#monk x reader

[victoria-writes]

Love Diagnosis

Pairing: Adrian Monk x Reader

Summary: Monk has a crush on his new assistant (reader) and talks to his therapist about it

Word Count: 1,544

Notes: She/Her pronouns are used for the reader. Trudy Monk, Leland Stottlemeyer, and Natalie Teeger are mentioned but don't make an appearance. Entire fic is just dialogue between Adrian and Dr. Kroger. Mentioned age gap between Monk and the reader.

Read it on AO3 here

Story:

“You don’t understand, doctor. This isn’t some cute crush. I can’t get her out of my head!”, Monk said frantically from the chair he sat in across from his therapist.

“Adrian”, Dr. Kroger began while taking off his glasses and sitting forward in his chair, “it’s perfectly normal to look forward to seeing someone you like. It seems that you and Y/N have developed a special relationship and it’s only natural for you to think of her. If anything, this is great progress. It means you’re moving on after losing Trudy”.

“No, no, no, no”, said Adrian as he waved his hands about, “I am not moving on from Trudy. She is my wife. Y/N is a parasite who has infected my brain. She’s probably an alien. That’s the only explanation. A very pretty alien, but an alien”.

Dr. Kroger smiled, “Y/N is not an alien. It’s okay to be scared. You and Trudy were together for a long time and you were both very devoted to each other”.

“I can’t be scared because I’m not moving on. How can I be scared to do something I’m not doing?”

“Adrian-“

“It’s like she’s taken me hostage in my own mind. Everywhere I look, she’s all I think about. I walked into a CVS with Natalie today to get more wipes and I saw the shampoo section. Why was my first thought ‘What kind of shampoo does Y/N use? She always smells so nice.’?” 

Dr. Kroger sets his glasses on the table next to him, “I’m going to suggest something that may sound a little crazy to you. Have you considered telling her how you feel?”

“…Dr. Kroger”, Monk scoffed, “Are you sure we’re sitting in the right seats? Because where I’m sitting it seems that you may be the one that needs help if you think that is a reasonable solution.”

“So I’m going to take that as a no.”

“Of course, I haven’t talked to her about it!”

“And why is that?”

“….well…”

“Well?”

“…” 

“You’re frightened she may not feel the same way as you do.”

“…yes”

“And if she does feel the same way, you don’t want to know because then you’d have to accept the fact that you’re in love with a woman after Trudy’s passing.”

“yes”, Monk grumbled while looking at the floor with sudden interest.

“So you think it’s better to bury your feelings deep inside and only let them out during our sessions”

“Now you’re getting it. I’m so glad we could come to an understanding”, Monk smiled and sat back in his chair, relieved. 

“Adrian, these feelings aren’t just going to disappear overnight because you don’t want to face them. You see her almost every day now.”

“This is all Natalie’s fault.”, Adrian furrowed his brows as he spoke, “I wouldn’t have had to hire another assistant if she didn’t need so many days off.”

“Natalie needed the time off to take care of her daughter as a single mother. It’s a miracle she was able to balance work and her child for as long as she did.”

“Yeah, well, she should’ve balanced for longer so I wouldn’t have to deal with this.”

“Tell me, what is it that you like about Y/N?”

“She smells nice.”

“You mentioned that already”

“She’s a good assistant. She’s very clean and doesn’t touch me without asking. I like her hairstyle too, not just the shampoo. Her nails are neat and manicured, so I don’t feel disgusted by the thought of her touching me.”

“Anything else?”

“When she does touch me…her hands are soft.”

Dr. Kroger looked at Adrian with raised eyebrows and interest written across his face.

“Y/N, she has a certain way of talking. She emphasizes certain words in her sentences and talks with her hands.” 

At this point, Adrian is staring up at the ceiling and smiling fondly as he pictures Y/N in his mind, “She gets so animated when she’s passionate. And she has so many strong opinions on things. Things I never even give a second thought to. Just the other day, she went on a very passionate rant about what kind of handle she prefers on umbrellas.”

“I would’ve thought you’d have an opinion on that sort of thing.” 

“Oh, I do now that I’ve thought about it. I much prefer the curved handles to the straights ones, even if they have grooves for the fingers to sit”, he scoffs and shakes his head, “the fingers are never as comfortable on those as they are on the curved handles and-“

“I think we’re getting off track here. Is there anything you dislike about her?”

“Oh, yes”, Adrian quickly nodded, “She’s a horrible driver and always parks crooked. She’s lucky she has me or she’d anger a lot of other drivers with her parking.”

“Uh-huh.”

“She chews on her mints and I can’t stand the sound. What psychopath chews on those? You’re supposed to let them sit in your mouth.”

“I see.”

“She stands too close to me wherever we go. Like I said she doesn’t touch me without asking but she’s always so close.”

“And that bothers you?”

“Yes, my heart starts to beat very fast and I can’t breathe sometimes. Once I thought I was having a heart attack but she told me I was just having a panic attack and made me do breathing exercises with her.”

“Did they help?”

“Yes, but only for a little bit because she kept standing close to me after that. She was worried I would faint so she stood even closer.”

“And?”

“I’ve never had clammier hands in my life.”

“Did you have these symptoms when you first started to see Trudy?”

“I…I don’t remember. It was all so long ago. Let’s not talk about that.”

“I apologize if I made you uncomfortable. Let’s move on from that.”

“Okay.”

“…”

“I had eggs for breakfast this morning but the yolk was a little too runny. That made my skin itch.”

“Let’s not talk about eggs.”

“Okay.”

“If you and Y/N were to enter a romantic relationship-“

“That would never happen.”

“Humor me for a second. If you and Y/N entered a romantic relationship, what do you think it would be like? Truly imagine it for me. What would dating Y/N look like?”

“I…I don’t know. I’m not dating her so how would I know?”

“Just try and imagine it.”

“Okay.”, Adrian sighed quietly as he closed his eyes, “Okay. I’m imagining.”

“Go on.”

“We’d have to spend a lot of time together. That’s what couples do.”

“What would that time spent together look like?”

“I suppose we would hang out at my house. Go to different places around town. Maybe to that coffee shop she likes.”

“Which shop is that?”

“The one on third avenue with the blue walls.”

Adrian’s eyes were still closed but he could hear the smile in Dr. Kroger’s voice, “You remember the kind of things she’s passionate about, little details about her, and even what coffee shop she likes.”

“I’m a detective. It’s my job to remember things about people.”

“Do you know how she takes her coffee?”

“Of course.”

“Do you know how Natalie takes her coffee?”

“No”

“Do you know how Captain Stottlemeyer takes his coffee?”

“No”

“Interesting. Have you ever thought about kissing Y/N?”

Adrian opened his eyes, “I don’t see how that’s relevant.”

“I find it very relevant. Have you thought about kissing her?”

Adrian took a long pause before answering, “Yes. Once she stood very close to me, she stands much too close to me, and I…”

“You…?”

“I was looking at her lips and I started to lean in but I pulled away.”

“Did she know you wanted to kiss her?”

“I don’t think so. When she asked why I was staring I lied and told her she had dry lips and needed to put on chapstick. It couldn’t have been further from the truth. Her lips looked very”, he pauses looking for the right word in his mind “soft.”

“Has she ever indicated any interest in you in a romantic sense?”

“I don’t think so.”

“No, you wouldn’t.”, Dr. Kroger sighs, “Adrian, there is only one solution to this dilemma and that is to speak to her about it.”

“That would be highly inappropriate. I’m her employer and several years older than her.”

“While that is true, she has the right to know about this. She spends nearly every day with you.”

“What if she quits? Then, I’d have to find another assistant and I don’t want her to go.”

“That is a risk you’ll just have to take. It is much more likely that she will either tell you she doesn’t feel the same way or that she does. She’s your assistant but she’s your friend too. I’m sure she’d understand.”

“But what if she doesn’t?”

“But what is she does?”

Monk sat in silence with no rebuttal prepared. What could he possibly say to that?

“We’re nearing the end of our time together, Adrian. Next time you see Y/N, politely tell her how you’ve been feeling about her.” 

“...”

“Adrian, tell her.”

“Yes, Dr. Kroger.”

“I’ll see you on Tuesday.”

[yandere-sins]

Do you know which concept I‘m going feral over again at the moment?

Yandere!Priests

[Warning: Yandere + Violent & Lewd content]

It‘s really just about the absolute depravity of these priests.

A priest who‘s knuckles turn white as they grip the altar so hard to not just jump his darling on the spot while they are in the middle of a sermon. But their darling is sitting in the front row and they can smell their perfume and it‘s driving them absolutely insane and their cock so hard that they can‘t concentrate on their speech to the point they have to cut the service short. Everyone is so concerned about them but when their darling steps up to ask if they are okay or need something, they almost orgasm in front of everyone. (They‘ll make sure that their darling is the only person to take care of them, that‘s for sure. And while the priest is at it, they can invade their darling‘s home and life to the point of no return.)

Or confessional boothes where their darling is spilling all their worries and heartache, which is not only ideal for the priest to know to manipulate them later, but also because they can't help jerking off pitifully to their darling's voice. Imagining them on their knees sucking them off like the little devil his darling must be to turn the priest away from god. Yet the priest will be panting and gasping for air by the time they absolve their darling from the 'sins' they comitted, the priest hoping they'll be back soon with more.

A cult priestess who notices one of the followers turning away from the cult and it happens to very their darling. So they start sacrificing all their darling‘s friend and family, making them the outcast. Making sure they feel so threatened and scared that the moment the priest opens their arm for them, they run and confess all their sins. They are an outcast that the priest can take back under their wing, reform back to their faith and at the same time manipulate and gaslight them to the point that they won‘t want to leave the priests side anymore, which gives room for them to demand the ultimate sacrifice of the darling—their whole being.

A very beloved priest and their caretaker!darling. Priest is the chosen of god but they‘ll refuse to do anything they are supposed to if their darling isn‘t in reach for them at all times. Darling who was forced into this role but is now pressured into doing everything for the priest so the latter may provide the village with divine guidance. Darling that wants to escape but is dragged back and beaten into compliance. And a priest who basks in the glory of getting away with all the lewd and terrible things he does to them with no one to help the darling.

But it goes to other religious figures as well!

Angels that begin to fall from grace without realizing it because they start to simp for their darling and they really shouldn‘t. But the darling looks so cute and the angel loves it when you laugh. They're really trying not to favor them with divine intervention whenever their darling is having a bad day, but seeing their frown turn into a smile when they see a rainbow or pet a stray cat that thee angel led to them, they just can't help themselves from making their darling's life a little easier. That is, until the darling starts to truly commit sins (like fall in love with someone that is not the angel), and they have to do worse things (like watch over them as the darling undresses or masturbates) and they don't even realize just how much they are losing their angelic-ness, because the angel suddenly longs to be more than just a silent observer.

Nuns/Monks that are taking care of a lost sheep on their priests demands and start to forget about all their vows and duties, wanting to only be with them and stalking them around the grounds. Sneaking into their rooms to frolick in their darling's sheets and lick their spoon after dinner, their nethers tingling with lust as more and more depraved thoughts come into mind. Them sitting next to their darling at the sermon, their knees touching and the yan unable to keep themselves from panting and salivating over their darling, developing a desire to deprave them in the same way as the darling has the yan.

Anyway, I'm super normal about it but,

[slightly-knot-insane]

Monk's Temptation (part 2)

🙘⠀✟⠀🙚

a/n: more monster monk being stalkerish

[ part 1 ]

Monster monk lives in a double monastery with nuns. Monks and nuns are separated, of course, but they still have some activities together. Such as choir singing.

Even though monster monk never wanted to sing, once he learns you join the choir, he immediately applies as well.

He is accepted and the male part of the choir stands or sits behind the female part. He is quite tall and has exceptional sense of smell so he can distinguish you in a large group of beings. And during the next practice, he finds a way to sit right behind you.

He is so close to you, he can hear you breathe and smell your aroma. You accidentally touch him once or twice, and that gets him sweating. He doesn't speak to you, it's against the rules, but he looks and listens to you with his whole being, barely singing or doing anything else.

Your features and voice are now so well-etched into his mind, he can easily imagine you any time. Especially at night, when all are asleep and the night is quiet, and his body yearns for you. His body doesn't care for morality and decency like his soul does. Especially his... His phallus. The most sinful part of him. It is primitive slave of the id, it demands release, torturing his soul, pulsating and leaking. It is... corrupting his mind. Inducing hypnotizing pictures and visages. Monster monk imagines your curves and features, hears your voice, and twists it all into his corrupt fantasy. He sees you above him, begging him, moaning, shaking from delight.

Monster monk jumps off his bed and falls to his knees, praying to god for mercy and forgiveness, while his hard and heavy cock oozes filth directly onto the floor of his room, twitching but defeated. This time.

🙘⠀✟⠀🙚

[ next part ]

[salliesimpkins]

“I like you a lot”

Isaac lahey x fem!Reader

TW: Smut, oral (fem receiving), use of pet names, claws, nipple play

+16 read at your own risk. I’m not your mommy A/N: first smut to write + english isn’t my first lang word count: 2.5K

You were at school, leaning against your locker. smiling at and laughing with Stiles, until you caught Isaac glaring at you across the hall, visibly upset.

"alright Stiles I've got to go now, I'll see ya" you walked away after Stiles nodded and walked to Scott, and you made your way to Isaac.

"hey" you flashed him a smile and he blushed. How could he not? he thought you were the most beautiful thing ever.

The beta glanced over Stiles before turning back to you. "hey.." he spoke softly.

"Just tired... I uhh, I’ve got a lot on my mind lately" he said slowly and softly, not wanting to ruin this moment between you two.

You nodded slowly, feeling bad for him. "well you know, you can always talk to me" you said softly, reassuring him that he's got someone by his side.

You watched him closely as he looked at you quietly, and you didn't want to rush him to speak, you knew how sensitive Isaac is. It made him feel pathetic when he opened up to anyone or asked for help, that's what his dad has taught him. That a man is a man, boys don't cry, but Isaac knew you, he loved you, trusted you, and he knew your listen and get him anytime.

"I've just been going back.. thinking about my family" He looked down as his expression softened.

"oh" you whispered softly and placed your hand on the boy's back, rubbing it gently. "I know you've suffered from your dad your whole life, but his death Isn’t your fault".

Isaac flinched, but he didn't move away from you. Even though your gesture was tiny, it felt huge to him, It made him on top of the world. He let out a soft sigh and ran his fingers through his hair. "I know... I just-" he paused, unsure if he can keep going or not, but he really counted on you, so he kept going. "I didn't even cry at the funeral and everyone thinks I don't care, that I was wishing the whole time i'd get rid of him, and the problem is.. it's true. I was relieved that he's dead"

"Honey listen to me" you took a step closer, placing both your hands on his shoulder. "your dad used to lock you in a freezer. that night.. that night he hurt you and you ran like any other night, because you didn't know what he would die" you then place your hand on isaac's cheek, caressing it softly "you were just scared, you did nothing wrong"

Isaac paused for a moment and leaned into your touched as he shivered. The relief he felt when his father died was a burden to him, but he knew you were saying the truth so he bit his lip thoughtfully. He wanted to say that your hand felt to right on his skin, but he didn't and rubbed his face with his hand then looked at you hesitantly as he spoke. "I- Iwas scared" his voice trembled as he stammered softly, making you unsure if he meant you to hear him. he slowly smiled at you softly and leaned into your touch again, causing his breath to hitch.

you sighed softly as you try to build up some courage and confidence to ask him to go out with you, but you were too scared that he'd turn you down so you just looked quietly at the ground until you heard a familiar 5 taps on the locker next to you and looked to the direction to see lydia. She must have noticed your flustered face because she tilted her head at Isaac and winked at you. You two have been talking about it and she was eager for you to confess to him, and apparently she was so sure Isaac wouldn't let you down for a reason she wouldn't tell.

you snapped out of my trance as Isaac cleared his throat and looked at the same direction you were just looking at, except there was nobody there.

"sorry about that. I was just wondering if you would want to go home with me? I mean-" You paused and took a deep breath. "why don't you come over and we can just.. relax?" you asked nervously as he just looked at you quietly. "Scott's sneaking out with Allison again and our mom won't be home until ten.. so I was thinking if you'd want to just come over instead of staying alone or with Derek, he could be lame sometimes" I chuckle nervously and put on a fake confident grin.

Isaac stayed quiet for a moment or two, taking in your words, and he thought there was no way he could turn that down, the thought of you and him alone in the house with no distractions. He knew he wanted it but he wasn't sure if you did. if you were just doing him a favour because you felt bad, but he decided to push his paranoia to the side and smiled at you softly with a blush on his cheek, nodding. "I'd like that, if you're okay with it"

"ahh perfect! we are gonna have so much fun! we can watch the notebook too if you want to, or maybe cook or play or just" you pause for a second or two, not wanting to creep Isaac out with your sudden excitement. "we could just.. chill you know?" You looked up at him with a smile.

The two of you walked to your house, as Stiles has already left with his jeep, and while you were walking you felt Isaac's hand brush against yours until he took it in, intertwining your fingers together. you could feel how his hand shakes softly and you knew his stomach was probably flipping, he was a nervous wreck.

You held his hand confidently the way home until you reached it and opened the front door for the two of you. After walking in, you turned to Isaac and smiles. "do you wanna stay in the living room, or go to my room? or we can even cook something!" you asked excitedly.

"Your room...?" He asked hesitantly. Your room was usually off limits, that's where you go to relax on your own, away from the pack. He couldn't deny how much he wanted to be there with you. But part of him knows it won't end at just being in your room. Not that he had a problem but that he was worried from Scott's reaction if he knew Isaac was in his sister's room alone in the house. Scott and Isaac were best friends and Isaac didn't want to risk it, but he still loved you.

you saw the look on isaac's face as he started to look overwhelmed, and more anxious than he was, so you decided to cool it down. "I mean it's okay but if you don't want to that's fine. we can sit in the living room" you shrugged, leaving the decision for him to make as you looked at his eyes.

Isaac nodded slowly, looking at your lips then your eyes. "your room" he said softly and carelessly. He wanted to be with you alone. he didn't care what scott would think, he didn't care what the whole pack would think, he only cared about you and being with you, he wanted you.

you smiled and tilted your head for him to follow you. you walked past Scott's room until you reached your room then you walked to the bed, After taking off your shoes, sitting on the bed, then patting on the space next to you for Isaac to sit on.

Isaac followed you to your room, closing his door behind him. His heart skipped a beat when you asked him to sit next to you and the only thing he could think of is how nervous he is. he looked at you and he thought you look so vulnerable, sitting alone waiting for him to join you, so he took a few steps, trying to regulate his breath before sitting next to you. He was so close and nervous, slowly turning his neck to look at you.

"so.. what would you like to do?" you asked softly, trying to make sure he's not uncomfortable.

Isaac looked at you and for the first time he has walked in the room, he didn't know what to say. A part of him wanted to kiss you and see what happened but he didn't want to make you pressured, and he didn't want to risk kissing Scott's sister, he was the leader of the pack, so he let the silence between you linger before he decided to break the ice.

"can I be honest with you?" he stressed.

"of course, I won't judge" i nodded in reassurance

Isaac struggles to speak so he leans closer to you. He just wants you to understand him, he needs you to know how he feels, what he's been thinking of, but it's hard for someone like him, someone whom emotions always were rejected. He took a deep breath and leaned closer as his eyes fluttered between your lips and eyes then he opened his mouth to speak but he failed so he looked one more time at you before smashing his lips on yours as he moved one hand on the back of your neck as the other ran over your back to your hips, pulling your whole body into his lap while you froze in shock before pulling him closer, cupping his cheeks while you kissed him back with the same amounts of passion.

After a few moments he pulls away, and looks at you in shock, he had expected everything other than you kissing him back.

"I'm sorry. I probably shouldn't have kissed you and if scott finds out he's gonna kill me and-" you cut him off pulling him in another kiss, slowly pushing him to lay down as you move on top of him.

"Scott doesn't have to know" you whispered pulling him in a deeper kiss that made him forget everything.

he was in a daze as he pulled away from you. "you look so beautiful when you kiss me like that" he said softly with a soft smirk that caused you to blush.

He smiled softly as he gently ran his fingers thorough your hair. "you're so beautiful you know? it's just so hard to focus on anything else when we are like that, when you're with me. We can take this as slow as you want"

you pulled him for a kiss in response, breaking it as you smiling against lips, and he moaned softly, slipping his hands under your shirt, caressing your soft skin.

"i want this. you. Right here, right now, But I also don't want to hurt you so tell me what you want, darling." he whisper in your ear as his breath hit your neck, causing you to shiver.

"i want you, please" you whined and pulled him into another kiss as your tongue begged for entrance in his mouth. he let out a soft involuntary moan, as his caresses on your back got faster. His tongue danced with your and he began to grind on you, making you feel the hard bulge in his jeans that rubbed your throbbing pussy, until you pulled away from the kiss breathlessly, pushing him up by his chest, reaching to his shirt, playing with a soft fabric slowly. He sat up on his knees in front of you between your legs, taking off his shirt. You looked up at him, slowly placing the balm of your hand on his chest, tracing your finger over it to his stomach. He let out a low groan while he watched you trace your fingers over his chest, his muscles tensed under your touch.

"you're killing me honey" He whispered, moving closer to you as he kissed your neck slowly, then he sat up again as his hands found their way between your legs. Should undo your bra, or maybe start with these pants?" he teased, and sprung his claws out, moving them swiftly above you, tearing off your clothes.

"i loved that set" you pouted and he smirked

"i'll get you new ones" he pulled your clothes off your body, tossing them away on the floor with his shirt.

He smirked when he saw the blush on your face when you looked away, leaning down to your neck. "don't be shy baby" he whispered, before tracing kissed down your collarbone.

you moaned softly, moving your hands to caress his back softly and he let out a sigh against your skin. His hands found your thighs as he rubbed them slowly, kissing lower and lower. His kisses and nibbles reached your chest, taking a nipple in his mouth, swirling and sucking around it while he groped the other one with his hand, pinching the other nipple between his thumb and forefinger teasingly.

"I love you, so much" He showered your stomach with smooches and pecks, until his mouth found your slit, running his tongue through your wetness, humming in satisfaction. "so wet baby" he flicked your clit with his tongue as you struggled to answer him back, running your fingers through his hair as you pulled them gently. He took one of his hand, wrapping it around my waist to keep me down while he slid a finger in you with the other, slowly and gently, causing you to moan softly.

he sucked your clit harder making you pull his hair tightly, causing him to moan which vibrates against your pussy as his fingers go faster, feeling you clench around them, sucking them in. "Fuck Isaac" you whined. "i'm so close" you whispered, wondering if he even heard you, then he confirmed as he added a finger in, moving his fingers in a scissoring motion, stretching you out as you pull his hair tighter. "Isaac!" you warned, and he understood as you reached your climax, coating his fingers with your cum while he kept his gaze on you then he pulled them out, lapping at your pussy hungrily, taking in your juices.

"you're so sweet baby" he moved up to kiss you as you taste your own arousal. He pulled away from the kiss and you bit your lip, panting for air and you moved your hand to his head, pulling him back down to kiss you, you couldn't get enough of him.

*ੈ✩‧₊˚༺☆༻*ੈ✩‧₊˚

hope you guys liked this 🎀

[yama-uba]

This morning I saw some art that made me wonder if there is a so-called Mandela effect created by the fanfiction community.

Guys, what color is Obi-Wan Kenobi's hair?

And how justified is this Don Juan's leading position in all pairings in AO3?

Prequel trilogy: Ewan McGregor - variations from dark blond to brown. No romantic interest.

Tartakovsky's cartoons: Base color - "brown ocher". No romantic interest.

Filoni's cartoons: Base color - "almond". One story arc about platonic love with a tragic ending.

Books: Siri Tachi - "school love" is platonic. They talked like adults and decided to remain friends. Cerasi - he didn't even realize he was in love because no one told him. She died tragically. Lina Kobral - nah. The color… Idk… most likely a cold shade of blonde.

SW Fan Community: OH, THAT'S DEFINITELY A FIRE-REDHAIR INCUBUS, HUNGRY FOR THE WARMTH OF SOMEONE ELSE'S BODY EVERY SECOND OF ITS EXISTENCE!!!

[meanderingwistera]

CW- obsession, stalking, implied murder

Saint!Reader who is raised in a monastery after their healing abilities are discovered. They are kept away from the rest of world and hidden deep in the inner recesses of the monastery. The monks are not the most talkative company so they mostly keep to themselves when they aren’t healing people.

Saint!Reader who heals a wounded man that came to the monastery. His violet eyes are sceptical as you press your finger tips lightly to his right leg. You don’t mind his scepticism, many people doubt that you have an ability to heal but they are quickly proven wrong.

When his leg is healed his eyes are wide with disbelief. You just smile at his shocked expression and ask him if anything else hurts. He just shakes his head and walks out.

Saint!Reader who after that day feels eyes on them at random times of the day. It is an uncomfortable feeling that you bring up to the head monk. He reassures you that you will always be safe if you are in the walls of the monastery. The old sigils in its walls are designed to keep out spirits or demons.

You feel safer after that conversation.

Saint!Reader who sees a man with the same violet eyes and black hair from before, but in monk robes this time. They suit him and you can’t help but stare at him. He introduces himself to you as Suguru Geto.

The two of you get along very well.

Apparently before he came here he travelled the world. He has been all over and tells you stories about the places he has been. It is very different from what you have always known so you are always asking for stories. And Suguru always indulges you with a fond smile.

Saint!Reader who is devastated after the Head Monk goes missing. He had practically raised you himself so to find him gone one day sends you spiralling. You pray for his return every day but as the days roll on a new head monk is chosen.

Suguru, despite only being there for a few months, is chosen as the new head monk. He understands your feelings and holds you as you cry. His calm demeanour helps you through the mourning period. It is hard to pull yourself out of your grief but when you do, Suguru is by your side.

He won’t ever let you be alone again

[queers-gambit]

Now and at the Hour of His Death

prompt: any who say, "it's better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all," were never loved by him.

pairing: Osferth x female!pregnant!wife!reader

fandom: The Last Kingdom

word count: 6.1k+

note: fuck you, Netflix.

warnings: you already know - author needs therapy, projects hard, pregnant wife, Lord’s name in vain, Christianity (obviously), and a fuck ton of fucking ANGST because fuck your feelings. hurt NO comfort, drama, oneshot, cursing, canon-typical violence, injury, and blood. character death and spoilers - yeah, i'm giving you THAT scene. requires maturity and caution. good luck.

also please note: NO, i do not age Osferth to be 16 - that's just a reference age for when he eventually runs away from the monastery.

again, you are missing nothing if this upsets or triggers you and you choose to skip. value your wellbeing, my angels. author is not responsible for the media YOU choose consume, but still, as usual, MDNI

"You should not be doing this sort of work," Ingrith's voice scolded you, and when you turned, you saw the blonde woman standing with her hip cocked and a stern expression. "It's bad for your health to be in such filth, we've stable boys for this sort of chore."

"I do not mind," you sniffled in the brisk air, shoveling the horse shit of the stable into a muck bucket to be dumped into the fields later. "It keeps me busy," you grunted lightly, sure to bend your knees when lifting the pitchfork, "keeps me humble," you listed, dumping the waste to grin at your friend, "and keeps me young."

"In what way?"

"Reminds me of my childhood," you eased, continuing your work. "I slept in a stable from the ages of 4 to... Oh, shit, I guess I was about 16 before I left The Loft."

"What?" She breathed in confusion. "Never knew that."

"Yeah, yeah, true story," you beamed at her, still shoveling shit. "I slept in the stalls with the horses, sometimes in the grain rooms - basically anywhere I could since my work didn't include official room and board, so, I had to make do with what was available. Then, one day when I was about ten, Old Man Rivers said I could use the hay loft if I cleared it out, fixed the rotten planks. Stayed up there till I was about 16, and after that, I kinda ran away."

"Old Man Rivers?"

You nodded, "My mother lived on his homestead, but she was real sick, you see. So, he kinda took me in without assuming responsibility for me," you cleared your throat, shrugging, "let me stay in his barn if I worked with the horses and livestock for him."

"Why would you want to be reminded of that?"

"Seems simpler when I look back."

Ingrith sighed, "C'mon, put the pitchfork down. Come help me prepare the rabbits. The scouts say the men aren't too far off, they'll want a hot meal."

You chuckled with ease and set your pitchfork aside, giving a hearty pat to one of the horse's necks as you passed by to exit the stable. Ingrith made sure you washed up before you were both mounting rabbits on the rack to start skinning them.

"Could I ask something?" She wondered after a time.

"Anything you'd like."

"Why'd you run away? From Old Man Rivers?"

You laughed, "I was in love."

"Oh, you and Baby Monk go that far back, huh?"

"Try even farther," you teased. "Our mothers were friends, and when I worked in the stable, he was in the monastery, but when he came to me, saying he couldn't do it any longer, I couldn't let him go alone. Life was supposed to offer more than what we were given, so, we set out to find the legendary barbarian, The Dane Slayer," you teased, both giggling, "our Lord, the legendary, Uhtred of Bebbanburg."

"And all this time...?" She smiled, watching you shuck hide like you've done it your whole life. Ingrith inferred you probably did.

"Yeah," you eased, "all this time, he's been by my side. Kept me close, never left me behind. The others weren't too sure about me on account of being a woman, they told us to piss off a few times - but they came around after Osferth refused to send me away."

"He's a good lad, Osferth," she nodded.

"Arguably one of the best ones," you agreed, nudging her arm gently, "but look who I'm telling, right?"

"Oh!" She giggled, swatting at you loosely before going back to your work for a moment. Suddenly, the townspeople of Rumcofa stirred to life, and over the voices, you heard them announcing their Lord's return - which meant all of your men were home. You both grinned and breathlessly left your post, Ingrith pausing a young lad to ask, "How many return to us?"

"Does it matter? Come, c'mon, let us see ourselves!" You all but squealed, overwhelmed with excitment; eager for your own reunion with the man you've loved since you were a young lass.

"Warn the alehouse!" Finan was heard shouting. "Osferth's thirsty!"

"Jesus," you laughed, dodging around the procession of people waiting to greet their warriors on their return home so you could approach the white gelding your husband rode.

His face was absolutely priceless when he caught sight of you. As Osferth eagerly dismounted, your hands smoothed over the small swell of your belly - purposefully wearing a dress that accentuated your ever-changing figure. "Am I dreaming?" He laughed, a stablehand taking hold of his horse so his hands were free to caress your belly. "Oh, my God, I'm not, 's real, oh, God," he beamed, laughing with you. "You're pregnant? Truly? Yes? I-I am not - I am not being deceived?"

"No, my love, I guess our prayers were finally heard."

"OH-HOOOO!" You heard Finan holler as Osferth finally pulled you in for a sweet kiss; both ignoring the Irishman. "Lord! LORD! Uhtred! Hey! Did you hear!? Baby Monk's got some spunk in 'im afta all!"

"Oh, God," you laughed against Osferth's lips, but he was quick to shush you with another breath-stealing kiss.

"A baby Baby Monk! AHA!" Finan was still laughing, your husband's hands caressing both your cheeks when he pulled back just in time for Finan to descend. You grunted lightly when his heavy arms dropped over both yours and Osferth's shoulders, his laugh still booming as he gave a squeeze and cooed, "Oh, congratulations, yah two love birds! Wasn't sure you had it innyah, boy!"

"Don't be so rough with her, Finan, for God's sake," Osferth scolded, nudging his friend to get out from under his arm.

"What?" Finan looked at you gobsmacked. "Sayin' I gotta treat yah different now or somethin'?"

"I didn't say that," you told him prettily with fluttering lashes, fist quickly balling up to jab him in the weak spot of his armor - making him grunt and wheeze. "Aht-aht!" You warned with a pointed finger when he flinched as if to retaliate, "Can't hit a pregnant woman."

"Oh, yeh li'l shite," Finan laughed, Osferth pushing him towards his wife so he could stand in front of you and command all attention.

Osferth took a moment to simply look at you; thumbs gently tracing over your cheeks in sweeping motions, a slow grin breaking across his lips. "This almost doesn't feel real... But how I have to praise God for this blessing. A baby," he breathed.

"A little you and me," you agreed softly. "Sound okay to you?"

"More than okay," he chuckled, pecking your lips, "sounds like a lifetime together."

"Good by me." His nose nuzzled up yours, the sweet moment broken when he sighed sadly; eyes shut and smile dropping. "What is it? What's wrong, love?" You asked, stepping into his embrace so you were nuzzled into his neck and his arms were wrapped around your form in a vice.

"Uhtred means to move us again," he whispered in your ear. "Brida, she... She's got Father Pyrlig, and - "

"What!?" You snapped, rearing back slightly to pin him under your hardened glare. Pregnancy hormones would surely give Osferth whiplash.

"My love, I did not - "

"Brida's got Pyrlig? Fuck are we standin' here for, let's go!" You reached for his hand, ready to march off.

"Uh, no, no, no, no," he pulled you back to him; anchoring his hands on your hips so you could not escape. "You are not going anywhere. Not now - especially now," he glanced at your still-growing bump. "The men will go, you know we will return, but you have this new responsibility, and that's keeping this little one safe. For us," he smiled at you.

You huffed, "I'm not unfit to do what needs done, Osferth."

"I did not say you were unfit, but look at the timing of it," he frowned. "I should've been here when you learned, but I was not, and I am truly so sorry for it. Look, I do not know how long this venture will be, but you know I will return. We've waited for our family for far too long, I will not jeopardize this - so I will return. If you go with us, and something were to happen," he shook his head, "my angel, I would never forgive myself. So I need you to stay here, stay safe, if for nothing else but for me."

"But Pyrlig - "

"Will be saved," he assured.

"And Brida - "

"Will be dealt with," he eased, chuckling lightly. "My angel, you worry too much about everyone and yet never about yourself."

You pouted, "Well, why is it just me meant to stay back? This is your child, too, Osferth, and should have the right to meet them! You can't always control what happens, accidents are real, what if you don't return - "

"Don't think like that - "

"But it's a real threat to us - "

He agreed, "Of course, but - "

"Yeah, I know," you nodded, cutting him off, "we serve Lord Uhtred. This comes first, and I'm not - "

"I've made a vow to him."

"You made one to me, too, you know."

"Angel, please, don't do this. Do not ask me to choose," he begged with a frown, and you caved.

So, with a sigh, you nuzzled into his embrace and relented, "All right, yes, fine, go after Brida and Pyrlig. And when you find them, tell him I am waiting for his safe return, he is dearly missed. Ideally, I'd have him birth our child."

"Of course," he breathed, finding a small reprieve of relief that you did not fight him further about leaving - about choosing which vow to fulfill: the one to his Lord Uhtred or the one to his wife.

Both made to God.

Luckily, Osferth married his best friend and you were never one to pick fights with him. You liked the harmony you had; the peaceful environment you had both cultivated to preserve the trust and love you built through the years. He was genuinely one of a kind; a man who walked many lines between faith, humanity, right, wrong. He was the voice of reason, constantly striving to do better than he did before, learning all he could as if a rag soaking in water. For all he was, Osferth has always been enough for you, and for that reason alone, you never felt the need to argue.

To fight. To voice contempt.

"Question," you perked up, smirking at him as your pregnancy symptoms ran a little wild, "think we've time to, you know, really give our thanks?"

"Angel - "

"What?" You grinned. "You fucked me on the alter all those weeks ago and look - your seed stuck. We might as well go give thanks in the same manner, just to really show God how thankful we are for this blessing he's given us."

"Think the Devil's gotten into you," he laughed.

"Or your child is ruining my hormones," you countered, his lips meeting yours in another passionate display of his excitement.

"C'mon," he whispered, taking your hand, and leading you to the chapel - thinking you were being sneaky, but your matching giggles made Ingrith and Finan beam at each other.

"He does know she can't get more pregnant, right?" Finan teased, flinching when Ingrith smacked his upper arm.

"WHY!?"

"My angel, please - "

"What the fuck is going on, Osferth!?"

"I'm trying to explain - "

"The Queen? The fucking Queen is dead in our village! How can that possibly be explained!?" When Osferth didn't answer, just sat in the wooden chair before the shared hearth of your humble home, you snapped, "Well!?"

"Are you finished? May I speak now?"

With a huff, you nodded and gestured for him to speak; arms crossing around your swollen tits. He explained to you the reason for Haesten's arrival, the wagon his men toted, and why he brought the Queen's dead body to the settlement of Rumcofa. He told you Haesten wanted to keep the peace when King Edward found out, claiming Uhtred's son-in-law, Stiorra's husband, Sigtryggr, had ordered this death - thinking war would surely roll over his lands.

You never knew Haesten to be a generous man, nor much of an honest one, but it seemed the severity of the situation made everyone eerily on-edge. Uhtred dispatched his men; leaving Finan and Osferth in the village with you, developing a plan that would save both Saxon and Danish life. And yet, it was all futile when evil forces worked against good.

You didn't feel safe in Rumcofa anymore, there was a stench in the air; tension that mounted to embrace all residents with discomfort. Something was about to happen, but nobody knew what. You didn't claim or pretend to know what was happening, but Haesten's abrupt appearance spelled danger for everyone involved. So, as a security measure, you kept a long sword buckled around your swelling waist and a dagger strapped under your skirts. With Lord Uhtred gone, there was no invisible fence protecting Rumcofa - leaving it up to you, Osferth, Finan, and Cynleaf to pose as guard.

Yet you'd never be enough.

Like the surf over sand, a group of angered men descended on Rumcofa. "Who's men are yah?" Finan asked, you lingering at Osferth's side to watch the interaction from a short distance.

"We come from the King," a burly Saxon replied, your head cocking in interest - swearing you've seen him before. "Dane murderers are hiding here and you must hand them over."

"You're mistaken, sir," you kindly offered, the man's eyes shifting over you, "because we live in peace. Any murderers have surely moved on from here. We do not host them."

The man growled, "Don't think that's true, love."

Finan held a hand back at you, meeting your eyes and nodding simply. He turned back for the man in fur, diverting, "Of course, my men will attend to it."

Finan turned from the group, his eyes connecting with yours as he passed by. There was urgency, a quickened pace he adopted; having no intention to hand anyone over, wanting to remove these men without bloodshed. However, that was a distant thought because Father Benedict tried to assure the Saxon leader that nobody in Rumcofa would murder Queen Aelflaed.

You wanted to step in when the Saxon evidently didn't know about the Queen's demise - getting in Benedict's face and demanding to see what he spoke of.

"No, no, no," you muttered nervously, "he can't see the body, love, no, no, no, this is bad. Very bad."

"We can't stop Father Benedict without altercation," Osferth whispered back, keeping a tight hold of your hand, just watching the group. "If something happens, you need to get yourself safe."

"How do we truly know they're from Edward? What credentials do they have?" When Osferth shook his head, you worried, "Got a bad feeling 'bout this, angel."

Then the violence began.

The strange men took charge when their leader walked away, starting to physically harass the citizens; making both you and Osferth step in to try and diffuse the tension. You pushed men off unarmed women, got in between them and the children, did what you could without drawing a weapon.

When a man shoved you away from him, Finan wrangled him away, sneering, "Get yer hands off of her!" He kept the violent men at bay for a moment, telling you, "You need to go, darling - "

"Not now, Fin, look around us! We need to contain the situation, you'll need all hands you can get," You snapped, the two of you forced to part way.

Osferth panted nervously and looked left and right, turning to meet the Saxon and demand, "Tell your men to stand down!" But then, his eyes squinted when you joined his side to pull him back a step or two, recognizing him just as you did.

"I don't think they're here for the Queen, love," you heaved for breath in warning, still backing him up. "They've planned this."

"Finan!" Osferth barked, "These men have been here before!"

The Saxon roared over the fray, "Danes of Rumcofa have murdered our Queen!" His men jeered in anger, making Finan brandish both swords and for Osferth to push you back further from the attention. "Do your duty and rid the cockles from the wheat!"

You were left no choice. Osferth and you both armed yourselves, starting to fight off the Saxons as their leader demanded Danes and Christians be separated. You were unable to help, engaged in battle, but Young Uhtred gathered the Danes and begged Father Benedict to declare the church a sanctuary - thinking it would save lives.

It was only leading the Danes to slaughter.

The Saxon, Bresal, punched Father Benedict when he tried to stand in the way; his men holding Young Uhtred in the doorway to let their men enter the church the Danes were gathered in. They forced Young Uhtred to watch the massacre - men, women, and Danish children all slaughtered with no escape. No hope. No answer to a single prayer. Nobody to stop this bloody situation.

You fought on, Osferth, Finan, and Cynleaf doing their best to protect you by keeping you in the middle of their wee group. But you still got plenty of action.

"This is madness!" You cried out, slicing a man's throat open. "We need aid! We need more men!"

"This way!" Finan encouraged, "We must cut a path for Ingrith! Check the docks! Check the docks!"

You and Osferth ran towards the water, Cynleaf not far away. You searched for Ingrith, but you had no time to linger; engaged one-on-one again, forced to protect yourself and unborn baby. Not a minute later, you saw Ingrith on horseback, being stalled by a Saxon and for your husband to rush to her aid. He punched the man away from the horse, you hacking at another enemy, in time to see Osferth engaging with two Saxons - one being the leader, Bresal.

It all happened so fast.

You were already racing towards them when the unexpected. Osferth was battling on two fronts, holding Bresal at bay, fending off the other Saxon, screaming for Ingrith, who only managed a few paces before the Saxon's dogs spooked her horse. The noise was deafening; people screaming, crying, dogs barking, horses whinnying, swords singing as they clashed.

You watched it happen in slow motion.

You sprinted faster than ever before.

"INGRITH!" Osferth bellowed in worry when her horse reared back and dropped her to the dirt. It left an opening for Bresal to stab his dagger into Osferth's lung - freezing time and wrecking your world.

"NO!" You screamed, Bresal smirking at you and yanking his dagger free. Osferth wobbled, eyes wide as he met yours, the Saxon walking away as Osferth dropped to his knees. "No, no, no, no, no, no, no! Oh, God, no, no, you can't take him - not yet! Please, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no," You repeated, sliding on your knees in the dirt to catch him. "No, no, oh, my God, no, Osferth, no, please! Not now, not now, please, no, God, no! Don't do this! Please, please, please," you rambled, readjusting to better hold him, hearing Cynleaf and Finan yell for Baby Monk, too. You raged at God, "You can't take him yet! You can't have him! He's mine!"

But you heard nothing except your husband's labored breathing.

"An-Angel, angel, my angel," Osferth choked, wheezing and crying as he couldn't hold himself up and completely slumped back into your body. He pawed at your arms in an attempt to get closer.

"No, no, no, you're all right, you're okay, you're okay, my sweet love, you're all right," you insisted, hands stained in his blood as it poured from his wound. You knew it was essential to add pressure to a wound, but also, that this was all futile. Yet you needed to try. "Hey, hey, hey, look at me, just look at me, sweetheart, please, only look at me, nothing else matters," you pleaded with him in a rush, the lads sprinting to where you held your husband to your lap.

Nobody interrupted you.

"Where's the wound?" Osferth sobbed, trembling, blood spurting from his mouth; going paler by the minute. "Angel, please, the wound? Where's the wound?"

"No, no, no, don't worry 'bout that, hey? Don't you worry, you just keep looking at me," you sobbed, holding his neck and cradling him to your swollen belly. "Just at me, my love, okay? Just look at me - don't look anywhere else, okay? Nothing else matters."

"H-How bad? How ba-ba-bad-bad is i-it?"

"You're going to be all right," you lied to Osferth for the first time.

"Oh, my God, oh, my God," Osferth repeated through his tears and fears, "I'm gonna die, I'm gonna die."

He held onto you desperately, sobbing, you slowly rocking. "No, you're all right, Osferth, it's okay, just look at me." You caressed his cheek, smearing blood, but locking eyes. "My love," you whispered, "listen to me - "

"I don't wanna die, please, please, angel, my love, please," he coughed, holding your arm tightly as if it would give him life. "Don't let me die," he wheezed, "don't let me die, my love, please, please. Don't let me die, I don't wanna die. I-I wanna meet our baby, please, I want to meet our baby, I want to be a father. Don't let me die, love, please, I-I wanna be your husband longer - "

"You'll never not be my husband and you'll never not be a father, hear me?" You sniffled, trying to smile at him. "Don't you worry, you're gonna be okay, you're okay, Osferth. You'll always be my husband, nothing will change that - I swear."

Blood pumped with each beat of his frantic heart, making it gush over your fingers. You didn't even feel it.

"Please," he choked, more blood bubbling from his lips, "don't let me die, I don't wanna die. Don't let me die, please, not now, not when our baby isn't here yet, please, I just wanna meet 'em, be a family, I wanna stay with you, don't let me go. Please, don't let me go, I don't want t'go! Don't let me - "

"Shh, it's okay, you're okay. I'm here with you. I'm right here, Osferth, you're not alone, you're never alone. I'm here. I've got you. I'll always have you, I won't ever let you go. Never."

He sobbed harder. "I don't wanna leave you. Please, I don't wanna go, I don't wanna be without you - " But the words choked him, a splatter spraying across your face when he coughed; you didn't even flinch.

"Listen to me," you begged, "I commend you, my dear, sweet husband, to Almighty God, and entrust you to your Creator."

Finan was heard behind you, retching jarring sobs as you read Osferth his death rite prayer. "Don't let me die," Osferth begged still, as if you held that power.

He had always looked at you as if you hung the sun and stars, and now, as if you were his very reason for living. You hated God in that moment for forcing you two through this.

"May you return to Him who formed you from the dust of the earth. May Holy Mary, the angels," now, you choked on your words, emotion clawing your throat, but still continued, "and all the saints come to meet you as you go forth from this life. May Christ who was crucified for you bring you freedom and peace." You sobbed, "May Christ who died for you admit you into His garden of paradise. May Christ, the true Shepherd, acknowledge you as one of His flock. May He forgive all your sins, and set you among those He has chosen. Amen. Please, please, say amen, Osferth, say it, please!"

"A-Amen - Amen!" He coughed, trying to get closer to you, nestling into your warmth as he felt impossibly cold. "Don't leave me, don't leave me, please, please, I don't wanna go, I don't wanna be alone. I can't go without you, please, don't let me go - don't let me die, angel, please, I can't go without you. I-I’ve never been without you my whole life, I don’t wish to start now. I love you. I-I love you, please, don't let me go, I love you. I need you."

"You'll never be without me," you promised, face coated in blood, grime, dirt, and ash; all streaked with your tear tracks. "You will always be my husband, hey? Hear me? You're always gonna be with me, I will never be apart from you. I'll love you forever, Osferth, I won't ever stop." You felt your chest cave in as you sobbed, "Please, don't you leave me - "

But Osferth was wheezing and panting, only staring up at you. "I only need you," he whimpered, "I've only ever needed you, I can't do this without you. Please, I can't - I can't go without you. I don't want to leave you, I can't leave you, please!'

"So don't leave me," you sobbed, him still clawing at you in desperation. "I love you more than life, Osferth, please, don't leave me, okay? Don't go. I love you so much. Being loved by you was my greatest pleasure in this life, I want our child to know your love, too, Osferth, please, don't go."

"I-I wanna meet our baby, I wanna hold 'em, love 'em," he repeated. "Please, this can't be the end, don't let this be the end. W-We have so much more - we were supposed to have eternity together, my love, my angel, please! This isn't the end, I can't - I can't go without you!"

"You're okay," you soothed uselessly, rocking more prominently. "Just stay with me, my love, okay? Stay with me. Don't go. Only look at me, all right? You hear me?" You sniffled, caressing his cheek. "You're the best thing in my life, Osferth, yeah? Understand me? Where you're going, y-you'll be welcomed a hero, with open arms. You'll be my own angel. My real angel. The reason I keep going for our child. An-And you'll stay there just for a little while until I join you, okay? You'll watch over us, me and the baby, right? Our own angel? Hey? 'Cause you'll never be part from us - you'll never be apart from me. You and I are a forever sorta thing, we'll never be apart, we'll always be part of each other no matter what."

Osferth lost his words, eyes widening and pulling you closer.

You just soothed, "I'm here with you, my love. I'm here, I've got you. You're not alone, I'm right here, I have you. I've got you. I love you. I love you so fucking much, Osferth, okay? I love you more than anything, you're my everything. I love you," you sniffled, breaking down in worse sobs, repeating, "I love you, I love you, I love you so much, I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry I wasn't faster, I love you, this shouldn't be happening. I'm so sorry, I should've come faster! I love you, I'm so sorry."

With his last breath, Osferth choked, "L-Love y-y-you."

"I love you," you hushed, bending at the waist to rest your forehead on his, "I love you so much. You're gonna be okay, you're gonna be all right, you'll be safe - where you're going, you'll be safe. I'm so sorry, my love... I'm so sorry."

You felt him go still. You felt the last of his breath exhale, his body deflate. You felt his soul detach from his body.

You froze.

"Oh, my God," you breathed, pulling back to look down at his petrified features. "Oh, my God, no, no, no. God, please, please, give him back," you sobbed, "give him back to me! Do not take him! It's not his time, you selfish cunt! Give him back! It wasn't supposed to end like this! Give him back to me, please! Please! This isn't how this was supposed to happen! We promised eternity together, please! Let us have that! Let us be together, give him back to me! I need him!"

Your shrill hysterics were heard all over Rumcofa.

Finan sobbed into his wife's arms behind you, Cynleaf knelt to slowly extend his hand onto your shoulder. "I'm so sorry," he offered, but you pushed him away harshly; knocking him into the dirt.

"No! I don't want your fucking condolences!" You snapped, holding Osferth tighter, "I want my husband! I want my husband back! Can you give him to me? Can you, Cynleaf? Can you give him back to me!?"

"No - "

"Then you have nothing to offer me! I want nothing else, nothing from you! I only want him!" You looked away from the young lad, finding Osferth's wide open eyes staring up at you. You whimpered, "I only need him, so, please. Please, give him back to me. Please. I need him, I need him, I can't do this without him, please, God, don't do this. You take so many lives, why add him to the mix!? Give him back! C'mon," you begged the cooling body, "c'mon, love, get up. Get up for me, please, just wake up. Come back to me, get up... Get up, Osferth, get up! Please! WAKE UP!"

But Osferth never moved. Never blinked. Never drew breath. And God never answered your pleas. Your dress was saturated in your husband's blood; a pooling puddle seeping into your knees, bodice drenched, his baby moving in your belly. You wailed into the still air, holding your husband tight to your chest; mouth agape to release the terrible screams of anguish, tears never ending, rocking on your knees. You didn't know what to feel... But devastation was prominent.

You wept until your throat went raw, jaw tender from your open mouth. "I'm so sorry!" You repeated, "I should've been quicker! I should've been at your side! You shouldn't have been alone! This is my fault! This is all my fault, I shouldn't have been away from you. I should've been with you, you did not deserve this end. Please! Forgive me, wherever you are, forgive me, I did not intend for this, I shouldn't have left you, I should've been at your side, I'm so sorry. This is all my fault, I'm so sorry."

"No," Ingrith whispered, "no, do not say this is your fault, you did nothing - "

"Exactly!" You snapped at her, eyes ablaze, her husband silent. "I did nothing, I wasn't with him! I wasn't where I was supposed to be! And he was stabbed because of you!"

Finan whispered your name in reprimand.

"No! How many times have you rode a fucking horse, Ingrith!? And now, today, the time it truly matters, you fall; you posed distraction," you sobbed, crumpling in on yourself. "He was distracted by your fall... This shouldn't've happened, this is all wrong!"

The trio just watched you, knowing your emotions were raw and unwavering, that your words did not have meaning because your husband had just died in your arms. Hours passed, you did not move. Hours passed, your husband did not return. Hours passed, and your heart shattered with each passing breath you selfishly drew.

Because living felt selfish now without Osferth.

"Sweet one," Finan whispered, the sun setting, "we should move him. Bring him to the church so Benedict can pray."

Your head shook, "No."

"Darlin', we have to - "

"No," you whimpered, "because if you take him to Benedict, it's real. If we move, he's truly gone... He can't be gone, Finan," you sobbed, meeting your friend's eyes. "If you move him, he's gone, I'm not ready to say goodbye, please. Please, don't take him from me."

"I'm so sorry," he whispered, "but he should be laid to rest."

"Don't take him from me," you begged, a new wave of tears starting. "I just - we were supposed to be a family. We were supposed to have this baby, and now, it's just me? This cannot be, so please, don't take him from me, I only need him back. Give him back to me, Finan, please, I can't be without him."

"I know," he nodded, gently encouraging you into his embrace. It meant you had to let go of Osferth, something you did slowly and gradually, leaning into the Irishman's chest. "All right, I got yah," he whispered, looking to his wife. "C'mon, stand with Ingrith. I'll carry him."

"Be gentle," you sobbed, feeling Ingrith grip your arms to help heave you to your feet; watching Finan scoop Osferth over his shoulder. The change of position made more blood splatter to the dirt, your heart stalling in your chest when you heard the mess.

You felt your soul shriveled and hidden somewhere deep in your chest, following as if in a trance. You watched Finan and Cynleaf slowly lower Osferth to the ground with the other dead Danes, feeling yourself drop to the ground in shock.

Seeing Osferth amongst the dead made it so much more real.

"It's all my fault," you sobbed, Finan moving to your side, "it's all my fault, I got him killed. I should've been quicker. This is my fault, my fault, I did this, 's my fault."

Finan knelt beside you, bringing your foreheads together to hold you tightly and let you sob into his embrace. "You didn't do this," he promised, "you did nothing wrong. You are not at fault. Do not carry this guilt."

You sobbed without reprieve.

Young Uhtred halted Father Benedict from praying over the Danes, telling the older man they had different customs, but looked back at you. He asked your name softly, wondering, "Do you wish for a prayer for... Him?"

Even Young Uhtred couldn't stomach the truth, avoiding using Osferth's name out of sheer disbelief.

"That'd be nice," Finan agreed, turning to sit beside you and hold you under his arm. You leaned into his embrace, head to his shoulder. "She read him his death rites when... It happened."

Young Uhtred nodded, bowing his head, leading, "Our Father, Who art in heaven, Hallowed be Thy Name. Thy Kingdom come, Thy Will be done, On earth as it is in Heaven. Give us this day, our daily bread, And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil."

Then, you joined from under Finan's heavy arm, sobbing through your words, "Hail Mary, Full of Grace, The Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now, and at the hour of our death."

Benedict finished, "Glory Be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end."

Together, you, Ingrith, Young Uhtred, Benedict, Finan, and even Cynleaf ended, "Amen."

Feeling the most level-headed, Ingrith stepped in and directed the men; informing that Young Uhtred should lead the remaining Danes to Daneland, Finan and Cynleaf would meet Uhtred on the road, and she would accompany you to Wessex - where Osferth could be laid to rest at the place of his birth. Then, the people mourned together for their fallen.

Finan disagreed initially, telling his wife you were his responsibility now that Osferth was passed. But there was no way you could continue with the company, not in your pregnant state. Finan didn't like the idea of you being without him, considering you close to a sister; something of a best mate, someone he couldn't turn his back on - no matter the situation. However, he understood the predicament and finally agreed to part ways, but not before he untied Osferth's crucifix and latched it around your neck. At the gates of Rumcofa, before separating, Finan gifted you his rosary; thinking it might bring comfort in his physical absence.

Years from then, you would bring up a single son named Gabriel (a name your husband favored, a name benefitting an Angel) under Lord Uhtred in his birthplace of Bebbanburg. You never remarried. You never even so much as looked after another man with lust. Gabriel would grow into a handsome warrior and a devoted man of God, satisfied on tales about his father; being painted as a man of honor, integrity, and bravery. Osferth, too, was a man of God, a man of the sword, and a man of his word... Until the very end. And when your time came, you were brought back to Wessex to be laid to rest with your husband; your son having a son, naming him Osferth, and knowing, both his parents shined down on him in pride.

It was a comfort for everyone to know, somewhere in the afterlife, in God's warmth, you and Osferth were reunited; looking just as you did the day you parted from one another.

requesting rules and masterlist

[gurokiitty]

thinking about zeke pumping you full of cum, knowing that his virile seed will never take root within your barren womb.

he'd hilt deep and feel your walls clamp around him before releasing yet another heavy spurt against your cervix. excess semen would froth out around his cock, coating your vulva in a pretty opaline sheen.

"take it all, my barren bitch," he'd grunt, plunging into you with renewed vigour, stirring the churning pools of his seed within your belly. "let my cum flood this unyielding cunt, again and again, until it fucking drips out of you."

with your knees hooked over his elbows, he'd watch, entranced, as rivulets of pearly fluid trickle down your swollen folds and onto your ass. he'd pull out with a gush of frothing cum only to shove the mess back into your hungry, grasping hole.

[mehiwilldoitlater]

Yellow Sand, Desolate Dusk

((Black Cloud, Red Fire))

During your college years, one of your many dreams was to go in the desert during the cactus blooming season. Now the only thing you wanted to do was slap your past self in your head for that stupid idea.

The scarf around your head that one of the Carovana people had gifted you protected you from the scorching sun, but the heat was almost unbearable. You cleaned your forehead, panting from the strain that your legs were making by walking on the sand.

Yuán Fèn, your monkey companion and friend, who was still trying to accustom himself to his new name, raised his dǒu lì, trying to Look forward to the dunes and Wind swirling around the two of you.

A week before your departure, the curious bird that you had retrieved from Black Wind Mountain started to sing a strange tune, forcing everyone that could hear to pay attention to him, especially you and your friend.

The old monkey proclaimed that another relic had been calling upon its sister, and now it was time to prepare for your new objective: the second relic. In front of the same map where you located the first one, your senses made you point in the middle of nowhere... well, not exactly. It seemed to be in a desert... which it was in the middle of nowhere.

"Maybe it's an oasis? I mean, why should it be in the dirt and the sand?"

Ah, you wondered if, at that time, Yuán Fèn was trying to ease your nervousness, because now you just wanted to smack his head. Yeah, a really nice Oasis...

He kept on looking up, noticing another small dot in the sky stop moving and a golden halo.

"Hey, easy with the immobilize back there..."

"I'm getting the hang of it..." You said, your fingers still pointing up.

"I'm not doubting it, but..." He takes a sip of water. "Someone might see it... and rise an alarm..."

"Uuh..." You looked around, dunes from where eyes could reach "someone...where?"

"And..." He continued, extending you the gourd, "I need you in shape. You have to direct me to the relic, remember?"

You took a small sip of water while holding with your other hand your own willow staff. When you returned from Black Wind Mountain, you insisted on receiving training in fighting and magic since you wanted to be more helpful in the mission, but you were still stuck on the basics in martial arts and the immobilize spell. You sighed. Why was it so hard?

Yuán Fèn noticed your demeanor; he did understand your frustration, but for this, like these, you needed patience! And, even if they were small steps, you were pretty talented! Okay, a real fight was far from training with him, but you two had time for that. In the meantime, he swore to be your protector, so he wanted to get through with that.

"Are you sure we're in the right place?" You asked when you had reached the summit of the dune.

"Of course we are! We're just right where you pointed, remember?"

"Yeah, but... what if it's not the right place?"

"Impossible! You found the first one, remember?"

"...Well... yeah, we were lucky... But what if we're not this time? I mean... how can the relics be here in the middle of nowhere?"

"Because," he said with a smirking tone, "there's something in the nowhere!"

You wanted to raise a question, but as soon as you looked in front of you, in the distance, you found your answer in that strange phrase. The desert was slowly changing its nature, leaving the sand and giving space to rocks and mountains. They weren't high or full of life like the previous one, but they were impressive nevertheless, and, by your surprise, they seemed to give home to something! In the distance, even if still small, it was visible. One of those Giants gates that could have been found in some cities, showing that maybe someone lived there!

You both sprinted towards those gates; the hope of finding some solace in the shadow of the mountain and maybe some fresh waters was enough to give you some strength to move on the sands. Unfortunately, that hope was now faltering when you started to notice the state of the wooden gate.

The sun had now completely eroded every kind of color that the wooden structure once had, replaced now by the nude timber color. the sand, moved by the wind, had smothered the decorations that once had adorned the structure, or there was something now It was just made for you both to guess. The few tiles that still were attached to the roof were now broken or completely useless in their first meaning, their fate now in the hand of the scorching sun.

You weren't an expert, but by the looks of it, that gate had been there for years, and no one had taken care of it. 

"It doesn't look like a good sign..."

Yuán Fèn looked up, searching for the name of wherever you had ended up. 

Usually these gates are made to let travelers know where they are, but unfortunately the name of this place was almost completely erased from it. The only thing he was able to get from it was the word "ridge"...whatever that meant...

"Ummm... Ridge... maybe Yellow... I'm not sure; it's hard to read in that state..."

"Oh! Yellow Wind Ridge!" You exclaimed, looking at a curious monkey. "The last village you visited, they told me that once there was a place with this name!"

"Oh!" He seemed surprised. The name... It rang a few bells in his mind...but it wasn't like he could know everything.

"All right... so... up ahead?" He said moving his staff in front of you. With an uncertain road in front of you, you both start to take the path in the mountain, in the shadow of the rocks, unknowing of what you would find there.

///

Even if it was completely different from Black Wind Mountain, even this desolate place holds a certain kind of beauty in it. 

The rock structures stood like the walls of a castle, reaching till your eyes could reach. The color of the rocks changed here and there; sometimes it was a yellow ochre, a remnant of the name of the place, sometimes it was a vibrant orange when the light touched it, and just near to the base you were walking, a deep red like blood.

You once saw something similar in a few photos, but it was a completely different story in person.

"A river must have passed here millennia ago..."

"A River?" Yuán Fèn looked at you curiously.

"I learned that these kinds of rock structures are what is left of the bed of a river!"

"Oh! And... where did the water go?"

"Ummm... evaporated? I'm not sure; I'm not that smart."

He laughed a little. It was nice to enjoy some peace; he didn't know how long it would last, so it was better to savor it.

Despite his carefree behavior, more than once he had stopped in his tracks, almost making you bump into him, looking around and smelling the area. The path had now transformed into a gorge, the sun still hiding behind the walls of the mountain around you. He looked around, his ears piercing, his senses searching for something.

"You okay?" You said in a whisper, wondering why he had stopped all of a sudden.

"...Yeah... I thought I heard... something..."

"Yaoguais?"

"Can't tell... this place reeks of it, but I heard something... I don't know, let's be vigilant now."

And with that he reached for your hand, holding it right, and his staff was now in a fighting position. The peace was over; time to get back to work.

It was amazing how he could perceive the smallest changes in his surroundings.  Maybe it was an hermitage of his species or just a product of his training, but he was able to catch even the smallest change in sounds or smell.

Another show of this ability of his own cane was when, suddenly, his hand was now firmly against your chest. He had stopped in his own tracks, making you do the same, and, with a swift movement, his staff was now in front of you in a defensive mode. 

"Someone's coming." These were the only words he said, now completely concentrated in front of him. Now, in the complete silence, you finally could hear something coming from the always ahead of you, a sound that looked off. It seemed like someone was dragging something, the clattering of metals, and some pants of fatigue?

He, on the other hand, was prepared for the attack of his new foe...until it came into view. A huge backpack, full of objects, some for traveling and some that were part of a household, pots and pans that clattered together while moving around, tied by a rope around the pile that had been carried, and a figure that, covered in rags, moved steadily and slowly on his feet.

A traveler?  It seemed that they were mostly moving away by the amount of stuff.

You sighed in relief since you couldn't spot any kind of weapon on him, and the grip on your own staff loosened. Yuán Fèn, on the other hand, decided to keep his guard up on this new figure appearing. He had learned that everyone could be an enemy, especially in a place like this one.

Once you both were spotted by them, the creature seemed to become quite tense, maybe for the same reason why you two decided to stay on guard and started to slow down on his tracks.

Yuán Fèn never let his guard down, fearing maybe another trick like the one that the bear had done to you the last time, while you were quite curious about this newcomer. Despite it all, it seemed quite harmless, and with all that staff on his back, you wondered what kind of danger it could have brought.

A few minutes passed, and the mysterious figure, who you realized was an old one since the ragged way that he was breathing, and the two of you shared nothing more than a few attentive looks until he surpassed you and then started to get on in his road, realizing that in the end you were just harmless like himself.

"...Do you think he's moving out?"

"I don't know," Yuán Fèn sighed, finally putting his staff back. "At least we still can take it easy."

"We should ask him some questions. It's better to be prepared!"

"I don't think he wants to be disturbed. We can get on and WAIT WAIT WAIT COME BACK, Y/N!"

He was interrupted by your soft trot, following the old man, still covered in all the rags. You were so focused on following him that you barely noticed an old tail like a rat one.

"Hello? Mr.!" He seemed surprised, shocked even, turning around, meeting your more calm demeanor. "I'm sorry to bother you, but my friend and I have been on the road for quite some time. I wondered if we're in Yellow Wind Ridge."

He coughed a little, surprised by the fact that someone still knew the name of that place and that they were mad enough to wish to reach it.

"Ah... And what are you and your friend searching for there? If it's a death by the hands of desolation, you did find it..."

"We're searching for... a certain object." Yuán Fèn stepped in, more to make sure that no harm came to you when you were so casually starting a conversation with that old one.

"Ah!" He laughed, almost like he had heard a joke: "Searching for treasures?! My father once told me the Legend of the Golden Buddhas; they're long gone till the arrival of that master..."

By saying that there was a hint of sarcasm, that raised more of your curiosity. "Master?" Yuán Fèn repeated.

"Uh... yes, a royal sage... an old rat that had mastered the Wind..."

That was the last piece that Yuán Fèn needed to understand. Who were you going to fight this time? The old one coughed hard, holding his chest with his ragged and bandaged hand. Maybe he was sick? He shouldn't move in that condition.

You quickly grabbed your gourd and gently offered him part of your healing wine. He moved his hand, gesturing to you to keep it to yourself.

"No need... old Lil me can handle..."

"There's no village for miles; just a sip will help you regain some strength."

He seemed surprised by this act of kindness. And, for respect, he accepted one small sip, trying not to ruin the wine and your gourd. He sighed deeply, savoring the sweet savor and feeling the sensation of the healing power of the liquid.

"...thank you, young one..."

You smiled; at least he would be able to make it till the next village.

Yes, giving to him a few of your medicines wasn't exactly the brightest idea; you weren't sure what was going to happen after that, but seeing him like that, forced to leave his home, it felt bad, at least for you. A small help wouldn't hurt you, you thought while taking away your gourd.

Yuán Fèn, despite his silent opposition to your gesture, those were your medicine after all, could not find that gesture anything but admirable. You could just walk away, believing that that man had everything under control; instead, there you were, giving him some of your rationed medicines. He shouldn't be surprised; you were a kind soul, after all. He saw you many times show some empathy or kindness around you, and, by so far, he found it admirable from his own point of view.

"Be safe there, you two," said the old man, slowly walking away on the path, "and watch yourself from danger! This place reeks of them! To think that people used to revere that old one...ah...such a shame, such a shame..." He laughed and coughed, slowly vanishing in the shadows of the mountain."

The two of you, after readjusting your stuff, had started to walk back again, taking the road where the old one was coming from, presumably the right path as much as you both could see. When finally the passage between the mountains started to widen up, the sun reconquered your way, illuminating the place that, it seems, the relics were hidden by someone...

The sun makes the view hard, and the dust in the wind colored the sky, which seemed to not have seen rain for months, a grayish blue. You noticed the peaks of the mountain, but sometimes they reminded you more like old palaces that the wind had completely changed shape by the time and sand. If once there was life, it was gone, leaving only the carcasses of old trees, left in that barren land without a chance of survival. The only vegetal life that could grow there was a thick and long grass that grew in small bushes, and if it hadn't been for the protection of your trousers, they would have surely cut your skin at the passage. The area was surrounded by rocks and sand, making it quite a task to move around, and, even if climbing, another small mountain waited to the other side.

What kind of kingdom could even start there in that place, you wondered...

While walking, you make sure to stay closer to your friend. There were so many cliffs and palaces; it was to see if someone was up there! Making you a good target for attacks.

"You know," Yuán Fèn spoke, breaking the silence. "That old one gave us a good lead about who could have taken the relic. Yellow Wind Sage make any sense to you?"

You made a long um sound from your mouth, a good answer to imply that you had zero idea of who this sage was. He chuckled; of course you didn't know.

"What I know about is that was a foe that had tried to eat the Tang Monk back in the journey, "Yuán Fèn started, "and he was quite strong too!"

"Strong? Stronger than Sun Wukong?"

"Well, he had a weapon....the Samadhi wind to help him out."

"Sama...what?"

"What did you learn in your world?!"

"They didn't even teach us how to do taxes; give me a break!" And, after a long ugh sound from him, he decided to let it go. You knew so many staff, but how could the theory of relativity really help you out in a fight?!

"Samadhi is like being unified with a certain element or a god even. It's like the object itself is free from the rule of the world! For example, the Samadhi fire is a TRUE fire! And simple water cannot extinguish its flame!"

"OOOh....wait!" You stopped in your tracks. "Let me recap here: we're going straight to a certain Sage—"

"That is a rat."

"Not needed, but thank you. That can control a very formidable wind that could kill us... Is that what you're saying?"

"...Kinda?" Your hand met your face; you were less shocked than last time, but knowing that maybe this one was a more dangerous foe than the bear didn't help you calm down.

"Do you... at least have a plan?"

"Well," he got closer, using his staff to give you a few small nudges. "I suppose that the Bián huá could make the same trick like last time!"

You looked at him suspiciously, trying to figure out what he was talking about... then you remembered the old mantle made of pure red silk that, if not for its presence, you would have been roasted like a meatloaf.

"But... last time it was just luck... how do you know that I can do it again?"

"Do I need to repeat myself?"

Ah yes...he believed in you. Well, last time you were able to find the relic, and you were able to survive...maybe you were somehow kind of a little special? But you didn't want to hold your hopes high, especially knowing the so many dangers that you both had to take last time.

"All right, all right... I'll try to believe in my doodle-do magic staff... So, I'll say let's keep going.

"Now you're talking my language!" And, with a sprint, he marched on, giving you a grin like he was challenging you to follow him. And you did.

///

Time lapsed, and despite how much the two of you were able to get inside this new territory, the more you noticed that even Yaoguais seemed to be absent from this place. Besides the old man, you met a body on your road, and that was unnerving.

The fact of not knowing what was waiting, the fact that maybe you weren't that alone like you wanted to believe, had put both of you in a position that forced you to look at every sound like a danger. Because, even if you weren't approached by anyone, the sensation that you were observed was drilling in your head.

Yuán Fèn kept on keeping you close to him, fearing that something could have happened at every second, but the sand and the dirt avoided his nose to perceive the smells and the sound of the wind that roared, covering the sounds. It wasn't a good position; he knew that, but he couldn't risk leaving the road to face an opponent that he couldn't even see or leave you alone like that. So the only option was to just go forward, hoping to meet a better condition.

The area opened up again, and, alongside the same vegetation and the rocks, a body of water stretched around, giving life to some plants that were lucky enough to be nearer and some structures that reminded you of the ones you found at the last temple. The difference was that the ones you found now were far bigger and made of solid stone, and, other than for the time passed under the unforgiving sun, it seemed like they were deliberately destroyed. You wondered what kind of past this kingdom had and what kind of karma it had faced for its act against the Buddha. Well, you weren't in the position to judge; what really caught your attention was the water, colored in a reddish tone.

"We should take some," you proposed, taking yours gourd from your sack.

"It doesn't seem edible..." Yuán Fèn retorted, more inclined to keep it up instead of stopping there.

"We don't know if we'll find any more! And we can still boil it and drink it later!"

It wasn't like your idea wasn't good; in this kind of territory, every drop counts, but he didn't like the idea of staying too much in one place, especially since he couldn't read his surroundings at all.

You started to collect the water from the pond, carefully taking only the one on the surface, avoiding moving it too much. He stayed behind you, looking around, and he started to listen.

It seemed so calm; the wind was blowing over your heads, and the walls made of rock avoided It took an hour to enter through the passage. It was a big area; the sound wasn't covered that much...

He started to concentrate...the wind, the sand that slided around, the water...a piece of wood that got removed from some leather... A string that is getting stretched...

You had just finished collecting the water when his hand grabbed your shoulder, grasping it and pulling.

"We must move, NOW."

"Wha-Why?!"

"We need to take cover; we're—!!!"

Before he could even take another step, an arrow, coming from nowhere, pierced his chest in one strike. 

Your eyes widened; suddenly the atmosphere changed, and the pond was surrounded by sounds of voices and arrows that were shot.

"TAKE THE MONKEY DOWN!"

"Leave the girl!"

The sound of squeaking and piercing voices came from the rocks; arrows jeep on Flying towards the two of you. 

The pain from the arrow was enough to make To stumble on his feet, but Yuán Fèn only needed now to push you away, allowing you to stay out from the line of fire. 

You tried to reach him, but every time another Arrow stopped you and forced you back down while he was still holding his staff up to try to protect himself and you, but the shooters were too many, and the more he defended himself, the more Arrows kept on piercing.

"NO, NO, NO!" You raised your digger, aiming towards the direction of the Arrows, starting to use the immobilize spell. Golden auras came from a few of them, but without a good view of your assailants, you could only stop just a few of them. 

"Y/n! Find co-" another Arrow, his mouth started to leak blood and his breath got rugged. He tried again to hold his staff up, but now he only had enough strength to use it to stand up. It was so painful. The attack stopped; the sound of small feet moving around reached the area.

You weren't so careful like him; your only care was to use this moment of calm to avoid falling on the dirty ground and trying to cure him from those many wounds! You started to panic; he had more than ten arrows piercing his body!

"EASY! EASY EASY, I'll fix you! Okay?!"

"Y...y/n...y/n, they're... they're co—" he coughed again while you put him down to rest on a rock. "You need to...leave!"

"I'm not leaving you here, okay?!"

You didn't want to listen to him, as much as you didn't want to listen to your surroundings. What you wanted was only to cure him and help you to take care of those two rats that you had completely forgotten in the panic of the moment.

Holding your gourd, you were ready to use its contents to cure him when a long but slim hand grabbed you by your scarf and pulled you so hard that you were practically dragged away.

Over your head, a pair of big black eyes looked at you with a malicious intent, and a broken and grim smile showed a series of long and sharp rodent teeth.

"Ah ah! Good meat!"

"Something to please our prince brother!"

Oh no! Not again! Fastly, you grasped a full hand of dust and threw it in the face of the one that was holding you, taking this advantage to slip away from the scarf and reach your staff.

DAMN! Yuán Fèn told you several times! Never leave behind your weapon! And you were too drained out to use again the immobilize spell!

 You tried to jump in it, but before you could even reach it, the tail of one of the two rats grabbed your ankle, making you face the ground, sand and dirt in your mouth.

"PUAH! Ugh! I hate when they do this!"

"You should have put on your helmet, Brother!"

You shook your head, taking away some of the sand on you, when the same hands from before held you by your arms, raising you from the ground.

"She's a feisty one. I hope the prince will like her as a snack..."

"You're crazy?! Who cares! As long as she's fresh, he'll like the meal!"

You kept on squirming, kicking your two new captors, but you could only reach their armored torso.

"LET me go! Stop!"

Yuán Fèn tried again to move, but the pain from the arrows in his chest created a shock that made him growl. The Teo rat noticed his new attempt, alongside the big pool of blood that now made the ground turn a deep red.

"What about the monkey?"

"The king will not mind some...dried meat!"

The two laughed, starting to head away from the spot, while you craned your neck so much that it hurt, looking in fear towards your beloved monkey.

"YUÁN FÈN! NO! NO, PLEASE STOP! LET ME GO! YUÁN FÈN!"

Yuán Fèn tried again, and again he fell down in pain, panting and feeling his life force slowly drying away.

"Y...y/n...."

He felt his eyelids getting heavier and heavier. Your scream started to get more distant and muffled.

"I...need to..."

He loses his senses.

///

The song of a sanxian played somewhere.

He slowly started to open his heavy eyes from the forced slumber. His finger could still feel the sensation of the blood on the ground, now reduced in some kind of mud by the dirt and the sun. He tried to stir his body, but the arrows in his chest must have messed up his muscles.

The music kept on playing, strong; he felt the sound of someone stepping down their foot to keep the beat. Was he dreaming? Why would someone play in such a place? He tried to call for help, but his mouth was dry.

"Yellow Wind Ridge, 

A mighty ole' range,

Once buzzin'

With Joy and Glee."

He could only move his head, resting his cheek on the rovent rock, and he saw the source of the sound.

A headless body was joyfully playing a sanxian, tapping his foot on the rock.

Now he saw everything... well, he could tell a nice story to the Enma...

"But the pesky rats took hold,

A sudden unfold,

Turned it all barren and bleak."

Uuuhhg, not a bard! If he really needed to die here, at least he preferred it in a less extravagant way!

He was still curious about the fact he didn't have a mouth to express the words, though...

"The King GOT Denide,

Rules thrown aside,

Evil connived,

Running wild and free."

He was telling about the story of this place. Well, as much as he knew, the only information that he had was about when the Yellow Rat tried to capture the Tang Monk. The old man was right; things were bad there even before...

"Wukong went to the

Bodhisattva to plead,

Granting the Land

A Moment o' Peace."

That was during the journey, well, nothing that he didn't know...

"Yet before long,

Another disaster struck.

The cursed returned 

On a killin' spree."

Alright, now things started to get different. What kind of beast started rampaging after the events of the story? 

"The hero, he lies there dead,

With the truth hidden

From Ye and me..."

...Truth? Hero?...did he mean...what truth?! Oh, come on! He couldn't die there without knowing! He tried to stir again, fighting against his approaching demise, but his body felt like stone there.

The headless figure, that with that rosary at his neck, reminded him more of a monk now, jumped down from the rock, holding the instrument in his arms, approaching the soon-to-be-dead monkey.

"I reckon I got an idea why ye have come here, me friend."

The monkey coughed a little, finding just enough saliva to moisten a few words.

"A-ah...?... Go....good for.... you t...then..."

"Eh," he seemed amused by the small response of Yuán Fèn, " 'n' ye seems lik' in a ill shape."

If you were there at that moment, he was sure that you would use some sarcastic words against him after having a small stroke for the view of the inside of his neck.

A few strong were pinched, and the sound of the sanxian was heard again. Yuán Fèn noticed only now some strange glows around every time the monk pinched the strings. A few hours started to disappear like dust in the wind.

"Haste makes waste." The monk proclaimed, "I'll lend ye a hand."

And, with one swing of the strings, the sanxian created one beam of golden light that struck the monkey straight in his chest. Atsushi, at the beginning, felt the pain of the muscle contorting, the. The relief of the arrows that started to disappear from his chest, alongside his wounds, and, in the end, he felt his strength come back all of a sudden.

He touched himself, inspecting his body, and found it incredible that a few moments before he was at the brink of death, and now he felt like he could just battle.  That monk... wasn't just a strange creature.

The monk laughed, noticing the surprise of the monkey, while he started to stand up from the ground. The blood had disappeared, only some more golden glow floating around. 

"Watch your step, eh?" He kept laughing, gesturing around, "Get more shots, and you'll be high and dry!"

But, despite his strangely jovial behavior, the monkey couldn't not feel a sense of havereness around that monk. He started circulating him, watching that curious creature that kept on playing the chords of the instrument, mimicking the monkey move.

"Who are you? Why did you save me?"

He couldn't ready anything about that musician without a face. It was hard, but his fingers seemed to think about the notes to take, like words.

" a' o' this maiter? ah thought ye hud something mair important tae tak' care about!" More notes were played, "like a quine in need o' 'n' hulp? she surely wull catch th' yak o' someone oot there!"

"Y/n!"

The questions and the wondering about this person were immediately cast aside; he had more important matters to attend to now!

He recalled his own staff, and, laying on the ground, he noticed your own weapon, left there when the rats had taked you away. He reached for it and secured it on his shoulder.

From afar, he could hear the sounds of more rats, maybe enjoying the idea of a feast with his own flesh and yours for the future. 

"Hold on tight, Y/n... I'm coming for you!"

And, with a sprint, he took the main road, approaching the next battle.

///

Rats weren't the only enemy that he had to face. After the defeat of the young frogs that tried to attack him from the water surface he was passing by, he must have admitted that this challenge was more complicated than the last one.

Atsushi Black Wind Mountain, the Yaoguais worked under a system, a rule of one big leader, and acted in such a way. Here they were erratic and chaotic, following different rules made by different people. Kind of odd, especially knowing that the Yellow Wind Sage was around... if he was around.

Built in the walls of the rock or destroyed around the area, what was left of old Buddhist temples remains, showing the story of attempts to eradicate that belief from that place. But, by the looks of it, it seemed to have backfired...

He kept on running around the rocks and the sands, trying to catch your scent in the air. He must have been down for some time; he couldn't get your trace even with proper concentration. How was he supposed to find you?!

After another climb, another scene appeared in front of him: behind some mountains and dunes, like a column that was erected in the distance, a tornado made of sand stood tall in the distance. It was pretty impressive and scary too; it looked capable of destroying everything in its path... but then he noticed one interesting detail: it wasn't moving at all.

"...could it be...uh..."

He needed to look it up on it, but that wasn't his priority right now.

A pair of stairs, built inside the stone, led him to an area where, instead of rock formations or old statues, houses made of bricks and stone were built, alongside old walls and structures made for the living and more. Despite the fact that there were many, none of them seemed to have been used in years, and he saw no mortal around that could live there! The only ones that seemed to have found a home in that place were the rats, the same ones that were not far from his position right now.

When he heard some more steps coming closer, he had enough time to hide in one of those houses, allowing the two rats that were currently on patrol to come closer. They were casually talking to each other, not on guard like the ones that he had already fought.

"And he kept on bragging about how good they were to have brought that human there to the prince!"

"You know him; what's bad in hoping for a bite?"

"Like he'll even left some spare for us! We'll only get the monkey that was with her..."

A human? They must have been talking about you, and by the looks of it, things were looking pretty bad now, especially since they seemed interested in making you the lunch for... a prince? Their prince?

"You know what's funny? When I passed near his abode, I hadn't heard him eating at all! And you know how he is with food! I even heard someone talking!"

"Maybe he's playing with her? Who knows? He's clearly not the brightest in the bunch.

The two keep on laughing and talking, unaware of the door that was slowly opening behind them. They made a huge mistake by revealing that you were in fact still alive...he held at least. The first one didn't even notice the head of the staff crashing into his head, while the other hand only had the chance to acknowledge the enemy attack.

"WHAT THE—UGH!"

Another blow made him fall on his back, and, before he could even react, Yuán Fèn's staff was ALREADY pointing to his muzzle.

"Scream and I'll split your head open! Where's the human girl?!"

"Wh-what human g—" he stopped when the staff started to brush his teeth.

"The human girl that you were talking about before! The one with the monkey, speak up now!"

There was a moment of silence from the rat, unsure if speaking would have been better than receiving that staff on his head. When he realized that Yuán Fèn wasn't joking about opening his head, he gulped.

"They have her to the prince ...in his abode, in a cave!"

"Where?!"

"North! Just before the cliff, you can't miss it!"

"...good..."

A smack on the rat face was enough to make him lose consciousness. You were alive ; that was all that mattered, and, with that thought in mind, he started to lead North.

///

After the defeat of the next enemy, the monkey started to understand how they were supposed to work around there. While on their last journey, they seemed to go from the less strong to the strongest of their ranks, maybe with the sole purpose of protecting the relics; here they seemed more chaotic or, at least, concentrating in certain areas of Yellow Ridge. He didn't think that he would have found so few Yaoguais protecting their prince, and that maybe was a sign of the strength of that One.

By following the directions of the rat, he found himself following the Wall of another one of those mountains, the Shadows covering his path, allowing him a relief from the sun. The lack of other enemies around was also a lucky opportunity for taking a breath from the ones he had ALREADY fought.

It wasn't that far till he found, as he told him, the entrance of a cave. It was big enough to let him pass or make a living if something big.

What really gave him a cold feel on his shoulder was the amount of bones and objects that unlucky passengers had left behind. Maybe the leftovers of the meal of this prince. What kind of prince a bunch of rats could have?! By the look of the mess, it seemed like he had quite the appetite.

He looked around, searching for the fresh meats for his recent meals, and, with a sigh of relief, he had found nothing that could lead to you. Despite the look, the light of the place was enough to allow him to see around freely without the need of fire or by lighting one of the braziers around the place. And, to his surprise, there were a few objects around that made the place almost bearable… or a mock of a human habitation of some sort. Old vases, broken panels, what it seemed to be a tree sradicated from its roots and posed near the wall like imitating an indoor plant…

What kind of creature could try to do such a thing?

Still wondering, he stopped his exploration when he heard some roaring sound coming not so far from him and…

"No! You must stay! Other kill and eat; I protect and care! You too, nice! You stay!"

It was the voice of a male, hoarse, and it wasn't friendly at all!

He followed it, and, after moving away an old curtain that had seen better days, in front of him there was… well, he surely wasn't just a rat; he was a BIG rat! His armor reflected a few sparkles when the light shone upon it; he moved like he was trying to hold in place something. Resting near the wall, a giant Chui stayed, ready to be held by its owner.

His tail moved like a storm, still trying to fight whatever was in his hands and

"Put me down! I don't want to stay here with you! LET ME GO!"

Yuán Fèn's eyes widened, realizing that what the prince tried so badly to hold on tight to was in fact you. Without another thought, he unleashed his staff and, emitting only a huge STOMP, he bashed his weapon on the head of the rat. Instead of falling dead on the ground, he started to move like a drunk man, obviously kerfuffled by the monkey attack but not dead like he hoped.

That giant started to fall, losing the grip on you, and, by taking that to his advantage, Yuán Fèn was able to catch you in his arms before you could meet the hard ground. Your eyes were shut close, scared for the fall, and he couldn't hold a small giggle for that display.

"You look like you were in need of assistance, my Bián huá!" He said.showing off a little for the rescue.

You opened your eyes; a gleam of happiness reappeared.

"...Monkey!"

Your arms met his neck in a hug, relieved that in fact both of you weren't dead at all. He sighed, holding you closer. trying to calm you down from the huge scare you must have felt back there. Then, you suddenly make some space between the two of you, a mortified look on your face.

"AH! I'm sorry! Your wounds!"

"I'm fine! See? Not a scratch!"

He showed you his chest, untouched and without trace of any wounds or arrows.

"But I saw it... Did the healing wine help you?"

"Not exactly. I've found a helping hand that...

Will let you lose your head!"

"...it's strangely specific."

He just laughed it off; he was sure that, sooner than later, you would understand his words, and, maybe, he couldn't wait to see your face once you noticed the headless monk. But he regained his seriousness once he heard some moan of pain from the rat Yaogaui in front of him. He let you down, then took back his staff; he couldn't let that thing walk around again, not after the danger he had put you through.

"Wait!" Your hands resting on his arm, he looked at you surprised. "Let's just leave him. You gave him a concussion already. I don't think he'll be a problem soon."

Well, that was new… You seemed even sorry for what had happened to that rat. Now, come to think of it, you were practically unharmed. Not only that, but by looking around, he noticed a tea set, now almost completely destroyed on the ground, what it seemed to be tea and a bunch of staff not so far from you. Dared he say, that prince never had any intention of eating you!

"All right, I don't know what happened here, but you look like you had a blast. Let's move now; more rats will come after the commotion!"

You nodded, but you still looked back at the prince with a sorry expression that made your friend more curious than before.

"I'm sorry. It's an urgent matter. I promise to apologize better when we take the relic. Thank you!"

And so you and the Destined One left hand in hand the cave, even if your friend now was quite interested in knowing what had just happened between you and that thing in that cave. Once out, you needed to cover your face from the sun, trying to readjust to its rays even in the dim light of the rocks.

"Hey." His voice made you look at him, noticing something long and dark pointing at you. Your staff…he had kept it all this time...

You smiled, taking from his hand your weapon, promising yourself to be more careful. Your hands shook at the view of your friend dying on the ground… Then, his hand reached yours, making one of the two leaving the staff and giving it a light squeeze.

"Come on... I know the way." He said with confidence.

And so, you followed him.

((GEEEEEEEZE, ugh...sucha ride...it's more a prologue than a part buuut there it is!))

what had happene din that cave between you and the prince?

@phoenixeclipse-lmkau @miifu666 @sleepingdramaqueen @whitefox2k18 @ladydoe8 @jeminiikrystal @theactualgir @birdioarts

@jssy96 @silenthopper @nezukos-number1fan

[ewanmitchellcrumbs]

Crawl Home to Her

Pairing: Osferth x f!reader Warnings: Religious guilt. Canon-typical violence. Mild angst. Loss of virginity. Smut. Word count: ~3.5k

Summary: Part two of Deathless Death. Osferth has a crisis of conscience and faith, however, an attack on their party by the Danes makes him realise what's at stake. Based on this request.

Author's note: No tag list. Please follow @fics-by-ewanmitchellcrumbs and turn on post notifications. Community labels are for cops.

Osferth rouses slowly into wakefulness, blinking his eyes open. For a moment, his mind is blissfully silent, focusing only on the canopy of green leaves above and the chirping of the birds in the woodland that surrounds him and his travel companions.

That is until the memory of the previous evening floods back to him; the taste of her upon his tongue, her cries of pleasure that had echoed through the trees and up into the night sky. He can still feel the smoothness of her thighs beneath his fingertips, the way the softness of her flesh had yielded beneath his hands as she’d hovered above his face while he’d devoured her like a man starved.

His throat tightens at the thought, his cock stirring in his breeches. He turns on his bed roll to face her, expecting to see her peacefully sleeping next to him, just as she usually is, her features a vision of angelic beauty. However, the space beside him lays empty and his brow furrows in concern as he props himself up on his elbow to look around for her.

He spots her. She kneels at a fallen log, her hands clasped in prayer against it. The early morning sunlight filters through the branches casting the top of her head in golden light. She is the picture of innocence, truly angelic, and guilt and shame wash over Osferth in thick, hot waves. He would have sullied her upon the filthy forest floor, if the others had not come back and interrupted them. Worse still, she would have allowed him to. This pure, devout, impressionable girl had been a vessel for his lust. Seeing her as she is now, Osferth vows to keep his distance; he must do better by her, despite his yearning for her.

He is startled momentarily when she opens her eyes and looks directly at him, clearly having sensed his gaze upon her. Her smile is warm, making her eyes soften with fondness as she looks at him.

“You’re awake,” she says, her voice gentle. Osferth will never have enough of that dulcet sound, it is sweeter than honeyed wine. “Will you join me?”

He nods, not trusting himself to speak and makes his way over to her, kneeling on the opposite side of the log. It’s a deliberate choice, a need to place a physical barrier between the two of them so that he is not tempted to reach out for her, to feel her lips upon his once more.

If she is offended by his decision, she does not show it, lowering her head once more and closing her eyes. Osferth wonders what she prays for. Had she awoken this morning filled with regret for what they’d done and is now praying for God to cleanse her of her misdeeds?

Pressing his own hands together, he closes his eyes and bows his head.

Please, Lord, give me the strength to resist her. Do not allow me to sully her innocence with my sinful behaviour any more than I already have. Forgive her for transgressions, for she does not understand fully what she has done, and was led astray by my lust.

“First one awake’s meant to light the fire,” he hears Finan grumble sleepily in annoyance from a few feet away.

He sighs, standing and walking towards the pit that had been dug the day before. “Apologies, Finan, I’ll do it now.”

The rest of the morning passes peacefully. Uhtred’s talk of their travel plans serves as a welcome distraction, though he is unable to stop himself from glancing over at her. She looks at him with such adoration that it makes his heart squeeze. He is not worthy of basking in the affection of her gaze, yet he craves it all the same.

When it comes time to move on, she leans back against his chest as they ride, and it takes everything he has not to wrap his arms around her waist. His knuckles turn white from the intensity with which he keeps a hold of his horse’s reins, knowing that if he lets go his hands will be upon her in an instant.

She tucks herself against his chest as they bed down again that night and he is glad to wrap his arms loosely around her, keeping her close. He reasons he is simply keeping her warm, nothing more, until she looks up at him doe-eyed and expectant.

“Will you kiss me again?” She whispers into the darkness and he feels a pit open in his stomach.

“Not tonight, my lady”, he tells her quietly, “get some rest.”

He hates telling her no. The way her face crumples in disappointed sadness feels like a dagger to his chest, but it is for her own good. A kiss would lead to more and he cannot do that to her. He must control himself for the both of them.

She nuzzles into him, closing her eyes and he allows himself a moment to simply let his hands stroke through the silken strands of her hair, soft as angel’s wings.

He is thankful that the constant presence of Uhtred, Finan and Sihtric during the day prevents her from asking about the night he had tasted her. He can see it in her face each time she looks at him, longing in her eyes and questions on the tip of her tongue, but she’d never dare speak of it in company, so he always ensures they are never alone.

Come nightfall she clutches against his robes as they lay together, and he savours her closeness, her warmth, her scent, pretending his actions are a matter of duty that he derives no pleasure from.

She catches him off guard a few mornings later, excitement in her eyes as she approaches him.

“There is a river close by. I’d like to bathe. Will you join me?”

Osferth feels himself flush scarlet all the way to the tips of his ears. The thought rivulets of water running down her skin, tracing the curves of her body, has him swallowing thickly in order to maintain his composure. But he cannot give in.

He picks up his sword, fastening it to his belt. “I will keep watch to ensure you are safe, my lady.”

Her gaze lowers, he can see he has disappointed her yet again and guilt gnaws at him. He detests that doing the right thing makes her so sad.

She turns and walks off in the direction of the riverbank, and he dutifully follows her. He has to physically force himself to turn away when she begins to undress. Never having seen her fully bare before, he is desperate to look, but knows he will not be able to control himself if he does.

In his peripheral vision he sees her form illuminated by sunlight as she steps from the bank and into the water. Her movements are slow, deliberate, and he glances quickly at her, seeing how her hands move through the water, over her hair and down her body. 

Looking quickly away, he wonders how someone so angelic can be such a temptress. He wants to protect her virtue, yet ravage her at the same time, and it seems she is attempting to lure the latter half of him out to play. She does not know the full weight of what she is asking, however, and Osferth could not live with himself if he laid with her, only for her to regret it.

He keeps his focus on the surrounding woodland, to make sure no one approaches or sees her as she is bathing. He does not look upon her again until she returns to him, dressed once more, her hair damp from the river.

She looks up at him with wide, imploring eyes and Osferth feels panic flutter in his chest. They are alone. They are alone, and she is going to ask him about what happened between them and he will not know what to tell her. What could he possibly say? That he is a sinner? That he cannot control himself? That he swore to protect her and has taken advantage of her instead?

“Did I do something wrong?” She asks sadly.

The question hits him like a punch to the gut. How could she assume she is to blame for anything?

He opens his mouth to reply, but she beats him to it. “Was it not good…the other night? Have you decided you don’t want me after all?”

Her tone is filled with insecure hurt and Osferth feels as though he wants to cry. He had never meant to make her feel unwanted. If only she knew that she is everything he has ever wanted and everything he does not deserve simultaneously.

“Osferth?” Sihtric’s voice echoing through the trees interrupts them, as the crackle of branches heralds his approaching footsteps.

He turns to face the direction he is coming from, brows rising in concern as he sees the hardened look upon Sihtric’s face. This is serious.

“Get ready to go,” he tells them both. “We are being tracked by Harald’s men.”

Without thinking, Osferth grabs her hand, rushing her back to camp. They hurriedly pack away their belongings, kicking out the fire, before mounting up and moving on at speed.

She rests wordlessly against his chest, and he knows they will eventually need to continue their conversation from earlier, but right now his only focus is on keeping her safe. If he cannot do that then he has failed in his entire reason for taking her with him from Alton in the first place.

Their horses are brought to an abrupt halt, rearing up slightly when Danes ambush them in a clearing, surrounding them. Bile rises in Osferth’s throat, icy fingers of fear wrapping around his heart - not for himself, but for what may happen to her.

As Uhtred, Finan and Sihtric dismount, withdrawing their weapons, he leans forward whispering quickly to her. “Run. Run away and don’t look back. I will find you after.”

He feels her trembling like a leaf, and wishes he could do more to comfort her, but in this moment the best source of comfort is to protect her and, so as she flees, he jumps down from his horse and unsheathes his own weapon.

Osferth is not a masterful warrior, but travelling with Uhtred has sharpened his skills and he fights with more confidence than terror with each passing day. 

Allowing pure instinct and adrenaline ro guide his movements, he drives forward, slashing with his blade, ignoring the ache in his shoulder and the wet, dull sounds of steel biting into flesh.

A sharp sting against his temple happens so quickly that he barely registers he is cut, until he feels the warm trickle of blood in his eye. He blinks it away in time to see Uhtred run through the Dane responsible for causing the injury.

He is panting, sweaty, sight in one eye reddened by ichor by the time they have cut down Harald’s men. Those not killed have fled, but any solace he feels is short lived as dread and regret spur him into action, he runs through the woods in search of her.

Stupid fool.

If he’d have known better, he’d have taken her and rode away, not left her to fend for herself. What if some of Harald’s men have come after her? What if she’s dead?

As Osferth races through the trees he can no longer tell if the warmth upon his cheeks is blood or tears, he simply knows he has to find her.

His heart soars, relief and exhilaration flooding through him when he spots her cowering in a thicket, fresh tears pricking his eyes.

She is safe.

He calls out to her and she raises her head, her eyes wide with fright, though she visibly relaxes when she sees him, stepping out from her hiding place.

His jaw clenches in anger when he sees the slash in the sleeve of her dress, a long, angry looking red gash adorns the flesh of her forearm.

“Did they hurt you?” He asks, unable to mask the worry in his voice.

She shakes her head. “I caught myself on a low hanging branch when I ran away. It is my own clumsiness that is at fault, no one else.”

Reaching up, her fingers brush over the cut to his temple. “You are hurt…”

Osferth winces, though does his best to sound brave in spite of the pain. “It’s only a scratch. The fact that you are safe is all that matters to me.”

They stare at each other unblinking for a moment, her thumb tenderly wipes away the tears that have tracked down his cheeks. 

If they are not meant to be together then why would God deliver her safely back to him? They both could have died today and all he wants to do is kiss her.

Before he can second guess himself, he leans in, pressing his lips to hers, smiling into the kiss as he feels her return the gesture, wrapping her arms around his neck to pull him close.

She is alive, they both are, and he has never felt more so than in this moment.

That night, they do not sleep upon the forest floor. Uhtred finds them lodgings at a village alehouse, stating they have all suffered enough for one day and deserve the comfort of a decent night’s rest.

Retreating upstairs, bellies filled with ale and stew, Uhtred, Finan and Sihtric pile into one room, leaving Osferth and her to the other. It is humble, simply furnished, with a small double bed.

Osferth’s pulse races, keeping his back to her as he removes the light leather armour from his wrists and chest, leaving himself in just his robes. They have never spent the night alone together like this before. What would she be expecting of him?

He lips part involuntarily as he turns back to see her dressed only in her cotton shift. She has removed her dress, and tended to the cut upon her arm. She is beautiful, so beautiful, and he feels himself redden with embarrassment as she looks up and smiles, clearly having caught him staring.

She squeezes water from a cloth into a basin, before turning back to him. “Here, let me,” she says, gesturing to the wound on his temple.

Osferth approaches her slowly, his breathing unsteady. He hisses lightly at the sting of it as she gently presses the dampened cloth to his injury.

“Forgive me,” she whispers, lightening her touch, and his chest tightens.

As if my forgiveness is something you would ever need to seek.

She dabs at his face, placing the cloth into the bowl several more times as she goes, wringing it out, until she is satisfied he is clean.

Dropping the cloth back into the bowl, she places her hands against his face. She regards him with such tenderness that he has to close his eyes, unable to stand the way it makes it feel as though his heart will burst out of his chest.

Her fingertips move lightly over the bridge of his nose, his cheekbones, over his lips, chin and jaw. If this is what it feels like to be worshiped then the satisfaction God must experience is beyond gratification.

He gasps as he feels her lips press eagerly his once more and moves his mouth hungrily against hers, tangling his fingers into her hair and walking her back towards the bed.

Pushing her back, he hovers over his, his lips trailing a path down her neck to her collarbones, before kissing the rest of her body through her shift. Eagerly, he pushes the cotton above her hips, finding her wet and wanting, eager to be tasted again.

Osferth’s gaze flickers back up to her face. Her eyes are glossy and darkened by desire, her lips swollen with kisses and parted as she breathes heavily through them.

If he had died today, he is certain the grave he ended up in would not be enough to hold him back from crawling back to her, if only to see her like this. But in that same moment, he remembers the men he has killed today, his hands sullied by blood, lives ended by his hand.

He is unfit to touch her. He cannot besmirch her virtue with his uncleanliness.

He bows his head, exhaling sadly. “I–I cannot go any further, my lady,” he whispers, “I would not dirty you with hands that are not worthy of you.”

She props herself up on her elbows. “And what about what I want? It is my virtue to give away, don’t I get to decide who takes it?”

“You don’t know what you’re asking, you cannot give me this,” he argues, eyebrows drawn together in a pleading expression.

“I know perfectly well what it is that I want,” she replies, her tone defiant.

She shifts on the bed, pushing him onto his back, and he lets her. All his fight has left him, so he simply lays there, watching her with curiosity as she sits astride him.

Carefully, her hands pull at his clothes, stripping him of his robe, trousers and breeches. He quietly allows her to do so, lifting his body as needed to aid her task until he lays utterly naked before him.

Osferth has never been nude in front of anyone before. He had anticipated feeling shame and embarrassment, wanting to curl in on himself to hide from her. However, her gaze is filled with such warmth and innocence, she looks upon him in wonder, the way that people gaze at sunsets and meadows of wildflowers. It makes pride swell within his chest to be looked upon as though he is worthy.

Her lips brush gently against his, and as quickly as he leans up to kiss her back, she is moving away. Her mouth trails a path down his neck, across his chest and over his abdomen, before she allows her fingertips to take the same journey. He shivers, feeling his manhood pulsate under her attention.

He sucks in a breath when he feels her hand wrap around his cock, testing the weight and feel of it in her palm, eyeing it reverently, before she lets go and comes to lay beside him.

She pulls her shift over her head, discarding it upon the floor, and his eyes widen, drinking in the sight of her. Not even the most diligent monks in his days at the monastery could illuminate visions as lovely as she is.

“I do not know what I am doing. I’ve never done this before, but I want to. Osferth, please.”

Her quiet plea is all he needs to hear. He turns her onto her back, hovering over her and kisses her deeply. A rumble of appreciation vibrates through him as he feels her instinctively part her thighs.

Pulling away, he grasps the base of himself, guiding his tip to her waiting entrance.

“Are you sure?” He asks, eyes locking with hers.

“I have never wanted anything more. Please.”

Her words make his stones ache and he presses forwards, jaw going slack at the feeling of how tight she is as his length forces apart her walls.

She whines quietly at the intrusion, though as he studies her face he is met with desire rather than the discomfort that he had anticipated. It excites him to know that she wants him, though he fears he would not be able to stop now even if he wanted to.

If lying with other women has been the closest he has come to seeing the face of God before, then in this moment he has truly died and gone to heaven.

His thrusts into her are slow and soft, his lips linger against hers, exchanging sticky kisses and laboured breaths. As his passage eases, his movements become slightly harder and faster, groaning as she grows wetter, clenching around him as the wooden bed frame creaks with their efforts.

This is his forbidden fruit. He has tasted her and now there is no going back. He loses himself in the sensation of her, his grip on her tight as she writhes beneath him, the sounds she makes are sweeter than any music.

Noticing her tensing when his thrusts are shallower, he repeats the motion in earnest until suddenly she is crying out, pulsating around him, pulling him quickly towards release. He pulls out, stroking himself to completion, watching the way his spend paints her bare flesh in pearlescent ropes.

Breathlessly he falls back against the mattress, pulling her to him, wanting her close. She is pliable, eager, and snuggles against him, her head upon his chest.

He looks down at her through hooded eyes and she smiles back up at him, her gaze filled with warm affection.

“I love you,” she whispers.

The words stick in his throat. They are not enough to convey the depth of his feelings for her. They are just words, much like heaven and hell, and they are worthless. He will never want for anything, as long as he has her.

So, he simply kisses her, hoping that it is enough for her to understand just how precious she is to him.

Part one | Part three | Series masterlist

[everlastingdreams]

Forged Of Fire Masterlist

Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Chapter 13 Chapter 14 Chapter 15 Chapter 16 Chapter 17 Chapter 18 Chapter 19 Chapter 20 Chapter 21 Chapter 22 Chapter 23 Chapter 24 Chapter 25 Chapter 26 Chapter 27 Chapter 28 Chapter 29 Chapter 30 Chapter 31 Chapter 32 Chapter 33

Chapter 34 Chapter 35 Chapter 36 Chapter 37 Chapter 38 Chapter 39 Chapter 40 Chapter 41 Chapter 42 Chapter 43 Chapter 44 Chapter 45 Chapter 46 Chapter 47 Chapter 48 Chapter 49

~~~~!!!More Chapters will be added as the story progresses!!!~~~~

Story Summary: Raised under the tiranny of your own family, and forced to steal to earn your keep, you struggle to survive. Born from a Fey mother, and a Manblood father who wanted only sons, you are forced to hide your Fey side. When you are ordered to steal from Father Carden by your half-brother, Cassian, your life spirals out of control and you find yourself at the mercy of the Weeping Monk. The life you knew changes drastically when Cassian betrays you in the cruelest of ways. A trade is made, a promise is broken, and a debt must be paid.

Warnings: Angst. Hurt. Trauma bonding. Intrafamily violence. Depression. Self-harm. Suicidal thoughts. Violence. Torture. Gore. Pining. Trauma. Self-Flagellation. Manipulation. Strong Language. Blood. Misogyny. PTSD. Spicy and smut parts. Slight redemption arc. Lima/Stockholm syndrom-ish. Childhood trauma.

Other warnings: Jealousy. Forced Marriage. Forbidden Love. Romance. Slow-burn Found Familly-ish. Comfort. Fluff. !SMUT and SPICE!

Word count of this fic: +250K

Chapters: 47 + Two extras.

[stottlemorgan]

Right, I know I said I have a good few requests, but they're gonna be like 1000 words each or more and I'm going to take my time with them. HOWEVER,

I just got 2,000 notes on one of my headcanon posts and I'm so excited I could BURST I WANT TO CELEBRATE SO

I'm gonna do a mini prompt sprint to celebrate! Very much inspired by the splendiferous @twola and @pinescent-and-gingerbread

Send me a prompt and I will write 200-800 words for you! It can be smut, platonic, fluff, angst, High/Mid/Low Honour Arthur you name it! Here are my rules if you want to double check.

I love y'all and thank you so much for loving my writing, it means the world - Xoxo Evie

[towriteloveontheirarms]

There is a first time for everything (Osferth x barmaid!Reader)

synopsis: They say there is a first time for everything, yet never in a milion years would Osferth have thought he would lose that specific first time to someone as gorgeous as you.

warnings: Osferth being teased for being a virgin, basically pwp, p in v, oral m receiving, flirty reader, afab reader

word count: 1.8k

taglist: @hopelesswritergall

(If you want to be tagged for a specific character/fandom or in general let me know in my asks, comments or DMs)

Dividers by me

“Are you going to stay a virgin forever, baby monk?” One teased, boisterously handing him a cup of ale, just as you passed to fill up their drinks. Osferth’s eyes landed on you almost immediately to, what you assumed, make sure if you had heard that. Only to visibly come to the conclusion that no delusion in the world could convince him that you hadn´t. His ears were pink and his cheeks burned cherry red. He looked immensely uncomfortable with the teasing, almost like he wants to drown himself in the cup, which gains him a sympathetic look, before you move on to serve the next table. From afar you can still see him take a sip of his drink, trying to appear unbothered by the comments. Just as one of his friends slapped him on the back, causing him to spill some of his drink on his robes. "Monk boy needs to get laid!" he laughed, causing Osferth to further blush and want to die of mortification.

As you pass the table yet again, you give Osferth a small wink and a reassuring smile, though you also make an effort to let your hips sway a bit more than before. You felt yourself weirdly drawn towards his seemingly sweet nature amidst the chaos and depravity of his friends. Osferth felt his face heat up even more, he couldn't help but stare at her ass. He wanted to say something but couldn't find the words. Instead, he just continued to wish his friends would stop embarrassing him in front of you already.

Later that night, after closing time, Alenna found Osferth sitting alone, nursing yet another mug of ale. She walked over to him and sat down beside him.

"Where did you leave your loud friends, baby monk?" You lean in teasingly with her elbows propped up on your thighs and a lazy smile on your lips.

Osferth looked up at you, he noticed how close you were sitting, and he could feel the warmth of your body close by. He also noticed how your breasts pressed together against your tight blouse, and he couldn't help but feel aroused despite himself.

"They... left." he managed to say between sips of ale. He looked away, feeling his face grow even more crimson. "I think they went to visit some brothel or other... They wanted me to join. Said I needed to get laid or something..." he trailed off, not wanting to continue the sentence.

“Hm, it was hard to miss that." You giggle at the memories of their earlier antics. Then you become calmer. "And what do you want?"

He looked at you, his eyes wide and innocent. He had no idea how to act around someone so beautiful and confident.

"W-what do you mean 'what do I want'?" he asked. He had never been approached like that by a woman before, and he didn't quite know how to handle it.

You chuckle and reach out to stroke his cheek with the back of her fingers. You lean closer to him, taking note of his scent before speaking softly.

"Desires. You want something don't you?" Your breath is hot against his ear as you whisper the word. "Or maybe you're tired of those loud friends telling you what to do?”

You pause to let the words sink in for a moment then you speak once more. “To ask in more plain language... Do you want to lose your virginity or are you content keeping it? It is all up to you. No one else should make that decision for you."

Silence settles over them. The choice truly is up to him and whatever it would be, she would respect it. Osferth felt his heart race as you spoke softly into his ear, sending shivers down his spine. He swallowed hard, trying to gather the courage to speak.

"I... I don't want to keep it," he managed to say, his voice barely audible. He could feel the stiffness growing between his legs as he thought about losing his virginity.

"Aren´t you sweet?" You coo against his lips, teasing a kiss, before you lets your lips wander down his neck. Never once actually letting them touch his skin. "Just remember, should you ever wish to stop or want me to do something specific just tell me. I want this to be as pleasant for you as it possibly can be."

As you began to tease him with kisses along his neck, you also remove his robes, listening the soft moans. The blond shut his eyes tightly for a moment, he had always been taught that sex was something shameful and dirty, yet he found himself getting harder and craving the touch with each passing second as you undressed him.

When you reveal his cock, he watched as you admired it, your hand moving gently over it. Applying soft pressure to make it leak even more of the pearly precum, which collected at the tip of his member, from your place on the floor between his legs. He felt a surge of pleasure throughout his entire body.

“Is that alright?” you ask in a raspy voice as you feel him shiver.

He nodded silently, unable to find the words to speak. So, he let out a soft moan as Alenna’s hand continued to work magic on his length, driving him closer and closer to release.

"Use your words, baby monk. Tell me what you want." You try to coax an answer out of Osferth. Though it is clearly visible that he is overtaken by the pleasure he had never felt before.

His mind raced as he tried to think of how to express what he wanted but found himself unable to form coherent sentences. All he could manage was a series of incoherent grunts and groans as your hand continued rubbing his cock. The shaft twitched seemingly restlessly in your palm as you move your head down to lick small stripes at his sensitive, flushed tip. Instinctively Osferth´s hand comes to guide your head deeper onto his cock. Slurping and slight gagging sounds fill the room until you eagerly get pulled off him with a desperate whimper.

You know he is close. It is etched into every small muscle and crease of his face and so you let him move you away before you ask. “Where do you want to come?”

"Fuck me... please... fuck me..." He managed to gasp out. “I want to come inside of you.”

And with those words, he surrendered completely to the pleasure of the moment, letting go of any shame or hesitation that he might have felt any remnants of before.

Quickly you move your skirt and any other clothes out of the way and sink down on his lap with his cock buried deep in your tight folds, gasping at how well he filled her out. Osferth´s hands find their way to your breasts, cupping them gently and massaging them as he felt her tightness wrap around his throbbing member. At the same time, you bury your hands in his hair. The pace of your thrusts is barely matched by his desperate strokes, trying to keep up with all the intense sensations. He felt like he was drowning in a sea of pleasure, and he didn't want the moment ever to end.

The slight upwards curve of his cock has Osferth´s length rub against that special spot inside with every thrust, making you see stars as you throw your head back in pleasure.

"So good." There is a drawl to your words from the cloud of pleasure that overwhelms your own brain. "Fuck, you can touch me harder. I won't break."

Osferth let out a low groan and complied with her request, increasing the force of his strokes, and gripping her breasts more firmly as he felt her body trembling above him. He could see the pleasure etched onto your face like you were an open book and he found himself feeling incredibly satisfied by bringing you such joy.

"I'm not gonna last much longer..." You mewl, bringing one of your hands down between your thighs to caress your sensitive pearl, heightening the pleasure that made your walls grip his cock even tighter. Osferth felt your approach to orgasm and increased the depth of his thrusts even further, wanting to give her as much pleasure as possible before you both released. He watched as your hand worked its magic between your legs, committing the movements and your in pure ecstasy contorted face to memory. When he is sure what to do, the blond gently pushes your hand aside to replace your finger with his thumb, rubbing the same circles into your flesh. As he takes over on rubbing circles into your clit your hands go to hold onto his shoulders to keep from slumping against his chest.

It doesn't take long for your movements to falter under his ministrations, waves of pleasure shaking your body as the knot that had built in your lower stomach snaps. Osferth however continues to fuck into you, chasing his own release, which claims him only moments later. Encouraged by your fluttering walls, rolled back eyes and downright sinful moans.

As you let out a long, drawn-out moan and cried out in pleasure, Osferth let out a loud groan and came inside of you, filling your womb with his thick seed as he experienced the ultimate pleasure of release for the first time. He felt like he was on fire, every nerve in his body burning with need even after his peak had stopped overwhelming him.

You stay in Osferth´s lap until the two of you have found your breath again and his cock has softened inside of you. Only then, you stand up to go clean up.

"How was that for a first time?” You ask him with another lazy smile and hazy eyes that glow in the light of your previous orgasm as you fix his messy hair with gentle touches and clean his cock with a damp towel. Osferth looked down at you with a mixture of satisfaction and exhaustion, his member still throbbing under the gentle, lukewarm towel. He nodded in response to your question, unable to speak for the moment due to lack of breath.

"I do not feel like I've done justice to how amazing you felt around me." He answers once he regains his mind, a weak grin grazing his lips.

He couldn't help but feel a sense of contentment wash over him. A bell like giggle escapes you at his statement.

"Well, you could always come back tomorrow..." You invite him in a sultry tone, eyes falling half close to give an equally seductive look.

The next day you hear his friends before they even enter the tavern. Smiling to yourself as you go to greet them and take their orders of assumingly more ale, it becomes more clear that they remained unaware as to what happened to their friend after they left the prior night. So, Alenna gives Osferth a wink and whispers loud enough for everyone to hear. "I cannot wait to see you again later. I had a lot of fun last night..."

[slightly-knot-insane]

Monk's Temptation (part 3-1)

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[ Reader's POV ]

[ part 1 ] [ part 2 ] [ art 1 ] [ art 2 ]

a/n: slightly nsfw chapter like the others, but nothing explicit tw: frotteurism

You certainly noticed the monster monk as soon as he entered the chapter house during the choir practice. This small town didn't have a lot of non-humans to begin with, and he was the tallest sentient being you had ever seen, with tiny horns on top of his head protruding through his hood.

When you first saw him, last week, you thought he was really intriguing looking. Kinda cute even though you couldn't see his face in the deep shadows of the hood. Just two dimly glowing eyes. He always seems a bit nervous, though. And his singing... Ooof, his singing is appalling. How did he even get accepted?

Just as soon as the abbess announces a break, you turn to the towering monster behind you. His shining eyes blink, surprised.

"You know," you start, "you have a wonderfully deep voice. It's probably the lowest bass I ever heard. But I feel you don't use your stomach. It's as if you're trying to sing through your throat and that will damage your vocal cords. I know that sounds silly, but next time try to sing from here."

You hold your hand out and touch him just above his belt. Does he have an armor underneath it? It's so... hard. He flinches as if you slapped him.

"Oh sorry!" You truly are - you completely forgot he's a monk. "I'm very sorry! Ah, yes, just try to sing from your belly button. Think about your belly button and pull the voice from there. Do you understand what I mean?"

He stares at you and you feel oddly... small. Is he mad at you? Maybe you shouldn't even speak with the monks at all. But nobody warned you about anything. They just said not to wear uncovering clothes, that's all. Eventually, he slowly nods and replies, with a voice like a streaming thunder. "I... think I do."

You let out a sigh of relief. "Hope it helps!"

You really hope it helps. You can't stand listening to his croaking behind you a minute longer.

The abbess instructs you to sing Carmina Burana, but after just a few notes, she screams: "No, no! The bass is too strong! It falls from above like a storm cloud and suffocates all the other voices."

She marches toward the choral raiser and pulls the monster guy standing behind you. "You are too high! Stand on the step lower, there." She pulls him down, right behind you.

He is lanky but quite big too, so he brushes against your back... assets. You look up and see his hooded shadowed face looking back at you. Was there some saying about gazing into the void and it will gaze back at you?

"What is your name?" you ask him.

His glowy eyes blink again. Or do they? "Atanas," he replies quietly, as if he's unsure about it. There is a low tremble in the way he articulates the last syllable and it makes you shiver.

The practice begins again, and the immediate intensity of Carmina Burana washes over your senses. You full-heartedly sing, until... Until something presses against you. From the back. Did... did Atanas lean closer? It's not just his thick habit touching you. There is something else? Something hard.

Please forgive me, please forgive me, please forgive me, please... You think you hear quiet and breathless chanting behind you. It's overpowered by the song so you can't be for sure. But something is happening against your back. Atanas is... fidgeting? Or is he...?

You continue singing, keeping your back straight, pushing back against the towering presence behind you. He doesn't stop squirming behind you, but he is warm and firm. Such an interesting person, you think to yourself.

Once the choir reaches the beginning of Floret Silva, there is an obvious hitch in his breathing. Almost inaudible, yes, for everyone, but not for you. The fidgeting stops. You look behind your shoulder and up again, into the void... and it is gaping back at you with a crimson glare.

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[ next part ]

[morscordiss]

Clandestine

hey irls if you saw this no you didn't lol.

Pairings: Monk!Ramattra x gn!reader Genre: fluff(?), angst if you squint hard enough, NSFW/smut

MDNI

Reading time: Roughly 20 minutes Word count: 5.3k Warnings: use of religious language & otherwise very sacrilegious Synopsis: You're at the monastery to study the rise in Buddhism amongst omnics and take your time to truly appreciate the cold stone walls full of art in Shambali. One late night while you couldn't sleep, you found yourself in the monastery's archives in which you find a particularly tall omnic. Extra: Multiple chapters but decided to put it all into one post because I wrote this all within two days, so why wait? Smut only in chap 3, end of chap 2 suggestive only.

Inspired by: Ghost, Square Hammer & Talk, Hozier

Ao3:

https://archiveofourown.org/works/67201864

Chapter One, The Archives

Slowly wandering around the Shambali Temple late at night was a true gift. The stone walls of the religious site are quiet in the face of the night, barely a sound by the time you usually look around and take time out of your day to clear your thoughts. 

This was your third day of sightseeing late at night. You were invited to the temple to experience the beauty and peace that the Iris gives those willing to listen.

The room you stayed in was fine, simple, and comfortable. Perfect for many of the monks at the temple. But because they didn’t expect many visitors of flesh and blood, it lacked some of the luxuries you’d be accustomed to, like a sleepable bed. 

Maybe you should’ve communicated that with Mondatta at the start of your second day here, but he’d become busy quickly- the perks of being a religious figure.

The intricate carvings and tapestries draped across the walls were beautiful. Woven and painted by the monks themselves, every piece tells a story. The awakening of Aurora was painted and chiseled into the very soul of the temple. It was overwhelmingly beautiful and overwhelmingly human. 

The raw devotion you saw day to day in this place was awe-inspiring. But you’d noticed many other things that depicted that raw emotion within the Shambali Monastery. 

Two monks of the mission stood out to you. The first is a monk named Zenyatta, who is full of young energy and has a heart of pure gold. Positive and wise beyond his years- he took the most after Master Mondatta to you. 

Peace was something he truly believed could happen and would take any beating if that meant helping another. Sometimes, his views seemed a bit naïve- but otherwise he was well grounded.

The second monk that stood out to you was a R-7000 Ravager who took the name of Ramattra. He was larger than all of the other omnic monks at the temple. He had experienced true suffering after his awakening and had quite the chip on his shoulder from it. He stayed far away from you, but why would you press him on his discomfort? 

You weren’t even able to get close to him like that. From what Zenyatta described of his viewpoint, he was more grounded in the harsh reality around him, even if that made him jaded, cynical, and otherwise withdrawn from you.

You were finally removed from the circular motion of your thoughts, finding yourself in a very large room full of dim lighting and bookshelves. You’ve just entered the Shambali archives. There, you saw a large omnic still wearing his robes, scanning a text. His optics quickly found you at the entrance of the library before turning away, faceplate still dug into the ancient text. 

He did not greet you or otherwise acknowledge your presence. 

Most of the monks in the monastery welcomed you with open arms and would greet you- but not Ramattra.

You stood in the entrance way for a bit, scanning the room and Ramattra with your eyes as the seemingly infinite piles of books littered the area. There was a desk that had a couple of books on it, and a small light above. You assumed that’s where Ramattra had been keeping himself busy for the last couple of hours instead of retiring to his room for the night.

“This is the archives. I would’ve thought you’d know where your room was after a day but clearly I made a miscalculation.” 

His venom shot at you quickly, he assumed you would’ve left shortly after he gave you the perfect example of ‘go away, I’m going to ignore you now’ body language. His voice rasped a bit in sarcasm, the lower tone making static buzz from his voice box.

“My apologies, I prefer looking around the monastery when it’s quiet. It’s much easier to enjoy the art when it’s quiet and I don’t risk interrupting any ceremonies.”

It’s quick and gets to the point. No need to be rude to someone who’s housing you for the time being. Even if it did get under your skin, the other two times he’s spoken to you have been of a similar caliber. It still hurts, though.

He seemed to nod in acknowledgment, optics once again scanning you before setting the text down in his study corner. He then finally decided to talk to you alone for the first time in all of your visit. 

“Why did you decide to come here? To make us uncomfortable? It seems your kind makes it their personal vocation.” 

He’s large and imposing, the LEDs on his forehead glowing in the dim light, even covering your face in a light red hue. 

“I’m completely willing to leave you if that’s what you want from me,” 

You step back a little, enough to reclaim some of your personal space. His intimidation is slightly working on you. But, in all you strive to be as professional as possible.

“That wasn’t my question, but I appreciate the offer. But I’d rather you answer my inquiries instead of dancing around them. Why are you here?”

He was brimming with arrogance.

Of course, you can’t just politely side-swipe his questions. 

Of course, it just so happens to be a nasty confrontation late at night when many of the monks are in deep prayer or sleep mode.

 You always have the best of luck when it comes to situations like this. 

He spoke to you like you had just opened your eyes to the ugliness of the world. Your grip tightens in your pockets as you take a deep breath and answer him:

“I’m here to study and write. Most people don’t get an opportunity to see such a large religious movement happen in their lifetimes so I wanted to document as much as I could from an outsider's perspective.”

Simple, respectful, surely an appropriate answer right? You weren’t lying at all. You weren’t dressing your speech up to sound important or enlightened, and best of all maybe this would show him that you aren’t miserable to be around so you can at least greet each other while the sun is up?

“Why would a human have such a close eye on an omnic form of religion?”

This time he was serious, not insulting you at all, and genuinely sincere. He did have a point though, because most of the humans around the Shambali monastery weren’t interested in anything other than violence against the omnics who inhabited the temple. You’d heard of the hate crimes happening from anti-omnic hate groups around the monastery for a couple of months now.

“I’m a scholar, I specifically study religion and how it affects the people and the world. That’s why I couldn’t ignore the invitation from Master Mondatta.”

Your reply seemed to make the omnic feel less tense, the servos in his shoulders loosening at the answer. He must’ve been just looking out for the safety of the other monks and himself. A gesture that showed the love he had for the omnics around him.

“I see. That is a respectable profession.”

The small bit of approval made you so relieved, it’s much easier to study when you’re not so on edge. You slowly relax just like he has, relieved at the acceptance, respect, and lack of hostile behavior from him.

A short, and small meeting that just so happened to be at night. The stars above are the only thing watching you two quietly talk light philosophy together, sharing some beliefs, surface-level hardships, and memories of fonder times. 

Ramattra is extremely intelligent, very aware of the social constructs binding him and his people like a constrictor to certain roles or beliefs. He is a wonderful conversationalist to someone like you who is very interested in his unique perspective inside the monastery. 

But none of your conversation truly encompasses any heavy topic- just references to how the real world is.

“Would you mind meeting here again? You’re a very good conversationalist.”

The question rings in the air for a moment as you almost stop breathing. A second goes by before Ramattra slowly answers

“I do not mind, you seem to be… open to some of my thoughts.”

Ramattra keeps it brief, his voice calm. He doesn’t get the opportunity to talk to a scholar every day and you intrigue him. You can hold an intellectual conversation and you also don’t hold many human assumptions against him as if they were written within the stone of the monastery itself. That is relieving.

You slowly leave the archives, waving a polite goodbye to your new acquaintance as he gives you a polite nod. You continue to look around the chiseled walls of the monastery, the intricate woven tapestries with brilliant woolen thread hanging from the walls, the metallic decoration all across the building’s exterior and interior. 

It’s a beautiful sight, and the stars above add a bit of extra light to the otherwise dim hallways.  You finally make it to your room before going to sleep. But you continue to think about your meeting with him.

Chapter Two, Talk

Multiple days have gone by since you first met Ramattra in the archive. As of tonight, it has been your fourth time talking with him in the archives past ten at night. You two have embraced the late-night meetings, even if he still treats you as he did before during the daytime. 

You decide against asking him about it, because if he didn’t like talking to you he would’ve stopped showing up at the archives so late at night.

Tonight in particular, you’re excited to see Ramattra. During the light you were able to catch Zenyatta and talked to him about his relationship to Ramattra and what got them to be so close, It turns out that Ramattra is the reason Zenyatta is a monk in the first place and that alone is inspiring to you.

Sadly, you couldn’t talk to Zenyatta all day because of his duties but you did catch him eyeing Ramattra after your conversation. Hopefully, you didn’t set him up for any awkward conversations, or maybe he could finally let go of his pride and treat you like he does during your private meetings.

You’re back in the hallway that leads to the monastery’s archives again, but this time you can’t seem to focus on your surroundings like you’ve done in the days before. The door seemed nearly foreboding, light seeping out of the door frame. At least you knew Ramattra was there.

As you enter, you’re met by the sight of Ramattra already sitting at your table, he has a glass of tea for you hot and ready, and has already moved his books to the side to give you space to rest your arms.

“Greetings, I hope you are well.”

He bows his head slightly to your entrance as you slide into your regular seat with him. You smile as you sit beside him and take a sip of your freshly brewed tea.

“Hello Ramattra, I’m good- how are you today?”

The warm drink swirls around in the cup before you, the scent of herbs and honey the only thing other than old dusty times within the archives. Ramattra is relaxed, his staff propped up against the wall beside him.

“I am also well, it’s lovely to see you again.”

Ramattra’s head bowed slightly to you and he watched you slowly sip the tea he brought for you. He remembered the type of tea you like after he asked you the day before but took it upon himself to add a little bit of honey for the colder nights in the monastery.

“Any particular topics you want to go over today? I know you mentioned some interest in the Abrahamic mythos yesterday, right?”

The omnic nodded, folding his hands on the table before you.

“Yes, the story of Lucifer was specifically interesting to me, Could you tell me more about it?”

This night in particular talked about heavier Christian myths of Lucifer and jumped around to Dante’s Inferno more than once. Ramattra’s dissection of the multiple texts proved to be thought-provoking.

You two both spoke about hypotheticals and then more about the many layers of Hell that Dante described within his multiple books- which also got many questions and critiques from Ramattra.

But, you two both circled back to the conversation of fate, freedom, and liberation, and how that tied to the story of Lucifer’s fall. Ramattra just couldn’t let the story go and wanted to continue to contemplate the ancient tragedy.

“He never truly had any freedom; his entire existence was fated from the beginning. How did he betray God if it was his purpose to betray and fall? Why was he punished for doing what he was made to do?”

Ramattra rambled on and on, you added quips in between his arguments, analysis, and critiques. This conversation in particular was more passionate on Ramattra’s end than anything else you’ve seen from him.

Maybe he sees a similarity between the Christian devil and himself, that’s the only reason you could think of why he was so overzealous about the analysis of the story.

Hours passed while you two spoke, but you’re only human and the cold fingers of exhaustion gripped your mind, your eyes finally heavy for the night.

“I’m sorry Ramattra, I’m just getting really tired- can we call it here for the night?”

He stopped speaking before slowly nodding in understanding. Honestly, he should’ve kept more track of time but he just loved being listened to and found your insights enthralling. But, sadly you were only human and still had to sleep- ‘poor design’ he thought, ‘poor optimization.’

You stood up from your seat and shuffled behind Ramattra, listening to the quiet hum of his fans get a little louder. You took note of his reaction to you just from getting a little closer than usual.

He stood up after you, following you to the door. The sound of his footfalls was heavy but graceful against the cold stone floors- the intricate designs seemingly rippling away from him.

You waved your goodbyes, and finally turned away from him but right before you stepped out of the archives for the night-

Ramattra grabs your arm lightly, his optics staring right at you. He’s so close that you can feel the warmth of his LEDs on your face.

“I would like to see you under different circumstances tomorrow night. I wish for you to teach me about the forms of worship you study.”

You nod in understanding. That’s easy enough because that is your job at this point. Of course, you could teach him about other religions across time but you’d think he’d already have a comparative understanding in his memory already.

“I don’t believe I said that correctly, What I meant was-“

His voice anchored you to the ground.

“I yearn for you to worship me.” 

There is suddenly no sound in the room at all other than the heavy beating of your heart right in your eardrums and the sound of his fans whirring.

His hands take yours as you are blown away by his bold showing of affection. But, you are still silent.

“Come here tomorrow if you wish to indulge my curiosity for you. But for tonight, think about my proposal.” 

He finally lets go of your hands after bringing one to his faceplate. There’s a quick vibration that came from it, seemingly a kiss.

He then gives you a polite bow and finally leaves you alone. You finally let out a sigh of relief. You wait until Ramattra is completely out of the hallway and you have no possible way to run into him again as you quickly and quietly scurry down the hallway, the pattern on the stone floor a blur as you shut yourself into your room and rub your eyes and try to wake up from this asinine dream. 

The last thing you think of is the sound of his voice against your ear before you have a nearly sleepless night.

…

Ramattra walks as calmly as he can back to his quarters. He has either made an amazing proposition or made the biggest mistake in his life.

He didn’t know why he’d been thinking about you so often- maybe it was because you didn’t seem so scared of him because of what he is.

Maybe it’s because you could hold an intellectual conversation with him and didn’t push away his ideas even if they were admittedly, radical.

Maybe, he just wanted to see you under him. To explore his own repressed desires and yearnings. It didn’t even need to be an emotional affair, he told himself, it could just be a quick tryst and you can go back to talking in the archives late like nothing happened.

His rash and utterly impulsive decision to tell you about his feelings had left his body and mind buzzing, By the Iris he couldn’t even sit down with how much extra energy his body was creating. 

He’s notorious for being awful with words during stressful situations which is why he’s started logging what he wants to say before he says it- this is something he should’ve logged before stepping into the archives that night.

Ignoring some errors popping up in his mind, he decided to go through the last two times you both had spoken to each other within his memory. His coolant finally caught up to the amount of kinetic energy he was giving off.

So his form of sleep for the night would just be looking at you, and listening to you talk.

Chapter Three, Worship*

You came to see Ramattra tonight in the archives again, once again meeting him under the cover of night during a quiet night. Your feet feel heavy as you finally make it to the archives where he is waiting, no longer admiring the Buddhist art all around the hallway you just walked through. Your eyes are completely on the door as you slowly open it to see

Nothing. 

He doesn’t seem to be here. 

He is usually here, waiting for you.

It’s an unwelcome surprise. You waited for hours just to see him again. 

So why would he now finally leave you?

 He could just fucking with you… Or maybe something came up?

“Greetings, my apologies for being late. I was just making sure I was… prepared for the evening.”

You nearly jump out of your skin. He isn’t even remotely quiet so how did he sneak up on you? Were you so encompassed in your thoughts that you couldn’t even hear the ravager walking down the same hallway you did? Your head was high up in the clouds.

Ramattra was close, his robes in their normal state. His faceplate was no different but he had a different aura about him, like a man on a mission. His optics danced over you quickly before settling back on your face.

“And have you thought of my proposal? I will take any answer you give me.”

He steps before you, patient but excited. You can hear the whirring of his fans more than usual. Maybe he’s nervous.

“Yeah, I’d like that a lot.”

Simple, effective, and quick. But not as quick as Ramattra was to feel you.

His hands are on you quickly, and the instant the metal touches your waist you’re hit with the true coldness of his alloy against you, his servos working overtime, his fans nearly purring, and his optics scanning you like you’re made out of marble. The contrast of how warm the insides of his palms are compared to his fingers surprises you.

Ramattra is full of passion and has been for a very long time. He is intimidating, devoted, intellectual, and arrogant. But as of now, his hands are running along your sides. His fingers mushing into your sides, molding you out of clay like Prometheus did for mankind, worshipping you like he’s ready to crawl down to the underworld for you like Orpheus.

He finally kneels before you in such reverence that you would’ve thought you were the most beautifully sculpted idol.

His hands snake up your sides as he slides them up to right under your chest before bowing his head before you.

“You feel divine under me.”

His words are quiet, full of light static, and from deep within his voice box. He slowly tugs you down to his level, so you are on your knees and burrows his faceplate into your neck, a quick vibration coming from his forehead- his way of kissing you. He moves his faceplate around your upper body and face, drowning you in his affection before he finally speaks again.

“I can feel your heart rate and temperature rising…” he murmurs into your skin

“I’m glad you’re indulging in my fantasies.”

He gets off the floor, leaving you on your knees before him. He is ominous. He is an omen before you. Intimidating, impossible to feat, and beautiful.

“Can you worship your God?”

His hand now lies on your head as he closes the space between you. As he says this, steam rolls off his back.

“Our secret rendezvous… a tryst between lovers…

 And soon you’ll wish for more than these clandestine encounters.”

You’re still looking up at him. The monk with a beautiful halo of light above him from one of the archives’ lights still on and with the steam still coming out of him he looked ethereal- like the devil himself. 

His hand guides your chin up and you look dazed into his optics as he chuckles, the sound deep coming from within his chassis. 

You’re pulled to him like he is the moon and you’re the ocean, nearly magnetized by his presence alone. His chassis is hot, his hands are hot, and one of his cables is now draped in front of him. His dishevelment spurs you to finally act.

Your hands explore his chest first, feeling his alloy and moving his robes to get better access to his body. A sigh escapes you as you remove the lighter colored scarf that’s tied around his waist and slowly unravel it and lay it beside you. You tug at his chest plate to have him kneel before you and he quickly gets the memo- kneeling before you as you spread kisses along his chassis, dragging your lips along the alloy of his collar-plate and down his arms, kissing his fingers one-by-one.

Ramattra doesn’t feel the need to verbally express his pleasure because his fans sound like they’re going to lift him off the floor. Quiet static still escapes him though. He quickly ignores the warnings about his rising temperature.

Relishing in the sight of you bowed before him, your eyes wide staring at him through thick lashes, and looking to him to guide you-

He never realized just how much this electrified him. The power he held over you was intoxicating.

He never realized just how much he truly liked being treated like he was divine.

“You look sublime below me…”

His voice roils with the power of an imploding star, his voice booming in your head like the Abrahamic God speaking from the burning bush to Moses. He lights a pure white flame within your soul. His hands start to tug on your shirt and he quickly takes it off of you.

“If you do not stop me now, your fate will be inevitable, but be my prophet, and I shall make your body into my shrine.”

He commands you like Poseidon commands the typhoons of Greece- and you follow his every order earnestly and with the voracious strength of a hurricane. You whisper a “yes” to him and he becomes even more handsy with you, dragging his fingers down your spine and pressing his hands against the indent of your lower back, forcing you even more into his body.

“Now then, I will splay you out like a true offering to the Gods.”

He is as beautiful as the fallen angel Lucifer, manipulating your thoughts with his silky voice. His beauty is enamoring and clawing at you to sin to stay within his grasp forever. The only thought left in your head is how you could please him.

He then pushed you on your back and completely caged you in. His large body being perfect for the task, his cables now fell around your head. While drenched in the red light of his LEDs, Ramattra removed his tunic- leaving his pants on. His bare chest had gold detailing which your hands traced. 

He finally grabbed the waist of your pants and tugged them off with your help, a satisfied grunt coming from the man above you.

Without much of a warning, Ramattra grabbed your thighs and pushed your legs over your head, forcing you into a salacious pose- you didn’t get much time to stretch for this anyway… but he didn’t seem to care.

“You will give me everything you have.”

His demands bordered on profane but what could you say as you were spread out nearly bare to him? He was so dominant with you now- overwhelmed with the contact and thought of ravaging you.

He did think about ripping your underwear off of you and spent an embarrassing amount of processing power on whether he should or shouldn’t- but after seeing your legs over your head he just had to.

The rip of your underwear tears through the room along with your sharp gasp and Ramattra stops right after, his optics taking in the sight of you.

Metal hands grab your jaw and press cold fingers against your mouth. His fingers soon press down on your tongue as you swirl and suck his fingers- the static is louder than before and he chuckles.

“Good. You obey me well.”

His fingers leave your mouth with a string of saliva still on them, trailing down your body before he traces in between your thighs. He doesn’t waste any time.

One digit enters you slowly, his fingers are thick and his hands are large. While he slowly fucks you, his other hand rests besides your head as he finally cages you back into him.

Your quiet gasps and whines fill the room, everything is hazy now other than Ramattra. His hand moves slowly and with purpose. Even now he is reluctant to give you much. He can tell you’re growing restless while you can tell he’s getting cocky.

“If you want more from me, you must beg.”

He sneers from above you while lewd sounds still permeate the air. You have enough room to grab his wrist and milk this moment for all that it’s worth and hopefully get what you want at the same time.

“Corrupt me, Ramattra. Make me look like how your fantasies did.”

His movement stopped, his fans nearly pouring heat out of him before he removed his finger, and then added two more.

His thrusts are much faster now and he presses himself against you like an animal. Your surprised moans fuel his desire to scourge you. He’d make sure to keep this moment saved in a special file in his memory just so he could remember the sight of you.

You could handle one finger before but three? And at the pace he set? You were bound to come undone before him in a matter of minutes.

His fingers were long, thick, and the pace would easily leave you bruised and sensitive for a while afterwards. Shortly, you felt the arousal in your belly start to build like white-hot energy. 

Ramattra could also tell, even if you weren’t panting like an animal in heat. Your heart rate was skyrocketing and he was going to bleed you dry.

If you weren’t already close, his fingers starting to vibrate inside of you changed that. Such a demanding pace, with such thick and long fingers, and now vibrating against gummy walls had you tumbling down your orgasm fast- a loud moan of Ramattra’s name the last thing you said before you saw stars.

When he saw you cum from such a vulgar position he finally understood those who sook out pleasure. Your body had a sheen layer of sweat that made you look radiant, your body shivering like you’d just been reborn and it was all from him. Your seraphic form in such a devilish pose made his mind nearly overload.

But he did not let up the pace. His voice box made a sound similar to a shaky breath as he continued past your first orgasm, fucking you easily into overstimulation.

Once you realized that he truly wasn’t willing to stop at one orgasm, you had to hold on to his chassis like your life depended on it. 

His chest plate finally opened before you, many wires and steam before you. Ramattra spoke quietly to you-

“Pick a wire and pull it taught- if you’re lucky it should force me to reboot.”

His voice was breathy and he didn’t have enough hands to direct your hands for himself, and allowed to pleasure him you easily followed his instructions.

Haphazardly grabbing a small handful of wires and pulling, you forced a sharp groan from above you and he slowed down his finger-fucking. His response egged you on as you continued to manhandle his wires

His vision was clouding up with warnings from his essential systems which he quickly closed to focus on you. He could feel himself losing some control- but that was expected. He felt you feeling around in his chest cavity before you grabbed a particularly sensitive wire and pulled.

The sound you heard in return was divine.

A long, deep moan full of static stuttered out of his voice box and his head fell, his hands stuttering inside of you. His first failsafe was overloaded quickly and was sent to his second he was close and he could tell you were too.

“Cum only when I say so.”

He was cutting out every other word, his overheating finally making him glitch and with the rest of your brain power, you grabbed your last remaining wires and twisted them in between your fingers.

Ramattra released a groan before bringing his head to meet you, his optics laying on your eyes once again as he sped up his fingers and rested his faceplate on your forehead.

“Now.”

You yanked hard on his wires as you both came- your legs shook wildly while his entire body shook. Moans filled the quiet night before the lights on Ramattra’s head went dark for a second

Ramattra’s second failsafe was easily overwhelmed by you, his entire body shutting down and forcefully rebooting. Within three minutes he was back awake, the red LEDs on his forehead igniting as his optics refocused on your fucked-out form sweaty, and your lower body drenched in your spend.

He slowly removed his fingers from you and sat back up, taking your hand and sitting you up into him after you set your legs down. Your hips burn from the intensity. He wipes his fingers onto his pants and helps you redress- minus your destroyed underwear.

You both didn’t say much after. He wrapped his scarf around you and sat with you as you both recovered though, he was sweet and stayed without being asked.

“I enjoyed our time together… and I hope we can do this again.”

You shouldn’t be shocked that a faux god wouldn’t want to let go of such a keen follower. Especially one so devoted to the cause.

[ewanmitchellconnoisseur]

"𝑰𝒍𝒍𝒖𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏" - Osferth x Reader (Modern AU)

A/N: This takes place in the modern world! // divider @kithsune

Summary: You work at the local grocery store and often see Osferth who you've slowly developed a crush on. One night you see him in the place you never wanted him to.

Tw: None! (this time...😏😈)

Word Count: 3.2k

• Final Chapter →

For as long as you could remember you wanted more. More than the life you had, more money in your pocket, just...more. You weren't as lucky as most girls and didn't have even a quarter of the life they lived. You hated this town, it was as if it was still stuck in the past never advancing forward with the rest of the world.

Your dad died from a heart attack. Unknown to you and your family he had hidden money troubles. Ones that came knocking at your door once he died and demanded that you pay what he owed.

Your mother was already stretching herself thin with 3 jobs. Your siblings did odd jobs where they could while in school. At first, you did too but then your mother asked you to drop out and take on more. You were in your last semester of high school. You tried to argue but in the end, felt guilty so you did as she asked and left school.

Your town was a decent drive out from the city so there weren't many jobs to get around here. You were lucky when your friend's dad who owns the supermarket offered you a job. It was pretty easy you spent most of your time cashing people out and occasionally stocking the shelves.

Within your first week of working, you noticed a regular customer. You recognized him, he had graduated a 2 years before you but ended up staying in town and working in his uncle's auto repair store.

"Ello'?" You blinked quickly and looked in front of you. There he stood a basket in hand looking at you confused.

"So sorry. I was lost in thought." You take the basket and begin scanning his items. Feeling your cheeks flush from embarrassment.

"Ts alright. I do it all the time." He has a nervous smile on his face. That was something you noticed too. He was always so nervous and sweaty.

"How's your uncle doing?" You try to make small conversation while bagging his items.

"You mean how's your car doing?" He smirks at you. "My uncle's doing well. Your car is too, should be done tomorrow." A neighbor of yours had offered to give you their old car and since they owed your dad a favour before he passed he agreed to fix it up for you.

"Well, im glad they're both doing good." You place the bagged items on the counter. "Ten fifty." He hands you the money and you put it in the register. "Well...have a good day..." You glance at the name tag on his jumper. "Osferth." He immediately blushes.

"And you too..." You offer your name and he smiles. "That's a beautiful name...come round tomorrow for your car." He waves goodbye and pushes on the door that doesn't open before pushing open the right one and quickly walking out of the store.

The next day after your shift you walked over to the mechanic shop and awkwardly stood at the garage entrance looking around.

You spot Osferth walking back into the garage carrying something.

God, he looks so good...

He has the typical mechanic jumper but has it tied around his waist leaving his body on full display. What you can only assume is a mix oil and sweat stains on his white undershirt as well as his fingers and arms.

You walk over to where he is as he places the box in front of another mechanic who catches a glimpse of you and gives Osferth a look as you get closer. He turns around and smiles as he sees you. Osferth wipes his hands with a rag.

"Hey." He stops in front of you and all you can smell is a faint scent of his cologne and oil.

"Hi." You can feel your face heating up slightly and you fight the smile that wants to shine on your face.

"Your car's over here." He leads you over to the other side of the shop. The car looked way better than it did before. The paint job made it look almost brand new. "Wanna do a test drive?"

You look over at him and nod excitedly. He opens the door for you and hands you the keys before going around to the passenger side. He fixes his jumper so he's wearing it properly and doesn't dirty your car before getting in.

The test drive is quiet and a bit awkward but you can't help but smile the entire time. Although your mom will probably put more pressure and tasks on you since you'll be able to drive, this car still gives you freedom.

You pull back into the parking lot of the shop and Osferth gets out so he can get you the paperwork. When you sign them you can feel him staring at you and even see him open his mouth a few times as if he is going to say something but nothing comes out.

"Everything all good?" He takes a deep breath and just stares at you blinking slowly. "Osferth?"

"Yeah! Um... you're good to go...bye." He turns and walks back into the shop looking back a couple times while muttering to himself.

"Ok then..."

You stopped to get groceries on the way home and even drove by the park. The feeling of finally not having to take the bus anymore was overwhelming. For so long it felt as though nothing in your life was getting better, but for some reason this car made you feel as though a change was coming, and life could get better.

You carry the groceries inside the house and close the door with your foot.

'Leo? Noah?" You stand and wait by the door to hear any response. "LEO! NOAH!" You then hear the sounds of footsteps coming downstairs.

"Geez you don't have to yell." Noah walks over and grabs one of the bags.

"Yeah yeah. Pack these away I have to get ready for work." You hand the other bags to Leo and take off your shoes. "Is mom home?"

"Nope. She picked up another shift." You hear a bag open and peek around to see Noah already eating a bag of chips.

"Hey no! Those are for school." You walk over and grab the chips. "If you're hungry mom made spaghetti while you guys were at school." You put the chips away and head upstairs to your room. The only good thing about all of this was you had your own space since you were older while they had to share.

You take out your phone and scroll on social media for a while. You see videos and photos of girls from your school planning for prom and university. It saddens you a bit, to see your once friends now moving on with their life while you would be stuck here.

You wipe an escaped tear and fling your phone on your bed. As you stare at the ceiling there's a knock on the door.

"Come in." You sit up and see Noah walk in holding the bag of chips. "What is it?"

He closes the door behind him.

"When are you going to tell mom?" He gives you a look and you already know what he's talking about.

"Im not going to Noah." You stand up take the chips from him and sit back down on your bed eating a few.

"You can't keep doing this? Can't you get a normal second job?" He wipes his powdery fingers on one of the tapestries on your walls thinking you didn't notice.

"Listen. You swore you wouldn't bring this up." Noah walks over and sits next to you on the bed.

"I know...but it's not fair. You shouldn't have to do this for money?" You wrap your arm around his shoulders and bring him in. "Maybe Leo and I can get a job? That way you can quit." You chuckle.

"You two? A job? You can barely remember to clean your room." You give him a kiss on his temple. "It's fine Noah. By the end of summer, we can pay off Dad's loans. Then I'll quit. I promise."

Noah wraps his arms around you hugging you tightly.

"You guys are gross." You look up to see Leo by the door eating from a different bag of chips.

Fucking vultures I swear

"What did I say about the chips?!" You grab a pillow and fling it at him.

Leo picks up the pillow and tries to throw it at you but you use Noah as a shield. Noah grabs the pillow and hits you with it and Leo joins in both of them hitting you with pillows laughing.

Interrupting the moment your phone alarm goes off.

"Ok! Ok! You guys win! You can eat the chips!" They both stop and begin laughing at you. "Yeah yeah laugh it up."

You grab your phone and turn off the alarm.

"Ok, I have to get ready for work. Go do your homework." Noah and Leo get up and walk over to the door. Leo is going on about something from class thinking Noah is listening.

When you look up you see Noah looking at you with a sad expression. You give him a half smile knowing he's only worried.

"It's fine. Go." He closes the door behind him leaving you all alone in your room.

You walk over to your closet and pull out the suitcase in the corner.

"Alright...what heels should we wear today?"

(2 weeks later)

This is Stupid. This is Stupid. This is Stupid.

Osferth is pacing outside the grocery store unable to stand still as his brain tries to talk him out of doing this.

He's holding a gift bag, occasionally glancing back inside the bag and towards the store.

Just go in and hand it to her. Simple!

He looks through the window again and can see her smiling at a customer while cashing out their stuff.

Idiot! You should have asked her out when you gave her the car.

A couple looks at him like he's crazy as they walk inside the grocery store and glance back at the boy who hasn't stopped walking in circles.

"Osferth?" He stops and looks at the door. He sees you standing there looking at him. "You ok? My manager said there was a crazy person outside and I'm hoping she wasn't talking about you." You have a smile on your face that goes straight to his pants.

"I got this for you." He blurts out and holds the gift bag in your direction.

You walk over and take the gift bag. He watches as you smile at the different gifts inside. He wasn't sure what to get you but ultimately decided that you'd like some stuff for your new car.

So he got you a new keychain, some car fresheners, a steering wheel cover in your favourite colour and a fuzzy heart to hang on your mirror.

"Osferth..this is so sweet. Thank you." You walk over and give him a hug that he wasn't expecting. It feels good to him to have his arms wrapped around you. He's sad when you try to break the hug.

Now is your chance!

He lets you lean back but keeps his arms around your waist.

"I was wondering..." He watches your face as he searches for the words. "It's my birthday this Saturday my friends are hosting a party. I was wondering if you'd come." He speaks quickly, and you almost struggle to understand what he's saying. "That's only if you'd like to come! I mean you don't have to! But if you did I would-"

"Osferth." You cover his mouth. "I'd love to go to your bir-."

"I don't want you to come as a friend though!" He shocks himself with how he cut you off. "I like you. Like...really like you. I have for a while. I wanted to ask you out a while ago but...I was too scared."

You listen to him while fighting a smile off your face.

"So I'd like you to come but...as my date..." He waits and watches for a response. His eyes widen as you lean up towards him and kiss him on his cheek.

"Yes. I'd love to be your date." Osferth picked you up and spun you excitedly while kissing your cheek.

The moment was ruined by your manager coming out to tell you to get back to work. You said a quick goodbye and went inside and back to your register. As you look out the window you see Osferth celebrating before leaving.

Osferth POV - (Friday Night 12am)

I finish getting dressed before heading downstairs.

"Finally, took ya long enough." Finan heavily pats me on the back while Sihtric and Uhtred walk over. "You ready kid?"

"Are you going to tell me where we're going?" They all look at each other with a mischievous smile.

"Absolutely not." Uhtred grabs his jacket before opening the door. "That would ruin the surprise. Come on."

The four of us head out to the car. They blindfold me before we get in.

"Don't worry you're gonna have fun. If not...we will." Sihtric pinches my cheek and I blindly swat his hand away.

A couple minutes later the car is stopped and they unbuckle me.

"Im gonna fall!" Uhtred and Sihtric hold my arms while leading me. I can hear music and instantly assume it's a club. "Are we at a club?"

"Something like that," Finan says. "Alright. Unblind him, boys."

The blind comes off and I blink a couple times to clear my vision. I look up at the building and see the neon sign.

"Viva?" I read the sign.

Where have I heard that before?

My eyes widen as I realize where we are and I turn to run but im quickly grabbed by Uhtred.

"Don't be boring kid! It's only a strip club!" Finan helps to drag me towards the door.

"NO! Im not going in there!"

When you mix someone like me, who has only had sex twice in their life, with a room full of quarter-dressed ladies. You tend to have a reaction that people will notice considering it will look like there is something in your pants.

"This is a bad idea!" They all laugh as they finally push me through the doors.

"I think it's a great one." Sihtric wraps his arm around me. "Oh come on kid. It won't be that bad. If you don't like it after an hour you can go sit in the car."

"Don't you mean we will leave if I don't like it?" They all look at each other.

"No, I was correct the first time." They all show their ID before walking in fully.

Osferth eyes widen as he gets a view of the stage. A red-haired girl is up there dancing and he can't help but stare and for some reason, he feels wrong for doing so. He quickly looks to the floor.

"You're meant to look, kid! Don't be such a prude!" Uhtred smacks the back of my head.

We take a seat at a table. Girls come by and take orders for drinks.

"Im not being a prude, I just..." I stop and stare at the girl walking on stage for a moment. My eyes are fixated on her as I blink a couple times.

"What is it, kid?" They all look where I am. "Oh. You like that one?"

It's her...

I watch as she dances. I hide my face but not my view. Every now and then im not sure if it really is here but then I see that smile. I look around and see all the men looking at her and my heart breaks.

When her set finishes I turn back to the boys and stare into my drink for a while. They don't say anything but I can feel their gazes on me.

"I'll be right back." I walk over to the bar. "Excuse me?" The girl walks over and smiles. "Who was the girl that just performed?"

"She goes by Candy."

"Is there a way I could talk to her?" The girl smiles already being able to tell that I've probably never been at a strip club before. She reaches for a clipboard and looks at it.

"Actually she'll be leaving now. That was her last set. Sorry. But she works again next week on Thursday." I nod my head and walk back over to the table.

"What is it?" Finan leans over.

"I knew her. That girl..."

"Oh..." he takes a sip from his drink. "You should go talk to her."

"I can't. She's finished her shift. Probably getting ready to leave right now." I reach for the shot they poured me earlier and down it despite the burn.

"Look. Don't ask how I know this but..." Finan leans in closer. "Around the back, red door. Thats where they leave." I look over at him and he nods.

I quickly get up and head out the door not caring to get a stamp from the bouncer.

"Your set was so good!" one of the girls came by and gave me a kiss on the cheek. "I told you you'd become more confident quickly."

"I was so nerouvs to try that trick you taught me." She smiles before walking away.

You count the cash you made today before wrapping a rubber band around it and putting it in your purse.

$823...not bad for a Friday.

You zip up your jacket and finish cleaning up your station before heading for the door.

"Bye girls!" the girls in the room yell bye back before you walk out. You step outside and begin walking towards your car.

"Wait." You stop in your tracks once you hear his voice. Your breathing quickens as panic is evident on your face. "Turn around."

You slowly turn around and see him leaning against the wall.

"O-..Osferth? Wh...what are you doing here?" He walks over to you.

"Why do you work here?" His tone is harsh.

"I don't see why thats any of your business." You're immediately defensive. How can you not be?

You didn't want to work here either. But this was a fast way to make back the money your father owed. You remember when Noah found out. He had gone into your room without permission and found a card sitting on your desk for the club. Curious, he went online and searched up the name and found out through Google what it was and what the job meant.

You remember how upset he was when he asked you. Although he doesn't fully understand what it is you do he knew enough that it wasn't something he wanted you doing.

"Why do you work here?" He repeats his question.

"It's not by choice. It's by need. I need the money." You begin walking over to your car feeling mortified. He had seen you dancing half-naked on the stage. The boy you had liked for so long just saw you stripping!

"Stop." You walk faster. "Stop!" You run to your car and get in closing and locking the doors behind you. He comes up to your door and tries to open it. "Get out of the car. Please!"

You fumble with the keys as you try to get it in the ignition.

"Please open the door. Don't go." He continues to try and open the door.

You finally start the car and Osferth backs up as you drive away. Wiping the tears from your face.

A/N: This was supposed to be a Valentine's special that I never finished in time. But I wanted to get it done so I could focus on my Mitchell Estates series!

The next one should be out next week!

Please let me know what you think and if you wish to be on my Ewan Mitchell Taglist!

Gen Taglist: @thought--bubble, @valeskafics