#I like to think he tells this story fondly over the fire

[sugojosgf]

i'll get him hot, show him what i've got

﹒ nanami ﹕☆ ﹟ fem · prns ㅤ࣭ ㅤׂ : ᯓ cw : sūggestıve , jealōusý , māsōchısm ! ﹐

nanami ? jealous ? pffffft yeah right .... right ?

nanami and you have been going out for a few months, and you don't think you've ever been as happy as you are right now. nanami is everything you can ask for, he buys you anything you look at, kisses you like his life depends on it and loves you like you are his religion.

but he also gets so jealous very easily

it's not that he doesn't trust you, not that he thinks you are the kind to stray, he just hates how people look at you, like you are theirs...

it was an office event, and of course nanami invited you as his plus one. making sure he got you the prettiest red dress ever, the way it hugged your body, had him so fucking hard. it was quite modest, the only skin revealed was your legs,,, but anything on you, or nothing on you (doesn't really matter) was enough to make him rock hard in his tailored pants.

"oooh- is this nanami's pretty girlfriend?" a man sauntered up to the both of you, dressed in an expensive white suit to match his hair.

you recognised him, how could you not? this was the very same coworker that nanami would complain to you about during dinner.

"gojo," his voice comes out a little strained, "yes, this is my girlfriend, you might recognise her of course, she interned in our company a while ago." kento answers, hand on your waist pulling you closer.

"awww, isn't she absolutely gorgeous, can't believe nanami got his hands on you before me." he giggles, eyes glimmering with a mischievous glint.

"i'm lucky she decided to go out with me." nanami forces a smile, his grip on your waist becoming tighter.

you gasp and giggle, "nooo... im the lucky one, kento is so kind to me," you say looking fondly at him.

you continue, "oh and thank you so much gojo! you look quite nice yourself." you return the compliment.

suddenly someone calls out to nanami, a fellow coworker and he gets whisked away leaving you all alone with gojo. he smiles like a cheshire cat, the gears in his brain working harder. he looks at nanami from where he is, making steady eye contact as he begins to talk to you.

he tells you about how nanami was actually his junior in high school and how he was really into the emo subculture then, recounting stories of young nanami that made you laugh until there were tears in your eyes. he fishes his phone out to show you a picture, teen nanami brooding and scrawny, hair swept to the side.

of course to you, you were just talking to gojo about your shared love for nanami. but to him, the one way out of earshot to understand the context of your giggling, the green fire of jealousy made its way to his heart.

he slowly makes his way over to you, pulling you away from gojo and hands travelling to your hip. you were still laughing, too far gone to notice the expression on his face.

"what's got you so giggly? hm?" he asks, fingers pinching your thigh. it's not really painful , almost like an ant biting. but you are the kind to bruise easily, red blooming the minute his fingers pull apart.

you are immediately pulled out of your laughing fit, eyes blown wide looking up to nanami. it's almost like he had conditioned you, a little touch to your pretty thighs and you were ready to cum in your little thong.

"o-oh! gojo was just showing me pictures..." you mumble, embarrassed by the heated stare nanami was giving you. you felt so small under his gaze. your tongue comes out to wet your lips, to ease the way your throat has dried up.

gojo stands still in front of the both of you, smirking as he sees the tension build. he knew very well what he was doing. rolling his eyes and happy that once again he managed to piss nanami off, he walks away to the bar.

"i think it's high time we go home, you look needy." nanami rasps out, the hand on your thigh travelling upto your ass and staying there. you nod, words unable to string themselves together.

nanami sighs, eyes darkening and his smile dropping as he guides you towards the exit.

"when we are home, i'm going to teach you to use your words."

[perseephoneee]

rest your eyes [castiel x reader]

synopsis: you can't sleep so castiel helps you

a/n: i am sick with covid and have been rewatching supernatural with my boo. castiel was literally my second crush ever, and i missed him so much, so i decided to write something (based on the fact i'm an insomniac who would totally sleep on an angel if offered)

↳ masterlist  ↳ ship exchange ↳ taglist

It wasn’t supposed to be like this. 

It was supposed to go: hunting a monster in the woods and returning to some dingy motel that Dean found at the end of the day. Instead, the chase led you and the rest of the squad so deep into the woods that it was wiser to set up camp than try and trek back to civilization. The camp included a rock outcropping to protect from the weather, a shitty fire, and a lack of comfortable sleeping arrangements. Sam and Dean were used to sleeping on almost anything so they could pass out immediately. You, on the other hand, had insomnia sleeping in a regular bed and knew you were going to struggle to fall asleep with nothing more than the moss covering the ground. 

Castiel didn’t sleep, so he was keeping watch. You had your jacket balled up as a pillow under your head, and instead of closing your eyes and trying to encourage rest in your body, you were staring at Cas through thick lashes. He looked up at the sky, a serene expression on his face like he was thinking about what each star meant. The light from the fire flickered across his cheekbones, the bridge of his nose, even his cupid’s bow. Sometimes, you were struck by just how beautiful he was, like some Greek artists, the idea of the perfect man, sculpted to perfection and thrown at your feet for just you to enjoy. You wondered how you ended up so lucky to be blessed with his presence. 

“Why do humans enjoy looking at the stars?” Castiel asks you in a soft voice to not rouse Sam and Dean. You should’ve guessed that he would notice that you were awake.

“I think…it’s nice to think about things far away from your own life,” you hum, giving up on your rock bed and sitting up, brushing leaves and other debris out of your hair. Cas looks at you, the blue in his eyes a shifting kaleidoscope from the dancing lights around you. “And the concept of stars is beautiful,” you sighed, curling your legs up and under. Cas tilted his head at that, brows slightly furrowed. It was your favorite expression on him. 

“Stars are just clouds of gas and light,” Castiel answers. 

“But they’ve traveled thousands of light years to reach us, even if they don’t realize it,” you smile, your eyes tracing the path of various constellations. You can feel Cas’ gaze, but don’t dare look over. Looking into Cas’ eyes is falling headfirst into an abyss you didn’t prepare for. 

“I like that,” Castiel exclaims, a hint of a smile on his lips. “That’s a…human way of looking at it.”

“I am human,” you chuckle.

“Yes, you are,” he resumes, staring at the stars. It’s silent again; the only sound is the crackling of the fire and your breaths. Sometimes, the quiet is interrupted by Sam’s snoring, but you don’t mind. Your boys deserve the rest. 

“Why aren’t you sleeping?” Castiel inquires.

“It’s hard for me to sleep, especially out here,” you say, tucking a strand of hair behind your ear. Castiel looks troubled by that statement like he is personally responsible for your ability to sleep. “When I was little, sometimes my Mom would put me in the car and drive me around in circles, singing or telling stories until I passed out.” You remember fondly, smiling a little to yourself. “I don’t think the ground is as comfortable as a car seat, though.”

“Would you like me to tell you a story?” Castiel asks. “If you need a pillow…you can use me.” He looks slightly uncomfortable, and the tips of his ears turn red, making you grin. He never fails to be adorable when he wants to be, and you know he’s offering out of the goodness of his heart. Still, the ID part of your brain is brainstorming all the ways he could profess his love for you, something that you stamp down as you shuffle over to him. He leans his back against one of the rock walls, stretching his legs out. He had already removed his trench coat, offering it to you as a blanket. It was large enough to swallow you and smelled precisely like Castiel in a way you wanted to remember for the rest of your life. You took your makeshift pillow and set it on his lap, laying your head there and curling up under his arm, which he hesitantly rested on your shoulder. You knew you had to coax your ever-beating heart to calm down if you were ever going to sleep, but it was hard when you were lying on the lap of an angel you had a crush on. Still, Castiel was a gentleman who didn’t do anything to make you uncomfortable. 

“What’s your story?” you ask, voice small as you close your eyes and relax your body. 

“Early before humans won the race for my Father’s next creation, there was a pool going on for what Earth’s next great invention would be…”

Castiel’s voice, in its low timbre, started to lull you to sleep as you listened to his story. You liked listening to him talk, and he occasionally added funny anecdotes that would make you smile. You started tuning out of the story, instead focusing on the warmth from his lap, the smell of the open air and him, and especially how his fingers had started to absentmindedly stroke shapes on your arm. Eventually, you were pulled into a deep sleep, lingering in that space where you were only slightly conscious but not awake. That space was the only way you could feel Castiel petting your hair, brushing his fingers down your scalp to your neck and back to your shoulder. Even in your dreams that night, you swear you could feel his weight everywhere. 

You slept peacefully, without interruption, the whole night. Until morning, when the sound of voices roused you from your slumber.

“...did you get a girl in your lap?” Dean asked, sounding incredulous. 

“She is not in my lap. She is lying on half of my lap,” Castiel answered, ever the stickler for exact estimates. You could hear Dean’s groan and sarcastic retort. 

“Can you shut up? I’m trying to sleep?” you mumbled, screwing your eyes shut and pushing your face more profoundly into your pillow-jacket-thing. 

“C’mon, Sleeping Beauty, time to go hunting,” Dean called out. You let out a curse word, relaxing as you felt Castiel pat your head reassuringly. 

“You are much more Sleeping Beauty than I am,” you responded, finally opening your eyes to the daylight but not making a move to get up. Eventually, you realized you’d have to move, so you begrudgingly sat up, cracking your neck as you did so. “Thanks for the story, Cas,” you said, averting eye contact with the angel to avoid him seeing the light flush on your cheeks. You gave him back his coat, and he kindly removed a twig that got stuck in your sweater. 

“Did you sleep alright?” he inquired. You thought back to it and realized that for the first time in years, you slept through the whole night. 

“Yeah, I… slept well.” 

With that, Castiel smiled and helped you up. You were more alert on a hunt than you had been in a long time, all because a particular angel helped you achieve the best sleep of your life.

[edges-of-night]

OMG YIPPIEEIE YOU'RE BACK🎉 you're one of my favorite Lotr blogs ever❤❤❤ hope you're having an absolutely wonderful day❤

You know when there's a short character that's comically strong? Could you do the characters of your choice reacting to a short reader just tossing them over their shoulder like it's nothing? I'd think it'd be a little funny

Thank you very much, nonnie! I hope you’re doing well, too. I picked six characters which I think would be the funniest for your prompt!

Also: I’ve decided to introduce a “humour” tag! And a divider, perhaps? What do you guys think? Anyways, have fun reading!

･ﾟ✧ Boromir.

When you pick him up, Boromir is so stumped he cannot speak. How could a small person like you be so strong? Did you practice dark magic? Have you been bonded to the enemy and only now shown your true colours? It causes him quite a dramatic headache. He would stay up late by the fire to stare into it and question your relationship. Once he realises nothing had changed – you’re still yourself after all, always have been! – he would grin and exhale in relief (but still probably ask you to not do that again).

.

･ﾟ✧ Éomer.

You probably won a bet against Éomer, that’s why he lets you throw him over your small shoulders in the first place. He expects to hate it but actually has a lot of fun being carried around like this. The two of you would often joke about how you could become his horse (or rather: pony) and use your strength to win many bets and free drinks among those who haven’t heard of your power. Additionally, Éomer would invent legendary stories to tell about you at drinking sprees. His fun would only be over when someone would ridicule your height – then it’s time for a brawl.

.

･ﾟ✧ Éowyn.

When you first threw Éowyn over your shoulder, she protested like a dragon, so you let her down again quickly. But as time passes, she grows accustomed to the thought of being carried by someone she loves so deeply – just maybe not over your shoulder, but bridal style through the halls of Edoras. She would also carry you in return, needless to say, though she would often blush when asked about it. But she would always defend you against bigots! Sidenote: Éowyn loves your standing on your tip toes to kiss her ♡

.

･ﾟ✧ Gimli.

You and Gimli vow to never speak of the day when you effortlessly carried him all the way back home over your shoulder. Though it fractures his Dwarven pride, Gimli is impressed with your strength. After all, he was wearing his heavy armour as well as his helmet and axe. Secretly, he would think back fondly to the instance. Still, the principle remains: “No one tosses a Dwarf over their shoulder!”

.

･ﾟ✧ Haldir.

You wouldn’t have carried Haldir all the way back to Lothlórien if it hadn’t been absolutely necessary. But he was unconscious, so you had no choice. Other Elves of your party had volunteered, but you were quicker than anyone else (and also untiring). Every single one of you swore to never speak of this again, though you now do share a great insight joke to rile dear Haldir up more than you already do. Needless to say, he would never suspect you tiny little thing were the main culprit!

.

･ﾟ✧ Legolas.

Being the Elven prince that he is, Legolas likes being carried around by you (and the scandalised faces of other people) so much that he would pretend to be fainting or otherwise stricken so that you would pick him up again. He is very playful about the entire thing, throwing his long arms around your neck and kicking his legs like a damsel in distress. He would also retort to your massive strength to threaten people, should the need arise…

[another-lost-mc]

Hellooooo first time requesting on your blog!

So for a long time I've wondered what it would be like if NB Satan & OG Satan were to meet & converse with each other. How would they react to each other? What questions would they ask? How would they respond? Etc. I was wondering how you would imagine this interaction would work?

Also, is it okay if I claim 🦄 anon?

A/N: Ooh that's such a neat idea. You know those “talk to your past/future self" tropes? I almost see OG Satan leading NB Satan through the present timeline version of House of Lamentation. It gives him a glimpse of what life will be like later, how things will change and what will still be the same. I kept this mostly wholesome because NB has enough angst potential without me adding to it. lol

SATAN x gn!Reader, 0.5k words, SFW.

Content: implied established relationship with gn!Reader.

The house itself is obviously a bit different. It’s older but also newer in some ways—updates and renovations over time, that sort of thing. It’s endured years of the siblings living there and all that entails. Their home is obviously loved and well-cared for, despite the little dents in the wall from their squabbles and the occasional scorched marks from some accidental fires. Those lingering remnants of the past each tell a story, and OG Satan offers to share them all.

I think NB Satan is just confused by everything he sees. There are portraits of himself on the walls, and there's lots of family photos where OG Satan looks so happy. OG Satan talks about his brothers while they walk slowly through the halls together. His voice is laced with fondness, especially even when he talks about Lucifer. He reminisces about pranks he attempted with Belphie that Lucifer managed to thwart somehow, but there’s no real bite in his tone. He can look back fondly on those memories and cherish them all, the good and the bad.

By the time they get to his bedroom, NB Satan has no idea what to think. He explores the familiar space but notices all the subtle differences: there are a lot of human world literature and movies strewn about, and he notices a jar of cat treats near the door so it's easy to grab a handful before going out to feed the strays. This bedroom feels less like a prison of his own making because it's comfortable and uniquely him and surprisingly warm.

OG Satan just kind of watches his other self with something like amusement, and NB Satan gets fed up feeling like the punchline to someone's idea of a joke.

"I don't get it. We're the same, aren't we? So why aren't you—how are you not—?"

"How am I not what?"

"How are you not angry all the time? Why are you so happy? Especially talking about him."

"Oh, I'm angry," OG Satan says, picking up a framed photo from his bedside table. He runs his fingers over the glass as he looks at the picture in his hands. "You know what it feels like, how it festers deep inside us. We're always looking for reasons to let our rage loose on the world so everyone else hurts as much as we do. But we both had to learn that there's more to life than that, didn't we?"

OG Satan hands him the photo, and NB Satan takes the frame carefully. It's a a photo of him and his family at a beach somewhere, and right there in the middle with their arms wrapped around his waist is—

"Our attendant?" he asks, eyes lingering on a familiar smile before reluctantly handing the photo back.

OG Satan nods. "If anything, you're the lucky one," he says, returning the picture to its proper place beside his bed. "I had to wait a lot longer to meet them than you did. I was lost just as you were, but then they came here and—well, I have a feeling you know how the rest of that story goes," he says, clearing his throat as a pink blush dusts his cheeks.

For the first time since they met, it feels like they finally understand each other. "...Yeah, I think I do."

[thedeathlysallows]

Is It Over Now? (14)

Pairing: Aemond Targaryen x Aemma Velaryon; Aegon Targaryen x Aemma Velaryon

Summary: Tore your banners down, took the battle underground

Warnings: canon typical Targaryen incest. Talk of infidelity, manipulative Aegon, mad Aemma, character death

taglist: @callsignwidow

The firm press of Aegon’s chest to your back is grounding in a way you haven’t felt for weeks. His steady breath calms you, centers you, so you can think clearly for the first time in ages. You find several things to be true at once. The first: Aegon wants you to kill Alys. The second: you want to kill Alys and possibly Aemond. The third: deep down (though not actually all that deep, just beyond surface level perhaps) you don’t really want to hurt Aemond in any way. Not more than you already have.

But you also can’t let this slight go.

Aemond is your husband.

It wasn’t all that long ago he was loving you, worshipping you. For him to abandon you is unforgivable.

Right?

As if sensing the direction of your thoughts Vermithor huffs and flaps his wings a bit harder, making it to Harrenhal in record time. You pat him fondly as you slip down from your saddle, Aegon’s eager hands reaching out to help you. He gives you a soft, adoring smile and you know what you need to do.

Aemond is yours.

But so is Aegon.

You’ve been so blind, so stupid. It can’t continue.

It won’t continue.

Finding Aemond isn’t difficult at all. In fact, he and Alys are the ones to find you and Aegon before you can take more than ten steps away from Vermithor. Your dragon hisses behind you as Alys opens her mouth to speak. She’s pretty, you think. With her dark hair and sharp features she looks eerily similar to your brothers...

Aemond is the first to actually break the tense silence. "Brother. Wife. Welcome to Harrenhal."

Anger rears its ugly head deep in your belly, setting fire to your veins. Vermithor shifts, tense and ready for a fight. "Is that all you have to say? Welcome?"

"Should I have anything else to say? I explained myself last time you were here, Aemma. I've done nothing that wasn't asked of me." Aemond observes you coolly. "Do you not trust me?"

No.

Yes.

You aren't sure who to trust to be completely honest. Aemond tells you one thing, Aegon another, and somewhere out there is your mother with another story.

So you answer a different question as you say, "I don't care what was asked of you, Aemond. I thought you loved me."

At last his cool demeanor breaks ever so slightly. "You know I do."

"Then why fuck some whore behind my back?"

Aegon lets out a fully belly laugh and your head whips over to look at him. "So you discovered the others as well? What a smart little dragon!"

"Others?" You look back at Aemond, feeling tears prick your eyes. "Others?!"

"I promise to explain-"

Alys trails her hand up Aemond's arm, resting it gently on his shoulder. Aemond relaxes ever so slightly. "You need to explain nothing, my prince. You're the blood of Old Valyria."

Confusion washes over you at their exchange and you turn to Aegon. He looks just as confused, an uncharacteristic worry lingering in his eyes.

"We're all the blood of Old Valyria. We're all Targaryens," you say in an attempt to test the hold she appears to have on your husband. "Blood calls to blood... doesn't it, husband?"

Aemond's hand twitches. "Yes."

Alys's grip tightens on his shoulder. "Is that why you've been fucking the King behind your husband's back? You dare get angry about his infidelity when you've never been loyal a day in your life? Like mother like daughter I suppose."

Aegon steps closer to you, whispering in your ear, "whatever hold she has on Aemond isn't normal. You need to get her out of the way now."

"Aemond is right beside her. I can't-"

"That's a lot of whispering over there," Alys calls out. "Perhaps you would like to share your mighty plan with the rest of us?"

"I'm deciding how to kill you," you state simply, enjoying how Alys's eyes grow terrified.

Aemond growls, pushing Alys's hand off his shoulder before stalking toward you. "Aemma, be reasonable. She's an asset to our cause."

You scoff. "Our cause? Have you forgotten whose daughter I am? There was a moment where I did, I'll admit, but no more."

You look at the two brothers, feeling your heart shatter as you realize what you let them do to you. All the isolation and manipulation and lies. You let them take your power without even realizing it.

"No more." You shake your head, willing the tears back. "Vermithor, dracarys."

Vermithor lumbers forward, fixated solely on Alys Rivers. The witch turns to run and you watch as fire spills from your dragon's mouth, consuming the woman in bright orange flames. Those same flames are reflected in Aemond's eyes when he looks down at you. He grabs you by the upper arms and shakes roughly.

"Why would you do that? We've lost everything now."

Aegon rolls his eyes. "Oh, relax, no we haven't. You told me yourself she hasn't had an important vision in-"

"She was pregnant."

You push Aemond's statement to the back of your mind, refusing to think about it right now.

Besides, the three of you have more than enough to talk about. More than enough grievances to air.

"We need to talk," you finally say. "All of us. About everything."

Aemond and Aegon nod in sync.

"Aegon and I will return to King's Landing on Vermithor. You can follow on Vhagar," you tell your husband.

He nods once more, still starring at the charred remains of Alys Rivers.

You can't find it in yourself to feel one way or another about her death, but you do regret hurting Aemond. The wedding band on your finger feels suddenly heavy.

"I do love you, Aemond," you whisper before mounting Vermithor. Aegon follows you, one of his hands resting on your lower stomach while the other stays on your thigh. Aemond finally looks over and snarls at his brother's hand placement.

"Is that enough anymore?" He looks up at you, jaw set in anger. "Can it ever be enough after all of this?"

"I hope so."

[bullet-prooflove]

Ooo would it be okay (no worries if not) if I request a Bode x fem reader with the prompt “98)  I’ll be damned if I do give a damn what other people say”?

(This man needs to know how worthy of love he is!!)

Tagging: @kmc1989 @Cosmic-psychickitty @dizzybee03 @Yousigned-upforthis @mini-bee-bee

When Bode first comes to live with you after he’s paroled from prison it’s like someone’s lit a match and set the whole town ablaze. The place just explodes into a hive of gossip, rumours and half-truths.

Some of the things they say about you…

It makes Bode want to punch someone.

It boggles his mind that people don’t have something more interesting to talk about, that they don’t have their own lives to be concerned with.  

“The same thing happened with me and Lucy.” Manny tells him as the two of them share a drink at the bar a couple of days later. “There was all sorts of nonsense going around at the time. She was the bad girl from outta town and I was the naïve fire captain she seduced, it sounded like a bad romance novel.”  

“When did it start to die down?” Bode asks, taking a sip of his soda through a straw.

Manny laughs before he shrugs his shoulders.

“When someone else does something more interesting.”

It’s later that night when he comes home that he addresses the topic with you. You’re sitting on the couch flicking through one of those lumberjack romances you like when he kneels down in front of you and takes your hands in his.

“I’m sorry that I’m causing you all this trouble.” He says quietly as his lips brush across your knuckles. “I didn’t mean for this to happen.”

“Bode…” You say fondly, cradling his face between your hands. “I don’t give a damn what other people think. It’s you I care about.”

You kiss him then and all the noise in his head just stops. Immediately he feels lighter, like the weight of the whole town isn’t sitting on his shoulders. This always happens when he’s with you. When he gets worried or anxious or if he’s struggling to navigate the world being around you soothes something inside of him. It’s always been this way, ever since the day he told you about his mom by the lake.

“Stop worrying about what other people think.” You whisper as your fingertips ghost over his grizzled cheek. “And start focusing on the wonderful life we’re going to build together.”

Love Bode? Don’t miss any of his stories by joining the taglist here.

Like My Work? - Why Not Buy Me A Coffee

[jazzythursday]

Omg what’s sun summoner Jesper!?! 😱

Hi! I’m so glad you asked!

Sun summoner Jesper is a wip I started on a whim a while back. It follows show canon for sab but with Jesper in Alina’s place and Wylan in Mal’s (but with a lot of mixing and matching, i.e., Wylan is a cartographer and Jesper is a soldier, etc.) what I have so far is mostly based on the first 15 minutes of s1e1. Kaz and Inej also make appearances as Jesper’s friends and fellow soldiers (though I have Kaz as more of a strategist and assistant to Per Haskell, who in this is the lieutenant)

I want to tackle at least one other au before I dive into this one (probably my Rapunzel au) because if never written a long plot-driven fic, but I do definitely want to return to it eventually. There’s a lot still up in the air story-wise—I don’t know how Nina and Matthias will play into it, who the Darkling is, or if I’m going to use other characters to swap roles with the crows. I do know that it will span, at the very least, the plot of season 1 and probably a lot of season 2… and also that Kuwei is going to be Zoya.

You didn’t ask for a snippet, but I can’t really help myself, so here’s a decent chunk that takes place towards the beginning of chapter 1:

“Bit quick on the draw there,” Kaz chastens, as Jesper finishes re-loading the barrel of his rifle and pointing it at the target once more. He fires off a quick shot, one that lands directly between the eyes of the target dummie’s head. He follows it up with a second hit to the same spot, just to prove a point. Jesper cocks his head to the side, raises an eyebrow to match Kaz’s own arch look.

“You were saying?”

Unimpressed as ever, Kaz returns to his tent. That he expects Jesper to follow is just a given, one that he doesn’t bother with the directive for. He sits at his desk—a makeshift bureau of used crates and an old door strapped to the top—he finishes counting off his share of their earnings and passes the rest to Jesper.

“Don’t get cocky,” he says, continuing their conversation from before, “and don’t”—he points a judgemental, solitary finger at Jesper—“get fancy. I don’t need the other soldiers getting jealous enough to want to take you down a peg or two because of flash. Someone will get the bright idea to tell Haskell.”

“Aw, you think they’re jealous?” Jesper bats his eyes and pretends to swoon. “Of little ol’ me? Re-ally? Who? Tell me. Tell-me-tell-me-tell-me—”

“Bolinger looked like he’d rather use you for target practice more than that dummy after today.”

“Aw Kaz, are you worried? I never knew you cared.”

Kaz looks at him. If looks could kill, Jesper thinks, knowing Kaz Brekker would have killed him a thousand times over by now.

“Not just Bolinger. Keeg looked about ready to stage a mutiny.”

“Keeg’s a sore loser, that’s nothing new. It isn’t my fault he bet on the poor shot.”

“Would you just stop for—Hello Inej.”

Jesper blinks. “What?”

“Kaz is right,” says Inej, standing right next to them, and Jesper jumps.

“Fucking Saints!” he pants, hand over his chest to feel his racing heartbeat. “Warn the guy with the gun, people!” He lifts up his rifle and shakes it a bit for effect. “Gun, weapon”—he gestures to the rifle, then points to himself—“me, Jesper. What is confusing here?”

Kaz rolls his eyes and Inej smiles fondly at them both.

“What news?” Kaz asks her, their standard greeting.

“Nothing you don’t already know. Bolliger is whinging about Jes thrashing him in the match.”

Jesper can just feel Kaz’s eyes on him. There goes another life. “What else?” he asks, instead of giving Kaz the satisfaction of looking back.

“That’s everything. Oh”—her eyes widen—“and they just brought in a new caravan. Cartographers, from what I’ve heard. They're combining them with our unit to go south.”

Jasper starts walking straight out of the tent. He slings his rifle over his shoulder, tucking the prize winnings away, deep into his pocket. He doesn’t give his friends an explanation—he doesn’t have time to—he’s already striding across camp. Moving purposefully towards where he knows any new caravans full of cartographers would have been parked.

Cartographers, Jesper thinks, trying and failing to tamp down on the fluttery hope rising within him. Cartographers could mean—

“Jes!”

Jesper stops dead in his tracks. There's a swarm of butterflies made up of half hope and half fear flapping up his spine. He turns, and is met with familiar wild auburn curls and wide, crystalline blue eyes.

Jesper might not be special, but right now, he’s feeling pretty fucking lucky.

“Wylan!”

They run—literally run—to meet each other's outstretched arms, crashing and holding onto each other tightly.

“Wy,” Jesper whispers. He closes his eyes and rests his head on top of Wylan’s, soft curls pillowing his cheek. Wylan melts into him, head buried in Jesper’s large coat, hugging him even tighter.

Wylan looks up, but doesn’t try to put any further space between them in the slightest. He grins. “Jesper.”

It’s a good look on him, Jesper thinks. Smiling. It makes the freckles dotted all across the bridge of his nose to his cheeks crinkle up like clusters of stars. It makes his eyes look like precious gems. Like solid cut sapphire.

Thanks for playing!

[valentinedaughtler]

Tainted Opal (Part 6)

Kaz Brekker x fem!reader

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5

T/Ws: violence, romantic feelings, blood, mild spice scenes sometimes, fem!reader and she/her pronouns, sexual abuse/trauma (not explicit)

Synopsis: Your boat has been docked in Fjerda and you forgot your coat…. (But Kaz has a coat…👀)

REQUESTS: OPEN✅

____________________________________________

6 - Kaz Brekker Always Had a Reason

The ship was docked on the west coast of Fjerda, frozen plains stretches over the horizon into a snowy oblivion. The ocean was deeply frigid, an innocent plunge would send you to a numbing death.

Everyone, except prepared Matthias, was painfully underdressed. Jesper reminded us all frequently through whiney griping. We teased him about it, saying his fancy hats would not even be able to warm him up. My social circle included all the Crows, but I lingered longer around Inej and Nina. We all seemed to feel a feminine connection to one another; an easy group to complain about the boys' nonsense to.

As Nina and I shivered, we huddled near one another, the long trek around the Fold just beginning. Matthias held Nina close, insuring that she would be warm, despite her heartrender abilities.

Eventually, Nina moved between the cold Crows, circulating their blood into a more rapid speed to keep their temperatures up. Thus, I was left with the massive Fjerdan man. I'd seduced many men, but only a few looked like they could snap me in half like a twig for a fire like he did.

"Do you miss Fjerda?" I asked with an inquisitive tilt of the head. Matthias's face contorted slightly, his jaw shifting and eyebrows stitching together. He stayed silent for a moment before sighing,

"I do miss my people in some ways, but sometimes you find a person who changes your values...," he replied with a thick accent. It was sharp and pronounced, I had a feeling if he yelled at you it would feel like a brick to the face. I nodded as he watched Nina. "Do you miss your life before Ketterdam swallowed it up?"

"No-...," I tried to articulate how I felt about my past, but I guess I wasn't too sure. "I miss the specifics, the small details. Though, when I think about the big picture, I don't miss any of it." I let out a shivered breath before speaking again, "I don't want to think back fondly on what my life had been, trying to write an edited version with only the good plot points. It's easier to not think about it at all, no story is better than a bad one, don't you think?" I craned my neck to look at Matthias's eyes, they looked harsh and painful, but maybe they were pained instead.

"I think you should just keep writing the story," he acknowledged my thought with a nod. "Maybe find new characters to add to it rather than making it a one-man narration." I laughed softly, an unexpected response from him.

"Nina seems to be a good influence on you," smirking at him with a knowing glint in my eye. He really loves her, I thought as I made my way to the heartrender herself. "Nina!" I waddled my way across the tundra to her and Kaz. She seemed a bit exasperated as the dark haired boy begrudgingly allowed her to use her small science on him.

"Y/n, can you tell him that I will not be stopping his heartbeat?" She huffed as Kaz squirmed away from her slightly.

"That's enough," he said, but I heard his teeth chatter a bit through that gravely voice. I laughed, asking Nina to warm me up instead. She excitedly obliged, leaving Kaz to sulk in peace.

She began to chuckle to herself as she contorted her soft fingers to work her 'majik'.

"What is it?" I inquired with growing curiosity. She turned to me with a suggestive smile and a wink.

"Kaz was watching you, earlier, when you were taking to Matthias." Her grin widened, showing her pearly, white teeth. My cheeks burned when the meaning behind her words clicked in my brain. She continued, "I may have called him out on such. He got real defense," she dragged out her words with a mischievous glint in her eyes.

"He's always defensive. He's basically a human defense system; a wall." I said, attempting to use logic. He barely knew me, unless we had met somewhere before, Kaz wouldn't trust me this early on, I knew that much.

"Well, yes, but you did pay upfront, he doesn't really need you alive, so..." Nina batted her eyelashes at me, mimicking a lovestruck girl. I flushed as I looked back at Kaz, limping a few feet behind us, when he met my gaze I spun back around, tensing up. Nina leaned close to my ear, "you're blushing... and I can tell your heartbeat has fluctuated frequently when he is near you-"

"Okayy, thank you, my darling, Nina, but I should really be going-,"

"You should be discussing plans with me since we are getting closer to the main path," rasped Kaz from behind me. I stifled a startled scream. Geez, what's with me? I'm never actually flustered around people and I've... been in intimate situations during heists many a time. Nina flashed me a smile and a wink before leaving Kaz and I alone. I sighed with relief as I know her torment would be at bay, for now.

"When we get to the trail's end, we should find shelter for the night, there are abandoned cabins all over Fjerda. That's what my dad told me, atleast," my voice was still a bit shakey as I tried to slow my heart rate down. Kaz nodded.

"It's the safest gamble to set up camp at the first cabin we see that doesn't have occupants in it," his tone was somehow more formal than it generally was, his body seemed tense. Had he heard what Nina had said? I looked at the cheery woman far up ahead, her bubbly laugh echoing across the frozen wasteland we trekked.

I walked with Kaz in silence, maintaining a couple feet of distance between us, I wasn't sure why, but I felt that if I touched him that he might snap. Whether that indicated him imploding or killing me, I wasn't sure. But I respected his need for space. I felt like I yearned to be alone often, since intimate touch was an important part of my job. It often wasn't by people I wanted to touch me too. Maybe it bothered me because I was so young, but no one in Ketterdam stayed young. Instead of a slow climb to adulthood, it was a drowning process. Before, you were something, but after you plunged up for air, you weren't much anymore.

A gust of wind blew hair into my face and sent a shiver throughout my body, like hitting a metal drum and watching it vibrate. Kaz seemed to suppress the chill he felt, huffing slightly as the wind blew towards us.

"Why didn't you bring a jacket?" Kaz grumbled, his glare colder than the snow melting in my boots. "Your chattering teeth is starting to irritate me."

"I originally thought we'd be headed through Shu Han," I said through long breaths. I suddenly felt a thick jacket be placed.., no, more so dropped onto my shoulders. I turned to the Crow beside me, who refused to meet my gaze. With a breathy laugh, I slipped my arms into the jacket. It was soft and warm, but oversized on me. I dug my chilly hands into the lined pockets. "Thank you."

Kaz stayed silent, but I could tell he was cold in only his shirt and vest. "We need you in good health. The Crows, especially Matthias, need your tailoring skills to disguise us. I assume your business partner also knows of me, so that would be a problem." He explained, as if justifying his decision to himself.

We eventually reached a fork in the road, both paths leading to long, winding expanses of lifeless tundra. I indicated the correct road, but as we made our way, we saw a small shack.

The skeleton of the building was stacked logs and eroded wood was sparsticslly laying in chunks near the house. The inside had creaky wooden floors, a small kitchen area and bed rested on opposing sides. Fur hanging from the walls, for decor and warmth probably, a small fire place, and a couch were the only other things of note in the barren room.

"Oh, it reminds me of how Matthias and I had spent our first night together," Nina purred with a silly smile.

"Wylan and I are too fancy to sleep on the floor," Jesper said while sprawling out on the make-shift mattress. No one objected, but Matthias and Nina called the couch. Us single three left mutually decided we were on our own for sleeping areas.

"There's enough fur for the rest of us to just sleep on the floor separately," Inej pointed out, "but I'm okay sharing with Y/n if there is a shortage of blankets." She smiled at me and squeezed my hand. I returned her sentiment by promising to braid her hair later.

Jesper's eyes wandered around the room in observation, eventually landing on jacket-less Kaz and my body that was swallowed by said-jacket. His lips crooked into a sly grin.

"Nice jacket, Y/n," Jesper said and his eyes landed on the coat's owner, who froze.

"I'm going to collect firewood," Kaz grumbled and made his way outside the cabin quite quickly.

"I'll be right with ya', boss!" Jesper shot up from the bed and jogged after Kaz, his giggling and teasing still audible.

"Should we leave them alone in the woods?" Nina asked, "Kaz may kill the poor boy." Everyone laughed a bit, knowing looks shared between everyone besides me. I've been too casual, I've grown too close to them. Maybe... I should stay away from Kaz a bit since we aren't trapped on a boat together any longer.

✵ ♣ ✵

"He gave you his jacket?" Inej repeated the words I just spewed out nervously. I nodded in response as she turned to look at me with shock.

We sat together on the roof, which was very difficult for for me to get up to after Inej did so with grace. Stealth was not my thing. She sat in front of my crossed legs, leaning on me slightly, as I braided her hair ornately. The repetitive motions soothed me as I felt the pressure of the coming heist. "The last couple nights on the boat we've both gotten nightmares from too much time on the sea," I explained. "We've been talking from late to early, until the sunrises, or just sitting in silence."

Inej giggled a bit, I felt her shake against me as the laugh vibrated through her. "He doesn't grow fond of people quickly, I can't be sure, but I want you to stay with us after the heist," Inej said softly.

I hummed in response, "we'll see. Even if we part ways, I'll stay in touch with you and Nina." I couldn't see her face, but I could tell Inej was smiling.

We both looked down to see a babbling Jesper walking next to an exhausted looking Kaz. Inej turned to me as I had just finished braiding her long hair. Her lips were crooked into a michevious grin.

"Let's scare them," she whispered softly. I was pretty sure Kaz would have seen us by now, knowing how observant he is, but the idea was too tempting. We slid behind the slant of the roof and Inej silently leaped to a nearby tree, her wire-y figure wrapping around the limbs on it, gripping the bark. She chucked a pinecone at Jesper, knocking the eccentric hat off of his head. He squeaked as he attempted to get the snow off of his hat. Inej disappeared behind the tree as the two boys looked up at the direction the pinecone came from. As I aimed to hit Kaz with a pinecone, I slipped slightly. His keen eyes landed on the roof, but not before I hid myself from his line of vision.

"Shit. Shit. Shit." I whispered, still wearing Kaz's coat. I stayed silent for a moment before hearing the crunching of boots in the snow. I quickly hurled the pinecone at Kaz's head, but he swung his cane, hitting the pinecone perfectly. He didn't even look up. Before I realized it, the pinecone was headed straight for me. He was aiming for me. I dodged it, but in the process my grip on the roof loosened, causing me to slide down the roof towards Jesper and Kaz. They looked up at the roof, and the sharpshooter leaped to catch me. I fell into his arms with a thud.

I smiled nervously, "hey guys..." Inej shimmied down the tree and quickly came to check on me. Jesper let me down, laughing the whole time, but Kaz had an indescribable expression on his face.

"I told you we can't have you dead," his tone was serious, my smile dropping abruptly. "Stick to what you're good at; making your presence known, Seductress." He admonished my actions as he walked inside with firewood in one hand, cane in the other. Why am I so foolish when I'm around him?

Inej followed after him, sternly explaining it was her idea. I felt a warmth in my heart as she defended me.

"Come, Y/n, let's talk," Jesper said. He had a pelt of fur draped over him, keeping him warmer. I followed him in the frosty woods behind the cabin. He smirked a bit as we made our way around trees and fallen logs, as well as other suffering vegetation.

"Is something wrong? Do you need relationship advice for Wylan?" I asked with a twinge of concern.

"Oh, no, no. It's about Kaz," his self-assured demeanor stayed strong as I attempted to keep pace with his long-limbed figure. "He's taken an unusual liking to you." He gestured to coat I was wearing.

"He was just being polite," I said, but even I had a hard time saying it without becoming skeptical.

Jesper snorted and shook his head, "Kaz isn't nice to for no reason, Y/n. Despite was people say, Kaz Brekker always has a reason."

_____________

Word Count: 2344

_____________

I realize this seems more like a fast paced romance, but don't worry, the girl falls first in this story. We'll get there...

-Valentine

[stories-of-the-nrm]

Time Doesn't Heal All Wounds Part 7

Narrator: It was now February, 2008. As promised Gordon went to visit his brother.

(We see Gordon sitting down by Scott's bedside).

Gordon: Hello Scott. Happy Birthday.

(He grabs Scott's hand).

Gordon: A lot has changed since I last saw you. Do you remember the Peppercorn that the A1 Steam Locomotive Trust started working on? You know, the one being built in Darlington?

(Gordon pauses as if Scott can answer).

Gordon: Well, I just heard the news that the engineers have officially completed the tender. Combined with a successful first static firing, I believe this engine will get introduced to the railway before the end of summer.

(He shakes his head).

Gordon: As for you, the latest update about your boiler is that a quotation was sent to a contract manager. I find it quite pathetic that a company such as Pridham managed to lose complete control of such a project. At this rate, work will likely resume at the end of the year.

(He sighs).

Gordon: My greatest fear is that the Peppercorn will pass its trials and become a functional passenger engine before work on your boiler can even begin again.

(He watches Scott breath then pats his hand).

Gordon: Your crew will be here shortly. Sir Topham Hatt is expecting me soon as well. As soon as they get here, I must take my leave.

(Gordon stays by Scott's side until Gary and George arrive).

Gary: Thank you for being here with him, Gordon.

Gordon: As much as I would say it was my pleasure, there is nothing pleasurable about these circumstances.

(George pats Gordon on the shoulder).

George: Indeed. At least you were able to visit your brother as promised.

Gordon: I had to. Scott is my only brother. I lost so many years because of poor management. This is all I can do to make sure I have no regrets in case...

(Gordon can't finish his thought. While no one wants to think about Scott's engine being scrapped, it's still a possibility that has to be considered. After all, it's always possible that Scott simply can't be fixed anymore).

Gary: We understand Gordon. Don't worry. Your brother could never be scrapped. The NRM wouldn't be able to scrap him anyway. The amount of money spent on him only to scrap him would mean they're admitting that they've lost complete control over everything.

(Gordon nods).

Gordon: Yes I agree. I need to keep my hopes up. The hope that everything involving my brother's rebuild will restart again.

(He looks at Gary and George).

Gordon: How long can he stay like this?

(George sighs).

George: None of us knows. We can only assume that so long as his engine exists he won't immediately die.

(Gordon rubs his eyes).

Gordon: Why do I have a strong feeling that this is a process that will take more than a year to complete?

Gary: Because deep down we all know it could come true. All we can do is support Scott. Even if he can't hear us, I always think that he can sense us in some way.

Gordon: Thank you.

(He looks at the clock).

Gordon: I really must go now. I hope you gentlemen have a good day.

Gary: Um Gordon. How did Scott usually celebrate his birthday?

(Gordon chuckles).

Gordon: With food of course. He always enjoyed eating despite our human forms not requiring it. I can tell you this story some other time, but I still remember our first time trying food quite fondly.

(This seemed to have lifted everyone's spirits. Gordon waves goodbye as Gary and George take up their daily vigilance again).

Gary: Well George this is going to be some day.

George: Yeah.

(Gary looks at George).

Gary: You up for a round of ale at the pub later today?

George: Of course I am. After all, this is Scott's birthday.

(The two laugh to themselves. Acting as if Scott isn't in a coma is the only way to make the day more cheerful).

Tagging: @bluy1206, @werbitssft, @klein-sodor-bahn, @theyellowroseofsodor, @juniebugsss,

@tornadoyoungiron, @pxmun, @nelllia, @pxmun2, @thefedoragirl,

@roosinii, @etherealcaprifandoms, @jessica-sv509510, @jayde-jots, @thatcheeseycandle,

@jordeynnotgordon, @be-kind-and-rewind-again, @hardchildpainter, @asktheoriginalorder, @onyx-and-friends,

@that-mr-e, @sustysteel198, @monika-396, @fabianvalencia561, @gordon208,

@savannahlee-d29, @bladexjester, @sketalya, @agent-7-at-your-service, @i-heart-ukrain3,

@engineer-gunzelpunk, @ladychandraofthemoone, @milkagaisme, @rushingexpress, @toast-com,

@rumivi, @monstersteam, @tronmike82, @moonlightcrystal12, @lorainedoesthings,

@edward2289, @siberian-lioness, and @viktuurishipper96.

[star-girl69]

Keep Me Ablaze

Jake Sully x Neytiri x Fem!Reader

—-

a/n: y’all know what happens next chapter 🤭 i hope you all enjoy!!

warnings: near death experience, mentions of blood, swearing, tell me if i missed anything!!

Chapter Thirteen - Change

—-

Death from above, is what Jake says. He calls the three of you “stone cold aerial hunters” and forces the three of you to come out and fly with him, so he can practice shooting in midair.

Not that you and Neytiri mind, of course. You have grown addicted to that feeling of flying, of being free so high in air you know that you will die if you fall.

But you feel your ikran’s breath beneath you, her wingbeats, her surety. She is sure she can deliver the two of you to wherever or nowhere at all. And you trust her.

The wind in your face, and you grip the hand rest of your ikran tighter, let yourself be free, be in the wind. There is nothing to do, not here. There is nothing but freedom and wind. Here, the sound of fire is drowned out.

Jake sees it’s first. Him and Neytiri exchange cries, and you just barely have time to open your eyes and show up when it is like Eywa herself come down.

“Dive!” Jake shouts, and it is fight or flight, basic functions and the need to breathe. You think dive, and your ikran does so, following Jake’s paths as Toruk chases after you. His roars, are louder, deeper. They are not yours, not your ikran’s.

Jake leads you down and down, until the three of you crash through the forest canopy and start to weave through the trees. Toruk is bigger, you think, he cannot fit in the thick jungle. But his roars only grow louder, wingbeats deafening, the sound of his jaws snapping like death.

Neytiri calls another bird cry, and you swear you are bleeding with how tightly you are wrapped around the hand rest, how tight your thighs are.

“Follow me!” Jake shouts, and you follow him blindly, like he is the only fire in the darkness, and slam through a wall of vines.

Toruk roars, wingbeats so loud you think your brain is rattling, when Neytiri hoots again and you follow her, the danger passed, panting heavily.

Your ikran grips onto the vines covering the tree, and you place your hand against her neck, breathing heavily.

“It’s alright, it’s alright,” you whisper, looking over your shoulder. But the forest is still, besides for the sound of three fires, pants and soft screeches of the ikrans.

Finally, Jake breaks the silence by laughing so loudly, so normally. It’s like this is just a normal day for the three of you- spent together, exhilarating and full of something.

“Shut up,” you mumble as Neytiri joins, adjusting the strap of your top. “We almost died!” you say, but everything about them is contagious and you find yourself laughing as well.

Jake regains himself enough to speak, Neytiri’s head still tipped back.

“That,” he pants, “is what’s fun, sweetheart.”

—-

“We call it a Great Leonopteryx,” Jake says, fingers tracing over the sharp teeth of the ikran skull.

“It is Toruk,” Neytiri says, like she is correcting him. And you cannot help but feel that she is. That their way is the way of doing things. “Last Shadow.”

“Yeah, right. It’s the last one you ever see,” Jake sneers. He steps forward, coming face to face, staring down the skull like it is the jaws of death.

It is the biggest skull of any animal you had ever seen. You cannot imagine how much bigger it would be in your human form.

“My grandfather’s grandfather was Toruk Macto. Rider of Last Shadow,” Neytiri says, fondly, proudly.

“He rode this?” Jake asks as Neytiri crouches next to you, staring up at him and the skull.

“Toruk chose him. It has only happened five times since the time of the First Songs.”

“That’s a long time,” Jake notes, as you smile and sit next to Neytiri. You feel only like a house fire. Not the biggest, not the worst. You are just there.

“Yes. Toruk Makto was mighty. He brought the clans together in a time of great sorrow. All Na’vi people know the story.”

“I remember you telling me,” you say, grabbing Neytiri’s hand.

She hums, strokes the back of your hand with her thumb. “I remember telling you.”

—-

“Jake,” you whine, pushing the plastic cage off of your chest. He always falls asleep before you, and it’s become routine to call for him like this, maybe sure he is there, waiting for you.

“What?” he says, and you can hear the smile in her voice, the wheels of his wheelchair squeaking against the linoleum floor. “I’m not carrying you, you big baby.”

You snort, turning your head to to the side, only to find him parked in front of you. Watching you. “You couldn’t handle it. I’d probably crush you, weakling.”

He only smiles, and you return it, because it’s so normal to do that.

“In this body,” he says, almost like he will carry you- just not like this.

—-

You watch Jake go through the movements of human life, shaving his face, brushing his teeth. The two of you aren’t living like this- you are just getting through the part of your lives until you can get to the part that feels real.

Him and Trudy left early this morning, flying off to the main base. It was weird, having him away from you. It felt weird to go into your Avatar body and know he wouldn’t be waiting for you when you came back.

But Neytiri was waiting for you. Neytiri was there now. And the more and more you think about it, the more it ignites a fire in you. So hot it burns blue. So bright it swallows each speck darkness.

That is how you feel about both of them, like the wavering of a flame, you will always come back to that first place.

You will always come back to them, really.

—-

Her fingers have trailed over your body a thousand times, but it feels different this time. There is a thrum in the air, like at any second it all will burst and the air will light on fire.

You try not to shiver when she touches you, the cool white paste she traces over your chest and arms, back and neck. Finally, she brings it up to your face, circling around your eyes, until all that is left is your lips.

Two fingers, so light, like a feathers touch. Reserved, in a way, like she is holding back. You wish she would touch you how she wants to. You wish she would touch you like a warrior.

She traces them from your cupids bow, down your lips, to your chin.

Then, you watch as she does the same to Jake, movements just as methodical. She touches you like she loves you. She touches him like she touches you. What does that love even mean anymore?

There is something, everywhere all at once, something around the three of you. A circle of fire, a ring of flame, something that is connecting the three of you in a way that is beyond your understanding.

All you know is that it feels good to burn with them.

—-

“You are now a daughter of the Omaticaya.”

Eytukan’s words are like a weight lifted off of your shoulders. You have poured three months of your life into this, and to see it pay off is satisfying.

“You are now a son of the Omaticaya. You are apart of The People.”

It feels so special, so sacred, and you are burning and burning and it hurts so good.

Your back presses against Jake, warm and grounding, and you sink against him when Eytukan presses a hand to each of your shoulders. You shiver when he grabs your hand, when Neytiri places a hand on your stomach.

And suddenly you are smiling so wide, like there is an excess of happiness in your body and you simply have to get rid of it.

Then, more hands, and hands upon them, until it is a circle with you in the middle. It is like you are the fire, and everyone has gathered around for your light and warmth.

But all you care about is how good it feels to burn with them. How much more it can be. How much more you want it to be.

—-

tagalist:

@kitkat1690 @tiajk @reallysparklychaos @behindthearcane @neteyamforlife @aeslenya @ghoulbli @luvvsnae @personapersonally @bubble-blu @ameriesworld @itsyoboysparkel @ok-boke @arschbohrer @ambria @ssc7514 @w3ird11 @vane28282 @littlexscarletxwitch @erenjaegerwifee @myheartfollower @simp-erformarvelwomen @maevirago @n7cje @aerangi @minkyungseokie @disaster-in-waiting @httpsplanetmarsdotcom @hot15936 @noname2246 @fanboyluvr @ara-a-bird @fussel9913 @iwaslikeblah @hai-kbai @rosymccheese

everything taglist:

@monsterwasstolen @fanboyluvr @artologia-blog1 @tulipatheticee @elvyshiarieko @fluffisalliwant @fluffi19 @jeizllz @myheartfollower @fy-fy-world @minkyungseokie @ivy-plays @blueberryfailureclinic

[buckslafdhoodie]

curtain’s closed (i’m watching you this time), a bucktommy fic!

length: 5,511 words

language: english

tags: fluff, mild hurt/comfort, exhausted! buck, soft buck, soft tommy, sleepy cuddles, date night, domestic vibes, buck-centric narrative, big spoon! tommy, little spoon! buck

site: ao3 (linked here!)

summary:

"That's not the job, Evan," Tommy turned his head, pressing his lips to the crown of Buck's head.

"That's all you, sweetheart." Tommy murmured into his hair and Buck? Buck was so gone for this man that it was a bit ridiculous. As he lay there, his face smushed against his gorgeous pilot boyfriend's neck, drawing lazy circles on Tommy's shoulder and grinning like a fool, Buck realized he could see a future here. Not a few weeks or months, but years of companionship, of kindness, of stories swapped and gentle embraces, inside jokes and shared closets and--

Oh, he'd done it now. Buck was well aware there was no backpedaling now that his mind had caught up with something he had subconsciously been tiptoeing around since the fateful cat-5 mouth static.

“B’careful there, Tommy… You keep saying stuff like that and I’ll start to think you like me.”

(or, Tommy comes over after a hard shift for Buck and has to herd his overworked boyfriend to bed. Buck gets to be the little spoon, Tommy gets to give his boyfriend the praise he desperately needs, and Buck is still tormented by his lack of a couch and his love of clipboards, somehow)

inspired by @breadandjamsforfrances’s post about buck being the little spoon for the first time and @buckevantommy’s request for some evan little spoon/human blanket fics!

Buck wasn’t nervous. He wasn’t! It wouldn’t be the first time that Tommy was in his apartment, between their first kiss and the subsequent dinner dates that he had hosted over the past month or so.

Okay, so maybe it was the first time that Tommy had texted Buck before the 118’s shift was even over asking to see him. It had been a hard shift, starting with a call to an electrical fire at a daycare that had Buck scouring the building for an unaccounted-for child until Bobby had to physically wrest him from the crumbling structure and only getting more hectic and taxing as the hours passed.

So it goes without saying that seeing the notification from his boyfriend (god, would that ever get old?) had been a welcome sight, even if the unexplained spontaneity was a bit unnerving. It certainly had not in any way triggered an afternoon of methodically going from one corner to the other of the loft, cleaning every speck of dust in sight, throwing his bedding in the wash, and even running to the store to pick up some beer and then promptly panicking, calling Eddie when the wall of bottles and cans towering over him all started to blur together.

Buck’s phone buzzed against the freshly cleaned counter. Peering over at it from his place in front of the sink, the man’s eyebrows furrowed a little bit when his eyes caught on Eddie’s name instead of Tommy’s, seeing as it was nearly seven and Tommy was not one to be late (barring the occasional massive forest fire, of course).

[18:50] tubbs (eddie): I hope he gets there before Clipboard Buck does

Buck audibly groaned, rolling his eyes fondly at the device as he finished drying the glass in his hand and set it on the drying rack before scooping up his phone and responding.

[18:50] crockett (buck): was the capitalization necessary???

[18:50] tubbs (eddie): Yes.

[18:51] crockett (buck): >:(

[18:51] crockett (buck): also, rude!!!!

[18:51] crockett (buck): your hatred towards my poor clipboard is cruel!

[18:52] tubbs (eddie): I don’t know what to tell you Buck!!!

[18:53] tubbs (eddie): Even the strongest of men cannot handle Clipboard Buck!

The fact that Buck could pinpoint the exact exasperated look on his best friend’s face in his mind was a bit concerning, honestly. In the relative quiet of his flat, though, surrounded by the whirring of fan blades and the quiet buzz of his appliances, the man couldn’t find it within himself to get self-conscious at the idea of caring that much about a friend like he would have up until joining the 118.

[18:54] crockett (buck): don’t u worry, the clipboard is safely stored away

[18:54] crockett (buck): it served its purpose well

[18:54] tubbs (eddie): I’m not even gonna ask.

Then, there was a lull in the texts. In place of the flow of banter, Buck’s mind went into overdrive once again, the doubts creeping into his brain like lichen in the cracks of a lone forest stone. The sound of his thumbs hitting the screen of his phone as he typed and deleted about a dozen different messages was oddly soothing. About halfway into a rambling and probably ill-advised text about Tommy’s fashion choices, Buck’s phone buzzed yet again.

[18:56] tubbs (eddie): Relax, man.

[18:56] tubbs (eddie): I think your typing bubble is going to seize if you keep doing whatever it is that you’re doing over there.

Buck snorted, feeling a bit of the tension coiling in his shoulders fall away. Still, the jittery, nervous energy was making itself heard, loud and clear, through his thumb’s jerky movements as he forced himself to type an actual response to Eddie and hit send like it was a life-or-death situation.

[18:57] crockett (buck): whatifhesbreakingupwithme?????

[18:57] tubbs (eddie): He isn’t.

[18:57] crockett (buck): HOW DO YOU KNOW THAT?!?

[18:58] tubbs (eddie): He let you blow up his phone with the history of tornado alley at 4am…?

[18:58] crockett (buck): …

Had that really been 4am? A quick swipe into his and Tommy’s text thread showed that, yes, Buck had gone down that particular rabbit hole at 4:12 in the morning and for some reason his boyfriend had entertained it. The corners of his mouth twitched up into a soft smile as he returned to the conversation with Eddie.

[18:58] crockett (buck): fair point

[18:58] crockett (buck): i’m freaking out over nothing, aren’t i???

[18:59] tubbs (eddie): Yeah but that’s okay. It just feeds Hen’s golden retriever theory.

[18:59] crockett (buck): pfft thanks man

It was at that moment that Buck glanced up and caught sight of the glowing “6:59” of the oven’s clock. In a moment of panic, the man nearly dropped his phone as he fumbled to finish up his conversation with Eddie.

[18:59] crockett (buck): he’s probably on his way up now, gtg

[19:00] tubbs (eddie): Have fun, man!!

[19:00] tubbs (eddie): Not too much though lol.

No sooner had Buck placed the phone back on the counter when three quiet knocks sounded from the front door. The blonde didn’t even realize he was holding his breath until he pulled the door open and found himself standing face-to-face with Tommy. Tommy, who stood there in a simple gray tee shirt, a light-weight denim jacket, and jeans like he was unaware of his ability to make any outfit look like it was made for him, somehow. The pilot's usually immaculate hair was less styled than usual, a couple of loose little brown waves falling just below his hairline. Just looking at the man, his boyfriend, made Buck feel like the air in his lungs had been punched out of him.

"Hey, you." Tommy's voice jarred Buck out of his praise-filled train of thought, amused and warm in a way the younger man thought he would never fully get used to.

"Hi, hey, uh–" As Buck's voice cracked, he could already feel the warmth of what was undoubtedly an outrageous blush working its way up the back of his neck. “You made it with a minute to spare!”

“It would have been more but I spent about ten minutes driving ‘round the block,” Tommy accepted Buck’s silent invitation inside, stepping around him and stooping down to untie his boots. “Someone really needs to teach some of your neighbors parking etiquette. I didn’t realize that it was possible to park so perfectly in between two spots.”

“Oh my god, I know right?” Buck groused as he closed the door, idly listening to the deadbolt click into place while his eyes drank in the sight of Tommy’s jacket pulled taut across his shoulders.

‘God, Buck, let the man at least take off his shoes before you jump his bones–’ His inner voice which, at this moment, sounded suspiciously like Hen reminded him of his priorities as Tommy straightened up. Good boyfriend duties first, there was more than enough time for embarrassing amounts of thirsty thoughts and flirting later.

“Here, let me.” Buck reached out, tugging lightly on the collar of Tommy’s jacket and helping the man shuck it off his shoulders, thrilled to catch the sight of his boyfriend’s dimpled smile as he made his way to the dining table to carefully drape it over the back of one of the chairs.

The sound of Tommy following him across the room was the only warning that Buck got before two strong arms were curling themselves around his waist; a warm, sturdy weight that never failed to ignite the warm campfire in his chest. The culprit in question chuckled as the blonde realized he had practically melted back into the embrace.

“What’re you laughing at?” Buck questioned with no real accusation in his voice, carefully spinning around so that he could look at Tommy rather than stare out the window at the sun as it made its descent toward the horizon. He found himself hooking his right arm around his boyfriend’s neck while his left hand came to rest on Tommy’s bicep as if it were second nature.

Maybe it was, honestly.

“You know, if I didn’t know better, I would say you got off shift 12 minutes ago, not twelve hours. You seem… keyed up.” Tommy quirked an eyebrow at Buck, his bright blue eyes seeming to tear through the younger man’s outer facade like paper. Usually, that would send Buck on the defense but he found none of that nerve-wracking, prickly feeling crawling up his throat this time; instead, he chuckled sheepishly and used the hand behind Tommy’s head to gesture vaguely.

“I may have had too much energy and went on a bit of a cleaning spree,” Buck explained, his voice dropping down to match Tommy’s as he waited for the other man to glance around, judge the apartment, maybe make a quip about the place needing a good spruce up or something.

But of course, this was Tommy. If there was one thing Buck could count on Tommy for, the man could surprise him with even the smallest of acts.

“Your place is cleaner than like 95% of men in their thirties, Evan– how did you even manage to find eight hours worth of stuff to clean in here?” Tommy was looking right at him, his undivided attention pinned on Buck as his eyes hopped from point to point on his face, as if he were trying to solve a puzzle.

“I also went to the store, grabbed some groceries, a few different options for dinner if you haven’t already eaten which– shit, I should have asked you earlier! I can always just whip something up quick for myself later or if you aren’t feeling my cooking we could do takeou– mmh!” Tommy had apparently picked up on the easiest way to get Buck to stop running his mouth a mile a minute, as one second he was dividing his attention between the brunette’s amused expression and the fridge to his left, and the next he was instinctively closing his eyes as Tommy’s big palm curled around his jaw and he became suitably distracted by the feeling of slightly chapped lips pressed against his.

Buck genuinely couldn’t think of anything more enjoyable than this: being wrapped up in an embrace with his gorgeous, considerate, unfairly competent boyfriend, losing the seemingly constant edge of anxiety and stress that he carried around like a set of weights upon his shoulders under the more pressing weight of Tommy’s gentle yet insistent lips upon his, the scrape of stubble and the smell of aftershave like catnip to him.

Idly, Buck wondered what it was like for Tommy. Was he just as content being in Buck’s space? As easily lost in the simple act of being close and melting into each other with a familiarity that the blonde knew couldn’t just be his imagination. There was deep curiosity inside himself that urged him to beg Tommy for a glimpse inside his mind, to promise he’d listen to every word if the older man would let him. But even that voice was overpowered by the pure single-mindedness that kissing Tommy brought out in him.

Eventually, they pulled apart, although they didn’t go far, barely a few inches separating their faces as Tommy spoke, his eyes glinting in a way that Buck was finding hard to ignore.

“I don’t think I know of anyone else on the face of the planet that could work a twenty-four hour shift, clean his entire apartment, come up with and go grocery shopping for multiple meals, and still manage to be as energetic as you are, Evan. It’s equally impressive as it is mildly concerning.” Tommy ran his thumb across Buck’s cheek, tracing the bone beneath his stubbly skin with a reverence that had his earlier flush returning with a vengeance. “What’s your secret? Or is that just how you’ve always been?”

“I’ve gone a mile a minute since I was born, according to Maddie.” Buck laughed softly, his right hand coming up to idly scrape his fingernails through the short hair at the nape of Tommy’s neck as he continued, his voice taking on a softer edge: “Well, I mean… knowing you’d be here may have given me a pretty sizable boost as well, if I’m honest.”

For a moment, the silence between them made it feel like they were on pause, time going by around them while they stood still. Buck waited with bated breath, somehow nervous he had somehow messed up the moment by being too honest, or maybe he had shown his hand too early. And then, like the sun breaking through the clouds on an overcast day, Tommy smiled and the prettiest shade of pink spread from the tips of his ears to the apples of his cheeks. Buck couldn’t help it as his mouth split into a grin at the sight.

“You didn’t– Evan, you really didn’t have to do that for me. You just got off of a hectic shift and probably needed a nap more than the loft needed a deep clean.” Tommy tilted his head, taking his eyes off Buck for a few seconds to scan over the apartment loosely before returning his gaze to him. “I promise you that I don’t mind some dust or clutter or even an unmade bed.”

Buck gasped dramatically, lifting his hand off Tommy’s bicep to clutch his imaginary pearls, his commitment to the bit trumping his need to soak in his boyfriend’s proximity. “Tommy Kinard, if you think I’d ever let such a handsome guest in my home without making the bed, you must have a horrible impression of me and my hosting standards!” Buck wasn’t sure where the pompous attitude came from, in all honesty– maybe he had been watching too many of Maddie’s dramas.

Tommy barked out a laugh that had Buck melting on the inside before seemingly pulling his composure back into place, fixing the other man with a faux-serious look that, if Buck didn’t know better, he would have thought it was real.

“Evan Buckley, I know you would never willingly leave your bed unmade, you keep quite the tight ship around here. I was simply stating that even if you were a hoarder, I would still come over as often as I could manage.” The implied “for you” at the end of the sentence made Buck silently curse his light complexion as he was sure that he was probably redder than the 118’s engines.

A quiet laugh made its way out of Buck’s mouth as he dropped his hand back to Tommy’s arm: “Yeah, I don’t see myself becoming a hoarder any time soon– I have enough stuff scattered around here as it is!”

Tommy silently raised an eyebrow at him. Before he could even make the comment Buck knew was coming, the younger man surged forward to place a firm kiss on his boyfriend’s mouth, giving him a taste of his own medicine for once. This kiss broke off quicker as Buck pulled back to grumble playfully against Tommy’s jawline.

“If you even mention the C word in this house I am not cooking dinner, do you hear me, mister?”

“... Evan, you’re not cooking dinner either way– you’ve been awake for the better part of thirty-six hours– I am making you something quick and getting you to bed before you drop.” Tommy’s words baffled Buck. Weren’t they supposed to be having date night? Of course Buck would cook! He was not that tired!

“I did not just clean and buy groceries and make you drive all the way out here for you to spend a few minutes cooking and then leave like a maid!!” Buck said incredulously, eyebrows furrowed as he searched Tommy’s face for clues as to what was going through his head.

“Ev–” Tommy started to speak, Buck cutting him off, the metaphorical boulder inside his brain having already picked up too much speed to stop now.

“No, Tommy! Today has been long, sure– I did only get to sleep for maybe thirty minutes in between the 8-car pile up and the campers who nearly started a brush fire. Twice. But I have been really excited about getting to see you all day! Hell–”

“Evan–”

“I was so amped that I decided to buy a different beer than usual and called Eddie in a panic because I somehow don’t know what kind of beer you like which is kind of a problem we need to solve, by the way–”

“You didn’t have to–”

“-and now you’re here and I’m going to cook you whatever you want and we’re gonna watch some random documentary and cuddle and have a full night together while our days off line up, okay?!”

“Evan, I’m not going to leave!” Tommy’s hands went from Buck’s waist to cupping his jaw, gentle but insistent. “Now, will you breathe for a second, babe? You’re gonna go blue at this rate.” It took a second for Buck to process Tommy’s words, realizing his boyfriend was right. Taking a second to drop his head down on the other’s broad shoulder and taking a couple of deep breaths, the brunette’s hands came to rub up and down his back in a soothing manner.

“...’M sorry, didn’t mean to get so heated with you.” Buck apologized quietly, his voice muffled by the fabric of Tommy’s tee shirt. He couldn’t bring himself to pull away just yet, the weight of Tommy’s arms keeping him grounded.

“You’re good, I should have realized that being vague would set you into a spiral, especially with how little sleep you’re running on right now.” Tommy sighed softly, his tone just as apologetic as Buck’s, which didn’t seem right in the former’s mind but, like a wave a mile high, his little outburst had seemingly sapped the last of the energy from his body. He quickly realized he'd have to pick his fights carefully here before he embarrassed himself even further.

“You’re… not leaving?” Buck just had to clarify that. If he was getting shipped off to bed, did that mean Tommy planned on just… hanging around? Watching some TV? Reading a book? Taking embarrassing photos of him while he slept to send to Chimney and Eddie?

“No.” The way Tommy said that simple word made his knees weak; it was so unbelievably tender, like the idea in and of itself physically pained the pilot to even think about. Beneath Buck's forehead, Tommy’s muscles stiffened up. The sleepy blonde made an involuntary, confused noise in the back of his throat.

“I mean, unless you want me to…?” Oh.

Oh. Tommy thought Buck wanted to kick him out? That was so absurd that he couldn’t help but start laughing, hard enough that he could hear the chair behind him jostling against the table, creating a horrible, cacophonous sound with the echo of his near-delirious laughter.

After a few moments, Tommy joined in; it took them well over a minute to wind down, Buck’s head pressed against the side of his boyfriend’s neck and said boyfriend’s arms squeezing around his waist once again.

“I just went on a whole ramble about you not leaving, do I need to get a sign above the door that says ‘Tommy Kinard is ALWAYS Welcome’ on it or something?” Buck said, his tone teasing as he peeled himself away from Tommy’s neck, blinking his eyes a couple of times to try and discreetly fight the impending drowsiness seeping deep into his bones.

“I mean, I wouldn’t be opposed, but what about when I mention the couch?” Buck gasped dramatically, clumsily trying to cover Tommy’s mouth with his hand but missing. Badly. He somehow completely missed his boyfriend’s mouth, instead slapping his hand haphazardly on Tommy’s chin. After staring at his hand for a few seconds, Buck concluded that okay, maybe he was losing his fight against exhaustion a bit more than he thought.

“Alright, I think maybe dinner can wait– you are beyond exhausted.” Tommy echoed his sentiment sternly, dropping one of his arms from around Buck and using the other to nudge at the small of his back, pushing him towards the stairs.

Buck went willingly, mental flashes of him losing consciousness and cracking his skull open on the stairs or maybe the dining table acting as a great motivator for him to accept Tommy’s help getting to bed. Somewhere in the myriad of thoughts swirling around his exhausted mind, guilt was starting to seep into the forefront of his mind.

Even with Tommy’s reassurances and the soft pressure of his hand on Buck’s back, steadying him on their short trip up the stairs, his brain was sure that he’d fucked up. Tommy nudged him towards the bathroom as they reached the top of the stairs. He shuffled his way inside, listening to his mind idly pondering what Frank would have to say about this sudden bowling ball of guilt sitting in his stomach.

As the door clicked shut behind Buck, he could hear Tommy moving outside, the sound of fabric rustling, and the quiet humming of a tune that the blonde couldn’t place. Tragically, turning on the tap drowned out that heart-achingly domestic ambiance. The knowledge of what was waiting for him on the other side of the thin door spurred him through brushing his teeth and quickly washing his face. After some consideration, he stripped off the dark jeans he had tugged on earlier in favor of his boxers and the maroon tee shirt.

Stepping back into his bedroom, Buck was drawn immediately to the sight of his bed: the gray duvet had one corner flipped up from where it once was neatly tucked in. Not only that, but the water glass that habitually sat on his bedside table had been refilled, and the lights on the bottom floor of his loft were all turned off, leaving the small lamps on either end of his bed as the only light source in the apartment. Buck could already feel his lips curling up in a smile, touched by Tommy’s attention to detail and care no matter how many times the other man unknowingly put it on display.

Speaking of Tommy, Buck’s eyes drifted over to the man who stood by the short bookshelf mainly used as a TV stand. The pilot held a small stuffed animal, a cat Buck could have picked out from a lineup any day.

"That's probably one of my favorite things in this place." Buck walked over, bumping his shoulder against Tommy's as he came to stand side by side with his boyfriend.

"It was a gift from a little girl. Angel. She uh... She got trapped in a housefire way back when I first started with the LAFD," Tommy tilted his head to glance at Buck, eyes sparkling with interest so pure that the sleepy man couldn't help but continue, struggling to return his gaze to the toy as he spoke.

"She was this tiny little kid standing like right next to the engine, crying real bad and holding this little stuffed animal with a death grip. I stopped to make sure she wasn't injured and turned out, the poor kid's cat was still inside. So I ran in, the house was pretty much in shambles at that point... But I had this feeling, I guess," Buck could almost feel the flames of the home's hallways as he spoke, recalling Bobby's voice yelling at him through the comms under the sound of beams buckling and the fire roaring beside him.

"I ran into the room at the end of the hall and 'lo and behold, there was this giant tabby cat under the kid's bed." Buck made a vague gesture with his hands, recalling the fluffy beast he almost mistook as a winter jacket that got shoved under the bed. Beside him, Tommy huffed out a surprised laugh, looking between the blonde and the tiny tabby toy with amusement.

"I know, I know, I was just as surprised! I thought I was looking for a little kitten, maybe, or a smaller cat at least. It had to be some sorta Maine Coon or a Siberian or something-- It was the size of a backpack!" Buck couldn't help but laugh as well, dropping his head onto Tommy's shoulder as he did so, relishing in his ability to be the one leaning rather than the one being leaned on for a moment. It was nice, he had to admit.

"When I brought the cat out to her, she turned to me with the biggest, teariest smile and traded me. The toy for the cat. I tried to give it back but she said that she didn't need it, I'd given her the real thing back." Buck finished, his eyes suspiciously wet. Thankfully, Tommy didn't call him out on it. Instead, the older man carefully put the stuffed toy back in its place on the shelf and turned to face him, an indescribably soft expression on his face.

"I think you have the biggest heart of anyone I've met, Evan." The sincerity in Tommy's voice nearly bowled Buck over with its intensity. The part of Buck that always yearned to be seen and cared for was practically vibrating beneath his skin, fighting with the part of him that wanted to brush off Tommy's kindness, make some ill-placed joke, or perhaps a half-hearted denial.

"I- I'm not... I was just doing my job--" Buck croaked out, his hand coming up to rub at the back of his neck.

"Yeah, maybe at first. Checking in on her, making sure she wasn't hurt both definitely fall under doing your job," Tommy tugged on Buck's free hand, guiding him towards the side of the bed with the duvet flipped over, his clear eyes staying locked on Buck's even as he walked his way backward towards the bed.

"But you ran into a burning building alone, searching for a cat that you figured would be too small to see easily through the smoke, you hauled that cat out of there, alive." When Tommy nudged Buck onto the bed, he obliged, crawling into the bed with one hand still clutching Tommy's as if the man would disappear without it. Thankfully, it seemed Tommy felt the same way, following right behind him.

After a bit of shuffling and adjusting, including Tommy fighting with his jeans while Buck fought with the sheets he somehow already had tangled around his legs, they quickly found a comfortable balance. Buck was pretty much on top of Tommy, his head tucked under his boyfriend's stubble-covered chin. Their legs intertwined as Buck curled in towards Tommy, who was lying on his back with his arm around Buck's shoulders.

The rumble of Tommy's voice right beneath his ear was soft and soothing. Buck idly wondered if, in another life, Tommy had been a cat, the soft rumbling reminding his sleep-addled mind of a cat's purr. "You know how I really know you weren't just doing your job, Ev?" Buck craned his head back, his answering "No, how?" muffled against the column of Tommy's neck.

"When that girl gave you her stuffed animal, you kept it. You didn't leave it at the firehouse, or throw it out, or donate it. You put it right there in front of your bed, and stood there to tell me the story even though you're running on fumes. That's not the job, Evan," Tommy turned his head, pressing his lips to the crown of Buck's head.

"That's all you, sweetheart." Tommy murmured into his hair and Buck? Buck was so gone for this man that it was a bit ridiculous. As he lay there, his face smushed against his gorgeous pilot boyfriend's neck, drawing lazy circles on Tommy's shoulder and grinning like a fool, Buck realized he could see a future here. Not a few weeks or months, but years of companionship, of kindness, of stories swapped and gentle embraces, inside jokes and shared closets and--

Oh, he'd done it now. Buck was well aware there was no backpedaling now that his mind had caught up with something he had subconsciously been tiptoeing around since the fateful cat-5 mouth static.

“B’careful there, Tommy… You keep saying stuff like that and I’ll start to think you like me.” Buck mumbled, his voice coming out far softer than he had expected (and maybe a bit slurred but who could blame him, he was more comfortable lying there with his boyfriend than he had been since he couldn’t even remember when).

“I’m not dating you cause I feel ‘meh’ towards you, Ev– you know that, right?” Tommy’s hand squeezed Buck’s shoulder gently, a comforting gesture for the both of them.

“Mmhm… Don’t worry, Hen can’t tease you for liking me if I like you more.” If Buck was asked later where this comment came from, he’d blame it on being on the verge of falling asleep, and spew some facts about how exhaustion for over 18 can cause one to act similarly to someone at the legal limit for alcohol consumption. Secretly, Buck knew it was his way of letting Tommy know that he was in it, ready and willing to be teased and seen as a love-struck fool when it came to his boyfriend because… well, who wouldn’t?!

Buck didn’t stay awake long enough to hear Tommy’s response or to feel the other man carefully shift him onto his side so that he could flip off the lights and crawl right back into bed behind him, curling almost protectively around the firefighter with a grin hidden in the dark of the room as Buck practically burrowed himself back into the embrace with a tender, sleepy sound that could melt the ice caps.

As Buck and Tommy had both suspected would happen, the blonde-haired man slept for what would have been record-breaking amounts of time if it weren’t for the many injury-induced recovery comas that he’d been subject to over his time as an LAFD firefighter. Buck only woke once during the night, his eyes fluttering open to the faint light of the slowly lightening sky illuminating the loft. For a moment, the man didn’t register the body plastered to his back as anything more than an oddly moved pillow until the dull thump-thump-thump of Tommy’s heartbeat kickstarted his sleepy brain. It couldn’t have been later than three or four in the morning and Buck knew he should just close his eyes and let sleep drag him back under but the call of his boyfriend curled against him was more appealing.

Despite his many relationships and flings, Buck couldn’t recall ever being the little spoon. Once, when he and Taylor’s relationship was still new, he woke up to go on shift and found her arm thrown over his hip but that was nothing like this. From head to toe, he was engulfed by Tommy, his broad chest pressed flush to Buck’s back and one of his thighs slotting perfectly between his own. It was warm and all-encompassing and oddly, Buck felt protected in a way he couldn’t quite put words to.

It was almost like Tommy had found a way to bundle Buck up without making him feel trapped or suffocated, simply supported and cared for and loved in a way he had only ever felt in brief intangible moments in the past. Carefully, as to not disturb his lovely boyfriend, Buck rolled over, gazing up at Tommy through half-closed eyes, admiring him for so long it probably would have been creepy if it weren’t for the fact that it was mostly dark out and Tommy was peacefully dozing, unaware of his gaze.

After what could have been a second or an hour, Tommy’s arms squeezed around Buck’s waist, pulling him impossibly closer and Buck closed his eyes, humming happily as he slowly let himself fall back asleep, mentally ingraining the image of Tommy with his messy hair lit by the cool morning light into his brain, the serenity flooding his system like a drug he would never get enough of.

(Eventually, Buck woke up at nearly eleven in the morning on top of Tommy to the muted sound of the man in question typing something on his phone with one hand while the other rubbed circles on his lower back. He was confused as to how he got there, considering they had both been on their sides, but according to his boyfriend, Buck had crawled entirely on top of Tommy in protest after the man got up to use the bathroom. Although Tommy insisted it had been “frankly adorable, ten out of ten would get crushed by you anytime,” Buck rolled out of bed with a blush down to his chest, locking himself in the bathroom in his embarrassment at the cost of hearing Tommy’s teasing laughter but not being able to see his gorgeous smile.)

[snoozepotato]

We’ll Be Fine -3- (Simon ‘Ghost’ Riley x f!Reader)

Disclaimer: I do NOT own the original source material or any of its characters.

she/her pronouns

Congratulations, I have gifted you a younger brother for this story!

Category: slice of life, slow burn, mutual pining

Warnings: swearing

Masterlist

Summary: Your caught wearing an embarrassing outfit.

Part 3

~BUNNY SUIT~

Distinct knocking cuts through the droning hum of electronics, snapping you out of your trance and sending you bolting from your office.

Another round of deafening banging as you make your way to the front door. Louder this time a clear urgency on the other side. Rattling on its hinges from the force of each blow, tension builds in the back of your throat as you approach.

 Tentatively looking through the peephole to assess the situation. Eyes narrowing at the sight of your brother's distorted face through the fisheye lens, two of his ‘little’ friends from the other day stand not far behind. Opening the door without another thought, a decision you regret almost immediately.

“The fuck are you wearing?!” Bewildered words fire from your brother. For a split second you're confused by the wide-eyed stars you were receiving before it hit you.

“Oh,” letting out a soft gasp, realization taking hold as you look down, also taking in your appearance. You could have died on the spot if not for your sliver of pride.

Clad in a rather unflattering hooded white jumpsuit with built-in feet… Face nearly completely covered by a white mask which you promptly tuck under your chin. You're a sight to behold!

“Bunny suit,” you state plainly like it’s an everyday occurrence and step back into the space, avoiding eye contact.

To be fair in your current line of work it’s not uncommon to wear protective gear. Not for your own safety but to keep sensitive equipment free of particles from you and your clothes. Oh so fondly referred to as a ‘bunny suit’ by others in your field... But this wasn't normal for your current company.

An awkward pause hangs between the men left standing outside, the front door left wide open in an obvious invitation but they are all now feeling a bit uneasy.

“Started getting worried when you didn’t answer the door, I noticed you moved the spare key,” your brother calls, eventually trailing after you, the others following suit.

“Was gonna break it down,” Ghost interjects. Your brother shoots him a dirty look as if silently cursing him for telling you their plan. Luling Your head to the side to shoot the man a quick glance over your shoulder. In all honesty with how forceful they had been knocking on your door, you're surprised they didn't.

“I didn't hear the knocking at first, sorry.” You turn from the three men standing in your flat, at least they didn't just barge in this time. Even so, their ability to show up at the most inconvenient times is beyond you.

“You seem busy, whatcha up to?” Soap inquiries, shooting you a crooked smile as he settles onto a sofa in the neighboring sitting area.

Making your way into the small kitchen you remove your gloves and mask, discarding them into a nearby waste bin. Happy to be rid of the constricting gear as you take a deep breath, thinking over how to answer.

“Freelance work,” you state plainly, deliberately being as vague as possible.

“Better be nothing illegal,” grumbles your brother, plopping down next to Soap on the sofa.

“Psh, don't worry about it,” you mutter, trying to lightly laugh the comment off.

“Debug!” He snaps

Turning to face him you reach up to pull back the thin material of your hood, letting out a deep breath. Suppressing the strong urge to roll your eyes at his mistrust, instead shooting him a narrowed stare.

“Calm down, it’s not... Just recovering some paranoid guy's corrupted hard drives, I set up a clean room in my office.” you motion down at your attire. This was already more than you wanted to share on the subject.

“I was just finishing up,” pausing a moment you shift your gaze between them “Why are you here anyway?” You suddenly ask, delighted to find a way to drop the topic of your work.

“Checking on you…” The sheepish statement sounds more like a question.

“Real reason?” arm cross brow quirked, you knew better than to trust that answer.

There's a long pause before he looks over at you sheepishly, a sly smirk spreading across his face.

“Baked goods…” he mutters and you can't help but let out a soft laugh.

“Ya, I thought so, check the kitchen,” you remark, making your way across the room and down the short hall, reaching for the door across from your office. Pausing, you glance around the corner at the mountain still standing near the doorway.

“Ghost,” you projected at him, the man's attention now completely on you. Catching his intense stare for a moment, you beam.

“Make sure he shares,” cheeky words uttered as the door is pulled open and you disappear behind it.

Ghost is left standing there looking off towards where she vanished, stuck pondering that wide grin she'd just flashed him. Maybe she wasn't scared of him… Why was this a relief?

 The door to her office is left hanging open, the man's prying eyes catching a glimpse inside. One wall is dedicated to server racks, an organized chaos of cords strewn around the environment, loud humming emitting from the space. No wonder she didn't hear them knocking.

That's some serious hardware, what's going on here?

Thanks so very much for reading <3

@tallrock35

[zaynmirrors]

Fire on Fire: Part 20

A/N: Getting close to the end guys! Does anyone have any ideas for another series or blurbs? Open to suggestions.

Chapter 20

10k stayed in and out of consciousness, so much to the point I was starting to worry. Eventually, by luck, we met up with Warren and the others. 

“I’m sorry I dragged you into this” Warren spoke, glancing back at me in the rearview mirror. 

I shook my head, “All good” though I’m not sure it was. 

“How’s your little girl?” She smiled fondly at the memory of her. 

A small smile tugged on my lips, “She’s good, talking, being a menace” which earned a chuckle from Warren. 

“Where is your daughter now?” Hector, who I managed to learn they had beef with for a while but was now on our side. 

I winced, “it’s a long story, but she's with this couple that took us in. Very fortified place”

Hector nodded and mumbled something about that being nice as Doctor Sun Mei glanced back at 10k who slept, she said nothing but looked skeptical. 

“What can you tell us about Murphy town?” Warren asked. 

I shook my head. “Not much, there’s a lot of security, a zombie moat, and these people just listen to him”

“Now that’s odd” Warren grunted, I nodded. 

“That’s all I got before he knocked me out” I stated 

Hector raised an eyebrow “knocked you out?”

I nodded, “yeah, woke up in a psych ward, that’s how I met up with doc and 10k”

“Oh you’re gonna wanna hear this!” Doc piped up and went on to tell the whole story, I snorted, laughing at some of the funny parts. 

“Sounds like you guys have been up to quite a bit” Addy pipes up. I nod. The ride continued swapping stories of zombies, family before, and just what we wish the world was now. 

Warren pulled to a stop at a lookout that gave us a good view of Murphy's little village. If it came to a fight I don't know if I'd be able to go down swinging. I promised I'd make it back to Em. 

I sighed quietly, taking a look at 10k who was still passed out. Good, sleep it off. The more time I have to plan out this conversation the better. 

Warren decided to set up camp here, so we sat around a low-burning fire eating beans Maggie packed for me. I stood taking what was left of my bowl over to the opened trunk of the car where 10k lay. Though instead of asleep, his eyes were open staring at the roof of the car. His head turned my way. Fuck. 

“How long have you been here?” He asked, voice still groggy from sleep, or drugs, or Murphy, hell maybe a combo. 

I took a breath, “been here a while” he sat up, swinging his legs over the edge of the trunk. 

He looked at the bowl in my hand and then back up to my face. “Come to really put a knife in my chest?” He deadpanned. 

No emotion was shown in his eyes, I glanced over to see if anyone was listening, if they were they were doing a good job hiding it. 

“I came to apologize, and save your ass” I offered up the bowl of beans, he crossed his arms over his chest in rejection so I set it on the edge of the trunk beside him. 

He stayed silent, either not wanting to listen or telling me to continue. Regardless I continued. “I was selfish, I chose Emma over you and the mission and I’m sorry.”

He loosened the tightness of his arms but his face remained stoic so I just went on, “Every waking moment I think about you, about us. fuck you’re in my dreams too. I was stupid and you can hate me all you want, I deserve it.” 

He remained silent, as tears threatened to spill. Heat ran its way up from my cheeks to the tops of my ears. I could tell he was in contemplation, I knew him all too well. “I would’ve gone with you,” he said, firm and truthful. “You could’ve just said something, everything could’ve been okay. All you had to do was just fucking say something!” His fist hit the carpet inside but still made a loud enough noise that made me jump. 

He went on, “The little savior act isn’t going to fix things. I should’ve known you would’ve picked that thing over me. I was happier thinking you were dead” 

I couldn’t stop the tear that fell down my cheek but I wasn’t about to cry in earshot of everyone else. I simply nodded and walked away, noticing we had gathered an audience. 

My feet carried me past the group, ignoring Warren calling out for me. This is exactly how I figured it would go. I should’ve just stayed at the farm. Crawling into one of the tents we set up, I laid on the sleeping bag and sobbed, Not caring about anyone hearing me. 

I sobbed, knowing you fucked up was one guilt but hearing it was a whole other level. I almost hadn’t heard Addy enter the tent. “Y/N, you wanna talk?”

Shaking my head earned a sigh from her, then some rustling and a sudden warmth at my back. I didn’t stray from her touch when she wrapped around me.

Addy rested her nose on the top of my head. A hand in my hair, rubbing in soothing circles. “I don’t think he means what he said,” she said lowly. So they had heard. 

I shook my head but she just shushed me, “Give him time, it’s obvious he’s not in the right mind at the moment”. It didn’t matter to me, somewhere deep in his mind he meant that. She held me, soothing me as I cried. Even as I fell asleep. 

That morning I woke alone, not that it bothered me. I was becoming used to waking up alone. I didn’t want to leave the safety of the tent. Leaving meant facing the group. Facing 10k. I couldn’t do that, though there wasn’t much choice in that matter. I’d have to leave eventually. 

Before I could even think about getting up Warren made her way into the tent, biscuit in hand which she offered out to me. I took it with a small smile. 

“He ran off” was all she said, I knew though. I just nodded and so she continued “We’re gonna fight, it'll be messy. I know you got that little girl to take care of so if you wanted to leave” Did I want to leave? I felt indifferent about fighting.

“If you find yourselves out our way, stop by,” I said, she nodded. I’m sure she knew what my choice was going to be. I told her how to find us, “when 10K gets fixed-“

She smiled, “I’ll send him your way, give that little girl a hug for me” I nodded and smiled, turning on my heel to face the tent. 

I didn’t waste time gathering my stuff. When I was done, I went to say my goodbyes but saw Addie talking to Warren who held a sullen expression on her face. 

Doc grabbed my attention as he said “I hate to see you go again” I turned to look at him. 

“I know, I want to stay and make sure he’s okay but I can’t.” He held his hand up as if he understood, “If I would’ve just stayed-“

“Hey, don’t. None of us could’ve known that Murphy was going to do that.” He placed a hand on my shoulder. “Murphy set that whole thing up, he knew what he was doing, it wasn’t your fault”

It was like everything clicked together, he truly had planned it all out. Fucker. He deserves everything that’s coming. “You bring him home to me,” I said, pulling Doc into a tight hug.

“We’ll be right behind you kiddo,” he said into my hair, slowly loosening his hold on me. With that, I left. 

Chapter 21

Taglist:

@whenmypartysover @multifandomlesbianic @isimpfordanielpark

@ophelia-nightt @peezbabey @lizzardgreene @lizx13 @nohemi2500

@missricecrispy @nightowlgirl

[ofthecaravel]

The Love That You Need

A very small second part to Cowboys Are Frequently Secretly Fond Of Each Other because I can't get these sweet Southern pardners out of my head. Also the title is taken from Smalltown Boy by Orville Peck which is wonderful and relevant for this story

Tags: Anxiety, lying, ~backstory~, implied homophobia, comfort, fluff, lil bit o' steaminess

Words: 3.4k

---

This was Sam’s favorite part of the day. After a shower after his shift at the general store and dinner at home with his brothers, he sat on Danny’s porch and stared at the cobalt sky while waiting for his intrepid cowboy to come home.

He could actually feel the town wind down as the rodeo ended, and he couldn’t help the excited bounce in his knee when he’d hear that last pair of boots coming down the road to greet him. The porch swing he had helped Danny build would rattle and sway when Sam got to his feet and raced down the steps to throw his arms around Danny, fawning over any bumps he’d gotten during his set and finger combing his messy hair while they piled through the front door and kissed the second it was closed. Danny would shower and Sam would talk to him through the bathroom door and when he’d come out, Danny would lay Sam down and make him his. 

Being Danny’s was what Sam had loved so much about the past six months he’d spent in Silver Creek. Danny wasn’t shy about reminding Sam that he was his world, whether it was the proud way he’d show Sam off to all his cowboy buddies or the way he’d shower him in every silly pet name he could think of when it was just the two of them. To Danny, Sam was his sweet thing and his darlin’ and his cactus flower, and Sam would flush and smile fondly just like the first time he had heard it. 

Sam had never been somebody’s before, and even though he’d figured it would be something he’d have to warm up to, he had jumped head first in with Danny. It was so…easy. Comfortable. Unwavering. That was also what made it so hard for Sam to be with Danny. That ease between them had made Danny an open book right off the bat, and as the months passed, Sam was becoming increasingly aware that Danny was growing curious as to why Sam wasn’t. Sam was bold, sure, and he knew Danny loved that about him, but during deep conversations he preferred to keep the focus on Danny and his life. He hated that about himself, and he knew it had to change. Sam just wasn’t sure if he could stand looking Danny, his Danny, in the eyes and telling him that there was so much he had been lying about.

-

“What’re you thinking about?”

“Hm?”

Sam was curled on Danny’s lap in front of the fire, his head tucked into the crook of Danny’s neck and his thumb in his teeth as he anxiously nipped at the skin there. He was deep in thought, and he was almost upset that Danny knew him well enough to call him out on it. Danny kissed his head and pressed his forehead to Sam’s hair, his grip on Sam’s waist tightening as he pulled Sam closer to him.

“Ya wanna talk about it?” Danny murmured. 

“No,” Sam answered honestly, his voice uncharacteristically soft and nervous. Danny, once again knowing Sam enough to know that something must be wrong, kissed his hair again and started running his fingers through it. Sam’s hair had grown increasingly long, refusing to let anyone touch it except for Danny. Even then, it was only to barely trim the edges when they started to get a little too dry for his liking. 

“Well, you know you can tell me anything,” Danny whispered, the timbre of his voice soothing Sam ever so slightly as he struggled to get his mind where he wanted it.

“I know,” Sam muttered simply. 

He had to tell him.

 He was going to tell him.

But God, where to start?

“Danny,” was all Sam could muster at first before he let out a little huff of air and continued. “I do want to talk about something.”

“Okay,” Danny answered, his voice already a little tight with nerves. “Shoot.”

“I want you to promise me something first.”

“Anything, sugar.” 

Sam shifted slightly so his head was leaning against Danny’s shoulder and he could properly look Danny in the eyes. With Danny’s face bathed in warm light and worry, Sam wished he could stop while he was ahead and get lost in the forests of Danny’s kind eyes. 

“Promise me you won’t hate me,” Sam whispered. Danny’s face knit with further confusion and he shook his head a little bit, his hand coming up to cup Sam’s cheek.

“Hate you?” Danny echoed, fully shaking his head in disbelief now. “I could never hate you, Sam. I just couldn’t.”

“And if I told you the reason I came to Silver Creek wasn’t too pretty?”

“Honey, just tell me.” Danny attempted a reassuring smile. “You’re killing me with the suspense.”

“I just feel so terrible,” Sam admitted, his voice shaking slightly as he leaned into Danny’s hand and closed his eyes. “I didn’t quite lie but I haven’t been quite honest with you.”

He left a beat for Danny to say something, but Danny kept his silent patience and Sam swallowed before continuing. 

“Rural Kentucky wasn’t the place to be for me and my brothers,” Sam started, his voice hushed and his tone flat as he allowed himself to remember. “It was a small town we grew up in, so when rumors flew, you were as good as hung to dry. Especially when they were true, when it comes to me and Josh and…you know. The things about us we can’t change and aren’t particularly interested in changing. It was every day with the insults and the whispers and the fights that Jake kept getting into on our behalf. He was half black and blue and we were sick of it and we knew that we needed to get the hell out of there. But our folks didn’t leave us anything but the house so we were shit out of luck.”

Sam’s thumb returned to his teeth when he thought about it for a moment too long. He knew he hadn’t deserved all the trouble he’d been given, but there was a long time where he had really believed he had, and it made him sick to remember it all. 

“But you got here,” Danny prodded gently, clearly sickened already by what little he had heard. “So something must’ve worked out.”

“That’s the bad part,” Sam confessed quietly, his heart beginning to race as he settled into the memory. “We had no money to move, and there weren’t any jobs we could get that would make us enough, and that was if they hired us at all. Even between the three of us, our combined savings was nothing. We were dirt poor. Everybody there was. There wasn’t any money except for at the bank. Now, the bank…they were swimming in it. Not that they deserved it. They had the kind of money that could get the three of us far, far away.”

Sam stopped, assessing Danny’s expression, waiting to see the glint in his eye when he put the pieces together so that Sam didn’t have to admit to what he was. But Danny just watched him attentively, his hand still on Sam’s face as he listened and waited for Sam. Sam couldn’t bear it, the sight of Danny’s unwavering kindness, so he closed his eyes and pressed his forehead to Danny’s jaw and spoke into his neck. 

“We took it,” Sam breathed, his voice laced with disgust. “The money. Nothing smart, nothing sneaky. We all put on these stupid black bandanas to hide our faces and Jake went in with his shotgun when the place was empty and stuck up the poor teller for all he had. We got it out, got in the truck, and drove out of town. We must’ve driven for three days straight with the adrenaline we had. We decided to settle in whatever town we ran out of gas in and, well, here we are.”

For a moment, Sam forgot he was safe and unseen in the arms of the man he loved. For a moment, he was back in the backseat of the truck clinging to sackcloth bags with his heart about to give out from its relentless pounding, looking over his shoulder every 2 minutes to watch for flashing lights that would mean it had all been for nothing. And for a moment, he couldn’t even think of what Danny must be going through listening to this. Sam closed his eyes and pressed against him, dreading this may be his last chance to be this close.

“The law never caught up?” Danny finally asked in an odd tone, as if he couldn’t quite believe what Sam was telling him. “You just ran and got off scot free?”

“I guess,” Sam whispered, shame darkening his voice. “Once we saw a Wanted sign for Jake when we were about a mile out from here, but we ripped it down and haven’t seen any since.”

A minute of quiet passed between the two of them, Sam silently reaching up to press his hand to Danny’s against his skin, anchoring him there while the two of them were lost in thought. Eventually, Danny’s voice rose again.

“Okay.”

Sam blinked and then straightened, staring at Danny like he was absolutely out of his mind.

“Just okay?” Sam asked, baffled by the serene look on Danny’s face. He had been expecting Danny’s perfect nose curled in disgust, completely repelled by the newfound information that his precious cactus flower was a lowdown criminal. But Danny didn’t seem shaken by any of it at all.

“Sam, you and Josh were getting horribly harassed while Jake was getting the living hell beaten out of him. I don’t really blame you for wanting to take what you felt you deserved and leaving all of that horseshit behind.”

Sam furrowed his brow at Danny, waiting for the joke to be over.

“I’m serious!” Danny laughed, tucking a swinging lock of Sam’s hair behind his rosy ear. “You got out and I’m happy that you did. Now you can live a safe life. I mean, you know I’ll knock down anybody who even dares to take a little bit of an attitude with any one of you three, right? I can’t have anyone throwing stones at my little songbirds.” 

Sam felt all of the tension inside his body begin to crumble in a jarring rush that almost brought tears to his eyes. He’d been sick to his stomach half the time he’d been in Silver Creek because he figured the whole criminal detail would lose him the only person he’d ever met who seemed worth keeping around. And here that person was, smoothing his hair and smiling kindly and vowing to protect him no matter what. For no other reason than it was Sam. 

“You alright, darlin’?” Danny asked nervously, still fussing over Sam’s hair and shocked face as Sam’s breaths started to come slower and calmer. “You didn’t think I was actually going to be sore over that, did you? There’s much worse you could’ve done.”

“I just don’t want you thinking of me as a criminal,” Sam sighed, wrapping his arms around Danny’s neck and frowning up at him. Danny clucked his tongue and shook his head, gently holding Sam’s chin with his thumb and forefinger as he smiled fondly.

“I don’t think that even for a second,” Danny assured him. “You’re an outlaw, that’s all.”

“That sounds even worse!” Sam whined and Danny immediately laughed at Sam’s outcry. “I sound like a dirty fugitive.”

“You’re my dirty fugitive,” Danny cooed as Sam scoffed, his cheeks flushing with passion as Danny chuckled, his eyes sparkling with adoration. Sam sighed, once again feeling his harsh emotions being dampened by everything that Danny was.

“Thank you for understanding,” Sam said, his voice suddenly very shy again as he finally found a smile inside of him and flashed it at Danny. “You must really like me if you’re willing to forgive me for my lawless behavior.”

“If I didn’t know any better, I’d say I was halfway to loving you,” Danny smiled and Sam took his words like a pulse of electricity, his eyebrows flying up. 

“Because of that?” Sam sputtered.

“Maybe not because of that, but definitely because of other things,” Danny hummed coolly, as if he hadn’t realized the absolute weight of what he had just said. 

“Oh,” Sam said dumbly, fully aware his entire face must have been flushed as he processed Danny’s implication. “Well…gee.”

“Gee,” Danny mocked, scrunching his nose at Sam and very lightly tickling where his fingers still ghosted on Sam’s chin. “Little words like that definitely push me over the halfway mark. I’ll be three quarters of the way there by morning.”

“Don’t be saying things like that if you don’t mean ‘em, baby,” Sam scolded, pouting slightly as his brain decided that Danny was just joking around with him. 

“You think I’d ever say that without meaning it?” Danny asked sternly, looking down his nose to look Sam straight in the eye. “Hey, look at me. Would it really be so ridiculous for me to start loving you, huh? You know I can’t get you out of my head, don’t you?”

Sam smiled and the sting of his misinterpreted understanding started to fade slightly as he cupped Danny’s face and kept their fierce eye contact.

“Can’t get you out of mine either, actually,” Sam admitted, his thumbs swiping lovingly over the dusting of freckles on the sweet apples of Danny’s cheeks. 

“Well, now,” Danny said slowly, his eyes darkening ever so slightly as his gaze dropped to Sam’s smiling lips. “That’s good to hear. You might be an outlaw, but you sure are sweet, aren’t you?”

Sam answered him with a kiss, enjoying the sound of the relieved rush Danny breathed in when their lips touched. The satisfaction of Danny’s gentle mouth on his made Sam melt against him like he always did, clinging on a little tighter as he realized Danny’s promise of never hating him was the honest truth. Danny’s arms went around Sam’s waist and held him just as tight.

“I really do love you,” Sam whispered against Danny’s lips, pecking his bottom lip as Danny let out a warm yet barely audible laugh, his breath sweet and feathery on Sam’s skin. 

“I love you, too, sweet thing,” Danny whispered back, nuzzling his nose against Sam’s before kissing him back twice as hard, swallowing the surprised sound that Sam made before it turned into a quiet whimper. 

“‘Course I love you,” Danny muttered against Sam’s lips now, musing only to himself. “Don’t be ridiculous. Doesn’t matter if you stole some money, honey, that’s only some paper we play with. What matters is that you stole my heart right out of my chest and that’s something I hope you never give back. It’s all yours.”

“I’ll keep it if you keep mine,” Sam teased, his chest rushing with light and fierce, genuine love as he marveled at Danny. Danny nodded in agreement, his shoulders relaxing and his muscles rolling under his thick flannel shirt and Sam’s touch simultaneously. 

“I’ll keep it safe,” Danny promised, kissing Sam’s palm and taking a moment simply to stare lovingly at Sam, his smile reaching his eyes and making them crinkle into beaming crescents. 

“I’m trusting you,” Sam hummed in a light, joking tone, but deep down he knew he really believed Danny. It’d been half a year with no reasons not to trust him, and if Danny was going to keep taking news of Sam’s sordid life before he had Danny in it this well, Sam realized he might have done something good with his life after all. 

“Trusting me has gone pretty well for you so far,” Danny purred, his hands pulling at Sam’s firm thighs and turning Sam to face him, keeping him firmly planted on Danny’s lap where he usually stayed when they were home. 

“You take awful good care of me,” Sam agreed. “Maybe I’m just keeping you around to keep me from being bad like I used to be when I was a bank robbing troublemaker.” 

“Well, you are very good for me,” Danny grinned, his hands starting to wander slightly over Sam’s lower half. “Most of the time.”

“Old habits die hard,” Sam smiled cheekily. “Sorry, cowboy.”

“Hey, that’s right,” Danny said as if it were a revelation. “Cowboys are usually the ones to keep ruthless outlaws like you in line. I’m just doing my duty.”

“You caught me,” Sam chuckled, holding his wrists together as if bound. “You gonna throw me in the county jail? Or should we have a shoot out instead?”

“No, no, we’ve got special procedures for the likes of you,” Danny growled facetiously, narrowing his eyes at Sam with a wry smile. “I’m going to have to keep you in my own private quarters to make sure you don’t get into any more trouble.”

“Little do you know I’m planning my great escape.”

“You gonna run?”

“You gonna let me?”

“Not a chance,” Danny hummed, his lips now grazing Sam’s as he gazed at him with eyes growing dark with hungry pupils. “I’ll tie you down before you even pick up a spoon to dig your way out.” 

Sam found himself shaken from their banter for a few long seconds to consider the imagery that Danny teased. It would be unheard of for Sam to breach anything even close to jealous when thinking about the poor cattle that Danny roped on the regular, but when Sam let himself think about his wrists restrained and Danny looming over him…

“Maybe I shouldn’t have given up my life of crime so easily,” Sam murmured, a wicked grin starting to creep onto his face. Despite being the one who had flirted with the prospect so easily, Danny’s face flickered with slight surprise at Sam’s sudden fire and subsequent onslaught of kisses along his neck and jaw. 

“Aw, I wouldn’t wanna hurt you, sweetheart,” Danny whispered, trying to keep his breathing even as Sam greedily kissed against Danny’s hot skin. “I don’t think I could bring myself to rough you up like a stubborn steer.”

Sam pulled back to give Danny another pitiful pout and Danny laughed, his hands now firmly on Sam’s waist.

“I guess I won’t let you have your way with me at all tonight, then,” Sam countered petulantly.

“As if you could bear it,” Danny argued, reaching up to pinch Sam’s cheek before gently moving Sam off of his lap so he could stretch and stand up. “C’mon, Sundance, let’s get you to bed before I start asking questions about why I’ve been paying for your drinks when you’ve been sitting on all those bags of cash.”

Sam hesitated before reaching a hand up for Danny to pull him to his feet, smoothing his shirt and breezing past him towards the bedroom with a smug smile on his face.

“You’re lucky I believe in Southern hospitality!” Danny called after him, following dutifully behind before advancing quickly on Sam and grabbing him from behind. Sam let out a surprised cry as Danny lifted him up before depositing him dramatically onto the bed, sitting down next to him and pulling off his boots while Sam rolled onto his stomach and watched.

“What're you thinking about now?” Danny pestered after they’d both gotten into their pajamas and slipped under the covers, Sam’s ear pressed to Danny’s chest and his consciousness already starting to slip. 

“Nothin’,” Sam answered truthfully. “Just you.” 

Danny let out a sentimental little hum, kissing the top of Sam’s head and letting the minutes stretch into comfortable, sleepy silence as the both of them began to drift. 

Just before he fell fully asleep, Sam let his memory take him back home for a short spell. The truth was there had been good times for them out in Kentucky, but it all seemed so small and simple compared to the taste of life he had found further south. It also seemed so silly to think he had spent so long convinced that he was going to spend the rest of his life defined by his worst moments when being nothing but himself had landed him here. Sam never thought he’d feel safe, but when he was next to Danny, he figured there was nowhere safer he could be.

---

[angelof-thevoid]

The Crucible / Undefeated

“Is it… True? what Lord Shaxx said?” asks one of a fire team of guardians who approach Ikora as she reads. She smiles and lets out a short chuckle before looking up at them. “Depends on what he said. In most cases he enjoys flourishing a story, but there’s always some amount of truth to them.” The guardians nod and shuffle a little nervously before her.

Another speaks up, “So… Do you really hold the crucible record for the longest win streak and are the reason that his helmet is missing a horn?” Their expressions display a mix of awe and fear of her. Ah. New lights for sure. These are old stories about her that have been retold several times, but Ikora had to admit she still reflects on them a little fondly. Even Shaxx still finds the loss of his horn amusing and even gushes about what a mighty battle Ikora gave him. 

“Yes, it’s true.” She sets down the book she was flipping through for personal research and turns to fully face them with her arms crossed behind her. The group lean in, minds open to hearing her version of the stories. 

“In the dark age, it was a very different time compared to now, a time before we were guardians who strove for peace and protecting humanity. Some still had those goals back then, though maybe not always accomplished by the best methods. Others cared more about personal power and chose to be rulers of humanity, calling themselves warlords. They would force those under them to hand over precious limited resources, often at the cost of themselves and under threats of death.”

“Even worse, there were times they were used as meat shields when conflicts arose between immortal risen, most often over territory. It was… A dark time.” As if we haven’t had several since, Ikora comments to herself. “Sometimes we aren’t our best selves during them, and that includes Lord Shaxx. He wasn’t the worst, arguably he was doing what he thought was best for those he deemed his charge.” 

“But still, that power structure wasn’t good, and Lord Shaxx proved himself to be quite formidable in maintaining his lands. Until I came along.” Ikora smiles and winks at the three guardians as they give her their undivided attention. She may not have the same flair for dramatic retellings but it’s nice to know that she could still get others to listen. 

“In those days, I wasn’t a warlord but I wouldn’t say I was my best self either, but I like to think I was at least on the path. I was also quicker to resort to my light and weaponry in those days to handle things instead of talking. So when word about an apparently “undefeated” warlord reached me, I heard a challenge.”

“And a challenge it was, we made a real mess of the area we fought in. Trading bullet for bullet, light for light, one rez after the other. It was…” She trails off a moment. “Exhilarating. A battle with someone who was even in power makes victory all the more satisfying, and I definitely reveled in it afterward. I took the land as promised and freed it to humanity.” 

“Whoaaaaa,” the third guardian responded. “Okay, but then what about the crucible record story?” “Yeah, tell us about that next!” pipes up the first again. Ikora finds herself quickly endeared to the enthusiasm of this bunch as she softly laughs. “Now that is a more recent occurrence. As I’m sure Lord Shaxx informed you, the crucible is about forging guardians into better fighters by pitting ourselves against each other, to sharpen ourselves into being the best at combat to face any future foe.”

“So as I told you before, I was often eager to rise to a challenge. Only this was at least cooperatively sanctioned violence instead of a sloppy skirmish over land or a tense encounter that resulted in a permanent death.” She stops for a moment. “At least, usually it’s for sport to strengthen our skills. Some have tried to use it for other means.”

“I participated in the crucible very extensively for a time in my long life. Every day I went in with the goal to be better than I was the previous, and I did excel! Through that hard work I earned a reputation of being one of the best with a 25 win streak.” Ikora moves one of her hands in front and balls it into a fist before slowly releasing, ”But the glory of the crucible still left me wanting.”

She moves her arm behind her back once more joining with the other. “After all, what good is organized arena combat when not every battle is a show of physical prowess? What about the fights that aren’t met through bullets or paracausality or fists?” The silence hangs for a moment as Ikora patiently looks at the three of them like she expects an answer. 

“It’s, also important to have mental fortitude and be strategic in mind?” Answers the warlock of the group. Ikora grins proudly at them. “Correct. It’s not enough to be physically capable, but mentally and strategically as well. Which is why it’s also important to know and learn as well as train to fight. Neither is enough on their own, they are both parts to the whole of being a guardian.”

The warlock beamed at getting the answer correct as she continued. “It’s also good to not know and fight your enemy but be able to know and fight yourself. There will be times you struggle, physically, mentally, emotionally- and it’s important to take care of yourself too. The things we deal with and go through can be a heavy burden, which is why it matters to be able to rely on your fire team, and be reliable in return.”

Ikora crosses her arms in a relaxed manner over her chest, raising one finger. “So remember, it’s not just important to be physically strong and to use your light. You must also be strong of mind and to maintain both by taking care of yourselves, and each other.” The three nod to each other and in acknowledgement of Ikora's words, taking them to heart.

"Good." She smiles again. "Walk steady in the light, guardians."

[steelcladbutterfly]

Yandere Sun Wukong

This is one of my older works, but I still look back on it fondly. I made it before Monkie Kid became popular/came out so don’t expect it to be from that universe. It also doesn’t really take place in the Journey to the West timeline, so sorry for any mistakes with characteristics and the like.

The Mokey King, who can be found as far back as the Song Dynasty, specifically through the story of Journey to the West.

You were a close companion of Sun Wukong. You were with him through many of his adventures and even gained immortality right alongside him. You had been born into a cold family who never showed you any sort of warmth or love of any kind, so the one thing you longed for the most was someone who could give that warmth and love to you. When you met Sun Wukong, he exuded such warmth that you immediately gravitated to it. At first he tried to get you to stay behind, but when you broke down sobbing and told him what your life had been like up until then, he finally agreed to let you come.

From then on, you felt that your life was going to get better. And for a time, it had. You went on many adventures with him and even helped fight off monsters by using the ability of fire passed down through your family. You had always found a sad sort of irony in the fact that your family could use fire, yet always seemed colder than even ice. As the years passed, you began to fall for the one who shown you the warmth that you had always longed for.

You never told him as you never felt it was the right time or you ended up stumbling over the words you tried to say. But still you strove to tell him, thinking that even if he ended up rejecting you, as long as he didn’t do it coldly, you felt that you could cope. One day, you were finally able to get out the words you had always wanted to say to him.

~~~~~

“Look out!”

You were knocked to the ground as the monster swiped the air above your head. “Are you okay?” Sun Wukong asked as he looked down at you.

”Ah, y-yes,” you stuttered as he got to his feet and helped you up, “Thank you.”

But your gratitude was not heard as Sun Wukong immediately leaped back into battle. You sighed. “And I wish you would stay long enough for me to thank you. Let alone confess.”

You sighed again, but ran back to begin attacking the giant wolf monster while Sun Wukong distracted it. You quickly went through the hand motions to summon a giant fireball. When it was fully formed, you sent it at the wolf where it managed to kill the monster. You smiled, happy to have defeated the monster. Sun Wukong cheered and ran up to give you a hug, before quickly running off to tell the villagers, who had asked you to defeat the monster as it had been terrorizing them for some time, to gain the reward. Normally you would try to stop him from forcing them to give too much, but the village was relatively prosperous and had promised a feast.

Once you calmed down enough to not look like a fool from the hug you had recieved, you quickly followed. There you saw the village getting ready for the celebration and immediately found Sun Wukong talking to the village chief. With a fond smile on your face, you quickly jogged to catch up. “.....and how about big statue of me in the center of town as well?”

You came into the conversation as he tried to coerce the chief to give him more for his reward. Sighing, you said, “Come on Sun Wukong, surely you don’t need another statue.”

”Of course I do (Y/n),” Sun Wukong shouted passionately, “It’s a matter of principle. If I save their village, they should build a statue of me!”

Giggling at the look on the chief’s face, you said, “Alright Sun Wukong, I’m going to help set up the banquet then. Call if you need me.”

As you headed off in the direction of the kitchens, you managed to hear him say, “Yeah, yeah. It’s not like I ever really need you.”

You felt an ache in your chest at those words, but it was a familiar ache. Sun Wukong said such things more often than you ever cared to remember, but you still had faith in him and loved him all the same. On the best days, you were able to let the comments slide off you like water on a duck. But on the worst days, you had to stifle your crying so that Sun Wukong wasn’t alerted to how badly the comments hurt you.

Somehow, you always managed to make it through the days, even after constant cruel comments, monster attacks, and others underestimating you for being a woman. You knew that even through all that, you could always count on Sun Wukong to somehow lift your spirits even if he was the one to bring them down in the first place.

You made it to the kitchen, where you found them mostly done. When you asked what you could help on, the chef you asked distractedly pointed to a counter in the back where they were preparing annin tofu for dessert. As you began to help, the kitchen hands who were making it gave you grateful smiles. You smiled back, happy to help. Throughout the many adventures you had been on with Sun Wukong, you had first and foremost learned that he was most definitely not a cook, so you were usually the one who prepared all the meals. This lead to you being a very competent chef, especially after you were made immortal, as you then had much more time to practice.

When you finished making it, you then helped serve it as by that time the meal had been finished. One of the kitchen hands, who had introduced herself as Zhi Ruo, leaned toward you to whisper, “Don’t worry, you can eat with us. Honestly though, I’m more surprised they haven’t noticed you were missing or sent anyone looking for you.”

You thanked her as you then caught sight of Sun Wukong sitting at the head of the table, laughing at what one of the women who surrounded him had said. “Yeah,” you managed to choke out, “It is surprising.”

Another familiar ache started. Even when you would tell him where you would go, most of the times Sun Wukong would forget to call for you if something started or happened. But you were used to this ache as well, so you didn’t let it bother you as, whenever you brought it up, he would apologize in the end. Zhi Ruo saw your expression and, looking in the direction you were staring in, saw what you were looking at. “In love with him, huh,” she said.

When you blushed and started to protest, she laughed and said, “Don’t bother. It’s all over your face. I don’t know why you would like him, but at least tell him that you do.”

At that you quieted your protesting and said, “He brought me a warmth I was missing from my life and for that I’m eternally grateful.”

Zhi Ruo’s lips quirked into a smile. “Well, if it’s like that, it gives you all the more reason to confess. Do it tonight before you go to bed. You may not share rooms, but you are right next door to each other. I should know, I had to set them up for you. Catch him before he goes into his room and confess.”

Confidence given to you from her encouraging words, you nodded. “Okay! I will! Tonight, I, (Y/n), will finally confess my feelings to Sun Wukong.”

”That’s the spirit,” she said, “Now come on, let’s go eat.”

As you went off with Zhi Ruo to eat, you were unaware of how the conversation would play out, but you wanted to believe in the positives, so you went with a smile.

~~~~~

After you had eaten and said goodbye to Zhi Ruo, you rushed off to the rooms that were given to you, just in time to catch Sun Wukong about to close his door. “Wait,” you shouted out to him, “Wait! I have something to say to you!”

As you got to the door, Sun Wukong stepped out and closed the door. “Alright,” he said, “What is it?”

Drawing in a breath, closing your eyes, and remembering what Zhi Ruo had told you, you confessed. “I love you! I have for a while now. I just never worked up the courage to tell you before now! You brought a warmth to my life that I had been lacking from my family and I am eternally grateful for it! When you let me tag along with you, that’s was when I first started to like you. And I know this seems sudden, but honestly it is anything but that!”

You kept your eyes closed, waiting for what he would say, but all you heard was silence. As you began to grow worried, you opened your eyes and drew in a breath to apologize when laughter rang out. Quickly looking up, you saw that Sun Wukong was laughing at you. “Seriously? Man, if I knew you would do this, I probably would have left you there in your village,” he said.

”W-What,” you breathed out, not wanting to believe what he was saying.

”I’m saying,” Sun Wukong growled out, all traces of humor suddenly gone, “That I do not love you, let alone like you. I let you come with me because your sobbing was annoying and I felt pity for you. I let you stay because you knew how to cook and could actually hold your own in a fight. The only reason you’re even still here is because you are not totally dead weight to me.”

With that said, he turned and opened his door. Your eyes widened as you heard a woman’s voice from inside asking him what took so long. “Nothing really,” he answered, “Just an annoyance that needed taking care of.”

He then turned back to you and said, “Now let go of your stupid dream and leave it behind.”

He then slammed his door shut, leaving you to fall to your knees as, silently, tears began to roll down your cheeks. You somehow managed to get to your room and curl up, silently sobbing, in the bed that had been prepared for your visit. You cried for hours, but somewhere along the line you must have finally fallen asleep, because you woke up with the sun shining in your eyes and dried tear tracks on your face. 

You managed to get up and somehow continue your day relatively normally. The only difference was that you tried to avoid Sun Wukong instead of seeking him out. The two of you had plans to stay in the village for a week, so you hoped to be able to get over the rejection by then or at least enough to continue with your life. But when the time came, you still hadn’t gotten over it.

On the last day, Sun Wukong ended up seeking you out, which was the first time you had seen him face to face since he broke your heart.

~~~~~

Sun Wukong was mildly annoyed. He had finally rejected (Y/n) and crushed her stupid idea of love for him, but she had started to avoid him after that. This didn’t bother him until the last day of their stay and she wasn’t waiting eagerly for him to continue on their journey. As much as he felt he shouldn’t care, he wanted her to come, as she at least kept some of the boredom away while on the road. 

So he sought her out. He found her in a rock garden where she appeared to be meditating. “Hey,” he shouted, disrupting the peaceful atmosphere, “Why aren’t you ready to go yet!? We have to leave now before the sun completely rises you know!”

(Y/n) startled at his loud voice, but when she looked to see who had shouted and found him, she quickly averted her eyes. Sun Wukong felt a sudden pang in his chest, but he shook it off as he didn’t have any reason to feel bad. His thoughts were suddenly interrupted by (Y/n)’s soft voice telling him, “I’m not coming with you.”

”What,” he shouted angrily.

”I still want to explore, but I need more time away from you before I can travel safely, so I’m going to set off on my own in about a week. I already talked to the village chief and he said he was fine with me staying an extra week as long as I earned my keep. So I’m going to help out around the village while I gather my thoughts enough to be able to travel safely.”

”No way,” Sun Wukong shouted, “There is no way you will be able to travel on your own. Besides, shouldn’t you be over it already? I mean, come on, I rejected you a week ago, this just proves that you’re too weak to travel on your own.”

”Shut up,” (Y/n) suddenly screamed at him. He jumped back, unused to her cursing or shouting at him.

“Shut up and leave me alone,” she continued as she finally looked at him. He was shocked to see tears in her eyes. He had never seen her crying since he had first let her join him.

She opened her mouth, appearing to want to continue, but closed it again before finally getting up and saying, “You just don’t understand.”

She then ran off and he shouted, “Wait!”

But it was too late, she had already disappeared. “What is with her,” he wondered to himself, “Too bad for her. If she wants to kill herself by traveling on her own, fine then.”

He then left in a huff and the village disappeared in the distance with nary a look back. For about a year, Sun Wukong didn’t even notice she was gone. He still saved villages, fought monsters, and attracted the attention of pretty women.

But soon, he found that he was disgusted by the way the women threw themselves onto him, fighting monsters became a boring chore, and the villagers’ gratitude began to leave a bitter taste in his mouth. He often found himself asking (Y/n) what she was making that night, only to realize he was talking to thin air. 

He began to notice that he missed more than just the fact that she would cook for him. He missed the way she would always look after him, the way she fought, the way she smiled at him, the happiness in her beautiful (e/c) eyes when he complimented her, the pretty blush that would become imbued in her (s/t) skin when he hugged her unthinkingly after a battle, the softness of her skin, the silky quality of her hair, the scent of fragrant woodsmoke and cherry blossoms that always seemed to surround her, and so much more. After another year, he found that he had become completely obsessed with the woman he had last seen crying and running from him. He had tried to stop the way he was feeling, but every time he tried to do so, he found he fell even deeper in love with her. He finally decided to get her back. And even if he had to do so with her fighting him the whole way, he would keep her to himself and never let her run away from him again.

With those thoughts in mind, he set off to find her.

~~~~~

Meanwhile, you had left when you said you would. The entire village came to see you off as they had all grown fond of you in the two weeks that they had known you for. “Be safe,” Zhi Ruo, who had come to be a very close friend, shouted at you, “I hope you find what you want to be on your journey!”

”Thank you,” you shouted back, “I’m sure I will. And take care my friend!”

After that, you headed off on a journey to find yourself. You traveled from village to village, helping those you came across and fighting off the monsters that threatened you or others. After half a year, you came upon a place that needed your help. They had had a flood and many of their crops had been ruined. Having traveled for most of your life, you knew what types of edible plants would grow in nearly every condition. So you taught it to the people and even stayed to help them learn the best ways to cook the plants. You left with a smile on your face, happy to have finally found what you wanted to do; help those who needed knowledge on food and survival.

As the year ended, and the second year was coming near an end as well, you had gained a reputation as a hand of mercy, who helped all those she came across. You were happy to help, but you never knew that your reputation would be what brought about your downfall. 

~~~~~

You had just finished helping the people of a village learn how to hunt and take down the fleet footed deer in their surrounding area. Normally, it wouldn’t be that hard, but the deer were faster than normal and had enhanced hearing, so they could easily get away from the hunters, leaving the village to survive mainly on half-eaten vegetables that the deer had gotten into. The villagers were grateful for your help, so they had let you stay for a few days to rest.

On the third day, one of them came to where you were resting on a bench in a courtyard filled with flowers. “There’s someone here to see you,” the villlager said.

”Okay,” you responded with a gentle smile, “Please, let them in and tell them where I am.”

”Of course.”

After that, you waited for the individual who sought you out to come. You figured it was a messenger from another village that came asking for your help. All of a sudden, a loud shout of “(Y/n)!” broke your peaceful atmosphere as you had recognized the voice, even after two years apart.

But, before you could flee, a pair of arms wrapped around you and lifted you into a strangely possessive grasp. “Let me go,” you cried, struggling to get away from Sun Wukong.

”Why would I do that,” he asked in such a strangely lovesick tone that you stilled out of shock, “Especially when I finally have you in my arms.”

”What do you mean? Didn’t you say that you didn’t love me? Why are you acting like this?”

”Becuase I was wrong! I do love you, I just never realized until you were gone. I took your love for granted and now that I don’t have it or you, I am here to take it back.”

With that, your face was lifted up and Sun Wukong leaned down and kissed you. As he deepened the kiss, tears began to run down your face. When he finally pulled away, you started to sob. “What’s wrong,” he asked worriedly, “I know this must be surprising, but there’s no reason to cry over it.”

”You’re so dense,” you sobbed, “How can you say you love me when you broke my heart and stomped all over it? Especially when I’ve gotten over it. You really are cruel Sun Wukong. First, I love you and try to confess. Then you turn me down in the coldest and cruelest way possible. After that, my heart finally heals and I manage to get over you, but then you come bursting in, expecting me to love you after you told me I was basically a waste of space. I can’t ever truly hate you Sun, but this has brought me very close to it.”

After you finished, you pushed out of Sun Wukong’s limp grasp and ran. But this time, before you could get away, a hand grabbed your wrist and roughly yanked you back against Sun Wukong’s chest. “Never,” he started, scaring you with his suddenly angry tone, “Never run away from me. Never again. I let you get away one time, not again. You are mine now. Even if you try to fight it, I will force you to be mine.”

”No,” you cried out, struggling against his iron grip, “I don’t love you anymore. And you can’t force love Sun Wukong. Please, just leave me alone!”

You heard him growl in frustration before he slammed his lips onto yours. As you gasped from how roughly he had done so, he took that opportunity to slide his tongue into your mouth. You pounded on his chest, trying to get him to stop, but he wouldn’t stop until he had had his fill and savored the sweet taste of your mouth. 

When he finally broke away for air, he picked you up bridal style. He looked down at your flushed face, dazed eyes, and swollen lips and smirked. He gave you a final kiss, before whispering, “Don’t worry. You’ll learn to love me again. And even if you don’t, I still will never let you go. You will always be mine, my flame of mercy.”

You tried to struggle out of his arms again, but he quickly shifted you into one arm so he could pinch a nerve cluster on the side of your neck. With a gasp, you could feel yourself quickly losing consciousness. The last thing you heard before you woke up far from humanity and in the arms of the one you had loved, yet who you now feared was, “You’ll never get away from me again. Life has no meaning without you in it, so I will do everything in my power to make you mine and keep you there.”

Annin tofu is a soft, jellied dessert made of apricot kernel milk, agar, and sugar. It is a traditional dessert of Beijing, Cantonese, Hong Kong, and Japanese cuisines.