#Kat - if you're wondering if this is - the same - shirt as in the drawing I sent you - yes it is <3

[kaus-quietis]

The softest Fedya fanart you’ll ever see

[dashofmonsters]

The Long Road pt. 3

Male Naga (cis) x Female Reader (cis)

It had been several minutes since Silas left with the griffin. You had tidied up the camp and hid whatever evidence you could of the injured beast being there.

You can still hear the voices in the distant calling out to one another, their continued search made you nervous but as long as they weren't going anywhere near the river it was fine. Everything will be fine.

George waddles around the fire pit you dug yesterday, waiting for dry logs and sticks to snack on. You look around for whatever you can and start piling it into the pit. When you comb through a bush on the other end of the site a hand grabs you and tries to yank you through. When you yelp it lets you go and you hear a crash on the other side.

"What it the world..."

You tiptoe around the bush and see a very rough looking older man. Splats of dried blood stained his shirt and ruffled feathers of various sizes stuck out of his hair and beard. He give you a mean stare with his one good eye then he spits.

"What's a little thing like yous doin' around these parts?" he ask as he stands back up.

For a second you think your nerves are going to surface up and take over, but you remain calm if not a bit annoyed. "Not that it's any of your business, but I'm camping nearby."

You glare back at him trying to imitate your father whenever he has to deal with unreasonable merfolk.

"Camping nearby huh?" he mutters.

The bag of powder that Silas had given you sits waiting in your pocket and you almost go for it until a young orc walks up behind him.

"Leon! Wha are ye' doin' talkin' to this lass? Kat says she found tracks near the path to Decker's cliff. Get ye' ass movin' ol man!" the orc growls as he grabs the old man by the back of his shirt and starts to haul him off.

You wait as you watch them leave and finally let out a sigh of relief when they're out of view. It was a short interaction but you felt drained. You held your own against a stranger for the first time since you left home and although you're proud of yourself, you feel absolutely exhausted.

Dragging yourself back to camp you see that George has a nice little fire going so you decide to boil up some tea to help calm yourself. You put a kettle of water on and see the stuff you had picked out for breakfast on one of the logs you use to sit on. You start to wonder if Silas had eaten anything or if he's still looking after the griffin. You want to make up some oatmeal and take it down to him but you have to trust that he'll come back to you after he's hidden the poor creature.

When the water finishes boiling and you finally are able to sit down and enjoy your tea George starts to shuffle around and squeaks nervously. He's never done this before but you've heard that salamanders are very territorial. You look around for another salamander but instead a large catlike beast breaks through the bushes and trees on the other side of the camp. You stay perfectly still as it winds its way in, sauntering behind you as it sniffs the air. A woman's voice is heard overhead as two familiar gruff and tough voices follow.

"Over hear, Talga's picked up on something!" the woman yells as she cuts her way into you camp.

You give her an indignant look as she struts in as if she owns the forest. She looks around at the setup, the tent, and the fire and then finally back to you.

A look of utter disbelief crosses her face as she nearly stumbles back on her heels.

"It can't be..." you hear whisper.

She snaps her fingers and the large cat quickly goes to her side.

"It's been years and yet you still look the same Silver." she cackles, her face growing dark with rage.

"I think you have me mistaken for someone else." you comment.

"No! I know it's you Silver! You sly bitch! You think you can waltz back into my forest after all this time and take what little of my life I have left?" the woman goes for her sword but the old man from before stops her just before she draws.

"Get a hold of yerself Kat! That there lass can't be Silver, if she was she'd know about me missin' eye! That and she di'nt try to kill me on sight." he points.

Kat calms herself, runs a hand through her thick red curls and straightens back up.

"Sorry 'bout that lass. Ol Silver was her greatest enemy back in the day. She was as wild as the wolves are and twice as mean. Damn near took both me eyes back then too with one swipe!" Leon motions his hands as if he's holding a heavy blade and slices right through the air.

The young orc behind him shrugs, obviously too young to remember or even have seen this Silver.

"She was a fiend who took everything that I had ever worked for!" Kat spits.

You feel a bit sorry for them although you remind yourself that these are poachers and outlaws. Whoever this Silver was, she probably did the right thing...probably.

"I hate to be rude, but my morning has been one big mess and I'm just trying to have breakfast." you groan.

The three of them look at each other and Kat shakes her head.

"Fine yeah, I just have quick question." she says.

She's going to ask about the griffin, you think.

Kat walks forward with Talga and plops herself on a log. "Mind if we join you?"

It wasn't the question you were expecting but it's much better. You nod your head and the other two come over and take a seat. You have plenty of oats, berries and nuts to serve everyone and then some. Leon continues his tellings of the Silver person and Kat chimes in ever so often to correct him. The young orc who finally introduces himself as Bralgar helps you and gathers more wood for George. He seems especially intrigued in the chubby little salamander as he feeds him sticks and Kat looks at him adoringly. You start to wonder why nice people like them are poacher or even if they are, but Leon gives that away when he starts going off about Silver again.

"Dammit Leon!" Kat slaps him across the head. You do your best to pretend you didn't hear anything and you're pretty sure everyone buys it since you're so focused on getting breakfast ready.

"Ehem... Any hoot, so yeah that's how I got this here scar on me belly! See!" Leon lifts up his shirt to reveal a very large and grotesque scar.

Kat slaps him upside the head again and tells him to stop being so damn gross.

Bralgar rolls his eyes as if he's an embarrassed teen forced to put up with his parents fighting in front of company.

"They do this a lot..." he whispers as he nods his head at them.

You give him a nervous grin and stir in some cinnamon that he had handed you.

Your stomach churns and you feel a bit dizzy as you start to over think about how Kat will sick that large cat on you if they find out you know where the griffin went. They've been especially cordial to you except for Kat's earlier outburst that still has you wondering just who this Silver was that you looked like.

"Uh Ms. Kat-"

"Just Kat." She corrects you.

"Kat then, just who in the world was this Silver person?" you ask.

She gives you a bit of a tired look then smiles. "She was my greatest enemy but worst of all she was my best friend and my sister. Half actually but that didn't matter. Our mother was a human as was her late father. My old man's an elf. Momma was head over heels in love with Papa and he did right by her, Rina and myself. One day he got a letter from his home country and he had to go back, said it was really important..."

Kat stops and holds a hand to her mouth and steadies herself for any on coming tears. You didn't think that anyone could hold a grudge this long much less over family but it seems like this matter ran deep.

"Papa left the next morning, saying he'd be right back. We waited months and almost a year before folks from his country came to our door asking for him. Momma told them that he left to go back and that she hadn't heard anything since, dreading every day that he might not return. The elves sent out some special hounds to sniff him out and it didn't take long for them to find his mangled rotten corpse near a griffin's nest!"

Leon stands up and goes to Kat's side, placing a gentle hand on her shoulder as tears start to roll down her cheek.

"A law just passed back then that killing griffins was to be illegal since the king's crest has the damned beast on it." Leon continues for her.

"I was at a loss, we all were. Momma went dark for days, barely spoke to either of us. Rina had to step up and take care of us. She fed us, cleaned the house and even got a job and she was barely a teen. Years she spent taking care of us, but little did she know that I spent years training."

"Training for what?" you ask, fully invested in her story.

"Training to kill the damned beast that slaughtered my father! I remember those cowards and how they just let the beast go as they dragged his corpse away. I remember watching its nest almost every day, watching and waiting for the day I could get my revenge."

You almost forget about the oatmeal as she was going on until Bralgar taps you on the shoulder and points down at the pot. He shakes his head and takes it off the fire for you as you go and grab some plates and bowls.

Kat calms down quite a bit after you hand her a bowl of oats topped with berries and honey. They all wait for you to sit down before they start to dig in.

"I've chased after that griffin for over thirty years now if you can believe it. Rina was more than upset that I was willing to put myself in that sort of danger but I wasn't about to let her stop me. I ran away from home and started living in the forest. I met Leon here a few months after..."

She looks over at him and he gives a lazy smile.

"I found this little lass near the ruins. Damn near gave me a heart attack too! We both had been tracking the beasty for similar reasons at this point. It took her papa and my sweet Lidia. We teamed up shortly after."

Bralgar looks at them with tears in his eyes. This must be the first time he's hearing this.

"Years later Rina finds us and asks me to come home and put this all behind. I couldn't do it and just couldn't. She leaves but she comes back with several others. They called her Silver and I didn't know why until she came at us with dancing blades leaving behind a swift trail of silver. The others she had with her took down most of the band we had gathered who were also hunting this griffin. We lost so many that day." She looks at her oats, stirring the berries in aimlessly.

"I'm.. I'm so sorry I didn't know things were that bad..." guilt and fear mingled in your stomach as bile rose up unpleasantly.

"She went from my dear big sister Erinna to the cold hearted killer Silver." she spits.

You drop your bowl and run over to the bushes, unable to hold back anymore. Kat rushes over to you and apologizes if her story upset you. You try and play it off saying that you haven't been feeling well for a couple days so it's no big deal.

After you settle back down everyone goes quiet and finishes their oats. Kat sits next to you and pats your back still concerned about you getting sick.

"I'll be fine it's just that my stomach's been upset lately and it doesn't help that the temperature keeps changing." you give her a weak grin and chug some water.

Kat purses her lips and gives you another once over as if she still couldn't believe that you weren't he sister.

"It is strange though..." you start, trying to break the ice that had chilled your camp.

"My late mother's name is Erinna so it sort of unnerved me to hear that."

Kat remained quiet as if she was waiting for you to say more. Leon moved in a bit closer and Bralgar kept to where he was but he was obviously intent on wanting to hear more as well.

"She passed away giving birth to me so I don't know much about her except that I look exactly like her. My father and older siblings really don't talk about her either." you continue.

"I see, I'm sorry for your loss." Kat replies.

"Don't be. I never knew her, so I never knew to miss her." you set your half eaten oats down and toss another stick to George.

Bralgar gives you a sympathetic look and nods his head.

"I understand that." he groans. "Lost my folks when I was real young. Leon and Kat here found me near the ruins when they were tracking the beast."

Kat and Leon smile as they remember that time long ago and start to laugh.

"You were just fumblin' around you were. And Kat took one look at you and that's when you became our boy." Leon grins. Bralgar snorts and scratches the back of his head.

You feel a bit more relaxed now that the conversation is going elsewhere but you still feel unnerved about your mother and Kat's sister sharing the same name. You wanted to ask just to put the whole thing to rest and just know that they're not connected but you're also afraid to find out that they might be.

"Hey weird question but I just got to ask... what's your last name?" Kat asks you.

"It's Silvius." you reply.

Kat shoots right up and looks like she's been stabbed. Leon rushes over to catch her as she sways. She starts to cackle and cry as she sits back down.

"Of fucking course it is!" she howls. "And let me guess, your old man's name is Zale huh? Oh this is just fucking lovely!"

You skootch away but Bralgar catches you and shakes his head. He seems to understand the situation and tries to calm you down. You watch as Kat continues to cry and come undone. Leon holds her and Talga nudges up against her. Your heart was aching for her although you were terrified.

"She's really gone huh?" Leon mutters.

You close your eyes and try to imagine what it like to cry over someone who wronged you like your mother did to Kat...to your aunt... Your thoughts lead somewhere dark but are happily interrupted by a familiar voice.

"I see we have guests..." Silas notes, looking completely exhausted and worn.

Kat and Leon look up for a moment only to scoff back in disgust.

"Another look a-like! I take it you're Valen's boy?" Leon hisses.

Silas looks at you with concern and confusion. You point to an open log next to you and tell him to take a seat and you start filling him in. His expressions shift and settle into something akin to betrayal.

"I-I don't even know what to say about all this. I had no idea." he runs his hand through his hair and grabs the ends of it as if to hold onto something real.

Leon gives Kat another pat on the back and moves to the middle of the camp. "There's no use mullin' over the past. Wrongs have been done and lives have been lost. You two have nothin' to do with what your folks did and we won't put that on ya."

"But... we did hide the griffin..." you confess.

Kat rushes over to you and grabs you by your shoulders. "Where is it! Where did you put that beast!"

Silas taps her back and shakes his head. "It's by the river but you won't find it alive."

Her face goes pale as she loosens her grip and she starts to sway back. You twist your arms and stand up to help her balance.

"It's dead?" she whispers. "What am I going to do now?"

Bralgar walks over and takes Kat from you and holds her in his arms, hugging her like she needs it.

You couldn't imagine how lost she feels knowing that the creature she's been hunting for so long is dead and she couldn't even get her revenge. Leon on the other hand looks oddly at peace with a weary smile on his face.

Silas squeezes your hand and brings you back down to sit.

"I'm so sorry I left you here alone." he whispers, his silver eyes are dried and red around the edges.

"It's fine. I'm fine." you squeeze his hand back and smile.

You note how messy he looks and leave to go get something to clean him up with and a brush and tie. He protests as you try to leave but you just swat his hand away. When you return you see that Leon had made Silas a bowl of oats and berries to which he was downing with gusto.

You toss the towel over Silas' head and start to dry him off and wipe some mud off of him. You want to ask about what happened by the river but that was something you'd save for later. He shudders a bit as you brush out his hair and tie it back into a knot. He finally relaxes a bit more once you're sitting next to him again and he takes your hand.

"Better?" you ask him.

He nods his head and then rests it on your shoulder. "Much much better."

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

Several hours pass and your guests remain. You offer your tent to Kat since she looks absolutely exhausted by all the news and she happily takes you up on it. Leon and Bralgar go off to the river to see the griffin and possibly bury it.

Silas helps you pick up and organize the campsite as you start on a very late lunch. Neither of you spoke much after he got back even though there's a lot to say.

It wasn't till you start peeling some potatoes that you feel the need to break the ice. "What a day it's been huh?"

Stupid way to start off, you think.

When he doesn't reply you decide to keep going.

"Found out I have an aunt I didn't know about. My late step grandfather was mauled by a griffin. My mom is well...you know... Anyway what a day and it's not even over!" you chuckle as you toss the diced up potatoes in a pot.

He still doesn't say anything.

"It's funny you know, papa didn't say anything about her and I'm starting to see why. He doesn't want me to know all the things she's done or what he even did! Do Peter and Roslyn know? Am I the only one in my family who doesn't know?" your hands start to shake and you set your knife down.

Silas finally looks your way but remains silent.

"I finally get to travel and get away from home and live my life but now I feel like I just want to run back to Melmar..." you trail off as you bury your face in your hands.

The silence between you stings but it doesn't hurt as bad as waiting for a gentle touch or hug when you need it. Anytime in the last week he had hugged you when you cried or looked like you needed it. And right now you really needed one. But after several minutes of waiting you realized that you weren't going to get one.

You look over at Silas who was still chopping and peeling vegetable as if he hadn't been paying you any mind. He felt cold and far away and you didn't know what to say or do so you decide to get up and gather more sticks. As you're leaving the campsite you find that your leg is caught on something and look down. It was the end of Silas' tail and when you look over at him he's acting as if nothing was going on.

"Silas I need to go get some more fire wood." you note.

"Then go." he replies flatly.

"I will once you let go of me." you say rather harshly.

Silas pauses and realizes that his tail had curled around your ankle but he doesn't move it. Instead he gives you this look that's mixed with anger and frustration. You attempt to free yourself from his tail but he just squeezes you harder.

"Silas!" you yell at him.

"Do you know how worried I was?" he growls.

You flinch and take a step back as he stands and comes your way.

"I was a fucking mess the entire time wondering if you'd be ok. I could hardly focus on keeping the damn thing alive and when it died I didn't even feel bad, I just wanted to come back here to see if you were alright." his clawed hands dig into your arms as he grabs onto you.

"And I was alright. I'm still alright." you say, squirming against his grip.

"Are you?" he spits.

Something about the way he said that lights a fire in you that you haven't felt in a long time and it pissed you off.

"I am and I will be! Do you think I'm incapable of handling myself around other people just because I have a hard time talking to strangers? I'm not a child for gods sake!" you hiss.

His tail loosens, surprised by your outburst and rage.

"I'm not some defenseless maiden in distress. I mean I grew up on a fishing boat and on the docks, trust me I've dealt with some things you would not believe!" you explain to him and although it seems like he's listening he's still not letting you go.

You try and twist your way out of his arms but he just holds you tighter until you try to pry yourself away and slip with him following after. He catches your head with his tail and pins you to the ground, holding by the wrists.

"That's not the point!" he scowls, his smooth pale skin growing red hot. "I know you can take care of yourself its just..." He lowers his head against the crook of your neck and nearly collapses on top of you.

His hands are shaking and when he lets go of your wrists you wrap your arms around him. He mutters a few things that you can't hear and when you ask him to repeat it he turns his head and his beautiful silvery eyes stare deeply at you. "What are you doing to me?"

You felt like you of all people should be asking that and not him.

"What are you talking about I'm not doing anything" you comment.

Silas rolls his eyes and sits up. He pinches the bridge of his nose and has this frustrated look on his face again.

"Can you please tell me what's going on with you?" you ask.

He lets out a long winded sigh, "I really don't want to say or-"

"Or what? It'll make things weird? Make things awkward between us? Take a good look at the current situation, tell me what's not weird about this! Tel-"

You stop when you see the anger on his face. It's unfamiliar and terrifying and when he reaches for your face you flinch for the first time at his touch, but he doesn't hurt you. He's gentle and more so than he's ever been. You hadn't realized until now how tense you've been but the second he touched you like this, you seem to melt. You hold his hand against your face like you've been craving his touch and you watch as his goes back to a more relaxed expression.

"Please Silas just tell me what's wrong." you whisper, still holding onto him.

"You're not going to let this go are you?" he asks.

"No." you reply.

He pinches your cheek and finally smiles at you, "Ok, but only once our guests are gone. Can you at least wait till then?"

You nod your head and kiss the palm of his hand. He twitches and tries to pry his hand from yours but you refuse to let go.

"My dear didn't you say you had to go and collect fire wood?" he asks with a croak in his voice.

"Yes." you say, still not letting go. It was your turn to be stubborn you decided.

After a couple minutes pass and you still don't let him go, Silas decides to take matters into his own hands by scooping you up and tickling your side. You try to kick yourself off of him but he holds onto you tightly.

"I surrender!" you howl and he lets you go.

You straighten yourself back up and fix your hair which you're pretty sure is a mess by now. Silas gives your cheek another pinch and you stick your tongue out at him. He laughs, a genuine laugh for the first time today.

"I like you when you're like this." you say.

Silas looks away from you but you follow him to meet his gaze.

"I like it when you're happy like this. It hurts to see you when you go dark." you take his hands in yours and give them a squeeze.

He quickly wiggles his hands away from you and inches back a little bit. "I-I see..."

He's about to say something else when Leon and Bralgar return.

"Kat still sleepin'?" Leon asks.

You look back over at the tent and shrug your shoulders. You had completely forgot about her and them up until now and you hope that Kat didn't wake up at any point when you and Silas were 'talking'.

Leon gives you and Silas a strange and knowing glare before he walks over to the tent with a 'uh huh'. Bralgar gives your companion another once over before giving you warm grin. Silas quickly closes the gap between you and him after the young orc walks away.

"How much longer are we going to let them stay here?" he whispers to you.

You swat at him and pinch his cheek like he's been doing to you, "Don't be rude they just got here. After all I thought you were going to wait to tell me a certain something after they leave."

Silas sighs, "At this rate I might have to tell you sooner."

You raise a brow but you don't press any further since you've had enough drama for one day.

"Ha yous two look like an ol marry couple ramblin 'bout somethin." Leon snorts as he walks back over.

Neither of you say anything which makes Leon go into a fit of laughter that Bralgar feels the need to apologize for.

You can't say you disagree but you certainly won't admit that he's probably right. Silas on the other hand had decided to go back to prepping vegetables just to get away from the old man.

This is better, you think. More laughter, more people, and more safety. You've been a wreck all day and now that it's nearly over you feel as if you're finally getting to unwind. Bralgar says that he needs to go get their gear so they can set up their tents here and he'll be back before sundown. Leon decides to go look for something more filling and said he'll be back around the same time. You and Silas finish getting a pot of vegetable soup ready when Leon returns early with some wild birds. The guys prep the fowl as you go back into the tent to get your bag of spices.

Kat is sitting up with Talga's head in her lap. She looks up at you and smiles, "You really do look a lot like Rina."

Hearing her say that stings in a way it never has before, "I know, I hear it a lot."

"I'd imagine. But you'd be happy to know that you're nothing like her." She adds.

She was right, it oddly did make you feel better, but just a tad.

"Rina was always so loud and demanding! 'Kat do this!' or 'Kat don't do that!' Oh and she was so active first thing in the morning!" Kat continues on.

You snort, "Sounds like my older sister Roslyn."

Kat melts when she hears the name. "That was our momma. She named her after our momma." she coos.

"I never knew. By the way whatever happened to her? Your mother I mean." you ask.

"Your grandmother-" she pauses after correcting you.

"Your mother moved her to a town north of this forest where she's been staying with her cousin's family. Town is called Gilli if you ever go up that way." Kat looks off in what you can only imagine is the northern side of the tent.

"Maybe I will." you smile.

"That'd be nice if you did. Valen's boy will be going with you?" she asks.

"Silas? Yeah but we're only traveling together for a year. After that I don't know what he plans on doing." you reply.

Kat gives you a sly grin with a suspicious look on her face.

"What?" you squeak.

"Oh nothing, just that he seems to be awfully sweet to you. I don't think he'd up and leave you when the year is up." Kat continues to grin which makes you squirm with frustration.

"We're not like that ok! We've only known each other for a little over a week that's nothing to go off of!" you feel your face grow hotter and hotter as this goes on.

Kat just keeps laughing and you wonder if she actually did hear you and Silas talking. You quickly grab the spices and run out of the tent with her still cackling in the background. The guys give you a look and Leon and Bralgar just roll their eyes knowingly.

The late lunch turns into an early dinner. George enjoyed the constant attention that everyone was giving him as well as the sticks. When Kat finally emerged from the tent with Talga dinner had finished cooking and everyone was happy to sit down and enjoy a hot meal. Silas and Bralgar sat on either side of you and Kat and Leon just sort of giggled at that. You really didn't think anything of it until she gave you another sly grin and sort of pointed out the situation by swinging her spoon pointedly at the men on either side of you. You try to ignore it by paying more attention to your food than the company.

After dinner ends Leon breaks out a cittern and begins to play masterfully to your surprise. Bralgar whispers to you that Leon and his late wife were once a part of a traveling band of bards and the cittern was her instrument.

As the music goes on Kat rushes over to you and pulls you to your feet.

"Bralgar get your drum out, I'm going to have a dance with my niece tonight!" she hoots.

The young orc complies and Kat sweeps you to the middle of the camp where the both of you twirl around the fire. The song is fast paced and one you recognize as a shanty your father would sing. Picking up on the tune Silas joins in and you nearly trip over your own two feet when you hear his voice. His singing is just as soft and smooth as when he speaks but it's also more deeper and rich than you'd imagine.

As the song went on you notice how every time you turn Silas is staring right at you, his eyes following you with care and precisions. You felt weighed under his silver gaze and part of you wants so bad to peel away from the dance and do something about it. You remember when he asked 'what are you doing to me?' and now you almost want to ask the same thing.

When the song finally stops and you're very thankful that it does, Kat and you plop back down onto your logs. Silas hands you some water and you drink it right down. "That surprised me," you huff, still catching your breath.

"What that your newly found aunt wanted to dance with you?" he chuckles.

"Yes and no. What I was talking about was the fact that you can sing." you say.

Silas' eyes widen for a moment and then he looks away from you, clearing his throat. He mutters something that you can't hear then turns back around.

"It's uh something I picked up from when I tried adventuring. Long story short, the bard in our group got us a job but forgot to mention that we'd be performing. He had one week to teach me to sing and memorize a song..." his face twists as he remembers the incident.

"Was it that bad?" you ask, now invested in the story.

"Bad is an understatement. The tavern we performed in was packed with thieves and cut throats that night. Someone shot an arrow at us, got up on stage and smashed Luctux's lute and I nearly got dragged off by my tail! The worst part was we didn't even get a single second to perform!" he hisses.

You hear Kat and Leon laugh and you look over and see Bralgar trying not to follow suit. Silas shrugs and looks over to the hammock he set up after preparing dinner.

"Tired?" you ask, feeling more than ready for bed yourself.

He nods his head and you look to your guests. Kat gets up first followed by Talga. "I don't know about you boys but I am exhausted." She stretches and gives Leon and gestures to Leon and Bralgar to head to their tents.

"I'm still quite awa-"

Leon clears his throat very loudly and squints to the young orc. Bralgar sighs and heads over to his tent. After a few minutes you and Silas begin to clean up, occasionally tossing food scraps to George. You try and say something to him a couple times but you can't think of anything right to say. Once the area is cleaned up enough you start heading to the tent and Silas to his hammock. Inside the tent by yourself it felt impossibly large and too spacious. You try and get comfortable using a bag as a pillow and doubling up on the blankets. You toss a few times before you sit up completely frustrated.

"This is ridiculous," you mutter. You've gotten so used to sleeping next to Silas that now it's almost impossible to fall asleep without him. You decide to grab one of the books your papa had packed in hopes that skimming through it will help put you to sleep. As you open it up you nearly jump out of your skin when you feel something wrap around you ankle. Hand over your heart you look down and see the very end of Silas' tail coiled around your leg. You can't help but to giggle a little when he tugs on you a little bit. Sticking your head out of the tent you see Silas' arms hanging out of the hammock while George is curled up on him keeping him warm. With his tail still curled around you, you stumble out of the tent and find him staring up at the sky.

"Can't sleep?" you ask. Silas rolls his head over and you notice that his eyes look terribly dry as if he hasn't shut them once all day. He looks so exhausted and worn out. You reach out and unknot his hair, brushing it with your fingers hoping it will help him relax a bit. His eyes close as he leans into your touch. "You're terrible." he whispers loud enough for you to hear. You chuckle a bit thinking the same thing. "I know and so are you." You run your fingers through his hair and lightly massage his scalp. He lets out a low moan and his tail loosens around you as if he's melting. "Is this alright?" you press right behind his ears. Silas brings one of his arms up to the mid of your back and pulls you in closer. "It's more than alright my dear." His voice is gravelly and thick and when he pulls you in even further you feel your head go light and you're almost dizzy from how loud your heart is pounding. You stumble forward a little bit as he wraps his arm around you and you catch yourself on George. The salamander glares at you sleepily and rolls over and settles on Silas' side.

"Could you not sleep either?" he asks. You shake your head and his arm tightens around you. "I tried counting branches and leaves but it just ended up annoying me." He gives you a lazy smirk as he turns onto his side. "How about you, did you try anything?"

"I was going to try and read but you scared the daylights out of me." you place your hand over your heart as you feign being shocked.

"I scared you?" he laughs.

You lift your leg that has his tail wrapped around it and Silas instantly covers his mouth, clearly hiding his grin. "I did not mean to scare you I promise."

You raise a brow and pinch his side. "Then what were you trying to do?"

Silas unwraps his arm and brings his hand up to your face. His hand is cold to the touch so you place both of yours over it. "Were you still cold?" you ask.

His hand twitches against your cheek, "No, I just-" he pauses, his eyes darting around as if he's looking for the answer. You're pretty sure you know what was bothering him, since it was bothering you as well. You slide his hand over and press a kiss to the palm, "I think I got too used to using your tail as a pillow."

Silas releases your leg from his tail and quickly curls it around your waist, swiftly lifting you off the ground and carefully lowering you into his arms. He pulls you in close and lays your head against his chest. "This is much better..." Silas yawns. You had to agree, even without the blankets this is much much better than sleeping alone in that huge tent.

"Do you think you can sleep now?" you ask, yawning in turn.

Silas sits up a bit, balancing himself as he leans down and kisses your forehead. "Yes my dear, I think- No, I know I'll be able to sleep now."

You smile as you settle back down and snuggle up against him. You feel yourself drift off with ease, his heartbeat a calm lull.

"Goodnight Silas..."you whisper as sleep finally takes you.

"Goodnight my dear...I-"

< Previous-pt.2 pt.4> Artwork of Silas

[katedrakeohd]

Once Upon a Merry Birthday - Part Three

[Masterlist]

Rated PG : sexual themes, suggestive language.

Word count: 3730

Synopsis: Drake and Kate's roleplay "first date" scenario continues, taking foreplay to another level.

This isn't a stand-alone story, you need to read parts one and two to understand the context.

This started out as a story for the 12 days of fictmas, but I didn't finish it all in time. And since there's a Part Four coming too... we won't be done with this until January.

Writer tags: : @texaskitten30 @emichelle @leelee10898   @zaffrenotes @alj4890 @burnsoslow @kat-tia801 @darley1101 @msjr0119 @annekebbphotography @god-save-the-keen @plumeriavibes

@ofpixelsandscribbles @camillemontespan  @ao719 @cocomaxley @cordoniansgonewild @twinkleallnight @the-soot-sprite @cordoniantrash @axwalker @innerpostmentality @lucy-268 @janezillow

Reader tags:: @mom2000aggie @sfb123 @bbrandy2002 @debramcg1106 @desireepow-1986 @speedyoperarascalparty @hopefulmoonobject @fluffyfirewhiskey @jovialyouthmusic @sirbeepsalot  

..

Drake places his hands on the back of Kate's chair. The heat from his body radiated across her shoulder blades, and his warm breath smelled of whiskey as he bent down to ask, "Can I have my seat back now?"

Kate shivers as his breath caresses her skin. He turns her chair and then offers her his hand to help her up. "Such a gentleman." 

"Only in public," he murmurs as he bows to kiss her knuckles.

"We haven't been formally introduced. My name is Drake Walker."

"Walker, like the whiskey?," Kate replies.

"No, Drake, like the dragon."

Kate pulls her hand back out of his grasp, the warmth of his fingers was like a delicious fire that blazed up her arm. "Kate Darling."

"Darling, such an endearing sort of name. I can't place your accent."

"I'm from New York."

Drake sits down and then gestures to the seat beside him, "Please sit with me Kate."

Kate sits down, sliding her wine glass over to herself. Amanda walks over, smiling at them both but addressing Drake first, "Would you like something else to drink?"

Drake slides Preston's diluted Coke back across the counter, "Can I get a new one of these?"

Amanda nods, pouring it out and drawing new soda from the fountain and a fresh scoop of ice. 

Kate looks Drake up and down, appreciating how nice he looked all in black. "I thought I smelled whiskey on your breath earlier. Not having another?"

Drake shakes his head and sips at his Coke, "I haven't had dinner yet, so I need to pace myself."

Kate swirls the wine around in her glass, biting at her bottom lip. "Have dinner with me."

Drake places his drink down, raising his eyebrows, "Is that an invitation or a request?"

"It's my Birthday and I don't want to eat alone."

Drake nods, "Happy Birthday, then. I would be honoured to have dinner with you."

Drake signals to Amanda, "The lovely Kate has invited me to have dinner with her, could you bring what's left of that bottle of Merlot to our table?"

"Only if you settle your drink tab first."

Drake leans to the side to pull out his wallet, "Certainly."

He leans over and whispers to Kate, "Go find us a table, and I'll be right over."

Kate nods, leaning in to cup his face in her hands and kiss him softly on the lips. "Don't be long."

Drake groans softly at the desire in her eyes, wondering how much longer this first date roleplay was going to continue. He leans back reluctantly, and turns to hand Amanda his credit card. Kate slides out of her seat and gives him a long lingering look before walking into the dining room.

Amanda grins at him as she hands his card back, "You two are clearly hot for each other, so why all the polite pleasantries? Get your freak on already."

Drake looks over to the booth in the far corner of the restaurant that Kate was sliding into, "Not yet, we need more foreplay."

A waiter approaches Kate's table with a pair of menus tucked under his arm, Drake takes another long swallow of his Coke and then gets up out of his seat. Amanda places two clean wine glasses on the bar next to the bottle. When the waiter leaves, Kate makes eye contact with Amanda and nods, 

"You're all set, go get her tiger."

Drake flashes Amanda a smirk and then picks up the bottle and glasses, cradling the stems between his fingers, "Is that your way of wishing me luck?"

Amanda picks up his unfinished Coke and dumps it out, laughing quietly, "Like you need it. With the way she's looking at you over the top of her menu, I'd say you're already a lucky man."

Drake nods with a smile, turning away from the bar, "Thank-you, Amanda. You certainly have a way with words. Have a pleasant evening, and if I don't see you again before I leave, a Merry Christmas too."

"You too, sir."

Making his way over to Kate, Drake couldn't help but appreciate how elegant she looked. With her dark hair cascading over her bare shoulders in waves, long curled lashes and ruby red full lips, Kate could have been a star from an old Hollywood movie. When she glances up from the menu and meets his gaze with a smile, his heart skips and he can't help but feel a wave of desire wash over him.

Arriving at the table, he shows her the bottle of wine and carefully sets down a wine glass in front of her. She nods and he pours her some, before sliding into the seat across from her. He pours wine for himself, and then sets the bottle aside. "So, Kate Darling, what brings you all the way to Cordonia from New York?"

Kate gives him a little smile, a twinkle in her eye as she leans forward in her seat to fold her arms on the table. "Now, that's an interesting story. You probably wouldn't believe me."

Drake tried to ignore the way her breasts threatened to spill out of her dress, he quickly diverted his eyes to her face. "Try me."

"Do you believe in fairytales Drake?"

Apart from the fact that I pretty much live in one? Drake shrugs, picking up his glass of wine. "That depends."

"Depends on what?"

"Whether or not there's a happy ending."

"Would you believe I came here following a handsome Prince?"

Drake takes a sip of his wine, grimacing at the bitter taste and then swallows. "A Prince, huh? And how did that turn out? Certainly the guy you came in with wasn't acting very noble."

Kate toys with the stem of her glass, tracing it with her fingers. "It turned out that the Prince wasn't my type."

"I see, and what kind of man is your type?"

Picking up her glass of wine and settling back in her seat, she looks Drake over. With his large callused hands, his broad chest and shoulders and the hint of black hair peeking out of the open collar of his shirt; he was almost too masculine for his black dress shirt and jacket, if that was possible for someone so handsome. When she meets his dark eyes again she answers, "Someone more humble, rough around the edges, and less refined. The unsung, mysterious hero kind of guy."

"So the knight in shining armor that slays dragons, and then whisks away the fair maiden on his galloping horse." Drake answers with a smirk. 

Kate grins back, "Something like that."

Drake takes another swallow of wine, feeling the effects of the alcohol, but missing the burning sensation of his whiskey.

Kate giggles at him, "You're not a wine drinker are you?"

Drake smirks back at her and sets down his glass, "Is it that obvious?"

"You throw it back as if you're expecting some sort of satisfaction out of it. Like the smokey burn of your whiskey. But you're doing it wrong."

"Oh? Enlighten me then."

"Whiskey is all fire, smoke and a punch in the throat. Whether you sip it or not it goes down the same. Wine is more earthy and rounded in flavour. You hold it in your mouth and feel it with more than your tongue. Let your taste buds and palate bathe in it until you experience the notes from the fruit it came from, and appreciate the sundrenched vines that gave it life."

Drake raises his eyebrows, "You make wine sound like poetry."

"A great wine is."

Kate takes another sip of her wine, closing her eyes and savoring it for a moment before swallowing. She moans quietly with pleasure as she discerns the specific flavors. Drake swallows too, feeling a different kind of thirst. To Drake the wine just tasted like bitter grape juice, but after hearing Kate describe how she used her whole mouth to experience it, he thought about what else she's had her whole mouth wrapped around. He suddenly felt hot all over, and shifted in his seat as his pants felt tighter too. He clears his throat, trying to swallow the lump threatening to make his voice come out like a squeak. 

"So Kate, describe what it tastes like to you."

Kate licks at her bottom lip and then smiles, "Well, to me I taste black cherry, with notes of cocoa and plum."

Drake looks doubtful, "Really? Shouldn't there be a grape in there somewhere?"

Kate shrugs, opening up her menu. "If I wanted the taste of grape I'd just order grape juice."

"It would definitely taste sweeter. If I was looking to taste hints of chocolate  and cherries with my drink, I'd ask for some chocolate covered cherries with a side of brandy."

Kate giggles, "For someone who enjoys such a strong drink you certainly have a sweet tooth."

Drake chuckles, "Hey, I like my food and I'm no stranger to dessert. A guy can't live off of whiskey alone."

After opening up his own menu, Drake wonders what meal would go best with the wine. He needed something to distract him from the way Kate looked in her dress. He couldn't see what she'd been so self conscious about. He'd argue with anyone who refused to believe she'd had a baby just a few months ago.

Kate looks up to see Drake staring at her instead of looking at his menu.

"What are you hungry for, Drake? And I'm talking about food."

Averting his eyes down to his menu, he smiles. "Well can you blame me? You're easily the most beautiful woman in the room. Don't forget that you already stoked the fire with that kiss you gave me."

Kate glances around the room. Apart from Amanda the bartender, and an older woman sitting with an elderly man, she was the only other woman in the room. "You seemed friendly with the bartender. She's certainly attractive."

Drake looks up, hearing the hint of jealousy in her voice. "Well, you walked in on the arm of another man. As for Amanda, it's her job to be friendly. Why is it so difficult for you to take a compliment?"

Before Kate can respond, the waiter returns to their table. "Hello, I'm Eric. I see you've already chosen a wine, could I interest you in an appetizer?"

 

After the bitterness of the wine, Drake was in the mood for something sweet and salty. "I think we'll start with the Charcuterie board to share." He glances at Kate, "If that's okay with you?"

Kate nods. "Works for me. Oh, and I'll have the Sautéed Forest Mushrooms to go along with it."

After Eric leaves with their order, Drake settles back in his seat with a sigh. His neck was itchy from the stray hairs left behind from his haircut and they scraped his skin inside his collar. Kate noticed him fidget as he smoothed down the back of his hair and rubbed at his neck.

"I knew I heard your voice when I was down at the spa. Is your new haircut not to your liking? I think it makes you look very handsome."

Drake grins, finally giving in and scratching at his neck. "You do? I figured since you were there to get all pampered and polished, that it was only right that I made an effort to look good too. If only I'd had the chance to shower afterwards, because now the stray hairs from my trim are pricking my neck like crazy."

Kate offers him her napkin, "Here, undo another button on your shirt and then give your neck a wipe. It's better to do it now before our food arrives."

Reaching up to undo his button, he pauses. "Are you offering me your napkin just so you can watch me undo my shirt?"

Kate laughs and then picks up her glass of wine to finish it. "Maybe. At least it will spare me from watching you twitch, squirm and scratch at yourself like you have fleas."

Drake smirks at her briefly and then undoes the two buttons near his collar. "Haha, fleas. I suppose you think you're funny?"

The napkin works its magic, and he appreciates the cool smoothness of it as he wipes his neck and throat. Kate watches his every move with interest. It was like watching him shower with his clothes on. A flashback to earlier in the day when he spontaneously stripped down for the sake of hot chocolate pops into her head. Despite the thin material of her dress and the cool atmosphere in the room, she felt a surge of heat bloom under her skin and creep up into her face. She hoped Drake wouldn't notice.

Kate picks up her menu to pretend to look at entrees. The low rumbling chuckle of Drake's voice sends a thrill fizzing through her veins that rushes to her core. "I do believe you're drunk, Mrs. Walker."

Yes, drunk on you. Kate closes her menu and leans her elbows on the table, propping her chin in her hands. She could feel the heat in her cheeks against her cool fingers. "I blame that on you, Mister. I haven't had a sip of alcohol for a year and a half, so my tolerance for it is super low."

Drake feels a sudden stab of guilt, "Oh shit, you're not still breastfeeding are you?"

Kate shakes her head, "Nah, I stopped two months ago. Once Brooklyn became too heavy to comfortably hold in my arms while feeding, I started pumping my milk instead and freezing it. When the reserved milk ran out, Hana and I introduced her to formula."

The image of Kate using a breast pump suddenly invades Drake's thoughts, and he shoves it away for another time. The guilt creeps back in when he thinks about how much he's missed of Brooklyn's first six months, making him realize why Kate was so reluctant to leave their daughter behind. She was growing so fast that Kate didn't want to miss a minute of it. 

Eric approaches carrying a tray with their appetizers. Drake shakes out the napkin he borrowed from Kate, and offers it back to her. She's reluctant at first, thinking of the possibility of the hairs he was wiping off his neck still being on it, then she thinks about the possibility of his cologne being on it too and accepts it. 

Eric lays down the Charcuterie board and Kate's plate of mushrooms. "I'll let you two tuck into these and then come see you later about entrees."

Kate smiles, "Thanks, Eric. These look great."

While Drake is preoccupied by looking at the board of cured meats and cheeses, Kate sneaks a sniff of the napkin before spreading it onto her lap. It did carry the faint scent of him,  and she can't help but notice that he's forgotten to re-button his shirt.

Drake picks up a cracker and a piece of prosciutto while Kate spears a mushroom from her plate, "So what did you say to Preston to make him act like such an ass?"

After swallowing her morsel of mushroom, Kate replies. "I told him to pretend he's the worst date ever, so that we'd get your attention." 

Drake scoffs with a slight shake of his head before putting the cracker and meat into his mouth, "It definitely worked. If I was sitting closer I would have torn him apart with my bare hands for touching you like that."

Kate grins at her husband as he washes down his mouthful with a swallow of wine. She always found his fierce protective side so damned sexy, and now regretted handling Preston's bad behavior herself. 

"Oh really? I would love to have seen you fight him for me. I suppose he's too sore now to do a replay for my amusement. Poor Preston."

"I was hoping for a romantic dinner date this evening for your birthday, not emasculating brutality. Then again it was fun to watch you stick up for yourself." Drake winces again with a chuckle as he refills his glass, "I'll have to add some extra money to his Christmas bonus this year for enduring that knee of yours."

Kate slips her foot out of her shoe and then extends it to tickle at Drake's ankle with her toe. He flinches and bangs his knee under the table, rattling the glasses. "Ow! I wasn't expecting that sneak attack."

Kate giggles, sliding the side of her foot up the inside of his calf. "I bet part of you enjoyed that. I apologized to Preston in advance, he wasn't expecting my sneak attack either."

Drake clears his throat in warning when he intercepts Kate's toes with his hand as they end up on his seat, wiggling against his crotch. "Excuse me, but can you keep your feet to yourself please?" 

Kate withdraws her foot with a pout, finding her discarded shoe and tucking her foot back inside. "Oh, come on. Let a girl have some fun on her birthday."

Drake adjusts himself and then slides his foot forward to trap the toe of her shoe against the floor. "I think we've made enough of a scene for one evening."

Kate spears another mushroom, pulling her knees off to the side and crossing her ankles to get her feet out of his reach. The deep vee of skin revealed by his open shirt still taunted and tantalized, but she was enjoying it too much to mention it. She decided to tease him back to gauge his reaction.

Lowering her voice she makes eye contact with him as she slowly licks  the button top of the mushroom before putting it into her mouth. "I guess I'll behave then."

Drake sucks in a breath as he feels the blood rush to his groin, he grips his thigh and squeezes, trying to distract himself with pain. He quickly tents the napkin in his lap to hide the full blown erection in his pants. He growls at her from across the table, "Damn it, Kate. You don't play fair."

Leaning her breasts on her forearm as she reaches across the table for the bottle of wine, she replies. "Nope."

Drake's appetite for food vanishes as Kate pours the last of the wine into her glass. She wants to play games? I'll give her one. He picks up a cube of cheese from the board in front of him and lays it on the table. Calculating the trajectory in his head he waits for her to lift the glass to her lips before cocking his finger against his thumb and flicking the cheese at her, aiming for the valley between her breasts.

As it makes impact, her eyes shoot open and she spits her wine back into her glass, causing some to dribble down over her chin. "Peh! Drake! What are you doing?!"

Drake throws his head back and laughs as she sets her drink down, sloshing wine onto the tablecloth. She wipes at her chin with the back of her hand, shaking her head as she feels a giggle bubble up out of her throat. 

"Oh, that's it. You're on Buster."

Drake lines up more cheese cubes as Kate grabs the dish of olives. "You're going to need another shower after this."

"And it's going to be fun licking the cheese and cracker crumbs off of you afterwards," he replies, snapping a cracker in half before placing it between his fingers and launching it at her shoulder. She tries to duck out of the way, but still ends up with cracker in her hair.

Kate uses her fork to catapult an olive at him, aiming for the open neck of his shirt. It disappears in the vicinity of his collar and he cringes, scrunching up his shoulders as he feels the olive roll across his skin and land in his armpit.

"Ach!  That feels weird."

"Hey, you're the one who flicked cheese at me first."

Drake pulls his shirt away from his chest and peeks in to see where the olive went. "Yeah, well I wasn't expecting you to pretend to give head to a mushroom before putting it into your mouth. I know where those naughty lips of yours have been."

Kate flicks another olive at him, this one hits him on the ear, and he flinches again. "Ok, that's enough!"

She spears another mushroom and eats it, poking it around her cheek with her tongue. Drake covers his eyes with one hand, sweeping the cheese projectiles back toward the board with the other.  "You win, I can't compete with what you're doing to me with those mushrooms."

Kate sets the dish of olives aside, enjoying her little victory. "So you do find food seductive afterall."

Drake sighs, leaning back in his seat. "And I thought the way you described the taste of wine was sexy. But holy hell.."

Kate reaches across to pick up a roll of salami in her fingers. She licks her lips before biting it in half and then offering the other half to him. He leans in, hooking his finger against her hand and then pulls the meat into his mouth. He chews and swallows and then sucks the saltiness off of her fingertips. The pleasant jolt that shoots up her arm makes her shiver, and her eyes flutter shut.

"Oh God," she gasps.

He smirks as she pulls her hand back and then buries both of them in her lap. "You're welcome."

Eric returns to the table to find the contents of the charcuterie board scattered across the table, the mushrooms only half eaten and wine stains on the tablecloth. He pauses to collect himself and then asks, "Are we done playing with our appetizers and ready to order a main course?"

Drake glances across at Kate, taking in her flushed cheeks, and the dark desire in her eyes. He leans back in his seat and sucks in a deep breath before answering, "Actually, Eric. I think we'd like to skip dinner and have the check please."

As Eric nods, reaching for the empty wine bottle, Drake lays his hand on his arm. "Oh, and the wine is already paid for. We thoroughly enjoyed it, but I better not get charged for it twice."

[shushy101]

If you're accepting prompts, genderbent Plance w/body paint. Do with that what you will

;))))

yes [ quick note , tried to make lances name fit with spanish names because well , hes spanish , but i failed miserably because all the websites i went to were so incredibly hard to use . same for pidge nsjfjehfhr . and for the sake of lance ill genderbend allura too , so it doesnt complicate shit more ]

strongish language because they would . or maybe not . stuff gets kinda frisky friskers tho . just like two lines . nothing too hardcore .

dia de muertos - the day of the dead ! aka , our beloved lancita's favourite time of the year . she has multiple , but we shall forget about that for the sake of this story !

" so , basically , we paint calveras - i mean skulls on our faces . " lancita said firmly . she pulled out a palette of presumably , body paint , out of literally nowhere . she pushed a container that was already on her sink towards pidge that had brushes of all kinds . . " so you mean ... you don't know how to translate shit to english ? " pidge snickered , slapping on as much white pigment as he could , because that was what lance was doing . " no , i just didn't remember the english word because i'm a spanish idiot kid , give me a pass , katien . " she had a proud look on her face , smugly smiling as she picked up more pigment from the palette . " fuck you for use my legit name , garden hoe butt . before you comment on my censoring , i don't want shiro walking in and scolding my dumb butt . " lancita just snorted and continued to look into her bathroom mirror and paint on colours with a thick , fluffy brush .

" so you paint the white first because the majority is white , " the tan female explained . " i knew that , doesn't take much effort to think , not like you'd know , " pidge half-jokingly said , which his compainion picked up at lightning speed . she punched pidge lightly , smiling widely . " i hate you for a good reason , " she laughed , fixing up pidge's face because it was splotchy everywhere . " this seems more like a act of love than hate , " pidge smiled , blushing just a teensy bit .

lancita , however , was very clearly flushed . through the layer of white , pidge could see a thin veil of pink . he noted how cute her ears and neck blushed bright against her tan , sun-kissed skin that was somehow still as tan as ever even in space . he despairingly noticed that she didn't brush his cheeks with her thumbs out of affection when he said that sweet thought , because of the white that could smear onto lancita's skin . that did not spark joy . but it was nice while lancita's hand cupped his ear and pushed her hand into his dense , slightly curled hair .

" there , fixed you up . try not to be so heavy handed , this isn't a game for pushing buttons on killbot phantom , " lancita joked , trying to not acknowledge her blush that heated her up . " such sugarcoated words , " pidge said dryly , who then gave up on white and switched to black . lancita smiled , and any sliver of annoyance and anger was lifted off pidge immediately . whoever could be angry at those beautiful , crystal blue eyes ? it was like ocean blue , but not as blue , but not as light as light blue . it was somewhere in between .

" earth to kat-face ? " lancita laughed , pidge quickly snapping back to painting his face , nervously rubbing his legs together , a big fat rosy blush overtaking his senses . lancita just smiled , with her nice perfectly white teeth showing and absolutely stunning eyes glowing . which was horrible in pidge's perspective because he was desperately hoping his peripheral vision was on his side , but not today sisters ! he cussed under his breath gently , wishing that one day he would wake up next to her and lancita would not open her eyes to greet him for the sake of his confused self . they were friends , explicitly friends , just friends , no benefits .

lancita pressed on the black pigment on her eyelids , humming under her breath a random tune that she thought pidge would like to hear . it just made the sides of her already slightly tilted up lips tilt even higher . she was just happy that she knew pidge liekd hearing her voice , just as much as she liked hearing him . he was so good at coaxing her back to sleep with his pretty lilting voice when she had nightmares , pressing his face into the crook of her neck to try and make her relax . and he made her feel so incredibly soft and secure when he hugged her . sure , pidge was not much taller than her , but it was nice .

she dully noticed pidge's nervousness , since she was so intent on finishing up her look to checl on the sugar skulls chilling in the freezer . he was shifting in his seat , legs pressed together . a little flaring thought said to her that she was the one who caused this , perhaps he liked her , but lancita quickly pushed it away as hormones overreacting .

" hey , lancey-lance , is this okay ? " pidge looked at her , trying to comprehend if it was the right way to draw the borders or not . besides , he wanted her to paint on his face again . lancita sighed happily , feeling good that pidge asked her for help . she turned to see a pretty good job , and told him she would fix up his little mistakes . and just to try and insinuate something , she added , " perhaps you do make a rather charming companion after all . " yes , she wanted to sweet-talk her way into his heart because goddamnit , she was straight up thirsty .

this , firstly , earned her a gentle pushing back of her long , brown hair and a soft tinkling laugh . he also had put down his paintbrush and took her decorative comb that pinned back her hair and repinned it into a bun , gently running his fingers and untangling some hair . " your hair always smells so very nice , " which pidge did not mean to say that out that loud . lancita just took his other hand that was placed back on the table and squished it a bit harder than she should've . pidge just wrapped his arm around her , the other one going around the front of her curvy waist . he leaned on her head and hated that he was feeling real fucking hot and burning everywhere . he was pretty sure lancita was too , judging by her blushing down her neck and ears so much she tensed up under him .

lancita fought the urge to just pull him closer , just to feel him and know he's alive , that he'll talk to her and tidy up her hair and play videogames and everything else in between . perhaps she was irrationally swayed and attached and most definitely too sentimental about him . besides , she could just ask in a long-winded way on how to deal with it to him and let him assume it was alluran . she faked the whole " i like alluran " thing as a decoy after she realized pidge was honestly way cuter and so , so much hotter than he was . it went from zero to one hundred real quick .

she tried her best to not rush it , but ended up doing so anyway and slapped on some red , matte lipstick so people would not turn their attention the trash edges at the bottom . lancita turned her attention and body to face him so she could fix up any of his mistakes , a tad bit roughly cupping his face that was so close she could nearly just kiss him . she did her thing , trying not to get distracted by his wonderful hair that cupped his face so perfectly . his brown eyes that were tinted with amber and honey , and how nice the light reflected off it .

pidge tried to discreetly pull her closer so he could kiss her because he would like to be covered in red all of a sudden . lancita did not seem to notice and started to put her brushes away , and started keeping everything at a rapid fire pace . so pidge took this chance to fluff up his hair in a somewhat neat way and lean closer to her cheek . " hey question , do i ever get lipstick ? because i do like the colour of your lips . "

he tried desperately to be smooth to get that red colour on his lips from hers , and lancita being the absolute nerd for romance immediately took it as a note that he wanted to get in her pants , or more correctly , pajamas and eat her whole .

so she , out of impulse , decided to get frisky and pushed her hand up his shirt . she took that it was a good move since he had , in retailation , pressed his lips messily against hers and the hand around her waist went downwards .

shiro was questioning why it took pidge and lance that long to finish up their body paint . he quizzically touched the chilling sugar skull in the freezer , astonished that it did not fall apart at his touch , tapped the sugar skull again and it promptly fell apart . " uh . well . oh dear . " shiro stared , blinked twice , and called for hunk , who called for keith , who called for alluran , and they decided to go to lancita for advice on what to do now .

thhey were greeted by smeared body paint and lots of red , which shiro then took to the birds and the bees .

Edit : to clarify about the whole complication of allura and lance thing i personally thin kthat lance isnt bi , so genderbent lance isnt bi

Another thing is my crappy writing style please kill it