#He'll tap her good so she forgets don't worry

[ghouljams]

currently Terminally In Love with your fae!Simon au, and it has resulted in some ✨Thoughts✨

so, the bond that’s between Simon and reader — we’ve seen how it functions as a kind of honing beacon that allows Simon to know if reader is being fucked with by any other fae who dare to touch what he’s laid claim to… but from what I could discern the mark reacted so violently and allowed him to come to reader’s rescue solely because it was reacting to foreign fae magic… does it work the same for physical, nonmagical harm?

(and further, asking for the girlies…. what would Simon feel through the bond if the reader were to die 😚)

So glad you asked because it means I get to do some horror stuff. The short answer is Ghost's mark doesn't react the same way to human danger, it just pings Ghost to let him know there's trouble. The long answer is, the mark is stupid and will lash out at anything that is scaring MC, which sometimes includes Simon. Most of the time it just functions as an alarm system, but there's an adjustment period when Simon sort of has to train it on who it's ok to bite.

You've been followed since you got off the train. He's not even being stealthy about it. You make a turn, he turns, you stop, he stops, always a few steps behind you. No one else seems to notice or care. You look over your shoulder and see the same crewneck, the same beady eyes. His lips curve red into a smile when he knows you spot him. Your chest is tight, you try not to look at him. You thought you were past this, always looking over your shoulder isn't a good look. Then again neither is being dead. Better to be paranoid and alive.

It's getting dark. You don't live that far from the station, at least you didn't think you did. Maybe it's fear making the street feel longer, emptier. You pick up the pace, hearing the sentiment echoed behind you. The thud of footsteps getting progressively louder and closer, until you're forced to sprint. The effort is wasted immediately as you're grabbed and dragged into the nearest alley. Your chest squeezes with fear, your heart pounding in your ears as you're thrown against the brick wall. The buzz under your skin expands and contracts with your breaths, trying to do anything but calm you down. You think it might actually be driving your anxiety higher, towards a full blown panic, as the man grips your arms tight and grins down at you. 

"Don't you know it's dangerous for little girls to wander alone at night?" He asks, he's close enough you can smell the alcohol on his breath. Your skin hurts where he touches you, bubbling with something you can't put a name to. The buzzing doesn't fit right, it slams against your ribs as you draw in shuddering breaths, there’s nothing for it to latch onto. You glance towards the mouth of the alley, the street was so empty, who would see you? This isn't right, he told you you'd be safe-

Something wet hits your face. The buzzing under your skin is reaching a fever, shaking you to your bones. You look up at the man, at the thick red and black mud falling from between his lips. He gives a wet cough. Your eyes drag to the black talons protruding from his chest, a hole punched through his ribs as if it were paper. The ribs themselves are warped outward and folded back away from the intrusion, more like wire than bone. You can't tear your eyes away from the sight, from the slick clawed hand dragging its way backwards through the viscera as you feel your buzzing start to move.

The silhouette that the collapse of your aggressor reveals is abyssal. Absorbing the shadows of the rest of the alley in a way you've never seen before. The air around it swirls with them. It's holding the man's heart in one clawed hand, tipping it's head back to swallow the organ whole. You are pretty sure you're having a panic attack. The abyss moves towards you like a ghost, and the buzz under your skin takes hold and forces you to MOVE.

The nose your fist collides with is startlingly human.

"You little bitch," Ghost snarls, making a grab for you as you sprint from the alley. Your feet slide against the sidewalk as you round the corner. The buzz under your skin rears back and strikes as his claws just miss you. "Not me you stupid-" he swears, you think he swears, you don't understand it but the buzz cowers. 

You don't stop. Not even when you pass the door to your flat. You run because you can hear him running after you, can hear the scratch of his claws on brick and concrete as he tries to grab you. The gouges that he leaves in everything he touches, you don’t need to imagine what he could do to you, you saw it. You catch a glimpse of him as you turn a corner, his teeth are bared, his movements wild and animalistic. 

His claws wrap around your throat, and you’re slammed into a wall for the second time tonight. He’s huge when he presses against your back, his chest expanding around his labored breathing in tandem with yours. You try to turn your head to look at him and he yanks your head back to stare at the stars. You both breathe, the night filled with the sound of your desperation. You swing your arm behind you to try and hit him, anything to make yourself more difficult prey. He catches your wrist easily and twists it behind your back, growling in your ear as he leans his weight on you.

“Not Me,” He tells you, it thrums through you like a universal truth, the buzz under your skin going warm and shivery, “You don't run from me. Not unless I tell you.” You nod, desperate to do something to ease your situation. “Good girl.”

His hand slides through your hair, fingers pressing to your forehead, and it all goes black.

You jolt awake shaking like a leaf. You press a hand to your mouth, choking down a sob. You’re terrified, it’s too dark in here, your skin feels like it’s been scrubbed raw, you feel like you’ve run a marathon. It must have been a nightmare, it must have been.

Simon turns on the light by the bed, woken up by your movements. “What’s wrong?” He asks, still half asleep. You shake your head, trying to get the shaking to stop. You feel like your body is trying to rip itself apart. Simon reaches a hand towards you and you jerk away, falling in a heap off the edge of the bed. You scurry away from him, you need distance, you need to get away from him. From the nightmare. Your back hits the wall as Simon stands. 

“What did I say?” His eyes tear holes through you, you press against the wall trying to make yourself small as he stalks towards you, “Not. Me.”

[baratiddyappreciator]

Hey honey bun sugar plummmm!! Could I get a baki characters with a s/o who has a fat ass (me)

Why of course, thine blessed thiccness will be appreciated!

Baki:

He's more of a tits guy (mommy issues, we all know this) but he absolutely doesn't complain about a bit more cake either. Be it a bubble butt or just genuine cake, he does not mind in the slightest.

That is his ass, thank you very much, so catching others staring or trying to cop a feel will very much wind up in him dishing out swift justice. He's chill about most things, and he doesn't mind others appreciating you as a whole, you're stunning, he knows it, but when they're being gross and pushy about it, that's when he'll step in.

He's got a habit of grabbing people's hips when he walks passed them, he may or may not cop a slight feel with you though. He doesn't mean it to be creepy or pervy, but he can't help but admire the curves you graced him with.

He's got his own cake as well, don't forget that, so the two of you walking side by side out in public earns a lot of stares for many reasons, but the fact that the two of you combined are an entire bakery might also have something to do with it.

Kozue:

Girl is flustered. Literally everyone around Baki that she ever met was cheeked up, and she knows how to appreciate a good behind, but she's a lot more shy about it than, say, Chiharu or Katsumi.

Worried about wardrobe malfunctions? Not while she's around, she is on it. Doing it to be considerate? Absolutely, of course. But was she also watching your ass before the wardrobe failure? Maybe. Perhaps. Perchance, even.

She's the kind of person to look through clothes online and show her friends when she finds things that she thinks would suit them or that they would like, so if you mention wanting something to accentuate your butt a bit, she'll pull out an entire folder.

Lord help her if she catches you in swimsuits, she won't know what to do with herself. Does she admire openly? Does she touch? Please help her lmao.

Hanayama:

Firm ass admirer, but in private. Only he is allowed to admire your ass, that's final. You don't get to stand while he's sitting down, he'll pull you straight into his lap and keep those big meaty hands on your waist, trapping you in place. You don't get up until he lets you.

He won't spank you, but he will give you light taps every once in a while. Just know: he absolutely wants to wind up and slap the soul out of you, but he won't because he doesn't want to hurt you.

You wanna wear clothes that accentuate your butt? It had better only be for his eyes, he's not going to tolerate other people looking at your buns, those are his to admire.

There will be times where he just lays down with you, acts super sweet and everything, and then just grabs your ass. For no reason. It's like watching a cat stare at something on the edge of a table before they knock it off.

Admires your ass while clothed, and while naked. You aren't safe from him, even if you're sitting down, because no matter how strong or heavy you might think you are, you are nothing compared to his strength.

Chiharu:

A menace. He will walk up to you and smack your ass so gotdamn hard that you just won't know what to do beyond pass away on the spot. He sees nothing wrong with it, and he will continue to do this. There's no rhyme or reason either.

Are you getting nasty with him? Don't let him near your ass, because he will bite you, it will hurt, and you can't even get mad at him because he does it out of sheer love.

Steal his pants. I'm serious, steal them. Just walk out with them on, he'll practically break his own neck doing a double-take. They look great on you, and they're incredibly comfortable. It's a win-win!

Feel free to torment him by returning the favour by the way, he knows he can be a bit much, but he can take what he dishes out and more.

Katsumi:

Problem child. He'll use any excuse he can to get at you in general, he's very touchy. That being said, we have seen how efficient this man is at slapping things. He slaps you once and it's over. He slaps your butt and you're going to need ice.

He's also the kinda guy to bite your butt, for no reason. Fresh out the shower? Chomp. Trying to relax in shorts? Chomp. He doesn't even try to explain or justify it, he just does it.

Much like Chiharu, you can return the favour. Unlike Chiharu, he's going to play up every little bit of his response. Did you slap him back? Oh he's going to moan and whine, and by the time you get him to shut up, you're both laughing so hard neither of you can breathe.

He will try and get you into a karate uniform from the Dojo. Is it for personal reasons? Mayhaps. He thinks that it'll look good on you either way, either way he'll get a nice look at his precious in a karate uniform.

Jack:

I don't want to say that he doesn't care, but he just doesn't make a big deal about it. He thinks you're stunning and perfect just the way you are. Does he appreciate a bit more to hold onto? Sure thing! Is he going to start grabbing at you randomly? Not really, no.

Does he occasionally admire? Oh absolutely, he managed to bag you, he's going to admire you every chance he gets. He's a bit dense, but he's not blind.

That being said, if you dress up all nice for him, all of what I've previously said goes straight out the window. He is LOOKING (respectfully) and he is going to be touching, mentally prepare for that fact, because once he starts he's not going to stop for a while.

Lord help anyone that dares to even think of copping a feel or admiring while he's around. He may be pretty, but this man is a solid 8ft tall and has a natural glare that could kill an army.

Kosho:

Also doesn't make a big deal out of it, but you know that he loves ass just by looking at him. He'll admire, he'll touch, and if you're laying on your stomach, he'll use the booty as a pillow in a rare moment of relaxation.

If you really want to drive him wild (re: insane) then wear some tights around the house. He's going to behave himself, he swears, but if you bend over one more time he cannot be held responsible for what he's about to do.

Which is to say that he'll slap the soul out of you and then drag you back to the bedroom. Will you emerge alive? Who knows! He doesn't, and you probably won't either.

Kureha:

He cares, but he's a bitch, so he'll make it seem like he doesn't. That being said, he's so incredibly obvious about his stares and his little hand twitches while he definitely doesn't fantasize about grabbing a hand full that it's almost comedic.

He lowkey (re: highkey) worries about your back, so sometimes he'll just walk up, grab your waist and start rubbing little circles into the base of your spine under the pretense of being bored and wanting to see what you're doing.

He will buy you clothes and expects you to wear them, because he likes they way they look on you. Even if you only wear them around the house for him, he'll be pleased.

Why yes, he is jealous, how did you know? If he catches anyone even so much as glancing at your butt, he's going to glare them into another dimension.

Retsu:

Virgin monk is a virgin, and he was raised not to stare because that's rude. That being said, he can't help it, he thinks your butt is beautiful and he'll outright tell you that whatever you're wearing looks flattering. Has he said this while you were naked? Yes. Yes he has.

Once he gets more comfortable, he's all about grabbing and squeezing at your hips, thighs and butt, though it's all in good fun, he means well by it, and he absolutely appreciates you letting him do this.

He has such comfy pants, much like Chiharu, so you should absolutely steal them from time to time. You know those things are flattering, you've seen them on him after all.

If you ever want someone to watch your form while you're doing squats or lunges, he's your guy, because unlike the others, who would absolutely take this seriously and not just use it as an excuse to stare at your butt the entire time.

[fetishfairytales2]

Besties 6 (Story)

This was originally written as a continuation of a story by @wittlesissyb4by called Besties. Check out all their fantastic stories on Tumblr and SubscribeStar.

—————

Besties 6: Alone with Ms. Lyndsey

“Heather, seriously?” I laughed; “is Connor really cool with all of this? Cause I know he’s not, y’know…” Heather laughed in response, walking out of the nursery, back to her bedroom. "No, he’s too much of a real man to give a shit about that," she snickered, pointing to Brandon, "Brandi just has a tight little ass that could milk a big dick and Connor likes to fuck it occasionally!"

Heather went back into the bathroom to wrap things up, leaving me alone with Brandi. "Connor gets it," she called out. "Sometimes I just want him to tear into Brandi’s ass because I get off on seeing it." There was a moment of silence. "Other times, Daddy Connor just wants to show her who the real man is in this household."

"Does Brandi like it?" I couldn't help but ask even though I already knew the answer. Heather emerged from the bathroom, rocking a killer outfit with her tight trench coat and those red heels, looking like a total babe. She had the biggest grin on her face. "The real question is," she giggled, "does she even have a choice? Now, Brandi, I'm heading out. You better behave for Ms. Lyndsey, be a good girl. Don't forget, if I hear any complaints, Daddy will find out!"

She turned and gave me a wicked grin. "He'll be getting punished either way, good girl or not. But if she acts up, let me know. I'll send you all the deets and instructions. Don’t forget, her dinner's in the fridge. Oh and do me a solid, share all the pics and vids I send you tonight with Brandi. She loves seeing Mommy's naughty side during my date nights!" She hugged me and lightly tapped Brandi's butt before strutting out of the room with a smirk.

I couldn't help but smirk as I saw Brandon, the man who was once so full of himself, reduced to nothing but a pathetic little sissy in a frilly dress and diaper, forced to face the consequences of his asshole behavior. I loved that my best friend had made it all happen. She took away his power, his pleasure, his whole life. I bet she wasn't done yet either. "Oh, look how far Brandi has fallen," I taunted as I grabbed his hair and pulled his head up to meet my gaze. "But don't worry, we can make you sink even further."

"You, like, have noooo idea how much shit I'm about to put you through, baby bitch," I cackled, eyeing Sissy Brandi's pathetic little frame. I pivoted, checking myself out in the mirror. This situation called for a whole different vibe. I came dressed down to Heather's place, but now it's time to bring out the big guns. I rummaged through her drawers until I found the perfect thing: a sexy black lingerie set.

Turning to Brandi, I couldn't resist poking fun at his sorry excuse for masculinity. "Heather and I have been swapping clothes and men since college," I said with a sly smile, knowing how much that would hurt his fragile ego. "All of them way better than you, of course." I held up the lingerie set and let him squirm in embarrassment. "But hey, some things never change, right?" I could practically hear him whimpering under that gag, clueless to what was happening behind him. Tossing the lingerie onto the bed, I couldn't wait to see his reaction.

I ran my perfectly manicured nails through Brandi's hair, feeling him tremble as I whispered, "Relax sweetheart, we have all night to play. No need to get too worked up just yet." A sharp slap on his ass made him squirm with anticipation as I continued my search, this time in the nightstand.

I pretended to be all innocent, asking with a sly smirk on my face, "Hm, I wonder if your mommy has any fun toys hiding in here?" I couldn't help but laugh as I found the handcuffs and the Hitachi wand, more evidence of Heather's kinky side. I turned again to Brandon with a smug look, ready to ruin his night.

"Anti-crucio!" I yelled, watching as Brandi immediately spun around to face me. My grin couldn't get any bigger as I twirled the handcuffs on my finger. "You have 12 seconds of freedom, just to hear how screwed you are, Brandi," I gloated, poking my finger into his chest.

[nightqueen1221]

Hii! Just found ur blog anddd I love it. I was wondering if I could request Deltarune main 3 (Kris, Susie, Ralsei. Also romantic) hcs for a reader with adhd? Thanks :) keep up the good workkk!!

I have quite a few requests for a reader having ADHD, again, I don't have it so it might not be entirely accurate.

Kris Dreemur

-Doesn't even really notice.

-They just see you spaced put or doing something that would usually be you fidgeting.

-If you space out a lot, they'll give you a somewhat light nudge on the shoulder to get you back down to Earth.

-If you do stuff with your hands, they'll either start holding your hands or rubbing the back of one while gesturing towards what you should be paying attention to.

-If you tap your feet or something like that, they'll just rest their foot on top of your's to get you to focus.

-The most common way to get you back too reality is with snapping their fingers.

-They notice you're not really all there and they'll just be like... "Pay attention."

-Of course, they have never out right said this due to the player.

-But they do everything in their power to get you to stop spacing out.

Susie

-(Made me think of this video)

-Anyways, you'll probably have to explain to her what ADHD is.

-She knows you don't mean to not pay attention, but she can get irritated by it.

-She could be talking and you just, walk away.

-Again, she knows you don't mean it, but it can be frustrating.

-"Hey, nerd. Pay attention." Is something you'll hear more than what you would think.

-If someone talked back you to you about it, and in a good way, I'm mean more like, "How could you forget this one thing even if it's not all that important."

-She be all like, "Maybe you should do it yourself if you're going to complain."

-However if it was something truly important, she do her best to get you to focus on the task. Even if she doesn't stay all that focused herself.

-(And since you two are dating, she might give you a kiss to try and get you back.)

-She's still learning, but trying her best.

Ralsei

-Might also need some understanding what it is.

- He sees what you're more likely to be interested in rather than just hoping you listen.

-He'll try and explain things to you using those terms, but it could sometimes sound like the, "How do you do, fellow kids?" Meme.

-His way of trying to get you to stop spacing out is a light tap on your hand or shoulder. Maybe a few words to make sure you're here.

-Now Ralsei obviously knows the most about darkeners and lighteners, especially the Dark World.

-So he could be talking about something that might kill everyone if not taken with caution. It worries him if you're not listening.

-He might ask you some questions afterward regarding the topic just to make sure you weren't in the middle of spacing out.

-Other than that he isn't worried.

[just-some-random-blogger]

Hello, I recently read one of your Morpheus fic and I really like it🤭 and I'm hoping to make a request, where reader is also an immortal like Hob and have been friends with Dream but reader loves him (but dream doesn't know that) but then dream goes falling in love with all these other people and starting to spend less time and forget about reader then they snap and finally confessed (like the scene in little women, where Amy admitted to laurry "not when I spent My entire life loving you") and reader leaves and avoids/hides from dream. After many years he finally found reader again and they reconcile and get together. Angst then fluff in the end✨

Sorry this is such a long message, I hope you are doing well, thank you✨

Through The Dark

Dream of the Endless x Immortal!Reader

Summary: It took a chance encounter with Dream of the Endless for him to realize you had been missing in his life.

Word Count: 2k+

Warnings: I invented Keeper of Knowledge lol, gender neutral!reader, i stole that one line from Doctor Strange, angst, typos, etc.

A/N: I'm so pleased you like my work, nonnie. As you should 💅 PURR THANK YOU MY LOVE IT GENUINELY MEANS A LOT TO HEAR THAT EVEN THOUGH I KEEP GIVING THE SAME REPLY TO IT I SWEAR MY HEART GOES BOOM. It took a while for me to get back to your req cos of my homework but LOL I FINISHED ALL MY ASSINGMENTS NOW (im kinda upset at myself cos i settled with MID-ness but anyway at least im done.) Also, don't worry about long messages 🫶🫶 I love long messages. I remember when I saw this in my inbox I was like OOOOH GOOD SOUP AN ANGST REQ, but you gotta know, if you ask for angst, i wont feel like giving you any bit of fluff HAHAHAAHAHAHAH 🫶 Also i highly suggest you listen to this song. I fell in love with it because of her cover on tiktok she is so amazing i love her. it's honestly too lovely for this fic, but in my head this is how reader feels or felt for dream, and how he'll eventually realize he feels towards reader. no i will not make a p2 Tagging: @pinksirensong @deniixlovezelda @shadow-pancake9

It had been 10 minutes since the start of their wait. Johanna was unfazed, but Dream was growing impatient. So much in fact, it was really grinding her gears, "aren't you literally endless?" She dusts off her coat for no reason, "how can you be so impa-"

"I find the wait unnecessary," Dream interrupts.

"Well, we're not the only who wants their time."

"Yes. But must you insist on waiting for-"

"There is only one Keeper of Knowledge that I trust," Johanna snaps at Dream from the bench they were sat next to, "and that's-"

"Constantine," I smile, then I don't. I watch as Johanna stands, along with-

"My keeper," she smiles as she releases a breath. She notices where my attentions were then looks between us, "oh, right. Thi-"

The both of us speaking each other's names cut her off.

"Oh," Johanna says, "so, you're already acquainted," she purses her lips, "an unfortunate fate."

"It has been long since we've met," Dream speaks with familiarity. The richness of his voices makes my chest constrict. The telltale glassiness of his dazzling blue eyes makes his gaze unbearable.

"Yes, it-"

"Too long," he steps forward.

My pulse quickens. What was he doing?

Johanna turns from me to Dream, her face contorts at his expression. "Right," she says, not knowing what else to. She grabs my arm, "I need to check the archives on logs for mystic artifacts."

I turn to Johanna, doing my best to ignore Dream altogether, although he has moved too close to my taste. I offer her a soft smile, "of course."

Johanna smiles back, releasing me.

"I assume you have your pass now?"

For a moment, she measures my words. She taps her foot then crosses her arms. She releases a breath, "that's cold. You know they haven't released it yet."

I shrug, shaking my head, "I don't make the rules."

"I am her pass," Dream states, making the both of us turn to him.

My stomach begins to roll. A flush of memories of him spring up in my mind. I will them away in silence.

Dream tilts his head up proudly, "you would dare not deny the King of Dreams and Nightmares knowledge he himself has imparted to your collection."

I watch the corner of his lips curve. He was jesting, although at it's core, his words were sincere. My brows furrow at this. It was not like him to egg people on... there must be another reason why he was acting out of character.

Johanna nods and points, "what he said."

I sigh, turning from him to her before walking away. When they do not follow, I look over my shoulder and knit my brows, "well, are you two just gonna stand there?"

The three of us then make it deeper into the place. I lead them into one of the atriums and greet a few other keepers along the way.

Once we make it to the relatively unvisited area, I stop in my tracks and turn to Johanna, trying hard not to look at Dream. I motion to my right, calling their attention to the sign, "this is the area for ancient and obsolete artifacts."

Johanna's wide eyes take in the room. I know Dream keeps his gaze upon me.

"Knowing you, Constantine," I lick my lips, "I lead you a bit deeper into the archive. This is where weaponry starts."

"Brilliant," she notes, moving off to start her hunt.

I add with a huff, "also knowing you, I'd ask if you could be a bit more specific, but-"

"That's why I like you," she says as she pulls out one of the files, "you don't ask stupid questions."

Had it just been the two of us, I would have rolled my eyes at her like I always did. But the feel of Dream staring at me made me want to scream, and so I catch myself before I do something I would regret.

"I'll leave you to it then," I mutter, before making the grave mistake of checking Dream's expression. The pleased undertone of his face made me sick. I turn to my side when Johanna calls, "thanks a billion, babe."

I forfeit a response.

I push past him, sucking in a breath as I make it down the hall.

I feel my spirit grow lighter with every step I take that brings me farther away from him.

And yet I begin to feel stuffy all over again.

I gasp when someone grabs my hand.

I turn over and find Dream holding me. His face was soft, his lips were parted as though he had something to say but forgot it.

I am frozen in my spot. The feel of his hand in mine burns.

When he speaks my name, like an ancient call that had been forgotten, I snap out of my trance and recoil my hand

His expression twitches at it.

"How can I help you, my lord?'"

Dream presses his lips at the sound. He appreciated the reverence, the acknowledgment, but he was not 'my lord', he was Dream.

"You may call me Dream," he says.

My brows raise in bewilderment.

His expression slips because of it and quickly adds, "it has been a while since we last shared company, but I assure you, I am not fickle; change is a momentous occurrence for me. My feelings for you has not faded through time."

Feelings.

"Yes," Dream nods, "my feelings."

I clench my jaw shut. My blood rises up my neck when I realize I said that out loud.

My breathing is taxed when I shake my head, "what do you want?"

His brows knit at the sudden harshness of my tone.

I heave, mentally cursing myself for being so translucent.

In the silence that thickens between us, Dream's expression begins to shift when he tries to find reason to my words. He allows himself to relax slightly, "I wanted to ask how you have been."

My jaw slacks.

"You look well, as always," he places his hands behind his back, "but I know better than to assume one's temperament, especially when I have experienced some world bending things in the past century."

I am dumbfounded by his words, and it is suddenly clear to me why he was acting like this, why he was acting like nothing had happened between us. He looked at me like this because he does not remember our last meeting. My broken and bloody confession. I chuckle bitterly, and he says his feelings have not changed. He has forgotten me.

I don't know what hurts more, that he is treating me with such friendly indifference in spite our unsavory final conversation, or that fact he blocked out the memory from his being altogether.

"Are you stupid?" I mutter under my breath.

I was unsure if I wanted him to hear me when I said it, but hear me he did. It was clear with how his face contorted.

I grip my hands as I feel my throat constrict, "or perhaps," my voice breaks as it gets a level louder, "you're only heartless."

Dream tilts his head as anger laces his features. He speaks my name as though it was a warning, confused, insulted.

"We're not friends, Dream," I quip, feeling my emotions betray me when my eyes fog with tears. I helplessly mumble, "we were barely even lovers."

The sound of my breathing makes nips at him.

I knit my brows and grip my hands, "your feelings for me don't exist," I shake my head, "not in the way you think."

His brows tighten. He steps forward, calling my name.

It sends me reeling. I shake my head quicker, "you do not feel for me! You didn't then, and you surely don't now."

"And how have you come to this conclusion?" Dream demands coldly.

"BECAUSE YOU TOLD ME SO!" I whisper-yell harshly, voice choking when tears begin to fall from my eyes. Dream's face drops. I laugh at myself, "and you've clearly forgotten it all after being imprisoned."

His face ticks at the mention. There is a darkness that flashes behind his eyes as he stares at me. He tightens in anger, it is palpable. Then all at once he is broken; he is ashamed.

My heart hurts for him, even still, after all this time. It's as though I am hearing the news all over again for the first time.

I grab his sleeve as I step forward. I turn to our feet because I cannot turn to him.

He perks at the sentiment, but it is fleeting when his gaze is not met.

"There was not a day that went by that I did not pray for your freedom."

When I find the courage to meet Dream's gaze, I cannot stop myself from catching his face and wiping his tears. To see him broken in front of me was torment. I knew well his reclusion to emotions, so to have him so vulnerable before my very eyes was a humbling experience.

It dawns unto me that in this very moment, I was doing the very thing I have always wanted. I was holding him in my hands. He was pouring himself out to me. And yet I did not want it.

Dream ghosts his hands on top of mine as his tear-laced lashes droop down.

"I hoped that you would find strength from my calls," I offer him a soft smile, "even though my musings are infinitesimal to your being."

He grips my hands, "that has no truth."

"Hasn't it?" I chuckle dryly, "you didn't even hear me."

His brows tighten further, "I was trapped. I could not hear anyone."

My heart breaks at his words, at his attempt to soothe me, to soothe himself, "we both know that isn't true."

I pull away from him, but he holds me back, calling my name.

"Dream," I mutter, "you have muddled your affections with familiarity. Your feelings now are just of that-- you are happy to see a face you have not seen in centuries."

He disagrees, "I am happy to see you because..."

When his words run dry, my heart is staked. My face contorts just as his does. He finally gets it.

I pull away from him and step back.

He does not like this. He watches me as I rub my face and offer a sad smile, "it's ok. I'm glad you remember now."

"No," he quips, "you are my friend."

I laugh.

I genuinely laugh.

Because it is ridiculous. It's pure ridicule. It's pure tomfoolery.

Yet as I gaze upon him, I find only sincerity written on him. It is maddening.

My lungs deflate, "maybe I was once... before I tore my heart out to you." I continue to step away from him.

Once I get too far, he begins making up for the space between us.

He raises a hand warily, "don't."

I shake my head, "I've spent too much time watching you fall in and out of love, wondering when I could have my chance because I know," I stab my finger into the air, "I'd never let you go-- would never hurt you."

He says nothing, there is nothing to say. He matches his strides with mine.

"You can't make me go through all that again. I won't let you."

When he says my name the next time, Johanna screams it as well from across the expanse, making me jolt.

For a moment, we are both frozen in our spot.

Johanna does not appreciate the silence. "KEEPER!" she calls, "I DON'T MEAN TO ALERT YOU, BUT I THINK I JUST BROKE SOMETHING."

I let out an exasperated breath. I run my hands through my hair, "Johanna!"

"WHAT? IT'S LIKE A MILLION YEARS OLD, YOU CAN'T BLAME THIS ON ME."

"Those documents are renewed every year!" I call off to the distance.

"..."

I huff and move past Dream.

I shove him off when he grabs my arm.

"Please," I offer him one last look, "enough of this."

He releases me, against himself, then mutters, "I do not want you to forsake me like the others."

My insides flare at his words. How dare he say this to me.

"I cannot forsake you, my lord," I say to him, although I do not spare him another glace, "because you have not had me for a long time in the first place."

I am undeterred by the flickering lights when I begin to make my way back to Johanna.

Once she catches sight of me, she rushes forward. "You can't make them hold back my pass b-" Johanna cuts herself off when she sees my face.

I sniffle and grab the ripped piece of paper from her hands. I look past her to see if she damaged anything else.

When I catch her face, she silently looks at me in concern.

I rub my nose on my shoulder, "work hazard."

Johanna's eyes dart away. Dream is there, looming in the background. It doesn't take a genius to put one and two together.

Her lips press into a line before she speaks, "like I said," she tilts her head, "an unfortunate fate."

[p-taryn-dactyl]

Yayyy! Mick so deserves more love, honestly his character is so good, he's just m'wah 🥰

do you mind if I ask for mick angst s1, like something to do with the whole chronos thing. I'm not really sure about plot maybe reader is snarts sister. when chronos!mick captures and threatens len by saying he'll kill Lisa he mentions something about how he'd kill y/n too but he can't find her. And len says the reason he can't find her is cuz she left the ship to try and find mick when len 'got rid of him'. And later when the team have mick imprisoned on the ship they find y/n and don't trust her not to free mick so they put her in the cell with mick. Mick asks why she spent so long looking for him and left the team to find him and then she confesses that she loves him and that the only reason she agreed to join the team was to keep an eye on mick and leonard?

I'm not super great at coming up with plots lol so really just any chronos mick and snart!reader angst would be great ♡♡♡♡♡

(The angst potential micks character has is astronomical I don't understand how there isn't more mick angst on tumblr!)

a/n: hi! thank you so much for this request, I love writing for the legends!! I tried my best to follow the prompt but it might've gone off the rails at some point lol (also I agree, he has so much potential!! I hope to write more for him in the future!! word count: 1.2k

Safe and Sound

You sat in the corner of the cell, arms crossed as you stared at the man across from you. Mick deliberately kept his gaze away from you, your icy stare unnerving him. Your foot tapped against the floor, the metal against your boot echoing throughout the still air. He fidgeted his shoulder, a nervous tick you had observed over the years, indicating he was uncomfortable or even nervous. He felt the stillness in the air as a noose whereas you thrived in it, turning it in your favor. You leaned forward, bracing your arms on your knees as you cocked your head to the side. Finally, Mick broke, turning his head towards you, eyes wide in his signature angry expression.

"What?"

His voice was rough but you heard the undertone, the quiver in his words. You shook your head in response, leaning back against the glass, moving your eyes up to the ceiling, making direct eye contact with the not-so-hidden security camera. Wiggling your fingers in hello, you smirked a bit.

"You know why you're here?"

Mick's question was hesitant, like he was annoyed in the fact that he didn't know. You nodded, pursing your lips as you examined your hand. After a bit, you once more returned your stare to the fire-tinged man.

"They don't trust me. Looks like we got that in common."

Mick scoffed, shaking his head.

"Come on. Don't give me that bullshit. You probably have them wrapped around your finger, especially your brother."

You smirked, shrugging your shoulders.

"Of course I do. That's why we're not dead yet. You forget not everyone aboard the ship is a hero."

Mick turns his head to you, raising a singular eyebrow. He sighed in defeat, shaking his head.

"Alright, Y/N. Why don't they trust you?"

"Because they think I'll let you out, so," you raised your arms, "here I am."

Mick looked like he was about to respond but the door to the brig opened, revealing your older brother.

"Lenny!"

You waved at your brother, not making to stand up.

"Y/N...Mick," Len's eyes barely left yours to acknowledge Mick, "Just checking up on you."

You scoffed, zero malice in your tone.

"You mean you were sent on damage control duty. Don't worry, brother, we're both in one piece."

Len's eyes strayed over to Mick where they hardened with pain and apologies. He nodded stiffly before walking out of the brig without another word, very out of character for him you noted. It stayed silent before you felt Mick’s eyes on you. Stubbornly, you kept your eyes on the entrance of the brig. You had been in the cell for what felt like forever, why would he only want to talk now? 

“I threatened Lisa.” 

His rough words and tone made you stiffen before you forced yourself to relax, turning your head to face Mick, one eyebrow raised. Mick seemed to wait for your response before realizing you weren’t going to answer. Letting out a small growl of anger, he continued. 

“I threatened you as well, Y/N. But unlike Lisa, you were nowhere to be found.” 

You heard the hidden question in his words. Where were you? 

Gritting your teeth, you position your body away from the assassin, the atmosphere of the room no longer giving you comfort. You no longer had the high ground, with one question, you no longer held the power. 

“Y/N.”

Just your name.

That’s all it took. 

“I was looking for you. I didn’t believe Len when he said he took care of it, didn’t believe the team when they said you were dead. I was trying to get you back.” 

To your horror, your voice started to waiver towards the end of your words, breaking your composure. You were sure Mick noticed your weakness and you braced yourself for the taunting words of Chronos. But when you built up enough courage to finally look Mick in the eyes, all you saw was him. No Chronos, no time lords, no manipulation. Just the man who protected you for as long as you could remember, the man who had buried himself so deep in your heart you knew no one would ever take his place. 

“Why would you leave?” 

Before you could reply, he continued. 

“Why would you care so much to leave your family?”

At that you broke, allowing your emotions to show on your face.

“You are my family, Mick. I love the team, I really do but I lo-”

You stopped before you could let the words finish, Mick’s gaze becoming intense as his mind filled in the words where you stopped. Clearing your throat, you steadied yourself and then continued.

“We all promised each other we would stick together. I don’t break promises, you know that.”

The air was thick with tension and unanswered questions as you continued to feel Mick’s eyes boring into you. Scoffing, you waved your hands in the air, as if you could swat away your words like you would a fly. 

“Anyways, I think we-”

“What were you going to say?” 

Mick’s voice once again made you pause. You chuckled nervously, another weakness you internally scolded yourself for. 

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, Mick.”

Mick scoffed. You heard him stand up to walk the few steps to stand in front of you. You felt your heart beating so loud that it was the only thing you could hear. You slowly raised your head to look up at Mick, his eyes full of confusion. That surprised you. He knelt so that he was eye level, not letting you look away. 

“I-,” you swallowed, steadying yourself, “I was saying that I lo- oh, shit, am I really doing this?” You whispered to yourself as you put your head in your hands.

“I love you, Mick. That’s what I was going to say.”

The silence was loud as it stretched between you. When you finally worked up the nerve to remove your hands from your head, Mick’s eyes were filled with an emotion you couldn’t quite determine, while also shining with a dimmed hope. 

“Why?” 

His question rattled you to your core. Which was evident in how you started sputtering. 

“What? What do you mean why? Mick, you’re amazing! Do you not know that?” 

The look in his eyes answered that question. 

“Oh come on,” you whispered under your breathe, deeply disturbed by the thought of Mick not knowing how incredible he is, “Mick, you’ve been through things that would make most people insane, you’re always there to be a support, no matter how hard you try to hide it, you genuinely care. That’s something that’s so beautiful about you. You give your all to your relationships, so much so that it burns you. I’m constantly amazed by you and if anyone has told you otherwise then-” 

You were interrupted by Mick pulling you into his arms, hiding his face into the crook of your neck. The only coherent thought in your mind throughout the internal screaming was how out of place this felt. That Mick was willing to drop his guard down to show his affection and gratefulness towards you. With tears in your eyes you returned the hug, knowing that while you and Mick had a long way to go, this was an incredible start.

a/n: i am so sorry for how rushed the ending is! i hope this was semi-ok

[ascendanceseriesveteran]

Aftermath 🌹

Honestly, I've lost a lot of creativity and I don't have any good fic ideas that won't turn to shit.

Will welcome any prompts.

Got a bit spicy at the end sorry not sorry 💅

Don't have your hopes up.

The carriage rocked to a stop and I dared to look outside. Lyriad was one of the towns occupied by the Avenians, but, to my greatest surprise, I wasn't greeted with burning buildings or a ravaged landscape. Everything was relatively untouched and the inn seemed busier than we expected.

"Are they seriously that desperate for ale," Roden groaned. Which I thought was ironic given he laid waste to the castle supply frequently.

"These are probably the people who lost their homes and had nowhere to go," I said.

Someone gently tapped my shoulder, but I didn't need to turn to know who, "Maybe we should just camp out." Imogen was whispering, but everyone heard her anyway.

I turned to her. Aside from the admittedly embarrassing fact that looking at her practically winded me every time. And not because I would twist around suddenly but simply because she was so breathtaking and even her scent alone made my heart pound in my ears. Aside from all that, she didn't seem particularly uncomfortable with the idea of sleeping outside voluntarily, something that made me fall in love with her all over again.

"It's my duty to ensure the King isn't sleeping on the floor, Imogen."

I chuckled at Roden, "Since when do I care where I sleep. Actually, since when do you care?"

"I'm not asking if you care, I'm simply stating that it's not happening if I can help it. Imogen shouldn't have to sleep on the floor either. And you also forget that a princess is sitting across from you."

"A princess," Amarinda interrupted, "Who is perfectly capable of sleeping on the floor as well."

"Imogen was shot, Jaron is practically a cripple, my neck still hurts and if Tobias doesn't get some proper food he'll probably die from malnourishment." After successfully insulting the young physitian, Roden smiled and left the carriage before anyone could stop him.

I didn't protest. In all honesty I longed for something resembling a bed and a roof over my head. Not a heap of cloth in a tent. My entire body ached and my leg throbbed with betrayal. Even with half of Imogen's body against mine, I could feel the air's chill. Sleeping under the stars tonight would have been about as romantic as sleeping in stables. Both had drawbacks that I didn't want to be subjected to. Nor did I want Imogen to endure that, though I knew she was capable of anything, her comfort was a priority for me.

A few minutes of silence lapsed before my captain joined us again, "There were three rooms but I only took two. Thought we need one person capable of defence in each so I'll stay in the one with Tobias and Amarinda."

Tobias glared, "I can fight too, you know."

The up and down Roden gave was enough to make Tobias snap, "I'll have you know I wounded someone in battle."

"Who, yourself?"

"You know what, you are such an-"

"Boys."

They blanched. I thought it rather unfair that they simply listened to Imogen without protesting, but said nothing about how they didn't extend that same courtesy to their literal monarch.

I stepped outside and twisted around to help Imogen down, placing my hands on her waist and carefully setting her on the dirt.

"You know I have fully functioning legs," she kissed my cheek, "Something you can't boast at the moment."

"Let me savour this. Besides, I have fully functioning arms, might as well put them to good use."

"Do you have fully functioning lips as well?"

My grin widened, "Is that an insult or a challenge?"

I was worried she regretted our kiss in Connor's dungeon and kept my distance since. Secretly replaying the moment every other minute. But as she raised herself onto her toes and pulled me down to her, I melted. There was a hint of sweetness from the berries she was eating throughout the carriage ride. I had been watching them tint her lips red. Now I was tasting a fantasy, even more divine than I thought reality would ever grant me.

"He has something else that is fully functioning too."

It was like someone poured a bucket of water on us. I glared at Roden, hoping he understood the depth of my resentment for him. Resentment was better than humiliation. One day I would kill him if I didn't die in this moment, right now.

Though I wasn't sure what would kill me first, embrassment or Imogen. But she just gave me a once-over, bit her lip and burst out laughing as my face grew hotter than the sun. Embarassment it was then.

[only-by-the-stars]

Any commentary on this excerpt?:

“How are you this evening?”

“Oh, you know, same old, same old...” Purah peered at the box. “So, Linky, what brings you and Mipha here? You got something new and exciting for us?”

“Some supplies Robbie requested.” He tried not to sigh at the nickname. “I don't know if that's exciting or not.”

“Eh, it works.” Purah shrugged. “Come on, I'm heading to his lab anyway, I'll go with you. Maybe I'll steal some of whatever that is if it's good stuff.”

“I don't think Robbie would appreciate that,” Mipha said politely as they followed Purah.

“Did I say stealing? I meant borrowing.” Purah grinned. “Besides, what he doesn't know won't get me into an argument, so just keep it quiet, okay?”

“What's our silence worth to you?”

“Oooh!” She whirled around, forcing them to stumble to a halt. “Wow, Linky, I never knew you had such a devious side to you! Still waters run deep, I guess...” She glanced at Mipha. “You don't look surprised...”

“I've known him since we were children.” Mipha gave him a fond glance. “Little about him surprises me anymore.”

“I see.” Purah tapped her chin with one finger. “And this wicked streak doesn't bother you? Eh?”

“This from the person wanting to steal from her colleague...” Link muttered under his breath.

“Hey! I heard that!” She scowled. “And I told you, it's... ah, forget it.” Purah rolled her eyes and turned around, flouncing down the hall. “Let's make the delivery so I can get back to my own research...”

Link and Mipha's eyes met, and they barely suppressed their laughter. “She'll probably wait till we're gone,” Link said in a low voice. “And then...”

“Shhhh!” Mipha smothered a giggle, her eyes sparkling with mirth. “She could hear you again!”

Luckily, she had too much of a head start to notice their conversation. A door banged open ahead of them, and they heard her call out. “Hellllooooo? Robbie? Got a delivery for you...” No reply. “Heeeeeeyyyy, if you're not here, I'm gonna claim it for myself...”

Mipha's gaze flew to Link. “Better keep a tight hold on that...”

“Yeah...”

Entering the room, they found Purah just inside it with her arms crossed. “Where in the world could—” A soft groan came from behind the nearby worktable, and she slapped her forehead. “Oh, for the love of...”

She rushed forward, and they followed. Behind the table was the source of Purah's exasperation: Robbie, lying face down on the floor in a puddle of what looked like drool. Mipha gasped and Link stumbled back, but Purah just rolled her eyes.

“Come on, you lunkhead, up and at 'em!” She kicked him in the ribs and he groaned again, slightly louder this time. “Up, up, up!”

“Oh, Purah, don't!” Mipha rushed to Robbie's side. “He could be gravely injured, let me see if he needs healing...”

“That's very nice of you, but trust me, he doesn't.” Purah prodded him with her foot. “This idiot just forgot to eat all day. Again.”

Link frowned. “This happens a lot?”

“I dunno if I'd say a lot, but it does happen every once in a while.” Purah sighed. “He'll be fine as soon as he gets some food in him. Don't worry about it.”

“I'll help.” Link set the box on the table and moved to Robbie's other side, careful to avoid the drool. Bending down, he slung one of Robbie's arms over his shoulders and rose, pulling him up. Robbie muttered something incoherent but didn't resist, his head lolling limply. “Come on. I'll fix something for us.”

“Oh, now, that's really sweet of you, Linky, but I'm fine...” Purah's eyes strayed to the box. “You all go on, though, and I'll get back to my work.”

“But Purah, it is so late in the day,” Mipha protested. “When is the last time you ate something?”

“Right before you showed up!” Purah plastered a big smile on her face. “I was on my way from the kitchen to—”

Her sentence was fatally interrupted by the earth-splitting growl of an empty stomach. Utter silence followed. Link and Mipha glanced at each other, and then turned their full attention on Purah. She shrank back slightly.

“Oh, wow, that's—that was one of you, right?” She laughed, a bit too enthusiastically. “I mean, it definitely wasn't me! And like you said, Mipha, it's getting late, and—and we all know how much Linky here likes to eat, so that was definitely one of you.”

“No.” Mipha shook her head. “It wasn't.”

“Oh come on, even after that long ride to get here?” Purah's eyes darted around. “I mean, it definitely sounded like you! But if it wasn't, it's got to have been him.” She gestured at Robbie. “Because I am one hundred percent fine, really, I—hey!" At a look from Link, Mipha had taken Purah's arm and was ushering her along towards the door. "Hands off, Princess!"

"It's for your own good," Mipha said firmly. Behind her, Link pulled Robbie along. “I promise.”

oh gosh I haven't thought about this fic in aaaaaages

I was inspired by one of the DLC Royal Ancient Lab fetch quests, where you deliver... something (I don't remember what) to Robbie in exchange for getting the ability to make pre-battle dishes with fewer ingredients, and the post-quest log has Robbie mention Purah finding him on the floor passed out from hunger and drooling. I decided I wanted to write a goofy little fic based on that, since I do so enjoy writing Robbie and Purah, and had a delivery from Link and Mipha be the perfect catalyst.

I figured that getting so caught up in work and research and forgetting to eat is probably something Robbie does fairly often, and decided that Purah probably does it sometimes too, much as she'd hate to admit it. I also love writing Link cooking, so that was a must for the solving of the problem here.

lastly, Link's devious streak is a nod to him doing things like scamming two pairs of boots off that one creep in BOTW. :3

[actuallylisteningtolyrics]

Iscariot

"Until now, I knew this of myself." Right from the start, I'd say I'm too confused. Knew what? I think since songs often lack a greater context and have few methods of conveying context, it's extremely important to establish clear context right from the beginning.

The rest of the first verse tracks for me. The poetic irony that the person who told you not to be so trusting, was the one that betrayed you. As if he were trying to save you from himself.

With this "that's" section... I'm not really clear on what "that" is. My best guess is for Jesus to lose his faith.

I think it's a strong premise for a song. Biblical betrayal.

Dreams

Does a good job of not confusing me which I consider a serious accomplishment.

It's a song about a girl having feelings but keeping them to herself because for whatever reason, she can't be with this person. And she talks about how hard it is because she's so in love.

Wow, I would--very much like to be in love myself!

Paranoia Purple

A song about paranoia, with a clever color spin although I don't feel it's fully realized.

I'm not sure what "color in as many lines" means. My best guess is it's a coloring book metaphor, meaning he'll do the work of coloring things in and doubling as adding color that isn't purple.

Otherwise, it's a great song about how paranoia can make you sabotage something that's going well. And once a fuckin' gain, wish I had love!

It's a compelling and emotional premise.

While I think I can write about things outside of my experience, it'll definitely be easiest to tap into things you're personally feeling.

"How could I forget about you now." Not sure what this is conveying. I suppose a sort of disbelief that she let him go.

Polaroid Solution

This appears to be using a very specific metaphor which would be cute for people who understand polaroid cameras but for me, I'm lost as heck.

As a song in general, it's making a lot of references to specific things that I need context to understand. References can be very alienating.

In general, it's a very academic song about how technology distracts from understanding the self. It's like a crossword puzzle or a research project as a song. I'm not into it.

Maureen

It seems to be a very similar song to Dreams in terms of being about someone who has strong feelings for another person that can't be realized.

More specifically, it's about someone who's just fed up about hearing about his crush's sexual exploits because it's painful and he feels lonely. And boy, do I find that relatable.

This is what I feel a song should be. A strong premise with understandable lyrics. Maybe the one thing I'd add is story progression.

Bad Kids

A very simple party song about partying, calling attention to being cool. Doesn't feel too redundant because it builds onto the concept in a simple way.

It's maybe overly simple but I'd much rather that than overly confusing.

Don't Change Your Plans

I feel like I analyzed these lyrics before but I don't remember.

It's a song about someone who needs to move on with his life, and he's telling the girl he left behind not to build her life around him.

He has a wandering spirit but doesn't appear to fully understand it or have a healthy way of handling it.

See, these are lyrics done right. They're clear and simple but also provocative.

Whatsername

Already did this many times before so I can reap the benefits of knowing the lyrics. Glorious.

You Can Make Me Free

A simple song about how someone can generate wondrous possibilities for someone. I know exactly what it's about.

It's worth pointing out that I like when lyrics don't repeat themselves.

Keep An Eye On Dan

A mother and a father who are separated, and the mother's simultaneously worried that he'll hurt both her and their son. She still has feelings for him but something bad happened in the past.

A clever premise! A great song.

Carol Brown

This is the right way to do comedy. Actually good music, clever jokes, quirky.

Saturday Night's Alright (For Fighting)

A simple song about partying on a Saturday. Who wouldn't like this. With some fun details about the night.

"Best friend floats at the bottom of a glass" is a little confusing but I imagine he means his reflection.

Undertow

I have no fucking idea what these abstract-ass lyrics are supposed to mean.

Via the chorus, it seems like being so passionate about love that you shout it from the streets and hurt yourself.

Run Away With Me

A great, sweet love song. Ungh!

[railroad-migraine]

Ooooh exu requests you say? 👀 how about how the crew would spend some downtime with their s/o?

Very wholesome request, loved planning this out!

Requests are open!

~ Poet

Dariax

Honestly, he's up for anything you'd want to do. Dariax is just happy to be involved and spend quality time with his lover. Depending on the activity, he might get a little distracted, but he does mean well. If you reel him back in, he'll give you his undivided attention. All heart eyes when chilling with you without the thrill of battle.

Loves a hearty dinner, followed by a long nap. Likes to rest his head in your lap, all curled up on a bed or couch of some kind - sleepy cuddles are his favourite. All the closeness, and not many thoughts are needed. It's good. Playing with his hair results in an almost purring noise, which can escalate into rumbling snores. There's no in between.

Loves going to the tavern, sitting in a corner booth by the fire and spoiling you to drinks, a meal, and all the stories he can think of (and some that he makes up). He tends to hum along when the local bards (or Dorian) take to the stage and play their instruments and sing their ballads. He might start to notice you bopping your head to the music or tapping your fingers against the table - in a spur of the moment, he'll pull you up to stand and whisk you around the room in a dance. He's miles off being a perfect dancer, but Dariax does have rhythm and when you're shaking your head and laughing with such fondness at him, he couldn't care less if he looks like a fool. 10/10 would spin you around, dip you, kiss you, and earn applause from the other patrons.

Dorian

Loves an evening in with you. Cooking together is almost therapeutic for him - even if you're not a chef, he appreciates if you help in ingredients prep, or chat to him while sitting on the counter while he scans through his cookbook. He makes a nice enough dinner, but he makes a mean dessert - he's got a few tried and tested recipes up his sleeves, but his chocolate mousse is to die for, I promise you. It's light and fluffy, yet so indulgent?? Like, sir, this is heaven with a spoon.

Loves to recite poetry from little collections he's come cross and purchased on his travels. Some books have pieces written in languages he doesn't understand, and he may butcher the pronunciation, but it's the thought that counts. If you happen to understand the more exotic languages, please for his sake don't correct his tone or tell him what the poems mean - they're way less flattering than he thinks. Let him believe he's a romantic scholar.

No matter if you've been married for years or you only recently started dating, this man will woo you with songs and instrumentals any day of the week. He coos improvised lyrics as he takes your hand while you're going about your morning rituals, pulling you in close to sway gently to the tune. His hair is knotted from sleep, and you're still wearing nightwear, but it's the perfect retreat from travel.

Fearne

Fearne likes to follow long forgotten trails, packing a picnic and strolling through local woods and gardens that are no longer open to the public. The spread is quite nice; sandwiches, fruit, strawberry lemonade. She makes an effort to bring your favourite treats. She sometimes forgets that some lands are private and this has sometimes resulted with you two being escorted off their properties. Don't worry about it too much - there are always more locations to trespass on <3

She has a small back garden where she lives with you, and really loves it when you spend time with her out there. Whether you're sitting on the porch step with a book, or you're giving her a hand with her plants (she grows fruit, some veg, but absolutely gorgeous vines and flowers you've never seen before), she's content to spend time with you in nature. She makes really good soup with her homegrown vegetables, and it reminds her of home in the Feywild.

Spending time with you is great, but spending time with you AND Little Mister? Even better. What could be better than being with both the love of your life and your fire elemental monkey? Mister sometimes accompanies you and Fearne during your trips into town, walking in between you both and holding your hands like a toddler. Fearne loves the fact that Mister knows you're good for her, and you're never on the receiving end of his mischief. He's especially great to have around during winter months, acting as a hot water bottle during cuddles on the couch while snow falls outside.

Opal

Opal's style of down time includes you, her, a bubble bath and many home spa beauty treatments. Face masks galore, brushes and conditions both her hair and yours, and dresses in some super comfy pajamas. You don't always come across such luxuries on your adventures, so take advantage of the few opportunities you get to treat yourselves.

Asks you to paint her nails (her non dominant hand always struggles and makes a mess), and will do yours if you'd like! 12/10 would recommend you get matching colours. She also makes sure you've stocked up on chocolates and various sweets in preparation for your downtime. It's nice to feel looked after and pampered with her partner!

Also likes to go shopping in markets when it's less busy and overwhelming. Sometimes buys cheap trinkets you'll never use, or useless things that will bring an afternoon's worth of entertainment at best. Would be the type to try on coats, dresses, jewelry etc. while you carry her bags, only to be disgusted when she notices the price tag wayyy out of your shared budget.

Orym

Orym's idea of down time is much simpler than the others. He likes to sleep when he can, especially if he's been provided a nice dry bed and a roof over his head for the night - it's even better if you get to lay next to him. Winding down after days parading across the land, you both reflect on your travels, friends and adventures together while his hand holds onto yours, and dream of the future you will share when sleep takes you both.

When he's not having a well deserved snooze tangled up in bedsheets, he likes a friendly game of swordplay with you. He doesn't lecture you about your dueling stance, or if your swing is a little weak. It's all friendly banter as you work out some moves together, light conversations as if you both weren't wielding sharp weapons. It's a fun way to spend time together and earn that satisfying ache in your muscles afterwards.

Bashful, he also teaches you how to make daisy chains and flower crowns with his Druidcraft cantrip (this is still one of my favourite things about Orym, it's so darn cute). Weaves flowers and leaves together or into your hair, and the look he gives you when you show off your new accessories is just one of unconditional awe - you look radiant.

[builder051]

Happy Sunday! Not sure if this is your kinda thing, if not, totally okay, but would you consider writing a fic where Laura Barton is driving Bucky and he’s sick with the flu and throws up in the car? Have a great day!

This is Powers/No Powers

___________________

Steve's at work. Bucky's bracing himself over the bathroom sink, steeling himself up to make the decision between straightening up and grabbing his toothbrush, or collapsing sideways and curling his body around the toilet bowl. Right now, he's at 50-50. Or more like 33-33-33, if continuing to stand still is an option. He'll throw the extra point to the theoretical asteroid that could crash through the ceiling at any moment and strike him dead. If anyone actually cared to ask, he'd prefer the asteroid.

Bucky glares at a dent in the tube of toothpaste. Mint. Better than bile? His mouth tastes like salty snot that keeps dragging thickly toward the back of his throat, threatening to gag him if he doesn't keep a conscious hold on his swallow. Peppermint. It's Steve's toothpaste. He hates the flavor at baseline. His own spearmint and tea tree is tolerable, but the stairs to get to the ensuite... definitely are not.

Somewhere out in the living room, Bucky's phone begins to chime. Not a call, please not a call, he thinks. No. The tones are short. It's a text. Two texts. He knows who the probable sender is, then. Backwoods cell towers and sharp country air aren't always kind to cell signal. A single message is often split into two.

"Coming," Bucky groans, wrapping an arm around his stomach and limping toward the coffee table. He forgets to turn off the light in the bathroom; the helpless look he gives it over his shoulder doing nothing to assist. The couch is far too large an obstacle to navigate around again. He's already so close. And he's curious about what Laura has to say. More curious now than nauseated. And that's saying something.

Good morning, the first message reads. Then, I have coffee money. And gas money, too.

Bucky sighs. He wonders if she's left the farm house's long gravel driveway yet. Laura's not one to dawdle, so he may already be too late to tell her it's not worth the trip. Sweet of her to think of him, and usually her charm and coaxing do the trick to drag him out of the shadows, but today? Drinking coffee sounds about as thin and slippery as pouring lighter fluid down his throat. Worse than toothpaste. And probably more disastrous.

His hand shakes as he picks up his phone. Sorry, Bucky manages to tap out. I'm sick.

Laura doesn't hesitate with her response. What kind of sick? Do I need to worry?

Bucky sighs. He could write her off as being nosy. But he knows better, and he knows her intentions better than that. Head is fine, he answers quickly. Then he wrinkles his brow and regrets his wording. No, headache. Bad. Flu, maybe.

I got it, Laura writes. Don't worry.

"Mmph." Bucky lets out his breath. His nose drips, either watery mucous or fever sweat. Disgusting either way. He swipes it with his sleeve. Then his phone buzzes again in his hand.

I can be there in an hour. Take you to urgent care?

Bucky swallows down sourness again. Just the idea of the VA waiting area sets off his sense of distaste. Not sure it's worth it...

I don't trust the VA. Laura must be reading his mind. The kids' doc always has sick appointments. There can't possibly be enough patients around here to keep him busy.

Bucky stares at the message for a moment. A pediatrician? What is she thinking? He's not a kid. Maybe he needs handling like one sometimes, but... Bucky shakes his head, which hurts. Do you think I should?

There's a pause, then Laura's reply lands. Yes, she writes. I think so. I just have a feeling about this one.

Bucky's fingers tremble. Ok, he taps, grateful for the autofill offering him the choice response.

On my way.

Laura's there in 45 minutes. Bucky doesn't ask if she chose to speed on the highway. More than likely, she was further down the route than she admitted when she texted the first time. She knocks politely on the townhouse's front door, respecting Bucky's dislike of the doorbell.

It takes Bucky a minute to be ready to leave. Does he need a jacket? A box of Kleenex? Nothing extraneous. Shoes, though. Probably necessary.

"Sorry," he mumbles when he opens the door.

"Oh, James," Laura says softly. "Don't worry about it."

She reclines the passenger seat a few degrees and pulls out the seatbelt so Bucky can settle in the car before they get moving. "You ok? Feeling ready?"

"Um. I guess?" James wishes he felt more sure. His stomach seems to be wedged tightly between his lungs, constricting them against the tight slats of his ribcage. He swallows, for safety's sake, but the flow of gunk coating his esophagus remains in limbo, refusing to break off and go down all the way.

Laura takes her seat behind the wheel. "Tissues in the console. Bags in the glove box. And both kids and Clint have barfed in this car before, so whatever happens, it won't be revolutionary." She grins.

"Hm." Bucky gives a small nod. "Ok."

"I've changed diapers in the trunk before. And took the bleeding dog to the emergency vet in the back seat." Laura holds a straight face, then breaks into a wide smile again. "That was on a blanket, though."

It's two miles of loops and stoplights out of the suburbs to the main drag, then just a blitz and a turn to the expressway. Bucky feels Laura's eyes on him as she excellerates and moves the vehicle into the center lane.

"Doing alright?"

"Uh." Bucky's jawline feels fairly numb, but the touch of his knuckles under his chin clacks his teeth together, and that gives him a little faith. "Enough."

"You're going pale on me," Laura says. "Keep me in the look, ok?"

"Yeah..." He's fine. He's been going pale for months, Bucky thinks. It's the depression; it's the staying inside. He'll let Steve take him to a corporate golf scramble or something.

Bucky's gut moves uncomfortably. Scramble. Stupid. What is a golf scramble, anyway? Whacking balls down the green with frying pans? Bucky tries picturing it to distract himself. Probably after catered brunch...

"James?"

"Mm?" Bucky jerks his head up, and his stomach goes into free-fall as pressure builds behind his sinuses.

"I can hear you grinding your teeth." Laura reaches across him to open the glove compartment. "I have supplies. I'll pull off at the next exit. It's actually a trailhead with a place to stop and enjoy the view, so there's grass and gravel and every thing."

Bucky can't force out a sound. He can't draw breath. He manages to blink, and excess fluid drips down from the corners of his eyes.

Laura bats what appear to be several folded paper footballs out of the glove box. "Ugh. Sorry. I forgot Clint did that..." She pinches one by the corner and starts to shake it. Some of the folds release, and Bucky recognizes the crumpled Walmart logo.

He recognizes the horrible feelings inside his body, too. Bucky's too hot; he's prickling all over. He tries taking the bag from Laura, but overshoots and slaps it out of her hand. He struggles to do whatever he can to contain the mess he knows is coming, and he presses the still flat bag over his mouth like a crinkly handkerchief.

Sick slips everywhere, up Bucky's face to cover his cheeks, and down across his chin. The bag isn't absorbant in the slightest, and he's holding it too tightly against himself to let it be a barrier between the mess and everything else.

The second heave spills into Bucky's lap, and stinging bile spreads up into his eyes. He squeezes them shut and lets out an involuntary moan.

"James, it's ok." Laura puts her hand on Bucky's knee, which is drenched. "I'm pulling off right now."

Bucky feels the car swerve, leaving smooth asphalt and grinding to a slow stop in what can only be a parking lot in desperate need of repaving. The movement doesn't agree with him in the slightest, and it elicits another retch from deep within him.

"Breathe," Laura reminds him.

Bucky tries, but he inhales a bubble of mucous, and he breaks off hacking.

"It's ok." Laura thumps him on the back. "James, it's alright. I know you're feeling really bad."

Bucky forces out a sharp cough that moves his entire body, and he finally gets a gulp of bitter flavored air. "S-sorry," he gasps.

"No talking," Laura says gently.

Bucky breathes again. Then twice more. He strains against his seatbelt in an enormous dry heave, but only a thin line of saliva comes up.

"Keep breathing."

"'m done," Bucky whispers, his voice cracking. "'m done. Have to be done."

"Ok." Laura massages between Bucky's shoulder blades. "Why don't you give me that, then." She carefully takes the pitiful, dripping bag from between Bucky's fingers.

"O-oh." Bucky's eager to give it up, but he feels terrible for her to have to handle it at all. "I'm sor--"

"Hey, no apologies." Laura taps the button for the center console with her elbow. "There are tissues in there. Probably fast-food napkins as well." She gives Bucky a sad smile. "Why don't you start mopping yourself up, if you feel up to it? I'll get this in the bin where it belongs."

Bucky manages to get a single Kleenex wadded into his eye socket by the time Laura returns. He almost doesn't notice her reappearance, except that she starts piling napkins over the thighs of his jeans.

"Didn't get very far, I guess..." Bucky spit-talks, then wipes his mouth unceremoniously on his shoulder.

"No expectations." Laura expertly scoops away most of the visible dregs of Bucky's stomach contents, wads up the napkins, and drops them out the driver's-side door. "I'm littering. Don't tell anyone."

"I puked in your car," Bucky half laughs, half groans. "Don't tell anyone that."

"Mmm..." Laura tilts her head to one side. "Say to the doc that it happened before we left your house?"

Bucky hesitates. Catches her eye. Laura wears a dubious smile, but her eyes are genuine.

"Yeah," Bucky agrees gratefully. "Yeah. That's... yeah."

"Done deal." Laura pulls out another wad of napkins and gingerly reaches up to wipe Bucky's face. "This'll probably do it. Then do you think you feel up to getting back on the road?"

"I... I think so?" Bucky feels... not better, exactly. Better than he did. But disgusting nonetheless.

"There's a rest stop, a nature preserve, and a National Park before we get to Paris. As it exists on the map, with, you know, buildings and such."

"Ok." Bucky nods slowly. He gets her drift. "I think I can manage that," he says.

"Ok, then." Laura offers Bucky half of the napkins in her hand. "Let's manage it together."

[gemma-collins-ily]

Can you do Jesper Fahey taking care of the reader on her period?

Jesper Taking Care of the Reader on Their Period

a/n - honey, I'm sorry this is shorter than my usual headcanons, I just didn't know what else to do but I hope this makes you feel better if your period/the devil is still making itself known xoxo 💞💝

Warnings: nothing???

Tagged: @inthegistoftime @mrs-brekker15 @i-am-the-1930s

the first time you told him about it, he'd be a little panicked

not because he was immature

because you were in potential pain and there wasn't much he could do about it

so he runs to Nina, managing to stop himself from saying the classic Ron Weasley line of, "you're a girl, right?"

so good on him

anyway

he asks for Nina's help, not at all flustered, only concerned

she tells him chocolate is always a winner

LOTS of chocolate

it's a rarity in Ketterdam but he finds it by being a little tempted to ask another Dreg, just so he could spend more time with you

and make sure you're alright

Inej sees his predicament and she's to the rescue

she tells him not to worry and goes to scale the walls to get to where it's sold by rooftop

he's relieved he can check on you and so does

he melts when he sees you curled into the duvet/comforter and his eyes flood with sympathy

he may not understand what you're going through but it seems like it hurts like hell

normally, you're a little more active

you have to be, you know, running around Ketterdam on heists like a lunatic

but if you cower and want to hide from the world while on your period, he'll gladly do it with you

so, he'll slip into bed beside you and tap your shoulder, trying to be quiet because Nina said you might have a headache

it's appreciated, fanks

anyway, if you don't turn around, it could go one of two ways

he'll leave the bed and walk over to the side you're laying on

Jesper will crouch down before you and brush a few strands of hair from your forehead gently

maybe he would kiss you softly, drawing your lip out with his teeth for a few seconds as he pulled away

it's tender, not at all harsh and he pours all his words and concerns into it

'are you okay?' 'do you need something?' 'do you feel alright?' and more

he doesn't want to bug you, so conveys everything through his physical touches

you would think he'd be overreacting, asking every two seconds if you want something, but he only asks once and doesn't pester you any further

if the answer is yes, Jesper will dash downstairs and grab whatever you need, or to his room if you want a jumper of his

he would have given it to you anyway because he's a total softie and we all know it but it's still cute

if the answer's no, this leads to the second option

which is him circling back to his original position, your back to his chest

he will pull you close and crane his neck to press a kiss to yours

again, showing his worry and care through his actions

his hand will make its way to your stomach, settling and having his thumb rub slowly over either your shirt or exposed skin where it's ridden up, whichever you're comfortable with

either way, his body heat and warmth will still radiate and your cramps will hopefully sooth

headaches? no problem

Jes will be quiet for the first time in his life, careful and considerate with every movement or shift he makes on the mattress

not wanting to jostle you too much

he may ask Inej about remedies she can find in the stalls, herbal or otherwise

if she comes back with chamomile, or any sort of drink with honey, he will pay her back

this does not happen often but it's for you so he won't care

awwwww I know right?

adorable

next,

if you have mood swings, he'll be sympathetic and realise your hormones are causing them

some small squabbles occur that he does involve himself in when he forgets he's supposed to be detached from your complaints

they are made up for by more gentle kisses and cuddles

Jes is the best boyfriend on periods okay?

you know why?

he won't ever try to steal your chocolate unless you give him direct permission

that's that

and thank you for listening to my ted talk

[the-era-of-shadow]

Carrying Onward

Written by Ash Rose & Rai Rose (@theshootingraistar)

Cover by Ash Rose

THIS STORY CONTAINS: Swearing, Domestic Abuse (via flashbacks), Depictions of Manipulation, Content that may trigger delusions in certain people

Starlight City was still as busy as it always was, everyone going every which way, minding their own as a familiar face walked through them. A few people with keen eyes and the memories to boot noticed this figure, and asked about what will become of the old clinic.

"I'll find a way. I'll return soon enough." The doctor told each and every one of them, before continuing onward with their journey.

One of the people who stopped to talk had a song from years past playing from their car radio, a song from the already faded out pop-punk band Mobian Knot entitled What The Future Holds. It was a song that they knew well, and held dear to their heart. 

"Ah… Yes, I see you have good taste." 

"Yeah! It was a shame what happened to Mobian Knot… this was the last song they performed before that horrible tragedy… I hope that Mina is found one day… I mean, at this point, she's probably dead like the rest of the band, but it'd be nice closure for her folks…" 

"I suppose so." 

Though the song faded as they parted ways, the forested areas outside the town reminded Eclipse of that fateful night again, with the crowd cheering and all the stage lights.

Only the gods know what song Mina last sang, but Eclipse knew it wasn't that one.

All of the walking and reminiscing took away many minutes from the day, just enough for Yuki to come to in their arms. Eclipse tried to act quickly and transform Yuki back to his true form before he fully became conscious, but they were a bit late on that. Yuki took notice of the small form that he was in, and looked up at Eclipse in slight bewilderment.

"Your form was shifted into a wisp so no one would notice you… Please don't be alarmed." They explained.

"Yes… understood… Why did you not just… teleport to the base, though?" Yuki asked softly as he transformed himself into his true form.

"... This city has been where the clinic stood for two whole years now… it deserves a farewell." 

"Who knows where we'll be next…" Rhygenta muttered out quietly. Yuki rubbed her head and smiled.

"Wherever it is, we will thrive there." He said.

The air was crisp as Eclipse, Yuki and Rhygenta placed their feet onto the floating temple, the sounds of their landing onto the marble flooring creating a noticeable tapping sound. 

"Where's the girl..?" Queen Widow questioned as the three entered her line of sight.

"The mission was a bust… we were unable to get Amy." Eclipse explained.

"Wait… Wouldn't you have known that already from over the hivemind?" Yuki asked, confused.

"Hey… yeah! Good question! Didn't a notice go out??" Reacuel said.

"Perhaps you forgot to do it..?" Leanni suggested.

"Me? Forget? Please, Le; Reacuel is NOT a forgetter!" 

"Would you two stop bickering? There must be another explanation for all of this." Yuki said to his two vessel-mates.

"I… yes… It's very strange indeed…" Widow said, her worry creeping through into her words. 

"What's strange?" 

"Oh! Shadow! You're just the person we needed…!!" Widow perked up.

"Oh..?" 

"The hivemind seems to be… down? Could you ask Doomie about it? He'll know how to fix it…" She requested. Shadow nodded and walked off to discuss the matter, but not before waving at Yuki. Yuki waved back.

"Father… We need your assistance in this time of need…" Shadow called out as they kneeled before one of the energy sources of the temple. 

"What is it you need, Shadow?" Doom responded.

"The hivemind is not working very well… Yuki, Eclipse and Rhygenta went on a mission and returned unsuccessful, but we only found out that they had failed after they said so in person..." 

"Yes… I do believe it's about time to re-establish the link…" 

"Re-establish the link..?" 

"The mental link of the Black Arms is fading without an epicenter. You must become our new hivemind, Shadow…" 

"Me…? But…" 

"I will guide you, Shadow. Do not hesitate, it only works if you are able to fully embrace your intention…" 

"Right…" Shadow grasped tightly onto the amulet around their neck "Well… where shall we start, then...?" 

"That, my child, is your call... My only suggestion is that you start with someone who's already been in the hivemind before..." 

Shadow looked out to the group of their fellow Black Arms nearby on the ship. For a split second, their eyes crossed paths with Yuki's, who took notice and gave a friendly wave. Doom could already tell that Shadow had their first choice cemented in that moment.

"You know who those two remind me of?" Sendrir asked Doom.

"Who?"

"You and Widow, back when we were on PetalBloom."

"Hm… I can definitely see what you mean." 

Yuki noticed Shadow approaching him, and started to approach it in turn.

"So, what'd Lord Doom say?" He asked them.

"He said that the hivemind needs to be re-established, with me as the source…" Shadow explained.

"Is that so? That's a very big task… May you have the best of luck!" Yuki said, oblivious to Shadow's intentions with where to start.

"Yuki, I um…" Yuki looked at Shadow, curious. "Would you like to be my… f-first link..?" 

"Oh… what a wonderful honor it would be! Here, let me take my mask off…" He responded happily, reaching his arms back to untie the strings holding its face mask up.

Shadow's hand started to glow with Chaos Energy, and everyone else surrounding them and Yuki faded into the background. Shadow's intentions were clear as day to it, Yuki and them were going to become closer than they ever had before. Yuki, who Shadow had only met so recently, was yet so wonderfully important to them. The two will be one, intertwined with one another in the roots of the greater mind.

"Hey… Does this apply to Leanni and Reacuel too, or do you need to establish them separately from me?" Yuki asked softly. It was something that Shadow wondered too, the three shared one vessel, but were all separate pieces of the hivemind.

"Yuki was made just by himself into the hive, only being separated after his creation. If the usual procedure worked well for Death, then it should work fine for you…" Doom said to Shadow.

"Black Death…" Yuki snickered slightly, "It's funny that you brought him up… considering he's the one who made us like this…" 

"Then I am glad to have killed him…" Shadow declared softly, gently placing its hand on Yuki's cheek, which slipped the both of them into a trance.

"Repeat the words I say to you, Shadow… follow my lead and bring us a new era…!"

"A new era…." Shadow softly mumbled, parroting Doom's words to them.

"Let yourself into my gaze,"

       "Let yourself into my gaze..."

"Stare right into my eyes," 

       "Stare right into my eyes..." 

"And let me be your guide," 

       "And let me be your guide..."

"As I make you new." 

       "As I make you new..."

"Sacrifice your morals," 

       "Sacrifice your morals..."

"Sacrifice your mind,"

       "Sacrifice your mind..."

"Let yourself be consumed," 

       "Let yourself be consumed..."

"By the chaos inside." 

       "By the chaos inside."

Shadow and Yuki's gazes into one another were unbreakable as the world around them was consumed by their black hearts, crumbling into nothing but an empty void of pure evil…

The light of the sun pierced Yuki's eyes as he and Shadow came to.

"Perfectly done. Now keep going until everyone is one under your reign…" 

Shadow smiled and nodded. They were about to walk off, but it felt Yuki take hold of their hand.

"Thank you, Shadow… We're honored that you decided to have us be your first link." He said to them.

As Shadow and Yuki departed, Shadow noticed the crowd of their brethren around them, all looking upon it in curiosity and excitement. At that moment, Rouge flew onto the temple floor, holding numerous shopping bags in her hands. She looked around at the crowd that she had placed herself into, a look of bewilderment dawned on her face.

"Am I interrupting anything?" She asked, turning to Relic. Of course she'd be the one Rouge trusted enough to ask.

"Oh no no no no! I do believe that Shadow is just about done with this one here!" Relic answered vaguely.

"This one of… what?" Rouge queried, trying to find a clearer answer.

"Not sure…" Relic replied hesitantly.

"Not sure?" Rouge parroted her, confused and frankly, a bit disappointed "Well, why don't we ask them?" She added.

Suddenly, Shadow spun around to Rouge, as if the numerous mentions of them from her and Relic finally added up to be enough to summon them, not unlike that of Beetlejuice and Candyman. 

"Oh! Hello Rouge…!" It greeted her "When did you get here..?"

"I was just flying in, came back to check up on you!" Rouge explained. This response caused Shadow to smile, appreciative of their friend's care for them.

"That's very kind of you to do… but… where were you, anyhow? Where did you go?" Shadow asked, its voice becoming steadily louder and more concerned with each question "Why, I haven't seen much of you since I first adorned this necklace!" They added, wrapping their hand around the Doom's Eye amulet, as if it'll protect them from whatever kept Rouge away for the past week.

"I… I was just getting back to my usual thievery shenanigans, ya know! A-and I decided to splurge a little, get myself a new wardrobe! It's been awhile since I've been able to do something like that…" Rouge answered, trying to ease her friend's mind.

"Ah, yes… of course…! You deserve such things… especially after breaking free of GUN's chains like you did…!" Shadow said calmly, accepting Rouge's response. 

Rouge couldn't help but notice that the way Shadow spoke had changed, in a way. It wasn't uncommon for them to "shift" every once in a while. That's what Rouge referred to it as, anyway. It "shifted" from person to person to latch onto every few years, reworking themself around how their new favorite person acted like. Rouge could clearly tell from the way Shadow spoke to her now who it's new favorite person was, and something about that thought carried a sense of dread with it. Could you really blame her, though? If she was right in her assumptions, then that means that Shadow's new favorite person is none other than the Black Doom himself, the god of malicious chaos, of corruption, and all the other labels given to him in their thousands of years of life. What could that mean for Shadow going forward? What could that mean….

For Rouge?

"That's a… uh… very poetic way of wording it." Rouge finally responded, after who knows how long of her being lost in those awful thoughts.

"Actually, you're here at a very interesting time, Rouge… For you see… I've been thinking of you...!" Shadow exclaimed suddenly.

"H-Have you now?" Rouge sputtered out, trying desperately to retain her usual suave tone, if only as to not worry Shadow.

"Yes- I-I very much have…!" Shadow assured her, trying to contain their excitement "Of course, I must take care of the ones that were in the last hivemind first, but… please do not fret that I have forgotten about you and Relic…!" They continued, as if it was explaining itself, but Rouge could not pick up any information from their words "I'll get around to you two soon enough…"

"Get around to us for… what, exactly?" Rouge asked as she tilted her head to the side in puzzlement.

"Right, I'm being terribly vague aren't I…? I've had my mind on so many things already that I can't keep a focus…!" Shadow confessed. "Anyway.. I'm re-establishing the Black Arms hivemind..!" 

"Are you now...?" Rouge inquired, as despite her fears, she couldn't help but be curious.

"Indeed I am…! The connection was failing due to a lack of a true leader for some time now… So my father asked me to establish a new link with me as the leader…!" Shadow explained excitedly, maniacally cackling as they finished their statement.

Shadow? The leader of the Black Arms? The thought made Rouge feel many complex and contradictory emotions. She was happy for them, as they seemed happy for themself, but she was also worried that the pressure may be too much for it to handle. She was both optimistic and pessimistic, optimistic that perhaps Shadow, in their kind heart, can drive the Black Arms into a less cruel direction, but pessimistic, that perhaps the Black Arms will twist Shadow into a cruel shell of who they once were, or that Black Doom's spirit may do such to them, or already has done such to them, or even… that Rouge was completely wrong about Shadow, and that… that cruelty the Black Arms are known for was how Shadow always truly was, and the kindness she seemed to know them for was nothing more than a facade.

"Of course, that new hivemind will include those that were in the last one…" Shadow continued on, seemingly oblivious to Rouge's growing worries. "But it will also include our new allies, like Relic…" 

"Like you..!" 

Shadow said it with such a chipper tone, they seemed happy about the thought, excited, even! But when Rouge heard that herself would be included as a part of Shadow's hivemind, a huge pit manifested into her gut, contorting her organs around with it's sheer weight. There was no hiding the dread that Rouge felt now. It was clear as day, on display for everyone to see. Everyone else was so willing, so happy to be here, even Relic, who would be a newbie to this whole "hivemind" thing, just like her. But Rouge was terrified, she could barely stand to look her friend in the eyes, those vibrant crimson eyes, it was like they were trying to entrance her even in this very moment. They pierced through to her soul, beckoning it to come to them, to reject the freedom Rouge had been trying to reach for so long, and to accept her new existence as a mere extension of her dear Shadow's will. 

"Is something the matter..?" Shadow asked her, its voice echoing around Rouge like a stage performance. Rouge could tell that they were genuinely concerned for her, but there was still a lure of temptation to their behavior, which regardless of being a clear mimicry of their beloved father, only caused Rouge to panic more "Are you… scared of me..?" 

That was the first thing Shadow worried about when they and Rouge were first becoming friends. It was so bad that the thought that Rouge would be afraid of them made them afraid of itself. Rouge promised that she'd never be scared of them.

But she couldn't stop herself from breaking that promise.

Both of them were completely silent, too wrapped up in their respective fears to be able to speak. It was completely silent for several long seconds, until there was finally a sentence spoken.

"Shadow, when can I be expecting you?" It was not from either Rouge nor Shadow, but rather, from Eclipse.

"O-oh! I-I-" Shadow sputtered nervously, trying to recover their composure. "I can set your link up right now if you so desire…!" 

"Actually, I was hoping to be able to check on the new Dark Arms first… Perhaps even that we might be able to do mine and all of the Dark Arms' back-to-back?" Eclipse clarified.

"Right, of course… I know how much you love them…" 

Every word that Shadow spoke made it sound more and more like a spitting image of Black Doom to Rouge, which frankly, made her feel sick to her stomach.

"I'll give you as much time as you need, Eclipse…" Shadow concluded.

"Thank you Shadow, that means a lot to me." Eclipse responded with a smile. "Now you go do your thing, Your Highness." They added, giving Shadow a pat on the head. 

Shadow looked around, trying to decide on who to then do next, but then the thought came to them.

"Queen Widow..!" Shadow meant to say to themself but ended up saying out loud.

" "Queen Widow"...? No need to be so formal, Shadow…!" Widow said to it, giggling as she transformed into it's Mobian form. "But I'd love to…!" 

"Right, right! My apologies…" 

As Shadow and Widow began to enact the ritual, Eclipse started their way to their laboratory, stopping by Rouge, saying a single sentence to her.

"Come, I have something to show you." 

Rouge was cautious at first, but agreed as she saw Relic follow Eclipse's lead. Relic was the only person Rouge really trusted around here at this point, for better or for worse.

"Rouge, what's in those shopping bags you've got there?" Relic asked curiously.

"Oh, just those new clothes I was telling Shadow about…! And some really cute stilettos…" Rouge answered, her cheeks becoming warm as she did.

"Is that so?" Relic inquired.

"Yeah! I've actually got this wonderful idea for customizing the shoes-!" Rouge continued, her mood starting to drastically improve as she spoke.

"Oh?" Relic said, wanting to be as engaged as possible as to help make Rouge feel better.

"I was looking through the trunk of the jeep I'm "borrowing" from GUN…" Rouge began to explain, as Relic started to chuckle slightly "And I found this really neat pair of handguns! So I thought of making little straps on the boots to hold'em! Convenient, AND what I assume would be right for the vibe that I'm trying to give off!" 

"Oh! Like the main character in Bayonetta?" Relic questioned, which seemingly made Rouge shocked "The video game franch-?" 

"The idea's been done before???" Rouge yelled.

"Not in real life-!" Relic tried to add.

"Dammit! I wanted to have an original idea!" Rouge loudly pouted.

"Kæ' Blak Doom ducsie…" Eclipse uttered in annoyance.

*Translation Note: “Dear Black Doom, my Lord” (Eclipse will explain this very soon, but just in case you can’t wait that long)

"EH???" Rouge blurted out, confused.

A bit of silence lingered for a few seconds, before all three of them bursted out laughing.

"What does that even mean???" Rouge questioned in between laughs.

"Did you not notice that you weren't speaking English back there, Eclipse??" Relic asked.

"... English is a confusing mess." Eclipse admitted, rolling their eyes as Relic and Rouge erupted into laughter for a second time. "To answer your question though, Rouge, what I said translates directly as "Dear Black Doom, my Lord"." 

"Oh, so it's like when someone says "Oh my Chaos" after something stupid happens?" Rouge supposed.

"Yes, essentially." Eclipse answered. "You'll understand that and the rest of our language instinctively once your link has been made. In fact, all of your thoughts will be in that tongue after that occurs." 

Eclipse's words brought the anxiety that Rouge felt right back from where she had hidden them. If this process was going to change the very language that she thought in, then what else could be changed about her by this strange ritual? 

"Though it's funny that you bring up Chaos. Are you aware of the relationship between her and our great Lord Doom?" Eclipse spoke again, marching on with the conversation regardless of how Rouge was feeling.

"Uhm… they're… related, I think, right? I'm not very religious…" Rouge attempted to answer.

"The two are both gods of Chaos Energy, with Chaos being the goddess of benevolent chaos, full of healing and whimsical…ness? And Doom is the god of malevolent chaos, often called "corruptive" in nature." Relic explained. Rouge could definitely see why one would refer to Black Doom as a corruption force. "Also, the two are siblings, in a sense." 

"They are?" Rouge asked.

"Yep! Black Doom was created first, by Solaris, Moonshine and Light Gaia, and Chaos was created some time after Doom turned tail and became all… evil, by Solaris and Light Gaia." Relic continued on. Rouge knew that Relic was a skilled archeologist, so it didn't come as much a surprise that she was also quite the mythology buff. Seeing Relic thoroughly explain something that she enjoyed so much made Rouge calm down and put a big dorky smile on her face.

"Moonshine? What, like the alcohol?" Rouge queried jokingly.

"No, silly!" Relic replied in that same joking tone. "Though, we should maybe grab some hard lemonades or something to celebrate the new hivemind later…" 

"I'm more of a wine gal myself, but I'm always up for a party!"

"I'd rather not, personally…" Eclipse admitted, their voice a bit shaky. 

"You don't have to drink any if you don't want to." Relic explained.

"Nah… I'll just… not come then.." Eclipse quietly responded. "We're getting distracted. Let's carry on.." 

"You're nothing more than a lie! *hic* A lie that that piece of shi-*hic* keeps living to stroke his own fucki-*hic* ego!" 

"Hey-! What are you doing with that-?!" 

"Don't fucki-*hic* talk to me, you *hic* vermin!!" 

The air was thick with dreadful feelings once again, but for once it wasn't because of Rouge. She thought of trying to ask Eclipse what bothered them so, but didn't feel close enough to them for such a conversation to do anything productive, and Relic simply didn't know how to ask such a thing to them. Both of them wanted to lend a hand to Eclipse, but as Relic knew all too well, Eclipse is the type that usually just bottles everything up and only lets everything out when they're alone. But something felt different, this felt like something that should be talked through.

"Eclipse, is it just you drinking alcohol that's the issue, or is it the presence of alcohol in the first place?" Rouge finally asked,

".... I don't like to be around it…" Eclipse uttered after a stint of pure silence.

"Why's that?" Rouge queried further. 

"It's not something I want to discuss." Eclipse responded bluntly, putting a complete stop to that conversation.

The last bit of the journey to Eclipse's laboratory was completely silent, aside from the sound of footsteps on the ship's floor. It caused Rouge's mind to run. She looked out at the sky that surrounded the ship, and contemplated flying away. But where would she go? GUN wouldn't take her back, the Freedom Fighters surely didn't want her, not that she wanted them. She didn't want to join the Robotnik Empire due to the pure resentment she grew for Ivo over the years from being friends with Omega. Maybe she could make it on her own, like she used to before joining GUN? But that was so long ago! Rouge had joined GUN all the way back in 2002, and almost a whole decade had passed since then. 

As Eclipse took a step into their laboratory, a sense of calm and comfort washed over them. Despite how things have changed, they also feel the same.

"Dearie… not to be a bother, but could you lower the lights in here a bit more...?"

"Oh, sorry Le, it's just that it's a bit hard to see my blueprints already, so lowering the lights more would-" 

"Why are you so concerned about your blueprints, hun..? It's quite late as it is…" 

"Oh great Lord Doom almighty are you pulling another all-nighter?" 

"Huh-? N-no-! I-" 

"Why don't you come rest with us tonight, hun..?" 

"The Dark Arms aren't gonna go anywhere, dummy! So come here and sleep already, okay?!" 

"Okay…" Eclipse accidentally murmured out loud, getting the attention of their beloved Dark Arms, which came to them and embraced them, feeling the sorrowful energy that radiated from them. They asked them repeatedly if they were okay, worried sick for their beloved caretaker. "I'm fine, I'm fine…" They insisted.

"Should we show Rouge the uh… ya know… at some other time?" Relic asked.

"R-right! I forgot all about Mina! My sincerest apologies-!" 

"Mina? The… rockstar?" Rouge inquired, immediately regretting that she did right after.

"Curses-! I'm spilling everything all over before I even make the proper reveal-!" Eclipse nervously sputtered as they made a mad dash to the back end of their laboratory. 

Part of Rouge wanted to just ask Eclipse to do this some other day, as it was clear to her that they weren't in the best spot mentally at the moment, but the rest of her had to know. She heard many things about the tragic end of Mobian Knot, and the trial that was held afterwards. She wanted justice, she wanted proof that that poor armadillo girl they accused didn't do it. Everyone in GUN was sure of who the real culprit was, but they didn't want to reveal the Black Arms' return to the public. Rouge wanted to, no, NEEDED to know…

What happened to Mina?

Eclipse forcefully gripped the cloth covering a large egg-shaped contraption. The contraption was a bit taller than they were, and the cloth was just a bit smaller, revealing some intricate metal work at the contraption's very lowest point. 

"With no other slip-ups or delays!" Eclipse suddenly yelled, playing up the caricature of a classical mad scientist. It was something to cling onto for now, for the last few minutes this had to go on, then Eclipse could have some alone time with their Dark Arms, some time to sit and work through everything in their head on their own, as they always had. "I present to you...!!" 

Eclipse pulled on the cloth off of their contraption, only to find that it was stuck on some part of it. They pulled with all the might they had, but it just refused to come off.

"Let me deal with this..." Relic lifted the cloth from where it was stuck, and got it to finally fall off from the contraption's grasp.

Once the cover was finally off, the contraption was revealed to be a container of sorts. Within this container was a body that resembled that of the rockstar known as Mina Mongoose, but the details were very different. It was like one of the many Black Arms soldiers Rouge had encountered during their invasion of Aerth, or during GUN'S raid of the Second Black Comet, had been taken and molded into a Mina-shaped figure. She tried one last time to act civil, but she couldn't, she just couldn't.

"WHAT THE FUCK DID YOU DO TO HER???" Rouge screamed loudly, tears welling up in her eyes. Relic tried to calm her down, but it only seemed to work a little bit. Eclipse was taken aback a bit, they could already tell that this wasn't going to go so well, but that didn't stop them from trying to remedy the situation.

"I-i-if y-you must know… She was assimilated…!" They began, "It's usually quite a lengthy experience, and a painful one at that, but I found a way to make it go by much quicker, and Mina here was simply my first test subject… Oh how she yearns for the day that she can go back on stage… She wants to make new songs about how wonderful we are, oh how sweet of her..!" 

Relic chuckled a bit, but Rouge did not do anything of such a matter. She instead broke free of Relic's soft embrace and went right to the edge of the ship, vomiting into the thick forests far below. She tried to stand up after she was done, but her body shook too much to be able to. So instead, she simply cried.

"Rouge… are you-" 

"No, Relic! I'm not fucking okay!! How the hell could I be?! How could you possibly be?! That was a thriving Mobian life! A life that they took away to use the body for a puppet!! How are you not sickened by that, Relic?!" Rouge fumed.

"You've got the wrong idea, Rouge… It's not like that." Relic replied as she sat next to Rouge.

"Then what the hell is it like then, huh??" 

"Mina's personality is still there, her whole self is still there! She's just a bit different now. Sure, her thoughts may be in a different language now, but they're still her thoughts! She's still Mina, just with a new look, a new style! Ya know?" Relic explained.

"What about that whole… hivemind thing? Doesn't that impact how she thinks and feels about things?" Rouge asked, still skeptical.

"... Yeah." Relic admitted.

"And Eclipse said that the process is really painful, didn't they? That's still gotta be really traumatic, especially if she does remember that!" 

"Regular assimilation is very painful. This "accelerated assimilation" that Eclipse created isn't like that at all! It's like surgery! You go to sleep, and you wake up as a brand new you!" Rouge knew what it was like getting surgeries, and she had to admit that Relic wasn't far off.

Rouge looked up to the sky again. The sun was starting to set now, with a few stars already peeking through the sky.

"When I was on the Second Black Comet, all the other Black Arms followed along with everything the main guy was saying… that lack of free will… I can't do that." Rouge confessed.

"But you always want what's best for Shadow anyway, don't you?" Relic asked.

Rouge couldn't help but nod.

"Exactly! So it'll be like nothing's even changed!" Relic exclaimed.

There was one last thought that Rouge had, one more question to ask.

"What happens to allies that don't join the hivemind?"

"Simply… they are executed." Eclipse answered quietly, but bluntly.

"W-well… I'm sure that Shadow wouldn't be so… quick to…" Rouge tried to grasp onto something, some sort of steady footing. She knew this was wrong, she knew this was horrific. She wanted to keep some sort of escape plan, just like she did when she joined GUN. But that didn't seem to be possible here.

"You're probably right, but you have to talk to them." Relic said to Rouge. Rouge simply walked away and didn't say anything.

"Oh! Rouge left her bags here! I'll go put them somewhere safe." Relic said as she picked up the shopping bags. She looked over and saw Eclipse wrapped up in their Dark Arms, both old and new. "Should I tell Shadow you aren't feeling well or…?" 

"Nonsense… I'll be right with them in just a few… I have something I must do for my new younglings…" Eclipse responded calmly. Relic sighed, glad that her friend was feeling better.

As Relic looked around for a place to set the bags down, she noticed Rouge walking towards Shadow. They were seemingly in the middle of doing the ritual with Harazuki. She began to wonder how long the three of them had been walking, talking, and everything else that had just happened.

Rouge stood by quietly, unnerved by the sight before her, but also completely unable to look away. 

"They're a natural, aren't they?" Widow said to Rouge, breaking the trance-like attention Rouge had on the scene.

"Uhm, well… It's not like I'd really know. I'm just a Mobian, ya know…" Rouge skittishly responded.

"Don't be silly… you're one of us now, sweetheart…!" Widow told her cheerfully. Rouge didn't say anything back.

When Rouge looked back at the scene, Shadow had just finished up with Harazuki. It looked up and met eyes with Rouge, smiling kindly to her.

"Hello Rouge…!" Despite everything that had changed, Shadow's smile was the same as it has always been. Though it was a rare sight to see back when they worked at GUN, the exact feeling Shadow's smile gave was always the same, no matter how much the rest of them changed. It was silly, and dorky, and filled with love and happiness. Seeing it's smile in this moment brought Rouge to tears. Despite all her fears, she loved Shadow, and wanted to always be by their side. Before Shadow could even react to seeing Rouge cry, she hugged them tightly, full of emotion and passion.

"Shadow I… I don't know if I can do this…" She admitted boldly to it. "I love you so much, I don't want to leave you, but I just can't!!" 

"I know… I know that you're scared… but…" 

"But..?" 

"Just trust me, okay?" Shadow said. "Trust me that I'll do no harm to you…" Rouge looked away for a second, unsure of how to respond. "Because I don't want to hurt you… You're one of the bestest friends I've ever had…" Rouge knew that Shadow was speaking the truth. They really did love her, she could tell. It's very easy to tell who Shadow does and doesn't love, even now.

"Alright. I'll trust you on this one, bud." Rouge conceded, giving them a smile of her very own, though it'd never be anywhere near as instantly heartwarming as Shadow's. "As long as you let me fly in the freedom, at least a little bit." 

"Well, there are a lot of things to do…" Shadow admitted. "Giving you an adventure or two to look for the Chaos Emeralds or something wouldn't be hard to arrange." 

"I'd like that." Rouge agreed, her sassy tone back in full swing.

"I know it's been a long, rough road to finally get here, for both of us." Shadow said, with genuine empathy.

"Sure has… moving even an inch forward felt like an entire year had gone past." Rouge admitted.

"But no matter what, we're never turning back, okay?" Shadow insisted.

"No! Of course not." Rouge responded. "We're besties forever!" 

Rouge and Shadow's eyes met again, and Rouge started to feel light headed. Shadow grinned and sat her down.

"Just keep looking into my gaze, alright?"

[nightshade-minho]

-The One-

Warnings: very very mild knifeplay, unprotected sex, oral (m. receiving), fingering, creampie, light navel play, tiny mention of blood, rituals, themes of witchcraft + demons, jealousy, sir kink, master kink, threesome, aftercare.

Felix × fem!Reader × Minho

Wc: 3k

Note: I stayed up all night writing this and was half-asleep so I apologize for any mistakes or incoherencies. Regardless, I’m quite proud of this fic hehe, and I’d love some feedback on it~

You could barely breathe. The feeling of his cock stretching you out as you sat on his lap, combined with the heady feeling of the knife's tip pressed against your skin was driving you insane with arousal.

"Such a pretty one you are...we don't usually get customers like you."

You scrunched your eyes shut, not wanting to make eye contact with him. His smirk, his golden eyes that gleamed with confidence...it would all make you even more nervous than you already were.

"Sir...p-please don't hurt me."

"Tsk. I won't, princess. Not yet." He shifted you on his lap, causing his tip to rub up against your sweet spot. You let out a soft moan as he did so, your eyes slowly opening and drifting down to the shiny steel pressed against your torso.

"Will it...will it hurt?"

He gently dragged the knife upwards, eyes fixed on you. He wasn't applying any pressure, and the blade itself wasn't very sharp...but it still sent tingles through you.

"Not really. If you're a good girl for us, it won't. The ritual is a very short one, and doesn't have many side effects."

"Okay...wait, us?"

"Hmm? Oh, yeah. My boss. He'll be here soon, don't worry. He's a busy man. I take care of the shop when he's not here."

"Oh...so you're like, his assistant?"

"Mmhm. You could say that. He doesn't pay me, though." He mutters, expression faltering for a second. The smirk slowly returned though, as he dragged the steel gently up between your breasts, pausing.

"Why...w-why do you work here, then?"

"He's family. My older brother,to be exact."

"O-oh..."

"Yup. In fact, enjoy my leniency while you can. I can assure you, my brother is a lot more..."

He sighed, poking the tip into your skin lightly, but not enough to draw blood.

"Sadistic."

You gulped as Felix suddenly started thrusting up into you, his hips gaining a newfound vigor. You groaned, throwing your head back as he hit your sweet spot again.

You never thought you'd end up like this...A few weeks ago, you were living your life like any other college student.

When winter break came along, you'd been more than excited to get back to your hometown...the place you'd grew up in. One of the first things you did was visit the woods, searching for the tree house you'd made when you were about 10 years old.

Of course, you hadn't expected to see a cottage where your tree house had formerly been. On hindsight, it probably wasn't a good idea to knock.

You hadn't expected to see a cute boy open the door, either.

Felix, he said his name was.

The cottage wasn't a house after all...it was more of an eccentric little shop, the shelves lined with curious looking bottles and dusty books.

You'd definitely thought the man was cuckoo, especially when he started talking about witchcraft and rituals. He was undeniably hot, though...

One thing led to another and here you were a few days later, having sex with someone you barely knew. That someone also happened to talk an awful lot about demons and witchcraft. God, you were stupid to trust him.

"This ritual...what does it require, again? And there's absolutely no side effects?"

"Nope. All you want is revenge, correct? We can make that happen."

"Having sex with you is part of it, right?"

Felix laughed, taking his knife away and resting it on the table next to him. "Oh, you truly do hurt me. Here I was thinking you were having sex with me cause you wanted to." He adjusted himself in his chair, lifting you off his cock and turning you around.

He slowly eased you back down onto his length, groaning softly under his breath at your tightness.

"Look here. Intercourse with a virgin is stage one of the ritual, and semen also happens to be one of the ingredients." He said, pulling your back against his chest and lifting a finger, causing a dusty old book in the corner of the room to hover over.

You squinted at the page, the words registering itself in your brain.

"Wait...how did you know I'm a virgin?"

"It's glaringly obvious, doll."

You gritted your teeth, biting your lip as Felix let the book drop to the floor, his hands on your waist as he slowly started fucking up into you.

"Remember, you asked for this. You're the one who came here first. You gave me full consent to do this."

"I d-did."

"Mmhmm. Don't forget to tell Minho that. If he's not a corpse somewhere, that is...he usually isn't this late."

A shiver ran through you as Felix suddenly got up with you still on his cock, his fingers digging into your skin as he took you over to the window. He slid apart the heavy purple curtains with one hand.

"Ah...there he is."

You twisted your neck slightly. Eyes misty with arousal, you could barely make out the shadowy figure approaching. Felix's fingers on your chin forced you to face him again, his smile slightly unsettling.

"He's here. I'll remind you again. This was your choice."

"M-my choice..." You gulped as the door opened, the bells tinkling.

There was silence for a few minutes. Felix's form was blocking the figure in the shop. You made a sound of frustration as you craned your neck, trying to catch a glimpse of this mysterious man, despite the fear enveloping your heart.

"Hm. What do we have here? Felix, I've told you before. Don't bring your playthings into the shop."

Felix turned around, taking you to the counter and setting you on the edge of it, still inside you. The new angle finally let you make eye contact with the man.

Oh, fuck. Almost immediately, you wished you hadn't looked at him. Yes, Felix was scary and slightly unnerving...but this man's aura was a whole new shade of intimidating.

You tried your best to break eye contact, but you couldn't. His stare was mesmerizing, and you almost drooled.

A sharp thrust from Felix snapped you out of your haze.

"She isn't a plaything. She's been coming here for the past week...keeping me company. It gets lonely here when you leave on your little trips, you know."

Minho frowned as he set down the mysterious looking packages he'd been holding, leaning on the heavy oak table. His eyes fell on the open book. He lazily regarded the pages, sighing.

Despite his indifferent expression, when he spoke, his tone was menacing.

"Have you been showing this girl the texts? Felix, you know we're not supposed to fraternize with the mortals. I've let you copulate with some of them, but I've told you time and time again...magic and elements of the otherwordly realm are far too complex for their puny brains to comprehend."

Felix sighed, turning slightly to face his brother but not slowing down. He kept thrusting into you, a hand grasping your breast and fingers gliding over your nipple as he spoke.

"That's just it! This human here is different from the others. For one, once she got over her initial shock and surprise, she even started reading the rituals herself and helping me out around the shop! In fact, that's what we're doing right now, enacting the Interfectorem Inimicus Ritual. She has a silly little rival she wants to get rid of."

Minho sighed, his eyes coming up to meet yours again. You looked away meekly, making a small smirk appear on his features.

Cute.

He rarely found mortals attractive...but this one right here might have to be an exception. Besides, if what Felix said was true, she was special. Maybe she wasn't even a mortal after all...

Minho needed to know if that was true. And there was only one way to find out.

He stalked over calmly, tapping Felix's shoulder.

"Give her to me."

"What?!" Felix's look of confusion mirrored yours.

"You heard me." His gaze drifted slowly to you, a finger sneaking out to trace your jawline. You unknowingly leaned into his touch, shivering at the feeling of his cold fingers.

"Hmm now, kitten...why exactly were you snooping about in the sacred texts?" His gaze was stern as he locked your eyes with his.

"I wasn't s-snooping-"

"Did Lixie here give you permission?"

"I, well...no..." You hated the way his intense stare was making you blurt out the truth, cheeks flushed. "I was just curious, that's all. So I read one of the b-books when he wasn't looking."

"Curious." Minho let go of your chin, chuckling. "Haven't you heard? Curiosity killed the cat." His eyes turned darker. "Although when it comes to this kitty, it might just be something else that leads to her demise..."

You swallowed, a fresh wave of arousal shooting through you as Minho smiled, saccharine sweet.

He glared at Felix, making him let go of you reluctantly.

"I'm going to fuck you now, kitten. Would you like that?"

You looked up at him. There was just something about him...his intensity, his demeanor...combined with his sharp beauty...he had you whiny and needy, keening in just seconds.

"Yes, Master, want you...want you so bad!" You mewled, just as Felix pulled out of you.

"Good girl."

In seconds, he gathered you in his arms, taking you over to the burgundy sofa in the corner of the room. "Now, let's do this ritual the right way, shall we? Felix, light some candles."

"Listen, brother, I really don't think this is a good idea and-"

"Do as I say."

Felix sighed, nodding as he went to gather some candles from the shelf. As he lit each one, his heart shuddered.

The two of them knew something you didn't.

Felix and Minho shared a demonic father, but had different mothers. Felix's mother happened to be human, while Minho's definitely wasn't. It was why Felix was able to have intercourse with humans without rendering them completely insane.

Minho, on the other hand...didn't possess even an ounce of humanity. He was draconian, otherworldly...

Felix glanced back, sadness taking over his features as he watched you, entranced as you stared at him.

He was worried you wouldn't last the night.

Minho leaned down, inhaling. He loved the way the human interacted to his touches, however featherlight they may be. He ran the tip of his fingers over your chin, down between your breasts. His fingers continued their descent until they reached your navel, his lust growing as he dipped his finger in, prompting a soft whimper from you. He fingered your navel gently for a few seconds, before he went even lower...finally reaching your clit.

If you were indeed human, you wouldn't be able to handle him or his cock. If you weren't, though?

The implications of it drove Minho giddy with excitement. He'd never had the pleasure of playing with someone as responsive and adorable as you were. Maybe you could even be his queen when he ascends his father's throne...

He shook his head, snapping himself out of his thoughts. First, he had to make sure of your origins. Then, he'd let himself daydream.

His fingers slowly pushed into your already dripping pussy, an appreciative groan leaving his lips as your soaking walls hugged his digits tightly.

Felix finished with the candles, his own erection growing impossibly harder as the lewd noises your pussy was making filled the room.

He turned, making his way to the sofa and glaring at his brother. He already harbored quite a bit of resentment for the older man, and this only served to deepen his hatred. Why did he have to steal away everything that was his?

Minho pulled his fingers out with a pop, sucking on his digits as he looked over at Felix. Your eyes opened halfway, registering Minho's naked form with some surprise. When did he remove his clothes? Then again, you knew the two men in the room didn't obey the same worldly rules you did.

Minho's eyes drifted down to Felix's erection, tutting under his breath.

"You know what...you can use her mouth, if you like."

Felix grumbled. It was better than nothing, but then again...He didn't want his brother to fuck you at all. Till now, you'd proven to be different from the usual human...most mortals couldn't even see their shop. However, he still felt that slight unease that came with not wanting to see you hurt. He'd only known you for a week but...deep inside, he didn't want to lose you.

Felix led his cock to your lips, eyes searching your lidded ones for discomfort. When he found none, he slid his length past your throat slowly, making you moan.

Minho's thick tip was rubbing at your folds. You could only feel the sensation of his head dragging up and down your slit...but it was more than enough for you to realize that he was bigger than everyone you'd ever had sex with.

When he finally pushed into you, you saw stars in your eyes. The pleasure was overwhelming...so sudden and potent that you screamed, Felix's eyes widening in concern as he pulled out.

"Are you okay?

"Y-yeah! For fuck's sake, it feels so gooooooood-" You choked out, clenching tightly around Minho's huge cock, his thrusts unlike anything you'd ever experienced before. It was almost satanic, the way he plunged into you repeatedly, stretching you out to your absolute limit.

Minho gritted his teeth as he gripped your waist tightly, his head thrown back in pleasure. "Fuck...ironic, but your pussy is heavenly, kitten..."

He moved you up and down his shaft, the feeling of your soft pussy opening up more and more with each stroke driving him crazed with lust. He'd never felt anything like this before.

"Felix, she's so fucking- shit....she's so fucking perfect-"

Felix frowned, sitting back as he watched. He couldn't help the envy from gripping his heart as he watched your pleasure-stricken face, your eyes rolling back in your head as Minho slid his girth deeper, hitting your sweet spot. He didn't want to stay any longer, but he couldn't help it. He really didn't want to leave you alone with his brother.

Minho drove into you faster as he felt his orgasm approaching, spurred on by the way you clenched tightly around him, clearly near your end as well.

"Kitten? 'M going to cum...going to fill your little pussy up..."

You whined, arching your back. "Can I cum, Master?"

He shook his head, growling as he rubbed your clit. "You'll cum when I tell you to."

Minho turned to the side as he kept abusing your pussy, his eyes landing on Felix...chuckling at his hand wrapped around his cock.

"Couldn't help yourself, could you?"

Felix let out a moan as he continued jerking himself off, standing up. He didn't care anymore...you looked so perfect like this, completely naked and at their mercy, mouth wide open and ready for him to use.

He came closer and shoved his cock down your throat roughly, not giving you time to adjust as he started fucking into you, his high close. You choked, caught off guard, but quickly got over it. Determined to be a good girl for them, you hollowed your cheeks and sucked on Felix's cock desperately, even as you tried to stave off your orgasm.

His length twitched in your mouth, and before you knew it, you felt warm cum spurting down your throat. Felix groaned, pulling out slowly.

"Felix, now. Get my blade and the book."

"Wait, what?"

"She's the one. I can tell. Quick. We need to get her blood at the exact time she hits her high, or I won't be able to complete my ritual."

"Wait- no! This is Y/n's ritual, the one for her rival. It's lower magic. The one you want to do...Come on, brother! You have to think before making a decision like this, you can't just make her your bride...we have to get Y/n's permission, too-"

Minho growled, his eyes flashing red as he glared at Felix. "I'm not performing a wedding ritual or anything, brother. I'm simply preserving her essence-"

Felix shook his head. His heart was thudding- he'd figured it out too, just like his brother had. You weren't mortal. You were special...and that meant Minho wanted to find out what exactly you were.

He felt sick as he thought of you getting married to his brother. No. You belonged here on Earth, with your family and your friends-

With him.

Before he could react, Minho's hand had materialized the exact knife he wanted.

Encrusted with rubies and made of demonic steel, the blade was far sharper than the one Felix had been teasing you with before.

Minho let go of your waist to grab your hand, bringing it up to his face. His hips continued their assault, making you whine and whimper.

Half the things they said were making no sense, and you were scared and yet...aroused, at the same time. You didn't know what was going on, but you wanted to listen to the man above you. You wanted to do everything he said, wanted to be his little pet...wanted to be his. Your brain felt like it was slowly getting rid of all rationality, the feeling of his cock making you whine louder.

"Kitten...I'm going to make a tiny little cut, right here on your finger. Is that okay?"

You nodded desperately, and Minho smiled at you in approval.

"Cum."

You finally let go, the pleasure washing over you in a tidal wave as you shook, convulsing with electricity as Minho drove the blade into the tip of your finger just enough to let out a few drops of blood.

Felix reluctantly conjured up an empty potion vial, capturing the drop with ease.

Minho lifted your finger to his mouth, sucking on the digit and running his tongue over the wound repeatedly. The metallic taste of your blood was the final push he needed to cum, thrusting deeper as he spilled himself into you.

When he let go of your finger, all the pain had disappeared. You noticed your finger was healed...the skin just as clean and soft as it was before.

You whined as he pulled out, conjuring another vial to gather some of your mixed fluids that was leaking out from between your thighs. He yawned as he handed it to Felix, who corked it with a frown on his face, setting it next to the vial with your blood in it. He knew what Minho wanted to do...he wanted to perform a ritual with the vials, wanted to make sure you were the one for him. It wasn't a wedding ritual by any means...but it was a pre-requisite, and the thought saddened Felix. Maybe his feelings for you were deeper than he'd thought.

Slowly, Minho gathered you into his arms, patting your hair gently and kissing your forehead.

"You were a good kitten, Y/n. How are you feeling?"

"I'm f-feeling okay..."

Minho made a face of delight at Felix. "She can still talk and formulate sentences!" He mouthed, prompting a half-hearted smile from his brother.

"D'you want to cuddle?"

You pouted. "Mmhmm! But..I want Lix to come cuddle too."

Felix looked up at that, his eyes widening.

You still wanted him?

Minho met his eyes, giving him a small smile. "Sure, baby. Lix can come cuddle as well."

You grinned, looking over at Felix and making grabby hands. Giggling, the boy quickly dropped onto the couch, wrapping his arms around your torso and humming in content.

"You know..I don't mind sharing her." Minho whispered, his fingers still stroking your hair. "Really?" Felix asked, looking down at you.

"If she wants to be shared, that is."

"I don't mind!" You chirped. "Life is boring here, anyway. Where did you guys say you lived again?"

The two men shared a look.

Minho sighed as he stroked your hair. "I can't wait to introduce you to our dad."

"Your dad?"

"Yep! Don't worry, he's nice. And I think he'd like you."

You frowned slowly as you remembered something Felix had told you. Snippets of their conversation flashed through your brain as your stomach filled with something akin to dread and anticipation.

"Who did you say your dad was, again?"

"Oh, what? Ah, that doesn't really matter. He's just the king of the Underworld."

[enha-woodzies]

➸ CHAPTER 6 | " AT LONG LAST PT. 1 "

starring: enhypen ft. i-land daniel

pairing: jungwon x fem!reader x sunghoon

genres: royal au, romance, angst, slowburn, 18th century setting

word count: 2.5k

taglist: @serendipitysung (betareader) @angeljungwon @en-sun @affectionaterainoflove @renkiv @softforjungwoo @jislix @fluffi @gyeraniee @stxrryemxlys

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To be promenaded in front of the entire ton is one of every lady’s desires. From the piercing stares of the envious, to the love-struck looks of those smitten by the pair, the two most-loved couple of this season gracefully saunters from the cemented pathway and down to the grassy lawn, ever so politely greeting Northumberland with their warmest and charming presence.

The young marquess joins the young miss’ family under the canopy near the lake. With a hand draping over Sunghoon’s arm, Lord Niki mutters swears to the gods for lightning to strike upon the chap, as the gagging sight of his sister along with his most despised douche is gradually sucking the life out of him.

“Good morning!” Sunghoon greets the family and so did Lady Park. Jay gives away a polite nod followed by a toast of the teacup, whereas the almost always brooding Niki responds with an exaggerated rolling of his eyes.

“Your Grace. Always the charmer, aren't we?” Niki jeers to which Jay chokes on his warm, jasmine tea.

“The smoothest at being one, Riki.” The name rolls naturally off his tongue like a snake’s hiss that roused Niki’s ire. The boy could feel the crescendo of his spite, yet he eases it casually with a sly smirk.

“Smooth like a snake, perhaps? I anticipate those fangs in action.” Niki surprisingly snaps back. Jay clears his throat as he whispers to Niki in hopes to prevent him from further fumes, although he knows it would be of no use.

Sunghoon scoffs in return, “need I remind you that I shall deliver if provoked. However tempting that may be right now, I regret to inform you that I’m only here to promenade your sister and impress your dear mother.”

“I do hope she turns you down in the most painful way possible, Your Grace. I find my sister's taste in men quite genteel. Surely, you're aware of how opposed you are to that considering your…” Niki walks closer to the marquess to give an exclusive barb against his ear, “nasty record.” He brushes off imaginary dust off Sunghoon’s shoulder before bumping against it, “Good day to you two!”

“Oh dear, your brother is making me worried. Is he alright?” Lady Park whispers to Jay and the gent soothes their mother by softly massaging her hands, rubbing circles on the back of her palm, “he's just going through puberty, mother.”

“Is that so? I don't remember you having those episodes before. Furthermore, I apologize, Your Grace. Rest assured it won't happen again. I will definitely see to it.”

“No worries entirely. It's Niki after all, he may be a tough handful but as far as I recall he's completely-”

“Held back? Are those the words you were going for?” Jay cuts off. 

“You're quite forgetting the fact that I’m right here.” Y/n attempts to intrude only to be silenced by her brother once again. With his head held high, Jay saunters up to Sunghoon, who is almost the same height as him. Locking eyes with the chap, he simpers, “come, Your Grace, I require a brief moment with you. Excuse us for a bit, sis.”

And with that, the men left the canopy, leaving Y/n and her mother utterly baffled with the uncalled tension.

The sound of paper being folded into an almost crumple echoes around the parlour, where the only sound that existed prior was deafening silence from the three men sitting across each other.

The culprit was none other than Yang Jungwon, who appears to be insulted from what he just read. Throwing off the now crumpled paper, Daniel perfectly catches it mid-air and opens it in haste.

Sunoo takes a gander at the Daily Tattle’s contents that Daniel incoherently mutters. Jungwon carefully studies his brother's reaction as Sunoo’s smile quickly transforms into shock, followed by the furrowing of his eyebrows with his mouth ajar; the final gesture, shooting a questioning look-- with his mouth still ajar-- at one of the scandal’s subjects.

“Surely, me asking two dances from you was already too cheap but, one, brother? Are you seriously being expensive right now?" The eldest exclaims.

"One that is very exclusive and controversial, might I add." Daniel chimes in. “What was all that about?"

"Remind me why I need to explain myself to the both of you?" Jungwon monotonously replies with his eyes fixed on the book he was now reading.

“Because we ought to know?”

“Well, if not to us, at least to Y/n?"

“Good god. Why is she in this conversation all of a sudden?"

"Because you pulled a dick move on her and we ought to know what's going on inside that brain of yours! You're so dense. Must we shake you up to shrug off those lil rust in there?"

"Oh, shut up, Daniel."

“That thing you did there? With her? Was very unlikely of you, Jungwon." Sunoo stands from his seat and transfers to Jungwon’s side on the couch.

"Well, what is like me then?"

"Spit it out or Daniel and I are gonna have to annoy you for the whole week.”

Jungwon slams the book on the couch and lets out an exasperated sigh before grunting out loud. "I just wanted to be alone with her, okay?! Are you pleased now?"

"Wait. You like her, don't you?”

“No, I don't! And I would never for heaven's sake."

“But you want to be alone with her. Isn't that what people do when they're in love?" Daniel rubs his chin in thought.

“Oh, god! Whatever lets the both of you sleep at night then. Assume the worst for all I care." The heated gent lifts himself up from the couch and strides towards the exit.

“Where are you going?”

“Away from the two of you. You won't stop annoying me either way, so I’m gonna get myself some cleaner air.” Jungwon slams the door shut behind him for a relieving walk to the woods.

“Now he's mad.”

“All we ever said was the truth, didn't we?”

“He is pretty rusty, alright.”

Y/n visits the Kielder Forest once again to run away from the stressful men of this morning’s promenade. She could've stayed in her fortress, but because of their foolish ruse, she had to show up. Now her brothers had to meddle with the already confusing mess.

Pages from the borrowed Austen book are now being flicked through again. She couldn't concentrate no matter how hard she tried, as Niki’s words still lingered in her mind.

“What nasty record could he have?” She mutters under her breath. Soon after, crunching of leaves startles her, and she realizes her whispers weren't the only noise around. Y/n dashes out of her sheer fort only to be welcomed by her most coveted man ever.

"What are you doing here?!" Jungwon asks in an angry kind of worry.

"What are you doing here?"

"Taking a walk, obviously?"

"Well, I’m reading. Obviously." Y/n sassily blinks at him, to which he returns a slightly puzzled look.

"You're much aware that you shouldn't be here, let alone unchaperoned, right?"

"Well, good thing you're here!"

Y/n crouches down to re enter her fort now that she has a guest. She softly taps the extra pillow, gesturing Jungwon to join her in a momentary bliss. One that is very rare when it comes to the both of them, and something that the young miss has found herself accustomed to now. When it comes to Jungwon, he'll just leave her begging for more.

Was it simply luck that had caused him to turn down this pathway? Whatever it was, he didn't feel the need to complain. As of now, all he ever wanted was a piece of mind from his brother's interrogations about him and Y/n. Not fully realizing that the very person who triggered him to rush out of his house would be the one he was impossibly hoping to run into.

"You still have that?" Jungwon points his lips to the book she was flipping. She had borrowed it from him and had yet to return it after all these years.

"Are the inclusions still there?" He continues. Although he wishes he didn't. He recalls all the little notes he left on his favorite pages just to get his feelings across and now he chuckles at the mere thought of him playing Romeo.

"They are. They're kind of tattered now, but they're still comprehensible. You do have a remarkable penmanship after all, something that's very impossible to miss."

The boy chuckles at the thought. "You do mean those things you wrote here, right?" She concerningly asks to which Jungwon only shrugs his shoulder with lips shut tight. "Well, don't mind me 'cause I'd like to think that you did."

"Suit yourself." He mutters. Little did she know he was smiling to himself with flushed cheeks.

The boy looks around the interior of the fort while whistling to the air, followed by a few jabberjays mocking his tune. They chuckle over the memory and realize they had traveled back in time.

"Jay's going to get aggressive with me on fencing once he hears about this. I've been conspiring to keep his sister hidden." He playfully smirks.

"Do you remember we used to do this in the garden lawn? Playing hide and seek just to get a glimpse of Jay's maddening face." Y/n reminisces the good old times they both used to share. Although there were petty fights here and there, what conquered most was their endearing bond.

Jungwon looks over as he vividly remembers that exact memory, "and we ended up building a fort out of the picnic sheets we used to hide in and officially made it our castle" he adds.

"I've forgotten what it's like to feel young." Y/n lets out a deep sigh, minding the pressure she's bearing now that she's about to be offered to the life-long commitment that is marriage.

Jungwon looks over her, feeling all concerned with the worries that she might be facing as of late; things that he wouldn't have any knowledge of as a man.

Society has dictated women's place in the world as persons who are supposed to be emotional, submissive, and homely; something very opposed to those of men. Knowing Y/n well enough and how she enjoys her liberty, her own principles, Jungwon worries her future companion, if not him, would find her very indifferent and of no use in the long run.

And it pains him to think that she wouldn't be well off with someone even worse than him.

She deserves more and he knows that fully well.

"Well, I, for one, miss moments like this more than anything." He lightens the mood in hopes of seeing that beautiful smile on her face.

As he turns to her, the two lock eyes. In that moment, Yang Jungwon swore of laying out his long-hidden sentiments. Under normal circumstances, he would speak his mind. But with Y/n looking at him like this, he would most likely fuck things up.

And he fails himself yet again.

"So uhh… you and the duke-to-be, huh? That must be thrilling." He looks away and pretends to play with the twigs on the ground.

"Y-Yeah! Yeah, indeed, it is. The promenade went well today… before the two decided to sabotage it."

"Do tell."

"We're all aware of how Niki ultimately detests the marquess, aren’t we? He kind of uhh… insulted the man in front of mother."

"And… Jay?"

"Stole the marquess from me to have a word with him."

"I reckon he had many words with him."

Y/n chagrins at the imagination of Jay going head to head with the marquess. Being the overprotective one, Jay will go out of his way to expel threats in the family.

"You seem to be clearly aware of that. Yet you entertained His Grace anyway. I pity Niki. He must be going through a loophole of shit again, now that his dear sister's off strutting with that man." Jungwon blurts out, though he wishes he never did… again.

He is clearly rusty and he kind of admits it now.

"That man? Whatever's the matter with all of you?! You dare speak of him like you know what happened between him and my brother-"

"Y/n, we all went to the same university. What makes you think I know nothing?"

"That man you're referring to was just the man who saved me from an embarrassing night, no thanks to you."

Jungwon scoffs at her pettiness.

"Don't turn away with those remarks now. You toyed with me that night, left me there with nothing but utter shame to bring home. I'm sure you're very proud of that now."

Promenading would be every woman's desire, indeed. But being ghosted or fled from is something that every woman fears, especially when they've been shunned by someone they adore the most. Such shame and reproach haunts them for almost the rest of their lives, especially when the ton won't let them sleep at night with that reminder.

"Have you not at least any bit of politeness left in you? You must be ashamed, asking my brother for such favor that you cannot even put through yourself."

"I have my reasons."

"I highly doubt they're even valid." Y/n retorts. Jungwon sighs in exasperation, finding the situation rather unnecessary that he'd rather keep his mouth shut. She deserves to let her anger out after all.

"Whatever happened to you?" She mutters under her breath, looking over to the boy who kept his head hung low with his elbows leaning on his raised knees. "Sometimes, I look at you and see a completely different person. You know, I never learned to read your mind, Jungwon. So stop giving me all these silent treatments as if something happened even though nothing ever did."

Jungwon lets out a sharp exhale before poking his cheek with his tongue. "Stop seeing Sunghoon then. If you care so much about your brother, stop frolicking around with that scoundrel."

Y/n scoffs at him, followed by the rolling of her eyes, trying to stifle an untimely tear from falling.

"You're unbelievable! Just so you know, I've wasted many sleepless nights crying because of your stupid ass, and I still do for heaven's sake! But now it's very clear to me that there's no amount of crying left that I can do for you!"

Y/n groans heavily before standing up from the pillow she was sitting on, throwing the Austen book hardly on the cold ground.

"So much for hearing nothing but the truth from you, huh? I despise you, Jung. Very much."

She runs off from the boy for what seemed like the nth time. For the past years, this exact scene had happened. Jungwon closes his eyes and lets himself fall harshly on the pillows. He raises a hand over his head, looking at the gaps between his fingers thinking of how he let her slip away, again. He drowns himself in deep thoughts, all the while trusting that Y/n will forget this day ever happened, like before.

He knows she will.

At least, that's what he tells himself.

Though deep down, his stomach churns in fear.

And there's no one to blame but his damning pride.

*send me an ask or a message if you wish to be added on this series' taglist!

ㅡ © ENHA-WOODZIES, 2021

[s1rcus]

The Road to Love and Truth (Blackhill)

Rating: Teen and up

Words: 2827

Chapter: 2/2

Fandoms: Marvel

Characters: Natasha Romanoff, Maria Hill, Steve Rogers, Nick Fury

Additional tags: -

Summary: Maria struggles after her night with Natasha. She gets some good advice from Steve.

Authors note: Blackhill Bingo square I3 "Steve Rogers"

Story below the cut or in AO3 here

Maria still has a huge headache. She's been debating taking another aspirin to ease it down for the past 10 minutes, but it hasn't been too long since she took the first one and it might just not be working yet. The situation with Romanoff might not be helping either.

Without thinking she's making her way towards Phil's office. She's not sure why, she knows she won't talk about something like this to him. He's a good friend but she just can't talk about her sex life with him, less about feelings. Maybe he'll have some work she can do to distract her from the night before. She can't use her key card on a day off, (Fury has made it very clear she's not supposed to be doing work during any type of leave) so she can't go to her own office to continue work.

Phil isn't in his office. Now that she actually thinks about it, he has been on a mission since yesterday. She still needs something to distract her though. Maybe Fury would let it slide this once if she'd go do work, but she'd rather not see him right now. She decides to just go for a walk. Hopefully that'll clear her head a little.

------

The fresh air does help her headache and clears her head just the tiniest bit as well. She stands outside of the Triskelion for a short time and decides to go for a short walk along the river.

She keeps her eyes mostly on the water as she walks hands in the pockets of her sweats. She probably should've changed if she's honest, but she didn't want to go back to her room. SHIELD agents weren't that rare sight around these parts, but they definitely didn't go out in their gym clothes. She kicks around some pebbles every once in a while that are lying around the sidewalk.

She loses track of time, trying to just focus on nothing but the movement of the water. And she might have let her guard down, because she gets startled, when a hand taps her on the shoulder.

"Maria, what are you doing out here?"

"Jesus, Steve. Warn a girl next time."

"I literally yelled your name when I saw you. You're not usually this distracted. Are you okay?"

There's concern on his face and Maria doesn't like it one bit. She's fine, and even if she wasn't, everyone else needs to think she is.

"Everything's fine," she lies.

Steve gives her a long look, not quite believing her.

"You can always talk to me, you know? Whatever it is that's bothering you, I'll listen."

Damn Steve, and his kind heart.

"I know," she says.

"Okay, well I'm gonna finish my run. Come and find me if you want to talk about whatever this is," he says as he runs past her.

Maria just waves him off. She continues along the river for a while longer until her headache becomes worse again. Deciding it's best to just go back and take another aspirin, she turns around and heads towards the Triskelion again.

------

Eventually Maria realises she needs to talk to someone so she heads towards Steve's quarters and knocks on his door. He opens the door with a smile. They're good friends but it's quite rare she actually ends up on his doorstep.

"Hey, Maria. What's up?"

"I slept with Natasha," she answers as she pushes past him into his room. She sits on his bed, head in her hands. She hears the door click shut as Steve closes it.

"Not what I was expecting. How are you feeling?"

Maria groans at the question, "I don't know. I find out she's queer and few days later I find her in my bed. That's not how that should go. And worst of all I want to do it again, but I don't think I can just keep it at that."

"So you want to ask her out?"

"I think so?" She says and lays down on the bed so she can stare at the ceiling. "But I'm her superior, it's unprofessional, not to mention way too complicated. How am I supposed to be able to send her out there, if I'm worried if she'll make it back? How is Fury supposed to trust in me, if I get compromised because of her? Or what if I make the wrong decision, because I can't--" Steve cuts her off. She feels the bed dip, as he sits next to her on the bed and places a hand on her knee.

"Maria, you're forgetting one important thing, she's the Black Widow, she knows how to handle herself. Do you know how many times she's saved me out there? Because I've lost count by now. And Fury won't see you any differently if you start showing normal people emotions. Also stop worrying about 'what if's. Those are situations you can't know the answers for before it's too late. And for the record, I think you're already compromised. You care more about her than you know. Have for a long time."

"Fuck", Maria breaths the word out.

"Language."

"No, I actually fucked up."

"What did you do?"

"I just left her. She wanted to talk, and I just left her. I wasn't thinking clearly. I told her it was a mistake. Well it technically was because that was definitely not how I wanted that to go, but… I let her believe I don't want her. Shit!" She gets up quickly and starts pacing around. "I gotta go find her. Tell her that I'm sorry for how I treated her. That last night was great. Not that I really remember anything. To hopefully ask her properly out." She freezes on her tracks and turns to face Steve. "What if she says no? How am I supposed to continue working with her then?"

"Maria", Steve warns her.

"Right, won't know the answers before it's too late." She takes a deep breath. "Okay, I'm gonna go to find her. I wonder where she could be."

"At the gym with Barton."

"How would you know that?"

"Just a hunch."

------

She does find Natasha at the gym. She's beating up Barton at the mats. Maria decides to just stay by the door and watch, she'll notice her eventually. Natasha seems more tense than normal, maybe even a little angry. She doesn't move around as smoothly as she usually does. Her movements are a little more jacked, more forced. Maria realises that she's not fighting with a clear head. She's trying to push her feelings out. Maria was the reason the Widow's usually flawlessly smooth fighting style looked harsh and broken. It makes her heart twinge.

Eventually Natasha pins Barton down and he taps out. She gets up and her gaze shifts to Maria's. Maria physically flinches under her gaze. She quickly straightens her back and neutralises her face, when Barton gets back onto his feet and notices her presence.

"Commander," he coughs, eyes moving from Maria to Natasha and back again. After a couple of beats of silence he starts backing towards the men's locker room. "I'll just go then."

Maria just looks at Natasha, not really sure what she's supposed to say. Before she's able to say anything, Natasha turns on her heels and heads towards the women's locker rooms. That gets Maria on the move as well. She runs after Natasha and grabs her from the upper arm.

"Natasha wait," Maria says and Natasha stops on her tracks. "I'm sorry about earlier. Can we talk?"

Natasha turns around and Maria tries to look as apologetic as she can. Natasha just stares at her for a while.

"Fine. My quarters in 10."

Maria nods and drops her hold of the other woman. She didn't even realise she had still been holding her upper arm. Natasha eyes her quickly once more before she turns around again and heads out of sight to the locker room. Maria just stands still for a while, looking after her, until she spins around as well and heads out of the gym and towards Natasha's quarters.

------

Natasha is punctual as ever, and appears exactly 10 minutes later. Maria follows her silently into her room. Natasha sits down on her bed, one leg under herself while the other hangs off the edge. Maria is reminded of the morning. She stays standing near the door, but is faced towards Natasha. She's trying to figure out her words, even though she's been trying to figure out what to say ever since she walked out of Steve's quarters.

"Well?" Natasha prompts her.

"I fucked up. I'm really sorry for how I treated you. I panicked and I fucked up. I try my best to keep my private life and work separate, and I mostly live at work so… I'm having a hard time, to put it lightly. I also have never done this before."

"What? Been with a woman?" Natasha asks with a serious tone. It takes Maria a beat to realise she's not actually seriously asking that.

"No, Romanoff. You know that's not what I meant. I mean sleeping with a co-worker. Actually kinda never slept with anyone without being on a date first. And especially never had someone in my bed in a SHIELD facility."

"So I was your first one night stand?"

"About that, I wouldn't mind doing it again."

"Was I that good?" Natasha asks with a smirk.

"Natasha! I'm not talking about the sex. I'm talking about all of it. Everything since the mission. Spending time together at that bar and during the mission and also everything that came after."

"Wow. Is Commander Hill getting soft?"

"No,” she says. Taking a breath she continues, “I'd just like to see if this could become something. You're one of the few people around here who I can stand, and I actually had a really nice time yesterday. And I'm not regretting what happened after, so that probably says a lot."

Natasha gives her a small smile.

"What changed?"

"What do you mean?"

"You left the room in such a hurry and now you're here saying you don't regret it."

"Yeah, that. I might've talked to Steve and he had some good advice."

"You went to Steve?" Natasha's voice sounds almost scandalous.

"Who else would I go to? Fury? Do you think I have many friends around here? People who I could talk to?"

"Fair enough."

"So, if I'd ask you out on a date what would you say?"

"I would love to, but do you really want to go on a date? Because I feel like we're not the dating kind of people."

That was actually fair, she did always hate going on dates.

"What do you suggest then?"

"How about this?" Maria is really unsure about how she should feel about the smirk that follows that one simple question.

Natasha gets up and walks towards Maria. She stops when their chests are basically touching. She grabs Maria's hands and wraps them around her waist. Then she wraps her own arms around Maria's neck and rises up on her toes to kiss her. Maria basically melts into it. Eventually she lifts Natasha up and they move on the bed. Natasha seems very impressed that Maria can lift her. Maria might be a bit hurt about that.

------

When they decide to leave for an early lunch (neither remembered to eat breakfast), they're barely 100 feet down the hallway from Natasha's room, when they're stopped by a junior agent.

"Commander, Agent Romanoff. Director Fury wants to speak to both of you."

Maria and Natasha exchange a look.

"Did he say what about?" Maria asks.

"Not really," the Agent answers but there's a look on his face Maria doesn't like. It's like he knows something he shouldn't.

Maria debates for a little bit, if she should push and get some answers from him but decides against it. She dismisses the agent and starts heading towards the Directors office with Natasha.

They get a couple weird looks and smiles on the way there. They walk the whole way in silence. Both clearly trying to figure out what Fury wants from them.

Fury sees them immediately, which tells Maria that it's something important. She's getting nervous. Natasha is here as well, so her mind goes only to a specific direction, but how would Fury know?

"Director Fury, you wanted to see us?" Maria greets him.

"Hill, Romanoff. Has either of you checked the news today or any social media?"

Natasha shakes her head. She's been awfully quiet after they ran into that agent.

"No, sir. I haven't checked my phone at all today. Pretty sure it's dead anyway. I've been a bit distracted," Maria answers truthfully. There's no point in lying.

"Well, you probably should stay out of social media for a little while but that's just a suggestion. Do you have anything else to report to me?" His eye shifts from Maria to Natasha and back.

He knows. Maria takes a deep breath. She feels Natasha's hand touch hers, a sign that it's okay.

"Yes, sir. We, uh... Natasha and I are involved."

"Will it be affecting your work?"

"No, sir."

"Then I'm happy for you," he says with the slightest hint of a smile.

Maria is surprised and she can sense that so is Natasha. She lets her posture get a little more relaxed.

"Now to the real reason I invited you in," Fury says as he pulls some tabloid articles up on the screen behind himself. They're all saying basically the same thing: Black Widow at a gay bar with a mystery woman . Some of them have clearly done a better job with trying to figure out who this "mystery woman" is because a couple of them have actual pictures of Maria along with her name. And there's pictures. Pictures of them kissing, the intense looks they changed during that night and pictures of them leaving together.

"We tried to get them down before they spread too far, but clearly we didn't manage that. Anything about the Avengers' personal life spreads like a fire. I'm sorry about the situation it puts you in."

Both of the women just nod. There wasn't anything to say. Fury takes this as his answer and turns off the screen.

"Well then, you're dismissed. Hill, if you could stay for just a little longer?"

Natasha squeezes her shoulder a little before she steps out of the room.

"Sir?"

"No reason to be that formal anymore. This is just me checking on you. How are you feeling?"

"Well, that's a lot, but I think I'm fine. It's not the way I wanted things to go, but I guess it's good that it's out. If we wish to go out, now we don't need to worry if someone sees us or not."

"Okay, still I wish the situation wasn't this. I strongly suggest that you don't check any social media for the next few days. I know you think you can handle it, but there's gonna be some bad stuff there and I'd prefer the dust settles a bit first. Also if anyone, and I mean anyone, in SHIELD gives either of you a hard time because of this, let me know. I will handle it. It's out there, so everyone knows. I wish you could've handled this on your own terms, but the situation is what it is."

Maria smiles at him.

"Thank you, Director. I know I said it won't affect my work, and I truly believe and hope so, but if it ever seems like I'm putting her before the mission; pull me out of it, if possible. I know I won't be happy about it, but I need to know that I won't be making mistakes because I'm compromised."

"Of course. But I have full belief that you'll do great even then."

Maria nods and heads towards the door but Fury's voice makes her turn around before she gets to open it.

"Also, before you go. I am truly happy for you, Maria."

Maria smiles at him and nods her thanks and joins Natasha on the other side of the door.

Natasha hugs her as she closes the door. Maria circles her arms around her and presses her cheek against Natasha's head.

"That went better than I expected." She hears Natasha mumble against her chest.

"It did," Maria agrees.

"I'm so sorry about the articles though. If I would've just realised--" Maria quiets her with a kiss.

"Natasha, there's nothing you could've done about it. The second we walked in there everyone was paying extra attention to us. Those articles would be there even if we hadn't kissed. I'm just glad we did. I don't think I would've ever dared to take this step otherwise," Maria says. She looks Natasha in the eye and they exchange smiles. "Now, how about that lunch?"