#hmm maybe this one should’ve stayed in the drafts

[vampcubus]

lord help me i’m thinkin’ of ex-husband CEO muzan again, and his petty ass comments coupled with unsolicited flowers on your doorstep for birthdays and achievements he catches wind of on your socials, accompanied with notes like ‘cus i know your incompetent partner forgot’ of course.

he types out ‘i miss you’ texts twice a week but never sends them, too proud to admit that he still has a picture of you in his wallet.

[lovely-angst]

break ups and break ins

a/n: i didn't have any motivation to continue writing so it stayed in my drafts for forever. it's a super messy fic im not super proud of tbh i wanted to scrap it but i got so far lol

genre: angst to fluff

pairing: hawks x reader

summary: you and hawks break up, but someone breaks in?

word count: 3.7k+

09.16.21

-

"come on, stop being so sensitive," hawks groans with an eye roll as you gawk at him. "you think i'm being sensitive because I'm hurt that you're out there flirting with other girls while we are in a relationship?"

you scoff in disbelief before tears form in your eyes, "i can't believe you right now, keigo."

hawks' brows knit as he stares at you bewildered, "i've already told you that it's just an act i have to out up because of the commission. i can't let them figure out i have a romantic relationship with someone. you don't know what they would do or could do."

"but that doesn't mean you can flirt around with no boundaries!" your voice comes out loud as your arms flail out in front of you, tears streaming down your face, "do you know how much it hurts to see you on television sweet-talking every girl out there when you're my boyfriend? i thought you would respect what we have..."

"(name), just admit you're just jealous of the fangirls and leave it at that," hawks closes his eyes, shaking his head in frustration, "honestly, they appreciate me so much more than you do."

your eyes widen in shock as you feel your heart shattering into tiny pieces so small you aren't sure if you could piece it back up.

"keigo, i love you for who you are—not because you're hawks," your voice now small and laced with hurt. "if you can't see the reason why i am so upset, i think it's best if we end it."

hawks' eyes quickly glance to yours before they look away just as quick, "i think that's what's best too," he whispers, causing your brows to furrow in sadness as you purse your lips tightly.

taking a step forward, you wrap your arms around your now ex-boyfriend, taking in his comforting arms and smell, "thanks for everything." a heavy sigh left from his lips before he nuzzled into you, "can i hold you in bed one last time?"

words died in your throat as you felt the tears sting your eyes once more. a nod was your only reply as hawks lifted the two of you up with his large wings, carrying you into the bedroom.

no words were exchanged as the two of you allowed your quiet breaths to mingle together in silence.

-

your heart was still achey from the fresh break-up as your cries and tears quietly filled the air. your nose and eyes red and raw from all the wiping you had done—the tissues around you as proof.

"hey, come on. you can't keep living like this and expect to get better," mirko says and she stands infront of you with a small smile. "how about we watch something to distract your mind?" she suggests as she turns around to pick up the controller to turn the television screen on.

"hawks, being the number two hero must be so taxing! how do you do it?"

hawks gives that big bright smile you've always loved, "my fans always give me motivation to do my best! i love you my babybirds!"

"oh shit-" mirko quickly turns the television screen off before she turns over to you, watching as your lips quiver before you break out in another crying session.

"rumi," you whine, muffled behind your tissues, "he doesn't care for me at all!" letting out a sigh, she walks over and places a comforting hand on your hair before running her hand through your locks, "hey, don't say that. hawks' cared for you a lot. break-ups happen, but don't let it keep you like this. let's go out and have some fun today, yeah?"

your teary eyes glance up at her before you let out sigh, "okay."

but to your surprise, a quick hour later here you were on a chair getting your makeup done professionally as mirko sat on the couch, munching away on a carrot. "rumi? why am i getting my makeup done professionally?"

"my makeup artist is good at what she does when she beats my face with makeup for those hero galas. i thought it would make you feel better getting your makeup done professionally before we go out and explore the city a bit," she finishes, taking another crunchy bite of her carrot.

a small, "oh" leaves your lips before your attention focuses back on the lipstick that gently glided across your lips. "there, all done. you look great!" the makeup artist cheers as she hands you a mirror.

your eyes sparkled once you saw your reflection—you had never felt so pretty before!

"are you ready to go out now?" mirko asks with a smile as she stands from her seat. you couldn't help the small, yet excited, smile, "yeah."

-

your words had been on repeat in hawks' mind.

you were upset because of how he was treating his fans—flirting with his fans as you put it. it was a constant argument the two of you had and frankly, he was getting tired of it. why you couldn't understand where he was coming from?

he didn't want to break up because of something so trivial, but it seemed like a break up was the only option. but it was fine, his fans kept him going; or that's what he thought was keeping him going.

"hawks! we love you!" his fans cried as he landed down in front of them, his handsome smile swooning everyone lucky enough to get their eye on him. "thanks birdies! i'm always happy to have your support!"

"can i have a picture?" "sign my shirt for me!" "you're the best hero!"

fans; something he enjoyed about being a hero. everywhere he went, they were there to offer him their love and support which he appreciated and loved!

but there often came days when he just wanted to stay cooped in his apartment. away from the world and away from the hero hawks. he simply wanted to escape and enjoy being keigo for a little while.

maintaining a facade took a lot away from him. it was tiring, exhausting even, trying to keep up with how fast his mind was going. a million different things happening at once and hawks had to be able to solve them. a little much for a single guy, don't 'cha think?

landing in at his balcony, hawks let out a heavy sigh as he was finally done with another tiring day of being the number two hero. thankfully, he had the next day off to do, well, nothing.

staring at the dark apartment with a an empty look, hawks let out a groan of exhaustion before unlocking the door and stepping in.

it was quiet, extra quiet these days. since he had gone to living by himself again.

after removing his hero gear, hawks walked into the kitchen and frowned at his lack of food in the fridge. usually, you were always there to greet him with a smile and a hearty dinner after a hard day at work.

well, that didn't matter anymore because you two had broken up, hawks mentally responded to his thoughts.

it seemed like tonight was one of those nights he really missed you.

you made this place feel like home and the more he thought about it, you were his home. he was safe with you and it was okay to let hawks go for the night and just be keigo. you loved him as he came, his flaws and everything. even the emotional baggage!

letting out an exhausted sigh, hawks closed his empty fridge before making his way towards his bed, plopping down with a grunt. "i'll just get a bigger breakfast tomorrow," he noted, pulling out his phone to catch up on his social media for the night.

hawks wasn't expecting to see much on his social media, he's too busy to be checking these sorts of things. today though, he was a little extra bored at home—until he saw a photo of you that mirko shared.

hawks quickly sat up in disbelief. hawks was genuinely confused. you had always been super pretty, but you were extra pretty in this picture. was it because you were no longer his? his eyes glanced over you in the photo for many long minutes as he took in your beauty. you looked so ethereal.

hawks was so thankful for mirko, he would have never stumbled across this photo of you.

the more he smiled at the photo, the more his heart ached. if only he just listened to you more and tried to find a solution to this problem, you would still be with him, in his arms. he was a fool to let you go because he didn't understand your pain. especially when you were always there for him when you couldn't understand his pain.

hawks found himself pulling up that photo of you whenever the days were tough. it never failed to bring a smile to his lips.

until mirko deleted the post.

he should've saved it when he had the chance, hawks thought as he let out a groan upon finding no picture. but, maybe mirko still had it on her phone? thankfully, there was a top five hero meeting that day which meant he could ask mirko about the picture.

hawks sat impatiently in his chair as he drummed his finger against his thigh, counting down the minutes until the meeting would conclude. it must've been distracting, because mirko approached him first after the meeting.

"hey birdbrain, what's up with you? you looked distracted during the meeting," mirko questioned walking up to the winged hero. hawks perked up slightly, before giving her a smile, "hmm? nah, just sick of meetings, wanted to get out." mirko eyed him curiously, "if you say so."

"i saw that picture you posted of (name)," he commented, "you two were hanging out?"

"huh? oh, this picture?" pulling up the picture on her phone, she showed him the photo before pulling away to hawks' dismay. "yeah, we went out. it was about time too! (name) seemed to be enjoying herself, so i'm glad i got to capture that."

hawks couldn't help the smile on his lips knowing that you were happy and could enjoy yourself. he really just wanted you to be happy, even if that wasn't with him.

"if you wanted the photo, you could've just asked," mirko smirks, causing hawks to duck his head down in embarrassment. "but even if you ask, im not giving it to you." Hawks turned his head brows furrowed and confused, slightly offended, "why would you even suggest it then?"

"not sure, maybe it'll be a way to encourage you to find a way to get it."

-

mirko had an interesting way of talking, hawks thought as he continued on with his patrol. it seemed like she was hinting at more than what she was saying, but he wasn't really interested in solving puzzles when he was busy being the number 2 hero.

and boy, was he busy busy.

it felt as if all the villains knew hawks would be out on patrol today, using that to their advatange by stiring up so much more trouble than on a typical day—not that he couldn't handle it, it was just more work that he would have hoped to do that day.

from the sky, he could see a crowd forming below on the streets as they cheered him on for another successful capture. hawks let out an exhausted sigh, but floated down to greet his fans nonetheless. there even happened to be press.

"hawks! you were amazing out there!" "great work! i can always count on you!" "you looked so attractive fighting those villains!"

hawks lifted up his visor and gave the fans a handsome grin, causing a chorus of squeals. hawks glanced at one of the fans near him lips curled in a smirk, mouth ready to open and say a few lines that would send arrows straight to the heart when he subconsciously stopped himself.

closing his mouth, he gave her a gentle smile before a soft reply came out, "thank you for supporting me."

it was weird of him to respond to fans in such fashion, but your words were stuck in the back of his head. he wished he could have acted this way before you two broke it off, it would have saved a lot of heartache.

hawks hoped you would notice his change. and unbeknownst to him, you had.

your eyes were glued to the television that aired the news that also happened to feature your ex-boyfriend, hawks. your heart felt fuzzy as you watched him, he seemed different...more down to earth?

"your eyes haven't left the tv since hawks appeared," mirko comments causing you to avert your eyes embarrassed. "i was just interested in the news for today, that's all," you tried but knew mirko wouldn't buy into your lie.

"yeah, okay. keep telling yourself that," she chuckles as she she sits down beside you. "so, whats going on in that head of yours now?"

"he's different now, rumi," you state, eyes drifting back to the screen. "he's talking to his fans like they're fans." your shoulders slump sadly, "i wish he was like this when we were together...i guess he really doesn't care about me after all."

mirko lets out a grunt as she listens to your moping. turning towards her, you notice her adjusting her purple thigh high socks to sit snugly against her upper thighs, "you have patrol this evening?"

"yep, my turn for an evening patrol. they're not that bad, more bad guys come out at night," she jokes with chuckle but you don't find it funny. "i know you can easily beat them, but that doesn't mean i worry any less for you," you sigh. "stay safe please."

"will do, cry baby," she jokes once more causing you to angrily pout, "i'm not a cry baby!" "says the one crying over hawks. bye!" and with that she quickly leaves out the door before you could throw a pillow at her.

rolling your eyes playfully, you walk over toward the bedroom you shared with mirko. you had a nice futon on the floor beside of her bed that surprisingly was very comfy. organizing her room a bit and folding her clothes she tossed around, you tried to busy yourself until she came back.

which was surprisingly short.

you heard the main door swing open before hearing her move around the living room and kitchen. she must've forgotten something, you thought to yourself as you made your way toward the bedroom door you had previously closed behind you.

"rumi? did you forget something?" you ask as you open the door, just to find yourself staring at the stranger in the apartment who donned a black ski mask with some sort of weapon in their hand. unfortunately your voice had caught their attention and their head quickly turned toward you before bolting it down the hallway for you.

screaming, you quickly shut the door and locked it before the thief could get in. the rattle of the doorknob causes you to let out another shriek as you looked around for a way to protect yourself and to escape.

the only solution that came to your mind was to block the door with whatever heavy furniture mirko had on her room which consisted of her bed, a desk and her clothes drawers. you did your best to block the door, but it was proving to be not enough.

"open the door and i won't hurt you miss," the voice called out and you felt your stomach twist from their words.

you scurried around to look for your phone and thankfully found it amongst this chaos and your body went on auto-pilot and dialed the first person that came to your mind whenever you were in danger.

your shaky hand brought your phone to your ear as you ran into the furthest corner of her room. your free hand covering your trembling lips. please pick up.

"hello? (name)?"

"keigo please help me," you cried quietly so the person on the other side couldn't hear you, but the desperation in your voice was clear as day for hawks. "(name)? whats happening? where are you?" his voice was now firm and laced with worry as you began to sob in through the phone.

"i'm at mirko's and she just left for patrol but someone broke in and i hid myself in her room. i'm so scared, please come quick." and right after he heard you squeak in fear from the unidentified noises through your phone.

"i'm coming right now," you could hear the power his wings had as he lift himself into the sky, "does she have any windows you can exit from?" glancing behind you, you took a mental note that her windows were large enough for you to escape through—the only problem was mirko lived on the tenth floor.

squeezing your eyes shut, you nodded even though hawks could not see you, "yeah, but she doesn't have any escape ladders and i'm on the tenth floor." hawks cursed under his breath on the other side, "just hold on, i'm almost there."

clutching onto your phone, you jumped when the barricade you made against the door was getting tossed around from the force of the stranger on the other side trying to break in. scrambling around, you quickly unlocked the window before opening it, allowing the wind to flow in.

with another jolt from the door all of your barricades flew from the door, leaving it vulnerable. you knew the door would fall with his next move, so with trembling hands, you maneuvered your body outside the window, letting your bottom sit on the window frame.

from a distance, you could hear someone calling out your name. when you narrowed your eyes to focus, all of the stress left your body as you watched them shoot towards you. hawks had come to your rescue!

but hawks wasn't close enough.

the door behind you broke allowing the stranger into the room and before they could grab a hold of you, you jumped.

"(name)!"

as your body free fell down towards the earth, hawks used his wings to give himself one strong push forward before folding his wings tightly behind his back to gain speed to reach you.

reaching his arms out, he caught you in time before shooting back up towards the sky, "that was so stupid of you!" you shouted loudly against the wind, "what if i wasn't there in time?"

glancing up at him, you gave him a small smile, "i just knew you'd get to me in time ."

-

"agh, more paperwork i have to fill out!" mirko groans as she walks around her messy apartment after hawks and her had caught the suspect and had cops take care of him. as she walked away into her bedroom with a line of curses, you quietly turned over towards hawks who had his back facing you. he was on call with the commission.

"yep, i'll get that finished tomorrow," ending his call and stuffing his phone in his pocket, he turns around to find you staring at him. his cheeks flush slightly from the sudden eye contact, but he managed to compose himself. "are you doing alright? that must've been quite the terrifying experience."

"yeah, thanks for picking up. you were the first person i thought to call," you confess and he perks up. "oh yeah?"

"you've always kept me safe and i just really needed you when i was in danger. so thanks," giving him a smile he mirrors you. "of course, anything for you."

your heart flutters from his words, but you slightly turn yourself away, glancing down. you two were no longer dating, so there was no need to get butterflies over him again. "well, thanks again. you must have a busy day tomorrow."

"do you buy any chance still have that photo of you when you were out with mirko?" hawks asks suddenly causing you to glance up at him. "you know, when you two went out a couple weeks ago? you were all dolled up and honestly, just super pretty?" hawks says boldly with a sheepish grin.

"why are you asking?"

"send it my way."

you gawked at him, "you want me to send you a picture of me? we're not dating anymore, that would be weird!" hawks could only shrug, "okay, that's simple then. let's go on a date." you gawked even further, "what is going on inside of that bird brain? all this for a photo?"

"i want to be the one who takes those photos of you. i want to be the reason you get all dolled up. i know i messed up, (name). i've been changing the way i talk to my fans because i understand how i hurt you. could you give me another chance to make it better? i promise i will treat you the way you deserve to be treated."

this was coming too suddenly, your wounds were just starting to heal.

"you...you don't mean that, hawks," you say dejectedly as you back up to sit on mirko's couch. "i'm scared."

"he means it you know?" mirko pops out of the hallway suddenly and stands with her arms crossed against her chest as she stares at the two of you. "he's been asking me for that picture nonstop since he saw it online."

"but he really does love you still, (name) and i know you still love him too. go ahead and give it another shot, i'll be here to kick him to the curb if he does anything bad to you." she encourages, making you glance back towards hawks.

"promise?" your eyes are sparkly from the tears that had glossed over your eyes and hawks gives you a confident nod, "promise. i'll pick you up at six tomorrow?"

you couldn't help your growing smile, "yeah, i'll be waiting."

- e x t r a -

as hawks flew off towards his apartment, the notification ding of his phone went off causing him to take a look. you had sent him a text!

opening the message his eyes widen from the photo you sent, it was the cute pic of you all dolled up!

"i'm so in love!" he shouts loudly in the sky.

[oneirataxiahiraeth]

Can I request a Kai Parker smut when the reader is Bonnie's cousin and the reader sees through the things that Kai has done.

Dudeeee I actually had a this whole concept already in my drafts!!! Sorry it’s taken me a while, I’m a very indecisive person so this was written over and over again LMFAO

Pairings : Bennett!Reader X KaiParker

Warnings : angst., some more angst, angry Bonnie, Kai Slander, mentions of blood/violence/gore, mentions of murder, language, smut, not proof read

Requested : ;) I originally based this off of POV by Ariana Grande but I made some tweaks to it so yeah

Word Count : 7k

Your head was light and brain struggling to make any connections to the rest of your body. Your back rested against the dining room chair as you let whatever Jo fed to you get mushy in your mouth. Caroline had fed you some of her blood but your headache remained. Everything about today had went south and now everyone was just waiting on the edges of their chairs for something to happen and just wrap up the gift of shittiness to this very bad day. Unfortunately for you, you just so happened to be the fucking bow.

"I thought I told you to stay away from her!" Bonnie snapped in the living room at the brown haired siphon. You couldn't hear the arguments happening in the other room solely because you were too busy being coddled by Jo and Caroline to make sure you wouldn't be able to hear the scolding Kai was receiving in the other room.

Bonnie never saw what you did whenever she looked at him. In her mind, you were just another one of his victims. He couldn't have had any good intentions with you. Kai Parker never had good intentions of any kind. He's selfish, and evil, and cruel, and there's no way in hell she was going to let him keep ruining your life after what happened today. Everyone knew who he was and what he did, everyone saw how dangerous he could be... except you just refused to acknowledge it. Truthfully, she didn't know whether to direct all her anger at him for hurting you or put all her disappointment on you for letting it get this far.

"Bonnie I swear, it's not like that! I never meant to hurt her, it just happened and I couldn't control it-"

"I swear to god I will kill you right now, and I wouldn't even need magic to do it." She growled.

He couldn't understand what made her so angry. Obviously he never meant to siphon so much out of you, really he didn't mean to siphon you at all. He was just planning on telling from Bonnie and the bracelet you gave him with a bit of your magic in it for emergencies and hoped the whole spell would work out fine.

"It was an accident!"

"Like hell it was!" Everyone stood around... watching... waiting... hoping. Hoping he would step out of line just once so they could rip his head off. "Nothing with you is an accident, Kai!"

"I would never intentionally hurt her, Bonnie! Believe or not I'm still capable of human emotions!" He scoffed, nothing the vampires surrounding him ready to pounce at any given moment, and with his anger levels rising they were about to have a field day.

"Of course you would, Kai! You hurt everyone who's close with you! Whether it's literally or metaphorically you always find a reason that benefits you, that justifies you hurting someone else! That's just who you are! You want nothing good with her, Kai! She's a good person, just leave her alone!" Bonnie growled, but Kai wasn't going to give in so easily.

"I've changed, Bonnie!"

"Changed into what? An even better liar? Because for an actual second there, Kai, I really believe you stayed in mystic falls just to live the life you never got to!" She fired.

"That's-"

"You know, if you wanted to make us even considering liking you, you should've moved. Far, far away from here, somewhere where you can't fucked up our lives enough for us to continue to have another fucking reason to hate you!" His shoulders dropped, hurting filling him to the brim. Usually he wouldn't let things like words get to him. She was upset with him, people say things they don't mean when they're upset... only she would've said this even in her happiest moments of life. She did hate him, and she had every reason to.

"She makes me a better person- When I'm I'm with her I want to be a better Person, Bon!" He defended himself. He knew the real reason he was with her, to him it was quite obvious. She made him feel as though the world wasn't out to get him. She could stop a nightmare before it even began with just a breathing the way she does. She made the best cupcakes, even though her cooking skills were mediocre, magic could fix everything. She made him smile without even doing anything just from the warm giddy feeling in his body when he's around her. Y/N Bennett... she was the only person to exist to make Malachi Parker feel like he deserved to live.

"Bullshit! You're just using her-"

"It isn't like that!" He snapped, causing the argument to halt for a few seconds.

"Really? Then tell me, Kai. What is it? Is it because she's my cousin? Is that why you're interested in her? To get back at me in your own disgusting twisted way? Or is it because of the blood? I bet her Bennett blood would come in real handy just in case-"

"No! I wouldn't do that to her-"

"Or is it because you're just so desperate for someone who actually feels like a friend that you decided to keep her around? Hmm? Maybe it's because after 18 years holed up in that prison word, you finally came to the realization that there is no possible way you could ever be loved. That you deserve to be alone for the rest of eternity. But all of a sudden, here she is, Precious y/n Bennet, the only person who is willingly to search for even a shred of good in you!" She spat. Everyone around watching guards fell as the watched Kai slowly become less tense. His shoulders falling slowly, the will the defend himself leaving his body along with his will to live, embarrassment and anger rushing through his veins, but a small part of him kept him in the room and not on his way back to his apartment. "Let me tell you something, Kai. Maybe this you can finally get it through your head." Bonnie feeling confident enough to take a step towards the stunned looking Siphon. "Not even a Bennett witch is strong enough to fix the broken, unlovable, vile person you really are. And if you truly, by some fucking miracle have a beating heart in your chest, if you've actually let her change you for the better, then you know she's better off without you. We both know that you don't deserve her in any way, shape, or form... so just let her go. Find someone else to ruin and leave her alone."

It felt as if all the oxygen in his body had left. His heart stopped pumping blood through his veins, and slowly and painfully he felt as if he was desiccating on the insides. He hadn't even noticed the tear that had escaped while he was being scolded.

Both you and Jos head turn as you hear a muffled scream that sounded like it came from Bonnie. You tried to stand by Jo eased you back down, shaking her head as if everything was all right. You couldn't hear much of the conversation going on in the other room, but you knew if it was enough to make Bonnie angry then it was never good. And Bonnie in their with Kai... was enough to make her wanna take out the entire town of Mystic Falls.

"I feel fine Jo, I'm good." You reassure her, standing on your own again against her advice.

She knew what was going on in there... they've been going at it since before you even regained consciousness. She wasn't worried about you not being able to stand on your own, she was worried about you overbearing the heavy conversation happening in the other room.

"Maybe we should head to a clinic or something, you did hit your head pretty hard!" She tries quickly but you shaking your head.

"Caroline gave me her blood, I'll be fine." You responded, looking to the blood who seemed to be in total shock and not at all paying attention to either of you. "I think I'm just going go home and sleep, promise I won't do anything to crazy." You sent Jo a soft smile, tilting your head at Caroline in confusion but ultimately ignored it. Maybe it was some weird vampire sensory thing.

"You should take the back door!" Jo tried again, just to keep you from walking back into the living room.

"I would..." you narrowed your eyes at the dark haired doctor. "But my keys are by the front door." You spoke, walking towards the living room before Jo could make any more excuses. You caught on fast, but really you did just want to go home.

"Wait No-" Jo stood quickly, Caroline finally snapping back into consciousness. By the time she could truly think, you were already walking through the doors leading into the living room. There was still a bit of your blood on the carpet, you knew Damon was going to bitch about that later so you figured you get out why you still could.

Well... that's what you were planning to do before you stopped just to notice all of the eyes planted on you. You first assumed that it was just them just surprised at your speedy recovery... but the tear running down your boyfriends cheek made you rethink a bit. Kai never cried. No matter what or ho he was feeling, there was not a thing in this world that he would ever let get to him. Maybe he was just so worn out from the spell too that he didn't even feel himself tearing up. The whole room felt tense, and even Jo and Caroline looked like this in the Kitchen.

"What's going on?" You felt your own body tense a bit as Kai's eyes fell down to the floor.

"nothin'" Kai mumbled, voice shaky. Your eyes narrowed with obvious disbelief. His voice was kind of small, and he couldn't even look at you. He had so many thoughts racing through his head he had no idea what to do.

"Why don't i believe that..." you spoke, mostly to yourself. "I was just about to head home." You mentioned wearily. "Are you coming or are you just gonna stand there awkwardly?" You asked, half joking and half wanting to know what had him so actually upset.

"Uhm," he spoke looking back up, eyes immediately attracted to Bonnie before looking back to you. He felt her glare burning into the side of his head, her whole rant repeating itself in his mind over and over again. "Yeah, yeah, I'll drive." He nodded, turning around just so he wouldn't have to look at you again. Before he could walk, Bonnie had grabbed his arm. Rather tightly, and oddly to be honest. She usually avoided any sort of interaction with him, so even an arm touch was a weird sight to you.

All she sent was a simple look that seem to have him shaken down to his boots before she let him go. Her eyes falling back to you. She sent a smile, before just walking away. Not a word. Just silence. It was weird, no one else had much to say either, just weird looks on their faces and more silence to give. You ignored them though, just wanting to get home.

"Uhm, okay." You responded to the silence, shaking out the bad feeling from your mind before walking through the living room. You grabbed you jacket off the couch before walking over to Kai. You reached your hand up to touch his arm but he shrugged you off, walking towards the front door without even look at you. Was he mad? What could he possibly have been mad at you for?

You pretended to not noticed the coldness and just follow after him out the door. He got into the car, barely even waiting until your door was fully closed before taking off out of the driveway. He needed to get you home. To stop himself from doing the right thing and letting you go because he didn't want that. He wanted you, for as long as he could manage to keep you in his grasp. It was selfish of him, but everyone already knew what he was like so he didn't really care. He's happy with you. Happy with his life with you. Happy with his life around you. Happy with himself with you.... why in hell would he ever give you up?

Bonnie was right though, letting you go wasn't about his happiness. It was about yours. And as selfish as he was, your happiness would always come above his own. He made sure of that everyday. He didn't eat until you did, he took shorter showers so you could have more hot water, or he'd just wait until you were done and take whatever was left. You wanted- deserved a life without him and all the despair and pain that follows him around. You didn't deserve to be woken up in the middle of the night because he was restless. You didn't deserve to be distanced from all your friends just because you liked him. If living the best life you could meant leaving him behind, he was fine with that. He was fine with that for you. He was fine with you being happy even if it meant he would've been miserable for the remainder of his life.

"Kai, you need to slow down!" You spoke up, hand moving to his thigh as you noticed his hand clutching the wheel so tightly. "Your going 70 in a 35" it was late and no one was out on the streets, he didn't care how fast he was going.

"It's fine, y/n." He muttered, eyes not leaving the road. There were no deer out in this time of the year, there was no danger of hitting much of anything.

"No, Kai, it's dangerous." You responded, "slow down, please."

"No." He needed to get you home. If he slowed down, that gave you more time to talk. More time for him to think, more reasons to flood his brain on why you were better off without him.

"No? Kai, come on, seriously you need to slow down." You scoffed, not amused by his resistance. "I'd rather not die in a car crash before I'm old enough to run for president."

"Could you stop talking? Like just for a moment!" He huffed.

"Wha- I- no! What the hell is wrong with you? Slow the car down, Kai!" His eyes rolled, momentarily forgetting just how persistent you could be. "Kai!" Your hand moving from his thigh as you contemplated jumping out of the car just to see what he would do. Maybe after you break probably every bone in your body he'll slow the fucking car down. "Stop the damn car." You spoke but he ignored you, hoping you would just stop talking to him.

Instead of you stopping with the chat, he felt himself stomping on the break as your seatbelt came undone. Your body moving forward fast, colliding with the dashboard, and knocking the absolute wind out of you. He unbuckles his seat belt quickly, looking over to you. You were fine, your boobs not so much, but it wasn't unbearable. You let out a deep throaty couch, opening your car door. You only unbuckled your seat belt to get him to slow down, put the fear in him that you were going to jump out.

Well... it sort of worked.

"Y/N, what the hell?!" He growled, following you out the car. You were leaned onto the car trying to get some air into your king as the adrenaline started releasing through your body. "What the hell were you going to do? Jump out of the fucking car because I was got a few miles over? You could've gotten hurt! Hurt worse the just hitting the dashboard! What if another car was coming? You could've gotten ran over, and killed! Then you'd wake up with a craving for an AB positive juice box!" He scolded you as if you were a child.

"I wasn't actually going to jump out, asshole! I just wanted you to slow the damn car down! And if you would've done it, instead of being a dick then we wouldn't be having this conversation!"

He mumbled something under his breath that you couldn't quite make out and you finally managed to stand straight again. "Are you okay?" He sighed.

"Are you?" You shrugged. "You haven't looked at me since we left the house, you won't talk to me, practically told me to shut the fuck up, and then you yell at me like I'm kid."

"I didn't mean to yell at you. I just didn't want you to get hurt." He frowned a bit.

"I'm fine. But I'm not getting back in that car." You spoke.

"What? Why?"

"Tell me what Bonnie said to you that has you so upset." You demanded, his heart pausing for only a moment as you stated into his soul.

"What?"

"I might be a little be slower at picking up on the clues but I'm not stupid. What did she say that has you so deathly terrified to even look at me?" You asked. "Did she put a spell on you or something-"

"No, it's nothing, y/n, just drop it and let's get back." He shook his head.

"If it was nothing then you wouldn't mind telling me."

"It's none of your business."

"Seeing as your my boyfriend and she's my family, in some weird way, whatever beef you two have is my business."

"Leave it alone."

"No" You shook your head, crossing your arms over your chest even though it hurt a bit.

He wanted to yell, but he knees you still wouldn't give up. He didn't understand how you could be so annoyingly persistent still after he's shot you down so many times. It was like you knew you were getting under his skin yet you kept digging. Purposely trying to draw out some reaction just for your own amusement.

"Why don't you give up?" He groaned. "Why do you even care? Why can you stand there and look at me like that with no guilt at all?!" His foot colliding with the car tire. He hated how much every fiber of his being was pushing him to do the right thing for once. "How can you stand there knowing everything I've done and still sleep in a bed with me? Do you not care?" He wanted to stop but nothing was letting him.

"What're talking about?"

"I killed people! My own family, y/n! I hurt Bonnie! I hurt Damon! I hurt Elena, and then just because I thought you were pretty I hurt you too! And still, you refuse to see any of my faults in actions that I take pride in!" He yelled finally. It didn't phase you. You encourage him to let any emotions he was feeling out all the time. He was angry right now, and you were fine just seeing how angry he really was.

"You're not that person anymore, that's why. I trust you."

"Well you shouldn't." He shook his head. "I will always be that person!"

"You may feel like that person but your not!" You defend him against himself. "You've made a lot of progress, you know that. And I could sit here and dwell on the shit you've done in the past but if I did that to everyone, I'd have no one." You sighed, not understanding why he was bringing any of this up. What did Bonnie say to him?

"I left Bonnie in a prison world to die!"

"And you helped me get her back!"

"I tortured your best friend!"

"You wouldn't be the first-"

"Stop doing that!"

"What?"

"Making excuses for me! There are none! I'm a bad person, y/n! You aren't, this whole 'fix me' doll relationship isn't going to last because of that! Because you deserve better than me! And if I let this go any further, then that means I haven't changed. I'm not better than I was, I've just had you to keep me from making any stupid decisions-"

"Kai stop-"

"-and one day you're going to realize that this was all a mistake. That maybe there isn't something that can be redeemed in my cold unloveable heart. And when that day comes, I'd rather not wake up and see the pure and utter hatred you've developed for me just like the rest of the people in my life."

You felt your lungs stop filling with air. It was hard to get any in, you were just breathless. How were you suppose to breathe after that? Now you had a decent idea of what that conversation he had with Bonnie was.

"No. You don't get to do that, you can't push me away. I'm not here because your a chore Kai, I care about you, and I want to be with you-"

"Do you seriously have no respect for yourself?!"

"Do you?!"

"No! Because all my respect goes to you! Everything I have goes to you! And because I respect you, and because you are literally the only thing on earth that I actually truly care about I have to do this-"

"No you don't-"

"I'm br-"

"No your not!" You groaned, covering you ears as if that would effect the outcome of this situation.

"Stop being so stubborn."

"Kiss me."

"No,"

"Just do it, Kai! Kiss me, and we can make up and forget this whole conversation!"

"How can you seriously fucking stand there and act like I'm not going to ruin your life. I murdered my own siblings in cold blood. And I'd do it again, y/n. I don't feel bad, I never felt bad. I've done so many bad things and your standing here looking at me like I'm a fucking Saint who deserves the happiness you give!"

You remained silent.

"Is that what you want? To see how bad I can be? To wait for the day where you can see Malachi Parker in action? Be there when he finally breaks?! Again!" He scoffed and you shook your head, but no word escaped. "You know what" his eyes set on you, desperate to make you see what everyone else sees when they look at him. "Maybe i can get to your head, if I let you in mine." He spoke walking to you, hands on your temples before you could even move.

You tried to break from him hold be you weren't nearly as strong as he was. He was mumbling something under his breath and soon your whole body became numb. Your mouth feel open as you let out groans of pain as bloody images fill your head, and guilt and remorse and hurt filled your heart. Screams and cries ringing in your mind, but none you've ever heard before. People you've never seen crying, and struggling to run from you. Only it wasn't you they were running from. It was Kai.

His memories flooded your brain all at the same time. You had no idea had to process everything you were seeing. All the pain in your chest amplifying somehow with a deeper emotional pain. But most of that wasn't yours either. It was his too. Loneliness and Exhaustion. Hate and Longing. It was overwhelming along with the pictures and sounds running amok in your head. Soon pictures of Bonnie had flashed through your mind, and Jo, and Damon. Blood, and more blood, nothing wasn't covered in blood, and with every passing second the pain in your chest worsened. Cries of his name, and blood curdling screams filling your head, some of which belonged to you. That was when you felt the worse pain. Hearing your own screams caused a panic, and seeing your own body covered in blood, watching your body fall just earlier as your head collided with the end table. Sheer panic and anguish for some reason. But the last image to intrude your thoughts seemed like a not so distant memory of his. One of you. Even if your head wasn't being taken over you wouldn't have remembered because in this moment he wasn't with you. He was sitting across the grill watching you dunked your fries into a strawberry milkshake with a huge smile on your face in front of your friends. You seemed happy, and it was like you were witnessing someone come back to life. First grief hit you hard, then relief and joy, and then reality set in and it was like you realized that it was all just dream and that person was still dead and never coming back and you were never going to be happy again.

He tore his hands away from you, allow you to steal in some oxygen and you went dizzy, using the car for support so you wouldn't collapse on the ground. Your chest heaving as you tried to reel in your mind what you just saw, what you felt, what you heard. All of his memories. All of the bad things he's ever done, or things he would consider to be bad. But in his mind, it was only reason that you would probably be more inclined to leave him for.

Through every memories you were overwhelmed with emotions. Whatever you could feel you felt. You didn't know which emotions were yours or his. You couldn't separate the feelings. But in some weird way you could tell that the pain and anguish churning in your gut was his. You didn't know his family well enough to have regrets, or remorse... that was all him. All the fronts he put up... all those emotions exposed everything.

"Get in the car." He spoke softly, helping you off the car so he could open the door. "You don't need to say anything, I'm taking you home and then I'll be gone." He spoke as if he knew that you wanted to be nowhere near him.

Instead, you just wanted to give him a hug. That gut wrenching pain he felt still lingering within your body. Tears streaming down your cheeks but not because of what you saw, but how he felt. Every one of your friends have done things of equal evil status. Judging him for things he obviously did regret and feel everyday wouldn't be fair to him. And whether you felt like that because you wanted to be fair or because you were in love with him was a mystery to even you.

You didn't speak, you just sat in the car staring ahead of you. Trying to determine how you really truly felt. Why was him seeing you so bad that he felt he needed to include that memory in his mind torture. You barely felt time move as he flew down the road at the same speed as before. When he parked in front of the apartment the two of you shared, he decided he would just stay out and drive all night. He didn't know where to go. He knew you probably wouldn't want him around. You stared blankly at the red bricked building with the dim lights hanging from the walls.

"Y/N." He spoke softly, not wanting to look at the tears running down your cheeks.

"Kai." You returned, voice soft and brittle unaware of how vulnerable you sounded to him. "Why do you consider meeting me a bad thing?" You asked, not a single other word coming to mind.

"I don't regret meeting you. I regret putting you in this position in the first place. And if I didn't insert myself into your life then-"

"Then you wouldn't be breaking up with me on the side of the road. Leaving me alone to spend the rest of my life wondering what I did wrong to push you away. To wonder why my love wasn't good enough reassurance-" you rambled not sure why everything was coming out of your lips.

"then you wouldn't be crying right now. Then you could've avoided all of this." He sighed in response. He hated when you cried, if it was anyone else it would've been annoying. Your tears always were the one thing that could truly break him into pieces. "When I met you... when I met you, I was so sure that you were just going to ignore me or hate my guts. I fucking left your friend in a prison world to die, y/n. I tortured you, yet you still see me as someone who's able to be redeemed. You SAW what I did, and your still defending me!" His own tears starting to pool. "I d-don't want you to hate me... and I don't want to do this... but I do want to be happy and I don't think you could ever really do that until I'm out of your life." You silently shook your head as you tried not to let your own tears keep falling. Your heart clenching in your chest, breathing getting harder to achieve.

You didn't speak.

You couldn't.

Pain hitting you harder as each second passed. You didn't know how to respond to be truthful so you just unbuckle your seat belt. You sniffled, waking the tears from you cheeks only to has fresh one replace the one you wiped away. Kai still refused to look at you, maybe you finally did she was shitty person her was. And how stupid you were for being with him. You opened the door, getting out quickly hoping he follow you but he didn't. You were still a bit dizzy from him flooding his memories through your head. You're steps were slow and wobbly and you were bound to fall in seconds but you just kept moving. To any who didn't know what you've just been through, you were just so drunk sorority girl trying to make it to the door.

Kai watched you struggled for a second, knowing you could hold your own, but he didn't want you to. He got out of the car, not even caring about locking it behind himself. His feet carried the rest him over to you. Almost as if his body was acting on instinct to help you. His arm wrapped around you, your sweet scent immediately wafting into his nose causing a tear to slip down his cheek. He ignored it, helping you, and you just let him. You didn't feel like fighting. You just wanted his touch on your skin, so you allowed him to help you.

Many thoughts flooded your head. He was as bad as everyone said he was. But you he'd never hurt you, in any way. He wouldn't hurt anyone else because that would hurt you. He was good because he wanted to be, but only for you. No one else has ever really given him good enough reason to be good. You knew he wasn't the same person that he was, and tonight just cleared it all up. It didn't stop you from loving him. It just gave you all the more reason to. You've seen your best friends do worst than him, who were you to cash him out for something he's going to feel his entire life?

You didn't speak the entire way to your front door. He unlocked the door for you, hoping you would just be able to walk and get some rest on the couch or something.

You had other plans.

You stood straight on your own, looking back to the brown haired siphon who realized he was just fooled into a trap. Your hands reached for his, taking his hand in yours quickly before he could walk away.

"Y/n, please, it's easier this way just let me go-"

"You showed me your worst moment so I want to show you my best." You spoke. Eyes dead set on his, hands gripping each other's, neither one of you wanting to let each other go. "Please." You let out a small breath.

"This is going to make it a lot harder-"

"That's the point, Malachi." You sniffle, holding in a tiny laugh.

"Okay." He whispered, preparing himself for the rush of emotions and memories flooding through his head like he did to you. You pulled your hands from his, placing them on each of his temple before beginning the spell.

It wasn't long before he felt your presence in his mind, his on thoughts being taken over with your own thoughts. At first it was a horrible feeling watching every time you were happy, knowing he was never going to be able to see that from you again. Not if he kept his promise. He wouldn't to push you away, his chest light and full with joy and a love so over it was almost crushing. He watched as memories of times you spent with him. From your first date, to that one joke he cracked the made you laugh when he first kidnapped you just to torture you for practice. He watched as he teased you, to the first time the two of you had sex, to the first I love yous, and he felt how warm inside it made you at the fact that he never over used the words. You knew he loved you even when he didn't physically say those words. You felt his love every time you were around him, and that was enough for you.

   He felt a soft smile forming on his lips but he could tell if it was from your happiness or knowing how much he really meant to you. Memories of late night cries, and arguments ending in angry sex, and sneaking out of classes, and talking trash about your friends even though you would never said something too horrible about them.

  You liked who you were with him. You loved who you were. And he felt all of that, he felt how much love you held for him, how much pain you were in to think about him leaving. And eventually that strong happy, lovely, calm feeling was stripped away from him, leaving him empty for a moment before he felt you hands against his cheeks.

  You were holding his face, staring straight into his eyes, both of you almost to the point of sobs. You were praying to god that you're plan worked. The hell were you going to do if it didn't?

  "Don't leave me, Kai."

"Y/N-"

   "I'll follow you to the ends of the earth, Kai. Let me love you, please." You pleaded, bodies moving closer together without each other even realizing. It was natural for you to be close with him, you never questioned it.

  He didn't want to say no. But he owed it to you to say no.

"You saw what I did-"

"And you saw how much I love you-"

  "You watched in first person how I killed four of my siblings-"

  "And you watched from my point of view how badly I fell in love with you."

  You just wanted to kiss and make up. You would fall apart if he left you alone. Especially if he was doing it for your own 'happiness' because that meant he thought you weren't happy with him. It was upsetting and slightly insulting, because you were the happiest you've ever been with him.

  "I just want to do the right thing, baby." He whimpered quietly, you're heart nearly breaking in a million pieces. His tearing streaming quickly, mentally slapping himself for being so weak for you.

  "Then stay... stay and make me the happiest person in the entire world. We could graduate together and get a small house in the suburbs, or- or we could leave. Right now. Travel all across the world, experiencing so many different things together." You offered meaning every word.

  At some point in the silence that seemed to last for forever, one of you couldn't take it anymore. You didn't care to pay attention which one of you, but your lips connected, smooshing your faces together to be as close as possible. Tears mixing on each other's cheeks, his hands down on your waist pulling you closer into him as you both made you're way inside your shared home.

  He used his foot to kick the door closed, being careful to touch you oh so gently. You were a fragile peace of glass to him, the most beautiful sculpture who had no business being with him. He did nothing to deserve you, yet you felt he deserved you more than anyone in the world. You wasted so many years on him tonight, and for some reason you didn't care anymore. He was here, he was on you, his hands, his lips, your minds in sync for each and every single one of your next moves.

   Clothes slowly being tossed the the floor as you both backed each other to your bedroom through the dark apartment. By the time you reached the bed the only thing you had left were you bra and underwear, along with his shirt and boxers. Neither of you had even bothered to pull apart for a single breath. You allowed him to gently lower you on the poorly made bed.

   "Mmh, w-wait-" he mumbled against your lips. Youre legs parting for him to slip between which he did without thinking. "This is wrong-"

  "No, it's not?" You spoke in confusion. "I love you, Kai. I don't care what Bonnie said, because she doesn't know what this feels like." You shake your head.

  "Find someone else to ruin and let her go" Kai quoted, your grip on him tightening. "I don't want to-"

  "Maybe I want you to ruin me. To fuck up my life. To fuck up my morals just because I love you. I want that, Kai. I want every bit of it. I want this love that consumes me from the inside out, and I want to be able to go against everything I believe for you. I. Love. You." His hands traveling down your waist, as you let out a sigh.

  "I love you." He mumbled. "I love you so fucking much." His lips came down on your collarbone, fingers slipping under you panties waistbands before snapping his fingers to get rid of them. You felt the cold air against your slick heat, the warmth from his own body radiating into yours. His hips grinding down into your, his hardon pressing into you causing a light whimpering as you felt the butterflies raging into the pair of your stomach.

"I just wanna be with you, baby." You let out a soft moan, urging him on as he nips and sucked red marks onto your skin.

You used your own magic to undo the threads of his plain blue shirt as you dragged your hand down his back. The fabric slipping down his arms which he didn't mind. He was too focus on your warm skin under his tongue. His teeth grazing across your skin, coming closed with a tiny pinch every time. Your chest heaving into his from the closeness, and heat of it all. 

   "Tell me to stop” he mumbled against your skin, hips grinding into your heat as you let out needy moans.

“I need you, Kai, please.” Your lip caught in between your teeth, as the cloth of his underwear separating the two of you disappeared. “I want you so bad.” You whined, fingers digging into the soft warm skin on his back.

You felt his hard on slipping between your slick folds as he rocked his hips back and forth. He wanted to feel you, he wanted you to feel him. He never wanted to leave your side, or go a moment without feeling your warmth. He loved you with every fiber of his being, and there was no possible way he could truly explain that to you.

“Please-” you pleaded before he slowly pushed himself into you. Your mouth hung open as his length filled you to the brim, the tip of his cock hitting that hot spongy spot in your cunt so well you could help but moan. He always did fill you up perfectly, almost as if he was made for you or vice versa. “Oh my god.” You whined, hips grinding into his as his hips set a steady pace.

Your legs resting around his waist, as you let out small breathy moans. He was fucking into you hard, but it still felt amazing. He wanted to take his time with you and you felt it. Your body tingling, mind focused solely on him and everywhere your skin touched his. You felt his lips connected with you neck, continuing to suck soft bruised on the skin, placing a soft kiss after each one whispering a single ‘I love you’ each time. His hands left your waist, traveling up your beautiful naked body, taking all the warmth he could, until he traced your hands to his back. He pulled the off, even though he enjoying the sting of your nails digging into his skin, pinning your hands down above you head. His hands flat onto of yours, fingers intertwining as his lips found yours again, your kisses sloppy and slow. The sound of skin on skin filling the room as his pace quickened earning louder breathier moans from your pretty little mouth.

You felt a bubbling heat in the pit of your stomach signaling you were close to your high. Eyes struggling to sty open, as your boyfriend fucked into you so lovingly. It became harder to do anything other than focus on the feeling of him hitting so deep into you he’s almost hit your cervix. The kisses became harder to return and nothing but the sound of you filled the room. He watched in complete awe as you as you slowly began to fall apart. You were the most beautiful creatures he’s ever laid his eyes on, and he had you here underneath him on your way to this euphoric high that he him caused. His name coming out of your mouth in quiet moans and pleads and warning of you about to explode all over his dick. You were all he’s ever wanted out of life, and now he had you and there was no one and nothing that would take you away from him except for death itself.

You were his and that was final.

“Open your eyes baby, look at me.” He groaned as he felt your cunt convulsing around him so tightly.

You struggled with the actions, your eyes focusing on his eyes as you cried out in pleasure. “I’m so close, Kai, fuck, I’m going to cum.” You whined and he nodded watching as your breathing got heavier.

“Cum for me, baby, cum all over me.” He urged you on, feeling his own high approaching.

You felt something inside you explode, a loud moan his name escaping your lips, all your juices spilling onto his hard cock a he continued fucking you through your high. You body jolting and shaking around him, as he went faster, eyes rolling to the back of your head as you realizing you weren’t done yet.

“So close.” He mumbled, hands squeezing your so tightly you felt as if they were going to break. You ignored the pain of having your hard crush and just let out absorber moan from another orgasm building quickly.

“M’gonna c-cum again!” You warned, strained voice loud and needy.

“Me too baby” Kai moaned back, watching your eyes squeeze shut again taking in the way your body shook around him. “Let go y/n, I know you want to.” He spoke out of breath.

You felt his thrust getting sloppily, but he tried keeping up the pace. His own body stiffening as his cock twitch in you as you clenched around him again. Both of your falling apart with loud moans, and whimpering of each other names, lips coming together again as he spilt every last bit of his hot cum into your beautifully worn out cunt.

Neither of you spoke any words. Just your reveled in each other’s tongues, allowed you naked bodies to somehow merge into one. You felt a sudden tiredness take over you as it did the same to him.

“I don’t want to let you go.” He whispered into your lips.

“Then don’t. Let’s stay this way forever.” You hummed, squeezing his hands in yours.

“Deal.”

[soundsgoodfeelslikeshit]

Fights and Waves

Summary: JJ and Y/N have been fighting constantly and JJ finally decides to end it. Will John B be able to bring Y/N back to the group? Will JJ and Y/N be able to fix the relationship with each other and get back together? 

A/N: If enough people like this I can do a part two. This was in my drafts for a pretty long time and I finally decided to finish it. Lmk if you want a part two. 

“JJ, stop. Not tonight, I can’t do this tonight.” You mumbled as you rubbed your hands together. You had gotten off a tough shift and the last thing you wanted to be doing was going head to head with JJ in another argument. 

“Why not? We can’t keep pushing shit under the rug!” JJ said raising his eyebrows at you. 

“Babe, I’m tired, you look tired, and I’m sure the Pogues would rather not hear another fight.” 

“Well maybe if you would tell me what was going on with you, I haven’t heard from you in three days! You just show up here like nothing happened. I get it you have your episodes, but I was worried. Where were you?” JJ pushed. 

“I was working, my phone has been off for the past few days. I needed some quality me time. It was nothing personal and you know that.” You mumbled, rubbing your sore, aching back. 

“Yeah, yeah. Nothing personal whatever! I’m your boyfriend. If you can’t let me know what’s happening maybe we shouldn’t be together, hmm, what do you think about that?!” JJ screamed. 

“I think you’re being dramatic, it isn’t that serious Bub.” You said taking a step to him. 

“No, you don’t need to come closer. We’re done.” He said stepping out of the Chateau, while slamming the door. 

You sighed, and ran your fingers through your hair. This had been a recurring thing, every fight JJ would leave. This time it was different, he ended things. You watched with tears in your tired eyes as he sped away on his bike. 

You decided to just call it a night and went to head towards your car. 

“Y/N, hey where you going?” John B yelled. 

“I’m going to head home, just not feeling too well today.” 

“Where’d JJ go?” Kie asked. 

“None of my concern anymore, I guess.” You mumbled wiping another tear. 

“Hey, wait what?” Pope questioned as you shut your door. 

“I’ll see you guys when I see you, but JJ will always need you guys more just like you’ll always need him more.” You smiled sadly and drove off. 

................................................................................................................................ 

It had been weeks of the pogues trying to meet up with you and trying to call or text, but all of their attempts were left unanswered. 

You’d started working more at a new shop that opened up and they of course never shopped there since they’d prefer to get their surf gear from a local shop and not a corporate one. You quit the wreck and apologized to Kie’s parents. You changed your number so you didn’t have to feel guilty about the numerous messages you were ignoring, but your hopes for the guilt to go away were unanswered it was still very much there. 

“Hey, Y/N. There’s some people here to see you.” Your mom said as she opened your door slightly. 

“I’m not feeling too well, can you have them come by another day?” You questioned as you rubbed your eyes. 

“I’ll let them know.” She said smiling sadly. 

You stared at the picture of you and the Pogues and threw it on the ground. No need for it to be on your bedside table anymore. 

Your bedroom door opening startled you and looked up with wide eyes at John B. 

“Hey it’s just me.” He said softly. 

“I’m not feeling well.” You mumbled looking away. 

“Y/N you’re like my sister. I know you. You’re not sick, you’re sad.” He said as he sat next to your frame. 

“JB I can’t, JJ needs you.” You said with a break in your voice. 

“I think you need me more.” 

You looked at him with tears in your eyes as he pulled you into a hug. 

“I-I can’t. I’m so sorry.” You sobbed.  

“Shh, let us in. You can’t block us out forever.” 

“I love J, I just can’t end up like my mom and my dad. They constantly fought, dad turned abusive, left and felt a better family. I can’t do that with him! JB I can’t!” You said through hysterics. 

“Hey, hey it’s okay,” he said pulling you on his lap and rubbing up and down your back.

“You and J won’t end up like them I promise. Things just got complicated. There were a lot of stressors for everyone and JJ took it out on the wrong person.” He said, rocking slightly.

You stifled a sob and leaned further into him.

“Are you hungry? Sarah said she’s drop some food off with your mom. I told her I was gonna spend the night.”

“I’m okay.” You mumbled quietly.

“I’m gonna get you some food I know you haven’t been eating like you should.”

You sighed and let your mind race as you listened to your best friend’s breathing.

................................................................................................

“I’m just gonna sit this here. Thank you John B. She really needed this.” Your mom said smiling at the boy.

“Of course, Ms. Y/L/N. She’d do the same for me so I have to do the same for her. She’s the little sister I never had.” He smiled back.

Your mom smiled and placed the food down and left the room.

“Okay Y/N/N, come on time to eat,” he mumbled into your hair quietly.

You sighed and leaned away from his chest.

“Got you some chicken parm. I know it’s your favorite.”

You gave a soft smile and grabbed the takeout box he was offering. 

“Get a movie and put it on please. We’re going to eat and talk and then go to sleep. Okay?” He asked.

You sighed and nodded as he left the room.

He walked back in with TV trays and set them up and then moved the food onto them.

You put Hercules in and smiled as you sat back down.

“Alright so why did you decide to leave? No contact, no response, nothing.”

“I-“ you started and set your fork down. “I couldn’t let JJ have the option to not be with you guys. I know when he starts spiraling he needs someone. He needs them in those first few days or weeks. When I spiral I don’t even realize I am, so I just handle it when I notice. I could help myself but JJ needed your guys’ support.”

“You need our support too. When you’ve spiraled in the past I’ve always been here. You can’t place JJ’s happiness above your own. You can’t fix JJ while you are falling apart.” John B said biting into his burger.

“You were there after I handled it for a while I got through the bad. Just needed the last few pieces put back together. JJ deserves you guys. I can’t keep him from you. I can’t make him choose to see me with you guys or just not come around. If it came down to me or JJ needing to leave the group it would have to be me.” You said sadly.

“You can’t do that. Listen if it was you or JJ it would be both of you. We would split our time. But that’s not the case. JJ came back that night devastated you were gone. Screaming and crying. He tried to break everything he could, he knew he messed up. He wants to fix it.” John B sighed.

“I can’t promise I’ll take him back immediately, it’s not the same anymore. There’s things we both could fix and that’s not gonna happen with the relationship we have. I can’t be the reason why, if JJ and I were to get married and have kids, that my kids have emotional trauma from seeing a parent be verbally abusive to the other. JJ and I are borderline abusive now.” You said fighting back tears.

“Y/N/N. You won’t end up like your dad. Okay?”

“John B I’m not saying I would I just don’t want that to be the course that could happen. Taking a break will be good for us. I’m not saying I won’t try, because believe me I will. JJ is it for me and I know that.” You said pushing your plate away.

“You wanna go surfing with them tomorrow and have a marsh day?”

You nodded and gave him your new number to put in a group chat with them.

“You aren’t gonna eat anymore?”

You shook your head.

“Haven’t been too hungry lately.” You sighed and gave your attention to Hercules.

................................................................................................

“Wake up, sleepy.” John B said shaking you.

“Leave me alone JB. It’s too early.”

“We’re going surfing for sunrise.”

You sighed getting up and seeing it was 4:50am.

You pulled your closet open and pulled out a bathing suit and a pair of shorts and a tank top.

“Did you bring stuff?” You questioned.

He nodded his head.

“You can change in here, I’ll be in the bathroom gotta make myself look semi-approachable.” You said as you shut your bathroom door.

You stripped off your old clothes and quickly shaved and showered. Washed your face, brushed your teeth, did your hair, and finally pulled your swimsuit on. You sighed at your reflection noticing the spots that were thinner. You just decided to throw your tank top on and find different shorts to wear.

“Hey you ready?” John B questioned.

“Yeah one sec. Need to find my swim shorts.” You said digging through your closet.

You found them and slipped them on and followed John B out of your room.

Scribbling a note to your mom you left and took your car to the Chateu to grab the Twinkie and JB’s board.

“You ready to see him?” He questioned.

“Absolutely not, but it is what it is.” You said with a small laugh.

He nodded as you began your drive to the beach.

You arrived after what felt like years but was really only a few minutes. You could see Kiara and Pope but no signs of JJ.

You prepared yourself and grabbed your wetsuit and board and followed JB.

“Heyy.” You said awkwardly scratching your arm.

Kiara pulled you into a hug and Pope quickly followed.

“Don’t do that again.” She scolded.

You sighed and nodded.

“We have a lot of catching up to do. But we can surf and have our day first.” Pope smiled.

You nodded as they rushed out to the water with their boards. You slowly put your wetsuit on and allowed John B to zip it.

“Don’t freak but JJ just got here.”

You nodded and turned to the boy.

“Hey.” He said softly.

“Hi.”

“I’m sorry. I know it was wrong, you had a lot on your plate and I shouldn’t have yelled at you. Guess we just know the right buttons to press.” He said sadly.

“I’m sorry too. I should’ve give you an explanation and not just expected you to understand. I do think it’s best we stay apart for a while. Fix ourselves and then maybe try again if it’s feeling like the right time and everything feels right.” You said.

“I agree.”

You smiled and led the way to surf with your friends.

[midnxghtsunwrites]

“ IT WASN'T YOUR FAULT ”

PAIRING —

andy barber x black! pregnant! reader

SUMMARY —

y/n knew something was wrong the moment she woke up with blood soaked sheets and a tightness in her chest.

WARNINGS —

this imagine will contain possibly extremely triggering content such as mentions of infertility, pregnancy irregularities, loss of pregnancy ( stillborn pregnancy ) , explicit language, sadness, and possible anxiety & depression under the cut

proceed with caution, viewer discretion is advised.

IT wasn't the cool draft of breeze flowing from the vent or the soft hum of the AC that woke you up from your sleep. It wasn't Andy shifting on his side of the bed or the loftiness of your two pillows or the fact that your bonnet slid off during the night.

What made you stir was the long forgotten sensation of something running down your inner thigh — the sinking feeling in your belly. Of course, you've felt it before when you were far from pregnant and set to start your period. Usually, however, you would have a gut feeling the night before which often prompted you to wear a pad to bed.

Tonight was different.

You stuck to just panties as pajamas since pregnancy made you hot when you're supposed to be cold and cold when you're supposed to be hot.

When you switch on the lamp on your side of the bed, Andy is spurred awake by the snap of the switch and the sudden influx of light. Since he was laying flat on his back, he just turns his head to look at you with squinted eyes, still adjusting to the brightness.

He furrows his eyebrows as he takes in the look of worry on your face. He knows you well enough to see that you're freaking out internally.

"Sweetheart, what's wrong?" He begins to sit up, "Is it the baby?"

You don't want to look. You don't want to give yourself less faith than you already have. You can't look.

You've already endured years and years of being told that you would never have a child — and the one moment of happiness you got when you found out you were pregnant with your husband's baby is being stripped away. Just like that.

"I think I'm bleeding." Your voice shakes as you speak.

Andy was always the level-headed one in the relationship. Five years of being together and three years of marriage taught you that. You've seen him through his highest highs and lowest lows — lost cases and cases that kept him up at nights. But you have never seen him so panicked at something you said.

Even though his body language screams alarm, his voice is level and calm. "Okay, let's go to the hospital. I'll call ahead."

You nod, squeezing your eyes shut in frustration, "Okay." You whisper.

THE gel is cold against your stomach, shocking you into reality. You listen for the sound of your baby's heartbeat — the one that will let you know that everything is okay.

Everyone seems to be frozen as your gynecologist shifts the wand along your smooth bump. When the room is deathly silent, the only sound to be heard is your heavy exhale, Andy shakes his head, distress on his face.

"What does this..." He can't even finish his sentence. You squeeze your eyes shut. "Why can't we hear a heartbeat?"

Dr. Moore gives her patients sympathetic glances — this is the last thing she would ever wish on any woman. "I'm sorry, Andy, Y/N. It seems... Your baby doesn't have a heartbeat."

It felt like you were struck by an entire planet. Your thought maybe you didn't hear her properly. "What?"

The doctor bows her head in shame, "I am very sorry. Your baby died in utero a couple of hours ago."

Her words seem to be blocked out as you shake you head profusely. You can't breathe, you can't see, you can't even function. You felt it.

"This cannot be happening." You mumble under your breath. This doesn't feel real. Your cheeks are stained with tears at the news.

Andy is by your side, running a hand over your hair that you barely managed to pull back before you entered the hospital. He's holding back tears, but watching you break was enough for him to allow a tear to roll down his red face.

"I'm going to give you guys some time. A nurse will be in soon to discuss your options with you. I'm sorry, Mr. and Mrs. Barber." Dr. Moore reiterates one final time before leaving you to grieve.

When she closes the door behind her, you take no time to grab on to Andy's hand and curl into him. He rests his hand on the back of your head as you sob into his shoulder.

"I know, baby. I know. I'm right here."

ANDREW was right there when the doctors induced your labor. He was right there when you had to endure a painful delivery to your baby girl. Your beautiful baby girl. He was there when you held her for the first and last time. He was there for the next week when you'd decided to stay in the hospital, needing time to come to terms with how quickly everything happened.

With just a picture of her captivating face as a memento, you guys went home. Without your baby.

You felt frozen — stuck in your mind, thinking of what it would've been like had things gone differently. You would be walking in your house with a car seat and a sleeping or babbling baby, a wide smile on your face. Andy would've been absolutely amazed at what you two had made.

Now? You don't even know how you walked out of the hospital or into the house without breaking down and getting yourself admitted into psych.

You're fixed to the threshold of the door — you couldn't move even if you wanted to, struck by a sudden wave of melancholy. All you can think of is the talks you and Andy had about your shared excitement.

"Honey." Andy's voice draws you back to earth. He's stood behind you, going through his own tide of emotions.

He couldn't even imagine the toll this is having on you.

You close your eyes and lean forward, the palms of your hands pressing against the door jamb. "I just need a minute."

"Okay." Andy nods in understanding, resorting to rubbing your back, gingerly.

Moments pass before you finally step into the house, your breathing shallow with anticipation. Andrew is close behind you, eyeing you cautiously and lovingly. He just wants to hold you, but he knows you need some time to yourself.

That's why he simply nods when you suggest that you should go take a shower and lay down.

"I'll make you some food." He tells you.

Your footsteps seem to echo against the walls seeing as you kept your shoes on. You weren't sure you had the energy to care about tracking dirt inside.

Entering the bedroom, you're overwhelmed with a surge of anger and disappointment.

The bed hadn't been touched since the night you went to the hospital and now you can see the sheet is strewn in the center of the mattress, a pool of long-since dried blood staring at you — "Fuck," You run a hand through your matted hair.

Part of you gets to scrubbing because how else would you take the nap you told Andy about? The other part wants to scrub away the reminder of that night. The panic and pure fear in your veins — in Andy's.

On your knees, sleeves rolled up, and fatigue ramming through you like a train, you attempt to wash away the painful memory. No matter how much elbow grease you put into it, the stain doesn't budge.

Thoughts flood your mind — is this a punishment? Am I getting punished for all the harmless things I've done in my life?

You press down further, sinking the springs in the mattress. The frustration is clear in your gaze — exasperated sighs escaping you. You're so caught up in your action that you don't even realize when a loud and defeated wail renders you a sobbing mess.

You don't hear Andy run up the stairs at the sound and stand at the door, eyebrows furrowed in worry and tenderness. He watches you for a second as you hunch forward and hit your hands against the bed in anger.

"I'm so sorry," You cry to no one in particular, "I should've known something or done something — I should've taken more care of you."

Tears gather in your husband's eyes as he hears your words. He wastes no time in stepping towards you and resting a hand on your shoulder. You flinch slightly, not expecting Andy to have heard you.

You can't even look at him, so disappointed and ashamed of yourself that you can't gather the courage to look your husband in the eye.

"Y/N, come here." He gently goads you to stand, his hand warm on your shoulder. When you rise to your feet, Andy pulls you into him, not caring about the snot or tears that transfer from your face to his t-shirt. He rubs a hand down your back and another over your hair and sniffles, "Don't you dare blame yourself for what happened. It wasn't your fault."

In that moment, his words meant nothing to you. They just drowned under the grief you were experiencing. It was only during the silent night when you two were laying on the couch of the living room after dumping your mattress that you realized how much his words meant to you.

With your head resting on his chest, you crane your neck up and gaze at him, watching as he stares up at the ceiling in thought.

"Andrew?" You whisper, voice cracking after hours of weeping.

He shifts his gaze to you, giving you his full attention. "Hmm?"

You take in his blue eyes which have seemed to lose its sparkle. "I love you."

He presses a sweet kiss to your lips, layered in salty tears, "I love you too."

general taglist : @gwenspacy @dollyhoess @complacentviawattpad @rosenoirwrites @random-ficreader23

let me know if you would like to join my general taglist! feel free to like, comment, and reblog! <33

[darkficsyouneveraskedfor]

A Place Like This 2

Warnings: this short series will include dark elements including noncon, possible violence, mentions of mental illness, and other explicit content. I’m not your mother, curate your own consumption.

This is dark!Lumberjack!Andy Barber and explicit. Your media consumption is your own responsibility. Warnings have been given. DO NOT PROCEED if these matters upset you.

Summary: You start asking questions but you might not like the answers.

Note: I’m a filthy liar and this is gonna be obv more than two parts and I dunno what I’m doing.

Thank you. Love you guys!

As always, if you can, please leave some feedback, like and reblog <3

Your office was the room across the hall from Andy’s, just beside the bathroom and furthest from your mother’s.

You had a routine; it helped you keep on track. You woke up, had a coffee and a small breakfast, and climbed back upstairs to begin your work. At noon, you took a break, you went for a walk or just sat on the porch with your mother if she wasn’t in her room. You returned to work and later in the afternoon you came down to remind your mother about her pills. Then you started dinner as the day was in its final decline.

Andy only changed that slightly. He woke earlier than you did and was on his way out as you got up. He came home around dinner time and you left a plate for him in the oven if he was late. He was quiet, he ate, and went upstairs. The first week went by as such. You almost pitied him for living in what seemed a crowded isolation.

Then the weekend came. Like the other lumber workers, he had those two days to himself. It would be the first real test of your arrangement.

You woke at your usual time and went down to make your coffee. You only wrote for a couple hours on weekends. Breaks were good. You measured the grounds into the percolator and filled it with water. You turned on the decades old stove and turned as you heard the old stairs groan.

Andy appeared in the door. He wore jeans and a thick knitted sweater. His hair, overgrown and shaggy, was pushed away from his face, his beard a shade darker and starting to puff out from its length. You suspected that as a lawyer, he never looked so unkempt and yet even now, he still managed to look refined.

“Hate to be selfish but you think there’s enough for me?” He crossed to the table and sat. 

“Should be,” You rubbed your hands together. You wore an old sweatshirt with a grizzly on the front and your old faded jeans with the bleach stain on the knee. Unfashionable but warm. ‘“Cream, milk, sugar?”

“Black’s fine,” He said as he scratched his chin. “I was thinking today I could stock us up on wood for the fireplace. Since it’s snowing now, it’s better to get it done before the winter is really here.”

You squinted at him and played with the frayed cuff of your shirt. “So, you got a lot of snow in the city?”

“Not as much as here, I’m sure.” He let out a long breath and you saw the cloud in front of him. 

You paused and listened for the rattle of the furnace. “Fuck.” You pushed yourself away from the counter. “I gotta light the furnace.”

“Where is it? I’ll do it.” He offered. “Since you made the coffee.”

“You sure?”

“Think I can handle it,” He stood. “City boy and all.”

“Basement door’s outside. It’s a pain but this place is old and not very well put together.” You said. “There’s a lighter in the drawer.” You pointed at the counter. “Thanks. Oh, and the key too. Hanging by the door with the green tag.”

“Alright,” He crossed to the door. “Think I’ll figure it out.”

He disappeared down the hall and returned with his big boots. He put them on before the back door and unlocked it. He tramped down the steps as the door clattered behind him and you listened to his crisp footsteps. 

You wrung your hands as you thought. Nice enough, you surmised, but evasive. Maybe he wasn’t running from some heinous offense but he was trying to get away from something. You could tell by the way he always seemed to direct the conversation, especially when it turned on him.

You heard the sudden rumble of the furnace and the vents hissing. You turned as the percolator began to shake almost in tandem and the small glass knob bubbled with brown coffee. You took it off the burner as the basement door squeaked and the jingle of the key accompanied the snowy steps across the yard.

Andy kicked off his boots and slipped through the back door. He hung the key and he shook the snow from his hair and smoothed it back. He left his boots on the mat as you poured two mugs. He approached and you slid one to him. He took it with a soft thank you.

You added milk to yours and sat at the table as he did the same. You regretted it almost immediately. You should've taken it up with you and hid in your office. 

"Any plans today?" He asked. You blinked and he rested his palm against the hot mug. "Sorry, it's none of my business."

"Nah, nothing planned," You replied. "So you just plan on chopping wood on your day off?"

"Not much else to do up here. It's nice. Mindless." He shrugged.

"You have a lot you don't want to think about?" You wondered.

His jaw ticked as he eyed you and his lips curled slightly.

"Don't we all?"

"You'd have to to come all the way up here from wherever you're from." You commented. 

"Hmm," He chuckled under his breath. "You'd make a good prosecutor. You don't miss a lot."

"I'm a writer. I write about people, so I gotta study them closely."

"I thought you wrote about animals."

"That's what I'm paid to write about but… I have my own projects." You lifted your mug and tasted the rich brew.

He sucked his bottom lip in as his thoughts wrinkled on his forehead. "Uh huh," He uttered carefully. "Guess that's true then."

"So… is it too much to ask why you ditched being a lawyer?" You asked.

"You do anything long enough and you get bored."

"And you never did anything else? Never got married?" You prodded.

"Well, what about you?" He challenged as he hooked two finger through the handle of his mug. "Not many fish in this pond, huh."

"Touche," Your lips slanted, "You definitely are the lawyer type."

🍂

Later that day, after you gave your mother her second round of pills, you ventured out into the forest that skirt around the old property. The snow was only just past your ankles, the powder fell in spurts but didn’t seem to get much deeper. When you were met with a block or an impasse in your writing, you always came out to the trees to clear your mind. You were done for the day but you had a long week ahead of you.

You kicked the snow of a fallen tree by the river and listened to those critters not yet in hibernation in the blanket branches above. You thought about the man staying in the room next to yours and the answers he would give you; the questions you were too afraid to ask him. 

He wasn’t telling you everything, perhaps he didn’t owe you everything, but the lines in his forehead, the crinkles beside his eyes, the depth of his irises as they watched you. There were things you needed to know about a person and you feared you didn’t know enough about this stranger you’d invited in. You had been too intent on the money, on your own keeping.

Or maybe you were paranoid. You were starting to sound like your mother when she claimed the birds were listening to her and taking the messages back to the monsters of the forest. When she had barricaded herself in her room and refused to come out for fear you were one of them in disguise. The day it had all fallen apart.

Your nose was numb and tingling. You pulled your scarf up over your face and turned back. The snow was crisper now. The temperatures fell with the sun and that happened quickly in the winter. The sky was a dark grey as you came back to the house, the chimney billowed up toward the quarter moon and a soft amber light shone between the curtains of the front room.

You dusted your boots off before you stepped inside. The voice didn’t stop as you took off your coat, scarf, hat, and gloves. You slid your boots off and listened. The scene was unexpected as you peeked into the front room.

Your mother sat with her favourite blanket over her legs before the fire. A fresh stack of wood sat beside it, the basket full of split logs as well. Andy bent to poke at the embers and send up sparks as he got the fire going higher.

“So, this book you’re reading,” He said as he set the poker aside. “Did she get away yet?”

“I don’t think she’s gonna,” Your mother replied as Andy stood and brushed off his jeans. “I don’t think that’s what the story’s about.”

“That’s too bad.” He looked up and his eyes met yours. You moved so that you stood in the doorway. “But I guess that’s truer to life. Not everyone gets their happy ending.”

“Well, I’ve been taking my time because it doesn’t have an ending. Yet.” She explained. “I’m waiting for her to finish.”

Your blood went cold. You crossed your arms and cleared your throat.

“What book is this, ma?” You asked.

She looked around the chair at you and blanched. Andy sat on the sofa and you pushed yourself away from the door frame. Your mother shook her head. 

“I told you not to read my stuff.” You grimaced as you came closer. “It’s a first draft. Unfinished, unedited. It’s… personal.”

“From what she says, it’s pretty good regardless,” Andy offered. “Can’t blame her for her curiosity.”

You looked at him sharply and sighed as you dropped your arms.

“Whatever. Just don’t look at it again til I’m done.” You reprimanded. “Please. I’ll give you a look when I’m ready.”

“Dunno why it’s such a big deal. You write for the magazine all the time.” She grumbled.

“Because this isn’t an article on leaf fauna, ma,” You rubbed your cheek. “You already eat?”

“Just about to. Andy put a casserole in the oven.” She smiled. “Never knew a man who cooked. Your father, he couldn’t even salt his own eggs.”

“Mmm,” You sniffed as the smell of the burning wood melded with another more savoury scent. “Well, thank you, Andy. That was considerate. I’m sorry I waited so late, I was a bit distracted.”

“No problem,” He shrugged. “Really, the least I can do.”

You glanced between him and your mom. She hadn’t been this awake in ages. Her meds usually had her napping until dinnertime and asleep just as quickly after. She was vibrant and more friendly to this man than people she’d known for decades. You felt as if you’d walked in on something. 

“Well, let me know. I’ll be upstairs.” You backed up. “There’s some strudel left from yesterday we can have for dessert.”

You left them and stopped at the bottom of the stairs as you looked back into the front room. Andy’s voice droned as he spoke to your mom and as she chuckled his eyes found yours. They narrowed for just a moment before he turned back and smiled at the older woman. 

Nice enough, you presumed, but why didn’t you believe it?

🍂

The next day, you watched Andy through the window. The snow was thicker, a harbinger of the storm that had been brewing for over a week. He crossed to the trees, his boots barely higher than the blanket below. He sank down with each step. Only a fool would venture out as the windows billowed and flung the snow errantly.

You tore yourself away and pulled the curtain shut. You crept out into the hall and listened. Your mother slept late that day and when you gave her her pills, she’d just rolled over and fallen back to sleep. 

You neared the door of Andy’s room and your hand hesitated on the knob. You took a breath and twisted it. You entered and were struck by the man’s smell; of his sweat and the deodorant that always lingered around him. The bed was made and the room barely looked lived in. 

You walked slowly to the closet. Flannel shirts and jackets hung within above a single suitcase.

You felt a pang of guilt. Had you not just chided your mother for her snooping? You bent and unzipped the bag. It was empty. You checked the pockets; empty too. You stood and slid the door back into place. You went to the bed, the table next to it with the drawer that didn’t quite shut all the way and you wiggled it open.

The bible your mother left in there as if it were a hotel and pack of smokes. You’d never seen Andy smoke, never even smelled it on him. You took the carton and flipped open the top. Inside, a folded picture. You tiptoed to the window and looked out. His footprints faded into the trees.

You slid the photo out and opened it with shaky hands. It was Andy, shorter hair, trimmed beard, smiling, his arm around a dark-haired woman and a young boy in front of them. You folded it quickly and pushed it back behind the sticks in the pack. You placed it as you had found it and forced the drawer shut. 

Was he running from his own family? Or maybe, what had happened to them?

You fled his room and closed the door guiltily. You were only more confused than before. You descended the stairs and hastily pulled your coat from the hook. Your hat was pulled on carelessly and you tied your boots without thinking. You pushed your hands into your gloves and angled yourself out the door. It was fucking cold; the fleece lining of your coat made little difference.

You grunted as you forced your boots through the snow and followed Andy’s tracks as they filled with a new layer of powder. You weren’t sure what you were doing, why you were doing it. What could he be doing all the way out in the woods which would be incriminating?

You went on, even as the questions floated in your mind. You followed his large boot prints, placing your feet in them as you followed his path. You came to a stop before the river, the overturned tree showed where someone had brushed aside the snow. The tracks veered off away from the log and you looked around.

You were forced back into an upright trunk, the breath knocked out of you as Andy pinned you with his arm across your chest. His eyes seared into you as he leaned his weight into you and you gasped for air as you smacked his shoulder.

“Why are you following me?” He growled.

“What? Andy, let me--” You gasped, barely able to breathe, the snow clumping in your lashes. “And--”

“Hmm? I see you watching me. I see the way you look at me.” He hissed. “I help you, help your mother and what? What do you think I am?” He grabbed your chin, his hide glove rough against your skin. “Am I that villain you write about? Is that what you think?”

“No, I…” You smacked him again and again. “I was just---” He let off just a little as you gulped for air. “There’s a storm. You shouldn’t be out here--”

“You think I can’t handle a storm?” He snarled. “You’re not a very good liar and trust me, I’ve known a lot of liars.”

“Let go of me.” You pleaded. “Jesus Christ, I’m sorry. I’m sorry I followed you, okay? I was just… curious.”

“Uh huh,” He turned you and forced his arm around your neck as he bent you over. You kicked as he dragged you through the snow towards the river. “WHat do you think? I’m hiding some big secret like one of those books you read?”

“Let--go,” Your feet slid through the blanket below. “Stop! What are you--”

“You think I’m what? A criminal? A murderer!?” He pulled you up and spun you away from him. You stumbled backwards as you faced him. 

Your boots slid beneath you and you hearth the hard thunk of your sole against the the ice. Thick but not thick enough. You held out your hands as you looked down at the river coursing below the brittle surface. Your heart raced in your ears. You tried to take a step forward but he was at the bank, watching you.

“Ah ah,” He raised his hand. “You stay where you are.”

“What are you doing?” You pushed your feet apart. “Andy--”

“Terrible accident you falling through the ice like that. There’s just so much snow, you can’t really tell where the water begins.” He smiled and tucked his hands in his pocket as you heard the slow crack beneath you. “Your mother will be devastated.”

You swallowed as your eyes wetted and you looked between him and your feet. You lifted your boot and the snap below you had your heart in your throat. You plunged into the freezing water with a shrill shriek, your arms flying up to grab onto the ice. 

The frozen sheet broke as you tried to latch on and you kicked as the water soaked your coat and dragged you down into the depth further. You flapped helplessly and spun in circles in the waves. The water filled your lungs and you choked and you stared up through the frigid foam, the blurry shadow staring down at you.

The cold bit deep into your flesh and your limbs weakened the more you struggled. The water smothered you and your body spasmed in the thralls of finality. Your eyes rolled back and the dark water flowed around you in welcome.

[kurodachimagic]

Chocolate and Cherries - Chapter 1

Summary: When Adachi falls into the arms of a kind stranger his life changes for the better.

Rating: Pg 13

Tags/warnings: Fluff, getting together, au, Writer Adachi, Chef Kurosawa.

Word count: 6.2k

A/n: This story was written for the cherry magic mini bang! Thank you @hiwatari-art for inviting me to join! Had a lovely time working with you as always. Thank you to my other artist over on twitter guacagabs. The entire story is being posted right now. Thank you to @schnaf for being a great friend and beta!

Read on ao3

Adachi dragged his feet on the pavement as he made his way home from work. He was already too exhausted to start his writing day with the best mindset but it would have to do. He’d already skipped four days this week and if he didn’t actually sit down to work on his book, it would never be published. He let out a deep sigh and shook his head slightly.

The situation was not ideal by any means, he was not great at cooking and it was already too late to start dinner, but he definitely needed to eat something or his mind would absolutely quit on him, he knew that much.

Adachi knew he should probably get something healthier but he refused to waste even more time walking to the store, so he decided to stop by the food cart near his flat for his usual emergency menu: two tuna onigiris with mayo - along with a can of soda in the hopes that the caffeine would boost his creativity. He was not too happy about it, but he didn’t have much time to contemplate his choice because as soon as he had paid, the first few droplets of water hit his shoulders. Looking up, he felt the next few drops hit his nose and his forehead. He cursed inwardly and simply took off awkwardly running the last few blocks home, trying his best not to slip and fall, his dress shoes nothing but a hazard in this particular situation.

The building door was so close, he could see it through the pouring rain; just a few meters and he would be home. Adachi rushed, his hand extended already to grab at the door handle when his body collided with something - someone - and fell backwards. It was as if time had slowed down; he could see the face of the person he ran into frozen in shock, his eyes widening as he saw Adachi falling, while Adachi could only think about the pain this would cause him, physical, yes, but mostly emotional. He always managed to get himself in embarrassing situations and now -

His neighbour extended his hand just in time to catch Adachi’s and pulled him upright effortlessly, his expression switching from shock to a relieved smile. “Are you ok? I’m so sorry, I hadn’t seen you.”

“Thank you! I’m so sorry,” Adachi said, feeling the heat rise to his face, partly because of his clumsiness and partly because his neighbour had not let go of him yet. In fact, Adachi could have sworn that the guy was rubbing his thumb on the back of his hand. He didn’t know what to do, so he tried again. “Uh, sorry. I should’ve been more careful.”

“It’s ok, I’m glad that you didn’t get hurt.” The man seemed to suddenly remember they were standing in the pouring rain and pulled Adachi to the door. “Come, you’ll catch a cold in this weather.”

No matter how hard he thought, Adachi couldn't remember ever catching his name but he had seen this man before in the elevator and in some of the common areas. He seemed to be a bit of a recluse, much like himself.

The man opened the door and finally let go of his hand before ushering him in. “After you, Adachi.”

Adachi’s eyes widened; he didn't know how the man knew his name, but he didn’t mention it. He walked inside and called the elevator, followed closely by his saviour. Once the doors opened, he stepped in and turned around, pressing the button for the fifth floor and finally facing the man. "Thank you, again…" he trailed off.

"Kurosawa. My name is Kurosawa." He pressed the fourth-floor button.

Adachi smiled and bowed to him. "It was nice seeing you, Kurosawa. Have a good night."

The elevator dinged and Kurosawa bowed with a smile before exiting. “Good night, Adachi,” he waved.

Adachi hesitantly waved back as the elevator doors closed. Before he knew it he was one floor up, opening the door to his flat, throwing his work bag on the sofa and taking his wet clothes off with a groan before going to the bathroom.

What a day. Not only had he stayed late to finish on that project Urabe had handed to him but he also made himself look like a fool in front of his very cool neighbour, and to add insult to injury now he needed a hot shower to hopefully avoid catching a cold. He shook his head and hopped under the stream, washing himself thoroughly and letting the hot stream relax his muscles.

Feeling in a bit of a better mood, Adachi got out of the shower, wrapped himself in a towel and went about getting into a comfy set of pyjamas. He finally sat at his desk and opened the white doc of doom, checking the time and cursing as he realized it was 9 pm already. He slouched in his chair, throwing his head back with a groan. This book was going to take a million years at this rate, he really needed to prioritize his schedule, put on some good hours into it each day, especially during the weekend, he needed to -

Adachi’s stomach growled loudly, reminding him that his emergency dinner laid abandoned in its bag. He got up and stomped over to the sofa, unwrapping the onigiris and eating them without so much as a thought before returning to his spot. He promptly sat down to continue with the daily task of staring at the document while he begged his brain to type something - anything - out. But his mind had other plans though, Kurosawa’s face and gentle smile kept popping in his mind. Maybe it was because of the way he moved, how he had kept him from falling with his sharp reflexes, or maybe it was how elegant he looked even when he was soaking wet, how well his suit fitted him. Kurosawa was like some sort of superhero, or… no, he was more like a Prince Charming from an epic battle world. That was a start - it was not the murder mystery he had thought about, but it was definitely a start.

The sound of Adachi’s footsteps worked like a metronome, helping his mind settle into a rhythm. He was starting to see things in more detail: The brave prince paced in his castle, his sword close by his side, the problems his kingdom was facing were almost too much to bear and with his father on the brink of death, it was all on him. A shadow appeared above the citadel - the… the… ‘kingdom x’ was being attacked by a three-headed dragon. How would he fix this and save his people? Had someone sent the dragon or did it act with free will? Did the soon-to-be king have secret magic powers? Maybe they were a secret even to himself!

With renewed energy and excitement, Adachi sat down to work. This new world just wanted to be written, to become a reality, and he was not going to stop it. Aided by the occasional sip of soda and a few “stretching breaks” that were more like actual pacing, he managed to draft four thousand words by 5 am, effectively breaking his 3 thousand word record from just a few months ago. If he could keep up the pace he could finish the book within the next month and send it to Tsuge for editing and review. He sent a quick text to his friend to tell him the good news and got into bed; he would probably regret staying up so late tomorrow, but now he didn’t have it in him to care. Writing was definitely his call - even if he was very close to missing his goal of being a published author by 30.

---

The commute to work was nothing short of hell. The morning started with Adachi missing his usual train and having to take the next one during rush hour - not that he ever managed to avoid rush hour, but he usually took the first train during it so it wasn’t as crazy as later in the morning. This resulted in him having a very unpleasant ride, squeezed half to death between the sea of people, feeling like a canned sardine with a bad case of insomnia. That was the other issue, the previous writing night ended up being a success but even though he’d been exhausted by the time he was done, it had been impossible to fall asleep. Now he was on his way to a long workday with a pounding headache and a sour mood. If given the opportunity, Adachi would’ve chosen to take the day off to sleep and feel refreshed enough by sundown to continue writing.

His job was definitely a necessary evil, but sometimes he couldn’t help but resent it. On the verge of thirty, Adachi spent most of his day at the office, writing his reports, Urabe’s reports, and occasionally picking up the slack of some of his colleagues. There was barely any time for hobbies or relaxing and least of all to be an aspiring writer. To be completely honest, Adachi had started viewing his day job as his second career in the past year. His heart and soul were focused on his new goal, what he really wanted. In the end, if writing didn’t become his main income, it wouldn’t matter, he was passionate enough about it to continue no matter what. After all, living in the fantasy worlds he created was more than enough for him.

Adachi made it to his desk just on time, but running those last few blocks only served to make his mood even sourer. He pulled at the collar of his shirt with a small huff, still thinking about his writing and leaned back in his chair until it touched Urabe’s shoulder, startling him.

He turned around swiftly, blush already rising to his cheeks. “I’m so sorry, Senpai.”

Urabe nodded and waved him off. Then, he cocked his head and looked at Adachi in more detail. “What is going on with you, Adachi? You look tired.”

“I just had trouble sleeping last night, that’s all,” Adachi said with a heavy sigh. He could picture so many things he would rather do than give explanations about his personal life, but he would feel too guilty if he was rude to Urabe when he was only worried about him.

“Hmm, are you sure that’s all?”

“Yes. I’m ok.” He attempted his best smile. “Thank you for asking.”

“Adachi,” Urabe pouted, his brows burrowed into a childish frown, just like every time he would ask Adachi to take on more work, any semblance of concern already gone out the window. “Can you finish this report for tomorrow? The boss is really piling stuff on my shoulders and I already had other plans for today.”

Sometimes Adachi wished he was a bad person, or a bad colleague even, but he couldn’t help taking on the extra work when it was needed, after all, he didn’t have much of a life. He rolled his eyes but nodded. “Yes, of course.”

“Oh, wait. Is your birthday today or tomorrow?”

“Tomorrow.”

“And you’re turning 30, right?”

Adachi nodded once again, hoping to end the conversation as soon as possible; he didn’t want to be reminded of the passage of time or how much he hadn’t achieved by now.

Urabe rolled his chair closer and elbowed him. “Aaah, you sly weasel. Do you have a date?”

“Of course not. I’m just looking forward to getting home and sleeping.” That was literally his birthday plan.

Urabe frowned and gave him a quizzical look. “But you have... ‘dated’ before, right?” He winked.

Adachi shook his head slightly and saw the same look many people gave him, a mix of pity and judgement.

“You should ask one of the girls out. I’ve heard Yui is single and she’s very pretty!”

Adachi slowly turned his chair towards the copy machine and saw Yui across the room. She was, in fact, very pretty, but… she didn’t spark anything in him. She looked like a work of art, pleasant to look at, but not for him. “No, I don’t think that would work.”

“Adachi, if you don’t date someone by the time you turn 30, you will turn into a wizard!” He whispered.

“What? That’s ridiculous!”

“It’s true, you’ll see!”

Adachi rolled his eyes and turned back to his desk, finally starting on the reports needed. The sooner he was done with that, the sooner he could return to his writing.

--

The elevator opened its doors for Adachi and the ding that followed made his muscles relax instantly. Only a few more minutes and he would be up in his flat, taking his shoes off and cooking something quick before sitting down to write. He felt inspired by the beginning of this new story and he wasn’t about to let a bad day at work ruin that for him.

Just as the doors started to close, someone put a bag between them to keep them open. The first thing Adachi saw was a girl with a cute and gentle look, a black wispy fringe framing her face and a sweet smile. She nodded at Adachi and he smiled and nodded back. He wondered if he would ever date a girl like her, if sharing his life with a partner and doing things together would be so different than what he did now. The answer was probably not, since he assumed nobody would be supportive of him working all day and writing all night; if he was honest with himself, he didn’t really have time for a relationship, even if he sometimes yearned for a bit of company - theoretically. Adachi blinked repeatedly, suddenly crashing back into reality when he saw the looming presence of Kurosawa behind her, giving him a weird look he couldn’t quite place as he ushered the girl into the elevator.

Out of sheer awkwardness, Adachi nodded and mumbled a quiet hello at him, looking away as a blush crept onto his cheeks. Was that Kurosawa’s girlfriend? He groaned and let his head fall back against the elevator wall. He’d been caught staring at his neighbour’s girlfriend like a creep. He ventured a sideways glance and realized Kurosawa was still looking at him with a weird expression.

Thankfully, the ride was short and only a minute later, Adachi was home, barely paying any attention to his basic needs as per usual. He made some instant ramen and added a bit of egg to it before eating it mindlessly, daydreaming of his new story and the magic system involved.

Perhaps it was quickly becoming a much more ambitious project than he had anticipated but as long as the writing flowed, everything would be ok. What was supposed to be a long writing session soon turned into an early night after Adachi’s brain decided to shut down mid-sentence, putting him to sleep sitting at his desk, his head hanging down and his spine hunched over.

[tata-is-the-name]

Witcher of the Night (Chapter 20)

THIS IS MODERN ERA READER WHO WOKE UP IN THE DIMENSION OF THE WITCHER.

EARLY CHAPTER FOR WITCHER OF THE NIGHT. THIS SHOULD’VE BEEN POSTED ON SATURDAY BUT I DECIDED TO DO A DOUBLE UPDATE FOR ONE WEEK! EXPECT CHAPTER 20.1 ON SATURDAY! *wink wink* 

CHAPTER 19

WOTN MASTERLIST

Characters: Geralt of Rivia x small!Naive!Reader

Summary: Maybe the curse has its own purpose for whatever fate you had with the witcher. Sensible responsibilities and a tie that has been knotted together with him that will surely affect both of your lives when chaos arrives.

Warnings: A kiss? (Unless y'all don't want to kiss Geralt so this can be a warning?) Curse words. Humans being judgemental bitches? Sweet, soft and protective Geralt? Petty, emotional reader? (She'll continue to be because of...reasons. Hehehe.) Eanraig asking personal questions. LMAO. Mention of Sylvan and Yennefer of Vengerberg.

Words: 5.3k

A/N: Early update for y’all! Double update for this week! Expect an update at around saturday or sunday! Heehee! FEEDBACKS WILL BE NICE TO SEE! MWAH! I still haven’t written the lost chapter for WOTN. There’s going to be a lost chapter that should’ve been in between chapter 16.1. I’ll write it soon. Heehee!

TAGLIST IS STILL OPEN FOR THIS ONE! Heehee! Don’t forget to REBLOG, COMMENT OR GIVE FEEDBACK IF YOU DID LOVE THIS CHAPTER! IT’LL MAKE ME SMILE! Sorry for the grammatical errors and such because English isn’t my mother tongue! PLEASE LEAVE FEEDBACK AFTER READING, BB! This is kinda a rough draft. I apologize for many errors.

Disclaimer: PNG’s and pictures used in edits are not mine even the GIF’s too. However, the edits and this fanfic is definitely from moi. Character development and personalities are based from my understanding and how I want them to be.(Credits to those who made the GIF’s. Some don’t have their watermarks included. I don’t remember where I’ve saved the others from)

MY WORKS ARE NOT NOT NOT NOT NOOOOOOT TO BE POSTED ON ANY OTHER WEBSITES. My official username in Wattpad is “TATATHEPOTATO” and that’s the only other site I have for writing aside from Tumblr. Thank you, Tater tots!

Being in the arms of a person you were finally realizing that you eventually loved gave a different kind of bliss rather than the sensual moments that you both had.

Knowing that you were in love with him---a divulgence that you have no plan of saying yet; for the fear of it being unrequited was keeping you back.

You weren't going to tell him your secret yet. No. Especially when you have been thrashed and battered; bleeding with their purpose for any truth to spill or lies that they wanted to hear.

Were you finally meeting heaven? Geralt has said words that you never expected him to; calling you his betrothed when there was no disclosure or label onto what relationship you both had.

Perhaps, he needed to claim you in that endearment because he was being threatened by the king? In order for you to live, he must be having a tight relationship with you or a reason that King Viduka can convince himself that you shouldn't be slaughtered.

They needed your witcher and Geralt has outsmarted them by telling that you were both engaged; his soon-to-be wife that you know has not been serious enough to say.

"Geralt," you meekly whispered, your breath hitting his neck with arms enveloping his shoulders as he carried you around the castle; it was a murmur that the knights weren't capable of catching while they guided you to where your temporary room will be.

"Where are they taking me?" a simple tremble of your throat gave Geralt a hint that you've been carried to places and rooms where they have hurt you; a place that they chose to clobber your innocent soul, "---Are they going..to hurt me again?"

There has been a usual hum that you managed to memorize from the witcher, hearing a disgruntled 'hmm' from the affronted question like he didn't like hearing the idea of his midget being rained blows on, "To a much more comfortable place than being held captive in the dungeons,"

"Did...Did you sealed a deal with the king? H-How will you find the witch who cursed the prince? you shouldn't have done it because I heard her location being undetected---"

The white wolf cut you off with a simple, frank honesty of his words; risking the hunt instead of letting them think of other ways for your sufferings. Never wanting another painful venture that would make his thoughts suffer in the end. He'd taken the chance of finding the witch rather than having the possibility of a fight with thousands of knights nor an attempt to let you escape from hundreds of horsemen out in the open.

"There was no other choice."

Your arms tightened around him when they've guided you both to take a turn, feeling more protected in his arms. Hence, the action made Geralt keep you closer to him afterwards; making you sadly smile from his hold because it felt farcical to even think that he was doing this for you out of such love that you were sure of feeling for him.

You could feel that this comfort you're feeling had repercussions based on what that sorceress has described him and from what future she sees if he'd really pick you.

Yennefer of Vengerberg was still out there. Geralt will surely pick a woman who wouldn't get to die easily because you were a mortal. He'd just give himself such dolor because you'll die first than him or better yet, you could be killed by anyone who wants you dead with just a snap of your head because of being vulnerable to their eyes and to their world; knowing nothing but to strive just like how normal people live on earth.

"You've done enough for me already. You should've just left me alone to die and protect Cirilla like how your future is planned---I probably shouldn't be even in your life, Geralt."

You could feel his golden eyes boring holes on your face because of the sudden principle you've plainly stated, the sound coming out of your nose like a faithless lie you abruptly believed in. His marches turned heavier with each step upon hearing your judgement. With a subtle shift of your eyes away from his chiseled face, your mouth fell into a tight frown just like how his tightened when he looked front as he walked.

"That's never going to happen, midget." the witcher gruffly grumbled, "---You saved Cirilla. You've given the bard a chance to move on from that hideous person he had,"

You didn't save anyone. You've only done what was right by being transported into a world that you didn't belong in. Your mouth was about to open when he'd quickly clipped a short additional comment that shut your mouth from the moment it was heard---your heart jumping in the exact time he was having his steps.

"---and you also saved me,"

A sarcastic snort concealed the rushing beat of your heart; not thinking it through and never believing the opinions inside your head. Choosing the pessimist side of your brain that kept you from trusting what your heart wanted to feel.

"From what? from keeping you silent? I'm just giving you a headache, I have been a complete burden to you,"

"No. You're wrong." you've shifted your eyes to see his forehead creased in the deepest wrinkle it can form, simply telling you that he was upset in a trice when it was a truthful answer.

Your attention went straight to the side of his face; narrowing your eyes at a fresh scar that weren't there the last time you've seen him---fingers aching to caress his disfigurement and having thoughts inside your head that he'd been hurt from his latest hunt with a monster. Digits stayed where they are, clasping them tighter with your own as you clung to your witcher.

Taking a dim view of his lour, his teeth was clenched tight as he fell silent---appearing to look like he wanted to say more but chose to keep it all to himself.

"Do not trust the sorceress or the queen. Just trust me, Eanraig and no one else in this castle,"

"Eanraig. He's the person who treated my wounds. Who is he?"

"A druid. A Scholar of the forest. Trust no one but me or him, understand?" he stated firmly as he ceased his steps, standing before a fairly large double, wooden doors whilst the gallants unlocked them. Geralt's words were left in a soft mumble that you didn't realize he would be competent of, sounding like he was giving sheer comfort over his undiplomatic rejoinder.

"---Because in their eyes, you are alike of my kind. A woman who is lost in our world and has opened a portal for undefeatable monsters; a key for adding more chaos that this world can ever bring,"

The doors to your room has been opened, one knight coming right in rather than the both of you who had permission to stay in chambers; his voice becoming a mere whisper of his baritone, rough timbre that didn't caught your hearing when a knight suddenly talked out loud for the chevalier inside.

"---but, not to me."

The horseman has given Geralt a pithy nod of his head to direct him in. He set him aside when he'd pass by him; seeing how gigantic and bigger that the witcher was compared to both chevaliers. Your witcher's face masking in a vacant expression which they have ridiculed him when he'd gently placed you down on a soft bed that you immediately examined; catching sight of golden, silk sheets for such a large bed; the physical sensation of what a bed brought was bringing you forty winks from the ache everywhere in your joints.

"I'll bring them what they want to keep you safe. They can hurt me, make me bleed to death---" you've blinked your left swollen eye to see Geralt hovering on the side, his simple actions of skimming his fingers through your tangled hair in a surreptitious manner, the wide-broad back shielding his succors from the knights that still didn't leave the room; keeping you both under their guard which will surely get a scolding from the witcher himself after assisting you to your bed.

"---yet, I will not afford to see it from you again."

Geralt never gave you a chance to speak as he fully stood on his feet, wandering over to where one knight was standing, watching over you both and never intending to give privacy. The witcher had a scowl on his face as he sauntered over to where they were, shooting daggers at them when they firmly stood on their ground.

Emanuel, the persistent gallant firmly straightened his back; peering back at the witcher who was taller and giving him a silent, brooding death stare. Never batting an eyelid as he mutely tried to let them understand his wishes to be alone with you. Emanuel continued to quietly hector, leveling with Geralt's intimidation as he stared straight back at him; thoroughly impertinent by what he wanted.

"Leave her chambers." the white haired witcher lowly grumbled, emitting a gruff groan in the back of his throat when he heard the trifling knight be headstrong towards him.

Their conversation made you try to lift yourself up from the bed, whimpering and complaining from the twinging sensations that your injured body has been giving. You didn't need another fight to occur between Geralt and some knight; his slaughtering has been enough and you didn't need anymore people dying on your hands. Thus, you've faintly called for your witcher's name; distracting his annoyance or anger from butchering another set of horsemen.

He wouldn't kill them. They just needed to be pushed away.

"How about no, Mutant?" Emanuel taunted back, snappy and utterly offhand which made Geralt raise a brow.

He sighed to himself, rolling his eyes at his comeback and carelessly grabbed onto his shoulders. Using his strength that not any other normal human has, Geralt pushed him out of the doors with a forceful shove; letting him stumble and fall on his other friend who'd grunted out loud when they both fell outside and onto the castle floors.

"I didn't ask."

The witcher hastily slammed the doors shut, fastening the bolts and when he'd hung onto the latch, an ample amount of curses has been given to him; more demeaning and vociferous words that he surely has been used to from people who hated his kind and brushed them off despite the thunderous knocking from behind closed doors.

He took quick strides to where you where; leaning on the headboard of the bed. You've seen his leather bag resting off the sides---specifically, under the bed which got you staring at him as he does so, still cherishing his presence, what his whole being was worth to take a shine to and for acclaiming that this otherworldly human was a person you were in love with.

The idea of being away from him swatted a sting to your chest; how going back to earth will be the death of you if it eventually happens---and if it was a future you were bound to come back to.

You've given the witcher a solemn smile, your true feelings currently kept as a secret until it was the right time to tell. Geralt was crouching beside you, scouring through his leather bags until you've seen him take out a transparent witch bottle that had flamingo colored extract inside; the stuff was familiar to you and remembering what effects it has given; such vile taste began to drip on the tip of your tongue, making you shake your head that you ought to spurn.

Yet, also making the heat run to your face because of how you remembered how he'd let you take the pain by forcing the potion to drizzle on your skin, softly kissing your lips to distract you from it as he took care of your wounds back then.

Your eyes turned into big saucers; shakily bringing out a hand to cease his actions. Geralt took note of your sudden response, his head slightly turned to the side as he watched you panic with his composed expressions, "I---I---I know that medicine! I thought the last potion you made for me was...the last?"

He gave an impressed raise of his brows, thankful that your head hasn't been forced to forget or banged against a wall that'll give you amnesia, "I've mixed potions for humans ever since you came. Jaskier seldom wounds himself when he has his lute. But, he can take a spell when he is stubborn enough. However, you---you can be clumsy as an impaired Sylvan,"

You could feel he was trying to stifle a smile from his last metaphor, remembering memories in his past that certainly has given him entertainment. The witcher took the cork using his teeth, spitting the top of on the side as he began to reach out and point it on your unhealed wounds surrounding your chest, lightly covering the scar on your chest that reminds you of him because of the same symbol he has on his necklace.

"Geralt! Don't you...Don't you dare!"

The latter stopped midway to give you a teasing scowl, "You have a habit of saying my name when you are refusing to follow my wishes, midget."

"It's because I'm fine!" you squeaked and planned to get away from him when he'd gently took hold of your wrist, keeping you in place; profoundly staring into your eyes in disbelief.

"You have been tyrannized and can hardly move any of your limbs. Then, you say you are fine?"

The white wolf outreached for the collar of your ruined, bloody sweater, gently pulling them down for the upper valley of your breast to be displayed to him. He felt you yank his hand away to pout back at him. It made Geralt hum in sheer interest and surprise; your refusal to be cared for, humoring his guts because it seemed like you were upset over other things he couldn't decipher.

"Hmm." he gravely hum as you've seen his lips curl into a small, firm smile while he tightly had the elixir on his hand, inserting a quip after being in the presence of your unreasonable and disobliging self yet again.

"---Must you still be shy with me after everything we had?"

You've given him silence, squinting your eyes back at him as a form of reply.

Geralt sighed a deep one as he closed his eyes; not knowing what was making you grumpy and cranky at the same time. He'd open his glowing peepers to greatly gaze back in utter tranquility, beating you off with whatever silent challenge has been going on. Thus, those amber have taken a peep over your bruised lips, creating a face of disapproval before seeing him lean his head forward and over your face.

"You're not going to---to---give me a kiss as a form of distraction! If you think I'm a thirsty lady---"

One light peck to the lips was all he needed to shut you up. He was gentle, almost felt like he was tickling the pain because there was no ache as he kissed you. Geralt brushed his lips on yours; delicate and utmost promising. The action being a verbal persuasion for words that has not been set out in public---also, a belief inside your heart that wanted to listen to her own theories that your alter-ego tries to brush off.

The softness of his lips left yours with a brush of his warm breath, slimly creating space between you both when he leaned his forehead on yours, his nose grazing to let you feel his worries over what happened whilst he mumbled whispers of fidelity that were only a mere chance of hearing from the witcher himself.

"You...don't know how dreading it was to not see you wandering around our home---coming back and being welcomed by a bleeding bard and Cirilla scared to her wits,"

He'd promptly closed his eyes, gliding the roughness of his thumbs over the linear of your jaw; tender and comforting as he caressed; hearing him breathe calm, deep inhales that were adding mental repose over your aching body. The latter ought to touch your sore body with a profound gentleness he didn't knew he had when Geralt heard light, padded marching coming forth to where you both have been ensnared in.

"Eanraig," the witcher nonchalantly acknowledged, being in the right time as he stood up to his feet and cutting the moment short with you before Eanraig can even barge in without knocking; using such magic to open the locks to their doors that had Geralt humming in displeasure when he saw a look being given to him; mentally asking if he was interrupting something.

Geralt's frown just tightened more as they both stared at each other while you have given Eanraig a cordial smile; remembering that he was also one who has treated your wounds when it felt to be needed.

The Druid slammed the door shut with a simple flick of his hand, casting such occult practices that has fastened the bolts back in a tight lock; creating a force shield over the doors which can't let people from the outside, hear whatever was being talked about in the chamber.

"I've heard from Ingrith that you both are cursed together," Eanraig frankly spoke as matter of fact.

At the mention of that, Geralt couldn't help but narrow his eyes on the scholar, showing him his curiosity and bewilderment, "By who?"

His fellow acquaintance shared a guileless smile, "By what, is what you probably mean,"

"The Djinn," Geralt hoarsely bleated incoherently, exhaling frustrations about what he was getting a gist of the conversation.

The Djinn was certainly a snake in the grass just like how Jaskier mentioned, he silently thought to himself. His focus on the scholar turning sharper from what he was being elevated about.

Eanraig gave him a nod, "You were trying to send her home," pause. "---Warp of the souls. A curse made for two destined people. Unless, it still isn't permanent."

Keeping quiet as they talk; holding the chafe of your bruises all to yourself. Your attention jumped from Geralt to Eanraig. Confounding with the topic at hand because of your sudden apprehension towards the whole ordeal.

A curse. You were under a curse right now and Geralt wanted to send you home as well.

Your eyes shot at the witcher's wide broad back, shooting a glare at his infuriating, beautiful white hair; wanting nothing but to grab onto some scissors and cut his tresses because of reasons that was worth to strangle him---which you doubt it can even happen. Geralt subtly eye you in his peripheral vision because he could feel you shooting daggers at him and it left him utterly confused as he shifted his attention over you who laid behind him and Eanraig who stood before the doors, strolling closer to the both of you.

"Were you both in heat? Does anything feel strange?"

"I know what she feels. Everything."

Eanraig crossed his arms, raising an arm to touch his grizzled white beard. His gaze condemnatory for his next question that caught the witcher off-guard, "Did you bed her?"

Geralt raised both of his brows and let out an intriguing hum of his deep timbre, your focus on his reply but also making you feel giddy and bashful over the Druid's rash interrogation. Your eyes squinting and continuously giving the back of the witcher's head a death stare when you kept your mouth shut and let him do all the short talking for the first time in forever.

"Hmm."

His dawdling form of response got the Druid scratching his temples for such a dishonest answer that he rarely receives from him, "It has a process before the curse lasts forever, there is no refund or whatsoever. Maybe it might have had reasons for creating such process," Eanraig stated and avoided to tell a sensitive topic that can get Geralt running for the hills if he immediately knew what reasons that the Djinn has held you both; such sensible responsibility that could challenge your unspecified relationship with him.

A child. His very own child. The witcher won't take the news in the best way that he can. Especially, Geralt of Rivia.

The druid couldn't help the grin growing on his wrinkly face, repeating his query a lot more genuine than he can get, "Now, did you bed her?"

"What does this have to do with the Djinn?"

Eanraig couldn't help but suddenly chuckle under his breath, never receiving a proper answer from Geralt that was surely entertaining his day; "This is a curse that only a djinn can do, not any sorceress nor wizard," his chortles eventually died down as he turned serious, wanting a real answer to know if you both will be expecting a neonate that will bring miracles to their world.

Beautiful but daunting miracles that nobody can ever read in the future---not even a fortune teller can as everything was being blocked by the power of the genie.

"So, answer the question," he patiently asked the witcher with such enthusiasm that Geralt couldn't comprehend.

"---Did you bed her, witcher?"

Geralt was completely finding his questions strange, his scowl faltering as it changed into a wince receiving a strange question out of all the queries he can ever ask.

"Yes."

Lifting your head away from the headboard, you've given them both looks of incredulity; disbelieving that they were talking about both of your sensual lives like it was nothing which you really are sensitive and conservative about. The knives being thrown behind Geralt's back becoming bigger as you rolled your eyes for his short, indecipherable acknowledgement---concealing the whole, sudden irritation you had for him because of your shabby, emotional self.

"What? Did he get me pregnant or something?" you peeked behind Geralt's body to send the druid your jesting question, igniting no harm over it because of how important Eanraig was making it seem about asking a question as if he has knocked you up or something.

The sudden witticism has made Geralt slightly turn his body to give you the side eye, head-shaking as he does so with a sarcastic smile like he'd been insulted.

"You're being unreasonable, Midget."

You've turned your head to the side, trying to get his dander up from his 'sending you home moment' that the druid has honestly and bluntly said out to the two of you; catching Geralt's true feelings over you despite of his lies over calling you important and his home that he would gladly come back to.

"I'm asking Eanraig not you, Geralt."

He still has his body slightly turned to you, narrowing his golden eyes and shaking his head more firmer like a warning sent to your sudden attitude.

"You know I can't. Stop this nonsense,"

Your bruised mouth was in a tight straight line, going on with your narrow-minded self---steady to be adding more ungenerous quips that certainly was vexing the witcher because he'd send you a tight grimace that doesn't scare you, "But, using a Djinn and trying to send me home isn't nonsense after telling that you find home in me?" you scoffed in the middle of being glared at.

"---I didn't know you meant it literally, Geralt of Rivia."

The white wolf hadn't really gotten to dodge from your sudden verbal attacks. Though, the scowl you've received from him was the nastiest out of all the rest today. Yet, he didn't plan nor given you one back as he bit his tongue for even thinking through his temper just like how he did before---wanting not to commit in another mistake that he will surely regret in the end again.

Geralt bit his tongue harder, clenching his teeth together before he spoke with his fangs slipping out behind his lips---appearing to be like he was trying not to growl his frustrations out for your sudden hostility.

"It was before I even knew that you...you can be considered as my home, Midget," he'd given you a gaze; a knowing one that tells you he won this verbal fight of your petty snarks because he had wished for that before the Djinn was even on your hands---not after the wishes happened.

"K." you curtly answered, defeated. The side of your wounded lip slightly lifting as you added a moniker that will surely infuriate him as in the end.

"...Witcher,"

Geralt's lowest pitch of a quieted growl vibrated through his chest, looking at you threateningly from your obdurate answer.

Eanraig couldn't help but shift his head from one person to the other, gaping at the both of you and heedful of the vexation that suddenly surrounded you both. Did he do something then? the druid asked in the back of his mind when you were both staring at each other---if looks would kill, you were both already in a tough fight over what war was happening.

The scholar of the forest awkwardly cleared his throat, snapping the uncomfortable atmosphere by educating everyone in the room with his slight knowledge over the curse.

"Very well then, so much for making it permanent. You've probably did as much as you could considering how lecherous the witcher can get from his overly developed mutations,"

Geralt turned his body back to the druid in one's own good time, a coy smile plastered on his face---so feigned that the witcher felt like he was faking it too weakly over being verbally attacked as well by his acquaintance who elegantly told him that he was created to be a horny man in his life and continuous to be so.

Until he developes some sort of erectile dysfunction that nobody even knows yet.

Eanraig choked in his own words when Geralt stepped a foot closer to the druid, his glowing eyes squinted and never knowing what he was thinking as he gave an intimidating frown that made the druid swallow his words down in the back of his throat, his mood certainly ruined from your petty vantage point.

"This...This curse has its purpose, you will never love any other man or woman. Never. Not anyone can overcome the memories you had with him or her. The feelings are growing deeper each day. Hatred if the djinn may see fit. Affection. Care. Love. You are lucky if both of your feelings are real and true because if hatred comes with it---even vanquishing the affection you have? It'll make you forget that you even had feelings for each other because you'll end up unhappy and trying to kill each other off,"

Eanraig peeked behind Geralt to see you blinking in curiosity, "---unfortunate for a human like her. If he does hate you, little woman."

"---Also remember, if one of you dies---which I doubt for the witcher. Then, you will feel as if your heart has been taken away from you. Deep heart break. Pain shall take its course, every day that you may wake up will be memories of her, inhibiting pain and more ache at the memory of her dead." he continued and noted how Geralt has fallen in silence with a jaw clenched tight, "---you will be unhappy and in despair for this fleeting happiness that the djinn has set you both in,"

"and---" Eanraig's thoughts were ceased when the butcher of Blaviken spoke with an unyielding emotion set in his eyes; serious and wary of what kind of people were surrounding you as for the mean time.

"I won't let her die."

"But, what if its inevitable?" the scholar bluntly said it out in the open, making Geralt calmly let out a breath as he had his lips in a tight line, thrusting his jaw forward in subtle determination while Eanraig continued to utter his protests.

"Ingrith and Queen Makeda wants her dead, Geralt. You know you won't be finding the witch in five days!"

"I'll give them their shitty hag, Eanraig." The witcher muttered in final, his goals thoroughly set to find the witch that you have warned him about. Must it be a trap, you may never be quite sure as it was only been said by the prisoner who stayed in the same dungeon with you.

Geralt sounded to be too stubborn to listen and it appeared to be like there was no other way for you to be set free unless he finds the witch or fake one woman in order to keep them off your hair.

"Alright, then."

The druid left it at that. Sighing hard for his mullish and keeping his mouth shut for anything that can keep the witcher distracted throughout his hunt.

Geralt turned on his heels, seeing you crossing your arms like an upset, lady who had her mouth pursed so long that it made him take a gander over your cranky, battered state. His brows raised as he deeply muttered, inspecting your body language whilst pondering over ways how to keep you conciliated when you were seething before him like a feral kitten. His vicious, grouchy midget that was needed to simmer down.

"Interesting."

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[darqx]

You stayed at home and it was awesome

Sometimes i forget i have things in my drafts |D In which Rire is also like ugh at this pandemic. Yes that title is a reference to BTD2 lol.

❗️For commonly asked qs please see my BTD FAQ

He would actually be annoyed cos believe it or not social/physical distancing is not conducive to his modus operandi lol.

Rire during this time like:

But just think how fun things like Rire’s chase scene would be! \o/

Nope there are no plans for a BTD3, everyone is busy working on their own personal projects now.

There has been a misunderstanding here (which ok, fair XD) - human!Rire and DemonKing!Rire are separate Rires, they’re not the same person. To be quite specific human!Rire is actually the original and the Demon King version is an AU version. It’s briefly explained in my FAQ under the heading “WHY DO YOU HAVE SO MANY DIFFERENT VERSIONS OF THE SAME CHARACTERS?“ |D

I was gonna draw Lady Rire’s hair in a plait for this, but then i realised i didn’t want to draw that much plait |D

Technically yes but they wouldnt have any definition/texture so they’d literally just look like weirdly pluffy shaped tentacles XD

Sometimes you guys ask me questions like this and i dont think anyone’s yet cottoned on to the fact that i’m not a gamer XD;

Yes, although courting another Royal can be a bit of a minefield (even if each Royal happened to love the other very much) due to political agendas. Most of the time if a Royal marries, their spouse is not a Royal as this keeps a preferable unbalance of power.

Is anything in the BTDverses ever really canon lol, considering all the integrated elements it’s made up of XD As i didn’t work on BTD2 with Gato and EP, that’s one way we threw a Rire cameo in.

That being said i do think with any meetups Rire would’ve had some kind of interest in his BTD1 cohorts, they are both interesting in their own ways after all >:]

I havent decided yet if this is a Rire reaction, or my reaction to this question.

Something like this:

Which is how i draw his hairstyle for his younger years

Cat

Hmm, piano; most likely picked up from his sojourns in the upper echelons of human society over the centuries

No XD

[from a previous answer dump]; this is v specific and generally i try not to answer this kind of specific OC stuff because i’d rather people like…have fun and use their imagination :d

ᕕ( ᐛ )ᕗ I really enjoy seeing fanart and fanfics so i wouldnt mind! Though you’d have to send them off anon, as i dont tend to click on links in asks from anon users or dodgy looking accounts. Another thing to consider is that i treat asks like that as private ones, so if you’d rather plug to more people i’d recommend making a post for it on your tumblr (if you have one) as opposed to just sending it to me!

Go on then 😏 Dont let your dreams be dreams! XD

Oh that’s a good one! Lessee you’d have to have the usual app stuff obviously (i’m not going to be too specific in most cases just substitute an app you think is pretty good for the generics haha)

like a good calendar app (for all those soul stealing appointments one has to keep)

world clock (maybe one thats a bit more involved than the default lol)

a beautiful weather app

google maps

spotify (listen to some nice jazz as you murder someone perhaps)

news app

a VPN and possibly Tor / Onion browser

one of those apps that tells you where good bars/club/eating places etc are

a few puzzle / strategy games, like Plague inc

For science hmm -insert SURE SURE face lol-

Tumblr is actually the place i usually throw stuff like that (thanks Tumblr, for being less useful at one thing now). I’ve kinda been toeing the nsfw line for a while anyway so there’s a lot of VERY suggestive nudity and stuff but not enough to get me in trouble atm |D

I’ve been thinking about maybe doing like a doodle account on Twitter but idk about their nsfw policies either...

Thank you! In my writings there are different made up species of demons with their own defining traits (eg Rire’s species are called Sollicio demons), so meeting another of your species would not be too unusual.

However as demons tend to recognise each other as being demons (according to my world law anyway, YMMV), a demon MC bringing Rire home would’ve been a REALLY stupid decision on their part cos they really should’ve figured out he was a pretty powerful one too much earlier XD

Rire: Like my status if you think i’m sexy

Ren: Like my status if you like Japanese shit

Lawrence: Like my status if you dont give a fuck

Strade: Like my status if you love to film yourself!

Cain: Do you like this booty? Like my status

Sano: If you like my serious face like my status

[tendous-socks]

DRAFT. “ don’t, take another step in my direction. just stay where you are oikawa. “

he freezes, hand slowly lowering itself as he sees you across the bed room facing the window sitter on the bed.

your silhouette being encased in a dewy glow as the sunsets behind you, showing the end of another day.

“ i’m sorry? y/n - chan what are you “

“don’t call me that oikawa “ you breathed, hand snapping towards him as the shine of the background illuminated your face, visibly distressed as you stared directly into his chocolate eyes, one you got lost in for hours.

ones that seems like the glow of honey, but are now full of shit.

“ i i don’t understand y/n - chan, what’s gotten into you are yo”

“i know that all the accusations posted against me have been getting more attention, so i have decided to talk about them”

the moment you cut him off, there was a sinking feeling in the chest that dropped to the pit of his stomach. eyes slowly widening as your shaky form continued reading.

“ yes it is true, i did sleep with the saun “

your back was back to face him, when you swiftly snapped back to your previous position.

though, your smooth reading quickly came crashing down down as he heard you struggling to even breathe.

a step was taken, “ y/n-san”

“ with the san jaunt ram manager who i have been seeing for a few months prior. though i had a fiancé. i was doing all of this without her knowing and with her husbands knowing consent. “

like a spring, he saw your trembling figure shot up as the glowing device laid captive in your whitening hand.

“ SOMETIMES we would do it in my own house, where my fiancé“ a pause. “ where my fiancé was away from at the time for an overseas trip to the state’s for her work. “

you had skipped a line, he had noted.

“ though, i regret the action, i can not keep quiet about it anymore, i sincerely apologize to all my fans and to y/n, as they don’t deserve this. we had cut off all contact as of today. “

though once he heard you stop reading he wen to open his mouth to talk, though the action stopped as his voice was held in a, iron cage, the lock not coming undone as h entries to break it.

“as of today..what about the day before yesterday hmm? YOU TELL ME TOORU. WHERE YOU SEEING HER YESTERDAY, THE DAY BEFORE I GOT BACK TO BRAZIL. PLEASE JUST FUCKING ANSWER ME”

“YES I DID”

silence followed quickly after, encasing the dimming room as he took another step towards you, face unreadable at his sudden out burst.

“ i see... you know tooru.”

in, out, you breathing had calmed a bit as you chucked the phone he got you for christmas onto the contaminated bed.

“ i see how all these girls look at you, men sometimes too. i see how they all flock to you, fall to one of your many charms, one i thought was reserved just for me. “

finally with a quick change you were now making eye contact as he looked into your eyes, the lighting stilling as your grimacing eyes met his fully, truly for the first time tonight.

“ your smile “

the eerieness continued as the sun stopped setting, stating in place as the air got harder, tenser, like he was on a mountain.

“ you know oikawa tooru, age 27 who loves argentinain native food, who loves volleyball as if it were his daughter, our daughter, who’s in back home now as i don’t want her knowing what you did. “

home? this perplexed him cause wasn’t your home here, with him in argentina ?

oh. you meant back japan where you stats for before ,asking the big move to argentina to pursue a life with him, and at the time unborn child.

mouth twitching down as the side of your neck bulged a bit as your hand went hide this tic of yours he had never once seen.

“ i don’t know you, oikawa tooru. “

another pause.

“ i won’t pretend i know you anymore, i’ve never knew you tooru, i only know a side of you that you want me to know. i’ve realized that now. “

“ you know me better than anybody else y/n”

do he had found his voice was slipping out fo it’s cage.

“ do i? maybe you’re right. maybe you know how i see you look at my brother. maybe i see the longing glanced you both send as you catch up on old highschool days. maybe on our wedding night hajime warned me.”

“ maybe he warned me about marrying you, saying how ‘ you were his best friend and wanted you to be happy, but wanted me to be as well. ‘ he had called you an icarus who was making his way to the sun, slowly getting closer, and closer, and closer. “

“.. you know i don’t love iwazumi, that was in the past y/n, but i love you now, from the moment we met i’ve loved you “

“so why! why did you do it oikawa? why did you do what you did, why are you looking at my brother the wya you look at me? sometimes i feel as if you would’ve rather married him than i. “

“ you were away for so long y/n i missed you and it was lonely, she came onto mei promise i tried to stop her “

“ should’ve tried harder than. but what baffles me is that you posted it? why. why the fuck would you tell the whole world how you brought this girl into our bed. what were you trying to clear your name or something. cause you ruined our ducking lives oikawa “

“ i’m aware y/n “ he winced.

timing back in, the room grew darker as the once small shadows started to creep up the wall, shackling themselves onto him as he looked at them clinging to his legs.

“ you know, i thought i made you happy, i thought i was the one to finally say this. loosely like yourself. ‘ tie down oikawa tooru, the world famous volleyball player who i’ve been with since highschool where he fought tooth and nail for what he wanted. “

a silence entrapped the two as oikawa was waiting for her to continue, knowing if he tried to put a word in he’d just get shut down.

“ .. why did you even marry me, tooru?”

a sharp pain erupted in his head as in he jerked up, mouth drying went dry as his eye eyes met your narrowed ones hip propped as you stared at him.

“ i know you’ve always hated the idea of marriage, children even as you wanted to be free, as you would always tell me in highschool. so why did you?”

“easy, because i love you”

“nope, no, jett no oikawa, you love the idea of me, of having a family, to have string to lean on “

“ no it’s not y/n and you know that, i love you that’s why i married you, that’s why i wanted to have a family with you “

“ are you sure about that cause you seem like you wanna family with her “

“ y/ n you can’t blame me i was lonely “

“ then call me damnit! “

“ i did y/n, but that wasn’t enough! “

“ obviously i can see that now asshole. and you know that i know that you could’ve fucked any bitch that came up to you and got them pregnant and i would stay because i love you. but like you i’ve changed. “

“we’re not the same as we were back then tooru, you know that“

“ y/ n lease, i’m sorry “

“ no. no. you’re making this harder than it needs to be oikawa please stop. “

“ no i can’t because i love you “

he was getting desperate, chains restricting him as he hastily made his yea towards you, reaching out to you, for you.

pain circulated through his hand as he stared dumbfounded at your scowling face, pressing your lips firmly together as you growled out a curse.

“ don’t you dare touch me. “

massaging his brows he tried again. “ y/n please i didn’t mean to “

“ shut the fuck up shitty bitch. one time is when you didn’t mean two, i could look past with counselling. six fucking months? you’re kidding yourself if i plan to stay with you. i’m going to Switzerland for some work i have to do. “

speeding towards the door he had finally noticed the two duffel bags that sat next to the floor white barrier.

he couldn’t move a single muscle in his body as she bent over to pick them up. one in each hand.

“ goodbye oikawa, good luck at nationals “ something else was muttered as you traveled through the untamable portal.

but he stared, eyes wide as slow, cold, glossy tears trickled down his cheeks. he wouldn’t, couldn’t move as it closed, only seeing the back of your head as you left your shared bedroom.

[dansedan]

I had a real shit time of things and listened to a lot of old mountain goats and then proceeded to draft an overly-ambitious multi year plotline for buddy cops wherein I just skipped to the end and wrote it because I wanted to write a bitterweet/romantic/repressed/familial car ride because that’s what old Mountain Goats makes me wanna do!!! So. Halia and Conolly driving home from the hospital two years and over 1500km after their first meeting in that hotel room. Under the cut.

They were going 50 on a hillside highway, and Halia was a surprisingly bad driver. Unsure, stressed out- he was clenching his jaw and his shoulders something awful, like that car was no machine and instead some feral animal he had to handle like a rowdy stallion, with a sure and even hand. If the car had been an animal, it might’ve smelt his fear- Jay practically could.

The view outside was bright and muted, the sopped-up greens of the far-from-finest North Dakota flora and the mid-autumn sky in the afternoon. Hazy, warm-hot-chilly wind blowing outside the heated leather of the car. Halia was unsurprisingly bad at handling the winter, even after years in the Midwest. Made for finer weather, that hidden expanse of real, living skin he so loved the fleeting glimpses of- dark, sure. He felt like he could reach over the console and kiss the tension out of the thin knuckles of his hands- supposed he was still mostly delirious from the medicine and the long, long sleep, and even in a more normal circumstance he would’ve been just as impolite about the staring.

“-did it feel? Did you hear anything, or something-- Jay?”

Distracted, he’d missed most of his question. But he caught the tone- soft, hoarse, uncomfortable. Jay supposed this was just about status quo with him, maybe even more so now.

“sorry, what’d you say?”

Halia didn’t look away from the road (the empty road, not even half-deserving of that title, almost a mud-paved streak of hilly land) but his eyes creased in forbidding concern. The edges of them were dark, sunken in somehow. There was a dark bruise on the underside of his jaw, too, under the thin layer of un-styled stubble.

“are you feeling drowsy? Try to keep awake, the doctor said-“

“no, no,” he reassured him. “was just distracted.”

The concern didn’t leave his face. Neither did the bruise- half-brown by now, almost a scar.

“I was asking what it felt like. The coma.”

Halia said he had a terrible bedside manner. Jay always thought it suited him just fine like this.

“like a real bad sleep, doctor. Like a real bad, sticky sleep with crappy noises.”

“So you could hear at times?”

He paused to contemplate it. The whole experience was difficult to recall, right now, maybe everything was.

“not anything exciting. Just grating noises and no meaning,” he smiled a little, tired, optimistic. “certainly no ‘Jacques, I love you please wake up, oh please do’ “

Halia didn’t grace him with an answer to that. “did it feel like a long time?” it was alright though. That had been what he’d expected- a bit less tooth-gritting from the poor kid, a small assurance he was well enough to joke about it.

“not really. Did It for you?”

Heaven help us—that strained expression of his right back on his face, not new but unfamiliar. Two years of deaths and somehow this sleep was what brought the grief out.

“very,” he said, even softer. “For a lot of reasons, very.”

“long enough that Ernst can’t possibly want to kill me anymore about it?”

And Halia breathes out and that’s close enough to almost a laugh from him. He can breathe again- fifty years of misery and somehow these scowls are what bring the reconciliation out.

“no, he absolutely fucking wants to kill you—why else would we be on a drive right now?”

“ah, so it’s a getaway? You’re gonna whisk me off to some tax haven under a secret identity, doc? Cause I want a say in just where we’re eloping.”

“Of course. How about Indonesia?”

“…they do tax haven-ing down there?”

“god if I know.”

“I thought you had a doctorate, Halia, what the hell do you mean you don’t know?”

“I have an MD, not a PhD. Didn’t you study history?”

“American history, Halia. Union army shit.”

“so no Indonesian tax havens, huh,” he whistles lightly. His knuckles are looser now, rolled like claws on the steering wheel. “Suppose we’ll just have to go get the groceries instead.”

Even smiling, even joking, their voices stay down, soft. They were alone for miles and almost whispering, like kids. Like they were sneaking off with something holy under the junkheap cover of the tin-can car making its shivery way through the alders.

Even the silence, now, was just a touch sparkling. Overheated, cramped into a crappy car and half-high on some cocktail of painkillers and five months’ sobriety, somehow he still felt something glowing from his gut about this, about a road in some nowhere state and the kid deadpanning next to him, no-one’s lives or murders resting in his hands for the first time in three decades.

“what’s the first thing you thought about,” not a question- hardly a statement. Nervy and too-quick and quiet. “when you woke up, I mean.”

I’d wanted to kiss you-

I’d wanted to die- I thought I had, somehow-

I didn’t think of anything-

It was so bright, loud too, white walls and-

Schaffer, if he’d made it, if he hated me- if he’d tried to-

About my daughter, in a plot in Tallahassee under a gravestone with one year on it alone, I never told you of her-

What the weather might’ve been the last few days, the guys at the logging company, my new job-

New like your wrinkles, when I saw them, new like nameless flowers undiscovered- god I wanted- god- god help us- maybe I should’ve stayed an altar boy, a priest-

“I thought about the herons.”

Halia barely nodded. He wanted to hear this- he would hear this for him.

“Down in Texas, Tiger-herons, when I was a kid,” he’s breathing too hard. He almost doesn’t feel sober- he hasn’t lied in months, maybe a year, he’s always hated lying. “god, I mean, they’re beautiful- they are, they’ve got these giant wingspans, gray and striped and almost garish, for a sea bird- but they’re classified as, vagrants, right? Vagrants- animals- are like, hmm, when they appear real far away from where they’re s’possed to be, you know?” he’s skipping into the accent now, god he is bad at this. “they’re actually from Mexico, but they get everywhere- they get all over the place in America. Not just America like, well here but like, y’know—America.” He could almost not hear over the beating of his heart right now. He couldn’t look at Halia. He couldn’t decide if he feared or desired the heart attack he thought was coming on with it. He didn’t stop. “I was wondering- when I woke up I was thinking if they’ve ever been in North Dakota. If I’d ever see one again, living here, at some point, you know? After moving. I never saw one in Missouri, but Dakota… Before- Before dying in Dakota I could…”

Halia’s hand was on his. It was shaking- he was still trying to drive with his left hand, he was still looking forward, too scared not to look forward, too scared to stop- but his hand was on top of his. Warm brown on creased, pallid white, thrown over each other, warm and wet and trembling.

He doesn’t dare to hold it, but he prays. He prays a thank you, prays a silent thank you. To the vagrant Herons in the mountains and the U-Haul company and crystal meth and the State Traffic Accident Reporting System and his useless degree and his taste for smooth jazz in his second year of college for getting him to this moment. To Halia, for almost letting him kill himself in the line of action, and to Ernst for letting him give it a second try as a civilian once that plan fell through, and to both of them making him live long enough to regret it. To the smell of fear and the taste of lies and Indonesia, whether or not it was a tax haven.

And to the winter sun two years ago, for such an accurate prognosis. To heaven, from its worst creation and its favorite child.

Amen, Amen, and thank you.

[siverwrites]

Dangerous Games Scene Number I don’t even know anymore

A new draft of a draft. I just rendered the last one obsolete with a new lead up and editing what I did have. I still don’t know timeline! Well, I kind of do but roughly.

Honestly at this point I’m still in it’s just fun to write random scenes mode! Never mind the greater whole!

Pull in all the Ace Attorney things.

I still need to at least finish a draft of the actual beginning I have. Gant goodness for it.

It was the wrong table, but Cabanela couldn’t bring himself to take their regular table. Tucked quietly into a corner not far from the stereo wasn’t so bad anyway. They’d take their old spot back soon enough. He stared into his scotch. Soon, but he was running out of leads.

Their home a dead end.

Kamila a dead end.

Jowd should have the answers but he was the worst of dead ends.

Movement caught his eye and he spotted Gumshoe. Another one in need of a drink if the talk he’d heard was anything to go by. A murder case and a lawyer, that lawyer poking around. Haaang on. The lawyer and the odd assistant that Gumshoe seemed to regularly have dealings with. There were rumours about that one.

He did still have a lead. Someone who would have the answers Jowd refused to give.

“Gumshoe!” He called out cheerfully.

The detective looked around until he spotted Cabanela. Then he looked confused.

Cabanela waved him over. “I’ll buuuy you a drink.”

“Thanks pal,” Gumshoe said once they were both settled drinks in hand.

“Sounds like you had a tough day,” Cabanela said.

“Ah, it wasn’t so bad. No worse than usual anyway.”

“I heard you had a liiitle visit from that defence lawyer again.”

“Yeah. He’s okay really. No Mr. Edgeworth, but…” he rubbed his head awkwardly. “He finds stuff out.”

Cabanela leaned back in a display of ease. “With quiiite an assistant from what I’ve seen. She’s not from here, is she?”

“Maya Fey? Yeah, she’s a weird one. Good kid though.”

“I’ve seen her around, but never met her. Would I be riiight in sayin’ she’s from Kurain?”

“Er, I guess so. Hey, pal, what’s with all the questions?”

“Only passin’ the time. I got curious. I’ve never had the good fooortune of meeting them on my cases.”

Gumshoe shrugged and drained his glass. “Maybe good luck. Nothing’s ever simple when Wright’s around.”

Cabanela eyed Gumshoe’s now empty glass. “Let me get you another drink.”

Once refilled Gumshoe took another drink. “Cheers!”

Cabanela raised his glass in turn before adding thoughtfully, “Kurain, the village of spirit mediums. Believe in ‘em?”

“Didn’t used to.”

“And nooow?” Cabanela prompted.

“Dunno. I’ve seen some weird stuff from those two. You know, if anyone was a spirit medium, I’d bet next week’s ramen it’d be Maya.”

“I seee.”

He’d come to take a break and think things over and here a lead fell right into his lap. Whether anything would come of it was a matter for later. He had his next step in place.

Cabanela slid his chair back and stood all at once, startling Gumshoe.

“It’s been niiice drinkin’ with you, but I have an early mornin’.”

He spun away with a jaunty wave, before Gumshoe could reply, feeling imminently more cheerful than when he had arrived. 

Cabanela looked up at the small sign: Wright and Co. Law Offices. Maya Fey. What a supposed spirit medium was doing with a lawyer was puzzling if a bit suspect, but he wasn’t about to complain. The police stopped making use of spirit channeling after the DL-6 incident. It was a shame really; anything useful could be a tool not that he had any experience with it himself. Still, after his discussion with Gumshoe he was ready to mend that.

Some of his good cheer faded to the more unfamiliar sensation of trepidation. He was about to communicate with her if this worked at all. It had to work and he would finally get some answers.

But they would only be able to talk for a short while and she’d be gone again. He shook his head. No time to dwell on such things.

Cabanela waltzed through the doors to be met with a muffled thump and a rustling sound before a young woman hurried in.

“Ah! Sorry, Nick-er Mr. Wright isn’t here right now, but if you need him I can take your information.”

“Are you Miiiss Maya Fey?”

“That’s me. Um… can I help you…?”

“Detective Cabanela. I’m heeere to see you actually.”

Maya looked startled. “A detective? What do you want with me?”

“I was hopin’ I might temporarily hire you for your skills. A consultation if you will. There’s a spirit I neeed to talk to.”

Now she looked startled and worried. “Oh. Um, I’m still in training… I-I mean I’ve done it before, but… not very reliably,” she finished in a mumble. “And besides… I thought the police didn’t, I mean a lot of people don’t even believe in our powers anymore…”

“Call this a leap of faith in an unofficial capacity. I’ll pay. Staaandard consultation fee of course.”

“This isn’t a criminal or anyone dangerous, is it?”

“Not at all. She’s a friend.”

Maya chewed her lip. “I’ve never been hired like this before…”

“Please. I need to speak with her one last time. It’s important.”

“Hmm, okay, I… can try. But I can’t promise it’ll work!”

“Tryin’s aaall I ask.”

“Do you have a picture? And I need to know her name.”

Cabanela pulled a photo from his coat and passed it to her. “Alma.”

“She’s pretty,” Maya said.

“She was, yes.”

“Okay. Here goes. Stay quiet please.” Maya sat down and closed her eyes.

Cabanela didn’t know when it happened but next thing he knew Maya was standing and she wasn’t herself anymore. The hair was still wrong, but everything else had changed… He’d know that face anywhere.

“Cabanela?”

Even the voice. He took a startled step back. “Alma…”

She stared down at herself before looking back at him, her eyes wide. “It… works. It actually works.”

“Heeey baby.”

She approached him and clasped his hand. “Your hands are shaking,” she said wonderingly.

“I didn’t know what to expect, but ha! Heeere you are. I’ve… missed you.”

She gave him a sad look. “I don’t think I can stay long.”

“I know, but I needed to talk to you. Everythin’s gone wrong. After you were killed Jowd turned himself in, claimed he did it. I don’t know why yet, but he’s in prison.”

“He what?!”

“Something’s goin’ on and he’s locked it up tight.”

“What about Kamila? She’s safe, please tell me she’s safe.”

“She is. Lynne’s lookin’ after her.”

Alma sighed. “Thank the gods. But Jowd, why would he…? He didn’t kill me! Hasn’t he told you anything?”

Cabanela’s mouth twisted. “Take a gueeess, baby.”

“Of course not. Thick, he’s so damn thick.” She covered her mouth with her hand. “Oh Jowd…”

Too kind, baby. But throwing insults at the man wasn’t going to help as tempting as it was some days.

“Alma, I need to know what really happened to you if you can tell me anything.”

She frowned. “I, I don’t know. Jowd and I came home. I went in first. It was dark, so I turned on a light. There was stuff around, decorations I think. Something came out of a box. There was a loud sound then another bang and… and nothing.”

“There was some kind of contraption.”

She backed up a step. “No. Kamila would never build anything dangerous!”

“I know. And Jowd wouldn’t shoot you either.”

“He couldn’t have even if he wanted to. He hadn’t entered yet.”

“But he took the fall.”

They stared at each other.

“She wouldn’t,” Alma breathed.

“Not deliberately, but I keep comin’ back to that contraption.”

“You think it was only an accident?”

“No… there’s sooomething more to it. I’d stake everything on it. You and Jowd, you were lookin��� into something before you died, weren’t you?”

She looked thoughtful. “Yes, shortly before. Maybe that’s not a coincidence, but we didn’t find anything solid, not yet.”

“What was it?”

“I was filing case evidence and found an odd discrepancy and a rather convenient one that lead to a guilty verdict. Do you remember the MN-3 case?”

“That glove that showed up at the last miiinute?”

“Yes. It was a very similar situation to that. I didn’t think too much of it at first, but I started comparing the file to previous files on this case and it didn’t quite fit. Not only that I lost access to one of the key files. It was locked only to high ranks. We started doing a little more digging as we could. Those two cases weren’t the only odd ones, but we have no idea how deep this goes and what actually is a problem and what isn’t.”

“I’d saaay that’s suspicious, baby.”

“That’s what Jowd and I thought. We made copies of the files for that first case I found and hid them just in case more went missing.”

“You should’ve told me,” Cabanela said flatly.

Alma looked apologetic. “We didn’t have a lot to work with and maybe there wasn’t much going on or maybe it was something really dangerous. Jowd wanted to keep it between us until we knew more. We were treading dangerous ground, not to mention making those copies…” She sighed and looked down at herself again. “Maybe more danger than we even suspected.”

“I suppooose. But, you know I would’ve taken on that danger with you. If you had more help maybe this wouldn’t have happened.”

“And that’s why we didn’t tell you. You could’ve gotten in to trouble as well,” Alma replied calmly. “Jowd insisted and I warned him you would be angry, yet at the same time maybe he was right. Besides, if that happened Jowd wouldn’t have help now.”

Cabanela sighed. There was no sense arguing at this point and no time. “What was the case and where are the copies?”

“SL-8. There’s a small compartment in the ceiling in our bedroom. Left corner.”

“And I thought I kneeew all your hidin’ places.”

Alma grinned. “Where do you think Jowd hid your presents?”

Cabanela laughed. “He’s sneakier than I gaaave him credit for.”

Alma chuckled before her mirth faded to worry.

“Please help him. Get him out of there. I can’t bear the thought of him doing this… because of me… He’s all alone and pretending he…” she trailed off looking pained before continuing. “And Kamila needs her father back.”

“I will save him, that’s a promise.”

She cupped his face in her hands. “I know you will and I know you’ll do everything you can for him, but please, take care of yourself as well. Stay safe.”

“If something happened to me I wouldn’t be much use to him.”

She shook her head with a wry smile. “I suppose that’s as good as I’ll get from you.”  She embraced him and murmured in his ear, “I have to go. Know that you have my love always.”

Cabanela swallowed and returned the hug tightly. “Alma… You don’t make this easy, do you?” He tightened his hold. “I love you,” he said softly before loosening his hug.

She gently pulled away with a smile. “Thank you. Good bye my dear friend.”

“I’ve neeever liked good byes. Watch over him from up there, will you?”

“As if you had to ask.”

They exchanged a nod. Cabanela blinked and was faced with Maya again.

She breathed out a sigh. “Whew, it worked! Did that help?” She cocked her head. “Are you okay?”

“Fine, fiiine. That was very helpful.” He turned away to the desk, scribbled out a cheque and passed it to her with a flourishing bow that hid his face from her. “You have my thanks! I’ll be on my waaay now.”

“Oh, um, thanks! I’m glad to hear it!”

Cabanela whirled away to leave as she looked down at the cheque.

“Hey wait a second. Are you sure about this? This is way too much…!”

But he was already gone.

[evangelineartemiasamos]

Calorn AU Part 1 - Thieves

Note: This is a Red Queen Retelling in an AU. Things are a little more different from canon.

Part 2

Part 3

Kilorn POV

The good thing was that I would probably never have to gut a fish again.

Maybe I would even see Shade at the choke. I smiled sadly at the thought at him. Mare had read his letter to me, just hours ago and I had marvelled at his ability to make jokes even though he was drafted for this useless war. He was way to clever for that, and he would have deserved to find an apprenticeship here in the Stilts. At least Shade had managed to get a job as an aide instead of serving as a human target.

Thinking of Shade was only a distraction from the truth, that my master was dead, that I had no job while I was old enough for conscription. I had only days before the officials would notice and come to drag me away, less if master's daughter decided to report me just because she wanted me out of her father's house sooner. It had been a poor replacement of a home anyway.

Mare told me that she had a plan and that she would talk to Will Whistle, the receiver of her stolen goods. He had to know a way out of conscription, she claimed. She'd mentioned this idea before, as on option fo herself, but my current trouble had awakened her fervour. I smiled at her efforts. I doubted Mare's conviction that the choke would be her death. She was much too nimble and devious to meet a quick end. The Barrows were a family of survivors, people who stuck together. I was jealous of them. Mare said often that she felt like an outsider among them, like she wasn't good enough. As if they were bothered by her. They were family, even for me.

Mare sidled through the shadows to meet with me. Her aisle was sneaky for everyone else, but I always knew when she approached me. I still played surprised and gasped. She grinned but It was forced. She patter my shoulder and sat down next to me.

"Plan is up. I met with someone who will get us away," she said smugly.

I frowned her tone. "How?" I asked.

"Well, there is this woman - "

"Not Whistle?"

Mare shrugged. "She knew what she was talking about, and she only asked a - a recompense."

"What kind of - "

"Don't worry," Mare interrupted me. "I'll get it for us tomorrow. And then we're off to see the world, Kilorn."

I wasn't convinced by her optimism.

Mare didn't get the coins. She hadn't even told me how much it would have been, not until I saw what our plan had cost us. Mare had persuaded Gisa to bring her into Summerton, to steal from Silvers as she hadn't had the chance for such an heist before. But she didn't get it today either. Some terrorist group, the Scarlet Guard it was called, had leaked a video claiming responsibility for an assault on the capital. But whatever they'd done, the news of rebellion had let all hell break lose in Summerton.

The Stilts didn't have another topic to talk about. Though people hardly dared to speak of this Guard, the many relatives and friends working in Summerton during the turmoil were enough to worry about.

I went to the Barrows once I'd heard of the trouble, to check on them. And I was right to worry, Mare and Gisa were victims of the enraged Silvers: Gisa's sewing had been injured by a gunshot. I didn't need to ask how, I grasped it the moment I saw first Mare and then Gisa, looking up to me as her mother took care of the ruin of her hand. I noticed the shame on Mare's face, the same I had to be showing, and after a rushed apology, I dashed off and Mare followed me. Together, we ran away from our guilt. Eventually, we stopped, panting, once we'd left the Stilts behind us. The road to Summerton lay before us, stretching into the twilight. I imagined a trail of blood flowing down the path.

Mare looked ahead, to the dim lights of the Silver town. "I thought I'd get the money in an hour, even from Silvers. Especially from them," she said scowling. "But this Scarlet Guard broadcast their video just when I've arrived in town and the mayhem started. Against us, of course. There was no way to steal anything in that uproar. I found Gisa again and told her as much. But she ... " her voice faltered. "Gisa tried anyway, that stubborn girl. On the first Silver she saw, and of course she was caught."

Tears were trickling down Mare's cheeks which she didn't even notice and I put my arm over her shoulders. But was I allowed to comfort her? She – and Gisa – had done this for me. Gisa had her future destroyed for me. If only she wouldn't care so much about me, feelings I was unable to return, not like that. I should've told her, long ago. Maybe then, she would've been too angry at me to –

Mare made a sound between a sob and a laugh. "That bitch Farley – she couldn't have expected me to get that much money, certainly not 2000 crowns in two days," Mare muttered and I gasped. That much, a sum hardly imaginable for me. I grabbed her shoulder tighter and Mare leaned her head against me.

"Don't," I whispered.

"Hmm?"

"You don't have to do this for me, I'll manage," I went on.

"Kilorn ..."

I turned around. "It's okay, Mare. I'm okay." I forced a smile. "I'll see you tomorrow. But you better take care of Gisa now, don't you?" Then I ran off to Summerton, leaving Mare standing in the dusk. I didn't look back.

Despite the mayhem on this day, the Silvers remained as pretentious as ever. They paraded the streets in their fineries studded with gemstones. How I desired to rip those off them, but I knew better. The tricks of thievery Mare had shown me, the unwilling student, from time to time could only help me so much and honestly, I didn't dare. I didn't resent Mare for being a thief, but that didn't mean I could bring myself to do so myself.

But the temptation stayed. I saw some Silver sitting in cafés and inns, drinking and prattling and paying not an inkling of attention to their bags on the chairs next to them. It would be easy to pass them, grab a bag, remove something valuable and let it drop again. I shook my head. Why was I even thinking of this? How could this help me? Even if I got away with stealing from Silvers, which was unlikely, I would still be conscripted and a boy who couldn't even read had no hope of getting a position that kept him alive.

One of the Silver women I'd glared at looked up to me. She seemed less like a person and more like a predator. I moved to run, without looking around me. So I crashed into someone else who was just leaving an inn. We tumbled down.

As I sat up, I saw the man's purse lying next to my hand and I grabbed it. "Sorry," I uttered, taking in the sight of the young man.

I couldn't even tell if he was Red or Silver in the pale moonlight. His clothes were better than anything worn in the Stilts, fine fabrics embroidered with sigils or Silver house colours or something.

I let my hand with the purse fall to my side. Silver or lackey, he was certainly able to spare those coins. The Barrows would need these now, with Gisa injured and unable to work, probably never again.

I hesitated a moment too long before I turned with an "evening, sir," ready to run once I'd passed the corner. But then I heard the man bark. "Wait!"

I walked on, but he grabbed my arm - the arm that held his purse.

Idiot, Kilorn Warren. You're such an idiot.

He pulled me over to face him. We were of equal height and our eyes locked. His hand felt way too hot.

"Thief," he hissed.

"Obviously," I said, for a moment without any remorse. I let the purse drop to the ground with a clink, so that I could dash off as he bent down to retrieve it in surprise. Before I was ten feet away, he called again, even more agitated, "wait!"

For some bleeding reason, I obeyed. The man was still kneeling before me on the ground, the purse lying open in his hands. I stared at the huge sum. Dozens of tetrarchs. He fumbled for a moment and chose one coin to throw at me.

"That should be more than enough to tide you over," he said.

I spun the coin in my hand, not believing what was happening. A damn whole tetrarch. This was the third moment I should just have run away as fast as I could, but instead I looked at the man - boy - in front of me. He wasn't much older than me, with silky black hair and almost orange eyes, which I noticed as the lantern shone on his face. He was well-muscled too, even more visible in his crouched position.

"Don't you want to rise up some time?" I blurted out, then cleared my throat. I felt like I was blushing. "I mean thank you. But why?"

He shrugged, sorted the rest of his coins before he finally stood up. "You need it more than me."

I frowned. "I can't take this - no, stop it. I mean, why are you so generous? I should ..." What was I doing? This was what I wanted, some money and no trouble. But this stranger made me curious, more than that. I didn't want to, well, leave him so soon.

I cleared my throat again. "How about you spent some more this these spectacular coins to get us some drinks?" I proposed, to my own surprise, and pointed to another inn, a better one that he'd just left.

He paled, and laughed after a second and for one moment, I forgot everything what was coming for me and laughed with him.

"I'm Cal," he said and offered his hand. I took it.

"Kilorn Warren. Nice to meet you, Cal."

Commentary:

Are you satisfied @lilyharvord ?

I think this is a good ending, but I might come back to the events of the evening in the next part. I plan four parts so far. I hope you like this. Gay as fuck crackship fun.

I'd like your ideas about who to ship Mare with, and single is an option too, of course.

[makeafish]

Road to Recovery: Day 30

Here's a fun tip: Start your day right by playing with puppies! Even though I overslept, which was a tiny setback to my plans today, my writing day, I managed to turn it into a positive by playing with my dog Kraven's two puppies! I haven't named them yet, but I'm getting close. I’m thinking of calling the white one Snow and the darker one Ash. Hmm. Or maybe I'll just stick to soliciting nice names from friends.

Today's process was basically as follows:

Draft the story

Break: Lunch

Break: Creative (Movie)

Edit the story

...and it worked perfectly well. I ended up drafting an entire update to my JT story for Godai. It's been two years since I wrote anything for this place, so I was a little anxious that I might not pull off anything right away. Boy, was I glad I was wrong. 

The update, the post, was longer than my usual posts for Godai before, but it reads pretty awesome. It continues the story from where I abruptly left off, which was amazing for me, considering I was afraid I wouldn’t get motivated enough to pull that off. 

That's five updates, posts, chapters, now for the story, four more to go before I wrap it up. I think I might just stick with JT, too. With the time skip, I can fix a few things, maybe even give him the Iron Fist storyline through a different companion. That could be fun. I mean, more fun than reaping him and making a new character. I worked really hard on JT and he's a pretty solid character, so why not, right?

The movie I saw during my Creative Break™ was The Cloverfield Paradox, which was a new movie in the Cloverfield franchise. It was a pretty good movie. The plot, the characters, and even the suspense were pretty great. The ending should've been terrible for most people, terrible in-storyline at least, but I actually enjoyed it and even cheered how things had ended up for the survivors. It was a horror movie. Not everyone survives a horror movie.

To reward myself for my stellar performance on my first day back writing, getting in the swing of things right away as if I didn't even miss a beat, I saw another movie, a romantic comedy called When We First Met that included the element of time travel. The acting was brilliant, the plot was brilliant, everything was brilliant. It wasn't just phenomenal, it was also glorious! To quote a hilarious actress from my country, WAT THE ACTUAL PAKENING PAK OF ALL THE PAKENING PAKERS OF PAKLANDDDD. It was that damn good. I recommend it, especially to people who are having or have just had heart problems in time for Valentine's Day, and I will always do so from this point forward. Now, can someone buy me an old-timey photobooth?

To end the day, I saw my third movie on Netflix: The Ritual. It's a horror movie featuring British characters. It was a lot of fun. The visual effects, the characters, the atmosphere... All of it was great. I’d recommend it, too.

Today was an amazing day! I hope the first of many. It feels amazing to get back to doing things I thoroughly enjoy. I love all of you, okay?!

What I'm thankful for today:

The Cloverfield Paradox

When We First Met

The Ritual

Stay weird, -Q