#chapter 6 is supposed to be fun so keep that in mind while you wait

[caitlynmeow]

chapter 6 progress:

i wrote two paragraphs during my short break at work today

it's so slow but it's still going I love you guys who are still sticking around I'm not dead I promise just insanely busy ugh

[dawnoftime22]

make it okay.

| W.M -> N.R

Undeserving of a Love Like Yours, Chapter 6

Chapter Warnings: Some subjects that you can kind of count as sensitive? Not getting enough sleep, Overthinking, Mental exhaustion, cheating, sad wanda and...I think, that's it. (please tell me if I'm missing any!)

Summary: With having finished a breakup with a cheating brunette, you go to visit Kate in New York, needing a best friend to keep you company in these trying times of yours.

Series Summary: When you're stuck in a complete hole of confusion and hurt with the one you thought you loved most, a certain redhead finds her way into your life.

Word Count: 5.1k

Category: Hurt/Comfort, Fluff, Angst

A/N: I'm veeeeery tired. very. need a hug. past few days was just :( also this chapter is mostly just kate giving comfort. sorry if I wrote her in a way thats off from her? I rarely write her character, but it was definitely fun, along with lucky. enjoy :]

Series Playlist

| Started on 05/03/2024, 3:49 PM |

| Finished on 18/03/2034, 6:53 PM |

Masterlist | Series Masterlist | N.R Masterlist

<- Chapter 5 Chapter 7 ->

"Having a soft and kind heart is a dangerous way of staying alive, sure. But I don't understand being cold and cruel when most of the world already is."

|——————————— ➳ ———————————|

After getting off the phone with Kate, you clicked on your seatbelt and put the car on drive, off to get out the side road. Before you do, you took one last look at the café and the flower shop. All that time spent, and for what, exactly?

You sigh. The wheel turns with your hand and you continue on driving, starting your journey to the airport. It wasn't a perfect day. Well, obviously, but the weather isn't perfect either. The sun shone down on you, burning up everything in its view outside while you pulled down the sun visor and turned the ac up.

It's hard not to get lost in thought as you made your way to the airport, your mind walking back to every memory, and every question you have unanswered. Is this how you're always gonna feel? Maybe so. Maybe not. But what were you supposed to do about it?

Nearly every scenery of this town that once had your heart beating of affection now doesn't even make it pulse at all. It stings, even dead, like the flower that was around it, grew thorns. You take a deep breath, trying to focus on the road.

Being in the love blackout already had you overthinking every little thing and wondering what exactly you've done wrong for Wanda to act so different, but it wasn't really you. It was her. Though, even with finding out about the new information, it didn't make things better. Of course, only worse.

Was it something you didn't do? Was it something you did? Or perhaps just a simple fall out of love. You should've known. Should've seen the signs. You didn't even want to think about it, but you can't help it. Did she leave her house in the middle of the night only for you to welcome her home? Did she gift someone else something while you got her flowers? Was she kissing another's lips while you sat there in the corner of the café, waiting for her?

You hear your phone making noise with notifications, one after another. You know it's Wanda, and your fingers twitch to reach out and grab it, but you don't pick up. Instead, you quickly put your hand out to silence your phone. If you didn't, or if you took any action that was opposite of that, you'd have turned the car around already.

You notice your vision getting blurry with tears, but you blink them away, needing to focus on the road ahead. You sigh when you stop at a red light, having time to wipe your eyes with your hands. The frustration only fueled your way forwards.

Getting drunk on New Year's Day, that was all just a ruse. Who knows if that wine was even hers that she bought. Maybe it was given by another. You would rest your head on your steering wheel by now in utter exhaustion and willingness to surrender to the unavoiding pit of pure darkness if you didn't have to keep your eyes on the road.

Another thought that distracted you from everything, was if you should call Carol. She'd probably wonder where you've gone and worry. But you decided you'll call her later.

An hour or two passes by and eventually the wheels of your car rolls up to the front entrance of the airport, the scattered crowds of people carrying luggages and trolleys making it a stark contrast from crowds outside of the airport.

Your eyes don't linger for too long, but your ears undeniably catch the PA announcer speaking, although New York was only mentioned once and it wasn't your flight. You continue on driving, getting through the many other cars sitting at the pickup site to go down to the basement, where the parking lot is.

It was packed, but not entirely. Passing by, you see shiny fresh cars, normal looking cars, and old dusty abandoned ones left by someone for some type of reason. You hoped your car doesn't end up like that, but you had no reason to let it sit in a parking lot for years. Soon, you found a small empty corner to slot your car into, easily going in.

The engine shuts down with the touch of your fingers and you get out, grabbing your bags and going over to the two-door entrance where the elevator was. Some people were there, but you try your best to simply stand and wait. Lucky you went in right as the elevator was about to arrive to the floor.

The airport lights were bright and blinding when the elevator doors open, making you squint your eyes and blink, but also remembering to step out and go over to the register section, grabbing your ticket.

Seeing as you got here early, your flight wasn't until an hour later, so you decide to roam the airport to get some breakfast first. Outside held plenty of restaurants and cafés though, so you went there.

You grabbed some breakfast from a café that caught your eyes, and sat down at the bench outside. It was pretty empty here, since most people were either at the entrance or the other side of the airport-- there, holding the more popular restaurants.

You were just about to grab your meal and take a bite after getting some liquid in your body when you feel a drop of water land on the skin of your hand.

Confused, your eyebrows furrowed as you look closer at it, the water rolling down your hand when you tilted it. You looked around to find nothing. Then the skies started to grow darker, the sun getting covered up by the clouds.

The rain came pouring down quickly after building up, making everyone else scramble to the entrance of the airport, it having a roof.

Meanwhile, a stranger somewhere at the parking lots was just stepping out their car when the rain came down. They go back in urgently, but only to grab an umbrella.

You were standing up from the bench and covering your head with your arms, about to do the same as most of the other people were doing. Running to shelter. Then, suddenly the raindrops on you stop.

Feeling the rain disappear, you slowly put down your arms and see a redhead beside you, holding an umbrella above the two of you to shield from the rain.

She didn't look at you for long, having turned her head to the airport entrance. Not wanting to get left behind, although you were sure you won't considering she had put the umbrella over you, you still quickly walk with her.

"Thank you," you say, chuckling a little as the coolness of the airport hits you combined with the rain drops on you, sending a shiver down your spine. You shove your hands in your pockets as she closes the umbrella.

"Of course." She said gently, her voice husky as she nods. Afterwards, nothing much happened. She had walked away, nearly in a hurry with her eyes focused on the big flight screen in the middle of the airport, but it wasn't entirely obvious unless you were staring closely at her. You guessed she was either late for her flight or was just trying to get to her area fast. A kind encounter with a stranger...at least there's one good thing for today.

You check the screen yourself, and your eyes searched for your own journey. When you didn't find it, you searched more panickly, until you restart from the top and it pops up. But it wasn't in its original place. Then, you go off to the side and see a bright red text gleaming with the word, 'DELAYED'.

Great. Now you have to wait longer. A bad thing right after the good thing. You sigh, but make your way to the sitting area anyway, going through security with ease.

Once you've gone to the section your plane would arrive...in a few hours. You sat down, sliding your phone out from your pocket and pulling up your direct messages with Kate, telling her you'll be late because of your flight.

After an hour passed of you being bored, scrolling on your phone and opening an app only to close it, mixed with overthinking while resting your head on your folded arms, a message finally pops up, and your fingers quickly tap on it.

Kate replied back with some film recommendations and videos of Lucky doing tricks and getting excited at the mention of your name, making you smile.

You guessed she was driving when you messaged her, but you didn't mind it, and watch the things she sent you.

It keeps you occupied for a long while, up until you forgot about time, but the sound of your plane arriving quickly reminded you.

You look up to the large windows at the side that showed the huge parking area of the airplanes. There were small cars along with someone holding red sticks to direct the plane.

Many eyes in the large room was watching everything go by, the vehicle holding all the passenger luggages, the people from that flight getting out. You guessed they were clearing it out and starting to clean up.

The other eyes in the room weren't even looking at all, focused on their phones, laptops, or simply their eyelids were closed in sleep. Most of them had probably been in an airport plenty of times to not be mesmerized by the movements and sound. Or doing work...or is simply tired.

You had enough time to finish up your movie before your plane was ready to board, making you gather your things and stand up, having finished your breakfast hours ago.

It didn't take much time to get in, easily going through the little portable hallway connected to the plane and letting the attendant check your ticket.

After finding your seat, you store your things in the compartment above, then settle down, buckling in the seatbelt. The seat beside you was empty up until a few minutes later, someone sitting in it. They did the same movements as you, but rather than watching the view out the window, they bring out a book, placing it in their lap as the plane started moving, having made sure everyone settled down and was seated.

You put on some music on your earphones and got ready for the journey ahead. It was only two hours to New York from where you were, but still you hoped it'll feel short. Maybe you'll get some sleep on the way.

|——————————— ➳ ———————————|

The plane soon landed once more, the turbulance actually smoother than most of the other ones you've gone through. The person beside you on the other hand, put the book they were reading down and grabbed onto their armchair.

You didn't pay much attention to it, more mesmerized by the tall buildings you can already see in the distance. You've been here plenty of times before to visit Kate, but the view was still stunning.

After the plane settled in its parking spot completely, you unbuckle your seatbelt and get up, just as everyone else, grabbing your bag and walking out.

A text to Kate was sent of your arrival. The walk felt longer than the flight as you made your way through security and up to the pickup site, where she was already waiting, your eyes quickly catching the familiar sight of the car and license plate.

You load the empty trunk of the car with your bags, then walk back to the front. The door opens with the pull of your hand, inside revealing the raven haired girl looking over to you with a gentle smile as you went in.

"Hey," She greeted, her voice soft and lightly pitched as she started moving the car out the side, both to get you two home and let the other cars pick someone else up.

"Hi. Sorry for being late," You say as you set your handheld bag down, buckling in your seatbelt as Kate's eyes flicker to you for a moment before focusing on the road again.

"Don't worry. It was pouring here." She goes to make a turn, getting out of the airport area and into the main road.

"I'm just glad you're safe," She says. A smile tugs up on the corners of your lips, your heart warming. Kate was always a caring, lighthearted and comforting person. No wonder you've been feeling so low...other than for obvious reasons. Calls and messages are never enough to capture the blanket feeling of being beside someone like that.

On the way, Kate asks a few questions and jokes here and there, catching up with you. There was a conversation needed to be talked about for sure, but she knows to save it for later, when you get more comfortable.

The rest of the journey to Kate's place was quiet, the silence only filled with the humming of the car and the music she put on. Your eyes watch the modern city buildings pass by. The sidewalks and roads were shining with the sheen of water, the rain having met it earlier.

It was only 4 pm, but you had a sort of sleepiness creeping up on you, perhaps from the mental, emotional and physical exhaustion mixed together. Kate notices, seeing how your eyes were too relaxed to count as just being calm. But she doesn't say anything, knowing you still wouldn't be able to fall asleep.

The car comes to a stop, making you snap out of being zoned out. Kate was gathering her things and turning off the engine of the car, moving to get out. Then you realize you had arrived at her apartment.

Your eyes go over the building as you got out the car, slamming the door closed...accidentally. Your eyes widen slightly and you grimace, looking at Kate, who had her mouth open in an O shape.

"Someone's really angry," she jokes, grabbing a plastic bag from the backseat. You gave a tight-lipped smile and went to the back of the car.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to," you quickly spew out your apology. The first hour you were with your best friend again, and you slam her car door. You grabbed your bags that were safely sitting in the trunk as she made her way to you.

"It's alright," she laughs, stepping in front of you while you slung your backpack over your shoulder. She held out a pack of dog treats to you while her other hand still held the plastic bag of groceries.

"Here." She puts out her hand further when you didn't take it, thinking you hadn't noticed. Then you look down and see what it is, your eyebrows furrowing in thought within your dazed mind.

You gasp when you realize it. "I get to feed Lucky?" You ask, your face brightening as you look back up at her. She nods, a smile on her face. You quietly cheer as she made her way to her apartment, her keys rattling in her hand as you followed behind her.

The door opens with a click, and instantly, you hear the sounds of a gentle bark and running coming from Lucky, having arrived at the front door quickly to meet the two of you.

"Hey, buddy." Kate holds the door with her body, leaning down slightly to card her fingers through Lucky's fur.

"Look. Look, it's Y/N." She points to you, making the golden dog run to you, jumping as he went. You smile and kneel down, greeting him as he started licking your face. Kate watches the excitement of Lucky from the door, a fond gaze on the two of you.

"Okay, okay. I've missed you, too. Let's get inside now," you manage to say in between laughs, standing up. You went in with Lucky staring up at the pack of treats in your hand, lightly pawing at it with his tongue sticking out his mouth.

"Wait, I need to put my stuff down first." You pull back the pack of dog treats away from him while Kate closes the door. You can see the impatience he tried to cover with a look of calmness, but you know he would jump on you if he needed to get the treats.

You kick off your shoes and set down your bags in the bedroom you usually sit in whenever you visit Kate, Lucky following you around and circling playfully around you at times.

"He's really missed you," Kate says with a laugh, putting her grocery bag on the kitchen counter to unload and store the contents into her fridge and cabinets.

"I can see that," you say quietly, focused on opening the bags and putting food in his food bowl. Before setting it down on the floor though, you hand feed him a treat, patting his head with your other hand gently as he instantly ate it.

"As much as I would love to play around with him though, I should probably go change and shower." You say, having set down Lucky's food bowl, giving him one last longing pat and standing back up.

"Do you wanna watch a movie when you're done?" Kate asks, turning to look at you as she got done storing everything.

"Yeah...I probably need it anyway. You can choose." You say with a nod, and Kate watches you go to your bedroom, off to get yourself cleaned up, unpack, and unwind. She knew exactly what you were saying, and her heart ached just a little at the mere thought of your troubled mind.

You close the door behind you, taking a deep breath in once you were inside, letting it out as a heavy sigh after, walking to your bags to slide the zipper open.

Everything seemed to hit you all at once, your shoulders feeling heavy as it moves along with your hand to grab your clothes. You go to the bathroom, fatigue within your movements as you close the door, pull off your clothes, and turn on the shower.

The warm water running down your skin welcomes you, letting you relax a bit and your muscles letting go of its tensions. The steam filling up a bit of your breathing from the shower makes your body feel comforted, the barely noticeable movement of it going to everything that was glass in the bathroom, fogging it up.

A gentle yawn leaves your mouth, finally feeling the exhaustion take you over. But you still had some energy within you, so you willed yourself to clean yourself up and wash your hair, then turning off the shower once you were done.

You dry yourself off, then put on your clothes. When you were about to go walk out the bathroom though, you had a thought and turn on the sink for a quick second, splashing your face with cold water before drying your face with your towel once more. Now you were a little more awake.

You get out of the bathroom, parts of your hair dripping slightly. Since you already had your clothes on, you decide to unpack everything else, storing your shirts and pants in the closet.

Your eyes flicker to the bed, and the urge to fall into it was strong, but you hold yourself back. If you went into bed by now, you knew you probably wouldn't be able to get up anytime soon.

Once you've dealt with unpacking, you put your bags off somewhere in a corner of the room and move to the door, getting out the bedroom. Out in the living room, you see Kate, already sat down on the couch with a movie set up on the tv. She notices you and looks up.

"Hey. I made us some fries and nuggets." She gestures her hand towards the plates of fries and nuggets accompanied with sauce, making the smallest smile cross your face.

You sit down next to her, grabbing a few and taking a bite, the crunch sounding out as she looked at you eating, resisting a smile when you hummed in delight.

You shift your position on the couch, getting comfortable while Lucky jumped up, laying beside you, only to then move to lay on both of your lap and Kate's, but his head was on your side, making her shake her head at her dog's antics.

Your eyes focus on the screen when Kate hits play, one of your hands patting Lucky's head and traveling down to his body fur while the other one grabs the chicken nuggets and fries.

Kate gently pokes your shoulder multiple times, making you turn to look at her. She had fries in between her teeth and mouth, sauce sitting on the end of it for extra effect of blood, looking like a vampire's fangs. Instantly, you giggle, to which turn to laughs when one of the fries fell, leaving only one in her mouth.

She laughs herself, and quickly go to retrieve the fallen french fry. Although, right as her fingers held it, Lucky had moved and turned to her side, chomping on the fry. Kate grabs the fry in her mouth, eating that before he could try to steal it from her too.

"Hey! That's not yours." She exclaimed, but Lucky only looked at her innocently, licking her face for a moment, probably asking for more. She laughed, but gently push him away, needing to see the tv too.

"You're lucky you're cute." She shakes her head when Lucky had stopped, and settled down in your laps again.

"He's not just Pizza Dog anymore." You start, and she turns her head to look at you, the both of you having something in your heads.

"French Fry Dog," you say simultaneously, the sound of your voices mixing together along with your soft laughs afterwards. Lucky only tilts his head, confused of the sudden sounds from the two of you.

You focus back on the movie, getting invested in the story. The nuggets and fries were slowly going down to an empty plate, counted as snacks for the movie, but still filling up your stomach. The day had transitioned into nighttime now, time going by quickly.

When Lucky moved to settle beside Kate instead, probably needing a new position just as you did, you move to lay down, your head on the armrest and your arm dangling off the couch. At some times of the movie, you space out, your mind occupied with thoughts.

Kate's eyes were completely on the tv, comfortable and fully focused on the story. Your eyes flicker over to her for a split second before returning to the screen, your teeth sinking into your bottom lip.

"Kate?" You whisper, barely even within the sound volume of a breath. She hums and looks over to you, your body seeming weak against the couch. Lucky was now sleeping beside her.

"What if it doesn't get better?" Your eyes travel down to the floor, not meeting her eyes. Her eyebrows furrow at the suddenness of your sentence, and she sits up more properly.

Having felt the change in your demeanor, Kate quickly pauses the movie, putting all her attention on you. "Don't say that," She counters in a gentle tone.

"You'll get through it. You always have," She says, her voice a soothing sound through the night air. The crickets make noise in the background, having replaced the sounds of the movie now that it was paused.

"Do you think it was me?" You whisper, sitting up because your cheek was starting to get sore from resting against the armrest. You fiddle with your fingers and look at her as Kate quickly shakes her head.

"No. You've stayed through it with her in the worst of times and the best." She takes in how you fiddled with your fingers, a hint to your dark mind. A small gentle, although bit of a sad smile goes over her face as she thought of the softness of your heart.

"Everyone has their mistakes but after all this time I've known you, I think you have been so brave and just...such an amazing person." She says, knowing the many gestures of gifts and time and reassurances you've done before, both to strangers and people you know.

"The point is..." She takes a breath, trying to find the right words to say. She wanted to tread carefully, not wanting to accidentally say something wrong. You watch as she thinks, her words sinking into your mind.

"Don't blame yourself," She finally says, looking directly into your eyes to make sure you heard her completely and isn't lost in your head as she said it.

"The love was there, but you reached the end of it," she points out, unfaltering in her honesty, but her voice was gentle. The truth was, it was doomed from the start. You had it in the back of your head all the time. But there seemed to be such a high chance of it coming out alive from the beginning. Yet, all that was a simple trick your minds put on.

"But why did she...do that?" You ask hesitantly, your heart pained with cracks. You knew people did the things they wanted to, with a reason or not. But this was different. Kate purses her lips, a sigh leaving her mouth.

"Honestly, I'm not who you should be asking..." Kate says with a soft chuckle, a tinge of the sound having a nervous tone, but she needed to help you get out than dig yourself deeper.

"But maybe she didn't want to hurt you," She says with a gentle shrug. Her mind worried it was a bad thing to put out, but she sees your shoulders slumping in defeat.

"...But it did anyway." You sigh. It'll always hurt. Whether you'd like to admit it or not, no matter the ways its done in. She had nothing to say to that.

The two of you sit in quiet silence for a minute, needing the break to think. Lucky shifted slightly in his sleep, and Kate gently puts her fingers through his fur before looking at you once more, seeing your gaze lost in a haze of your thoughts.

"Now, come here." She lets go of Lucky and slowly pushes herself off the couch with her hands, standing up and turning to you. You raise your eyebrows at her, curious of her next moves.

"You're desperately in need of...a teddy bear hug!" She gently tugs on your arm, pulling you up to stand.

"Aw, no!" You joked with a chuckle as you get pulled into her embrace, her arms squeezing you tightly as if you were simply a plushie.

You hug her back though, relishing in the tight yet comforting embrace of her arms. Your body relaxed, feeling the weight on your shoulders slowly disappearing just slightly.

"Thank you." You say under your breath, pulling away from her. She slides her hands into her pockets, giving you a reassuring smile.

"It's what I'm here for." She said quietly with a nod, her eyes traveling over to the clock. Her mind jumps to the memory where you seemed sleepy, right in the car earlier.

"You should get some rest. Have you slept at all ever since you went to the airport?" She asks, nudging your shoulder with her knuckles. A faint thought of you in your worst times went through her mind just for a moment.

"No...but--" You look over to the tv screen, seeing you had just a quarter left to finish of the movie.

"Go," Kate says gently yet slightly sternly in a whisper, cutting you off. Lucky was already sleeping. She was still energized, but she could go to sleep at any time at the moment. Kate was just more concerned about you, hating to see you avoid taking care of yourself.

You look at her for a moment longer, your eyes flicking over to Lucky to think it over before giving in, your head moving in a gentle nod.

She gives you an encouraging smile, letting you go to your bedroom. As you did so, she started cleaning up, getting the plates from earlier and putting them in the sink. When she hears your bedroom door close, was when she could have her heart get just a tad lighter.

You make your way to your bed and turn the dim lights on, falling into bed easily. A sigh leaves your mouth, and you wanted to spill out your feelings, but all that was more on your mind was sleep.

The mattress was soft, and you wanted to sink into it, yet still, your head falls asleep after minutes of tossing and turning while the night delved deeper into a form of comfort.

|——————————— ᗢ ———————————|

Wanda, on the other hand, hasn't been sleeping at all. She kept thinking over the memories of the past few months. It was like a contest of who can act like they can care less. At first. Then, she saw your efforts and got guilty, wanting to isolate herself instead.

The day you were waiting at the café. She was going to actually have lunch with you. But the person she was with had convinced her to stay. Her heart screamed no, but her mind was far from it. She was already falling out of love with you, so what could it hurt?

It seemed like the right thing at the time for her, and it was easier for her to put the blame on herself than making you overthink about the smallest things and make yourself the villain instead. She didn't want to hurt you. Your heart was the softest she's seen. But she only ended up hurting you further. It was a situation that only had loss.

Then, the birthday was an actual mistake.

She thought it'd be nice to get a day off to herself...and with another, hoping you'll still believe that she was at work, although the both of you had doubted it by that point already. But she actually forgot.

Your past, she knows. How many people you've drifted off from and never really got one to stay or even stayed yourself. Then you met her, who was struggling to believe how anyone could love her. And you decided to stay. For once, you poured your whole heart into it because you promised yourself not to run anymore. For once, she had someone in her life that truly cared for her.

And she did that.

Her legs curl further into her body, the bed being colder than the nights before. Was this what you felt whenever you slept alone and she was off doing whatever?

Her chest caves in and her heart gives up, the walls whispering back to her of her quiet cries.

end of chapter 6. <3

Series Masterlist <- Chapter 5 Chapter 7 ->

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[kotegiris]

[Event Story] Valentine's Day with the Butler

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Chapter 6: Unchanging Expression

【 Chocolaterie - Shopfront】

After our session finished, Shiro and I exited the shop.

Bellen was still inside the shop, paying for the chocolate-making session.

Until Bellen came back, we decided to wait in front of the shop.

Shiro: ……

Shiro was silently staring off into the distance… It didn’t seem like he was going to start a conversation with me.

> (I wonder what’s on his mind…)

While I thought that… Shiro suddenly grabbed my wrist.

> Huh…?

And while still holding my wrist… He pulled me closer.

Shiro: You almost collided with a passerby.

Shiro: What are you in a daze for? Don’t let your mind wander.

> S-Sorry.

Shiro: …… I am not telling you to apologize.

> T-Then… Thank you.

Shiro: ……Hmph.

Shiro: Be careful next time. That’s all.

Saying that, Shiro released my wrist.

I felt bad for Shiro since he had to warn me, but…

Knowing that he cared for me made me a little happy.

Then, without changing his expression, Shiro opened his mouth.

Shiro: …… Are you enjoying yourself?

> Huh?

I was surprised at the sudden question… Shiro thought for a moment, then began to speak.

Shiro: Until now… I never particularly cared for things like this.

Shiro: I thought that all of this was irrelevant to me.

Shiro: That’s why… If you asked me if I enjoyed it, I would not go as far as to say I did.

> Is that so…

Shiro: However… It was not bad.

> Why…

“Why is that?”...

Just as I was about to ask… Shiro gently touched my hair.

> S-Shiro…?

Shiro: …I removed it.

> Huh?

Shiro: There was a piece of lint.

Shiro: It’s fine; I’ve already removed it.

> T-Thank you…

Shiro: It was nothing.

My reply was jumbled because I was surprised by him suddenly touching my hair, but Shiro properly responded to me.

Shiro: ……I’ll ask again.

Shiro: Did you enjoy yourself?

> What?

Shiro: I’m asking if you enjoyed yourself.

> I-I had fun.

Shiro stared into my eyes as if he was peering into them.

Shiro: …… You do not appear to be lying.

Shiro: ……I see.

Shiro: Then… You should keep enjoying yourself to your heart’s content.

Shiro: I never tire of seeing your smile.

> U-Uhm…

As I thought about the meaning behind his words, Bellen came out from the shop.

Bellen: Phew… Sorry to keep you waiting, Aruji-sama.

Bellen: So… What were you two talking about?

Shiro: Hmph… It has nothing to do with you.

Bellen: Fufu… I see.

Bellen: Well I’m sure the two of you have things you want to talk about, so I won’t pry any further.

Bellen: Now then… It’s almost time for us to go on guard duty.

Bellen: I’m reluctant to part with you, but… Let’s meet up with the other butlers.

Bellen: By the way, where’s Muu…

Muu: Ah, Aruji-sama! You guys are back!

Bellen: Whoa! Muu, how long have you been here?

Muu: I just got here!

Muu: By the way, Aruji-sama… How was it making chocolates?

> It was fun.

Muu: Fufu… I’m happy to hear that!

Shiro: ……

Bellen: Hm…? What’s wrong, Shiro?

Shiro: Nothing.

Shiro: More importantly, we should go meet the other butlers.

Bellen: Whoops… That’s right.

Bellen: Then, Aruji-sama… Shall we get going?

Shiro: There are many people here. Do not separate from me.

Bellen: …Isn’t this where you’re supposed to say, “Let’s hold hands so we don’t get separated”?

Shiro: …… Let’s go.

After saying that, Shiro began to walk away.

And so, Bellen began to happily talk to me.

Bellen: Fufu… Shiro’s hiding his embarrassment right now, Aruji-sama.

Shiro: ……Say whatever you want.

Bellen: Yes, yes.

Bellen: Well then… Shall we get going, Aruji-sama?

Together with the butlers, I walked through Oliva.

【Oliva - Plaza】

-A little later-

With Bellen leading the way, we reached the town’s plaza… The basement floor butlers were already there.

Lato: Hello, Aruji-sama.

Lato: Fufu… It’s finally our turn to spend time with you.

Flure: So…

Flure: From now on, the basement floor butlers will be showing you around!

Miyaji: Aruji-sama. Please enjoy Oliva to your heart’s content.

> Let’s enjoy it together.

Bellen: Then… We have to leave for guard duty.

Bellen: Aruji-sama. Thank you for spending time with us.

Bellen: I’m happy I got to make some memories with you.

Shiro: …Keep enjoying yourself to the fullest.

> Thanks, you two.

Muu: Good luck!

And thus, Bellen and Shiro left the plaza…

Then, it was only me, Muu, and the basement floor butlers left in the plaza. The butlers were dressed differently than usual.

It was refreshing to see them dressed like this, so I couldn’t help but stare at them… Lato happily laughed.

Lato: Kufufu… It seems that Aruji-sama likes our outfits.

Lato: I heard that these outfits are based on the fashion from Aruji-sama’s world.

Lato: And that you thought of outfits that would suit every one of us.

> That’s right.

I told the 3 of them the reason why I picked those outfits for them…

First for Miyaji… I focused on picking subdued colors that suited his atmosphere…

For Flure, I chose a sophisticated look and colors and patterns that highlighted his sense of individuality.

For Lato’s clothes… I picked something that had a refined feel and was easy to move in to suit his lifestyle…

After I told them that, Flure nodded in satisfaction.

Flure: Fufu… Way to go, Aruji-sama.

Flure: You were able to suggest the perfect outfits because you’re always paying close attention to us.

Miyaji: I’m not good with flashy clothes, so these colors suit me.

Miyaji: Aruji-sama. Thank you for picking these wonderful designs.

Saying that, Miyaji gave a small smile.

Miyaji: Well then… It’s already noon, so shall we go have lunch?

Miyaji: We made a reservation at a cafe nearby here, so let’s go there first.

Muu: A cafe in Oliva… They probably have food made with chocolate, right?

Muu: Fufu… You can probably eat some special dishes, Aruji-sama!

> I’m excited for it.

And so, Muu, the butlers, and I headed to the cafe together.

[bddypsn]

LOST BOY — Chapter 7

Lily: Alright, we’re here. I’m sure many of you have been looking forward to this …… This is Jay Kidman’s private room!

Jay Fan A: Whoa, amazing! It’s Jay’s room—the one I’ve dreamed of seeing!

Jay: Welcome. This is my room, and over there is Asch’s room.

Jay Fan B: Look, look! There’s a huge aquarium!

Jay: That’s my prized aquarium. Come closer—I’ll tell you all about the fish.

Asch: …………

Jay Fan A: Whoa, there’s a motorcycle in here! So cool~! Is this yours too, Jay?

Jay: Ah, no, that one belongs to Asch—

???: Wow! It’s Asch’s room!

Asch & Jay: ……?

Benji: This is Asch’s bike, right? It’s different from the one he rides outside! How many does he have!?

Jay: B-Benji!?

Lily: Shhh~~~!!

Jay: !?

Lily: I know you’re surprised, but keep quiet about him being your son. He asked me not to mention it.

Jay: ??? Did you invite him, Instructor Lily?

Lily: No, he entered the lottery himself and won a spot. I only just found out.

Jay: H-he entered on his own? If he wanted to see my room, all he had to do was ask ……

Lily: He knew that. But he didn’t want that kind of special treatment.

Today, he’s just a boy who admires Heroes and came here on his own. Respect that.

Jay: Oh ……?

Benji: Asch, your room is so cool! Those huge antlers!! Maybe I should ask to get some too ♪

Asch: …………

Benji: Hehe, I get to see Asch again! I really wanted to win, so I worked super hard helping mom and being a good boy.

Asch: O-oh …… I see ……

**********************

Billy: And now …… it’s time for the “Talk with a Hero!” segment ☆

Feel free to ask any little question that’s been on your mind—anything you’ve always wanted to know about a Hero!

Tour Guest A: Can we really ask anything!?

Billy: Of course!

Asch & Jet:That’s not how this works.

………!

…………

Billy: Wow ……

Sooorry! We do plan to answer, but please keep it within reasonable limits!

This segment is all about enjoying snacks and juice while having a fun, casual chat together ♪

Tour Guest A: O-okay, then! Question! Tell us a funny story about a Hero that happened recently!

Jay: Oh, that’s a good one. Alright, I’ll take this—there’s a story about something that happened with Keith just the other day–––

********************

Tour Guest A: Haha~! That was hilarious! Heroes are all pretty funny, huh~

Billy: There are tons of other funny stories, but let’s move on to the next question♪

Jay: Yeah. Anyone else have something they’d like to ask?

Benji: Yes!

Jay: Oh …… Alright, you there—the one who raised his hand so enthusiastically.

Benji: My question is for Asch!

Asch: !?

Jet: Hah, what a weird kid. You’re seriously asking that pig a question……?

Billy: Hey! Jet!!

Jet: …… What?

Benji: Umm …… Who is your most admired Hero?

Asch: Wha—

Benji: I just figured you must have one. If you do, I’d love to know … If you don’t mind, could you tell us?

Asch: …………

…………

…… I don’t have anyone like that.

Benji: Huh ……?

Asch: Admiration is something the weak feel for those above them. I’m always at the top. I’ve never looked up to anyone or chased after anyone below me.

Benji: Whoa~, that’s so cool …… As expected of Asch! I like you even more now!

I want to work hard to be like that, too, but …… I think you’ll always be my most admired Hero ♪

Asch: Wha—!!!??

Benji: Huh? Did that surprise you? I told you before, remember? That you’re my favorite Hero!

Asch: W-wha— w-wha—

Billy: *Snort*……

Billy: No, I can’t. This is not something I should joke about. I do know when to read the room.

Jet: Hey, what’s that supposed to mean?

Billy: Ah, wait, Jet—!

Jet: This is his idol? What’s there to admire about him ……? He’s just a damn pig.

Benji: …… A pig?

Jay: H-hey, cut that out! Don’t say things like that in front of a kid!

Jet: Hah? Stay out of this.

Billy: Benji, just ignore what you heard, okay~? Look, look, why don’t you keep chatting with Asch-paisen~♡

Benji: Yeah! I came prepared with tons of questions for Asch!

Asch: W-wha—

Billy: …… Paisen, you’ve only been saying “wha—” this whole time.

Chapter 6 ⬌ Chapter 8

[kvhasproblems]

Boy Next Door - Part 3

Main Masterlist, Series Masterlist

Part 2 - Part 4

Van x Reader

Summery: My whole life seemed to be perfectly planned out for me, the perfect family, the perfect house with a white picket fence, the perfect boy next door… the only problem is I can’t seem to take my mind off my best friend…

Warnings: major homphobia, slurs, subtle racism, horrible parents, discussions of an attempted forced kiss

A/n: ok i meant to post this a long time ago but then my life lowkey fell apart, why is the curse of being a fanfic writer real lmao

Word Count: 2,869 (lol)

very subtle background lottie/nat and jackie/shauna

I got home just before my curfew was up with a sigh of relief.

"What kept you so late?" My mother calls from the kitchen as I'm passing.

"Jackie kept interrupting our studying with her boy problems, so it took us longer than we thought to read the chapters." I lied through my teeth, hoping the on-the-spot excuse was convincing enough.

"Oh, that girl and her doe eyes are bound to have boys falling for her, that's for sure." My mother laughed to herself before going back to wiping the counter. "You get up to bed now; you have school tomorrow."

"Goodnight, Mom. I love you!" I call as I walk up the stairs.

I don't miss how she doesn't say it back.

"At 6? Ok. I'll see you then! Bye!" I hung up the phone after untwisting the cord that I wrapped around my finger.

"Who was that?" My mother's voice cut through my happy daze. She stood in my doorway, her spying disguised as curiosity.

"OH! Hi mom. It was… just Lottie. She asked if I could come to the movies with her and Tai." My mother's nose wrinkled at the sound of Tai's name. I keep a neutral face despite the way her reaction makes my stomach twist.

"Hmmm, alright, well, don't be too late; we have brunch next door tomorrow morning at 10!"

"I won't be out past curfew!" I call, already getting up and running to my drawers to find an outfit to wear.

It had taken a while to convince my mother not to drive me. As I rolled up to the theatre, my eyes found her immediately. She stands along the postered display wall, rocking back and forth on her heels, looking around occasionally, waiting for me. At her next check, she spots and waves to me before making her way over to the bike rack where I was chaining up my bike.

We stood in line at the snack corner. Tonight was surprisingly busy, and the line was annoying long.

"I can't believe you haven't seen Jurassic Park yet!" Van talked excitedly, filling the wait time with fun facts about the movie she'd read about in a magazine. "I mean, the movie came out months ago; you're lucky they are still showing it."

"I was supposed to go with Jackie, Shauna and them, but once we got here, they dragged me to The Firm."

"Why did they wanna see The Firm?" Van scrunched her nose, wondering more out loud than she meant to.

"Something about impressing boys by watching R-rated movies."

She rolled her eyes dramatically. "Sounds like them."

"I thought their whole reasoning was dumb; it wasn't a bad movie though." I countered while shoving her lightly with my shoulder, smiles across both our faces.

"It's definitely not as good as Jurassic Park." She bumped me back.

"I don't know Jackie screaming the whole time made for a pretty good movie." I went to bump into her again, but she dodged me at the last second, sending me stumbling for a brief moment before her warm hands grabbed my shoulders, helping me steady myself, all while we laughed up a storm. My giggles almost get caught in my throat as I look up and realize how close our faces are. Close enough, I can feel the tickle of her warm breath against my face.

"NEXT!" The grouchy teen working the canteen shouted, fed up with trying to get our attention politely. Van quickly stumbled to the side, motioning to me to go first. My cheeks were still pink as I walked up to the counter.

"Two tickets to Jurassic Park, please!"

"Hey, wait! I can buy my own ticket!"

"Van, you're my best friend, and I just got my allowance for the month." I ignore the rest of her grumbling protests and turn back to the canteen. "One regular popcorn and a coke, please."

I move to the side so Van can order, but she just comes to stand by me.

"You not getting anything?"

"Nah... I don't even like popcorn that much anyway."

I just nod, but I don't miss the way her eyes track my popcorn as the worker hands it to me. It's also hard to believe her as her hand keeps bumping into mine as she steels from my bag throughout the movie. I couldn't even be annoyed if I wanted to. Her laughs and reactions to the film make me way happier than any popcorn does. I try to focus on the movie, but I keep thinking about how blue her eyes look when my face is way too close to hers.

The memory continued to dance around the forefront of my mind, her hands on my shoulders keeping me upright, close, the way her eyes seemed endless, the slight warmth on my face from her breath-

Steven's hand grabs my arm, shocking me back into the moment. I look around the table, everyone with expectant glances.

"You were asked to pass the syrup to Mrs. Fraser." my mother practically glares at me. I internally cringe.

"Oh, sorry.. here you go." I shook Steven's hand from my arm while passing Mrs. Fraser the syrup bottle. I tried to ignore the way my skin crawled at his touch. I haven't talked to him since he tried to kiss me at that party. Steven's father breaks the silence.

"So, y/n, when's soccer tryouts this year? You gunning for Varsity?" He asked before shoving some French toast in his mouth. Steven coughed and quickly reached for his orange juice as I cringed beside him. Of course, he had to bring up Varsity… stupid rumour. Stupid girls.

"Tryouts are 2 weeks on Monday, and yeah… being on varsity in freshman year would be great." I don't elaborate more than that much to Mr. Fraser's disappointment. He always asks for updates on how soccer's going; I'm not sure if he's trying to make Steven feel guilty for quitting or to live through me instead of his own son.

"Well, you gotta tell me if you think you have any real competition at tryouts, if they can keep up with you, I say you got a real shot at states this year. You know, back in my day, my team almost won States." He continued to ramble about his glory soccer days despite the fact that I've heard this story a thousand times.

As we finish the brunch, I help by picking up plates and dishes to bring to the kitchen.

"Y/n, wash the dishes for Mrs. Fraser, please." My mother called from the dining hall.

"Of course!" I put on my cheeriest voice. I hate washing dishes, but at least I can avoid any more awkward conversations. I start to run the water as I get the drying rack set up.

"Here, let me help." Steven brushed past my side to grab a drying rag. My heart sank in my chest, god I don't want to have any awkward conversations about what happened. I began washing to give my hands something to do, praying Steven will just stay quiet the whole time.

"Look, about what happ-"I cut him off quickly.

"We don't have to talk about it."

"I wanted to apologize. I shouldn't have done that. I'm sorry."

"It's o-" I stop before I can brush off his apology, sighing I start again. "It's just that you've been my friend for as long as I can remember; I just was confused, I guess."

"Oh, yeah… I just needed to apologize; I didn't want things to be awkward; like you said, you've been my… friend as long as I can remember." He refused to actually look at me as he grabbed the dish from my hand. Just before an awkward silence could creep in, Steven turned to me.

"Oh, you got something on your face there." He pointed towards my cheek.

"Where?" I tried to reach for the cloth so I could dry my hands, but Steven held it away from me.

"Here, let me get it."

"Ok, than-"

Steven quickly scooped soap bubbles from the top of the water before smearing them across my face. I jumped back, letting out a yelp of surprise.

"Oh, it's so on now!" I challenged scooping up bubbles to throw at him.

We ended up with a larger mess to clean than we started with, but I'm glad it made things feel normal again. Steven being Steven, my friend who throws soap at me, not some boy who tries to kiss me at a party.

At 15 I found myself lying to my mother the most I ever have as I had hung out with Van 3 more times since we saw Jurassic Park. My current up-and-running lie was Shauna's study group, which "most definitely" exists. I was meeting Nat and Van at the fields at the school. With tryouts coming up in 2 days, we thought it would be good if we got some extra practice in. We were doing a late-night practice because Van had a shift at the bowling alley till 8. It takes me about 20 minutes to bike to school, meaning that I only really have about an hour to practice to make sure I get home before my 10 o'clock curfew.

When I got there, Nat was already there dribbling and juggling the ball.

"Hey, Nat." I threw my bags down by the goalpost before jogging up to her. We lightly pass the ball back and forth and chat while we wait for Van.

The sound of faraway grumbles and shouts drew my attention away from our mini scrimmage, which was basically just play fighting at that point. Nat took the opportunity to bodycheck me and run away with the ball.

"HA! Got yo-" she paused as she heard it too. "Van!?" She called out as Van rounded the corner, practically carrying her bike.

I abandon Nat and run to help Van with her bike. The stupid thing was too big and too old, a hand me down from an older neighbour whose son grew out of it.

"What happened this time?" I say with a small smile while grabbing the front of the bike to make carrying it easier.

"God, you wouldn't believe it. first, the fucking chain popped off, and I had already got off work late, so I threw it back on as fast as I could, and then I rushed to get here, and I must have run over something because my front tire is now completely flat." She threw her arms around while telling the story once we set the bike down with our bags. "I just gave up riding, and I thought carrying it would be easier, but I forgot this thing weighs a million pounds." She rolled her eyes while pulling her cleats and gloves out of her bag.

Nat, who had been trying to muffle her laughter, finally bursts as Van kicks the bike once more before sitting down to put on her shoes.

"OH shut up!" Van chucked a shoe at Nat, who then picked it up and ran away. "OH, YOU-"Despite only having one regular shoe and an undone cleat, Van sprinted after Nat, who was much slower than normal due to her laughter. Just as Van was closing in on the shoe, I ran towards them.

"NAT! OVER HERE!" I waved my arms, signalling to her as she tossed the shoe to me. Van's grumbles were impossible to take seriously, with the biggest grin on her face as we played this sort of monkey-in-the-middle tag. It was probably another 30 minutes before we even got to any sort of real practice.

"Fuck! I totally thought I had that one. I swear you teleport around that goal." I grumbled light-heartedly as Van saved another one of my attempts to score.

"I'm just too good." Van rolled her shoulders and faked a yawn.

"I, for one, would be able to aim better if I could actually see the goalposts." Nat

"Shit yeah, it's getting pretty late," Van commented, looking around at just how dark it's gotten in the past 90 minutes ish of playing.

Dark. HOLY FUCK, ITS DARK DARK OUT!!

It hit me like a ton of bricks. I scrambled to my bag, throwing off my cleats to change my shoes.

"I gotta go like now! I'm so late!" I shoved my shoes into my bag. "God, I'm gonna be so dead when I get home."

Van and Nat gave me a sympathetic glance before bidding their goodbyes as I sped off.

I tore around the corner onto my street, peddling as fast as I could. I was so totally screwed. My mom is most definitely freaking out right now. I tried to come up with a reason for why I'd be home so late.

Jackie was having boy trouble and wanted to get ice cream?

Shauna realized she forgot a bio test and needed extra help studying?

My head was spinning. None of those were good enough.

I couldn't even remember what my original lie was.

I pulled into my driveway, and that's when I saw her. Standing on the front steps with my father and Steven of all people.

"Fuck…" I mumbled under my breath.

My mother, who was pacing, stopped dead in her tracks, glaring at me with harsh, angry eyes. My father came down from the porch and took my bike from me as I stepped off it.

"I-"

"Just get inside."

I didn't bother with a verbal response, instead fleeing to the stairs to be met by my mom, giving Steven a quick hug.

"Thank you so much for your help." She told him. He nodded before turning to me. He didn't say anything; he just mouthed sorry and put his hand on my shoulder quickly before heading down the stairs. I watched him walk away. I don't know what he's sorry for, I got myself into this mess.

I was pulled from my thoughts as her hand grips my bicep. Her touch burns as if a hot poker is being pressed into my skin, and I'm sure I will have a bruise once she removes her hand. I try to pull my arm away as she drags me into the house, her face as red as my skin feels.

"Mom! Mom, please stop; you're hurting me!" At that, she shoves me forward before slamming the door.

There was a silence. A stare down of sorts, and when she first speaks, it's so quiet.

"I've let you get away with so much. I thought that if I gave you time… if I let you work this out of your system that, you'd be fine. But I was wrong. I knew I should have trusted my gut. I let you leave this house. THIS HOUSE THAT I AND YOUR FATHER HAVE WORKED SO HARD FOR. I GAVE YOU MY TRUST AND YOU," She gasps, taking in air, "AND YOU THROW IT IN MY FACE. RUNNING AROUND WITH THAT TRAILER TRASH BEHIND MY BACK!! HOW MANY TIMES HAVE YOU LIED TO ME!"

My blood felt like ice in my veins as I found it hard to take in a breath. Tears sprang to my eyes at her yells. I couldn't bring myself to answer her. My voice frozen in my chest; I'm sure I stood there gaping. My mouth opening and closing like a fish hung cruelly out of water.

"How many times have you lied to me." Gone was her manic yelling; this was much scarier, her eyes dark face set. "Don't make me repeat myself again."

I stumbled for an answer, and her growing impatience had me losing my train of thought.

"I- I don't know for sure.. not that much, I swear." She started to advance on me. I stumbled for a way to give her what she wanted. "Once this summer to go to a party." I was talking fast, my voice raising in pitch. "Tonight! Two times last week! Once the week before! Last May, after we lost that big game! AND END OF YEAR PARTY! MY SCIENCE GRADE BEFORE EXTRA CRED-" My rambling was halted, words slapped from my mouth. She looked slightly shocked as she looked at her hand. Part of me wondered if it stung as much as my face. Another part of me hoped it did.

"Here's what's going to happen. You are going to stop hanging out with that dyke on your soccer team. I didn't raise you to be a fucking faggot!" She spits her words so violently, and the same burning rage I felt in the cafeteria bubbled up to the surface. "and speaking of soccer, you're done!"

"WHAT!" Any rage I had quickly boiled to fear.

"DONE! IF I SO MUCH AS CATCH YOU RUNNING, YOU ARE NEVER ALLOWED OUT OF THIS HOUSE AGAIN!"

"YOU CAN'T DO THIS! PLEASE! IT'S ALL I HAVE!"

"DON'T YOU RAISE YOUR VOICE AT ME!"

It was eerily silent for a moment. As I stared back at her.

"Please…" I tried to keep my voice even and steady, but it came out as more of a whimper.

[cru5h-cascades]

Random idea I had for a future Deltarune chapter or something:

So I've seen folks speculate that the soul Kris currently has (the red one, obviously) isn't actually Kris' soul but it was supposed to be that of the character we create at the start of chapter 1, and I kinda think the theory makes sense tbh. At the end of each chapter so far we keep seeing Kris rip their soul out of their body and act all strange afterwards. How do I interpret this? Well I kinda think that Kris knows damn well something doesn't feel right about their soul, so basically they're tearing their soul out of their body so they can escape the player's influence (or, in this case, the soul's original owner's influence... I guess?). However, because they don't have their own soul, Kris ends up doing the weird stuff they do at the end of chapters, sort of similar to how Flowey behaved in Undertale (they had no soul so basically they went crazy and did the stuff they ended up doing). Eventually, they have to put the red soul back into their body or else they'll end up perishing (or something).

This is what I had in mind:

So in either chapter 6 or 7 (what I assume to possibly be the endgame of Deltarune), the chapter starts off as usual, but soon enough the Fun Gang end up encountering an enemy far more powerful then they could imagine, and it seems that it only wants to attack Kris, so the enemy eventually kills them with an onslaught of attacks. Kris wakes up alone in purgatory, with the red soul in their inventory (clicking it will say "your old soul, split into two halves. it seems useless, at least for now..."). After walking around for a bit, Kris encounters the character the player made. They turn around and start to talk to Kris:

"Hey... it's been a while since I've seen another human here."

"This place... it's hell to me. I know there's just so much more to life than this."

"Then again... I never had a life to begin with."

The player's character then senses the red soul nearby. They then quickly figure out what happened.

"Wait a minute... you have my soul, don't you? WHAT ARE YOU DOING WITH IT??"

Kris is given two options: "What are you talking about?" and "Wait- this is yours?!"

Choosing either will result in the same answer: "Oh you're just playing dumb! I think you know damn well that this wasn't your soul to begin with! I can see it in your face..."

The player character pauses for a second and then says: "You know what's great about you being in purgatory right now...?" "I can beat you up for the rest of time. Forever."

After that, a fight begins. Instead of being able to move the red soul around (because the soul isn't inside of Kris at the moment), Kris will just take damage, so basically things will work out similarly to the Asriel Dreemurr fight in Undertale (if you're running low on items you can act and more items will show up in your inventory). Also your only option is to fight the player character. After you beat them, they'll be greatly injured and on the verge of fading away. Since the red soul is split into halves, Kris takes half of the soul and puts it into the player character's body, reviving the player's character and giving them some coloring. The player character thanks Kris and introduces themselves properly. The player character asks Kris their name, but they can't hear them (because the player character has at least a little bit of life in them and Kris doesn't have a soul in them) and then they instructs them to put the other half of the soul into their body. Kris speaks (at least a little) for the first time in the entire game, and then the player character responds with: "Sweet! Wait a minute... so if you had my soul this entire time, where's yours?" Kris' sprite shrugs. "Well... we're in purgatory, right? Maybe your real soul is somewhere around here. If we can get to the ruler of purgatory, we can probably figure out where your soul is, and maybe even fix mine! The we'll both be happy! Do we got a deal?" Kris' sprite nods.

After the encounter, the player now controls their player character. Since Kris and the player's character have half of the same soul (at least until the two can get their souls back), the player will have to use the soul mode from the Mad Mew Mew fight from Undertale (the joysticks will control two different sides of the soul), however they have more mobility than in the original boss fight where this soul mode originated (similar to the soul's original mobility, except if the player stops moving the joysticks the halves will go back to being one whole soul).

[dojapat]

Kirara Rising Chapter 6

We exited the drug store. Hakari took his time looking despite the fact we made it five minutes to close. We walked down the quiet road with a similar lack of urgency.

“Why did you waste your money on all that mess?,” I chastised him for buying makeup and nail polish.

“Fine if you don’t like it I’ll wear it.”

“You can’t wear that you’re a boy!”

“Style doesn’t know gender! It’s not what you wear, it's how you wear it.”

“Huh, I’ve never thought of it like that before…”

“Besides I got a fun game for us!”

“You know we’re supposed to be in bed right now.”

“Well nothing gets me stoked for a mission more than some games.”

“Games?”

“Yeah, I have a game for you! We’ll compete and the winner gets to style the loser.”

“You cannot be serious…”

“Dead serious! A little gamble before a big gamble like a mission is the perfect warm up.”

I began to pout and point my nose up, “Gamble, gamble, gamble. Is that all you talk about?”

“Yeah I got a bit of a one track mind but I can’t help it. I’m a total adrenaline junkie! My parents were straight laced blue collar non sorcerers. We didn’t have a lot while I was growing up but we made just enough to get by.”

My expression softened as I listened to him.

“I love my parents and all but I hated all the mundanity day in and day out so I was always picking fights and getting in trouble just to heat things up a bit. As I got older I started seeing curses clearer and clearer and I picked fights with them too. Wasn’t long before Jujutsu High had me figured out and I was personally scouted by Gojo. Why someone let that jerk be in charge of kids is beyond me,” Hakari shrugged and a nostalgic look washed over his face, “but I’d be lying if I said the guy wasn’t always there for me. Even if I didn’t always like what he had to say.”

“I had no idea you two were close. Every time you two are in a room together you’re yelling at him.”

Hakari let out a hearty laugh. “Yeah it’s the same way with my folks! I can’t help myself. I always gotta butt heads with authority figures. I can’t stand it when people think they know everything.”

“I think I know what you mean. Although I’d never have the courage to speak up about it.”

“You’ll find your voice, I'm sure of it, Hoshi. You might not see it but there’s a spark in you just waiting to heat up.”

“How do you know?”

“Because I’m the same way. I just needed Gojo’s help to see it.”

I smiled softly. His words were kind and while I appreciated them I didn’t quite believe them yet.

“H-Hey! What are you two doing out!?,” Ijichi called out. We were so wrapped up in the conversation we didn’t remember to hide from him.

“Sorry, Ijichi! We had trouble sleeping so we thought we’d take a walk.”

“I understand but why didn’t you run that by me first!”

“Sorry I figured Goodie-Goodie wouldn’t go out if he thought you might say no.”

“You’re unbelievable,” I muttered.

Ijichi pinched between his eyebrows. He was in much the same position as me in that we both couldn’t reign in Hakari.

Ijichi collected himself and asked “Are you two going to be alright staying up for your shift?”

“Sure,” Hakari said. “I got plenty of sleep on the car ride over.”

“I’ll keep an eye out for him and keep him on task,” I said extra respectfully to make up for mine and Hakari’s unruly behavior.

“Thank you, Hoshi. You two just keep a reading out for any unusual influxes of cursed energy and wake me up if you feel anything. If that doesn’t happen I’ll be ready before dawn and then we’ll investigate the chapel.”

“Yes, sir,” I said bowing.

“Sure whatever,” Hakari said curtly.

Ijichi scuttled off to his room but before Hakari could coerce me into gambling my respectable appearance away my phone began to ring.

[xxsksxxx]

Liberating the Mirage

Summary:

When an assignment goes horribly wrong, Mulder has to race against time to find Scully.

But sometimes the line between reality and illusion blurs—and it turns out there’s more than one locked door that needs to be opened.

Notes:

This is my little contribution to Fictober, a yearly event that celebrates writing and reading—and fall. All of which are good things in my world.

Since there’s no way I can come up with a new story every day, I’ve decided to write one fic that includes all prompts from the Fictober 2023 prompt list. They’re all in bold if you want to seek them out specifically. You can find the list here: Fictober 2023

This story is complete, but to keep in the spirit of Fictober, I’m posting one chapter a day.

I hope you’ll have as much fun reading this fic as I had writing it.

AO3 | Start at the Beginning | @today-in-fic and @xffictober2023

Chapter 6: Unexpected Influences

US Steel Corp., Washington D.C. Basement

Mulder stretched out his legs on the cold concrete floor and pressed his back against the cold wall. Scully had fallen asleep shortly after John had left them alone again. He’d checked up on her several times in the last two hours, but she seemed to be fine, and he’d opted to not wake her up until she’d slept off all the drugs in her system.

He’d been alone with his thoughts ever since, and his mind had been trying to come up with a way to get them out of there. They needed a plan. And fast.

Scully stirred on the mattress and started to mumble in her sleep, and Mulder turned his head to watch her. She was shivering and Mulder wished he had something to cover her with. Suddenly, her eyes flew open, and she stared straight at him with wide eyes. “Mulder?” she asked.

Mulder nodded, waiting to see if she still thought he was a hallucination. She watched him for a moment and slowly sat up against the wall, wincing as if in pain. “Well, there’s no way for me to find evidence of whether you’re real or a figment of my imagination,” she said earnestly while rubbing her temples. “All the questions I could ask you, I’d know the answers to myself, so I could be making them up. I suppose I’ll just have to trust that it’s you.”

Mulder chuckled affectionately. Leave it to his partner to be rational even while drugged. He reached over and grabbed her hand. “Feels pretty real to me,” he said and squeezed.

Scully looked down at their joined hands and then up at his face, narrowing her eyes. “Well, it certainly feels like the realest hallucination I ever had,” she said.

If they weren’t trapped, this would actually be pretty funny, Mulder thought. He reached across her legs and took her other hand in his as well, putting them both on his face. “Feel for yourself then, Dr. Scully.”

Scully stroked her thumb over his cheek, down his nose, and over his lips, her eyes following her fingers. She raised her hands to his hair and brushed through it, letting the strands glide through her fingers.

Mulder chuckled again. “What is it with you touching my hair, Scully? Did they teach that in medical school? Though only my current doctor seems to follow this procedure,” he joked.

Scully’s eyes flew up to his and she blushed furiously. She pulled her hands back immediately and turned away. “Well, it seems to be you,” she said, pretending to be checking her sleeve. “I guess I have no choice but to believe you,” she murmured.

“I guess you have no other choice,” Mulder nodded with a smile. “Especially considering that we’re still trapped,” he said.

Scully looked over to him, then to the door, and furrowed her brow. “What happened? I only remember bits and pieces. Do you know a way out of here?”

Mulder sighed. “Our wonderful host must have had a handcuff key to free himself. I didn’t think to check the desk to which I handcuffed him. Stupid, I know. All I was thinking about was finding you. Either way, he wants me to give him a list of people that are working for the FBI.”

Scully thought back to the handcuffs she’d been restrained with and sighed. “You didn’t tell him any names, did you?” she questioned.

Mulder got up and inspected the little basement window, trying to find a way out of their prison. Just like the last ten times he’d checked, there was none. He sighed and turned back around. “Of course not. But he’s not going to keep us here forever. We need to find a way to lure him into a trap and overpower him.”

“Mulder, are you suggesting that we just attack him? We can’t do this on our own,” Scully said doubtfully, giving him a look. “We’re unarmed and there’s nowhere to hide in here.

“Well, we got to try something! We can’t just give up,” Mulder said determinedly, walking around the room again, trying to find an escape.

Scully watched him wordlessly with a resigned look on her face.

*****

“I visited your mother before coming here,” Mulder said, bumping his shoulder into hers. They were sitting next to each other on the old mattress, their backs against the wall. Mulder had finally given up on checking out the room for possible exits.

Scully turned her head and looked at him. “You did? Why?”

“I wanted to see whether someone had tried to contact her. Maybe tried to get some information from her,” he said, pulling on a piece of lint on his jeans with his thumb and index finger. “She knows that I was looking for you and that she should contact me immediately if she heard anything.”

Scully didn’t say anything, contemplating his words in silence. Her mother would be frantic with worry now, she thought. She just hoped she’d get the chance to explain everything to her. “Does Skinner know that you’re here?”

Mulder snorted. “He’d never have let me go.”

Scully nodded, not surprised. “What did you do, Mulder? Did he suspend you?”

Mulder studied his boots. “No, we came to an… agreement. He’d use official channels to find you, and I would… pursue my own investigation.”

Scully studied his profile. “Mulder…”

Mulder sighed. “To be honest, I lost it a bit while we were discussing how to proceed. Well, we lost it. Skinner wasn’t any less worried about you.” He turned his face towards her, giving her an earnest look.

She shied away from his gaze, uncomfortable with the admission, and absentmindedly took her cross between her fingers, twisting the chain. “What are we going to do,” she asked quietly.

“I think our best bet is to give him those names.”

Scully jerked her head around and Mulder held up his hand. “Not the real names, of course. But maybe we can get him excited enough that he’ll be so focused on the list that I can overpower him.”

Scully gave him a worried look. “That doesn’t sound like much of a plan.”

Mulder nodded. “I know. But it’s the best I can come up with.” He grabbed the writing pad from the floor next to him and started to scribble names on it while Scully watched.

With a sigh, he put the list down after he had finished and leaned his head back against the wall. “Now all we can do is wait,” he said tonelessly.

“Just in case this doesn’t work…” Scully started and Mulder turned his head towards her, “I’m sorry I missed him coming out of the building. We wouldn’t be here if I had paid more attention and hadn’t only watched the front door. I should’ve seen him coming from the back.”

Mulder shook his head and lightly touched her arm. “Scully, it wasn’t your fault. We thought we had all the exits covered. None of us thought he’d be so bold and head towards the exit we were coming in through.”

Scully lowered her head, staring at her shoes on the mattress. “He completely surprised me, Mulder. That shouldn’t have happened. I was supposed to watch for him.”

Mulder turned his shoulders fully and put his fingers under her chin, lifting her head, so she had no choice but to look up at him. “Scully look at me,” Mulder said. “For the last time, this wasn’t your fault. He tricked us all. Skinner, the other agents—me included—thought he’d run to the front door. I even ran there myself to look for him when you didn’t report in.”

Scully’s eyes darted across his face, trying to see if he was telling the truth.

Mulder smiled at her, his thumb stroking her cheek. “You’re the smartest person I know, Scully,” he whispered softly. “You did the best you could.”

He moved his hand up and tenderly brushed a strand of hair behind her ear. “You know, if this plan doesn’t work, I may not get another chance to say this,” he repeated her word from earlier, his eyes darting down to her lips and then back to her eyes.

Scully’s eyes widened. She didn’t wait for him to finish his sentence and closed the distance, kissing him softly.

Mulder froze when he felt her lips brush against his. Just as she started to retreat, most likely getting self-conscious at his inaction, did he lean in and kiss her back. He could feel her smile against his lips, and she started to relax again.

The kiss ended as softly as it had started, and Mulder leaned his forehead against Scully’s. “We’re going to get out of here, Scully,” he murmured, softly stroking her neck with his thumbs.

She sighed but didn’t open her eyes, her face slightly flushed. “I hope you’re right, Mulder. I hope you’re right.”

***

Thank you so much for reading. You can also find this fic on AO3.

[originaltyphoonkryptonite]

Chapter 6: Secrets

Cippia pov

When the nightbird has been out, I been following him. If he dies that will hurt Zella so I suppose I have to keep him alive. He gives me bacon every time I save him since that one rainy night. I love bacon, it is my favorite food. Best part of having a shadow body, I can eat all the bacon I want and no repercussions! The slight change of mind about nightbirdie is when he started to help my owner.

It was an Sunday evening and the sun just started to set and that can mean only one thing. WALK TIME! I jump around excitedly while Zella gets dressed. Since it was getting chilly at night, she's has been wearing her sweaters, sweater jackets, and sweater dresses more on our walks. She gets dressed in a cream sweater dress, black tights, and black leather boots that go to her calf.

I wait impatiently as she puts on my leash. When I am leashed, we head off to an a park that people don't normally use. Once there she unhooks me and I go running. About half an hour later, I am hooked up again and we start to head home. We walked past an bar when a drunk stumbles out. He wolf-whistles at my Zella and I growl in response. She pats my head and my happy mood comes back. I wag my tail as we continued to go home.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Zella pov

I ignored the drunk guy and kept walking. I hear his footsteps follow me but in this populated area, if Cippia does something he would be seen. I couldn't let him be taken from me. So I hurry up and as I did so did the footsteps. In fact the number seems to have increase? I turn into an alley hopping to lose them but it was a dead end. I turn around and my heart sank. The guy had friends. There were about 5 of them and I didn't even need to look at my watch to know the black was starting to go past the 3. I could feel my powers start to form in wisps around my feet. Cippia started to growl and bear his fangs. I couldn't do much more than back into the wall as the leader came closer. I held in a whimper of fear as I smell the alcohol on their breaths.

"Come on doll, why don't we have some fun?", he asks with a sick smirk on his face.

"N-no t-thank y-you.", I was starting to shake as the wisps became thicker out of my fear.

"How about you hand over your money then?", a thug asked as he pulls out a knife. He started to walk closer to me.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Nightwing pov

I was soaring though the night sky when I hear a scream of pain. I rush over and was shocked by what I saw. Zella had wisps of shadows surrounding her and a shadow dog had bitten a thug that was holding a knife. The dog stood on front of Zella in a protective stance while growling at the men surrounding them. One of the wisps seemed to have gone through a thug's arm but Zella was shaking so bad. She was sitting against the wall as the other three were advancing on her. I jump down, taking out my escrima sticks and take out the thugs. They quickly ran away and the shadow dog chased them to the opening of the alley.

Once that was taken care of, I put away my weapons and quickly rush over to Zella. I was worried with how much she was shaking and about those shadows moving around her.

"Stay away!", she screams at me as she raises her arms to her face. She was still shaking badly.

"Please calm down. You're safe."

"But you're not! I don't want to hurt anyone!", she says as the shadows start to fail around wildly. They seem to be reacting to her fear.

"It's fine. You can trust me.", I say as I walk towards her slowly.

The shadow dog comes running back and  stands back in front of her and growls while bearing his fangs at me. From what I saw, his teeth can do some serious damage. I stop moving and hold my hands up in surrender.

"But you're Nightwing! You'll tell The Batman about me! He'll take me to Arkham and take away Cippia from me! I can't lose him! He's family!"

My eyes widen underneath the mask. "This is why she's so scared of Batman.", I couldn't help but think sadly."It also explains why she's not too fond of heroes. When she mentioned a person not wanting powers, she meant herself."

"It's OK. I won't tell him. I promise. Can you trust me?", I ask in a hopeful tone.

She slowly lowers her arms and I can see tear tracks on her face. The wisps of shadows slowly disappear as I made my way towards her. Cippia moved to the side and stopped growling, letting me kneel next to her. I gently place a hand on her shoulder and to my surprise she just hugged me instead. I carefully wrap my arms around her shaking form.

"I don't know why, but you remind me of an amazing guy.", she says as she looks up at me with a sad smile.

"Oh really? Does this guy have a name?", I ask as I help her up.

"His name is Dick Grayson."

I froze once hearing that. She needs help but I need her to trust me. I couldn't help but sigh. I remove my mask and waited for the reaction.

"OK not sure what to say."

I look at her in shock.

"But you are scared of Batman! You know I work with him! Why aren't you freaking out!?"

"Because if you were going to hurt me or tell Batman you would have done it by now.", she says with a small smile.

I couldn't help but chuckle at that as I put my mask back on.

"So I guess I'll be teaching you about control as well getting used to letting people touch you."

"I guess so hero.....but no Batman?", she asks in a hesitant tone of voice.

"No Batman. Can Cippia get home on his own? I'd rather not have you get hurt or any more problems."

"He can.", she says with a smile.

I see Cippa walk into a shadow as I wrap an arm around Zella's waist and grapple us back to my apartment.

[missxwrites]

fix you too - jake seresin ; ch 2

(loosely based on 'fix you too' - megan moroney ft. kameron marlowe)

Summary: Jake had a summer fling the year he graduated from Top Gun, but what he doesn't know is that she's still in Miramar with more than just a fleeting memory of the green eyed pilot. (multi-part series!!) Word count: 1,100+ Warnings: no use of y/n, some assumption about size, reader is gendered afab (but I promise I'm trying to get better at the neutral tone!), mentions of pregnancy/single parenting A/N: This is the first reader fic I've posted in almost 10 (!!!) years, please be gentle. (I'm rusty as F*CK) anyways, I'm head over heels for the top gun universe and my husband makes fun of me for it, so this is my creative release (: pls enjoy A/N part two: IM SO SORRY THIS TOOK ME SO LONG TO POST 😭 and I know it's not very long but I'm currently writing chapter 4 already!! I've just been so absorbed in my externship that I haven't had time to share. the next few chapters will be much longer once May is over! previous chapter. next chapter.

Three years earlier…

Jake cradled the side of her face as a distant look crossed his, green eyes wandering across her features as he took a moment of pause. How the hell was he supposed to tell her that he just got an assignment for 6 months, the same length of time they've been seeing each other, and he ships off tomorrow… “I'm leaving…” His voice was low and raspy, as if he had a hard time getting the words out. His thumb grazed her cheek bone.  Never had it been so hard for the lieutenant to break away from one of his flings.

She just blinked at him, her mouth falling open and closed in an attempt to make words, but nothing came. She could almost feel her heart shattering inside her chest as it began rabbiting against her ribcage. Her eyes frantically searched his face for anything else to go off of before she muttered a very reserved, “Okay.” Jake winced at how that one word felt heavier than the world, “Sweetheart, I'm so sorry.” The ocean lapping at their ankles became increasingly colder as he could feel her withdrawing. His voice wavered before he took a deep breath to continue, “It's a six month deployment, I just don't want to keep you waiting.” She bit her lips anxiously and said, "I-It’s okay, Jake. I get it.” Her hand reached up to pull his hand away from her face, her fingers lingering around his wrist for a second as she looked up at him. A chaste kiss was pressed to his cheek and she turned to walk out of the water, making her way to her SUV in the parking lot instead of gracing the bar again. Silent tears streamed down her face as she ignored Jake calling out to her from the beach, not noticing the tears also streaking his face as the one person he thought he could love forever just walked away from him…

Jake had only been ashore for a couple days now, his new assignment coming down the pipeline while he was still aboard the ship. Top Gun, special detachment, no further detail until the day of. This was just the kind of mission Jake lived for.

He smiled as he pulled into the familiar setting, parking his truck in the back forty of the lot because he didn't want to take up too much room for other patrons. The California coastal air hugged him as he pushed open the truck door. There was just something different about the sunsets on North Island that always made him feel welcomed. 

Though that warm feeling quickly faltered when he looked up, and was met with the sight of an eerily familiar silver SUV parked closer to the docks. Jake shook his head and pinched the bridge of his nose, trying to erase the image from his mind because he was surely dreaming right now… There's no way she's still here all these years later, right?

Jake swallowed thickly as he closed the door to his black Silverado, replacing the frown on his face with his typical cocky smile as he saw Javy wave him down from the doors of the Hard Deck. His fellow pilot had two beers in hand and was beckoning him to the dartboard. 

Jake was determined not to dwell on those thoughts as the two men reminisced for a while. Even though Javy tried many times to beat the Texan pilot, even going so far to block his view… Bullseye. Every time. Jake conceded and offered to buy Coyote a beer to sooth his sore losing streak.

With a sly smile laced on his lips, Jake shook his head with a laugh and pushed through the doors of the Hard Deck so he could retrieve his wallet from his truck. Once he looked up, the air inside his lungs seized as he recognized the sight before him.

He would've known that laugh anywhere, the way the curve of her silhouette cast a shadow along the silver SUV as she busied herself in the backseat. There was no denying now that the suspicious vehicle belonged to someone he had only dreamed of seeing again. The sight made the smile vanish from his lips as he debated approaching her or just heading to his truck, the latter would've been the safest bet but he cursed internally as his feet carried him towards her.

He paused hesitantly in his pursuit when she closed the back door of her car and rounded the back side to close the hatch too. His reflection in the tinted glass caused the woman in front of him to freeze completely, the confidence in her posture quickly shrinking as she spun around and braced herself against the vehicle. 

Her mouth opened to speak, but no words came out before she closed it quickly, her hand coming up to cover her mouth as she blinked back at him. Her inability to say something to him made the heartbeat in his ears unbearably loud as he took a hesitant step towards her. His eyes trailed up and down her for a moment before he said anything. 

“As I live and breathe… Is that really you?” Jake asked quietly, his southern drawl was thick as he willed his voice not to crack. His heart raced and all the hairs on his body stood at attention under her panicked stare. 

Her voice wavered slightly as the only word she managed to get out was his name, her expression was almost scared and it only served to make Jake's brows furrow further. She glanced nervously into the back of the SUV again, internally cursing herself and hoping that he hadn't seen her with the child, but it was in vain as his seafoam green eyes followed hers immediately.

He shifted his weight onto one foot when he returned his eyes to her face, the smallest genuine smile toying at the corners of his lips. “You look fantastic,” He drawled slightly, taking another step forward so that he was standing just a couple feet away from her. “The kiddo belong to a friend?” Jake asked softly, seeing more of the situation than she had hoped.

She laughed nervously as one of her arms snaked around her exposed mid-section, an anxiety induced habit from suddenly feeling too exposed in this swimsuit. Her other hand braced itself against the back of her vehicle, drawing absent-mindedly in the sandy bumper. “Uh, no… She's mine, actually.” Her eyes met his, her mind racing as she resisted the urge to say ‘and yours’ inside her brain. 

[genshinluvr]

Crave 6

Pairings: Various Genshin Men x Isekai'd!Reader, Dainsleif x Isekai'd!Reader x Kaeya

Summary: You're going adventuring to the ruins on your own! The men will accompany you on the first part of your exploration to get rid of the monsters that are roaming around and you'll continue your exploration after they eliminate the monsters. Just when you think you're in the ruins alone, two people make their appearance known after watching your little performance.

Note: Fun fact! I didn't plan on making and posting Crave 6 until after I completed the recent archon quest 💀 I decided to scrap the fic that was supposed to be posted this week and chose to write a Dainsleif and Kaeya smut because I missed them and because they look so good in the recent archon quest 🫶🏻 The order goes from the people that have been in the harem the longest to the newly added men/characters. This smut is probably not my best, so I'll make it up to Dainsleif and Kaeya by giving them (hopefully) better and longer smuts in their individual mini-fics (that is still part of the Isekai'd!reader series). As previously stated in the previous Crave "series," I tried to keep the story as gender-neutral as possible. All of my smuts do lean towards female!reader/AFAB!reader with gender-neutral pronouns. As usual, minors DO NOT INTERACT! I don't post anywhere else but on Tumblr (Genshinluvr) and on AO3 (Aaliah_exo).

Warnings: Horribly written smut (as per usual), threesome, fingering, chest/breast grabbing, hickeys, public sex, cervix fucking, double penetration, slight overstimulation (???), creampie, slight breeding kink (?)

Word Count: 9.5k

Crave "Chapters": [1], [2], [3], [4], [5], [6], [7]

You peek your head into the living room of the estate, debating how you’re going to ask the men for permission to go out and explore Teyvat alone. Technically you don’t need their permission to go out because you’re an adult, and you’re capable of taking care of yourself when you’re out of the estate. You want to breathe the fresh air of Teyvat, bask in the sunlight, and have some alone time for yourself! 

While you don’t mind having the men accompany you, you think some alone time for yourself would be good once in a while. Plus, it’s not like you’re going to go out and wreak havoc on Teyvat or put yourself in danger! Well, the last part, you can’t promise them that since Teyvat is filled with danger in every corner. You can’t even trust merchants, or else they will scam you and take all of your Mora!

You walk into the living room, your hands crossed behind your back while giving the men an innocent smile. They all look up from what they are doing and look at you curiously. You purse your lips and stand in the center of the living room. Now that you have gotten their attention, you’re starting to question whether you should go on with the plan or not.

“Heyyyyyy, may I ask you all something?” You ask, bouncing on the balls of your feet.

Zhongli closes his newspaper and places it on the coffee table in front of him, reaching for his teacup and taking a sip. “You can ask us anything, dearest,” Zhongli says after taking a sip of his tea.

“May I go out and explore Teyvat on my own?” You ask, waiting for their answers.

Diluc raises his eyebrows at you. “I’m sure you can go out on your own without our permission, sweetheart,” Diluc says, fixing his gloves.

You stare at Diluc owlishly, trying to process what he just said to you. You’re allowed to leave the abode without the men’s permission and their company? This is something you’re not used to because you hardly leave the estate on your own or in general unless it’s to attend your classes. Plus, in your world, your parents never allowed you to leave the house without their permission. Then again, your parents hardly let you leave the house in general, so the men giving you the freedom to explore Teyvat on your own is a foreign concept for you.

Childe looks at you with an amused look, the corner of his lips quirking up. “Why do you have that expression on your face, snookums?” Childe asks, laughing softly.

You press your lips into a thin line. “You guys aren’t going to prevent me from leaving the abode on my own?” You ask.

“Now, why would we do that? You’re an adult. You can leave the estate by yourself whenever you want without our permission. As long as you inform us that you’re leaving and your whereabouts,” Ayato says, running his fingers through his hair.

You look at the men suspiciously, poking the inside of your cheek with your tongue. You’re not sure whether you should take their word for it because you know how protective they can get. Plus, you said you wanted to explore Teyvat alone. You didn’t specify the area, nor did you mention whether it would be the city or the ruins. And you want to explore the ruins. 

Xiao narrows his eyes at you. “Where are you going to explore exactly?” Xiao asks.

Ah. There it is.

You cross your arms over your chest. “I’m going to explore the ruins!” You say confidently. 

The men look at you with wide eyes, unsure what to say. Did they not tell you that you can leave the abode without needing their permission? After all, you are an adult like them. You don’t need them to hold your hand every step of the way when you’re in Teyvat. Right? Although, you don’t mind holding hands with them in general. You were, uh, using it as a figure of speech. It’s not like most of the ruins throughout Teyvat are teeming with monsters, Eremites, the Fatui, and treasure hoarders! Some ruins are empty and devoid of life. You’re going to have a look around, not pick up an artifact and take it for yourself. You want to explore the ruins because you had been researching about the ruins a few weeks ago, and it piqued your interest. 

“Any particular reason why you chose to explore the ruins? We assumed you’re going to explore the cities and villages,” Al Haitham says, crossing his arms over his chest while looking at you skeptically. 

“I had been researching the ancient ruins at the House of Daena a few weeks ago, and the topic of the ruins has piqued my interest ever since,” you reply. 

Realization dawns on Kaveh. “Oh, so that’s why you were asking me so many questions about the architecture of the ancient ruins,” Kaveh says, stroking his chin.

You clasp your hands in front of you. “So? Can I explore the ruins on my own?” You ask.

“What ruins are you going to explore? There are many ruins scattered around Teyvat,” Tighnari says, raising his eyebrows at you while his ears twitch with curiosity.

Fuck. You didn’t have a specific ruin in mind. You were going to throw darts in the dark, and wherever the dart lands, you’re going to explore the ruins in that region. Now that you think about it, where can you explore without getting into trouble with the government of that region? You’re not entirely sure if you can explore the ruins in Sumeru or Inazuma because those two regions are teeming with Eremites, Nobushis, and Kairagis. 

“You don’t have a place in mind, do you?” Cyno deadpans.

You shake your head. “None at all, but I will be staying away from Sumeru and Inazuma. The regions are beautiful, but the enemies there are terrifying,” you shiver.

Heizou props his hands on your shoulders and pinches your cheek. “Good choice on staying away from Inazuma. It’s a beautiful region to explore, but only if it’s in a populated area,” Heizou says.

If you’re going to explore the ruins on your own, you’re going to need to be prepared in case anything happens. That being said, does that mean you have permission to walk around the ruins while carrying the teapot? It’s portable, so you don’t see why not as long as the men don’t randomly pop out from the teapot while you’re walking up a steep hill of the ruins. You don’t plan on climbing up precarious cliffs; you’re not going to risk it. 

“Do you want me to pack you anything to eat while you’re out adventuring in the ruins?” Thoma asks, sitting on the couch’s armrest beside Ayato.

You tap your chin. You don’t plan on being in the ruins for too long. Perhaps from in the morning to the mid to late afternoon? For some reason, you assumed monsters would roam the ruins at night when no one’s around, but you’re optimistic that the ruins are going to be devoid of life other than your presence. 

“Lunch would be nice! I don’t plan on being out for way too long. Also, I will be carrying the teapot with me, too, if that’s okay,” you said, pursing your lips.

Venti giggles and pokes you in the belly button, making you squawk before slapping his hands away with a small glare.

“I think it’s cute that you’ll be bringing us with you on your adventure to the ruins! We’ll be with you, but not actually with you,” Venti says, leaning in his seat. 

Baizhu raises his hand. “I’ll be packing a first aid kit for you to bring on your adventure just in case anything happens. I’m optimistic you won’t get injured, but you’d never know,” Baizhu says, shrugging his shoulders.

Ah, right. How could you forget about bringing a first aid kit with you? Even though you’ll be out in the ruins (the specific location of the ruin is still unknown), you’re grateful your boyfriends are helping you prepare for your exploration. It’s not like you’ll be exploring the ruins immediately after getting their permission. You still need to prepare and make sure to bring essential items without bringing too many things that’ll weigh you down.

Aether looks at you curiously. “Are you going to the ruins today, or will that be some other time?” Aether asks.

“Tomorrow! I’m not leaving today because I need time to get things ready for the exploration tomorrow, and I need to make sure I have sunscreen with me,” you said.

Itto sighs in relief and throws his arms around your shoulders, hugging you tightly. “That’s good to know! At least we have some time to cuddle with you before you go on your exploration!” Itto says, resting his cheek on top of your head. 

“You’re so cute, Itto,” you coo.

Itto giggles and lays his cheek on your head, stroking your hair. Your bottom lip juts out, and you reach up and squeeze his cheeks lightly. This is going to be the first time you’ll be exploring Teyvat on your own, and you’re actually nervous about it. Not because of the unfamiliar setting but because you’ll be alone for the first time, and you don’t know what’s going to happen and how things are going to go while you’re out.

“So, do you have any specific place in mind?” Gorou asks, poking your thigh to grab your attention. 

You shake your head. “Not really. I’m leaning towards Liyue, but I’m not sure if Liyue is what I’ll be sticking my mind to,” you said.

“Oh? Does Liyue bore you?” Pantalone asks, looking at Zhongli from the corner of his eyes.

You stare at Pantalone quizzically and slowly shake your head. You’ve visited Liyue plenty of times, and it’s probably the only region you have visited the most because of the food and because Zhongli would invite you and the other men to have lunch or dinner at Liuli Pavilion or Xinyue Kiosk. 

You hold a finger up. “If I do choose Liyue in the end, I will be exploring Tianqiu Valley.”

Pierro raises his eyebrows at you, crosses his arms over his chest, and sits back. “Last time I checked, Tianqiu Valley is teeming with treasure hoarders, hilichurls, geovishap hatchlings, and many more,” Pierro says gruffly.

Well, shit. You completely forgot about that. Tianqiu Valley pops up in your mind first when thinking about ruins in Liyue, other than Guili Plains. Still, you decide to stay away from Guili Plains for the sake of your safety. And for the sake of your sanity as well. 

You shrug, getting out of Itto’s grasp. “Okay, then what about the Stormterror’s Lair?”

“Also teeming with monsters, my dove,” Kazuha gives you a sympathetic smile.

You press your lips into a thin line and stare blankly at everyone in the room. There are ruins that aren’t occupied with life and monsters, but they’re usually in domains. Now that you think about it, you can still go to the ruins you have named. All you have to do is be careful and not get caught by the enemies mentioned. 

“How about this: you all can accompany me on the first part of my journey to the ruins and, you know, get rid of the roaming enemies, then all of you can retreat into the teapot, and my solo exploration can begin!” You suggest. 

Scaramouche drags out his sigh and pulls you over to him, letting you sit on his lap while he wraps his arms around your waist. Scaramouche places his chin on your head and closes his eyes, shaking his head.

“I believe we spoil you too much,” Scaramouche murmurs.

You smile and giggle, snuggling up against him. “But you guys love it,” you said, poking him in the chest with your index finger and peeking at the other men in the room.

“That we do. But we’re not complaining about it,” Albedo says, smiling at you.

“You got yourself a deal. We’ll be with you on the first part of your exploration of the ruins of your choice. Once we eliminate the nearby monsters, we’ll let you continue your exploration. We will be in the teapot if you need us,” Dottore says, stroking your hair after grabbing Scaramouche’s face and shoving him away.

Capitano sighs and shakes his head. “You’re both adults, don’t start fighting like insolent children now,” Capitano says gruffly.

The two men next to you ignore Capitano’s comment. Scaramouche scowls and zaps Dottore. Dottore snorts and ignores the shoving coming from Scaramouche’s end. You sigh and let yourself zone out while Scaramouche and Dottore are bickering with each other like stray cats fighting over the last piece of a chicken nugget. You can hear everyone sigh simultaneously while Scaramouche and Dottore continue batting at each other.

Dottore ends up accidentally whacking you in the face while trying to reach for Scaramouche. Scaramouche moved out of the way successfully, but that didn’t give you enough time to process what was happening. Your mouth opens in a silent scream, and you clutch your face.

“I swear, every time you men get into petty squabbles, I’m the one that gets whacked in the face or head,” you grumble.

Scaramouche pulls you to his chest, glaring at Dottore. “Look at what you’ve done! You hurt [Y/N]!” Scaramouche exclaims, pointing an accusing finger at the doctor.

Dottore ignores Scaramouche’s comment and smacks Scaramouche’s hand to the side before pulling you off Scaramouche’s lap. Dottore has you sit on his lap while he checks the area where he accidentally hit you.

You give Dottore’s bicep a reassuring squeeze. “It was an accident, so there’s no need to worry or apologize,” you say.

Instead of responding to your reassurance, Dottore presses his lips on your head while murmuring an apology. Capitano and Pierro share a collective sigh, shaking their heads or pinching the bridge of their nose. 

“I think [Y/N] is less likely to be injured while out exploring the ruins alone than being in the same room as those two,” Capitano says before gesturing toward Childe, “and Childe, if the Balladeer and Childe were to bicker.”

Childe scoffs. “I didn’t even do anything, and you’re dragging me into this mess?” Childe asks, looking at Capitano incredulously. 

Pierro huffs out a laugh. “Oh, Childe, you and the Balladeer always get into petty arguments. Do you not remember when both of you were so occupied with bickering that you two didn’t realize [Y/N] nearly got run over by a sumpter beast?” Pierro raises an eyebrow at Childe. 

Oh, yeah, you forgot about that! You, Childe, and Scaramouche were tasked to gather some henna berries in the desert. Scaramouche and Childe end up arguing over whether the three of you should split to gather henna berries faster. While the two were at each other’s throats, Scaramouche chucks a henna berry at Childe and misses, only for the henna berry to hit a sumpter beast’s face, pissing it off.

You exhale through your nose. “I tried to outrun the sumpter beast, but it caught up to me so fast. I saw my life flash before my eyes, and I swear, I thought I was going to die that day,” you say, chuckling to yourself.

That day was terrifying because you nearly got trampled by a sumpter beast while Childe and Scaramouche were busy insulting each other. The three of you took so long to gather henna berries that Pantalone had to check up on the three of you, only to see nothing but chaos when he arrived at the area where you three were. Pantalone annihilates the sumpter beast with one swipe while you’re clinging onto his back, praying to the archons that you wouldn’t die by being trampled. 

The hilarious thing was when the four of you returned to the estate, Zhongli and Venti were standing at the door, waiting for your return. Venti informed you that he and Zhongli heard your prayers and was confused, worried, and horrified when a series of your prayers popped up in his head. Zhongli, on the other hand, was scolding Childe and Scaramouche on the side.

Kaeya chuckles, “It’s a good thing you’re not going to explore the ruins in Sumeru. We wouldn’t want you to relive that experience,” Kaeya says, ruffling your hair from behind the couch.

“Oh, archons, I hope I don’t have to relive the experience of being chased down by a beast bigger than all of us,” you say.

You stand up and dust stretch your arms in the air, yawning. It looks like you’ll need to sleep early tonight for your exploration of the ruins. Again, you have yet to decide what regions to explore. You wouldn’t mind exploring the ruins in Inazuma and Sumeru, perhaps you’ll do that in the future, but for now, you’re debating between Mondstadt and Liyue.

“We should help you pack a few essential items for tomorrow,” Ayato says, grabbing your hand and leading you up the stairs to your bedroom.

Dainsleif follows close behind. “Have you made the decision on where you want to explore the ruins?” Dainsleif asks.

You hum thoughtfully. “Well, I was thinking about Liyue at first, but then I realized that I’ve visited Liyue quite often. Therefore, I am going to explore Stormterror’s Lair! It’s quite big, so there should be plenty of things for me to explore,” you answer. 

Venti laughs nervously. “If you’re going to explore the Stormterror’s Lair, please make sure not to touch any object you see on the ground,” Venti instructs.

You salute Venti. “Aye, aye, captain!” You give the anemo archon a thumbs up.

You’re not entirely sure what Venti was referring to when he instructs you not to touch any object you see lying on the ground. Still, you will follow Venti’s instructions and not pick up anything. You’re sure there’s nothing valuable at the Stormterror’s Lair. Even if there is something valuable at the Stormterror’s Layer, you don’t plan on bringing back any artifacts or souvenirs to the estate.

The men end up packing essential items for you to bring on your journey to the ruins. A first aid kit, a stainless steel water bottle, an extra water bottle, a bottle of sunscreen, and a few more items you didn’t think of because you have never gone out into nature by yourself before. Or in general. Thoma has informed you he will be packing you lunch when he gets up to make breakfast. At first, you did plan on leaving the estate to go to the Stormterror’s Lair early in the morning (before the sun rose), but you did not want to get up that early. So, you and the men opted to leave the estate around seven thirty in the morning. It’s still early, but not as early as the original time.

Dinner went on like usual, but once dinner was over, everyone began treating you like you were going to die soon. Your boyfriends spoiled the hell out of you by giving you endless kisses, cuddles, and affection. I mean, you’re not complaining about it! You love it when your boyfriends spoil you with affection and give you their undivided attention. While you hate having people’s attention, you love being the center of attention when it comes to your boyfriends.

Your yawning and stretching are interrupted when someone snakes their arms around your waist, letting their hands slide beneath your t-shirt to squeeze your chest. You squeak, let your arms fall to your side and turn to look at the person behind you with wide eyes. Itto gives you a cheeky smile and nuzzles against you, his hands on your chest underneath your shirt.

“Someone’s a little touchy today,” you chuckle, running your fingers through his hair.

Itto presses his lips against your neck. “As your boyfriend, I should be allowed to show my significant other my affections before they leave on an adventure,” Itto says, peppering kisses down your neck to where your neck and shoulders meet.

You giggle and stroke his hair. “Itto, I’m not going to be away for long! It’ll be a few hours! Plus, you and the others are also accompanying me on the first part of my trip,” you say.

Itto ignores your comment and continues to litter your neck with kisses, squeezing your breasts with his big hands. Before Itto can take things further, Al Haitham grabs Itto by the ears and pulls him away from you. Itto cries out in pain, and his hands slip out of your shirt while he tries to get Al Haitham to release him. 

Al Haitham rolls his eyes. “I don’t care if you’re going to miss [Y/N]. We’re going to miss them as much as you will, but they will be back the same day,” Al Haitham says, narrowing his eyes at Itto before releasing the now red-eared oni. 

Itto stares at Al Haitham with a deep frown on his face while clutching onto his red ear, muttering under his breath about how rude Al Haitham was for pulling his ear. You chuckle and rub Itto’s shoulders to comfort him. Itto wraps his arms around your shoulders with a pout on his face, glaring at Al Haitham from over your shoulders.

“You know, you’re pretty brave for doing that,” Kaveh says, propping his hands on his hips.

Aether and Heizou snort.

Aether points at Childe and Itto. “Those two aren’t afraid to pull a bold move on [Y/N] in front of us. You’re still kind of new to the relationship, but Itto and Childe being touchy with [Y/N] is normal,” Aether says, crossing his arms over his chest. 

“We all learned to tolerate it, but sometimes they need a little smack to bring them back to reality,” Heizou adds, looking at Itto and Childe with a smile that didn’t reach his eyes.

You look at the clock on the wall and yawn after realizing how late it is getting. It’s a good thing you decide not to leave the estate so early in the morning. At least you and the men will be having breakfast before heading out to the Stormterror’s Lair. You don’t think you can bring both breakfast and lunch while you’re out adventuring in the Stormterror’s Lair.

“It’s starting to get late. I believe we all should get ready to go to bed,” you speak up, rubbing your eyes.

Holy crap, you did not realize you were feeling this tired until it hit you a few minutes later. Thoma carries you up the stairs while you rest your chin on his shoulders, trying your best not to fall asleep. You need to brush your teeth and prepare for bed. And by some grace of an archon, you’re able to stay awake for the next few minutes to brush your teeth and get ready for bed. Once you lay on your bed, you’re nearly knocked unconscious. Your eyelids feel heavy; you’re drooping, and it almost forced you to sleep.

You snuggle against your pillows and blanket, falling in and out of sleep. The men drop by your bedroom to bid you goodnight and kiss your forehead. At least you’re able to stay up long enough to say goodnight to the last person. Once the last person, Tighnari, kisses your forehead after bidding you goodnight, you can’t stay awake any longer. You fall asleep a few minutes after Tighnari strokes your hair.

The next day, you’re woken up from your sleep by none other than Cyno himself. You groan and stretch in your bed, yawning and groaning. You blink at Cyno before sitting up, scratching the back of your head, and looking around your bedroom. 

Cyno chuckles. “Morning, sleepyhead. How was your sleep?” Cyno asks softly, stroking your hair while you lean against his leg.

“‘M tried,” you reply, closing your eyes.

Tighnari snaps his fingers in front of your face, startling you. “Don’t fall asleep on us now, [Y/N]. Today’s the day when you go out and explore the ruins, remember?” He pokes your forehead lightly. 

You nod in response. “I know, Tighnari. I’m just…. Trying my best to wake up right now. I’m still groggy from my sleep,” you say softly. “I’m going to need to drink some coffee when I get downstairs.”

You get off your bed and walk to your dresser to pull out appropriate clothing for adventuring. You won’t be surrounded by woods or grass, so you wouldn’t need to worry much about coverage. But then again, you’re not entirely sure what the weather will be like at Stormterror’s Lair. You shrug your shoulders and continue picking out a t-shirt and shorts to change into for your exploration.

You walk to your bathroom and quickly change your clothes, brush the knot out of your hair, brush your teeth, and put on deodorant. Maybe deciding to explore the Stormterror’s Lair was a mistake because getting up this early in the morning is awful. Yes, you have gotten up earlier for the Akademiya, but today was not the day. When you step out of your bathroom, Baizhu is waiting for you with Cyno and Tighnari.

“You look sleepy. Did you not sleep well last night?” Baizhu asks, looking at you worriedly when you approach them.

You rub your eyes and yawn. “I’ll be okay after I drink some coffee, Baizhu. I need more sleep, but I think once we’re at the Stormterror’s Lair, I should be a little bit awake,” you reply. You grab the three men’s hands and pull them to your bedroom door. “Let’s go downstairs for breakfast. I believe the others are waiting for us?” You ask.

The three men nod, letting you pull them downstairs with you. Even though you’re going to be out on your own for a few hours, the men aren’t exactly prepared to let you go out on your own. You’re an adult, and you can do whatever you want! They’re glad that you ask for them to join you on the first part of your exploration to eliminate the monsters roaming around the Stormterror’s Lair. 

But hey, you will be carrying the teapot with you on your adventure! You can return to the abode whenever you want or when you lose interest in exploring the ruins by yourself. Once the men get rid of the monsters roaming around the Stormterror’s Lair, there won’t be much to see other than the crumbling architecture.

You, Baizhu, Tighnari, and Cyno step into the dining room and see everyone sitting and waiting for the four of you to join for breakfast. Thoma’s eyes light up, and he gets up from his seat before walking over to the lunch box he has packed for you and walks to you, handing the lunch bag to you.

“I hope you don’t mind that I packed your favorite foods from each region. It sounds like it’s a lot, but I made sure that it’s enough to keep your tummy full,” Thoma says, rubbing the back of his neck shyly.

You throw your arms around his shoulders and hug him. “Thank you, Thoma! I’ll put the lunch bag in my backpack now,” you say, pulling away from the hug and walking over to where your exploration backpack is sitting. 

Once you have put your lunch bag in your exploration backpack, you walk back to the dining room and sit between Dainsleif and Kaeya. Breakfast consisted of you and the men planning how the day was going to go. Of course, once the men have eradicated the hilichurls, mitachurls, samachurls, abyss mages, slimes, and ruin guards at the Stormterro’s Lair, they will all return to the teapot, and you continue your exploration of the ruins. While you’re excited about the exploration, you’re a bit anxious since many things can go down south quickly. 

Once breakfast was over, and dishes were washed and dried, you all set out to the Stormterror’s Lair.

Now here you are, sitting on the edge of a cliff that looks out at the view of the Stormterror’s Lair with the teapot in your lap. You watch the men split into groups to take down the enemies from a distance. You love watching the men in action; it’s entertaining and mesmerizing to you— especially when you watch them use their elemental skills or bursts. Your favorite is watching Zhongli use his burst from afar because of how terrifying and mesmerizing it looks. It’s huge! 

The sky suddenly turns dark, and you see the meteor falling from the sky, and a loud boom echoes through the ruins—your hair whips around your face from the massive gust of wind from the shockwave. 

“Are you guys done?” You call out once everything has settled down.

You get up from the ground and dust dirt off your clothes, fixing your hair and watching all of the men walk to the nearest waypoint to teleport to where you’re standing. You turn around and see the men standing there, dusting their clothes off and acting like they didn’t eradicate an entire population of monsters in the Stormterror’s Lair. 

You cover the bottom half of your face with your hand when you feel your cheeks warm up. Gosh, these men are so attractive. You don’t know how you managed to score all twenty-five of them for yourself. The men walk toward you; the closer they approach, the more your face warms up, and your heartbeat starts to pick up its pace. 

Zhongli tilts his head to the side, gazing at you worriedly. “Dearest? Are you alright?” Zhongli asks. Zhongli’s deep voice sends tingles down your spine; goosebumps appear on your arms, and the hairs on the back of your neck stand up.

Damn, now is not the time to act like a cat in heat. 

You audibly gulped, nodding in response to Zhongli’s question. “Yes, I’m fine! There’s nothing wrong with me at all!” You squeak. “Thank you, all, for eliminating the monsters that are wandering around the Stormterror’s Lair! Now I can peacefully explore the ruins without having to worry about getting smacked in the head by a hilichurl,” you say, rubbing your neck. 

Xiao places his hand on your forehead. “Are you sure you’re okay? You’re burning up, and I can feel it through my gloves,” Xiao says, pulling his hand back and crossing his arms over his chest. 

You squeak, “Of course, I’m fine! I’ve been sitting under the sun, so it must be the heat from the sun that’s making me feel hot.” You fan yourself to make it look more convincing. 

Diluc sighs. “I guess we should’ve brought a hat for you to wear for your adventuring,” Diluc murmurs, closing his eyes.

“Oh, no, no! Don’t worry about me! I’ll make sure not to stay out in the sun for too long and to stand in the shadows or under the pillars to cool down,” you say. “Plus, it’s quite windy here, so you guys won’t need to worry about me overheating,” you smile at the men innocently.

The twenty-six of you stand there in silence, listening to the wind howl and whistle. It seems like none of the men wanted to leave you alone just yet. You know your exploration around the ruins isn’t going to be interrupted by ruin guards and hilichurls, so you brought your music player with you. Al Haitham has gifted it to you for getting straight A’s in the Akademiya and for getting an award for your grades. 

“We should get going; we don’t want to hold you back on your exploration,” Kazuha says, smiling at you.

Gorou frowns, his ears flattening on his head. “We’re going to miss you. Please be safe while exploring the ruins,” Gorou whimpers.

You pout and let go of the teapot, allowing it to hover in the air while you wrap your arms around Gorou’s waist. “I’ll be okay! I’ll see you all later this afternoon, I promise! I don’t plan on staying out late,” you say, pressing your lips on his cheeks. 

You release Gorou to give each man a hug before they all enter the teapot. You wave at them and look out to the Stormterror’s Lair, waiting for everyone to go inside the teapot. You’re excited to explore, but watching them leave kind of hurts. Once everyone went into the teapot, you grabbed the teapot and began your journey in the ruins that were once Old Mondstadt. You stand on the bridge that leads to the crumbling building and put the teapot down while plugging your headphones into the music player. 

You begin blasting music in your ears, picking the teapot up, and continuing your journey around the ruins. You entered the Stormterror’s Lair and surveyed your surroundings. It’s eerily beautiful. You would say that it’s quiet, aside from the sound of the howling winds, but you have music blasting in your ears that blocks out the sounds.

You close your eyes and let yourself get lost in the music. Twirling around in the center of the Stormterror’s Lair with the wind blowing in your hair, you hum and dance and sway to the music blasting in your headphones. Maybe you shouldn’t be dancing in the ruins, but you were caught in the music to notice two people lingering in the shadows, watching you enjoy yourself. You let the teapot float in the center of the building, stretching your arms in the air, sighing with contentment when the cool breeze blows through your hair, cooling down your heating neck.

You turn to walk to where the teapot is floating, only to bump into a chest, causing you to stumble back. You pause your music and look at the person with wide eyes. Dainsleif and Kaeya stare at you with amusement, the corners of their lips quirking up. You clear your throat and pucker your lips, taking your headphones off. You peek up from their shoulders to make sure the teapot is still there. You sigh in relief; the teapot is safe and sound. 

You look at Dainsleif and Kaeya. “Not that I don’t want to see you two or am disappointed in seeing you, but what are you guys doing here?” You ask.

Kaeya smiles and caresses your face. “We wanted to see how long it would take for you to notice our presence,” Kaeya replies, stroking your cheek with the pad of his thumb.

You blink at Kaeya and Dainsleif owlishly; your mouth is agape. “I thought both of you returned to the abode with the others,” you squeak.

Dainsleif lets out a thoughtful hum and runs his hands through his soft blond locks. “We did, but it was for a brief moment before returning to the Stormterror’s Lair,” Dainsleif answers.

You squint at the two men before you. “And do they know about your sudden disappearance?” You ask.

Kaeya and Dainsleif shake their heads simultaneously. You prop your hands on your hips with a huff of breath. How dare they follow you to the ruins when the others have retreated to the teapot after eliminating the monsters that were roaming around the Stormterror’s Lair. You’re not upset with them. You’re upset (well, upset isn’t the correct word, more the best way to describe how you’re feeling currently would be embarrassed) over the fact that Kaeya and Dainsleif witnessed you dancing and getting lost in the music that was blasting in your headphones.

You gnaw on the inside of your cheek. “So, you two are stowaways,” you murmur, narrowing your eyes at them. “Stowaway isn’t the correct word since we’re not on boats or ships, but you two get the gist,” you say, tapping your index finger on your hips.

Kaeya laughs and pinches your cheek. “Come on, now, kitten. Do you not miss us?” Kaeya coos, raising an eyebrow at you.

You bat Kaeya’s hand away from your face and look away with your arms over your chest. “Of course, I miss you two and the others! But you two are here, and the others are unaware of it! It’s not fair for them,” you declare.

“You have been spending time with some of them individually or as a group of three. Are we not allowed to do the same?” Dainsleif asks.

Heat rushes to your face after hearing Dainsleif’s response. You have an inkling feeling that Dainsleif and Kaeya may or may not know where these hangouts tend to lead towards. Then again, you’re sure everyone in the estate knows how the hangouts typically end. Gosh, now that you think about it, if the citizens of Teyvat knew about it, they would be clutching their Sango pearls.

Kaeya takes a step toward you, and you take a step back. “Speaking of spending time with them individually or as a group of three,” Kaeya trails off, licking his lips, “what do you do when you hang out with them?”

“Uh, well, depending on who I’m with, we do things differently compared to if I were to hang out with someone else!” You squeak.

Dainsleif tilts his head to the side and raises an eyebrow at you. “And what did you and Albedo do compared to when you, Lord Ayato, and Thoma were in Inazuma together?” Dainsleif questions.

Dear archons. It’s like you’re being put on the hot seat. While these questions are easy to answer, you’re hoping they don’t press on any further. You don’t think your heart and pride can take it any longer if Dainsleif and Kaeya continue to press you on about the hangouts between you and certain individuals. Though, what’s there to be embarrassed about when everyone in the estate knows how the hangouts and “assistance” ends. Even if these little hangouts end with you and one of (or two of) the men balls deep inside of you, you did assist them with tasks. So, that’s something you can’t make up because it’s true! You did help them with their duties before finding yourself bent over a table or getting railed in the pantry of the Kamisato Estate. 

You poke Kaeya in the chest with your index finger. “Albedo and I were conducting experiments! As for Ayato and Thoma, I assisted them with their duties at the Kamisato Estate. Did you know that Thoma gets up at the crack of dawn to start on his duties at the Kamisato Estate?” You ask, scratching your chin. 

You don’t realize you’re rambling until Kaeya caresses your face in his hands and shuts you up by pressing his lips against yours. You shut your eyes and kiss Kaeya back, your hands reaching to grab his shirt, pulling him closer to you. You’re so occupied with Kaeya you don’t hear Dainsleif walking closer to you and Kaeya and standing behind you.

Dainsleif grabs your face and makes you face his direction, breaking the kiss between you and Kaeya. Dainsleif presses his lips against yours, and he clutches your hair while Kaeya trails his lips down your jaws and toward your neck, pressing light kisses and sucking on your neck. Your, Dainsleif, and Kaeya’s breathing becomes erratic the more the kiss continues. Kaeya and Dainsleif sandwich you between their bodies, allowing you to feel their erect cocks pressing up against your groin and ass. 

You break the kiss between you and Dainsleif, panting. “We can’t do it here,” you say breathlessly.

Kaeya sucks on the skin below your jaws. “And why’s that? You, Lord Ayato, and Thoma didn’t have an issue with having sex in a public bathhouse,” Kaeya purrs.

Your breath gets caught in your throat after hearing Kaeya’s comment. How in the world did he know about that?! Did Ayato and Thoma tell the others about your little activities when the three of you returned to the abode? Kaeya lets out a breathy chuckle when he feels you freeze underneath his lips after hearing his comment. Oh, come on, just because these men get to have their fun with you doesn’t mean he and Dainsleif can’t have their part of the fun.

You bite your lips to muffle your moan when Kaeya sucks on the sweet spot on your neck. You tighten your grip on Kaeya’s shirt and rest your head against Dainsleif’s chest. Dainsleif massages your hips and slips his hands underneath your shirt, sending shivers down your spine when his gloved hands make contact with your skin.

You gulp. “If you two are going to fuck me, might as well do it somewhere where it’s not out in the open where the rest of Teyvat can see,” you huff.

“Seems reasonable enough,” Dainsleif says.

Dainsleif wraps his arms around your waist and carries you toward the pillar. You clutch Dainsleif’s jacket tightly and shake your head. 

“Dainsleif, I don’t think this is safe. I don’t want either of us to plummet to our deaths while the both of you are railing me simultaneously,” you say, tugging on his coat lightly.

Kaeya chuckles. “If that’s what you’re worried about, then how about we do it in the center of the Stormterror’s Lair?” Kaeya suggests, walking over to the teapot and moving it to the side of the crumbling building.

Dainsleif kneels and has you sprawling out on the glowing center of the Stormterror’s Lair. You can’t help but feel titillated at the thought of being railed in the Stormterror’s Lair by Kaeya and Dainsleif. The men can step out from the teapot any time and catch the three of you in the act, or some poor adventurer can walk in on Dainsleif and Kaeya balls deep inside of you in the center of the Stormterror’s Lair. 

You whisper, “Having sex in the center of this…. Glowing floor is like having witchcraft sex,” you mutter mindlessly.

Dainsleif pauses above you and gazes at you with amusement, the corners of his lips quirking up at your comment. You and Dainsleif gaze into each other’s eyes for a moment before Kaeya kneels above your head.

“What an interesting observation, [Y/N],” Dainsleif says, leaning down to press a quick kiss on the side of your head.

Kaeya chuckles and reaches for the hem of your shirt, slowly pulling it up to reveal your navel. “An interesting observation it is,” Kaeya says. 

You shiver when the tip of Kaeya’s fingers brush against your waist. Kaeya leans down and presses his lips against your neck, bunching your shirt up to your mid-torso and sucking on your neck, leaving hickeys behind. Dainsleif cages you between his body and the floor with his arms; he leans down and begins to leave love bites behind on the other side of your neck that wasn’t occupied by Kaeya.

Dainsleif places his gloved hand on your chest and squeezes them gently. You cover your mouth with your hand, trying to hold back a breathy moan when Dainsleif wraps both your legs around his waist, his hardened cock pressing up against your core. Kaeya slips your shirt off your body and turns your head to face his direction. He removes your hand from your mouth and presses his lips against yours.

Dainsleif continues to litter your neck with hickeys, occasionally grounding his hips against yours, sending shockwaves of pleasure down your spine when you can feel his cock rub against your swollen ball of nerves. Dainsleif pulls away from your neck, takes his gloves off before he reaches for your shorts, and slips his hands underneath the hems of your pants and underwear. You shiver when you feel his skin against yours.

Dainsleif takes your shorts off first, leaving you only in your underwear, almost completely exposed to both Kaeya and Dainsleif. You break the kiss between you and Kaeya, propping yourself up on the ground and narrowing your eyes at the two men with a huff.

“So, I’m going to be the only one naked while the both of you are fully clothed? How unfair,” you groused, sitting on the floor and hugging your knees to your chest.

Dainsleif stands up, towering over you. “Then what do you suggest?” Dainsleif asks as Kaeya stands beside him with his hands propped on his hips.

You grab their shirts and tug on them with a pout. “Start stripping, pretty boys. If you two want to repopulate Khaenri'ah and bring back your nation with me, you two might as well start stripping and fucking me now. Unless you two prefer Pierro and me to do that instead? There’s a small rumor saying he’s of Khaenri'ah descent as well,” you stroke your chin, biting back the shit-eating grin that was threatening to appear on your face. 

Kaeya and Dainsleif’s expressions turn sour for a brief moment before the two start taking their clothes off one by one. You watch their cloaks, shirts, vests, and gloves fall to the ground. The unfortunate thing was they weren’t almost fully exposed like you. They’re naked in the top half but still clothed in the bottom half. Judging by the looks on their faces, you can tell Kaeya and Dainsleif did not appreciate you bringing up the first Harbinger before the two of them rail you into oblivion. Hey, whatever gets their engine going, having your insides wrecked by the two of them sounds like a dream coming true. 

Dainsleif grabs your wrist and pulls you off the ground. Dainsleif wraps one arm around your waist, caressing your face with the other before pressing his lips against yours. You tangle your fingers in his soft blond hair. Kaeya presses his bare chest against your bare back, sliding both his hands up to your chest and squeezing them, grounding his erect cock against your ass.

Kaeya slides his hand down your stomach and slips his hands into your panties, rubbing and stroking your folds. You jolt in their arms, breaking the kiss between you and Dainsleif, your head resting on Kaeya’s shoulders. Kaeya inserts his index and middle finger into your entrance. You tense up at the intrusion, your nails digging into Dainsleif’s biceps. 

“Oh, fuck, Kaeya,” you moan breathlessly.

Kaeya nibbles on your earlobe, thrusting his fingers in and out of you at a slow pace. “You like that, huh?” Kaeya asks, the corners of his lips curving up.

You bite on your bottom lip and nod. “I do, I really do—” Kaeya’s fingers reach the sweet spot inside you, making you squeal and tense up. “Kaeya!” You whine, feeling your entrance squeezing around his fingers.

Kaeya smirks and pulls his fingers out from inside of you, ignoring your whines of protest. Kaeya begins pinching and squeezing the engorged ball of nerves between your legs. Dainsleif starts unbuckling his belt with one hand and pressing you against his chest with the other. Kaeya follows suit, releasing your breast from his grip and unbuckling his belt with one hand. At the same time, the other hand continues to pinch and twist your throbbing ball of nerves. 

Your eyes widen when you realize Kaeya and Dainsleif are planning on taking you at the same time, in the same hole. You don’t think your entrance can stretch out that far unless it’s for birthing a baby. 

You grab Kaeya and Dainsleif’s biceps. “Wait a minute. Are you two going to be occupying the same hole at the same time?!” You squeak, looking at Dainsleif and Kaeya nervously.

“There’s nothing to worry about. I’m sure Kaeya has prepped you enough for you to fit both of us inside of you,” Dainsleif says nonchalantly.

You shake your head. “Just don’t tear me to shreds,” you sigh.

Kaeya laughs quietly. “I can’t promise you that, kitten,” Kaeya pinches your cheek lightly. 

You sigh for the umpteenth time and close your eyes, resting your head on Kaeya’s shoulders. Dainsleif lifts your leg to his waist, tapping his thick, hot cock on your folds, coating them in your click. You shiver and mentally prepare yourself for Dainsleif to insert his cock into you. 

Kaeya fondles your chest, squeezing and massaging them. Kaeya releases your swollen bundle of nerves. You nearly shout in protest, but your objection gets caught in your throat when you feel the mushroom tip of Dainsleif’s cock nudge your entrance. 

Dainsleif looks at you. “Are you ready?” Dainsleif asks.

You suck in a breath and nod. “I can’t really back out of it. I did say I would help you and Kaeya repopulate Khaenri'ah,” you say jokingly.

After hearing your teasing response, a smile appears on Dainsleif and Kaeya’s faces. Kaeya presses his lips on your shoulders, holding your hand. You squeeze Kaeya’s hands and watch the pretty pink tip of Dainsleif’s cock slowly enter your sopping-wet entrance. Your mouth opens in a silent scream, and you squirm in Kaeya’s arms and squeeze your eyes shut. If you didn’t expect Dainsleif to stretch you out this much, then you’re definitely not prepared to be stretched out even more by Kaeya’s cock. Dainsleif presses his hips against yours, wrapping your legs around his waist.

Kaeya huffs through his nostrils. “No need to hog [Y/N] to yourself, Dainsleif. It’s rude not to share,” Kaeya says, stretching your right leg outward before positioning his cock near your entrance where Dainsleif’s cock is sheathed inside you.

Dainsleif rolls his eyes. “At least let them adjust to my size before you intrude,” Dainsleif grumbles. 

Kaeya holds his hands up as if he’s surrendering to Dainsleif. “Fine, I’ll allow you to have your little fun with [Y/N] for the next three minutes, but once the time is up, I’ll be joining in,” Kaeya says.

Dainsleif ignores Kaeya’s comment and begins to thrust into your warm entrance. You pull Dainsleif closer to you and wrap your arms over his shoulders, clenching your jaws each time the tip of Dainsleif’s cock hits the sweet spot inside you. Dainsleif grounds his hips against yours, his pubic bone rubbing up against your aching ball of nerves. A strained whimper escapes from your lips, your head falling back on Kaeya’s shoulders. 

Dainsleif tightens his grip on your waist and begins to hammer his cock in and out of your heat. The man before you lets out a string of moans, resting his forehead against yours, closing his eyes, and rams his cock into you repeatedly. Each time the bulbous tip of Dainsleif’s cock batters your cervix, your eyes roll to the back of your head, and your toes curl.

One thrust nearly sent you over the edge, your entrance squeezing around Dainsleif’s dick tightly, and you let out a loud wail while digging your nails into his shoulders. While Dainsleif is occupied with ramming his cock inside your wet entrance, Kaeya takes advantage of Dainsleif’s distraction and covers his cock with your slick.

The loud squelching of Dainsleif’s cock ramming inside you echoes the Stormterror’s Lair, blocking out the sound of your and Dainsleif’s mingling moans. Your soft whimpers and whines of Dainsleif’s name drive him crazy, making him thrust harder and faster into your welcoming heat. Dainsleif grabs underneath your chin, tilts your head upward, and slams his lips against yours without stopping his thrusts. 

Kaeya stretches your leg outward, and Dainsleif slows his thrusts. Dainsleif comes to a complete stop and pulls away from the kiss, panting. Kaeya slowly puts the tip of his dick inside the hole where Dainsleif’s cock is nestled. Kaeya presses his chest against your sweaty back, pushing his cock inside you.

You hiss and squirm in their grasp, whining and whimpering about the painful stretch. Your face pinches up with pain, your body tensing up when your entrance is being stretched even more than you have anticipated. You dig your nails into Dainsleif’s back and Kaeya’s biceps, leaving crescent shapes on their skin. 

“You’re so tight,” Kaeya grunts, pressing his forehead against the back of your head and squeezing his eyes shut as he continues to slip the rest of his cock inside your entrance.

Your eyes blur with tears, and you whimper. “This hurts, this hurts. It’s too much!” You whine.

Kaeya lets out a deep groan when his cock is fully sheathed inside of your wet heat, his chest heaving with each breath he takes. Kaeya and Dainsleif let you adjust to having both their cocks inside of your stretched hole, occasionally shooting each other glares from over your shoulders. Once you gave them the signal to start, Kaeya thrusts up into you, nudging Dainsleif’s cock with his and your cervix with the tip of his cock. The three of you groan simultaneously when your entrance tightens around their long, thick cocks. Kaeya tangles his right hand into your hair, tugs on it, turns your head to face his direction and slams his lips against yours while hammering his cock into you over and over. 

“Oh, fuck!” You gasp against Kaeya’s lips when Dainsleif thrusts inside of you, making sure to rub his pubic bone against your throbbing nub.

Dainsleif buries his face into your neck, biting, licking, and sucking on your neck. Dainsleif and Kaeya decide to have an unspoken competition with each other. Whoever fucks you the hardest, makes you cum the hardest, and make you moan the loudest, is the winner. It’s petty and childish, but they don’t care because as long as they hear those pretty sounds coming from you, Kaeya and Dainsleif will continue to do what they’re doing to listen to it over and over again.

Kaeya and Dainsleif begin to plunge their cocks in and out of you at different paces, making you writhe in their arms, your legs kicking in place while they fuck their hard cocks deep inside you. Frustrated with you squirming around, Kaeya and Dainsleif grab your legs and spread them far and wide apart while continuing what they’re doing.

You pull away from the kiss, panting and whimpering while Dainsleif and Kaeya plunge their cocks in and out of you at a rapid pace. 

“Kaeya! Dainsleif! It’s too much!” You squeal, saliva trailing down the side of your lips. “I don’t think I can hold on any longer!” You whine, tears rolling down your cheeks.

Kaeya chuckles and kisses the side of your head. “Oh, come on, pretty. I think you can last a little bit longer,” Kaeya coos, clenching his jaws and pressing his hips hard against yours, groaning.

Dainsleif lets out a breathy chuckle. “Besides, aren’t you the one that suggests we repopulate Khaenri'ah?”

“Yeah? Aren’t you?” Kaeya asks, nosing your jaws and breathing in the smell of your shampoo and conditioner.

You whine and nod. “Yes, I am,” you pout, your bottom lip trembling the more Dainsleif and Kaeya thrusts into you. 

You can feel your impending orgasm, a tight coil forming in your lower abdomen, ready to unravel at any moment. You didn’t think Dainsleif and Kaeya could go any faster, but they somehow proved you wrong. Kaeya and Dainsleif drill their cocks into you, pressing their hips against yours hard, chasing their release. The walls of your sopping-wet entrance clench around their cocks as the tight coil in your lower abdomen tighten and snaps.

Your head falls back, your mouth opens in a silent scream, and your eyes squeeze shut as you cum around the men’s cocks. Dainsleif and Kaeya soon pump their cum deep inside you, coating the inside of your entrance white. You go limp in their arms, breathing heavily, and your eyes are glazed over. Dainsleif and Kaeya continue to keep their cocks plugged inside you to prevent their cum from spilling out of you.

“I don’t think that’s enough to repopulate Khaenri'ah,” you breathe.

Dainsleif snorts. “Oh? Do you want a second round?” Dainsleif asks, raising his eyebrows at you as he wipes the sweat from his forehead with the back of his hand.

You blink at the blond man and look around. The sun has yet to set. It seems like time barely passed when Dainsleif and Kaeya witnessed you getting lost in the music blasting through your headphones. Fuck it.

You shrug your shoulders. “I think we still have some time before we need to return to the abode. Plus, the Stormterror’s Lair is pretty big,” you murmur, deep in thought.

Kaeya’s eyes widen. “Are you implying we should fuck you in every place and surface in the Stormterror’s Lair?” Kaeya asks.

You purse your lips. “I mean…. We still have time, and there’s plenty of places to explore here,” you trail off.

Dainsleif and Kaeya look at each other for a brief moment.

“We’ll take you up on that offer,” Dainsleif says, wiping saliva off the corner of your lips with a faint smirk on his face.

You don’t know how many rounds you’ll need to repopulate Khaenri'ah with Dainsleif and Kaeya, but it’s an honor to test to see how many rounds it takes for you to lose your voice entirely and how much cum Kaeya and Dainsleif can stuff inside you before having to return to the estate.

Note: I'm thinking about making another fic like "The Lonely God," but I'm not too sure 🧍🏻‍♀️ I've been busy trying not to lose my mind because of university, but it's going to consume me soon 💀 I have a lot of story ideas, but so little time to work on them at once ;v; but it's fine. They'll be published one day when I have time to work on them. I think I might start a new smut series soon for the current isekai'd!reader series, but I'm not too sure 🤔 I officially have no more space to add more tags for my fics ;v; I wish Tumblr would let us add a few more tags for our posts ;v; Anyway! Please keep in mind that I ONLY post on my Tumblr (Genshinluvr) and my AO3 (Aaliah_exo)! Nowhere else except Tumblr and AO3!

Taglist for my Isekai'd!Reader one-shot series and my overall taglist: @xyji, @chirikoheina, @yoru-trash, @kwelibeeery, @deartoru, @luminarymoonlight, @toobytub, @ins4nebish, @bokuto-kinnie, @honeybedo, @exhaustedcommunist, @jadedist, @mompt2, @chalksdreams, @thelost-in-time, @ventisweetheart, @hispasian-otaku, @juuuuuj101010, @alteeeeyang, @samarill, @testsubject0012, @irisxiel, @urlocalheizousimp, @emilymikado, @mabie, @vinnie-w, @n8mareee, @bajifairyy, @heyimkay, @milkpeanuts476, @eliciana, @blesstosuisen, @goldeneclipsedragon, @jjvr4yxc, @sovermike-21-blog, @vox34, @wynncrites, @skyyyyackerman, @undecidingfate, @nightlysunn, @faeryminnyx, @simpcreator, @lucifarts-boxers, @sunlightstarr (Accounts that I was unable to tag have been removed. Those who don't want to be tagged in certain stories are not tagged in this particular post. Remember to check your settings if you're allowing people to mention you/tag you in posts or not)

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[sakuraryomen01]

Fucked Down Below.. /Sukuna Ryomen x Fem!reader/

warnings: sukuna x female reader . smut/nsfw . dubcon so possible [rape] warning . sex on the throne, doggy style . nipple suckling, biting, and pulling . honestly, mostly a self indulge drabble . hair pulling (slight) . groping, man handling themes . slight!sadistic sukuna . stuck in sukuna's domain . some anal fingering![reader receiving] .fighting so: blood, some gore, and cursed tropes?? . featuring: yuji itadori and megumi fushiguro!

reader: female reader! (also some mentioning of yuji and y/n's relationship)

plot: gojo calls you and the troublesome duo out for a mission. one of sukuna's cursed fingers were located in a mall somewhere in a deserted ghost town a little ways away from the red light district.

words: 5.83k

a/n: this ended up as a story rather than a drabble, as i first planned, but i also thought that i might try and post something while you are all waiting for chapter 6 of Valentino! this was really fun to write and i hope to get more cheesy and goofy stuff like this out more! ^^

You had been called for a mission about an hour ago once you and your friends got into the car, being driven towards the Red Light district only to drive by the bright lights and civilians that populated the area at night.

It was one of the harshest times for you, Yuji, and Megumi.

Gojo, despite his fun-loving and almost annoying sweetness, was cracking down on missions and getting the three of you stronger than ever. He did like to live a little carefree, but the missions he was being saddled with were worse than ever, and it felt like the stress of it all was washing off on you.

Understandably, Gojo sent your band of cursed attention seeking friends off to a mission in some abandoned mall a little ways away from the district. It was reported to have multiple accidents including suicide attempts, murders, and multiple cursed wombs being born from all the negative energy.

"How many are reported being seen by sorcerers?" Megmui asked, looking from his spot in the middle of you and Yuji towards the driver of the black Honda, Kiyotaka Ijichi.

"Well, some reported up to ten low leveled spirits," Ijichi went on to say, explaining how the levels of the building provide stronger spirits and curses that you and the others would have to fight as you went along.

"The finger Gojo sent you to find must be in the lower levels of the buildings basement, where more stronger curses wait for you. There have also been multiple sightings of this one curse in particular that makes sorcerers, or young men and women from the locals, faint for long periods of time and experience random dreams or feelings during them."

"Sounds like a game," Yuji commented, making you sigh and roll your eyes while a smile plastered on your face. Both of you didn't hear the last bit of information like Megumi did, but focused on the mission none the same. "Like how levels in a video game have stronger enemies the higher, or lower the sections are!"

"I don't think that's how it's supposed to be, Itadori." Megumi cut in, pulling his phone from his pocket and started to look through things that don't concern you or Yuji. "If it helps you to think of it that way though, it doesn't bother me."

What kind of effect does the spirit have on people our age?

Yuji made a makeshift offended pout and then looked out the window to spot the abandoned warehouses and small homes behind the district. He let out a small coo in awe, seeing the broken down buildings and pressing a hand to the cold window of the car, like he was a child going to Disneyworld in America.

That spun your mind into the whole concept of funland parks and such before Ijichi pulled into the old parking lot of the 6 story tall mall.

"This is it!" He announced, though the normal jittery nervousness laced his words before he got out to cast the magical barrier to keep out locals and other curses from what dwelled inside the mall and the cursed dead inside.

You and the others got out of the Honda as well and started to make your way towards the mall while Ijichi stood by the side of the car. He watched as you all got closer and closer to the entrance, a light sweat starting to coat his brow as he set the barrier.

"Emerge from darkness, blacker still purify that which is impure."

A dark patch of cursed energy formed at the top of the mall, cascading around the building and a 10 foot radius around it and you all inside the building. The veil between you, Ijichi, and his car were slowly becoming harder and harder to see as the barrier solidified.

"I'll never get used to that," Yuji mumbled from beside you, making you smirk and punch his arm lightly.

"Are you getting chicken now, Itadori?" You teased, following Megumi as Yuji pouted and walked by your side. "I'll bet you tonight's dinner everything will be fine!"

"Y/n, you're so rude! Of course I'm not chicken!"

Megumi walked past the old, and broken metal detectors that sat at the entrance of the area and walked towards the stairs going towards the basement of the building.

"So, all in agreement of just going to where the finger is?" You chirped, raising your hair sheepishly in the form of a lighthearted joke to ease the tension that slowly started to grow.

"Agreed." The boys said, Megumi's mind elsewhere as he thought about the trouble they'll have to face. As you continued to walk around the mall, looking for curses to exercise, nothing showed up.

Not a single cursed being, scent, or even a trace of negative feelings stirred as you and the duo made your way around the building. The feelings of unease coursing through all of you as the echoing sounds of your shoes hit the floor. It made your stomachs churn as your nerves began to get even more upset.

"This is starting to get me nervous," Megumi mumbled to himself, his emerald eyes scanning all the rooms your group came across. "Nothing's come out to attack us, it's making me wonder if the reports were counterfeit."

"Counterfeit reports for cursed spirits?" You wondered, tilting your head to the side and making you speed up a little to catch up to his long strides. "Is that a thing? Has it happened before?"

"It's never happened while I've been a sorcerer," The raven haired male shook his head, looking down at you while turning a corner back to the main area of the mall.

The main area had a large fountain built in the middle, the functions of the water and such that made the fountain a fountain that appeared to have stopped working months, even years ago. It was covered in some vines and other assorted growth that also seemed to be blocking the water from shooting out of the spouts.

"Hm, if that's a possibility, could this be a trap?" Yuji asked, walking on the left side of his friend while you guys walked past the fountain and towards the stairs to the basement once again.

"Maybe, but I doubt Gojo-sensei would make us come here for something meaningless and could get us into danger."

Actually, he totally would. Your group let out a collective groan, pushing open the old door at the top of the stairs before making your way down the dark staircase.

"Anyone got a light for this shit?" You whined, patting your pockets down as you coughed at the dust lingering in the air. "I can't see anything!"

"Here, use my phone," Megumi said, pulling his device from his back pocket and turning on the flash, handing it to you as Yuji chuckled behind him.

You turned your eyes up towards the pastel haired boy, frowning with annoyance. "What are you laughing at?"

"N-Nothing, I promise!" Yuji teased, nodding towards your dusty clothing. "Just wondering if you're allergic to dust or something. Thought it'd be kinda cute, ya'know?"

Your cheeks tinted a light pink as your stomach bubble with embarrassment, thought you let out a cool sigh and smirked.

"Ah yes, it's quite cute when a girl sneezes from dust or pollen."

Yuji chuckled again as your feet touched the bottom of the stairs. The floor creaks loud and echoes throughout the empty space, making a shiver go up your already spooked spine. Megumi tries to settle the worry by summoning his divine dogs, sending them around to look for any scents or traces of cursed energy. Though, they reported nothing, just like upstairs.

"This is starting to look more and more like a set up," You conclude, moving the flash from the staircase to around the dark area. Yuji and Megumi walking at your sides forward into the dusty abode.

"Dude, there's so much junk down here," Yuji mutters to himself, kicking at an old clown figure that was supposedly for a child's play area or something. "And these old things are giving me the creeps."

"Eyes that are dead inside."

"Like Fushiguro."

The small insult made Megumi turn his attention towards you and Yuji who already had your hands up for forgiveness. "I'll punch you both if you don't take this more seriously."

"Alright, alright!"

Megumi continues his little search, telling you and Yuji to spread out and look for something to conduct some light. You found a few lamps and such from sales, but they either had no bulbs or the plug-ins were broken. Bent or torn off in the more simple cases.

"I found some small holdable lamps," Yuji announced, lifting the kind of lamp you'd take out for camping. Though, they were more kiddy themed, and they were quite small. "They'll be useful, right?"

"I suppose," Megumi said, grabbing one of the lamps and managing to power it on, holding his hand out for his phone.

You passed him his phone and turned on your own lamp, looking around the room before pointing at another set of stairs that led downward. Deeper into the ground and into the basement of whatever creepy place this old mall was.

"Alright, let's get going," Yuji nodded once his lamp was on, following you and Megumi down another flight of stairs before there was a deep rumble throughout the room.

You, Megumi, and Yuji stood still. The sound of something moving around below makes all of your hearts stop. You look towards the boys, seeing Yuji's face go from a cheerful smile to a pale straight faced look of fear. Megumi's was like before, although the bombing of his Adam's apple told you he was uneasy about the situation.

"Sh-Should we keep going?" You asked hesitantly, pressing your lips together as a cold sweat started.

"..Do we have to?" Yuji whimpered quietly, looking between you and Megumi. "I mean, I don't want to see the face of what just shook a big ass building, do you?"

You wholeheartedly agreed, but the look Megumi was giving you told you to keep moving. Letting out a shaking groan, you continued your path towards the stairs and started going down them. The rumbling and the constant shaking of the area made your heart leap into your throat, your lungs felt like they were shrinking with how little you were able to breath.

"Oh my- blech!" Yuji grimaced, holding his nose and drawing you and Megumi's attention, pinching his nose. "Don't y'all smell that? It's horrible!"

You take a sniff and immediately regret it, you could smell it too. A sweet, but almost disgusting tang to it. It hit you suddenly and made you clasp a hand to your mouth and nose, looking back towards the exit of the stairs. "Ughh.. That's terrible. It smells like barfed up candy."

"Don't make a mental image of it, Y/n!" Megumi huffed, continuing to walk towards the exit until he was able to poke his head out to see where the scent was coming from.

Though, what you expected was a trash heap that some hobo may have left, that's not what you got. In fact, what you got was a strange lump that sat in the back ends of the room. The room itself was the same as the basement area above, just darker and more air tight.

What is that? You thought, looking towards the lump in the back, seeing some slight movement but no cursed energy.

"Oi, don't get too close," Megumi warned, tugging at your shoulder a little to stop you in your tracks. "I can't see it that well. I'll let my dogs deal with it, okay?"

You gave a nod, but began to inspect the area around you. Seeing nothing but some broken down attractions from sales like in the upper floor, some actually broken and missing pieces. In the background, you could hear Megumi's dogs bark, and a sudden surge of cursed energy and power was released.

It knocked you to your feet, making you gasp and cough while Yuji and Megumi let out a yell. You looked behind you to see that the lump in the corner had stood up and took shape of a cursed being.

It had long, dark purple tentacles and its main body resembled that of a worm, or maggot. Its flesh appeared to glisten under the lamps light, and you assumed it'd be hard to actually punch or kick.

"Y/n, are you okay?" Yuji asked, running to your side to help you up, kneeling as his eyes continued to be glued on the monster. "Hurry, we gotta get out of here!"

The divine dog's barking and growling echoed throughout your head, making you whimper but stand nonetheless. Leaning your weight into Yuji, you looked back to see Megumi running after the curse that was trying to escape through a large crack in the wall behind it.

The cursed energy that hit you was continuously flowing from it, wave after wave, making your head hurt and your body ache. Yuji tugged on your arm, trying to follow Megumi to no avail.

"C'mon, get on my back, Y/n," Yuji cooed, kneeling and looking back at you as if to comfort. "We gotta follow them and keep Megumi safe."

"Th-The finger.. I think it--" You started, your voice weak, but you were interrupted by a high pitched screech from the cursed spirit.

There was a small struggle, and then the sound of rocks and the mall's floor break from above sounded. Once you climbed onto Yuji's back in a hurry, Yuji stood and ran back towards the stairs. Running as fast as he could, managing to get back up into the main mall area once again and spotting Megumi halfway across in a department store.

"Fushiguro!" Yuji yelled, seeing Megumi stumbling out of the store, an obvious cut or two visible on his arm and cheek. Yuji placed you near the fountain and turned his attention to the curse.

"That thing, it looks like the amount of cursed energy that it emits makes people faint! Maybe that's why some locals were reported to fall asleep or faint on the scene?!"

Running towards it as cursed energy began to flow to his hands, creating extra power and force before he jumped and punched the slimy surface of the creature. You heard him yelp at the texture and jump back before the curse swung a tendral towards him and hit him in the side. Knocking the air from his lungs and shooting him into a store farther from you and Megumi.

"Itadori!" You yelled, eyes wide as your mind began to focus once again. Whatever that hit you earlier was starting to fade, but there was a light, numb throb in your core.

What hit me?

You stood from your spot at the fountain and ran to Megumi, checking his injuries to make sure he was alright. "I'm fine. I'll send Neu after Yuji to check on him as well."

You nodded and looked over at the curse, seeing it rearing up for another attack, you grabbed Megumi by the collar and pulling him out of the way. Though, you weren't safe. The curse foresaw your next move and reacted quickly, grabbing you by the waist and lifting you into the air.

Before Megumi was lifted off the ground too, you released your hold on his uniform and forced cursed energy throughout your waist and feet. Trying to free yourself before the curse crushed you in its grasp, feeling its grip on you tighten as slime started to ooze from the ends. You gagged at the sickeningly sweet smell it produced, making your head weak and your body following suit.

What's going on!? The curses' energy, it's.. knocking me out?

You let out a small squeak before the room went dark and your vision blurred. The last sound you heard was Megumi yelling, and a large crack sound erupted from where Yuji was. That throbbing feeling you felt in your core earlier continued to get stronger and stronger as your mind went blank and laughter filled your head.

Before you knew it, you were asleep.

"How's it feel napping in my domain, punk?"

Jolting awake, your core continued to throb as your eyes opened. Weak, tired, and sore, you blinked a few times to try and steady yourself for what was to come.

"Wh-Wha..?" You mumble, coughing and sitting up as the room around you starts to focus and level out. "Where.. am I?"

Seeing a pool of water beneath you, an ominous red glow throughout the area, and the sense of something stronger than you lapped into your headspace. Once you snapped to attention, your eyes swerved over to Sukuna at the top of a mountain of bones he called his throne. You gasp, standing quickly, but the numb pulse in your temple made you kneel, groaning and mumbling curses under your breath.

"So, was the nap enjoyable?" The cursed king chuckled from his spot above you, his eyes sparkling with interest at your current mood. He had watched you pathetically get caught by such an inferior being, be forced down after a stronger surge of cursed energy, and how you were forced to faint.

Now, Sukuna didn't like the idea of saving someone that wasn't Fushiguro Megumi, but he made a small exception for you. He quite liked watching you squirm when times got tough, and liked watching you fight when you could.

And that brat practically begged him to not let you die. Stupid.

"I saw that you and the others were having a bit of trouble," Sukuna teased, pressing his cheek against his fist, smiling wickedly as your eyes flared up at him. "Awe, too soon?"

"Shut up," You mumbled, managing to stand on your feet. "You don't know what you're talking about."

"Oh I do, in fact. I watched from inside this brat. You got hit by something, too, didn't you?"

At the mere mention of it, your core began to throb even more. Making your legs buckle, your breath becoming heavy and lean forward. Holding onto your knees for support, you held your stomach, as if the weird sensations would just stop the touch. Sukuna let out a cackle, shifting from his spot on the throne to in front of you, looking down at you like the pathetic, and tired sorcerer you were.

Seriously, what have the clans come to to make such a weak girl work her ass off?

"Come, I could help you," He said, coolly, reaching his hand forward and placing it atop your head. Petting you gently with a smile etched on his features once again. "Y'know what it's causing, right? Or are you stupid too?"

You wanted to punch him, to beat him and let your frustration out, but your insides burned with want. What caused it? That weird smelling curse?

"L-Let me go back," You tried, looking up at the cursed king with a frown on your face. "I need to help Itadori and Fushiguro!"

Sukuna's tongue clicked, his hand leaving its place on your head as his fingers traced your jawline. "Don't you get it? They're probably fine, knowing what that Itadori kid can do without me."

Your brows twitched, making your grunt at the curse's touch. What was his deal? He didn't like you, Megumi, or Yuji. Why help you?

The air in Sukuna's domain made almost no difference for you, it was like your lungs just couldn't function correctly. Did your body get crushed, is that it?

But this throbbing inside you wasn't pain, it was something else..

"Connect the dots already, darling," Sukuna chuckled, his movements quick as he grasped your throat in his hand. Squeezing until you squeaked and grabbed at his wrist, lifting you up til your toes could barely touch the ground.

"You feel that burning in your stomach, right? That throb in your core? It's the effects of a love's curse, something twisted and unrequited."

Sukuna let out a chuckle, pulling you closer while you struggled, glaring at him. "Much like your love for this boy, right?"

A burn in your cheeks formed, your cheeks tinting a light pink, but you tried to deny it. Shaking your head without much success, making the cursed king bellow out a monstrous laugh. Your heart felt like it had dropped, seeing Sukuna's eyes flare with a new passion inside them, trailing over your squirming body until they landed on your crotch.

"It's easy to fix, darling," Sukuna smirked, his eyes flickering back up to connect with yours. "Just be good, and I'll make you feel so much better."

In a flash, Sukuna was sitting on his throne once again with you on top of him. Straddling his lap like you owned it, his hand that was grasping your throat loosened its grip as the other traced a line up your thigh and rested on your hip. The smile on Sukuna's face told you he was pleased to have you seated there, feeling your body growing warmer and warmer.

Watching you struggle as the curse's effect continued to take hold of you, meanwhile your body was laying down in the mall. Your friends desperately tried to protect it as the curse continued to destroy and dismantle the mall.

"Why's she asleep, Fushiguro?!" Yuji questioned, dodging one of the curse's attacks and picking up your limp body from its place near the curse. "What's wrong with her?!"

"Yuji, you need to focus!" Megumi yelled back, sending Neu after the curse's face, the large bird sending shocks of electricity through the curse and clawing at it. "If we don't get out of here soon, the whole building will collapse on us!"

The rumbling inside the building and the cracks on the wall signifying Megumi's hunch was correct. But you didn't hear or see any of this, you didn't hear the worry in Yuji's tone or the seriousness of Megumi's orders. Not even the curse's screeches or Megumi's shikigami barking and growls.

All you could see or feel was Sukuna, his hands currently tracing up and down your heated body. Touching wherever he wished and wanted to. He watched as your body began to grow weak from the cursed energy, managing to get you leaning all your weight onto him and panting heavily.

"Doesn't this make it better?" He asked, teasing as his fingers slipped under your uniform jacket and shirt, feeling your hot skin under his cool fingers. "Hm? All I can hear is your breathing, Y/n. Answer me."

"..Y-Yes," You managed, your legs trembling under Sukuna's hands. Your body was so weak and sore, your body too was continuing to throb and your core's pulsing had gotten worse.

Anything was helping you relieve it, even if it was the King of Curses himself. This made the spirit smile, delving deeper into your clothing, undoing your jacket and even daring to press a few soft kisses on your temple and jaw. Suckling and creating love marks in places he could reach, lifting your shirt too and feeling out the lace of your bra.

"I can feel your pussy heating up through your clothes," Sukuna teased, watching you squirm and close your eyes as another wave of blush covered your cheeks. "I'm gonna play with it, alright? I'd rather go straight for it, but healing your body would be rather tedious, wouldn't it?"

You flinch as Sukuna's hand trail back down your stomach and to your heat, slipping his hand into your pants and rubbing little circles around the throbbing nub. Whimpering, Sukuna continued to rub and rub, feeling your pussy begin to drench and soak your panties. He pushed them to the side, hearing your little gasp as he traced the outline of your pussy. A smirk playing his lips as he pushed at the entrance of your tight hole with a finger, kissing your neck until your hips started to buck into his palm.

"Hm? Want me to push it inside?" He asked, knowing how he was making your body react. Feeling your cunt pulse against him while you continued to grind your clit into his hand.

"P-Please," You mumbled, quiet, but loud enough for him to hear. "It hurts.. Make it stop."

"Well, since you asked so nicely for me."

Pushing his finger in, Sukuna let out a groan. Feeling your walls pulsing around his digit as he slowly moved it in and out. Continuing to grind his palm into your clit, chuckling to himself as you started to mewl for more.

"Shh, darling," Sukuna pressed his lips to yours, trying to silence you but eat up your moans at the same time. "I have to be gentle, so relax and tak emy fingers."

He enjoyed watching you squirm in his lap, thrusting your hips against him. You were practically drooling down there, coating his wrist and fingers in your slick, dripping from his hand to his pants. Staining them as a small patch started to darken the fabric with your juices, a snicker coming from Sukuna.

"Look at that," He teased, sucking on your neck and leaving a bite, making you moan as he continued to invade your insides with his fingers. "Your pussy's clenching on my fingers, darling. Does it feel that good that you can't let them go?"

Your whines and mewls were response enough, squeezing him down to his knuckles, drooling all over them and coating his pants more. With a huff, Sukuna reached down and palmed himself through the clothing, squeezing and rubbing until he was firm and practically stretching the fabric. Reluctantly, you released Sukuna's fingers only to feel his tip tapping against your clit.

"I don't usually warn a person when I'm going to enter," Sukuna commented, making you blush as he continued to rub his aching tip against your pulsing opening. "That makes you special."

In an instant, Sukuna was plunging you down. Bouncing you in his lap as he forced you to take his cock, your pussy creaming and making a ring around his base. Your wanton moans make Sukuna's dick twitch and throb, wanting to go farther inside you and knock you up. Maybe he should make you carry his heirs?

"Keep fucking yourself on me," Sukuan ordered, yanking off your shirt and bra. The sounds of your clothes being torn to pieces makes you shudder, your nipples becoming erect at the direct contact of the cool air.

Instantly, Sukuna attached his lips to your nipple. Rolling his tongue and pinching it between his teeth, while his hand placed itself on your hip and created a mouth. Biting and suckling on your skin as you continued to rock in his lap. You felt more than normal pleasure or euphoria, it was something that your belly wanted. It wanted to release over and over, to feel orgasm after orgasm from Sukuna's cock. It was something that you never dreamt of in your wildest or lewdest of dreams.

"S-Sukuna!" You whimpered, squeezing the thickness of his shaft, dripping around it while you continued to cry over it. It left a burning sensation whenever it knocked against your G-spot. "It's too much, slow down!"

Sukuna laughed at this, thrusting his hips up to match your rhythm, grunting and panting underneath you as he taunted you.

"Ah, now you ask me to slow down? Please, darling, I know you can take more than a few thrusts! Now be a good little sorcerer and take my cum deep inside that tight hole!"

After a few more thrusts and groans from Sukuna, his hips stopped as his load was released. Pumping it inside you a few times as your orgasm hit you too, squeezing and holding onto Sukuna like your life depended on it.

"Don't crumble too soon, Y/n," Sukuna muttered into your ear, holding onto your back while he calmed his breathing. "I've got so much more in store for this cute pussy."

You whimpered in response, still feeling the afterglow of your orgasm. Eyes closed but shooting open once you felt water against your knees and hands. You looked around for a moment until you heard Sukuna letting out a breath.

"Mm, seeing your ass like this is truly debaucherous," He smirked, grabbing your hips and grinding his cock between your bare asscheeks. "Gods, I would've killed for a pussy this amazing years ago."

Before you could respond, or even take in how Sukuna got you down from his throne, he was pushing his dick back inside you. Grabbing ahold of your hips and pounding into you like he wanted more than just your hole. And boy did he.

He wanted to carve up your oozing insides and make them remember his shape and size. The weight of his cock, the feeling of his cum shooting ropes inside of you. He could fix anything that he had broken later, despite how annoying that'd be, but for now he wanted to make you go home wanting more of it. Sukuna wanted you to lay awake at night wondering how good his cock would feel in other places.

With that last thought, Sukuna's eyes looked down at your ass again. Watching it bounce against his pelvic bone in a harsh rhythm, feeling the plush softness it had even as it slapped against him.

"Fuck, you feel so warm down here," Sukuna cooed, lifting a hand to slap you. Watching the red mark on your asscheek form and hearing your yelps and moans, spreading your ass on his cock and groaning quietly.

"Look at that, even your asshole is twitching for attention!"

He traced his thumbpad over the quivering little entrance, feeling your pussy constrict around him until it was almost painful. Though he didn't mind. Squeeze as much as you want, hell, rip his cock off so he can grow a newer and bigger one.

He didn't care, nor did he mind. He wanted more and more of this sinful pleasure, to pleasure you until you broke from it.

"Scream on my dick, Y/n!" Sukuna cackled again, pushing his thumb into your ass and watching you arch your back and cry out. "Go on! Who's making you feel like this? Who's making you sob over some cock?"

"Y-You are!" You moaned, eyes rolling to the back of your head as you began to drool. It was too good inside you, Sukuna was making your body feel too much at once!

Sukuna let out a groan as he continued to abuse your asshole and pussy at the same time, reach a hand around you and cupping your clit in his hand. Forming another mouth and starting to suck on it, swirling his tongue around and around it as your cunt started choking on Sukuna's dick. You tried to hold on to that last thread of sanity you had left from this, to take control over your body and to try and stop the orgasm from coming.

But you just couldn't. There was too much pleasure forcing you to take in that climax and crumble under Sukuna's touch. And he lover every second of it.

He loved watching you break, snap, and everything in between. The desire that bubbled in his belly for more made him cum. Wanting to cum inside you again and again, to cream your little belly and leave it swollen with his sperm. Absolutely nothing could compare to the gluttony and lust that Sukuna was indulging in right now.

Just outside of your consciousness, Yuji and Megumi had managed to defeat the cursed spirit. Although they were happy they did, they still had to find that finger.

"I'm so tired," Yuji complained, trudging behind his classmate with you in tow on his back. "And Y/n still isn't awake.. Do you think she's okay?"

"She probably is," Megumi responded, making his way down the stairs as the cursed energy continued to grow. "This large amount of cursed energy must've knocked her out first, and whatever that cursed monster did to her made it worse. We'll have Shoko check her out, so don't worry about it too much, okay?"

With a sigh, Yuji agreed and continued ascending the staircase. However he was feeling, he just wished he could have protected you better or made sure you were okay before going off to fight that hell spawn.

"I-I can't.. I can't anymore.." You whimpered underneath Sukuna, feeling his hips rutting into you at a quick pace.

He had long lost his kimono and pants, holding you against one of the bones that caged him under a blank and dark sky. Thrusts are sharp and almost painful against your cervix, making your sob more every time he hit you deep inside. It felt almost as if Sukuna's intention to 'help' was no longer in his deck of cards. At this point, he was fucking you for himself, letting the years of sexual pleasure and desire corse through him and into you.

Oh, your poor little belly..

"Aaagh!!" Sukuna finally let out, stopping his sloppy movements enough just to pump another round of pent up lust inside your aching pussy. "Fuckk.. That hit the fucking spot, huh?"

You nod, cheek stained with tears. "F-Felt too good.."

Sukuna smirked at your destroyed body, seeing the multiple marks and bites, and the slaps and nibbles he left. You looked absolutely ruined and Sukuna loved creating such a masterpiece.

After repairing anything he may have wounded, he gave you a pat on your head and kissed your cheek. "Now that you're alright, do you wish to return to your friends?"

You nodded once again, clutching onto your tattered clothing and trying to cover yourself. How lewd you felt, after what you were just through. It all hit you once you were able to breathe again. And your lungs started to fill, your brain began to unfuzz and clicked all the memories into place.

You were definitely better, but with a shit ton of additional memories to boot. "Yes."

Sukuna chuckled, sighing and taking a few steps away from you. Soon the room with him and his domain started to disappear, and the light from the medical wing of Jujutsu Tech started to fill in.

"Hm.." You mumbled, blinking awake once again. "Sukuna?"

You heard a sigh of relief and looked over to see Shoko, Megumi, Yuji, and Gojo-sensei. Your head was aching, and your body felt funny, but after a while you assumed what you went through was a dream. BUt the ache in your belly and the flushed expressions you make around Yuji suggest otherwise.

No matter what you do, or where you are, your body always remembered the day that the King of Curses took you 'round his domain for almost a day trying to 'help' you wake up.

[end]

a/n: this was so fun to write and i loved creating a fun dynamic between y/n, yuji and megumi! they were all so cute and funny, despite being in such a spooky situation! also, i didn't think this was going to end up so long but i hope you liked it! i didn't get the chance to proof read since i wanted it out by today! gonna get Valentino out soon, hope you enjoyed! ^^

[kopfkino-o]

The Crossover, Timelines, and the Future of ACOTAR

Disclaimer: This post is a long one, filled with mostly ramblings, and contains spoilers for both the ACOTAR and Crescent City series. Please don’t read on if you haven’t finished either series, mostly CC, as I would hate for anything to be spoiled. Additionally, this is NOT a shipping post and I want to highly discourage any shipping discussion in regards to the contents of this post. I miss fun casual fandom discourse and want lovers of every ship to feel comfortable sharing their options if they feel so inclined. Thanks for taking the time to read this <3 - Court

~~Spoilers Below~~

SO, LET’S GET INTO IT...

Ever since I finished the last chapter of HOSAB I've had a lot of questions. Like a lot of questions. But as a reader and lover of both the CC and ACOTAR series, one thing that haunts me is how the crossover is going to impact the ACOTAR narrative moving forward. Especially since CC3 is the next book to be released. 

We know from Miss Sarah Janet herself that both series will be able to be read independently. We also know House of Flame and Shadow is Bryce’s story (and Ruhn and Hunt and all the others) and the focus will be on them. Any appearance of ACOTAR characters will be a treat, a little snack to keep readers of both series fed while they wait for the next book if you will, but what I can’t wrap my head around is the timeline, and how Bryce’s arrival ISN’T going to impact ACOTAR moving forward.

The revelations about the Asteri trying to get back into Prythian, the lost Fae worldwalking to Midgard, the 8th Dusk Court, all of that seems like it would naturally have a huge impact on the world of Prythian, and thus the characters within it. Imagine you haven’t read CC, then we learn (at the very least) there’s suddenly a new 8th court? That’s pretty important, and I imagine would leave many readers questioning. 

Which brings me to the meat of this post, the juicy bit, the good stuff, and I guess my main point: the timeline. How, and most importantly when, will the rest of the stories in the ACOTAR series occur and where will Bryce’s arrival in Prythian fall within them?

We know ~6-9 months have passed between the end of ACOSF and HOSAB, so keep that in mind as you read on! Also keep in mind these supposed timelines aren’t referring to the order of publication, but rather the order of each respective story within the timeline of the Maasverse. 

*Note: Thinking about where the next ACOTAR novella will fall (and what it might be about) hurts my head so I’m only going to briefly touch on that in this post. 

Opt. 1: ACOSF --> Bryce’s Arrival --> ACOTAR 5 --> ACOTAR 6

If the series were to follow this timeline, I have a hard time wrapping my head around how Bryce’s arrival (and all that will be learned because of it) WONT impact ACOTAR moving forward. As mentioned above, Bryce has some information that’s going to really rock the world of Prythian and I struggle to see how this information won’t change the story in ACOTAR 5 and 6. 

If everything involving Bryce occurs BEFORE the events of the next ACOTAR books then it’s safe to say the characters would all be aware of: 

The Dusk Court (reborn or not) 

The Asteri’s return

Other worlds

Bryce’s arrival 

The Starborn Fae

And whatever knowledge Rhys and Armen seem to have

That’s a lot of really important stuff that has huge implications for Prythian. The way I see it, if this is the route the timeline takes then readers will need to read both the entirety of the Crescent City and ACOTAR series, though this goes directly against what the author herself has told us.

Confused? Me too. 

Opt. 2: ACOSF --> ACOTAR 5 --> ACOTAR 6 --> Bryce’s Arrival

I don’t know what to really think of this potential timeline (but I might have convinced myself more and more of it while writing this), as there’s a whole lot of story left to cover, and if I’m remember correctly, there was only around a ~6-9 month gap between the end of ACOSF and Bryce’s arrival in Pythian at the end of HOSAB. That’s not a lot of time to solve all of the issues the ACOTAR characters are facing, at least in my opinion, especially when we still have: 

Koschei and his machinations + Vassa’s curse

Two more love stories that need to unfold

Lucien and his real father

Eris and his scheming / Autumn Court drama

Mor and her secret

Elain and her powers

The High King plotline

Feysand’s death pact

Truth-Teller and where it came from

Valkyries still aren’t fully formed / Bloodrite fallout

Tamlin still running around totally feral though I hope he stays that way

And the many unanswered questions regarding tertiary characters and newly introduced characters, like Gwyn, Emerie, Balthazar, Helion and Lady Autumn, etc. etc. 

That’s... a lot. 

THEN AGAIN, if I remember correctly, the entire events of the Throne of Glass series spanned over the course of ~one year, so maybe this timeline isn’t so farfetched after all... 

Though I do find this all to be a bit clunky. Readers of both series would be aware of Bryce’s arrival, other worlds, the Asteri’s attempt to reinvade Prythian, the lost Dusk Court, etc. all throughout the rest of the ACOTAR series. Seeing as CC3 is coming in January 24′, before the rest of the ACOTAR books, this timeline would also mean that readers of both series would have technically already seen the conclusion to both CC and ACOTAR by the time they finish HOFAS. 

Sarah does like to play with the concept of time (past, present, future) so perhaps this timeline might make sense in the end. This could also play into the theory that TOG was the past, CC the future, and ACOTAR the present... 

But now I’m giving myself a headache so let’s move on. If you’re still with me, you’re a saint and I hope your bookshelves are always full, your recs always good, and your pages never dog-eared. 

Opt. 3: ACOSF --> ACOTAR 5 --> Bryce’s Arrival --> Novella (?) --> ACOTAR 6

This is a pretty wonky timeline too (I’m starting to think they all are) but I could also see it potentially making the most sense given the fact the 6-9 month window between ACOSF and HOSAB might be enough time for one of the remaining ACOTAR stories to play out, given that Nesta’s story spanned around ~10 months to a year. Though this would mean we’d read about Bryce’s arrival at the END of ACOTAR 5, and thus would need some sort of mention of this monumental event in ACOTAR 6/the novella. This would also mean there would be one endgame ACOTAR couple already together during the events of CC3, though I don’t think this is a huge thing, seeing as House of Flame and Shadow is about Bryce. Could we get crumbs and hints? Sure, though seeing as Sarah likes to keep her endgames tight-lipped, I highly doubt we’ll get anything substantial. 

Speaking of the  Novella... If it does come after ACOTAR 5/Bryce’s arrival, could this be a good way to bring in the idea of the multiverse to ACOTAR-only readers? Perhaps the novella is about the time the Daglan ruled over Prythian?? Or maybe it’ll be about Queen Theia??? Maybe it’ll be about none of that?? 

Now my head hurts. 

Regardless of how the timeline shapes out I am so excited about where the story is going and can’t wait to see the new dynamics, lore, plots, and elements the crossover introduces. But now I want to know your theories! How do you think SJM will handle the crossover, the revelation of the Maasverse, the interconnected worlds of Prythian and Midgard, and all the goodness we still have left to explore in CC3/ACOTAR 5&6???

Thanks again for reading!

[pannman]

Chapter 3 Yes! I enjoyed writing this one the most. Blitzø is fun to write dialogue for.

Here is chapter 2 ⬇️

The Cowboy's Captive

Chapter 3

Striker x fem reader

TW: Swearing, kidnapping, implied violence... the usual.

As a human stuck in hell and being held prisoner by a gang of demons you were surprisingly relieved to have been caught after your millionth escape attempt. This time it was a bit different though. Your brush with the cowboy demon Striker had you wary of seeing him again. Luckily Loona found you when she did.

All members of I.M.P were waiting when you got back. Moxxie immediately checked you over and suggested you rest your voice for a while even though you very much wanted to tell them what happened. Despite that you agreed to just nod for a while. You throat hurt pretty bad and you were feeling kind of weak. Blitzø tried to act like he wasn’t concerned but he clearly was. As far as kidnappers went they were occasionally nice to you and weirdly cared about your well being. Even though they often mentioned they were gonna kill you once you were done erasing all the footage of them from the human world. You tried to remind yourself that they were not your friends but it was days like this you couldn’t help but wonder if they were growing fond of you as well.

“Jesus, kid! You gotta stop running!” Blitzø finally said. “I’m sure she learned her lesson Blitzø” Millie said with a hand on your shoulder as you were sitting on the couch. “It’s LITERALLY hell out there. It’s no place for helpless little humans to be out and about.” Moxxie tried to come to your defense. “In her defense sir. We are holding her against her will. And since she cannot speak right now I believe someone should speak for her.” Blitzø rolled his eyes. “oh please Mox! She’s safer here than anywhere else in this shit hole!” at that you had to ask. “… Does… duh.. (cough!) Does that mean… your not… (COUGH! AHEM! COUGH! COUGH!)” you hacked and wheezed as you tried to make out the words. "Stop fucking talking” Loona said looking away from her magazine for just a moment. It was a huge contrast from earlier when she seemed genuinely worried about you. “Alright so obviously someone needs to keep an close eye on her tonight who’s turn is it? “Why, I think its ours Blitzø.” Millie responded. Blitzø pointed at M and M. “you two make sure she doesn’t try to escape…” he leaned towards them and whispered half embarrassed “and make sure she drinks plenty of water”.

That night Moxxie made you Chamomile tea and they took your laptop away after 6 o clock. It was kinda odd but nice. Being taken care of like this. Your throat felt strong enough to finally say something. “you… guys don’t wanna… kill me do you?” Millie and Moxxie were at a loss of words. They looked at each other. Millie finally confessed. “well, if we’re being honest…. Blitzø hasn’t made up his mind yet.” “MILLIE! We’re not supposed to tell her that!” “Well she’s been through a lot today! She deserves some answers!” Millie and Moxxie didn’t fight often and when they did it was very brief. As you expected Moxxie caved. “Alright. Alright. You’re right sweetie.” He looked at you with an apologetic stare. “well be more honest with you from now on just… don’t tell Blitzø. Just pretend like you have no idea.” You nodded. They both smiled. They turned out the lights and tied you to the couch but loosely so you weren’t too uncomfortable. Despite the fact that you could probably struggle your way out of them you decided you were done running. You were much better off taking your chances with your somewhat empathetic captors than endangering yourself out there where demons like Striker could get you. Things were finally starting to feel a little more comfortable. You drifted asleep feeling content.

You awoke suddenly. You felt sharp nails dig into your shoulders and the heat of someone’s breath ghosting your neck as you were hoisted upward. Despite just waking up you immediately recognized it as Striker. The demon who had tried to choke you out and take you earlier. You tried to call out but your throat was still sore. And it was not really worth it considering you could see M and M knocked out in the floor. A glass bottle was broken scattered about. You tried to struggle but Striker had tightened your restraints. He threw you over his shoulder and carried you out. You wondered how he had found you and where he was taking you. But most of all you hoped and prayed that Moxxie and Millie and were alright and somebody would save you soon.

[clone-whore-99]

Troublemaker

Chapter 5: Talk about it

The Bad Batch x f!Reader

Warnings: a lot of angst, again. Other than that, pretty chill chapter. Everybody seems to be worried about Reader. LMK if I missed anything

Authors note: The reason for this chapter taking so long, is definitely not because I've spent hours upon hours reading wookepedia pages, studying screenshots and rewatching clips to make sure everything is as canon as possible. Definitely.

If you like it, please do let me know by liking and commenting and maybe even reblogging, it would mean a lot to me 🥺👉👈

Chapter 1: Arriving at Kamino

Chapter 2: Work, Armor and... Clones?

Chapter 3: Let it out

Chapter 4: You shouldn't have done that

-

Chapter 6: The 20 Questions Game

Chapter 7: Crosshair

Chapter 8: Echoes of the Past

Chapter 9: The Fight

Chapter 10: A Nice Change of Air

Chapter 11: Sore Muscles

Chapter 12: Heavy Rain Weights the Mind

Chapter 13: Waste of Time

The good news was, that the couch in your dads living room was finally being used, for something other than you watching trashy holo dramas. The bad news was, that it was being used to scold you and Crosshair.

Crosshair had been correct in the assumption that the two of you would make it back to the apartment, before your father would get off work. However, he hadn't accounted for Lazie - your dads service droid - being sent back to check up on you and make sure you got something to eat. Only for it to see that you were nowhere to be found and obviously it told your dad.

Hunter was standing behind your dad, waiting for him to finish so he could take over the scolding. The rest of the team was in their barracks. Your dad was pacing back and forth, yelling about how worried he was and when he asks you to go to your room he expects you to stay in the room and blah blah blah.

You weren't really listening. If Crosshair was, he wasn't showing it. He was sitting to your left, leaning back with his arms crossed over his chest and his right leg resting over the left one. You, on the other hand, was sitting with your elbows on your knees and with your head resting in your hands.

"Can we pleeease do this later?" you nearly yelled, while rubbing circles into your temples. It felt like your eyes would pop out of your head, if you as much as dared to open them.

Your dad scoffed. "You're the one always complaining that I -"

"It was my fault." Crosshair interrupted your dad. You felt the couch shifting, as he stood up.

"Don't think I'm not blaming you, Cross. You're lucky I like you guys, or I would've gone straight to your lead supervisor and have you decommissioned for kidnapping my daughter."

"I told you I was just going to have an honest heart to heart talk with her." Crosshair hissed.

"And I told you to leave her alone." Your dad poked Crosshair in the chest.

"If I hadn't interfered, Y/N would've gotten herself hurt."

"She's a grown woman, if she hurts herself in one of her little tantrums, then so be it! It's not your job to take care of her."

"No, it's supposed to be yours..."

Your dad looked like he was about to hit Crosshair, when Hunter finally jumped between the two men.

"Guys," his voice was low, but stern. "Let's have this discussion elsewhere, shall we?"

Hunter looked in your direction, causing the other two to follow suit.

After Crosshair got off the couch, you had let yourself slump down to lie in a fetal position, with your hands covering your ears to keep the noise out. Your eyes were still closed, and you trying so hard to think about anything, but the dunking pain in your head.

You thought back to the shooting range and how much fun it had been. How, when you first hit the center of the target, Crosshair had been forced to step back, so you could jump up and down in excitement. How proud he had looked, when you had managed to hit the center several times on your own. And how you had looked like a complete fool, jumping around and doing little celebratory dances every time.

It was such a shame that you had to stop, but you felt like you were going blind on your dominent eye. You had overstrained it and by the time your vision came back, your head felt like it was going to explode.

When you opened your eyes again, there was no sign of the three men, who had just been standing in front of you. Nor was there any sign of your headache.

It took you a minute to realise that you must've fallen asleep. At some point during the night, either your dad or one of the clones must've put a medpatch on you to help with the pain and a blanket to keep you warm. You couldn't help the little smile that appeared at the thought.

You decided to spend your surprise day off in a very productive manner. By lying on the couch, catching up on your favorite trash holo dramas.

It was rare for your dad to give you time off, unless it was in order to punish you. And when that happened, you were always just confined to your room. Though you had no proof, you were certain it was one of the members from Clone Force 99 that was the reason for your time off.

After having spent the majority of the day consuming trash, you felt like you needed a shower. Badly. You probably smelt like it too.

"Y/N, sweety?" Your dad called out from the entrance.

"In a minute, I'm in the 'fresher!" You yelled over the sound of the shower.

"Take your time, fruitcakes."

Oh no, he called you fruitcakes. He only called you that when something was wrong. Was that why he was back so soon? It was only dinner time, dad was never back by dinner time. What could possibly be so important, that he got back early from work and called you fruitcakes? Did something happen? Was he going to ship you away again?

You shook your head, trying to push away the millions of thought racing through your mind. So what if he wanted to get rid of you? You had wanted to get away from that force forsaken planet anyways!

Barely having gotten the soap washed off your body, you stepped out of the shower and quickly got dressed again. You took a couple of deep breathes, trying to calm your nerves before heading out to face the inevitable.

"What's up, dad?" your voice was way calmer than you.

"Have a seat sweetheart, I've managed to get us some Glowblue Noodles and Chav for dinner." Okay, this was freaky.

You hesitantly sat by the barely used dinner table. "Is something wrong?" No need to beat around the bush, might as well bite the sour fruit before it'll hurt too much.

"Not... Really, why?"

You shrugged. "You're home early from work. You're eating dinner with me. You called me Fruitcakes. You only call me Fruitcakes when you have bad news."

"I just managed to get a break from work and figured that we haven't really sat down and eaten dinner together in years, so..."

And whose fault is that?

For a moment, the only sound filling the room was that of cutlery hitting the plate. If it weren't for the anticipation of whatever your dad was trying to avoid telling you, it might even have been nice to sit like that.

"You're awfully quiet. Are, ehm, do you not like the food?" your dad finally broke the silence.

"No, it's fine." you were resting your head on your knuckles, while pushing the noodles around with your fork.

Your dad shifted nervously in his chair. "Y/N, sweetheart, fruitcakes... Did something happen?"

This caused you to finally straighten up in your seat and look at him. His eyes were filled with worry. "What do you mean?" You asked.

"Well, did something happen to you over the last couple of years?"

"You mean, besides the galactic wide war that's been happening?" you scoffed.

Your dad looked around the room nervously. "Both Tech and Crosshair says they've caught you having panic attacks... And with how hostile and - let's be honest - kinda promiscuous you've been acting lately, well Tech thought -"

"Panic attacks? I don't, panic.. and PROMISCUOUS!? I - I don't even know what to say, dad! What I do, when I'm... I can't believe you talked to the guys about this! I thought Crosshair was lying when he said you had told him I was sleeping around, but apparently not!" You were so mad you could barely think straight.

"That's not what I meant, Fruitcakes." He replied low, looking like someone who had just been caught red handed.

"So what? Have you been walking around, advertising to all the men here about how much of a whore your kid is?"

"NO! I WOULD NEVER -" your dad cut himself off right as he had slammed his hand on the table.

You stood up and started heading for the door, not wanting to be in the same room as your dad any longer. In fact, you weren't entirely sure you wanted to be on the same planet as him.

"Maybe," he whispered low, pinching the bridge of his nose with the thumb and index finger. "Maybe bringing you here was a mistake afterall..."

Your heart sank. There it was. The thing you had dreaded all night for him to say. "Of course it was." Your voice was shaky. "You hate having to spend too much time around me afterall, right?"

"That's not -" You were gone.

You didn't have any specific goal in mind, about where you were headed. You just knew you had to get away and preferably without meeting anybody on the way. Which was near impossible in a place such as Tipoca City.

After having walked in what felt like forever, you sat down for a quick rest. The last couple of corridors you had gone down had barely been populated and the few that did walk by, didn't even acknowledge your existence.

Untill a pair of boots came at a halt right next to you. The boots turned from facing you to face the opposite wall and you heard a quiet 'clank' from the armor colliding with the steel wall.

Silence.

You were waiting for the person next to you to speak, to tell you off, tell you how you couldn't just run off when you got mad or you couldn't just sit in the middle of the hallway, but he didn't.

He just stood there. Waiting for you to make the first move.

With a soft sigh, you finally gave in and broke the silence, "Do you always play with your knife around women, or am I just that special?"

That earned you a soft, but honest chuckle. "I almost thought you hadn't noticed me. Too busy staring at that wall,- not that I blame you. It is a pretty interesting wall." It was a blinding white, bare wall.

Hunter sat down next to you, accompanying you in your staring contest with the wall.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"No," You hugged your knees to your chest.

"Alright."

Silence. Again.

The only noise was the low swish sounds the vibroblade made, whenever it twirled around between Hunters fingers.

"Are you going to bring me back?" You didn't have to ask why he had come. You knew why.

"Do you want to go back?"

"No.."

"Then no."

This caused you to turn to face him in shock, though Hunter was still maintaining the stare-off with the wall.

"Then why are you here?" You asked in disbelief. The only reason he had to have come, was because your dad asked him to find you, right?

"You seem like you needed company." He tilted his head in your direction.

"I don't want your company." You muttered, going back to stare at the wall again.

Now it was Hunter's turn to look away from the wall and towards you. "What you need and what you want are two different things."

You just huffed in response.

Not letting silence fall over the two of you again, Hunter put his knife back in it's holster and then gently nudged you with his elbow. "I don't think the wall is going to get anymore interesting than this. What do you say, we go somewhere else?"

You shrugged. "Fine, I guess..."

That was all he needed, before Hunter was back on his feet and holding a helping hand out to you.

"So, what weird adventure are you going to take me on?" You asked, while grabbing his hand and letting him pull you up on your feet.

"Adventure?" Hunter raised his eyebrow quizzically.

You smirked at him, then held your hand up to count on your fingers, as you walked side by side. "So far, Wrecker has brought me to the cantina, Tech brought me... Well, I don't know where he brought me, but it was dirty and smelled weird, and Crosshair brought me to a shooting range. So, where are you bringing me?"

Hunter nodded along with your listing. "Well, since you don't want to go home, I was thinking about bringing you to our barracks. If that's okay?"

You felt the blood rush to your cheeks at the thought of being in their barracks, though you still nodded. "Okay."

"-You see the problem?" You asked Hunter, when the door to their barracks opened up and you were hit by the odd smell, you had only experienced once before.

"I'll have Tech make you a map." Hunter assured you, as he led you inside the room.

"A map over what?" Tech asked, but before you could answer, Wrecker jumped up from the couch.

"Y/N! Ad'ika!" If Wreckers loud voice hadn't woken up the men sleeping, your shrieks from being picked up by the waist like you weighted nothing would.

You were spun around in the air before Wrecker pulled you in for a big hug. "I've missed you!"

"You've only known me for one day!" You giggled as you wrapped your arms around his neck. "But I guess I've missed you too."

"A map over what?" Tech asked again, this time more annoyed that he had to repeat himself.

Wrecker put you back down again and Hunter placed a hand on your back to steady you, as he finally answered Tech: "Tipoca City. Y/N says she's still struggling to find her way around here."

"You still haven't figured that out?" Crosshair sneered. He was sitting in his bunk, wearing nothing but his body glove and was clearly irked that he had been woken up for no reason.

"Y/N didn't grow up here like we did, so it's to be expected that she's going to struggle figuring out her way around the structure of the city, especially when it all looks so similar to the untrained eye." Tech defended you, with a raised finger to bring home his point. Or, at least you think he was defending you.

"So, can you make me a map?"

Tech looked almost offended that you would even dare to ask such a thing. "Obviously. I'll get to it, once I'm done with this," and just like that, his attention went from you, back to whatever weird thing he was tinkering with.

"What are you working on?" You maneuvered to your best extent through the mess of the room, towards what looked like a make-shift worktable that was placed in front of what you could only assume was Tech's bunk.

Tech looked at you searchingly, as if he was doubting whether or not you actually wanted to know. However, once you tilted your head in curiousity, he went back to focus on his task.

"The medics on Anaxes removed all of the nonessential moderations that the Techno Union had added to Echo, but ever since then, he's been complaining about pains and hearing problems on his left ear. I am looking at the device, which was attached to his ear when we found him, in an attempt to figure out if it had anything to do with these complains, and if so, how to replicate and improve it's uses."

Tech was explaining it, as if you had been along with them on their mission and therefore all of this should just be obvious. You just nodded slowly, as if you understood.

"Echo is the reason we're back already." Hunter explained with the same assumption that you just automatically knew who - or what - Echo was.

"Yea, and then it's back in action!" Wrecker added, hitting his fist into the palm of his hand as a display of strength.

You instantly noticed the absense of Crosshair, who had previously been sitting on the bunk not far from the couch Wrecker was resting in. You quickly turned around, to find him leaning against the wall right behind you, giving you his usual devious smirk. You knew he had planned on startling you again.

Even though you had caught him, Crosshair still leaned dangerously close to your in order to tease you, "Echo's the reg sleeping in the hammock."

"Or at least trying to," A voice errupted from the red hammock behind Techs workspace, before a very frail looking man sat up. "If you guys weren't so noisy."

You couldn't help but to feel bad. The poor guy looked like he hadn't eaten, slept or seen the sun in a long time. His appearance could best be described as that of a love child between a human and a droid. You wanted nothing more but to hug him.

"Sorry... I-I shouldn't have come." You quickly stepped backwards, away from the three men.

You let out a small yelp, when you accidentally bumped into Hunter. He didn't seem to mind though, as he placed a supporting hand on your shoulder and turned you to face him.

"I invited you here, Y/N, so you don't have to leave, unless that is what you want to." Hunter tried to assure you, while bending down in an attempt to gain eyecontact.

Echo let out a tired sigh. "I'm the one who should be sorry. I didn't mean to scare you, mesh'la, I'm just not really used to this new look, I guess."

Your heart sank at Echo's apology. The last thing you wanted was to make him feel bad about himself. "You didn't scare me, it's just.." You shook your head. "It's been a long, dumb evening, that's all."

"Do you not have anywhere to stay?" Echo asked. This caused the rest of the squad to exchange glances, while your face turned red with embarrassment.

"N-no, I do, it's just -"

"Y/N is Laquans kid." Tech interrupted you.

Echos eyes went wide with the realization, before he awkwardly looked away.

Almost as if Hunter could sense your blood starting to boil with anger before you could, he quickly placed an assuring hand on your shoulder again. "We don't have to take this talk right now."

The muscles in your body started tensing up again and Hunter tightened his grib on your shoulder in an attempt to keep you grounded.

You glanced up at the long haired soldier, who in return gave you a look of worry and care. You then let your gaze discretely wander from man to man, before closing them and letting out an annoyed sigh.

"Can you guys please stop looking at me, like I'm about to explode any second now? It's not really helping.." You say with a humorless laugh.

They all apologized in their own weird way, before going back to whatever they were doing before you walked in. All except Hunter, who was still holding tightly onto your shoulder and seemingly trying to figure out what to do with you.

You looked back up at him again, with heavy, tired and pleading eyes. "Is there any where I can sleep for the night, that won't require me going back?"

"You can have my bunk, I'll sleep on the couch."

You shook your head. "I'm not gonna steal your bed, Hunter. I'm a guest here, so if anything, I should be the one sleeping on the couch."

"Or you could stay in my bunk," Crosshair added, already sitting on the edge his bunk again. "I won't mind sharing."

You turned your head to give the marksman a tired glance. After thinking about it for a second, you let out a deep sigh and asked: "Do you promise not to have any wandering hands?"

"I'm not gonna do anything you wouldn't want, dollface."

You looked back at Hunter, who gave you a weak nod. "He's not going to try anything. And if he does, I'll know it right away and put an end to it."

With a weak nod, you made your way over to where Crosshair was sitting. The look in his eyes told you, that he wasn't actually expecting you to take him up on the offer.

"Promise?"

"Promise."

Dividers by: @djarrex and @firefly-graphics

Taglist: @zoeykallus @rain-on-kamino @thebadbatchscyare @thebahdbitch @salaminus @mybigfatspoonielife @tararosebloodthorn

Please do not hesitate to ask, if you want to be added to the taglist of the series ❤

[amayaonly1]

Diavolo's Cousin from Hell - Lesson 6 (Obey Me! x Female!MC/Reader)

@strawberry-moonpies Hello there! It's been a while. I've been travelling with le family for the past week, at least. Hopefully, this chapter will make it up for the delay, where we get a glimpse of Satan's encounter with the young Prince. Enjoy!

Interested to join the tag list? Drop me a DM! I write Obey Me! fanfiction for now.

Other work: A Lil' Oopsie

Diavolo's Cousin from Hell mini-series:

Prologue | Lesson 1 | Lesson 2 | Lesson 3 | Lesson 4 | Lesson 5 | Lesson 6

"You know," the blond demon sighed. "I was expecting something serious to have happened. But now, I can't help but wonder why am I here again."

It was supposed to be another one of those days where after breakfast, he'd sit on his purple armchair and read the day away. He would begin picking up a grimoire and reading through each one in his archive for the coursework. He had planned that agenda for the day, where he'd at least start with an outline.

And yet, here he was suddenly sent by the raven-haired demon to check up on Asmodeus who failed to be present for breakfast. The fifth-both demon was found in his room sobbing dramatically with the thick duvet wrapped around him.

Asmodeus, however, felt this was a significant matter. He shot up from his fetal position, pouting at his older brother while still keeping the duvet draped over him, revealing only his face.

"It is important!" he argued. "Imagine; just imagine. You meticulously plan a romantic night with our beloved MC - a spa night that would end with some luscious champagne - only to be rejected! MC rejected me- me! Just for that demon who wanted to do something with blankets!" The thought was unbearable for him, for he buried himself in his duvet and wailed loudly. "Aaah! This rejection is just too atrocious for me to bear!"

The older demon stared at him, mildly exasperated as he heaved a sign while pinching the bridge of his nose. "I'm sure it's not as bad as you'd like to think," he remarked. "So what if Balial invited MC to his room for a sleepover? He'll only be here for two weeks, so let him have his fun before he finally gets out of our hair. Anyway, why am I consoling you over this? I need to return to my room. I got things to do. You might as well go downstairs to grab a bit before Beel finishes everything."

Without waiting for a response, he abruptly spun around and trodded towards the door. But it was just enough time for him to hear Asmodeus shouting, "Wait 'till you finally get rejected by MC, then you'll understand how I feel!"

How preposterous, he thought.

And so, the Avatar of Wrath returned to his chamber. He wasted no time going through the piles of books scattered around his room, searching high and low for grimoires that would benefit him in his assignment. Once he got ample of them in his hands, he proceeded to the library, where he'd planned to start on the outline. He had to constantly remind himself that Ms. Buduh's a strict teacher, for he wouldn't want to spare himself half an hour's worth of lecture in her office like most of his classmates. Even the meager percentage of the top students weren't spared from her critiques. To say that he had been intimidated by her would be quite an understatement, albeit his title in Devildom.

Suddenly, Satan had a thought cross his mind. Since MC was unfortunately busy with Balial, he could help her out. That way, she wouldn't have to tire herself over the assignment. It could speed things up; all she needed to do was pick the topic and some paraphrasing.

Then, perhaps, she would show her gratitude to him. Or he should stop expecting much and just get to work.

"I see that I'm not the only one who needs some "

Alas, all plans shall come to a halt upon that dreadfully familiar voice asking him that question as soon as he stepped foot into the library. He looked up; there he saw the young Prince of the Underworld sitting at the wooden table by the fireplace. He had a stack of books in front of him. The chair across from him was vacant, where another stack of books was placed before it.

Satan detested that patronizing tone coming from that little demon; nevertheless, he'd only have to give him a fake, polite smile and responded with, "Don't mind me. I'm here to complete my work."

"Well," began Balial, drawling slightly. "That's quite a shame. It seems that you'll have to occupy the larger table there."

After placing his books on the larger table in the center of the room, he looked at Balial perplexed. "Why's that so? There's an empty chair, right? I'll do my work, and you'll do yours."

"As I said, that's quite a shame. This seat has already been reserved."

"Who? Merihem?"

"No, no. It's the lady of the house."

Just as Satan was about to utter something, hurried footsteps got closer to them, followed by the said female's voice intervening, "Sorry for keeping you waiting, Balial! I had to drop by my room to grab some things."

At that moment, the young demon's face lit up as he looked toward the door. "Fear not, young maiden! A gentleman shan't mind waiting for a lady's arrival."

MC gave him a sheepish smile. "But it's unfair for a lady to constantly keep the gentleman waiting, isn't it?" In mere moments, she realised another presence in the room. Looking up, she displayed a look of surprise before saying, "Satan! I didn't see you coming. Are you also starting on Ms. Buduh's assignment?"

"Yeah," he replied with a smile. "Since a day has passed, might as well quickly start on it so we still have time to show her our drafts." He then glanced at the wooden table Balial occupied, then back at MC whom he noticed had a notebook and a pencil case in her grasp, and then back at the table. "I was thinking of asking you to join me, but I see that you're already occupied."

To which, the human nodded. "Balial has quite a lot of knowledge on the subject and has been kind enough to offer some help; well, in exchange for lodging here as we agreed earlier. Do you wanna join us? I'm sure there's room for another."

The Avatar of Wrath, however, wasn't so keen on sharing a table with Balial. But MC was right. The young Prince was known to possess some of the rarest and most important grimoires that jotted the events that occurred in relation to the religions mankind worshipped. Given that MC shared the same task as him, it's only reasonable for him to sit with them and work together.

Well, at least MC is going to be there. So it shouldn't be that bad.

"Alright, let me go grab a chair." Satan reluctantly went to the side and picked up a chair, bringing it to the oval table while MC and Balial shifted to leave some room for him. Placing the chair facing the fireplace, he went back to the table to bring his books over, before finally joining the two.

"So, where shall we start?" he began, looking up at the two.

While MC was flipping through her notebook, finding an empty page to begin the assignment, Balial stared at the blond demon blankly, raising a brow ever so slightly. The sight of his condescending look, all of a sudden, sent a surge of irritation throughout Satan's body. Then, at that moment, the young demon quickly shifted his attention to the human, changing his expression quickly to that of a cordial one as he asked, "Have you decided on which religions you want to talk about?"

"Well," MC responded with much uncertainty. "I think comparing Judaism, Christianity and Islam among each other is a bit too common. Maybe I'll compare one of them to - let's say - the Samaritanism or Druze Faith."

"Sounds like a great idea. I think I have the Epistles of Wisdom and the Torah in my archive, so allow me to check before we proceed."

So much for trying to help MC ease a bit of her burden. Maybe Asmodeus's words earlier were a prophecy of what is to come for the next, at least, one or two hours.