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training4theapocalypse · 1 year

Text

And they call me crazy (Adrian Chase x fem!reader)

Rating: Explicit - 18+ only

Word Count: 5.8k

Warnings: SMUT, Rough sex, Non-con elements - reader is drunk and a (very eager to fuck) hostage, Light bondage, Oral, P in V, Unprotected sex, Edging, Canon typical mentions of murder and violence

Summary: You're a new intern at Senator Goff's office. It's going great... that is until Vigilante abducts you after you've been out drinking, celebrating the end of your first week. (Based on this ask from anon.)

A/N: I'm fucking impatient as usual and I couldn't wait until Sunday to post this. I've added non-con to the warnings but honestly, reader is so desperate to fuck him she DOESN'T GIVE AF if it's morally questionable that she's a hostage.

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Chapter text:

Your gasp is stifled when a black glove covers your mouth and an arm wraps tight around your body. You stumble on the sidewalk, teetering back in your high heels into your assailant’s body but he holds you firmly upright.

“Don’t scream,” says a man’s muffled whisper in your ear.

Your whole body freezes up. God, you wish you were more sober. Why did you insist on walking home after those celebratory drinks? This is not the perfect ending to the first week of your internship that you’d envisioned. Is this why Senator Goff didn’t turn up for work today? They said he was sick.

“I’m not gonna hurt you if you keep quiet and get in the car.”

It’s a man’s voice. Not one you recognise. But you can barely hear it anyway over how loudly your heart is beating in your chest. Oh fuck, oh fuck, oh fuck, it seems to say, battering frantically against your rib cage.

“Nod if you understand me.”

You jerk your head forward - his tight grip doesn’t make the movement easy.

God, why didn’t you listen to your Mom? She told you earlier to get a cab home and stay safe, you’d just dismissed her advice as usual because you knew best.

He removes his hand and pushes you into the open passenger door of a beat-up old Chrysler Sebring. It all happens so fast that you don’t even think to check out the license plate.

Shit.

The man shuts the passenger door after you and hops into the driver’s seat on the other side.

It’s him.

You’ve seen his masked face on the news, wanted for carrying out his own brand of retributive justice on criminals across Evergreen. You heard people talking about his latest crimes at work today. Hell, you’ve even made stupid memes about having a crush on him in your girlfriend’s group chat.

It’s Vigilante.

You were ready to beg for your life a second ago. But now all you can do is stare. At the forefront of your admittedly inebriated mind is the fact that you’ve fantasised about the masked Vigilante of Evergreen before. But in your fantasies, you’d always been someone that he’d saved from a robbery gone wrong or some other sticky situation. Not his abductee.

And this is no fantasy. He’s here - he’s real. So intimidatingly tangible and human. You can hear his breathing through his mask, see his eyes darting around your dark surroundings checking for passersby, and you can even smell the sharp, fresh scent of his cologne when he gets close to you, reaching behind you to grab a length of rope from the back seat.

“Put your hands out.” You swallow thickly, looking at his masked face. There’s no point in arguing. “If you make any indication to anyone we pass that you’re you’re here against your will, I will kill you.”

“Listen, I don’t know what you think I’ve done but I-”

“Hey - don’t make me gag you and put you in the trunk,” he says, finishing the knot around your wrists as your stomach does a little flip. Not out of fear. Something else. He turns his keys and starts the ignition. “Oooh, seatbelt! Sorry.”

You breathe in as he reaches across you to grab your seatbelt and clip you in. Your hands sit uncomfortably on your lap as the car drives out of the dark street and onto the main road.

He pulls out his cell phone as he drives to wherever you’re going and you hear the other end of the phone ringing in the silent car.

“What is it?” You strain your ears, listening as a woman answers aggressively.

“I’ve got Goff’s assistant. I’m on my way to the video store.”

Goff’s assistant? That’s a stretch. You’re an intern. And not even Goff’s intern. You’re his assistant’s intern.

“I’m not-” you start but he cuts you off.

“Quiet!”

“What?!” says the woman on the phone.

“Sorry, Harcourt. Not you.”

“No, I mean you did what?! Vigilante, you need to run this shit by me. You can’t bring her here.”

“I did you a favour! We’re way ahead of schedule now.”

You hear the unidentified woman grumble. “We’ve got Judomaster here, dumbass. Take her someplace else.”

Goff’s funny little bodyguard. Now you know that Vigilante and the woman on the phone are responsible for Goff’s absence. Shit, what’s he going to do when he realises you know nothing?

“Where am I supposed to take her?”

“That’s what happens when you go rogue, idiot. We’ll talk about this tomorrow. She’s your problem tonight.”

You hear the line beeping as the woman hangs up.

“Fuck!” says Vigilante and he does a U-turn. “Hey, close your eyes.”

“Why?”

“I’m gonna have to take you to my place. I said close your eyes or-”

“Yeah, you’ll kill me. I got it,” you say resignedly. You close your eyes feeling the car turn left, straight for a while, right, left… you lose track. You have no idea where you are or how long it takes you to get there when finally you arrive at your destination.

You hear him get out of the car and still not daring to open your eyes, you feel the cool night air when the passenger door opens.

“Can I open my eyes?”

“Nope.”

You feel him reach over you to unclip your seatbelt and he hoists you out of the car by your upper arm. He roughly steers you across what you guess is a parking lot by the way your high heels click on the asphalt.

His vice-like grip on your arm still doesn’t relent, even when you reach the stairs.

“Not so fast - I can’t see!” And you’re still kind of drunk.

“Shh! Not here,” he whispers urgently. But his hold on you becomes more gentle as he helps you up the stairs, more slowly now. A sliver of empathy.

The sound of keys jingle as he unlocks a door and guides you inside. You hear him locking and bolting the door behind you. Great.

“Can I-”

“Yeah, you can open ‘em.”

You open your eyes. The small apartment is sparsely furnished, obviously decorated by a single man. No artwork on his walls, a small dining table, a clean but worn leather couch without even so much as a throw pillow.

The screech of wood on laminate makes your arm hair stand up as he pulls over a hard wooden chair into the middle of the living room.

“Sit.”

You do as you’re told. He pulls another chair over and sits down opposite you, leaning back, with his arm resting on the back of the chair. Vigilante’s intimidating form relaxes casually in front of you.

“We can do this the easy way or the hard way,” he tells you.

“I - do what the easy way?” You shift in your seat, squeezing your thighs together. What wouldn’t you want Vigilante to do you right now? Stop it, you scold yourself.

“You’ve got information and I need it.”

“I really don’t have any sort of information.”

He edges his seat closer to you, close enough that you can smell his cologne again. Fuck. “Hey, I get it. I was tortured for intel a few days ago and I didn’t crack either-”

“Torture?!” You panic now. “Look, I’m not lying - I’m not Goff’s assistant! If I knew anything I’d tell you.”

His eyes narrow behind the mask. He pulls out his phone, looking through it for something. “Shit.” Vigilante looks from his phone to you. “This isn’t you.” He holds up the screen and shows you a blurry picture of your boss walking out of the office. Sure you look alike - you have the same hair colour and both wear suits to work but she’s significantly older.

You shake your head.

“What were you doing coming out of the senator’s office?” He accuses, as if it’s your fault he’s kidnapped you.

“I’m an intern. It’s my first week.”

“So you work there? Right?” he asks desperately.

“I just get coffee and take notes, dude.”

He tilts his head back, staring at the ceiling. “Oh man, Harcourt’s gonna freak out when I tell her I fucked up again. I can’t believe I picked up the wrong hostage.”

You sit, wrists still tied together in your lap staring at him. Now what? Maybe he’ll just drop you off outside the bar where the grabbed you.

“Look, we all make mistakes. It happens to the best of us. No harm done so-”

“Stop.” He looks up at you. “You know I can’t let you go.”

You take a deep breath and look at him silently for a few seconds. “So now what? Are you gonna kill me?”

“I-”

‘I’m a Barbie girl, in the Barbie world. Life in plastic, it’s fantastic’

Vigilante looks at his phone, apparently confused that it isn’t the source of the music.

“It’s mine,” you sigh, embarrassed by your choice of ringtone. You try to pick your phone out of your suit pocket with tied wrists.

“Your ringtone is Barbie Girl?”

You nod.

He pauses, giving you an unreadable look from behind his mask before reaching into your suit pocket. “I can’t let you have this.” He declines the call. Your phone pings as a message arrives. “Someone called Melanie says ‘Your boyfriend is on the news again’,” he reads.

Fuck. Your best friend Melanie knows all about your stupid crush on the man sitting in front of you right now.

“Hey- don’t read my messages!”

“I need to know if your boyfriend is gonna come looking for you.”

“I don’t have a boyfriend, I swear. She’s just making a stupid joke.”

Your phone pings again. “She’s sent you a picture - what’s your passcode?”

“I said don’t read my messages. I’m not telling you my passcode.”

Vigilante sighs and turns your phone around to face you and your Face ID unlocks it. He freezes when he opens the image.

Oh, god.

He turns the phone back towards you again and you groan. Melanie has taken a picture of the news on her TV. Vigilante is on the screen. Shit.

“I told you, it was just a stupid joke,” you mumble, feeling your face turning scarlet.

“I didn’t realise you were a fan,” he says, and you can tell from the tone of his voice that he has a stupid grin under his mask.

“Well, I’m definitely not a fan right now.” You hold up your wrists.

“She can see you’ve opened it. What should I say back?”

“Hmm... say LOL…” He starts typing. “Call the police. I’m being held hostage.”

He deletes what he just typed and gives you a stern look. “Fine, I’ll just go through your messages and see what you said before.”

“No, wait! I was kidding!” You try to snatch the phone from his hands but his reflexes are too quick for your tied hands. He doesn’t have to scroll very far back through your messages to find what he’s looking for.

Vigilante laughs and starts reading aloud. “OMG, he is so fine… I’m just gonna say that again.” He sends the message and you hear the notification of Melanie responding almost immediately. He reads it aloud. “She says ‘Knew you’d appreciate it - wink emoji’.”

“Can you just kill me already?” you ask sarcastically.

He puts your phone in his pocket. “I’m not gonna kill you.”

“So what am I doing here then?”

“Waiting. For now.” You stare at each other for a few seconds. It’s hard not to feel like you’re in immediate danger. “Do you want a beer?”

Perhaps your life isn’t in danger.

You blink at him incredulously. He walks over to the refrigerator and returns with two beers. He opens yours and hands it to you.

“Can you untie me so I can drink it?” You ask, testing the waters.

“Are you gonna try and attack me and escape?”

You’ve never been in a fight in your entire life. There’s no way you’d be able to win in a physical altercation with him, not with his reputation for massacring criminal gangs.

“No.”

Vigilante looks you over, and you stare up at him, waiting for his assessment. “I could take you, anyway,” he says casually and puts down his beer on the coffee table so he can untie your wrists.

You feel yourself blushing again at his words. Vigilante could take you. He means in a fight. But your mind immediately thinks of him taking you in another way.

When he unties you, you rub your wrists, feeling the sweet relief of having them free again. Vigilante kicks back on the couch and gestures to the seat next to him. You move over and perch uncertainly on the cool leather. He lifts the bottle of beer, and then realising he’d need to remove his mask to drink it, puts it back down.

“You can take it off if you want,” you suggest.

“And let you see my face? No way. I have a secret identity.”

“Well, I bet you’re handsome under there.”

What are you doing?

The sensible voice at the back of your mind supposes that flirting with him might convince him to free you. Another slightly louder, drunker voice in your head suggests that flirting with him might convince him to fuck you.

He looks away, flustered. “I dunno about that...”

“That’s why you wear that mask, right? You’re probably so good-looking you’d be easy to spot in a line-up.”

He lifts the edge of his mask - you think for a second he’s about to reveal who he is but instead, he takes a long drink of beer. You watch his sharp jaw and exposed neck as he swallows and get a brief glance at his wet lips before he pulls the fabric back down over his face again.

“That mask doesn’t do you any favours, hiding a jawline like that.”

“Stop it, okay. I know what you’re doing.” You raise your eyebrows. “You think because you’re pretty, you can seduce me into letting you go. It’s not gonna work.”

Pretty.

You try not to smile, to keep your expression blank. You wish you could text Melanie - she’d lose her shit right now. But you’ve laid it on a bit too thick. Even though it is true - he does have a ridiculously nice lower half of his face.

“I’m just passing the time. Believe it or not, I’ve never been abducted before.” You shrug. “So what’s the plan? Stay here until your boss on the phone tells you to kill me in the morning?”

“She’s not my boss.”

“Sounds like she is.”

“I work alone. Mostly. Or with Peacemaker.”

“So let me go then. I won’t tell a soul. I promise.”

“It’s not that simple. I can’t just release a hostage.”

You think. Hard. “What if I could get you the information you need? Then I’m an accomplice. Not a hostage.”

“I thought you just got the coffee?”

“I know where my boss keeps her laptop. And her password.”

“What kind of boss tells a brand new intern her password?”

You purse your lips, wondering how much you can safely reveal to him. “She trusts me.”

“The way you want me to trust you?”

“It’s different… I just don’t want her to get kidnapped too.”

He tilts his head. “That could work.” He hesitates. “But I’ll need to double-check with Harcourt in the morning.” He spins his bottle of beer in his hands.

“I’ll give you the laptop’s location and password if you let me see your face.”

“Uh, no. You’re giving me the location and password in exchange for letting you go.”

“This is a hostage negotiation, right?” You give him a coy smile. “Let the hostage do some negotiating.”

“No way.” He lifts the bottom of his mask up again to take another drink.

“What if I suck your dick, will you show me your face?”

Vigilante chokes on his beer.

“Jeez! I’ve already told you that you can stop coming onto me. I’ve agreed to ask Harcourt to let you go.”

“I know. I’m just shooting my shot,” you smile, resting the beer bottle on your bottom lip. “Can’t blame a girl for trying.”

“Yeah, right.” He says though you can’t help but notice the way his visor-covered eyes linger on your lips.

“Dude, you saw my messages. I’ve always wanted to bump into Vigilante. Under different circumstances, obviously.”

This intrigues him. He turns in his seat, resting on the arm of the couch to face you. “Uh, what kind of circumstances?”

“Well, if you really want to know - they’re in my texts with Melanie.”

He looks at your phone again, opens your messages and starts scrolling up. His eyes widen as he pauses, reading. “Damn…”

“Which one are you reading?”

“There’s more than one?!” His voice is higher pitched this time and you grin. “Uh… ‘I wish we’d bumped into Vigilante when those guys were harassing us leaving the club last night. He would have kicked their asses and I would have-’... Holy shit.”

He adjusts himself in his seat and you can tell he’s hard just from reading your text exchange. You tilt your beer towards him encouragingly. “You can say it.”

“...‘I would have sucked the fucking soul from his body.’ Girls say this kind of shit to each other?”

You sip your drink and say nothing.

Vigilante looks at you like you’re a piece of cake he really, really shouldn’t be thinking about eating. “It would be morally wrong for me to sleep with a hostage.” He looks into your eyes.

You edge closer to him on the couch. “Accomplice, remember? I’m not a hostage if I work with you, right?”

“Listen, you are so hot. And if I met you in real life… fuck. It would be a different story.”

“This is real life.”

“You know what I mean.”

You get on your knees and crawl over to him between his legs. He shrinks back into the corner of the couch cushions. “C’mon. I won’t tell your boss.”

He swallows nervously. “You’re making it really hard for me to say no right now.”

You run your fingers over his belt. “Say you don’t want me to and I’ll stop.” Vigilante groans. You crawl forward again and press your forehead against his masked one, looking into his visor. “Tell me you don’t want me to suck your dick,” you whisper.

“Fuck…” He breathes. “And they call me crazy.”

“Maybe you should be more careful who you let in your car.”

His gloved hand grabs your wrist and for a second you think he’s going to make you stop but instead, he guides your hand onto the bulge through the fabric of his pants. Vigilante leans his head back, exposing a tiny glimpse of his neck between his mask and his suit. Your tongue finds the skin there, sliding across it and you feel him shiver underneath you.

It’s like he’s at your mercy now as you slowly, agonisingly slowly, undo his belt revealing the v-shape of his lower abdominal muscles covered in a smattering of brown hair. You slide your body down between his legs and kiss the trail of hair below his belly button while your hands work, unzipping his pants and pulling his boxers down.

Vigilante’s cock slaps his stomach when you release it from his boxers. Shit, you have a lot to work with. You’re already wet between your legs just from your conversation but the sight of him sprawled out in front of you - his entire body concealed with the exception of his hard cock - sends blood rushing to your pussy.

You lick your lips and the moment your tongue slides across his head, you feel his whole body tremble.

“Holy shit,” Vigilante whispers raggedly from behind his mask. He lifts his head to watch as his length disappears into your mouth, and you look up at him with wide eyes and hollow cheeks, sucking and running your tongue along the underside of his cock.

He grunts as you pull back to run your tongue slowly around his head again. His reaction makes your pussy ache with longing, thinking about how he’d sound with his mask off, moaning like that in your ear.

“Fuck, that’s it. Thaat’s it,” he says through gritted teeth as you find a rhythm, bobbing your head up and down. He threads his gloved hands through your hair - you think he’s going to start fucking your throat but you’re surprised when he doesn’t apply any force, letting you maintain your pace. Vigilante watches you on all fours, your ass in the air behind you as your mouth makes the wettest, sloppiest sucking sounds he’s ever heard.

Then he sees it. A glimpse of your hand under your tailored work skirt, confirming to him again that this isn’t just a ploy for early release. You’re really fucking turned on by being here, sucking his cock.

“Wait…” he whines, tugging gently at the base of your scalp. You pull back, replacing your mouth with your other hand so you can look at him. “Can I fuck you?”

You pull away and bite your lip, still pumping your hand up and down the length of his cock.

“You said you’d show me your face.” Time for your one last bargaining chip.

“I…” He hesitates, propping himself up on his elbows. “I can’t,” he pleads.

“You’ll have to cum here on your stomach then,” you grin, your wet fist picking up pace as he tenses his thighs and tries to stop his hips from jerking up into you. “If you show me your face I’ll let you cum inside me.”

“You’ve gotta be kidding me,” he groans. You stop jerking him off and watch him as he pulls his mask off, tossing it aside on the coffee table. He takes a pair of glasses out of his pocket and puts them on.

You stare at him in shock. You were mostly just teasing him earlier- you hadn’t actually expected him to be this good-looking. Sure, you knew from him drinking his beer earlier that he had a nice jawline. But even in your fantasies, he was faceless - he never had gorgeous green eyes and tousled curly hair.

“You’re hot?” You blurt out before you can stop yourself. “What the fuck!?”

He smiles. And you can see it this time. It’s beautiful. He has dimples.

The intimidation you felt before when you first saw the masked killer in front of you is nothing compared to how you feel now. You practically melt, turning into putty. Feeling lightheaded you realise you’ve been holding your breath and begin making a conscious effort to breathe again. Seconds ago you were convinced he was at your mercy but now…

“Do whatever you want to me,” you say abruptly. Your underwear is flooded thinking that this man, this ridiculously beautiful killer wants to fuck you.

“Oh… I’m gonna.” He raises his eyebrows and lunges forward, pinning you to the couch and kissing your neck. His rough exterior armour digs into your chest. Your hands wander along his shoulders, trying to find the mechanism to unclip it. He feels your movements and pushes himself off of you so he can undo them himself.

You lie back, watching him remove his suit, revealing a host of white scars and purplish-yellow welts across his toned chest and abdomen. You undo the top two buttons of your blouse.

“Nuh-uh,” he says, tossing his under armour onto the floor. You let out a yelp of surprise when he grabs the opening of your shirt and rips it open, sending buttons scattering across his floor. He pushes your bra up, not bothering to take it off to suck on your tits.

You run your fingers through his curly hair, feeling him sloppily run his tongue over your nipple. His teeth clamp down on your breast - hard - and you squeal and yank his hair.

“Ow! Not so rough!”

He just gives you a mischievous smirk and you release your grip when he sucks the spot gently, in a sort of silent apology. It’s definitely going to leave a bruise tomorrow - a secret souvenir of your night with the masked man from the news all your friends know you have a crush on.

But Christ, what have you let yourself in for?

Vigilante moves down your body, kissing your stomach and pulling off your skirt and underwear in a single movement, throwing them haphazardly on the floor. You gasp when his mouth returns to your body and a soft, wet heat envelopes your pussy. He drags his tongue slowly, carefully along your slit.

“Oh fuck…” you whine, arching your back. “Vigilante, I- wait, fuck, what do I call you?”

“Vigilante,” he says between achingly slow licks. Every nerve ending seems to light up, sending blissful signals to your brain.

“No, I - I mean what’s your name?”

“Vigilante.”

God damn.

You look down and lock eyes with him, his pupils blown so wide his green eyes almost look black as he stares up at you, swirling his tongue in wide circles against your swollen clit. The entire lower half of your body tightens up and the walls of your pussy clench, desperate for something to squeeze around. His fingers, his cock - anything.

You reach down to find his large, gloved hand and tug at the fabric, trying to pull it off him.

He pulls his mouth back and removes his glove with his teeth.

“Is this what you want, baby?” He asks, running a single finger through your slick, wet folds and over your clit.

You nod.

“Beg for it.”

“Please, Vigilante.”

He sinks two fingers deep in your cunt.

“Is this what you fantasise about?” His questioning makes you tighten around his fingers as he draws them in and out of you. Your breathing quickens in time with his fingers pressing against that sweet spot deep inside your pelvis.

He stops abruptly and the whine that escapes you is pathetic.

“Answer me.”

“Y-yes,” you moan. “Every night.” You wriggle, trying to fuck yourself on his stationary fingers.

“Finger fucking yourself like this?” He curls his fingers up into you again.

“Mhmm.”

“Use your words.”

“Yes, fuck, just like… like this.” You bring your hand to your clit and start rubbing yourself in an obscene demonstration for him as he watches from his kneeling position, one hand between your thighs.

You’re close now, you can feel your orgasm burning up inside you as your cunt starts pulsing more consistently around his digits and your breathing gets heavier. Just as your release is about to crash over you, he withdraws his hand and grabs your wrist, moving your hand away from your clit.

“Wha-?” You pant dazedly. “I was just about to-”

“I know,” he smirks. “Not yet.”

Fuck. He’s fucking edging you.

His lips meet yours for the first time and you moan softly into his mouth. His tongue rolls against yours and you can still taste your sweet and salty juices on him.

Then, without warning, he flips you over and you gasp wordlessly face down on the leather couch in stunned silence. He pulls your hips back and up towards him.

“Fuck, Vigilante,” you choke, lifting your head up and arching your back, your brain working hard to regain awareness of its surroundings.

The weight of his body presses down on top of you as he leans down to whisper in your ear.

“I’m gonna fuck you so hard, you’re gonna forget my face in a line-up.”

Fuck.

He takes his cock and drags it over your soaking wet entrance, flushed and swollen for him and the broken sob that escapes you is desperate.

“Please,” you beg again. “Just let me cum.”

Vigilante sinks into you with a forceful jerk of his hips and your pussy seizes up tight around him as your face is forced onto the cold leather again. You try and push yourself up onto all fours.

“Nuh-uh, I like seeing you like this,” he says with another forceful thrust, knocking you off balance. “Hands behind your back.” You huff and do what he says, his still-gloved hand pinning your wrists behind you. “I shoulda just kept you tied up, huh?”

You can’t answer, you can’t move, you can’t do anything except just take him. Sparks of electricity reignite inside you, the deepest you’ve ever felt it as he pounds into you, hitting just that right spot again. You turn your head to look at him over your shoulder and when you see Vigilante biting his lip in concentration your walls start pulsing and squeezing around his cock.

“Not… yet.” He grunts. “Not ‘til I say.”

He pushes down on your wrists and it feels like all the air is being knocked from your lungs with every roll of his hips.

“Fuck, you’re such a… pretty… little… hostage,” he groans through gritted teeth, each thrust punctuated by his praise.

“Yes…” you whine because it’s all you can manage to say. It’s all you can think. That one singular confirmation repeating over and over again in your head - it’s all you want to be for him. Fuck, you’d happily spend the rest of your life locked in his apartment, letting him use you like this every time he came home after a night of murdering criminals.

Your eyes roll back in your head, fireworks rocketing and exploding into a million bright pieces. If there’s a heaven, it would look like this - a beaten-up leather couch in a shitty apartment in downtown Evergreen.

His other hand that’s free of his glove and not pinning you down reaches round and starts working your clit with rough, calloused fingertips. You squeeze your eyes shut, not realising they’ve been watering. Real tears leak from the corners, leaving your face a wet mess on the leather seat. You choke out a sob, not sure how much longer you can fight against your orgasm.

“Shh, shhh… it’s okay, baby. You can cum. Let it all out for me.”

And you do.

Everything goes dark and you’re lost in the pleasure that takes over your body, your climax wiping your mind blank of all thoughts except Vigilante. Your pussy clamps down hard like a vice around his cock as you squirm on his fingers. It’s only when you feel him shudder and collapse on top of you that you realise he’s come undone too.

You both lie there for a second, feeling the warmth of your combined mess leaking out and the sound of him panting, exhausted.

“Vigilante…” you say in a strained voice, breaking the silence.

“Yeah?” he exhales and takes another gulp of air.

“You’re crushing me.”

“Oh.” He hoists himself off of you. “Let me get you a towel.”

With difficulty, you sit back upright to wipe your eyes and fix your hair. Vigilante returns with a towel and you sit on it, grateful for the barrier between you and the wet, sticky couch cushion.

He throws himself back down beside you. “Whoo, I’m beat!” he says cheerfully. “What do you wanna do now?”

You look at him uncertainly and glance at your watch. “It’s one in the morning.”

“Right, cool. Do you wanna sleep on the couch or-”

‘I’m a Barbie girl, in the Barbie world. Life in plastic, it’s fantastic’

Who’s phoning you this late?

He picks up both of your phones from the coffee table. “It’s mine,” he says and accepts the call. “Hello?”

Wait - his ringtone is Barbie Girl too?

“It’s me,” says the same voice of the woman who called him earlier. “Have you dealt with the hostage yet?”

Vigilante looks at you and hesitates. He swallows. “Yeah. It’s done.”

“So she accepted the bribe? You’ve got the laptop?”

His eyes widen. “The bribe? Oh! Yeah, sure! The bribe...”

“Vij, you didn’t kill her, did you?”

“What?” He lets out a maniacal laugh. “You’re crazy, Harcourt, of course I didn’t kill her. What’s the, uh, budget again?” He winks at you and makes an ‘ok’ sign with his thumb and forefinger. He’s insane, you think.

“I dunno, like five grand?”

“Phew! Then yes, it is all dealt with. Done and dusted. I will get that laptop.”

“You don’t have the laptop yet!? Vigilante, you need to get the laptop before you hand over the money, idiot.”

“Copy that,” he grins.

“Vigilante, what the f-”

He hangs up, cutting her off and tosses his phone aside.

“Good news. I can let you go once you give me the laptop.”

“And the five grand?” You raise your eyebrows.

“Wait, you heard that?!”

“Uh, yeah?”

“Well not until you give me the laptop.”

“I can get it tonight if you need it? We just need to swing by my boss’s house before you drop me off.”

He frowns. “Oh. Right. Yeah, of course. I need to… need to take you home.”

You tilt your head to one side and look at him fondly. You fix his messy curls and he closes his eyes at your touch. “Or… I could stay here tonight? Pick up the laptop tomorrow morning once you’ve fixed me some breakfast?”

He perks up. “I could do that! …You’re one hundred per cent sure you can get it though, right?”

You sigh and extend your hand. “Give me my phone.” He does and watches you go through your contacts.

The line rings and a familiar but slightly croaky voice answers.

“Honey, it’s one in the morning. Is everything alright? Did you get home okay?”

“Hey Mom, I’m fine. Listen, I think I forgot to send an email before I left the office and I can’t sleep worrying about it. Can I pick up your laptop first thing tomorrow?”

She yawns. “Sure thing. Don’t get stressed about it. Just go get some sleep.”

“Thanks, boss. I love you.”

“Goodnight sweetie. I love you too.”

You grin as Vigilante gapes at you.

“Goff’s assistant… she’s your-?”

“Yup. Now c’mon, show me where your bedroom is.” You stand up and reach your hands out, waiting for him to guide you. You step on one of your shirt buttons as he leads you towards the hallway. “You owe me a new shirt, by the way.”

“I just made you five grand. Use that to buy a new shirt,” he says, opening the bedroom door.

“Hey, what happened to the hostage negotiation? These are the terms of my release.”

“Oh, you’re not going anywhere,” he smirks, shutting the door behind you.

#vigilante x reader #vigilante #adrian chase x reader #vigilante peacemaker #adrian chase #vigilante x you #freddie stroma #fanfic #peacemaker #vigilante x female reader #adrian chase x female reader #adrian chase x you #adrian chase imagines #adrian chase x y/n

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bwabys-scenarios · 1 year

Text

Fixer Upper

Part 11

Perv!Kurapika x Fem!Reader

part 10

part 12

warning: reader is kinda in a bad place 😭 so if that seems like it could be triggering for you, you may not want to stick around for future chapters. because there are some sad reveals later on :(

taglist: @fabitheraven @tsukilover11 @ashdownunderscorebeloved @lemonslut @homeinmydreams @superweeniehutjrsblog @bugmomwrites @heartsforseo @lixiawinter @altaircc @itszenava @fiightforlovee @mimi-sanisanidiot @monainanuttshell @wow-im-gay @whorermoviestar @lightshowerrr @mama-m1na

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If you like my writing, come join my discord!! we watch HXH, play games, and spend all night writing sometimes!! there’s also lots of content there that I may never post here!!

BEFORE THE HUNTER EXAM

(Name) pulled her cover off and placed her sock covered feet on the cold floor. It was another sleepy Tuesday morning, the sun shining onto her messy bed.

Her legs were still tired from her long walk from her campus yesterday. She yawned into her hand as she poured her coffee into the cat paw patterned cup her little brothers gave her for her birthday.

(Name) sipped slowly. The cheap store brand coffee wasn’t amazing, but it was better than nothing. She glanced at her phone to see a missed call from her mother.

‘She never calls. Must of heard of the news from school…’

She pressed call, waiting a few seconds before her mother picked up.

“You idiot, I can’t believe you dropped out! After all the money your dad and I-“

“I’ve already sent a check reimbursing you for the classes you paid for.”

Her mother gasped. “You disrespectful little… I hope you know we’ll be cutting you off for this. We already had low expectations for you, and you couldn’t even meet those. What a useless girl you are.”

(Name) sighed. ‘Cut me off? Not like you were supporting me much anyways.’

She looked around her crappy apartment with a sigh.

“And you’re taking the Hunter Exam. Well good for you. You gave up being a nurse to take the most dangerous test in the world. How smart of you.”

Sarcasm and hate dripped off of her voice like venom. (Name) didn’t respond. She was used to this by now, only sighing.

“Is that all you wanted to say?”

Her mother was quiet for a moment.

“No. In fact, I wanted to let you know that any further contact from you will be considered harassment. You will not be contacting any members of our family after this call.”

(Name)’s eyes widened, her cup slipping to the floor. “Wait, you don’t mean-“

“Yes. You will not be able to see your brothers. Ever again.”

She hung up the phone. (Name) stared down at the shattered cup before quickly trying to call her mother back.

“Please, pick up mom… not my brothers. You can’t take them from me!!”

But she didn’t answer, and soon she wasn’t able to call her at all.

‘Must of blocked me…’

She sat down, not caring about the coffee that had splashed on her legs and began to burn her skin. (Name) could only stare down at the shards of the only gift she had from her brothers.

(Name) glanced at the Hunter Exam application, tears pooling in the corners of her eyes.

‘Why not, not like I have anything to lose.’

The next few months (Name) went about life in a blur. She trained for the exam, slowly distancing herself from the small acquaintances she had from college, and breaking her lease.

She packed her backpack the night before the exam, placing several pairs of outfits, some canteens of water, food, other various items, and a dagger.

It was enough to be a good weight against her back, but not too heavy to make running or climbing difficult.

The last thing she packed into her bag was an envelope, carrying a letter.

“…”

She stared at the letter for a moment before stuffing it into the bottom of her bag, where it would be safe. It was the most important item in there, after all.

And she didn’t want anyone to read it until the time came.

———————

The first few trials of the exam had been hard, but she’d managed to scrape through and finally arrive where the First Phase would be held.

(Name) held onto one strap of her backpack quietly. Her navigator had been a bit worried for her, asking if she was okay.

“Yes, I’m alright. Just nervous I guess.”

The navigator nodded slowly. “I see. I think you’ll do well, dear, and if you don’t there’s always next year! I’ll see you then, yeah?”

(Name) looked down at her feet, not answering the woman. The navigator sighed before smiling.

“Good luck, I hope you pass!”

(Name) gave her a small smile back, waving as the doors closed and she began to descend. Her heart began to race. So far, she’d only met a few other Hunter applicants, all of them unkind. She was beginning to lose hope that she’d be able to make any type of alliances.

Not that she cared all that much. She didn’t think she’d be passing anyways.

Or surviving.

She looked down at the badge the navigator had given her.

‘#406. That must mean there are over 400 other applicants. Great.’

The doors opened up and (Name) walked out. Heads turned to stare at her, a few whistles and nods of approval could he heard and seen.

It wasn’t unexpected to (Name). After all, she was wearing a short white tennis skirt, and a pink cardigan over a white undershirt. Out of everyone else in sight, she seemed to be the only one dressed in such a way.

(Name) sighed as she joined the crowd. She looked around, her eyes glancing between each applicant before she spotted someone.

‘Oh thank god.’

She ran forward and grabbed onto a blonde woman’s sleeve, tugging it lightly.

“Hey there! I’m so glad I’m not the only woman here. Would you like to team up? Girls supporting girls and all?”

The blonde turned to her and blinked, tilting her head.

“Oh, um… you can join us, but…”

She blushed lightly, obviously embarrassed.

“I’m not a girl.”

(Name) tilted her head as the person next to the blonde bursted into laughter.

The blonde scowled and turned to the man. “And what is so funny, Leorio?”

The man, supposedly named Leorio, continued laughing. “Th-the first girl we meet and she thinks you’re a girl too! This is priceless!”

(Name) tightened her grip on the straps of her backpack. “I apologize. You’re just so pretty, I thought you were a girl.”

Yet again, the blonde blushed. “It’s alright, I promise. You said you were looking for someone to team up with, correct?”

She nodded as Leorio’s laughter died down. “Well you can stay with us. I’m not sure if we’ll be together the entire exam, but you’re welcome to tag along.”

“I sure wouldn’t mind a pretty little lady like you being on my t-“

The blonde hit him over the head with some sheathed weapon. “Ouch, Kurapika what was that for?”

The boy called Kurapika huffed. “I won’t have you being a creep to our new comrade. It’s disgraceful.”

“New comrade?”

A boy, who looked no older than twelve approached the group. “Oh, Gon! This girl asked to join up with us.”

(Name) waved at him. “Hello, I’m (Name).”

“That’s a beautiful name for a beautiful lady.”

Leorio grabbed her hand with both of his and shook it. “Welcome to the team!”

She shook hands with the others as well, looking away shyly when her hand touched Kurapika’s.

‘He really is pretty…’

Kurapika smiled. “I bet the exam has been full of trials, did you come here alone?”

“Yes, the only other applicants I’ve met have tried tricking or hurting me into failing. I’m glad I’ve finally met some nice people.”

Kurapika’s face shifted into a grimace. “That’s deplorable. But I guess it’s to be expected. The applicants could be anyone, meaning there’s bound to be bad people.”

(Name) sighed, pulling out a water canteen from her bag and sipping on it. “Any idea on what the first phase will be?”

When she caught Gon staring at the canteen, she offered it to him. He took it with a smile. Everyone took a sip before handing it back to (Name).

“I see you’ve come prepared. If you don’t mind me asking, what else do you have in your backpack?”

She frowned slightly but pulled it over her shoulder and into her hands. “Not a ton of things, but I have some snacks and water, along with a few different outfits.”

Kurapika blinked. ‘Oh, I guess different outfits would be important to a woman.’

She offered the three some hard candy, which Gon and Kurapika took. As they waited for the phase to begin, they chatted amongst themselves to get to know each other.

“You dropped out of medical school!?”

Leorio seemed almost angry, but was calmed down when he saw the sad look on her face.

“Yes, I did. It’s not that I don’t want to go, I just… I didn’t really have a choice in what I was studying. I decided to take the Hunter Exam on a whim, really. I…”

She didn’t finish her sentence, quickly smiling to hide that she almost let her secret spill.

“I’m excited to succeed!”

Leorio’s eyes softened. She was hiding something, but he could tell it wasn’t sinister. It was more for their sake then her’s.

“I hope you do.”

———————

A sharp ringing sounded throughout the large room. A man named Tonpa had walked over and talked to the group a bit, (Name) not paying him much attention. She was much too busy chatting with Kurapika, who seemed happy to share his experience with the exam with her.

The group looked up to see a man with short purple hair and a curly mustache standing before them, holding the ringing alarm. He stopped it before speaking.

“As of this moment the exam is closed to any further applicants. I would like to officially welcome everyone here to the Hunter Exam.”

Gon grinned. “Alright, finally, it’s gonna get started!”

“Aw man, I can’t believe I’m getting nervous.” Leorio said, loosening his tie.

“Come with me. Let me take a moment to remind you all that the Hunter Exam is extremely demanding. If you’re unprepared or unlucky, you may well be injured or killed. If you are alright with accepting those risks, then you may continue following me.”

The group followed after him, (Name) sticking by Kurapika. He may not be a girl, but out of all of them he seemed the most trustworthy and reliable.

“Very well then. The number of applicants is 405. At least for now.”

(Name) thought back to when Hisoka had taken one of the applicants out, holding the straps to her backpack a little tighter as she walked.

Leorio glanced around the crowd. “I guess I should have expected it, but no one’s backed out yet. I hoped there might be a few.”

(Name) hummed. “If they’ve made it this far, I doubt they’ll be backing out anytime soon.”

Kurapika nodded. “Yes, I agree. Just the path to the Hunter exam is full of trials and tribulations that would make ordinary men- oh and women, give up.”

(Name) suppressed a giggle. “Mhm.”

The people in the front began to speed up. “Hey, he’s picking up the pace!” Kurapika said with a frown.

“Sorry for the delay, but allow me to introduce myself. I’m Satotz, the examiner for the First Phase. I’m also the one that’s leading you to the sight for the Second Phase. Some of you may have already realized that keeping up with me until we reach the Second Phase is in fact, the First Phase.”

Their light jog turned into a run, and thirty minutes passed with no change in pace.

(Name) sighed lightly as she kept pace with the group, having to hold a hand over her chest to keep it from bouncing too much. ‘Went through the trouble of wearing two sports bras for no change in the outcome. Annoying.’

(Name) paid no attention to Tonpa explaining that this phase was not only a physical test, but a psychological one. She didn’t really care, (Name) was too busy focusing on her breathing and heavy backpack.

A boy came racing in between them riding a skateboard. (Name) glanced at him from the corner of her eye.

“Wow, that’s cool!” Gon called with a smile.

“Hey, kid on the skateboard, that’s not fair! You’re cheating!”

(Name) hummed and ran a bit ahead. She didn’t really feel like hearing Leorio harass a random kid. Kurapika watched her for a moment before following behind her.

“Sorry, he can be a bit annoying sometimes.”

Kurapika gave her a small smile, running beside her. (Name) shook her head. “No reason to be sorry. I’m just… not in the mood to hear someone yelling right now.”

“Hmm, that’s fair. Leorio can be pretty loud and obnoxious.”

(Name) hummed. “I happen to usually like loud and obnoxious people I’ll have you know. It’s just hard to to tolerate when I’m already tired from running.”

They both laughed. (Name) reached into her backpack and pulled out her canteen. “You thirsty? It’s been thirty minutes.”

He nodded. “Yes, thank you.”

Kurapika took a drink before he handed it back. The girl immediately shoved it back into her bag, Kurapika raising an eyebrow.

‘Why did she take it out if not to take a sip for herself?’

He didn’t voice this question, instead focusing on his legs, willing them forward.

“So, Kurapika, how old are you?”

The blonde tilted his head. “Why do you ask?”

She shrugged, shouldering her backpack again. “Just curious. If you want to know, I’m 18 myself.”

“17, 18 in April.”

(Name) nodded. ‘So we’re about the same age. Interesting…’

“And apparently Leorio is 19.”

“19!? He certainly doesn’t look the part.”

The two laughed again, (Name) nearly tripping, but quickly being steadied by Kurapika.

“Woah there, watch where you step. It is dark in here.”

(Name) nodded, lightly flustered from his grasp on her wrist. He let go quickly, seemingly unfazed by the physical contact.

3 hours pass by, and (Name) was beginning to get tired. The group stopped when Leorio collapsed, (Name) immediately rushing to his side. She dropped next to him, patting his back and offering him some water.

“Leorio!” Gon began running to join Leorio when the white haired boy, Killua called out to him.

“Hey, what do you think you’re doing? He’s finished, so just leave him behind.”

Gon frowned. “Come on, you don’t know that! Besides I can’t just leave him here, he’s my friend!”

“Friend?”

“Uh huh. That’s what I said.”

After chugging the rest of the water from one of her canteens, Leorio began to stand. “I’m not giving up… I came here to become a Hunter and that’s what I’m gonna do!”

(Name) watched as he rushed forward, Tonpa sighing.

“Hey take it easy, you need a break.”

“Shut up! If you’re just gonna stand around here, I’ll leave you… in my dust… hah hah… aww great, my legs won’t move.”

(Name) walked forward and handed him a handkerchief to wipe his sweat away with. Kurapika watched this interaction, his eyes watching her face twist into concern for a man she’d just met.

“So you’re not just in it for the money.”

Leorio huffed. “No, it’s all about money. There’s no other reason…”

“We don’t have time to argue about this. What do you think we should do now, Tonpa?”

(Name) stood up straight again, stretching lightly.

“Hmmm, wait a sec, that smell! Do ya remember? There was a sweet smell from that tunnel. Hey, I think it might help you recuperate!”

“What?”

“I thought I recognize that smell, I think it’s the sap of the healing cedar tree!” Tonpa exclaimed.

“Healing cedar?”

“Yeah! The sap is used by Hunters who often become exhausted in the forest. All you have to do is smell the aroma for a while and you can recover and keep on going.”

Kurapika stopped Tonpa from carrying Leorio away. “Wait a minute, it could be a trap.”

“Maybe, but we can’t just leave him behind now, can we? It’s a chance we’re gonna have to take.”

The blonde frowned. “Yes, but…”

“I’m king of the flunkies. You wanna know why I failed the exam 34 times? I’m a sucker for anyone that needs my help.”

(Name) raised an eyebrow at this. She glanced between Leorio and Tonpa.

“It’s okay. As soon as Leorio recovers, we’ll catch up to you, I promise.”

“I’m sorry, Tonpa… Gon, Kurapika, (Name), don’t worry about me. Go for it!”

(Name) crouched down and rearranged her backpack as the others spoke, then stood as they began to leave, watching Leorio carry him away with a suspicious look.

‘Don’t trust him one bit.’ She thought.

“What are you doing, are you coming or not?”

“Oh yeah, sorry to keep you waiting. You can go on ahead.”

Killua tilted his head. “You mean you’re not going to keep going?”

“Yeah, not unless it’s with Leorio.”

(Name) nodded. “Me either. I’m still worried for him, he wasn’t doing too hot…”

Both Gon and Kurapika noticed her staring into the distance, clutching her cardigan tightly.

“Kurapika, I’m going to see how they’re doing. Tonpa said they’d be okay, but I’m still worried.”

“I’ll come with you. We can always catch up to the group later on.”

Gon nodded towards Killua. “Alright, we’ll be back. Then, if you want, you can tell me your name. Because I still don’t know what it is.”

Kurapika glanced at (Name). “Will you be coming as well?”

She gave him a quick nod. “Of course. I can’t just abandon someone in need.”

He didn’t respond, racing after Gon towards where they had last seen Leorio and Tonpa heading.

But he did feel something stir in his chest when his eyes met hers.

‘She’s kind. It’s… nice to see that in such a place.’

The three stopped when they spotted Tonpa lying on the ground.

“Tonpa! What’s wrong?”

He groaned and lifted himself up slowly. “Oh, it’s you. Hurry, they need your help!”

“What happened back there?” Kurapika asked, glancing between Tonpa and the hallway he pointed to.

“It was a trap. Worst I’ve seen. Hurry!”

(Name) turned and ran towards where Tonpa had been pointing, the two following behind her.

The three continued to run until they came across Nicholas, one of the applicants.

“Nicholas! What’s wrong?”

The boy slowly moved so he was on his hands and knees, looking back at them with a delirious expression. Kurapika subconsciously pushed (Name) behind him.

The man began to walk away while laughing to himself. Kurapika watched him for a minute before speaking.

“Let’s go, we have to find Leorio.”

Gon and (Name) nodded. “Yeah.”

——————

“Leorio, can you hear me? Leorio!!!”

Gon continued to call out Leorio’s name as they ran, (Name) noticing Kurapika beginning to slow down.

“Kurapika?”

She stopped next to him, Gon circling back when he noticed they were no longer running. “What’s wrong?”

Kurapika eyes became hazy, the blonde holding up his weapons to defend himself. “The Phantom Troupe…”

His breath came out in short pants as his eyes began to turn a deep shade of scarlet.

“Oh no…please, don’t do it…”

He collapsed onto the ground, (Name) quick to kneel by his side. “Kurapika, what’s going on? Are you alright?”

“Can you hear me?” Gon asked, concern lacing his voice.

Kurapika stared at the ground as sweat beaded down his forehead.

He fell, lying against the ground. “Make… them stop… please…”

He stared off into the distance, unable to move. (Name) wasn’t sure what to do, so she rubbed soothing circles into his back. “Kurapika, no one’s here. It’s just us.”

He didn’t relax though. His eyes remained that same scarlet color. “We have to get going. I’ll carry him.”

(Name) hoisted Kurapika up and over her shoulder. Gon blinked. “Wow, you’re strong.”

She nodded, a small smile on her lips. “I grew up with two younger brothers who looooved piggy back rides.”

“Can I get one too? Later, I mean.”

(Name) laughed. “Sure, after we find Leorio.”

They continued, now slowed down because of Kurapika’s weight. She didn’t seem to have much trouble carrying him, only occasionally grunting and rearranging him on her shoulder.

“So, Gon, why do you want to be a Hunter?”

The young boy hummed, adjusting the line on his fishing pole. “Mmm, I’m not sure yet, but I want to find my dad. He’s a Hunter too.”

‘Find? Did his dad abandon him?’

(Name) nodded slowly. “I see.”

“What about you?”

The girl paused, her grip on Kurapika’s thigh tightening ever so slightly. “Well… I didn’t have many options.”

Gon tilted his head. “Really?”

“Yeah. I… just thought it would be fun to try out.”

She sighed. (Name) didn’t enjoy lying, especially to an honest boy like him, but the truth about the situation wasn’t something a child should know. Gon didn’t respond.

The hallway was quiet for a bit, until Kurapika grunted loudly. (Name) turned her head a bit to see if he’d woken up, only for him to begin struggling against her and cry out.

“Kurapika! Are you alright?”

He wiggled out of her grasp, and just as she was about to lean over and help him back up, the white haired boy from before appeared, kicking the blonde in the face.

“Kurapika!”

She rushed over to his side, crouching down as he lifted his upper half onto his forearms to look up.

She helped him into a sitting position, the blonde leaning against her for support.

“Kurapika?”

Gon ran over, Killua standing in front of (Name) and Kurapika. The red had left his eyes, leaving them the pretty brown color she had noticed when she first met him.

“Oh good, you’re finally back to normal!” Gon said, smiling.

“But, uh…”

Killua watched Kurapika and (Name) with his blue eyes. “There is no healing cedar tree.”

“Huh!?”

“The sap comes from the tree of hallucination, it’s been used by assassins for a long time. It’s victims re-experience the worst events of their lives, and it eventually drives them insane.”

Kurapika blinked slowly, realizing he’d been leaning against (Name). He pulled back, the girl reaching out to make sure he didn’t fall.

“How do you know that?” Gon asked.

“So that means Tonpa must of…”

Killua nodded at the blonde. “Yeah, that’s right, he set you guys up.”

Kurapika growled in anger, gripping onto (Name)’s sleeve.

“We should go.”

“Sure, I think I know a way we can save the old guy you were with, and catch up with the group again with a single move.”

(Name) helped Kurapika stand, the blonde grateful for her help. She’d only known him for an hour but was risking failing the exam to make sure him and Leorio were okay.

“A games no fun unless there’s some risks.”

“I’m glad we met up again! Are you going to tell me your name?”

The boy smiled at Gon. “It’s Killua.”

———————

“Okay Killua, tell us your idea.”

He pulled out a small object from his pocket. “It’s a bomb, small but effective.”

(Name) pulled Gon back by his shoulders a bit by instinct. He didn’t react, only glancing at her hands before responding.

“That’s a bomb?”

“Let’s blow up this wall and all the disgusting sap covering it.”

He placed the bombs all over the wall, (Name) stepping a few feet back. Kurapika watched as she carefully maneuvered Gon to a safe distance, the dark haired boy not seeming to mind at all.

The explosion began, the four leaping through the opening created by the bomb to grab Leorio.

They all fell onto the ground, (Name) being caught before she face planted by Kurapika. He pulled her up slightly before letting go.

“It worked! Not the easiest way to travel but it is fast! I guess there’s no turning back now.”

Kurapika blinked as (Name) knelt next to Leorio. “You alright?”

“Gon? (Name)? Kurapika? … Pietro?”

She patted his back gently. “It’s just us, Leorio.”

“You were hallucinating as a result of inhaling the sap. Tonpa fooled us all.”

Leorio gave (Name) a smile, accepting her hand when she offered to pull him to her feet.

“So that’s what that was. Guess I owe you guys one for saving my butt. But how did you manage to avoid it?”

Kurapika shook his head. “It was a close call for me.”

“(Name) and I were fine!”

“I guess it wouldn’t work on Gon cuz he’s still a kid, so he doesn’t have any problems yet.”

‘But why wouldn’t it work for (Name)?’

Leorio and Kurapika glanced at the girl, who was pulling out a bandaid to place on Gon’s knee. The two seemed to already be friendly with each other, laughing when Gon nearly tripped again.

“Hey old man, we don’t have time to sit around chatting.”

“OLD MAN!? What are you-“

“His names Killua!”

“Ready for the next round?”

Killua threw more bombs past Leorio’s head. “What was that, I heard a click.”

(Name) covered Gon and Killua with her cardigan, then shielded her ears.

“THEY’RE BOMBS!?”

The group of five jumped through the hole the bombs left, Gon handing (Name) her cardigan after they landed. “Thanks (Name)!”

Killua watched her with narrow eyes. ‘What does she get out of protecting us with that flimsy cardigan? What is she after..?’

A plume of smoke dispersed through the hallway, the sound of the other applicants coughing echoing on the walls.

“What exactly is going on here?” Satotz asked.

“Oh, uh, I’m sorry, but we had to break through the walls.” Gon said apologetically.

“I never said you couldn’t destroy the walls, but tell me, how is it that you survived after wondering through the tunnels of hallucinations? I’m quite impressed.”

(Name) pulled some debris from her hair, sighing. Leorio spotted Tonpa and rushed forward, grabbing him by the collar. “How dare you! I have a score to settle with you!”

“Stop, Leorio!”

(Name) pulled out a piece of hard candy and began to suck on it as her new comrades argued. Killua watched her do this and crouched down next to her.

“You got candy?”

She tilted her head then smiled. “Yes, would you like a piece?”

She offered him a piece of butterscotch candy, which he took. ‘… maybe she’s not so bad after all. I’ll still keep my distance but…’

He didn’t sense any malicious intent from her, just… something. Something that honestly unnerved him a little.

——————

(Name) and Kurapika kept pace with each other, eventually reaching Leorio who had taken off his shirt.

“I see, so you were lying to us before.”

“Didn’t lie! My objective has always been to make a lot of money! And whatever happened in the past, happened in the past! I have no interest in doing anything that won’t make me any money!”

Kurapika sighed. “I wish you luck.”

“I don’t need luck, I’m going to become a hunter or die trying!”

“No, a doctor.”

(Name) giggled next to them.

“Could you please not look at me like that, Kurapika? It makes me a little nervous. Now come on, let’s go!”

The blonde smiled. “You alright now, Leorio?”

“Yeah I’m fine, check it out! I don’t care how stupid I look! I’d keep running even if I was naked! Pretend you don’t know me if you want!”

(Name) gasped when Kurapika threw off his tabard and stuffed it into his bag. Kurapika glanced at her. “Maybe we should follow his example.”

She pulled off her cardigan and stuffed it into her backpack.

It didn’t take long for her to catch up to Leorio, who instantly noticed she was no longer covered by her thick cardigan.

“WOAH! You’ve got a nice figure. Plump and soft, just how I like th-“

Kurapika kicked the back of his legs, causing him to crumple before getting back up and running behind them.

“WHAT WAS THAT FOR!?”

The blonde shrugged. “Sorry, pervert senses were tingling.”

———————

They reached the outside, (Name) instantly unbuttoning her undershirt so she could fan herself. It was hot, and even with just her skirt and top she was sweating. “Yeesh, I’m burning up.”

She crouched down and fanned herself with her hand, ignoring what was going on. They seemed to be distracted by some kind of “impersonator”, but she didn’t care all that much.

The magician disposed of the impersonator and they began to run again.

‘Ah, maybe I should have listened a little…’ she thought, watching as the people around her began to be attacked by mysterious beasts.

She glanced around to see she’d already lost her group, sighing to herself.

“You lost, little girl?”

(Name) blinked before turning her head to the left to see Hisoka leaning against a tree. He smiled at her, holding a card in his hand.

“Dunno, maybe.”

She shrugged nonchalantly, giving Hisoka a bored look. “Hmm…”

Hisoka stepped forward, looking her over. “Not bad… you certainly have some potential.”

She raised an eyebrow. “Potential? What do you mean by that?”

The magician tossed a card in her direction, the girl not even flinching when it sliced her cheek. She continued to stare at him, the look in her eyes making him shiver.

It was the look of someone prepared to die.

“I see… so that’s why you’ve peaked my interest…”

He pointed behind him. “You pass. If you continue that way, you’ll catch up to the group in no time.”

He began to walk in the opposite direction, quickly passing her by.

“Wait, if that way is the right direction, then why are you going that way?”

He only chuckled. “I have some… business to take care of.”

She sighed and took out her dagger. “Whatever.”

She continued running in the direction he pointed to, the man barely restraining himself from letting out a moan.

“God, I can’t wait until she’s ready to fight.”

He chuckled to himself before continuing on his run.

“(Name)!”

Gon yelled out, nearly crashing into the girl. She paused, catching him in her arms. “Gon, you’re okay!”

She squeezed him lightly before noticing Kurapika as well. “(Name)…”

He stopped for a moment to catch his breath. “Your cheek…”

She blinked before swiping at her cheek with her sleeve. “Oh, this? You can thank Hisoka for it. He attacked me, then said I passed and pointed to where I could find the group. Still haven’t found them, though.”

Kurapika gripped his weapons tightly. “He’d even hurt a woman? That sick bastard…”

(Name) sighed. “It doesn’t hurt that much, and once we get to the sight of the second phase I’ll put a bandaid on it. I guess I’m just lucky to have survived this long, considering I’ve been alone these past thirty minutes.”

She offered the two a drink from her canteen, which they took. After that they continued, Kurapika keeping a close eye on the girl.

Killua was waiting near the edge of the crowd, and was the first one to see the three arrive.

“Gon, (Name)!”

He smiled, putting his hands in his pockets.

(Name) bent over to catch her breath before rushing over to the still unconscious Leorio.

Hisoka had pointed him out seconds before, winking at the girl. Kurapika scowled when he noticed Hisoka watching her every movement.

‘That creep. I’ll need to stick by her so he doesn’t get any weird ideas.’

Leorio didn’t remember anything, but seemed happy to have (Name) taking care of his injuries. Kurapika pulled her back to gently wipe her cheek.

“Leorio can wait a second, you need to tend to yourself first.”

She looked to the ground, nodding. ‘But I don’t really care about my own injuries…’

Nonetheless, she cleaned the cut and applied a hello kitty bandaid before going back to Leorio.

Satotz left shortly after wishing them all luck. Killua watched her tend to Leorio before walking off and chatting with Gon.

“Alright, you should be okay. It’s going to take a while for the swelling in your cheek to go down, though.”

She helped pull him to his feet before pulling her backpack over her shoulders. “Thank you, beautiful. If I had you to tend to me, I’d get hurt all the time.”

Kurapika narrowed his eyes. “I think I’ll be taking care of your injuries after this.”

(Name) chuckled, poking Leorio’s good cheek. “Don’t get hurt on purpose, big guy.”

———————

“It’s almost time!” Gon said.

“I’m getting a little nervous.” Kurapika replied, holding onto his satchel tightly.

“I think you’ll do fine.” she patted his shoulder gently, a smile on her lips.

“Just about anything could be waiting for us behind those doors…”

The clock rang soon after Leorio finished his sentence. The doors to the building opened, a loud growling sound making (Name) jump and hide behind Kurapika and Leorio.

“Thanks for waiting. Buhara, how are you feeling now, hungry?”

A woman with greenish blue hair sat in front of a giant of a man, who’s stomach had been causing the loud noise.

“Yeah Menchi, I think anyone who has ears can hear that I’m starving!”

She smiled shyly at the group in front of her. “As you might have guessed, us two Gourmet Hunters are in charge of judging the Second Phase.”

“Gourmet Hunters?”

“What’s that?”

“Gourmet Hunters travel around the world collecting all sorts of exotic ingredients. They then use them to create new innovative dishes that have never been tasted. Before becoming Hunters, most of them were gourmet chefs.” Kurapika answered

‘Hmm, he’s smart.’ (Name) thought, watching the blonde.

“Hmm, so then this phase…”

“Right! So the subject for this phase, is cooking!”

“COOKING!?”

(Name) smiled. ‘This is actually something I can do!’

She listened to the two examiners, nodding along.

“Man, I’ve never cooked anything before in my life!” Leorio said with a sigh. (Name) was taken aback by this.

“Never? How are you still alive?”

Kurapika looked away from the girl. ‘I’ve never cooked either, but I’ll keep that to myself,’ he thought, not wanting to embarrass himself.

Gon smiled. “I know how to cook!”

The three turned towards the boy. “You serious? What can you make?” Leorio asked.

“I can make a lot of different stuff, but my specialty is macaroni and cheese!”

“Macaroni… and cheese?”

(Name) giggled. “Oh, Gon, that’s great for your age.”

“Well, I guess you could call that cooking.”

Kurapika gave the boy a smile as Leorio laughed. “Come on, it doesn’t take much of a chef to make a simple dish like macaroni and cheese.”

“Hey, that’s not true! Aunt Mito always said no one makes it like me!”

(Name) nodded along, patting his head.

“I’m sure she’s right. Maybe you can make it for me sometime.” Leorio said, snickering.

“Met too.” Kurapika agreed, seemingly amused by the innocent boy.

(Name) gave him a piece of candy, quickly grabbing a piece for Killua as well. “Here, I’ll want some of that macaroni and cheese as well. Is this payment good enough?”

She winked, the boy laughing. “Yes, this will do!”

“Listen up! My order is…”

(Name) quieted down, glancing back to the large man known as Buhara.

“A whole roasted pig! It’s my absolute favorite, and living in the forest is the great stamp! The most ferocious and delicious pig of them all!”

“The great stamp?” The entire group asked in unison.

The ground began to shake underneath them, a herd of pigs barreling towards them. Kurapika pulled (Name) out of the way just in time, the girl letting out a gasp as her skirt flew up from the gust of wind accompanying the stampede.

She was thankful she had worn a pair of shorts underneath, but other people weren’t.

“Aww, there’s shorts.”

(Name) and Kurapika turned to look at Leorio at the same time.

“Why do you sound so disappointed?”

Kurapika shook his head at (Name). “You don’t want to know what goes through that pervert’s mind.”

He ushered her away, glaring back at Leorio as he did.

They continued running away from the giant pigs, (Name) and Kurapika teaming up.

“It’s snout is tough, did you see how it launched all those grown men?”

Kurapika nodded. “Yes, but it should have some sort of weakness. Perhaps…”

From the corner of his eye, Kurapika watched Gon hit the stamp over the head, causing it to fall over dead.

“(Name), I have a plan, but you’re going to have to trust me.”

They hid behind a tree so he could explain. “You’re going to grab a thick tree branch, and I’m going to throw you onto the pigs back. Then, you’ll hit it over the head. We’ll repeat this twice.”

She seemed a bit uncomfortable with this plan, glancing to the pig sniffing around for them. “Oh um… are you sure you can pick me up?”

He tilted his head, looking her up and down. “Yeah, why wouldn’t I be able to?”

Too embarrassed to answer that, she agreed to the plan.

“Okay, on the count of three, we’ll rush out to attack.” Kurapika said, grabbing her hand. (Name) looked down, her face heating up ever so slightly.

“One!”

“Two!”

“THREE!”

They rushed out, causing the pig to run towards them. Kurapika grabbed (Name) by the waist and threw her into the air. “AHHH!”

She landed with a huff onto the pig’s back, groaning.

“You’ve got it, (Name)! Hit it now!”

She recovered quickly, bringing the stick down with as much force as she could manage. The pig collapsed, (Name) barely moving out of the way before she was crushed.

“You did it!”

Kurapika rushed over to help her up, smiling. The girl rubbed her bottom. “That landing hurt, I’m not excited to do that again.”

He gave her a sympathetic smile. “Sorry, it’s just the safest way to do it.”

The two repeated the action, Kurapika helping her off the second time.

“Owie…”

Kurapika could only gently pat her shoulder. “You alright?”

She nodded slowly. “As alright as I can be, after being thrown in the air and landing on a pig.”

Kurapika laughed at this, the girl joining him.

————————

Buhara ended up passing everyone that entered a roasted pig.

Menchi scolded him for passing everyone, but (Name) wasn’t listening. She was busy staring at Kurapika’s hand, that was placed on her shoulder.

“I’m not an armrest, ya know.”

Kurapika pulled his hand back, cheeks going pink. “Oh, sorry! I meant to say thank you for your help, but I got distracted by Buhara and Menchi.”

She giggled. “Well thank you for coming up with the plan. Now we’ve both passed half of the second phase!”

He relaxed, returning her smile.

“For the next part of this phase you’ll be filling my order, which is… sushi.”

Leorio tilted his head. “Sushi?”

“Sushi? Wonder what that is…” killua thought aloud.

“Any ideas?” Kurapika asked (Name), turning to her. She shook her head.

“No, unfortunately I’ve never heard of that dish before.” The two sighed.

“You guys look pretty stressed out! But I don’t blame you for not knowing what it is. Sushi is an ethnic dish from a small island country. I’ll give you a little hint. Inside you’ll find your work stations!”

(Name) tilted her head. “Work station?”

The applicants walked inside, seeing various kitchen work stations.

“Here’s where you’ll prepare the dish. Each station has all the essential tools and ingredients. I’ve even prepared the rice for you, which is necessary to make sushi. And now for one final hint! I’m particularly fond of hand molded nigiri sushi!”

(Name) stood at her station, between Kurapika and Leorio.

“Alright then, you guys can get started! This test will conclude as soon as I’m full. Until then you can serve me as many pieces as you want.”

(Name) watched Leorio stare at the barrel of rice. “Hmm… hand molded? That should give me some sort of indication of what it’s supposed to look like. But that still doesn’t tell me what other things I need to use.”

Kurapika hummed. “Nigiri sushi… I’m not sure exactly how this food is supposed to be made, but I think I’ve read about it somewhere.”

“Really?”

“Let’s see, if I recall, it’s made mostly of rice, mixed with vinegar and some type of raw fish.”

“RAW FISH!?”

(Name) jumped at the sound of his voice, Kurapika’s eyebrow twitching in annoyance.

“We’re stuck out here in the middle of a forest!”

Kurapika threw his spoon at Leorio, hitting his forehead.

“Would you be quiet? There are rivers in forests you know and we could fish in them!”

“Hmph.”

The two looked around, seeing all the other applicants staring at them. Menacingly.

They raced out of the building, leaving the three alone. (Name) set her bag down and began running after them, Kurapika and Leorio following her lead.

“It’s no fair! They were eavesdropping!”

Kurapika sighed. “It’s not their fault, I was the one who shot my mouth off.”

“This sucks! Now everyone knows what’s in it!”

(Name) patted Kurapika on the shoulder. “I’m sure they would have figured it out anyways. Considering we were about to leave and return with fish.”

He gave her a small smile. “Thanks.”

———————

The three returned with fish of varying types. (Name) traded Gon a few pieces of candy in exchange for a few fish.

“Well, all that’s left is to cook. Good luck boys!”

She gave them both a reassuring pat on the back before beginning her cooking process.

(Name) thought back to what Menchi had said, along with Kurapika’s limited information.

‘Does that mean the fish is supposed to be molded into the rice? Or the rice covers it?’

She tilted her head as she began to clean the fish. ‘Well, I assume I’ll at least need to cut it into fillets. After all, no one is dumb enough to serve her a whole, raw fish, right?”

Wrong.

(Name) watched with an incredulous expression as Leorio served Menchi an entire fish, still flipping around, halfway covered in rice.

Of course, Menchi rightly knocked the plate away. Leorio sulked back to his station.

“She didn’t like it…”

(Name) raised an eyebrow, but stayed quiet. ‘So he wasn’t kidding when he said he’s never cooked before…’

“What are you making?”

(Name) looked up to see Kurapika peeking over her shoulder. “Hey, no peeking!”

She bumped him with her hip, scolding him. “No cheating off of me!”

He pouted. “I wasn’t trying to… I was just curious.”

“Well be curious in that direction.”

“No, because you’re pointing at Leorio.”

“HEY!”

(Name) giggled to herself as she finished her dish, beaming. “I’m done!”

She carried her plate to Menchi, setting it down in front of her. “Here’s my entry!”

Menchi hummed, seemingly interested from the smell alone.

“It’s sushi! I um… think!”

Menchi looked down at the dish. It definitely wasn’t sushi, but the girl had obviously tried, and if Menchi appreciated anything, it was effort.

The blue haired woman took a bite. “Hmm… too salty, but good try. It’s not quite sushi, but it tastes good. Go back and try again.”

(Name) blinked, then nodded. She felt dejected, she’d tried her hardest!

She walked back to her station, grabbing her bag. “(Name), what are you doing?”

“I give up.”

The two stared at her. “You give up? Why??”

“I’m a failure, I couldn’t make sushi.”

“(Name).”

Kurapika patted her head. “Don’t be so hard on yourself. Your dish is the only one Menchi has even taken a bite of so far. Why don’t you try again?”

(Name) pouted. “… I’m going to go sit by the river.”

The two watched her walk away, her head hung low.

“Drama queen.” Leorio said, before getting back to his work.

“Well…” Kurapika stared in her direction for a moment. “She’s certainly… dramatic.”

But the blonde couldn’t help following her with his eyes, his eyebrows furrowing.

“Hey Kurapika, come try this! (Name) had some leftovers!”

Kurapika sighed. “You shouldn’t just eat the food she prepared…”

But he did join Leorio, taking a bite. “Oh wow, it is really good.”

The two snacked on her leftover food before getting back to work.

(Name)’s eyebrow twitched when she noticed Hisoka already sitting by the river. ‘Fuck it. Yolo.’

(Name) sat down a few feet away from him, tossing rocks into the water. She wasn’t even attempting to skip them, just throwing them into the river.

“… (Name).”

She hesitantly looked at him, raising an eyebrow. “What?”

“What are you doing here?”

She huffed. “Sulking.”

“Hmm.”

(Name) went back to her rock throwing, Hisoka now watching her. “Gave up that easily, huh?”

She paused. “As if you didn’t as well?”

He smirked. “Touché.”

The two sat in silence for a bit, before (Name) heard someone running up behind her. “(Name)- oh.”

The person paused a good distance away from her. “Can you come here? Away from…”

Hisoka raised his hand. “I’m not going to hurt her. We were just… talking.”

‘Oh now people are going to think I’m friendly with the murder clown.’

(Name) stood up, and stuck out her tongue at Hisoka for good measure. ‘There, now people will think I hate him! Orrr that I have a death wish. Which isn’t exactly wrong but-‘

“(Name), we know what sushi is now!”

It was Kurapika, and he was smiling at her. “Come on, now we’ve got a real chance to pass!”

Her pulled her back to the building by her hand, smiling widely. She couldn’t help but smile too.

‘He thought of me.’

———————

Though they all tried their hardest, even after figuring out how to make sushi, none of them could satisfy Menchi.

She poured herself a cup of green tea, sipping slowly. “Ah..”

(Name) had just given her the last piece of sushi, and had been rejected yet again.

“Sorry, but I’m completely stuffed!”

Hanzo blinked. “So then, what happens now?”

“Like I said, the test is over and this time no one passed. Thank you, come again.”

The air grew tense, (Name) too busy pouting to really care. ‘But I tried so hard…’

She only looked up when Gon stole Menchi’s phone.

“Oh dear.”

She turned her head when she heard someone destroy one of the cooking stations. ‘Sore loser.’ (Name) thought, munching on piece of candy.

“Alright, I’ll show you what it means to be a Gourmet Hunter.”

Menchi left, saying she’d be back in about an hour. (Name) took this as an opportunity to chat with Buhara.

“Sorry that people are being disrespectful. I’m actually a chef myself, but not on any level close to you two.”

Buhara seemed a bit surprised by her comment. “Ah, that makes sense. Menchi seemed to enjoy your dishes the best. If she hadn’t been so picky today, I’m sure she would have passed you.”

(Name) nodded. “Yeah, but that’s not how things went.”

She sat down next to him, taking out a piece of candy and handing it to the man. ��Here, I know after I’ve eaten a savory meal I like to have something a little sweet to balance it out.”

‘This girl…’

He took the candy. ‘I’m starting to understand Menchi’s interest in her.’

(Name) and Buhara chatted, exchanging recipes and laughing over stories about cooking gone wrong.

“Is she becoming friends with the examiner?”

Kurapika watched her, eyes wide. Leorio cheered. “Yeah, butter him up (Name)! Use your womanly charm and get us a passing grade!”

Kurapika smacked him over the head. “First of all, she’s not doing that. Secondly, if she was, you screaming out her plans would foil them.”

“Oh.”

Menchi returned, momentarily glancing at (Name) and Buhara with a raised eyebrow before showing off her finds.

(Name) watched as the brute from before kicked the table Menchi had served the plate on over, nearly hitting (Name) in the face.

To her surprise, Buhara extended a hand to shield her. “Oh, thank you!”

He gave her a nod. “No problem.”

A few applicants attempted to get near Machi, but Buhara hit them with surprising strength. “Ooo get ‘em!!” (Name) called, cheering him on.

The wrestler Todo ended up pushing Buhara over, but the man seemed unfazed. “Ooo, you’re pretty strong. Guess it’s time to get serious. Think you can handle it?”

Menchi stepped in. “I can take care of him by myself.”

(Name) stared wide eyed as Menchi beat the absolute SHIT out of Todo, only using her legs.

‘That’s kind of hot.’ (Name) thought.

Kurapika pulled (Name) to safety. “Come here, it’s not safe over there.”

“Oh.”

She hadn’t realized, but it had become kind of a fighting zone. Kurapika noticed she kept staring at Menchi, but didn’t think much. Her and Satotz were arguing, (Name) only catching the end of it.

“I was trying to see how resourceful these guys were. Could they face a challenge for which they had little or no experience?”

“That may be true, Menchi, but since no one passed that test, don’t you think it may have been a bit too difficult?”

‘Oh god the sky is talking.’

“It’s an airship with the Hunter Association’s logo!”

‘Oh. That makes more sense.’ (Name) thought, being pulled outside by Kurapika.

“Oh shit an old guy!” (Name) gasped, pointing at an old man falling from the sky. “I was not expecting to see an old man die today.”

The man landed, seemingly unfazed. ‘Oh so he’s some sort of wizard. Wait did she say chairman?’

Killua and Gon seemed surprised he hadn’t broken his legs. “I’m surprised he isn’t a chairman pancake.” (Name) said, patting Gon on the head.

Apparently, he was the highest authority in the Hunter Association.

(Name) stood near Menchi, glancing at her at her as Netero talked. ‘She’s cute.’

“I have an idea. We’re going to give them all a second chance at the test, and I would like for you to continue being the examiner for this. But this time around I want you to demonstrate how it’s done before the applicants make an attempt. Does that sound reasonable? I think this will go a long way for everyone to accept your ruling.”

The group of five were relieved that they would be getting a second chance.

“The test is, a boiled egg.”

———————

The group rode on the airship to a large mountain.

“So, this is the spot.” Menchi said, standing before a cliff.

“What is this place?”

“How deep is it, I can’t see the bottom?”

Menchi smiled. “Not to worry, at the bottom is a deep river. Now, watch and learn boys.”

She fell backwards down the cliff.

“This deep ravine happens to be home of the spider eagle. And she’s gone down to retrieve one of its eggs.” Netero informed the group. (Name) peeked over the cliff.

“Wow!”

Menchi climbed back up with ease, pulling the egg from her bra. “You might want to be a little careful, the river runs very fast so if you fall you’ll be whisked out to sea before you know what hit ya!”

(Name) handed her bag to Buhara. “Could you watch this for me, please?”

He nodded, the group gasping when she rushed forward and jumped. “(Name)!”

They all followed after her, (Name) holding onto one of the strings and swinging up to stand on one. “Whew, I’m awful at the balancing act!”

Kurapika stared at her, blinking. “(Name), please be careful.”

She blinked. “Oh, sorry. I’ll try.”

Killua glanced at her from his spot, already finding an egg. ‘She should be alright…’ he thought, before going back to his task.

The boy furrowed his eyebrows. ‘Why am I concerned for her safety? She’s just some woman…’

Eagles began attacking the contestants, (Name) managing to climb up to Kurapika. The boy held onto her, keeping her steady. “Did you get an egg?”

(Name) nodded, pointing to her chest. “I’m following Menchi’s example!”

The blonde blushed, quickly changing the subject. “… let’s climb up before the eagles come back.

———————

Menchi had them drop all of their eggs into a large pot. “Don’t think the test is over yet! You still have to boil them. Over cooking or under cooking will fail you!”

Buhara began to sweat, staring at the pot. (Name) placed a hand on his arm. “You alright, Buhara?”

“I think he knows something we don’t!”

The group began pulling their eggs out, (Name) patting his arm after. Menchi seemed pissed. “You couldn’t have made it anymore obvious!”

Menchi glanced at (Name) yet again, calming slightly. “This is an ordinary chicken egg, and this is a spider eagle egg. Now go ahead and compare how they taste!”

(Name) glanced at Menchi, before halving her egg and handing it to her. “Here!”

The woman blushed, taking it. “Oh, um… thank you, applicant 406.”

“My name is (Name).” She said with a sweet smile.

“Thank you, (Name).”

The women smiled, eating together. “Menchi, this is delicious! Wow, gourmet hunters sure know their stuff!”

The woman seemed to become flustered from (Name)’s praise. “I appreciate you taking the time to speak with us. Buhara told me how kind you were to him earlier. I…”

She shook her head, turning her attention to the group. “Listen up, for the second phase, 43 pass! Menchi’s Menu is over!”

The all cheered, (Name) pulling in her four friends in for a hug. “Hehe!”

The group boarded the airship, on their way to the next phase.

143 notes · View notes

depressedhouseplant · 3 months

Text

🔞 Just Fucking Write - Day 127 🔞

Prompt: Soobin Y/N full version

Tags: Unprotected sex (wrap it up kids), narrator is female, age gap (narrator is 10 yrs older than Soobin), nipple play, semi-public sex (also my brand apparently), “good boy”

A/N: Here’s the full piece. The newest part is at the bottom. Thank cold medicine & prescription pain meds for this one

“Is your MILFy co-worker here again?” Yeonjun stage whispered.

“I don’t think she has any kids,” Soobin replied.

“He’s right, I don’t have any kids. Can I help you Yeonjun or are you just taking up space at the counter?” I walked up behind him.

“No, I was just leaving. Have a good shift,” he scurried out of the shop in spite of it being empty. I stifled a laugh.

“You didn’t have to scare him,” Soobin tried to look offended and failed.

“I didn’t, but it’s fun,” I smiled as I walked behind the counter.

“And he was trying to compliment you. I think,” Soobin added.

“Just because I’m in my 30s doesn’t mean I’ve decided to reproduce,” I pointed out.

“I don’t assume,” he replied.

“So if you were going to compliment me, what would you say?” I leaned back against the counter.

“Oh, um…” he started.

“It’s okay. You don’t have to if you’re not into me,” I replied.

“No, I am, I’m just really bad at this even with girls…women…my age. I try to say something nice and it ends up coming across the wrong way,” he said.

“Nothing you can say will offend me if it’s meant with good intentions,” I said. It was mostly true. But he had let slip that he was into me.

“So I can just say what I’m thinking?” he asked.

“Say what you’re thinking,” I confirmed.

“You’re really fucking hot and I really want you on my dick,” he immediately slapped his hand over his mouth. I couldn’t help but laugh at his reaction. I stepped over to him and pulled his hand off his mouth.

“Well if we’re being honest, I’ve wondered what these long fingers would feel like in my pussy,” I wrapped our fingers together. He looked at our hands then looked at me, still somewhat like a deer in headlights.

“You have?” he squeaked.

“Mmhmm,” I noised, close enough now that our bodies were touching. “Want to know what else I’ve thought about?”

“Please,” he whined. I was feeling a distinct bulge forming at my hip.

“I’ve thought about what it would be like for you to come inside me, to feel all of you,” I continued.

“No condom?” he questioned. I shook my head.

“You trust me that much?” he asked.

“I trust that you’re clean. I’ve taken the proper precautions to make sure I don’t make a baby before I want one,” I replied. He nodded, even though I could tell he wasn’t totally sure what I meant.

“How about you change that sign to closed and we try one of the things we’ve been thinking about?” I ran my finger across his jaw and smirked.

“Yes, closed, yes, we are closed for the time being,” he agreed, scrambling to change the sign and close the blinds. I smiled. Too cute.

“Which thing did you want to try?” he asked when he got back over to where I was standing.

“I think I want to see how good you are with your hands,” I let my lips graze over his. “I assume you’ve fingered a girl before?”

“I have. And myself,” he nodded, then turned bright red.

“You really have no filter when you’re horny,” I teased.

“I barely have one when I’m not,” he replied.

“Fair enough,” I led him to the back and into the office.

“Here?” he asked as I unlocked the door.

“What? Don’t want to get bodily fluids on the boss’ chair?” I sat down and spread my legs. The effect was diminished because I was wearing pants, but he got the idea.

“And when the boss happens to be my dad?” Soobin asked.

“Doesn’t that make it hotter? Knowing you’ve done something very, very naughty in daddy’s chair on daddy’s dime?” I leaned back and bit my lip. It’s not like his dad ever came into the store. He owned 15 branches of this particular coffee shop and the only people who used the office were the managers on duty for opening and closing duties. However, the fact Soobin worked at this particular location made it the unofficial flagship store of the Choi Coffee Empire.

Soobin whined and flexed his hands, clearly trying not to press on his cock.

“So? What’ll it be?” I asked, slowly rocking the chair.

“Take your pants off,” he breathed. “And your top. I want to see your tits.”

“I always thought you were a boob guy. Should I just strip completely?” I asked.

“Yes, do that, I mean, please do that,” he agreed. I laughed and kissed him as I stood up to take my clothes off. I’d never had a guy so fully focused on me as I stripped. His eyes traced every curve, every move of my hands, his gaze dripping with desire.

“You can touch me,” I told him when I was fully naked in front of him. His hands and mouth went straight for my left tit. His hand gently massaged it as he licked and sucked on my nipple. My nipples were never very sensitive so I never got much out of nipple play. Soobin, on the other hand, was hard enough to rip his pants.

“Let me help you,” I reached down and opened his pants. I felt a sigh against my chest when they were hanging fully open. “Better?”

“Mmhmm,” he noised, refusing to move off my nipple. I tangled my fingers in his hair. “You know the other one might feel neglected if you keep going like that.”

“Right,” he pulled off and moved to my other nipple. In spite of my lack of sensitivity, slick was running down my thighs. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d had a partner this enthusiastic about my body. It was hot.

I moved my hands down his body and pushed his underwear down. I started lightly stroking his cock. He moaned against my chest. A hard press into the slit prompted him to pick his head up.

“What…was…that?” he panted.

“Just experimenting. Did you like it?” I asked.

“Yeah, yeah, I did,” he nodded. He kissed me, knocking me back into the chair. I spread my legs for him to get in between them better. “Sorry I got distracted by your magnificent tits. You wanted me to finger you?”

“Or fuck me or eat my pussy. I’m open to whatever,” I replied.

“I think I’ll fuck you. Want to feel you. Want to come in you,” he breathed between kisses.

“Good boy,” I grinned as he slid into me. We both groaned at the feeling of him inside of me.

“You feel…so good,” he breathed.

“So do you,” I agreed, pulling him down to kiss me. He was tall enough that he could hold onto the arms of the chair and fuck me while he was on his knees. I wrapped my legs around his hips as he thrust into me.

“This is kind of embarrassing, but I don’t think I’ll last long,” he panted into my mouth.

“Like won’t last the next 10 seconds or won’t last to finish me?” I asked.

“Oh I’ll make sure you finish. Don’t worry,” he assured me. He reached down and started playing with my clit with his thumb.

“Where did you learn that?” I asked.

“Umm…porn?” he admitted. I laughed until he started fucking into me harder. For a kid barely out of college, he knew what he was doing. “Want to feel you come on my cock before I fill you up.”

“You will,” I replied. I was blissfully making out with him when I felt my pussy flutter the first time. Soobin smiled against my lips and rubbed my clit more. Then I felt the second wave.

“Fuck,” I hissed as I came, pulling hard on his hair as he fucked into me. He kept fucking me then I felt his hips jerk and the warmth of his come spreading inside me.

“Told you,” he laughed a little when he rested his forehead against mine. That’s when I realized he was still fully clothed.

“Maybe next time we can both be naked,” I suggested.

“After work? My place? Only if you’re interested of course. I can even cook something,” he replied.

“How about we order takeout and yes, I’m interested,” I grinned.

“Great! I mean, was that too enthusiastic?” he asked.

“It was perfect,” I kissed him. “Yeonjun is gonna have a fit when he finds out you actually fucked me.”

“He might actually die,” Soobin laughed.

“Sounds like a him problem,” I said as Soobin pulled out.

“This…is gonna take a minute to clean up. Wait here,” he said as he tucked himself in and zipped his pants up.

It was naked and fucked out in the office of our shared workplace that I knew I was a little bit in love.

#just fucking write 2k24 #minors dni #txt fanfic #txt smut #soobin x y/n #soobin x reader

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soobadnoonecanstopher · 1 year

Text

Can I Stay? (A Baekhyun Story) Part 12.

Pairing: You x Baekhyun

Rating: M (Mature Content)

Word Count: 7.7K

Warnings: A romance between two adults with an unspecified age difference between them, an English story that uses the word Noona for lack of another word in English that carries the same feeling, if you don’t like this, then don’t read this story.

Tag list: @andimoon @his-mochi-cheeks

Links: Part 1, …. Part 11, Part 12, Part 13

The announcement of Baekhyun’s departure to your team caused more stir than you had expected.

You’d anticipated a few disappointed groans, maybe some questions about the reason for the sudden change; even though there had never been any misconceptions that he was a permanent fixture on this team. But what actually happened was quite a bit of pushback from several members who said Baekhyun’s contributions had helped them greatly with the everyday. Either through his communication style, his sense of humor that usually made the office mood light and fun, with his organization, or his sense of leadership. You’d known that your own heart and soul had benefited greatly from having him on your side, but you hadn’t quite realized the impact he had on the rest of the team too.

The ladies seemed to take it particularly hard and you found your eyes pulled to him as he smiled his sweet smile in their direction, even frowning at a few in solidarity that he had to be pulled away from them all so suddenly. One younger member of your team who sat in the far back of the room abruptly rushed out of the room in tears, coming back after a few moments with a flushed face and hand full of tissues.

“What the hell was that about?” You whispered to him through tightly gritted teeth.

“I’ve never seen that girl in my entire life,” he whispered back through his wide toothy smile.

You tried your best to mitigate the negativity that had seemed to take over and when you announced that there would be a new replacement to take his place right away they only groaned louder. It was only after you agreed to throw a going away party after his final day did they finally settle down; placated by the thought of good food and alcohol on the company’s dime.

The commotion in the office settled and as you carried on with your day a new commotion seemed to be brewing inside of you the more you paid attention to your soon-to-be-Ex assistant. He went about his usual day-to-day duties only this time with a certain flair of finality to them. He was performing things with just a little bit more care and thoroughness, being sure to make plenty of notes in some book he kept. You began to feel an ache somewhere inside the more you watched him. He was so glaring with it too; as he carefully organized and stacked things with brand new super obvious labels he’d made that left no doubt at all about what was what and where things were. He also was speaking out loud as he did it, making sure you were paying attention so that when he was gone you could still find the things you needed.

While you found the entire thing extremely sweet of him to go through such great lengths for you, you also could not shake that melancholy lump that had settled deep inside of your chest.

How would you manage without him?

You knew, of course, the rational part of your brain knew that you were being very dramatic right now, and you would, of course, manage just fine, but still… how?

“I think I’ve made a mistake,” you said, to your own horror out loud. The words pushed their way out of your lips before you could stop them and Baekhyun looked up from where he had been digging inside of a file box across the office. His eyebrows lifted in silent question and you quickly closed your mouth back up and shook your head, as if you saying something like that to him without elaborating was anything you could shake your head about and have him actually ignore you.

“What mistake?” You’d already looked back at your computer screen to the conversation you were having with Advertising Manager Park who was basically frothing at the mouth at the idea of having The Byun Baekhyun, of the esteemed family Byun, whose fame and fortune preceded them all, working alongside one of their very own Senior Advertising executives. It wasn’t an assistant role. It wasn’t even working beside Chet as you had so threatened him with. It was something he would possibly even struggle with at first, but of course he would learn and he would adapt and then they had better watch out because he was going to outshine them all, you were sure of it.

“It’s nothing,” you said lamely and you rolled your eyes at how very silly you were acting after having been the very one to decide on this change.

“Noona, what mistake? What happened?” He repeated and he had left the open box behind as he made his way to stand behind your desk. He was looking curiously at your computer screen, clearly trying to decipher your cryptic words on his own since you weren’t offering up any clues.

His warm hand landed over your mouse hand and he bent at the waist to look at your computer as he moved your hand to move your mouse. You watched the side profile of his pretty face. His skin was clear and his lips were pink and pouty. You felt his fingertips land just between your own and he was clicking around your screen, quickly mouthing along as he was reading messages you had sent about his wonderful work ethic, sharp responsive wit, and charming social skills. You’d really sold it and his middle finger clicked against the scroll wheel a few times before he came up blank and turned his attention back to your face, lightly touching into your eyes with his dark brown questioning ones.

“I mean you,” you said with a small frown pulling at your lips. “What will I do without you here?”

His lips pushed down into a small frown and he blinked his brown eyes slowly at you. You knew that you had decided this for the both of you; without even asking him for alternative ideas first. Now the wheels were in motion on a steep hill and there was no way to stop it. He was leaving and it was your own damn fault.

“You’ll be fine,” he said softly. His thumb brushed comforting strokes over the back of your hand and his eyes traveled over your face before bouncing back into your eyes for the briefest moments and then he was very quickly looking away from your pouting face. He inhaled a breath and straightened out his spine, standing up and taking the close-up view of his pretty face with him. It only served to deepen the frown.

“Sunny will be good. You can trust me on this. I’ll always take care of you. Even from another department.”

“But she’s not you. No matter how good she is, she’s not my Assistant Byun.” You knew you were acting childish. Having laid down for just two minutes on the bed you’d made yourself and all of a sudden you had something to say about the quality of the sheets.

“You big baby,” he said under his breath with a little shake of his head. He’d already moved back to the big box he had been digging through and he left you to it; whatever this mood you’d brought on yourself was. You knew he didn’t feel any better about this but he seemed to have processed his disappointment already and had moved on to busying himself with the preparations for what was to come.

The afternoon progressed in much of the same manner. Your mood was shot and watching him buzz around you as busy as he was getting ready for the changes to come only made you feel it more.

When quitting time arrived you swallowed away the disappointment as best as you could, said a fond farewell to him, and watched him walk out the door of your office; one day closer to the last time you’d see him at work.

Your feet were dragging and you felt exhausted from the day as you made your way downstairs, through the large lobby beyond the security turnstiles and you’d made it halfway down the sidewalk walking in the direction of your bus stop when a sound pulled your attention from the street. There was a quick horn that beeped, and a flash of lights.

You knew him in an instant. His car wasn’t exactly inconspicuous. You’d stopped your steps when you heard the horn but a glance around you for witnesses kept you from immediately going up to the car.

There were a few odd stragglers still emerging from the building and you pointed with a finger around the corner just a little further from the entrance. You couldn’t see in due to the dark tint of his windows but you trusted he would be paying attention enough to catch your meaning.

You were walking now, headed in the opposite direction of your bus stop you quickly crossed a small street and as you walked you could hear the low rumble of that big engine as the car followed where you traveled. When you were satisfied with the distance you made your way for the passenger door, hearing the click as the locks disengaged the moment you put your hand on the door handle. You pulled that door open and you slipped inside.

You hadn’t expected this. You had fully intended to take the bus home and sit and stew in your crappy mood alone with maybe a pint of ice cream and some trashy romance playing on your tv.

Baekhyun didn’t immediately speak to you when you sat down in his passenger seat. All you got was a sweet smile before he pulled out into traffic, driving off toward who-knows-where. He was headed in the opposite direction of your apartment and your knowledge of the geography of this town told you that he wasn’t making a big ol loop to turn back around. Instead he seemed to be merging onto a freeway.

Your bad mood had vanished with that first smile he had given you and now that he was no longer looking at you, you leaned your head against the comfy headrest and watched his side profile as he drove. His tongue darted out to moisten his lips and he swallowed in a way that made his throat bounce up and down. His arm extended out with his left hand rested light on the top of the steering wheel and his eyes settled ahead as he watched the traffic ahead of him.

Somehow, you not knowing where he was taking you didn’t bug you at all. You simply settled into the seat with your shoulders angled just enough so you could watch him as he drove. It was amazing; how easily your mood had turned around. He could take you anywhere he wanted as long as you could look at his pretty face as he did it.

A change in the momentum of the car brought you out of the quiet trance. He had taken an exit, slowed the car, turned two or three times down some winding roads that weaved in between buildings and he drove down unfamiliar streets, all the while he kept his eyes carefully focused on the road until you could feel the itch of curiosity building inside of you.

The neighborhood felt old. His fancy car definitely looked out of place here and you noticed the occasional glance as very normal and regular people caught a glimpse of it from their busy street corners and tables set up outside of convenience stores.

He was signaling though and he then he was turning and when he pulled into a plain looking parking spot in front of what looked like a hole in the wall place whose signage boasted the simple kind of comfort food that you might expect to find on your grandmother’s table you followed his lead and unbuckled your seatbelt with wide eyes and that curious itch clawing against the backs of your teeth.

“We’re here,” he whispered cryptically with a disarming smile and a lift of his eyebrows.

“We are where?” You began to wonder if you had missed something. Had he actually told you what his plans were and you had been too distracted to listen to him? Baekhyun had the kind of voice that you could point out clearly in nearly any noisy room. Something about the sound of it made it nearly impossible for you to ignore even if you wanted to. There was no way you had missed him offering you an explanation for this.

His lips pulled wider.

“Let’s eat,” he said and you pushed at your door to step out onto the worn out pavement of this parking lot. There were some holes and some puddles from a recent rain shower that afternoon and you watched your step as you made your way around the front of his car where he stood and waited with his hand outstretched for you to join him.

The door had a bell on it that rang out noisily as the metal hit against the glass and you heard the sound of an old woman’s voice call out a greeting. The place was empty and it was tiny, with only three tables with four chairs each. You could smell something delicious coming from the kitchen and knowing what you knew about Baekhyun and his excellent judgment in all things, you were certain that you were in for something delicious..

“Welcome. Come in. Sit anywhere you—” Her standard greeting was interrupted as she peeked her head around a corner that separated the tiny dining area from the kitchen.

The woman burst around the corner, “Ahh! Baekhyun-ie, my baby boy! Come here!” She was closing in on him fast and the giggles that came from his chest as the old woman pulled him in tight for a full-body hug had you genuinely wondering who this woman was in his life to warrant such an enthusiastic and warm greeting.

When she released him from the tight embrace, she wasn’t done. You heard him say something that sounded a little bit like ‘Halmi,’ but it was mumbled from very deep down inside of her arms.

“It’s been too long. It’s been so long. Where have you been that you stayed away for so long?” Her hands lightly swatted over his shoulders with the little complaints she had. The affection between the two was obvious. She gripped both sides of his face tightly with her worn, wrinkly hands and it took only a few moments of her glistening eyes taking him in for the awareness of your presence beside him to suddenly dawn on her.

She looked at your face for the briefest moment before her wide eyes were back on him; looking into his face expectantly with everything about her body language relaying her unspoken questions.

Her eyebrows raised, her lips pushed into an O shape, and her mouth asked a silent ‘Who?’ She asked this of Baekhyun.

“Halmi—” the name he called her again although it felt like a term of endearment more than a familial relationship, “Mimi,” He’d taken the sweet nickname and made it even cuter before he continued, “this is my girlfriend.” His palm was up and extended in front of you as he said your first name with as wide a smile as you had seen on his face.

When his palm moved, the other joined in and he gestured toward the woman as he spoke quietly to you now, “This is Mimi. My nanny. She raised me since I was a baby — my whole life.”

As soon as the words were out, she was fussing. She gasped noisily with her eyes wide and her hands went to cover over her mouth. Just as quickly as she did that, she was reaching her hands out in your direction; reaching for your arms. Her hands traveled down to grasp tightly over both of your hands and she was smiling a wide grin in your direction. She was moving all over the place, trembling with genuine excitement before you. The happiness you felt radiating from her was contagious and you felt your own wide smile responding in kind.

“Oh my!” She gave you a wondrous smile. “Would you look at that?” She looked into your face with a curious expression of awe painted across her features. You didn’t really know how to respond to this. You’d never been received by a stranger with such enthusiasm before and you looked into Baekhyun’s smiling face with what you were sure was confusion and many questions, although hopefully, very well-hidden ones.

“You can call me Mimi too — silly boy, I’m not his grandmother but he’s called me that since he was a baby,” she said as she shook your hands up and down inside of her own. Her admission made you laugh, reminding you of how stubborn he was about calling you Noona when you had first met him. She had taken a step into you.

“Oh,” she lifted a hand up to touch over the side of your face and she looked deep inside of your eyes as she did it. She looked at you for what felt like ages and you could find nothing else to do but look back at the old woman. After a few breaths she was nodding her head as if she had understood something profound with that simple look into your eyes and that gentle touch upon your face.

You weren’t sure how one look could have done it, but you felt it in an instant. With this one introduction you had a complete and unfaltering understanding of how Baekhyun could be such a sweet and gentle human being who was kind and sensitive and so very beautiful on the inside.

It had been her.

She was why.

Everything about his unimaginable wealth and privilege should have had some sort of a detrimental effect on him, and try as hard as you could, you couldn’t quite understand how he was still so down to earth, so genuine, and how he felt so real. People with the kind of privilege that he had didn’t just turn out completely unaffected by it and yet Baekhyun had surprised you again and again with just how very good he seemed to be deep down inside.

With this meeting, you understood at once.

This woman had raised Baekhyun, her sweet and precious baby boy, with so much love. She had loved him completely and with her whole being and all at once you felt overwhelmed by it. You felt grateful to her and you felt awestruck in her presence. That overwhelming feeling, it rose up inside of your esophagus and you had to swallow it back down; sniffing through your nose as your breathing grew just a little bit constricted. You blinked your eyes rapidly to rein in the unexpected rise in emotions. If either of them noticed how suddenly affected you felt by this meeting, they didn't react.

She moved so quickly with it all. She was as intense as he was. You recognized an uncanny likeness between the two of them with the size of their giant personalities.

She was obviously very old and yet so full of energy. She was well in motion now. The shocked gasps from her lips quickly turned into more complaining as her hand rose up to lightly touch at the hair on her head and she let go of your hands to lightly smack Baekhyun on his arm, pulling a rough laugh from his chest. “Why didn’t you warn me? I look like this. She’s so pretty.”

“Where did you find such a pretty girl? She doesn't know how annoying you can be yet, does she?” The woman’s frantic fussing was winding down and turning into playful teasing. Baekhyun was still laughing as she seemed to be talking to herself while also steering him further inside the room with her hands on him, “Oh, well she’s going to find out soon enough. How did you trick her into it? A girlfriend! I can’t believe it.”

“How many years has it been? I told you to find a girl to love enough to bring her to me and now you’ve done it, my baby boy. Now I can go in peace. You have someone to love. My heart can rest.”

The significance of Baekhyun having brought you here today hit you harder and harder the more you listened to her talk. Just as he hadn’t warned her, he also didn’t say a thing to you about this. That same overwhelming feeling in your chest pulsed hot and it spread just under your skin, up your neck and face; making your eyes burn. You blinked again, willing yourself to breathe in and out slowly in some attempt to keep your emotions in check. Although if he had warned you about meeting the woman who raised him, you might not have so blindly climbed inside his car and let him take you wherever he wanted to take you without even so much as a question.

She didn’t care about your age. Or how much money your family had or your salary right now. She didn’t care about your position at work, the price tag of the designer bags you’d splurged on, or about how small of a dress size you could fit into.

She only cared that Baekhyun loved you and that was enough for her. You liked to imagine that one day that would also be enough for you.

She was steering him through the small room, hands gesturing to one of the tables, clearly instructing you both to sit down. You could feel in your bones that some food was about to come out. It was going to come out whether you asked for it or not and there was going to be a lot of it. This was a doting mother feeding her hungry child.

“Sit, sit. You’ll both be very hungry. I’ll bring out the food.” It didn’t sound like a survey of your hunger levels so much as it was a clear command, said with such authority that you quickly pulled out a chair and sat your butt down on it.

You were right about the food. There was too much of it and it was the kind of home-made comfort food that only came from someone who had been feeding someone that they loved for a lifetime. The rice, the stews, the dishes on the side, every single thing that touched your tongue felt familiar right down into your soul. You ate until you felt ready to burst and there was still so much of it left on the table.

You couldn't remember the last time you had such a comforting meal. Despite this not being your home and not being your family, everything about the experience felt like coming back home after having been away for much too long.

Even her nagging felt so comfortable. It all came from a place of love. She nagged him about visiting her more often and you quickly found yourself promising to come back again with him, even telling her that you would be sure to remind him when he had been away for too long. Strangely, you meant it too and his eyes watched you with such a fondness that you had to look away from the man just to keep your wits about you.

When the tables turned and it was Baekhyun’s turn to nag and scold his Mimi for continuing to work tirelessly, for not retiring on the money he had always deposited into her account, she was quick with a dismissive hand wave, saying that life wasn’t for her and if she stopped working she would drop dead and she had to see him get married before she left this Earth. You didn’t miss the small wink she shot at you behind his back when she said it and the entire exchange had your cheeks burning and you choked and coughed on the small glass of water you had been sipping on.

Baekhyun was stubborn and once he got started on a cause, he wouldn't quit. He insisted too much on her taking a vacation, or living the life of luxury he had clearly provided for her and she told him she would think about it as she reminded him of the time, explaining that she had to close up the shop and get to bed. It didn’t seem that late in the evening but he eventually gave up the fight anyway.

You were both promptly expelled and given several containers filled with food with well wishes from all sides and promises to see each other again soon.

Once everything was securely fastened inside the car and you were both seated well inside the car with the doors closing out the noise and the chaos from that visit, there was a moment before he started the engine when you both just sat in a kind of shell-shocked silence.

“Mimi might be the sweetest lady I’ve ever met in my life,” you said in a whisper and you heard a small chuckle escape from his chest.

“Well, she liked you,” he said as if that fact held some sort of reasoning for why you found her to be so lovely.

He reached forward and pressed the button that made his car engine roar to life, “don't let the sweet old lady act fool you. She can be downright nasty if she doesn't like someone. But you…of course she would like you. I knew she would like you.”

“How did you know?”

“Because I love you.”

He said it so casually as if anyone in the world could see it as plain as day as he reversed the car and headed off into a direction you could not give a name to even if you tried. You didn’t recognize any of these neighborhoods or street names.

“What are we going to do with all of this food? She always gives me so much,” He said with a glance in his rear view mirror, “I think I need to go home so I can put it away.”

His home — Baekhyun’s home.

You hadn’t been to his home yet. The opportunity simply had not presented itself with this relationship being just so very brand new.

“You don't have any reason why you need to be home in a hurry do you? We aren’t very far from my place.”

Not only had you not planned on this outing with him, you hadn’t actually made any plans for your evening at all. Maybe just something relaxing. Then maybe something soft and comfortable. It was all a vague and distant hypothetical that clearly didn’t have anywhere near the magnetism that spending a few more hours with this man had.

“Aside from a warm bath and a comfy bed, I hadn’t planned much for my evening at all.”

“I have a bath tub,” he said nearly under his breath and an amused giggle escaped from your lips.

“Ahh, and I bet your bed is very comfortable too,” you teased him playfully at first, but halfway through the sentence the back of your brain buzzed a noisy alert.

Making silly jokes about his bed as he was pulling his fancy car into the first level of a parking garage in one of the most exclusive parts of town on the very same day you and he had made a promise of abstinence was definitely on some unexplored list of No-Nos.

He parked and turned the engine off. The silence and stillness in this car was all at once overwhelming and Baekhyun had leaned forward with his arms folded over the steering wheel, resting his head on them as he turned to look at you from the driver’s seat. He hadn’t replied at all to your silly comment about his bed and the longer he stared at you quietly the more stifling the air inside this darkened car became.

Outside of the car, the garage was lit, but only just. Not enough for any fine definition to be visible in his features and the dark tint on these windows blocked out nearly everything else. You could still see enough of his face to know that he was still looking at you. You knew so much about the beauty of this man’s face to know exactly what had been building inside this closed up car the second he had turned that engine off. The silence magnified the sound of him. You could also hear his steady breathing and after a moment you heard a click as he reached a hand down and unfastened his seatbelt.

The next bits of motion from him were a dreamy haze. You felt him move closer to you. He was leaning over the center console into your space in this car and you heard the click of your own seat belt at the same moment that you felt his hand brush against your hip.

You smelled him moments before you felt the warm air from his mouth and you closed your eyes when you felt his soft lips press over yours. His lips parted and your own wandering fingertips reached up to touch the soft skin of his face. With your fingertips on him, every movement of his jaw as he opened his mouth felt that much more pronounced. Every tilt of his head and every gasp of breath from his lungs you felt them all magnified under your fingertips. His tongue was soft and wet against your own and the greedy drag he took from your lungs gave you no chance to recover from his needy mouth that only wanted more. When he pulled back he sucked your bottom lip deep into his mouth, the desire that flooded your veins had your fingertips constricting; wrapping around the nape of his neck; threading fingers into his hair — an unrestricted and unwavering desire filled your senses making you second guess your sanity when you proposed something as silly as a week without giving in to what both of you wanted from each other.

It was Baekhyun that pulled away from you first; with both of his hands cradling your face, you lost his lips first and with a huff and heavy breaths coming from your own lungs, he held you firmly in place with his forehead leaned up against yours as he begged his lungs to calm his breathing down.

When he finally spoke it was after you’d managed to pull your hands off of the smooth warmth of his skin and some bits of your sanity were beginning to return to your conscious mind.

“This much is okay, right?” His dark pupils were clearly visible from up close and they peppered over your face, touching lightly into your own eyes before the focus was lost and he leaned into you again, pressing his mouth over your parted lips again and all of the progress you had made in your recovery was gone.

“I want you,” he groaned into your open mouth, “you taste so sweet.”

He was insane.

It was not okay.

No. Baekhyun. This much wasn’t okay. You felt on fire.

You were not handling it very well, and when you threaded your fingertips in his hair behind his head you tightened the grip you had on his hair. Briefly and only for a moment, you felt just too overcome. You had lost his lips again. He had pulled away from you again, but you were much too overcome. Briefly and only for the scant few seconds it took for your lips to open up over the smooth warm skin of his neck and just below his ear you knew the perfect spot where this man had oftentimes driven you beyond the brink with his teeth. When you had simply lost your damn mind, and you let your teeth sink into the sensitive skin there, you were instantly rewarded with the sweetest and most addictive sound from deep within his body. It was a whimper. It was a moan. It was cursing and his hands were grabbing hold of your wandering hands roughly as he pushed, and held and forced your hands down and off of his body completely.

“Nope. It’s not okay. It’s too much. Fuck — fuck.” He was loud. A light flooded the cabin and you squinted against the sudden brightness, hearing the sound of his car door opening and he was gone in an instant. The change was so abrupt it brought you back into your mind. It only took a moment for your eyes to adjust to the increase in lighting and you could see him standing up in the space between his car and the open door.

You had gone overboard. You knew it then, he had a sensitive neck and with the current restrictions in your relationship, you should have just behaved yourself.

His hand motioned in your direction as he opened his fingers, closed them again and shook his hand out. He wasn’t speaking anymore, but you could taste much of the same frustration he was feeling on the back of your tongue.

“Should I just quit?” You heard him ask. “I should just quit. Right now. And then it doesn't matter what we do.” There was a tinge of hopeless humor in his voice. He was coming down from it and was trying to distract himself with sarcasm and jokes.

“You can't quit,” you answered the question he wasn’t actually asking you.

“Why can't I? I’m an adult.”

“Because I need you.” Your lips had pulled into a small pout when you spoke again, “I’m not ready to let you go yet.”

He had bent at the waist and his head appeared in the open space. He was looking at you with a curious expression.

“Let’s just try and make it through the week,” you said with as much of an apology in your voice as you could manage, “I’m sorry I bit you. I’ll behave myself, I promise.” You lifted a pinky finger in his direction and waved it but he didn’t move.

This had been your own idea. Your solution to the work issue that you knew would cause these kinds of challenges for you both, and you had been the first one to take it too far. The frown on your face was genuine. You were actually feeling just a little bad for losing yourself so easily with him.

He quietly stared at you and his lips hung as the tip of his tongue darted out to run over his front teeth before he bit down on his bottom lip and closed up his mouth.

“We should take the food inside,” he seemed to have regained his composure with the distance he put between your mouth and his neck and you nodded with what you hoped was a believably innocent of a smile on your face as you got out of the car, made your way around the front end to stand beside him with your arms outstretched, ready to help carry the load of Mimi’s food.

“So…” he began as he passed bundles of carefully tied containers into your waiting hands, “you’re going to be on your best behavior now?”

His tone sounded funny. Almost much too flirtatious for your shaky and new found self control to handle. You looked up into his face, noticing on the smirk you caught for just a split second.

He was walking now and you trailed behind him as you both reached an elevator. The journey felt like a maze. There were doors after doors all with locks that disengaged with something he kept in his pocket and all the while you hadn’t caught any glimpse of another soul. You’d expected to see others coming home from work perhaps or venturing out for dinner. You had noticed that the elevator down in the garage had next to nothing printed on it as elevators usually did and something about it looked extremely closed off, almost private.

“Where are your neighbors? Why is this place so empty?” It was honestly overwhelming just how different this felt from when you took the bus and got home from work.

He had reached another door and had pulled it open.

“I imagine they’re at their own homes. This is my home.” He said it with a shrug and your eyes widened.

“Yeah but the elevator, the other cars in the garage.” His eyes wandered and his feet kept moving as the space suddenly opened up into an enormous space that was very obviously an entryway to a grand home.

“Sorry,” he shook his head lightly and winced, “my cars in my garage. My elevator.”

Your eyes were wide with the shock of it. When you had first sat inside his car and you had been thrown off by the scale of this man but this felt like a completely different story. You clearly had no idea. This man was so out of the ordinary that you suddenly had no idea how to proceed with this new knowledge.

“For the record, I didn’t — ask for this estate. I didn’t pick it. I think it’s too big, too cold, too fucking empty. I kind of hate it most of the time.”

On his walls were what you were certain had to be priceless art works and you both passed a room that seemed to be entirely dedicated to showcasing some giant statue of a naked lady that stood illuminated in the very center of the otherwise empty room. The place felt like a museum. How did he even find his way around?

“I spend most of my time in my bedroom.” He said.

You’d taken some stairs down, not enough to be a full story but you both turned a corner and reached a kitchen with an enormous center island, more drawers and space that you could even think to be able to fill with stuff and he pressed a hand over one of the walls. To your surprise it opened. It was an enormous fridge.

He’d put the food away. You had yet to comment on any of the things you saw and all of this walking had made you dizzy. Baekhyun had turned away from the fridge wall and had grabbed both of your hands as he swung them lightly and dipped his face to catch your flighty eyes.

“Baby, why aren’t you saying anything?” He was smiling at you but there was some concern in his eyes as he did it. “Do you hate it here? Should I move? I’ll move if you hate it. I don’t like being so far away from you anyway.”

You could see the anxiety in his body language and his rambling told you that maybe part of the reason why you hadn’t had the opportunity to visit Baekhyun inside his home yet was because the man was apprehensive of showing all of this to you.

“I’m just…very surprised. It’s a lot, Baek.” You opted for honesty. It wasn’t that you hated it. You just suddenly felt so very small standing in here. “How do you find anything? Who is that naked lady in the other room and why does she get her own room to be naked in?”

Your genuine question pulled a loud laugh from his chest and he was pulled your arms against him now. He pulled you hard and your legs stumbled forward until you collided with his chest and he wrapped his strong arms tightly around your shoulders. You felt him tuck his face into your neck and he was giggling just a little bit.

“She came with the house. But yes that is her room. If you are jealous you can come and get naked in my room. Didn't you say you wanted a bath?”

You were laughing now. You did feel super overloaded when you first came inside this home but having his arms around you with his little jokes in your ear put your heart at ease. He was still your boyfriend. He was Baekhyun. Baekhyun happened to be a whole lot but at least you could count on his warm strong arms and his disarming jokes and even more disarming smile.

“Take me to your room because I want to see it. But I’m keeping my clothes on.”

He was pulling on your arm as he walked backwards. There were some more steps, this time they went up and they led to a hallway that turned a corner. He turned to walk forward with occasional glances at you as he moved and at last he had stopped in front of a pair of closed double doors.

“I have a picture of you next to my bed. Don’t freak out. I just like looking at you when I wake up. And you won’t let me come live with you. A man’s gotta survive…”

“A what? Where did you—”

He had opened the door and inside was a much more comforting feeling space than you had seen in any other room you’d passed by. Of course it was huge, but despite its large size felt so much more livable and real than most of the rest of the home. The bedroom itself felt more like it’s own studio apartment with occasional nooks for a small library and desk, another nook for a gaming computer and a wrap-around sofa with a large tv mounted on the wall.

“Ahhh,” you said suddenly understanding. This... this was his home. This space was entirely his. This place with the pop culture artwork on the walls, the big bed that sat on the other side behind a glass partition, “Now this feels like your place.”

Your legs carried you to his bed and you couldn’t help yourself with the way you threw your body down, moaning out in delight at the incredible way his soft mattress hugged your body. The bed felt incredible. You turned your head and facing you was an image of your own smiling face in a small frame that stood on his nightstand beside the hexagonal shaped table lamp you had seen in the video call.

You reached for the frame and tried to recall when he must have snapped this picture. But the season didn’t match for when you both had started dating. This wasn’t recent. No, he took this picture of you long before that. You recognized that the last time you wore that coat was last spring when the last late cold snap blew through; right before the oppressive summer heat took over.

How long had this man been keeping his crush a secret from you and how many other photos had he snapped of your silly smiling face without you even noticing.

You felt the bed dip behind you and the warmth of his arms encased you. His fingers reached out and he grabbed the frame from your hand, pulling it gently out of your fingers so he could place it back in its spot on his nightstand.

His fingertips brushed up the length of your extended arm slowly and traveled up your shoulder to move your hair out of the way for his lips. You felt him breathing here and your eyes seemed to close on their own when you felt the pull of air he inhaled from beside your ear.

“Do you want to take a bath with me?”

“Naked?” Your own voice took on a panicky sounding lift when you stupidly responded to his question.

“Do you usually wear clothes in the bathtub?” He trailed his index finger lightly along your jawline. All at once you knew you were in some danger here laying in this bed beside this man who clearly had not learned a damn thing from what happened in the car earlier.

“Isn’t that dangerous, Baekhyun? I don't seem to have enough self control to be around you even with clothes on.”

You felt the hot exhale from his lungs. A long deep sigh that sounded very much like deep disappointment of a man who was still very affected by the closeness with you.

“Tell me again why I can't quit tonight.” You found his tone curious. His words did not lift at the end as you expected this sort of question would.

“You know already,” you whispered, opening your eyes back up as you tried to ignore the way his fingertips felt brushing against your skin.

“Tell me again though.”

Now you understood why it didn’t sound like he was asking you a question. It wasn’t one. He knew what you had told him and he wanted to hear it from you again.

“I need you. I’m not ready to let you go.” The danger you felt with this multiplied when you said it.

His fingertips were joined by more digits and he touched your face so lightly with his hand, “Again,” he whispered.

You turned your head and you said it again, “I need you.”

You turned your shoulders around and you were spinning on this bed turning your entire self around so you could wrap your arms around his waist and you tucked your face into his chest.

“I need you. I need you and I love you. ” you said again and again and again as you wiggled your forehead against him with the repeated words that he wanted to hear from you. You felt the rumbles inside his chest and he was giggling as he wrapped you up tightly within his arms.

“Okay,” he said over your head, “then I’ll be the strong one. Just stay like this with me tonight. Just let me hold you and it’s enough. It’s enough.”

[To Be Continued]

Links: Part 1, …. Part 11, Part 12, Part 13

#exo #exo fanfiction #exo smut #baekhyun #exo fic #exo scenario #baekhyun smut

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elialys · 5 months

Note

Per your lovely, lovely flawed show tag, I am curious what you think the flaws of Fringe are?

I’m sorry it took me so long to answer, I got distracted!

Fringe definitely had its share of flaws. I won’t even address the ones that can “be excused” by the fact that it was a show made before/early 2010s in terms of representations/inclusions, because you know, it is what it is.

I think my biggest ‘regret’/annoyance has always been the writers’ tendency to…shove traumas under a rug, or to not properly (if at all) talk about the consequences of some events that happened. I get that they had to make the characters go through a lot of drama because that’s the point of stories, especially on TV shows that have over 20 episodes per season, but the characters suffered through some terrible stuff time and time again, and they were just FINE. And it’s not like they didn’t know how to do it!

I’ve always loved the first few episodes of season 2 because they showed recovery. Olivia had a bad car accident, then she had to kill “Charlie”, and it took her time to get better from all of that, not just physically but emotionally, too. And yet, over and over again after that, she goes through horrible things and there’s…almost nothing? Like, I adore Marionette, I think it’s a brilliant episode through & through, but I still can’t believe Olivia went through all the shit she went through Over There (and coming back) and didn’t have some serious PTSD, on top of EVERYTHING ELSE she’d already gone through (aka why I wrote Shivered Bones). Peter too was barely allowed to mention what Walter did to him after he came back at the end of season 2, barely ever allowed to mention what Altlivia did to him either, except in some awkward bits of dialogue (I will discuss Peter’s character a bit more later).

Also, the whole REWRITING THE TIMELINE at the end of season 3?? Biggest cop-out. I mean, I’ve never hid the fact that any kind of ‘amnesia’ plot is honestly one of my LEAST favorite tropes, in anything. From the moment that season started airing and Peter reappeared being a complete stranger, I just disliked that so much on principle. But what will always pain me is how by doing so, the writers completely erased not just Peter but THE FIRST THREE SEASONS.

Like, poof, gone.

(adding a 'keep reading' because this is long 😂)

Conveniently, it erased Baby!Henry in the process, which the writers might have felt would be too much of an issue? Personally I would have loved to see that unfold. I know I’ve discussed this before on this blog, probably more than once, but they could have kept SO MUCH of season 4 the way it was, as far as the Bridge was concerned, could have come up with a brand new Vilain to do all the “NEW UNIVERSE” stuff Bell/Jones tried to do, while our core characters had to deal with the consequences of everything that happened in season 3 (including Peter being a dad, WITHOUT trying to force a stupid ‘love triangle’ down our throats, thank you). It would have made for great, impactful family drama, because who are we kidding. Anyone who loves Fringe typically loves it because it is such an emotional, family drama. So yes, I will forever mourn the universe(s) we had season 1-3, and endlessly daydream about what could have been.

Now let me talk about Peter Bishop, it’s been a hot minute. Peter Bishop, who was hated basically the entire time the show was airing, and still now is strongly disliked by a lot of viewers, and honestly, I can’t blame them? I’ve had over a decade to analyze his character, have spent hundreds of hours writing stories from his POV, explaining his traumas & mistakes, have written giant meta posts about him back in the days to explain his behavior, so I’m not exactly objective, but I’m also very honest about how flawed his character is. Not (just) as a human being, which is normal because humans are flawed. I mean, he’s flawed in the way the writers used him/wrote him.

He’s probably the most inconsistent of all the characters. He’s the character who suffered the most from the ‘let’s make this person act out a certain way to make sure it fits our plot’ syndrome. I will never forgive the writers for how…clueless (for lack of a better word), they wrote Peter in early season 3 during the Switch. Yes, Peter was traumatized as a kid, yes he was in love, yes yes, I know all of that, I’ve written endlessly about it to explain his cluelessness so I know.

Still, Peter should have figured it out. Peter as we saw him in season 1 and 2, especially second half of season 2, would have figured out. He figured out BY HIMSELF that he was from another universe, ‘just’ from his dad and Olivia’s weird behaviors and the fact that he didn’t go ‘POOF’ on that bridge in 2x18. Peter went to another universe, he met Olivia’s alternate. He’d just spent weeks running from his life, trying to accept the fact that he was lied to all of his life. At best, he was suspicious, at worst, he was paranoid (as was mentioned in 2x20 in Northwest Passage). Literally 3 days after he gets to THAT OTHER UNIVERSE, and 3 hours after meeting Olivia’s doppelganger, Olivia ‘I hide from my own emotions’ Dunham comes tell him he belongs with her and smooches him, so he goes home. Yet the writers want me to believe Peter would not have still been reeling from EVERYTHING that just happened in his life, and not be a bit on edge?

Like, ‘damn, the woman I love and have come to know quite well these past 2 years is suddenly SO DIFFERENT? ALMOST LIKE SHE’S ANOTHER PERSON? A BIT LIKE THAT ALTERNATE VERSION OF HER I MET 48H AGO, THAT’S NOT A COINCIDENCE AT ALL’. But nope, Peter just accepts it, EVERY CHARACTER on that side just accepts it, when Lincoln and Charlie keep on looking at our Olivia like “Is this chick for real? WHAT IF THEY SWITCHED THEM?”

I’m forever frustrated. It just doesn’t feel believable to me, never has. It feels like the writers went “we want everyone, and especially Peter, to be clueless the entire time so we can write our drama the way we planned it.” And that’s a shame, honestly, because that whole damn arc is already so good as it is. But it would been even better if Peter HAD figured it out, if he’d kept on pretending for a bit, if HE’D conned Altlivia the way she conned him. Like I mentioned before, Olivia already went through so much trauma during the Switch, they could have found ways to make her miserable upon coming back, without Peter having slept with her alternate for a few weeks—and the knowledge that he didn’t realize what was going on. More daydreaming on my part about what could have been.

I could go on when it comes to the way they wrote Peter honestly. The whole “maybe Peter has feelings for the other Olivia” crap in the second half of s3, and “the universe that will survive depends on which Olivia Peter chooses”, excuse me??? Altlivia basically abused him??? She used him in so many ways, including sexually. She wasn’t even herself, she was pretending, playing him the whole time. HOW IS HE SUPPOSED TO HAVE FEELINGS EXCEPT A LOT OF SELF-LOATHING AND MORE UNRESOLVED TRAUMA?

Anyway, I think you get my vibe and why I’ll forever be sad/mad about this. As a writer & storyteller myself, one of my strengths and favorite aspects of writing is figuring out the characters’ motivations, what drives them, and how it makes them behave. Peter’s character is just…wobbly, during those arcs. He’s inconsistent from plotline to plotline, and it feels off to me. He’s a lot more true and consistent to how I understand him in season 4, but in season 3, he’s a hot mess, meant as a plot device more than anything else, and that makes me sad. Characters are what drive stories and shape the plot, not the other way around. So yeah, I don’t blame people for always having such strong opinions/dislikes where Peter is concerned.

I could come up with more things, but this is already long enough 😂 In case that wasn’t clear, those flaws don’t stop me from having the deepest love for this show. What it did well, it did extremely well, and even all those years later, I still cry rewatching it, because the emotions were real. They're still real.

Plus it gave me Olivia Dunham, so really, it wins just for that.

#fringe #fringe meta #kinda 😂#also called 'ambre is ranting at 13 year old plotlines that made no sense'#meta

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wyvernquill · 2 years

Text

Dreamling Anastasia AU Part 3

Part 1 here (the general concept and a scene of Dream recovering his memories and reuniting with his siblings), part 2 here (earlier scene of The Corinthian attacking Hob and “Murphy”). EDIT: there’s a masterpost now!

This one follows shortly after the excerpts in part 1, and references some details from the start of part 2. Hob has been called in to receive his reward of immortality from Death, but, well, if you’ve seen Anastasia, you know how he responded to that...

(Tagging @10moonymhrivertam and @martybaker - anyone else, feel free to let me know if you would like to be tagged in updates, too!)

---

“So this is your choice, Hob Gadling?”

Hob has heard stories about Death of the Endless, of course. Has even seen some portraits of her during his work for the Magus, Wanted posters with instructions on how to bind an Endless, what to look out for.

But all of that is incomparable to being in the not-quite-woman’s presence, to feel the weight of her existence and power press down on you. She is as weakened as the rest of them are, but it hardly feels like it to Hob.

(Or perhaps, what humanity has robbed her of is less her power, and more her ability to conceal it - he wouldn’t know.)

Not that he’s made to be unwelcomed in her presence, oh, surely not - she is warm and kind in bearing, certainly moreso than when they met last, and obviously grateful. And yet…

Well. Perhaps it’s merely Hob’s own guilt and heartache that is constricting his chest, and nothing to do with Lady Death at all.

“Yes, my Lady.” He affects a bow. Perhaps just to avoid her gaze, heavy and burning as a brand. She looks nothing like her brother, of course, but something about her still reminds him of Mur- of Dream. “May I be dismissed, then?”

“You may.” Death extends her hand as if to offer a handshake - but then seems to think better of it, tucking it behind her back. “Well met, Hob Gadling. The Endless thank you for the great service rendered to us - I thank you.”

Hob bows again, swallows down words on the tip of his tongue, thoughts he cannot possibly voice.

Humanity has made a mistake, in driving you all away.

I’m sorry. Please, tell him I’m sorry.

I’ve changed my mind.

Look after him. Please.

Has he changed much? Does he still laugh like a dying vulture? Does he still get cold hands in the snow?

Do you think he will miss me…?

“Well met, Lady Death.” He murmurs instead, and flees from the room.

---

Hob means to say his goodbyes to Gilbert - which soon reveals itself to have been a mistake.

What he finds, walking down a staircase not even halfway grand enough for the residence of six of the once-most-powerful entities in the universe, is not Gilbert, but a small gaggle of Endless, Delirium and Desire crowded around…

…around Dream, one fond hand resting on Delirium’s shoulder as he leans down to explain something to her, Desire instantly scoffing and contradicting him.

Hob stalls, and stares.

He has never seen Dream of the Endless before. Not like this.

Once, he saw a trapped creature in a cage, and once he saw a human dressed up in finery, but he hasn’t seen Dream.

His voice is even deeper, and much richer, now, Murphy’s hoarse rasp barely audible under a dark velvet rumble, and the robe draped over him falls in a way no mortal cloth ever could. He is still all skin and bones,of course, and a shock of ink-black hair, but the uncomfortable feeling of looking at someone so gangly and slightly sickly in appearance is simply… gone. As if something deep in Hob knows he’s not human, and no longer views him as such.

But it’s not only the physical changes, the added height, the ethereal air, no.

He holds himself differently, acts differently, and if Hob didn’t know they are/were the same person, he wouldn’t recognise Murphy in this entity at all.

There was always something sharp and frank about Murphy, an outcast unashamed of his eccentricities and bad temper, something raw and unapologetic. Murphy was cold and standoffish most of the time, and Hob had loved hi- had loved coaxing him into a tentative friendship, to banter back and forth, to enjoy his sharp wit.

But Dream of the Endless… no, Hob can see it at a glance, Dream is not like that at all.

Murphy would’ve spat a counter at his sibling with a vicious grin on his face, would quite possibly have sicced his raven on them, or at least threatened to.

Dream of the Endless is distant. Is removed. Carefully controlled in his measured riposte. And even when he glances down at Delirium, his smile is warm, is fond… but barely there. A twitch of his lips, a glimmer in his eyes. Murphy had smiled so rarely, but when he did, when he found something worth smiling at… they were full-face affairs, eyes crinkling and all. Honest and open, once the initial distrust was gone.

Hob thinks he can still see the resemblance, perhaps - but buried. Masked. Muted.

What remains of Murphy has drawn Dream of the Endless tightly around himself, like those ridiculous thick and overlarge coats he used to wear, or perhaps like a suit of armour, and will likely hide behind it for the rest of his existence.

(And it only makes sense, of course. Isn’t this what he and Gilbert have told Murphy a hundred thousand times? What they have taught him? What Murphy always struggled with the most?

Dream of the Endless must act befitting of his station at all times, they’d reminded him over and over again. He cannot conduct himself however he wants, can’t let himself be governed by his emotions. What kind of impression would that make? He is the King of Dreams, after all. He must reign those impulses in.

Well.

Looks like this lesson has caught on for good, hasn’t it.

And here Hob is, suddenly wishing to have wilful and unashamedly rude Murphy back - or even just a proper glimpse of him.)

Hob doesn’t know how long he stands there, eyes fixed on someone he has lost in more ways than one, a walking ghost, a warped afterimage - but it ends when Dream glances up, and meets Hob’s gaze with unerring precision.

And he’s not Murphy, he’s not, not quite, not enough, he won’t allow himself to be him, anyway…

And yet, Hob sees a single star each in midnight eyes, and his heart knows who it will love with every beat he has left.

---

Dream has felt the heavy weight of human eyes on him for a good minute now, but he waits, carefully, to acknowledge it. He chats with his siblings for a moment more, before he first looks up, and meets Hob Gadling’s eyes.

Once, perhaps, he would’ve done so defiantly. With a challenge. A glare, sharp and cutting.

Dream does not glare, not really. His face feels hard as stone, and twice as cold - that is all.

“Excuse me for but a moment, my siblings.” He steps away from Delirium and Desire, ignoring the latter’s knowing smirk, and holds out his arm to bid Matthew land on it.

And then he makes as if to simply breeze past Hob Gadling, only pausing to turn to him when he has passed the other on the stairs and towers over him.

(Hob used to look so strong and burly to Murphy’s eyes, powerful. Murphy never needed protecting, but it had pleased him, hadn’t it, when Hob did so. When, at last, someone other than Matthew and his other birds were willing to fight for him.

It had made him feel safe, then.

How strange, to now look at him and see nothing but a human. Small, powerless, inconsequential. A greedy, selfish wretch, who might have betrayed Dream as easily as helped him.)

“...Hob Gadling.” Dream says, archly, coldly. “You have received your payment from my sister, I suppose?”

“I’ve… gotten what I deserve, yes.” Hob smiles, but it does not quite reach his eyes. Perhaps this is something that has changed, or perhaps Murphy had just been too blind to recognise an insincere smile. “My business here is done.”

“Good.” Dream says, perhaps with too much vehemence. He is so furious with this man, and only more furious at himself for showing it, and for having once been so foolish to care for him.

“I’m… glad, though.” The smile softens, just a little. “That I could help you recover yourself, and reunite with your siblings, Murph-” a stumble over his words “-Morpheus.”

Glad? You are glad to be well-paid, Hob Gadling, do not pretend now to have aided me for anything but your reward! Dream nearly snaps in response - but Lucienne interrupts before he can do so.

“Mr. Gadling.” She bows, though at an angle Dream recognises to be somewhat disrespectful. He has confided the full sordid tale to her, of course, and her opinion on Hob is… not favourable, now. Her eyes are cold, over the rim of her glasses - as are Matthew’s from on his arm. “Please, do not address His Lordship so informally.”

“It is fine, Lucienne.” Dream holds up one hand. He appreciates her attempt, but he has spent many nights curled up beside Hob on a narrow and uncomfortable pallet at some cheap inn, the time for formality has come and gone. “There is no need-”

“No, no. By all means.” Hob interrupts, self-deprecating grin playing around his lips. “Let it not be said that I have denied you the deference you are owed. Not now, after… everything.”

He bows, low and… reverent, truly reverent. Dream is an Endless, he can tell.

“I greet you, Dream of the Endless,” Hob begins, “Lord Morpheus, the King of Dreams, Ruler of the Nightmare Realms, the Shaper of Form…”

Oh.

Oh, Hob is reciting-

Something deep in Dream cracks at the familiar cadence of The List, one of the lists, burned into him by hours of repetition.

(He is not Murphy anymore. Those are a stranger’s memories.

And yet, he remembers the feel of ice and snow on human skin, human hunger, human fear.

Remembers a terrifying and exhilarating run through cold streets, and an almost-kiss at the end of it.

Those memories are not nearly distant enough for his taste.)

He lets Hob recite the rest of the list of names, settles one hand on the bannister to fight the disorientation that comes with the strange double memory of recalling a thousand repetitions of these nearly-meaningless words, and the story behind each of these names, how he has come to be called by them.

There is a silence, after Hob finishes. He’s left out Oneiromancer, Dream notes distantly - perhaps on purpose, to goad Dream into correcting him.

He will not give Hob the satisfaction.

“Well.” Hob sighs, straightening up again. “Since we’re talking, now, I might as well tell you directly - I intend to continue pursuing the man who has been attempting to assassinate you, Your Highness. I think we’ll both sleep easier without the threat of him running about unchecked somewhere.”

“You need not-” Dream begins, but does not finish. The memory of the first night Hob came to his defence in this matter is still too fresh in his mind.

“I know I need not. I would still do it, for you.” Hob’s gaze is soft, hopeful, almost pleading. Dream does not trust it. “Your Highness.”

Dream’s hand tightens on the bannister.

“That is gratifying indeed,” he finally says, voice calm, but some of Murphy’s spite and fury seeping out at the edges of his false barely-there smile. “One may say what one will about mercenaries, but I am glad to hear that my sister is getting her money’s worth out of you.”

Hob flinches back as if struck, and something fierce and still hurt deep inside Dream rejoices at it.

“Certainly.” His smile is a ragged thing, pained, bleeding with shame and hurt. There is still a thin scar on his cheek, a wound Murphy once cleaned and treated. Dream turns half away so that he need no longer see it. “I live to serve.”

“You live - and will go on and on and on living - for yourself, Hob Gadling.” Dream whirls back to him to correct sharply. “You have made that more than clear!”

Matthew squawks angrily at his shoulder - and it halts Dream in his tracks.

He cannot come to blows with Hob Gadling here on this staircase, should not even shout at him, not with Delirium and Desire and Lucienne all in earshot.

This sort of behaviour does not befit a Dreamlord, after all - and it is only one more thing to despise about the man before him, how he reduces Dream to barely better than a human.

“I bid you farewell, Hob Gadling, and would wish you a long and prosperous life,” he half-sneers instead, “but such wishes do seem a little pointless to offer to a self-made immortal, aren’t they?”

He does not give Hob the opportunity to answer, turning away with a swirl of his robe and striding up the stairs with a passing play at indifference.

“...if I.” Hob Gadling calls after him, and there is something in his voice, helpless and pleading, that makes Dream halt, and turn again.

“If I were to. To make an appointment with you.” Hob ventures cautiously. “A good many years from now - say, a hundred, enough so that we may let bygones be bygones - to meet at that pub we first saw each other, in London… would you come?”

His first instinct is to blurt out a yes - and that alone makes Dream angrier than he can recall feeling ever before. Hob is terribly presumptuous in his hypotheticals, and how much worse that Dream’s fool heart is about to fall for it.

He draws himself up to his full height, and then a little taller still.

“I would not.” He spits the words out, throws them at Hob Gadling’s feet like a duel gauntlet. “I would never. Not in a hundred years, not in two hundred, and not a thousand more!”

“Ah.” Hob’s smile is small, and terribly sad. “Yeah. Figured as much.”

He bows, again, and Dream can feel, rather than see, Despair sliding out from behind a corner, attracted by the tang of tear-salt in Hob’s increasingly watery eyes.

“It is goodbye forever, then.” Hob Gadling tells the steps under his feet, and does not wait for an answer before turning away and leaving.

Good. Dream wouldn’t have given him one, anyway.

(It is strange and disorienting, not being Murphy anymore.

He has shed that existence like he has shed an old coat, recovered his true identity, and the memories of those years he spent in a humansuit fit him ill, now. Just like Murphy struggled to envision the thoughts and feelings of Dream of the Endless, so does Dream now struggle to recall the motivations behind Murphy’s actions, to reconstruct how he-but-not-him had seen the world.

Murphy would have held on to his fury for a while yet, but would have taken that chance at reconciliation if it were offered to him, Dream suspects. Because Murphy was oh so painfully human, in his habits and wants both.

Murphy wanted to be safe. To belong. To love and be loved, to be held. Wanted Hob, the way humans want one another, the sort of thing Desire once governed over - oh yes. He wanted Hob, most of all.

He no longer does, of course. No longer has these human, infantile wants for companionship and simple pleasures.

Dream of the Endless desires entirely different things. He only wants…

He wants…

He…

…he’s not…

…quite sure…?

Perhaps it will come back to him someday. These after-echoes of Murphy’s wants - that sudden inexplicable wish to run after Hob and hold on to him - will fade, and he will recall what is appropriate for Dream of the Endless to want.

One day, surely.)

#WyWrites #anastasia dreamling au #dreamling #the sandman #the staircase scene in the original is so delicious i simply HAD to recreate it in this AU #love writing dream all upset and lashing out #while at the same time repressing all his pesky emotions #while hob is just feeling terribly guilty and tries to make up for his past conduct #i have a lot of thoughts about dream and 'human' wants and all #as you may be able to tell #also standing invitation to send me asks about this!

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thereareeyesinsidethetrees · 1 year

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Heeeeeyyyyy, just wondering if you have any scar Headcanons for Ford? Does that make sense?

ye :D ( I typed up so much for this and tumblr deleted it all but I am nothing if not resilient)

(also please tell me if I need to tag warnings for anything!)

my favorite headcanon will always be that he is absolutely covered in scars. he has so many

specifically!

he’s got scars on his wrists and ankles and neck from bill’s chains. he’s also got scars on his fingers and palms from pulling at the chains. and he also has lichtenberg figures from the electrocution

he had some scars that bill gave him post-betrayal- most of them of have been covered up (some intentionally) by other scars.

his right eye has visible damage

ive mentioned before that i headcanon he has really visible veins- not entirely sure if those count as scars but they’re permanent and come about via stress/various unhealthy means, so im adding that one here!

he has a surgery scar on the back of his head from the metal plate being put in. it’s hard to see, but you can definitely feel it. after it’s healed enough, this becomes a stim for him- running his fingers over the scar, i mean

he has at least one brand. three ideas for how he got it: id from prison/so you know he’s wanted, symbol from a group of bounty hunters that captured him at some point, or a rune/magic sigil. that last one would likely be intentional

speaking of scars caused by ford himself-

he has faint burn marks on his face from extreme shaving

he has lots of tiny scars on his hands from some of his more harmful stress stims

one of these harmful stress stims includes biting himself, so he has a few scars from that (as well as bite scars from various alien creatures trying to eat him)

he has some fully intentional self-inflicted scars. most are hard to see because of all the other scars overlapping them

he’s got a lot of different kinds of scars from a lot of different things. he’s got scars from burns (fire, electricity, venom), claws, being shot, murderous plants, just a lot of different things.

he’s pretty self-conscious of his scars at first. he doesn’t like them and he especially doesn’t like showing them to anyone.

with that said, stan is the first to see them. I mean- he was bound to see them eventually, considering that they live on a boat and hunt potentially dangerous anomalies in their free time.

stan tries to help ford feel better about his scars by telling him a bit about some of his own. it does not help. stan tries to help again later on via casual-ish conversation about ford’s scars and all the reasons he thinks they’re cool and not something to be ashamed of. it does actually help a bit. at the very least, he’s a bit more okay with stan seeing them

at some point, mabel and dipper find out about ford’s scars and their attempts to make him feel better about them also help

he still has days where he wants to hide them, but he does get more confident about it over time.

that’s all I’ve got for now- thank you for the ask, I really appreciate it! (genuine)

#gravity falls #ford pines #stanford pines #ill probably find a bunch of mistakes in this tomorrow but hey. that’s a problem for future me

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darklydeliciousdesires · 2 years

Text

Beyond the Blood Tie - Chapter Forty.

Previous Chapters - One Two, Part One Part Two Three Four Five Six Seven Eight Nine Ten Eleven Twelve Thirteen Fourteen Fifteen Sixteen Seventeen Eighteen Nineteen Twenty Twenty One Twenty Two Twenty Three Twenty Four Twenty Five Twenty Six Twenty Seven Twenty Eight Twenty Nine Thirty Thirty One Thirty Two Thirty Three Thirty Four Thirty Five Thirty Six Thirty Seven Thirty Eight Thirty Nine

Words - 3,153

Tag list - In the comments. Please DM to be added/removed

Warnings - 18+ content throughout. Minors DNI!

Edie's POV

"Thor, out of the way, no not on the couch, get down!" I shout as the large wolf gets right in the way of Ahmed and I moving in a couch, who then decides to jump atop it, thus causing my friend and I to put it down quickly. The reason we're moving a couch is the fact that I have a brand-new home to move into, or more accurately, Angel and I have a brand-new home to move into, and I'm making a start while he sleeps back at Ursula's in his now empty bedroom.

Vic is currently putting the bed back together upstairs with the help of Sasha, who is wonderful at assembly. Miley would have been here to help, but she’s out of state right now, visiting a new mystery man she’s been involved with for months, but whom we know virtually nothing about. She’s keeping her cards very close to her chest, there.

So, the new house. We bought the place about a month ago now, but took our time with decorating it (even though Angel can paint a whole room in five minutes, and our new house is pretty big) and got it exactly how we wanted it to look before today came. I sold my place back in April when we decided to move in together, and lived with him for nine weeks until we finalised the purchase of our new house and then got it all finished.

I've looked forward to this the entire time with such excitement, I've barely slept. After we've unloaded the couch from the van (it arrived early after we ordered it, so it's been stored at Ursula's house until now) we then move the armchairs in, the tables, and everything else we decided to merge and bring with us. Everything else is going to be delivered, starting this afternoon when three men arrive with the gym equipment Angel has spoiled me with.

I have my own gym now since this house has four rooms upstairs not including the bathroom, so as well as our bedroom we have a small gym and two guest rooms. I did the guest rooms in red, white and black for one and blue, green and white in the other. Mine and Angel's bedroom is deep red and black, and the gym is brilliant white.

My kitchen is like mine was back in my old place, but on a bigger scale. I like the Mediterranean look I had, so I recreated it here with the thick wooden floorboards, orange and yellow walls, blue and orange mosaics in various hues of both colours, and lots of distressed shelves and cupboards. The kitchen is where I head to later when it's just me waiting for Angel to wake up, hating the fact that now we're in summertime, I see less of him.

I make myself some dinner using my new copper pan set, most of which I have hung up from a beam covered in hooks on the ceiling, where my cluster of pans all hang tidily from. Did you ever see the old John Candy film, Uncle Buck? Like that family have in their kitchen, which Buck sent crashing to the floor. I've wanted that since I saw the movie as a kid.

That's about all I have unpacked too, since I brought food here and put it in the fridge yesterday, so I'd be a little better prepared, along with my coffee, tea, juice, mugs and a kettle. It's just as I'm looking at the pile of unpacked boxes after washing what I've used to make dinner that I hear Angel come in, and then turn to have him right in front of me a moment later.

"Welcome home," I hum happily, stroking his cheeks with my fingertips before we kiss.

"Thank you. It's good to be here, especially since there's a hell of a lot of unpacking we should probably do. Well, you tell me where you want everything to go and I'll put it there, it shouldn't take long," he replies, before we begin to do just that.

We both had the good sense to book a week off work each (well, Angel is his own boss, so he cleared it with himself) so we could have plenty of time to enjoy our new home for a bit and get everything we need sorting sorted as well, of course.

Ten minutes later and the kitchen is finished, another half an hour and the rest of the downstairs of the house is all unpacked and arranged as we want it as well. I got the guys who brought in the gym equipment to put the various machines and weights where I wanted them, so that just leaves the bathroom and bedrooms, which we have all done in forty-five minutes. Afterwards, we crash down on the bed and enjoy the fact there's nothing left to do but enjoy our new home.

Moving house seems to be a bit of a running theme at the moment. Eric moved in with Sasha about two months into the New Year, deciding not to live in a nest for the first time in over a hundred years. Floyd moved out, of course. He firstly wasn't going to, saying he still had a year left on the contract he and Sasha had signed with the people they rent the house from and being quite awkward about it, even when Sasha offered him cash to leave quicker.

Floyd, as you'll remember, is a stoner, he's lazy sometimes. He isn't a bad guy at all; he just couldn't be bothered to move. That was until Eric moved in, and went about making his life a misery. He'd purposefully fuck Sasha so hard she'd scream all night long, walk around naked, move Floyd's stuff around to confuse him and then put it back quickly how it was, and when none of those sillier things worked, he simply began looking at him like he was dinner. Floyd left four days after that.

Then there's Ahmed, who now virtually lives with Ursula. He's there all the time, since they actually began dating properly three months ago. They're really good together, Ahmed has the temperament it takes to date a vampire, and a very old one at that. Ursula surprised Angel greatly when she told him, since she hasn't had a human boyfriend since Philippe, who died many hundreds of years ago and once vowed she'd never let herself get that romantically close to a mortal again.

Interestingly enough there though, she and Ahmed have actually discussed the idea of him being turned. Ursula refuses to do it herself, stating that being in a romantic relationship with your creator makes things very, very difficult, so she'd ask another to turn him. Ahmed said he'd think about it, and if they were still going strong in a couple of years then he might well do it.

Every vampire he meets says he'd make a brilliant one, that he has the right attitude for it, and that he'd settle into it well. He fucking adores Ursula so it really wouldn't surprise me if he did. And her? Oh, she’s so in love with him. To see an ancient vampire giggle with joy when she hears him call her baby girl... it’s so cute.

I have to confess, I toy with the idea of it too, being turned, so much so that if I should decide to go ahead with it, I've already had an offer from someone to turn me. EZ. He said he'd be honoured to be my vampire father, and I know he'd be an excellent creator. He'd bring me up in my baby vampirism right, but it'd mean he'd have to move back to Las Vegas, because he never did come home from Utah after all.

In the end, he felt the need to stay out there for much longer, so did return once with a big truck to load up his things and then went back to live in the neighbouring state where his cabin is permanently. We've been to stay with him, and he comes home to see us too on a fairly regular basis, so it's not like he's distant from us. He found it too hard to come back after what he had to do.

Even though he hated Charles for his lies and deceit, he was still his creator. It hit him hard, that he was the one who murdered him, but see's he absolutely had to do it and doesn't regret his actions. They just cause him a lot of inner conflict. He's become a lot closer to Ursula, even saying if he could be made all over again there's no one he'd want to do that for him more than her. Just as I know there's no other vampire I'd want to turn me other than EZ, other than Ursula herself, yet she refused.

'I would love nothing more than to make you my child, my darling Edie. However, I think it would be the making of EZ to turn a vampire, be a creator himself. It is what he needs, in fact. It will stop all the inner turmoil he still feels over Charles from eating away at him, to have a vampire child of his own to bring up. I think you should ask him.'

That's what she told me when I spoke to her about it, and when I asked EZ, he said yes right away. I keep saying I'm still considering it, but to be honest I think it is what I'll do. You see, if I remain human, Angel has to lose me eventually. The way I felt when I thought I'd lost him, I never want that for him, and if I can severely lessen that possibility by joining him in immortality then it's what I'll do.

It excites me, the thought of being around forever, forever young and forever with my gorgeous vampire, the closest person to me now and forever. It scares me in equal amounts though, what I'll go through as I feel my own body die and turn from mortal to immortal in a process that every vampire I've asked hasn't been ashamed to tell me is painful and frightening. Then there's adjusting to the fact I'll no longer be human, and what that'll be like. I'll have Angel though, and a great family in the vampire who will be my creator, and Ursula as well, who has offered her guidance should this be the choice I make. Like I say, I think it will be.

Angel, oh how I love him. He's absolutely everything to me, a best friend, a lover, the absolute love of my life. I love him so much that if it were at all possible I'd carry his children. I never wanted them before I met him, ironically enough. He actually shed a couple of tears when I told him that, telling me in turn that's the only thing he regrets about being a vampire, that he can't give me the babies he'd like to. He said we'd breed fine children. I couldn't agree more. They'd be very tough like their mother, and very beautiful and artistic like their father. Alas it is not to be though, and he makes up for that all the time in just being completely wonderful to me.

His love is the strongest, most amazing thing I've ever known. I never want to leave him, and never want to be without him. When I lie down next to him tonight, after putting our new bedroom to good use by fucking each other all over it, I find it hard to rest, the thoughts of being turned weighing on my mind more than ever. He gets up to take a shower, and I join him briefly before going back out to the bedroom and watching the last of the darkness for the evening. Can I truly live without the sun? Can I let Angel live without me one day? Suddenly, my thoughts turn to something more.

"Hey you," I say when EZ answers his phone.

"Hi, Edie, what can I do for you?" he replies, sounding like he's busy with something.

"This isn't a bad time, is it?" I ask courteously.

"No, I just arrived home from a job and I'm currently dismantling my gun before cleaning it. So, what are you calling for?" he asks, but not in an impatient way. I like that we get on well now, well enough for me to ask the question I need to ask him. He then makes a noise that I seldom ever hear from him, beginning to rumble with a chuckle. “Stop that, don’t be bad.” he speaks, but not to me. I then hear a little burst of laughter. Female laughter. Female laughter I recognise in an instant. You have got to be kidding me.

“I just heard Miley, didn’t I?”

“Hmm.”

“EZ!” I shout, my mouth hanging wide.

“Hold on, I’ll pass you over... if she ever decides to put me the hell down.” I then hear some muffled voices, more laughter, and then kissing noises.

“Evening.”

“Don’t you fucking come on this telephone with your casual evening greetings, Miley Jo!” I exclaim, my mouth still dangling open. “So, this mystery man, he’s EZ? What the... what? What?”

“Yes, EZ is the mystery man,” she begins. “I didn’t want to say anything at first, because it all began back at around the time of the, well, you know. I saw him just before we went out to Utah, and we ended up in bed. What can I say? He wore me down, as did the curiosity over sex with a vampire. I finally got over the fear of large teeth.”

“Your friend is a fang fiend,” I hear EZ call in the background, making me snort with laughter.

“I’m going outside, save you listening in,” she speaks.

“I’ll still be able to hear.”

I then hear a smacking sound, followed by EZ grumbling that he’ll put her over his knee for slapping him. There’s a pause, the sound of the front door creaking open, Miley no doubt going to take a seat upon the front porch. “Okay, I’m back.”

“So, why the hell did you keep this from us for months on end?” I exclaim, still hardly able to believe this, that a vampire like EZ and a girl like Miley have somehow found a route to ending up together, or whatever it is they have.

“Because we didn’t really know where it was going to begin with,” she begins, before continuing. “I thought it was just a one-night thing, but he began calling me, asking me if I wanted to come out and visit him, so I did. He says I helped him, after Charles and everything he had to try and process, being the one to kill his creator. He also said he’d begun to feel things for me that were more than just sex, but that he couldn’t promise me anything, that he’d been the way he was for a very long time, and that he didn’t want to hurt me if he couldn’t offer commitment.

“It’s all been very up in the air, until quite recently when he confessed that I was the only woman he’d been with for the best part of a year, which, he said, was all I needed to know about how he felt. I told him that no, it wasn’t, so he just rolled his eyes and huffed in typical EZ fashion before he said, and I quote, ‘fine. I’m in love with you.’ So, yeah. That was only very recently, though, and I was going to tell you guys about it, so yeah. Yeah, that’s it. He’s... well, he’s different to any other man I’ve ever known, but I love him. I do. He can be a moody pain in the ass, but you tend to forgive that, when his method of apology is giving five orgasms administered via his mouth in five minutes.”

Oh yeah. When a vampire says sorry, they certainly back it up nicely.

“I’m still in shock over this, I... I really am!” I exclaim, shaking my head.

“Yeah, I don’t blame you. I’m happy, though, and I think he is, too.”

“I am.” I hear the vampire himself call from the background, obviously listening in, still. Miley and I chat for a while longer before she hands EZ his cell back, so the original purpose of my call can resume.

"So, the reason for my call,” I begin. “I've made up my mind. I want to be turned. Not right now, but in time, a couple of years perhaps, maybe sooner.”

“Still not one for specifics, huh, Bailey?”

"Shut the fuck up," I chide, opening the large bedroom window and lighting myself a cigarette as I hear him laugh.

"Are you totally sure?" he then asks, after composing himself.

"I am. This is what I want.”

“Well, you have all the time in the world to consider it, and I won’t be offended if you change your mind. It’s a lot to think about, becoming what we are. So, how's everything back home?" I sit down and talk to him about his requested everything until Angel comes out of the shower, and I excuse myself, telling him I'll see him soon. I will too, he's coming back to Vegas next week to see us all.

"I suppose you heard what I had to say to EZ, didn't you?" I ask Angel as I walk back over to the bed after throwing my cigarette out of the window and shutting it once more. The electric blinds we had fitted over all the windows will be coming down in about half an hour.

"I did, and I have to say I liked what I heard," he states as I climb astride him, my fingers weaving with his as I lean down and kiss him. "I love you."

"I love you too," he replies, nuzzling my cheek and my neck before kissing my lips once more.

"You know what this means though, right?" I then ask, sitting up slightly.

Instantly, he looks amused. "What does it mean, Edie?"

"You've got to enjoy me while I'm warm.”

His grin widens in an instant. "I think I'll begin right now, then." He’s top of me within a blink of an eye. He does just that too, enjoys me until long past the dawn, a moment in the day that at some point in the future, I'll never be able to see again. I'll lose the sunlight completely for the dark my love forever walks in.

It's a damn good job he's worth walking in it with.

The End.

#angel reyes #angel reyes fanfiction #angel reyes smut #angel reyes imagine #angel reyes fanfic #angel reyes fic #angel reyes x ofc #vampire!angel reyes #vampire!ez reyes #mayans mc fanfiction #mayans mc #mayans mc smut #mayans mc imagine #mayans mc fanfic #mayans mc fic

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