#'he's used that on five other girls at this bar and no one's reacted'

[brokenhardies]

Life on Mars AU Barbie Posters

"Liz Tyler? I'm the Doctor, and I need you to come with me."

Jane had retired after finding out the truth of the Timeless Child. She was living a normal life under a fake name in an apartment on Ruby Road. She spent 3 years getting used to normalcy and she was certain that was what was going to continue to happen for the rest of this life... Until she gets dragged onto the dance floor by a stranger at a nightclub.

"Absolutely not!"

Taglist

@darth-caillic​ @sterling-writes​ @wonderguards​ @reirvival​ @arrthurpendragon​ @foxesandmagic @eddysocs @superspookyjanelle (want to be added or removed? send an ask or a dm!)

[ilykaveh]

ꨄ︎ . ⋆ TALK LIKE AN ANGEL !

tartaglia / childe.

ABOUT: ajax's boredom leads to him viewing a rather provocative broadcast.

CONTENT: camgirl reader ⭒ toys ⭒ squirting ⭒ masturbation.

MINORS DO NOT INTERACT.

STREAM LOADING. . . 

you double checked your setup, ensuring the cosy pillows were all in the correct position, the dainty fairy lights were switched on, and that you had everything you needed within arms reach. after fixing your hair in the mirror behind your webcam, you hit the big red “GO LIVE” button like you had a billion times before. the little names shot up on your monitor rapidly, returning customers greeting you and complimenting how cute you looked this evening. you blew occasional kisses at the camera, doing your best to greet your chat. tips began flying in immediately, and before you knew it you were undoing the clasp of your bra and putting on a little show. 

on the other end of the screen sat ajax. he didn’t usually click on sites like this, instead finding it much more satisfying to head out to the local bar and bring back a pretty girl or two. having had a difficult day at work, he’d opted to just return home and attempt to get some rest. but he couldn’t sleep. that’s what led to him typing in a url that he’d overheard one of the other harbingers mention, curious about what it would have to offer him. lo and behold, there you were, a short scroll down from the top of the screen. sure, you were attractive, but the adorable smile on your face made you look so damn angelic to him. 

he clicked on your stream to see you explaining what you had planned for the evening. something about a new toy that you’d had delivered: a vibrator that would react to the tips sent in by viewers. the more they sent in, the more that you’d be pleasured. ajax, already in bed, rested back against his pillows and thought he would observe for a moment at least. 

you slipped your panties off with ease, spreading your legs in a teasingly slow manner to reveal your already glistening cunt. he watched as an array of messages filled the chat screen about how ethereal you looked and how much they all wanted a piece of you for themselves. some even began to detail how they wanted to fuck you, or would confess how hard you had made them. ajax couldn’t deny it, the sight of your pretty pussy was so intoxicating that he could feel his cock stiffening. 

meanwhile, you had picked up a little pink toy from beside you, along with a small bottle of lube. you prepared the vibrator before easing it into your cunt, keeping your labia spread wide in order for the lens to capture how well your hole took the toy. after a couple of clicks, you activated the device. there was a moment of quiet before the tips began rolling in. it seemed as though your viewers had decided to start off slower,yet you still threw your head back in ecstacy, whining at the sudden sensations. short expletives fell from your lips as you worked to compose yourself in order to read the tip notes left by some of your biggest spenders this evening. 

“our pretty whore is already creaming for us!”

“keep going boys!”

“let us see that sweet pussy, baby!”

you smiled, leaning back in your setup and ensuring that everybody could see your drooling cunt. “thank you!” you cried out as best you could, though the strong vibrations were already making it increasingly difficult to focus. the toy had five different levels, each with different strengths and patterns, with the fifth being the most intense. you were certain that you hadn’t been pushed above the third setting just yet, especially considering that activating them was on the pricier end. maybe later on, one of your regulars would swoop in and push you over the edge with one. 

at this point, ajax’s long, veiny cock was freed of his underwear and slapping against his stomach. despite him not knowing anything about you, he couldn’t help the blossoming of jealousy in his chest. with a huff, he leaned over to his bedside table and grabbed his wallet. after making an account and entering his credit card details, ajax joined in. the knowledge that he was contributing to the tips that were making you squirm only made his cock harder, his blushing tip already leaking with precum. he spat on his palm, giving into lust and beginning to fuck his fist to the sight of you. 

“you gonna squirt for us, princess?"

"im cumming”

“got any other toys with u?”

the last question caught your eye. fortunately, the tips had slowed down significantly, instead just chiming in every few moments rather than as a steady stream, so you managed to reply with some ease. 

“yes! as usual, i have a couple of dildos, my wand, nipple clamps, and the adorable buttplug that one of you bought from my wishlist! for a thousand tokens, you can tell me what to do with them.” you babbled excitedly. ajax could tell that you were getting off on all of this attention, but he wanted to be your sole focus. luckily for him, he had a large amount of mora to blow. 

a thousand tokens later, you were hit with a wave of vibrations more intense than the last. you couldn’t hold back the squeals, almost crying when the pattern ended because you wanted, no, needed more. 

“fuck yourself for me,”

was all that ajax managed to write. once you’d recovered from your brief moment, you grabbed a hold of your toys and showed them to your webcam. 

“which one do you want?” your eyes were innocent, as though you weren’t asking him which fake cock you should be bouncing on. it only drove him a little bit more feral. 

he looked at each of the three dildos you’d presented him with. one was clear, a little bit shorter than his own but making up for it in girth. the next was the biggest, a semi-realistic cock, with veins down its shaft and a nice set of balls. the final was a cute shade of pink, one that he thought perfectly complimented your aura. it was the closest to his own cock too, so he typed the confirmation in chat. 

upon reading it, you began informing the stream that you would keep the vibrator on, and promised to keep it pressed flush against your clit whilst you rode the chosen toy. as you set yourself up, you couldn’t help but wonder who the mystery man was, not noticing him as a regular viewer. however, all thoughts left your mind as you sunk down on the cock, feeling your walls stretch open to accommodate the length. as soon as you’d reached its hilt, you were hit with another large tip from the same user. 

“good girl”

those two words were enough to make you moan on their own, though combined with the sizeable tip and thus vibrations that followed, your entire body shook. anybody that had tuned into your stream could tell that you were getting close, that much was obvious. your movements on your toy were feeble as you were hit with tip after tip, each of them sent in by a user that desired to be the one to make you cum. 

however, all of them would be insignificant as soon as ajax hit the enter key and sent in what would be his final tip of the evening. his cock was painfully stiff, but he refused to finish until you did - he wanted to cum with you. he had sent in enough to activate your toy’s highest setting, and as soon as it activated, the look on your face was heavenly. 

“cum for me, princess”

your jaw slackened and your eyes rolled to white. your movements grew extremely sloppy, displaying nothing but neediness as you made feeble attempts to continue bouncing on your toy. you were trembling at this point, reduced to a mess of cries and moans. your orgasm hit you like a ton of bricks, and you found yourself gushing. the chat was going wild, convinced that they’d never seen you cum this hard before. that only fueled ajax’s ego, and prompted his own orgasm. 

once you had to take a moment to regain your composure, you thanked your stream as usual and turned off for the night. before closing the cam site, you opened the list of today’s highest tippers, and found yourself clicking on the “send message” button displayed next to the screen name of someone in particular.

[smileysuh]

- MARK LEE

works. 6 I words. 92.2k

solo works. 3 works featuring other members. 3

Aphrodisiac - Mark

☕️ synopsis. You kiss him softly at first, waiting to see how he reacts. Mark is frozen, but after a second, his hands pull you closer, his lips moving more urgently against your own. His tongue licks at you, and you open your mouth for him, accepting everything Mark is giving you on the dance floor. You hook your fingers in Mark’s belt, pulling his body flush to your own. He groans against your lips, deepening the kiss. It’s a struggle to breathe, a struggle to do anything but get lost in the demon hunter as he kisses you in a way you’ve never been kissed before. He tastes like rum, coke, and a deep longing that’s been brewing for much more than a week. His hands cradle you close, as if he never wants to let go, and you wonder for a moment if he’s wanted this for as many years as you have.

tw/cw. slight cnc (demon!Hyuck uses an aphrodisiac power to make reader and Mark fuck, but they've been into each other for years), weird voyeurism, weird demonic shows of dominance through dirty talk, dirty talk, breast worship, pussy worship, oral (f receiving), exhibitionism (fucking in a deserted alleyway), Mark has big dick energy in this, roughness, unprotected sex, slight overstimulation, face riding, aphrodisiac assisted powerful orgasms, multiple reader orgasms, death, etc…

🐻 rating.18+ explicit I wc. 5.5k I demon hunter au

Real Talk - Mark

☕️ synopsis. “You’re Jeno’s roommate, Jeno’s my friend- I know we’ve just met, but I know things about you.” Hyuck explains. “When you were with your last girl, Jeno used to come to the bar and bitch about you never coming out- he’s been wanting you to meet the rest of the boys for a while, but never wanted to invite us over cuz your last girlfriend had some supernatural cootchie-grip hold on you or something- point is, I know you’re a serial monogamist. Two long-term girlfriends. You like the domestic shit, and I get that- but if you want domestic, it’s not our little Miss Sunshine expo girl. She can’t even sleep next to guys she’s fucked- wakes up at five am, and dips out without a word. Trust me on this, dude, you wanna stay far away from that man-eater.”

tw/cw. Unprotected sex, multiple sex scenes, reader has a hard time cumming, oral (f/m receiving), Mark is a MUNCH, deep throating, fingering, masturbation, use of toys/vibrator, dirty talk, praise, Mark is a simp, sex realism, overthinking during sex, mentions of sexual favours in return for affection, a string of bad ex-lovers, breast worship, creampies, aftercare, finger sucking, drunkenness, etc… I pet names: (hers) sunshine. (his) puppy boy.

🐻 rating.18+ explicit I wc. 19.4k I restaurant au

Sunday Kind of Love - Mark

☕️ synopsis. Mark is fine with having a crush on the girl in the library. He’s fine watching her from afar. And he’s fine with never speaking a word to the girl who he spends many nights chasing in his dreams. But fate, and a few nosey frat brothers, think Mark would be much better if he was forced to talk to the cute girl from the library that he can’t seem to get out of his head. 

tw/cw. inexperienced/soft reader, frat nct, extreme pining, tooth hurting sweetness, the softest boy in the world, a love so pure it’s going to hurt you, oral (f/m receiving), dry humping, tiddie worship, multiple orgasms, switchy/no bdsm role Mark, etc..

🐻 rating.18+ explicit I wc. 35.8k I frat au

Send In The Clowns - Mark I ft. Jaehyun & Haechan

☕️ synopsis. “She’s not the reason we’re dressed as clowns,” Hyuck is quick to insist. He’s such a good liar. Jungwoo would almost believe it, if you hadn’t told him your Halloween clown plan. It’s no secret to you that your three frat friends all have crushes on you, so you’d decided to tell Jaehyun about wanting to fuck a clown, just to see who would actually follow through with the costume. You’d expected one, maybe two- but here are all three men, dressed as exactly what they are: clowns. And it’s obvious to Jungwoo that they think this is their own idea. As if you’re not the puppeteer behind this all. God, Jungwoo loves having you as a best friend, even if your bucket list includes a frat clown Halloween orgy with three of his best friends.

cw/ tw. clown kink? orgy, foursome, unprotected sex, semi-inexperienced reader, oral, blow jobs, pussy eating, cum eating, squirting, fingering, masturbation, guided masturbation, spanking, choking, spit-roasting/Eiffel tower, cum/filling kink, praise, dirty talk, first time anal, cock warming, double penetration, triple penetration, multiple reader orgasms, dacryphilia, overstimulation, deep throating, face grinding, etc… I pet names: (hers) barbie, babe, baby.

🐻 rating. 18+ explicit I wc. 10.6k I frat

Sunday Sinner - Mark I ft. Haechan

☕️ preview. “Everything is wrong,” Mark sighs. “Doing this with you two is wrong. Wanting you this badly is wrong. Getting hard in Church is wrong. What I want to do to you is wrong. But… as crazy as it sounds, it also feels right.”

tw/cw. threesomes, inexperienced!Mark, fingering, blow jobs, deep throating, pussy eating, spit roasting, voyeurism, lots of masturbation (especially in the shower), Hyuck has a dirty mouth, sin sin sin, unprotected sex, creampies, cum play, kink for being 'full', religious contention, Mark gets hard during Sunday Service, Mark getting outed as low key virgin, proposition, Mark uses a cross necklace in sinful ways, praise, slight degradation, inklings of corruption kink, squirting, etc… I pet names: (hers) angel.(Mark's) church boy.

🐻 rating.18+ explicit I wc. 12.6k I frat

Roommates - Mark I ft. Haechan

☕️ synopsis. as Jungwoo's best friend, you have your pick of fratboys to date, including Jeno, who has a huge crush on you. But you're only attracted to Lee's that come in pairs, and you can't get roommates Mark and Hyuck off your mind.

cw/ tw. drug use (weed), threesome, pet names: baby & kitten, praise, degradation, dirty talk, spanking, fingering, oral (f/m receiving), hand job, anal, double penetration, unprotected sex, edging, body worship, cumplay/creampie, etc…

🐻 rating. 18+ explicit I wc. 8.3k I frat

✘ masterlist

[katuschka]

Miss Lucifer – Part Two

Jake Kiszka x Lilith (f!OC) x Josh Kiszka

9000+ words

What happens in Berlin, stays in Berlin…but sometimes the outcome of the most whimsical ideas can alter the course of your whole life. Sometimes, you need to be shown the end of the road to be able to take it.  Panther girl, take me home Hip to hip, bone to bone Evil heat, all night long, all night long, all night long... (Primal Scream)

Disclaimer: This is a work of fiction, intended for adult readers. Any resemblance to real persons is purely coincidental. Also, if you're under 18, go find some other entertainment elsewhere.

Warnings: oral and penetrative sex, anal sex, threesome, fingering, alcohol consuption, allusions to debauchery, smoking, substance abuse, kidnapping (of sorts), hallucinations, sexual hallucinations, manipulation, succubus, swx demon, dominating female character, dark forces, magic

Taglist Part One

“Sorry mate, I’m serious! Not interested.” 

Josh finally managed to outpin himself from the wall, pass under the guy’s outstretched arm and get out of that godforsaken bathroom. Tony – that’s how he introduced himself – was cute, but not really Josh’s type. Too much surgical steel on his face…

Once again in the main hall, he looked around to check if Jake was still at the bar where he had left him five minutes ago. That was a long enough time for any kind of shit to happen, as it was – in Jake’s words – “anything-could-happen Monday”. Josh felt like the overall experience had already been more than sufficient, even without getting railed in the bathroom stall by a walking magnet. He had enough of this place and wanted to get out of here ASAP. 

They had checked a few bars on their way, but as it was Monday, most places were either half empty and boring, or full of tourists and football fans. Jake had something else in mind. That’s why his pupils dilated in excitement when he saw the sign above the entrance. BeelzebOOb. Just when they thought that their “new and exciting experience” would be reduced to obtaining an extensive knowledge of the S-Bahn timetable, they discovered this peculiar quarter part of the city with quirky nightclubs and other establishments. This one caught Jake’s attention immediately. It was indeed a sign. He had promised his brother boobs, and hopefully that’s what they were going to get here. Much to Josh’s dismay, who remarked that most of the visitors would probably have their nipples pierced (and he wasn’t particularly keen on that), Jake still wanted to check the place out. 

The inside of the club was basically just one long and narrow hall, decorated in steampunk fashion. A long bar on one side, a row of discreet cubicles instead of regular tables on the other. The furthest part of the room consisted of a small dance floor, even though the people grooved to the deafening psytrance music wherever they happened to be at that moment. The dance floor was just a little bit more crowded. A row of iron pillars dividing the room in two even narrower sections looked like it had been added there additionally and seemed to have no practical function apart from making the whole place look even more industrial and cool. Fashionwise, the two of them clearly didn’t belong, but nobody cared. 

“Seriously? This looks like the Ministry of Magic after dark,” Josh muttered, scanning the place left and right. 

“Exactly! Isn’t it fun? C’mon, let’s have a drink.” 

Before Josh could react, Jake was already making his way through the quirky crowd right to the bar. That was when Josh noticed and realized the real purpose of those pillars, as many people seemed to use it to bind themselves or others to them with handcuffs or just scarves. He stopped in his tracks for a second, making Jake turn around and look what hindered him. He followed Josh’s gaze and froze.

“Are they…?”

“Yeah…,” Josh answered, watching the scene with an open mouth. “Fucking.” 

Jake just laughed incredulously. It was a bit out of his character, but on the other hand, he seemed to find exactly what he wanted. “Bitchin’! I already love it here. Let’s go grab that beer.” 

So, an hour and two beers later, Josh was trying to squeeze himself through the crowd to get back to Jake and to convince him to abort mission. Tonight’s plan was not a success. It didn’t help him with his anxiety and he was still annoyed with Jake, this time for dragging him in here. At least he was blissfully unaware of a pair of eyes watching him intently from the darkest corner. 

Mercifully, Jake was still occupying his original spot, even though he wasn’t alone either. Before Josh could get to them though, the girl turned around and disappeared into the crowd.

“Pretty. Nice ass. Why did she leave so suddenly? Did you by chance introduce her to Oliver?”

Jake sighed and took another gulp. “Pretty, but painfully stupid. And to tell you the truth, I’m not entirely sure it was a girl…”

Josh just chuckled. “Does it matter?”

“Maybe not to YOU, but I got a bit more refined taste, brother.”

“Oh yeah? Vanilla is a very refined flavor. So sweet, so fine…” 

Jake scoffed. Maybe coming here wasn’t such a good idea. He had hoped that dragging Josh out of that hotel would bring new impulses to their friendship, but since his beloved brother decided to continue being such a dick, they might as well just go back and resume beating their meat in their respective rooms. “Ok, prick, I think we should call it a night.” 

“I was just going to suggest the same thing.”

“Fine! Just let me finish this bottle and we’re out of here.”

“Oh, but that would be such a shame, wouldn’t it. The night is young and you’re both awfully pretty. May I suggest just one more round of drinks?”

The honeyed voice belonged to two warm hands that were now gently caressing both their backs, respectively. Completely astonished by the familiarity of the touch, they both turned around to find a startlingly beautiful woman standing right behind them. Shoulder-length dark and shiny curls dancing playfully around her head. She was dressed in a latex corset, black leather pants tucked into high Martens boots – a styling not much different from other common guests. Yet, there was definitely something about her. She looked well-kept, almost royal. It looked like others treated her just like that because the people closest to them suddenly withdrew, making a special, comfortable room for the three of them. 

Totally Jake’s type, Josh thought, although he couldn't imagine anyone being completely impartial to her. Rounded, ample breasts, curvy hips, round shoulders and delicate, tiny wrists, but not too much. She looked soft, but moulded by gods. He was sure Fibonacci would weep if he saw her. 

Jake was completely mesmerized by her, examining her like a picture of a saint in Uffizi with a silly smile plastered on his face while she kept coming up with more and more flirtatious antics. She paused at last, expecting them to give her at least a hint of who she was talking to, while procuring a cigarette holder out of nowhere. She bent over the counter and the bartender lit the cigarette for her without a word. Taking a draw, she raised her eyebrows in anticipation, urging them to say something. Anything.

Josh was the first to collect himself. “Um, I’m Josh. This is my brother Jake.”

“Perfect,” she giggled. “Josh and Jake, two halves of one delicious cake. I am Lily.” She shook both their hands in turn. Jake held it up to his lips and kissed her knuckles, earning the crafty smile from her and an eye-roll from Josh. She kept a silent eye contact with him before she placed the cigarette holder delicately between her red lips again and took a long drag, exhaling slowly towards the ceiling.

“You can smoke in here?”

Really Jake, thought Josh. That’s the best line you can come up with? 

However, it either worked, or she simply pretended to be entertained, because she tugged at one of his loose strands playfully and laughed earnestly. “I can do whatever I want here, I own this place.”

It was again followed by a rather uncomfortable silence and Josh thought she would finally get tired of them, but she turned her back to the bar and rested her elbow against the counter. She was rather tenacious. 

“I’m curious, boys, are those plump lips as delicious as they appear to be?” she asked, eyeing them both in turns until her eyes rested on Jake’s pendants for a longer while. 

The bold question made them both lick their lower lips unwittingly and pretty much in unison, but their subsequent reactions were different. 

Josh’s eyes narrowed in apprehension when Lily finally turned her head back to him and their eyes met. A possible scenario flashed in front of his eyes, but it was definitely NOT what he had imagined earlier. It made him a bit uneasy, to be honest. She sensed it and grinned viciously. 

Jake, on the other hand, was past the point of reasoning. Driven completely by lust now, he just wanted to turn her attention back to him. “There’s only one way for you to find out,” finally mustering all his courage, he teased. He really liked the audacity with which she presented herself, it made his cock twitch and he was really curious if she was just as bold in her actions as she was with her words. The look she shot him made his heart jump to his throat though.

“You’re absolutely right,” she answered, grabbed him by the nape of his neck and forcefully pressed her lips on his. Jake opened his mouth immediately and she licked into it with gusto, pressing him against the counter. Oozing dominance, she made it known that she was in charge with every movement as negligible as a simple wiggle of her finger, and Jake showed no inclination to fight it. He rested his hands timidly on each side of her waist and let her do whatever she pleased. With his eyebrows raised in an expression of surprise and surrender, he just kept moaning into her mouth like a virgin attacked by a sex demon. Well…

Josh watched them with his mouth half open, completely mesmerized and a bit frightened at the same time. Jake was a flirt, but Josh had never seen him fall for someone so easily. Granted, she was gorgeous and there was something about her that made him question his own judgment, because the scene made the muscles just below his navel spasm as the blood drained from his brain and moved to the nether regions. She sensed his stare as well as the movement and simply reached behind her to casually grab at his crotch, making him yelp like a pup and shrink back from her, reversing the process of dumbing-down just a little bit.   

“Jake, I think we should go!” His voice was low and commanding. He was playing the older brother now. 

That quirky imp surely could exide dominance if he wanted to, and she couldn’t help but admire him for trying. She didn’t – however – admire the fact that it obviously worked, as Jake's grip on her waist loosened and he finally tried to pull away. She wouldn’t have that. Obviously, there was no way to have one without the other and it was much harder to get under the curly one’s skin. Oh well, sigh. Life became much easier when being just a shameless slut turned out to be enough to get what she wanted, but in this case, she would have to try some of her old tricks. It would cost her much more valuable energy and there were times when she regretted it because it turned out that the man wasn’t worth it. However, the two of them combined would easily make up for it. She could tell. 

So, with a final obscene lick at the corner of Jake’s mouth, she turned back to Josh and blew air in his face. It felt like being attacked by a cloud of jasmine powder and it left him momentarily stunned. Seizing her chance, she planted a much more restrained kiss on his parted lips. Her own tasted like linden honey and without any conscious thought, he licked her lip in return and let her deepen the kiss, the tips of their tongues just brushing against each other playfully. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders and started playing with the curls at the nape of his neck. That was his Achilles heel. 

Just when he felt as if his brain had run out of oxygen, she left what felt like a pill on his tongue and released him. 

“Swallow,” he heard her say, but her lips didn’t move. What is this, he thought without really thinking, and then she spoke again: “Trust me.” 

This time he realized that her voice was coming from inside his head and he shook it as if trying to break free from invisible chains, because the realization chilled him to the bone. He still heard her humming, the sound coming to him from every direction now, even though she just stood there right in front of him, smiling engagingly. Are you crazy? Why should I trust you? Leave me alone, he thought again and was about to spit the pill out, when a vision appeared right in front of his eyes. It was like watching a video on a translucent screen hovering in mid-air. He could see both Jake and Lily through it, but the image was crystal clear. It was something only he knew about. A face of a classmate from a long time ago, long forgotten, but the feeling lingered. It was all coming back to him now, all those midnight musings, stolen glances, the taste of his skin as well as the final rejection. These were the scenes from the times when he thought he had nowhere to go, and everything to lose…

“Swallow, and I’ll show you the future, too. I promise it’s much brighter.” The vision evaporated like a mist and someone turned on the music again…He couldn’t move, standing there like a salt pillar with his lips now pressed firmly together and the eyes wide open, unable to focus. 

“Josh?” Jake’s voice, as well as deep concern etched on his face, finally brought Josh from his reverie. Lily, on the other hand, looked completely unaffected. With the same radiant smile, she just snapped her fingers in front of his eyes, clearly mocking him: “Hey, baby. Are you still with us?” 

He did it. Acting against his better judgment, he rolled the pill on his tongue slowly and then swallowed. Jake wanted a fucking soul-searching adventure, so let’s do this. The rational part of his mind already pictured their faces on a missing persons poster, but the blithe and curious creature that dwelled in his subconsciousness seemed to take over and decided that he in fact did trust her. He just had no idea why. Maybe it was just a selfish curiosity prompted by what she knew, and also what she claimed she knew. How did she know? He wanted her to show him more. He needed more. 

She playfully patted him on the cheek in appreciation with just her fingertips before she raised her arms up and stretched lasciviously like a cat., rubbing her ample bosom against Jake’s upper arm. “Oh yeah, that was delicious,” she crooned. “I’m pretty sure your other parts are just as tasty. Now…I don’t know how about you two, but I feel like dancing. Shall we?” With that, she swayed her hips into the rhythm to further accentuate her point.

Jake ignored her at first, still trying to ascertain what the hell just happened, mouthing a silent question to Josh who just shook his head without words, still a bit stunned. Even though Jake would gladly let her cunt swallow his dick under other circumstances, the effect she had on his brother scared him. Lily was getting impatient. She cleared her throat in an attempt to draw their attention back to her. “Dance!” she commanded. 

“Uh…I don’t dance… and I think Josh was right, I think we should go…”

“No way! Come on baby, show your brother how it’s done!” She pouted at Jake and turned to Josh again, taking him by the hand, leading him to the dancefloor like a small child. With a flick of her hand, the music got louder and the whole room got dimmer, only the strobe lights in the furthest corner now illuminated the dancefloor and adjacent cubicles. The rest of the space was swallowed by darkness. 

Everyone’s attention turned towards the dance floor. She was clearly a local star here. The owner, sure, but her magnetic presence made everyone watch her with reverence. Jake watched sulkily as their bodies swayed together in the middle of the dance floor, limbs intertwined and their curly heads bouncing to the aggressive beat. Seriously? Just five minutes ago, he wanted to get out of this place. Whatever she did to his twin, Jake wasn’t going to just stand there and watch it. He was also a tiny bit jealous, but god knows he’d never admit that. 

He took the last sip of his beer and ventured forward to join them. A new song started playing, a familiar one. The small crowd on the dancefloor whooped in unison and went into a frenzy as Keith Flint’s voice bounced against the tiled walls. 

Breathe the pressure Come play my game, I'll test ya

He tapped on her shoulder when he reached them and she turned to him immediately. “Look who decided to join us,” she stuck out her tongue at him and grinned. 

“Shut up and kiss me,” he shouted. 

“Only if you’re going to dance!” She put her arms around his shoulders and pressed her parted lips on his, while trying to convince him to move to the rhythm with her. He obliged. Pressing his thigh in between her legs and grabbing her just above the waist so that his thumbs intentionally brushed against her tits, he started moving with her. 

Josh did not like the new situation he found himself in. At all! His head was pounding and everything around him seemed to blur as his pupils dilated. He kept holding onto her hips with just his fingertips in an attempt to keep physical contact with anyone at least partially familiar, because the floor under his feet started to shake. The crowd moved, he got pushed aside and lost all the remaining contact with the two of them. All he could see were a few of her curls bouncing over other people’s heads. A tall and lanky albino guy, scantily clad in black leather but with an obnoxious amount of silver adorning his whole body, grabbed his hips instead and pressed himself against Josh’s butt, their dance moves becoming more and more obscene, bouncing together to the beat lewdly.  

As Josh grew more and more dizzy, he soon turned into a mere rag doll in the arms of the albino, who now proceeded to assault Josh’s neck with his mouth, the spike piercing under his lower lip scratching Josh’s jugular. He tried to break free from the man’s grasp at last, but then everything turned dark and his lifeless form fell down to the ground. 

With the help of two other guys, the albino scooped him from the floor and tried to carry him away from the crowd, only to be stopped by Jake’s arm. They completely ignored him, so he literally jumped on the albino’s shoulders in order to stop him. Lily pulled him away. “It’s ok, Jake.” She looked calm and stern, a stark contrast to Jake, who suddenly looked like a maniac.

“What the fuck do you mean!” he shouted, but still could barely hear his own voice due to the loud music. How come he could hear her clearly even though she barely moved her lips? She didn’t respond this time, simply grabbed his arm and motioned to him to follow them. He yanked it out from her grasp, searching his pockets for his phone. “That’s it, I’m calling the police,” he shouted again. 

“No, you’re not.” 

This time she didn’t move her lips at all. Mesmerized, he watched her fumbling with a lighter and a strange looking pack of smokes at the very same time as he heard those words, almost like a whisper. Lily lit another cigarette, inhaled the fragrant smoke and grabbed Jake’s jaw, digging her fingers in his cheeks in order to force his mouth open. He could feel her black nails breaking into his skin and tried to back away again. A cloud of funny smelling smoke hit his nostrils as she exhaled and his body went numb a second later. 

Cooooome play my gaaaame Inhale, inhale, you're the victim

Everything around him began to spin, making him nauseous, but he didn’t lose consciousness entirely. His legs gave out, though, and he could feel two pairs of hands grabbing him under his armpits before he could fall to the ground. Other dancers around them were making room for them to pass through the small crowd on the dance floor, but no one batted an eye at the sight of them. Those people seemed completely unfazed, as if him stumbling half conscious behind that witch and her cronies was something completely normal. 

Like a small, macabre procession, they slowly left the club through some back entrance and were now ascending up the stairs, Jake still stumbling like a wooden puppet. Oh yes, that’s what she was – a puppeteer. He could feel his eyelids drooping and desperately tried to fight it. He needed to stay awake, to wake Josh and to get them out of this mess. Whatever was going to happen to Josh now, he was to blame… He was to…

He blacked out for mere seconds, but the surroundings changed rapidly in the meantime. First he noticed two large frosted glass double doors, decorated in art deco fashion. The nearest pair to their right was completely open, revealing what looked like an antique shop full of various trinkets as they passed it by. The second door at the end of the hall was half closed, leading to a dimly illuminated and particularly cozy tea room. 

In the middle of the room, there was a large, elevated platform that looked like something between a box and a huge bed, covered with a soft carpet. Large and heavy cushions were propped up against wooden rails that surrounded three sides of the platform. A wooden crate with a single bulk candle on top obviously served as a table. He was put down on the platform and the last thing he could see in his peripheral vision was Josh already lying on the cushions next to him. He lost consciousness a second later. 

He didn’t know how long it took before he came to himself again, but the next thing he saw was Lily standing in the doorway clad in a satin bathrobe. She was holding a tea tray which she carefully placed on the crate, took the kettle and poured the steaming contents into a simple clay cup, which she then handed to Jake. He immediately refused but she was adamant. “Drink. It’s just chamomile tea with honey. It will make you feel better.” Her voice was low and calm and he took a sniff at the contents of the cup. It seemed that she didn’t lie, but he still hesitated, so she drank some and offered him the rest with an appeasing smile. 

He took a sip and placed the cup carefully on the crate. Then he looked at Josh again and took his brother’s hand in his, caressing the dorsal side with his thumb. “What did you do to him?”

She watched his actions with a kind smile for a few seconds before responding: “He’s just sleeping. Don’t worry, he’ll be fine. It’s just a pill I gave him, its effects will go away soon. And before you say anything else, he swallowed it willingly. True, I have my ways to convince people to do what I want, but…”

“But why? Why are we here?” 

Lily took a deep breath, as if contemplating something, and placed her hand on Josh’s thigh, moving it gently upwards. Jake felt a sudden urge to swap her hand away, but she was quicker, bending towards Jake to lick at his lower lip with her tongue. “I want you Jake. You alone would be more than enough, but you wouldn’t follow me here without him and he was much more resistant…also, I promised him something.” She suddenly cupped his balls with her other hand, making him hiss. She was now palming them both through their pants. Josh, still asleep, moaned softly through his nose and stirred just slightly. Jake suddenly felt a huge lump in his throat. It was obscene, this whole situation was wrong on so many levels, but he couldn’t help but feel fascinated by her actions. He was also willing to give her what she wanted – whatever it was – if it saved his brother. This was all his fault. 

“Please don’t play games with him. He doesn’t deserve it. He…”

“I know,” she interrupted him and straightened up, placing her hands back on her thighs. “I saw his vision.”

Jake was getting more and more confused. “What vision?”

“His past desire. Something like this…” She snapped her fingers and his vision blurred for a split second before a second figure materialized in front of him. 

Jake inhaled sharply. He could feel his heart beating in his throat, pumping adrenaline into every inch of his body. This was a genuine fight-or-flight situation, yet he didn’t want to run away from it and he didn’t want to fight it either. She was there, right in front of him. His silent girlfriend. Sweet sixteen. He almost forgot about this young version of her, bent over an acoustic guitar in her turquoise muslin sundress, strumming the sweetest song. He didn’t even realize how much he missed her bright eyes and raven locks. Or her sweet kisses that he never really got to taste…He lifted his arms, but his hands froze in mid air. He desperately wanted to touch her face, but was too scared to do so… and then she was suddenly gone again. Instead, Lily was looking at him with compassion in her own eyes. She blinked twice, then spoke again.

“But this wasn’t real, was it.”

Jake still couldn’t get his breathing under control, his heart still beating like crazy. “Are you a fucking witch, or what?” He was gnawing at the inside of his mouth in a vain attempt not to break down in front of this… this… creature. 

She only scoffed at his question, instead demanding the answer he still didn’t give her:  “Answer me!” She looked sinister for a second, then her features softened again. She could taste his emotions on her tongue, but instead of the expected sourness of defiance, all she could discern was a lavender-ish aroma of longing. It was no use to try to subjugate him by force. And it wouldn’t be fair. He was already enthralled anyway, and he wasn’t going to leave. It also meant he was even more valuable than she had expected. They both were. 

He let out a heavy exhale, almost a sob. “No, it wasn’t real. It was just a daydream, but so elaborate she even visited me in my dreams a few times.” He had no idea why he was even telling her all this, but the truth was that he suddenly felt a bit lighter. 

“Your perfect girl?” she trilled.

Jake didn’t want to answer this one. He closed his eyes, trying to fight off the tears that threatened to spill. A fuckboy on the outside, he had this secret dream. Almost no one knew about her, only Josh did. She kept him company when it was just him and his hand in the middle of the night. She disappeared eventually, as there was no room for her in his increasingly busy life, but he recalled her smile from time to time. And then he refused to add the song on the album. It was too bittersweet. 

“Look at me!” she ordered suddenly, her voice so strong it echoed in the room and bounced off the walls, but it was no longer menacing. Just powerful. He opened his eyes and yelped. She was her, bone and flesh, so real he started to tremble, yet so unreal at the same time. 

“So, you’re a shapeshifter, too.”

“Yes. Men who are nothing but selfish, chauvinistic swines, think I am a monster. So that’s how I appear to them, it is their choice. They don’t deserve anything else. I steal from the takers, but I can be very generous, too. I’ve been observing you, Jake, and I’m impressed by what I’ve seen so far.” Her voice was suddenly soft as velvet, and when she offered him her hand, he willingly took it. 

This was surreal, the whole encounter. He couldn’t comprehend what was going on. He looked at the small cup on the crate warily. “Have you drugged me again?”

“No,” she shook her head with a warm smile. “This is much more powerful than drugs. It’s all already in your head. I’m not altering your consciousness, I’m just reading you, and I’m… bringing it to the surface. But you shouldn’t worry. I’m not cruel. It wouldn’t work if you weren’t willing. And I’m not going to torture you with this. In fact, this is beautiful! Oh my Lord down below, the two of you have so much to offer!”

If she thought this explanation was supposed to assure him he was safe, she failed miserably. “What do you want?” he whispered.

She reacted with a resonant laugh, while still trying to keep a kind face. It wasn’t hard. She didn’t have to dissemble the affection she felt towards him. “You should be asking what I’m willing to offer in return, Jake. You still think you’re in some kind of danger, but all I want is you to feed me.” 

His eyes widened in horror, which made her chuckle, but she realized how much was at stake. She had already said too much, she wasn’t usually that eloquent, partly because getting what she wanted was commonly much easier, and partly because she thought he deserved the explanation, so she quickly clarified: “With the bodily fluid you can spare.” Jake frowned and responded with just a simple “oh.” They neither moved nor said anything else for a few seconds. At last, she spoke: “I am not usually asking such questions, because I don’t make requests, but…,” she paused for a short while again, seemingly lost in contemplation, before she continued, her face now so close he could feel her hot breath on his skin: “Will you kiss me, Jake? I want you to kiss me just like you would kiss her. Would you do that?”

The sudden vulnerability in her voice took him by surprise and it was impossible to say no. He took her alabaster face in his hands and closed the gap between them, their lips dancing together to the music which he craved and which she secretly admired. It made her ancient heart sing along. She saw a vision of a world where this power would prevail and it glazed her eyes with longing. It had been her choice to spend eternity trying to punish men for destroying it; it was also her responsibility to nurture it. He felt it and the overwhelming effect of that particular sensation made him fall into her embrace, succumbing to her entirely. 

When their mouths finally parted, she stroked his cheek and smiled, weeping silently. Her dark curls straightened and lengthened again, shiny strands dancing in the air as if they were animated by a gentle breeze, even though all windows were closed. He could see gleams of sheer white chiffon flickering in it, embroidered by tiny, bell-shaped flowers, perhaps lily of the valley…or maybe spring snowflakes? He could always tell when spring was coming. Even when it was still bitterly cold outside, one day something in the air just changed and he could literally smell the shift of seasons. He loved spring. Tiny green buds bursting with new life and covering the world in light green tint everywhere he looked. He wanted those colors in his life. White and light green, and maybe blue or pink. The concept of the circle of life fascinated him and now he could feel how his own life reached a point when he wanted to step in that circle. He watched in silent wonder how her belly swelled and retracted back again before his fingers could touch it. She smiled at him contentedly. It was a mother’s smile.

A new wave of arousal swept through him, a different kind. His previous responses to her flirtations were purely carnal, and no wonder, when she had acted like a feline. But then she dug into his soul, embraced what she saw without judgment and let him relive it for a little while. He needed more. “What did you promise Josh? he asked.

“A sneak peak into his future,” she answered. 

“Will you show me mine?”

“If you want me to, then yes.”

“Take it, then” he whispered and she nodded silently. 

She reached down and unbuckled his belt. His fingertips spread out her bathrobe and he let it slide off of her shoulders. It all seemed to him to be happening in slow motion. They played this stripping game until they were both completely naked, then she suddenly pushed him down on the cushions and straddled him. He tilted his head back, exposing his neck to her, and she licked at his jugular like a gourmand, as if his skin was covered with a thin caramel crust. He tasted delicious. She could feel his strong pulse, and purred in appreciation. Traveling down his warm body, already slick with perspiration, she encircled his left pectoral with a swift, catlike lick, her pussy leaving a wet stripe on his right thigh. She was too much of a tease. He wanted to grab those rounded hips and just push her down on his throbbing cock, but when he tried to move his arms, they suddenly felt like they were made of lead. He tried to scream, but couldn’t make a sound. Her voice echoed inside his skull again. “Relax Jake, I want to be giving tonight. Steady on, and it will be pleasant. The paralysis isn't my doing, it’s the response of your system that still tries to overpower me. Breathe!”

He tried. Calm down, Jake. Inhale, exhale. With her warm hand now pressing on his chest, he tried to take a long, deep breath to overcome the sudden surge of panic, but it was not an easy task. The complex sensations attacking all his senses now were just too overwhelming. The air in the room got heavy with resin fumes and musk and her own scent reminded him of some sort of floral nectar. The rich combination of all the olfactory stimuli around him was making him increasingly lightheaded again. Overpowered by it, he closed his eyes and the world started spinning, so he quickly opened them again to a new, altered reality. She was swirling around and over his form like some sort of pearly serpent and the walls around them turned to nacre. Everything around them sparkled like ripples of water surface under the northern sun. He couldn’t tell what was true anymore, but it didn’t matter, because her touch felt like liquid velvet. He arched his back in search of even more physical contact. He needed to feel every inch of her, gluing his sweat-covered skin to hers. Her hands roamed over him, cool and soothing. 

He succumbed to the feeling, and the tension in his chest finally subsided, fear leaving his body in waves. In fact, he’d swear he could hear and feel actual sea waves…

When he was thirteen or fourteen, he had a very vivid dream about being in a small boat drifting along a tropical shore during the most beautiful sunrise he had ever seen. He still remembered every detail of that dream even more than a decade later, as if it actually happened. She was there with him, with her back turned to him. Without even being able to see her face, he knew he loved her. That was their first encounter and all his subsequent fantasies, the whole alternative reality that he created in his head, stemmed from the feeling she ignited in him in that dream. The boat must have been leaking because there was water inside the boat too, washing over his limbs like lukewarm chamomile tea. He wasn’t afraid of sinking and the boat in fact kept floating. Everything was so calm and quiet when the sun finally appeared on the horizon while the stars were still visible above them. That’s when she started singing, binding his heart to the idea of her forever. 

“This is beautiful Jake, truly. Thank you for showing me,” Lily whispered in his ear, bringing him from his trance and back to her. He could see her still hovering over him, her smiling face now mere inches from his. She kissed him again, tenderly, and he reciprocated. Moaning in her open mouth, he felt close to losing his mind, but her hand suddenly grabbing at his cock brought him back to the physical world. 

Before he knew it, she slid down his body again and took him in her mouth, making him yelp in surprise. She was good, her smooth tongue cradling the underside of his head in one second and lapping at his balls just a flick of a moment later, after she swallowed him down effortlessly, her throat contracting around him. 

She was too good, in fact. Frantically grabbing at the cushions around him and groaning loudly, he feared he was going to embarrass himself in front of her. Her laughter echoed inside his skull again. She knew. She could feel him pulsate against her tongue and playfully tickled one of the veins with just the tip of it while his swollen head kept leaking precum deep in her throat. In a vain attempt to steady himself, he shook his head like a madman. That’s when he heard another startled moan. It took him a second to realize that it wasn’t him this time and his heart skipped a beat. He had completely forgotten where he was and how he got there. Turning his head slowly to the side, he met a mirrored gaze: two dark eyes, wide open now, staring back at him. They looked at each other in stunned silence for several seconds until she took the reins again. Abandoning Jake’s cock with a playful pop, she stretched like a cat, rubbed her cheek against Jake’s right thigh and licked her lips, cackling. “Good morning Sleeping Beauty. Looks like your brother got a bit preoccupied here, but I haven’t forgotten about you. Want me to show you what that means?”

He responded with just a soft whimper, turning to his brother again, searching for guidance… and found none. Jake’s eyes were closed again, his brows knit together, and another moan escaped his parted lips. Josh’s eyes traveled down back to her and he saw her fist sliding up and down Jake’s cock with a steady rhythm. Looking intently into Josh’s eyes while doing so, she pressed the thumb of her other hand on her tongue and swirled it around lasciviously, before she enveloped it with her plump lips and sucked on it, winking at Josh while doing so. It made his own dick twitch again and she hummed with satisfaction. What a banquet tonight! She whooped in delight, making them both shoot a surprised look at her. 

Abandoning Jake’s cock for a moment, but without breaking eye contact with Josh, she got on all four and positioned herself in a space between them, offering herself to Jake like a bitch in heat. Too stunned to move, Josh just kept lying on the cushions, his gaze shifting between them. He watched in astonishment as Jake got up, positioned himself behind her and entered her with one swift thrust. Her warmth made him shudder and he buried his fingertips into the amble flesh of her hips to steady himself. Tilting his head back, he started fucking her without a single thought left in his head.  

Lily’s face hovered right above Josh’s crotch and she watched his bodily reaction to the whole situation with smug amusement. 

“Men,” she scoffed. “Strip for me, baby. Set that beauty free.” With that, she kissed his clothed bulge and gave it a gentle stroke with her index and middle finger. 

As if in a dream, he fumbled at the button of his pants with shaking hands. The zipper was next and before he even realized what he was really doing, he slid his pants down his legs and kicked them aside. His hard-on twitched again, as if waving at her. Joshito says hello. 

Always a man who laughs at his own jokes, he chuckled at the idea and quickly covered his face with hands and groaned in embarrassment. 

“Don’t play coy, Joshua. We both know you are a deviant piece of art. Show me how much. Come on.” Poking his chin, she motioned him to get up and get rid of his white shirt. Sitting on his heels now and still trying to avoid looking at Jake, he slowly reached for the hem and pulled the shirt over his head. “Beautiful,” she pursed her lips and moaned. “Come here, baby.”

He almost mirrored her own position now. On his hands and knees, he crawled even closer to her, his parted lips almost touching hers. She brushed his cheek with the tip of her nose and pressed her forehead to his. He felt the rhythmic sway of her body and started moving in unison with her as Jake continued thrusting into her deeply in a slow, sensual rhythm. Behind his closed eyelids, he could see silvery smoke circling around him like dust around a protosun, before it shaped and shifted in two androgynous figures. At first they were just some incorporeal entities, flickering around him like paper silhouettes, until he felt their touch. 

They positioned themselves behind and in front of him, respectively. He couldn’t see their faces, he wasn’t even sure they had any. He simply felt their presence, and that was the only thing that mattered. If he were a blank canvas, their hands would paint multicolor waves all around his body. The vision of him arched his back and howled, the real Josh whimpered and grabbed Lily’s moving shoulders. 

One of the creatures in his vision suddenly grabbed his hips – just as Jake held hers – and thrusted into him forcefully and without warning, but he felt no pain. Only exhilarating pleasure. The sensation made him gasp and through the haze of his lucid hallucinations, he heard her laugh.

A wave of panic similar to Jake’s swept over him when he tried to open his eyes and realized that he couldn’t. His mind was locked inside the vision completely; he was losing control over his body, only barely aware that he was still leaning against her. He could still hear. In fact, the noises around him only intensified and amplified. Jake’s moans and her cackles rumbled around him like a thunderstorm. 

The vision shifted again and he found himself in an ouroboros-like formation of pearly bodies, all swaying together in a circle in one collective act of love. One of them kept pounding his ass, another one in front of him demanded to be penetrated. The sensation was almost too intense, and Josh let out a long, high-pitched wail. Still clutching Lily’s shoulders, his hands began to tremble again. Let go, she whispered inside his head again, and he fell back on all four. The hallucination was gone all of the sudden, and with it the sensation. Josh moaned mournfully at the loss. He was now painfully hard and needed to do something about it. He looked her in the eye, silently pleading.

Without breaking eye contact, Lily straightened up and reached behind her to grab a handful of Jake’s hair, who huffed through his nose and quickened his pace, still lost in his own trance. Fucking her with a newfound virility, his hands traveled up her glittering form to cup her full breasts. They were now both towering over Josh, who watched them, mesmerized, but also feeling neglected and empty. Lily smiled down at him smugly. 

“Are you aroused, Josh?” she asked calmly, almost mockingly.

“Yes,” he breathed out and bit his lower lip in a vain attempt to stay calm.

“Do you want to fuck?” It was just a whisper this time. 

“Yeah,” he let out a high pitched whine. 

She fell back on all four, so that their faces were again almost touching, and hissed in his ear: “As you wish.” Balancing only on her left arm, she reached out with her right hand and grabbed his hard dick. Taken by surprise, Josh whined again, but she quickly silenced him with a fervent kiss, while stroking him. 

Move aside Jake, time to share. Her voice echoed in the room while her tongue continued exploring the inside of Josh’s mouth. Jake groaned in disagreement, but obeyed. Lily let go as well, quickly piled up several cushions and pillows in the middle of the platform and lay down on her back on them, her head now facing Jake. She grabbed her knees, spread her legs right in front of Josh’s face and whispered: “Your turn.” 

Josh grabbed his cock and aligned himself with her entrance. He looked down at her and her eyes brightened with joy and playful mischief. “That’s the look I wanted to see, you filthy little beast!” she exclaimed. He responded with just his bratty smile and entered her, throwing one of her legs over his shoulder. With a contented purr, she tilted her head back, opened her mouth and stuck out her tongue, her eyes on Jake. 

He hesitated at first so she added: “Go ahead, big boy. I allow it. And I can take it.” And, without another word, Jake took both sides of her head in his hands and slid in. She grabbed his asscheeks and urged him to go deeper. Mesmerized, he watched how her throat heaved with each thrust. She gagged a few times, but it was just for the show, because she had already learned that contractions of her throat around his head would quickly send him over the edge… and she was getting really hungry. He had been almost there already when she made them switch positions and now could already feel his orgasm building up again. He took a deep breath and bit his lip, trying to hold it just a little bit longer, but the vicious bitch dipped her index finger in the saliva that was running down her cheek and thrusted it up his ass. He yelped at the new sensation and, jerking his hips violently, filled her throat with his hot cum. 

Opening his eyes at last, he noticed Josh watching him with an unreadable expression on his face. He quickly averted his gaze and turned his attention back to Lily, while Jake collapsed back down on the remaining cushions, exhausted and completely spent. Lily swallowed, let out a relaxed sigh and her suddenly scaly skin started shimmering even more than before. Her pupils dilated and her back arched. Jake’s seed was delicious and knowing she’d get more soon, she got impatient and greedy. Josh could feel her muscles contract around him and groaned at the sensation. She was intentionally crushing him, trying to milk his penis like a teat. Her body started thrashing around like a fish out of the water. He put his hand on her belly in an attempt to steady her and could feel himself moving inside her. Sliding his hand down, his thumb found her clit and he started moving it in slow circles, but she grabbed his wrist to stop him and squeezed his dick with her walls again. His thighs started shaking, his rhythm faltered, and with a final, jerky thrust, he came hard and collapsed on top of her. 

After he regained his composure again, Josh sat up slowly, pulling her up with him. He then looked at her, confused. “But, you don’t need to…?”

She laughed. “Oh, you’re truly precious. No, I absolutely do not need to, but if you insist, I shall want to…” With that, she lay back on the cushions and spread her legs again in a teasingly slow motion, putting her slick pussy on full display once again. They both watched her in awe, unmoving. 

“...or do I have to do that myself?” She raised her eyebrow, a gesture of playful impatience, and started rubbing her clitoris with her middle finger. 

Jake was the first one to recover. He moved around her, swatted her hand away and cupped her pussy with his own instead. “Let me show you how it’s done, little boy,” he winked at Josh. 

“Oh fuck off, I know how to…” Josh retorted, but was quickly silenced by Lily’s annoyed grunt. “I’m not interested in your brotherly bickering. Get me off NOW!” 

With that, Jake slid two fingers inside her and quickly found the bundle he was looking for, which made her nod in appreciation. Curling his fingers up, he was rewarded with a breathy moan and her hips jerked forward, pleading for more. Still watching the whole show, Josh bit his lip and dared to bend down, thrusting out the tip of his tongue to touch her with it, cautiously at first. 

“Yes! More!” she hollered and he started fluttering his tongue over the swollen nub. With their combined effort, they made her whole body convulse soon and – screaming like a banshee – she squirted all over Jake’s hand and Josh’s chin. 

Jake smiled smugly and playfully gestured for Josh to get the spoils. “It’s all yours, big boy.” 

Josh flipped him off and leaned down in between her legs to lick up her own release. He expected to taste himself too, but her body already absorbed his cum. This was all her, and she tasted like elderberry syrup. He moaned involuntarily, almost startled. As if on cue, Jake licked his own fingers and his eyes widened. “Seriously, who are you?” 

“I’m a nightmare,” she crooned. “...or simply a woman in a dream. Depends on who you are.”

Overcome with fatigue, they snuggled with her down on the pillows. Lily in the middle and the twins both on each side of her. “You promised,” Jake murmured, barely able to keep his eyes open. 

“I know dear, and I’m going to keep my word. Rest now, it will come to you.” She cradled his head and stroked his damp hair. Then she turned to Josh, kissed his forehead gently and with her lips still pressed to his skin, she murmured: “You too honey, lay your head.”   

They dreamt the same dream about a big house in the country, with birds singing and children running around, screaming and laughing. 

Josh and his people just parked outside, all five of them. Three adults and two younglings. The kids were bouncing in their safety seats, wild and bubbly, singing Wheels on a Bus together with Josh. He looked at them through his rear-view mirror and smiled at the sight of their wobbling heads: one curly and the other one ginger, just like their fathers’. Their mother helped them from their seats before they jumped from the car, impatient. She grabbed her bag and followed them. Josh watched as she passed by his window, her hair turning to pure gold as the sun rays shone through the wild strands. 

“Come on, Josh,” they’re waiting,” the blonde woman trilled. He could see his nephews slash godsons running towards them from behind the house, their distant laughter ringing in his ears. It looked like a scene from a movie, except this was his life. He turned to his right, kissed the ginger sitting next to him in the passenger seat and exited the car to meet them all. This was love. Those plump lips that could do wonders, the freckled nose above them, the blond hair dancing in the wind, tiny bare feet dancing on the overgrown grass… 

Josh looked around and his heart started singing, overflowing with joy for his brother’s happiness. She was standing on the porch, watching the scene, her raven locks also dancing in the wind. She was real, flesh and bone, all that time just waiting to be discovered in a small diner just outside Nashville. 

Jake’s form materialized from the dark shadow behind her. He now stood next to her, holding her lovingly by the waist while she kept caressing her swelling belly. He raised his other hand in acknowledgement and descended the few steps to say hello to his twin. 

“It’s a girl this time. The doctor told us just yesterday.” That was his greeting. 

“Well, congratulations! Finally.”

“Yeah, I began to think I didn’t know how to make them,” Jake chuckled, then looked back at her lovingly. 

“It’s gonna be just like us,” Josh smiled. “Except this time, she’s gonna be the youngest. Better buy her a piano soon.”

Jake stepped closer and hugged his brother. This was unusual, as Josh was normally the one who initiated any kind of physical contact. He could feel his younger twin shaking, and patted him lovingly on his back. 

“I love this life, Josh.”

“It’s been a pleasure spending it with you, brother.” 

Jake was the first one to open his eyes, and they suddenly welled with tears.

“Josh?” 

The body next him stirred and opening his own eyes, he looked at Jake. “I know…”

It was just the two of them now, both clothed in white linen caftans and snuggled together under a warm blanket. Neither of them could remember how they got dressed, but considering what happened last night, nothing surprised them anymore. 

Suddenly they heard a soft melody coming to them from the adjacent room. It was Lily, humming a tune that sounded eerily familiar. It was just an indiscernible murmur at first, but as soon as she appeared in the doorway, holding a tray with three cups and a steaming kettle, they finally heard the words:

And as the night begins to die, they are the morning birds that sing against the sky. 

She paused and smiled at them. “Tea?”

@its-interesting-van-kleep @edgingthedarkness @writingcold @thewritingbeforesunrise @lvnterninthenight @fleet-of-fiction @takenbythemadness @myownparadise96 @gvfstuddedmajesty @josh-iamyour-mama @jazzyfigz @sanguinebats @love-isnt-greed @klarxtr @kiszkas-canvas @lyndz2names @wetkleenex-gvf

[visionofvoid]

How the Drivers React to Seeing/Meeting You For the First Time - Part Two

George Russell:

“They’ll let anyone in here.” Lewis joked to an unknown woman beside George as they walked through the hall to make it to a strategic meeting and expectations on the track for the new year. Lewis was a legend in the game, quite literally a world champion though they needed to work harder if they wanted to earn Mercedes the title of Constructors Champion and get points for the new season. George? He was still newish, he was still trying to navigate his way through his role, especially when his teammate was the one and only Lewis Hamilton. 

“Lewis!” The girl seemed as if she was full of energy, Toto nodding at his two drivers in acknowledgement before looking back to the strange woman, a fond look on his face. “It’s been so long!” She had a slight accent, reminiscent of Toto’s. She seemed warm, like she cared to make a positive impact with everyone she had ever met. She had this radiant energy that George felt drawn to, and he wasn’t too sure how to feel about that given she was a stranger to him. 

“Well maybe if you visited your father more.” Toto jokes, the girl rolling her eyes as Lewis chuckled and embraced her.  

“Father?”

“Ah yes, you must be George. I’m Olive, Olive Wolff.”

Valtteri Bottas:

Tiffany Cromwell and Valtteri Bottas were a well known couple in the Formula One world, so, when the two decided to end their relationship everyone was shocked. It was rather amicable but Valtteri spent a lot of his free time healing, beginning to get used to being alone, and starting to fall in love with himself more. The two had remained close friends; nothing would ever change the love the two shared for one another, they just wished for different things in their lives and that was normal, that was okay. So, when Valtteri decided he wanted to put himself out there again, he called on for some advice from the closest female he knew that wasn’t family; Tiffany. 

Valtteri stood on the podium, his first P3 of the season in the third race of the season and he felt absolutely over the moon. He was in a new car in a new team and was just thrilled. He felt as if there was some luck out there for him, someone there to cheer him on. After all the interviews and the post race press conference he finally had some time to celebrate with his friends, team and everyone that worked behind the scenes and other celebrities that were in the city. 

“Valtteri!” The Finnish man turned, hearing the familiar feminine voice over all the others as he walked into the bar. Tiffany, with a drink in her hand, bounced on her feet towards Valtteri, leaving a friend awkwardly standing to herself. She embraced him, clearly a couple of drinks deep but excited to see him nonetheless. He chuckled as she pulled away, a pink flush on her cheeks. “I’m here to set you up with my girlfriend! You’ll love her!” He turned to the female that was making her way over, her cheeks also flushed but from the embarrassment of Tiffany’s statement. Valtteri noticed she was wearing a casual dress, not overly dressed up like everyone else in the bar. Just comfortable, though she still looked gorgeous, that much he knew. 

“I’m so sorry! I tried to get some water into her.” The friend apologised, taking the drink Tiffany was waving around out of her hand. “I’m not some groupie, by the way. Tiffany has made it her mission to find me someone. God, that makes me sound so desperate!” Her cheeks continued to flush a rosy colour, even under the dim lighting of the bar. Valtteri had he fair share of women clinging onto him for their five seconds of fame but this a thousand times different. “We were there, cheering you on. Though I must confess I wasn’t too sure what was happening. Tiffany, come on, everyone wants to say hello to hi-” Tiffany rolled her eyes, taking the drink back. 

“May I buy you a drink?” Valtteri chuckled at the duo, interrupting the woman’s nervous but rather cut rambling.

“Yes, of course she wants a drink, Bottas.”

Mick Schumacher:

To Whom it May Concern

Mick rose an eyebrow as he sorted through his mail, spotting a handwritten note. He didn’t believe it to be fan mail as it all got sent to another location that he picked up on a fortnightly basis and he kept his private life and address very out of the limelight, so he continued reading.

I am your new next door neighbour. My name is Josephine Kruger, I have all the horses you can probably see shitting in the field. I’m writing this note to apologise in advance if you hear my new pup barking at night or if he gets out into your property, the bastard is an escape artist. 

Here is my number if Nigel (the dog, a black labrador) gets out and wanders onto your property. I’m working on it. 

Apologies in advance.

Mick chuckled at the note before leaving it on the bench to sort through the rest of his mail. He made himself busy around the house before he decided to take some trash out to the bins, opening the door to see a black labrador puppy sitting on the top step, his tail wagging happily. His tongue hung out his mouth sloppily and his ears looked much too large for his head. He still had a lot of growing to do. Mick chuckled as he bent down, holding out his hand for the pup to sniff before he deemed Mick safe enough to jump up, asking for pets and scratches. 

Mick didn’t have pets of his own, especially when he travelled so much for work so he embraced the love he was receiving from the pup, picking him up. Nigel looked minuscule in his arms, twisting around so he was on his back, his paws in the hair and his tongue, once again, hanging out of his mouth. 

“Nigel? Oh goodness!” Mick looked up as he heard frantic yelling, the female presumably his new next door neighbour that he was yet to meet. He walked down the steps, looking down at Nigel whose ears seemed to perk up when he heard his name called by his owner. 

“Let’s go find your human.” Mick mumbled, walking down the path that led to his horseshoe shaped driveway, the sound of shoes hitting the pebbled driveway, coming closer with every second. Mick glanced up as he saw the figure of Josephine round the corner, her hair up in a rather messy bun that looked more like a mushroom cloud than anything else. She had a helmet in one hand and a leash in the other. 

“Nigel! God, I am so sorry!” Josephine was embarrassed to say the least. Her next door neighbour was gorgeous and here she was in a pair of riding boots, a dirty shirt and shorts with sweat dripping off her, running after her escape artist dog. “I cannot apologise enough.” Nigel almost seemed as if he was ignoring his owner, turning in Mick’s arms and hiding his face in the gap between his arm and chest. 

“No, no! It’s not a problem, honestly. He’s welcome here anytime. I’m Mick, I’m not home much.”

“I’m Josephine. I’m home too much.”

Pierre Gasly:

You've got a new match!

Serena looked at the notification on her phone, sliding it open to see what new man she had matched with now. She was in sunny Australia, having just finished an extra credit trip to help assist Indigenous Australian elders, archeologists and anthropologists in rural Victoria unearth the remains of a small family or tribe and now she was in a hotel in Melbourne flying out back to gloomy England in two days time. She had some steam she needed to blow off. 

She scrolled through the profile, noticing that the man she matched with was not from Australia which was perfect because it made one night stands just that much easier. His photos consisted of him in what looked as if to be luxurious sports cars, with his friends drinking wine in fancy restaurants and lots of motorsport pictures, not that she cared about the sport in the slightest. His profile had no other bio except for ‘In Melbourne for the weekend’. So, she bit the bullet and sent a message. 

How far away from the Pullman Hotel in Albert Park are you?

She waited no more than a few minutes to get a response. 

Pierre weighed up all his options before coming to his final decision. She could be a massive fan girl for all he knew, but then she could also be someone that was oblivious to who he was. She was stunning, that much he could tell from the photos. She didn’t appear to edit them at all. They were mainly images of her with what he assumed to be her dogs, her family and friends and photos of her travelling. He would be happy to spend a few hours with her. Quickly googling the hotel he found that he was only a five minute walk away. 

Five minute walk, give or take. 

I’m room 412. Message me when you get here.

Say less, Pierre thought. 

Kevin Magnussen:

After three seasons away, Nico Hulkenberg was back driving for Haas alongside former rival, Kevin Magnussen. It also meant it was three seasons since Nico’s younger sister was at a Grand Prix and back behind the scenes helping her brother. She was last to be introduced to everyone, this time as someone on Nico’s PR team rather than his little sister, and she was the last to formally meet Kevin.

The two had both undertaken a number of changes since the last time they were at the same event. Kevin was now divorced, a devoted father and now a close friend with his teammate, Nico. Lena was now a university graduate, just getting over a heartbreak from a stupid boy and was much more mature, both in her mannerisms and in her appearance. She seemed like a whole other person, at least to Kevin. 

“I look forward to working alongside the team, alongside Guenther, the engineers, the event planners, the mechanics, everyone. Thank you, Nico, for this opportunity and Kevin?” Kevin looked up from his beer, offering a sly smirk to Lena as she stared down at him. She looked ravenous and it was dangerous that the sole purpose of this dinner was to celebrate the start of a new season with an open bar. God, the things he wanted to do to her. He nodded, waiting for her response. “If you get into another PR nightmare like in 2017 with Nico, respectfully, suck my balls.” She sent him a wink that was enough to make Kevin feel hot, slightly turned on. Guenther let out a roar of laughter, everyone holding up their drinks to cheer. 

He was in for a long night.

[absurdthirst]

Lost & Found {Joel Miller x F!Reader}

Rating: Explicit

Word Count: 13.9k

Warnings: Pre-Outbreak, secret relationship, strip tease, oral sex (male receiving), frottage, fingering, vaginal sex, derogatory language, bar fights, Outbreak, angst, mentions of miscarriages, unprotected sex, mentions of death, spoilers for canon material

Comments: Joel told you he would get Sarah and be right back for you. Twenty years later, he shows up with a strange girl and a lifetime of changes to your old lover. Giving you one more night before he promises to come back this time.

Co-written with @storiesofthefandomlovers

**Follow @absurdthirst-writes and turn on notifications to stay up to date on all new fics.

|| MasterList || Joel Miller MasterList ||

Click Keep Reading only if you have read the Rating and Warnings and understand the warnings may not be complete to avoid listing spoilers. As AO3 says 'creator chooses not to use warnings'. You also agree that you're the right age to be consuming anything here.

“Do you think that I can meet her officially tonight?” You ask, checking your watch to make sure you aren’t running behind before you look back in the mirror as you talk on the phone. “I mean, as you know - the - the girlfriend?” 

It’s been eight, nearly ten months that you’ve been…involved with Joel Miller and you don’t know if you’ve reached the level that he’s comfortable with introducing you to his daughter, Sarah, as more than what you already are. Letting her know that her dad is dating. 

You get it, you really do. You would be protective over introducing someone into your child’s life if you were a single parent. It’s not like you didn’t know Sarah, you saw her everyday. It was hard not to when you were her teacher. Flirting subtly at a parent teacher conference had turned into bumping into each other on a rare night when Tommy dragged him out to the bar. In turn had led to you bringing Joel home for a very pent up night of great sex and then a date set for the next week. 

“I don’t know…” You can hear the hesitation in his voice and sigh softly. It’s his birthday today and you hate that he can’t just take the day off. They need to get the framing done on the house that has been a clusterfuck of a job from the start. He’s rushing around his own house, probably woke up late again and you nod even though you can’t see him. 

“Okay. I want to see you tonight if you can.” You hum, smirking to yourself as you button up the last few buttons of your shirt and cover the lingerie you had put on after getting out of the shower. “I want to give you your birthday present.” You purr. “And what I bought you.” 

Joel groans softly, pulling on his boots while the brick of a phone is tucked into his neck. “I’ll see what I can do, honey.” He promises, bending over to tie the laces. “Let’s - I can tell Sarah that I have to work late. I’ll be at yours at 6.” He tells you, knowing you’ll be home. He wants to see you, he really does. Especially wants to see his birthday present. 

“Okay baby.” You agree and he can hear the sigh in your words. You want more and he doesn’t know if he’s ready to take that step. It’s just been him and Sarah since her mother left and he’s scared of how she might react to him dating. With a grunt, he makes his way out of his bedroom, ushering Sarah out of the front door along with Tommy. 

When Sarah asks him to be home early with a cake, he lies and says his job will run late. Feeling guilty to push her back, but Tommy picks up why he’s says nine. The job will be done by five but it’s obvious Joel wants to see you. Agreeing that the job will take a while, Tommy meets his brother's eyes who nods in thanks for covering for him. “I’ll bring you home a cake.” Joel promises when they drop Sarah off. 

“So are you ever gonna tell her?” Tommy asks, pulling away from the school. 

“Soon. I - It’s complicated.” Joel sighs and looks out of the window. 

“What’s complicated? It’s been eleven years, Joel. You’re still young. You can’t be alone forever. Sarah will be out of the house soon.” Joel frowns, not liking to hear that but it’s true, she’s growing up so fast. She will be off to college and he will be alone in that house. 

“I just don’t want her to be pissed with me. Think I’m replacing her mom.” He admits and Tommy shakes his head, “she wants you to be happy.” Joel grunts, not wanting to say anything else about it all. He wants to get this job done and head over to your place later. 

**** 

“Shit.” Joel huffs, wiping his forehead while Tommy drives him over to your place. It’s been a long ass day and he’s ready to relax. After thanking Tommy for the ride, he gets out of the truck and makes his way to your apartment, ringing the doorbell.

Rushing towards the door, you feel the thrill of anticipation curling in your belly at seeing Joel again. Even though he’s handsome, he’s also funny and sarcastic, things that you appreciate in a man. When you open the door, you watch him turn around and a slow smile curls his lips. “Hey baby.” You murmur, immediately opening the door wider to let him come in. “How long do you have?” You know he has to go home soon, it’s his birthday and he wants to spend it with Sarah. You’re lucky that he can even see you today, especially given the weird way cops have been flooding the streets and sirens have been sounding all day. 

“Enough time for me to enjoy my birthday present.” Joel jokes, stepping into your place and he kicks the door shut behind him so he can grab you, pressing his lips to yours. He hates to say it but you make him so damn happy. He hasn’t felt this way in so long and he tries to maintain a distance but it’s becoming harder and harder to leave you and not see you for days. His tongue slides against yours, his hands squeezing your ass, and he wonders what is beneath those clothes.

“Joel.” You moan, feeling how eager he already is against your hip. It’s not like you aren’t aware that he’s come over for sex, but you hum and pull away from him teasingly. “Sit down on the couch, birthday boy.” You smirk and step out of his grasp so he shoots you an unhappy frown. “Sit down or you don’t get to see what I wore for you.” You reach for the first button of your shirt and slip it out of the hole, opening it up so he can see the extra flesh it reveals. 

Joel bites his lip, eyes burning into you as you slowly, too fucking slowly, remove the shirt you’re wearing. When you shrug it off to expose the lace and silk beneath, his cock twitches violently in his jeans. “Shit, darlin’.” He rasps, wiping his hands on his jeans while you work on the button of your sensible pants, a professional outfit compared to his jeans and t-shirt. You are opposites. You’re kind and soft, and he’s sarcastic and hard. Yet you compliment each other beautifully, balancing the other out. “You’re really teasin’ me here.”

“Thought about you today.” You are very aware that you are teasing him. You want to tease him. To drive him just as crazy as he drives you. “Those hands on me.” It’s not a secret that you like a man who works with his hands and he has great ones. “Distracting me really.” You reach for your slacks, unbuttoning them and turning around so he can get a look at your lace covered ass as you slowly draw them down. “You distract me.” 

Fuck, you’re gorgeous. He wants to bite your ass cheek. Bury his face in your cunt for hours on end. “I’m distracting?” He counters with a breathless chuckle. You kick your pants aside and he exhales deeply, fingers twitching with the need to touch you. “You gonna tease me all day or do I get to bury my face in your pussy and make you scream my name?” He asks, spreading his legs to allow his hardening cock more room.

You turn around and grin at him, well aware that the front of your panties are sheer, showing off your cunt and you shake your head. “It’s your birthday.” You pout. “I want to suck your cock, baby.” You bite your lip, looking down at the bulge of his jeans and your mouth waters. “I want to make you scream my name for your birthday.” 

“Best fucking birthday present ever.” He admits, watching you as you kneel between his legs. “I won’t argue if you wanna suck my cock.” He jokes, watching you as you work on unbuckling his belt and he grabs his phone, tossing it onto the sofa beside him. “You’re so beautiful, baby.” He murmurs, looking down at you and he reaches out to squeeze your tit.

“You’re just saying that so I suck your cock.” You joke, mouth watering when you reach inside to pull his hard and throbbing cock out of his boxers. “God, you have such a beautiful dick.” You coo, leaning in, swiping the tip with your tongue before you wrap your lips around the head and suck him into your mouth while you look up at him. 

“Fuckkkk.” Joel groans, head tilting back against the sofa, and he closes his eyes while the stresses of the day melt away. His head shifts again to look down at you, the way you’re taking his cock into your mouth has him ready to blow his load but he controls himself.

You keep it slow, soft. Wanting to draw this out for him and make it as good as you can. This is his birthday and he deserves to be treated well. A siren blasts by outside but you ignore it. Wrapping your hand around the base and squeezing him while you start to bob your head and take him deeper into your mouth. 

You’re unraveling him from the inside out. Slowly picking apart his composure with every bob of your head. When your fingers slide down to fondle his balls, he growls out your name. “Fuck baby.” He curses you, groaning when you take him deeper until he’s sliding down your throat.

Feeling your panties getting soaked, you open your throat even more. You feel the tears starting to slide down your cheeks, seeping out every time you push him deeper and you don’t care about the mess. You don’t care about the way your spit slides down your jaw, reaching up and cradling his balls gently. 

“Shit. Shit. You’re gonna - I’m gonna-” He warns you with a groan just before his cock twitches and he starts to spill down your throat, hot seed spurting into your mouth. “Oh fuck baby.” He pants, eyes squeezed shut as his cock throbs in your mouth, balls tight in your hand.

You swallow as much as you can, the cum you can’t swallow spilling out of the corners of your mouth and down your jaw while you work him through his orgasm. Keeping him down your throat until he’s finished, his cock softening slightly and with a last twitch, he groans out your name. You pull off him with a gasp and grin up at him as you swipe your mouth. “Happy birthday old man.” You tease.

Joel stares at you, dumbfounded and so in love with you. He can’t deny that any longer. He fucking loves you. “Darlin’, come ‘ere.” He demands, grabbing you to drag you up onto his lap so he can press his lips to yours, his hands are everywhere. Squeezing what he can and he cups your tits through the lace. “This needs to go. As pretty as it is, I wanna make you cum.”

You tangle your fingers into his hair and groan out his name. “So tear it off me Joel.” You order him, knowing that you had bought it for him to do just that. You wanted to have him rip your lingerie off. “You gonna be able to get it up again?” You tease playfully. “You are getting old.” 

“Fuck you.” He chuckles deeply, knowing you’re just riling him up. You’re younger than him but not by that much. He doesn’t add anything else, focusing on ripping the lace and silk off of you, tearing into it as he seeks easier access to your skin. “So fucking sexy. And all mine.” He groans and leans in to wrap his lips around your nipple, groaning at how hot and pliable your flesh is.

“Joel!” You cry out, clinging to him while his mouth suckles and bites on your breast. Closing your eyes and shuddering when you feel the scruff of his jaw on your skin, knowing that he will rub you tender and you will feel it tomorrow. “Oh fuck baby.” You roll your hips, grinding down on him and your clit catches against the flap of his jeans, making you moan. 

He loves how you moan and he grabs your hips, encouraging you to use him however you want. He wants to fuck you but in the meantime, he wants you to cum for him. He switches to your other breast, licking and biting, sucking and soothing his teeth marks on your flesh.

Your head tilts back, knowing that Joel won’t let you fall as you let him suck and bite at your breasts. Rolling your hips fast and chasing pleasure while his mouth moves over your skin, wetting it and covering you in his saliva. “Fuck, fuck baby.” You whine, wishing that he could fuck you right now, but you know he needs more time to recover than that. 

Joel knows what you need and he’s eager to give it to you. Quickly sliding his hand down and under you so he can push two fingers inside of you, curling them and pressing his thumb against your clit. He loves how your walls flutter around his digits, so close to cumming.

“SHIT!” You cry out, fingers digging into his shoulders but you don’t want to leave marks on him. Oftentimes he will be shirtless around Sarah and you know that his brilliant, observant daughter will notice. “Of fuck baby, I need-” you break off and cry again, feeling his fingers push deeper and curl more. 

He gives you want you want, desperate to hear you cum, and he groans your name when clamp down on his fingers, soaking them while you moan loud and proud. “So fucking perfect.” Joel groans, working you through it with sipping wet fingers, his cock stirring to life again.

You whimper, tucking your face into his neck and breathing in his scent as you ride out your high. It doesn’t matter that he smells like sweat, you like the way he smells after a day of work. It’s sexy to you, the way a man who works hard smells. “Fuck.” You kiss his skin and smirk as you pull back. “Are you sure it’s not my birthday?” You tease, leaning in and kissing his lips again. 

“Definitely not.” Joel chuckles, kissing you softly and his hands caress your back. “It’s my birthday.” He says proudly, “and I want you, darlin’.” He murmurs the nickname, knowing that what he feels for you is love. Something he never imagined he’d feel again after losing Sarah’s mom. “I love you.” He promises, knowing he doesn’t say it enough. He needs to say it more. He needs to introduce you to Sarah as his girlfriend. He doesn’t want to hide you anymore.

Softening, you reach up and cup his cheek gently. Leaning forward and pressing your forehead against his and sighing softly. “I love you too.” You promise, pressing your lips to his tenderly. It’s not often that you hear those words from him, he’s good at teasing, at showing you that he cares but often the words are rare. “Very much.” 

Your words make Joel pull you close, burying his face into your neck and he allows himself a moment to just breathe you in. “I want you baby.” He murmurs, his cock now hard against his thigh and he wants to be inside of you. “Lay down on the sofa.” He demands, shifting to stand you up and he works on removing his clothes, wanting to feel every inch of you.

Shifting, you watch as he strips down, enjoying every inch of skin that he reveals. Loving how strong yet soft he is. The corded muscles mixed with extra flesh, something that he complains about but you find it sexy. If he had time, you would lay him down and give him a back rub as well. “Come on baby.” You hum. “I need you inside me.” 

Joel shifts to kneel between your legs, looking down at you as you lay on the sofa. “You’re so fucking beautiful baby.” He murmurs, caressing your sides and he grabs your hips, pulling you closer so you can throw your thighs over his. He grips his cock, teasing your clit for a moment and chuckling at your needy whine. He pushes inside of you, bending down so he can press his lips to yours.

“Fuck Joel.” You moan, lifting your legs to let him sink deeper into you. It’s not going to be a long, romantic romp in the bed, it rarely is with Joel, but he needs to get back to Sarah. “Jesus baby.” You turn your head and kiss along his jaw. “Happy birthday.” You hum as he starts to move. 

He smiles against your neck, “thank you. Best birthday present ever.” He chuckles and starts to move, setting a slow but deep pace as he pushes into you over and over again. “You are so good to me.” He murmurs, knowing he doesn’t say it enough but you are his light in the darkness. You and Sarah are his reasons for living.

You would think that the pace would be quick, harsh but it’s not. It’s a slower pace, one where you can feel every ridge of his cock as he fucks down into you. Making you gasp his name and hold onto him like you’re drowning. “Oh fuck, Joel.” You pant out, kissing along his shoulder. 

He grinds into you, wanting you to enjoy him while he’s here since he always has to rush off. He grinds into you, pressing his pelvis against yours and he groans when your walls clench around him. “Stop tryin’ to make me cum.” He reprimands you, slapping your thigh.

A giggle bubbles out of you, making you moan when he does it again. “Can’t help it.” You retort, closing your eyes and tilting your hips up. “You feel too good, baby.” It’s electric, the way that he manages to push against that perfect spot that makes your toes curl. “Want you to cum.” 

He shakes his head, shifting his weight so he can rub your clit with his thumb. “I need you to cum first.” He orders, rocking into you a little faster as his cock twitches inside of you.

“Bossy.” You huff, mouth dropping open and another low moan tumbles out. Your eyes slipping closed again as you just let yourself feel what he is doing to you. The muscles under your hands move as he rocks his hips and pushes his cock against your cervix in the most delicious fashion. “Jo-Joel.” Quietly shaking, you come apart underneath him. 

The way you come apart beneath him has his heart pounding in his chest. Jesus Christ, he wishes he could burn that into his brain forever. The way your head tilts back, the way his name sounds on your lips. It’s perfection and he can’t help but surge forward to press his lips to yours, swallowing your cries. He pushes his tongue into your mouth and pushes his cock deep inside of you a few times, groaning when he gives in and starts to cum inside of you.

Panting into each other, Joel finally stops grinding into you. Warmth fills you and makes you smile as you try to catch your breath. “Happy Birthday again.” You murmur softly, smiling up at him when he pulls back to look down at you. “Old man.” 

“So fucking cheeky.” He snorts, “such a brat.” He leans down to nudge his nose against yours. “Thank you baby. Truly the best damn birthday I’ve had in forever.” He sighs and shifts to lay down beside you. “I do love you baby.” He promises, “I just gotta give Sarah some more time. I promise you, I’ll tell her within the next couple of weeks.” He caresses your back, knowing it would be nice to have you over for dinner with his daughter.

“I don’t want to rush you.” You sigh softly, fingers tracing his skin as the two of you lay together on your sofa. “You can tell her when you’re ready. She’s more important than me wanting to be official.” You feel bad, not wanting to pressure him into doing something he will regret. “Okay?” You twist your head up and kiss his chin. 

Joel kisses your forehead, thanking whatever God is up there that you came into his life. “Okay.” He murmurs, closing his eyes. You must’ve fallen asleep together because his phone is ringing and he grunts, shifting away from you so he can stand up and find his cell phone. He discovers the brick in the side table and picks it up. It’s Tommy. “Hey man.” He rasps and Tommy snorts. 

“Jesus. You’re still there? It’s 9:30, man. Sarah is expecting you to be at home with a cake.” 

Joel curses, knowing he’s fucked up and forgotten the time. “Fuck. I’ll head home now.” He tells his brother and hangs up the phone, “baby. I gotta head home.” He announces as you sit up to look at him, eyes bleary and hair all over the place.

“Okay.” You mumble quietly, always hating when he leaves. You feel slightly off balance after he leaves. Standing up, you watch him redress quickly while you wrap the throw from the back of the couch around you. “Get home safe.” You murmur, walking him to the door and biting your lip. “Since it’s early, I might go to the bar.” You tell him, knowing that it’s not necessary to tell him what you’re doing, but you treat this like you would any relationship. 

Sirens interrupt Joel but he reaches for you. “I wish I could go with you but I gotta get home. You gotta be safe, okay?” He demands, cupping your cheeks. “Call me when you get home.” He orders and presses his lips to yours. “Thank you for an amazing birthday, sweetheart.” He opens your door and kisses you one last time.

****

“Hey Tommy.” You walk up to the other Miller brother and give him a smile as you pat his back gently. You like Joel’s younger brother, always easy to talk to and good for a laugh. The Army vet was often with you and Joel when you managed to go out together. “Mind if I drink with you tonight since Joel is home eating cake?” 

“He got the cake? Well I’ll be damned.” Tommy snorts, gesturing for the bartender to get you both a drink. “Of course you can sit here, sweetheart. Joel will kill me if I don’t make sure you get home safe.”

You smirk, knowing that Joel will chew his brother out, it’s a very Joel thing to do. “So how was work today?” You ask as you wait for your drink, listening to Tommy complain that they had been sent the wrong headers and the job had taken a lot longer than they wanted and cost them money every hour they couldn’t work. The construction business was hard but they both worked their asses off. “I’m sorry.” You hum, getting your beer from the bartender with a nod of thanks and grin at your boyfriend’s brother. “You have big plans for the weekend?”  

Tommy shrugs, “might have a date. With the girl who works at Safeway. We always flirt when I get my groceries and I’m ready to ask her out.” He smiles, hoping she doesn’t turn him down. She’s so beautiful and he wants what Joel has with you. “My brother finally gonna make an honest woman of you?” He teases, nudging you playfully.

You snort quietly, rolling your eyes at him. “You would know before I would.” You tell him, knowing how close the brothers are. They aren’t the softest men, but they confide in one another and you’ve found it admirable that they share a close bond. “You should ask your girl out, she’d be crazy to turn you down.” 

Tommy smiles, “thanks. I’m gonna ask her out tomorrow and then-” Tommy is interrupted when two men saddle over to you, leaning in. 

“Hey sweet cheeks. You wanna get away from this dork and come have a drink with us?” The taller one asks.

“No thanks.” You barely refrain from rolling your eyes at the overt display of machismo that you find less than attractive. “I only drink with people whose IQ is above the legal drinking age.” You turn back towards Tommy with every intention of ignoring them. 

Tommy snorts in amusement at your quick wit but the guys don’t like it. “You find something funny, asshole?” The shorter one hisses and Tommy straightens his back. 

“Yeah I do. You and tweedle dumber here won’t take no for an answer.” Tommy retorts, fists clenching after he sets his drink down.

You know that look. Tommy’s got a temper on him and he’s not afraid to let his fists do the talking. “Tommy.” You reach over and touch his arm, hoping to get him to relax. “Don’t. They aren’t worth it. They’re just pissed that some woman they know nothing about turned them down.” 

“Yeah. Listen to your whore, buddy. She probably sucks the cock of everyone in here without you knowing.” The taller one taunts Tommy who clenches his jaw. “You gonna suck my cock baby?” The shorter one asks, grabbing you and that’s when Tommy loses it. He surges forward, pushing you out of the way, and he brings his hand up to punch the taller one, knowing Joel would’ve done the same.

“Shit, Tommy!’ You cry out, watching the bar dissolve into an all out brawl and you get shoved off to the side and jostled around in the chaos until the police come and start slapping cuffs on everyone. You manage to not get arrested, but you are transported downtown, having lost your purse in the brawl and you don’t have proof of identification. 

Tommy gets one phone call and he calls his brother who curses him when he tells him to come bail him out of jail. “I was protecting your girl. These two assholes- they wouldn’t leave her alone and I had to do something.” He says and Joel shakes his head. 

“Tommy, you son of a bitch.” He sighs and tells him he’s on his way, looking down at Sarah. He carries her to bed, kissing her hair, and he makes his way to the jail, cursing Tommy for getting himself in this shit.

The jail bothers you. Even though you weren’t arrested, you were kept at a desk near the holding cells and witnessed the general chaos. People are losing their minds and several times try to attack the officers, one trying to bite them. “Tommy!” You hadn’t been able to remember Joel’s number, it was saved in your phone which was lost along with your purse. You had relied on him to call his brother to get you both out of here. Especially since you don’t even have your car keys, or a ride back to the bar. You just want to go home and get away from here. “Is he coming?” 

Tommy manages to get to the bars, nodding and yelling out yes. When Joel arrives, he hands over the money for Tommy’s bail and he curses when he sees you sitting there. “What the fuck are you doin’ in here?” He asks, noticing you waiting for Tommy. He’s pissed at his brother for getting himself into shit like this.

“I lost my purse and keys in the bar fight.” You tell him as the three of you rush out of the bar towards Joel’s truck. “I- they brought me down here because I didn’t have ID on me.” You watch more cop cars go speeding out of the station parking lot, lights blaring and shudder. “What is going on?” You demand, wondering if the world is going crazy. 

Just as you walk towards the truck, you see a man get attacked, another guy jumping on him and biting into his neck, making you scream. “Shit! We have to help!” Tommy says but Joel holds his arm up, stopping you from moving. 

“Wait.” He orders and just as he says that, people come running out of the jail, screaming and chased by others who are biting and growling. “Shit. We gotta go. We gotta go.” Joel orders, dragging you to his truck. “What the fuck was that?” Tommy asks and Joel shakes his head, starting the engine and backing up without even looking.

You are shaking, looking out the back of the truck’s window as you watch the people running behind you. “What the fuck is going on?” You demand, Tommy turning on the radio and hearing the broadcast.

“-advise all citizens to stay inside and lock their door. Do not go outside, do not open the door to others. Stay off the roads.” 

You swallow harshly. “Shit.” 

The radio continues broadcasting. “The virus seemingly spreads through bites. Hundreds of people reporting unusual behavior. We urge all citizens to stay indoors and not to venture out.” 

“Oh my God,” Your eyes widen and you look around, realizing that you don’t see Joel’s daughter. “Where is Sarah?” 

Joel is panicking, worried about Sarah, worried about you, worried about Tommy. “We are leaving. We gotta get out of here. Baby, baby listen to me.” He says to you, meeting your eyes in the rear view mirror. “I am gonna drop you home and you’re gonna get a bag and get ready to leave. I gotta go get Sarah and then we are gonna pick you up and get out of here.” He says and your eyes are wide as you stare at him. He says your name, “darlin’, do you fucking understand me?” He begs, needing you to be ready for this. He’s terrified but he needs you to be safe, for Sarah and Tommy to be safe. “Come on baby, you gotta concentrate.” He demands, speeding down the streets until he’s outside of your house. 

He tells Tommy to stay in the truck and he grabs the wrench from his toolbox, guiding you to your building and just as he steps onto your floor, your neighbor rushes towards you, clearly rabid. Joel doesn’t think, he just acts, swinging the wrench to whack the asshole in the head, killing him. 

“Oh my God.” You choke, staring at old man Jenkins. 

“Baby. Baby,” Joel lowers the wrench and walks over to you. “Look at me.” He demands, “You gotta pack. Get all your shit together. I have to get Sarah.” He reminds you, cupping your cheek. “I love you. I love you. I’m coming back to you.” He promises, leaning in to kiss your lips.

You nod quickly, rushing up to your door and fishing the key out of the hiding spot to open your door. Turning around and looking at Joel as he watches you, nodding at you before you close the door. You throw the lock and rush to your bedroom, needing to change into practical clothes and pack a bag for when Joel comes back to get you. Minutes ticking by as the screams get close outside and the sirens wail. Waiting for Joel and Tommy to come back and get you like Joel promised he would. 

Except he never does. 

**** 

Joel sighs as he trudges through the woods with Ellie beside him. Gun in hand, his eyes scan the woods ahead, the hairs on the back of his neck standing on edge. He’s trying to keep his cool but he’s itchy with the need for security. Too many days on this path has made him ready for a hot meal and sleep, Ellie is getting tired too. He will have to set up camp soon and let her rest. “Come on kid, keep movin’” He demands and forces himself to keep going.

Watching the pair pass, you don't get a good look at their faces, not really caring what they look like. They are too close to your home and you don’t like that. Your own weapon is firmly in your hand and you move the bandana up over your nose, not wanting them to see your face. Once they are thirty feet in front of you, you jump out from your hiding spot and point the gun at their backs. “Stop where you are.” You order, leveling it at the girl. “Put the gun down and turn around. Slowly.” 

Joel curses under his breath, knowing he should’ve trusted his instincts. “Don’t be too hasty now.” Joel orders, setting his gun down and he orders a reluctant Ellie to do the same. Fighting with a gun behind his back isn’t the way he plans on going out. Ellie puts her weapon down and Joel slowly turns around, hands in the air as he waits to see his latest opponent.

Your eyes widen and practice is the only reason that your gun doesn’t drop. If you didn’t know that your eyesight was still good, you would swear you were seeing the ghost of your past. Same face, same eyes, although they look like they have a lifetime of sorrow swirling in their depths. There’s more gray in his hair than there was twenty years ago, a lot more. But still, he looks good and he’s alive. “Joel?” You choke out in surprise. “Joel Miller?” 

Joel’s eyes widen and then they narrow in defense. “Who the fuck is askin’?” He demands to know, growling out the question when his need to protect him and Ellie grows. He searches your eyes, trying to figure out where he knows you from and when you lower the bandana from your face, his jaw drops. He whispers your name, unable to believe it’s you. 

You’re alive. You are older, more lines on your features but you’re just as beautiful as he remembers. He had carried the guilt of leaving you behind that night. His need to save Sarah overtook the need to protect you despite the struggle it took for him to make that decision. In the end, he lost both of you.

You see the moment he recognizes you, still keeping your gun level on the two of them and not trusting him for a moment. This man told you that he would be back for you and left you to survive on your own. The anger that you had managed to get past for years, thinking he had died that night roars to life and you narrow your eyes. “Long time to be right back, Joel.” You spit, looking over at the girl and wondering if she’s his daughter. “Where’s your other daughter? Where’s Sarah?” 

Hearing her name for the first time in years makes Joel’s heart twist. He knows he should’ve come back for you. He assumed you had died along with everyone else he had known pre-outbreak. “She, uh, she’s dead.” He rasps out. You lower the gun a couple of inches, the shock clear on your face and Joel clears his throat, “she died the night I left you.” He confesses and Ellie looks between you both, trying to figure out your history.

That might be the only answer that would have made you drop your rifle from where it is trained on them. “Oh my God.” You drop the barrel down to have it pointed at the ground, your face falling. There have been plenty of people lost over the years, everyone you’ve ever known, but there’s something especially horrible about knowing that sweet, smart Sarah died that night. “I- I’m so sorry.” You choke out, tears pooling in your eyes for the girl you had known. 

He has cried so many tears over twenty years, always making sure he remembered Sarah’s birthday and the anniversary of her death. He stares at you, his heart breaking inside but it’s been twenty years. You could be a threat. “Thanks.” He murmurs, ignoring the look from Ellie as she stares at him. He doesn’t make a move, wanting to keep aware of his surroundings and he waits for you to make the next move. He’s on edge, not relaxing despite the fact that he knows you.

You see the wariness in his eyes. The way that his defense are still up and you don’t blame him, it’s been twenty years. You aren’t the school teacher you were when you were dating him. “This your daughter?” You ask and Ellie steps forward shaking her head. 

“Not his kid.” She tells you, tilting her head at you curiously. “Who are you?” She demands, wanting to know more about you but you don’t answer her, still watching the man you used to love. 

“Are you- are you traveling alone?” You ask, needing to know if there are more in the area. “I don’t like strangers in my area.” 

“We are alone.” Joel answers, hesitant but he wonders if you have found a group. “Are you?” He poses the question with a deep grunt, raising his eyebrows at you. He’s anxious and seeing you again has brought back a shit ton of emotions he thought he had buried deep and shut away.

“I’m alone.” You look back down the road and sigh, knowing they won’t find shelter before the sunlight fades and your place is about as secure as you can get in these times. “I can give you shelter for the night.” You offer after a moment. “It’s ten miles to the next shelter and there are Clickers in that area.” 

Joel is hesitant still but he doesn’t have a choice. He’s exhausted and so is Ellie. He needs to trust you somewhat right now. He can’t just keep walking because of an awkward talk. He nods, “we’d appreciate that.” He answers and carefully picks up his gun. “Lead the way, darlin’.” His nickname for you slips out after all these years.

You turn and disappear into the woods, sure that they will follow you. The road to your shelter, your home, had been camouflaged so that it was nearly invisible from the main road, keeping people from turning onto it and since it was a former government facility, it wasn’t on most maps. The fences had been reinforced and you had no problems here since you had found it nearly three years ago. Slowly making it your own space. 

“Do you trust her?” Ellie whispers to Joel who offers her a tiny nod. He does trust you to an extent but this life changes you. He follows you, gun still drawn until you open the heavy metal door to a building that looks covered in moss. 

“You’re alone?” He double checks when you gesture for him to head inside.

“Just me.” You know he probably doesn’t trust you as much as you don’t exactly trust him but it’s a way of life now. A lot of things have changed. You let both of them enter ahead of you and when you close the door behind you, a heavy metal bar that you have rigged up on a pulley lowers to lock the door into place. No one is getting through it. “And this is home.” 

Joel steps into the building and he’s impressed. There’s a kitchen, living area and bedroom. All a reminder of a time long forgotten. He glances around, feeling like he’s back in your apartment. “You did all this yourself?” He asks with a slight tone of awe in his voice. He’s impressed and so is Ellie as she whistles her approval.

“I’ve had a lot of time on my hands.” You shrug your shoulders slightly and point towards an open doorway. “There’s still a working toilet and shower.” You tell him, that being a point of pride for you since you had found solar panels on the roof so that you could get the batteries charged up once the overgrowth had been cleared away to run the facility. 

“Jesus.” Joel murmurs, impressed and proud of you despite the fact that you no longer belong to him. He turns to you, “this is impressive, sweetheart.” He says and Ellie nods in agreement, shrugging off her backpack and Joel follows suit. 

“You got any food?” Ellie asks, her usually blunt personality shining through.

“Sure.” You grin at the girl’s uninterested attitude in luxuries that were far beyond her time. She probably hadn’t had much of that so it wasn’t a big deal. Instead, things that were tangible were. Food. “I have some stew that I was planning on warming up for dinner or some bread.” You offer, looking at her to see what she thinks. “Or some pickles, fresh made.” 

“Pickles?” Her eyebrows raise, “I wouldn’t mind pickles.” 

Joel chuckles at her expression and he shrugs off his pack, setting it down on the floor where it’s accessible. He walks over to the kitchen area, watching you prepare the food and he admires how you look nowadays. Still so heartbreakingly beautiful but you have suffered the weight of the world on your shoulders like he did. “How did you get out?” He asks, curious about what happened when he didn’t come back for you.

“I didn’t leave until a week later.” You admit, remembering how terrified you had been huddled in your apartment without water or power. Eating the food in the fridge before it had gone bad and realizing that Joel wasn’t coming back for you. “It was….terrifying, but I remembered that the horses at my friend's stable might still be there. Took my chance and managed to not break my neck learning how to ride for more than just the few lessons I had taken.”

Joel nods, proud of you for thinking so fast. “I, uh, I’m glad you got out.” He reveals, ignoring the curious look from Ellie as she inspects the jar of pickles. “I figured…you know? Everyone who was in town was…” He can’t finish the thought, rehashing those sleepless nights when he wondered what became of you.

“I would have been if I kept waiting for you.” You tell him bluntly, moving over to Ellie and opening the pickles for her. “I thought you died. Since you didn’t come back. Went to your house to look for you. But, of course, no one was there.”

Joel swallows the lump in his throat. “I- I was going to come back for you. Got on the highway but it was packed and then we went to Main Street and the infected  were chasing. I just - I wanted to get Sarah to safety. I was gonna come back for you but - but she died and then I could barely function. Tommy drove through the night to get us north. I just stared out of the window, unable to process what the fuck had just happened. I should’ve come back for you. Maybe if I had, Sarah would still be…” He trails off, feeling that choking feeling in his throat.

You sigh softly. “It doesn’t matter now.” Reaching over, you touch his arm gently. “But I am sorry about Sarah. She was such a sweet girl. I would think about her- you, often when times were hard. Hoping the two of you were okay.”

“I thought about you too.” He admits quietly, glancing over at Ellie who is eying the books you have on the shelf, running her vinegary fingers along the spines. 

“Sarah used to love reading.” You smile, remembering when you would talk to her about her latest read. 

“She didn’t get that from me. From her mama, she was the smart one.” Joel snorts, “she used to tell me about your chats. Said you were her favorite teacher.”

“She was my favorite student.” You can sense he needs to talk about her, wants to talk about her with someone who knew her. “She always gave me a book review in the ones I suggested.” You laugh. “But she loved telling me about the ones she didn’t like more. Arguing on what would have made them better.”

He can’t help but chuckle, “sounds like my baby girl.” He smiles fondly, his eyes sad as he tries to remember those small details that fade with time. “I never did get her that fuckin’ cake.” He shakes his head, closing his eyes for a second. “I was workin’ all hours trying to give her a better life and then I- I should’ve gone home earlier. I should’ve told you not to go out. I should’ve stopped-” 

“Stop.” You demand, placing your hand on his shoulder, “I’ve thought about what I could’ve done differently. The mistakes I made. For twenty years. But I can’t keep torturing myself, I - I had to live with those mistakes and move on.” 

Joel growls at you, “you didn’t lose your fuckin’ child.” 

You shake your head, “No I didn’t,” knowing it’s not the time to tell him, ‘but I lost you.” You hiss back and Joel freezes, staring at you like he’s seeing you for the first time again. He can’t say anything to argue that point so he pushes past you, needing to get away and Ellie watches as he storms into an adjoining room, unaware of what’s in there.

Watching him go, you sigh, remembering that he doesn’t owe you anything anymore and it would do no good piling on the guilt. It wasn’t like you could turn back time. Deciding to let him stew, you turn towards the kid, Ellie, and paint a smile on your face. “Do you, um, know how to read?” You ask gently, aware that things are very different now. Ellie snorts and tosses you a roll of her eyes. 

“Of course I know how to fucking read.” She pops back, making you hum at her sass. 

“Well, feel free to read any one you want.” You offer, wondering if you made a mistake letting them invade your sanctuary. Maybe the past should have stayed in the past. 

Joel isn’t sure how long he sits in what he establishes is another bedroom. He wishes he could go back in time. Maybe if he had come to find you, he would’ve been able to save Sarah too. He would’ve have been on Main Street when that fucking plane crashed. He sighs and rubs his cheek, certain that you hate him for never coming back for you.

When Joel finally comes back out, Ellie is curled up in one of the seats, a book open in front of her while you start putting together a meal that will feed the three of you tonight. Unsure of what to say, you just watch as he walks over to check on the girl- making you curious as to who she is to him- but you don’t ask.

“You okay kid?” Joel asks Ellie who looks up from her book. 

“I’m fine. You wanna go talk to your girlfriend again? I’m cool here.” Ellie says with a slight smirk and Joel wants to roll his eyes. 

“She isn’t - she was- just stay here.” He demands, stomping over to you to see you heating up some food. “So, uh, you don’t live with anyone else…have you ever?”

“Yes.” You give a small shrug of your shoulders. “There was another couple that stayed in the room where you were hiding.” You stir the stew and sigh. “He got bitten when we were foraging for supplies and she didn’t want to put him down. So I did.” You shudder thinking about that, but it’s a part of life. “When she attacked me, I put her down too.”

Joel nods, understanding how harsh this life is but you gotta do what it takes to survive. “Are you- have you had another else since me?” He asks softly so Ellie can’t hear, stepping closer to you. He resists the urge to touch you, old feelings resurfacing despite him thinking he buried them deep down inside of him.

“It’s been twenty years, Joel.” You remind him, nearly rolling your eyes at the idea of pining away for him. “I’m sure you’ve had lovers over the years. But, no one’s ever stuck and I never let them get too close.” You bite your lip. “It took a long time to heal.” You admit softly.

“Heal? Were you hurt?” He asks, tone a little harsher. He has absolutely not right to feel jealous about the other lovers you had but he does. He thought you were dead and now, you’re here and in front of him. The only person other than Tommy who had known Sarah. The other person who had known him pre-outbreak.

You sigh, knowing that this will piss him off, maybe even gut him. “Joel.” You turn to him, putting down the spoon and looking into his eyes. “After- three months after your birthday- I- I nearly died.” You tell him quietly. “I had a miscarriage.”

It’s been twenty years and Joel can still see the heartbreak in your eyes from that tragic event. He chokes out, unable to say anything since he wasn’t there for you. “Darlin’, I’m so fucking sorry.” He manages to choke out, angry with himself for not being there, he should’ve been there. You had lost the baby, your baby, his baby. It kills him a little, a part of his soul dying with the news.

“It was better off that way.” You tell yourself the same words you had repeated for nearly twenty years. Telling yourself that this was no world for a child. Especially when you had no one else. “It would have been a bad life for a child. Especially in those early years.”

“It’s possible. I know others who kept a child safe. Just - they did it in a quarantine zone. Fuck, baby. I’m so sorry.” He chokes, fingers twitching with trying to cup your cheeks but he doesn’t know if you want him to touch you. “I’m so sorry.”

“It’s okay.” Your eyes meet his before you look away, hating the regret you see swimming in them. “We make choices and we have to live with the outcomes. Life changed.” It’s strange to want to comfort him when you had been so distraught for him not coming for you for so long. But time heals and it’s not as bitter as it had been. “But I survived and so did you.” You clear your throat. “Tommy- did he-?” You wonder if he lost his brother as well.

“He’s alive. He’s in Jackson.” Joel reveals, “he’s - he’s doing good. Got a wife. He will be happy to hear about you. He always told me to make it official. Wanted me to get hitched again.” Joel smiles, remembering the lectures from his brother during their work hours. “He was right. I should’ve told Sarah about you. I should’ve asked you to marry me.” He sighs, full of regrets but he is happy you’re alive.

“You were doing what you thought best.” You remind him bitterly. “We didn’t know the world was going to fucking end on your birthday.” Your eyes widen slightly, realizing he lost Sarah that night, he lost his daughter on his birthday and that's heartbreaking.

He shrugs, knowing that he thinks about Sarah with every year he gets older. If he could've taken her place, he would've. Let her live instead of him. He's gone through every regret and thought he could in twenty years, including leaving you behind. "I - I have always thought of you." He admits quietly, not wanting Ellie to eavesdrop.

It shouldn’t warm you, but it does. You reach out and touch the back of his hand gently. “I’ve thought of you too.” You admit. “Dreaming about what could have been if everything -“ you break off. “It got me through some difficult times. I’m glad you are alive.”

Joel's entire body lights up at your touch. "Me too baby. I - I missed you." He rasps, shifting closer but the stew boils and you curse, turning to take it off of the heat. 

"Ellie. Dinner is ready." You call out, looking at Joel to tell him to pause the conversation. He nods, leaning against the counter and Ellie comes over to the kitchen. 

"Are you two done with your autopsy of your past?" The teenager snorts and Joel rolls his eyes.

You have to turn around so the teenager doesn’t see your grin. “Some people like talking about their past.” You tell her as you pull bowls down from an open cabinet. “Especially if they were nice memories.” The little girl frowns and you wonder if she had good memories or if she’s had something unpleasant. Deciding to switch topics. You dish up the stew. “Did you find a good book to read?” You ask, knowing that there’s a wide variety of whatever you could find.

Ellie shrugs, “yeah. I found this zombie novel. I love reading those. Seeing how people thought the world would end and it was all for fun. They didn’t think that shit would actually come true.” She snorts in amusement. She hasn’t known of anything but this world. She doesn’t know about going to the movies or going to a restaurant. McDonald’s or Walmart. She lives in a different world than when you were her age. 

Joel takes the bowl you hold out, handing it to Ellie. “Eat.” He orders, wanting her to keep her strength up. “Thanks darlin’.” He says unconsciously when you take the bowl and Ellie chuckles under her breath.

There is plenty left over for seconds if they want and the way that Ellie tucks into her food after eating an entire jar of pickles makes you think it’s been awhile since they’ve had a good meal. You sit down and spoon up a bite of your own food. “So where are you going?” You ask. “If you can tell me.”

Joel looks at Ellie, knowing he trusts you but he wants her consent. She nods and Joel sighs, “we are heading to the Fireflies. They have the means to create a cure for the clickers. Ellie, here, she was bitten-” You freeze, spoon halfway to your mouth, “- relax baby. She’s not infected. She has survived. I need to get there so they can create a cure. We can put this shit behind us.” He says, knowing it’s unlikely but he has to try.

You went to believe Joel, you trust him more than anyone else in this world but it’s still something you need to see for yourself. “Show me.” You demand, turning your eyes towards the girl. She rolls her eyes and chucks her spoon into her bowl, and pulls her sleeve up to show you the ugly teeth marks from where she had been bitten, scarred over but it’s not showing any sign of infection. “Jesus.” You whisper, reaching out and touching the marks. “It could change things.” You murmur, turning and meeting Joel’s eyes. “It could be the beginning of the end.”

Joel nods and Ellie snatches her arm back, covering the marks. “So I gotta keep this brat safe until we get there.” He reaches out to ruffle Ellie’s hair, making her scowl. 

“You’re gonna need supplies. I can give you some.” You offer and Joel shakes his head, “no. No. I can’t take your shit, baby.”

You snort and roll your eyes at him. “You can take supplies. I have cleaned out everything for miles around. Plus the canned things are from the garden out back.” You admit, the walled off garden is a godsend for keeping you fed.

“Thanks.” Joel murmurs, feeling guilty about everything and anything while you finish the stew. 

“I’m exhausted.” Ellie yawns as she pushes the bowl aside. 

“You wanna go sleep? The bed is set up.” You gesture to the cot in the corner that you normally sleep on. It’s the safest place in the compound and you want to keep Ellie safe for Joel. She nods, standing up, “thanks for the stew.” She says and stumbles over to the bed. Taking her boots off and sliding under the sheets, she’s out in minutes. 

“We have been traveling for days. Taking turns to sleep and it’s been rough on her.” Joel says, helping you wash out the bowl for Ellie.

“Well you can shelter here for a few days.” You offer. “Get your bearings before you have to set out again.” You know that it had to be a hard road. “If you want to clean up, you can use the bathroom. The shower works and the water tank on top of the building keeps the water pretty warm.” You don’t know when the last time it was that he had enjoyed the little things, but you’re sure a shower and sleep sounds good.

“Can I have a shower now?” He asks and you nod, “of course you can.” The mere thought of standing under water that isn’t freezing has Joel thanking his stars he found you. “I’ll go now baby.” He says, leaning in to kiss your cheek. “Thank you.” He murmurs, allowing himself a brief moment of softness, something he hasn’t allowed since outbreak day and losing Sarah. He steps away and makes his way to the bathroom after you point it out.

Hearing the water turn on, you don’t quite know what to do with yourself. Deciding that Joel can take the bedroom, you move into the room and pull the blanket that you had been using to protect the mattress off so you can put some sheets on it. Smirking to yourself as you remember how messy your bed had been on the few nights Joel had stayed over. It had only been a handful of times, but you had cherished it.

Joel showers, washing his hair and the weeks, hell months, of dirt that settled into his skin. He sighs and tilts his head back, just enjoying the shower but he doesn’t take too long, not wanting to be selfish. He stops the water, stepping out and grabbing a towel to wrap around his waist. When he walks out, you are placing some sheets on the bed.

You look up and immediately feel your body heat up at the sight of Joel in nothing but a towel. He’s older, hell you are too, but he’s still painfully attractive to you. “Sorry.” You rush out, immediately looking back at the sheets. “I- I wanted to get the bed ready for you.” You explain, grabbing a pillow to put a case on it. “Didn’t figure you’ve had a bed for awhile.”

“No. Not for a long time. Where are you gonna sleep?” He asks, knowing Ellie has taken your usual spot. 

“Oh I’ll take the floor.” You shrug and Joel shakes his head. 

“No way. You are sleeping here. I’ll take the floor.” He watches you fluster slightly and he bites his lip to stop the smirk on his face. You’re still so damn beautiful. More mature but you wear it well.

“Joel….” You roll your eyes at yourself and huff. “We can share the bed.” You offer, knowing that it will dissolve into an argument if you don’t compromise. “It’s not like we haven’t before.” You murmur softly, glancing back at the bed before turning to him. “You deserve a good night's sleep and it’s safe here.”

Joel nods, “we can share the bed. It’s been a while but we are adults.” He can’t deny his heart pounds a little at the thought of being so close to you. “Nowhere is safe.” He murmurs, standing there in the towel. “I- I’ve missed you.” He whispers, almost scared to say the words out loud.

“You don’t have someone else?” You ask, wanting to touch him but you can’t. It’s been so long and he might have missed the thought of you and moved on. Despite the rules of the world changing, you wouldn’t do that to someone else.

Joel closes his eyes for a moment, thinking of Tess. “I had someone but she…we were each other's life line. It never - we never said anything but it was there. Trying to protect ourselves, I suppose.” He shifts to sit down on the edge of the bed. “I never stopped thinking about you though. I’ve always loved you. You’ve always been in my heart, next to Sarah. My girls.” He smiles, remembering how he used to imagine taking you and Sarah out, getting to spend time with the women that meant the most to him.

You hate that he’s lost someone else. It makes you shift closer to him after setting the pillow on the bed. Reaching out, you can’t help but rub your fingers through his damp, towel dried hair. “Joel…” you close your eyes and take a deep breath. “I love you too. You and Sarah and Tommy. I’ve missed you everyday.”

He turns towards you, wrapping his arms around you to pull you close. He needs to be assured that you are here, with him. He breathes you in and he’s almost complete again. Sarah is missing but you’ve restored a part of his soul that he thought was long gone. “I missed you.” He murmurs, letting you rub your fingers through his hair for another moment until he’s pulling back. His dark eyes focus on you and you lean in, letting him know what you want. He wants it too. He slowly leans forward, pressing his lips to yours.

Kissing Joel is and has always been something magical. You love the softness of his lips, the slightly chapped texture that you had always teased him that you needed to carry chapstick for him. Just to see him pout those lips. It takes a long time to start to build, both of you slow to take it beyond just a press of your lips but you start to press yourself closer and your hand slides up his arm to tangle into his hair. 

Joel groans against your mouth, shifting to pull you fully into his lap to straddle him. His tongue slides along your lower lip, requesting more access that you eagerly grant. His hands caress your back, tugging on your shirt so he can touch more of your skin. He’s rougher than the last time he touched you, a consequence of his changed nature, he’s no longer the goofy yet strong man you knew. He’s been hardened by tragedy. “Baby, let me - I want you.” He murmurs against your chin, his hands sliding down to squeeze your ass.

You shudder at the low rumble of his voice, the need that you hear in his tone. “Joel.” You whimper his name when he starts to kiss down your throat, “I- I - you can’t cum inside me.” You stipulate, knowing that despite the twenty years, you haven’t quite hit menopause yet. There is still the risk of him impregnating you. 

“That’s okay. I can pull out.” He’s used to pulling out when he was with Tess. “It’s up to you. I don’t have to - we can just lay down.” He promises, not wanting to push you if you don’t want him. “There’s other things we can do.”

“No.” You pull Joel to his feet and look into his eyes as you reach for the towel that is tucked into his hip around his waist. “It’s been twenty goddamn years.” You tell him breathlessly. “I don’t want to wait another minute.” Pulling the tuck free, you let the towel drop to the floor and reach for your own shirt to pull over your head. 

His cock is already half hard, eager to touch you again after twenty years. You’ve both changed, emotionally and physically but his cock hardens as you strip down, exposing your tits and then the curls at the apex of your thighs. You kick your clothes aside and Joel surges forward to press his lips to yours again, the fire ignited as his hands squeeze your hips. “Always been so fuckin’ gorgeous.”

You huff against his lips, not believing him for a second but you aren’t going to waste your breath. Instead you wrap your arms around his back and caress his scorching  hot skin, unable to believe that you are actually getting to touch the man you have loved for so long again. His tongue slides into your mouth and you moan, shuddering as you feel your nipples harden against his chest. 

His hands caress you and he kisses along your jaw, wanting you to be ready to take him. Who knows how long it’s been since you took a cock. He slides his hand down, squeezing your breast and he leans down to wrap his lips around your nipple.

“Fuck!” You gasp out quietly, aware that there is a teenager sleeping in the next room and you don’t want to wake her. Your eyes close and you lean back and let him do what he wants to with your body. Joel has always known how to touch you in a way that makes your body light up and you have missed it. 

His cock is heavy between his legs, pressed up against your hip, and he ignores it in favor of hearing you gasp again. He switches to your other breast and his hand slides along your hip until he is cupping your cunt. "Fuck baby." He groans at how wet you already are. His fingers slide through your folds until he finds your clit, rubbing slow circles.

It’s easy to let him take the lead. You would let him do anything to you right now, just happy to have his hands on you. “Joel baby, you need to stop teasing.” You beg, biting back a moan when he presses his finger a little harder against the bundle of nerves. “I’ve dreamed of this for so long.” 

He won’t tease you, laying you down on the bed, he kneels between you, cock hard and aching for you. A drop of pre-cum dribbles onto the sheet and his dark eyes meet yours. “You sure you want me?” He asks, knowing he’s a different man than the one you knew. “You need me to stretch you out with my fingers?” He offers, wanting you to be comfortable.You moan, nodding at the idea of having his fingers curling up inside you again. He had always been able to fill you like no other and you want it again. Spreading your legs in invitation, you watch as he stares at your cunt, his cock hanging heavy and you wish that you hadn’t missed out on so much time with him. “Come here, Joel.” 

He groans, shifting to hover over you. His lips press against yours and he slides his hand along your thigh until he’s pushing two fingers inside of you. “So fuckin’ tight.” He grunts, pressing his thumb against your clit. He wants you to cum before he pushes inside of you, he knows he won’t last long. It’s been too long since he and Tess - he pushes that thought out of his mind and focuses on you.

“God.” You whimper quietly, bucking your hips up so he can touch you more. Those thick fingers are perfectly curled up and pressing inside you. “Fuck I always loved this.” Reaching down you grab his hand and start rolling your hips down against his hand, fucking yourself on him. 

He watches you use his fingers, letting you angle his hand how you need him. He knew your body inside out but that has changed. He knows he needs to let you lead so he can make sure you cum. “Look so gorgeous usin’ my fuckin’ hand.” He groans, using his free hand to squeeze his cock.

“Jesus Joel,” you pant out, forcing your eyes open to watch him watch you. The rougher edges of Joel exciting you and you clench down around his fingers when you feel the drop of precum drip off his cock and fall onto your thigh. Making you moan as you look down and see him holding his cock. 

He groans at the look in your eyes, fuck he has missed that. True fucking connection. He and Tess had a good thing but he kept his walls up. He can't do that with you. You bulldoze 'em right down. "Darlin', I need you to cum." He demands softly, wanting to be inside of you. He hisses when your walls grip his fingers and he pumps them harder and deeper inside of you.

It’s been a long time since someone other than yourself made you cum. And with it being Joel, the knowledge of that alone seems to skyrocket your orgasm up. Making you bite you lip to keep quiet while you steam ever closer to cumming with every curl of his fingers. Joel leans over and presses his lips to yours and it pushes you over the edge. Moaning against his lips while you soak his fingers in a wave of your pleasure as your body shakes. 

“Fuck baby. You - you are still so fuckin’ beautiful when you cum.” He grunts, working you through it with sopping wet fingers. He pumps his fingers inside of you a few more times until he removes his hand. Wrapping his wet fingers around his cock, he pumps himself and shuffles closer. “You good?” He asks, looking down into your eyes that are now open.

“Yes.” You groan, opening your legs wider and reaching up for him. “I want you inside me Joel, I need to feel you.” Instead of it being twenty years ago, it feels like it was just yesterday that you saw him looking down at you like this, lust and want in his eyes. “Please baby, fuck me.” 

He nods, shifting even closer and he swipes the head of his cock through your folds, wetting the head, then he pushes into you. He groans your name, “fuck baby. Still feel fuckin’ incredible.” He pushes deeper, feeling your walls envelop him.

Gasping, you are reminded of how good Joel feels inside you. Eyes closing as you tilt your head back and give a silent cry when he finally pushes all the way inside you. Grinding into you as he rolls his hips around just like used to drive you crazy. He apparently hasn’t forgotten how to fuck you. “J-Joel.” 

He loves the way you moan his name. Grinding into you and allowing you a moment to adjust around him. "Need you to - to rub your clit. I'm not gonna last long." He warns you, kissing along your jaw and down your neck when he begins to move his hips. Your walls are wet, hot, and tight. Making him see stars as he sets a slow but deep pace.

Watching him move over you, your hand snakes down between you so that you can start rubbing your clit. Loving how his jaw clenches as he slides in and out of you, filling you like no other ever had regardless of how well they fucked. “Baby, I want-” You pant, listening to him groan. “I need you to cum for me.” 

He shakes his head, “you first. Please darlin’. Need you to cum first.” He feels like he needs to make up for not coming back for you, for the pain of losing your baby, for not being there for twenty years. He should’ve been there for you. He hates that he didn’t go back. “Fuck.” He hisses, pushing deep inside of you with every thrust and he’s so fucking close.

Your eyes flutter and widen as your orgasm rushes over you, legs tightening around his hips as your walls clamp down on him. “Joel!” Your wrecked gasp of his name pours from your lips and your fingers dig into his shoulders. 

He can barely thrust once more time before he’s pulling out of you, wrapping his fingers around his cock to jerk him until he groans your name. He cums over your stomach and tits, painting you with ropes of hot seed. “Fuccckkkk.” He pants, eyes squeezed shut.

It’s not the same as before, when his liquid head would flood you and fill every crevice inside your body. But it’s still beautiful when he cums, his mouth relaxed and open as he works himself free of every drop. Watching as he finally finishes and pants, hovering over you as his cock softens. 

He pants, letting go of his cock and he flips down beside you. “I still fuckin’ love you.” He rasps, cupping your cheek to pull you close so he can press his lips to yours. It’s been twenty years and he still feels as fucking good as he did at 36. You’re incredible.

You close your eyes, savoring the words that you have wanted to hear for so long. From the man you had missed all of these years. “I love you too, baby.” You kiss him again and then turn your head so you look up at the ceiling. “How- when do you have to leave?” You ask, knowing that he has to leave. Ellie is too important. 

He sighs, hating the idea of tonight ending. He doesn’t want to leave this bed. He’s lost so much time without you and he knows it’s going to hurt to leave you here, but he has to deliver Ellie. He could possibly come back for you, live the rest of your lives in a world that somewhat resembles what life was like pre-outbreak. Perhaps if Ellie is the path to the cure, this shit will be over soon rather than never. “Tomorrow. We have a lot of miles to cover.” He murmurs, caressing your side when you turn towards him.

You don’t care that his cum is cooling on your body but you reach down for an old shirt on the floor and wipe it up before you toss it back down. “I-“ you bite your lip and your fingers trace a scar on his side. It’s old but it wasn’t there the last time you saw him. “I could come with you?” You offer quietly, unsure of how he would take that. “To get Ellie safe? I have a car.”

“A car?” His eyes widen. The last car he had given out a few weeks ago. He had anticipated making most of the journey by foot unless he could find a horse. “Shit. You’d give me a car?” He asks, “baby. I can’t accept that.” He shakes his head, closing his eyes. He’s torn on taking you with him and leaving you here where it’s safe. He wants to be selfish but he knows you’ll be at risk.

You hear the answer in his words. He doesn’t want you to go. You won’t beg him, you aren’t that girl anymore. You know you can survive without him. “I’ll give you a car.” You confirm. “And as many supplies as you need.” It will hurt to let him go, but Ellie is important.

Joel desperately wants to take you but he can’t be selfish. Also, he knows that one day, it’s gonna be Ellie or him. He can’t decide between you and Ellie. It’s too much. He can’t stand to think about it. You’ll be safe here and he can come back once he’s delivered Ellie safe and sound. “I’ll come back. I swear to you, darlin’. I’m gonna take Ellie where she needs to go and then I’ll come home to you. We can settle down and just live our lives together. Like it should’ve been from the start.” He murmurs, caressing your cheek.

“You better come back.” You choke out, turning and burying your face in his chest. “Just stay tonight. Stay tonight and I’ll give you everything you need in the morning.” You beg softly, closing your eyes and holding him tight.

He wraps his arms around you, breathing you in, and he exhales shakily, knowing that it’s gonna destroy him to leave you again. He prays to whoever the fuck is out there that you are safe. “I’ll come back.” He swears, kissing your hair and he closes his eyes, keeping you close while you both drift off to sleep.

**** 

You close the trunk, extra gas cans stored along with the crate of food that you had insisted that they take over Joel’s protests. You know that anything can happen out there and you want to give them a chance. Turning to Ellie, you smile when you see the book in her hand, “Keep it.” You tell her. “You’ll need it when he’s snoring.” The joke makes Ellie snicker and Joel rolls his eyes as you look over at him. “Be safe.” You whisper, unsure if you can kiss him goodbye or not in front of the girl.

Joel doesn’t know when he will see you again. Sure, he’s gonna get shit from Ellie but he can’t leave and not say goodbye. “Get in the car.” He orders the teenager who protests. “Get in the goddamn car.” He growls and she huffs, opening the door to get in the vehicle. “I swear to ya, I’m comin’ back to you baby. I ain’t gonna let twenty more years pass. I gotta get her to the Fireflies and then I’ll come back.” He vows, cupping your cheek. Your eyes are full of tears and he hates it, leaning in to softly kiss your lips. “I love you.” He whispers, like it’s a secret between you.

“I love you too.” You promise him, throwing your arms around him and kissing him again like it will be the last time ever. “I always have, Joel Miller, and I always will.” You kiss him once more and then let him go, unshed tears in your eyes and you know it’s better this way. He needs to concentrate on his job. To get Ellie to the Fireflies. “You better come back to me, Joel.”

“I’ll crawl back to you if I gotta, baby.” He promises, kissing your forehead and he forces himself to step away, walking to the car. He gets in and looks to find Ellie smirking at him. “Not a fuckin’ word.” He warns her and she snorts, deciding that it’s best to remain quiet for once. Joel starts the engine and puts the car in drive. Hesitating for a second until he makes himself press the accelerator. He looks at you in the rear view mirror, leaving you behind yet again. He will come back for you though.

****

Ten years is a long time to wait for someone. It’s a long time to stay where you are since this is the last place he had seen you. Everyday his words ring in your ears. ‘I’ll craw back to you if I gotta baby.’ Words that you had taken to heart and everyday you searched for signs of him returning. Everyday your hopes sunk and you retreat into the bed you shared together. Alone. 

Ellie finally walks out of the tree line towards the compound she remembers coming across ten years ago. Joel had written down the coordinates just in case he didn’t make it. She trudges along the path to the fence, calling out your name. She hopes you’re still here.

Things don’t change much in this world and as soon as you hear someone shouting, you are grabbing your gun, rushing outside to greet whoever is out there. Realizing that it’s your name being called. “Who’s there?” You shout, still not seeing them yet.

Ellie holds her hand up, well versed in how defensive people are to strangers randomly showing up. “It’s me, Ellie. ‘The not infected but bitten’ girl.” She hopes you remember her. She’s changed in ten years. You appear, face eager as you immediately look past her to see if Joel is with her. She has to swallow the lump in her throat and blink to stop her eyes from stinging. “He’s - he’s not with me.” She announces, keeping her hands raised.

You know that he’s gone. Of course he’s gone. Your lip still trembles and you lower the weapon in your hand. “When?” You choke out, closing your eyes and swaying slightly. He’s dead. Joel is dead.

“A few months ago. I- I’m so sorry. He tried to save me. The Fireflies…they could create the cure but to do that, they had to kill me. Joel wouldn’t let them and killed the surgeon. We went to Jackson to see Tommy, let the QZ take me in so Joel could come back here. He was getting ready to leave. He had his pack ready when - when the daughter of the surgeon found him and killed him. I’m so sorry. I-” Tears stream down her cheeks, still mourning the man she loved as a father.

“Mom?” You turn to see your son standing in the doorway, his own rifle in his hands, his eyes wary and watchful as he looks between you and Ellie, wondering if you made each other cry. “What’s going on?” He demands, sending Ellie a scowl for making his mother upset. He’s always been protective of you since he’s learned to hold a gun. 

Ellie’s eyes widen as she takes in the child behind you. He can’t be more than ten years old. Ten years ago Joel left the compound to take Ellie to the Fireflies and this kid…he looks just like Joel. “I- is that - is he Joel’s?” She gasps, unable to look away.

You motion for him to come forward. “Yeah.” You murmur, leaning down to drop a kiss in his head and play with his hair before you look back at Ellie. “He’s Joel’s. Named after him too, but I call him Joey.” You had known right away when he was born you were going to name your son Joel, after the man who helped create him. 

Ellie smiles, “that’s fitting.” She looks over at the boy who has his fathers scowl. She doesn’t ask how he was conceived. Joel had given her the talk, albeit the most awkward conversation she ever had with him, and he told her to never let a boy finish inside of her in case she wants to get fuckin’ knocked up. Accidents happen though and Joey is proof of that. “He wanted me to give you this…in case he didn’t make it back to you.” Ellie steps forward, holding out the smashed up watch for you.

You take a deep, shuddering breath as you reach out for the watch. Your fingers shake but you take it. Looking at the broken face and remembering how Joel told you Sarah had fixed it for that last birthday. That he had kept it to remember her by. It was his most precious possession in the world. Your rifle hits the found and you clutch your reminder of Joel close to you, the little boy unsure of what exactly is doing on but he knows it’s not good when his mother cries. “Thank you.” You manage after a moment, looking up at Ellie with a grateful smile. “Thank you for bringing him back to me.”

[vodika-vibes]

Heyoo!

I have a request, it’s a bit of a long gif so if ya don’t get to it or don’t wanna do it, it’s fine lol.

Anyways, my idea / request / prompt / Echo x Fem!Reader goes like this, kinda, feel free to take liberties

Echo, now I feel like he would be a nervous kinda guy when it comes to having a crush. Like, he just doesn’t know what to say and overthinks absolutely everything, and can’t rly take a hint. Before he got blown up, there was a girl, who he has a liiiitle crush on n such, (idk you can make her a mechanic, doctor, bartender, whatever idm)

And they were rly good “friends” n such r something, aaaand some time after he joins TBB he visits the old place where he used to reside with the other guys in the domino squad (I forget where *sob*) And she’s is surprisingly still there. Heartfelt angsty ?kinda? Maybe reunion yadayadaydada and a bit after that and after catching up, probably a day or two later they pick up hints that they like each other and eventually confess n StUfF, aaand ya, then he has to go back with TBB and they be sad, he invites her to join but she is hesitant, and bc the other squad members don’t even know her she ends up saying no- aaaaand ya-

( 💀 omg i don’t even know anymore )

Idk it’s a very weird prompt, I’m making this up as I go, so feel free to pick and choose, take or add, whatever u wanna do

Again if u don’t wanna do it that is perfectly fine, just a thought. Love your work! <33

I Dream Of Forever

Summary: Summary: You’ve been a bartender on Rishi since you were old enough to take orders correctly. Echo was a Clone Trooper turned ARC Trooper stationed on Rishi who was a little more than friends with you. You legitimately believe he’s dead. But when a group of clones land on Rishi, you come face to face with the man you hoped would be your forever.

Pairing: TBB Echo x F!Reader

Word Count: 2201

Warnings: Some suggestive moments, but nothing detailed

Tagging: @trixie2023 @n0vqni

A/N: I thing I got the general vibe you want, but if I didn't please let me know and I'll do something else.

You’ve been a bartender at the same bar on Rishi since you were ten years old. Your parents had debts to the bar owner, and they sold you to make up for it. Well, you and your siblings.

You’re the lucky one.

Your…owner? Guardian? Whatever he is, he treats you like a beloved granddaughter. He buys you clothes and food and allows you to go to school…and until you reached the age of majority at 18, you only had to work four hours a night four days a week. 

He even paid for you to go to college, and he pays you well enough that you have your own home here on Rishi.

You’re lucky.

Your older brother, you know, ended up becoming a gladiator in the Outer Rim, and last you heard he’s an enforcer for the Hutt Cartel. Your older sister, however, became a drug runner for a Spice Cartel and last you heard she’s moving from rehab center to rehab center.

You’re lucky.

Maybe if you repeat it often enough, you’ll believe it.

All things considered, Rishi isn’t the worst place to spend your life. The area you live in is warm and bright and right on the water. Not to mention you’ve got several friends here that you would miss if you left…or if the Empire decides to actually deal with the pirate problem.

You’re not worried though.

The Republic’s war with the Separatists barely touched Rishi afterall, aside from having a single watch station that has been abandoned for years now.

And you don’t expect that the Empire will push too much.

Your gaze drifts from the food stall that you’re visiting, lingering on the small, almost overgrown, old Republic comm station. Once upon there had been five men stationed there. Hevy, Droidbait, Cutup, Fives, and Echo.

While you had some concerns as to how the pirates of Rishi would react to obvious soldiers spending time in their bars…people were surprisingly okay with them. More than one of them getting an offer to join different crews.

A small smile lifts your lips at the memory of your boys laughingly turning down offers of pirate crew memberships.

The Dominos had been Rishi’s, more so than the Republics, and people raged when they heard that they died.

First when Droidbait and Cutup died, and then later when they heard that Hevy was killed on Kamino. And then even later when Echo was blown up, and then Fives was killed-

Fives’ death was kind of the final straw for Rishi. 

Even now, the Pirates of Rishi are more than happy to raid imperial vessels, in honor of their Dominos.

You step around a group of Mercs, all of whom have dominoes tattooed on their hands, and start to meander your way back to your home. You miss them. All of them.

But, if you’re going to be honest, you probably miss Echo the most.

He was a lot like his brothers, loud and boisterous, and always ready with a joke or a quip, or to finish a joke that his twin set up. He was always the first to greet you with a grin, and the last to say goodbye at the end of the night.

But, unlike his brothers, he flirted with you a little shyly, as though he wasn’t sure what he was doing.

It was charming and sweet, and you found yourself smitten with him. 

He didn’t, quite, get over his shyness with you even after the first time you invited him into your home with tempting kisses. He was still a little shy even after the tenth time you invited him into your home, and your bed, with teasing touches and adoring kisses.

You wanted forever with him, and you thought, hoped, that he wanted the same.

And then he left, and you never heard from him again.

You suppose, in a way, it makes sense. Why would a soldier want to slum it with a bartender who’s technically a slave.

Doesn’t mean it doesn’t hurt.

After all, you still dream of forever with Echo. Only now, your dreams are definitely castles in the air.

After all, dead men don’t get happily ever afters.

“We need to land somewhere,” Tech says to his brothers, a frown on his face, “The damage to the ship is…far too severe for me to repair without landing.”

“Where can we land, though?” Wrecker asks, “It’s not like there are a large number of places that will accept us.”

Echo eyes the star map speculatively, “I…may have an idea.” He offers, as his gaze lands on a specific planet. A bright smile dances across your memory, and a loving laugh echoes in his ears.

He’s a kriffing fool.

Hopefully she won’t turn him away.

“Well?” Hunter prompts when Echo doesn’t continue right away.

“I think we should go to Rishi.” Echo says slowly.

“Rishi!” Tech sputters.

“That’s a pirate planet, Echo.” Hunter says, “They won’t react well-”

“Do you have a better idea?” Echo asks.

The room falls silent for a moment, and then Tech sighs, “It is up to you, Hunter. Rishi is the closest planet we can land on.”

Hunter pushes his hand through his hair, “Fine. Do it.”

An hour later, the Marauder lands on an open pad, and no one comes to the ship to speak to them. “Is this…normal?” Tech asks.

“Yeah, pretty much.” Echo replies with a shrug, “We should probably not wear our armor here,” He adds. He’s already changed into civilian attire, and he’s somewhat anxiously rubbing his arm just over where his scomp is attached. 

“Why?”

“Because our armor screams ‘clones’ and I’m not sure how the pirates will react to seeing clones now.” Echo replies dryly, “I’ve heard rumors of Rishi based Pirates raiding Republic and Imperial transports lately.”

Hunter agrees that it’s a reasonable precaution, and they all hurriedly change into civilian attire, before they get off the ship, with Omega clinging to Wrecker’s hand. And then, almost as one, they turn to Echo.

Echo sighs and rubs the back of his head, and then he turns and heads deeper into the city.

Some things have changed, new people, new stalls, but most everything else is the same. He pauses in front of a specific bar, and peers in, his dark eyes scanning the faces of the bartenders for a moment, before he motions for his brothers to follow him some more.

“Are you lookin’ for someone?” Wrecker asks.

“Yeah. Someone who, hopefully, won’t be too angry at me and will be willing to help.” Echo says.

“A friend?” Omega asks.

“Yeah, something like that.”

Echo leads them away from the shops and docks, and over to a row of apartments. He scans the buildings for a moment, before he turns and heads to one of the smaller buildings, and he stops in front of a plain door, with flower boxes in the windows.

His lips curl up in a small smile, Fives made those flower boxes early one morning when he was hyped up on Caf. They were crooked and lopsided, but it looks like she kept them. Though it looks like she painted them. “Wait here.” Echo says to his siblings, before he walks over to the door, and he knocks twice.

“Just a moment!” Her voice comes from the other side of the door, and Echo doesn’t fight his smile.

She sounds exactly the same. 

Stars, please don’t let her be too mad.

The door slides open, “Yes? Can I help yo-” She stops mid-sentence when she sees who’s standing there, “...Echo?”

“You grew your hair out,” Echo replies, a small smile lifting his lips, “It looks good. You look amazing. I’m sure you have a question or twenty, cyar’ika-”

Echo’s not able to finish his sentence as she flings her arms around him and crashes her lips against his. His arms fold tightly around her and he immediately kisses her back, and it’s almost as if no time has passed at all. 

If he focuses, he can almost hear Fives wolf-whistling and hear Cutup making lewd comments.

And then reality snaps back into place when he hears Tech’s dry voice, “Ah. That kind of friend.”

Echo carefully pulls back, and reaches up to gently cup her cheek, using his thumb to brush a tear away, “I’m sorry for not comming you, cyar’ika.”

She shakes her head, “We were told that you died.” She whispers, “Fives said…” She trailed off, “And then Fives died, and, kriff, the death of the last Domino started a war between the pirates of Rishi and the Republic/Empire, why would you bring them here?”

“Our ship is damaged-” Echo started.

“Get in. In. All of you!” She drags Echo into her home, and she doesn’t shut the door until Hunter is in the apartment as well. “Honestly Echo,” She rounds on him, “If you commed I would have told you to go literally anywhere else.”

“I wasn’t sure you’d answer.” Echo replies.

There are pictures of her with Echo, and with the rest of the dominoes on the walls. There are also pictures of her with a large, scarred man. And of her with a too slender woman.

“What do you need? I can probably get most of the materials sent to your ship.” She says.

“I have a list.” Tech offers as he hands her his datapad.

She copies it and sends the list to several of her friends, “Alright, you should have most, if not all, of what you need by the morning.”

“Are we in danger here?”

“On Rishi specifically? No. Not so long as you don’t draw attention to yourself.” She replies, “I’d offer to let you spend the night, but I don’t have much room.”

“We can stay on the ship,” Tech replies.

“Echo, are you going to stay here?” Omega asks.

Echo doesn’t take his gaze off of his cyar’ika, “If I’m allowed?”

“I’ve never turned you away before.” She counters.

Echo smiles at her, “Do you remember the way back to the docks?”

“I remember.” Tech says, “Come on.”

The door opens, and then closes again, leaving Echo alone with his cyar’ika.

She smiles at him, soft and warm and slow, “You used to be shyer about public displays of affection.”

“I used to have legs and two hands too,” Echo replies, it's a weak joke, but a joke all the same. “I’m so sorry I never commed you.” He says after a moment, “I thought…it felt cruel, reaching out to you when I couldn’t actually touch you.”

“It’s okay.”

“It’s not.”

“Echo. I forgive you.” She walks over to him and she kisses him as if no time has passed at all, all loving and soft and sweet.

She’s always been unfairly tempting. Her lips and her touch encourage him to stay and enjoy what she’s offering. And Echo has always been helpless to deny her. 

He’s not surprised when he falls into her bed, her lips needy against his.

Later, much later, they’re lounging in her bed, and Echo is trailing his lips across her bare shoulder.

“Cyar’ika,” He murmurs against her shoulder, “Come with me.”

“Come with you where?” She asks, her voice light and dreamy.

“On the Marauder. Away from Rishi. I’ll protect you-”

She turns and looks at him, her smile so sad, “You know I can’t.”

“You deserve so much better than being a slave for your parents' debts,” Echo whispers.

She rolls so that she’s facing him properly, “Echo, your brothers don’t know me. And if I had to guess, your ship is pretty small. Me going with you isn’t fair to them.”

“You deserve more.” Echo repeats.

“I don’t like life is about what we deserve,” She replies, as she reaches up to cup his face, “So, in the morning, you’re going to return to your ship, to your brothers…and you’re going to leave Rishi. And you’re going to go back to not comming me, and it’s just how it’s going to be.”

“No.”

“Echo.” She sighs his name, and he shifts so he’s looking right in her eyes.

“No.” He repeats, “I’ve given up so much. My body, my batchmates, my twin. I’m not giving you up. Let me be greedy. Just about this one thing.”

She sighs again, but she looks touched. “How about…a deal?”

“What kind of deal?”

“My contract with my…owner is coming to an end. At the end of the year, I’ll have made enough to pay off my parents' tab with him.” She says softly, “On that day, I will comm you and come to where you are. No matter where you might be.”

“Do you promise?”

She laughs softly, “Echo, I’ve been dreaming of forever with you since the first day we met. Now that I have the chance to have it, it would take an act of god to stop me.”

Echo crashes his lips against hers, “I want forever too,” He breathes against her lips, “So we have a deal.”

She smiles at him, “I love you, Echo.”

He blinks at her, momentarily surprised, and then he laughs and kisses her deeply, “I love you too.”

[kentoberry]

ONLY ANGEL — tartaglia.

pairings ⭒ tartaglia x camgirl ! reader.

about ⭒ ajax's boredom leads to him viewing a rather provocative broadcast.

content ⭒ [ 18+ ; minors do not interact ] ⭒ camming au ⭒ v!brators ⭒ d!ldo ⭒ squ!rting ⭒ m*sturbat!on.

STREAM LOADING. . . 

you double checked your setup, ensuring the cosy pillows were all in the correct position, the dainty fairy lights were switched on, and that you had everything you needed within arms reach. after fixing your hair in the mirror behind your webcam, you hit the big red “GO LIVE” button like you had a billion times before. the little names shot up on your monitor rapidly, returning customers greeting you and complimenting how cute you looked this evening. you blew occasional kisses at the camera, doing your best to greet your chat. tips began flying in immediately, and before you knew it you were undoing the clasp of your bra and putting on a little show. 

on the other end of the screen sat ajax. he didn’t usually click on sites like this, instead finding it much more satisfying to head out to the local bar and bring back a pretty girl or two. having had a difficult day at work, he’d opted to just return home and attempt to get some rest. but he couldn’t sleep. that’s what led to him typing in a url that he’d overheard one of the other harbingers mention, curious about what it would have to offer him. lo and behold, there you were, a short scroll down from the top of the screen. sure, you were attractive, but the adorable smile on your face made you look so damn angelic to him. 

he clicked on your stream to see you explaining what you had planned for the evening. something about a new toy that you’d had delivered: a vibrator that would react to the tips sent in by viewers. the more they sent in, the more that you’d be pleasured. ajax, already in bed, rested back against his pillows and thought he would observe for a moment at least. 

you slipped your panties off with ease, spreading your legs in a teasingly slow manner to reveal your already glistening cunt. he watched as an array of messages filled the chat screen about how ethereal you looked and how much they all wanted a piece of you for themselves. some even began to detail how they wanted to fuck you, or would confess how hard you had made them. ajax couldn’t deny it, the sight of your pretty pussy was so intoxicating that he could feel his cock stiffening. 

meanwhile, you had picked up a little pink toy from beside you, along with a small bottle of lube. you prepared the vibrator before easing it into your cunt, keeping your labia spread wide in order for the lens to capture how well your hole took the toy. after a couple of clicks, you activated the device. there was a moment of quiet before the tips began rolling in. it seemed as though your viewers had decided to start off slower,yet you still threw your head back in ecstacy, whining at the sudden sensations. short expletives fell from your lips as you worked to compose yourself in order to read the tip notes left by some of your biggest spenders this evening. 

“our pretty whore is already creaming for us!”

“keep going boys!”

“let us see that sweet pussy, baby!”

you smiled, leaning back in your setup and ensuring that everybody could see your drooling cunt. “thank you!” you cried out as best you could, though the strong vibrations were already making it increasingly difficult to focus. the toy had five different levels, each with different strengths and patterns, with the fifth being the most intense. you were certain that you hadn’t been pushed above the third setting just yet, especially considering that activating them was on the pricier end. maybe later on, one of your regulars would swoop in and push you over the edge with one. 

at this point, ajax’s long, veiny cock was freed of his underwear and slapping against his stomach. despite him not knowing anything about you, he couldn’t help the blossoming of jealousy in his chest. with a huff, he leaned over to his bedside table and grabbed his wallet. after making an account and entering his credit card details, ajax joined in. the knowledge that he was contributing to the tips that were making you squirm only made his cock harder, his blushing tip already leaking with precum. he spat on his palm, giving into lust and beginning to fuck his fist to the sight of you. 

“you gonna squirt for us, princess?"

"Im cumming”

“got any other toys with u?”

the last question caught your eye. fortunately, the tips had slowed down significantly, instead just chiming in every few moments rather than as a steady stream, so you managed to reply with some ease. 

“yes! as usual, i have a couple of dildos, my wand, nipple clamps, and the adorable buttplug that one of you bought from my wishlist! for a thousand tokens, you can tell me what to do with them.” you babbled excitedly. ajax could tell that you were getting off on all of this attention, but he wanted to be your sole focus. luckily for him, he had a large amount of mora to blow. 

a thousand tokens later, you were hit with a wave of vibrations more intense than the last. you couldn’t hold back the squeals, almost crying when the pattern ended because you wanted, no, needed more. 

“fuck yourself for me,”

was all that ajax managed to write. once you’d recovered from your brief moment, you grabbed a hold of your toys and showed them to your webcam. 

“which one do you want?” your eyes were innocent, as though you weren’t asking him which fake cock you should be bouncing on. it only drove him a little bit more feral. 

he looked at each of the three dildos you’d presented him with. one was clear, a little bit shorter than his own but making up for it in girth. the next was the biggest, a semi-realistic cock, with veins down its shaft and a nice set of balls. the final was a cute shade of pink, one that he thought perfectly complimented your aura. it was the closest to his own cock too, so he typed the confirmation in chat. 

upon reading it, you began informing the stream that you would keep the vibrator on, and promised to keep it pressed flush against your clit whilst you rode the chosen toy. as you set yourself up, you couldn’t help but wonder who the mystery man was, not noticing him as a regular viewer. however, all thoughts left your mind as you sunk down on the cock, feeling your walls stretch open to accommodate the length. as soon as you’d reached its hilt, you were hit with another large tip from the same user. 

“good girl”

those two words were enough to make you moan on their own, though combined with the sizeable tip and thus vibrations that followed, your entire body shook. anybody that had tuned into your stream could tell that you were getting close, that much was obvious. your movements on your toy were feeble as you were hit with tip after tip, each of them sent in by a user that desired to be the one to make you cum. 

however, all of them would be insignificant as soon as ajax hit the enter key and sent in what would be his final tip of the evening. his cock was painfully stiff, but he refused to finish until you did - he wanted to cum with you. he had sent in enough to activate your toy’s highest setting, and as soon as it activated, the look on your face was heavenly. 

“cum for me, princess”

your jaw slackened and your eyes rolled to white. your movements grew extremely sloppy, displaying nothing but neediness as you made feeble attempts to continue bouncing on your toy. you were trembling at this point, reduced to a mess of cries and moans. your orgasm hit you like a ton of bricks, and you found yourself gushing. the chat was going wild, convinced that they’d never seen you cum this hard before. that only fueled ajax’s ego, and prompted his own orgasm. 

once you had to take a moment to regain your composure, you thanked your stream as usual and turned off for the night. before closing the cam site, you opened the list of today’s highest tippers, and found yourself clicking on the “send message” button displayed next to the screen name of someone in particular.

[just-an-anon-reader]

Turtle Tricks

Summary: The gang is out and ready to get the whole Halloween experience. Sadly your girl group ditched you. Luckily you have your boyfriend with you!

P.S: Hello! Halloween season is officially over. Christmas is comin up! But before that, here is part 2 to Turtle Treaters. I hope you guys enjoy it!

The streets of New York are almost always full of pedestrians walking about and going with their day. But this hallows eve, and on every holiday really, that number of people always doubled. The Halloween fair had stalls lined up on every block. Some sold candies like chocolate and candy corn, while others sold desserts like pumpkin bars and pies. Others even held games where you could win prizes. The scents that came from the sugary goodness wafted in the air giving the stale New York wind a Halloweeny sweetness. Each one of you could feel your mouth salivate from the sights and smells. It was almost a sensory overload. And of course, being a gang of eight, everyone wanted to go in different directions and eat as much candy as they can stuff in their faces. Cassandra wanted to go for the, according to Donnie, strangely anatomically correct skull cookies. April and Sunita went straight for the stall selling gummies shaped like everything Halloween. That left the boys, your boyfriend, and you to figure out how to split up.

Raph

"Raphie, you smell that?" How you were able to smell anything through the material of your hippo suit is a mystery in itself, but yes Raph did smell that.

"Is that, chocolate?"

"Yeah! Come on!"

Letting you pull him through the crowd of New Yorkers, Raph follows you to a small stall with a fairly large crowd selling hot chocolate. Apparently, this was hot choco with a "twist" which made it extra special. Some of the customers walked away with horrified faces, while others with giggling with joy. If the smell wasn't enough to buy you in, curiosity definitely did.

"Ooh~ We have to get some!"

"I don't know. The line is pretty long. Might take us a while."

"Pretty please~? It's cold."

That was an absolute lie. Sure the November wind may have been cold but inside your hippo suit, you felt like thanksgiving turkey on slow cook wearing it. Was that gonna stop you from Halloween hot choco? Definitely not. Raph didn't know how, but he could feel your puppy eyes from underneath the suit. And with or without seeing it, he would always be weak to it. Always.

"Alright fine, let's get in line."

Happily, you skipped in line with Raph standing beside you. And, luckily enough, the fairly long line moved surprisingly fast. The wait only lasted five minutes tops before it was both your turn. Soon enough, you were both sitting on a side bench with your hot chocos in hand. With a pop, you remove the head of your suit with a sigh of relief. Raph never looked like he was baking inside wearing this, maybe it was a mutant turtle-ninja...thing.

"I thought you said it was cold?"

"It is now."

Taking a sip, you were surprised by the spicy kick you felt in your mouth. Not cinnamon spicy, more like cayenne pepper spicy. It was yummy. You were about to take another sip when Raph shrieked beside you. You turned to look and find your boyfriend looking at his cup, horrified.

"Why, what's wrong?"

"There's…something…very wrong with mine."

Glancing at his cup, you spot three eyeballs floating in his hot choco. All looking upwards, glassily at him. And you since you were looking down at his cup of hot choco.

"Ooh~ those are good."

Raph gave you a look before you had to explain that they were marshmallows filled, usually, with strawberry jam. You suggested he pop one in his mouth and, although reluctantly, he did. It tasted good, but he still felt icky about it though. You only laughed at his squirmish expression, which made him huff, before taking another sip.

"Hey, you have something on your face."

You couldn't even react before he kissed you on the cheek. Out of nowhere.

"You had some whipped cream there."

Leo

Seeing as your girl group ditched you with your boyfriend and his brothers, you decided to have a look around. See if anything caught your fancy. And sure enough, something did. A horror house. Filled with the screams of horrified teens who thought they were brave enough to traverse the maze-like corridors of the nightmarish attraction. You tugged at Leo's Lou Jitsu sleeve to get his attention. Once you got it, you gestured to the attraction. Raising your eyebrows in a challenge.

"Babe, the first one who screams loses. The winner gets pizza rights."

Leo, being the champion turtle that he was, grinned mischievously and pulled you to the ticket booth.

"One for me and my fine partner here, if you please."

"Please follow Frankenstein to the house entrance."

The ticketer said, gesturing to the staff dressed as Frankenstein who stood just to the right of the booth. Quickly, you two followed after them and entered the horror house with determination. After all, extra pizza slices were in the line. Thirty minutes in, and no one has made a single noise. Outside the subtle jumps, sweaty palms held tightly in each other’s sweaty grip, and the hardly unnoticeable inching closer together, not even a silent gasp left your mouths. Immediately after a turn, written on the wall in wet and drippy red paint were the words 'Keep running! You're almost there!' Naturally, this prompted you both to speed walk towards the almost-there exit. And, like a light at the end of the tunnel, the way out was in sight. That was until... something sprung out from the shadows. It was big. It was slimy. It was...

"EEEEEEEEK"

'flash'

"That's going in the album!"

"...piebald?"

"Hey there, honey! It's been a while!"

"What are you doing here?"

At this point, Leo, who somehow got behind you peeked out all fidgety still.

"Well, I figured that this would be the ideal part-time job. Tryin' to earn some money for my new tank. The place is nice, but needs some feminine touches."

"Ooh~ that's great! Say, you wouldn't mind sending me that pic, would you?"

You walked out of the horror house with a smug smirk directed at your defeated boyfriend. And he, he didn't like that. Not only did he look super lame, but he also lost! He LOsT! So he did the next most logical thing. Grabbing your slick, black blazer he gently yet quickly tugged you upwards. To his beak. Kissing you. Your first kiss. On the lips.

"Wipe the smug smile off your face."

"Hmm, I dunno I'm gonna have to think about it. Give me another and I just might."

Donnie

"Am I hallucinating? Or is that stall just west of us, selling automatons to unsupervised children on Halloween?"

Looking toward the direction you indicated, there was indeed, a stall filled to the brim with mechanical trinkets and gizmos. On the center stage of the stall was an intricately made wooden robotic cat. And being the pair of science nerds you and Donnie were, you both immediately squeezed through the crowd of people and toward the stall. Upon closer inspection, the stall was filled specifically with animal and insect-themed robots such as spiders and bats. All were intricately made with various materials ranging from wood to silver to copper.

"The machinations within also seemed to be incorporated properly as well. Tell me, good fellow, did you make these all by yourself."

The vendor enthusiastically replied yes. Stating that each piece was handmade and, literally, took them days to accomplish. Understandable, considering the meticulousness that came from both building and designing such creations.

"May we take a look at this one, please?" You said. Pointing at the cat that had drawn you to this stall in the first place.

The vendor nodded and gently removed the mechanism from its case and onto the table in front of you.

"So tell us, how does this exactly work?"

The vendor gave the both of you a long look before smiling and said, "Well for a start, you'll need a knife."

You and Donnie nodded in unison.

"And then you cut it."

...

"eXCusE uS?!"

"Will you be buying this one? I would like to demonstrate if so."

Let's just say that you and Donnie had to dish up all your Halloween candy money to buy it. Was it a worthwhile spend? Short answer, yes. After having paid for it, the vendor proceeded to unsheathe their knife and cut into the robot. First came the crunching from the exterior. Then came the strong smell of...chocolate? There was no wheezing of cut-in-half gears or the static of also cut-in-half wires. Just very, very, gooey chocolate cake. They then proceeded to push the slice toward you and Donnie. Unsurely, he took a piece of the cake and into his mouth. Don't get him wrong, the cake was heavenly, almost divine. But his brain just could not comprehend what just happened.

"d!...D!...Donnie!"

Donnie turned towards you. Eyebrows raised in confusion. How were you not phased by this?! Apparently, his expression was very readable since you said, "Hyper-realistic cake. I've never seen it in person but they have been going viral. Also, you have some chocolate on your face. Mind if I?"

Donnie only nodded. Still completely out of it when you gently wiped a napkin across his bottom lip. Swiping at the gooey chocolate. You giggled when, despite being so obviously rattled to the shell, he still reacted shyly to your touch as a soft blush started to dust his cheeks. It took a while before the two of you could arrive at the meeting point i.e the same place where everyone split up, only to find the rest of the turtles still arguing about which direction to go. Raph, having been facing your general direction, saw you and Donnie and the expensive cake placed in a transparent plastic box in your hands.

"Please don't tell me you used all your Halloween money on that."

"It was a worth it buy."

Mikey

"Mikey! Look!"

You excitedly poke Mikey's paper mache pumpkin as you point toward the line of stalls selling jack-o-lanterns and carved candles.

"It's our people!"

As fast as you both could in your jack-o-lantern costumes, you waddled toward the stalls hand in hand. You both first went to the candle stalls, becoming immediately drawn to the details and colors of each one. Some had solid colors. Others had layers of black, white, and orange. All of them were carved in elegant petal-like designs that curved sometimes inward, sometimes outward, till they reached the bottom of the candle. They even had cats and witches carved into them. There was one in particular that caught your eye. It was a scented cinnamon candle with a green outer layer with the inside being an arrangement of oranges and yellow. It would look perfect in Mikey's room aesthetic.

"See something you like babe?"

"Oh, nothing much. They're all so beautiful."

You were definitely buying that behind his back. Of course, you couldn't forget about your fellow jack-o-lanterns on display. There were small ones, ones as big as your head, some smooth and others rough. There were even some that you could use like a mask and some that sold them as candy buckets filled with Halloweeny goodness. You both definitely bought a matching pair of buckets. There were some pies in your buckets that Mikey just had to get the recipe too.

"I'll be right back. I gotta know the secret to this pie."

"Alright, I'll be waiting here.

Of course, you weren't. While Mikey waddled back to the bucket stall determined to get that recipe, you waddled back to the candle stall. And, to your luck, it was still there! You excitedly beckoned to the vendor for it. They gladly wrapped it up for you. Like they really wrapped it up. Bubble wrap and all.

"It's very fragile. So be very careful with it." The vendor advised as they handed you the bubble-wrapped candle in exchange for your money.

"I will! Thank you!"

Very, very carefully, you placed the candle in the deepest pocket of your soft crocheted jack-o-lantern costume. Were you glad you decided to crochet those in. Quickly, well as fast as you could, you waddled back to where Mikey left you just in time to see him waddling back to you.

"Someone is making pumpkin pie tonight! Come on, we better get back."

You giggled at his excitement. The candle you gave to him at the layer. He never did use it. "Art too precious to tarnish" he would say. He definitely asked Donnie for the meaning of tarnish.

[schrijverr]

Gentle Died to Survive

An introspection about Oliver and touch after he came back from the dead after five years.

On AO3.

Ships: none

Warnings: self loathing

~~~

Oliver hasn’t been as isolated as he’s led everyone to believe after coming back from Lian Yu. In the years he was gone, he’s spent most his time in the company of others. However, he is glad that it’s the lie he told.

Before the Queen’s Gambit sank, Oliver thrived on other people. He was the life of the party and could be found wrapped around a new girl every weekend, as he hopped from bed to bed and bar to bar. He would toss Thea in the air when she was little, making her squeal, easily throw an arm around Tommy whenever he felt like it, or even cuddle up with his mom, though she was sworn to secrecy about it.

He isn’t that person anymore.

Despite not being isolated, he feels skittish around the people that surround him now and the touches that brush over his skin. He’s more than happy to hide behind being unused to it, because the truth is worse, so much worse, and he never wants to tell any of them.

His friends and family don’t need to know that the reason he’s shying away from contact isn’t because he isn’t used to it, but because practically all contact he’s had over the past five years has been unfriendly.

They don’t need to know that he’s not flinching away from them, because the touch feels foreign, but because he expects them to hurt him. And more importantly, he expects himself to hurt them back.

It’s a fear he’ll never voice, but one that haunts his every action. He knows that no matter how much of the darkness he puts in the Hood, the monster is always there, lying in wait, and if it weren’t for the mission, he might have never returned home.

Because how can he allow himself to be near his family when hugging his mom makes him think of how fragile she is, how easy it would be to break her, the bones feeling delicate under his hands as he hugs back as lightly as he can. How can he come home when shaking Walter’s hand functions as a test to assess how strong the man is and how much effort it would be to take him down. When Thea flying at him as she tuns down the stairs has him bracing his legs, not to catch her, but to deflect, ready to throw her at a wall. She’s so light, so fragile.

They’re all so fragile.

These past five years have turned him into a killer, a merciless machine that will take down everything in its path, because it’s the only way to get out alive. Coming into contact with him doesn’t end well for people.

He wasn’t isolated and he is used to people in his space, having people be close enough for him to snap their necks. It hasn’t been a bad thing, it has meant he survived. However, it’s not the sort of thing he wants to bring home.

Everyone here is so innocent, so light, and he has shed all the good parts about himself, shed all the things that made him the happy go lucky Ollie they used to know to make space for the Oliver that lived. For the darkness that kept him alive. And he is glad to be alive. He just doesn’t want to taint those around him with it.

So, he makes sure to prepare himself whenever he goes out to play the kid he used to be, mentally bracing himself not to react to the novel feeling of contact without violence attached.

And on the days he can’t do that, on the days his muscles feel too tense and he’s hyper aware of someone breathing to closely, when snapping lies close to the surface? On those days he’s glad for the lie he told about those years of isolation, the excuse it gives him to shrink back.

Oliver can deal with heartbroken looks and hurt feelings, it’s better than coming back to himself to find them dead with their blood on his hands.

[oh-surprise-its-me]

How did Jake meet Javy in the ER Nurse!Jake? And how would Javy react to Jake’s dad being like super important Navy officers?

Omg darling let me tell you I flipped on my country playlist and started writing like a crazy person-

Jake can’t wait to be done. He’s seen too many idiots tonight as it is. If one more girl tries to hit on him by holding his hand he’s going to cut his hand off.

Kidding. He needs that too much.

Oh the joys of working New Year’s Eve.

“We got Navy boys comin in Jake!”

Jake stares after Milo. God he hates how happy the man is. Wants to strangle him. He wants to be at home with his dads on the couch with their dogs.

There’s a pretty man in uniform sitting in the bed when Jake makes it over to them. “How y’all doin tonight. How intoxicated are you.” The man blinks at him, “not at all?”

Jake laughs. He flips the chart, “you’re telling me your foot got ran over and you were entirely sober. And that those aren’t firework burns on your friends fingers. Mr. Machado” Jake tags the name on the end because if he gets written up one more time for that he’s genuinely going to quit and take his dads offer of working at the garage. 

“He’s sober. You’re right there’s firework burns on me but we’re all sober. Promise.” Jake stares at the woman. “Ma’am sit. I’ll get you burn cream and look at Mr Mach-” “Javy. Call me Javy.” Jake nods. “Alright. Look at Javy’s foot.” Jake gets a blinding grin in response. He steps away for a second to see the two of them start talking. Jake swears he knows the man. But has no reason to. He doesn’t fuck Navy guys.

-

Once Jake has determined Javy hadn’t broken his foot and the woman, Leah, doesn’t have any permanent damage he tells them they’re allowed to go. “Nice seeing y’all. Stay safe tonight.”

Javy stares after Jake for a second, “you’re gonna think I’m crazy but let me do this.” “Jake?” Jake spins in place. He looks back at the two of them. “Yeah?” Javy runs a hand across the back of his neck, “this is gonna sound weird. Did you grow up in Roseville Texas?” Jake stares at Javy. If he has a stalker his dads are going to kill him.

Jesus.

“Yeah? But we moved away when I was young. My dads got transferred out here. Flew back every summer though.” Javy nods. “This is going to sound even crazier. You didn’t happen to have a dog named Cricket did you?”

Oh god Jake knows this kid. “Javy? Coyote Javy? What the fuck?”

Javy let’s our a laugh. “You look good Seresin. A lot bigger then you were at 13!” Jake pulls Javy into a hug. Leah raises her hand “why does he know your call sign?”

Jake steps back with a smack to Javy’s chest, “you did it! Became a navy snob! And I know it because I gave it to the fucker. We grabbed a coyote one summer and brought it home to my dad.”

Javy laughs. “What are the odds my god Jake. How’s Chris?” Jake laughs. “Good. Keeping busy. My pa and tata haven’t been home much so he’s trying to stay distracted. How’s your mom?” Javy shrugs, “ruling with an iron fist over my sister’s kids now that she’s back in law school.” Jake laughs, he’s got great memories of Chris and Javy’s mom cooking when they were in Texas for the summer.

“We should go out for drinks and catch up.” Javy nods. “You name the place.” Jake thinks for a second, “hard deck? It’s a navy bar but they like me there.” Javy thinks that’s a weird place to request but whatever. “Yeah totally man give me your number and we’ll set it up.”

—

Five months later Jake invites Javy to his dads house for a bbq. Javy goes. He’s 25 he’s starving most of the time. When Javy comes in with Texas sheet cake Jake whoops. “God man tell me that’s your mom’s recipe.”

Chris comes out of the kitchen. “She never did give me that. Hey Javy good to see you grown up.” Javy smiles at Chris. He looks more relaxed then he used to. There’s noise from farther in the house.

“Tommy I swear to god give me that.” Chris sighs. “Come in, welcome to the chaos. Been home barely a week and already insane about each other.”

Jake laughs. “But they’re home!” Javy doesn’t remember Jake having any siblings. He catches sight of a few photos hung on the walls, a lot of Jake as a baby. There’s various people holding him.

Multiple in dress whites.

Well Jake did mention them moving out because of his other dad. Maybe he’s one of them.

Javy follows Jake into the open kitchen. He sees two tall gray haired men. “Holy shit Jake what the hell.”

Jake blinks at Javy for a second before realizing. “Oh fuck. Uh Javy meet my other two dads. Tom and Ron.”

Javy can’t believe it. Tom Iceman Kazansky is standing there. The man’s arm around his waist is Ron Slider Kerner. Javy snaps into a salute, Tom and Ron both stare at him. Chris comes back into the room. “Oh Javy quit it,” he snaps his fingers at the two “y’all are scaring him.”

“Javy. Good to meet you. I’ve heard incredible things.” The admiral just told him he’s heard of him. “I’ve heard better. You’re good kid, a fast learner. Ever think about top gun?” The goddamn compacflt just told him he’s good.

Jake waves his hand in Javy’s face. “Earth to you Javy. They’re nerds I promise. Really not that cool. Pa has a thing for vampire books. Tata has an insane model plane collection.”

Javy blinks again he leans on the counter. “Interview with a vampire is a classic.” Ron laughs and kisses Tom. “See. Good kid.” He walks by with a kiss to Jake’s head and a clap to Javy’s shoulders “welcome kiddo. Relax we’re not on base here.”

Javy nods. Yeah sure he can do that. Pretend this is normal and that he’s not basically dining with navy royalty. Tom spins Chris in place to whatever song in playing.

“How did they do it?” Jake shrugs. He hops up on the counter next to Javy. “Loved each other more then their jobs. They knew if it came down to jobs or them they weren’t picking the job. Never needed to pick though.”

Javy nods. “Seresin is Chris’s name right?” Jake nods he spins the rings he’s wearing. “Yeah. Couldn’t really take their last names cause I’m not biologically related to them. But Chris is biologically my uncle.” Javy knows how hard that had to have been growing up. Knows Jake talks about his dads. Knows how good of a childhood he had. Javy is happy for him.

He’s a bit weirded out to sit on the couch later and watch football with the compacflt but hey. They’re both rooting for the same team can’t be too bad.

[yoggus]

helpful advice for madou saturn if you can't read japanese but your autism demands that you absorb everything on the disc into your genome

courtesy of a guy who's beaten the game multiple times and is now attempting to datamine it

heads up: this is a work in progress. I’ll be updating as i replay the game. currently i’m writing from memory or copying from other sources (linked at the bottom)

first off

sleeping in arle’s bed refills the entire party’s health

press the right shoulder button to show enemy health bars. doesn't work on bosses

beating the game adds a star to the save file, which increases the difficulty and adds some extra content. you have to play it at least twice if you want all the cgs because of draco and witch’s routes having two exclusives each

immediately after the falling star cutscene light the fireplace in arle’s house, then interact with it from the right-front. that’ll open the basement, which has good items behind doors that can be opened by specific party members

炎- Arle

動- Minotauros

打- Rulue

闇- Schezo

水- Suketoudara

音- Harpy

飛- Draco

時- Witch

商- Momomo

光- Lagnus

if you don’t want to keep referring back to this then just remember to go back every time someone joins your party, even if they’ve already opened a door. schezo and tara have multiples

random tips

there’s items hidden behind almost every house

certain enemies can be one-shotted automatically by specific attacks. for instance, sword of darkness OHKOs star puyos, and haganshou OHKOs rock puyos. omae ga hoshii also has a chance to OHKO non-boss enemies

in kokochoi there's a shopkeeper that sells powerful gloves for less than he buys them back for. momomo hangs out in the same town and sells some good shit so take advantage

when momomo joins your party backtrack and have him talk to every traveling merchant you can find. they'll give you free items

also with momomo in the party toss gold into the fountain in refresh town for some armor/weapon stars

there’s a few objects that rulue can punch for extra items. list to be added

code 1608FB26 0F00 disables encounters

overworld abilities

Arle: burns things and melts ice

Mino: can push heavy objects

Rulue: punches things with her big fucking fists

Schezo: dispels ghosts and those weird doors with the runes

Tara: cleans things

Harpy: rings the bells over incubus’s mansion

Draco: can grab things from high ledges

Witch: repairs rusty/dented objects

Momomo: opens a shop menu

Lagnus: refills the party’s special meters

also the plant in arle’s house reacts to most abilities. i dont think there’s a reason for it but it’s kinda funny

optional story events:

most of these really just boil down to ‘talk to a particular npc as a particular character’

21: Mino and the Girl (ミノと少女)

talk to the girl with pigtails in relax town as minotauros

22: Lullaby ( 子守り歌 )

sing to the crying baby in kutsurogi as harpy

23A: Magic Pro ( 魔法のプロ )

tba

23B: Actress Draco ( 女優ドラコ )

tba

24: Creeper!?  ( ヘンタイ！ ？)

cut the ropes tying a kid to the side of a house in kokochoi as schezo

25: Let’s Dance ( レッツダンス )

dance for a girl in ando as suketoudara

there’s also few other events with no associated CGs

-before rulue joins the party, raid her room (the locked door in her mansion) as mino and take the star knuckles and sun dress

-a cool friendly nice friend buddy guy is hiding behind the bar in refresh town

-after beating the game once, sleep in arle’s bed with lagnus in the party

-the a.b.g has a bunch of dialogue. idk what it says tho

secret items

in hott village look behind the signpost, then search around the well for a magic crystal

once baby lagnus is freed, go to satan’s tower and look under the throne for some goodies for rulue

in kaiso use draco’s jump behind one of the houses for an onion earring

after beating the game once, bonk one of the rocks in kaiso five times as rulue and a secret room will open

puzzles that don’t translate

during the detective event go to the house in the middle. i encourage you to get it wrong at least once tho because schezo getting beat up is funny

after the detective event when ladies are giving you riddles, pick the middle option for the first (the one with the 3s in the text), the top for the second, and the top again for the third

when CG#13 is shown (the one where schezo is being interrogated near a cave exit) pick the first option, the third twice, the middle once, then the first again.

during the recap in the crystal prison, pick the last option. though there’s no punishment for getting it wrong aside from rulue chewing you out

sources and useful links:

translated item list

translated location list

maps

enemy list

enemy stats/resistances

hidden item locations

other tips

cheat codes

VERY outdated english walkthrough

[aph-america]

A Second Chance

[ My gift exchange for @badappleyatsu  ! You asked for angst and I hope I brought it ]

“So, have you been seeing someone?” 

Ivan blinked when asked the question. While not unexpected, he didn’t know how to respond. Having his ex-husband in front of him after a few years had him frazzled. Even him sitting on a sofa, across from Alfred in his’s own house added extra anxiety. When invited over, he’s unaware of what it entailed. A couple nights ago, the pair had run into each other at the same bar they had met. An urge to talk to Ivan overtook Alfred, and he went for it. To his own surprise, Ivan reacted in a friendly manner. And they exchanged numbers at the end. They’ve talked casually for the last few days, and Alfred decided to bite the bullet and have Ivan over for a real conversation.

“... You mean, in a serious manner? No. Why, have you?” Ivan responded, having a clear voice. He glanced at the photo near him, one with Alfred and a small girl. “I did not want to ask, but something tells me you are not with the mother of your child anymore…” There’s a hint of disapproval in his tone. Three months after their divorce, Alfred had gotten a woman pregnant. Ivan found this through a mutual friend, and had a couple crying sessions over it. While understanding that he didn’t have the right to be upset, it stung that his ex had a child so quick. ‘He must of really thought I was unfit to be a parent…’ Ivan would commonly think.

Alfred’s face changed from the question. His eyes looked down as he had a pained expression on his face. He began to rub his neck, knowing he’d have to admit the truth. “Eh, we were never really… Together… More so she got pregnant by accident and we decided to keep her. We tried to date, but it really did not work out and we’ve been co-parenting since she’s been born…” Alfred explained. The mother of his child had been a ‘friends with benefits’ situation. 

Ivan raised a brow, annoyed by the background. “Interesting… You really could not wait to have unprotected sex with someone after me, yes?” His reply was snarky and his tone irritated. Alfred sighed and isn’t a fan of his attitude. His own expression changed to frustration. Ivan began to feel guilty for the unnecessary remark and decided to apologize. “Sorry…” His eyes looked down to his lap, where he held a soft blanket across it. Old Ivan wouldn’t have dared to say sorry for sassy comments. But this Ivan had matured through the years.

“That was rude of me. Anyway, she is adorable. And I like the name Bella. It suits her.” Ivan’s lips turned to a tiny grin, attempting to make up for the hostility. Alfred blinked, not expecting an apology, followed by a compliment. Grateful, he continued down the path of questioning he originally brought Ivan here for. “Thanks. She really is the cutest… Ah, could you see yourself dating someone with kids?” He asked, his inquiry having a tone of fear under it. A hint that he feared a certain answer.

“Yes. Does not bother me… Why?” Ivan tilted his head, wondering if Alfred would get to the point. Did his ex invite him over to simply ‘talk’, or did he have other intentions?

Alfred could tell by Ivan’s tone, and knew he should fess up and be blunt on his motives. “Well.. I guess… I…” Speechless at first, it took him a pause to get it together. “Listening- even before we met again, I’ve been thinking about you. A lot, actually. I felt like it’s fate that we ran into each other… I mean, I’m a different person from when we were married. I assume you are too. It’s been, what, five years? Anyway, I… I was hoping that we could reconnect…” His words were quieter towards the end. It’s challenging to pour his feelings out, but there’s no way to avoid it.

“I really did love you, a lot. And it never really went away? I’m sorry if I sound stupid… I just…” Alfred closed his eyes, taking a deep breath. “I, I can’t stop thinking about us. And I’ll never forgive myself if I didn’t try to fix things with you…” He reopened his eyes, his expression worried for Ivan’s reply. His ex blinked, an unsure look on his face. Alfred couldn’t read what he’s thinking and it bothered him.

Ivan’s half surprised, half isn't by Alfred’s confession. They met again, started talking, and once invited over, he knew something was up. But another part of himself couldn’t, or didn’t, want to believe the man who divorced him wanted him. After five years of marriage, it pained Ivan when Alfred gave up on their relationship. They were both young when they married, with Alfred twenty and Ivan twenty-three himself. Funny enough, they were separated for as long as their marriage.

Ivan had greatly worked on himself in those five years after the divorce. He went to therapy every week, and started to take his anti-depressants. A major source of issues in their marriage was Ivan’s poor mental health, and their relationship became toxic. Alfred had his own bad behaviors, due to being controlling and vindictive back. Alfred's too immature to handle a person as complicated as Ivan. At the time at least, years of growth could have changed that. 

Ivan’s heart raced, and he tried to aid it by taking a deep breath. Body tense, he scrambled to find a response for Alfred. “I…” He began to mutter. He closed his eyes, following by reopening them. Instead of looking at his lap, he gave Alfred eye contact. “I would be lying if I said you did not come across my mind. You do. And I would sometimes wonder if it was the right person, wrong time… We both were so young…” He confessed, his fingers pulling at the blanket due to anxiety. Nausea built up in his stomach, as he had to verbalize his emotions. “I… I like the idea of reconnecting. See if it is truly meant to be…” He ended it in a whisper, breaking eye contact. He couldn’t look at Alfred’s baby blues anymore; it brought back emotions he’d push down the past few years. All the night were he missed his ex, and wanted nothing but to jump into his arms. His own body fought the urge to go over and throw himself at Alfred.

But he couldn’t; he had to act like he isn’t desperate. 

Alfred leg fidgeted while he listened to Ivan. His chest felt close to exploding, and he struggled to keep his breathing normal. He didn’t know how’d he handle if Ivan rejected him. He wore his heart on his sleeve, and he isn’t aware if he’d regret it.

Nevertheless, the words ‘I like the idea of reconnecting.’ hit his ears, every tense, anxious part of his body relaxed. Calmness washed over him, and his lips turned to a smile. He stared at Ivan, and took in his beautiful features. His soft skin, that appeared flawless. Hooded eyes that were a shade unseen on anyone else. A large nose that fit his face, and full light pink lips. He’d do anything to crush his lips against his again. To taste his mouth, and grab him everywhere. His soft hips, large and thick thighs and ass. Feel Ivan under him, he’d yearn for it since they divorced.

“... Are you going to say something, or must you simply stare at me?”

Ivan speaking took him from his daydream. He sat up straight, and saw Ivan smiling at him. Chuckling, he felt guilty of imagining his ex in such ways so soon. “Sorry, heh, I just…” Unable to come up with an excuse, he ignored his zoning out. “Anyway, I’m glad you feel the same way. I’m… I’m sorry for everything, I really am…” That apology is one he held in for the past five years. The divorce had been rocky, at first it was quite nasty. It wasn’t until towards the end they began to act civil and go their separate ways.

Ivan sighed, shaking his head. “Do not feel bad. I should be sorry too. I was no angel to deal with. I know that… And… I am willing to start on a fresh slate. As long as you are as well…” He looked down again, fighting tears. He didn’t want to cry; he couldn’t cry. He couldn’t off the bat show how much he missed Alfred. Being emotional and weak again isn't something he wanted.

But Alfred saw through it.

“Hey… Don’t cry… You’ll make me cry…” Alfred laughed, but there’s a crack in his voice towards the end. He got up from his chair and sat next to Ivan. He took Ivan’s chin into his hand, raising it so they could be eye-to-eye. Tears pooled at the bottom of Ivan’s eyes. Alfred wiped them and fought back his own. Ivan sat still, his mind racing. A moment he’d secretly wanted for the last five years happened. It felt unreal.

Alfred pulled back slightly, taking his hands from Ivan’s cheeks. ‘I hope I didn’t cross a line touching him so soon…’ Alfred thought. “Sorry if I’m being too touchy…”

But he didn’t know how badly Ivan desired those touches. Every cell in Ivan’s body urged him to kiss him. Be in his arms again, feel his hands grip his waist and his lips on his neck. Ivan longed for him for years. This past year he'd finally gotten over him. He started to think about him less, and imagined himself building a life with someone else. But seeing Alfred in the flesh changed everything. Not only did the man confess rekindling their relationship, but received touching in such an intimate and soft way. Alfred’s touches were one of the reasons he fell in love. He could caress him in a gentle way no one else could.

Now, after moving on, every single emotion Ivan had pushed down came to surface. And he realized that perhaps, he wasn’t as moved on as so thought. More tears streamed down his pale cheeks, as his lips trembled into a smile.

“I love the way you touch me… Do not be sorry…”

[regenderate-fic]

Tell Me, Is Devotion a Gift or a Thief: Chapter 2 (After)

main post read on ao3

Word Count (Chapter): 2,709

The Doctor was in one of the bar’s back rooms, getting ready for his set. Really, there wasn’t that much to prepare for: he wasn’t exactly doing his hair. But it was nice to have a bit of quiet. No one really bothered him here, except the manager who told him when it was time to go on, and sometimes waitstaff looking for extra towels (or for a quiet moment of their own).

No one bothered him, that was, until the door opened and Bill’s head poked its way inside.

“Your old friend’s back,” she said.

The Doctor jumped. He had been sitting in the corner of the room, using his sonic screwdriver to inspect the graffiti on the wall. He hadn’t expected to be interrupted for at least five more minutes. 

“My old friend,” he repeated, pushing himself cautiously to his feet. “I’m afraid you’ll have to be more specific, Bill.”

“Oh, right, ‘cause you’re a billion years old?” 

The Doctor tried for a smile. He was never sure if he was doing it right. “Yes.”

“Okay,” Bill said. “Does this ring a bell? Blonde girl, way too young for you, was here last month?” 

The Doctor frowned. Why would she come here twice? Surely she would be somewhere else by now, another time, another place. “You must be mistaken.”

Bill shook her head. “Definitely the same girl.” 

“No.” The Doctor felt himself shutting down, preempting the hope he knew would surge in his veins if he didn’t stop it. But he had to stop it. He couldn’t risk talking to her again. He’d said goodbye to her for the last time. “It isn’t.”

Bill shrugged. “Suit yourself. Just thought I’d warn you before you go out there. Considering last time you made a complete fool of yourself.”

“I did not—”

But Bill was already gone.

The Doctor took a deep, shaking breath. In a few minutes, he would have to go out on that stage, sit in front of that crowd, and he wouldn’t be able to help scanning the room for one Rose Tyler. Ordinarily, he was very good at keeping his persona onstage: he’d had decades of practice, after all. But— well. He wasn’t sure how he’d react, on the one in a trillion chance that Rose Tyler was, indeed, in the crowd. He’d never been able to hide, around her. 

No. It was ridiculous to even entertain the thought. Rose Tyler was in another universe, with a clone of himself, and if she was here, either he couldn’t talk to her, or something had gone horribly, horribly wrong. It was selfish of him to have even the tiniest sliver of hope. 

He’d never claimed to be a selfless man.

The door opened again. It was the bar’s manager, there to tell him it was time to go on. He picked up his guitar and slung the strap around his neck, each movement painfully slow, his stomach sinking with dread. He couldn’t go out there. He couldn’t go out there, because either Bill had been wrong, she’d seen some other woman and thought it was Rose, or else Bill had been right, and he would have to hide himself from her for a second time, and either option was impossible to bear.

He couldn’t go out there, and yet he did the impossible fairly regularly, and he’d have to do it now. He couldn’t risk disappointing the bar, after all; he’d been playing here for upwards of fifty years, and they’d always been good to him. It was a point of respect, really, to show up when he was scheduled, to play his full set, even on days when he really would have preferred to be in his office, reading or drawing up a new schematic for one of his side projects or even arguing with Nardole. He had said he would perform tonight, and so he would perform, even if his mind felt like it had scattered on the wind, drifting in a million directions.

He opened the door and stepped out into the bar.

He kept his eyes fixed on the floor as he walked out to his seat. He didn’t look up— didn’t let himself look up— as he sat down, plugged in his guitar, struck the first chord. It blared through the speakers, clear and pristine, and he closed his eyes. He pulled a breath deep into his lungs, and expelled it as the start of a song, his eyes still closed as his fingers moved along the frets. He was lucky, he realized, that he had so many years of practice: his hands and throat knew what to do, even when his mind didn’t seem to. 

He got through a song and a half this way before his curiosity began to eat away at his obstinance. The urge to look up was overwhelming, overpowering, and by the end of the second song, he simply couldn’t bear it. 

His fingers moved along the frets, positioning themselves for the next song. He took deep breaths, steadying himself— 

And then he looked. 

For a moment, he couldn’t see anything. Most of the bar was dark, and although the light on him wasn’t bright, it was still shining in his eyes, preventing him from really looking at the rest of the space. He started his next song, glancing back down at his guitar, and when he looked up again, he could make out the tables just in front of him, the people sitting on stools along the bar, the bartenders and waitstaff moving around in their white aprons. Bill was a few feet away, grinning up at him; he avoided her eyes. 

He looked back down. His fingers were still moving of their own accord, strumming the strings, moving along the frets. It wasn’t his best performance, but it would be passable— with any luck, the audience wouldn’t know the difference.

He looked up again— and for a millisecond, his voice faltered, his fingers slipping on the strings.

She was there.

Bill had been right. Rose was there, and what was more, she was looking back at him. His eyes met hers with a jolt, and he stared at her for a long moment, still playing, still holding the tune. 

No. He couldn’t. He couldn’t talk to her. He wasn’t the Doctor she was looking for. He weighed the odds— there was no way she didn’t know it was him. He couldn’t imagine her looking that way at anyone else. But he couldn’t talk to her, couldn’t risk messing up the timelines any more than he already had. His only option was to get out of there as fast as possible after his set, before he had the impulse to do something stupid like go up and actually talk to her. 

He looked up again. She had a basket of chips in front of her, and she was holding one between her fingers as she watched, an image so endearingly familiar he felt it in his chest. She was smiling, too, not her full-on grin, but a small smile. It almost looked… knowing.

He couldn’t keep looking at her. If he looked at her, he’d want to talk to her, and if he talked to her, he wouldn’t be able to stop himself from touching her, and then it would all be over. The timelines would implode, and the Doctor couldn’t justify that. Not even if he really, really wanted to.

It was the fifth time he looked up that he realized she was wearing a different jacket.

She’d been wearing a blue jacket, the last time he’d seen her. She’d been wearing a blue jacket all those years ago, too, when she’d returned to him. It was seared into his mind, that jacket, matched with his clone’s suit, disappearing behind the TARDIS doors.

But this jacket was new. Unfamiliar. Dark brown leather, snug against her body. Wide lapels. Hair falling into the neckline. The Doctor frowned— although, considering where he was, it would be best if he kept his frown on the inside. He forced his expression back to neutral. 

A different jacket didn’t mean anything. He was overanalyzing— he always did. It was practically his job description. Of course Rose wouldn’t always wear the same jacket. She hadn’t back when she’d traveled with him: she’d had a new outfit every day, sometimes twice a day, always a different color scheme. It was foolish to think that, just because the jacket was different, the circumstances would be too.

He looked for just a second longer.

Her hair was falling into the jacket’s neckline. 

Her hair hadn’t been that long before, had it? The last time he’d seen her hair long enough to even touch her collar— it had been just after he’d regenerated. Christmas dinner. She’d had a little braid in it. The next day, before they’d left, she’d gotten Jackie to cut it. 

Was this Rose from that far in the past, then? 

No. She couldn’t be. Could she? He would’ve remembered, if he’d taken her here. And she wouldn’t have gone anywhere without him— not unless Jack had taken her when he wasn’t looking, which was possible, but somehow didn’t seem likely. And why would he have taken her here, and why would she be looking at him like this, and why—

He was at the end of his set. He struck the last chord, the sound of the guitar diminishing into nothing, and tried for a smile. Usually he said something here, some sort of thank you, but not today. Today, he just cleared his throat and stood up, hovering awkwardly for a moment before setting down the guitar and bolting off the stage. 

He’d meant to go directly back into the back room. It was what he usually did, anyway, at the end of a set. His guitar case was back there. And this guitar had been a gift from an old friend; he was very careful to keep it in its case when he wasn’t using it. He really should have been going to get it. But the second he stepped off the stage, he couldn’t move. He caught his arms about to start flailing, and he managed to redirect them to his hair just in time. He didn't see Rose in the crowd anymore— he'd had his eyes on her, but then in the shuffle of getting off the stage and failing to regain his bearings, he'd lost track. Bill was coming toward him— he wasn't ready to speak to her— he turned around—

There she was. 

Her eyes were shining as she looked up through her lashes at him, biting her lip in a self-conscious smile just like she used to. 

He cleared his throat. 

“Rose?” The word came out on a choked-up breath, the syllable barely intelligible. But it was enough: her smile grew, and before he could register what was happening she had flung herself against his chest, her arms wrapped tightly around his waist. It took a second for his body to catch up with his brain, but once it did, his arms were around her, one hand cradling her head close against his chest. This body wasn't a hugger, as a general rule, but oh, he would've made so many exceptions to have Rose Tyler in his arms again, and now she was here, and it was better than he had dared to hope. 

Until— he pulled away. The timelines. He'd forgotten about the timelines. Who knew what he was messing up, just by interacting with her? His time with her was long over, diverted into another universe. It would have been the height of hubris to think he could ever be with her again. 

“How did you get here?” he asked, unable to tear his eyes away from hers. 

Her smile settled into a more serious expression, her eyes searching his. “That's a long story.”

He took her in. Her hair was longer, and her jacket was new, but that wasn't it. Something had settled behind her eyes, a cool understanding that he saw every time he looked in the mirror. She was older. “Exactly… how long?” he asked. 

She looked away. “Hundred years?”

“A hundred—” He reached for her again, his hands clutching at the leather of her sleeves. “Rose. How—” But it came to him before he could say it. “Bad Wolf.”

She nodded.

“Oh, Rose.” He could feel the threat of tears at the back of his throat. “What happened to—”

“He was part human,” Rose said, her voice soft. “Specifically, the aging part.”

The Doctor winced at the echo. “I’m so sorry. I should’ve known.”

Rose shook her head. “It's not your fault.”

“I should've known,” he repeated, although looking into her eyes he found it horribly, selfishly difficult to see Rose’s lack of mortality as a bad thing. 

Rose looked back at him, and for a moment, neither of them said anything. Breathless, the Doctor took her in: her slightly-flushed cheeks, her hair falling in her face, her steady and warm gaze. She was old; not as old as him, but he could see it in her eyes, all the years that had piled up inside her. But somehow, she looked exactly the same. Not just on a physical level— he could tell, deep down, that it was her, the same Rose Tyler he’d met all those years ago. 

He reached for her hand, and she offered it, her skin soft and warm against his. For half a second, he worried that his hand might be too rough, but she just smiled. 

“Can we go somewhere else?” she asked, squeezing his hand. “Quieter?”

“Go— yes.” The Doctor looked around. “I’ve just got to get my guitar.” 

Rose squeezed his hand again. “Go on, then.” Her tongue poked out as she smiled, and an immense relief washed over the Doctor. “I’m not going anywhere.”

The Doctor wanted to say something in response, but if he opened his mouth he was sure the tears he’d been holding back would start to fall, and he couldn’t do that, not in the middle of this crowded bar. Instead, he nodded once, and then he dropped her hand and wrenched his eyes away from her. His guitar was still on the stage, and the case was in the back room— he stepped towards the stage, but he didn’t make it very far before Bill blocked his path.

“Told you it was her,” she said, craning her neck to look behind the Doctor. “Who even is she?”

“Old friend,” the Doctor replied. “Like I said before.”

Bill raised her eyebrows at him. “How old? ‘Cause I don’t know if you noticed, but that girl can’t be much older than me.”

“Ah, but looks can be deceiving, can’t they?” The Doctor spread his hands. “I, for example, look young and handsome, when in reality I am very old indeed.”

“Yeah, all right,” Bill scoffed. “Young and handsome. If you say so.”

The Doctor gave her his best glare. “I’ve got to go,” he said. “I’ll see you Monday.”

“Fine. Monday.” Bill turned on her heel, stepping into the crowd. 

“And don’t be late!” the Doctor called after her, more out of habit than anything. With a sigh, he made his way to the stage, where he picked up his guitar; in the back room, he laid it carefully in its case. When he came back out, he saw Rose standing exactly where he left her; true to her word, she had not gone anywhere. He stepped up beside her, slipping his hand effortlessly into hers, and she looked up at him. 

“Where are we going?” she asked. 

The Doctor cleared his throat. “Er— I’ve got a place.”

Rose raised her eyebrows. “Not the TARDIS?”

“Not at present,” he said. “Although—” He shook his head. “I’ve got so much to tell you, Rose Tyler.”

She grinned up at him. “Me, too.” Her laugh hit him right between the hearts; he had missed the joy she brought him. She redoubled her grip on his hand, tucking her head against his shoulder, and he was sure his smile matched hers as they began to walk together.

[brooklynislandgirl]

Long gone are the days when he’d get twitchy about Beth handling his gear and personal items— it was never about her specifically anyway. It’s one part military-ingrained compulsion and two parts animal brained territorial possessiveness swirled into a stupid cocktail spiced with a dashes of concern, worry, and fretting. Those were a wanted killer’s weapons she was putting dainty little fingerprints on, after all. Nevermind that he’d never allow them to stay, it used to make him pace circles around Beth until he couldn’t help himself any longer and ended up plucking the shit out of her hands and putting it away.

These days, catching Beth with his best knife in her hands tickles and makes twitch his other head instead.

“They call it a Marine’s best friend,” it’s a soft rumble from awfully close behind her; close enough to kiss or kill though he does neither. Frank just embraces her like a parody of all those romantic films, one soul teaching another how to do something, how to hold, how to stand— only he doesn’t have anything to teach her. She’s already reverent enough with his blade. He just guides her one hand over the flat length of it to feel cold steel. “but to some of us it’s just an extension of our own arm. Another hand. Hell, Billy liked his so much you ought'a see him work with that shiv he keeps up his sleeve.”

And while the battles Frank waged on New York’s many criminal organizations often called for guns, grenades, and beyond, he too preferred the use of his ka-bar. It was like he’d told Zach Lieberman, not a wide spray of bullets to thin out herds of cannon fodder but an intentional plunging in and guiding that honed edge into the parts of a man that made him dead.

He’s a man who values the control of that moment. Or a moment like this one, when he reverses their hold on that knife’s grip and ends up guiding it up up up through the soft linen of her shirt, parting it right up the middle to expose her bra and a plethora of skin he’ll soon worship with his lips and teeth and tongue.

“You can see why I like it, can’t ya?” ~*~

The callouses of his fingers rasp almost inaudibly against the smooth expanse of Beth's skin from elbow to wrist sowing goose-flesh in his wake. Between the caress and the low thunder of his voice, other parts of her react accordingly. The smooth of the metal begs her to run an thumb along its edge. To draw a thread thin red line along the pad of her thumb and christen it in a way she can imagine she might some day share in a far different way. She nods as he speaks, imparting the air with a hint of tropical fruit, some vanilla. Without his face for context, without the little hearing aids she uses at work, it takes a minute to sort out some of the words but when they seed images in her brain, her shoulders roll forward in a shudder. “...'Leven-point-eight an' t'ree quarter inch over all, seven inch blade. Point one-sixy-five inch t'ickness, one point one-eighty eight inches wide. Weighin' almost exactly point seven pounds. Flat grind, carbon steel, fixed blade. Designed for military use wi' input from a combat surgeon. Slides in real smooth, in an' out." She talks about his KaBar the same way a love struck girl talks about their first significant other. Her husky voice is soft and sweet and she drags some of those words across her teeth in a sigh. Her back arches just slightly so that her shoulders press into his ches, but the firm roundness of her backside aligns and brushes the cradle of his hips. She can feel the outline and heat of him against her skirt ~he has mentioned this being tissue paper thin, has asked her how her brother allows her out of the house in it, and looks pleased when she tells him it's not really Panda's problem. Her eyes half shut and her head tilts to the side, exposing the long line of her throat. She doesn't flinch when she helps him cut the teeshirt away. She only wore it for painting anyway. "Of course. Hard. Sharp. Must cut t'rough skin an' flesh as easy as...dis. It's a beautiful t'ing, every bit art as it is a tool. Sometimes dream about it."

She slides her empty hand, the not one held, behind her back. Across his midsection and makes a fist in his shirt. "What are you doin',  Frank?" He has to know how she feels about him. She hasn't made it a secret and while he's teased and he's taunted, he leaves only an unquenchable ache inside of her. "Wha' is it ya wan me to say? Cause right now? Only kine come to mind is... try an' mahalo."

[randoauthor]

Baby Bradshaw (B.B)

Pairings: Rooster x Wife! Reader

Warnings: Mention of pregnancy, total fluff, some swearing

Word Count:

Author's Note:

You stare down at the test.

No. No. No. No.

This can't be, it's impossible, you guys were safe, you used protection.

Clearly, though it didn't work because you were pregnant. Your husband was on a mission and you were pregnant.

Rooster was the only guy you had ever been with, ever since he picked you up that faithful night at the bar. He was charming you were always gonna give him that, but charming enough to give you one final night of oh god's and yes pleases.

But that was like five weeks ago now and Rooster wasn't due home for another two or three months at least, the navy had always been unpredictable.

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

You sit in your car and stare down at the ultrasound photos in your lap, the small little peanut already looked like a perfect mixture of you and your husband and you were already so in love.

Did Bradley know?

Nope.

Did you know how you were gonna tell him?

Somehow also no.

Was there at least a small idea?

Surprisingly yes.

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

So you found yourself standing on the pier, with everyone else who was excitedly waiting for their person to be home.

You were absolutely terrified, both you and Bradley had agreed that while you guys wanted kids eventually. Now was not the time. But the curly-haired doofus that you married had managed his way through a crowd and was already peppering you with kisses. Totally unaware of the onesie, test, and ultrasound in your hand.

"How did you miss this?" You ask teasingly.

And before Bradley can ask what you hold up the onesie, and his smile grew even wider before he took everything that was in your hands. You watched as his eyes glassed over trying to figure out if this was just a stupid joke or not.

He kissed you passionately before dropping down to kiss your stomach.

"We are gonna be parents?" He looked up at you,

"Not only are we gonna be parents," you start, "We are gonna be the best parents."

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

Months pass and you begin to get bigger and eventually the human inside of you (who Bradley affectionately called Baby Bradshaw) was actually starting to become a human, they were moving, and reacting to so many different things. And Bradley was loving every minute of it.

The nursery had been finished, and now the two of you were just patiently waiting for the day to come.

Then the day finally came.

Bradley was an awesome partner through all of this. He held your hand, he kissed your forehead, but most importantly, he was right next to you when you met your baby girl.

"She's beautiful," he cried as he held her.

He was right of course. That brown-haired green-eyed baby girl looked exactly like her father and you were so glad about that because even when Bradley was gone, you had his mini twin to keep you occupied.

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

The next time you stood on the pier with all the other people waiting for their loved ones to come home, you held your baby girl on your hip as she excitedly waited for her dad to come home to her again.

Bradley saw you guys before you saw him and by the time you caught sight of him, your baby girl was already kicking her legs and giggling, beckoning for her dad, when he obliged and covered the two of you in kisses he promises you he isn't going anywhere anymore.

At least not for a very long time.

Taglist!

@itscheybaby, @turningtoclown, @daryldixonstorm, @Dilfsandtherapy, @Nickie-amore, @malindacath, @luckyladycreator2, @sadpetalsstuff, @Shanimallina87, @Wishingwell-2, @Xoxoloverb, @Majormaybe1, @Mizzy-pop, @Saramaple, @Hope-love-equality2, @toothhurtyam, @beaner-life-23, @fogle97