#I don't want to be encased in a glass box

[mediumsizedqueerlynx]

“lesbian means women loving women”/“lesbian means non-men loving non-men”

okay, and? “gay” technically means men loving men, but it's been used as a synonym for the queer community long enough that I didn't even think about it when I used it as such.

the sooner you accept that things can be more complex and nuanced than you could ever fathom the sooner you'll be able to free yourself from the boxes everyone tries to stuff us into.

Liberty, I thought, is the goal. Not making ourselves shiny and pretty for cishets.

[nuhuhwinniethepooh]

B-urn

Tags : Fluff then Angst, Smitten Gojo Satoru x F!Reader :), Gojo as a hateful dad, character death.

A/N : I've had enough of soft dad Gojo Satoru, I need some hateful dad Gojo Satoru or something similar to it at least.

WC : 1.7k

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1 " Hey 'toru, Get some peaches on your way back. " " Hey, honey. "

"You're crazy," you whisper speechlessly, pushing a strand of wet hair off your eyes and gazing blankly at Satoru kneeling on the tiled floor with a velvet box in his hand, encasing a sparkly ring inside- both his and your birthstones, you notice.

"Maybe I am, maybe I'm not. But one thing's for sure, I never thought I wanted to settle down. But now...now I just can't imagine a future without you," Satoru starts, you've never seen him so genuine of his feelings, so innocently vulnerable like he's gonna shatter if you say no.

"So please, answer my question. Can I marry you and make myself the happiest man to have ever lived?" He continues, gentler this time. You bite your bottom lip, holding a sob back as you nod, too afraid that you'll fall apart if you speak. You nod once again, feeling warmth envelop your skin as Satoru throws himself at you and peppers your face with kisses- 'Thank you's' and 'I love you's' slipping out his mouth like butter on a heated pan as he slips the ring on your finger.

You clear your throat, backing away as you look at the ring glint under the light with a smile," it's beautiful, Satoru. I love it but next time, please don't propose to me in the bathroom when I'm fresh out of the shower," you say with a wide grin on your face, tugging the towel around you to secure its position again. Satoru responds with a huge grin of his own, pulling you close and nuzzling your neck," Couldn't wait for tonight's date, I've waited long enough for this," he mumbles, placing soft kisses against your damp skin.

"Tha-," he shuts you up with his lips, "Okay, fine. Sorry, I'll keep the destination in mind next time," he apologizes with a sheepish grin but you know better than that, he's not the least bit sorry.

2 " I'm going shopping with your mum for my wedding dress today, I might be a little late. " " I hope you're doing fine "

The wedding was perfect from start to finish, the Gojo clan doing all the grunt work while the two of you made the final call at the end. Everything was perfect for Satoru, especially you. He even tears up a little when he watches you walk down the aisle towards him- muted giggles echoing in the enclosed wedding hall at his reaction. He had his blindfold removed for the day despite the fact that the shards of decorated glass and bright lights irritated his six eyes, a small sacrifice for the greater good.

The greater good being getting a better look at you, every blemish, every scar and every battle wound peeking out of your wedding dress was perfection to him. His heart tap-dancing in his chest when he meets your eyes, absolutely smitten for the look of pure joy in your face when your father finally rests your hand on Satoru's and the officiant starts the wedding, his words falling on deaf ears when Satoru chooses to gaze at you with adoration in his eyes instead.

Popping out of his reverie when your sparkling eyes meets his and a smile tugs at your lips," You're supposed to say 'I do' now," you whisper, squeezing his hand. "I do," his voice rings, loud and clear, squeezing your hand back after you do the same.

"You may kiss the bride." Finally.

"My wife," he thinks to himself happily before pulling you in and crushing your lips against his, the cheers from the crowd gradually turning into background noise, getting lost in the feeling of your warmth against his. He breaks the kiss only when thunder erupts and the pitter-patter of the rain starts loud and ominously, he turns and looks at you worriedly only to be left surprised when you look back at him with delight.

"Looks like even the heavens are blessing our wedding now," you hum, pulling him by the arm towards the door to the large balcony. Pushing the door open and dragging him towards the middle of the open balcony with a grin, the heavy rain immediately drenching the two of you- you let go of his arm, turning to face him with a hand held out," Can I have this dance?" a teasing grin on your face, Satoru swears his heart actually stopped for a second; grabbing hold of your hand, he places a quick kiss on your knuckles," gladly."

Gently swaying in the rain to the music drifting from the wedding hall, Satoru couldn't be happier. He's the happiest man to have ever lived when in your arms.

3 " 'll make breakfast tomorrow though, you want anything? " " I'm not sure if I told you this enough but "

Getting pregnant 3 years after your marriage wouldn't have been a surprising thing but it was for the two of you considering the fact that you went at it like rabbits. You wanted kids, he didn't, heirs and other matters be damned. He wanted you to himself for as long as possible, hoard your attention and love for as long as he could before you finally put your foot down.

The dreaded day arrived sooner than he liked, he'd have preferred another 7 years alone with you but you didn't give in this time. Adamant on bearing his child and starting a family, how could he ever say no to you? So he gives in and fucks you with a new goal in mind- getting you pregnant with his child.

Two weeks later, your breathe hitches as you look at the stick in your hand- you're pregnant. Excited squeals gushing out of you, you rush out the bathroom and to the shared master bedroom where you hold the pregnancy test up at Satoru's face. He looks at you with mild shock in his face," already?" He asks softly, taking the stick from your hand and looking at it blankly, sitting down on the edge of the bed besides him, you nod excitedly," We're gonna be parents, s'toru!"

Before you know it, he throws the test aside on the floor, pulling you in his arms and crushing you under his weight as he presses kisses all over your flushed face," we're gonna be parents!" You giggle, hands cupping his cheeks to slow down the barrage of kisses. Satoru still wasn't really sure about the idea of a child yet but your joy at the thought of it was enough for him to push that idea aside, what you wanted was what he wanted, it's a universal rule.

"We gotta celebrate this now, don't we?" He mumbles, hands slowly sliding under your shirt with a smirk, earning him a swat against his chest. "Gosh, you're disgusting," you chuckle, wrapping your arms around his shoulder and pulling him in. "And you love me for it, Mama," he coos, pressing a light kiss at the corner of your lips- your heart swells at the thought of being a mother, you were finally gonna start a family of your own with the man you love, life couldn't get any better.

4 " It might rain today so call me when you're done, okay? I'll come pick you up. " " I love you so much "

Fear and respect, two sides of the same coin, was easy to come by when it came to Gojo Satoru, hating even easier but what was hard was loving him, harder than it should be- Loving him was like climbing up a snowy mountain with nothing but a fork, Loving him was like crossing the seven seas with only a raft, Loving him was like trying to figure out what to do with a beloved china bowl that got smashed into pieces. It was nigh impossible to love him, anyone who did try gave up halfway through, only leaving him worse still. But everything changed once you came along.

You didn't climb the snowy mountain with a fork, not at all. You just waited long enough for a ski lift to be built for skiing enthusiasts and then took the lift yourself. You gave him time to adapt, time to breathe before finally making your way through the icy remnants of his scarred heart.

You didn't travel the seven seas with a raft, not at all. You just sold the raft and bought yourself a ticket for a worldwide cruise, enjoying every single moment on the long trip back to him. You gave him patience and waited happily for him to come around.

You didn't just accept your fate to pick the broken china pieces and throw it in the bin, not at all. You just gently assembled it and glazed it with lacquer, painstakingly painting over every crack with gold. You didn't fix him, you just accepted all of his broken pieces, that's all - the rest he did it himself.

It wasnt the fact that you took the easy way out, not at all. It was the fact that you put the effort to think about ways to love him- It was always hard to love Satoru, you just made it easy. So if someone asks Satoru why he loves you so, all he does is smile and answers " no reason at all." He just loves everything about you, he doesn't need a reason to do so.

5 " You don't sound so well, is everything okay? " " More than you could ever know "

20 weeks, 5 months, into your pregnancy and Satoru's already starting to feel uneasy, the change is small, unnoticeable to the normal eye even. But the change is there, his six eyes catching everything. You've gotten weaker, not externally per se but internally. He brings it up once when the two of you cuddle in the bed, you laugh and brush it off by saying," it's only natural." He's not convinced but he doesn't push it, opting to graze the curve of your cheek instead.

Something was really wrong, very, very wrong- You've been rapidly losing weight, the complete opposite of what should be happening. The growing baby bump only makes you grow thinner, finding it hard to even do the basic things, having to rely on Satoru for everything. He'd have been delighted on being relied on some other time but this time he's not, he's more concerned than anything.

The trip to the doctors doesnt change a single thing, every single one of them saying the same thing over and over and over again. "She's fine, just a rare case. It's better than it looks, 'ts just an uncommon case of weight loss during pregnancy." He swears its not, the very molecules that makes up you seems to be slowly but steadily gathering and surrounding one particular place, your belly but how could they know that? They were normal doctors, not some omniscient sorcerer like him.

So he grits his teeth, quietly holding your hand and holding onto his last hope, Shoko. Despite it not being her area of expertise, he can only hope for the best afterall she was a sorcerer too, she has to have the ability to figure it out...doesn't she? All hope comes crashing down when Shoko shakes her head, there was nothing wrong with you, the final verdict.

" I told you, didn't I? It's just an uncommon case, honey. You're too paranoid," you grin and tiredly pat his hand, boney fingers brushing against his. Your engagement ring and wedding ring hanging around a chain on your neck glistens blindingly under the stark hospital light- it became too loose to fit you anymore. Satoru feels slight prickles in his eyes from underneath the blindfold, he doesn't know why but he does. Forcing a tight smile at you, he nods," You might be right dear, but you know I can't help it when it comes to you," he mumbles, placing a chaste kiss on your knuckles to hide his falling smile. You chuckle lightly, flushing at the contact," You're such a silly man, 'toru. "

6 " Hmm? Oh I'm fine, don't worry. How's work though? " " And I swear I've tried, I really have "

Problems over problems befall, the number of curses quickly increasing exponentially with no rhyme or reason and the higher-ups pressuring him from all side was taking a toll on him, not to mention your declining health. You looked healthier now, taking the supplements that Shoko provided helped you not look like you were gonna fall dead at any given moment. A farce, Satoru notes, you're healthier on the outside, dying on the inside. He even contemplates getting rid of the thing inside you completely but as if like you read his mind, telepathically catching onto his thoughts, you become more protective.

Hands always wrapped around your belly and eyes instinctively following his every movement, always on sharp alert. Waiting for something to happen, you're not entirely sure for what but you wait. Catching onto your guarded attitude, Satoru drops the idea immediately. He doesn't want you to hate him, he'd die if you did and even he's not sure if he means it figuratively.

He makes sure to coo at your belly every night though, sure he doesn't want a child but that didn't mean he didn't feel any love for it despite the toll it took on you. He just hates it as a husband and loves it as a father- hates it even more as a lover. Hiding his slowly growing apprehension of the unborn child inside you with a mask of an excited father-to-be.

You know Satoru acts off this days especially when he interacts with the baby but you don't say anything, he's a busy man and you were currently out of service which meant double the work, you couldn't possibly have the right to ask him what's wrong, right?

7 " 'Toru, don't worry about me. I'm not mad, I promise. Just try to get your business trip finish a little faster okay? " " So please don't hate me too much "

You're a nervous wreck, anxiety fully settling deep in your bones despite the contractions. The pain was doing nothing to alleviate the turmoil inside you other than making it worse, 7 hours in after your water broke and Satoru is nowhere in sight- you're nervous, in pain and surrounded by strangers. Shoko was kicked out, 'only family members are allowed in' they said, despite your pleas they ignore you. They were gonna have hell to pay later until then you had to push through it by yourself, it couldn't possibly get any worse.

Biting down on your lips after screaming your throat hoarse, you squeeze your eyes shut, the salty taste of your tears mixing in with the metallic ones on your lips only making you want to gag. Slowly, loud words starts to blur and dim as your vision gets hazy, drifting in and out of your consciousness while barely catching sight of the figures hovering around you," I see the head!" One particularly loud statement snaps you back into reality, everything ending too quickly from there with still no sign of your husband anywhere.

With the first cry resounding in the room, your heart rate falls rapidly; the once searing pain only a throb now, a small respite but an unwelcoming one. You wish for the numbing chill to be replaced for the burning pain, praying for the latter if it meant that you could still breathe in the scent of his skin, still comb your fingers through arctic white hair, still stare into his cerulean blue eyes, still lay your head above hi- "I'm sorry" a hushed whisper in the chaos.

The high-pitched beeps flatlines, parallel lines all in all. The silence is too loud and the air too thick, working their way to restart a heart that's already dead and gone. Somewhere in the distance another heart drops, not with the promise of death but of something much worse. What use is a beating heart if the soul is already dead?

8 " I'm sorry I couldn't make it, I swear I tried " " But I can't do it "

Satoru doesn't hate her. No, he abhors her. The feeling of complete hatred and malice against an individual- every babble, every cry, every coo, her very existence disgusts him to the core. Somedays he just wants to snap her neck, it'd be so easy, so quick, so satisfying, so very dreadful. Somedays Satoru even considers it, his long slender fingers wrapping around her small sleeping figure and squeezing just a little, just a twitch but her eyes always flutters open, always gazes at him with a smile, always holds her chubby little arms out to him.

It's not her smile, her voice or his guilty conscience that stops him, it's her eyes. Your eyes. The curve, the shape, the color, the very crinkle reminds him of you, your eyes are staring back at him but it's not you. It'll never be you. Pulling his hand back like he got burned, he rushes out. It's what he always does these days, he runs and runs until he can't anymore, hoping that maybe somewhere along the way, he'll finally find you again.

You're so cruel and so very heartless, if you were gonna leave him in the end you should've never made him love you at all but you did, you did and he loves you. He loves you and you left.

Satoru is always bitter, maybe if she didn't have your eyes then maybe it'd be easier to get rid of her, maybe it'd be easier for him to move on. But you're always there, your first gift being her last saving grace. Your eyes, your first, your life, your last. Maybe you knew about it, you always did say that you wanted a baby that looked like you. He never bothered to ask why because he agreed with you, he always agrees with you, but now he seems to understand why, you always did understand him better than he did himself.

So all he does is mourn, he mourns but he doesn't cry- he didn't cry when he got the news of your death neither did he cry when he saw your body, not a single tear in sight. He just silently stood by your side, gently grazing your face with a finger, hands interlocked with yours until your last moment. And like all sorcerers fate, he watched your body get cremated until nothing but ashes were left in the end. Silently making his way back to a dark and empty house with nothing but the urn of your ash in his hand. He still doesn't cry when he hugs the urn close to his chest and stares at your side of the bed late into the night, he doesn't cry at all.

He doesn't cry because he can't cry. Tears are the embodiment of an emotion, what use are they for a man who's already gone numb?

9 " I love you " " I can't love her "

"Hiiii, 'toru"

"Hey, honey."

"How's everything over there?"

"She's growing up fast, you'd be surprised. She has my hair, y'know? Well, the color at least. It's funny how she's starting to resemble me, it's almost uncanny. She has your eyes though, it's like she copy-pasted your eyes onto hers, it's almost scary because it feels like it's you thats looking back at me sometimes. And well, she started going school now; just wanted to let you know that-"

"Well, that's sounds fun"

"...it's really not, not without you here"

"Aww, you miss me that much~?"

"I do, I miss you so much that it physically hurts"

"Aww I miss you too, honey. Tell you wha-"

Satoru sighs, cutting the saved voice message. What was he even doing, answering to your pre-recorded voice like a deranged person. But maybe he was deranged or tired perhaps both, he's not sure but what he was sure of was the fact that he hated he-

"Papa?"

Satoru hears before he sees, the door swinging open ever so slightly to showcase a pair of eyes, your eyes, meekly looking at him. Your eyes in his face but it's not you neither is it him, it's neither you or him but it's both you and him. It's so conflicting.

"What is it?" His voice softer than he wanted it, harsher than expected.

"I just wanted to show you the drawing I made today in class." Her voice is quiet, her footsteps even quieter as she slowly walks up to him, a rolled up paper carefully held in one tiny fist. She was so small, so tiny, so quiet, so utterly disgusting. Placing it down flat ever so quietly on the table, she takes a step back "It's you, me and...mama" she mumbles, pointing at the three stick figures accordingly.

Satoru pulls his blindfold up and narrows his eyes at the stick figure that was apparently you, your hair was wrong, the color, the length, the very style was wrong. "I-I don't know how mama looks like" she admits, tiny hands grabbing onto her shirt as she looks down.

"Of course, you don't. You killed her, sucked her life-force right out like a fucking parasite" he thinks bitterly to himself, fingers grazing over the paper. Everything was wrong, this whole situation was wrong, but the crudely drawn smile on your face wasn't. The smile wasn't, your smile wasn't. The edges of the crayon smile was raised just perfectly, you smiled just like that, always did even when he-

"Papa?" She calls out, eyes peeking through the soft tufts of arctic white hair- Satoru clears his throat, quietly re-adjusting his blindfold before nodding quickly "it's good, good job." He says, fingers gently outlining the curve of the crayon smile- it's what you would've said to her had you been the one in his place so it's what he'll say to her in your place. "You may leave now"

And don't ever come back.

She nods, reaching out for her drawing but Satoru shakes his head, tugging it closer to him which earns him a surprised reaction, something hopeful glinting in her eyes as she nods and quietly scurries out the door. He sighs when the door closes with a click, standing up and rummaging through his office for a spare frame. You'd have framed it and gushed about it had you been there but you weren't so the least he could do was frame it, he's framing it because it's what you would've done, it's what you would've wanted him to do.

He can't love her for you, he loves you and he'd do anything for you but loving her for you? He can't do that, he's more selfish than that.

Satoru sighs as he carefully puts the drawing in the frame, it's what you would've wanted, it's what you would've done. So he'll do it for you because it's you that loved her.

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THIS TOOK SO LONG AND IM FINALLY BACK! I ALSO FOUND A PARTTIME JOB! YAY! Gonna take a lot to buy a new laptop though so wish me luck!

Masterlist

[yostresswritinggirl]

𝐅𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫 𝐅𝐚𝐥𝐥

pairing -> Alhaitham x Reader

word count -> 2249 words

themes : temporary paralysis, physical therapy, angst with comfort, feelings of distress and helplessness, specific description of passing out and weakness, reader discretion is advised, Alhaitham is staying by your side and helping you recover pretty much

A delicate foreign flower encased in a glass case. Unable to resist the gift, this admirer seemed to be too eager for you to open the glass for closer inspection. In the comforts of your home, a simple touch had made you as delicate as the frozen flora. If only Alhaitham had been there sooner. (Cyno ver., Tighnari ver.)

The glass case in your hand was not only heavy but cold, so cold in fact, that you had to pull your sleeves as cover for your freezing hands.

You'd soon find out that the man before you was a mask-less Fatui agent but currently, he is but a Snezhnayan tourist, perhaps a merchant with the exquisite gift he had bestowed upon you. Fatuus are barely seen in Sumeru after all, and they are usually Fatui Skirmishers in the desert side.

You also have a penchant for being unable to say no. At least, an outright refusal.

"Thank you for this." You stated with a forced smile as your eyes darted around, desperately looking for a sign of your silver-haired lover. Of course, the one time you needed him the most, he wasn't there.

"Why are you not opening it? Open it." He was infuriatingly persistent and demanding, so unlike your secret lover. Like there was some sense of urgency. At that time it made sense, in the public's eye you were a free fish in the sea with a lot of hooks thrown in front of you.

"I'm sure it looks pretty, I'm really thankful!" You winced as you adjusted your sleeve to cover more of your skin as one of your fingertip painfully stuck to the cold surface. "But I'm scared I might drop it, and we're in the middle of the street."

You were expecting an offer to perhaps hold the box, maybe open it for you and pass the flower instead but - "Then let me take you somewhere private so you don't have to struggle -"

"On second thought, I just realized I have something urgent to go to!" Red flag, red flag, red flag. You didn't even hesitate to show your defiance as you evade his hand that wanted to hold your wrist, quickly walking backward towards the bazaar's main doors. "Thank you for the gift! We can talk about it next time!"

And you disappeared behind the double doors, steps heavy as you made haste to your home before the stranger could see which direction you went to.

In the safety of your home, you couldn't help but laugh a breathless laugh at what you thought was exaggeration. It's not the first time you met a persistent suitor, nor received an odd gift, but somehow that foreigner just rubbed you wrong.

Perhaps next time you meet, you can offer an apology for your actions. If the gift is good, at least.

Looking at the glass case on your coffee table, you can help but admire it now that you weren't being pressured to. It was thick enough that it might not even break if you were to drop it from shoulder height, but the lid was made of a thinner material to see the content inside - if there wasn't a fog rolling inside it.

Pulling the lid off and quickly putting it down on the table before the frostbite hits your nerves, you watch in awe as the fog inside seemingly spills over the walls of the container on to the tabletop.

The flower itself looked like it was made of a deep blue glass with gold-like pollen surrounding an illuminated pointy crystal in the middle. There are also icy crystals nestled between the other petals. This is definitely from outside of Sumeru, you surmised as you plucked it off the dry ice bedding.

It was cold to the touch, the frostbite biting painfully like pinpricks on your fingertips before it numbed away almost immediately. You only got to admire it for a few seconds before your limbs started to feel heavy.

Bracing yourself on the table, your body started to slump forward against your will until your arms sent the glass and the ice off to your tiled floor. But you didn't hear a single thing when you should have heard the loud clatter, no, instead a piercing ringing sound invaded your ears.

Everything felt so heavy and so cold, yet you could feel your skin breaking out into a sweat. What's happening to you? Trying to focus on your dwindling breathing, your barely open eyes caught sight of your front door opening, a black and white figure entering your home.

It only registered in your mind that everything is washed in monochrome colors. But you know that build anywhere even without color.

Only did you hear Alhaitham's muffled call of your name did you finally feel safe enough to close your eyes.

Investigation

Alhaitham praised himself for following his gut feeling when he passed by your house that day, hearing the muffled but loud sound of items falling on the ground. Then a standstill.

If he had let it go as a mere accident, he wouldn't have been able to see the state you were in and administered the proper first aid: body cold and covered in sweat, nails a purplish blue, heartbeat slow and breathing low, and that darned flower slowly freezing your fingers.

He was admittedly scared beyond insanity, the usually well-kept Scribe was a mess upon arrival, words louder than he wanted as he demanded for a doctor.

Only when you stabilized did they break the news to him: symptoms that match syncope, but with a side effect of paralysis. The recovery is slower than any of the cases they had dealt with and so there was nothing they can do without any leads other than to wait.

Even the best of the Amurta scholars cannot identify the flower when he asked around, careful not to touch the flora itself. The powerful Akasha terminal had nothing to offer either, restricted records exhausted yet yielding no results.

Alhaitham rarely left home at this point, only leaving when there was a lead or something to get when you request it. His work as Grand Scribe was forgotten to focus on his goal, and when the Grand Sage himself visited to reprimand him for his work ethic, the only answer he got was to bring his work to him instead.

Day and night he spent his time glued to his study table with a permanent frown, papers stacking to a tall pile either from the Akademiya or his research, never once stopping until his desk was clear.

Kaveh initially thought that Alhaitham was playing you with a loveless relationship when he first heard of your relationship. But as he stood by the doorway, presence unnoticed by the Scribe as he fought to stay awake for 3 days now, he remembered that the man had always had a strict work setup:

Alhaitham never brought his work home, always putting a boundary between his work and personal life.

Yet here he was, throwing away his stability and vices to help you. Kaveh had never been so convinced that the Scribe was truly in love.

Recovery

The idea of kicking Kaveh out of the house crossed his mind once when he decided that you had to stay under the same roof until you recovered. He didn't have an extra room and the only other room up to his standards would be his -

And so began your confinement to his bedroom. With how you spend more time staying there than him sleeping in his own bed, it may as well have been named your room.

The first few days of recovery passed by quickly on your end, as the fatigue and the lack of freedom to do anything quickly coaxed you to long period of sleep. Your lover stuck by your side the whole time to make sure you at least drank and ate something, even if they are in small increments.

But the situation came crashing down in your mind one day, Alhaitham finding you crying quietly, eyes wide with fear, chest heaving with desperate breaths. You couldn't even squeeze his hand when he held it close, couldn't reply when he asked if you're struggling to breathe. He was also powerless on that situation, unable to do anything but hold you close until you cried yourself to sleep.

It was embarrassing, demeaning even, having to be taken care of like this. Alhaitham became your arms and legs, practically nothing without him, and on more than one occasion the thought affected you more than your condition.

After all, your relationship with Alhaitham is still in a fragile state. Not quite friends yet not quite lovers - before this incident, he was still in the process of courting you. Your wary glances towards him when he's caring for you may be obvious, but whether he noticed or not, he never addressed it.

Ever since the start of your care, Alhaitham had developed a habit you never foresaw: how he's always holding your limp hand. While he's not exactly aversive to physical affection, he was never this confrontational about it.

Every time he's in the room, the first thing he does is hold your hand and only letting go when absolutely necessary. Often you find your eyes lingering there, guilty that you can't squeeze his hand.

One day, with the pillows propped up against the headboard so you can sit up and rest against it, you were in the middle of teasing Alhaitham about the memory of your first date when his head snapped towards his hand.

His eyes were wide and bewildered as he squeezed your hand, and that's when you realized it - your fingers twitched in response to the pressure. "Do that again." And soon, you managed to curl your fingers, loosely wrapping around his own.

Progress, it was progress. With your blurry vision and happy tears, you do not notice the way Alhaitham's eyes glossed over in unshed tears, head bowed as he brushed his lips over your hand.

With your hope reignited and your energy returning from the prospect of recovery, the gloom that hangs over the Scribe's shoulders started to dissipate.

Whenever you feel sore from being in bed all day, he would call up a massage therapist with your consent. A few visits after, instead of the therapist he'll start massaging your arms himself daily.

Daily check-ups are a thing, by the way. Testing your grip and the weight your hand can hold, how high you can lift and twist your arms, at some point he stopped helping you to sit up (not because he's neglecting you now, he simply knows you'd rather not be babied all the time).

And as the road to recovery became clearer, you can see Alhaitham also change with you. More open with his emotions and feelings, doing things out of his norm (reading you story books from Inazuma to pass the time, ESPECIALLY when he started voice acting the lines), and generally just a stark contrast to how he was before the incident.

Your doubts and fears that Alhaitham would leave after taking up the burden of helping you soon disappeared. Leaving nothing but love-stricken smiles and warmth.

Aftermath

You'll never know the full extent of his research and sacrifices to find out your attacker and your illness. So you were surprised to find the General Mahamatra visiting to inform Alhaitham that they had found the suspect.

The Scribe carried you to the Akademiya with Kaveh tagging along. And when you saw the sight of the Snezhnayan merchant, the fatui agent being escorted to his trial in chains, your lover passed you to Kaveh.

Your bubbling fear at the sight of the criminal was replaced by shock as you all watch Alhaitham pull his arm back and deliver a right hook to the man's now broken jaw. No one, not even the Matra, dared to reprimand him.

Everyone knew the crime the criminal committed by now. After all, the whole of Sumeru had seen the Scribe walking around with you in his arms or in crutches, always by your side as you slowly regained control of your lower-half.

Your unfaltering resolve and tireless effort had everyone respecting you, some subtly helping here and there to make things more accessible for you.

In turn, the citizens and scholars of Sumeru began seeing Alhaitham more as a human than just the Akademiya's lunatic.

The flower was an extinct flora once found in Snezhnaya's tundras. It is the only surviving sample and the extent of its effects is still under research in the Amurta. When you asked about the criminal one day, Alhaitham simply said that you didn't need to worry about him anymore.

A full recovery would never be a thing and you accepted that fact long ago. But walks became your favorite past time with Alhaitham after being stuck in his room for months.

And now you only needed a cane to bring to your walks, the one you have now was a gift that he commissioned from Kaveh, its design and gems fashioned to mimic the style of his clothes. It was his gift for your first date after you became stable enough to walk by yourself.

One night, you quietly and carefully tiptoed from your shared room to sneak up behind Alhaitham, slightly making him jump when you wrapped your arms around his shoulders over the back of the couch.

Slightly turning his head, he took note of the absence of your cane. "I love you." His hand on your twitched for a second and you thought for a second that he stopped breathing. But only when he squeezed your hand did he finally reply, "I love you." Exchanging those three words for the first time.

Fun Fact: the flower is actually the flower in the Blizzard Strayer artifact set!

holy shit i did not expect to write this much, actually, i had to hold back a lot in the recovery here. Tighnari is the last one and this mini series would be over wooh!

[be-co-me]

All I Want For Christmas Is You

Levi Ackerman

6.8k words

Summary: The day before Christmas Eve, you happen upon your new roommate's living room calendar and discover that his birthday also happens to fall on Christmas and after a drunken night of meeting his friends and getting to know each other better, also discover he doesn't have a family to spend Christmas with, so you offer him your own.

A/N: The more I wrote this, the more I hated it lol, but please listen to my favorite Christmas song before or while you read as it gives me the floaty happy feeling I desire this fic to have. It's Cold December Night by Michael Buble. Levi may be a bit OOC, but I wanted this ready for Christmas, so I didn't have much time to skim it over and fix things. Thank you for reading and please let me know your thoughts! This isn't yet edited so please don't mind any mistakes! The AO3 curse got me the past couple of days, so this is much more delayed than I would have liked it to be.

-----

You pulled the last of your packed moving boxes through the front door of your new residence, nudging the door closed with your foot as to not let anymore of the heat inside escape. You had been moving things in slowly the past week, the first few days unpacking consisted of larger and more important items and as the days passed, the less important items made their way into your new home. You let the heavy box cradled in your arms plop to the floor with a thud and sighed heavily, folding over to catch your breath. You quite literally felt a huge weight drop from your shoulders as you realized you were done moving. And not only was it the last box, but the last of your Christmas shopping.

Speaking of Christmas, you noticed the lack of Christmas decor adorning your new apartment. While the shared quarters still held a sense of home and comfort, the decor, you felt, was not up to par for the season near enough for your liking. You would have to ask your new roommate about it and see if you could put more up. You shrugged your winter attire off and made your way to the kitchen for a cup of coffee. It would be a long night of wrapping presents and you could use all of the fuel your peppermint mocha had to offer.

As your Keurig sputtered your drink of choice out, you opted to change into comfortable clothes for the evening. When you reentered the kitchen, you grabbed the steaming mug off the machine and blew on the top of the drink, taking a small sip to test the temperature on your tongue.

As you did so, your eyes wandered the walls and found a relatively large calendar hung perfectly straight. You eyed the current date, December 23rd, and the following days, your eyes widening as you abandoned your warm mug on the countertop and made your way closer to the calendar.

Your fingers touched along the block that held 'Christmas Day' and your eyes roamed the calendar adorned in neat script and back to the unfamiliar scrawl that sat atop the block labeled 25.

'LEVI'S BIRTHDAY!!!!!!' It read, in messy capital letters with an astronomical amount of exclamation points following the words. A quite ugly and cartoonish drawing of glasses sat underneath the script, the manufactured 'Christmas Day' scribbled out, and you assumed one of his friends had written everything inside the box. A feeling of panic set in. You had to get him something. It was his birthday. Did that explain the lack of Christmas decor? Does he despise Christmas?

At that moment, you heard a set of keys jingle outside and the click of the door unlocking. You quickly stepped away from the calendar and your hands encased your mug once again. You took another sip of the drink as Levi walked in, brushing snow off of his shoulders. You looked away, scrunching your face at the still boiling hot temperature of the mocha, cursing your awkwardness around the new man. His face adorned the same look, but only because of the cold.

His eyes met yours with a curt nod in greeting as he removed his shoes and he began walking towards the counter. He set his keys across the countertop and hung his backpack across the back of one of the high top stools lining the island countertop you currently leaned on.

"Sorry it's so late. I'm glad I didn't wake you up." he said, unzipping the bag and pulling his laptop out. You shook your head.

"I just got back as well! I finally have all of my stuff here now, so no more ruckus!" you responded hastily, opting to sip your drink once more. You hadn't yet engaged in many conversations with the man, only those around your mutual friend who shared your own college major, Isabel, who had suggested you as Levi's new roommate. But she wasn't here anymore to guide your conversation and it felt quite awkward.

"That's good to hear." he responded, fingers working to plug in the laptop's charger into the countertop. Something you hadn't yet noticed about the home, but you were glad it existed and were sure it would prove handy for late nights studying. You wondered if he had also felt awkward around you. That would have to end quickly if so.

You continued sipping at the drink in silence and watched as he worked, typing into the laptop. Maybe it would be a good time to retreat to your bedroom and give him his space to mitigate from work. Or make him a warm drink as well? Maybe try to strike up a conversation and get to know more about him? Or-

"Got any plans for the evening?" he asked, cutting your internal rapid firing line of questioning off. Your eyes met his own when he stopped typing. Your cheeks warmed at the steely grey's examining your expression. You quickly looked into the swirl of your drink.

"You're looking at them. Why? Got something in mind?" you asked, jumping at the opportunity to know more about him, or more specifically, what would be his fancy in terms of a gift or two.

"Hmm. I'm surprised Isabel didn't mention it. We're all going out in town tonight for a few hours." he responded, fingers reaching for his phone, also plugged in, and swiping it open. You were also surprised she hadn't mentioned so, but forgetful was one of her more endearing qualities so you were quite sure it wasn't on purpose.

"She's forgetful. I'm sure she meant to ask you about it though." he responded to himself. "So? Would you like to come?" he asked. His voice monotonous. He continued his work as you pondered the question and the task you would be abandoning for the evening.

You nodded, agreeing to go along, but now you would have to get ready. You'd have to give Isabel a call and see what the unspoken dress code of the evening was. You imagined if it went her way, you'd be quite dressed up for the night, which also meant freezing your ass off.

"I'll go get ready!" you responded. He nodded and turned his full attention back to his computer, finishing what you could assume was work for his graduate program he'd be starting the preceding semester at the university you would now also be a part of. You had met Isabel at a club meeting in your old college. An event all the universities had gone to. You had struck up a conversation with her, and were pleased to find she went to the same school you would soon be transferring to and it was history from there.

You pulled your phone from under your waistband, finding Isabel's contact as you closed the door to your bedroom. You set a coaster out onto your desk and set your drink down. You'd definitely need the fuel now. Or maybe the better idea would be to abandon it for water.

"Heeellllloooo?" a perky voice drew out the greeting. You smiled, shaking your head.

"Did you forget to tell me something?" you asked. A loud gasp rang over the other line and you took the phone off your ear in preparation for the yelling that was about to ensue across the other line.

"I'm so so sorry! I totally meant to tell you when Hange planned it! Shit! Did Levi tell you?" she asked. You nodded, laughing.

"Yes he did. Now onto more important details. What are you wearing? Is this more of a dressy going out or just comfy?" you asked, fingers sliding hangers over as you mulled over what you could wear for the evening in either option. You hated to not fit in with the theme.

"Hange wants us to dress up because it's Levi's birthday on the 25th! SHIT! That's another thing I forgot to mention!" she responded. This was a celebration. You felt guilty at not knowing the new man's birthday sooner. You chuckled despite the nervous thoughts that began to rapid fire your brain again.

"It's alright! FaceTime me so you can help me pick an outfit out!" you told her. You removed the phone from your ear, awaiting the video call and answering as soon as she called.

----

Your outfit of choice ended up being much more short and showy than usual; an extremely short velvet cocktail dress and heels that matched the color, much to Isabel's pleasure. You wore your trusty black 'going out' trench coat as it went with everything and kept you as warm as you could be in a short dress.

You finished the minute details of your outfit, leaving your bedroom. You walked into the living room, eyes in search of your new roommate to see if he was ready to go.

He had also changed into something a bit more dressed up; a pair of slacks, dress shoes, a button up shirt, and a blazer. His steely grey's met your own, looking down and up before meeting your own again. You swore your caught the faintest tint of blushing to his cheeks.

"Won't you be cold?" he asked, turning towards the counter, taking ahold of his keys. You shook your head.

"This is my trusty trench coat, either it's never let me down or alcohol warms me up enough." you responded.

"Want me to drive? Or we could walk if you won't be too cold or uncomfortable." he responded. You could only nod before realizing you were given two options in the question.

"Walking is fine." you answered curtly. You made your way to the front door, opening it and stepping into the cold. He followed behind you, his hand meeting your own as he propped the door open. You quickly retracted your hand. Now it was your turn to blush, but at least you could blame it on the cold weather.

You heard the telltale click of the lock on the door and he stepped down the stairs in front of you, turning and offering a hand. You stood still, putting your hand up to take his own in hesitation.

"It would really suck if you fell down the stairs before we got there." he said. You laughed loudly, slapping your hand down into his own and beginning your descent down the stairs. You small talked about your days, his at work and university, despite the off season from the semester, and you about your moving and Christmas plans.

You made it to the first place of the evening, a fine dining restaurant. If this friend group was anything like the one in your hometown, then you'd get dinner first and then get wild at bars and hangout spots the rest of the evening and into early morning.

You weren't quite sure of what anyone looked like outside of Isabel, your eyes scanning the tables for a mop of pink hair, but you couldn't see above anyone even with your heels on, and the restaurant was what you would call 'packed', everyone eager to finish their drinking bouts with heir university friends before returning home to their families.

You looked to Levi, who also struggled to see over the top of patron's heads. His eyes widened lightly and then met your own. He nodded his head a certain direction and you began following him through the throng of people towards your destination, taking ahold of the sleeve of his jacket.

Once making it to the table, Isabel stood, beaming.

"This is the infamous new roommate I've been telling you guys about!" she shouted. You laughed, Levi taking a seat next to Isabel. You opted to take the empty spot next to him at the end of the table.

Isabel sputtered more facts about you to the group before someone cut her speech off, a lean blonde man with bright blue eyes.

"Please, introduce yourself. We at least need a name with the face." he said more politely so than Isabel, who now pouted. You laughed too, proffering your name and a few small details about yourself. Where you came from, what your college major was, although you were sure Isabel had already shared those facts for you in her eagerness to adopt you into the friend group, and more typical introductory details.

The server came around and asked drink orders. You went with your regular drink of choice, something that wouldn't get you drunk after one, but definitely not something to drink on all evening. Everyone else made their orders and you were surprised to find Levi had actually ordered something containing alcohol. Albeit, not much, but it was a start. Isabel had told you he wasn't much of the drinker with he exception of tea and the occasional coffee whilst studying together. Your elbow met his arm and his gaze quickly made its way over to you.

"I thought I heard you weren't much of a drinker?" you chided. He looked down to his hands, which sat clasped together atop the table, then leaned back in his chair, a hand brushing through his hair with a long sigh.

"Hange said if I didn't have some drinks tonight they would cancel the whole thing." he responded, irritation laced in his tone, a stone cold gaze now looking to the perpetrator. You laughed loudly.

"I'm sure that's not true." you responded as your drink was placed into your field of vision. You took a sip right away, savoring the way this restaurant made it. This may be the best variation of the drink you had drank before. You'd have to ask for the recipe they used if they'd give it to you.

As you sipped at your drink, you side eyed Levi, who hesitantly took a sip of his own. His nose scrunched and he stirred into the drink more with the cocktail straws, taking another sip, seemingly satisfied with how it tasted now. You engaged in idle chatter with the group, only ordering appetizers and splitting them all amongst yourselves evenly. You insisted you boot Levi's portion of the bill, but Erwin met that proposition with a strong and resounding 'No'.

After two drinks you began feeling warm for the evening, ready to shed your coat at the next location the night took you too. You only followed his friends, not sure what they had in mind. You were sure they had regular locations they frequented and such.

You walked behind the group next to Levi, noticing the silence between the two of you was much more comfortable than earlier in the evening at your shared home. You found yourself enjoying his company more and more so.

Isabel suddenly came up behind you, tossing an arm over your shoulders and the other over Levi's. You stumbled, laughing. As you regained your footing, you caught the heavy glare Levi pointed her direction.

"Can't yell at me tonight bro!" she shouted, laughing loudly. You laughed along, wondering how their dynamic would usually be in your absence. It seemed her lifelong dream may have been to get on every last nerve roaming through his body you thought, maybe even Hange too. You were almost certain they planned antics to annoy him together.

The group made their way inside the next location and the first thing you did was shed the stuffy coat, draping it across your arm. Christmas music boomed loudly across the speakers as it intertwined with the bar's usual playlist.

You followed the group as they made their way through groups of dancing people to a table tucked in the back corner of the bar. You sat your coat atop a chair, scheming how you would pay for all of Levi's drinks for the remainder of the evening.

"What would everyone like? I'll go grab it!" you asked the group as they attempted to make themselves comfortable atop the booth behind the table. You opened a note in your phone and began writing them down.

"I'll come with you. You can't carry it all." Levi announced, standing. You noticed his blazer now shed off as well, another button undone on his dress shirt. It was now your turn to eye him, down and up. When your eyes returned to his face, his eyes met your own with what you could swear was the faintest hint of a knowing smile.

You walked to the bar, grabbing ahold of his shirt sleeve once more as you followed. You squeezed between two people's shoulders and leaned against the bar to wait your turn for a server. You turned your head over both shoulders to find Levi, his hand perched to your left side on the bar and right on his hip. You felt safely encaged, like no one could hurt you. While he didn't stand much taller than yourself, he definitely held an intimidating aura, something you couldn't say was a quality of your own.

You quickly looked back to the bartender as they were ready for your order and leaned further, allowing them to see your phone's notepad as you explained your new friend's drink orders. She nodded, stalking off to quickly make the requested list and move to the next.

Once she returned, you began handing Levi drinks and carried four on your own, which you were quite impressed with. Maybe your old serving job was useful in some aspects. You carefully walked back to the table as to not cause a mess or drop anything.

"Alright. Here's Furlan's, Isabel's, Hange's, and Levi's." you recited, handing the drinks to each respective person and setting Levi's in front of the seat that held his jacket. You turned to grab the remaining drinks out of his hands, smiling as your eyes met his own. He wasn't one to smile nor show emotion much, always stoic, you noticed. You turned back and set your own drink next to the seat you had discarded your jacket in and also next to Levi's.

"And finally mine, Erwin's, Moblit's, and Miche's." you finished. You clapped your hands together and made your way to your seat after Levi made his way in.

After loud idle chatter about anything and everything, Isabel and Hange insisted that you come to the dance floor with them, and despite your considerable amount of protesting, you ended up in major defeat as both of them grabbed ahold of each of your arms, dragging you out of your chair.

You laughed as you danced with them in a circle, each of you holding one of the other two's hands, skipping around. Some of the classic club songs blared through the speakers and your last drink began creeping into your bloodstream. You laughed harder at the heinous dancing Hange managed to pull off, curled over with your eyes closed, laughing the hardest you think you ever had.

You felt a finger tap your shoulder and you straightened your posture, eyes meeting the perpetrator. Isabel leaned close to your ear, telling you the group wanted to take shots and you should head to the table. You nodded and followed behind her and Hange, all holding hands so you wouldn't lose each other in the now packed and large crowd.

You placed your hands atop the edge of the table as you reached it to steady your balance, laughing as you thought of a silly dance Hange had done on the dance floor, your gaze meeting Levi's. Despite his lack of emotion, he didn't seem to be having a bad time. He seemed the type to enjoy the company of his friends and be hellbent on not showing it.

Shot glasses full of bright red liquid were dispersed and you attempted to ask what it was. The overall consensus was that it was a Christmas themed drink. You shrugged and downed the shot after Hange's loud and enthusiastic countdown.

You returned to the dance floor, more of the group joining along, with the exception of Erwin and Levi, who remained chatting away at the table. You couldn't help it, but you found yourself gazing his way the entire evening. You wished he was the dancing type.

After another shot later in the evening, you all had decided to filter outside in search of your next location. You had also succeeded in paying for all of Levi's drinks, much to Erwin's dismay, who insisted paying the entire bill every place you went to.

You opted to not put your coat back on, allowing the cold weather to sober you. You couldn't help but smile as you watched the group. You hoped to become a permanent part of it.

You felt a nudge to your shoulder and looked towards Levi, his hands in his pockets as he walked. Your cheeks were warm and your smile grew wider as he encased his hands over your shoulders, rubbing lightly. You were a bit cold. Maybe he could tell? You had surrendered your coat to Isabel, who had forgotten her own at home.

"Enjoying yourself?" he asked. You nodded eagerly.

"I should be asking you that question." you responded, nudging him back. He shook his head and you all opted for the last location of the evening to be a small coffee shop cafe, something they apparently did routinely after going out for the night. You never did get to finish your peppermint mocha earlier in the evening.

You walked up to the shop, ordering another of the aforementioned drink. Levi had opted for tea, and everyone else some variation of a hot chocolate or coffee. You filtered out of the door, allowing more patrons to filter in before hearing a screech and howling laughter that could only belong to one person behind you.

Your eyes turned to Hange, who pointed a finger curtly above your head, still laughing. Your eyes widened as they met the bundle of leaves and small white fruit hanging above you. Your eyes met the pair of also widened steely greys in front of you.

"You have to! It's bad luck if you don't!" Isabel shouted. Erwin and Moblit could only shake their heads at the antics of the two troublemakers, who doubled over howling with laughter.

What do you do? You don't want to reject Levi. Nor do you want bad luck during the incoming year. If anything, you currently wanted him to kiss you. You shrugged your shoulders and his eyes scanned your features, down to your lips and back to your own gaze. You wet your lips with your tongue unconsciously, stepping closer to your roommate.

And as if by chance, the cheesy Christmas music playing the entire evening filtered through the cafe doors as they opened. The line in the music gave you a sense of (false?) confidence, a sense of this being fated to happen in your tipsy state.

'So kiss me on this cold December night.'

You lightly placed your hands over his arms and his own met your shoulders hesitantly, circling his thumbs over them once more. His eyes scanned over your face once again, as if asking permission. You nodded, closing your eyes, and soon after felt a pair of warm plush lips capture your own. And like a ghost, they were there one second and gone the next.

You forgot about the group behind you, your eyes opening and meeting the pair in front of you. Your smile beamed once more, the group behind you hooping and hollering at the two of you. He really smiled for the first time that evening.

As you made your way home, the hands that were once shoved into his pockets now held a warm drink and your own warm hand in comfortable silence.

----

You awoke to the smell of coffee wafting through the apartment. Christmas Eve, the day to wrap all of the presents you had meant to wrap the evening prior, a task that needed to be done before you left for your family's home.

You stretched yourself awake, abandoning your bed to make yourself not look such a mess before making your way into your shared living quarters. You eyed your phone, the time still quite early.

"Good morning Levi." you said, pouring yourself a cup of the still hot coffee. He muttered a good morning back to you, typing across the keyboard on his laptop once more.

"Got any plans for the day?" you asked him, elbows leaning atop the counter he currently sat on the other side of. His eyes met yours as he shook his head.

"You're looking at them." he responded, and you remembered your similar conversation the evening prior. Did he have no family to go home to? On his birthday? Maybe they lived close and he'd go the next day.

"How about you?" he asked, eyes still scanning the laptop screen. You shrugged.

"Wrapping presents and driving to my family's house. I haven't seen them in a while. I'm pretty excited." you spouted, rambling on about your family to him. You noticed halfway through he had stopped typing and removed his glasses, fully intent to listen to your words.

"What's your family like Levi?" you asked. Any more hints to get an idea as to what you could get him for his birthday tomorrow may come from information on his family.

"I don't have one." he responded. Your eyes widened, taken aback.

"What do you mean?" you asked in thought. Before he could respond you realized the insensitivity of the question. "Never mind you don't have to answer. I'm prying." you answered yourself.

"It's alright. I don't mind telling you. My mom died when I was young and I don't really know my dad." he said quietly with a small shrug of his shoulders. You nodded, your eyes widening as an idea sprung to mind. His face contorted to one of confusion at your sudden beaming smile.

"Come with me to my family's! We'll be back the day after Christmas!" you shouted, your hands slapping over the top of his across the countertop after abandoning your coffee for the second time in as many days.

"It'll be so much fun I promise. they're a little crazy at times, but I don't think it's fair to spend your birthday alone Levi." you continued, almost pleading. His gaze looked to the ceiling in thought before meeting your own once more.

"Okay. Yeah. I'll do it." he responded. You squealed in happiness, quickly sputtering that you had to call your mom before grabbing your coffee and prancing off to your room, closing the door shut.

You found your mom's contact, calling her to let her know the situation. You knew how your parents were, there with open arms to anyone who needed it. And they'd be damned if they also didn't have something there for Levi as well. You had a small pull out couch in your childhood room you could sleep on, opting to let him take the bed as it was larger.

You eagerly spouted a plan to your mother, different gifts for him you thought he would like so she could purchase them. She was just as excited as you it seemed. She always loved when you brought friends home. She loved your big heart even more, which was the main reason she indulged in the company of your friends.

You wrapped your family's presents quickly afterwards, eager to drive to your parent's house in Levi's company. Once you finished wrapping everything or stuffing it into respective gift bags, you stuffed changes of clothes into your suitcase along with your laptop and other items you may need during your visit.

You re-entered the living room at eleven, Levi also packing up his needed items, a suitcase sat next to the door and you set your own next to his. You filtered in and out of your room, stacking the presents next to your cargo. Once you were certain you had everything, you quickly made a to go coffee in a thermos before grabbing your keys, warming your car up as you packed everything into it.

You talked back and forth on the way about school and the friend group you had been assured you were now a part of. You had received more than enough details about Levi to get him gifts of your own after the drive, allowing your mother to steal the ideas you had learned of him the night prior.

You and your mother decided together she could buy the Christmas gifts, and you the birthday gifts.

----

You made a quick pitstop at the strip mall down the street from your parents that you frequented as a teen. Levi walked into the store behind you, and you made the excuse that you needed to pick up one more present for your mother, Levi didn't fail to mention the large load of presents you had already packed into your car.

He scanned over a rack of clothing and you used that as your chance to hastily escape, picking up a few gifts your mother had told you she hadn't gotten yet over text.

When you were satisfied with your selection, you made your way to the front to pay and found Levi quite easily in the shop, letting him know you were finished.

You ran back to the heat of your car, the remaining five minutes of your drive felt so long.

----

As you pulled into the driveway, you beeped the horn of your car lightly to let your family know you had arrived. You parked and exited the car as your parents and four year old younger brother stepped onto your porch. You little brother beelined it for you and you laughed, kneeling down to his level. He jumped into your arms and shouted your name. You spun him around and hugged him tightly, balancing him atop your hip bone with one arm, leaning in to hug your father.

Your mother made her way to Levi, letting him know how happy she was he could join you to see your family and that he was always welcome. Typical motherly things you always appreciated about her. You watch as she gave him a hug and smiled, a soft smile making it's way across his lips as he conversed with her.

Your father helped you unpack your car, grabbing your suitcases and setting them down. He handed a present to your brother, ensuring him the sole responsibility to make sure it got under the tree safely, allowing him to help in bringing yours and Levi's belongings inside. Your brother nodded eagerly, excited to help. Your mother and father grabbed the rest of what you had in the car and you wheeled your suitcase inside.

It smelled of cookies and coffee inside. Your eyes met the Christmas decor littered across the house. A kids Christmas movie played at low volume on the TV for your younger brother and you grabbed Levi's arm, who had also been admiring the decor, and dragged him to the room you'd both be staying in, your childhood room.

Your mother had already prepared your room to accommodate the both of you and you emptied a few of the drawers in your dresser for Levi. You both unpacked your things and you abandoned the suitcases in your closet.

He sat atop the bed once he was finished and eyed the boyband and more embarrassing aspects of decor littered across your room. You plopped down next to him.

"Seems you were quite the fangirl." he observed. Your cheeks heated and you nudged his arm, muttering something about all kids having a fixation when they were young.

Once done in your room, he followed you to your living room down the stairs and you made your way to the tree, helping your mother sort the rest of the gifts. She went all out every year without fail, and your eyes scanned the group of gifts that listed Levi's name.

You turned to your mother and threw your arms over her shoulders, whispering a thank you to her. She nodded, spouting he was happy to do it all.

Levi made himself comfortable on the couch next to your father, who asked if he would like a beer, the TV channel changed to some sports game that was happening. He nodded, not wanting to turn your father down. You made your way to your younger brother, who busied himself with a halfway built puzzle.

You sat next to him, pulling a cushion off the lounge chair behind you to sit on. Levi eyed you as he sipped his beer, your mother bringing you a drink as well. Homemade spiked cider had become your favorite to drink on when you came home and she made it perfectly every year without fail.

You had talked to your mother about hiding a couple of your share of Levi's gifts for the next day, opting to actually open gifts for Christmas that evening so you could celebrate Levi's birthday to the fullest the next day.

After helping with the puzzle, you stood, plopping onto the couch next to Levi, watching the game with him. His knee shook up and down as he sipped the beer idly, and you set a hand atop his own, wrapping your fingers over it. His knee stopped bouncing and his gaze met yours.

"Don't be nervous. Trust me. There's nothing you could do wrong around my family. They already love you." you assured him in a whisper. He nodded, letting out a sigh.

"Sorry. Fathers make me nervous." he said. You shook his knee side to side, and his hand wrapped tighter around your own, both of your gazes turning back to the game on the TV.

After dinner that evening, gift opening commenced. You found your seat next to Levi once more, your cup of cider hot and full once more, Levi now drinking on the same thing, and watched your brother carefully open his gifts. He was calm for a four year old, not too energetic, something you appreciated about him. Your parents instilled his manners at an early age as they had done with you.

Then it was your turn. You set your cup down, carefully opening the assortment of gifts your family had gotten for you. Some new jewelry you had eyes for right after Christmas the prior year, some little plushes you adored that your brother insisted you had to have when he saw them in the store, nice stationary for school, some in trend clothing, and a skincare brand you always used.

Your mother and father opened their gifts from you, your father's a nice watch, and your mother's a necklace that had your brother's and your birthstone's embedded into it. She instantly had your father put it around her neck and she insisted she would wear the necklace to her grave.

Then it came to Levi's, whose eyes widened at the fact you had gotten him anything at all. You leaned your shoulder to his own and his gaze met yours, hands hesitantly reaching for the wrapped boxes your father handed to him.

He opened them with surprise. You had dug through the kitchen cabinets in his absence to find his favorite teas and maybe those that were of a higher price point to get him more, a nice watch as well, and nice stationary for him too as you mentioned to your parents he attended the same university.

His eyes met your own, still wide, then your parents, smiles across their faces.

"You didn't have to do all this for me." was all he could mutter out. You shook your head.

"Of course we did! Quit being humble honey! Besides, there's more where that came from for tomorrow." your mom said, walking over to embrace him once more, then your father, and finally you. Your little brother wanted in on the action, jumping over the two of you, wrapping an arm around your neck and the other around Levi's, a group hug commencing. He had already become part of the family, much like he had adopted you into his friend group.

----

The next morning, Levi's birthday, you awoke especially early, trying not to stir him from sleep as you exited your room to help your mother decorate the house for Levi's birthday. Before exiting the door, with a soft smile, you whispered a quiet happy birthday, leaving and closing the door quietly.

You had a lot of work to do, your mother already started a pot of coffee, a cup sitting on the counter for you already. You worked quietly to adorn the house in birthday decor, your mother had made a cake already and it cooled outside so you could decorate it.

You blew up balloons, careful to not let them pop. Your brother eventually awoke, helping you blow up the balloons as your mother taped the tops to the ceiling and you worked to wrap and curl ribbon around the bottoms.

Your father then awoke, grabbing the hidden gifts and placing them on your living room table. You made a cup of the tea you had gotten Levi as you were sure he would wake up soon. You changed into your chosen outfit of the day and got ready in your mother and father's room.

Levi appeared five minutes after, and you handed him the tea you had made.

"Surprise!" you shouted. He was taken aback once more, eyeing the littering of birthday decor that now sat covering the Christmas decor.

"You're insane. You really didn't have to do all of this." he said, eyes following along the decor you meticulously placed around for the better part of the morning. You received a side hug from him and something about the whole situation just felt homey and domestic. You wanted to lock it up and keep it forever.

You all worked together to prepare breakfast, your father playing a Christmas parade on the TV that your brother watched intently, already slowly eating on the first pancake that left the pan, his eyes glued to the television.

You all sat around the living room as you ate breakfast, your mother and father drilling Levi with questions about university and his graduate program. Oh no. It sounded like the boyfriend talk was upon you.

You eyed your mother mouthing a heavy 'NO' to her, smiling as your father continued rambling on. She nodded, nudging your father, who seemed to understand. You smiled, shaking your head, as they changed the subject from the impending talk.

You comfortably leaned against Levi, your father bringing the last gift to Levi out. You were most excited for this one. You had drilled Erwin fro information the night you went out together when Levi was away from your table. You sent quite a nice amount of money to your mother to have the jewelry shop expedite your order the previous morning, the main reason you had stopped by the strip mall.

"I hadn't planned on giving this to you till after Christmas, because I didn't know your plans, but here it is." you said, watching as he opened it. It was a ring, gold to match the watch your father had gotten him, with his birthstone set in the center, a script across the band you had gotten out of Erwin, a quote Levi had found in a book that he very much so enjoyed.

'Dedicate your heart." it read across the band

"How do you know about this?" Levi asked, sliding the ring onto his finger.

"Let's just say that I'm pretty amazing at grilling your friends for all of your information without you hearing about it." you responded. His eyes met yours and you smiled, your cheeks warming. You could blame it on the cider your mother made again, but you didn't think you would this time.

The look in his eyes matched that of the evening before Christmas Eve when you had gone out together, and you readied yourself to kiss him. You pulled him by the front of his sweater and captured his lips with your own.

Maybe the boyfriend talk wouldn’t be so bad if it was Levi you were with.

——

A/N: I definitely had a different vision for how this would go but I wrote it in two days in my free time and kind of hate it lol. Just straight cute fluff!! Please let me know what you think!

[spaghettificationandpretzels]

The Glass Merchant Part Four

Masterlist

Part Three

Contains: Fluff, mild angst.

4.2K words

The truth comes to light

Despite his rushing thoughts, Kai slept like a baby encased in the warmth of the comfortable guest bed with the sounds of the wind blowing up outside. It was considerably colder when he stumbled out of bed, and the sky that shone through the ceiling in the main room was somehow both dull and foreboding.

Minna was there in a long, silky green robe, feeding Zephy a plate of fish with a soft smile on her face. She turned to him and pointed towards the hallway. "I was about to get breakfast, do you want to join me?"

He nodded. "Sure, Love." The silence that followed them through the hallway wasn't awkward, but he'd be happy when it left. She stood in front of the open fridge, looking at her supplies as he took a seat. "About last night?"

She nodded. "I'll answer any questions you have, you deserve that much."

He shrugged. "Ay, but I don't have any." He sighed and rubbed his face. "Look, there's no love loss between Kora and me, she's a little too self-righteous for my taste, I'm just surprised she didn't want to make sure you got your glory, she was all about thanking everyone who helped."

Minna shook her head. "The government kept my involvement out of it; all she knew is that it was a state-run lab that created it." She rubbed her face and took an armful of items from the fridge. "When the Motherworld realised their Dreadnoughts were useless, they just sent wave after wave of soldiers in hopes of winning a war of attrition. The fighting in the streets was bloody and close up, and by the end of it, we just wanted to rebuild; there was no interest in metals and parades."

He chuckled. "So no putting her statue in the town's square?"

She let out a single harsh laugh. "That's not our style."

With the soft tapping of a knife and click-clack of pans, breakfast was slid in front of him with a smile from her. "Omelette with vegetables. Eat fast, the weather report says we've got about five hours until the storm hits so we've got work to do."

****

Kai was shocked at the rush that greeted him when they walked outside; soldiers were everywhere, working with Minna's neighbours to tie down the enormous trees were dotted throughout the block. Eventually, as the skies grew darker, the same glass and metal frames that protected the stalls at night came out of the ground to encase everyone's front garden and all the berry-covered green hedges around the neighbourhood. A soldier handed him a long coil of thick, rough rope and directed him to help with a gruff point as another handed Minna a box of goods. "I need to pack these away and hand some stuff off, just do what you're told and you'll be fine."

He didn't have the time to argue, not with the disaster growing above everyone's heads. It was hard work, throwing the ropes over the tall trees and lashing them to the ground, but everyone was doing their bit, it was an effort he hadn't seen in a very long time.

There was an anxiety in the air, the same that comes when a ship starts to list in the middle of deep space. An elderly man, cane in hand, hobbled over to where Kai was helping another man tie down his boat as he shook his head while looking skyward. "The name's Earl, I live next to Minna, you're new here."

Kai nodded. "Yeah, she's letting me stay with her until the storm passes."

Earl chuckled. "Well you're going to be here a while, it hasn't been like this since I was a boy." It made sense as to why everyone was so hurried.

The man Kai was helping tutted. "Don't scare him Earl, the weather division won't know anything until it hits."

Earl smiled, old and seasoned, like he had told a joke that went over a child's head. "You'll see, this is going to be a once in a lifetime tempest." He reached out and placed his hand on Kai's shoulder. "I have to give your host some extra fish for the blankets she gave me. Don't hesitate to stop by if you want a cup of tea, my doors always open."

Kai smiled. "Thank you."

Earl limped away, and as the last boat finally settled, Kai stretched his aching arms above his head. The man he was helping stretched his hand out, and Kai accepted the firm shake. "I'm James; we're three doors down from you. Is this your first time on planet?"

Kai shook his head. "I was here before to buy something from Minna, it's lovely here."

James nodded. "The best place in the universe." He jutted his head towards the slowing building swell and sighed. "Some of us are taking one of the storm boats out to check for people needing a hand, you wanna come?" His expression was appraising, there was absolutely a wrong answer here.

Kai nodded. "Sure, just let me let Minna know."

James smiled. "Go ahead, follow the pink flower signs, she'll be making sure the med bay is all stocked up."

Even with the building storm, the walk finally allowed him to take in the area past Minna's house. There was a central pathway in the middle of the island linking everyone's homes together, every so often shooting off into a park or public building. Everything was well signposted; some he understood, like a book for a small library and a lightning rod for what must have been the island's power bank, but others, like the pink flower, made little sense. Nevertheless, he took the path all the way along until he arrived at the bustle of the med bay.

He wove past all the people, knocked on the door frame, and waited for Minna to turn around. She did so with a smile and a sigh. "Thank the Goddess, can you go over to the wall and turn on the water pump please?"

He did as she asked, using all his strength to move the valve until it loosened and he heard the rush of water. "You a nurse too?"

Minna shook her head. "Almost, it's a long story." She sighed. "There are three of us trained to work the med bay but we've never been all that busy since the war ended."

He took a second to look around; for a mini hospital, it was a very inviting place. There were five beds along the walls, the far wall lined with frosted glass cabinets and a sink, while the ones on either side contained desks and equipment. "Earl said the storm's going to be here a while."

A flash of worry came over her face before she shook her head. "There's no point in worrying until we get the full report, regardless the military have special ships to travel in the storms so we don't have to worry about running out of supplies."

He nodded. "How long until it hits?"

She shrugged. "Maybe a few more hours." She closed the cabinet and rubbed her face. "I'm done here, we better head back home and lash down the boat."

He smiled and stretched out his hand. "Lead the way Love." She rolled her eyes but looped her arm in his as she began to walk. "Can I ask you a question?" She nodded. "Why a pink flower, wouldn't a medpack make more sense?"

She smiled. "There's a flower called Floscura that grows in our forests, is what most of our very effective and advanced medicine comes from."

He blinked. "Shite, you really do have it made here."

She nodded. "That we do."

They paused as two little children rushed in front of them, Minna smiling as they exchanged words in their mother's tongue before running off again. "Sorry, they don't start learning the universal dialect until they're a little older."

He smiled. "Don't fret about it, it's a very pretty languge."

There was that sad look again in her eyes, and she took a deep breath. "It's called Menian, after a Goddess. My mother…" Her eyes fell to the ground, and her chest shuddered as she turned her head away. "We really need to get back."

He didn't press; he understood the choke of emotions that came with some memories. "I told James I'd head out of a patrol boat with him, what am I in for?"

She chuckled. "I'll give you something so you don't get sea sick, other than that, good luck, I hate drowner duty."

Kai looked at the bright orange swim trunks with a raised eyebrow. "Is this it?"

James nodded. "You won't get lost, what more do you want." He sighed and smiled softly. "You'll be fine, you can stay in the boat."

The iciness coming off the water was enough to make Kai shiver even fully clothed, but he wasn't going to let anything stop him, not with Minna watching from her doorway. "I'll be fine, I used to fish in the rain for my Ma all the time."

James gave him a hearty back slap as his face broke into a grin. "Glad to hear it."

They walked to the dock and Kai stepped behind a curtain to change, he could see Minna walking over above the metal rob and flashed her a smile. "You coming over to wish me luck?"

She shook her head. "I'm coming over to tell you to be careful. The net slashers come out in this weather and they're mean." He gave her a wide-eyed look, and she smiled. "They like the taste of offworlders too." He could tell she was bullshitting him, or at least he hoped she was. He stepped out from behind the curtain with a smile, and she handed him a cup of steaming blue tea. "For your sea sickness."

He didn't miss how her eyes stayed locked on his face, her back stiff straight as she made a point of not looking at his naked torso as he reached out a muscled arm and took the cup from her. "Cheers, Love." He downed it in one, it was somehow hot and cold simultaneously, sliding down his throat like warm honey as it settled in his gut. "That was delicious."

She nodded and took the cup from him. "Good, off you go, you've got boats to rescue."

He grinned. "How about a kiss for good luck?"

She rolled her eyes and stepped closer, placing her hand flat on his chest as she craned her mouth towards his. He should have known by her grin that she wouldn't give in easily, and the soft brush of her lips on his cheek severed to make his blood rush. "Good luck Kai." She stepped back and finally allowed herself to look at him, her eyes raking over his body with a slight tilt of her head. "Don't drown, it would be a shame if you missed dinner."

With that, she turned on her heel and headed back towards the business of preparation, leaving him alone while James laughed behind him. "She's not kidding about the net slasher, they're a real problem." He pointed behind him to the large boat pulling into the dock. "We gotta head out, you ready?"

Kai nodded. "Ay."

Not even the worst storm on Saaldorun matched this, and it hadn't even started raining. Still, Kai watched as the few men and women with him jumped off the boat and into the water to tow other boats to safety and drag half-conscious people out of the water so the medic ships could take them to hospital.

They came up to another row boat in trouble, the people on board working hard to keep the boat upright as the water moved in the wake of their ship. "You guys need a hand?" James's voice was steady despite how worrying their situation looked; one more big wave and the rowboat would be upside down in the water.

"Please, we thought we'd have time to go to the market." The man sounded scared, his body coiled tight, ready to swim if his boat went over.

James slapped Kai on the back and smiled. "In you go."

He took a deep breath and moved to the edge, squaring his shoulders as someone handed him the rope. The water was so cold it felt sharp when it splashed on his skin, and a zip of fear raced up his spine at the look of the broiling sea. But he was no coward, and with another deep breath, he jumped in. The frigid water stole the breath from his lungs, but he still managed to kick his way to the rowboat and tie it up, and with a finally tightening tug, it snapped tight, and he hauled himself back onto the ship.

James was smiling from ear to ear. "Good job, you can do the next one too."

Between the adrenalin and the warmth coming from the vent at the bottom of the ship, Kai no longer felt the cold. "Ay, you just tell me when."

It went on like that until the first cracks of thunder and lightning went off in the distance, and the skies finally opened as rain began to pour from above. A harsh siren went off, and the ship kicked into high gear as it pulled the rowboat back to the Minna's island. "We're not collecting more people?"

James shook his head. "No, now that the rains have started it's not safe, the military will get them home."

Everyone was lining the shore when they arrived, standing in the rain waiting for them to return. Kai hopped off the ship and walked straight to Minna grinning like a fool as she wrapped a dry, warm blanket around him and handed him a cup of tea. "Fire mushroom tea, it will help you warm up. Did you have fun?"

He nodded. "Ay, a boat load."

She shook her head and sighed. "Go inside and have a hot shower. They'll be locking everything down soon, and we need to put the finishing touches on all the prep."

He finished his tea and flashed her a smile. "You're a doll."

She rolled her eyes. "Go, before I make you work in your swim trunks."

He chulked. "You'd like that wouldn't you?"

He couldn't find words to describe how much he loved her look in incredulity. "Go, I've left some clean clothes under the heated blanket on your bed."

Kai needed the hot shower, but nothing beat being greeted by warm clothes when he stepped out of the bathroom to get dressed. It reminded him of when his mother would leave his clothes by the fire so they'd be warm when he returned from working on the farm, and he pushed down the rush of homesickness as he slid the loose linen shirt over his head.

When he walked into the main room, Minna was there, soaking wet and sipping on the same rich smelling mushroom tea. "You look like a drowned cat."

She laughed. "And you look warm. I just wanted to rest for a second before I take a shower myself." She moved closer, reaching out her hand to place it on his shoulder. "Thank you for helping today, James told me how many people you saved."

He grinned. "All in a hard days work." Before she could reply, another siren rang out, much louder and harsher this time, and there was the sound of mechanical creaking as the pathways were enclosed in metal and glass. "I thought the first one was loud."

She sighed. "The first one was the warning, that one was to make sure people are inside." She rubbed her face and pointed behind her towards the kitchen. "We're having dinner at the community hall tonight, you wanna help me cook something once I'm clean?"

He nodded. "Sure love."

She blinked slowly with the exhaustion of someone who clearly wanted nothing more than to crawl into bed, but she smiled softly. "Great." Without another word, she spun on her heel and walked upstairs, leaving him to stew in his swirling emotions as the storm above truly made itself known.

This felt familiar to Kai, peeler in hand skinning root vegetables for a stew bubbling away on the stove with the warmth of the flame making the kitchen feel like a cocoon. The weather was raging above their heads, the rain coming in so heavy that it formed falling sheets on the glass roof while the thunder splintered the air with the rhythm of a machine gun, and the lightning flashed like their muzzles.

"It's really coming down now." Despite the similarity to the hail of war, the fury of the deluge was nothing but pleasant, and he found himself waiting for the warmth of dinner like a balm from a long forgetten childhood.

Minna sighed. "Yeah, this is about as bad as it will get. I'm sorry you've ended up stuck here, I know this must be cutting into your income."

He was taken aback, the last thing he felt was stuck here. "Nah. I got a warm bed, good food and wonderful company, I ain't stuck here."

She smiled and shook her head. "You never turn off the charm, do you?"

He smirked. "Is it working?"

She shook her head, but the smile on her face gave her away. "No. Now, if you're finished peeling the vegetables, you need to cut them so they can go in the stew."

He tossed the peeler into the sink and reached across her to grab a knife, making sure to lean into her space as his fingers curled around the handle. "You sure about that?"

Her eyes fell to the bench as she did her best to hide her expression. "Yep." She lifted her head and their faces were close enough that their noses almost touched. "Can you hurry up with the vegetables please, we don't want to be late."

He fought the urge to kiss her. "Alright Love, your wish is my command."

As night fell, the sky went from dark grey to pitch black while the storm roared overhead, flashing light through the darkness with an unpredictable burst of sound and glow. Kai watched from the couch as Minna fed Zephy, his little grabby hands picking up the bits of cut fish and inspecting them before using his razor sharp teeth to tear off little bites. "He loves his tucker."

Minna chuckled. "He will do anything for food." She had just finished packing all the food they had cooked, there was the meat and vegetable stew, savoury pancakes and bread and whipped dessert that smelt like cream and honey.

"How did you come by him?" Besides fish and birds, he hadn't seen much wildlife, although she had explained before that there was plenty if he would just pay attention.

He was getting used to brief flashes of emotions on her face, anger then sadness this time. "Poachers killed his mother and tried to smuggle him off planet. There's a roster for caring for injured wildlife, and my number came." She walked over to Zephy and scratched his soft head. "He was only a few days old and sick when he came to me, in the end, he couldn't go back to the wild."

Kai had run into his fair share of professional poachers, they were just as bad as Motherworlders. "What happened to the bastard that took him?"

She smiled, it was almost sadistically cold. "You didn't read the pamphlet and all the signs when you came in? We killed poachers here." He understood the fondness she had for the furry purple creature, especially as he raced over to Kai to hand him a half chewed bit of fish. "He likes you."

He chuckled and made a show of pretending to eat it as Zephy chattered happily at the sight, running back to his dinner once he was sure he thought Kai had eaten it. Minna walked over and palmed the piece, tucking it into a tissue and hiding it on the tray of food containers. "We gotta go."

The outside world was something to see, even with the pitched shells that protected all the footpaths from the storm. The walk to the community hall didn't take long, even accounting for how they had to stop to make room for everyone coming out of the homes with trays of food. Minna paused to toss Zephy's gift in one of the many rubbish bins and by the time they were close enough to hear people talking, he could smell the food wafting from the door.

They were greeted with warm waves as they entered, and someone pulled out a chair for them both while someone else took the tray from her. Everyone was seated at a massive oval table, children on their parent's laps as the man standing at the door waved the last person inside.

With the table full of people and food, dinner began. Kai noticed that some people were praying over their food, their palms folded in front of them as they muttered under their breaths. He waited until they were done, turning to Minna for an explanation, and she smiled softly at him as she clarified. "Most of us still believe in the Old Gods, it's just a thank you for the food and the company."

He nodded. "Ay, my Ma was the same."

Before he could say more, the elderly woman sitting next to him took one of the many small bowls from the table and placed it in front of him. "That's one of the best dishes here, I wouldn't want a guest to miss out."

He smiled. "Thank you Ma'am."

She brushed him off and introduced herself as Lilly, and before long, everyone joined in. Between the food and being welcomed like a friend returning from long travels, he felt something settle in his chest, something which, while he knew what it was, he wouldn't dare name.

It felt like his plate was never empty as time went on and conversation filled the air. There were dishes upon dishes, and by the time dessert came, he felt like he couldn't eat another bite. Nevertheless, the table eventually cleared, and as it grew later, the people with young children left for their warm beds. They went with the last group, Kai lingering to chat with a new friend as Minna helped clean up.

By the time they returned to her house, he was ready to sleep himself but she dragged him over to the couch and waved at him to sit down. "We should know how long the storm will be here by now, they'll be playing the weather report on the Hologlow on repeat."

Before he could ask what the Hologlow was, a transparent screen slid out from the wall, and a picture slowly came into focus. He grinned and shook his head, once again marvelling at how normal everything felt. "You have a telly."

She nodded. "If that's what you call it. We've got millions of channels and things to watch, too." She huffed. "We're just like everyone else, I promise."

She made herself comfortable, shoving Zephy towards the middle as she sat on the opposite end. They turned their attention towards the screen, and she clicked a button as the video began to play. As if the technology knew they had just arrived, the newscast started from the very beginning. He could see the uneasy look on her face as they showed a moving map of the planet, her mouth slightly open while she barely blinked like she was scared she'd miss something. She clicked the small controller in her hand more, and the dialogue switched to her native Menian while universal subtitles appeared on screen.

"Once in a century storm, currents reports have its duration at one month. You are advised to prepare to have the forest festival indoors this year."  

She clicked the dialogue back to universal and turned to him. "I'm sorry, sometimes it's just easier to understand in Menian."

He smiled. "Ay, I understand." He hated how concerned she looked, like she was worried he was upset, so he leaned in as close as he could with Zephy between them. "We got a whole month together, I guess we better think of things to do."

She grinned and met him in the middle, once again close enough that they were almost touching. "I'm sure we'll think of something." A yawn from here cut off his plans to steal a kiss, and she leaned back to stretch. "But right now, I'm going to bed."

She stood up, and Kai joined her, not yet moving to his guest room. "You need company?"

She shook her head. "Nope, I want sleep, not whatever you've got planned."

He chuckled. "Alright, you know where to find me if you change your mind."

She huffed and turned on her heel. "I won't. Goodnight Kai, sleep well."

He was never going to get tired of riling her up. "Goodnight, Minna, have pleasant dreams."

She was already halfway up the stairs with Zephy following behind her, and he made his way into his room. As he settled into his warm bed with the rain and storm overhead, all he could think about was how happy he was to be able to stay here with her for a whole month, coin be dammed, this was the most joy he had been in years.

Part 5

@red-orchid @rayslittlekitten @laurfilijames

[writingsofwesteros]

"Is that a dead bug?" A condescending voice drew Helaena from the butterfly she kept encased in the little glass box, to meet the gaze of Cassandra Baratheon. "It's a monarch butterfly," Helaena said softly. "Seven above, are you just walking around the school with dead bugs in your bag?" Cassandra scoffed. "That's-" "That's what, Cassandra?" Nora's voice cut her off, the group of girls with Cassandra parted like the ocean to let Nora walk through, to get to her sister. "It's-" Cassandra hesitated when met with Nora's cold glare. "Finish what you were saying." Nora challenged.

"It's....interesting," Cassandra said thought a forced smile. Nora rolled her eyes. "Oh, Cassandra- ever since Daddy paid for your new nose, you really carry that fake confidence around like a bitch, don't you?" Nora chuckled dryly, as Cassandra's face dropped. "You don't know what you're talking about," Cassandra stammered. "I'd be careful, little Cass," Nora tisked, crossing her legs. "It'd be a pity if anyone leaked those pictures of you before that nose job to the press, huh? They'd run headlines about Borros Baratheon's daughter, the real life stag." "You're such a bitch, Nora," Cassandra spat, and Nora didn't even flinch. "I know, honey. But do me a favour and find someone else to pick on when you're bitter about my brother rejecting you- Oh, I'm sorry, I meant both brothers." Nora shot back. "If you don't have anything nice to say- stay the hell away from my sister, bitch." Nora said coldly, and Cassandra stormed off.

"You okay, Helly?" Nora asked, her voice much kinder. Helaena nodded, her head on Nora's shoulder. "Come on. Let's go watch Aemond at fencing practice. I promised him we'd stop by before we went to get ready for Aeg's hockey game later." She said, holding her sister's hand as the two walked down the hall together.

( Nora is too much and I love her so much) !!!!!!!!!

Helly hummed; cuddling into Nora's side as they moved through the hall. It was not long before Bestie came into view as she linked arms with Nora from the other side.

"I saw some new animals have come to the zoo, did you want to come, its a date?" She giggled as Helly only blushed .

[cardcaptorsakura96]

Unwitting Rescue-Chapter 1

Fandom: Supergirl

Relationships: Kara Danvers/Lena Luthor

Characters: Kara Danvers, Lena Luthor, Rose Zen (Original Character), Marigold Zen (Original Character), Violet Zen (Original Character), J'onn J'onzz, Winn Schott, John Stewart

Summary: Kara Danvers finds a box of kittens on her way to work. Things don't go according to plan.

Chapter 1/?

Note: This is based on the writing prompt I did called Unwitting Rescue. I decided to make it a full story. Hope you guys enjoy!

Kara looked around the house and was a little stumped. Lena said that she was going to be around the rest of the day and could do something once she woke up from her nap. However, when Kara woke up, Lena was no where to be found. She scratched her head for a second then groaned. She went downstairs to the basement. 

“I don’t get why she encased the lab in lead and made it sound proof,” muttered Kara. 

Once she reached the lab door, she put in the access code. When it open, her heart nearly jumped out of her chest. The lab was a complete mess. Broken glass and equipment everywhere. She quickly looked around and spotted Lena curled up in a ball. She super sped over to her and quickly started to check her out for injury. 

“Lena, are you okay? Did Lex break in and try to attack you?” asked Kara worriedly. 

Lena looked up at her with her eyes and face devoid of all emotion. Kara tried to keep her face passive even though she was on the verge of crying herself seeing Lena so lifeless. She sat down next to Lena and embraced her in her arms. 

“Honey, I need you to tell me what happened? Did someone destroyed the lab?”

“I did this.”

Her voice sounded so small that Kara almost didn’t hear it. 

“Why did you do this?”

“Work was awful. One of the Board members got access to one of Lex’s plans. It shows the locations of over a ton of nth metal that grows naturally on it.”

“I thought that nth metal was alien in origin?”

“It is, but some are theorizing that an alien cultivated it on Earth hundreds of years ago. They want to dig it up. The only problem is that the biggest source of the nth metal here is under the Luthor’s Children Hospital.”

“Oh Lena…”

Lena continue to stare into the void in front of her. Kara started to rub soothing circles around her back and cuddle closer. 

“I knew that some of the members of the Board would vote on it, but I didn’t think it would be nearly everyone.” 

Kara frowned and struggled not to tighten her fist. She took a couple of breaths and tried to control her voice as much as possible. 

“This is crazy. They can’t just tear down the hospital. So many sick children rely on it for medical care that they can’t receive anywhere else.”

“I know, but the didn’t care about that. The only reason they haven’t proceed forward is because of my mother.”

Kara looked back at Lena baffled and asked, “Your mother actually agreed with you on this?”

Lena shook her head and said, “Not exactly. She said that tearing down the children’s hospital would be a PR nightmare that would hurt L-Corp stock. Some of the Board members think that the amount of money gained would circumvent the risk. However, my mom asked if they could really take a risk after the stunt that Lex pulled just a week ago. That question caused a lot of the Board members to falter. 

“At least making money forces them to do the right thing,” muttered Kara. 

“But it won’t last long. The same Board member that brought this up is planning on waiting this out another year when Lex’s trial is over to bring this matter up again. He is hoping enough distance would make this plan palatable.” 

“Well, there are things we can do to circumvent this. I could write an article showing how well the hospital benefits the community. We could hold benefit dinners to get more donor’s involve. We could…”

“That is not the worse thing that happened today,” said Lena with her voice so small that Kara had to strain to hear her even with her super hearing.

“What else happened?”

Tears started to stream down Lena’s face. 

“I…I…I…” stuttered Lena before starting to cry harder.

Kara hugged Lena harder and kissed her forehead. 

“Don’t worry honey. Just take your time.”

After a couple of minutes, Lena said softly, “I spoke to the adoption agency again today. They denied our application.”

Kara’s face twist in pain and shed a tear. 

“I know this is disappointing, but there are other agencies out there…”

“We have been denied by 20 different agencies off world and on Earth” Lena snapped. 

“The search has been hard, but…”

“No one wants to let their child around a Luthor. Even when I am not involved, the sins of my brother plague me. I don’t know how to escape his shadow.”

“You are not your brother. You do so many amazing things to benefit humanity…”

Even with tears streaming down her face, Lena began to chuckle. She started chuckling louder and louder. Kara began to eye her nervously.

“What’s so funny?”

“No matter how much I try, it isn’t good enough. I could create a cure for cancer right now, and I would still be damned for being Lex’s sister.”

“That isn’t true…”

“You should just leave.”

“What?” Kara balked. 

“In vitro didn’t work, adoption agencies are a bust, and we can’t have a baby naturally. You shouldn’t let me hold you down from achieving that.”

Kara carefully placed her hands on Lena’s face to gently force it upward to look at her. Lena slightly leaned back when she saw Kara’s eyes. They were clouded in so much hurt and pain. 

“Do you ever say that!” snapped Kara. 

“Kara…”

Kara brought up her and Lena’s wrist that showed their wedding bracelets. Kara was struggling not to have tears stream down her face. 

“You and I made vows. For richer or poorer, for sickness, and in health, until death do us part. We are not abandoning each other when things get tough.”

Lena looked down and twiddle her thumbs. 

“But I make things so much harder for you. What about your dreams?”

Kara gently took her hands, and gently caressed her face. 

“You are the best thing that has happened in my life. With or without kids, I can’t imagine my life without you in it.”

Lena looked up Kara and kissed her forehead. A small smile started to appear on her face. 

“You are the best thing that happened to me too. I don’t know what I did to deserve you.”

Kara chuckled and kissed Lena on the forehead. 

“Whatever we did, I am just glad that our paths led to each other.”

They embraced each other for a couple of minutes until Lena looked up and winced at the scene before her. 

“I really made a mess of things,” muttered Lena. 

Kara quickly took Lena into her arms and flew them upstairs to their bedroom. 

“Why don’t you change and maybe hop into the jacuzzi to relax. I will clean up the lab and be back in a couple of minutes.”

Kara kissed her forehead and sped out the room. 

Instead of going to change, she went under the bed and took out a medium sized chest. She stared at it a second before opening it. Inside were three fuzzy teddy bears. One was a tannish brown with a pink bow, the second one was black with a white snout and a green top hat, and the other last one was dark brown with purple small ribbons right underneath each ear. She took them out and hugged them really tight. 

“It has been awhile Ms. Pinky, Ms. Evergreen, and Ms. Purple. I was hoping to be able to get you guys a new playmate, but it looks like it is going to take a little longer. But that is ok.”

Lena smiled lovingly while looking down at the bears. 

“It is okay because Kara and I can do anything together.” 

She gently placed the bears back into the chest and pushed it under the bed.

[fraglance]

BELONGING

by: fraglance

I belong to moments – moments where I can see and recognize they are fleeting while I'm living and mournfully savoring every second, yet love them all the same. Moments that end up encased in a box that lies in my mind. But this does not mean they are forgotten about at all. No, they become faint reminders, or even words that I either repeat or words that echo in my mind when my emotions are painted blue.

I'm broken up into millions of pieces, where there are small fragments of my being messily, imperfectly scattered everywhere. Where there are parts of me that make these moments their home. This is how I can still say that I'm right at home, where I've always been, my heart full to the brim with love.

The coffee pot is whirring, my mind is at bay, the clock in the other room ticks to where it's in sync with the beats of my heart.

That version of me hasn't experienced much change. Metamorphic change. She may have experienced it in some ways, sure, but no yet the kind she feared. She hadn't known that in only minutes, she'd be knocked off her course. It'd threaten to happen before, in glimpses of disdain. In snide, off handed comments easily sprinkled throughout conversations involving her parents.

The world had tilted on its axis when she was told 'I can't even stand to be in close proximity to you – a lesbian' by her own mother.

So, of course, there are some moments I wish I didn't belong to. Even after years.

But there are positives that sometimes are able to withstand each negative, because one of the previously said moments manage to tug at my already loose heartstrings in a way most others never could. And –

"Miel, are you okay?"

My fingers curled around the 'summer breeze makes me feel fine' mug that I haven't taken a sip from in however long instinctively tense up at the sound of Elko's voice, calm but weary. I seem to come back to life then, because all of my surroundings unblur with a few blinks; the round table in the middle of my cold kitchen, the wooden, nearly spotless floor, the jingling keys in Elk's hand – they all become clearer to me. It's like I've just been given glasses after being blind to faraway objects, though it only boils down to me being unaware of everything around me.

Not wanting them to see me so vulnerable, I attempt to hide the vulnerability; my tears, my longing for the version of me that was able to let my guard down around them. I attempt to hide it all by lightly rubbing my eyes with the back of my hand, the sleeves of my 'Forever Chasing Sunsets' hoodie I'm wearing.

I can feel the burning question on the tip of Elk's tongue as they gaze; their eyebrows are pulled back as they run their fingers through their hair, the familiar gold ring that was given to them as a gift from Mat not far from getting caught in the curliness of it all. They slip their car keys in their jean pocket.

(They'd met Mateo when he hesitantly asked to come over to my place to get the last few lines of our band's song right. Elko and I are close to where I don't mind if they're in my home when I'm not, so we found them on my couch with a bucket of ice cream on their lap. It was theirs, thankfully. I vividly remember when they'd put it on the grocery list with a smiley face beside it.

Anyways, Elko eyed Mateo's ring the entire time we conversed, and since Mateo had, and still has, many beautiful accessories, he gave it away with a soft grin and a 'Admire it for me.')

A couple strides and Elko's closer now, gentle smile unwavering. I contently eye each of their movements as they lean their body against the table, then fiddle with the aforementioned ring, twisting it seemingly without knowing.

The realization that they've been waiting for me comes in the form of a sigh from my side. How long have I been inside my head?

"You've sat here for an hour," Elko answers for me. I let out another sigh, this one longer, as I tightly closing my eyes.

Yet again, I've let them down; this is the third time they've tried, and failed miserably, to get me out my house this week. I believe my every move alarmed them, at least in the slightest, as seconds after silence engulfs the room, they add, "All love."

I know It's their way of saying I don't mean any harm, I don't want to pry. I don't, I don't. But are you okay?

And I love them for it.

I allow a small smile to creep upon my face as my tight grasp on the mug loosens. I take a sip of coffee to hide the blooming grin that forms so effortlessly as a result of Elko, and instead tell them, "I'm okay," as I ignore the tinge of disgust the coffee subjects my tongue to. "I'm okay now, Ciervos."

Acting as if I don't hear the sound of their scoff and the protests following, I bring my teal and now-empty mug to the full sink. By standing on my tippy toes, I'm able to reach the highest cabinet to get a mug – specifically Elko's mug. It's matte blue with a constellation scattered across it. They told me (over the café chatter; the sound of drinks being drunk; the whir of the espresso machine) the name of it: Orion. The radiant glimmer in their eyes was more prominent than ever as they exclaimed, 'Y'know, it shines 85,000 damn times brighter than the Sun. The Sun!'

"I am not a red deer," they murmur with an eye-roll, still simultaneously twisting their gold ring when I glance over at them. They almost immediately give up on their mock annoyance, smile fond. The outwardly random nickname originates from Elk, which is a deer, a red deer, in Native America, or ciervos – the Spanish word for it. On the other hand, it's a simple play on words; another version of dear.

"Okay, Ciervos, whatever you say," I murmur, retrieving a jug of white milk from the fridge. The words I belong to moments not only echo in my mind, but reverberate in my chest. It is the sheer reason for the rhythmic calamity of my heartbeats. I belong to the stars and found families and mutual love.

I belong here; not the physicality of it all, so perhaps scratch that. I belong with Elko and Mateo. They make up each and every one of the moments where I feel at home.

[meezer]

succession s4e5 spoilers

okay I'm gonna liveblog it all in this post. or try to.

GOD KENDALL SOOO IS IN HIS CUNT ERA AND I'M SO HAPPY. HE'S FLOURISHING AND IT'S TAKING ME TO ANOTHER PLANE OF EXISTENCE TO EVEN SEE IT

shiv is looking so good this episode holy shit the vest omg THE LEATHER JACKET HOLY FUUU

the inquisitive and pensive kendall..... endangered creature

unrelated to anything he did but. me and my friends would have killed hugo with hammers I can tell you that much

he's so angelic like a tulip encased in new frost

GAHAHAHAHAH KENDAAALL I feel like a protective mother over this. ce ai făcut ken unde ai călcat în noroi??

THIS JACKET HOLY FUCK. OKAY. NEED. HE ZIPPED UP THE CUNTY JACKET WHAT A SERVE

GAHAHAHAHAH. I'm so obsessed with this outfit goddd the glasses are so cunty too

WILLA IS IN HER MARINA AND THE DIAMONDS PRIMADONNA GIRL SLAY

GDSGJDKFJKL TOMMMM

oh okay so basically, mattson should kill himself

KENDALL!!!!!! he looks like a seal in the second pic JKLGDSJKG EMILY UNDERSTOOD WHAT I MEANT. YOU CAN SEE IT TOO RIGHT? I'm saying it as a compliment if it wasn't already obvious btw I would light a cigarette near a box of dynamite for him so.

god mattson is making me SO uncomfortable he's like. hanging out with a weird socially inept computer engineering major. sorry HE'S MAKING ME SO UNCOMFORTABLE. NOT JUST THE SHIV JOKE (THOUGH ALSO THAT YES VERY MUCH SO) BUT JUST THE VIBES GOD WHAT IS GOING ON.

"shareholders won't, like--"

"can I just interrupt--

"I'd rather you didn't but--"

"--you right there?"

"you already did, so..."

AND THEN THE "can I interrupt you and just say 'fuck off'?" HOLY FUUUCK GFDLJKGJDKFLJKGFD

stfuuuu his eyes BRO.

HAHAHHA "we keep one of his old sweaters, less racist" SHIVVVVVV THAT WAS SO FUNNY

SHIIIIIIT GREG DOING SPY WORK. HOLY FUCK. SPY ERA!!! started from the bottom now we're here...... AND NOW HE'S TRYING TO GET THE ROYS TO SPILL THE BEANS AND THEY'RE HAVING NONE OF IT JKGLFDKJGDFKGJDLGDKFH FAILBOY

hey mattson you should kill yourself NOW.

II'M LAUGHING SO HARD AT TOM AND GREG'S ANTICS HE DIDN'T HAVE TO PUT HIM ON THE SPOT LIKE THAT..... LAFF

OH MY GOD WHEN THEY MAKE FUN OF THEM IN SWEDISH THAT WAS BRUTAL. AND IT'S SUBTITLED BUT THE CHARACTERS DON'T KNOW WHAT'S BEING SAID. AND THEN KENDALL SAYS

ahahahHAHAHAHAHAHHA THE FOURTH WALL BRO THE FOURTH WALL. HOLY SHITTTT

KEN TAKING OFF HIS GLASSES AND GETTING SERIOUS AND GOING "you wanna do this here?" OH SHIT HE'S GOT HIS GAME FACE ON IT'S GETTING SERIOUS. LET'S DO THIS MY BROTHER

THERE IS NO FUCKING WAY MATTSON JUST USED VAULTER AGAINST KENDALL FUCK YOUUUU FUCK YOUR WHOLE LIFE

a local greg has been spotted talking to jess

my brother kendall and his brother roman WAIT OHHH MY GOD? HE WANTS TO ? ? ? OKAY. OKAYYYYY

bro is ethereal OKAY THEY WON'T LET ME DO ANYMORE IMAGES GKLJDSJKGSDLKJF THEY WANT TO SILENCE US. we must overthrow the culture of corruption that silences women. fear not brave warriors I will be back.

[wanderingxrivers]

May Poetry Journal Part 2

05/16/2024 I am an idiot, at least that's how I look too loud, too many questions humiliated in front of everyone they say they like my questions but do they really?

Swelling, swollen don't swell shut, can't afford it Maybe I can work with one eye

05/17/2024 there's a blanket thrown over the world tucking in spring flowers for their rest ere summer comes with storms and days and days of no rain no respite from the scrutiny of the summer sun

I feel untethered floating along, a kite with no string a balloon released from a child's fist breezes blowing me to and fro I crave the earth and its solidity encase me in roots tangled in soil deep and warm

a wreath of green embraces my wrist gifted by my dearest child love strung with each bead i am full to bursting

I'm six again--screaming it's not fair! it's not fair! my hands are tied it's beyond my control the destination we all reach and it's still not fair

I feel alone face around me, words on a screen, and yet i move in the world, no one truly by my side.

05/19/2024 He's slipping away body keeping on for a brain gone dark and every breath I take it feels wrong its a crime that I am here and he is not fucking cancer

05/20/2024 There is a hole in the world shaped like him and the world turns anyway because there is no stopping sunrises, sunsets tides rush in and rush out time moves even as I cannot

05/21/2024 The lights are off chairs on tables, floor swept another life at its end Stories untold--lives lived only in dreams someone say "sike"

05/22/2024 All I feel is too big too much too exhausting so in the box it goes because the alternative is too painful

Sands shift under my feet I'm trying to find an even keel Nothing feels solid (I wish it had been me)

05/23/2024 5 AM, 5:25, 6:30 all sounding off, ticking off the steps until 8 AM - fetch him to wakefulness 9:45 we begin to bury our shit 10 AM - clamp down hard emotions in check, let nothing leak out we keep control 6:30 PM, the chains fall off Demons of the day unleashed and I am exhausted I sleep and again, 5 AM, 5:25, 6:30

05/25/2024 overexposed, - a live wire all I want is to be liked

05/28/2024 over and over work, cook, work and cook one unending cycle of tasks I resent it I resent my place stuck in time, an unending loop

05/29/2024 mask on mask atop yet more masks no one can see the broken bits Gotta be a person Gotta be presentable and personable

I want to talk to bridge this chasm to come closer like what we once were but I also know the reactions the anger and the coldness that will follow so I stay silent masks upon masks

In a pair, we are alone I am me and he is he we are not us there is no united front only two and not one we dance off rhythm stepping on toes stumbling over steps we should know choreo forgotten and lost I miss us.

05/30/2024 There's silence in different weights different voices gone times and places heavy, pulling shoulders down into the earth light, easy to bear others still of various discomforts little digs under my armor voices that will not follow the path the map is clear, and yet they veer off it let me take control please

I feel too much stretched too thin hormones and emotions running high why can I not fill my pockets with stones, with weights, with something to bring myself back to earth?

shattered pieces of me scatter like glass beads across the floor

05/31/2024 everything is everything and nothing

Again and again, rhythm, rhyme, wake up and go to work and cook the meals and go to sleep in one continuous rut until the end of time

flavor of the day: everything is fucked

[casspurrjoybell-26]

💖Sweet Revenge💖 - Chapter 19

*Warning Adult Content*

Aaron Keene

Three months later, Sweet Rides opens for business.

With my insurance money and the backing of our new lead investor, we're able to secure a larger location in the trendier downtown area.

One side of the store is cycles, accessories, apparel and a repair shop.

The other is all candy all the time.

There's a kitchen in the back, with new, industrial-grade equipment but there are no living quarters attached.

Instead, we've taken a small house on the edge of town.

Blake's parents are coming to visit in a few weeks but he's promised me they won't mention grand-kids yet... thank God.

At least not until we've proven ourselves with a dog.

We have new employees, as well, which gives us both more time to focus on our passions... chocolate, bicycles and each other.

I'm in the middle of drizzling creamy white glaze over a batch of dark chocolate truffles with cherry centers and Blake is taking a break from his own work to bother me.

"Oh my God... what do you call these?" he asks, eating one with a level of enjoyment that borders on obscenity.

"Cherry poppers," I say and he chokes.

"Not really. They're called 'cherry truffles' dumb-ass."

When he can breathe again, he comes and stands behind me, sliding his arms around my waist and slipping his hands under the front of my apron.

"Maybe you'll wear this for me sometime," he says.

"I'm wearing it now."

"Yeah but you have other clothes on, too."

Now it's my turn to choke.

"Fuck's sake, Blake, we're at work. What if our top investor walks in on us?"

"She's into it," he says, shrugging.

He's right, unfortunately.

Apparently, freelance game design can pay quite well and Kate was ready and willing to jump into the world of small business investment when the opportunity presented.

She still works in the store, too.

Part of the deal was that we had to let her incorporate her passion for cosplay and she gets to handle marketing.

At the moment, she's organizing a charity thing where we ride bikes through town while dressed as anime characters and sell candy for some cause or other.

I don't get it but Blake is excited about the idea and as long as it means I get to keep doing what I love, I don't care.

I chase him back to his side of the store and get back to work.

That night, after we've had our fun and I'm lying helpless with exhaustion in his arms, he kisses me and smiles against my lips.

"I have something for you," he says.

"Wait here."

He gets up and goes to his dresser.

"If it's an apron, I'll strangle you with it," I threaten, sitting up.

"It's not an apron, I promise. Although I think I know what I want for my birthday."

"It's not my birthday," I say, frowning.

"I know but I can't wait that long."

He comes back holding a package.

"I had to send it away to a professional. Did you know that archival restoration is a thing? I didn't."

He hands it to me.

"Well, go on."

I tear off the wrapping.

There are two items inside.

One is a brand new, leather-bound book with creamy blank pages.

The other is a plain, white box.

I lift the lid.

Inside, encased in a plastic sleeve, is my Grandmother's journal.

The edges are slightly scorched and the cover is torn but I recognize it nonetheless.

"I asked the fire chief to look for it," Blake explains.

"He's... a friend from high school. He said the glass case it was in protected it a little, at least kept off some of the ash and soot. The restorer did the rest. I mean, there's some damage but..."

He's been speaking fast, obviously nervous.

I look up and he stops when he sees the tears tracking down my face.

His own pinches with concern.

"Is it okay? I mean, did I..."

Carefully, I set the box aside.

Then I throw my arms around him and hold on.

"Thank you," I say when I can and wipe my eyes.

"What's the blank one for, though?"

"That's for you," he says, pushing me away far enough to see my face.

"So you can start your own journal. I mean, I know you have your portfolios, and your website and everything. But I thought it would nice if you carried on the tradition. If you want," he finishes, uncertainly.

I smile and pull him into a kiss.

"I want," I say and damn it to hell but I'm pretty sure I owe him that apron thing now.

Blake Welling

The weather is unseasonably warm for September.

I wake up the morning of the seventh with the sheets in a twisted heap at my feet and Aaron curled against my side.

His thin white tank top is scrunched up around the bottom of his ribs, revealing the pale skin of his flat stomach and his dark-blue briefs have slipped low on his hips.

My eyes are drawn to the cleft of his cute ass, just visible above the band.

Reluctantly, I pull away from him and he makes a sleepy noise of protest.

I pull the sheets up and cover him.

I might be sweating but he always tends to run a little cool.

I shower and brush my teeth and come back to find him unmoved.

Crawling back to lie beside him, I watch him for a moment.

His lips are flushed with sleep and his long lashes rest on his cheeks.

Combing my fingers through his silky black hair, I kiss his mouth.

He mumbles something against my lips and shifts but doesn't wake.

I slide a hand between his legs and palm him through his briefs, stroking gently until I feel him start to grow hard.

"Ow."

I jolt back as he pinches my side and find him grinning up at me, blue eyes lit with amusement. "

That's what you get for assaulting a guy in his sleep, you perv," he says.

"Well, now that you're awake, I can do things properly..."

I slide my hand up the smooth skin of his side and move to kiss him but he sits up.

"What time is it?" he frowns, grabbing for his phone.

"Shit. I have to go," he jumps up and starts to pull on clothes, disappearing into the bathroom.

I sit at the end of the bed and wait for him to emerge.

When he does, he looks ready for work.

"I thought you were taking the day off?" I ask, frowning.

"I can't. I have a huge order to finish and the Fall selection is behind schedule."

He pauses at the bedroom door.

"I'm sorry... did you have something planned?"

"What? Oh... no," I laugh.

"Don't worry about it. Will you... be home for dinner?"

"I don't know. I'll see what I can do. Hey... I love you."

He comes back and kisses me, tasting minty and fresh.

"Bye," he says, then he's gone.

I flop back on the bed, feeling dejected.

I'd told the truth... I hadn't made any plans because it's my birthday, after all. 

[dzpenumbra]

6/25/23

It got late again, but here I am. I was pulled into streams today, there were very compelling storylines playing out. It was most of the day, actually.

My whole rhythm was just off today, I don't even really know why. I didn't start my day with yoga. I guess it was the RP that did it. I usually do yoga, then maybe put headphones in and listen to a stream while working out, or listen to music, either or. But today... I just didn't. I think I just fired up a game instead, but none of the games I've been playing have been scratching that itch.

After a little bit, I got back to work on my Zen Garden project. As planned, I tried to use wind to separate the sand from the gravel. I brought my box fan down and tried that, but... somehow it wasn't really strong enough. I'm sure if I left it for a few hours it might've had an effect... but it just wasn't really doing it for me. Then I used a handheld air compressor thing that I got to clean my PC, held about 4 feet away, and that thing fucking worked... but it worked too well.

It separated the gravel and the sand very effectively, but it brought a lot of the sand airborne and out of the cardboard box setup that I made. I tried setting up the box vertically, with the dish in the bottom, so the sand would blow out around the sides, but it still sent big puffs of sand out into the air. So... I really don't know how else to do that, I'd really need to basically encase the whole thing in a plastic bag so the sand doesn't escape... but then I can't damn see. It's a shame because what I was doing was very effective, it was separating the sand from the micro gravel really well. There was just a lot of loss and it was making a mess. So... I started going back to water separation.

Basically, I'm taking the sand/microgravel mixture and putting it in a glass cooking dish, adding a small amount of water and just working it until the water is very muddy looking; full of particles. Then carefully dumping the water into a separate container, then repeating the process until the water is as clean as possible. Then, I wait for the muddy water to settle, and separate the clean water from the sand so it can dry. This produces super-fine sand. And, unfortunately... the process isn't perfect. There's still a lot of fine sand left behind with the gravel that just... isn't being picked up for whatever reason. It takes longer and it's more work, but it's a zero-waste solution.

Later in the night, I realized... my sieves are getting here tomorrow. XD At least they're supposed to be. Those are going to be a godsend for sorting gravel by size. I'm just... not sure what sizes I got. I'm afraid they may be more focused on larger sizes. I don't know if any of them are going to be any smaller than a normal kitchen sifter, which is what I've been using. I'm just not sure where else I can find a finer mesh that still lets shit through. I was debating using coffee filters before, but... I think those are going to be too tight a mesh to even let sand particles through. I wanted to get a flour sifter when I got my groceries delivered, I feel like those have to be finer than normal kitchen sifters... but they didn't have any. So yeah, the sieves are going to be great for sorting the gravel in general, but I might have to keep doing this water separation method too. Idk. But I feel like having super-fine sand creates a very different aesthetic, and I like the whole transformative process of getting from cheap all-purpose sand mix to super-fine sand. I like the problem-solving, the troubleshooting, it's very rewarding.

I did end up doing yoga and working out around midnight, right before cooking dinner. Yoga... I kinda just did a few stretches, honestly. The workout was super intense. It was 3 sets of this circuit - 10 sit-ups, 10 sit-up punches, 10 sit-ups, 10 crunch kicks, 10 sit-up punches, 10 crunch kicks. With a 2 minute break between. It was pretty rough. But I made it through it. I can actually feel myself losing weight, like I can feel it in my skin. And more than that, my muscles are getting much stronger. It's a nice feeling. It's only been a bit over 2 weeks. It's been a lot of work, that's no lie, but I'm surprised how much of a difference so little time has made.

And... that was pretty much my day. Troubleshooting sand stuff, watching really good RP, working out, making fried rice.

Oh, and my bean plants are fucking huge. I woke up and all three were fully sprouted in one container, two in the other. And they're all like 4-6" tall. I'm really gonna have to stay ahead of staking them, I don't wanna get caught off guard with this. Gonna have to go gather some big sticks. The tomato seems to be doing okay, it and the pepper plant have flowers which are starting to bloom. :) That tomato plant is so damn big, it's like... at least 3 feet tall now. It just dwarfs every other plant in the apartment. The baby succulents are coming along very nicely, and more and more little buds are starting to pop up and I'm starting to go "oh shit, what did I get myself into..." But I'll figure it out, they can grow in pretty much anything. My Pothos starters though... They're healthy and all, they look fine, they're just... not really growing. I expected them to grow super fast, considering they're very vine-like. But some don't even really seem to be doing anything but moving their leaves around. The ones that have sprouted are just kinda... going slow. I don't really know what else I can do for them, maybe give them some more light? I don't know, maybe I just had the wrong expectations, maybe they aren't a fast-growing plant. It's not the end of the world either way, I just wanna make sure they're doing okay. The Night-Blooming Jasmine is done with its bloom, it shed all its flowers and is now sprouting new branches like fucking crazy. I'm probably going to have to prune it already just to corral the growth a bit, keep it contained. The orchid seems to just be kinda... hibernating, I guess. It's very healthy; the leaves are in great shape, stems are trimmed and fine, roots are healthy. I've just gotta figure out what to do about this distilled water thing, its roots have a kinda chemical burn look to them on the top and I read that's because of using tap water instead of distilled water. So... I have a plan and setup for distilling water, I just haven't really gotten around to it yet. So... all-in-all... the indoor garden is doing great.

Re-telling my nightmare in my journal last night got me really jumpy and anxious. It was tough to get to sleep for a bit because of it. I got there but it was definitely a bit of a battle. It's always really really tough when you're physically exhausted but your mind really doesn't want to go to bed for fear of the dreams you might have. But I'm pretty sure it was totally okay, and I don't remember having bad dreams, so it worked out.

Okay, enough rambling, I want to do tarot. I actually want to get a tiny bit of ice cream too. It's been super hot today, for some reason, and I just had a craving. I'm just gonna do one scoop instead of the 3 I used to do every night. I'm gonna actually put it in writing that this is not going to be a habit, just a "getting through a tough time on a hot day" thing. Then tarot right after.

Past - Ten of Cups, inverted (Settling down, well-being, a happy family, simple pleasures.  Harmony and joy shared with loved ones.) Present - Knight of Swords, inverted (Clarity from confusion. Rugged, fierce, determined, logical. Deliverer of answers, but frank to a fault.) Future - IV: The Emperor, inverted (A powerful, dominant, strategic and protective figure of great influence and reach.  Symbolically, important changes, a shift in power, new responsibilities or authority. Adjacently symbolizes stability.)

Aww. -_- Inverted Ten of Cups is such a sad card. And it's where we're starting. Ten of Cups is the happy ending, the wife and the kid and the house with the picket fence, running off into the sunset. Inversion here being... I don't know. A missed opportunity? Or something that got (or is getting) in the way?

This is connected to inverted Knight of Swords. I'm honestly not entirely sure. I know I've gotten this before... I know Queen and King of Swords, but for some reason I'm struggling with Page and Knight of Swords. Okay, I looked it up to clarify for myself, which... ironically... is the answer. Knight of Swords is clarity. I want to sorta come up with simple associations to get the gist, but I fear simplifying the symbols too much. As a start, let's try... Page = epiphany, encountering the truth, Knight = clarity, delivering the truth, Queen = facing truth (on both sides), King = living with the truth, leading by example. Again, these symbols are not that simple - as personalities are not as simple as one word - but it's a start to remember them. This Knight is also inverted, so... same deal, something preventing this symbol from manifesting.

And to round out the trio, we have inverted Emperor. A symbol of planning, structure, expansion. Or it can represent a man of great power and reach. I don't often consider cards representing other people much, which I really need to change a bit. Very few people are as isolated as me and can just assume that the cards represent aspects of themselves rather than people around them. With Emperor inverted, we can see the dark sides of conquest, or a bad influence of rulers.

Yeah, so... about that whole "cards representing other people in your life" thing. That can apply to a lot. Some cards are pretty clearly representing... events or moments... or forces of nature... but others are pretty clearly representing personalities. Like... The Tower is clearly not a person; Wheel of Fortune, Three of Wands and Ace of Cups are clearly not people. But the face cards can very clearly represent personality types. The Emperor and Knight of Swords I would definitely include in that.

So, on to connecting the dots here. What got in the way of my happy ending? Was there ever one in the works, honestly? I've had like 2 real relationships... and one was about 6 whole months and she really wasn't that into me and abandoned me twice when I had a fucking blood clot in my shit. The other took my savings, lived in my house without paying rent for 2 years, rented another apartment in the same town while living with me, put us on a "break" to sleep with someone and still to this day never admitted it, and started hooking up with a coworker less than 2 weeks after our 3 year relationship ended. So... if there really was potential for a happy ending with either of those two people? I'm just not seeing it. So... what is getting in-between me and my happy ending? The cards say... --- Oh, before I go further, Ten of Cups isn't just about a romantic ending. It's also just... harmony with loved ones in general. Just putting that in there. --- A blockage between me and this Knight of Swords character. Having clarity, seeing the truth of it all, and being able to act on it all. Which, admittedly is absolutely a problem for me. I often feel naïve, and I let my desire to "be a good guy" overpower my awareness of what's going on around me, and prevent me from getting out of difficult social situations. Now... I don't trust myself enough to be able to discern whether a relationship is toxic or not. I mean... my last "date" was a very recently divorced mother of two who told me she had herpes and recently got out of the psych ward of a hospital (she said for drinking and fighting with her then husband and he didn't feel safe? So he got her sent up?) and she thought a nice first "date" would be to come over to my house and bring 2 full goat skeletons worth of bones for me, because I said on my profile that I was "interested in getting into stone, wood and bone carving". And I didn't screen out any of that. I'd say... the Knight of Swords would be able to see the red flags there, yeah? That's the best I can figure out there. And this somehow results in... what... having a strong domineering presence in my life that's super controlling, possessive and unstable? I mean... that checks out, right?

I'm super tired. This is the best I have for right now. Oooo the bonus placeholder card is a new one, so I wanna do that real quick.

Bonus - Seven of Cups (Wishful thinking, fantasy.  Letting imagination run wild, disregarding key facts.)

I kinda feel like I'm kinda there right now. Like I'm not reading this spread accurately, like it's kinda forced and it's getting super late. So... fuck it. Learning the cards is the most important part of this process right now.

(Rare post-proofreading add-on) Huh. I was really tired and just kinda... dipped out at the end there. And was feeling kinda trauma-reliving self-sabotage-y... And I completely overlooked how the Seven of Cups was... well it's kinda... exactly what I was saying, isn't it? XD Just... disregarding warning signs and idealizing. Which is what I was saying was the exact problem in past relationships, and what my connection with the Knight of Swords would ideally prevent? I just thought that was interesting, I was nodding off so I completely missed it. Alright, off to bed.

[min-xiao13-exe]

Stay With Me CH-5

THIRD PERSON'S POV

Y/N operates the Quinjet with ease and maneuvers it to the Raft Prison. The staff looks disturbed to see the Earth's mightiest heroes locked up in cages and screaming in pain as they float through the hallways with a purple glow encasing them.

"Pay up Fury, I told you I could capture them," Y/N said as she walked up to Fury.

"Fine here's 10 dollars," Fury says as he hands Y/N 10 dollars.

"What's with you saying my undercover name, I thought you hated it" Y/N snickered, a sly smirk playing on her face

"You do my work and I respect you," Fury hands Y/N a purple envelope with the Avengers logo on it "Which is why you are now an Avenger, this is your recruitment letter, Enjoy"

"Now, what do I do with them?" Y/N asked as the boxes floated around the room

"Release the mind spell and let them gain consciousness. I want to talk with them" Fury said settling down on one of the chairs near Tony's cage

"It's called Panic Room and I might put you in one if you say the name wrong again" Y/N Threatened as the boxes started levitating along with her and started following her movements, she opened her eyes and they were White and were emitting purple glow which caused Agent Hill and Agent Phil to be on defence positions

"Ask your people to stay down Fury, I am not a threat unless you make me one" Y/N said in a low voice as everyone dropped their guns.

Y/N muttered something under her breath and the boxes broke, the glass turned to thin air as the touched the ground and slowly the Avengers were kept on the floor. Their tactical gear shoved away from them and suddenly Y/N stuck to the ceiling as the rest awakened.

The first one up was the Maximoff siblings, turns out they never were in the Panic Room, they were just asleep on command.

Then next was Thor, Loki, Bruce, Steve, Bucky and Peter. After them, Tony, Natasha, Rhodes, and Sam stirred a bit to wake up but were still crying as if being tortured.

"Oh for the love of God wake up!" Y/N said, exasperated by how much time the three people took and snapped to wake them up. The four Avengers jerked awake and looked around in surprise to see their surroundings changed.

"Good evening Avengers, sorry if this seems inconvenient to you but this was a test for a fresh Avenger to see if she was worth being in the group and as you can see, she has succeeded," Fury said as some agents and medical help surrounded the Avengers to treat any kind of injuries and weakness.

"Y/N Maximoff?" Tony asked as he got to his feet.

"Yes, her mission was to bring all of you here on the Raft, without a scratch on their body and willingly. Honestly, this isn't what I had expected but it was still perfect" Fury said as a voice above him whispered, "Hi Everyone".

A girl dressed in Black and Purple slowly crawled down the walls of the Raft Prison and stood behind Fury

"Meet Y/N Maximoff, Who is also known as Amysthyst" Agent Hill said while sitting on a desk behind Steve.

Y/N 's Suit slowly glowed purple and she started looking like a young college girl and sat down on an empty spot on the couch next to Wanda.

"So you're Y/N, How did you copy my webs? It is nearly impossible to do so!" Peter whined, Y/N slowly walked over to Peter and looked straight into his eyes as a Purple ring replaced his pupils, he slowly closed his eyes and one tear slipped through his eyelashes, Y/N whispered in his ears "My work is done" and Blue glow encased him. A panicked Tony Stark rushed forward "Leave the Kid alone! " " Stark, I am not a threat unless you make me one. I had borrowed half his abilities, I'm giving them back with a bit of my own as an exchange" 

Peter slowly woke up and looked around, the rest were looking with awe. 

"W-what? Why are y'all looking at me like that?" Peter asked as Tony checked his vitals. "I don't know if it's possible but kid you just might have got an upgrade in your body's system" "Which means what?" Peter asked looking at his arms and legs to see if anything had changed but he felt like something was not of his own

"Whenever I or Pietro had asked, you said it was too dangerous! This isn't fair!" Wanda said exasperated 

"It only works for some certain power combinations, you and Perry are overpowered individuals, and most likely the new powers would try to kill you because it competing for the first preference of your body's defensive approach" Y/N rambled on 

"So people get glowy eyes after this or what?" Steve asked looking at Peter with worry

"Not exactly, You can get all kinds of things," Bruce said 

"Ah Dr. Banner, You seem to know quite a lot! I guess Fury told you." Y/N said 

"But really what can you do?" Tony asked 

"Quite a lot but this isn't the correct place to demonstrate my capabilities," Y/N said 

"We can take you back to the compound, 

Fury has already counted you as a new Avenger so we can give you your room, space to practice, whatever you need" Natasha said 

"Fury, can I take them upstairs?" Y/N asked, Fury nodded in response 

They proceeded upstairs on the roof of the Raft Prison. A raging storm was there but neither of them got drenched. Y/N had built up a defensive shield around the whole group "Listen Up, I can teleport but I will lose a lot of energy so we gotta fly" Y/N said while they passed the Quinjet 

"We won't use the Quinjet?" Natasha asked looking puzzled

"Nope, I have a ride for each of you," Y/N said and pulled out a lighter. She gave it a shake and it started glowing purple as a bunch of Wakandan Ships cornered in "You have two choices, Either fly with me or with King T'Challa and General Okoye" Y/N said as sparks began to build from the lighter's flame which slowly grew into a large and beautiful bird with vibrant plumage. Its feathers possessed a brilliant shimmer, appearing as if they are aflame. The bird's body was graceful and elegant, with shades of fiery red, orange, and gold reflecting off its body. It took everyone quite a lot of time but everyone backed out, except Peter. He was too stunned by the appearance of the bird that rose out of a flame.

"Parker! Get on quick! Blaze doesn't like to wait!" Y/N screamed as the Wakandan Ship flew off and T'Challa came on comms "What is taking th spider so long?" "I don't know but I don't care. He's coming with me" Y/N pulled Peter up and set him behind her on Blaze and flew off.

Masterlist

[andraxicated]

(virgin) killer tendencies

Pairings: mikey x f! reader w/ slight bonten/ran

pov: losing your virginity before becoming a netflix documentary

Tags: suggestive/smut | dark themes | yandere | stockholm syndrome

a/n: always stay safe when going out with your friends!

"Any message you want to give to your friend? Or to her kidnapper?"

The girl on the tv sobs, her beautiful face contorting, her voice breaking as she stares into the camera, crushing your heart. The last time you saw her was years ago, back when you drank, danced, and died. You miss her so much, you miss everyone so much.

Dreams of being successful women went all down the drain just because of that cursed night. You really can't blame anyone because all of those was your fault, everything that lead to this moment was all on you.

You and your heartbroken, party girl tendencies.

"I just hope she's in a good place now, it's been years-I-I don't know what to say to her. I wished I'd been more of a good friend." She grabs a tissue from the box in front and uses it to clean her nose. "And to her kidnapper...In this life, we might not get the justice (y/n) deserves but I know...that you will burn in hell—"

"Baby~" A hushed whisper tickles your ears that makes you stand up straight, your heart pounding against your chest from the nervousness and fear of the man behind you. He clasps his large against yours on the stairs, soothing the tension out of your body. He then presses a wet kiss on your neck, calloused palms traveling down to the hem of your sweater dress.

"I suggest we go back up before he notices you sneaking on him. Mikey is scary when he's angry isn't he?"

"Mhm. I'm sorry." You say before taking one last look at the people on the tv. All of them have sad faces, empty smiles, tired eyes and you feel so sorry for them. Sorry for ruining the plans and sorry for not being able to hear your messages to me. Most of all, the biggest apology should be toward yourself who sabotaged your own bright future. But at that time...everything was dark and bleak. Nothing mattered to you.

A trip upstairs lead to a simultaneous trip down memory lane. On that fatefully fucked up night.

Ran's hand on your back disappears along with the transformation of the scene before you. Your sweater dress changes into a red, glittery one, the hallway shifts into a loud bar, your face adorned with makeup, surrounded by friends and the smell of cigarettes; but the same dreadful feeling weighing you down stays the same.

-2 years ago-

You dreamed of being famous, but not this way.

The ear-splitting shatter of the glass onto the floor captures everyone's attention as you turn around in a daze. You see a girl's furrowed eyebrows and an annoyed expression etched on her as you look down on the spilt drink.

"Can you watch where you're going?"

Her anger was understandable so you had to apologize. "I'm sorry. I didn't see you there. I'll pay for another drink-"

"Don't even bother." She crosses her arms and inches towards you, examining your face and your flaws. A smirk appears on her lips when she notices how familiar you look, an expression that you dread as you prepare yourself for her words.

"Aren't you the one who got dumped and caused a scene last Friday? The girl who-" She suddenly gets cut off when your friend from behind walks in front. Drunk as a skunk and she still has the power of her sharp tongue to insult people. You used to have that kind of attitude too but not when your inside is hollow.

"Shut the fuck up! She apologized right? Do you want a new bottle if you don't want a new glass?" Or do you want to be labeled this week's scene stealer?"

Your drunk friend retorts with an arm around your shoulder, her middle finger up to the people who backed down from her insults and chose not to cause a further scene.

Both of you chuckle at how pathetic and elementary the happening was and she guides you back to your booth. Her manicured nails encasing the glass bottle and overflowing the little shot glass she has. The liquor drips and you dodge in shock, preventing it from sticking to your legs and dress.

You get a tissue as your friend apologizes in a slurred speech. "I'm so sorry. I can't get my head right. I need water." "It's okay-"

The slam of the bottle startles you as you look at her glaring at you. It looks like the ones you get when she's about to get you an earful, acting like your personal life coach.

"Can you please stop apologizing? You turned into a fake ass meek girl just to please that now ex boyfriend of yours...do you even see yourself?"

Do you? You looked multiple times in the mirror to check on your blemishes, to check on your body and compare it to the ones he likes, so yes you always see yourself. And you full well know that you changed your personality and actions for him, only to end up getting cheated on with the supposed opposite of his ideal type.

Good thing you've never given him your virginity. It would be such a shame that an asshole got you first.

"I just want to go back to my free self." You lean onto the velvet material as you try to erase him out of your mind. Desperately creating a clean slate for a potential guy tonight.

"Then go back. No one's stopping you."

If you could only go back in time and just stayed in your room wallowing in self-pity...this would not have happened. You can't blame that advice because it didn't say you had to be that reckless. It was just your stupid drunken self driven by lust that got you in that situation.

You go outside for a breath of fresh air because the cigars are suffocating and you see a sleek black car blending right in the night alley. It looked so expensive from the exterior and the familiar brand on it, you could only wish to have the life of whoever owns that. You approach it to look into the window and see yourself, bending down to fix your messed hair.

"You want my car that bad?" Black haired, short, dressed in sweater and pants same color as his hair, tattooed neck, bloodshot eyes, and he reeks of danger. You should've ran when you saw him but little miss addicted to bad boys felt a butterflies in her stomach. That was all you could remember from the night you first saw Mikey.

His sudden appearance beside has you startled and standing up straight in embarrassment. You consciously drag down your dress as you might have flashed him with your panties, his eyes naturally darting over your action.

"I'm sorry. I was just looking for a mirror." You utter an excuse.

"Go on. That's not my car anyway."

What? You look at him with a confused face, silently asking who's the owner if he isn't. The man sees your questioning look and ponders on answering it before taking a crunchy bite of the taiyaki he's holding. You watch him chew, closed mouth and how his lips move, before looking away when he catches your gaze.

"Company car." He answers and you nod, thinking what kind of gigantic company this man works for.

Your train of thought suddenly gets cut off when he waves the fish shaped snack in front of your face, once again shocking you from how stealthily he moved; you didn't even notice him until then.

You meet Mikey's gaze on you and the taiyaki waving in front, deciphering his questioning eyes if you want to take a bite. If only you knew him years prior, you know he doesn't like to share his snacks especially the ones he like. But he found himself wanting to share with a random stranger wearing the sluttiest dress he's ever seen. Perhaps him catching wind of your black thong reeled him in as he lets his boner do the judging.

"Ah, I'll get some thank you."

Instead of taking a pinch with your fingers, you seductively leaned in and bit the head of the fish, parting the piece in your mouth from its body. Your upwards gaze to him was not assertive but rather meek, doe eyes subtly seducing the man while you pull away and chew. That phase of reading seduction books really helped when you glance down and saw the tightening of his pants, his shifting between foot, and the tinge of pink on his cheeks.

To know you were wanted and craved made you squirm while standing, a pressure forming on your center as your body gets tense.

"You have something on your lips" Mikey points out for you, his eyes fixated on your lips. A simple word that made you drop everything for you know what comes next.

"Where?" A coy question coming from your mouth even though you know where the dirt was. You could easily feel it hanging from the corner of your lips, yet you don't bother as you want to know what this man will do.

If he does exactly what you had in mind...then you're going home with him.

"Right here" He raises his thumb to wipe the red bean off your face. The sensation of a simple touch brought electricity to your body, making it more heated up and desperate for loving warmth.

"There's still some left" His voice drawls out lazily and you feel yourself getting lost in this dreamlike moment. He's intoxicated and you are too, he's lonely and so do you.

"Can you please get it for me?" And he leans to capture your lips with an openmouthed kiss, tongues dancing around each other for arousal. He grips your chin to move your head how he wants and you place your arms around his shoulder, pushing his head to a deeper kiss. Amidst shared breaths, you could feel how soft and sweet his lips were, lightly playing with the pleasing flesh. While on Mikey's point of view, yours was bittersweet. The red bean's taste and the previous bits of alcohol entered his system as he attempts to suck more of you.

It was passionate and heated, his hand already crept up to the inside of your dress, daring to feel your ass against the texture of the lace. That sealed the deal for the both of you to go home. You sadly pull away from the lack of breath as Mikey watches how smudged your lipstick were. You looked like a whore and it brought a smile to his face.

He had lipstick stains on his face too, scattered red like he got bombarded and played with. A chuckle leaves your lips and his eyes dart over to your smiling face. The corner of your cheeks pulling up and your eyes creasing. He felt like mimicking it as he forced himself to show you how happy he was. Mikey truly felt happy and alive in that moment, all the more to keep you by his side.

"You want to go for a drive?" "Maybe later" Your bold vixen personality reared itself as you push him against the car, biting his lip for a little tease before a messy clash of mouths occur on the dimly lit street. Oh and you remember; his finger that came back underneath your dress, teasing and massaging your clothed slit as you moan agape. Providing you with a bit of foreplay before introducing you to the main course.

-1:00 am-

As he drives onto a nearby hotel, you look out the window and see the lights passing by. A buzz comes from your phone to notify you that your friend has replied.

"I'm going to check in a hotel"

"Lol same. Stay safe!"

As you turn off your phone, you look at Mikey and question yourself why you're trusting a man who you don't even know. Someone you met minutes ago is taking you to a hotel, this was what people did right? In books, in movies, in whatever you've consumed, they just went with whoever they're with and had a one night stand.

A wrong move on your behalf.

He places his calloused palm to rest on your thigh, soothing then squeezing the flesh as you feel your core getting wet by the minute. A sly finger inches closer to your inner thighs, trying to pry your legs apart with his index and thumb and yet you chose not to budge.

"Playing hard to get?"

"Let me check your strength." You provoked and Mikey laughed, a stranger's rouse riling him up as no one dared to test his strength in years. The veins on his arms became prominent along with the tension on his fingers, it seemed like a split second where your legs were closed and now they were open. A spread palm in between and it clasps closer to your panties, holding the prize in a fit of victory.

"Satisfied?"

You were very satisfied with your first time. He brought you to a luxurious five star hotel, one that you've never dreamed of checking in. You were not dumb as you observed people's gazes on you, you're not some psychic who can read their minds nor an agent who can read body language. The timid girl on his arm could only wonder why those people were looking at you. That should've tickled your suspicion yet you brushed it off in the anticipation of getting fucked.

Well, it was worth looking forward to. Mikey had plans of treating you like a whore before you told him that you're a virgin. Wide eyed and brimming with tears, you're practically begging for him to take care of you. And so with a kiss to your forehead, his demeanor changes to that of a gentle lover.

"It's okay. No need to be scared" He coaxes you into his embrace as his fingers deftly unclasp your bra. Slowly pushing you onto the bed while he fixes his positioning on top of you.

Fragments of steamy memories flood your mind as you stare into another man's eyes. You thought you would look back on that night fondly because it was so intimate…a first time of a sacred act just between the two of you. But as you stare into Ran's eyes, a bitter smile creeps up when the realization struck you.

You were used and shared. You want to leave but your heart is too attached to the people of this house. When you finally get out…now what? The sinking feeling of despair gnaws at you as you realize outside of your little home, you were lonely. Just like the first time you ran away when you saw liquid red.

Ran's lips tickle upwards to your neck, kissing your jaw and capturing your lips with his own. Relying on your muscle memory, your legs automatically wrap around his waist, your hands clinging to his strong shoulders as he grinds his oncoming hard-on directly on your clothed cunt.

A moan then escapes from the shockwaves.

"Ah! Mikey!" You thrash with shaking legs, his harsh thrusts producing obscene squelches of your cum down below. There was no strength left on your lower half or your torso, you could only follow the ripple of your body as he uses it like a toy. A medium for all the frustrations in life.

Staring into the ceiling with drool coming out of your lips and cries between intervals, Mikey finds your sweet spot and his cock experimentally knocks on it the first few times; he looks up and sees your eyes blown wide.

"Found it" He smirks and starts fucking into you while watching your troubled expression. You were so cute and so expressive, you even permitted him to cum inside for your first time.

The splash of his warmth inside made your toes curl as he grinds a few times and closes his eyes in ecstasy while you close yours in exhaustion. The toy needs her rest after all.

You hear someone saying "Wake up"

...

"Fucking bitch—wake up!"

You open your eyes to the surprise of seeing yourself crisp and clear. The familiar mirror meets your confused face on the bed, a tripod and a camera standing in front, and your scattered mind trying to register what's going to happen.

"What-" You halt. And if you were sleepy before, then your whole body jolts awake to see the pink-haired psycho over your shoulder. He laughs upon the confirmation of you being scared of him, and so he rests a hand on your head, patting it like a pet.

"Don't be scared~" He coos, his attempt at comfort just brings a shiver to your whole body. What kind of sick kink does he have today?

"So before we start…" Sanzu's voice trails off as your ears block out every word he says. Your eyes look at everyone in the room through the mirror, counting the figures until your gaze lands on someone in the corner of the room.

Leaning against the wall while watching you, he seems to have seen you through the mirror too. You don't know why your heart still beats for the man who doesn't care.

You wished he would comfort you, you wished he would take you away, you wished he would be possessive and have you all to himself. But all of those dissipates when Mikey smiles at you, despite it being an empty one. Anything he gives, you take like a loyal dog.

You love him still.

"Any message you want to give to your friends? or to your family?"

[with-love-from-hell]

Melancholia

{part Four}

Fandom: Obey me!

Genre: Angst

Written for F!Mc

WC: ~2.3k

Music Accompaniment (The Funeral thru Through Glass)

CW:   Depression, negative self-talk, Insomnia, illusion to past trauma, anxiety, racing thoughts, suggestive at parts, displays of verbal aggression

>> Though I have a Masters Degree in Psychology, I am not your therapist. If you have experienced any form of depression or suicidal thoughts, and are in need of help, please utilize the Suicide Prevention Lifeline, NIMH helpline, or the SAMHSA helpline. <<

You can find any future parts by searching the tag #Vermillion Skies or #Melancholia on my blog! I have added it to all parts!”

Series Masterlist

A looming sense of doom washed over Simeon as he stood in front of the door to his old dormitory in Purgatory Hall. He hadn’t been here in so long- it almost felt like a millennia. As Barbatos turned the key to the door, Simeon felt his heart nearly stop- as if he was expecting Luke and Solomon to be waiting on the other side like they usually were. Instead, he was greeted with an empty dormitory. The sound of his and Barbatos’ footsteps echoed off the walls as they walked into the dorm, the sound creating an eerily empty atmosphere despite the furniture that still remained in the dorm.  

Simeon looked over at the royal butler, as if begging him to reconsider the change in residence. Much to his dismay, Barbatos was already exiting the dorm. Simeon felt panic creep up within his stomach at the idea of being left in the large, empty space.

I don't want to be alone.

"Barbatos, wait..." Simeon blurted out, trying to quickly think of how to stall the butler in order to make him stay just a little bit longer...

But nothing came to mind.

No matter how much he mocked and berated Barbatos for his surveillance of him while he was in the castle, something about it did feel comforting. It was almost like he had a parent watching over him. And while it did grow annoying, he'd rather deal with that than be left to the recesses of his own mind.

Barbatos turned around, raising an eyebrow at Simeon. "Yes?"

There was a moment of pause as Simeon couldn't figure out something to say. The two stared at eachother for a moment before Barbatos sighed and turned to leave once more, growing further annoyed with Simeons behavior.

Simeon listened helplessly as the sound of the footsteps faded out, and he was left by himself. With a resided sigh, he opted to to look through his old bedroom to take his mind off of things. The room was similar to how he had remembered, the only difference was a large box that sat on the bed. Simeon curiously approached, snatching up the note that sat atop the box. The contents was explained to be his belongings that were going to be transported to his new living quarters once it was established, and also included a voucher to Majolish, so he could purchase some new clothes.

The note was signed from Diavolo, with a post-script that said he was willing to support Simeon however he could, and a reminder to avoid Mc until the "time was right." Something had also been said about Solomon returning to the dorm soon enough, and having others assigned to the room as well. However, Simeon merely skimmed the letter, rolling his eyes at the seemingly faux apology for kicking Simeon out of the Castle.

He ripped open the top of the box and dug through it, taking out various items from the celestial realm and souvenirs bought with the initial intention of bringing them back for his other Seraph friends during his time in Devildom. An occasional garment of clothing here, and a blanket there were all tossed atop the bed as he neared the bottom.

Suddenly, Simeon's hand paused over a picture frame that felt strangely familiar. He pulled it out of the box, staring at the contents within the glass as his heart pounded in his chest. The frame encased a picture of him, Solomon, Mc, and Luke in front of RAD's main hall. He dragged his fingers across the faces in the picture, feeling deep sense of hopelessness follow.

I dont know if I could ever find a way to have us all smiling like that ever again.

He set the frame out on the night stand, though turned the joyous staring faces downcast for now. It was almost as if he was jealous of his former self for having everything he so desperately craved right now. As he tried to turn his attention back to the box, his eyes caught something glistening near the bottom. After shuffling some items around, he was able to retrieve a pin given to him by Luke during their first year. He smiled, brushing the grime off of the Devildom Honey Bee, smiling to himself, before feeling a twinge of sorrow slither its way into his heart, constricting it ever so slightly.

Simeon felt tears prick the back of his eyes as he squeezed the pin in his hand. While he was no longer an angel, he still felt the similar pull he did when his prophetic senses were triggered.

Something dark was coming on the horizon, and he was unable to determine what the outcome of the circumstances would be.

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

Luke sulked around the celestial palace, package in hand that was addressed to Michael. He wasn’t in any of his usual spots, making finding his superior difficult. He hated running errands like this- it always made him feel like he was just a messenger boy. It didn’t help to be at the receiving end of the relentless teasing from the other angels as well. Sure- by comparison, he was weaker than his peers. But he was still young, and had plenty of time to grow, and regardless of that, his blessing was almost as powerful as Michael’s...or at least...That’s what Simeon had always told him. 

Luke shook his head. Why was he thinking about that traitor? And why now, of all times? He sighed. It was a frequent occurrence since Simeon’s horrific fall that he would think about him. His brother still plagued his thoughts so relentlessly, even though it had been well over a month since then. He was sure that Simeon could care less about him, so why did he still feel somber whenever thoughts of the former angel came to his head? 

Perhaps it was because the teasing worsened without the Seraph by his side. Usually, his peers wouldn’t think twice about poking fun at the small angel when such a powerful and respected superior stood by his side- even if he didn’t act that way. While Michael had always been someone Luke admired heavily, he never realized how much he appreciated Simeon’s down-to-earth nature until he was gone. Now it felt like he didn’t have a friend in the world- not like he did in Devildom. Even amongst the teasing from the demons- it felt different than at home. He’d never admit it out loud, but he’d much rather be called a “Chihuahua” than a “useless errand boy.” 

The sound of nearby murmuring stirred him from his thoughts. He whipped his head around, recognizing one of the voices as Michael’s. As he followed it to the source, he was confused to discover that the council chambers were occupied. Their normal daily meeting times were well passed, and it was uncharacteristic of Michael to leave the door open while he discussed matters with the council. It was...Odd, to say the least. 

“Uh...Michael?” Luke peaked his head in the door, seeing Michael standing amongst the other council members. Their murmuring ceased when Luke entered the chambers, all eyes staring at him in such a way that made him feel a bit nervous. 

“Ah, my boy. What good timing.” Michael gave a warm smile, extending his hand to retrieve the package. 

Luke tilted his head slightly. “Good timing? for...what?” 

Michael glanced back to the other councilmembers, who all gave nods in approval. His smile widened, but something about it seemed less warm and more...sinister. “We have been conversing with the Demon Prince over the past week or so.” 

Luke’s eyes widened. “Diavolo?? But...why? Are we going to war??” 

Michael laughed, clasping a hand on the small angel’s shoulder. “Don’t you worry, It’s nothing like that.” 

Luke breathed a sigh of relief, but the tightening of Michael’s grip on his shoulder did little to stifle the nervousness creeping within him. 

“We have been discussing the fate of the three realms, and we have all come to the conclusion that Simeon’s fall was a fluke.” He returned his hand to its normal place behind his back, clasped together in his other hand as he paced the floor of the council chambers. “Surely his relationship with the brothers and his infatuation with humans should have provided us with clear warning that he was vulnerable to temptation.” 

Luke nodded, unsure of what to add to the conversation. “okay...so..?” 

Michael turned, looking him directly in the eye. “We have decided to give the exchange program another chance.” 

Luke felt his face fall into an intense frown, his stomach dropping along with it. “Y-you what?” 

Michael nodded, the same sinister smile from before returning to his features as he gripped Luke by the shoulders. “You will be returning to Devildom tomorrow morning.” 

“What!? I- no!” Luke shook his head aggressively as he yelled. How could Michael think it was a good idea to send more angels back there?! 

“Now, now.” Michael chuckled, patting Luke on the head. Luke clutched his cap firmly to his head, finding the action now to be more condescending than endearing. “You wont be going alone. And this time, we will be sending someone with you who would never think twice about his status in the Celestial realm- especially at the temptation of a harlot.” 

Luke was taken aback at his candid assertion that Mc was to blame for Simeon’s fall. “What?” 

Michael shook his head. “Never-you-mind. Just go gather a bag of belongings, there’s no time to waste!” 

Luke nodded somberly, turning to follow his orders with deep reluctance. Before he could leave the room, Michael’s voice called out to him once more. 

“Oh...and Luke?” 

Luke turned to face him, the anxious feeling from before now returning as he was met with a nefarious smirk playing on Michael’s lips. “Ye-yes?” 

“I expect you to report back to me daily about the happenings in Devildom- particularly related to that of the human girl.” 

Luke quirked an eyebrow, but under the intense gaze of the council, he reluctantly returned their awaiting stares with a firm “yes sir.” Luke quickly shuffled out of the room, hearing the murmuring from before continue behind him as he made his way down the hall to his bedroom. 

Something about Michael's demeanor made him feel a similar unease to the night that Simeon fell.

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

Lucifer stirred awake, stretching under the warmth of the quilt. The bright morning sunlight peered in through a gap in the curtains where the patio door was. To his surprise, the door was slightly ajar, and a cool breeze rustled through the bungalow. He turned over to snatch you up in his arms- to breathe in your scent and lull himself back to sleep in the wistful morning hours. Normally, he would have already been on his 3rd cup of coffee as he began working through a mountain of reports. But today, he just wanted to hold you and savor the break from the mundane life you had both gone back to at the House of Lamentation. 

To his dismay though, you were gone. 

He furrowed his brow, quickly sitting upright and looking around the bungalow. When you weren’t in sight, he got up and approached the open patio door. Normally he would dawn a robe, but given it was just the two of you here, he didn’t feel the need. 

To his relief, you sat cross-legged on the porch with a cup of tea in hand, staring out into the ocean. The transparent lace robe you wore danced in the breeze, making you look almost ethereal. If he could, he would drown in the image of you forever, but his curiosity overtook him. 

He cleared his throat, startling you. 

“Oh, you’re awake.” you take a deep breath to calm your racing heart, and give him a soft smile. 

“As are you, it would seem.” He teases, crossing his arms and resting his shoulder on the door frame. “What has you up so early, Love? We’re on vacation. You know you can sleep in, yet you've woken up extra early every day.” 

Your smile fades slightly and you respond with a shrug. “I couldn’t sleep.” 

Lucifer’s teasing smirk falls into a look of concern. “Is that so?” 

You hum in response, taking a sip of your tea. Your lips hover above the ceramic rim, wondering if you should try to bring up the conversation from the other night. As the time to return home drew nearer, the unease of it slowly returned.

Lucifer pauses as you sit quietly, thinking for a moment. A few nights prior, the intense argument about Simeon had disrupted your romantic getaway, but over time you were both able to move past it and forget about it. The tension slipped away easily as you both ignored the elephant in the room, and you were right back to the gleeful passionate love you had before Simeon’s arrival back into your lives. You even still wore many of the love bites from him on your skin from the night before, and he relished in the way they decorated your neck and shoulders. He sighed, settling in next to you on the porch. His index finger found yours, nudging it closer until they were interlocked. His legs dangle off the edge of the porch, his toes just brushing through the warm sand as he kicks his leg slowly. 

You glance over at Lucifer, noticing how content he seems to be in the sunlight. If you didn’t know better, you could easily mistake him for a human with how much he seems to thrive off of it. His pale skin seemed to glow under the sun rays, making it hard to look away. His radiance always captivated you; he truly embodied the title of Morning Star. 

He catches your eye, smirking at you as you flush and turn away. “Today’s our last day here. What shall we do?” 

Before you could give him an answer, Lucifer’s DDD rings. You both turn back to the nightstand, confusion running across your faces. Lucifer has promised to keep his DDD on silent with the exception of Barbatos’ number, which allowed him to be reached in an emergency. Lucifer shot you an apologetic look before standing and moving to answer the phone. 

"My apologies- it must be urgent. I need to answer."

You nod, turning your attention back to the pinkish sky over the ocean. "Of course. I understand."

There was a moment of silent murmuring from Lucifer into the phone, leaving you to zone out as the waves licked at the shore. In your mesmerized state, you failed to hear the tone of Lucifer’s voice getting more and more irritated, so you had no preparation for his eventual outburst. 

“What the fuck do you mean you’re accepting more exchange students?!” He snapped loudly, grip tightening on the phone to the point where the screen nearly cracked. 

You jolted out of your daze, fear creeping through you at the intensity of Lucifer’s yelling. You whip your body around, feeling your heart pound at the fact that his demon form was on full display, with a hazy black aura surrounding his body. You couldn’t hear the conversation through the phone, and you barely even registered what Lucifer had yelled back through the line, but you knew it wasn’t good. 

“With all that’s transpired with Simeon, and the strained relations with the angels, you still think that's a good idea!?” Lucifer shook his head anger continuing to rise within him. “Diavolo, I’m telling you no good could come from this. Can you not see the Celestial realms intentions must be nefarious? Do you not recall what they had said to you about Mc!?” 

As if he noticed you watching him, Lucifer stole a glance in your direction as Diavolo gave his rebuttal. His heart twisted at the sight of your wide eyes- clearly filled with fear- and shallow breathing that indicated he had triggered you. He squeezed his eyes shut, taking a deep breath before walking toward the bathroom and shutting himself off from view. Nothing that an apology couldn't fix later, but there was no need to continue perpetuating any harm.

You took a minute to calm yourself down, reminding yourself that the anger wasn’t directed at you...or at least, you hoped it wasn't.  All you could hope for was that Lucifer was calmer when he reappeared from the bathroom, and he could explain to you what he meant when he said Michael had said something about you...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

[sweetwolfcupcake]

Allurement: The Conniving Man

Yandere Namjoon x Reader

Warning- Creepy and suggestive actions. Heavily questionable motives.

From his peripheral vision, Namjoon could see her shoulders slumping as he drove through the road maintaining a low speed. He checked her sagging figure, eyes blinking languidly before closing completely as her head lolled to the side.

"(Y/N)?" he called her name, still unsure and lightly tapped on her shoulder, only to be met with silence "(Y/N), are you asleep?" he was met with silence again. She did not move, not even a flutter of her eyes.

As soon as he was assured that she was not awake anymore, Namjoon took a turn towards a more secluded road, somewhere he could be undisturbed, undetected.

"I am so sorry, little one," he whispered out, tracing her closed eyes delicately with his thumb before a secluded, dark corner finally caught his sight. As soon as he was done parking the car, Namjoon put all his focus on her. "You were so scared, shaking like leaf," he mumbled to himself, mind flooding with the images of her glassy, quivering eyes.

It had been such an experienced, to have her press flush against him, how her soft body seemed to melt into his, he was already putty when she looked up with her frightened, eyes, wide with fear and uncertainty. She appeared so fragile then like she would break if he held her too tight. But of course, it was a necessity, to terrify her with a 'stalker'. How else was Namjoon supposed to be close to her? Make her trust him as he would have liked her to? And to be honest, he enjoyed every moment of it.

"You would need to fear no one, little one," he sighed out, taking a few strands of her hair and curling them around his fingers, like he had been wanting to ever since he had set his eyes on her "I would take care of you, of all your needs, all your heart's desire. You would be safe with me. You are such a vulnerable little lamb, my sweet, you need to be protected and taken care of, don't you?" he sighed out, knowing that he would receive no reply.                                                    How gullible had she been, accepting an unlabelled lollipop from a man she hardly knew. he tsked at that, he was never letting her wander out of his sight again. And after tonight, he would not have to worry about her that much. The thought made a smirk curve his lips "Things we do for love." Namjoon whispered to himself before unbuckling his seatbelt, then hers. The thin, necklace she wore was already visible. He had seen her wearing it every time he had met her, she never seemed to take it off, what could be a better target?

Carefully, he took off the chain while she remained oblivious, immersed into a dreamless, heavy slumber, thanks to the 'simple' lollipop still melting inside her mouth. The locket shone under the light inside the car, with a slightly tense breath, Namjoon took out the chip, the tiny one carefully encased in a glass box, emitting a neon blue light. He felt his heart thrumming in excitement as he pulled out the tweezers from his pocket picked up the chip with delicate precision before facing its adhesive end inside the locket. The chip, more or less, fell inside and he hoped that it had stuck on the surface inside. But even if it did not, he still had her phone to chip.

Digging inside her bag, he found the weathered device. Namjoon's brows drew up together as he eyed her phone. He made a mental note to gift her a new phone, somehow, anyhow. He could not wait until she was in his arms, she needed a new phone immediately. Her phone was next to be chipped. Namjoon was precise, careful, almost too careful while he fixed the chip inside the device before putting it back in her bag and the locket around her neck. After making sure that everything appeared untouched, he pulled out his tab and proceeded to activate the chips. He wanted to make sure that he knew where she went, as well as collect her phone data. Her bag already had a chip in it, but it was not as reliable as the two he had fixed himself. Anything he had not taken care of himself in her case was unreliable in his eyes.

"You will be fine, Darling, safe, protected, I will always have my eyes on you," he whispered to her unconscious form as his thumb gently rubbed against her cheek.

The candy inside her mouth was half-eaten, he noticed the drool beginning to run down from the corner of her mouth. And there was something so fascinating yet incredibly arousing about the sight. So much so that his mouth dried up. He gulped before shaking the nasty thoughts from his head. Soon. He assured himself. Soon the time would come when all his desires would turn into reality. "You have no idea, huh?" he chuckled out as his thumb, previously on her cheek settled on her lower lip and rubbed the drool all over her partially-parted lips. It was such a salacious sight. But Kim Namjoon was a man of self-restraint and planning after all. He knew very well that it was not the right time, that he had to be patient. So instead, he settled for grasping the paper-stick of the lollipop and pulling the candy out of her mouth. A long string of saliva connected the glistening candy with her parted lips, making him lick his own as he fished out a handkerchief from his pocket and wiped the drool from her mouth before putting the lollipop on the piece of cloth and folding it, with the candy wrapped inside his handkerchief, he put the cherished item inside his pocket. A piece of her to keep while she would be physically away. Yet, he could not take his eyes from her parted lips, giving a peek of her teeth as she slept so peacefully, while he sat there in torment, feeling his pants beginning to tighten.

"Damn, you cruel temptress!"

Namjoon growled out before he found himself lunging towards her sleeping form and crashing his lips into hers for a passionate, unreciprocated kiss. Her lips had the hint of lemon and honey, from the lollipop, yet had a distinguished sweetness. The kiss felt euphoric as if he had won the world. And he would, he shall conquer the world and put it on her feet. He sucked on her lips and dipped his tongue into her mouth to explore. His breathing turned ragged at the sensation of her lips under his, he was already addicted. But he was compelled to pull away too soon, because if he did not, he was afraid that he could go beyond just a kiss, and he did not want that.

Namjoon could hear his heart beating erratically inside his chest- all for her- it was beating for her, because of her. He took a deep, shuddering to breathe to calm himself down. Her breathing was still relaxed, and he doubted if she would be up anytime soon. And it gave him so many opportunities.

With a satisfied smirk, he started the car and took the road to his penthouse.

****

Taglist(Kindly remind me later if I missed anyone)- @whatpageisthis @amoc94 @theresa-nam-nam-me @dearbambideer @casualminiaturetimemachine @njrwifey @kpopisnicee @illnevertrustmyselfagain @potterbrooke @luvaffaire @bighitfics