#I had an encounter with someone and it didn’t work out the way it should’ve. I’m not mad about it. just confused.

[mssalo]

safety - Part: Il

Summary: After years of isolation, Joel Miller's life revolves around control and keeping danger at bay, his past as a soldier leaving him constantly on edge. But when a sweet, soft-spoken young woman starts working at the supply store, her innocence stirs something inside him. Despite his efforts to remain detached, Joel becomes obsessed with keeping her safe from the dangers he’s certain are lurking everywhere.

As his protective instincts morph into darker desires, the lines between safeguarding her and possessing her begin to blur.

Warnings will vary by chapter depending on the content.

Warnings: Dark!Joel, 18+ MDNI, Obsession themes, Stalking, Breaking and entering, Scent kink, Voyeurism, Joel has major Trauma/PTSD, Mentions of military past, Manipulation, Power dynamics, Male masturbation, Joel, still, needs a hug and therapy. As per usual.

9k. enjoy.

Part I Part III

· · ───────────𖥸──────────· ··

Joel found out she was working at the supply store by accident.

He hadn’t planned on seeing her again. After that first encounter, he convinced himself he’d walk away.

She wasn’t his problem.

He couldn’t get wrapped up in someone like her—someone who had no idea how dangerous the world really was.

But then, on one of his routine stops for supplies, he spotted her behind the counter.

She hadn’t seen him

At first, he’d assumed she was just a customer again, passing through, but when she’d ducked behind the register, pulling out receipts, it hit him.

She worked there now.

She hadn’t told him that before, hadn’t mentioned anything about it, and yet here she was, talking to customers, rearranging gear, moving around the store like it was something she’d been doing forever.

And for some reason, that made something inside him tighten.

She was here all the time. Regular hours, regular shifts.

Easy to find.

That should’ve made him feel nothing. But it didn’t.

That’s so fuckin’ dangerous.

From that point on, whenever he stopped by the store, he made sure to keep his distance.

He’d walk in, grab what he needed, and leave before she noticed him.

There was something about seeing her there—watching her smile and chat with customers—that unnerved him in a way he couldn’t explain.

She didn’t fit in with the world he knew.

She was too soft, too bright. She belonged somewhere safe, not in a place like this.

Yet, he found himself coming back.

Over and over.

Each time, he told himself it was the last time.

That he’d stop, that he didn’t need to see her again.

But every time he came back, she was there—talking to someone, laughing at some joke, her voice floating through the air like a song he couldn’t get out of his head.

Joel tried to ignore it.

Tried to ignore her.

But she was like a goddamn magnet, pulling him back in without even realizing it.

And then, one day, she spotted him.

“Joel!” she called, her voice bright and cheerful, as if they were old friends.

He froze, his hand tightening around the bag of supplies he’d grabbed.

He’d been so close to slipping out unnoticed, but now she was looking at him, smiling that same smile that made his chest tighten.

“Hey,” he muttered, forcing himself to turn and meet her gaze.

She was standing behind the counter, hands resting on the edge, her eyes lighting up as she looked at him.

These damn pretty eyes.

“I didn’t know you came here so often,” she said, her tone playful.

“What’s bringing you back this time?”

Joel grunted, trying to come up with a quick excuse. “Needed more supplies. That’s all.”

She didn’t seem to notice the coldness in his voice, just kept smiling at him like he hadn’t been avoiding her for days.

“You always seem so prepared,” she said with a small laugh. “I bet you could survive out there for weeks with all the stuff you buy.”

Joel’s jaw tightened. Survive? 

She had no idea what that meant.

“Yeah, maybe.”

Her smile faltered for just a second, her eyes flicking to the side as if she wasn’t sure what to say next.

But then she turned back to him, her expression softening again.

“You know, I’ve been learning more about the gear here,” she said, leaning forward a bit. “I could help you with recommendations if you ever need it.”

Joel stared at her, trying to figure out what the hell was going on.

Why was she still talking to him? Why was she being so damn nice?

“I’m good,” he said, his voice gruff.

But she didn’t stop.

She tilted her head slightly, her eyes bright with curiosity. “You sure? I’ve been reading up on it a lot. Could probably surprise you with what I know.”

You shouldn’t trust me, Joel thought, his mind racing. 

Why are you still smiling at me?

He grunted again, shifting on his feet, his gaze flicking to the door.

He needed to leave. Now.

“Well,” she said, that same smile tugging at her lips, “if you ever need anything, just let me know. I’m here most days now.”

Too much information. 

Joel’s gut clenched. She shouldn’t be telling him this—telling anyone this. Didn’t she know how dangerous it was to be so open, so trusting?

“You shouldn’t tell people that,” Joel muttered, his voice harsher than he meant. “Not safe.”

Her brows furrowed, her smile slipping for the first time. “What do you mean?”

Joel felt the weight of her confusion settle on him, but he couldn’t stop himself from speaking. “Tellin’ strangers where you work. When you work. Ain’t smart.”

She blinked, taken aback. “Oh... I guess I didn’t think of it that way.”

Of course, you didn’t. 

Joel’s mind reeled, his frustration bubbling just below the surface.

You don’t know how to think like that. You don’t know what the world can do to people like you.

But before he could say anything else, she smiled again, though this time it was smaller, a bit softer.

“Thanks for looking out for me,” she said, her voice quieter. “I didn’t mean to—well, I guess I’m just not used to thinking like that.”

Yeah. I can tell.

But instead of saying that, Joel just nodded, his jaw still tight. He needed to leave, needed to stop this before he got in too deep.

Here’s a darker, more intense version of that passage:

“See you around,” she called after him as he turned to leave.

He didn’t reply. He couldn’t.

His throat was tight, his chest heavy. But as he pushed open the door and stepped outside into the cool air, something made him look back.

She was still watching him. Smiling. Soft. So damn innocent.

That look in her eyes—so full of trust—twisted something deep inside him.

She doesn’t know better.

His boots hit the pavement harder than necessary as he made his way to the truck.

Every step felt heavy, like the weight of his thoughts was dragging him down. His hand found the door handle, but he couldn’t make himself move.

Couldn’t shake the way her scent still clung to him, sweet and soft, like she was still standing right next to him.

Joel gritted his teeth, staring down at the truck door, but all he could see was her face.

Her wide, bright eyes, that shy smile, the way she just… trusted.

Trusted him. She shouldn’t.

His body felt hot, the tension coiling low in his gut, his muscles tight.

Too tight.

And then he felt it again—his cock, straining against his jeans, hard and throbbing, a deep, almost painful ache that made his breath catch in his throat.

Fuck.

It hit him like a freight train, sudden and unwanted. His mind raced, trying to push the thought of her away, but the harder he tried, the worse it got.

His pulse pounded in his ears, the heat in his body rising as the memory of her soft voice echoed in his mind.

That innocent, clumsy laugh. The way she fumbled with the gear. The blush on her cheeks.

Joel’s grip tightened on the door handle, his knuckles turning white.

What the hell is wrong with you?

He hadn’t felt this in years. This need. This raw, primal hunger gnawing at him.

His body betrayed him, his cock throbbing harder, almost painfully, as if it knew something he didn’t.

But it was because of her.

The realization, again, made his chest tighten, his breath coming in rough, uneven bursts.

He slammed the door shut, leaning his forehead against the cool metal, trying to calm the storm raging inside him.

No. Not her.

He squeezed his eyes shut, but her image was burned into his mind—her body, her smell, the softness in her eyes.

His cock twitched again, the pressure building, his jeans too tight, the pulse unbearable.

She was so sweet. So oblivious.

And here he was, standing in the parking lot like a goddamn animal, throbbing with need for something he knew he shouldn’t want.

But the thought of her lingered. The way she looked up at him like he was something to be trusted. Something safe.

Joel forced himself into the truck, gripping the wheel so tight he thought it might break.

His heart pounded in his chest, the tension making every breath feel like fire.

He needed to forget her. Get her out of his head.

But his body told him otherwise.

The throbbing between his legs refused to be ignored. His jaw clenched, muscles tight with frustration as the thoughts swirled, dark and unwanted.

He hadn’t felt like this in years. Not since before everything went to hell.

And now? Now this girl—this soft, sweet girl—had him unraveling.

Joel’s head thudded against the back of the seat, his pulse still racing. This wasn’t going to end well.

Not for him.

And definitely not for her.

· · ────

The following days were a blur of uncomfortable tension.

Joel tried to stay away.

He told himself not to go back to the store, not to linger around her.

He even went out on longer drives, tried to immerse himself in the things that usually kept his mind quiet.

But it didn’t work. Not anymore.

She was lodged in his thoughts, a constant, nagging presence that he couldn’t shake.

No matter how hard he tried to forget her, she always managed to crawl back in.

Her face, her voice, the way she smiled up at him like he wasn’t something to fear.

It gnawed at him, a reminder of everything he’d left behind.

A week passed before Joel saw her again.

This time, it was different. He wasn’t just there for supplies or to catch a glimpse of her. No, this time, he watched her more carefully.

Observing.

He kept his distance at first, lingering near the back of the store, eyes flicking toward her every few minutes as she worked.

She hummed to herself again, that same soft tune he’d heard the first time they met.

It wasn’t loud, barely audible under the sound of the store, but he caught it.

And it made something tighten inside him.

For a man who lived in shadows, always on alert, this brightness—this innocence—felt foreign. Her having no need to be quiet so she won’t be seen.

Wrong.

And yet, he couldn’t stop watching her.

She smiled as she spoke to a customer, her eyes lighting up as she handed them their change.

She was so goddamn open, so trusting. And that terrified him.

He told himself it was because she didn’t know better. She didn’t know what kind of world she lived in.

She hadn’t seen the things he’d seen, hadn’t done the things he’d done.

That was why he watched her so closely now.

He was protecting her. Keeping her safe.

At least, that’s what he told himself.

But it was more than that, wasn’t it?

The next day, she found him again, her voice soft but cheerful as she spoke up. “You’re back! Need anything else?”

Joel stared at her for a moment, his chest tightening at how easily she smiled at him. “Just… lookin’.”

She laughed, the sound light and melodic. “Well, if you ever need recommendations, I’m your girl.”

He tried to brush it off, tried to keep his voice steady, his eyes focused anywhere but on her.

But when she started talking about her weekend plans, everything shifted.

“I’m actually heading out for a solo trip this weekend,” she said, her voice filled with excitement.

“Found this beautiful spot just outside of town. Gonna do some camping, get away from everything for a bit.”

Joel’s blood ran cold.

Camping? Alone?

His jaw clenched as he stared at her, trying to process what she’d just said.

A girl like her? Out in the wilderness by herself?

The world wasn’t safe, and she was too naive to see that. She didn’t understand the dangers lurking just beyond the treeline.

“Where?” His voice was rough, demanding.

The softness from earlier was gone, replaced by the cold, hard edge that usually kept people at a distance.

She blinked, caught off guard by his tone. “Uh… it’s just a little spot out past the ridge. Really pretty.”

Joel felt his chest tighten.

“You shouldn’t go alone,” he said, his voice dark, laced with warning. “It’s not safe.”

She blinked, clearly confused by his sudden shift. “I’ll be fine,” she insisted, though there was a hint of uncertainty in her voice now. “I’ve done this before.”

“No, you won’t,” Joel growled, stepping closer, his presence suddenly overwhelming. “You have no idea what’s out there.”

She looked up at him, eyes wide, brows furrowed. “I—”

“You’ll get yourself killed,” he interrupted, his voice dropping lower, more threatening.

His paranoia was slipping through now, his need to protect her—to control the situation—overwhelming him. “You’re not prepared for what’s out there.”

There was a long pause, the tension thick between them. She opened her mouth to speak, but Joel wasn’t done.

“If you’re set on goin’,” he said, his tone calmer now, but still dark, “I know a better place. Secluded. Safe.”

His mind was spinning with the need to protect her, to make sure she was under his watch. “It’s past the ridge. You won’t find it on a map, but it’s perfect for campin’.”

That was his land. His very own property, tucked away from prying eyes, isolated and quiet. His land. Where he could keep an eye on her.

Her eyes brightened again, the tension between them easing just slightly. “Really? That sounds amazing! I’d love to check it out.”

Trusting so easily.

Joel nodded slowly, watching her carefully.

“I’ll give you the coordinates,” he said, his voice rough, his gaze still locked on hers. “Just… be careful.”

She smiled again, oblivious to the darkness brewing behind his eyes. “Thank you, Joel. I appreciate it.”

There's that damn blush again.

Joel nodded again, but his mind was already elsewhere.

She didn’t belong out there alone. And now, after hearing her plans, Joel knew what he had to do.

She wouldn’t be alone.

If she wouldn’t protect herself, then he would

· · ────

It happened by accident, really.

Joel had been driving through town, running his usual errands—another routine day where he tried to keep his mind occupied with anything but her.

It was something he’d been forcing himself to do for the past few days, convincing himself that the tension in his chest would ease if he just avoided her, if he didn’t let himself linger in her orbit for too long.

But fate had other plans.

As he turned down a quiet street on the edge of town, his eyes caught movement.

A figure stepped out of a small, unassuming house, barely noticeable in the corner of his eye.

Joel wasn’t even sure why he slowed down at first. He told himself it was out of habit, that old soldier instinct to assess everything in his surroundings. But the moment he saw her, all rational thought slipped away.

It was her.

She stood there, fumbling with her keys and a couple of grocery bags, her hair falling loose around her shoulders in soft waves.

Joel’s foot hovered over the brake for just a second too long as he watched her struggle to balance the bags and unlock the door.

Her face was flushed, lips moving as she muttered something to herself—a frustrated little quirk of her mouth that made his chest tighten.

There was something different about seeing her like this.

Here, in her space.

Not at the store, not somewhere public. But here—outside her home.

He felt a knot of something unfamiliar, something deep and possessive curl in his stomach.

She didn’t notice him at all. She was too busy juggling her things, her focus entirely on the door in front of her.

Joel’s gaze swept over her as he slowly rolled by, his truck moving at a crawl now.

He couldn’t tear his eyes away, even though a part of him knew he should’ve kept driving.

But the pull was too strong.

There was a softness about her here that felt even more pronounced.

Her home, small and tucked away from the busier streets, suited her in a way that he hadn’t expected. It was unassuming, private, but open in a way that made Joel feel… unsettled.

Like she was too exposed, too vulnerable, and too easy to find. Too easy for someone to hurt.

His grip on the steering wheel tightened as the thought crossed his mind.

She had no idea how dangerous the world really was. How quickly things could go wrong.

He drove past, the truck moving with painful slowness, his eyes flicking from the road to her again and again.

She didn’t see him. Not once. And for some reason, that bothered him more than it should have.

She hadn’t locked the door when she finally went inside.

Of course, she hadn’t.

Joel’s chest tightened with frustration, his jaw clenching as he drove farther down the road, turning the corner and pulling to a stop just out of sight.

Now that he knew where she lived, something shifted. He couldn’t just drive away and forget about it. No, she was here, alone, with no sense of the dangers that could easily find her.

He shouldn’t care. It wasn’t his problem. She wasn’t his problem.

But that’s not how it felt anymore.

· · ────

It wasn’t until later that night, as he lay in bed, that the dream came.

It wasn’t like the usual ones—flashes of war, the men he’d fought alongside, the sounds of gunfire and the stink of blood.

This one was different and it hit harder than anything he’d experienced in years.

He dreamt of her.

Of her in that house. And something, someone, breaking in.

It was chaos.

She was screaming, fighting to get free, and all he could do was watch, powerless, as she disappeared into the shadows.

He woke up drenched in sweat, his heart pounding like a drum in his chest, the adrenaline surging through his veins.

For a moment, Joel couldn’t shake the feeling that it had been real—that she was in danger and he hadn’t been there to stop it.

His hand instinctively reached for the knife he kept near the bed, fingers gripping the handle like it was his lifeline.

His breath came in heavy bursts, his body rigid with the need to protect, to act.

He could still hear her screams, still see her face twisted in fear.

She wasn’t safe.

And it wasn’t just a dream. Joel knew then, in that moment, that he couldn’t let this go.

He couldn’t just stand by and hope for the best.

It was only a matter of time, before something bad would happen to her.

He had to make sure she was okay, had to make sure nothing like that ever happened to her.

And if that meant going out of his way to keep an eye on her, then so be it.

· · ────

The next day, he drove by her house again.

And the day after that.

Each time, he told himself it was just a precaution, just a way to make sure she wasn’t in any real danger.

He didn’t get too close, didn’t let himself be seen.

But every time he saw her, the tension in his chest loosened just a little, knowing she was still there, still safe.

He found out more about her routines—when she left for work, when she came back.

He watched as she went about her day, completely unaware of the eyes that followed her every move.

She wasn’t like the rest of the world—hardened and scarred by violence.

She was soft, untouched by the darkness that clung to everything Joel had known.

And that’s why she needed him.

· · ────

The more he watched her, the more he realized how easy it would be for something to go wrong.

A stranger could approach her on her walks, someone could break into her house, anything could happen.

And if he wasn’t there to stop it… she would be defenseless.

That feeling from the dream—the panic, the helplessness—still clung to him, gnawing at his gut like a festering wound.

He couldn’t shake it, couldn’t convince himself to turn around and go home.

That’s why he had started breaking into her house.

Naturally.

At first, it was just to make sure everything was secure.

He would check the locks, make sure the windows were latched, make sure there were no signs of forced entry.

But the more he let himself in, the more his reasons shifted.

He started checking her camping gear, making sure everything was in place.

Joel crouched down, fingers brushing over the rough material as he unzipped the bag.

His hands moved through her belongings with the same careful touch, checking each item she’d packed.

He frowned when he noticed some of the essentials missing.

No proper emergency gear. Not enough food. Definitely not enough water.

She wasn’t ready.

His chest tightened with a mix of frustration and concern.

She had no idea what she was walking into.

The wild didn’t care how innocent or sweet you were—it tore people apart.

And she was so damn trusting, so clueless about the danger that lurked everywhere.

Joel zipped the bag back up and stood, a plan already forming in his mind.

She couldn’t go out there alone, not without the proper gear. Not without protection.

He’d make sure she had what she needed.

He’d leave it for her—quietly, subtly.

She didn’t need to know he was the one watching over her.

She didn’t need to know just how deep his involvement went.

His feet led him down the hall, toward the room at the end—the door slightly ajar, a soft, warm glow spilling from inside.

Joel’s breath hitched as he stepped further inside, his boots nearly silent on the hardwood floor.

It was small, simple, but unmistakably hers.

A bed with a soft quilted cover, a small nightstand with a book left open, and clothes folded neatly on a chair in the corner.

Joel swallowed hard, his throat dry as his eyes roamed over the space.

He moved slowly, carefully, his eyes scanning the room like he was surveying a battlefield.

Everything was neat, untouched, just as he’d expected.

But as he stood there, something twisted in his chest. He wasn’t just here to check on her safety.

Something else caught his attention.

Her underwear.

At first, it was an accident. He wasn’t looking for it, but when he stumbled upon it—soft, lacy, and used—he couldn’t stop himself.

His hands reached for it before he even realized what he was doing, his fingers brushing against the delicate fabric.

His breath caught in his throat, his pulse quickening.

He shouldn’t be doing this. He knew that.

But the scent—her scent—was intoxicating, wrapping around him like a drug. His mind flashed with images of her wearing it, of her undressing, her skin soft and bare beneath his touch.

Joel’s grip tightened on the fabric, his body reacting in ways he hadn’t felt in years. His jeans grew uncomfortably tight, the throbbing between his legs impossible to ignore. He was so hard.

This wasn’t just about keeping her safe anymore. It was about something deeper, something darker.

He brought the fabric to his face, inhaling deeply, letting the scent of her wash over him.

His eyes fluttered shut, his mind filling with thoughts he had no right to think.

He hadn’t let himself feel something like this —this raw, uncontrollable hunger—but now, standing in her bedroom, holding something so private, so close to her, it hit him like a wave.

Joel inhaled deeply, the scent wrapping around him like a haze, flooding his senses. It was overwhelming, intoxicating.

His eyes fluttered shut, his breathing deepened, and the scent clung to him, almost suffocating him in the best way possible.

The sweetness, mixed with something so personal, made his heart pound harder in his chest, heat rising in his body.

She had no idea.

No idea what she did to him.

How that softness, that scent, chipped away at the walls he build.

His fingers tightened around the fabric as he held it closer, the warmth of her scent flooding his senses.

His mind was clouded with images—images of her.

She shouldn’t be this trusting.

He imagined her standing there, blushing, lips parting slightly, her soft voice spilling from them, completely unaware of the thoughts racing through his mind.

She was just too easy to picture—too easy to want.

too sweet.

Too soft. Too innocent for someone like him.

Joel’s grip tightened as he let his mind spiral deeper into the images of her—blushing, trembling, staring up at him with those wide, innocent eyes that would soon be filled with something else.

His fingers tightened around the fabric, his body responding in ways he couldn’t deny any longer.

He fought to steady his breathing, to push the dark thoughts from his mind, but they were there, lurking just beneath the surface, no matter how hard he tried.

He shouldn’t want this. Shouldn’t want her. 

He wasn’t just imagining her anymore—he was feeling her, smelling her, letting her invade his mind and body in ways he hadn’t thought possible.

Joel’s jaw clenched, his breathing rough as he tried to regain control.

But the more he let the fabric linger in his hands, the more he realized—he didn’t want to stop. He didn’t want to let go.

Joel stayed like that, frozen in the moment, inhaling deeply, the used fabric of her underwear still clutched in his hands as he lost himself in the dark, possessive thoughts swirling in his mind.

He knew it wouldn’t be the last time. He couldn’t stop now.

The pull was too strong, too overwhelming.

Without even thinking, he raised the fabric closer, his lips hovering just above it.

His heart pounded in his chest, a heavy, aching rhythm, the temptation crawling under his skin.

He hesitated for just a moment, knowing how wrong this was, how far he was crossing a line.

But it wasn’t enough to stop him.

Nothing could stop him now.

Joel’s breath hitched, and his lips brushed against the soft material, barely making contact at first.

He could feel the warmth, the faint trace of her cunt, lingering on the fabric, and it sent a wave of heat rushing through him.

His grip tightened.

The softness pressed against his mouth, and for a split second, he let his tongue flicker out, tasting her sweet pussy, just barely.

It was subtle, a hint of something forbidden, but it sent a jolt straight through him.

He felt himself tense, his body reacting in ways he could no longer control, the line between protection and obsession blurring even more.

He wanted more.

Before he could let his tongue get another lick, Joel heard the unmistakable sound of the front door opening.

That did certainly stop him.

His body stiffened, and in a heartbeat, all the dark, twisted satisfaction evaporated, replaced by a surge of adrenaline.

His mind raced, his fingers trembling as he fumbled to put everything back exactly where it had been.

Not now. Not like this.

He moved swiftly but silently, making sure every trace of him disappeared. Every drawer closed, every fabric in place. He couldn’t leave any sign that he had been there.

His heart pounded against his ribcage as he slipped out of the bedroom, his movements precise, calculated.

Years of training kept his body moving even when his mind teetered on panic.

The soft sound of her footsteps reached his ears as she moved further into the house.

She was talking to herself again, that light, carefree tune that only made him more desperate to get out unnoticed.

She had no idea.

No idea that he had been so close, no idea of the thoughts that ran through his head while he held her soaked panties in his hands.

Joel paused at the back door, his body pressed against the frame as he caught a glimpse of her through the crack in the doorway.

She was still oblivious, setting her bag down, humming softly to herself. She hadn’t noticed anything. Not the disturbance in the air, not the faint scent of him that still lingered in the room.

So innocent. So trusting.

Must be nice.

He watched her for a moment, his eyes darkening as he observed her, standing there in the home she thought was safe.

He could still smell her on him, the faint scent clinging to his mustache, the lingering effect making his pulse quicken once more.

But he couldn’t stay.

Not now.

With one last glance, Joel slipped out of the house, his movements quick and silent.

He disappeared into the shadows just as she turned toward the hallway, completely unaware of how close he had been—how close he still was.

· · ────

Joel slipped into his truck with the stealth of a man used to evading detection, his heart still hammering in his chest as he turned the key in the ignition.

The engine rumbled to life, but his mind was elsewhere. 

The drive home felt longer than usual, each passing second a blur of adrenaline and frustration.

His fingers tightened around the steering wheel, knuckles white, his breathing uneven.

He could still smell her, the faint scent lingering on his clothes, on his skin. It was maddening.

He tried to shake it off, tried to ignore the throbbing ache that had been building since he smelled her sweet little cunt, but it wouldn’t go away.

When he finally pulled up to his house, Joel barely remembered the drive at all.

He parked the truck haphazardly, the door slamming shut behind him as he made his way inside.

His boots hit the wooden floor with heavy thuds, and before he knew it, he was leaning back against the wall in his living room, his breath still coming in shallow bursts.

His breath was ragged, the ache in his body refusing to subside.

The scent of her cunt—still clinging to his beard, his hands—seeped into his skin, a constant reminder of what she had stirred deep inside him.

He hadn’t felt like this in years, hadn’t allowed himself to. But now, there was no going back.

His cock throbbed painfully, straining against his jeans, and for the first time in so long, he couldn’t ignore it.

The need was unbearable, clawing at him, demanding release. He leaned back against the wall, chest heaving, every breath filled with the sweetness of her scent.

It was still there, on him, as if she hadn’t left.

His hand hovered over the bulge in his jeans, fingers twitching, as if fighting the urge to touch.

But the memory of her—the feel of her, the scent of her—was overwhelming.

He couldn’t stop now. He didn’t want to.

With a low growl, he gave in, his hand pressing against his cock, the pressure sending a shiver up his spine.

His jaw clenched as he slowly dragged his palm over the length, the throbbing only growing more intense. The sensation was too much, too sharp after years of nothing.

He hadn’t touched himself like this in so long, and the intensity of it almost knocked the breath out of him.

His cock twitched, hard and aching in his hand, the weight of it heavy as he gripped it tighter.

His breath hitched as he finally pulled it free, the cool air hitting his skin, but it did nothing to cool the heat that was coursing through his veins. fuck.

He stroked himself slowly at first, his rough palm sliding over the swollen, leaking head, the friction making him groan.

He thought he’d never feel this was again.

His mind was a haze of her—her softness, her innocence, the way she had smiled at him, so trusting, so sweet.

She didn’t know what she was doing to him. She couldn’t know.

But he did.

His pace quickened, each stroke more desperate, more insistent. The scent of her was driving him insane.

Sweet like her.

He licked his lips, trying to get some of that sweet, sweet taste back he had earlier.

His cock throbbed in his hand, hard and slick as he pumped it, his breath coming in sharp, uneven gasps.

Her face flashed in his mind again—those wide, innocent eyes, the way she had blushed when she looked at him.

She had no idea.

No idea how badly he wanted her, how much he needed her.

Joel’s grip tightened, his strokes rougher now, his hips jerking up into his hand as he chased that release, the pressure building fast.

His cock was pulsing in his hand, slick and hard, aching with the need for something he couldn’t name.

Something only she could give him.

His breath came in ragged bursts, his chest heaving as he pumped his cock faster, harder.

The tension coiled tight in his gut, every muscle in his body straining as the need for release consumed him.

He could almost taste her, the memory of her scent still filling his lungs, making his head swim.

With a rough, guttural growl, Joel’s body tensed, his vision going white as the tension finally snapped.

His cock jerked in his hand, the release hitting him like a storm, fierce and unforgiving.

He groaned low in his throat, his hips bucking as he spilled over his hand, the warmth spreading through him like fire. He hadn’t cum that much in years.

It wouldn’t stop coming out of him.

…well, this was new.

For a long moment, he stayed there, his breath coming in ragged, heavy gasps, his hand still wrapped around his now-softening cock.

The pleasure ebbed slowly, leaving behind a dark satisfaction that settled deep in his bones.

But it wasn’t enough.

It would never be enough.

Because her scent was still there.

Her softness still lingered in his mind, wrapped around him like a shroud, and Joel knew—this wasn’t over.

Not even close.

Joel’s mind flickered back to the map, to the spot he’d given her—the spot on his land.

He could see it clear as day, tucked away, isolated, surrounded by woods.

Tomorrow, she’d be out there, alone, completely unaware of what could happen.

His jaw clenched at the thought.

The world was dangerous, filled with things she couldn’t even begin to understand.

But he did.

His pulse quickened, that dark, familiar feeling tightening around his chest.

He’d keep her safe. He’d make sure nothing happened to her—not on his watch.

No one else knew the dangers lurking in the shadows like he did. She had no idea, no clue what she was walking into.

But he’d be there.

Watching.

And if anything—or anyone—tried to hurt her, they’d have to go through him first.

Joel swallowed hard, his fingers twitching at his sides. He’d seen too much, lost too much.

But not her. Not this time.

Tomorrow, he’d make sure she was safe… even if she didn’t know it.

· · ───────────𖥸──────────· ··

well… somebody needs therapy (me and him both)

I have no tag list for this (I’m old and will probably fail starting one) but if you comment on here I’ll remind you if there’s a new chapter!!

Deal?

xoxo

[dadbots]

April, huh….

[cameronspecial]

The Hype Of A Babysitter

Pairing: Zach MacLaren x Babysitter!Reader

Warnings: Swearing

Pronouns: She/Her

Word Count: 2.0K

Summary: While babysitting the youngest MacLaren, Y/N encounters the older brother she has heard many stories about.

Masterlist

With Zach away at university, the MacLarens needed a new babysitter and that’s where Y/N comes in. She has been babysitting Avery for three months now. She graduated a year earlier, so she decided to take a year off before starting her desired career. Watching Avery is a great way for Y/N to earn more money on top of her savings from working during university. “Ave, what do you want to make for dinner?” Y/N questions when she feels someone else’s presence in the room. She has her head in the fridge, so she can’t see who it is. “How about pizza?” The unfamiliar male voice causes Y/N to go on high alert and jump away from the fridge with her arms ready to attack. “Who are you?” she threatens the tall blue-eyed boy. Upon further examination, her arms drop as she behind to realize who it is. “Oh, you must be Zach. I’ve heard a lot about you. I’m Y/N,” she introduces herself, holding her hand out for him to take. He takes it in her hand, “Yep, that’s me. I am Avery’s older brother.” She leans back against the kitchen island. “Your parents didn’t tell me that you were coming home,” she states. 

He shrugs, moving to the fridge to get the stuff out for pizza, “That’s because they didn’t know. I thought I would surprise them.” She joins him at the counter with a nod of her head. “Right. Well, if you want to spend time with Avery alone, then I can go. Your parents don’t have to pay me for the full night,” she notifies him. His head moves from side to side, “No, it’s okay. Avery has told me so much about you; it would be nice to get to know you.” When Zach entered his kitchen, he didn’t expect to see the most beautiful girl he had ever seen. He was quick to piece together that she was the babysitter he had been hearing about because his parent’s car wasn’t in the driveway. He has heard so many stories about her and he is intrigued to learn more about her. 

“So pizza is okay?” he confirms, holding up the ingredients he already took out. She nods her head, “As long as we don’t put pineapples on it.” “Nooo pineapples. Noted. So I’m guessing not a Hawaiian pizza fan,” he guesses. Y/N can’t respond because Avery comes running to the room from the bathroom, tackling her brother in a hug. “You’re home!” she exclaims. He chuckles at his sister’s hold, “I am. I was missing you guys, so I thought I’d come home for the weekend.” Y/N’s heart flutters at how cute it is that Zach is staying the weekend because he missed his family. Sure, his campus isn’t very far, but he has been living on campus since Freshman year and he can sometimes get too busy to visit. “Yay!” Avery spots the containers out on the counter and grins. “Are we making pizza?” Zach’s head flicks up and down, “Yep. Just no pineapples. Miss. Y/N over here doesn’t like them.” “I’m fine with that,” Avery shrugs. Zach starts organizing the different ingredients, ordering Avery to cut up the toppings while Y/N helps him with the dough. “Okay, now add the water,” he instructs. She takes the water and dumps it into the bowl quickly, causing the water to splash up the bowl and over the edge. It falls onto Zach’s shirt and soaks the bottom of it.

“Shit, I am so sorry,” she apologizes, grabbing a towel to help him dry off. “That’s a bad word,” Avery states. Y/N doesn't seem to process where the hem of his shirt falls. She starts patting the area to dry it off but slows down once she realizes she is touching his crotch. A blush appears on Zach's cheeks as he looks down as her hands pause over the area. She retracts her hands to her chest and her hair falls in front of her face as she bows her head. “I’m sorry,” she whispers again, handing him back the towel. He shakes his head, “It’s okay. It was an accident.” “Yeah, but I also should’ve warned you that I am horrible at cooking,” she confesses with a sheepish look. He places the towel on the counter, “Well, I’m determined to change that.” 

About an hour later, the trio are sitting with their pizzas in hand as they watch a movie on the couch. The end credits start to roll and they turn toward Avery to find her asleep. Y/N sets her plate and Avery’s on the coffee table, gently nudging the girl awake. “Come on, Ave. Let’s get you to bed,” Y/N suggests. She helps the young girl off the couch and leads her upstairs. “I’ll get started on cleaning,” Zach announces to the girls heading upstairs. Y/N waits outside of Avery’s bedroom while she brushes her teeth and gets changed. Avery opens the door to let Y/N in and yells downstairs to Zach, “Can you come check my bed for monsters, please?” They can hear his footsteps as he jogs up the stairs. He enters the room with a grin on his face. Y/N’s heart flutters at how serious he takes his inspection and she giggles when he declares the only monster in the room is currently lying in bed in pyjamas. Y/N and Zach say goodnight to Avery and head to the kitchen to clean up. Zach already got the counters clean, so the only thing they need to do is the dishes. 

The faucet runs as he runs the plate underneath the stream. He turns it off when he holds the plate out for her to dry. The towel in her hand swings and she accidentally whips Zach’s bicep with it. He pauses what he is doing, turning to look at her with furrowed brows. She giggles under his gaze and he grabs the other towel hanging from the oven door. He twists the fabric into a rope, gently tapping her bicep. She jumps back with a vindictive look and reciprocates the action. “Oh, this means war,” he declares, chasing after her with his weapon. The room is filled with laughter as they run around the island, trying to slap each other. Eventually, he catches her in his arms and pulls her back against his chest. One hand raises with the towel. She holds her hands up, “Cease fire. I call a truce. You win.” He places her back onto the floor with a grin. They stare at each other for a few seconds with a dumb look on their faces before going back to the dishes. Once they finish, she heads over to her bags and starts packing her stuff. “I guess I should probably go since Avery is asleep,” she states, swinging her backpack strap over one shoulder. His hand reaches out to stop her, “Don’t go. Why don’t we play Battletoads for a little bit?” 

She thinks about it. Staying longer can’t hurt her. She puts her bag back on the floor with a nod. They both settle on the couch with their own controllers. “Prepared to be demolished because Avery and I play this all the time,” Y/N threatens. Zach chuckles, “Well, you are out of luck because who do you think got Avery into the game?” He glances at her with a smile. 

“No. No. No,” Y/N groans as Zach wins the round again. “Can we watch a movie or something? My hands are getting tired.” Zach’s face is painted with victory, “You are just saying that because you keep losing. But I will agree to watch a movie if it means I can keep my winning streak.” They settle on some random movie, except halfway through, they realize it is not keeping their attention. “So you play soccer?” she thinks out loud, feeling comfortable to rest her head against his shoulder. She can feel his head move. “Yeah, it’s all I’ve ever really had,” he admits. “And you are thinking about being a journalist.” “Yeah, I have a degree in journalism and I’ve applied to a few positions at some news stations, so I’m just waiting for those,” she reveals. 

“That’s really cool. Why journalism?” 

“I’ve always enjoyed writing, but I am terrible at bringing a fictional story to life. Reporting the news felt like a way I could tell other people’s stories and still get to use my writing skills.”

“I think it’s amazing that you want to tell other people’s stories. You are fighting for the underdog.”

“Exactly, how about you? Why soccer?” 

“My parents used to say that I didn’t take my first steps, I took my first run. They said I was chasing after the ball so they got the idea to put me in soccer as soon as they could and I loved it. Learning how to control my body so the ball goes where I want. Working with a te-”

He stops at the sound of the tiny snores emitting from her lips. He isn’t offended that she fell asleep. It’s almost one and he knows taking care of Avery can be a handful. He considers waking her up so she can go home, but he likes the heat her body contact provides. Soon enough, he finds his own eyes begin to droop and his head falls on hers as he falls asleep. 

———

The front door closing jerks the two awake. Y/N rubs her eyes to see that Connie and Matt have returned. “Sorry, we are a little later than we said Y/N,” Matt says, pulling out his wallet to get her payment out. Y/N shakes her head, “No problem, I had a little backup tonight.” Confusion flashes across their faces until they notice the groggy Zach on the couch. “Zach, you’re here?” Connie startles, going to give her son a hug. He laughs, “Yeah, I thought I would spend the weekend.” He falls into conversation with his parents whilst she gets her stuff ready to go. “Well, I’m going to go for real this time. Thank you for the money and call me when you need me again,” she advertises, heading toward the door. Zach darts up, “Hold on, let me walk you to your car.” He catches up to her and they make their way outside in silence. She gets into the car, leaving the driver’s side door open to say goodbye to him. “Thank you for walking me out. It was really nice meeting you,” she bids au dieu. He hangs off of the door, “It was nice meeting you too. Can I tell you a secret though?”

She looks up at him with curiosity and motions for him to continue. He leans closer so his mouth ghosts her ear, “I came back home to meet you. Avery always had the best stories about you and I just had to see for myself if you lived up to the hype. I’m glad that you did.” Heat rushes to her cheeks and she searches her bag for her phone. “I’m glad I did too, but I’m not too sure if you live up to yours. So I think I should give you a second chance. Maybe by going out on a date?” she offers, holding her phone out for him to put his number. He takes it and starts typing, “Of course, I wouldn’t want you to spread the news that I’m not hypeworthy, Miss. Journalist. You could seriously damage my reputation.”

“Well, then you better make it one hell of a date.”

“Oh, I’m planning on it.”

He gives her back her phone and she puts it away. “See you later,” she mumbles. He can see the look in her eyes and decode the message behind it. He leans down to give her a peck on the lips. “See you later. Drive safe,” he says before closing the door and waving her off home. He is really glad he came home to meet the babysitter because he has a feeling she is going to be the love of his life. 

Taglist: @winterrrnight @loves0phelia @thelomlisrafecameron @nonbullshit-toleratingkindagirl

[harmonicakai]

I Bet on Losing Dogs

Pairing: Beomgyu x Reader

Summary: Your insecurities get the best of you and you abandon your relationship with Beomgyu in the worst way possible.

Tropes: friends with benefits, angst, college AU, band AU

Word Count: 1.3k

Warnings: mentions of sex (mdni), emotional unavailability, slut shaming, no happy ending :-(

A/N: This is SAD because I am currently sad and also I didn’t bother to edit it. Apologies in advance to the Beomgyu biased readers bc I know this is not what anybody asked for </3

“You disappeared Like a faint ghost I bury it in the air What am I to you?” —Ghosting, TXT

You’re a horrible person.

Really, you should’ve broken things off with Beomgyu before they even began. It’s never a good idea to be friends with benefits with somebody you actually like. 

You do your best to distract yourself from confessing your love to him by sleeping with other guys. What started bright and electric between the two of you has fizzled with each encounter, his touch now feeling dull and hollow on your skin.

So, when you wake up next to him after a movie night, your stomach drops when you see the marks he’s left on your neck. Everybody will know what you get up to, if they haven’t already been gossiping about it behind your back.

There’s a numbness to the way you slip out of his apartment without so much as a goodbye. If you had woken him up, he would’ve noticed the sad look on your face and canceled all of his plans to spend the day making you feel better.

You don’t deserve his friendship, let alone his love, although he's only confessed the latter when he thinks you’re asleep and can’t hear him. Or, sometimes Huening Kai will let it slip how much Beomgyu talks about you when they’re away.

The walk home is brutal. You’re even wearing the jacket he’s refused to let you give back to him, knowing that if you had left it behind, he’d surely know something was wrong.

When he notices you’re gone, he shoots you a text about Merriam-Webster’s word of the day. Beomgyu has never cared for linguistics, but he knows you’re a real nerd about this kind of stuff. You decide not to reply.

Things would be much easier if you could just disappear out of his life, but the two of you have become so intertwined that it’s impossible. All of your friends are his friends.

Before him, you were just some quiet girl who shrunk away in the back of the classroom. After getting paired up and reading the poetry you managed to dream up, Beomgyu knew he had to get to know you more.

For most guys, the way he acts with you would come off as desperate. But he’s so earnest in his admiration for you and your talent that there’s simply no way he could possibly be faking it.

The first time you had gotten together was an honest mistake. You had been dumped, again, and he was there for you. It seems like he always is every time another man decides you aren’t worth his time.

It’s not that you don't love him. You do, as much as you’re able to. But you know that if you actually took things to the next level and they didn’t work out, it would break you entirely.

Still, is ghosting him without any sort of reason or explanation any better?

With finals in full swing, you know you’ve got the perfect excuse to be distant for a while. It’s the summertime that you’re worried about. Beomgyu has made sure to include you in every plan of his that he thinks you’d like, sometimes even arranging entire days around you in between his band’s schedules.

Really, the easiest way out is to start dating someone else. It always makes Beomgyu shrink further away from you to know that you will consistently pick someone else over him, although he’s secretly satisfied when things inevitably go sour. He hates knowing that the only thing that drives you into his arms is being rejected by somebody else, but he wants you too much to care.

The two of you talk about everything except how you feel about him, and he knows that he isn’t entitled to any of your emotions. You’ve made it clear from the start that you’re never going to be able to reciprocate in the way that he’d like for you to.

You weren’t always like this. At the start of college, you came in with the idea that you’d fall in love and have your happily ever after. But years of being used for your body and consequently dumped without reason has ripped your heart off your sleeve.

The way Beomgyu worships the ground you walk on makes no sense. You hate yourself. Maybe he just wants something to fix, and once you finally open up to him, he’ll leave you just like everybody else.

The thought makes no sense knowing him, but it’s the driving force in never confessing how you actually feel. So, you offer up yourself physically in the hopes that it’s enough, but it always leaves you feeling empty inside afterward. No amount of kisses or compliments will probably ever change that.

Among his bandmates, you’re closest to Yeonjun. He’s the only one who knows that you love Beomgyu just as much, maybe even more, than he loves you. 

It was revealed through a drunken confession at a frat party the weekend Beomgyu went home for his mom’s birthday, where you immediately got embarrassed and proceeded to go home with the first guy who gave you any sort of attention.

Meaningless sex is really the only way you can get off these days, but the act always leaves you feeling worse than feeling nothing at all with Beomgyu. But if you’re never going to be good enough, pure enough, to truly deserve him, then what’s the harm in another hook up?

You know that every time he finds out you've been with somebody else, you’re breaking his heart. It’s just that there’s so much love from him to go around that it never actually makes a difference in how he treats you. He has the biggest heart you’ve ever seen and you don’t even have the decency to not trample all over it.

You wonder if everybody else also agrees that you’re not good enough for him. They’re so nice whenever you’re around, but you’ve seen men turn into monsters behind your back. For your sake, you try not to think about anybody else's opinion besides Beomgyu’s, but even those thoughts weigh heavy on your shoulders.

After a few days of not returning his texts, he finally musters up the courage to call you. Before you can pick up, your phone sends him to voicemail, and you know that’ll be enough of a sign for him to leave you alone.

It isn’t until you run into him dropping off your poetry final in the writing department’s office that he truly sees what’s become of you.

You haven’t slept properly in days, and you barely eat. Your eyes are constantly puffy from crying all the time, and today is no different. Seeing you like this devastates him.

“Y/N,” he says, his voice shaky and barely above a whisper. He’s got his hand wrapped around your wrist to keep you from running away. His demand for an explanation on where you’ve been and why is stuck inside his throat, and instead, only sobs come out of his mouth.

Beomgyu never cries, and watching as he tries to hide the tears running down his face reminds you that he must be hurting just as much as you are. You want so badly to hold him and apologize, but all you do is stare.

Eventually, he manages to collect himself as much as he can, taking in the irreparable damage you’ve caused one last time.

“Here,” he says, digging in his backpack and handing you a stapled stack of papers. It’s his final project. “I’ll go print another. I want you to read these. Please, promise me you’ll read them.”

You accept the papers, your eyes skimming over the lines of poetry on the first page. It's about you. You flip through the rest of the stack. They're all about you.

It takes everything in you not to start crying too, although you’re so exhausted that you don’t think anything would even come out at this point.

“I promise,” you assure him, although neither of you know if you’re telling the truth.

—————-

Taglist: @orangesodafoam @deezbutz28 @ur-mother-realnotclickbait @iyeeeverydee @internet-folks @darlingz99 @foxyjun @stardustmooncakes @giaalorine @beomgyubabybear @niningtori @goquokka @csbenthusiast @moarmyjkhk @lizdevorak @sooberryworld @lonelybutterflytae @midnight-mochii @theresawtf @nowadays56 @jjklvr9 @baekberrie

P.S.: Please shoot me an ask or a reply if you’d like to be added to (or removed from) the taglist! I struggle to keep up with different lists for individual members, but if you really don't want to be tagged on all of my works, just let me know and I will do my best to make a note <3

[ysljoon]

Love Maze-Chapter 2

pairing: single dad!simon 'ghost' riley x live-in nanny!reader wc: 1.3k warnings: none for this chapter a/n: this chapter was a little slow BUT we made some progress eeee im so excited to go from here yall 🫣 MINORS DNI (have your age in your bio or you're getting blocked) <prev chpt. >next chpt.

You stare at your apartment triumphantly once you see everything packed away. You lugged your suitcase out the door and now you’re on your way back to the Riley household. You were curious about Ella’s father. He was a very hard man to read and didn’t seem like a man for much conversation. Hopefully, you could bring down the walls he’s set up and get closer to him because to live with someone who appears unapproachable seems awkward to say the least. Yes, you’re there for the child first and foremost, but it would be nice to get to know him outside of being your employer.

Also the mask? What is that about? That should’ve raised more red flags in your mind, but the opportunity seemed too great to be able to look over that. He seems to be hiding a lot, but maybe he just needs time to warm up.

You showed up at 8 a.m. on the dot and knocked on the door. You distracted yourself with the pleasant dewy weather of the morning while you waited for Simon to answer the door. The door swung open faster than you expected and you had to dodge it at the last second to avoid it hitting you square in the face. Simon gave you a gruff ‘good morning’ and moved out of the way to let you inside. He still had on the black surgical mask, but his attire was a jarring difference in comparison to the first encounter. He had on blue cargo pants with harnesses hugging his thighs and a zipped-up blue windbreaker. Ella was held against his hip with one hand and the other hand had a black vest in the other. You were well aware that he was military personnel, but you didn’t think you would be acquainted with that side of him so soon. 

You rolled your suitcase in behind you and awkwardly stood in his kitchen while waiting for him to give you further instructions. He placed Ella down in her bouncer and leaned against the counter across from you. His eyes looked bored when looking at you and there wasn’t really an emotion you could use to describe it, but it didn’t feel good to see the least. “I just fed Ella her morning bottle. The formula is in the cabinet over there.” He pointed above your head behind you. “And all bottles are in the dishwasher. Feed her about every 3 hours or whenever she’s feeling fussy.” 

He tilts his head to the side to indicate to follow him and you do. He takes you to her nursery and it is very bare bones of a nursery. It has all the essentials with a crib, a dresser equipped with a changing table and baby monitor on top, a black suede rocking chair, and a trash bin. “In the dresser is where all the diapers and wipes are stored. The top drawer has all of her binkies,” He crouches down to the lowest drawer. “Here’s an extra baby monitor. I already have one in my room so keep it on your bedside table.” You nodded, taking mental notes of all the information he was giving you. He wordlessly walks out of the room and takes you across the hall. “This is the spare room, make yourself at home. The closet should have enough space, but if you need more just let me know and the bathroom is attached.” You gave him a grateful smile. 

“Thank you so much for your hospitality, Simon.” He gave you only a grunt in acknowledgment of your words. “I’m heading to work now, since we’re in a lull right now I should be home around 6 pm. Text me if you need anything. If you don’t hear from me within the hour contact my captain. His name is John Price.” He handed you a small square of card stock with John’s name and number scribbled on it. You reached for your phone immediately out of your pocket to input the number. Simon gave you one last look over before heading out the door and you bid him one last farewell. You made your way to the living room and looked at Ella with a fond expression. “Well, Ella it’s just me and you now.”

The day moved along swiftly. It was easy to turn on your caregiver mode, but you did do some quick online shopping when Ella was having her afternoon nap as it came to your attention quite quickly that there was a scarcity of baby toys for her to play with. Ella was an easy baby though she was rarely very fussy and during diaper changes, you were able to keep her distracted enough to have her giggling. The sounds of her laughs had you wrapped around her finger. She was an adorable little girl. 

Once 4 pm rolled around you decided to scour Simon’s cupboards to see what you could cook for dinner when he comes home from work. His pantry was scarce and you made a mental note to visit the grocery store tomorrow. You were able to scrape together a garlic chicken pasta for dinner and once that was done you let it sit on the burner on a low heat to keep it warm as it was only a few minutes until Simon was home. You made your way back to Ella to scoop her out of her bouncer that you kept her in while you were cooking, bounced her on your hip and sang lullabies to her. Her wide little eyes stared at you and observing her face made you realize how her eyes were identical to Simon’s. You weren’t sure how the rest of her facial features compared to Simon’s as he kept it concealed. 

The door knob jiggled and the jangling of keys alerted both you and Ella to the arrival of Simon coming back home. Suddenly Ella started getting squirmy in your arms and wanted to be held by her dad. He quickly shuffled at the front door putting down his belongings and kicking off his boots. He made his way over to you and scooped Ella out of your arms and cradled her in his strong, muscular ones. “How was she today?” “She was great, barely fussy at all! Oh, I made dinner by the way so whenever you’re ready to eat I can dish it out for us.” Simon did smell the aroma of food in the air, but he thought you only cooked enough for yourself he didn’t expect you to cook for him. He also noted how you said us instead of just him. He wasn’t used to someone being this nice to him since he joined the 141 and the task force tried their best to welcome Simon. This was definitely something to get used to. 

“I’ll take a shower first and then we can eat. If you’re hungry now though you can eat without me. You waved him off and told him you’d be fine waiting for him. He doesn’t strike you as someone who has an extensive shower routine. You sat on the couch with Ella accompanying you by your feet just crawling around and found a cartoon for her to enjoy on the TV.

Simon came out of the bathroom in 10 minutes flat with his blonde hair damp and-oh. Simon was standing in front of you without the mask and wow. You couldn’t understand why he covered up his face. He is handsome, to say the least. You averted your gaze and cleared your throat making your way to the kitchen. You silently plated servings for the both of you and Simon silently was by your side getting the utensils. Dinner was uneventful as Simon didn’t have much to say and you could see it in his face that he was tired so you didn’t want to bother him too much. Simon said he’ll wash the dishes since you cooked and you nodded. He wished you a goodnight and you made your way into your room to get ready for bed. The first day of the job is done and you would think it went pretty successfully. You couldn’t help thinking about Simon’s face until your eyes became heavy with sleep. 

[train-wrecc]

– “ DATING NIKLAUS MIKAELSON “ HEADCANON's

niklaus mikaelson x human!female!reader –

warnings!: kidnapping, blood, murder, somewhat stalkerish tendencies mentioned?

word count: 2.03k requested by: @catmikaelson20

。ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ

Klaus had noticed your arrival in New Orleans straight away, after all, it was his city, and he was the King of it, or so he liked to think.

Something about your piercing eyes which were always filled with curiosity and wonder as you wandered the city full of supernaturals, had caught his attention.

The city could get windy at times and he loved watching as you made your way through the French Quarter, your shiny locks swinging in the wind.

Klaus had thought he had been very stealthy, however, he was not. 

You’d always find him not too far from you, lurking in the shadows, it really should’ve creeped you out that some hybrid had been following you albeit it was the opposite.

You found it comforting in a way, knowing someone was always looking out for you.

Elijah, knew you were Klaus's current infatuation, so after a few months of suffering and having to watch Niklaus practically stalk you, he had decided he would introduce himself to you, seeing as he’d seen you around as well.

You thought it was by chance that you’d run into the Elijah Mikaelson, however, it was not. Elijah had figured out your routine and purposely ran into you on your daily stop at the cafe you had been working at. 

Elijah hurriedly walked into the cafe after you had been in there for 10 minutes, as he had seen you talking to your coworkers. You had accidentally spilled your coffee all over his crisp suit, your face besmirched with nothing other than horror. 

Your mouth had been agape, before you had finally shaken out of your daze, “Oh my god, I am so sorry! I swear you came out of nowhere, here, let me help you.” You quickly rambled.

“Don’t worry about it, I didn’t much care for this suit anyways,” He assured you, as you frantically patted napkins against the material of the suit in an attempt to dry it.

He placed his hand against yours to stop you, “It’s quite alright…” He said, waiting for you to fill in your name for him.

“Y/n, you’re the infamous Elijah Mikaelson,” You responded.

“Indeed, I am, Y/n.” He said, a charming smile on his face.

“You Mikaelsons are awfully famous around here… huh,”

“Yes, our family has some history in New Orleans, we practically built the city,”

“Wow, here, let me buy you a coffee or something to make up for your destroyed suit, although I’m sure it costs much more than a 5-dollar coffee,” You laughed.

“Well, I’ll gladly take the coffee,”

The both of you had settled into a conversation, as you strolled about the Quarter.

Elijah had been telling you all about the supernatural history of New Orleans, seeing as you had told him you knew about vampires, wolves, and witches, including how you knew he and his family were the Originals.

You had gestured to your vervain ring, as you had explained your numerous encounters with various supernatural beings.

You had even gotten talking about hobbies, and how you quite enjoyed writing, which had prompted a proposal from Elijiah, “It’s quite interesting that you mention that, my brother Niklaus is in desperate need of an editor or typist, he’s got a few things in the works, I’m sure he’d love your assistance.”

“Oh, I’m not sure I’d be much help,”

“I assure you he’d deeply appreciate it, and I’m sure you’re quite the novelist yourself,” He sang your praises, and you gave in.

When you first met Niklaus he tried to keep his guard up around you, trying to come off as intimidating, however, his plan had backfired.

“Y’know sometimes when I walk through the quarter, for some reason, I just feel eyes on me, like someone’s watching me, hiding in the shadows. Do you ever feel like that?” You’d told the hybrid. 

His face slightly twitched before he quickly hid it with a smirk on his full lips, “Love, I’m Niklaus Mikaelson, I’ve always got eyes on me, I have an exponential amount of enemies that’d love to get me when I’m vulnerable.”

The more time the two of you spent together, the more you somehow broke down the hybrid’s concrete walls.

Niklaus may have been stubborn, but so were you.

“Niklaus, you’re writing is exceptional, you don’t need my help, so why do you insist that I help you edit your work?”

“Love, my writing is exceptional because you edit it.”

“Nonsense. You know, with the amount of time we spend together, you’d think I’d know more about you, I mean I feel like you practically know everything about me…”

Eventually, Niklaus opened up to you about everything, from the years of abuse he suffered at the hand of his father, to his deep fear of abandonment, how he’d always felt odd due to being a “bastard” child.

You knew Nik had flaws, however there was something about him that pulled you in, maybe it was his dedication to his family and their long promise of always and forever.

It was something you wish your family had, that kind of closeness, that no matter what they did, you’d always go back to each other, however, your family was far from that.

From his insistent paranoia to his anger issues, you’d still fallen for him.

Secretly he felt the same, your outer and inner beauty, kindness, and caring personality had made him wrapped around your finger.

He desperately tried to hide it but failed.

Whenever you’d leave, he’d insist on taking you home, to ensure you’d made it safely, as well as insisting you texted him when you were safely inside your apartment.

Eventually, it came to the point where you’d see each other every day, Niklaus often stopping by your work for a cup of his usual coffee. It had gotten to the point where your coworkers had thought he was your boyfriend, which you’d always deny. 

However, there was a twinge in your heart that deeply wanted a relationship with the infamous hybrid.

Everyone could see that you both were head over heels in love with each other but the two of you, whenever anyone said anything you both denied what was right in front of you.

“You’ve truly lost your mind, Rebekah, there’s no way she feels any sort of way for me. She’s too kind. Too pure.”

“Yeah right, like Klaus Mikaelson has feelings for me!” You had laughed.

What finally changed the dynamic of your relationship was when you had been kidnapped by one of Klaus’s enemies.

You had been held hostage and tortured for days, before Klaus finally found you in the abandoned warehouse.

He had torn up the city looking for you, whilst threatening witches to do locator spells for him.

When he came to rescue you, you watched as he murdered your captors in cold blood.

He freed you from the ropes which held you, blood besmirching his face and clothes, as his eyes that glowed yellow returned to their usual blue color.

He pulled you into a tight embrace, clinging to you as he muttered various apologies, from being sorry for getting you kidnapped to having to see him end your captor's lives.

You simply gave him a weak smile, hands on his face, you wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth before smashing your lips against his.

He returned the kiss with fervor, before pulling away.

He opened his eyes, “We shouldn’t start this, Y/n, I don’t want to endanger you any more than I already have.”

After that Niklaus had kept his distance from you, however, returned to keeping an eye on you from the shadows.

You had had enough.

You had stormed into the compound yelling and demanding Klaus to come out. Once you had you’d told him off about how he had no right to decide what was best for you, seeing as you were a grown woman who could make her own decisions.

“Who are you to decide what’s best for me Klaus?! I am in love with you and I don’t care if that put’s me in danger!”

It felt like hours had passed as you and Niklaus shouted back and forth, voices echoing throughout the compound for Rebekah and Elijah to hear.

Somehow Klaus had come to the realization that you were more stubborn than him. He murmured a “Bloody hell,” before he shut you up with a kiss.

From then on, you and Klaus had begun dating.

You and Klaus were inseparable.

He always wanted to be near you, in order to protect you, and if he couldn’t he’d order Elijah, Rebekah, Marcel, or someone to guard you when he couldn’t.

He’d constantly surprise you with random gifts such as flowers, “Just because,”.

Klaus would always spoil you, and always insist that he pay for everything, “Love, you’re a queen, and deserve to be treated like it.”

Taking you on random dates, spontaneous trips.

Not long after you began dating, you’d moved into the compound, Klaus no longer wanting you to be living in your apartment by yourself.

Depending on your hair type: Nik would learn how to braid, after you’d complain about your arms aching after having finished doing your own box braids or cornrows /// having to braid your hair before you sleep so you wouldn’t get split ends or tangles in the morning.

He’d always deny it but he secretly loved cuddling, especially when he was the small spoon.

Constantly having to be touching you, whether it be an arm around your waist, his palm against your thigh, holding hands.

Learning to cook your favorite meal.

Waking up each morning to your favorite morning drink on your bedside table.

Catching him watching you as you applied your makeup, “I can’t help it, love, it’s not my fault you’re so gorgeous.”

Always wanting your attention, “Love, are you listening to me?” 

“Of course, I am, lovey.”

Needing to have one of your AirPods in, so he could listen to your music as well.

Countless nights where the both of you would just stay up talking about anything and everything.

If you wear glasses/contacts, he’d love when you wore your glasses over your contacts.

Whenever you would do some self-care such as face masks, he’d always want to participate as well, “Darling, just because I’m an immortal hybrid doesn’t mean that I don’t need to take care of my skin, I mean this isn’t just immortality, it’s SPF as well.”

Whenever he was stressed he’d love it when you’d play with his hair, it always soothed him and melted his stress.

When he’s upset he’d take some time to himself not wanting to lash out at you.

You and Rebekah were the best of friends and loved teasing Klaus together.

You’d eventually learn that Elijah had set you up, because Klaus had never really been looking for an editor or typist.

“Elijah! I can’t believe this,” You laughed.

Whenever Nik would wake up from a nightmare, you’d be right there for him, placing soothing kisses on his shoulder to comfort him.

You would be the first to say the L word, it had been after you and Nik had been dating for almost a year. 

You always knew you had strong feelings for Nik, however, they were really brought to light when you’d gotten extremely sick, and Nik spent every day at your bedside taking care of you.

You had been slightly delirious but you meant every word.

Nik had been laying next to you, the both of you facing each other after he had just made you your favorite soup.

Your hand reached for his own, clasping it. His blue eyes met your own, “I love you, Niklaus Mikaelson.”

It had left him slightly shocked, his mouth slightly agape, before a large dimpled grin spread across his face, “I love you too, Y/n Y/l/n.”

You both loved each other immensely and would do anything for each other.

。ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ

A/N: Idk how to feel about this…

[the-one-and-only-vic-lociraptor]

OK so I don’t really write fics but I had a Scenario™️ in mind the other night on the sitcom discord and I was like “Yes. I will have that.”

2nd person bc fuck it

(no I didn’t proofread this)

You should’ve listened to your old man.

Minutes ago you were tromping through the woods with no destination in mind. You’d gotten into another squabble with your foster father and came out to let off some steam, choosing this place specifically because you had been told not too.

Crazy old man with his bizarre rules he never bothered to explain. You used to ask Lankmann about his work, but he’d wave you off with the ever-popular-among-parents “I’ll tell you when you’re older.” And he did- he told you about how the patients here needed his help, about how your once-imaginary friend was a new discovery and needed to be studied, but he never explained why everyone here seemed so afraid, nor why he kept “Specimen 02” (“Winfrey!” you had scolded. “Their name is Winfrey!”) cramped up in that tiny room, other than “That thing is dangerous, we can’t let it outside.”

He won’t even tell you how you came to be in his care, or whose glasses you’ve been carrying all this time, or why the prospect of disposing of them hurts so much.

You bring your hand to them- you carried the spectacles even now, folded up and hooked over the collar of your shirt. They’re the only thing connecting you to a life you don’t remember. It’s what you’d just been fighting with your old man about, actually. He’d insisted you get rid of them, that there’s no point in holding on to something you won’t get back, and that stirring up buried memories would make you more vulnerable. Of course, he also refused to tell you what that something was, or what the latter statement meant.

You decided then you were sick of being kept in the dark and being treated like a child, so you yelled at him, proclaiming that you could take care of yourself, then stormed off into the one place you weren’t supposed to be to prove it.

And that brought you here, lost in the woods under the setting sun, wishing you had listened when your father shouted at you to “get back here right now”. But it was too late for that, and now there was no way you were getting home before curfew. It wasn’t a curfew he had instilled for you specifically- the whole town was under obligation to be indoors before dark, before it reared its ugly mug.

You’d encountered it once before, when Lankmann had left you in the car while he picked up something or other from some store at the edge of town. It was late into the evening, and it hadn’t been minutes before someone else in the car tried to coax you outside; when that didn’t work, something outside the car had tried to force its way it, until the shop owner came out with a rifle and fired a warning shot to scare it off.

You remembered how it felt to be near that thing, so you know that it’s nearby now as that feeling returns. As you wander through the woods, trying to remember which way you’d come from, you hear whispers in the wind, see something shift in the shadows. You pick up your pace as you feel its eyes on you, looking around frantically, and you come to a sudden halt when the bushes rustle right in front of you.

Out crawls something terrible, coming quickly to its feet as its form begins to warp into something human. It looks down at you, with a face you never thought you’d see again, chucking in a warped voice that you haven’t heard in years. You stand frozen as someone so familiar and long-gone stalks forward- you clutch at their glasses hanging at your chest as something, a name, digs its way to the front of your mind.

…who’s Alex?

The entity stops just before you, leaning down with its hands on its knees and staring you down with their eyes. For a brief moment that feels like forever your gazes lock together before a sickening grin takes their face. It laughs before their voice rings out a single word:

“Run.”

[honimello]

all papas general headcanons

basically just headcanons i have about their past, childhood, and personalities! and some other stuff like physical description and personal experiences.

—

a/n: these honestly probably might not fit the canon like at all or what some of you might head canon but that’s okay cus i’m just letting my brainrot fester at this point. i left their relationships open ended so there would be imagination room for like an x reader thing lol. also i picked their birth dates based on vibes alone and i know very little about the zodiac signs i just thought it would be fun lol

warnings: angst, vaguely implied abuse, poor childhoods, character death, mentions of sex and sexual orientations, (nihil fucking sucks and sister imperator kinda does too), (also all papas are alive), vague mention of eating issues, mentions of wanting children, mentions of marriage, one nsfw bullet point for each so 18+ MDNI!! also not proofread

primo: 68, born september 14th, 1955 virgo

5’10, around 140ish pounds, blonde with shaved hair, but used to have long hair that he would braid and came down to below his lower back. speaking of his back, he has a hard time standing up straight now so he appears shorter than he is.

his mother was a random woman from a bar, nihil only found out about her pregnancy until she was 7 months pregnant. sister imperator was rightfully very angry finding out about this, but she had her suspicions of his promiscuity. she often took out her anger on primo, especially when he became papa and she gave him more work than he probably should’ve been doing. although, she did slightly lessen up on him around the time when he had taken in copia.

he’s actually quite sad he never really got to meet his mother, but he didn’t have much time to think about it once his brothers started coming along. he stepped up more often than not in taking care of them, he was more of a father (and a mother honestly) than nihil would ever be. and sister never really had any interest in interacting with him or his brothers, except for copia.

speaking of copia, primo found out about him when copia was around 11-12 and he took him in quite fast. it only took one look at that little boy for primo to know it was his brother. when he was younger he used to get a little jealous that sister imperator was so invested in copia’s wellbeing and upbringing given that she had never been a mother to him or his other brothers but primo eventually just found himself feeling grateful copia had a mother, even if she wasn’t a very good one.

when primo became papa he got rid of the prime mover position, seeing how it destroyed sister and nihils marriage as well as his brothers childhoods made him incredibly angry. he also didn’t care for the connotation that women are made to have children and carry on the bloodline only. he’s a romantic (and a feminist), and that notion always made him nauseous.

secondo visits primo the most out of all his brothers, copia often visits too but doesn’t have much time. terzo only really visits when he is having some sort of emotional or personal dilemma that he cant figure out on his own. primo doesn’t mind, he’s willing to help his brothers and see them whenever he can. though in his old age he does get quite lonely and wishes they could make more time for him, but he doesn’t hold it against them.

primo finds himself wanting children now that he’s older, even if he might not be able to bare his own anymore he often entertains the idea of adopting one of the orphans at the ministry. he wishes he had someone by his side as well, and while his random sexual encounters with few siblings are enjoyable, he longs for a more steady companionship.

it’s harder for him to get erections now but still enjoys having sex, even if he doesn’t always come. is very good at oral and fingering and definitely loves to spoil his partner. will probably cry happy tears if someone sucked him off even if he couldn’t get hard all the way, he still enjoys it. can still fuck hard but will probably be very sore afterwards. pls give the old guy a nice warm bath after and maybe a kiss on his wittle head.

secondo: 57, born august 18th, 1966 leo

6’2, around 180ish pounds, brunette but has shaved his head since he was 20, huge resting bitchface even when he was a baby, muscular but has put on some pudge since becoming papa.

his mother was the first prime mover in around 100 years, she was a sibling of sin who nihil had a passing attraction towards and decided to torture sister imperator by naming her prime mover. she died giving birth to secondo. secondo blames himself, and tends to despise himself because of this.

in his teenage years he often spent sleepless nights crying for her, how much he wished he could’ve met her or at least seen her as there were no pictures of her. he wondered if she would love him, be proud of him, or fight to be his mother like terzo’s mother did. or if she would leave and never come back like primo’s. now, in his older age he has come to reconcile with the fact that he will never know. but even though he never got to know her, he still misses her dearly.

after secondo loses his papacy, he throws himself into ministry work. he works long hours, well into the night and spilling over into the weekends. he’s an archivist and restoration expert, working on artifacts important to the church. he feels like this is the only way he will not go insane. he loves terzo but he does not believe him to be ready or fit to be papa when it comes terzo’s time. and he is partially right, as terzo definitely lets the power go to his head but over time he becomes more in control. secondo finds himself feeling sorry for his little brother when terzo loses his papacy, it was wrong of sister imperator to take it away from him like that and secondo hates to see what losing the limelight has done to his brother.

secondo is known around the ministry for his intimidating visage and aura, as well as his wrath. but what people don’t pay attention to, is just how often he bites his words. he has worked very hard to keep his anger at bay, even going to therapy to find more healthy ways to cope with his trauma and rage. in fact, he does his best to be polite and kind to everyone in the ministry. but his kind is different than others kind, he comes off as cold and calculating. his emotional range is very limited and he finds himself struggling to open up to anyone. the only person he’s ever opened up to was primo, and even then it isn’t really opening up if his brother can just read him like a book. secondo often doesn’t have to say much for primo to understand what he’s going through. primo helps him through it regardless, as he’s always done since secondo was a baby.

secondo isn’t sure if he would want kids of his own, but he does love children very much and is very good with them. he often volunteers to run events for the orphans at the ministry.

he would like to fall in love but thinks he is much too old and not nearly attractive enough to find a long term partner. has flings here and there with some siblings of sin but they aren’t very serious. he isn’t sure if he’s really quite ready to give up the party life yet no matter how much his aching bones say otherwise.

does frequent bars and clubs to feel like he’s still a part of the scene after losing papacy, but it doesn’t quite feel the same and most nights he leaves drunk, angry and alone. the few nights when he finds company are not as fulfilling as he hopes they would be, and it isn’t the other persons fault it’s his. he feels so melancholy now it’s hard to focus on simple pleasures like sex, especially when he hardly has the time with how hard he works. he often lays away most nights wishing he could’ve done better as papa, even though he knows people love him and respect him he still feels like he never quite did enough. he feels like he isn’t enough.

loves sex, and can get quite rough but is very, very good at aftercare. definitely not picky about sexual partners but tends to prefer people who are shy cus he enjoys bringing them out of their shells and getting them to snap at him. secretly wants to be fucked and dominated.

terzo: 54, born june 12th, 1969 gemini

5’3, around 120ish pounds, black hair like nihil and wishes he looked more like his mother who was a redhead, definitely spot treats grey hairs, hates the idea of getting old and is very insecure about having wrinkles, is quite small but still a little chubby, though he lost lots of weight since losing papacy. might be bigender or genderfluid but is afraid to really think about it too hard.

his mother was also a prime mover, but she fought to be in his life even as sister imperator tried to push her out. she was a very loving mother who did everything she could to teach him to be a good man, to be nothing like his father who she had come to despise. she taught him many things, she taught him how to dance, to draw and to cook. he loved her very, very much and it tore him up when she passed. he was 14 years old, and that’s when he decided to put up a façade. he did not want to be vulnerable anymore, he didn’t want to have to be sad or scared at least not where anyone could see him.

primo often held him in his bed when he would cry about losing his mother, he had nightmares for years. he vowed to himself to not let himself ever be so vulnerable in front of any one again. to this day thinking about her kills him little by little, though he is much better at expressing his feelings.

his flirtatious and playful persona is something he really relies on in his older age, he thinks it’s all he’s really good for anymore. a show and a good lay. and when he loses his papacy he absolutely crumbles. the persona completely falls away and he hides himself in his quarters most days. he loses weight and wallows, he becomes enraged by fate but he finds he could never really be mad at copia for taking over, it’s not his fault anyways.

in his teenage years he was quite promiscuous and took on many lovers, and while he still has casual flings with some siblings of sin, he never lets partners overlap anymore. he’s a gentle soul at heart and he learned that very fast, he can’t stand seeing someone upset, even if he’s only attracted to them in a more primal way it would kill him to see someone upset because of him.

i believe he is very loyal and if he were to get into a relationship with someone, even if they didn’t state that they were exclusive, he would still ere on the side of caution and not have sex with anyone else. i think if he were in love he would be hopelessly devoted, he’s more sensitive than he tends to let on and cheating is not something he would let himself do. maybe when he was young, he might’ve slipped up somehow, but not now. he’s much too intelligent and much too mature, he’s grown and he knows how to control himself now.

and while he does have quite a lot of sex, i think the sheer abundance of partners has been greatly exaggerated through false rumors and gossip. people tend to lie about having slept with him just for the five seconds of fame it brings them, and that often causes problems with people thinking he has cheated on many people.

is terrified of marriage but longs for it desperately, he wants to feel like someone wants him for him and not because he is/was papa. he’s not sure if he wants kids, he’s horribly afraid of being a bad father.

is horrified of being like nihil in any way, and nearly throws up when someone mentions that he has the most resemblance to nihil out of all his brothers.

is a huge giver sexually, could literally come from just watching someone else come. loves to overstimulate and go above and beyond. doesn’t really require someone to reciprocate and take care of him as well but it is deeply appreciated as he can also be quite the pillow princess.

copia: 52, born october 15th, 1971 libra

5’8, around 130ish pounds, light brunette hair that is going grey at the sides, is very petite but with a softness to him especially around his belly, hips, and thighs, he has light freckles all over his body,

he was an accident, sister imperator never meant to get pregnant but she had planned to tell nihil about the baby until she had caught him with yet another sibling of sin. she decided it would be better for copia to grow up as an orphan in the church, and to be raised by her secretly. copia didn’t even find out she was his mother til primo had found him and taken him in at age 11. sister often pushes copia to work harder, her hopes for him to become papa one day slowly begin to become his hopes as well. and it’s hard for him to say if he really wants the papacy or if he just wants her to be proud of him.

he grew up very lonely and outcast, the other orphans in the ministry thought him strange and unappealing. he had been told from a young age that he was ugly and weird. now that he’s older, he’s since found out that he’s autistic, but he knows that’s not the entire reason they didn’t like him. he thinks maybe he really is just strange and ugly. and as a young boy, when he’d found a rat scavenging for food outside of the ministry, he thought to himself he’d finally found a friend who was like him. unloveable and unwanted. misunderstood.

growing up he never understood the importance put on sex and romance, it isn’t until he’s older that he realizes that he’s demisexual and demiromantic, but it doesn’t really phase him. he never really cared about those things, he doesn’t care that he’s old now and hasn’t had sex, it’s not something he would want unless he really loved someone and had a deeper connection to than just passing lust. although, at night he often dreams of meeting someone he could have a connection with, and those nights are the only ones he really partakes in lust alone in his bed. dreaming of something that could be, but in his mind, is more likely to be just a dream.

when he becomes papa he is terrified, not only of the immense pressure on him to be the best he can be and do good for the church but also of losing himself. yes, he loves the new attention this is giving him and yes, he loves feeling important now. but something just doesn’t sit right in his stomach. again, he’s not sure if he really wanted to be papa anyway or if he just wanted to complete a goal that was thrust upon him at a young age. he tries not to let his papacy change him, and for the most part all it really changes is it brings him out of his shell a little more. he begins talking to more siblings and higher clergy members, but like always, he ends up lonely. they’re never quite interested in copia and more interested in papa, and he doesn’t understand because to him they are one in the same.

his stage presence is very different to his real presence, he likes to let out his “wild side”, as he calls it, when he’s on stage. he feels more comfortable, more free to be sexual and flirty, as well as quite commanding, when he is in front of the crowd. mostly because he knows they like him, that they’re there to see him. it gives him quite the confidence boost, in his performance and his personal life. he doesn’t get quite as depressed as often as he did as cardinal but now his depression holds much harder topics to grasp. things like his identity and where he belongs in the grand scheme of things, and if he will turn bitter like terzo when he eventually is traded in for a newer papa. he hopes not, but envy was a sin that often came easily to him.

is terrified of aging in a similar way to terzo, he feels like he is already very ugly and now that he is getting older he feels like he is becoming even more unattractive. he tends to avoid mirrors as much as possible because his reflection nauseates him, he hates his face and his body with a burning passion.

he does not indulge in the willingness of siblings like his brothers do, while his stage presence may suggest he is a sexual person (which he is honestly) he hasn’t felt any sexual attraction to any sibling of sin so far. most of which only really approach him because he is papa, and while he has no problem with guiding and helping his flock, he does have a problem with it when they ask for him to fuck them. it’s not something he wants.

is also the only papa to not participate in sexual rituals and black masses, though he does oversee them and encourage siblings of sin to participate if comfortable. he celebrates others choice to lust but doesn’t feel tempted to lust for anyone else.

when he is in a relationship with someone, and he does feel sexually attracted to them, he is incredibly eager. he has done his research i can assure you, countless videos and articles on sex and hours of “research” watching porn of the porniest variety. he gets quite horny, and before his partner he masturbated quite often, he isn’t innocent by any means. he is a virgin and is quite awkward, tends to fumble and trip over himself a lot but he isn’t subtle about wanting someone when he does want them. definitely a switch, pls someone peg this guy.

——

hope you liked these!! and if u have any questions or just wanna indulge me in conversation, i would love to talk more in depth about these headcanons!!!

[citrus-kiddo]

Encounter

Requested by: @jkkjiji

Features: Nonhuman/human vore, implied regurgitation

Word count: 672

“[Security scans successful..! No threats detected.]..” The S.S.S rang out as Randy checked the status terminal. He sighed, he’d been stuck in deep space for months now, tasked with studying these bioluminescent asteroids. Honestly, he’d rather be at home, in his warm bed. He could’ve been anything, a librarian, a teacher, heck he could be a janitor; But no, he had to be up in space, to study rocks. He groaned and leaned back in his seat and rested his eyes. Suddenly the ship’s alarms began to sound, causing the poor space cadet to jump out of his seat. He groaned as he sat up before checking the termina/. He looked over the display of the ship’s map. He saw a green dot marking where he was. He was a tad confused before noticing another dot, a much bigger red dot on the map. Odd. He sighed and got up from his seat before heading out of his office.

Randy strolled down the hallway, approaching the research storage, where the dot indicated the anomaly was. As he got closer, he heard something… like the sound of beeping… as if someone was tampering with his database. He peeked around the corner, seeing something- or well, someone in the room. The thing was some sort of reptilian humanoid being with a lanky tail that curled around their ankles. It had a glowing green abdomen and eyes, and a mane of spines for sensing things as its many arms worked at the console. As though detecting the cadet, the spines perked up.

The thing freezes before turning to the astronaut, completely silent. Before Randy could say anything, he was snagged up by the thing’s tail and held close to its face.” Uh- hello..?” Randy spoke. Its eyes widened with a somewhat worried expression, probably from getting caught messing with the ship’s machinery.  Before Randy could question the alien about who they are or what they were doing, their jaws opened as a tongue made contact with Randy’s helmet glass. It licked the helmet as if prepping him for something. He quickly found out what he was prepped for as it stuffed him in its mouth head-first. The alien’s esophagus molded around Randy’s head as he was pushed further and further down. Randy struggled but was quick to give up as his descent down the slimy passage didn’t slow whatsoever, so struggling was just a waste of energy. He was forcefully plopped into the alien’s compact stomach, squished against the softly glowing walls of their tummy. The innards of the being lightly bubbling as the alien sighed, turning back to the console it was tampering with once before as if nothing happened, just now with their lower set of arms occupied with rubbing it’s now full stomach.

Randy sat in the pit of the alien’s stomach in silence before pulling out his tablet, updating his current status to incapacitated on the system before sighing. He put away the tablet and leaned up against one of the walls of the stomach, “ I’m gonna be in here for a while, huh.” He grumbled to himself, feeling the slimy interior groan around him. Gross.

A few hours later, the alien finally stopped, seemingly stopped whatever it was doing, pleased with whatever it figured out. It stretched a little before laying down on the metallic floors of the ship and sighed contently as it was lulled to sleep by the faint groans of its own stomach as it held their temporary passenger.

Soon Randy awoke on the cold floors of the research storage, covered in a layer of thin slime that made his skin mildly tingle even through his space suit. He huffed and stood before checking his database. Everything seemed to be normal till he realized a large portion of the physical samples were missing. Months of proof, missing within hours, great. He sighed and walked his way back into his office before taking a seat with a deep groan, “ I should’ve been a janitor.”

The end.

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

I may drawn the silly alien freak at some point.. darn rock stealer..

[emmadoodle]

The Path to Prove Oneself

heyyyyyyy im still sort of trying to become more active. after this i’ll still sort of be on haitus. but! in the meantime i wanted to say HAPPY BIRTHDAY @fluffallamaful !!!!! I made this for the very special occasion and i REALLY hope you like it! We talked a bit about it and she wanted a little ficlet that takes place in my demon au :D. It may be a little confusing but all you really need to know is that Tommy is a tickle demon too hahaha! This is the story of how Tommy proves to Dream that he’s all grown up, and he’s a good tickler too! HOPE YOU HAVE A GREAT BIRHTDAY LLAMA!!!

“I found one! I found one I really did, Dream! I told you I’m a big man now!” This was how Tommy decided to open the conversation after showing up once again at the front door of Dream and George’s cottage. It was early in the morning, George was still on the sofa trying to wake up. Dream knew what this was about, and he rolled his eyes as he smiled fondly down at the younger demon.

“Alright, so what, you caught a meal for yourself. That doesn’t make you a ‘big man’,” Dream playfully made air quotations with his hands, “even premature demons can hunt, Tommy.” Said boy had been trying to ‘prove himself’ to Dream ever since their reunion a few months prior. Since Dream had spent a lot of their previous time together calling Tommy a child, Tommy wanted to show him just how much he’d actually grown.

“Oh come onnnnnn! Dream!” Tommy complained, walking inside as Dream had made room for him to enter. George was currently watching from their sofa, amused at the banter. “I’m literally such a good tickler now! Why won’t you believe me! I thought once you knew I had caught someone that’d be enough,” Tommy pouted.

“Well I mean I didn’t see you catch someone. You could be lying,”

“Look at me! I’m so full of energy! Freshly fed!

“You’re always full of energy Tommy,”

“Ughhhhhh!”

Dream only laughed; he really enjoyed messing with the kid. Of course he believed Tommy could hunt on his own. That didn’t stop him from wanting to mess with him a little.

“Lemme prove it then! Let me tickle George!”

“whAT?! NO!” George finally piped in.

“Pleeeeease please please please! Let me tickle you then, Dream,” Tommy clasped his hands together under his chin and stuck his lip out.

Flabbergasted, Dream immediately refused, “Wh- whahat? No way, are you kidding?”

George on the other hand was flabbergasted in a different way, “Dream you’re able to be tickled?!” Dream winced at that. He may have purposely forgotten to mention that detail. He had told George before that nothing was able to tickle him, but that was before he knew they would end up encountering other tickle demons. Ones who were actually capable of tickling each other.

"You didn't know?!" Tommy said excitedly. Using the fact that Dream was caught off guard to his advantage, he jumped to tackle him down to the ground, "Aw George you should've been there when we were kids! He'd never let me tickle him for more than a minute. This time though, I'm gonna show him just how much stronger I've gotten!" Tommy explained this to George over top of Dream's loud complaints. The younger demon had managed to get Dream onto his back, sitting and putting all his weight on his hips.

Despite everything, Dream was in fact physically stronger than Tommy, and both of them knew this. He bucked a bit to try and throw the younger one off of his waist, which almost worked. He grabbed onto his shoulders to try and throw him off, but was stopped when he felt someone else grab his wrists and now held them down on the floor.

"Geohorge?! What are you doing??" Dream looked up at his friend with pleading eyes.

"I'm not passing up on the opportunity to see the 'untickleable' being tickled. Tommy, go ahead, show Dream what you've learned!"

Dream whined and pulled at his hands now being held above his head. It'd been maybe a hundred years since he'd last been tickled. Maybe more. He couldn't even remember exactly what it was like. He watched Tommy's hands like a hawk as they hovered over his stomach.

"Alright Dream, I'm gonna make you admit to me I've grown!"

Dream felt claws suddenly and expertly begin wiggling into his sides. He exploded into giggles, squirming upwards and side to side in hopes to find an escape. George was absolutely enamored. He had never seen Dream like this, the big teasy demon now a flustered puddle on the floor. George's heart began to beat a little faster.

"Tohohohommy this ihihihis stuhuhuhupid!" Dream's face was completely contorted into a big smile. His eyes were squeezed shut and he writhed on the ground in response to such a foreign feeling.

"Oh Dreeeeam! Remember how you'd always make fun of me because my teeth would never grow in?" Tommy stopped his fingers. This was boring,  Dream obviously knew he could use his claws. He wanted to really prove himself.

Dream groaned and immediately picked up his struggling. He knew exactly what Tommy was planning.

"Look at these bad boys, Dream!" Tommy opened his mouth to show off the big sharp fangs the younger demon now possessed. Dream was actually quite impressed. They were a good size, and it seemed Tommy did a great job taking care of them. Now the only trouble was that these were about to be used on him.

Dream shook his head but only giggled. He hadn't had anyone use their fangs on him since he was very young. But he could still remember just how sensitive he was to it.

Tommy pushed up Dream's shirt and lowered his head. Dream closed his eyes and looked away, sucking in his tummy in anticipation. Tommy bit down, gently, and began to nibble up and down his stomach, gliding to poke his fangs into his sides and ribs sometimes as well.

The reaction was instant, Dream letting out a squeal and pulling at his arms, "Whahahahaha! Nohohohohahahaha!!"

George, who was awestruck at how cute this was, smiled and glided his thumbs over Dream's wrist, "I can't believe you've kept this from me for so long Dream," George said as he laughed and then looked up to see what Tommy was up to. The other demon had moved to begin trailing the nibbles up his side.

As much fun as he was having, Dreamstill wasn’t very used to it, "I cahAHAHAHAN'T!" He arched his back before slamming it back down. It was unfair how good Tommy had gotten at this already, seemingly finding all the weak spots Dream didn't even know he had. Tommy added his hands again, allowing his sharp nails to trace and scratch at the bare skin above his hips. Dream was finally at his limit.

"OHOHOKAHAHAHA! OKAHAHAY! YOHOHOU WIHIHIHIN! YOHOHOU'RE STROHOHONG!" Dream admitted, kicking his legs. George began cooing at him as Tommy lifted his head, his hands still tickling around his hips.

"What am I, Dream?," Tommy smirked.

"Hehehehe… yohohou're aha bihihig mahahan!"

Tommy finally stopped, letting Dream breathe, I WIN! YES I'VE ALWAYS WANTED TO HEAR THAT!" The youngest beamed and flapped his hands.

"You alright, Dream?" George asked softly, running his fingers through his hair. The demon still had his eyes closed, and his cheeks were bright red.

He opened his eyes, "Ihi'm fine. Hahehhe don't look at me like that," now that his arms were free he pushed George's head away playfully. His sides and tummy were still tingling. Is this what George had to deal with all the time? He only slightly felt bad.

Dream finally sat up and watched the young demon celebrating, "Alright fine fine. Congratulations Tommy," Dream held his hand out for him to shake.

Tommy's eyes lit up. He truly did look up to Dream a lot! He happily took his hand.

"Alright my turn,"

"Wha- AAHG!"

Dream quickly and skillfully pulled Tommy down by the hand he had grabbed, and pinned him in a similar fashion to how he had done to Dream before.

"Hahaha! I'm about to be tickled by the Dream! It's been a while hasn't it," Tommy gave him a toothy grin.

"Oh shut up."

Tommy's bright laughter filled the air as George watched from the sidelines again. The human rolled his eyes and looked outside. The sun hadn't even made it all the way into the sky yet. It'd be a long day.

[lilibethdrawsreylo]

Sneak peek

I'm working on my next hackearney fic, and while I still have several months of writing ahead of me, I can share a short sneak peek with you. No beta, but very mysterious. ;)

Laura comes to North Kill for a grad school research project. Travis is a supernatural entity (kinda?) that pretends to be a sheriff when he encounters people in the woods. The actual sheriff is in on it; here, Laura comes to see him after a brush with a very human danger.

...Laura kinda hoped she was gonna need an appointment or something—to turn tail and come back later. But the receptionist nods at her after saying Laura’s name into a dated office phone’s receiver and stands up to show her the way, as if getting lost between unoccupied desks was a real possibility. It says Sheriff H. Hunnem right there on the frosted glass door.

She knows instantly this isn’t him. While technically she could be looking for a deputy, her gut has been telling Laura she needs the sheriff, and she’s been… bracing, almost, for coming face to face with him. Why, Laura cannot say—not that it matters at the moment.

Sheriff Hunnem is a stocky, older man—probably well into his seventies—with light eyes and drooping gray mustache tinged yellow from nicotine. And he is not the cop who saved her.

“Miss Kearney,” he grouches, rustling through a stack of paper next to his elbow. Finding a dog-eared sheet, the sheriff squints at it. “You left a message about setting up cameras in Hackett Woods, that right? Thought one of my deputies would’ve gotten back to you about that by now.”

“He did, yes.” Feeling like an intruder now that she realized her mistake, Laura perches on a bare wooden chair in front of Sheriff Hunnem’s desk. “That’s not why I’m here, sir.”

“Oh?” Folding the sheet of paper, he places it to the side and directs her a questioning look. “Well then, how may I help you, Miss Kearney?”

“It’s about the man who died. In the, uh, red truck?” Laura shifts uncomfortably under the sheriff’s weary gaze. “There was an article in the North Kill Gazette….”

“That’d be Andrew Mayfield,” he nods. “Nasty fella—over and done with, thankfully, but if you have something to report—”

“I believe—” Breath catches in Laura’s throat, and she has to curl her fingers into fists to mask the sudden tremor. “I believe he intended to attack me yesterday, on Route 919. But he didn’t because there was a, an officer on, I guess, on patrol?” She inhales sharply through her mouth. “I just— I wanted to….”

Leaning forward, Sheriff Hunnem presses a button on his desk phone. “Rosie, bring Miss Kearney some water, will ya? Got a bit of a situation here.”

A minute later the receptionist appears with a full plastic cup and too sympathetic look of someone aching for fresh gossip. Laura thanks her with barely any voice coming out. She drinks the offered water in small, controlled sips, wildly embarrassed at how over the top a reaction she had, considering that nothing happened to her. As far as she’s aware.

Once it’s just the two of them and Laura has calmed down, the sheriff speaks again. “Miss Kearney… I won’t press you for details right now. However, what I can tell you is that none of my guys came across that Mayfield bastard yesterday. So, either your guardian angel wears a uniform, or that officer of yours simply happened to pass through the county. 919 connects two major highways. We get a lot of strangers here,” he sighs, “good and bad.”

“Guess I met both,” Laura mutters, and Sheriff Hunnem chuckles dryly.

“Guess so.”

She goes to push her chair back but stops. “Sir, if somebody was passing through, they couldn’t be on foot, right?”

“...Excuse me?”

“I… don’t think I saw a police car,” Laura admits. She wasn’t sure of it until the words formed on her tongue, sour. Now that they’re out, she can see it clearly in her mind’s eye: no car where there should’ve been one. 

Christ, she must be going through some sort of a mental break.

To his credit, although visibly alarmed, Sheriff Hunnem doesn’t outright call her a crazy woman. “Look, miss,” he says after clearing his throat, “it’s a tough thing to deal with, a close call like the one you had, but I recommend you don’t dwell on it.” He opens his palms in a pacifying gesture. “You are alive and well—at the end of the day, that’s all that matters.”

Recognizing the end of the conversation for what it is, Laura nods in agreement and stands up, feeling numbness spread through her following her earlier outburst. Get it together, jeez.

“Thank you for your time, sir.” She manages a tense smile, ready to flee, but before Laura can open the door to the main office area, the sheriff calls her name again.

“About that project of yours, with the cameras and all. Make sure you’re out of the woods by nightfall.” He looks her in the eye, and a shadow of an elm tree outside the room’s only window cuts through the space as the sun blinks from behind patchy clouds. “We’ve got way more predators who feel at home in the dark.”

[lake-archive]

Chapter 7 - Side By Side

AO3 Link

Fandom: Ensemble Stars

Series: Ein schlafender Ritter und die Liebe

Characters: Ritsu Sakuma, Anja-Sophia 'Ann' Wolff (OC), Eli (OC by @watersofcamelot)

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Honestly, being called up was no longer a rarity for Ann. Especially since they were the one in charge, having to ensure that he is going to make it through the year. He? Oh, right, he could be just about anyone in this case. So long story short, there is someone attending Yumenosaki Academy under Ann’s request. Or rather, she had shoved him to the location for one simple reason: Get out there and let your talent be known to the world! Train for the big stage and don’t just sit in the corner out of fear. At least that was Ann’s plan when they had forcefully applied Eli to Yumenosaki without him noticing. And he passed the entrance exam, as expected from their younger brother! Though he wasn’t too pleased at first.

“Seriously Sis? You should’ve told me before pulling such a stunt! I can’t believe you!” He had complained shortly after this was over on the phone yet their only response was the following:

“If I would’ve told you, you would’ve ran off and backed off instantly. I couldn’t risk that. So if asking you won’t work, then giving you no other choice will~”

"Seriously? You’re unbelievable sometimes… Who knew you’d go so far to forge my signature. Aren’t I the criminal when it comes to the two of us? Don’t steal my thunder now.”

“What? Can’t big sis learn from their younger brother sometimes~?” They had laughed it off more than anything.

“Listen, we have clear roles here. I’m the insane war criminal, you’re the one just barely avoiding my jail time. Who’ll bail me out if you end up in a cell?”

“Oh, you’ll  figure it out. You’re a smart boy~”

“Haha…Not funny…”

“Just stating facts Eli.”

"Facts… Right…”

“Hey, I’m being serious here. You’ll manage just fine. At least try it.”

“Uh.. Fine fine. Since you won’t take no for an answer… But it’s just to shut you up, ok?”

Fact of the matter was that Ann just wanted the best for their ‘younger brother’. They wanted him to succeed no matter what and hope that the time spent at Yumenosaki is helpful for Eli. The boy always had some doubts here and there, he needed a little push. So this academy was most likely perfect to give him that push. Learn from professionals and expand, perhaps. Just gain the desire to make something of his dream as a performer, anything really. Some type of realization at the very least. They didn’t want him to sulk constantly and do nothing about it.

Today was luckily not the worst type of encounter. In fact, compared to some others it was rather harmless, to say the least… But that is not saying much when it comes to the first year student.

Well, that of course came with a downside. Because since Ann was kind of the one in charge here they were assigned to Eli in some indirect way. That meant they had to sort out any kind of trouble he would cook up at school. It was not rare that the boy skipped classes or got into fights. Not just with students, but also with teachers. And not just verbally either, fists are fair game too. He doesn’t hesitate. Violence is the answer to everything for him. Sometimes literally. Oh what they had heard: An outburst during Math class because the teacher kept pestering him. Or a chair breaking from one moment to the next because he was annoyed by one of the students, it just barely managed to not escalate. Who knows what might have happened if Ann didn’t arrive on time. Things could have taken a dark turn. So much for a first year student, to say the least. His reputation was already anything but pleasant.

Most he did was of course throw a table from one moment to the next, then run off, right out of the classroom. These cases have become more and more frequent recently, they themselves cannot exactly explain why. Maybe school is stressing him out? He may not have said a thing but it could be a possibility. He was someone who needed the answer literally shoved out of him sometimes, pushed beyond his limits.And if necessary they would do so… If they wouldn’t get distracted that is. The boy loved to be stubborn sometimes.

Either way, they had spent their time walking around school grounds as they had been told that he would be around there somewhere. As long as it was outside of the classroom. Ah,  a great mess. What were they? His guardian? Actually… That may as well be true.

Luckily they knew their way around the school at this point, either having to come over to pick up Eli or being forced to talk to one of the teachers. After all, they were ‘the adult’, they had to keep him in check, despite not being that much older. So the work to handle the first year student was solely up to them as not even the teachers knew how to keep him in check. Not like they were blaming the staff though, Eli can be a handful. Actually, now that they thought about it… Who does it remind them of? Someone, some—

“Huuuh~  You again… And I was just about to sleep…” A familiar soft voice somewhat complained, sounding as if it was at the brink of sleeping. Though it had been denied the slumber altogether at the end of the day.

“I  don’t exactly have x–ray vision, do I?” Another familiar voice asked, not as soft though somewhat. Actually, hearing them side by side made it difficult to make out who is who. Maybe that person was even talking to themselves. “Though it’d be useful… I’d know where to aim where it hurts.”

“Really~? Sounds like fun~”

“Fun? You ain’t scared or something?”

“No, not really. Honestly, if you were to listen to Secchan sometimes, things like these don’t faze you as much.”

“Sewho?”

“Oh, you’re one of those. Alright alright, I won’t pry. Anyway… Can I go back to sleep?” The voice sounded unfazed by any of the annoyed tones and responded in a familiar calm manner. A moment of silence kicked in right then and there, a silence Ann could only guess the meaning of as they stepped closer to the source of the voices.

“Don’t worry about it.” A light chuckle escaped shortly after this sentence. “Oh, I don’t think I've ever seen you around here before, have I? A freshman?”

“So what if I am?” One could practically hear the sharp glare thrown in right then and there.

“You’re not going to ask what I’m doing here?” The other male voice suddenly asked, sounding rather suspecting, to say the least.

“Hmm… I don’t have the energy for that~” The other yawned from one moment to the next. “I’m just here to take a nap in the shades~”

“During class time?”

“Hey, you’re here too, aren’t you?”

“Hah, ok. Fine. You’ve got a point there I guess.”

“Sis?”

They had stepped to the closest point by then, peeking over to see who was talking to begin with… Yet the moment they did their eyes went wide, just when spotting the two at the same place at the same time. It was as if things suddenly… Clicked. Actually, first things first, it was like they were staring at Ritsu… Just waaay taller. Truth to be told, Eli also had foreign blood, hence why he was probably way taller than most students at Yumenosaki, even the male ones. He sticks out like a sore thumb, no one would even have a chance of missing him. In fact, it would take some real skill to miss a guy that massive!

However, if it were not for their massive height difference, one may as well mistake the two for twins. At most Eli’s hair was a little messier than Ritsu’s and their eye colors did not match either, with Eli’s being on the brown end and not on the red end, though they may as well be pretty close in terms of eye color. Honestly, when looking at them it is more of a miracle that those two were not related whatsoever. Because looking at them side by side… They may as well be brothers!

However, the shock couldn’t last forever. Ann had to interrupt their conversation in one way or another and thus they decided to just approach the two who had been conversing beneath a pair of trees the entire time. The rustling alone made the two boys turn their heads into the direction, both looking a little surprised, to say the least.

“Ann–Chan?”

They both spoke out loud at the same time before noticing that each of them had addressed the young person in a rather trustworthy manner, the two looking at one another for a moment and asking: “You know her?” in perfect sync. Seriously, are they secretly twins or something!?  Well, twins with a massive height difference but twins nonetheless… Ann couldn’t help but wonder…

“Hmm… How about no?” He shrugged, perhaps just resisting his urge to smirk right at his sister, making them sigh.

“Is that what you two—” They were about to bring up but then shook their head from one moment to the next. “Nevermind. I came for Eli.”

“Me? Sis, that’s the third time this week.” He suddenly complained, almost seeming to pout yet they only responded accordingly: “You think it’s fun to run here from work each time? You could maybe behave.”

“Of course not.”

“Eli? Oh, Maa–Kun mentioned him, the problem student~” Ritsu threw in out of literal nowhere, somewhat light hearted even, as if it was no big deal to begin with. Wait, Isara knows about Eli too? Of course… Looks like Eli made a name for himself already.

“Oh? So you’re saying I’m famous?”

“Something like that~”

“What an honor~”

“Ok ok, please stop joking around…” Ann interrupted the two from one moment to the next. “Either way… Please Eli? There’s a conversation waiting.”

“Ugh, fine… But only because you gotta bail me outta jail again.” The tall male responded, his hands now behind his head, not seeming to care all too much.

“Bail out? Oh, so that’s why you need Ann–Chan. Clever~” Ritsu commented, nodding his head, seeming to be rather amused if anything.

“Oh, Sis is pretty good at that type of stuff. If I ever need someone to cover up for my crimes, I know she’s got my back.” Eli responded, almost proud of each word he was saying.

“I’m not—” Though they just gave up at this point in all honesty. “Can we… Hurry? Work…”

“Alright alright. Have it your way.”

“Oh, Ann–Chan, can you pass my class too?” Ritsu suddenly brought up before the two could leave. They tilted their head, wondering as to why but got their answer soon enough: “Nyeli sneaked into my bag again and the school doesn’t allow cats on campus. Can you take him with you? Thank you~”

They didn’t even respond, it was as if both of them were expecting Ann to do those things. They would in the end but still… Both of them are more alike than one might think. And it would explain… A lot, to say the least.

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[elendsessor]

no fusion run update part nightmare fly has been swatted

i have to admit this took a great number of tries, a lot of grinding, and a lot of skill manipulation. i was thinking “oh i’m pretty overleveled so beelzebub won’t be as bad as usual-”

WRONG. WRONG ON SO MANY LEVELS.

i did make sure to get magma axis ahead of time and avenge for good measure but there were two major problems:

one, only qing long had makakaja, and he doesn’t null/reflect dark attacks.

two, nobody on my team had debilitate.

yes loa can learn it but that would take even more grinding and i didn’t want to do that since it’s not really how i like going through the labyrinth or a lot of the game.

quick side tangent and explanation since i’m sure someone may ask: yes the grinding dlc exists but i don’t want to get paid dlc for something so minor and game breaking. only thing i have is merciful difficulty (don’t remember if that’s dlc or not i’ve had that option available since i got nocturne) and even then i only used it for grinding. scout’s honor, i’m doing major fights on hard mode and decided bc i’m worried about the possibility of being too op i would be running from a majority of fights (on normal of course) unless it’s a demon i want to recruit. if i end up needing to do some passive leveling i switch back to hard. i genuinely hate merciful difficulty but considering how grindy nocturne can be it was somewhat necessary to level my demons without taking an eternity. i don’t like how merciful is game journalist mode, i don’t like how much of a joke boss encounters are with it, etc etc. and trust me playing a save file with only merciful difficulty was so boring.

that’s also why i genuinely hate the grinding dlc aside from being paid when it should’ve been in base nocturne hd, and why i made some pretty big decisions that don’t min-max demifiend. part of the fun of nocturne is overcoming the bosses since they’re some of the hardest in the series and let’s be real being owned by at least one is a right of passage. if you’re extremely overleveled before facing bosses like matador that are infamous for forcing you to learn the game, it takes you out of the experience. that’s part of why i’m nerfing myself just in case. (i’m not going to be using freikugel as soon as it’s available but depending on how lucifer goes (i’m playing chronicle so he has diarahan oh joy) i may end up using it if absolutely necessary. divine shot’s cooler anyways sorry not sorry.) since i have to do some grinding for demon skills bc no fusion, there’s a very real chance i may get too op, and i’d rather not. also fun builds are better than the meta builds again sorry not sorry.

this all being said, i did hit a roadblock. the best way to deal with the beel in any game he’s in (where the skill is available) is to have at least one party member with debilitate. nocturne’s debuff skills like war cry and fog breath are pretty busted, but it would be too risky to use taunt without a dekaja to follow up, and mp preservation is really big in fights where the enemy can remove buffs/debuffs, so yeah debilitate is huge on a lot of levels. unfortunately despite it working in the original ps2 versions of nocturne, hd fixed a lot of ai bugs including certain ways to trick it into never removing buffs/debuffs.

this was my first true mandatory skill mutation fest.

and after several resets, i got debilitate on my star player.

also got it on gogmagog just in case so it turned into a roughly two hour endeavor of chaining. that beautiful 3% mutation chance pulled through eventually. i didn’t expect to use gogmagog given his fire weakness and i couldn’t remember if beel has any fire moves but he was an emergency switch in if i ran out of great chakras.

now you may be wondering why qing long is ko’d when he was obviously used despite not a good fit for beel and that’s because he again managed to pull through. beel will not remove buffs or debuffs in the first phase nor use death flies early on, so i sped through with a few makakajas before sacrificing him for a monke switch. funny monke kept buffing defense and evasion to make some attacks not as powerful especially since titania can’t deal with physical moves especially if they’re powered by focus.

after a few tries i finally got a winning run where the ai forgot to do some crucial dekajas and dekundas, spammed death flies which was doing nothing, and ultimately magma axis secured the kill. it was long. beel is built like a tank. probably would’ve made him run out of mp eventually given how long it took. but this was the first hurdle since thor that really got me and it served as a nice palette cleanser. once you play through nocturne once or twice, most bosses end up being pretty easy, but the labyrinth of amala always finds a way to destroy your self worth and remind you what game you’re playing, and i think that’s why i’m beginning to appreciate it more.

one more side note but beelzebub has the best battle theme in the game just saying it’s a banger and so unique i love it

[zegrvshvghes]

Emotions- AX72

Check out my masterlist for more! 💌

Arber was a rising star in the world of professional ice hockey. He had worked tirelessly to reach the top, honing his skills on the rink until he became one of the most sought-after players in the league. Despite his success, there was always something missing from his life – someone to share it with.

His chance came when he was interviewed by me, a television reporter covering the hockey games. Arber was smitten with me right from the start – I could tell.

Due to my knowledge and experience in the sports world, I think I made him feel like he had finally found someone who understood him. We began a flirtatious friendship, and I guess he thought that our connection had potential to turn into something more.

"Hey, good game today!" I greeted him after one particularly successful match.

“Thank you,” he responded, “tiring but none the less exciting, glad you watched..”

Over the next few years, we stayed in touch, always catching up when there was a hockey game to report on.

Eventually my reporting took me out of town, but we’d still talk every now and then.

Arber's feelings for me continued to grow and I took great notice to that, but he sensed that I didn't feel the same way, and that was true. I believed I had met the man I would marry. Despite his disappointment, he tried his best not to let it affect our friendship, which I was truly grateful for.

Soon, I had excitedly revealed to him that I was getting married.

“Arber,” I greeted him with a hug, “I have some exciting news for you!” He smiled and listened while I spoke.

“i’m getting married next year, Matt proposed!” His face dropped almost immediately.

Arber felt a pang of sadness in his heart, realizing that the woman he loved was now officially off the market. I still believe had he confessed his feelings sooner maybe we’d be something.

He attended my wedding, a bittersweet experience for the two of us, and watched as I walked down the aisle with someone else.

Years went by, and Arber continued to dominate on the ice. He dated other women, and I always felt a sense of jealousy, even though I was “Happily” married. Despite my marriage, he continued to hold out hope that maybe one day I would see him in a new light.

Which I already had, I just wish I knew about his feelings sooner.

About a week ago, we ran into each other at an NHL charity event. I am now divorced,the marriage felt too rehearsed and fake. He spent too much time working and focusing on his business that we never saw eachother. I guess I should’ve known what I was getting myself into. Arber could see that I had changed since our last encounter. I was hopeful that maybe we could rekindle our connection and finally start something truly special.

But as we talked, I could sense that the spark between us was no longer there. Arber seemed distant and aloof, and even though we spent the whole evening together, I felt that he was a complete stranger to me. It was as if they had never been friends at all. As the night ended, Arber realized what a fool he had been for holding onto his feelings for so long.

When a woman sat down directly next to him and held his hand, I immediately understood why the scene had been tense. The sight of him with somebody new was unexpected, and I wasn't sure how to react. The new girlfriend seemed friendly enough, but there was a distance and awkwardness that lingered in the air.

“This is Adrianne, my girlfriend." He spoke,

"Hi, it's nice to meet you!" her friendly voice made my eardrums want to bleed.

"Hi. It's nice to meet you, too." Forcing a smile I once didn’t have to do when I was around him.

The greetings were polite enough, but the conversation had nowhere to go. The girl seemed nervous, i’d assume he’d never spoke of me but I knew she knew there was something between us at one point, while I tried my best to be cordial while suppressing an array of mixed emotions.

"So, how did you guys meet?"

"We met through work, actually. We started talking and hit it off pretty quickly."

"Yeah, it was really sweet how we just clicked right away."

There was a strained quality to the conversational thread, and I was finding it difficult to stay engaged. It was hard not to notice the affection the two clearly had for each other, awkwardly acknowledging what could only be an undeniably comprehensive romance.

"Well, it's been good seeing you both, but I should be on my way."

“Sure, it's been great seeing you, too. Take care." A very in-genuine smile resting on Arbers face.

I got up and walked away, feeling a great sense of loss, as if an empty void had opened up within my chest. Despite my best efforts, I couldn't rekindle the flame that had burned so brightly in his heart so many years ago. It was a sad, painful realization that I had no choice but to accept.

We both sort of moved on, Arber focusing all his energy on his sport and new lover, using it as a way to stave off the loneliness he still felt deep down inside even though he had never been lonely. But I knew that I would never forget the man who had captured my heart, even if he no longer loved me back.

(This is my first time writing on tumblr so please criticize everything, I mean it. I want to be better.)

[dasher85]

unplanned

featuring our Inexpressible duo

Kamisato Ayato x reader | y/n | you

A  short story

just leisure things

[ he’s often busy but if he could bring you along with him... he would ]

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

The warm evening breeze softly blows the leaves and sakura petals, decorating the path ahead of you. Occasionally the wind will blow your hair slightly to the side but instead of feeling troubled, you were enjoying it. The hustle and bustle of the city has quieted down by a lot at this time of the day which makes it a reasonable excuse to take a wonderful stroll. You’ve already finished your work at Yae Publishing house minutes ago and now you’re on your way home. Not that you’re in a hurry, in fact you’re even thinking of buying some local food from the restaurants.

The almost setting sun was facing you and looking straight up ahead would be too bright for your eyes. So you only looked down to prevent your eyes from getting hurt by the sun glare. As you were near the restaurant shop area, you then went on checking what they were selling, trying to find if any food would catch your taste. However, that one time you turned your head toward your left, somehow you saw that familiar white coat. Seemingly all too familiar, that same pure blue hair and that crest hooked elegantly on the back of his coat.  Instead of figuring out what meal you could buy, you decided to walk past that stall.

‘If he notices me, that’s fine. If he didn’t, that’s better…’ you secretly thought as you casually walked past with a small smile spread across your usually calm face. You should’ve probably greeted him but why bother? You’d rather let him do whatever that he’s doing while you enjoy the serene stroll. After all, you believed he deserves time for himself as well.

Initially you didn’t plan to go to Inazuma city today but on a sudden impulse you decided to send in the manuscript a day early. Hence why you're here without him knowing about it. Otherwise he'll insist on coming along with him earlier today. 

The next moment as you were heading towards another restaurant to check their menu, someone suddenly walked out from the alleyway. You instantly halted your steps feeling surprised so much that you almost stumbled backwards. But what scared you the most was that the person was a man and he was towering over you. As calm as possible you decided to quickly walk to the side and act like you’ve seen nothing.

“You’re not from here are you? Why don’t-”

You heed no mind and started to walk past him but he quickly blocked your path. He insisted that he’s the best tour guide for foreigners and confidently states that spending time with him would not disappoint you.

“...especially a beautiful woman like you, I wouldn't mind-”

Although you feel scared, you still managed to calmly and slowly take a few steps back. Your facial expression never betrays you whenever you encounter weird people such as this man. No matter what, you should never let them know what you were actually feeling right now.

“No, I don’t need any help.”

He was just about to reach out a hand and you're already clenching your fist, literally so ready to punch him anytime. Luckily he was just doing a hand gesture and started explaining unnecessary things again. You didn’t know what his point was but obviously you didn’t even care either.

“...No. I already have my personal guide” You casually pointed towards the person whom you saw earlier.

“That man? Certainly you’re bluffing. Someone like him would never care about a mere commoner like you”

For once, you really felt like punching him on the face but as a foreigner you certainly need to respect the law. No violence should be done unless only if someone actually threatened you with a weapon. 

‘I had enough’ you thought and sprinted your way towards the only person you trust. The distance wasn’t far actually it was just five shops apart. So when you were near the stall, you only casually sat next to him.

He was just leisurely drinking his dango milk tea, obviously having not the slightest idea what had just happened. The surprised happy grin on his lips quickly changed into a complete distaste when he saw the person who had actually chased after you.

“Dango milk?” He then casually returned his gaze towards you as he offered you his cup of drink with a decent smile.

Truthfully, you’re feeling safe whenever he’s around. You didn’t think twice and accepted his offer as if there’s nothing else to worry about and everything is alright now.

“Sir, there’s been a misunderstanding, I was offering to help her but she stole my Mora”

The man shamelessly accused you so easily and now you couldn't help but feel bad for the guy because of his grave mistake. He could’ve just apologized or retreat right about now.

“Oh?” The commissioner calmly stood up and confronted the unknown man. “How much Mora did she steal from you?”

You wanted to take a quick glance at the other person's facial expression but Ayato had completely covered your view from the other person from where he stood. As if he's deliberately covering you away from the other man's sight. 

“My wallet, she stole everything”

“How are you so sure that I'm going to believe you?"

At this point, the man's voice starts to hesitate but he still tries to spout more lies.

Ayato scoffs, seemingly revealing his level of impatience. The way he never once showed the slightest annoyance whenever he's with you feels quite surreal but it's understandable because he's dealing with someone who you won't even hesitate to punch out with your fist either.

"Unfortunately, my time is scarce. My guards will assist you"

As simple as that, the man was dragged by two guards who were actually on command just by a hand gesture made by the Commissioner.

"Come. Let's go somewhere else" He gave you a hand to take right after he dispels away the cause of disturbance. Onlookers were whispering and some were curiously walking out from the nearby shops to confirm where the sudden shouts were coming from. 

In such a situation, you don't know if you've only caused trouble for the man whom you're walking side by side with. He hasn't mentioned a single word to you and you didn't have the courage to take side glances either just so you could see his face.

There were a number of times whenever troubles and danger would surprisingly come rolling towards you and he's the only person who unexpectedly will always be there at the right moment. You weren't sure if fate was the reason behind your first encounter with him but when it comes to protecting you, it might be the case.

Even so, you couldn't help but feel worried about his thoughts whenever things like this happen. He often blames the title he holds for causing ill intent people to often threaten the people close to him.

He gestures his hand and two hidden guards come into sight. All too sudden that you didn't notice since when did they arrive but by now it's nothing new to you.

"Make sure this won't happen again"

The two men nod, making no other excuses before they went hidden again once Ayato dismissed them seconds after.

Now you know he's definitely displeased from the way he warned the guards but when the both of you sat by the bench he seemed to return to his calm demeanor. 

"Your dango milk" You finally returned the half emptied drink back to the owner. It was still filled one out of four when he offered it to you.

"Do you want me to get you another one?" He spoke with a smile, visibly glad that you'd still accept the shared drink. It's nothing special but the thought of sharing the same straw with you actually made him a lot happier. He just won't admit the reason behind that though… 

"No need… I was going to drink it all but perhaps the sweetness from the dango milk could cheer you up at least a little?"

He let out a chuckle, before taking a sip from the same drink.

"Mhmm… I feel much better"

For some reason, he seems to be really happy with that wide smile all over his face. It's difficult for you to believe that it's just because of the drink itself. Surely there's something he's not telling you but as long as he's happy you didn't bother to question him.

"Where were you heading to Y/n? I thought you said you're going to the city tomorrow"

He knows you rarely even go out from the comfort of your own place but occasionally you'd still go out without any planning just like today.

"I sent my manuscript a day earlier because I feel like going outside today"

He looked at you seemingly a little surprised by your words alone. As if a yokai has taken over your mind that you'd prefer to suddenly go outside today. Sure, you do often go outside but it's only at the neighboring shops, the seashore, the mountain areas but rarely the city without any planning in advance.

"I see…" He smiled happily, "Well, since you're here… let's go on a stroll together. I happen to have some-"

"Commissioner. There you are"

A person suddenly interrupts him as you both turn in response.

"There's something urgent and you need to be there right now"

He then hands the Commissioner a file as he briefly informs the important matter. The attendant then leaves after Ayato informs him that he'll be there soon. 

"I guess it's my time to leave since you still have important work to do" you informed him with a smile. 

You're not particularly affected by this but he on the other hand was beyond disappointed.

"That's not fair." He complained like a child who hasn't been given a candy.

"What do you want me to do?" You laughed, feeling entertained by his genuine reactions. These days you couldn't help but feel happy just because you're under the influence of this man.

"Wait for me? I'll make sure to get it done before sundown" he suggests with an eager smile.

You glance to the side while considering his suggestions and surely you can tell what'll happen if you reject him. 

"Alright."

His smile widens, "Wait for me at Komore teahouse alright?"

You nodded and as simple as that you're now waiting for him at Komore teahouse. There weren't many people inside as you were given a nice warm cup of tea. A Shiba Inu was keeping you company although you didn't quite understand what meanings behind the gestures or barks. 

"I'm hungry…" you spoke to yourself before sighing sadly. There were side snacks being served to you but you'd prefer an actual warm meal. Surely the restaurants outside are still open but you had second thoughts about the idea of walking by yourself after that recent incident. The hidden guards would surely protect you at the moment but then again you wouldn't want to trouble them either. 

Suddenly someone entered the teahouse and you thought it was Ayato but to your disappointment it wasn't him.

"Lady Y/n, Lord Ayato has sent you these" he placed a basket on the counter.

"He also informs you that he couldn't return any time soon and the guards will escort you home after you've eaten dinner" he then hands you an envelope.

'My sweetheart, it's me, Ayato.

Please forgive me for not being able to keep my promise. I'll make sure to make it up to you tomorrow, alright? Please don't be upset. 

Worry not about me, I'm alright. I just got caught up in an unending discussion.

I've sent my retainers to bring in dinner from the estate. Later after you're done with eating dinner, the guards will escort you home safely. No need to rush and stay safe.

Love, Ayato'

You calmly folded the letter back into the envelope before sighing yet again.

"Inform the head of the Yashiro commission that I'm doing alright. In fact, he doesn't need to meet me tomorrow and be at leisure with his work. Remember do not alter any of my words" 

The attendant nodded profusely before he rushed out from the teahouse. You weren't quite sure why he was in a hurry but you only thought it was a matter of efficiency.

Taroumaru barked twice with a happy gesture, taking your attention and you thought he was trying to cheer you up from which you only smiled.

"I have to admit, this feels terrible." You softly spoke, although you knew he probably couldn't understand your human words but it's quite comforting to be able to share your thoughts. 

You carefully took out the contents of the basket. A bowl of delicately wrapped rice, soup, and a few plates of side dishes. It's understandably all cooked with care and you couldn't help but feel a lot better by just seeing the colors of the warm meals.

"I don't mind being in any terrible circumstances for someone I value but it still feels awful when a promise can't be kept, no matter how small it is… but don't worry Taroumaru. I'll feel alright after I eat dinner"

You gave the Inu a quick pat on his head before enjoying the warm meal. Not long after that, you've arranged the plates back into the basket and were ready to bring it back along with you.

"Bye bye Taroumaru… I'm sorry to keep you busy. Have some rest now" you smiled as the Inu replied with a few happy barks.

Upon getting out from the door two guards whom you've seen before were already on standby as they confirmed with you if you're ready to head home. You nodded and casually walked along the stoned path. It feels weird to have guards following you behind but at least it feels safe. 

Just as you were only five meters away from the teahouse, the head of Yashiro commission suddenly made an appearance. His overly confident strides were unmatched with the worried look written all over his face. 

Your eyes met with his, locking gaze with each other until he stood before you. He gestures a hand and the guards instantly left the area, leaving you alone with him. You have no idea what it's all about so you just calmly stare back at him.

"What is it? Is something wrong?" You finally question him with a slight frown because he wouldn't say a word either.

"How's dinner?" He suddenly displayed a smile as if he didn't look terribly worried seconds ago.

You eyed him suspiciously but still answered his questions.

"The food was good… but I thought-" You couldn't help but ask him directly.

"The meeting is over… Of course I'll come over as soon as possible." He let out a chuckle before casually placing an arm over your shoulder.

Unbeknownst to you, Ayato was actually relieved that you're not completely upset with him. Just an hour earlier, his attendant returned with a horrified face, informing him that you're beyond angry. Perhaps the seriousness in your tone had actually scared the attendant who's usually calm in handling matters.

"My Lord, your wife- Lady Y/n… she's- she's-"

"Calm down this instant"

After receiving the words you've informed for him, it left him feeling devastated. As if his soul was crushed. 'He doesn't need to meet me' is the only sentence he kept thinking on repeat.

"How come the meeting ends so fast?"

"I was just lucky" he smiled before tucking the strands of hair that was slightly covering your face with his other hand. 

Surely he wasn't at all just lucky. In fact he cuts through the person who was talking and straight away gives them a solution for the problems. It wasn't his part of duty. He's advised to listen in but since he's in such a situation, he'd rather just speed things up. He could've done that earlier though… but perhaps you getting upset had him given up on staying neutral in the matter. 

"I see… but you're still late"

He really thought he was out of it but no… you still directly labelled him a 'late' tag. 

"My sweetheart, I know…" he nervously cooed, but the unimpressed look on your face made him instantly regret saying it.

"...I'm sorry. I'll-"

"It's fine, you're here now. I was just playing with you. Besides, I'd rather have you with me than just the guards" you finally revealed a smile before playfully bumping him slightly to the side with your shoulder. 

"It's not too late for a night stroll. What do you say my handsome darling?"

He looked at you as if he heard it wrong, seemingly surprised but evidently overjoyed more than you think he would be. 

"I shouldn't have called you that…" you laughed, genuinely feeling entertained by his reactions. Despite it all, you cheerily linked your arm with his, only to effortlessly bring yourself closer to him.

"Of course, I’m all yours tonight"

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

Check out the [ Story List ] for the other sequence in Inexpressible Series

 A/N: I’ve been busy these few days, no time to write anything new at all. This one was also in drafts. I had to reread it again because I don’t remember the plot but it wasn’t too bad, right?

[gretavanbear]

Different Worlds - Jake Kiszka x Reader

Chapter 14 : Change of Plans

[notes :

i'm so sorry for the time it took me to post this. i wasn't sure with what i wanted to do, now i know :)

i hope you enjoy this chapter my loves !]

It had already been two weeks since my last encounter with Jake, not because I didn’t want to see him but because we were so busy with the beginning of the tour. We had already visited six cities and it had been stressful, but so fucking fun. 

I got to hangout backstage and where the concert photographers stood as the boys played on the stage- and watching Jake play was my favorite thing ever. He was so sexy when he delved into the music, his eyes closed as sweat poured down his forehead. I couldn’t help but feel so turned on when watching him play, and I missed the night we spent together so much. I knew it would happen again- we had just been so busy. After tonight's show, there was a five day break until our next shows, and Jake told me we’d do something then. The thought always came back when I felt really.. homesick of him. 

The boys finish their encore and walk off the stage quickly, heading to their dressing rooms. I clap softly for Jake as he heads straight for me, his eyes watching me as he gets off the stage. 

“You did amazing!” I say and he smiles, pulling me in for a tight hug. 

“Thank you, [y/n]” He replies and we walk together to the common dressing room, meeting up with the rest of the boys. Throughout the weeks we have been on tour, I’ve gotten much closer with Sammy- I could say we’re best friends now and I feel so lucky to have him. 

Jake and I walk into the room and I quickly make my way to the couch- sitting next to Sam. He shoots me a smile and wraps his arm around me, pulling me close. 

“Hey [y/n]! Did you like the show?” He asks and I nod quickly. 

“It was really good, I’m so proud of you all!” I respond and the boys collectively give me a small ‘thank you’. I remember how good Josh sang and their overall performance.

Jake steps out into a smaller room- to get changed. He comes out and is now wearing a black button down shirt with some loose grey pants. I now realize that everyone else had gotten changed in some comfier clothes.

“Hey, we’ve picked up all the objects thrown on the stage and placed them in this box for you guys” A girl appears at the door with a big box full of random objects. The silence in the room is loud as her eyes widen and Sam gasps next to me. I look at him and his eyes are shooting daggers at her. Jake’s whole body freezes as she stands in the doorway, mirroring his movements. I hear Josh’s breath hitch and the whole room is filled with this uncomfortable silence. 

“I told you to never fucking come back.” Sam growls. Fuck. This is Taylor. I watch Jake as his puzzled look focuses on her, my heart beating quickly. Sam’s breathing becomes harder, as he stares at her. 

“I know.. I work here. Hey Jake.. Josh.” She says softly as she steps into the room and places the box on the table. The silence is killing me, as the energy feels so uncomfortable and I’m unsure what to do. 

“I’m sorry, I should’ve asked someone else to bring this.” She rapidly stutters before leaving the room rapidly- and Jake follows her. Sam gasps once again and gets off the couch quickly, rushing after Jake. 

“I’ll be right back, [y/n], don’t worry okay?” He says quickly before running down the hall. 

I can’t do anything but sit on the couch, my hands in front of my mouth as the latest events replay over and over in my mind. The tears make their way out of my eyes rapidly as the room is silent once again. The uncomfortability of the room is probably getting too much for Daniel as he leaves the room- leaving Josh and I alone. I can’t do anything but cry in my hands, as I’ve just watched my boyfriend run after another girl. I cover my face with my hands, the humiliation taking over my whole body. 

“[y/n], let's get out of here, yeah?” Josh suggests and I look up at him, nodding softly. He grabs a box of tissues that was placed near the door and then grabs one of my hands, pulling me close to his body as he wraps his arm around my shoulders, squeezing a little. 

_ _ _ 

We find ourselves at a bar across the street from the venue and we sit in a booth at the back of the room. Completely secluded from the general public. I sat in the booth alone as Josh went to grab drinks- I had mentioned how I don’t drink often so he knew what to get me. He comes back with a rum and coke in one hand and something fancy looking in the other. 

“Here you go” He places the rum and coke in front of me and I rapidly take a big sip. He takes a small sip out of his drink, watching me. 

“I need to apologize to you, [y/n]” He says softly, placing his hand on my wrist. I look at him, the dimmed lighting in the back of the booth making him look so beautiful right now. He looks incredibly soft and his kind eyes ease the previous tension. 

“I get jealous of Jake. And when I heard that he likes you, I just wanted to shoot my shot- even if it isn't reciprocated. You’re just so beautiful and he’s so lucky.” He says softly. “I’m so sorry for being a dick to you, you’re a kind girl and didn’t deserve that. Just like you didn’t deserve him running after Taylor like that.” He says and I tear up again, the tears pouring out with no control. 

“I told him I love him” I sob into my hands, Josh rubbing my back softly and hesitantly. I cry softly and he hesitates saying anything else. I pause to take another big sip of my drink, wiping my tears with the back of my hand. 

“That’s terrible. I’m sorry, [y/n]. I know he must’ve told you what happened before… with Taylor.” Josh starts. “I had her first. No one knew. Sammy thought he knew but he was wrong, I just wasn't able to tell him. It hurt me a lot, too, when she left. Ever since then things haven’t been the same. I need to tell you that I would never do that to you.” He finishes and I sniff a little, wiping more of my tears away. Before I can answer him- Sammy’s calling. I rapidly answer and place him on speakerphone. 

“Sammy.” You say softly. 

“I couldn’t find them anywhere. Where are you?” He says quickly and my heart drops quickly, my lip quivering, Josh noticing and scoots closer to me and wraps his arm around my shoulder. 

“We’re at the bar across the venue- all the way in the back.” Josh answers for me as a sob escapes my lips. 

“Oh.. [y/n] I’m on my way” He responds and ends the call.

It doesn't take long before Samuel is rushing inside the bar, heading straight to the back to meet with Josh and I.

"You don't know where they went?" Josh asks Sammy and he shakes his head 'no'.

"I'm so pissed, Josh. She knows we were performing- why the hell was she there?" Sam scoffs with an annoyed tone.

"Do you" I pause hesitantly. "Do you think they're.." I can't bring myself to say it out loud- the tears getting in the way of my sentence.

"I don't know. I don't think so. He cares a lot about you, [y/n] he's told me many times. I didn't expect him to be stupid enough to run after her." Sam sighs loudly. "I'm getting a drink. Do you want another one?" He places a hand on my shoulder as he looks down at my empty glass and I nod.

"Rum and coke." Josh answers him before he asks and Sam nods.

"I don't think they're going to do anything." Josh states, looking down at me to make eye contact. His fingers rubbing my arm softly, the warmth of his arm around me helping a little. "Jake's the type to need closure. I think he just needed to talk." He tries to reassure me and he does a little, but not much.

Sam comes back with two drinks, he places mine in front of me and I sip it slowly this time.

"I wasn't enough, Sammy." I say softly.

"No. That's not true. He cares about you so much." Sam says sympathetically. "We hear him writing songs about you in his room all the time, right Josh?" Sam looks towards Josh and I mirror him, looking at Josh as well.

"It's true. He's always strumming something and muttering lyrics. All the time." Josh agrees, then takes a sip of his drink. He slowly takes his arm off of my shoulders and rests his arms on the table, looking towards Sammy and I.

"Everything is going to be okay." Sammy says, but I can't focus as Jake steps into the bar- his shirt even more unbuttoned than before.

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