#I finally thought of a way to avoid drawing human faces

[thegreatbuttoneer]

There are reasons I refer to myself as The Fool.

[villainousauthor]

The hero wrinkles their nose at smell of antiseptic wipes, at the cold feel against their skin, as the villain prepares to draw more blood. They've lost count how many vials Villain has taken at this point.

Hero winces, trying to flinch away at the inevitable sharp pinch, and Villain digs their fingers into their arm some more. They press hard, cold hands keeping them still. "If I mess up, I'll have to stick you again." They warn, voice level. Paper crinkles under where Hero sits, the soft sound filling the silence.

Hero keeps their gaze downward, the bright florescent lights over head giving them a headache. You think with how long they've been here, they would have gotten used to the ugly, artificial glare, but they miss the sun.

They look up at Villain through their lashes, who's currently too focused on their current task to notice, eyebrows pinched together as they seem deep in thought.

"I doubt you're even certified to be drawing blood in the first place." Hero ribs, voice quiet, the words light but the humor just quite not there.

Villain snorts, as they finish and pull the IV out gently. "I've seemed to be able to do it fine all these weeks." They apply the cotton bandage to the area, securing it in place, though it's honestly not necessary, the small wound already likely healed.

Hero knows they shouldn't be trying to make Villain laugh, or trying to lighten the tense air that surrounds their every interaction. They should be attempting to escape, should be fighting tooth and nail against the strange experiments their arch nemesis insists on trying, but so many failed escapes and so many weeks without the presence of any other person has them weak for any human contact they can get.

They've almost begun to mistake the way Villain grabs their arm when taking blood, the way Villain's cold hand holds their face still when swabbing their mouth, the way they stand close when checking their vitals, as misplaced forms of affection.

It's pure delusion, Hero knows this, but they crave another persons touch so much they can almost believe it. Thinking about it too much makes their head hurt more than even the obnoxious overhead lights do.

Villain takes their silence as a sign to continue speaking. "Soon enough, I'll find the secret behind how your regenerative abilities work and then I'll be unstoppable." They say cleaning up, and placing the three tubes of blood they took on the tray to their left. Hero's head swirls as they watch the swishing of the dark red liquid.

Facing them again, still standing close, Villain's eyes finally meet Hero's and their voice softens slightly when they say this next part. "I won't have to poke and prod you so much when I do." Their voice is gentle enough that Hero wants to believe them, to trust them.

Hero licks their dry lips, voice cracking slightly. "Will...will you finally let me go once you do?" The question Hero has been avoiding asking this whole time.

The question gives Villain pause, as they seem to consider it for a moment. They step closer, placing their hands on either side of where Hero sits, bracketing them in. "I could...I probably should.." Villain's voice is whisper quiet as they stand inches away, breath fanning over Hero's ear.

"But I think prefer keeping you for myself."

[izvmimi]

cw: senku accidentally makes an aphrodisiac and fem!reader helps him out... minors dni! smut but no penetration. american colony au.

Senku rarely makes mistakes, ever, but as Gen has so often pointed out, luck is very often not on the young man’s side - in fact, luck seems to avoid him as though punishing him for refusing to leave his life up to fate. 

Minutes after he’s taken the potion that had been designated by the village doctor as an analgesic, he realizes quickly he’s made a grave one. Sweat beads on his forehead as he breathes in, the very action of drawing in a breath serving to increase the deafening drumbeat in his ears. Thump, thump, thump. The heat clouding his mind right now as he tries to remember where exactly he went wrong, what could have possibly happened to have him in fetal position, tensed up everywhere but especially in the space in between his legs.

Top shelf, to the right. A small vial stopped up with a cork.

Cork. It shouldn’t be a cork, he remembers suddenly. She had said the bottle might be hard to twist open. He must have taken something else. What else could explain the fact that all the blood coursing through his body seems to have collected to one place only, giving him the hardest erection he’s ever had in his life?

The scientist can’t claim to never have thought about sex. After all, he’s young and healthy and as curious about his body as anyone else, even if he’s not so easily persuaded by the prospect of soft round breasts or plush thighs as others, and he prides himself in knowing the basic workings of everything including that particular type of recreation. 

Now it’s all he can think about as he shivers and flushes, blood gorged cock throbbing and desperate to be touched in any way, shape or form.

He’s initially thankful that he was struck by this affliction while hiding away in the lookout tower  in the middle of the night because of its privacy and the ability to rub one or ten out and hopefully turn into a logical human once again, but once he can hear the familiar soft pad of your footsteps approaching up the stairs, he’s repetitively cursing his rotten luck under his strangled breath. 

Scrambling from his position sat in the corner, back against the wall, he quickly finds his way onto a chair, but stumbles, and when your eyes fall onto him, he’s practically face down. 

“Senku?” 

Your voice is soft as usual, not completely sure it’s him in the dim light. Moonlight illuminates part of the wide room, and when he finally rolls over to a cross-legged position, doing his best to hide the embarrassing bump in his clothes, you look at him quizzically.

“Fancy meeting you here!” Senku exclaims. There’s an uncharacteristic upturn to his voice that is a cause for concern.

“You mean, in the tower you supposedly made for me?” you ask. Senku pales, but you’re already sliding down to sit cross-legged next to him. 

“Are you doing okay?” you ask. Leaning over to press a hand to his forehead, you frown at the dampness, while a shudder passes through Senku’s entire body the moment the back of your hand grazes him.

“I’m fine,” he says, coughing to cover up the strain in his voice. His body language is slightly turned away, and so is his face, because he can’t look at you, not like this. Desire pools in his chest heavily, so thick he can barely breathe, and your sweet voice is like water dripping onto an already overfilled cup.

“You don’t sound fine,” you muse. You think of yourself just weeks ago insisting on being left alone despite a raging pneumonia, and move in closer, a move that has him retreat like a trapped mouse. “Did you take the medicine for your headache like you were supposed to?”

Senku would roll his eyes if it weren’t for the fact that an accidental brush of your hand against his could make them roll into the back of his head.

“Your friend might be a quack,” he says, but then quickly adds in fairness, “...the truth is I think I might have picked up something I wasn’t supposed to.”

He laughs, and then feels his cock jump and scrambles to his feet to stand further away. You’re troubled by his anxiety and his refusal to look you in the eye and after a few more questions about his mental and physical state, you decide you’re tired of his dodging questions.

“Senku, what the hell is going on?”

“Nothing,” he lies. He’s thinking of a way to escape without you noticing, but you’ve moved now, and are standing right in front of him, far too close, and your upset look is simply too pretty, and he looks at you almost fearfully.

“I need to go,” he says, and tries to move past you, but you immediately block his path. 

“Senku.”

It only takes one look at the knit in your eyebrows to realize he’s not going to make out of this without the truth. He’s still flushing intermittently, and can feel the tip of his dick more exquisitely than any other part of his body. It takes him a moment to decide, but eventually he realizes he can approach this embarrassing predicament in the best way he can think of.

Logically.

“Whatever I took… I think might be having aphrodisiacal effects on me.”

You blink, bright eyes wide with every bat of your lashes, and he feels the genuine pull of yearning in his loins.

“Oh.”

Senku blushes, the warmth spreading throughout his whole body this time as you finally look down then quickly avert your gaze. In a flash, he wonders for the first time how much you know about sex. Are you a virgin? When was your first time? With who? Would you do it again? With him?

The last thought he immediately banishes from his mind, telling himself that it’s likely the effects of whatever potent concoction is clouding his rationale. Not now. If ever, not this way.

“I… I can help, you know,” you offer. Your voice is quiet, gentle and steady, the same way you speak when you talk to the animals when they misbehave, when you want to reassure without controlling. “Platonically, of course,” you quickly add.

Platonically. Of course. It’s just an urge, and you understand those animalistic urges pretty well, given your breadth of experience in the natural sciences. Just a want. It wouldn’t be a crime if…

You move in close, your hand hovering over his crotch but not touching him. You then look at him, asking with your pupils, and he can swear he can feel his dilate. He nods, and you let your fingers slip beneath the layers of fabric until they reach the slightly coarse grain of his pubes. Your lips part slightly as you move slowly; he’s holding his breath but the moment your finger grazes the skin of his firm shaft, he lets out a moan, covering his mouth immediately to shut himself up.

“It’s fine,” you reassure him. He’s embarrassed, suppressing pants, but you press forward, letting your fingers close around his shaft, one by one. Grip still awkward, Senku shifts, pulling down his pants further, and you pull your lower lip before your teeth briefly before you tug smoothly for the first time. He gasps, and you press your thumb on the tip, right at the orifice of his urethra.

“Have you ever done this before?” you ask, wondering if you should have asked earlier. The small talk is meant to make it more casual, less intimate, but he’s quick to shake his head and say no, breathily.

“Not by anyone who mattered.”

Your heart flutters and you move just a bit faster. Senku moans, throwing his head back, and you keep your pace.

“Is that enough? Are you feeling good?” You slip. You mean better. You’re not trying to pleasure him, you’re trying to help him. 

“Fuck, can you… more… can you-” he stops, then bites his lip. He’s breathing heavier now, the expansion of his chest much more noticeable. He glances at you for a moment, then quickly looks away. If he were to do what he wants to do, ask you for more, press his lips onto yours, would it be using you? Is he allowed to ask that of you? Is it just this… or something else?

Your hand has stopped but he’s whining now, bucking his hips into the base of your fist almost subconsciously. You grip tighter, then slide up and down his shaft again, pressing against the darkened tip more, now slippery with treacherous precum. It occurs to you for a moment that maybe, maybe just a bit more friction would help, and you take the initiative of spitting on your hand, then resuming and he moans, fingers pressed to the floor beside him tensing and tightening as he accepts your onslaught.

Straggled groans escaping his throat, his eyes close, and you watch his Adam's apple bob as he swallows spit and desire. He’s thirsty, needy, unsure if this is making it better or worse.

And just at that moment, you ask, “Are you feeling better, Senku?”

Oh, the way you say his name, he practically spills into your hand. 

“D-don’t talk…” he begs, and your face flinches with hurt, but you remember that you are only helping.

“Mm.”

Your hand keeps moving, and you watch his cock throb and twitch in its grasp. It’s a pretty thing, you let yourself consider for a moment, pretty like the rest of him, eager, greedy… it has been a while, you think, since you’ve been so intimate with someone.

Not intimate. That’s not what this is. You’re helping a friend.

Senku grits his teeth as you spit on your hand again and your moistened palm swirls around his cock. 

There’s no reason for you to be so good at touching him like this. He exhales.

“I’d be a real piece of shit if I asked you for more, wouldn’t I right now?” he finally asks. He’s looking at the ceiling now, trying to contain himself, but how can he when you’re touching him like this and he feels better than he’s ever felt in his life. He’s only mildly coherent at this point, perhaps he should count backwards, perhaps…

“Tell me what you want, Senku, I’ll do my best.”

He turns, and you look at him in just that moment, but you don’t let go of him. 

His hand goes to the back of your neck, pulling you closer and he stops quickly, inches apart. 

You’ve closed your eyes, and you’ve puckered your lips just so. Senku swallows hard, wondering how he could have ever stopped but he knows why.

“It’s not the drugs,” he’s able to eke out. Your eyes open, gentle as they look into his, your lips still parted. Your hand shifts, palm rested on the edge of his warm length. 

“It’s not the drugs,” you repeat.

“I’d feel like this anyway, in this moment,” Senku says. A moment passes. Your tongues passes over your dry lips.

“Do you mean it?” 

Senku doesn’t hesitate, before saying yes.

You press your lips to his first, letting him press his way in and explore, letting him bite your lip and suck, and pass his tongue against your teeth, letting him tip your neck backwards and deepen the kiss. You kiss, and you move your hands and your lips part, and you dip lower, to make him feel pleasure like he’s never seen.

[heartfullofleeches]

Sooo uh is it too early to ask for nsfw hcs of carnis?

(I think enough time has passed... Mainly because I've finally got enough written)

Carnis - Yan Lab Experiment NSFW Hcs

• As mentioned in previous posts, Carnis has yet to experience a lot in the human world - sexual urges being yet another. As their bond with Reader grows that starts to change. Their body feels.. strange when their caretaker does certain things. Calls them cute pet names, strokes their ears or face - even just a smile gets their stomach twisted into knots and tension between their legs. It feels good to touch that area, but so wrong to them at the same time. They've always been told their body is just a tool for others - they shouldn't get to feel this way, especially when all they can think about is Reader's hands in place of theirs. It's dirty - wrong, but it feels so good.

They start to wonder if Reader has these same desire. The thought of helping them through it makes them happy.

• Carnis priorities your satisfaction over all, and more importantly theirs. They feel as though they aren't worth the effort and sees your pleasure as their own. With how inexperienced they are, you'll have to teach them a thing or two, but Carnis is willing to do whatever they can to make you happy. Their preferred method is laying back in bed and allowing you to ride their tongue/cock to your heart's content. They like if you use their mouth more since they wouldn't be able to last long inside you and feels guilty if they finish before you.

• Huge oral fixation + very touchy/clingy, but afraid to do both. Wants to touch and lick all over you, but restrains themselves unless given the command. Could spend hours with their head between your legs and still want for longer. If you give them permission to touch you, Carnis' hands will not leave your body. Gropes at your chest, thighs, and whatever you'll allow. Develops a habit of doing this in their sleep which they'll be none the wiser to unless mentioned. You'll know when they're about to cum when they lock fingers with yours or push through their anxiousness to kiss you without asking first.

This fixation works in reverse as well. Despite their years of testing, Carnis' body is very sensitive to certain touches. Kissing on their neck, chest or thighs makes them putty in your hands. Their nipples are especially tender and gripping their horns while they're going down on you will make them see stars. Liked being bitten whether it's enough to draw blood or just a little love bite. Avoids looking in mirrors if you leave hickies because the sight alone gets them aroused.

• Becomes increasingly vocal as they get more comfortable in bed. At first it's tiny whimpers and pants for more, but as they get used to things and you they can't keep their mouth shut. Begs to be touched more, for you to never leave them. Declares their love for you until their voice is raw. If your walls are thin might be best to invest in some sound proofing if you don't want noise complaints from neighbors.

• Sucker for praise and affection. Just wants to be your good boy/pet and to know you really mean it when you say it. Head pats, cutesy pet names, maybe a pretty collar or outfit if you're feeling generous. Carnis would wear anything you threw at them if you said they looked absolutely adorable in it.

• Another way Carnis gets over their aversion to self pleasure is by cumming in the meals they make for you. Long as it can benefit you, Carnis push through most things even the self hatred and guilt of watching you undress or sniffing your clothes and touching themselves because of it. If you mention the food being good, it'll clear them of all negative thoughts towards masturbating and lead to more dishes made with the same special ingredient. Cums on your pillows or clothes as a way to mark you as theirs, but only when they're about to wash them afterwards.

• If you have a dildo/fleshlight they will throw it out unless you use it on them. They're the only toy you need.

• Always looking for new things to try online. Drags you over to the computer to get your approval before buying a new collar or to show you a new position they'd like to try. Missionary is their favorite because they like seeing your face, but they're always open to try other things for you.

• Cuddling/Aftercare is a must. Carnis enjoys a nice bath and snuggling into bed with you, but just laying in your arms straight after is fine with them too. Run your fingers through their hair or just speak softly to them and they'll be out like a light. Thanks you for staying with them and allowing them to love you every minute before they fall asleep. Hugs you tighter if you so much as breath differently and will not let go until they wake up.

[kisses-for-you]

Preference: They accidentally hurt you

Titans Characters X Fem!Reader

Characters: Dick Grayson, Jason Todd, Gar Logan, Conner Kent, Kory Anders, Donna Troy & Hank Hall.

Dick Grayson:

You and Dick had gotten into an argument and it was getting heated. He was risking the team's life by making stupid and reckless decisions, or at least that's what they were in your opinion.

Without thinking, you yell, "You don't have to risk everyone's lives just because Jason died and you think it's your fault!"

SLAP!

Dick's hand makes contact with your face as he slaps you in a fit of rage. The room seems to freeze as Dick's eyes widen with horror at the realisation of what he's just done. Your hand instinctively reaches to your cheek, the hurt in your eyes making your boyfriend feel even more guilty.

Dick immediately recoils, his expression shifting from anger to deep regret. "Fuck. Y/N, I... I didn't mean to," he stammers, his voice filled with remorse. He takes a step back, grappling with the weight of his actions. His eyes search yours, pleading for forgiveness, but the pain in your gaze is palpable.

Dick takes a hesitant step forward. "I didn't mean to hurt you. Y/N, I'm so fucking sorry," he murmurs, regret etched across his face. He reaches out to cup your cheek, however, fear grips you, and you instinctively shrink back, avoiding his touch.

"I need some space," you finally manage to say, your voice trembling with a mix of fear and sadness. He nods solemnly, understanding he fucked up badly.

-

Jason Todd:

You and Jason were training and since you were still fairly new to the team, you thought it'd be nice to train with Jason as you're the closest with him.

You're meant to block his hits but as the bo staff heads your way, you hesitate for some reason and react too late, resulting in Jason accidentally hurting you as the staff strikes you. It's just a small mistake and it doesn't hurt too badly but he immediately rushes to your side.

"Shit. Babe, are you okay?" His concerned expression mirrors his regret. You give him a small, reassuring smile, saying, "Yeah, I'm fine. It's probably just a small bruise anyway. Let's just get back to training."

He shakes his head, still looking guilty even though it wasn't his fault. "No, let's just finish here. You shouldn't keep training if you're hurt. We can always train tomorrow," Jason insists, genuine concern in his eyes. You know there's no point in arguing with him, so you just sigh and nod.

-

Gar Logan:

You and Gar were alone in the Titans Tower, where Gar was struggling to stay in his human form. He was incredibly upset (you didn't know why) and his intense emotions were causing him to shapeshift into an animal, which he was trying to prevent.

"Y/N.. You need to.. go," he whispers, his voice strained as he tries to fight against the transformation. Concern etched across your face, you refuse to leave his side. You assure him, "Gar, I'm not leaving you alone like this."

You try to reach out to touch his trembling hand, but before you can make contact, Gar involuntarily shifts into a green tiger. In his tiger form, Gar loses control and accidentally swipes at you with his claws. The scratch isn't too deep, but it's enough to draw blood and sting, causing you to step back in shock. Gar, now more distressed, manages to regain control, turning back into his human form as he apologizes frantically.

"Fuck, Y/N, I'm so sorry. I- I lost control. I didn't mean to hurt you," he stammered, rushing to your side, panic etched across his face.

You assess the scratch on your arm, trying to downplay the pain, not wanting to make him feel worse. "Gar, it's okay. It wasn't your fault. Besides, it doesn't even hurt that bad."

Gar, tormented by guilt, searches for a first aid kit in the Tower. As he tends to your wound, you insist that it wasn't his fault, attempting to calm him in his distressed state. While Gar is patching up your wound, you notice a mixture of guilt and fear in his eyes. You gently take his hand and reassure him, "Gar, accidents happen. Don't blame yourself." Despite your comforting words, Gar remains visibly distraught, haunted by the fear of potentially causing you harm again.

-

Conner Kent:

Conner had just returned from a mission with the Titans. He looked exhausted but relieved as he walked through the door. You greeted him with a warm smile, knowing how tiring his superhero responsibilities could be.

As Conner hugged you, his thoughts wandered to what happened during the mission. He started to get lost in his thoughts, and his strength momentarily slipped out of his control. He squeezed you too tightly, causing you to wince as the force of the hug became too much. You were left in a little pain, and probably with a bruise. Conner looked concerned as you pulled away, realising what he had just done.

"I'm so sorry, Y/N. I don't know what happened. I started thinking about the mission and then I just..." Conner rambled, trying to explain and apologize to you. But you interrupted him and said, "Conner, it's okay. I know you didn't mean to. Don't worry about it." No matter how much you try to reassure Conner, however, he still feels guilty and blames himself for hurting you, even if it was accidental.

For the next couple of weeks, he's extra careful around you and way more gentle. He also tries to find ways to make it up to you; he doesn't need to though because you know he didn't mean to do what he did.

-

Hank Hall:

You and Hank had been watching a football match on TV together, enjoying the rare day off. As Hank headed to the kitchen to grab you both a drink and some snacks, an idea sparked in your mind. You decided you were going to scare him; it was a fairly innocent idea.

Within a couple of seconds, you start to tiptoe after him, planning to playfully surprise him. You just wanted to see his reaction so you could make fun of him if he screamed like a girl (you never know, he might). As you reach the kitchen door, you take a deep breath, preparing to unleash your surprise.

However, as you sneak up behind him and scream, Hank's reflexes kick in. In an instant, he spins around, his combat instincts taking over. Before either of you can even realise what's happening, his hand shoots out and strikes you right in the face. A gasp escapes your lips as you feel the sudden impact.

Time seems to freeze for a moment as you both register what just happened. Hank's eyes widen in shock and horror as he sees you wince from the unintentional blow. Concern fills Hank's eyes as he drops whatever he is holding in his hands, rushing to your side. "Oh fuck, babe, I'm so sorry! Are you okay?" he blurts out, panic evident in his voice.

You hold your nose, pretty sure you have a nosebleed. "I'm... okay." As the initial shock wears off, you can't help but let out a nervous laugh. "At least now we know that your instincts are top-notch," you quip, trying to lighten the mood despite the pain you're feeling. You move your hand away from your face, revealing a trickle of blood from your nose. Hank winces, guilt written all over his face.

He quickly grabs a tissue from the nearby counter, handing it to you with a mix of concern and remorse in his eyes. "I didn't mean to... I just thought..." Hank stammers, struggling to find the right words to express his regret. You take the tissue and give him a reassuring smile, realizing it was just an unfortunate accident.

"It's okay, Hank. It was my idea to scare you like that so if anything, it's my fault," you say, dabbing at your nose. Despite the pain, you can't help but appreciate the genuine worry in his eyes.

-

Kory Anders:

You and the Titans were preparing for another battle against an intimidating villain who was threatening the city of San Francisco. You were standing by Kory's side, your heart pounding with a mix of fear and excitement. Tonight, the stakes were higher than ever before. The villain, known as Mother Mayhem, was ready to unleash chaos upon the city. Kory's eyes were glowing with determination as she walked towards the impending threat. You followed closely, aware of the danger that awaited you.

As the confrontation continues, Mother Mayhem launches a devastating attack that catches both you and Kory off guard. In a moment of panic, Kory's powers surge uncontrollably, and a burst of energy erupts from her, unintentionally striking you. The impact sends you flying to the ground and pain radiates through your body.

Kory's eyes widen in horror as she realises what just happened. She rushes to your side, leaving the rest of the Titans to deal with the threat. Her concern is evident in every step. "I-I'm so sorry," she stammered, kneeling beside you. "I didn't mean to hurt you." Despite the pain, you manage a weak smile, reaching out to reassure her. "It's okay, Kory. Accidents happen. Besides, we have a more important matter at hand," you say, referring to the villain you're currently fighting.

"I promise, I'll control my powers better next time," she vows, gently cradling you in her arms. She then stops to think, unsure of whether you should get back to the fight in your condition. "Are you sure you want to fight? I don't think that's the best idea for you right now, Y/N."

You nod, determination flickering in your eyes despite the pain. "I'll be fine, Kory. Just a little shaken, but I can still help. We need to stop her before things get worse." Reluctantly, Kory lets you go, her worry etched across her face. She stands up, taking a moment to make sure you're stable before rejoining the battle. 

-

Donna Troy:

You and Donna were strolling through through the dimly lit alleyways of the city. As you turned a corner, a group of menacing thugs emerged from the shadows, surrounding you both. Donna's grip on your hand tightened instinctively as she stepped forward, ready to defend you from the impending threat.

Donna's eyes narrow, her instincts kicking in. She swiftly reaches for her lasso, the golden glow illuminating the dark alley. But you find yourself in the line of fire without even noticing. A sudden movement from one of the thugs causes you to stumble, and in an attempt to protect you, Donna swings her lasso with lightning speed. However, the unexpected jolt of the situation results in her accidentally striking you instead of the intended target.

Time seems to slow as the golden rope wraps around you, the energy coursing through your body. A surge of pain shoots through your veins, and you gasp as the unexpected impact takes you by surprise. Donna's eyes widen in horror as she realises her mistake, immediately releasing the lasso. The thugs seem to take this as a chance to run and escape. Stunned and in pain, you stagger backwards, clutching the area where the lasso struck you. Donna rushes to your side, her concern evident in her eyes. "Fuck. Y/N, I'm so sorry," she murmurs, her voice filled with regret.

As Donna checks on you, you assure her that you're okay, though the pain still lingers. The two of you decide to go back to her apartment to assess the situation and tend to your injuries. Donna's guilt is palpable, but you understand it was an accident in the heat of the moment. Together, you make your way back, Donna keeping a protective arm around you.

-

[tinyundercover]

pepper & felix

part twenty

the final chapter <3 word count: 4.3k

Three months ago, if Pepper had been sitting in a human’s hands, in the human’s bed, completely vulnerable and out in the open— he would have panicked. The very thought of being touched by a human would have been enough to send him into a nervous spiral.

Yet here Pepper was, talking comfortably with Felix, reclining back against fingers as tall as he was. Felix was seated against the wall, the backs of his hands resting on his bent knees, and although he completely held Pepper’s life in his hands— Pepper felt unbelievably safe.

After Alice and Basil had left their apartment to go their separate ways, it had been late enough for Felix and Pepper to go to bed. Of course, they didn’t sleep immediately, and had spent the last two hours chatting away.

When the evening tapered into something more emotional, Pepper felt emboldened enough to propose the question that had been on his mind for weeks.

“Felix,” Pepper began plainly, “why don’t you ever kiss me?”

An unrecognizable emotion flickered in Felix’s eyes, just briefly, and the human hesitated. His shoulders jerked microscopically— although the movement was quite noticeable to someone as small as Pepper.

“I…” Felix chewed his lip, blue gaze searching. “What do you mean?”

It wasn’t unusual for Felix to avoid difficult subjects like this, but Pepper was willing to give him the benefit of the doubt. Their relationship was already confusing and terrifying and exhilarating all at once, so Pepper couldn’t blame Felix for being hesitant.

“Well, you’ve only kissed me once,” Pepper pointed out, cocking his head. He momentarily lifted a hand to brush his dark hair out of his eyes— he needed a haircut. “And— I don’t know, I feel like I’ve made it clear that kissing is okay to me.”

Was this a normal thing to discuss with a boyfriend? Did he consider Felix his boyfriend? Pepper had never dated anyone before, let alone kiss someone large enough to hold him in a hand. 

He felt the hand below him twitch as Felix shifted back, leaning further against the wall. Pepper took a moment to admire the way Felix’s blonde hair had fallen into messier strands, framing the ocean-blue pools of his eyes. 

“Oh,” Felix said heavily. “So I did kiss you.”

“Well,” Pepper responded, hesitant. “Yeah?”

A flush crossed Felix’s face, barely perceptible. He glanced away. “I was kind of hoping that I imagined that.”

A laugh escaped Pepper, surprising both of them. “Well, it’s fine, man. Obviously. I want you to kiss me.”

“But it wasn’t—”

“Felix,” Pepper interjected, drawing the human’s attention back towards him. “I want you to kiss me.”

A beat of silence passed, in which Felix let out a nervous breath, blue eyes flickering. The hands below him shifted, uncertain. Pepper held his gaze, posture open and inviting, and for a thrilling moment the borrower thought that Felix would actually lean forward and kiss him.

“I’m scared,” Felix finally whispered, face flushed. Pepper lifted an eyebrow, amused, and the human offered the weakest smile in return before falling into a hushed ramble. “I— it’s not that I don’t— I want to, I—”

“Felix,” Pepper interrupted, again, eyebrows high. His voice remained playful and teasing as he continued, “Just come here.”

Pepper waved vaguely towards himself, earning a shaky breath in response. Felix seemed to have given up on explaining himself— and while Pepper usually enjoyed hearing Felix ramble, this was not the time and place for it. Honestly, he had never wanted Felix to shut up more in his life… in the most loving way, of course.

Slowly, shakily, Felix drew his hands closer to his face— initially not nearly close enough for Pepper to reach his lips, so the borrower continued to gesture insistently— until the bases of Felix’s palms were resting against his chin, his fingers cupped protectively behind Pepper.

Pepper blinked up at him, unafraid to lay his small hands against the softness of Felix’s bottom lip— and with a glimmering feeling in his chest he leaned forward and kissed his soulmate.

Felix’s quick exhale sent a flutter through Pepper’s clothes, warm and nervous. Pepper smiled into the kiss, amused, and as the human beneath his hands finally began to relax the borrower pulled back, gray eyes blinking open.

“That wasn’t too bad,” Pepper murmured, a smile playing on his lips. 

As Felix carefully drew his palms away from his face, Pepper couldn’t hide his disappointment. He already missed the feeling of being completely surrounded by his soulmate— cupped in hands larger than he was, held so incredibly gently, feeling the exhales around him and the heat underneath his small palms.

However, seeing the flush on Felix’s face brought a different kind of satisfaction to Pepper— pride and love and amusement— and he beamed up at his soulmate. Felix’s eyes were wide.

“Oh,” Felix said breathlessly. 

It was surprisingly easy to drop back into a normal conversation, brushing off the kiss as if it were normal for them— something Pepper wanted desperately. The blush on Felix’s face remained for a while, and Pepper elected not to comment on it— although his gaze lingered on Felix’s lips more times than he cared to admit.

“It’s getting late,” Felix finally murmured after another hour, and Pepper glanced towards the alarm clock for confirmation. He had barely noticed that the sun had finally fallen away from the window, leaving only the soft glow of the lamp to light the room. “Maybe we should get some sleep.”

Pepper was certain that Felix would be much too terrified to offer it himself, so with a soft smile on his face he asked, “Can I sleep on your chest?”

Right on cue, Felix’s blush returned, and he glanced away. “Uh— yeah, yeah. Of course, Pepper.”

In the months that Pepper had known Felix, he had only slept on his chest once before— an awkward situation in which Felix was drunk and unaware of his own actions. It hadn’t been uncomfortable to sleep with him, even if Pepper hadn’t been expecting it… and he couldn’t deny that he thought back to the memory of Felix’s warmth every time he fell asleep in his own hammock.

Felix’s shirt was soft. Within minutes, Pepper had settled comfortably into Felix’s chest, basking in the warmth radiating up from below him. Felix’s hand rested above him, cupped cautiously so as to not pin the borrower down completely— although, admittedly, Pepper wouldn’t care if it did. The hand above him wasn’t dangerous. It was nothing more than a weighted blanket to him, truthfully.

“You okay?” Felix asked softly, and when Pepper glanced up, blue eyes watched him with a gentleness that he couldn’t describe.

Pepper searched his face for a moment, gray gaze warm, before resting his head against the chest below him. Underneath, a heartbeat thrummed.

“Yeah,” Pepper said. “I am.”

———

The following week was the happiest Pepper had been in his entire life.

The tension that had plagued Felix for weeks fell away, and he finally felt comfortable holding Pepper, falling asleep with him, kissing him. Pepper wasn’t afraid of being handled by him— and amazingly enough, he encouraged it, leaning into Felix’s enormous touch at every opportunity.

Basil returned to her home in the lounge— although she did make a reappearance in the middle of the week, conveniently on the same day that Alice stopped by to run lines with Felix. The borrowers spent the evening sitting on Felix’s couch, watching in amusement as Felix and Alice acted through a few scenes. When Alice actually took the advice that Basil offered, Pepper and Felix shared a single bewildered glance.

“I will never understand theater,” Basil murmured to Pepper, earning a laugh.

“Me neither,” Pepper agreed, gaze lingering on Felix’s straightened shoulders. “But I think they’re pretty good at it.”

Pepper continued to sleep in Felix’s bed almost every night, and neither of them complained. Pepper couldn’t tell if the warm feeling of protection around him was a subsection of their soulmate connection, or if he truly just felt completely safe in Felix’s hands. He didn’t mind regardless.

Wednesday caught up to them sooner than expected, and as Felix approached Breanna’s apartment with two borrowers perched on his shoulder, Pepper couldn’t push away the anxiety prickling at his chest.

“She definitely invited us, right?” Pepper asked for what felt like the hundredth time. He subconsciously gripped Felix’s shirt as the human opened a door, shoulders shifting.

“Yes,” Felix assured, earning a nervous nod from both of the borrowers. “I promise, everyone wants you here. It’s just gonna be the six of us.”

“This is exciting,” Basil commented, elbowing Pepper. “We’ve never really been to a party before.”

“Especially not a soulmate party,” Pepper added, smiling in an attempt to smother his anxiety. 

Felix had explained to the borrowers that Breanna was turning twenty-one tonight, meaning she would finally be able to contact her soulmate. Apparently, this was a very big deal among humans.

“It’ll be fun,” Felix promised as he knocked on Breanna’s door. “But if you do want to leave early, just let me know.”

Anxiety and excitement surged through Pepper’s veins as the door opened moments later, revealing Breanna in a simple white dress and a matching white headband, a beautiful contrast against her dark skin. She lit up immediately, her brown gaze dancing from Felix’s face to his shoulder. “Oh, you all made it!”

“Happy birthday,” Basil chirped, and Breanna’s gaze twinkled. She thanked her, then ushered Felix inside, shutting the door behind him.

Pepper’s first thought upon seeing Breanna’s apartment was that he needed to encourage Felix to decorate more.

Breanna’s space was small, but unbelievably cozy. Fake vines and leaves coated the walls and ceiling, not unlike the bakery that the borrowers grew up in. Unlike Felix and Alice’s apartments, which seemed to be of the same design, Breanna’s apartment consisted of one large room— a kitchen counter lined one wall, while a couch and a few armchairs rested on a brown rug across the room. A few doors surrounded them, one of which was glass, leading outside.

Alice and Owen were standing in the kitchen, handling a variety of bottles on the counter, but the newest guests quickly drew their attention. Pepper’s stomach flipped when Owen’s curious gaze lingered on him, followed by Alice’s surprisingly warm smile, and the borrower slowly relaxed.

“Hey,” Alice chirped, lifting a glass bottle. “We’re making drinks. C’mere.”

Both of them had acknowledged the borrowers, but their gazes held no traces of confusion or disgust or annoyance. In fact, Alice and Owen had regarded the borrowers with the same smiles that they had offered Felix.

Pepper felt included. And… accepted. 

It made his head hurt.

Once the four humans met in the kitchen, gathered by the counter, Pepper could actually see what was going on. A few fancy glasses were scattered around the counter, surrounded by bottles and containers of various sizes, none of which Pepper recognized well. The borrower leaned forward curiously, and Basil did the same.

“Here,” Felix murmured, lifting a hand to his shoulder. “Is the counter okay?”

Both borrowers offered their approval, and within seconds they were stepping off onto the counter. Although the glasses surpassed both of them in height, Pepper felt strangely comfortable. It was a little difficult to face the four humans behind him, however, so he surveyed a towering plastic bottle of a bubbling clear liquid instead.

“What is this?” Basil asked for him, standing close to her brother. Although both of them had enthusiastically agreed to attend the party, their natural instincts kept their stomachs fluttering with anxiety. Pepper shared a glance with Felix and allowed himself to relax slightly.

“Soda,” Alice explained. “We’re making cocktails. You know what those are, right?”

Pepper squinted up at her. “It’s alcohol, right?”

“Well— yes,” Alice explained. She stepped to the left, furthest from the other humans, and the borrowers followed slowly. Pepper was already eyeing the containers and appliances against the wall, trying to find a good vantage point for him and his sister. “They’re a mixture of a lot of things, and you can make them without alcohol, which is called a mocktail. We kind of assumed you guys don’t drink alcohol, right?”

“No,” Pepper mused. To his surprise, Basil seemed eager.

“I’ve never had alcohol before. Can I try some?”

Pepper and Alice both sent her a bewildered glance, as well as Felix, who had overheard. 

“I’m not sure you’d like it,” Felix offered. Basil grinned.

“I won’t know unless I try it, right?”

Within minutes, Pepper and Basil had scrambled up onto a plastic container near the wall, allowing them to meet the humans’ gazes without having to crane their necks. It also brought a bit of relief that they didn’t have to stand so close to so many enormous hands.

Pepper occasionally asked a few questions, but overall he was content to observe the humans mixing drinks and chatting. Basil surprised him by engaging in the humans’ conversation, adding quips and remarks without missing a beat. Her extroversion was always something that Pepper would be jealous of.

“Oh, I almost forgot,” Breanna said suddenly, turning away to dig through a drawer. After a moment, she presented her hand out to the borrowers. Pepper blinked in surprise.

Two tiny drinking glasses rested on her fingers, presumably plastic. Pepper’s heart jumped, then proceeded to melt. 

“I found them at a craft store,” Breanna explained brightly as the borrowers each gingerly took a glass, marveling. “I hope they’re the right size?”

They weren’t— Pepper’s plastic glass was about the length of his forearm, and he needed both hands to hold it— but his chest was swelling with appreciation all the same. “Oh,” he said breathlessly. “Thank you.”

“Hell yeah!” Basil chirped, eyes glimmering with adoration. “I’m gonna get drunk!”

Breanna laughed, withdrawing her hand. “Sure, girl. Just be careful.”

The next ten minutes were pleasant. While Basil insisted on using Breanna’s array of teaspoons to mix her own drink (proceeding to spill an alarming amount of liquids all over the counter), Pepper was content to watch Felix mix his own mocktail, then scoop his own tiny glass through it.

“You’re not drinking?” Pepper teased, earning a deadpan expression from Felix. “Why not?”

Felix only nudged him teasingly in return, and Pepper lightly punched the approaching fingertip. 

“Breanna,” Alice asked once the six of them finally had their finished drinks in hand. “Are you excited to meet your soulmate?”

Pepper sipped his fruity drink and marveled at the pleasant taste as Breanna responded. “I’m nervous,” she admitted, stepping away from the counter. “But I might not even be able to meet them yet, if they’re younger than me.”

It took a moment for Pepper to register that Felix’s hand was being offered to him, and he relaxed before stepping on. Amazingly, to his left, Basil had hopped up onto Alice’s palm. 

“Don’t be nervous,” Felix assured Breanna. Within a few seconds the four humans had moved to the living room, and Pepper had settled onto Felix’s shoulder. Their speed never failed to astound Pepper. “Your soulmate will love you.”

Alice and Owen agreed enthusiastically. The two of them were seated on the couch, while Basil balanced precariously on Alice’s shoulder, seeming a little unsure of herself. She met Pepper’s gaze and grinned, however, dramatically brandishing her tiny drink.

Felix and Breanna had settled into the two armchairs, angled towards the couch to create a loose circle. 

“I hope so,” Breanna murmured before taking a long, nervous sip of her drink. “I guess I just want to make a good first impression when I meet them.”

“It’s easy to talk to your soulmate,” Alice explained, leaning back against the couch. Basil wobbled dramatically. “My soulmate and I clicked right away.”

“That just makes me more nervous,” Bree mumbled.

“My soulmate lives in the middle of the woods and fights rats,” Basil offered, “so it could be worse.”

Her comment earned an array of blank stares, and Pepper suppressed a laugh. 

“Borrowers have soulmates?” Owen finally asked, bewildered. Pepper vaguely noticed that Owen was leaning away from Alice, regarding Basil with a respectful distance.

“Well, yeah,” Basil said, gaze briefly flashing towards Felix. “We do.”

Pepper’s heart fluttered in his chest, and he glanced towards Felix. The human was chewing his lip, contemplative.

“Huh.” Owen lifted his eyebrows, glancing between Basil and Pepper. “Wow. Both of you talk to your soulmates? How are you supposed to find them?”

Basil jumped in before Pepper could. “Well, we don’t, really. Soulmates aren’t really a big thing to borrowers.”

After a beat of silence, Pepper piped up. “Well— my soulmate’s a human, so it was easier for me to find him.”

Felix’s shoulder tensed underneath him. Pepper held Owen’s gaze.

“Your soulmate’s a human?” Owen echoed, floored. 

“Wait,” Breanna said slowly.

“Is that even possible?” Owen continued. Alice and Basil were suspiciously silent.

“Wait,” Breanna repeated, wide, dark eyes glancing from Pepper to Felix. “No fucking way.”

“You—!” Owen’s shoulders jerked, catching on to Breanna’s words. “Holy shit, you two—?”

Within seconds, Felix and Pepper were attacked with an onslaught of words, most of which were unintelligible. The shoulder jerked underneath Pepper as Felix quickly attempted to respond, voice high and amused, and Pepper rested a hand against his neck. Felix’s pulse raced underneath. Pepper’s heart fluttered.

“It’s a lot to explain,” Felix began, and the room quieted briefly. A flush crept across Felix’s face, but he didn’t appear to be ashamed of Pepper, not in the slightest. His voice was firm when he responded, pride lacing his words. “But— yes. Pepper and I are soulmates.”

The energy in the room doubled as the other humans immediately jumped into excited remarks and shocked questions, and Pepper couldn’t help but laugh breathlessly, meeting Basil’s warm gaze. 

He felt comfortable. 

Pepper listened patiently as Felix explained everything to their friends— how he had caught Pepper and befriended him before realizing that they were soulmates. Pepper contributed a few bashful remarks of his own, explaining his side of the story, earning wide-eyed stares and startled laughs.

“I’ve lived in Felix’s apartment for a year,” Pepper said, glancing briefly at his soulmate. His heart fluttered. “I just… I can’t believe I had been living with my soulmate, and I didn’t realize it.”

“That’s beautiful,” Bree whispered, taken aback.

“I always wondered how Felix became friends with you two,” Owen said thoughtfully. “Hm. Good for you guys.”

The group fell into an ecstatic, comfortable energy. They spent the next hour talking, and Pepper was happy to observe Breanna shyly open gifts, blushing and thanking her friends religiously with each one. When she opened the bracelet that Pepper and Basil had made for her, a twist of colorful threads that was ironically a little too large for her, her gaze glimmered with adoration.

“This is— you— oh my god,” Bree beamed, looking as if she wanted to pull both borrowers into the tightest hug. Pepper grinned, heart soaring, sharing a glimmering look with Basil.

Just after Breanna released Owen from a hug, having just opened an eyeshadow palette and a movie poster that Pepper didn’t recognize, Alice spoke up. “Oh—! Bree, it’s midnight!”

Alice lifted her phone, displaying the glowing screen to Breanna. Breanna immediately straightened up, and her five friends burst into cheers and “happy birthdays!”

“Your soulmate,” Basil pressed, eyes wide and curious as Breanna returned to her seat. The human shifted, breath hitching.

Breanna quietly lifted her hands, clasped her fingers together, then hesitated. Her gaze was wide, dancing between her guests. “I— I’m nervous.”

“It’s okay,” Felix assured, followed by rapid nodding from Owen and Alice. “You’ve got this.”

After a moment of contemplation, Breanna pressed her palms into her chest and shut her eyes, focusing. Pepper watched with intrigue, his small hand still lingering on Felix’s neck. Although he didn’t know Breanna as well as some of the other people in the room, he still considered her a friend, and he hoped her first soulmate message would go well for her.

After a few seconds, Breanna dropped her hands, expression bright with nervous energy. “Okay, I—“

“Wait,” Owen said, suddenly, drawing Pepper’s attention. “Bree.”

Breanna blinked, shoulders jerking, and met Owen’s gaze.

—————————————

“I can’t believe it,” Alice murmured for the hundredth time, aghast. “I can’t believe it. Good for them.”

Pepper’s mind was swimming, amused, fascinated. Felix had moved to the couch besides Alice, so that Pepper and Basil could sit side by side on their shoulders— although Pepper still hovered a bit higher than his sister.

After experiencing the most earth-shattering news of their lives, Breanna and Owen had vanished into another room. Even through the walls, Pepper could hear their high-pitched ramblings, brimming with both excitement and tears. His own heart warmed.

“I kind of already thought they were dating,” Basil admitted sheepishly, and Pepper laughed. “I mean, come on. They’re like the parents I never had.”

“I guess Breanna is kind of like a mom,” Alice mused. An astonished laugh escaped her, and she turned towards Felix, accidentally knocking Basil off balance. “Shit. Sorry.” The female borrower seemed content to just punch Alice in response, barely leaving a mark, and Alice rolled her eyes.

“What are the chances?” Felix asked wonderingly, gaze hovering over the door through which Owen and Breanna had vanished. His voice was startled, layered in affection for his friends. “Like, seriously, how is this possible?”

“Soulmate intuition,” Alice offered, meeting Pepper’s gaze briefly. Pepper smiled at her.

“I feel left out,” Basil sighed, dramatically. “I’m already sick of third-wheeling, and now I have to fifth-wheel too?”

“I’m here, too,” Alice said indignantly.

“Yeah, but I hate you.”

Alice snorted, lifting a hand to her shoulder. With a startling gentleness, she gathered Basil into her palm, then cupped the small girl in front of her. “You’ve had too much to drink.”

Basil laughed, and Pepper smiled, meeting his sister’s gaze momentarily. He glanced at Alice again, and as she peered down at the female borrower in her hands, her expression held nothing but affection. 

“Hey,” Pepper murmured to Felix, heart warm. “Let’s go outside.”

It should’ve been worrying to leave Basil alone with Alice, but Pepper understood that his sister would be safe. Alice’s blue gaze lingered on him as the boys approached the back door, and when Pepper met her eyes, she smiled.

The air outside teetered on the edge of spring and summer, a warm, pleasant feeling that enveloped Pepper as soon as they stepped outside. The borrower drew in a long breath, closing his eyes. The shoulder below him shifted and dipped as Felix sat down on a bench, just outside Breanna’s apartment.

“I’m happy for Owen and Breanna,” Pepper commented, willingly stepping onto Felix’s awaiting palm as it presented itself to him. The human cupped his hands in front of him, and Pepper met his gaze, offering a smile. “I… I don’t know them that well, but they seem good for each other.”

“They are,” Felix agreed, blue gaze warm. “I just… I can’t believe I didn’t see this coming. They’ve always been so close.”

“I guess soulmates are just naturally drawn to each other.” Pepper idly traced the lines of Felix’s palm. “Over a year ago, when I was looking for a new home, I found your apartment building. I could have stayed with anyone, but… I just wanted to be in your apartment. You know?”

Felix features softened. “You did?”

“Soulmate intuition.” Pepper’s lips twitched into a smile, and he brushed a strand of dark hair out of his face. “You know, I…”

He trailed off, brow pinching, suddenly unsure of what he intended to say. A fluttery feeling had wrapped around his ribs, soft and warm. Felix’s finger brushed Pepper’s shoulder, and the borrower leaned into it, gray gaze flickering up. 

A nearby lamp cast a soft glow over Felix’s face and hair, illuminating him in gold— and for a moment, Pepper thought that he looked quite angelic.

“I love you,” Pepper said, voice unwavering.

Felix responded with a quiet intake of breath. His features softened into something emotional, a warm expression that Pepper had been seeing a lot from him recently— appearing every time they touched hands, every time they laid awake and talked into the late hours of the night. Felix didn’t need to say anything for Pepper to understand, yet Felix still spoke, breathless.

“I love you, Pepper.”

Pepper found himself enveloped by warmth, allowing his gray eyes to flutter closed as Felix pressed a gentle kiss to the top of his dark hair. The emotions within him rose up into his face and threatened to spill over, and Pepper let out a surprised, breathy laugh, nearing on the edge of a sob. The borrower blinked up at the human as Felix drew back, only briefly— and Pepper threw his arms around Felix’s cheek, as much as he could, in the best hug he could manage.

When the voices inside the apartment grew louder, Felix gently withdrew his hand from his face, blinking down at his soulmate through brimming, blue eyes. Pepper offered a smile, weakly dragging an arm over his face. His heart fluttered around his chest like a bird.

“We should go back inside,” Pepper said thickly, a laugh escaping the both of them when they overheard Basil’s sharp, ecstatic voice, comically louder than any of the three humans. Felix’s hand twitched as he laughed.

“Come on,” Felix said gently, pushing himself into a stand. The two of them shared one last glimmering look before Felix cupped his hand against his chest, stepping towards the glass door.

The voices of their friends chattered away inside. Pepper was safe.

-------

Thank you to everyone who has read Pepper & Felix, and for supporting me every step of the way. When I posted the first chapter, I wasn't expecting to receive this much love from the g/t community, and I don't think I would have finished the story without such a wonderful audience. Your kindness means the world to me. Thank you! The epilogue will be posted tomorrow <3

TAGLIST: @smallsday @compact-katrina @satethesatelite @taters169 @entomolog-t @gtzel @gt-newbie @da3dm @clumsiergiantess @vee-normous @fee-hunter @torakan @mabelisthebatman @andithewhumper @mothsintherain @violetlight @heroofthe13thday @phoenix-on-the-run @houseboatmac @dav8530 @ididit-allofit-foryou @soakedmilkgt

[temis-de-leon]

Day 10 - Surprise kiss

Characters: Leviathan x male!MC

25 kisses challenge Masterlist

Main Masterlist

CW: suggestive, established relationship, mentions of sex between Levi and MC and Levi being a sub (surprise surprise), insecure Levi, loving (and horny) MC

.

Levi had never used a grip so strong on him. He felt the pad of his fingers and the tip of his nails, the stress his poor boyfriend had been under for the last week so frustrating tears were filling his eyes.

MC sighed, caressing his arm in hopes of soothing him and forgetting the tingling in his belly, although his mind made both things slightly difficult.

It was usually the other way around, with MC grabbing Levi hard enough to leave imprints of his hands, but this was a welcomed change, surprisingly exciting.

He just wished they weren't staring at the colorfully bright computer screen during his thrilling discovery.

The demon's body trembled in expectation, quickly grabbing MC’s caring hand a second after feeling the touch.

One of them was clearly too nervous to think straight and the other was too excited upon being trapped by his boyfriend.

A thrilling discovery indeed. He'd make sure to bring it up in another moment.

At the time being, however, MC needed to make sure Levi wouldn't have a heart attack or a stroke, although he wasn't completely sure if demons could suffer the consequences of being awake for hours without food or water with the same intensity as humans. Probably not, but taking care of one's boyfriend shouldn't depend on biology.

“I'm sure you'll get the ticket” he reassured him “We've all signed for the contest, even Barbatos! And you know he's usually lucky with…”

“But what if I don't?!” Levi cried before he could finish talking “That would mean I wasted our time for nothing! And you're going to get tired of me!”

He kept rambling, drying his tears before they could stain his cheeks and letting MC go in the process.

“I'm never going to get tired of you!” he assured him, feeling cold all of a sudden. His hands seeked Levi's in search of contact. “And if you don't win, we can always try next time”

“That could be years from now…”

“I don't mind” he said quickly.

There was a faint sadness in his boyfriend's voice that he immediately despised. He could understand, he wouldn't be dating him if he didn't, but there had to be something to counter the possibility of not winning the VIP meet and greet.

“Maybe you're not interested anymore”

The whisper was almost inaudible, but it was there.

Sure, there was a chance of not caring about meeting the voice actors anymore, but if Levi still craved it, then he would go. Although, he slightly suspected that was not what Levi meant to say.

He stared at him, studying his avoiding glaze and holding his slender fingers in order to make him stop prickling his own skin.

Then it clicked and his face turned sour.

“I love you” he said with conviction, enjoying the immediate blush in his cheeks. “And I'll be with you until the end of my time”

“MC… I want to be with you too…”

A ping interrupted his words. They both turned their heads towards the computer, wide eyes absorbing the sight of the cartoonish ticket and the gigantic bold letters occupying the entire screen.

CONGRATULATIONS. YOU ARE THE WINNER.

MC could swear his heartbeat was loud enough to fill the room, but there were only a couple of seconds of silence before Levi jumped out of his chair and lifted him off his with a tight hug.

His babbling was unintelligible, words of happiness blurring together, though it was difficult to try to make sense of them when his legs were drawing circles in the air, the demon making them spin so fast it was making MC nauseous.

“Levi! Honey!” he tried to call him to no avail.

Finally seeing him so ecstatic made him happy, but he really needed to stop or he'd loose all sense of direction.

He thought luck entered the room when Levi suddenly stayed still and sealed their lips together and he quickly took the opportunity to cradle his face and scratch his neck, but it was only seconds before he hugged him even tighter and began spinning again.

MC crossed his ankles behind Levi's back, closing his eyes.

He could do nothing but enjoy the ride.

.

.

Taglist: @ourfinalisation  @owlisbuffering  @chizukimp4  @ravenredwine @darkflowerav  @beatlebeesstuff   @mehkers

[theyhavetakenovermylife]

Shadows Entwined: Part 2

BatmanVsTmnt!Leonardo x sidekick!reader

Part 1 / Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 Part 9 Part 10 Part 11 Part 12 Part 13 Bonus (18+)

In which both Leo and reader get grilled by their families, because of the "pretty eyes".

Warnings: Spelling, loong.

The reader and the turtles are 19.

—--------------------------------------

“They call him… The Batman”, Donnie said, reading from his computer screen, causing Leo to break from his starting contest with the wall. He didn’t even remember how he got to staring at the wall. He remembers returning to the abandoned cafe with his brothers, after their meeting with this, Batman and… her. She had said his eyes were pretty. No way she actually meant it. Not with eyes like hers. They were… Leo did not know how to describe them… deep? Colorful? Lively? Filled with emotion-, oh this is how he ended up zoning out in the first place.

Leo was once again pulled out of his thoughts, as Raph started yelling about how stupid it was to use half an hour to google something he could have guessed in seconds.

“I’ve read rumors about a supernatural bat creature in Gotham, but I assumed that he was an urban legend, or that he was a mutant like us”, Donnie said deeply fascinated.

“That guy was definitely human”, Leo finally spoke. “And I think his super natural powers are just his gadgets. Anything about the girl?” Leo could see Raph facepalm out of the corner of his eye.

“Nothing”, Donnie said. “Only stuff about this Batman, or whatever he is”. Why did that pull down on Leo’s mood? No information about her at all?

“We already know what he is!” Mikey was practically dancing at the whiteboard. “He’s awesome!... Unless he’s a bad guy… That would make him… 40% less awesome”. Leo could already tell by the look on Raph’s face that he wanted to punch their little brother all the way back to New York.

“No one knows his motives, but it does appear that he only attacks criminals”, Donnie continued. “Especially this clown guy”.

“So he wears a Dracula costume and punches clowns. Who cares?!”, yelled Raph. “The dirtbag stole my sai!”

“Dracula costume? What kind of Dracula movies have you been watching?”, Donnie muttered.

“Is that why that girl hang around him?!”, Mikey yelled from his whiteboard, jumping with the same enthusiasm he had shown ever since they arrived in Gotham. “He has bitten her and now she is under his control? This city just gets better and better!”

“I don’t think so Mikey. She did say Leo had pretty eyes”, Donnie said. “Hypothetically, I don’t think a human under vampire control would say that. I actually don’t even think vampires in fiction can control people like that…”

Leo already hated this conversation.

“Look all I’m saying is Shredder stole the ooz from TCRI and came to Gotham, we know he’s been working with a new partner, right? It’s gotta be this bat creep and that Leo loving sidekick he has around”, Raph said, exasperated.

Leo remained unmoving with his arms crossed, but the mentioning of the girl made something move in his stomach.

“I’m not so sure”, Leo said. “The way they fought, avoiding lethal blows. They wanted to figure us out. Like a detective".

“She wanted to figure you out”, Raph mumbled, just loud enough for Leo to hear it. Leo would have spoken up, and Mikey not done it first.

“Okay bros. I broke it down”, he said, pointing to his drawings on the whiteboard. “Awesome: Little bat throwing things, cool car, sweet hat, Leo’s first girlfriend. Not awesome: Kicked our butts, may be evil, mean voice, Leo’s first heartbreak”.

“Either way”, Leo broke in, before giving his brothers any chance to add on to Mikey’s whiteboard Batman and sidekick breakdown. “After Wayne Enterprises, we have no idea where the Foot will be next. The Batman is our only lead”.

Donnie nodded. “Whether friend or foe, he and his sidekick was at the scene of the crime. And if you give me a minute, I think I’ve gotten an idea”.

---

“I was right outside!” you yelled like a spoiled child, waving your arms in the air, while Batman carefully looked at the magnifying glass in front of him, a sample he had taken from the sai laying in the little glass tray. “I did nothing but watch those metahumans kick Penguin’s butt! I could have helped you!”

“I did not need help”, Batman said, stoic as he always was when wearing that mask. “I had it under control”.

“That blood in your mouth said otherwise”, you sighed leaning against the deck next to you. This man was stubborn and you knew it. It was no use fighting him on his opinions, as it would be a losing battle for anyone except him.

You heard the familiar sound of a grappling against metal, and saw as Batgirl made her way out of the air vent.

“Heard on the scanner that the police took in some of Penguin’s men. Said they were jumped by four crazy frogs. I assume those were my lizard guys”, she said.

“Your lizard guys are strange”, you told Batgirl.

“They are turtles”, Batman said, pressing keys on the computer keyboard. “And the DNA on this weapon suggests they were mutated by an outside agent”.

“Mutant ninja turtles”. You raised a brow. “And me who thought Gotham couldn’t get any stranger”.

“The technology the ninjas have already stolen could be used to refine a mutagen like that”, Batgirl noted. “But why?”

“The cloud-seeder is the last piece of the puzzle. Which is why I had to move it to a secure location outside of Gotham”.

“I really wished you guys brought me in on this!”, Batgirl said. “I mean I saw the monsters first. It’s my case”.

“And pass up the opportunity to watch them swordfight Penguin later in the future? No way! I had front seat tickets!”

“There were too many unknowns. You could have gotten hurt. Both of you”. Batman turned his attention towards you. “You have to be more careful, (Y/N)”.

“What do you mean? I was beating that blue one pretty good”.

“Yet you didn’t notice the red one almost tapped you from the back”.

You felt a movement in your stomach and cold run down your back, yet your face started to feel hot. You did not notice at all. When would that have happened?... How long did you look into those blue eyes? Did the red one see an opening, only for Batman to save you, while you were being engulfed in a mutant turtle’s eyes, not noticing the world around you?

“N- no, I didn’t”.

“No, and you’ll have to work on that before I start calling you for backup”. Feedback from Batman always sounded harsh. And it did make you feel self conscious. But when it came to fighting alongside Batman, it was a matter of life and death. “In the meantime”, Batman continued, before you could dig too deep into your own feelings. “I’ll need to start working on a way to counteract the mutagen”. Batman stood for a moment. “And for that I could use both of your help”.

You could feel a big smile form on your face as Batgirl thanked the man you saw as your father figure. It wasn’t often that he actually asked for your help, or any help at all, making this a rare occasion, forever saved in your memory.

“All though”, Batgirl said as Batman looked closer at the sai he had gotten from the red turtle. “If those creatures left the Penguin's men tied up for the police, maybe I was wrong about them”.

“Maybe”, was all Batman had to say about that.

The drive back to the Batcave from Wayne Enterprise was silent. With you and Batgirl squished together in one seat, while Batman was driving the Batmobile. The silence that was so common when it came to Batman. It was a far cry from the Bruce Wayne that had taken you in as his own daughter. I was as if the moment he took the mask on, he became a different person. Not less loving than the Bruce Wayne you had given the title father, but less expressive and harder to read.

“Pretty eyes?”, Batman said, finally breaking the silence. Batgirl looked at you in confusion.

“It caught him off guard didn’t it? I’ll say it worked”, you said, playing with a smile on your lips. The bat stayed silent. You knew that silence. It was not an approving silence. You tried playing it off, talking about something else. “Did you notice how easily excited the orange one got? And how mad that red one was? They kind of remind me of Robin-”.

“Your brother is not comparable to a bunch of ninja turtles”.

“Well you might think that”, you mumbled, thinking of your pestilence of an adopted brother, that often caused chaos in your daily life, by sneaking around Wayne Manor. “He does look a little like them”.

Batgirl turned to Batman. “Care to explain?”

Batman sighed. “(H/N) and the blue mutant had a moment where she told him he had pretty eyes”.

“A moment?”, Batgirl asked, slightly shocked.

“A stare down”, you said, feeling your cheeks getting hot.

“A moment”, Batman corrected. “Even his attacks became softer after she told him”.

“No they didn’t!”

“They did. And so did yours”.

With your cheeks on fire, you crossed your arms and leaned back into the seat you shared with Batgirl. The amused smile she was trying to hide, made you wish the Batmobile would swallow you on the spot.

Why did that damn turtle have to have such pretty eyes?

[dearmantis]

So I stayed in the darkness with you

Pairing: Aleksander Morozova/The Darkling x wife!Reader

Summary: When you finally wake up and the joy of seeing your husband alive and well dies down you have a conversation you've always wanted to avoid.

Warnings: mentions of death, murder and violence, mentions of grisha persecution, this is not a healthy relationship but they love each other very much, slight gaslighting, mentions of human trafficking

Word Count: 3.6k words

Authors Note: I really thought I would never write this, but I'm having a rare moment where I crave comfort. Also, a few people asked for this (and apparently, some people cried after part 2??? I'm so sorry about that I hope you guys are alright now!). I think this is the end of this? Its not the ending I expected when I first wrote the A lost embrace one shot but it is where we ended up. I hope you guys like it :) I'm not a native English speaker and this isn't edited.

The title of this part (and the name of the series) is from Cosmic Love by Florence + the Machine

Previous Part | Masterlist

When you wake up, it's to the sound of a few birds chirping outside and waves crashing against rocks. You don't open your eyes for a while, instead choosing to enjoy the soft atmosphere around you, letting yourself glide into consciousness slowly and carefully.

It's warm and soft, wherever you are. You feel safe.

Your arms and legs still feel a bit sore even without trying to move them, so you simply breathe in and back out, enjoying the fresh air that faintly smells of lavender, salt and rosemary.

With every minute you spend laying there, eyes still tightly closed, you notice more things around you.

A weak breeze moves the leaves on a tree outside. Occasionally, you can hear muffled steps coming from somewhere other than wherever you are right now. Someone other than you is in the room, fabric rustling quietly when they move. You're not afraid.

It takes a while until you feel ready to try and open your eyes, and when you do, your gaze imediately and instinctively move to the chair next to your bed where your husband is waiting for you, his dark eyes glued to your face and a glass of water in his hand. He's not wearing his kefta, you notice. Just a black shirt, sleeves rolled up to his elbows. Not a single speck of gold is visible on him.

A small smile charms itself onto your lips before you can stop it.

"Do you feel ready to rejoin the world of the living?" he asks quietly, waiting for your nod before reaching over to hold the glass of water against your lips.

You empty the glass quickly, your dry throat desperate for any kind of liquid. He takes the glass away slowly, moving to fill it up with more water before placing it back against your lips.

You drink three glasses of water that way. That's how much you need to drink to banish the itching from your throat. Damn those soldiers.

"How long... how long was I asleep?" You ask after Aleksander places the glass back down on the nightstand next to the bed. He doesn't respond for a while, instead moving carefully to check if your body is fully tucked in and warm under the thick blanket covering your body.

"Two weeks," He answers finally while he shuffles around. "You were woken up a few times to make sure you eat and drink, but I doubt you remember that. Fedyor thought it was best if your body got time to recover energy on its own. The two weeks in the cage, the torture, the starving and dehydration, lack of sleep, and even the healing took a huge toll on your body."

The Shadow Summoner moves back to his chair, but before he sits down, he checks if your pillow is fluffy, his gaze awfully serious considering his current task.

Letting the information settle for a bit, you look around in the room you're in. You don't recognize where you are. The old, dark wooden floors are new to you, just like the walls decorated with small drawings and letters you're too far away from to read. When you look outside, you see the ocean.

"Where are we?"

Your hand moves to grab Aleksanders wrist before he can step back to sit down on his chair again, carefully pulling him closer towards you. He looks tired, deep shadows visible below his dark eyes. He needs to rest, probably more than you do, considering you apparently slept for two full weeks. A small, amused smile finds its way onto his lips before he carefully moves to sit down next to you on the large bed you're occupying. You move to give him space, encouraging him to lay down instead of sitting.

"I'll be more relaxed if you're next to me," you reason when he tries to argue, and the mighty, dangerous Darkling gives in, slipping under your blanket and resting his head next to yours on the pillows. You're still mad at him, a deep-rooted hatred for him burning deep in your chest, hotter than the sun itself, but feeling him next to you is nice. It almost feels safe.

Once he settles down, he answers, his voice even quieter and softer than it was before.

"In Fjerda. Kenst Hjerte, to be exact."

Ulla. You're with Ulla. Outside of Ravka. Away from everything he has built. Away from his sun summoner.

"Ivan is still in Ravka with a few others to make sure that no Grisha are left in cages. The rest is up here."

You want to say something, like acknowledge the fact that it must've been almost impossible to move a large group of Grisha through Fjerda undetected, but you don't want to interrupt him. He has that far away look in his eyes, and you assume this must be the first time he's letting himself actually work through and think over the events of the past month.

"Ulla wasn't particularly excited to see such a huge group, you can probably imagine. She has never been fond of company, after all, but she accepted it as long as she could stay away, and I don't tell anyone about her presence."

A smirk appears on his lips, and his eyes find yours. "The last bit that convinced her was the absence of Baghra, of course. As soon as she found out that she was still in Ravka, she was suddenly alright with everyone staying as long as the group doesn't pull attention towards the islands, and no one get's close to her."

Mirroring his smile, you watch him for a few seconds, carefully turning your body to lay on its side.

"So we're hiding again."

Aleksander opens his mouth to respond, probably ready to justify his decision, not realising that he doesn't have to. You're glad. Disappearing back into hiding is arguably the first sensible decision he has made since the sun summoner showed up. You're just surprised that he got to this decision himself. He's usually not someone who admits defeat, at least not without you forcing him to. You expected him to do something stupid, like try to fight the entire First Army and the Sun Summomer on his own and get killed in the process.

"I've never really been in hiding before, not since I was a child, at least. Most of the others never had to be. This will probably be really weird, but I'm excited to learn. Are we going to stay here or move somewhere else?"

He seems a bit surprised by the fact that you're not against his decision, pausing for a few seconds to study your facial expressions before he answers.

"I hope to stay here as long as possible, but we have to be prepared to leave any minute. I hope that Ivans group can collect the last Grisha that don't want to serve Vasily and come up here without attracting too much attention, but it's impossible to tell if that will work out."

You nod slowly, carefully putting together a picture of what has happened in the month that you've been out of the loop.

"Do you think there's a risk that Vasily could find out that we're hiding here and tell the Grimjer family? Maybe as an offering of some kind to kindle peace between Ravka and Fjerda and end the war?"

The darkness that flickers in his eyes for just a second makes clear that he has thought about that possibility as well. It would make sense, after all. Give up the Darkling, his wife, and the Grisha that side with them in exchange for peace. You are all considered enemies of the ravkan royal family anyway, so it wouldn't be a loss for Vasily.

"The risk is always there, but I have hope that the preparation of the royal wedding will distract everyone enough to make sure that we can get everyone out of the country without anyone noticing. The people want to celebrate their sun queen and hope for a better future. It should be easy for skilled soldiers to get through and out of the country unnoticed."

It takes you a few seconds until you realize what he just said, and when you finally do, a confused frown appears on your face.

"Sun queen? Is Vasily marrying Alina?"

Aleksander nods.

"And you're not... you're not on your way to rip him to shreds and take her for yourself?"

He let's out a long, loud sigh and turns his head to look at the ceiling, choosing to stay silent for so long that you start to believe that he's not going to respond at all. The only proof that you have that he's actively thinking about his response are the shadows slowly crawling over the floor and walls, swallowing the room and covering you under the familiar blanket of his very own darkness.

You have spent many private moments like this, cloaked by his powers, including your first kiss, your first time sleeping together, and your wedding night. As long as he controls his shadows, you will always have a home.

When he finally does speak, it's soft and light as a feather, his voice drifting through the air like an ancient melody.

"In those two weeks where I was convinced I would be too late, that you were dead, I learned something very important about myself."

Behind him, the shadows crawl up to cover the window, swallowing the last bit of light in the room.

"You are part of me the same way the shadows are part of me. Even if I hate you and you hate me, I can't change that. Losing you would be like losing a vital organ. Even if you chose to despise me for eternity, to never speak to me again, I need to be around you. I'm not fully myself if I'm not with you, sweet girl. You are part of me, just like I hope I am part of you."

You can't see him, but you can hear how he turns his head to look at you. "You can hate your heart and your powers as much as you want, you can't get rid of either. You need both to survive. And I need you the same way."

If anyone else, literally anyone else in the whole world had said this to you, you would've laughed so loud that you could still hear it in the Fold, but hearing those words come out of Aleksanders mouth, especially in that tone, makes you pause.

You know how he sounds when he lies, how his tone shifts to make every word sound just a bit smoother, a bit more convincing, but none of those signs are noticeable now. It's just his voice, in the same, normal, serious tone he uses during important discussions. The same tone he uses when he marries you once every hundred years.

"I have waited many centuries for the sun summoner. I can wait a few more if that means I can keep you with me."

The shadows retreat from the window, letting sunlight back into the room, but they continue to cover the walls, floor, and ceiling.

The light shows you his facial expression, the warm smile that softens his features and smooths the wrinkles in his skin.

"And what if I don't want to stay with you?" You ask quietly, afraid that you could shatter the atmosphere if you speak too loudly. "You hurt me a lot, Aleksander. I don't think I can do this again. What do I do if you randomly decide that you actually want the sun summoner more than me? If you leave me behind? What do I do if she dies and a new sun summoner appears in 300 years and you fall in love with them as well? I can't be your little bed warmer that fills the space next to you until your sun summoner comes back. I'm not strong enough to go through this again. Not tomorrow, not in twenty years, not in a thousand years. I can't do it again."

You try to turn away from him, but before you even get the chance to move, he wraps his arm around your torso and pulls you on top of him, every inch of your body touching his. His large hands cup your face, forcing you to meet his gaze.

"What can I do to prove to you that I will never leave you again?" he asks earnestly, and you can't stop yourself from whispering as you harshly move your head to escape from his grasp, your voice so quiet that it barely makes a sound at all.

"Kill Alina"

Your husband laughs, this time louder, amusement clear in his gaze as he grasps your face once more to make sure your eyes meet his.

"What was that, little wife?"

"What?"

"What you just said. You said something about Alina."

"No, I didn't. What are you talking about? Why would I talk about her while I'm lying on top of you? You must be hallucinating because of how exhausted you are." Your face contorts with mock concern, and Aleksander scoffs, swatting your hand away when you try to touch his face the way he's touching yours. "You should really sleep, my love. This isn't healthy for you at all. Come on, let's sleep. Good night."

You lean forward to press a quick good night kiss onto his lips – more of a peck than a kiss, really – when his grip on your face suddenly tightens, a loud squeak leaving your lips as he pushes you off of him and positions himself above you, switching your positions.

For a few seconds, you just stare at each other, taking each other in for a few seconds until Aleksander slowly bends down to press his lips against yours.

It's a soft kiss. Slow and sweet with an underlying bitterness that you want to ignore but can't.

His weight on you is familiar despite the fact that he isn't crushing you into the mattress the way he usually would, holding himself up with his arms to keep the majority of his weight off of your still recovering body.

When he finally lifts his head and ends the kiss, you smile at him for a second before seriousness washes the softness from your face.

"I'm serious, Sasha. You hurt me. A lot. And I'm not strong enough to withstand this again. If you want your sun summoner, tell me now. I won't even leave, I promise, so you can just tell me. I just want to be prepared, please." Unshed tears fill your eyes, turning your sight blurry as you stare up at your husband who simply watches you, his own face focused solely on you, face blank like a sheet of paper as he listens to your words.

"You left me. After more than 200 years together, you left me for a child. You lied to me and deceived me, pushed me to the side, and ignored me. Two centuries of partnership thrown away because of her. How am I supposed to ever trust you again?"

You regret letting him turn you now. Sitting on top of him gave you a bit of strength, made you feel stronger and bigger than you really are, especially right now in your weakened state. Now you feel small, caged in by his body and his watchful gaze that you're unable to escape. Pathetic, that's how you feel. You should be stronger than this by now, yet here you are, fighting back tears like a child.

"What if you suddenly decide you want her instead of me in a year or two? Do I have to put myself into a life-threatening situation just to remind you that I'm apparently important to you? What will it take next time? All of Fjerda hunting me? Getting sold like cattle in Ketterdam? Experiments in Shu Han? Is that what needs to happen to keep you interested in me? Because that's not worth it, Aleksander. I love you, I do, but I deserve better than that."

He doesn't react for a while, his eyes simply studying your face while he thinks over his response. After a few minutes, he lets himself sink down next to you, laying back on his side, his gaze still glued to you.

Aleksanders dark eyes do not move from you for what feels like hours, taking in every pore, every wrinkle, every bit of texture, taking his time to catalogue every single milimetre of your face in his mind.

He watches how you try to blink away your tears, angry at yourself for showing weakness in a moment where you have to be strong, and he hates himself for pushing you so far away from his heart that you feel like being vulnerable around him, showing weakness in from of your own husband, is a mistake.

He watches you bite your chapped lips, tearing the flesh and covering your front teeth with a bit of blood. An act of self-punishment or a nasty habit you may have developed while he was occupied with Alina? He hates himself more for not being able to answer that question.

It takes a while, but then his hands move to cup your face, holding you like a precious gem, his rough hands suddenly softer than cotton.

Aleksander doesn't tear up like you do. His hands don't shake, and his voice doesn't break when he speaks, but you can feel his sincerity ringing in the air like a bell.

"I'm sorry."

He apologized several times when he found you. Panicked, pained apologies filled with dread and relief and more fear than anyone should be able to feel. But now he's calm. He's not scared of death ripping you out of his grasp in the next minute, isn't trying to lift some of his own guilt off his shoulders before you die in his arms. He had two weeks of processing his thoughts on his own. He had time to think over every mistake he has made, and he intends to right them, starting with you and what he has done to you.

"I'm sorry that I ever made you feel like you weren't enough. I'm sorry for acting like you aren't enough. I'm sorry for forgetting how much greater you are than me. You are and will always be the most precious thing in my life, the most wonderful thing the making could've ever given me. I am a foolish man, but I should know better than that. And you shouldn't forgive me. I do not deserve forgiveness, but I can't help but hope for it anyway. I pray that you find it in your endlessly kind heart to give me one last chance. If you do, my love, my beautiful, wonderful, perfect little wife, I swear I'll make you queen. I will end the Lantsov line and kill the sun summoner and give you the country we once called home. I will give you anything you want, I promise it."

A loud sob tears through your throat, tears running freely over your face and soaking into the pillow below you as you listen to him bear his old, rotten heart and soul to you.

"I don't want the throne," you rasp out. "I just want you. That's all I've ever wanted."

"I know. And I failed to give it to you, but I promise that this will never happen again. Kill me if it does. Stab me in the heart while I sleep, poison my food, slit my throat. I swear that I will not defend myself. Bring my head to the Apparat and let him turn you into a Saint if I betray you again, my love, but please give me this one chance to prove myself to you. I will not fail you again, I swear it."

You almost laugh at that, but the shimmering in his eyes stops you before you can even smile. It's like he's fighting himself to make sure he doesn't cry, reminding you that this is serious.

"I will actually do it, you hear me? If you betray me again, I will rally the Grisha against you. Ulla, too, while I'm at it. They like me more than you anyway. I'll chop your head off and give it to the Apparat and become Sankta Y/N of the dawn or whatever they end up calling me. I'll make sure there are thousands of paintings of how I murdered you. And I'll make it seem like it was easy, too. I'll tell them I overpowered you effortlessly and cut your heart out while you confessed your love to me or something. All of Ravka will make fun of how you died. It'll overshadow the horror stories about the Black Heretic. You will become the joke of a whole nation."

He smiles softly. "I would expect nothing less of you, my love."

You mirror his smile weakly, eyes flickering down to his lips twice before slowly leaning in. Aleksander waits for you, refusing to move while your breath ghosts over his lips.

"Are you sure?" he asks, waiting for you to decide what to do. The tension between you two is heavy, your nose filling with his oh so familiar scent with every breath you take.

"I am," you answer almost silently. "I don't forgive you, not yet. But I think I can give you one last chance. I think I can do it."

Laughing weakly, you continue, "Especially now that I'm allowed to murder you if you betray my trust again."

He hums, his nose brushing softly against yours as he waits for you to confirm your decision.

When you do, your lips pressing against his, it tastes like ash and death, like destruction and poison and chocolate and peace and promises.

It tastes like sin. It tastes like coming home. It tastes like love.

Taglist: @budugu @purebloodwitch @hells-escapees @savagejane1 @deadunicorn159

[innocent-cat]

THIS IS #PART TWOO AND ITS SO LONG SO IM SORRY BUT I HOPE ALL 17 OF YOU LOVE IT SORRY IT TOOK SO LONG

Vax x Reader x Percy

Warnings - swearing, descriptions of blood and wounds, the works, etc

"Vox Machina's (least) favorite Sorcerer.", Vax x Reader x Percy

.·:*¨༺༻¨*:·..·:*¨༺༻¨*:·..·:*¨༺༻

[F/N] - Family Name

Lady Mystra - Goddess of magic/The weave

The weave - How raw magic is tapped into by spellcasters

Uriel - The guy who runs Emon

Envonium - The name of the city you are a noble to (Sorry, couldn’t avoid it)

The walk to the small ‘town’ ahead was a quick one, and the smell of the burnt wood and cloth was strong. It contrasted the smell of the wet wood and the muddy ground. Percy splits off from you and joins Vex in an ‘investigation’ into what happened to the town.

A little awkward with everyone else, you follow Vax around like a lost dog, like you had done numerous times in school when you were a child. You don’t know what to think of the memories of following around whoever smiled at you, assuming they wanted to be friends, when, in reality, they only felt bad for your awkwardness. Which was rare, considering you didn’t understand any norms with them.

You shake the memory away as Pike is asked to bless a house for protection against whatever evil is against them. She awkwardly agrees, walking up and muttering something quickly under her breath. She backs away and quickly says that the house will be in ‘tip-top shape’, and the mother of the family Percy and Vex are currently questioning thanks her for her effort in a motherly kind of way, understanding her awkwardness despite not having any context. 

The son of the family walks up to Vax as he does an impressive trick with a coin. The small boy asks him if he’s a wizard, and you let out a snort by accident, quickly covering it up with a cough as Vax kicks you lightly in the shin, assuming you were laughing at the boy; you were laughing at him. You smile as he continues to do the trick, explaining it's all in the fingers. He pulls it out from behind the boy’s ear, handing him the coin after. He tells him that it is now in his, encouraging him to learn coin tricks. The boy awes, and his sister walks up to him to see what is going on.

A smile creeps onto your face as you watch the sweet gesture Vax makes towards the young boy, admiring his gentleness with children, which contradicts the bar fight you had met him through. It was a funny thought, in which you let out a small laugh too.

“That's real silver. Keep it safe. There's a monster roaming about.” He warns them, but the girl promptly corrects him.

“..You mean flying.” She comes closer.

“What's that?” He replies quickly, urging her to explain what she means.

“Something flew over us. It knocked down the big tree on the hill..” She points towards the tall hill. “We heard wings beating, but we couldn’t see it in the storm.”

Her brother chimes in; “It was big. Really big.” She agrees with a soft ‘Yeah.’

Vax looked over to the hill in which she pointed, and the party promptly went there.

It was a grueling uphill walk led by Trinket, as he sniffed out tracks of the monster we were searching for. What tracks Trinket did find, Vex explained, were too muddy to discern, so we continued south.

The tracks were hard to follow- even for Trinket. They were erratic and went in several directions until they finally stopped. When they did finally stop, they were human tracks. 

Vex cups her ear in discomfort, wincing before she warns us- “It’s close. Everyone get ready!”

You draw your quarterstaff out, as does Keyleth. Percy draws his gun, Vax readies his dagger, and Scanlan.. readies his.. guitar.. Grog pulls out his axe, and Pike summons a shield. The bush shuffles violently, and Vex rises to her feet and draws an arrow against her bow.

Anxiety kneads itself in your stomach as you prepare for the worst- until a lamb pops out of the bush. Grog laughs.

“Get the fuck out- you’re telling me a wittle lamb caused all this mayhem?” He giggles through his sentence, but the anxiety in your stomach only kneads stronger than before. Vex falls to her knees and grovels in pain as she covers her ears, groaning.

Loud footsteps boom in front of you, and out from the fog, a giant, scaly foot steps onto the miniature lamb, the lamb splattering all over the foot and the ground. Stepping forward, the sight of a massive blue dragon reveals itself to your party, and Scanlan nervously curses, but none of you run.

It breathes a massive hurl of lightning out of it’s mouth, and you quickly drag Vex to her feet and run with her out of the way of the bright beam. Keyleth, Trinket, Vex, and you all run behind a tree for cover, watching as Grog and Pike are flung into a tree from the force.

Scanlan is yanked behind a tree by Vax as the dragon cuts down the forest with it’s strong jaws. Bright electric blue runs up it’s tall neck as it breathes in, releasing a spew of pure lightning out of it’s mouth. The trees are lasered down, and the branches catch fire. Several birds are seen flying away from their now-destroyed homes. Crawling out of the burning forest, the party regroups hurriedly.

“I suggest we run. Right now!” Percy logically commands us, not suggests to us, only to be quickly told no by Grog.

“Fuck that. We fight!” He screams, charging in towards the dragon as everyone follows. You stay behind with Keyleth, frantically casting low-level spells that merely bounce off the dragon’s electric skin.

As quickly as Grog makes it to the dragon, he is flung away with only one leg before he is able to strike. Scanlan makes a complaint about Grog already being down, but you can’t hear it beyond the chaos and panic currently affecting the entire party.

Everyone seemingly unloads every useful item they can think of, several magic arrows flying toward the dragon, followed by many bullets, all of which bounced right off.

“Keyleth! A little magic might help?” Vex yells at Keyleth from on the floor after being blown away by another blast from the dragon. You glance between Keyleth and the dragon, giving her a quick nudge and a ‘We’re all gonna die’ look. Keyleth glances around nervously as Percy shouts as he fights beside Pike and Vax. Vex grabs Keyleth once she recognizes you are too busy casting a spell to snap Keyleth out of it. She quickly apologizes, and begins to cast.

Your last spell flies towards the dragon as Keyleth’s spell affects the clouds in the sky. The clouds swirl in a strange pattern that covers the moon as you all gather by Keyleth for what you hope is protection. A strike comes down from seemingly the moon and directly hits the dragon, but it only makes the dragon stronger.

“Did I just make it worse?” Keyleth shouts, panicked.

Pike jumps in front of the group and enlarges her shield. She lowers it when she realizes the dragon is aiming to cut down the mountain above you. Rocks collapse above you, piling onto the entire party painfully.

The dragon sniffs the boulders and rocks to see if everyone is dead, and sniffs closely to Grog’s bloody hand that sticks out of the pile, it flies away, seemingly deciding Grog’s hand was enough evidence of your death. It flew away with a strong push of it’s wings that shook the earth beneath you, and Scanlan began to complain about being stuck under Grog.

Everyone slowly climbs out, hurt from the battle, but unscathed from the vines Keyleth quickly commanded to protect the party. Once untangled from the rest of the party, Vax gives you a helping hand and pulls you off of Percy as you mutter an apology to him.

“At least we’re still alive. Thank the Everlight.”

“And thank Keyleth for the giant shrub.” Vax responded to Pike as he cleaned off his dirtied clothes. “But did you have to make it so thorny?” He pulls a thorn out of his side.

“We almost died.” Keyleth sputters out nervously and Pike returns to her side, holding her hands and reassuring her in some way.

As you talk to the rest of the party, Keyleth acknowledges Grog’s wounds.

“Nah just a flesh wound, no big. Question- is this normal?” Grog waves away Keyleth’s concerns but uncovers a very much rapidly gushing wound that nearly splashes onto Vax. Everyone takes a large step away from Grog as his wound spews blood. A wave of ‘Oh no-’ and ‘Holy shit.’s are followed.

“I’m gonna throw up.” Scanlan airly speaks, discomfort in his voice prominent.

Pike quickly heals him with a bright, beautiful light that emits from her hands. “That.. took a lot out of me.” She falls over, and Scanlan catches her.

“I got you.”

“Uh, thanks. You can.. put me down now.” Pike awkwardly asks Scanlan and he does, awkwardly agreeing.

“Alright. Fuck Uriel and fuck all of this.” Vax says, aggressively giving up.

“Must I remind you we gave our word to the council? That should probably mean something.” Percy angrily retorts.

“Oh who gives a soggy anus about the council? The only word I care about is Scanlan Shorthalt. And yes- I know thats two words but you know what I’m saying!” 

“Yeah! What have those fuckity fucks ever done for us? Except give us a job and a bunch of gold and treasure and stuff.” Grog argues but seems a little lost.

“It’s not about the dragon- or the council. It’s about the people. They need us. We can’t just run away.” Pike encourages the party.

“This is why I hate traveling with holy people; they're too goddamned good.” Percy complains half heartedly.

“That’s rude, Percy.” You give him a soft shove as you speak under your breath to him.

“Pike. This creature is beyond us. When Vax and I were young, one of those monsters killed my mother. I studied them my entire life to find who did it- I can feel when they're close. A horrid pain in my head.”

“Then it’s settled. We’ll return to the palace and get out of the contract.”

“You don’t understand, Percy. I felt it there too. At the palace.”

“Y-you’re just telling us now?” Scanlan asks Vex angrily.

“I’m sorry.. I wasn’t certain until the dragon.. it's been years since mother..” Vex trails off, her sentence jumbled up in a confusing spew of reasons.

Vax comes closer to comfort Vex, putting a hand on her shoulder. “Are you sure, Vex’ahlia?”

“I am sure. Someone on the council must have been in contact with the dragon or.. I don’t know but I’m sure that it was real.”

“Then it’s not worth it, you’ve all heard her. One of those monsters could be working with the council. Lets just get the hell out of here and never step foot in Emon again.” Vax backs up Vex.

Vax walks away, and the entire party follows him back to the small town in the rain, only to find it charred and burnt down to a crisp. The wood supports of nearly every house had broken under the pressure as they burned, crackling in the rain.

Vax runs to the house of the family, and everyone follows him slowly, still slowly looking at the houses in shock.

“They wiped them out.. all of them..” Pike speaks softly and mournfully, as if she had known the people her entire life.

Vax runs through the curtained doors to find the family burnt and bloody. The mother held her daughter protectively in their last moments. A tapping can be heard from a wooden box, and Vax quickly runs to open it alongside Grog.

“Pike! Get over here!” Vax pulls out a bloodied boy- the son of the family that he had given the coin to. He groans weakly in pain, as Pike’s light flickers, her spell fading and failing to heal the boy.

“We could have stopped this. We should have.” Vax’s voice is emotional, unlike any way you’ve heard him speak before. Even when he was comforting Vex it wasn’t like this.

Scanlan tunes his guitar while leaning against the door frame.

“Scanlan- what the fuck are you doing?” You look at him angrily for disrupting what felt like a moment of mourning for the party.

“Thinking of a rhyme for ‘dead dragon’ ‘cause I guess we’re killing one.”

“I’m in. I mean, I’m terrified out of my mind, but I’m in.” Keyleth explains, as the rest of the party changes their mind and chimes in with several ways to say they’re going to kill the dragons alongside everyone else.

They all turn to you, waiting for your confirmation, which you had forgotten to say.

“Of course I’m in.” You come closer to the group as they all begin to surround one another.

“You all realize we’re going to die a truly gruesome death, right?” Vex scoffs at the party’s ambitions.

Before standing to join the group, Vax pockets the coin he gave the boy. “Perhaps, sister. But we will die truly glorious deaths- and we’ll kill a fucking dragon.”

.·:*¨༺༻¨*:·..·:*¨༺༻¨*:·..·:*¨༺༻

“Seems your band of fools have gone missing. Safe to say you’ve sent Vox Machina to their doom?” The council’s adviser, a drow, was currently speaking about the concern of Vox Machina’s untimely deaths that were bound to happen.

“DOOM? We don’t know the meaning of the word.” Scanlan loudly spoke in what you thought was his attempt to sound fancy to mock the drow, and you cringed at his attempt.

“Uh. I certainly don’t.” Grog replied to Scanlan, being genuinely confused on what it meant.

“Sovereign! Hold onto your goddamned crown- We’ve discovered that the dragon is none other than a blue dragon!”

“We know.” They all spoke in unison, shooting down what Scanlan thought to be a revelation.

“Did you kill it?”

“I wouldn’t say kill really.” “We’re still kinda working on that part.” Pike and Keyleth awkwardly explain to the council

“I can’t believe you made it out alive! How did you survive?”

“Trade secrets! Can’t share ‘em.” Scanlan lied.

“We hid and it flew away.” You and Percy both retort to Scanlan’s lie very quickly.

“Wait, how did we survive that?” Grog had begun giggling, but paused to question your party’s survival.

Vex holds a hand over her ear as the drow continues to speak.

“Fools are useless, sire. Perhaps if we made an offering to the dragon, gold in exchange for peace?” The drow persuaded.

“Why don’t we shake it’s hand and offer it a fucking pint while we’re at it?”

“A Dragon cannot be bartered with- If it desires Emon’s destruction, it will not relent.” Vex and Vax both rebuttal the drow’s illogical thinking.

“You heard her, sire. You know what must be done.” 

“But what if it attacks the city? We’d be sitting ducks!” Kima argues.

“What would you have me do? Let it burn more farmland, slaughter more innocents?” The sovereign slams his fists on his chair, and stands.

“No. We will bring the fight to it- on our terms. General, you may move our soldiers at dawn.” He addresses General Krieg firmly.

“But sire, you know as-” “I have made my decision Lady Kima,” The sovereign cuts her off aggressively. “This council is adjourned.”

“All right, you heard him. Clear out.” A group of guards begin pushing your party out of the room and through the doors, the drow watching distastefully, not turning his body to fully view.

“Don’t kill it before we do! Y-your offer’s still on the table, right?” Scanlan shouts out, but his asks falls on empty ears as you shove the guards off yourself, and pat their imaginary ‘dirt’ off your clothes. Guards like them are nursed and spoiled- never going to the battlefield and only residing by rulers inside of their tall castles or mansions. You knew their type- rude and demeaning, generally abusive of what little power they had.

Cooing is heard just beyond the doors, and when it opens, it abruptly stops. Trinket looks between the two guards who now stand stiffly, confused.

“I felt it again. That same feeling I had around the dragon. There must be a connection,” Trinket leaves the guards and moves through the group, and pushes his head into Vex’s hand, begging to be pet and he does so. “One of them is working with that fucker.”

“Uh-huh, uh-huh. I knew it. I bet it’s Allura. I never trust anyone prettier than me.” Scanlan stands next to Grog proudly with his revelation, as Grog nods and pretends to understand.

“You must not trust a lot of people, Scanlan.” You snarkily reply to Scanlan with a short laugh before Vex and Percy cut into the conversation.

“No, you dipshits. Fince.” 

“The creepy one. Looked like a withered piece of scrap leather?”

You raise an eyebrow at Percy. “..Or maybe he's just a drow?” You speak, half offended for Fince, but half knowing the description was true.

“Ohh! I didn’t catch anybody’s name.” Grog laughs and nods.

“So, what do we do next?” Keyleth asks, unsure.

“Vax and [name] go to Gilmore’s, buy us a weapon that can kill a dragon.”

“Uh, with what? We’re flat fucking broke.” Vax asks Vex, his elbow resting on her shoulder.

“Please. With the way that man dotes on you, I’m sure you can work something out.” Vex mocks Vax for even asking as Pike silently giggles behind you.

The two of you group together and begin walking down the stairs.

“The rest of us will split up and search for Fince. If you find him, don’t let him out of your sight.” Vex orders the group.

“That sounds like a plan, but you’re not the only one with ideas, Vex.” Scanlan tilts his head.

“Is that so? Please, Scanlan tell me your’s.” She leans on Trinket and he silently growls at Scanlan.

Letting out a yelp, he walks away. “I’ll tell you.. When I have one.”

.·:*¨༺༻¨*:·..·:*¨༺༻¨*:·..·:*¨༺༻

Vax points out Gilmore’s to you and drags you along. He pushes the draped cloth door out of the way for you, his arm slightly above your head to avoid messing with your hair by sweeping over you. You duck under his arms and enter the shop- met with distinct aromas, a warm and soft lighting of lanterns scattered about, and the sound of beads clinking together.

“You have entered a realm of mystery, of magic, of marvel. Welcome to Gilmore’s Glorious goods! Enchanted curials and magical artifacts at discounted prices. I take gold, silver, platinum,-” He gasps when he turns to meet Vax’s eyes. “Why if it isn’t the mysterious Vax’ildan?” He chuckles. “I was hoping you’d swing back through again” He feign kisses Vax on both sides of his face as Vax laughs, what you can only assume is a normal greeting between the two. You decide to let Vax do the talking and explore the shop yourself to find whatever items may be needed to make use of what little time you have.

You try to ignore their flirting, and for a while you succeed, until it becomes too much, and eventually clear your throat as Gilmore playfully pushes Vax. They both look at you.

“..HI.” You speak awkwardly, trying to make your presence known as you slowly flip through a book.

The shop looks unorganized to the untrained eye(your’s), but Vax seemed to have no problem navigating through the junk and magical items scattered about when walking towards Gilmore. Several books catch your eye as you stop to read them, recognizing their magical origin. Opening the book you cough and wave dust particles out of your face, now realizing this book hadn’t been touched since it was brought here. A shame, considering it’s fruitful information.

However, as you walk on, it becomes apparent not every book here is magical. A book left wide open by Gilmore is very clearly smut. You double take and look at it again in confusion as the two of them speak.

Gilmore offers a rather expensive lance that looks more for show than for dragon slaying, and Vax explains the party can’t afford it.

“Maybe a smaller price for a bit of advice?” Vax offers.

“Hopefully what you’re offering isn’t too tiny.”

You offer up two silver coins, being stingy on your money knowing Vax could charm his way into the tiny advice anyway.

“I… suppose size isn’t everything..?” Gilmore awkwardly speaks, staring at the tiny sum.

Vax leans in. “We need to know if blue dragons have any weaknesses.”

“Weaknesses, eh? Well- to start they’re ego maniacs. They hate being insulted and have tremendous vanity,” He chuckles. “Not that I can relate.” Vax and Gilmore both laugh with each other.

“Hi! Still here. Is there any way to stop them?” you ask, pushing Vax slightly out of the way to get Gilmore back on track.

“Honestly, there’s no simple way to kill a dragon. Even in tomes of old, legends of their destruction are largely poetic drivel.” He pulls out a book and blows the dust off of it, the particles waving in your face as you cough and wave it away. “Ah- The Wyrm shall only find defeat in the gorge where the twin rivers meet. See? Cute but..”

“Useless.” Vax cuts in.

“Gods, did a dragon write this?” You trace the words of the pages with your finger complaining, trying to make sense of the old pages, but nothing comes to you.

“While dragon anatomy is a topic for many scholar, anyone close enough to find out seems to get themselves… snapped up.” A purple magic hue brushes into Vax’s face and he grunts in response.

“Sorry I couldn’t be more helpful, but you get what you pay for.” He plays with a silver coin in between his fingers.

“Gilmore, this is all very useful, even the bullshit. If we survive this, I owe you dinner.” Vax’s voice is low.

You raise an eyebrow to this speech, now very doubtful and confused of their relationship. Were they a fling? Are They a fling? Your thinking is cut short when Gilmore cuts back in.

“You owe me more than that, my handsome half-elf.”

Definitely were a thing.

“All right you two, foreplay’s over, let's go. We should probably go find our friends.” You walk out and Vax follows, leaving to find where everyone has gone. The interaction had turned your mood sour, just about done with talking to anyone for the day.

.·:*¨༺༻¨*:·..·:*¨༺༻¨*:·..·:*¨༺༻

Grog eats a sandwich as the rest of the party attempts to unlock the door that the drow, Fince, was seen walking into.

“..Sturdy lock. Nothing a magical song can’t handle.” Scanlan sings an obviously dirty song in an attempt to unlock the door. It fails. “Damn, that usually works.” He looks to you. 

“What? Why are you looking at me?” You raise an eyebrow in confusion as he motions for you to take a try at the door.

“I’m not yet powerful enough to cast knock- you should know that. Try someone else.” You deny helping and cross your arms, watching as Keyleth takes a turn at it.

“What if I heat the metal and melt the lock?” She heats the metal, but only lights Scanlan on fire.

“What the hell, Keyleth? This is imported silk!” Scanlan complains as he pats out the smokey fire on his shoulder. 

“The lock doesn’t seem to be magical.. I’m not sensing anything.” Pike strains as she casts detect magic.

“Can you people do nothing right? It’s just a damn door!” Vex complains

“I’d like to see you try.” You quickly snap back at her expectantly, mostly defending the others, but deep down you know you’re trying to defend yourself too.

Vax takes the toothpick out of Grog’s sandwich and quickly picks the lock.

“All it takes is a little finesse. Amateurs.” You roll your eyes as Vax opens the door, and tosses the toothpick to the floor.

You turn when you hear Grog complain.

“That was my toothpick.” A squelch follows as about three-fourths of his sandwich falls out. You feel a little sorry, but there isn’t much to be said.

“This must be Governor Krieg’s place..” You speak, eyeing the rather large portrait of the man.

“Oh, shit. I bet Fince is here to assassinate his ass.” Scanlan quickly replies, looking around.

“Oh, you think? Lets split up. Keyleth and Percy will search up stairs, Scanlan and Pike take the attic. The rest of us-”

Vex is interrupted by a creak.

“Or.. maybe we could all start here.” Vax motions towards the wooden latch on the floor, and the party promptly crawls in.

The party is met with Fince with his back turned, scavenging through the library held in the hidden basement. It was dark, and admittedly a little damp. Fince likely didn’t mind, though. 120 feet of darkvision must be rather useful. Thank living in the underdark for that.

“Aha! We caught you blue handed chicken humper!” Scanlan yells out and you kick him in his shin slightly, an annoyed face he likely could not read in the dim light.

“What is with you lot and prejudice against drow, gods above! Manners!” You complain, not breaking your focus on the spell you’ve prepared, still aiming it at Fince.

“Drop your blade, Fince!” You yell at him after scolding Scanlan.

“What? No! No, You don’t understand! I’m not stealing anything.” Fince defends himself quickly, his words spilling out of his mouth, the same way a river is occasionally stopped by rocks in it’s flowing path.

“Of course you’re not! Just like how that sword isn’t to murder General Krieg with, either right?” Pike shouts back, adding her few cents into the mix.

Grog squats down to whisper.

“Pike.. I think it is.”

“You must listen to me. These documents are evidence. General Krieg is planning-” Fince’s voice is panicked, but his voice is quickly cut short as blood suddenly gurgles in his throat and a sword slices from his abdomen to his chest. He falls, and the blade falls out of his body, a shadow stepping forward.

General Krieg.

“Krieg!” Vex and Vax both shout out, in shock.

“Nice bloody technique,” Vax praises, showing he obviously ignored what the drow had to say. “How do you stay so quiet in that armor?”

Vex gasps in pain and falls backwards, Vax catching her.

“He’s the one! In league with the..”

“Of course it was me. I championed you because you’re a bunch of witless oafs who no one gives two shites about. You’ve been lucky so far, but you have no idea what you have gotten yourself into.” Krieg’s thick irish accent spills out as he mocks your party, and you can’t help but have an angry face- not on account he called your party witless and unnamed, but on account he called you witless and unnamed.

“I’ve got him.” Vax quickly lunges forward, throwing knives at him. Krieg deflects them and runs back into the hall.

“Finesse, huh?” You question Vax mockingly before chasing after Krieg.

“He’s.. gone.” Scanlan speaks, shocked.

“Quite the keen observation, Scanlan.” Percy mocks Scanlan. You let out a small laugh to Percy’s quick response.

“There must be a hidden exit or trap door. Fan out. Look for some kind of Fulcrum.”

“Wait- a fuck room?” Grog asks, confused.

“I mean, that’s what I heard.” Vax plays along.

“Fulcrum- the pivot around which a lever turns. A lever or a button.” You correct and explain to them snappily, not meaning to do so in such a manner.

“Just.. stand over there, Grog. And don’t touch anything!” Percy instructs Grog to move towards the nearly nude portrait.

You listen to Percy’s instructions but seem to stick to him as he searches, not knowing who else to be beside. It’s not like you wanted to walk around aimlessly by yourself- you’d rather look lost than look awkward. Just Percy’s presence is enough to feel normal and at home again.

“Whoaa.. You guys, everything in this room is magical. Where do we even start?” Pike exclaims.

“This guy really has a thing for dragons..” Keyleth comments, awkwardly looking around. She peers down at the dragon spiral- five dragon heads on a carpet. Well- not heads? Dragon necks and heads? Whatever.

“Grog.. it’s rude to stare” Keyleth corrects Grog, disregarding the fact it’s a painting he’s goggling at. “Grog, you’re being gross!” Keyleth tosses a book at Grog and hits his head, the book bouncing off and going straight through the portrait.

“Oh! Keyleth you found it! It’s a portal!” Pike’s excitement is evident as she points at the portrait/portal happily, practically bouncing.

“Nice work,” Vax praises Keyleth with a shocked breath. “Brilliant really.”

Keyleth blushes in response, tucking her hair behind her ear. “Oh.. It was nothing.”

“She threw a book at a head, it was nothing.” Vex cuts into the conversation aggressively correcting the two of them. Thanks Vex. Does Vax just flirt like that with anyone??

You question yourself, but listen to Vex’s speech.

“Listen- if we’re gonna fight Krieg, we have to do this as a team, all right? Organized. As one.”

“Please, we… we don’t do organized. Look at us! We’re Vox Machina We fuck shit up.”

You butt into the conversation. “You don’t get it. We’re potentially fighting a General and a blue fucking dragon. If you want to die, have at it, but don’t expect me to go down with you.” You stand beside Vex, who stands in the middle of you and Vax as you look at the rest of the party ready to jump through the painting.

Vex nods her head in agreement and quietly thanks you under her breath for backing her up. “Can we at least try?”

“Can we atleast go already?” Vax complains, walking toward the portal with disregard for what Vex and you were practically begging the party to listen to.

You two follow suit as Vax pushes Grog through the portal. Vex lets out an annoyed groan and walks through the portal with the rest of the party.

“You know what guys? Goodluck. I’m just gonna keep a lookout from here.” You hear Scanlan’s voice timidly speak through the portal, and you quickly yank him through.

Keyleth shivers. “It’s so cold.. Where is this place?”

“High in the mountains, I’d say.” Vex responds, shivering too.

“Wherever we are.. we’re far from Emon.” Vax comments as you walk through the cold, blue cave, overlooking the shiny gold scattered throughout that gives a small gleam from the small amount of sun peaking through.

The gold glitters gorgeously as the sun hits it just right, and Scanlan lets out a pleased gasp. “No way.”

“Gold.” Vex breathes out in shock, taking in the mass amount of gold.

Grog, Pike, Scanlan, and Vex all run ahead to grab it.

“Seems excessive for a council member.” Percy remarks.

“Seems excessive for anyone.” Vax replies, and follows the rest of the party as they run for the gold like eager children.

You stand by Percy anxiously as the rest of the party shovels gold into bags, daydreaming of the alcohol they can buy with all the gold they’ve ‘found’. 

“This is weird. Why are we so eager to take the gold? Aren’t we still trying to kill the General?” You question quietly to Percy as he hums, about to speak but stops when Vex realizes too.

“Wait! Wait wait wait- this gold didn’t fall out of the fucking sky. This is a horde! We’re in the dragon’s lair!” The party promptly drops their gold in shock as Vex yells.

You turn quickly when you hear Keyleth gasp suddenly.

“Intruders.” A loud, dark, ominous voice echoes through the cave. The rock Keyleth was looking at crumbles apart in seconds

“I didn’t do that! Did I do that? I don’t think I did that.” Keyleth questions herself, but the attention quickly turns to Vex as she folds over with hands over her ears, groaning in pain.

“I must say, I’m impressed. To tell you the truth I was certain you would die the moment you met the mighty Brimscythe- But it seems some vermin are harder to kill than others.” A recognizable irish accent shouts from above at your party with disdain.

“You-you wanted Uriel to send the entire army out of Emon.. So your dragon friend could wipe them out!” Vex shouts angrily up at Krieg.

“The Age of Man is coming to an end. There was a time when dragons ruled all of Tal’dorei! When we ruled the entire world.” 

“Did he just say we?” Percy asks, reiterating what he heard to the party.

“I’m pretty sure he just fucking did.” You quickly reply to Percy, but in an instant, Krieg shapeshifts into a mighty blue dragon.

“Didn’t see this one coming, did you Vex?” Scanlan shouts at Vex.

“I fucking told you! What are we standing for? Run!” You counter Scanlan, recounting your argument for going in unplanned before. Krieg flies to the top of the cave, hanging onto spikes, and blows lightning at the party. The party quickly scatters about, and Vax takes your hand as you retreat for cover, dragging you along to safety.

The two of you watch from behind a rock as Grog is shocked, and falls to the floor.

“Are you alright?” Percy shouts.

“Uhmm.. no.” Grog replies with a groan.

Krieg blows lightning again, scattering the party more than they already were. Rocks topple on Vax, which you disintegrate with a quick chromatic orb. You hear the sharp whistle of an arrow flying towards Krieg- to which it quickly stops.

“A tickle,” He laughs out. “Let me return the favor.” 

“..Shit.” Vex curses as Percy jumps out and quickly drags her away from the oncoming danger as the dragon blows another powerful burst of electricity onto the battlefield. He chases them down, Krieg’s tail smacking into Pike and knocking her into a rock, the air effectively knocked out of her lungs.

“Fools! I’ll devour you all!” Krieg roars out in anger.

Scanlan runs from yet another beam of energy that follows him closely, shouting for help from Pike. She jumps in front of him with her shield, blocking the energy effectively for mere moments before they’re blown away into more rubble.

Krieg flies up and looks for targets, and he quickly aims for Keyleth as she emerges from her vined dome. She lets out a swear and jumps out of the way.

Percy begins shooting the dragon and missing as it flies around. “Vax! Did Gilmore give you any insight on how to kill this thing or did you two flirt the whole time?” Percy shouts angrily across the battlefield, a hail mary in hopes Vax could hear him among the commotion. Truly brave to say such a thing in the near death situation at hand.

“Shit. Right, right. Uh- Dragons are vain, arrogant and hate being insulted!” Vax shouts out in a panic.

“No you fucking idiot! To kill them! The river thing!” You shout back, shaking his shoulders slightly, as if trying to shake the answer out of him like a gumball out of a gumball machine.

Krieg dives in between us, quickly splitting the two of you apart as we jump away from one another to avoid being hit. Grog lets out a scream as he jumps up and slashes in an attempt to hit Krieg, but misses.

“It doesn’t matter. We can’t do shit if it’s in the air!” Pike shouts out.

“Wheres the twin rivers meet.. The neck! You see that? We have to get it on the ground! Vex, do you hear me?” Vax shouts out to his sister.

“Yes! This way. I’ve got a plan.” The party follows Vex and Vax, frantically jumping over rocks to listen to her plan.

“Aw, another one?” Scanlan complains.

“Shut up!” Vex shouts angrily at him.

The dragon breathes out more lightning, and Vex tells the party her plan as they run away from it.

“Look, okay, for once, you were right. Maybe we don’t fight as one. Maybe we do what we do best.”

“What? We have no best!” Keyleth shouts in shock.

Krieg cackles and the party hides behind the temporary safety of a rock.

“So, what do you want us to do? Run out and yell ‘Hey, dragon man, we don’t know what the fuck we’re doing’?”

Vex nods.

“You have to be fucking kidding me.” You groan out distastefully for the plan, realizing what it was.

The party positions themselves around the cave, you hiding behind a rock, focusing on an illusion spell.

“Ha! You think you can hide in my lair?” Krieg laughs out, his steps pounding on the floor as he walks closer to your illusion.

The fog clears atop the rock and reveals Vox Machina- minus you.

The illusion of Grog pushes past Percy. “Hey, taint smear!”

“You’re in my way again, you ape!” The illusion of Percy spits out at Grog.

You imitate Vox Machina’s banter atop the rock, bluffing as the illusioned party breaks into shambles as they argue. You giggle to yourself as you imitate Percy, your giggles heard through the voices of the illusions, very quickly.

“If the two of you would shut up already and let me kill this inflated windbag!” Your illusion of Vex spits out, aiming her bow at Krieg.

“Kill me? I am the iron storm. You are nothing but insects!” He growls, and lets out another massive and powerful ray of thunder through his mouth, directly hitting your illusions, and they remain standing- but are shrouded in the smoke of the blast. You hold your head in pain, but stay silent to avoid revealing the illusions.

He laughs out. “Pathetic.”

As the mist finally clears, the illusions reveal themselves unharmed.

“What? Impossible!” Krieg shouts in anger as a purple mist surrounds the illusions, finally dissipating them.

Scanlan clears his throat. “Gotcha.”

“Now!” Vex shouts desperately as the party begins running out- Keyleth holding down Krieg with vines, Percy shooting down the cave’s ceiling spikes which fall into Krieg’s wings, Vax runs through the rubble as rocks follow around him, and Scanlan’s magic hand punches one that would have fell and crushed him. He quickly picks him up and throws him at the dragon.

“Scanlan’s hand!”

Vax jumps onto the dragon and runs his dagger down it’s neck and all the way to it’s throat, slicing it in one swipe. It splashes and sputters blood out, letting out a groan of pain.

Pike casts guidance on Vex, “Light him up Vex!” She shouts, as Vex promptly shoots several arrows at the now exposed throat.

Krieg falls to the ground in a fit of pain. “I will sunder your bones!”

“Look who’s nice and low?” Vex tells Grog, to which he sneers and runs towards Krieg.

“I would like to rage!” Grog shouts, now entering a state of absolute enraged blindness, moves closer and closer to Krieg.

Grog slams Krieg’s head into the cave floor and a large shock of electricity runs through the cave- in the death of the dragon.

The party looks towards Grog- who stands in front of Krieg’s sliced in half dragon head.

Grog groans with one eye closed, which probably got blood in it. “Uh. Is he dead?”

Keyleth laughs in relief. “We did that! We did that right?”

“It seems being a bunch of assholes has it’s merits.” Percy replies, just as relieved as Keyleth.

Still leaning against the rock you summoned the illusions on, you don’t notice when Vax sticks out a hand for you, as your eyes were closed and you were resting your head in pain.

“Come on. We did it, mostly thanks to you.” Vax speaks wholeheartedly to you, and you grab his hand with a weak smile, stumbling as you stand. He lets out a worried ‘oh’ and puts his hand around your waist as you put your arm around his shoulder- the same way Percy had caught you at your first encounter with Krieg. The two of you stumble back towards the party.

Grog pulls out the dragon’s tooth.

“Souvenir?” Scanlan asks.

Grog laughs. “Proof we killed the scaley turd.”

“Huh. You know, you’re a lot smarter than we give you credit for Grog.”

“Yep. I’m a genius.”

The cave suddenly starts falling apart from around you, obviously shaken from the battle fought. A portal opens, and Vax quickly changes the way he holds you- sweeping you off your feet and running with you, an arm under your leg and an arm supporting your back as your arms wrap around his neck tightly.

“Exit strategy?” Pike shouts.

“Run!” Vex responds.

“Wait! The loot!” Scanlan runs, carrying several spell scrolls and piles of gold. He trips, and Keyleth quickly grabs him with her vines, throwing him through the portal.

Vax quickly flicks a coin into the cave. “We got him, kid.”

“Vax! Please, lets go!” You pull on him, trying to persuade him through the portal, sorry for interrupting the sweet gesture, but not keen on losing your life over a coin.

Walking through the portal, the party arrives back at the portrait. 

“Vax. You can put me down now.” You tell him, his grip on you still tight.

“Oh- Right. Sorry.” He responds awkwardly, realizing what he was doing as he delicately sets you down.

“You know it was just my head that hurt right? You didn’t need to pick me up- I’m sure I could have stumbled over.” You question him.

His face is powdered with only a faint blush. “Well.. there was no need to run that risk.”

.·:*¨༺༻¨*:·..·:*¨༺༻¨*:·..·:*¨༺༻

“Vox Machina,” Uriel’s voice booms through the room. “For your selfless heroism, I proclaim you all protectors of the realm.. And honorary members of the council of Tal’Dorei.”

The entire party widens their eyes in shock, but you smile. You could only hope this tale would be heard back to Envonium, and your parents would be proud of your journey thus far.. Of course, you would have to hope that you were considered part of Vox Machina first, but that will come with time.

“I know. I can hardly believe it myself.” The council laughs among themselves.

“Oh how I’ve missed respectability.” Percy sighs out.

“Oh how I’ve missed it!” You respond giddily, shaking him in the same way you did Vax, but this time with a huge smile on your face. It was nice to have something in common with someone in the party- and always nicer for it to be a childhood friend. You go from shaking him to a tight hug with a small squeal of excitement. You let go quickly once Vex starts talking, still smiling.

“Yes, yes, yes, that's all fine and good but where is the-” Vex is interrupted as they place the thick, heavy, golden box in front of the party. “Ah. There we are.”

She opens it happily as Scanlan chuckles. “Payday.”

Their smiles disappear when they’re met with parchment and keys. “Keys? Parchment?” Scanlan questions. “Where's our reward?”

“You’re holding it,” Uriel responds. “They deed to your new keep- here in Emon. We need our protectors close at hand to, you know, protect.”

“Uh-huh. Uh, hypothetical question- if we sold it, how much do you think that.. Okay.” Scanlan stops talking when he’s met with the disgruntled faces of the council.

Vex takes the paper from Scanlan.

“Sister.. We have a home.” Vax says somberly.

“Wait till I tell my father! Oh, the Ashari will never believe this. I bet.. I’m ruining a moment right now aren’t I. Yep. I’m just gonna go over.. here.” Keyleth awkwardly walks away from Vax and Vex, and walks to you, where the two of you are practically(and literally) jumping for joy over your accomplishments, and how your people would react.

“As protectors, you must understand that the threat is far from over.” Uriel begins again. “We suspect Krieg may have been part of a larger plot. As such, I have arranged an important banquet to discuss the security of our realm. It’ll be quite delightful, really. We have a wonderful cook.”

“We trust you will all attend. In fact, several dignitaries should be on their way as we speak.” The blonde human council member beside Uriel explains.

I turn to Percy happily. “Do you think Envonium got invited? Ugh, it’s been forever since I’ve seen my auntie, father, and mother!” You list your family members happily, holding Percy’s hands in your hands thinking about it happily. He seemed to be uneasy from the conversation, so you quickly dropped it with a smile, and followed your party back to the dusty keep.

[queer-alienbean]

Jegulus fic!! much angst inspired by Lookalike by Conan Gray

600 words

“But when you look in his eyes

Do you think of mine?

And when you look at that smile

Do I cross your mind?

I know in your head

You see me instead

‘Cause he looks a lot like I did

Back then

Baby dont lie

He's just a lookalike”

Regulus tried to pretend. But he’d never been that great of an actor. He tried to fool himself, knowing it was helpless.

He couldn’t pretend it didn’t hurt. After he and James had broken up, after a tumultuous relationship of 2 years, he had locked himself in his room for days. His friends had practically had to drag him out of bed to go to meals and classes after a week. 

And through all of this, somehow someway, James had survived. No. he hadn’t even survived, he had thrived.

He won more quidditch games after they broke up, he seemed lighter, brighter. Regulus often caught himself watching James at meals, gazing at his smile and wondering why he hadn’t been able to be the cause of it. James laughed more now. And he never glanced at the slytherin table,

Well, almost never.

A month after Regulus and James broke up, James had hearts in his eyes again. And he and Barty announced their relationship to the group.

Barty.

Regulus’ best friend of 6 years, his confidant and the one he had cried to the most over the breakup.

Regulus hadn’t handled the news well, screaming and crying and throwing things at Barty. Evan had to restrain him, holding him and telling Barty to leave the dorm.

The weeks following, Regulus slipped into a routine. Avoiding all human interaction entirely, he hardly went to meals- choosing to visit the kitchens in his breaks and late at night.

He kept his grades up, not wanting to face his teachers’ worry. He spent almost all of his time in the library: reading, drawing, sleeping, journaling, anything to keep his mind busy.

Because he was afraid of what he thought when he had the time.

What if Barty was better than him? What if Barty and James had been together even while Regulus and him were? What if Regulus just wasn’t enough? Or even worse, too much?

And, Regulus realized after a while, he actually missed James. He was still so in love with him that he had a hard time being angry sometimes. 

If Barty was what made James happy, then why couldn’t he be happy for him?

Maybe Regulus needed to move on, find someone new. He tried to go to parties, but everyone he attended, James and Barty were there. And those two always found a way to be the center of attention. 

Evan comforted him, knowing that though he and Barty had broken up a year before, he could somewhat sympathize with Regulus’ feeling of betrayal.

And when Regulus went home for the holidays, he accepted his parents rough teachings, he kept silent and let them think he would join them.

And when he ran away finally, no one had expected it. And no one knew where he went.

Regulus had escaped, he was free to live as he pleased, to think and breathe by himself without the eyes of others, the expectations.

When Regulus was older, laying in his bed alone late at night, he would think back to James and his relationship, wishing it had never ended but also so grateful it had.

“And I'll admit that I

Sometimes, maybe, might

Think about you at night

No matter how I try to hide

And erase you from my mind

I’m dying

To find a lookalike”

[strwberri-milk]

Hi there! ^^ Can I request Zhongli/Kaeya/Dainsleif (separately) x artist reader headcanons? I’m not sure if it was once requested, if so just ignore it

Also if it’s too much characters just pick two

Zhongli is appreciative of basically anything. He loves to learn, and also loves to give his knowledge to people. One thing he hasn't done for a while is draw or paint. He's just never really had the time to explore the field, but he does love watching people paint or trying to figure out what the image is trying to convey.

He happened to come into your studio one day, planning to drop something off for you. You'd never really invited him in as you never found a reason to and he never pried into this part of your life. He felt that you'd let him in when you were ready.

When he knocks on the door you quickly run over to let him in, smiling brightly despite the paint that stained your face. He comes inside, trailing after you as he drops off the supplies he noticed you forgot in the morning. You thank him with a kiss on the cheek and get yourself set up again with the supplies you were missing.

He finds a seat you leave for models when you require one, curiously glancing around at your works. When you ask him what he's looking at he starts to point at specific ones and ask you questions about your process and inspiration. You find yourself talking incredibly animatedly about your process, not even noticing the enamoured look in his eyes as you talk at him. He's making mental notes to see if it'll help him plan out future gifts to buy you.

Dainsleif travels a lot, so he definitely sees very many scenic landscapes. With the creation of Kameras he was able to record them and bring them back to you to see, something you really appreciated. You don't think you'll ever be able to see the sights he does, so being given the photos whenever he returns is something you always look forward to.

He's known that you create for a living, almost wishing that he could settle down and do something so human. Spending his days creating might be something he could find himself enjoying, but he's got a responsibility to maintain.

One day, you take out a sketchbook that looks a little bigger than he would expect it to. It was almost the size of you and before he can ask you what's in it you start flipping through the pages, showing him some of drawings you did of the photos he gave you. Each of them has something he distinctly doesn't remember photographing, focusing more on them as each drawing continues to host them.

Finally, he realises that it's the two of you. Every iteration he's holding you, and the two of you are just enjoying each other's company. He gets a slight pang in his chest at the thought that you miss him so much you resort to drawing him, but he also can't help admiring the way you draw him. The way you see him is so sweet, Dainsleif melting a little.

He loves your works a lot, and asked if he could have some smaller prints to carry around. They help remind him that there's someone waiting for him to come home, folding the sheets of canvas carefully to avoid their ruin during fights or perilous conditions.

Kaeya is a little annoying but in the most endearing way. He loves seeing you draw, or looking at the finished products if you don't like having someone watch your creation process. He does get a little antsy if he can't watch, but he's very good at giving you your space and being ready to wait for the final product.

He's your biggest fan, proudly displaying your drawings around his office. Whenever people ask him who made them he always directs them to you, recommending that if they've ever wanted to get some artwork done you're genuinely one of the best people to consult.

Your confidence is really bolstered thanks to his constant praise and support, feeling better to experiment or create things you normally wouldn't. It leads to your portfolio diversifying wildly and you loved it all. Of course you still had your favourite way to paint but that doesn't mean you didn't like the experimentation part of it.

Sometimes, you like to ask Kaeya to model for you. He's great at doing so, totally working his angles and giving you looks that make your heart melt. It can be a little distracting at times but it's all worth it whenever you see the soft look he gets in his eyes when you show him the finished product.

He loves seeing himself through your eyes. You always draw him in such an ethereal manner, almost unrecognisable to him at times but he knows that it's him because whenever you draw him your pieces always take on a different quality. He can feel the love you have for him, and he won't admit it but he keeps every single rough draft you give him of him. They all remind him that you love him, and when he's having a really bad day just a glance at them can make it all better.

[five-rivers]

Apologies for the long gap! If you follow me, you know it's because I went nuts with Jackdaw on a long oneshot this past week. But, in any case, here is the next part of my pollfic, the previous part of which can be found here.

.

His impulse to approach the light was getting stronger.  He needed to be somewhere else when it finally got too hard to resist.  If that meant taking some risks, so be it.  

There weren’t any places for him to land that would give him good access to the ceiling, so he was going to have to fly in human form.  Joy.  

He flew up, tracing out a jagged pattern to avoid the silent ghosts, high enough to touch the ceiling.  He gritted his teeth, focusing.  

Now.  

His rings strobed over him, far brighter than usual, blindingly bright, and then–

Apparently, the applied alterations functioned even in his human form.  He wasn’t– He didn’t–

Humans didn’t generally have wings.  They didn’t have the internal structures for it.  These wings hadn’t been grown in his human form.  

He lost focus.  

He fell.  

It wasn’t the first time he’d fallen from a height in human form.  He caught himself long before he was in danger of hitting the ground.  But now he was near the ground again.  Nearer the ghosts chasing him.  

Darn it.  

He darted back up, but now he couldn’t spare the time to brace himself to transform.  He’d have to rely on momentum to carry him through the ceiling.  Higher, faster, the light was close enough behind him to burn his eyes even as it drew them in.  The mosaic decoration of the ceiling blazed in the illumination.  

He changed.  

Still going up.  Up.  Through.  

He fell hard on a floor inches under him, and slid into a nearby bookshelf at speed, knocking it over.  It, and several others, falling one after another like dominoes.  The last made a horrible, huge crash, and then the library was silent again.  Danny cringed at the mess.  He’d have to apologize.  A lot.

(He couldn’t stay to clean it up, he told himself, even if his Obsession itched at him to do so.  Priorities.)

Uncertainly, he got to his feet.  He wasn’t glowing nearly as much as he had been in ghost form, but he was still glowing, and it made him feel dizzy.  The way his clothes hung off his much-reduced frame added to the disorientation.  

Carefully, he pulled off his t-shirt, freeing his wings.  Like this, they didn’t hurt so much.  

“You might have better luck sneaking this way,” said Dad.  “But… you usually aren’t affected in human form, too, are you?”

Danny held his hand in front of the camera and tilted it back and forth.  It depended.  Sometimes he just didn’t know, too, because he stayed in ghost form the entire time.  

Off to one side, at least several rows over, light grew, like a slowly approaching sunrise.  Danny must have been nearer an actual set of stairs or other opening than he’d thought.  

He forced himself to look up rather than at the increasingly attractive light.  If he transformed now, the flash of light would draw the attention of anything with eyes, but the ceiling here was too far away for him to reach in human–

The sound of something shifting in the pile of fallen books and shelves was like a gunshot going off in the silence.  Danny could almost feel the attention of the light turning his way and approaching.  

He should run, but… something about that sound…  

It happened again.  Something shifting under the pile.  As if someone had been trapped there and was trying to get out.  

There were lots of people in the library that had nothing to do with the fight between Danny and the silent ghosts.  It was far from impossible for one of them to have been down here, browsing the lower shelves.

Could Danny run, and leave them to face the quiet ghosts themselves?  Could Danny take the risk of staying and searching, not even knowing if anyone was there?

(Could he keep his focus on anything but the light?)

[darkk-academic]

Tease

[Part I] [Part II] [Part III] [Part IV] [Part V]

[Morpheus x F!Reader]

Summary : Morpheus teaches you the craft of sculpting dream.

Warnings : None.

"Let me teach you."

You have been trying to adapt to your role as a dream-shaper, but all in vain.

How can anyone expect you to just be good at it?

How can he? The King of Dreams.

You were human one moment and bam! A man—ethereal in his beauty—comes knocking, spouting out about shapers, and dreams, and nightmares, and suddenly, you are nothing you thought you were.

Still. Still, you tried.

For weeks, you tried to adapt yourself to life in the dreaming—not that he was any help at all—bless Lucien and Matthew for being so understanding.

And what did he do?

Snapped at you.

Why?

Because you weren't an adept shaper in three weeks.

You're just so…so overwhelmed.

And now, now he comes after two months of silence, proclaiming he'll teach you.

He stands tall in the empty training room inside the Dream castle—the one the Dreaming itself constructed for you—looking sublime in his entirety.

The sunshine filters through the stained-glass window, changing colours, shining down on him.

The fetching view does nothing to quell your anger.

"No, thanks," you scoff.

Deliberately obvious in your ignorance of his gaze, you start to walk around him, towards the door.

Nimble fingers curl around your wrist, halting your escape.

"I have been made aware of your troubles," he starts, voice a touch hesitant, like he isn't quite sure of his words. "I must elucidate that my intention had not been one of malice, nor was it my desire to wound your heart so."

You swallow hard. He makes it so hard to stay angry. How does he do that?

"I'm trying," you say. "I truly am." You turn, peering up at him. "But it's so hard, and it's awful every time I fail. I can't measure up to—" your voice cracks.

Tears finally escaping the cage.

Morpheus draws himself closer to you. Hand coming up, he cups your face, thumb brushing under your eye.

"It is I who should be trying. It is entirely my responsibility. And I apologise for I have failed you."

There's shame in his eyes, it tugs at your heart.

"If you can find it in yourself to let me amend my mistake. Kindly, let me teach you."

"I'm still not hearing I'm sorry in that speech." Pretty eyes or not, does he think he can avoid that by his eloquent speech? Nuh huh, tears in eyes, snark on lips, that's you.

For a split second, he appears baffled, but then he nods. Bowing his head slightly, he looks at you. "I apologise for the distress I have caused you, I, with no protest, take complete accountability of my… impetuousness."

You offer him a silent stare, wanting him to squirm under your gaze the way everyone does under his, but all he does is quirk a questioning brow.

Clearing your throat, you glance away. "Apology accepted."

"And… the lessons?"

Lessons from him might just be what you need. Who can teach the craft of dreams better than the Dream King?

Gaze flicking in his direction, you flash him a small smile. "And lessons."

•••

You take it back.

You don't need lessons from him.

Not because he is a terrible teacher, quite the opposite, in fact, he's absolutely terrific.

You, on the other hand…

You are a poor excuse for a student.

A student with a pathetic, hopeless crush on him.

"Morpheus, I don't need your lessons," you practise. Nodding at yourself.

And then you enter the training room with a deep fortifying breath.

Your breath leaves in a whoosh.

The windows on one side are wide open today, letting the golden sunshine in. It entangles along the lining of Morpheus's skin, it's as though he's sun sewn into being.

This is torture.

"Hello," you say, voice hoarse.

He turns to you, inclining his head in greeting.

"We will be shaping a dream—"

"Morpheus," you cut him off.

He pauses. "Yes?"

Morpheus, I don't need your lessons.

Inhaling sharply, you push yourself to speak. "I—this…that is—"

Sensing your distress, with long strides, he closes the distance between you two.

His eyes go soft as they peer down at you. "Is something the matter?"

Morpheus, I don't need your lessons.

Lips parting, dumbfounded, you stare at him.

Calling your name, his hand hovers near your face. "Is there something you wish to say?"

Morpheus, I don't need your lessons.

"Morpheus, I need you," you blurt out. Mortified, your eyes widen. "Lessons! Your lessons, that is." You nod vigorously. "I need your lessons."

"I said as much," he replies. Walking towards the centre of the room, he peers at you over his shoulder. "Come."

"What?"

He quirks a brow. "To shape the dream."

"Oh," you sigh. "Of course, to shape the dream."

Dreaming, if you love me, open the ground beneath and let me sink. Please.

•••

You're going to combust.

Standing with your back to Morpheus's front, his hands stretched straight along with yours, fingers twining with yours, open palm sculpt the base of the dream.

Well, trying—

"To bring a dream to life, you must feel," Morpheus explains. "Envision the heat of your emotions rising, can you?"

You feel it, the heat of his breath at your nape. Your fingers twitch the wrong way.

—And failing.

His hand comes up to curl around your neck. "Focus," he commands.

His fingers graze your bare arm as his hand trails down to its previous position.

Sweet lord…

"—are you quite alright?"

You blink, flushing red. "I—I'm sorry, what were you saying?"

"It appears you are having some trouble hearing."

"Oh yes," you agree, anything to escape embarrassment. "Maybe the room is feeling mischievous today?"

Which could very well be true. The dreaming in its entirety is conscious, and has a habit of playing with its inhabitants.

He hums, the vibrations reverberate from his chest to yours.

You want to bang your head against a wall.

"Very well. I will accommodate you better, then."

Say what.

Something soft brushes near your ear, making you jump.

Morpheus's hand squeezes yours assuring. You still.

His chin comes to rest on your shoulder. Silken hair brushes the side of your cheek, you bite your lip to keep a gasp down.

"Alright?" He whispers by your ear, a tingling arises there, warm and caressing it trickles over to the line of your throat, down to your heart, and lower still to your belly.

You suppress a shudder.

"Mhm," the sound that leaves your mouth is akin to a wounded puppy's whine. Your eyes dart around, desperate to find something to distract you from the ever rising heat.

You catch sight of Morpheus and you in the window. The image of it does not help your case, him and you pressed together, his hands coverings yours give the impression of him caging you in—

Please…

And then you see.

The slight curl of Morpheus's lips.

Oh.

He knows what he's doing.

Letting your gaze go hooded, you turn your head towards him. Nose grazing his cheek, you push your back into him ever so slightly.

His breath hitches.

Teasing, your lips brush the corner of his as you rasp, "Alright?"

Game on.

………………………………………………………………………

A/N :

Wanted to see whether I could write chemistry between two people.

Not sure if there's chemistry in this one or not.

Hope you guys enjoyed this.

Thankyou! ❤️

[rocknroll7575]

What happened!?

Jaune and Cardin were scared out of their minds as they were face to face with Adam Taurus.

However, quickly coming out of his fear, Jaune acted and grabbed Crocea Mors and swung it at Adam, however, the hit didn't land. As a matter of fact, Jaune's entire right hand was missing.

Cardin was in shock, "JAUNE!" Cardin cried.

Jaune wanted to cry in pain, but he grits his teeth and holds his pain in as he sees Adam grab his sword and acting quickly, pushes Cardin out of the way, thankfully, making both avoid Adam's attack.

Adam was impressed that Jaune had noticed his second quick draw.

"Jaune! Are you ok!?" Ozma cried in his head.

'I'm fine! But we need to get out of here!' He cried.

"Let me at least regenerate your hand!" Omza cried.

'Not now!' Jaune cried in his head. Jaune then turned his head to Cardin, "Cardin! Get out of here! Tell the other teams that the White-Fang is here!" He cried.

Cardin looked baffled, "What!? No way! I ain't leaving you behind!" Cardin cried.

Jaune glared at him, "For once just listen to me!"

Suddenly, Adam appeared in front of Cardin with his hand on his sword, ready to cut Cardin in half, however, jaune rushed forward and put his shield in front of his teammate, however, instead of blocking the attack, Jaune only managed to get his shield cut in half, along with getting all of his fingers cut off.

"JAUNE!" Ozma cried

Cardin was in shocked that Jaune had saved his life for a second time but also saw just how badly he was injured.

Jaune didn't slow down despite the large amount of pain coursing through his body, he charged at Adam and wrapped his arms around the bull faunus and pushed him back.

"RUN!" Jaune cried.

Not knowing what else to do but follow his leader's orders, Cardin turned around and ran back to town to tell the others what was happening, leaving Jaune behind.

Adam was unfazed by Jaune's attempt to hold him back, and simply kneed Jaune in the stomach, hoping to get the blonde to budge, but Jaune didn't.

"Stubborn human," Adam said.

Adam's sword glowed as he raised his sword up and turned it around before plunging it down into Jaune's right side, making the blonde teen shake as he felt the sword go through his body and cough out blood.

"Jaune! Brothers! Let me take over!" Ozma cried with worry.

However, Jaune didn't budge.

Adam began to get annoyed and he quickly pulled his sword out and with his other hand, he grabbed Jaune by the back of his armor and threw him into the tree.

Jaune struck the tree and then fell to the ground, coughing up blood as he lay there.

Adam turned to him with an expressionless face. "I'll admit, you were brave, human, but very stupid to take me on," Adam said. "However, because of your bravery and sacrifice to save that coward who ran away, I'll make your death quick," Adam said.

Jaune slowly got up and sat against the tree, and as he did, he couldn't help but think about how he was going to die, how this was the last moment on Remnant.

"I-I was full of myself..." Jaune told himself. The young blonde then sniffled as tears began to form in his eyes. "I-I thought I had gotten stronger! I thought I was strong enough to live my dream! But I'm still so damn weak!" Jaune cried, finally letting tears fall.

Adam walked forward, ready to kill the blonde with a single strike., because, despite his hatred for humans, he wasn't cruel, he would not torture a human for some sick pleasure.

Jaune however, got up, even as tears still ran down his face. "Ag! I-I don't wanna die!" He sobbed, "B-But I'm gonna... I'm gonna die..." Jaune sobbed out.

"No... I won't let that happen..." Ozma cried.

Suddenly, a green glow covered Jaune for a split second and that's when Adam was confused as to what happened, but also noticed a shift in the blonde's behavior.

Ozma had forcefully taken over Jaune's body and he glared at Adam as he quickly regenerated Jaune's fingers and hand. "You're gonna pay for what you've done... Adam Taurus!"

Adam was surprised by the different voice coming from the mouth of the blonde and in a split second, Ozma appeared in front of Adam and punched Adam in the gut, knocking out all of the air in the Faunus's lungs.

Adam was then sent flying through a few trees before Jaune appeared right next to Adam and grabbed Adam by the horns and pushed his face into the ground.

Ozma let go of Adam and stood over him as he glared down at the terrorist. "Don't move... not even an inch..." Ozma told Adam.

Adam didn't listen and tried to get up only to be punched in the chest, Adam swore he felt something crack.

"I thought I told you not to move!" Omza growled.

Adam glared at the blonde through his mask, 'What the hell is this!? Where did this human suddenly get this strenght!? How did he even heal thise injuries!?' Adam thought

Ozma didn't let up as he then grabbed Adam by the horns once again and with all his might, bashed his face into a tree, breaking the Bull Faunus's mask and knocking him out cold.

Ozma wanted to punish the Faunus more but stopped and calmed himself, and quickly grabbed Crocea Mors and with his magic, fixed Jaune's shield while disposing of Jaune's old hand.

"Alright, everything is fine now, you can switch back, Jaune," Ozma said.

No reply came.

"Jaune?" Ozma called out.

Again, no reply came.

Ozma began to worry, "Hey! Can you hear me!? Take back control!" Ozma began with a worried tone. "This isn't funny Jaune! Switch with me!"

Once more... no reply came.

"Jaune...?"

[sochawrites]

Here I am again, with another request! So Yautja x gn! S/O, where the reader fights like this guy in this video. Oneshot or Headcanons you choose.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tkJXiRmRSCo

Synopsis: it has been a while since you moved to the Yautja’s spaceship with your new alien boyfriend, all of the Yautjas have been mean towards both of you, since your boyfriend is warrior who fell in love with a mere and powerless human. But there is one Yautja that made you finally snap! You challenge him into a knife fight! Your boyfriend tried to intervene, but little did he know that you are great in combat! With your interesting movements and fight style.

You can choose if it’s going to be a draw or the reader wins.

Feel free to ignore for being too confusing.

Thank you!

I'm sorry it took so long! qwq I have to get back into the mind space I had and it's not as easy as I thought...

Hope you'll be satisfied with what my head chewed up!

The Rasputin style (HCs)

Yautja x GN! reader

For those curious, here's the vid

You were supposed to stay on the ship

But 'supposed' never cut it with you, not when there was an infinite quantity of vast worlds you could explore

So there you were, currently on Yautja Prime, once again, trailing close behind your mate 

After you had to promise and swear on your life to not provoke other yautjas, and to keep a low profile

You were on thin ice ever since you met another one of his species, and you didn't even get to make a proper impression! 

They were quick to judge you based on the fact that you were human, a species not even worth the time and effort to hunt most of the time

Sure, there were some exceptions, but they had a lot more than just another yautjas word to back up their skill 

Although, you were content with the rules 

You were the intruder here, after all, you and your mate breaking the long-set rules his race lived by for centuries, you'd probably get the same looks if you ever went back to Earth

If only looks were the only thing you received

You were with your boyfriend long enough to learn their body language, to know that they were laughing at you

And at your mate as well, presumably

He noticed it too, but he didn't react, just to keep his face, a sense of dignity

So you let it slip as well

Until their remarks got verbal

You were prepared for a lot and ready to let plenty of things slide, you didn't want to cause any trouble for your boyfriend, but you had to draw the line somewhere

So you turned around and ran your mouth, more or less calling out one of the loudest ones for a fight

You were kind of glad you didn't get to see the flashes of emotional turmoil on your partner's face

The mix of fear, confusion, anger, disappointment...

Yeah, you didn't need to see that, you had a lecture coming your way either way

You spilt your mind, hoping they had their translator on, not realizing a crowd started to form

And two sharp razors were glistening in the sun soon after

Good thing you noticed those

You swiftly moved out of the way and circled the attacker

Well, danced around them really

They were slow to turn around, giving you enough time to pull out your own weapon

The confusion was quite evident on their face

They growled and charged at you 

And you twirled around, again, leaving a little cut on your opponent's side behind as a warning

A warning they didn't head

You hold back, for the most part, they had a physical advantage after all, but you managed to avoid getting hit, along with slashing them here and there when you got an opening

You twirled, and jumped in an expressionistic manner, working up your opponent, exhausting them and slowing them down

You might have been lucky with them being young blood, more experienced fighters would not let your movements deceive them so easily

You caught a few looks at your mate during the fight, he looked quite disappointed, which was understandable, you broke a promise after all

But the fight had to come to an end at some point, and ending it without a winner wasn't an option, you were not going to try and break the honour codex, it was you who challenged them after all

So you waited and waited until your opponent's movements started to get sloppy

These fights were meant to be a life-and-death situation

They finally fell to their knees, and two options open for you

Slow and painful

Or fast and painless

They were not very nice to you, sure, but that wasn't enough to let them bleed out

So you chose fast and painless

You twirled for the last time, getting enough force in your movement to lent the final blow, and slice the other's head right off with your blade

Looking around at the crowd, they all looked baffled, bamboozled

Humans were a weird race

You tiptoed back to your partner, an innocent smile on your lips, and embraced his arm

"So, where were we going?"

He ruffled at your hair, patting it at the process with his free hand, clicking slowly with his tusks

He might not be angry, he certainly wasn't happy with you, but he was certainly proud you were able to stand your ground against someone who wasn't him