#rusty's oc: sylvester

[the-whispers-of-death]

Domination at its Finest

I have caved. Officially, I have caved into the desires of the OCs. No, I will not be proofreading this.

CW: SMUT, Dom!Heartthrob, Dom!Sylvester, Sub!Stone, Top!Heartthrob, Bottom!Stone, Dom/Sub Dynamic, Daddy Kink, Sir Kink, Praise Kink, Voyeurism, Dumbification Kink, Oral Sex, Protected Anal Sex, Aftercare

Word Count: 2,019

Vikram's heart was racing as he kneeled in the bedroom, his hands folded behind his back as his posture was straight as always. His heart was racing not out of nervousness, but excitement.

It had been so long since he had sex with his partners, all of them being so busy with the kids who still lived in the house and all that came with having such a large family. He loved their kids, so much, but he felt the safest when he was submitting to his partners, letting them control what happened and just being led to the most pleasant of pleasures.

He had his head bowed, unable to see everything in the room but knowing that he was safe. He knew that Sylvester was sitting in a corner where he could watch everything from a comfortable chair and he knew Fariz was washing his hands in the master bathroom, drawing this out as a power play.

Fariz wanted Vikram to be good, to stay in the position he had ordered him to take. And Vikram was going to relish in being good for his boyfriend. He could be good—he will be good.

No matter how antsy the waiting was making him and how hard his cock was against his thighs, he was going to keep kneeling and stay kneeling until Fariz told him he could move.

Finally, the door to the bathroom opened and heavy footsteps were heard before a pair of bare feet stood in front of Vikram. Due to his tall height, he had to bow his head a little more than most people would for his face to be right in front of Fariz's clothed crotch. He instinctively licked his lips, wanting nothing more than to have his mouth stuffed with his boyfriend's cock.

And in due time, he would. He once again had to remind himself to be patient.

"Good boy," Fariz said after letting tension build up for a few seconds. His hand rested on the taller man's head, his fingers entangling themself in the black locks of hair. He pulled the strands gently, knowing Vikram would reward him with a small moan—and Vikram predictably did so. "Did he stay in his position like I asked him to?"

His question was directed towards Sylvester who was still comfortably sitting in the corner. Sylvester didn't speak, but Vikram knew from the way Fariz hummed in approval that their partner had nodded his head in confirmation that Vikram was good.

Fariz gently moved his fingers down Vikram's face until he could tilt Vikram's chin upwards so they locked eyes. "You're being such a good boy for Daddy and Sir," he stated with a sultry purr. His other hand came up to caress the scarred man's cheek, lovingly tracing the knife scar on his right cheek. "And I have the perfect reward, baby."

Vikram watched with eager eyes as Fariz removed his hands from Vikram's face, only for those hands to go to Fariz's belt as Fariz was only in pants and underwear. His mouth watered as Fariz slowly but surely unbuckled his belt, taking it off.

Fariz discarded the belt with no care to where it'd end up and proceeded to unbutton his pants, still putting on a show for Vikram. He chuckled when he saw Vikram literally drooling. He thankfully didn't make Vikram wait long for the final act as he took out his cock from his pants and underwear, allowing the half-hard dick to rest between his legs.

It took everything in Vikram not to move forward, instead he just took in the sight of Fariz. He took note of how the dick in front of him was uncircumcised and of average length. Despite not being big in length wise, Fariz was quite girthy.

It'd be an adjustment due to how long it's been for all of them, but Vikram wouldn't have it any other way. He couldn't wait anymore.

Thankfully, he didn't need to. Fariz was also getting impatient, his cock soon rock hard.

He leaned back on his heels, thrusting his hips upwards slightly to push his cock into Vikram's face. "Suck."

Vikram didn't need anything more said, diving for the prize he wanted and opening his mouth to engulf what was waiting for him.

The room filled with groans and moans from both men as his lips wrapped around the tip of Fariz's cock. He slowly worked his mouth down the dominant man's shaft, hollowing out his cheeks and relaxing his gag reflex to be able to take Fariz all the way to the base. Another moan flew past his lips, giving Fariz delicious vibrations around his cock as Vikram moaned from the taste of his boyfriend on his tongue.

"Give Daddy a show, baby," Fariz commanded once his fingers entangled themselves into Vikram's hair again, keeping a firm but not demanding grip just to steady himself. He let out a guttural moan, rocking his hips slightly in an attempt to help Vikram deepthroat him. "Show him how well you can take Sir's cock."

The taller man took that as a challenge, speeding up his efforts to make his boyfriend moan loudly. They didn't have to worry about the others in the house hearing what was going on in the bedroom as it the room was soundproof to not disturb others when Vikram was sleeping and snoring loudly. They could be as loud as they wanted.

With every bob of his head and every time he smelled Fariz's natural scent when he took him all the way to the base, Vikram's head was getting fuzzy. He was slowly letting go of all worries, letting himself enjoy what he was doing and who he was with.

"That's it, baby. Don't think, just let Sir use your mouth. Just like that."

Vikram barely registered Fariz now holding his head with two hands, fucking his cock into Vikram's mouth. His eyes became unfocused, knowing he could just let himself be used.

He was safe and all he wanted in that moment was his boyfriend's pleasure. He was rewarded with evidence of said pleasure by the moans and groans that filled the room, said noise being music to his ears.

Since it had been so long, it didn't take Fariz too long to reach the edge. He grunted, his hips slowly stuttering to a stop after one last powerful thrust. He held Vikram's head at the base of his cock while he pumped his cum into the mouth of his boyfriend, panting through the pleasure.

Fariz pulled away after a few moments, cooing at the kneeling man. "Good boy. You did so good for us." He twirled a strand of Vikram's hair before going to get the glass of water they had left on the nightstand near the bed for this reason exactly. "Here, baby. Drink up."

He had to hold the glass and tilt it back for Vikram as the other man was so deep in his dumbified state that he couldn't—no, he didn't want to—do it himself. He didn't complain at all, looking down at Vikram with adoration in his eyes.

Despite the state he was in, Vikram still seemed so hungry for more. When he finished the water, he looked up at Fariz and whined for more.

"You're still up for more, baby?" Fariz asked, knowing that look in Vikram's glossed-over brown eyes. He smiled when his boyfriend nodded eagerly in reply. "Then get on your hands on knees on the bed while I undress fully."

Due to Vikram being naked already, he didn't have to undress, so he quickly got onto the bed on his hands and knees. He stuck his ass high in the air, enticing his lover to ravage him.

Fariz shed his pants and underwear, going to grab an unexpired condom and the bottle of lube from the nightstand. He then gently maneuvered Vikram on the bed to where Sylvester and him could lock eyes.

Vikram heard the cap of the lube bottle pop open and after a few seconds, he felt a cold sensation right outside his entrance. He whimpered at the sensation as Fariz sunk his fingers inside Vikram's awaiting heat, his movements slow to better help with the slight burn of pain Vikram was no doubt feeling.

They were both too impatient, so Fariz hadn't even bothered working him up to two fingers. They both knew Vikram could handle the two fingers and he was whining in pleasure at the feeling of the fingers scissoring him open for Fariz's cock.

Soon, Fariz pulled his fingers away after deeming Vikram loose enough and he gently gave the taller man a swat on the ass when Vikram tried to move backwards to chase Fariz's fingers, feeling the loss of them. He silenced any more whines by rolling the condom on his cock and lubing it up before pressing his cockhead at Vikram's entrance.

He gently pushed inside, his hands coming to rest on Vikram's hips. Vikram slowly felt himself getting full, enjoying the sensation that he had missed for weeks now.

He was panting in need, surely giving his husband a show as Sylvester was still locked onto the pair. A whimper slipped out of his lips when Fariz was bottomed out inside of him, both men groaning at the feeling.

Despite the impatience from both of them, Fariz stayed buried inside Vikram's tight heat, waiting for his boyfriend to adjust. He rocked his hips slowly, helping him get used to it faster.

"Please," Vikram managed to croak out after a minute or two, his voice full of need. He was gripping the bedsheets beneath his so tightly, his nails surprisingly not tearing holes in them. "Please fuck me."

His begging was answered, Fariz starting slow as he pulled out until only the tip of him was still inside and then he pushed himself back in fully. The first few thrusts were slow and gentle, until Vikram was begging to be used again.

Fariz's thrusts became faster and harder, giving Vikram exactly what he wanted. It was enough for the taller man to slip deeper in his hazy state, drool dripping from his chin as the pleasure slowly started to take over him. All he could think of was his boyfriend and the pleasure.

He wasn't sure what sounds he was making, all he knew was that he was making loud noises, loud enough to drown out Fariz's moans. He vaguely registered the sound of his own voice begging for more, to which Fariz responded by pinning him down so that his upper half of his body was trapped beneath the shorter man as Fariz fucked his brains out in the new angle.

His leaky cock rubbed against the bedsheets beneath him, weeping for it had been forgotten but the pleasure was so much, it didn't need any more stimulation than that. Warmth was washing over him in waves, his breaths becoming heavier as the pleasure was nearing its peak.

Vikram cried out as his body shook with pleasure, the orgasm washing over him quicker than he could comprehend. He was gasping for air, his eyes completely unfocused for a few seconds while he rode out the high.

Fariz groaned in Vikram's ear, the tightening of Vikram's ass sending him over the edge. He thrusted one last time, filling the condom up. As he rode his own pleasure high, he leaned down to press a gentle kiss against Vikram's shoulder blade.

The moments after were a blur for Vikram as he came down from subspace but he managed to catch glimpses of both Sylvester and Fariz praising him. He vaguely remembered Fariz stripping the bed of the bedsheets and putting on fresh ones so all three men could cuddle together after Vikram was cleaned with a damp cloth.

He sighed happily, cuddling up to both of his men.

"I love you," he murmured, his eyes drifting closed.

He didn't hear either man's answer, but he knew from the way they held him that they loved him too. And that was enough.

MDNI & Reblog banners made by @/cafekitsune

Okay, so Sylvester was barely in this but look, I didn't know how he'd be in a sexy situation like this. But rest assured, he enjoyed himself. (Or at least I hope he did.)

I can't tell if I like the way I wrote this or not, but I also cannot see a way I could write it better. So fuck it, we ball.

Requests are open! Please look at "Rules for Requesting NSFW" before requesting anything NSFW!

[the-whispers-of-death]

Like Father, Like Son

Of course the first idea that pops into my head is giving my favorite OC some angst. It's his fault he's always in my head. :)

Word Count: 756

Vikram woke up from a nightmare, lying on his back with his arm stretched out for his sleeping husband's head to lay on. He tried to hush his shaky breaths, trying not to wake up Sylvester as he fought the demons of his past.

Despite how much the nightmare shook him up, he didn't remember what it was about. It was a blur of memories he tried his hardest to push down every day. He briefly remembered the face of his father—the same face he shared.

He gently lifted Sylvester's head up and pulled his arm away, laying Sylvester's head down on his pillow. He sat up and pulled the blanket enough to uncover him. He swung his legs over the side of the bed and stood up, knowing he wouldn't be able to go to sleep until he at least had a cup of water.

Vikram pulled the blanket back up so his husband wouldn't get cold and his instinct made him reach beside him into the nightstand by the bed. He opened the door and grabbed his sidearm, feeling the cold metal beneath his fingers before he took out the holster as well.

He put on the holster and slid the sidearm into the holster, making sure it was secure before he took the first steps towards the door. He tried his best to make his usually loud footsteps softer as he opened the door and made his way to the kitchen.

As he neared the kitchen, he heard the cupboards opening and closing, signaling that someone was in said kitchen. Alarm bells rang in his head, his body still in fight or flight mode from his nightmare.

Vikram struggled with paranoia and with the little sleep he had gotten, his mind reacted irrationally. Without giving it a second thought, he took his sidearm out of its holster and cocked the safety back.

The only thoughts in his head were that there was an intruder and he had to protect his family. There was no other option.

He crept closer to the kitchen, his gun raised and ready. He took a deep breath and snuck into the kitchen.

He saw the figure shrouded in darkness standing in front of the stove, their back to him. This was the time to strike, the element of surprise that he needed.

Vikram acted swiftly, decreasing the space between the two by lunging for the intruder and pressing the gun into the back of their head. He wrapped one arm of his around their chest, pulling them in close and stopping them from reaching for one of the knives.

Just as he was about to ask what they were doing in the house, he heard a gasp coming from the intruder. A gasp he knew well.

Too well. ...Like it was one of his family members.

It was then that he took in the shorter stature of the figure, how familiar it was. This was his son, Samuel.

As if he was on fire, Vikram let go of his son and pulled away so fast, he almost got whiplash. He cocked the safety back on the gun and threw it on the table with a loud bang, his mind trying to process what just happened.

Samuel took the opportunity to run out of the kitchen and to his bedroom. He left his stepfather in the kitchen, said stepfather's mind still reeling.

He struggled to come to terms with what he had just done, his hands shaking as memories of all of the times his own father aimed a gun at him flashing in his eyes. He had just done something similar to his own son.

He dropped to his knees without noticing what he was doing, a loud thud resounding throughout the otherwise quiet house. He vaguely registered his body shaking.

All Vikram could do in that moment was replay the moment, memories of himself in Samuel's position threatening to overtake everything. He could only see the similarities in the situations.

He was a monster just like his father was.

He was a monster just like his father.

"Vikram?" Fariz asked as he neared the kneeling man, his voice full of concern. He walked towards his boyfriend, resting his hand on Vikram's shoulder and watching him flinch at the touch. "What happened?"

"I'm a monster, Fariz," Vikram said, not answering Fariz's question completely. Numbness soon began to wash over him, the emotion inside of him dissipating just like how his Baba taught him.

"I'm just like Baba."

MDNI & Reblog banners made by @/cafekitsune

Do I like this ending? Not really, but that's not new. I just needed to write this angst out.

I couldn't let Chester be the only one writing Stone pulling a gun out on his family. :)

Requests are open! Please look at "Rules for Requesting NSFW" before requesting anything NSFW!

[the-whispers-of-death]

Making Moves/Moving Chess Pieces

This is either going to be a big ass chapter (hence why there's two titles) or I'm going to split this into two. We'll see what happens as I write.

*This is part of the Loving a Killer AU and is part three, with Part One & Part Two already written.*

TW: Mention of Rape, Death

Word Count: 2,090

The printed out recipe of chicken biryani was being heavily studied by Dhruv, the tall man wanting to make sure what he was cooking was perfect. He had made chicken biryani multiple times before but he didn't know how to make it less spicy, as he had a rather high spice tolerance.

He was sure the guy who owned the local Indian store had been very amused when Dhruv asked him how to make the dish less spicy and the guy had told him to just follow the amount of spices that was used in a recipe found on the internet. When Dhruv told him he didn't have a computer or smart phone, the man nicely printed out a recipe for him.

He would have to make the man some laddus or something else to repay him. Even if the kindness had confused him at first, no one was kind without there being conditions to the kindness.

Well, except Sylvester. Sylvester was very kind simply to be kind.

Which was why Dhruv wanted to make the biryani, so Sylvester wouldn't have to cook or buy something out for dinner. Sylvester deserved to have one night where he didn't have to worry about feeding his amazing kids.

Speaking of Sylvester's kids, Dhruv's lips twitched into a smile as he remembered Mary talking about her day with him when they were walking up the stairs to go to their respective flats. She was the only kid ever to actually be happy to see him and he memorized the light in her eyes. She had even been kind enough to listen to him talking about his day, even if he had made it brief as to not seem like he was burdening her with his entire day.

As the weeks passed by, Mary would constantly talk to him in the halls and it evolved slowly but surely into him and Sylvester also talking when the little family of three would run into him together. They were slowly getting closer—at least in Dhruv's eyes.

And getting closer means they were on the path to being friends and friends gave each other food, right? He didn't truly know because he never had friends before, but this felt like the right thing to do.

Dhruv finally tore his eyes away from the recipe, using the amount of spices the recipe said to make the marsala. After making the marsala, the added the whole thing to the yogurt, ginger garlic paste, salt, turmeric, and red chili powder that was on top of the pieces of chicken. He then mixed everything together, making sure the chicken was fully coated.

He covered the pot of chicken to marinate for thirty minutes and then went to sautéing the onions, being careful not to overcook the onions. Time seemed to move slowly, but eventually the chicken was done marinating and he could cook it until it was almost fully cooked.

As it was cooking and making the gravy, he rinsed and cooked the rice. He didn't cook it fully either, checking if it was firm or not before starting the layer the rice, onions, and the saffron.

Once everything was layered and exactly as it should be, he popped into the oven to cook completely. He lounged around the flat as it cooked, reading a book of poetry that one of the construction guys he worked with—Ivan—recommended to him to pass the time.

It only took twenty minutes to complete cooking and soon, Dhruv was taking the dish out of the oven. He made sure it was all covered still and waited for it to cool for a few minutes so he could bring it over.

He looked over at the clock, hoping Sylvester was not only home but hadn't fed the kids yet.

Once it was cool enough for him to carry, he gently carried it over to the door and opened the door, stepping out into the hallway after slipping on his shoes. He turned left, going down to doors and maneuvering the huge dish in his hands so he could knock.

His heart pounded in his chest and could be heard in his ears, a lump forming in his throat as he waited for Sylvester to open the door. He hoped this was the right decision and he wasn't overstepping.

Light briefly blinded him as the door opened, allowing more light to filter out into the dimly lit hallway. Standing there, cascaded in the artificial light, stood Sylvester and he looked as ethereal as always.

Dhruv's heart sped up, especially when Sylvester took in the sight of the dish, and he held the dish out towards Sylvester. He licked his dry lips, forcing them apart so he could speak.

"I brought you dinner," he said, speaking so bluntly that he forgot normal people would've indulged in some niceties first. Alas, all he could do was wince at his impatient self and clear his throat. "I made chicken biryani for you and the kids, so you didn't have to make food for them."

Just as he finished speaking, he glanced down and saw little Samuel hidden behind Sylvester's legs, never far from his father but always so shy. He gave a smile to soothe the boy, but it seemed to make the younger kid shrink back.

Maybe Dhruv's smile wasn't as natural as it seemed. He felt bad that he scared the kid.

His eyes snapped back up to Sylvester as the older man replied, "Oh, you didn't have to do that. But thank you."

Their fingers brushed against each other as Sylvester reached over and took the heavy dish from Dhruv. Dhruv watched the older man turn to go further inside and he felt a pang of concern.

"Do you need help? Sorry, I forgot it'd be very heavy."

Sylvester brushed off the younger man's concern. "No, no. I got this."

He retreated to the kitchen to put down the dish and then quickly came back. He gave Dhruv a genuine smile.

At least Dhruv hoped it was a genuine smile. Sylvester always looked so handsome when he smiled.

"Thank you again for this," Sylvester said, leaning against the doorway. "I appreciate it."

Dhruv felt his palms get sweaty as they have been doing ever since he started spending more time with the older man. "You're welcome," he replied. "Uh, I should leave you to eat the dinner. I hope it's not too spicy, I tried my best."

Dhruv stepped away, making his intentions clear. He always felt like he wanted to stay in Sylvester's presence forever but he knew he'd say something stupid if he stayed for too long.

Sylvester nodded, letting the taller man leave. He gave another smile before Dhruv left.

"Goodnight, Dhruv."

"Yes. Goodnight."

Dhruv turned and went down to his door, opening it. He clutched his chest, hoping his racing heart would slow soon.

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

Two hours later, in the dark of the night, Dhruv waited outside of an apartment building, staring up at a flat which had a light on. He had donned on his mask and costume that had been hidden away in his closet for months ever since he decided to move.

Lust for blood coursed through his veins, unable to stay repressed anymore. The time for him to go back to killing had come and today was the day. His hands would be stained with blood once more.

It was still risky for him to do this, but one of the guys he worked with talked about how his cousin's rapist had been acquitted despite her testimony and the evidence against the motherfucker. She had suffered the worse thing imaginable and he had walked away with it.

If he was a self-righteous prick who had delusions about what he was doing, he'd say he was doing it solely for the justice. The truth was that he was waiting for any chance to kill someone and this was the chance. A rapist being killed was merely a bonus.

Dhruv stared at the window for a few seconds and watched the light turn off inside before making his way behind the building under the cover of the dark, going through the backdoor so none of the cameras in the lobby would catch him. He knew from scoping out the place for days before that there were no cameras in the stairwell and the floor where the rapist lived "conveniently" broke the day before today.

He definitely hadn't broken the cameras himself yesterday. Definitely not.

Knowing no one would be coming home late at this time, he crept up the stairs, taking care not to wake the ones who were sleeping. He made his way to the fifth floor, taking his silencer out of its holster.

The guy's flat was at the end of the hallway with a substantial amount of wall space between the flats, so there'd be even less chance for someone hearing the guy dying.

Dhruv came to the door of the flat and quickly jimmied the lock, opening it without having to make too much noise. He walked inside, making sure his footsteps were still light. Thankfully, he didn't have to go far to get to the bedroom.

The guy left his bedroom door open. Almost like he was asking for it.

It was so easy, Dhruv didn't even need to do so much. The kill was so quick, all he had to do was aim and pull the trigger. The guy didn't wake up the entire time and he never would again.

It was such a satisfying kill despite how short it was. If Dhruv was into making risky moves, he would've stayed to savor the feeling.

He had to make do with savoring it as he went out the window and climbed down from the fire escape. He knew better than to linger so he took alleyways as a way to disappear easily.

From between where the kill was and where his own flat was, Dhruv had stashed a duffel bag of fresh clothes in an abandoned warehouse so he stopped by to change and look normal. He left the warehouse looking like a regular person carrying a duffel bag that could pass for a gym bag which also held his gun.

He was completely calm when he went back to his flat, stepping on the landing connected to his floor with no anxiety pulsating through his body. His paranoia wasn't fully sated but he knew better than no one would be awake at this time.

Or that was what he thought before he walked past Sylvester's door and it opened. He tried to look normal as he spun around at the sound, his eyes zeroing in on a Sylvester who wore a rob. He was confused why the older man was still awake when he saw the empty dish that used to hold the biryani in the man's arms.

"Ah, I'm glad to catch you, Dhruv." Sylvester stepped out the door, closing it behind him. He stepped closer, holding out the empty dish. "I was worried I wouldn't be able to give you this to you until tomorrow but then I remembered you go to the gym every night."

Dhruv was secretly thankful to have a membership at a local gym and to have been going every night to explain away why he was awake at odd times. He managed a smile, looking casual.

"You didn't have to stay up for me." He moved closer on instinct, like there was a magnet pulling him closer to Sylvester. He made sure the duffel bag was properly slung over his shoulder before taking the dish. "Thank you for returning it. I hope the food was up to your tastes."

Sylvester nodded, looking up at Dhruv. "The kids and I loved it," he answered, sounding sincere.

"I'm glad."

Dhruv saw Sylvester take a big whiff of the air and he managed to stay calm despite knowing that Sylvester had better senses than regular humans due to being a hybrid. Dhruv had doused himself in a musky cologne—whatever that meant, he had just chosen a random cologne—to mask any smell of blood that was on his person.

Sylvester still had his smile, so Dhruv figured he was in the clear.

"Goodnight," Sylvester said, yawning suddenly.

"Goodnight," Dhruv answered, watching Sylvester head back inside.

He waited a few seconds before going to his flat. Inside the flat, he finally let himself blow out a breath of relief.

He felt satiated. Finally.

MDNI & Reblog banners made by @/cafekitsune

Yeah, I combined two ideas into one, yay for me!! Oof, this was so long.

Felon!Stone couldn't let me not sate his bloodlust for long. It had to be done.

Requests are open! Please look at "Rules for Requesting NSFW" before requesting anything NSFW!

[the-whispers-of-death]

Bloodlust Quelled... for Now

Felon!Stone has decided to stay in my head longer. So yay for him, he gets a sequel before Rohan does.

This is a sequel to A Change in Scenery.

Word Count: 1,062

Dhruv wiped the sweat off his forehead, lifting his hard hat up just enough to do it before placing it back on his head proper to protect him. It was a hot summer day and he was too busy working, but maybe that was a good thing.

His hands twitched, wishing he could just swing his hammer at the nearest coworker. Going from killing consistently to killing no one for six months was almost like quitting smoking cold turkey, it was hard work and now he was feeling the effects at full-force.

He just needed to kill someone, anyone.

Dhruv eyed the most annoying coworker on the construction site, Terry, and he saw the shorter man go behind the back to check on something. He was all alone back there, a perfect opportunity for Dhruv to kill Terry.

He could see how it'd play out in his mind's eye. The way he'd use the hammer first to actually kill him and then how he'd use the saw and plastic sheeting to dispose of the body. It'd be quick and he'd time it when the big crane was being used as it would hide the sound of Terry hitting the ground.

"Dhruv!" A man named Robert called out to him, making the taller man turn around. Robert gave him a gesture to come with the group of guys that was slowly building. "It's break time. Put down the hammer and come out to lunch with us."

Dhruv didn't want to go, he wanted to act on his thoughts. Unfortunately, it'd look suspicious if he stayed behind and then Terry "disappeared". The police would be able to link it back to him once they talked to the rest of the construction workers.

So he took one last, longing look at the house, imagining Terry behind the house—a perfect victim—before he put down the hammer. He heard the other guys cheer, happy that the enigmatic man that was Dhruv was finally going to come out to lunch with them.

That was a close call, but his bloodlust was still simmering beneath his skin. God, he didn't know how he was going to survive the rest of this day.

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

Dhruv was exhausted when he got home, but thankfully it wasn't actually late in the day. He had just done the most heavy-lifting because he was the biggest man on the construction site.

Just as he turned left to go down the hallway towards his apartment, the little girl who lived with her father and brother two doors down from him bounded up the stairs. She was far faster than him due to her bountiful energy and he narrowly managed to not collide with her by side-stepping.

However, this made her all that aware of Dhruv and she slid to a stop next to him, her eyes bright as they looked up at him. Her smile was surprisingly infectious and Dhruv felt his lips twitching into a small smile all on its own.

The action felt unfamiliar to him but warmth washed over him when he saw the little girl's smile widen at the sight of his own. He finally made someone happy, even just for a little bit.

"Hi, Mr. Dhruv!" The little girl, Mary, said as she waved at him. She followed behind him as he walked to his flat, since they were heading in the same direction anyways. "The sun is so pretty outside, isn't it?"

Dhruv hummed in response, hoping his monotone voice wouldn't put her off. He just didn't know how to speak with emotions yet, or how to feel most emotions in general.

Thankfully, Mary wasn't deterred by him and kept talking. She was talking about anything and everything, what she did in school, everything she saw on her way home. Nothing was off-limits with her and Dhruv found himself nodding along, listening intently.

They both stood in front of her flat door for what seemed like hours but was most likely just a few minutes. When Sylvester finally opened the door, having heard his daughter talking outside no doubt, Dhruv found himself waving to Mary as she walked inside the flat.

Sylvester gave a little playful shake of his head, clearly amused with the fact that his daughter had talked Dhruv's ear off. His light blue eyes turned to Dhruv and he gave the taller man a polite smile.

Dhruv's heart did flips in his chest, unable to help itself. He felt his knees shaking ever so slightly, more warmth washing over him. He'd never get used to the sight of a smile directed at him.

"Thanks for letting Mary talk her head off," Sylvester said, leaning against the doorframe. He still looked tired but Dhruv was starting to think the man might just look tired always.

He still looked breathtaking despite how tired he looked.

"She's very outgoing," Dhruv responded, secretly hating the way his voice sounded so monotone. It was probably a good thing with the way he was oddly yearning for the older man in front of him. "You have a good kid. She's polite at the very least. Not many people teach their kids manners nowadays."

Sylvester gave a little laugh and Dhruv felt something flutter in his stomach—was this what people called butterflies?

"Thank you, I try my best."

Dhruv stared at Sylvester for a few seconds before clearing his throat. "I.. I should go," he said awkwardly, gesturing to his door two doors down. "Had a long day."

The truth was that he was feeling all sorts of new things and he wanted to hide in his flat to try and process it all. God, what was wrong with him?

"Oh, don't let me keep you." Sylvester still had that polite smile on, making Dhruv's heart flip constantly. "Have a good day."

Dhruv opened his mouth to respond, but no words cams out and he ended up just turning on his heels to quickly walk away. He practically ran to his door and unlocked it, going inside and closing the door.

Once the door was locked, he pressed his back to the door and slid down on the floor. He rubbed a hand down his face, groaning.

He was so caught up in his new emotions that he didn't notice his bloodlust had gone down during the course of the encounter.

MDNI & Reblog banners made by @/cafekitsune

Look, I don't know how little kids talk, so Mārīte only has two lines of dialogue here. Also I feel like Sylvester might OOC but fuck it, we ball.

Anyways, hehe I do like make Felon!Stone panicking at the emotions he's feeling.

Requests are open! Please look at "Rules for Requesting NSFW" before requesting anything NSFW!

[the-whispers-of-death]

A Change in Scenery

Felon!Stone finally gave me a concrete idea and well, I guess he does deserve to finally have a work for himself. Let's see how much he differs from Serial Killer!Stone.

Word Count: 915

Dhruv made his way up the stairs to his apartment—his flat, as the locals would say. It was a long flight of stairs but he thankfully had been gaining more stamina from all of the construction work he had been doing for a few months now.

Moving to the UK and starting a job for the first time ever wasn't something he ever thought he'd do, but it had to be done. His killing had been garnering too much attention from the FBI and the media, it had become too risky for him to stay in the U.S. Everyone had their own opinion on him, whom they called The Harbinger of Justice, and it was just getting in the way of him doing his "job".

So despite the fact he spent the past thirty-five years of his life in Manhattan, New York, he had to leave and branch out. He had to pretend he was normal.

Dhruv had robbed the corpses of his victims until he got enough money to pay for a passport, a ticket to the UK, and a hotel room for until he had gotten a job. That was six months ago and he had been determined to just put his head down so no one looked at him for longer than a second.

The need to feel blood soaking his hands was irresistible though and he was slowly itching to don on his mask and costume so he could go out and kill. Crime in his area was high since it was the middle of the city and each time the news came on with another story of a robbery, his bloodlust grew. It was getting to its peak and that was dangerous.

For now, he was too exhausted from his day out at the construction site to want for anything but collapsing on his couch. His muscles were downright sore when he managed to step onto his floor, the hallway lights flickering because the landlord couldn't be bothered to change the bulbs in a timely manner.

He turned a left down the hallway, walking all the way down as his flat was the last one on the left side. His hand went into his pocket, reaching for his flat key just as a father stepped onto the landing of the stairs, his two small kids following after him.

The daughter was yapping to her father in a language Dhruv didn't know, her father seeming to be mindlessly listening as he just hummed in response to whatever she said. She seemed to be the more active of the two kids, the son just silently holding his father's hand as they walked.

The sight of the family of three was familiar to Dhruv as they were neighbors. Or well, the family of three were two doors down from Dhruv.

So this wasn't the first time he'd seen them nor would it be the last time.

As the father neared closer to their flat, he seemed to notice Dhruv looking. If he was surprised the taller man was unabashedly staring, he didn't show it as he instead gave Dhruv a tired but polite smile.

Despite knowing the smile was just out of politeness, the sudden and unfamiliar sight of affection made Dhruv drop his keys just as he went to put it in the lock. For the first time in a long time, he managed to feel something other than bloodlust as his heart pounded in his chest and warmth blossomed in his chest.

He felt warm all over and he was thankful he couldn't blush as he bent down to pick down the keys. The sight of the smile replayed in his mind's eye as he straightened upright when the keys were back in his hands and he mentally prepared himself to smile back as best as he possibly could.

However, when he turned, he realized he was too late. The father and the kids were gone, having retreated to the sanctuary of their flat.

Now able to move without anyone watching his embarrassing movements, he unlocked his own door and stepped inside. He closed the door behind him once he cleared the doorway, pressing his back to the door and locking the door's multiple locks.

His heart was still pounding and his mind was still stuck on that smile. God, how could that man—Sylvester, if he remembered correctly—make his knees feel weak from just a smile?

Dhruv had never felt that before and it made alarm bells ring in his head.

What if this was a trick done to try and catch him off-guard? But then what would be Sylvester's end goal for that? What was real and what wasn't real? Was he just overcomplicating something simple and meaningless?

Dhruv's hands reached up and his fingers gripped his hair, tugging just enough to ground him. There was no reason for him to get so worked up over it.

It was just a simple encounter, he had heard people smiled at others to be polite. Sylvester was just the first.

Dhruv moved forward in his flat, murmuring to himself to try and calm himself. He took off his jacket and threw it on the back of the couch, making good on his promise to himself to collapse on the couch.

It didn't mean anything.

He bit back a groan as he rolled onto his stomach to press his face into the couch cushions.

He would get over this. Eventually.

MDNI & Reblog banners made by @/cafekitsune

Oh, I'm starting to like Felon!Stone. Or maybe I just like writing a confused Stone who doesn't understand what yearning is.

So I finally figured out how Felon!Stone and Sylvester would be seeing each other enough to get to fall in love with each other in this AU. It was something I was always wondering on since we never established how they even met.

Now I just have to name this AU. 😭

Requests are open! Please look at "Rules for Requesting NSFW" before requesting anything NSFW!

[the-whispers-of-death]

mārīte, hiding her handsaw: *is whistling*

stone: oh, you should take the bed. it's probably better for your back

sylvester, internally: when the hell did i talk about my back problems with him???? must have forgotten about it..

sylvester, externally: oh, thank you, that's really considerate of you :)

that was a close call. because i 100% see mārīte always talking about sylvester, but in a subtle way. just "oh, dad's fine :) just having a bit of back pains lately, so ugh, i have to carry all the groceries upstairs" or smth

anyways, imagining after the couch breaks, sylvester offers that he can go cat mode and just sleep on one of the reclining chairs or something, so stone doesnt need to suffer

mārīte and laila are gonna facepalm so hard. that was NOT the plan!! after all the effort they put into orchestrating this!!! aaa !!!

Stone is like "No, no. I'll sleep in a sleeping bag. You can still have the bed." He's so adamant about Sylvester taking the bed.

Cue Laila taking all of the sleeping bags and hiding them. They have to make it so Sylvester offers to just share the bed, which is proving to be more difficult than they thought.

[the-whispers-of-death]

Finally Home

***Part One, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six, and Seven***

Stone just loves to stare at me until I write for him. Sigh.

At least this is the end of his self-healing journey. It's been a long time coming.

Word Count: 2,217

Mohandas and Vikram's journey home was taking longer than expected. Vikram felt like they couldn't get home faster and that everything that could go wrong did go wrong.

First, every flight they had looked at had been fully sold out for two weeks. When they finally got their flight and went to the airport, their flight kept getting delayed until they ended up getting on the plane a day later than they were scheduled to. Then they landed safely back home but one of Mohandas' suitcases got lost.

And now Vikram's old Jeep had broken down in the middle of their drive to the ranch and the engine was smoking.

"What are we supposed to do now?" Mohandas asked his big brother, glancing over at Vikram to see he was just staring at the smoky car. He didn't seem to be blinking either. "Vikram?"

Vikram snapped out of his stupor, grunting in reply before running his fingers through his hair. He had to figure out what they were supposed to do now.

"Call Fariz, he should be available right now." Vikram gestured to the pant pocket where Mohandas kept his phone. He checked his watch to make sure Fariz truly would be available at this time. "If he's stuck to his usual Friday routine, he should be going home from visiting Lane."

Mohandas nodded and fished out his phone, opening it to make the phone call. He walked a few feet away so that he could hear Fariz over the engine smoking.

Vikram looked back at his Jeep, sighing. "I think it's time I get a new car," he murmured, reaching out to pat the hood of the car before remembering it was hot from the engine. "You served me well though."

It took an hour for Fariz to come pick the two men up because of how far Lane's bunker was from where the two men got stuck and by the time he came, Vikram's Jeep had already been towed away to a mechanic's shop. The mechanic who towed it was unsure of whether they could fix the car, but she told Vikram that they'd try their best and then call him later on whether they could or couldn't fix it.

Vikram blew out a breath of relief when he saw Fariz's car pull up and he helped Mohandas put their luggage in the trunk

"Fariz, I'm so glad to see you," he said when the shorter man unlocked his car for the two men to get inside. He settled inside the passenger's seat nicely, glancing back at Mohandas who got into the back. "Thank you for picking us up."

Fariz gave his boyfriend a bright smile before leaning over the car console to kiss Vikram. It felt like home when their lips touched, a true sign that Vikram was truly back.

He pulled back, reaching up to caress Vikram's scarred cheek. "I'm so glad to see you too, Meri Jaan. Though, I was surprised to hear you were back already." He continued to caress his boyfriend's cheek, unable to stop touching him. "Why didn't you two say you were coming home?"

Vikram gave him a sheepish smile, melting at the caresses. "I wanted to surprise you all," he admitted.

"Consider me pleasantly surprised, Meri Jaan."

Mohandas coughed to remind the two that he was back there. He pretended to ignore the glare his big brother threw his way for interrupting their moment.

"One, you two are disgustingly sweet," he said, playfully gagging. "Two, can we please go back home? I feel disgusting from the flight."

Fariz didn't seem bothered by his moment with Vikram being interrupted and he even apologized to Mohandas. He then started driving them home, using the drive home to catch the two up on what happened since the last time they talked.

"Laila is home," he said just as they turned on the dirt path that would lead to the ranch an hour later.

Vikram paused at that, taking in the information. He had missed Laila just as much as the rest of the kids, if not slightly more, but he had no idea whether she wanted to talk to him again or not. He wouldn't hold it against her if she didn't want to speak to him once they arrived.

"How is she?" he asked, hoping she was well. His stomach dropped at the thought she wasn't doing well. "When did she come back?"

Fariz tapped on the steering wheel as he thought back to when she came back to the ranch. "She and Anika came back a month ago. They're both doing well." He let his words sink in before adding, "She misses you."

Vikram's heart skipped a beat at that, feeling a small bit of hope at that. "She does?"

"I think she calmed down and realized just how much she loves you," Fariz said. "But I don't know much more than that. You'll have to see for yourself when you talk to her."

Vikram grew quiet, hoping he could apologize to her. He understood why she had been so frustrated with him and why both she and Mary felt so suffocated with him.

He couldn't go back and change the past, but he was going to prove that he was better now. And he'd just have to hope that was enough. He was feeling very nervous when Fariz parked the car in front of the ranch like he wasn't sure he'd be greeted warmly by everyone. His mind was running through all of the worst-case scenarios and he took a deep breath to calm down.

With his stomach churning, Vikram opened the car door and got out. He breathed in the smell of nature, having missed it after being in the smoggy New York City for months.

He was home.

He could hear Shadow barking in the distance, no doubt the wolf had heard the car pull up. He waited patiently while Fariz took out the luggage with Mohandas, waiting to see his best friend appear with the wolf beside him.

A smile found its way onto his face as Vikram saw Ashok coming, the man dirty as usual from his ranch duties. He could see Ashok speed up when he noticed Vikram and the excitement made Vikram laugh.

Shadow had run ahead to get some pets and Vikram gave him those pets before turning his attention to Ashok. He didn't hesitate to take Ashok in for a hug when he was near. Ashok's dirty clothes were no deterrent to him.

He was rewarded with the shorter man pulling him closer and gripping him tightly. Both men didn't seem to want to let go of each other. Ashok made a noise of disbelief, pulling back to look at the taller man.

"Vikram! You're back," he said in awe and shock. His eyebrows furrowed as he took in the sight of the man in front of him. "Did you get a haircut when you were in New York?"

Vikram nodded, leaning his head down for Ashok to see the haircut more clearly. "Yeah, decided to bite the bullet and go to the barber before it got too long," he answered.

Ashok whistled in surprise at that. "Wow, you're truly a changed man if you got your hair cut by anyone other than Ivan."

The joke made Vikram roll his eyes and he playfully pushed Ashok away from him. He peered into the windows of the house, trying to see who was inside.

"Where is Sylvester? Where are the kids?"

"Sylvester is in the greenhouse if I remember correctly," Ashok replied after wracking his brain for the answer. "As for the kids, I believe everyone except Laila went to visit their cousins. Laila is inside the house, in the kitchen."

Mohandas quickly grabbed Vikram's attention, silently gesturing that he was going to head to the tree house to rest. Vikram nodded in acknowledgment, watching his brother go before turning back to the house.

He was torn between being brave and going inside to see Laila or taking the coward's way out and going to see his husband. However, Ashok wasn't giving him much choice.

"I'll tell Adam to get Sylvester while you talk to Laila. We're going to make sure Sylvester is extremely surprised when you two meet." With those words, Vikram was ushered inside while Adam went out.

Vikram nodded in greeting to the man, not speaking as he was too nervous to do so. He made his way to the kitchen, trying hard not to fidget with his hands. He stepped into the kitchen, his heart melting at the sight of his daughter trying to look for the Indian snacks in the cupboards.

"I hide the snacks in the bottom cupboards because Ashok likes to steal mine," he said, trying to keep his smile up despite Laila turning around with a jump. It was hard to keep smiling when he had scared his daughter and the smile soon slipped. "Though I don't know if he figured out where I hid the stash."

He walked forward, his movements slow so as not to scare her again. He went to the cupboard where he had felt the snacks, opening it and pulling out pots and pans. He was greeted with a small stash of his favorite Indian snacks and he took them out, offering them to Laila.

"I'm sorry."

Vikram blinked in surprise when he realized they had both apologized at the same time. He cocked his head to the side in confusion. "What are you sorry for, Beta?"

Laila gulped like she was ashamed. "I'm sorry for yelling at you the last time we talked," she admitted. "I was too harsh." Vikram shook his head. He had deserved it.

"I should've known better, Beta. I'm sorry, for everything."

His hand twitched to reach up and caress her hair, but he didn't dare move. He didn't want to make her uncomfortable.

"I'm sorry for making you take care of me at a young age and for not changing until recently. You deserved better than that and you had every right to be upset with me. I'm your father, not a child for you to coddle. That's not your job and I'm sorry I ever made you feel like it was."

Laila's eyes watered and she rushed forward to hug her father. "I don't want to be mad at you anymore, Baba," she said, her voice cracking. "I'm so tired of the anger I've felt for you when I left."

Vikram hugged her tightly, placing the snacks on the counter. He realized just how similar they were, how they both had gotten so fed up with the way they felt towards their fathers.

Their situations were different, but they both felt like they were too tired to be that way anymore. They had both needed the time apart, to be away from the ranch.

He kissed her hair before resting his chin on her head. "I know, Beta. I'm sorry for making you feel that. I can't change what I've done, but I can offer the chance to move forward," he said, looking down at her. "It doesn't mean you forgive me or you forget what I've done, but it just means we won't look back on it and regret what we've done. Because being in the past does us nothing but hurt us more." "You don't even have to agree or disagree to move forward right now, Beta. Just think about it, okay? I don't expect anything from you except you to do whatever you feel is right."

After his words, they just stood there and hugged. Vikram felt at peace despite their relationship still being somewhat on the rocks, but at least she was in front of him again.

They eventually pulled away from each other and Laila grabbed one of Vikram's snacks, thanking him for showing her where it was. At that moment, they heard the front door opening and the clacking of Sylvester's cane on the floor as he entered the house.

Vikram broke out into a smile and gave Laila one last kiss on the head before he walked out of the kitchen. He was immediately in awe of his husband's beauty and as soon as he got close, he sank to his knees in front of him.

He didn't care about how his old man knees would be hurting once he got up as he had the urge to worship the ground his husband walked on. He settled for gently taking Sylvester's hands in his and kissing his knuckles.

"My star, I've missed you," he murmured in between kissing his husband's knuckles. He kept pressing kisses against the knuckles. "I love you. So much."

Sylvester tugged at Vikram's shirt for him to get up and they hugged once the taller man was standing again. "I missed you too, angel. You didn't have to kneel to greet me, though," he said, huffing at his husband for doing such a thing.

Vikram hummed in reply, moving to kiss the shorter man. And then he kissed his husband several more times.

He was too ecstatic to stop kissing his husband. He had a lot of time to catch up and he was hoping to do just that.

DNI & Reblog banners made by @/cafekitsune

The end of a journey. God, I didn't think it would ever take this long, but hey. At least Stone is feeling free.

Do I like how I ended this part? Not particularly, but me and endings are almost never good friends.

I'm also making it Chester's problem to write Mārīte and Stone reuniting. /lh /nf

[the-whispers-of-death]

physically unable to stop thinking about teeneger!sylvester pulling this sorta shit on his dads

that is just the sorta energy he brings to the table i guess. because pre-coming-out!teen!sylvester is cackling evily in the back of my head rn

I saw this and was like "Didn't you send this to me before?" And you did, I just didn't respond to that one because Idk. I just never felt like answering it. 💀

Anyways, Stone would 100% react like this to Teen!Sylvester coming out like that. His mind would immediately go to Sylvester being pregnant.

[the-whispers-of-death]

A little something for the soulmate AU. This was supposed to be finished a while ago, but I only just now got the motivation to finish. But yay for me getting in practice with writing Kali and Stone's actual names when writing.

@jupiter-reimagined here is my contribution to the soulmate AU.

TW: Brief Mention of Child Abuse

Wordcount: 1,587 words

Ashok was just exiting the gym when his beeper beeped in his back pocket. Knowing it was most likely Vikram, he pulled out the beeper and he saw just a message with the coordinates of the house the military rented for Vikram while he was on deployment.

He knew without needing more context that his friend wanted him to come and probably needed to talk. And while most people would be annoyed by being called upon for seemingly no reason, Ashok knew he was basically Vikram's only friend and he knew that Vikram cared about him just as much as he cared about Vikram.

So he quickly sent the code they had previously established many years ago which would be decoded to basically say that he was on his way. After the code sent, he put the beeper back in his pocket and exited the gym, heading to his car.

Thankfully, the gym Ashok goes to wasn't far from the military housing where Vikram is (and thankfully Ashok lives in that same area too since he too is on deployment), so it didn't take him too long to arrive. Soon, he parked his car in the driveway and got out.

He waved to a neighbor of Vikram's before walking onto the porch and knocking on the door in the special knock Vikram had give him in order to know it was Ashok: four knocks in quick succession followed by a lone knock two seconds after the four knocks. He stood there, waiting for Vikram to open the door.

The multiple locks Vikram had personally put on the door were unlocked, Ashok seeing Vikram's brown eye peeking through the little crack he opened before seeing it was indeed Ashok and opening the door fully. Ashok stepped inside, taking off his shoes and putting them near the door automatically.

Vikram's house was sparse, filled with only the furniture that the military furnished their houses with. There were no personal touches to the place besides Vikram's medical bag on the counter in the kitchen and spices on another counter in the kitchen.

There was minimalism and then there was Vikram, but it wasn't his fault. Ashok knew full well that Vikram's father was a bastard who raised Vikram to only be a soldier and to Vikram's father, soldiers didn't need personal things.

Though, Ashok also knew there was a journal hidden somewhere, or maybe Vikram kept that in his office in the base hospital where he was stationed.

"I thought you were starting to put more personal touches on your house?" Ashok asked after looking around, his eyes going to look at his friend.

Vikram was taller than Ashok at six-foot-eight (whereas Ashok was at six-foot-six) and he had many scars that marred him head to toe, a symbol of how little Vikram thought of himself as he had gotten most of the scars from diving in front of others to take what would've been their injuries. He looked the same as always at first glance, until Ashok saw Vikram's arm was bandaged.

Another scar to add to the collection, Ashok thought, his heart hurting at the sight of Vikram's bandaged arm.

Ashok didn't have any time to comment on the bandaged arm, however, as Vikram moved to the kitchen while he answered Ashok's question.

"I am putting more personal touches on my house," Vikram said, his deep voice that was usually cold and harsh softening just a little bit due to being in the presence of his friend. He grabbed a glass and gave Ashok some water. "But this is not my house, it's just the house the military rented for me. I'll never see this place again when my deployment is over. No point in adding any personal touches."

Classic Vikram, honestly. He never settled down when he was on deployment, he barely unpacked his clothes whenever he got to somewhere new. They always stayed in his bag, folded neatly.

Ashok took the offered glass, nodding in appreciation. "At least you're trying to put more of your own style in the house in the States," he replied, pride in his voice. "I'm proud of you."

Like he expected the taller man to do, Vikram shifted slightly on his feet, the only hint of surprise he showed at hearing the words "I'm proud of you." He wasn't used to hearing such things, which was why Ashok tried to tell Vikram that as much as possible.

Vikram grunted in response, looking away from Ashok briefly. "That's not what I called you here for though." His words reminded Ashok that he wasn't here solely for a social visit.

"You didn't really call me, you beeped me." he teased, a grin forming on his face as he saw Vikram roll his eyes. He sat down at the dining table, becoming serious again. "Okay, sit. Tell me what you need to talk to me about, I'm all ears, Vik."

"I want to ask Sylvester out," Vikram answered as soon as he sat down. His posture was rigid as always, but he seemed nervous at the prospect of asking someone out, the slightest tremor in his hands before he steadied them as they rested on the table.

Sylvester was Vikram's soulmate, a single father of two that he had met while grocery shopping and who lived in the very same city the base Vikram was stationed at was at the edge of. He was older than Vikram and Ashok, but that didn't stop Vikram from loving that man as soon as he laid eyes on Sylvester.

Ashok chuckled, resting his chin in the palm of his hand. "Oh, you're finally going to ask him out, huh?" he asked, amused at Vikram's nervousness. "I thought you were going to just hold in the love you feel for him and never ask him out."

Of course Vikram was nervous, he had never been on a date, had never even let himself fall in love with someone before Sylvester. He knew basically nothing, or at the least very little, about dating. He had always been too busy being the "perfect" soldier.

Vikram had missed out on so much in his younger years, but it was better late than never.

Vikram glared at Ashok, kicking the shorter man under the table, and not gently at that. "Are you going to help me or not?" he asked, unamused. His eyes grew distant for a brief second, thinking before coming back to reality.

"Do you think I should write a letter asking Sylvester out?"

"No!" Ashok blurted out before he think to say it a bit nicer. He shook his head, calming down enough to lower his voice. "No, Vik. This is a serious matter and you wouldn't want your letter to get lost. You need to call him, it's much better, trust me."

They both got up, Ashok gently leading Vikram to the landline the house had. He was tempted to give Vikram his phone to call, but he knew Stone didn't like holding smartphones, even if a smartphone was the work phone the military gave them.

"Be sincere and make it clear that it's a date you're asking him out on," Ashok advised as Vikram picked up the landline phone and started dialing. "You know what type of a date you want to go on with him?"

Vikram nodded and lifted the phone to his ear, hearing it ring.

Ashok knew Vikram's heart was beating rapidly in his chest, nervous to be speaking to the man he thought about constantly. He could tell because the taller man was starting to glance all around the living room, too nervous to look at one single thing.

Vikram cleared his throat before speaking. "Hello, Sylvester? This is Vikram, I'm calling on my landline," he said, Ashok noting just how calm the other man sounded.

It was almost impressive, if not for the knowledge that Vikram's stoicism was something that was literally beaten into him. Ashok longed for the day that Vikram's stoicism was something he only relied on while working, for when he absolutely needed to not show any emotion.

"Uh, no. No, it's not that," he replied, his confidence wavering. He glanced at Ashok who was nodding in encouragement for him to keep going. "I was wondering if you would like to go on a date with me? Somewhere with no food, of course. Unless you want to come over for dinner."

Ashok knew the silence between Vikram's question and Sylvester's answer was secretly killing the taller man. He knew from previous conversations that Vikram was very scared of Sylvester deciding he wasn't good enough as a soulmate and leaving for someone better. It was something that haunted the taller man, made him fear getting close to most people.

Thankfully, Sylvester seemed to answer, because Ashok could see Vikram relax ever so slightly, no doubt hearing a "Yes" from his soulmate. He watched Vikram nod before he realized Sylvester couldn't see him.

Vikram looked away from Ashok, trying hard to not see the amused stare Ashok gave him. "A museum date it is. When are you free?" He walked away, walking into his bedroom for some privacy.

Ashok stayed in the living room, sitting down on the couch to wait for Vikram. As he waited, his eyes went down to his arm, looking at the compass. His eyes widened, seeing the compass needle shift just a little.

Huh, seemed like Vikram wouldn't be the only one who'd meet his soulmate.

Banners made b @cafekitsune

[the-whispers-of-death]

The Cycle Starts Anew

Naga!Stone just won't stop staring at me until I write this, so here it is. Naga!Stone as Ranch!Stone, perpetuating the cycle of finding Sylvester every time the universe restarts.

I finally figured out what Naga!Stone's name is (he's as old as time so it's not Vikram—well, it wasn't originally). Yes, I did use a name generator to figure it out.

Once again, I'm too lazy to look this over for typos.

Word Count: 1,607

Aryamanth felt his true form itch beneath the human form he was wearing, his legs feeling detached from himself as he walked down the halls of the mortal military base.

The universe had restarted for the nth time and while he stayed relatively the same, the mortal he deemed his soulmate long ago was reborn with each restart. This forced him to find his soulmate over and over again, but he didn't mind. Not even when he was forced this time to grow up in such hellish conditions with a stain of a father who forgot his people's worship of nagas.

After thirty-five grueling years of suffering, Aryamanth finally found his soulmate again. And all it took was him succumbing to his father's wishes for him to be a soldier just like how his father was.

It was all worth it because he could smell that his soulmate was in the city Aryamanth was stationed ar. Even with it being a city full of smells, Sylvester's scent drew him in like it always did. He just had to be patient that they would bump into each other.

He just hoped Sylvester wasn't with that stupid mortal in this lifetime.

"Stone! We need you in the base hospital, there has been multiple causalities," a soldier said as he stopped Aryamanth in his path, so young that he had to salute Aryamanth as the naga was higher-ranking than him.

Aryamanth silently nodded in acknowledgement, sending the soldier on his way. He sighed and turned around, heading towards the base hospital. He didn't run, knowing that he couldn't quite control his inhuman speed despite how many years he has spent pretending to be mortal.

His senses were on overdrive as soon as he stepped into the base hospital, his ears pounding with the sounds of machines beeping and people running to save soldiers who were coding. The air was metallic from blood and salty from sweat dripping off Corpsmen and nurses. Everything was so loud.

He pushed down his discomfort, allowing his stoic demeanor to act as a barrier between him and the loudness of every sense in his body. He stepped forward, walking past a medical cart and grabbing a pair of gloves.

Putting on the gloves, Aryamanth focused on the patient closest to him. He turned to the nurse attending to the patient, looking down at them as he did with most mortals even in this human form.

"What are her injuries?" he asked, resisting the urge to reach out with his magic to feel for the soldier's injuries.

It was bad enough that he could see the injuries clearly due to his naga eyes, forced to see everything up close like he was looking through a microscope. The only reason he asked about the soldier's injuries was because a mortal wouldn't know at first glance was wrong.

"She has several gunshot wounds," the nurse said, pointing out each gunshot wound. He frowned at the sight. "It's a miracle she's alive."

Aryamanth got to work, ordering for the nurses to help him move the soldier to somewhere less crowded. He cleaned the wounds and took out any bullet fragments, allowing himself to focus on the task ahead.

Judging by the state of the hospital, he'd need all of the focus he had.

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

By the time Aryamanth was done treating patients and was able to sit in his office to do paperwork, he was exhausted. It had been hours on his feet, his muscles aching from how long he spent stitching up soldiers.

He didn't even notice the day had gone by and a new one was starting, the sun rising in the east. He blew out a breath, leaning back in his chair. By now, he was aching to let his true form take over but even in his own office privacy wasn't guaranteed.

He was just wallowing in his misery when he smelt the scent that made his heartrate pick up, the scent of his soulmate. He sat up almost instantly, taking a deep breath to make sure he was smelling the right scent.

The scent of his soulmate washed over him and it calmed him down, even when he smelt the faint smell of cigarette that mingled with his soulmate's natural smell. It seemed like in this lifetime, his soulmate had taken up smoking.

Great.

Aryamanth stood up and walked out of his office, closing the door behind him as he saw the general who oversaw the base, General Cunningham.

Beside the man was Aryamanth's breathtaking soulmate: Sylvester.

The man was shorter than General Cunningham and was so skinny, Aryamanth was already worried the wind outside would snap him in two if he stepped out there. His long oval face was handsome, his light blue eyes had slits as pupils like how cats have and they were framed by rectangular glasses. He had graying brown hair that was put up in a ponytail, hair that Aryamanth remembered running his fingers through and feeling how soft it was in so many past lifetimes.

Seeing Sylvester over and over again never seemed to get old with Aryamanth. He hoped that when the time finally came for the universe to take his soul, he'd see the image of Sylvester before he goes.

"Ah, just the man I wanted to see," General Cunningham said, smiling at Aryamanth. He gestured to Sylvester, about to introduce him. "This is Sylvester Jacobson. He'll be updating all of the tech in the base hospital, so I figured I'd introduce you two since I'm sure you would've kicked him out if you had stumbled upon him. Sylvester, this is the Corpsman who runs this base hospital."

"They call me Stone," Aryamanth replied, his voice cold despite his entire being wanting to melt now that he was in front of Sylvester.

He couldn't just soften in front of Sylvester right out of the gate, not when General Cunningham was here and he had a reputation for being stoic and cold with everyone. He hated giving Sylvester his callsign but he couldn't give him his actual name and he didn't quite like giving him the mortal name he had taken for this lifetime either.

Sylvester smiled at Aryamanth in a way the other man knew without a doubt was just to be polite and he extended a hand for him to shake. "It's nice to meet you," he said, still being polite.

Aryamanth couldn't help but yearn for the touch of his beloved and so he shook Sylvester's hand, savoring the way it felt to finally touch him again. He didn't speak again, too caught up in memorizing the way this version of Sylvester looked in front of him to speak.

The warmth that washed over him left as soon as Sylvester let go of his hand and he had to resist the urge to visibly deflate. He let out a small sigh before focusing on General Cunningham again.

"I thought the first thing Sylvester could update was your computer, Stone. If that's okay?" General Cunningham asked, like Aryamanth had a choice.

Aryamanth nodded silently, opening the door for Sylvester to go inside. He didn't bother saying goodbye to the general, the general being used to the chilly attitude.

As soon as the door clicked shut behind him and he was left alone with Sylvester, he realized just how much he wanted to take Sylvester in his arms. He wanted to hold the man and never let go until the end of time.

Unfortunately for him, he knew from past lives that Sylvester had no knowledge of their past lives and would think him weird if he held him. He didn't want that, so he stood near the filing cabinet, putting some space between him and Sylvester.

Sylvester checked the computer, humming in thought at what he was seeing.

"You update your computer yourself, usually?" he asked, turning his head to lock eyes with Aryamanth.

Aryamanth nodded in reply. "It's expected of us. The military prides itself on being more technologically advanced than the civilians. And the soldiers are expected to stay on top of all of the advancements in technology."

"Yes, but this is far more advanced than most of the computers I've seen on base. Like you've taken great care to update the computer with the newest updates. I don't even have to update the computer."

"I like keeping up with the advancements and I'm well aware of how the updates make my job easier," Aryamanth said, his lips twitching in amusement as he saw a familiar emotion of Sylvester's face.

The face of awe.

Sylvester was about to respond when another corpsman burst into the office, which caused Aryamanth to glare at them.

"Chief Hospital Corpsman, I'm sorry to interrupt—" the corpsman said, before he got cut off.

"Don't waste time with apologies, spit it out," Aryamanth said with growl, his eyes narrowed at the corpsman.

The corpsman gulped at the taller man's tone and replied, "Two squads got injured and we need your help. There are two soldiers who are in dire conditions."

Aryamanth muttered something in Hindi before dismissing the corpsman. He turned to Sylvester, not wanting to leave but having to regardless.

"Duty calls. It was nice to meet you though and I have so many questions about the new update. Perhaps if you're still here when I come back, we can talk more?"

It was a desperate move to keep Sylvester talking to him and he hoped Sylvester would accept.

Sylvester thankfully nodded and with that acceptance in mind, Aryamanth left the office.

It was time to do his job.

MDNI & Reblog banners made by @/cafekitsune

Will there be another part to this? Who knows.

Did I copy-and-paste some things from Stone and Sylvester's first meeting in the Red String AU to here? I plead the fifth.

[the-whispers-of-death]

anyways. merman sylvester

what fish is he? fuck if i know. vaguely koi inspired i guess

Oooh, pretty!

[the-whispers-of-death]

anyways. red string soulmate au :) wink wink nudge nudge :)

something something the damn fucking imagery of stone staring at the string as it leads into the ocean, horrified at the implications of where it leads.

or maybe in a different timeline, he's with kali there, one of his soulmates he had already found, and both of them come to the conclusion that their 3rd halves are across the pond and them unanimously deciding that *yes* theyre *getting* over the fucking oversized puddle no matter what. they already have each other, yes, but they cant leave their soulmates hanging either.

idk i am a huge sucker for the red string au, but i think ive made it clear with how much my brain rots over it.

take this either as a request or just a general idea. idk, its been a while since ive sent in fic reqs (like. over 2 years at LEAST lmao)

Red String AU, Red String AU!

Chose to have Kali and Stone also be soulmates in this AU, because it's fun like that.

This is just the start, so they might not even meet Sylvester and Butcher (I'm assuming we're adding Butcher into this AU).

A little lore tidbit because it's only kinda explained near the end: Red strings are invisible, but people can feel them around their wrists and can feel the distance between soulmates.

Wordcount: 1,281 words

Vikram stood on his porch, his hands resting on the railing as he looked up at the stars. The stars looked so beautiful and so far away, and he wanted to know what knowledge lay in the stars, how many aeons they had seen over the course of their life, knowing that most of the stars he saw in the night sky were either planets or stars that were so many lightyears away that they were already dead.

"Have I ever told you how breathtaking you look when you gaze up at the stars, baby?" Vikram's boyfriend, Ashok, whispered into his ear as he wrapped his arms around Vikram's burly waist. Ashok leaned down slightly, hunching his shoulders so he could comfortably rest his chin on Vikram's shoulder.

"You have indeed, but you can say it again," Vikram replied, his lips twitching until they eventually pulled into a small smile.

A rumble expressing his satisfaction spread throughout Vikram's chest, melting against Ashok as his soulmate held him. As he kept his hands on the railing of the porch, he could feel the red string on his left hand that connected him to Ashok, and he could feel the other red string on his right hand which spanned across the ocean, his other soulmate being so far away.

Both Ashok and Vikram had two soulmates, one of whom was obviously each other, and both of their other soulmates' red strings went across the ocean. They wanted so desperately to go and find their soulmates, but the only times they were across the ocean were when they were on deployments and had no time to go find their soulmates because they were on duty. They tried to find time to go when they were both not on deployments, but deployments came suddenly sometimes and as soon as they started thinking about booking flights to try and find their soulmates, they'd get deployed.

Like how last week, Vikram and Ashok were talking about trying to find their soulmates and then they both got orders that they were going on deployment this week. It was like the universe knew it wasn't their time to find their other soulmates.

Ashok brought Vikram back to the present, pressing a gentle kiss to the taller man's neck. "What are you thinking about, my sun?" he asked, gently rubbed circles on Vikram's waist. "You've been so silent ever since you got your orders."

"I'm usually silent," Vikram grumbled, turning his head to the side to nuzzle his cheek against Ashok's. He sighed at the touch, his soul feeling less empty than it would be if he hadn't found Ashok, but his soul still wasn't complete. "Thinking about how our plans to find our other soulmates keep getting delayed. It's so frustrating."

"I know, baby. I feel the same way, but it's the way it is right now. That's not a comforting thought, I know. But you believe in fate, so believe that fate is waiting until the right moment to bring our soulmates to us."

Vikram took in those words, not really liking them but he knew Ashok was just doing his best. He rested his hands on Ashok's hands that were still on his waist, intertwining their fingers. "When did you get so wise?" he murmured, leaning down slightly to kiss Ashok's lips.

Their kiss was short, but sweet, the two of them letting the kiss calm their frustrations down. When they pulled apart, they rested their foreheads together despite the uncomfortableness in the position they had twisted themself in.

"I'm not wise, as people love to tell me," Ashok said, chuckling. He squeezed Vikram's hands in his, loving the way his boyfriend's larger hands engulfed his. "But I know you well enough to calm you down, even if it had taken twelve years just to break down your walls and learn all of your quirks. I wouldn't change a single second for the world, though, my sun. And I know I'll feel the same way once we meet our soulmates, it's only a matter of time."

Their conversation died down after that, the two enjoying looking up at the stars. After a while, Ashok pulled back and tugged Vikram inside, murmuring about how they should go to sleep.

Vikram looked back up at the starry night sky before he went inside, as if he could use the stars to decipher the coordinates to where his other soulmate was.

He hoped Ashok was right, that they'd meet their other soulmates soon. He didn't know how long he could wait.

Besides, he'd be on deployment soon, which would keep his mind off the search for his other soulmate.

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

Vikram sighed as he drove into base, having been on deployment for a week already and he was missing Ashok big time. As he drove to a parking spot and parked his car, he hoped his soulmate was having a better time at his own deployment.

He knew he shouldn't complain, he was fortunate to be placed as the Corpsman of a really friendly squad who didn't care that Vikram refused to tell them any truly personal information, not even his actual name.

Most squads hated how cagey he was, hated the way he relied on his stoicism to protect himself from allowing himself to get attached to any of them. But this squad only cared if he was a good Corpsman, which he was.

He had gotten lucky at that, and he had also gotten lucky at Ashok being deployed nearby.

Ashok was at another base, but at least they were placed in the same housing base, able to see each other regularly if they weren't away on missions. It made long, stressful days better when he could go over to the house the military had set up for Ashok and to be in the presence of his soulmate.

The thought of his soulmate made him look down at his wrists, feeling the invisible red strings that connected him to his soulmates. The right red string felt shorter, since he had gone overseas for the deployment, but still farther than where Ashok was.

His other soulmate was in the city, but he couldn't tell where. And he had no time to go searching still. But at least he was closer than he had ever been.

He unbuckled his seatbelt and got out of the car, locking it once he was out. He made his way to the main building, needing to sign in before he could go to the training center to find his squamates.

Vikram merely grunted in response when the receptionist greeted him, simply picking up the pen to sign in. He was about to leave when the receptionist called out for him.

"Stone!" she called out, using his callsign since that's what most people only knew him by. When he turned back around to face her, she continued, "Captain Karev told me that when I saw you, I should tell you that the entire squad is being debriefed soon. They're in Conference Room 220."

Vikram nodded to signify that he heard her, turning slightly to go down the long hallways until he reached where the conference room. Thankfully, they hadn't started until he got there, so he sat down and waited for the captain to tell everyone what their new mission was.

He tried to listen, he really did, but all of a sudden, the red string on his right wrist gave a little tug. He would've sat up straight if he wasn't already doing so, his excitement giving way and flooding his brain.

A tug meant his other soulmate was here. On base.

Finally, they'd meet.

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

Hehe, and I'm going to end it there. Just Stone's luck that he'd feel Sylvester in the same base just as he was about to go on a mission.

[the-whispers-of-death]

Ranch AU Masterlist

I've decided it was time to make a Ranch AU masterlist. Now, there won't be everything on there, because there were so many asks about the Ranch AU, but these are all of the works I've written that take place in the Ranch AU.

I decided to do this because I realized how many Ranch AU works I placed in the One-Shots Masterlist despite them being in the Ranch AU. They're technically one-shots, because the only connecting thing is the universe they're in and they're all in different places of time within the AU.

Some of these OCs are not mine, but rather they're @jupiter-reimagined's OCs. I will list which OCs are in the work next to the link of the work so that you know who is in that work.

One more important thing to know is that is an AU with Girl Dad!Stone in it. So just know if you see Stone, it's Girl Dad!Stone (even if Laila is not actually in the work). I was just too lazy to add Girl Dad!Stone to every work when listing the OCs.

Without further ado, the masterlist:

Bachelor Party (The Lions, Stone, & Hawk)

A New Chapter in Life (Stone & Laila)

Worthless (Version 1) (Stone & Laila) ((NOTE: This work is technically not canon-compliant with this AU. However, it's still in this universe))

Worthless (Version 2) (Stone only) ((Again, not canon-compliant))

I Miss You (Kali x Butcher ft. Sammy, Lakshmi, & Charlie)

Done with Your Shit (Stone & Laila)

A Journey Starts (Stone & Mohandas)

Nightmares & Lullabies (Stone & Mohandas)

Word Finally Said (Stone & Mohandas)

A Step Forward (Stone & Mohandas)

Another Step Forward (Stone, Heartthrob, & Mohandas)

Facing Fears Part 1 (Stone & Mohandas, angst galore)

Facing Fears Part 2 (Stone & Mohandas)

Finally Home (Stone, Mohandas, Kali, Heartthrob, Laila, & Sylvester)

Cloudy Days (Kali, Stone, & mystery person) (AU of Ranch AU)

A New Child Acquired (Kali, Lakshmi, Diane, & Butcher ft Charlie & Sammy)

Someone New? No... (Stone, Kali, & Heartthrob; mentioned Mohandas & mystery person)

A Quiet Night Inside (Simba x Nala; mentioned Madison & Dominic)

A Misunderstanding (Stone, Heartthrob, & Mohandas; mentioned Kali & Manish)

Like Father, Like Son (Stone, Heartthrob, Sammy, & Sylvester; mentioned Bharat)

The Search is on (Rohan; mentioned Laila & Stone)

Wrong Timing & Realization (Kali, Stone & Butcher; mentioned Vincent, Charlie, & Sylvester)

Domination at its Finest (Stone x Heartthrob x Sylvester, Smut)

Betrayed & Lied to (Stone, Kali, Heartthrob & Butcher; mentioned Death & Caden) (AU of the Ranch AU)

Help Me, Please (Rohan; mentioned Laila)

Almost Home... or Not (Kali, Rohan, & Hawk; mentioned Stone & Laila)

The Worst Possible Situation (Death, Theo, & Adrian; mentioned Kali, James, & Death x Theo)

This may not be a completed list (it may be expanded upon)!

[the-whispers-of-death]

gonna keep working on my slowly increasing amount of drafts later (aka theres now more. and. ow. why did i make more. this time its elias, dominic and jasper themed)

but. those 3 disasters aside, im back to thinking about any and all soulmate aus i can get my grubby little claws on. more specifically, amything king!stone related because. hello. heyyyyy.... twirling my hair <3

i love the idea of historian!sylvester, after getting the bodyswap with kali, kali basically resigning himself to being a seeing eye dog. is that accurate? no. but theres a reason sylvester doesnt go out into the city that much (its people. he cant predict masses of people walking as quickly as he could in the castle. too much noise and scents that it all blurs)

sigh. kali and sylvester in general,,, my babies <3 step aside stoneXsylvester, theres an even cuter ship in town /lh

Stone: But.... Sylvester...

Kali, pushing Stone aside: I'll love him, don't you worry.

Knight!Kali will in fact be Historian!Sylvester's seeing eye dog and he will do it without complaint. He just wants his soulmate to not have to worry about bumping into things and people.

[the-whispers-of-death]

anyways, throwing a request back your way and: ehehe;; red string au part 3, maychance?

the fact that you (if i understand correctly) are doing every other chapter for a different soulmate pair is driving me insane /pos;;; love love love the multiple povs!!! they all deserve so much love !!

imagining kali maybe telling stone all about this random fucking guy who happened to be his soulmate, (butcher) and stone being appalled at how easily he not only gave out his full name *and* phone number;;; sure, theyre soulmates, but what;; the fuck;; stranger danger much????

or stone being antsy and unfocused and too distracted thinking about his soulmate to be any good for the mission, his mind drifting constantly, just imagining what the mystery man could be like;;

Not it taking me roughly an entire month to finish writing this. 💀

At least Stone can finally meet Sylvester now. He can stop pouting in my head.

Wordcount: 2, 341 words

"You did what? Tell me you're joking," Vikram said to the soulmate he had met years ago, giving his boyfriend a look of disapproval before going back to making dinner.

At least Ashok had the decency to look bashful about what he had done. He gave Vikram a sheepish smile, trying to curb his soulmate's disappointment in him.

"Baby, it's not that bad," he said, trying to convince Vikram. He walked forward to put his hand on Vikram's shoulder, but the taller man shrugged it off.

"Okay, yes. I gave my other soulmate my full name and personal phone number, but I doubt he'll do anything bad with the information. There's a reason he's my soulmate, remember?"

Vikram crossed his arms before remembering he was cooking. "You and fate… It's going to bite you in the ass one day," he replied, chopping the vegetables. "You're too trusting when it comes to soulmates. What if he's a serial killer who hates soldiers?"

"Who would kill soldiers?"

"The anti-military crowd."

"Okay, well serial killers are very rare nowadays. Serial killers only happen in the cop shows most of the time. This is just your paranoia talking, as usual."

Vikram growled at his boyfriend, angrily putting the chopped vegetables into the gravy. He really didn't like when Ashok dismissed his paranoia, which wasn't all that common actually.

Ashok was the only one who didn't dismiss his paranoia. Which meant this man—he was still disappointed Ashok hadn't even gotten the man's name—was already liked by Ashok despite having just barely met him.

There was a rising feeling in his chest that told him Ashok was going to leave him for this mystery man. He had never felt this before since he knew he and Ashok were soulmates, but he couldn't help himself from thinking that this new man would be better than him.

There were so many reasons why it was a miracle Ashok even dated him in the first place, even with the fact that they were soulmates. He was too paranoid and he had to learn so many things, like how to show emotions or to let himself have hobbies. When they had met, Vikram was just a mindless soldier, just as his father taught him.

And that was another thing that people didn't like about him: he didn't have a family. Everyone had abandoned him, since he was not good enough for someone to stay.

He was not good enough for someone to stay. Everyone left him eventually. He was born to be tossed aside.

Why did he think Ashok was different? It was only a matter of time before Ashok would—

"Hey, hey." Ashok's soothing voice came in Vikram's ear, the shorter man's arms wrapping around his waist. He pulled Vikram's back flush against his chest, soothing him with the contact.

"I can tell you're spiraling, baby. That you're thinking I'll leave you now that I've met my other soulmate. It's okay, I understand why you spiraled into that line of thinking. But I won't leave you. You're too important to me, no matter how paranoid you are."

Vikram melted into Ashok's arms, his eyes pricking with tears. He turned his head to bury it in his boyfriend's shoulder. "I don't deserve you," he said, his voice sounding like a croak due to his crying.

Ashok reached up to cradle his boyfriend's head, turning his own head slightly to kiss the top of Vikram's head. "None of that, baby. We're soulmates, which means the universe thinks we deserve each other." His thumb caressed the back of the head on his shoulder. "You believe in the Christian God, baby, so think about it. Do you really think He would give us soulmates if we didn't deserve each other?"

It took Vikram a few beats for him to shake his head, believing that God wouldn't do such a thing. Unlike other Catholics, he believed in a God who was kind and loving. It was all he had been taught when he got into Catholicism when he was on the streets.

"We deserve each other," he murmured in reply, saying it so he can believe it. He didn't have faith in a lot of things, so having faith in soulmates was certainly a leap. But it was one he was going to have to make.

He grumbled, sniffling and pulling his head away from Ashok's shoulder. "I guess if you and that man are soulmates, it won't backfire on us that he knows your full name and your personal phone number." He moved to go back to cooking. "I still think that was a move I wouldn't have done, though."

"Well, if your soulmate is still working at the base you're stationed at, you'll be meeting him soon," Ashok said, chuckling at the way Vikram would be meeting his second soulmate the same way he met Ashok: on base. He moved away from Vikram, letting him cook without anything restricting his movements. "What are you going to do when you meet him?"

"The first thing I'm going to do is ask him his name."

"You're so funny, you big oaf."

Vikram's lips twitched as a sense of giddiness washed over him, his first instinct being to hide the smile that wanted to pull at his lips. However, he remembered he was safe here with Ashok and he let the smile show on his face.

The result of his vulnerability was satisfying, seeing Ashok grin at him at the sight of his smile. The small moment between them made him relax, made him feel warm and fuzzy on the inside.

"You're making me soft, my moon."

"You deserve all the love in the world, my sun."

Vikram finished cooking finally and plated the food for him and Ashok. He was just about to sit down at the table with his boyfriend when his beeper beeped with a message.

He cursed, ignoring Ashok's raised eyebrow at the beeper beeping because Vikram didn't hand out the number of the beeper to just anyone. He took out the beeper and decoded the message on it.

"I'm sorry, Ashok," he said, getting up. He pocketed the beeper, internally cursing whoever decided to interrupt his dinner. "I have to go, the base hospital is flooded with patients and they need me to come in."

"Go," Ashok replied, understanding why Vikram had to go. He got up to give his boyfriend a sweet, but quick kiss. "We can have dinner together another time, if we don't get sent out on missions any time soon. I love you."

Vikram had no time to say it back, but he gave Ashok an air kiss, which he only did when he couldn't say the words back. He quickly grabbed his car keys, rushing out of the house while putting on his shoes.

It was a shame he'd be missing dinner with his boyfriend, but that was the life they both chose.

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

Vikram's head was pounding, having had only a few hours of sleep for the past four days. Just as he had finished up at the base hospital, he had been sent out on a mission with his squad, unable to have enough free time to rest for more than a few hours.

He was currently back in the base hospital, it being full of patients still. Thankfully, there were no critical patients, just patients who were still healing from their injuries.

However, this meant he had to do the paperwork that had been piling up over the four days. He didn't remember what it was like outside the four walls of his office.

Vikram was working on inputting the paperwork he had done by hand into the computer, the military insisting on digitizing patients' medical files despite him asking if he could do the patients' medical files when taking them on as his patient by hand. It was tedious and everyone told him it would just be easier to only use the computers and tablets used in the base hospital, but he didn't trust those devices to not crash when he needed access to patients' files.

Just as he was grumbling to himself for having to do this, he felt a tug from the invisible string that was wrapped around his right wrist. He perked up, knowing his second soulmate was close.

"Let me introduce you to the Chief Hospital Corpsman who runs this base hospital since he's the senior ranking medical officer," General Cunningham said to the mystery soulmate, Vikram hearing it through the office door. He laughed as he continued, "He is likely to accidentally kick you out without questioning who you are if he sees you around, so it's best if you get introduced to him so that doesn't happen."

Vikram stood up when he heard the footsteps draw closer and he decided to meet them outside, leaving the office. He almost ran head-first into General Cunningham, but the shorter man had thankfully stopped short instead of walking into Vikram.

General Cunningham didn't seem bothered by almost walking into the taller man, instead he smiled. "Ah, you came out of that office on your own! Good, now I can introduce you to the man who is going to make sure all of the tech in the base hospital is updated," he explained, gesturing to the man beside him.

The man was shorter than General Cunningham and was so skinny, Vikram was worried the wind outside would snap him in two if he stepped out there. His long oval face was handsome, his light blue eyes had slits as pupils like how cats have and they were framed by rectangular glasses. He had graying brown hair that was put up in a ponytail, hair that Vikram wanted to run his fingers through and feel how soft it was.

"You're even more breathtaking than the stars."

The man who had extended his hand out for Vikram to shake raised an eyebrow. "What?" he asked, confusion laced in his voice.

Vikram didn't respond, simply staring at the man with a blank face. He didn't know how to explain what he just said, what he was supposed to only say in his head.

"Okay. I'm Sylvester," the man—Sylvester—said after realizing Vikram wouldn't repeat what he had said.

Vikram grunted in reply, not bothering to shake Sylvester's hand. "They call me Stone." His voice was cold, remembering that he couldn't let his guard down just yet, even when it came to his second soulmate.

Sylvester dropped his hand, probably thinking how weird Vikram was.

Vikram wouldn't have blamed him for doing so, everyone thought he was weird at one point or the other. It was a crucial part of meeting him.

General Cunningham looked back and forth between the two men before he said, "Stone, Sylvester's first order of business is to upgrade the computer in your office. I trust you'll allow him to do his job?"

Even if Vikram had wanted to say no, and he did want to say no, he had no choice. The general had only asked to make sure he would be cooperating.

He did have a history of not cooperating with people. At least he stopped biting people.

"He can do his job," Vikram answered, turning towards his office. He stopped Sylvester before he could follow him inside and he turned to the general. "But I'll have to make sure there's no medical information out where he can see, paper or digital. HIPAA laws and all."

"Of course. Do whatever you need to do, just allow him to do his job afterwards," General Cunningham replied.

Vikram didn't say anything else, going inside his office and making sure all of the physical medical files were in the file cabinet he kept in his office. He also exited out of whatever software he was using to digitize the medical files before letting Sylvester come inside.

He watched the shorter man sit at his desk, secretly amused at the sight of the chair making Sylvester seem smaller since it had been made specifically for Vikram's taller stature. He stayed silent as he watched Sylvester do whatever he had to in order to update the computer.

"You keep the computer updated on your own usually?" Sylvester asked after a while, seeing that the computer had been updated to the last update before this new one.

Vikram nodded before answering verbally, "It's expected of us. The military prides itself on being more technologically advanced than the civilians. And the soldiers are expected to stay on top of all of the advancements in technology."

"General Cunningham told me you're known for hating technology."

"Can you repair the printer after this?"

Sylvester seemed amused at the abrupt change in conversation and he nodded. "The printer's not working?"

"Yeah and I hadn't had time before this to ask you if you could fix it. So, I had to try and fix it myself." Vikram then waited a few beats before admitting, "I kicked it a few times in frustration when it wasn't working despite how hard I was trying."

Sylvester was about to respond when another corpsman burst into the office, which caused Vikram to glare at them.

"Chief Hospital Corpsman, I'm sorry to interrupt—" the corpsman said, before he got cut off.

"Don't waste time with apologies, spit it out," Vikram said with growl, his eyes narrowed at the corpsman.

The corpsman gulped at the taller man's tone and replied, "Two squads got injured and we need your help. There are two soldiers who are in dire conditions."

Vikram muttered something in Hindi before dismissing the corpsman. He turned to Sylvester, eyeing him warily.

"I have to go and help, but just know I have access to the camera in here. I will know if you move from the desk, so don't move. Being my other soulmate won't mean shit to me if you tamper with anything."

With those words, he left Sylvester in the office, uncaring how his words might've offended his soulmate.

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

Oof this was longer than I thought it would be. It got so much longer than expected.

Sylvester might be OOC here, dialogue is hard to write today.

Anyways, I hope you like this!

[the-whispers-of-death]

anyways. here. i got bored. and i dont remember if stone sleeps shirtless or not. so. uhh. decided to go with that anyways

theyre so cute when theyre both tired and just waking up

Stone: SYLVESTER!!! 😍😍

Well, now we know that Stone loves this drawing. And I love it too.

Who gave Sylvester and Stone the right to be so cute together? Hm? They have no right to be this cute but they are.

Stone does sleep shirtless in the Ranch AU because he trusts Sylvester to not hurt him while they sleep (and he lowkey trusts Butcher to stop any intruder before they can even reach Stone and Sylvester's bedroom, but don't tell Butcher that) so yay for it being accurate!