#I realized while drawing this that he wouldn’t be able to stand up properly with those thin flimsy limbs of theirs

[toki-toro]

Is that the bite of 87

[strelles-universe]

Strike the Match - Chapter 4: The First Day

“He’s not awake yet?”

“Be patient Lionbelly - yesterday was a busy day.”

“We’ve been trying but he’s sleeping deeper than a vole in a snow-drift.”

“Come on Cardinalpaw, wake up!”

Who’s Cardinalpaw? Soŕi wondered blearily, snuggling deeper into his nest. He was unusually cold and felt a lack of tails and fur draped over him. He figured his siblings must’ve left early to perform their tasks - thank the Skies that his duties wouldn’t need his attention until later. He curled into a tighter ball as the voices kept talking, speaking annoyingly loud - as if they didn’t notice that cats were still trying to sleep. He wrapped his tail more tightly around himself, opening his tail-fins to cover his face. Just when he was finally able to tune the talking out, drifting back into a blissful sleep; something prodded him sharply in the side. Immediately he hissed, swiping in the direction of the prodding with his claws. He was prodded again and this time he growled, muttering curses under his breath and slowly at up. He opened his eyes; glaring talons at the mass of blue fur staring down at him.

“Good, you’re awake,” the molly said satisfied. 

Soŕi stared at her blankly for a long moment, trying to process who this cat was and why she was bothering him while he was so tired. It was only when he spotted the fluffy head of Jackdawpaw peering behind her before getting shooed back out that the events from the day before slammed into him at full force. He yawned hard; his muscles immediately twitching from the residual soreness and the cuts he’d neglected to treat starting to itch and sting. He stood on shaky paws, his pads immediately reminding him that he hadn’t properly applied the poultice to them. He did his best to ignore the discomfort as he arched his back, stretching his limbs out before him in an attempt to alleviate some of the soreness. He gave himself one last shake before he blearily followed Asterdawn from the den - the cadet’s den he reminded himself - and out into the main clearing.

He yawned again when confronted with the dark blue sky and a chilly wind grazing his already rumpled coat. He shook out his paws a few times as he followed Asterdawn over to a group of cats already waiting for them. He blinked tiredly as he identified the forms of Jackdawpaw, Ravenpaw and Lionbelly. 

“Hey!” Jackdawpaw purred happily. Cardinalpaw was immediately jealous that he didn’t seem nearly as sore as he was, standing easily on all four paws with his tail raised confidently. For his part, Cardinalpaw plopped right back down when he deemed that he was close enough to be part of the conversation without looking off. “I thought you’d died!”

“Jackdawpaw,” sighed Lionbelly, shaking his head with fond exasperation.

“What? It was like Riversoul was poking through his head,” the gray cadet defended.

Cardinalpaw blinked tiredly as he twisted around, drawing his tongue over his crinkled mess of a coat. He dislodged the bits of moss that had gotten caught in his fur, picking out the leaves and twigs from the impromptu ‘test’ he’d been put through before. He felt a bit scruffy being so visibly disheveled in front of others, but beyond a little snicker from Jackdawpaw and a slight whisker twitch from Ravenpaw, none of them seemed too upset by his appearance. He dragged his tongue down one last prickled space, as his ears swiveled.

The murmur of the barracks was different from the one in the kingdom - it was a bit louder, not just the rustle of trees and the dawn creature moving swiftly through the brush but also the sounds of some cats talking quietly among themselves. When his gaze flicked up, he could see Mottletail, tired but awake speaking to a triad of cats surrounding him. He heard some squeaking and giggling from the cubs in the nursery. 

It’s smaller, Cardinalpaw realized as he straightened up. Even if he factored in the vast section of the forest that Stormborn claimed as their own, the faction’s territory was simply smaller than his old home. So everything seemed louder, the cats seemed more crowded and everyone is curled together.

“Protecting the borders of our territory is important to ensuring that our faction always has enough resources to survive,” Asterdawn started to lecture. Cardinalpaw focused most of his attention on her, noting that Jackdawpaw and Ravenpaw seemed to be listening as well. “Dawn patrol is one of three regular day patrols that you’ll be expected to join as a member of the Stormborn. The other two patrols are the sunhigh patrol and the sunset patrol.”

She flicked her tail, gesturing to the rustling gorse tunnel as a trio of new cats came in, all yawning and looking sleepy as they made their way to Mottletail.

“Those cats were on the night patrol,” Asterdawn added. “Can any of you name what time the night patrols would be held at?”

Cardinalpaw just yawned again, conveying that his sleepy mind wasn’t in a state to be making obvious connections.

“A moonpeak patrol?” Ravenpaw offered hesitantly

“Yes,” Asterdawn agreed, pointing her muzzle after the now identified ‘moonpeak patrol.’ “We have a moonpeak patrol and a dusk patrol.”

“...two dusk patrols?” Cardinalpaw prompted, confused.

“The Fennyield are known to be more active along the borders at night,” said Lionbelly. “So rather than a single patrol that covers the whole border, there are two dusk patrols and dawn patrols. Each covers a different border.”

That makes sense, Cardinalpaw thought nodding along. It was like swapping the pen-guards during marten season. 

“Why is my first border patrol a dawn patrol?” Cardinalpaw huffed, his ears half-flattened.

“It’s tradition,” Jackdawpaw said, stifling his own yawn but still more awake than Cardinalpaw was. “All cadets get dawn patrol as their first patrol - feel lucky, this is my second dawn patrol!”

“Second?” Cardinalpaw echoed.

“Jackdawpaw and Ravenpaw wanted to be there for your first patrol,” Asterdawn explained. “So they asked their mentors to come along.”

Cardinalpaw cast his new denmates a surprised but pleased expression.

“Yekiyai, ” he said quietly. “Thank you.”

Ravenpaw ducked behind Jackdawpaw looking embarrassed, the other cadet adopting a slightly sheepish look. Cardinalpaw hazarded that the cadets hadn’t expected Asterdawn to tell him that their presence was anything more than a coincidence. Their mentors just chuckled at the shy silence that settled around the three of them.

“Sorry I’m late.”

Cardinalpaw turned his head to a brown furred tabby tom trotting over as quickly as he could while still looking dignified. His black tabby swirls standing out starkly against his brown coat, yellow eyes flashing with apology. He had some of the smallest tusks Cardinalpaw had seen yet - barring the nubs that his denmates had - with thin canines that looked far more fragile than the bulky ones in the other mentors’ mouths. Ravenpaw perked up slipping from behind Jackdawpaw to raise his tail in warm greeting, purring lightly as the two touched noses. The brown tom gently licked between the lanky cadet’s ears before turning his attention to Lionbelly and Asterdawn, “The moonpeak patrol reported more Shorerisen scent straying across the border.”

Lionbelly made a huffing nose in his chest, “Worry not Larkwing - Jackdawpaw was just explaining the tradition of dawn patrols to Cardinalpaw.”

“Ah,” said Larkwing, his whiskers twitching as he glanced down at the new cadet. “I nearly clawed my mentor’s whiskers off my first morning.”

“So did I,” Lionbelly rumbled.

Asterdawn merely chuckled and motioned for the patrol to follow her, making her way to the gorse tunnel. Cardinalpaw followed dutifully, relieved that he’d taken their waiting time to groom down his fur as he struggled through the gorse tunnel again. It was harder this time with sore muscles and slightly unkempt fur.

Skies I hope this gets easier, he thought to himself exasperated. It could be worse though he supposed, watching Lionbelly walk stiffly from the tunnel; no doubt leaving half of his mane behind for collection on the thorn.

Asterdawn directed their patrol through the cool, damp forest; clearly unbothered by the slippery leaves and the dew coated grass brushing against her legs. Cardinalpaw did his best to resist the urge to sit and clean his paws - he’d managed to race through mud yesterday, he could handle some morning dew. Still, he made a point of walking around the deeper, more waterlogged parts. He clambered slightly more efficiently over another log than he had the morning before, this time unhindered by his lungs demanding oxygen. All in all, it was a pretty peaceful stroll and Cardinalpaw used the quiet noise of the forest awakening to become a bit more coherent himself.

He was just reaching a point of further alertness when Jackdawpaw stiffened alongside Ravenpaw.

“I smell dohaaliyanva,” Jackdawpaw said, narrowing his eyes. 

“What?” Cardinalpaw asked.

“Outsiders,” Ravenpaw said, sniffing the air.

I don’t smell anything, Cardinalpaw thought to himself. After a moment of futilely trying to identify what they were smelling, he parted his mouth in the hopes of catching something. Something brushed his flank and he glanced at Asterdawn who had a sympathetic look.

“You won’t notice if you’re simply looking for something out of the ordinary,” she advised him. “Their scent likely still says ‘home’ to you.”

Home, Cardinalpaw blinked. He sniffed again, this time paying attention to everything that touched his nose. It didn't take long for him to finally catch the smokey scent that he associated with warmth, crackling hearths; the sharp and cold-scent of silvermint dancing through the air. Reflexively he adjusted his posture, straightening up and pricking his ears. He even took a moment to quickly twist around and lick down any lingering tufts of fur standing out - there were cats of the Shining Sun nearby and he couldn’t afford to look scruffy.

He almost didn’t notice his patrol moving on he was so focused on cleaning himself up. As soon as he flattened the last stubborn tuft of fur, he darted ahead to keep pace with Asterdawn’s long strides. Quickly enough he identified the scratched trees that had started the encounter that led them to where they are.

“This is the Neutral Stretch” Asterdawn lectured and Cardinalpaw wondered if this was standard or if she was attempting to prevent another incident. “As Chaffinchpaw and Wrenpaw discovered, this is a stretch of territory that belongs to the Shining Sun that the Stormborn lost during The Mad Star’s reign.”

Cardinalpaw perked up - he’d never heard this story from the faction’s point of view.

“Relations between the Stormborn and the Kingdom of the Shining Sun were very negative because of The Raids and a short war took place as The Mad Star forgot that the Shining Sun hosts more than just cats,” Asterdawn said grimly. “Queen Alaina landed a killing blow against The Mad Star stating that it was a warning to all Thunders to stay out of the Sun or be destroyed.”

Ravenpaw shuddered near him, Jackdawpaw immediately moving to press against his friend comfortingly.

“Like the Lost Faction,” Jackdawpaw mumbled.

Asterdawn nodded solemnly, “Yes.”

“Thankfully dying once made The Mad Star see sense and he surrendered to the Shining Sun and gave up a large swathe of territory in compensation.”

“But we already lost!” Jackdawpaw protested. “Why did they take territory too!”

“We lost land Jackdawpaw,” Lionbelly rumbled gently. “But they lost sons. The Mad Star’s madness got a prince killed - we were lucky all they did was demand territory.”

“Ikema the First,” Cardinalpaw hissed, flexing his claws making the others jump. It was like they’d forgotten he was there - that he’d come from the kingdoms. Cardinalpaw knew this part of the story well. It was still taught to all of the cubs and pages on the kingdom as a warning against the factions - that only fully or mostly trained guardians should force themselves to be involved with the factions. 

The grown cats exchanged looks.

“I suppose it’s still a popular tale in the Sun?” inquired Larksong.

“Yes,” agreed Cardinalpaw simply.

He turned away, focusing on the Neutral Stretch and the blurs of fur he’d started to see to go along with the familiar scents. Sure enough, a few guardians and who he could only assume were their pages were training with each other. The pages were clearly young and going through basic conditioning as they were being made to run around, occasionally wrestling each other until a command was said and then they were weaving through trees again. 

“The Sun still uses it as a training ground for their young,” Larkwing remarked, watching the movement. He glanced at Cardinalpaw curiously, “Do you know what they’re practicing?”

“It’s just conditioning,” Cardinalpaw divulged. It wasn’t exactly hyper personal or critical information about the Shining Sun so he didn’t mind sharing. Besides, his kingdom praised and honored the sharing of knowledge where it was possible. “The pages are too young to really get into proper training so they’re being shown how to strengthen their bodies so that when they are ready, they can jump in all paws first.”

“Young?” Jackdawpaw asked, whiskers twitching. “We’re hardly old ourselves!”

Cardinalpaw shook his head, “Pages are somewhere between three and five moons old.”

“Oh,” said Jackdawpaw looking surprised, mulling over the concept in his mind.

“Why so young?” Lionbelly asked, with a slight frown.

Cardinalpaw flicked his ear, “Makiŕa says it's because all cubs need time to run around and it's easier to keep them from sneaking off if they’re ‘training.’ Since it also helps prepare them to become squires, it’s a win-win for everyone.”

Lionbelly hummed his understanding as Asterdawn began to lead them closer to the training cats, her tail in the air.

“Um,” Ravenpaw started to asked, visibly shrinking.

Larkwing brushed his tail over his cadet’s back, explaining kindly, “Our faction doesn’t have a good reputation with the outside right now. We don’t want the Shining Sun to think we’ve returned to the old ways and so….”

Ravenpaw caught on, perking up a little, “...so we have to speak to them and smooth things over?”

“Or at least be friendly,” Larkwing confirmed with a prideful purr.

When they were in earshot, Asterdawn released a ‘meow’ that drew the attention of the training cats. One cat - a primarily golden furred tortoiseshell molly with light green eyes - started to walk forward while the other two cats ushered the squires further back. Cardinalpaw racked his brain for a moment, unwilling to move forward and be seen until he could identify the cat.

“Anuŕai akyeedaan,” she greeted coolly, keeping her head high. “What do we owe the pleasure?”

Asterdawn dipped her head, “Just showing our cadets the border - informing them of the Neutral Stretch agreement.”

Lionbelly ushered Ravenpaw and an unusually, shy looking Jackdawpaw forward to be seen by the kingdom cats. Ravenpaw shrank away a little when the tortoiseshell leaned in to sniff him curiously; likely taking in the special scent of the factions lingering in his pelt.

I’ll finally get to know what it is, Cardinalpaw purred to himself unintentionally drawing attention.

The molly glanced at Cardinalpaw fleetingly at first before doing a double taking, looking him over and drawing her eyes across his collar. As soon as she saw his charm, she coughed; bringing further attention.

“Are you alright Enha? What’s wrong?” one of the other soldiers called out.

“I- yes,” she stammered, eying Cardinalpaw.

He waved his tail, already having an idea of why she was so distressed, “It’s alright, it’s not like I’m on duty.”

“So the announcement was true?” Enha inquired, looking curiously at the rest of the patrol. “You truly joined ba hafaaŕasi efra?”

“Yes,” Cardinalpaw said proudly, only a bit surprised that his leaving had already been announced to the kingdom. Ahasra must’ve told their mother the same day he left - which means that the announcement would’ve come out only the night before. “I’m on a dawn patrol, actually”

“Ah, forcing you to be awake before the birds?” Enha said teasingly.

Cardinalpaw just laughed, his reputation for not being a morning tom was well-known. He often overslept when their mother arranged earlier tutoring sessions for him. 

“Yeah - it feels like I’m being targeted,” he joked. “My flame flickers in this dreadful wind.”

The molly giggled at his dramatics, turning back towards the training group when one of the soldiers called out for her attention. 

“I’ll let you get back to your training,” Cardinalpaw said kindly. “We can talk again another time.”

Enha nodded, bowing her head. Cardinalpaw stepped forward, reflexively pressing his nose to the space between her ears to formally dismiss her from the conversation alongside giving her blanketed permission to further ignore him in favor of her duties.

“Siyuyuova ka-veshano,” Enha said respectfully, backing away from him. Then she strode back to her training. Cardinalpaw watched them for a moment, Enha gesturing to him and the other soldiers’ heads snapped to him. He watched one tom start to move forward only to be shooed back towards the pages by Enha, likely being scolded for attempting to come butter him up. Cardinalpaw chuckled - at some point, he would have to visit the kingdom again to give a formal statement about his leaving and how he was adjusting, but for now, he would enjoy being as he was. 

“Veshano.”

Cardinalpaw turned his head to Larkwing who’d spoken the lightly accented word. The tom was looking at him in pure shock, a paw raised, and his ears flattened with visible horror.

“Larkwing?” Lionbelly prompted.

“Veshano… you’re the prince?” Larkwing gasped.

“What?” Asterdawn snapped, straightening up.

Cardinalpaw sighed, a bit saddened that his anonymity had been destroyed in one single moment but intrigued by the fact that Larkwing seemed to recognize the word.

“You speak Sivake?” Cardinalpaw asked curiously.

“A little,” said the brown tabby informed. “Enough to get through formalities.”

“Larkwing is our diplomat,” Asterdawn put forth, still seeming a bit shocked by the revelation. The burly molly seemed to be completely reevaluating everything that had led up to this moment in time, scanning Cardinalpaw over with a new light in her eyes and a tenseness to her body. “Occasionally he leaves the faction to speak with the Shining Sun about trade deals and treaties. Though as we’ve been fairly isolated lately, he hasn’t really had a chance to perform his job among the kingdoms.”

“Oh,” said Cardinalpaw, digesting that information. He nodded - that made sense he supposed, the kingdom had seekers who performed a similar task after all. He spun his tail, the secret was out so he didn’t see a reason to lie or try to deny anything. “And yes, I’m a prince. The second son.”

“Beetle-dung!” Asterdawn cursed, her tail lashing. “Larkwing, remind me to gather the heads together when we return to barracks - we may need to put together damage control.”

“It’s fine, makiŕa would never declare war or anything over a misunderstanding,” Cardinalpaw said dismissively. He tactfully left out that she was also severely overprotective of his littlest sister - the two of them had smoothed over the incident with their mother for the most part. The fact that there were still pages being trained on the stretch confirmed that the guardians believed the factions were of minimal threat and therefore, so did his mother. He probably had his eldest sister to thank for that but he’d take the mercies where they were offered. “You didn’t leave any lasting harm either.”

“Still… it’s further soured our reputation among the kingdoms,” Asterdawn sighed, her tail lashing as the gravity of Wrenpaw and Chaffinchpaw’s mistake was made clear. She led them away from the border, talking aloud, “If we keep this up, we’ll be placed on the trading-blacklist.”

Lionbelly shook his head, “I’ll call the guards in for a sensitivity meeting. We have to ensure that this mistake doesn’t happen again - especially not from adult legionaries.”

“Agreed,” Asterdawn said firmly.

“...so… what’s it like being a prince?” Jackdawpaw asked hesitantly. Cardinalpaw didn’t like the new aura of caution around the tom he was beginning to see as his friend, nudging him lightly.

“Busy,” he admitted. “We all have duties to attend to - my job was to attend to the far-pens.”

“The far-pens?”

“It’s where we raise livestock during the warm season - mostly chickens, ducks, sheep and goats.”

His fellow cadets ooh’ed at his explanation and Cardinalpaw noted the way the adults were watching him too. His right ear twisted, slightly uncomfortable with being stared at, the way he was being treated differently for his newly revealed status as a prince of the Sun.

“... I can tell you more later, when the patrol is done,” Cardinalpaw offered in compromise. “And you can tell me about what it’s like to grow up here.”

“Deal!” Jackdawpaw chirped.

Cardinalpaw sighed in relief as they refocused on following Asterdawn along the patrol, following the line of scratched trees until they steadily began to disappear. The further they walked, the muckier the grass came, the tom grimacing as mud began to well up from the soil beneath his paws. The damp leaves slowly became streaked across the grass, mashing together in a slimy sort of covering and Cardinalpaw found himself quickly falling behind. He started walking oddly, lifting his paws high as he tried to avoid sinking any deeper in the slime.

“Ew,” Cardinalpaw gagged, shaking his paw in a disgusted manner as it got caught beneath his claws and between his toes. You couldn’t even see the white-cream on his forepaws that he shared with all of his siblings and father. 

Jackdawpaw grumbled his agreement, following Asterdawn with an expression of general disdain. Ravenpaw was taking the muck much better - the lanky tom barely sinking too deeply. Lionbelly, Larkwing and Asterdawn seemed unbothered by the mud clinging to their pelts - Cardinalpaw couldn’t understand why. Especially Lionbelly.

Isn’t he worried about the matting? Cardinalpaw thought to himself in disbelief, watching the mud clump together on the golden tom’s ankles; tangling with twigs and leaves.

Finally their leader stopped at a natural pathway, a trail of trampled grass and leaves that had long since been trodden away; only small bits of baby grass poking their way through the soil. There were rocks and twigs kicked off to the side or pressed so deeply in the soil that when he reached out, they were flat to the touch. More importantly, there was a musky scent that he’d come to associate with faction-cats enaminating from the other side of the path; a slight difference he just couldn’t place touching his tongue. 

“This is the Deer Path,” Asterdawn announced, looking more at Cardinalpaw than the other cadets. Fair enough, he presumed that Jackdawpaw and Ravenpaw had done this tour yesterday while he slept in the sunlight away. “It was made by the herds that come through this forest - usually deer hence its name. Once the grass had been flattened out, the other creatures began using it - now it serves as the border between The Fennyield and the Stormborn.”

She turned a stern look on all three cadets, “Although the Fennyield are dangerous, the real danger is in the boar that make their way down this trail. Boar have been known to target lone cats here for seemingly no reason - and small herds have gone after entire patrols. If you see a boar, there are no faction rivalries, only cats vs. boar.”

“That’s why it’s also called the Path of Blood,” Jackdawpaw said with a mischievous grin. “It’s said that if you’re here all alone and you touch the path, Fury herself will be summoned and gore you! Leaving you impaled on her tusks!”

He pounced on Ravenpaw giving him a gentle nip with his own forming tusks making his friend yowl with a combination of general shock and fright, immediately scrambling away from his laughing friend. The lanky tom panted a little, coming down from his startled state and promptly swatted Jackdawpaw in the face.

“Beetle-brain,” he huffed, turning his head.

Jackdawpaw rubbed against him, purring lightly, “Aw, I was just kidding around Ravenpaw.”

“It wasn’t very funny,” Ravenpaw grumbled, accepting the purring all the same.

“I’m sorry Rave, I won’t play that trick again,” Jackdawpaw promised, bumping the lanky tom’s shoulder with his head one last time. Ravenpaw seemed to relent at that, twisting around and licking between the fluffier legionary’s ears in forgiveness.

Lionbelly chuckled at the cadets’ antics, gently smacking Jackdawpaw with his tail.

“Save your energy for training,” the fluffy tom chided. “You’ll need it.”

Asterdawn started walking again, leading their patrol along the deer trail and pointing out any important land-marks that they passed. The interested expressions on his fellow cadets’ faces made Cardinalpaw think that their own mentors hadn’t done this part of the tour. They veered slightly further inland, moving away from squishy wet ground to more firm soil again. Cardinalpaw and Jackdawpaw exchanged equally grateful expressions.

They came upon some large rocks stacked together, roughly packed leaving various gaps and crevices visible even from a distance. They were lightly streaked with dirt with only a few smooth spots that he could see directly in patches of sunlight. Asterdawn stopped them a full tail-length from the rocks, flicking out her tail to tell them to halt. 

"This is the Boa's Sarsen," the molly declared, eying the stones with caution. She flicked her tail towards one of the inky-black silhouettes Cardinalpaw had seen. It was only now that he realized the spot was moving - he watched in slight awe as the creature reared up on its legless body, flaring a hood on the back of his head in warning. Asterdawn quickly ushered them a few tail-lengths further back, watching carefully as the creature slowly lowered itself back down in the rocks; settling in the same shadow that made it hard to see in the first place. “It’s home to many venomous creatures but it’s known as the nesting and Sunningplace of adders and black-whips.”

“This is technically also a hunting place,” Lionbelly rumbled. “The snakes are usually only out at dawn or dusk to warm their scales but you should always be careful when treading here. Blackwhip venom is highly toxic, and only the Fennyield truly have an antidote for it.”

“If we have the Sarsen, why won’t they give us the antidote?” Jackdawpaw asked curiously.

“For pressure,” Larkwing explained. “Snakes are sacred to the Fennyield and they believe this to be this to be the petrified form of Hakassebera. When she lived, her best and only cat-friend was a Thunder cat so, the Fennyield rarely attempt to take the landmark - all they ask is that we allow them access to the stones for prayer and worship. Any good leader agrees - there is no harm in letting the devoted visit their place a worship, especially when it’s so close to the border anyway.”

“The important words are ‘good leaders,’” Asterdawn growled. “The Mad Star believed that the Stormborn could only exist on its own and needed to ‘crack down on trespassers.’ He banned the Fennyield from accessing the rocks and even when Pinestar reversed the decision, the Fennyield couldn’t trust us any longer. So now they hoard the blackwhip antidote to enforce their access to the Sarsen.”

Cardinalpaw’s head was spinning - there was so much information to absorb here. These dangerous rocks were a place of worship? This was a petrified beast? Withholding life-saving treatments?

There’s so much to learn, Cardinalpaw thought to himself. He was slightly overwhelmed and slightly excited at the same time. When he steps back a little, he supposes that the jumble of rocks does look like the curled and tangled form of a sleeping snake.

“Let’s move on,” Asterdawn said, motioning for them to follow her. “We don’t want to disturb the blackwhips any more than we already have.”

Considering he didn’t want to be poisoned on his first day as a faction-cat, Cardinalpaw was quick to fall into step beside his own mentor. Sadly, though they left behind the danger of venom spitting snakes taller than he was long, the trail that Asterdawn was leading them on steadily became muddy one more. He sighed resigned to the fact that he would be spending much of his time when he got back to barracks cleaning the mud from his paws and toes, exchanging an equally tortured expression with Jackdawpaw. He supposed he could at least be grateful that Cardinalpaw only possessed mid-length fur - Jackdawpaw would be cleaning his pelt long after Cardinalpaw had finally finished his.

His ears pricked at the sound of rushing water and Cardinalpaw glanced up, only slightly surprised to see the wide-spanned river flowing relentlessly. As they approached closer, he noted a series of stones resisting the water, creating a trail from their side to the other. On either side of where the stone-trail started were wooden statues of cats. The ones closest to him were both small - cubs he presumed, pressed into the waterbed. Both wooden statues were deeply colored and glossy, looking freshly made despite the fact that patches of moss had begun to grow on them in various places. On the other side of the bridge were two more statues - one of an adult cat and the other was another cub.

“These are the Crossing Stones said to have been placed here by Treesoul after Riversoul created the river so that the Stormborn and the Shorerisen could work out our trade-agreements,” Asterdawn explained to them. “These are mostly used by diplomats and healers to trade herbs and information during peace times.”

“And the statues?” Cardinalpaw asked.

“That’s Mapleshade and her cubs!” Jackdawpaw said enthusiastically, interrupting Asterdawn from answering. The gray cadet all too happy to explain this portion of faction history to him, “Her cubs drowned in the river after the Mad Star kicked her out and one of our own factionmates watched it happen. The statues are here to remind both factions that the legionary code says that you always help cubs in need - regardless of faction.”

“I see someone was listening to their elders,” Lionbelly rumbled approvingly, making the tom puff his chest out in faction. “Yes young Cardinalpaw, here a tragedy took place and it was here that Darkstar and Pinestar agreed to leave a reminder of what happened.”

He gestured to the two cubs on their side of the river.

“This is where Mapleshade was buried after her body was recovered, so that her spirit may find peace being near her cubs,” the golden tom explained.

Cardinalpaw stared at the little statues feeling something akin to grief and horror for cats he’d never known and were likely younger than him. As a cat from a kingdom of fire, drowning was very high up on his list of terrible ways to die. Very few things are more horrific than having the fires of your life quenched and smothered by the pull of the seas. He moved forward, hesitantly pressing his nose to the wooden ear of one of the cubs.

I hope your breach was painless and that your light shone brightly.

As he stepped back, he noted the bowed heads of his patrol as they too paid their respects to the long passed cubs.

Asterdawn continued the tour, leading them along the muddy bank of the river. Cardinalpaw’s nose wrinkled - the scent of the river itself was becoming intertwined with a new scent; chamomile and something distinctly fishy in smell. From the way Jackdawpaw kept sniffing and shaking his head while Asterdawn’s ears pulled back, her tail lashing angrily, Cardinalpaw figured it was another faction. And not one they were fond of.

Before long they came upon their next landmark - a pile of stones much like the Sarsen and he hesitantly slowed down, uncertain of how close they were going to go. Unlike the Sarsen, these stones were truly massive - looking more like boulders with their tops sheared clean off giving them the surprisingly smooth and inviting look they possessed. The grass pestered off into debris, small scattered rocks and a sea of sand surrounding the stones. The sunlight - by this point, brilliant and warm - shone down directly on all the stones, making the minerals glimmer vaguely as they looked at it. These stones also possessed the scent of the enemy faction all over them, practically smothering the scent of Stormborn thickly enough that Cardinalpaw would never be able to tell this was their territory if he hadn’t been shown.

Lionbelly and Larkwing wasted no time marking the border with far more aggression and more thorough than the others they’d marked leaving Asterdawn to introduce the smooth stones on her own.

“This is the Suncairn” she practically hissed, her tail still lashing furiously. “And the stench in the air is the Shorerisen. Remember this scent - the Shorerisen are always trying to steal the Suncairn from us.”

“Why? Do they not have other rocks in their own territory?” Cardinalpaw asks.

“Only the Souls knows what runs through the minds of the Shorerisen,” said Larkwing, coming back over with Lionbelly. “The Stormborn were granted these lands by right of the Souls themselves when the river re-routed to keep our faction from starving.”

“Never give Shorerisen an inch about the Suncairn,” Lionbelly growled. “If you offer an ear, they’ll ask for a paw and before you know it, they’ll have taken the stones. Keeping this section of territory means the difference between surviving the winter or looking a queen in the eyes and telling her that we have no food for her or her cubs.”

Cardinalpaw shuffled as the adults let the lesson sit heavily on their chests, taking in the severity of the situation. Cardinalpaw shuddered at the idea of being responsible for a queen being too weak and hungry to produce milk and one of her cubs dies. Or an elder passes because their weaker bodies need consistent food to keep their immune system up to date. When the adults were satisfied that they were taking the situation seriously, Asterdawn flicked her tail to continue their patrol. This time however, all three cadets were boxed in, Lionbelly’s imposing form walking along the side of them closest to the border with Larkwing on their other side. They stopped more frequently to strengthen their border, Larkwing and Asterdawn eyeing the river like they expected enemy legionaries to arise from the river in a violent ambush at any moment.

Ravenpaw’s lashing tail reassured him that he wasn’t the only uncomfortable with the amount of stress the adults were in and Cardinalpaw found his eyes darting towards the river every once in a while and jumping at every loud bubble. He drew closer to his fellow cadets, their tails brushing over each other anxiously. Slowly but surely, the older cats began to unwind; their hackles lowering and the lashing tails becoming still. Cardinalpaw was still uncomfortable but at least now he could breathe.

By now his paws were starting to hurt again, and his stomach was beginning to alert him to the fact that he hadn’t eaten that morning. He started shaking his paws with every step he took, wincing as his tender paws touched the ground. Jackdawpaw and Ravenpaw were clearly starting to feel the burn as well, the lanky tom half-limping and Jackdawpaw’s ears remained pressed against his head.

Asterdawn glanced down at them a couple of times before adopting an apologetic expression, “Hold on you three - one more place and then we can head back to barracks. The rest of the border doesn’t have many important marks and everything within our territory will be shown to you by your individual mentors.”

“Thank the Souls,” Jackdawpaw muttered as Ravenpaw sighed with relief. “I was worried my paws were going to fall off!”

Asterdawn led them up to a ridge, pausing so that they could catch up. Cardinalpaw licked his paws a few times, grimacing as he tried to soothe their soreness. His eyes flicked up to the four massive oak trees down the ridge in the center of the flattened grass clearing. There were many scents that he could smell, all faint and intertwined in a strange cocktail as Asterdawn addressed the final mark on their border patrol.

“This,” Asterdawn began dramatically. “Is The Kirkyard. The four trees were pulled from the earth by Treesoul herself and it is here under Ba Dimm that all four factions come together in peace. The Kirkyard is always neutral territory to speak and make deals or trades on but, on the day of a full moon when Sunsoul’s Eye is at it’s widest, we play games, compete in competitions and hunt as if we were one faction. When her eye closes and Moonsoul’s opens as wide as it can be, we share faction news - like the birth of our cubs, new cadets, new legionaries and threats that affect all factions.”

Cardinalpaw curled his tail - The Kirkyard? A place where the dead were buried? He sort of hoped someone was willing to explain that to him, “There was a half-moon the day before - it should be full in a few days.”

“Correct,” agreed Asterdawn with an approving nod. “All new cadets attend the Games closest to them so that they can be announced - so you and all of your denmates will be attending the upcoming one.”

“Yes!” Jackdawpaw cheered. “I can’t wait! I wanna see The Skua for myself!”

“I wanna see The Styrman,” Ravenpaw countered. “Longtail says he’s almost as big as Our Storm!”

Cardinalpaw glanced at his massive mentor and wondered how anyone could compete in size with her.

“Beyond The Kirkyard straight ahead is the Galespun,” Larkwing offered, chuckling at their excitement. “Led by-”

“Magpietail!” Cardinalpaw voiced immediately, his dorsal spines flapping with excitement.

“...Magpietail among his friends although he is referred to as The Vendus as a sign of respect by those outside of the Galespun,” corrected Asterdawn, curiosity in her gaze. “Are you familiar with him?”

“The idea of him,” Cardinalpaw admitted, debating how much information to reveal. The factions didn’t seem very close to each other - always looking to take advantage of another’s weakness. Would this count as a weakness to the Galespun? He didn’t want Magpietail - or well, The Vendus - to get hurt. “...my father knew him. He saw Galespun territory with his own eyes - he said there’s nothing but grass and bushes as far as you can see.”

Larkwing nodded, his status as a diplomat making him more well-travelled.

“Yes the moor is a special kind of territory,” he agreed. “We rarely have troubles from the Galespun - especially since The Vendus Magpietail has taken over. The Gales seem content to keep to itself and focus on strengthening its legionaries.”

“So the Galespun are good?”

“As good as any faction can be - it all comes down to leaders and legionaries.”

That makes sense he supposed - the kingdoms were much the same way. While he considered the kingdoms to be a mostly peaceful and kind force, the founding of the New Kingdom of the Shining Sun spoke volumes about what can happen under one bad ruler. The smokes of reputation truly depended on what direction the kings and queens blew from. 

“...so if The Kirkyard is neutral territory, could we talk to cats we see down there?” Cardinalpaw asked.

Asterdawn swished her tail, “It depends on what they’re doing. You shouldn’t interrupt menders or diplomats when they’re speaking - for all you know, they’re trading important herbs or providing information that can dissolve any potential tension. But if you see another cadet hunting down there, there is no harm in making friends.”

“Friends?” Ravenpaw echoed. 

“In other factions?” Jackdawpaw added.

“So long as you remain loyal to the Stormborn, there is no rule against you having relations with cats from any faction - friendships, rivalries and even mates,” Larkwing told them. “What matters is that you remember that you may one day be fighting on opposite sides.”

“I myself consider Stormdrift a friend,” Asterdawn offered, earning a shocked expression from all three cadets. She laughed at the looks on their faces, turning to begin leading them back to the barracks. “I know. But we’ve been friends for a long time - we are both quite good at separating our friendship from our faction issues.”

“If you can manage this skill, feel free to associate with whoever you like,” Larkwing aid before looking to his cadet, adding. “As a diplomat Ravenpaw, your view of borders and boundaries will be different from your factionmates. As diplomats are to be above faction rivalries, it’s encouraged that you make friends in other factions.”

Ravenpaw adopted a slightly nervous expression.

“You can start with the other diplomat cadets,” Larkwing soothed, his tail brushing over the lanky cadet’s back when he noticed. “I’m not going to make you talk to cats that make you uncomfortable.”

“Thanks Larkwing,” Ravenpaw said shyly, and received a gentle nuzzle for it. Cardinalpaw turned away, allowing them to have a semblance of privacy; instead focusing on the journey back to the barracks.

His pads were grateful that the border patrol was being gentler on his paws, although the initial patrol that brought him back hadn’t sprinted the entire way back, he was still fairly sore from so much action without him even stretching first. Asterdawn, Lionbelly and Larkwing were taking their time; padding a bit slower than they needed to, ensuring that the cadets were all keeping up. His eyes followed the trodden paths and crushed grass and twigs saying that cats followed these trails all the time, half-hidden away in the brambles and bushes entangling vines.

It was a little past sunhigh when they finally made it back, time passing rapidly in the face of attempting to patrol the entire out-boundary of their territory. Cardinalpaw was relieved that they wouldn’t be patrolling the back-half of the territory as well, where the Stormborn brushed against the Rogue Lands. Jackdawpaw darted ahead of them when the gorse barrier came into sight, two cats crouched out of direct line-of-sight on either side of the entrance as guards.

Were they there when I came yesterday? He wondered curiously. He’d been too distracted to try sniffing around for guards and he hadn’t noticed any other guards as he was being brought out on the dawn patrol either. He made a mental note to ask his fellow cadets about the matter when he had a chance, slipping through the gorse tunnel with a bit more skill than he had that morning albeit; still combing part of his coat through the thorns.

Hopefully he would get better about not losing any fur to the tunnel.

As he emerged, Cardinalpaw watched Jackdawpaw sprint right for the pile of prey he’d noticed to begin with; giggling to himself as the tom promptly scooped up a robin for himself. Ravenpaw wove around him, plucking a pair of small mice.

“It’s already late in the day,” Asterdawn remarked, coming up alongside Cardinalpaw as the other cadets came back. “Head to the elder’s den for a lecture and take your prey with you. Since you’ve had such a busy day, you’re dismissed when it’s over.”

“Yes Asterdawn,” Ravenpaw chirped, around the tails of his mice.

The ruddy tom padded towards the ukennva, ducking his head and choosing a small rabbit. It was decent in size though he was certain that at least half of it was fur - he didn’t mind, with hunger clawing at his stomach he was certain that he could eat half of a sheep all on his own. His prey picked out, he turned to Jackdawpaw who then proudly began to march them through the barracks towards the fallen tree. It was stripped of its bark, the branches that remained on it were tangled in the barrier that guarded the faction, making him tilt his head at the ingenuity.

The gray tom brought them through the slight opening near the trunks, the smooth; slightly mossy stones creating a hidden trail into a firm; packed-earth den. Cardinalpaw’s nose twitched while his eyes readjusted to the light, a series of nests scattered in the back of the den with older cats speaking softly as the cadets got settled. Cardinalpaw placed his rabbit down, settling in a spot between Ravenpaw and Jackdawpaw. He didn’t hesitate to begin fiercely grooming his legs and paws, chewing away any debris that had tried to bake itself into his fur; rasping his tongue away at the mud and dirt. He felt himself be bumped a couple of times by Ravenpaw and Jackdawpaw as they too attended the task of clearing themselves of mud before they needed to pay any attention.

Cardinalpaw had gotten through both of his front paws, capable of seeing the cream-colored socks of his paws and was twisting to attend to his hind-paws when two cats from the elder’s group made their way towards them - one a broad shoulder calico molly with sharp, intimidating yellow eyes and the other a large, patchy furred brown tom with a shortened tail.

“Hello cadets,” greeted the calico lightly.

“Hi Dappledfawn,” Ravenpaw said shyly. “Asterdawn sent us for lectures.”

“It’s pretty late, so a long story wouldn’t be ideal,” Dappledfawn mused aloud, her tail twitching in her thought. She kneaded the ground a little bit, her eyes flitting over Cardinalpaw attempting to be discreet while he cleaned his hind-paws. “...we do need to get Cardinalpaw caught up on the common faction legends and stories.”

“How about Fleetfoot,” suggested the brown tom. “Her story isn’t long.”

“I like hearing about Fleetfloot!” Jackdawpaw said eagerly, his fur bushing out with excitement. “She’s awesome!”

“Fleetfoot it is then. Would you like to start the story Sparrowtail?”

“Of course.”

So Cardinalpaw settled down, finishing off cleaning his paws and transferring to begin plucking the thick puff of fur from his rabbit as he listened to the story of Siyeyim - The Planner. She was a proud and courageous legionary of the Ancient Shorerisen with heart and bravery enough to rival even Ancient Stormborn in bullheaded stubbornness. He listened with fascination about her determination to track down the dangerous, bear-sized boar by the name of Rage who was slaughtering and trampling all who came across him. She laughed off the danger of the boar when Ancient Stormborn leader Goldenmane confessed the violent beast was the cause of two young cadets and a new queen - Goldenmane, angered by the lack of compassion and respect shown for the dead; challenged her to kill the beast herself.

Her arrogance didn’t just upset Goldenmane however, her prideful boast saw her own leader - Flickerpool - forbidding her to request help from her factionmates and Ancient Fennyield Skua Shadefang vowed that none of the Fennyield would offer aid either. Fleetfoot continued to hold her head up though still confident in her skills - until she came across the monstrous boar himself and realized that she may have overstated her abilities. 

Cardinalpaw was enraptured as Fleetfoot’s struggle at the hooves of the boar saw the Shorerisen legionary being forced to abandon her idea of attacking the beast head-on, eventually giving in and instead worked towards creating a decent plan. He ooh’ed as she discovered she was actually a very good planner, remembering all the plots and tricks she’d played as a cadet and how they came in use now. He gasped when she was blindsided after successfully killing Rage, she violently blindsided the boar’s bigger, meaner more aggressive mate Fury who was now seeking revenge.

He nearly forgot to eat he was so wrapped up in her battle, growing more and more tired as she spent three days and three nights being forced to run at a moment’s notice; bounding away and taking off whenever the boar would discover her latest place to rest. She found herself regretting her behavior and what she said during the Games, wondering to herself how the Stormborn could rest knowing two horrid beasts roamed their woods. It was in this humility that Slysoul would extend a helping paw, whispering in her ear and helping her create the plot of a lifetime. They tricked the angered boar into attempting to cross the Crossing Stones, bounding down the center and watching as Fury’s hooves lost their grip on the stones; the slippery and wet stones ill-suited for sharp and harsh hooves.

Fury was swept away by the river, followed persistently by Fleetfoot to ensure that the beast drowned; her body washing ashore near the basins of the Shorerisen.

Fleetfoot entered the next Games after spending a moon on her own, fighting beasts of power covered in injuries and in much worse shape than when she’d left but critically in her mouth; she carried one of Fury’s tusks. Goldenmane was both delighted to know the threat to his faction was gone and ashamed he had not confessed the truth of Fury to the young legionary, giving up the river behind the Suncairn in return for the great favor. Fleetfoot for her part, humbly accepted the offer on behalf of Shorerisen and publicly apologized for her behavior and the terrible way she responded to the deaths of Brastilion Goldenmane’s factionmates.

“Fleetfoot learned a valuable lesson that moon - one that stuck with her for the rest of her life. And when she passed on, her deeds and learned lesson were enough to bring her whisker to whisker with Slysoul herself,” Dappledfawn told the eagerly listening cadets. “‘Stay with your kin in the stars,’ Slysoul said. ‘Or become a servant of mine and encourage the cats of the factions to always be as clever, determined and strategic as you were.’”

“But I leave my kin Fleetfoot has asked her,” Sparrowtail chimed in. “And Slysoul replied, ‘Never for long little one - for the Shorerisen will immortalize your deeds and the Stars will have a place for you.’”

“Now Siyeyim is felt as the burst of pride in your chest and the feeling of assurance when you defend your faction from harm,” Dappledfawn concluded. “And that is how the Shorerisen gained the land behind the river - unchallenged even to this day. It’s said that cats of ancient spots are watched by Fleetfoot herself, seeing if any are as worthy as she was.”

Jackdawpaw and Ravenpaw both paused, turning their heads to look at the rosetted dappling Cardinalpaw’s coat. The new cadet couldn’t help but feel the last remark was directed somewhat at him, his tail twitching with nerves as his denmates just stared. He ducked his head and started chewing away at his rabbit to distract himself.

“...like Leopardshine?” Jackdawpaw asked finally, removing the attention from Cardinalpaw. “She has those kinds of spots.”

“Yes,” said Dappledfawn, giving an approving nod. “She was named for her spots in the hopes that she would live up to Siyeyim’s legend.”

“Is that why Lionbelly is named that way?” Cardinalpaw asked curiously. “Is he living up to another great legionary’s history?”

“One of the early leaders of the Stormborn,” Sparrowtail confirmed, purring. “Brastilion Lionroar had a massive mane that guarded his throat from his enemies and was said to be a direct descendant of the first Storm, himself. Lionbelly was once Sunpaw but when his mane came in, he was appropriately renamed.”

“Well that’s all for today cadets,” said Dappledfawn, getting to her paws and stretching herself. “Run along now - it’s late and you’re sure to be tired.”

Cardinalpaw bid the elders a soft goodbye as he followed his denmates back into the clearing, leaving the remaining fluff from his rabbit to the elders. He spotted Sparrowtail happily claiming the fluff and carrying it back towards the other elders, immediately packing it into his nest before he slipped back out into the barracks. The elders had been right - the sun was only a bit from truly setting. The story hadn’t taken too long but Cardinalpaw was dead on his paws and ready to sleep. His opinion was mirrored by Jackdawpaw who yawned loudly, shaking himself fiercely.

“I don’t know about you guys but I’m exhausted,” the gray tom claimed.

“Me too,” Ravenpaw admitted, trudging towards the cadet’s den. He lowered his voice to keep the faction from hearing him as he added, “I still want to ask about being a prince but I’m too sleepy to ask good questions.”

“That’s fine,” said Cardinalpaw, catching Jackdawpaw’s yawn. “I’m too tired to give any good answers.”

The three cadets staggered into their den, slinking towards their nests with sore paws and tired bodies. Cardinalpaw snuggled deep into his nest, sighing happily as he relieved his paws from the burden of moving. His full belly combined with being up so early and staying awake with no nap made it feel like he was lugging around a satchel full of boulders, each yanking down on his shoulders and head. He was so exhausted, he almost didn’t make it though his prayer for his siblings’ safety before he has drifted off to sleep.

---

Kingdom Translations

Yekiyai | Thank you (informal)

Anuŕai akyeedaan | Hello/Greetings faction-born (pl.)

Ba hafaaŕasi | The Soul-Guided, the kingdom title for the factions

Efra | A formal address referring to those of royal status, of nobility

Siyuyuova ka-veshano | Farewell my prince (formal)

---

Empire Translations

Dohaaliyanva | Outsiders

Ba Dimm | The Eye, The Sun and Moon

| | |

Story Notes

So the first time I wrote this I managed to confuse the location of the neutral stretch?? How embarrassing lmao. Anyway the territory was swapped.

Sunningplace is capitalized because I decided that all factions have a place like that - Shorerisen and Stormborn's Sunningrocks conflict is merely the most well-known

Asterdawn's title isn't used among her factionmates to show a degree of closeness. In general, leader titles are used by those outside of the prides.

---

Allegiances | Previous | Next | First

[batwritings]

Okay hear me out, you are talking so someone and DreamXD gets all grumpy about it but you just tell him to relax. The reason he's with you is to learn how to blend in with other human, so he should be watching how you act. Well manz watches to closely and gets all bother. Later after you both go home or just somewhere else that's when he gets ya. He's all like “what?” as his whole goal is to get you all bothered, but he's kinda mean and he knows how much you love his voice so he uses it to his advantage.

I am so sorry I have personally put my own meaning on “fuck god”

 Friend? Never apologize for putting that spin on “fuck god”. :) Plus, you’re playing into the voice kink, how could I say no? Enjoy~!

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

DreamXD huffed as he followed behind you and he knew you heard it. “Are you gonna grump the whole time Mister?” you chuckled, turning your head slightly to smile at him. The god of the SMP had reached out to you some time ago for your help in blending in more with the humans he watched over. At the time, you had questioned why he wouldn’t ask someone closer to Dream himself, like George. While XD didn’t exactly explain, you let it slide, allowing him to shadow you in a sense.

“I just don’t get why we have to meet with this person in particular,” he grumbled, picking up his step to walk beside you. 

“Sapnap’s my friend too,” you responded. You often wondered if XD and Dream shared similar emotions towards people. While you were told that they didn’t, adamantly so by the being beside you, you still couldn’t help but wonder.

“And you’re sure this interaction will help me blend in better?” He hums quietly, contemplative.

“Positive!” you answer, voice chipper and now excited. You notice your friend and one of his fiance’s in the distance and wave to them. “That’s Sapnap’s fiance Karl! You know what that is right?” When you can practically feel the eye-roll from behind his mask, you nod and lead him to the clearing.

Your interaction wasn’t meant to be long, just catching up with the two and learning about Kinoko Kingdom. You introduce them to DreamXD and you notice Sapnap narrow his eyes a bit. You assure the fiery man that he has nothing to do with Dream, that you trust the god and that he is indeed safe. The ravenette seems skeptical but moves on in conversation.

The entire time, XD is watching you carefully. Bright neon green eyes watch your every movement, listens to every word and laugh and noise that falls from your lips. He can feel his body heating up under his cloak and that’s when he chooses to speak up.

“Darling,” he coos, voice distorted and echoing. Something shoots up your spine at that, something you hope your two friends don’t notice. “Think we can go home? There’s something I need to go over with you, remember?” He wasn’t entirely lying, but even he realized it was a pretty piss-poor excuse.

You smile up at him as if to say “really?” but nod approvingly. You bid your farewells to Sapnap who takes a little longer to hug you as he’s afraid to let you go. XD doesn’t let that go unnoticed, deciding to file it away for later questions.

Once home you sigh, setting down your bag and beginning to settle back in. “Pet,” you hear him say, still awkwardly standing in your doorway. Another shiver shoots up your spine at his tone.

“Y-yeah?” you respond, heading towards your bedroom upstairs. He follows you almost dutifully after hanging his cloak at the door.

“I think I’m starting to get a better understanding of humans,” he says, voice low and seductive as he starts down the hall ahead of you. “You use words and embraces to show your affection yes? To show you care?”

You watch him sit back on your bed, legs spread for you to sit between. You do so without hesitation, something you did quite frequently with him. “Mhmm,” you respond, leaning back against his chest. “What’s with the voice big guy?”

Pale, freckled arms reach around your tummy to hold you close. They’re freezing, but not uncomfortably so. “What do you mean darling?” He answers as he his thumbs draw gentle circles on your sides, making you squirm a little in your grasp. “Don’t you like my voice? Like it when I call you nice names?”

“I-I do! I really do!” you exclaim. You shift in your spot to straddle his hips and look at him properly. Your gentle hands move his mask to the side, something he would only ever allow you to do. You were so special to him. “It’s just...”

“What, pet?” DreamXD moves his hands to your hips, clawed hands gently ghosting over slightly exposed skin. “I think it’s only fair. You got me all bothered under my cloak back there. I get to rile you up a bit too, hmm?”

The echoes and distortions grow louder as they bounce off your humble home’s walls. Only stutters slip from your lips then, leaning up against him until your lips meet, soft and gentle. You used to hate how gentle XD was with you until you let him let go once and couldn’t get anything done for the rest of the week. You knew he could break you physically and mentally all with his words and it really did something for you.

You felt his member hard against your sex and it had you gasping. It was always a bit of a marvel at how big he was, sometimes forgetting that he was a god after all. He chuckles when you gasp into his mouth, lips moving as you scramble to catch up with what he’s saying.

“What an eager little thing,” he coos, his claws tugging at your pants. “And all from my voice. Guess I should let you take me out more often hmm? I’d love to see how desperate you would get in public.”

You keen at his words, shifting yourself until you can pull of your pants and underwear. You reach to the side into your bedside table, hand barely able to keep hold of the lube once you have it. You slick up your fingers and slide one in, your hole taking your digit easily.

“That’s my sweet little thing,” your hear XD chuckle. His slid his member out of his lovely robes and you’re almost a little intimidated. Gods he’s so big, but you know he’ll be patient with you as he always is. You’re his precious human after all. “Add another finger for me darling.”

You do as he asks, knowing you’ll be stretched out in no time. One thing DreamXD became ecstatically hooked on after discovering it through you was sex. You were rarely left unfilled, the god loving how you felt around him. It wasn’t long before you felt the need to add a third digit, eagerly pumping them in and out of your hole.

“You’ll feel so good around me dear,” he huffed, smiling at you with bright eyes and sharp teeth. “My precious Y/N.”

A low whine leaves you as you quickly sit back up, pressing the head of his cock to your entrance and beginning the slow slide of him into you. You both are groaning in unison, him from the feeling of you sliding down his member and you from the almost overwhelming sensation of being so full. You watch with rapt attention at the small bulge in your stomach.

“So full,” hums, pressing a kiss to your forehead. His arms encircle you again, liking the feeling of your body pressed close to him. You wrap your arms around his neck as you slowly lift yourself off his length before sliding back down. “Just as I knew you would be.”

You’re panting just from being full of your ethereal lover, his cock pressing against all of your sensitive nerves. You know you won’t last long, you never do. XD never seems to mind, but this time he seems determined. He wants to reach that high with you. You watch his every expression as you ride him, your hole fluttering with each sweet word that gets warped and growled.

You start to notice a pattern; every time you pull just to the head of his member and clench, his breath catches. Using this to your advantage, your pace picks up, being sure to keep focused on each step as you ride him. Little gasps start to leave his throat, his words starting to fail him and eyes glossing over.

“Cum with me XD,” you whine, teetering on the edge. “Feel the pleasure of being human.” Sharp teeth bite into your shoulder, pushing you into your climax with force. You can barely register yourself being filled until you start to come down from your peak, feeling the wetness drip down your thighs.

DreamXD let’s go of your shoulder, kissing and licking at the open wound. He presses a kiss just below your ear with panting breaths. “Thank you, Y/N,” he whispers lowly. “I’m learning so much from you.”

[thefanficmonster]

Fated

Karl Heisenberg x Autistic, Sound-sensitive Reader (Female)

Warnings: Swearing, Spoilers for RE8:Village, Noise sensitivity

Genre: Romance, Comfort

Summary: Not everyone could love a man like Heisenberg. But Y/N isn’t everyone, nor is she just anyone. She loves him as the whole package he is: murderous intentions, human experiments and all.

Requested by @phoenixofthevalley Hi dear! Here you go - the first fic I’ve ever written for Karl Heisenberg (first of many) and thank you so much for being my first ever Resident Evil 8 requester! Hope you enjoy the read! Feel free to correct me if I’ve described anything incorrectly or in an accidentally offensive manner. I have no intention of spreading hate or any type of misconception so I’d really appreciate the correction. Love, Vy ❤

Watching Karl get so excited over this grand plan of his - the destroying of Mother Miranda, his revenge - it all makes me feel uneasy. I can’t explain the feeling, mostly cause I’ve never felt it before, and I can’t quite describe it either. I don’t connect to people easily and I’ve always been told I’m the problem but I guess it took the right person to make me feel things I haven’t felt for no one else all my life.

“The weren’t worthy of your emotions, darling.“ Karl told me on one of the rare occasions when I opened up my mind to him. I felt his words wrap around me like a comforting embrace. For the first time in my life, I felt understood.

I think that’s what took me the longest to get used to - being understood, seen and validated. My opinions had never before been taken into account seriously, my personal boundaries were rarely respected by others and people always had a hard time dealing with how distant I can be. But what bothers me above all is how people refer to me as dramatic because of my sound sensitivity - something no one took seriously when I’d tell them about it.

Karl did though, surprising me to no end.

He respects that I like my personal space and prefer not being shown much affection, especially not physical. He understands that I have a hard time showing people affection myself. He goes out of his way to make sure I’m ok with whatever it is he’s doing, saying or suggesting. And I’m sure that if I were to ever tell someone about this, they wouldn’t believe me. That’s most definitely due to his rough exterior and intimidating appearance. Also probably because he comes off as downright selfish and rude when you first meet him, but getting to know him was a journey worth taking because I now know the real him. A trust me, his rough exterior and the softness of his true self have nothing in common. Although, he does claim that softness is only reserved for me.

With all that laid out, it’s completely understandable that I don’t want him going up against Mother Miranda. Thanks to Karl I’ve never had the displeasure of running into her, but I’ve heard countless stories of how powerful and downright terrifying that witch is. Bottom line: I don’t want Karl walking into something that’s the equivalent of suicide.

And I’ve finally decided to let him know exactly how I feel about it.

I’ve been sitting here, searching for my voice as I observe Karl in his deepest thinking space. He’s constantly in it, if you ask me - constantly thinking, looking for ways to make his innovations better, stronger, more powerful to add to his chances of victory against the sadistic ruler of this village. He was already at his desk when I walked in, hunched over dozens of drawings drawn with cut-edge precision yet in his mind they are probably not near good enough. In his mind, all he does is never good enough. He prides himself on this factory and what he’s produced thus far but he cannot stay proud of himself for very long, he constantly feels the need to better himself in order to remain worthy in his eyes. I wish I could change his mindset on those grounds but I know that my tries would be futile and pointless.

“Karl?“ I suddenly speak up, surprising both him and myself. I don’t know what I was thinking opening my mouth when I still have no idea how to go about this without making it seem like I don’t believe in him. That is in no way the case. I believe he can defeat her, if he cannot do it himself, his robo-army most certainly can. But I don’t want defeating her to cost him his life cause without him in mine I’m not sure what will be left of me.

He straightens up from where he’s been hunched over for the past God knows how many hours, rolling his shoulders and stretching his arms as her turns to look at me, his sunglasses capturing the white neon light in the office as he does so.

“What is it, darling? Something wrong?“ he takes a step towards me as I stand up and go to approach him.

“Actually...“ Suddenly, that thing he keeps in a safety cell just below this room starts going off with that annoying loud sound it makes. It’s always disturbed me, ever since it came to exist which was not so long ago considering it’s been his latest project. It not only terrifies me but triggers my sound sensitivity as do most of the machines in this forsaken factory.

I close my eyes tightly shut as I cover my ears with my hands, praying for the sound to go away as soon as possible because I can’t take it. It almost makes me physically nauseous and gives me vertigo, bringing me to the brink of tears because of its loudness and intensity, like it’s drilling right into my brain.

I can’t quite pinpoint the exact moment the sound went away because when faced with such a pain-inducing experience, my senses tend to tune out while I still remain conscious, but when my hearing returns I the only thing I’m able to hear is a steady heartbeat and a steady breathing. 

“It’s ok, darling. You’re ok.“ I hear Karl’s quiet whisper, giving me peace and coaxing me into opening my eyes.

When I do so, I come to realize why the rest of the world has gone quiet. Why I’m suddenly so flooded with comfort like no one is able to bring me. No one but him.  One of my ears is pressed up to his chest while the other is covered by his warm hand which travels up to move a strand of hair from my face and put it behind my ear as he repeats his soothing words like a chant, slowly starting to let go of me out of fear that he’s crossing a line. He’s always so wary about that and I’ll forever be grateful to him for it.

“Are you ok, sweetheart?“ His hands gently cup my cheeks, tilting my head so I can look him in the eyes - directly in the eyes, for he has ridden himself of his glasses. I’ve found he does that often when around me - removes his glasses. I once asked him why that is but the answer he gave me was vague, all the while a small smile played on his face. Guess he’s a bigger secret-keeper than I primarily thought. It doesn’t bother me really, I know the only secrets he keeps are the ones that would be a hazard for my safety if he exposed me to them, so I allow him his secrets and I keep some of my own to myself. It’s only fair, after all.

I nod, blinking up at him, “Yes, I’m ok. But...“ Now or never, girl. Now or never. “But if you want me to be honest, I will be.”

He looks baffled by my answer but he doesn’t falter, quickly regaining his composure before he replies, “Of course, dear. I always want you to be honest with me. What’s on your mind, what’s bothering you?“

Now “I haven’t been really ok for a while now.” I take his hands in mine, removing them from my cheeks but holding them firmly between us - a gesture that surprises me just as much as it shocks him. Never have I felt the need to be so close to someone. It may be momentary and temporary, but I refuse to dwell on that as I push forward with my argument, “I haven’t been ok since you told me about your plane. The whole thing with Mother Miranda and all that...” Not the time to be leaving me, words. I started this, I’ll finish it. “Look, Karl, I know you and your army can bring that witch to her demise but...”

“But what, Y/N? Tell me.“ He encourages me softly, his hands subtly tightening their hold on mine as if to keep me grounded, remind me he’s listening closely to every word I’m saying. Like he always does.

“But what if it doesn’t go as planned?“ I blurt out, biting my bottom lip nervously. It makes me anxious, being so honest and emotionally exposed. That’s so rare for me I doubt I’ll ever get used to it, but that’s the only way I have at least a fragment of a chance of convincing Karl to drop this. “What if things go south and you end up killed or turned into a monster or something else?“

The concern on his face washes away when he hears my words, getting replaced by a soft, consoling smile. I quickly look away, feeling that confession on my part was quite odd. I feel out of place but not uncomfortable, I don’t know how to explain it. It almost feels like relief, like I’ve finally gotten a huge boulder off my chest and I can finally breathe properly. But I can’t, not until I hear his reply. That smile should probably tell me something but it doesn’t - I won’t believe anything until I hear it come out of his mouth with my own two ears.

“Oh Y/N, darling, you won’t lose me. Ever.“ His thumb swipes across my knuckles soothingly, drawing abstract patterns on the skin of the back of my hand, “You never need to worry about me, hun, I ain’t going anywhere. No one can take me away from you or you away from me. Anyone who dares to try, well, bad things will happen to ‘em.“ He chuckles, easing the tension enough for me to able to look up at him again. When our eyes meet again, I see something I can’t name nor describe. All I know is that what he’s telling me is genuine and comes, “I’ll always be here, by your side, Y/N. I will always be here to shield you from anything and anyone. Any rogue lycan or any loud sound, I’ll be there to prevent it from reaching you. Never forget that. Ok?“

That urge to be have him close takes over me again. I think that somewhere in the back of my mind I see a clock ticking down, counting down the numbered hours we have together before he inevitably carries out his plan. As scary as that is, I think I can do nothing but accept it.

And so, that’s exactly what I do.

Wrapping my arms around him tenderly, enveloping him in the first hug I’ve ever given him - probably the first hug anyone has given him - I accept our fate, silently hoping it changes somewhere along the lines.

“Ok.“

[1jet2unknown]

@averystereksummer Day 7 - out on the water

Finally back home and able to properly post again. Again a bit too late for the actual day itself, but I hope you guys enjoy anyway :)

The pack spent a day at the beach and shortly after they set camp under some big sun umbrellas only a short distance from the water, Derek, Scott, Allison, Isaac and Jackson rented out some surfboards, all quick to paddle out to the sea, trying to catch one of the good waves.

Stiles stayed back with Lydia who laid in a lounge chair under a big umbrella reading as well as Erica & Boyd who were more interested to draw obsceneries into the sand, Erica cackling whenever a passing mother gasped and pulled her child away.

Stiles watched Derek catch some of the big waves, smoothly riding them out, making surfing look so easy. He smiled when after almost an hour Derek came wading back out of the water a bright smile on his face as he unclased the line of his board from his ankle.

“You look like you had fun,” Stiles mused as he handed Derek his towel. Derek just grinned, his muscles flexing as he dried off his hair. “Absolutely did. You shoud try it, too!”

Stiles just huffed. “Me?” he scoffed.” Yeah right! I have a hard enough time to stay on two steady feet while walking. I’d probably split the board with my head in less than five minutes.

”Derek snorted. “Oh, come on. You might be a bit clumsy sometimes...” Jackson snorted loudly at that as he passed by and Stiles threw him a glare. “But you’re more athletic than you give yourself credit. I could totally teach you!”

It took about one more hour of Derek explaining some of the basics of surfing and the pack mocking Stiles for Stiles to agree to give surfing a try.

“Ten bucks on Stiles not even getting up on the board,” Jackson exclaimed. “Ten he does," Scott offered in return and just when Stiles wanted to thank his friend for sticking up for him, Scott added “but faceplants within less than 5 seconds.”

Stiles glared at his traitor-friend as well as at the rest of the pack, each chiming in their own bets of how Stiles would fail on the board.

“Ten on Stiles riding a small wave within less than an hour.”

Stiles’ head whipped around as fast as the others’ to find Derek with an eyebrow raised in a challenge. He pulled his shirt over his head, handing it over to Stiles. “Wear this. It keeps you from scraping your torso until you have the hang of it and keeps you warm in the water.”

Stiles gulped, but took the shirt from Derek nonetheless, pulling it over his head. Derek smiled at him. “You ready to start your first surfing lesson?” he asked and Stiles threw another look at the grinning pack before nodding and falling in step behind Derek.

Derek pointed him towards Scott’s board, pulling his own from the sand with ease. When they had made their way over to the water, to Stiles’ surprise Derek made him put his board down on the sand rather than in the water.

“We’ll start with the basics. Paddling and popping up,” Derek explained and Stiles rolled his shoulders in preparation for what ever Derek had him do for the next hour.Okay. He felt stupid, laying on his board practicing paddling on land, but Derek said it was necessary and he trusted Derek. He wouldn’t just have him do this to make fun of him. And surely enough, after a few corrections of his movements here and there Derek allowed Stiles to move on to practicing popping up.

During the first try, Stiles slipped, crashing face first onto the board and the pack was howling. Derek shot them a red-eyed glare before turning back to Stiles, helping him up and taking a careful look at his chin.

“Don’t let that bother you,” he said in a small but sure voice. “You’re doing good. Avoid grabbing the edges of the board and you’ll be less likely to slip. I’ll also wax the board a bit more, giving you a better grip.

”Stiles nodded, weirdly aware of Derek’s fingers still caerfully holding his chin.Derek gave him another nod before turning around, prepping Stiles’ board.

And sure enough, about 30min later Stiles was able to jump and stand on his board correctly. Derek gave him a proud, teethy smile and nodded towards the water. “Now... Let’s try the same thing in the water.”

Ten minutes of paddling in the water later, Derek sat on his board and demonstrated popping up once more. Stiles watched as Derek got on in one smooth motion, riding the small wave expertly.

Derek paddled back to where Stiles’ was seated on Scott’s board. He pushed himself to a sitting position and pushed his wet hair from his forehead.

“Think you got this?” he asked and Stiles gulped. He took a deep breath, eyes shortly scanning the beach for the others who were watching them before looking straight at Derek again. He nodded.

“Good,” Derek answered. “Then get ready.” He looked behind them, watching a wave coming up. “You can catch this one. I’ll be right with you. You got this.”

The two of them got into position and when they found themselves close to the peak, Derek shouted “paddle, paddle, paddle” prompting Stiles to paddle with his arms as if there was no tomorrow.

“Jump!” Derek instructed and Stiles pushed himself up as quick and smoothly as he could.

“YES!!!!” Derek screamed as he watched Stiles catch his very first wave, feet planted firmly on the board as he rode for a few meters. When his board slowed down, Stiles jumped from the board, crashing into the water rather unvceremoniously. But he didn’t find it in himelf to care.

When he broke the surface, his face almost split from the huge grin on his face.Derek paddled over, a grin almost as big on his face. “Told you you’d be able to do it!” Stiles pulled himself onto the board, answering the high-five Derek offered him before turning his head to the shoreline.

“SUCK ON THAT, DICKHEADS!” he screamed from the top of his lungs accommodated by his hands held high above his head, flipping his friends off.

Derek just laughed as he watched the younger one, a fond glint in his eyes.

Another hour later, Derek and Stiles were still in the water.Stiles had ended up falling a few times while trying to catch bigger waves than that first one, but he found himself to not care much, the joy of allt he times he did manage to catch a wave outshining any frustration he might feel the times he didn’t.He and Derek sat on Derek’s board, Scott’s board swimming close to them, still attached to Stiles’ ankle. "Wrap-up session" Derek had explained when he had patted his board, urging Stiles to join him.

“So... how did I do, teach?” Stiles joked and Derek shook his head slightly in amusement. Stiles nudged him with his knee. “Come on. You can be frank with me... I mean, I did fall quite a bit there. But..” He scrunched up his nose, wiggling his head a little trying to get some reply out of Derek.

Derek lipped his lips and nudged Stiles’ knee back. “You were amazing,” he said in a low and earnest voice that made Stiles’ face heat up and chest grow tight.“Amazing?” Stiles asked, a shy smile on his face, and Derek nodded.

“Amazing. As expected.”

That made Stiles huff an embarrassed laugh, pushing against Derek’s shoulder.  “Yeah right,” he said. “As if ‘amazing’ is a word people actually associate with me,” he mumbled but when he looked up he found Derek looking straight at him, face open and honest. “I do.”

Stiles’ heart skipped a beat and for a few moments all he could do was stare at Derek, mouth slightly agape with disbelief that Derek - Derek Hale - had just said that. About him of all people.

“I trust your capabilities,” Derek said, eyes wandering to where Stiles had started to fist them into the wet fabric of his swim shorts. “I trust you,” he added and Stiles huffed out the breath he had held.

For a few moments Stiles just watched Derek. Who suddenly seemed unable to look Stiles’ in the eyes anymore. And Stiles felt lightheaded with the realization what Derek’s words actually meant.

Derek trusted him. He knew that. But that wasn’t what Derek had meant when he had said the words. Stiles knew Derek long enough to understand his words the way they were intended - as a love confession.

And it made him light-headed and giddy and tense and hot and cold... all at the same time. Because yes. He had hoped for this moment, prayed for it, for the past couple of years. In between all the times they were at each others throat, bickering, saving each others' life more times than they could count.

He had long been Derek's. And he had hoped, against all the doubt and self-depreciation in his mind, that maybe someday Derek might feel the same.

“I trust you, too,” he said in a voice so low it was barely a whisper. And given the bright, relieved smile on Derek's face the were had understood Stiles, too.

For a moment they just looked at each other, the bright orange and red from the setting sun reflecting in their eyes.

It was Derek who moved first, reaching out and cupping Stiles' face with one hand as he leaned forward. Stiles closed his eyes for a moment, nestling against Derek's palm before leaning forward to meet Derek's lips. 

[spencerreidsconverse]

When Evil Doesn't Sleep

summary: Spencer has been gone far too long on a case and when he finally returns home, reader shows him just how much she missed him.

word count: 3.4k

warnings: smut, implied dom/sub undertones, pet names

Pairing: Spencer Reid/Female Reader

A/N: My first fic!!! I hope you all enjoy! <3

“Y/n I’m really sorry but it looks like the case is going to take a lot longer than we thought. We had a recent development and the profile is now pointing to a partnership so now we’re hunting down two unsubs”. You sighed as Spencer rattled off his apologies through the phone before putting him out of his misery “Spencer honey, you don’t have to apologize. Quit worrying about me and focus on catching the bad guys.”

To say you missed Spencer would be the understatement of the century. He had been in Utah for six days already and now with a pair of psychos your odds of finding him in your bed by the end of the week were growing increasingly slim. It didn’t help that you had been swamped prepping for an extra class you’d agreed to take on at Georgetown where you worked as a Criminal Psychology professor. Between both of your hectic work schedules you hadn’t had a real weekend to yourselves in a few months, and while you knew when you first started dating Spencer that it was an inevitable of his job, it had never been this crazy before. They say evil never sleeps but lately it hasn't even taken a catnap.

“I love you Y/N. I promise I’ll come home to you soon and take you out on a real date. I’m sorry darling, I have to go. I’ll text you when I get to the hotel tonight and if you’re still up we can talk for a bit okay?”. “Alright Spence, I love you too. Stay safe okay?”. “I promise, goodbye love.”

Your farewell barely made it past your lips when the dial tone cut you off and once again your boyfriend of three years vanished from your side of the country. You let out an exasperated sigh before reminding yourself that there were other people who needed his help and that you could wait for his attention - at least until that night. Continuing the trek up the stairs of your and spencer’s shared apartment, you managed to haphazardly balance your grocery bags in one hand while unlocking the door and disabling the security alarm, internally cringing at the high shriek that rattled through your brain.

Walking through the living room, you sat the bags on your kitchen counter and began reorganizing the small fridge space to fit all the perishables you had brought home, absentmindedly hoping they wouldn't spoil now that it would be just you for several more days. Moving to the cupboard you replaced the few grab and go snack boxes you had made up to try and encourage Spencer to eat more throughout the day and refilled the paper plate stash that quickly became a requirement after you realized neither one of you could tolerate doing dishes every night. You ripped open the cardboard packaging of yet another microwave dinner and set the timer before leaving to change into more comfortable attire.

Opening the door of your shared bedroom, the smell of vanilla wax melts and dryer sheets hit you like a brick and immediately sent a pang of loneliness through your chest. Spencer was usually around by the time the chores needed done, and you rarely had to do them yourself. Unfortunately, the laundry was piling up and you needed something to distract you so you spent the day running errands and cleaning the apartment more thoroughly than necessary. You walked over to the stack of black dresser drawers and pulled out the first pair of pajama pants you touched, Spencer’s old caltech sweats that now fit you far better than him considering he had received them when he was 14. They looked more like capris on him now and it was embarrassingly difficult to convince him to buy a new pair that fit him properly. You slipped on a tank top and pulled your hair back before making your way lazily to the bathroom to take off the remnants of your simple makeup.

After scrubbing your face clean and pulling your dinner out, you moved to ready the couch for yet another night of binge watching cheesy 90s movies. You selected Clueless and watched the vibrant colors pop across the screen while you dived into your meal, making a poor attempt to ignore the slight freezer burnt taste that lingered after every bite. You finished your dinner and set the bowl aside before covering yourself with a blanket and allowing yourself to sink into the cushions, desperately awaiting Spencer's text.

You were jolted out of your doze by the loud buzzing of your phone against the wooden coffee table. Clumsily you reached for it and managed to swipe the answer pad before it sent your genius to voicemail. “Hello?” you managed before a yawn ripped its way through you suddenly. “Hey Y/N, I’m sorry it’s so late. I didn't mean to wake you, I figured you’d still be up. You should go back to bed love.” For the first time, you noticed the neon green numbers on the microwave. 12:30. You stifled another yawn and shook your head in an effort to wake yourself further “No way, I just dozed off while watching a movie. I was waiting to talk to you. Besides, I’m up now anyways so you might as well stay on with me for a bit. Did you get any further today?” “Well, JJ had the idea that the partners were originally a typical dominant/submissive partnership but that something in the dynamic must have changed because the MO began to deteriorate. We think the partners must have split up now, because we’re finding similar pieces of the previous MO at separate crime scenes.”.

You processed the information he fed you slowly due to your semiconscious state but eventually you put your words in order well enough to respond. “That should be helpful though yeah? I mean, they’re used to working in a partnership so being suddenly separated from your other half so to speak would throw you off track quite a bit right?”. You could practically hear him smiling through the phone as you drew the conclusions the team had come to only a few hours prior. “Yes. We’re hoping to be able to draw them out and trap them. Play them against each other.”.”Does that mean I can stop sleeping on the couch soon?”. You heard him let out a dejected sigh - you knew he hated that you would force yourself onto the cramped couch when you had a king sized bed a few hundred feet away but he understood.

When he had come home in the early hours of the morning after an abrupt end to a case a few weeks after you had moved into his place, he had caught you curled up on the sofa with a throw pillow stuffed under your head. When he questioned you about it the next morning, you simply answered that the bed felt too big without him and that you couldn’t stand the empty feeling. “Sooner than later I hope my love. Y/N I really wish you wouldn’t do that to yourself. It’s horrible for your body. It can put you at a much higher risk for chronic back and neck pain as well as-”. “Spence. I’m not a giant like you are. I fit on the couch much better than you do, and I barely notice the difference.”. You both cringed, hearing the lie clear in your voice. Still, Spencer must have felt bad because he humored you. “If you're sure. What did you do today my love?”. You smiled sadly hearing in his voice just how desperate he was to escape from his reality and come home to you.

”Well, I straightened the house. In fact, it’s so clean i think we could use it as a sterilization room.”. He let out a soft chuckle and you could hear him begin to relax as you recounted the rest of your day, excluding the part about the microwave dinner. Spencer loved to tell you how many of the ingredients were one step away from processed garbage and you decided to opt out of the lecture for the evening. He had more than enough to worry about without having to focus on your diet while he was away. After a half hour of light conversation, a loud yawn betrayed you as you were excitedly discussing the cute puppy you had met on the way to the market. Spencer immediately requested that you hang up and get some more sleep but you refused. After a few minutes of bickering, you relented on the condition that he would read to you until you had fallen asleep. You curled up under the fluffy blanket as Spencer’s even voice recited the collection of Grimm’s fairy tales quickly lured you to sleep.

You woke up the next morning as sunlight peered through the curtains, stretching your body out to ease the aches from the previous night. You smiled softly as your screen lit up with a text from Spencer wishing you a good morning and an update that they had a solid plan for boxing in the two unsubs that afternoon. “If all goes to plan I should be carrying you to our bed before midnight tonight.”. Your smile widened and you sent back “Can’t wait to truly see you - and love you- tonight. I’ll be waiting.” You plugged your phone into the charger and straightened up from the night before when your phone went off again. The one word message glared at you from the screen and you let out an involuntary giggle. “Tease.”. You hoped it gave him something to look forward to until he was back in your arms. You sent back a simple “XO” before deciding to reread one of your favorite books for a few hours to kill some time. You made yourself a sandwich for lunch and had a few glasses of water as the clock slowly ticked by. You were over halfway through the lengthy novel when you received another message.

“We apprehended both unsubs. Hotch is postponing the paperwork until Monday so we can go straight home. I’ll see you in a few hours baby.”.  You jumped slightly in celebration before finishing your current chapter, marking your place, and all but skipping to the shower to shave and exfoliate your skin. You knew Spencer would still be heavily worked up once he arrived home and luckily, his favorite release included intertwining your bodies as close as possible and loving you sweetly and slowly.

You took your time in the shower careful not to nick yourself with your razor. You scrubbed your scalp with your nails, letting your stress and soreness melt away under the steam. You waited until the water ran cold before turning the knob and stepping out, wrapping yourself in a fluffy towel and blow drying your hair until it layed perfectly even. You applied lotion all over your skin and stepped out of the bathroom to slip on your black silk robe, knowing it wouldn’t be worth it to dress up further. Spencer would be desperate to feel your skin against his and any fabric in his way didn't stand much of a chance.

You made an actual meal for dinner, a pasta dish with chicken that could be easily reheated for Spencer when he grew hungry later in the night. You helped yourself to a serving and after quickly cleaning up the kitchen and storing the leftovers, you retreated to the bedroom to wait for his return.

You were half paying attention to the feed you opted to scroll through on your phone when you heard the door creak open and bags drop to the floor. You set your phone on the bedside table and ran towards the foyer, all but throwing yourself at the exhausted man in front of you. He took a step back from the impact but still enveloped you in his arms and pulled you impossibly tight into his chest. “Hi baby.” you whispered against the scruffy skin of his jawline, peppering kisses up towards his earlobe. He let out a long sigh of relief and picked you up off the hardwood floor, wrapping your thighs around his waist resulting in a high pitched giggle to erupt from your throat. He kissed you then, slowly at first but quickly building more passionate. Your lungs were burning when he finally allowed you to pull away, opting to kiss down your neck to your collarbones and the skin of your chest that was newly exposed as your robe slipped open.

He carefully made his way back to your room, continuing his kisses back up to your shoulder, stopping only to leave marks you knew would only grow darker as time passed. At the very least he was sure to only mark you in places you could cover with little difficulty. “I missed you so much Y/N. The entire ride home all I could think about was you waiting for me in our bed. My gorgeous girl.”. You felt your chest heat up at his words of admiration, wrapping your fingers into his curls and pulling his lips towards your own once more.

You felt him groan against you and moved to quickly unbutton his shirt, slipping it down his arms and tossing it in the general direction of the hamper. He pulled you up with him then, so you were both on your knees, chest to chest as he pulled your robe fully down your back to the swell of your ass where he grasped at you through the slick fabric. You let out a whine and you pulled his belt off, undoing his jeans desperate to continue. He grinned against your neck and pushed you down so you laid flat on your back, completely exposed to him. He kissed at your stomach, making his way down to your inner thighs. He licked a slow wet trail from your pelvic bone to the top of your clit as you whimpered desperately. “Spence, please… I need more”. He humored you, creating slow small circles with his tongue moaning at the taste. You cried out as he created the perfect amount of pressure on your clit, legs threatening to close around his head when he moved to slip one of his fingers easily inside you as the mix of your own wetness and his saliva aided him. He smirked as he felt your thighs flex before using his left hand to throw one of your legs over his shoulders at a time. He pushed a second finger in, curling them up to perfectly reach your g-spot with every thrust. Soon though, you grew impatient with just his fingers. You needed more and you knew just how to get it.

“I want you so bad Spence. I’ve waited for so long and I just can’t anymore. I need to feel you deep inside of me.”. You were positive those words would leave him just as needy as you were and he proved you right when he kicked his pants the rest of the way off and went to line himself up against you. “Wait.”. He stopped immediately, examining your face for any indication of what was wrong. “What’s the matter baby? Are you okay?”. You shook your head and smiled at his concern before switching your positions so his back was resting against the pillows as you straddle his thighs. He smirked at you as he caught on, trailing his hands up the front of your legs to rest at your hips. “You gonna ride me angel?”. You responded with an eager nod and he squeezed your hips, pulling you up further so you were hovering above him. “Sit pretty like my good girl then.”. You whined softly at his words before slowly sinking yourself down around his length, sucking in a harsh breath at the stretch. Even with how wet you were, the adjustment took longer than usual due to the dry spell you were both suffering from as of late.

When you finally felt stretched out enough to move, you slowly ground your hips forward flush against his. He groaned out, lifting you back up so you were almost completely off of him before pulling you back down. You moaned both at the sensation and the idea of being manhandled by the genius below you. You realized what he was asking though, and began bouncing yourself up and down his cock, stopping every few thrusts to grind your clit down on him. You let out soft moans, and after a few more minutes you felt his fingers dig deeper into your hips and his breaths quicken. You knew he was close and as if on cue you started rubbing fast circles against your clit as he spoke again.

“Baby girl I’m getting close. You gonna cum with me angel?” You nodded furiously in response and you felt him start thrusting up to meet you. You panted as you hurried towards the edge of your orgasm, holding on until his thrusts grew sloppier. “You ready to cum with me baby? You gonna cum on my cock?” “Yeah.. gonna cum all over your cock Doc.” You fought to keep the grin off your face when he moaned at the title. He thrusted deep into you twice, before he ordered your release. “I want you to cum now baby. Cum all over my cock.” You felt your orgasm rip through you, electricity shooting through your limbs. Spencer groaned loudly as you tightened around him before pulling you down deep and releasing inside you.

You both fought to catch your breath as you rode out your highs before you found yourself slumping against his chest, suddenly drained from your activities. You felt him chuckle at your drastic change in energy as he wrapped his arms around you again. “I know you just washed the bed sheets and we’re both sweaty but do you think a washcloth will suffice for tonight?”. You nodded against his chest before slowly lifting yourself up and off of him, rolling onto your back on the other side of the bed. Spencer swiftly made his way across the hall, returning to wipe you down gently with the warm fabric. You shivered as the cool air dried your skin, watching him move throughout your room.

He slipped on a fresh pair of boxers before tossing the washcloth in the hamper along with his previously discarded clothes. He hung your robe on the back of your bedroom door then flipped the light switch off before rejoining you in bed to slip under the blankets with you. You immediately curled up into his chest, sighing contently as the sound of his heartbeat filled your ears. You kissed his chest and whispered goodnight, drifting into your first real sleep since before he left.

The next morning you and Spencer went shopping after you successfully convinced him to upgrade to a smart phone with video call abilities. He had begun to shut down the idea as he always had before but after the mere suggestion of what it could do to better your late night hotel room chats he was the one pulling you towards the nearest phone shop. You smiled politely while Spencer took his sweet time weighing the pros and cons of each model, letting your mind drift to the first time it would come in handy. As you finally neared the checkout counter, you took Spencer's hand in your own and gave it a gentle squeeze. After running his card through the machine, the salesgirl gave him the small plastic bag and wished you both a good afternoon.

As you exited the shop, you looked up at him, nudging him to get his attention “What do you think of an app controlled vibrator?”. He stared at you incredulously for a few moments, almost stopping dead in his tracks. After recovering from the initial shock at the vulgarity of your suggestion, he shook his head with a soft smirk and nudged back against you. “Tease.” he called you once more. “That’s the reason you love me right?”. He pulled you into his side, kissing you softly. “One of many Y/N. One of many.”

[drxwsyni]

doubts and desires︱albedo x f!reader

summary: letting go of the past is hard, but losing what you have now would be harder. leaving albedo is neither something you can do, or something you really want, it’s simply taken you a while to understand that. word count: 2k warnings: implied dubcon, stockholm syndrome, past kidnapping

Even with how Albedo had bundled you up in a hat, scarf, gloves, and coat―it still failed to ward off the chill that seemingly sucked the warmth right from your body. Yet you said nothing about it, the unwanted attention it would draw from him inevitable if you made your discomfort known. And, you were almost certain he would drag you back to the cabin if he knew how the cold was treating you.

You didn’t enjoy the biting temperatures, but you didn’t want leave. Not when it’s been so long since you descended the mountain, that you barely even remember the feeling of snowfall against your skin.

The whole situation he’s placed you in is really quite foreign―confusing.

In how he’s letting you accompany him in his research, not far from his―your home. A safe distance, so to speak. Or that’s what he said, at least.

You realized that the way he spoke of this outing, how it’d just be the two of you, and that you wouldn’t venture very far; they were words of comfort. Not said to reassure himself that things would go smoothly, but to calm the look of trepidation in your eyes from the mere suggestion of going outside.

Now, seeing Albedo’s nonchalant demeanour while he studies the petrification of a fallen tree, it puts your mind at ease. Sure, if you look closely you’ll be able to see the way his eyes flicker to your form every few seconds or so, making sure you were right where he left you, but generally the alchemist is calm.

It makes you calm, for a moment it feels like you’re able to settle down and appreciate the intricate beauty of the snow swept mountain you stand upon. Best to do so now, knowing it wouldn’t be long until he would lead you home, sheltered safely away from the danger of the mountain’s climate.

“Oh―I didn’t know you were to be researching today, Albedo sir.”

With your back turned to the newly appeared stranger behind you, the cold that had seeped into your bones no longer posed as the only thing holding you in place―it was also now an icy fear.

You watched unmoving from your spot as Albedo gave pause, a hint of contemplation flashing across his face before standing.

“Timaeus. I thought you were studying back in the city.”

The man, who you had yet to properly address, responded with a somewhat nervous laugh.

“Yes, well I was, but it led me to do my own research out in the field…”

Always in a strangely graceful manner, Albedo dusted off his pants and straightened his jacket. A look of unashamed disinterest painted his expression as Timaeus rambled on about his findings.

Truly, you don’t recall Albedo ever showing such emotions with you―a detail not necessarily heartwarming, but still reassuring in an indescribable way.

Perhaps it was due to you being so sure that he’d rid himself of you when you no longer proved useful. Which made the swirling of affection and enamour in his eyes when he gazed upon you settle your nerves, even in just the slightest.

“...which I unfortunately have yet to procure. But―ah, I’ve gotten ahead of myself again. My apologies, how is your research coming along. And...who might you be?”  

If Albedo recognized the look of severe anxiety flashing across your face, he paid no mind. Instead giving you a small, somewhat warm smile. As if to say, “Go ahead.”

The few seconds that passed were done in silence, you desperately trying to read Albedo’s face for ulterior motives, and the man behind you shuffling awkwardly in place while he waited for a response.

By some miracle, your body moved on autopilot, turning around to finally acknowledge the cause of your newfound distress. Only, you couldn’t even look him in the face.

Your mouth was dry, mind foggy and unable to think of a response that was anywhere near being coherent.

“...I―uh…”

“This is my new assistant. Please do forgive her, she’s quite shy.”

A shaky breath escaped your rigid body at the sound of Albedo’s voice, and the feeling of his hand resting gently upon the small of your back.

The blatant lie that only you and him recognized echoed inside your head.

Timaeus had no clue who you were, or what you meant to Albedo. But if he did know, you wondered what he would do.

“...Ah, it’s strange we’ve never met before.”

You could tell without looking that Timaeus was studying your form. With the way his tone shifted to something a little more unsettled, a pit grew in your stomach knowing how he had picked up on your questionable nervousness.

The hand resting on your back felt a little more heavy.

Albedo showed no signs of botherment, “That’s likely because she’s not from here.”

For some ungodly reason, the less experienced alchemist took this as an opportunity. “Oh, if that’s the case then we should show her around. Sucrose could use someone like herself to―”

“Actually, we were just leaving. I’m afraid I’ve kept her out in the cold too long, and descending the mountain any further is quite a reckless task in this weather―” His head turned to look at you, no longer addressing his student, “―right?”

If Timaeus was told of what his teacher had done to you, would he help? Even if he looks up to Albedo, even if everyone does, surely they would step in.

Only, the issue remained that first you’d have to prove to them you were in danger.

...And really, you weren’t. Not anymore.

The tender bruises around your wrists and ankles had healed long ago. Your health was in near perfect condition, what with how Albedo saw to it that you never did anything to put it at risk. A single and quick glance would show that you were so pristinely taken care of, complexion shining now that you no longer spent nights sleepless from fear.

What were you to even say?

Moreso, it remained true that you didn’t quite want to say anything.

Timaeus wouldn’t believe your truth, and Albedo would likely spin the scenario so that your words weren’t reliable anyways.

It dawned on you that Albedo knew this fact well, why else would he bring you with him if he wouldn’t still be entirely in control of the situation?

A simple movement, his hand drifted to your hip and gripped it firmly, urging.

Your voice, barely a whisper met his ears.

“...Of course…”

That was all he needed, sending an impatient, yet still neutral glance towards Timaeus, the smallest hint of self-satisfaction lingering in it.

His student took the hint.

_____

“I have to say, bringing you with me was quite...productive.”

After dinner, Albedo has you keep him company in his study. You, occupied with a book in a chair across from his desk, while he goes over his findings from the day’s outing.

“Research wise, I was able to study you in a foreign situation.” He continued, conversation one-sided, “The results were to my liking…”

Although construed in his ever sophisticated manner, his words told you that you did something right. He was proud, and that notion made the swell of a strange warmth in your heart grow.

The alchemist’s gaze remained downcasted at the papers strewn about in front of him while he spoke. “...I suppose you should be rewarded for such good behaviour.”

Your eyes flitted up, the story on your lap abandoned completely.

Albedo has never spoken of such a thing, not once entertaining the idea of rewards when he saw no reason to ever extend such gratitude. Even after all this time.

He must be especially pleased, you thought.

Perhaps, enough to grant you back even a small semblance of independence...that would most certainly be your wish.

You’d long grown used to his suffocating personality, the intense interest he paid you often resulting in little to no alone time. Albedo made sure you stayed in eyeshot, and in those inevitable times he needed to leave, he made them quick, and you were to be safely tucked away in the bedroom, door locked from the outside. There wasn’t a single detail he missed, no stone left unturned when trying to improve your security.

Unfortunately for you, it left little autonomy.

Just the smallest taste of self-reliance would be fine. You’d love to cook a nice meal, like the ones you used to make. Or perhaps to pick your own outfit one morning, something more your style than the things he put together for you. Any break from his constant guidance, no matter what shape or form, you’d gladly take―

“Why don’t you go get cleaned up then, I’ll meet you upstairs soon.”

Albedo neglected to look up as he spoke, and so he missed how the glimmer of anticipation in your eyes faded away. The way your shoulders dropped slightly, the look of disappointment flashing across your features in understanding of his words.

What he had planned, it was a reward...of sorts.

An excuse, as far as you saw it.

Albedo was known for testing the limits of living beings after all, and in certain ways, such studies extended to how he treats you. It’s a win win for him―he thinks it’s a reward, since he knows he can make you feel good, and doing so just shows him all those little things he can’t learn through idle observation. What makes you squirm or shy away with innocent embarrassment―information just as important as everything else he knows about you.

It doesn’t dissuade Albedo when he finally glances up to see what his offer has done, though the sight does make him feel as though he’s deceived you.

Still, he remains unapologetic. “While you gave me some good insight on how far you’ve...adjusted, I still can’t completely trust you. This merely turned out to be a good opportunity for satisfying your other needs―nothing more.”

Flipping open a nearby textbook, Albedo conveys wordlessly, a difficult habit of his, that the conversation has ended.

You, however, have yet to heed his words. Still seated, the once flickering of hope subsiding with each passing second. Call it grief, but you were sincerely expecting a different outcome. Though, knowing Albedo, and his constant need to grow more knowledgeable, you should’ve seen this coming.

“...I’d rather not have to force your compliance tonight. So, please―” He gestured towards the door with a wave of his hand, focus trained and brows barely knitted while he skims over his readings on the desk.

Honestly speaking, you once thought Albedo was a deeply confusing man. So too was the life he’d meticulously prepared, and swiftly forced you into. Yet, looking back, things may have been more simple than you once perceived.

Your only real job is to exist and comply. And you both know you’re not going anywhere, not going to say no. Especially now, given how effortless it feels to fall into routine, going through the motions of his request and carrying yourself upstairs.

Somewhere in the back of your mind, you realize it’s too late for you, what feels like an eternity spent at Albedo’s side having just about rendered your fighting spirit useless. It’s been long since replaced with what you’re coming to know as a certain fondness. You want to see the compassion in his eyes that’s sparked by your willing compliance.

It was a single, tangible goal. Not complex and unobtainable like those tasks of your past life. Attempts at obtaining those desires are futile, when today's events proved you genuinely no longer want them anymore.

It’s much easier to make Albedo proud. You don’t realize that you do it everyday, and that he’s just poor at conveying his own emotions...

Drawing yourself a bath, you wash away past doubts, settling with what your life has turned into.

Distantly, you hear Albedo make his way up the stairs and towards your bedroom. You like knowing what’s to come, which is always something you’ll have with him. You can’t say the same if you leave, and so you finally resolve that you never will.

[butterbeerblurbs]

[06] point of view

50 kisses with fred weasley / tag: 50kisseswithfred 🌼 06_wild, breathless kisses brought on by a heartfelt gift. [fred weasley x shy!reader - who draws pretty well ;w; - y’all see where this is going eh] [🎧 lightly inspired by pov by ariana grande] - will have a full blurb on this song! ;w;

alright, just go up to him, grab him and-no, no, what are you, a kidnapper? you’re his girlfriend. you exhale and shake your head, reframing your thoughts. okay, maybe call him over and tell him you need to talk? gosh... you wouldn’t want him to think something is wrong - oh merlin, how do you do this? your eyes snap shut and your breath is shaky, fingers almost crushing the nicely wrapped envelope - half of an a4 size card with the name of: “f-freddie...” you muttered softly, noticing how awfully close his face is to yours the moment your eyes peel open. you almost stumble back, only to have fred’s arm secure you with a grin.

“hello there, pretty thing,” his voice hits to the core of your heart and you feel it trembling. you lick your lips, shuffling to stand properly but fred doesn’t let go of you - never does. despite being in the hallways where many students are making their ways to and fro their destinations, it feels like the world slows down when you’re with fred (or speeds up, quite rarely in between).

“hi,” you manage to clear your throat, tipping your chin up to him, “c-can i steal you for a second?” you hold onto the envelope with one hand, the other peeling his arm off your waist and gripping onto his hand tight. you can already feel his tease bubbling in his chest but you barely give it a moment to spare, already turning on your heels to make a move.

“you can steal me forever if you want-!” his sentence gets cut off with a garbled choke as you yank him to follow you. 

though he wasn’t quite used to this side of you, he wasn’t objecting it, either. he was rather amused at your sudden surge of taking charge, as if you were on a mission. he chuckles as you guide him somewhere and it seems like you’re on the move to head towards the library based on the path you were taking. down the corridors and swiftly avoiding people - almost beelining your whole way through and fred has no idea where you got the sudden burst of energy from but he’s not about to question it. rather enjoying the fact you’re the one in the lead now. which, he notices come rarely with other people, that thought alone made him feel good.

fred had focused on you so much he hadn’t realized you’ve dragged him past thousands of books lined on the shelves. what he does notice is the pace that slows down and he’s able to catch his breath when you guide him to an empty row between books, hidden from the sight of idle students here to study. when it feels like just you and him within the walls of the library and aged papers far older than you and him combined, he watches how you let go of his hand and both of your hands disappear from sight.

your eyes, initially bright with a fiery spark, now wavering as you can’t even hold proper eye contact with him. something he picked up on that you’re nervous. he frowns, stepping forward and when you don’t flinch, allowing him to put his arms around you, he smiles a little - okay, so i’m not in trouble, i’m-”freddie?” you clear your throat, eyes now securing gazes with him and he only gapes, brows twitching in response.

you lick your lips and find that you can’t speak, only shakily revealing the card behind your back and putting it between your bodies. fred pouts out of curiosity, using a hand to take it from you while the other remains on your waist.

“would’ve used both hands to be polite, but ‘m not gonna let go of you,” he clarifies with a wink, “wanna hold you,” he mutters under his breath, and you feel your cheeks heating up but it was more due to anticipating his reaction than his regular remarks. you help him peel open the wax seal of the envelope, and he’s able to pull out the card with ease, “thank you, love,” he grins, eyes sparkling at you before he flickers down to your cursive writing:

”if you could see what i see from my point of view, you’d understand what i love about you.” when you first said that to me, i didn’t understand it. but now, 12 months later of being with you, i do. i’m not good with words, but hopefully, this shows you my point of view of you. (and what i see when i think of love)

happy 1 year anniversary, fred weasley.  yours, y/n y/l/n. :)

it was fred’s turn to shake as his fingers tremble trying to flip the card over. for a split second fred is breathless; at complete loss for words at the gift he’s holding onto. you feel his grip on your waist tightens, and your hands gently rest on his chest, feeling his heartbeat quicken. you bite down on your lip, unsure of his reaction as you try to read it - yet, he didn’t give much away, his attention fully on the card you’ve handed to him.

he’s stunned, for a second, he forgets how to breathe. he only knows to make sure you don’t keep rambling when-”i-i know it’s not much, but i didn’t know what to-”fred’s hand promptly leaves your waist, only to silence you with a finger on your lips and it effectively keeps you quiet. he does all of this without looking at you, eyes still glued to the drawing you’ve given him. slowly, his hand return to your waist and stays there, his other keeping a steady grip onto the card like it’s a newfound lifeline.

his eyes analyze the drawing carefully. each stroke, each shade, the composition of which you drew him in: his were lined shut, chin resting in his palm, shoulders slack. the background featured the library; merlin, how’d you fit all the details? the bookshelves, small shadows of people in the back. if he had ever wondered how he had looked like from your point of view during your quiet study sessions (which encapsulates of fred merely being there to watch you, tease you, keep you company as you studied quietly), this would be it. he was marvelled. it was unexplainable, the feeling brewing from inside his heart and he hadn’t known he was able to feel this way before. 

of course, only you could make him feel that way. 

“w-where did you get this?” he asks, though, he already knows the answer just seeing your initials by the corner of the card; just needed to confirm, that’s all. “i...” you gave a pause before answering completely, “...drew it,”

upon hearing your answer, it seems like you’ve switched fred weasley on like a switch when he gazes into your eyes. you watch as his eyes flicker from your own, down to your lips where you’ve bitten down on it to prevent them from trembling.

his hand lowers the card to the side where it rests on your hip, his other hand cupping your cheek. he steadies his grip, using his thumb to nudge your chin down, pulling your lip from your teeth and your vision gets clouded of him when he brings your lips towards his. it’s almost like clock-work, how his body moves and reacts around you. he doesn’t give you a moment to process what’s happening, already kissing you fervently that’s making your head spin at the urgency and his scent that fills your mind at the proximity. you gasp, against his mouth where he swallows your breath and guides you to breathe through your nose as he kisses you, harder, deeper, his hand willing to keep you rooted as he kisses you; tongues mingling, your hands shakily grabbing onto his shoulders.

a part of his mind thinks you’re about to push him (and he’s prepared to dive back in) but those thoughts wash away when you gingerly pull him closer with your hands resting by the nape of his neck and he grins, breaking the kiss for a second before he reconnects your lips once more. you sigh, knees growing weak as you hold onto him for support. he groans when your fingers toy with a couple of strands of his hair - a small habit you’ve developed over the months of dating and fred adores it. something he knows only he’ll ever experience and he wouldn’t have it any other way.

he pulls away from you, breathless, eyes adoring yours the moment you peel them open and shyly pin your eyes together. he shakes his head, his hair tickling your forehead as he moves to rest it on yours with a smile, voice hoarse as he speaks: “you’re... amazing, you know that? i love this, it’s... no one’s ever done this for me before,”

“likewise, freddie,” you snort, and he already knows you’re gonna-”no one’s exploded fireworks for a solid ten minutes for me before,”

“all i can hear is, ‘fred weasley, you’re a wonderful boyfriend’,” his cheshire-like grin grows, and so does the swell in your heart.

"you’re not... entirely wrong,” your voice muses into his ear and he cocks a brow, backing you up to the shelf behind you with a smirk. “entirely?”

you shrug innocently, and fred only chuckles, taking his sweet time in slotting the card back into the envelope and casually hands it back to you. though confused, you take it back, only for him to lift your arms up, connected via holding the envelope and he slots his head through your arms; all with his smile growing bigger and bigger with the warmth feeling spreading in your heart. round your waist his arms go and he pulls you closer.

“well, d’you think i can do extra credit to make you change your mind?”

“you can try,”

“oh,” his eyes darken, yet, stems of love embedded in his irises the longer you gaze into his eyes as he closes the distance between the pair of you, “i will.”

[angelicyoongie]

the crimson shell

— pairing: jungkook x f!reader — genre: mermaid au, yandere au — w.c: 1.9k — warnings: mild stalking, near drowning, mentions of eating humans — notes: just wanted to contribute something to mermay! this is also my first time attempting to do anything in the realms of yandere (and mermaids!), so pls be nice lol. in this universe everyone is referred to as a mermaid, no matter what gender they are. this will most likely be a two or three part series with jk growing more and more obsessed as he gets y/n into his scaly clutches :)

Part I / II / III / IIII

— summary: you had always found comfort in being at the beach, often spending hours just watching the waves lap against the shore. but unbeknowst to you – something had been watching you back.

You inhale deeply, enjoying the salty smell that so uniquely belongs to the ocean. The last rays of sun are slowly disappearing behind the horizon, painting the skies and the waves in hues of deep pink and purple. You’re going to miss this view.

You sigh, running your fingers through the coarse sand as you let the gentle breeze caress your face. You’ve been looking forward to this for years, but now that your departure is so imminent, it feels more scary than liberating. The time has come to finally leave your home behind, and you feel a pang of regret as you realize you might not see your friends or family for a very long time to come.

Years of saving up your measly paychecks have finally paid off, and you’re setting sail for an island you’ve been hearing constant murmurs about for the last few months. Originally, you were only going to travel to the next kingdom over, hoping to find more suitable work there to help your parents stay afloat. But the talk of the mystery island abundant with riches piped your interest more than you would like to admit – and you’ve never been one to shy away from adventure.

However, you weren’t stupid enough to just blindly trust the rumours milling around your little town. In fact, you wholeheartedly believed it to be a scam until a familiar face suddenly turned up in the town square only a few weeks ago.

You hadn’t seen Jimin ever since he set sail for the unknown six months ago; and so everyone, including yourself, had presumed that your talkative neighbour had met an ill fate, and was floating at the bottom of the sea. You realized you couldn’t have been more wrong when Jimin returned with riches you never expected you would ever lay eyes on, his whole body adorned with various diamonds and gold chains.

It was Jimin who had urged you to seek out the same island, saying he barely even took a handful of all the treasures that were there. He had warned you about a price that would need to be paid, but you weren’t all that concerned. If a sea witch wanted your first born, then fine, you weren’t too keen on children anyway.

You busy yourself with drawing patterns in the sand, lost in your own thoughts as you try to remember your little mental checklist of all the things you wanted to see before you left tomorrow morning. You’re pretty sure this beach was the last one. It’s not much; just a short stretch of sand at the edge of the hill leading up to your family’s cottage, but it has always felt like home.

You come here every evening without fail, using the time to relax and breathe. The last month has felt a little different though, even if you don’t like to admit it. You’ve always stayed on the beach quite late, there’s nothing you know of that can rival the starry sky that appears once the sun had set. But lately, you’ve found yourself retreating back up the hill before the night could fully greet you.

It feels like you’re being watched.

It’s silly of course, considering the only thing in front of you is the quiet ocean. You would have noticed if there was something there, but still, you can’t seem to shake the feeling that something is out there – observing you.

It always happens so suddenly; one second you’ll be merely enjoying the view, and in the next, a sense of dread would knock into you so hard it left you breathless. It would make your neck feel tight, as if someone was gripping your skin, and the hair on your arms would rise in alarm.

Even just the memory is enough to give you goosebumps, and you let out an annoyed huff at how easily you seem to be able to scare yourself. You dust the sand off your hands before you rub them up and down your arms, trying to calm down the twinge of anxiety that’s slowly spreading through your body.

You don’t want to remember your last night here as something uncomfortable, so you let your gaze sweep over the beach one last time.

Something catches your eye just as you’re about to turn. Something red is ebbing and flowing along with the waves, and you hesitantly step forward until you can see it clearer. It’s nothing more than a pretty shell, but you’ve never seen that tone of red before. You snatch it up from the water before the tide can pull it out, slowly turning it back and forth to study it. The last sliver of light seems to catch on to it just right, giving the red a gorgeous golden shimmer.

You let out a low gasp of wonder, trailing your fingers along the scalloped pattern. It’s stunning, and you can’t help but think that it’s the beach’s way of saying its last goodbye. Maybe it was giving you a parting gift.

You clutch the shell gently in your hand, a soft ‘thank you’ slipping past your lips as you watch the ocean fondly. You notice a few sudden ripples in the quiet sea a little further out from the beach, but it has started to grow so dark that it’s impossible to make out anything below the soft waves. Chalking it up to just being fish, you shrug it off, finally turning on your heel to walk back up the hill to your family’s little cottage.

--

You’ve officially been on the sea for a week, and you’ve already grown tired. The small group of fellow villagers that you left with have already started getting on your nerves, and you’re not sure how you’re going to make it all the way to the island and back without going insane. Jimin said you would need to travel north for about two weeks, so you try to find solace in the fact that you’re halfway there already.

The journey so far has been pretty smooth, but the dark clouds on the horizon seem to be rolling towards you at an alarming speed. You dig into the pocket of your trousers, finding comfort in running your fingers along the shell you found on your beach. You can only hope it serves as a token of good luck, because the storm heading straight for you really doesn’t look good at all.  

It feels like you only blink before the rain is pelting down against the ship, harsh waves tossing the wooden boat back and forth to its whims. You’re clinging on the side with all of your might, but the floor has turned wet and slippery, and it makes it even harder to stay on board with all the vicious tossing and turning.

You feel the electricity before it hits, the static making your hair stand up straight right before a bolt of lightning slams into the mast. You can barely hear the loud creak of wood over the screams from the other travellers, you gaze transfixed on the large wooden pole as it starts tipping.

You’re frozen in place; all of your muscles locking up in terror as you realize the mast is coming straight at you. You’ll be crushed in you don’t move, but you can’t. You close your eyes instinctively as the looming shadow rushes towards you, harshly sucking in one last breath of air. You feel the ship lurch, and your fingers slip from the bars you were clinging to as you’re tossed overboard.

A blanket of silence wraps around you the moment you hit the water, all of the screaming and creaking of wood suddenly ceasing as the cold liquid mercilessly drags you downwards. You can see the shadow of the ship growing smaller and smaller, your last breath escaping you as it bubbles up towards the surface.

You flail your hands desperately, your body too low on air to properly function. Swim, swim, swim! Your mind is screaming, but your heart has already accepted the rush of water filling your lungs, and the heavy feeling in your bones.

Your vision grows hazy, the blues and greys of the ocean blurring together. A streak of red suddenly breezes by your line of sight, but your tired brain only managing to provide you with the fleeting thought of fish? before the exhaustion truly sets in. You can hear a low series of muddled clicking noises all around you, but it only seems to make you even more drowsy.

Sleep, a deep voice whispers in the back of your mind. And slowly but surely, all of the mixed colours fade into nothingness.

--

It wasn’t that hard for the mermaid to steer your ship in the wrong direction. The ship was in his waters, under his control, and the storm that suddenly picked up in the northeast presented itself like the perfect opportunity.

He had been trailing after your ship ever since it left the dock, making sure he could strike at the right moment. He couldn’t believe the weird creature he had been watching for months was finally coming willingly to him, but it was only right considering you had accepted his courting gift.

And now, as you were sinking to the bottom of the sea, you were finally his. The mermaid circled you excitedly at a distance as your limbs flailed around underwater. He tried to tell you to calm down – that the fight against his ocean was futile – but you just wouldn’t stop trying.

The mermaid bristled in annoyance, his crimson tail cutting through the sea harshly as he watched the stupid creature fight a losing battle. He needed to take it home now, before his brothers could realize it was here.

Finally, your body stopped moving. The mermaid quickly closed in, strong arms wrapping around your torso as he stared into your unfocused eyes. While he didn’t exactly know what you were, and why you had one limb too many, he had at least gathered enough information to understand that you needed to breathe in that pesky air in order to survive.

He pushed up, letting the currents easily carry him up towards the surface. Of course, he made sure to emerge far from the sinking ship. While the gurgling screams usually were music to his ears – he couldn’t keep you too close to the food. His brothers would be here in no time to feast, and he couldn’t let his new pet be swallowed up before he even had a chance to play with it.

The creature sucked in a shuddering breath as oxygen finally flowed through its veins again. It didn’t take long before all his precious water was being expelled from the creature’s lungs, the mermaid watching in displeasure as it was replaced with that wretched air instead. It just seemed so .. inconvenient.

You didn’t wake however, the near drowning having swept away all of your energy. The mermaid threw one last look towards the remains of the ship, thin lips curling into a pout as the gurgling was replaced by bloody shrieks. He was hungry too, but it seemed like it would have to wait until his pet was out of harm’s way.

Well, at least until it was out of his brothers’ way. The mermaid didn’t like making promises he wasn’t certain he could keep.

[nishigo]

an anomaly. // bennett x reader.

a page from the book of memories.

[ p a g e 3 2 9 ｡ ]

authors note: hello! this is my first ever attempt at something for genshin impact. this is longer than i expected, and there may be errors here and there, so i am sorry about that in advance. i do hope you will enjoy it though. i got bennett yesterday after rolling and although many say he’s annoying...he’s very much like me in real life. coincidence? i think not. Σ('◉⌓◉’) i also rolled a girl named keqing. she seems nice, and is a five star, but i don’t know if she’s rare. i truly don’t know how this system works, apologies. T^T anyways, traveler, happy reading. (*'▽'*)

word count : 2191

tw : none that i can think of. very much fluff. and perhaps a touch of a flirty!reader. :)

request status at time of posting : open.

in which he had finally someone who could balance out his unluckiness.

would you like to read?

＞　行｡ ( y e s )

＞　不行 。( n o )

———

Bennett was, to put it simply, confused.

He had just finished a mission with you, being your support the whole entire way through. There had been an offering that had been posted on the tavern’s walls in dark, smudged text that caught his eye at an earlier time. It read that whoever could get rid of the new pop-up hilichurl camp that blocked the path to Liyue would receive a grand sum of Mora. Course, running low on money, Bennett had decided to take up the offer. They would be easy enough to take down, just a simple slash of his sword and a few burns here and there could get the job done in no time. However, there was a problem.

No one would come with him.

Bennett knew that he was very...loud. And he was energetic. And annoying. And, though he hated to admit it...he was unlucky.

Everything seemed stacked up against him. Everyone he turned to in the tavern took a simple glance at him and rejected the offer with no further questions asked. He would try to convince them, but they would simply get more annoyed at his stubbornness and shoo him away with a flick of a hand or some splash of beer to the face. It’s not like he could take the older adventurers out either, they could barely walk on their own two feet. They were so old that they certainly would have shriveled up in the sun if he brought them along. So there that option went, leaving him with practically nothing else to turn to.

But then, if he had no one to go with him, what would happen? Would he continue to be stuck in that tavern? No, he wouldn’t allow himself to waste away like that. He was meant to be out there, in a world that could supply him with the thrill and rush that his heart yearned for. The boy desired to be just as great of an adventurer as the ones who came before him, or perhaps, dare he dream, even greater than them. Bennett desired to be a legend. But being a legend could not be done alone, even if that was what Bennett determined he would forever be, deep in the back of his brain.

Which is why you were such an anomaly.

You were the last person he spoke to that night. He was a complete mess. His shirt was damp with beer and some white wine, his white locks were a birds nest with the goggles sliding off slowly, and his eyes looked devoid of life as he took a deep inhale and they brightened up again. This was his last chance. You were the one who was either going to make or break this plan.

“Hello stranger! I am the great Bennett, and I was wondering if you would be able to help assist me with a mission that was posted on the tavern walls. It’s about the hilichurl camp by Liyue! Although I am rather strong, I need some help so it’s done more efficiently and faster. I’m even willing to split the Mora with you that we make out of it! What do you say?” Bennett recited his lines again, as if he was in an interview of sorts. His leafy green eyes watched as you scrunched up your eyebrows, as if thinking and examining him. Your face was blank other than that, lips in a straight line and hand cupping your cheek. Bennett found it to be quite terrifying. It was such an intimidating look, in fact, that he was about to ask you to forget about it before you spoke first.

“Sure.” You stated simply, a smile forming on your face as you crossed your arms.

“Ahhh, understood, I’ll get goi- WAIT!” The pyro boy turned to look right at you as he gasped. His face was one of shock morphed with a cute, ecstatic look. One could compare it to a puppy of sorts. You were not meant to say yes. You were meant to be like everyone else and reject him. He was dumbfounded as he grabbed a hold of your shoulders and tilted his head.

“You’re not joking?!”

“Course not! Why would I do such a thing?” You rebuked before he giddily jumped up and down while pulling you up to a sweet hug. It was a gentle and firm one, though, he pulled away quickly after realizing he still wreaked of alcohol. You told him you didn’t mind it though, making him rub the back of his head sheepishly and laugh. You two would converse for the night, agreeing to meet up at the gate the next morning so he could lead the way to the camp and also split the mora gained evenly. After the small chat, you would leave the tavern to stay at the local inn for the night and get some rest. Bennett’s eyes were trained on you as the door then closed, realization hitting him like a truck: he found someone. He found a real person to take on a mission. Better yet, they were as gorgeous as they were strong. This was better than any dream he could have made up. Bennett decided he had to turn in for the night soon after you left, taking a spot in his cozy bed under the sheets. His eyes closed as the curtains rustled at the soft wind that blew through the window. The pyro’s last thought before going to bed was that he truly hoped that you would fulfill your end of the deal and show up.

And you kept your promise. You were there as the morning sun rose to reflect your beautiful skin, hair flowing gently in the light breeze as he ran up to you and froze. You looked powerful now that you were out of the tavern and he could see you properly. You had on your adventure gear, dressed appropriately for a mission that required taking out many enemies. What caught his attention, though, was your white cape with golden accents that flowed from behind. Flicking your hood down and off your head, your face was now fully visible as you watched him stare. He was adorable, like a little baby who was just discovering the world for the first time.

“You’re really gonna do this with me?” Bennett asked in wonder. His face was blank as a smirk landed itself on your features. You positioned yourself to stand upright, away from the wall you were leaning on as you held your weapon of choice in your dominant hand. As for the other, you outstretched it towards him with a grin.

“Lead the way.”

Bennett didn’t even have to think twice about it as he eagerly took your hand into his own gloved one and began to lead you out of the city and into the wilderness. He seemed to be very hyper from what you could tell, as he couldn’t seem to stop commenting on how he was destined for greatness, or how thankful he was that you were going to come along with him. He also bombarded you with questions about yourself as well, like if this was your first time in Mondstadt or what kind of element you had control over. He was easily excited, but especially when you told him that you were a traveler that had been moving around place to place to see the sights of the world. It was why you were so strong, you had defeated a wide range of enemies, great and small, on your journeys. Bennett was fascinated by that, drawing him to be more and more curious about you. Alas, the questions and storytelling had to wait. You two had arrived at the camp, and it was time to take some enemies down.

You two ended up making a fantastic duo of sorts. With his sword and experience, he was able to cut down enemies with ease. You did the same, your speed and agility outmatched as you two basically made a massacre out of the camp. His fire would spread through the long grass, and with the natural wind, spread quickly to begin burning it all down. You were quick to come to his aid when he would sometimes get backed against the rocks or a tree, helping him heal with some quick magic you had learned. It wasn’t anything special, but it was enough to keep him up and moving. With such precision and perseverance, your duo was able to defeat the camp with relative ease. However, both you and Bennett were still tired from fighting for so long. You two were out of breath as the fire died out, heaving for air as you gave him a head pat and grinned.

“You did amazing out there. You’re a talented pyro user as well, I’m impressed.” There you went again, making him all confused as he sat there. You just complimented him. A powerful traveler, that has practically defeated every sort of monster there is out there, was impressed by him. Bennett, the unlucky, was impressive? For the first time, he was rendered speechless as he looked at you. It was now night, the moon high in the sky as it illuminated your face. Oh goodness, you looked ethereal. The way the stars were reflected in your eyes, the way the gold of your cape sparkled and flowed behind you, the way you smiled at him, like he was the most handsome boy you had ever seen. The only thing that stopped the comfortable silence between you two was the fact that he shivered when a breeze brushed against his pale, scar littered skin. You snapped out of it and looked him up and down, noticing how a lot of his skin was exposed to the chilly night.

“Here, take this.” You told him as you unbuttoned your cape, taking it off your shoulders. With one swoop, you draped it over his own figure, being as gentle as possible as you buttoned it up again. Bennett was reduced to continuing to stay silent as you clothed him. You placed the hood up on top of his head, a hand on your hip as you grinned at him. It was a bit big on him but nonetheless, it was rather cute. You used your other hand to take his chin gently, making him look you in the eyes. He was rather happy that the hood cast a bit of a shadow, because his cheeks were flushed a hot pink as he was forced to look at you.

“Huh. Looks better on you than it does me.” You commented before he seemed to regain his ability to speak.

“You need this more than me! I-i’m literally a pyro user, I c-can heat myself-” You hushed him, letting go of his chin as you put a finger to his peach pink lips.

“Doesn’t matter. You shouldn’t waste your energy to heat up, especially since we have to walk back to town. I’ll be fine, I’ve been through worse weather situations.” He glanced down at your finger, and then back to you as you dropped your hand and began walking down the path again, back towards the city. Why did you have to be so, so...enchanting? And you were so smooth as well! He had never been so flustered when talking to someone, heck, he was the one who was meant to be doing most of the talking! Though, he supposed that him being talkative didn’t equate to being able to flirt. But something about the thought of you leaving made him pout. It was as if the butterflies were leaving his stomach, but they left him emptier than before.

Bennett refused to be lonely anymore. Not when he had you.

“Hey, darling!~ Would you stop standing there and staring off into space? I know I look wonderful tonight, but we gotta get a move on! We won’t be able to get to town and rest our weary bones if you keep this up!~” You called out to him, making him shake his head and refocus. Right, a bed. Sleep did sound rather good right now, along with a shower and something to quench his thirst. He ran and caught up to you, walking by your side as he grinned. He began to already ask about other missions that the two of you could do together, like gathering supplies for the alchemist or helping around the town for some spare Mora here and there. Bennett then stopped for a moment again, looking at you.

“Would you like to work together again?” There was a moment of silence before you nodded.

“I think I would. We make a great team.” Bennett then continued walking with you, as if time didn’t just stop for a second as he went back to his usual, bubbly nature. The more he thought about it, the happier it made him. More adventures to be made. More memories to be created. All with you at his side the entire time.

And you would make all the difference.

[you-didnt-see-that-cuming]

Mirror’s Image | Javier Peña x Reader

Summary: Being with Javier feels like paradise. Being fucked against a mirror by Javier feels like euphoria.

Rated: E

Word Count: 2.7k

AO3 Link

Masterlist

A/N: I’ve been on my loving pedro bullshit again so here is some mirror sex with javier peña

When working as a DEA agent in Colombia, there were rarely ever moments that called for celebration. However, the raid based on information that Y/N had spent countless hours and sleepless nights collecting and deciphering was definitely one of those moments. Several tons of cocaine, crates of firearms, and multiple high-ranking and very wanted narcos had been seized with no casualties, along with new information about how Escobar was smuggling things in and out of Colombia. 

Even Carillo, who rarely ever smiled, had seen all the work Y/N had put into organizing the raid and was hiding a grin when he announced a celebratory dinner at a bar down the street from the embassy. Y/N was heading back to the police cruisers for a ride back to the embassy when Javier appeared suddenly at her side, his voice low and his hand sliding into her back pocket. 

“You have no idea how sexy you looked pointing a gun and shouting orders hermosa, I almost took you right then and there,” he whispered, leaning closer so that only she could hear him. Y/N could feel her cheeks heat and a spark tugging deep in her stomach. The two of them had been secretly seeing each other for over a year, not even clueing Murphy in on what they were behind closed doors. 

“Javier! What if someone sees us?” Y/N whispered harshly, although she wished she could lean into him and finally feel his hands on her properly after the long day they had had. His hands were always warm and soft against her skin, a juxtaposition from his perfectly calloused fingertips that would leave marks on her sides for weeks. The thought of him holding her up against the wall, bruising her thighs as he drew orgasm after orgasm from her was enough to make her feel an even more powerful surge of sparks in her abdomen. 

“Don’t worry hermosa, I’ll have you all to myself tonight,” Javier leaned into her neck and lightly bit down on the edge of her earlobe, sending shivers down her spine and intensifying the sparks in her core. Her eyes fluttered shut as Javier pulled away, walking in the opposite direction as if nothing had happened, a confident swagger in his gait. 

Y/N had to bite her lip to keep from moaning, now frustrated and wanting a certain someone between her legs, and it wasn’t until Carillo’s voice startled her out of her thoughts that Y/N took her eyes off of Javier and his immaculate frame. 

“You alright there Y/N? I thought you’d be heading back to get ready for tonight?” Carillo was an intimidating man, his shoulders and chest broad and a no-nonsense sort of look that was plastered on his face at all times. 

“Oh! Yes, um, I was just distracted for a moment, yes I’m heading back right now, I think I’m going to take a shower and get all of this grime off of me,” Y/N chuckled nervously before she rushed into one of the cruisers getting ready to leave for the embassy. She still had a couple hours before she had to arrive at the time Carillo had given everyone, and although Carillo was a stickler for punctuality, Y/N would still have time to unwind in the shower and prepare for the night. After all, if she wanted to spend the night with Javier like he had teased her earlier, she might as well make it worth her while. 

~~~~~~~~~~

Y/N’s shower was the first time that she had been able to fully relax over the past few months. Almost all of her time had been spent pouring over evidence and tracking down witnesses and information, so the steam was a welcome treat for her aching muscles. Y/N stood beneath the rainfall setting of her shower, slowly kneading at the knots in her shoulders. She hadn’t realized just how long it had been since she had done something as indulgent as taking a hot shower for longer than 20 minutes. Her only true indulgence had been Javier’s company whenever they decided to spend the night together. After a long shower that was desperately needed, it didn’t take long to finish getting ready and begin the drive to the bar. 

It wasn’t a long drive, only about 10 minutes, but it gave Y/N the opportunity to listen to the radio and reflect. So much had happened within the two years that she had been working with the DEA in Colombia. The first 10 months or so had been filled with helping Javier and Murphy on cases, all while dealing with dangerous narcos and dodging the flirtatious advances of Javier. 

It wasn’t until Y/N had gotten shot in the stomach on one of their assignments that Javier had realized that the reason why he hadn’t been frequenting the best brothels of Bogota for the past couple months was because of Y/N. Only 4 weeks later, the two had begun secretly seeing each other after work, meeting up at restaurants where no one they knew could run into them. 

But Javier had promised that once Y/N had gotten her big break on a case, they would go together to HR and officially fill out the paperwork stating that they were a couple. Y/N had just gotten her big break on a case. She knew that the raid wouldn’t be the only thing that she would be celebrating that night.

~~~~~~~~~~

After a couple of drinks, everyone seemed to have loosened up and were engaged in loud conversation with one another. Y/N, however, kept glancing over to Javier, who was seated next to her. He always looked attractive, but Y/N could practically feel the sex appeal that was coming off of him in waves. He was wearing a button up with the top few buttons left open, revealing his smooth, tanned chest. She didn’t blame the lingering eyes of other women in the bar, after all, she had been one of them not too long ago. 

So far, they had been careful about any public displays of affection, but after the stunt that Javier had pulled back at the raid, Y/N decided to throw all caution to the wind. Carefully, she placed her hand on his knee under the table. She could feel how he tensed slightly under her touch before relaxing again. Y/N waited a few moments before she began slowly running her fingers up his thigh, taking her time to draw flowing patterns like vines.

It wasn’t until she was only a few inches away from his groin when his hand suddenly seized her wrist. He leaned in close, just as he had done at the raid, but this time there was an edge to his voice, like he was straining to get the words out. 

“What do you think you’re doing hermosa?” his words were almost like a growl with how deep his voice had gotten. 

Y/N blinked innocently at him, an expression that did not match what she was attempting to do with her hands. 

“What do you mean, Javi?” a smile was starting to spread across her face at Javier’s raised eyebrow. His grip tightened slightly around her wrist before he released her, standing up abruptly. Pulling an almost empty pack of cigarettes out of his pocket, he stalked off towards the back door of the bar, presumably to smoke in the back alley. 

Y/N had certainly gotten a reaction from him, he was always so… responsive beneath her touch. She would pay for it later though, a thought that had her mouth watering and her thighs clenching together. Recalling the memory of his face between her thighs or her front pressed against the balcony window as he pounded into her from behind, teasing her and forcing her over the edge more times than she could count was enough to make her desperate for his touch. 

Y/N waited until the song that was playing over the speakers had begun transitioning into the next before she stood to follow him. Y/N knew where to go, the door to the back alley was in the service hallway next to the bathrooms, a trip she had taken multiple times before for various drunken smoke breaks.

She almost had no time to react when she was suddenly pulled into one of the bathrooms and pushed up against the door, forcing the air out of her lungs. Javier’s mouth was on her neck within seconds, tracing the line of her jaw and down to her shoulder.

“Querida, you have no idea what you do to me, do you?” he murmured, his lips still tracing her neck. 

“Mmm, why don’t you show me, mi amor?

Javier’s lips were on hers within seconds, his hands roaming across her body like he couldn’t get enough of her touch and the feeling of her skin beneath his fingertips. 

Y/N couldn’t help but moan, Javier tasted of his usual whiskey and cigarettes, a combination that was always intoxicating to her. He wasted no time in beginning to unbutton the buttons of her blouse, trying to rid her of as much clothing as possible so that he could touch more of her. 

Their kiss quickly became frenzied, both of them chasing a high that only the other could give. Within moments, Javier’s hands were on Y/N’s waist, turning her around and pressing her up against the mirror covered wall.

“Look at how perfect you look for me querida, looking like a fucking angel for me,” Javier’s voice was deep and raspy as he mouthed kisses over her neck, slowly and with purpose.

Y/N used her arms to brace herself against the mirror, looking at her reflection through her lashes. She looked absolutely wrecked, her hair was a mess, lips puffy, and the heaving of her chest from her panting was on full display. Javier stood behind her, giving open mouth kisses to her neck as his large hands traveled up her abdomen, squeezing one of her breasts in his hand. 

“Look at how beautiful you look for me, hermosa,” his voice now a low growl that sent shivers down her spine. 

“Javi, please! Do something, I- I need you to touch me,” Y/N was pliable beneath his touch, she could feel his cock gliding over her folds, teasing her as she arched her back. 

Without warning, Javier thrust forward, sheathing himself within her in one, swift movement, forcing a gasp from her lips. He stilled for only a moment before setting a punishing pace. Each thrust drove deeper and harder into Y/N, slowly pulling her apart and driving all rationale from her. 

Y/N moaned as she watched their reflection in the mirror, her breasts bouncing with every thrust, the glimpse of Javier’s curls from behind her shoulder, the indentations of her waist where his fingers held her, and the way his cock looked every time he entered her. All of it made her stomach spark in arousal. 

With one particularly hard thrust, Y/N let out a cry, her arms giving out and her body pressing up against the cold mirror. She could see the condensation building from their gasping moans and the heat of their bodies. 

“Oh my god, Javier, r-right there, fuck-” a broken moan escaped her lips as he continued fucking into her, his fingers coming to grasp her thigh roughly.

“You like that princess? You like how I fuck you?” Javier growled, his hand pressing even deeper into the flesh of her thighs and waist.

“Yes, oh my god, yes!” Y/N’s moans echoed slightly off of the tiled walls. “God you feel so good, don’t stop Javi,”

“Always look like a fucking vision on my cock, don’t you? Always feel so fucking good for me, because you are all mine,” he said, biting down on her shoulder. A thin sheen of sweat was layered over Javier’s beautiful, tanned, olive skin, emphasizing the flexing of his muscles with every movement.

With his right hand, Javier threaded his fingers through her hair, grasping it in a vice-like hold at the back of her head, and roughly pulled her up so that they made eye contact through the mirror, Y/N’s mouth falling open in arousal at his actions. 

“Look at how gorgeous you look for me, coming apart on my cock,” Javi had a smirk on his face, like he knew that she was completely at his mercy. “You like it when I fuck you like this? In the bathroom while everyone thinks you’re out smoking?”

Y/N couldn’t even attempt to answer properly, her mind too clouded with euphoria and the building of her orgasm, each rigorous thrust pushing her further over the edge. 

“Come on, answer me amado, you like being fucked like this?” Javier’s brought his hand down in a firm slap to Y/N’s ass, drawing a shocked yelp from her lips. 

“Yes! Yes, I love it Javi, please I- I’m going to cum, don’t stop!”

It only took a few more thrusts before Javier’s hips began stuttering and losing their steady rhythm.

“Where do you want me querida?” he asked, his voice a husky whisper in her ear.

“Inside, please I want you inside me Javi,” her voice was a breathy moan, a sound which always drove Javier over the edge. 

Y/N’s orgasm washed over her, her vision temporarily going white from the euphoria she was experiencing. Only moments later, Javier’s low moan registered next to her ear as he came, filling her up with his cum. 

Javier was still pressed to Y/N’s back, both of them panting as they tried to catch their breaths.

“You always look so beautiful after I fuck you, mi alma, I swear its like you were sculpted by the gods,” Javier mumbled as he pressed gentle kisses to her shoulder, just like he always did after he made her fall apart beneath his touch. Y/N loved this Javi, this was the Javi who woke up early on the weekends to go to the farmers market to get fresh fruit for her, the Javi who danced slowly with her in his living room to his old vinyls, the Javi who no one else but she got to see. 

“Mmm, you always take such good care of me, amado,” Y/N was met with a soft grunt as Javier wrapped his arms around her midsection, pulling her even closer to his body. 

“I’m going to show you just how well I can take care of you tonight, after all, you deserve to be worshipped,” he said as he continued pressing kisses to wherever he could reach. Javier had always been soft and gentle after sex, after years of meaningless sex with informants and prostitutes, he craved the caring touch he only got when he was with Y/N. 

A comfortable silence passed between them before Javier slowly pulled out, his cum slowly beginning to drip down Y/N’s thighs. Y/N barely registered that Javier had taken a damp paper towel and was cleaning up the mess he had left inside her. 

Y/N turned, leaning back against the mirror to watch Javier as he began getting redressed. Only a moment later, he began redressing Y/N, tenderly moving her body to put on her blouse and skirt. 

Y/N hummed, her hand coming up to caress Javier’s cheek lovingly.

“See? Like I said, always taking such good care of me,”

A longing look crossed over Javier’s eyes before he took her face in his hands, pulling her into a slow, passionate kiss. When they finally parted from their sweet embrace, Javier rested his forehead against hers, letting his eyes flutter closed in content and happiness.

“Te amo, mi alma,”

“Te amo, Javier,”

[erimeows]

Dreaming Of You

Rough, grey lips on his, large servos resting on his hips, and ruby red optics trained on his sky blue ones seemed to haunt Optimus’s dreams more and more.

Maybe it was some weird manifestation of the new stress that had come to his life since Megatron had been rebuilt, or maybe it was just the deep, dark desires he had for the affection he’d been craving for so many light years finally taking over his processor and giving themselves away to him in the form of Megatron of all mechs.

Either way, he hated it; the dreams. They were too risque and too much about a Decepticon he should’ve absolutely despised for him to confide in any of his teammates about it, but they were too incessant to get rid of, so he was simply... Stuck.

Optimus was sure that he was dying inside when he jolted awake on the living room couch, sitting straight up as his optics shot open. This dream had been particularly bad; something blurry about him and Megatron sharing a berth, him tangled up in the warlord’s arms and falling asleep against his chest.

Weirdly enough, he found himself craving that.

Due to the sheer everything happening on planet earth, he had been so stressed that he hadn’t been able to recharge properly, and all he wanted was another bot to lull him to sleep, maybe cuddle with him a bit and sing to him or tell him a story, but he didn’t have anyone like that, humans were too small and hard to socialize with, and his team was off limits since they were technically subordinates.

He hadn’t even realized he’d fallen asleep on the couch until he woke up there, clearly panicked until his optics landed on Bumblebee, who was staring at him with a concerned look etched into his face plates.

Optimus knew that, considering the dream he just had, he probably looked like he’d seen a ghost- though that probably would’ve been better than what actually happened. Falling asleep on the couch had most definitely been a result of his exhaustion, because all he remembered was that one second, he was sitting on the couch to calm down, and the next, he was asleep.

”Optimus? Bossbot? Prime? You good?” Bumblebee asked, getting up and in Optimus’s face. The red and blue bot could only stand up and shake his head.

”Uh... Yeah. Definitely... Just don’t think I’ll be recharging for a while-” After realizing what he said, he quickly cut himself off with a sharp sigh before continuing again. “Never mind. I’m going on a walk.”

With that, Optimus left, ignoring any of the stares he got from his teammates as he walked outside the base, and walked, and walked. He didn’t even think about where he was going, simply listening to his instincts and allowing them to guide him. 

The walk had been intended to clear his head, but as he reached a weirdly familiar looking forest, he realized that his thoughts were only growing more and more convoluted, spark pounding against his chest plates.

Oh, shit. He was right by the Decepticon base.

Why would his processor- no, his spark, he could feel it- lead him here of all places? What the hell was wrong with him? He was almost certain that his exhaustion was making him go crazy.

Right when he thought the situation couldn’t get any worse, he heard a deep, smooth, baritone voice in his audials that made them twitch.

“Autobot... How did you find me?” When Optimus turned around, Megatron was just... There. Sitting on the grass, back against a tree, arms crossed over his chest and one leg crossed over the other in front of him. “Why are you not fighting me?”

That was a good question. Megatron was just staring at him, too, clearly waiting, ruby burning into sky blue, almost as if the Decepticon was challenging him with his optics, a smirk on his kissable lips. Optimus knew he should’ve either ran or tried to apprehend Megatron right there, but he found that he couldn’t even move.

Their relationship was weird. Even though they were sworn enemies, all Optimus could do during battle was stare at him, and Megatron did the same in return- it was almost as if there was some sort of draw that they had to each other, but as hard as he tried to resist it, it wouldn’t go away, and he was sick of resisting it.

“Megatron.”

“I feel as if I should be concerned,” Megatron mumbled, sitting up again and quirking an optical ridge. “You aren’t fighting me, but I also don’t feel inclined to attack you, and you seem exhausted... Do you need to recharge? I’ll be surprised if you don’t drop to the ground any nanoklik now.”

“Mhm,” Was all Optimus could give in response, able to feel himself grow increasingly drowsy with each second that passed. Megatron’s voice only made it worse, and before he even realized what he was doing, Optimus found himself laying on the ground next to Megatron and laying his head over the warlord’s warm thighs, optics fluttering shut.

It was wrong, and he was sure it would come to bite him in the ass, but it was also exactly what he needed. 

“What the hell... Alright. This is fine, I suppose, we can do this and then pretend it never happened... Just for a little while,” Megatron sighed and rested a servo on Optimus’s helm, gently petting one of the Autobot’s audials, and though it was a touch far more intimate than it should’ve been, he couldn’t help how his engines purred at the affection he’d been craving from another since he arrived on earth. “I could even tell you a story. Once upon a time, on a planet far away, there was a strong, powerful warlord with a cold spark, but that all changes when...”

And, as Optimus fell into recharge, he found that the last thing he heard was Megatron’s voice in his audials, lulling him to sleep- just like he needed.

When Optimus Prime woke up, he was no longer laying on the ground of the forest with his head rested across the expanse of Megatron’s thick thighs, but on the berth in Ratchet’s med bay, the team medic hovering around him, optics raking up and down his chassis.

All he could remember was sleeping on Megatron, but if he was in the med bay-

Optics wide, the Prime looked at himself up and down. No bandages, no wounds, no pain anywhere... Actually, he felt perfectly fine minus the lingering sleepiness, so why was he here?

“Prime, what happened?” Ratchet demanded, sitting down at the stool next to the med berth and scrutinizing Optimus carefully.

“Huh? What do you mean?”

“You stormed off base and everyone was concerned when you didn’t come back after a few hours, so we split into teams and came looking for you. I found you in that forest near the Decepticon base a day later, sleeping on Megatron of all mechs,” A day. He’d slept for an entire day, and his teammates had caught him... He could only hope and pray that they didn’t realize exactly what was going on with him. “So what happened? Did he incapacitate you or did you do it... Willingly? You were out for a while.”

“I uh... I don’t know how to describe it,” Optimus murmured, not wanting to admit that it was fully optional and that he’d given in to his newfound desire to have Megatron, if only for a little bit. “I was just so tired when I left. I don’t know... Don’t remember anything too clearly, I probably stayed in recharge for so long because I was exhausted. Actually, I still feel pretty tired, but is everyone okay? Did anything else happen?”

“Yeah, they’re fine. Megatron left as soon as he saw us, the cowardly dolt... It was weird though, that he didn’t kidnap you or try to attack any of us- you were asleep, and it was just me and Sari, so he could’ve overpowered us if he played his cards right. Maybe he was in a rush to get somewhere else.”

“Makes sense.”

And no, it didn’t make sense- nothing Megatron had done during the course of that made sense; not him being so kind to Optimus, letting him sleep on his lap, telling him a berthtime story, and sparing his teammates- all of it was weird and fucked up, and he found that he almost missed when things were simpler, when Megatron was nothing but a blown up body and a half-working helm in Isaac Sumdac’s basement-lab.

“I doubt that it’s anything serious, but I have a couple questions for you, if you wouldn’t mind.”

“Go ahead,” Optimus tried to act calm, but his face plates were burning red and his vents were producing nervous crackles that were loud enough for both he and Ratchet to hear.

“Have you had any odd dreams recently during your recharges? Since Megatron got his body rebuilt, I mean.”

“Uh... Yeah,” The blue and red bot trailed off, gulping.

How did Ratchet know? Was he that obvious?

“Tell me about them.”

“I’d rather not-”

“Trust me, it’s important that I know these things. Medic’s honor, I won’t disclose what you’re about to tell me to anyone.”

“I have a lot of dreams about Megatron,” Optimus confessed with a sigh. Surprisingly, Ratchet looked like he was almost expecting that answer, nodding. “Mostly just meeting him in that forest or a berth, sleeping... Sometimes we talk and do other more unmentionable things.”

“I wonder...” The medic paused with a hum and tapped his digits against the med berth.

“Just what are you thinking, Ratchet?”

“It’s incredibly rare, but occasionally, when two Cybertronians who have a lot of chemistry encounter each other, they develop what’s known as a spark pull. It’s nothing like a spark bond- not even close, but it just means that the two are uniquely bound to each other in a way until they either bond or have a falling out that kills their chemistry. It’s like the soulmate concept that Sari and some of the other humans talk about in their romantic stories.”

“So... What does that mean? Am I going to be okay? Is there anything I can do to get rid of it?” Optimus asked, tilting his head. He was a bit panicked, as this was a whole new thing that he didn’t know how to handle, but at least there was a somewhat scientific explanation for his feelings instead of them just existing. 

“There’s no need to worry about it, Prime, you’re perfectly healthy minus the lack of rest you get- which you need to work on, by the way- but you’ll be fine. Unless you bond with Megatron- you better not- there’s no getting rid of it, considering that the two of you should already hate each other.”

“I, um... Symptoms? Are there any aside from what I already know?”

“There hasn’t been a lot of research done on it since bonding is generally looked down upon in Autobot City where all of our medical studies get funded on Cybertron, but from what I’ve seen and heard... You’ll intuitively be able to ‘feel’ where Megatron is when he’s in close proximity, have a desire to go near and look at him whenever possible, have dreams about him like you’ve already been experiencing, and going through a sort of physical and mental ‘weakness’ when he’s around- from what you’ve described, your weakness is just allowing yourself to be vulnerable and relaxed around him, which is actually quite common... Shame you can’t allow yourself to do that with who he is, but it is what it is.”

It was a lot to take in all at once, but Optimus found that he handled it surprisingly well as he stood up from the med berth and stretched his joints.

“Anything else I should know?” 

There was something new lighting his spark; a pounding, circuit-wrenching want that began to consume him. Now that he knew where his feelings were stemming from, he couldn’t help but want to interact with Megatron again, just to see if the older mech was feeling what he was feeling, and to see if he knew what was going on between the two of them as well.

His instinct was telling him to go back to the forest.

“No, that about covers it, so you’re free to go whenever... But Prime?”

“Yeah?” The blue and red bot looked at Ratchet, who was staring right into his spark, it seemed.

“Don’t go after him when you leave. I know you want to.”

“...Okay.”

Only, that’s exactly what Optimus did. The second he was out of the med bay, he was sneaking out through one of the hallway windows and running as if his life depended on it, passing through the busy city scenery of Detroit until he reached the more rural area that the forest was located in. He was staring at the ground as he ran so fast that his engines were revving with the force it took to keep him going, but he got so consumed in where his spark was telling him to go that  he bumped into someone-

“Be more careful, you insolent f-...” Megatron’s voice flooded his audials the second that the older mech’s arms were wrapped around his small body to catch him, pulling him against a hard, broad chest. Optimus looked up at the warlord, optics going wide and face burning bright red. Oh, it’s just you, little Autobot... How did you find me again?”

Megatron’s question was filled with confusion, those ruby red optics slightly squinted and full of uncertainty.

“I, uh... Do you know what spark pulls are?” Optimus stammered and earned a groan from the Decepticon in return.

“You’re kidding.”

“I wish I were, but no one else is here and that nap last time was the best recharge I’ve had in lightyears. Do you mind?”

“...I suppose not,” Megatron sighed and let go of Optimus, then moved to lay down on the grass and stare up at the clouds. Optimus, albeit a bit awkwardly, laid down next to the mech, resting his helm on his chest- right over the purple, glaring Decepticon symbol that he should’ve detested, but instead found himself cuddling into.

“Why don’t you finish that story you started the other day?”

“A-Alright, but only because I’m feeling quite generous today. As I’d been saying last time, once upon a time, on a planet far away, there was a strong, powerful warlord with a cold spark, but that all changes when he meets a kind, passionate warrior from an opposing faction. At first, the two are against each other, but the warlord quickly realizes that something about the warrior has caught his interest, and before he knows it, he’s falling in love...”

Before Optimus could pipe up and ask any questions, he was falling into a peaceful recharge yet again, dreams of Megatron already plaguing his processor.

[asce-of-hearts]

Hey um can I request angry overhaul x angry chronostasis x female reader... Kai and Hari discover that the reader is a smoker due to a medical check up , so they go to the reader room and find the cigarettes,they punished the reader severely (nudity but no nsfw,long🧁, light violence ) if you don’t want to make this then that’s fine ! Hope that you have a wonderful day/night ..I love your writing 🤎🤎🤎🤎🤎

Of course, sweetheart!

Secret habit 🧁

MASTERLIST

Word count: 2.5 k

Contents: Yan!Poly!Chronohaul discovering gn!darling is a smoker and punishing them.

A/N: while writing this I had a very gross idea of Overhaul rearranging the reader’s lungs and uh... I put it there, sorry, I’ll try to make it as less graphic as possible but its still gonna be pretty fucking graphic, reader’s discretion is advised.

And for my dark content enjoyers, I hope this makes you shit yourself to death and want to read fluffy content for the next year, you’re welcome.

Warnings: DEAD DOVE DO NOT EAT, yandere themes, depictions of violence, smoker reader, punishments, nudity but no nsfw, graphic violence at the end please be aware, there’s no aftercare after the punishment.

AGAIN, THIS FIC CAN BE EXTREMELY TRIGGERING SINCE IT CONTAINS EXPLICIT VIOLENCE AND GRAPHIC DESCRIPTIONS OF GORE, BE AWARE, IF THIS KIND OF CONTENT TRIGGERS YOU STAY AWAY FROM IT, FOR YOUR OWN SAFETY.

The medical check up went nicely, until they noticed the slight smell of nicotine. This was odd, they hadn’t noticed that. You started getting nervous, but decided not to say anything.

Maybe it was because you were in a confined space with men who were smokers, right? Most of the Yakuza smokes. But Kai and Kurono wouldn’t buy that, they knew you better than you ever knew yourself, they knew that you had a smoking habit before they kidnapped you. 

“Fine, but I’ll draw some blood just to see if its affecting you” bullshit, he just wanted to confirm if you were still smoking. You only chuckled and gave him your arm for him to draw blood, there’s no way he could tell right?

Oh y/n, you’re so so wrong.

“You’re still smoking?” Kurono arched a brow, they seemed to be angry. But they were just frustrated that you weren’t able to drop that habit, it would destroy you eventually.

“What? No I’m not” Now they were angry, lies were forbidden in this house.

“We’ll see that” Kai said before grabbing your arm firmly and dragging you to your room “c’mon, tell us where the cigarrettes are and we won’t punish you, y/n” Kurono was giving you a chance, he was more mercyful than Kai, if you told the truth he would advocate in your behalf and save you from a severe punishment.

“B-But I’m not doing it anymore!” you yelled, another broken rule, they were getting angrier by the moment, they could tell you were lying. “This is your last chance, y/n” Kai growled, the grip on your arm getting harder.

You still lied.

You were really, really stupid, you know? That was the stupidest desition you could ever have made in your entire life. And you would soon find out.

“Fine, let’s see if you can sustain that” you were sure you had hid them well, in a vent in the bathroom where they would never look into. First there were your drawers socks, underwear, shirts, just clothes. A tidy pile of them was on your bed, you attributed this to Kai’s habit of keeping everything in place. They didn’t find anything, this was getting frustrated, their bloodlust could be smelled. You’re not allowed to tell them any lies.

They went through all of your stuff. And then there was the bathroom, that small confined room, so luxurious only for your confort. They went through the shampoo bottles, body moisturizer, towels and all the other things that were resting on the shelves, the tub or anywhere they could see.

And then they opened the vent.

How in the world could they tell? Maybe it was the fact that you were standing right in front of it, flinching and jumping whenever they got to close to that spot, you hoped the pack of cigarrettes was hidden enough, that the bright yellow and red in the box that warned everyone about the consecuences of smoking wasn’t as bright as you remembered, you hoped for that, you begged and you prayed they just went out of the room and you remained unharmed.

They found that small box with only five remaining poisoned sticks. You heard Kurono sigh heavily  — if you had just told them the truth — and Kai just grabbed the package in his hands.

“E x p l a i n” he ordered, emphasising every letter with a sharp tongue and a death stare.

“I-” you froze on the spot, now knowing what to tell them.

“No explanation, angel?” Kurono purred the last words, making the sentence more menacing than it already was. You tried running away from them, but they were both blocking the door.

“I’m sorry” you whispered, feeling the tears appear on your face, Kai got closer to you.

“You like smoking, y/n?” he asked, his tone soft as silk, you denied it “you fucking liar, haven’t you learned anything?” you trembled as you apologized.

“How long have you been doing this?”

“I don’t do it anymore” You lied again, you were asking for a punishment at this point.

“Kai, c’mon they’re scared, give them a break” Kurono didn’t like watching you cry, he wanted to stop this so Kai didn’t do anything irrational, he wanted to stop him.

“Shut up and bring me a lighter, or a box of matches, whatever you find first” he ordered, Kurono froze for a second before getting out of the room, even if he was his lover Kai was his boss, he had to obey him.

You were alone in the bathroom.

“Strip” Kai ordered 

“What?”

“I said strip” his words were as sharp as blades, you started undressing “It was a really bad idea doing this, y/n” he said examining the box “altough I have to give you credit, its surprising you could hide it for this long, especially from me!” he said with a smile, he found amuzing to terrorize you, you only shivered, tears falling heavy on your face.

Kurono returned with a lighter, Kai didn’t even bother to thank him. He was impatient, not knowing what Kai would do to you. 

“You really like smoking so much, y/n?” he asked, you only nodded, you were on your knees under him as a silent plea for his mercy “then smoke, angel” he said, he forced open your mouth with his thumb, you tried moving your head to the side, being stopped by Kurono.

“Just stay still and obey” he whispered in your ear, his voice was soothing for you, you could sense the fear he felt. You only opened your mouth and Kai placed a cigarrette in your mouth.

“huh, din’t notice they were flavored” he said before giving you the lighter “c’mon, light it. It tastes like mint” he gave you a small slap to your cheek, you only trembled and lit up the cigarrette. As smoke filled the room he ordered you to smoke, and so you did. Wanting this to end as soon as possible. The cigarrette consumed in no time, maybe it was your irregular breathing. 

Before you could think he got the thing out of your mouth and placed another one, you lit it up again, starting to pick up the pace. Ash fell down as you did, he didn’t even give you an ash tray, he just made the cigarrettes dissapear at the contact of his hand.

Then another one, you started to feel a bit dizzy, the nicotine in your lungs poisoning the room, Kurono coughed and you started smoking again. You couldn’t even breathe properly, Kurono restraining you and only relying on your mouth to not drop the cigarrette and burn yourself. 

Yet again he placed another cigarrette on your mouth, it felt dry, your legs and intimacy were covered in ash. He wasn’t giving you a break to breathe, a break to not fill the room with smoke, how many had you consumed in this short span of time? Four, exactly four cigarrettes in less than half an hour, you didn’t even have time to enjoy it, instead you felt the urge to cough and the air around you not being enough to breathe.

It was suffocating, Kai’s golden eyes fixed on your naked figure as he made sure you consumed each cigarrette in a span of no time. Only one was left. Only one cigarrette remained on the box. He tried calculating how much time you spent in absence of smoking it while held captive, they took months to realize this, you maybe smoked once every month, once every two weeks, he couldn’t really figure it out.

Kurono felt relieved, this was better than what he had expected, it was better than everything Kai could have done to you for lying. This was even erotic to watch for him.

Kai gave you a moment to breathe and for the room to air, he didn’t touch you, nor praise you, or anything of the sorts, he only stared at you while you panted for air, Kurono still holding you unable to move, it was hard to think about anything that wasn’t not touching a cigarrette ever again, not lying to them ever again, there was a part of your mind telling you you deserved it, that you asked for this with your actions. After all, every action has an equal opposite reaction, and this was it, this was the reaction you gained by not dropping that habit that would be so easy to drop, if you weren’t as impulsive, if you weren’t as addicted to the substance as you were this could have been avoided easily.

And that’s what haunted you the most, the fact that you could have prevented this in some way, the fact that you could have just live a normal day of your life.

Could you really call a day here normal? Where you that broken to have accepted this as your normality?

His hand forced your mouth open again, putting the last cigarrette on your lips. He lit it himself, you were about to start smoking it, Kurono’s hand on your throat stopped you.

“You should enjoy this one” he said with a smile, his cold touch on your skin making you shiver “its your last cigarrette after all” he said before releasing your throat, allowing you to breathe, the only thing you inhaled was smoke, tempted to cough your face got red. You heard both men chuckle and Kai lightly petting your head.

“I said enjoy it. Not choke on it, dumb mutt” he said, slapping your cheek again, this time with more force, making your ears teary “stop crying, y/n” Kurono instructed, rubbing  gentle circles in your thighs . You hiccuped as you smoked, slowly savoring the minty flavor of the cigarrette, couldn’t really tell if it was minty or not, your tongue was numb for some reason.

It was a slow process, finally you finished the thing, Kai got it out of your mouth, gently. You sighed in relief, quickly replaced by a scream of pure horror and pain as he pressed the lit cigarrette against your nude skin, you screamed in horror, watching your skin turn redish until the cigarrette was completely off. 

You cried heavy and salty tears, Kurono’s mercyfullness quickly dissapeared during this whole process, you had a lesson to learn.

“Just a reminder for everytime you feel like doing something like this again” Kai said and yet again, the cigarrette dissapeared on his hands, 

You thought this was over? Must have not read the warnings at the beggining.

You can end this here, in a mild light violent ending.

Last chance, dear reader.

Seriously, protect your mental health.

Its not like I’m god at writing fantastic violence, but that is going to be graphic.

Not only graphic but gorey.

Just pure shock value and physical violence.

This is the last warning, love.

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haha this is adding to my word count.

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I’m breaking my own rules with this, but hey! I’m the only one allowed to do that.

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Fourth wall breaking hehe

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Welp, I warned you.

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Kai instructed Kurono to hit you with his quirk, there wasn’t much you can do as he did, you wouldn’t be able to move for an hour now, even if Kai needed much much less time.

“You’re now infected by disgusting filth” Kai hissed, you tried running away, crawling away, asking for mercy, but the quirk being used on you made you not able to do so, not even able to form a coherent sentence.

Your breathing was irregular and tears seemed to be blinding you, you were now in the tub, freezing water making you tremble as you tried to fight, you couldn’t do anything, there was nothing you could do to stop this.

And as Kai removed the only glove that was left from his hands your mind started going blank, by pure instinct, you shut yourself down. Quickly being brough back again by a hand on your throat.

“From your throat to your lungs, all infected” Kai whispered “make sure they don’t move, love” he ordered to Kurono, who obediently did. Using his force to keep your body in place. The freezing water making you feel like there just wasn’t enough air being sqweezed into your lungs.

His hands gently traced over your neck, feeling your jugular move.

Until the skin of your throat wasn’t there, was this even possible? You screamed in pain, the water quickly turning red, there wasn’t as much blood as he expected, maybe from the fact that his quirk made a perfect job, a little sloppy, but that was completely intentional.

Then you couldn’t scream anymore, vocal chords and windpipe gone. You felt death, you felt life getting out of your hands, the light at the end of the tunnel. 

Death, cold swarming emptiness.

Until you were brought back to life again, you ghasped for air, coughing and grabbing your troath, just to make sure your neck, muscles and bone were there.

“Don’t move” Kurono said as he brought you back into the bloody water again, you screamed and cried, wanting to get out of there as soon as possible.

“Such a shame I have to reform such a cute chest” he said, tracing small circular patterns with his finger “such a shame I have to make you pure again” he said, the muscle and skin was removed, two red and bright pair of lungs exhibited themselves right behind your ribs, your heart beating faster and faster by the minute, the water red with blood that would soon turn black from oxydation.

You cried, feeling like you were about to pass out, from the pain and from the shock, you froze on the spot, unable to move. Only a horrific scream filled the room, you were sure other people were hearing this.

Your ribs were soon gone, leaving your organs exposed, both assimilating the wings of a butterfly from how rapidly they were rising and falling, arrhythmically as your brain started begging you to move, to do something, to escape, to die.

“You got such cute lungs, y/n” he said “too bad they are contaminated and filthy, but don’t worry. Kurono and I will take care of that” he smiled and soon, one of them was gone, leaving blood spurting of your torso, you screamed, you couln’t even talk properly from how much pain you were feeling. Then the other, again, death haunted you in such a soothing way, your mind aching to be in their sweet embrace out of any pain and any harm.

But before you could die, life was brought back to you again.

You were safe and sound, not a scar or a wound was left there, no trace of the cruel torture you had been put through.

Maybe next time, you would think twice before doing something like that.

I hope you didn’t enjoy this, sincerely, bee.

have a great day/night and enjoy your lungs and throat while you can.

[five-rivers]

Danger First

Chapter 10

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@pocketramblr :)

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One day - and not even a whole day, because of travel time and Inko wanted Izuku home for dinner- simply wasn't enough time to master a quirk. Although he could turn Float on and off, now. So, they made plans to come back next week, and the next, up until the sports festival. Which. Wow. Really was only two weeks away.

Izuku had never realized how close to the beginning of the school year it was.

He was going to die.

"You're not going to die," said Mr. Yagi. "I'm not going to say the sports festival isn't important, because it is, it's one of the best ways to make professional connections for students, but not doing well isn't the end of the world, especially not in your first year. No one expects you to be perfectly polished."

"But," said Izuku, "I'm supposed to be the next you! I've got to stand out, right?"

Mr. Yagi looked very guilty. "I... may have given you that impression when we were first training, yes. But, since then, with all my research into the past holders... few of them were popular, flashy heroes. If you want to walk the same path as me, that's great. But you don't have to. Even I didn't really start that chapter of my life until after college."

Izuku looked down at his hands, letting silence fill the space between them as he contemplated Mr. Yagi's words. "This isn't about me manifesting One for All differently, is it?"

"What? No, no of course not, my boy. I mean, it certainly helped me come to this conclusion, I wouldn't have done so much research without it! But I certainly hope I would have come to the same conclusion eventually, even so."

"Okay..." said Izuku, still dubious.

"I mean it," protested Mr. Yagi. "Most of my work is essentially underground, you know. There's a reason the battle trial was what it was."

"H-huh? You? Underground? But you're so recognizable!"

"Am I? I firmly believe in bringing all my resources to bear in the fight against evil! Ha ha!"

His laugh devolved into a cough, and he fumbled for a handkerchief. But he recovered quickly enough.

"I guess that makes sense," said Izuku, cautiously, once he thought Mr. Yagi wasn't going to start coughing again.

"You didn't think I stayed number one by popularity alone, did you?"

"I- the formulas the Hero Commission uses to determine rankings are secret, and it only includes spotlight heroes, so when I extrapolated the hero billboard rankings, yes, I assigned a high weight to popularity. There were always some discrepancies between my predictions and the end results, but I figured I missed some events, or the commission assigned them different values…"

"That's quite impressive, my boy. But, though popularity is a factor, the HPSC does take unpublicized fights and rescues into account. Assuming you report them…"

That was the second time Mr. Yagi had mentioned not telling the commission something.

"Do you, um, do you do that a lot? Not tell the commission things, I mean."

"Eh? No, no, I try to stay up on my paperwork. I get a lot of help from Naomasa, though. Some heroes, especially independent ones, without an agency, do have trouble keeping up, sometimes."

"It's just… the other day you said something about not telling the commission about All for One."

"Ah," said Mr. Yagi. He drummed his fingers on the steering wheel. "You're quite right. How should I put this… The HPSC knows All for One exists, and I have made them generally aware of his modern exploits. I haven't told them about his ability to give quirks, though they may know through other avenues, there are certain battles I've had with him that I haven't told them about, and they do not know about One for All."

“Why not?”

“Villains aren’t the only ones who seek power,” said Mr. Yagi. “The HPSC provides a vital service, and I think what one does matters more than why one does it, but… it is my observation that many of the people there are more concerned with personal power than doing the right thing. And positions of power and authority tend to draw in those who would abuse those things."

"Even heroics?"

"Especially heroics. The HPSC Ethics Review Board is supposed to stop that, but no system is perfect." He shook himself. "But look at me! I was trying to give you a pep talk, not saddle you with doubts about the government!"

Izuku laughed, nervously. "I mean, you've definitely distracted me from the sports festival…"

“Yes. The sports festival. Don’t worry about making a big spotlight combat debut. If you want to focus on rescue, or investigation, or the underground, I’ll support you all the way.” He paused. “You do need combat, though, because, because of-”

“All for One?”

“Yes, exactly. All for One.”

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“Way to kill the mood, guys,” said Banjo.

“I think the mood was thoroughly dead already,” said Yoichi.

“Unlike your brother,” said En. “Ninth’s father.”

“Come on, it was just a little omission of information. It wasn’t even a lie!”

“It was definitely a lie. You’re so lucky that my relief about you not being a pedophile eclipsed my righteous fury regarding your mendacity.”

“You know, the fact that you’re delivering that completely deadpan gives me doubts about the fury part.”

“I’m mad at you.”

“You love me.”

“Doesn’t mean I can’t be mad at you.”

“Hey, hey, wait a minute,” said Nana, making a ‘T’ shape with her hands. “Time out. Ninth’s father is All for One.”

“Yes,” said Yoichi, hanging his head, “I thought that had been established.”

“So, are we… What Toshinori is saying is completely valid, by the way… but, are we expecting this kid to fight his father? Is that a thing we’re doing?”

“Uh,” said Yoichi, “in our defense, we did think he was dead.”

“Maybe Eighth will get ‘im before Ninth has to deal with it,” suggested Banjo. “He’s got to have a better chance of that, now what with Fa Jin and all.” He paused. “But, you know what would give Ninth an even better chance, if he does have to fight his deadbeat dad-”

“He’s not a deadbeat,” interrupted Hikage.

“What?”

“Calling him a deadbeat would imply that he is neither supporting the Midoriyas financially nor regularly in contact with them. He is on both counts.”

“What?” squealed Bango.

“Did you miss his phone call with his father immediately following his return home after the USJ attack?”

“Oh,” said Yoichi, “no, I was very aware of my brother’s evil, evil voice. It’s just that these guys were too focused on scolding me to listen to anything I had to say. I still can’t believe he sent someone like that to attack his own son’s class.”

“Didn’t he, like, kill you?” asked En.

“No, my death was largely unrelated. You’ve got to remember, I was a chronically ill fugitive from the law with no money. Who told you that he killed me?”

Everyone looked at their immediate predecessor. Yoichi tracked the path back to Third, who had gone very stiff.

“What the heck, Third? You were there when I died. Why would you tell Hikage that?”

Third did not answer.

“Actually, what did he tell you, Hikage?

“Oh, it was very moving and heroic. It happened while you were saving a busload of metahuman orphans. You sacrificed yourself to let them get away from All for One. I even cried a little.”

“Is it weird that I’m now disappointed in myself for not dying like that?”

“Very,” said Nana.

“What were we talking about before this?” asked En.

“I have no idea,” said Banjo.

.

Izuku delayed going to class, nervous about everyone's reactions to his quirk. It wasn't that he thought they'd reject him, but more that he had no answers for the inevitable questions.

But he also didn't want to be late.

"Todoroki was so cool!" Hagakure exclaimed as he opened the classroom door. "He was all like, blam, bam, swish! And- and he checked whether or not I was there first, before attacking, which was super cool of him."

Todoroki's expression was halfway between 'statue' and 'help, I've been hit by a truck.' "Cool?"

"Very cool."

"You've grown since the first day, kero."

"Ah! Midoriya!"

All heads turned towards him. In the next second, he was hugged by several people, which was more friendly skin contact than he'd had since… ever, probably.

"Eep," he said.

"We were so worried about you," said Uraraka. "We made a group chat, after, but since you were unconscious…"

"Hm," said Monoma, "your quirk still is definitely a stockpile…"

"Monoma!" shouted Iida. "Did you join this hug just to copy quirks?"

"And what of it?"

"But speaking of quirks," said Jiro, "you can fly now? We kind of went along with it at the time, but that's kind of different from a sensory quirk."

"I know," said Izuku, "and I have no explanation."

"Maybe your quirk stockpiles danger," said Monoma, contemplatively. He rubbed his chin with one finger. "That could be why you can sense danger- you're stockpiling it. Then, when the danger gets over a certain threshold, you can release it as flight… why are you all looking at me like that?"

"Oh, nothing," drawled Kaminari. "Just that you're more thoughtful than you look, pretty boy."

"I don't want to hear that from you."

"Th-thank you, Monoma! I'll have to mention it when I go to quirk counseling next."

Which may or may not be this afternoon, depending on how Mr. Aizawa felt and- His head snapped to the door. "Mr. Aizawa's coming!"

They all rushed to their seats. The door creaked open.

"Oh my gosh, he's a mummy."

.

"Iida?"

"What is it, Midoriya?"

They were having a bit of a break during English while Present Mic cycled them through for short sessions with Hound Dog.

"I didn't have a chance to ask you earlier, but how's your brother?"

“He’s alright! It’s the first really major injury of his career, so he’s going to take it easy for the rest of the month, to make sure his engines heal properly. He’d prefer not to of course, but, ah, there is a silver lining.”

“That’s good,” said Izuku, encouragingly.

“I really shouldn’t be happy about it,” said Iida, rubbing the back of his neck, “but he’ll be able to come see me during the sports festival, and he probably would have been too busy if he were active.”

“I think it’s okay to be happy about good things, even if they happen because of bad things,” said Izuku. “It isn’t like we can go back and make the bad things not happen, after all…”

“That’s very true, Midoriya! What a mature way of thinking about things.”

Izuku didn’t know about that, but he was willing to take the compliment.

.

“Midoriya,” said Shouta, who was absolutely and unquestionably recovered enough to teach. Even if he had zoned out in the corner of the room in his sleeping bag all morning rather than trekking back to the teacher’s lounge… or teaching any of his other classes… shut up. “What are you doing at the window?”

“O-oh. Mr. Aizawa. I didn’t know you were awake?”

It was, maybe, a little unfair to single Midoriya out like that, since the entire class was standing by the window, and the way Uraraka, Sero, and Midoriya were closest to it, with Monoma a close fourth, was concerning, but Midoriya was the first one Shouta saw, and the one most likely to to cave and tell him what was going on.

“Midoriya.”

“R-right. Well, going out the door seems a little unpleasant today, so we thought we’d switch it up?”

What did that even mean?

“We were going to bring you with us, of course,” continued Midoriya.

What did that even mean?

“Out the window.”

“Um. Yes.”

“What kind of unpleasant are we talking about?”

“Battle trial unpleasant?”

Shouta groaned and hauled himself up, walking over to the door. He looked out the window and made note of all the students from other classes standing out there, circling like sharks. Great. Maybe they needed to have an assembly about respecting boundaries or whatever, especially if the people whose boundaries were being crossed were potentially traumatized.

Something to bring up at the next staff meeting he attended. Which… would probably not be soon.

Anyway.

He opened the door.

(“A mummy,” whispered someone.)

(First his kids, then these kids… he wasn’t that wrapped up.)

(Was he?)

“What are you all doing here?” he asked, voice rasping rather more than he wanted it to.

The students didn’t seem inclined to answer. Someone did mutter something about the sports festival, but it was far from the complete answer that Aizawa wanted.

“Right. Whatever. Scoping out the competition is one thing, but you are aware that class 1-A is recovering from a traumatic experience. And you’re blocking traffic. Clear off.”

The crowd slowly dispersed. Shouta sighed. He knew this would only be the first of many such incidents. He made a note to talk to Nemuri about whether or not she’d be willing to donate some of her class time to talk about public relations.

.

“You know,” said Nemuri, “if you actually rested, Recovery Girl would be able to heal you.”

“I know nothing of the sort,” said Shouta, glaring at his desk in the staff room. “I’m forgetting something.”

All Might walked in. “Er, young Aizawa,” he said. He paused for a painfully long, awkward moment. “Are you still meeting with young Midoriya today?”

“Crap.”

.

Did Izuku expect Mr. Aizawa to come to their meeting? No. The man had casts on all of his limbs. But, he hadn’t cancelled it either. So, better safe than sorry, right?

But it had been a while, now. Izuku could probably safely assume he wasn't coming after a half hour. He got up, packed his bags, and reached out for the door handle-

Only to freeze as Mr. Aizawa yanked it open and pulled Mr. Yagi into the classroom after him.

Izuku scurried back to his seat.

"Nothing physical today," croaked Mr. Aizawa. "We're going to figure out your quirk."

“O-okay,” said Izuku.

Aizawa collapsed into the seat behind the teacher's desk. “To be short, this quirk, One for All or whatever, is complete nonsense.”

“Uh,” said Mr. Yagi. “Sorry?”

“Sorry,” whispered Izuku.

“You should be. Not you, Midoriya. You’re fine.”

“Okay?”

“Right. So. You’ve got two quirks right now. Danger Sense and Float. Unless something else showed up over the weekend?”

“No, it’s, um, it is just those two right now.”

“And you’ll most likely get Smokescreen, Blackwhip, and that strength enhancement eventually. Plus two mystery quirks.”

“That is what I’ve been able to find out,” said Mr. Yagi.

“So, we have to figure out some way to get all those under a coherent umbrella that can account for the mystery quirks, and before the sports festival, so the evil immortal supervillain doesn’t notice that you have quirks just like a bunch of people he had personal beef with.”

Mr. Yagi cursed in English. “I hadn’t thought about that.”

“Yeah, I wonder what else you haven’t thought about. Maybe this year I can get Nezu to take my suggestion about doing hero names before the sports festival seriously. You know we’ve had people stalk students before because for some godforsaken reason we use their real names? I need a drink.”

“Ah, water?”

“No.”

“Young Aizawa, you’re a teacher…”

“A career choice I question daily. Midoriya, do you have any thoughts about how to make your quirk make sense in a way that won’t get you killed or abducted by the HPSC?”

“I- Does that happen?” despite his conversation with Mr. Yagi over the weekend, he still had generally positive thoughts about the hero commission.

“I have no idea. Wouldn’t put it past them.”

“Well, um, I was talking to Monoma earlier, and he said something about stockpiling danger, and how it might let out the stockpile as the energy necessary to levitate- which, really, would be a fascinating quirk if it did work that way- but I thought it might also work for Smokescreen and the strength enhancement? I mean, general responses to danger are fight, flight, or hide, so the strength enhancement is fight, Float is flight, and Smokescreen would be hide…”

“That might work. What about Blackwhip.”

“Yeah, that one has kind of stumped me.”

“Blackwhip sure is a problem,” agreed Mr. Aizawa.

.

The ghosts started laughing. “You’re a problem, Banjo,” chortled Nana.

“Come on, guys, that isn’t funny!”

"It is! It's hilarious!"

"They were just talking about All for One tracking the kid down and killing him!"

The mood sobered quickly.

"Considering that he is Ninth's father," said Hikage, "I suspect it's far too late for that."

"Yeah," said Yoichi. "But, just to be safe, and in case there are other weirdos out there, new rule: no giving him new quirks in public. Not that we can do anything about when he eventually manifests the stockpile…"

"What if he's going to die?" asked Hikage, raising his hand.

"He already got your quirk, why do you care?"

"We'd like to hear it," said Banjo, somewhat forcefully.

"Well, if he looks like he's going to die, do whatever you can to stop that from happening, I guess. But chucking a quirk he doesn't know how to use isn't always going to be the beat answer."

"Wait," said Nana. "Hold up a second. A few days ago we were talking about the potential for multiple quirk brain damage, weren't we?"

"Oh, good catch," said Yoichi. "I guess I forgot to mention it, which means Nana is the only one I'd trust babysitting my nephew in the event a quirk rewound him to elementary school age-"

"That is a suspiciously specific scenario," said En.

"-and all the rest of you are fired. You didn't even question giving him more quirks? Really?"

Hikage raised his hand. "I assumed you had discovered that Ninth had a constitution capable of handling multiple quirks, similar to yourself and your brother."

"That is true. Okay, Hikage would be another exception, but he's disqualified from babysitting for other reasons."

"That's fair."

.

"So we need something that can do all that, and has tentacles," said Izuku, squeezing his bottom lip in thought.

"Yeah," said Mr. Aizawa. "Honestly, even really dumb ideas would be welcome right now."

"Why are you looking at me?" asked Mr. Yagi.

"You know why."

There was only one creature Izuku could think of that could do all the things Izuku one day might be able to while maintaining room for the two mystery quirks. "Cthulhu."

Mr. Yagi looked mildly scandalized at the suggestion.

"Nah, it'd have to be something like eldritch. Cthulhu's trademarked in Japan, and that can give you aboveground types trouble."

"What is it a trademark for?" asked Mr. Yagi.

"Ask Midnight. I don't want to talk about it."

"Ah," said Mr. Yagi.

"The problem with that is that you currently have no justification to call it that. Now if you already had Smokescreen…"

The adults looked at him.

"... I don't think it's going to just show up like that," said Izuku.

.

"Why not?" asked Banjo, staring at En. "They practically asked you for it."

"Well, first off, I live for drama, so jot that down."

"Huh? What about me?" asked Yoichi.

"Nothing, it was just an idiom. Second…"

.

"...Right," said Aizawa. “For now, then, we’ll have to give it a temporary name, because it’s starting to get to the point in time where it’ll actually be illegal for you to not register it.” He shuffled his casts. “Yagi, start filling out those forms with what he can do currently. Midoriya, make sure you check him when he’s done. For now, we’ve got to come up with a name.”

“Um,” said Izuku. “Float’s the only one that’s really visible, so I could just call it Float?”

“Vetoed. You aren’t picking a name that the immortal supervillain knows.”

“He did seem to only refer to people by quirks unless he really hated them,” said Mr. Yagi. “Except his brother, who he always called ‘my foolish brother.’”

“Focus on the paperwork.”

“And he called himself by his quirk name as well,” mused Izuku. “Do you think it was a side effect? Quirks have document impact on people’s personalities-”

“Focus.”

“R-right. Um. Feather Fall? No, that’s part of a game. Flight Reflex?”

“Good enough for now,” said Aizawa. “Flight Reflex it is.”

[fluffyk97]

Basic backstories, setup and just few little things about Werewolf Cole Au. A synopsis if you will?

There's no elemental powers, Overlord, Zane isn't a nindroid, etc. Just basically a regular world with small real myths such as Werewolves.

Werewolf wolf forms aren't humanoid, but really are just big 6ft tall wolves.

Kai and Nya do live in a house near the woods and their parents were never kidnapped so they were raised by them. However they both are in a line of work that has them not home most of the time.

Kai & Nya found Lloyd on the streets being bullied from other kids. Kai immediately couldn't stand it and stepped in. When asked where Lloyd lived so they could take him, Lloyd said he didn't have one.

After a long video call later, and a quick visit by Maya, Lloyd was able to be adopted into their family and enroll in school under the name Lloyd Smith.

Kai is 20, Nya is 18, Lloyd is 14, Cole is 21, Jay is 18, Zane is 23, Pixal is 22, Skylor is 21. Excluding Cole till later, they're just a big friend group.

Kai is trying to find a good College to get into while working at Skylor and her Mother's small Noodle Shop. There is no Chen because I said so.

Skylor and Kai used to date in Highschool, but found to be better friends instead and now are just close friends.

Jay & Nya are in highschool Senior Year, and are together.

Zane & Pixal was friends with them in highschool, but now are in College together. Also a couple, and they love to visit when they can and video chat.

Lloyd is in Middle School. He's managed to make few friends there but his best friends are his adopted siblings, their friends, and his adopted cat, Meowthra.

Cole was childhood friends with Jay back in another town until one day him, his father and mother had to suddenly move out without a word to anyone. So to Jay, his childhood friend just one day disappeared.

There are Werewolf Hunters after them.

Cole gets his wolf side from Lily.

Lily doesn't pass away when he was younger, but is sick. Lou moves them to the Town where the gang are, hearing about how it's nice and close to some woods, good clean air, and he did some digging and saw nothing about Hunters being in the town because the Forest and its wildlife are supposed to be protected.

Cole is trying to figure out what to do for his mother and always goes out to the woods at night to let himself be a wolf, especially because he doesn't have complete control of his transformation like Lily.

Unfortunately Hunters did follow them.

The Hunters one day went to eat at the Noodle Shop and talked about going hunting in the Woods. Kai overheard, and he knows the Woods are not to be hunted in. Kai tried leaving a voicemail to Skylor but his phone unfortunately died mid message. He wasn't sneaky enough about it and the Hunters did notice.

At the end of his shift, locking up the Noodle Shop, Kai is jumped by the Hunters so they don't have a goody goody try and ruin their hunt.

Kai managed to get away and did run off into the woods, hoping to lead them off his tail, not find their way to his house, while also hoping to manage to get home through the woods.

Kai of course loses the Hunters, but unfortunately his ankle did get sprained pretty bad and he stops to sit against a tree once he's sure he's safe.

That's when Cole finds him after smelling some of his blood.

Kai never heard of any reports of wolves in the woods, especially none that are 6ft tall. So understandably, Kai freezes up in fear while also knowing he wouldn't get anywhere if he tried.

Cole approaches, luckily just have hunted something himself so Kai's blood doesn't affect his hunter instincts too much.

Cole slowly approaches Kai before licking his wounds. He turns Kai around and grabs him by the back of his jacket, carrying him off to his little den he set up for when he's out in the woods.

Kai freaks out and is about to yell before he hears the distant sound of a Jeep driving through the woods which leads him to shut up in fear its the hunters.

This also has Cole rush to the den.

The den is set up with a large bedroll, campfire and few other necessities because Cole goes to it when he's a human as well. It surprises Kai, but he doesn't complain when the big wolf sets him down and carries over a first aid kit.

Even after patching himself up, Kai still can't get up, but it seems the Wolf in front of him basically saved him and maybe has an owner. Plus, out of fear of running into the hunters, he decides okay he'll stay for the night.

Cole does notice Kai starts shivering when trying to sleep, so he goes over to offer some warmth. Kai while uneasy with a big wolf next to him, accepts it, not wanting to risk going against it and it is nice.

This leads to both of them falling asleep and Cole completely forgetting he's going to change back in the morning.

So Kai wakes up being hugged by this large shirtless man. His screaming wakes Cole up, leading him to screaming as well as the scramble to get apart.

The den is surprisingly close to Kai's house, so as Nya is about to head out on her bike to find out why Kai didn't come home last night, she hears him screaming in the woods.

After the screaming stops, Kai and Cole stare at each other. Kai in complete bewilderment, glancing around for that wolf from last night unaware it was Cole. Cole meanwhile is frozen, slapping himself mentally for some reason helping this random stranger as a wolf and not thinking about him turning back in the morning.

Nya calls out for Kai though, drawing his attention away from Cole and allowing him a moment to slip away.

Kai after realizing he was left alone, decides to get up, limping out of the den to call out to Nya.

Kai is brought home and his wounds are more properly treated. A call to Skylor to look out for the guys that jumped Kai and to let her know what's up.

Kai tells the story about the Wolf. Lloyd gets excited wanting to find a big nice Wolf himself, but Nya quickly dismisses it to it most likely just being a dream passing out in the woods. Hoping to delude Lloyd from going and searching the woods for said Wolf, while also not believing it herself.

Kai is basically forced to stay home till they know the Hunters aren't going to go after him again, and to heal up his ankle.

Kai keeps thinking about that night while during his little house arrest, and even dreams of the man he woke up next to, turning into the 6ft Wolf that helped him.

One night when he's okay to walk again and Nya is at Jay's house with Lloyd to help him study, and for a little sleepover, Kai sneaks out back to the woods, finding the den again and hopes to come across the Wolf again.

Cole wanders in as a wolf and freezes noticing Kai waiting for him. He was no different from Kai, constantly thinking about the other in numerous ways since their encounter.

Cole unfortunately wasn't so prepared for another meeting and turns to run away, but finds himself freezing when Kai cries out "Wait!"

Kai slowly approaches Cole.

"You can understand me, can't you?" Cole looks Kai in the eyes and nods to Kai's slight surprise.

"Are you that guy I woke up next to?" Cole whines in response, in fear of Kai knowing.

"It's okay! I... well its little weird to think about, but... wow I was actually right? Haha, I don't know how to feel about this, but I won't go ratting you out don't worry!" Cole's ears perk up in surprise.

That's when the familiar sound of a Jeep reaches both their ears. Smelling the air, Cole whines, recognizing the smell of Hunters, moving to turn and run again, but Kai stops him again.

Kai offers and brings Cole back to his house to help hide him. Cole feels like he should reject, and not trust so easily, but he finds himself following Kai easily.

That's when Kai walks in with Cole, ducking through the back door and see Nya and Lloyd who just got home because the sleep over got cancelled.

After a lot of panic and explaining later, Nya agrees to help out Cole, wanting more explaining from him if Kai saying him turning into a human is true.

Lloyd is very excited to see such a big wolf and starts talking to Cole a lot. It surprises Cole, but he also finds it enjoyable to see a kid so excited to actually see him like this after growing up and being told by Lou he should never show his secret to anyone.

Lloyd does bring Meowthra to Cole, and while Kai and Nya were expecting the usual Cat vs Dog or this case, Wolf, Meowthra surprisingly really likes Cole and they get along fine.

Lloyd helps Kai give food to Cole once they hear the wolf's tummy growl.

The next morning, Cole wakes up in the living room as human and he does explain what he is. Pleading for the trio of siblings to not say anything, especially after he smelled Hunters and learned they're the ones who hurt Kai. They of course agree to the promise.

This starts the cycle of Cole coming over some nights as a Wolf and staying the night.

Cole is excited to talk to people again after being on the run and being hidden for so long and a nice distraction from worrying about his mother.

Kai finds himself wanting to spend more and more time with Cole until he realizes he's actually falling in love with a werewolf.

Overtime the rest of the friend group also accidentally learn about Cole but agree to keep the secret. Jay especially being really happy to see his childhood friend again and getting an explanation why he disappeared so long ago.

Kai find himself talking a lot about Cole to his siblings and Skylor. Cole does the same to Jay about Kai.

Of course they do confess at some point. Or basically forced to by everyone.

Cole keeps all this a secret from Lou because his father has grown to always have a constant worry of his son and wife being hurt because their Wolf sides. He talks to Lily about everyone though when he thinks she's asleep, but she does hear it all and is happy to hear her son is happy. She doesn't tell Lou until Cole is ready.

Cole is a clingly bf when him and Kai are together, being very touch starved from only having his mom & dad for so long. Kai loves attention, so it works out perfectly.

Cole as a wolf will sometimes just pick up Kai to bring him t lay down with and enjoy cuddles. When human, he loves to come up from behind for a hug.

Kai brought Cole to work one day and Cole fell in love with the food there ofc.

When Cole first ate cake around the others, he was a wolf and they did immediately get scared with mindset of chocolate bad for dogs. Morning came and Cole reassured he was fine and is still okay to eat anything he can as a human, as a wolf.

Cole does still struggle with gaining control of his transformation but that mainly affects to him turning into a wolf every night. Lily can turn into a wolf anytime she wants.

However sometimes Cole finds himself losing to his wolf instincts and needs to hunt or gets hostile.

First time Cole loses himself as a wolf he is hostile, but Kai slowly approaches him, treating it like he would for Lloyd when he has panic attacks, and brings Cole out of it. Mostly succeeding to get close because Cole smells his own scent on Kai.

They all do try and pitch in to find a way to help Lily, and stop the Hunters.

[alyxia91]

In A Million Years

Soft Bakugou, because there’s something I love about the thought of this tough guy absolutely melting for someone. I’m sorry it’s kind of a long, slow-burn. I ramble. I’m working on it.

When you first met Bakugou, you were undeniably intimated. How could you not be? He was anger, pride and explosions personified. You wondered if standing too close was a hazard to your health, if not physically, mentally. But as time went on and you became more accustomed to his personality, you found that that red hot anger wasn’t scorching you, rather drawing you in and keeping you warm. Small, barely there conversations in passing grew enough to where you could confidently say he was a friend, and someone you relied on - you hoped he felt the same.  You didn’t notice the sideways glances he would send your way, or the faint blush that would flush across his face whenever you smiled at him. How he wished he would be the only one you smiled at, the only one to hold your attention. But you were too nice, while not overly popular by the typical standard, it was fair to say everyone liked you, including the explosive future hero. Those feelings only continued to grow as you progressed through your years at UA, both of you drawing closer and closer to each other subconsciously. He didn’t notice that he spoke to you differently, softer than anyone else; and you never realized that you were almost always touching him in some way - a hand on his arm, fingers brushing against each other.

Neither of you noticed that you’d fallen in love with each other.

It wasn’t until a fight against the League of Villains that those feelings were violently pushed to the forefront, when you got seriously injured.

The fight had been typical, if not chaotic. Everyone was doing their best to keep themselves alive while fighting. You were no different, your shadow fiends fighting at a distance while you kept up inn hand-to-hand combat. Thank God you practiced against Bakugou frequently - otherwise you doubted you’d be able to keep up. The years of training also prevented too much energy being wasted keeping your multiple shadow fiends active - it was a skill you wanted to grow further. You’d gone up from having one out for a few minutes to having multiples out for hours. Right now, you had 13 running around fighting and defending.

Explosions sounded to your left - you didn’t have to look to know it was Bakugou. Even in scenarios like this, somehow he was never too far from you, always keeping an eye on you. Unfortunately, that eye missed Tomura coming towards him, arm stretched out and hand reaching to grab at his face. You, however, noticed the movement in your peripheral, and with a swift kick to the stomach of whatever moronic douchebag you were fighting, launched yourself towards the pair. Your left arm stretching as far as you could make it, desperately trying to stop Tomura from making contact.

This resulted in your left hand grabbing his, your arm crossing over his body as an additional barrier. Pain erupted from your finger tips and you watched as your palm and fingers turned to dust. The pain shot up your arm, nerve endings for limbs you were quickly loosing  firing desperate warnings to get the hell out. Glitching your jaw, you willed a sword, a mace, ANYTHING strong to be formed with your right hand - by some grace an axe pulled itself from your fingertips, the purple smoke billowing off of it the only indication that you had created it. Without a second to think, you swung the axe across your arm, severing in and stopping the decay.

A different kind of pain shot through you, and before you truly knew what was happening, you stop up and pout your palm to Tomura’s chest. You met his eyes, and the maniacle grin he had on his face was enough to drive you to send all of your shadow fiends to him. With the strongest push you could muster, you distanced yourself from him just as they arrived to swarm him. You turned to look at Bakugou, to make sure he was okay, safe...alive, and you were met with easily the most wild eyes you had ever seen. You’d never found him particularly easy to read, but right now there were so many emotions flashing through his eyes you wondered if every emotion he’d ever felt was in there.

“Suki...” you whispered, suddenly too tired to speak properly. “You - you - what the hell did you - are you crazy?! You idiot! You could have-” Whatever he was saying was drowned out by a ringing in your ears, suddenly so loud and overwhelming you had to close your eyes. You dipped your head, an attempt to hide it to block out everything.  “Make it stop, make it stop, make it stop” you whimpered, desperate for the pain  to cease; and just as suddenly, it did.

You awoke hours later, the repetitive beeping of a heartrate monitor letting you know where you were. ‘Goddamnit. It’s been so long since I was here...thought I was doing better’ you thought, eyes staring blankly at the ceiling. You signed, resigning yourself to your fate. You made the decisions, you would live with the consequences.  The door opening caused you to blink, pulling you out of the aimless thoughts. Bakugou walked in, silent and looking exhausted. He paused when he saw you try to sit up, falling slightly when you tried to lean on where your left hand used to be. Three large steps brought him to your side, helping you sit up properly.

You two sat in silence, neither really sure what to say. He had almost died, and you had lost a hard and most of your lower arm to save him, as well as almost dying yourself. What could either of you say? You opened your mouth, only to close it again. Unsure of what else to do, you reached across and places your left hand on top of his, slightly uncomfortable with the twisting of your body.  The contact broke him, and you saw his eyes shut tightly before a small cry erupted from his lips. Tears fell and he grabbed your hand, desperate to hold on to you, to remind himself that you hadn’t died. He brought your hand up to his lips, kissing them and resting them there, his warm breath tickling your fingers.

“You are so stupid....so so stupid” he said, desperately trying to control his breathing, “you can’t do shit like that...you can’t...I can’t...you...you..” panicked breathes interrupted each word, his grip tightening with each attempt at breathing.  “Katsuki, I need you to breath honey - I can barely understand you” you said softly, voice somehow not wavering despite the emotions welling in your throat “copy my breathing, yeah? Look at me” He shook his head, terrified that you’d disappear and this would all be a dream. "I’m not going anywhere. I promise I’m here” you said, tightening your grip slightly to help reassure him. A deep inhale through his nose followed before he finally lifted his head and looked at you.  Even here, after you’d lost so much blood, you were beautiful. He’d never get tired of looking at you - and he almost lost you. In the blink of an eye, his entire world was almost gone. “I’m so sorry” you said, keeping your eyes connected with his “I didn’t think, I just saw you were about the die and I reacted. I didn’t think how it might affect you. I’m so...so sorry Katsu” “Please...please don’t ever do anything like that again. I can’t....I can’t see that again. You were dying in front of me and I couldn’t do anything. The only thing I could do was cause more damage to -” he stopped, and looked down at your arm. You followed his gaze, realizing for the first time just how much of your arm you had lost. Just before your elbow, a diagonal line towards the outer part of your arm.  “Couldn’t do a clean line huh? Well done’ you chastised yourself. “You were bleeding so much...so much...Todoroki was too far away, but we had something to close the wound. I...I had to try...it wouldn’t stop..” ‘He cauterized it’ you realized. Your body tensed with the realization, guilt overwhelming you.

Bakugou felt you tense beneath his hands, his body immediately doing the same. Were you angry? Did you hate him? He didn’t want to do it...he didn’t want to hurt you. But you were dying there, bleeding out in front of him and - “You saved my life, Katsu. I’m sorry I put your in a position to have to do that” “I’m sorry” he said suddenly, feeling overwhelmed and undeserving of your apologies “If I had been paying more attention. This wouldn’t have happened. I was too busy making sure you were safe. If I’d been paying attention, you’d have your arm...your life wouldn’t have changed. I’m sorry. I’m sorry” tears welled up in his eyes again, guilt crushing his heart and pulling hi away from you.

“Hey, hey. Katsu...Katsu please stop. I’m not mad at you, I’d never blame you for this. We both made it, yeah? You saved me. I’m awake and here with you, because of you, okay? I’m still me. I don’t hate you, or think that you should have done something differently. If anything I should have done things differently. But, I will ALWAYS try to save you. That I won’t apologize for. You’re too important to feel any remorse for saving” Bakugou stayed silent, absorbing your words. He kissed your fingers again before standing up, and laying your hand down across the bed. No longer twisting, you sat up straighter, worried that he was going to leave. Instead, and to your utter surprised, he moved one arm behind your back, and another under your knees, lifting you up and maneuvering himself beneath you on your bed. He opened his legs, placing you between them before wrapping his arms around your waist, pulling you against his chest.

“You are so stupid” he mumbled into your neck “you’re too important to throw your life around like that. I won’t survive if something happens to you. I can’t. I need you here, with me. Got that?” Heat engrossed your face, butterflies erupting in your stomach as you processed his words. You nodded, placing your right arm over his and intertwining your fingers. “I’m sorry” you whispered again. He responded by pulling you closer to him, bodies impossibly together. You felt his left arm release, coming down to lift yours up to inspect. You relaxed, letting him examine the bandaged limb. He didn’t say anything, he just let his fingers gently run across the bandage, You signed before inhaling deeply, imagining what your hand used to look like. Suddenly, purple smoke wrapped itself around the wound, molding itself into the missing arm and hand. Bakugou pulled away, eyes widening as the smoke solidified, leaving a purple arm and hand. Experimentally, you wiggled the fingers, excitement coursing through you as you saw them move, felt them against the palm. Bakugou reached forward, expecting his hand to pass through it - but was shocked when you came into contact with solid warmth. It felt like your other hand...exactly the same. Another cry passed his lips and you curled your fingers around his hand, squeezing lightly. Tears hit your shoulder, and your body shook with his as he cried, not even attempting to hide it. His arms wrapped around you again, hugging you tightly.

“I love you. I love you so much” he said, hiccupping softly

“I love you too Katsu” 

He hugged you tighter still, willing your body to mold into his own

“I’m never letting you go. I’m never letting you get hurt again”

“Katsu, I’m going to get hurt”

“No. Not like this. Anything more than a papercut is too much” he grumbled against your neck, lips whispering over your skin “And if paper cuts you I’ll destroy it” You couldn’t help but smile. You knew it was an impossible promise to keep, but you also knew he’d move heaven and earth to keep it. “I promise to try to avoid those kinds of situations from now on, okay?” “You fuckin’ better...” he muttered, finally kissing your neck. You turned towards him, eyes sparkling and a smile on your face., his expression mirroring yours. You were both beyond exhausted, but damnit you were so happy. 

“I can’t -” he started, only to stop himself “Katsu?” He didn’t say anything, just leaned forward and kisses you, soft and careful. Scared to shatter you, scared of seeing your skin turning to dust again. You smiled into the kiss, tightening your grip on his arms around your midsection; a sign that you weren’t going anywhere, that you wouldn’t break. He understood, and deepened the kiss. Hold you against him. Holding you where you belonged; and he was never letting you go. Never in a million years.