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

[thegreatbuttoneer]

There are reasons I refer to myself as The Fool.

[bunnis-monsters]

The Dragon Prince, in need of a mate

Dragon Prince x Fem!Reader

summary: After a desperate search for his mate, the dragon prince leaves the celestial realm to drink away his sorrows, only to find the person he was looking for in a commoner. You.

warning: breeding, mating, lots of cum, scenting, he fucks you in his dragon form

WK: 10k words

The sounds of heavy footsteps echoed down the palace halls, a growl leaving the throat of the celestial dragon prince.

It was tiring, looking for a bride every day. Not a single woman had been the right one for him… how would he ever be king without a mate?

It made him both angry and strangely… lonely at times. Everywhere he turned there seemed to be a happy couple. Noblemen and women lounged together, being fed grapes or massaged. Even when his eyes glanced towards the common folk, he would spot lovers holding hands or sharing a secretive kiss while serving the palace.

It was enough to drive a dragon to drink.

So while everyone celebrated in the palace after another boring day, the prince transformed into a more suitable appearance, taking on the form of a beautiful nobleman.

He assumed it would be enough to stay under the radar, unaware that his beauty and elegance would draw the attention of every maiden at the bar.

Leaving the celestial realm to dine among humans wasn’t exactly forbidden, but it was looked down upon for higher beings such as himself to dine amongst the common folk, hence the disguise.

Though, with his antler-like horns and claws, there was no doubt he was a being from the celestial realm.

As he walked through a quaint town, people stopped to stare, often with mouths agape.

He didn’t notice, eyes transfixed on the ground. All he could think of at the moment was finding something to drink his sorrows away.

In the distance, he saw the glow of warm lighting coming from a small tavern.

‘Perfect. Seems like a place the common folk gather. I should fit in well enough.’

Though he thought this, the second he walked in the bustling tavern grew quiet, all eyes on him. This wasn’t picked up by the prince, and he continued towards an empty table.

After getting comfortable, his mind began to wander. Life at the palace had been… stressful as of late.

He was used to the rumors, even used to people fearing and avoiding him. But what was unusual was his own insecurity in his heart.

Why hadn’t he found a mate yet? Part of him wandered if there was something inherently wrong with him. Although he hadn’t made much time to truly search out his soulmate, it shouldn’t have been so hard.

He was a prince… yet when he looked at the scars on his body that wouldn’t heal, he felt like a failure.

Weak.

As he sulked, he didn’t even notice that a glass of wine had been placed in front of him. What made his head snap up was the sound of a soft voice.

“Are you alright?”

He looked up, eyes wide as your smell hit his nose. That scent, the way it made his body react…

The woman before him was plump, your eyes giving him a soft and concerned look as you held the empty serving tray to your… ample chest.

It took him a moment to register your words. You glanced at him and then back at the bar, a nervous smile on you face.

You had never interacted with such a handsome man that was clearly of a higher class than yourself. Was it disrespectful to speak out of turn?

Your heart was kind and gentle, so you couldn’t help but speak up when he looked so down.

Once your words fully registered in his mind, he cleared his throat. This was all too much. For several months, nearly a year he had been halfheartedly searching for his mate, and here you were, in a random bar in the human realm.

His eyes moved from your face and down your body, taking in your features. Again, you were plump, with heavy looking breasts, a soft belly, and the outline of thick thighs and hips he could see through your dress.

A perfect mate.

The prince finally looked up, studying your face. Chubby cheeks, a soft smile, pretty eyes…

He had never put much thought into what his mate would look like, but now that he had seen you, he knew that this is all he could ever want.

“I’m alright… another glass, please.”

As you walked away with a flushed face, he downed his glass quickly to try and calm his racing heart. Gods, just the scent of you was enough to have him struggling to control himself.

“Here you are…”

You placed another glass in front of him, smiling shyly as he took it. He was handsome, regal and nearly lit up the room with his beauty. Everyone could tell he was not of this world, and you felt beyond honored to be the one who got to serve such a special man.

But in his mind his thoughts were far from graceful. His eyes didn’t leave your figure, continuing to glance at your hips and soft belly. Both features were absolutely perfect for breeding purposes…

“My dear, what is your name?”

You blinked, taking a moment to process his question. In all honesty you had been completely distracted by his beauty that you zoned out. This was so embarrassing, your cheeks heating up as you struggled to answer.

“M-my name? Oh it’s (Name)!” you babbled out, covering your mouth afterwards. Oh no, you probably sounded way too eager!

He just smirked, taking your hand and placing a kiss on the back of it. “(Name)? That’s lovely… (Name).”

Your name being said by such a handsome man had your body feeling hot. This man was looking up at you with an air of confidence that had you flustered, your eyes unable to look into his.

Was it disrespectful to not answer? He was most likely a noble…

“Th… thank you, sir. It’s just a common name, I’d say.”

He reached out and cupped your cheek, his large palm warm against your face. “Perhaps, but it’s a name I will never forget.”

Your cheeks flushed at this, and you looked up at him through your eyelashes. That alone was enough to have his pants tighten.

The two of you exchanged longing glances throughout the night, and when your shift was ending, he stopped you before you could leave.

The dragon prince stood, his full height dwarfing you completely. “Come. Let us find somewhere quiet.”

Though you had always been warned by the tavern owner to never follow a guest outside, you were transfixed by his confident smile and intelligent eyes.

As he led you outside, his form seemed to almost… shift slightly. Though he still appeared mostly human, his horns grew longer and teeth sharper.

The moon shone down on them, their breaths coming out in white puffs. It was cold enough for you to shiver, but soon you were warmed by his embrace.

“It’s quite chilly at this time of night, is it not? Stay by my side.”

He led you through the night, the only light that of the shining moon. When it was covered by clouds, he still had no issue guiding you around uneven terrain and the occasional tree root.

It was then you realized there was no way he was human. You had your suspicions before, but it wasn’t uncommon for some human mages to take on animal features to help them with their magic endeavors.

This man, however, was no mage or lowly magical creature. You could tell by the way the moonlight enveloped his body, making him glow in the dark of night.

“What are your plans for me?”

Your voice was shaky, but you felt no fear. The trembling came from a sense of excitement and lust.

And he could smell how wet you were.

He didn’t answer immediately, instead lifting you over a puddle of water and setting you down on the other side.

The dragon prince paused after this, cupping your cheek as he took in your curious expression.

“I will take you on as a mate. From the moment I saw you, it was clear you were the one I have been looking for.”

He cleared his throat before he continued.

“I am the current celestial dragon prince. You will love a life of luxury and never be without…”

It was hard for him to speak when he could smell your arousal growing thick in the air, his own scent mixing in. “… will you be mine?”

Your body felt so warm, you wanted so badly to say yes…

But it didn’t feel real. He was bound to you of all people? You were a lowly tavern barmaid, born into a life of poverty. Nothing about you was inherently special and it was hard to comprehend anyone as beautiful as him wanting to spend his eternal life with you.

“You… are joking, right? Did you drink too much?”

The words coming out of your mouth felt wrong. You could feel the sexual tension in the air, yet your mind wouldn’t listen to your body’s natural instincts.

“I do not joke about things as serious as this, my love. I am your mate, we are tied together by fate.”

He lifted your hand, kissing the back of it.

“How can I prove to you that I am serious?”

Before you could answer his form began to shift again, his hands becoming claws. It was getting even harder to hold back, and you were soon lifted into his arms.

“I can’t… hold back anymore… since I realized you were my mate, I’ve been dying to taste you.”

The world became blurry, your body growing hot and your head woozy as everything faded and shifted. Next thing you knew, the two of you were in an intricately decorated room.

You were set onto the softest bed you had ever felt, given no time to take in your surroundings.

He was already opening your thighs, sniffing at your clothed cunt. A groan left his lips, his long black hair tickling your sensitive thighs as he dipped his head between them.

“Gods, you smell delicious. Please… I must taste you.”

You swallowed when his nose rubbed against your inner thigh. The way he was looking up at you had your heart thumb ping rapidly in your chest.

“A-alright…”

Within seconds of your consent his claws ripped through your underwear and his face was buried between your thighs.

His tongue swirled around your clit, and all you could do was moan and hold onto his horns for support.

He grabbed hold of your hips, squeezing the soft fat and pulling you closer. Your pussy had already been drooling with need, and now you felt your arousal dripping down your thighs, his chin covered in your slick.

It was erotic, the sound of his grunts and groans filling the air with each lap of his tongue. You tasted divine, and he was losing himself in you.

Nothing else besides you mattered in this moment. All he could think of was how good it felt to have your thighs squeezing around his head. The moans you let out had his cock twitching incessantly, and he wouldn’t be able to hold back for much longer.

“Gods…”

He pulled back, looking at the wet mess your fat pussy had become. Your eyes were glazed over, your chest rising and falling as you struggled to catch your breath.

How many times have you orgasmed so far? You felt almost selfish, already wanting more from him after he just pleasured you.

“My sweet little mate, how do you feel now? My precious, you’re glowing.”

He almost purred when he leaned forward, breathing softly against your neck. You let out a content sigh, reaching up to play with his long black hair.

“Mmm… I’m feeling pretty tired, I’d say… I’ve been working since noon.”

He stiffened a bit at that, resting his chin on your head. The prince did not enjoy thinking about you working so hard. Even though he had only known you for a few hours, you were his mate.

“Well, my dove, do not worry your pretty little head anymore. You will work another day in your life. From now on, you will be pampered and taken care of… I guarantee it.”

Despite how his cock ached to be inside of you, he decided to wait until you were rested to properly mate with you. It would take more energy and leave you exhausted…

You fell asleep in his arms, feeling so warm and safe. How long had it been since you had been held? That last time you could remember was your childhood, when you were just a tiny thing.

He made you feel small, protected, and… so, so warm.

In the morning you awoke, stretching with a yawn as you sleepily stood to get ready for your job. It was strange, when you reached for your apron on your nightstand, you couldn’t find it.

That’s when you remembered the previous night.

Your face warmed immediately, and you barely held back an embarrassed squeal when you noticed the man groan tiredly, his face buried in your chest.

“Go back to sleep, love…”

It was too early in the morning for you to protest, and you haven't slept in since you were a child. It felt nice, getting to fall back asleep in his arms, his hair tickling your cheek.

You listened to his breathing, smiling sleepily. His sharp claws slowly ran through your hair, scratching gently at your scalp to lull you back into slumber.

The next time you woke up it was nearly noon. This was beyond embarrassing, even as a child you had only slept in this much when you were deathly ill. The prince still attempted to get you to stay in bed longer, but when you protested he huffed.

“Alright, alright… stubborn little thing, aren’t you?”

He snapped his fingers, servant girls appearing at your side immediately.

“Your highness,” they greeted, bowing before your bedmate. The prince waved a hand dismissively, rubbing his temple.

“Take my mate and get her a bath and some fresh clothes. Treat her well, she is your future empress after all.”

The servant girls bowed again, raising their hands. “Yes, at once.”

They led you away, and you could only look back pathetically as he lounged in bed, watching you go with a smirk. Your plump rear was certainly a nice sight, and your hips swayed deliciously while you were guided away.

He couldn’t wait to feel how warm your cunt was when he sank into you that night.

As you were led down the halls and into the bathhouse, you saw female royals and nobles alike being pampered by the servants. They were fed grapes, massaged, and even dressed.

You weren’t even sure if they had ever lifted a hand to take care of themselves your entire life. It left you feeling sour. Every day had been a struggle to even put food on the table, much less properly take care of yourself, and here these women were completely pampered to the point their skin glowed.

In all honesty you had never seen yourself as anything special, but before you at least thought you could marry someone with a bit of wealth and settle down peacefully.

After seeing the beauties of the castle, you were left feeling… insecure. How could you ever compete with these gorgeous women?

Without much warning you were stripped down to your birthday suit. The servants weren’t rough, but they weren’t exactly gentle either as they helped you into the bath and scrubbed at your skin.

“Filthy, and you slept in the same bed as the prince. Have you no shame, human?”

You flinched as their nails dug lightly into your scalp. It was painful, but you dared not to make a sound.

“And those rags you wore… just disrespectful, I’ll say.”

Unfortunately, you agreed wholeheartedly, and wondered why such an elegant and noble person such as him dared to even touch you. After all, you had the entire day’s sweat and dirt decorating your skin and clothes.

Unbeknownst to you, the fact that you had been sweaty and strongly scented played a big part in his list for you. A mate was meant to smell like themselves, and to him you smelled absolutely divine.

You looked away in shame as you were rinsed off. Although you felt rather uncomfortable, the floral scent of the soaps and the quality didn’t go unnoticed by you. Never before had you had access to such luxurious toiletries. It was rare for you to have scented soap, but this moisturized your skin and made you feel like a brand new person.

“Worry not, we are well aware of the prince’s mating bond with you. Be you royalty or common folk, we will ensure you will look the part of a princess.”

With that, you were quickly dried off and moved along towards a dressing room.

As you waited in a small room, being told to water yourself, you could hear voices speaking softly nearby.

“Truly, one could even feel sorry for a common girl marrying that insane prince.”

“Oh, dear heavens, do not let any of the celestial royalty hear such things.”

“But I am not wrong, am I? I worry he will simply dispose of her when he is done. Even the humans know that the celestial beings here can do with them as they please and no one will bat an eye.”

You stayed quiet, simply staying near the warm hearth as you continued to dry off slowly. Of course you had heard rumors of the infamous deities residing within the celestial realm.

None of those rumors were good.

Despite feeling a bit nervous, you shook off their words. Even if you were to be tossed aside, you wanted to spend at least one day feeling beautiful and… loved.

If what this was could even qualify as love.

He had called you his mate, did celestial beings mate for life? You were human, it was something hard for your mortal mind to comprehend.

A mate… like a soulmate perhaps? Did that mean he thought the two of you were destined for one another?

Could that mean that none of this was natural, that you were bound together without much choice?

What if he was desperate for a mate and didn’t truly love you?

These thoughts swirled around your head as you were brought into the dressing room.

Before you, rows upon rows of dresses and different types of clothing you had never seen before hung on racks. A few servant girls were already waiting in front of a mirror, holding measuring tape.

“Stand here while we take your measurements.”

You held out your arms, cheeks hot as your naked body was put on display for various women. Their expressions were neutral, and they simply figured out what size you were before running off to fetch various clothing items.

This only added on to your stress.

“Your own personal wardrobe will be prepared shortly, but as the seamstresses are working, you will wear pre-prepared dresses.”

You were dressed in something elegant and flowy, a light blue and white in color. It was something you had never worn before, the fabric soft yet thick and warm.

“With a bit of work, you will be ready for the banquet tonight. For now, the prince is requesting your presence at his bedside once more.”

A servant girl led you way, and you heard the others discussing how to prepare your hair and makeup later in the evening.

You were not looking forward to that.

You were led back to the room you woke up in. The smell of incense wafted from under the door, the lavender and vanilla scent making you relax.

“Come in,” the prince called out after the servant girl knocked. After being ushered in, you slowly adjusted to the darkness of the room and opened your eyes.

He was laid out in the bed, taking in your new look with eager eyes. “Mmm… you clean up nicely, though I preferred your scent before.”

The prince gestured for you to join him in bed, and you quickly scurried to his side, shyly climbing in next to him. “What’s the reason for all this timid behavior? My tongue was buried deep inside of you last night, was it not? There’s nothing to be shy about.”

Your cheeks heated up once again, and you avoided his gaze. “S-saying things like that… isn’t it a bit inappropriate for a p… prince? Won’t they-“

He laughed, grabbing your chin and turning you to face him. “And you think a prince would care who hears him speaking to his mate as he pleases? You are mine, how I talk to you is no one’s business.”

The way he spoke made a shiver go down your spine. He was so confident… and you?

You were the daughter of a simple tavern owner, having no prospects other than hopefully marrying a decent man that would take good care of you.

Though you could feel your body yearning to be near him, almost instinctively drawing closer, you thought it was… strange.

Was the only thing connecting you to this beautiful man instinct? Though you ached when he looked your way, you couldn’t help but feel empty.

What other reason than being forced by fate would a man like him choose to be by your side?

You softened when the pads of his fingertips slowly slid down your side. He was gentle with you, though you had the feeling he wasn’t always like this.

“Come closer, I wish to hold you.”

Slowly you climbed to his side, melting into his touch when he cupped your chubby cheek.

The servant girls called him insane before, insinuating he was cruel and beastly.

But could someone with a touch this gentle truly hurt you?

“You look lovely. Perfect, I’d say,” he mumbled, burying his nose into your hair. You held onto his sleeve, feeling his horns lightly rub against you.

“… you call me lovely, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen a more handsome man than you.”

He chuckled, his chest tumbling pleasantly. “Am I? Darling, you’re going to make me blush.”

You could tell he was lightly teasing you, which led you to letting out an involuntary huff. This made the dragon prince’s laugh increase in volume.

“Oh? My little mate is pouting now? How cute.”

He tilted your chin up, taking in the way your chubby cheeks puffed out lightly, and how your lips pursed.

“Ahh, you’re going to be the end of me, darling. I can hardly control myself when you’re looking at me like that,” he purred, his voice almost a growl.

Before he could continue his teasing, there was another knock at the door. His demeanor shifted from relaxed and amused to irritated in seconds.

“Who dares to interrupt my time with my precious mate?”

You rested your head against his chest as a woman entered. She certainly was no servant girl, you could tell by the silk and thick wool she wore.

“Mother…”

He held you close, wrapping his arms around your body and tucking your head under his chin. It was almost like an animal protecting its young from a vicious predator.

The woman before you had icy blue eyes, dark hair, and pale skin. It was almost like she was looking into your soul, judging you from within.

Though she looked so different from the prince, he called her his mother…

“You are to report to your father within the hour with your… so called mate. He will be the judge on if this is an actual mating bond this time. You should hope it is, to save yourself the embarrassment.”

With one last look that could freeze hell itself, she turned away, a servant girl shutting the door for her.

You looked up to ask the prince about the woman from before, but he looked distant and cold himself. He stared at your soft body, caressing your cheek and keeping you close to his chest.

“… worry not about that hag, my love. She is not my true mother, simply a woman the emperor, my father has married.”

Though he told you not to worry, the way he held you was enough to have you tense.

The prince held you as if letting you go could only invite trouble… and you knew that woman was the reason for his uneasiness.

Walking with him through the halls made you feel like a princess. People bowed as you passed by, but you noticed others retreated out of fear. Though he kept up a cold facade, you could feel his grip tighten on your hand each time a servant or royal scurried away.

Her presence definitely had a profound effect on him.

He stopped before a massive door, so big it could easily crush you if it were to fall forward. Carved into the dark oak were images of what you could only assume was the banquet of the Chinese zodiac.

They danced and feasted all over the door, and in the center was a dragon watching over them all. The eyes of the dragon were encrusted with sparkling red jewels, and it almost felt like they followed your every movement.

The doors opened, relieving you of the dragon’s intense stare… only for you to come face to face with a real one.

“Father,” the prince acknowledged the dragon, bowing low before you blinked rapidly.

“F-father!?”

The dragon before you was easily the size of the tavern you worked at, if bigger. It sat on a (most likely) custom made thrown, glaring down at your with red eyes that matched the one from the door.

“Ah, your mate already sees me as a father. How cute.”

You stiffened as the dragon stood, causing the palace to shake. Everywhere you turned, people either continued on or stood politely nearby, completely… calm!?

So, trying to fit in, you bit the inside of your cheek and looked up, meeting his eye. You reached out your hand as he approached.

“It’s good to meet you, y-your highness. My name is (Name).”

The prince gave you an amused, incredulous look from the corner of his eye, but you could see the way the corner of his mouth twitched in panic.

The floor shook with the emperor’s laughter, his tail lashing behind him and knocking over a potted plant.

“My son, your supposed mate is quite funny. She offers me her hand like a commoner would, not surprising considering her upbringing.”

Though his words sounded rude, there was no malice behind it. He reached out one of his claws, and you shook it.

It took you a moment to register the cool feeling of his claw turning into the warmth of a human hand. He had shifted into a more humanoid form… and a handsome one at that.

Though he was older and taller, you could tell the resemblance to the prince. He was definitely his father, there was no doubting that.

“I assume this form may be less threatening to a human such as yourself. It may not seem like it, but I take no pleasure in frightening those who may become my family.”

His touch was firm, but not rough. The emperor moved away from you just as the prince’s arm wrapped around your waist and pulled you into his chest.

“Ah, my apologies, son. She’s yours, isn’t she?”

The prince’s appearance had changed slightly, his dragon features becoming more prominent. Dark scales appeared along his face and arms, his horns growing in size to the point they looked too heavy for his head.

It was clear he was incredibly protective of you, disliking his father being too friendly with his mate. It made you feel quite happy, seeing how worked up he got over a perceived threat.

Your fingertips lights caressed his cheek, and slowly he calmed down. His scales flattened out into smooth skin again, and he rested his chin on your shoulder.

“It’s alright,” you murmured, kissing his cheek. “Don’t fuss, everything will be okay.”

Something about you soothed his soul in a way no one else could. To anyone watching, it was obvious that you were his soulmate.

“It seems you have finally found the one, my son.”

Your hand suddenly grew hot, and you yelped as you held your hand up to see what was causing the sudden pain.

There was now a ring on your ring finger, the color of the stone the same as the prince’s eyes. On his hand was a matching band, encrusted with jewels that matched your eyes.

“I have recognized your mating bond as being valid. The wedding shall take place when the moon is full once more.”

The prince squeezed your hand, his thumb running over your new ring possessively. You could tell by the way he sniffed at you that he was eager to get you back to his bedroom.

Though part of you was thrilled to be tied to someone that made your heart flutter inside your chest… insecurities still lingered in your mind.

Did he truly love you? You’d only known him for 24 hours, there was no way he could… it all had to be because of your mating bond…

Right..?

Almost as if sensing your unease, the emperor chuckled. “My son, it seems you and your mate are eager to consummate this mating bond. Perhaps it’s time to show her your feelings.”

With that, he gave a nod to one of the deities lounging about nearby. “Begin preparations for the wedding… and tell everyone that interrupting the future emperor and empress tonight will bring severe punishments.”

The two of you were dismissed with a wave of the emperor’s hand, and your lover was quick to gather you in his arms and carry you back to his room.

“Father may be intimidating and married to the most evil bitch alive, but at least he can understand that the newly tied need privacy.”

You whimpered when his face nuzzled against your neck, your heart beating faster as he inhaled your scent.

“Gods… I’ll be mating with you before the banquet, I cannot hold back any longer…”

The second the door to his room was closed, his lips smashed into yours. He was desperate for you, his hands roaming your plump hips and holding on tightly.

“Your scent has been driving me insane… I need you, darling…”

You let out a whimper as he lowered you onto the bed, your thighs trembling lightly at the memory of last night. Pleasures unimaginable had been given to you, and you were sure that it would only get better now.

But…

“… are you sure this is what you want?”

His lips paused on your neck, his hands moving from your hips to your face. He held onto your chin, tilting it up to meet his face. “… what do you mean, my love? Of course I want you, we’re mates-“

“Is that the only reason!?”

His eyes widened when you raised your voice, the tension in the air so thick you could cut it with a knife. The past day you had been doubting his love for you, seeing it as only instinctual…

“(Name)… you don’t understand how much I adore you.”

You melted as he kisses your eyelids, his touch tender and affectionate. “From the moment I laid eyes on you, I knew that you were the one. Mating bonds are important, but that doesn’t mean I don’t love you outside of it. You’re kind, you make me smile and feel like…”

He sighed, his thumb caressing your cheek. “Let me show you something.”

The prince pulled back, and you felt your body ache when his warmth faded from your skin. He slowly disrobed, letting the expensive fabric fall to the ground.

His torso was littered with scars, long and jagged, all seemed to be caused by fighting. The prince didn’t meet your eye as he spoke.

“Most celestial deities heal wounds like these easily, but try as I might, these scars do not seem to heal. It is because… I am weak.”

He hung his head in shame, hair falling to hide his face. “How can I even think of taking care of a mate when I can’t even protect you? I’m-

You reached out and grabbed his hand before he continued. You placed your fingertips over one of his scars, shaking your head.

“Don’t say that…”

It was quiet, your touch soothing on his scarred skin. He shuddered as your traces each wound, every movement of your fingers tender and full of love.

“Having scars doesn’t make you weak, not at all… it shows you’ve survived so much… it’s evidence of how strong you are.”

The prince did not say anything, simply wrapping his arms around you and pulling you to his chest. All he could have ever wanted was his mate to accept him as he was, completely.

You truly were meant to be his.

“I need you, (Name), my love… my body burns with desire every time you touch me.”

He had waited long enough. Being so close to you had caused him to slowly enter an almost rut like state. If he couldn’t mate with you soon, he’d go crazy.

“Then I want you to have me… I need to be yours…” you said, leaning into his touch. His chest tumbled at your words, the scales from before coming back. This time it wasn’t out of anger, no, he was very pleased.

“As you wish, my love. I will make you mine entirely, just give me your trust and I will give you my heart.”

This time you initiated the kiss, much to his delight. Your arms wrapped around his neck, pulling him in.

A battle for dominance began, your tongues fighting but you gave in quickly. He was strong, and you wanted him to ravish you. You were giving yourself to him.

He was quick to shred through your clothes. The displeasure of such a nice dress going to waste only lasted for a second before you melted into his arms.

“Divine, just gorgeous…” he murmured, groping one of your breasts. “You’re truly the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen…”

He lightly tugged at one of your nipples, the other one sucked on lightly. His tongue swirled around the perky bud, his free hand moving downwards, towards your clothed cunt.

For a minute he rubbed you through your underwear, lightly circling your clit. His ear twitched when you let out a breathy moan, your hips bucking lightly into his hand.

His cock twitched, already erect and desperate to be inside of you. But he was a gentleman, and couldn’t bear the thought of potentially hurting his mate.

So he was gentle, removing your soaked underwear and prodding at your needy hole. “Look at that, someone is excited…”

“Says you…” you managed to get out between moans, feeling his fingers curl up and hit the perfect spot inside of you. “You’re spilling precum all over my thighs…”

He grinned, enjoying your back and forth banter. “Oh? Then perhaps it’s time to get on with it. After all…”

His head pushed against your cunt, eliciting a moan from both of you. “I don’t want to waste a single drop of my seed… it all needs to be inside of my mate…”

And then he penetrated you. At first it hurt, the stretch feeling uncomfortable, like you were being pulled apart. You’d never seen a human man naked, but you assumed he was bigger than average.

If you had to guess, you’d say he was around 8-9 inches long, and girty too. Taking him wasn’t easy, and he hated seeing tears well up in your eyes because of him.

Being inside of you felt heavenly. You were warm and tight, and he could cum just from being fully sheathed in your fat cunt… but he felt terrible for feeling so much pleasure while you were in pain.

“It’s going to be alright, sweetheart…” he murmured, one of his claws caressing your hips. “I’m going to be gentle, this pain won’t last for long…”

He peppered kisses along your neck, waiting patiently for you to calm down and for the pain to ease. The prince was well aware of the size difference between you and him, and that if he wasn’t careful during mating, his form could shift and grow larger, potentially harming you.

He was right, soon the pain began to ebb away, dulling until all you could feel was pleasure washing over your body. His cock twitched inside of you, and you arched your back.

“Ready?”

You nodded, your chest rising and falling as your breathing picked up. He could feel how wet you were, and began to move slowly.

The moan the movements of his lips elicited from you caused him to groan, his eyes flicking to your flustered face.

“M-more… please?”

Though there was part of him that wanted to make you beg and plead for more, he wanted to fuck you too much to pause and wait. They had all of the time in the world to make love, but right now he needed you desperately.

His hips slapped against yours as he picked up the pace, claws gripping so tightly that you could feel them piercing your skin.

But that light pain paled in comparison to the intense pleasure you felt as your velvety walls clenched around him in your first orgasm of the night.

“So good… so fucking good…”

He groaned into your neck, breathing your scent mixed in with the smell of sex in the air. The prince could have gotten drunk off of that alone.

Your head soon grew fuzzy with pleasure, and all you could think of was how good it felt to be absolutely ravished by your mate.

All thoughts of gentleness were thrown out the window as he threw one of your legs over his shoulder so he could push deeper inside. He watched as he cock moved in and out, covered in your slick…

When he came, you felt yourself being stretched, his cock swelling inside of you. So much cum was stuffed into your womb, your tummy full of his seed.

Something about being filled with your mate’s cum felt… right. Like it was the natural thing to do, he needed to stuff you full of his seed like a good mate should…

He stayed inside for a while, rutting against you even as he continued to cum. He didn’t want to leave your warmth…

But despite that, he was nowhere near satisfied… but despite your whines, he pulled out a moment later.

“… gods… don’t fret, my love… we can continue after dinner. Trust me, you’ll need your energy for tonight.”

He gave your clit one last teasing flick before pulling your soaked panties back over your cunt.

“Ah, my love… you’ll need another bath. I’ll fetch the-“

You held onto his hand, shaking your head. “I wanna… take a bath with you…”

In reality you didn’t want to be with those gossiping women again. The things they said about the prince upset you, and you weren’t sure if you’d be able to hold your tongue this time.

Even if some of the rumors might be true, your mate wasn’t some monster. He was kind to you, he yearned for acceptance in a world that deemed him weak for having scars.

“A bath with me, hmm? Can’t get enough of me can you?”

Though he was teasing you, it was clear the fact you wanted to stay near him brought the prince endless joy. “It seems my puppy knows where her home is already.”

This made you pout, and he cooed over you. “Oh, don’t make that face, I’m joking.”

With that he lifted you up, kissing your forehead. “Of course you can bathe with me. I’d rather not have anyone else see you covered in my seed anyways.”

You let him rinse you off, his hands lingering on your messy cunt as his cock fucked your thighs. You were both still feeling needy, wanting to fuck like rabbits, but were holding back.

It wasn’t easy, and you felt your cheeks grow warm over how much a whore you’d become in 24 hours. All you could think of was him sinking his cock inside of you again…

“Mmm…” he purred against your neck, rubbing the washcloth over your tits as his cock stayed nestled between your thighs. “I don’t think I’ll ever get used to your body…”

He gently squished your soft belly, playing with your warm and malleable fat. “So squishy, I love it so much…”

From one look around the palace you noticed most of the women were quite thin, so it was safe to assume he really had never been in the arms of a woman like you.

You were chubby, with thick thighs and an ample bosom. To just commoners, you were seen as a fertile woman that could handle childbirth without any problems.

And it seemed his dragon side went completely feral at that thought.

The two of you cuddled as you waited for the servant girls to bring your fitted dresses. There was a fluffy robe for each of you waiting on the freshly cleaned bed after your bath.

This was what being rich probably felt like. Being waited on hand and foot, not even having to tell someone to clean your cum and sweat soaked sheets.

With an embarrassed squee, you made a mental note to thank the women that had to clean that up later. It couldn’t have been an easy task.

A knock on the door caused you to look up. The servant girl from before bowed, walking in and offering her hand.

“I can dress you n-“

The prince pulled you back into his lap, growling lowly as his scales popped up all over his body. Even his face looked more reptilian than human.

“Don’t you dare touch her without my permission.”

You blinked in surprise, glancing up at him and raising an eyebrow. He seemed almost feral, and you could feel him rubbing against you, trying to make sure you were covered in his scent.

The servant girl was on the floor, trembling and holding her arms up to defend herself, which caused your mate to ease up. You could tell he felt guilty for lashing out at a defenseless woman, but he was on edge knowing you’d be seeing his stepmother again at dinner.

“… I apologize, I shouldn’t have yelled at you.”

His grip loosened on you, allowing you to feel all forward and help the woman up. “Get her dressed… then take the day off.”

You glanced back at him as the servant girl dressed yiu with shaking hands. It was clear he felt terrible despite the cold facade he had up. You knew you mate well, already able to tell when he was upset.

“My love…”

He perked up when you were fully dressed, your hair and makeup done to perfection. The prince’s tail slapped against the floor, his cheeks flushed a light pink.

“You’re gorgeous…”

When he realized how lovestruck he looked, the prince cleared his throat. His signature cocky smirk overtook his face once more, and he offered his arm to you. “May I escort you to the banquet, my princess?”

You gave him a fond smile, taking his arm. “It would be an honor, my prince.”

He escorted you to the banquet, barely holding back from grabbing your ass as his hand slipped to your lower back. You just smelled way too fragrant, making his cock twitch in his pants as he imagined being inside of you again.

“Welcome.”

The prince froze in place, his hand pausing on the small of your back as he met eyes with his father’s wife.

“Mother. Thank you for putting this together…” he said, his tail slowly wrapping around your lower half and pulling you close. It seemed his dragon features became more prominent when he wanted to protect you…

“I hope your little… mate knows proper etiquette. She will not embarrass me at this banquet. Having a commoner, a mere human peasant as a mate is already humiliating enough, so make sure you keep her in check.”

Your smile faltered, an uncomfortable silence falling over the two of you.

The prince’s jaw tensed up. “… don’t speak of her as if she is not here. Whether you like it or not, she’s my mate and I love her.”

Her face became even colder, her eyes narrowing. “You should watch who you’re talking to. I’m the empress, y-“

“And? (Name) will soon be the empress herself, so have some damn respect!”

His stepmother drew back, clutching her pearls. “I hope you know your father will hear about this!”

With that, she turned on her heels and left. You glanced at him, holding onto his sleeve. “… why does she treat you like that? You don’t deserve it…”

He huffed, crossing his arms. “It’s because I’m the son of a concubine. She hasn’t been able to birth a son for my father, meaning none of her children will be able to take the throne. It’s pathetic, and I’m not afraid of her anymore.”

He pulled out your chair for you, smiling fondly. “When I was a child, she used to terrorize me… but I have someone I need to protect now. I don’t have time to be afraid of some old hag.”

Before you could sit, he took your seat and pulled you into his lap. “Maybe it’s better if you stay close. She can be pretty vindictive. And…”

You felt his bulge rub lightly against you.

“We should have some fun at our own banquet, shouldn’t we?”

The table was filled with various foods, some you had never seen before, but everything smelled absolutely delicious.

There were deities taking seats all around you, some glancing your way but quickly turning when the prince bared his fangs. Not a single person dared to challenge him, not when his protectiveness was high due to mating with you for the first time.

The emperor and empress entered the banquet hall, and everyone stood besides you and the prince. He kept you seated on his lap, lightly moving your hips along his clothed erection.

The two took their seats, and the emperor waved his hand, causing everyone to sit as well.

“As you all know by now, you've all been gathered here to celebrate my son’s success in finding his mate. Now that he has one, the throne shall be passed down to him after the wedding.”

Whispers broke out among the dinner guests, some upset and others curious. You wanted to hide away, having everyone’s eyes on you made your heart race.

“Silence.”

Not a single peep could be heard when the emperor’s voice rang out in the banquet hall, echoing off the walls.

“I heard my son was disrespectful towards the empress. Was that right, my son?”

The empress stared down at the happy couple, her lip twitching into a sinister smile. The prince gave his father a nod.

“She bad mouthed my mate. If you were in my shoes, you would have done the same thing.”

Before the empress could retort, the emperor held up his hand. “I see. I hope my family can get along in the future. After all, my son will soon be the emperor.”

His eyes shifted towards the empress. “Some of you would do well to remember that soon, he will be the one in charge.”

The empress quietly seethed after that, and the banquet continued without a hitch. As you ate, he rubbed at your belly, his fingers occasionally brushing against your crotch.

He was an absolute horndog, needing you like a man dying of thirst needs water.

“We’ll be taking our leave now,” your mate announced once you both had your fill. He did nothing to hide his erection, lifting you into his arms.

“I hope you keep your promise to make sure no one bothers us, father.”

The emperor simply chuckled, waving the two of you away. “Go on, you won’t be disturbed.”

With every step he took towards your shared bedchambers, the prince became more beastly. It seemed it was hard to keep his human form when he was this needy for you.

The second you were both behind closed doors, his cock was already out of his pants and rubbing against your back, his hands trembling with excitement as he lifted your dress to stare at your drooling cunt.

“You need me, don’t you princess?”

His fingers dragged along your wetness, gathering up your slick before bringing it to his mouth. “I could taste you for hours…”

You felt his fingers pump in and out of you, and this time he wasn’t as gentle. He bit down on your thigh, leaving a few hickeys and bite marks along your soft flesh.

Anyone that saw you would know you were his, the prince would make sure of that.

Your brain was already starting to turn to mush, you weren’t sure if you’d be completely luciduribg this. It just felt so good, he was an expert at this.

His long, textured tongue lapped at your folds. It was almost like a cat’s tongue, just less rough, and it was replacing his fingers. That’s how long it was.

He tongue fucked you, his hands squeezing your thighs as he drew out your moans and cries, lightly smacking your ass when you squirmed. It was a gentle warning to stay still…

The prince wanted to enjoy his meal.

You came around his tongue, clenching as your hips bucked wildly upwards, and only then did he draw back and give you a lust filled look.

That’s when he slowly pushed his cock into you, the familiar feeling of you warmth making him melt against you. Nothing else had ever made him feel so at home, he only got this feeling when he was buried inside of your cunt. This was where he was supposed to plant his seed, and he had to breed you.

He rammed into you, moving his lips to your neck to suck and bite at you as he pounded your poor pussy.

But after a moment, he pulled out, his hand on your belly as he panted softly. The way you whimpered and begged for him to continue was endearing, but he had other things in mind.

“You’re mine… and I just can’t hold back anymore…”

His form frew, his cock nearly doubling inside as he became the closest to a dragon yet. Dark scales covered his body, massive arms at eaither of your sides keeping you caged underneath him. His scaly underbelly brushed against you,

Though his cock was intimidatingly big and would stretch you out to your limit, he knew he could fit it inside of you.

It throbbed, laying against your belly as he leaned forward to nudge his dragon head against your face in an affectionate and possessive display.

Though for a moment you felt fear seeing such a beast hovering over you, his eyes met yours and you relaxed. This was still the prince… and you loved him even in this form. Not despite it, no, you adored his smooth black scales that felt like cool river rocks and the warmth of his belly.

“I need you…” he murmured, his chest rumbling with a purr. “If… you don’t want this, I’ll-“

You lifted your hips, letting the top lip of his cock rub against your folds. He let out a growl, his hips snapping forward, and you felt him pushing in.

Even though the stretch felt like your virginity was being taken for a second time, you kissed his snout. “O want this…”

With your confirmation, he sunk fully in, giving you a moment to adjust before he began to move.

Moans and whimpers echoed through the room as your lover fucked you stupid. With each slap of his hips against yours, you saw stars.

Your tummy bulged with his cock, his claw running over the imprint. “You’re taking me so well, such a good little mate…”

His balls tightened, and he roared as he came inside of you for the first time that night. Hot, thick ropes of sticky cum shot inside of you, filling your womb and making your belly feel hot.

But he wasn’t done with you, not even close.

The prince turned you on your back, his teeth sinking into your shoulder as he mounted you, pounding your pussy at an animalistic pace. Your cunt clenched around him so perfectly, the fat flesh on your ass rippling with each powerful thrust.

A clawed hand reached between your legs, carefully rubbing at your clit. He loved the way you came around his cock, how you cried out for more even as you were stuffed to the brink with his cum.

“I know, my sweet, you want it all don’t you? Selfish little thing, but I love you all the same.”

He pushed your face into the pillow, growling and purring into your ear as he listened to your muffled moans. You were drooling, your eyes glazed over with pleasured tears, and his chest swelled with pride to know he was the one making you feel this way.

No one else could see you in this state. Your body bare and covered in your own cum, his beginning to drip out of your cunt. You were an utter mess, only able to moan and babble out pleas for more, and each time you did he fulfilled your requests.

After all, he was a good mate. You wanted him to touch you, to increase his speed, or change the angle of his hips so his cock hit the perfect spot? He’d do so in a heartbeat, all to please you.

The prince slumped over you, slowly reverting back to his humanoid form as he came inside of you again. You were worn out, and he could see your pussy clenching around nothing when he pulled out.

“Aww, still needy…”

He gathered up some of his cum, cooing softly as he shoved it back into you with his fingers, pumping them in and out. “Look at you, wasting all of this. Naughty girl, do I have to start all over again?”

The night was long, and every time you grew too exhausted to carry on, he used a bit of his power to rejuvenate you. Heated kisses were left along your bruised skin, a satisfied purr leaving his throat as he spotted some of the hickeys and bites he had given you earlier.

“You look so pretty, decorated with my marks. No one else would dare to even lay a finger on you, not when you’re completely covered in my scent and bites.”

He nuzzled against your neck as you sat on his lap, cockwarming him. The prince was kind enough to give you a break, though he couldn’t bear to pull out of you, even for a second.

The prince smiled fondly, rubbing his hand over your swollen belly. “You know… I’d be happy if you were able to carry my young, but I know there’s a chance it won’t happen due to our difference in anatomy.”

He nibbled softly on your neck and shoulder. “But I don’t care, you’re my mate regardless. Having children would be nice but it’s not a necessity.”

You sighed in relief. In all honesty, part of you had been afraid he would abandon you for another celestial deity if you could not produce an heir. You were only human after all…

His teeth grazed your jaw, but you felt no fear. “Mmm… I’ve only known you a day but it feels like an eternity. Perhaps that is what being soul bonded to someone feels like…”

“I feel that way too… it’s like we’ve always been together, or at least… we were meant to be.”

The two of you shared a kiss, one of his hands on your ample breast, squeezing the soft flesh as his tongue ran across yours.

Once you both were worn out and the sun had come up, he finally curled up in bed with you to rest properly. Binge again you felt almost like a newborn baby being held and protected, safe and warm. You were getting used to this kind of thing… getting used to being loved.

When you awoke with a whine, you were being carried away by the prince. He glanced down, giving you a quick kiss. “Quiet now, love. We’re going to escape for a bit. Let’s call it our early honeymoon.”

You let out a laugh, quickly shushed by your mate. “But we haven’t even married yet, love.”

The prince grinned. “Yes, but once we’re married I’ll have too many responsibilities to take care of because I’ll be emperor. Let’s enjoy our freedom until then.”

He leapt across a sea of stars, and you reached down to touch it. Bits of stardust clung to your fingertips, glowing brightly.

“There’s a hot spring, we’ll relax there for a few days… or until they notice we’re missing.”

The celestial hot springs were beautiful, and once you stepped into the water, you felt your body relax and melt. “Oh wow…”

The prince pulled you in, holding you in his lap. “B-but this isn’t the mixed bath, you shouldn’t-“

You were quieted when his cock nudged against you. The two of you were both still very sensitive from your mating bond, there was no way you could say no to having him inside of you.

“Mmm…”

He admired your curves, one of his hands giving your soft belly a squish as you lowered yourself onto his cock. “Pretty girl knows where the best seat in the house is, doesn’t she?”

You pouted, but he was right. The last few days had been utter bliss, you were already addicted to your mate’s scent and cum.

Just a whiff of his cologne or musk was enough to have you clench around him, and he was close to bursting when he smelled your arousal.

“Good girl, my sweet little mate…”

He bounced you on his cock lazily, sinking into the water a bit as he licked at your neck.

“I love you, (Name).”

You leaned against his chest, letting him guide your hips up and down. He was good at this, knowing when to speed up or change his rhythm to really get you going.

“And I love you, my prince. More than anything… you’ve made my life worth living.”

He tucked your head under his chin, embracing you. It wasn’t long before the two of you were done in the hot springs and ready to continue your love making in the bedroom.

The two of you spent several days at the hot spring, enjoying the water, food, and making love as often as possible. By the time someone came to pick you up, you were sure the hot spring was at least 80% cum.

‘Sorry, future customer,’ you thought to yourself, leaving against the prince as he guided you to the carriage.

It had all been like a dream. He had whisked you away into a fairy tale world, making you feel like a real life princess.

For the rest of your life, he would worship and adore you. With every kiss and touch, that fact was made clear.

To be loved by the prince was an honor. You were the thing he treasured the most, and you would continue to love him just as he was.

“Do you think dreams come true?” your asked, leaning against his shoulder as the carriage continued on towards the palace.

“Mhm, I do,” the prince murmured, pulling you closer. “Because I’ve been dreaming of this my entire life… and I finally have you.”

You smiled and drifted off in his arms, feeling like the luckiest girl ever.

————————

NSFW TAGLIST: @avalordream @icommitwarcrimes @bazpire @im-eating-rn @anglingforlevels @kinshenewa @pasteldaze @yoongiigolden @peachesdabunny @murder-hobo @leiselotte @misswonderfrojustice @dij-ology @i8kaeya @lollboogurl @h3110-dar1in9 @keikokashi @aliceattheart @mssmil3y @namjoons-t1ddies @izarosf1833 @healanette @lem-hhn @spufflepuff @honey-crypt @karljra @zyettemoon1800 @exodiam @vexillum-moeru @imperfectlyperfectprincess1 @enchantedsylveon @mysticranger575 @readeryn68 @danielle143 @kittenlover614 @filthybunny420 @annavittoria-mm @makimamybelovedwife @blubearxy @omglovelylaila @toocollectionchaos-universe-blog @fruk-you-usuk-fans @wil10wthetree @hammerhead96-blog @slightlyusedfloormat @bubblez-blop @sunshineangel-reads @heroneki-neko @soapybabyboop @anonymouskiwi

[lvmimis]

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.

[synthetickitsune]

Asking Nicely Is Overrated ✧ h.js

Pairing: Joshua Hong x reader (f) Genre: smut Summary: Only Joshua could make you feel this happy and loved while he’s fucking your mouth. Word count: 7k Warnings: oral (m receiving), praise, pet names, recording reader during the act A/N: the title is a clickbait he's still very nice

You sag against the elevator wall and close your eyes. With a deep sigh you release the tension from your shoulders and knead the tender muscle. There are no words to describe just how much you want to be home already, even the elevator ride feels like it’s taking forever. All you crave now is a long hot bath, warm dinner, and to crash into bed and your boyfriend’s arms. Nothing more, nothing less. The thought of Joshua waiting for you at home makes you feel slightly better.

“I’m home,” you call out while you take off your shoes and hang your jacket, put away your bag. Slowly you start to feel like a human being again but the exhaustion still weighs heavy on you. You don’t get a response to your greeting, which is unusual, and you try not to overthink it. Has Joshua gone out and forgotten to tell you? That isn’t like him. Fortunately you don’t have to look for your boyfriend for too long.

He’s sitting on the couch, wine glass in hand and sipping the dark liquid slowly while his eyes immediately find yours. He sets the glass down and gives you a smile that looks as tired and forced as yours. He pats his thigh without breaking eye contact.

The tiredness draws back slightly. It’s rare to find Joshua drinking alone, it’s even rarer for him to not greet or say a word to you. Your eyebrows draw together in a worried frown. His demeanor is relaxed but tense - the same tension of a long day that you’re wearing. It doesn’t seem like something serious is going on but that just makes his behavior all the more confusing.

His hands guide you, firm on your waist, to sit on his thigh. Then he brushes your hair away from your face and cups it before leaving a chaste kiss on the corner of your mouth. It’s the complete opposite to what you expected. Too tender. You don’t sense any anger from him, but he’s… different.

“I missed you,” he finally speaks, barely a whisper. He rubs your noses together and kisses you again when you smile. You can’t help it. Despite your bad day and the mixed signals he’s giving you, he’s still your Shua.

“I missed you too,” you sigh against his lips. His hands fall back down to your waist and then to your hips. You swallow. Over the years you think you’ve gotten pretty good at reading him. It seems impossible now.

“Tell me about your day,” he gives you a smile. His thumbs draw small circles that don’t feel soothing and you suppose they are not supposed to. You squirm and he tuts, squeezing you slightly. You swallow again. This is definitely new.

“It was long, hard,” you admit. Something dark flickers in his eyes. Your mouth feels dry. “Too much work. Completely pointless work that could be avoided if the manager listened to our concerns.”

He makes a sympathetic hum and his hand comes to rub the small of your back. If it’s meant to comfort you or make you straighten up so you sit prettily perched on his thigh, who knows. Either way you can’t but notice how low his hand slides, how you feel small tugs at the fabric of your shirt.

“Uh huh, go on,” Joshua prompts but there’s a far off look in his eyes. Usually it’d worry you. In this moment, however, it only makes a shiver run down your spine. All because his gaze keeps constantly falling to your lips, as if drawn to them with a spell. His whole demeanor is strange and confusing, and the reaction of your own body even more so. You felt so tired, so why is your body heating up? Just from a few touches and a hungry look. You thought you’ve gotten over this phase with him.

“Well, uh, I ended up going out for lunch with some people from the office, so I don’t need to pack anything for tomorrow,” you lick your lips, trying to fight against the sudden dryness in your mouth. His eyes dart to the tiny movement. Your mind is drawing a blank as to what to say now. Your brain short-circuits when his hands comes to slowly rub up and down your thighs.

“That’s nice,” he hums, but it’s so noncommittal that you doubt he even registered what you were saying. His eyes are unfocused, scanning all over your body. It makes your blood rush more. You squirm on his thigh and he gives you a sharp look and another correction. You try to hold his gaze. You’ve never seen his eyes look so piercing. You have to look away.

“W-what about your day?” you ask too quickly.

He gives a long sigh, his hold on your thighs stronger for a second. You’ve already guessed he had a bad day - what else with him still dressed in the clothes he wore when he left in the morning and sipping wine. His hands come to a stop, making you look at him. He studies you for a while.

“Can I touch you, love?” he asks, his voice soft and eyes watching your face for any sign of discomfort. You nod your head, although you don’t know what to expect. You squeak when he suddenly wraps his hands around the undersides of your thighs and helps you straddle him. Swallowing again, shock is written all over your face but it quickly disappears when Joshua smiles at you and resumes the soothing caresses. 

“It was so hard today,” he exhales. He looks even more exhausted from this close. There are already dark circles under his eyes. At least he found the energy to remove his makeup for the night. You wrap your arms around his shoulder and chuckle when he rubs his head against your arm. It only takes a second before he takes a long breath and his face falls again. His eyes watch his hands move over your thighs.

“The recording got pushed back because we got another schedule last minute,” he says as his fingers slip gently under your shirt before pulling back and returning to rubbing your thighs, slowly drawing circles closer and closer to your core without ever getting too close, “It was so hectic. And so loud because everyone was trying to keep the mood up.”

As he speaks, he slowly pushes you further into his lap. His eyes shoot up to see if you’re okay with it. You mean to say something reassuring but then he moves you straight over his bulge and you can only gasp. It’s so hard and hot that you can feel it over the clothing between you and suddenly you understand why your boyfriend was acting so off. 

“I couldn’t rest at all in the car because the manager had to go through the new schedule arrangement and stuff,” his hands keep wandering under your shirt, inch after inch higher every time. You try to stay still, even though his fingertips tickle your sensitive skin and you want to squirm the closer he gets to your chest. “And then he started chatting with Hoshi and they kept dragging me into the conversation, so it was hopeless to try napping - let me see your tits?”

You blink a couple times, shocked by the sudden request among his rant but you quickly recover and take off your shirt and shiver as the cold air hits your skin. You’re not left shivering and craving warmth for long because as soon as the shirt hits the floor, Joshua’s warm hands are caressing your back and his head is buried in your chest. You jump a little but he’s quick to hold your hips down while his lips get busy kissing every inch of the exposed skin they can reach. 

“Shua,” you gasp, hands gripping his hair without pulling. You remind yourself through the haze to calm down and not squirm too much. That’s what he wants. His hands caress your sides and reach behind you when you finally manage to stay still. He plays with the clasp of your bra before undoing it, his lips never stop the attack on your skin. You feel him suck marks all over your exposed breasts. Control is slipping through your fingers but you trust him. You focus on obeying his wish that you stay still and after a long day of thinking, it feels relaxing to follow a simple command.

It’s not what you expected your ‘welcome home’ to be, but it’s perhaps even better. You feel yourself melting under Joshua’s generous attention, body and soul. 

He removes his lips with a pop and leans back, slipping your bra off completely and throwing it somewhere behind you. He hums, pleased with the view and his warm hands cup your breasts, thumbs already circling your hardened nipples. His lips quirk up at your little whines.

“The schedule was a mess,” he carries on with the unpleasant memory, although his voice sounds more lively, “By the time we started recording everyone was tired as hell.”

It’s getting harder not to beg, to actually listen to what he’s saying. He coos at your soft pants, but his gaze gets darker whenever you adjust and squirm over his lap. It’s not that you want to grind on him, but your body reacts instinctively to his touch. You have to admire his self-control. He doesn’t always use sex to blow off steam, but it does happen, and usually you’d already be bent over the nearest surface with Shua kissing your neck and back very sweetly and whispering every praise in the book, desperate edge to his voice and his hips grinding against yours. 

He never begs. Although you suspect it’s only because he doesn’t want to make it seem like he’s expecting you to give into his wishes regardless of how you feel and like he’s trying to coax you into it. Today, however, you think he might and you’re ready to jump at the opportunity.

“And then nothing went well,” he leans his head forward, seeking sanctuary in your chest again. He rests his forehead against your naked chest and his hands fall back to your thighs, “I wasn’t funny at all. I could barely keep my eyes open and my head hurt so much.” 

You hum sympathetically, running your hands through his hair softly. As worked up as you’re getting, your heart hurts for him. You make the decision to grant his every wish today. Where that desire came from is a mystery, hardly a decision - more like an urge you finally get to satisfy. You kiss the top of his head.

“Do you still have the headache?” you ask. He nods. His lips return to idly kissing your skin, slowly, lovingly. You don’t stop massaging his scalp and he sighs against your chest and finally relaxes, enjoying the attention. You stay quiet too. It’s easier to control your body if you only focus on one thing. You feel his length twitch under your core and it sends shivers down your spine.

Then Joshua moves. He tilts his head back and smiles at you. He seems really exhausted, ready to pass out. His eyes, however, tell a different story.

He tilts his head to the side, eyes first on your lips and then they meet your eyes as if asking for permission. You slowly close the distance, closing your eyes as your lips meet. He’s sweet and gentle. It’s a surprise, a complete opposite of what you expected. His tongue darts out to push against your lips and you grant him the access to deepen the kiss. Since he’s sweet, you’re sweet and your fingers thread through his hair carefully without pulling, without any urgency.

“Your lips are the best medicine,” he sighs when you part, not without one more kiss to the corner of your mouth. He licks his lips, looking at you almost shyly for a second before he seemingly steels his resolve. “I think it’d help me feel much much better if you used them somewhere else though.”

Now you understand the second of hesitation.

“Yeah?” you whisper, nudging your nose against his, your hands on his chest. His heart is beating so fast.

“Yeah,” he purrs, “My good girl needs to take care of me. Help me destress.”

Oh. No begging then.

His hand holds the back of your neck firmly. The sudden switch makes you jump. You freeze and surrender all control to him. The pads of his fingers press deliciously into your pulse points, your heartbeat feels like it wrecks through your entire body. You’d let him do anything he wants. 

He pushes you back to his lips. You only follow his lead, softly moaning against his lip as he lazily makes out with you. His cock twitches right under you, but he makes no move to grind against you. It makes you want him more. Is his goal to have you beg for him?

You’re about to give in when he pulls you away, still controlling your movement with a firm hold on your neck. His other hand strokes your hip before gently pushing, motioning for you to get on the ground. So you do. A little too eagerly; it surprises you as well. You felt so tired, and now, just a few kisses and touches later, you’re ready to get down on your knees and take care of your lover.

“You know what to do,” Joshua demands softly. He lets go of your neck and his hand instead settles in your hair. 

As tempting as it is to caress his thighs all over as he did to you, you deny yourself the pleasure. Just once has to be enough. You blink slowly, trying to remember every dip and rise of his muscles under your palms as your hands make way to the zipper of his slacks. He doesn’t help at all beyond raising his hips so you could pull his clothes down enough to free his cock. Only his shirt remains, the tie discarded a long time ago. His hand stays in your hair, sometimes pulling to make you tilt your head this and that way. There doesn’t seem any point in it except his enjoyment. His lips twitch up whenever you follow his hand without hesitation. You feel like you should get used to this kind of treatment.  

“I’m so tired. I worked so hard,” he sighs, “I deserve pampering.”

He doesn’t let you take him into your mouth. His hair tightens in your hair, holding you back. He just raises his eyebrow at you, the expectant look in his eyes no help. You have to swallow the saliva collected in your mouth. His cock is hard and leaking in front of you, begging to be sucked, but it’s not what Joshua wants. So you lean in and start leaving a trail of kisses from his balls to his tip. 

It’s like you’ve uttered a spell. His shoulders drop, all tension gone. His hand runs through your hair and his soft gasps fill the air. He lets you kiss him all over, soon getting too blissed out to notice you leaving a few love bites on his inner thighs. You figure he won’t mind since no one but you would see those marks. 

“More tongue,” he moans.

Of course you oblige. And that’s when he takes control again. Tugging at your hair just enough to guide you, he makes you take care of his throbbing dick and massage it with your tongue. Every kiss you leave between your soft kitten licks to his tip gets rewarded with an equally sweet praise or moan.

You don’t know how long he lets you worship his cock. It soon starts to feel like your head is filled with cotton. All the stress and frustration of the day melts away, all that remains is the feeling of his skin under your tongue, the salty taste of his leaking tip, all the veins settling into their place in your memory.

And suddenly his thumb brushes over your lip and you follow, parting your lips.

Finally.

After Joshua pushes in, slow and gentle with a choked whimper slipping from his lips, he once again leaves all the work to you. You don’t mind. It’s not much different from loving on his cock with your lips and tongue, you just need to make sure his whole length is enveloped in warmth. He feels heavy on your tongue, grounding you before you get too far away. His gaze is equally as grounding, a reassuring pressure to do well. To take care of him. 

You bob your head slowly. His hand is still tangled in your hair and he doesn’t urge for a faster pace. You simply enjoy him; enjoy his soft breathy moans and his panting. You take him deeper and deeper until your throat accommodates him without issue. He sucks in a sharp breath and closes his eyes. His hand pulls at your hair until your eyes water and you whimper.

“Sorry, I’m so sorry, darling,” he coos at you, “Feels so good. Lost control.”

You hollow out your cheeks, watch him grit his teeth and struggle to maintain eye contact. Then you slowly ease and back off until only his tip rests in your mouth and take him deep again. It’s rewarding to hear him so vocal, to feel him tense and relax as pleasure washes over him - all the hardships of the day forgotten. He already looks much better than when you came in. 

He was right. He deserves to be pampered. 

“Stay,” he whispers, his hand guiding you to take him all the way in and then holds you there, “Want to feel you.”

What else would you do but exactly as he wishes? Smiling, he pets your head.

“You look so pretty like this,” he rolls his head back with a breathy sigh. His hand is so gentle you barely feel his touch, and your tender scalp is grateful for the break. 

This is right where he wants you and you’re happy to obey. Happy to make him feel good. You didn’t know you had it in you to feel like this, to enjoy slipping into more of a submissive role so much. You focus on breathing slowly through your nose. It’s surprisingly easy. You feel at peace. Your heart swells with pride when he straightens again and his face is relaxed with pleasure, eyes dark with lust. “I wish I could take a pic.”

A whimper rips from your throat before you can do anything, which is just as well. You don’t exactly want to nod with a cock down your throat. Joshua blinks in surprise and his fingers tangle into your hair.

“What was that, love?” he asks, “You like the idea?”

You moan around him again, begging him with your eyes. He smiles, the hand falling from your hair to caress your cheek. The proud look in his eyes is everything you’ll ever need to be happy.

“Suck on it if you want it,” he smirks and you don’t waste a second hesitating. It draws a nice long hiss of surprise from him. You feel like you’d be bouncing on the spot if it wasn’t for the hand on your cheek. You have no idea where the desire is coming from, nor do you care. The only important thing is to be everything that he wants. But then suddenly he seems to sober up a little, his expression grows more serious, and something inside you starts panicking. 

“Need some more consent-” he starts saying, but you don’t wait to hear the rest of it. So fast he doesn’t get to stop you, you try to pull off his cock. Only when just the head rests on your tongue you feel so empty it crushes your little heart and you can’t do it, but you can’t speak with him filling your mouth either. You’re about to turn to silently begging Joshua again - he’s faster than you though.

His fingers curl around your jaw, firm enough to almost hurt, and he makes you look at him. He doesn’t look angry, but you find yourself holding your breath anyway. “Keep my cock in your pretty mouth, don’t you dare think of doing anything else.”

You whine softly, suckling on the head as an apology. You swirl your tongue around it, watching in real time as your little mistake gets forgotten and forgiven. Finally you notice the hand back at the back of your head and you’re so happy you could cry. Seems like he realizes your fragile happiness now when he speaks again.

“Good girl, doing so well,” he praises, the fingers holding your jaw stroking you gently, “Couldn’t get off my cock at all.”

You hum happily, sucking him further in and closing your eyes in bliss. 

“I wanted to say that if you’re really okay with me taking pictures of you like this, just tap my thigh twice.”

All he has to do is say the words and your hand does just as he asks. His eyes sparkle just like yours at your enthusiasm. He bites his lip but the mischievous smirk makes way to his lips anyway.

“You’re a dream,” he groans, leaning down and kissing the top of your head, “You’re so good for me, looking so pretty. Take me deeper, yeah?”

Then he pulls away and moves the pillows around to find his phone. You have your own task to focus on, slowly taking him in all the way and then bobbing your head just as leisurely. Your thighs squeeze on their own at the quiet growl that catches in Joshua’s throat. 

He looks so handsome, hair a mess and his eyes unfocused, movements not as controlled as they usually are. He doesn’t pay any attention to you, not even when he finds the device and starts fidgeting with his phone. The rational remains of your brain still present thought you’d mind, but all you can think now is that this is the perfect view. 

This is just the right place for you. It’s strangely therapeutic not to have to think about anything. All you have to do is feel him. Your jaw might hurt, but you can ignore it for his sake. Tomorrow doesn’t exist yet. The easy glide of his cock in and out of your mouth feels satisfying, the weight of him on your tongue is reassuring. You can always rest when his cock nudges the back of your throat and you know you’re doing well. It feels soothing. Simply knowing you’re pleasing him while he’s doing his things. You should do this more often, you think.

You’re pulled close to his body again, your nose brushing against his navel. A cheerful hum makes its way from your throat at the action and at the slight pressure of his hand at the back of your head.

“Still okay with this, baby?” he asks from behind his phone. You can’t see his face properly, but something about it makes your body feel hotter. You whine, tapping his thigh twice again just to be sure your answer is clear. You don’t see his expression, but you hear the grin in his voice when he speaks again: “What about a short video? Just for me to enjoy when I’m away.”

Usually you’d feel a pang of pain at the notion of distance separating you, but in the headspace you’re in now only serving him exists, only making him happy. So you give him two more taps.

“So good, so perfect.” You hear the smile in his voice and it makes you more eager to fulfill his every wish. “Just follow my lead, yeah?”

He doesn’t have to ask. You’d do anything for him, as long as it meant helping him shake off the bad day he had. Your own gets forgotten and healed from in the process.

His instructions start off literally - his fingers grab a fistful of your hair and pull you back, and you follow without hesitation, without protests or teasing, dragging your tongue against the underside of his cock. He guides you roughly, setting up a fast pace that leaves you struggling to breathe and making a mess. You feel saliva dripping down your chin. Your eyes get teary. You look at the camera and hear Joshua gasp for breath. The tears fall but he pushes you more, controlling all your movements and it’s a bliss. Now you can just let him use you to pleasure himself. You moan shamelessly, dutifully sucking on his cock like your life depends on it when really it’s just your pride.

The camera moves closer to your face, and yet you don’t mind. He pushes you to take him fully into your mouth, and you just moan and swallow around him. Your eyes close in pleasure. He’s so strong. Something about him being this domineering excites you. Despite it being new, you feel safe. Even though you can’t see him, even though he’s recording you. You suckle on him, pushing against his dick with your tongue. You hear his heavy breathing. You want to do better just for him.

And he gives you a chance and removes his hand. You take it as a go ahead to do whatever you want and take advantage of it.

You pull off almost completely and tease his tip with your tongue, licking the precum from his slit, pushing against it until you see the shiver running through his body. Then you suck hard. Slowly taking him in deep again with your eyes meeting the camera, straining your hearing to get all the pretty noises he makes. You can picture it in your head - his lips parted, eyes fighting to stay open to see it all. He’s so so pretty. Your perfect lover.

You repeat the process a few times, giving him only a short break with a few quick and shallow bobs of your head. Sometimes you look at the camera without a warning, noting his knuckles turning white where he grips the pillow. You see the veins on his neck. You suppose he wants the filthy sound of the spit and your occasional gags to be heard on the audio instead of his voice.

It’s when you’re softly sucking on his head again that he strokes your head and gets your attention on him - him. He lowers the phone just enough so you can see him as his fingers find purchase in your hair again and hold you firmly in place. He stands up, and you know what he’s asking. 

What else can you answer but the two taps? Only a needy whimper as your eyes water with need.

He laughs, breathy and disbelieving. And then it’s a blur.

“You’re really a dream. So perfect.”

You brace yourself, so you don’t gag when he thrusts into your mouth, but he’s gentle. You blink up and he’s still looking at you. His pupils are blown out but his eyes are so soft. He doesn’t allow you to move, so you can’t nuzzle to his thigh, but you wish you could. Only Joshua could make you feel this happy and loved while he’s fucking your mouth. You wink at him, to reassure him you’ll be fine - and you know you’ll be when he smiles and shakes his head before raising the camera higher to only see you through the screen. 

“You’re driving me crazy. You were made for me.”

He increases his pace gradually, allowing you to get used to it before he starts using you for real. You gag a couple times, you recover fast though. Your jaw is going numb but it’s so worth it. So fucking worth it when he can’t hold back and he moans before quickly pressing his lips into a thin line. It’s a pointless effort. The sounds in the rooms are an obscene mix of his groans and moans, your own moans, wet sounds of you sucking him deeper and deeper with every stroke of his hips.

You want him to cum. You want him to fill your mouth with his cum or just shoot it down your throat. You need it. 

His cock is twitching against your tongue and you want to push him over the edge. There’s a desperate edge to his voice that makes it sound like he’s whimpering and you join him. You want him to cum so much. You look up to the camera with your wet eyes and tears you don’t really feel running down your cheeks. He breathes out your name as he sheaths himself entirely inside you and holds you there.

You really want him to cum. It’s so tempting to keep sucking, to tease him with your tongue. But you don’t. You hear his labored breathing and know it wouldn’t take much to get him there. But he doesn’t want to yet, and so you accept that you still have to earn it. You see his fingers move over the screen and he puts his phone away.

Both his hands are cupping your cheeks in the next second. His thumbs wipe your tears away. He holds you so tenderly, his expression equally loving. You lean into his touch a little. You resist rubbing your face against his palm, obeying his silent order to stay still.

“I can’t believe you’re real,” he sighs, out of breath, “Do you know what you do to me?”

You can feel exactly what you’re doing to him, but the verbal validation still feels nice. You hum softly - oops. You check that he’s not mad. He just looks drunk in love.

“I didn’t take any pics yet,” he admits sheepishly, “Can you be pretty for me a bit longer?”

Forever, you want to answer. But you can’t, so you just hum again and tap his thigh twice.

“You listen so well,” he taps your nose the same way. Chuckling when you scrunch your nose at him, he quickly picks up his phone again to snap the picture.

“So cute,” he smiles fondly, pulling away his other hand to give you freedom.

You keep your eyes on his when you slide up his dick and open wide, the tip of his cock resting heavy and weeping on your tongue. You watch his throat bob as he swallows and snaps a couple more pictures. You’d hate him to feel cold though, so you wrap your lips around him again and embrace his cock in your warm mouth. His every vein presses against your tongue, so familiar now. You can trace them easily and feel them pulse. 

Joshua looks unreal above you. His hair sticks to his sweaty forehead and he’s trembling with every swipe of your tongue. Just clicking the pics when he sees a view he likes or guiding you into a certain position seems to be a tremendous effort for him. His hand is shaking slightly and his cock is twitching, and all you have is admiration for his self control and gratefulness that it allows you to keep sucking him off. 

He thrusts all the way back in until he hits the back of your throat and your eyes roll back, the perfect feeling of his cock dragging across your tongue, every veins prominent and you want to memorize all of them. The whimper the visual pulls from his lips is sinful. You feel him twitch in your mouth and will your eyes to open and give him a pleading look. 

You need his cum.

“Shit, baby,” he pants, “Sorry, yeah, I need to fuck you right now.”

He all but throws his phone away. You squeal happily around the length in your mouth when he grabs your hair and holds you in place. It’s cute to watch the concern in his eyes switch back to filthy lust when he sees your excitement to get your mouth fucked. You don’t need his concern, you only need him to use you and fill you up. 

You’d happily beg if it didn’t mean getting off his cock.

No such thing is necessary though. He gives it to you without begging or waiting, snapping his hips against your mouth and you take it. You keep your hands behind your back and give yourself to him completely. He keeps you still just the way he wants and you need to fight to keep your eyes open. You feel tears streaming down your face, the spit dripping everywhere but you don’t care. Only Shua is important.

And Joshua right now looks like an angel. His face is twisted with desperation that drives him crazy. He looks like he’s glowing. The noises he makes are music to your ears. You’ve never heard him this vocal and his whimpers alone are enough to make you decide that kneeling at his feet completely at his mercy is the spot where you belong.

He watches you with hooded eyes, breathing laboured and hitching with every thrust. He’s close. You know it, and you coax him closer and closer to climax, sucking him in deeper. His eyes are getting watery too as his hips start losing their rhythm. You whine with him, as greedy for his orgasm as he is.

And then your mouth is empty. 

Joshua pulls out, jerking himself just an inch away from your face, and despite missing the perfect weight and girth in your mouth, you want to be good for him. You close your eyes and stick out your tongue. 

With your eyes closed, you can focus only on the sounds. He’s cursing under his breath, words slurred and high-pitched. You don’t get to enjoy them much, however, as in the next second you feel warm droplets splattering all over your face. You hear him struggling to breathe, a feeling that you miss. You whimper to him, and as if understanding, he shoves his cock back all the way down your throat and you finally feel fulfilled and satisfied. Probably most you ever did. You moan around him, sucking his dick like you won’t get the chance again, milking him completely dry. 

“Easy, easy, love,” he whimpers. His knees shake and threaten to give up and he braces himself with his hands on your shoulders. So you suck harder and feel as a few stray tears escape from his eyes and drip on your face. Pleased with your little act of rebellion, you return to obedience. You bob your head slowly, gently suckling on him. His breathing starts to slow down, but he still sounds out of breath. You wish you could look at him, unfortunately it’s not exactly fun to have cum in your eyes, so you have to be patient. 

His breath still shakes when he starts softening and pulls out of your mouth, his hands immediately caressing your jaw. You hear him chuckle when you swallow and lick your lips for more.

“So good for me,” he whispers before leaning down and kissing the top of your head, “Don’t worry, I’m not going anywhere.”

You listen closely to his every move. Now that he’s not inside you, doesn’t touch you, and you can’t even see him, you start to feel lonely. Kind of. It feels like you’re surrounded by nothingness, and it’s not a pleasant sensation. The void is pressing on you from all sides and you try to blindly reach for him but can’t find him.

“I’m here, darling,” as if reading your find, Joshua’s hand finds yours. His thumb caresses the back of your hand. The scary emptiness suddenly doesn’t feel so scary or empty. You hear some rustling, familiar one. Since he must be close and given the situation, you realize it must be the pack of wet wipes he keeps under the coffee table for when you eat messy food. Though it’s obviously useful for times like this too. 

You hear him fumbling with his pants next, and then he’s moving again and you feel him step back into your personal space. The only thing stopping you from rubbing your face on his thigh like a cat is the cum on your face.

“Stay still,” he instructs softly before he starts gently wiping down your face. You do just as he told you, letting him first swipe the tissue around your eyes. His hand steadies you, allowing you to rest your chin on his palm. He chuckles seeing your blind trust, obedient like a little puppy. 

You’re leaning into his touch as soon as you’re clean. Before you can open your eyes, you feel his lips brush against yours. You panic, flinching back. When you blink up at him, there’s a frown on his face.

“Darling?” he asks gently. His fingers caress your skin and he squats down not to tower over you anymore. “Is everything okay?”

“Yeah, just-” you sigh, “I just, you know, did that, so-”

“Love,” Joshua chuckles, already leaning back in, “Do you think I care if I taste my cum if it means I get to kiss you?”

His lips brush against yours and this time you give in. Unlike before he takes his time. When he pulls you closer, he makes sure to gather you in his arms as if you should break if he doesn’t. When he breaks the kiss, he doesn’t go far. His lips move to your forehead and kiss you every step of the way to lay you down on the couch.

“When have I ever minded kissing you right after you blew me, hm?” he teases, his smile soft and eyes fond. He’s almost unrecognizable. 

You just smile shyly and tug on his sleeve before he can move away. He tilts his head, questioning.

“Lay down with me,” you whisper, “Please.”

“Are you sure? Do you not want me to take care of you?” he checks with you as his hand cups your cheek. 

“Just wanna cuddle,” you shake your head. He coos at you, pressing a kiss to your hair while he promises to only get a blanket from the armchair and come back. Your eyes follow him. It’s just a step away but it feels too far.

“Are you hungry? I know you ate with your coworkers but you had a long day and I ordered some takeout before you came or I can bring you some snacks if you’re still full,” he rambles as he covers you with the blanket and sits at the edge of the sofa to pet your hair.

“You actually paid attention?” you frown. He chuckles.

“I always pay attention,” he boops your nose, “No matter how horny I am.”

You groan and hide your face into his thigh, making him laugh. He lets you stay like that though, at least until you tug on his sleeve again and he nods at the reminder. Before he joins you, however, he shrugs off his shirt. He learned very early on into your relationship that you appreciate the skin to skin contact, especially when you need comfort.

“Thank you,” you murmur, already snuggled up close to him. His arms envelop you and pull you closer, always protective when you’re not one hundred perfect feeling like yourself. He starts playing with your hair again.

“Love you,” he coos, “So I take it you’re not hungry?”

“I’m starving,” you sigh, “Just give me a minute.”

“I should file a complaint. Or send a mean email to your work friends,” he hums, “They usually never send you home hungry.”

You shake your head with a smile he can’t see.

“There was too much work,” you explain, “So we had to grab a quick lunch at the place downstairs and it wasn’t the best choice. At least I have the lunch my perfect boyfriend made waiting for me tomorrow.”

“I appreciate the title,” he says and emphasizes his gratitude by squeezing you in his arms and a kiss to the top of your head.

“You’re perfect too,” he whispers after a second, “You made me feel really good. So so good. My headache is all gone.”

You huff and poke his side. You’re glad he can’t see you getting shy, although he can probably tell anyway.

“Just keep the evidence safe,” you remind him. And suddenly there’s a hand tilting your chin so he can look at you.

“Love, if you changed your mind I can delete everything,” he assures you, softly stroking your cheek with his thumb. You shake your head. It takes a lot of effort to move and kiss him but you do it.

“No, I… I like the idea of you having those pictures and videos,” you admit and lick your lips, “I’m just anxious. I trust you - just, you know.”

“I know,” he nods, “But if you ever stop being comfortable with it, just say the word, yeah?”

You hum in agreement, ready for the conversation to end. You’d much rather kiss him again. Joshua is always the softest after sex, more so if he was on the receiving end. Of course he easily obliges with your wishes. His warm hands caress your body and his lips shower you with more praise between kisses.

You know he’d prefer it if you ate now, knowing that you’re hungry, yet he lets you make yourself comfortable again and rest your head in the crook of his neck. You’re getting sleepy, food could wait until morning anyway. You’d much rather just rest like this, curled up with him under the blanket with his heart beating steadily under your palm. It’s impossible to think rationally and make yourself obey your stomach instead of your heart. 

Especially when you know that if you get too tired to eat, he’ll let you lean on him and feed you until he’s sure you’re well taken care of.

He’s making it too easy to let him coddle you.

[bucketsofmonsters]

A Matter of Time - Chapter 5

Timothy Timepice x Reader, Timmy x Reader

Slow burn, At least for one of them it’s a slow burn, Timmy doesn’t really do slow, Gender neutral reader, Afab reader, anxiety, insomnia, dry humping, pillow princess Timmy, bottom Timmy, pegging, bratting, anal sex, fingering, subspace

word count - 3k

Masterlist

No matter how hard you tried, you couldn’t quite seem to get Timmy out of your head after that. 

In hindsight, you should have seen it coming far sooner than you had. You were just so excited to potentially be getting answers to your questions that you’d had a bit of tunnel vision. 

The complete lack of awareness had made the feeling of his hard length grinding against you jarring, certainly, but you couldn’t help but think that if you’d had more of a sense of what was happening, the interaction might have ended very differently. 

In a way, you were glad it went how it did. Even though he had been Timmy at the time, Timothy was still in there. You still had no idea how it worked. If something had gone down between the two of you, Timothy could have been stuck in there, forced to watch against his will, or god forbid, forced to experience it. It was still his body, who knew how far his awareness reached when he wasn’t in the driver’s seat. 

So you were glad it hadn’t gone further, despite the fact that you couldn’t get him out of your mind; his sweet face and his big eyes and the way his body had been so pliant on the couch beside you. 

But that wasn’t fair to Timothy, you thought, pushing the images out of your head for what felt like the thousandth time that morning. 

It was hard to avoid it when all you had to do was wait. 

You were waiting, of course, for an appointment. The one written on your calendar today was at 11 o’clock, and you’d been waiting since 4 AM, when you’d promptly given up on sleep and gone to just sit beside the clock. 

You weren’t nodding off today, far to many racing thoughts and bits of guilt piling up inside you for that. 

11 o’clock was drawing mercifully near. You’d tried to set less alarms this time, to hopefully irritate Timothy less, but there were still a fair few towards the end, just in case. 

When the time finally came and you made Timothy appear in front of you, he was visibly furious. 

“Did I not tell you,” he began, his voice unnervingly level considering just how angry he looked. “That you were not to be late to any of our appointments nor speak with that fool I have the displeasure of sharing a form with.”

Shit. So he did know.

“I didn’t know you could see that,” you said, trying to pour as much sincerity as you could into your words. 

Timothy rolled his eyes. “I can’t see anything that idiot does, but I do know when we’ve been human, and unless someone else has been going around personifying clocks lately, I can’t think of many other viable suspects.”

Oh, thank god.

“So you don’t know anything Timothy does?”

“You may be more stupid than I thought you were, did you not hear what I just said?”

“No, I heard, I just… that’s good. Yeah.”

He narrowed his eyes. “Whatever shenanigans you have been getting up to with my moronic counterpart should be ceased immediately. He is not so reasonable and patient as I.”

You didn’t think that was particularly likely, but you decided not to voice that opinion. “Well, unless you have any other complaints…”

“About you?” He laughed. “I always have more complaints about you. But frankly, I do not wish to speak to you any longer, not considering the company you keep. Now away with you!”

It was about as productive of a meeting as you could have hoped for. 

You still didn’t know how late you needed to be before Timmy would appear. You were itching to summon him, despite the fact that you knew you shouldn’t, that you should wait at least a day or two before bringing him back. 

But you were already here. And what was the harm, really? Timmy seemed to like you and you were growing increasingly fond of him too, despite his peculiarities. Not to mention your new discovery, that other than knowing you had summoned him, Timothy would not be aware of anything that might go on.

When you summoned Timmy, he was pouting. 

“Is master going to push Timmy to the ground again?” he asked, a slight furrow to his brow giving him a little wrinkle between them. 

“No,” you said sheepishly. “Sorry about that.”

“It wasn’t even in a fun way,” he said with a dramatic sigh.

“I didn’t mean to, you just startled me. I didn’t see it coming.”

Timmy rolled his eyes. “Timmy’s master might be a little slow.”

That pulled a laugh from you. “Listen,” you said, defensively but with the echoes of your laugh still in your voice. “It’s been a long week, cut me a break.”

Timmy nodded knowingly. “Timmy can help with that, Timmy is good at sleeping.”

“I think I need someone to put me to sleep more than anything.”

“Master should go to Timothy if that is what they need,” he said with a huff. “He is very boring.”

“Hmm, you think?” you asked. 

He nodded. “Timmy doesn’t know how master could stand him for so long.”

“Well,” you countered. “There are other things that could help. Maybe I just need to be tired out.”

Timothy’s eyes widened, his ears swivelling alertly on his head. 

And then his demeanor swapped again. He tried to flatten his ears, clearly attempting to project submissiveness, something that was undermined a bit by how visibly excited he was. 

“Timmy is at the master’s command, he will provide whatever services the master needs,” he said, prowling towards you as he spoke, pupils narrowed. 

You chuckled. “And I’m sure there’s nothing that you want.”

He rolled his eyes as he plopped himself into your lap. “Timmy doesn’t know what you could be talking about.”

“No, of course not,” you said, hands falling to settle on his thighs as he straddled you, notably less startled than you’d been last time. Hopefully this could help redeem you. 

His arms wrapped around your neck, faces barely inches apart. “And what orders does master have for their loyal pet?” he asked. You could feel the soft tickle of his breath on your face as he spoke. 

“You gotta tell me if I go too far or move too fast,” you said quietly, wanting to make sure he knew before anything began. 

Timmy sighed dramatically. “Master could do with taking more inititive.” And then the little brat slipped his hand under your shirt and pinched you hard on your side. 

Your hand snapped up and rooted itself in his hair, pulling his head back with a firm grip. “Is this what you want?” you asked, voice sharp. “Want to get thrown around a little, want it to be a little rough? Is that why you’re being rude?”

A low purr started rumbling from low in his chest. “Timmy is master’s pet to do with as they please.”

You watched his eyes flit down to your lips and then you were surging forwards to kiss him. 

It was not a gentle kiss, his mouth opening eagerly to meet yours. 

His fangs nipped at your lip and your hand tightened in his hair, bidding him silently to behave.

He fell into line quickly, rewarding you for your aggression. You were under no illusion who was really in charge here, but if he wanted to be pushed around, you were more than happy to oblige. 

When you broke away from the kiss, Timmy’s eyes were a little glassy, some of that sharpness fading away. 

“Any requests?” you asked quietly. 

“Timmy will take whatever master is willing to give.”

“I know,” you said, changing tacts. “You’ll take what I give you. But I need to know what you want. How else am I supposed to reward you if you’re good?”

“Fuck me?” he asked, his voice soft and pleasing, careful to not make it come out like a demand. 

You laughed. “I think that can be arranged. Now come on, I think we should head back to my room.”

Timmy sprung eagerly to his feet, scampering towards your room. 

By the time you got there, he was lying flat on his back on your bed, looking up at you. 

“What are you doing?” you asked tentatively, wondering where all his energy had gone. 

“Timmy does not do any work, he is too cute for that.”

You snorted. “What, and I’m not cute?”

“Not like Timmy is. Timmy is just a sweet, innocent kitten. Who knows what master might do to him.”

You couldn’t help but laugh. “You are so stupid. You don’t want to have to do anything while I throw you around, is that it?”

He pouted. “You’re right, Timmy is stupid. Timmy needs master to show him what to do. Maybe master will take advantage of him.”

He stared directly at you during the last part, as if psychically willing you to finally get the hint and play your part.

You didn’t think your fairly mild attempts at communication were too intrusive, but with a sigh you decided to play along. He clearly had no difficulty voicing his thoughts, you imagined if you did anything wrong, you would be alerted to that fact immediately. 

You scrambled over to your messy drawers, frantically looking for your strap. You hadn’t used it in a while, but you knew it was in here somewhere. 

Out of the corner of your eyes, you saw Timmy fidgeting impatiently from his place on the bed. “Timmy does mind if he is top or bottom, he just does not do any of the work.”

“Yeah, I got that part you little brat. Just shut up for a second, I’m finding my stuff and you can wait patiently without complaining or I swear to god, I will gag you.”

Timmy snapped his mouth closed, eyes widening a little. 

You were back to your search, finally pulling out your strap with a victorious little noise. You tried your best not to think too much about the personified version of your sex toys that you had accidentally summoned on your first day with the glasses.

“Clothes off,” you said as you moved to get yourself ready. 

Timmy pouted. “Master is not going to do it for Timmy?”

“Off. Now.” You tried to make your voice as commanding as you could and it appeared to work, with Timmy scrambling to pull off his many layers. 

You left him to his own devices, worrying mainly about yourself for the moment. 

Timmy managed to strip far faster than you, clearly very eager. He began to whine out a complaint but a sharp look rendered him silent, at least for now. 

You took your time, more than content to make him wait, shucking your clothes off before carefully adjusting your strap on your hips. 

You grabbed your lube from your drawer before turning to face him. 

He was visibly impatient, an angry look plastered across his face as he said, “You shouldn’t make Timmy wait.”

“Hmm,” you hummed, sitting beside him on the bed. “That’s odd. I clearly recall you saying I could do whatever I liked. Maybe I like making you wait.”

He huffed in displeasure, his voice flitting into a high mocking tone as he began to say, “Maybe…”

Before he could properly voice his complaint, you pushed two fingers into his mouth. His face went lax immediately, his mouth falling slightly open as you pressed down on his tongue. 

“You do have a pretty mouth,” you mused. Maybe I should just fuck this and not give you any satisfaction.”

He whined around your fingers, brows furrowing in confusion and distress. 

You pulled your fingers out, giving him the chance to voice any actual protests. Instead, he said, “No, Timmy can be good, master doesn’t need to do that.”

“Are you telling me what to do?” you asked, making a conscious effort to not make your tone too harsh. 

He shook his head quickly. “Timmy can be good,” he repeated, sounding a little desperate. 

“You know, I don’t think you can,” you said. “But that’s alright. That’s what I’m here for, to make you fall back in line like a good pet. Isn’t that right?”

You rewarded the eager nod he gave you by sucking kisses down his neck. He arched into your touch eagerly, clearly craving more but no longer trying to demand it. 

You were careful not to leave any marks on him, conscious that this was not only Timmy’s body, wanting to avoid anything that might displease Timothy. 

Eventually you pulled away, taking mercy on him and coating your fingers in lube, not bothering to warm it before letting your hand drift down past his already dripping cock towards his ass. 

You paused right outside his rim for a moment, giving him a chance to protest if he needed to. 

Instead he canted his hips up, so you slid two fingers inside him. 

A choked gasp escaped him, his eyes slamming shut. “Too much,” he said, voice quiet and breathy. 

“Hey, eyes open,” you said gently. “Look at me.”

His eyes opened, and they were watery, like he was moments away from crying.

“Do you need me to slow down?” you asked.

He shook his head adamantly.

“You know,” you added, a teasing lilt making its way back into your voice. “If you can’t take two fingers, you certainly won’t be able to take my cock.”

You shifted your fingers back and he chased you, hips tilting up into your hand. 

“No,” he insisted, fucking himself on your fingers. “Timmy can take it. Don’t need any more prep, want to feel Timmy’s master inside him.”

As much as you wanted to give him exactly what he wanted, you knew it was probably ill advised. Your strap wasn’t the biggest by any means, though it was certainly larger than Timmy’s cock was, but that didn’t mean it wouldn’t hurt if you didn't properly prepare him. 

“I am inside you, dummy,” you said, voice going condescending. “And didn’t you just say it was too much? Now you’ve decided it’s not enough, that you don’t need any more prep? Are you lying to me?”

He shook his head frantically, hips still canting as he tried to get your fingers as deep inside him as he could.

“No, you’re not are you,” you cooed. “Not lying, you’re just a little stupid. That’s alright, I can think for you. Doesn’t that sound nice?”

This time his body went almost limp, his nod almost imperceptible as he relaxed against the bed and let you do the work. 

The relaxation of his body allowed you to open him up faster, and before long you had deemed him mostly ready. Not tight enough that it would really hurt but not loose enough that it would take away that sting that you were pretty sure he would want. 

You lined yourself up and then pushed inside slowly, Timmy breathing coming faster as you did, his arms reaching up to try and grab at you and pull you closer before you swatted them away. 

“Hands to yourself,” you chided him, and when he listened and moved his hands back down to the sheets, you lowered your hands to his hips, gently stroking your thumbs along his hip bones, reassuring him as you held him flat to the mattress. “There you go, just like that.”

And then, finally, you were fully seated inside him, waiting a moment before moving to let him adjust. 

Timmy’s hand shifted again, this time to grab at his cock. You swatted his hand away again, giving him a firm look. “What did I say about keeping your hands to yourself?”

His brows furrowed, his eyes fully glazed over now. “It is myself,” he said softly. 

“Oh honey,” you said. “Don’t you remember? You said you belong to me, and I don’t recall giving you permission to touch my things. Do you?”

He shook his head, blinking hard. 

And then his hand shifted towards his crotch again. 

You grabbed both his hands and pinned him to the bed. “Oh, now you want to do some work? You just wanted to lay there and let me do everything and that is what you’ll get. Try that again, and I swear I will put you in a cock cage and not let you come at all.”

You did not, in fact, actually own a cock cage, but at the way his eyes dilated at the threat, you made a mental note to look into getting one, maybe a custom cute one made just for Timmy. 

For now, at least, he listened to you, keeping his hands pinned to the mattress even after you had let go of his wrists. 

“You want some friction on your cock?” you asked, trying to make it clear with your tone that you weren’t fishing for a specific answer. 

“Yes,” Timmy said, after a moment of consideration. 

Alright,” you said, pulling out of him, which led to a panicked whine. “Calm down. Flip over. You can rut against the mattress if you’d like. Does that sound like something you can manage?”

In lieu of a response, he flipped over without a word, pressing his hips flush against the bed. 

You took that as an open invitation to slam into him, giving him no time to adjust this time around. 

He gasped at that, a breathy moan escaping him as he grabbed fistfulls of your sheets. 

Every thrust against him pushed his hips into the mattress, giving him fleeting amounts of stimulation as you experimented with the angle of your thrusts. 

It was incredibly obvious when you hit his g-spot, something sounding almost like a scream escaping him before his tail jerked up and brushed against you.

“More,” he choked out between thrusts. “More, please.”

“Come on,” you said quietly, taking care to angle the rest of your thrusts in the same way. “You can do it, you can come like this.”

He shook his head, hands flexing, clearly desperate to grab for himself but resisting. 

You moved faster, hitting his g-spot at a punishing rate. 

That seemed to push him over the edge, a quiet cry escaping him as all the tension fled from his body, his hips grinding mindlessly into the sheets below him. 

You carefully fucked him through it, making sure to pull out when pleased noises turned to oversensitive whines. 

He sniffed below you, sounding almost drunk as he spoke. “Sleep now?

[mattsundaes]

troublesome emotions

— xiao x reader

c: jealousy, xiao is bad at feelings, first kiss

It’s strange—this foreign feeling of jealousy curling uncomfortably in his chest, still festering now long hours after you skipped off into the city with the Wushou dancer hot on your heels. It leaves a foul, acrid taste in his mouth, the frayed edges of his nerves humming with restless energy. 

He almost wishes he ventured into the city for the festival, just this once.

Almost.

If only to see the curve of your smile illuminated by the glow of the lanterns.

To hear the bright sound of your laughter over the din of the crowd. 

To feel the excited beating of your heart—

“Stop sulking, I told you to come.”

The sound of your voice interrupts Xiao from his thoughts, followed by the feeling of your shoulder jostling him as you come to stand beside him, both of you gazing off into the distance to watch the wind carry several stray lanterns up into the endless night sky. 

“You had more than enough company,” he replies evenly, not allowing himself the opportunity to glance over at you, though he feels the warmth of your body pressed against his bare shoulder. “Someone who enjoys crowds far more than I do.”

He has no right to you, after all. 

You’re quiet for a moment before a small laugh escapes your lips.

He finally turns to look at you, furrowing his brow at the amused grin on your lips. “What?”

You casually lean your body back against the cliffside, fingers curling around Xiao’s soft belt to firmly tug him forward. He stumbles, nose nearly brushing your own as he catches himself, both hands planted against the rocky surface on either side of your face.

“Don’t tell me you’re jealous of Gaming,” you tease, eyes glinting as you tilt your head.

Xiao sighs, glancing sideways to avoid your gaze. “He’s far more…sociable than I am.”

A small huff of air escapes your lips. “And?”

“...and perhaps you would prefer to spend your time with him, rather than wasting it with me,” he finishes, one hand curling into a fist, gloved fingers scraping against the stone. 

All the time you’ve wasted dancing around this something with him—something that he’s not sure he even knows how to give you.

“Or perhaps I prefer stubborn, reclusive yakshas who don’t understand the concept of kissing someone when you like them.”

Xiao inhales sharply, amber eyes meeting your own. “I’m not stubborn.”

You laugh again, and he revels in rich sound, regardless of if it's at his own expense, drawn to it like a lazy feline to the afternoon sunlight. “Then what would you call it?”

His thumb brushes against your hair, eyes trailing over the planes of your face—soft, gentle shapes that he’s long-since memorized as he mutters, “You humans and your troublesome emotions.”

Emotions that have come alive inside of him in spades since you came stumbling into his life, yawning awake from an endless dormancy to bask in the warmth of your perpetual glow. 

Emotions that leave him restless and wanting in your absence.

Emotions that draw his gaze to the delicate curve of your lips, something that may very well be desire flaring red-hot in his gut.

“Xiao—”

It will always be his undoing—the way you say his name. Whisper-soft and reverent, like nobody ever has before.

But in this moment, it’s far more than that. 

It’s the sound of the last of his restraint crumbling, yielding to an unrelenting pull he can no longer deny, not when every part of him is crying out to touch you. 

To hold you.

To ki—

“Xiao, please.”

He kisses you.

Xiao cups your face in both of his hands and kisses you hard, claiming your mouth with his own like he’s wanted to for far longer than he'll admit.

And as a tiny, pleased sound escapes you when his tongue slides across the seam of your lips, a nearly imperceptible shudder runs through the adeptus as he realizes the full weight of the power you hold over him—the way you could bring him to his knees.

The way he’d let you, without a second thought.

[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."

[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.

[monster-disaster]

Thoughts on what it’d take for a monster boyfriend to leave you?

Hear me out! In a lot stories, monsters tend to be “the one” that reader meets, with past exs being human men. It’s rarely ever some exs being monsters. In stories such as these, the monster is also not just “the one,” but the first monster the human has ever been in a relationship with. So that made me wonder, what would it take for a monster to leave you or to break a relationship off? Would it be for similar human reasons like, drifting apart, misaligned relationship goals and expectations, or even cheating?

Idk. This just feels like an interesting concept to explore. Though of course with a happy ending afterwards!

I think it’s not all that different from relationships between humans.

Here are some examples I believe would fit:

Wolf-shifter: Wolves are naturally pack animals, and it’s no different for shifters. They tend to be incredibly close to their families and communities. Regular family dinners, large get-togethers, and constant check-ins are part of their way of life. It can feel overwhelming or even stifling to someone not used to such a tight-knit dynamic. Then there’s the matter of family expectations. Many wolf-shifters dream of having big families of their own. It’s deeply rooted in their nature. But what happens when a wolf-shifter falls in love with someone who doesn’t want children? Well, more often than not, it ends up in a breakup.

Succubus/Incubus: Dating can be particularly challenging for a succubus or incubus. Despite their allure and charm, finding the one can be hard for them. Even when they are genuinely seeking a serious relationship, they are often treated as a fleeting fantasy rather than a potential partner. More often than not, they find themselves ghosted after just one night. And for those who do manage to form relationships, jealousy becomes a recurring problem. It’s hard for their partners not to feel insecure, knowing how easily a succubus or incubus can draw attention from others. Misunderstandings and doubts creep in and end the relationship.

Orc: Orcs face their own problems when it comes to stereotypes. They are often seen as having to fit a specific mold: big, strong, muscular, and intimidating. If they check all those boxes, they’re frequently objectified, treated as little more than their physicality. People may pursue them for their imposing presence or brute strength, but rarely for who they are underneath. Especially when people think they are just all muscle and no brain. And then there are the orcs who don’t fit the stereotype. Not every orc is towering or built like a tank. Some are smaller, softer, or simply leaner than what people expect. Their value is questioned simply because they don’t align with what society thinks an orc should be.

So they often find themselves in relationships where they cause disappointment in their partner just because they try to be themselves. Obviously, these relationships end quickly.

Minotaur: Minotaurs, by nature, are often deeply committed to keeping the peace. They are patient, steady, and avoid confrontation whenever possible. It’s a strength that makes them reliable and calming partners, but it can also be a double-edged sword. Unfortunately, this can attract the wrong kind of partner; someone who takes advantage of their kindness and willingness to compromise, and before they realize it, they may find themselves in a one-sided relationship, bending over backward for someone who doesn’t truly value them. When they finally reach their limit, something shifts, and they end the toxic relationship.

Goblins: Goblins tend to be rough around the edges; bold, brash, and unapologetically themselves. They need a partner who can match their energy, someone who won’t shy away from their chaotic nature or try to smooth them out. If they end up with someone who’s too reserved, overly sensitive (for them), or easily put off by their unpolished ways, it’s usually a recipe for disaster.

So, all in all, monsters can face their own unique challenges in relationships, just like anyone else. It all depends more on their personalities. And, of course, they can be mean, cheating, or even abusive jerks, too. But honestly, we don’t dwell on those types because, let’s be real, we are here for the monsters who worship us.

[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

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[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.”

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“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.”

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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.

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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.

[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.

.

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

[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

[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?

[acourtofthought]

do you think elain's avoidance of the bond is like her rebelling to fate, like the bond is something imposed to her?

I think her avoidance of the bond is many things.

I think it's that the bond called into question her loyalty to Greysen.

I think it's that the bond forces her to feel things that are completely against the way she was raised.

I think it's that the bond forces her to really look at herself and who she is as your mate is your equal.

I think it is her rebelling against a fate that decided for her.

Imagine you fall in love. You meet your fairytale prince and you're convinced you've found your happily ever after. He's your first love and nobody will ever compare so you plan your future with him. Then in the blink of an you feel drawn to a complete stranger who is nothing like you were raised to be want but you're consumed by the desire to have him and now you're disloyal. Now you second guess everything you once felt. So you shove the draw to the stranger deep down because you're scared to look at it too closely, scared to look at him too closely. You basically shove your head in the sand like an ostrich so you can go back to the "before". When things made sense.

I think the bond has created an identity crisis for Elain. Who she was and what she thought she wanted versus the mirror Fate / the Mother held up to her and told her to take a good long look. "You think you know what you want and who you are? Well I know child and I see you. You are him and he is you."

What 24 year old girl is going to immediately say, "oh you're so right! I'll listen to you!". A 24 year old is going to say, "I don't need to listen to you! Who are you to tell me these things!" It's no different than what happens with our own children, when they are convinced you don't know and you don't understand and it's not until they fully mature and maybe have their own children that they say, "damn, my mom was right." Or "I hate that my parents knew what they were talking about." Elain has spent her entire life being taught to behave a certain way, deciding for herself that a life with Graysen is what was going to make her happy, the relationship she's supposed to want and then here comes somebody she doesn't know and he draws out big things, scary things that she's not ready for. There is comfort in what is familiar and a long haired, BIG and strong, one-eyed fae male with a wicked scar down his face is NOT what she's familiar with. He looks like the morally gray anti-hero in a motorcycle gang while Elain comes off as the sweet church loving girl. Neither of those characterizations are the truth because Elain and Lucien are so extremely similar in personality despite appearances but that's exactly what one would see at first glance. Elain, as a lady, was not taught to want someone like Lucien. Elain was taught to act with propriety yet the bond makes these characters feel NSFW towards their mate which we know because Rhys had to winnow away so he didn't grab Feyre and Lucien had to physically restrain himself in his chair so he didn't reach out for Elain. We know the bond does these things to the characters and that means Elain is not sitting there completely unaffected.

I think the bond scares Elain. I think it overwhelms her when she's not used to feeling out of control. I think she's scared to give in to it as it means she's well and truly fae (something Nesta also struggled with). I think her giving in to the bond is her letting go of the expectations placed upon her when, as confirmed by Rhys, she's most likely been worried about disappointing those around her because they expect her to act a certain way. I think she's scared of who she will become when she finally breaks free of her humanity, shedding that cloak of civility.

"Elain has no interest in Lucien!" No, I think Elain is way too interested in Lucien and that's the problem because Lucien changes everything for her and many people struggle with letting go. Elain often adapts to new places but she's always been the same Elain. Proper, polite, kind, sweet. My guess is when we have her POV her thoughts about Lucien are anything but proper and polite and I think she's avoiding the bond because she's not ready to let go of the "who" she was always expected to be because of how others will then respond to her. Ever since she was a young child she was labeled by her mother and her sisters naturally fell into thinking those same things. Breaking free of that takes maturity and growth and I imagine that's what we'll see in her own book.

[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?)

[splendsay]

COD FF // Callsign: Sunshine // Ch. 39: New Threads

hi happy saturday here's a new one wheeeeee

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Callsign: Sunshine // Chapter 39: New Threads

Rating: 18+ !!MDNI!! Chapters: 39/? WC: 102,804 Pairing(s): TF141 x F!Reader (You) Chapter Warnings: Explicit language Chapter Excerpt (🚨spoilers!!🚨):

Either Cap is sleeping with the light on or he's still awake. You've been standing outside his room for a few minutes. Debating whether or not to disturb him. You've never been to his room before. Never even been close to it -- his room is actually one of the suites at the furthest end of the hall, past all the others. For some reason, that realization had made you feel a little sad. You resolve to visit him more often, unsure if the others ever make a point to. 

You're not entirely sure why the thought of Cap up here by himself all the time suddenly occupies so much of your brain space. Maybe it's the conversation you'd had with him...oh. That morning. God. It'd only been that morning. 

It felt like forever and minutes ago all at once. 

The hall is quiet. And dark -- none of the sconces are lit. Everything feels...still. All you can hear is the constant, pervasive whine in your eardrums. It's as unsettling as it is aggravating, and you've got to make a concerted effort not to grind your teeth together in annoyance. You absently massage the hinges of your jaw as you stare at the crystal knob of Cap's bedroom door.

He's been up here for...hours. Alone. After everything, it...it just doesn't sit right. Still, the others hadn't seemed all that worried. Maybe he wants to be alone. You waffle back and forth in the dark.

The errant image of the Captain's face just before he'd pulled the trigger finally draws one hand up to knock faintly, the sound somehow louder than you intend amidst the muffled silence of the hallway.

"Cap?" 

You hear some shuffling. Papers, you think. Feet. You hear him clear his throat. "Come in," he says, his voice gruff. 

You turn the handle and push, the dim light of his room temporarily illuminating the hallway as you open and close the door behind you. You lightly press your back against it and take in the room before you: tidy and sparse. Like a hotel room waiting for its next guest. White carpet, white curtains, white bed linens. The only tell that someone lives here is the man himself, seated at his desk, his head in his hands. There's a small oil lamp lit by his bedside. Another a few inches from his elbow. They cast an eerie glow over the barren space. Highlighting what it lacks. 

You approach him with featherlight steps. You're still barefoot. It's not entirely logical, but you hadn't really felt like putting shoes on when you'd changed. You realized outside that, even in the cold, it was nice to feel something tactile beneath your feet. Grounding. In a weird, poetic way, it made you feel more connected to -- things. More at home in your body. More human. As a result, though, the carpet tickles your bare soles as you move, forcing you up on your tiptoes. 

He looks...small. Vulnerable. He's only in a tee shirt and boxer shorts. 

"Captain?"

He releases his face to look up at you, wan and exhausted. He forces a smile, wiggling his mustache. "What can I do for you, Sunshine?"

"Oh...nothing, I just...I wanted to see how you were."

He blinks, his expression carefully blank. And then promptly stands, crossing the room to his dresser, turning his back to you and avoiding your gaze. "I'm fine." He opens it, its doors creaking, and begins to rummage around for something. Pants -- he picks out a pair of them and pulls them on. 

You follow him tentatively. Soft steps. Tiptoes. His demeanor is icy. Not the Cap you're familiar with. But you still recognize what he's doing. He's closing himself off from you. Throwing up a wall. You scramble to hop over it before the jump is out of your reach.

"Sorry, I just...I thought you, um..."

"Whatever you thought -- unthink it. I'm fine."

You pause, taken aback. The brusqueness, abruptness. Your blood simmers a little as you fight the urge to snap back at him.

"But you--"

"I'm fine."

"Cap--"

He snaps the button of his pants and sighs. "Leave it alone, Sunny."

You bristle again -- the dismissal is chafing you more than it really should. But still, you push. Your fists clench at your sides and you take a step toward him. "It's just, you came up here by y--"

"Please. Just drop it."

It's the way his voice cracks that does it. You stop. What you'd initially read as outright rejection now comes through more clearly as...sorrow. Desperation. Maybe some fear. You sag against his bed, inviting yourself to sit. 

"Okay," you placate softly, trying to search his face. He still won't look at you. "Okay..."

He walks to you slowly, his head hung. Sinks down by your side. His scent drifts to you, mint and tobacco. Involuntarily, you lean into him. You lean so far that your head finds a spot to rest on his shoulder. He goes very still. You almost pull away, another apology on your tongue, but then he settles his cheek against you. 

You relax a little. It's a start -- this quiet...whatever it is. It's a good sign. You think.

Comfort is...hard to give. For you, anyway. Maybe it's easier for other people. But you always struggle. You're clumsy and awkward and bullish, which, to be fair, seems to be your way around most things, not just this.

But...for your friends, you'll always try anyway. Even if they deserve better. Even if all you can offer is the attempt itself. 

"I'm sorry," you eventually whisper. "That you had to be the one...," you trail off. Still unwilling to voice the truth aloud. Unsure if you can. Wary of how he might react to hearing it. 

"It had to be done," he croaks. 

Your eyes shutter closed. "Still...I should've...it should've been me."

His hand slides off his lap to grip your thigh -- close to your knee. Intimate, but...chaste. You stare at it, somewhat surprised. 

"Everything happened the way it was supposed to," he says. "Don't...don't worry about me, alright?"

"I will, anyway."

He lets out a dry snort. "Stubborn."

You give him a playful shove with your side and fall back into silence. Your brain is gnawing on his dismissal. His fight to hide from you.

You get it, to a certain degree, especially in this line of work. Endurance is a critical skill. Pain tolerance. Physical and mental fortitude.

But...for some things...sometimes...it's easier to endure what grieves you while someone is there to hold your hand. 

You should let it rest. Let him rest. But...he said it himself, didn't he? You're stubborn.

"He was a good man," you venture gently.

Cap nods, his beard tangling in your hair. "He was."

"Did you know him a long time?"

"As long as I've known Kate."

"How...how long is that?"

He blows out a breath. "Ah, I dunno. Fifteen years, at least."

"That's...that's awhile."

"Aye."

"He...was your friend?"

"He was."

Silence. You're silent at that. What is there to say? 

Your heart must be made of stone by now, broken and reforged as it has been, over and over. Coated in calluses and scars and craters. A freshly mined gemstone, rough still coating its edges. 

You'd let the Captain shoot his friend. His friend of fifteen years, you'd let him do it. You'd seen the look in his eyes and hadn't intervened. Had hardly even tried. The gemstone splits down the middle, but it isn't a glittering ruby inside. No. Black tar spills out.

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