she raised her hand from behind her back to reveal what she's been hiding: a large sharp diamond drill bit. "You've been ruining lives for quite some time now and it's time to pay your dues."

Sunlight from the nearby window shone through and cast a glow on her seemingly perfect hair, as though she had a halo set atop her head. Making her look like an angel, whilst she was silently planning my execution. 

You could practically hear the killer anticipation in her voice, "How has it come to this, my dear Khalida? You sitting there and me standing here."

"Since I do seem to be the one held up here, as you pointed out earlier, I was hoping you could tell me..." I replied with sarcasm, raising my brow.

She loudly tapped the tip of the drill bit on the back of my shoulder after my rather dry response. 

"I hate sarcasm as much as I hate your entire existence. You know I guess now I know I should have finished you off while you were still brittle and human. We wouldn't be here right now." she sneered at me, fangs on display, venom dripping from her every word, "I was counting on you dying that fateful night, although you can bet this little adventure was fun as hell. Watching you be all confused and angry really got me going. Now, close your eyes, this might just hurt."

Even though she managed to not only nearly kill every single one of us, she couldn't have been more wrong.

How did I know?

She couldn't hurt us anymore than she already has.

Next

[wtf-triassic]

Lotosaurus adentus

(Image: Lotosaurus, a rotund, beaked reptile with a tall, arched back. It is attractively coloured in shades of grey, tan, and purple, runs on clean eco-friendly plants, and has optional internal heating. Image by Tas Dixon.)

Etymology: Toothless Lotus Lizard (after Hunan Province, the “Lotus State”)

First Described By: Fa-kui Zhang in 1975

Classification: Biota, Archaea, Proteoarchaeota, Asgardarchaeota, Eukaryota, Neokaryota, Scotokaryota, Opimoda, Podiata, Amorphea, Obazoa, Opisthokonta, Holozoa, Filozoa, Choanozoa, Animalia, Eumetazoa, Parahoxozoa, Bilateria, Nephrozoa, Deuterostomia, Chordata, Olfactores, Vertebrata, Craniata, Gnathostomata, Eugnathostomata, Osteichthyes, Sarcopterygii, Rhipidistia, Tetrapodomorpha, Eotetrapodiformes, Elpistostegalia, Stegocephalia, Tetrapoda, Reptiliomorpha, Amniota, Sauropsida, Eureptilia, Romeriida, Diapsida, Neodiapsida, Sauria, Archosauromorpha, Crocopoda, Archosauriformes, Eucrocopoda, Crurotarsi, Archosauria, Pseudosuchia, Suchia, Paracrocodylomorpha, Poposauroidea

Time and Place: Lotosaurus lived about 238 million years ago, in the Ladinian of the Middle Triassic.

Lotosaurus remains were found in the Badong formation, in Hunan Province of central China.

Physical Description: Lotosaurus was a croc-line archosaur with especially high neural spines, and sort of resembled a plate-less stegosaur—a very naked stegosaur, indeed. It had far longer legs and a more erect stance than any of today’s crocodilians, meaning that it would have carried its body further off the ground. This is needed, as its arching ribs gave it a fairly large barrel-shaped gut. From nose to tail tip, the animal reached about 1.5-2.5m in length.

Traditionally Lotosaurus has been restored with a sail, in the manner of Dimetrodon or Spinosaurus. Is this the case? I’m not sure that it was. The neural spines, though tall, are certainly not ridiculously so—more within the range of Acrocanthosaurus, a dinosaur that is more commonly restored with a hump. This may indeed have been the case with Lotosaurus, though this idea has not been tested.

It’s unclear whether Lotosaurus was warm-blooded, cold-blooded, or somewhere in-between, but some evidence has suggested that the ancestors of croc-line archosaurs might have been warm-blooded or “lukewarm-blooded”. If this is the case, and Lotosaurus had a fast metabolism, it might be beneficial for it to store a lot of fat in the form of a hump. On the other hand, if it were warm-blooded and produced its own body heat, it might have the issue of needing to get rid of excess body heat so as to not overheat, and so a sail may have been more useful. And if it were cold-blooded, the increased surface area might have helped it absorb more sun on a cold day.

Lotosaurus is of special note due to its toothless, beaked mouth, a far cry from the toothy grins of today’s crocodiles. This is actually not uncommon among fossil croc relatives, however; the armoured Stegonolepis and its aetosaur friends had toothless beaks to the front of their mouths, and the bipedal, fast-running shuvosaurids were entirely toothless. As a poposauroid, Lotosaurus was a relative of this latter group; however, it is unknown whether they inherited their beaks from a common ancestor or evolved them independently. 

Some of this difficulty stems from the fact that we don’t really have anything else that’s much like Lotosaurus. It’s kind of unique out there in the world of croc-line palaeontology. Other poposauroids had toothless beaks, but these were slender, long-necked bipeds; other poposauroids had tall neural spines, but these had larger heads with fiercely toothed jaws. Lotosaurus stands alone as an odd mishmash of body plans, a weirdo doing its own thing in a world populated by other weirdos.

Diet: Having a toothless beak, much like having a pair of scissors, a hedge-clipper, or a diesel chainsaw, is great if you want to cut down a lot of plants, and that’s likely what it did with them. Lacking teeth, it probably swallowed these plants whole.

Plants are hard to digest. That’s because they have a lot of cellulose in them, to give them structure, and no animal has evolved an enzyme to break cellulose down. The solution to this, found by herbivores again and again throughout Earth history, is to stew food in the gut for a long time. This allows the gut flora—AKA the little microscopic friends who live in your digestive tract—to do the digesting for them. Having more time for digestion means more time for nutrient extraction, and the best way to increase time in the gut is to have a bigger gut (This also means that they can eat more food now and worry about digesting it later). None of this is necessary for digesting meat. This is why, if you look at a cow or an elephant, they tend to have round, fat torsos, while cats tend to be much skinnier. Unless it’s my cat, who is as chubby as any self-respecting herbivore.

Back to Lotosaurus. Having no teeth, it lost out on the oral processing aspect of digestion that is taken to extremes by many mammals, but it made up for this with gut residency. Much like many herbivorous dinosaurs, it’s likely that Lotosaurus ate large amounts of plants without chewing, and relied on its guts to do the heavy lifting.

Behavior: Lotosaurus has been found in bonebeds of dozens of individuals, aged juvenile through adult. Not all remains were articulated, though many were; the bones also show only minimal signs of weathering and no tooth marks from predators or scavengers. Taken together, these facts suggest that the animals likely died together, spent some short time on the surface, and were then catastrophically buried together. The rocks also preserve fossil mudcracks, and the area is interpreted as a floodplain pond. 

What exactly this means for the ecology of the animal is open to some interpretation. It is possible that Lotosaurus lived in herds, and that this herd died together during a drought; however, it is equally possible that Lotosaurus lived a solitary life, and that these individuals were drawn together by a dwindling pond during the dry season, only to perish when the pond dried up. 

Very little has been written about the actual ecology of Lotosaurus. At a glance it appears to have been perfectly competent on land, though I see nothing in its anatomy to suggest it would not have been an adequate swimmer if need be. 

Ecosystem: The Triassic was, for the most part, characterised by being hot and dry due to the supercontinent Pangaea forming a vast interior desert. However, around this time, China was not part of Pangaea, but rather a bunch of large, Greenland-sized islands waiting to be schmammed onto Pangaea. It thus seems that Lotosaurus was an island taxon, albeit a very large island.

What was that island like? The rocks in which Lotosaurus fossils are found are interpreted as being deposited in a dried-out lake in a floodplain; whether they lived in the lake or simply relied upon it for drinking water is unknown. The bonebed from which all certain Lotosaurus fossils were retrieved also contains the isolated teeth of a temnospondyl amphibian and a carnivorous archosauriform, indicating that these animals were also present in their ecosystem. 

From the types of clay present in the Lotosaurus site, we can tell that the climate experienced medium-to-high chemical weathering with moderate rainfall; development of fossil soils (palaeosols) and presence of certain invertebrates indicate that a dry season-wet season pattern occurred. This is consistent with the interpretation of the bonebed as having been formed by animals who died from drought and later covered, ironically, by floodwaters. 

–By Hayley Orlowski

Sources Under the Cut

Hagen, C. J., Roberts, E. M., Sullivan, C., Liu, J., Wang, Y., Owusu Agyemang, P. C., & Xu, X. (2018). Taphonomy, Geological Age, and Paleobiogeography of Lotosaurus adentus (archosauria: Poposauroidea) from the Middle-Upper Triassic Badong Formation, Hunan, China. Palaios, 33(3), 106-124.

FA-KUI, ZHANG. (1975). A NEW THECODONT LOTOSAURUS, FROM MIDDLE TRIASSIC OF HUNAN.

Legendre, L. J., Guénard, G., Botha-Brink, J., & Cubo, J. (2016). Palaeohistological evidence for ancestral high metabolic rate in archosaurs. Systematic Biology, 65(6), 989-996.

[space-time-duo]

Headcanon

Weapons and Miscellaneous Rambling

Tracer:

Pulse Pistols:

The Slipstream’s artillery condensed into twin pistols. With matching paint and tesla-pulse ammunition, anyone caught in its messy pseudo-gunfire will be burnt at point-blank range. 

She has used them since her first mission at Overwatch, and they have hardly aged a day. 

Instead of manually reloading the pulse pistols like Commander Morrison or Winston, Lena rewinds the guns into the state they were in before firing. The backwards twirl correlates to her recall, moving backwards in space and time. Essentially, back when they were loaded. After decades of use, shooting and rewinding and shooting and rewinding, the bullets seem to aggressively age matter.

After years of practice, she can rewind them into her grasp from an impressive distance provided they’re in her line of sight. 

If Lena’s particularly bored, she’ll blink the pulstels between her hands. Before she became adept at moving through time, she sent many stress balls into the fourth dimension. To this day, she’ll uncover once lost trinkets from time as she moves through it. Her favourite is a dinosaur tooth!

Pulse Bomb:

Releases an explosion of pulse energy once it's armed. Was originally scrapped, as it exploded in too little time to escape the blast radius. Once she learned how to teleport, Overwatch suddenly revived them. Lena also rewinds it into existence, to save on manufacturing costs and lessen the weight she carries. This too, wound up affecting time in its explosion radius, decaying things years into the future. 

Blink:

A skip forward in time, teleporting Lena over a short distance. It doesn’t have to be in the direction she’s moving, and she is capable of instinctively blinking instead of flinching.

Lena can also blink objects she is familiar with, such as her hovercycle, pulse pistols, or… really anything she would linger around.

She adamantly refuses to blink other people or living things. The possibility of inducing chronal dissociation in someone else is terrifying and implies her condition is infectious. It’s already affected her weapons, too.

Chained Blinks:

Several time skips are chained together. If Lena were to jump and blink, she’d be launched skyborne, and combines blinks with parkour to scale buildings.

It takes many blinks’ worth of energy to teleport through thin walls. It’s also risky because Lena doesn’t have X-ray vision to compliment it.

Tracer can also blink downwards as she falls, through the floor. For reasons such as not knowing if there’s a basement, or wanting her legs to remain not broken, this is a bad idea.

Recall: 

Lena carefully dips into a state of chronal disassociation to rewind into the past. Various uses include wound removal, confusing enemies, insulting entropy, and reloading her pistols from the flow of temporal energy.

From a standing position, she tends to backflip or fall into the briefly created blue sphere where she enters and exits time. 

Armour:

Lena’s bomber jacket was a gift from Emily; her ‘crocs’ were designed for traction. Granted, they’re not metal, or protective, but it’s an integral part of her public image. She’s quite sentimental towards it, and still keeps the outfit during Overwatch 2.

The Chronal Accelerator is the only heavy weight on herself, because she literally couldn’t exist without it. The harness collects time energy, and secures Lena in the present. However, the energy they harness can hold far outweighs the amount needed to anchor Lena. The excess allows Lena to move temporally.

Tracer has a copy of the blueprints in her house, in an undisclosed location, and would have let Emily look if it wasn’t informationally compromising.

It’s constantly moving through time, and constantly gains charges to blink and rewind. Minuscule amounts are required to shift light, familiar objects, and the maximum amount of blinks Lena can discharge at once is roughly ten. Only after a week’s time will the harness collect enough energy to handle the strain again.

After an incident of falling into time after it ran out of fuel, Winston built a failsafe to prevent another lapse, which locks out time shifting until enough energy is collected. In that state, the harness stops glowing.

If it were to malfunction, Lena would start flickering out of the present.

Sigma:

Hyperspheres:

A very, very stable and concentrated version of a graviton surge, and Siebren holds a caged pair with ease. They explode to a casual observer, but upon closer inspection, they also implode launching debris airborne and inward. Even now, he gets injured from them when he forgets their trajectory. Luckily, his shields mitigate the damage.

Shot in a one-two rhythm, the charges mostly ignore gravity and explode after travelling approximately twenty-two metres. Outside of that range, accretion is his only attack. 

The hyperspheres pull objects towards their explosions, and may shred objects at its centre. They are cold but safe to touch, provided they are carefully handled.

He is capable of dual wielding them, but sacrifices burst damage for a steady firing rate. It proved inferior very quickly because he couldn’t use kinetic grasp or move the experimental barrier. Combining them into one large orb risks creating an actual black hole should it be weaponized. That’s obviously bad.

If he’s not attacking with the orbs, or collapsed them into raw energy. Siebren lets them gently orbit above his palm. 

Accretion:

He makes a rock from rubble, and artificial gravity lines it with purple where the stones fuse like a small planet. From a punch laced with gravitic energy, it bowls over opponents and is capable of immense structural damage. 

One of the first techniques he’s learned, sourced from a memory during his visit to the Horizon Lunar Colony. A moon rover was sent through the thin atmosphere and low gravity, careening into another. It was a ray of hope during his imprisonment, a sign of control.

After some practice, is able to create boulders larger than himself, though he’d have to concentrate for several seconds for sufficient momentum, and then bodyslam it. 

Another variant is a bullet hell of stones, resembling an asteroid belt. It’s his go-to cover fire, as he can sustain it for five minutes before strain accumulates in his harness. It’s one of his less dangerous abilities. Also the reason why he surrounds himself with junk once Talon frees him, his paranoia of being locked away is a subtle, constant presence in his head.

Experimental Barrier:

Manipulated with gravity, expanding like a net and contracts when withdrawn, collapsing into a flat cube that fits neatly into the palm of his left glove. He keeps a few spares in his armour.

It’s experimental because it malfunctions after taking excessive damage. The hard light turns transparent, becoming a combatively useless holographic film. It’s rumoured to have been initially created by Vishkar’s Symmetra.

It’s great for movie nights.

Kinetic Grasp:

Siebren creates a gravity well with his left hand, and shapes the collected solid matter into rudimentary shields building up his own. It falls off over time, and then disintegrates, leaving nothing behind.

He is also capable of creating sculptures with the matter, like ice statues. These also have fainter purple lines inside and out. Please don’t crack them open, they’re difficult to make, and Siebren only shares his favourites.

Gravitic Flux:

He has ten seconds’ worth of incredible power, with unrestricted flight before the melody becomes deafening and horribly distracting. Space distorts around Siebren and the selected area becomes a launchpad and crash site, roughly split between attacking or maneuvering to a better position. Does both on an ideal gravitic flux. 

A minute level flux is enough to float above the ground.

He has never considered the possibility of permanent side-effects to anything from manipulating their gravity. His equipment was strange and unconventional from the day they were devised.

Armour:

Carbon fiber bodysuit and green-tinted steel. Has textured surfaces to attach shields made with kinetic grasp. There’s also shoes.

Underneath the armour, the Gravitational Concentrator nearly resembles the Chronal Accelerator. Was based on Moira’s modifications to the Chronal Harness, adapted for gravitrons. Sombra stole them from Overwatch whilst it died from infighting.

Gravity moves through it and cancels out any involuntary shifts, though it doesn’t work quite as well, for Moira is a biologist first and foremost. Siebren goes out of his way to catalogue any issues for Moira, and all of his offered solutions were varyingly successful. 

This harness does not have a failsafe. It just stops. Not that they’ve encountered such an issue yet.