#'you passed out so i laid next to you so people would think were chilling“?

[kikker-oma]

Hi! Congrats again on 350! ❤️

For sketch requests if you’re still taking them maybe Wind and Warriors snuggling? Thanks!

Thank you for your patience!!

I thought it would be funny if they were play wrestling and just kind of... "fell asleep" like that lol

Well, Wind fell asleep. Wars... he might have been put to sleep of you get my drift haha

Thanks for requesting this! ❤

[rovsemyri]

I smoked away my brain..(plug!k.choso) ‧₊˚❀༉‧₊˚

❄️UP ON MY GUMS , (I THINK THEY GOIN NUMB!)

now playing: demons- a$ap rocky

cw: plug!choso / drug dealer!choso, soft dom!choso, fem!reader, dubcon (kinda; sex under the influence), car sex, praising, riding, pussydrunk chosooo!, plot(kinda?), unprotected sex, creampie ₊˚ෆ₊

synopsis: it’s a friday night after work, you finally have the weekend off! stressed, you decide to call your plug, choso. you met him through one of your closest co-workers, yuiji after finding out he had a brother, since then, I guess you can say that you became choso's favorite customer — ★ (intended lowercase)

levy's note⭒⊹ ࣪ ˖: not my best work (i wrote this while i was high) :( but the show must go on. i had the idea to add visual links but i didn't know if people would be cool wit that, so lmk! tyy :) *there may be spelling errors,etc*

╰⟢ it was a late friday night and you didn’t have work tomorrow, so what did u do? called choso, your plug of course. though he was your drug dealer, you knew him a little bit more than his other customers, might even say, you got special treatment. choso was always laid back, he hated people in his business so not many people knew much about him, you wouldn’t have met him if it weren't for yuiji. 

 when he arrived, you stood outside the car door , just talking for a moment before he asked if you wanted to chill for a bit, suggesting you smoke a few blunts and talk…as you know, he always enjoyed your company. 

“so how you been, ma?” he asks, passing you the blunt as he fights a grin asking you the question. taking it from his hand, you take a pull before answering, “ tired, work has been stressing me out lately, but i’m doing okay” you flash him a small smile before taking another pull from the blunt. “you've been staying after hours, right?” he laughed a little, you could tell he was already buzzed. “you stalking me?” you ask, keeping up the light mood. passing the blunt back to him, your body began to feel heavy. 

“nahh, yuiji told me. the boy never shuts up about you, he’s worried bout you”, he says nonchalantly, taking another hit from the blunt. “you gotta take it easy for realll” his words slowing down a little. you could feel your head start to spin as the car became filled with more and more smoke, making your brain blank a little. “i’m doing fine though! just make sure you tell him to not worry when you get back” you laugh a little at the fact that yuiji worried about you and told his brother. choso takes a few pulls before outing the blunt. “you ain’t fine, you just said you was stressed” his words slur a little, the bud getting to his head. “ know i had smoke with you real quick, mama” he says with a grin on his face, pulling out another pre-rolled blunt, passing it to you with his lighter.

“being generous tonight, cho?” you smile at him, lighting the next blunt. “ you said you were stressed…you know i gotchu.” he says looking at you with a soft expression, making eye contact you try to avert your eyes. though choso was your friend’s brother you couldn’t help but admit he was so fucking hot. he was the quiet type, never spoke too much about himself or his life, he was a chill type of guy. that's what made you take interest in him, he was a mystery, really. 

you continue to spend the night just talking, getting things off your mind. choso was always a good listener and it seemed like he loved to listen to you talk. you could sometimes feel the way his eyes are glued to your lips as you're talking…or when he thinks you're not looking, you could feel the way his low eyes trace your figure as you tell him about what's going on. your mind gets more and more intoxicated as the rotation continues several times, somehow he’s still going, waiting for you to tap out or break the box. 

it's getting later as you both continue to talk, rotation going back forth as well, reminiscing about the past you both giggle and laugh. the euphoric feeling takes over your body, you haven’t felt this high in a really long time, you almost feel yourself twitching. choso lets out a soft laugh before passing the blunt back to you, his eyes low and red. “hmmph, cho, you’re not tapping out yet?” you pout giving him a playful hit on his arm before taking the blunt from his slender fingers. “think you could out smoke me, baby?” his tone lowers, a grin plastered on his face, laying back in his seat he watches as you look surprised at the name he called you. 

“of course i can!” you reply quickly with a smile on your face. “what you suggestin’ , girl? we try?” he says, his words slow and slurred, looking up at you making eye contact with you. 

you tried to avoid his eyes as you took another hit from the blunt, you couldn’t help but think about how hot he looked when he was high, you thought maybe shit was just getting to your head. 

“why you keep lookin’ away from me, ma?” he couldn’t help but laugh a little, clearly intoxicated. he passes you another blunt again with his lighter, willing to give into your little game. you kill off the blunt before looking at him, taking the next blunt from him to light , he couldn't help but smile. you could tell choso was on a different planet at the moment but you both felt the tension. “ you're gonna regret this, baby. you can’t out-smoke me” his tone was lower than before. you laugh, exhaling before passing it back to him.” you said you were being generous tonight, right cho?” you tease him, thinking that he’ll tap out sooner or later. the rotation continued.

and somehow, you find yourself in the backseat of choso’s car, the two front seats pushed back, making enough space for you to be perfectly sat on top of him. one hand on your hips, gripping them firmly. His shirt and your clothes are discarded and thrown onto the dashboard of the car and on the car floor. your chest pressed against his as he has one hand harshly holding down your hips on top of him, and the other around your neck. smashing his lips onto yours as the hand on your neck slightly tightened as it guided you to keep up with how he was moving. 

his kisses become sloppier by the minute as you grant his tongue access to yours, before he pulls away, loosening the grip on your neck and allowing you to catch your breath. “this is what ya’ get, baby” he groans, his gaze focused on the way your body looked as you were on top of him, trying to catch your breath. you couldn’t help but take a minute to breathe, his hands traveling to your lower body. his two large hands on your hips, gripping them firmly, slightly pushing your clothed cunt against his tightening bulge, his jeans unbuckled & pushed down far enough to reveal the wet spot forming in his boxers..“cmonn, please help me, baby” choso whined, guiding your hips to grind against his bulge through your soaked panties. . “choso, you’re just really high right now, relax” you pat his head before looking down at him, your hands on his shoulders. 

he groans, throwing his head back before pulling you closer to his chest. “fuck, i’m so impatient, girl” he whines, burying his face into your neck. one of the hands-on your hips now placed on ur neck, you almost gasp at the feeling of the slightly tight grip on your neck “cho.. take it easy on me” you choke out trying to keep yourself composed as you could feel how hard the poor boy was under you. 

planting wet kisses and leaving deep shades of red and purple on your neck, you bite your tongue to hold back the small yelps that almost escape your lips each time you feel his teeth gently sink into the sensitive spots of your neck

poor thing, he couldn’t help but think about how badly he wanted to stuff your tight cunt. his head spinning and low eyes making it worse, he needed it. 

“please let me fuck you, baby” he whines into your neck, he couldn’t take it anymore. he barely waits for you to nod before choso let’s out a soft growl, growing needier by the moment, one of his hands moving away from your hips. slowly moving down to your panties.

he brushes his thumb over your clit, “just the tip baby, I promise” he whines, looking up at you with his low red eyes, moving your panties to the side , “promise??” you move one of your hands down to his erection, freeing them from his boxers. “promise, doll face” he says, lining himself up with you, his hands digging into your soft hips. 

you choke back a moan as the tip of his cock enters your soaking cunt. a loud whimper escapes his lips as he throws his head back. he couldn’t take it , your tight cunt was squeezing his leaking tip. he wanted to see how you’d take him sooo bad. 

 “fuck- i’m s-sorry ma but-“ he manages to say through his sped up breathing before roughly pushing your hips down, your cunt stretching around him as he throws his head back in pleasure. “chosoo, you p-promised” you moan loudly. “sorry baby, take it for me… please?” he almost finds himself begging. 

his rough hands hold your body up, rutting his hips into you at a slow but steady pace, allowing you to get used to the feeling, kissing your cervix each time he comes back down. bouncing yourself back on him, one of his hands cup your face forcing you to look at him with your teary eyes. 

he couldn’t help himself from taking in every part of you. he loved watching the way you tried to hide the way your facial expression changed each time his tip hit the right spot. admiring the pretty sounds you made for him and only him to hear. he loved knowing that he was the one relieving your stress. 

““fuckkk .. you move your hips so well. keep riding me s-so fucking good.” he moans loudly before pulling you closer to him. you could swear his voice was louder than yours but he just couldn’t help it. 

you feel the tears well up in your eyes as his pace begins to quicken, pounding into you, the vibrations riding along your sensitive clit making you moan louder with pleasure. “-- ngh! feels good .. s-so good,” you babble, your body getting tired, you lean on his chest for more support. 

your nails digging into his back, the pain almost giving him more energy, he pounds into you harder making the sounds you were making impossible to suppress. you feel the knots in your stomach tighten. 

“c-cumming—m’ gonna c-cum mmph!!” you whine, 

“ cmon baby,, cum on my dick m’ almost there” he groans in your ear as you grip his shoulders tighter. you feel a euphoric wave overtake your body as he continues to chase his high, fucking you through your orgasm, leaving your legs shaking as he overstimulates your weak spot. 

“fuckfuckfuckfuck!--- p-please take it, princess. m’ right there” he’s at the point of tears. your vision is blurry as you watch as he desperately fucks into you. you weakly push yourself back against him, attempting to help him. 

“i’m cumming, p-please don’t stop” he whines loudly as he continued to fuck into you before feeling his dick twitch inside of you, his breathing became heavier. he buries his face into your neck, whimpering as he paints your tight gummy walls white, riding out his high.

he lifts his head, face stained with tears, he looks at you with low eyes, trying to catch his breath. 

“ think ya got one more fa’ me, princess?” 

[ughgoaway]

casual

It's hard being casual                                                                                                                               When my favourite bra lives in your dresser

a fic inspired by Chappell Roan's casual; snippet below the cut. 18+, 1.5k.

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。. .・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。..・。.・.・.

Hot bodies press against you as you weave through the house, spilt beer making your skin sticky as more and more people carelessly dance with drinks sloshing in their hands. A playlist you don't recognise fills the air, and whilst Matty might be hosting, you can tell the playlist is completely out of his control. The vaguely rhythmic pumping drum and bass overwhelming your senses isn't something you can see him listening to, but maybe you just don't know him as well as you hoped.

Your eyes dart around the hoard of people looking for him and then back to your phone, desperate to see those three dots pop up and for him to finally respond. He never does, though, and when you scroll back, you see message after message go unanswered, unless they're about hooking up, of course. Those always get a response within minutes, which should be flattering, but seeing it laid out in front of you instead leaves a hollowed ache in your chest.

You know what you were signing up for the very first time his crisp white sheets got wrapped up between your thighs, sleeping with Matty Healy was a path well worn by girls before you, and not one of them had got a meaningful relationship out of it. More people have seen every inch of his skin than have ever seen his true personality, or maybe the faux rockstar cool guy act is who he really is, but you're not so convinced.

But that facade was all you needed. It's exactly why you started this in the first place. Misplaced anger towards your ex suddenly became you ripping a condom open with your teeth and sinking down on the dick of a man you'd spoken to maybe 5 times.

But that next morning, after he raised his eyebrows and asked if he wanted to go again, you ignored that screaming head in your voice to stay away and instead slid into his lap and put your lips on his.

Here you are now 4 months later, and your relationship is… something.  Matty would say it's completely casual. it's fun, low-commitment sex and nothing more. And when he says that, you nod and agree, immediately going for his belt to try and get those words out of your mind. And usually, within 30 seconds, with his hand in your hair and his dick in your mouth, it's pretty easy to forget. But it's times like this you're rudely reminded. When he invites you to a party knowing you don't know anyone and leaves you stranded, the truth comes crashing back into your head, impossible to ignore.

Some faces that glide past you feel familiar, but when a body crashes into yours and you look up at their face, it's the first one you really recognise. 

“George! Thank god, where’s Matty? he won’t answer my text” You try to sound blasé when you ask, acting how you think you should, running the gone girl “cool girl” monologue in your head. When George scrunches his face in confusion, you think he's seen right through your act, but what comes out of his mouth is worse than any transparent ploy he could've seen through.

“Sorry, do I know you?” George asked, nervously running his hand over his neck and looking down at you with squinted eyes. Suddenly, it feels like you've been shot in the chest, blood covering your clothes and hands. If you looked down right now, you swear they'd be stained red. But that's not very chill girl of you, so you giggle nervously and try and hide the crimson that covers you.

“Oh, sorry. I’m y/n. Has Matty ever mentioned me?” You giggle awkwardly as you speak, silently crushing the plastic cup of cheap beer that was forced into your hands as soon as you passed the threshold. 

Finally, after time dragged on for about 10 seconds longer than you'd like, a flicker of realisation fills George's eyes, and you expect an explanation. Maybe he's pissed, or high, or just not that good with faces. You convince yourself that there are a thousand reasons why Matty’s closest friend wouldn't know your face, but none of them match what falls from his lips.

“Oh yeahhhh. You're the girl Matty’s messing around with, right? The girl he fucked on the sofa at a party one time?” he drunkenly giggles, hiccupping halfway through his sentence.

Bang. The sound of a second gunshot fills your ears, and you swear you can feel the blood pouring again. He doesn't know it, he doesn't even know your name, but George's words felt like the eulogy at your funeral, as if he had just killed you and now he was sending you away. “The girl Matty is messing around with” not “Matty’s girlfriend”, or “Matty’s partner”, not even “Matty’s friend”, just the latest girl in his never-ending rotation.

Still, you smile even if you do feel yourself dying as you stand on the liquor-sodden carpet. “Yup. That's me… I guess. any idea where he is?” Even if you do speak through gritted teeth, George seems oblivious, quite easily directing you to Matty without a second thought.

“Uh last time I saw him was on the sofa in the front room, check there, maybe?” he shrugs, casting his eyes over your shoulder and smiling at someone. Well, it's nice to know he is capable of smiling, maybe he only does it with people who he actually knows, not people who he only kind of recognises for fucking his best friend.

“Yeah thanks, bye Geor-” Before you can even say a proper goodbye, he weaves through the crowd and shouts someone's name before tackling them in a hug. You wonder how he’d treat you if you were really Matty’s girlfriend. Would he cast you a smile and wrap you in a hug? Maybe you could have double dates with him as his girlfriend, then you'd know all Matty’s friends, the funny stories about him from childhood. 

You know the most intimate parts of Matty's body, the places that only your fingers brush, that you press kisses to. You know the tattoos that hide from everyone else. You've traced them with your tongue. But you don't know him. His favourite colour or movie, you don't know how his brain ticks, what his first kiss was, his first love, or if he's ever been in love.

He doesn't know anything about you either, but you think that's a blessing in disguise. If he asked if you'd ever been in love, you don't think you could lie. he'd see the lie in your eyes, swirling and fighting to leave your mouth in a way that sounded anyway believable. hed know that you are in love, right now. with him. No matter how thick you lay on the denial, there's only so much you can do to hide from your own thoughts.

So when you slip into the living room and see another girl on his lap with his hand around her waist, the third bullet of the night hits you, and this time you can't bring yourself to smile awkwardly and brush it off.

The blood won't stop. Each time his fingers stroke over her skin like they do on yours, you feel like you're dying. That any breath could be your last. The thump of the bass in your ears is replaced by your thumping heart, each beat permeating your skull. 

Thump. His hand pushes up her shirt, and his fingertips dance on her bare stomach. Thump. He throws his head back, laughing at something she says. Thump. He grips her hip and winks at her, pulling her deeper into his lap. Thump. She turns to face him. Thump. Her hand grips his cheek. Thump. He's kissing her. Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump.

Your heart won't stop racing, growing faster with each second. You watch his hand move from her waist to her neck, pressing his fingers into her skin the same way he does to you. Subconsciously, your hand goes up to your neck, brushing over the very places where you're sure those same fingertips left bruises two nights before. Slowly, her hand slides up to his hair, gripping his curls the way you know he loves. You watch his hips jump at the feeling. It makes you sick to your stomach, that once empty space fulling with dread and jealousy over a man who barely spared a thought for you.

Someone bumps your shoulder and suddenly the world comes back into colour, and you can hear the familiar beat of the shitty music, the shouting of some teenage boys as a random girl takes her top off, and the chatter of the people around you. You can breathe again. But he's still there, her tongue in his mouth and his hand cupping her cheek.

Fuck. you need a cigarette.

[mistywaves98]

hi!! could u maybe write for smth abt yandere scaramouche liking to humiliate and degrade reader infront of the other harbingers?

no worries if u wouldn't like to write for this! just a suggestion :3

✧･ﾟ:* ->A/N: Mean scara supremacyyy 🙇🏻‍♀️🙇🏻‍♀️

✧･ﾟ:* ->Harbinger! Scaramouche x Fem! Reader

✧･ﾟ:* ->¡Warnings!: NSFW, Humiliation, Why is it so longg, Dirty talk, Degradation, Collaring/Leash, Exhibitionism, Forced company is implied, Hair Pulling, I think that's everything!

✧･ﾟ:* ->Minor writing smut! DNI if uncomfy!

A pet, that's all you were ever since you came here. A pet whose only purpose was to sit and look pretty beside the The Balladeer like some sort of trophy. And maybe, if he was bored enough, he would use you for...'entertainment'...

Your head was held low as the judgemental eyes of the Harbingers surrounding the table pierced through your soul. Some were of slight pity while other's looked amused and almost seemed to be mocking your unfortunate state. All their gazes felt even colder against your skin than the biting chill in the room. The slightest breeze that wafted against your skin had you shuddering, wishing you could be clothed in those warm coats the others wore. But no, you weren't deserving of such luxuries.

Instead, you were to sit on the freezing, marble floor next to his chair, wearing nothing but the skimpiest lingerie you've probably ever laid eyes on. Thin laces and straps dug into your delicate skin and you were sure that there'd be marks when you removed it later. The only things that really 'covered' your body were the purple thigh high stockings held up by the garter belt fastened around your waist. To top it all off, a pretty indigo collar inscribed with the words 'Scaramouche's Property' adorned your neck. One end of the leash was attached to the front, while the other was held in his hand.

Any normal person wouldn't dare to wear such scandalous outfits in front people with such status, but it's not like you had a choice. You curled up, trying to make yourself as small as possible as the meeting went on. It felt like hours and with every second that passed, you could feel yourself getting more miserable. At one point you wondered if you might catch frostbite.

Scaramouche was getting rather impatient too and it was apparent with the way he fidgeted with the leash, swaying it aimlessly and occasionally giving it a sharp tug which made your body fall forward slightly with a quiet whimper as the leather tightened around your neck, earning a snicker from him as he gazed down at your pathetic form from above. At one point your eyes connected with his and a shiver of dread ran down your body as you saw the way his violet irises bore into your own. Something dark was swirling around in them and your fears were only confirmed when he suddenly yanked your body up by the leash, making you choke from the sudden grip of the collar around your neck as you stumbled to your feet.

Those who were talking immediately went silent at this display, their eyebrows raised with amusement as they watched Scaramouche grab your face with his free hand to pull you down to his level. His lips brushed your ear as he whispered in a sultry tone that bled with malevolence,"I'm going to die of boredom if I have to listen to another word that comes out of the mouths of these insufferable idiots I call my colleagues. Why don't we spice things up a bit, hm?" Your body tensed as his warm muscle darted out to trace the shell of your ear, leaving no doubt as to what he was implying.

The option to protest was never there as within moments you were pinned to the conference table, the frigid surface meeting your stomach and cheeks, which were rapidly warming with embarrassment. You could feel the intrigued stares, watching with anticipation for what was to come. Unlike you, Scaramouche couldn't care less about what everyone else thought of this shameless sight as his hand on your face moved to teasingly cup your breast, giving it a squeeze before going down to trace the arch of your back till it eventually settled on your ass that was barely covered by the lacey panties of the lingerie set.

Your eyes widened and you squeaked in surprise from the harsh slap he suddenly gave the soft flesh, making it redden instantly from the impact. The colour on your cheeks darkened, even more so when he laughed sinisterly behind you. He leaned forward, pressing his body against yours, the fur of his coat tickling your face as he whispered in a harsh tone,"Oh? It seems like my little slut is enjoying this, are you not? Heh, I wouldn't expect anything less. I bet you want me to take you right here in front of everyone so that they can see your face contort like a whore from pleasure as I fuck you, hm?" Your silence only irritated him and his hand holding the leash dropped it and reached up to grip a fistful of your hair, pulling it back as his eyes narrowed impatiently,"Come on, speak up. Answer me using the same voice that screams my name whenever I rail your brains out." "...No, I wouldn't like th—" Your words are abruptly cut off when he shoves two fingers so deep into your mouth that they hit the back of your throat, making your eyes water as you gag around them. "Shut your fucking mouth and spare me your nonsense, you cock-sucking bitch. I'll make you love it, I'll make you addicted to the feeling of my cock penetrating those tight walls of yours."

The two digits remained in your wet cavern, pressing down on your tongue as his other hand hooked its fingers around the waistband of your panties, tugging them down to reveal your glistening cunt. The sight made him smile as he pulled back slightly, letting anyone nearby oogle at whatever they could see. He didn't mind showing off your body to others, rather, it thrilled him in many ways. The knowledge that people could look as much as they want, but not being able to lay a finger on his pet, satisfied his possessive desires and the fact you found it both embarrassing and indecent just made him want to do it more to humiliate you to the fullest.

"Suck." Scaramouche's raspy voice commanded as he pumped his slender digits in and out of your mouth, leaving you no choice but to obey. Drool pooled in the corners of your lips, eventually running down your chin and dripping onto the table as you reluctantly closed your pretty lips around his fingers. He felt pleased as he felt your tongue curling around them, the same way it did when he made you suck him off after a hard day.

While he kept your mouth busy with one hand, the other trailed up your slit, collecting your slick on his index and middle before holding it up for you and the rest of the table to see. Everyone's eyes were immediately glued to the way your essence dripped off his fingers like honey and that did nothing to ease your embarrassment. "Look at that, the arousal of a whore who gets turned on by her master showing her off." His enjoyment was evident in the shit-esting grin he gave you as he said that.

Suddenly, he pulled his hand away from your mouth, allowing you to breathe through it as he used both of them to grip your hips, lifting them slightly as he shifted himself between your legs. Once you were in his desired position, he shrugged off his obstructive coat before beginning to unbuckle his belt. As he did, he got close to your ear once again as he spoke in a tone full of evil intent,"You're so wet right now I don't think I even need to prepare your hole. So let's skip to the best part, shall we?" Once he had managed to pull down his pants and boxers just enough to let his aching cock free, he lined himself up with your pussy.

You craned your head to look back at him, eyes begging him to not go this far, but he only smirked at you in return. With no warning, Scaramouche thrusted forward, stuffing you to the brim with his girthy length as you hissed at the stretch. No matter how many times he fucked you, your pussy always seemed to remain as tight as a virgin's. He groaned in bliss as he felt your walls deliciously squeezing his cock, it was a feeling he could never get enough of. His hands found purchase on the fat of your hips, gripping the flesh so hard there'd surely be bruises afterwards.

Without wasting any more time, he began to thrust into you, picking up the pace quickly, making made sure to hit as deep as he possibly could. You bit your lip, trying to conceal the lewd moans you wanted to let out. Scaramouche didn't like that though and a guttural groan was elicited from your mouth as it fell open when his fingers grabbed a clump of your hair, yanking your head back harshly. It felt like he was going to rip your locks out of your scalp and tears welled up in the corners of your eyes from the pain. However, it didn't stop moans and whines from spilling past your parted lips as the pain mixed with the pleasure of his cock head kissing your cervix with every jerk of his hips.

He cackled at the sight before him, tightening his grip as he spoke,"That's right! Don't hold back those slutty moans, let everyone hear how good I'm fucking this needy cunt of yours!" He made sure to keep your head pulled back so all the Harbingers could get an eyefull of your pathetic state, completely at his mercy. It wasn't long before you could feel an orgasm building up and it made you desperate, desperate for more,"Please! Mnngh— more! Nghh! G-give me more, master!" Scaramouche's eyes lit up at the sound of your begging and the hand in your hair finally let go, giving you momentary relief before grasping the end of the leash and giving it a hard tug which made you cry out and arch your back instinctively. He continued to maintain his grip on the leash, using it as leverage while he was pounding you,"Yes, Good girl...keep begging for master's cock to keep filling this pussy over and over."

The speed of his thrusts never faltered, the sound of skin slapping as well as your moans and his grunts filled the room. You were beginning to get close and it was apparent in the way your noises heightened in pitch and the way your pussy convulsed around his cock. Scaramouche took this as a sign to increase his pace, determined to make you squirt all over him right in front of everyone in the room. The incessant penetration was making your head spin, mind turning to mush with every time he grazed that one spot that made you see stars. The way his breathing grew more laboured as his thrusts became more animalistic signalled that he was getting close too.

The knot in your stomach tightened, you were on the edge. "Go on, cum for me. Let everyone see what a slut you are, creaming all over my cock." You didn't need to be told twice. Your body tensed and with a moan of ecstasy, you came, gushing all over his cock and creating a wet ring around the base. He groaned in approval and it seemed that was enough to send him over the edge too as moments later he finally spilled himself inside you, creating lewd squelching noises as he fucked you through both of your highs. Your releases mixed together in a puddle on the floor, creating a filthy mess that neither of you cared about.

Eventually, he finally slowed down till he stopped altogether. The both of you lay there for a few moments, panting heavily. All eyes were on you, drinking in your fucked out face as you tried to make sense of anything again. Scaramouche recovered much quicker than you though and pulled out slowly, relishing the sight of his cock leaving your gaping hole before wiping the mess on your thigh. After tucking himself away in his pants, he picked up the nearly- forgotten coat and draped it over your tired form. He used the leash to pull you up so he could carry you in his arms, bridal style.

Then he turned around and began exiting the room, leaving everyone in slight disbelief as he spoke in a monotonous voice,"Continue the meeting without me, I have more important things to take care of right now." Without saying much else, he left the room while holding you to his chest, not even bothering about the mess the both of you made.

[the-monkeies-girl]

could i see 11 with caesar? i think him talking more abojt his human upbringing, maybe about charles, would be cute ^^ he barely talks about his family!

11. sharing secrets

And then i said angsty cute fluff why not you know Caesar was never told that Charles passed away right RIGHT

Title: Long Forgotten. Fandom: ( Dawn of the ) Planet of the Apes. Pairing: Slightly Implied! Caesar x Human! Reader. Rating: K. ( Fluffy and angsty-ish. ) Words: 2.3K+ READ IT ON AO3.

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There was nothing like the sound of rain pattering against the sleek nature of the cliffside of which the Colony was placed. The dim lights that peppered against the slaten rock were the only semblance of color beyond that of the rusted and worn crimson charters of the Golden Gate Bridge in the distance, poking its head out from the torrent of rain that was drenching the surrounding area. It was eerie to look at, much less think about.

All of those movies that you had seen as a child about an apocalypse and how there could be a time where Humanity had to subside for the greater good. It was strange to think of the routines that Humans had at one point, being driven now to do unimaginable things in order to survive. Wake up, make your coffee and head to work. The millions of people who had driven their car against the crackling pavement of the bridge on their daily commute seemed so far away as your fingers rubbed at your cargo pant clad kneecaps, curled into a small ball near the edge of the natural balcony that the Colony had to offer in times of weather.

There was the bustling of a fire behind you, large enough to capsize your back in warmth, but not enough to engulf your entire frame with heat as you drew your gaze downwards to the few scattering Apes that were actually doing something in the chill of the rain. Their fur made you so jealous as you brought your hands to cradle your knees into your chest.

The rain slid right off and kissed the ground below without worry. The jacket you were wearing was worn from years of use and was too big, much to your own pleasure as you enjoyed the oversized fit; made it easier to wear you sweaters underneath and layer properly. The group of Apes behind you, a clutch of a few Chimps and Bonobo got quiet as your eyes laid bare to the commandeering shadow of a familiar gait and body coming to rest beside you.

The wetness of his fur captivated you first, the way that the droplets were clinging to the outer edges of his fur and seemed to strand each individual hair for your delectation and caused the already large Ape to appear even larger with a minor fluff, the darkening of it to the point where it appeared nearly black in the ambient lighting and you were able to see more of his skin as the fur had risen in an umbrella-esque attempt to keep him warm and shielded. Caesar’s eyes were alight as always, they never disappointed you as you drew into them without reserve and felt drowned in the golden flecks that resided within his green irises.

“A lot of rain today.” You whispered minutely, feeling the sheer force of gravity from the Ape King next to you as he huffed in agreement, nostrils flaring. “Reminds me of when I was a kid. I used to go dance out in the rain during the storms we had during the Summer. Th---…” Nodding softly as reminiscent melancholy hit you, your gaze drifted back outwards to the scape of the forgotten city that lay in the lush and foliaged distance. “That was different, I guess… Summer rain is usually hot. This is… Cold. Makes me want to do nothing.”

Caesar was quiet next to you and it was apparent he was listening and taking in your words syllable by syllable. He was never one for small talk like this, but there was a notch in his mind that lingered since he had woken up in his nest alone, his arm yearning for someone to hold and keep protected and warm.

The Chimp found you to be quite an enigma, having felt the pull of your body without even intending to come seek you out. In a mirror stare, Caesar glanced towards the city and felt a few raindrops fall down his face from the top furline that cased around his upper forehead. Downwards they fell, one dripping into his right nostril and the other off his strong brow ridge and onto the ground below. “Used to… wonder… what rain felt like.”

The words he used were a shell-shock as you twisted curiously towards Caesar’s barrel frame. He… Your lips parted as you exhaled slowly and felt the chill fall into your mouth as a result and it felt frigid against your lungs, Caesar never talked to you about his life before the Rise.

You knew vaguely, having seen on TV all those years ago about the Apes' escape to freedom on the very bridge that was abandoned in the distance and closed the gap of the ocean bay. Only fleetingly was it mentioned. His life with the Humans. The memories that were placed inside of his head that you wished he’d open up about in order to garner more empathy and sickeningly affectionate feelings towards him.

“Never… felt it often, growing up. Always wondered what it felt… like against… fur.”

Caesar lifted a hand and you felt entranced to watch it as he drove it forward and dipped it into the current of rain water that was diluted into a strand that was falling to his right that acted as a natural drain of sorts as it collided with the rock. You knew it would engrain itself into the sediment itself instead of flying off upon impact; it was just a matter of time as nature would take its course as it seemed to do for everything, your languid stare dragging back to the Ape next to you as he subtly shifted his own gawk towards you.

Bringing his palm back in, you looked at the gleam of the water against the leathered and darkened skin there, fingers flicking in on themselves as you wondered if it were appropriate to reach out and see how heated his skin got the water that was falling so coldly from the heavens. You refrained but the idea persisted.

“One of the… Humans… who raised me… Would… Play piano when it rained.. Like this. Made us all…” Caesar was racking his mind and vocabulary for the correct words he wanted to use, something that was slowly pulling itself together the more he openly spoke with you, “feel better.”

“That sounds really nice…” Tone was hushed and only reserved for Caesar in this moment as he finally allowed himself a full frontal gaze at you and the ease of which he moved his body to do so left you breathless, catching in your throat and unable to move as the heat from his frame was also accompanied by that.

“He is… Gone. The Flu… Maybe…” Knuckled against the hard rock ground below, Caesar rested in a hunched position next to you, a straddle position that was comfortable for Apes as their muscular thighs seemed built for the stance, not as much for Humans and their lack of definition.

“You… don’t know?”

There was silence that clung to the air as Caesar looked off to the side, towards the fire that was burning with such passion and danced his dilated pupils along the flames as they roared into the air. The other Apes did not acknowledge him aside from his arrival, normal for anyone coming into a communal space. He appreciated that. Caesar appreciated to be treated just as another one of his Colony at times and it felt like you were the one steadfast who did just that for him.

Dragging his peer back towards you, the intensity that the fire brought to his already hypnotic stare made a shiver drip down your spine as if rain had seeped into your jacket and was against your bare skin. It felt like a mutual agreement of longing was shared as the Chimpanzee brought his mouth together into a flat line, your ample eyelids admiring how he appeared to soften briefly.

“Do not think about it often enough to… seek the answer.”

“You…” It was your turn to think about your word choice as to not disturb the moment that Caesar found himself vulnerable enough to share with you. “Obviously think about it enough to wonder.”

Huffing again, you watched the aggressive state of his shoulders drifting upwards and then downwards, the cursed knowledge now resting in your mind at the way that Caesar drew his shoulder caps ever so slightly to make himself appear smaller. What an… innocent gesture for such an intimidating figure. His nostrils danced around as Caesar drew steady breaths in before nodding in solemn agreement to your astute observation.

“He was… sick. Before… All of this,” Gesturing broadly towards the Colony, you were unable to look away from Caesar as he formulated words for only you. “Could have… Succumbed to that…”

“I’m sorry.” That was more hushed than it needed to be but Caesar was still able to hear it over the small crackling of the fire that harmonized with your phrase.

“Feels like many life times ago.”

“That doesn’t take away from the pain.”

Caesar shuffled beside you once more, drawing himself to properly sit on his butt beside you. The moistened nature of his fur kissed at the polyester of your jacket and you found it difficult to find any desire to pull away from the chaste contact. Once again, he was fixated on the Colony in front of him and how it appeared so monochromatic.

There was a reciprocated feeling shared between you as Caesar shifted a centimeter towards you so his full bicep was against yours. Heart jumping into the back of your chest, you brought your knees down and crossed them to allow a more open position as you felt no need to be closed off to the Chimp regarding the conversation of his own past.

“You seem to… speak from experience.”

“Maybe I am.” Smiling dimly at that, you merely nodded and pushed the Ape King further. Your story could wait; it was always going to be there for him but you needed his. All of it. Every detail he was willing to give you on this stormy late morning. “What was his name? The Human you were talking about?”

Caesar’s shoulder fur rose out of acute disappointment that you were unwilling to share anything more with him. Maybe, he looked at you from his peripheral, admiring the way that your frown was agitated into a curled sort of smile around the corners, the fondness of shared pasts clear in the way that you accepted his body next to your own… Maybe someday, you’d talk to him… But the notion that you were cracking him open like a walnut was intriguing enough as the pitter-patter of rain seemed to urge the Ape to continue onwards.

“Charles…”

Smiling at that, you sighed and finally slotted your gaze back into Caesar’s properly with the tilt of your head. “He was a good man?”

“Yes… Gave me… my name. I think of him… When I need to recall the good… In Humans… Very hard to see at times… The way the world is.”

“Yeah.” You agreed without hesitance. “Koba’s probably right. The Flu took and took and didn't give much back. Left the worst of Humanity on the planet.”

“Koba is not… Right…” You snided a small sarcastic chuff that Caesar found mildly amusing. “Still good out there… I choose… To believe that.”

“You’re wiser than most, Caesar.” You complimented him with ease and blessed his line of vision with a genuinely pleasing grin of what he interpreted as affection before you brought head back forwards to scan the forest perimeter on the misty and foggy horizon. Caesar felt a stab of confusion inside of his chest, resting like a knife against the muscles of his diaphragm. Why… look at him like that? What was the point?

“What was Charles like? Other than a good man.”

Caesar leered out at the rain as it began falling in what appeared to be sheets of white. It would not last long, this sort of moisture and it would soon subside into the normal aspects of flatter and more calmed droplets that cried from the Heavens. You could sense him turning his muscular neck to look at you quizzically, the expression fell off of him in waves. As much as Koba told you that Humans were so easy to read from facial expressions, the same could be said about Apes and you wanted to know and page each look that Caesar had to offer.

Your side profile admittedly hard to make out much to Caesar’s displeasure as you now had yourself angled away from the fire to copy his stance towards the deeper woods cased around the Colony. You seemed genuine in wanting to know… Caesar was unable to detect any lies coming from your body language or any thoughts of deceiving him with the past he held so closely to him. Why would you want to know? They were things of little consequence now that the Apes were free and the Flu you were speaking of before you left you in the care of the Colony. In the care… of Caesar.

“You want to know…?” Caesar seemed hesitant still, brow hardening in determination when you looked back towards him.

“Is that even a question?”

“It is… a long answer…”

“I don’t think the rain is going to stop anytime soon.” That was said in a joking tone of voice which Caesar granted a chortle towards. The warmth picked up finally against your appendages but not due to the fire as you squeezed your fingers inwards and then expanded them in your lap; Caesar watched that nervous action with amusement that caught him off guard, a small crooked tilt of his mouth erupting.

The heady heat was due to the Ape next to you as he began picking apart words to use in proper sentence structure to tell you about a life that he never imagined telling anyone about. It never seemed important to those who said they wanted to listen. But the way you drank every consonant and vowel up left Caesar… Wanting to share more and more with you.

[writingbynova]

Nanami Kento

⊹ 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬: Nanami x fem! reader - explicit content; minors DNI missionary, cowgirl & doggy style positions - [un]protected sex - overstimulation - phone sex (kinda)- rough/angry sex - multiple orgasms - established relationship - pet names - praise - exhausted nanami - dirty dream (might have forgotten some) (⁠´⁠ ⁠.⁠ ⁠.̫⁠ ⁠.⁠ ⁠`⁠)

Enjoy!!

(this is my first post so if you have any suggestions I'm all ears)

☆࿐ཽ༵༆༒☆⋆˖⁺‧₊₊‧🪞✿ᯓ𝄞⨾𓍢ִ໋⌞☆࿐ཽ༵༆༒☆⋆˖⁺‧₊₊‧🪞✿ᯓ

ᡣ𐭩 ⋆.˚✮🎧✮˚.⋆^᪲᪲᪲𓍯₊˚⊹♡ᯓ ᡣ𐭩 ⋆.˚✮🎧✮˚₊˚⊹♡ᯓ

*:༒༆࿐ཽ༵. 💿 ･ ▶︎ *:༒༆࿐ཽ༵. 💿 ･

Your hand slipped away from your thighs, once again, you sighed, reaching for your phone and dialing the number. The phone rang a few times before the voice you were expecting finally answered, telling you that he'd be home in half an hour. It was Friday evening, you and Nanami always did something on Friday nights, whether It'd be going on a walk, to the gym, club, cinema, Netflix and chill, skincare, you both always spent time together on Fridays evenings even if it was just cuddling and falling asleep in each other's arms on the balcony.

However this Friday was different, a good amount of people at work had fallen sick this week and Nanami had to pick up the slack, he'd come home every evening drained, eye bags decorating his under eyes, headaches tormenting him, sometimes even starved from skipping lunch just to be able to come home to you without being 2 to 3 hours late. So you'd take care of him, feed him, wash him, cuddle and put him to sleep then make his lunch. He'd go back the next day, not especially enthusiastic but at least a bit more energetic that the previous evening, and each time he'd come back completely washed out. But this Friday, after a long week of putting your desires aside you needed to fill them so, it had already been more than an hour you were waiting for him, more than 30 min since the phone call, and an entire week that your body had been yearning for his touch. In normal circumstances if you were that horny you'd just do it alone and fall asleep right after but today you couldn't probably because you had been thinking of him all day.... You were laid out on the bed, lingerie on, but as half an hour passed and turned into more than an hour since the phonecall your frustration grew higher, you didn't want to disturb him, but you wanted to hear his voice desperately.

You got up, stumbled to his closet, and picked out his grey blazer, it smelled like him, it always did.

You rolled it into a shape similar to a pillow, removed the soaked panties and sat on the blazer, one hand dialed the number, the other held the blazer to the bed, while you rode it ecstatically.

"Hi baby" the butterflies in your stomach went crazy, his voice sounded husky and croaky.. almost like he knew. "I'm sorry it took more time than needed, I'm packing up right now I'll be home in ten minutes is that alright?" He might have expected an answer but you riding the blazer frantically did consume some energy "hello ?" He said

"Nanami" you managed to stroll out between two moans "baby what are you doing ?" He questioned

"Please keep talking Nanami, tell me about your day" I whined, losing my act, I moaned and whined into the phone, yearning to hear his voice.

He must've finally understood what was going on, because he didn't say anything for what felt like a good minute but he finally spoke, he was stern

"Stop right now, and I won't repeat myself, I know you're eager, but that's too bad, sit there like a good girl I'll be home in 5 minutes." He spat, before hanging up the phone.

You laid there removing the blazer from between your legs and putting it beside you, you sighed, Wondering if Nanami would be mad at you, he didn't sound like it but he rarely ever forecasts it.

He had been mad at you though, one time, during sex, you poked at him a lot that day, maybe too hard, maybe one time too much.

He took out his frustration and anger on you, your thoughts wandered to that time, you were laid out on the bed with both of your legs propped in the air, he was pounding into you relentlessly, groaning and whining at the contractions of your walls, manhandling you like a doll, he seemed to not care about your reaction, though you were desperately crying his name, abruptly he dropped your left leg from his shoulder, forcing you to face sideways, he held to the right one continued ramming into your walls, hitting new spots, you were a mess, you had both already came, but you were still going, you gripped the sheets and turned your face into them out of shame, which you'd soon realize he did not like "keep your leg here" he warned, his hand left your leg, grabbed your back and pulled it closed to him, making you face him "look at me while I fuck you" he spat.

You were basically split on his cock, your moans had intensified and the cries of his name had turned into absolute gibberish, his finger slid down to your clit and he latched onto it, rapidly pressing and rubbing small circles "look at you" he breathe "cumming, ken, cumming" you were able to make out, it felt different, it felt intense, too intense, your eyes closed shut, and your head flew back, his grip on your back softened as you withered at his touch

"look at the mess you're making" he whispered, you looked down to see you had squirted all over him, the edge of the bed was drenched as well as his lower body..

His voice snapped you out of your thoughts, he was standing in front of the bed looking at you "is that my blazer?" He asked, your eyes rushed to him, you felt your face burning.

He smirked walking over to uncover the blanket from your body, his mouth slightly opened when he was met with the sight of a white laces bra, with its matching white laced pantie, his hands trailed to you caressing your shoulders

"you haven't come like I told you to right?" He asked

"I couldn't get to it without you" I shamefully muttered

"so that's why you called huh? Mhm" he teased

"Kento..." I Interrupted "Do you remember that time you were annoyed at me? I know you were just very tired and frustrated but, I liked how rough you were, Kento, take out your frustration on me, don't hold back, please don't" I shamelessly admittedly, my eyes frantically avoiding his.

He leaned into you and took you in for a kiss, he pulled back to take off his clothes, while you watched, his muscles flex, he was rock hard precum starting to leak from the tip, your mouth watered at the sight

"eyes up here darling, come sit on me" you complied and immediately straddled his thighs as soon as he laid down "I know you said you want me to be rough with you, but from what it seems like, you were already doing pretty good while I wasn't here" he said, turning to look at the wet, darker spot on the blazer, "but it's not like you, I want you" I protested desperation running over me.

"Exactly, you're a smart and good girl, but I can't spoil you, right ? Depending on your performance on riding me, I'll decide how rough I need to be with you okay ?" You nodded

"words? maybe, get a good head start" he suggested, almost mocking

"yes Kento" I immediately corrected, fellingy face warm up.

You held his shaft and guided it to your entrance, his eyes were locked on you, you had laid him down, and were leaned over him, pushing the panties to the side while pushing the tip in, Nanami was feeling your hot breath on his neck, humming in an approval tone to your whines, your eyes rolled back when his length came pushing against you wall, your legs were numbing and twitching already. It took all the strength in him to not grab your hips and impale your body on his cock.

"Already about to cum?" You lifted your body up from his chest, both hands holding onto his shoulders, then resting on his chest then on his biceps, you couldn't pick one. You tried moving your hips in circles but it ripped confused moans from you, your whines were pitiful, he looks at you with a smirk before saying "I think that's enough" he gripped your hips before lifting them up and dropping you, on him. Your mind went blank, your skin felt fuzzy, and your brain stupid, you just kept creaming and moaning uncontrollably on his cock, while he, just kept fucking you senseless, and he loved it, a wicked smile was spread across his face, he must have really been frustrated for a while, there was no way he could be like this on a daily bases.

You were whimpering his name over and over, the only thing you remembered, his name. When he pulled out, his dick was covered in a glossy white liquid, he laid you next to him, before turning you around, your back facing him, "all fours darling, and fast" he ordered and you immediately executed he dove right back in, making your lashes flutter "s too much, s too much" you whimpered continuously.

"it's not, because if it was you would have said or safe word, remember? Ocean" he murmured into your ear.

He was right it wasn't too much I was just terribly overwhelming, his moans became sweet music to your ears, although you struggled to hear them over yours. His hand came to grip your neck while the other trapped around your lower stomach and there you were, completely at his mercy, the squelching sound of him inside you was resonating through your brain and your pussy was far too new to being overstimulated this intensely, "Kento's cum" was all your mouth could make so you repeated again and again, he was amused by that, "oh yeah that's what you want ?" He moaned into your ear, he was out of breath you could hear it but also you could feel it, his grip around you was tightening, his thrusts were rougher, he was twitching, erratic, mumbling.

"Come on give me your cum kento~" you mewled as he finally let go into you, the liquid was running on your walls, you could feel it, still he kept you close, you both stood there for what felt like a minute before he pulled out, turned you around, and buried himself right back into you, a loud whine echoed from your mouth, "I know baby I know, you're overstimulated feels good right ? Daddy wants to fuck you stupid one more time and then he'll pamper the good girl you are okay ? Say yes daddy"

You repeated after him, and again when his length started rubbing back and forth over your length mewling "yes yes yes" when his finger came to rub on your sensitive bud, he wasn't thrusting too hard, but your body was overreacting, you raised your hands to put them on his back, nails digging and sliding across the flesh. He hissed "Good girl, you're such a good girl uh ? And good girls get fucked brainless, now be a good girl and come for me won't you ?"

You moaned his name loudly, legs twitching, toes curling, it only took a few more thrusts before he too finished, biting and leaving hickeys all over you.

He pulled out of you, eyes fixated on the substances seeping out of you.

You on the other hand was absolutely out of breath, confused, you only stretched your hands to him, it amused him, how you always craved his touch after sex, and he'd gladly give it to you, you rested your neck on his shoulder, his hand was running up and down your back, comforting you. "Shhh I know, I know, I'll go run us a bath okay, I'll be back right away" he laid you on the bed and covered you, before getting up and walking towards the bathroom attached to the bedroom, you nodded blissfully at his words your last sight behind the scratch marks all over his back before your eyes closed.

*:༒༆࿐ཽ༵. 💿 ･ ▶︎ *:༒༆࿐ཽ༵. 💿 ･ ▶︎*:༒༆ 𓇼𓏲*ੈ✩‧₊˚˚˖𓍢ִ໋✧˚.༘⋆⁺‧ ₊ 𓇼𓏲*ੈ✩‧₊˚˚˖𓍢ִ໋✧˚.༘⋆⁺‧𓇼𓏲*ੈ✩‧₊˚˚ ˖𓍢ִ໋🦢˚°❀⋆.ೃ࿔˖𓍢ִ໋🦢˚°❀⋆.ೃ࿔˖𓍢ִ໋🦢˚°❀⋆.ೃ࿔˖𓍢ִ໋🦢˚°❀⋆.ೃ࿔˖𓍢ִ໋

[wuishu]

She's everything. He's just Ken

(I love the Barbie movie so much)

“WHAT THE FUCK? I AM DONE WITH THIS GAME. I don't wanna do this anymore!” he whined while covering his face in frustration. Despite his efforts to work his way out of his enormous debt by streaming another truck sim, he still failed miserably. He was not really angry, he was just putting on a show. He was also getting tired, and doing this stunt made his end stream funnier. 

“Alright, I’m done. I’ll read your donations, and then end stream.”

Finishing his late-night stream, he couldn't wait to just rest with his girlfriend on a couch, watching movies until their eyes fell​​. He sighed and walked towards your recording room. You were currently streaming a game that wasn't a sweat-inducing game, but a chill game. Talking to chat while reading donations, you were getting comfortable when you heard your door open.

“I’m still streaming.” You moved your mic away from your mouth and looked at Schlatt. He hummed, indicating that he heard you. Your relationship was public, but people seeing you together in a stream was new to you. He was different on his channel, the usual crazy, anger-issued guy who has odd humor; he showed your viewer that he’s different when you're together. 

“Hey, Y/N’s chat” He waved his hand at your camera and smile, he found a wooden chair near you and pushed it next to you so they would see him on your stream. The chair was a bit small compared to you, but he still looks bigger. “What are you playing right now?” he asked you, handing him your other bud to let him hear the relaxing background music. 

You slowly swerved your chair, so you could be close to him. “It’s hidden folks. It’s like where's Waldo but listen” You pressed the chest and a man used his voice to imitate the sound of a chest opening. “Oh wow, not weird at all” he smiled

“It’s not weird, I think it’s cute that they're using their vocals for the game” He nodded and looked at your monitor, trying to help you find the things that you needed to win. You on the other hand, watched your chat roll looking at what they thought. He held your hand and moved the mouse to hover over a person. “There, that little shit hiding in the bush.” 

‘Well, you look at that chat. What a helpful man” 

After about half an hour has passed, he was getting so tired of helping you that you gave up and talked to your chat. Slowly he laid his head on your shoulder and also answering some of chats questions. You placed your hand on his hair and patted it like a cat. “Yeah, we wanted to watch the Barbie movie, but our free time rarely collides.” You didn't realize that Schlatt was falling asleep because of how soothing your voice was and how gentle you are at massaging his scalp. 

: Your ken is falling asleep

You slowly looked at your screen that opened your stream. You can see his eyes closed while he is silently snoring. “My ken is asleep… Alright, chat. I think we're gonna head out. I’ll see you guys on Monday,” you whispered. 

You woke Schlatt up to let him know that the stream had ended, he walked to your shared bathroom and started brushing his teeth. After doing everything he needed he lay down, and made himself feel comfortable in bed. You did your nightly routine while scrolling through Twitter, you noticed a screenshot of your stream earlier and a picture of Ken placing his head on Barbie's shoulder and clinging onto her for dear life and the caption was “They're literally Barbie and Ken”. You giggled while brushing your hair.

"Babe, are you awake?” he hummed quietly. You got on the bed and suddenly a hand was wrapped around your waist.

“We should totally watch the new movie Barbie tomorrow.” 

[trancylovecraft]

(AOEX) The Blood Of An Unwilling Covenant

PART 6 OF 8: Mephisto Pheles

(Yandere Platonic Demon Kings (Ba'al) x Reader)

SERIES SUMMARY:

BARISTA'S NOTE: I'm bACK. GENDER: Femme FANDOM: Blue Exorcist

☀☾☁☂★☀☾☁☂★☀☾☁☂★☀☾☁☂★☀☾☁☂★☀☾☁☂★☀☾☁☂★☀☾☁☂★

LAST PART ,AO3 LINK, SERIES MASTERLIST, NEXT PART

"Ah man, What a bust!"

The new afternoon sky was as blue as ever, Barely even a cloud in sight. The sun shining over the Texan heat made sweat start to gather along with the number of people outdoors.

The sound of children laughing both far-away and passing was as clear as the sky, Adults talking around the chipped picnic benches laid out for them. [F/N] could even swear she smelt the smoky start of a barbeque rising up from somewhere.

Though unlike the gathering of people a good bit away, The two of them sat lazing on one of the park benches laid along the trail. A small one, Just big enough so that their legs were grazing each other. Each with a tub of ice-cream on their laps.

[F/N]'s was fairly modest, A few scoops of a flavour she particularly liked along with the toppings she currently had a hankering for, All shovelled into a tub and already half-eaten.

Lewin, On the other hand, Had a good few bucket-full's of double chocolate fudge all crammed into a single large tub. Both strawberry and chocolate sauce drizzled down the sides, Dripping over the edge. Other bits of candy were sprinkled on top, The cream only starting to melt a bit under the heat.

And [F/N] could swear that when he had said he was "going to the bathroom", His ice-cream had come back just a little more full than it was before.

"Better luck next time, I guess. These things happen, Maybe the next lead will get us somewhere?" [F/N] replied to Lewin before shovelling another helpful into her mouth, Making sure the plastic spoon was licked clean when it came out.

Lewin groaned, His mouth dripping in chocolate sauce.

"Mhm- I know, I was just really banking on this one, You know? I mean come on! How could they know we were coming? They couldn't just up and leave just like that!" He ranted, Not bothering to stop hastily piling the cream in his mouth, Chewing in between his words.

Another raid, Another one failed. After working arduously to track down another base and organise a team to bust down their door, They had come up empty again. Nothing but barren file cabinets and fingerprints wiped clean.

Sure, It was a much smaller base than the ones they had raided before, But that still didn't explain how absolutely everything was wiped clean. Like they had anticipated they were coming, Like somehow they knew.

And [F/N] knew that it was starting to build up in Lewin, Something that started to irk him. Even though he kept up a calm façade, [F/N] could tell that it was starting to bother him, Make him tear his own hair out from his scalp.

So now they sat in the middle of a park, Lewin deciding that it would be a nice treat for both of them (Even though Ice-cream was basically all they had within their freezer). The truck they had ordered it from still being parked on the road up ahead.

[F/N] hummed.

"You think that they could have a spy running around the order? Someone had to tell them you were coming, Right?" [F/N] asked, Starting to scrape at the corners of her tub, Scouring for the last of her ice-cream.

Lewin huffed.

"More than likely." He responded as he scooped another few into his mouth. "Mm- The question is who it could be though. An accountant? An actual exorcist? Mmph- Maybe it could even be a legion member!"

[F/N] licked the little plastic spoon clean, Her ice-cream finished and only leaving the remaining chill on her tongue.

"Maybe you should go tell Arthur about this- You know, Since he's in charge of the legion and all." [F/N] offered, Scrunching up the tub before tossing it and the spoon into the trash-can beside her. "Or what about the Paladin? Whatever his name is.. Fujimoto, Was it?" Lewin grumbled.

"And let them know that I'm onto them? I mean, Arthur's cool and all but he has a problem with letting things slip, Ya' know?" Lewin explained as he wiped his mouth on his sleeve. "And the Paladin isn't a good option either, He's not exactly the most patriotic about the order or whatever you call it.."

[F/N] nodded, Turning back to face the scenery in front of her. It was clear that Lewin wasn't really in the mood for any kind of advice or suggestion, This was something he needed to figure out on his own.

As usual.

[F/N] shifted in her seat, Suddenly feeling uncomfortable. She tugged at the hem of her yellow raincoat, A piece of clothing she had decided to bare within the unbearable heat. She was lucky she was wearing shorts, Otherwise she'd be melted into a puddle by now.

Lewin scarfed down another half-scoop of ice-cream, Not caring that he smeared the other half across his face. He had a rather unusual frown too, It only deepening once he spied the uncomfortable expression across his younger sisters face.

"You know, I can practically see you melting in that thing." Lewin chirped as he wiped off the chocolate from his mouth again. He eyed her from under his bangs, Watching as she turned to him.

"What do you mean?" [F/N] asked, Sweat running down her brow.

"That thing." Lewin said, Vaguely gesturing to her rather thick-fabric raincoat. "I know you have sentimental value to it or whatever, But can't you just take it off for a little while? Don't want you bring you back home in a bucket."

"I'm not that warm, I'm fine." [F/N] scoffed slightly, Leaning back into the bench and by proxy her raincoat. She ignored the sweat dusting her face and the pools of it under her armpits, Deciding to shake her head instead.

Lewin shrugged.

"Whatever you say, But I am kinda worried." He replied as he continued to eat his ice-cream, Turning away from her to focus on the treat. [F/N] only eyed him from behind, Unable to see his face from her position.

She would've shut it down, Opened her mouth to brush him off. But Lewin just happened to be quicker.

"You don't have any kind of hobbies that don't involve exorcism. I mean, I should not be the one to talk to you bout' this but-" Lewin's laughter died down, Whittling like a flame. "-You don't really have any friends."

[F/N] frowned as she looked at him, Suddenly feeling exposed, As if her raincoat wasn't on at all. She huffed slightly. Sure, She didn't have many people she talked to other than Lewin, But that didn't bother her at all!

Not at all.

"You're starting to sound like my old counsellor, You know." She grumbled, Kicking a pebble with the shoes she trained her eyes on. "Always going on about my personal life or whatever.."

Lewin chuckled slightly, Slightly. [F/N] could tell it was forced.

"Do you even want to become an exorcist? I kinda just found you one day and threw you into all of this without question." He asked, Turning to face her with a surprisingly serious face.

[F/N] glanced up at him, Curling back into herself just a little further once she saw his expression. Of course she wanted to become an exorcist, She wanted to kill demons. She wanted to avenge him.

But why did Lewin's stare make her feel so small, Make her feel like an ant compared to him?

"Of course I do.. I've wanted to find demons for my entire life, I've wanted to kill them just as long so being an exorcist would just be perfect for me! So what if I don't have any friends, The reason I wanna become an exorcist is to avenge my only one!" [F/N] exasperated.

Lewin nodded, Seemingly taking it in.

"I remember you telling me about what happened, You know, With that other kid you talked about." Lewin hummed. "And of course, I did do some digging like going into the case file and such.."

[F/N]'s breath hitched in her throat at the mention of him, The mention of Tetsuya. Of course Lewin would've done some research, But she thought he'd at least have some respect for her privacy! Either way it hit just as hard as it always had, Breathtaking in the worst possible way.

"Don't take this to heart but.. I'm saying that maybe you should stop focusing on his death and start living your life. You're fifteen, You should be kicking around in malls or doing dumb shit with your friends. Not doing mission reports or hours-long study sessions in your room.."

Lewin leaned back in his seat, Back pressing up against the bench with his head tilted up towards the cerulean skies. He watched as birds flew by, Sparrows to Seagulls. And [F/N] watched him do so with damaged eyes.

He sighed, Staring up at the sky.

"Just go have fun, Don't waste your childhood caught up in past, Okay?"

She hugged herself into the raincoat closer, Finding a sort of comfort in the blistering heat. [F/N] knew that he was right, He knew that she felt a sense of longing every time they passed a group of kids her age in the street. Laughing as they pushed each other around.

[F/N] shifted rather uncomfortably, Leg brushing up against Lewin's. Even if she did want some kind of emotional intimacy with someone, That didn't mean she knew how to get it. I mean, How could she? She spent the majority of her childhood on her own, The minority ending with a mutilation.

After all this time, There's no way she could even fathom gaining the skills to actually talk to people!

But her lips thinned, Looking at Lewin. Suddenly feeling sour.

"..I dunno. I.. I mean I guess since I'll be going to school soon I could try to make friends there..?" [F/N] suggested, Not particularly liking the idea as she felt herself grip onto the hems of her raincoat.

Lewin didn't respond.

[F/N] bit her lip.

"You know, In the exorcism classes..? Maybe I'll have something to bond over with someone there since.. You know?" She said once more, Still unable to see his expression from where she was sitting.

But his silence spoke plenty.

She gulped.

"..I mean maybe I could even meet someone in the entrance exams? I could see if I could.. Hey- Hey! Lew'?"

His ice-cream fell onto the floor.

[F/N] was cut off mid-sentence by the sudden lack of pressure on her leg and the new room on the bench, Lewin, Got up to his feet in a near second. [F/N] looked up at him with wide eyes, Watching as he stretched and turned his head to the side so she could see his expression.

Delight.

"That's it!" Lewin cheered, A wide smile spread across his face as he spinned on his heel to meet [F/N]. She, In turn looked at him with confusion as she near watched the cogs turn within his head.

"W-What's it?" [F/N] stammered out.

"The Illuminati! The Traitor! That's where it's all going down, All of this has an origin place- Yes!" Lewin started to pace back and forth along the path, Muttering familiar ramblings under his breath.

[F/N] got up to her feet, Stumbling in her gait as she reached Lewin. Sweat rolled down her brow, She knew what this was. He had unlocked a new door in his investigation, This reaction not uncommon for her to wake up to in the middle of the night.

Lewin laughed.

"Oh I gotta get back to the apartment and write this down! Finally, A break in the case! No time to waste!" Lewin cheered, His feet almost moving for him as he started to run. Picking up a fast pace almost immediately, He sprinted off down the pathway.

"H-Hey, Wait up!" [F/N] gasped as she started to chase after him, Trying not to knock over any of the few people walking down the pathway while getting to him. "You know I'm not as fast as you!"

Lewin laughed, A hand holding his hat down in the wind as he ran.

"Don't be such a slowpoke then, Come on! Catch up if you can!" He snickered like a little kid, Leave it to Lewin to be such a jerk. [F/N] scoffed in between breaths, Gunning faster as he treated it like a game of tag.

[F/N] knew she had to catch up to him, To find out whatever he was up to. When he had a reaction like this, [F/N] knew that it didn't mean anything good. Lewin was up to something, And she needed to know what.

And this time she hoped it wasn't anything stupid.

☆♡☆

[F/N]'s stare was fixed at the high double-door, So intense that you could almost make out eye-shaped burn holes upon the intricate wood.

Her hands were balled into fists so tight that her knuckles almost popped. Sweat started to dampen her brow and it showed through the plain grey band-tee she darned, A group she didn't recognise and one she had borrowed and ruined from Lewin.

Despite the amount of perspiration starting to come from her, Her throat felt dry. Her mouth was cursed with a drought and even started to cause a headache. Despite her efforts to stay level-headed, [F/N] had failed to keep it internal.

"Hey, You good there? You're going to ruin my shirt now, That's one of my favourites you know." Lewin chirped as he eyed the state of his apprentice from behind his mop of hair, Catching the beads of sweat rolling down her face.

[F/N] sighed, Almost in a shudder.

"..Fine! Just a bit hot.." [F/N] responded, Ignoring the slight draft in the hallway and the fact that it was the middle of February. Despite Lewin beside her, [F/N] didn't take her eyes off the doorway for a second.

They stood amongst a grandiose stretch of hallway, High ceilings and beautiful Victorian architecture to match. It made her feel small against the checkerboard floors, Tiny under the beautiful candle-lit chandelier dangling above her like a guillotine.

The walls were the colour of candy, Parma-violets if she was told to choose. And the scent in the air matched it, Though it was far from the cheap candy that the wall colour suggested it was, Much more expensive in smell.

The ticking of the grandfather clock tocked along to the rapid rhythm of her heart. The polished mahogany door reflected her irked expression. And despite the multitude of servant's [F/N] had passed on the way here, There was no noise of livelihood to be heard.

This entire place felt wrong, So strange to her.

Almost like it was alive.

But the architecture and interior design wasn't entirely what made her so on edge, No, It was the thing behind the door she was stood directly in front of. The creature that was lying inside, The demon that she was suppose to meet with.

What's worst was that she was already in it's maw, It's territory. She was standing within the highest floor of his mansion, Outside his office door and ready to meet him face to face. [F/N] bit her tongue, The one that was ready to beg Lewin for them to just go home.

But she needed to stay strong, Raise her shoulders and face him head on. He wouldn't do anything to harm her, At least that's what Lewin had told her..

"It's gonna be fine, No need to worry! Sir Pheles won't try to harm you, You can relax!" Lewin chimed in once more as he continued to watch her shaky stance. He huffed rather sarcastically however once she didn't respond.

"I don't get it, You were fairly fine going to see the old man. Now you're sweating bullets, Any reason why?" Lewin asked, Still focused in on her as [F/N] finally pulled her burning stare off of the door towards him.

"This is different from Azazel, Lew'." [F/N] responded, Rather exasperated. "This is Samael, King of Time and Space! One of the most powerful demons in the Ba'al, Second only to Lucifer!"

Lewin shrugged.

"He actually goes by Mephisto Pheles around here, But remember to address him as Lord Pheles, He prefers it that way and I need you to make a good impression!" Lewin reminded as he started to pick something out of his teeth.

[F/N] scoffed at his dirty behaviour, Tossing her head back over to the doorway.

"Whatever.. I still don't get why I can't just attend an American exorcist school.." [F/N] muttered, Shoving her hands into the depths of her yellow raincoat pockets, The same coat she had worn for years now.

It annoyed her, Why Lewin had decided to bring her back to Japan after all this time. It had been two years since she had stepped foot in the country, And after taking the back-breaking time to learn English and ingrain herself in the culture, It was baffling as to why she was brought back here.

Besides, It seemed like too much trouble to enrol her in True Cross. The entrance exams had already been finished and filed here, Which is why Lewin had arranged a personal meeting and dragged her to his office for a one on one discussion.

[F/N] didn't know why he was so insistent on bringing her here, Why it was so superior to the school in the states.

A hand on her shoulder brought [F/N] back to reality, Tugging her closer to Lewin.

He too grew close, Shuffling nearer to her as his voice dropped an octave.

"..The reason you're here is to keep an eye on him, Understand?" Lewin muttered to her, Quiet as a mouse as he lowered on his knees, Closer to her ear. [F/N] breathed out, Eyes darting back to Lewin as her stare steeled.

"What do you mean?" [F/N] asked, Asking it as low as he did to prevent her voice echoing down the expanse of the hall. Lewin gave her his signature lazy grin, Hand reaching to itch the back of his neck as he raised away from her ear.

"I mean that something strange is going down in the Japan Branch." Lewin explained. "I can't explain much to you right now, But what I can say is that it involves Sir Pheles in there."

[F/N] blinked, Body now fully turning to look at him under the near glaring light of the candles holstered in the chandelier. Strange? If Lewin Light of all people described something as strange, Then [F/N] figured she should take it to heart.

But she still thinned her lips anyways, Scowling as she stared back at him.

"I don't get it, Lew'. You're an Arc Knight, You should be able to find this stuff out on your own, Right? Why do you need me to do anything?" [F/N] retorted lowly, Rolling her eyes.

"..Because it turns out that Sir Pheles won't let someone like me too close to his operation here. Which is why I want to enrol you here as my personal informant." Lewin explained as his voice grew an edge to it.

Lewin's grin died down into a frustrated frown. It was an expression that [F/N] recognised from his late demon research, An expression that happened when he was stumped over a single difficult detail.

It often kept him awake for days on end, Where she'd have to bring him food as he often forgot to eat.

So when she finally met face to face with it, [F/N] finally understood the weight of the situation.

"I.. I understand. What do you need me to do?" [F/N] asked as she straightened her shoulders, Straightening her back up to what would only be compared to a military stance.

Lewin hummed, Turning back towards the door as he shoved his fists into the pockets of the exorcist jacket he wore loosely around his shoulders.

"I just need you to keep me informed of what goes down in there, You know! Just daily reports of what you get taught.. Any suspicious behaviour and hey! Maybe do a bit of snooping for me on the side!" Lewin chuckled as he slightly nudged her with his elbow, Hand still in pocket.

[F/N] huffed, Hitting his elbow back with her own as she shuffled away from him.

"Alright then, I'll do whatever you need. Though you better tell me more about this later, I ain't doing this blind.." [F/N] responded as she stumbled backwards, Pressing herself against the parma-violet coloured wall to lean against it.

Lewin nodded.

"Fine by me, But remember: Make sure to make a good impression on Sir Pheles, Him letting you into the cram school is your main goal here. Try to use your penchant to your benefit, Kid."

Almost on cue, The rich mahogany door let out a click.

[F/N] instantly raised back to her full height, Hands wrenching themselves out of the pockets of her raincoats. Lewin followed suit as the door started to swing open, [F/N] watched with trained eyes as a man stepped out.

It was Belial, The butler. A thin and dainty demon with a host within his middle ages. [F/N] watched as he emerged from the room, Dark and slicked back hair to contrast with his paling skin being the most noticeable as he turned around and softly shut the door behind him.

"Ah, Finally!" Lewin laughed as he watched Belial lower down into a bow, An arm behind his back. [F/N] examined the butler from his pristinely polished shoes to the points of his ears, Watching as the flickering blue light pulsated near his heart, Signalling his demonic status.

Lewin took an eager step forward.

"Come on then, [F/N]-" He called out to her with a grin. Though once he took another step forward towards the door, He was suddenly blocked by Belial, Who had raised up from his bow and swiftly stepped in front of the Arc Knight.

Belial cleared his throat.

"I apologise, Mr. Light." He started, Fixing the tie around his neck as he stared Lewin dead in the eyes. "But my master was rather insistent that the young lady should meet with him. Alone."

[F/N]'s eyes instantly widened at this information, Jerking her head over to Lewin whose grin instantly devolved into a scowl at the butler in front of him. Alone? Samael, Demon King of Time and Space wanted to meet her alone?

Lewin didn't seem to like that either, But even so the scowl on his face was wiped immediately and replaced with that careless expression he wore, The one that masked what he felt underneath.

"Oh really?" Lewin asked, Eyes kept on the butler and suddenly the draft running through the hallway felt like volcanic steam on [F/N]'s skin.

Belial nodded, Slightly bowing again once more.

"Yes, He was rather explicit on that detail. I apologise for the inconvenience.." Belial continued in a rather stale voice. Lewin only shook his head and [F/N] could swear she saw him roll his eyes under the mess of his hair.

But before he could open his mouth to protest, Lewin felt the firm tug of a hand wrapping around his wrist.

"It's fine, Lew'." [F/N] piped up, Stumbling closer to him with her hand still wrapped around his wrist. "I'll go in by myself, It's no big deal.. I can do this alone."

Of course, [F/N] was lying through her teeth. Lewin could tell as the sweat dampening her brow didn't dry, He could tell by the way she gripped onto his wrist like it was the only thing keeping her afloat.

He sighed, Which [F/N] could tell was originally suppose to be a groan.

"Ah, Well only if my apprentice insists!" Lewin chuckled dryly as his stature started to mellow out, Shoulders releasing from their previous tight-tensioned stance.

Lewin backed away from Belial, To which his stoic and unreactive expression even seemed to relax a bit. [F/N] released the iron-tight grip on Lewin's wrist, Stepping away as the hallway's draft finally started to cool off.

"Thank you. Now if this matter is sorted then I would suggest that the young lady should go now, It is not wise to keep my master waiting." Belial said, Turning to [F/N] now as she nodded in response.

"R-Right, That's fine by me." She replied, Fixing up her appearance from her hair to her raincoat as she prepared to enter through the door.

"Ah, well. I'll be waiting for you out in the livingroom, Wherever the hell it is suppose to be." Lewin hummed. Turning so his back was facing her before he started to strut off somewhere down the hallway, Soles of his slip-ons creating stomping noise that bounced off the walls as he made his way around the corner.

Belial followed after him, Assumedly to keep her masters mess to a minimum.

"Good luck! And make a decent impression!"

And with that he turned the corner, His words echoing then dying as it did. [F/N] stood there rather awkwardly as Belial trailed after him, Leaving her alone within the long expanse of the hallway.

And just like that she felt tiny again, A little woozy too as the checkerboard floor looked more psychedelic by the second. [F/N] tried not to look at it long, Averting her eyes towards the task which lied behind that ol' mahogany door only a few steps away from her.

[F/N] admired the complexity of the wood, But in her mind she knew it was only a short-term distraction. She needed to get this over and done with, As much as she loathed demons she couldn't act like she usually did.. Not with this one.

As she wandered closer to the silver coated handle of the door, She recalled Lewin's briefing on the demon before they arrived.

Johann Faust V, Mephisto Pheles, The demon went by a menagerie of names but most importantly he came under Samael, Demon King of Time and Space. He was one of the most powerful in the Ba'al, Second only to Lucifer himself.

From what Lewin had said, Mephisto had aligned himself with humanity. But what her master had also said was that it was not like Azazel, Who had chosen to give his vessel up for the sake of Assiah. No, Mephisto was very much active.

He liked making bets, Deals, At least that's what Lewin said. He was a trickster and enjoyed being elusive even to the Vatican, Evident by how he was in cahoots with Amaimon, Something she had found out years ago.

Mephisto wasn't to be trusted, Whether he was on the side of humanity or not was up for debate. But [F/N] wasn't able to argue, She had to stay calm when facing him. She needed to get to the bottom of whatever he was up to, Both for her and her masters sake.

So [F/N] laid her hand upon the artic cold of the silver handle, Gripping it with enough intensity to melt it down. Her other hand raised towards the bark of the door, Curling fingers into a fist before resting her knuckles on the door.

Breathe, Stay calm, Breathe out.

Her hand chapped the door, Once then Twice until it came to a total of three.

.

..

…

"Come in~!"

A jovial voice came out muffled through the door, [F/N] felt her sweat drop at the first word. The hand resting upon the silver of the handle pushed down, The mechanism in the door retracting as she swung it open in one single act.

And without a second thought, She stepped in.

Instantly once she did she was hit with the saccharine scent, The one that smelt expensive, It was turned up to a near maximum now and was so sweet that it made her want to puke. Disgusting, She thought. But she couldn't show it unless she wanted a bad impression.

The room was filled with much more natural light in the hallway outside, Not that the tall Victorian windows out there were useless, But it was more concentrated mostly due to the large bay window taking up the far back of the room.

Potted plants of various sizes were scattered throughout, Some reaching tall towards the high ceilings and the thick wooden structure supports. Others potted and placed as the centrepiece of the expensive looking seat and table in the middle of the room.

If [F/N] didn't feel small and poor out in the hallway, She absolutely did now. From all the foreign imports lining the shelves along with the oddly expensive looking anime merch muddled in, It all felt so.. Big.

"Ah, Finally~! I was starting to wonder if you'd ever show up at all!"

[F/N] finally raised her head towards the root of the voice, The one located at the end of the room. Eyes widening as her lips thinned, Desperate to keep whatever yelp of surprise buried deep in her throat.

At the end of the room where the blocky yet intricate desk stood was the demon of the hour, Mephisto Pheles, Lounging carelessly in the high-back swivel chair.

And he was nothing like she expected at all.

He was tall, Impossibly so. Even though he was sitting down, [F/N] knew that he towered above her by a wide margin.

He was gaunt, Like the paleness of a hour-old corpse. High cheekbones and dark circles to deepen his cat-like emerald eyes, The ones staring directly at her. But it wasn't his complexion or the wine-stained iridescent hair that caught her eye, No, It was what he was dressed in.

Head to toe in a blinding white, Punchy pink and purple as accents. From his top hat, His pink polka-dot ascot, Violet gloves and dove-white tuxedo coat. It was a stark contrast from his deathly complexion.

His thanatoid appearance mixed with his childish-candy coloured garb, It gave her an indescribable sense of dread.

[F/N] swallowed back her enraging fear, Snapping back into the situation.

"..Sorry, Lord Pheles. I got caught up." She replied curtly, Trying to hide the already blooming distaste she had for the demon. Eyes kept on him, Her hands never unfurled from the fists that chapped on the door, Only clenched down even more.

Lord Pheles would've smirked if it wasn't already on his face. Elbows on his desk, His fingers interlocked as he stared at her.

His eyes glinted.

Almost if he knew something..

"I understand. Your master is quite a handful, So I suppose that I should have expected some sort of hold-up..~" Mephisto replied in a sing-song voice, Carrying each syllable like a note in a cantata.

It disturbed her, Making [F/N] shift awkwardly within the spot she stood.

"Ah, Where are my manners!" He exclaimed suddenly, A dramatic tilt to his voice as he raised up in his chair. "Please, Take a seat! No need to stand around all day now, Is there?"

His hand stretched out, Eccentric demeanour showing in his movements as he gestured towards the fancy little chair and table set-up.

[F/N] glanced towards it, Looking at the pristine bubble-gum pink of the cushions and the rich wooden structure it stood on. Looking back up towards Mephisto, [F/N] quickly moseyed over to the set-up.

She fell down onto the one placed nearest the door, The longer one by coincidence. Though despite the extra room and the admittedly soft cushioning, She still felt rather uncomfortable.

Probably because of his stare, That cat-eyed glare that didn't let up for a second. [F/N] felt herself shift under the defining silence of the situation, Neither of them speaking as she shuffled further into the cocoon of her raincoat.

Shit. What was she suppose to say? [F/N] didn't dare to look at it. Lewin was suppose to come in here and talk to Sir Pheles for her, He was suppose to take the lead. [F/N] wasn't suppose to do this alone!

But now she was in the belly of the beast, The beast in question being something that she loathed with a lovers passion. And now she was suppose to be cordial with it?

Even if it did "align himself with humanity". It didn't have the respect to give up his stolen vessel like Azazel did, Instead keeping it and himself alive. Disgusting, Being nice to this thing would be difficult to say the least.

The silence weighing down the room was finally broken by the clearing of Mephisto's throat, [F/N] instantly snapping her head up to look at the man.

"..I believe this is the part where you introduce yourself." Mephisto chimed. Gaze slightly sharpening in on her as a single hand raised to cover his snide laughter. "My my.. I see that spending too much time with Mr. Light has had an affect on you, Hm?"

[F/N] gulped, Trying to regain her composure. Fuck, She had forgotten to introduce herself.

"..R-Right, Sorry." She stuttered "My name's [F/N] Light, The current apprentice of Lewin Light. I don't currently have any 'qualifying' meister's and that's kind of the reason my master has set up this meeting with you today.."

"Oh, Really?" Mephisto prompted, Leaning forward only slightly on his chair as he waited for her to go on.

"..I'm here to ask if you could possibly, Maybe, Accept me into True Cross Academy? Both the main curriculum and the cram school, Even though the entrance exams have already been held and done- If that's okay." [F/N] said, Trying to sound as formal as she possibly could even though it didn't come natural to her in the slightest.

[F/N] gripped the hems of her raincoat, Kneading them in her fingers as her eyes averted from his.

Mephisto's eyes lowered on her, Almost eyeing her up and down before the fingers he had locked together came undone.

[F/N] blinked as she watched him lean back in his high-back chair, Eyeing him carefully, Every movement registered in her mind. Even as he reached a casual arm over to an old-timey phone set on the edge of his desk, She kept him in sight.

Was he going to answer or..?

He picked up the phone from his desk, Raising it up to his ear she could hear the faint buzz of it ringing. Once, Then twice. It was answered quickly as she could hear the quiet noise of muffled talk come out from it.

"Hello? Ah, Yes. Belial! Could you please prepare some tea and .. Ah, Right. Yes, See if that one wants some too, Yes.. Preferably English or oolong depending on what's in stock.. "

"..Excuse me?"

Words spilt out from her tongue, One's she didn't know she spoke until she said them. Her eyes widened once she heard them, Hands tensing up to try not and slap across her mouth. Mephisto's eyes darted back over to her, Raising a brow.

"..Not a fan of oolong?" He queried, Slightly lowering the phone from his ear.

[F/N] bit her tongue, Trying not to let anything else out. Was he seriously ordering tea right now? In the middle of their conversation? For all of his high-class persona and get up, He sure didn't seem to have many manners..

"..No, Never mind." [F/N] replied, Bowing her head slightly before pushing herself back onto the long chair she sat on. Uncomfortable, She shifted.

Mephisto eyed her movements, A smirk still on his face before he brought his eyes back to the phone. He replied something that [F/N] couldn't make out, Uninterested and only brought back by the slam of the phone back onto it's set.

When she snapped her head up, She saw him lean forward. Elbows on the desk with his chin resting on the bridge made by his fingers.

"Well then, Now that that is done.." Mephisto drawled, Eyeing her up and down. "From what I hear you intend to enter my school after the entrance exams have already finished up."

"..Yes."

"And the American school? I do believe they're still accepting applications.. Wouldn't it be much more comfortable to attend somewhere close to home?"

"..Well since I grew up in this country, I told Lewin that I wanted to return and do my schooling here.. Besides, Everyone knows that True Cross is the top school for exorcists. If I'm gonna get my Meister's, I want to get the best education with it." [F/N] replied, Trying to make her voice as steady as could be.

Sugar talk, Something she had picked up from Lewin to get her way. [F/N] tried not to let it show that she was lying, Try seem as genuine as she possibly could be. In truth, [F/N] could care less about that stuck-up rich kid school.

Mephisto smirked.

"Ah, What a charmer you are!" He sung with a dramatic lean back in his seat, A hand pressed to his chest. "Yes, I must admit that it is true! My academy is rather prestigious especially among exorcists, So I suppose I can understand why you would want to attend my institution.."

[F/N] watched as the rather whimsical demeanour he had displayed turned back down, His eyes refocusing and sharpening back towards her. Smile brandishing as he honed his vision on her.

"..But I also must say- As the headmaster I do have some concerns.." Mephisto hummed as the sound of a door swinging open came out from behind her. [F/N] pried her vision off Mephisto for a moment to watch Belial stroll in, Baring a fine silver plate in a single hand, Fine Flower-painted china atop it.

Mephisto tilted his head.

"Lightning has always had a rather nasty habit of conducting his own little investigations, Who knows why and I must admit that it's getting rather concerning.." He explained. "I just can't help but wonder if he had sent you here to do his business for him?"

He eyed her up and down, And [F/N] tried not to look so squeamish under his surprisingly uncomfortable gaze. God, How she hated how weak she felt in the moment, How horribly nervous she was.

[F/N] gripped the edge of the couch she lazed on, Flipping a leg over the other. She couldn't let him get under her skin. Belial moved around to the small centre-table in front of her, Setting down the silver tray as the china on top rattled along with it.

"..Not that I'm aware of, No." [F/N] replied as she watched Belial start to fill up the twin tea cups sitting pretty on the tray. She gulped. "Lewin's always been straightforward with me, I honestly just think he wants me to get a good education."

Mephisto nodded as Belial finished his work, Picking up one of the steaming tea-cups and plates to carefully bring it over to the desk at the head of the room. He set it down in front of Mephisto, The steam rising high into the air.

Mephisto carefully picked it up by the handle, Taking a sip of the boiling water without a flinch.

"..And you're completely sure?" He asked, Settling the cup back down onto it's plate.

"Completely." [F/N] responded, Not missing a beat.

Belial bowed to both her and Mephisto before quickly turning on his heel and leaving back out where he came, The tea-set still on the table, Her own hot drink steaming up into the sky, Too hot to touch.

Mephisto dabbed his mouth with a handkerchief, Drying the residue.

"Well I suppose that I could let you into my academy, Considering your credentials of being Lightning's apprentice and the rather flattering recommendations I got sent by a few of The Arc Knights." Mephisto hummed as he settled back down.

[F/N] thinned her lips, Trying not to let the smile show on her face. Leave it to Lewin to plan something out. He must have gone to some of the other Arc Knights, Most likely Arthur and Osceola if she had to guess. She didn't even have a clue.

So she kept herself calm, If only for a second.

"So.. Does that mean that I'm able to attend?" [F/N] asked, Hands gripping even tighter onto her raincoat to try and keep her voice from shivering. Mephisto hummed, Tapping his fingers against the polished wood of his desk before it suddenly stopped.

"Yes, Yes. I suppose you can, I'll get your paperwork in order to send to Lightnings estate and I'll be expecting them by the end of next week, Make sure to tell him that!" Mephisto replied, Lilt in his voice as he took another sip of his tea.

[F/N] finally grinned, Letting it come across her face without resistance now. Letting out a breath she didn't know she was holding, [F/N] dusted herself off and pushed herself up to her feet, Only stumbling a little bit once she got settled.

She turned towards him slightly before bowing her head in faux respect.

"..Thank you, Lord Pheles. I'll make sure to tell my master of the news." [F/N] said in the most gratuitous tone she could muster. Once her head raised, She turned away from him and towards the door instead.

She wanted to get out of here as quickly as possible, Especially once she felt eye-shaped holes start to burn on her back. Being in the same room as a Demon King was bad enough, But the scorching feeling of it watching her was even worse.

Her hand lunged out to the silver-plated handl-

"Where are you going?"

Her muscles tensed. [F/N] was about to grab onto the handle, fingers so close to wrapping around it that she could feel it's chill.

She blinked before turning her head around, Meeting the eyes of Mephisto at the far end of the room. Still leaning forward on his desk with that same hot stare, Smile still on his face.

[F/N] blinked.

It disturbed her.

"..Oh, I thought that we were done here?" [F/N] replied, Hesitant as she watched him push his hands onto his desk, Pushing himself up from his seat that rolled back to make way for his overwhelming height.

[F/N] snapped her jaw shut as she watched him saunter around the perimeter of his desk, Hand still trailing on the furniture as he made his way to the front.

"You still haven't touched your tea." He simply said, Finally leaning up against the front of the desk. [F/N] just watched him, Eyeing him up and down from the swirl of his hair to the polished slacks he kicked in.

[F/N] swallowed, The warning Azazel gave her ringing through her head.

"..My siblings, The ones that have met you have not taken it as a single experience to be done with, [F/N]. They haven't forgotten about you, They remember very well.."

It made her freeze, Almost like she was staring into the serpentine eyes of a gorgon, Which she supposed wasn't an entirely inaccurate description. Ever since Azazel had warned her, She had been vigilant.

Eyes darting to every corner of a room when she entered, Making sure to stick close to Lewin like Azazel had advised her to. Of course he had also told her that it was basically inevitable that she would meet the final two.

And he was right, And she was standing before another.

She couldn't stay here, Not in the belly of the beast.

"..I'm sorry but I'm just not in the mood to have anything right now, I ate before I came here and it soured my appetite." [F/N] laughed nervously, Trying to seem as relaxed as possible within the current situation.

Mephisto tilted his head, Eyeing her like she was to him.

"Ah, But you must try it! The ingredients I have imported here are some of the highest quality, I assure you. It would be a shame if it would go to waste now, Wouldn't it?" Mephisto said as he continued to watch her movements.

[F/N]'s eyes darted from his face to the tea-set still on the table, Her tea-cup still filled to the brim with the beige liquid and steaming high. She bit her tongue. Though it certainly looked enticing, The expression on his face certainly wasn't.

[F/N] gulped, The hand hovering around the door handle finally lunged to grip around it.

"..I'm sorry, Lord Pheles, But I need to go meet up with my master now. I've kept him waiting long enough- Goodbye!" [F/N] stammered out, Instantly pushing down the handle and swinging open the door before escaping out into the hallway.

She pulled the door closed behind her before slamming her back against it, Breathing heavily, [F/N] wiped the sweat off of her brow. Blue lights floated around her, Coal tars no doubt from the way that they flickered around.

[F/N] swatted them away once they got too close, The conversation she had with the literal Demon King of Time and Space still playing in her mind. Every word, Sentence and gesture playing in her head.

She had gotten into True Cross, Something that Lewin would be proud of. [F/N] remembered the interaction she had with Lewin before, Where he told her how to act in front of the demon.

[F/N] bit her lip, A sudden thought coming to her mind.

Her penchant didn't seem to work on him, The penchant Lewin had told her to use to her advantage. He had no moment like all the others before him, Where they proclaimed that their heart was beating once more.

The sudden change in demeanour, The sudden favour they had for her.

He didn't have that moment, Despite the conversation between them being much longer than some of the others. Or did it just feel that way? [F/N] didn't know, But she thought about it anyways.

She raised a thumb up to her lips, Beginning to bite on her nail.

[F/N]'s breath hitched in her throat, Eyes widening as she tore off the excess of her nails. And all at once, She understood why Lewin had wanted her to attend here in the first place.

Her penchant didn't seem to work on him-

Because he was already affected.

☆♡☆

Mephisto watched the girl exit his office, Slamming the door behind her so quickly that it shook the walls foundations. His slit-pupils didn't remove themselves from her, Not until she was completely gone from sight.

The tea still sat steaming on the desk, The cup she didn't touch. She was suspicious and vigilant, That was something he could respect yet all the same he felt his smile start to twitch.

It downturned into a grimace, Especially once he heard the slam of boots hit the floor behind him. Heels clacking, He knew very well who it was.

"Amaimon." Mephisto stated, Not bothering to turn around to meet the face of his younger brother standing there. Deep eyebags staring into the back of Mephisto's head, One's he had felt throughout the entire meeting he had with [F/N].

Lurking in the darkness, Somewhere hidden within the higher parts of his room.

"Brother.." Amaimon spoke and Mephisto finally turned to look at him dead in the eyes, Sly smile finally returning to him. Amaimon didn't reciprocate, Only stared dead into Mephisto's eyes with that same blank expression he always wore.

"Lurking around again, Amaimon? It's rather rude not to announce yourself when entering another's home.." Mephisto chided, Knowing very well that Amaimon wouldn't care about house etiquette.

"Why did you just let her leave? It would've been easy to just take her, That other annoying human wasn't there to stop us." Amaimon stated. Despite his blank visage, Mephisto could sense the irritation under it.

It didn't appear on his face, But it shone in his eyes.

Mephisto's grin widened.

"I've told you before, Amaimon. You must be patient." He said as his hand lowered to the side of his desk, Scooping up the tea-cup into his hand and taking a sip. Amaimon glared, Mephisto only continued.

"You must wait a little while longer, There is still one more she has yet to meet.. But until then, You will not interact with her. In fact.. I don't want you to even look at her until it is time."

Amaimon's eyes widened.

"But Brother-"

"I don't want to hear anything more about this." Mephisto cut in. Eyes suddenly sharpening and almost on cue, Amaimon snapped his mouth shut. His face returned to it's original plainness.

Mephisto smirked at that, Turning back away from him. There was no more words to be spoken, Not if Amaimon knew what was good for him. Mephisto just continued to sip his tea, All until he felt the presence of his younger brother disappear.

☆♡☆

[F/N] felt nervous.

Her hand rested on the cold chill of the doorknob, Gripping it in a vice as sweat rolled down her rather reserved expression. Staring at the door like it disgusted her personally, [F/N] took in a deep breath.

The hallway she stood in was cold but vibrant, Seemingly stretching on forever in an exotic set of colours. Greens, Reds, Blacks.. It was built in a hodgepodge of architecture, Some Victorian here and some middle-east design there.

It felt confusing, But [F/N] wasn't focused on the colours or the architecture right now. Instead she was attentive to the doorway she stood before, Inside being what she dreaded the most:

Social interaction.

[F/N]'s lip trembled as she tried to calm her nerves.

Come on, You can do this.. For Lewin's sake.

It was her first day at school. [F/N] had been able to survive the first part of the day, Wandering throughout the expanse of the hallways, Managing to keep away from the large groups of people that passed her by.

Her heart had never been so stressed, It had been ages since she had actually been in proper education. The last time being a few years ago when she was still in the youth centre, Lewin seeming to prefer home-schooling than

It gave her more time to study demons, That's what Lewin said anyways. But being out of school with absolutely no friends made her a quite literal outcast, Being much more undeveloped when it came to social situations.

[F/N] groaned, Why did it have to be her?

By now she had been able to get through without talking to anyone. Sitting in a lonely stairwell when she wanted to eat lunch, Not answering any questions that teachers proposed to the class. And her rather aloof demeanour was enough to deter anyone who was trying to make friends.

But now? This was the point where she was meant to speak to people. Ingrain herself into the social structure all the while snooping around for Lewin's investigation, Unfortunately the socialising part was not debatable.

A bead of her sweat hit the floor, Almost deciding that it wasn't worth it at all. Though [F/N] was able to pull herself together, Take the biggest breath of her life and tell herself that she'll do just fine with the people inside.

They were her age after all, And school was the perfect place to make friends.

The doorknob turned much louder than it should have, [F/N] not minding though as she swung open the door and stepped into the classroom with her head held high. Her expression steeled on her face.

And as soon as she did.. She was surprised.

"Erm.." [F/N] mumbled under her breath, Surveying the rather empty though lengthy classroom. Her eyes were wide as she realised there was barely anyone here, Her expectations being much higher.

Within the class there was only a few people. A group of three or so boys near the right and two lone girls sitting right next to the door where [F/N] was standing, Apart from that there were only two lone parties at the back. A boy and some other person in a rather baggy hoodie.

[F/N] gulped, Mind wandering off.

"Is.. Is this everyone?" She muttered more to herself than anything, However the echo made it much louder than intended, Eyes widening as she froze up.

"Most of us, Probably. Bell's gonna ring in five so.." One of the boys spoke up, Answering for her. It was the one with the mohawk, Tough face, Tanned skin and all in all made him look like a punk.

[F/N] nodded slowly, Taking time to process as she tried not to seem nervous in front of them all.

She stepped forward on the chromatic tiled floor, Wandering a few feet as she observed the mostly empty rows of desks to choose from. She bit her lip, Shit. Why did she need to be so awkward?

Her skirt worn rather unfitting on her, Maybe a size too big with a studded belt to keep it in place. A baggy blouse and a tie that was done by Lewin himself, All the while patting her on the shoulder and telling her of her mission.

The yellow canary raincoat was still thrown over her, Hood up to shadow her face and hide her shy expression. Her hands gripping onto the hems as she tried to find a seat.

Though her appearance was strange, She hoped her attitude would be enough to make up for her aloofness.

"Oh.. Hey!"

Another voice spoke up, One that was from the same table the boys were and one that made [F/N] jump.

Darting her eyes over, She seen that it was the boy with faded pink hair, Legs kicked up on the table but perked up once he noticed her. He had a rather lazy smile on his face, Though his eyes were certainly interested.

"I recognise you-! You're lightnings apprentice, Right?" He called out to her which made the other boys jerk around, Finally getting a good look at the girl who felt exposed by the sudden recognition.

"You are?!" One of the boys called out, Suddenly turning around to look at her in the doorway.

Her shoulders tensed slightly.

"Oh- Erm.. Yeah." [F/N] spoke, Slowly trudging closer towards their desk with a sheepish smile on her face. She stuck out her hand towards the boy with pinkish-hair. "My name's [F/N] Light, I'm Lightning's apprentice as you said- But Uh-"

The boy took her hand before she finished, A lazy smile on his face as he happily shook her hand.

"Renzo Shima! Nice to meet 'ya..!" He grinned as he looked up at her, Releasing her hand and gesturing towards the empty seat beside him to which [F/N] moved to take, Her heart pounding in her chest.

The boy with the Mohawk furrowed his brows, Glancing towards [F/N].

"An apprentice? Of Lightning himself? Damn.. I'm gonna need to catch up." He concluded as he stretched out a hand towards her, A firm yet welcoming expression upon his face. "Name's Ryuji Suguro, Though you can call me Bon, Great to meet you."

"I-It's great to meet you too..!" [F/N] responded with a nod, A sort of excited yet nervous smile on her face as she took his hand and shook it too. Turning towards the final boy, The one with the red-rimmed glasses.

"Konekomaru Miwa..!" He greeted, Instead of shaking her hand he bowed slightly towards her, His own form of greeting as he smiled almost as nervously as she did. It comforted her slightly, Knowing it wasn't just her who was on edge.

She smiled a bit wider, Especially once she sat down on the empty desk beside them.

[F/N] felt herself calm, The frantic rhythm of her heart calmed down into a steady thump. Those jitters that crawled through her skin seemed to ease, If only a little bit. As she spoke to them, She found it to be a back and forth she could keep up with.

It was relieving even though her body remained tense, Smiling and even genuinely laughing at the banter between them which she happily joined in on. It made her calm, Ease down to the point that she didn't even care about the little blue lights drifting around them anymore.

She smiled.

Maybe things were gonna be okay.

[uncorrectintamed]

Wei Wuxian: Why are we lying on the ground?

Wen Ning: You passed out so I laid down next to you so people would think we were just chilling.

[toasttt11]

jacket

October 20, 2023

Lucia was sitting outside on the balcony of Nico’s apartment.

The Devils had just played their first road game of the season against the New York Islanders and won 5-4, in overtime. Lucia got her first goal of the season in tonight’s game.

The team were celebrating their overtime win at Nico’s apartment instead of a bar this time.

She was chilling outside on the comfortable balcony furniture with just a slight chill to the air.

Lucia had snuck out side within a few minutes of joining the hang out not wanting to be around everyone drinking as she doesn’t really care for it, everyone try’s to sneak her drinks but she isn’t the biggest fan of alcohol anyways. Lucia also was just emotional tired and did not have any energy left to socialize any longer.

The balcony door opened and her shoulders tensed hearing someone come outside and felt them sit down next to her and she relaxed smelling the cologne that belongs to John.

“What are you doing out here all alone goal scorer.” John teased her softly bumping her elbow with his.

Lucia fondly rolled her eyes at his teasing, “Peace and Quiet.” Lucia quipped back.

“Ah.” John nodded knowingly, it is very loud in Nico’s apartment and all the boys are rowdier than usually because of the win tonight.

Lucia felt her phone buzz and she only had her notifications on for a few people so she pulled it out of her pocket and softened slightly seeing Quinn face timing.

“Hi Quinny.” Lucia mumbled with a smile as soon as she answered the call, she knew John would not care she answered it as he has a brother too and understood talking to them whenever you can.

“Moosey.” Quinn fondly greeted back smiling softly as his baby sister, “Good goal.” Quinn praised and Lucia sat up little straighter from the praise from her oldest brother.

“Thanks. Your win was really good.” Lucia softly praised her brother something she doesn’t do for most people often.

John watched as Lucia was looser talking to Quinn and he could tell the difference in her smiles when she is with her brothers. John liked that she trusted him enough to stay next to him while she talks to her brother.

“Bye.” Lucia sadly smiled at her brother once they finished their conversation and hung up.

“We don’t get a lot of time to talk.” Lucia shrugged at John once her call was over but she is never going to apologize for taking to Quinn but felt a little bad she was completely ignoring him but still sitting next to him.

“I get it.” John nodded thinking about his twin and he understands that talking isn’t easy so you never pass up the times you do get to talk to them, “It’s all good Rusty.” John reassure her making her nod softly.

John looked over at her and noticed her shoulders shaking slightly and realized she was shivering from the cold, John had a long sleeve on under his black jacket and he quickly pulled his jacket off and laid it across her back.

“Oh you didn’t have-“ Lucia started, she is used to always having her own jacket or just being cold.

“I wanted to.” John simply replied interrupting her, “You’re shivering.” John added watching as she slowly put her hands through the arms of the jacket and he smiled seeing it be a little oversized on her.

“Thanks.” Lucia nodded and John just smiled.

Lucia and John sat outside talking to each other for the rest of the night out on Nico’s balcony until Nico found them and he needed help taking a very drunk Jack a few floors down to Lucia’s and Jack’s apartment.

[gard3nias]

11| An overly ambitious hedonistic seductress

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wc: 6.04k

date: 24/08/2024

quick summary: sunday; the five friends meet up for their school project; daphne suspects there is more going on between cleo and nick; little gossip time with asher

mdi // masterlist // playlist

—Now playing: Ti vorrei sollevare by Elisa, Giuliano Sangiorgi ✫

Sunday and, just as the name implies, it was a sunny day and the soft breeze of the town never failed to be present. However, as autumn approached, the mornings felt colder, prompting people to grab sweaters and blankets. The chill slowly dissipated as the day progressed, and by noon, temperatures returned to the usual comfortable levels of the summer. Today, unsurprisingly, temperatures rose even further in the afternoon, encouraging everyone to spend more time outdoors to avoid using air conditioners and fans.

Daphne and Cleo's neighbourhood is always silent, having barely any household containing little children who could be playing in their gardens. The only 'disturbance' came from barking dogs, chainsaws, the hammering from workshops or the buzzing sound of tractors from the neighbouring farms.

The neighbours obviously didn't expect they would hear the hysterical laughs of teenagers, the exhausted screams of another teenager and the overall chaos coming from Cleo's home.

She'd laid out her warnings the previous day: "I have a lot of cats"—two cats in reality but she didn't want to specify just to scare them—"My brother hates noise and messy environments" she stated, firmly advising them to leave their childishness at home when coming. Still, everyone knows that giving a piece of advice is useful only if the receiver takes it into consideration.

The five friends were all downstairs in her living room and they were planning on studying outside in her backyard because of the heat so the only thing left to do was take their things outside but suddenly a supposedly five-minute thing started taking way longer than she'd ever wish.

"Damn. The fridge is full as fuck! How many people are living here?" James asked, checking out the contents of the piece of furniture. He was unaware of the mini heart attack his words gave his friend. "Don't!— Don't touch the fridge. If you need anything, tell me. We went grocery shopping just yesterday and my brother eats a lot," she dragged the vowel to enhance the word and seriousness, "So no. If y'all feel hungry, just tell me." The warning was enough for the boys to lift their hands in surrender and back away from the fridge Cleo had just violently closed and was guarding with her whole body.

The girl sighed in relief, glad to have solved the issue only for her eyes to bulge out of their sockets again when she saw Nick approach her fireplace where, upon the sill, were family pictures, most especially, her childhood pictures. Why the fuck didn't she think about removing them earlier?

"Back off, Dominic!" she exclaimed, rushing up to him. The use of his full name had him on alert since it was rare but soon he understood her body language and what she was trying to hide as a mischievous smirk rose on his face. "Oh my God. You don't want me to see baby Cleo's photos?" he excitedly teased, seeing the shift in her as he understood her intentions.

"Nick, I swear to God if you dare— Nick!" she screamed when he made his first attempt to outsmart and pass her. "Nick, please," she begged, her tone wavered between a laugh and a cry because he was laughing at her distress. "They're just pictures and you're cute as fuck now so one can't imagine how cuter you were when you were a baby," he explained in a slightly more serious tone as he tried to understand the real reason behind her worry.

"I don't care and it's not true—"

"It's not true?"

In the meantime, James continued his tour of the floor without attempting to touch any food or object, Asher was tangled in the paws of Cinnamon and Lily while Daphne simply laughed at the scene as she recorded everything.

"I never knew I'd be the heartthrob of cats," he commented, surprised at their grip on his clothes whenever he wanted to detach them from himself. Daphne didn't do anything about it, having no type of experience with cats and most especially, enjoying the new memory that would occupy space in her phone.

"Pose." She finally spoke after laughing for way too much according to Asher. "What do you mean pose?"

"Pose for a picture," she simply repeated like it was obvious. She had to insist a bit more before he complied and posed, forcing a smile through the pain as she compelled herself to take good pictures before bursting into laughs again. This would be good content for her to upload to her Instagram stories and add to her new highlight dedicated to her friends—it already contained a few things thanks to Cleo's tags. And, exactly, she left to do so, leaving Asher in his despair while she lay on the couch to edit the picture with a few doodles and tagging everyone present.

Nick and Cleo had finished their little fight of resistance and the boy was now holding one of the pictures, congratulating Cleo for being a very cute baby while the girl simply stood next to him, checking if the picture was too bad for her, rolling her eyes at the compliments as she held her smiles back and eagerly begging him to stop satisfying his curiosity.

James had finished the tour of the floor and was now bored and that was when he remembered why they were there in the first place. "Hey, guys. Let's hurry and take what we need to study," his words froze the place up. Daphne moved her eyes onto him, Asher stopped struggling with the cats and Nick and Cleo stopped their activity, simultaneously turning around to look at the speaker. "James? Everything all right?" Asher broke the ice.

"Yeah like... you fine?" Daphne joined. Nick and Cleo nodded when the respondent turned in their direction since he was so confused and looking for clarification.

"What?" he asked, receiving no reply for a few seconds before Daphne spoke again, "We're just surprised you of all people suggested that."

"Yep, surprised,"

"Super surprised," Cleo and Nick added right after her. James simply rolled his eyes, realising he was getting worried over nothing.

"What the fuck guys? I thought it was something serious—"

"Oh, he was going to be serious—"

"Asher!" And everyone laughed. James still rolled his eyes and went on with his life while the rest stopped playing around and got up to do what they initially had to do.

"Cleo? Imma need you to come get your fur balls off me. I'm losing my shit. Thank goodness I ain't allergic to their fur. I would've been dead by now."

It was a five-minute thing, taking every book and device they needed. It was almost a twenty-minute thing, taking Cinnamon and Lily off Asher who fought against wailing like a baby in frustration. And that's how they found themselves sitting around the white table they moved to the garden under the protection of the wide white umbrella standing through its centre.

Cleo's home never hosted these many people. Ever since she was a child, the only companion she had with her was her brother, her father and, briefly, her mother. She'd known Nick, James and Asher since middle school but never had she invited them over because the thought never crossed her mind—and also they already spent a lot of time together considering their moments in class and at practice after school. Regardless if she wanted to hang out with them, they would opt for a destination in town, not anyone's home.

Today, when her neighbours peered out their windows into Cleo's garden, they were greeted with an unfamiliar sight: five people sitting around a white table. Usually, when they spotted Cleo in the garden, she would either be playing with her brother, helping him out with something, swinging on the swing hanging from the big tree, or playing with her cats—certainly not whatever she was doing now.

Barely a month had passed since Daphne had moved here permanently so the images of her reading in her garden weren't long-lost memories to the neighbours anymore but rather part of their routine since Daphne had always been reading there since she came back.

When they would look out of their window and into her garden, they'd find her there, sitting and reading peacefully. The only thing changing day by day was her clothing which would get thicker as the temperatures went down and autumn approached.

They didn't know that the five people in Cleo's garden had decided to meet for school reasons although one could deduct it by noticing the books filling the table and the focus painting the expressions of the teenagers.

One could also deduct that James gave no fucks about school and has a hard time staying focused for too long hence the phone in his hands while the rest were working. He had a leg bent over the other with arms crossed and a subtle frown on his face peeking through his blonde hair strands.

They hadn't even studied for an hour and little James was already out of it. He'd sighed many times by now, gaining Asher's side glances the whole time. James couldn't notice that. The only thing he knew was that his friends were boring, this was boring, life was boring and he couldn't bear it any longer. He even looked in Nick's direction, his usual partner in crime, only to find him focused on working, leaving him shocked.

"Isn't it time to like... have a little break?" he suggested only to receive silence as an answer from all of them. They didn't notice him except for Asher who didn't hold back from rolling his eyes. He had to repeat his question a second time before someone other than Asher answered him or, better, looked in his direction at all.

"It's barely been an hour. What are you talking about?" Cleo questioned with an eyebrow lifted. "It's funnier if you remember that he was the one that encouraged us to come out and study," Asher butted in, gaining an eye roll from James.

"Sorry, I can't stay focused for too long. I'm not as braindead as you are," he spoke directly to Asher who took his glasses off, slightly annoyed at the remark.

"You call having a long attention span being braindead? It literally proves that you're the one who's braindead because you don't know what the word itself means and trust me that anyone could appear 'braindead' to you because you can only stay focused for two minutes,"

"Okay, okay. Let's end it there. You wanna take a break? Let's take a break but then you'll have to seriously work later," Daphne interrupted, getting rid of the ponytail that was already stressing her sensitive skull.

James wasn't bothered in the slightest by Asher's words since he'd got what he'd been wishing for so he simply stood up and headed to the kitchen with Cleo running behind him to make sure he wouldn't empty the fridge.

"Be a bit nicer, yes?" Daphne was now speaking to Asher who simply rolled his eyes and got up, leaving her without any reply. She was a bit baffled just as Nick by her right with whom she exchanged looks of confusion before they too got up and went inside.

—Now playing: Beautiful by Lana Del Rey ✫

Once they got to the kitchen, they found James and Cleo arguing about what they could have to eat and, being already a bit annoyed, Daphne made them settle down and excused all of them out of the kitchen so she could handle it herself. Cleo didn't object and grabbed the chance to play outside with only James and Nick because Asher didn't look down for any type of physical activity—maybe only if it meant he could go back home.

He didn't budge from his position, leaning on the counter with legs and arms crossed and staring into nothing. Daphne, on the other end, was busy exploring Cleo's kitchen to understand where to find what.

She wanted to make some sandwiches and was having a hard time finding the pack of sliced bread they'd bought the previous day. She'd already gathered the filling onto the counter ignoring Asher's presence who had stopped staring into nothing and was now looking at Daphne most especially because she had succeeded in finding the sliced bread but it was in the cupboard, a bit too high away—not the cupboard itself because the pack was placed on the top layer.

"They most likely placed it here on purpose 'cause there's no way," she mumbled to herself and she kept jumping, pinching the packet closer and closer to the edge. She'd already jumped a few too many times to her liking especially because she hoped Asher would help her out but it seemed like he was in the mood to hold grudges against her as if she'd wronged him in any way.

She initially felt good because the packet was getting closer and closer and she would manage to get it without his help but her moment of glory was shut down when she accidentally pushed in instead of pinching it closer. When she noticed, she stopped jumping, looked up at the packet and stared in disbelief.

That was when she heard Asher chuckle behind her. Never had she snapped her head around this fast to glare at someone and never had he hid his smile so quickly.

"Were you just laughing?" she questioned, eyebrow slightly lifted and eyes glaring holes in his figure. "Why would you think that?" he questioned back, mirroring her facial expressions.

Daphne wasn't hallucinating, she heard him clearly laughing in her moment of distress and he was now denying it, denying to had been behaving like a bitch because she told him to tune it down.

Yes. She wasn't hallucinating because he indeed was chuckling since he purposely let her struggle for a bit just because he felt like it. He wasn't that immature. Yes, she scolded him a bit and yes, he was a bit harsh but no, he wasn't going to act like a bitch about it. He would've let her struggle even on the best of his days. The only person who could get him back to being annoyed was James and, at the moment, he wasn't there.

Right now, he was staring dead into Daphne's eyes and she did the same with him. The tension between them soon faded away when they both got the cue that it was all in good fun but Nick didn't know this when he walked in to have a glass of water.

The room was so silent and his friends were staring at each other, both with arms and legs crossed and a crooked eyebrow. "Nice staring contest," he thought to himself and he served himself with the glass of water.

Daphne and Asher, on the other end, struggled to hold back their laughs as they could hear Nick's loud gulping sounds. Asher could see it on her face just as she could see it on his that a smile tried to creep up but they would race against the clock to suppress it. They could see it in each other's eyes, the panting, the sweat and the fatigue the race caused them but soon everything resulted to being in vain when Nick let out the loudest burp right after emptying the glass.

Asher immediately burst into laughter while Daphne's eyes almost bulged out of their sockets and rolled onto the floor at the loud sound. Yeah, it was very loud.

"Jesus Christ, Nick. It's just water," she said, laughing at the situation but also Asher's loud laugh and crumbling figure in front of her.

Nick simply smiled as he rinsed the glass and kept it back to where he found it. "Y'all never heard anyone burp before?" he simply asked, seeing how they were losing their shit.

"Nick? That was exceptionally loud especially since you drank ordinary water. Imagine if you had drunk sparkling water," Daphne explained—to be honest, she struggled to explain that because every word that left her mouth would simply increase Asher's laughter's pitch and volume. Nick didn't reply, smiling at how hilarious Asher sounded before going back outside.

"What the fuck?" Daphne asked in disbelief before repeating her question when she saw that Asher had fully turned red and seemed really in need of help.

"Hey, hey! Young man!" she called. His laughter's pitch and volume had vanished as he was silently laughing now, tightly holding onto his stomach—nothing is deadlier than that shit. "This bitch is on the verge of dying, jeez," she laughed, staring at him in hopes he would stop.

He did, a few seconds later but he did and when he came down, he took in a huge amount of air before letting it all out to ease the feeling of his contracted abdomen.

"A burp... almost killed you," Daphne joked, watching him get back up, "Wouldn't have minded anyway because it would have been your karma," she added.

"My karma? For what?"

"For fucking ignoring me and letting me make a fool of myself as I tried to take that fucking pack of sliced bread just because I scolded you a bit before!" she explained, gasping as she saw him start laughing once more.

"Ok. Yes, it's like you're really trying to kill me with laughter and no, I wasn't ignoring you for that. I would ignore you on any day. Your scolding has nothing to do with it. I was having my own type of fun," and Daphne gasped, reaching over to smack his arm as he laughed and finally complied to help her take the packet and make the sandwiches. As background music were the screams and laughs coming from Cleo's garden.

Soon, their conversation moved on to school subjects regarding their project and most especially the campaign. Asher confessed to being interested in running in the campaign but he would only entertain the idea the following year as a senior as he didn't feel ready yet.

Daphne grabbed the chance to ask him what were the requirements for such and even asked if he was interested in becoming the class president.

Their conversation was cut short by the loud scream coming from the garden. It was so loud Asher worried James or Nick had hurt Cleo somehow. Daphne, however, did not share his concern at first, but she still hurried behind him when he dashed out. They both froze when they saw Cleo and Nick wrestling over a ball, with James confused in a corner not knowing if to join in or separate them.

"Erm?" Daphne asked, side-eyeing Asher who simply rolled his eyes again and went back inside.

"Gosh, I thought it was something serious," he said, making it back behind the counter.

"It was obviously nothing serious. Anyone could tell,"

"Yeah, but I'm used to having to medicate Cleo's wounds because of how roughly they play."

"Are they always like that?" Daphne asked, "Like... in compromising positions like that?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean... if an outsider had to take a look at them, they could suspect they are more than just friends, you know," she voiced out, placing the sandwich on the tray. "Were they ever a thing? Because as far as I know, Cleo never told me anything special about Nick."

Her question wasn't a surprise to him. He knew it would've eventually popped up in Daphne's brain and now he just happened to be the person to whom she addressed the question. "Not that I know of," he simply replied, placing his sandwich on the tray.

"Yes, they do look like more than friends and if I'm being honest with you, I always thought that Nick has a crush on her. James too,"

"Really?" Daphne gasped with bulging eyes and he nodded, "But I feel like if Nick does have a crush on her, his has existed for longer. We have known each other since middle school and Nick has always been like this with her. James started only like two years ago if I'm not mistaken,"

"Which was around when Cleo started getting popular and shit, right?"

"Yeah, I guess so,"

"But also, doesn't Nick also behave like this with everyone? I mean, he's not the shy type to worry too much about physical contact,"

"Yeah, he behaves like this with everyone and that's why one can't fully say that he crushes on Cleo because he isn't any different with others but he's just a bit different when it's just us, you know. There is a Nick with Cleo in public and a different Nick with Cleo in private such as hang outs like this. I do think that if James does have a crush on her, she knows and she also doesn't entertain the idea of starting anything serious with him because two years ago I wasn't the only person thinking he liked her. The whole class did,"

"Seriously?"

"Yeah, but I think Cleo just sees him as a friend because she never really commented on the issue and it slowly faded, especially with the popularity she gained. It became easy to simply label him as a fanboy and nothing more,"

Daphne nodded and didn't speak further, looking out where her friends were. A part of her felt like her suspicions were true. Nick probably likes Cleo, James included, and it isn't surprising because Cleo is so charming. Like she'd already stated, Cleo could see the good in people, no matter the bad one could commit and she also seemed to never get sad or angry—unless you bring Valerie into the picture. Cleo is always smiling and happy. She seemed to have a social battery that never runs out and her smile was like a tattoo on her face.

Daphne hadn't seen her play volleyball yet, hadn't seen how competitive and just how skilled she was at the sport. However, Daphne knew Cleo's popularity likely stemmed from her talent in volleyball, indicating that she was genuinely good at it. 

There was just something fascinating about people being good at what they like.

All these were hypotheses that she would've changed into theories if she knew that Jungkook too fanboys over her.

"So right now, we're looking at a potential childhood crush from Nick?" she said looking at the scene in front of her.

Right in that moment, from the counter she could see Cleo and Nick going at it again, dragging to get the ball. They caught the attention of both she and Asher because Nick seemed to be giving Cleo a back hug from where he would occasionally lift her off the ground. She, on the other hand, would bend forward causing him to do the same. Another honestly compromising position.

"James is third-wheeling there," she comments before they get back to making the sandwiches.

"Worse it would be if he indeed likes her too," Asher added, gaining a hiss from Daphne as they both laughed.

—Now playing: Chiquitita by ABBA ✫

The boys left around dinner time, giving the girls enough time to finish tidying up. Daphne stayed back just for that reason.

There wasn't much left for them to take care of since they didn't mess up the place too much and the boys also helped a little before leaving to catch their bus home. Upstairs, Cole was still sleeping while noise still came from Cleo's dad's workshop. Been like that throughout the afternoon.

"Let's hurry cause I have to cook dinner,"

"You?" and Cleo nodded before turning around to sweep the kitchen. "Cole has been studying the whole morning and even after lunch. I just went to check and saw that he fell asleep so he's surely tired as fuck. My dad has been working nonstop on the project he wants to sell in his shop so yeah, I'm taking over the cooking." Daphne unconsciously nodded to the information as she adjusted the little pillows on the couch and armchair, picking up a few things from the floor and keeping others back where they belonged. As she did so, they stopped talking and completely focused on finishing their duty.

Since the boys had already helped with tidying up the living room a bit, Daphne was soon done with the work and was just roaming around, exploring the place now that she had the chance. In the meantime, Cleo was still sweeping the kitchen, trashing the packs of finished snacks that littered the counters. That was when a gasp from the living room diverted her attention away.

"Oh my god! You have vinyl records from ABBA?" Daphne exclaimed, taking the object in her hands and admiring it like it was a brick of gold. Cleo rushed to put the broom aside and went over to her overly excited friend.

"You listen to ABBA?" Daphne proceeded, taking the disc out of the packet and going straight to the vinyl player sitting next to the pile of records. Cleo smiled but the smile didn't reach her eyes. It wasn't the usual smile that painted her face, the infamous tattoo. No, Cleo struggled to smile and Daphne didn't notice.

She wanted to stop her friend, take the record from her hand, keep it back and shut everything up but that would require her to explain herself and if she failed to do so, she'd just leave a bitter taste in her friend's mouth or, worse, make her worry that there's something more. There is something more, but that more can stay in the isolated room Cleo had locked it in. She'd also trashed the key, wishing to never see that door open again. But it didn't stop the pain nor the insisting struggles as the door tried to open itself against its hinges and the lock.

Daphne maybe would've noticed this but maybe right now she was too excited to listen to ABBA or to play music from a vinyl player once again. The last time she'd done so was at Margot's place in the city but she didn't ponder much on that memory, especially now that Margot have been outcasted from her life just as she'd done to her. Daphne loved vintage things so she really had a thing for vinyl records—preferred them to the modern album packaging.

She didn't pay any attention to the song she was putting on since she was a great ABBA fan and eats up anything the group has released.

"You know how to use it?" Cleo finally spoke, her voice almost nonexistent. Again Daphne didn't notice this. Later, Cleo would be thankful for her inattention because she would've regretted dearly bringing worry upon her friend.

Daphne eagerly nodded as she backed away from the player, waiting for the music to start and it soon did as the soft sounds of a guitar started feeling the room.

"Chiquitita, tell me what's wrong?" she started singing along, gathering her hands on her chest as if the song had been produced in heaven.

"You're enchained by your own sorrow, In your eyes there is no hope for tomorrow." Cleo smiled more now. Chuckled a bit at how fondly Daphne sang along.

Her friend behaved as if she was in a music video, arms spreading out and going back to her chest at each word she sang. "How I hate to see you like this. There is no way you can deny it, I can see that you're oh so sad, so quiet."

Cleo's smile almost faded away, understanding the words, the lyrics. What a choice of song, she thought to herself but, again, Daphne didn't know this so she couldn't show any emotion or any suspicious reaction that could cause her friend to ask questions, to worry. "Chiquitita, tell me the truth. I'm a shoulder you can cry on, your best friend, I'm the one you must rely on." Cleo simply smiled. Laughed seeing how her friend struggled to get on the couch and be even more dramatic. Once she got on it, she spread her arms out again, passionately singing and pointing at Cleo as she sang the next words.

"You were always sure of yourself. Now I see you've broken a feather. I hope we can patch it up together." She didn't know that the words were resonating with Cleo, hitting a very sensitive nerve she's been keeping hidden under her sleeve for a long time now and there was no way she could've known because, unlike Taehyung, Daphne isn't a keen observer but just a good listener. Cleo was the same: different from Taehyung, yes, but she was just good at speaking, with her listening skills not as refined as her friend's. Yes, she is so good at talking but, in that moment, she preferred silence because she was scared of having others worry for her. After all, there is nothing scarier than the sudden extinguishing of the sun—and it's not an eclipse.

Cleo was still standing by the vinyl player while Daphne had already travelled around the room and was making her way back to it, back to Cleo and once she reached, she grabbed her friend's hands and dragged her into the centre of the living room to dance.

"Chiquitita, you and I know how the heartaches come and they go and the scars they're leavin'." Cleo's body was a bit tense but not tense enough to resist Daphne's force as she dragged her around. "You'll be dancing once again and the pain will end. You would have no time for grievin'" Daphne sang without caring to hit the right notes as they started spinning and jumping around. She was unaware that her free spirit at the moment eased her friend's tightened muscles, slowly bringing her to enjoy the song and hop around with her.

"Chiquitita, you and I cry but the sun is still in the sky and shinin' above you."

Daphne didn't know this—again. Not just the song but the whole musical group held a certain weight in Cleo's mind and occupied a certain space in her heart. Space she'd rather give to anything else in this world. A weight she'd gladly go on a diet to lose but this type of weight was particular. Wasn't the type you could lose either by going on a diet or starving yourself.

"Let me hear you sing once more like you did before. Sing a new song, Chiquitita," they both started singing, fingers intertwined, arms spread out and heads thrown back as they spun around, sometimes breaking into a simple dance move. "Try once more like you did before. Sing a new song, Chiquitita."

After parting ways for the verses, Daphne started first: "So the walls came tumblin' down and your love's a blown out candle. All is gone and it seems too hard to handle." And then it was Cleo's turn to become dramatic with her gestures as she started singing along to her own part: "Chiquitita, tell me the truth. There is no way you can deny it. I see that you're oh so sad, so quiet."

Again, unaware, Daphne's actions were like gauze covering the wounds lacing Cleo's body and soul. The smile spread across her face was just what Cleo needed to feel at ease.

"Chiquitita, you and I know how the heartaches come and they go and the scars they're leavin'. You'll be dancin' once again and the pain will end. You will have no time for grievin'" Linking arms and running in a circle, they sang their hearts out.

"Chiquitita, you and I cry but the sun is still in the sky and shinin' above you. Let me hear you sing once more like you did before. Sing a new song, Chiquitita." With hands linked like a couple dancing at a ball and making each other spin around, they started singing the post-chorus: "Try once more like you did before. Sing a new song, Chiquitita. Try once more like you did before. Sing a new song, Chiquitita."

As they danced to the instrumentals, Cleo realized that maybe, just maybe, she'd found a possible solution to the weight occupying her mind, to the spot in her heart and to the wounds that were yet to heal.

Daphne had wondered where her mother was the day she came here and saw Cleo surrounded only by her father and Cole at lunch. She wondered what could have happened to her mother. Was she dead? Did the parents go through a divorce? And if they did, were the kids keeping contact with the mother?

Maybe if Cleo had opened up in that moment, she would've had a little answer to all those questions. She would've finally known something. She would've learned that Cleo's mother used to be a great fan of the group, and she was behind the reason why those vinyl records were there in the first place. She would've known that the last time any song from the group was played, the father was who put it on. She would've known that every memory revolving around the group's songs was in black and white in Cleo's head, bereft of any real colour. Cleo was just waiting, hoping, they would fade away completely, with no colours left behind. Not even the outlines. But she has been waiting for years now and her hope is disappearing faster than the memories she despises.

Maybe, with Daphne back in her life, she would be able to take control and instead of waiting for time to do what it does best, she could change her story, change those memories and replace them with something better, something as nice as this: them spinning around to the ABBA song.

But she knew that Daphne's help would be given unknowingly. Cleo would never ask for help but just grab it if it presents itself in front of her. She didn't know this but it was exactly why her healing process was so slow.

All these were uncertainties because Cleo wasn't sure and never would be unless she opened up to someone, anyone. For example, she could open up to her brother: he's always been there for her, through thick and thin but that was exactly why she didn't want to open up to him. He was already doing a lot for her and the last thing she'd want to do is add another weight on his shoulders.

She could also confide in the man watching the girls from outside through a window. He wasn't done with his project which was lying unfinished in his workshop because he rushed outside once he heard the ABBA song. He's the only person in this house listening to any song from that group because they carry a different meaning to each person in his little family. A meaning that revolved around the mother, the one person who had singlehandedly ruined their family, scarring everyone on her way out.

He's been working on his wounds. 'S been trying to turn them into scars and possibly erase them completely but he'd gladly help his children too if only they would let him in.

He was grateful though to have come this far and was also thankful for Daphne's actions at that moment. She was oblivious to the darkness looming around those songs but she managed to shine through and overshadow it allowing his daughter's beautiful smile to come out from its hiding spot.

He smiled too and a tear ran down his cheek as well, but it was a tear of joy. A joy he'd been looking for ever since that day it left their home with their mother. He'd convinced himself that that joy had run away from his family for good but it was slowly making its way back. Maybe the road was too dark, no streetlights present, no guiding star or moon in the sky but thanks to this, thanks to Daphne, a streetlight had restarted working, brightening the way a bit for as much as it could.

He was very grateful for that.

⤎ previous page | ❃ | next page ⤏

[vashsmunch]

Medusa

Millions Knives x GN Reader

Synopsis: you get a tattoo from the sexy blonde bitch

Warnings: mentions of sexual assault

A/N: i think medusa tattoos are really sick ngl

─── · 。ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───  

His hand tightened on your thigh, stopping you from squirming around. "Stay still."

Easier said than done. Your spine tingled as he finished peeling back the paper with your design. Why were his hands so soft? Wait.

Maybe a hip tattoo wasn't the best idea, not only for the pain level but also for your sanity. You weren't thinking straight when you decided on this for your first-ever tattoo. Depressive nights with glasses of alcohol will do that to you. But a hot tattoo artist, that's the dream, right? Platinum blonde hair, snake bite piercings, and a deadpan stare as he inspected the example pattern he had copied onto your skin. However, you had conveniently forgotten how awkward you were when it came to talking to attractive people, so the fact that he was touching you (on your hip)? You wanted to die. His face was so close to your leg, and you could feel his breath on your skin. Trying to distract yourself, you examined his name tag. "Nai" was printed in neat handwriting, but you were reading it as if you hadn't stalked his social media before the appointment. 

After he was satisfied with the placement of the design, he walked over to a rolling cabinet, took out a fine liner and a bottle of black ink, and then came to sit back down on the stool next to you. "Are you uncomfortable? Do you require anything before we get started?"

You shook your head no, and he gave you an affirmative nod before he motioned you to get into position again. You laid back and gripped the sides of the chair, shuddering as you heard the electric buzz of the tattoo gun. God, this was going to hurt, wasn't it? You winced as the needle made contact with your skin, but it wasn't as bad as you thought it would be. There was silence for the first few minutes of the process because you were too anxious to even speak. You were worried that you would either say something dumb or mess up the tattoo by suddenly fidgeting; both scenarios caused by this idiotic mini-crush you had on this man. 

"This tattoo design..." You tried your best not to jump as Nai suddenly spoke. "I trust you know the common reason why people get it, right?" Your chest closed in on itself, and you felt your body go frigid. Out of all the conversation starters he could've picked, he chose this one? 

A weighty sigh left your mouth, and you tried your best to continue without creating more awkward tension. "If you're talking about what I think you are, then yes, that's why I got it," His hand started to grip the side of your hip to stretch the skin slightly, making your head fuzzy. "It's not something I like to discuss, but that could be said for anyone. More than anything, I want to try and move past it. I thought that if I got something permanent that reminded me of my healing process, then every time I looked at it, I would find the strength to keep going." 

The tattoo gun buzzing suddenly stopped, and you glanced down to see Nai looking at you with a somewhat sympathetic expression. It was hard to tell with his cold eyes. A few moments passed before he continued working, his gaze leaving yours. "I see. I'm sorry to hear that happened to you, but I admire your resilience. Not many people dare to confront their trauma the way you are."

You smiled sadly as you looked back up at the ceiling. "I suppose so. But I wish it never happened at all." Your mind flashed back to that night, and you felt a chill settle in your chest. Sometimes, you thought it was bound to happen one way or another, even though you knew that you did nothing to warrant what that person put you through. Maybe it was a way for you to cope; if you tried to apply reason to the assault, it would be easier to heal. Wouldn't it? But if that was the case, how come you still wanted to cry every time you thought about it? There was a wetness on your cheek, and you realized that you were tearing up. Great.

"Do you find you've lost hope in people after it? One could imagine that that kind of experience would leave a rather poor taste in the mouth." 

"Sometimes. But one variable doesn't represent the entirety. I think that there are still good people out there. I was just unfortunate enough to have met the wrong one."

The rest of the session went on in relative silence, only exchanging words when you had to take breaks in between. After a few more hours, he stopped again and tapped the flesh of your hip with his finger. "All done. Have a look."

You sat up, stretching as you took the mirror he gave you to examine your tattoo. A huge smile came on your face as you saw the detailed Medusa design on the side of your body, and you looked back at him with glee. "It's perfect, exactly like how I imagined."

Nai chuckled quietly as he leaned down to your hip again, seemingly examining his work. "It's simply the linework. We'll finish the coloring in another session to give you a rest." His hand ran across your skin, and you shivered at the touch. 

Okay, now he's just teasing me. 

He sat back up and took his gloves off with a loud snap, looking at you with an unreadable expression. You turned away, trying to avoid his eyes as you collected your stuff and pulled out your wallet. "Here's the first payment, can I DM you on your account to set up the next appointment?" 

"Instead of that, I'll give you this," He gave you a slip of paper, and you glanced over it to see a phone number printed. You looked up, absolutely baffled, and he smirked. "My phone number. You can reach me there. You interest me, and I'd like to get to know you more... if that's fine with you." 

[thousand-winters]

Shin: Why are we lying on the ground?

Ezra: You passed out so I laid down next to you so people would think we were just chilling.

Shin: *Stares at him*

Ezra: ...

Shin: ...

Ezra: Uh... sorry... about that?

Shin: Thank you.

Ezra: Holy shit, I thought you were gonna kill me, don't do that ever again.

[nicoforlifetrue]

chapter two

read part one over here

read it on ao3 here

and read it on tumblr below

The second Red had seen the heat haze, his heart dropped into his stomach, and that feeling only grew with each passing second, made even worse when he found a certain poster and showed the group.

She fights so you can sleep safe! The poster bragged, with Cho’s picture front and center, looking only mildly annoyed to be there instead of the normal rage that seemed to soak the hollow’s every action— Purple’s question hangs in the air between the five of them, because that's the million dollar question isn't it? Last they’d seen Cho, she had told them she was going to do some soul searching, vanish into the wilderness for a while, and Sec had been receiving letters but…

“We need to get home,” Yellow’s voice came out hushed and strained; Second needed to know about this, as soon as possible.

“Alright, come on, if we hurry we won’t have even been gone for a minute.” Purple’s clearly trying to be soothing, voice calm and collected, and Green nods at the words, collecting themselves and guiding the others to follow the stick.

Red shoves the poster into his short pocket and follows, twisting his bandana anxiously, heart feeling like it was beating out of his chest. Everything in him still screamed something was wrong , bone-deep and chilling— he waves off Yellow’s attempt to offer him a hand, chewing his lip and watching people pass by as the group all but runs to Purple’s house.

He’s not the smart one, he would never want to be, Sec and Yellow have it covered and they cover it well, but… he can't stop noticing things. The air itself feels wrong, and every once in a while he spots another poster with Cho on it.

Then he sees something that makes him stop.

Sec was glancing around across the street, then ducked into an alleyway, and it had to have been Sec— same low short pony, same hollow head, same bright almost radioactive green eyes, the same bone deep thrum-like feeling when Red laid eyes on him— the only thing weird was the fact that he was missing their crew jacket, all the patches and pins and the big design on the back that green had stitched was gone, replaced by a boring orange hoodie.

He’s darting across the street before anything else clicks. He can hear the others protest ever so briefly before they too must feel the thrum that Sec carries with him, and soon enough they're making their way over as well. Quick as rabbits, they charge into the alley Red saw Sec vanish into. It splits soon enough, but all it takes is a moment of focus before he can feel the thrum again, darting to the left— did Sec get caught in the bubble too? He had been asleep so he probably just couldn't grab his jacket, they had to tell him what happened to them too, then they could get to Purple’s place and get home before Sec’s dad woke up.

“Sec, wait up!” Green calls out as the faintest sliver of orange fabric rounds the corner. Thankfully, Sec is still standing there when they round it as well, head cocked, hands in pockets, and confusion all over his face. “Oh thank fuck that worked.”

“Uh, yeah, hi?” Ever the way with words their leader had, honestly.

“Dude did you get bubbled too?” Red asks. Purple lands above them on a fire escape, wings stretching as the elytra supporting them creaks; they’d run rather fast, that had to hurt…

“…yeah, and you guys?” There’s hesitation in his voice, and Red knows everyone else clocked it— Sec always paused for a weirdly long time before lying, or if he had to really think about something,, he was probably still half asleep actually.

“Not our fault! We were just sparing and then this weird heat bubble just showed up, and next thing we know I’ve gotta punch us to freedom and we’re in the city!” Red explains, watching Sec’s head cock even further in curiosity, nose scrunching just slightly as he thought.

“That’s… really weird, the same thing happened to me.” Sec is glancing over them now, probably scanning for injuries, eyes squinted in thought.

“And that’s not even the weirdest part! Look at this!” He pulls the poster out of his pocket, shoving it in Sec’s face; he takes it, looking at the poster.

That is the moment when this too starts feeling wrong , because Sec looks over the poster and doesn't immediately gasp, or go pale, or even widen his eyes a little— instead he regards it with curiosity, eyes scanning over it once, twice, three times before he glances at Red and then again looks at the poster— not like he’s looking for an answer, but more like he’s searching for what he’s supposed to be seeing.

“Yeah, this is… very weird,” Sec says, and something like uncanny valley sends a shiver down Red’s spine when Sec looks up again. He knows everyone else feels it too, when he hears Blue pull out a potion, and Purple’s wings flex as if to dive— because Second’s eyes had always been the most neon of green, but he can see an ever faint glow on the bridge of Second’s nose now, lighting where eyebags should rest in a sickly radioactive color.

Yellow steps forward and Sec flinches, sealing the deal for the group.

“You’re not Second, are you?” Yellow asks, bite in his tone, Red can see him reaching for the staff.

“No— well yes, but— I mean, that's, my name?” Not-Second stutters, waving his hands in mock surrender. Now that Red’s looking closer, scrutinizing this apparent doppelgänger, he notices more— where was that scar on his lip from Rubeen, and hell, where were his ear piercings? The little pencil he kept in his industrial, or the little cursor chain on his other ear? He never took those out, not even to sleep— notices dozens of small, tiny details that are fundamental to Second. “But I, I have no idea who you guys are? But you seemed to know me, so I figured I had just,, I don't know, forgotten or something? And I haven't had a normal conversation with someone in ages, so I figured I’d just, ‘yes and’? That’s how you’re meant to talk to people yeah?”

Red puts a hand to Yellow’s chest, sending him a silent request in a glance, and then smiles.

“Yeah that makes sense, sorry for the mix up man, you wouldn’t happen to be willing to help us out though would ya?” He gets a glare from Yellow, but he can feel Green relax from his position to pounce, and hears Blue put the potion away— even Purple relaxes a tiny bit, wings settling and folding back up.

“Oh uh, yeah! No problem at all! What do you need!” Not-Sec is grinning now, and Red watches his shoulders bounce back up from his sort-of half-cower, rubbing his jacket sleeves as if cold. “I love being helpful, my favorite thing even!”

“Well, like we said we kind of got teleport-kidnapped? We think we know where we are, but everything’s shifted to the left, y’know?” He leans down, picking the poster up again and gesturing with it. “Like, we swear we know this guy, but the person we know would never work with rocket.”

Not-Second tilts his head, humming, before sticking his hands in his pockets.

“Well that’s The Chosen One, she’s been working with rocket for as long as I can remember, pretty sure she was there from the start even, be weird if she wasn't…” Not-Second starts rocking on his heels, frown marring his face as yet again his eyes squint in thought. “…and I’ve never heard of anything like the bubble you guys were talking about, and I’ve heard of a lot of things most people haven’t…”

“Your name’s Second?” Green piped up before Red could prompt to keep that train of thought going. “Like that's your full name, or?”

“The Second Coming Becker! But I just go by Sec ‘cause my full name’s a mouthful, my dad calls me Orange though.” Other-Second shrugs with a grin, seeming oddly delighted by the situation. “And I’m, kinda distinct y’know? Never met anyone else I could be mistaken for, much less with my name.”

“This can’t be possible…” Yellow mutters behind him, Red taking a deep breath to try and patiently wait out their curiosity, he had questions guys! He hears Blue pat his back before Yellow steps forward. “So what you’re telling me, is that you just so happen to look exactly like Second, sound like him, even have the same name, pretended to be him, and have no bad intentions, all while telling us Cho works for rocket and always has ?”

“I guess?” Sec once more tilts his head at Yellow’s cold and demanding tone, stilling his rocking and glancing over their shoulders before returning his gaze to them. “I’m not really sure what else could be happening here, unless you've got other ideas? And like I said, I just kinda panicked and went along with it! For all I know you guys were trying to kidnap me while I was alone! Or were some hallucinating druggies and were gonna stab me, or— I don't know! You try having someone you don’t know demand for you to stop.”

“Hey no, that makes sense,” Red interrupts, jabbing Yellow in the side with a glare that gets him to shut up. “We’re just kind of lost y’know? Two people we know suddenly have dopplegangers, names included, feels sort of like a trick right?”

“Yeah…” Sec’s head cocks the other way now, eyes wide as they look each of them up and down quickly. “Hey, if you don't mind me asking something crazy, are your Sec and Cho brothers too?”

At the myriad of nods he gets, Sec looks up at the sky, rocking on his heels again.

“That’s so weird, and after that weird dream I had… maybe if I ask nice enough… I’ll have to bribe them to stay shut about it…. Yeah that’ll work.” He looks back at them from the sky, a grin on his face. “I think we’re dealing with some multiverse stuff, lucky for y’all my brother’s been looking into just that, so I might have a solution if you give me, like, a day or two?”

“And why would you do that?” Purple speaks this time, resting their chin on their hand as they lean on the fire escape balcony. “You apparently don’t know us after all.”

“Like I said I like helping! And this sounds like a fun adventure y'know? Look, if you don't want my help just go on your merry way, but if you do there's this old cafe that got shut down last year after the owner died in the fridge or something, it’s on the back end of twenty eight, right past shell’s— no ones been in there but me since it’s been boarded up, you can hang out there and I’ll meet you there tonight to talk, okay?” He’s bouncing in place now like an excited kid, eyes bright and hopeful and internally Red locks the time and place in his mind, knowing he’s going to be there. “But I do have to go now, alright? My babysitter’s looking for me and if I don’t get back soon my brother is going to have my head on a platter.”

“Fine,” Yellow huffs, stepping aside, and the five of them watch Second run off, waving to them as he does so before turning the corner and vanishing “I don’t trust anything about this and we should keep heading to Purple’s.”

“All in favor of seeing where this rabbithole leads us?” Red asks instead, raising his hand and grinning when everyone but Yellow also raises their hand. “ Outvoted , let’s go find that cafe!”

[waviermylove]

Wednesday: Xavier. Why are we lying on the ground?

Xavier: You had a vision and passed out, so I laid down next to you so people would think we were just chilling.

[lookwhatyoudidithasanxiety]

Christmas Morning

//Just a quick oneshot of everyone giving their Secret Santa's their gifts! I know it's kind of rushed, but I hope it's still decent ^^' I'm so, so sorry for how long it took me to get this written and posted! Life has been a beast, but I'm glad I managed to get something done. I'll open the askbox now, but I'm going to be putting certain characters back on hold again. But don't despair! Maybe some of them will come back... I'll also try to get a synopsis written some time in the next couple days and posted so everyone is on the same page again//

"Alright, everyone! It's time for Secret Santa!" Sun smiled despite the exhausted look in his eyes. He'd been up cleaning and arranging the daycare all night so they'd have a real tree to put their gifts under. Sure, they were going to take them right back out and unwrap them, but this had to be perfect! And what sort of Christmas would it be without presents underneath a tree?

Lunar was, once again, practically vibrating in his seat. "Presents! Presents! Presents!" Scratch that, he was bouncing in his chair and shaking his hands with excitement.

Solar smiled tiredly beside him and put a hand on his shoulder. "Yeah, it's present time. Just take it easy for a minute." He chucked.

"Good luck with that." Moon playfully pulled Lunar's hat down to cover his eyes. "Someone's been waiting for this all month."

"Hey!" Lunar giggled.

"Can we just get this over with? I wanna go home." Eclipse frowned from where he was sitting beside Kill Code.

"We will take our time. This is, after all, a family gathering."

"Family gathering my abs." He grumbled and huffed, "Just a stupid thing I had to come to..."

"Presents! Presents! Presents!" Bloody was shaking his hands alongside Lunar. Harvest laughed and wrapped his arms around him, "Brother, we have to be patient." "But presents!"

"Yes, it's time!" Sun laughed and grabbed a present from underneath the tree. "Now, due to certain people's...requests, we've decided to leave the 'from' anonymous in case someone doesn't want others to know who got them something."

Everyone tried not to look over at Eclipse, but he growled and shrunk back against the couch.

"First up is....Solar!" Sun picked up a gift bag and passed a gift bag over to him.

"Wow...You know, I keep telling you guys, you didn't have to do anything for me-"

"Nope! But we did! Now go on, open it!" Sun's smile was wide as he sat nearby, pulling out a camera to start recording.

Solar carefully opened the bag and pulled out some tissue paper, his eyes widening. "Oh, a blanket"

Sun can't help himself and laughs, "Yep, and there are gloves at the bottom of the bag! I tried to stitch one of those protective symbols onto the backs of the gloves and in the corners of the blanket, but it didn't really come out the best..."

"They're perfect. I love 'em." Solar smiled and laid the blanket over his lap. "Thank you."

"Me! Me next!" Solar chuckled and grabbed a present to pass to Lunar.

"Whoah, it's heavy!" He shredded through the paper as though it was nothing, then gasped, "Is this the entire Land Before Time collection?!"

"Hm, looks like it...How'd anyone even find all of them on DVD? Weird...."

"Moon! Here's yours!"

Moon pulled the paper away on his present. "Huh. It's a...lavender bath set?"

"You need to chill." Solar chuckled and leaned back on the couch. "No offense dude, but I think some lavender would do you some good. And I included a necklace in there. I know you don't really do jewelry, but hematite is supposed to be good for grounding."

"Huh, thanks. I'll give it a shot." He pulled the necklace over his head and grabbed another present. "KC?"

"T͢h͜ank ͠y͟où." A few careful snips of his claws and the paper fell away to reveal- "F͏ơa͝m p̴iec̸es͜?͟ And́...glovęs͞?͜"

"Father, there is a note."

'For your claws. And when you have to hold someone when they're small weak. Don't ask who this is from. It doesn't matter.'

"A͡h, ̴t͞h͘is i̶s ̧ver͠y kind͏.̀ ͜T̕ha̵nk ͘y͜ou.̵" Kill Code stuck his claws into the crude cardboard box and stuck the foam pieces on the tips of his claws. "Onl̛y o̷ne w͞a̡y̡ ̸t͘o̧ t̀es̨t͞ t̵h҉i̢s.͘ Come."

Bloody laughed and jumped into his arms. "Mine! My turn!"

Kill Code handed him his gift with a soft chuckle.

Bloody's eyes widened as he pulled out a pocket knife. "Ohhh shiny!"

"Wh- Who gave him a knife???" Sun squeaked and looked around the room.

"What? I thought he'd like it! And it even has a pretty red handle." Lunar pouted on the couch.

Sun cleared his throat. "Oh, L-Lunar, it isn't that. It's a great gift! I just-"

"Love it! Shiny and red!" He giggled and held the knife up to Kill Code's face. "Look! Look! Shiny and clean, red and gleams!"

"Y͏es̶, it ͞cér͟ta̡i̡nly͢ d̛oes͟. ͏But͏ ̵we͜ ̛m̢u̴şt̡ ͟s͢a͡ve̷ it ̴fo̸r s̨pecial ҉occa̵s͠ío͏ns͠.̢ ͘W̢hy ̸d̕o͏n̷'͠t͜ ͞you ͘p҉u͝t͏ it ̵s̕ómewhe̵r̴e͘ ͏saf́e̛ ̕u͜n̸til ͡we̡ ca̴n ͞u͠s͠e̴ ͡it ̶l̵ate͠r̸? I ͢wìl͞l s͞hów̛ ̕yoú how ̛to ́p͏rópe͡rl͡y̢ ͏us͝e͝ i͟t ánd͢ tąke̢ ca̡re ̡of̡ it."

Moon gave him a thankful glance before he handed Harvest his present.

"Thank you, Big Small One." "Why do you still call me that?" "Habit. And it's fun." He snickered.

His head tilted in confusion when he opened his gift. "A watch?"

"It̨ ͜n̕o͜t ̀o̸n͡l̴y̴ ͡tel͡l͢s̵ t̛ime. ̶Ít̕ ̶ąls҉o read̀s ̴yo͞ur̵ he͢árt͘ rate, ͜bl͠o̶ód͢ pre̵ssure̷, ͜bl̢ood sug̴ar͡, ̴a̶n̢d̵ ̀all ́sor̀ts̸ o̡f͜ ͘v̕ital͝ signs.͟ ̢I̸t҉ a̴ls͏o ̸t͡r̕ac͜k҉s҉ w͞hen t̸h́e̴ l͜ast t̢i̶me yoư ate ̷w͞as ͢s̶o̸ ̵t҉h͢a͏t y̶où ́don'͜t ͜f̷org̨et̨.̧"̡ ҉

He lightly taps Harvest's forehead with one of his protected claws. "͜I̷t i͏sn̷'̶t ͢m҉e͞a͜nt to͠ ҉m̕a͡ke ͞yo͞u ͝fe̢el ́g̨uilt̴y,͝ ͜son̕.͏ ̢It's me̛a̕n̨t tó ͏help̀ ͜yòu b̨ęcome ̨the͏ b̶e̵st̀ ́v̷e҉rsiòn ͢of̀ ͘y͝o͟ur͏s̸e͝ļf͝ t́h͠at͝ yo͝u ͜c̸an̶ ͝be."

Harvest nodded and put the watch on, staring down at it and not looking up at the other. "Thank you..." He whispered.

Kill Code nodded and pulled him under his arm. "Y̸o̶u̸ ͘are m͠ór̡e͘ ͟than w̸el͜cóme̸." Harvest nodded and turned to rest his face against his chest.

"I think it's my turn!" Sun pulled out a present and tried to take his time, but everyone could see his eagerness as he neatly tore through the wrapping.

"Oh! It's beautiful!" He held up an embroidery hoop with a floral design stitched in. "Are these daffodils and sunflowers? Those are my favorites!"

"I- I wasn't sure what to make you. So I thought that I would try to make something that you could hang."

"You embroidered this yourself? It's beautiful! You'll have to teach me! And I'd love to teach you how to knit."

"That would be great." Harvest smiled and wiped a tear from his eye.

All eyes turned to Eclipse, who glared and shrunk back. "What?!"

Kill Code held out a small, flat present to him. "I̡t͢ i̧s ͟yo͠u̧r tųr̀n,̧ ̷śo̶n."

Eclipse froze momentarily. "What? You all actually felt pity for me? I don't need that."

"Just shut up and open the present. Someone put a lot of time and effort into it." Moon rolled his eyes.

Eclipse grumbled and tore open the present, a clumsily-folded paper fluttered out and landed on his lap. When he unfolded it and held it up, he froze.

"It's...a picture?"

"Bad Sun Man is still family, even when he's bad." Bloody rolled off of Kill Code's lap and padded over to Eclipse on all fours. "Does....does he like it?" He timidly rested his head on Eclipse's knee.

Eclipse didn't say anything for a long moment, just staring at the crude drawing. "...It isn't bad."

Bloody's tail swung behind him and he giggled as he nuzzled his face against his knee. "Likes it!"

"Gah, get off me! I don't need you drooling on me, mutt!"

Bloody stopped and went back to resting his chin on his knee, still smiling. "Likes it. Family."

Eclispe was silent. "...Whatever." He poked Bloody's forehead. "Just...don't get any ideas. I'm not soft! I still hate you all!"

"Mhm...." Moon shook his head.

"So! How was that?" Sun cleared his throat as he tried to bring everyone's attention away from the awkward situation.

"That was fun! Can we watch a movie now?"

"Anyone against that?"

"Elf!" "Home Alone!" "What about Christmas Story?" "What about all of them?" "We can't watch all of them!" "Sure we can, just gotta pace ourselves." "I'll get the snacks!" "Lunar, not all-" "Snacks! Skittles!"

Eclipse watched as everyone around him seemed to all meld together and get along, as though they'd known each other all their lives.

What was he doing here? Why did he show up, just to sit here awkwardly while everyone wen about their happy lives?

"Ec͘l͟ipse͟?"

He glared up at Kill Code. "What?"

"Wou̕l͟d̀ ҉y͜ou̶ li̴ke an͟y̴ ̛ḩot ch̕oco̷l҉a̵t̸é with your͠ ̵popc̵or͢n?͡ ̷Óŗ w͢oưl͜d̨ y͝ou rather͜ ̀h̢av͞ȩ ҉e͡gg̢no̕g͢? M̧o̸o͘n ̷w̢ants̵ ̨t͞o ͏ma̛k̀e s̀ure͞ ͡e͠v͢e͏ry͡o̷ǹe ͘get͘s̕ ̢s͜o̵me̕thinģ."

"...Why are you doing this?"

"D͜oing̶ w҉h̨a̕t̀?̷"

"All of this. I...I came here, almost uninvited, and everyone hates me so much. And then you're sitting here acting like I didn't do anything, and that mutt is trying to give me a drawing, if you could even call it that! I just don't understand! Hate me!"

The taller animatronic smiled and shook his head. "Ǹo̶.̷ I̵ ́w͡il̴l ̛n͜ot. And̢ ҉I͜ d̕o ͏nơt͘. ̶A҉nd I͜ ̧k͟n͜oẁ ͏t͏ha͡t̢ ̸yo̧u do ́not́ re̸a̶lly̶ f̀ee͡l th͝at͏ w̧a̛y àb͞o҉u̕t͝ t̶h͡e p͠ict̨u̡r͡e, a̕n̸d th͝at͞ ̡is̕ alr̕įght̴.͠ Ýo̸u̢ ̀are̶ a̡llowe̡d t̛o͏ ͞h͘ave ̡co͏nfli͡c̷t̢ing͞ ͘em̢oti͏ơns̨ a͜n̵d t̷o͟ ̶feel̶ a͢l͡o̧n͜ȩ. B̕ut ҉yo͡u͟ ͏a͠r̕e ͏n͝ot͝ ͞alo̶n̢e. A̷n͜d ̀I̸ ҉do ̡n͞o͟t ̵h͢at͞e̢ you.͠ ̴The ̧ơthérs̕ ̛wo̶ul̷d not ̢h͘a͢ve a̵llowęd͜ yo͘u͏ ̨t͢o̢ c͠o̸me̕ if ̨they b͡e̵li̷e̛v͢ed͜ ̨t̡h̨ąt҉ y̷ou̷ ҉were͞...҉e͝ntir͝èl͞y̛ ̵h̴a̢te̸d͜."

"Hah. 'Entirely', huh? So they still do?"

Kill Code sighed and shook his head. "Ec̶l͢i̸ps̵e. ͜Ál̸l̷ow͜ ̸us ͘to sho̧w͏ ̀you͝ ͝s̨o͜m͘e ̴m͡o̶di̢c̷ùm̵ of͝ ͡ca͏re.͟ ̛I k͢n҉ơw ̴y̡our ̶p͡ai͏n͜,̨ a̶nd ̴I̡ ͘se͏e yòuŕ h̀u̕ŕt.̛ ́Foŗ o҉n͡ę d̨a҉y, on͡e ̡m͜oment, ͜al͝low ̡me ̕tǫ h́old ̵ýo҉u an͢d ̵so͟o̷th҉e ̨som̛e of̵ ̧th͝e͘ ̛p͏àìn ҉t̀hat you͏ ̢f͢éęl͡.̕ Y̶o̕u ͡ar̶e n̵o͝t alon̶é, ͞n͡o͟ ̕ḿa͜tter ̴how ̸muc͡h̛ y͞o̵u҉ tr̕y ̢t̨o̸ sep̵arate̸ ͝yo̧urse̡l̸f ̢f̛ŗo̴m̕ yo̡ur͞ ҉pást͞."

He didn't say anything. He just glared down at the drawing that he held in shaking hands, his vision blurring just slightly as wetness gathered at the corners of his eyes.

"....Eggnog."

"H̕m?"

"I want eggnog, ok? God."

".̵..̵Tḩank̡ ̡y͡ou,̢ ̸E͘cĺip̧se."

"Whatever. Let's get this over with so you'll leave me alone."

Kill Code just smiled and picked him up again, holding him in one arm as he settled back into the chair he'd been in before. "Mo͟o͏n͜. He ̢wan̵ts̀ eg̕g͘n̷o̷g.͠"

"Thanks!"

Eclipse watched as everyone around him just seemed to all know how to be with each other. They all spoke so easily. For once, he didn't know what to say or do.

But being held like this, he couldn't help but feel himself relax some. He had no idea what to do, he had no idea what he was to them all.

But for one moment. For one day. He was one of them.

And he loved hated that.