#(of course i want them to look somewhat good but i get a bit ill over it)

[skitskatdacat63]

2023 Las Vegas Grand Prix - Qualifiying - Fernando Alonso

[mrsnancywheeler]

let me down easy // finnick odair x f. reader

based off this blurb

summary: finnick pushed himself away, isolated himself, and you're slipping through his fingers like sand.

masterlist

3.8k words

warnings: angst, a tiny bit of fluff at the end, a little smutty but also very brief, mental illness, insecurity, paranoia, allusions to cheating (no one is actually cheating), slightly mean!finnick, self destructive behavior on all sides, more insecurities, arguments, feeling isolated, slight blood and injury, female rage things, male masturbation, unedited, no use of y/n, brief mentions of vomiting, girls girls all around, annie cresta my beloved being a girl girl, people pleaser reader

𓈒⠀𓂃⠀⠀˖⠀𓇬⠀˖⠀⠀𓂃⠀𓈒

Once every day had felt like it was full of sunlight, even if there were ups and downs you always had each other by the end of it. Now you weren't even sure if you had yourself, let alone Finnick. Worst of all you had no idea what you'd done wrong, at first you chalked it up to how he'd just returned from the Capitol. But usually his isolation was a day at the most before he'd succumb to your comfort. Instead it had been nearly a month of radio silence.

He stopped the way he'd pepper your face with kisses to wake you up and bring you to the kitchen where he'd have made breakfast, telling you mindless stories about his morning swim. Now if he did anything for you it felt robotic, out of necessity, there was no helping you with your hair, having fun picking out your outfits, he was barely around. Never would you have thought you could be such an outcast in your own home, your own relationship.

At first you'd thought you just weren't doing enough, that he needed some extra love to help him open up. Reluctantly you'd fully wake yourself up when you felt him rise for his swim, take up the position of making him breakfast instead. Busying yourself with his favorites until he returned and you put on your best smile when he did, hopeful it would be somewhat successful.

“Good morning!” You greeted and were met with a confused look, a nod. You'd always hated getting up this early yet here you were and he did nothing.

“I have to take a shower." He muttered and was up the stairs. It was a disappointing resolution, but then your hopes had still been high. So you kept making his favorites throughout the next few days, scattering gifts for him throughout the house, writing notes to hide where he might find them, desperate to show him how much you loved him.

“Where are you going?" Your voice startled him and he slowly turned his head towards you.

Finnick's voice was so dry, rigid, “Fishing."

“Oh, let me get my shoes on, I'll come with!" Bright smiles, you reminded yourself when it felt like wavering.

“I'd rather go alone."

“Right." It wanted to falter so bad, “How long are you gonna be gone? I could make you lunch to go or something."

“I'm okay."

You fidgeted with your fingers, “Yeah, okay, well, um, have fun." Then he was gone, without a kiss, even a hug goodbye. Come to think of it there hadn't been any at all for a while, not even in the morning which is something he'd always do. So after a few days failing with those attempts you'd convinced yourself of a different reason.

“Annie, be honest with me, do you think I'm pretty?" The two of you had been out in the garden of Victors Village and she seemed taken aback.

“Honey, of course you're pretty. You're beautiful, what brought this on?" She dropped what she was doing to look at you.

You darted around the specifics, “What about the way I dress, is it too frumpy?"

“No! There's nothing wrong with anything about you." Her voice was so soft and she felt like the only person you could talk to now that Finnick had pushed himself away from you. “What's going on?"

You felt yourself finally crying all the held back tears you'd hid for the moments alone, “What if he's found someone prettier and more exciting?” You sobbed out and Annie hugged you.

"Finnick worships the ground you walk on, he'd never do that.”

"He barely even talks to me anymore, Annie. It's like I don't exist.”

“He's just going through a rough patch, it's not your fault."

Regardless of what Annie said, you disagreed. He must have had someone else, but you couldn't confront him about it. No, if you did then it would become real and he'd leave you for them. There had to be someone else taking on his hardships and loving him the way he'd once let you. So you bought new makeup, new lingerie, new clothes, tried to feel more attractive, more desirable. Yet it didn't seem like he even noticed.

You'd waited for his return all day, he'd left so early you hadn't even seen him. You made dinner praying that he'd see the effort you made, and find you irresistible once again. Of course, this effort seemed to be in vain.

“Welcome home, Finn!" You greeted when he walked through the front door, pained by the sound of your own faux bubbly voice. You put a plate down in front of his usual seat.

“Thanks." He mumbled and you smiled cheerfully. Perhaps you'd been too solemn and he'd prefer someone who exuded more sunshine-like behavior. “How was your day?" His voice was sharp, curt, but it was a conversation nonetheless. Always better than nothing.

“It was good!" You lied through your teeth, there hadn't been a single moment where your brain hadn't been infested with the thought of him pushing you away, him with someone else. It was something you desiped, you preferred to be in the moment. When you had been confident in yours and Finnick's relationship you could immerse yourself in the company of others, enjoy menial tasks with humming and daydreams, but now the isolation haunted your mind. “Annie and I planted some new flowers and cut some that recently finished blooming. I finally changed our vases out." He didn't even glance around, just kept eating. Your Finnick had always made an effort to look around, praise you for anything you did, he took pride in you, now the only thing he took pride in was being able to avoid you.

He curtly nodded his head in response and you felt like you might snap. Especially as the silence persisted, nothing except the sounds of the house and his fork clinking on the plate. You chewed at your bottom lip, leg bouncing up and down waiting for the smallest bit of conversation, but nothing came. Eventually you shot out of your seat, grabbed your plate, which you were sure you wouldn't be able to stomach, and began cleaning up dinner. Hands gripping each dish so hard as if to contain all the rage you'd been repressing.

“I can clean up." Finnick murmured as he rose.

Being lazy was another thing you thought could be a reason. He did so much for you and whatever you had to offer must not have been enough. Yes, he'd always insisted that you should just be his pretty girl that he could look at when he did the tasks, but in secret he must have just wanted you to resist and do more. So you vehemently shook your head, “No, I've got it!" Your voice was strained and several pitches too high to sound natural.

“It's fine, I can do it.” How dare he have the gall to sound annoyed with you.

“I've got it Finnick, just go to bed!" Or whatever the fuck else is he does to be away from you. You regretted how snappy you were, he wanted someone easy going, not how uptight you were being. But god, hate that man for how he looked like a wounded puppy dog. “Sorry." You muttered, only partially genuine. Harshly grabbing a glass to clean, hands gripping around it, so harshly it seemed that when you went to put it to dry, it shattered in your hand. Your reaction was delayed as you stood there in disbelief, you hated your life, “Fuck.”

Then his hand was on your back and you involuntarily jerked at the contact you hadn't felt for so long. “You're bleeding." How the hell was his voice still so stony, a mystery you'd never know the answer too. It sent tingles up your spine the way his hand was on your back, you missed his touch. He led you to the bathroom where he carefully tended to the cuts in your hand. Carefully taking out the pieces of glass and although you occasionally winced, it was like your brain couldn't comprehend the pain over the buzzing about his hand touching yours. But once he bandaged it up the touch was gone and so was he with a, “I'll clean up."

Fuck him, fuck him, fuck him, fuck him. But you hated being angry with him when he was probably going through something, he'd struggled so much and just needed help. Was it really excusable though when it was tearing you apart to be in all of this. You got up and without a second thought walked straight out the front door. Feet guiding you to the comfort of the beach. Of course it invoked memories of all the better times spent with Finnick, but out here at least you had the ocean. It has started to rain and you didn't care. Walking out into the sea, as far as you could touch, and letting the freedom of the waves surround you. And you screamed, at the sky, at the waters, into the night. Trying so desperately to let go of the aggression, so you could keep trying. Inhaling the salt air before you walked back inside, you could do this. Every relationship had trials and tribulations, but you could be stronger, stick together.

As you were walking back, Finnick was jogging towards you, “Are you okay?" There was actual emotion in his voice, you longed to be privileged to it more often.

“Yeah."

“I thought I… " He trailed off, hand running through his hair. The way he looked like he might cry sparked guilt in you, but also a sick pleasure that he actually cared. “You're gonna get sick." Just as quickly his tone returned to being straight-laced.

You didn't care, if you were sick maybe he would take care of you. So you walked inside and he said nothing. You showered and changed, you'd gotten a new nightgown that left little to the imagination. Maybe you could get a rise out of him, get him to touch you more. But he seemed to be fast asleep by the time you left the bathroom, so you slipped into bed beside him. In the past he'd always sleep with his arms around you, but now you slept beside each other rather than with one another. It left you cold, despite the blankets, which were barely there as he'd always been a blanket hog, which you used to tease him for, but was fine because you were attached to him. Now you laid there and felt yourself crying. You cursed yourself for it, not right now, but you couldn't stop. So you covered your mouth with a hand as you sobbed into it.

The next morning you felt him wake, but there was no energy to make breakfast. You were exhausted and it hadn't made him love you again anyways. So you drifted back off until the sound of floorboards creaking when he returned woke you up. You sat up in bed as he entered the bedroom. “Morning, Finn." The smile you worked hard to maintain was back.

“Morning." He mumbled and then his eyes faltered on you. That's when you remembered the nightgown, it was a relief for something to keep his eyes on you. ‘Love me, even if it's just for my body, love me in some way.’ Your brain begged to no avail. “Shower." He slowly said even though he'd very obviously grown hard.

You felt humiliated, completely embarrassed to be dressed the way you were and him to still not want you. It made you want to cry again, but you had to persist. Rising to get dressed until you heard your name. It took you a second to process that he was moaning it, you were right there and he was getting himself off to the thought of you when he could've just had the actual you. That had to be a new type of low. You hadn't even dared to touch yourself no matter how badly you wanted him because you knew nothing you did could match the things he'd made you feel. Yet here he was, so easily jerking off. There was nothing you could do except seethe as you got ready for your day. At least it was your name and not some other girls.

You were in the kitchen when he walked downstairs, “Going to the market." He announced and you got up from your chair.

“I'm coming too." It wasn't a question.

"No, it's okay. I've just got a couple things to grab.”

"So do I, so I'll just come along to grab them. You don't even have to stick by me, I'm just going.” You were exasperated. Honestly you hadn't left the confines of Victors Village for a while, besides when you tried to recall your look, and this would be a good opportunity to see if he was being honest. There was nothing you really had to get, but at least you'd somewhat had his company.

He said nothing but waited as you put on your sandals and then the two of you set off. The silence was deafening as you two walked, your Finnick would always hold your hand, would've taken you from booth to booth and ramble on endlessly, buy anything you glanced at with interest, but now he stood too far away for your hands to even brush by each other. The bustling of the market was a relief and for the first time in a long time you naturally smiled. Although it was jarring how quickly Finnick put on a smile, made conversation with all these people when he hadn't blessed you with the same thing. In fact, it instantly dampened your mood.

“Haven't seen you in so long, missed seeing that pretty smile!" All your favorite vendors gushed and you'd smile, make small talk. Even if everything made you think of Finnick. When was the last time he'd called you pretty? When was the last time he kissed you?

“You look a little sad, are you alright?" And you'd insist you were just feeling a little under the weather. You'd somewhat kept your distance from Finnick until you saw him laughing with a girl in the market. When was the last time he'd laughed with you? Is this what he did, found pretty girls in the market, charmed them, and went back home with them?

You'd slowly approached and showed fake interest in one of her necklaces. “They're real pearls." She said. She was so pretty, stunning. What did she have that you didn't? You hummed, smiling and without a word, Finnick was handing you money.

‘I don't want your money, I want you to pay attention to me.’ You thought and shook your head, “I don't need your money, Finn." The only thing you'd want from him was something he'd pick out because he wanted to give it to you, something he'd always done if you hadn't been there with him. Showing up at home with little treasures to show off to you. He looked at you quizzically, it wasn't like you had any money of your own on you.

“Is this your girlfriend?" The woman asked, her voice was sweet like sugar, you were too gruff, that's what you were missing.

Right now though, your voice was breathy, anxious. “Yeah." The woman must have been able to sense something off because she looked at you with pity. Finnick left the money on the counter by you regardless of what you said and walked off. You sighed.

“I'm sorry, I didn't know."

You gave a sad smile, “It's okay, not your fault." You picked the money up, ready to go find him.

“He's just a guy, even if he's Finnick Odair, don't let him dim your spark." It should've been encouraging, except you knew you loved him too much to ever leave him.

You found him, chatting and smiling as he bought produce. You missed his smile. “Here." You said quietly, handing him his money.

“Where's the necklace?"

“Didn't need it." You didn't care about needing it, you care that he would rather have you buy things for yourself then make you feel valued.

He huffed, like you were frustrating him, annoying him. “Okay, use it to find something else then. You said you weren't going to stick around me." You couldn't stop yourself from physically recoiling from his venom.

“I just came to tell you I was going home." You said weakly, staring at the ground. “Have fun." Your voice cracked slightly and you didn't even bother looking up as you walked home. Immediately settling yourself into bed where you refused to move. Eventually he came home, something clicked onto the dresser table, the sun went down and you stayed put. When he crawled into bed the most movement you made was flipping onto your side to have the protection of your back facing him.

For days it was a cycle of laying in bed, only rising once he left, usually to stand under the burning hot water in the shower until your skin felt raw. Then immediately returning back to bed. He'd return, put something on the dresser, and you'd stay still. Eventually one night he'd come home and sat at your feet, mattress dipping. “We need to talk."

Your hands clamped over your ears, this was it, he was done with you, all that effort for nothing. The anxiety knotted in your stomach, “I'm gonna be sick." You forced yourself up and found yourself throwing up in the toilet, Finnick holding your hair back.

“Hey, it's okay. It's okay, sweet girl." When you were done you said nothing as you brushed your teeth, praying he would leave and forget whatever bad news he was surely bearing. But he didn't, he waited and sat on the bed, waiting for you. Who exited, arms crossed, trying not to cry.

“Please don't break up with me." It was pathetic to beg for but he stood up, looking bewildered.

“No, no, no, I'm not gonna break up with you, sweet girl. I wouldn't even think of it." His hands cradled your face and you melted into them.

Finally you let the tears fall, "Then what are we talking about?”

"I've been so terrible to you, a terrible partner, a terrible person. I…” He took a deep breath in, "I had a rough time in the Capitol, I always do, especially last time though. And I knew you would be able to tell and try to help, but it was easier for me to just block you out so I didn't have to deal with it. Because it hurts to think about." He was crying and it made your heart ache. "And I took you for granted. I didn't try to be there for you, I was selfish and I can't make up for it enough. I will spend the rest of my life making up for it.”

You were both sobbing and he pressed his forehead to yours. His hands were so warm, his touch was so perfect. "I want to help you.”

"I know.” He pulled his forehead away, putting his hands on your shoulders. "I need you to tell me how you felt. Not the sweet way you usually explain things, be honest, so honest.

You shook your head, “No, it's okay. It was just miscommunication."

“No, I think I nearly broke you and everybody else noticed before I did. I need to know your raw feelings, so I can attempt to make it up to you.” He let go of your shoulders and sat down on the edge of the bed.

"I thought you were cheating on me.” You said quietly, anxiously playing with your fingers. He already looked hurt, "Like you found someone else because I wasn't, I don't know, fun enough, pretty enough, hardworking enough. And you didn't want me to do anything with you ever or notice anything I did for you." You took a deep breath, you could feel yourself getting angrily worked up and he could tell.

“If you're angry, be angry." He said and you obeyed.

“And I bought new clothes for you, changed my makeup routine, smiled more, made all your favorites, woke up earlier, tried to take on burdens and you said nothing. Do you know how lonely I was? How bad that made me feel about myself? One day you weren't letting me lift a finger, telling me you loved me, now pretty I was, and the next I thought I'd never hear any of that again, let alone have you touch me. No kisses, or hugs, you didn't even hold me when we slept! And you were so closed off and sometimes mean on top of that and all I wanted was your attention. Until finally I gave up because at least even if you weren't really with me, I still had you, and I didn't want you to leave me just because I found out there was someone else, which is so fucked. And then I thought, maybe at the very least, he’ll have me for my body, I had new lingerie, I tried and you didn't give a fuck. No, you got yourself off in the goddamn bathroom and I was right here!” Your voice had risen and your inhales were sharp between the ranting, "And everytime I hated what you were doing to me, I'd feel bad because what you've been through is so much worse and I should still try to be there for you. So I tried and then you'd be annoyed with me and it was like torture. And I swear to god, if you ever do that again, I'll leave.” A weight lifted off of your chest and he hugged you.

“I'm so sorry, I won't ever do it again, I love you so much, you're so pretty and kind and I need you in my life." You held onto him like he would slip away, kissing away your tears that were falling even though he was also crying. He held you until the sobbing had mostly subsided, “You know I bought you all these stupid gifts when you were laying there, thinking it would make you feel better, but I don't even think you noticed." He chuckled and you turned your head, not wanting to tear away from him. All you could see was the necklace from where you were standing. “Not that it would've done anything after all the time I spent letting the castle crumble around us.

"Thank you.” It was muttered and then he tried to pull out of the hug which made you whine. Trying to cling on forever.

His hand tilted your chin towards him, “You wanna put one of those sets on that you got for me so I can show you how pretty you are and how sorry I am for neglecting my sweet girl?"

𓈒⠀𓂃⠀⠀˖⠀𓇬⠀˖⠀⠀𓂃⠀𓈒

sorry y'all angst is my default settings. thank you for reading, comments, likes, reblogs, feedbacks is all super appreciated. asks and requests are open, love you all, sorry again 💋

taglist: @wowzabowza69

[dokoni-mo]

Crave: Part Seven || William Afton x GN! Reader

summary: the honeymoon

mild NSFW

word count: 5177

warnings: age-gap relationship (reader is 20 william is pushing 40), allusions to mental illness, willy is obsessive, possessive too, and a little creepy, and a hypocrite, and narcissistic lol, and a little bit of a yandere, mentions of divorce, dysfunctional parent-child relationships, secret relationships, swearing, gaslighting, manipulation tactics, dom/sub undertones if you squint, willy is VERY egotistical, allusions to corruption kink, sir kink, smoking, sensual touching, dirty fantasies, praise, lying, erections, dirty fantasies, kissing, allusions to past unhealthy relationships

minors dni // please read warnings !!

part one // two // three // four // five // six

a/n: helloooo everyone!! welcome back!! thank you for all the support thus far, it really means a lot!! this chapter was originally going to have MULTIPLE parts, but that's gonna be saved for part 8!! just so i don't overload you guys :)) taglist is still open, enjoy!!

~~~

The car ride to the hotel was much quieter than William expected. But he found it hard to care.

It hadn't been quiet because it was awkward or boing, no. That wasn't it at all. It was only quiet because you really had ended up falling asleep during the ride. Despite professing earlier how good you were at staying up. For the brief bit of time you had stayed awake, you were actually a lot chattier than William anticipated. He hadn't even noticed you nodding off until he asked you something, but didn't get a response. He had glanced over to see if you were okay, and found you slumped against the window, pretty little eyes closed with pretty little parted lips.

It was adorable.

Though he did want to spend the few hour long car ride talking to you more, William could never be disappointed by watching you sleep. You were just so adorable and peaceful when you did. His sleepy baby bunny. He was glad you felt safe enough around him to let your guard down like that. Not that he was a danger to you, of course not. It was just... nice. To see you in such a relaxed state.

Almost as nice as how your thighs felt.

William had gotten most accustomed to them during the trip. His right hand never left your soft flesh the whole way there. He would rub soft, loving circles against your knee every now and again, despite knowing that you wouldn't feel them. At least, not now. When he first put his hand there when you were awake, you definitely felt them. He could see it in the way the heat rose to your face, despite you not saying anything about it.

It made him smile.

Sweet little rabbit. No need to be shy around him. Not anymore, not after what the two of you had been through. As adorable as it was, you didn't need to have any shame around him, sweet thing. William loved every part of you and every version of you to bits. There's nothing you could do to embarrass yourself around him.

Perhaps you'd learn that by the end of the trip.

In the spirit to not living up to Mr. Afton's expectations, the hotel was a bit of a surprise as well. William knew that the place was secluded, but damn. There was hardly anyone there. From the looks of it, and the few other cars parked in the lot, there was only one or two other sets of people, not including the staff. But the staff seemed to only account for about three more people.

Not that William cared. The emptier, the better for you and him. That just meant that he could waltz you around the place even more so than he anticipated. The brit wasn't clueless. He knew how it'd look to outsiders. And older man with pretty little you on his hip. It's not that he gave a shit about it. William didn't give a fuck. He was just worried how you'd react. To peoples judgmental stares, the potential looks you would get and the comments. He hoped you wouldn't be insecure about it, if you caught onto it and/or cared. William knew that you were somewhat sensitive. If it caught you at the wrong time, you'd be a little insecure about it. And that was the last thing he wanted this week. For you to feel anything other than loved and cherished and confident. Because you were all of those things to him. All of them and more.

So, so much more.

Keep it together, William. Deal with it as it comes. Worrying about it now isn't gonna solve anything. Just focus on your little bunny. They're all that matters.

To let you sleep a little bit longer, William left you in the car with your door locked while he checked in for the both of you, and while he lugged all the bags up to the room. The hotel was one of those old-school ones with the doors facing the outside, with a dingy concrete staircase connecting the ground to the second level. The room was fortunately near the stairs, so it wasn't too hard for the brit to carry it all up there by himself.

Not that he'd ask you for help with it. But, still. Cut him some slack.

Once he was done getting everything prepared, he was finally ready to wake you up. He had turned off his car before unlocking your side of the door, and you seemed to somewhat aware again just from the loss of the noise of the engine alone. It made him feel less bad about waking you up, but he still felt bad nonetheless.

Maybe that's what compelled him to carry you up the stairs, and not take no for an answer.

"Will, please, you don't gotta do this if you don't wanna. I can walk just fine by myself!" You had mumbled into his shoulder, gripping onto the front of his sweater-vest for dear life. William's hold on you was more than secure, in a nice bridal-style fashion, but you were still a little freaked out by it. Didn't like heights, he figured.

William chuckled at your little plea. Who knew you'd still be this cute when you were scared?

How interesting.

"Bunny, I told you already, love." He responded to you, giving you a quick kiss to your cheek, "Consider this my apology for disturbing your little nap, yeah?"

He saw how you peeked over the edge of the stairs, your fingers digging further in the plush cotton of his sweater, "A-Apology accepted! Okay, you can put me do-"

"No can do, bunny. We're not even to our room yet, silly."

"William!"

The brit chuckled again and pressed another kiss to your cheek as he reached the top of the stairs. The grip you had on his vest finally released as you breathed a silent sigh of relief. The older man could feel your heartbeat slowly start to settle down.

"See, love?" He said, "That wasn't so bad now, was it?"

"No. It was somehow worse than I imagined."

"I thought you liked being carried."

"I do! But not on a tiny little staircase so high up!"

William laughed at your protests, "Fine, fine. Noted that my bunny doesn't like heights. Come on now, love. Hold on tight, yeah?"

You gave him a little nod as you leaned up a bit, wrapping your arms around his neck and pressing your chest close to his. William could feel your heartbeat even clearer now as he shifted your weight to his left arm, supporting you with just the one limb while he used his spare to open the door. Once it was open, he returned to holding you with both arms as he stepped inside, kicking the door closed behind him. In his peripheral, William could see how you turned in his arms so that you could get a better look at the room.

For it being such an old hotel, it was actually rather nice. At least, the furniture was. The room itself (that being the walls, ceiling, and floors) was most definitely dated. But, anyone could tell that the hotel owners made at least some attempt to spruce up the place. There was plenty of well-placed art on the walls, and lots of lamps for mood-lighting. The bulbs were warm-toned too, giving the place more of a home-away-from-home feeling. There were fake plants as well, but the fakeness didn't take away from the charm. The bed looked soft, not plain and hard like a normal hotel bed. The white sheets were fitted with green accents that matched the aesthetic of the room, with lots of pillows and extra blankets. The phone on the bedside table looked fairly new as well. Not even a rotary one. Classy.

Looking around a bit more, it looked like William already took the liberty to unpack just a little bit. Some of his nicer clothes were hanging up in the closet, revealed by the slightly ajar door. Your toiletry bag was no where in sight, so it seemed like he took it into the bathroom already along with his. Nonetheless, both of your suit cases were neatly placed at the foot of the bed, waiting to be used.

It was cozy. And cute. Not anything like the Four Seasons or Ceasar's Palace, but it was cute. Had charm to it. A nice get away for a quick whim. Perfect for your purposes.

William had been studying your face as you looked around the room, a small smile on his lips as he studied your features. He liked being this close to you. Holding you close like this.

"What do you think, bunny?" He asked, after a brief pause, "Do you like it?"

You tore your gaze away from the expanse of the room, smiling at him with a little nod, "I do. It's, like, cozy. And a good size."

"It is, isn't it?" He leaned in closer to you, giving your lips a quick peck, "Do you know what the best part is, though?"

"What?"

William's smirk grew just a hair, "It's all ours. And we are completely and utterly alone."

You giggled at the brit's sentiment, "You were thinking of that line the whole ride here, weren't you?"

"Is it a crime if I was?"

"No, no. It's cute."

"Not nearly as adorable as you, my baby bunny."

As your giggles filled the room again, William leaned in closer to you, capturing your sweet lips into a kiss. He pulled your body closer to his as he walked you over to the bed, your arms still firmly around his scarred neck. The kiss was starting to deepen as he gently laid you down on the hotel bed, but the older man had to pull away. But only just long enough for him to climb on top of you, guiding your legs to wrap around his waist with ease.

Once he was steady, William dipped his head down to kiss you again, but didn't stay there as long as before. Instead, he tilted his head down more so that he was greeted with your neck. The hickies he gave you earlier were just starting to form, but where dark enough to where he could see them. He made sure to find new spots on his bunny's skin to latch on to, giving you soft, sweet, and reassuring little pecks in between.

Your fingers found their home in his hair right as he was laying the third bruise into your flesh, soft groans escaping past your throat every now and again. William's left hand was starting to wander past its original spot near your head, making its way down your chest and stomach to your hips and waist. You could feel his calloused fingers rub gentle circles into your skin every now and again.

"Mmmph," You groaned quietly, the brit already working on the fourth mark for you to adorn, "Will... I missed you."

William let out a low chuckle, the bass of which vibrating gently against your neck muscles, and even in the middle of your chest.

"Sweet bunny," he whispered to you, peppering your jaw with a few short, soft kisses, "I missed you too, my darling. So so much."

His hand was palming the hem of your shirt now, his fingers slipping just past the cloth. William could feel his pants growing tighter as he nipped at your collarbones, hoping to elicit more of his cute bunny's sweet sounds out.

Your little fingers slipped out of his hair, sliding down to his shoulders instead, "It's embarrassing but... I couldn't stop thinking about you. I just... I wanted you."

William had to choke back a deep, low groan as he stopped his kisses to look at you, sitting up so he could look down at your blushy face. He could feel how devilish his smirk was as he looked into your half-lidded, sweet little eyes. His fingers were slowly sliding up under your shirt now, ghosting over the soft, smooth skin of your waist and tummy. He wondered if you could already feel his hard-on, because damn did he fucking feel it.

Precious bunny. His sweet baby rabbit.

You liked riling him up like that, didn't you?

"Did you now?" He teased you, raising one his brows as he stared right into your eyes.

He could see how your cheeks heated up even further as you nodded, much to his dismay. He tutted your actions, stopping the smooth, loving strokes of his fingers under your shirt.

"Silly bunny," he said, just loud enough so you could hear, "Don't tell me you forgot already. I need to hear your words, darling. Remember?"

You nodded again, "R-Right, yeah... I'm sorry."

"There's my good bunny. Now, let's try that again, alright?"

"Yes sir."

William had to choke back another groan, "Did you really miss me that much, little one?"

"I did... Yes sir. I missed you so much..."

A deep, low hum escaped the back of the brit's throat as his smirk regrew, his fingers under your shirt resuming their movements.

"Oh, my baby bunny." He hummed, "If only you knew just how much I missed you too."

William leaned down to you again, peppering your jaw with kisses as he whispered in your ear.

"Let's make up for some lost time then, yeah?" He said, "Would you like sir's help with that, little rabbit? Since you missed him that much?"

You couldn't help but let out a little whine, "Y-Yes, sir. Please..."

A low chuckle escaped past the brit's lips, "Good bunny. Now, just relax, yeah? Let me take care of you."

Giving your sweet, puffy lips one last quick kiss, William shifted downwards towards your stomach, gently pushing up your shirt on the way down. Now exposed to your belly underneath, William's hands found their home on either side of your hips as he pressed his kisses into the skin, holding you squarely in place. The older man could hear your soft whines as his hands shifted down to the hem of your pants, biting small little red marks into your skin. He could tell that you were getting antsy, from the way your legs would twitch every now and again beside him.

It was adorable. You were so so cute. He loved you so fucking much. This was only the second time, and you still wanted him this much? Fucking god. It made him so hard just thinking about it.

His kisses were starting to go lower now, his half-lidded stormy grey eyes stealing glances up at your face every now and again.

"Someone's a little impatient this afternoon it seems." He teased you with another smirk, making you whine again.

"I-I'm sorry," you squeaked, "I can't help it..."

William chuckled again, "There's no need to apologize, love. I-"

Before William could finish his sentence, he was rudely interrupted by a low yet loud grumbling noise that cut through the silence of the room. A little confused, the brit sat up a little more to get a better look at your face. Your eyes were wide with your face beet-red, your lips in a thin, long line.

"Was..." he said, "Bunny, was that you?"

You nodded after a brief pause, letting out an embarrassed groan as you hid your face in your hands.

"Yesss," you hissed, "I'm sorry! I'm just really damn hungry. I haven't had anything since, like... yesterday or something."

William shifted his weight around to sit a little more comfortably, his brow knitting in concern, "Love, why didn't you tell me? You know that's not good for you."

You removed your hands from your face, but your gaze faltered a little, "Because! I-I thought I could make it to dinner, and... I liked where this was going..."

The older man couldn't help but breathe out a tiny laugh, leaning back up from his place on the bed to sit in front of you. He took your cheek into his palm and leaned in, pressing a quick kiss to your lips.

"I'm certainly a fan as well," He said to you, rubbing soft, reassuring circles to your face, "But I can't have my baby bunny going hungry now, can I?"

"I-I'll be fine! I promise..."

William tutted you again, but this time not as teasingly, "No, no, love. These sorts of things come before, yeah? You need to keep up your energy, little one. And I want my bunny to be healthy, right? And happy?"

"Yeah..."

He leaned in to give you another kiss, "Exactly. Now how about we go and find you something to eat, alright?"

Your gaze dropped down to the side as you gave him another nod, placing your little hand on top of his own that was still nestled on your face, "I'm sorry... I totally killed the mood."

The brit shushed you as he pressed a kiss to your cheek, then another one to your lips.

"You didn't kill anything, love," he said, "Don't apologize. Your health and needs always come first. Besides, we have a whole week together, yeah?"

William saw your little smile creep back into the corners of your mouth, "Yeah."

"Exactly, love. So don't feel sorry for anything. It's alright. Sir isn't going to go anywhere, alright? Let's just find you a little something first. You'll need it for if you want to continue this later."

~~~

Fortunately for William, he didn't have to search too far to find you something to eat. The hotel had a small deli offset from the main lobby, and it looked decent. He didn't feel too uncomfortable with having you get something from there, since it looked clean and fresh enough for his standards. He didn't want you eating some sort of junk, not if he couldn't help it.

You were better than that.

The sun had started to creep down the horizon when the two of you entered the deli. William didn't think that he had kept you in the room for that long, but turns out he did. That was fine though, he certainly did enjoy the short bit of fun the two of you had. Sure it didn't go all the way, but it was more than fine. It was only day one of seven, there'd be plenty of time for him to play with his bunny later. What was important now was keeping you fed. So you didn't keel over in the middle of him having his fun with you, and (more importantly) so he was doing a good job of taking care of you. Like he promised.

William didn't much feel like interacting with the people working behind the counter, so he stayed behind while you ordered for yourself. Of course, he kept you within his sight while you did, but you seemed to be doing fine. You had a little bit of social anxiety, but it was manageable. His bunny was capable. And you seemed braver with him around. Perhaps you unconsciously knew that he'd swoop in to save you, if you ran into trouble.

Of course he would. He promised that to you, too. He was your hero.

The brit was standing next to the entrance door while he watched you order, feeling the low Utah sun creeping down his back through the window. Thankfully it was a smoking zone, so he was able to enjoy a cigarette for the time being. Far enough away from you to keep you from breathing in the second-hand smoke, but not far away to where he had to be away from you. A win-win.

The older man took a puff from his cigarette as he watched you walked up to the register. He had given you his wallet to pay for your food, and it seemed like they weren't having any issue with you using a credit card that didn't have your name on it.

Not that they would, but still. He was a bit paranoid when it came to his bunny.

After double checking that you were okay, William turned around and put his free hand in his pocket, looking out the window to the scenery outside.

He had to admit; the location of the hotel was actually quite nice. For Utah, anyway. There were lots of nice trees and wildflowers, and a cool breeze that liked to roll through frequently. It was much better looking than he had remembered. When coming here with his family long ago, he remembered it quite differently. More drab and grey, not nearly as much color as he was looking at. Perhaps it was just because of the different contexts. When his family still all lived together under the same roof, it was one of the most depressing times he remembers in his life. So fucking boring. And a non-stop headache of three children constantly screaming, crying, and running around. With that bitch always nagging him to pay attention to her and the children, like he gave a damn about any of them.

William took a long, drawn out inhale of the nicotine.

God. He did not fucking miss that.

But, with you, it was so much better. You were a thousand times better than his family ever was. You weren't fucking annoying, for one, and you weren't loud either. You were soft and quiet, and sweet and caring. And you were very much in love with him, much like how he was in love with you. You were smarter than any of his family was, and it didn't feel painful to have to explain things to you. When you listened, you actually listened, and cared about what he had to say. Giving you kisses and other forms of affection didn't feel like a chore. He was happy to do it because he wanted to do it. He couldn't get enough of your body next to his. Much different from what he felt for his ex and the little brats he made with her.

That was the biggest difference, he figured. William loved you, and you reciprocated. He never fucking loved his family. Not even for a moment.

He was glad to be so close to never having to speak to them again.

Taking a quick glance over his shoulder to you, William made sure you were still okay as he tamped out some of the ash from the cigarette. Once he had his confirmation, William shifted his gaze back out the window, inhaling another puff of nicotine.

His eyes were scanning over the few cars that were in the parking lot this time as he stared out the window. Not that he was that into cars, but he did think a few were good to look at. There was of course his own, which was probably the most expensive that parking lot had ever seen. There was a few other nice cars, but not much to bat an eye at. A green ford. A blue Volkswagen. A red convertible. A...

...

Wait.

William blinked his eyes to try and readjust his vision. Not that he had much issues with his sight, but surely he had caught something in there. He even went to the extra measure to rub them with his free hand. He opened his eyes again to scan the parking lot again.

He felt a snap of cold wash over him.

No.

God please fucking no.

There was no fucking way. He had to be seeing shit. He had to be. He knew that fucking red car. He knew it all too well. Even though the last time he saw it was-

"Will?"

William nearly flinched as he heard your soft voice behind him, turning around a bit too quickly at the sound. Smoke was still pluming out of his cigarette, and he could feel his grey eyes were a bit wider than they should've been. You didn't seem to notice, though, or at least didn't care. You were smiling up at him so sweetly, holding up a brown paper bag to show him.

"I'm all done." You said, "I got you one too, I hope that's okay."

William gave you a little nod of approval, trying his best to reciprocate your smile, "Yes, that's fine, bunny. Thank you, that was very..."

The older man didn't finish his sentence, taking another hit of nicotine as he looked outside again.

It was gone.

Thank god it was fucking gone.

"Um, Will?" He heard you say, "Is everything okay?"

William dropped the remainder of his cigarette to the ground and stepped on it to put it out, turning back to you with the best smile he could muster. Fuck, was he sweating? He couldn't tell.

Keep it fucking together, William.

"Y-Yes, bunny, of course." He said, clearing his throat, "Sorry, I just lost my train of thought. Let's get back to the room, alright?"

Before you could agree, William grabbed you by the hand and nearly drug you out of the deli. He could hear a little cry of protest from his quick actions come from you, but he didn't pay attention to what it was.

All he was focused on was getting back to where it was safe. Before everything got fucked up.

~~~

The sun had rapidly started setting faster and faster once William got you back into the room. You seemed to be much hungrier than you had realized, since you hadn't said anything since you had sat at the corner of the bed with your sandwich in your hands, munching away without a care in the world. You had turned on the TV to some local news channel to have something to watch, your eyes glued to the screen as you ate.

William, however, hadn't joined you by your side. At least, not yet.

He was too occupied gazing out the windows every few seconds and pacing around the room, only broken up by him taking a seat in one of the chairs every couple of minutes. He hadn't said much since he got back from the deli, and he knew it. But he just... couldn't.

He couldn't remember the last time he was this paranoid.

He wanted to start smoking again, but not with you in the room. He wouldn't want you to breathe in the second hand smoke. Never. But fuck. Did he fucking want to.

It was a balancing act made in hell. Trying to be calm for you, but also quelling his own worries. He stood up for what felt like the 100th time that afternoon and pulled back the curtains, looking out to be greeted yet again with an empty, poorly-lit parking lot.

William felt his brow knit together. How the fuck would he have been found out this early? About you? About everything?

It didn't make any sense. Those idiots couldn't have found him out this fucking early on. He covered his tracks. He fucking lied where he had to. He planned every fucking thing town to the most minute detail. Dotted the i's. Crossed the t's. There was no way they got that smart. No fucking way.

But then why was that goddamned car outside?

William sighed to himself annoyedly, closing his eyes and pinching the bridge of his nose.

He was going to drive himself crazy. This wasn't how he wanted to spend this week with you. Not in the slightest. All he fucking wanted was a nice, peaceful time away with his bunny. But no. He didn't fucking get that either. He didn't ever get shit he wanted. He has you, but that's it. But where was the fun if he couldn't play with you like he wanted? Having to dart from place to place like this? Maybe he needs to step up his game. Do more. Take you further out of town. Change his name perhaps. It's not fair to you, but you'd have to change yours as well. Maybe when you were at the courthouse, he could-

"Will?"

Over the sound of the hum of the TV, William could hear you calling out to him. He opened his eyes and turned away from the window, closing the blinds again as he did. He was greeted with the sight of you still perched on the edge of the bed, your cute eyes filled with a twinge of worry. Your sandwich wrapper was balled up and thrown beside you. How long had he been at this?

"Will," you said again, "are you okay?"

William cleared his throat at your question, putting on the best smile he could muster, "Of course, bunny. Why?"

"You just seem, like... paranoid."

Shit. He forgot how smart you could be.

"No, no, I'm not paranoid, love." He said, "Not at all."

The older man saw how you frowned at his response, prompting you to stand up from off the bed. He watched as you walked over to him, wrapping your arms around his neck. His hands found their home on either side of your waist, feeling how his muscles relax at the feeling of your touch. You even stood up on your tip-toes, pressing a kiss to his lips. In waves, he could feel his pent-up stress wash out of him, his hands rubbing up and down your back soothingly. Your warmth was comforting to him, it seems. Just having you in his arms was.

Sweetest little one.

"Will," you said to him, "Its okay. You can tell me if something's bothering you."

William felt himself smile genuinely this time, lifting up one of his hands to rest on your cheek.

"Oh, my darling bunny," He mumbled, just loud enough so you could hear, "noting gets past you, does it, my love?

You smiled up at him, nuzzling your cheek against his large palm, "It's had to miss when you're pacing around like crazy."

William couldn't help but chuckle, breathing a sigh of out his nose afterward.

"I apologize, bunny, I just..." William rubbed small, loving circles onto your cheek with his thumb. He had to think of a way to put this so you weren't scared, but that proved to be challenging. He settled on telling you part of the truth, "It's been a while since I've had time off. I think I'm just getting used to not having anything to do, yeah?"

"Yeah, I get that. But you should try to relax, Will. Pacing around and being all, like, fidgety isn't gonna help. You're working yourself up."

William let out a hum at your words, leaning down to kiss your lips again.

You were right. Worrying isn't helping anything. He needed to chill the fuck out. He was scaring you. You wouldn't ever admit it to him, but he was. He could tell. And that was the last thing he wanted to do. He wanted his bunny to be happy. And feel loved and safe. And him being so paranoid wasn't going to accomplish that. He was probably just tired after a long drive and a few restless nights. A red convertible was a popular car. It didn't necessarily mean what he thought it was. He was just worried about things going wrong, even though he was the one telling you it'd all be alright. Oh, poor bunny. He didn't mean to frighten you like that. He was just being a fool. He hoped you could forgive him. He was just glad to have you there to pull him back to reality.

His had slid down your waist, latching onto your hip and pulling you closer to him.

His perfect bunny. The love of his life. HIs darling little one. His.

Just as the kiss was starting to deepen, William pulled away from you with a smirk, his lips hovering just inches away from your own. He could feel the heat radiating off of your cheeks onto his as he looked into your eyes. The older man's hands were deft, one expertly caressing the side of your body, the other the side of your face. He could tell you were already enjoying yourself, your tiny fingers digging into the back of his sweater-vest. Perhaps you were feeling pent-up from earlier. There's no shame if you were, sweet thing. Hell, he was probably more in need of you then you were of him. Heaven knows how much he tried to relieve himself in your absence.

But, even though you were right there in front of him, William liked to take his time with you. Feel you. Touch you. Savor you.

"You've been so so good for me, bunny." He mumbled to you, his thumb dipping down to feel your rosy, swollen bottom lip, "Did you know that? You've been a perfect bunny for me."

William watched you swallow and nod before you said anything, "I... I like to think I'm good at following the rules..."

The brit chuckled, "It seems you are, love."

He paused briefly to give your lips another quick kiss, finding it too hard to resist.

"And do you know what happens when you're a good baby bunny for sir, darling?" He asked you after pulling away again.

You took a little breath before you said anything. He could tell that you were getting shy again, but knew he wanted your words. You were learning. Good. He barely had to teach you a thing.

"I... I-I get a reward." you mumbled.

William let out a pleased hum, giving a kiss to your temple, "Good bunny. That's right, you get everything your pretty little heart desires, yeah?"

"Yes sir."

"And tell me, little one. Who gives you all those nice things, hm?"

"Y-You do, sir..."

"Good bunny. And who is the only one that gets to give you those things?"

"Sir is."

William's finger dipped under your chin, lifting up the bone to make sure you looked him dead in the eyes.

"And whos bunny are you, little one?"

Your cheeks were burning hot now, "Y-Yours, sir... I'm yours."

Sir let out another pleased hum, pressing another quick kiss to his bunny's sweet little lips.

"Good, bunny, very good. Now, how about you tell me what you'd like for your reward, yeah? Anything your little heart desires, love. It'll be yours."

He watched you wet your lips before you spoke, barely above a whisper.

"You."

~~~

It was really fucking cold when you woke up.

It didn't help that the blankets were already halfway off of you, and that you were butt-ass naked underneath, except for your lower underwear. Maybe that's what woke you up to begin with. You couldn't think of any other reason why.

When you cracked your eyes open, you were luckily facing the bedside table, the digital alarm clock's red light shining in the dark void of the hotel room. Probably the only light source within the room William had gotten you. It took you a few rubs of your eyes to finally read it.

2:47 AM. Tuesday morning.

You rubbed your eyes a bit more as you felt your body start to wake up along with the rest of you. After moving around a bit, you were already starting to feel warmer than you did earlier. You knew that you should've put on pajamas. Around this time, Utah got freezing at night. It was practically the desert out here, but damn. It made you grateful to live in a time with heater systems being invented. But, still. The best heater in the world wouldn't do shit if you were butt-ass naked.

Coupled with the fact that you were freezing, you also felt a little hungry. The sandwich from earlier was filling, but after tonight you knew you had spent a lot of energy.

You took a glance over your shoulder at where that energy had went.

Of course, William was sound asleep behind you. Now that you were a bit more woken up, you could feel his arms wrapped snugly around your middle, your back pressed against this large, scarred yet toned chest. You knew that he had missed you while you were away. You missed him too. But turns out, oh god did he fucking miss you. He didn't want just one round. He wanted two. Then three. Then four. Then almost five, if you hadn't been nearly passing out from exhaustion by the start.

Not that you were complaining. Sex with William was amazing.

He was just amazing in general. He was kind to you. Understanding, too. And so so loving. You could tell that he really cared. Although he had some... odd ways of showing it.

But you didn't mind. It's what you signed up for. It's what you wanted. You couldn't help but think back to the days where you had a bit of a crush on him. Blushing whenever he said hi to you. Getting him to talk just to listen to that smoking accent of his. Did that make you a bad person? Crushing on your best friend's dad? Maybe it did. But, you couldn't help it. He was just so... charming.

Who knew you'd end up like this? With him? After all that time?

It was a bit hard to believe it was all real, at times.

Like it was too good to be true.

All you wanted was to just cuddle back up to William and drift back off. Wake up to him kissing you good morning, with a nice breakfast like he did before. But, no. You were too damn cold. And too damn hungry to do that, to wait until the morning. You needed to put on some pajamas, and find something to eat before you starved or froze to death. You couldn't imagine the horror your boyfriend would have if he found you dead next to him in the morning, all because he was too needy to let you put on a fucking shirt the night prior.

You'd save him the heart-attack. With all those damn cigarettes he smoked, he needed to be saved from it.

Slowly, you started to peel yourself away from the older man, careful not to go too fast. You still weren't too sure about just how heavy a sleeper Will was or not, but wanted to be careful in case he wasn't one at all. After a lot of wiggling and shuffling around, you were finally able to get out of your boyfriend's hold without incident. You shifted your legs out from under the covers, sitting on the edge of the bed as you rubbed your eyes one last time. They were pretty adjusted to the dark now, so you were able to see what was around you.

At the foot of the bed, you saw the discarded white t-shirt William had thrown off earlier. He used it as an undershirt, but it still looked clean enough. It'd do for the time being.

Picking up the article of clothing, you pulled it on over your head, letting it fall down your body. It was a little big on you, but you just found that to be more comfortable. And it smelled like Will. A win-win.

Scanning the ground again, you were able to see your sweatpants from earlier, though a little farther away this time. Reaching out with your leg, you were able to catch the pants on your toe and bring it back closer to you. You reached down and grabbed the pants off the floor, loosely holding it in your hands.

You were just about to stand up to put them on, but suddenly felt a large, heavy hand grab onto your wrist.

A gasp escaped your lips as you quickly spun around to see its source, only to be greeted with a familiar sight.

Him.

"Oh my god, Will!" You mutedly exclaimed, your voice barely above a whisper, "You scared the shit outta me!"

He asked, his voice low and laced with sleep, "What are you doing?"

"It got cold," you explained, "so I'm putting on some clothes. I was also gonna go look for a vending machine. I can bring you-"

"No."

You blinked at William's interjection, feeling your lips part as you did. Even in the cover of darkness, you could see the seriousness in his grey eyes. Feel it in the way he grabbed onto you. He didn't want you to get up.

"Just..." he continued, "come back to bed, bunny. I'll hold you to make it warmer."

You smiled at his request. It was late. Will just must be tired. You could understand his clinginess.

"You were already holding me, Will." you explained to him, standing up to pull on your pants before sitting down again. William's hand returned to your arm as you did so.

"It'll be warmer with your clothes." He said, "Come here, bunny. I don't want you to leave."

You breathed out a little laugh as you leaned forward to him, giving him a soft kiss on his cheek.

"I'll just be gone a few minutes. I'll come right back. I promise." you reassured him, sliding your hand down to give his hand a squeeze.

"You promise?"

"Yes, Will."

"...Fine. Just don't be too long."

"I won't, I won't. Just a few minutes."

You gave him one last kiss on the cheek before standing up, putting on your shoes, and slipping out of the door. You felt bad leaving your boyfriend after he asked you to stay, but you were starving. But, you knew you could make good on your promise. You already knew were the vending machines were, and what sort of thing you'd want from them.

You padded your feet down the small staircase as you felt the chilly air wash over you, hugging your arms tight around you. You had to go slow down the stairs, since you were still sore from earlier, but tried to hurry as best you could. Once you were at the bottom, you turned the corner into the small area which housed the ice and vending machines. The whir from them was almost hypnotic, and it made you yawn. After scanning through the array of items available to you, you realized that this was gonna be a tougher choice than you thought.

The quietness of the night made it easier for you to think as you leaned against the wall. But, it also made you more aware.

After a few minutes, you could hear the sound of footsteps padding over to you in the distance. By their pitch, you could distinguish that whoever it was, they were wearing heels.

Heels? At this hour? Maybe someone coming from a party. Or someone's plane just landed a few hours ago. Who were you to judge?

Your eyes still on the vending machine, you listened as the footsteps drew nearer to where you were. Weird, but...

The staircase was right behind you. They were probably just going up there.

Why were you so nervous?

The heel-clacking was getting louder now.

Shit.

Out of the corner of your eye, you could see the source of the footsteps. A woman had come up to the vending machine too, standing a good amount of feet away from you.

Shit. Should you just ignore her? Or was that rude?

It had to be rude. No to at least say hi.

Picking up your gaze from off the array of snacks, you looked over to the woman. You were a bit surprised to see she was already looking at you.

Or, at a minimum, you think she was.

The woman had a beautiful strawberry-blonde colored head of long, feathered hair, a red bandana holding some of the sides away from her face. She was wearing sunglasses (odd, for this time of night), but you could see the freckles that lined her cheeks underneath them. Her dress was long and flowy; a nice pastel-pink color with small, red rosettes lining the knee-length skirt. Her purse was tucked neatly into the crook of her arm, balancing on the top of her wide hip. Her heels were red too, as well as the lipstick she wore.

Should you be creeped out? By someone so casual this late at night?

Only one way to find out.

You gave your best polite smile to the lady, internally cringing at the awkward feeling it gave you.

"Cold night, yeah?" You asked her as some form of greeting. Not your best work, but hey. You weren't good with this sort of thing.

"Definitely, sugar." She told you in response, allowing you to hear her deep, rich southern accent, "much too cold for that get-up you got here."

You tried to laugh as polite as you could, "Yeah, well, I'm not staying out here too long. Just needed some air."

The woman nodded, "I understand. I wouldn't want to be around him too much, either."

It took you a second to process what the lady said, but you felt the chill run down your body once you understood.

What? No, there's no way...

She must be mistaken.

"I..." you stammered out, "S-sorry, I don't... I-I think you got the wrong person."

The woman's small smile grew, but not out of amusement. She seemed... sad. You watched as she took off her sunglasses, neatly placing them on top of her head to rest on her bandana. She had gorgeous green eyes. The type you'd only seen in movies before.

"You are (Y/N), right?" she asked.

You felt another chill run down your spine. If your legs weren't so sore, you knew you'd be running by now.

"H-How..." you mumbled, "H-how do you know my name..?"

The woman's brow bent downwards now, her eyes full of sympathy.

"Oh, don't be frightened now, mudbug. How rude of me. My name's Clara, sugar. But you probably know me better as Mikey's momma."

~~~

It was sad. It was sad, but painfully true.

The second Clara looked at you, she could tell exactly why her ex-husband wanted anything to do with you.

You were a cute and timid little thing. Young, and so full of life. Bright-eyed and bushy-tailed for what the world had to offer you. You had to be smart too. William wouldn't tolerate you if you weren't. Skittish, but she couldn't blame you for that. She had come up to you in the middle of the night. You were probably tired, and god knows what kind of shit William put into your head by now. She figured it had to be a good amount. It was obvious you were wearing his shirt, and the hickies covering your neck were even more so. And he had drug you all the way out here. You were probably so naïve and kind. She could see it in your eyes.

She wondered if you already loved him.

How tonight went would tell her.

She watched you as you continued to back away from her. She knew that you were trying to make a break for the stairs, but weren't trying to be rude at the same time. Clara could feel the sympathetic smile on her face.

You poor, poor thing.

"L-Look, ma'am, I..." you stammered out, "I don't want any trouble, I just-"

"No, sugar, no," Clara said back to you, keeping her voice low and calm to not frighten you any further, "I'm not lookin' for trouble either."

You looked at the older woman for a moment, eyeing her up and down in silence.

"Then what do you want?" you asked.

Clara shot you another sympathetic smile, shifting her purse down to rest in the crook of her elbow. She reached inside and pulled out a manila envelope, folded if half to fit in her bag.

"Now, I know you must be really confused, pumpkin," she explained, "but Mikey and I are just... we're a little concerned for you. And I just wanna ask you for a few minutes of your time to show you a few things, okay?"

The woman saw how your brows knitted together, partially in confusion, but partially in anger.

"Concerned for me?" you questioned, "Why? I'm sorry if this is rude, ma'am but... you don't even know me."

"Trust me, darlin', Mikey's told me plenty about you before."

"Then he should know that I'm fine. I'm not in any danger, so if he set you up to this just... please tell him that I'm okay."

Damn. You were smart.

"(Y/N)," Clara said, "I know you might feel like you are, but trust me when I say-"

"Why should I trust you? S-Sorry, I know that's rude but..."

"Because I've been in your shoes before, pumpkin. I know all of that man up there's tricks to keep you were he wants."

"But hasn't it been like, years since y'all split up? Maybe he's changed."

"People like him don't ever change, sugar. In all the years I've known him, he hasn't changed not one bit."

Clara could tell that you were getting annoyed, and defensive too. She couldn't help but wonder if her ex was starting to rub off on you in that regard. Were you like this before? She'd never know.

"Look, ma'am," you said, starting to back away to the staircase, "I appreciate the concern, but I am not in any sorta danger here. I am perfectly fine, and I know what I'm doing. So, please, thanks and goodni-"

"He calls you his bunny, doesn't he?"

That certainly got your attention. You stopped dead in your tracks, your eyes wide open to the size of dinner plates, all the color drained from your face. Clara smiled to cover up the anguish inside. That's what she was hoping to avoid. That's the one thing she wished he spared you from. But, deep down, she knew. Clara knew that he'd want nothing to do with you unless you were that.

Clara watched you take a few steps closer to her, your eyes till wide open as you looked up to her face. She saw you were trembling, but wasn't sure if it was because you were scared, or because of the cold.

"H-How..." you whispered, your voice barely audible, "How did you know that?"

The woman shot you another sympathetic smile, "How about we find a place to sit down, sugar?"

~~~

tags: @guinea-pig16 @the-official-memester @randomwriteralan @mrsrogerwaters @laylaaftonshit @cherry-slushee @insert-memical-username @mrssafton @horrorking2000 @artist-anon08 @tuttifuckinfruttifriday @jamiethenerdymonster @kimyona-san @purplewolfcoffee @violetlmfaoo @reapersimps @wawuwe @lovinglenore @zoey5252 @000-mika

apologies to any blogs tumblr wont let me tag!!

[happyandticklish]

I've Created a Monster

So, I took the, maybe ill-advised, plunge, and told the dude I've been seeing for the past three months that I'm into tickling

And it turned out fucking great, I still cannot believe my luck in this area

Apologies if I rant for a bit. I have been living out my dreams for the past couple of weeks and need to share it with someone (outside of a few people already in the community who I've already told) or I will explode. It gets a tad TMI at the end, so I put that bit under the cut for people's comfort. So beware of that in advance

So a bit of background. I had been seeing this dude for about a month and a half when we got on the subject of kinks. At first just kind of generally discussing them, and eventually getting into what we're into. And I admitted that I had one that was a bit weird, not only because it was unorthodox, but also because I had a huge amount of trouble actually saying what it was, which of course spiked his curiosity. But he was really chill about it and didn't push, but there kept being tickly moments that kept popping up naturally in the relationship, none of which were lasting longer than a couple seconds. As such, mostly out of frustration at the brevity of these moments, I mustered up the courage at 3am to finally confess.

He was quiet for a bit and mostly just held me (I think because I definitely looked as anxious as I felt--I also have to give him props for having patience during the three fucking minutes it took me to confess because I was working up the courage to simply say the Word). Then he started asking me how long I'd known that I was into it, why I was into it, what appealed to me about tickling, things along that line, all of which I stumbled my way through answering. He then proceeded to inform me that he didn't think I was weird, or that liking tickling was weird, and that he had been expecting much worse and thought it was kind of cute.

After that, tickling started cropping up more in the relationship. It took a while to explain that I was totally okay with more intense tickling and that me squirming away and sometimes asking him to stop were reflexes that should be ignored (it was somewhat endearing how he would immediatelly stop to make sure I was good, if somewhat frustrating sometimes), but he eventually got it. He even briefly pinned me down once, a move he has yet to repeat, but eventually I will get up the courage to ask him to.

I had told him that I was into both doing and receiving the tickling, but also that he was under no pressure to get tickled if he didn't want to. But after a while we were cuddling when he said, quote, "I think I'm actually into this tickling thing. It feels kind of nice whenever you do it to me, and I do love how much it gets to you." And then gave me permission to tickle him, which was way more than I was hoping for

Although he is able to control his reactions and just stay still for it which is baffling to me ("well if I moved, it would stop happening??" yeah?? I know?? But most people can't do that shit 🤨)

Guys. He started looking into tools and shit. This man is researching into the community. Came to me all excited like a dork, talking about feathers and toothbrushes and the fucking Wartenberg Wheel and how he thinks that he'd may be be down to include bondage with tickling stuff (which I'd mentioned I'd be into before). He was all, "I also discovered that some people are into tickle torture, isn't that wild?" Meanwhile I'm over here like, "yeah, it is wild, isn't it, imagine that haha"

He's suggested safe words on his own too, worked out boundaries,,,,

Anyways. He's embraced this way more than I can image and I am living the dream

TMI under cut! Avert your eyes if shmexy things make you uncomfy!

He's also started tickling me while we fuck (and sometimes when he goes down on me) and my fellow people of tumblr. It makes everything so insanely intense. I have had to be like, "babe, I love this, this is great, but I cannot concentrate on any coherent goal if you keep this up".

Also definitely discovered that my ass is ticklish during this process and it is a fact that he will not let go. Not that I am complaining 😏

[lavender-z-love]

Is this Love?

Douma X Black.Fem Reader

Genre: Demon x Demon Slayer, Demon Boyfriend AU, Human X Demon, Angst, Fluff Ig? Yandere x Tsundere? Action?

Warnings: Blood, Mentions of stabby stab (tryna keep it PG.) Yandere themes. SPELLING/ GRAMMAR ERRORS

A/n: I know Douma has a few screws loose, but lets ignore that for now. (This was a request) I've only seen 5 minutes of Demon Slayer but I did some research on homeboy and he is an interesting Antagonist. Also, Ik the powers kinda wack, just work with me here—I'll be doing some revisions too so if something looks different dont be alarmed

Wordcount: 1k-ish? Ill count later.

Part 1: Here ♡

Part 2: (More Yandere stuff. Nun too crazy)

The Heavenly Hashira. That was you title. You were known for your Aerokinesis, tessen abilities. You weren't the strongest nor the weakest, but you could hold yourself astoundingly well compared to the others. There was no denying that the Heavenly Hashira had quite a few deaths of demons on her hands.

The walk through the dark night was silent. A cool and Icy breeze began to pick up, you shivered.. It felt familiar but you just couldn't put your finger on it.

That was until you heard..That voice. "Don't you know its dangerous for a gorgeous woman to be walking around at night...Alone?" You stop in your tracks, eyes scanning the area in attempt to find where he was hiding. Nowhere in your eyesight, meaning he had to be somewhere behind you.

You take a deep, concentrated breath.. Springing into the air, looking below you. Rest assured there he was. Large muscular build, platinum blonde hair—Leaning up against a tree, waving at you, those cold rainbow eyes smile at you.

With your Tessen in hand, You whisper a quick chant before whisking your arm around. Shooting a atmospheric gas in the form of a small cyclone.

The last thing you wanted to do was create a large one and lose control of it. Once the cyclone reaches the demon it combusts.

You gently land, one foot touching the ground before the other. Your eyes glued on the now clouded area due to the combustible cyclone you sent towards him.

To no avail, no damage was done. Of course what would one expect from one of the most dangerous demons. He walked out of the cloud unscathed, still with that apathetic smile on his face.

"Well..Good evening to you too. Y/n", He spoke."

The air getting colder by the minute, amost like tiny miniscule icicles formed in the air. Breathing in was starting to hurt, causing you to breathe more conservatively. "I'm not here to hurt you, Y/n, Let's just chat for a moment", he cooed.

"Talk? I have no desire to speak with you." He lowers his voice, somewhat husky now. Those symbols within his eyes studying you.

"Playing 'hard to get' I see. You're So cold-hearted Y/n.." He smiled, eyebrows following helping him display a flirty expression as he continued pacing forward.

Of course, you walk backwards not wanting to come into contact with him. The ground started to crawl, a force growing quickly at Douma's feet and working their way towards you. Vines created by Ice, growing.

"Just let me say a few things and I'll consider letting you go for a bit.."

"Huh? Letting me—"

The vines shaped into large lotuses, the icy vines capturing you by your wrists. The vines, growing spikes rushing towards you. In a panic, you wave your fans around. Doused in pink aura, your wind slices the Ice lotus. Your wrists now free you turn and leap, hoping to get out the range of the Ice limbs Douma was creating.

Taking your tessen you use them to your advantage, utilizing its ability to give you a jump boost. Not long after the cold air picks up once more. Seeing Douma chase after you swiftly. Chanting then waving your Tessen as you hopped tree branch from tree branch.

"I advise you to Stop Y/n, I promise I won't hurt you", He says evily chuckling. Creating cyclones, tornadoes of all sorts- taking advantage of the freezing clouds Douma was producing. Sending hurricanes of sharpened Icicles right back at him. The frozen mist slowly engulfing you from behind, as you raced back to the others hoping you could lure him back to the others.

Dodging large wintery icicle shards that plummet from above. 'There! The Estate!' It was just at your fingertips, and then...Dragged down from the sky by Lotus vines. "Y/n, I love a good chase...but I really must confess something."

The vines tossing you around, one minute you hang upside down, the next you're thrown and caught upright. The vines wrapped around your waist vigorously. Holding you still for the deadly demon before you.

Pushing away at the vines, only for them to nearly squeeze you to death as a punishment.

"Release me!", you shout. You wriggle your wrist, striving to create some sort of wave strong enough to break the vines.

Douma, appearing so suddenly right in front of you. Face to Face, His hands latching onto your wrists, keeping them at a halt. His long blue nails, grazing your skin— He snatches the Tessen away from you.

"Fun game Y/n.. I thank you, I needed that run."

You stayed quiet, thinking of the things you'd never done yet..preparing yourself to be consumed.

"I wanted to tell you before— seems like..I've come to fancy you."

"...What?" You're neck nearly snapping as you turn to look at the demon. You studied his face, waiting for him to say he was joking of some sort. "You?...You heartless, unemotional psycho- Are you really capable of such emotions? Don't make me laugh", you scoffed. Douma's usual casual smile drops..

"Heartless..Unemotional?..How saddening you've been convinced I have no feelings..However–" ,With your Metal Fans Douma had taken from you, he closes them before bringing them up to your chin. Gently, lifting up your chin to look at him. "Explain to me what these feelings are..I don't think a emotionless being would feel what I am feeling right now."

"That doesn't change the fact the you're psycho-"

Douma gazes at you, his rainbow eyes undressing you in the process. His smile ever so alluring, baring his sharp fangs. "Psycho, I guess so. I'm a psycho for you."

Noticing that you were slowly moving backwards, now with your back to a tree, icy vines that held you captive loosen, not quite unwinding from you. In an instant, pale fingers intertwine with yours. Caging you to the tree. "Join me Y/n, I'll make you happy."

You shocked by his sudden proposal, pulling at your restraints and his hands. "NO!" Wriggling one hand free, you reach behind you grabbing a spare hidden weapon you carried just incase of an emergency. A blade, now shoved through Douma's skull from his chin and up. Warm crimson staining your hand as it drizzles down. Catching him completely by surprise, his eyes widened with shock.

His hand, swiftly yanking out the weapon out of his face. Blood following the weapon once disguarded. Slightly regretting your actions as you watched him turn his attention back to you. Expecting for your life to be cut short then and there, the opposite happened.

His pale hands, blue claws pinning your free hand to the tree. His eyes sparkled in amazement, desplaying admiration for you. "Oh my, such a beautiful and clean piercing."

He leans in, leaning in close to your face. "You really are something. An slayer capturing my heart..how interesting."

"You're not fooling me, let me go or kill me!"

"The last thing I'd want to do Is fool you, let alone kill you", he cooes. The Demon gazing at your lips every now and then, allowing you to catch onto what he wanted. You turned your head away from him. Leaving Douma chuckling, his fangs once again flashing. "Well..That will come in due time." His multicolored eyes scan you,"Hmm..how about you come with me?"

"What?", you question.

"You heard me, I'm. Taking. You. With. Me!" He sings happily.

..'This guy is really insane you through to yourself.' Douma chuckles, holding the fan before you. He opens it, puckering his lips and blowing icy dust into your face.

"As if id go with you willingly–"

Your sentence discontinued by the substance introduced to your lungs. You wheeze with disgust, in attempt to cough up what you ingested. The swiftness of your limbs going numb, followed by sleepiness now taking control.

Douma smiles joyfully as you slouch against the tree now keeping you up. His vines now releasing you as you fall before him. "I do have to admit, while I absolutely adore you fired up..This, Sleepiness suits you well too Love."

Douma kneels down to your level, reaching out to you. He loops one arm around your back and the other below your knees— carrying you Bridal style.

"Stop..l-let me go", your voice sleepily slurred.

"Mm-mm, the both of us have things to discuss. Take a nap in the meantime, okay?" His smile, the last thing your eyes saw before quickly succumbing to the slumber spell placed upon you.

Practically skipping with you in arms Douma heads back to his Resort. The satisfying sound crunching of dead leaves under his feet follow him.

"Don't worry Y/n..You'll come to terms with my feelings— No matter how long it takes. I will make you mine."

Written May 31st, 2023

[deliciousdefendorinternet]

what are some episode ideas your hoping to see in the next tv show? assuming we do get one.

a few of mine would be.

an episode where JD and Bruce are shown still Butting heads with each other loads in present day annoying the other Bros a lot. and maybe during a Hike out in the woods or something something happens which results in JD and Bruce getting cut off from the others and being lost. leaving them stuck together in the middle of nowhere bickering over the right ways to do things with JD using all his survival skills he picked up but Bruce at first stubbornly refusing to go along with what he says given he doesn't want to admit that following JDs lead might for once be the most logical thing to do in a situation. anyway the episode could lead to them opening up to each other a bit more about their lives after the breakup. Bruce could tell JD about the effect he had on his self confidence and how difficult it actually was for him to learn to relax and not stress over every little thing he did after having him micro manage him for years. and JD could tell him more about his time he spent away from society in the 20+ years basically having no one but Rhonda for company maybe in part because he was too afraid of getting close with people and then ruining things with them like he did with their family. it'd just be good to have a little episode focused on their Rocky dynamic imo.

an episode where Branch is ill and his Brothers try to take care of him. a few other people have had this idea and someone even did a cute fanfic involving Both Kismet and Bro zone fighting over the best way to take care of Branch. but yeah I think the idea simply involving Bro zone coming around one day to find Branch so ill he hasn't left his Bunker and while he acts like its no big deal his Brothers insist on staying with him to look after him. somewhat confusing Branch but he agrees to it since he's too tired to argue with them and over the course of the episode they all lightly bicker and disagree on the right way to take care of him. while also annoying Branch with how much they mess around in his Bunker maybe not putting things back in their right places. I like to imagine this all culminates in Branch getting annoyed with them all and questioning them on what their even doing there and why they're all being so weird. kinda surprising the Brothers as they say looking after someone in the family when their sick is just normal to them. and I like the sad angsty idea of Branch not realising this and being confused by his Brothers behaviour throughout the episode since he's always just dealt with this stuff on his own in the past. kinda making his Brothers a little somber when they Realise this like they knew he'd always been independent but not to this extreme extent that he literally didn't have help even when he needed it.

this isn't really so much an entire episode idea as it just a single plot point I could imagine happening early on. that being at the start of the show Bruce is obviously only just staying in Pop Village for a short night or Two given he has to get back to Vacay. but as a plot point and an easy way to keep all the Brothers in one place for the first season I'd have something happen towards the end of the episode that makes Bruce change his mind and decide to stay in pop village a bit longer after talking it through with Brandi and making sure she'd be fine to cover while he's away. maybe something happens that makes him see things are still pretty complicated between all the brothers and he decides he should stick around a little longer until their in a more stable place.

an episode where same as the popular fan idea Floyd is shown to be claustrophobic and panics after coming out of a small space still having issues from his captivity tho he tries to hide it from other people. but it could be a nice chance for Branch to recognise what's going on with his Brother and try to talk to him about it. tho maybe after some poking and prodding Floyd ends up saying something along the lines of him suddenly having flashbacks or something. feeling like he's right back in that moment feeling helpless and like there's nothing he can do in the face of these towering giants tho Floyd thinks Branch might not understand. and this could be when he tells him exactly how their Grandma died and how helpless he felt witnessing the whole thing as a kid and how he still sometimes is reminded of that day just by ordinary everyday little things. it'd be a kinda cute bonding moment I think.

I've said before I can easily imagine an episode just focusing on Bruce and Branch as well given their vastly opposing personalities. since Bruce tries to be laid back and carefree and of course Branch is so high strung and particular especially tv show Branch. plus Bruce is probably the most Traditionally "" Normal "" out of the Brothers so I could imagine him having problems with crazier Tv Show Branch. like imagine him going over to Vacay to spend more time with Bruce and his kids only for Bruce to be weirded out to see Branch playing a game with the kids involving them having to run around lots tiring themselves out. all so Branch can at the end collect their sweat in his Jars to restock his supply in his Bunker. and when Bruce questions him on what the hell he's doing he says that his kids larger size means their sweat fills up his stocks much much quicker and easier. making it more efficient to use their sweat than his own 😂😂😂😂 and tv show Branch just continues to do stuff like this unnerving and annoying Bruce more and more to the point he eventually asks him to leave using the excuse that he's making their customers uncomfortable. and I like to think later on when talking to Brandi she'd kinda chew him out a little over it pointing out they were seen as weird at first simply for being together. I'm not really sure exactly how this episode would end but I like to think Bruce would see that he kinda just wanted Branch to fit a certain more normal idea he had of his brother. making him realise he's somewhat acting like JD used to. anyway those were a few general ideas I had for episodes I'd like to see if we do get a third show what about you what sorta episode stories would you like to see?

[trancylovecraft]

Can I get headcanons of Yandere joe secondopinionson taking his s/o to meet his mother nurse bendy?

(MORAL OREL) YANDERE JOE SECONDOPINIONSON: Meeting Nurse Bendy Headcannons

Thank you for ordering!

Come again!

• Fun scenario.

• So for the set-up, Let’s say that you’re already aware of Joe’s violent tendencies. The only reason you’ve stayed with him thus far is to keep them under control.

• Truth is you’re terrified of him. You’re too scared to ask for help from anyone else in Moralton, Making you basically trapped with him

• Joe doesn’t like talking about his family at all. The only things you know about them are the off-handed comments he makes when he gets angry and complains.

• So when he comes you one day with an unusual grin on his face, It disturbs you.

• Joe tells you about his mother, You of course thought his mother died but you don’t question it as you don’t want him to get mad again.

• Before you know it he’s got you by the wrist and is dragging you somewhere you don’t know.

• You’re even more scared now, Building up the courage to ask where he’s taking you he responds excitedly he’s going to introduce you to his mother.

• You’re confused, But it suddenly turns into horror as he drags you towards a hospital.

• A lot of thoughts run through your mind. Is Joe’s mother ill or severely injured? Is it even joe’s mother and just some ward patient?

• Though your fears are quelled once he brings you to the front desk calling out “Mom!”

• There is where you meet Nurse Bendy, Joe’s mother.

• This is a complete shock to you. You’ve seen nurse bendy around such as when you broke your elbow or just passing by in the streets

• But you never thought that she could of been Joe’s mother. But now that you’re looking at them, You can see the resemblance

• Joe excitedly introduces Bendy to you, He’s happy and wants both his partner and his mother to get along.

• At first, Bendy doesn’t really like you. Being an actual mother is still very new to her and it’s a lot to take in, And she just doesn’t like your personality too much.

• You feel somewhat the same. It’s especially awkward knowing that she’s been Joe’s mom the entire time. Besides, You don’t really want to be here anyways.

• But I feel as Joe starts to force you together overtime that it starts to change, For Bendy at least anyways. 

• She starts to like your personality a bit more. You’re caring and polite, Something she appreciates.

• And more and more it starts to get more affectionate and a little more intense than expected.

• She starts to ask about your wellbeing, Brings you lunches and refers to you affectionately as her daughter in law.

• Bendy makes sure you and Joe are doing alright, Always asking about your relationship.

• If you try to escape Joe now, You also have to deal with Bendy.

• Congratulations! Coupled with Joe, Now you have to deal with Yandere Platonic Bendy.

• Good luck.

[rawritzrobin]

The Waynes: Chapter 2

Title: The Waynes

Pairing: Mobster!Jason Todd x Reader

Warnings: A bit of a nod to violence, but nothing descriptive. Somewhat signs of stalking?

Summary: Your mundane life changed the day a certain man walked through the doors of the bakery. You now had something to look forward to everyday.

A/N: Thank you all so much for the love on the first chapter!! It was a story that really sat with me for a while. I’m still figuring things out as I go so updates wont be happening as fast as I would hope. Slowly, but surely!

Taglist (if I missed you apologies, I saw some that came through a long time ago that might not be on this list. Please comment if you want to be added and ill drop your name into this list asap!): @msghostface @khaylin27 @thequeenofbigmacs @escapism-r-us @orighami @neobreakmyback @bubbles-incorrect-yb @hypnobanditprofessorhorse-blog 

Masterlist | Chapter 1

Chapter 2: Hi Stranger

The bell to the front door sounded, and your mood instantly shifted. Every day around this time, a certain tall, dark, and handsome man would come by and buy a couple of croissants. You smiled as you let your fantasies run wild for one second, imagining the handsome stranger whisking you away to a better place. You tried to push away the negative thoughts.

Mr. Tall, Dark and Handsome was probably a taken man with your luck.

You weren’t really sure you would see him again after that incident with Randy. In fact, now that you thought about it, you never saw Randy again after that night. You wondered if he found another girl to harass. But it didn’t matter, he was out of your hair.

You quickly ran to the front to greet the customer, hoping it was your crush. You smiled when you saw the man with black hair and a white tuff. Jason was his name. You took a second to admire his suit. You were sure he was very well off. He always came in wearing a different suit, each of them specially tailored just for him. Probably some sort of finance man.

“Hi there.” You said cheerfully. “The usual?”

Jason looked up from his phone, where he was sending a quick message to his driver, and instantly smiled when he saw you. You still didn’t know that you were basically the only person he smiled for. You just assumed he was a nice man.

“Hey Doll. Of course. Can’t get enough of those croissants.”

Butterflies ran through your stomach as you tried your hardest not to blush when he called you Doll.

“Did you have a good day today?” You said making friendly conversation.

Jason tried his best to not flinch. He had just finished a semi intense interrogation with one of their suppliers. The team had intel that this man was feeding shipment info to the Falcones. He wasn’t exactly having the best day. But his mood always picked up when he saw the front of your shop.

“Eh, as good as can be. Can’t complain.” Jason said with a slight chuckle, he didn’t want to bring down the mood with his awful day. “And you?”

You gave a tired laugh.

“Nothing much! Just happy the day is almost over. It’s been pretty busy with the Holidays coming up soon. It will be really busy once Thanksgiving rolls around.”

“Got any plans?”

You shook your head, “No. My folks aren’t around anymore. So it’s just me.” You stopped yourself and looked down for a second. The Holidays were always a hard time, especially nowadays. Jason didn’t say another word.

You smiled, a way to distract yourself from your feelings. “It will be new years before we know it.”

Jason looked at you sadly. He kept quiet, not wanting to pry anymore today. He was secretly hoping that you would open up to him one day soon.

You finished ringing him up when you noticed a flash of red on his hand.

You gasped and pointed to his hand when you noticed it was a large cut. “Jason, you’re hurt.”

Jason’s eyes quickly shot to his hand. He chuckled nervously. There was a bit of glass that went flying when he threw the man into the mirror on the wall earlier. One of the shards must have nicked him. He couldn’t even feel the cut on his hand. His line of work tended to cause a lot of injuries to his body. Especially when they fought back. He had gotten used to the smaller wounds.

He pulled his hand away, trying to hide it. “Oh yeah, some glass broke while I was helping do some dishes at work today. Must’ve cut me and I didn’t even notice. It’s okay.”

You shook your head in disagreement. “No, it looks like it needs some medical attention. Wait here.” You said, quickly jogging into the main office. You turned on the lights and made your way into the back of the room. The red and white first aid kit sat in the corner. You picked it up with ease and made your way back to Jason.

You opened the door that allowed you into the front of the shop and ushered Jason to sit into one of the seats at the front.

“May I?” You asked, gesturing for him to give you his hand.

Jason hesitantly brought his hand up into yours. You examined it closely.

The cut wasn’t too deep. Luckily it wouldn't need any stitches. You turned away from his hand, still holding it in your left hand, and with your other hand, rifled through the first aid kit. After a few seconds you found what you were looking for.

You looked up at him. “This is going to sting a little.”

Jason nodded, merely focusing on how soft your hands were in his. He watched as you gently tore open the alcohol pad and slowly began to wipe it over his cut. He winced slightly, it hurt, but not nearly as much as his other wounds he had sustained over the years. Under his suit were more than a handful of scars from past jobs Bruce had him on. This scratch on his hand was merely another addition.

He looked up from his wound and watched you work. You were hyper focused on making sure everything was okay. After you cleaned the cut, you added some antiseptic to make sure the wound would heal fast. You finished up by gently wrapping up his hand in a fresh bandage.

“All done. It should heal within a few days. Just clean it once a day.”

Jason looked down at his hand, and then up at you. Your eyes met and you looked away once you realized he was staring, hoping you weren’t as red as you felt.

“Thank you.” He said in a gentle voice.

You quickly cleaned up the kit, and made your way back behind the counter after washing your hands. Jason watched you move around quickly, but gracefully. Jason stood up as you closed the lid to the box.

“Here you go. They were fresh when you walked in.” You said with a large grin.

Jason admired you for a second. He had come over a dozen times to see you. Yet every time he saw you, he still got butterflies in his stomach. No woman has ever done that to him before. Girls threw themselves at him constantly at the club. There was something about you he couldn’t shake.

“Thank you. And thank you for helping me with my hand.”

“Of course! Happy to help.” You said looking up at him once more. Your eyes met once again, and the world stood still for that one moment.

“Well I better get going.” Jason said, a hint of sadness in his voice. “I'll see you around.”

You smiled and waved him out the door. You looked down sadly, your favorite time of day over, when the door chime rang once again.

“Wel…” You began to say, when you noticed it was Jason. “Jason, did you forget something?”

“Uh no. There was actually something.. Something I wanted to ask you.” He said, nervously.

You didn’t notice as your heart began to beat faster and faster. Did you cross the line today? Was this him coming in to tell you that he had a girlfriend and to stay away from him? The possibilities were endless. “What is it?” You asked, nervously.

Jason couldn’t believe he was doing this. He could count the number of times on one hand he had ever asked out a girl. That number was one, when he was hitting on Babs for fun when he was younger. He wasn’t even planning on doing this until he walked out the door. Maybe he should just tell her he changed his mind.

“I uh, I was wondering if you had any plans tomorrow night?” The words managed to slip out.

Your eyes widened, you were not expecting that. “Um, no. I work early tomorrow, so I should be done by five.”

Jason’s excitement grew, with that his confidence shot up. He had one of his men follow you around for a bit. He wanted to make sure you didn’t have a boyfriend or husband of some sort. He was relieved when his spy came back and gave him the good news that you were single. It actually came from your own mouth when he overheard you telling the bakery owner that you were “Sadly, going to be single forever.”

Still, even with that information, Jason was nervous.

“Would you want to go have dinner with me? There’s a new restaurant in the diamond district. I got invited to a pre-opening, and I have a plus one.” Jason held his breath waiting for your answer. Just 30 minutes ago he had a man begging for mercy at his feet. Right now, he felt like the tables were turned.

You weren’t sure if you heard what you thought you heard. Was this really happening? Maybe you were dreaming. But if you were, you didn’t want this dream to end. Your lips turned up into a smile as you nodded excitedly. “Yes. I would love to.”

The weight of the world seemed to just disappear off Jason's shoulder all at once. He could not be smiling any harder. The butterflies in his stomach were going crazy. “Alright. Cool. Um, do you live nearby? I can pick you up around seven. That should give you some time to go home and change.” He said as he pretended to not already know where you lived.

He was a Wayne. The Waynes knew everything and everyone in their neighborhood.

“Yeah, not too far. Just a ten minute walk.” You looked around the counter for a notepad. You reached for the large one near the register. You quickly wrote down your address and phone number. “Here.” You said handing it to Jason. You were blushing quite hard now.

Jason took the piece of paper with a wide grin on his face. “Okay, I'll see you tomorrow at seven.”

“Sounds good. See you then.” You waved Jason goodbye once more. Once he was out of sight, you pinched yourself to make sure you weren’t dreaming.

“Did that really just happen?” You mutter to yourself. Your mouth twisted up into a smile.

The smile on your face never faltered. Not as a rude customer threw a tantrum at the fact that you ran out of sweet cream horns two minutes before closing. Not as you spilled the leftover whipped cream all over the floor before locking up. Not as you walked home that night.

Jason, the handsome man you had been crushing on for weeks, just asked you out on a date. Nothing could tear you down. At least, for now.

A/N: It’s not much for now. But as the story progresses things will pick up. :3 

[kerokerogecko]

Killer x Reader

warnings: some curse words and lil tiny bit almost invisible bullying (not with the reader)

notes: hi, sorry it took me so long to finish this, life kind of got in the way there for a bit, but please rest assured I don't plan on dropping this fic without finishing it :)

♡

A Chance Encounter on a Rainy Day

Chapter Three

< previous chapter | next chapter >

After finishing your project with Killer that day, you walked home with a light skip on your step. The image of Heat and Killer play fighting while Wire silently laughed at them had made your day.

When you met Killer on your first day of school seeing him so carefree was the last thing you thought you would see. Somehow, the thought of seeing new sides of Killer made your heart flutter.

…

You woke up in a good mood the next day and was surprised when you saw your aunt making breakfast.

"You're up early, something wrong?" You asked, sitting down at the table, waiting for her. "Fell off the bed I guess" she answered with a shrug “Breakfast will be ready soon”

You waited patiently and were happy when your aunt placed the food on the table, you both chatted while you ate and soon you made your way to school.

…

Despite beginning your day in a great way, once you stepped into your classroom your easy going mood immediately changed. The chatting of students minutes before the class started was gone and there was something in the air, the many eyes of your classmates looking at you told you everything you needed to know. The familiar feeling of being judged and scrutinized by your classmates crept up your spine.

“Y/N, Y/N, Y/N!!!!” A body suddenly crashed into you from behind, snapping you out of your past memories. You turned around to see one of your kinder classmates hugging you and looking at you through her round eyes that were overflowing with tears, ruining her makeup. 

“Perona! Calm down! What's this all about?” You ask, turning around to face your friend and slightly pushing her away.

“Oh Y/N I was so worried about you!!!” The pink haired girl said loudly, tears still streaming across her face “Those guys are such big meanies!!! Not cute at all!!! How could they do that to you?! I knew pairing you up with Killer was a bad idea! Oh I'm so glad you're okay!!” She moved to hug you again but you held her hands, before trying your best to wipe her tears away.

“What are you talking about Perona? Who did what to me?” You gave her a somewhat angry look, but still tried to calm her down.

“The- Kid gang of course” she says in between sobs “Someone totally saw Killer and other two scary guys being mean to you yesterday. They said they even tried to mug you!”

You were speechless, while the ghost princess sobed in your arms trying to calm down you took a look around the room and immediately noticed how everyone moved their heads trying to avoid being caught staring. What the hell?...

“Right.” You said with an annoyed tone, with a stern expression you began, loudly enough for the whole class to hear “Listen. The person who told you this has no idea what they're talking about” Perona looked at you confused “They were never even rude to me, much less steal from me! Honestly…” you huff out the last part, so long good mood.

Looking around again, your scolding seemed to work for the most part. But a few curious eyes remained on you, did they want to know what really happened? Or will they try to speak ill of people they don't know again? Every second that passed only made you angrier and angrier, you were getting ready to give your class another ear full when you felt someone come closer from behind you. 

You turned to glare at the person who was approaching you only for your angry gaze to melt once you saw who it was.

“Killer-”

“Hey Y/N” your classmate greeted you shortly before looking at the rest of the class, his usual calm voice now stained with a threatening tone “What's going on here?” You follow his gaze and scoff to yourself as you see your classmates busying themselves with whatever they can, hoping to escape Killer’s piercing gaze. With a sigh, you look back at the blond “Is nothing…” he tilts his head, probably not buying your dismissal but letting it go anyway, he silently walks to his seat and lets out an “Alright” as he places his bag down.

The bell, thankfully, rings, signaling the beginning of class. Perona quickly apologizes and you make sure to calm her down, saying it's alright before you both go to your respective seats. With a tired sigh, you hope this is the last you'll hear of this.

…

That morning, for some miracle, Killer managed to arrive at school in time, managing to arrive almost late, instead of late. Something he quickly came to regret as he heard loud voices coming from his classroom. He was used to people talking shit behind his back, this was nothing new. What was new however was your angry voice rising above the accusations and mean words. 

He took a small peak at the classroom and cursed when his heart skipped a beat after his gaze settled on your angry face.

He didn't know what to think about you. He knew you were kind, probably caring too, as well as smart and not to mention… pretty. But could he trust you? Or would you turn against him if something happened?... he wanted to believe that wouldn't be the case.

He watched the anger melt away from your face after you looked at him, a smile hiding behind the mask he always wore.

...

You simmered down as the day went, while the conflict with your classmates passed, you were still left with a nasty mood and a light frown on your face, something that made your classmates stay away from you throughout the day. So, you had lunch alone, something you didn't mind, not really, the small moment of peace before the last classes allowed you to recharge a bit of your social battery.

You were halfway through your lunch when Killer showed up beside you with his own lunch at hand.

“Hey…” he said with an awkward tone “What happened earlier?”

“What you mean?” You said in between bites

He gave you a deadpan look before raising his eyebrows lightly, questioning your half-assed attempt at forgetfulness.

You sighed before answering “They were spreading those damn rumors again and I got pissed when they talked about you, Heat and Wire.”

“They were talking about us? Why?” 

You looked at him with a worried look, but decided to be honest. “They were saying you three tried to mug me yesterday after we were kicked out of the library. It pissed me off!” You said, stabbing the meat on your plate to let some of that left over anger go.

Feeling silly after that, you looked at Killer, only to find him looking right at you. His eyes were curved upwards, making the big smile he wore on his face obvious despite the mask he was wearing, making your face heat up and your previous small blush even worse.

“Don't tease me!”

“I didn't even say anything.” he said, holding back a laugh.

Desperate for a change of subject, you directed your attention to his unopened bento box.

“What are you having?”

“Tonkatsu and tamagoyaki” he proudly answered you while opening the lunchbox.

The meat and omelet were snugly placed on a bed of fluffy white rice with a bunch of different greens to make for a balanced meal.

Your eyes widened in awe. It was so pretty! Everything was neatly arranged and it gave a completely different aura from the ones you usually bought.

“That looks so good!” You said “Where did you buy it?”

Killer froze for a few seconds, taken back by your enthusiasm and reaction “...Uuum. I made it.” he said shyly, a bit of embarrassment in his previously confident tone.

“Really?” You said, still in awe. “That's so cool, where do you find the time?”

You've never seen Killer look so shy before, it was kind of adorable. “I… make them the night before and put them in a bento the next day. Is no big deal really.” He said looking away from you, trying to hide the pink embarrassment crawling up his face and failing once you could see his reddening ears.

Talking with Killer seems natural now, getting to know him little by little is nice and, in all honesty, makes your heart flutter a bit.

With both of you entertained by each other, neither seemed to notice the three large shapes approaching your table.

♡

Thanks to: @p0chy @fireflykaizoku @the-witch-of-one-piece @archangel1206 @henrioo @thegrandlinesimp @icy-spicy (if I tagged you in a previous chapter and didn't tagged you here is because I'm not sure if you're still interested in this fic and didn't want to be a bother. Sorry)

[joltning]

rvb aus

when I said I had a lot brewing I meant a LOT brewing…! god I need motivation

I’ll be splitting these into 3 sections: one offs/fic ideas, less expanded on ideas, and then my main aus/ones I have more ideas on

one offs/jokey aus/fic ideas:

feel free to take these ideas as your own, im not too attached to them

• grimmons fic where kai lives on iris and simmons is super nervous around her. grif thinks it’s because he has a crush on her but actually it’s because she keeps teasing him about his crush on grif

• teen beach rvb au. think about it man.

• au where lopez and felix betray locus before he can betray felix. and they kiss or something I don’t know

• freelancer donut au…!!! one of my firsts. not very good. has no substance. but it exists. tex donut beef goes CRAZY

• trivia murder party rvb au. i have no clue what this would entail

• slipspace (the grifball miniseries guys) team up with fh57 from s14. this was before I learned that fh57 was just funhouse. womp womp

• shis tril writer mentions that locus now “owns a food truck on Fiji” or something. someone write that Please im begging

• fast food au focusing on the lieutenants. + Frank from s15. i know him and bitters gonna be oomfs or whatever

• au where church stays in the s3 time loop and experiences generation loss, feeding bits of himself into the other soldiers in order to save them

• au where the s5 ending where they all die is canon and they all go to hell

less expanded ideas

• so basic but I’m putting it in this tier anyway. A song fic battle of the bands au, but MY WAY…!!!! I have a vision. Don’t know what it is yet but I have it

• campy horror movie rvb au, where they all claim to see different things in the woods, but it turns out literally every single person is the horror. they all embody horror tropes and are, of course, alone in the woods in a summer camp.

• started as an everything everywhere all at once au but turned into something more Evil. Anyway regular domestic au but then the ai from the “alpha universe” jump into people in the main universe when they’re “compatible.” GRIMMONS JUMPSCARE….!!!!! Simmons is gonna be the one to end the world and the ai are either helping or hindering that process. he becomes a literal monster. originally this au was made so I could experiment with purple prose + text art etc but I guess not anymore what the hell

• rvbz au…! Viper and shatter squad are two organizations, viper being a splinter group from the AOD. When they start fighting on chorus, the reds and blues take sides, splitting off into two groups, some staying neutral. both are somewhat regarded as terrorist groups, viper being victims of starlight labs and shatter being a sort of vigilante group that. isn’t very good at it.

• “split ends” au…!! I really hope to bring this one up to the top tier at some point! geotah focus because im ill but it’s mostly balanced as i wanna get all dynamics in. project freelancer, instead of having ai, has units run using a partner. Only one can use it at a time, and the other has to focus on running it, leaving them vulnerable on the battlefield. This goes for enhancements, but it also goes for other things, such as calculations, enemy tracking, etc. they can switch whenever they want. each pair has one unit. god i wish I could write the unseen freelancers because all those silly powers would be chaos. Oh, also, you can steal the armor enhancements like you would ai. Hmm.

more expanded ideas

these are in order from least important to me to most

• trailer au! one of my first aus, and the ONLY au I’ve written a full outline for. (it’s not very good now that I look back on it.) it asks the question: what if the s15 trailer was EXACTLY what it was eluding to? featuring…Frank staying on the film team and making a trio with jax and dylan, insane murder party reds and blues, spencer plot relevance (somewhat) omalley coming back, the reds and blues failing to beat Hargrove, tucker shooting wash, and one armor enhanced, cobalt colored Tucker.

• s15 rewrite au. after disliking the trailer au I made this one! the blues and reds, instead of being mirrors or even reflections of the main cast, is reflections of what they could have become if they hadn’t changed their old ways, if things had gotten worse. this is basically my snider cut i reorder a shit ton of things etc. also very important carolina was not there when biff died it was just Tex and she didn’t kill biff, she just refused to help him (that kill goes to our friend loco!) anyway it’s more centric of the idea of comparisons between people who have distinguishing differences. Also kuane exists

• interstate au! honestly I have so little in terms of plot but idea wise I have Everyhting. I cannot stop thinking about it sooo..that’s why it’s so high up. Okay I’ll be real this is honestly like a glorified swap au but it’s MY swap au. Basically everything after s5 (also the miniseries) is noncanon and it diverges from there. ft…wash getting sigmapilled by eta, red team maine, red and blue road trip, the quest to find kai (she’s kissing women) and the run from DEAD CAROLINA..!! DEAD..!! oh and church and tex are literally just ghosts. Instead of the director trying to bring back allison and fragmenting one full ai into attributes, he is trying to pair FULL AI with freelancers in an attempt to boil them down to one trait, to harvest them and combine them into a Super Dead Daughter Carolina. wash and eta, or Data (see what I did there) are the collectors which is why they’re the main antags or whatever

• TRIPLETS TRILOGY. OHHHH MY GOOODDDD. I can’t say much because I intend to actually show this one to the world, but WOW. love this one. Basically, the triplets and sherry’s squad are alive. After an alien crash lands on their planet years later, they’re left to explore and find out what they’ve missed while they were gone. It’s split into 3 ‘seasons,’ (with one scrapped mini series), takes place during the recollections, and is looking to be way shorter than I intended it to be, but oh well. It’s where my obsession with the green guy and the white fuck and sherryvera insanity comes from. why did I have to fixate on these random ass mfers what the hell. It’s canon plausible….!! It would never happen!!! But it could!!

now the rant’s done, here’s some older images. oh god ray’s hair is So wrong

[dearestones]

Driving Under the Infl-Yuu-Ence (Jade Leech and Yuu)

Warnings: N/A. 

@lottieinlimbo Request: hi Devin!! Hope you’re having a good day today!! For request, I’m thinkin prompt 72 from the list “Make me believe it” with Jade Leech, maybe somethin platonic? Lookin forward to what you cook up, I know it’ll be amazing!! :D

.

.

.

It's not often that Jade finds himself surprised, much less taken aback and rendered speechless. For a moment, he has to take a step back (not literally, even though instincts demand that he create distance between himself and a somewhat dangerous situation) and reassess. It's another few seconds of contemplation before he curls his fingers underneath his chin before regarding Yuu with a curious, but wary gaze.

"Pardon me, Yuu, I don't believe that I heard you correctly. You wanted to... What exactly?" While eloquence was often the weapon that his dear business associate Azul would use, Jade is just as skilled. However, in this situation that made the phantom limbs of his tails and fins quiver in apprehension, he faltered in his manner of speech. 

Although his face remained impassive, he cringed inwardly. To speak so carelessly! And what's worse, with vulnerability!

Thank goodness neither his brother nor his business associate were here to witness such... a weak performance from him. Blackmail was worth its weight in madol and blackmail concerning Jade nearly tripled that.

Yuu, to their credit, didn't seem to notice. If they did, they wisely chose not to comment. Instead, they nodded in the direction of their car, an older model that ran on a mixture of electricity and magic. While Yuu had no magic of their own, they were roommates with a few mages who were more than eager to power up the vehicle with their reserves so long as they could use the car from time to time.

It had been years since Jade and Yuu had graduated from Night Raven College, but it seemed that the acquaintanceship that had blossomed during their time in the institution had gradually blossomed into a tentative friendship. This relationship, however, while in full bloom, did not last long once he had graduated. The rift was not because of ill will or malcontent, but rather, it was because it was life getting in the way of connection. While Yuu was busy with their internship, Jade returned to the sea. Over the course of a couple months, the both of them barely spoke to each other, if at all. 

Upon his return to his birthplace, Jade had taken over his father’s business alongside his brother. Although he had long since resigned himself to committing to his family's operations under the sea while his brother expanded on land, he still visited the surface from time to time. It was rare, but each time he breached the surface, it always felt like an occasion worth celebrating. 

So, with Jade walking upon land very rarely, it was quite a shock to his heart to find Yuu once again. 

Was it a stroke of luck?

Destiny?

Azul would have laughed at that notion, but Jade was a bit more easy to sway.

What else could it have been other than some otherworldly force? Unless it was a coincidence: the universe’s attempt at a joke. Whatever the case, Jade stopped in his tracks when he saw the former Ramshackle Prefect again after he had left Floyd behind at a club, the sounds of synth beats and drunken laughter reverberating in the air.

As always, they were small and slight—but Jade supposed that anyone would have looked small and slight compared to him. What he found most shocking however, was that they looked rather well. Back in Night Raven College, it was no surprise due to their background that they were always wearing clothing that was ill fitting and were usually stressed with heavy bags under their eyes. They also seemed to move as if their mind was miles away… What was that phrase again? Head in the clouds? Daydreaming, some would say. Homesick, maybe.

Tonight, however, they were dressed in casual clothing. While not designer, they were not ragged or threadbare. They were also bereft of the logo for NRC. In fact, Jade didn't have to wonder if Yuu had bought the garments themself. The clothing suited them well and made them shine despite the darkness of night.

Normally, Jade would have left them to their own devices. After all, it had been almost... He wanted to say five years since they last spoke but it may have been longer considering that they were never too close in the first place. Really, the Ramshackle Prefect spoke more with Floyd and Azul and that was usually because of the former’s propensity for seeking out entertainment and the latter’s attempts to get Mostro Lounge full staffed. 

It would have been easy to just leave. Walk away. 

However, while not as big a partier as Floyd, Jade had a few drinks in his system and was feeling the effects of hastily prepared liquor still warming his system. 

Land dwellers were so interesting, if a bit masochistic at times.

Jade had to take transformation potions just so that he could properly blend in with the rest of the surface population. Land dwellers intentionally poisoned their bodies with drinks that were more fire than liquid. At least when merfolk decided to poison themselves, they didn’t try to disguise it with ornate glasses and delicate garnishes. 

So, with steps that were reminiscent of his gait during his first few months in Night Raven College, Jade ambled towards the former Ramshackle Prefect to… Well, he wasn’t sure what he was going to do, only that he knew that where the Prefect went, entertainment was sure to follow. Years may have passed, but he had a feeling that even if they were to never see each other again come morning, he would still have a fun night at the very least. 

And so, Jade walked up to them as they leaned against the side of their car, their phone in hand and a questioning look in their eyes. His eyes weren’t as keen as most land dwellers, but he could practically taste the apprehension in the air, of the fear that he often associated with those who couldn’t pay back his family’s benevolence. However, the scent of fear was dialed back significantly, when he was close enough to see the whites of the former Prefect’s eyes. Alongside recognition, there was confusion, but also a hint of relief. 

Imagine that, he couldn’t help but chuckle softly to himself. It wasn’t often that others would regard him with relief upon recognizing him, but the Prefect had always been a curious oddity.

“Good evening, Prefect,” he greeted cordially. To his utter delight, he realized that while he may not be as mindful of his physical capabilities, his speech was still fluent and coherent. As long as he remained standing and didn’t act out of the ordinary, his companion would be none the wiser. “It’s been… How long? Five years?”

The small human looked up at him with a slight smile on their face. “Just Yuu,” they reminded him. “It’s been years since I graduated and it’s not like I need reminders of that place.”  

Odd, was that bitterness? How fascinating. While most would agree that their experiences at their alma maters may not lead to a positive remembrance, Jade thought they would have been more fond of the institution. Yes, there were Overblots, but they were rather comfortable with making friends from all the dorms with special mention to Heartslabyul. Had Jade misjudged? Or had the years finally made the Pref—apologies, Yuu—cynical?

Or, more appropriately, jaded? 

“Something funny, Jade?” 

Oh my, how inconsiderate of him. He must have drank a milliliter too much if he was already making mistakes this early in the conversation. 

As if taken back to his years at Night Raven College, Jade bent slightly at the waist, the angle just a bit more pronounced. Throughout his bow, he watched as Yuu regarded him with amusement. 

It had been years, but it was somewhat surreal to see Yuu appear so confident and self-assured. No longer were they the sort of person who kowtowed to those stronger than them and appeared too tired to question the whims of others. Even now, Jade was somewhat surprised that they still chose to help their fellow first year friends get rid of the anemones even though they would benefit very little from the negotiation while also risking losing their housing. 

Had Yuu learned from this experience? 

Or was it from the combination of harrowing experiences that Night Raven College had seen fit to throw at them despite their having no magic?

It made Jade want to explore further. To push them to know who they really were underneath their newly bought clothes and fresh skin. 

But that would be an adventure for tomorrow’s Jade should he still harbor the same curiosity that consumed tonight’s Jade entire being. 

Tonight, this Jade merely wanted to pass the time. 

“Apologies, tonight has been… an experience that I have not had the opportunity to pursue too often under the sea.” He smiled, his mouth gaping just a hair bigger than he normally afforded to acquaintances. Pride filled him when he saw that the former Prefect neither shied away or stared at him in disgust. Really, he must be losing his touch or perhaps Yuu was too adjusted to be scared of him anymore. 

Should he change that?

Yuu canted their head to their right, their brows furrowing in concern and nose scrunching a little before they gasped in shock—or was it delight?—and regarded him with a new light. 

“Are you drunk?”

Without missing a beat, Jade answered, “Are you suggesting that I cannot laugh at an inside joke without being accused of being intoxicated?” 

He pressed a hand over his heart and inclined his head in mock melancholy. To add a dash of drama, he sniffed faintly and looked askance as if he could not bear to look his companion in the eye. This sort of performance would have rewarded him with a punch to the shoulder if it were Floyd or an annoyed scoff from Azul. From Yuu, he merely saw them look at him with an expression so deadpan, he feared that their face would freeze that way. 

“Truly, we reunite after years of separation and that’s how you treat me? Never before have I felt so wounded!”

He sniffled and mimed wiping away an artful trail of tears down his cheek. 

Was it a performance that would have awarded him the same laud as one VIl Schoenheit? Obviously not, but he would like to think that he was a good contender for a starring role in community theatre. 

Yuu rolled their eyes, but laughed all the same. 

As if on cue, Jade relaxed from his stance, his shoulders no longer as straight or rigid as he normally would have made them on land. In water, he was free to lounge and allow his body to twist and writhe whatever way he wanted to. Most merfolk were lax when it came to posturing and stances; deference was either owed to royalty or to the biological, inherent pecking order that everyone, prey and predator included, knew. On land, though, Jade had been taught that appearances were everything. Floyd had discarded that notion (unless clothing and accessories were involved), often playing up his more extraverted mannerisms to achieve the same effect as Jade, but Jade had decided to play along with land dweller customs. 

It was tiresome, but it gave him something to do. 

After all, if one were to be used to routine, it became all the more entertaining when Jade decided to switch it up. 

He was slouching now—was it due to the alcohol? he would have to do some more research on the matter later—but he was careful not to appear too out of character. It would be funny to see Yuu second guess themself and question if the eel mer they were talking to was actually Floyd, but Jade wasn’t interested in that. 

Yet. 

He could play that card later if he got bored. 

“Geeze,” Yuu breathed out as they leaned against their car door. “You never change, do you? Last I heard, you were building up your family’s business, right?”

Jade grinned. Wider now. Perhaps more ominous underneath the low lighting. “Correct. My father left my brother and I equal shares, but the both of us can be greedy so we decided to expand.” 

“That’s great to hear! I’m still in school at the moment.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah, I’m not good at much, but apparently Beast Taming is sort of my calling?” They shrugged as if the utter idea was still ludicrous after years of tending to their overly ambitious cat beast. “Grim’s not here, but he and I are partners and are planning on hosting classes at some of the lower level magical colleges in Pyroxene. It’s not a popular subject considering that most mages don’t have familiars anymore, but we’re hoping to revive the art.”

“So you’re planning on becoming a professor then?”

Their responding smile was shy, but there was a hint of pride there. Maybe even a little bit of embarrassment for confessing something so vulnerable in their mannerisms. “Hahaha, yeah. It’s a good thing Ace and Deuce aren’t here. They’d probably give me flack for personally shoving a stick up my ass.”

Jade chuckled despite himself. “Come now, most of our professors weren’t that bad.”

“Oh, really?” They raised an eyebrow as if in challenge. “Remember that time Crewel made his entire batch of third years scrub out the cauldrons because someone contaminated the supply of beetroot with their personal experiments?”

Ah! Jade had pleasantly vague memories of that debacle… “I shudder to think of the day I would ever forget that incident.” A dramatic pause. “It was actually my potionology project for my thesis that contaminated the rest of those semester’s assignments.”

Yuu’s eyes widened. “Holy shit. How are you still alive?”

Jade shrugged before placing a finger against his lips. “Unlike some of our much rowdier contemporaries, I never got caught. It was an unfortunate event that everyone was punished, but… Collateral damage is something that I’ve come to expect, especially in my line of work.”

He may not have been watching Yuu directly when he murmured that last part, but he knew that their wide eyes were filled with apprehension at what he implied. How entrancing. How much did they know about his family’s business? And how much would they be willing to find out?

And then—

Laughter. Pure, childlike, unadulterated laughter. 

“Pffttt, hahahaha!” The small human was practically doubled over in laughter, their entire body leaning against the body of their car as if they would fall without its support. Knowing how fragile some humans were, Jade wasn’t too surprised at the sight. What caused him to do a double take was the teasing glint in their eyes and the utter joy that they regarded him with. 

It wasn’t every day that someone would look up to him like that.

It was a pity that his mental faculties were compromised. He would have liked to remember this moment for some time. To dissect. Or to ponder whenever he would think about the intricacies and mysteries upon the surface. 

“And may I ask what strikes you as funny?”

Yuu didn’t answer. Instead, they waved him off as they chuckled, but eventually straightened from their doubled over posture. 

“I just… When I saw you skulking out of the shadows, I thought I was about to get jumped! And now? This?” They waved their hands about in an aimless, purpless direction. As if actions alone could properly convey their confusion at the situation. “Talk about tonal whiplash, Jade. You’re a horror movie waiting to happen, but instead, I get something straight out of a… out of a…” The former Prefect frowned to themself before adding in a hushed, but near mortified tone of voice, “Like a comedy? Maybe?”

Jade stifled a laugh, his posture rounding itself out as he tried to keep himself from bowling over in mirth. “I’ve never considered myself a stand up comic, but who knows? Maybe I might pursue that endeavor in the future if my current career path does not pan out.”

The both of them shared a laugh for a few more moments, but eventually, the Prefect straightened up from leaning against their car. A quick glance at their phone must have alerted them to something if their little gasp of shock was anything to go by.

Even though Jade was still smiling placidly, he couldn't help but feel his brows furrow in disappointment. He was slowly sobering and it seemed now that he was in better charge of his mental faculties, he was finally getting the entertainment he so desperately craved. Parties were fun and all—especially if all Jade had to do to get information was to smile prettily and say the right words—but they were tiring and the company usually devolved in likability as the night wore on.

"Leaving already?"

Yuu shrugged before sending him a considering glance. "How about you? Got somewhere you need to be?"

"Not necessarily, but I wouldn't mind heading back to my quarters sooner rather than later."

Jade laughed at Yuu’s confused look at his strange choice of words. 

"My hotel room," he amended. "I don't have permanent residence on land so when I come up for business matters, I tend to stay in other establishments."

"Why not stay with Floyd?"

Jade hummed. "He can be territorial at times and I also have my own needs. Besides, money is no object for either of us."

Yuu scoffed at that admission, their eyes glancing at Jade's clothing. As always, well dressed even if it was for something that didn't require high end fashion. "You don't say."

"I don't. I simply wear what I'm worth."

Eventually, Jade gave Yuu the address to a hotel on the outskirts of the city. The hotel itself was actually high end and was considered more of a resort rather than a simple hotel. Located near the white sandy beaches upon which it was located, the guests would be able to enjoy the view of the seaside and the horizon meeting each other in a holy matrimony of beauty and natural phenomena.

Surprisingly, the recommendation came from Floyd, but Jade supposed that he shouldn't be too surprised. Despite Floyd's love of chaos, his tastes upon land bordered on extravagance.

The multitude of closets he had just for his accessories and shoes...

Yuu, to their credit, didn't bat an eye at Jade's address for the hotel. Instead, they nodded and loaded up the address onto their phone's GPS and began backing out of their parking space and out onto the main road.

As Yuu began a steady pace towards their destination, Jade fiddled with his seatbelt, feeling mildly restrained—almost as if he were suffocating. After all of these years, there were still many aspects of land dwelling culture that he had not become accustomed to yet. Clothing had been a challenge, especially in his first few months masquerading as a human, but transportation? Seatbelts were a nuisance—how did land dwellers deal with being smashed against the seats like this?

Furthermore, Jade didn't feel particularly safe; rather, it felt as if the surface liked to discover ways to give themselves a harder time to live their lives and/or seek death faster.

The enclosed space in the car was fine—Jade lived and grew up in enclosed spaces when learning how to ambush prey—but the windshield and the windows didn't provide the cover that he preferred. At the very least, the car that Yuu was driving had tinted windows, but instinct had Jade being hypervigilant, always expecting danger.

"Feel free to change the music station." Yuu offered as they used their turn signal, the sound of which provided a steady, mechanical drumbeat against the backdrop of a crooning voice. "I don't have a preference."

It took a second for Jade's eyes to adjust to the darkness in the car, but he eventually found the knob that would change stations. At this time of night and this far out of the main city, most stations were either late night talk shows with a few channels playing pop songs that Jade wasn't too fond of or the occasional radio silence. After going through a multitude of channels, Jade finally gave up and tuned into a station that played songs from decades past.

"Didn't take you for a disco kind of guy."

"I'm not." Jade returned to running his fingers up and down against the fabric of the seatbelt. For something that restrained him, the strange texture of it was oddly soothing against his finger pads. "It seems that my tastes will not be catered to tonight. A shame, but land dweller music has never ranked high on what I prefer to listen to."

Or maybe it was because Jade hadn't exposed himself to land dweller music all that often. Even when he had been a full time student at Night Raven College, he preferred to study or hike in silence as opposed to grabbing a pair of headphones and checking out the latest trends in pop or what have you. It was Floyd who loved the synthesized instruments in pop music, the erratic thrum of rock and metal, and how innovative the surface dwelling folk could be when cobbling together a passable tune. 

That was part of the reason why Jade could not stand to stay at the club any longer than he had to. The alcohol eased his frustrations somewhat, but he could attest that for the majority of merfolk, their preferences and standards for what passed as music and musical was leagues above what the surface dwellers could ever hope to replicate.

"Hmm? What sort of music do you listen to then?"

Jade cast a glance at his companion, waited until they gave him a questioning glance, before answering with, "Whalesong."

It was a good thing that the road they were on was mostly bereft of other travelers because for a few crucial instants, Yuu nearly lost control of their driving. Their shock was gratifying and it soothed the primal instinct in Jade that wanted to rip himself out of his self-imposed bindings, but both their lives could be in danger had the road been bustling with traffic.

"W-whalesong!? Like whales go into recording studios and like? Make music?"

Jade didn't even try disguising his laugh this time. 

Was this the same Prefect who went to Night Raven College around the same time as him? Yes, he remembered that there was a spark in them, a fire that Jade had yearned to see stamped out from time to time, but he never got around to committing to those thoughts, especially when the winter holidays had come immediately after the end of term exams. And then the Overblots. The arrival of summer. And so on and so on.

Had he known that they were this interesting... 

Ah, he supposed that maybe he should convince Yuu to stay in touch with him. Perhaps he was still suffering the lingering effects of the alcohol and was thus was feeling more impulsive than usual, but this interaction was interesting.

Yuu's questions were interesting.

Yuu's reactions were interesting.

Yuu was interesting.

"Whalesong," Jade repeated again. He turned to face the road again, watching how the path began to grow slightly narrower to accommodate the forested landscape. "Did you know that sound travels faster and clearer in water? You would have to have the same skeletal structure of merfolk to fully appreciate their tunes, but it's like a lullaby that haunts the ocean for miles. It reverberates through your body, reminding you that no matter how large or dangerous you are, there will always be something above you in the theoretical food chain. You may not realize it, but whales can be quite dangerous." 

He fell silent, eyes falling close.

There was no danger here—not unless Yuu lost control of their car.

"Not that I would know what it’s like to be put into my place on land, of course. Here, I rank quite high if I may say so."

"And humble too."

At that point, Yuu was turning into the hotel's private property. Up ahead, there was a guardhouse with one of its security personnel already waving them forward. At the security guard's insistence, Yuu surrendered their license with the guarantee that they would receive it once they left the premises. After confirming that Jade was a guest at the hotel, they were allowed to pass and go straight onto the grounds.

The hotel grounds were expansive, and again, Jade had to stifle a laugh when he heard Yuu mutter to themself about "rich people and their tastes". As Yuu drove through the veritable obstacle course that made up the grounds before the actual main building, Jade made idle commentary on the scenery they passed.

There were the tennis and basketball courts, a swimming pool for those who didn't want to brave the ocean (and for good reason, Jade was from there and the locals weren't always the nicest), and a few other facilities the rich and famous would like to make use of. Eventually, they made their way to the parking lot, which was insisted upon by Jade. Before going to his room, he would like to take a walk to further clear his head and maybe, if he was feeling particularly adventurous, he might venture into the frigid depths of the ocean before sleeping.

He said as much to Yuu who parked the car at the furthest point from the main hotel building.

"You mean you weren't already feeling adventurous? I thought that you were at some elite club or something. Most people would be too tired to even think about swimming at this hour."

Smiling toothily at his companion, Jade admitted, "It was a rather dull affair. For someone like me, I much prefer something more... challenging." The liquor helped and didn't help at the same time.

"Whatever you say, Jade."

As Yuu pressed a button on their side to unlock the doors, they paused for a moment, as if a thought had come to them. Observant as he was, Jade knew that something was on their mind and was patient to stay a moment longer, his long fingers resting on the car door handle.

"Hmm... but is walking or swimming alone at night considered challenging?" There was mischief in their tone, an inside joke that only they were privy to at the moment. It piqued Jade's curiosity, but only slightly. "Why not... push past your boundaries?"

"What an idea," Jade murmured. "What are you proposing?"

Yuu tapped their fingers upon the steering wheel. "You know, I've never seen you drive a car before."

And just like that, Jade wrenched the door wide open and leaped out of the car as if he had caught on fire. It was only because he had years of practice as a courteous land dweller that he managed to remember to bid the small human goodbye.

"Apologies, I do believe that my bed is calling me at this hour. Goodnight and farewell, dear Yuu. I'll take my lea—"

"Nuh-uh." Yuu may not have been as fast as Jade, but they could certainly manipulate their limbs quicker than what he remembered. It seems that being pushed to their limits under Coach Vargas' tutelage did them some good in the long run. "I brought you to this place out of the goodness of my heart, which merits a reward."

Ah. They certainly have changed over the years, haven't they?

"A good deed that must be repaid isn't done out of the goodness of one's heart, Yuu."

"That's rich coming from you. If I recall, wasn’t that your modus operandi during our years at Night Raven?"

Jade smiled a thin sort of smile.

Would he be able to stomach running away from a human as small as Yuu? Or shall he suffer this farce for much longer?

"Perhaps."

"Hmmm.... So maybe it's not because you've suddenly turned over a new leaf, but I think it might be because you're afraid."

"Afraid?" Jade couldn't help but scoff, all sense of composure leaving him before he had to manually instruct himself to calm down. “I wouldn’t go as far as to say that… But I am… Rather alarmed.”

It took Jade a second too long to realize that it was a mistake to admit to his fear. 

“Are you saying that the stoic and calm Jade Leech is too unnerved—rattled, mayhap?—to even dare getting behind the wheel and—gasp!—actually learn how to drive?” Yuu swooned against their car, a pitiful invalid. 

Jade crossed his arms, making sure to force his body to sway gently so as to appear drunker than he felt. “Might I remind you that I’m not sober? It’s against the law to imbibe before driving.”

Yuu shot him a disbelieving glance. 

“...I see. The great and illustrious Jade Leech has fallen victim to Rosehearts Syndrome. A disease that has its roots in the pursuit of perfection, appeasing to a higher order that will never listen to you, immediate and absolute obedience to the rules and—”

“I am nothing like Riddle.”

“Oh, really?” Their eyes sparkled once more underneath the streetlight. “Prove it. Make me believe that Jade Leech still spits in the name of conventionality because he got too bored to pay his dues to polity.”

And Jade knew what tactic that Yuu was using at that very moment. It was the oldest trick in Jade’s book. This baiting was meant for day old fry who had not yet tried to chase after a worm on a hook. Yet… 

And yet… 

If they were caught, Jade could easily buy his way out of a jail cell and if he were feeling particularly generous, he’d even bail out this little shrimp who dared mouth at him like this. As if Jade hadn’t penned the rule book concerning mental subterfuge and psychological warfare and manipulation. 

Jade held out a hand. “The keys, if you will.”

Yuu grinned, an impish affair that only irritated Jade slightly. "The keys are already in the ignition, silly eel!"

This was going to be more troublesome than he thought it would be, wasn't it?

And it certainly was. For the next half hour or so, Jade had to learn how to navigate the many parts of the car. From the way he had to adjust the seat and the rearview mirror, how to place his hands upon the steering wheel, and realize that, yes, the stick in the middle of the driver and the passenger seats did indeed serve a purpose. For the most part, Yuu was actually a good teacher, if a bit mischievous at times. Despite his reservations, it seemed that Yuu had caught onto his concern and allowed him to test out the car's various capabilities without letting the car move from its parked space.

Slowly, Jade acquainted himself with the accelerator and how the machine rumbled underneath his feet, how he need only apply the slightest amount of pressure before the car answered in kind.

Eventually, though—

"I think you're ready."

"To go to sleep?"

And that's when Yuu released the handbrake and put the car into drive.

To say that the next half hour was a disaster was an... anticlimactic understatement.

Jade hit the accelerator and drove the car at the breakneck speed of... ten kilometers per hour. It was slow going, but eventually, Jade began to crawl his way to a much faster pace.

"Great, you're learning!" Jade dared not look away from the road lest he accidentally cause an accident that could blow up the entire resort. "Now that you can drive in a relatively straight line... let's start turning corners!"

Another obstacle that Jade would have loved to let Yuu handle, but it was rather unfortunate that he was stuck behind the wheel and beholden to the driving laws.

Again, it was rather anticlimactic, but with the way Jade felt his hands tremble every so often and that he had to consciously remind himself that he had to breathe, it was almost as if the world was collapsing upon him. As someone who was born and raised in the sea, it was a rather terrifying thought.

Still, though, jerky movements gradually transitioned into something more fluid and slightly resembling that of a seasoned driver's actions. Furthermore, he no longer had to rely so much on Yuu's encouragement and murmurs of adjustment that he rearrange his hands or to relax his posture. In fact, he began to feel like he was learning to walk all over again when he was in land boot camp. 

Before he knew it, he made a full circle around the parking lot while also obeying all the signs and markers on the road.

It was utterly slow and Jade wasn't very smooth when making the appropriate left turns, but he did manage to press down on the turn signals when necessary and he even stopped for a passing pedestrian! Success, although somewhat trivial to all other accomplishments that Jade had under his belt, still made him beam with pride. (Muted pride, though, he couldn't quite admit that he was happy that Yuu had convinced him to step outside of his boundaries).

When Jade slowly approached to a stop in front of the hotel doors (finally), Yuu gestured for him to put the car in park. "Feeling tired? I think you've improved enough that I'll let you go. For now."

He smiled.

Then the words and full extent of the meaning finally dawned on him. 

"For now?"

Yuu nodded, a gleeful smile on their face. "Well, how else can I refill my fuel gauge? With the amount of magic you've got pouring in, the tank refilled within minutes!"

Jade checked the dashboard.

Damn.

"What was that one term you land dwellers use when you dupe someone? Pull the wool over someone's eyes? Getting hustled?" Jade shook his head in faux disappointment. "And here I thought that you were a person of high standing."

"Hello, pot. Meet kettle. The both of you are black."

Jade wasn't sure what that saying meant, but he laughed nonetheless and resolved that he would have to look up what pots and kettles had to do with colors. 

“Good night, Yuu. Perhaps we can talk at a later date.

Yuu seemed unsure at first, which only made Jade concerned, but before he could assure them that he didn’t expect them to follow through, they nodded. 

“Sure thing, Jade.” A beat. “Maybe I’ll teach you how to drive donuts!”

Do... Donuts?

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TWISTED WONDERLAND MASTERLIST

[lilabella12]

1300 - Day 1

Meet the Norwood family..... they live on a small farm in the outskirts of Windenburg, a fief of Lord Gilbert de Clare.

William inherited this farm from his father when he passed while William was just a child. He never had any siblings but found a responsible wife in Eva. She's happy when she is surrounded by people while her husband is the exact opposite.

Together they had 3 children who help out around the farm.

The youngest is Evan who is responsible for the chickens, even though his big brother keeps a watchful eye out... He knows that his little brother likes to cause mischief.

Evan turned 7 not too long ago and has developed some other interests.... He takes to archery quite well

Tara is the middle child of the family. She helps out with planting and harvesting in the garden but most of her time she spends out in the forest... The family doesn't really understands what draws her to it but Eva is always thankful for the supplies she brings home.

Finnian, the eldest son, mostly manages the crops and goes out hunting with his father when the pantry need filling. He has a really good relationship with his sister.

The year 1300 catches them a little bit off guard. They used up most of their supplies in the last winter and William goes out to hunt almost every day. Eva is worried that they will run short in a few days.

"Finnian, do you think you could run an errand down at the Bishops? I asked him to set aside some fish for storing and I just want to know if he has had any luck catching some.... I would do it myself but I'm feeling faint today."

"Of course mother, you should rest today. Don't worry, I wanted to talk to Emma anyway. We wanted to go to curch together before Easter."

When Finnian leaves, she lies done immeadiatly. She isn't feeling good lately, there were even a few fainting spells... If it doesn't get better she knows she need to go to the village doctor.

Finnian meanwhile has walked over to their neighbours, the Bishops. He's anxious about his mothers illness but happy that he can see his childhood friend, Emma.

"Sorry, but my father is out fishing today, he didn't catch much the last few days. I'll be happy to come by and bring some if he catches any."

"My mother is really worried, I think I'll just go there and ask him myself... or... We could go down to the river and try to catch some?"

"Sure, we can try... but don't be disappointed when we don't catch anything."

They don't catch anything but at least they had time to talk. For some time now Finnian is drawn to Emma's company but he can't quite put together why.... They decide to go to church together next week to pray for a good harvest at least.

But Finnian didn't need to worry. When Emmas father returns shortly after they get home, he shares a bountiful catch with him.

Emma watches him leave with a smile on her face. She's happy that he feels a bit calmer now.

When he comes home that evening, he's happy to see that his mother recovered somewhat she sits together with the neighbours who brought over some food so share.

"Look, Finnian, the neighbours brought some pheasants they hunted today, I can prepare it for tomorrow."

"That's nice, mother. The Bishops also had some fish to share. Are you feeling better?"

"Yes, love, thank you. Let me take those to the pantry."

The neighbours look at their exchange fondly.

"Well, Finnian, you've grown up to be quite the responsible young man. Eva, would you like me to bring over my daughter sometime? He should start to think about marriage soon."

Finnian smiles awkwardly and looks away. Emma's smiling face shows up in his mind.

[luimagines]

That Dragon au Part 2

Masterlist

:D We’re back at it again! Here we go!

Previous chapter/ Next Chapter

Content under the cut!

Chapter 2: Troublesome Midnight

Enno let out a soft sigh and just let their mind wander. They were mostly thinking about the worst scenario and replaying the events from before. There's a part of them that wanted to go ask Cia what the earth?

They both lay there for a moment, letting the hours pass by. Enno quickly loses track with how long it's been but they don't care. Suddenly, without warning, there's a knock at the door.

They suppress a flinch, looking back at the door then to Warriors. There’s a voice in the back of their head telling them that they shouldn't open it but at the same time, there’s an obligation to respond to whoever’s on the other side. 

Enno decides to lay Warrior down, having him hug a pillow instead of them and head to the door. They pause slightly, not sure how to ask who is on the other side.

There's a slight pause before it knocks again, a bit louder.

With another pause, a voice calls out gently from the other side.

"Link? Are you here? I wish to speak to you."

She sounds familiar but with the muffled effect from the door Enno’s not certain who it is.

Well crap, Enno freezes, panicking. Knowing that someone is directly looking for the captain and it’s not one of the chain members. Enno takes a deep breath, hyping themselves up before unlocking the door and poking their head out. 

“Um I just finally got him to sleep…” They whisper, embarrassed to look the person in the eyes.

"Oh dear..." Zelda freezes as well. "I see...."

An awkward silence descends over both of them and Enno can hear the Queen audibly gulp. To her credit though, she straightens up. "Is he ill? Or in need of anything?"

Enno flushes, feeling a little silly. "Ah! I can wake him up for you."

They open the door fully now. "He was just tired out from everything. Cia seemed to be the final straw to something." They didn't know what that was about but there were only so many questions they were willing to ask. Besides, Warrior promised to explain.

"Yes, I thought so." Zelda sighs. "I had wished to speak to him about it. But if he's asleep, he should rest. It can wait until morning. Thank you for looking out for him."

"Ah-" Enno walks out, shutting the door behind them to not wake Warriors. "Of course, for him? It's no problem." 

They then had a realization. Wouldn’t Zelda know about it? "Your highness, if it’s ok, may I ask why Cia was so annoyed about me getting a gift? There was no way for her to know it was from him. It's been bothering me a bit, does it have any meaning that I'm not aware of?" 

Zelda stiffens momentarily before she smiles gently. "It was his mother's. Of course Cia knew."

She takes a breath and takes a step back. She pulls her skirt to the side and bows a bit. "I hope to see more of you around. Link can explain more when he is ready."

"Oh... Thank you for telling me." Enno gave her a small bow as well, "And I'll let him know you came by. Have a good night."

Zelda smiles gently at them, grinning somewhat. "Make sure he doesn't do something he'll regret."

She laughs a bit, calling out over her shoulder. "He tends to talk in his sleep."

"I wont!" Enno jumps, blushing at her comment. Before sneaking back in, they close the door quietly and sigh. Now feeling more confused about what has been happening, walk back into the room. Enno sits on the edge of the bed, not feeling tired at all. They had hoped to get some clarity from Zelda, but she wasn’t very helpful.

It's quiet and dark in the room.

Warrior doesn't seem to move for a second before he takes a deep breath and frowns. His arm goes out to where Enno was before and sweeps around for a moment. He stills for a second before his face twists into something darker. "....No..."

To Enno’s knowledge, he's still asleep.

Enno snaps out of their thoughts and turns to Warriors. They’re not really sure if they should wake him. Enno reaches out to brush his hair back. They wondered what he was dreaming about. Moving back into the bed to be closer to him, they try to move the pillow he was holding in their place away from him.

Warrior grips onto the blanket under him enough so that his knuckles turn white and his face twists into agony.

"...No...." He buries his face into the pillow. "Please.... Not like this..."

“Captain?” Enno frowns, putting their hand on top of his, rubbing it to loosen it up. Slowly, they lower themselves into bed with him. They’re quick to hold him in their arms. Enno moves their hand to his back, shushing him. “Hey now things are ok. You’re ok.”

He tenses at the touch and relaxes the closer he gets to them, breathing in deeply.

Warrior wraps his arms around them, ditching the pillow and nuzzling his face into the crook of their neck. ".....Ok....You're ok...."

They lean over to put the pillow under them. “Yes, I’m ok.” Enno reassured him through the nightmare “You’re safe. We are both safe, Link.” 

They continue to brush his hair trying to calm him. They didn’t really know what he was dreaming, or who he was talking to., but they hoped he would get out of it soon.

"Don't die on me, Enno." He says, a few tears escaping him. "I won't be able to take it."

He sounds absolutely miserable and also completely unaware of anything.

He takes another deep breath, calming down some more. 

He doesn't say anything else.

“How can I?” Enno laughs a bit. “With how you are, I can be sent to the ends of the earth and you would still find me.” 

Enno teases him, nuzzling their face into his hair. “You’re not getting rid of me either. I love you, Link.”

Warrior starts purring. A sound they didn't even know he could make.

The man in their arms says no more but he holds them, gently and tenderly, like something precious. His hands glide against theirs time and again in slow rhythmic motions.

He's still calming down, they can feel it in his heart rate, but they're not sure if he's trying to calm himself down or them.

Enno pauses their motions, not expecting him to be purring. Fear of the nightmare picking up, they continue brushing his hair. 

“You’re just a giant cat, aren’t you?” They whisper, laughing at the sight. They shake their head, giving him a few kisses on the top of his own.

Warrior doesn't let up and eventually his hands begin to move slower against their own, subconsciously finding peace.

There's a second knock on the door.

Enno flinches and sighs. They should consider themselves happy that they don’t sleep. Otherwise, they would be having an entirely different reaction. Reaching to get that pillow back, they try their best to slip out and slip the pillow back in. Enno has since stopped caring about who was at the door now. This man needs to get some sleep and Enno fully planned on being the one to help him get it. They open the door partly, “sorry, Link is asleep right now.”

The door was suddenly being pushed open against them, the person forcing it from their side.

"You!" Cia screams, enraged to meet them again. "Let me in! Link, Sugar, I need to talk to you! Right now!"

Enno jumped, slamming their full weight against the door, quickly trying to try to close the door on her. “Oh for pete’s sakes-“ 

Enno starts to struggle to keep her out of the room. There was a lot of pressure she was pushing onto the door. They had a plan but it was a stupid one. Shifting their balance to be in a kicking stance, they let the door swing open. They use her off balance readjustment to kick her back out and slam the door close. They quickly lock it. A feeling of dread fills them up as they are sure as heck Warriors had to be awake because of this.

Warrior snaps into a sitting position, his hands running down his face as he gets out of the bed.

"LINK YOU OPEN THE DOOR THIS SECOND AND GET THAT FLEA RIDDEN, YELLOW PASTE BASTE, LITTLE-"

"Are you ok?" Warrior b-lines to Enno instead. He's a bit wobbly on his feet as he checks them over. His hands come up and slowly check every inch, before cupping their face gently. "What happened?"

Cia is screaming indignantly on the other side.

The yelling was starting to get to them even if they were pissed. It was getting overwritten by being overly terrified and not of Cia. 

“I’m sorry.” Enno flinches, not wanting to let him know that the loud screeching was affecting them. “The Princess came before I told her you were sleeping, but then there was another knock and I was going to let them know again.” 

They reach up to cover their ears. “But it was Cia. So I kicked her and locked the door. I’m sorry. I didn’t want you to wake up.” They weren’t crying yet but close. “If she doesn’t shut up, I am tempted to make her.”

Warrior sobers up instantly and he gently covers his hands over theirs, tilting their head down to kiss their forehead.

He says nothing and walks toward the door, unlocking it and stepping out.

Silence.

Finally.

Then there's the sudden sound of flame. Large, roaring and explosive flame. It lights up the door frames where they don't meet the door precisely on the edges and it's over as quickly as it came.

More silence.

The door opens and Warrior steps inside, calmly, if a bit winded.

He steps into the room, closing the door behind him and leaning against it. Warrior sighs, a puff of light leaving his lips as he forces himself off of the door.

"I'll be back." He says sullenly. He moves toward his dresser, picking out fresh and presentable clothes. "I have to further make my point, it seems."

Enno had flinched again when the fire came out of nowhere, and thought they were hallucinating when they saw the bit of smoke and light from his mouth. But they shook their head, coming back when his words finally processed.

 “No.” They try to stop him by taking his wrist, noting he is a bit warmer than normal. “You need sleep. I promise you won’t wake up again until morning.” 

They were still shaking, but they reached out to cup his face. “Link, you need to sleep. You’re exhausted. Cia isn’t worth losing sleep over.” They rub his cheek, letting out a shaky breath.  “If you leave this room, if you’re still hellbent on proving a point. I’m going to follow you out. Childhood trauma won’t stop me from dragging your butt back to this room as soon as you’re done.” 

They gulped near the end, trying to swallow the wavers in their voice. It only lost the threatening tone they were going for. 

Warrior's face softens and he shakes his head. His hands come up to gently rest on their wrists as they hold him. He turns his head to kiss their palms.

"It's not that I'm "hellbent"-" He mutters. "Lana is just... having some trouble. I have to help."

He pulls their hands down, stepping closer to them. "I would rather.... you stay here though. I don't trust what Cia might do."

He leans over, kissing their forehead. "I've worked with less sleep.  I'll be right back. I don't think it should take too long. It's not the first time she's tried this... it's just the first time that it's serious."

He takes a calming breath, rubbing his thumb over Enno’s knuckles. "Will you wait for me? To come back and explain?"

They pause, twisting their hands out of his to hold up one of their pinky fingers. "Do you promise?" 

They knew it’s childish to ask for a pinky promise, but at this point they don't care. 

"I should have threatened that I’d cry." They whispered pouting a bit. Although, if they had to be honest with themselves, the crying wasn't a threat because it very much will happen. They just didn’t want it to cry in front of him.

Warrior wraps his pinky around theirs, shaking once. Twice.

"I promise." He closes the distance and pulls them into his arms. "I won't be long."

He nuzzles the side of their head, holding them firmly. For a second, Enno didn't think he was going to let them go but he takes a deep breath and pulls back. Warrior kisses the top of their head once more, pulling away.

"I'm just going to go shut her up." He says quietly. "Ten minutes. And then I'll be right back, ok?"

He rubs their arms, trying to comfort them and doesn't actually move to leave.

They get the impression that he doesn't really want to go and that he's buying time.

Enno wrapped their arms around him, swaying. "If you’re not back in ten minutes then I will come looking for you myself." I tried to warn him. "Don't get hurt either." 

There's no attempt on their part to actually let him go. They were still hoping that he wouldn't leave.

Warrior hums and runs his hands over their back. "Maybe less time."

He takes a deeper breath. "Ok.. Ok... I'll be back."

He takes a slow step backwards and then another. "Don’t... don't open the door. Just in case."

"Ok..." They watch him leave, trying to keep him there with puppy dog eyes. Yet there he goes with a click, the door was locked once more and they were left alone. Sighing, they looked around the room trying to figure out what they could do to pass the time. 

"10 minutes..." They repeat in the silence. The only other thing to do was to start snooping around for a bit.

His room lights up pleasantly after he leaves. The bed is in the middle with a dark curtain for a canopy. There's a desk in the far corner absolutely littered with papers. There's his dresser and vanity next to his bathroom door and a small table on the opposite side of the bed with an antique tea set. Uneaten snacks reside next to it.

They make their way to the snacks first taking one out of petty revenge. The snacks are hard and stale. Old. But still delicious. They'd probably be better if you were to actually dip them in tea. Then they move to the desk, mostly out of curiosity on what he was working on before getting yeeted into another adventure.

The desk is cluttered in the only way they know how to describe it. Organized chaos. About a third of the papers are detailed drawings in charcoal. The rest are in multiple scripts they didn't know how to read. One half appears to be sheikah and official in presentation. Most of them appear to be  reports and documents regarding his job and his position in the Queen's court. The other half is a script they also didn't recognize. They're loose, sometimes ending in scribbles with the occasional word crossed out. First draft or personal notes? Enno couldn't tell.

They didn’t want to move any of the papers to snoop on the ones below, but they wanted to look for a blank piece so that they could draw as well. They opted to not move any of the papers on top and instead looked inside the desk drawers. They bent down to be careful not to disrupt anything.

The drawers are filled with multiple colored ink bottles of various sizes. There's a case next to them with a simple latch that once opened shows them multiple quills and pen tips.

There's a smaller pouch beside it all. It's humble in nature. Brown leather with a black drawstring. Opening that, they see that this is where he keeps his charcoal pencils.

They take out a charcoal pencil, mostly because they didn’t trust themselves to not make a mess. But they still didn't have paper so they continued looking. They were being careful to not mess up anything on the desk. They checked the time, hoping they had some time to draw something.

There's a small clock on the desk that they would have missed if they didn't move the drawer, knocking some paper down. It’s almost one o'clock in the morning. But they weren’t sure what time Warrior had left to begin with. 

The blank loose leaf papers end up being in the drawer below the ones with his quills and pencils.

Enno takes out some blank papers, making sure to leave everything else in its place. They go to the small table again to put the supplies there for a moment. They quickly get distracted by the vanity if they were being honest with themselves. Mostly because it looks cute.

They looked at the vanity and noticed that it's cream colored. There's a golden gilded mirror, surrounded by small boxes and bottles of various sizes. There's a few more drawers there as well and a stray brush left asunder but it leaves very little to the imagination.

It’s alarming that there is so little to his room. They looked at the drawers, unsure if his scarf was in there or not. Moving over, they begin to look through his dresser because they wanted to wear it while waiting and drawing.

They open the one below the top one and find his clothes.

No scarf.

They open the one below that one. 

No scarf.

They open the one at the very top.

It’s filled with nick nacks. There's only a few jewels from what you can see and a small sword still in its sheath. There's a few expensive necklaces and rings. The occasional pair of earrings. And there was a little box left open on the side.

If they had to guess, it was once holding the headband Warrior gave to them earlier.

Enno began to feel like they were connecting some sort of dots here, but it wasn't making any sense and it would be VERY awkward if it was true. Well awkward for Volagia, not for them. They picked up the sword to examine it before putting it back with everything else. They had a suspicion that they shouldn’t be looking at this drawer for any more than they already have. So they closed it once more.

The door opened just as they turned to walk toward the little table where they had left their paper.

Warrior walked in, in his half dragon form with his tail and wings splayed out behind him and his horns and scales on full display. He walked mechanically towards his bed and face planted into it.

He stays there for a solid fifteen seconds before he shoots up with a gasp. "ENNO!"

He scrambles to get back up, throwing himself off of the bed and onto the ground by mistake. He pops back up, looking fully human and looks around the room in a panic. He sees them and visibly relaxes.

"Oh, thank goodness. I thought you left me."

They blink at him, not knowing how to react to him just being part dragon a mere second ago. It instantly confirmed their suspicion. "I've... been here the whole time? You told me not to leave the room?" 

He smiles. "I wasn't sure if you would have snuck off though just to follow me... only to get lost in the castle. Thank you for staying."

They were even more confused by now but attempted to play it off, pretending that they saw nothing to carry on. They moved to go back to sitting on the bed. "I stole some paper and a pencil and was gonna draw but ended up not having any time it seems."

Warrior's smile drops for a second, seemingly trying to make sense of their words before he notices what you left on the tea table. "Oh! That's OK. Feel free to use whatever you like. What's mine is yours. No strings attached."

"Sooooo...." They moved further up so that they weren’t on the edge of the bed anymore. They motion him to come over so that they can hold him again. 

"Wanna talk about it? Or leave it and not question anything that just happened and go to sleep?" They glanced at the time once more. It’s still in the 1 am area. "I mean I'm probably not gonna sleep for a while now. But you should."

"I don't want to make you uncomfortable." Warrior smiles awkwardly. "I was hoping to spend more time with you. Most of my typical duties have been put on hold until this whole era jumping adventure has closed. So I don't really have to do anything right now."

Enno’s arms were still open for him. They flopped them down with a sigh. "Caaaaptaaaaain. You can't make me uncomfortable unless we sleep together." 

Warrior jumps onto the bed next to them instinctually.

They wanted to tip toe the dragon thing. "I want to know what’s going through that head of yours." Enno turned their head to look at him, still making the grabby hands. "You promised to talk. I'm just asking if you want to talk now or later. I don’t mind spending time with you.” 

They weren’t going to mention it if he didn't.

When they mention his words from before, he freezes. "Man.... ok... yeah....I did say that, huh? Where do I start?"

Enno reaches up to twirl a finger around his hair. “Well… I don’t know the answer. I don’t even know what you wanted to talk about.” A kiss lands on the top of his head. “We can sleep on it if you don’t want to talk about it right now.”

“No.” Warrior sighs and runs a hand over his face. “You should know. You’re already in the thick of it.”

Enno nodded. They weren’t sure if they liked the sound of that or not.

[peach-the-owl]

First post of NPC month! Woooooo!!! Let’s hope I can keep the ball rolling 😅

Hunger

Avantica & Child!Reader

For anyone familiar with the Little Nightmares games, reader is somewhat similar to Six from the first game

Ability gained: +1 to Strength

Fire spread fast across the village, you paid little mind to the distant screams while you stare down the parasite that thought it a good idea to cross you… well more like former parasite, as the man’s corpse still stares at you with terror in its dulled eyes while you wiped the blood off your mouth. You weren’t the cause of the fire, as much as you would’ve liked to, no, someone else decided to cause havoc to the village and you were sure you’d take advantage of the opportunity. A shadow looms behind you, slowly you turn to face its owner, not a shred of fear present on your face.

“My my, well aren’t you just the savage little monster.” The woman smirks at you.

“I’m not a monster,” you state blankly, “I’m a kid.”

“No child I’ve ever seen can rip a mans throat out with their teeth so easily.” She points out before adding. “Nor has anyone ever been so calm in my presents. Do I not scare you?” You raise an eyebrow at this.

“Should I be?” You answer her question with your own. Her smirk only grows at this.

“I think you and I are going to get along real nicely…”

~~~~~~~~~~

You did what you do best below deck, pest control, chasing down any pests and reaching into the smaller nooks and crannies to get at them. It was easy work for you by now, having been stuck with Avantica for about a year and half now, going along with her delusions of power. You didn’t care much for the patron she worshiped, this Uk’otoa creature not really striking your interest despite her obsessive ramblings over it, sure you’ve been play along, but that doesn’t mean you had to like it. The cellar door opens and several sets of footsteps are heard making their way down, you hear Avantica’s voice amongst them and you knew what this meant, she wanted to make an example to whoever these, possibly newcomers were. You’re theory that they were newcomers was proven correct, you’ve never seen a group so colourful and odd before, but curious of them as you were you sat back and waited for your cue, perfect timing too as that familiar gnawing in your gut makes itself known.

“If I may be so kind to ask, why bring us down here?” The half-orc questions

“Some have come to me with… ill intent. I wish to show that I myself, as well as my crew are not people to be trifled with.” Avantica explains, giving you the small signal to make yourself known. You step forward, close enough so this group could see you but keep enough distance away from them to stay out of their reach. You stare them all down, taking in the shocked expressions, sizing each of them up. The blue one steps towards you, her first mistake.

“Oh my gosh, hi! Are you okay? Are you hurt?” She asks, looking at you concerned, she misjudges and underestimates you, her second mistake.

“I’m hungry…” You say blankly, noticing the goblin stepping closer as well.

“Here! It’s a bit crumbly, but I have this pastry you can eat.” She says cheerily reaching towards you, her third and biggest mistake.

“That won’t be good enough.” You say, tone never shifting away from being emotionless. “You’ll do just fine.” She barely processes what you said before you bite into her shoulder, she screams in shock and pain the others with her prying you off of her, but not before you rip off a decent piece of her flesh. The tiefling stumbles back, clutching at where you bit her, a look of horror on her face as you stare back at her while swallowing the fresh meat, wiping some blood away with your wrist. There’s a surge of energy that courses through you then out of you, you look yourself over for a second before looking beside you at the darkened and slightly unstable silhouette of yourself, guess with a lack of a deity this new ability couldn’t reach its fullest potential, not that you cared so long as it still does it’s job.

“What did I tell you,” Avantica laughs, “not to be trifled with.”

Ability gained: Invoke Duplicity

~~~~~~~~~~

Evening approached which meant you were free to roam the ship without the crew getting in the way, though with the gnawing coming back, this being the fastest it’s ever re-emerged, you wished at least one forgetful soul stuck around. But then again you had some new treats, and a new skill, to play with…

The ship creaked as it swayed with the waves, the eerie silence otherwise didn’t sit well with Beau as she sits up from her sleeping area and surveys the room. Something about the atmosphere felt off as she gets up, the floor boards creaking under her as she shifts and moves around. She carefully steps as quietly as possible to the door, poking her head out into the hall, where upon sensing no immediate danger she fully steps out of the room. The boat sways subtly against the waves almost like it’s trying to lull her back to sleep, the harsh creak of the floorboards pulling out of such a mindset. To her left the hall was dark and empty, to her right what little moonlight shone down the hall was partially blocked by a figure standing as still as a statue.

“Damn kid…” Beau mutters under her breath, wanting nothing to do with whatever they were doing. She stares at the silhouette feeling them stare back at her. “What do you want, you little freak.” She hisses through clenched teeth, that’s when you let your little illusion drop, the duplicate’s silhouette shattering into pieces as you approach.

“I’m not a freak,” you say, as monotonous as ever, “I’m worse.” You manage to step back and avoid the strike Beau throws, using the moment to grab her arm and bite into it. She shouts in pain, reeling her arm away from you and quickly clutching tightly to the wound, but you already got what you needed, feeling a surge of energy rush through you, jabbing it out at her sending her to her knees. You disappear into the darkness down the hall as the others from her group stir to investigate.

Ability gained: Stunning Strike

~~~~~~~~~~

“How lucky you are.” Avantica chuckles ominously. “You finally get to relieve your sea legs for a bit.” She was, of course, referring to your mission on Urukayxl. You knew the only reason she even wanted you there was to gain power for her advantage, at least that’s how she worded it. She was never one to tiptoe around her true intentions with you, your purpose, the reason she decided to keep you alive was solely to benefit herself, and you fully knew about it. On the other hand, you yourself had secret intentions you kept quiet about, just waiting patiently for the perfect moment, and if you were being honest, since the arrival of this Mighty Nein group you’ve felt that perfect moment drawing closer and closer.

“Can’t wait to get started.” You say as blandly as ever.

“Good. Now why don’t you go inform our new recruits we’ll be arriving soon.” You nod and turn to make your leave. “One more thing,” she quickly adds, “while you’re at it, if you could tell their ‘captain’ I’d like word with him.” Again, you nod in acknowledgement and leave her quarters to find said group…

“How exactly do we plan on dealing with that psycho child around?” Beau paces the room, unconsciously touching the scar you’d left her.

“With Avantica watching us like a hawk, can’t say there’s much we can do.” Fjord sighs, glancing over at Jester who, while was doing better, still shivered at the thought of their first encounter with you. “We’ll just need to tread carefully.”

“Who’s treading carefully?” You ask suddenly appearing behind him, causing the half-orc to jump away from you with a yelp of surprise. You look at him unfazed. “You’re not planning against the captain, are you?” You give a slight tilt to your head in minor curiosity.

“W-what? No! We were just saying how it’s best to tread carefully… around the crew. You know, s-so we don’t get in anyone’s way. Right guys?” They mumble rather unconvincing responses but you could honestly care less what they were doing.

“Captain says we’ll be arriving soon, and for captain Tusktooth to see her.” You deliver the message and leave before any of them have a chance to respond. You make your way down the hall when you hear someone approach from behind making you pause to turn towards them. “Can I h help you?” You stare down the goblin woman.

“I got my eye on you, kid. So you best watch your back if you try hurting anymore of my friends.” She threatens, you simply give her a hollow stare.

“Okay.” You start, a familiar gnawing beginning to form, it has been a few day since your last… episode. She turns to leave, her mistake. “Maybe you should be more concerned watching your own back.” She whips around at this but you’ve already disappeared from your original position, watching as the goblin panics while looking every which way. You felt the gnawing grow ever so slightly but held off on the urge, you’d have your chance soon. Urukayxl was going to be quite the interesting trip…

Haha! Cliffhanger! I’m so evil 😈 In all seriousness I will, eventually, get to making a part 2. Anyways, hope you still enjoyed, let me know what you think 😁

[mooonjin]

Brothers

Notes: if you're not getting any roses or chocos for valentines, have this!! this lil drabble won a poll a while ago so here it izzz,, LET HIM EATTT!!!

Pairing: Crosshair and Wrecker ft. The Bad Batch

Summary: Crosshair wasn't able to get a single bite of a proper meal since the Empire, fortunately, he had a brother who craved food all the time.

Warnings/Tags: mentions of the Empire, brotherly love, mentions of sparring, teeny weeny spoilers of ss2, fluff — tell me if I've missed anything!

Hunter and Echo had been sparring for a while now, the two always one upping each other every chance they got. Hunter had asked Tech to monitor the session, later to look back on it for any improvements.

Several grunts and groans emitted from the two soldiers as they landed blows on one another, always managing to get back up again to continue to do the exact same thing but maybe a little harder.

Tech looked up occasionally, multi-tasking between recording and tapping away at his datapad. He was stood comfortably at a safe distance from his brothers, just to be cautious if they suddenly started leaping on each other and rolling around.

Omega was munching on a carton of Mantell Mix whilst sat on top of Gonky. The droid didn't mind, the two basically became best friends overtime.

Wrecker was chewing on nerf kebabs, making unnecessary commentary towards Omega as they watched the sparring show between Hunter and Echo.

Crosshair analysed how his brothers fought, slowly growing bored of watching them. He had seen them fight a thousand times, what was so different about this time?

The smell of food continued to annoy Crosshair, having not received as much food to eat over the past few weeks since his 'rescue' from the Empire. As much as he's somewhat happy to be back with his brothers, he would rather be eating than watching.

He stole glances at Wrecker's food as well as Omega's. He assumed the Mantell Mix was sweet so his interest for food was directed more to Wreckers. The grumble of his stomach was luckily muffled by his armour which was a little thicker than his Imperial suit.

"Hah! That was a good trick, huh, kid?" Wrecker bellowed, back at it with the unnecessary commentary.

Crosshair rolled his eyes, averting his eyes back to Wrecker's food as he chomped down on it. Wrecker had a mouth full of food, still commenting which was almost inaudible.

Crosshair seemed to have been staring lasers into Wrecker's food for a bit too long, the brute noticing his brother's sharp eyes, "Want some?"

"No." Crosshair grumbled, bluntly. That was a complete lie, he wanted some.

"Y' been starin' at it for a long while now, are ya sure?" Wrecker teasingly waved the kebab in front of Crosshair's face, convincing him to say yes. Crosshair gave his brother a look of judgement, gritting his teeth almost in disgust. 

"Don't want it."

Wrecker's expression faltered, changing to a more worried and caring face. He wasn't the type to memorise hand signals or read the room, but he knew the face of a hungry man.

"Here, take it, did they not feed you in the Empire?" Wrecker's usually loud and booming voice lowered to an inside voice, only really wanting Crosshair to hear it.

Crosshair looked over the exposed handle of the kebab, the handle that Wrecker's hand was once on. He looked up at Wrecker, squinting before taking the food and not wasting a second to dig in.

"Whoa, slow down! It's all yours, we can get more later anyway!"

As Crosshair swallowed the food, the taste of actual nutrition made him feel better. He was way more energetic but still, of course, the quiet and observant man he is. He gave Wrecker the empty stick, wiping his mouth of any remaining kebab residue.

"Good, huh?" Wrecker elbow shoved Crosshair, almost knocking him off the rock they sat on.

"Mhm." Crosshair muttered.

A small part of his lip rising up in a grin.

-

Post-Notes: i do not think the english in here is top to standard so ill come back and edit it so soz if it sems different the next time haha

wanna be a part of my taglist?

~ ~ ~

@elsastoes @nekotaetae @jiabeewrites @lokigirlszendaya @imalovernotahater @backyard-bear @namesmox

[dixidin]

Genshin impact hcs for every nation pt.2

Liyue edition!

Info: OOC? Mentions of other characters, writing sucks, sorry if I get some lore wrong with some characters! Fyi, none of this is cannon besides the occasional lore mentions

Baizhu: Whenever the cold winters of Liyue roll around, Baizhu has to make sure that both him and Changsheng are cozy because if they don't. They both can fall ill very quickly. Baizhu normally wraps a scarf around his neck so both him and Changsheng are warm due to the fact that Changsheng normally wraps around Baizhu's neck

Beidou: Since Beidou wears an eyepatch, a lot of people have made theories on what's behind it. Is it just a regular eye? Does she have a terrible scar underneath? Is it due to a battle? Who did she fight? Spoiler alert: It's the first one, but she always gets a laugh out of the really crazy ones

Chongyun: Chongyun is secretly really good at checkers. He takes pride in it along with embarrassment since he has no clue how to play chess

Ganyu: Ganyu absolutely loves the quiet and hates loud noises, but there's this one sound that she will forever despise, and that is windchimes. Every time she hears them, she just wants to rip it off of the ceiling and break all the metal bars in half. Of course, she never does, but she'll immediately leave if she hears it. Heaven forbid someone gets her a windchime as a present

Hu tao: Being a director of a funeral parlor and talking with ghosts for a long time somewhat impacts your vision on mortals, so Hu tao has grown a sixth sense of reading people. She can tell whether they're lying, worried, or pretending to be fine whenever they are fuming with anger. Sometimes, it gets a bit bad that she misses out on social cues

Keqing: With the large amount of paperwork Keqing puts on herself, she offen gets hands cramps. Sometimes, they get so bad that she has to take a break for a few minutes so the bones of her hands don't feel like they're about to break apart

Ningguang: Since Ningguang is the richest person in Tevyat, she occasionally spends her mora on random items just for the fun of it. Her favorite items she's bought over the recent years are candles. She's grown so attached to it that she's started up a collection

Qiqi: Since Qiqi needs a notebook to remember everyone she's met, Yaoyao decided one day that she would help Qiqi with the notebook, decorating it in cute stickers, highlighters, doodles, and occasional photographs

Shenhe: Shenhe has dissociative amnesia, specifically generalized. This means that she offen forgets where she went, what she did, who she spoke to, what she experienced, or even who she is

Xiangling: Xiangling, being the spicy cook herself, she doesn't actually check how much spices she puts in her food for the customers. Does she still use measuring cups? Yes, but sometimes they can be a bit overfilled

Xiao: When all of the yakshas were still around. Normally, the girls would help Xiao with his red eye makeup, only after they died tragically. The last yaksha had to learn how to do his own makeup, to say it was hard... was an understatement. Xiao eventually went to Zhongli for help, the geo archon being met with a sad Xiao, looking at the floor with messy red eye makeup. Don't worry, Zhongli taught Xiao, and he got the hang of it

Xingqiu: Xingqiu secretly has a condition called vasovagal syncope, which means that his body makes him pass out whenever he gets injected with a needle. Before, he thought he had a fear of needles, but when he saw Baizhu about it, he told the young writer that he actually had vasovagal syncope. Which made much more sense to Xingqiu afterward

Xinyan: Xinyan secretly loves having fun on playgrounds, but especially the swings. Whenever she comes across a playground with swings, she'll immediately stop what she's doing, run up, and try to get as high as she could

Yanfei: When in the chasm with the rest of the group, Yanfei actually got slight burn scars when fighting off those enemies due to how hard she was hitting her fireball

Yaoyao: You would expect Yaoyao to be another one of those kids whose toys are all dirty from dragging them around in the mud or one of those kids who forgets their stuffed animal, but Yaoyao is the complete opposite! She always double checks that Yuegui is in her basket, and she doesn't have to worry about Yuegui getting dirty since it's easily washable

Yelan: Whenever Yelan gets bored from time to time, getting stuck dealing with paperwork instead of going out on fun adventures. She'll train her hand to do neat tricks with her pen. She's gotten so good at it to the point where she'll zone out while her fingers mechanically rapidly spin around her pen

Yunjin: The reason why Yunjin's stage is normally warm colors with lantern lights in the background is because she can't stand flashing lights. It makes her feel dizzy, and she can never concentrate

Zhongli: Being an archon, over the years, Zhongli has come to be an expert in fashion. Just take a look in the history books and see some of the outfits he's worn! People have sometimes begged him to let him help them with fashion, but that's Zhongli's secret talent and only his. No if's or but's

If you repost this on another website, please give credit. Any like or repost is greatly appreciated -dixidin

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