#I wonder if my emergency rope is still around it’s been a while since I’ve considered it

[tellie-vision-art]

…

[whatitshouldvebeen]

(no idea if these even go through, first time pls be patient with me) i’ve been going through your blog for a few days and i am loooving it omg i love the way you write so much! i was wondering what you would think would go down when,

a victim using reader as bait to let the victim go

a victim hurting reader (mistook as a family member) or

A victim dragging reader out an exit to escape also (thinking she’s another person trapped there) please don’t feel like you have to answer all, (or even answer at all) you have your own life and you can make your own decisions in life :) 👋

A Dog's Loyalty

I wrote this as a combo of all three requests of yours!

Description: Ana tries to escape with you, but you don't want to leave

Warnings: blood, injury

"Oh my god, Leland, there's someone else in here!"

You looked up at her, your eyes wide. You were huddled in the corner of Johnny's shack, frozen in place. It had been months since you saw another person; you'd almost forgotten anyone but Johnny truly existed.

"Don't worry, hun, we'll get you out. My name is Ana, what's yours?" the young woman asked, working to untie the rope from around your ankle. She had the most beautiful tan skin, her dark hair matted with sweat but still cascading in pretty waves down to her shoulders. The guy she'd called Leland kept watch, peeking out of the cracked front door anxiously.

You hesitantly told her your name, and she smiled as she helped you up from the floor. "I think our friend Julie already unlocked the front gate. We just have to get there without getting caught."

Leland signaled that the coast was clear, sliding through the crack in the door. Ana waited for you to go, and you marveled at how easy it was to get through now. You'd been here so long you'd lost a lot of weight since the first time you'd been sneaking around trying to escape.

You're almost blinded by the light as you emerge on the other side. How long had it been since you'd been outside? You couldn't even remember. Months? A year? Longer?

Ana came out after you, and not long after the three of you heard a chainsaw revving. Ana pulled you into some tall grass while Leland ran away from the exit, drawing the attention of the man you'd heard Johnny refer to as "big boy," who yelled in outrage as he chased after him.

"Come on, now's our chance!" Ana said, grabbing your hand. You stumbled after her, not used to running after so long locked away.

"Where do you think you're going, sweetheart?"

The voice stopped you in your tracks, only a few feet from the gate. Ana looked at you incredulously and tried to pull you toward the gate.

"Come on! He's coming!!" She screamed, tugging at you. You stayed rooted in place, your ears burning.

"Be a good girl and stay right where you are." Johnny rounded the corner of the white picket fence, walking so slowly you probably could get away if you started running. But you didn't.

"Oh my god, you're one of them, aren't you?!" Ana accused, pulling your back against her chest. She took out a bone scrap and held it to your neck, her breathing erratic.

"Let me and Leland go, or I'll kill her!" Ana said, pressing the scrap against your neck and backing up toward the gate. You winced, but it wasn't anything new to have a sharp edge threaten your life.

Johnny stopped, his eyes narrowing.

"'Fraid I can't do that. Your friend is already in the basement being chopped up as we speak."

Ana swallowed harshly. "You piece of shit! You're lying!"

Johnny grinned. "Stick around fer dinner and I'll let you see him again, all dressed in some nice gravy ‘n chitlins."

Ana's tears fell on your shoulder as her back ran into the gate. Johnny stayed where he was, his fingers twitching at his side.

"Johnny," you whispered, trying not to move.

"Obviously, she wants to stay. Keep her," Ana said, shoving the gate open. She then took the bone scrap and jabbed it into your thigh, throwing you to the side.

You screamed as you fell to the ground, blood welling around the bone scrap. Johnny let out a feral growl before lunging, moving faster than you'd ever seen him move.

"Help me!" Ana screamed, running out onto the road. Johnny moved twice as fast, fueled by rage as he grabbed her around her midsection. He didn't hesitate before dragging his blade across her throat, her blood fanning out through the air and splattering on the road. He let her drop to the road, discarded, and you heard him run back through the gate.

He collected you in his arms, sitting on the dusty ground and holding you close.

"Are you okay baby?" He asked, gently stroking your hair from your face. He looked down at your leg and winced, the first time you've ever seen him queasy at the sight of an injury.

You nodded, though your face was pallid and your fingertips felt cold.

"I… need a bandaid…"

Johnny laughed and nodded. "I'll get ya one. Come on." He picked you up easily, cradling you against his chest. Instead of taking you to his shack, he brought you into Nancy's house for the first time. Once inside he laid you out on the dining room table, much like the meals they'd served over the years.

He rushed to the bathroom and brought back gauze.

"This is gonna hurt sugar. Here." He unbuckled his belt and put it between your teeth. "Bite down on this, alright?"

You nodded, and he smiled. "Good girl. One… two…" He then yanked the bone scrap from your thigh.

You wailed, more thick blood oozing out onto the table. Johnny poured alcohol over the wound, making the pain almost unbearable. He then, as quickly as he could, wrapped your leg in gauze. You felt your vision getting fuzzy as you began to fade. But then, Johnny leaned over the table, took his belt back, and kissed you.

Your heart instantly picked up, and your eyes focused on him as he pulled back, his cocked grin on his handsome face.

"You showed your loyalty today, sugar. I knew you were special." He kissed you again, and even though your arms were weak you still wrapped them around his neck. When he pulled back, he looked happier than you'd ever seen him.

"Welcome to the family."

[atlas-of-a-human-soul]

Draw your swords, pt. 6

Summary: Losing someone can make you realize what was already there and the Darkling is about to find that out the hard way.

Warnings: angst, violence, swearing, bit of fluff

Part one // Part two // Part three // Part four // Part five  

=================================

Five days have passed and the Darkling had never stopped looking for his wife. His men never saw him rest, sleep was simply never on his agenda. He barely ate at all, merely giving time for the rest of them to gather their strength.

He was restless, constantly questioning how this could have happened. No matter how he looked at it, the Darkling felt guilt consuming him. Without his rage, he worried the guilt would have paralyzed him. Had he not went on a pointless hunt for something that’s likely a tale, she would have been right by his side, antagonizing him.

It’s been hundreds of years since he felt this way, as if his heartstrings are being pulled by someone other than himself. In this search for Y/N, he realized she is consuming. After all, she might have been right – a part of him may actually care for her. He cursed that part of himself over and over again as result.

They’ve tracked her toward Fjerdan borders. Every now and then, they would find bodies on the road, their throat cut or stabbed right through the heart. Sometimes, he found them alive still. He never refrained from calling on his shadows, trying to draw useful information to close in on their whereabouts.

Y/N never saw him use his shadows before. He couldn’t help but wonder if she’d disapprove of the means he’s using to find her. After all, she called him a demon on their wedding night. She would never accept him as he is, he had no doubt about that.

Did she want to be found by him?

The first body they found, the Darkling smiled. He didn’t question it was her hands who have taken the man’s life. There was no concrete proof, but he was certain of it. Every body found felt like her own version of breadcrumbs.

Closing his eyes, he exhaled heavily. If she managed to set herself free so many times to leave what was now five dead men behind, he couldn’t help but worry for her safety. What was the price of each crumb she left?

It wasn’t just the exposure to snow he worried about – and he did worry as she got cold too quickly and he was the one to warm her up before. Who’d warm her up now?

The darkness of the forest gave him cause to worry too – she may have tried to hide it, but he knew she was afraid of the dark. He realized it when her breathing turned shallow and fast their first night together just as she extinguished the candlelight. The next night, he left his candle to burn long into the night.

Something stirred inside him, a beast has awakened. Despite the war his heart and mind waged, he wondered if he’s his own worst enemy. Maybe it was time to let someone in. For too long, he had been alone in the shadows of his past lives.

Why is he repeating the same mistakes?

How can he be afraid when he married a woman who never blinks in the face of danger?

His heart was ice and stone until she came and now the ice has started to melt. All he’s done is hurt and destroy, but he wanted out of the loneliness that clings to him.

She was right, as hard as it is to admit it. He’s a demon, a devil that walks the earth and he cares. Because of her he hopes he might love again and he can’t let anyone take that from him – hope is the only thing stronger than fear. And when a devil falls in love and discovers hope, it’s the most hauntingly beautiful sight. They should fear him as he will go to the depths of hell to protect her.

While his eyes may have been closed, his heart jumped as a bright flash forced him to open them again.

He was never given a chance to be soft. His hands had to be bloody, to have people fear him. Only when they feared him, they wouldn’t hurt him. Now was the time to show them just why they fear him.

“Where?” He growled out, looking to Ivan and Fedyor who were looking at the sky.

“East”, Fedyor replied hastily, ready to follow Kirigan who set off in said direction without a second thought. He didn’t order anyone to follow, but they did.

Ivan and Fedyor walked two steps behind their general, alert as the flash had awakened them from a deep slumber. They weren’t the only ones shaken, unsure what they’re walking into but none showed fear as their general lead them straight to the source. Their loyalty, their belief in general Kirigan runs deep.

Except for David. He was afraid. He didn’t want to be in that forest and he didn’t want to be in danger, but he trusted Kirigan. Besides, Y/N was nice and Genya seemed to like her. So he came along too.

Kirigan walked in strides, the snow didn’t slow him down. His hands formed fists, his face twisted in anger, but his heart pounded in his chest as he had no inkling what he might find. All he knew was that he had to get there, fast.

As if made of darkness itself, the Darkling emerged on what looked like a battlefield. The trees surrounded a small clearing covered in snow that melted under the spilled blood – still warm as it poured from the dead surrounding her.

She’s on her knees, two Fjerdans chaining her up as if she’s a wild animal.

“You think you’re scary, huh?” She spat at the Fjerdan’s feet – a crimson liquid, Darkling realized. She’s bleeding.  

“That’s adorable”, she chuckled maniacally as she held her fierce gaze on the Fjerdan stood before her. They pulled her left hand behind her back and her right hand in front as they tightened the chains that were secured over rope that laid just beneath.

Darkling’s blood boiled. It is fear that brings rage, that hot burning anger that seeks to harm. Once again, he was afraid, not of her but for her.

Four more Fjerdans came from behind the trees, all covered in blood. “Fucking bitch”, one of them kicked her in the ribs and he couldn’t take anymore. He could kill them easily for what they’ve done – he’s killed every one of them he ran into in the past five days without even blinking, regardless if they were involved in her disappearance or not.

“Mister, I’ve seen scary and you don’t have his handsome smile.”

Licking his lips, the Darkling nearly smiles at her remark. There’s no possible way she means anyone else but him. Looking at his Grisha, he found them nearly all in position. They would attack in a minute, swiftly and deadly.

Yet in a moment of carelessness, he missed the Fjerdans realization they’re being watched. Too quickly, more of them appeared. The pitiful human managed to land a few consecutive blows to Darkling’s face before drawing a dagger.

Angry, dark eyes showed the Fjerdan that the Darkling’s brain is in a different mode, that he has switched gears from empathy he had for his wife to cold emotional indifference. Never once has he directed this mode in Y/N’s direction, yet it emerged when he sensed a threat to her life, letting out a part of him that was full on protective.

Grunting, the Darkling’s eyes narrowed at the human who dared to sink the blade into his heart. Despite his immortality, he could still hurt. The pain of a stab wound felt just as it would if here as fragile as the human before him.

But he’s not human at all.

Connecting his hands, the Darkling lifts his head as he summons the darkness that spills from every corner of the forest. “Foolish”, he sneers, “Attacking me in the dark?” The Darkling smirked, walking past the petrified Fjerdan, allowing his shadows to administer a thousand cuts for his transgression.

As he walked toward the middle of the circle, his shadows followed, aiding his Grisha in taking the rest of the Fjerdans so quickly that Y/N gasped.

Looking around in shock, she found Kirigan kneeling beside her.

“You have a knife”, she coughed into her shoulder, “A knife in your chest.”

“I promised”, he gasped for breath as he pulled the knife from his chest. “That I would protect you and I intend to keep the damn promise.”

On the brink of tears, her lips quivered before she laughed. “I thought you’d let them kill me.” Better to laugh than cry, she thought.

Frowning, he shook his head. “That would be too easy”, he waved David over who stood at the tree line, wide eyed. “If anyone’s going to kill you, it should be me.”

Even with tears blurring her vision, she giggled at his stupid remark. She had tried so hard to free herself.

It wasn’t the first time she had been captured by enemies, she knew what to do. But there were so many of them. Each time she freed herself, they would descend upon her. She managed to run, twice, each time they dragged her back kicking and screaming.

Despite his words, Y/N didn’t believe Kirigan would come for her. She had to be her own hero and she tried. In the end, she used everything at her disposal – everything.

Feeling the chains drop, Y/N glances at David, “Thank you.” The ropes were cut as well, but she didn’t move. Truth be told, she wasn’t sure if she could stand on her own and asking for help would wound her. Rubbing her bruised wrists, she reluctantly looked at Kirigan.

“Here”, Kirigan offered his hands. Truth be told, he wanted to carry her, but he knew her pride wouldn’t allow it.

Hissing, she forced herself up despite Kirigan’s offer. “I am perfectly capable of walking on my own.”

He’d have asked her again because she trembled when the wind blew. Her hair was matted with blood, her face red and not from blushing. He could see the damage they’ve done more clearly now as she bent to take a deep breath as if the simple act of breathing hurt her.

Staring at her, he nodded despite his better judgment. Her breathing was ragged, dragging her feet as she walked. She felt his eyes on her, it unnerved her. All she could do is hope her legs don’t give out, but it felt as if they would betray her any moment now.

“Go and make camp ahead”, he ordered his Grisha to speed up as he realized her stubbornness would kill her. Stepping before her, he wrapped an arm around her waist. There would be no asking her for permission this time, he’ll not allow her to deny his help. Hoisting her up in his arm, he held his breath as she cried out in pain.

“I’m sorry”, he whispered, “I didn’t mean to hurt you.”

How could he not bring any healers? How could he have been so stupid?

Groaning, she sent him a stern glare yet found no anger in his. His eyes are like the ocean - they have the potential to destroy, yet when the waves reach the shore, they dissipate, leaving soft designs in the sand as a gentle reminder of its presence.

Leaning into his embrace, Y/N let out a gentle sigh of resignation. She’s been caught in the riptide and for once, she doesn’t want to fight it.

“I really thought I’d die”, she admits reluctantly.

Feeling him stiffen as he held her in his arms, Y/N frowned. Perhaps she shouldn’t have said that, or anything at all. This isn’t what they do, they don’t bare their hearts open.

“And when I faced death”, she continued regardless. Tilting her head to look up at him, she let out a shuddered exhale. A shy smile adorned her lips as their eyes shared a gaze so tender, an outsider would believe them to be in love.

“I thought how silly it is that I don’t know your first name.”

Snorting, Kirigan raised his eyebrows, “Really?”

“Yes”, she breathes out.

Looking at her now, the Darkling couldn’t believe this is his wife. The woman who infuriates him so often seemed so small, so fragile in his arms. Her gaze held remains of the horrors she was cast into and yet he never saw her as earnest before.

“I married you and I don’t even know your name.”

Licking his lips, he stops. Truth be told, no one actually knows his name. His name was long forgotten, a piece of his soul he had left behind in the fold. He promised himself he’d never utter it while he lives. He had promised he would never be that man again.

Unfortunately for him, he seems to be breaking his promises lately.

He promised her he’d protect her and he failed, just as he promised himself he’d never care for her and yet he does.

“Aleksander”, he mutters, still unsure if it’s the right decision. He placed one of his greatest secrets in the hands of a woman who’d see his world burn. He gave her power she never should possess and yet he’s not afraid. No one could make him fear anything after the ordeal he was put through since she decided to tear down his defenses.  

Smiling softly, she closed her eyes. Resting her head on his shoulder she felt satisfied. It may be small, but finding out his name felt like a victory. She was born to play this game, it was her destiny. He is her destiny.

Waking up, she found herself wrapped in several blankets inside a tent. Grunting, she struggled to sit up on her own. It seemed to be dark still, but she had a blue light lantern lit inside. She may not know who left it there, but Y/N was thankful. Despite her fear of dark, she found it odd she did not fear Aleksander’s darkness at all.

When his shadows nearly encased her in the clearing, she didn’t fret or worry. She smiled.

As contradictory as it may seem, she wished he was with her now. Her entire body ached and still, she was more bothered by the empty spot beside her. Shaking her head, she bites her lower lip. Would it be so bad if she showed a sliver of vulnerability for a single night? Would making a small concession such as this truly take away her power?

Before she has a chance to change her mind, she’s already outside of her tent. The cold chilled her to the bone, biting every inch of exposed skin. Teeth chattering, she looked to the tent next to hers as it was the only one so close – seemingly intentional.

Trying to open it in the cold seemed impossible as her fingers shook violently. Feeling faint, she wondered why she couldn’t just stay in her own tent for the night. Surely it would have been a better idea than to admit she’s scared to be alone.

A warm liquid trickled down her lip and she nearly laughed at her own idiocy. The darkness and cold and her own injuries have all been fairly good reasons for her to just sleep and try to recover and she still tried to find her husband who showed so much disdain for her in the past.

Just as she was about to give up, a familiar head of hair peaked through.

Shivering, she wipes the liquid from under her nose with the back of her hand. Looking at it, she realizes it’s blood. There’s a slightly dazed look in her eyes, the blood loss suffered over the past days leaving its mark.

Looking up at Kirigan, her lips tremble and she sways slightly as her legs threaten to give out. “I didn’t know who else to go to”, she mumbles meekly before collapsing into Kirigan’s arms.

No…Aleksander’s arms.

Pulling her inside, he wrapped her in his arms as she shivered. Covering her with blankets didn’t seem to help either, but he had confidence it would soon enough.

She closed her eyes, clinging to him and selfishly, he smiled. It brought back memories of the night she climbed atop of him to warm up, he assumed. She didn’t know he was awake then, but she did now. She trusted him enough to seek warmth and as her shivers stopped slowly. That’s when the Darkling realized he would never deny her anything she asked of him.

“Fuck”, he whispers under his breath and her eyes open.

He looked at her in a haunted way, a shadow of a bruise marred his jaw and she reached up to touch it, her chest aching when he nuzzled into her palm. They have never been quite as tender with one another, never so intimate. It felt surprisingly nice.

“Are you hurt anywhere else?” She asked, feeling so emotionally raw. Physical pain and lingering fear of impending death must have weakened her for a short while. Surely, she can allow herself a few moments of humanity?

He caught her wrist and pulled her hand down to press flat over his heart. “Here.”

Drawing a shuddered breath, her eyebrows knitted in worry. That’s where the knife was, she remembered with guilt. He could have died for her. Hating him requires too much energy; one she had little to spare. For the night, he can just be her husband and she will just be his wife. What harm can it do?

“Why did you come for me? Didn’t you say you wouldn’t fight for me?” Her confidence wavered as he sighed, brushing his fingers along her cheek. Not only did he come for her, but he murdered men for her.

Blinking slow, half in a daze as a low-grade fever began to grip her too, she had no more strength to deny how beautiful he is or how disarming his charm is. He may never love her, but she could…she could love him. If she ever fell for him, she knew she’d never be able to unlove him. She wouldn’t want to and that…that felt oddly comforting. For once, she was too tired to listen to her mind that preferred to set the world on fire rather than care for him.

As her eyes closed and her face relaxed, he stayed awake. He didn’t understand it, but he embraced the warm feeling spreading in his chest as she fell asleep.

“I’d burn this world for you.”

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Tags: @bruxa0007 @rangotangomango @kaitlyn2907 @thestoryofmylife9 @shelivesindaydreamswme @hxrgreeves @safetyhtom @kaqua @savannah-elliott @all-art-is-quite-useless  @azure23x @girlmadeofavocados @ashdab2611 @acciorudolphx @ladyblablabla @wckedheart @xceafh @sanna2020 @tarkanelima-blog @takethee @mellifluous-cosmos @marvel-ousnesss @tea-effect @starlightofsolaria @p3nny4urth0ught5 @blackbirddaredevil23 @sarcastic-and-cool @slytherinsbiggestproblem @within-thehollowcrown @notthatchhavi @musicconversedance @freakytillthemoon  @lgkoval @honeyofthegods @queenmalhinewahine @misselsbells06  @whatthefluffrichard​

PART 7

[arcadejohn127-9]

Okay so I have a personal head cannon that demon hunters are a thing in the Obey Me World. So I wondering if you could do the brother and undatables finding out that a bunch on demon hunters kidnapped MC while they were in human world because they found out of MCs packs. Your writing is so good, honestly this is one of my favorite Obry Me accounts.

Thank you! It gives me pride for being one your favourites!

I love expanding the world of obey me and idea of hunters is one that seems realistic in a world of demons and angels and just in general, really interesting. Before I joined writing on Tumblr I was actually a Wattpad author and one my books was about a monster hunter who got in a love square with Frankenstein's monster, Dr Jekyll and Mr hyde

Never finished it but it was fun concept so any type of supernatural hunter already just wins in my department

Do I have a thing for making the demons violent and showing off a more aggressive and bloody side to them? Yes, I really do

Warning: kidnapping, gore-ish, violence, religious themes, angst, guns, mentions of torture, long

Your breathing grew heavier as the crushing feeling on your chest continued to grow, your heart slamming against your ribcage. Begging to be released from its suffocating prison. If it weren't for the lump in your throat you were sure your heart would of leapt out of it. 

your feet pounded against the street beneath you; you were running faster than you’ve ever ran before. How did it get to this situation? well, you didn't have time to reminisce but to make a long story short - a group of demon hunters revealed themselves to you and are now chasing you down as you refused to cooperate. they wanted to use you for your pact and you didn’t want to be involved, especially seeing as they were literal demon hunters! they were going to kill your friends! 

but sadly, fate was not on your side. your ankle twisted to the side, pain shooting up from your ankle all the way to your knee. rope surrounded you, you thrashed against the net as your body slammed to the floor. The last thing you saw was the hunter tower above you, the butt of their gun coming down on your head. 

when you finally woke up you already had a gun back in your face, you tried to escape but you were forced backwards. chains rattling behind you. you looked behind you to see you were chained to a cross, both your wrists and ankles were bound.

Your situation only grew worse when the hunter Infront of you snarled down at you. Demanding you used your pacts, spitting on your face. You thrusted forward, matching their snarl as you bared your teeth at them. Demon mannerisms have rubbed off on you but it wasn't doing you any good. The gun clicked, unlocking off safety mode.

Your heart sunk immediately.

"Use your pact or else."

You could only hear the blood rushing through your ears. Trembling as their finger slowly pressed on the trigger. You knew they were going to kill the brother's if you did but you were terrified that were going kill you. You shook your head, letting it hang low as fat tears rolled down your cheeks.

You kept refusing to use your pact and summon the seven demons. Every time you refused they'd hurt you; kicking you, slamming the guns butt down on your head, throwing your head back on the cross. You could barely hear what they said, they just kept screaming at you. Calling you filth and a traitor to mankind.

Despite all the pain you were grateful they weren't killing you. You just had to keep pushing your luck. You couldn't summon them no matter how scared you were. You refused. You couldn't do it.

But fortunately, Magic doesn't always act the way you want it to. Your soul - your entire being BEGGED to be saved. You wanted to save yourself, you desperately tried to spark at the chains and remember any spells but your mind was at a blur. nothing was processing.

You cried out when you saw the large magic circle appear on the floor. You tried desperately to close the summoning circle, cursing to yourself. You demanded your magic to listen to you but it wouldn't work. The brothers symbols appearing in each part and soon enough, they appeared in full demon form.

"FIRE-!"

Lucifer:

his wings blocked at the rapid bullets going their way

His whip quick to come out and wrap around a hunters wrists, he twisted his hand around it and pulled the poor hunter towards him

"This isn't very welcoming, now is it? How bold."

the hunter went flying, the brothers dodging in time

Mammon:

He smirked, a bullet between his teeth and more between his fingers

Steam was drifting off them but he just crushed the metal bullets with no other thought

"How nice of ya to give me a gift~! You really know how to make a demon happy."

He spat out the last bullet and it went flying, hitting a hunters eye

Levithan:

The ground shook beneath you, many hunters missing their shot at his brothers

A crab like beast bursted out of the ground, sewer sludge splattering on the floor

It swiped and grabbed at the hunters, screams filling the space, bodies snipped in half in seconds

"You're all worse than Normies! You took the wrong human from the wrong demons!"

he back hand slapped a hunter that approached him, growling

Satan:

He leapt off the crab, grabbing the nearest hunter to him by the head

Their neck snapped to an odd angle and they immediately dropped

"This isn't how I expected to spend my evening but you took my reading partner....you won't receive my mercy."

He shoved his clawed hands through their chests and spines, ripping out the first organ or bone he could grab

He didn't lie, he didn't show an ounce of mercy

Asmodeus:

His wings flapped behind him, he dragged his claws along the backs of the hunters he flew past

Giggling as they screamed in pain

"Aww I'm just flirting, was it really that bad?"

He pouted before swiping at their faces

Shoving another hunter towards his more violent brother

Whilst he had no issue letting himself get wild, he saw how scared you looked

He didn't want to get too dirty or else how could he comfort you?

Beezlebub:

Beel could be ruthless if TRUELY provoked

And hearing your whimpers when he arrived stirred furious anger within him

When he finally saw your beaten state it made him snap

Hungry for blood

Hunters head being crushing with ikr hand

"You don't even look appealing to eat, you're worst than Solomon's cooking."

He took a chunk out of one hunter when they aimed at one of his brother's

Refusing to let his family get hurt

Belphegor:

We all know he's cold blooded

So it was no surprise blood was gushing everywhere

His dream dust filling his area and nightmares surrounded the hunters

"They're mine....and yet you stole them and hurt them, you're disgusting."

hunters would disappear into the mist and not come back out alive

Bodies littering the floor as he swooped through

As soon as things got gory your eyes were sealed shut, trying to shut out the sound of flesh tearing and screams of agony. Whimpering as you thought about the brothers smiling faces, how gentle and soft they usually were. Chanting in your head that they were here to save you, you were safe, they're still them.

You screamed as your body was lifted off the platform you were on, the cross rising. You were now fully crucified; feet slipping as you struggled against the cross. The chains were barely supporting your weight so you just dangled, fear rising in you.

Mammon charged towards you, his brothers continuing to fight against the hunters. He ripped the chains out of the cross, you fell right into his arms, your heart thumping against your chest.

"look at what they did to you....I shouldn't of protected ya, I hope you'll learn to forgive me - they busted you up real bad."

He caressed your cheek; eyes glaring at your busted lip and the many bruises forming on your face. You winced when his hand touched the side of your head, he recoiled feeling something warm on his palm. It was blood. YOUR blood.

He almost broke down right there and then, looking at how hurt you were - he couldn't handle it.

"thanks...that makes me feel so much better." You let out a pained laugh, hoping to make him feel better.

He only frowned more, softly rubbing his thumb on your cheek. It was obvious he was struggling to keep himself calm. You held his hand, showing off your best smile.

"i don't blame any of you, the hunters did this, okay? You didn't do anything wrong."

Your sweet moment was ruined when the 6 brothers backed all bumped into the two of you. Forming a protective ring as the hunters surrounded them; it seemed like there was no end.

You raised your shaky hands, magic swirling around your wrists and to your fingertips. You barely had enough strength to put on a little light show but you weren't going to just let the demons defend you without even trying to help.

It your lucky day as suddenly, the hunters hideout doors bursted open. You could barely make out the outside but there was blood coating every wall, steam coming off dead bodies. Soon enough four figures emerged and your heart almost leapt out of your throat.

Lucifer growled as he strangled a hunter, turning his attention to the new comers.

"I'm surprised you came so late, espically with the company with you, my lord."

Diavolo laughed, his hands coming together as his magic flared brightly. Barbatos had his arms behind his back, smiling to all of you.

"Forgive our tardy timing, these hunters are determined."

"don't forget us, though I may of caused us to take our time, it's been so long since I've fought this many people."

Solomon adjusted his sleeves, his many pacts glowing against his skin. Simeon, unlike the others, looked completely untouched by the chaos. Smiling as he kept his hands together.

"I beg for your forgiveness (Y/N), It appears we've angered Lucifer more than the hunters have."

UNDATEABLES↓

Diavolo:

Time slowed down within the room, only the hunters going still

Their movements frustratingly slow

"I think it's best to clean up this situation whilst you take (Y/N) back, they've seen enough."

He looked at Lucifer, both men nodding

The prince moved freely through the frozen room, eyeing the amount of hunters

Barbatos:

He bowed to the brothers, offering you a comforting smile

"I must agree with my lord, things will get rather unpleasant."

He slowly slipped off his gloves

He approached you, gently handing you his gloves and patted your shaky hands

A silent request to keep them safe for him

Solomon:

The wizard blew the steam off his wand

Smirking as he pointed it towards the magic still present around your wrists

"Isn't it good I came along? You're going to fall sleep if you keep using your powers, little apprentice, let me open a portal for you."

Just as he finished talking he summoned a portal to the devildom

He gave you a small salute

Simeon:

He hastily rushed towards you all

Checking on each brother for any serious harm, thankful they were okay

He turned his attention to you, doing the same

"all is going to be okay, I promise, I'll bring over some desserts when we get back - tell Luke I won't be long, I know he's anxious about your safety."

He walked you to the portal, caressing your hands

You got a gentle push towards the portal

Once you were all through the portal, you completely shattered. Crumbling to the floor as you broke down sobbing. The brothers tried to approach you again but your nostrils flared, face scrunching up in disgust. They reeked of blood and guts.

Beels mouth was covered in blood, flesh between his fangs. Levithans hands trembling from adrenaline red and stained with blood. Belphegor was showered in the red liquid, a feral look still in his eye. Mammon was the most clean out of all of them but he had blood dripping down him. Asmodeus had flesh on his nails and blood on his cheek. Satan looked just as drenched as belphegor, his shoulders shaking with anger. And finally, Lucifer was the second cleanist but he still was no better than the others.

"i need time to- time to calm down....just.... please just wash."

They all accepted your wishes, hesitant but they understood your predicament.

You laid on the floor, chains still on your wrists and ankles. They felt so tight on your limbs, you whimpered as they scratched at your skin. It took one small burst of magic to make them drop; you were finally free.

You continued to just lay on the floor, shakily grabbing a nearby pillow. Inhaling the sweet comforting scent, letting it fill your scenes. Everytime you even smelled a faint swift of the gore-ish scene from before you just took in another deep inhale.

You laid there for what felt like hours. Silently crying as you hugged the pillow.

You grounding yourself. Reminding yourself you were safe and back in your room. The brothers were safe and they weren't mindless beasts.

You rolled on your side, something poking your hip. It was your phone. You pulled it out from your pocket and began to type, messaging Luke that Simeon was okay aswell as you, apologizing for not seeing him in person. You sent him a quick selfie of you smuggled into your pillow and tried to look somewhat happy. Hoping it'll comfort him.

It wasn't a moment later until you heard a knock at your door. You questioned who it was.

"we're all clean now, meet us in the living room if you want....I made your favourite drink~" Asmo's voice was soft, gentle on your ringing ears.

A small smile appeared on your face. Shuffling out of your room still hugging your pillow, trailing after the lustful demon. Soon enough, you were both entering the living room.

The room was dim, the fireplace being it's only lighting and warming the room up nicely. There must of been something with the wood as it smelled so comforting. The brothers all sat along the sofa, Some on the floor. Everyone had their own drink, blankets and pillows surrounding them.

You curled up in the middle of the sofa, letting yourself be engulfed in multiple hugs. Everyone touching you in some way and you all just sat there. In peaceful silence as you just hugged.

You really needed this....

"thank you for saving me."

"We'll always save you"

"you can always count on us-!"

"I won't let this happen to you again, I promise to protect you better."

"no one is allowed to touch you like that, I won't let them."

"You don't need to thank us, darling."

"I will always make sure you're safe, no Matter what."

"I won't fail you again."

you all hugged each other even tighter, embracing each others comfort and warmth. Tears falling and soothing words shared, each brother did their best to be strong. But even they couldn't stop themselves from shedding tears when the adrenaline died.

They almost lost you. You were kidnapped and hurt because of your connection to them. They were never going to let you get harmed again, no matter the cost.

[redrosesartcabin]

So yeah, I wrote the thing based on an anon message for @itsme-star

I made it a Barley x (female) reader (based on my self insert character) fanfic ‘cause I had to be a little self indulgent lmao

I hope you enjoy it! It turned out longer than I had planned xD

——————————————————

The double-decker couch

Barley x (female) reader fanfiction

———

Around three months ago:

Y/n’s boyfriend, Barley Lightfoot, had knocked on her window… with small stones… in the middle of the night:

At first her ear just twitched and the noise had mashed with the dream she was having, but the more the noise repeated, the more her consciousness felt pulled into the physical realm again, and with a groan, she had to face the reality that the noise would not stop until she got up (she already had a suspicion as to who was causing the noise).

With a heavy sigh, y/n forced herself from under her comfortable blanket, before ripping the window open.

‘Of course it’s him’, she thought, looking down at Barley as he waved his hands up at her, somehow wide awake.

‘How much energy can a person have?’, she asked herself, before she motioned with her hands, that she’d come outside.

“What in the world are you doing here?”, she asked as she arrived, whisper-yelling at him.

“Well you know how it is my lady: sometimes one just drives around at night after finishing a campaign of quests of yore and sees the poster of a double-decker bus and then one might think: ‘Wouldn’t it be cool if one could have a couch after that structure?’ After having had thought about a new couch for a while and ‘wouldn’t it be cool, if one might be able to build that with their girlfriend?’”

“I can’t say I relate, though I am impressed by one having the idea”, she said, deliberately accentuating the word ‘one’, as she couldn’t now but smile at her beautiful dork, “And I have to say I love the idea, though I still have to decide whether it was worth waking me up at three a.m… but for now I’ll just say yes, because I love you too much to be mad at you for this”

“I know: I’m irresistible”, he winked, pulling her closer to him and engaging her in a sickeningly romantic kiss.

“As nice as this is, I would still like to catch up on some sleep. We’ll write later and you tell when we should start building”

“I actually thought… you know… that maybe now-”

“Don’t push it”

“Right”

Now:

It hadn’t been easy. First they had to scavenge several junkyards for old couches (because let’s be real: They were both poor college students and buying material or new couches just was too expensive), who weren’t completely busted. Then they had to figure out how to build the thing.

After studying art for a while, where y/n had to do a bunch of installation projects, she had gotten significantly better at building things with woods and such, though she still wasn’t an expert. And whilst Barley also got crafty from time to time, he also wasn’t a master.

But somehow, after sweat, and even a couple of tears after y/n once got her hand stuck under one of the couches, they had finished it: The double decker couch.

“This-”, Barley said, pointing his finger at it, “This is beautiful”.

It was a yellow and a green couch, connected through metal poles and stabilized with old wood planks with two ladders placed on top of it and just enough space between the couches, so that one could sit up straight. It sort of looked like a bunk bed, but with couches.

“It is. It really is”, y/n agreed, looking at her bandaged hand, “totally worth busting my hand”

“Totally worth going through every junkyard in the city”, Barley added.

“Totally worth being awake once for 48 hours”, she added as well.

“This should be awarded some kind of price… maybe I’d also just be happy for some money for a wellness weekend ‘cause my back could really need a nice massage”, Barley groaned, touching the small of his back.

“Hard agree”

They stayed standing there for a while, looking at it, before y/n occurred a question that should’ve occurred to her much sooner.

“So-uhm-”, she started, “what do we actually do with it now?”, she asked

“Sit on it of course. You sit below and I above so I can feed you grapes like you’re a roman emperor”, Barley explained matter of factly.

“That sounds lovely darling but that’s not what I mean”

“What seems to be the issue then?”he asked, a little frustrated. What could she possibly have to say now? After so much hard work?

“I mean… where do we put it?”, she asked with a sincere expression which immediately washed away his annoyance, “because it certainly won’t stay in my parents basement”, she stated.

“It’s certainly more worthy than this old, dusty room with your family's junk. And also because this place is crawling with bugs that I will have to remove every time because you’ll just screech and run away until it magically disappears”

“Hey!”, y/n interjected

“It's true!”

“Ok yeah fair enough, though seriously- where? I also can bet’ya we can’t put it anywhere in our homes either. It probably barely fit under the ceiling”

“Yeah no”

A moment of contemplative silence spread across them.

After a while, Barleys thoughts wandered to the night where he had gotten the idea. He thought about his beloved car-

‘OH. MY. GOD. That’s it!’, he thought to himself.

“I got it!”, he then yelled excitedly, his face contorted into one of the most adorable expressions y/n had ever seen anyone wear. No matter what it would be: She couldn’t but say yes to that smile.

Still she asked, “What’ya got?”

“You know how I got my idea from a poster with a double-decker bus?”, he asked her, still smiling like he had won the lottery

“Yes?”

“And you know how I have a van, right?”

“No”, she answered sarcastically, “I know absolutely nothing about your most prized possession of a van that you called Guenivere the second after you sacrificed your first Guenivere when on a quest-”

“Ok I got the gist”, he chuckled, “but ok hear this: Since I have this wonderful van, this wonderful BIG van-”

“Wait a minute: You really want to put the couch in-”, she interrupted as she realized what he was saying, but got immediately interrupted back as he realized she had caught on

“Yes! I absolutely am”

“Dear lord… but ok I have no better idea, let’s do it”

“YES”

“Barley I am telling you, this is NOT working”, y/n huffed as she let her side of the construction gently land on the ground once again.

“Come on, just one more time!”, Barley pleaded.

“You’ve been saying ‘just one more time’ for an hour!”, she argued, “there is no way around: this just doesn’t fit inside the van. You underestimated Guenivere”

“Hey! There is no underestimating Guenivere! It’s not her fault”, he pouted.

“Ok ok ok... Sorry Gueni”, y/n said, giving the car a sincere pat on one of the back doors. She has gotten used to treating the car similar to a pet, “but seriously: We’ve been trying this at every angle, and as cool as Guenivere is, she can’t magically shapeshift”

“Magically shapeshift”, Barely repeated her last words, suddenly deep in thought, before an “ohhhh”, sound escaped him, “wait here my lady, I’ll be back in a sec”

“O...k”, she said, a little confused.

Five minutes later, she saw Ian storm out of his house, his hands clenched around his magic staff, with Barley closely behind him. “WHAT'S THE EMERGENCY?”Ian yelled as he came to a hold, which caused his brother to almost crash into him.

“I need you to make Guenivere big enough so that our self made double-decker couch fits into her”, Barely explained, breathing as though he had just run from death.

For a moment nobody said anything to that before Ian and y/n both shouted

“WHAT?”,at the same time.

“So much for an emergency”, Ian also mumbled, a little annoyed at his brother's antics.

“I mean: If she’s too small, then we can just make her bigger, right?”

“Technically yes but I think you didn’t consider a very small, tiny detail”, Ian commented.

“And what would that be?”, Barley asked irritated, not understanding what the issue was.

“You are aware as a supposed magic expert, that I can’t only enlarge the trunk, right? I would have to make the entire car big, and that would lead-”

“-to the entire street being filled with the car”, y/n finished the thought, apologetically laying her hand on Barleys shoulder, “I’m sorry my love. It was a nice thought”

“Dang it”, Barley breathed out, “I was looking forward to make my own uber-van-couch-double-decker-business”

“Hm”, y/n simply hummed. She had known from the beginning it would probably go south, but his enthusiasm had given her hope.

“Sorry Barley”, Ian said quietly, now feeling bad for having been so harsh beforehand , before slowly heading inside again.

Y/n and Barely sat down on the edge of Guenivere’s trunk, tired and disappointed that it all hadn’t turned out like they wanted as they looked at their creation.

Y/n leaned against Barley’s shoulder, lovingly rubbing her cheek against him like a cat (she loved doing that).

After a while Barley decided he had enough of sulking, standing up to go to the front to put on some good old metal (which luckily she enjoyed too).

As he however returned to the trunk, he noticed some ropes laying around.

He had used ropes last time to tie up some of the material he had bought for their project, so they wouldn’t move around- what if though…

“Ok I’ve had enough”, Barley decided, “I WILL have my double-decker-couch-van for more people to ride with me and my buddies and if its the last thing I’m gonna do!”

“Barley, what are you-”, y/n wanted to ask, but as she saw him pick up the ropes from the trunk floor, she understood, “- Are you sure this will work out?”

“Nope”, he answered truthfully, “but I will surely try!”

She was still skeptical, but at the same time she would try anything with him, and if it meant helping him tie a double-decker-couch to the roof of his van.

“If you believe it can be done, I will too”, she smiled, giving him a quick peck on his cheek, “let’s do this!”

It was eight p.m. The sun was almost behind the horizon and the streetlamps threw dodgy looking lights in the middle of the street and kept the corners dark.

But the elven couple, who stood in front of a yellow van with a double-decker couch tied to its roof, couldn't help but see what they had accomplished: Which was accomplishing what, at least the female elf, had thought was impossible… yet again.

“I can’t believe that worked”, Y/n mumbled.

“Told ya”, Barley hushed back.

“Should we drive around? See if anyone is crazy enough to go on a drive?”, she asked.

“You bet we are. And tomorrow… and whenever we can. I’ll be the driver and you the tourist guide.. or maybe some kinda sturdess, after all you’re good lookin’”

“Oh hush”, she giggled, visibly blushing

“And-”, he continued, though not without giving her a good wink after his compliment, “then we’re gonna show the dear people of this town another perspective to life”

“That we can promise”, she laughed, “that we sure can”

[aminiatureworld]

Wings

Characters: Xiao, gn!reader

Word Count: 3,523

Warnings: Slight depictions of violence

Premise: In which the reader has wings

Author’s Note: It’s been a while! Hopefully I’m not too rusty, although I can’t account for how late(/early) this is being posted. I’m going to bed.

Xiao

Even from the beginning Xiao had been enthralled with your wings.

They were larger than that of any bird or creature that Xiao had ever seen before, stretching far beyond your arms when they were unfolded, before bending to cover you in a cloak of downy feathers the color of warm soil, shot through with the occasional birch colored feather.

He’d decided to appear in front of you almost the moment he saw you in the distance, at first wondering if you might be an adepti or a god from one of the other lands in Teyvat. Although the look of surprise that crossed your face when he shed his invisibility before you quickly robbed him of that conviction. It was too late to go back at that point though, so Xiao begrudgingly let out his question.

“Who are you?”

Your smile was an odd one; it seemed to convey to Xiao that you didn’t have the answer to his question at all. Nevertheless you answered. You were a half-adepti, and as of such you had been born with wings. When pressed upon your adeptus side you merely shook your head. Both of your parents hadn’t stuck around that much, and you knew little of your heritage, or of the beings who walked the land who weren’t Morax.

Xiao had stared at you then, disbelief mixing with a vague sense of pity. What must it be like to be unable to recognize an adeptus despite being one yourself. It seemed ludicrous, but Xiao couldn’t find it in himself to disdain your state. Pausing then he decided upon what immediately after seemed a very foolish decision.

“Call for me if you are in need. I’m called Xiao.”

He didn’t bother waiting for your response before disappearing, unwilling to let his emotions be known.

 The next time he saw you was in the sky. The yaksha certainly hadn’t expected such a thing, and while the initial shock was certainly something, it was almost immediately replaced with a strange appreciation. Though Xiao had seen that the vision you wielded was a Geo one, he almost immediately began to associate you with his own element, with the winds that carried you where you wished to go. Any clumsiness or human fault in your step was almost immediately shed, for how could one be anything but graceful in the air, no matter how they dipped or shook or stopped suddenly. If Xiao was honest with himself, he was utterly enthralled.

Eventually you seemed to grow tired and soon you grew closer. Shifting slightly Xiao backed up as you landed on a branch next to the roof, face flushed with exercise and happiness. Spotting Xiao you smiled brightly.

“It’s a beautiful place to fly here.”

Seemingly unfazed by the lack of conversation on Xiao’s part you sighed, leaning against the branch and staring into the sky. Murmuring something to yourself you seemed so utterly content. A begrudging curiosity swept over Xiao as he found himself responding to your words.

“Really?”

“Oh yes!” You immediately replied, face brightening. “It’s much nicer here than where I came from.”

“Where?” Xiao found himself once more asking.

“Oh this small village on the outskirts of Liyue, near the Chasm a bit. It’s a poor mining town, always covered in soot and coal dust. It’s very difficult to keep things clean there let me tell you; and the people don’t really like things that stand out. I haven’t flown in a while actually, since everyone was so hostile when I did. Now that I’m here I think, I hope, that I can do what they want.”

“You can.”

“I’m so glad to hear,” you smiled once more. “I wasn’t really sure what it would be like here. I’ve mostly stayed in the village, but people seemed more hostile than usual so I figured it’d be better to leave now before I ended up on the wrong side of a pitchfork or a shovel.”

“Humans are so foolish.”

“Maybe you’re right. Still, I’m here now and who knows! Maybe things will turn out well.”

With that you clambered off the roof and walked into the Inn proper, leaving Xiao a swirl of questions and surprisingly burning emotions.

 After this you seemed to have gotten it into your head that Xiao was now primed to be your general confidante. Though this initially ruffled the adeptus, he didn’t truly feel like dissuading you, and by the time he’d gotten over the initial shock of your conversation he decided that your voice was surprisingly nice to listen to, and thus settled quietly enough into his new and strange roll of sympathetic ear.

“I registered for the Guild today,” you were saying today, voice bright with excitement. “It’s funny the lady at the stand, Ms. Katheryne? She didn’t even bat an eye at me! I was sure that I was going to get some questions, but besides the stares nothing happened. I’m supposed to start tomorrow. I have to make sure some supplies get to the quarry. Hopefully I won’t run into anyone there.”

“They will leave you alone. The Guild I’ve heard is a powerful force in Liyue.”

“I hope so! I don’t want my first commission to go wrong. I never thought about what I’d do in my life, beyond the usual village work. It’s exciting to have something new out in front of me.”

Xiao thought that was unbearably peppy of you, but he said nothing. Surprisingly he found himself also wishing that you’d do well.

 Xiao wasn’t exactly sure what he was doing, following your commission on wind currents. It was none of his business how things went today, after all what did he care about the affairs of humans, even those who were half adeptus? Still he found himself following you, cursing himself all the while for doing something so stupid.

The usual unshakeable happiness that you seemed to exude seemed to disappear almost the moment you left the Inn, instead replaced with a face grim and jumpy with anticipation. A few times you even turned back, studying the Inn or the sky around it. Sometimes your gaze even seemed to pierce through Xiao, something the adeptus found slightly unnerving. Nevertheless he followed as you continued on your journey, all the while wondering what could cause such a massive shift in your demeanor.

If Xiao had any questions about the extent of the reality of your words they were quickly answered. The atmosphere of the quarry was absolutely suffocating, and you could’ve cut the tension with a blade as you slowly approached the drop off.

The foreman said nothing to you, merely glaring as he approached the balloon that you were accompanying. Scouring the barrels and boxes his scowl deepened and deepened. Turning around abruptly he disappeared into his hut for a moment before coming back out. Gesturing towards to open quarry he glared at you.

“There.”

“Thank you,” you replied, voice suddenly small. “Uhm, where exactly should I put this?”

“You lived with us for how many years and couldn’t be bother to retain a shred of information?” The foreman swore under his breath. “Damned half-creatures like you. Put it in Section 4. Tell the Guild master that I never want to see your face here again.”

You said nothing to that in response, merely continuing on your way. Though Xiao couldn’t help but notice how white the knuckles were on the rope you were using to lead the balloon with.

The hostility didn’t ease up when you walked in. Instead things seemed to grow worse, as men and women stared at you with open disdain. The occasional insult could be heard, but for the most part it was deadly quiet, and your steps seemed shorter and shorter as you approached your given destination. At first Xiao was trying to convince himself that such a spectacle didn’t affect him. After all, what did he care for the strange whims and fears of humans. None of this had anything to do with his contract, and he was under no obligation to help you in such an instance. These thoughts were chipping away however, and before Xiao was entirely aware of what he was doing he found himself lowering himself on the ground.

A chorus of gasps rose up as he emerged from the invisible winds that cloaked him. Standing in front of you Xiao nevertheless didn’t catch your eye, instead focusing his glare on the people around him. At first you stopped, taken aback as well it seemed by his sudden appearance. Almost immediately however your posture seemed to relax slightly, and your pace seemed to go back to normal as you walked towards him, continuing on as he followed you to your destination.

Everything else was done in deadly silence, as you got the paperwork you needed and headed out of the quarry. Xiao said nothing the whole time, merely following a few steps behind you. He half expected you to start chattering again the moment the foreman’s hut exited the field of view, but instead you remained quiet. Still you seemed much less grave than in the morning and though Xiao couldn’t explain why this somehow reassured him. Walking next to you now he found his hand drifting towards you, as if the two were being drawn together by magnets. When your hands finally connected Xiao couldn’t help but think how warm yours were.

 After that a ritual of commission sharing seemed to inexplicably pop up, though how exactly Xiao wasn’t really sure of. At first it had been to make sure there was no repeat performance of the first day, but then it quickly developed into something else, although what that something was Xiao didn’t really know. All he knew was that every morning when you went to leave he’d find himself next to you, frowning grumpily, muttering about how this wasn’t his duty. You were usually groggy in the mornings, but always managed to give his hand a squeeze before embarking.

If Xiao had subconsciously assumed that the mining incident was a standalone thing he was quickly robbed of that conviction. At first it seemed as if everyone was out for you, though in general the reason seemed to be less your status as half illuminated beast and more due to the figure you cut soaring against the sky, wings obviously too big to be a glider. Everyone seemed to be after you. Treasure Hoarders and Fatui Agents would try to shoot at you, though often you were much too high for their weapons; bandits would ambush you, aiming for your feathers as they attacked; even geovishaps and other such creatures seemed weirdly obsessed with going after you.

Though Xiao had told you more than once that it would be faster if you let him dispatch the monsters and knock out the hunters you always forbid him from doing so. It was your work after all, and if you couldn’t do it yourself then you might as well resign. Xiao usually responded to this with grumblings, but he had to admit that a part of him admired your tenacity.

Still it was difficult to sit back and do nothing. It wasn’t your presence that irritated Xiao, it was more everything else. Besides, he felt as if he was neglecting his duties sometimes. Thus when you told him one day that your commission tomorrow was going to see if a citizen had found a ruin network Xiao excused himself. You didn’t seem to mind too much, though you joked that you would miss your adventuring companion. Still the idea of suddenly not going with you seemed strange after weeks of this new routine.

“If you find yourself in trouble, do not forget to call my name. No matter where you are I will hear it.”

“I’ll make sure to do that,” you replied, smiling softly. “But it’ll be fine. I probably won’t even need to fight anything, besides maybe some slimes. I might even get back before you.”

“Don’t do anything stupid.”

“I won’t. I’ll come back as soon as possible, and then maybe we can fly a little together?” For some reason you seemed to like the idea of flying alongside Xiao, who found himself more and more often indulging you, though he wouldn’t really call his use of currents flying.

“Maybe.”

“Good! Then I’ll try to wrap things up quickly. Can’t miss something like that, can I?”

Xiao didn’t say anything in response. Later that evening, after you went to bed, he stared up at the night sky, trying to grasp onto his thoughts. He seemed to be awfully worried about you, or rather you seemed to be invading most of his thoughts. Why Xiao couldn’t tell. At first it had simply been that your strange situation somewhat interested him. He couldn’t imagine the idea of a half-adeptus who had lived as you had. Then it had been the mining, then the commissions, then the gliding. Now he couldn’t even think of the next day without a strange sense of worry.

What did all this mean? Xiao never thought he would find himself infatuated with anyone. His only loyalty was to Morax, his only connections had been with the yakshas who were now lost to him. His only remaining duty was to guard Liyue, to clear the land of the curses that remained. Nevertheless he found himself thinking about you, worrying about you even. What did this mean?

Staring out into the sky Xiao asked himself what he wanted. An image of you seemed to materialize in his brain. You were flying high in the sky, arms stretched out wide, smile as wide and clear as the sky above you. He wanted you to feel that way, and, more than that, in that moment Xiao wanted nothing so more as to share that feeling with you, to be some piece in that vision of happiness. Shaking his head the yaksha let out a snort. What a stupid idea.

 The next day started in a way much more similar to the days that had passed before you arrival. Xiao left early, finding it easier to deal with the lingering evils of the world when there were less people going about to get in the way. He thought of waiting for you to wake up, but for some reason the action seemed foolish. Or maybe it seemed somehow unlucky. After all, Xiao was embarking on a day that would surely have to end with some sort of cleansing ritual.

The monsters weren’t excessive, and the going was fast enough, though the sun had risen high in the sky by the time Xiao stopped to rest. Traveling towards Jueyun Karst Xiao thought of the pool of water up near Cloud Retainer’s domain. It would be good to rest for a moment, up near sure pure energy. Summoning some winds Xiao found himself in a weirdly clear frame of mind, detached once more from the world around him.

Then he heard your voice.

Almost immediately Xiao found himself above you, instinct reacting before his mind had time to catch up. You had never called for him before, and the unexpectedness caused a flood of hot panic to rush through him.

Staring down at the scene above Xiao felt another wave of burning emotion rush through him. You were backed up against a few stones, panic evident in your stance. One of your arms appeared to have suffered a gash, and as of such the claymore Xiao knew you carried lay in the grass next to you, too heavy now to be of any use. You also seemed to have suffered a blow to the head, and your awkward movements seemed to indicate some sort of dizziness. But what drew Xiao’s eye the most was the blood staining the brown of your wings, the feathers that were scattered around you.

The people surrounding you wore the crest of the Fatui, and their smiles were ones of absolute triumph.

“You should’ve flown away. What could a half-baked fighter like you do against the greatest army in the world? Now your wings will decorate the walls of the palace of Snezhnaya.”

You were mute to the Skirmisher’s jeers, your head bobbing to the side slightly. Once more Xiao heard your voice ripple through his head, though this time it was fainter, unsteady. The anger welling up inside of him seemed to ripple, and before he knew it the yaksha found himself standing in front of you, not caring about the black tendrils that licked at his polearm, only coherent thought that the Fatui members should have picked a different assignment.

Xiao despised fighting humans. They seemed to bend around him, shredding like paper. Though a part of him jeered that he was fighting nothing but monsters, the adeptus still pulled himself back. Some burdens were too heavy to bear, and even fighting a human was something that he would normally never do. Still the fight was brutal, if painfully short, and when Xiao finally found himself standing alone he surrounded by the groans and shrieks of those whose injuries would not be forgotten tomorrow.

Taking his mask off Xiao pushed through the tendrils of darkness that were now clinging to his skin. There would be time to bathe and clean off all the evil he’d generated and purified later. For now the adeptus ran over to your side, scooping you up and traveling as quickly as possible to the Inn. The smalls groans that escaped you cut through him, but at least you were alive. At least he had made it in time. At least.

Though there was nothing that the adeptus could really do to cure gashes and a concussion, Xiao found himself unwilling to stray from your side in the aftermath. Pushing away the guilt that threatened to burn through him when he was alone Xiao became a constant figure in your room. Perching no your dresser, or eventually in the chair Goldet dragged next to your bed, Xiao supervised your health with a regiment that would’ve been impossible for a mortal. Yet it didn’t feel like enough, it never felt like enough. Watching over you as you fell in and out of naps Xiao felt the guilt buzzing behind his ears. Your fault, this is your fault.

One evening Xiao found it all too much. Covering his face with his hands he rasped into the silent room.

“I’m sorry.”

“It’s not your fault.”

Whipping his head up Xiao was met with your slightly groggy face. Reaching over to grasp his hand you smiled as the adeptus moved to intertwine his fingers in yours.

“I didn’t go with you.”

“I didn’t ask you to. I thought, I thought it’d be easy. But it wasn’t so I called for you and then you came and saved me, so it was fine.” Your voice was heavy with sleep and your words slightly slurred, but there was still some urgency behind them, an urgency Xiao found himself responding to.

“I still wasn’t fast enough.”

“You seemed pretty fast to me.”

“I still, it’s still my fault.” Xiao didn’t know why he found himself repeating the same words over and over. Somehow he seemed completely unequipped to deal with the panic that had been slowly crushing him for the past few days. How could he explain this to you? How could he explain the fear that shot through him, the anger, the… something?

“No, it wasn’t. It’s not your fault that I look strange, or that I have these weird wings. It’s not your fault that people don’t like it.”

“Humans are fools,” Xiao spat out. “They try to destroy something that is beautiful, all because they cannot understand it.”

“You think my wings are beautiful?”

“Yes.” Xiao didn’t realize that was a question. Somehow the looked of sleepy happiness on your face filled him with a sense of embarrassment. Ducking his head the adeptus shook his head. “Never mind.”

“Thank you for telling me,” you replied, happiness in your voice. For a moment you paused, before piping up again. “You haven’t been sleeping a lot have you?”

“Sleep is unnecessary for those who are full adeptus.”

“Still, it can’t be fun to sit here alone for hours,” you frowned before scooting over slightly.

Xiao stared at the unspoken invitation for a moment, disbelief mixing into the thoughts that were cramming his head. He said nothing, but as the look on your face dimmed slightly he sighed. Laying his mask on the nightstand the yaksha lay next to you.

You smiled, seemingly satisfied. Linking your hand once more with his you let out a small sigh, before relaxing slightly, closing your eyes and drifting off to sleep.

Xiao stared at the ceiling, listening to the soft cadence of your breath. The panic that fizzed through his brain only moments earlier, replaced with a contentment that the yaksha rarely felt. Suddenly everything seemed at peace with the world, and despite the summer heat Xiao felt no more discomfort.

[berrydoodleoo]

If Ignis were himself, he would no doubt have counseled them against the trip, or at least proposed some kind of clever work around. Gladio would have loomed and grumbled, and then would have been the first to bow at Luna’s bedside with some courtly, if gruff, remark. But of course, Ignis wasn’t himself, and really, neither was Gladio. And Noctis knew it was all his fault.

But Prompto was insistent, and he was trying so hard to be himself and keep things light. He'd taken over Iggy’s duties of cooking and planning their trip, and still found time and energy to help Ignis activate the handicap settings on his phone while keeping up a steady stream of light-hearted chatter. Not to mention visiting Luna and helping out with the rescue and relief efforts. It was like watching someone do a ballet in a field full of giant boulders – three of which were named Ignis, Noctis, and Gladiolus – he just kept moving, kept dancing, and you almost couldn’t see the toll it was taking on him.

Almost.

So Prompto brought up visiting Luna’s hospital room again, as-if casually, mentioning that he’d had word from Weskham as to where she was currently hidden, and that he was sure he could get them in without being noticed by Imperial spies. And besides, Pryna had licked his hand when he’d visited last, which probably meant that Luna was going to wake up soon, any day now, and wouldn’t it be something if she woke up while Noct was there? A kiss from Prince Charming, eh?

Gladio had snorted, an ugly, mocking sound, and Prompto had stuttered to a halt, with an expression like his heart was breaking. Ignis had averted his face, just slightly. Shutting the whole world out. And Noctis had dredged up a voice (his own? someone else’s?) from the vise clamping his chest and said sure, Prom, let’s go.

And so they did.

Traveling the streets of devastated Altissia in Lucian royal black was probably unwise, but Prompto seemed to exude a notice-me-not aura that, in conjunction with the chaos still gripping the city, was enough to let them travel unmolested. They kept to the areas packed with refugees where possible, where everyone had their eyes glued to the screens announcing ferries and how long the current wait lists were (some were hours, most were days) instead of at each other. It did nothing for his nerves, which were a constant jangle, but at least no one stopped them. Or worse, shouted, hey, Prince Noctis!

The hospital was mostly intact, at least from the outside. Upon entering, it became clear that it had suffered a beating, either from Leviathan or the Imperial forces. The first level was still flooded, the polished marble turned treacherous by a thin layer of mud. The smell of mold competed with the smell of hospital bleach, and Noctis almost gagged.

There was a crowd here, too, too many people to fit in the emergency room reserved for the most critical cases. Noctis stood aside as Prompto shuffled about, standing on his toes, trying to find the best way forward without attracting too much attention.

A little kid with a bloody rag tied to his forehead stared at them. Noctis met his eyes and then regretted it, trying to look away and act casual. When he glanced up, the kid had wandered from his sleeping mother to stand beside them, still staring silently.

Prompto almost collided with the kid, and then did a double-take. “Hey!” he exclaimed quietly, and he sounded happy. “Stanford, my man!” He crouched, careful to keep the edges of his jacket out of the water. “How you doin’? Still waiting for a doctor, huh?”

Stanford – he must have been a few years younger than Talcott, too young to be so injured and haunted-looking – nodded, popping his filthy thumb into his mouth.

“Can I take a look, dude?” Prompto asked, gentle, touching the bandage on the child’s head. He nodded again.

It made Noctis’ eyes water, seeing how gentle Prompto was with the kid. He unwound the bandage and checked the wound beneath – the sight made Noctis wince – and produced some wrapped bandages and antiseptic wipes seemingly from his pocket (Noct felt the tug that meant they’d really come from the Armiger). He talked the whole time – man, those are cool shoes, I love chocobos, and how old are you again, dude? like, sixteen, right? or seventeen, you’re in high school, right – trying to coax some words out of him. Stanford was clearly listening, half-smiling at Prompto’s jokes, but was otherwise unresponsive.

He submitted to the cleaning with only a little tearyness. When he finally spoke, it wasn’t about anything Prompto had said.

“Do you have more magic potions?” he asked hopefully.

Prompto winced, shooting a quick glance at Noct. They’d agreed early on not to share their potions with people – it was too easy to trace them back to Noct, and Ignis was always concerned they would run out at the worst possible moment (which, to be fair, they had done so more than once).

“Not at the moment, little dude,” Prompto was jittering, hurrying to finish wrapping the bandage, “but uh, maybe later, I can, uh–”

Noctis reached into his back pocket and summoned a potion from the Armiger, the same trick Prompto had just pulled. It was weak – he just hadn’t been able to summon the magic for a proper Elixir once it was clear they wouldn’t help Ignis’ eyes – but it would help ward off infection and help with pain management. For a little while.

Stanford’s eyes lit up, and he started to snatch the glowing bottle from Noct’s hand. But then he hesitated. “For – for me?” he asked, staring up at Noct with the hugest eyes he’d ever seen.

“Yeah.” Noct tried to smile for him, extending the potion a bit further. “Of course.”

Stanford accepted the bottle, hugging it to his chest as if were a precious treasure. Now his eyes glowed with happiness, watching Noct, and he stood obediently still as Prompto finished retying the headband that kept his bandage in place. “Can I share it with my mom?” he eventually asked.

Noctis glanced at the sleeping woman, and wondered what was wrong with her. Was she injured, too, or just exhausted? “Yeah,” he said again. “Just don’t tell anyone else, okay?”

Would the woman even accept it, if her son told her he had a magic potion from a strange man? Well, maybe she would assume it came from a doctor, or that it was still the harmless bottle of (Noctis checked) apple juice it had started out as. Albeit glowing apple juice. Well, marketing, right? Maybe it wouldn’t seem too weird.

It was Stanford’s to do with as he chose. If he wanted to give it to his mom, or a total stranger, or pour it down the drain, Noctis wouldn’t stop him. He just didn’t have the energy.

Stanford’s eyes went even wider, but he nodded. “Yes, sir,” he said.

Brave little man. Noctis tried to smile for him again, moved his lips in the familiar gesture, and the kid tried to smile in return. If his own forced smile made him look as sad as Stanford’s did, Noctis mused, then it was no wonder people kept flinching away at the sight.

~

They found an un-monitored stairwell, the door blocked off with yellow tape. It quickly became clear as to why it was locked down – some tree branches and half a gondola were poking through the battered walls, tossed through marble and concrete by Leviathan’s rage. Worse, there were puddles of slimy water everywhere.

Prompto kept ahold on Noct’s arm – Noct realized he’d been doing that since they left their borrowed refuge in the Secretary’s home, as if Noct would drift away without the anchor – as they made their way up the stairs. “I don’t think he’s gonna keep it a secret, man.”

Noct had to blink himself back to the present. “Huh?”

“Stanford. With the potion.”

Noct shrugged. “Didn’t get the impression he was talking much.”

“Noct…”

“It’s not a big deal. We’ll be out of here soon.”

Prompto seemed deflated, guiding him up the stairs. “Yeah.”

Noct let himself be led. What did Prompto expect him to say? Maybe he wanted Noct to go back down the stairs and offer to help everyone else in the room. Give out their store of potions, grab some bottles of water and start enchanting those, too. Act like a king for once, instead of piece of luggage that had to be carted to and fro by people smarter and more capable.

“I just feel bad, you know?” Prompto said, his voice echoing a bit in the humid, smelly space. “I’ve never done anything to deserve you guys – traveling with you guys, using your magic, seeing the gods, I – I don’t deserve any of this – this magic, this specialness, I’m just –” He swallowed. “And then there’s kids like Stanford, and man, I just don’t know. I don’t know what to do. I don’t know anything.”

Noctis let his arm slide through Prompto’s grip until he could squeeze his hand. They paused, side-by-side as they sidled around a piece of crushed stairwell, and Prompto squeezed back. Hard.

~

Noct started feeling floaty once they left the stairwell. Parts of this floor were still in use, despite the damage and the flickering lights. But Prompto knew the way, avoiding the lighted areas, and led him to a dark hallway behind more yellow tape.

Noct felt his steps slowing. He and Prompto’s arms, connected by their held hands, stretched like a rope between two ships tugged in opposite directions. They reached a door, Prompto produced a key, and Noct thought he might faint. He pulled free of Prompto’s grip to lean against the wall, heart laboring, spots filling his vision.

Luna. Luna was on the other side. Once he saw her, it would all be real.

He needed more time. Time to get ready, time to be better, time to be the King she believed he was. All he could picture was her face – somewhere between the child he’d known and the woman he’d seen in official broadcasts – crumpling in disappointment, and the fact that it hadn’t happened (yet) did nothing to lessen the pain. Gods. Gods. He couldn’t do this. More time—

Prompto’s face appeared, looking worried and frantic, and then Noct was being hauled into the unlocked room despite his sluggish limbs. He heard the door shut behind them, closing them in safely. And when he opened his eyes, he was in Luna’s hospital room.

“Dude,” Prompto was whispering. “Breathe.”

Noct nodded.

“Breathe. Breathe.” Prompto pressed a quick, awkward kiss to his forehead. “Breathe. Just breathe.”

Noct breathed, or tried to breathe. When he opened his eyes, he could see Luna in her hospital bed, traced in appallingly bright sunshine, and he swayed again. Prompto caught him, held him up, held him in place. Just held him, really.

For a minute, he had the inane thought that Clarus and Gladio were on the other side of the door, and if they came in they would see Noct snuggling with Prompto and the game would be up. And then he remembered that Clarus was dead, that Gladio wanted nothing to do with him, and that this wasn’t his father’s hospital room, after the stroke that nearly claimed his life a year ago. Something about the smell, the beeping, the seafoam green of the curtains and blankets, must have taken him back. And his dad was dead, anyway, dead like Clarus, dead like Ignis almost was, dead like Luna almost is….

“I can’t do this,” Noct whispered, when Prompto backed off to give him a little space.

Ignis would have said, yes you can, Highness. Majesty. Gladio would have said, don’t give me that crap, you’re gonna do your duty if it kills us both. Luna would have said, none of us know what we can do until we do it, or fail trying. But I do believe in you, Noctis.

Prompto just whispered, “I know, man.” Noctis met his eyes, briefly, and the love and sorrow there stole his breath. “That’s why I’m here to help.”

Noctis glanced back, thinking of escape, about making excuses and stepping out, running away, back to the Secretary’s house and the room where Ignis and Gladio tip-toed around each other and the smothering silence. And then he swallowed, and squeezed Prompto’s hand, and nodded, meeting his eyes one more time.

“Let’s go,” he whispered, and Prompto led him forward, into the light.

[toadwarts]

Special Delivery

Companion piece to Safe At Last.

After two humans escaped from an abusive home and found a new home working alongside Duke, they have begun settling into their new lives as merchants and their polyamorous romance with The Duke. Our primary character (aka the Reader) is struggling with the way he is perceived by the villagers, but is pleasantly surprised when The Duke returns with a special gift... Just the thing to help him feel better.

Fluffy hurt/comfort poly oneshot written in first person but made so that you can insert yourself if wanted. This story centers on a transmasculine protagonist!

Read on A03 or Fanfiction.net!

I sat in the back of the Duke’s caravan, lonely and bored. Both the Duke and my primary partner had been out for hours, making deliveries around the village and to the factory. I had stayed behind to look after the caravan and make sales to anyone who might approach--not to mention I wasn’t terribly keen on meeting any of the four lords yet. It had been months since we began staying with the massive enigma of a man, and only a few days less of that time since we had become a delightful little polycule. 

Life in the village hadn’t been easy--there were a lot of mysterious dangers, and you had to be cunning with both your words and weapons. Even still, it was as if The Duke commanded respect of all who lived within the confines of this little world, and so the three of us were safe/ When asked, The Duke would simply flash an award winning smile and say, “I suppose it’s one of the perks of having world class customer service!”

Still, The Duke being so...enigmatic could be exhausting, and perhaps a little bit annoying at times. But he was a good friend and even better lover, and always made sure that we were cared for. If he wanted to keep his secrets, I suppose it was his business. One day, after building up plenty of trust...perhaps we would be privy to them. After all, we had our own secrets too.

“Hello? Is anyone there?” 

I startled at the sudden noise, hopping up to my feet. No one had approached the caravan all day, but I needed to make sure my customer service was perfect, else The Duke would be most displeased!

“Hello,” I said, my voice chipper. “How can I help you out today?” The customers seemed to be a couple--a thin man and woman, dressed all in black with their hats pulled low on the crowns of their heads. Their hands were intertwined, both of them shivering in the cold. 

“We were looking for meat. Sausage, if you have it. And a few nails so we can fix our fence.” The man said, fidgeting with his jacket. 

“Of course! Anything to help out a loyal customer. Just let me go and grab them from the back.” I said cheerfully, forcing a big smile. I wasn’t prone to very much facial expression myself, but trying to mimic The Duke definitely helped. It was almost like putting on a costume.

I traversed back into the caravan, rooting around for what was needed. I kept my ears perked to listen to the customers as I unraveled a rope of thick sausages, placing them gently into a pristine paper bag. 

“I wonder where that girl came from. The boy too.” The woman said. “The Duke has seemed to take quite a shining to the two of ‘em, and it looks like The Lords don’t mind them too much either. Surprised Dimitrescu hasn’t taken that maiden for herself.” 

I felt ice shoot through my bloodstream. The girl. The boy too. A sour feeling entered my mouth. My partner didn’t go by any gender, and me… Well, it seems that my binder didn’t work well enough today. Really, I suppose it was my voice that gave me away. I had always felt disconnected from its lilting, high pitch. I hunched my shoulders and huffed, finishing packaging their order. It couldn’t be helped. A lot of people couldn’t understand.

I approached the front of the caravan, wanting this transaction to be over as soon as possible. “Here you go.” I said, doing my best to open up the back of my throat and make my voice sound deeper. Foolish and a waste of time, I’m sure. “Everything is packed up now. I hope that you find it all to be of the highest quality. If you have any qualms, please come back to see us.” 

“Thank you ma’am.” The woman said as her husband dug around in his pockets for the appropriate amount of lei. “Such a sweet young girl. Where did you come from, dear?” 

My stomach twisted, and I did my best to keep the discomfort out of my voice. “Um… Further away. I left home, and stumbled across the village while looking for somewhere to camp.” I didn’t see the point in correcting them and starting up a whole new conversation that they likely wouldn’t or couldn’t want to understand. 

“How unfortunate. We’ve been having a lot of problems lately, miss.” The man said, counting up his lei. 

Tch. Did they have to keep gendering literally everything they say?! Geez.

“Like werewolves?” I couldn’t help but smirk a little. “Well, it’s definitely a step up from where I came.” 

“I suppose so. Especially with special treatment from the merchant.” The man sniffed, flinching when his wife elbowed him. 

“I’m sorry about that. He didn’t get enough sleep last night,” The woman apologized, handing me the lei. 

I nodded, smile tight and strained. “No problem! I do hope you get to feeling better.” I handed them their items and swallowed hard. “Have a wonderful rest of your day and good luck fixing your fence!!” 

They waved me off, and I slunk back into the caravan. I knew the village definitely had a few gossips, but I hadn’t imagined it would be so annoying. I had already heard some adolescents talking about how funny it was to see a woman with such short hair and a flat chest, chattering about my partner and I… I’d argue that the most dangerous thing in this village wasn’t the werewolves, but perhaps the strain on the villagers that had them biting at each other’s ankles… Or mine, at least. Maybe they’d eventually warm up to me like they did The Duke though. Even my partner was having an easier time settling in to it all. 

I guess I just felt out of place. The only time I did feel right was when I was curled into The Duke’s soft side, my hand entwined with my primary partner’s across his ample belly, their soft breaths lulling me into a comfortable slumber. 

My ears perked as the door to the back of the caravan opened. My primary partner stood there with a broad grin, eyes shining. “Hey there, dear!” They said happily. “We have a surprise for you. Well, Duke does, I’m just happy and along for the ride!” 

I cocked my head. A gift was certainly something to perk up the mood--and The Duke was certainly top tier at finding the perfect gifts… Who knows what he may have brought?

Speaking of The Duke, he leaned on his cane as he squeezed into the wagon. “Hello, my dear boy!” He said happily. His words sent flutters of delight through my stomach, making me smile. “I’ve got a bit of a gift for you. Something you’ve mentioned a few times. I hope you might like it!” 

I stepped forward, eyes glinting curiously. The Duke turned a bit, shutting the door to the wagon behind him. When he turned, a small black box was in his hands, seemingly procured from thin air. Without skipping a beat I came closer, feeling my cheeks pinken with shyness. “What is it?” 

“Well, you’ll have to open it to find out, won’t you?” The Duke smiled broadly, holding the box out. 

I took the box from his hands as he sat down, my partner bouncing with giddiness. I carefully unfolded the top, seeing that whatever was inside was wrapped in deep red satin, the color of blood. Fitting, for the village. Gingerly, I pulled the satin back, curiosity thrumming through my fingers. 

I gasped. 

A little vial, full of clear liquid, and a set of alcohol swabs, syringes, and band-aids. 

It couldn’t be. 

“Is… Is this…?” The words were so small in my throat, barely breaking out of my mouth. 

“It is.” The Duke nodded, clasping his hands together and smiling softly. “Testosterone.” 

Tears sprung to my eyes, a laugh emerging unbidden from me. Ever since I had come out, I had wanted to transition--but I had never had the opportunity in my old abusive home, and I imagined somewhere out here would never hold the chance either. I had dreamed of the changes for so long--a deeper voice, bottom growth, body hair, facial hair… Hell, even building more muscle easier so I could achieve the musclechub look I had always been enamored by! 

“How did you do it?” I choked out, pressing the back of my hand against my watery eyes. My primary partner was at my side, arm around my shoulders. They planted a kiss on my head, holding me tight. 

“Why, I can procure any goods I need!” The Duke laughed heartily. “It is only a matter of time before an item is in my hands. And now it’s yours, free of charge.” 

I sniffled. “Duke… I don’t know what to say. This is amazing. This is my greatest dream. Thank you. Thank you so much!” I handed the box to my primary partner and ran to him, throwing my arms out. He leaned forward, hulking arms wrapping into me and pulling me into him. “Thank you!” 

“Of course, my dear! Anything for you.” He planted a gentle kiss on my forehead as he pulled me up to his chest. “And I know from our conversations about hormone replacement therapy before that you had concerns about vaginal atrophy and hair loss. Remedies for those are on the way as well!” 

“You are amazing.” I said breathlessly. After all the abuse my primary partner and I had endured over the years, I never could have imagined that we would have ended up in a place so terrifying and yet...so safe. So like home. A place where dreams could come true. 

“Well thank you, my dear. The customer is always right!” He said cheekily. 

My primary partner approached, holding the box as if it were the most prized thing in the entire world. “My good sir,” They said with a flourish. “I believe it is time for your first injection of boy juice!” 

“Boy juice.” I repeated. “Wow.” Then took a deep breath. “Yeah. Let’s do it.” 

“Let me administer the first shot for you, to show you how it’s done.” The Duke said, lowering me into the seat next to him. 

I nodded, suddenly feeling my palms get sweaty. “Yes. That sounds nice. I’m a little scared of the needle.” I laughed nervously. “Hey hon...you think you could hold my hand?” 

My primary partner nodded, fingers intertwining with mine. “I’ll be right here.” 

The Duke took the box, balancing it on top of his belly. Carefully, he loaded up the syringe with the testosterone, making sure to get the air bubbles up and load the approximate dose. “Now now, my boy, the friend I got this from let me know that this is a subcutaneous injection, and we’ll be starting off with a lower dose to start, and then you can choose if you want to go lower or higher from there. If we can get a bit of your blood later, I’ll have another friend of mine run tests on it to make sure it’s safe.”

“Wow, you really can do anything and everything…” I smiled, shaking my head in disbelief. “You’re incredible, Duke.” I lowered my pants, revealing the skin on my thigh.

“Perhaps so, but you must know that you are just as wonderful. It is a pleasure to get to share my life with such a wonderful man.” The Duke said pleasantly, swabbing some skin on my thigh. “Truth be told, I had grown a bit lonely myself. Having you two as companions and then something more… Well, I have to say it’s the happiest I’ve been in a long time.” He sighed. “Ah, to love and be loved. One of life’s greatest joys, right next to lei.” 

My primary partner grinned. “Always with the lei.” 

“I’m a man who knows what he wants in life!” The Duke tapped the syringe with one finger. “Now, are you ready?” 

I looked to my primary partner, feeling as if some holy light was glowing behind my eyes. Starting now, I would be transitioning. I would be something new, something self made. I would be myself. They squeezed my hand, nodding encouragingly. “You got this.” 

I took a deep breath. “Alright, Duke. I’m ready.” 

[allthingsfangirl101]

Falling For You–Phillip Carlyle

Phillip’s POV

My eye instantly caught Y/N as she walked out of her dressing room in her costume. She looked up at me and smiled when her eyes met mine.

I bit my lip and ran my fingers through my hair as I looked away, forcing myself to refocus. Throughout the show, I constantly found myself staring at Y/N.

"You should really just talk to her," Lettie chuckled as she walked over to me.

"I can't," I stuttered.

"And why not?" She asked as she crossed her arms over her chest.

"Because we're. . . It's just. . . I can't," I finally said.

"Phillip," she sighed as she walked over and gently put her hand on my arm. "Y/N is a great girl and you are a great boy. You two would be wonderful together."

"You really think so?"

"I really do," she said with a small laugh. Lettie smiled as she glanced behind me at Y/N. "Besides," she added, "Y/N has as big of a crush on you as you do on her."

"You really think she. . ." I stopped talking when I saw the look on her face. "Just shut up and ask her out," I laughed. "Got it."

                         * * * * *

I snuck towards the side of the stage as Y/N got ready to do her act. I bit my lip as she was lifted into the air. It doesn't matter how many times I've seen her rehearse or do this in front of an audience, it's still as enticing as the first time I saw her. Watching her sore through the sky was always enchanting.

My heart jumped into my throat, everything freezing as the rig that held Y/N's rope up and kept her suspended in the air, snapped. I watched horrified as Y/N and her rigging fell. The entire audience was silent as Y/N laid on the ground, the rest of us frozen backstage.

"Is she. . ."

Before Lettie could finish her question, I ran toward Y/N. I knelt down next to her, and with shaking hands, rolled her over. I gently moved a piece of hair out of her face, my hand lingering on her cheek.

"Y/N," I whispered, barely able to speak. "Wake up. Please."

I was frozen as our emergency personnel came running towards us. I'm not sure who, but someone gently grabbed my shoulders and pulled me away so they could help Y/N.

I finally snapped out of my trance when they lifted Y/N onto the gurney and led her outside. Without thinking, I ran away from the rest of the group and followed Y/N and the emergency personnel outside.

"What's going on?"

My shock turned to anger as Barnum ran over, his eyes following Y/N as they led her into the ambulance.

"Her rope snapped," I said through my teeth. Barnum looked over at me with wide eyes.

"What?" He asked, his voice getting caught in his throat.

"Don't you remember?" I scoffed. "Before you left on your precious tour, I told you that we needed to get her rigging fixed to avoid exactly what happened. I bugged you every day the week before you left and you did nothing! You told me you had it handled. Well clearly, you never did. And now, Y/N is on her way to the hospital!"

"Phillip," he stuttered. I took a step closer to him, glaring at him.

"You started this," I said through my teeth. "You started this whole circus and the second a better chance at your fame came around, you left! You left and I'm the one that takes over. You left and we have all been having to deal with protestors. Did you forget? We have protestors outside our building. More and more are coming each day. They are getting worse, Barnum."

"I didn't. . ."

"Of course you didn't know! I'm surprised you know anything that's going on. Charity and your daughters. . ."

Before I could finish my accusation, Barnum punched me. I collapsed to the ground, holding my cheek. I chuckled darkly as I stood back up. I turned to him but stopped. My eyes glanced behind Barnum to see Charity and his girls. I just scoffed as I fixed my jacket.

"I'm going to the hospital," I said through my teeth. "You can do whatever you want, Phineas, because I'm not sure how much longer I can handle this."

"Phillip, wait."

                         * * * * *

"She was really lucky," the doctor said. "She has a few broken ribs, her shoulder is out of place, and she broke her collarbone."

"That's lucky?"

"Considering she fell from over ten feet? Yes, she's very lucky."

"Can I see her?"

"Of course," he nodded. "Follow me."

I held my breath as I followed him down the hallway to the private room I paid for Y/N to have. He stepped aside and gestured to the door.

"She should be awake," he said with a small smile on his face. I held my breath as the doctor knocked on the door.

"Come in," I heard Y/N weakly say from inside. I noticed the doctor send me a slight smirk before opening the door.

"Hello, Miss Y/N. There is someone here who'd like to see you." He said as he stepped aside and showed me standing in the doorway.

"Phillip," she said, her voice soft. Even though she was smiling, I could see the pain in her eyes.

"Hey," I said softly as I walked in. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm okay," she sighed. "It could've been a lot worse."

We didn't say anything as I looked over her bandaged body. The accident replayed in my mind. The sound of her rig snapping. Her body falling to the ground. The eerie silence after she hit the ground. I hadn't noticed my eyes were filling with tears until the doctor cleared his throat.

"I'll let you guys have some privacy."

I didn't turn away from Y/N as the doctor patted me on the shoulder and left. I cleared my throat as I walked over and sat next to her. I hesitated before reaching over and gently taking her hand in both of mine.

"I thought. . . When you. . . I was. . ."

"Hey," she whispered when I continued stuttering like an idiot. "I'm okay, Phillip. A little battered but still. . ."

"Perfect," I said quickly. I bit my lip as her cheeks turned bright pink. "I just mean. . . You're. . ." I sighed, frustrated with keeping this a secret. "I like you, Y/N."

"What?" She stuttered.

"I like you," I repeated. "In fact, I've had this embarrassingly gigantic crush on you since the day I bumped into you when Barnum was showing me around. The more we worked together, the bigger my crush got. And after your accident. . . I kept thinking the worst. What if you didn't wake up? What if you did, but didn't remember me? What if. . . What if. . ."

Y/N reached up and cupped my cheek in her hand. The way she was looking at me made me do something stupid. I leaned forward and pressed my lips to hers. I felt her smile as she slowly started kissing me back.

When neither one of us could breathe, I broke the kiss and leaned my forehead against hers.

"I'm sorry," I said under my breath. "But I. . ."

"I like you too," she cut me off.

I laughed and pressed my lips back to hers. She instantly started kissing me back. We were interrupted when there was a knock on her door. She broke the kiss and smiled up at me before clearing her throat.

"Come in," she called out.

Any happiness I got from finally telling Y/N how I felt disappeared the second I saw who was here.

"Hey, kid," Barnum smiled like nothing was wrong. I stood up and cleared my throat, putting my hands in my pockets as Barnum came inside. I walked over to the opposite side of the room, trying to control my growing anger.

"Hi," Y/N smiled as she glanced over at me.

"How are you feeling?" He asked.

Y/N shrugged, sucking in a pained breath. I forgot about Barnum and instantly went to her side. I grabbed her hand and held it as she relaxed back into the bed.

"You sure?" Barnum asked, bringing the attention back to him. Y/N nodded as I finally let her go. Instead of standing back at the other side of the room, I sat next to her bed.

"I'm fine," Y/N said, looking at me instead of at Barnum.

"Well," Barnum cleared his throat. "There is no need to worry. While you are healing, I will get that rope fixed. In fact, the whole system will be replaced before you come back. It'll be newer, bigger, and safer."

"Actually," Y/N hesitated.

She looked between Barnum and me before looking down at her hands. I reached over and gently placed my hand on hers. She looked up at me with tears in her eyes.

"It's okay," I whispered, silently encouraging her to continue. "What were you going to say?"

"Well, I just," she stuttered. "I don't know if I'm going. . . If I want to. . . I don't know if I want to come back," she finally said.

"Y/N," Barnum laughed awkwardly. "We can. . . Let's talk about this. If you're worried about the system or the rig, we can replace it."

"No," she stuttered. "I just. . ."

"Y/N, you've signed a contract," Barnum said quickly.

"Which becomes null when an accident occurs that was not caused by her," I said through my teeth, cutting him off.

"Phillip," Y/N whispered, trying to stop me but it was too late. I stood up and turned towards him, angrily clutching my hands into fists.

"I can't believe you would come in here and talk about when she's coming back. If Y/N wants to take a break from the show, she should be able to. You took a break to follow Jenny around Europe. Y/N should be able to take a break to rest and heal properly until she's ready to come back."

"Phillip," he chuckled.

"No!" I yelled. "I'm done, Barnum. If you are going to keep acting like this, then I'm out."

"You're out?"

"Yes," I said through my teeth. "Barnum, you've been pushing us aside, abandoning everyone and everything. And now, you not doing your job ended with someone getting hurt. Someone who. . . Someone I. . . I can't work with this anymore."

"Phillip," Y/N said under her breath.

"Okay," Barnum laughed awkwardly. "I think we all need to take a step back before we say something we regret."

"I haven't said anything I regret," I cut him off. "Have you?"

He opened and closed his mouth, unable to find the right words. I couldn't help but scoff.

"Get out," I said harshly as I turned around and sat back down next to Y/N. Barnum hesitated before sighing.

"I'm sorry," he whispered. "I hope you feel better, Y/N. You can. . . You can come back whenever you're ready."

I didn't look at him as he left Y/N's hospital room. When the door shut, signaling that Y/N and I were alone, I physically relaxed.

"Thank you," Y/N whispered. "If you weren't here. . . I probably wouldn't have been able to say that."

I reached over and grabbed her hand, instantly intertwining our fingers. I sighed as I lifted her hand up to my lips and pressed a kiss to her knuckles.

"You shouldn't be forced to come back until or unless you want to," I said under my breath.

"I do plan on coming back," Y/N said after a little hesitation. I looked up at her to see her looking at our intertwined hands. "Eventually," she added.

"Really?" I asked, not meaning to sound as surprised.

"Yeah," she shrugged. "As long as you're there too."

I leaned up and pressed my lips to her's. I felt her smile into the kiss, my heart pounding against my chest. I broke the kiss and leaned my forehead against her's.

"I'll be there when you get back," I whispered. "I promise."

[addisonacres]

Scarletmanuka’s 9-1-1 Masterlist

I thought I’d post a masterlist of my 9-1-1 fics since I’ve got a few new followers who I’m sure are here due to my latest hyperfixation. But hey, when this is what I’m hyperfixating over:

can you really blame me?

Buck Down Under Status: WIP Rating: Mature (this may be increased) Word Count: 30341 and counting After being forced to use up his vacation days, Buck feels more alone than ever. Things are still strained between himself and his Firefam so he reaches out to a friend he met online. Shane invites him to come and stay with him and his wife, and while in Aus, Buck learns how to feed a joey, makes friends with chickens, and when a bushfire rages nearby, he steps up to the fight. The 118 have no idea, until they see Buck's face on international news coverage of the fire.

About That... Status: Complete Rating: Teen Word Count: 4236 Eddie picked up his phone, smiling as he saw that it was a text from Ana. He thumbed open the message and then stared stupidly at the words.   My test from yesterday came back positive. Before he could even comprehend the words fully, his phone pinged again with a second message from her.  I am so sorry, Edmundo. Or, the aftermath of Eddie allowing Ana into their bubble during a global pandemic.

Friends With Benefits Status: Complete, Crossover with 9-1-1 Lonestar Rating: Explicit Word Count: 29678 What if TK and Carlos broke up after the whole 'this is my friend, TK' incident? TK is in LA for a few weeks to get away from everything back home. He texts Buck, asking if he wants to 'get together'. Buck has just watched Eddie head off on a date with Ana, final proof that he'll never get to have the relationship that he wants with Eddie so he happily agrees. But they both know that the other isn't the person that they want to be with. Dumbass and Dumbasser come up with a plan to show their true loves just exactly what they're missing out on.

The Wrath of Abuela Status: Complete Rating: Teen Word Count: 3220 Whilst on his second date with Ana, Eddie's abuela sees them and confronts Eddie, thinking he's stepping out on Buck.

See Me Status: Complete Rating: Explicit Word Count: 12024 Since childhood, Eddie has liked occasionally dressing in women's clothing. He likes being a man, doesn't feel conflicted over his gender, he just feels empowered, confident, and sexy when he's in pretty lingerie and a towering pair of heels. It's always been his secret...until suddenly it's not.

Drag You In Status: Complete Rating: Mature Word Count: 3317 Based on the Tumblr Prompt: Somehow Buck ends up getting roped into a drag competition for charity and everyone teases him relentlessly. On the night of the competition everyone and their families are gathered to see Buck in Drag action. They are expecting something half-hazardly put together, so it takes everyone aback when Buck comes out dressed like a full on Dita Von-Teese pinup who blows every other contestant out of the water, towering over them and smiling the brightest. Eddie is all hot and bothered. 

Symbiotic Status: Complete, crossover with Venom Movie Rating: Explicit Word Count: 34660 Eddie Brock and Venom investigate a serial killer who targets firefighters. They believe that Buck is his next victim and try to stop it. Then things go totally wrong; Eddie and Venom are separated, Buck and Eddie B are kidnapped, and the serial killer suddenly has two victims. It'll be up to Venom and Eddie Diaz to team up to save the men that they love. 

Out Of His Depth Status: Complete Rating: Explicit Word Count: 5945 For the Tumblr prompt: Fic idea: Buck is still a bit traumatized by the tsunami so to try and get over his fear he decides to go skinny dipping in secret one night. Only thing he didn't count on was a dedicated Edmundo Diaz following him and then actually joining him. If it leads to some deep cathartic lovemaking that is a great bonus. 

In Case Of Emergency Status: Complete Rating: Teen Word Count: 5817 Christopher wants to start catching the bus to school which gives Eddie a minor freakout but Buck convinces him to get Chris a phone so he can call if anything goes wrong. Then Buck sees the phone numbers programmed into the phone and realises that his is not there, and he immediately jumps to the wrong conclusion.

The Third Drawer Status: Complete Rating: Mature Word Count:7767 After his return to work, Buck feels lost and alone due to the way he's been treated by the people he thought were his family. In order to stop the pain, he begins to hurt himself instead.

Fire and Ice Status: Complete Rating: Teen Word Count: 1195 The 126 wonder why Marjan hasn't followed Buck 'fire_and_ice' Buckley back on Instagram yet. 

Terra Firma Status: Complete Rating: Teen Word Count: 1884 For the Tumblr prompt: Team goes out to a call to a school play gone wrong and somehow some giant paper mache creation comes loose and crashes onto Eddie's head and gets stuck there. Could be a Planet like Dr. Evil or a giant strawberry, either way Eddie is stumbling around while Buck trying to help him, all the while laughing his own head off at the sheer absurdity of it all. 

Consequences Status: Complete Rating: Teen Word Count: 6558 Buck returns to work after the lawsuit to find his welcome isn't very warm. Some of the 118 crew are more upset than others and it soon turns violent. 

Anchor Status: Complete Rating: Teen Word Count: 3636 Before going to summer camp, Christopher wants to overcome his fear of the water by going to the beach. But he won't go without his Buck.

Or Something Status: Complete Rating: Mature Word Count: 11492 Abby is back in town, newly single and looking to try again with Buck, not that he figures it out. Eddie and Maddie do though and they might have something to say about it.

[donutloverxo]

Stevie

Authors note- listen... I'm sorry for this but at the same time I'm not. Anyway this was inspired by an arc from the anime gintama.

the female captain america graphic does not belong to me.

Do not repost or steal my works. Reblogs are welcome

Summary- Steve has been on a space mission for a week. When he gets back he's a completely different person.

Pairings- Steve Rogers x reader, Stevie x reader

Warning- smut, sex toys, bi curious reader, gender bender(Tony nat and steve get turned into the opposite sex)

Word count- 3.3k

Masterlist

You had been monitoring Steve’s mission status for the past week. You were both used to the other being gone on missions. But a mission in space was something else. Steve, Tony and Nat were helping Carol out with a situation in space. Since the guardians were mia. In another galaxy. It was still hard to wrap your head around. Last you heard going to Mars was considered a huge accomplishment now people are travelling to another solar systems.

It was hard not to worry. So many things could go wrong. They could be sucked into a black hole or encounter a hostile species. You were one of the few Avengers who had never been to space. As you were blipped after the snap.

You had heard about it from Steve. He had a far away melancholic look in his eyes whenever he talked about it. You understood how hard those five years must’ve been for him. You weren’t sure if you could even last 5 weeks without him.

As much as you would’ve liked to go explore space you had decided someone had to stay home.

You were going about your night drinking some coffee to help with your fatigue in front of the monitor waiting for updates from Steve’s team. You had not left the room, you pretty much lived there. They were supposed to be home two days ago. With no updates from either of them you were at the end of your rope.

You were jolted awake when you felt your chair along with the whole room vibrating. You didn’t even realise you had fallen asleep. You rushed outside hoping that the team had made it back.

You looked at Carol approaching you from the ship landed on the compound lawn.

“Hey there”, she greeted giving you a nervous smile.

“Is something wrong?”, you asked looking at the ship hoping to see Steve come out of it.

“Well yes and no. Something happened. I’m going to need you to stay calm.”

“I’m always calm”, impatient you walked towards the ship.

You stopped in your tracks when you see three more people come out of it. Two women and a man. Confused you looked back at Carol who just smiled and shrugged.

“This must be weird for you”, you heard the man say, his hoarse deep voice say.

You looked back at the three of them and wished to pinch yourself or slap yourself, anything to wake up from this dream. You looked the three of them up and down. It wasn’t too obvious but they looked a lot like Steve Tony and Nat.

The redhead man had broad shoulders, a square jaw and a Bob haircut. He was shorter than the blond woman standing beside him.

You stopped breathing for a minute when you looked at her. She was tall, taller than any woman you’d ever seen probably taller than most men. She had a sharp jawline and high cheekbones. Her short blond hair was slicked back. If you didn’t know better you would be scared by her sharp features but you couldn’t help look away from her piercing blue eyes. That’s when you realized.

“Steve?”, you breathed out after what felt like forever.

“No no, she’s Stevie now”, you whipped your heard to look at the short brunette woman standing behind the redhead. Her hair was short with flicks of grey. She had wrinkles around her eyes and mouth.

“Yeah and she’s Toni now. As in Toni with an i.”, she redhead said.

“What is going on here?!”, you yelled and looked at Carol for an explanation.

“Well we were on the mission everything was going quite well. But then somebody decided to make some sexist jokes.”, she gave Toni and the red head a icy stare. “So they changed these idiots into the opposite sex. To teach them a lesson. They will go back to their old selves soon enough.”

“Ok it was just a joke! How was I supposed to know they would be so sensitive”, Toni whined.

“Wait who are ‘they’?”, you asked her

“Aliens”, she answered and walked back to the spaceship “alright I have to leave good luck”

“Oh no you don’t. How are we supposed to fix this?” Toni chased behind her asking and then begging her to stay.

You looked at the red head who would most probably be Nat and then at Stevie. Not really knowing what to say your gaze went down Stevie’s body. Your eyes widened when you looked at the curve of her breasts. You couldn’t see them properly under her tshirt but you could tell that they were big. It was no surprise, Steve did always have big assets.

“Uh... can we go inside?”, Stevie asked awkwardly rubbing her forearm with her hand.

You hadn’t uttered a single word still speechless and in shock. Was this real life? You had solved so many problems, seen so many things over the years but never in your life did you think you would be here. Looking at your boyfriend or girlfriend, you couldn’t deal with the feelings emerging inside you or how much you wanted to touch her to see if her skin was as soft as it looked.

You could only see her arms and face as she was wearing sweatpants and a t-shirt. She had a soft sheen of blond hair on her arms, not nearly as coarse as Steve’s arm hair used to be. Her arms were still muscular and definied but much more slimmer. And she clearly wasn’t wearing a bra. Not that you were complaining.

She was looking down at her thighs closing them and then opening them again, probably not sure how to sit. She looked up at you and smiled.

“How are you feeling?”, you asked her.

“Strange”, she said running her hand through her short hair. “Are you okay?”

“Well...”, you started not knowing how to finish. Would she be mad if she knew what was going on in your head? She was confused and in distress this is neither the time nor the place to have unsavory thoughts.

Nat came into the common room and plopped down beside Stevie. “I just used the bathroom. It was quite interesting.”, she said nodding to herself and staring off into space. She looked like she was contemplating her entire life.

You looked at Toni grumbling and making herself a drink. “She left. Said we’ll be back to normal by tomorrow”, she sat down on the sofa in front of you sipping her drink. She looked down at her breast before squeezing one.

“Toni!”, Stevie chastised him and looked away. You laughed at both of them, Nat and Toni joined you as laughter filled the hall.

“Imagine if Stark was born a woman”, Nat wondered.

“They definitely wouldn’t call you a playboy. They'd call you much worse names.”, you said before going back to admiring Stevie in all her glory while you had time.

“I’m going to head out. Good night kids. Pray to your gods that we go back to our old selves tomorrow”, Toni said putting her empty glass on the coffee table before leaving.

Nat yawned and stretched her back. “I’m going to bed as well. Long mission. Good night”

“So, what do you wanna do?”, you tentatively asked Stevie. You were suddenly nervous around her, the way someone would be around a new crush. You went back and forth between looking at her eyes, breasts and your lap.

“Let’s just go to bed. But... uh.. I could just sleep in the guest room if you like.” She scratched her neck blushing just like your Steve would. You smiled at her. There was no need to be nervous. This was the same Steve you knew and loved.

“No. We can sleep together. I’ve missed you”, you take her hand in yours. It felt the same but a bit different. Maybe because her hands were much smaller than Steve’s.

“I’m not me though”, she mused looking at your fingers linked together.

“I don’t mind. In fact I like it”, maybe you were being too bold but this might be the only chance you ever get.

“Oh?”, she looked at you her pink plump lips pouting. They looked even more kissable right now. Her nose was slimmer but still a bit crooked. The cute confused expression on her face reminded you so much of your Steve. Which was bizarre because she was still your Steve.

You couldn’t help it anymore, you leaned in putting your hand on the armrest for support and joined both your lips. She was stiff at first but then relaxed. You licked her lips and she opened her mouth kissing you deeply. She had missed your lips and your touch for the past week.

You broke apart after a few minutes. You looked into her eyes trying to catch your breathe. You decided to sit on her lap like you usually do. She put her hand around you as you nuzzled into her neck breathing her in. She smelled different, more feminine, but you could still smell hints of Steve’s soap and cologne.

“Are you sure about this?”, she asked intensely looking into your eyes.

You cradled her face in your hands. “I am as long as you’re comfortable. I’ve always wanted to do that. Be with a woman. Just never got the chance.”

“I... uh.. wouldn’t know what to do to”, she murmured looking away.

Steve, bless his heart, would never go anywhere near porn. He always found it too gratuitous. Never mind that the few sex tapes the two of you did make were plenty gratuitous.

No matter how much he liked to act like a boy Scout you knew all his kinks and perversions. But you had seen and read your fair share of erotica and you knew what you liked. You could make it work.

“You’ve always wanted to be with a woman?”, he asked and you nodded “you never told me that”

“I don’t know. I like women but don’t even feel like thinking about anyone else when I have you. Man or woman”, you shrugged. She blushed at that giving you a wide grin.

“Well... maybe Carol..”, you trailed off. You had developed a slight crush on her since the moment you met her. She was so fierce and strong. She didn’t take shit from anyone. You smiled at how she just left everyone here and went on her next mission to save the universe.

She was someone admirable. Or maybe it was just because she was a lot like Steve. Captain and everything.

Stevie hummed at that. She had seen you looking at Carol in adoration, her suspicions were just confirmed. She didn’t feel bad or jealous. She knew you were hers.

***

You had made yourself at home between Stevies leg while she laid her head on your pillow. She was apprehensive about letting you go down on her or see her. But you were adamant about giving her the experience of a female orgasm.

Maybe you had your selfish reasons as well. You couldn’t stop looking at her pretty pink pussy. It might be the most beautiful thing you’ve ever seen. You were tempted to whip out your phone and click a few pictures.

There were little dirty blond hair sprinkled around it. You wondered if you liked it because it was objectively pretty or because it was attached to the love of your life.

You smiled to yourself when you noticed it was glowing. She was probably getting impatient. She had been on a tasking mission, she deserves some relief. You were a bit anxious even if you knew what you had to do, you had never done it before. Your core tingled when you remembered the first time Steve ate you out. How you had to direct him and tell him exactly what to do. He was pretty much a pro at it now.

You licked a shy stripe up her lips. You gained a little bit of confidence when you felt her gasp and shiver. You licked a few more stripes before sucking on her clit. She seemed to like it when you did it faster so you increased your pace.

You pushed your tongue inside of her while licking her up. You decide to try incorporating your fingers as well. Pushing one and then two inside of her before thrusting them in and out with purpose.

She grunted and pushed your head back towards her core. “Shit”, she screamed as you began lapping her up again.

Steve never had any qualms about cursing during love making. It gave you great pleasure knowing you’re the only one that ever gets to see this wild feral side of him. Or her.

“Oh god”, she clutched your hair fisting them in her hand before coming all over your mouth. You lapped up everything you could.

You climbed up on your bed and looked down into her eyes. “How was that?”, you asked stroking her cheek.

“Pretty good”, she smiled up at you her blue eyes twinkling.

You raised your brows at her frowning. “Just pretty good?”

“It was perfect. But nothing different, I think”, she replied bringing your hand to her lips giving it a kiss. “Now it’s your turn”, she smirked.

“No”, you said firmly and got off the bed disappearing into your closet.

“No?”, she asked before sitting up trying to see what you were up to.

You return to your bed tying your favorite strap on to your hips and coating it with a generous amount of lube. You smirked when you looked at her staring at it. “What do you think?”

You already knew the answer to that question. You had used the very same toy on Steve’s ass more times than you could count. As much as you loved being dominated by him you also liked pleasing him, having him completely at your mercy.

She visibly gulped down. “How do you want to do it?”

“I’d like to look at your face.” You said holding her face in your hands stroking her cheeks. You push her down on the bed. Kneeling between her legs. You groped and stroked her body. It was unsurprisingly as soft as you imagined it would be. You held her breasts in your hands for a minute squeezing them and stroking her nipples. “they’re so soft”, you wondered out loud.

“Now you know why I like yours so much”, she said chuckling

You squeezed her pink hard nipple between your fingers before taking it in your mouth, giving it a harsh suck.

“Fuck... doll I need you”, she whined grabbing your dildo lining it up to her pussy.

You released her nipple with a pop swatting her hands away. “Be patient”, you scolded. She pouted at you but kept her hands to herself.

After sucking on her breasts for a while you lined your dildo upto her pussy. You snaked a hand under her hips to pull her up towards you, just like Steve used to do with you. You needed to be as close to her as possible.

You have her an open mouthed kiss slowly pushing into her. She moaned into your mouth. You fucked her nicely and slowly. Holding her in your hands as if she was the most precious thing to you, which she truly was.

You increased your pace when you felt her moaning and grunting loudly, knowing she was probably very close. You looked down at her face scrunched up in pleasure as she came around your cock.

You had never been able to look at Steve’s face when he came, either you were too fucked out from your own orgasms or were focusing on making him last longer.

Now looking down at her, doing something that was only pleasure able for her felt incredibly intimate. It felt better than any orgasm could’ve.

You pulled out of her, taking the strap on off before cuddling with her.

“That was something else”, she mumbled feeling high from her intense orgasm.

***

Later that night you had some how convinced Stevie to let you put make up on her. She didn’t agree at first but with some pouting she was basically putty in your hands.

You lips were set in a firm straight line in concentration as you tried not to mess up her eyeliner. Her hair was incredibly short so there wasn’t much you could do with it. You wondered if she would let you take some pictures.

“So what exactly happened? Why did they turn you into women... and man”, you asked still not sure how they were able to do it.

“It was something Tony said about never understanding women and then Natasha argued with all men are the same or something along those lines”, he said a frown on his face as if he was trying hard to remember it “I was caught in the middle of it trying to get them to stop fighting” You decided to let it go for now. Maybe she’d tell you the whole story some other day.

“One good thing about this is now you can take my name”, you smiled as you imagined Steve with your last name.

“I always thought you’d take mine. I like the thought of you as Mrs Rogers”

“Oh and why would I do that? I was one of the most renowned sheild agent and I am the best avenger”,you said puffing your chest out proudly.

“You might have some competition with that”, she teased smirking at you to which you stuck out your tongue putting some final touches on her face. “I guess our kids could just hyphenate”

You gasped at that, “kids? If you think I’m having more than one child then you’ve lost your mind. You know what it’s like to have a vagina now. Imagine pushing a child the size of a watermelon out of it”, you huffed but looking at her pretty face all your anger melted away.

“I’m sorry sweetheart. You know if I could go through it instead of you I would”, she said stroking your thighs and you knew she was sincere.

Steve would never let anything bad happen to you. Not if he could help it. After he got you back he had vowed to you that he would always protect you.

You looked at her sad face hunched down staring at the ground. She looked as if she was in another world. “Stevie what’s wrong?”

“It’s just what if the kid inherits all my illness. Or the super serum. That could be a danger to you”

You knelt down between her legs so you could look into her eyes. “Hey it’s okay”, you said softly “we don’t have to have kids. And we can always adopt. That gives us much more time”

“Are you sure?”, she asked shyly playing with a strand of your hair.

“Absolutely positive”, you beamed up at her.

***

The next morning you woke up earlier than usual. Stretching your back muscles you smiled looking at the sun shining through the window. It was a beautiful day. Perfect for a picnic. You looked to your side smiling at Steve sleeping peacefully. Wait a minute.

“Steve”, you shook him harshly.

“What?”, he rose his voice heavy and hoarse. He looked down at his body touching his pecs and abs before looking back at you. “I’m back”

“Yeah you’re back”

You both went down to the common room to find if Toni and Nat had went back to their normal selves. They were already waiting for both of you.

“Oh Rogers is back too!”, Tony said eagerly.

“Did you two have fun last night?”, Nat smirked suggestively at the two of you.

“I see neither of you learned your lesson then”, Steve shook his head at them before looking at you, catching you staring at him. “What do you miss Stevie?”

You shook your head at him. Lightly slapping his chest. “I like what’s in here. Doesn’t matter how you look”

[aidemint]

Messenger - Zuko

Word Count: 3.2k !

Warnings: None!

Note: This is a plot I’ve been wanting to try for a while! For the sake of the story, Mai and Zuko broke up indefinitely. As much as I love them, I can’t have things get too “complicated.”

__

It started as an ordinary day. Perhaps one that began too well. I woke up to the sound of turtle-ducks quacking in a nearby pond as a colorful array of birds lined the canopy, chirping to the melody that the trees gave off when they shook in the light breeze. I yawned and rubbed my eyes with the backs of my hands as I woke up from my resting state underneath a large oak. Shaking my head a few times, I blinked and got my eyes to focus on my surroundings, and patted my side to make sure that my bag was still there. 

Ah, the familiar feel of leather and sturdy cloth.

After the reassurance, I took the time to stretch a bit before getting up to get ready for the day. The morning procedure was conventional -- extremely so. Brush your teeth, bathe, dry, then scavenge for some food. Berries or nuts weren’t exactly rare to come by anywhere, so it wasn’t hard to find a hearty meal. 

A day in the life of a messenger.

Humming as I stripped down, I discarded my clothes, shoving them into my messenger bag, then brought the satchel with me to the riverbed to decrease the risk of theft. The impact of my feet on the ground made the grass quiver and specks of dirt come flying into the air, tickling my soles and upper-ankles. When I finally set my belongings down, I sighed in content and watched as the surface of the stream glimmered, reflecting the sunlight. It certainly looked inviting.

Finally, it was time to bathe.

Shivering as I tip-toed into the cold water, I wrapped my arms around my chest and hoped I didn’t catch some sort of disease. I wasn’t used to such a different climate, as I’d normally opt for some hot springs when they were available, but I was in the valley and didn’t have the time nor the energy to make that trek all the way up the mountain.

I groaned and plunged shoulder-level into the river, feeling the running water push lightly against my figure. The sensation was surprisingly calming, considering that I was initially cringing at how frigid it was. As the edges of my lips upturned and my eyes fluttered shut, my body relaxed and I was able to enjoy the sweet empathy that nature provided me with.

After soaking for what felt like a few minutes, I heard a rustling in the bushes. Assuming that it was either some wayward badger skunk of platypus bear, I paid no attention to it until there came voices from that general direction.

“Zuko, I told you we shouldn’t have come this way. Privacy is a big thing around these parts.” There was an old man and his presumed nephew, wandering around the forest of oak trees and through a few bushes. I couldn’t get a clear view of the uncle, but I noticed a small clearing that the younger boy could step out into for me to peer at him. Hoping that he’d move according to plan, I craned my neck to get a glimpse at him.

“Privacy? In a valley? What, are we gonna run into a couple of naked mole rats?” Once the brunette emerged from his place hidden in the bunches of leaves and into an open spot, I got to recognizing him. My eyes widened and my lips parted, truly not expecting the company. Prince Zuko, the “traitorous” son of Fire Lord Ozai, was in Fengfu Valley, and I was right under his nose. It shocked me how little perception he had of his surroundings. Feeling the urge to laugh, I clamped a hand over my mouth to hide my presence and stooped lower into the water so my nose was right above the surface.

I couldn’t help but want to exploit his careless nature -- it seemed like it would be a lively addition to an otherwise boring morning.

Teasing him would be fun.

“I don’t appreciate being called a mole rat!” I watched on as Zuko shouted in surprise, then sent a bolt of fire my way. Narrowly avoiding it, I swam to the side and watched as the flame dissipated as soon as it reached the spot where I previously resided. Turning my head so I faced him, we locked gazes as I feigned offense.

“Seriously?” When the prince’s face morphed into one of surprise, I burst out laughing, almost getting swept away by the river at the effort. My howls ceased as I stumbled a bit and felt the rapids churn in an attempt to carry me down its bed, but I regained my footing and remained in my original place. 

Breathing a sigh of relief, I once again directed my attention to the brunette, who just stood with his hands clasped over his eyes. Snickering at the sight, I slipped to hide behind a bush as I dried myself and put on my clothes. Stepping out into the open once I was finished, I gave Iroh a small salute while walking towards the pair, which he returned with a fond grin.

“You should listen to your uncle more often, friend!” I exclaimed, stopping in front of the Prince with my bad slung across a shoulder, “Don’t come across mindful people in these parts very often. It’s mostly populated with bandits, so most are pretty wary.” Noticing the pair’s interesting Earth Kingdom getup, I raised my eyebrows, impressed with the guise. I didn’t have long to admire their getups, however, as Iroh took the initiative to start a conversation in the midst of my thinking. 

“Since we can’t avoid an interaction any longer, we might as well introduce ourselves. My name is Mushi, and this is my nephew Lee. We’re simple travelers, so it’s nice to meet a local from around these parts.” I nodded at him and smiled at Zuko, who still seemed a bit on edge from our unconventional introduction.

“I’m (Y/N). I work as a messenger for the international mailing system. I deliver letters to and from different nations, but I’m stationed in the Earth Kingdom most of the time, helping to run mail through the city, manually.” Iroh, or Mushi, nodded in understanding, 

“An honorable profession.” I smiled, then thanked him for his kindness. Glancing at “Lee,” I noticed that he didn’t seem very eager to respond, so I just left him alone and continued to talk to Iroh. 

“Well, Mushi,” I began, “Do you have a place to stay?” Iroh was quick to respond, but not without a sudden shift in his demeanor. His shoulders suddenly caved inwards and his eyebrows became furrowed, giving his face a worn, wrinkled look. 

“Unfortunately not. My nephew and I don’t have anywhere to go, either.” I bit back a smile at his overbearingly dejected tone and the sudden slump in his posture when trying to evoke some sense of pity from me. Covering my mouth with a hand, I sucked in a breath to calm down, coughing a bit to disguise my laughter. 

“W-Well,” I said, clearing my throat, “You can stay at my camp for the time being. I’ll show you the ropes, but you have to hunt your own food.” To my complete and utter surprise, Iroh’s posture and mood had suddenly improved upon hearing this. His eyes seemed to sparkle as a grateful grin spread across his face.

“That would be wonderful. Thank you for your offer.” I waved it off, then beckoned for the two to follow me to camp, where I had a tent set up and a couple of logs for a campfire. Though I didn’t have much, the former General’s reaction made me feel like some kind of saint for agreeing to take care of them out of common courtesy.

Perhaps his methods of persuasion had more of an influence on me than I originally thought.

__

Evening had come, and Zuko and I were currently out foraging for berries and nuts while Iroh was back at camp, tending to a fire in order to brew some tea and to hopefully get the pot hot enough to be able to cook the nuts. 

At the moment, the Prince and I had stumbled across an undergrowth that housed a variety of different bushes and trees, all filled with berries and fruits, respectively. The silence of nature overtook us as we worked to fill the baskets we carried with the bounty -- a sound that was familiar to me, but seemed to be uncomfortable for Zuko, so much so that he decided to pipe up for the first time today.

“Hey, (Y/N)?” I whipped my head around to face him with an amused expression. 

“You finally wanna talk, huh?” He sighed and rolled his eyes in the other direction, setting his basket down, but not knowing what to do with his hands. Curling them into fists, then letting go again, the cycle repeated for half a minute before he found the right sentence to say.

“I’m usually not this awkward, I promise,” he commented, rubbing the nape of his neck. I laughed, noticing the Prince’s bright red face, flushed from embarrassment. 

“I can tell,” I replied, digging into a bush and pocketing some wild blueberries, “So don’t worry too much about it. I don’t mind the silence -- I hear it all the time.” He stiffly nodded and picked up his basket again to collect some pears from a tree overhead.

“Thanks.” The world then went silent for a few minutes until Zuko spoke again, his voice more relaxed this time around. 

“And sorry about the naked mole rat thing. I didn’t really expect anyone to be there.” 

“Don’t sweat it. I wouldn’t expect a naked person to be in a river in the middle of a valley either.”

“Okay… thanks.” I chuckled quietly to myself, finding hilarity in how uncoordinated Zuko seemed to be in the realm of speaking. It was almost endearing. 

After a good twenty minutes had lapsed, it was safe to say that both of us had deserved a break. As I plopped down onto a moss-covered section of the floor, I patted the ground next to where I sat, motioning for Zuko to rest alongside me.

“Sit down with me, Lee.” He hesitated for a moment, but ended up sitting next to me anyways. While we rested, I admired the way the canopy of the forest blocked the sunlight, so that the rays would cast themselves in dappled patterns across the ground. Fluttering my eyelids shut, I took a deep breath, then exhaled slowly, enjoying the forest’s energy and the rejuvenating effect it had on my spirit. As I opened my eyes to see the world again, I sighed in a mix of disappointment and appreciation. The tranquility was pleasurable, but always too brief.

I didn’t notice Zuko until I felt his hand nearing my bag, to which I responded to with a sudden pull away, not letting him even graze the satchel. He seemed alarmed by this, as his eyes immediately went dark and his body tensed up. Panicking as I noticed this, I tried to explain as quickly and as simplistically as possible. 

“People’s letters are in there,” I said, “I can’t let you touch them without a license. It’s illegal.” Zuko glowered at me. His eyes bore into mine, golden, glaring irises seeking the truth in the myriad of lies. He leaned in closer to me, his scowl deepening.

“There is no need for mailing by foot in the Earth Kingdom. They have their own postal service with the rock cart system.” I sucked in a sharp breath as I prayed that he wouldn’t connect the dots, as hopeless as my wish was. 

Zuko pointed at my bag. 

“Those aren’t really letters, are they?” The prince’s question challenged me, yet it was laced with so much hidden curiosity and an element of certainty pounded into each and every word. I sighed as I realized that the jig was up. I had to tell him the truth, or he might become unstable and try to pull something with me. Taking out the envelopes, I unwrapped them, then showed the Prince the contents inside. 

“You got me,” I admitted, handing Zuko the sheets of paper I held in my hand, “They’re not letters.” The brunette’s eyes scanned over the folio, gradually widening in disbelief. Once he was done reading, he handed the documents back to me and looked at me with such incredulity. 

“What are those papers?” he demanded, “They have the Fire Nation seal on them.” I shrugged indifferently while putting the sheets back into their envelopes.

“They’re stolen Fire Nation Official documents,” I responded casually. The Prince seemed so caught up in this order of business, while I admittedly did not want to continue this conversation for much longer. His infatuation irked me, but it was natural, given his background, so I had no other choice but to endure it.

“How did you even get them?” he demanded, “Who are you?” 

“I should be asking you the same question, Prince Zuko,” I snapped, not willing to take any more of his attitude. He looked taken aback yet flustered at the same time. I assumed that he didn’t realize that someone would recognize the guy with a very noticeable scar on his face. I scoffed at the thought.

“Do you really expect me not to know who you are, Mr. ‘Esteemed Prince of the Fire Nation?’” He grew increasingly bewildered, looking at me as if I had two horns growing out of my head, and as if he wasn’t the son of the most notorious tyrant in all the four nations. “Sure, most people in the Earth Kingdom have no clue who you guys are, but I might have a clue, you know? Given the documents and everything?” 

“But why… How did you even get these?” Zuko stammered, “This is classified information.”  

“I looted them from Fire Nation officers.”

“Why-” he began, “Why are you-” As he looked to me for some form of help, I motioned for him to continue thinking on his own. He furrowed his eyebrows and kept at it. A few moments later, something seemed to click inside his mind. 

“You’re…” Realization dawned on Zuko as his expression morphed into one of vulnerable understanding. “You’re part of the Resistance. Against the Fire Nation.”

“Bingo.” He furrowed his brows and brought a hand up to point at me following my confirmation.

“You’re the one responsible for the missing contract for the Huo act.”

“Yeah.”

“You stole a cart filled with bills that lowered the minimum age for recruited soldiers.”

“Mhm.”

“And the papers for Baron Hu Jiao’s coal mines.”

“Uh huh.”

“And you’re-”

“You’re making me sound like a saint here, Zuko,” I interrupted, chuckling, “I’m just doing what any normal person would do in the face of tyranny.” He paused, creased his eyebrows and slightly pursed his lips, then looked away, as if contemplating some serious matter. I cocked my head and laughed softly at the sight, entertained by the Prince’s reaction to my words. 

“You seem confused.” I turned to him. “Is there anything you want to ask me?” He huffed, contorting his face into an expression that was strangely reminiscent of one at a loss for words, though he spoke after my inquiry.

“Why did you even join the rebellion? Why would you risk your life for something so… so dangerous? So...” I felt a burning sensation in my chest as Zuko’s breath ran out before he could finish. He made no attempt at restating his two-word sentence, feeling as if it was best to just leave it there, as is. I sighed.

“Were you going to say futile?” Zuko scratched his head and nodded. I huffed.

“Why do people join the army, then? Just to die in trivial combat?” I challenged coyly, the edges of my lips curling into a smirk, “Why do people join task forces if they’re not worth fighting for?” 

“Because they’re forced to.” The prince’s tone was cold. His words were hardened by some experience I knew not of, and it was only then I realized that I had been wrong.

I folded my hands in my lap and spoke in a much quieter voice from there on.

“I apologize.” Zuko paused for a moment to recollect himself, taking a deep breath in and letting it gradually come out.

“It’s okay.” I smiled at his comment. 

“Do you want to hear more of my story? Of the resistance?” Zuko hummed.

“Okay.”

“I only knew of the Resistance from the propaganda that was set up in the middle of the Capitol. I’d see the faces of those men and women and wonder what they had done to earn their titles as ‘savages,’ ‘freaks of nature,’ and ‘traitors.’ I’d always ask about them. But I’d always never get an answer. 

“The first time I ever had personal contact with them was after my fathers perished in the army. I went through a lot of grief, in the early stages. I wouldn’t eat, I wouldn’t socialize, probably because of the trauma. When nobody wanted me, when the Fire Nation threatened to kick me out for not being a valuable citizen, they took me in. Treated me well, taught me a lot of things that I’d originally been brainwashed to ignore by propaganda. They gave me hope and a reason to live. It was more than I could ask for, at the time.

“And I realized what I wanted. I knew that I wanted out of this dystopian society so I rebelled against it. I stole papers and caused as much of a ruckus as I could, fueled by this opportunity for revenge. I wanted to tear the place down.” I laughed sadly at the thought.

“But, as you said, it’s futile. I can’t go against so many people. None of us can. The numbers have always been dwindling.” I looked down, at the forest floor, embarrassed to admit the notion. “But we try.” The soft sounds of crickets chirping in the grass were the only noises that could be heard when I finished talking. Zuko just sat there, seemingly dumbfounded by the information that was relayed to him.

“I-I’m sorry,” he spoke, awkwardly glancing at my face, trying to morph his features into an expression of comfort. I chuckled at his behavior.

“Don’t be. It’s not your fault.” Quietness settled in the atmosphere once more after I uttered the last phrase. I tilted my head up at the sky and admired the blend of colors it had become. Lavender hues mixed with vermillion tints to create a wondrous sight to sit under and enjoy. 

Zuko and I sat together for what seemed like forever, simply enjoying each other’s company. 

After the purple and red sky had passed and the stratosphere held a darker red and orange coloration, I decided that it was best to haul ass and go back to camp based on how little day we had left. I offered a hand to Zuko, helped him stand up, and picked up my basket, preparing to go back to camp. The brunette did the same with his basket and started to follow me back. 

“Thank you for listening,” I suddenly said, turning to face him, “It’s been a long time since I could open up to someone like this. I really enjoyed this evening.” Zuko’s expression remained indifferent, but there seemed to be a new, small glitter within his irises. 

“Yeah.” The corners of his lips lifted just a bit. “I did too.”

[flatstarcarcosa]

favors and heists

notes: i gave myself brain worms while roping @dadbodsandbots into my mass effect insert shenanigans by using her mans so I had to shake some of them loose. this turned out to be kinda fun, actually, for a change :3

also tags @jackals-ships while making pspspsps noises

summary: what's the point of your best friend dating a galaxy-renown mercenary if not for the favors you can squeeze out of the deal?

or

zaeed takes a charity case.

ship(s): stubborn goddamn jackasses, cat/digs (boomcat? harcat?)

******

The door alarm has been chiming for four minutes. Pressing the override button on his omni-tool shuts it off for a few scarce seconds, only for whoever is outside to activate it again. Finally, Zaeed gives up on ignoring it and wrenches the damn thing open manually. The metal squeals in protest before the hydraulics correct themselves.

"The hell do you want?" he asks, frowning. Cat stands in the door way with barely contained tears in her eyes.

"My final thesis is due next week and the whole argument hinges on this 18th century painting and-"

"Dooooon't care," Zaeed drawls as he goes to manually pull the door shut again. She lunges forward, getting a shoulder and half a leg across before the safety catch feels an obstruction and stops.

"-and it got stolen and if I have to report it to my boss I'm not only gonna fail the program but I'll never work in this industry again!" she blurts. Zaeed has already turned his back towards her and is cussing at his omni-tool's refusal to force the door shut.

"Don't caaaaaaaaare," he says.

"You gotta help me get it back!" she cries, "That fucking asshole Harkness stole it and if he gets too far I'll never see it again!"

Zaeed stops, shoulders sagging. He holds up a finger and turns.

"When you say Harkness-"

"Yeah, Digger," Cat sniffs. "You know, Captain Boom-"

"Will willingly shoot my other eye out before I call him that, thanks," says Zaeed. He goes silent for a moment, and then lets out a frustrated growl and runs a hand over his face. "All right, fine. But only because I've still got a grudge against that jackass I've been meaning to settle."

She looks up, elation flashing across her face.

"Really?! I mean, I can hire you, too, so-"

Zaeed snorts.

"You don't make near enough to hire me," he says. "Especially not if you want him alive, although honestly, that part isn't up to you." He steps out of sight into the other room, and Cat wanders into the kitchen to blow her nose on a wad of paper towels.

"Where was he last?" Zaeed asks.

"I mean, my office," she calls back. He steps back around the corner, the top half of his armor undersuit hanging around his waist.

"I meant where was he before he stole the painting?"

"Oh!" she pauses. "I...dunno, some hotel down on Silversun."

Zaeed hums, and pulls his arm through the sleeve on his suit. He drags a footlocker over to the sofa and plops down, bending over to unlock the lid.

"How'd Harkness get into your office, anyway?" he asks. "It's not exactly publicly accessible."

"Uh- I...I don't know," she stammers, "he's a thief, that's what he does!"

Zaeed quirks an eyebrow at her as he laces his boots.

"Uh-huh," he says. "And he just happened to have decided to specifically case your office for one painting..."

"Yeah."

"Your office, which is in a moderately secured area in the Citadel Tower," he continues. He raises an eyebrow at her. She shifts her weight from one foot to the other.

"Yeah," she says again, voice tight. "Why?"

"No reason," he says. Motorized armor joints lock into place with mechanical whirring, and she watches him strap a pistol and a sniper rifle in place. "Here's the thing, if he's already jumped ship and left the Citadel, I'm not chasing him all over. This lasts until I decide the amusement isn't worth the lack of money. Matter of fact, you knowing Reese is the only reason I didn't tell you to fuck off and throw you out."

"A fact which I am heavily aware of," says Cat.

"Long as we're on the same page," says Zaeed. "Might as well wait here, I doubt this is gonna take too long."

"Hey," says Cat, "wait a second. How do you know him, anyway?"

Zaeed clicks his tongue.

"Got unlucky enough to be on a job with him once," he says. "Stupid little fuck nearly got me killed. Spent four weeks healing from that."

"Oh," she says.

"Granted, wasn't the same as getting half my face blown off," he adds, "but it was still enough that I've had it in for him ever since."

"You're not actually going to kill him, are you?" she asks. Zaeed shrugs as the door slides open.

"That depends on him, love," he says.

"Oh," she says. Before she can get another word out, Zaeed steps into the hall and leaves her alone. She sighs and sits down on the sofa. "Well, that's just fucking great."

******

It takes less than five hours to track Harkness down. After checking out of his hotel earlier that morning, he'd stuck around the Silversun Strip rather than booking a flight off the Citadel.

For some reason that Zaeed can only chock up to the man being an absolute fucking idiot, he didn't consider that wandering around with a medium sized painting under his arm was going to make him stick out to the residents.

Only on the Silversun Strip would one get away with that without C-Sec getting called and dropping down on your ass. Try it up on the Presidium and every rich asshole with a penthouse would be ringing the emergency numbers for 'suspicious activity' while triple locking their doors.

Tucked away in a back alley and away from the main attractions of the Strip is a little pawn shop run by, who Zaeed assumes, are the only Batarians to have a permanent residence on the Citadel. There's an old fashioned bell hanging above the door and it jingles when he walks through. It catches his attention for a moment, and he glances up at it, wondering where the aliens picked up that detail about human stores.

Behind the sales counter, a bored looking Batarian is standing with his arms crossed over his chest and glowering with all four eyes at the man in front of him.

"Come on mate," says the Australian. He's leaning over the painting, so focused on his attempts at hocking it that he either didn't hear the door bell, or isn't interested enough to turn around. Zaeed catches the gaze of the sales clerk, and holds a finger to his lips.

"I said no," the Batarian growls, looking back at the would-be customer.

"All right, fine, screw giving me what it's worth," the man continues, "we'll settle for 60% and then I can be on me way."

"You think I'm so stupid or naive I don't know stolen merch when I see it?" asks the Batarian. "I know enough about you humans and your squabbles to know there's no amount of credits worth getting involved in this kinda shit.

"Harkness, why don't you do something useful and stop pestering this poor Batarian?" Zaeed asks, interjecting only when he's close enough to Digger Harkness that the sound of his voice makes the man jump. "Bad enough the poor bastard has to walk around looking like that every day of his life, he doesn't need you coming in here and cocking everything up for him."

The Batarian sighs and rolls his eyes.

"Is it asshole human day today and no one told me?" he asks. "Oh wait, I suppose that's every day, isn't it?"

"Goddamn right it is," Zaeed says. Harkness turns around, nervousness clear on his face.

"Zaeed," he says, slowly, "well, I'll be...funny running into you out here, eh?" He reaches behind himself, fumbling his hand across the counter as he searches blindly for the painting. Zaeed is faster, and snatches it out from under him.

"Lets go," he says, gesturing towards the door. "You know why I'm here."

"Aw, c'mon-" Harkness' protest is cut short by Zaeed grabbing his wrists and slapping a pair of electrified cuffs on them. He shoves the man forward, and then tosses a credit chit down onto the counter.

"You see a couple of human males today?" he asks the Batarian. The alien grunts, considering him for a moment before reaching down and snapping up the chit.

"Been a slow day, I haven't seen anybody," he says, shrugging. Zaeed nods.

"Good man," he says. He shoves Harkness towards the door again. "Get moving."

The bell above the door rings as the two leave, and Harkness turns, walking backwards with his arms locked in front of him as he addresses Zaeed.

"Well, I'm simply stumped," he says, "can't for the life o' me figure who I pissed off enough to hire you." Zaeed says nothing, and simply motions with his pistol for him to keep walking.

Harkness faces foward and catches sight of the skycar parked at the end of the alley. It's not the best area to try and make a mad dash for freedom, but that doesn't mean he's not gonna give it a go.

"How'd you even get into the Citadel Tower to get a hold of something like this, anyway?" Zaeed asks, holding the painting up to get a good look at it. He's never understood fuck all about art and it's not one of those especially famous pieces that he'd even recognize anyway, so he doesn't bother theorizing on why it's so important to Cat's thesis.

"Oh, you know," says Harkness, "made a friend."

"Find that hard to believe," Zaeed drawls as he tucks the painting back under his arm.

"Oi, I'm quite suave when I want to be!" Harkness stops walking again, turning with a shit-eating grin on his face. "Though, some people are just easier to woo."

"Yeah, that sounds more like you, doesn't it?" Zaeed narrows his eyes. "Making a mark out of some poor girl that always sees the best in people."

Harkness blinks.

"Hang on," he breathes, "how do you know that? Don't tell me she's the one that hired you!"

"Course not," Zaeed snorts, "like I told her, she can't afford to hire me. This is a favor for a friend."

"Well shit mate! In that case, why don't you an' I work out a deal, yeah?" The grin is back, and Zaeed makes a point of ignoring him as he opens the skycar door and lays the painting in the back seat. "You ain't on an official contract, I see no reason why you an' I as two consummate professionals can't come to some sort of arrangement that benefits us both!"

"There's an exhaustive list of reasons why that won't be happening," Zaeed says, crossing his arms. "At the top of which is simply the fact that I can't goddamn stand you."

"Fair enough," says Harkness, "But Zaeed, come on, mate! As it happens right now, you're not making any money on this! That's a problem for you, and I can fix that real easy. You just slip these bracelets off me, let me be on my merry way, and recoup credits for your time. Anyone asks, I was too slippery to get a hold of, we all move on."

"No," Zaeed says. "Get in the goddamn car before I knock you out and shove you in the trunk."

Harkness groans, and bounces on the balls of his feet in frustration.

"Come on," he says again, "we both know at the end of the day lining your pockets is the only thing you really care about, so why don't you-"

Zaeed lunges faster than a half blind old merc has any right to move, and Harkness lets out a strangled yell as he punches him in the kidney with enough force to knock the wind out of him. He's wheezing as Zaeed shoves him into the alley wall, hanging onto him by the collar of his coat and lifting him off the ground.

"Listen to me, you stupid fucking jackass," Zaeed growls, "I'm not remotely young enough or stupid enough to not know exactly how you got access to Cat's office. That girl is the only person Reese knows that isn't a killer or a junkie or some fucked up combination of both, and the last thing she needs is to be caught up with likes of you and I."

Harkness says nothing as he gasps again, and waits on his lungs to remember how to take in air.

"I care about her well-being for my own selfish reasons because of her proximity to Reese, and I recognize that doesn't put me in a position of dictating to her who she spends her time with," Zaeed continues, "but so help me, you cause so much as a minor inconvenience for her and I will carve out your goddamn eyes, sew your mouth shut and sell you to Batarians as discounted slave labor, are we goddamn clear?"

Harkness manages half of a choked, garbled word and gets his head bounced off the wall for his effort.

"That didn't sound like a yes to me," Zaeed growls.

"Y-yes," he says. Zaeed slams him against the wall once more for good measure before dropping him.

"Get in the goddamn car."

******

The rental apartment Reese and Zaeed have been staying in isn't much to come home to. Far from the worst place they've ever holed up, sure, but that's never been a very high bar to begin with.

Regardless, as he pushes Harkness through the doorway and pauses long enough to set the painting down on an end table, he does reflect on the warm lightning in the corners and the smell of a beef roast being pulled out of the oven.

It's temporary and it's barely big enough for the two of them to move without tripping over each other, but it is home.

"You found it!" Cat appears in the archway to the kitchen, and Reese looks up over the counter. Their eyes glance between Zaeed and Harkness and the painting, and they quirk an eyebrow in his direction. Zaeed responds with a subtle shake of his head.

Later, he mouths, reaching up to undo the clasps on his armor.

"Wasn't too much trouble," he says aloud. "Helps when you're being sent after a goddamn moron. I should take more offers like this, actually."

"Caaaaaat," Harkness purrs. He goes to hold out his arms, and stops when he meets the resistance from the cuffs. She bypasses him entirely to scoop up the painting and make sure it hasn't been damaged.

"You know, on a hunch I looked into something on the way to the Strip," Zaeed says casually. "C-Sec has multiple active bounties on him at the moment. Cashing in on just one of them would likely pay more than, well...whatever it is you even do currently."

Harkness lets out a nervous laugh and looks between Zaeed and Cat. She sets the painting down and regards him for a moment.

"Right now I'm more worried with getting this back before anyone notices it was gone," she says, causing Harkness to puff up slightly. He winks at Zaeed, only to stop at the look the other man sends his way. "It's unlucky for me the building is locked down for the day, though..."

"Sounds to me like you could use someone who knows his way 'round security systems," Harkness offers. Zaeed snorts, and Cat frowns. Silence stretches out for a moment, broken only by the sound of Reese turning on an electric carving knife.

"Okay, fine," Cat says when they've turned the knife back off. "But know that if we get caught, I'm telling them you kidnapped me and I can cry on command."

"Well now you're just talkin' dirty to me," Harkness says.

"Really?" Reese barks from the kitchen. "Some of us still gotta eat tonight."

Zaeed remains silent and utterly unreadable as he taps at his omni-tool. The handcuffs beep a few times before popping open and falling off. Harkness massages at one of his wrists, and manages to ignore the bait when Zaeed shoves into him on the way to the kitchen.

"If we leave now we should make it in and out without too much trouble," Cat says. Reese offers a wave.

"Call me when you get in," they say, "mostly so I know if anyone's gotta kill him later."

"Sure!" says Cat. She tucks the painting safely under an arm, and drags Harkness out into the hall by the collar of his coat. The door beeps as the automatic lock powers on, and Reese turns to lean against the kitchen counter.

"What?" Zaeed asks, opening the fridge and pulling out a bottle of beer.

"Do I even want to know?"

"Probably not."

Reese rolls their eyes and turns their attention back to the roast. "I leave for 20 minutes to get fucking dinner, and I swear to Christ..." they say, trailing off when Zaeed reaches around and snags a slice of beef.

"You do realize she's got absolutely horrid taste in men, right?" he asks. The top of the beer bottle pops with a resounding hssss, and he flicks it across the kitchen into the garbage can.

"Yeah, well, that's just something we got in common, I guess," Reese says.

"Oi," Zaeed protests. He takes a swallow of beer and reaches for another slice of meat, then stops. "Hang on, she can cry on command?"

"Yeah, fucking wild actually," says Reese. They frown. "Why?"

Zaeed is silent for a moment as he takes another sip of beer before answering.

"Goddammit."

[avintagekiss24]

The Mansion Maid > Ransom Drysdale

PAIRING; Ransom Drysdale x black!reader

WORD COUNT; 3,503

WARNINGS; dub-con, mutual masturbation, hand job, vaginal fingering, Ransom being an asshole, swearing

REQUEST; Meg’s best friend from college needs a job, so she ends up being one of Harlan’s new maids and Ransom takes an interest in her. Face claim Kat Graham.

NOTE; Please heed the warnings, guys. You are responsible for what you consume. I’ve done my part, please do yours. Ransom is a douche in this one, but, what else is new! Hope you enjoy :)

“Meg, seriously, thank you so much.” You say as you hug her tightly, “This means so much.”

She scoffs, “Don’t worry about it. Granddad has always loved having pretty, young girls around the house. He’s the one that should be thanking me.” She laughs. 

You smile and stare up at the old, beautiful mansion sprawled out before you. You blink slowly as Meg pulls your bags from the car, chatting all the while, but you don’t really hear anything she says. You’ve never seen a house like this - in the movies, yeah - but never in real life. You couldn’t even really quantify just how rich Meg’s family was until this moment as you stand in the driveway. The Thrombey family is filthy, stinkin’ rich.

“Uh, hello? You still with me?” Meg laughs as she slams the door to her Audi. 

You cover your face with your hands, giggling a little as you shake your head, “Sorry. I’m nervous.”

She loops her arm within yours and pulls you into her side, “Don’t be. We don’t bite, promise.”

She starts to pull you towards the front door, passing by an older model BMW. You scrunch your face a little as you pass by it, the age of it taking you by surprise. It looks to be in good shape - sparkling a little in the sunlight - not that you know anything about cars to be honest. Maybe it’s the old mans’, you think to yourself as you take the two steps onto the porch before following Meg into the lavish home.

“Granddad! Marta! We’re here!”

“Will you keep your voice down? Jesus.” A deep voice sounds from the study to your left, causing you both to snap your heads towards it. 

Meg scoffs loudly, rolling her eyes as a tall, dark haired man emerges from the room. Your lips part a little as he moves right up to the two of you, completely invading your personal space. You glance up at him as he towers over you but immediately avert your eyes when you find his intense gaze already on you. You swallow harder than usual, shrinking into yourself a bit, as you feel his eyes roam up and down your body.  

“Fuck off Ransom. Where’s granddad?”

He shrugs, backing up to lean against the door frame. You glance back up at him just as he pops a small, round cookie into his mouth and chews it slowly, his eyes never leaving yours. 

He nods in your direction before skipping his eyes over to Meg’s quickly, “Who’s this?”

“None of your business. Where are Marta and granddad?” She asks again, more stern this time.

“Did you not see me shrug? I don’t fuckin’ know, he’s out with the help I’m sure.”

“Her name is Marta, you prick.” Meg rolls her eyes again and grabs you by the arm, pulling you up the stairs, “You’re such an asshole.”

“I asked you a question, Megan. I expect an answer.” 

You stop at the sound of his voice. You watch as Megan turns slightly and leans against the banister.

“And I answered you, dickwad.” He continues to stare at her, popping another cookie into his mouth. She relents, tossing her hair over her shoulder, “This is my friend from school. She’s gonna be helping around here for the summer for some cash. I didn’t know I had to get your approval as well, you know, since you don’t live here.”

He chuckles as he chews and slides his eyes over to you once again. You swallow hard as he looks you over slowly, taking his time with taking you in, “More help, huh? You speak English?”

Meg groans loudly, grabbing your arm again, “Don’t pay him any mind. Come on.” 

Ransom. You jog up the stairs behind Meg, turning slightly to glance at him over your shoulder. He stares at you as you move, smirking slightly as he pops yet another cookie into his mouth. He lifts his hand and wiggles his fingers at you before pushing away from the door frame to disappear back into the study. 

You follow Meg into her room and close the door behind you before plopping down on the bed beside her, “Who was that?”

She rolls her eyes deeply again, waving you off, “Don’t worry about it, he’s a fucking tool.”

“Who is it? Your brother or?”

“Oh, God no. He’s my cousin. My aunt Linda’s son.”

“Oh,” you answer, not able to get those blue eyes out of your mind, “What um, what does he do?”

She laughs a little as she stands and starts unpacking her bag, “You mean besides being the resident asshole? Abso-fucking-lutely nothing. He’s a spoiled ass brat, who lives off my aunt Linda and granddad.”

You nod slowly, “So, he lives here, then?” You swallow again, not really sure if you could deal with this feeling all day, every day for three and a half months. 

Meg picks up on your uneasiness and stops moving around the room. She walks over to you and takes your hand in hers, a bright smile on her face, “Do not let him scare you off. He lives like a half hour away. He comes over long enough to beg for money and then he fucks off again.”

You let out a breath and smile back at her, “Okay. Sorry, he’s just kinda… I don’t know.”

She kisses your cheek and goes back to her dresser, “For the third time, he’s an asshole. Don’t let him intimidate you, okay? You just wait until you meet granddad. He’s going to love you and between him and I, we won’t let Ransom pick on you.”

You nod your head quickly as you tuck some hair behind your ear. You take another breath and push it out quickly before you flash another wide smile, “Cool.”

--------

A few weeks have passed and they’ve been a blur, but you’re settling in quite nicely. Harlan is a delightful old man; funny and smart - and still as sharp as a tack. Marta and Fran are both kind and warm, taking you under their collective wing and showing you the ropes of the routines that flow through the mansion. You’ve met most of the family by now, each one just as opposite as the other, leaving you to wonder how they’ve all existed this long without killing each other. You like them all though, each for a different reason, except for Adolf Jr. aka Jacob, who’s questioned your citizenship more than once because “you look too exotic to be American”, and of course - 

“Ransom,” You sigh loudly as he shoulder checks you in the hallway, knocking you back a few steps, “Jesus.”

“How many times do I have to tell you?” He says, cutting his eyes back towards you, “You call me Hugh. Only my family calls me Ransom.”

You flip him off and roll your eyes as you continue down the hallway in the opposite direction, mumbling a fuck you under your breath. You head up the stairs with a pile of sheets and an assortment of cleaning supplies in your hands and move into the Harlan’s bedroom. You toss the supplies on the bed, before retreating to the hallway closet to fetch some fresh towels. You move back into the room and shut the door behind you before shoving your airpods into your ears, letting Doja Cat distract you as you start to strip the bed. 

You hum as you move around the large mattress, tossing the used sheets to the floor as you sway to and fro to Say So.Your thoughts soon turn back to the brief encounter you had with Hugh just minutes before. Prick. He’s gone out of his way to make you down right uncomfortable since the moment you stepped foot in the house. 

He stops by just to fuck with you it seems. He’ll suck down those disgusting cookies and throw the empty bag to the floor, because he knows you have to pick it up. He’ll knock magazines off the coffee table, track mud through the kitchen, leave random plates and drinking glasses all over the house - only to lean against the wall with his arms crossed over his chest, with that stupid smirk on his face as you pick up after him.

That’s another thing he likes to do - watch you. You feel his slimy gaze on you for hours out of each day, just following you around as you move throughout the house. At first it bothered you, but now? You just glare back at him and scrunch your face in disgust before you carry on with your work. Harlan, and recently Walt, have chewed his ass a few times for messing with you. You’re not intimidated anymore, you’ve got back up. 

His gaze has seemed to change over the past few days though. It’s less I’m watching you to make sure you don’t steal anything, to I’m watching you just to watch you - like you’re his prey. You’ve caught him staring at your legs on the days you’ve opted to wear shorts. You narrow your eyes at him as he ogles you, but he doesn’t care. He just keeps right on staring at your long limbs, his breaths deep and steady, sometimes dragging his tongue across his bottom lip or even sinking his teeth into it.

The family has a weekly Sunday dinner, which you’ve been happily invited to each time. It’s a chance for you to wind down, actually be a person around them and not just another one of the staff. At the last one, just a few nights ago, you were exhausted. Meg had you out on the town until after dawn before letting you have only a few hours of sleep before she pulled you off to another adventure. For dinner, you slipped into a tank top, a loose, thin zip up hoodie, and pajama shorts. Your hair was loose, falling into your face as Richard went on and on about politics. Your hoodie kept slipping off of your shoulder, exposing your skin and cleavage. 

You shifted in your seat, swiping at the hair in your face before you randomly threw your eyes at Ransom quickly. You had to do a double take. You squinted at him in disgust as you caught his wandering gaze on your chest, like he was transfixed - hypnotized by the slit of your breasts. He cut his eyes up to yours seconds later and cocked his head in defiance as the two of you stared at each other. You lifted your hand and extended your middle finger again, drawing a quick, low chuckle out of him before he dipped his eyes back to your cleavage. You rolled your eyes and zipped your hoodie all the way up before letting out a huff and focusing back on Richard. 

You had trouble sleeping that night. There was a battle brewing inside of you. You couldn’t stand him, but something in you, dare you say, liked having his attention. Whenever you caught his eyes on you, you’d get all warm - tingly. Sure, you’d flip him off and rush off in a huff but sooner or later, a sly smile would spread on your lips. You liked teasing this disgusting man. It felt… good - but of course, that is what bothered you. You shouldn’t be flustered or flattered by his behavior, you should be outraged, but yet you never say a word to anyone. 

A piece of you likes the fact that you are the one thing that he can’t buy and maybe, that’s why you enjoy this little game so much. He’s a bastard, but he’s a rich bastard who can have whatever his selfish ass wants - except for you. That’s your little contribution to the working class people, denying a rich asshole an unearned pleasure.

You finish making the bed and move into the bathroom where you squirt a healthy amount of Windex onto the large mirror. You wipe it away and move to the sink and counter, then the shower, and finally the toilet. You flush it once you’re finished and stand, wiping your forehead with the back of your gloved hand. You let out a breath and turn to exit, but scream when you’re surprised by someone in the doorway.

“Fuck, Ransom!” You scream as you clutch your chest, slamming your eyes shut. 

He laughs before tilting his head, “Hugh.”

“Fuck you.” You bite back at him, pulling the gloves off your hands and tossing them into the trash before you push past him aggressively.

You grab the pile of dirty sheets from the floor and turn to leave the room when he stops you, grabbing you by your arm. You shrug out of his grasp roughly as your eyes bounce back and forth wildly between his.

“Where do you think you’re going?” He asks calmly. 

You rip your airpods out of our ears and shove them into your pocket, “I’m working, okay? I don’t have time for this.”

He chuckles again as his eyes wander around your face and then dip down to your chest, “You’re a little fuckin’ cock tease, aren’t you?”

You scoff and try to move around him but he grabs your arm again and whips you around his body, “What the fuck is your problem? Huh?” You shout, dropping the sheets back to the floor, “Why do you have to fuck with me all the time?”

He shrugs, “I don’t have a problem.”

“Then why won’t you leave me alone?” You ask angrily, your eyes squinted as your chest starts to heave, “I don’t bother you one bit.”

“Oh, you bother me,” He starts slowly, “Like I said, you’re a cock tease baby.”

He takes a step towards you, and then another until he’s towering over you. You stare up at him, your chest bumping into his as you breathe deeply. You keep your jaw tight as he lifts his finger and drops it on your chin. You swallow hard as he starts to drag it down your neck and to your chest. Your lips part as you stare up at him. You blink furiously as his finger slips down to your breasts. 

You snap to your senses within seconds and slap his hand away, but his quick reflexes have you caught in his arms before you know it. You squirm in his grasp, desperately trying to free yourself but with each pull and tug, he seems to grasp you tighter and tighter. You push on his chest with your small hands as you plead for him to let you go.  He drops a hand to your jeans and pulls at the button to pop it open. He unzips them quickly and before you can stop him, he shoves his hand into your panties. 

You tense as you feel the flesh of his fingers against the flesh of your sex. Your eyes go wide as you ball his tattered, white sweater in your hands as his fingers push through your folds to tease your slit. You watch him as he watches you, his eyes searching yours as his lips part. He smirks at you after a moment or two passes, and then chuckles again. 

“Fighting turns you on?” He asks softly, noting the wetness that covers his fingers, “Me too baby girl.”

You grab his wrist with both of your hands and pull his hand from your body but your strength is no match for his. He shoves his large hand back into the front of your jeans, his fingers pushing through your lips, circling your clit before pressing against it. You tense at the pressure. Your eyes flutter as a flash of arousal ripples through you. You tighten your grip on his sweater as your heart beats against your chest. 

He rubs your clit in slow circles at  first, but then quickens them out of nowhere. It starts to feel good - it’s been too long since you’ve been touched like this. You widen your stance, allowing him a little more access to your cunt. Your hips start to roll against his fingers as your throat goes dry. You bite down into your bottom lip as you pump your hips forward, small moans and whimpers falling from your lips. You feel his eyes on you as he fingers you - feel his warm breath on your face. 

You gasp suddenly as he thrusts two fingers into your cunt without so much of a warning. You wrap your fingers around his biceps, squeezing them tightly as he starts to pump his digits in and out of you. Your moans grow louder as he gets rougher, slamming his fingers into you with force as his palm caresses your swollen, tingly clit. 

“Fuck, Ransom,” you hiss as you rock your hips into his palm.

“Hugh,” he says gruffly.

“Hugh,” you breathe, your voice shaking with each thrust of his fingers, “Hugh, Hugh, Hugh.” You repeat in ecstasy. 

“That’s right baby,” he groans, grabbing a handful of your left breast with his free hand, “Say my name girl.”

You throw your head back as you continue to push your hips forward, “Oh, Hugh. Yes.”

You let your head roll forward again as you drop your hands to his pants. You fumble with the button, and then the zipper, but soon push your hands into the front of his boxers to grab his cock. He hisses at the contact and the warmth of your hands, and his fingers falter for just a second. You start to stroke him, teasing his slick slit with the tips of your fingers before you slide them back down his shaft. 

You stand mere inches from each other, fucking one another with your hands while Harlan and Marta are just a few rooms away. You can feel your climax building as Hugh pushes his free hand up into your shirt. He pulls your breast free of your bra and starts to play with your nipple, rolling it between his fingers before he pulls and tweaks it, arousing you further. 

You pump him hard and fast, feeling the warm dribbles of precum on your fingers. Your hips thrash against his hand, desperate for a release. Shivers begin to run up and down your spine as your body begins to jerk and tense. The small grunts and moans from Ransom only add to your arousal and soon, you are overcome with your orgasm. 

Ransom has to clasp his hand over your mouth as you cum around his fingers. You shriek into his palm as the waves of your climax wash over you, each crash stronger than the last. You bite down on the palm over your mouth as your hips continue to work against his other hand and fingers. 

Ransom soon follows at the sight of you cumming before him. You feel the warmth of his spunk in your hand and on your fingers as he spurts over and over again. You hum as you continue to work your hand up and down his throbbing, jumping shaft. In an act of quick weakness, he rests his forehead to yours as his body works through his own release. The two of you stand there, chests heaving, breaths heavy as you recover from your devious deed. 

He pulls his hand out of your pants, leaving you empty and slightly sore. You remove your hands from his cock and take a step back. You watch as he lifts his pruney fingers to his mouth before he licks them clean, humming lightly as your tangy juices excite his taste buds. 

“That cunt might be my new favorite snack.” He offers, before sucking on his digits again. You watch as he moves away from you and heads for the door, “Clean yourself up and get back to work, maid.” He says gruffly again, cutting his eyes back at you.

“Yes Hugh.” You say sweetly, offering a small smile. 

He rewards you with a smile of his own, “Good girl.” He opens the door and takes a step before turning back to you again, “You’re here until when again?”

“End of August.”

He raises his eyebrows as his lips quirk into a smirk, “Lovely. I’ll be back for you.”

“Will you now?” You ask seductively, tilting your head.

He smiles again, “You’re mine now. I take what’s mine.

He slams the door behind him. 

You move into the bathroom and wash your hands slowly, unable to wipe the stupid smile off of your face. You redo your short ponytail and wipe at your forehead with your wet finger tips, ridding your skin of the small beads of sweat. You button and zip your jeans before smoothing your hands down the front of your shirt. You shove your airpods back into your ears as Saweetie fills your head. You move back into the room and collect the dirty sheets in your hands again before getting back to work.

This job ain’t so bad.

[aqua-the-smiter]

Wind Guide You

Chapter 1 - Carry me Fast and Far The night’s breeze brushed Starscream with gentle fingers as he looked over the edge of the Nemesis, his spark in his throat. This was it. Now or never. Either he flew away from Megtron  tonight,  or he stayed and remained his whipping bot forever.

It was such a small, normal thing that had pushed him to this point, his breaking point. A small scuffle with the Autobots and a few lost Energon cubes had landed him a one way ticket to the medbay courtesy of Megatron’s fist. He recalled staring at his broken, battered chassis in the semi-reflective wall, wondering what he’d done to deserve it. He had pledged his true loyalty in that damn mine, broke his back to bring Shockwave to them, hadn’t tried a scheme since, and yet…

He couldn’t take it any longer. Lying on that berth, he vowed right then and there to leave as soon as he was at full strength again. Things couldn’t continue like this, he couldn’t  take it anymore. He didn’t know where he’d go, but anywhere was better than this.

So here he was, standing on the uppermost deck of the Nemesis, battling himself. In the deepest recesses of his wounded spark, he knew he wanted to leave, but he still agonized over the decision. Was he making the right choice? What if leaving caused more problems than it solved? Where would he get Energon? How would he survive?  Would he even survive? Was he better off dying alone on his own terms than at Megatron’s clenched servos?

He didn’t know.

Starscream looked up at the abyssal blue sky, scattered with the millions, maybe billions of tiny, silvery-white glints of stars cast over the night like a glittering net. The breeze had strengthened into real wind, and it called to him, beckoning him to just transform and fly already, fly away, far far away. He reached out a servo to let the wind brush against the tips of his claws. If nothing else, he could follow it, let it take him wherever. He readied himself to spring...

“Starscream? What are you doing up at this time of night? I thought you’d be recharging.” came a voice from behind him. He whipped around, nearly slipping on his heel struts.

In front of him stood Shockwave’s pet project, a hybrid of normal Cybertronian (an Autobot named Coldburn to be precise) and Predacon CNA named Razorfang. His scorpion-esq tail slithered on the metal deck behind him, the neon blue point curled neatly away from it, and his talons clicked against it as he walked.

“Oh, Razorfang, it’s just you.” Starscream said, internally letting out a sigh of relief.  He’d formed something of a parental bond with the young hybrid after helping (AKA being roped into) assisting Shockwave with him, and if there was anyone who trusted him enough to not question him being out here, it was Razor.

The Predahybrid fluttered his large wings. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you. I was just coming up here to look at the sky before I turned in for the night with Predaking and the others. It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” he asked, turning to Starscream with wide neon blue optics and a nearly spark-wrenchingly innocent smile.

Starscream returned it. Razor didn’t deserve his ire. “It is. One of the only good things on this miserable shell Unicorn accidentally built around himself.”

“Ah, it’s not  that bad. And you’re dodging my question.” Razorfang said, nudging him with his tail.

“Am I? Apologies. I couldn’t settle into recharge. Processor too full and all that, you know how it is.” he replied.

“I know how that feels, yeah. I hope you’ve been holding up alright. This is the first time we’ve talked since the...incident.” the hybrid said sheepishly, servos behind his back.

“Indeed.” the seeker hissed. “I’ve seen better solar cycles, and I’ve seen worse ones.”

Would they improve if I left or not?  

Razorfang stretched. “I should probably turn in for the night so I’m not dead on my peds tomorrow. Uh...good luck, Starscream.”

“You have no idea how badly I need it.” he replied.

The Predahybrid nodded before jumping forward and wrapping his wings around the older seeker in a tight embrace.

“W-what’s all this Razor?!” Starscream sputtered out.

“L-look, just...you mean a lot to me, and I hate sitting by while Megatron breaks you over his knee. I-I just want you to know I’d stop it if I could.” Razor said earnestly, letting him go. “A-and I’ll still try and help you now, if I can.”

Starscream was slightly floored, guilt prickling his insides. “It’s nothing I haven’t dealt with before, don’t worry. I’ll live.”

“T-that’s good. I’m sorry, that was really weird. G’night.” he said with a nervous wave of his wing, before disappearing below deck.

He felt another pinch in his spark. He genuinely liked the hybrid, strange as he was, and if there was anyone he was willing to waste the time missing, it would be him. Maybe Knockout too. But things couldn’t stay this way. He couldn’t stay here. At the very least, it was a hazard to his health, and at worst? A hazard to his very sanity. He waited until the talon clicks could no longer be heard.

Walking back to the edge of the deck, he looked down at the glimmering, mirror-like lake surface underneath the warship. It really was time for him to go, and talking to Razorfang had confirmed that. It had been the universe letting him say goodbye. Calm as the water was, the wind had picked up even more now up here, blowing in the direction he planned to fly. Good. He’d have it at his back, helping him forward.

Carry me fast and far away from this accursed place. Thundercracker, Skywarp. If you’re still watching me...please, guide me if you can.  He beseeched his dead trinemates, his  brothers, if their sparks were even still out there.

Taking a deep intake, he turned around, crossed his servos over his chest, and let himself fall overboard, keeping his optics wide open.

The wind howled past his audials as he fell, the glass sheet of the lake drew nearer with every moment. He emerged under the cloud cover, dull silver chassis streaked with water droplets, and looking up he could still see the stars through the ragged holes in the dove-grey blanket of wispy cirrus. The farther away the Nemesis grew, the lighter the weight on his shoulders began to feel.

Primus, but this was  fun . Hurtling through the open sky at who-knows-how-many miles an hour, being granted more and more freedom with every inch he got away from Megatron, the wind screaming like his namesake...he hadn’t felt like this in longer than he could remember, and it felt like something deep in his spark was waking up after being dormant for lightyears. All this galloped through his processor unreigned as he counted the ticks until he’d have to transform…

I’m flying away and I’m  never  coming back, Megatron! Starscream thought with venomous glee, imaging the bucket headed warlord's fury the next dawn.

He began his shift, hanging suspended as it by some invisible thread about a meter above the reflective water before his T-cog finished it’s work, and a second later he was soaring back up the way he’d fallen, towards the starlight and broken shackles.

Wherever the wind took him, it didn’t matter. He was free.

[claybefree]

A Letter to Josh Poteat

To be honest, I don’t know why I’m writing you this. It should have been the art I made for my ex-wife Mary in 1995, that she gave back to me in 2008 after I left her, that I later put in the trash. The art you told me recently got you working with shellac. It should be that I’m giving you, instead of this depressing thing about how I haven’t spoken with the oldest of my children in almost nine months, and the younger not since two Christmases ago. 

I guess because when we talked about it before, I can’t remember exactly, maybe you asked in passing, “How’s the kids?” and I didn’t have an answer at the time. Maybe because I think you’ll understand me, like you always did. I haven’t been sleeping again lately, and this is when my mind wanders to the man I read about who died, trapped in a cave, but I don’t want to tell you about him. It’s too awful. If I find my mind lingering on him, I get seized by a whole body panic and I have to get up.

When I first got sober and couldn’t sleep, I went to war nightly with God. My mind was a scorched battlefield, blackened, shelled earth churned from trenches to craters. These days it resembles Zone Rogue in France, given back to nature and forbidden, saturated with ordnance, hundred year old arsenic lingering in craters. The toxic woods, wild and hoary, haunted now by deer and wild boar, trenches filled in with vines.

There is this vision I carry, not quite of myself- An old man alone in a mouldering trailer in the woods, bitter, childless and insane. No doubt, you have known such men. When I first got sober, he figured heavily in my mind- I considered this an alcoholic death even if I managed to stay clean. 

It’s cold mornings like these- when I’m up early to feed the yowling cats, but again not quite early enough to manage to write, I wonder if perhaps he’s already arrived. I get on my worn out coat hanging by the leaky back door I haven’t fixed yet and head out into the frozen mud to free the chickens from their coop. The cracked tile floating underfoot like a shit-covered mosaic, and I remember to grab the screwdriver. I’m not using it to kill anyone, it’s to prize the eight little half-domes of ice from cups of their watering bucket. You know how this works. I always figured that, being a country-boy, you grew up with the same tales of horrors perpetrated against these birds, or else, like me, witnessed them firsthand. 

Summer gets up and I finish my coffee with her as she tapes up my sprained hand. I try to get out the door before her kids wake. To facilitate quiet conversations that have a better chance of happening if I’m not around.

Pointing the truck toward Southside, it’s crossing the Powhite bridge where it really starts to bother me. Likely because it’s this point on the other side of the bridge, I’m only a mile away from their house. I ignore the river, bloated and steel grey,  I’m looking for the nameless creek that empties into it there. I’m sure you know it, completely fabricated, it passes under Forest Hill and the train tracks. It’s cold outside the cab of my truck, but I’m not fooled by the last groan of winter. Studying the woods alongside the road, accessible as they aren’t yet burdened but the weight of all that green, I’m not sure what I'm looking for. Lost children perhaps. The sandy stretch where it emerges from snaking around behind the toll station is lined there with birches, flaking and slender, and shouldered with granite as it runs fast from a glut of late March thaw.

I’ve been going this way for a little over a month, filling a friend’s garage with sawdust from fabricating casework for bookshelves, paying particular attention to whatever happens to be going on with the creek as it seems to determine the flavor of grief for that week. Throughout the winter It’s been ever present, with me to the point I feel like there's something wrong, like a vitamin supplement I'm not taking. 

Even though it’s been a string of bad days, the garage is warm enough, and I’ve been doing this work long enough I can rip down material on the table saw letting sadness wash over me without worry of losing a finger. I pay special attention to the music I listen to, so that I don’t have to take time and fall apart. At the end of the day I’ll sweep the dust-pile under the saw into a bucket for the chickens. There’s a ruined tire from the Harley I keep filled for them to bathe in. Which reminds me I haven’t told you about Greg the Bastard.

 When Summer brought them home a year ago as chicks, they were unsexed, and as they grew, we inadvertently wound up with two roosters. Even though Greg is much bigger, he’s still number two and it’s made him skittish and unpredictable. Fierce Greg the Magnificent, Hen Raping Greg. He charges the dog as well as the kids now, and he’s even started to buck up on me. He stalks the yard like boys and men you and I have both known all our lives- insecure, large and dangerous. He doesn’t scare me, I’m more afraid the day will come when I will have to kill this animal. 

In my twenties, Liz King, who you might know, got me a job after school let out with a woman I won’t name here. Another artist, she lived in an old farmhouse down Jeff Davis Highway and had been sexually assaulted by a man there. My job was to help powder and paint the place in order to put it on the market as she didn’t feel safe there anymore. We painted the whole inside. Flying the back roads in her pick-up to some Paint store way out Hull street, she told me how the man had befriended her dogs beforehand and how he threatened to kill her if she looked at him. I don’t remember asking her about it, just the image of her long legs in cut-off shorts clutching and shifting the small truck all over Southside. I made it most mornings, except after getting home late from a Rancid show in Hampton, I was too hungover and didn’t get to her place til well after noon. She was gone, but had worked the whole morning by herself. Later that day, when I called Liz to tell her how I fucked up, she fired me over the phone. 

I bring all this up because she owned a lone rooster named Ajax, who hated me. Specializing in ambush tactics, I wasn’t safe anywhere in the yard from Ajax. The lady usually escorted me in from the gate, but heading out to the shed was dangerous. I can still feel him on the backs of my bare legs. Once, while rolling the living room ceiling and overwhelmed by the fumes of oil based primer, I stepped out on the front porch to dry heave a minute and catch my breath. Ajax heard and came stalking around the corner. Incapacitated, I cussed him, but head lowered, he came for me, creeping up the steps one terrible talon at time. 

Later I made a six foot tall portrait of Ajax as best I could remember him. Crimson comb like a child’s depiction of fire out of control, waddles surrounding the beak blazing and reckless. The emerald of the sickle feathers a cyclone of green. Hock, shank and spur a series of harsh, black lines. Very Twombly-esque, it’s still hanging in my dad’s office. Based on this one hangover, I went on to make work for the next ten years depicting the Battle of Troy as a series of cock-fights. Achilles the Terrible dragging Man-killing Hector through the streets of Troy. That sort of thing. The drawing I made Mary came from that run. 

I go home by way of the Huguenot bridge, because the Nickel bridge takes me directly in front of the house where my children live, which no matter how I’m doing, always threatens to cave my head in. If I go that way, I always think about stopping, and kneeling outside in the cold, perfect grass, with the thought if I wait long enough they might come out to see me.

I know it’s merely grief, the same garden variety of depression, that Chris Cornell said in an interview once was no less dangerous and could just as easily land a man on the end of a rope. 

But that is not my way. I’ll drive home to Summer and her kids, help with dinner, watch TV and bed by ten thirty. Regardless. And if I find myself lying awake and the void comes, I won’t scream into it like the old days, I’ll sing to it. I don’t know why, maybe it’s a lament. Maybe I think my children will walk out of the darkness and into my arms.