#(heavy sigh) i guess i’ll tag their localized names..

[chopscr3wey]

i kinda hate this bUT I SPENT 2 HOURS ON IT SO YALL ARE SEEING THIS WHETHER YOU LIKE IT OR NOT

[sukirichi]

— there’s always a price to pay when you get your hands on a work of art.

PAIRING: tattoo! artist megumi x reader

REQUEST. tattoo artist au + mutual pining + size kink, praise kink, thigh riding + reader is shorter than megumi and isn’t shy 

WARNINGS: feral megumi, scratching, vaginal sex, size kink, praise kink, mature content, slight overstimulation, sexual tension lol, unedited story

NOTES: ah thank you so much for this request, I hope you enjoy this as much as I enjoyed writing it! Here is my third contribution for FERAL MEGUMI FRIDAYS! and oh wow tattoo artist megumi uh no thoughts head empty

WC: 5.4k+

The tattoo saloon loomed over you, the neon signs almost blinding in the darkness. You could feel your heart pick up its pace in your chest as you hitched your bag up higher, the excitement settling in your toes. Mustering up the brightest smile you could have, you cleared your throat and pushed the door open, the tiny bell on top jingling to signal your arrival.

Your eyes roamed around the walls covered with intricate drawings, the leather seats dark and kept in pristine. Now that was rare – your leather couches always wore out in just a few weeks.

Making your way inside, grip on your sling bag still tight, you bit your lip as you peaked behind the counter. Empty. No one was there, and the nearby opened rooms were empty as well. Scratching your head, you scrunched your nose in confusion. You were sure you got the right place.

With a heavy sigh, you turned to leave, then stopped in your tracks when a dark-haired man exited a door you hadn’t even noticed at first.

He was tall – taller than you; his arms stretched until the sleeves of his black hoodie were pulled down, revealing a sliver of black tattoos that marked his skin. Upon hearing your awed gasp, his cold blue eyes fluttered to yours, the man – who was absolutely handsome despite his frown – froze in his spot.

You waved a hand to him, your smile bigger than ever. “Hi!” So you would be working with this cute guy? Maybe job-hunting wasn’t such a bad experience, after all.

“Hey,” he drawled out hesitantly, approaching you with his ink stained fingers pointed at you. He was still frowning, which was a damn shame, since you were sure he’d look even hotter if he smiled. “So...you’re Y/N.”

“Yeah!”

“And you...” he tilted his head to the side, inquisitive eyes studying your form. You would’ve felt conscious with the way his brows furrowed, eyes unreadable and lips pressed into a thin line, but you were sure you dressed to impress on your first interview. You admitted, however, that maybe wearing a white collared shirt with a pink tennis skirt made you stand out like a sore thumb in the heaviness of the studio. “...want to be a front desk man here?”

“Yeah!”

“What makes you think you’re qualified for this?” he crossed his arms on his chest, and you didn’t miss the slight bite of his voice. So he was handsome – but cranky. Great. “You don’t look like you fit in here.”

“Judging someone’s appearance and inferring that it has any relation to their credentials isn’t such a professional thing to do, you know,” you raised your chin proudly, jutting a pointer finger to his chest. He clearly didn’t expect this because he scowled and took a step back, while you fought the grin that threatened to paint your face. “Would you like it if people told you that you’re not qualified to be a lawyer because of your tattoos and piercings?”

He scoffed, “I don’t want to be a lawyer. As you can see, I’m a tattoo artist. And to answer your question, no, I don’t give a fuck what people think about me.”

“I can tell,” you muttered to yourself before smiling back up at him. He was too easy to read; his brow quivering and lips firm at your faux enthusiasm. “But yes, I do believe I’m qualified! I’m a fast learner and I’m even quick on my feet! I’m really good at talking to people too so I believe I can help schedule client appointments really well and guide them with this whole process.”

“Being front desk man doesn’t mean serving the clients tea and biscuits.”

“I know.”

“You know?” he snorted with a roll of his eyes. He then gestured you to follow him all the way back to the front desk. You expected he’d teach you about how to handle the appointment books or pick up phone calls, but instead he plopped down on the leather couch of the waiting area, his legs crossed on top of the other.

Your eyes followed the patch of pale skin exposed from his ripped jeans before you looked away, not wanting him to see that you found him attractive despite his less than welcoming personality.

“What exactly do you know about this industry?”

“Nothing, to be honest, but I’m not here to be a tattoo artist or anything. I just really need a job and I assure you I’ve got plenty of experience and knowledge when it comes to manning front desks or counters,” you stated confidently, “I know I look out of place, but I really need this job.”

The man only narrowed his eyes at you. Contemplation was written all over his face, probably wondering why you couldn’t just work somewhere else. “Why come here, of all places?”

“Because it’s the only one that has a flexible schedule,” you sighed, “I can’t work shifts anymore because I’m too busy at university. From when I talked to your boss – Geto, was it? – he said that the salon was open 24/7 and I could work until before my classes start. He’s not really strict about that kind of thing.”

“So you mean to tell me,” he leaned forwards, looping his fingers with one another while his ice cold gaze slithered over your desperate ones. “You’ll be at university for half the day, sleep until midnight, and then come here to work and attend class a few hours later? Isn’t your schedule a little irregular?”

“Oh no, it’s not like that! I also have mock classes after uni and it lasts until late at night, then I help clean at the local shelter. They’re running out of volunteers and the dogs are really adorable and take my stress away so...I make sure to come by when I have time.”

“You are one odd creature,” he noted loudly, almost as if he wasn’t completely aware he vocalized his thoughts. Well, at least now you knew he wasn’t the type to think his words over, which either made him more entertaining – or insufferable the longer you worked with him – if you began working anyway. “You could’ve used your spare time to rest. Do you even eat?”

“Yeah, I have a granola bar right now with me! I actually brought two,” you pulled out the snack from your bag, “You want some? I only got the oats, though.”

“Keep it to yourself,” he rolled his eyes, slapping his hands over his knees before rummaging over something behind the counter. “Fine. If Geto said he’s okay with you, then you’re hired.”

“Really, that easy?” your eyes widened, but then you chuckled when this strange man glared at you in response. He sighed as he pulled out a piece of paper, a pen on top of it. The papers read something about application forms and credentials, and you beamed, happily writing your information away with a slight bounce in your toes.

Unable to keep your happiness to yourself, you looked back at the bored man, wiggling your eyebrows playfully. “Huh. I was kind of expecting you would grill me – you’ve got that scary look in your eye. Let me guess, you often scare clients off?”

It seemed he could never get tired of glaring at you, because his eyes fuelled with heat as he leaned against the wall.

You hated to admit that he looked ridiculously handsome like that – the guy wasn’t even doing anything remotely attractive in the first place!

“I’m the most booked artist here, and I ask that you don’t get too comfortable with me. You haven’t even started working here and you’re already riling up on my train,” he groaned when you merely laughed in response. He made quick work of signing something in your form before handing you a key. “Here’s for your locker. Come to work tomorrow. Geto won’t be around for a week so I’ll be the one judging your performance. If you fuck up in the slightest – I won’t hesitate to fire you, you understand? We always have Yuuji coming around anyway, you’re really not that needed for the front desk.”

“Oh,” you nodded at his harshness, unsure whether to feel threatened or amused. “O-okay. I’ll do my best then. I look forward to you – ah, wait, what’s your name?”

“Fushiguro Megumi.”

“Oh, that’s a pretty name,” you muttered to yourself, uttering his name over and over again until it rolled smoothly on your tongue. “Shame you have a shitty attitude along with that handsome face, though.”

“You trying to say something?”

You faced him, about to laugh when he scowled at your not-so-subtle comments. Waving your hands to him, you made your way out the door, your smile only irritating him further. “No, I wasn’t. I’ll be taking my leave then – see you tomorrow!”

Seems like working in a tattoo studio wouldn’t be so bad.

You came to work the next day early and pumped with adrenaline. The idea of meeting the moody tattoo artist caused you to be giggly and happy the whole day, not even feeling the exhaustion of a long day of hard work as you made your way inside the shop.

Clocking in at exactly two in the morning, you proudly tugged your name badge on top of your left breast, patting it for good luck.

The bells jingled, making you look away from your tag. “Good morning – oh, where’s Megumi?” The man standing in front of you was taller than Megumi, his head nearly knocking over the doorframe if it wasn’t for his poor, slouched lanky frame.

He had white hair that brushed atop his cerulean blue eyes, and your eyes widened because wow, he was beautiful.

“Hey, you must be Y/N! Megumi told me you came around yesterday but he didn’t tell me the counter girl was this pretty,” He was in front of you the next second, his nose nearly grazing over yours that had you leaning back into the wall for space. “Hmm...he didn’t tell me that at all.”

“Oh, thank you. You are...?”

“I’m Gojo Satoru, one of the senior artists here. Since Megumi isn’t here yet, let me give you a tour!” Before you could react, Satoru already had an arm wrapped around your shoulder, his other arm waving and pointing to all the hung paintings and labels on each door. You found it odd that he treated you like you were an old friend, but you weren’t going to complain. Nice co-workers were always welcomed.

“Here is the holding area where clients wait to get their session done. This is Geto’s studio and right next to that is his office where he does all the finances and all that jazz, while this is my studio. Cool, isn’t it?”

Your mouth fell ajar as Satoru led you inside his studio, the walls painted the same aquatic shade of his eyes, but what caught your attention was the galaxy themed tattoo designs he made. They came in different shapes – a volcano head, a dragon, a worm, a four-armed monster – but inside them were all galaxies with sparkling and burning stars. You could see everything and nothing all at the same time.

“Whoa, you made all this?!”

Satoru’s chest puffed out proudly, “Yeah, I did. I’m flattered by your reaction, I really am, but you haven’t seen Megumi’s yet. There’s a reason our salon boomed even though he’s only been working here for two years.”

At the mention of his name, your interest was piqued, all ears and curious smiles directed to Satoru. “Oh, can I see Megumi’s studio?”

“You can – if you book an appointment.”

“But I don’t plan on getting any tattoos,” you frowned.

“You’ll never get to see his work then,” he chuckled to himself, the sound growing louder when you visibly deflated. What was the point of getting your hopes up like that then? “Megumi doesn’t like letting others in his studio without permission or an appointment.”

“Why not?”

“He’s just iffy about it,” he shrugged, “Don’t bother trying to decode his personality anymore, Megumi’s very hard to understand. Though if I were to make sense of it...” he rubbed his chin, eyes looking out into the distance. “I guess you could say Megumi’s not the type to be showy when it comes to his work of art. Did that clear it up?”

You blinked back blankly. “No, not really. But it’s fine – I don’t plan on getting to know him anyway.”

That was the biggest lie of your life.

The moment Megumi came around a few minutes later, a loud groan upon your animated greeting over his arrival, your chest bloomed with a different kind of fluttery warmth. He rarely came out after that, clients swarming in to both his and Satoru’s studios, but each faint glimpse of his door cracking open that allowed you to see him focused as he worked, you could no longer deny the heat burning down your legs.

You crushed on the grumpy tattoo artist.

And the more you came around work, greeting him zealously and teasing him to no end that he’d look hotter if he smiled, your crush only intensified for him – completely unaware that he too, couldn’t get his thoughts off of you even with his door closed.

In fact, he kept his door closed all the time because your voice distracted him too much.

“Hey, Y/N, you free?”

You looked up from the textbook you were reviewing, slamming it shut when Satoru’s head peeked out from his studio. He was still wearing gloves with a pen between his fingers, most likely still in the middle of a session.

“Yep! We don’t have appointments yet and I’ve already closed it for non-appointees. Did you need me to get you something?”

“Yeah, could you get Megumi for me? He isn’t picking his phone up and one of our special clients are coming soon. I’m packed right now so I can’t fetch him. I’ll send you the address and you get him, yeah? Just open the counter if you need money for a cab.”

You blinked owlishly at him. On one side, you’d be more than glad to see Megumi again. He hadn’t arrived despite it being four in the morning already, and you were worried, but you also didn’t have his number to ask how he was doing. Progress with Megumi was...slow, to say the least.

He still holed himself up in his studio, coming out only for bathroom breaks, although you noticed a drastic improvement when he finally began to mutter an almost shy “good morning” under his breath for the past few weeks.

It wasn’t much, but you’d have to make do.

“Uhm, when is this client of his coming? Should I run...?”

“Yeah, you need to fucking run. They’re coming in an hour and a half!” Satoru exclaimed, flailing his hands around like a madman.

Even after working with him for some time, you still couldn’t believe the older man was practically a man child, even asking for head pats sometimes. He would lean down with a pout, using a squeaky voice to call your attention, which always succeeded in Megumi fake gagging before he locked himself inside his studio.

“Forwarded you his address. Really sorry for the inconvenience, Y/N!”

“It’s okay!” you jumped out of your seat in an instant, not bothering to take your name tag off anymore as you left the salon, hailing the nearest cab.

Megumi lived quite far from the salon, which had you wondering why he chose to work there when there were plenty of salons in his area too. His place looked shady, as well, his apartment in a high-rise building with endless graffiti and several drunk stragglers hooting for you.

You ignored them all, taking two steps at a time from his staircase, your hands on your knees as you panted for air. Why did he have to live on the tenth floor?

“Megumi! Megumi!” you banged your fist on the door, throat parched from your sudden cardio session. You were sure you burned ten calories just from that sprint, and you sighed in relief when Megumi swung the door open, still looking handsome – and sleep-deprived – as ever in his black shirt and black skinny jeans.

“What?” he demanded. After seeing that it was you, he quickly snatched a water bottle and passed it your way, closing his door behind him. “Y/N? What are you doing here? How’d you know where I live?”

“Satoru said you had a really important client. You weren’t picking your phone up so he sent me to come get you.”

“It’s my day off,” he grumbled, answering your silent questions, your worries dissipating into thin air. Once you’d satisfied yourself by basically dunking the entire bottle, Megumi rolled his eyes, his hands flat on the small of your back while he guided you downstairs. The sudden touch flamed your cheeks; a stupid smile on your face. You were shameless, though, leaning back closer to him in the darkness of the early morning. “Why does he send a girl out of all people?”

“Something wrong with that?”

“It’s unsafe. My neighbourhood isn’t the best and who knows what would’ve happened to you if some goons came out?” Megumi hailed for a back, surprising you when he let you get in first and paid for the fee despite your outstretched hand prepared with the bills. “I can’t believe Sukuna chose this day to come of all times. I can never get a damn break.”

“Sukuna?”

“A special client. He’s a really huge tipper and comes on odd schedules – I didn’t think he’d come now.”

“Yeah, I checked the papers and he wasn’t there,” you frowned to yourself.

Megumi pressed his head against the window, eyes closed as his chest heaved up and down rhythmically. With the sun slowly shining from behind you, the golden stretches of it outlined his sharp features you adored, and you rested your chin on your palms, eyelashes fluttering at his beauty. “You know, Megumi, you’re really pissy sometimes – but you’re quite nice, aren’t you? I’d say you were even worried for me.”

He cracked one eye open, those blue eyes still shining with irritation, but make no mistake since his ears were flushed red. “I’m not. I just don’t want to be involved in a police investigation if they find your body near here.”

“How sweet of you.”

“Shut up.”

You and Megumi were beginning to get closer. You couldn’t pinpoint where he started to grow more comfortable with you, but it was definitely there and it was painfully evident that even someone stupid like Satoru noticed the sexual between you two.

He would always sniff the air whenever you and Megumi sat next to each other during lunch breaks, a wide grin on your face while Megumi buried his face in his hands, groaning because he knew the moment Satoru opened his mouth, nothing but dumb comments would come out. And dumb comments they were; the white-haired man merciless as he teased Megumi for acting like a cute little kid around you.

You never took it to heart, though. It was Megumi you were talking about; he was hot and cold; sweet then distant from one moment then an entire person the next.

Not that you minded, it only added to your fuelling crush on him, but you couldn’t control the way your heart fluttered every time Satoru whispered that he did like you, excusing that Megumi just wasn’t the best with words. Apparently, Megumi had spent too much time holed up in his apartment and studio that he had zero to little knowledge on how to talk to pretty girls – especially one that was clearly attracted to him as well.

Satoru encouraged you to go for it – that you should confess or break the ice first otherwise Megumi would never do anything about his raging boner every time you came around.

You only flushed at his statement, but you couldn’t deny that you too felt the same way.

One morning where Satoru and Geto were out restocking supplies, you and Megumi were left alone in the salon. Of course, he still resorted in the comfort of his studio, muttering under his breath that he wanted to try some designs before disappearing. Only this time, he left the door slightly open, the lights peeking through the slight crack.

Walking up to him with muted footsteps, you leaned over his shoulder, glancing over a sketch of...you? “Are you drawing me?”

Megumi yelped at your voice right next to his ear, throwing the paper away on the other side of the room before glaring at you. You laughed at his reaction, because how was it possible he was both so criminally sexy yet adorable? He looked terribly gorgeous today, as well, wearing a short sleeved black hoodie and black sweatpants, looking so comfortable and boyfriend like – and you couldn’t even begin to express your appreciation over his new lip piercing.

“Why do you always sneak up on me?” he snapped, “Didn’t I tell you I wanted privacy?”

“Then why aren’t you pushing me away?”

Megumi sighed exasperatedly, turning back to organize his pencils before glaring at you. “What do you want? Got no one else to bother since Satoru isn’t around?”

“I just wanted to see your art,” you mentioned, but kept your eyes directed on him instead of the plethora of sketches and designs hanging from his wall as to not offend him. “Satoru told me to never come inside. He said you’re really...private when it comes to your works,” you furrowed your brows at the last part, feeling your heart beat pulse at your tongue.

It was now or never.

“Can I see your tattoos too?”

“Why do you want to see them?”

“A work of art on a canvas who’s also a work of art himself?” you finally gained confidence to tease him again, getting riled up further when Megumi stiffened at your curious hands travelling under his shirt. His breath sharpened as his glare only deepened, though he didn’t make a move to stop you. “Why wouldn’t I want to see that?”

“Being flirty doesn’t work on you. It’s not cute.”

“You’re blushing though,” you remarked. Megumi groaned and pushed your face away until your buttocks landed on his recliner. Satisfied with Megumi not completely kicking you out, you swung your legs back and forth, still staring at his hoodie as if it was an offensive material.

“Can I...see?” Megumi rolled his eyes before he lifted his shirt up, revealing to you intricate patches of black ink splattered over ripples of muscles. Your mouth salivated, and somewhere down there, you drooled too. Tentatively, your hands reached out to finger the image of canines, Megumi shuddering over your cold touch on his warm skin. “It’s beautiful. What does it mean?”

Megumi pursed his lips before whispering, “These are the dogs I had as a child. My father got me them so I wouldn’t be too lonely when he’s away from work.”

“They’re very pretty. They look like black and white wolves,” you smiled, elated that he was opening up in more ways than one. Your touch flitted over to a winged creature under his left collarbone, small letters beside the image. “And this bird? Nue? He’s so majestic,” Your hands never stopped in trailing over his skin like a lost wanderer, sweeping over ink ink until Megumi completely discarded his hoodie to the side, his back faced to you.

A white viper tattoo stood large on his broad back, crawling until over his shoulder with the fangs ending just above his pecs. Megumi swallowed at each slivering touch, your fingers dipping and caressing every dent and curve of his body.

You couldn’t get your eyes off of him, your breath hitching in your throat as one of your hands gripped his biceps subconsciously. “You’re so beautiful.”

Megumi stiffened when your thumbs grazed over his nipple right next to the viper’s fang. Almost as if a switch was triggered inside him, Megumi growled, ducking to capture your lips with his in a sloppy, heated kiss. His hands tugged at the ends of your hair to arch your neck to him, his knees slapping your legs open before he settled comfortably between you, his low groans mixing with your breath moans.

“Don’t think I don’t know what you’re doing. From the moment I met you,” he nibbled your lips, hands trailing down to thumb at your hipbones. “I knew that innocent good girl look was nothing but an act.”

You smiled through the kiss, a tiny gasp falling from your lips when Megumi pulled you closer until your heat grinded against the hardness inside his pants. Laughing at his harsh movements, you let Megumi tilt your head back, his lips sucking and teeth gently nipping at the sensitive flesh of your neck.

“Innocent girl?” you echoed, legs now wrapped around his waist to pull him closer. “What makes you think I am?”

“White lace panties? Short tennis skirts and sunshine smiles?” Megumi clenched his teeth, his hands eager as he tugged the white lace down until it looped to your ankles. You gasped, back arching when he thrusted two fingers inside you, curling and fingering against your bumpy walls. “You’re not fooling anyone, baby, especially not me.”

“Took you long enough to understand I wanted you though,” you chuckled through broken moans, eyes shut tight while your legs opened wider, heels digging into the hard cushion of his seats. “I was wondering when I’d get to break you from that tough guy act of yours and have you fuck me good,” Megumi growled at your words. You leaned forward to scratch at his chest, your tongue licking the shell of your ear as you rasped, “And on a side note, I am a good girl – only to those who can make me feel good, of course.”

Megumi cupped his palm to collect your arousal dripping of his, finally shutting you up when his fingers grazed over your sweet spot that had you clenching around him. And those were just his fingers. “You’re something else, aren’t you?”

“Yeah, I know,” you nodded smugly, hands coming up to tug harshly at his hair. Megumi hissed at the sharp pain, prompting him to fuck his fingers in and out of you faster until you leaked down to his chair, thighs trembling and your high-pitched moans coating the walls of his stupid. “Megumi, ah! Just shut up and fuck me already – been wanting you long enough.”

“Needy little girl,” He pressed you down on the reclining seat, settling between your legs before he spread your lips open with two thumbs. At the sight of your bare cunt clenching around nothing, Megumi groaned, teeth biting his lip because he could cum right then and there. “Fuck, look at you. So wet already,” he ran a hand over your slit to collect your arousal, eyes dark with lust as your juices webbed between his fingers. “All this for me? You’re so good.”

“Fuck – yeah, yeah I am,” you leaned back harder into the seat, groping at your own breasts while you nodded dumbly, too fucked out to even form a coherent response. “Going to be good for you, Megumi, gonna make you feel good.”

“Sorry, babe, maybe next time. I’m too impatient to not feel your pussy around me,” he pushed away at your hands that planned to pump his cock, his hand coming down to push you hard against the seat until his weight loomed over you.

You felt Megumi begin to align his tip at your center, dampening his mushroom head with your arousal first that had you both moaning left and right.

Hands scratching down his back as your teeth dug into your lips, Megumi pushed into you with one thrust, the sudden stretch making your legs shake and your body writhe underneath him. “Shit, why are you so tight? So fucking warm and perfect,” he rasped next to your ear, and you could hear how hard he was breathing as he thrusted into you, his cock hitting all the right places.  “Could fuck this pretty pussy all day, baby, shit.”

“Me-Megumi – t-too big!”

“Shh, you’ll be fine. You’ll take it like a good girl, won’t you?” he cupped your cheek, grinning sinisterly as he watched the way your greedy walls sucked him in. “See how you take me so well? You’re so small and pretty wrapped around my cock. I could break you if I wanted you,” he growled, his hands gripping hard at your hips when you clenched around him, enticing the man above you to quicken his pace.

Megumi watched with a lust filled gaze as your breasts bounced at the relentless pace he started, his balls slapping at your ass. “Oh, you’d want that, wouldn’t you? You want to be stuffed with my fat cock in you? Fuck you until you’re a drooling mess? You’re so gorgeous when I fuck you stupid.”

“Yes, Megumi, agh. Keep going, keep going, I’m so close!”

“Oh, you feel like heaven around me,” he praised at your neck, his cock stretching you wide and pushing into you. Megumi groaned lowly at your ear as his palms flattened over your stomach that bulged every time he thrusted in, his balls tightening at the sight. “Look at how big I am for you, baby, but you’re doing so well. You were made for me – made to take my cock, shit, you’re so perfect around me. Gonna make you feel good, yeah? You’re such a good girl for me. Cum, baby, that’s right – I’m allowing you to cum.”

“Gumi, Gumi, fuckkk,” your legs tightened around him as Megumi panted with each harsh thrust, the black marks over his skin expanding and stretch when his forearm rested beside your head. His muscles clenched as he fucked into you deep, over and over again until he pushed you over the edge.

A silent sob left your lips when you came around him, your juices creaming around his cock. A few thrusts later, Megumi fell on top of you as you felt him spill his seed inside you.

He had too much that you felt both your cum dripping down your ass; Megumi pulling out with a slight wince from the oversensitivity. You struggled to catch your breath as you laid there, legs wide open and the cool air hitting your bare pussy. The door was still open, and Satoru and Geto could walk in on you both looking like this, but you couldn’t care, not when you could barely feel your legs.

You dropped your arm over your face, hearing Megumi pull his pants back up. “That was...”

“Intense?”

“Yeah,” you chuckled, wincing as you sat up. Your hair stuck to your forehead in sweaty clumps, dawning on you now that you were still very much covered in your sticky cum. You recoiled from the seats as you realized Megumi hadn’t even put on a towel underneath.

“Shit. Is this chair even clean?”

“I sanitize it every after session. Don’t worry about it,” he rolled his eyes, his tattoos covered and hidden from your sight once more when he pulled his hoodie over his head. Megumi retrieved a clean towel from his drawers and wiped at your sensitive pussy, your legs immediately closing around his hands when the towel accidentally grazed your clit.

Megumi gripped your knees with a silent glare. “Stay still. I’m cleaning you up.”

“I didn’t peg you as an aftercare guy. Thought you would leave me hanging here,” you teased, but really, you were feeling warm all over again as you watched Megumi wipe you all the way down to your other hole, your legs still tensing up.

Once he left to wash his hands, you could relax, tugging your panties back up with immense struggle. He wasn’t kidding when he said he’d fuck you good – you could barely feel your legs now.

“And have you make a mess by ruining my seat?” he sighed as he returned, helping you seady yourself while he snapped the slightly soaked panty back to your core. “No thanks.”

“You’re so mean, Megumi. I’m hurt.”

He rolled his eyes at your pout, leaning down to kiss you square on the lips. This time around, the kiss wasn’t rushed; it was slow and sensual, firm yet gentle, and his hands carefully massaged your sore hips that would soon bruise from his grip before.

“No, you’re not,” he mumbled through your lips, mimicking that lovesick smile on your face as he pulled away. “But babe, you know the rules. Now that you’ve seen my work of art – what tattoo would you like me to give you? My name on your inner thigh?”

[helenazbmrskai]

This Summer

Guess who’s back with another yoongi fic featuring my favourite trope so here’s another brother’s best friend au, I wanted to try a different setting for this one since I like summer camp aus a lot (and there’s not enough of it on this site I tell you) and I never did something similar to this also I’m sorry that there will be mistakes in here because I wrote this in three days but I’ll proofread it once I have the energy.

🏕️Title: ‹This Summer›

🏕️Pairing: ‹brother’s best friend and camp counsellor! yoongi x new camp counsellor! reader ft. brother and camp counsellor! hoseok›

🏕️Genre: ‹brother’s best friend, summer camp, camp counsellor, romance, fluff, angst, smut, idiots to lovers›

🏕️Summary: ‹This summer you’re going to stop liking min yoongi for good. The plan is flawless until it’s not (but you’re not the only one with plans.)›

🏕️Warnings: ‹smut, making out, oral (both parties) receiving, penetrative sex, condom sex, dirty talk, yoongi is jealous of jungkook having your boobs against his chest, y/n avoids yoongi like it’s her life mission for like 5k straight, a lot of angst but there will be fluff too so don’t worry, awkward tension, sexual tension, clueless hobi, everyone is stupid in this, jungkook likes meddling with y/n’s life a little bit too much, poor tae facing yoongi’s wrath without any reason lol›

🏕️Word count: ‹12.3k›

🏕️Masterlist l read radio sweethearts if you want another brother's best friend yoongi l enjoy!

Your brother is a ticking time bomb, no one knows when he’s going to take something into his head, he’s that annoying sibling that’s always full of energy and twists everyone around his pinky finger on family dinners. You love him with your whole heart, considering you ripped that mean girl’s hair out in elementary school when she called your baby brother (who is older than you but shh) ugly and made him cry.

Hoseok and you are polar opposites he’s cheery and positive always have a big smile on his face, ready to help all the old ladies with heavy shopping bags cross the street while you’re on the quiet side and often misunderstood.

It’s easy to see on holiday dinners and get-togethers that your relatives favour him over you because you’re less talkative and friendly, he has better achievements in life whilst you struggle with school but those you’re close with know the real you and awkward conversations about your nonexistent boyfriend because you’re so deeply in love with your brother’s best friend is not the best ice breaker your distant grandmas try to pull on you. Even so, when Yoongi decides to tag along to those said dinners accompanied by his parents and little sister, might just hell break loose.

The second man who basically acts like he lives in your house is your best friend slash knight in shining armour and partner in crime; simply named Jeon Jungkook for good measure who is your next-door neighbour. You have tons of unforgettable memories with him as he was the one you went to prom with, annoyed all the teachers on field trips with your loud rap battles and cried on each other's shoulders as you graduated high school together.

Your friendship with him came as a surprise to all your family members as they originally thought your brother and him will become close but instead, he spent most of his time with you while yoongi and hoseok with their other friends hang out separately. On rare occasions, your group would mix and go to see a popular movie or play games at the arcade on someone’s birthday.

Summer usually is the time when things are a little slow. No assignments to do or classes to attend, your brother leaves in early July for this summer camp that’s half a day far away from your home with his friends and the last two summers even Jungkook applied to be a camp counsellor as he likes to be surrounded by kids and nature just like your brother does so literally, everyone left for some time leaving you alone in your hometown with nothing to do but it was better this way because away from Hoseok meant that Yoongi will be far away too.

Your brother tries to persuade you every year to go with them but you always have to decline, sometimes your no is firmer than other times because Hoseok is excellent at using his puppy eyes on you.

However, this summer you had other plans. There’s no bell to ring once the last class is dismissed for the semester, tired from your finals you’re going to dedicate at least a week to catch up on your sleep and fix your eating habits but you have a big smile on your face as you climb into Jungkook’s run-down Ford slamming the car door behind your body since they don’t function properly sometimes. This car is his prized possession, got it for his 18th birthday after he successfully passed his test (at the forth try) and bragged about his driving license to you for over two weeks although you only dared to sit next to him after two months. Jungkook named his car Adonis and forbid you of disrespecting his little baby if you want to ever get a lift so you let him be.

Back to your important inner turmoil, you decided you will no longer simp over Min Yoongi your brother’s best friend and this summer you’ll get over him as a grown-up woman. Being in your second year at the local University that all the boys attend it’s surprisingly easy to avoid your brother and his friends and how everyone’s schedule seems to be so packed all the time during the semester, you don’t see them as much as you used to in high school.

”This was your last final, right?” Jungkook turns the ignition key ready to leave this hellhole of a place, holding your headrest with one hand as he turns to see the back of the car so he can back out of the parking lot without any accidents. You grab the smoothie from the cup holder before humming in agreement and take a sip whilst taking in your best friend’s features you haven’t seen for the past week.

”As soon as I get home I’m going to sleep till the next century.” Your dramatic response earns a chuckle and a jab to your left boob as he didn’t take his eyes off the road while delivering his hit. Jungkook wears his signature white tee with a pair of dark blue jeans no traces are left of the stress both of you went under, he was luckier than you as his finals ended a week ago.

”School sucks, we couldn’t even have fun together and I’m leaving next week. I’m going to miss you, you know. You really won’t come with us?” He tried to make you rethink your decision just like your brother but not even his bambi eyes can waver your summer plans, this time you fully intend to have one more Min Yoongiless summer, this silly crush you have on your brother’s best friend can’t continue.

”There’s always one place left for you at the camp Y/N. Hoseok would love to see you there too and we could spend so much time together.” The idea of spending a few weeks with Jungkook sounds nice but a voice in your head reminds you that Yoongi will be there too. He could be yelling at children and wear his trademark grumpy expression but you would still find something attractive about him. The worst part is that he’s never like that with you.

Yoongi is not as talkative as Jungkook or Hoseok, making him be more like you, at first you thought that your crush developed because he seemed to understand you in a different way your brother couldn’t. He cares for his friends, always making sure to show them by doing thoughtful gestures.

Hoseok tells his friends all the time that you and him are a package deal it’s either both of you or none of you, sometimes people have a problem with that but these five boys he hangs out with for years now are the good exception. You like them even though you don’t like all of Hoseok’s friends.

”I’m sorry Koo but I can’t, we talked about this before.” It’s not like you hate children because you don’t you’re not the best with them but they are ok, the heatwave is what you despise in summer camps. You love being in an air-conditioned place without bug bites all-around your ankles and not even the campfire with yummy marshmallows could persuade you to like outdoor activities.

Summer camps are just not your thing.

”What do you mean you signed me up?” The black t-shirt slips through your fingertips, it has a band logo at the front you remember Hoseok liked back in high school, his suitcase is halfway filled with clothes when he decided to tell you he faked your signature to sign you up as the new summer camp counsellor.

You admit that you have a weird talent for making nice origamis that kids would probably love to learn and a good addition to the routine activities, he would have swayed you with compliments if it weren’t for the fact that he faked your signature and signed you up for something you definitely said no to but still decided to do it without your permission. You heard nice things about the camp itself since it got renovated two years ago and Hoseok’s friends are nice people, he said their co-workers are nice people and your best friend would be there too, don’t get the wrong impression there, you even heard that the camp leader Seokjin is nice and a fun person not strict at all unless it concerns the kid's safety because he will not allow that.

”Don’t be mad, please. Jungkook and I just thought that this could be a fun experience for you, things will get busy next year so it’s going to be the last summer together like this. Pretty please?”

You sighed defeatedly as you can’t possibly say no to that when he phrases it like that. Hoseok looks at you with his round big eyes full of hope. Your summer plan was flawless until…it’s not.

Jungkook came almost knocking down your front door when you called him to come over after you were finally done helping Hoseok finish packing for the trip, you scolded your best friend for not stopping your brother as soon as he learned his scheme about ruining your summer plans you felt furious but he picked up on his way over to your house your favourite coffee flavoured candies and it made you forgive him too easily as you were soon munching on the treat.

It’s a huge disadvantage on your part that he knows your preferences so well. Now you can understand why he always seems so frustrated with you when you make him his favourite dish to get him to forgive you, this is just too much power to have over someone and when he crushes you with his tight hug listing out the things the two of you can do at the camp all of your remaining anger vanishes.

You will think about Min Yoongi later.

That later, however, comes sooner than you anticipated. Sitting on the kitchen stool drinking your coffee while all Hoseok’s noisy friends get a fill of breakfast and a cup of coffee, you have the unfortunate fate of housing all the boys to dine before getting on the road and after a lost rock, paper, scissors thanks to your brother’s ridiculous bad luck you become the host.

The kitchen got filled with animated chit-chats as they place a toast or two on their plates over the noises you almost don’t hear Jungkook next to you asking for the jam but you pass him the jar silently. Yoongi and Jimin are the only ones missing from the group because Yoongi has to drive Jimin to his parent’s place to pick up his car that he got repaired recently so they were running a bit late.

Namjoon is a new addition to the group after Hoseok met him in Uni so you don’t know him that well but he’s nice as far as you’re concerned, you talked to him a few times and his interesting topics never fail to entertain you. Jin steals a toast from Namjoon’s plate so he doesn’t need to get up and fetch one for himself but Namjoon looks too tired to care as he munches on his remaining one toast that his friend can’t steal because it’s halfway in his mouth.

Seokjin’s parents run the bakery on the main road so everyone knows him, he got introduced to the friend group when you were still in high school and you and Jungkook were regulars at the shop. Jin always sneaked a pair of baguettes for the two of you exclusively after you were finished with school.

It’s nice to see all these familiar faces after the stressful semester you had, momentarily forgetting about your problems you feel thankful that Hoseok went out of his way to ruin your plans and sign you up for this train wreck of an adventure, it’s been a while since everyone was together like this.

The doorbell rang interrupting Jungkook and Seokjin’s argument about who’s going to get the last toast piece but Hoseok perked up at the sound yelling excitedly that Yoongi and Jimin are here. Your brother quickens his pace after rising from his seat to open the door for them and grins when they step through the threshold.

Greetings are exchanged between friends and the place becomes livelier as the last pieces decide to join the puzzle, Jimin sees you first and knocks into Jungkook’s shoulder while he tries to get to you to give you a warm hug.

It’s been a while since you last saw Yoongi face to face, you’re added to the boy's group chat so in some depth you knew how he’s doing. He has been over at your house a few times hanging out with Hoseok but you always stayed late inside the library on the days he visited using the weak excuse that you need to catch up on school work so you had no chance of crossing paths with him coincidently while you were searching for a glass of water in the kitchen it’s humiliating enough that he saw you exit your bathroom wearing only a towel when you were a teenager.

Your curves became more defined and your body matured a lot over the years and knowing that he saw you like that when you had no ass or boobs. It’s embarrassing. Hoseok liked you that way because it meant no man would thirst over you as he liked to call it. The memory of him telling the boys that you’re off-limits and made them swear at the ’bro code’ to stay away from you is crystal clear in your mind even if now you are in your twenties.

The memory only makes your situation difficult as Yoongi probably doesn’t feel the same way.

As soon as Jimin steps back and releases you from the hug he has Jungkook in a headlock the next second, wrestling with the younger playfully, Jungkook is probably the closest to Jimin after you.

”Hey, it’s nice to see you.”

Yoongi has a half-smile on his face as he approaches you hesitantly pulling you into a hug like Jimin did but his approach is more gentle and careful as he pats your back with featherlight touches. His scent envelops your senses tuning out everything else that’s not him, it feels like forever that you hugged him, normally the two of you greet each other but rarely hug like this.

”Yeah, you too.” You murmur the words into his shoulder but he must have heard you because the side of his lips turned slightly upwards after you separate.

There are two cars available for the eight of you and Seokjin yells that it’s a matter of a game of rock, paper, scissors and everyone agrees as this is the common way your group chose who is riding with who.

”Easy, the losers ride with Jimin and the winners with Yoongs.” Jungkook is the first one to initiate the rules and everyone agrees except Jimin who whines about why he takes the losers but no one pays attention as the bloody battle starts. The first contestants are Namjoon and Hoseok and your brother ends up loosing while yelling like a banshee and making up excuses that he wanted to show rock and not paper as Namjoon choose scissors as his weapon.

You come up next with Jungkook as your opponent and you let a wicked smile appear on your face because no one knows him better than you, you know his move before he even thinks it through and you show paper getting your well-deserved victory.

Just later you realise that winners ride with Yoongi that you reconsider your decision, you were so caught up in your rivalry that’s your friendship’s base foundation with Jungkook at this point that it slipped your mind entirely.

Taehyung and Jin are the last ones to compete and the battle ends with Taehyung winning the last space in Yoongi’s car leaving Seokjin to dramatically kneel like a wounded soldier making fake sobbing noises. Taehyung ends up changing seats with Jungkook last moment and finally, everything is set to get going.

Jungkook and Namjoon take over the backseat as they loaded their luggage at lightning speed so they can claim their spot first leaving you with the only option to have the passenger seat at the front.

Yoongi obviously got behind the steering wheel entrusted with the task of operating the car throughout this long drive to the summer camp sight. Taehyung, Jin and Hoseok got into Jimin’s car like it was decided by the game.

The camp is bigger than you expected and the renovations got the place a little modern touch to it while still maintaining a close feel to nature with all the wooden houses and trees around but your favourite part is the lake at the far end of the campsite.

You share a room with a girl counsellor that spends her second year here, still, relatively new like yourself so it’s easy to befriend her. The campers will arrive the next day early in the morning Areum informs you as you two walk to the dining area to have the first meeting before everything starts.

By the end of the day, everyone knows you’re Hoseok’s little sister and new people approach you every now and then to confirm the facts and know a little bit more about you since everyone seems to like your noisy brother here (not that it surprises you), it looks like the counsellors are excited to start a new summer here and the atmosphere easily pulls you in, you watch Jimin and Jungkook have a water fight just to catch in the corner of your eye the figure of your brother pushing an unsuspecting Seokjin into the lake when he stands too close to the edge.

The day goes by like a flash as you hang out with Areum, she shows you her favourite places that consists of the greenhouse and the other side of the lake where there are built benches and tables for outdoor picnics.

Jungkook pouts during dinner fake crying that you replaced him and you have to forcefully spoon feed him to stop him from embarrassing you in front of all these unfamiliar people that gathered to have some quiet dinner. So everything goes smoothly, you have such a great time that it scares you.

It’s getting pretty late when all counsellors gather around the campfire to roast marshmallows and catch up with each other’s lives, you’re still new so you use this time to get to know Areum a little bit more since you and her are going to be responsible for entertaining the kids inside the art room alongside with Taehyung who teaches the kids how to paint.

You tell her about your silly hobby that landed you this job and she gets really excited to see your origami creations, you show the same enthusiasm when she reveals her major is classical statuary.

Even though Yoongi was always nearby it got easy to ignore his existence when so many new things surrounded you. It didn’t mean he fully left your thoughts throughout the day but made you feel that sense of false security that you could get over him. That all those years of pinning for your brother’s best friend could just vanish if you told your heart to stop skipping beats when he calls your name. Boose soon gets introduced to the mix and by the time midnight rolls around everyone is pleasantly buzzed and when Jungkook enters the state that he hangs off of you like a koala nuzzling his cheek into the crook of your neck you decided to call it a night.

You wake up with your head thumping inside your skull slightly feeling hangover; your roommate is in a similar state as you two approach the dining room getting small slices of bread to make a light sandwich.

You’re mid-bite into your food when you see Yoongi enter, walking alongside with your brother he catches your gaze sooner than you were able to look away and after they get their fills on their trays your loud brother flops down next to you with the loudest greeting that he could possibly muster up alerting everyone in the ten-metre radius.

Yoongi and you groan at the same time telling him to shut up like it’s a scripted response and your eyes meet for the barest of seconds before you focus on your half-eaten sandwich.

It’s hard not to look at him. Despite his gruff exterior, he’s very good at dealing with children, your activity where kids can learn how to fold origami is always after his cookie baking lesson and he smells like rough cookie dough and chocolate ship when he leads the kids into the art room where you would have all the coloured papers ready at each desk and folded a sample beforehand so they can use it as a reference if the instructions don’t look clear enough in the printed page.

The idea for this lesson formed last night, you were up all night as you researched on the internet how to fold hearts. It kept you up till the sun rose as you were trying out every folding technique that would look pretty but easier to do for the kids, you even accidentally cut your finger with the scissor while you were working using only the faint light from the lamp on the bedside table.

Yoongi greets you like he usually would wearing a little smile at the corners as he lets the kids inside first holding the door open for them, he always leaves silently after he delivered the campers to the art room but this time the door slides closed behind his form as he got dragged into the room by a kid named Minsung holding onto Yoongi’s hand he stood awkwardly while everyone else had a decided seat to take.

”Can Yoongi join us today Y/N?” Minsung asks holding Yoongi’s hand as he leads him further into the art room and every kid looks expectantly at you waiting for you to agree and seeing their faces you nod with a smile pulling out the chair next to you beckoning the embarrassed man to sit beside you.

He didn’t think you would say yes if he’s being honest. After you finished high school and he and Hoseok went to University and got busy with life he started to see you less and less, at first he didn’t think much of it but after some time it looked like that you’re actively avoiding him.

He has no idea why (that’s what eats him from the inside out on sleepless nights) he doesn’t remember saying or doing something that would make you upset and even now when you keep bumping into each other you seem skittish around him and he doesn’t like that, hence he even talked to Hoseok about this and your own brother couldn’t give him an answer why you started avoiding him.

”Do you know how to fold origami?” You ask him slipping papers in front of him as soon as he seats himself beside you, your heart beats inside your chest violently when you get enveloped in his scent yet again reminding you of the hug you shared that you’re afraid he’s going to hear it.

”I barely know how to fold my clothes.” The nervous joke lightens the mood as the kids laugh loudly the poor attempt at making you be more comfortable with him earns a little snort that makes a blush creep up your face rapidly in embarrassment but Yoongi thinks you sound adorable. You think you sounded like a troll.

”It’s fine I’ll help you.” Your little smile is still there even though your eyes are no longer on Yoongi as you focus on the kids, you tell them first what they will make and then go into detail how they can fold it while using the instructions and clearing some of the confusing images for them to understand it better. Lastly, you encourage them to not be afraid to ask if they have questions and you’ll gladly help them. It falls silent after as everyone gets absorbed in their work and you start making extra origamis for the children as usual until someone needs help.

Yoongi looks intent on finding out using the illustrations how to proceed and even though your instructions were pretty clear and well detailed he couldn’t figure out how to do it, he wastes two papers before he even got to the third step.

You see him struggling and he clearly gets worked up over it considering the number of creases appearing on his forehead once you get back to your desk after helping a kid figure out the instructions you move your chair closer getting his attention with the movement, your knees touch in the process but neither of you makes any moves to instal more distance between your bodies.

”Can I show you?” You reach for the scrambled paper but stop midway to look up and ask for permission.

Yoongi nods his head sliding the mess closer to you, observing as you unfold the paper and restart making more accurate lines and you immediately see what’s wrong with his shape. His measurements are off, even when he folded the paper in half that seemed uneven because he tried to fold it in one go and the paper sometimes moves around if you’re not careful enough.

After you fixed it and slid the paper to be in front of him you tell him your advice in a soft-spoken way. Heart still hammering inside your chest due to the closeness you share. ”Don’t rush through the steps, take your time while you fold it.” Your fingers touch briefly when you pass him the paper and you resume your working so it would take away from the embarrassment of how loud your heart beats because of him.

He looks so good today wearing a black oversized t-shirt with small prints in the front and even when his hair is damp with sweat his smile is able to melt your resolves any time you gaze up at those dark eyes.

Kids can be very attentive and they easily see how Y/N looks so smitten with Yoongi if those stolen sideway glances are anything to go by, every time he shows up you became a nervous ball of a mess it’s not rocket science to know you have a huge crush on the boy, the only mystery that campers can’t figure out is why you tiptoe around each other when Yoongi doesn’t seem indifferent either.

They often catch him looking at you as they run around the campsite during leisure activities led by Hoseok.

Minsung and Soohyung share a knowing smile as they watch them fold origami and it’s not overlooked by either of them when you focus back to do your work and Yoongi takes glances in your direction mesmerized by you, the task seems easy when he watches you do it.

A knock is followed by the appearance of your camp leader Seokjin leaning onto the doorframe interrupting your little bubble, looking at the kids with a fond expression before he addresses Yoongi and they leave together to discuss something, the activity is almost over as you learn glancing at the clock and Jungkook soon appears where Jin was a little while ago to get the kids.

Jungkook and your brother are the ones responsible for the outdoor activities and at the end of the day not only the kids are tired but their counsellors too by constantly running around to ensure everyone's safety.

Yoongi wanted to talk to you and help you clean up, have a real conversation in private, but things never turn out as he wants them to there seems to be always an obstacle standing between you two so he follows Jin to discuss a camp-related issue while he wishes he could spend a little more time with you.

If only you would tell him what he did wrong so he can fix it, this awkward state you two got stuck in makes him sad for some reason.

There was a time when you were greeting him with a big smile on your face and ask him about his day, he vividly remembers your chubbier cheeks and crooked teeth when you were younger but he doesn’t mind your feminine growth over the years, Yoongi always thought you will grow up to be a beautiful woman.

He remembers your prom dress, it was in a navy blue colour that complimented your fuller curves he only started to notice in your last year in high school, Jungkook posed beside you like you were Mr and Mrs Smith as your parents took pictures of you two and he found himself smiling fondly at you.

It was Hoseok’s birthday when the air shifted from platonic to something else in the short span of ten seconds, both of you were a little tipsy and you were sitting at a corner table together because neither of you wanted to hit the dance floor, the bar was packed and guys tried to hit on you numerous times just to be chased away by your brother’s antics.

You didn’t seem to mind that he prevented every guy from making a move on you and as you were all alone in a small booth chest to chest to hear each other over the loud music while you tried to tell him a story about Jungkook choking on fries at Mcdonalds when the waitress suddenly slipped her number scribbled onto a napkin trying not to ugly laugh yourself. His nose accidentally bumped into yours as he suppressed a laugh and if the others didn’t choose that exact moment to take a breather and have more drinks he thinks he would have probably kissed you right then and there.

The other time he felt something different while he was around you was when you and his friends took a trip to Busan to see the sea and you wore that one piece bikini, the bottom and top half were connected by a line of fabric but let your sides and hips be visible under the little clothing you had on.

Guys turned their heads when you passed them and he couldn’t even blame them like Hoseok because he looked at you a few times as well trying to seem as subtle as he possibly can since Hoseok otherwise would have killed him knowing that his best friend was ogling at his little sister.

”Don’t you dare!” Your yelling draws the attention of the kids and counsellors equally that’s how loud you are as your best friend approaches your form sitting under the umbrella trying to cool yourself down since today’s temperate is insanely (and unreasonably) hot. ”When we get home I’ll draw all your action figures a moustache using permanent markers. I’m not joking stop right there!”

Your horrific expression is validated since Jungkook has this shit-eating grin on his face when he’s about to do something you’ll most definitely not like, knowing him from your early stage of childhood when he was just a lanky anime fanatic and you were flat like a wooden board with huge pimples you’re an expert at distinguishing his different expressions and actions.

”You’re cute to think that will stop me.” Jungkook chuckles grabbing you by the waist as he drapes you over his shoulder effortlessly walking with you to the edge of the lake despite your efforts to break free from his grip, your friend jumps into the water with you still firmly clinging onto his body. The kids around you laugh at your friendly banter as you rise from the water like a lake monster and you duck Jungkook’s head underwater to make him pay for your ruined clothes and makeup.

Coming to help you, Jimin manoeuvres his boat next to you and stretches his hand out followed by a big grin to drag you out of the lake but it appears to be more difficult as you two almost flip over but you manage to unceremonially flop down next to him dragging your fingers through your hair to get the hairs out of your face.

”You really want war, Jeon. Just you wait but don’t blame me if I shave your hair off while you’re sleeping.” Coughing between your threatening words Jimin starts patting your back, rubbing your spine to help you feel better.

Jimin oars closer to the dock and you land your feet on the ground again without any more incidents occurring while Jungkook swims all the way, making comments about your appearance making the campers giggle alongside with him as your face gets warmer, once both of you are secure on land Jungkook hugs you close despite your distaste, your clothes cling to your body uncomfortably and droplets from his hair land on your cheek as he moulds your bodies together.

”Let me go, I’m not talking to you.” You try to push him away but instead of letting you go he scoops you up from the ground and spins you around, begging for your forgiveness but you don’t give in so easily.

Yoongi observes the scenes before him with a sour expression, he doesn’t even realise how he glares at Jungkook holding you that close to him while both of you are dripping of lake water, your boobs are entirely pushed against his chest as your best friend giggles midst of you struggling to break free.

Next to him Hoseok sits relaxed in his chair sipping his cold drink, shaking his head in faux amusement happy to see you have a good time here, your brother is normally very protective of you when it comes to guys but with Jungkook he knows that you guys are just best friends it’s hard to see you two otherwise when he witnessed your first period crying onto Jungkook’s shoulder that you’re going to bleed out and your poor friend almost dragged you to the hospital because he thought you were being real but soon learned that you overdramatise things when it’s that time of the month.

He often finds you in a weird position while you watch tv with Jungkook’s head on your tummy because the pressure and warmth of his head make the pain more bearable cuddling under blankets because you get needy when you’re on your period, your brother knows all of this because when your best friend is unavailable he has to fill the space and lay his head on your stomach until the feeling goes away.

He had his doubts in the early stage of your budding friendship when you first started to hang out with each other because things can get weird easily between friends if they are not the same gender but Jungkook proved to Hoseok multiple times that he supports you and would walk through fire for you. Nothing happened between you two in romantic aspects, there was no shift, even though someone who doesn’t see you daily interacting with him would assume something is going on.

”I’m going to change.” You announce to no one in particular, the way your shirt clings to your curves as you’re surrounded by male counsellors you don’t know adds extra pressure and their eyes on you make you uncomfortably fidget in place, your make up is probably smudged on your face giving you a panda effect.

”Wear this your bra is showing.” Jungkook gives you his wet shirt but the black material conceals your body to look decent enough and you thank him he could easily sense your distress and he feels a little bad that he pulled that trick on you. He had to coax you into wearing that bikini at the beach last year buttering you up with compliments so the two of you could finally get going, he knows better than anyone that you’re shy and insecure about your body if someone you don’t know sees you, you don’t hate your body but it makes you feel anxious if some stranger looks at you like you’re his meal for the evening and he totally gets it.

He glares at every single one of them who looks at you inappropriately alongside your brother who shares the same sentiment as him. You deserve to be treated right, that’s why he was super angry once you told him about your first time, that guy just stuck it in without making you cum.

Hoseok doesn’t know, however, you only told Jungkook about your unpleasant experience when you were tipsy, you had to tell him at a house party while playing truth or dare, you had to share something he didn’t know and considering he’s your best friend not much was there to confess. You hoped that he was drunk enough to forget about it the next day but he surprised you with ice cream and you talked it out with him, he can be immature sometimes though when the situation needs him to be serious he’s there for you. He never once made fun of you for something you felt insecure or not confident about.

Areum takes in your dishevelled look as soon as you step through the entrance of your current accommodation, opting for a quick shower to wash the dirty lake water off your skin you tell her what happened vaguely before disappearing behind the bathroom door and she snickers silently seeing your grumpy face.

Jungkook marches to the seat next to Hoseok the playful glint is still there as he rakes his fingers through his hair shaking the droplets out of his locks like a dog and the way female colleagues eye him didn’t go unnoticed by either Yoongi or Hoseok for that matter. Your best friend is not as dense as you think he is because for a while now he connected the dots why you seem to avoid Yoongi at all cost.

It shocked him at first but now observing your interactions closely he calls himself a fool that he didn’t realise it sooner. Your best friend knows about the ’you can’t woo my baby sister’ rule because it’s applied to him as well, Hoseok cornered him one day after you left to bring up snacks for a movie night and told him awfully descriptive outcomes what will happen to him if he tries anything on you all the while he pushed him against your lavender walls, that day he learned that smiley Hoseok can be scary sometimes.

It’s been years and his overprotectiveness lessened because you dated guys here and there and Hoseok was always supportive of you and your soon-to-be boyfriends, but you didn’t go to second dates with any of them.

He found it strange at first but after he found out about your little crush on your brother’s best friend some things clicked and your behaviour wasn’t soo odd anymore, Jungkook didn’t read too much into it at first because he thought it’s going to be a fleeting flame but it’s been years that you harbour feelings for the older man.

Yoongi was a harder nut to crack because he’s better at masking his feelings than you but he can see how his eyes linger on you when he thinks no one’s looking, his slip-ups are subtle ones and it would go over his head if he wouldn’t be so tuned in searching for his reactions.

His gut feeling tells him Yoongi feels the same way you do (his face might not be as expressive but his eyes are sparkling every time he finds you in the crowd) although he can’t be one hundred percent sure, the benefit of the doubt that makes him keep question every move and look he throws your way his confusing actions indicates that even Yoongi doesn’t know how he truly feels about you so Jungkook didn’t bring up the subject because he’s not sure how to approach this without making this more complicated.

He doesn’t want to give you hope when he can’t guarantee his intuition is right so he choose to silently observe and let things unfold naturally but it gets harder with time to ignore how you two are dancing around each other like idiots. Well, at least before now you straight out refuse to be in the same room as him.

At this point, he’s convinced that neither of you is going to make a move to let the other know about your romantic feelings, he wanted to respect the fact that you didn’t want him to know about your feelings towards your brother’s best friend but enough is enough and he’s tired of seeing you avoid the matter for another year like this.

His plan so far doesn’t seem to work, he convinced Hoseok to sign you up for the camp against your will but things don’t go forward as you keep avoiding the problem so he needs to give both of you a little push from the sidelines to end this.

He doesn’t like the idea of you hurting if he’s being wrong about this but the rejection would be better than living in denial, not knowing if he reciprocates your feelings, he hates seeing you cry but he’ll be there to kick ass and support you. Jungkook makes up his mind and calls Hoseok’s name to grab his attention.

”What do you think about one of your friends dating Y/N?”

Hoseok’s brow raises in question and Yoongi’s body stiffens at the mention trying to seem unaffected but Jungkook detects the slight change in his demeanour. ”Why do you ask? You’re not in love with my sister, are you Jeon?” He can’t stop laughing as he hears Hoseok accusing him immediately, he gets comfortable in his seat before answering. Waiting a little before responding to get a dramatic effect, he spends too much time with you as he realises he picked up some of your theatrical approaches.

”God, no. She’s my best friend I know too much about her to think like that.” His laughing subdues into small chuckles, he saw you at your worst and best moments, seen you naked by accident. You’re beautiful and funny but he doesn’t see you as a woman. Yoongi’s eyebrow twitches at the mention of ’knowing too much’ but Jungkook’s next words are the final blow for him to grip the armrest.

”I heard Taehyung is gonna ask her out and I wanted to know what you think about it.” Hoseok schools his features quickly after that, he didn’t know Taehyung liked you like that but he has no right to control your life or tell you who you can consider as a potential love interest. You can like whoever you want, he tried to show you his support when you introduced some of your dates to him and he’s going to keep his promise even when it comes to his friends.

You were always close but after he began to tell you who you can or can’t see your relationship became distant until he realised his mistakes, you forgave him easily because you love your brother a lot and he loves you just as much so after a heartfelt conversation between the two of you he promised not to do that to you ever again.

You’re aware he did this to protect you because you’re his precious little sister and big brothers could get unreasonably overprotective so after you almost drifted apart and even though you two talked it out. The fact that because of a boy you argued with Hoseok you decided you’ll never act on your feelings for Yoongi for the sake of your relationship. Jungkook doesn’t know that’s the main reason you keep avoiding Yoongi but he couldn’t have known because you two never touched upon the subject.

”It’s her decision.” Hoseok shrugs finally and Jungkook nods with a smile eyeing Yoongi who seem to absorb the answer he didn’t think he would get.

You’re aware of your feelings so it’s time for Yoongi to reflect on his thoughts and figure out what he wants.

Jungkook thinks that his plan might just work if he keeps up the good work. You can thank him later.

Taehyung is an unsuspecting victim caught up in Jungkook’s spider web to get you guys together. He likes every kind of art-related stuff and Jungkook showed him some of the origamis you folded for him as he has a few of the smaller ones stuffed inside his wallet under your graduation photo and of course when Taehyung asked you to teach him you agreed with the biggest smile on your face.

You took it as a great opportunity to get to know him better because you’re the least close to him in the group, not because you don’t think he’s a nice guy but before this there were not many occasions to bond with him.

He has the talent for it you realise this soon and you two spend hours inside the art room together folding new pieces after you’re free, he even suggests as a beginner what’s easier to make so the kids can be encouraged rather than making them do hard ones and be disappointed by the end result.

He visits you often and brings you tea to chat about art at first but gradually you get to know more about each other’s personal lives all the while you make origamis together. You skip lunch sometimes when you get too caught up experimenting with new shapes and Jungkook notices the displeased expression on Yoongi’s face every time someone asks about you and Taehyung’s whereabouts just to hear you two are yet again holed up inside the art room laughing and chatting.

He got even grumpier than normal and lashes out without any reason, the others dismiss his behaviour as he probably had a bad day but his best friend knows something is up with him, it’s not like he lashes out on the children because he smiles at them like he used to but his quick mood changes are getting on everyone’s nerves lately. Hoseok knows that something bothers him but every time he asks about it he says it’s nothing.

Jungkook sits beside Hoseok as he goes on and on about he has no idea what’s gotten into Yoongi lately and he’s close to rolling his eyes at him, no wonder you two are siblings he thinks. Both of you are idiots.

Yoongi didn’t show up for breakfast and you’re nowhere to find as well, he knows you’re not with Taehyung because he sits at the table behind him with Jimin and Seokjin telling each other funny stories about the kids. He shows some of the origami pieces he folded and Jimin compliments him while Seokjin tries to stuck one inside his pocket so a friendly banter breaks out at their table.

”.. and he doesn’t even tell me what’s the problem. Hey, Jungkook are you listening to me at all?” Hoseok waves his hand in front of Jungkook’s face who munches on the garnish almost finished with eating while your brother’s plate is full of food because as soon as Jungkook joined him at the table, since he couldn’t find you in the crowd, started complaining about how difficult Yoongi is being as of late and it’s too early to deal with this bullshit.

”Yoongi is upset because Y/N hangs out with Taehyung too much. If you look at the signs you would have seen that he obviously likes your sister but because of that stupid rule you made neither of them is acting upon their feelings for each other.” The outburst momentarily shuts up Hoseok, his mouth hangs open like a fish out of water blinking rapidly and it’s noticeable how the wheels are turning inside his head as he processes the information.

”Yoongi likes my sister?!” The three surrounding tables turn after hearing Hoseok’s signature banshee yell and Jungkook audibly sighs at the shocked expression he’s sporting like he suddenly grew four heads and three legs. He just might because the food is weird sometimes.

You tell Areum you have to pick something up from the art room and you’ll join her a bit later to eat breakfast hiding your hands in your hoodie’s pocket as mornings tend to be on the colder side, she gives you a thumbs up as she walks towards the dining room and you wait until she gets out of sight to turn on your heel.

You visit the art room first but what you’re searching for is not there and you head back to your cabin to see if you brought it back by accident without you realising it.

You made that origami star Taehyung whined to you about. He wanted to make one but it just can’t seem to look like it should be as he showed you his attempts. It took you a few tries to succeed as well since folding the edges were quite tricky to figure out.

On your way to the dining room, you bump into someone and the star you made end up on the ground slipping out of your grip. Raising your head instantly to apologise to the person, you were not ready to face Min Yoongi out of all people, he picks up the origami and hands it back dusting it off before giving it to you.

”Thanks.”

”Uh, everything’s alright? You seem to be in a bad mood.” You’re hesitant to address the elephant in the room, you didn’t really witness his mood swings as others because you spent most of your time in the art room but seeing him now with dark circles under his eyes a grim expression on his handsome face, it speaks volumes of how true it is, and you would hate to get on his bad side because you ask a question everyone probably asked before you.

”I’m fine.” Yoongi tilts his head towards the sky and sighs, you wait for him to say something else but that’s all he does before he walks past you.

You grimace at the lack of response, sure, things were awkward nowadays but he never straight out ignored you like that, he didn’t even look at you while he answered and left just like that.

When you join Jungkook and your brother for breakfast they have a weird aura around them and you’re itching to interrupt their silent talk as they eye each other like you’re not sitting right next to both of them.

What is wrong with anyone today, huh?

”Okay we need to do something, things can’t continue like this.” Jungkook places his hands on each side of his hips as he captures everyone's attention when he climbs on top of one of the tables like he’s about to give a grand speech about something world-rocking kind of important matters.

”I agree. I can’t even say something to Yoongi that doesn’t end with him taking my head off.” Jimin and Taehyung agree immediately since they had to deal with his temper for the most part.

”And what do you suggest we do?” Hoseok puts his weight onto the broom as he speaks, after Jungkook told him that his best friend is in love with his sister everything made sense in a way.

Why he asked about you a lot like how’s school or how’ life going for you, made sure to get something for your birthday every year, he thought that he’s nice to you because you’re his little sister, after all, he told him to treat you right. He couldn’t be more wrong about it, however. They are supposed to be best friends and Hoseok didn’t even know he liked you like that.

”I think you should talk to her Hobi. She doesn’t act on her feelings because she thinks you wouldn’t like them together, maybe if you tell her it’s ok to date each other they will end our suffering. I don’t think I can manage this moody Yoongi for another day he looked like he’s about to murder me in my sleep.” Because of Jungkook’s scheme, Yoongi went extra hard on Taehyung and the poor soul didn’t have a clue why he’s suddenly replaced as Yoongi’s personal punching bag.

Hoseok makes sure to visit your cabin after they are done cleaning and it would be an understatement to say he feels a little nervous. It’s weird that he’s here to tell you to go after his best friend as it is.  

He already had a talk with Yoong in their cabin before he came here and his friend seemed terrified when Hoseok told him he knows that he’s in love with his sister.

All the colour drained from his face and he actually took pity on him that it feels him with so much dread that his best friend knows he likes a girl, even if it’s his sister he’s happy that he found someone he likes.

Hoseok tells him that nothing is going on between you and Taehyung so he should stop torturing him, Jungkook just tried to make him jealous by saying that, it felt nice for both of them to talk openly about everything.

Yoongi told him about the party when he almost kissed her or when they would stay up all night talking to each other about everything and nothing, he shares his genuine feelings and admits that for a while he didn’t know what he felt for her but he wants to be with her.

You had similar reactions like his friend, at first you tried to deny the fact but later when Hoseok reveals everything and speak about Jungkook’s plan, you gave up to lie and instead tell him you liked him for three years and you tried to move on but you couldn’t that’s why none of your previous relationships seemed to work out.

Your brother feels stupid for not seeing the signs, maybe Jungkook was right and he’s really an idiot.

It’s awkward knowing that he feels the same way about you you’re not gonna lie, it feels like a dream but at the same time, you’re afraid one day you’ll wake up and realise all of this was just a fragment of your imagination.

Hoseok’s support was a pleasant surprise and even though you want to strangle your best friend with your bare hands for meddling with your business and literally shouting out to the world you love Min Yoongi to the moon and back moments ago to have everyone witness your face flame up you decide against all expectations and you give him a bone-crushing hug because without him all of this wouldn’t have happened. All that matters is that he likes you back.

”How did you know?” You curiously ask and Jungkook feigns he’s thinking about the answer whilst pinching your cheek, that smirk he wears when he’s about to say something stupid makes you reconsider. You shouldn’t have asked.

”I mean I discovered it recently so you were quite good at hiding it because normally I always sniff out your secrets right off the bat but as soon as I focused on your reactions it was easy to tell.” He points at Yoongi standing a few feet away next to Hoseok and he suddenly burst out laughing.

”I saw you running into a fucking tree when you saw Yoongi wet because Hoseok threw him into the lake.” You clasp your hand over his runny mouth before he can embarrass you further, you were not ready to see Yoongi blush so cutely at the comment while Hoseok doubled over because he laughed so hard seeing your face after Jungkook said that.

You denied it in a high pitched squeal. ”That fucking tree wasn’t there that’s why!” Everyone seemed to find your excuse hilarious as they laughed continuously at your attempts of saving your last piece of dignity but even Yoongi chuckled couldn’t contain his biggest smile to take over his features as he thinks you look so cute when you’re embarrassed, and you like him back.

”Can we see a kiss at least if we had to put up with grumpy Yoongi for an entire week, I really started to fear for my life, you know?” Jimin chimed in, it was endearing to see Yoongi turn bashful in front of you.

”Now that it was brought up Jeon Jungkook I can’t believe you used me like that! I had no idea why you suggested that I try to learn making origamis from Y/N. Our friendship is over!” Taehyung points at your best friend accusingly and he only scratches the back of his neck.

”I did it for a good cause…wait Tae where are you going? Look I’m sorry…” Jungkook chases after the former boy trying to hug him from behind but Taehyung doesn’t reciprocate it and your friend starts whining at that telling him that he’s so sorry while Jimin and the others unoccupied at the moment resumes their staring at the both of you to move and kiss finally.

Even Namjoon and Seokjin who were silent until now joins in and chants alongside the others to ”kiss kiss kiss kissss”

You let out a shy chuckle taking the first steps in his direction and his eyes go wide in surprise when your shoe touch. Kissing his cheek instead you tiptoe to reach his height so you can easily circle your hands around his neck and pull him down to hug you, it reminds you of the hug you shared with him before the whole trip to the summer camp started but this time it felt different.

His embrace was warm and inviting as he held you by your waist his chest vibrated against you as he laughed when your friends demanded a real kiss.

Yoongi found himself sitting beside you inside the art room as you explained how the kids can make bunny-shaped origami out of the grey coloured papers in front of them and his hand immediately found yours under the table to intertwine your fingers together once you sat down next to him.

You try to suppress a smile as you watch over the kids ensuring that they don’t cut themselves with the scissors but your body betrays you as you subconsciously lean into his frame he smells like vanilla extract and chocolate. He showed the kids how to make muffins in today’s lesson, it turned out good because Yoongi measured the ingredients while the kids only mixed and did simple tasks such as portioning out the dough or decorating the top of the treats.

Someone had two or three muffins left on their table as they worked, focused on their folding technique occasionally they stole bites making you and Yoongi giggling under your noses when you would catch chipmunk cheeks.

Yoongi helped you clean up after the lesson throwing out leftover papers and sweeping the floor before you joined the others for lunch.

Things changed in the group’s dynamics after you started dating Yoongi but overall they were happy to see both of you happy.

Even though Jungkook likes to make jokes about how you two are basically joined at the hip for days and soon after starts to complain about how you spend less time with him now that you have a boyfriend, he’s clearly happy for you. It’s a new situation for everyone and Hoseok has a hard time picturing you with his best friend but seeing you so happy with him he supports your relationship wholeheartedly.

After you’re done with the activities for the day you and Yoongi retreat into his cabin as everyone else stays at the campfire. They see the two of you slip away hand in hand, howbeit no one dares to comment on it but you see Jungkook having an inner battle to stop himself from yelling out ’use protection’ luckily Taehyung stuffs his mouth with a handful of chio chips before that could happen.

Your boyfriend pulls you closer by tugging on your intertwined hands caging you between his arms and the door, kissing the corner of your mouth he moves downwards to kiss over your jawline and neck, smiles into the juncture of your neck when you chase after his lips as he pecks your cupid’s bow next, impatient to feel his lips against yours you pull at a fistful of his hair guiding his mouth to capture his lip between your teeth. Yoongi grunts into the kiss tasting your sweet mouth never cease his hunger for you, only leaves him wanting more and more.

”I can’t believe you’re mine.” He seals his words over your feverish skin with in between kisses, marking up your neck, nibbling and kissing every inch until your breath becomes laboured under his sweet attacks.

You weave your fingers into his hair whilst a soft mewl leaves your parted lips as his knee parts your legs to brush against your centre.

He presses his thighs further into your throbbing pussy swallowing the noises you make getting lost in your body heat. He wants to take his time with you licking every corner and dip until you shake and pant his name.

”Wait. What about my brother?” You jump a little when you feel his hand on your ribs travelling up until he cups your breast over the shirt you’re wearing. Kneading your flesh over the fabric your body relaxes into his touch it’s enough to leave you breathless seeing his expression so earnest to please you, pupils dilated as he looks at you under his hooded lids it’s hard to control his urges when you look good enough to eat.

”He stays over at Namjoon’s don’t worry about him.” Yoongi catches your earlobe with his mouth biting down on your shell playfully, the sensation makes you heave a gasp, the words barely registering in your brain.

”Off. I want this off.” Feeling especially bold today you sneak your hands under his shirt caressing his sides with your fingertips, pecking his collarbone that peaks through the collar of his clothing. A whine resonates within your throat when your boyfriend steps back to pull his shirt over his head revealing his stomach and shoulders for your hungry eyes to feast upon disliking the cold air that fills the space once his body is not there to keep you warm, you pull him close diving in to connect your lips in a heated kiss tongue licking into his mouth.

His hands wander under your clothes this time mapping out your smooth skin following the lines of your sides to find the opening on your bra, once he gets the clasp open he traces your spine with his index finger grabbing your ass with both hands as his wandering hands reach south. Your moan gets lost inside his busy mouth that explores your hot cavern at the same time his hands cup you over the fabric of your leggings. It doesn’t give your throbbing pussy justice when he decides to rub your clit and drag his fingers over the dampening material.

”Let’s move things to the bedroom shall we?” The innocent peck he places onto your cheek makes your heart flutter, excitement and love mix inside your veins sweetening your blood as your pulse quickens under his adoring gaze. You nod kissing him again before you let him guide you to his door, not separating from your sensually moving lips as he blindly closes it behind your entangled forms.

He removes your pants and shirt in one go, letting the garments form a pile on the floor promising your sweet release with each removed clothing until the only remaining barrier that keeps your naked glory from his piercing gaze is slipped down your shaved legs, he feels how soaked the material of your cotton underwear had become after so little foreplay and he finds himself insanely turned on by the discovery.

Yoongi eagerly encloses his mouth over your erect bud eliciting airy moans when he alternates between sucks and licks on your sensitive mound paying equal attention to both sides as he massages the neglected one with firm hands whilst he blows air to the saliva coated nipples and watch your expression morph into torturous pleasure but he’s not satisfied with your shy suppressed noises.

Your slick oozes out of your empty opening running down your thighs and stain the bedsheet your clit aches to be touched and your hole clenches around nothing as your lover keeps his head between your boobs kissing and licking your skin there until your nipples get too sensitive to his touch, red and swollen when he rolls it between his fingers. His leg parts your thighs keeping them wide open so you can’t get any stimulation until he decides to move lower.

Seeing how you shake under his body parted lips keep asking him to give you more, he doesn’t have the heart to deny you any longer as he starts to rub your thighs keeping your legs open for him to bury his face between your beautiful cunt swollen and needy for his touch he lets his tongue dip between your folds tasting you first before gently sucking on your clit.

He hears you call his name perfectly in tune with his tongue’s strokes as he intends to eat you up. Your essence covers his chin as he licks your hole clean lapping up everything your precious body can produce for him dipping inside the tip of his tongue your muscles tense up ready to get filled with something bigger and Yoongi’s cock twitches inside the confine of his underwear.

He doesn’t need to remove his undergarments to know his tip is red and slick with his precum desperate to fill your empty hole up but before that, he coats two of his fingers in your wetness and pushes them inside parting your walls gently to ease you into the feeling preparing you to take his cock.

Your hips buck into his hand as he curls his long fingers inside your velvety walls feeling your muscles constrict around his digits he moans with his head thrown back as he imagines his dick getting the same treatment later, your musky scent and visual laying beneath him taking what he gives you drives him crazy with need.

Perking up at the sound you open your eyes blinking to get the blurriness fade dreamy half-lidded eyes watch as his fingers fill you up and you almost close them again because of the pure ecstasy his expert hands give to your overwhelmed body.

You see the painful tent that formed inside his briefs before the numbing pleasure could consume you yet again and there’s a wet spot in the middle that lets you know he gets off on seeing you enjoy yourself. His hips unknowingly to him ruts against the sheets to get some kind of friction realising that he focused solely on your pleasure and put it aside to chase his, he’s so different from the partners you previously slept with and the sudden urge to please him overtakes your selfish side to just receive and receive.

You palm him over the wet spot following the outline of his hard dick to give him some well-deserved relief and he immediately grinds into your palm letting out breathy groans and low moans, you don’t mind at all when he gets lost in your touch instead and momentarily forgets about his goal to get you prepped nicely for his cock. The fingers he has inside you stills and your head clear out a little, you’re able to focus on his face learning what he likes as you study his reactions to your movements, you know his moans will probably become your favourite sounds.

You take advantage of his current state to switch positions, letting his fingers slip out of you as you get rid of his underwear grabbing his thighs to lower yourself while he sits down at the edge of the bed.

Taking his tip into your mouth to taste his precum you feel Yoongi’s nails digging into your scalp as you swallow around him trying to get him into your mouth as much as your poor jaw can handle. Holding the base of his cock to guide him back into your wet cavern you set a slow pace, stroking what you can’t fit.

”You look so good sucking my dick baby.” You learned that he tends to be on the quiet side even in the bedroom, his reactions however are good indicators of how you’re able to affect him with every swirl of your tongue. Letting him use the hand tangled in your hair to set the rhythm of your movements your vision blurs as tears swell in your eyes due to the quickened pace and force he starts to fuck your mouth but he pulls out before he could get too close to cumming.

”I need to have you know. Lie down on the bed with your legs spread wide for me.” You follow his instructions showing him your drenched swollen pussy as he climbs on the bed after you, admiring the way he ruined your cunt before he reaches for a condom retrieving the item from inside his drawer.

He touches himself in front of you watching you squirm under his gaze as you wait for him to roll the condom down his length, your body aches to finally be filled with something bigger.

”Yoongi. Fill me up.” You part your pussy lips for him revealing your hole clenching around nothing, beckoning him to fill you up Yoongi looks at the sinful image in front of him saving this memory of you for later when he’s alone with his hands but today he plans to have your cunt wrapped around his cock rather than his fingers.

Your drenched walls suck him in as he enters you, hips lowering in slow motion to bury his entire length inside, nice and steady, gripping his shoulders for support you moan into the sloppy kiss feeling so full.

You hear his guttural moan loud and clear just as his breath hits the shell of your ear and your walls squeeze around him, wet squelching sounds ring beside your mixed love language thriving off the sounds he grunts directly into your ear encouraging you to meet his movements in the middle.

It feels like you stand in front of the gates of heaven when Yoongi increases his pace thrusting in and out, not being able to stop as he feels his balls tighten with the need to cum he parts your legs even more as he watches his dick emerge from the pussy he owns now coated in your juices taking his hard length and moan out every time his tip curves to touch your sweet spot with each delivered stroke.

You cum first around his dick, he helps you ride out your pleasure only pulling out when you whine from oversensitivity and he rolls the condom off to finish as well, watching your spent pussy glistening with your cum he uses the sight in front of him to get off, he collects your slick to lubricate his shaft as he starts to jerk himself off faster.

Once your breathing evens out and you see the concentration on Yoongi’s face while he lucidly moves his hands up and down his throbbing cock with the desperate need to cum you touch his hips drawing soothing circles onto his sweaty skin taking him back into your mouth to help him reach his high.

He comes in your mouth with a soft cry throwing his head back as you keep sucking him licking his sensitive tip until he pulls your head off with a shaky hand stroking your cheeks with his thumb.

”So friends and family, let me introduce you to my boyfriend Yoongi. You might have already met him before.” You joke in front of your relatives of all ages and you see in the corner of your eyes how Hoseok rolls his eyes.

© helenazbmrskai lll Please do not copy, reblog and like instead!

[angryschnauzer]

Blackwater Lake - Chapter 3

Summary: There’s a little town high in the mountains where everyone has a secret, and every family has something that makes them unique. In Blackwater Lake those that are outcast by nature come together.

Characters/Pairing:  August Walker x OFC Freya (Forest Nymph) Original Female Character is described as white/pale, short and of small build, hazel eyes, long dark hair.

Warnings (for this chapter); Talk of past abusive relationships, on the run, alcohol consumption, Daddy Kink, DD/LG, Pet names, fingering, oral sex (male receiving), unprotected sex, hyperspermia, cum play, cum feeding, unplanned pregnancy, pregnancy test.

Previous Parts: 

Werewolf!Sy: Moonlight on the Sand  Castle Under The Stars. Werewolf!Sy, Vampire!Walter: Chapter 1 Vampire Walter: Chapter 2

This will be a series of stand alone stories/2 parters, which will revolve around the residents of the town, with some recurring characters. The ‘reader’ for each story will be a ‘new’ reader, so its not the same woman being with all the male characters.

I do not run a tag list, but please follow @angryschnauzerwrites​ and put that blog onto notifications. You’ll then get an alert every time i post something new.

Blackwater Lake - Chapter 3

The blood slowly trickled across the board and off the table, coating the floor before running into the drain. August raised the heavy cleaver, and with one thunderous swipe severed the femur clean in two. The cleaver made a metallic clang that echoed around the stark tile lined room, and wiping his hands on his apron he lifted the product of his work and inspected his efforts closely. A smile spread over his lips as he looked up;

“There we go Mrs Mackenzie, a nice juicy bone for your dog”

The old woman smiled, her purple tinted grey hair in tight curls that barely moved as she nodded;

“Oh yes, that’ll be perfect! My Clarence will love it!”

At that very moment Clarence started yapping outside where he was tied to the specials chalkboard that sat on the sidewalk outside Walkers Meats, 10lbs of teeth, fur and anger wrapped into the body of a small West Highland Terrier;

“I’m sure he will. I’ll wrap it up for you and Freya will finish ringing up your order for you. We’ll get it delivered this afternoon…”

August walked around the counter and set the wrapped bone into the box, nodding to his assistant to finish up the order. She knew that the bone would be free of charge, but that Mrs Mackenzie would insist on tipping and sliding her $10 which August was more than happy for Freya to keep. The slight girl turned and a tiny smile tugged at the corner of her mouth, before she quietly nodded and continued with her duties.

Returning to the butchery area August glanced up and caught sight of his reflection in the painted mirror, the design obscuring the scarring on the side of his face, giving him that moment of relief from those memories of a past long ago, a life he had left behind when he had sought out quiet solitude in the peaceful mountain town of Blackwater Lake. People minded their own business there and didn’t ask questions. If you had a skill that could help others you were welcomed into the community. How August got into the meat business is a story for another day, but as his gaze travelled across the mirror to where Freya was measuring out the wild herb mixes into small mason jars he smiled and remembered instead how she came into his life.

-

Pulling the sign in from the sidewalk August was exhausted. Running a business completely on his own had seemed like a good idea when he’d started, he enjoyed his own company and he distrusted anyone else to do the job to a standard he would approve of. What he hadn’t counted on was the residents of this sleepy little town not only accepting him, but joyous that he was there and wanting to talk endlessly every time they visited his store. Although he was always polite and did his best to end conversations quickly, after eight hours of it he had jaw ache and knew he would need to work well into the night on the new sides of beef that had been delivered that morning if he were to have any stock to sell the next day. He glanced longingly at the small sign that sat propped up in the window; ‘Help Needed - Enquire Within’, yet he hadn’t had any takers in the month the sign had been up. 

The icy winter wind curled at his neck, sending a shiver down his spine as he let out a sigh, heaving the heavy sign into the building so it didn’t blow away in the night as a icy squall blew in from the mountains. As the door slammed shut behind him it echoed a knock around the store, but when it came again he turned and let out a far from masculine yelp; the face of a pale young woman stared back at him like a ghoul in the darkness. Clearing his throat and smoothing down his blue and white striped apron, he approached the door and opened it;

“May I help you Miss?”

She nodded down to the sign;

“Do you still need someone?”

Her teeth were chattering, and it was hardly surprising as she was barely dressed for the weather, the knitted cardigan doing little to ward off the cold wind. August opened the door to allow her to enter, looking down at the top of her head as she slunk past him.

“Let me get a pot of coffee on, you must be freezing”

As he disappeared into the back office he set the pot of coffee on to heat before grabbing an old jacket that was hanging on the back of the door, returning to where his visitor stood in the store a few moments later, handing her the jacket;

“Its cold in here, we can’t have the heat on because of the meat”

Nodding she took the jacket, her teeth still chattering;

“T-t-thanks… its still warmer than outside”

He handed her a mug of steaming coffee;

“Sorry, i don’t have any creamer or sugar…” She wrapped her delicate fingers around the mug using it more for heat than sustenance as he leant back against the counter on the other side of the store; “So… you’re wanting a job? What experience have you got? You worked in retail?”

She shook her head and muttered a quiet no, keeping her eyes averted from him as she spoke;

“But i will try anything… just looking for a new start”

“Are you running from something?” A gentle nod of her head and the way she clutched the mug tighter told August it was a someone not a something; “Look, if you’re willing to learn, work hard and pay attention, i’ll give you a trial. I’ve gotta level with you, you’re the only person who’s shown any interest in the sign, and i’m getting desperate, so if you want you can start tomorrow”

Her head snapped up and for the first time he saw her eyes, deep hazel peering out from behind long strands of dark brown hair;

“Really?”

“Yes. Really” he stated in a matter of fact way; “I’ll need to get your address and details for the wages…”

“Oh… i’m not… i’ve not got anywhere. I guess i’ll find a cheap motel…”

August paused;

“Kid, there’s no motel in town… at least not this time of year. But i might have a solution for you”

Her eyes widened in fear and August realised whatever she was running from had done more damage than she showed;

“No no, not that” he assured her; “There’s a small apartment above the shop - two in fact, i’ve got one and the other i’ve never rented out, never got round to it… its small but completely self contained, your own entrance and everything, completely secure”

Once a few forms had been filled out August had gotten the girl settled in the small studio apartment. He’d shown her how the fold out bed worked, explained that the hot water fed off the furnace for the whole building so she could use as much as she wanted. A couple of minutes after he’d left her in the apartment he knocked at her door, surprised to hear the locks sliding across at first, but then realising she needed to feel safe. When she peered around the door she almost looked surprised to see him there, as if it would be anyone else;

“Umm yeah?”

August handed her a box of things he’d scavenged from his own kitchen;

“Here’s just a few things to see you through the night… I haven’t been grocery shopping in a while, but the bread was in the freezer and it’ll defrost pretty quickly if you put it in the toaster”

He handed the box to Freya, surprised at how smooth but also small her hands were as she took it from him as they brushed against his own. She nodded and smiled;

“Thank you Mr Walker”

“Night. See you bright and early tomorrow morning” 

-

The next morning August woke to an insistent knocking on his door. Grumbling to himself he pulled on his robe and stalked across his small apartment, pulling the door open with a thunderous look on his face, ready to give whatever maniac that was knocking on his door at 5am a piece of his mind;

“WHAT THE… oh… hi…”

Freya was standing on his doormat, a look of shock on her face;

“Hi… i’m ready to start”

“To… start?”

“Work. You said bright and early”

August ran his palm over his face;

“I… When i said…” he let out a long slow breath; “I meant 8am”

“Oh.”

That was a long day, but by lunchtime Freya had mastered the cash desk and had already started to come out of her shell, the locals more than welcoming for the tiny girl with the woodland eyes, and with her help August was able to catch up on his work.

Over the following month her input had helped August expand his products, suggesting a range of seasonings in reusable jars, where if the customer returned the mason jar they’d get a discount off the next one they purchased. He discovered she had this unfathomable knowledge of herbs and plants, but also had this connection with nature he couldn’t quite understand. He’d sometimes catch her staring out of the window at the trees blowing in the wind, as if listening to their songs that were beyond his own ears.

One thing was for sure, there was a sense of magic to her and August thanked the stars above that she walked into his store on that cold winter night.

-

Back in the present August was busy cleaning the cutting table as Freya busied herself with her jars - it was her own little enterprise now and one she was absolutely proud of. He could see that she kept glancing outside, gnawing on her lip;

“Freya, everything ok?”

“Yes Mr Walker. I was just thinking, the next batch wild garlic is ready to be picked, if i collect some this afternoon i can have more chimichurri mixed ready for tomorrow, and that’s when the beef delivery is coming in”

August let out a chuckle;

“How many times do I have to say to call me August…” he met her gaze with a smile; “And yes, that sounds like a brilliant idea. The store’s quiet and i’ll be doing deliveries in a while, so sure, go exploring”

“Thank you Mr Walker”

August rolled his eyes and let out a laugh, watching as she hung up her apron and grabbed her foraging basket, skipping out of the door and towards the creek that fed into the lake a couple of miles away.

-

Three hours later August was driving back along the gravel road that led into town, having made his deliveries. The spring air was damp but warm, rain threatening to spill but the clouds unwilling to release their bounty just yet. Rounding the bend he looked out over the soft marshland, the grass knee high already and he saw a familiar figure stepping through the green undergrowth. With a smile he pulled his SUV to a stop at the side of the road, stepping out of the vehicle he leaned against the door as he watched Freya as she slowly made her way through the field, before she stopped as her attention moved to the treeline. Following her gaze he watched as a bear emerged from the woods and his heart sank. The native wildlife would be coming out of hibernation, and would be grumpy and hungry. He went to shout but a sudden rush of wind silenced his voice, watching as she held her arm out and the grass flattened in front of her as if a wind devil had made its way through. Glancing back to the bear it had stopped in its tracks but was still staring at her, but then started to circle around on the spot before settling down as if for a nap.

August anxiously watched, knowing if Freya ran she could make it to the car as long as the bear was weak, but he didn’t want to risk that it hadn’t had a belly full of salmon yet, so he quickly reached into the vehicle and pulled his unregistered handgun from beneath his seat. Back at the side of the road he raised the firearm at the bear, glancing at Freya who had now spotted him waiting for her. She started to quicken her pace through the grasses, eventually breaking into a run as she neared the embankment of the road. August glanced to where the bear had been and let out a yell as he saw it was starting to approach them;

“Freya, RUN!”

Doing as he instructed she broke into a sprint, her legs carrying her through the grass and up the embankment. Flinging his door open he motioned for her to dive in, her basket being launched into the passenger footwell as she tumbled across the centre console and into the passenger seat, August launching himself into the driver's seat and gunning the engine as he slammed the door shut, the urgent crunch of tyres on loose gravel dulling the sound of the grizzly’s roar as it had caught up, but was now rapidly disappearing into the distance of the rear view mirror.

August only slowed down as he reached the urban centre of Blackwater Lake, Freya’s breathing having finally levelled out as she turned to him;

“So… there’s bears here?”

He slowed the vehicle and pulled to a stop in a parking lot before turning to her;

“Yes. And moose and cougars and mountain lions… hell sometimes I even hear howls in the night so there’s probably something wolfy up in those mountains too… We need to get you better prepared for nature” August paused; “And what was that thing you did with your hand? That made the grass flatten and the bear sit down…”

Freya shrugged;

“I’m not sure… it's just this thing i’ve always been able to do, calm animals down”

“Huh. Didn’t seem to work this time…”

She glanced at him, her eyes wide;

“I think that was because you were there…”

August let out a laugh, before sitting back in his seat;

“Okay, point taken. I need a drink. We’re at Big-G’s, I'll buy you dinner…”

-

August regretted his decision. He hadn’t factored in how slight Freya was in comparison to her ability to consume alcohol, so three drinks later where all he’d had was lite beer, Freya was completely wasted. The giveaway was when she’d fallen asleep on his shoulder whilst he’d been talking to Geralt - the bar owner - and she’d started to drool on his shirt. Geralt had told him to ‘get his girl home’ with a wry laugh, telling August his meal was on the house. Something had stopped August from correcting the ashen haired man, looking down at the imp of the girl leaning on him. 

He’d managed to carry her to his car fairly easily but the journey up the steps at their building had been more of a challenge. He’d managed to get her to wrap her arms around his shoulders, but had been surprised when she’d also wrapped her legs around his waist. Although it meant he could use one arm to hold her up, the feel of her warm body clinging to his sent a rush of heat through his stomach straight to his groin, he was just thankful she was so out of it she didn’t notice the tent in his pants. 

As he juggled his keys he found the spare for her apartment but then thought better of it, unsure how she was when she’d had alcohol, and instead opened his own apartment. Crossing the almost dark room he reached the couch and slowly lowered her down to the cushions, her whimpers of loss as he started to pull away making him pause;

“Mmmm Daddy, you’re so warm…” 

Holding her still a low rumble slowly bubbled through his throat when she nuzzled against his neck;

“Daddy smells so good…” and she pressed a kiss to the stubble on his chin.

August knew she was drunk, probably didn’t even realise it was him, after all who would want someone as broken and scarred as he was, but for that briefest of moment’s he relished her touch and what was going on in her tequila addled mind. He couldn’t help himself and pressed the briefest of kiss to her cheek;

“Time to sleep now little Kitten” he muttered before reluctantly uncoupling himself from her grasp, pulling a blanket over her as she dozed on his couch. Raking his hand down his face he let out a sigh, before grabbing a glass of water and setting it onto the coffee table in front of her. A scribbled note on the back of a flyer explained that she was drunk and he wasn’t sure if she would need his help, and he didn’t want to invade her privacy of her own apartment.

Having poured himself a generous glass of vodka, August withdrew to his own bedroom, silently closing the door before stripping for bed. It was an early night but without the TV to entertain him and no desire to get lost in a book, he settled on top of the covers in just his underwear, sipping at the ice cold liquor as he willed the swelling of his loins to subside. However every time he tried to clear his mind, all he could imagine was Freya. The thought of her small body beneath his, their bodies sweaty and writhing as one. Finally with a curse he gave in to his desires, pulling his underwear down and taking his hard length into his hand, pumping dry to increase the friction as his mind descended further into taboo territory. He imagined it was her hand, calling him Daddy as she asked if she was doing it right, that her perfect lips would duck down and take his bulbous tip into her mouth, her tongue lapping at his slit as her hazel eyes would stare back up at him, wide with innocence. With a strangled cry he came in violent spurts, covering his hand and stomach in ropes of his cum, thoughts of the delicate woman in his lounge lapping at his spent seed prolonging his orgasm until he was aching and empty. With a curse he looked down at the mess he’d made, realising he needed to clean himself up.

-

The quiet click of his front door woke August the next morning, pushing himself up off the pillow as he heard small footsteps down the outside of the building and the quiet beep of his car being unlocked. Wondering what the hell was happening he leapt out of bed and peered out of the window, letting out a sigh of relief when he saw a dishevelled Freya gathering the wild garlic that had been scattered around his inside of his vehicle the day before.

A few minutes later the thud of his keys falling onto his doormat where she’d posted them through the letterbox sounded through his apartment, and when he went to collect them he found a small note with them;

‘Mr Walker, thank you for your help, I hope I didn't make a fool of myself last night. Your car stinks of garlic now, i’m going to walk up the creek and collect some herbs that will help reduce the odour, Freya x’

-

An hour later when she hadn’t returned, August set off towards the creek through the pleasant woodland, the sunlight leaving dappled patches of gold on the forest floor. Coming to the wide bend in the creek where the water was shallow, he saw the swing over the water that someone had put there years ago, mismatched ropes and a wooden seat, and how someone had now woven wildflowers into the ropes, and as he glanced upstream he saw Freya knee deep in the water, a butterfly dancing on her hand.

Something overcame him and he pulled off his boots and socks, rolling up his pants as he stepped out into the water and sat on the swing, silently watching as she charmed nature beyond a simple human’s comprehension, having control of the elements like a forest nymph. August had seen a lot of unusual things in the time he’d lived in Blackwater Lake, he knew those that had something a little special about them gravitated towards the sleepy little mountain town, so as he watched Freya make her way upstream towards him he realised there was magic in the air. Small water spouts rose from the water as she took each step, as if chasing after her touch as she stepped from rock to rock submerged under the water. 

As she approached the shallow bend in the creek she finally looked up and saw August, a smile spreading over her lips;

“Hi”

“Hi”

“Its so pretty here, isn’t it?” she asked wistfully

“Beautiful from where i’m sitting”

She approached where he sat, stopped at arms reach, a hint of blush warming her cheeks;

“I’m sorry if I was inappropriate last night… thank you for taking care of me, i’m not a big drinker”

“You weren’t inappropriate…” he reassured her; “But it's been a while since a beautiful woman called me Daddy… since before… since before i was broken...”

Her gaze moved to the scar on the side of his face, and without a word she stepped forward and pressed her hand to the spidery scarring. In that moment August felt the magic in her touch, prickling at his skin before she nimbly climbed onto his lap, her legs wrapping around his waist and she lowered her lips to his, softly brushing against his as she spoke;

“You’re not broken, no more than I am…”

The kiss was soft and slow, and as her tongue started to gently tease at the seam of his lips she eased her weight completely onto his lap, her core pressing to his, the heat of their growing lust growing like an ember between them. 

Her small tongue licked into his mouth, tasting him as she pressed her body flush to his chest, small whimpers coming from her as his hands splayed over her back and pulled her firmly down onto his growing arousal. When the need for oxygen finally took precedence August’s lips traced a path of kisses down her jaw and neck, her fingers winding through his dark curls as her head fell back to give him better access to the pale expanse of her collarbone;

“Oh Daddy…”

“That’s it my little one, i’m going to treat you so well, my little Kitten…” August’s mustache brushed against her heated skin as he spoke, the gentle sway of the swing letting their bodies move against each other.

Just at that moment an ominous creak sounded above them, drawing their attention up into the tree’s canopy, just in time to see the rope that held the swing up snap, plunging them down into the shallow creekwater below.

With shouts and screams the moment of passion was lost, taken over by the shock of the water hitting their heated skin. August helped Freya up, her dress plastered to her skin in much the same way his shirt was, soaked head to toe he shook the water from his hair;

“Home?”

“Yes Daddy” Freya purred, pulling into his touch as he wrapped an arm around her to help her out of the water.

-

Pushing in the door to his apartment, clothes were being pulled from each other's bodies even as the door was still ajar. As he pulled his shirt off, Freya’s hands were curling into the hair on his chest, an almost feral growl bubbling from her lips as she ran her hands down to his stomach and rested on the buckle of his belt. Catching her hands in his he held them gently, only speaking when she looked up and met his gaze;

“Kitten, I want to be sure you want this… You’re in total control here, you set the boundaries, you say when you need to stop. But if you do want this, i’ll be your Daddy and take care of you like a Princess”

Freya voice shook as she spoke;

“I want this… my last… he wanted to be my Daddy but didn’t treat me right. He took more than I could give…”

August lifted her small hands to his mouth, kissing each fingertip with such great care and tenderness her heart almost melted before she finally spoke again;

“We should really check for leeches”

“WHAT?!”

Freya had never seen anyone strip their clothing off quite as fast as August just had. For a big man - and a pretty tough one at that - the mere thought of little blood suckers had him stripping completely naked in a matter of seconds, Freya pulling her dress off a little slower until she stood in just her simple underwear. August was still patting himself down, turning to look at his behind;

“Am I ok?”

Freya couldn’t help herself, stepping forwards and taking two handfuls of August’s pert asscheeks, giving them a squeeze before running her palms over the perfectly rounded globes of his buttocks;

“More than ok”

In the following moments August carried her to his small bathroom, turning the shower on before he stepped under the warm jets of water, pulling her with him so he could soap her down. The scent of sandalwood of his soap as he carefully washed every inch of her body was overwhelming, taking care of her to wash any last traces of creek water from her body. He paused as he reached the apex of her thighs, waiting for her agreement which she quickly nodded for him to continue, his large hand sliding between her legs and caressing her lips. His skilled fingers soon sought out her pearl, teasing it gently from its hood before he slid a finger into her waiting heat, a cry falling from her lips which he quickly swallowed with a kiss. His work calloused hands quickly drove her to an orgasm - a first of many - and as she came she called his name, like a prayer on her lips. 

Shutting the water off, August carefully lifted her out of the bath, wrapping a large towel around her before scooping her into his arms and carrying her to his bed. On the messy covers her hair clung to her skin, before he carefully lifted the long tendrils from her chest and was able to take in the sight of her petite naked body laying fresh and prone on his bed. Her hand reached out for him, pulling him close;

“Daddy, I want to feel you…”

August smiled;

“Will you be a good girl for me Kitten? Do you think you can take me? You’re awfully small, and I'm pretty big…”

She sat up, pressing a hand to his chest;

“Can I try? Can I go on top?”

Nodding August lay on the bed, propped up against the pillows, lifting her petite frame on top of him. He watched with pleasure as she wriggled down the bed, her hands gripping his thighs as she settled between his legs. Wrapping her small hands around his generous length she looked up at him as she started to give small licks to his hot flesh, her fingers struggling to encircle his meaty girth. Opening her mouth she took a good three inches between her lips straight away, a litany of curses falling from August’s lips as he felt the hot wet heat of her mouth engulf him. It was better than he could ever had imagined, and he had to grip at the bedsheets to stop himself from cumming at that very moment. Steadying his breathing he let out a low sigh before he reluctantly pulled her off, a trail of spittle hanging between his dick and her mouth;

“But Daddy, I want to taste your cum…”

“I know Kitten, but it's going to be a lot the first time, and I want to see your cunt dripping with me, knowing your tight little pussy is going to overflow with the amount I'm going to pump into you. Now be a good girl and see what you can do, let's make it fit…”

Straddling his thick thighs she positioned herself over his hard shaft, her hand holding him steady as she swiped him through her folds to douse his gnarled girth with her juices, before settling with the tip at her entrance. August ran his hands up and down her arms, comforting her and hoping to get her to relax. He was a patient man but the feel of her soaked flesh pressing against his crown was becoming a struggle not to grab her hips and pull her down until he was balls deep in one swift thrust.

Wrapping her arms around his shoulders, Freya slowly lowered herself onto August’s shaft, going at a pace she could cope with, but the strain of holding back caused perspiration to bead on August’s forehead;

“Doing so well Kitten… I know its a lot, but you can do it… you’re so fucking tight…. Fuck…”

Taking a deep breath Freya finally let herself fall the rest of the way, feeling him part her silken walls until she was settled on his lap. Tears fell from her eyes, tiny diamonds adorning her cheeks at the overwhelming sense of fullness she was experiencing. Seeing these August kissed them away, his praises made her swell with pride as he admitted to her he was struggling not to cum from just the feeling of her tight walls engulfing him. He pushed a hand between their bodies, resting his palm on her stomach;

“Put your hand here… you’re so tiny I can feel myself deep inside you, your little tummy blown out with my dick…”

His thumb crept down and grazed at her pearl, making her cry out before yearning for more. With his ministrations she was soon relaxed enough to start to ride him, her nimble thighs bouncing on his meaty counterparts, feeling the slick push and pull as he filled her whilst she drove them towards their peak. 

Unsurprisingly Freya came first, the overwhelming pleasure that was coursing through her body was all too much to hold back, and she came with a silent scream, her body gripping August so tight it set him off, pushing in so deep he was sure his dick had kissed her cervix, before flooding her with endless ropes of his thick seed, soothing her inner core with his milky gift. Wrapping his arms around her he pulled her to his chest, holding her tight as the floods of emotions surged through her, stroking her back tenderly.

Eventually he carefully lifted her onto the bed, peppering her bare skin with bristly kisses, before parting her thighs and leaning back to admire his handiwork, a thick sheen of white covering her swollen petals. With a single finger he carefully swiped through his mess, before holding it to her mouth;

“Taste Kitten… taste our passion…”

Holding onto his wrist she sucked the digit into her mouth, her tongue tasting their combined essence. When his finger finally dropped from her lips his gaze fell down and hers followed, her eyes going wide when she saw he was hard and ready for more. Laying back she hooked her hands behind her knees and spread herself open for him;

“Daddy, will you fill me up again, please?”

Positioning himself at her cum soaked hole August smiled, a dark hint of lust glinting in his eyes;

“It would be my pleasure Kitten”

-

Three weeks later

Freya chewed nervously on her lip, having circled the isles of the drug store too many times to count now, waiting for a time when there was no-one near what she needed. Finally it was the right moment and she slunk into the isle, grabbing the thin rectangular box before stepping back and bumping into someone, her item tumbling to the floor as a third set of feet appeared;

“Freya! Mrs Syverson! Good Morning!”

It was Sue from the coffee shop, having appeared seemingly out of nowhere just as Mrs Syverson had backed away from the opposite shelf to keep little baby Luna from grabbing the glass bottles of antacid medicine. Mrs Syverson immediately clocked what Freya had been holding;

“Oh Freya, could you just reach those things for me? I can’t reach down with Luna here…”

With shaking hands Freya handed the bag of cotton wool balls and the pregnancy test to the woman only a couple of years her senior, who in turn smiled at Sue as she laughed;

“Sy’s always keeping me on my toes… in more ways than one” She winked before tugging on Freya’s arm; “Sweetie, I need to place an order for a big cookout we have coming up for Sy’s birthday…”

Steering her away from town gossip Sue, Mrs Syverson lowered her voice;

“I’ll meet you outside sweetie, don’t worry about it, i saw you circling the shop”

A few minutes later Mrs Syverson appeared at the door, two drugstore bags in her hand before handing one to Freya;

“My advice, tell August now, do the test together”

“Are you sure? Do you think he’ll be angry?”

“Angry? Hell no, i think it’ll be what he wants, and no matter what the result he’s always had puppy dog eyes for you, we could all tell from the moment you walked into his life”

Peering into the bag Freya saw there was also a bag of Hershey’s kisses;

“You’ll need the sugar, to calm your nerves afterwards”

“Thanks Mrs S… i appreciate it”

“No problem Freya… and i’ll see you tomorrow, i really do need to place that order, but get today over and done with first”

That afternoon Freya and August took the test, then feasted on kisses of every kind.

[drabbles-mc]

First Impressions

Juice Ortiz x F!Reader

Request by @eversonaive​ : Could do a fic on the reader meeting Juice when he has the sign stuck to his chest only to find out later he is the club's intelligence officer lol

Part 2 can be found Here

Warnings: language, Juice being an embarrassed lil cutie

Word Count: 2.4k

A/N: I loved writing this. Flustered Juice gives me life lmao. I hope it’s what you had in mind! I peppered in a couple other of our SAMCRO boys because why not?

Join my group-chat here: (X) ​

SOA Taglist: @adela-topaz-caelon​ @garbinge​ @i-just-read-stuff​ @multiyfandomgirl40​ @masterlistforimagines​ @mijop​ @chibsytelford​ @xladymacbethx​ @kkim120​ @toni9​ @everyhowlmarksthedead​ @unicornucopia-fuckers​ @mayans-sauce​ @shadow-of-wonder​ (If you want to be tagged in any of my writing please let me know! xo)

You couldn’t pretend that you weren’t surprised, and a little off-put by the scene in front of you. You looked around, wondering why you felt like you were the only one who saw what you were seeing. Everyone else was walking by, minding their own business, but you couldn’t pretend that you didn’t notice.

Crouching down, you pressed your fingers gently against the side of his neck, and you were rewarded with a fairly steady pulse. Relief flooded through you, glad you weren’t going to have to report a dead body. However, you weren’t quite sure how to handle the scene in front of you.

Gently nudging him, you tried to wake him up. He let out a soft groan but didn’t fully wake up. With a heavy sigh, you shook him a little harder but weren’t able to wake him. Pressing your lips together into a thin line, you patted the side of his face. You saw his brows furrow and twitch and you knew that he was almost awake.

“Hey,” you shook him and patted his cheek again, “you good?”

With a groan and what seemed like more effort than it should’ve taken, he slowly started to open his eyes. Part of you wanted to laugh because he seemed like he was probably going to be alright, but more than anything you were just confused.

“You alright? Looks like you’ve had…a time.”

He propped himself up on his elbows and looked down at the state of himself. The fact that he didn’t seem shocked and appalled spoke volumes. With a quiet grunt, he forced himself to his feet.

“Do I have to be worried about you?” you couldn’t help but to look him up and down again. With a chuckle and a shake of his head he reassured you that he was fine, which did little to actually make you feel better, “There somewhere I should be take you?”

He laughed, “No. Don’t worry. Thank you for, uh, waking me up. Way better than getting kicked by the cops,” he shook his head.

“Small miracles,” you had to laugh.

“Yea,” he glanced down at the sign on his chest and you could tell from the look in his eyes that he was weighing the pros and cons of ripping it off right then and there, “I should go. I’m uh,” he gestured to the cardboard, “apparently late for my eight o’clock feeding.”

You smiled and shook your head, “Well that’s unfortunate.”

With a deep breath he pulled the sign from his chest and you both cringed. He cursed under his breath from the pain of it before folding it and tucking it underneath his arm. He gave you a lopsided grin and a small wave before turning and walking in the other direction away from you. You stood there, feeling like you should be offering him a shirt, or something to at least tie around his waist, but he seemed pretty unbothered by it all, so you let him go. You shook your head to yourself as you continued on your way, unable to believe what a weird day you’d already had.

A few days went by and you hadn’t forgotten about your run-in on the street that morning. It was a tough scene to forget. You didn’t want to believe that that was going to be the first and last time you ever saw him. If nothing else, you just wanted some closure on the situation, and you also wanted to know how the hell he ended up like that.

Your mind had wandered back to that situation as you stood outside your car waiting for the tow truck. You knew that your car was on its last leg to begin with, and that you should’ve set about looking for a new one some time ago, but you just kept putting it off. The thought of shopping for one, and then paying for one was overwhelming. You were paying for it in an entirely different way now, though. You knew that fixing whatever was wrong with your car was probably going to cost more than it was worth. So, to distract yourself from thinking about that, you thought about literally anything else as you sat half propped up onto your hood.

You’d gone to Teller-Morrow one other time, maybe twice, since you’d moved just outside of Charming. You didn’t remember anything about it, though—you were in and out quick for an oil change or something equally innocuous. There weren’t a whole lot of options for mechanics to begin with, let alone ones that would also tow. Plus you figured since they were local, it wouldn’t take them too long to get to you.

About twenty minutes later the tow-truck pulled up, and you were a mix of relieved and apprehensive. Two men stepped out, and your first thought was that they couldn’t have carried themselves more differently from each other if they tried. The taller one approached you, adjusting his beanie slightly as he did, while the other scampered around to start hooking the truck up to your car.

“So,” he walked up to you, a small smile on his face for a moment as he looked at you, “what seems to be the problem?”

You chuckled and shook your head as you clocked the name stitched into his work shirt, “Well, it stopped running. That’s about all I know, Opie,” you smiled at him.

He laughed, nodding his head slightly, “Sounds like a pretty serious issue, then.”

“I’d say so.”

He glanced back to make sure that your car had been hooked up alright, “You need to be dropped off somewhere, or you got a ride?”

You sighed, resting your hand on the back of your neck as you thought, “Would I be able to ride back to the shop with you guys?”

He nodded, “Sure thing. Long as you don’t mind Kip staring at you the whole time,” he gestured over to the man who was waiting by the door of the tow truck.

You laughed, “Staring I can handle.”

When they pulled into the lot at the mechanics, Opie got out and instructed Kip to take care of the rest. He looked over to you and gestured to the office, “Gemma will get you all set up. We’ll get it right on the lift and try to figure out what’s going on.”

You nodded, “Thank you, appreciate it.”

You knocked lightly on the door to the office and she called for you to come in. She got you all squared away with your paperwork to get everything started. You let her know that if it ended up being more than a certain amount to just not bother and scrap it, or to give it back and you would take care of that part yourself. You weren’t in a position to be paying more than the car was worth. There was sympathy present in her eyes as she listened to you, nodding along. You hated the feeling of pity but you couldn’t deny that you’d landed yourself into a bit of a hole.

She was walking you back out of the office, “We’ll give you a call when we’ve got some numbers for you, sweetheart.”

“Sounds good. Thank you guys so much.”

“Need us to call you a cab?”

You shook your head, “No, no I’ll be alright. Thank you though.”

You were walking across the lot, pulling out your phone as you did to try and figure out who you were going to call to come and pick you up. There was a sudden influx of noise and voices. And despite the fact that you heard it, you still didn’t look up.

The only thing that snapped you out of your thoughts was the feeling of someone’s shoulder bumping into yours. You looked up and both of you were in the middle of apologizing when your eyes met his. Neither of you could hide the shock on your faces as you took each other in.

He looked a lot different when he wasn’t coming out of a mild coma. And also when he was fully dressed with an MC kutte on. You’d missed out on the fact that he was handsome in the midst of worrying about his well-being the last time you saw him.

“Oh shit,” he laughed, “hey.”

“Uh, hey,” you couldn’t help but to stare at him, “I didn’t…expect to see you here. Or again in general, for that matter.”

Another man in a kutte appeared, draping his arm around the shoulder of the man that you were talking to, “Juicy,” he said, “who’s your friend?”

He wore his nerves on his face, “Um. She’s not, uh, she’s—”

You cut him off to save him the trouble, holding out your hand, “I’m Y/N.”

“Y/N,” he let your name roll off his tongue, “nice to meet you. I’m Jax,” he paused, looking back and forth between you and the man next to him, trying to put the pieces of the puzzle together, “Sorry to interrupt,” you could see that he was biting back a laugh.

“No, you’re…you’re good,” you reassured him, “Nothing to interrupt. Just, um, a little surprised by,” you gestured to the two of them and to the clubhouse behind them, “all of this.”

“Well then I gotta ask,” Jax continued to stare at Juice who seemed to be getting more and more shy by the second, “how do you know Charming’s favorite Puerto Rican Intelligence Officer?”

You couldn’t stop the laugh that slipped past your lips, “Intelligence Officer?”

Jax nodded, clapping Juice on the back as though he thought he was hyping him up, “For the club, yea. Can find out anything about anyone. Also our resident tech guy.”

You chuckled, unable to lie and say that you weren’t a little impressed, “Impressive. Guess we didn’t have time to get into all that last time we met.”

“Oh?” Jax looked back and forth between the two of you, embarrassment creeping onto Juice’s features.

“Yea, he was running a behind schedule. Had places to be.”

Jax looked over at him, “Where the hell did you have to be that could’ve been more important, bro?”

Juice ran his hands down his face, knowing that he was going to have to cop to it sooner or later, “When we met I was, um…she actually…” he shook his head, “She’s the one who woke me up the other day. Made sure I was alright.”

The entire incident had clearly already faded from Jax’s memory because he looked as lost as he had been before Juice said anything. You smiled, “I made sure he eventually made it to his eight o’clock feeding.”

Recognition flashed across Jax’s face and he laughed, “Jesus. Sorry you had to be a part of that.”

“Sure, her you’ll apologize to,” Juice rolled his eyes.

“She didn’t deserve it,” Jax chuckled and shook his head, “Well it was nice meeting you, Y/N. I’ll leave Juice to try and clean up whatever mess he might’ve made.”

He walked away from the both of you and you could head him laughing to himself as he approached the rest of the guys. You and Juice stood there facing each other, neither one of you really knowing what to say.

You broke the silence, “Won’t lie to you, Juice,” it felt nice to finally be able to address him as something, “over the past few days when I’ve been trying to think about what your life was like for it to land you in that situation, this wasn’t what I had in mind.”

“You’ve been thinkin’ about me?” he smirked.

You laughed, rolling your eyes, “You made quite the impression,” you looked him in the eyes, “I’m glad you’re alright though.”

He chuckled, “Not the worst thing they’ve ever done to me.”

You smiled and shook your head, “Well that’s a little concerning.”

“Sorry you got, uh, subjected to that,” he shook his head, “wrong place, wrong time.”

You waited for him to meet your gaze and you flashed him a smile, “I wouldn’t quite say that.”

There was a light in his eyes that was so enticing, “Right. Well. I’m glad I got a chance to make a better first impression. Sort of. Maybe,” he laughed. There were a few beats of silence before he spoke up again, “What brings you here anyway?”

You nodded towards the garage, “Car broke down.”

“Shit.”

Your laugh was a hollow, “Yea. Fucking sucks. Hoping they can fix it without bleeding me dry.”

Juice thought hard about it for a few moments, “I’ll take a look at it. I’ll see what I can do, see if I can get you a deal or something.”

“Yea?” you couldn’t hide your relief.

He nodded, “Yea. Least I could do.”

“You’d really be saving my ass.”

He laughed, “Guess that would make us even.”

You chuckled and nodded, “Guess so.”

He paused for a moment, eyes glued to the pavement, “If you want, you could, uh, you could give me your number,” he looked up at you, “and I’ll give you a call when I get it all sorted.”

You smiled, “Alright. Sounds good,” you held out your hand for his phone and quickly added your number to his contacts, “Hope to hear from you soon, Juice.”

“Juan,” he said quietly as he took the phone back from you.

“Hm?”

He looked at you, “Juan. My name is Juan.”

You smiled, “Well, then, Juan, I’ll talk to you soon,” you paused and bit back a laugh, “Try to keep yourself out of sticky situations, alright?”

“Well now at least I have you to call just in case,” he smirked.

“Won’t be able to come and get you until you fix my car,” you chuckled, “So at least be careful for a few days.”

“I think I can do that.”

“Good,” you stepped in and gave him a quick hug, “Thank you, Juan, seriously.”

“It’s not a problem. I’ll, I’ll talk to you soon.”

“Looking forward to it,” you flashed him a smile before turning and continuing your way out of the parking lot.

You chanced a look back over your shoulder and saw that he was still standing there staring at you with a smile and a dreamy look on his face. You laughed and shook your head as you turned back around. There was something to be said about memorable first impressions, and something told you that you had landed yourself in an adventure when you met him. You were excited to find out what was in store.

[willowbird]

for the prompt thing andreil, 16(Au with vampire! Neil), Trope 4, dialogue 15 + if possible 39

Anonymous asked:

Vampire! Neil Au requester I meant 25 and not 15

Supernatural AU with a Vampire Neil, meet messy, “i know this looks bad, but i swear, it’s not" & “you confuse me.”

I'm not sure if this was what you were hoping for when you send me these prompts, but I rather had fun writing it so I hope you enjoy, Anon!

----

If Andrew was being completely honest, he really didn't mind his job. Sure, it wasn't all that impressive, but it also wasn't like he had someone around that he wanted to impress. It was easy, too, and no one bothered him. Well, no one bothered him because he had third shift, and the only people grocery shopping at three-am were literal vampires; and in a tiny town like Palmetto, there were really only a handful of those, none of which would ever have any reason to bother the short, scowly human stocking shelves over in the candy aisle.

Which was exactly what Andrew was doing when he heard the crash over in the refrigerated section.

Shifting the headphones off one ear, Andrew tilted his head and listened. There were a few more minor crashes, then a bumbling, scrabbling sound of things being kicked and jostled around. No screaming, though, so Andrew reaffixed the cup over his ear and got back to what he was doing.

"Cleanup by the refrigerators. Cleanup by the refrigerators."

Andrew lips moved soundlessly to Fall Out Boy, willfully ignoring the fact that refrigerators was in his section of the store and thus his responsibility should there be a call made to it.

"Cleanup by the refrigerators. Cleanup by the refrigerators."

Andrew juggled three snickers bars to the beat, tossing them onto the shelf just as the guitar solo started.

"Cleanup by the refrigerators. Cleanup -- Goddamnit Minyard get your ass over to refrigerators and clean the mess up."

Welp, he tried. With a heavy sigh, Andrew dropped the candy in his hands back into the box he'd been unloading, then gave two middle-fingers to the nearest camera.

The gruff voice over the intercom said, "Don't be a cheeky bastard, you little ingrate. Just do your damn job."

"Yeah, yeah," Andrew muttered to himself, rolling his eyes as he turned to head down the aisle. From all those crashes it was sure to be an epic mess. Maybe he wasn't as okay with this job as he thought he was.

Whatever Andrew thought he was expecting to see when he rounded the corner, it was not what he actually saw.

Because there, sitting in the middle of fallen displays and drenched in both blood and pink lemonade with an unconscious (dead?) human sprawled across his lap, was an annoyingly pretty disaster of a vampire.

Andrew stared at the tableau for a long moment, the tugged his headphones down around his neck and moved forward, surveying more of the damage as he got closer. Two of the displays near the fridges had been completely toppled, sending s'mores supplies and snack cakes as far out as lunchmeat on one side and paper goods on the other. There wasn't as much liquid on the floor as Andrew suspected there might be, the blood confined only to the vampire's actual person and only a small pool of pink lemonade leaking out of the nearest container. Upon closer inspection, the human appeared mostly unharmed and definitely alive, as he was breathing. He didn't have a drop of blood on him.

The vampire flashed fang as he gave a weak sort of smile. "I know this looks bad, but I swear, it's not."

"Uh-huh. Right." Andrew crouched down and picked up the carton of pink lemonade. It wasn't even opened properly. There were punctures in the side exactly the right size and distance to have been caused by pretty-vamp's fangs.

Andrew turned the carton to show the leaky punctures to the guilty vampire.

"I was thirsty?"

"Mm. What about the snack draped over your lap?" Andrew gestured at the guy, who was, admittedly, definitely a snack. He was significantly bigger than either himself or the vampire, with black hair and a small tattoo of a chess piece on the crest of one cheek.

The vampire did not seem to share Andrew's opinion. His pretty face screwed up in distaste, those damn-near cerulean eyes flashing with ire. "Ugh. No way. I only drink from Kevin when I'm on my deathbed."

"Is that your way of telling me that he's your boyfriend and you nip him every night, then?"

"What? No?" The blatant confusion on the vampires face had Andrew sighing. The vampire shook his head. "Look, I'm sorry about the lemonade. I was going to pay for it, but it couldn't wait." The skepticism must have been visible enough on Andrew's face for even this idiot to be able to read it because the vampire sighed and continued after just a short judgmental pause.

"I don't drink human blood. That brand of lemonade in addition to regular food can keep me going for weeks at a time without me having to go after animals either."

A vegan vampire, now Andrew had seen everything.

"Right, so why is your boyfriend passed out?"

"Not my boyfriend. The dumbass decided to go out while sick with moon-fatigue. He fainted."

Moon fatigue? Andrew looked back down at the man in the vampire's lap. That meant that 'Kevin' wasn't a human at all, but a were-something.

Instead of commenting on this, Andrew refocused on the vampire's face and said, "You sure you aren't dating?" Because it seemed pretty fated, a dumbass vampire who starves himself to the point where he has to raid the local grocery store for magical lemonade, hooking up with a dumbass were-somethingorother that resisted the change to the point where he got sick and then went out like that, thus necessitating the aforementioned situation where stupid starved vampire has to come rescue him. Speaking of... Andrew took another look at the carton in his hand and memorized the brand. There was no way he was ingesting anything that was able to keep a vampire off his bloodlust for weeks on end.

"Very," the vampire confirmed. Then he sighed and looked down at his friend for a moment before smacking him sharply enough that the sound even got a little echo. "Wake up, asshole!"

Kevin jolted awake with a lurch, then moaned and covered his face his hands. "The liiiiiights, they're so briiiiiight. Neiiiiiiiiiil where aaaaaare weeeeee?"

The vampire - Neil - rolled his eyes and gestured to the man in his lap. "See what I have to deal with?" He shook his head and shoved Kevin off his lap before standing. He was a little shaky as he rose, but managed to keep his feet. "Get up Kev. Thanks to you there's a huge ass fucking mess and if we ever want to come back again we're gonna have to help clean it up."

"Nooooooo."

"Yeeeeeees."

Kevin peaked his eye open, saw Andrew, and pointed. "Make him do it. Its basically his job!"

"I don't work here," Andrew said immediately, despite the violently orange vest he was wearing that sported both a name-tag and the logo for Palmetto Grocery.

Then a truly awful thing happened: Neil grinned at him. It was like the goddamn moon rising over an enchanted fucking lake, is what it was. Those blue eyes shined and his whole face softened. Two perfect dimples winked at him, his fangs flashing in a way that was both really sexy and kinda... cute. Even with the blood-spatter on his face the man was downright captivating.

Kevin woozily stumbling to his feet snapped Andrew out of his momentary stupor. The were looked from Neil to Andrew and sighed, shaking his head. "Tiny assholes. I am surrounded by tiny assholes." Then he turned and began to shuffle around, picking up boxes of Twinkies and stacking them in one arm.

Andrew turned back to Neil. "So if all you are here for is lemonade, why are you covered in blood?" It distantly occurred to Andrew that this probably should have been the first question he asked.

Neil shrugged. "Had to kill someone when I picked up Kevin."

Ah, well, that was that then. Andrew nodded his understanding and the two of them joined Kevin dealing with the mess. It was after Andrew had righted the display fixtures and Neil had started stacking all the boxes on them upside down that Neil looked over at him and asked, "Do you usually work nights?"

Andrew paused, blinked, and looked over at him. "Why?"

"Just curious. Kev and I are new to town."

"I am not a tour guide."

Ugh, no there it was again - that grin. This time accompanied by a short, bright laugh.

"Understood." Neil placed the last box on the top of the fixture, somehow getting it to balance on a single corner. Satisfied, he then looked back at Andrew, still fucking smiling. "I guess I'll see you around, then."

"You confuse me," Andrew said, almost without meaning to.

Another fang-flashing grin. "I'm a bit of a puzzle."

Andrew studied him for a moment, considering. He wondered if the idiot vampire even realized he was flirting with him. It sure seemed intentional - but he hesitated to give the dumbass that much credit.

"I guess I will just have to solve you then," Andrew finally said.

"Guess so." Neil then had the audacity to wink, and Andrew's ears turned pink. Intentional then, definitely intentional.

Luckily, Neil had turned to collect his friend, so probably didn't see his traitorous ears. The vampire looked back at him one more time, just long enough to raise a hand in farewell, before leading Kevin away from the refrigerators. Andrew tracked him with his eyes until they turned the corner, and were gone.

Well, if nothing else - Palmetto sure as fuck got a hell of a lot more interesting.

[gypsydanger01]

THE STORM - Part thirteen

Fandom: The Boys (Amazon prime tv series)

Pairing: Black Noir x OC

Disclaimer: I don’t own The Boys, only my OC characters and certain pieces of au plot.

A/N: So here’s a short chap with Sarah and Martha hanging out. I want this series to slowly build up to what I have planned, since it’s highly unrealistic for either of them (BN and OC) to immediately and blindly trust each other. BN might be taken by her, but he’s not stupid. Next chapter will have more BN!! 

 Black coffee and light reading

It had been a couple of days since he’d last seen her, and Noir was growing restless. He’d left for an energy drink commercial he was supposed to star in and was very close to beheading the film director who had him endlessly repeating his scenes. He was disgusted by their superficial ways, this façade they all hid behind. He was no movie star or celebrity. He was a killer.

Kevin, the scrawny man directing the scenes called out, “And cut.”

Noir immediately stepped back into his usual strict posture as the smaller man moved towards him.

“I really liked this one,” he praised excitedly, “but why don’t we try this again? We want it to be intense,” he emphasized, “—keep viewers on the edge of their seats.”

The large, masked man stared down at him for a few seconds, enjoying the way Kevin grew visibly uncomfortable. As the director began trying to convince him, Noir simply moved past him and walked off. You don’t want to see intense, he thought.

Making his way through rows of props and sets, he reached his trailer and decided he didn’t feel like holing up in the cramped space for the rest of the day. Instead, he kept walking until he’d left the film set behind.

Soon, he reached a wooded area and delved inside, exploring the small dusty path curling through the tall trees. He imagined that Sarah was there with him, her small hand curled in his. Who was she? Was her name Sarah, or rather Marianna? Was she spying on Vought? He thought back to the night he followed her to the club, and he’d seen her burn the shape of her fingers into the man’s wrist. Noir was left stunned, and slightly impressed, but he couldn’t shake the doubt clouding his mind. He was meant to keep Vought’s enemies at bay, by picking them off one by one if they got too close. Was she the next threat they’d point out?

His mind drifted back to their evening in her backyard, soaking in the moonlight that filtered through the passing clouds. When he’d first seen her at the gala, he’d found her spectacular. She moved with grace and purpose, and her bright smile had immediately caught his attention. But now he’d gotten a glance behind the curtain and realized there was so much more. She was enigmatic, magnetic. He saw the heaviness of her shoulders, the maturity in her dark eyes. She was an observer, taking in her surroundings in a meticulous and rather calculating manner—just like him. There was a fatigue that lingered in her eyes, and her constantly being cold concerned him. But he could see the fire behind it all. She was hiding away under a façade of innocence and presented herself as small, vulnerable. He had a feeling she was anything but.

She intrigued him, and it was the first time he found himself so involved in another individual’s life and well-being. That night under the stars, he’d seen her on edge, lost at sea.

He hoped she was doing well.

..

It had been a few days since Sarah had seen Noir, and she wondered if something had happened. She wished she didn’t mind but was surprised when she found herself missing his presence. He was quiet, and yet reassuring. If only they could communicate more directly.

That morning, Sarah and Martha had taken a day off for the quirky blonde’s birthday. They’d decided to go to a local bookstore and coffee shop for a warm drink and pastry before heading off to visit her parents. The two women visited the petite shop every chance they got, always pleased with the homey and warm atmosphere oozing from the book-covered walls.

Once they’d settled down at a small table near the large windows, they ordered and chatted about anything and everything under the sun.

“How did your date with Dave go?” Sarah asked while taking small sips off her coffee.

Martha shook her head, “I was trying to avoid it.”

“Oh, come on, it couldn’t have been that bad—"

“—Worse”

Sarah caught the mischief in Martha’s eyes and knew she was messing with her.

“So, what happened?”

“Well, you see what happened was—” Martha began recounting the tale, “we were sat at dinner, and he moved in really close. His hand came over to mine, and he was flirting while talking about movies…”

Sarah watched her, entirely unconvinced.

“…and then you see, he said the wrong thing,” she took a deep breath, “he said he hates transformers.”

Sarah rolled her eyes, “Oh for the love of God.”

Martha immediately dove into an explanation, “No, we love that movie, you and I. We used to watch it religiously every weekend—” she grew louder, while Sarah tried to quiet her down, “—and I will not take this kind of disrespect from some pretty boy.”

Sarah could do nothing but laugh at this point, her friend joining her.

After they’d grown serious, Martha attempted to draw information on the mysterious man who’d sent her, and was probably still sending her, all those gifts.

“What about your mystery man?” she began, “Are you still seeing him?”

Sarah waved it off, “Not really, it’s been a few days—”

“—a few days” Martha exclaimed.

Sarah drew herself into a professional posture.

“Oh, don’t go all Mallory on me now, just give me some details,” she asked, “please?”

Sarah thought on it, and ultimately decided that feeding her friend some details would do no harm, as long as she kept the man’s identity out of the picture.

“Well, we watched Die Hard together—”

“—like Netflix and chill?”

“No,” Sarah grew flustered, “just let me finish, you can run through your list of questions when I’m done.”

Martha smiled and nodded, deciding to not torture her until the end of the story.

“He’s a fan of Die Hard so we decided to do a movie night…” she trailed off. “And it was nice. Unexpected, but nice,” she continued, her mind straying to his uncovered hands, him pulling her into his chest for a chaste kiss on her head.

“Hey, you there,” Martha asked with a knowing look.

“And a couple nights ago he showed up and we watched the moon from the backyard,” she recounted, avoiding as much detail as possible.

Martha looked at her unimpressed, “Is that seriously the best you can do? Come on, tell me about him,” she pressed, “I want to know how you feel about him.”

“I honestly don’t know yet,” she sighed. “And he’s just…” she searched for the right word, “Unexpected.”

Martha rolled her eyes, “Okay unexpected—got it. Describe him.”

“He’s very tall, and strong. A bit dark and brooding," she almost snorted at the understatement. "And he’s quiet you know—doesn’t speak much. But he’s a reassuring presence, good-mannered and,” she faltered thinking back to him pulling her chair out for her, or insisting he wash their cups. “Kind, I guess.”

“So, he’s not stalkerish?”

Definitely. “No, not at all. Nothing worth worrying about,” Sarah reassured her.

Martha watched her carefully, “Okay. I guess that’s enough to keep me satisfied for a couple days, but I want the deets, girl.”

Sarah laughed, relieved they were closing the subject, “Of course.”

She looked down at the black coffee in her cup, her thoughts wondering off to their quiet encounter under an equally pitch-black sky.

Martha snapped her fingers, “I want to stop by Sephora before we leave, so drink up,” she winked, “I’ll get the check.”

And with that the blonde smoothly stood from her chair and headed towards the cute guy at the counter.

Sarah couldn’t help but smile at her friend’s antics. She quickly downed her coffee ready to leave the table, when the spine of a book beside her caught her attention. “Sign language for beginners.”

Conflicted, she stared at it. He might not even come back. Maybe he thought she was weird after that night in her awful backyard. Still, she let her hand move forward and pull it from the neat rows of thick volumes. It looked worn, as if it had been used extensively. She found it oddly comforting.

Finally reaching the front counter, she cut into Martha and the man’s flirtatious conversation holding up the book in her hand. She payed, and the two women finally left.

Once outside, Martha eyed her friend questioningly.

“What?”

“Why are you learning sign language," she asked. “I mean, there’s nothing wrong with it, I was just wondering—is there any particular reason?”

Sarah kept her expression light and unreadable, “Just interested.”

I’m so stupid, Sarah thought to herself as she found herself hoping he’d return. So stupid.

Martha accepted her friend’s answer, and they hurried off ready for the rest of their day.

  MASTERLIST

Tag list: @ateliefloresdaprimavera @ellejo @dust-bun @coco724 ​  @proximio-5 @damiminator @omegahighendpro @rpgluvr95 @sweetrabbitteamx

[shimmeringclouds]

Choromatsu - A Gracious Green

The ticking of the clock grew louder and louder with each second passing, causing Choromatsu to jog his leg up and down in his seat without thought. Sweat had accumulated at the back of his neck, but he didn't bother wiping it away. He knew it would just continuously make its way back.

His father was getting old. All his brothers, including himself, knew deep down that they couldn't mooch off of their parents forever. And with Matsuzo collapsing in the middle of the day and being hospitalised for the next few weeks, the sextuplets had a very scary and stern wake up call. They had to start working, for the sake of their parents.

...However, it didn't make the process any easier. Choromatsu's nerves were through the roof, evidently shown by the crumpled look on his face. He began to wonder if he should even be sitting in that room, waiting for someone to inevitably call his name so that he could begin the interview.

He was scared. So terribly scared.

Just then, the sound of a door opening beside him made him jolt in a panic. Whipping his head towards the source of the sound, he saw a woman, making her way over to the seat directly in front of him. He couldn't help but stare (as he did with any other female he had ever encountered).

Your hair was slightly disheveled, leaving you to run a shaky hand through your locks in an attempt to straighten them out. Your clothes looked slightly wrinkled, and he noticed a few small stains on the side of your white shirt, which were almost entirely covered by your black blazer.

When he finally got a good look at your face, he paused. Your face looked thinner than most. There was a hollowness in your cheeks and sunken eyes, rimmed with dark circles from what he assumed was many restless nights.

"Hello!"

With a squeak, Choromatsu averted his head towards the ceiling. He had been so busy staring, he hadn't realised you were looking right back at him with a smile.

"H-H-Hello!!" His voice was a lot louder than usual. He cursed his nervousness.

"Are you also here for a job interview?" You began a conversation with him, seeing as he was the only one in the room with you. Why you wanted to talk to him, though, the Matsuno would never know.

"Ah, yes! I am!" There were too many voice cracks in that short answer. Clearing his throat, he tried again.

"I'm Choromatsu Matsuno. It's nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you, too! I'm [Y/N] [L/N]," you placed your slightly tattered bag onto your lap, crossing one leg over the other. "Is this your first interview?"

"N-No, I've worked before. But, it's been a while..." He rubbed the back of his head, quickly glossing over his lazy NEET lifestyle. Just as he was about to continue the conversation, his name was called, instructing him to enter the main office. He stood shakily, busying his hands with the material of his tie.

"Good luck, Mr Matsuno!" you beamed towards him, causing a blush to spread over his face. He responded similarly, throwing you a timid smile before disappearing behind the large oak doors.

»»-----　♔　-----««

Choromatsu sighed heavily, slouching over as he stood just outside the office building. Another failed interview. How long until he could find somewhere to work? What if his father's condition grew worse? It would be too late to do anything. He would be a failure.

A deep sigh coming from his right snapped him out of his downwards spiralling thoughts. Glancing over, he saw it was you, from earlier. You were slouching over just like he was, a crumpled look of defeat plastered onto your face.

"... I assume you didn't get the job, either?" Choromatsu asked softly, startling you.

"Mr Matsuno..."

"Please, call me Choromatsu," he quickly corrected. Giving a slight nod, you straightened yourself back up.

"I didn't think there would be so many requirements... It sounded like a simple enough job," you whined, rubbing the back of your neck in confusion.

Choromatsu hummed in agreement. A moment of silence came over the both of you, the distant sounds of cars whizzing past filling up the air. He looked up to the sky, noting how the sun was beginning to set, painting the clouds in soft hues of oranges and purples.

"Would you, maybe..." He started, trailing off nervously as you tilted your head towards him. Swallowing thickly, he continued: "Well, what I mean is, w-would you like to.. get a drink? It'll be on me."

He fidgeted in his place as you continued to stare at him in bewilderment. Your fingers tightened around the worn straps of your bag, and you nibbled your lower lip in thought.

"Y-You don't have to say yes if you don't want to!" Choromatsu babbled suddenly, his cheeks a heavy shade of red. You only chuckled softly, turning fully towards him.

"I wouldn't mind a drink, Choromatsu."

"Sure, I'll just head home now, it was really weird of me to- ... What?"

"I said yes," you laughed, moving to stand beside him. "I don't know many places around here, so you'll have to show me the way."

The Matsuno stood in shock, eyes wide with a slight sweat running down the side of his temple. Slowly, he took a step forward, muttering for you to follow him in a daze.

Streetlights flickered on gently as you made your way down the sparse pavements, the both of you opting to simply walk in a silence that gradually grew more comfortable. The local bar that Choromatsu and his brothers frequented finally came into view, gesturing for you to go inside first.

You chose a table towards the back corner of the room, which gave you a nice view of the darkening sky just outside. Glancing around, you noticed the place was empty for the most part, aside from a single sleeping figure in a grey suit a few tables down.

"Do you come here often?" you asked Choromatsu, who had sat in front of you. His smile faltered slightly as he gave it some thought.

"Yeah, but my brothers almost always tag along. It's nice to finally have a drink away from them for a little bit."

"You have brothers? That must be nice!" you beamed. He only frowned at that.

"Not if you have five identical faces..." he muttered, although you didn't hear him as a waiter came around to your table with a notepad and pen.

"Welcome! What can I get you to drink?" He asked politely, even though he was already eyeing Choromatsu with a wary look.

"I'll have the usual," the waiter nodded, but didn't write anything down.

"And you, miss?"

"Uh... Just a glass of water, please," you ordered. When the waiter had left, Choromatsu raised a brow at you.

"You don't have to get water. I don't mind buying you something else." You averted your gaze from him to your lap, crossing one leg over the other and smoothing out the wrinkles of your skirt.

"No, it's.. it's okay. I can't really afford anything other than water, anyway." You tried to dismiss the topic with a shaky smile, but the action only caused Choromatsu to lean in closer.

"But drinks here are extremely cheap, only around three hundred yen. Surely you can afford that, right?"

"I-I really.. can't. Even if it's just three hundred, I can't risk it."

The air between the two of you became tense as Choromatsu studied you carefully. He may seem dumb most of the time, but he wasn't stupid. He could see something was wrong - very wrong - with the way you were answering his questions.

His eyes wandered down to your clothing and bag, then to your thin face for a split second before something clicked.

"You... You don't have much money at all, do you?" He almost whispered, face paling as you barely nodded your head.

"I'm.. living on my last pay check.." you hesitantly revealed. More silence, until Choromatsu pressed on.

"When did you get that?"

"... A month ago."

He couldn't believe what he was hearing. You couldn't be any older than him, and you were barely living?

"Please tell me you at least have somewhere to live..?" His tone was desperate as he clutched the fabric of his trousers.

"I don't have anywhere to go, Choromatsu..." you took a deep breath to calm your nerves, "That's why I really needed this job, or any job I can get. But every time I go, I keep getting turned away. I... I don't know what else to do..."

Your face was buried into your hands as the stress finally crashed down on you like a bucket of cold ice. You tried your best to hold back the tears, but as a few slipped through, you found it hard to catch your breath.

You were sure that Choromatsu had left now after not hearing anything from him since you spoke. However, the thought was quickly thrown out the window as you felt a presence beside you, a warm hand resting itself onto your shoulder.

Hesitantly, you peered through the gaps of your fingers to see him offer you a smile once more, a look of understanding in his eyes.

"You don't need to worry, [Y/N].." he boldly brushed away the tears from your cheeks with the pad of his thumb, keeping your gaze fixated on him. "I can help you."

He stood from his seat and grasped your hand, tugging you upwards and began leading you out of the bar, ignoring the mad yelling of the waiter from behind you and instead quickening his pace.

"I would offer you to stay at my place, but my shitty brothers would make everything worse. Luckily, though, I think I know someone else who can help."

"W-Wait! Choromatsu!" You dug your feet into the ground, stopping you both in your tracks.

"I don't understand what you're talking about.. Where are you taking me?" Your voice wavered dangerously, but you forced the next surge of tears down.

"Ah, sorry! I guess I didn't explain things very well, did I?" He ruffled his hair sheepishly before turning to you, only to avert his gaze to the ground. "I know we just met, but.. I'm worried about you, [Y/N]. I know someone who will definitely let you stay at their house until you're able to get by on your own two feet again. That is... If you want to?"

He felt your fingers tighten around his slightly clammy palm, then a sniffle. He shot his head up to find your cheeks stained with tears, your lips formed into a wobbly but grateful smile.

"Y-You'd do that... for a stranger?" You mumbled tearily, a huff of laughter escaping you. In an instant, you wrapped your arms around Choromatsu's torso, burying your face into his shirt.

"Thank you... So much, Choromatsu..."

"I-I-It's no problem!" He squeaked, gently clinging his twitchy fingers onto the back of your blazer. He wished he could revel in your warmth pressed against him for a little longer, but he really had to get you to Totoko's.

Besides, he had a bit of a growing problem that he really didn't want you to see.

[tae-cup]

Last Delivery | KNJ Drabble

Hope everyone is well! 

Masterlist

“Y/N.” Your boss called you to the backroom and you felt your stomach drop. The local pizza shop, known as Sliceroni, had been losing money recently. There was a new pizza place coming into town and people had begun to go more and more to them, though you doubted their quality. So far, three of your 10 coworkers had been fired or quit due to the issue. 

With a sigh, you took off your apron and shot your coworker, who manned the cash register, a frown. She looked at you with a sympathetic smile. You walked over to the door and rapped your knuckles on the hard wood. The place was dusty, old and rotting wood. 

“You wanted to see me?” You chirped. Please don’t fire me. You didn’t have any other job lined up, despite your coworkers trying to talk you into it. They all saw that the business was failing and they wanted to be ready to jump ship. 

“Ah, yes, Y/N.” The manager smiled, but the smile didn’t reach his eyes. It unnerved you. “Please sit.” 

You nodded and took a seat on the cushioned chair. The man sighed and clasped his hands together on his desk. 

“You’ve been a wonderful employee for these past two years. You’ve been hardworking, loyal, and all the customers love to have you deliver their order.” He massaged his forehead. “But, as you know, there have been budget cuts and we’re not able to pay for a delivery person anymore. I know you’ve been working the kitchen in the meantime, but you aren’t the dedicated chef and we can’t ask you to work for free.” 

You frowned. “Are you...firing me?” 

“We prefer the term releasing you.” He smiled gently. “I’d love to write you a referral if you need it.” 

The rest of his words were drowned out. It felt like you were underwater. You were being fired. A wonderful employee, but obviously not good enough. What would you do now? You numbly nodded at his suggestion of a referral. 

“Do you...where do you want me to put my uniform?” You choked. 

“You can return it to my desk.” He responded, a sad expression on his kind features. You bit your lip, gulping back your tears. 

“Is there anything else?” You murmured, wanting to leave as soon as possible. 

“Well, we have one more delivery set up.” 

You tilted your head, curiosity overcoming your emotions. 

“To who?”

-

-

You knocked on the door. Never again would you have to do this. You tried to keep the frown off your face. 

“I think that’s the pizza.” There’s a muffled shout. 

“Be there in a second!” Another voice responded and you fought to keep a smile off your lips. It wasn’t like you were in a rush or going anywhere else. After this, you’d be free. In fact, you only had on your name badge with the logo of Sliceroni. The boss had claimed it was a souvenir and to keep it. So now you stood, dressed casually, holding seven boxes of pizza. How many boxes did this man need? The door swung open to reveal a rather disheveled looking man. His hair was poking out every which way and his clothes were rumpled. He had a nice smile with dimples. Adorable. You internally slapped yourself. 

“Hi! Are you from Sliceroni?” He questioned. You peered over the boxes. There was the sound of thundering footsteps and then six other faces crowded the doorway. 

“What do you think, Hyung? Are the seven boxes not proof enough?” A sweet looking boy said. 

“Jimin-ah, shush.” The man scratched the back of his neck. “Thanks for the delivery, I’ll get your money in a moment. Please, come in.” He moved aside and you went in gladly, arms aching. 

“You can set them down there.” He gestured to the kitchen counter and you placed the heavy boxes onto the marble. He rummaged around his pockets, pulling out a leather wallet. Unbeknownst to you, he was observing you carefully. The pizza girl is kinda cute. You brushed a strand of hair behind your ear, trying to keep the frown off your face. This was it. Two years of dedication to be ended here. He handed you the money, now more concerned by your glistening eyes. 

Still, you took the money with a small thank you. Then you murmured a goodbye and started out the door. He just couldn’t understand why you seemed so down and his heart just couldn’t let you leave without knowing why. 

“Hey! Wait!” He quickly jumped out the door and you turned around, an eyebrow raised. You had already let your shoulders droop, your employee badge in your hand. You couldn’t bring yourself to throw it out. 

“Is-is there something wrong with the order?” You asked, trying to masked the tears on your cheeks. 

“No, no, not at all. I’m just concerned something is wrong with you.” He said quickly. You tilted your head and he rushed to amend his words. “No, not that anything is wrong with you, I mean, I just saw you looked down and I wanted to know what’s wrong and-” He rambled. 

You wanted to laugh at his clumsy words, but you could barely bring yourself to smile. You held up a hand, trying to stop his rambling. “It’s okay, I just got fired.” You said quietly. 

That stopped him. He tilted his head now, confused. “But you seem so...so nice.” 

“Nice observation, wise guy.” You snorted, swiping at your wet cheeks. “Business hasn’t exactly been booming.” 

He noted your bitter words and softened. “Well I guess since you’re off work...” He scratched the back of his neck. “Do you want to join us? We’re just going to watch a movie and eat an ungodly amount of popcorn.” 

And oddly that seemed very appealing; to wallow in your misery with popcorn and a movie. But you didn’t know these people, as nice as they seemed. 

“What’s your name?” You questioned, wondering why he was being so inviting. 

“I’m Namjoon, but every just calls me Joonie.” He sighed. 

“I’m Y/N.” 

“I know.” 

When you raised an eyebrow he shook his head. “No! No! Don’t misunderstand! I’m not a stalker or anything, I just saw your name tag inside.” 

You smiled softly. “Oh, I see.” 

The breeze picked up and you shivered in the cold. 

“Would you like to come inside? It’s getting chilly.” He smiled warmly. 

You took a deep breath, then you glanced up to the sky. It looked like there was a storm heading your way. Then you looked at him and he seemed so happy. 

“Yeah, sure. That sounds great, actually.” You responded after a moment. He kept his distance, though he wanted to grab your hand. 

“Great!” He laughed, showing you inside where you were bombarded with questioning stares. He subconsciously placed a hand on the small of your back. 

“Who’s that?” A pale man drawled. 

“Is that the pizza girl?” Another asked, deep voice making your ears prick up. You looked to him and he shot you a wink. 

“Yup!” Namjoon smiled. Then he introduced you to the other men in the room. 

As you settled in to watch the movie, you didn’t even notice how close you were to Namjoon. Still, he was a gentleman and let you have your space. You felt bad, yes, but it was unlike your other jobs when you had been fired. Usually you would curl up in the dark and cry or drink wine and binge a show. Instead, you were snuggled against a bunch of strangers. And no, it was not as erotic as it sounded. It was pleasant. 

Namjoon instinctively pulled you closer, arm wrapped around your shoulder, about half way through the movie. It was a horror movie and you spent most of the time hiding your face in your hands and Namjoon spent most of the time grimacing every time a jumpscare happened. Hoseok was screaming and holding onto Yoongi, who he’d already brought to the ground with him after the first jumpscare. Then Taehyung watched, amused, as Jin and Jimin were whispering to each other, trying to hype each other up to not be scared. Jungkook was holding onto Taehyung, but it wasn’t in a scared way, he seemed comfortable, even smiling at some scares, as if they were fun to watch. 

What an odd assortment of people. As Namjoon pulled you closer, you found the courage to pull your hands away from your face. Every time a jumpscare occured, you just burrowed your face into his chest. Dignity be damned, that ring lady was scary as fuck. Namjoon simply smiled and his thoughts were so preoccupied by you that he didn’t notice the movie ending. He was just focused on your exhausted form, both mentally and physically. His eyes scanned the room, seeing how most of his friends were passed out except Jimin and Jin who excused themselves back to their rooms. Namjoon tried to do the same, but you instantly clutched his shirt and he was forced to the couch with you. With a sigh, he fell into a deep sleep as well. 

You were awake, of course you were, but you were drowsy and Namjoon just smelled so good. He felt good too, to hold. It was peaceful. Maybe being fired wasn’t so bad after all. 

[simp-for-spencer-reid]

Flavor shot: Holiday Blend-part 2

Series Masterlist

Light peeked through the curtains of the guest room. Cate turned over, burying her face in Spencer’s chest. He was also beginning to wake up, and tightened his arm that was wrapped around her. Cate felt at peace; the only sound was some Christmas music coming from downstairs. Cate could tell the music was coming from her mother in the kitchen. The smell of muffins wafted in from the open door. 

The open door. 

The door that Cate had shut last night. 

Cate’s eyes shot open. She could now hear soft footsteps from within the room. Turning back over, she came face to face with a giggling Stella and Finn. 

“Auntie Cate, are you in here because you had a nightmare?” Stella asked innocently. 

“Um.. no.” Cate pulled the blanket up to her chin. Before Finn could speak Cate whispered, “Spencer did.” Cate scrunched her nose with a smile. She could feel Spencer slide a hand up the back of Cate’s shirt. Brushing against her side, Cate stifled a laugh.

“It was horrible. Auntie Cate turned me into a frog!” Spencer croaked in his morning voice. Stella and Finn both gasped and laughed as they ran out of the guestroom. With Cate’s niece and nephew out of the room, Spencer smirked with an idea. Cate’s only warning was a devilish flash in his eyes before he ran his hands down her sides again, lightly pinching a squirming Cate as she shrieked and giggled.

“Stop!” Cate said breathlessly, trying to move away from his hands. “Truce! Truce!” Spencer halted his movements, but kept his hands on Cate’s waist. She was panting, while looking him in the eyes. Her smile faded. Her eyes flickered to his lips. 

He gently tugged her towards him and leaned in for a kiss. 

A knock on the door interrupted the two and they pulled away from each other like two positive sides of a magnet. Cate’s face began turning a tomato red while Spencer’s blush was creeping to the tips of his ears. Cate’s brother Robby was leaning against the door frame. 

“Mom told me to tell you that breakfast was ready.” Robby’s voice was tantalizing. He looked at his nails. “But I think I’ll just tell her how I found you in bed with Spencer.” Robby bolted back to where he came because Cate flung herself out of bed, running after him. 

“Don’t you dare!” Her feet were like lightning down the stairs and she was hot on Robby’s tail when he stepped foot into the dining room where everyone was already sitting at the table. 

“What doesn’t Robby dare?” Cate’s dad looked up from the local newspaper. 

“Doesn’t dare.. Take the last of the banana chocolate chip muffins!” Cate plastered a smile on her face, wrapping an unfriendly arm around her younger brother. “He knows they’re my favorite!” Cate hissed through her teeth, punching Robby in the arm. Robby dropped into a chair next to Beth. Spencer walked into the dining room a bit on edge as Cate took one of the last two empty seats. Spencer greeted Jackie first.

“Merry Christmas, Mrs. Bennett.” Cate was still glaring at Robby from across the table. 

“Spencer, please! Call me Jackie.” she passed him the coffee pot. “Merry Christmas.” She replied back. “I’m so glad you were able to join us.” Jackie fondly placed a hand on Spencer’s shoulder. 

“Catie, dear, after we open presents, would you want to show Spencer the stable? He came in so late he didn’t get a chance to see it.” Jackie offered. 

Opening presents around the tree went by fast. Stella and Finn tore into theirs like wild animals. Cate had last minute written Spencer’s name on the tags of the presents she bought them. He gently squeezed her arm as a thanks when Stella and Finn read the tags out loud. Cate’s mother had profusely apologized for not having anything for Spencer, but he assured her that her baking and welcoming him into her home last minute was enough. He also returned the apology for not having anything to exchange, but Bill had cut in saying it was enough for Spencer to be brave enough to date Cate.

Cate’s father and her brother were helping pick up the trash from the living room after the kids had opened their presents. Spencer and Cate were washing dishes in the kitchen: Spencer was washing and Cate was drying so she could put them away.

“I wouldn’t have guessed you’d grown up so rural,” Spencer stated, passing Cate a large serving plate that once held muffins, “You fit into the city scene so well.” 

“You haven’t even seen the best part of my childhood,” Cate smiled, avoiding the question, “I’ll show you later.” 

After the dishes were done and the table was cleared from breakfast, Cate led Spencer out into her backyard with linked fingers. There was a lot of fencing and different large squares of land fenced off. A big distressed wooden barn sat behind Cate’s house. Spencer must’ve missed it in the dark when he arrived. Cate pushed open the large sliding barn door- only sliding a little on the icy packed snow. 

Spencer would admit, the smell was definitely something he wouldn’t miss in the city. Heavy breaths were coming from inside the barn, but it wasn’t from neither him nor Cate. Inside the barn were two large stalls that held two horses. A large palomino with a white face stood in one, while a dark brown one was in the other. They seemed antsy in the way they shifted their weights.

Spencer had seen a lot of things in his job and there were a lot of things that didn’t intimidate him. Horses, however, seemed a bit scarier than most serial killers. 

Cate walked up to the dark brown horse, stroking his large face.

“This is Flash,” Cate looked back over her shoulder at Spencer- who was frozen on the pavement floor of the barn. Cate laughed a little. “And that’s Dancer. These are technically my parents’ horses, but I rode them a bit growing up.” For once in his life, Spencer was speechless. Cate stepped back toward him. “Have you ever rode a horse before?” Spencer gulped.

“I have not,” he took a step forward, “funnily enough, if I wasn’t in the FBI, my back up plan was to be a cowboy.” he blinked, stepping again closer to the large animals.

“Well, Flash here is a good riding buddy. Wanna try it, cowboy?” Cate teased him a bit. Spencer sized up Flash, who was larger than Dancer and had a name that made him think he got it for a reason. 

“I, uh, think that maybe Flash might be too… advanced?”

“Are you scared, doctor?” Cate went back to petting Flash.

“I’m thinking maybe Dancer might be a more adequate partner.” With a newfound sense of bravery, he stepped up to the light horse, reaching up to place a hand on her face. As fast as Spencer had mustered the courage, it had disappeared just as fast. Dancer had pulled her head away from him, whinnying and exhaling at him. Spencer let a small yelp out, stepping back, using one hand to brush his hair from his face and the other was shoved in his pocket, trying to remain cool. Cate tried to hide her laugh by pursing her lips.

With a lot of convincing, Spencer sat atop Flash, who was slowly walking in a circle in a small fenced area. Cate stood in the middle of the circle, holding a tether that connected to Flash’s bridle. Spencer was stiffly sitting in the saddle. His fingers were white from gripping the reigns with such pressure. Cate was pretty sure she saw Flash roll his eyes at the slow pace. 

“So… you never really told me how you ended up in Quantico.” Spencer wanted to distract himself from the fact that he was actually sitting in the saddle of a real-life moving horse. But if he was being honest, he felt better the more he went in circles. Like some sort of exposure therapy.

“I was going to college in Virginia. I wanted a change of pace. I met Marta while I was dorming. I dropped out, though.” Cate wasn’t fond of this story of hers. She felt ashamed she never finished college.

“Why did you drop out?” Spencer turned to look at Cate, instead of at the back of Flash’s neck. 

“Beth got pregnant and I came back to help out. I moved back to Quantico with Marta, but I couldn’t afford my schooling so I found my own place and Marta’s parents were nice enough to hire me and I’ve been working for them ever since.”

“What were you going to school for?” Flash had now stopped walking, but Cate and Spencer didn’t really notice. 

“Early Education. I had every intention of registering again, but I never did.” Cate sighed, thinking back to the life path she had planned for herself. “I had one semester left.” Cate gave a half hearted smile and Spencer didn’t want to pry anymore. Cate clicked her tongue and Flash began to walk towards her. 

Cate helped Spencer off Flash and the two walked back into the barn to let Flash back into his stall. 

“It’s not too late to go back if you wanted to finish your degree.” Spencer offered. 

“Easy for you to say, Mr. three PhDs.” Cate bumped into his side to show she was joking. Spencer could tell it was a bit of a sore spot, and noted to not bring it up again. 

Noon was approaching fast, and after spending some time with her family and relishing in her homelife that she missed when she was back in Virginia. Spencer played a game of chess with Cate’s dad, going a bit easy on him to make a good impression. It seemed too soon that Cate and Spencer were packing up her little gold junker car. 

Instead of flying back to the city, Cate had planned on road-tripping back to the city in her care so she could have it for her own transportation. The trip was only about ten hours, which meant if Cate and Spencer didn’t stop, they could be back in Quantico by one am. 

Goodbyes with Cate’s family never got easier. Jackie, of course, was teary eyed like everytime. Bill was giving Spencer the typical slightly misogynistic speech about behaving himself with his daughter. Robby naturally teased Cate about seeing her next Christmas. Beth and Cate hugged and Cate promised to call more often. Stella and Finn gave Cate and Spencer hugs goodbye and Spencer gave them one last magic trick before they had to leave.

“Has your car always been this… questionable?” Spencer asked from the passenger seat, craning his neck to look at the dashboard lights that were on. 

“Candace is as trustworthy as anything!” Cate defended her little gold sedan. It had only been about an hour since they’d been on the road. They hadn’t even made it out of New Hampshire yet.

“Is it a bad time to say that I’ve got to… go?” Spencer asked, tinging a bit red. Cate laughed at his attempt to be polite. 

“Not at all! We can stop at the next gas station.” Cate informed him, briefly taking her eyes off the road to smile at him. 

She pulled off onto the next exit and found a gas station that happened to be open on the holiday. Spencer got out of the car and rushed into the store to use the restroom. Cate made her ways through the aisle, grabbing some snacks and some waters for the both of them. Spencer had found Cate when he was done.

“What is that?” he pointed with a smile to a bright yellow mug that had a moose crossing road sign on it and the town name and New Hampshire on the other side.

“It’s for you! To commemorate our first road trip and your first trip to my hometown!” Cate smiled excitedly. After checking out, they made their way to the car.

“Do you mind if I drive for a bit? I’m just getting a bit carsick on the passenger side.” Spencer didn’t want to admit that Cate’s driving scared him a bit.

“Sure thing.” Cate obliged and got settled into the passenger side. Spencer adjusted the driver’s seat almost all the way back and fixed every mirror so he could properly see out of each of them. Lastly, he turned the radio knob to a classical station.

As they pulled out of the gas station lot, Cate pulled open a bag of candy. She bobbed her head to the instrumental music, trying very hard to enjoy it. 

“Do you know that’s in those?” Spencer took the bag out of Cate’s hands.

“No and I don’t care!” Cate whined jokingly, reaching for the bag of sugar.

“For starters, there’s high fructose corn syrup, which has been shown to drive inflammation, which is associated with an increased risk of obesity, diabetes, heart disease, and cancer!” Spencer riddled off. Cate rolled her eyes, stuffing the bag of candy in the passenger door pocket. 

To pass more time on the ride, Cate and Spencer played a game. They had to each find a license plate on the road with each letter of the alphabet in order. After that, they had sung along horridly to some “Classics” as Cate so dubbed them. A riveting game of I-Spy was next, but ended when Cate told Spencer he couldn’t ‘spy time and call it invisible’. 

There was a lull in the energy within the car and Spencer had glanced over when he noticed Cate was being too quiet. She had her hands folded over her chest for warmth, and slid down a bit in her seat, her head resting on her shoulder. He rested a hand on her thigh for a bit, even though he preferred to keep both hands on the wheel. 

After driving for a while longer, Spencer saw that it was nearing dinnertime, so he pulled off on an exit that held some restaurants. The change in speed woke Cate up, who yawned and stretched- quite adorably in Spencer’s opinion. 

“Hungry?” he asked Cate, giving her thigh a gentle squeeze. Cate hummed a yes and glanced around.

“Burger Best?” Cate offered. Spencer drove her car toward the fast food joint. In the drive thru, Cate ordered a simple burger with a large fry and a chocolate shake. Spencer got water and a salad, with some apple slices that usually came in the kids meals. They sat in the parking lot to eat their food. Cate was unwrapping her burger and ready to stuff her face with the junk food.

“Did you know that in the eighties-” he started.

“Spence, please don’t tell me something gross when I am about to enjoy this juicy delicious, probably fake meat burger.” Cate was mid bite, pleading to Spencer with her eyes. Spencer shut his mouth and began to open his salad container.

“Should we try and finish the rest of the drive to Quantico tonight?” Spencer asked, but he was getting tired and knew he wouldn’t be able to sleep when he wanted to monitor Cate’s driving. 

“How far out are we?” Cate asked through a mouthful of food.

“Still six hours about.” Spencer popped an apple slice in his mouth. 

“I’m pretty tuckered out, honestly.” Cate admitted, despite sleeping for a portion of the drive.

“I saw a cheap hotel down the road back towards the highway?” Spencer offered.

“Sounds like heaven to me.” Cate said, thinking of a bed to sleep in instead of the car seat. 

The pair checked in, and brought their bags into the hotel room. They had booked a room with a queen bed. Spencer gave Cate the first shower so he could check under all the covers and sheets for any bugs or nastiness. He checked in every drawer for anything suspicious and behind every curtain just in case. He finally settled in a chair at a desk that was provided. He thought to maybe call to check in on the team, but read the book he brought instead. 

He heard the water turn off in the back of his mind, he was delved into the story he had read a million times before. Cate meekly opened the bathroom door, coming out in nothing but a short towel from the hotel. He glanced up from the novel, thinking he had heard her say something. He clapped a hand over his eyes once he saw her.

“Sorry, I, uh, thought you said something!” he stammered. Cate giggled, biting her lip gently. 

“Spencer, it’s okay. I don’t care if you look! I wouldn’t have come out if I did.” Cate told him. Spencer cracked his fingers, only looking for his things.

“I’m just going to shower now!” He scurried over to the bathroom. Cate could see his ears turn red with a blush. 

Once Spencer was done with his shower, he came out of the bathroom in his pajamas. Cate had turned the lights off, and she was in the bed with her eyes shut, the blankets pulled up to her shoulders. Spencer pulled his side of the covers and got into the bed. He laid down, and rubbed his face to compose himself a bit. Cate’s breaths didn’t sound spaced out enough to be asleep. He reached under the covers to her body, to pull her in for a cuddle. His fingers brushed her bare stomach. 

“You’re naked under there?!” he whisper-yelled, even though there was no one to hear him. Cate giggled and turned over. 

“Most people would’ve had a bit of a different reaction.” She pulled him to her by the collar of his nightshirt, kissing him slowly. She felt like she couldn’t love Spencer more than she did right at this very moment. Spencer had fought it at first, wanting to be as much of a gentleman as possible. 

It didn’t last long though, Cate peeled his shirt off of him to run her hands on his chest. That night had been the farthest they go, being as intimate as a couple could get.

[marshmallow-phd]

Midnight Hours

Part of The Untamed - EXO Wolf Universe

Genre: Wolf!AU

Pairing: Sehun x Reader

Summary: For you, being a good witch was easier said than done. Something dark was lurking inside of you and the others knew it. When you’re forced to tag along with Soomi and help a local wolfpack face a coming evil, you’re sent on a path that breaks into a crossroads. While you struggle with your inner demons, could the wolf Sehun be the key to your ultimate fate?

Part: 1 I 2 I 3 I 4 I 5 I 6 I 7 I 8 I 9 I 10 I 11 I 12 I 13 I 14 I 15 I 16 I 17 I Final

**

“Has anyone seen my wallet?”

“You left in the car last night.”

“I swear, if someone took my jacket-”

“Only you would wear something like that, Tao.”

“Why are all the eggs gone again?”

You groaned at the sudden intrusion of your peaceful sleep, burying your face in the woods-scented pillow. A chuckle rumbled beside you. A pair of lips gently brushed against your temple. Knowing that was your signal to get up, you pushed your face deeper into the sanctuary of sleep.

“(y/n)… you can’t stay here all day.”

“Watch me,” you mumbled.

Arms snaked around your waist, pulling you into a space-heater of a chest. “If we stay here much longer, someone will come looking for us,” Sehun whispered in your ear. “Probably Jongdae or Tao. Or maybe even Baek-”

You whimpered as you flipped over, cutting off the wolf before he could finish the troublemaker’s name. But that didn’t mean you were ready to wake up. It was nice, lying there with him, your cheek pressed up against his collarbone. You felt protected, loved, safe. Granted, that’s how you always felt with Sehun, but in this space and in this moment, you felt it at its maximum. From the way his arms tightened around you and how he leaned down to kiss the still-healing mark he’d indented in your shoulder only a week ago, he was feeling it, too.

“You make it hard to get up,” he sighed. From his tone, he was trying to feign annoyance. Too bad you already knew how much he loved this.

“Then let’s just stay here,” you suggested. This was technically his fault, anyway. He was the one who insisted on staying out late last night. First it was dinner, then a movie, then a long drive through the backwoods. You don’t actually remember coming home as you’d fallen asleep sometime passed one in the morning, still in the passenger’s seat of Sehun’s car.

“Okay,” Sehun mumbled. “Five more minutes.” You felt him settle again beside you, a satisfied rumble vibrating in his throat. You were just about to drift off again when-

Bang! “Alright, time to get up!”

You half-groaned, half-growled at Baekhyun and his ability to be so loud first thing in the morning. Jumping into a sitting position, you grabbed your pillow and threw it as hard as you could across the room. But you missed. The pillow smacked against the wall widely to his right.

“Well, I guess we can count a baseball career out for you,” he cackled.

Narrowing your eyes, you concentrated on the glass of water next to you on the nightstand.

“Hey!” Baekhyun spat out the water that had landed in his mouth when you sent it flying towards his face, soaking his hair and shoulders.

“Maybe next time you’ll think before you try to rouse a sleeping witch.”

Baekhyun muttered under his breath as he stormed out of the room, mostly likely to change into a dry shirt.

Sehun scooted closer to you as he sat up as well, nuzzling your shoulder with his nose. “I don’t think we should risk another messenger.”

“Probably not,” you sighed as you glanced at the now empty glass. “I’m all out of ammo.”

“Oh, I’m sure you could come up with something else.”

Rolling your eyes, you slipped out of bed and over to the dresser. After pulling out a clean shirt and pair of pants, you started to turn back to Sehun. However, before you even made it a quarter of the way, the wolf was already dressed, grabbing your wrist and lifting you up so you were now on his back. Giggles exploded from you as he raced out of the room and down the stairs, creating his own wind with the speed. You held on tight with your arms around his neck, careful not to choke him.

You were still laughing and holding onto him when he reached the kitchen. As per usual, the room was filled practically to the brim with people. Even though you’d been living full time at the farmhouse for over a month (on top of the previous month with Soomi) you still weren’t entirely used to the large amount of people. Thankfully, the second house was nearing completion and the occupancy would be cut in half. The downside, however, is that your getaway would no longer be available to you and Sehun.

“That’s still so weird,” Jongdae stage-whispered to Minseok.

The older wolf leaned back in his chair at the table to get a better look as you hopped down from Sehun’s back. “I think it’s cute.”

You thought that Sehun might send a snarky comment that way given his dislike of the “c” word, but to your surprise, he ignored them, going over to the counter and piling two plates high with food before herding you over to the table.

In front of you was more than enough food to keep you full for the next few hours. As you slowly eat the delicious breakfast that was so kindly prepared by Evie and Ming, you eyed Sehun from the side. He had something up his sleeve, you could feel it. He’d done this before; making sure you had your fill and then taking you out of the house for hours, not coming back until near dinner time.

You knew he did it for you, the alone time. In here, you could hardly turn around without stepping on somebody. So he’d take you where you could breathe again, where you could think without having to start over because someone fell or dropped something or started yelling. You were so used to the quiet and isolation. In the past, you would wish for this opposite. Apparently, the grass really is always greener.

Sehun was finished with his breakfast before you were halfway through your plate. Another indicator that he was up to something since usually he would only be just starting on his meal at this point. It was some primal instinct to make sure his mate was eating enough. At least he wasn’t a food hog.

When his plate was completely clear, Sehun stood up and dumped his dirty dishes in the sink. In a flash he was bounding back up the stairs. Harper, whose baby bump was just starting to show, raised an eyebrow at you questioningly from across the table. All you could do was shrug as you had about as much of a clue as she did.

When he came back, he had your favorite jacket in his hands along with your small backpack. With still no word to you, he filled two thermostats with fresh coffee before coming back over to the table.

“Are you done?” he asked, looking down at your mostly empty plate.

You nodded. “Yeah. Where are we going?”

“It’s a surprise.”

“Maybe I don’t like surprises?”

“You’ll like this one.”

“Says who?”

“Me.”

“I don’t think you’re the authority on that.”

“I’m always the authority.”

“Really? Because I don’t th-”

“Oh, would you two please just go!” Jongdae whined.

You snickered, but did as he asked, getting up from the table and dropping your plate off while giving Evie an apologetic look.

She waved the look away. “Don’t worry about it. Go have fun. I know I’d like to have a nice romantic time in the woods.”

“I heard that.” Kris entered the kitchen with Mei in his arms.

“Just dropping hints,” Evie shrugged.

Kris went over and kissed her chastely. “I’d say that’s more than a hint.”

Taking you away from the scene, Sehun grabbed your hand and pulled you towards the back door. “Come on.”

Outside the wind chilled and bit at your nose. Sehun helped you with your jacket - which helped a bit - and backpack and then motioned for you to climb on his back.

“Still not going to tell me where we’re going?”

“Nope.”

“Of course.”

Sehun took off into the trees before you could respond. Everything blurred by you. There was no telling where he was headed or what he had in mind, so you simply rolled with it. Trying to figure it out was pointless anyway.

He finally came to a stop, breaking through the trees where a large lake sat calmly. With a pat to your thigh, he signaled for you to get down. Small gravel-like pebbles, smoothed by years of being washed by the tide crunched under your feet.

“I didn’t know this was here.” Your eyes wandering over the scenery. Even with the heavy gray skies above and the rippling waters, it was breathtaking.

“Not a lot of people do.” Slipping his fingers through yours, he tugged you a little closer to shore. He sat down and tried to get you to do the same.

“It’s cold,” you complained.

But all he did was smirk at your childish whine. “I’ll keep you warm.”

Well… how could you resist that?

Sitting down in front of him, a shiver ran up your spine as soon as your backside met the rocks. Just as he promised, he wrapped his arms around you and pulled you in close.

“It’s so quiet,” you whispered after a few minutes or so.

“That’s why I brought you here,” Sehun said. “I knew you need it more often than I do. I’ll bring you here whenever you want. The others come occasionally, but not so much anymore.”

Oh, wonderful. You could already feel your insides turning into mush and your eyes filling up with salty water. Twisting your body so you could look back at him, you didn’t even try to fight the smile spreading across your face.

“I love you.”

It was a like firework show exploding on his face. Or the sun finally breaking through the clouds after constant darkness.

You hadn’t been able to make yourself say those three little words to him yet. Though Sehun had no issues saying it, you’d found yourself stopping each time you tried. Was it the timing? The atmosphere? Your fear of commitment?

You couldn’t really say that you had a fear of commitment. Being with Sehun was easy, right. You weren’t scared of being tied to him for the rest of your life. Saying it was too soon almost felt like a cop-out because you knew how you felt about him.

Maybe you wouldn’t ever really know why you hadn’t said it back before. But you finally did and it felt so right.

Ecstatic at that sentence, Sehun pounced on you. Nearly all his weight was on you as you landed hard on the rocks. A soft “ow” escaped before you could stop it, sending Sehun into a panic. “Are you okay? Did I hurt you?”

You smiled up at him before pushing up and kissing him. “I’m fine.”

He sighed with relief. “Good.” He cupped your cheek in him palm and said the words that were obvious in his eyes. “I love you.”

Fate had decided to play around and stick the wolf and the witch together. Mortal enemies by heritage, lovers by bond. It was a story for the ages, one that would echo through time along with the other great loves of history.  

“Well, then,” you laughed, “I guess we’re stuck with each other.”

Sehun nodded once before diving in for another kiss.

[dawnrider]

So this is a belated birthday dedication for the lovely @lemonlushff which I'll probably be posting later today. A Space Colonization AU that you mighht have spotted before during one of @clearwillow 's games.

Happy Birthday to you, Lemon!

Teaser:

Her initial reaction to him was fear.  In hindsight it shouldn't have been.  However, try pulling laundry down from the line and coming face to face with a man you've never seen before, and then realizing that there is something different enough about him to make you certain he shouldn't exist.  She guessed most people would have reacted far worse than she had.  In all fairness, his reaction to her wasn't exactly pleasant either.

“Oh, for crying out...” She tugged again on the comforter hanging on the clothesline which was refusing to come down.  It was too large for her bed and it was really too heavy for her to be hanging, but she had no other choice.  Tugging again, it finally came free, nearly suffocating her under all the fabric.  She struggled with it until it was at least folded enough to fit in the laundry basket and promptly dropped it.  Remaining stock still, not even wanting to blink, she stared at the tall man standing just across her yard.  He had long silver hair and what she swore were animal ears on the top of his head.  They twitched in her direction as if to confirm her thought.  He appeared equally startled to see her, as if he hadn't expected to find anyone this deep in the woods.

When he took a step in her direction, Kagome took several back, blindly reaching for anything to defend herself with.  She wasn't stupid, she knew the dangers of living in the wilderness on her own, she just hadn't had to utilize any of the preparations she'd made for such an occasion yet.  He seemed to know that she was afraid, not that it was hard to tell, and remained where he was.  She could tell that he was both curious about her and yet wary.  Finally latching onto the rifle leaning beside the tree at her right, she managed to lift it without her hands shaking, sighting down the barrel just as she'd been taught.  Unexpectedly, he snarled in her direction, disappearing in the blink of an eye.  Kagome felt her heart slowly calm from a racing flutter to a dull thud in her chest.  What...who on earth...Terra was that?  I've never seen anything like him!  Not wanting to risk another run in with the strange man or anyone else like him, she gathered up her laundry and bustled herself inside.

Making sure every door and window in the house was locked and pulling the shades herself, Kagome felt only slightly better.  She knew the house was resistant to being broken into by any traditional means, even fire-resistant to a certain point.  The house computer system already knew not to let anyone in that was not her, but she felt the need to remind it.  Just in case.  It replied with a soft “Understood Mistress.”  She hadn't been in the house long enough for it to have imprinted on her so she had yet to convince it to call her by her name.

Coming to this planet had been a dream come true.  Hundreds of thousands of miles of open wilderness, no people, no cities, no pollution.  Also very little technology and even less help if she needed it.  Stop it.  You don't need help.  You're a big girl.  Her pep talk didn't have the desired effect.  The strange man had seemed as disconcerted as she was to find someone out this far.  She had to remember that there were other people out there even if she hadn't seen any since the Ranger dropped her off with her things over a week ago.  Not only were there other people, there were other species.

As this was her first real foray off the planet Earth, Kagome was fairly limited in her experience with other species from within their galaxy.  Space travel of any kind had only become even mildly affordable in the last few decades and it meant that most humans had yet to venture very far from home.  Like Kagome, many of them made the journey a one-way trip to one of the few terraformed planets that had yet to be inhabited.  Land was cheap, housing even cheaper, with the travel there marking the largest total on the budget.

Despite the fact that the planet was in fact owned by several companies from Earth, they chose not to put much into defending it or the people that chose to immigrate there.  The Rangers, a combination of sheriff, magistrate and tour guide, were the only direct connection to anyone off-world.  Kagome had received a few messages from her mother and brother back on Earth and been able to send some in return, but they took days to transfer so it was somewhat like playing the worst game of telephone tag ever.  Kagome missed her family a lot, especially now that she was finally coming face-to-face with the danger she could be in out here on her own.  “This was my choice.  Freedom, space and fresh air,” she reminded herself aloud.

The rest of the day went by quietly, nothing setting off any alarms and no noises to make her nervous.  Kagome knew better than to assume that meant there wasn't anything out there at all, but it at least made her feel better that the man hadn't returned.  Dinner was a pot of stew using vegetables grown in her hydroponics unit.  They would be planted in the garden in a few days so she wanted to harvest as much as she could before putting them outside where they might die or get eaten by the local critters.

~~~~~

He didn't know why he was surprised by her reaction.  He knew better than to approach humans when they were alone.  Humans were relatively new out in the galaxy, inexperienced with meeting other races from the various inhabited worlds.  Her little house had been empty for the months since he'd arrived, so he hadn't expected to find anyone there.  Helen hadn't said a word about the owner coming, but maybe she hadn't known either.  Inuyasha shook his head as he lurked in the woods just beyond the edge of what seemed to be her property.  His most interesting and nonjudgmental conversation partner was a house computer.  Right now she was his only conversation partner.  But now this woman...  She was locked up tight in her house with all the blinds shut.  He couldn't really blame her, at least not now that he'd calmed down.  He couldn't be absolutely sure just off the initial scent, but he was guessing she was out here alone.  A lone human woman in the wilderness of a newly terraformed planet had every right to be jumpy.  She'd probably never seen an alien life form before.  Inuyasha snorted to himself.  Certainly nothing like me.  I've seen dozens of species and no one looks like me. She was probably terrified.  Of course, he hadn't smelled terror either.  Surprise, certainly.  Curiosity, confusion and determination.  She was going to protect herself.  He couldn't begrudge her that either, especially if she really was on her own.

To say he was intrigued was an understatement.  A woman who was brave enough to come from who knew where to a fairly new and wild planet all alone gained a few points in his book.  That she could and was willing to defend herself on top of that was another plus.  Too many times he had seen women, even ones that came with mates, that ventured out into the edges of the galaxy and perished because they didn't take the precautions they should have.  Inuyasha sighed, still watching the house.  It pained him to see the terrible things that happened to good people because some scumbag wanted an easier way to make some money or was so twisted they delighted in other people’s suffering.  That won't happen to her.  I won't let anyone get this one.  He flinched at the direction of his own thoughts, surprised by the easy dedication to her protection.

“Don't get roped in, stupid,” he muttered to himself.  He didn't want to see anything happen to her, sure, but he wasn't about to tie himself down to guard duty on a woman who would sooner draw a pulse rifle on him than speak to him.  With a rough growl, he headed back out into the wilds in search of dinner.  There were some animals he still wasn't sure were edible, but he knew the wild poultry he could hear rustling in the bushes a few meters away were good eating and easy prey.  Dispatching both of them fairly quickly, he cleaned them up before leaving one as a sort of peace offering on the woman's doorstep and taking the other home.  So much for not getting roped in...

@lemonlushff , @fantastiqueparfait , @heavenin--hell, @clearwillow , @mamabearcat , @thunderpo , @keichanz , @meggz0rz , @disgruntledbeast , @sarah-writes-stories , @zelink-inukag , @rikareena​ , @cammysansstuff​ , @mcornilliac , @redflamesofpassion , @superpixie42 , @underwater0phelia​, @cstorm86​ , @noviceotakus-blog​ , @lavendertwilight89​ , @hinezumi​ , @wenchster​, @hnnwnchstr​ , @lady-dark-69 , @itzatakahashi​ , @juliatheanimelover7​ , @kazeinori​, @theinuyashareader​, @inupotter​, @eternalnight8806-3​ , @smmahamazing​ , @willowandfog​, @gaysonthefloor​, @sistasecbhere​, @jennybean91​ 

[butterflydreaming-writes-fic]

“And the One Time They Did”

“And the One Time They Did“ by Looks-Clear (that’s me, yo!)

Word Count: about 3,400     Rating: Gen

@sweetness47​, here is my gift to you for the Profound Bond Discord gift exchange! I hope you actually find it amusing. This is a “five times plus one time” fic, and since that’s such a well-used trope, I thought it would be funny to title each of the sections with an AO3 tag.

-o-

1. “that trope where it's a relationship told from an outsider's point of view”

The money is good, but the competition for gigs means that you take that delivery order even though it’s to a house way outside of town. Houses are good, though. Around here, that means honeymoon tourists and vacation renters, which might mean a better tip. “J. Page” is waiting for his order from Great Greens, so you pick up the bags from Yolanda’s new salad cafe and head out in your Jeep onto the river road.

The house is secluded on the less popular side of the river, off the narrow road that splits from the main. You don’t even see the black Chevy Impala parked along the side of the house until you’ve driven to the end of the tree-lined driveway. The two-story house is the kind of place you would love to live in if you wanted a lot of privacy. It’s well cared for to attract the short-term renters your town gets all summer. The house has a good roof, freshly painted siding, and healthy potted plants around the door you’re knocking on.

An upstairs window slides open with a thunk. Taking a step away from the door, you look up. 

“Oh, hey.” The man leaning out the window has a smile that immediately puts you at ease. The frame catches at his flannel shirt, exposing a flash of skin above his faded jeans. He’s tall, with long hair, and the breadth of his shoulders make you glad you took the delivery job. “Would you mind… there’s a kitchen door at the back of the house. I’ll be down in a sec.” He pulls back in before you can respond.

You hesitate, thinking about the seclusion of the house and potential danger, but your gut tells you it’s OK. Nothing about the house or the classic car gives you that red flag feeling. The sun isn’t down yet. Plus, your holding an order of salads and cheesy rolls, Yolanda knows you’re delivering them and to where, and you can’t imagine it’s the dinner order of a creeper.

Things are a little unexpected when you get to the back door, though. The tall man — and he really is tall, six-four you guess — is pulling the curtain away from the window beside the kitchen door, but the door remains closed. “I have your Great Greens,” you say, lifting your two hands. You glance at the receipt and tell him the total. The food was paid with a credit card. You’re starting to despair about your tip, the line left blank to fill in.

“Great! Thanks. We really appreciate it,” he says, from the other side of the window glass.

There’s a dog door in the house door. The man disappears from the window and the door flap lift up. An envelope flips out. The man appears at the window again.

“If you could, um, put the order through the flap?” he asks.

“You don’t want to open the door?” Gingerly, you poke the dog door inward and push the bags through one at a time. The envelope turns out to have a few bills in it, a nice cash tip. You straighten up again and dust your hands off on your jeans after folding the envelope and tucking it into your pocket.

He laughs. It’s a breathy laugh, embarrassed. He ducks his head. “Can’t,” he says. “We’re, uh, sort of under quarantine.”

A surprised “Oh!” comes out of you before you can stop yourself. You wonder who else is with him in the house.

He’s quick to reassure you. “It’s not contagious. We just can’t leave the house yet.” He gives you one of those quick smiles again. The effective is magnified from being eye level and within three feet of him. You're a little glad there’s a window between you for protection.

“Thanks again,” he says.

“No problem,” you answer. With a small wave, you start back around to the front of the house, and your Jeep, only glancing back for a moment. The tall man is turning toward others entering the kitchen.

Before the curtain closes, you glimpse two other adults. You can hear them plainly through the window. A deep voice is at first excited about the meals. But then, suddenly:

“Sonoffabitch! SAM! What is this? Salad? Where’s the real food!?”

Back at your Jeep, just as a precaution, you rub your hands with the lavender scented hand sanitizer you keep in the glove box.

2. “(in my head the reader is a female but i didnt specify ir anywhere so ye)”

It’s Friday and a busy night, but when you see the delivery request come up for that same address, you take it. This time it’s for burgers from Jen’s Magnificent, which is locally famous for the MegaBurger, a four-patty monster with the works. You’re not surprised when the bags are heavy with three megas, fries and onion rings. What else would anyone order from Jen’s? The name on the credit card slip is “S. Denny.” You are wondering if the hot tall guy knows he’s not getting any veggies that aren’t deep fried.

Of course, you can guess what happened, and when it’s a different man at the front picture window asking you to go around to the back of the house, your guess is confirmed. The one with the deep voice is tall too, not as tall and not as lean, but still with nice muscle structure and also in a flannel shirt. Brothers, probably. You can see some familial resemblance.

As with the first delivery, you meet him at the back window. It’s earlier than last time and still full light out. He’s pretty anxious for the food, bouncing a little on his feet as he waits for you to slide the burger bags through the dog door.

You can’t help yourself. “Where’s the other guy?"

"Which?"

You pass the food through, straighten up and assess him. The cute one. Your brother?”

The man is already into one of the burgers. He shoves it in his face — you can’t take a bite out of a mega, you pretty much have to smash it into your mouth — and the moan he produces is, frankly, pornographic. This is a man who loves juicy meat.

You kind of want to leave him alone to it.

“The cute one," he repeats with a snort. He wipes a napkin across his mouth. "Researching,” he answers you, chewing on a mouthful. “This burger is awesome. Have you had these?”

“Actually, yeah. She makes good shakes, too.”

“This is going on my list of best burger towns,” he states. The burger disappears and when his hands are free, he wipes them on a fresh napkin. “You a local?”

You nod. He asks you a few odd questions about the town, a little bit about the history, and some information about how often tourists come through. You end up talking about your Jeep Renegade and auto maintenance, which helpfully gives you some points to go over with Roxy at the garage.

You’re back an hour later with another delivery from Great Greens, a single kale salad. You’re not surprised. The cute one is happy to see you. That's nice.

3. “Spells in general. Just spells and spells and spells”

You’ve come to think of yourself as their personal delivery person, to be honest, and it’s not only because J. Page aka Sam is a bright spot any time day or night. Feeling bold one evening, you scribble your phone number on the receipt and tell Sam, “If you guys need anything like from the grocery store or whatever, just call me. Anytime is fine.”

You’re snuggled on your couch watching Netflix when you actually get a late night call from Sam. He sounds apologetic and, weirdly, a little drunk. “Hi… Hi!” he greets a little breathlessly. “This might be a lot to ask but if you meant it about the help, I… we need someone on the outside to get these things. They’re going to sound strange, but I can’t explain what they’re for. Is that OK?”

“Does it,” you ask, “have to be right now?”

“Please, yes,” he says, words breathed out like an exasperated sigh. “I don’t know if I can take close quarters with these two past another moon cycle.” He clears his throat. “Sorry, uh. It has to be tonight because of the first quarter.” He names off some flowers, and then tells you the last one has to be picked after midnight and before dawn.

You actually have some of the list in your kitchen, dried, though it's not fresh. “The rest I can get, but I don’t know where to find that,” you tell him.

“Come to the house. It’s in the garden.”

And that’s how you end up picking lemon verbena by flashlight, in a hoodie and pajama pants, while Sam watches you from the kitchen window and points out the plants he needs. He’s glossy-eyed in the way of someone who’s had more booze than a few drinks at dinner, and pushing himself to act sober like someone who was drinking for a reason.

When you hand over the jasmine and vervain, he’s sitting on the floor at the other side of the door. You catch the dog flap on the backswing and hold it open. “Is that enough? I can get the other stuff fresh from Dara’s tea store tomorrow.”

He leans down to see you better through the opening and keeps going until he’s lying sideways on the floor. He seems vaguely surprised that the world has gone horizontal. “This is what I need to get started,” he pronounces carefully. He seems to consider getting upright. Instead, he rolls over onto his back. His hair, long and silky, flops beside his head, except for an errant lock that lays across his forehead. His beard is growing in, and the mountain man thing really works for him. He looks like he might nod off right there, lying on the floor.

“So… what are you doing, casting a love spell or something?” 

He groans. “Those idiots activated one. I’m trying to…” he lifts a hand and makes a serpentine gesture in the air with his finger, “wiggle open a loophole. So we can leave. And Dean can stop punching holes in the walls looking for hex bags.” He wakes up more fully and sits up suddenly. Running a hand through his hair, he laughs. There’s a tint of panic to it.

You can see that he’s about to dissemble about what he said, so you cut him off with a change of topic. “I knew the lady that used to live here. When I was a kid, we called it the witch’s house. She had, uh, twenty cats.”

“This is a dog door,” he points out.

“I know, right?” You smirk. “Do you like dogs?”

“I do,” he says without elaboration. “Can you tell me anything else about this house? Past owners?”

He’s sobering up. You answer with a shrug. “I mean. It’s a rental now. As you know, obviously.”

“A lot of strangers come through town? Have you noticed anyone that stands out? People you know, acting out of character? Has anyone been sick with an unexplainable illness?”

“We get summer tourists, mostly.”

“Anyone weird?”

“We are the weirdos, mister.” You ease the door flap closed. “I’ll bring the rest of your list when you guys order dinner tomorrow,” you say. It’s late, and you need to go home.

4. “Destiel are lowkey pining in the background”

Mylene adds in a cellophane bag of shortbread with the pie order. The scents in the bakery make you wish you were taking pie home for yourself, but no, this French Apple, ordered by “John Paul Jones,” is heading to the house you’ve been delivering to all week. On the nights when you don’t have an order, they order pizza delivery, it turns out. Pia, who owns Ristorante Raduno, mentioned it when you were fulfilling your craving for her incredible lasagna. Piggybacking on the pie order is a double side of bacon that you pick up from Dee's diner.

You honk when you pull up to the house, knock at the front door, then walk to the back yard per the usual. The Impala has enough dust on it to dull the black finish, and that strikes you as evidence that they really aren’t leaving the house. It was clear when you where conversing with him that burger guy loves his “Baby”. He wouldn’t let that car languish, getting covered in tree leaves and windblown dirt.

“You must be Mr. Jones,” you say to the new face at the kitchen window. “Are there any more of you in there or is three your crowd?”

“You’ve met the other two,” he says. He doesn’t exactly smile, but his eyes are kind, deep blue and full of unspoken thoughts. He has a voice like someone after a night of loud singing and drinking. It doesn’t match his appearance. Not with the suit ensemble including the trench coat he is inexplicably wearing indoors.

“I guess pie and bacon is your thing?” you ask, covering a laugh, and pop the bakery box through the dog door. He takes the box once it has passed the threshold. "Whatever makes you happy." You hear his “thank you” before the dog door swings closed. 

“The pie is for —” he catches himself. “Sandy.” He was about to say a name that started with D, you’re sure of it. Dean, you recall, from Sam’s slip up. “He likes pie. And bacon.” He stares at the pie as if it is about to impart hidden wisdom. "It makes him happy."

Your tip was included when the bakery was paid, so you don’t have a reason to linger, but you do anyway, curious. “This lockdown is hitting him hard, isn’t it? Not being able to take his car out for a drive?”

He gives a helpless little micro-shrug, but concern shows on his face. You think you see some guilt there, too. What had Sam said about it, that “those idiots” had activated the spell? 

“Look, I know it’s none of my business, but…” you hesitate, just for a minute. “Pie is good and all, and that pie is really good, but words are good, too?” His piercing attention actually makes you take a step back. You break eye contact, kicking the brick paving at your feet with the toe of your shoe. “Saying your feelings instead of, um, eating them?” You’ve probably blown it, so you scram without a backward look.

5. “Pray for Sam”

You glare at your phone until you wake up enough to recognize the text as Sam’s. Then you stare at it, trying to make sense of what it says. Meet him? The coffee hut he’s talking about is at the edge of town. It’s the one thing open at this time of day, since Tena is one of those disgusting morning people.

When you get there, you see that Sam is one of those disgusting morning people, too. His hair may have been tied back during his run, but now it’s loose. The sweaty and wild thing works for him even better than the mountain man look. He’s shaved the beard. You hop out of the Jeep and stroll up to where he is doing some stretches. He straightens up and shakes the hair out of his face.

“You’re out of quarantine,” you say. 

He answers your smile with his own. His eyebrows go up when he smiles. “You helped. With those herbs you picked, and everything else. I wanted to say thank you.”

“You’re welcome,” you formally reply. “I notice you got out of that house as early as possible this morning.”

When he rolls his eyes, you have your confirmation. “Ha ha, yeah,” he answers. “Gotta, you know, have some space. From the lovebirds,” he adds with a sound that is part relief and part exasperation.

“Are you getting coffee?”

“I’m picking some up to take back,” he says. “No rush on that.”

“Tena makes a mean superfood smoothie.” You gesture at the espresso hut. “Would you like to get smoothies, go sit by the river, and watch the ducks? Until you’re ready to head back to the house?”

6. “If you think this has a happy ending... you're right well done you”

You figure, that’s it, good-bye, they’re gone, the three that were trapped by the spell on the house. Either Sam figured out how to loosen the spell long enough for them to exit, or burger guy and pie guy hooked up and completed the spell’s requirement. You couldn’t exactly talk about it with Sam, while you sat by the water and drank your breakfast smoothies. You’re pretty sure that he knows you were giving them hints, really vague hints but still hints, but it’s not like you could ask if he knows, even now that the spell is broken. 

They’re not gone yet, as you find out when Kitty from the General Store asks you to run a delivery out to the house. You stop by the General Store to pick up the bag. It’s heavy with an assortment of stuff indicating wall repair: sandpaper, drywall patch kits, a paint tray and paint roller. They’ve paid with a credit card again, a tip included.

You text Sam to let him know you’re the one bringing their supplies, and ask if they need anything else, which is how you end picking up another pie and a trio of sandwiches. When you get to the house, you see that all the windows and doors are open. Sam is sitting in the Impala with his long legs sprawling out of the open car door. He puts down a book when he sees you get out of your Jeep. 

“Let me get that. Must be heavy, sorry,” he says.

“Could be worse. Megaburgers, or cans of paint.”

His hair slides over his ears as he shakes his head. “My brother found paint in the attic, at least.”

“I’m glad this is ending with some DIY, instead of you burning the place down or something,” you say without thinking. “It’s usually newlyweds that stay here. We’re a quiet community.”

He gives you an assessing look.

You hand him the bag from the hardware store. You hand him the food, too, before he steps into the house. You hate to see him go, but watching him walk away? That’s worth the price of admission.

He yells up the stairs that food has arrived. In a minute, the other two guys come down, both suspiciously dusty on their backsides and elbows, both looking stupidly happy. Dean puts his arm around his sweetheart’s waist. Pie guy leans in and blesses Dean with a soft kiss. Pie guy must be Castiel, the angel.

The infamous Winchesters. As hunters go, they don’t seem all that bad.

Like every other kid that grew up in your town, you know how the house spell works. The couples that honeymoon here don’t even notice when they get locked in, and they usually break the spell within minutes with their easy “I love you”s. Castiel and Dean were in love but must not have said the words to each other, yet, when they entered the house, and Sam was caught as a bystander.

You slip away before they catch you watching, get in your Renegade, and head out to the main road. At first, it had seemed like everyone’s bad luck, that some travel blogger had written about the weird little house in an idyllic riverside tourist town, and that particular trio had come to check it out. Your town has been a quiet haven for witches since before you were born.

In the end, it turned out OK. Better than OK. Who doesn’t like a happily ever after?

-o-

[crystalninjaphoenix]

Tales to Tell

A Stitched Story

JSE Fanfic

Ah, a longer one. Perhaps not necessarily in word count, but in how much stuff happens. The boys have an encounter with some, shall we say, new magic. And meanwhile, it seems the two halves are having problems of their own. I actually was really glad that I was able to get out a longer story like this, given how I’ve been a bit busy recently. It was fun, too. Enjoy :3

Tagging @septic-dr-schneep for inspiring this AU with this post.

Read where it started: Stitched Together | Season One | Season Two

Previous Season Three story: Torn Apart

Taglist (finally): @bupine​ @violet--majesty

It was 6:45 am, and Chase had been awake for three hours. He’d been staring up at the ceiling the whole time, listening to the sound of JJ’s slight snores as he tried to get his mind to shut off. Of course, eventually, it was a lost cause, and sat up, looking around the dark room.

He’d been sharing the guest bedroom with JJ and Jack, usually spending the night on the spare air mattress with a sleeping bag. Though it appeared he’d fallen asleep on the actual bed this time. JJ had fallen asleep on the mattress instead, and Jack was nowhere to be seen. Chase couldn’t help but feel guilt curl in his stomach. Standing up, he grabbed his cap, adjusted his bandanna, which he’d apparently fallen asleep in, and quietly slipped out.

Stacy was in the kitchen (also dark, perhaps there was an issue with the power,) shoving the last dregs of cereal into her mouth. She paused for a moment, glancing towards Chase as he entered, then continued. “Uh...hey,” Chase muttered.

“Hey,” Stacy replied. She was wearing her work uniform, the simple skirt and apron that designated her as a waitress at the Dish and Glass diner. “So I have to leave literally right now.”

“Okay.”

“You remember how you promised we’d talk about everything going on with you once I got home, right?”

“Yeah.”

“And also the power’s gone out. I think it must be a problem with the city grid, cause I looked at the fuse box and it seems alright.”

“Okay.”

“...okay, then.” Stacy finished off the cereal, dropping the spoon with a clatter. She stood up, grabbing her purse and jacket from the nearby chair. Chase followed her as she went into the living room and opened the front door. Before she left, Stacy hesitated, and looked back. “You’re not...thinking about doing anything...?” She trailed off.

“Anything what?” Chase asked.

Stacy shrugged. The motion, usually so blunt and casual, seemed more hesitant than usual. “I don’t know. Just...” She sighed. “I hate to bring up old wounds, you know, but...after everything happened, with us, you just sort of...and then...never mind. Just don’t do anything...you shouldn’t.”

Chase nodded slowly. There was a small ache in his chest. “I’m not...being serious about doing anything...I shouldn’t.”

“Um...good.” Stacy nodded. "I’ll see you this afternoon.”

“See you.”

After Stacy left, Chase walked over to the nearest armchair and sat down hard. A few minutes passed. And suddenly, he laughed. “Perfect, now I’m staring at the living room ceiling instead of the bedroom ceiling. Fucking awesome. The patterns here are so much more interesting.” 

“Well you do not need to rub it in.”

“Aaak—!” Chase jumped, flailing for a bit before looking over at the sofa. Schneep was laying on it, mostly covered by a blanket. If Chase didn’t know any better, he’d think that Schneep was also staring at the ceiling. “Jesus, man, I’m sorry, didn’t see you there.”

Schneep waved away his comment. “Is fine. I did not say anything.” He fell silent for a moment. “So. I could not help but overhear you two talking.”

“Oh, uh, did we wake you up? Sorry.”

“Not you, Stacy did. She was getting ready.” Schneep turned his head towards Chase. “This is not the point. Are you...Chase, are you okay?”

“I...yeah, I’m fine. Relatively, I mean.” Chase swallowed a lump in his throat.

“Hmm.” Schneep narrowed his eyes. “You said ‘I am not being serious about doing anything I shouldn’t.’”

“Well, I’m not,” Chase protested. “I just...sometimes things happen.”

Schneep didn’t answer for a moment. The silence weighed heavy in the early morning light. “Sometimes they are just thoughts, Chase,” he finally said, almost too quiet to be heard.

Chase sighed quietly and didn’t say anything. It just felt like everything was crushing him right now. Slowly. “I said something awful to Jay before you showed up,” he said quietly.

“Really?” Schneep answered in the same quiet tone.

“I didn’t mean it. It was just...things were getting heated. A-and now I don’t...don’t know what to say to fix it. I tried to apologize. It...came out wrong.”

Schneep paused. “Perhaps you just need more time?”

Chase shook his head. “I don’t think so.”

“Then you just need to find the right words.”

“I don’t know how,” Chase breathed.

“Well...then it is a good thing you have other friends, yes?” Schneep asked. “If you need an impartial...judge is not the correct word, but anyway, I was not there. I could—”

The doorbell rang.

Chase jumped again, then couldn’t help but chuckle. “Oh my god, the worst timing.” Sighing, he leaned back into chairs. “Probably sales people or something.”

“Ach.” Schneep scowled. “Ignore them. Always trying to sell you things.”

A smile pulled at the corner of Chase’s mouth. “Yeah, I’m pretty sure that’s what sales people do.”

Another ring, followed by a few knocks. “Persistent, whoever they are,” Schneep commented.

“Yeah.” Chase stood up. He was pretty sure that sales people waited at least a few minutes before ringing the doorbell again. He was pretty sure that most people did. “I’ll check it out.” Sighing, he walked up to the door and cracked it open.

An older woman in a neat navy-blue suit was standing at the door, dark hair swept to the back in a braid. She looked very out of place in the family-oriented suburb Stacy’s house was located in. “Hello, my name is Delyth Mae, I’m from the Department of Safety on the local City Council,” she said smoothly.

Chase blinked. “Uh...hi.”

Delyth nodded. “I’m out here with a team. It seems there have been some unusual radiation readings in this neighborhood.”

“...uh-huh.” Chase didn’t know what else to say. He was well aware that most people would’ve been at least a little concerned, but he’d been through worse. At least radiation wasn’t going to kill you right away. Or make you kill other people. Or—

“Ah, well.” Delyth seemed a bit...uncomfortable with Chase’s odd reaction. No, it wasn’t quite uncomfortable. Concerned? Maybe. Interested? Yes, in some way. “Anyway, we’ve traced these readings to this house. May my team and I come inside to see what the problem is?”

“Um...” Chase caught movement in the corner of his eye. He glanced over to see Schneep, now standing up, eyes narrowed and facing the door. “One second,” Chase said, closing the door before Delyth could protest. “What’s wrong?” He asked Schneep.

“I...she feels...different,” Schneep said slowly.

Chase blinked. “‘Feels different’ in the way that you couldn’t feel Jackie or Marvin and they turned out to be...?”

“I suppose.” Schneep folded her arms. “Well, I can feel her, but it is different. It is...spicy.”

Chase stifled a laugh, turning it into an awkward snort. “Spicy?”

“It is the best I can do, okay?” Schneep snapped. “Is...scharf, it verbrennt deine Nase.”

“Why are you talking about noses?”

“Look, do not let her in, okay?” Schneep headed to the hall. “I will wake up the others, I think they must know.”

“Uh, okay.” Chase opened the door again. Delyth Mae was standing there, looking over her shoulder. It was then that Chase noticed the unfamiliar gray van parked on the side of the street. There was a logo on it that read “Department of Safety,” but for some reason, that didn’t reassure him. He’d never heard of the Department of Safety before. “So...” he said, and Delyth immediately turned back to look at him. “This is, uh...actually my ex’s house. And I just remembered, she left for work a few minutes ago. I don’t really want to let anyone inside without her here, you know?”

“That’s very understandable, sir,” Delyth nodded. “But this will only take a few moments, and it really is in the best interest of her, and you.”

“Yeah, uh...can you come back this afternoon? She’ll be back after three.”

Delyth went silent, eyes darting around Chase to try and catch a glimpse of the inside of the house. Then she smiled. “Very well, sir. But if I may ask, may one of my team members take reading from this threshold?”

“You mean, like, on the step?” Chase considered this briefly. That couldn’t really do anything, could it? “Sure, I guess.”

“Excellent.” Delyth turned and waved at the van. Its passenger side door opened, and a younger man, dressed neatly but not as formally as a suit, stepped out and rushed up to the doorway.

“Hi,” Chase said idly. “I’m just gonna, uh, stand here while you...” he trailed off. The young man’s eyes were yellow. No, they weren’t just yellow, they were glowing. How were they glowing? That was odd, but it was...oddly pretty...

The effect was almost instant. Chase found himself relaxing, almost falling over. It was like being wrapped in a warm, familiar blanket.

“Man, that was easy. Barely did anything.”

“Yes yes, can we go inside now?”

“Hey. Let us in.”

Chase stood aside, pushing the door open. A moment later, Delyth walked inside, followed by the man with the glowing yellow eyes and, a few minutes later, another young lady who looked quite similar to the other man. Chase blinked. What...just hap—

He screamed.

The three strangers stopped in their tracks, spinning around to look at him. “What—?” Delyth couldn’t even finish the question, watching in disbelief as Chase suddenly sank to the floor, pressing his hands to his neck and hyperventilating.

“Oh my god, Tavish, what did you do?!” The young woman said.

“I don’t know! Nobody’s ever reacted like that before!” The young man protested.

“Enough!” Delyth snapped. “You two, go search the place! I’ll deal with this.” The other two nodded, and disappeared further into the house while Delyth kneeled next to Chase. “Sir, I understand this is probably overwhelming, but—”

Chase’s hand suddenly shot out and grabbed her jacket, yanking her close. “What the fuck are you?!” He shouted, blinking back sudden tears. “Why are you here? Can’t we have one fucking place that’s safe?!”

“Sir.” Delyth remained remarkably calm, carefully pulling her suit fabric out of Chase’s fist. “It’s okay, we mean no harm. We’re magicians.”

Everything froze for a moment, Chase’s whirling thoughts grinding to a sudden halt. Then he started to laugh. “Ohhh of fucking course! Of course of course of course—” Any recognizable words disappeared into hysterical gasping.

“I understand it’s a lot to take in,” Delyth said evenly. “And I do apologize for making Monroe put you under suggestion. But this is an urgent matter. We’ve been tracking an unusual—sir, please remember to breathe. Evenly. Count the seconds if you must.” She reached out to put her hands on Chase’s shoulder, and he slapped her arms away. “Alright, then. Even breaths, sir.”

Chase ducked his head, pulling up his knees so he could hide his face. His shoulders shook with the effort to control his breathing. It was just—magicians. How did none of them ever think of magicians? Of course if Marvin and Jackie could do magic, then other people would be able to, as well. They weren’t special. JJ had tons of magic books, too. Where else would he have gotten them except from magicians? After a few more seconds, Chase looked up at Delyth, who was waiting patiently. “What,” he hissed, “do you want?”

“We’ve been tracking an unusual magical signature for the past two weeks or so,” Delyth explained. “It has been wandering around, but we did a more in-depth scan last night and found that it’s now stopped here.”

“An unusual...?” Chase repeated, mumbling. Well, he could think of at least six things that could be referring to.

A loud THUD! came from down the hall.

Delyth’s head snapped towards the sound. She immediately stood up and ran towards it. Chase sat, puzzled for a moment, until it hit him like a bucket of cold water: the others. He scrambled to his feet and ran after her.

The door to the guest bedroom was flung open wide, a blue glow emitting from the doorway. Chase and Delyth ran inside, both stopping soon after. The two young magicians were facing Jack, Schneep, and JJ, who were pressed against the wall. The magicians’ eyes were glowing, and the woman had her hand extended, holding a long, white...wand, that was the only word for it. Flakes of ice blue magic drifted around it. A bright blue circle was shielding the other three, curving around them. JJ had his hands extended as well, clearly holding the shield in place. His mask was missing and his hair and clothes were a mess, but he wasn’t faltering. Schneep stood next to him, holding his scissors like he was ready to stab with them at any moment, his scleras strangely black. Jack was behind the two of them, and the first to notice when Chase and Delyth entering. “Chase!” he yelled. “What’s going on?!”

“Uhh I wish I knew,” Chase said. “These guys are like...magicians.”

“Yes, we are magicians,” Delyth repeated absentmindedly. “Nairne, what happened? I heard a noise.”

The young woman—Nairne, apparently—gestured with her head towards the bed. The nightstand had been knocked over and thrown a foot away. Pale blue magic was spreading like frost along the wall and floor. “We heard talking in here, and when we came to check it out, this crazy guy attacked us!”

“Excuse me, you threw that magic at us before I pushed you!” Schneep spoke up, protesting.

The young man—Tavish—scoffed. “Oh hell no, we just walked in and you flipped out!”

“I did not make it physical!”

“Everyone calm down!” Delyth shouted. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “Tavish, can you run the seek again?”

Tavish nodded, eyes flashing yellow once before he closed them, muttering words under his breath. After a moment, he pointed at Schneep. “It’s coming from him.” He then moved a bit to point at Jack. “He kind of has a signature, too, but it’s a lot different, and weaker.”

“Wait, what?” Jack said. “Signature?”

Delyth nodded, like she was expecting this. “You two give off distinct magical signatures. We’ve been trying to pin down this one for a while.”

Jack laughed. “Oh yeah, we have magic fingerprints, not the guy holding up the shield, that makes sense.” He glanced at JJ, who shrugged.

“No, the warlock has one, too,” Tavish said. “But it’s not what we were looking for.”

“Hey, uh, don’t take this the wrong way,” Chase jumped in. “But I really don’t like having this discussion while that lady is pointing her magic wand at my friends.”

Nairne shot Chase a nasty glare. “Well I don’t like putting my wand down while your friend is trying to stab me with scissors.”

“I was not going to stab you!” Schneep protested. “Not unless I had to!”

“Alright, look.” Delyth’s eyes flashed purple, and she stomped her foot. The ground shook, and Nairne and Schneep dropped their things. “There. We’re all even, can we discuss this civilly?”

JJ nodded, and lowered the shield. He looked around at his friends. I think this has been a misunderstanding, he said. They might work for the ABIM. I’ve never met anyone from them, but I know they mean well.

“Um...” Tavish coughed awkwardly. “Sorry, are you deaf?”

“I think the signing has something to do with the...situation going on with his mouth,” Nairne muttered.

“Ah yes, the...stitch-uation,” Tavish chuckled.

Everyone else winced. JJ glared at him. Of course, that doesn’t stop them from being insensitive pricks. He finished off the statement with a gesture that you didn’t need to know sign to grasp the meaning of.

“Hey!” Tavish protested.

“Bit of a dick move there, dick,” Nairne said.

“Completely unprofessional,” Delyth said, leveling Tavish with a glare. “Do you want another citation?”

“No!” Tavish rushed to say. “No, not—” He turned to Jameson. “I-I’m sorry.”

JJ didn’t say anything, just folded his arms.

“Ummm anyway,” Jack said, walking around to stand beside JJ instead of behind him. “What was that you were saying? Those letters...ABIM?”

“The Association of British and Irish Magicians,” Delyth said coolly. “Yes, we represent them. For the past two weeks, we’ve been tracking down a strange magical signature.”

“She said that earlier,” Chase said, edging around the magicians to go stand with the other three. 

“This investigation was spurred because someone teleported into the midst of our library, which is warded strongly, and should prevent any teleportation.” Delyth’s eyes ran over the group of four. “I was there. I saw someone appear, then almost immediately disappear. Though I did not get a good look, I do think it was one of you.”

“It was me,” Schneep said, raising his hand. “Thank you, now I know that that really happened. Was my back to you? Otherwise I am sure you would remember the scars.”

“Yes, it was just the back, but I recognize your hair. Vaguely.” Delyth clasped her hands together. “Tavish here, though his attitude is something to be said, is one of our best trackers. We’ve been following your signature for a long time.”

“Look.” Schneep stepped forward, in front of the other three. “If I did something wrong, I did not know that I did. I...was still getting used to my abilities. They were going hay-wired. I apologize if I troubled you, but do not bring the others into this.”

Delyth said nothing. Tavish and Nairne stared at her, waiting for a response. Then, slowly, she nodded. “I see. So you don’t know.”

Schneep paused. “Know what?”

“There is an...oddly high amount of soul magic in the city,” Delyth stated.

There was another small pause. “Okay...?” Jack said. “Is that a problem?”

“It is...strange.” Delyth said slowly. “There is only one soul magician in Mirygale, and she has nothing to do with this.” 

JJ’s eyes widened. He turned to the others. Soul magic is very rare. It’s a talent you either have to be born with, or have accumulated throughout years of practice. So if there is a strangely high amount of rare soul magic in one given place, it may be cause for concern.

“Um...” Nairne shifted on her feet. “Can we...can someone...?”

“JJ just explained that soul magic is rare,” Chase summarized.

“It is,” Delyth agreed. “And you two—” She pointed at Schneep and Jack. “—are giving off soul-based magical signatures.”

“How can something be soul-based?” Jack asked. “Doesn’t everyone have a soul?”

“Yeah, but not everyone has the right kind of magic that can mess with souls,” Tavish said. “It’s very distinct.”

“So you can understand why we’d want to figure out what’s going on,” Delyth said. “But it seems none of you know anything.”

Chase, Jack, and Schneep muttered in agreement, but JJ looked thoughtful. Jack, can you translate this question? He asked. Can you ask them if a transference spell is soul-based?

“Oh, uh, sure,” Jack said. “JJ just asked if a transference spell is soul-based.”

The three magicians went very still. “How do you know about that?” Delyth asked in a low voice.

“Uh...it’s a long story,” Jack said. “Why, is it...bad?”

“That is very dark magic,” Nairne muttered, glancing back at the other two.

“Something’s off about them,” Tavish said. “We should take them in!”

Suddenly Schneep was holding his scissors again. “Go ahead and try.”

“Hey, let’s not fight, how about?” Chase said, raising his voice. “I wasn’t lying about this being my ex’s house, and she won’t be happy to come back to it trashed. And the girls are still asleep—”

“Are there children in this house?!” Delyth suddenly asked, looking around.

“Yeah, two of them,” Chase said. “I’m assuming they’re still asleep, I might be wrong.”

While Delyth and Chase were talking, Nairne and Tavish exchanged a look. Tavish raised an eyebrow, and Nairne nodded. Nobody else noticed except for JJ, whose eyes narrowed in suspicion.

Nairne suddenly flung her hand outward, sending a spray of white-blue magic outward. JJ was already moving, conjuring up his shield a second time. The magic bounced off it, attaching itself to the walls on either side and and spreading.

“Hey!” Schneep’s head whipped toward Nairne. “That is cheating!”

“Guess you won’t like this either, then,” Tavish muttered, and made a throwing motion at the shield. A ball of yellow light attached itself to the bright blue glow. JJ barely had time to glance at it before the ball suddenly exploded outwards, shattering the shield and sending the four flying.

“What are you doing?!” Delyth’s composure snapped as she yelled at the other magicians.

Nairne bent over and scooped up her wand. “They’re suspicious as fuck, so we’re taking them in! That’s part of the regulations, Mae.”

Schneep suddenly appeared behind Nairne, scissors open wide and held very close to her throat. “You have shitty regulations, then.”

Tavish glanced over at Nairne, then elected to throw another ball of magic towards Jack and Chase. JJ intercepted it, catching the ball in a net of blue magic, which wrapped around it in a sphere and absorbed the explosion. Chase looked away from the flash of yellow, and notices that in the commotion, something fell out of the nightstand drawer. He lunged forward and grabbed the gun by the handle. “Can we all just calm down?!” Jack shouted.

Nairne pointed her wand over her shoulder, a bolt of icy magic shooting out from it and hitting Schneep in the face. He gasped and stumbled backwards, wiping the magic away. Tavish chuckled, and threw another ball over at Nairne and Schneep. Nairne dived away, but Schneep got caught in the blast. He flew through the air and hit the wall hard.

“Enough!” Delyth shouted, eyes starting to glow purple.

Schneep got to his feet. “Yes, enough!” His eyes flashed turquoise, and the world shifted.

The ground seemed to tilt, the air wavering and warping, blurring the surroundings. Chase, in the middle of standing up, fell back to his knees and covered his hand with his mouth. JJ staggered, arms pinwheeling. Jack squeezed his eyes shut.

And suddenly, the four of them weren’t in the house anymore. Instead, they found themselves in the living room of an apartment, one that was familiar to all of them, even though the room was dim, lit only by morning sunlight coming through the windows. Jack opened his eyes. “Schneep...did you somehow take us to your place?”

“Yes,” Schneep said plainly. He was unaffected by the journey.

JJ leaned against the back of the nearest sofa, looking around. Seems not much has changed, he said. 

Schneep nodded. “I try to keep it in order.”

Chase scrambled to his feet. “What the fuck, dude?! My kids are still there! With the crazy magicians!”

“I...ah.” Schneep coughed. “I did not think of that.”

“Chase, it’s okay,” Jack said, standing up. “You saw the way that...leader lady reacted to hearing the kids were in the house. She won’t involve them.”

“It’s not so much her that I’m worried about as the two other assholes,” Chase snapped.

They were remarkably rude, JJ signed, frowning.

“Ah...does anyone want something to eat?” Schneep hurriedly said. “I have been stocking the kitchen cabinets.”

Chase sighed, and collapsed on the room’s armchair. “Yeah...fine. I just...” He rubbed his face. “God, Stacy’s gonna be so pissed when she gets back.”

Can she call you? JJ asked. Do you have your phone?

“Uh...” Chase checked his jean pockets, then his hoodie pocket. “Oh, yeah.” He pulled out his phone, turning on the screen. “It’s kinda low, though. I never got around to charging it last night.”

“Your phone?” Schneep asked.

“Fuck, I mean, yeah, Doc,” Chase said. “JJ asked me if I had my phone.”

Schneep nodded. “I am now assuming that any pause you have is JJ speaking.”

“That’s fair.”

“Hey, can we talk about what just happened?” Jack piped up. “Some magicians showed up, telling us that wow, not only is magic real, but there’s a whole magic community with apparently some sort of fucking...I don’t know, government, then they call JJ a warlock, tell us Schneep and I have unique fucking signatures or something, and attack us?”

“I think they were trying to, like, arrest us,” Chase said. “That guy, he had...mind...” He paused, distress flashing across his face for less than a second. “I mean, uh, mines. Like, magic mines. Maybe it was a knockout...thing.”

Jack gave Chase a peculiar, but sympathetic, look, then moved on. “Maybe. Apparently we were suspicious, I dunno.”

“I think the suspicious part was that we knew what this...transference is,” Schneep muttered. He walked over to the edge of the room just so he could lean against the wall.

They said it was very dark magic, JJ said. Which does check out with what we know about it.

Jack quickly translated the signs for Schneep, then added, “Okay, but that’s no reason to immediately attack.”

“There is also a high amount of soul magic in the city,” Schneep recalled. “Which is unusual, yes? Perhaps they thought we were behind it?”

Chase sighed. “We’re not. But...maybe we know who is.”

Silence fell over the group, echoing with memories. “But...Anti is...gone now,” Jack said hesitantly. “So maybe the soul magic will...I don’t know, fade back to normal levels. And they’ll leave us alone.”

“Maybe,” Schneep muttered. He straightened. “Well, my offer of food still stands. Who will come to the kitchen with me?”

“Let’s just all go,” Jack said.

That sounds good, JJ agreed.

Chase looked down at his phone again. “You guys go ahead. I think I’ll...I might call Stacy, try to explain what just happened.”

“Alright. We’ll get you chips or something,” Jack said.

The three of them disappeared through a side door, leaving Chase sitting there. He opened up his contacts, then hesitated. Yeah...he should tell her. He should. Just in case.

— — — — — — —

Stacy was taking her first fifteen-minute break in the back room of the diner when her phone started ringing. She huffed quietly. The ringing had interrupted the mindless scrolling through Instagram that she’d been using to try to relax. She didn’t recognize the number, so she hung up. And then it called again. And once she hung up again, it called. Sighing quietly, she picked up the call, figuring the person was going to keep trying. “Hello?”

“Hi, um, I’m looking for Chase?” An unfamiliar man’s voice asked.

“You have the wrong number,” Stacy said coolly.

“What? Really?” The man said, surprised. “That’s...weird. Uh, do you know Chase Brody?”

“He’s my ex.”

“Oh fuck. Sorry.”

“It’s fine.” Stacy was starting to relax a bit. A spam call probably wouldn’t use such casual language. “Uh, if you want I can tell him you called.”

“Well, he doesn’t know me,” the man said. “I’m a friend of a friend.”

And Stacy was once again suspicious. “How’d you get this number?”

“Through that friend,” the man explained. “I asked him to give me Chase’s number so I could call him for him, but I guess he just remembered yours. That’s...a bit weird.”

“Very weird,” Stacy agreed. “What friend wanted you to call him?”

“What friend wanted me to call Chase?”

“Yeah.”

There was a slight pause, then a sigh. “This is going to sound insane,” the man said. “Anyway, I thought the friend was dead, we kinda all did, but apparently he’s here, and he really, really wants to find Chase but can’t remember his address, or apparently his phone number.” He paused. “The friend’s name is Jackie.”

Stacy was frozen for a moment. Jackie? The Jackie that they’d gone to the funeral of, where Chase has cried the whole time? “Is this a fucking prank?!” She suddenly snapped. “Cause it’s not funny to make—”

“No no no, I promise, it’s not a prank, I have just as much idea what’s going on as you do,” the man hurried to say. “I thought Jackie was dead, but no, he’s...he’s right here. I’m literally staring at him. And he wants to meet up with Chase.”

Stacy sighed deeply. This was going to be more of that bullshit Chase and his friends were getting caught up in, huh? The bullshit that they still wouldn’t tell her about? “Okay, I’ll tell Chase you called, tell him to...check on you or something, I dunno.”

“That would be great,” the man said. “Oh, uh, my name’s Malcolm. Malcolm Akela, you should be able to find my address online or in a phone book or something. Just in case you need something.”

“Uh-huh.” Stacy glanced at the clock. Her break was almost up. “Well, look, I gotta go, but I’ll tell Chase...all this.”

“Thanks.”

The call ended. Immediately, her phone started ringing again, this time with a familiar number. Stacy sighed, then picked up. “What is it, Chase?”

— — — — — — —

Halfway across the city, in a small apartment above a shop, a magician was looking for a flashlight in a dark bedroom. Yvonne silently cursed the strange power outage. She’d use her magic to light up her surroundings, but she needed to save it. After a bit of fumbling in a drawer, she found it. “Aha! Torch!” She flicked it on. “Let there be light.” Chuckling, she left the room and headed into the living room.

Marvin was sitting on her sofa. It wasn’t a sight she ever expected to see again, but here he was. He looked a bit distant, and had bandages wrapped around the cut on his throat, but was otherwise alright...and alive. 

“Alright, here we are.” Yvonne shined the flashlight around the room, briefly flicking a nearby lamp switch to see if anything had changed. Nope. The power was still out. “How are you doing, Marv?”

“Hmm?” Marvin looked up at her.

“How are you doing?” Yvonne repeated. “Like...good, bad, whatever. You know? How do you feel?”

Marvin blinked. “I feel...we’re...not...where’s the other one?”

“Still don’t know what you’re talking about,” Yvonne muttered. “But look, I found something for you.” She crossed the room, making sure she didn’t trip over anything in the dark, until she was standing in front of Marvin. “Look! This thing!” She held up the object she’d found in her closet.

Marvin’s reaction was delayed a bit, but once it registered, he gasped. “Oh!” He reached out and took the mask from Yvonne. It was white, a few designs painted on the surface, most notably the four card suits arranged in a diamond on the forehead. He traced the outline of it, running his fingers over the ceramic. “This...this is mine. Just mine.”

“Yeah, it’s yours.” Yvonne cleared her throat awkwardly. “I’m uh...sorry I could never give it back.”

“Back...?” Marvin turned the mask over, now playing with the black ribbons that would hold the mask on his face. “I...gave it to you. You wanted...to copy it?”

“No, not exactly. I just...well you know, magically-enhanced ceramic, hard to come by. I always said it was an accident waiting to happen, if a spell backfired it could do some serious damage to your face, but you were so confident in the spell, that I just...had to see...” Yvonne trailed off. “Of course, while you were here dropping it off, I...did you...copy a spell from one of my books?”

“Mmm...” Marvin’s eyes clouded over, losing focus. “Spell, spell...spell on loose paper...spells in type...lots of spells...”

Yvonne sighed. “Never mind. Let’s just get this started.” She backed up, rounding around a coffee table, putting the flashlight down on its surface. There was a peculiar looking instrument on the table. It was mainly a giant lens, its diameter larger than a basketball. “Stay still, okay?” Yvonne said, positioning the lens so it was facing Marvin.

He nodded vaguely, still running his hands over the mask, holding it to his chest. “Just mine...” he said, voice barely audible. “Not the other one...not the...”

“It’s your mask, yes,” Yvonne said absentmindedly. She ran her hands along the edge of the lens, the silver frame holding it becoming alight with blue and hints of yellow. As she did so, she stifled a yawn. She’d been up all night, trying to figure out what the deal was with Marvin. The Soul Lens had only occurred to her a few minutes ago. She began chanting some words, causing the Soul Lens to start glowing with white light. Trails of blue and yellow magic dripped over the glass, swirling iridescently like the surface of a bubble. Until it suddenly cleared. Yvonne bent over, peering through the Lens.

Through the Lens, everything had lost its color, being seen in shades of gray. The room was still dark, except for a light coming from Marvin. She stared intently at it, eyes wide. After a few silent moments, the Lens powered down, and she straightened, shaking her head. “Marvin...” she said in a hushed tone. “I was right. Your soul is broken.” That was the only word she could think to describe the fragmented way the light had appeared. Also, the Lens couldn’t show it, but she’d detected something...foreign...when she’d first sensed his soul. “What the fuck were you doing?”

Marvin didn’t answer, closing his eyes and leaning back against the sofa.

“Jesus...” Yvonne shook her head in disbelief. This was way, way beyond her knowledge. What was she supposed to do next? She couldn’t go to ABIM, they didn’t trust her and she didn’t trust them. Was it possible there was something in her storage that could help?

She was so lost in thought that it took her a moment to realize there was something glowing outside her window.

Marvin noticed it first, sitting up straight and twisting his head to the side to look at it. He gasped, and started to laugh.

“Marvin, what—what the fuck is that?!” Yvonne ran over to the window. For a second, her first insane thought was that magic worms were trying to get inside. But no, as she got closer she realized it was string. Green glowing string, cut into various sizes, none longer than her forearm. They were wiggling as if alive, trying to squirm their way through the window seam. “No! No, out!” Yvonne double-checked the lock on the window, looking back at Marvin. “Is this your fault?! What is this?!”

Marvin grinned. “It’s me! Us? All. Shards, missing missing, put together, held together.”

“What the actual criss-cross applesauce hell does that mean?!” Yvonne looked back at the window. The green glowing strings were bunching together. As she watched, some of them formed into...a hand. “No!” She slammed her hands down on the windowsill, eyes flaring sky blue. A shockwave of blue and yellow magic burst outward, sending the green strings flying into the distance. They disappeared into the sky, and Yvonne took a moment to catch her breath. “Impressive Sending there,” she muttered. “Must’ve pushed them at least a few blocks away...”

Marvin seemed to slump a bit, somehow disappointed. He closed his eyes again. “It’s nothing, nothing...I-I...we need...it’s not...fair...”

Yvonne sighed, running a hand through her colored hair. “Well, life’s not fair.” She turned back around. “What do you need, Marv? What do you want? What can...what can I do?”

“Need...” Marvin opened his eyes. They flickered green. “Need...the other one. Want? Want...the...t̢̧h͠e͢m.”

There was something odd about the way he’d said that. “Who’s them...?” Yvonne asked hesitantly.

Marvin grinned. “The puppets.”

— — — — — — —

“I’ll text you the number, okay? For now, it seems like I really need to get home, since apparently you left the kids home alone with some strangers.”

“Sorry,” Chase muttered. God, he couldn’t do anything right, could he?

Stacy’s voice softened. “I’ll call you later.” And without further ado, she hung up.

Chase sighed, setting the phone down. This day had been a lot to process. And it was barely eight o’clock.

Jack reappeared in the living room. He smiled at Chase. “Hey, dude. I brought you some chips.” The smile quickly faded. “What’s wrong?”

Chase looked over at him. “Get everyone else in here. There have been some...complications.”

[oliveiraveiro]

The Next Chapter, Part 1

Open Heart, Rafael Aveiro x MC (Reader)

The next night after Rafael told you he’s leaving town, he says his goodbye to you over dinner. The night goes well until you find out that his flight is scheduled the next day. Will you be able to convince him to stay? Or will he really leave you and Boston behind for good?

w // mature with no actual smut yet, swearing

word count: 2549

ao3 link feel free to download and change {Name} to your name, and sora’s {she} and {her} pronouns if applicable.

note: the summary sounds pretty angsty, but I promise this fic is gonna be rafael stans friendly. pb’s already giving us and raf a horrible treatment, I won’t do that to you legends xx let me know if you wanna be tagged when I post the second part that I still haven’t written!!!

After yet another long day at work, you are finally heading home.

You stayed about an hour past the end of your shift, but it doesn’t matter now that you’re making your way out the doors of Edenbrook. Wrapping your arms around yourself as the cold air of Boston greeted you, you let out a soft sigh, focused on getting into the subway to finally get home.

You don’t notice Rafael until he called out your name for the third time.

“Hey,” he greets as he finally catches up with you. “You mad at me or something?” he teases.

You give him a small smile. “You still leaving me behind? If so, then maybe a little.”

He laughs softly, eyes twinkling, seemingly happier now that he was with you. “I actually came to say goodbye to you guys. I mean, aside from signing paperwork and all that, but yeah.”

You feel a sting in your heart, remembering that he is really is leaving town, but you try to quickly hide your emotions. You swallow the forming lump in your throat. “Oh, Raf, I’m sorry but I’m afraid you missed the rest of the guys. I’m still here only because I had to finish something up with the team…”

“Yeah, I know, I talked to them earlier already.” he admits, scratching the back of his neck. “I’m actually waiting for you.”

Your eyes soften as you stare up at Rafael. Despite your feelings about him leaving Boston, you find yourself genuinely smiling at him. “I’m here now and all yours.”

…Really? Your heart skips a beat at what you just said. Real subtle.

But his eyes only seem to light up again. “Perfect. You up for some local food tonight?” Rafael asks. “Let’s hit the street markets. For old time’s sake and one last time. For at least a while.” He quickly adds before you can react.

You don’t hesitate to nod. “This is a trick question, right? When did I ever refuse Antonia’s jerk?”

You and Rafael make your way to the local markets, and soon enough you are seated with him in a table, an assortment of food and drinks in front of you.

You tell him about your day at work, mainly about the senator and Kyra, and he tells you about his conversation with his boss.

“Honestly, I think she’s convinced I’m leaving because of the suspension. I spent about half an hour telling her otherwise, and that is after already telling her the reason why. I’m not even kidding.”

You laugh gently, shaking your head. “That being the reason makes sense though, doesn’t it?” You sneak a glance at him before taking a sip of your drink. “Actually, why are you leaving?”

“I already told you, {Name}. I… I wanna see the world. I’ve never lived anywhere but Boston. I just realized maybe it’s time to finally change that.” Rafael explains, no smile on his lips anymore.

“And that realization just came out of nowhere?”

“…No. I guess maybe it is about my suspension. It’s just been a tough couple of months for me too, you know? I’m lacking purpose, and I don’t want to feel like this anymore. Leaving town… it feels right. I feel like I can start doing something new, something that matters.”

“But you’re already doing something important here, Raf, that goes beyond your job as a paramedic. You’re helping your people, giving back the best way you know how. Not to mention how much you love your community. So, is leaving really the answer?”

You are facing him this time, and Rafael holds your gaze although he doesn’t answer. He sighs softly, swallowing, biting down on his lip.

“I’m getting your point. I promise I’m on your side, Raf. But a move this big? As your friend I have to make sure you’re considering all sides to this.” You continue, then bite your tongue at that word. Friend.

You feel your heart clench, and even more at your following question. “What did Sora even say about this? {She} must know how much you love Boston.” You tried to casually ask, playing it cool like you’re not dying to know if {she}’s coming with.

“{She}’s, um, excited, actually.” Rafael answers with uncertainty, not wanting you to feel awkward. “But only because {she} already did this, you know? The big move. {She}’s also surprised with my decision, and quite unhappy about it, {she} made sure to let me know that.”

You nod. Of course, {she} would be supporting him leaving the city. You’re unsure why you thought {she}’d be with you in this. You know by now that you and Sora are close to opposites.

“You guys didn’t break up or anything, did you?” You ask, needing to look away because he can’t see the hint of hope in your eyes. You finish the last of your food as you waited for his answer.

“Not exactly… It’s not—{she}’s not upset about that.” Rafael plays with his bottom lip between his teeth.

“You didn’t exactly break up?” You asked again, confused. “What is {she} upset about?”

“We already ended things about a month ago, I think?”

You gape a little as you faced him again. You can’t deny feeling hopeful, but still, a month? “Why am I just knowing about this? You didn’t…” You trail off, eyes saddening.

“I just know you’ve been very busy, {Name}. Not only with the diagnostics team, but with doing what you can to save Edenbrook. You already have so much on your plate that I just didn’t want to bother—”

“Raf, please, you know I’ll always have time for you. I’m here right now, am I not?” You interrupt him, eyebrows furrowed.

He only gives you a sheepish smile, but then he turns serious again, guilt flashing in his eyes. He frowns as he looks away. “I’m leaving tomorrow, {Name}.”

Yet another bombshell. “That’s... that’s so soon, Raf. Why…” You trail off, needing to take a deep breath. In an instant, you know you’re feeling anger in your chest. “I don’t understand. You keep on saying that this feels right, but it seems to me that you’re running away from something.”

“{Name}…”

“Tell me I’m wrong then, Rafael. Tell me you’re not rushing to fly out of Boston. Tell me you’re not trying to get away from something.” You dare him, unaware that you’re clenching your fist, too upset.

You’re not sure where this anger is coming from. You know for a fact that he doesn’t owe you anything– at least not anymore– and that you have no right to be upset. But goddammit he’s leaving and there’s nothing you can do about it. You’re mad at yourself, you’re mad at the world.

Rafael clenches his jaw, but he looks at you with soft eyes, almost begging. For what, you’re unsure.

“You’re not even going to lie? Tell me that you are sure and that you’re not just being a coward?” You laugh dryly. “Of course not. You’re always honest, aren’t you?”

“{Name}, please, sit down.” He tries to coax you, but it only made you grab your things faster and get up on your feet quickly.

“You wanted to say goodbye, you said it. Goodbye, Rafael. I wish the best for you, I truly do. And I hope that whatever it is you’re trying to leave behind gives up the chase.” You look into his eyes as you speak, sincere, but there’s no hiding the thousand other emotions you are feeling right now.

Rafael sees them all, and so he follows you, but you’re much faster, resorting to running just to get away from him. It’s funny how you were giving him shit for running away, but here you are, literally doing so. He catches up with you only when you’re already out of the food hall and further down the almost empty street.

You only realize that you’re walking further instead of towards your apartment when he grabs your arm. You’re actually closer to his street instead. You curse in your mind, trying to get away from his hold.

“What the hell, {Name}?” Rafael says, but he loosens his hand around your arm. Once he sees you’re trying to catch your breath from running, he lets you go. “What is up with you?”

“I just…wanna go home.” You say out of breath.

“By walking the opposite way? Actually, excuse me, by running away, like what you claim I am doing.” He gives you a pointed look.

You hold up your index finger, gesturing for him to hold on, then you turn, starting to walk away in the opposite direction.

“Are you—” He quickly runs after you, grabbing your arm again. “{Name}, please. I don’t understand why you’re acting like this.”

“If it isn’t obvious yet, Raf, I’m upset.”

“Why, because I’m leaving? Can’t you see that I’m putting myself first for once? I swear I imagined you’d be proud of me. Aren’t you always the one always pushing me to pursue what I really wanted?”

“You breaking up with me, Raf, despite what I felt, what I strongly felt and still feel about you, that is you putting yourself first. This? Don’t pretend this is the same. Don’t pretend that by leaving you’re doing what’s right and that you’re not trying to avoid a problem! Please, just let me go, I don’t think we still have something to talk about.” You raise your voice, breaths still heavy.

Rafael looks taken aback, and you instantly feel guilty, but he slowly lets your arm go again so you take the chance to take a few steps away. He thankfully doesn’t follow, and you thought you’d be able to finally go, but you freeze the moment you realize what you just said.

You blush deeply, slowly facing him again. “Also... also with your breakup with Sora.” You try to add, but only flushing more as you’re unsure who ended the relationship. “If you… I mean, if you broke up with her. If she broke up with you, obviously, she put herself first. Unless it was a mutual decision, of course. In that case you both are putting each other…” You trail off as Rafael made his way towards you again.

You’re not running anymore, so you’re confused why he is doing so towards you. “What—” After watching the big guy make his way to you, the next thing you know is that his lips are on yours. Your eyes are wide the moment your mouths meet, but as he started kissing you, god it feels so good and it feels like home, that you had no choice but to kiss him back.

He grabs your hips and pulls your body closer to him as his tongue slips past your mouth, and you moan into his. You wrap your arms around his neck, deepening the kiss.

Somehow, him leaving is far from both your minds now. The fact that you’re not together anymore? It’s as if it’s long forgotten. You were skeptical when he said that leaving ‘feels right’, because how the hell does feeling right feels? But now that you’re kissing him, you’re sure that this is what feels right. Right and perfect, like your lips and his are meant to always meet like this.

Much to your dismay, he starts to pull away after a long moment. But he only grabs your face this time, obviously catching his breath. You start to laugh softly, but he only kisses you again, even more hungrily. You kiss him back, humming into his mouth, but you pull away again, taking his hand leading him into an alley.

His eyes darken as soon as he realized where you’re going, but he tugs your hand to stop you. “I… god, I want to, {Name}. But it’s been so long. I can’t make love to you in some random alleyway.”

You feel your heart flutter and you can’t help your giddy smile, but you tease him, trailing your finger on his chest through his shirt. “You sure?” You smile slyly. “We crossed off dancing under the street lamps. How about fucking—”

Before you can finish, his lips are on yours again, devouring your mouth. You feel just how much he truly wants you, and you admire how he’s able to resist your offer because you’re more than ready to jump him here and now. “My house. Now.” He commands, and you don’t dare suggesting otherwise after that.

You reach his house not long after, and you were glad to see no trace of Sora behind. You half-expected to see a shirt or shoes lying around that’s evidently smaller than Rafael’s size.

When you got to his bedroom, it was obvious you were looking around. You tried to observe what changed, or if there’s anything out of the ordinary. Before you can overthink the pile of clothes neatly folded and oddly placed on his study table, you feel him wrap his arms around you from behind.

“We didn’t, {Name}.” He says softly near your ear, kissing your temple.

“You mean, not here? {Her} house?” You move your head to the side a little, looking back at him.

“Not ever. One of the many reasons why she broke up with me.” He clarifies.

You almost feel guilty that it made you glad, but his hands rubbing your sides feels amazing and it only ignites your desire for him more. “Mm. Then I’m happy to let you know I didn’t have any rebound sex with anyone either.” You grin, taking his hand, leading him to the bed.

Laughing gently behind you, he carries you in his arms bridal style, only to throw you onto the bed on your back.

“I’m having amazing flashbacks.” You grin, taking off your shirt before moving up more on the bed, tugging off your jeans, and he helps you take it off completely.

He gives himself a moment to stare at you in your underwear, swallowing, the dark look back in his eyes. He quickly takes off his jacket and his shirt, climbing on top of you.

You kiss him again, slower this time, but somehow much more intensely.

He breathes your name against your mouth, and he kisses down your jaw and neck.

“You feel it too, Raf?” You ask softly, tilting your head to the side to give him more access to your neck, moaning softly at the feel of his hot mouth and lips against your skin. “Like you’re right where you’re supposed to be?”

“In your arms? Yes.” He doesn’t hesitate to answer, pulling away a little so he can look into your eyes, smiling, wider than you have ever seen him do in the past months. Just like before, when you were still together, you realize.

You feel a rush of excitement, and you take his face in your hands, kissing him again. When you pull away you literally had to bite your tongue so you don’t tell him you love him here and now.

You take a deep breath, running your fingers through his hair, making him meet your gaze again. “Then stay.” You tell him softly, almost in a whisper.

“{Name}…” His eyes soften.

“Stay, Rafael. Stay with me.”

[eternalnight8806-3]

A Very Feudal Christmas

OMG OMG OMG I MADE IT!

Ok, dear anon, I am so sorry for the delay in your gift. I’ll admit I had a bit of trouble with the prompt you gave me. But I do hope you enjoy this secret Santa gift of mine!

Category: Romance, fluff, Christmas theme

Pairing: InuKag

Words: 3,346

Rating: General or Teen

Also read on AO3 or FF.net

Tagging: @inusecretsanta @keichanz @noviceotakus-blog @hinezumi @morikothehalfangel @cstorm86 @digital-art-monster @cammysansstuff @redflamesofpassion @heyy-ahriii

The snow touched one of InuYasha's triangular shaped dog ears and he flicked it in response. Yellow eyes looked up at the dark sky and the falling snow. He smiled as he thought about whatever this “Christmas” surprise was Kagome had in store for all of them. She had taken it upon herself to force them all to take a few days off from shard hunting to celebrate this holiday from her time.

InuYasha still didn't understand the strange custom. Kagome had forced him to cut down a tree with Tetsusaiga and she had taken it inside Kaede's little hut. There, she had fashioned little baubles and decorations from plants, berries, fabric and other found items available to her. On the very top she placed a five point star she had managed to make from twigs and twine. Once the star was placed, she stood back and admired her work.

“Isn't it beautiful, InuYasha?” she asked him.

“Keh. I don't get it, Kagome. What's the point of all this damn stuff?”

Sighing, Kagome shook her head and tried to explain it again. “It's an old custom from the west. It brightens up the house during the winter and it provides a place to put all the presents under.”

Shippo leapt up onto Kagome's shoulder and looked at her excitedly. “Presents?”

Kagome giggled and ruffled the kit's hair. “Yes, Shippo, presents. We all get eachother a present, or sometimes we just choose one person to give something to randomly so evertyone still gets a gift but no one has to spend too much money to buy everyone gifts. That's called a secret Santa.”

“Santa?” Shippo looked puzzled at the word as he spoke it.

“Santa is a magical man who's supposed to live up at the north pole with all of his helpers who make all of his toys for all of the children in the world. Then, on Christmas Eve, he loads up his sleigh with all the toys, hooks up his eight flying reindeer and delivers them to all the children.”

“In one day?” Shippo asked, wonderously.

“Yep. He's magic, remember?”

“Wooooow...” he said as he looked on, a sparkle in his big eyes.

“Keh. Sounds like a load of crap to me,” InuYasha grumbled as he slumped down on the floor.

“Kagome turned to him and glared. “You live in a world with demons and magical swords. You can't believe a man can use some kind of magic to do something wondrous like bring joy to children?”

InuYasha flushed at her scolding. “I... I guess...” he mumbled.

Miroku stepped forward and pulled Kagome's attention from the grumpy hanyou. “Tell us more about this “secret Santa” custom, Kagome.”

Smiling, Kagome clapped her hands together and happily replied, “Well, we all write our names and a few ideas for things we would want or need on a piece of paper and then fold them so we don't know who's is who's. Then we place them all in a container and swish them around to mix them up and we all draw a name one at a time. We don't tell who we got and then on Christmas morning we reveal who our secret giftee is.”

“Ohhhhhh Kagome can we do it? Please, Kagome, pleeeeeeeease?” Shippo begged, jumping up and down excitedly. Kagome laughed boisterously and nodded her head at the happy fox child. She bent over her giant yellow backpack and pulled out a notebook and pencils. Carefully, she ripped six pieces of equally sized paper and handed one each to Kaede, Sango, Miroku, Shippo and InuYasha, keeping one for herself.

Over the next several minutes the sounds of scratching, erasing, and heavy sighs were heard throughout the tiny hut as each of them thought about what to put on their slip of paper. Finally, they each had something written and folded their papers. Kagome grabbed a small bowl and had each of them place their paper in it. She used her hand to swirl them around for a few seconds before she leaned down in front of Shippo and said, “You pick first, Shippo.”

Positively beaming, Shippo reached his tiny hand in the bowl and drew a name. He opened his paper and smiled gleefully. Kagome moved on to Sango, then Miroku, Kaede, and InuYasha, until there was only one paper left that she took for herself. She opened it to discover that she had drawn InuYasha's name. He had only written one thing below his name, 'Acceptance'. Eyes brimming with tears, Kagome tucked the slip of paper into her jacket pocket and quickly wiped them away before anyone could notice.

The next few days went by with everyone talking in hushed tones and quickly clamming up when someone came into view. Shippo had basically disappeared, but they knew he'd be back by Christmas morning. InuYasha was the strangest of them all. He kept to himself even more than normal, not even speaking to Kagome. She had hoped he would ask her advice on his gift, but she knew he was probably trying to figure it out on his own. As for Kagome, she had a big plan for InuYasha. Unfortunately, it wasn't something he could unwrap in the traditional sense, but she looked forward to giving it to him anyway.

Kagome awoke Christmas morning to a very excited Shippo jumping up and down on her chest and yelling, “Kagome! Kagome, wake up! It's time for Santa!” Smiling, she rubbed her eyes and smiled at the young boy.

“Alright, Shippo, I'm up. Go tell the others I'll make some breakfast with Kaede and then we can open presents, ok?” Shippo happily bounded away to do as she had asked of him. As she sat up, Kagome stretched out her arms above her head and looked around the small hut. Kaede was already up, with a fire started in her fire pit. She had put on some rice and as a special treat had gathered a few eggs from the locals to make for the group for this special day. Kagome also had a special surprise for everyone stashed away in her backpack and she couldn't wait to see all their faces when she let them try it.

Rising from her pallet on the floor, she walked over to Kaede and looked down at the small pot of rice she was stiring. “That looks so good, Kaede. I'm starving!”

“Aye, child. We best get these eggs ready before InuYasha busts down my hut and Shippo loses all his patience and tears into his own gift before it's time.” Kagome giggled as she grabbed another pan to make the eggs in.

She had just cracked the last egg into the pan when Miroku, Sango and Shippo all joined them. Kagome frowned and looked down at Shippo. “Where's InuYasha?” she asked.

“I dunno, Kagome. I looked everywhere. Even in the sacred tree. I couldn't find him anywhere.”

Kagome's face furrowed into a frown. It wasn't like him to disappear without telling them, except in the case of... But no. Surely he wouldn't do that to her on Christmas when he knew how much it meant to her? She pulled in a deep breath to keep herself calm and to stave off the tears that threatened to fall.

The group ate in mostly silence, sensing Kagome's tension. Even Shippo's cheery mood had dampened somewhat. But then, something magical happened. Shippo's ear flicked, his nose twitched and he shot up from his spot on the floor and ran off out of the hut in the direction of the forest.

Kagome quickly tried to go after him, but the young kit was too fast for her. “Shippo!” she called, but he was already out of sight beyond the treeline. Sighing, she returned to her own spot on the floor and shoved the food in her mouth with obvious annoyance. It was just as she had finished her last bite of egg that Shippo came bounding back in the hut, followed by InuYasha.

Kagome breathed a huge sigh of relief, along with the rest of the group. But she glared up at him anyway. “Where were you, InuYasha?”

Face flushed, he responded, “I was... gettin' my gift. Sorry I'm late...” he said, sheepishly. Kagome smiled up at him and grabbed the bowl of food she had saved for him and handed it to him as he sat down next to her on the floor. He began shoveling in his mouth in pure InuYasha fashion and she couldn't help but giggle. He looked over at her, his cheeks puffed up from all the food and said, “Wha?” through his mouthful.

She simply shook her head and said, “Nothing, InuYasha. I'm just glad you're here is all.” She then stood and walked over to her backpack and rummaged through it until she found her special surprise for everyone. Everyone looked at her curiously as she pulled out little paper packets and a few long thin bars with the word 'Hershey's' in big letters on the wrapping. “Shippo, could you go get a small bucket of milk from Ichiro, please? He knows you're coming.”

“Sure, Kagome,” he said as he happily ran off to complete his task. He returned moments later with his prize and Kagome smiled as she took it from him and poured it into the kettle she had placed over the fire. Miroku and Sango watched her with much curiosity as she stirred the fresh milk. Once it was warmed, she opened up the paper packets and poured the contents of them into the milk, turning it a medium shade of brown. Shippo's eyes widened. “What kind of magic are you using, Kagome?” he asked her.

Kagome chuckled and shook her head at the kitsune. “Not magic, Shippo. Just something from my time. You'll see when it's all done. You'll like it, I promise!”

She continued stirring the now brown milk until it was fairly well steaming. It was then that she opened up the bars and broke the contents of them up into the milk, stirring them in as well. As she stirred, the milk turned an even darker shade of brown, and Kagome's eyes gleamed. Finally, she poured the concoction into six mugs and went back to her bag in search of one more thing. She pulled out a small bag of small, white fluffy looking things and placed several on each drink before handing a cup to each of them in turn. They each looked at the drink and sniffed it carefully. InuYasha studied it most of all, staring at it with wide eyes and flicking ears.

“It's called hot chocolate with marshmallows. It's something we drink in cold weather in my time. It's really good, I promise. Try it,” Kagome prompted.

Slowly, each of them took a small sip. Shippo's eyes grew twice their normal size and he exclaimed, “Kagome, this is amazing!”

Miroku nodded in agreement, “Indeed, this is very good, Kagome.”

Sango simply stated, “This is common in your time? It seems so special...” Kaede agreed.

“It's easier to make in my time. We don't have to milk cows to get milk, we just buy it at the store. And we have this thing called a microwave that heats food up for us much faster than traditional cooking,” she stated.

“Woooooooow, Kagome. Your time must be so fun!” Shippo exclaimed.

Laughing, Kagome said, “Sometimes, yea. But honestly I'd rather be here, with you guys.” She looked around them all to the tree in the corner of the room. “Now, are we all ready to open our gifts?”

Shippo shot up and said, “Me first, me first!” As he ran over and grabbed his package and handed it to Kaede. “Merry Christmas, Lady Kaede.”

Smiling, Kaede untied the twine holding the box together and opened the gift she had been given. Inside the box was a new handmade basket decorated with flowers and ribbon. It had 3 separate compartments. “Oh Shippo, this is so beautiful,” Kaede exclaimed.

Beaming, Shippo said proudly, “I made it! It's for all your herb collecting. So you don't have to mix everything up or carry different baskets.”

“Thank you, child. I will cherish it,” Kaede said as she patted the boy's head. “Now, I believe it's my turn, then?” She said as she stood and made her way over to the tree and retrieved her own gift, handing the package to Shippo with a large smile on her face. “Merry Christmas, dear.” Shippo could hardly contain his excitement as he tore open the box. He peered inside and with careful hands pulled the item out and held it up for everyone to see. Kaede spoke softly, “It's a charmed spinning top. Once you use it, it won't stop spinning until you speak the magic word.”

“Oh Lady Kaede, thank you so much! This is the best thing ever!” Shippo said as he ran and gave her a huge bear hug.

Chuckling, Kaede patted his back and said, “Of course, child. Yer very welcome.”

Miroku stood and silently walked over to the tree and picked up a small box. He turned, sighed deeply, and handed it to Sango. “Merry Christmas, Sango,” he stated, obviously nervous.

Sango looked into the violet eyes of the monk and with shaking hands opened the gift he had presented her. The box contained a piece of forearm armor, matching her current armor, with one small difference. This piece contained a hidden blade with the words 'My Dearest' inscribed on the blade. “Now be careful, Sango. The blade is dipped in a permanent poison that I'm told works on humans and most lower level demons alike. Supposedly it won't ever need replenished,” Miroku said as he stared at the young taijiya.

“Oh, Miroku, it's the most beautiful thing I've ever received. Thank you so much,” she said as her face turned a hefty shade of pure pink. She carefully set her gift down next to her hiraikotsu and walked over to the tree to retrieve her own gift. She stood in front of Miroku and handed him her present, hands trembling.

Miroku looked at her with wide eyes and wordlessly opened the gift. He looked inside the box with wonder as he pulled out a bundle of fabric and let it fall open. It was a small, formal kimono. One obviously meant for a child. Shyly, Sango spoke, “It's for your first child. For, you know, after we defeat Naraku...” Her words trailed off as he looked at her with his eyes positively sparkling.

“Sango, this is the most precious thing you could've given me. Thank you so much.” With those words he wrapped her up in his arms and gave her a tight embrace, making the slayer blush even deeper. She returned his affections, however.

With that, the whole group turned to Kagome. It was time for her gift to InuYasha. Smiling, she stood and walked over to him, taking his hand and leading him into the center of the group. They circled the confused hanyou and each of them held out their hand and touched his arm or shoulder. Kagome stood in front of him and spoke softly, “InuYasha, here, in this family, you are always accepted.” She turned to Shippo.

“You're like a the most annoying big brother in the world, but of course I accept you. I don't know what I'd do without you and Kagome around.” Shippo turned and looked at Miroku.

“InuYasha, you're brash and harsh with your words, but you have the biggest heart of anyone I've ever known, save Kagome. You fight for what's right and protect the innocent. Anyone would be proud to call you Ani*. As proud as I am.” He turned to a smiling Sango.

“You're brave, cunning, quick witted and god awful stubborn. Your heart is always in the right place, even if your words don't express it well. I'm proud to fight beside you and call you Kazoku*.” She turned to Kaede.

“InuYasha, I thought for a very long time that ye were the reason my older sister was slain. Since learning the truth and gettin' ta know ya, I've learned that yer much more than meets the eye. Yer smart, fiercely protective, and ye have one of the biggest hearts of any man this old woman has ever known. Ye are like the Mago* I never had.”

Finally, it was Kagome's turn to speak. “InuYasha, we all love you. Here in this family you will always have a place. You will always be accepted, no matter what happens. Always know that, ok?”

InuYasha stood speechless and looked at each one of them in turn. No one had ever displayed this much affection for him in his entire life. He was overwhelmed and didn't know what to do with himself. “K-Kagome...” he said, softly.

She smiled at him and took his hand. “I know,” she said as she led him outside and away from the group to the one place she wanted to take him, the sacred tree. There, he stood trembling in front of her. She gently touched his cheek and smiled at him. “Do you understand now?” She asked him. He simply nodded.

After a few moments to compose himself, InuYasha reached into his haori and pulled out a very small, modern looking, beautiful, glittery forest green box and handed it to her. “It's not much... your mom helped me with it...”

Kagome looked up at him in shock. “That's where you've been? At my house?” He nodded once. “Oh, InuYasha...” she said, as she held the box tenderly. She pulled off the lid to the box and peered inside. It held a silver heart shaped locket on a long silver chain to match. She pulled the necklace from the box and opened it up. On one side was a tiny picture of InuYasha, looking as grumpy as ever and on the other was an engraving. It read, 'You have my heart in full'. Kagome's eyes brimmed with tears as she read the inscription. “InuYasha...”

“Ah, damnit wench, ya weren't s'posed to cry!” He said as he took her shoudlers in his clawed hands.

She looked up into his amber eyes and gave him the brightest smile he'd ever seen from her. “No, InuYasha, I'm crying because I'm so happy.”

“Oh...” he said as he looked down, embarrassed.

“You know, there is another Christmas tradition I wanted to show you...” Kagome said, quietly.

InuYasha looked back into her chocolate brown eyes. “Oh yea?”

“Look up, InuYasha.” His head swiveled back and looked above his head. There, hanging on a red ribbon from one of the lowest branches on the tree, was a plant he didn't recognize. It was green with tiny white and red berries.

“It's called mistletoe. When two people are under it at the same time they're supposed to kiss.” Kagome said, voice shaky, but sounding confident.

InuYasha looked back down into her entrancing eyes. He hesitated only for a moment before taking her face into both of his clawed hands and bent down to capture her soft, pink lips with his own. She gasped at the intensity of the kiss. Every word unspoken, every feeling not known, poured into her very soul. In that moment, she was sure he loved her. She was sure she was his first choice. She was sure she wanted to be with him, forever. Her nerves tingled as the kiss came to an end and she shook in his arms as he barely pulled away.

“Merry Christmas, Kagome.”

She smiled against his lips. “Merry Christmas, InuYasha.”

   *Ani- informal brother in Japanese

*Kazoku- family in Japanese

*Mago- grandchild in Japanese

**I do apologize if I have used these words incorrectly. I did try to look up the proper meanings, but the internet only tells so much!**