#Modern Red Sofa my beloved

[cherrydrop-rambles]

I see the targeted marketing going well for Tumblr /j

[canirove]

Rice, Rice, baby | Chapter 21

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Masterlist

Declan's pov

❃ Flashback to the day after the lionesses game and his chocolate cake date with Liv (chapter 5)

“I want all the details. Now.”

“Hello to you too, Jordan. Please come in” I say after my brother storms into my house.

“Details” he repeats once we are in the living room, sitting on the sofa and patting the spot next to him.

“Details about what?” I ask, sitting down.

“The girl you dumped your beloved brothers for. What's her name? How did you meet? When did you meet? Is she hot?” he smirks, making me roll my eyes.

“Her name is Olivia, though everyone calls her Liv, and we met a couple of months ago when I was with the national team.”

“Oh, Olivia. What a lovely name” Jordan smiles. “But you met when you were with England? How? You aren't allowed to go out.”

“She works as a barista in the cafeteria at Tottenham training centre.”

“Wait, she is a Tottenham girl?” he gasps.

“Yes and no. She works for them, but she isn't into football that much. Her dad, on the other hand… He also works for them, he's part of the medical team, and he is a huge fan who apparently hates anything Arsenal.”

“Wow” he chuckles. “You are like a modern Romeo and Juliet.”

“Let's hope no one dies, tho.”

“Yeah…” Jordan smiles. “Do you like her?”

“I… I do, yes” I confess.

“And you like her a lot, don't you? Because your face right now is turning bright red, little bro” he laughs.

“Yeah” I nod. 

“Does she like you back?”

“She blushes a lot when we are together and gets all nervous, which is really cute” I smile. “And we've made out a couple of times, so I guess she likes me back.”

“Oh, Declan” Jordan laughs again. “I think you do more than like this girl.”

“What?”

“You should see your face right now talking about her. I think I've only seen you smile like that when talking about football and you love it, which can only mean one thing: you are falling in love with her, Dec.”

“I'm not falling in love with Liv, don't be silly” I say with a nervous laugh. “I just met her.”

“And?”

“And you don't fall in love with someone after a couple of dates and some kisses even if those kisses have been the best of your life and have made you feel things you've never felt before.”

“Declan…”

“And yes, she's great. She's funny, and sweet, very clever, and a lot more beautiful than she thinks she is. And when I'm with her I feel like I can truly be myself. Just Declan, the boy from Kingston, not the football player. But you don't fall in love that fast, that only happens in movies.”

“Well, I did” he shrugs. “And everything you just said proves my point and confirms it. That, and the fact that you haven't slept with her yet. Because you haven't, have you?”

“No.” I've just thought about it. A lot. Especially since our date after the game. Who knew seeing someone eat cake could be so sexy and… erotic. 

“Then there you have it. Because you usually don't waste your time” Jordan smirks.

“That's not true” I say, crossing my arms over my chest.

“It is, Declan. We all know it is” he says. “But now you are taking things slow because you want to do it right with this girl. Because you truly like her, you don't see her as a fling. So here comes my next piece of advice…”

“Jordan…”

“Don't fuck it up.”

“What?” I laugh.

“Don't fuck it up, Declan. Or have you forgotten what you did with Sarah?”

“I…” I fucked up. Big time. I got scared because I had started to feel things for her, things that were more than just a physical attraction, and… “That's not going to happen with Liv.”

“It better not, Declan. It better not.”

━━━━━━❃━━━━━━

❃ A few days after those photos in Ibiza and Liv's visit… or after Declan did fuck it up (chapters 13 & 14)

“Declan, time to get up” Jordan says.

“No.”

“The preseason is about to start, you need to get out of bed and start training” Connor adds.

“I don't want to” I say, covering my head with my duvet.

“Declan…” Jordan sighs.

“Leave me alone!” 

“We are your older brothers. We can't leave you alone.”

“But it is what I want!”

“Ok, fine” Connor says. “One, two…” I hear him whisper.

“What the fuck!” I yell when one of them throws the duvet away and the other dumps a bucket of freezing water in my head. “Are you out of your fucking mind?”

“Maybe” Jordan shrugs. “But we needed to do something to stop all this moping and get you out of bed.” 

“Like, we get it, Declan. You fucked up, and big time.”

“Big time was what I did with Sarah. What I've done to Liv is… is… urgh” I groan, letting myself fall on the very wet bed.

There are no words to describe what I have done to Liv. The way she looked at me the other day… I think I will never forget it. It will be engraved in my brain forever. And I will never forgive myself for hurting her like that. But I deserve it. I deserve her hate and all the bad things I'm sure she's thinking and saying about me.

“I still don't understand why you did it, tho. Why did you cheat on her? Don't you love her?” Connor asks me.

“I do.”

“Then?”

“Then that's the problem!” I say, sitting up. “That I love her! That I'm madly in love with her, and that scares the hell out of me because I'm a coward!”

“Love is scary, Dec” Jordan says, sitting on the bed next to me and avoiding the wet patch. “But it also is the most wonderful feeling.”

“I know, Jordan. I know. Because I've experienced that with Liv. She's the first girl I've felt that with. And every time I've lived one of those moments of extreme happiness with her, where I've felt like I'm in cloud nine, I've ended up fucking things up and treating her like shit.”

“What do you mean?” Connor asks, sitting on the other side of the bed.

“I've… I… I've basically ghosted her.”

“In English, please.”

“It means that every time something good has happened between us, something important, I've freaked out because I'm a coward and ignored her. She would text me and I would leave her on read or reply with a vague answer. Or she would call me to facetime and I would ignore her and then not call her back.”

“That's…”

“That's being a jerk. Say it, it's the truth” I shrug. “And then, to make things even worse, I would come back as if nothing had happened and with a bunch of excuses because I was feeling guilty and as an idiot for sabotaging our relationship, and do something big and romantic for her to try and make up for it. Like when I took her to Paris for her birthday after basically ignoring her on the actual day. But then, of course, something will happen that would make me realize that I was even more in love with her than I thought, I would freak out again, and fuck things up.”

“And that's what happened this summer.”

“Yes” I sigh. “Things were so good between us… So good. She was the first thing I would think of in the morning when I woke up and the last before falling asleep at night. After training or a game, she was the first person I wanted to talk to, and just thinking about her put a stupid smile on my face. And when I would see you with your wives and the kids, I… I…”

“You?” Jordan asks me.

“I would see myself having that life with Liv” I confess. “She's the one I want to marry and start a family with and love for the rest of my life. She's the one.”

“And that realization made you freak out so much that you spent your summer looking for the best way to sabotage it all until you found it in Ibiza.”

“Yeah” I sigh again. “I… Why am I like this? Why do I do this to myself? To her?” I cry, furiously wiping away my tears. “I love Liv. I love her like I've never loved anyone before. I want to be with her and only her. But now I've ruined it all. She will never forgive me for what I've done, which she is in her right to, and she will hate me for the rest of her life. I could see it on her face, on the way she looked at me the other day. I broke her heart and hurt her so bad, and I hate myself so much for it. So fucking much! I just… why am I like this?” I yell, hitting the bed. “Why?”

“Dec… Declan…” Jordan says, taking my hand on his.

“Why am I like this?” I cry again, looking at him. “Why did I ruin the best thing in my life?”

“Sometimes, we… I…”

“We are humans, Declan” Connor says, putting a hand on my shoulder. “We all make mistakes, it's in our nature. Some of those mistakes are bigger than others, but…”

“This can be fixed” Jordan says.

“Fixed?” I laugh. “How?”

“You need to talk with Liv and explain everything to her. Tell her how you feel, tell her what you feel for her.”

“She doesn't want to see me, Jordan. She made it very clear after crossing my face. I'm like dead to her.”

“But she still loves you, Declan. That doesn't go away that fast even if you've hurt her the way you have.”

“And even if she doesn't forget you, which we all agree she's in her right to… Telling her may help you forgive yourself. And maybe, one day, once you've fixed all those insecurities and self sabotaging… You can give each other another chance” Connor says.

“You think so?”

“I mean, it's worth trying” Connor shrugs.

“But how am I going to tell her all this if she doesn't want to see me? I'm pretty sure she's blocked me everywhere, and I can't show up at her house. If she doesn't kill me, her dad will.”

“You could also meet with her after work” Jordan suggests. 

“I can't go to Tottenham training centre just like that. I'm the enemy, remember? And that would make people start gossiping.”

“What if you ask Madders for help?”

“No, not him” I say. “He's probably going through enough already with being caught in the middle of all this, I don't want to make things worse for him. Liv loves him like a brother.”

“Then…”

“Then there is nothing to do” I sigh. “I fucked up, and Liv will hate me forever.” 

“Wait!” Jordan says after a few seconds in silence. “The national team!”

“What about it?”

“You are playing two games in October, and you will probably stay at Tottenham training centre, right? That's your chance, Declan!”

“If she knows I'm going she'll probably say that she's sick to not see me.”

“Or not” Connor says. 

“Dec, this can be it. You have to stay positive!”

“That's easy to say when the woman you love doesn't despise you” I say, letting myself fall on the bed again. “Was the bucket of water really necessary?”

“It was. And we will be throwing another one at your face every time you start being negative” Jordan threatens me.

“Urgh” I groan.

“Will you stay positive and focus on talking with Liv during the international break?”

“And will you keep little Declan inside your pants in the meantime?” Connor adds. 

“It has only left my pants for Liv since the day we first kissed” I reply, hitting him with a pillow.

“Wait, really? I thought you and the singer…”

“She wanted to, but I didn't.”

“Good, good. Keep it like that” Connor says. “And stay positive and focused.”

“I will. I promise” I say. “Now can I please get out of this wet bed and have a proper shower?”

“You can. But we will be watching you” Jordan says.

“Not while you shower, but you know what we mean” Connor says.

“Yeah… Thank you, guys” I say, smiling for the first time since I ruined it all. 

“You're welcome, little bro” Jordan says before he and Connor hug me. 

[mondstaub1]

hotd fanfiction idea modern

Jaceluke

When Rhaenyra and Leonor divorce Corlys insists that Lucerys stays with them long term as he is Leanors heir. Rhaenyra refuses and fights it a long time but in the end she gives in and Lucerys is sent to Driftmark. Rhaenyra then moves away to get away from the stress and marries Daemon, which results in her side of the family having little contact with Lucerys. Through a number of unfortunate events the contact cuts of completly. Jace suffers a lot under the sepateration from is beloved younger brother but as young as he is can not do much but watch the tragidy unfold.

Years later after Jacaerys has turned 18 he lays on the sofa in his flat and looks casually through tinder when a picture catches his attention. It has been years but he immidiatly recugnises Lucerys. His brother has changed a lot growing from a small boy with messy hair and baby fat on his cheeks to the single most beautiful being he has ever seen. He resembles their mother and grandmother greatly but the dark hair the sailor clothes he wears make hin even more eye catching. Without realising Jace likes the picture and for just a secund his heart nearly stops but then there is a notification. It's a match! Oh god but he has no time to panic as Luke writes him a short message:

L: Heyy

Jace swallows but writes back:

J: Hi Lucerys

For a few minutes there is no respons and it occures to Jace that his brother doesn't have his full name in his bio

L: Who are you? Where did you learn my name?

Jace takes a deep breath and answeres with trembeling hands

J: Sorry didn't mean to scare you. It's me Jacaerys. I just found your profil and couldn't help myself

Again there was silents for several minutes before the next notification came

L: Jace? My Jace no way. Prove it first. Tell me something only Jacaerys would know

Jace though it over for a moment, trying to pick something from his memory that only the two of them could know about. Which would be easier if they hadn't been seperated so young. Then it clicked

J: When we were little I promised to marry you in the tradition of our house. I always called you "my future Queen" and your ears turned red every time. We even picked the house we would live in. The lake house and the name of our children. I thing we ended up with Baelon for a boy and Aenyra for a girl.

Secunds after he pressed send Luke replied with a phone number. He called as soon as he got the text and Luke picked up on the first ring. "Jace?", his voice sounded wet and broken but Jace was so happy to hear it again it drove tears into his eyes. "Yes it's me baby. Nice to hear your voice again.

[solohux]

Hi Lottie. I have a heavy prompt ask for you for some comfort and I hope that’s okay. I recently just lost my cat, who was very dear to me. Could you possibly write a modern kylux where Kylo comforts Hux after he loses Millie? If you aren’t comfortable with this that’s more than okay. Thank you so much and I hope you’re well. ❤️❤️

I’m so sorry for you loss, darling. I hope that time is kind to you and allows you to heal ❤️

Kylo finds Hux sitting quietly in the living room, staring at the empty space in front of him. He hasn’t moved since Kylo left an hour ago to fetch groceries, still bunched up in the corner of the sofa, eyes red-rimmed and cheeks lined with tears.

It’s been a couple of days since beloved Millicent’s passing and the hole she has left in their lives cannot be measured in any way; Hux looks lost without her beside him. How does one cope with losing their shadow? It would seem they become the shadow themselves.

In his hands, he holds her collar. It’s red and regal, fitting for a cat of her beauty and elegance. He hasn’t set it down since they returned from the vets, clutching it tightly even when he’s in bed and sleep alludes him.

“Here,” Kylo says, approaching his husband with a cup of tea in his favourite china mug. “You need to drink.”

But Hux says nothing, keeping his gaze locked on the floor, fiddling with the tag on the collar and making it jangle; a familiar noise that echoed throughout their home whenever Millicent was on the prowl.

Kylo sighs, sitting down on the couch and tapping Hux’s leg. “Armitage.”

“Hm?” Hux blinks, seemingly emerging from his memories with a shudder. “Oh. Tea. Yes. Thank you, Ren.”

He takes the cup in one hand, making sure to keep hold of Millie’s collar in the other. He takes a single sip before leaning over the side of the couch to set it down on the nearby coffee table though he freezes before he gets back up.

“Oh,” he sighs, picking up a little squishy mouse toy from the floor. “This blasted thing. The amount of times I tripped over it or hoovered it up. And she still loved it, she still took it into her bed every night.”

“It was the first thing I bought her when we got together,” Kylo says, smiling.

Hux huffs in a chuckle, wiping away a falling tear, “She hated you.”

“I was taking some of your attention from her. I should have expected that there’d be some animosity,” Kylo says, stroking his hand over Hux’s leg. “I tried to buy her affection.”

“It worked,” Hux replies. “I’ve never seen her love someone like she loved you. Besides me, of course.”

Kylo hums in agreement; what an honour it was to be loved by such a beautiful creature.

“I suppose…I don’t need these anymore,” Hux says, voice breaking as sobs take over. He clutches the collar and the toy mouse close to his chest, biting his shaking lip but the onslaught of tears is here, his pain is too much.

“You don’t have to get rid of anything, sweetheart,” Kylo says, sliding his arms around Hux’s waist and pulling him into his arms. Hux welcomes the comfort and allows himself to be engulfed in his husband’s embrace. “You have to let yourself grieve, let yourself cry. It’s okay, it’s okay, I promise.”

“I miss her,” Hux cries, his cheek pressed against Kylo’s check, his tears wetting his black shirt. “I miss her so much.”

“I know,” Kylo replies quietly, pressing a kiss to the top of his beloved’s head. “I do too. You made her so happy, Hux.”

“She made me happy too.”

“And she loved you. I didn’t know humans and cats could have such a strong bond until I met the two of you. She was your little shadow, huh?”

Hux manages to smile, “Everywhere I went, she’d be there.

Kylo gives him another kiss, “And that isn’t going to change, Armitage. She’s still with you, still following you. You meant so much to each other that nothing can part you, not even this. Millicent is right here, I can feel it.”

“I know you like to think of yourself as psychic, Ren, but you aren’t,” Hux laughs, then sighs as his shoulders slump. In his hands, he still holds Millicent’s collar and toy. “Thank you, Kylo.”

They break the embrace for a moment to allow Kylo to wipe the tears from Hux’s face with his sleeve. Reaching for each other’s hands, Kylo grabs on tightly, feeling tears pricking in his own eyes.

“I made a promise to her when I first met you that I’d take care of you. I think she believed me. And I won’t disappoint her.”

Hux smiles, bringing the collar up to his lips to give it a gentle kiss.

Somewhere across the apartment, Kylo hears a faint but happy meow.

[heniareth]

Henlo lovely friend :3 I am nyooming into your askbox with all due speed and urgency regarding the OTP questions for Astala (my BELOVED!!) and Zevran (ALSO MY BELOVED!!). If I may enquire:

3: Do they wear the other's clothes? (Sweatshirt, bandana, necklace, etc.)

4: Which one is more protective? Who needs to be 'protected?'

57: Who's the serious one when grocery shopping and who likes to toss random things in the cart?

60 (if it's not too personal): Who pulls the other closer when they're sleeping?

You take care and enjoy yourself!! No pressure on any of this, just whatever you fancy, whenever you fancy it. Have yourself a gorgeous day!!!

Hello Plant! :D The ask you answered yesterday inspired me to sit down and answer this one apparently, because I wrote the bugger up in one go!! Never happened before XD XD You do magic with those words. Before I get into the questions, a littel prelude:

These questions make me think about a potential modern AU. Astala probably would've dropped out of school as soon as it was legal to do so and started working whatever jobs are available. Maybe cashier? Waitress is still a possibility. She'd definitely have been juggling two jobs plus a few odd bits of work to make ends meet. Then she gets fired one day and lo and behold, Duncan offers her a place with the Grey Wardens. I imagine they'd pay well, which is why Astala would take the job. Zevran is still an assassin for hire, and eschews guns in favor of knives for his assassination attempt. To kill somebody with a knife, you have to get close to them and expose yourself to harm. A gun makes people way too easy to kill. A knife attack can also be written off as a mugging gone wrong or something. The party camp turns into an empty office building where the Grey Wardens had their HQ. The group would transform it into one big apartment. Cubicles are turned into rooms (walls between several cubicles are broken down for more space). There are sofas and rugs and a fully functioning kitchen and bookshelves and plants. Rascal is still a big dog. Shale is... a robot? A person in a very cool exo-skeleton suit for someone a la Iron Man? Oh and magic still exists. After the whole thing with the Blight is over Zev and Astala would have enough money for a tiny but cozy apartment in a quiet part of town, with enough space on the balcony to fill it with plants. Please feel free to picture what scenes are described in the answers as happening in said apartment. Other alternatives are Vigil's Keep, where Astala has a tiny portion (study + room + entrance) to call her own. Or a house in Antiva with white walls and a roof with red shingles with a porch where flowering vines creep up the walls. Also in the modern AU Astala would be finishing school after the Blight and discover that studying for exams is so much better than a night shift or killing darkspawn.

And now, off to the questions!!

3. Do they wear each others' clothes? (Sweatshirt, bandana, necklace, etc.)

Yes they do! Astala does this particularly often, especially when Zevran is away, especially at night. She will wear something of his until it no longer smells like him, and then she'll pick something else. It makes the missing him a bit easier, but at the same time a bit worse because something of his is there but not he himself. She gives it back once Zevran returns, however. Most of it, anyways. One or two shirts might get lost among her things. How curious indeed XD Zevran I think would also wear things of Astala's, but it'd be because it's become a somewhat accidental habit. Maybe there's a scarf she has lent him so often it's as good as his (he did happily accept it every time she offered it of course). Or a bandana that Astala used once to tie his hair back and he finds it a year later in the pockets of the trousers he was wearing. And by that point Astala would insist he just keep it, since he's evidently using it more than she is

4. Which one is more protective? Who needs to be 'protected?'

Well now. This is quite the question 👀👀👀 They are both quite protective of each other, Astala in a more physical "I'll literally stand between you and harm" way and Zevran in a "stand aside and observe and be ready to strike if necessary" way. So during the Blight, they both do their fair share of protecting. Then of course Astala gets injured in the fight with the archdemon and just can't hold her own as well as she used to. Their roles are now inversed: Zevran is the more physical one because he can be, while Astala has to keep away from danger and can intervene only from a distance. But intervene she does, and she makes up for her lack of movement and her vulnerability with a quick and cold ruthlessness. If there's somebody an attacker could convince to stop and talk it out, it's Zevran now.

As far as being protected goes... Astala only catches glimpses of it, but Zevran works very hard behind the scenes to help her navigate Fereldan politics and later also the Antivan merchant guilds (I am playing around with the idea to have Astala give up Amaranthine and to settle close to Antiva as a merchant, at least for a time. She'd try to create a market for artisans from the Fereldan alienages in Antiva and the reverse in Ferelden, and I think she'd do pretty well). He'd suss out business practices, potential customers, do networking, all of that. And Astala would shield him from his own demons. It's hard to live with yourself when you've let yourself down so often. Astala would remind him when he's being too harsh with himself, pull him back when he's starting to slip into old patterns and habits, just be something solid around which to reorient himself and remember that he's not the kind if man who'd kill his love for the Crows anymore. So yeah. They have each others' backs pretty consistently

57: Who's the serious one when grocery shopping and who likes to toss random thing in the cart?

At the beginning of their relationship there's a very notable difference. Except when she's in a serious need for something to lift her mood, Astala will think every purchase apart from the bare necessities over thrice. Very expensive things she doesn't even look at, because they're firmly in the category of not in her budget. Zevran is much quicker at buying and wanting things if he has the coin for it, tomorrow be damned. He's mostly succesful at pulling Astala along, unless it is a veritably silly thing like a gigantic nug pillow or an outright luxury item (like the expensive kinds of jewelry or some rare foodstuff from Seheron or whathaveyou). In those cases Mistress Woolsey is a surprisingly adept negotiation partner. She will show Astala the numbers and will assure her that she can afford it and once doesn't hurt, it's an investment rather than a frivolous purchase and, if the arlessa will allow it, she will point out that the jewelry Astala already has just doesn't cut it for an occasion like the 5th anniversary of the slaying of the archdemon. I imagine Zevran learns budgeting skills rather quickly, while Astala takes a bit longer to shake off the compulsion to hoard money for emergencies. But she relaxes with age, and in their senior years they can often be seen snooping around the market for interesting knickknacks and curiosities, maybe some new food to try or something small for each other. Sometimes Zevran will play the part of the frugal husband to tease her. It's worth stopping and watching these two bicker like the old married couple they are

60. Who pulls the other closer when they're sleeping?

(Not personal, don't worry ^^ I'm okay talking about fluff, smut is where it can get a bit too personal for my liking. Depends on the question and if there's ever a particular item in an ask game i'm not comfortable talking about I'll write it in the tags when I reblog said ask game)

Zevran, I imagine. Zevran seems to be the kind of guy to briefly wake up, drape one arm around Astala, cuddle up and fall back asleep. Or he straight-up doesn't wake up and reaches for her on instinct. I already told you, but physicality is important for Zevran. I imagine pulling Astala in is an unconcious reminder that she is there. I also imagine he'd crave closeness the most when he's just come back after a time of being apart, and would thus pull her in more frequently. It helps that Astala sleeps like a log: she doesn't move much and somebody pulling her in doesn't wake her up. In fact, her sleep is too deep to pull someone closer, which is an action that requires a lot of steps done right. If she seeks out Zevran, it will be via rolling over the bed until she bumps into him, and where she bumps into him she settles. Sometimes it makes for a terribly sore neck in the morning, sometimes it even wakes Zevran up (who I headcanon to have a very light sleep due to his experience as an assassin). The only time she'll actively pull him in is when he's being restless, either because of a nightmare or because he just can't sleep. Quick movements by her side is something that will reliably wake Astala up enough to do that. And it bears mentioning that both of them are very given to sleeping close to one another (although they do change from glued to one another to wothin comfortable arm's reach over the years) except during an Antivan summer. Nobody could endure any kind of body heat during an Antivan summer

---

And that's that! I hope you enjoyed the answers and the glimpses of them both as much as I enjoyed writing them XD They are so very close to my heart. Thanks for indulging me and I hope you have the most gorgeous of days yourself!!

[kosmosguk]

Bloody Artistry (M) ~🥀

pairing: celeb! kim taehyung x journalist! reader; minor pairings: jungkook x reader, coworker jimin x reader (platonic)

Word Count: 8K

Summary: when the scrutiny of fame becomes too much, perfect kim taehyung finds his peace within a lavish bathroom located two blocks away from the nearest club, a corpse in the bed with him. the fans have never questioned his behavior, not when his company is much too good at cleaning up his mess to not have done it before, but when a reporter with too many questions threatens to break the peace he’s established, he finds himself in a tango with the devil that he can’t bring himself to want to break.

[Warnings: MURDER, death, literally Taehyung being a sick bastard 25/8 (but only in fiction), company corruption, violence, yandere themes, mentions of noncon smut (intoxication, mentions of being drugged, fingering), blackmail, obsession, stalking. EVERYTHING that happens in this fic is FICTION; plz don’t go busting nuts for serial killers]

A/N: Thank you to yoongissugarmommy for requesting this! Part 1 of a short series starring Taehyung. Was going to do smth similar to Lineage with him, but this has been staying in my drafts for too long (like i wrote most of this before I even wrote Lineage, which is why my writing for part of this is a bit different from my current one), and I feel like going a bit modern now to take a break from Lineage (taking a bit to write pt. 4 just because it’s the end of the main story). Thank you for 2.9k followers! We’re only less than 50 away from 3K which is so wild to think about; kisses and hugs to everyone who’s supported my work! 

“Today, in the studio, we have our nation’s golden boy, the first love of all of our viewers: Kim Taehyung. Everyone, please clap your hands for him!’’

The MC turned to grin at the audience as the audience cheered loudly; her glossy black hair swept down and framed her face delicately in perfect shiny strands. The lipstick that coated her unnaturally wide smile was a deep shade of red, stark against her pale white skin. Dressed in her primly pressed suit, she looked lovely, like a blooming rose, but as she turned to face the guest star, his presence seemed to easily outshine her own.

“Thank you for having me. It’s an honor to have an interview here and have an opportunity to see all of my lovely fans,’’ Taehyung’s deep voice rang out as he smiled in his heart-swooning way, flashing pure-white teeth handsomely in a carefully maintained and practiced way that made all the fans, both in the studio and watching from beyond a screen, unable to resist letting out shrieks and screams.

“Now, Taehyung-ssi, with a record-breaking album that topped the charts as soon as it came out and a modelling gig that sells out magazines faster than before, how does it feel to have really made it? It must stress you out. Any tips on how to relax?’’

Taehyung leaned back slightly in his seat, his smile flashing coy for a brief second before settling into a rehearsed contemplative expression. He shrugged his shoulders, letting them drop out, as he made a soft hmm noise.

“How I relax? It’s not that big of a deal, really, but that’s an interesting question to ask, noona,’’ Taehyung widened his eyes slightly, looking ever so much like the golden boy persona he had stickered upon his reputation,’’ When I’m really, really stressed, I like to play with Tannie, my dog, and eats lots of yummy food that my mom sends to me when I get stressed. Also, my manager Namjoon is a good person to talk to when I’m really stressed; he always knows what to do and say.’’ Taehyung tapped the tip of his nose lightly, scrunching his face in an expression that made fans coo in adoration. “I also like to think of my fans and read all the letters they’ve sent me. I saved all of my letters from my beloved fans since my debut, and I like looking through them.’’

“Hey, Kim Namjoon, fucking hurry up,” Taehyung hissed into the cellphone pressed against his flawless cheek,” My shoes are going to get stained at this point. You know blood is a pain to properly get out of letter.’’

“Were you at least careful this time? We don’t want rumors getting out,” Namjoon’s voice crackled over the receiver, barely a hint of emotion in his voice. The beeping and honking of cars on his side of the phone call signaled the rush his manager was making towards his location.

Taehyung huffed in agitation, clicking his tongue sharply in annoyance as he skimmed his nails for any trace of dried blood. “Oh, come on, you think I really even care at this point? With the way the company takes care of everything, you’d think perfect ol’ me was…well perfect. But still, aren’t you guys way too good at this job? 7 girls and not even a peek from the public. Who else do you do this for, huh? Suga-sunbae? J-hope-sunbae?”

There was no reply. Taehyung threw his gaze over to the practically mangled body. Too bad, he thought to himself, she was really pretty this time. Red lipstick, silky black hair, wanted to become better acquainted with such a famous celebrity after her little interview, the whole fanatic spiel tied with a pretty bow of the title of an mc. She would’ve never thought that she’d go from being a bed-warmer to being so cold.

“I must be right then, huh? Suga-sunbae I can see, but J-Hope-sunbae…’’ Taehyung whistled lowly under his breath. “I thought you’d at least deny that. It’s the bright ones you gotta watch out for.’’

A dial noise was the only response. Did…Did this bastard hang up on him? Taehyung grimaced before three knocks rang on the door of the hotel suite, a signal from his asshole manager that Namjoon had finally arrived. Taehyung rolled back his shoulders, his joints crackling a little, and made sure all of his jewelry was perfectly back in place before he opened the door.

As Namjoon shuffled in with some of the staff members, Taehyung clasped his silver watch around his wrist with a soft click. He rolled his neck, trying to get the stiffness out of it, and exposed purple marks and bruises from the bites the now dead girl had given him when they had been fucking earlier.

Finally, his headache was gone.

You chugged down a cup of stale coffee and wiped the dribble of liquid that escaped the corner of your mouth as you clicked off some article about a newbie mc receiving slander after rumors of her making moves on a popular idol was exposed and disappearing to avoid the backlash. Squinting at your screen with dry eyes, you pursed your lips and snapped the laptop shut, pushing the device away from you in an agitated huff.

“Wbat’s got you in the gutters, huh? Let me guess…,’’ Park Jimin, your desk mate, rolled his chair over to your side, his glasses askew on his nose,” Ah, your favorite celebrity go into a dating scandal? Let me think, who was it that recently go into a scandal… Oh, is it that pretty boy from a new idol group?’’

You gave him the stink-eye, and your sigh this time was even louder.

“You’d think there’d be something more…interesting going with these celebrities that we could get our hands on. Too much money, lots of stress, yet no story that’ll really seize the audience by surprise, and don’t you dare say a dating scandal would do it. Boss’s been on my case for the whole week on writing an article to shock the audience and wants me to release a major headliner story in two weeks, or that asshole’ll fire me. Damn it, Kim Seokjin!” you hissed out before slamming your forehead onto the desk.

“Man, be careful with your volume; if he hears your tone, he’ll chew you out for another hour that you could be using to research. Boss Kim is picky like that with everyone because our company’s a small piece of seaweed in a system dominated by crustaceous predators.” Jimin poked you in the side jokingly, his plush lips spread in a wide smile that lit up his exhausted face. “Just think really hard; use that big brain of yours and focus on a celebrity. Come on, no one’s perfect, even that one super famous idol Kim Taehyung must have some flaws, so don’t sweat it.”

“That golden boy? Man, the whole nation’s pussy-whipped for him. He couldn’t possibly be anything bu—,’’ you sharply inhaled before pushing your seat back and rapidly swiveling to face Jimin,’’ Park. Fucking. Jimin. Oh my God, you’re a fucking genius! A whole career with not even a speck of dirt… Come on, even pure-faced idol Soyeon was caught with a scandal last month. There must be something on the nation’s golden boy!’’

Jimin’s eyes widened in surprise with your sudden outburst, and he opened his mouth to speak. “Be careful about the way you go when you try to fish out info on him. His company’s security isn’t something easy to get through, and not a single celeb from that company has gotten into a single scandal. No reporters been able to get any dirt from them…”

“Which means that…there’s something sketchy happening. Jimin, Jimin, have I told you I’m in love with you?’’

You turned around quickly in your chair, spinning in glee. Jimin dropped his mouth open to sputter something, and his cheeks were tinging red, but you weren’t looking at or even listening to Jimin at hat point, having already cracked open your laptop to furiously type Kim Taehyung into Naver. This was it! Your big break! Your motivation sky-rocketed, and you felt the first rush of energy that wasn’t fueled by some caffeinated drink in a long while.

Two hours later, you were ready to throw up.

All of the results were sickeningly the same bullshit, as what was expected for someone as beloved by the nation as Kim Taehyung was. You couldn’t fathom the amount of fancams and magazine spreads of him posing on some brown leather sofa and fact pieces—hell, you even knew what kind of socks the man liked—that you had spent the past hours scrolling through.

Realizing that the office was nearly empty, and that the sky was dimming into a dark hue, you were about to shut down your laptop and call it a long fucking day when a tweet on someone’s SNS caught your eye.

@truth-teller: kim taehyung? nation’s golden boy? are you all really sure about that nonsense?

The tweet was spammed with angered replies, so many that the thread seemed to stretch on for at least a mile, but your interest was piqued. This was the first word of slander you had ever witnessed against Taehyung. You quickly pounded out a message to the account.

@name_01: hey, I saw your tweet about taehyung! Do you perhaps have any more information on him? I find him suspicious too.

You tapped send and waited with bated breath for a reply. Minutes crept by, and you were about to turn off your phone and head out of work when you noticed three dots pop up, dancing before disappearing.

@truth-teller: you fr? I had to suspend my acc because of all the spam I got. No one’s believed me on it, but I have proof

You chewed on your lip. What if this was a joke, and you were just wasting your time on some internet troll with too much time on their hands. It seemed like you were taking too long to reply because another message popped up.

@truth-teller: if you don’t believe me then that’s fine. I don’t have to waste my time

@name_01: WAIT! Sorry, it took me a second to comprehend this information… Please tell me more.

You were worried that the account wouldn’t reply anymore, and that you had ruined your opportunity before the three dots popped up again and another message was sent.

@truth-teller: ok, if you want to find out more let’s move to a better messaging platform, just in case my acc gets suspended by more fans. here’s my number: xxx-xxx-xxxx

It was a gamble to send some stranger on the internet your number, but at this point, you were too desperate to really give a damn. There was a story just out of the reach of your fingertips; you would be a fool to deny the carrot on a stick you were being provided.

@name-01: okay, I’ll message you.

Name: hey! Truth-teller right? This is me from the messages

JK: yeah that’s me. I prefer JK when I’m not on sns tho

Name: I’m (y/n). I don’t mean to sound like I’m hurrying you, but I want to hear what you have to say about Taehyung.

JK: lol r u a reporter or smth? Real bossy of you keke

You sucked in a breath. Should you reveal that?

Name: haha would it be bad if I said I was?

There was no response for the next 15 minutes. Exhaling a long sigh, you decided that you should at least maneuver your way home; the office had been cleared out completely during your conversation with this JK, and you couldn’t help the creeps that the emptiness gave you. If anything, the walk back to your place would give you some outlet for the nervous energy radiating throughout you. You were nearly at the door of your apartment when your phone vibrated in your pocket, signaling a message.

JK: just checking. Makes sense that you’re one though. It’d be nice if you could break this story out, but I hope you trust me enough after I tell you what I know

You clicked the door shut behind you, your eyebrows creased as you stared at your phone screen.

Name: don’t worry. I trust you!

You dropped your bag down onto the sofa before throwing your body onto the seat. The three dots under JK’s name popped up for several minutes before disappearing. In the place of the three dots, a long message had been typed out.

JK: I didn’t really think much of taehyung when I first heard about him since he’s the nation’s golden boy or whatever bs title they call him nowadays, but my sister’s friend was a big fan of him. she went out with my sister and they met him in some shady club in gangnam. my sister’s friend got to talk to him exclusively and my sister got separated from her and got a text from her friend saying that she had smth come up and she already went home. she tried to contact her friend the day after, but she got a text back saying that her friend wasn’t feeling well. my sister’s friend was “best friends’’ with her but she didn’t contact my sister again until a week later saying she got a job opportunity overseas and already was about to board on the plane because it was important she got there fast. my sister’s friend didn’t contact her again like she dropped off the face of the earth

You pursed your lips in contemplation as you tapped out a message back, your nails clicking against the screen.

Name: ?? Are you sure that isn’t a coincidence?

JK: yeah, I thought so too but it was rly sus that my sister’s friend who had known my sister for 12 years to suddenly go overseas for a job opportunity without telling her at all. and when my sister tried to get new contact info from her friend there was no reply. but I got curious and since I do some computer work for my job i wanted to see if I could track the ip address of her phone but there was nothing. her last previous ip was all the way back in gangnam and my sister’s friend lived in incheon. that was a red flag so I decided to go talk to the landlord at my sister’s friend’s old apartment and the landlord said he didn’t see her come back since before that night but woke up to a fully paid lease and the apartment cleared out 

You squinted your eyes at the screen, unable to properly process the information that this so-called JK had just given you. Chewing on your lip, you closed your eyes briefly before opening them back up and typing back a message.

Name: anything else? Sorry…just seems a bit far-fetched.

JK: think whatever then. I have to go to work now

Right when JK’s message popped up, another message pinged on your cell. You refused to let yourself ponder more on JK’s last message as you clicked on your friend’s text notification.

Platonic LOML <3: BAE, R U FREE TONIGHT? I’m lonely n want someone to come with me to this club— ik you’re not into clubs but pretty please

You were about to reply with a refusal when JK’s words came up to your mind again. You didn’t know why, but there was a sharp feeling in your gut that told you that you couldn’t miss this opportunity Call it silly intuition or some coincidental fabrication spurned by your mind, but that feeling persisted until you typed out a reply to your friend.

Name: okay fine. Come over in 30.

Taehyung swirled the liquid in his glass, watching the deep burgundy of the wine stain the glass a soft pink. His head was hurting again, and the new medication he had been taking for them on advice of the company didn’t work.

He scanned the dim, musty club, watching the pulsating lights cloak the dancing bodies in sallow shades of pale yellow. This club was a downgrade from his previous celebrity-exclusive club that he had gone to the previous week, but his manager had told him that if he really wanted peace, he should choose an area where no one would really know him.

Taehyung knew the real reason why his manager had insisted on this. Deaths of other celebrities were much harder to cover up after all.

Pity he actually followed his manager’s advice for once. The wine in here, despite the bougie price tag, was complete shit and provided him a slight buzz at best. And there was no one who really caught his eye out of the crowd of people. As he was about to get up from his seat and leave the club for somewhere with better—he contemplated going back to that celebrity club just to fuck with his company—pickings, he caught sight of someone entering the club.

You looked absolutely gorgeous, swathed in a black shift that you kept fighting to keep over your ass—and god, was it a plump ass too, the kind that made Taehyung’s cock hard in his tight black pants—with hair framing your face in a breathtaking way that showed glimpses of sparkling jewelry. Your friend, some chick with dyed green hair that Taehyung didn’t bother paying attention to, was clinging onto your arm, dragging you near the dance floor.

Taehyung knew.

He couldn’t take his eyes off you.

His head seemed to clear from the mind-numbing throb it always had when he spent too much time without another victim to take his aggression out of. Feeling the cool metal of the blade he always had tucked near his body, Taehyung sat back down in his seat, a playful smile perking at the edges of his lips. Funny enough, the blood thirst that never seemed to properly leave him was gone from his mind, an occurrence that was as rare as the pills the company liked shoving down his throat actually working for once.

You maneuvered your way over to the bar, to him, your friend pouting as she noticed you leaving before melting away into the crowd of grinding bodies. Taehyung swore then and there that the attraction between you and him was absolutely magnetic, with the way you seemed to pull the other towards one another.

He watched as you ordered some pretty-colored martini, adorably scrunching your face as the burn of alcohol coated your tongue and hit the back of your throat with a singe.

Maybe, Taehyung though to himself as he propped his chin lazily on his palm, he should really start listening to his manager more often.

Your mind was in a haze, and you didn’t even notice the man next to you until he was nearly pressed to your side, barely leaving a gap of space between the two of you.

You glanced at him, your tipsy mind suddenly sobering up as you realized who the man sitting next to you was. Kim Taehyung? What the fuck was he doing here?

“Another drink for a pretty lady?” Taehyung’s teeth showed as he charmingly flashed an award-winning coquettish smile at you, his already extremely handsome features seeming to increase in beauty from the grin.

You remembered JK’s words and a chill ran up your spine. God, his messages didn’t seem so implausible now, did they? Goosebumps rose up on your skin, freezing you to the bar table. Were…Were you his next victim?

You swallowed dryly as you tried to calm your racing heartbeat. The side of you that was a reckless journalist wanted to take a nosedive at the headliner just out of reach, but the rational side of you knew that leap of faith had a much bigger chance of you ending up disappearing off for a new job opportunity overseas, as Taehyung’s company would have it. You couldn’t write a good story if you were dead, after all.

“Thank you, but I can pay for my own drinks,’’ your lips twitched slightly as you forced them into a hopefully convincing gentle smile, refusing his offer softly before moving your body casually a few inches away from him,” Having drinks bought by strangers isn’t really my thing.”

Your smile must’ve looked a hell of a lot less nervous than you actually felt and a lot more convincing too because Taehyung’s shoulders, which had previously been winded like he was a predator getting ready to pounce on prey, seemed to relax at your words.

There was a dark gleam in his eyes when he again invaded your personal space and pushed his body near yours. He leaned in and whispered softly into your ears, his voice clear despite the early 2010s hits blaring from the speakers by the dance floor.

“If you’re scared of strangers, why don’t we get to know each other a bit?’’

Your fake smile grew stiff on your face. You felt like you were going to hurl the convenience store meal of ramen that you had scarfed before coming to the club all over the bar and Taehyung’s expensive luxury bran clothes. You could feel a sense of dread in your bones, the kind a prey animal would feel as a predator focused its carnivorous attention on them.

You forced a fake laugh, trying to drive the message that you were just not interested to Taehyung as loud and clear as you could manage.

“No thanks; I have enough people I’m close to. If you’ll excuse me, I think I’ve left my friend alone for far too long on the dance floor.”

You pushed yourself off the bar table, flashing a strained polite smile before you headed over the dance floor, trying to keep your pace slow and steady instead of breaking out into the outright run you wanted to do.

Taehyung inhaled the linger scent of your perfume, a natural smell that sweetly layered itself over the damp musky air of the club. His eyes, even as you tried to focus on the pounding music and forget the fear embedded deeply in your gut, never seemed to leave your form. Even when you burrowed yourself deeply into the crowd away from his view, you could still feel it.

You found yourself painfully sober after that encounter, trying to look normal in front of your friend for the rest of the night that seemed to painstakingly drag on for eternity. Even when you had the short 2-minute walk from the cab you took to your front door, you didn’t stop looking over your shoulder, still feeling the chill that came with the thought of Taehyung’s gaze. When you got inside your home, the bubbling nausea in your stomach took control over you, and you ended up heaving your dinner down the toilet.

When you managed to somewhat pull yourself together, you typed out a quick message with practically shaking fingers to the only one you could think of in that moment would understand what you were feeling, You stared at your unsent message before hastily pressing send.Name: I didn’t know who to talk to, but I saw Taehyung at the club today. I think you’re right about what you said about Taehyung.

Name: I didn’t know who to talk to, but I saw Taehyung at the club today. I think you’re right about what you said about Taehyung.

Ping!

You barely managed to fall asleep that night, and your eyes painfully ached when you peeled your eyelids open, hurriedly grabbing your phone and turning it on to check your messages.

JK: what happened? Sry for late response. Job keeps me busy all night

Your fingers flew over the keyboard as you typed out your message, furrowing your eyebrows in concentration as you tried to relay the events of your night in hopefully comprehensible words.

Name: I went with my friend to some sketchy club idk what area at this point but I went to the bar and I felt someone come up to me ?? I turned and realized it was Taehyung, and he offered to buy me a drink but I declined. Makes me sick how I could’ve been his next victim, so I tried to leave and go back to where there was more ppl in the club, But I can’t stop thinking about the look in his eyes. There was something sickening in them, I couldn’t put my finger on it.

JK didn’t respond for a bit, and you exhaled a trembling breath when his message popped up.

JK: be careful. Im glad you managed to get away

Name: I’m scared. I didn’t know what to do, but hopefully I’ll never see him again once I get this scoop out.

JK: stay safe. Thx for telling me. Text me if anything else happens.

You let out a shaky breath before clicking your phone off, your nerves still rattled but slightly more calmed down after talking with JK. You had to get ready for work, but at this rate, you weren’t even sure how you would be able to get through the day. Maybe you should take a sick day? No, you couldn’t.

The elevator dinged closed behind you as you stepped out of it into the office. As you were about to take a seat at your desk, your boss rushed out of his office, relief, something he never showed to you, evident on his expression once he caught sight of you.

“(Y/n)! Come into my office; I have an important job for you,’’ your boss ushered you into his office without another word, practically pushing a baffled you into the room frantically,” You know the company that manages Kim Taehyung? They reached out and agreed to an exclusive one-on-one interview with Kim Taehyung only, and only, if you agreed to the interview.”

You stiffened, your body frozen as you tried to process the words your boss had just spoken. Your brain seemed to be running a marathon as you computed the words your boss said, and you could only meekly respond with a limp,” Why me? Can’t somebody…Can’t someone else take over? Boss…you know I’m not that experienced.”

Boss Kim barely paid any attention to your words as he rested a hand on your shoulder with a confident look on his face.

“Then, use this opportunity to get more experience. You want to show the world that you’re a journalist by getting a scoop? Then take this interview! You know the company never agrees to exclusive one-on-one interviews unless they’re all staged, but there wasn’t even talk of this being staged at all. If you can use this opportunity and get something big, won’t this be your biggest step towards a great journalist career?’’ your boss exclaimed,’’ If you back out, another chance like this won’t come again!”

As much of an asshole Boss Kim was sometimes, you could find the logic in his words. Besides, it must be a coincidence that Kim Taehyung wanted you specifically to give him an interview; maybe he wanted a newbie, so they wouldn’t have much experience trying to fish out personal details and twist his words.

That’s right. There was no way he even remembered what you looked like. You guys interacted for, what, a solid 2 minutes last night. And if you did this interview right, you could use it as a building block as evidence for the headliner you intended to release with what JK had told you.

You exhaled, nodding your head firmly.

“I will. I’ll take this interview.”

Boss Kim’s face brightened, making him look much more like the stereotypical handsome CEO character found in dramas. Since he always looked exhausted and stressed out, he always seemed more intimidating, an aura that seemed to scare off any thoughts about how gorgeous he actually was. You had to admit: your heart did flutter a bit at his face.

“Excellent! He’s waiting in the meeting room right now! You only need, what, six hours to prepare, right?”

Fuck, you take back that heart flutter. Boss Kim was an asshole.

“S-Sir,’’ you sputtered,” I can’t…’’

Before you even finished your words, Boss Kim was already ushering you back out of the office.

“I believe in you! You got this!”

He closed the door behind you. You swallowed back the mouthful of swears you wanted to spew before scrambling towards your desk.

You weren’t prepared, but you knew you would do anything for a scoop.

Exactly 6 hours and seventeen seconds later, you were primly seated in front of Kim Taehyung.

The seats were annoyingly too close, and you cursed Boss Kim in your heart, knowing that the reason why the chairs were placed in such an unprofessional manner was because Boss Kim wanted to create the perfect intimate setting for no cost. If you tried to extend your legs, you’d end up smacking them straight into Taehyung’s legs.  

You, although disgruntled, had to admit that there was a reason why so many major brands wanted him as their model. He was handsome under the shitty lighting of the musty club last night, but here, with his hair and makeup carefully done despite the fluorescent lighting of the room, he was every synonym of the word beautiful combined into one person.

Blond strands of his hair brushed his chiseled features, and his eyes, curved attractively and framed with delicate long wisps of eyelashes, was intensely focused on your face. He looked ever like a marble statue, carved with attention and detail to be the most perfect specimen artistry could ever create. But he wasn’t perfect; that was what you knew. And that would also be what would you get just one step ahead of him.

You swept a piece of hair and tucked it behind an ear as you scanned your hastily scribbled notes. His eyes clung to that movement, as if he was mesmerized by your every action, and you peeked a look through your lashes. Your eyes met, and you forced a stiff smile.

“Kim Taehyung-ssi,’’ you rolled your shoulders back into a proper posture, gingerly extending a hand out for him to take,” Good morning. It’s an honor to be able to do an interview with you.”

The edges of his lips tilted upward, and there was a playful glint in his eyes as his previous fiercely predatory state melted into the façade he put up in front of the public. He reached out and took your hand, throwing you off guard as he leaned in and pressed a tender kiss on the back of your hand.

“Likewise, it’s an honor to have an interview with you, (Y/n).’’

Yuck, you were going to have to wash your hands later. Anyways, what kind of person even kissed the back of people’s hands nowadays? This was the 21st century for fuck’s sake. You somehow kept your grimace to yourself.

You nervously laughed as you practically yanked your hand back out of his grasp. You casually wiped the back of your hand on the fabric of your skirt, disguising the movement as simply brushing off dust. Taehyung’s eyes didn’t leave any of your movements, and he laughed a little as he realized just what you were doing.

Oh, you were so interesting. You weren’t like the rest of them, the fans that threw themselves at him adoringly; hell, he was sure you weren’t even a fan. He was entranced. When he was close to you, the headaches seemed to fade; he didn’t want to drown himself in another body when he was with you. He didn’t want to kill when he was with you.

You ignored his burning gaze, breezing through the beginning parts of the interview. Finally, you reached the part that you had been anxiously preparing for.

“So, I heard that you’re trying out a new actor role. As a model and an artist and now an actor, we have to admit that your talents are incredibly versatile, Kim Taehyung-ssi.’’ You continued speaking. “Could you tell us a little more about this role?’’

“You flatter me too much, (Y/n).’’ He purposefully had left any formalities to the wind in this interview, a move that made you want to grind your teeth. “Yes, I was offered one of the leading roles in a new thriller movie. I’ll be acting as one of the charismatic but complex characters. I hope to show you and all of my fans a new side to Kim Taehyung.”

“Ah, a new side,’’ you nodded lightly,” Your new role as a charismatic serial killer who targets his admirers is certainly what many would call…complex. How do you go about preparing for such a twisted role?”

“Hmm…,’’ Taehyung’s lips curled up menacingly for a brief moment before fading away into a breezy smile,’’ It’s quite difficult to immerse myself into a role in which I have limited experience in, so I like to read through the script and make a map of what the character is like. What motivates him; what makes him so…complex, as you called it. I pretend to be like the character. How do I make myself think like him? That’s the question I like to try to find an answer to.”

“Ah, this is simply my personal opinion, but to truly play the character requires some true life experience…Is it possible that you’ve ever done anything similar to what the character has done in real life?”

A pin seemed to drop in that very moment from the silence that crowded the room. Everyone in the room froze and stared at you, their glances less than pleasant. You bore it all as you stared intently into his eyes. Slip up, you prayed, do something that will make you slip up. There was not even a brief soft sound in the 10 seconds that it took for Taehyung to respond.

He was rigid, the smile plastered on his face barely fading. Come on, you begged, expose yourself just a bit.

“Your response is lagging for just a bit, Kim Taehyung-ssi. It makes you seem guilty just a bit, doesn’t it?’’

He snapped out of it right then and there.

“I was simply contemplating my response. Your impatience is something not so befitting of a formal interview. To answer your question, isn’t a role just a role at the end of the day? If you think about it, I’m not the only person to have played a role like this. Many actors and actresses have done so without any thought of relating it to their real life. After all, a role is simply an imaginary self.”

You both stared into each other’s eyes, and you felt the gazes of other people around you burn into you.

You settled on a retreat. It was fine; this interview was just the first building block. You laughed lightly, throwing off the previous tense silence easily.

“Of course! We wouldn’t expect nothing but, right? We hope to see your talent truly shine through in this new role!’’

The tenseness in the room seemed to slip away right then, and the deathly gazes on you flitted away, like they were never there in the first place.

You let out a sigh as you left the interview room. God, that was terrifying, but you knew that you had to do what you had just previously done. What you had just done asserted the theory that you had. His company was hiding something about him, and that something was nothing less than downright horrific.

JK, you thought to yourself, I’m going to expose this story, just you wait.

“You weren’t just going to leave, huh?’’

You heard a familiar voice speak behind you, and you quickly spun around.

“Kim Taehyung-ssi,’’ you forced out of your throat,’’ I believed you had already left.”

“I was going to, but I wanted to speak to you about the interview. The company rarely lets me do interviews, so it was really refreshing to have one done with you. We worked so well together, and I would like to thank you for the pleasant experience you had given me with dinner. You must be starving, right?’’

You had been starving earlier, but one word from Taehyung left your stomach churning in nausea.

“No!’’ your voice was a bit too loud, so you hastily softened it,’’ No, that’s not necessary. You don’t need to thank me.”

Taehyung took steps closer to you, and you unconsciously took a step back. Noticing your movements, he looked at you and flashed a grin that might’ve looked harmless to others but outright menacing to you.

“Are you scared of me?’’ his voice was almost like a purr. You fought back a shiver, straightening your back and looking him straight in the eyes.

“No,’’ you stabilized your voice, keeping a waver out of it,” Why would I be scared of you? You’re not some higher being than me just because you’re a celebrity. You’re human, after all. But, as you can see, I have work to do, so I will have to politely decline your offer.”

“You can have the rest of the day off.”

You spun around on your heels, your gaze colliding with Boss Kim’s. When did he arrive?

“Sir! Boss! No, if I skipped out on work, I’d be a burden to everyone. Besides, I—,’’ your voice was cut off by another voice.

“It’d be good to establish a positive relationship between your company and ours. Your boss would usually be the one to go to a dinner, but I believe he already has plans. Any work you were unable to fulfill today will be taken care of.”

The voice seemed to chill you to the bone. You turned to make eyes with a man. Was he…Taehyung’s manager? Although he was handsome, the kind of handsome that was comparable with Taehyung’s, something about him churned your stomach. While Taehyung was like a predator waiting to pounce on his prey, the man behind this voice was already sinking his teeth into the neck, wringing out the… You snapped out of your thoughts.

Snap out of it, you mentally scolded yourself.  

“How about it?’’ Taehyung’s manager coldly smiled, his tone like glaciers.

You opened your mouth to try to refute, but with the burning gaze from your boss, you could only dip your head in a bow, your voice low.

“Thank you for the offer. I accept.”

They couldn’t kill you, right? It’d be too obvious.

You followed them out, and when you passed by Boss Kim, you made a panicked glance at him. What greeted you made you halt briefly in your pace.

When Boss Kim made eye contact with you, he patted your shoulder in what should’ve been reassurance. His lips spread out in a smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes.

“Don’t disappoint me, hmm?’’

His words, spoken low and steady, left a chill in your veins as you kept walking, and the sliding doors of the elevator dinged close behind you, effectively trapping you with Taehyung and his manager.

You somehow made it out of the elevator and through the tense car ride alive. Now, you were seated next to Taehyung himself in the private room of a restaurant. Smoke rose from the grill, briefly obscuring your view of his manager from across you.

You tried to think positively of the situation. If Taehyung was drunk, maybe he’d slip up, but…you made a furtive glance at his manager from across the grill, slightly jolting when your eyes collided with his own. The fear that nearly overcame you made you nauseous.

“A drink?”

Taehyung’s voice broke the tense silence, and you turned to see him already raising his glass. You stiffly smiled, barely managing to keep the nervous twitch out of the curves of your lips.

“I don’t drink.”

“It’s impolite to decline a friendly offer. Come on, a toast to a wonderful…partnership.” Taehyung chuckled, raising his glass, as he leaned his chin onto the propped palm of his hand,” And we wouldn’t want a bad start to it.”

You were panicking by now, but you could imagine what Boss Kim would say if Taehyung’s company pulled out because of something so miniscule. You couldn’t afford to lose your job, not with the way you had fought tooth and nail to get your position; you wouldn’t last a month without your job or the meager protection it gave you.

You made your decision, a decision you would’ve done anything else but avoid, and tilted the glass up, clinking it against Taehyung’s glass. Turning away, you made it look like you were lightly sipping the drink, but you only allowed the liquid to slightly wet your lips. You set down the still-full glass and smiled pleasantly.

“I can only drink this much. Anymore, and I would experience terrible side effects.”

Taehyung didn’t seem even irked by your feeble attempt at pretending; instead, his eyes filled with amusement. He didn’t stop staring at you, and the threatening vibe of it caused you to unconsciously delve into your habit of gripping your glass of water and drinking it in an attempt to calm your nerves.

You placed the empty glass back down before resuming anxiously picking at your food. A pair of chopsticks—specifically Taehyung’s chopsticks—placed a piece of barbecued meat on your bowl of rice.

“Not feeling hungry? You need to eat. Skipping meals is bad for your health,’’ Taehyung beamed as he watched you carefully pick up the piece of meat and eat it. It would’ve been delicious any other time, but the churning in your gut made it taste like sand in your mouth. You dryly swallowed it.

“I’m heading to the restroom.”

You heard Taehyung’s manager speak in his flat tone, and you threw a skittish glance at him as he stood up and walked out of the private room, closing the door with a soft click behind him.

“Ah, now that that nuisance is out of the way, why don’t we talk more?’’ Taehyung’s tone was playful, and you flinched as he leaned closer to you, his breath brushing against the outer shell of your ear.

“Kim Taehyung-ssi,’’ you gritted the name through your teeth,” Please respect my personal space.”

He laughed lowly before he dropped a hand on your thigh. You were about to make a move to push him away, but your body suddenly felt tired, like you weren’t quite in control anymore.

“Come on, do what I say, and your little news company will do so much better. Your boss didn’t tell you this, but your company’s going bankrupt. One peep from me, and your company will rise in ranking, but I can only do that if I’m in a…happy mood.”

Taehyung pressed even closer to you, his nose against the curve of your neck as he inhaled your scent deeply in. His hands moved from his side and he ripped open the buttons of your shirt, groping your bra-covered tits. You let out an incoherent mumble in response, trying to flimsily kick at him.

Where was the waiter? Why was his manager taking so long? They planned this!

Disgust and heat coiled in your gut, but you were too dizzy to move. Something…that bastard…Did he spike your water? You were too careless, fuck. Taehyung moved one hand to tilt your chin up before his lips met yours. Despite how sloppy of a kiss it was, you could tell he was experienced, practically tasting every inner crevice of your soft mouth with his tongue, and you should’ve continued to be revolted, but whatever pill in your system had you melting into his mouth.

Taehyung seemed to sense the turmoil and conflict in you and the soft give of your will, and that seemed to make him even braver. He slid a hand up your skirt, his touch hot even through the fabric of your stockings, and you let out a startled moan against his lips, drool dribbling down the corners of your mouth. He pulled back, and you could barely see through the teary haze of your eyes. It had been too long since the last time you had a good fuck. You just wanted to be touched…wanted to be fucked so hard his cock would press against your womb.  

“I just want to see you let go a bit, baby,’’ there was the triumph of domination in his voice. The sober part of you wanted to rebel, wanted to push and scream and kick him away, but you weren’t sober, weren’t clear-minded. Your legs spread as if begging for more of his touch.

He ripped his fingers through your stocking, and the material easily gave way underneath his strength. You could feel the damp spot on your panties, growing as he rubbed his fingertips against your drooling pussy. You shivered slightly in delirious pleasure as his finger rolled over your throbbing clit.  

“Mmph!’’ you let out a sound as he pushed your soaked panties to the side and pushed his fingers deep into your pussy. You couldn’t object, not when your pussy was stretching with a spine-tingling ache around his fingers, and especially not when he begin to set a teasing pace. He pushed his fingers in, and you shut your eyes in shame as your moans grew louder.

Your toes curled as his movements grew faster, reaching deep into you, and you were so, so close. Oh my god you could feel…and you were cumming hard. Your walls shivered and twitched around his still moving fingers, and you murmured a dazed plea as he finally stilled and pulled his fingers out. You, still twitching from how hard you came earlier, were ashamed to see the way his fingers glistened with the remnants of your arousal and orgasm.

The sound of his pants being unclasped drew you out of your drugged state. No, he wasn’t going to…Come on, snap out of it, snap out of it.

He drew back closer again, and you sucked in a breath, trying to push through your daze. He leaned in. You managed to bring your arms up to the table, grabbing the nearest object that you could reach. Your trembling fingers closed around your nearly empty water glass, and you took it, raising it and smashing it as hard as you could over his head. Water, ice cubes, and glass shards struck as the glass broke. Taehyung, not expecting the blow, had a temporary moment of weakness, and you managed to push him off you.

You shoved yourself up onto shaky legs, wrapping the ripped blouse around your weakened body, and forced yourself into a run outside of the room. The hallway of the restaurant around the private rooms was empty, devoid of any person. You frantically looked over your shoulder, relieved that you didn’t see him coming after you. This was a public place, though it was late at night, and you knew Taehyung wouldn’t risk his perfect reputation. But still, you remembered his manager was still out there.

You couldn’t let them kill you…You had to survive! You broke into a blind run, ignoring the strange looks and the calls you got from the restaurant’s staff as you pushed out of the restaurant into the street. You kept running despite the dizziness of your mind, and you could barely see what was in front of you before…You crashed into someone, slamming into their body so hard that you were sent sprawling to the ground.

“Please…,’’ you choked out, your voice strangled, crying out a desperate plea as you grabbed onto their clothes,’’ Please help me.”

Your mind was dizzy, splotches of colors splattering your blurry vision. Your body had overexerted yourself, and you prayed that you wouldn’t end up a dead body on the news as your grip around the clothes went lip, and you collapsed into the road. Through the buzzing of your ears, you could hear a startled voice call out, feel a firm touch grab your shoulders and try to shake you awake. Some strange hope rose in you; maybe…maybe…?

You murmured desperately one last mumble, your words barely making sense, as you spiraled into unconsciousness.  

“JK…please help me.”

A/N: if you want to be added to the taglist for the next part, reply with a  ❤️. If you enjoyed the story, please leave a comment or a detailed review below <3

Next work will be a fic for Jungkook’s upcoming birthday. Poll will be released soon for what kind of plot it should have! 

[jean-does-not-have-a-horseface]

hi can i please request one where levi's s/o is sort of like him in personality but just melts whenever theres a baby. like she'll see a baby in town and will go from silent and moody to the heart eyes emoji but a person, or she'll babysit her neice or nephew or cousin and will be just so loving and bubbly? like its obvious that she wants to be a mum but she never brings it up because she doesnt think he wants kids and eventually they get pregnant + his reaction? sorry if this is too much (1/2)

ΑΝΟΟΟΟΝ IM BLUSHING THANK YOU SO MUCH. I really loved this request and it inspired me so I pushed before others because I had to get it out of my system. I hope you like this. It's super duper long also👉👈

Warnings: uhh pregnancy, mentions of anxiety

Tags: fluff, domestic Levi, pregnancy, modern au

Pairing: Levi/ Reader

Baby Fever

Your heartbeat grew louder with each passing second as Mike abused the door with one too many knocks. You didn't know if you could talk, or breath or do anything other than vomiting though this time from the anxiety building at the pits of your stomach and not due to your very recent event of morning sickness.

"Are you alright in there?"

You choke on your own voice as you try to huff a single response. It's not really up to your judgement of you're alright or not but rather in the small white object's that rests between the thumbs and pointer fingers of each of your hands. You contemplate if there's a way to not raise any more suspicion to the blond male, you're at his house for all that matters. Nanaba called you to take care of their their twins and you happily complied to your half sister's pleas because Mike had a very important job interview. Life had taken a toll on him lately, they couldn't afford a babysitter and he was just recently fired due to his company having to cut down expenses thanks to the pandemic. Amidst this pandemonium he had to find a way to provide for his family and help Nanaba with at least a short monthly salary. So babysitting your beloved niece and nephew wasn't much of a problem. Not until now.

At first it hadn't bothered you that your period was late, you had accepted the pcos lifestyle the hard way ever since you first got it. You would track down your period in hopes you could ever predict when it would come again but it always seemed to surprise you. Sometimes it would come in a months notice only to take four months to do a full circle. At twenty three, this was the most positive outturn as a resolution to your problem. Levi was pushing you to eat healthy and exercise to get a better grip of your situation, even though you knew it was in vain. And thus, overall it didn't bother you that you hadn't had your period still, fatigue and breast inflammation were also common problems due to hormonal abnormalities so you chose not to pay any attention to those early signs either.

What had driven you to urge Levi to drop you off to the drugstore next to Nanaba's house though was that you've been having symptoms of morning sickness for almost a week now, that you had tried to push aside for Levi not to notice. He would quarantine you on your on your own and go stay with Erwin and Hange had he any suspicion of you being down with the stomach flu. The stomach flu though didn't feel like that and you knew, you had been through it one too many times, this was something different and yet you cursed at yourself for overthinking it. You had bought the pregnancy test as something that was supposed to turn out negative, as a positive resolution that you weren't pregnant and that you should quest for whatever it was that was making your stomach turn and twist every morning.

Upon finally opening the door in an attempt not to delay Mike who wanted to attend his interview, the blond male inspected your form with a harsh gaze. "You shouldn't push yourself if you're sick. We could call my mother to watch over Eli and Blaire."

"No." You pushed it off. "I'm fine Mike, it's probably that weird mushroom soup I ate yesterday, Levi insisted on not buying it but I didn't listen."

"I see." Mike said scrunching his nose at the process. Sometimes you hated that he knew you so well that he could even smell you lying, but he was Nanaba's childhood friend before her mother married your father and had you; you had practically grown up with the blond duo so for all you knew, even if he was certainly aware that you were lying he didn't push things further. He simply placed a hand on your shoulder, the brother like nature of his touch as assuring as one can be. "If you need anything call me, I'll answer as soon as possible, drink lots of water and don't wear yourself down."

You bore your eyes into his and nodded simply. Mike greeted the twins with reluctance and let out a sigh before fixing his suit perfectly on his shoulders. The small kids smiled bubbly in return and waved at their father enthusiastically. As soon as the door closed and their father got out of sight both children jumped on you with loud giggles. The act alone was enough to curl your lips into an upward position.

By noon you had fed and lulled the kids to sleep, earning some significant time to sink into the crevices of the feathery soft sofa before Nanaba came back from her shift. As tiring as Eli and Blaire were you enjoyed their teeny company. You didn't mind their lack of ability to form full understandable sentences yet, you loved how they didn't even try to spare a second thought on what they bubbled on about and you did your best to provoke them to speak correctly. They would open their arms for you, their tiny palms signaling you to take them into long affectionate hugs as they called a baby spoken version of your nickname and you would melt at it every single time. Everyone knew you much you loved the chubby cheeked sweethearts, as much as it contrasted with your usual demeanor. There was something that truly made you feel like the best version of yourself when you were around them.

Babies seemed to be a hot topic in your group of friends for a couple of months now, ever since you started helping Nanaba in the house before Mike got fired. Levi seemed very unbothered by the subject in a way that saddened you almost; sure, you might have talked about it in the past, being that he was a little older than you and he might have understood that you longed to be a mother one day, but that was as far as that one conversation had gone. He still had that bored, stoic gaze that slipped off of yours when you would encounter a baby in the street, whereas you would basically make heart eyes and weird grimaces to any infant he would just click his tongue and avert his gaze away, to any other direction as if he disapproved off your fondness.

That memory alone left you hollowing inside as you recalled of the two very much pink lines on the screen of the test this morning. Naturally you would check with a doctor before jumping to conclusions, there still was a chance that the test was at fault and you wanted to bet on simply that. If the case was that you were actually pregnant though things were more complicated than you wanted them to be. For instance you were still in University, for your last year at that, but you had excessive amounts of studying to get your hands on your degree and Levi was cornered and ready to be squished by his job for being a vice president, which was unfair as he worked for Erwin. You understood the situation though as Erwin was struggling to keep the company going especially through these rough rough times. There was also the fact that you were terrified of Levi asking you to put the baby down, with pcos wearing your system down you were panicking that you wouldn't have a chance to conceive a baby later on. What if this was your only chance? You've always longed to be a mother so it didn't matter that it came to you this early right?

The sound of the front door clicking open shook you off your thoughts immediately. For better or for worse it was Nanaba that had finally returned, eager to strip herself of her clothes and face mask and run to the bathroom. She offered you small greeting to which you only nodded, your tired mind ordering your eyes to find comfort at small shapes in the ceiling. You didn't know how long your sister took in the bathroom, but judging by the lack of giggling coming from the babies' room you supposed it wasn't for long.

"You want to wait for Levi to come pick you up or should I give you a ride home when Mike's back? He should be home soon!" She spoke as she poured water in a red metallic boiler.

"I'll just walk. I need some air."

Nanaba emitted a soft hum in response "Are you alright? You seem off."

"Oh no." You brushed her off "I was just thinking about what I should wear at Erwin and Hange's anniversary dinner next week, and what gift to buy Levi now that his birthday is coming."

"Good, I see, just don't stress alright?"

___

The way home was longer than you had initially remembered, whether it was for your inability to walk with a steady pace or mostly because it was already getting dark and cold. You wondered if Levi would be getting home by now as you neared the apartment complex the two of you resided in. By the looks of your illuminated window he was already home as expected of him this certain hour. It probably was one of those days when he didn't have a strict deadline to attend to, which, under normal circumstances, only meant more cuddles and kisses for you. Yet, tonight was different.

"Hey Levs" Your voice lingered in his brain the moment you stepped inside.

"Hey brat, welcome home." The kiss you left on his cheek as you hurriedly headed to the bathroom was different, off almost, and he picked up on it immediately. "Did Nanaba drop you off? I had asked Mike to come by tonight, he said he'd bring some tea leaves he bought for me."

He leaned at the frame of the door as he watched you wash every crevice of your face thoroughly, paying enough attention to the insides of your outer nasal cavity. He was pretty meticulous about hygiene and especially at times like these with a hole pandemic going on he wasn't taking any chances, you knew, plus you were kind of disgusted of germs lately yourself, you thought you finally understood where he was coming from. He took a few steps ahead, away from your body in search of a clean face towel to hand out to you when you were done. You have it to him, even if he seemed cold as stone that domestic lifestyle was mesmerizing to you.

"Thanks baby, you're the best." You half smiled.

"You good?"

At this point you wondered if you seriously we're so easy to read. You supposed you were off, but you were always off and unresponsive to many things so what exactly was it about today that made everyone know you had a conflict in your mind.

"Yeah I'm just tired, I walked here."

Levi clicked his tongue at that "Nanaba's home is very far away from here, have a shower and I'll rub your legs and feet." With eyes that never left yours Levi watched as your face lit up a little more, he gave you a tiny of a smile on return.

"You prooomise Levs?" You knew teasing with him could only lead to one thing, yet you did it shamelessly.

"Tch, of course, hurry up, I'm making pancakes with eggs and bacon."

Normally at the very sound of this particular food your eyes would water and your mouth would drool but the unresponsive nature of your expression only sent a new wave of worry through Levi's chest. As much as he had wanted to convince himself you were just tired, he couldn't, not after this reaction to your favorite snack. He decided not to push you into saying anything you didn't want to though. Maybe it was that enormous amount of notes you had to memorize for your next exams in addition to your fatigue and any hormonal altercations.

"Yeah" you trailed off "babe, about that, can we have cocktail shrimp? And maybe fried rice and fries? Pretty pretty please?"

Ah, there it was. Although it was a rare occasion for you not to be in the mood of his infamous pancakes, you could still have a few different cravings from time to time. Levi let out a sigh of relief as he proceeded your order trying to figure of where he should order from, last night's mushroom soup had messed your stomach up, that he knew, but you seemed to be fine now so in theory that should be enough to prevent him from whining out his concerns.

As he closed the door to the bathroom he hummed his favorite tune to himself, softly enough as not to disturb you with your bath. He picked up his phone from the kitchen table with ease before collapsing on the couch, there was a limit to what his body could take and he had surpassed that by far these past few months. Endless deadlines that took turns one after another and extra hours at the office had been killing him, mentally and physically, making him a little more grumpy than usual. In great addition his back ached, his fingers were sore and his mind felt like canned alphabet soup every single night. Perhaps, seeing him in this state was taking a toll on you as well; you were always so protective over him, almost like a mother to her child, despite being younger, and he if he had to, he'd admit he enjoyed it a little too much than he should have.

When you came out of the bathroom he gazed over you briefly, you were sitting before the end of the dresser, standing in front of the full body mirror, examining your form. He seemed to be puzzled by your demeanor once again. Normally, or up until yesterday, you would have immediately shot out to where he was seated at to plough into his arms with wet hair, only to slightly irritate him for getting him wet, not that he didn't enjoy to smell your fresh scent anyway, but it was a game of routine for you by now. It was almost as if you were seeking to be scolded at for not rushing to dry your hair. He always wanted you as healthy as ever.

You couldn't shake off your head how soft Levi's chest is. There probably wasn't a reason as to why he's sleeping shirtless tonight, your apartment was very warm, given that it was the start of December already, but you didn't complain. The feeling of creamy, milky soft skin, perfectly excused by any coarse hair was slowly putting you to sleep. You loved how Levi was so soft everywhere you touched, it was so unlike what the world perceived of him, maybe your baby's skin was going to be as smooth and perfect as his and not as dry and oily as yours. Of course the baby's skin was going to be soft, ugh and those little arms and legs, you couldn't lie to your self, deep down you were just a tad excited to have a baby, if it meant that it would look like Levi you wouldn't want to give up on it for the world.

"Levi, does Kenny keep baby pictures of you?"

"What?" The onyx haired male raised a brow at your inquiry but didn't give you enough time to repeat yourself before he answered. "My mother had so many pictures of me so I guess that it's natural that he has some and well there probably are a few pictures from after my mother's death, I'm not that sure."

In response, he only earned a hum.

"Tch, can I lay on your chest? I want you to play with my hair." His eyes pleaded with you in the darkness. Of course you could never say no to such thing, you loved it even more when he was the one sleeping on you. Another sentence left his lips, this time with a yawn as he shifted himself on you, cooing like a small child. "I'll call Kenny tomorrow, sleep now I know you need it."

____

Under any other circumstance you would have loved seeing everyone's dumbfounded faces stating at you as if they had seen the dead rise from their graves. You had to pinch your arms to remind yourself this was indeed serious and you shouldn't let out a single chuckle.

"Please tell me you're joking" Nanaba pleaded, placing her hand on yours in disbelief.

"I'm going to screeeeeam! Shorty can't even hold it in, ghaaaa!"

"Hange he will hear you through the restroom."

Hange blinked her eyes rapidly at the sound of that. "You haven't told him?" She immediately seemed to lose her enthusiasm, something you hadn't intended to happen, especially at such a night, but you knew you didn't have a say in other people's emotions.

"Hange he never seemed too fond of the idea, why would I complicated things for him?"

Mike's eyes widened in disbelief. There was no way in hell he was having this. You were practically his little sister, seeing you so tormented as you were in the moment when you spoke those words ravaged his last nerve, causing anger to clench his hands into fists. He watched as you took a small bite of your food giving the rest to Eli who was comfortably sitting on your lap, tapping his little hands on the rim of your plate. Other than the fact you broke out such news to him, Nanaba Hange and Erwin and had expressed your fears on informing your significant other, you seemed quite bubbly. Children really did bring out such a soft side of you, he knew that was for sure.

"Hange" you spoke, unphased as ever "Levi's coming please stop screaming at me, i love you but it's only making me dizzy."

It felt as if a thousand pairs of eyes were burning holes through his whole body, his head, and everywhere around his personal space bubble. Levi could feel his pulse tense just a tad, Hange's unnerving gaze and her crippling smile were fixated especially on him, making his nose itchy. There was something very different in the atmosphere around him; Nanaba wasn't eating anymore, she was more fixated on her daughter than anyone else, Erwin was nervously staring between him and you and you and Mike were trying to clean Eli's hands from the food he had just touched. When the scenery wasn't something irregular, none of you dared look eachother in the eyes, beat it that Hange was staring only at him.

"Oi, what the fuck is wrong-"

"Levi, shorty! Does Eli look like he's enjoying himself in (y/n)'s arms?" Hange turned her sweetened gaze on you, making you choke on your words, you shot her an atrociously strict glare. "Remember when Nanaba gave birth? What do you think about babies? Maybe you think they smell a lot? But what about ackerbabies?"

"Way to be discreet Han, thank you!" Your lips puckered in anger as you brought your arms to cross under your chest.

"Wait what's going on shitty glasses?"

"Yada Yada shorty, you're not getting a word from me, my lips are sealed" Hange spoke and shut her eyes to emphasize the significance of her words.

You sighed in a pathetic attempt to relieve some tention of your chest. A tight knot had formed due to anxiety, fog had clouded over your brain and you were feeling so faint and exhausted that you just wanted to get it over with. You didn't mind standing there like a fish out of water after breaking the news to him, the tention in the air was in fact what was making you suffocate in your seat. With wobbly hands you pushed Eli off your lap, not caring about the moan of disagreement he made and you shot up from your seat, announcing you had to take some fresh air. Levi had to stop Nanaba mid tracks to be able to come after you, fast enough to be there when you got out.

Naturally, you stood seated at a bench that neared the restaurant. Your hands were covering your face scratching softly through your hair, probably in attempts to calm your self down. He approached you without any second thought, this time determined to know what was it with you. Your behavior these past week had been unnerving and overly concerning to say the least. Carefully he sat himself down next to you, his right arm come around your frame comfortingly while the left one came to caress underneath your cheek.

"You should probably talk to me."

Your voice came muffled from between your palms as you still hadn't dared to look him in the eye. "Levi, I'm, I'm so sorry it's just... I'm very anxious."

"I think I figured that, brat." His voice was so soothing, it felt as if he was speaking to you in the comfort of your private room, not on a bench outside a semi fancy restaurant

"You know when Hange talked about ackerbabies she uhm, she might have had a particular baby in mind."

Levi blinked erratically for a single second before his mouth, unable to compel to his brain's orders, formed the shape of an oh. Of course, in the moment it was hard to click with any other even but he attributed that to his lack of knowledge over the situation. Had he any clue or suspicion that you could be pregnant he would have been able to realise that it wasn't that your stress had been messing with your stomach every morning and that your extreme fatigue couldn't possible align with the erratically swift rhythm of your palms. Of course, of course it wasn't a thermometer that you had disposed of in the toilet, he wanted to slap himself for being so naive as to believe that. He was strict with recycling rules, you wouldn't have just straight up there s thermometer in the trash. Fuck now's not the time to think about recycling.

With the soft, chaste kiss at the top of your hair you finally decided to turn your gaze to him. Watery eyes met with an adoring grey gaze, a gaze you've never seen at this extreme before. "I love you, you know." Another kiss meant your head got to lift a little more, just to get closer to him. "I don't say it often but you don't have to worry, I'll try to tell our kid more often."

Your eyes shimmered with adoration at his words, despite the cold weather you couldn't bring yourself to feel not even a little tingle, Levi was keeping you so warm with his words. "Really? You want this?"

"Tch why wouldn't I, you thought I'd ever let you go and leave me lonely? I've always thought you knew we're sharing the same future."

Your lips attacked his in fiery passion. It was a natural reaction to his words, an ice melting kiss, a promise for the future. There were many reasons as to why you lived Levi but maybe the fact that you would have a little stoic faced baby running around your feet made you love him a little bit more.

[camiddletonxox]

Intimate Celebration

Authors Note - I have wanted to write Adrian again for a while, but never had a real idea for him :/ anyway, here it is, let me know what you think ❤️

Taglist - @drakewalkerfantasy @ao719 @princess-geek@polishchoicesfan @binny1985 @desireepow @adriansbiss @sophxwithers @hatescapsicum @thequeenofcronuts @gardeningourmet @heauxplesslydevouted @whimsicallywayward15 @ilikemenbutonlyethanramsey @waitingforalana @regencylady1810 @dailydoseofchoices @lovealexhunt @maurine07 @queencarb @alexabeta @schnitzelbutterfingers @alookseeblog @arnikki-2406 @shanzay44 @ophrookie @adiehardfan @choicesficwriterscreations PLEASE SEND ME A MESSAGE OR COMMENT IF YOU WISH TO BE ADDED TO TAGLIST

Pairing - Adrian Raines x F!OC/Charity Middleton (Bloodbound)

Rating - General, this is just fluffiness.

Summary - After a success, Adrian and Charity just take time to be together and celebrate

Word Count - 960

Anyone who knew her, knew she was a very quiet vampire, she was someone who was very passive but had this fierce side to her. Everyone knew her as the loving wife to the senator. The love that was between Charity and Adrian was something pure and something beyond beautiful. The way they gazed at one another and the way they loved each other, whole-heartedly.

It had been a night of celebration as they had just raised money for a cause, so Senator Raines and his beloved wife were spending time together after the party. Well in the middle of the party, but they were now alone, and together.

"I think you have done amazingly, I am so proud of you, to be your wife" Charity spoke as she sipped on the champagne which was at least £60 a bottle, it was strong and tangy and was a perfect drink to indulge in.

Adrian smiled as he wrapped his arm around her, pulling her close, so he could just revel in the floral scent of her perfume, she cuddled into him and the two of them gazed at one another. Adrian kissed her softly, "I couldn't have done what I did if it wasn't for having my beautiful wife by my side" He murmured. He truly meant that, if it wasn't for Charity and her faith in him, he probably wouldn't even be a senator, she was his absolute rock through everything that he did, she always cheered him on and she always believed in him, and he knew he was the luckiest man in the world.

Charity laid her head in his shoulder, his strong arms around her made her feel cozy and made her feel like she was always safe, he was her rock, and he knew it. "I just helped where I could" she shrugged and sighed, she gazed up at the stars of the night sky, they were on a roof top, it was a modern marble theme, looked elegant and had the most delightful mini sofa, there was a few fair light trees decorating the rooftop, they both felt completely at ease. If this was a date, it would definitely be a perfect date.

Adrian gazed at the fairy lights, they were subtle as they glittered, the serene scene was just perfect, but with his wife by his side, it was beyond perfect. "If we have anything to celebrate tonight, I feel it should be how amazing my wife is" he murmured.

Charity's rosy cheeks turned red, she never did take compliments well, even though Adrian would constantly feed her compliments and make her feel like the most important thing in the world. "I don't think we need to celebrate me, your the one who has put in all this hard work-" she was cut off by a kiss being placed on her lips, and she melted into a puddle of awe underneath him.

"You are amazing, and I am the luckiest vampire on this earth that you chose me" Adrian whispered against her lips, but before she could even try and say anything, his lips pressed against hers once again.

Charity always felt herself melt when he said things like that to her, of course she chose him, he was the most amazing man (well vampire), he had always wanted to look after her, he cherished her in a way that no one else had ever before and she loved him for that. "I really love you" she whispers as she manages to pull away from the kiss for a moment.

"I really love you too" he breathed, his hand caressed her hair, playing with it, he gazed into those beautiful orbs that were her eyes, a maddening feeling of love over taking everything he had in him.

Charity felt her heart explode with love. She leaned into him, embracing him in a hug and he held onto her, smiling as the floral scent of her perfume danced up his nostrils. It was the one perfume she wore the most and it was the perfume that when he had a whiff of it, it made him happy because it was her perfume. The two of them were just there, in a warm embrace.

After a few minutes, Adrian decided to pour them another glass of champagne, and they both took a sip, they sat together, tangled in each other's embrace, in their happy place.

"What is next for you?" Charity asked curiously, she looked up to her husband who chuckled, he hadn't thought that far ahead, but he wanted to make more of a good difference to the humans and the vampires of the society.

"I want to continue to help the younger vampires, help them find a path to success" he murmurs,  thinking as he spoke, before he turned to her. "What do you want to do?" He asked ever so curiously.

She took a moment to consider the question before she looked to him. "I want to help those younger vampires be accepted" she murmurs, remembering what it was like for her when she was younger and she wasn't accepted by her friends because she was different. Maybe it is a completely different scenario, but she wanted those young vampires to feel beautiful how they were.

"I bet the next time we are celebrating, it will be over you" Adrian replies, he knew his wife was capable of making amazing things happen, and knew she could change the world.

"But right now, we are celebrating your hard work, so lets just drink our champagne and be in the moment" she whispered and he nodded. And, so they did, they spent the rest of the evening just enjoying each other and the evening.

[mollymauk-teafleak]

Same Smile

Huge thanks to my wonderful girlfriend @spiky-lesbian and my amazing friend @minky-for-short for the inspiration and listening to me reigniting my widomauk obsession.

Please reblog and leave a comment over on Ao3!

------

Caleb Widogast did not know his husband, Mollymauk Tealeaf, had an identical brother.

He didn't know his husband had two identical brothers.

He didn't know one of those identical brothers is on shore leave and was sitting on his couch. Not until he kissed him, anyway.

Basically a Modern AU where all of the tenants of the Tealeaf body are identical triplets!

------

Caleb dropped his satchel on the floor with a dull, heavy thunk. He tried to find it in him to care when one of the overtaxed buckles popped open and a pen, some student’s papers and a handful of crystals spilled across the hall rug. That could be a problem for tomorrow morning.

But for tonight he’d had a very, very long day. He’d had two seminars where none of his students had done the reading, a lab demonstration that had gone horribly wrong and made him smell like ammonia all day, he’d had to eat lunch on the train to make it to the bookshop on time only to find the day’s delivery was wrong and he’d ended up with hundreds of copies of a medical textbook that was very informative but probably weren’t going to sell very well. All in all it had been a pretty shit day and a burst buckle was not going to muscle its way in on top of all that.

Caleb had a very narrow, very selective list of what was going to be allowed in the rest of his day. And top of that list was finding his husband, slumping down next to him and pressing his face to the curve of his neck where the scent of his perfume was the strongest. Next on that list was letting his son sit on his lap and do that adorable thing he’d been doing lately where he rubbed his head all over his papa while babbling contentedly, almost like he was just telling Caleb about his day. Next was his daughter curling around his shoulders and purring loudly right next to his ear.

And that was about it, honestly. Maybe a cup of tea.

Caleb hung up his coat and scarf, both of them still dusted with drizzle from outside, kicking his shoes into the corner. He half considered going and putting his pyjamas on but that wasn’t on the list, he just needed to have Molly run his fingers through his hair to work the knots out of it and tell him everything was okay, that he was home now.

Molly was curled up on the sofa, the slightly tatty one with it back to the door. He had his hair loose, just pushed back from his face with a thin leather headband. It looked nice, Caleb made a vague mental note to tell him so.

“Hey,” Caleb leaned over the edge of the sofa, already smiling just from the closeness, “You would not believe the day I’ve had…”

He didn’t give his husband a chance to answer, just kissing him softly, catching his lips halfway through forming a word. Caleb melted into it, putting his hand to his face, stoking his thumb across a cheek that was slightly rougher than he remembered it being that morning.

Caleb froze, eyes snapping open.

He yanked himself backwards, face completely expressionless as he stared at this person he’d just kissed. This person who absolutely, definitely was not his Mollymauk.

That person grinned crookedly, “I think you’re still having it, Red.”

Whenever Caleb was confronted by sudden panic, his brain chose to cope with it by shutting down entirely, by going into some kind of distant stand-by mode like a computer overwhelmed by a virus and choosing to simply crash in response.

Which was probably why he responded to this stranger that looked exactly but not exactly enough like his husband, sitting on his sofa and who he’d just passionately, mistakenly kissed, by opening his mouth and saying, “You’re not on the list.”

The stranger’s lopsided grin didn’t fade, the same sharp teeth that lived in Mollymauk’s mouth flashing but a few of these were cracked, one entirely made out of dentist’s acrylic, like this person had been punched in the face a few times. They were also wearing black leathers mostly, a sleeveless tunic that billowed out into a coat, a tight white shirt underneath and close fitting pants. And the tattoos weren’t right, he had them for certain but the designs and placement were wrong, these were heavily done in stark black and showed mostly waves and coordinates and compasses. They looked like homemade stick and poke jobs. The jewellery wasn’t as heavy either, seaglass threaded onto leather and thin gold chains.

Not Mollymauk. Definitely not Mollymauk.

“You must be Caleb,” they chuckled knowingly, “Nice to finally meet you.”

Caleb was saved from having to think of where to go from there by footfalls on the creaky floorboards in the hallway and Mollymauk appearing in the doorway. His actual Mollymauk, he glanced up and down him and confirmed it- the heavy gems hanging from his horns, the bright flowing coat and high boots, the scars that littered his neck and collarbone, the stretch marks that peeked between the waist of his leggings and his crop top.

What threw Caleb for a moment was the slightly harried, slightly exasperated expression on his face. He could count on both hands the amount of times he’d actually seen Mollymauk look stressed like that. Also the fact that he was holding a tray on which he’d actually gone to the effort of arranging two mugs that almost matched, sugar in a little bowl, a milk bottle, a handful of spoons.

Molly’s red eyes flickered between them for a moment before his face slumped into an expression of equal parts guilt and defeat. Like the face of someone who’d forgotten to water someone’s beloved houseplant and had been caught in the middle of replacing it.

“Oh,” he said in an attempt at cheeriness that was edged with too much tiredness to be convincing, “So you’ve met already…”

“A little more than that,” the Not Mollymauk laughed, leaning back casually and kicking their boots up onto the scuffed coffee table, “Your husband’s a good kisser, Moll.”

Caleb gave a strangled squeak of alarm, all that he could come up with in his own defence while his brain was still in static mode, feeling his face flush a hot, prickly red.

Molly just shook his head, an exhausted kind of realisation tightening his already tight smile, “Um...Caleb, this is Kingsley. Kingsley is, uh...he’s my brother.”

Caleb stared at him blankly, metally tearing through his files for any hint that his husband had mentioned a brother before and coming up empty, “Your...he’s not on my list, Mollymauk.”

Molly tilted his head slightly and gently skipped over that, shooting Caleb a brief, pleading look that promised an explanation later. He moved past Caleb to set the tray down on the coffee table, his tail giving an irritated flick to move his apparent brother’s feet out of the way first.

Kingsley moved, apparently completely unfazed by anything that had happened so far, “He’s cute, Moll, where did you find him? When you told me you’d shacked up with a professor of all things, I was expecting someone a little more-”

“We met at one of my shows,” Molly cut across him, not wanting to hear the end of that sentence, “We were friends for years and then we got together. And he isn’t just a professor, he’s got the bookshop too.”

“Gods, your band!” Kingsley laughed, folding his legs up underneath him instead, “I remember that, you and Yash and that busted old guitar you had...I mean, fuck man, if he still married you after hearing you play, you know it’s true love.”

Molly gave a noncommittal grunt, pushing one of the mugs at him perhaps a little harder than he needed to.

Caleb hesitantly moved to sit in a chair off to the side, still quite unsure what to do. He was so distracted he almost sat on Frumpkin, who huffed and slithered into his master’s lap, glaring through slitted eyes at this doppelganger of someone he already wasn’t fond of.

“But yeah, like I was saying,” Kingsley, cradled the tea between cupped hands as scarred as his brother’s, “The Revelry’s got me running this cargo to Nicodranas and I thought hey, if I’m going to be in the area, why not drop in on my favourite brother?”

“Why not,” Molly repeated, a little thinly, “Without calling or sending a letter or anything to let me know you’d be stopping by…”

Caleb winced a little at the undercurrent of annoyance underneath his love’s voice but Kingsley only laughed, like it was a joke.

“C’mon, you know that’s not how I work, Moll. I never know where I’m going to be heading or when. I’m just glad I got to see you! Especially seeing as apparently you got married since I last saw you? And popped out two kids, what the hell?”

“Una is adopted,” Molly mumbled, like that was the important point.

“I didn’t know you had it in you,” Kingsley continued brightly, now smiling wide enough that Caleb caught the wink of a gold tooth, “I mean, you’re easily the most responsible out of all of us but still, married with kids, that's actually insane…”

Caleb’s eyebrows rose. He adored his husband but one thing he’d never be able to call him was responsible. Molly caught the movement from where he was sitting next to Kingsely and his cheekbones coloured.

Feeling a sudden stab of guilt, a sudden need to rush to Molly’s defence after he’d done it for him, Caleb blurted out, “Mollymauk is a great dad.”

Kingsley looked over to him, smiling crookedly, “I bet. He was always running around after me and Luce, making sure we didn’t get into trouble...well, as much trouble, I guess. Hey! Have you heard from Lucy lately, Moll? I haven’t spoken to him even longer than I hadn’t spoken to you.”

Molly tensed instantly at the question, jaw growing taut like a bowstring, his quietly simmering frustration igniting into full blown, barely concealed fury.

“I don’t speak to Lucien,” was all he said, voice tight and tense and, above all, final.

Even Kingsley seemed to pick up on that, backpedalling quickly, “Sure, sure...so where are these sprogs of yours, then? I’m so excited to meet them...”

“Yasha offered to take them for a few hours after I realised we had our unexpected guest,” Molly bit off the end of the sentence sharply, clearly struggling to maintain his control. He shook his head tightly, standing up and sighing, “Excuse me…”

Kingsley opened his mouth to speak but closed it again, finally falling silent as he watched his brother disappear in a swirl of his coat. Caleb didn’t hesitate, getting to his feet and moving after him, throwing Kingsley an apologetic glance.

“I’ll just, uh...see what he needs.”

Kingsley just nodded, flashing him a quick smile that didn’t quite shine as bright as his other ones, then just staring into his drink. Frumpkin jumped up next to him, eyeing him suspiciously.

In the kitchen, Caleb found Molly with his head in his hands, in the middle of a long, deep breath. Caleb tried to remember everything his husband did for him when he got overwhelmed, coming up behind him and gently wrapping his arms around his middle. Instantly he felt Molly lean into his touch, aching into it.

“I’m an asshole,” he heard him groan, muffled by his palms.

“You’re not,” Caleb murmured into his purple curls.

“I am,” Molly dropped his hands, “Gods, I haven’t seen my brother in years and he comes here and I didn’t even tell my husband or my kids about him, what does that make me look like to him? To you?”

Caleb shrugged, “It was a bit of a surprise...um, why didn’t you tell us? Just out of curiosity…”

Molly turned in his arms, pressing his face to the curve of his neck, having to bend as Caleb was just a little shorter than him. It was long enough that Caleb had accepted he wasn’t ready to talk about it, content just to hold him and let it pass, but then he felt him murmur.

“I hardly ever see him. He’s a pirate with the Revelry, he’s always off sailing somewhere and...and I try, I used to try but he never replies and I’d spend ninety percent of the time having no clue where he was before he’d just pop up suddenly and I’d have to bend my life around him for however long he’d stay and then have him just run off again…”

“And...Lucien?” Caleb asked hesitantly, “He’s your brother too?”

Molly moved back, eyes suddenly solid and serious, “Caleb, I need you to promise me, if you ever hear anything from Lucien, if you ever see him or he contacts you, you ignore him completely and you come straight to tell me. Don’t let him get anywhere near the kids, don’t listen to a word he says, just ignore him and find me. Understand?”

Caleb swallowed hard, more than a little taken aback, he’d never seen Molly like this, “I promise.”

At that, Molly relaxed a little, “He just...he’s not a good man, Caleb. He’s in deep with this cult shit, just...we’re having nothing to do with him anymore.”

Caleb nodded but a question was pressing irritatingly at the base of his tongue, wanting to push forward, as much as he worried it would upset Molly. His husband noticed, reading his face as easily as he ever had, a tired but fond smile chasing the last of the severity off his face.

“Go on then,” he prompted gently, “Ask me.”

Caleb almost groaned in relief as he nearly blurted, “How do you know they’re your brothers?”

Molly gave a rough laugh, “You mean aside from the obvious, that they look enough like me that you sucked Kingsely’s face thinking it was mine?”

Caleb’s face went up like flashpaper as he started to splutter, “It was an accident!”

Molly grinned, looking a little more like himself, putting a gentle hand on his cheek, “I get it, babe, don’t worry, I’ll take an IOU...but I get what you mean. You’re right, I don’t actually remember growing up with them, I don’t remember actually being their brother. And that’s kind of why it kind of hurts having him around, honestly.”

Caleb nodded sympathetically, “So they just sort of showed up after you woke up again?”

“Yeah,” Molly huffed out a laugh that didn’t have much humour in it, “Imagine you’re just walking down the street one day and some guy with your own face runs up to you and hugs you so hard it knocks you off your feet.”

“I can see how that would be...disconcerting?”

“Somewhat,” Molly sighed, moving to look at his reflection in the microwave door, trying to sort out the mess he’d made of his makeup, “Kingsley just...he’s a sweet enough guy even if he is a flit but...when he looks at me he sees this big brother he thought he’d lost, someone who apparently looked after him and ran around after him and held things together for him. Someone I absolutely am not. And he can’t seem to get it through his skull that I can’t be that person.”

Caleb gently but firmly stepped in front of Molly, taking his hands in his own. He didn’t seem to realise how badly they were shaking.

Molly gripped his fingers tightly, like he was holding on for dear life, like he hadn’t even realised how deep the water around him was until Caleb reached out.

“Honestly,” his voice was a shaky exhale, “I’m kind of glad he doesn’t stick around. He’d realise his brother’s gone for good.”

Caleb took a moment to consider his words, wanting desperately to say the right thing, willing his brain to kick into gear and let him help.

“Maybe if he met you now he’d realise he liked the brother he has?” he murmured gently, running his thumbs soothingly across Molly’s knuckles, “I am biased but I think you’re pretty fantastic.”

Molly smiled softly, leaning forward until he was resting his forehead on Caleb’s, “Thanks…”

“I don’t think you need to pretend to be anyone else,” Caleb promised, shifting slightly so he could press his lips to his forehead. It wasn’t quite the kiss he was imagining but he could tell it made Molly feel better and that was all that mattered.

Maybe so he couldn’t lose his nerve, Molly quickly returned the favour with a gentle kiss to the cheek and moved back into the living room. Caleb decided it was best to give them a moment, making a cup of tea of his own. He lingered over it, holding the warmth between his hands, watching the light outside of their small window turn from the full, deep orange of sunset to a cool blue.

Only then did he pad into the living room, not entirely sure what he was going to find. Of course he trusted Mollymauk but still, it wouldn’t hurt to be a little prepared to break up a fight. He mentally catalogued the components in his pockets, just in case.

But when he stuck his head around the corner, there were no flying feathers or drawn swords. The two Tealeafs were sat on the sofa together, Kingsley in the middle of another ramble, hands moving through the air as he gestured widley. Molly had an expression of bemusement and vague surprise.

“-and I was thinking I could show them how to tie knots, I swear man, you don’t even know how many godsdamned knots there are,” Kingsley was saying, eyes alight with excitement, “And maybe, if it was okay with you and Red obviously, I could take em out on the ship sometime! Just a little day trip and you guys could come too, there’s a place where you can always see dolphins and there’s seals and I even saw a whale once! Kids would be into that, right? Kids like animals, don’t they?”

For the first time, Kingsley looked something other than blithely amused. For the first time, a kind of hopeless uncertainty edged into his eyes.

Molly clearly caught it, something in him softening, “You...you really want to spend time with my kids?”

“Of course I do!” Kingsley blinked, “I mean, okay, I’ve not been the best brother on the planet but I’m an uncle now. Like, I’m someone’s actual uncle! That’s the most incredible thing and I just really want to do a good job at it. I want them to like me.”

For a moment, Molly looked startled, like he hadn’t expected him to say that. But once it had sunken in, his face cracked into a smile.

“I’ll be honest, Kingsley, I don’t think you’re going to have to work that hard to get them to like you. You’ll see.”

Kingsley looked like that was the nicest thing anyone had ever said to him, his face lighting up like the dawn.

“And look,” Molly shrugged, “You’re not a shitty brother or anything just...just call more, damn it.”

“Okay, I promise,” Kingsley was back to laughing, looking like he was a second away from pouncing on Molly and hugging him, “I mean, I'm gonna be checking in with my little niece and nephew all the time, right?”

“Yeah,” Molly grinned back at him, “I guess you will.”

For all the broken teeth, they really did have the exact same smile.

Caleb leaned against the doorway, eyes warm as he watched them, as he watched Kingsely loudly announce that he’d even brought a present for his new family members before pulling an entire cutlass out of a holster neither of them had noticed under his coat, as he watched Molly choke down a laugh and start to explain why, as cool as they’d find it, a pirate sword really wasn’t an appropriate gift for two toddlers.

None of this had been on his list. But there was something to be said for surprises.

[heartslogos]

newfragile yellows [1130]

There is only so much a person can do to protect themselves in this modern day and age.

Flemmeth-once-Mythal-once-Other-once-Mother-once-Much-Beloved-once-Changed has done most of these things. Over the centuries she’s taught her daughters to do the same things as well. Some of them have listened. And some of them are dead. She did her best, she did her worst.

The plants at the front window shiver, leaves pressing together into vertical cones that quiver with trepidation. They wrinkle before her eyes, thinning and losing their luster. Their edges begin to yellow, brown, crinkle. She has water for them, but not nearly enough sugar to make it count.

There is a knock on the door.

Flemmeth does not believe in coincidence.

She opens it and faces the primordial ancestor of all gods on the other side. She smiles and tries for relaxed and surprised even though she is neither. She has appearances to keep up after all.

One should respect their elders, their ancestors — even gods — but when one has gained and maintained a certain reputation as she has there are certain conventions expected. Eccentricities.

Flemmeth dearly hopes that such eccentricities will be allowed during this encounter. She doesn’t know who she is without them anymore. She’s built herself up into a neat little trap that’s caught her up and pinned her wrong footed on too many occasions for counting. One would think that would convince her to change her ways, but it’s also saved her from situations she didn’t want to be in just as many times. The balances come out black more often than red.

“Hello there," she says. Flemmeth does not know this god’s name. She doesn’t think any of the progenitor gods had names. There wasn’t any language yet. Unless one would count certain pitches of a scream or the breaks of a sob as a name. And even if she did know the name, she isn’t sure if she’s permitted to use it.

“Hi,” the god’s lips twist into a rueful smile. “Do you know why I’m here?”

Flemmeth stands aside. What else is she to do?

Even if she were still Mythal, Mythal at her peak, she wouldn’t be able to do anything. Best to just let things happen and see where they go.

The god steps into Flemmeth’s little apartment and all of the plants that were shaking and straining against themselves turn to dust. Flemmeth mourns and appreciates their passing. They did their best to defend against something no one could defend against. They were able to give her some warning, at least. But this a danger that must be faced.

You cannot dodge, avoid, hide, or wait out an old god. Perhaps with her brothers and sisters, the newer ones, you could. But not with the ones who came before them. Not with the ones that permitted them to take their places in people’s minds and hearts.

The old god sits on Flemmeth’s sofa, patting the space next to themselves and giving Flemmeth an expectant look.

Flemmeth joins them. “Should I offer you anything? I don’t play hostess to ones such as yourself very often. I wasn’t even aware that your generation took flesh vessels.”

“We do many things your generation isn’t aware of. And we like to keep it that way,” the old god replies. “But we are very much aware of the things your lot does. We know all about your little spats. For some of us they’re very entertaining to watch. I imagine that it’s something like daytime television.” They pause.

“For some of you.”

“For some.” The old god crosses their legs, looking around. Flemmeth tries not to feel overly exposed. “Do you know who I am?”

“No.”

They nod, unbothered by this. “If you said you did I would laugh at you. Do you want me to tell you? Don’t answer that. You are a face of me.”

The old god reaches out and touches Flemmeth between the eyes with the tip of her finger.

“Generations upon generations of mortal flesh and thought ago, when you were just foam washing onto the sand, I permitted a piece of myself to be taken and put onto you. Like veneer. Like paint. Like lacquer. It is still mine. As are all the pieces of myself I allowed to be put into you and your fellows. To you the first of the elves ascribed jealousy and want, envy. A facet of love, I would imagine.”

Flemmeth holds very still under the old god’s dark gaze. Pinned by that finger.

“You are aware of what your siblings have begun.”

“They should not have interfered with the Qun,” Flemmeth say slowly, “The Qun is too big of a beast for them to use accurately. It will strike where the do not want it to. It will continue to act using the kindling they started it with.”

“I have already warned your kin,” the old god says quietly. “They have prodded a beast that should have been left alone. The Qun. And the Qun, in turn, has struck out at what should never be struck. What is mine. And so I will return that. As is my nature. And I will return it to the Qun and to the ones who emboldened the Qun into thinking they were above the simplest of transactions. I am here today, with you, because I know you are not a direct hand in it. I understand fairness. I will exercise it.”

The finger drops and Flemmeth’s skin feels like it was freshly burned, but she isn’t foolish enough to reach up and touch to check.

“Your daughter is allied with the Inquisition,” the old god says, “I want you to warn her. I want you to arm her. I want you to do what you must to make sure she’s perfectly aware of what sort of situation is about to unfold over them.” Their lips pull up into that same wry twist of a smile again. “Because if the Inquisition attempts to stop me they may also find themselves on the wrong side of my ledgers. There are those within it that are mine, but the Inquisition itself is not.”

[ma-lemons]

home (march 29- modern au)

@itallartandgames had an idea: Oscar being the cook of the two and that he combs his fingers through Ruby’s hair when she falls asleep. This idea was given to me a while ago, but I decided it would be nice for the first day. they also gave me the idea for “Freckles” as a nickname. it’s cute.

—————————————————————

“I’m baaaaaaaack!” her voice echoed in the house.

Oscar’s heart raced when he heard the cheery voice of his beloved through the walls. She was finally back.

He slipped his feet into his fuzzy slippers and left the kitchen to see if she needed help with her bags.

Halfway to the living room, Ruby attacked him in a hug.

“Guh,” Oscar sputtered, stumbling a little. His fiancée’s arms were flung around his torso, squeezing him as hard as she could. In the midst of her bear hug, Oscar got a whiff of the maple-scent that was always present at Ruby’s father’s house.

“I missed you,” she murmured, leaning into his hair. Once Oscar recovered from his shock, he hugged her back. “Missed you too, Rubes.”

Oscar’s long-ish locks tickled her chin and she giggled as they seperated. Oscar took note of her luggage.

“You want me to take that for you? I was going to start dinner, but I got so caught up watching something that time slipped past me,” he apologized.

“Don’t worry, Oscar,” Ruby yawned, kicking her boots off. “I can wait. I kinda want to watch that cop show anyway.” She twisted herself back to him and grasped his wrist lightly. “I missed you,” she repeated, brushing a kiss onto his cheek.

“I missed you more,” he murmured back. He missed her soft touch, her warm hands, the warmest part of her. Ruby shooed him away, and he retreated into the kitchen, which left her alone to her luggage.

She had visited her sister and her father. Yang was visiting home with her wife Blake, and their young daughter Ianthe. Ruby’s heart always swelled holding her chubby niece’s hand. Yang and Blake were good moms, as Ruby had predicted they would be.

She pulled her two bags down the hall, to the room she shared with Oscar. Placing them against the wall, she thought of children. Her dad had jokingly asked her when she and Oscar would have kids, and Ruby had laughed it off. They hadn’t talked about it yet, so she would cross that bridge when they got there. For now, she and Oscar were content with just being around Ianthe and Nora and Ren’s kids.

Stretching comfortably before the mirror, she shucked off her sweater, leaving her in a camisole. She tied it around her waist and left the room. As much as she loved her dad’s place, she was beyond relieved to be back home with Oscar. She had missed him and his reassuring words. She faced the beige-ish walls of their room. This was home. The one they had created together.

In the end, she had chosen Oscar. She questioned herself, who she liked, who she didn’t like, whether she liked anyone at all—and eventually decided it was time for her to make up her mind. And even though it took her ages to see it, Oscar had been waiting for her from the very beginning.

Smiling to herself, she left their room and headed to the living room. Flopping on the couch, she flipped through channels until she found the cop show Yang had gotten her hooked on.

As the bright colors flashed across the screen and the funky music played, Ruby began to get whiffs of whatever her fiancé was making her. It was bound to be delicious. He was an amazing cook—the better of the two—and Ruby would eat anything he made anyway.

She nestled herself into the couch and yawned. The trip back was exhausting, but she didn’t want to fall asleep before actually getting to spend time with Oscar.

Spices hit her nose and her mouth practically watered.

“Whatever you’re making smells good, Freckles,” Ruby called over the blaring noises of the television. She had a knowing smile growing on her face.

“Please stop calling me Freckles, love. And thank you,” he replied.

Ruby’s proud expression quickly changed. She blushed, squeezing the pillow in her arms. She’d never admit it, but Oscar calling her love was one of her favorite things in the world. It made her feel so... special. Her heart went pitter-patter but she tried her hardest to focus on the screen, where the cop was making a bad pun.

Oscar sprinkled pepper across the salmon filets. Ruby actually wasn’t a big fan of fish, as she didn’t eat it a lot as a kid, but she liked salmon. Especially with Oscar’s Spanish rice. He decided to keep it simple this time.

He heard his love’s padded footsteps enter the living room and smiled to himself when she turned on the police comedy. Most of the jokes went over his head, but he thought it was a good show overall. Ruby was more of a comedy person, Oscar loved dramas. One genre they could agree on, however, was rom-coms. All they needed was a box of tissues and blankets, and their night would be complete.

“Whatever you’re making smells good, Freckles,” she called to him.

Oscar knew better. There’s no way Ruby wouldn’t recognize the distinct smell of one of her favorite meals. But that nickname. It always got to him. He wasn’t a fan, admittedly, but he grew more tolerant over the years, finally putting up with the goddamn name Ruby had called him, even before they started to date.

“Please stop calling me Freckles, love. And thank you,” he sighed, flipping the salmon over.

At least she was home. The place they shared together was quiet without her. He’d have to spend hours staring at peeling wallpaper or their pictures in the hallway.

He sighed dreamily. Plating the salmon, he whispered a thank you to the skies for Ruby, the girl he had liked for so long, being at his side.

Oscar dropped two forks onto the seperate plates and shuffled over to the next room over.

“Dinner’s ready,” he smiled warmly, placing the plates on the coffee table. “You want water? Or iced tea?”

“Water, please. Oscar—this looks so good, thank you,” Ruby murmured, her wide eyes fixed on the plates.

He soon returned with two glasses of ice water and he slumped down into the couch next to her.

“Thank you for the food.”

“Anything for you, love,” he smiled back at her.

Gah! Stop, heart! Control yourself! Ruby willed herself not to blush or say something stupid.

“What episode is this?” he asked, nodding towards the TV.

“The vacation special.”

“Ah.”

The two ate their food quietly, save for the moments where Ruby would laugh or they’d idly chatter.

“This was soooo good,” Ruby murmured, scooting closed to him. Oscar grinned, ruffling her hair. Ruby’s skin brushed up against his, sending shivers down his spine.

“I missed your cooking. I love Dad’s, but I think you’re taking his place,” she whispered, looking up to meet his eyes.

“I don’t think Tai would be very happy to hear those words, love,” he rumbled in amusement.

“Nah, he’d get over it,” she smiled back. A sleepy look settled over her face, and a yawn escaped her lips.

“You must be very tired,” he noted.

“No, no... I’m fine. Actually let me take care of these dishes.” Ruby left Oscar’s side and grabbed the plates. He suddenly missed her warmth and wanted it back.

“Rubes, come sit down, I’ll get to them later,” he insisted.

“You cooked, so I’ll clean.” She didn’t hesitate to grab the plates before Oscar could, and hurried into the kitchen.

“Thank you!” he called from the sofa.

“Of course!”

She returned a few moments later, just as Oscar was getting comfy.

“I don’t remember this part,” Oscar notes as she sat down. It was the scene where the workaholic female cop had a hard time relaxing on her vacation.

“Oh, yeah, this is a two-part special. This first part’s tonight and the next one’s tomorrow. We only ever watched the second part together,” Ruby replied, her eyes glued to the TV.

Oscar made a noise in understanding.

His fiancée settled in next to him. She yawned again, little tears forming in the corners of her eyes.

“Come here, you,” Oscar said softly, gently taking her head into his lap. She stretched out the rest of her body, then curled herself up.

“Mhm, thank you,” she whispered to him. She loved when he did this.

The show was almost over, but Oscar wasn’t paying any attention to it. He reached his hand for Ruby’s hair, and ran his hands through it. Tentatively, at first. When she didn’t protest, he took that as permission to keep going. Gently, running through the ends. Black strands with the red highlights at the end. A unique look, but Ruby was all sorts of unique.

“This feels really nice...”

Her voice was getting smaller, and Oscar knew that she’d be asleep any moment from now.

“Go to sleep, love.”

“I’m actually... not as tired as you think. In fact,” she stopped, flipping her body so that she was laying on her back, and her face was parallel to his, “Let me tell you about my day.”

“Alright,” he resigned.

“Well, Ianthe says she misses you. She made me promise to drag you along with me next time I visit,” Ruby laughed. It wasn’t like her usual, overdramatic and hysterical laughter that he had gotten so used to. It was richer, quieter.

Oscar would remember to bring Ianthe something. His niece was fond of plants and always wanted to learn about a new one every time they met.

“I’ll bring her something next time. We’ll go together,” he replied.

“Yeah, she’d like that. Everyone else says hi too. And... Yang dragged me and Blake out to see bridesmaids dresses.” She added the last sentence hurriedly.

“Oh?”

Ruby twiddled her fingers, and sucked in a large breath before letting it go.

“Yeah... I told her that even though we’re engaged, we weren’t really looking at anything yet.” Her eyes wandered to meet his, and he blinked twice.

Oscar thought for a moment. “Maybe we should. I mean, we have a date already.”

“Yeah... two years from now,” Ruby snickered. “You proposed to me knowing fully well that we wouldn’t get to have a ceremony for a long time.”

“Well... I couldn’t wait. I wanted to be with you,” he teased.

“Ah, stop!” Ruby cried, slapping her hands onto her face. It was growing hot. She was definitely blushing. Maybe he couldn’t see it in the dark?

“You’re blushing, love.”

“Shut up!”

“Anyway... we can start doing real planning right now. I don’t mind, but I already live with you, it’s like being married,” he shrugged.

Ruby’s heart went from its small, rhythmic beats, to intense pounding.

“Yeah. It is,” she swallowed.

“Well, either way, I’m glad you enjoyed your trip. I’m even happier you’re home, though.”

Home.

“I am too.”

Soon after that, they both fell silent. Oscar hadn’t stopped finger-combing her hair, even for a moment. It felt so relaxing and so... nice...

Soon enough, Ruby had fallen asleep, her soft snores like a baby’s. It was weird. She was usually a really loud snorer. Her cop show had ended and now a firefighter drama had started in its place.

Ruby, although she wasn’t heavy, was starting to weigh on him a little. But she was adorable, so he chose to stay quiet and enjoy it. Besides, she must’ve been really exhausted.

A yawn of his own, mellow, left his mouth.

Staring back at Ruby’s face, he could see how her flushed cheeks were fading, and how her mouth was still slightly open. Her head began to tilt to the side.

Oscar leaned down and pressed his lips to her warm forehead. In a bit, he’d probably carry her to bed, if he didn’t fall asleep himself before then.

@rwbyrosegardenweek

[notchesandbullets]

Halloween Special: Caramel Apples and Tricksters [Oneshot] Modern AU (Part 1/2)

Part 1

Words: 4k

(OC from my fanfic: “The Varied Path”)

They had finally fully settled into their new home, and the girls went a little crazy with the decorating, as Halloween was just around the corner. Hand-painted jack-o-lanterns stood guard at the front door, and colorful lights were hung at the front of their mansion.

Inside, every single surface was draped in marigold tablecloths and cinnamon candles burned brightly, the spice wafting through every inch of the house. Garlands were draped over the railings in an artful arrangement of autumn leaves and cranberries. The usual white towels in the bathrooms and the kitchen were replaced with seasonal ones and Zeno added a bit of spooky touches all over the place.

Plastic bats hanging from the ceiling upstairs, a ghost at the foot of the basement stairs, and several well-placed traps so that whenever someone opened up a cupboard, they got a face full of goo launched at their head.

But in a house full of trained agents and spies, it was more fun than anything else to try and dodge the sticky substance.

The leaves had changed shades, indicating the much beloved season transformation by the one and only Calista.

She loved how the forest green gradually transformed into ruby reds and lavish golds, leaves spiraling gently to the ground as the autumn breeze whispered by. It was the season of pumpkin spice, fresh air, apple pie, and warmth that came from sitting by the fireplace with a mug of hot cocoa and homemade chocolate chip cookies.

Hak and Jae-ha had undertaken some projects for the new house when they first moved in during the summer, installing top of the line appliances for the giant kitchen. A huge fridge for Yoon to stock with all sorts of food to feed the hungry bunch of eight, and a state of the art oven complete with a industry standard stovetop.

They had also turned the unfinished, extremely creepy basement into an automated training space. They all used it for shooting practice, hand to hand combat and wrestling.

Kija had repainted nearly all of the rooms in the house, with a little help from Yona and Zeno. While they were doing that, Shin-ah and Calista were busy helping the movers bring all of their stuff inside under the direction of a pretty boy genius barking out commands at the front door.

"You!! Bring that into the kitchen, but watch out for the paint and the tools lying around."

"Don't forget to grab the rugs, those need to go in first before we can put any of this away."

"No— No!! I need this first before you bring in that!!"

"BE CAREFUL WITH THAT, IT'S GLASS YOU IDIOT!!!!!"

Calista chuckled to herself as she carefully maneuvered around the sharp corner from the hallway that led from the foyer. Panting with exertion, she helped Shin-ah move the plush sofa into the living room. They set it down heavily, but luckily Yoon was too far away and too consumed with drilling the movers to hear that they may have scratched his hardwood floors.

Wiping the sweat off of her forehead with the back of her hand, she grinned at the blue-haired man who was scanning around for any boxes that needed unloading in their vicinity. She pushed herself up onto her feet, punching his shoulder good-naturedly when she passed him.

"C'mon, I'll race ya!!"

She broke into a sprint, and he chased after her. Their friends, in various places of the house cracked smiles and shared jokes as they heard the laughter coming from downstairs, knowing that the two must be up to their shenanigans again.

It had been months since then, and everyone had pretty much settled into a rhythm comfortable enough for Calista to hit the stores with Yona long enough without the boys destroying the place.

Hopefully.

The girls picked out just about anything that caught their interest, bringing along Tae-yeon and Hani last minute with Mundok's and Gi-gan's permission. They were the children's respective guardians but it wasn't much of an issue seeing as how they were all family.

Calista had been in the store less than a minute before there was a loud commotion behind her.

Internally wincing, she turned around to see what trouble the children had gotten themselves into this time. But her eyes widened in surprise as she saw five familiar figures, Hani frozen from where she faceplanted into Nier's legs. Tae-yeon was staring up at Tae-jun with big, innocent eyes and Yona smiled sheepishly at Heuk-chi, apologizing to both of them for the collision while the children righted themselves.

The guardian brushed it off, his unofficial bodyguard going along with him. If she didn't know any better, Calista would say that the tall man was blushing badly in the presence of the sweet redhead. But she chose not to comment on it as Hani and Tae-yeon ran back to her, wanting to spare her friend any embarrassment.

"We weren't expecting to see you guys until later tonight." Calista pitched in, ruffling the children's hair as she directed her attention past the triplets. "We're getting some stuff for later on, want to come with?"

With an eager, mutual agreement to join forces, the huge and rambunctious group of nine browsed the aisles of the store, buying way more than they should have with the children throwing things in the cart more than would've been allowed if any real adults were present.

Tae-jun didn't count, he caved every time Opal turned his watery eyes on him and Calista cursed her spinelessness, giving in just as bad when it came to her youngest brother and the golden-haired, little girl.

Squeals echoed off of the shelves and she whipped around as the triplets and the younger two pulled a huge cake out from the bakery section.

"Oh no, absolutely not." Calista held up her hand, averting her gaze from their puppy eyes. "Yoon will throw a fit if he sees this."

"But Notch~" Opal whined. "Please!!"

His brothers chorused their persuasion and while she had to admit it was sort of endearing seeing the fifteen-year-old boys beg for permission to buy a ridiculously humongous treat, she redirected their efforts towards a panicking Tae-jun beside her.

There wasn't any way she would be able to hold up against all five of them if they continued, she barely had enough strength to resist Hani's puppy dog eyes.

But once she turned her gaze on her youngest brother and saw how Tae-yeon's lower lip trembled dangerously, she sped to his side, dropping down on her knees, ignoring how harshly she landed on them in her haste.

"Tae-yeon," Her soft voice broke as desperation seeped through, gripping his shoulders gently in an effort to convey how bad of an idea this was. "Gramps is gonna kill me."

He beamed up at her, tears suddenly vanishing. "No, he loves you, remember?"

Calista's eyes rounded pathetically at that and she coughed to cover it up.

"Alright, fine." She finally surrendered, throwing up her hands.

Their shrieks of excitement and victory shattered any semblance of silence in the marketplace and she winced at their volume, shaking her head in amusement as they rushed to shove it in the already crammed shopping cart.

Yona drifted over to her side, clasping her hands behind her back playfully.

"You caved~" The redhead sang, giggling.

A fond smile made its way onto the older girl's face, gazing after them as they disappeared around the corner with a worried Tae-jun hot on their tail to make sure they didn't get lost. Or end up causing chaos that couldn't be contained by the mere mention of his title.

Chuckling, Calista began pushing the cart to follow after them. "I always do..."

After numerous attempts to convince their temporary guardians to buy them all the snacks they wanted, five failed chances taken to sneak electronics into the cart and two feeble efforts to buy candy bars at the checkout lane, Calista, Yona, and all the others finally left the supermarket.

Though they were armed to the teeth with food and amenities for later that night.

They hopped into their separate cars, but Tae-jun followed them back to the house so the triplets could spend some more time with Calista.

Kicking open the door with one foot, the raven-haired girl yelled out that they were back as the three troublemakers along with Tae-yeon and Hani shot past her, vanishing from her view within seconds.

She had just set down the groceries and supplies on the floor when she heard two loud crashes come from upstairs and the kitchen at the same time an outraged cry reached her ears.

"Are you all alright?!" Calista shouted out as she untied her shoes and gathered up the food that needed to be refrigerated.

A chorus of reassurances were screamed back and she chuckled to herself, nudging the door with her foot to close it. She had a feeling Yoon would take care of whatever that was all about. Jae-ha appeared at the base of the stairs in a flash, paint in his hair.

She stifled a laugh that bubbled up, opting for a wild gesture that could have been interpreted as anything. But judging by the chuckle and the hand that was raised to wipe the excess away for the time being, he knew what she was getting at.

"Do I want to know?" She teased the eldest, handing him two of the larger bags.

Jae-ha's violet eyes crinkled at her ask, a smirk curling at the edge of his mouth. "Maybe not, my dear."

The pair made their way into the kitchen, both lifting an eyebrow at the pristine state. They glanced at each other and then shrugged. Yoon must have cleaned up whatever was spilled already, he couldn't stand the messes.

Zeno and Hak were sitting in the family room, crowded around some sort of card game, roping Heuk-chi into it the moment he passed by. A movie was playing in the background, but no one was paying attention to it. Some sort of Disney film that Calista knew Hak had put on for the kids after he was alerted of their impromptu meeting at the store.

Good thing she had sent him that text.

She had asked him to clean up the house and rid it of any exposed weapons when they ran into Tae-jun and the triplets in the store, having a suspicion that they were going to tag along all the way back to the house.

The night before, she was cleaning her knives and reassembling her sniper rifle. She hadn't gotten a chance to put it away, believing she had enough time before they were set to come over. Knowing her brother though, he had tossed them all on her bed without a second thought. It didn't matter, just as long as the children didn't see them.

It wasn't like they weren't aware of it, but in their line of work, they were better protected the less they were exposed to their lifestyle.

In tandem, the green-haired man and the raven-haired girl began to put away the various food items, Jae-ha automatically taking over the fridge and Calista the pantry. However, she dropped what she was doing the instant she heard a small cough.

Clicking her tongue in worry, she hurriedly filled a cup with water, handing it to Tae-yeon, who had just sprinted into the vicinity with Hani right behind him.

He coughed again as he tried to drink it too fast and she hushed him.

"Smaller sips, Tae-yeon. There you go..." Calista encouraged him quietly, masking her concern so that she didn't accidentally scare him.

Eventually, his breathing steadied and she was less panicked than before.

Patting him on the head gently, she asked, "Did you need your medicine? Are you sure you're alright?"

He nodded cutely, raising the cup above his head in an attempt to put it in the sink but he was struggling. His older sister watched him for a moment, letting him try for himself. But he couldn't do it and after another minute of struggling, he reluctantly asked her if she could do it for him.

Hani hopped up and down on her little feet, golden hair bouncing with her as Calista set it down in the sink. "Yeonie, Yeonie, Yeonie, come and meet my pet ladybug!! She's outside!!"

His eyes lit up and Calista was left alone as the kids shot off.

"Wait!!" She called after them worriedly, starting after them as they slid open the glass door leading to the backyard. "Both of you be careful please!!"

"Relax, Calista dear, they'll be fine." Jae-ha reassured her as he put the milk and the giant cake away in the fridge.

Hak was weird, he only ate bakery if it was cold and Yona made sure to call him out on it more than once.

Calista snorted, hesitating for a beat before giving in, knowing he was right. "Only if someone's watching them to make sure they don't accidentally get in trouble like last time."

Jae-ha shook his head slightly, eyes filled with light humor. "They're on our property. What could possibly happen?"

Once, Kija had mistakenly left the two children alone with the triplets, and somehow the five of them managed to land themselves in a police station within the hour. Something about escaped shelter animals and a raid on a corner store with a stereo. She couldn't even make sense of the police report when they had given it to her, and now she just knew better than to ask.

"Hak—"

"I'm on it." He interrupted his sister, already halfway out the door that led to the acres of open land naturally fenced by several hundred-year-old trees. Zeno skipped cheerily after him, closing the door behind him to conserve the heat inside.

Following his younger brother in order to make sure his allergies didn't act up due to his weak lungs, Hak grabbed a spare rake from the shed in the back. He might as well do this now so that he didn't have to do it tomorrow, plus it would make the lawn easier to mow later on. Zeno took the smaller one to help after he played games with Tae-yeon while Hani went to look for her tiny friend.

They raked all the fallen leaves into a huge pile.

But the second Hak turned his back, he heard a yell of, "Cannonball!!", and in came the pitter-patter of small feet shaking the earth.

He let out a shout at the wave of dead leaves that he had just collected showered over him. Spitting out the ones that landed in his mouth, he glared in mock annoyance at his sheepish brother and the delighted golden-haired girl beside him. Zeno threw up his hands, having dived in with the children and sent another torrent of leaves up in the air, beaming widely.

"Mister!! Come on in!!"

Hak shrugged, tossing aside the rake as he sprinted towards them. Work would have to wait.

Hani and Tae-yeon shrieked as he leaped and clumsily scattered about, thoroughly diminishing all of his hard work. But he couldn't bring himself to care as he began to chase them around in a spontaneous game of tag.

Zeno sat on the ground with his legs crossed in front of him, scarf bundled up to his nose as a chilly wind blew by. "Zeno wants the little miss to win!!"

"But what about me?" Tae-yeon whined with big eyes, doubling over in a fit of giggles as Hak scooped him up, tickling his stomach. "Hak— hehe!! Stop!!"

His big brother didn't let up until Hani tackled him with a warrior cry, latching her tiny arms around his neck to get him off of her friend. Hak stood up with a loud but playful roar, chasing the two around the empty field until all of them collapsed in a fit of ringing laughter.

Hours passed before the four reentered into the house, teeth chattering with the need for a hot beverage.

Jae-ha had disappeared back upstairs. Something about a project with Kija and Yona that he had yet to complete. But Calista was still in the kitchen, and now so was Yoon.

Calista told the freezing bunch to go change into something warmer so that they didn't catch a cold and instructed her brother to sift through her closet to find spare jackets for the little ones. While he was busy doing that, she gathered what she needed to make them something hot so that they could warm up on the inside.

Coffee for Hak, and hot chocolate for the kids and Zeno.

Helping the small children onto the kitchen stools on the opposite side of the island where Yoon was at so that they didn't accidentally get in his way, Calista made sure they weren't going to fall off but guiding them to first blow on their hot chocolate before taking a small sip. Things wouldn't go well for the rest of the evening if they burned their tongues while attempting to chug the drink.

Hani swung her feet playfully, emerald eyes eager as she reached for the liquid chocolate.

Pulling back her hand that held the steaming, small mug, Calista stared at her intently. "Drink it slowly, okay, little one?"

She nodded enthusiastically, making grabby hands for it. The older girl finally handed it over, watching her carefully for a minute to make sure she was being careful. The little girl had a history of being too hurried that had unfortunate consequences.

Three sets of footsteps could be heard from the second floor as the triplets ran down the stairs, skidding to a halt once they reached the kitchen, resembling dominoes as Nier crashed into Opal and Yue crashed into his brothers. They fell into a heap on the carpeted floor, with a very winded Tae-jun trailing after them.

Stifling a giggle as the energetic boys sprang back up, she clapped a hand over her mouth as the sound escaped nonetheless and she was faced with three playful brooding looks.

"I didn't do anything." Calista claimed, shrieking and then breaking into a run the second she saw the look in their eyes.

"Get her!!!" Opal screamed, chasing her through the house with his brothers hot on his tail.

"Wait what?! Why me?!?!" She yelled over her shoulder, weaving in and out of the corridors at a breaknecking speed.

Dodging the sharp corner that separated the living room and the foyer, she twisted and turned throughout the extensive first floor of the house. Her memorization of every nook and cranny came in handy. They stumbled after her, not quite as fluent in the layout as she was, eventually giving up and declaring her victory.

"Marshy!!" Calista yelled, completely out of breath, resting her hands on her knees. "When's Gramps coming over?"

Hak checked his watch, keeping Yona at bay with the other hand as he held her out at arms length. They were playing a game of charades with Opal and Yue since Nier declined to have anything to do with lifting a finger after that exhausting chase through the house.

"In an hour." He answered her leisurely, a smirk of amusement stretching across his features as the redhead puffed out her cheeks in frustration. "Yoon, what's for dinner?"

"Hold your horses, you rare beasts!!" Yoon shouted over his shoulder, bustling around the massive kitchen, doing a hundred things at once.

Peering over the kitchen island, Calista tapped on his shoulder when she saw a pause in his purposeful stride.

"Anything I can do to help?" She offered.

She was a complete klutz in the kitchen, but she still wanted to be there for him so that he wasn't so stressed. Still, she wasn't sure if she brought anything to the table. What could a genius pretty boy possibly need from a clumsy girl like her?

Calista could barely keep track of Tae-yeon and Hani as they skipped around, their tiny heads bobbing into view every time one of them got too excited and started jumping up and down.

Yoon never got a chance to answer her as he saw her speed towards the door the second she heard it ring.

Throwing it open, Calista was surprised to find Gi-gan standing on the other side instead of Mundok. Nevertheless, she quickly invited her inside so that the elder woman was out of the cold.

"Would you like some tea?" She offered, taking her coat off and hanging it up for her on the antique coat rack Yona got from a thrift shop. "Is it that time already?"

Gi-gan rubbed her hands together in an effort to get the blood flowing again, sending the raven-haired girl a rare warm smile. "No, no, not yet. The little ones are going trick-or-treating later, yes? Tea sounds wonderful, girl. Thank you."

Flashing her a grin, she led her into the family room filled with laughter and all sorts of shenanigans.

Jae-ha stood up immediately, greeting his old guardian with a trademark, suggestive remark that had the elder smacking him upside the head for his language.

"I didn't teach you that, you brat." Gi-gan fired at him mercilessly.

Simply smiling, Jae-ha dodged the second blow aimed at his head, green ponytail streaming behind him as he escaped her. "Now, Captain, you wouldn't want to scratch a face this beautiful, would you?"

"You overestimate your beauty."

The offended gasp at the flat retort had everyone dying of laughter.

As Calista caught her breath, she boiled some water, gaze drifting to a mop of golden hair that came bounding up to her hopefully. Steering Hani away from the stove so that she didn't accidentally burn herself like last time she got too close, she crouched down to the little girl's level, who now was avoiding her gaze.

"Hey... what's the matter, little one?"

Hani pouted slightly, emerald orbs rounding as she exclaimed, "Can we make caramel apples?"

Chuckling, Calista pushed herself up and held out her hand. The golden-haired girl eagerly took it, pulling out the apples from the fridge as the older one fetched the caramel dip from the pantry.

"Guys!!" She shouted over the noise of their heated game of monopoly. "We're making caramel apples if you want to join!!"

"Not now, Bat-Ears!!" Hak fired back. "I'm just about to win!!"

Rolling her eyes, a crafty smile played upon her lips. "He's cheating."

"I KNEW IT!!!!!" Kija yelled, bolting up.

"Zeno wanted to join!!"

Jae-ha smoothly got to his feet as the two went head to head, whisking Tae-yeon away from the chaotic scene while the two of them bickered over who was right, the triplets egging on the grown men without any hesitation.

Tae-jun was lounging on the couch with Heuk-chi, flipping through the channels on the TV, trying to ignore the massive headache he had coming on.

Swiftly turning off the fire as the kettle began to whistle, Calista placed some jasmine tea leaves in a porcelain cup, leaving it alone to steep for a couple of minutes. Jae-ha and Yona had been the ones to convince Hak they needed nice silverware and fine china. Her idiot-of-a-brother was going to buy plastic utensils and plates from the dollar tree for crying out loud!

She set it down silently on the end table next to Gi-gan, trying not to disturb her.

Yona and Gi-gan were engaged in a casual conversation while the rest of them dipped fuji apples in smooth caramel, placing the finished but messy treats on a parchment paper lined tray so that the taffy treat could set.

The children eagerly waited by the countertop, much too hyper to eat one to even think about sitting down.

Calista gave up trying to pry them away from the island, leaving them to do whatever they wanted now that Yoon was finished making dinner and the kitchen was no longer that hazardous. Collapsing on a velvet chair, she sprawled herself out lazily, done moving for the rest of the day.

Her eyebrows drew together in confusion as she heard the doorbell ring, but sat up with a groan and ran to answer it when no one else got up.

It wasn't even five yet and people were already trick-or-treating?! Unbelievable.

Flinging open the door to give whoever was on the other side a piece of her mind, all words died on her tongue when cropped, blue hair flashed into view. She clapped a hand over her mouth in shock, taking in the signature red marks decorating his cheekbones and those piercing, golden eyes.

Calista choked on air, tears pricking at the back of her eyes.

"Shin-ah?"

[coronerandundersheriff]

The taste of fennel (one-shot from "The new guy")

A lot of things happened all of a sudden in this small county.

Robbery, vandalism, protests against everything and everyone.

Sheriff Rutherford and his team had to keep their eyes and ears open. They were on patrols and tons of paperwork were waiting in the department. But they were hard-working and motivated people.

Undersheriff Trevelyan was working overtime and his last days off were weeks ago.

Cullen cited David into his office.

"Take a day off, David! Go home and relax a bit. You need a break. I am here. Allison and Ebrisa are on a little vacation. Is Kai in town? You need your time with your friend too. Okay?"

David was truly a little bit tired.

"Kai isn't here, but I gladly take the offering. Thank you so much, Cullen."

"Fantastic. Go home!"

"Now? But the shift had just...."

"I said GO HOME! It's an order! And have fun. Cook a fine meal, go shopping, watch TV, do sports or do nothing. Take your time, old boy! See ya!"

"Thanks boss, see you soon. Bye!"

And David left the office.

And the undersheriff went grocery shopping, fresh bread and fruits, two bottles of the best rose he knew and a huge amount of vegetables and herbs, plus a complete shopping cart full of stuff for Misses Chamberlain.

When he was back home, he had a long talk with the old lady. She was so thankful that he found the time to buy things for her and to talk to her, she knew well, that he was working a lot the last time.

"Mister Trevelyan, may I ask you something in private?"

"Of course, Ma'am."

"What about Mister Pavus? Is he fine? You didn't find time to talk to me lately, but did you find the time to talk to him?"

David's face showed some sadness.

"I see, you haven't time for him too. He is your colleague and you just saw him at work, am I right?"

"Yes, Ma'am."

"Make a call! Listen to his voice! Honestly, Mister Pavus has an adorable voice, so velvety! It is a pleasure to listen. You will feel better, when you talked to him."

"It's his day off, perhaps you are right..."

"Perhaps, Mister Trevelyan?"

"You are right, Ma'am!"

David said goodbye and before leaving, he turned around and said a soft 'thank you'.

The old lady nodded with a little smile.

"Is this a date?" Dorian giggled.

"No, just an invitation to dinner."

"Is there anyone else?"

"No, just you and me."

"And it's not an attempt to get me into bed?"

"No, really not, just eat and talk a little bit. I cook fennel."

"Fennel?"

"The vegetable?!"

Dorian laughed briefly: "I know and it's certainly delicious, but I don't know if I can come..."

"You may also cum, if you like, it would be a pleasure to help you and ...lend you a hand."

"You are a naughty guy..."

"I know! You are coming or not?"

"Not at the moment...HA HA! But I accept the invitation gladly. Well then, see you at 7."

"I'm so happy."

"...and I am no less!"

And Trevelyan swirled around in his kitchen.

He prepared the cauliflower for the puree, the fennel get braised, he mixed herbs and parts of the fennel for the pesto and then it was time for the fresh salmon fillets.

It was almost 7 p.m. when all work was done and David was standing in fresh clothes in his kitchen, decorating the dining table with some candles. Not too much, but pretty.

The door bell ringed, he opened and waited at his open door for the guest.

Coroner Pavus was coming up the stair. Fit and smooth he took the last steps. He looked gorgeous. He was wearing a modern combination, casual and elegant.

Dorian smiled when he saw David.

David's heart was pounding loudly in his chest and ears. His stomach was tingling. Pavus had a little bouquet of flowers in one hand and a bottle of wine in the other.

"Good evening, Dorian. Thank you for coming. Nice to see you."

"Hello David. And thank you for the invitation."

They went inside.

"So, here is something for you. The flowers are for Misses Chamberlain. We can bring them to her after dinner. Can we put them into some fresh water in the meantime, please?"

"That is so kind of you, Dorian. Thank you! And Misses Chamberlain will love them."

They watched each other kindly and smiled a lot, but they didn't hugged or touched each other, they even didn't shake hands.

The dinner was ready to eat and they started with some fresh bread and butter, water and the wine, Dorian has brought. It was dark red wine, full of flavour and heavy. Exactly David's taste and in perfect temperature. It was almost a complete dinner - those fresh bread and butter and wine. But they were hungry and they continued with the main course. Everything was hot and on point.

Dorian's eyes were glimmering in surprise and recognition.

They didn't talk much, they just enjoyed the food and each other's company.

Soft jazz music was playing in the background and everything was wonderful.

After dinner, David told Dorian to take place in the living room, watching some TV while he is cleaning the kitchen. But Dorian wanted to help and David took the help and they were a perfect team, also with rinse the dishes.

After that, they went together to the living room.

Dorian snuggled up comfortably in the corner of the sofa. One leg still stood on the floor, the other one was laying slightly bent by him. Pavus smiled mischievously.

"And what now? Delicious food, best wine, pleasant company...how about chatting?"

"I'm in!"

With a little jump, the host landed on the couch, Dorian opposite, sitting cool in the corner.

"The food was excellent. I rarely ate such tender fennel. And the pesto...homemade?"

"Yes, pesto is so easy to make by yourself."

"Overwhelmingly delicious!"

"OH! Thank you..."

And both smiled.

Dorian looked at his counterpart for a while.

"Was the shirt expensive?"

"Yes, it's one of my best! Why? Is something wrong with it? Is it dirty, does it have a crack?"

Pavus stroked his beard with relish.

"It bothers me! Don't get me wrong. It's chic, but it doesn't suit you!"

"OUCH!"

Both looked at each other, Dorian smiled cheekily.

"Please take it off."

The undersheriff took off his shirt with a slightly sad face.

"Better?"

"A lot! Don't you ever wear undershirts?"

"If possible, I don't wear any underwear at all, to be honest."

Dorian's eyes glittered. He now looked from the face of his colleague, to his exposed chest and then deeper.

"No underwear...interesting! What kind of trousers do you like to wear? Doesn't some fabrics chafe at certain places?"

"I wear cloth trousers at work and soft sweatpants at home. When I go out, it can also be leather. They are well worn, nothing scrubs or at least it's not unpleasant."

With one tiger-like jump, Dorian landed directly in front of his colleague's face.

"You little rascal! Inviting me, telling me it wouldn't be a date to fill me up with wine and then telling me you like to wear leather and no underwear. You know that I am involved with someone and you are not solo anymore too and you are turning me on like this?! You cops are all the same!"

And Dorian attacked the host as if he had got nothing to eat...

His mouth plundered David's open lips. Tongues moved in and out. Teeth were biting softly. Pavus moved his lips towards David's ear. He nibbled on the ear lobe, licked down David's neck. Trevelyan had goose bumps from head to toe.

Then, the coroner went deeper. He found the slightly hardened nipples on his colleagues bare and hairy chest. Dorian giggled and then started suckling on David's breast. Trevelyan's lungs breathed out a deep long moaning. Arousal and pleasure in his voice when he whispered a lovely 'Dorian, what are you doing'.

"Sssshhhh, hon'! Just enjoy!"

And Pavus continued worshipping the other man's chest. He powdered the muscles with tiny kisses, nibbled on both nipples with full devotion. His hands held back David's arms. Dorian was in full control of Trevelyans movements.

And then Dorian stopped suddenly. He was kneeling on the sofa in front of David and watched him. David was breathing fast. The coroner saw the bulg between David's legs.

Then he took both hands away from David's arms and started to open Trevelyans pants.

"You said, no underwear. That will make things easier."

Pavus smiled so cheeky and with a lustrous sparkle on his face.

David was too aroused and surprised to say anything, he just watched what happened.

David's erection was popping out of his open trousers. And Dorian smiled even brighter.

"You know that fennel is an aphrodisiac, don't you?"

And Dorian was laughing cheeky, David shook his head.

"I am still so hungry, David. I need something more."

And he gave David some moments of pleasure and ecstasy, he will never forget in his whole life...

(Dedicated to my beloved wifey @domicofo and my beloved friend @jeannedarcprice , this is the thingy I was talking about...😉)

[beerandpresentdanger]

Great Scots

Everyone in Edinburgh looks like a solicitor.

Something about the serious grey-black stone of the buildings, the weight of the masonry or the angle of the streets -  whatever it is, it seems to cast everyone in a suit and tie, smart glasses, a briefcase stuffed with case files and legal briefs.

It can’t be true, of course. Edinburgh is a bustling city, full of bus drivers, footballers, street sweepers and accountants - some solicitors, sure, but not nothing but solicitors. The solicitor thing is a mirage, a sense impression, a residual feeling that arises from the seriousness of the city - a city of statues and statutes, museums and monuments, colleges and kirkyards. There’s an elegance to Edinburgh, a certain refinement. Maybe that’s only shown off to tourists like me - Trainspotting would suggest that it’s not all Georgian architecture and Harry Potter tours - but there seems to a be a dignified streak that runs through the capital, as wide as the Royal Mile.

The Stockbridge Tavern

There are still pubs though. Some might have distilled the elegance of the city they inhabit, but lots are just pubs, a place beyond elegance, where what matters is proper patter - and beer of course. I had a couple of days in the city to try and explore some of city’s beer. For most of it I was accompanied by an energetic toddler, which did prove to be something of a spoiler. The first few places I tried to visit - on a sunspolied, taps aff Friday afternoon - didn’t allow children (I’m not writing this to complain - I understand why pubs may want to be child-free) so I had to skip a few spots through my compiled list of best places to drink in town. Thankfully, a place at the top of many lists - The Hanging Bat - was happy to let me stow a pushchair in the corner, and I was glad they did. A few choice lines of local cask ales and a DEYA tap takeover of the keg lines meant this was a fine place to spend some time. It’s cosier than your average modern beer bar, with deep red sofas and lots of wood - a nod to the city’s elegance, but filled with edgier delights.

Trekking back to the hotel, arcing around the city’s central cliffside, thrusting its castle aloft like Simba atop Pride Rock, I impulsively stopped at the Innis & Gunn taproom I passed. It’s been years since I drank their “barrel-aged” ale, though there was a time, pre-craft revolution, when I loved it. At the bar, I got drawn in by the tank-fresh lager, but I should have gone old school - the lager was bland, fizzy, freezing cold. I saw four-packs alongside Tennent’s in every supermarket, and I’d choose the Tennent’s every time (and indeed, I did). Still, they had high chairs, which I appreciated.

Fierce Beer Bar

A bit later, I was able to sample some places sans toddler, which gave me a slightly deeper appreciation for Edinburgh’s pubs. I got the range too, starting in the Stockbridge Tavern, a sunlit corner pub filled with a Friday night post-work crowd, a real mix of ages and genders and beverages crowded around well scrubbed tables and a bustling bar. I’d planned to drink local, but when I saw North’s Transmission on cask, a 6.9% west coast IPA, I couldn’t resist, and I didn’t regret my lack of impulse control. It was a proper “wow” pint, with huge citrus rolled around a subtle cask haze. I almost had a second, when I spotted a Cross Borders Heavy on keg, and knew I had to oblige - it was everything I expect a heavy to be, bristling with toffee apple brittleness.

I finished the evening with a quick visit to the newly opened Fierce Beer Bar in the New Town. A third of Barrel Aged Very Big Moose - 12.5% and wearing it well - was a lovely way to round out an evening, still warm and light enough to sit out past 9pm.

And so to Glasgow. It wasn’t until the train slunk through the city’s grey and rainy edgelands and the carriages began to fill up with men in green and white shirts that I realised it was a match day (Celtic and Hearts - plus a rugby game to boot), but luckily I hadn’t been planning to hit the pubs - or sit atop a traffic light getting cans lowered down to me. As it turned out, we couldn’t have gone out if we wanted - when we tried to walk into Shilling Brewing Co, we were met with another “no kids allowed” (as an aside - is Scotland particularly adverse to letting kids in drinking establishments, or is London the outlier in letting them in?)

The Wellpark Brewery from the Necropolis

For the first evening I sampled some supermarket staples instead, with a couple of Williams Bros beers. Joker, their IPA, was bland and unfocused - perhaps it had lost a little something on a warm shelf, perhaps it never had it. Caesar Augustus, their IPL, was a more intriguing affair, with a brash, grassy nose, and a pleasing floral flavour.

The next day, after wandering the coal-smoke scented galleries of the Kelvingrove museum, I popped into Grunting Growler (again, no kids allowed, except to watch me choose something from the fridge - Tempest Mexicake, a vat of red chilli flakes, powdery chocolate and moist sponge - to take away). In the end, it was BrewDog which was happy to host the whole family, and a pint of Zombie Cake, with it’s neat nutty nose, was a nice way to break the duck.

Scotland’s favourite beer

On the last day, we walked out to St Mungo’s Cathedral and the Necropolis, that glowering townscape of tombs that overpeers the beloved Wellpark Brewery, the source of every golden drop of Tennent’s. It was hard to imagine, on a rainswept day, watching the facility contribute its own clouds to the crowded sky, that the Necropolis didn’t have some strange relationship with the brewery; that the rain water didn’t flow down through the burial mounds and terraces, through the dark, stony earth, and into the deep, unseen spring that gave Wellpark its name, and impart something particular into the water - not just the minerals and nutrients and pH level, but a distinct spirit and character - the very atoms of William Motherwell and Archibald Douglas Monteath, Walter Macfarlane and Andrew McCall, all the authors and lawyers and engineers and explorers that made Glasgow and Scotland the engine of an Empire. They don’t put this stuff on the Tennent’s marketing copy, but maybe they should.

Nightmare of Cake

Escaping down the hill we took shelter in the Drygate Brewery, an offspring of Tennent’s and Williams Bros, focussed on modern beers alongside a good menu and comfortable taproom slash restaurant. It was an impressive set-up, and the beers stood up well for the most part. Crossing the Rubicon, an IPA, was an overly sweet candied mess, but the Seven Peaks session IPA was much better, dry, and with a peach-driven Mosaic character. But the real standout was my third “cake” beer of the weekend, Nightmare of Cake, a gloopy, unctuous mess of a beer, overstuffed with marshmallow and raspberry and milk chocolate and all things nice - “Made from chemicals by sick bastards” as the menu had it, and every ridiculous element from each corner of the periodic table only made it better.

Perhaps it had some dead Scottish solicitors in it too. The quest for pastry stout novelty continues.

[aryafaceless]

The King’s Passion

Pairing : Jaqen H’ghar/Arya Stark

Disclaimer : I own nothing.

Warning : Mentions of sex and sexual fantasies but rather mild really

Summary : College AU. Arya is 19, Jaqen is 28, she’s a student, he’s a teacher, attraction in inevitable :) :) First published on AO3 as a gift for one of my lovely readers xoxoxo

Arya Stark decided to start the day visiting professor H'ghar. This time she didn't even need an excuse, he said they could expect their papers returned this week. He didn't say it would happen on Monday morning but it didn't hurt to ask.

No one answered when she knocked on the door but she turned the knob and went in anyway. 

His office was a roomy but cozy place with lots of books, a huge oak desk in the center and a couple of old comfy armchairs in front of it. A leather sofa between the door and the fireplace gave the room a homely look. Arya loved it here, it felt like home.

His desk was neatly organized, with a laptop and other things but what drew her attention was a large book with a colorful illustration on the cover. Arya reached for it. This could be the theme of their next class ! She gasped when she read the title :

Erotic Art of Essos

The book was visually stunning, with hundreds of beautiful illustrations printed on fine glossy paper. Each page presented a picture of a person or persons engaged in sexual activity, be it pleasuring themselves or making love. Many of these pictures were photographs, others were fine line drawings and paintings. Arya chewed on her lower lip, feeling a blush spreading on her cheeks. It seemed that the temperature in the room raised a couple of degrees.

The women in these pictures were exposing themselves to the men in ways unimaginable. And the men...the men were sucking on them, licking, probing, kissing. Their members were swollen and ready, their skin seemed like velvet.

Arya flipped a couple of pages forward, oh there was so much to see and so little time ! She got to the middle of the book and saw an ancient painting spread across two pages. The King's Passion or the Art of Worship she read. A man was kissing the breasts of his lover, his manhood playing at her entrance about to push inside, his fingers were toying with her petals. The girl's delicate features bore an expression of divine ecstasy.

She read the description under the picture and she learned that king Jaehaerys was particularly fond of that position because it gave his beloved queen the ultimate pleasure. On the next page she saw a modern photograph mimicking the painting.

Seven hells ! Were people really doing those things ? Were men really so willing to give ? Why weren't guys in college like king Jaehaerys ?! Was professor H'ghar ?...Arya curled her toes.

She turned another page and spotted a small card with a handwritten text in common tongue.

Pushing the guilt aside, she began to read :

Your tormenting beauty, my lovely one

An innocent flower, my cruel one

That blossoms under the hungry gaze

A goddess born to be worshiped

A slave bent to your will

My heart, my mind, my sex

Arya sighed. It was...it was the true thing ! She didn't expect love could be so passionate and shameless yet touching and tender.

She heard the barely audible sound of the footsteps in the hall and she knew it was him. Professor H'ghar always walked so quietly.

Arya shut the book quickly and stood by the desk taking, she hoped, a casual pose.

The door opened and professor H'ghar stepped in with his motorcycle helmet tucked under his arm. He smirked without even looking at her.

'Did you just search through my things, stealthy girl ?'

He put his helmet on the sofa then shrugged his leather jacket off and tossed it on the coat rack.

'Of course not !' She lied. 'Professor H'ghar, I would never do that !'

Jaqen H'ghar walked towards Arya and stood next to her leaning against the desk. He was younger than other professors and beyond handsome with his windswept red hair and quirky mouth. Arya could smell the scent of autumn air, smoke and leaves, mixed with his cologne, ginger and cloves. Good smells.

He raised his eyebrow questioningly.

'What brings you here, Arya ?'

Arya relaxed, grateful she could change the subject.

'I came to ask about my essay. Did you read it ?'

'Lovely girl.' He started softly, his voice was warm like melted chocolate. 'All students will be informed about their grades.' He flashed a disarming smile. 'When the day comes.'

'But...'

'A man has said.' He cut her off firmly.

Classic professor H'ghar ! Silk and steel. Some of the students felt intimidated by him, Gendry most of all, but Arya never understood why. She liked his sweet Lorathi accent as much as the iron tones that rang in his voice at times. She enjoyed both faces of Jaqen H'ghar. And the third one she had just discovered. She bit her lip trying hard to suppress a treacherous grin.

'Did you like it ?' He asked casually.

'Liked what ?'

'The poem.'

'Which one ?' Arya blushed but smiled sweetly. 'I've read all your poems. All published ones.' She said, all innocence.

'Another lie !' He sighed in mock sadness. 'You must lie better.'

Arya chewed on her lip. I loved it ! I wish you spoke to me like you speak to her whoever she is. And do those things I've seen.

'Well ?' He pressed.

'Yes.' She answered honestly this time. 'Is it about your wife ?'

Arya wondered what kind of a woman affected Jaqen H'ghar like this.

'My wife and I are happily divorced.'

'Oh. I'm sorry.' Three lies in a row. She was on fire !

His mouth quirked with amusement as if he saw through her lie. Again.

'I am not.'

'Then who is it about ?'

Who is this innocent cruel flower you dream to worship ? Oh, those words alone made her feel like, like... She didn't know like what.

'Is this the sort of question you ask your teacher ?'

'You started it !'

'Fair enough !' He chuckled. 'It's about someone else entirely.'

Arya understood professor H'ghar was bent on keeping his secret to himself.

'She is very lucky.' She prompted.

A gleam of interest sparked in his eyes.

'You think ?'

She could swear she heard something new in his deep voice but she couldn't explain what it was.

'She must be !' She assured. 'To receive such a beautiful gift ! I would like to write poems like this one someday.'

'You are a beautiful poem yourself, Arya.' He murmured, his gaze pierced her with its intensity. He walked around her and took a seat behind the desk. A whiff of ginger and cloves lingered in the air.

Arya turned around to look at him.

'I'm a what ?!'

She had been called many names by him, a greedy girl and evil cat among others, but never a poem.

Jaqen H'ghar tapped his fingers on the cover of the book which Arya was now dying to inspect further. She was sure the book held more of his secrets and she wanted to steal them all, one by one. And she had a sneaking suspicion professor H'ghar knew about it.

He opened one of the drawers in his desk, the third from the top on the left, Arya noted. He put the book inside then he ostentatiously locked the drawer and tucked the key into his pocket.

'Go now, girl.' He said, opening his laptop. 'A man has duties.' When she didn't make a move to leave he repeated firmly. 'A man has said.'

[pokibal2001]

4. Lazy Kiss + Sarnesto? :3

Yo, @mygardenofmuses​! I know this is rather short, but I’ll write this precious ship with as much love as possible XD

Minor note: This takes places post-Convergence: TATD so there might be minor spoilers here and there but don’t worry, it’s nothing major!

The day started out innocently enough. An hour after committing a robbery from  a random bank in Miracle City and escaping from those pesky Nicktoons that were on their metaphorical tails, the villainous duo were finally able to let out a breath of relief when Django of the Dead and his partner, Black Cuervo, appeared to wreck havoc and distract the heroes from chasing them.

When they reached one of Sartana’s hideouts, they quickly covered up any traces of their stolen goods. It didn’t take long for their adrenaline to go out and eventually collapsing on the sofa together.  

Ernesto inhaled deeply, basking in the comforting scent of his beloved who was snuggling in the crook of his bony neck. Resting his head against the sofa pillow behind them as he shifted his body to a more comfortable position for both him and Sartana, he sighed and mumbled contently in incoherent yet satisfied tone. 

Sartana raised her head, scarlet rubies gleaming with amusement as she gazed at him, “What was that, my dear?”

The skeletal musician coughed, the soul markings on his skull flushed a vivid red, “-oh. Um. I would not mind being in this position all day, my love.”

The villainous necromancer smirked, her expression bemused and affectionate, “The feeling is mutual, that is…” Her smile turned coy, “If you want go more than that.”

Ernesto tilted his head with a wide grin, his expression reminiscent of an excited puppy, “I am all for that! However…” He then grimaced and sigh, his smile now strained and tired, “I’m still a bit sore from our latest robbery.”

Sartana’s vivid red eyes widened, sympathy flashing on her face as she tenderly caressed her beloved’s face and cooed, “Oh no, was it too much?” She looked away and snorted to herself derisively, “Why am I such an idiot, I shouldn’t have pushed you too hard when we were running away-”

Ernesto gently grasped her hand, quickly cutting her off from her rant of self-deprecation. As much as he relished the warmth of his girlfriend’s concern for him, Ernesto hates it when Sartana drives all that internal criticism onto herself when really, it’s his own fault that he let himself tire too fast while on the run. 

The love that he felt for her, the love that she reciprocates; Ernesto would not let his beloved do that to herself. 

“It’s fine, my love,” Ernesto gushed, learning forward to give Sartana two pecks on her blushing cheeks, “I just needed the rest, that’s all!” 

Sartana sighed as she snuggled onto the crook of Ernesto’s neck once more, “If you say so…”

After several minutes of being in a loving embrace, the necromancer raised her head and tilted her head curiously at Ernesto.

Brows furrowed, she says, “I don’t why, but I feel that something awful might happen. And I trust my intuition very well.”

Ernesto lazily planted a kiss on her lips, one that she reciprocated with equal passion. 

When they separated, the disgraced musician raised his eyebrow bemusedly at Sartana, “What could possibly ruin our time?”

Sartana inhaled deeply, taking in the scent of her beloved as she conceded, “Oh, I supposed I’m just paranoid.”

Omake 

*SMASH*

Debris fell alongside El Tigre through the ceiling, the vessel of the Great Tiger grunting as his body impacted the ruined floor. None the worse for wear, the tiger-themed superhero groaned as he slowly rose up and rubbed his head. 

Opening his green eyes, he immediately stiffened when he noticed the tell-tale signs of a hideout owned by Sartana of the Dead. Suspicious, he scanned his surroundings until his wary gaze fell upon Sartana and Ernesto sprawled together on the sofa.

Sartana sputtered incoherently, Ernesto stared back blankly and El Tigre could only gawk with his mouth agape at what seems to be a very intimate situation unfolding before him. 

There was a moment of awkward silence.

“Holy crap!!!” a familiar voice of a teenage boy yelped in horror.

Three heads swerved up to see Django’s head peeking down from the hole, his expression wide-eyed and abashed. Another three heads were seen poking out as well, belonging to Danny Phantom and Agent Kitty Katswell with varying degrees of pure and utter mortification on their faces. 

Somewhere in the sky above them, XJ-9 and Black Cuervo continued to trade barbs and shots in their aerial dogfight; blissfully unaware of the impending disaster going on.

“Sorry, nana!” Django cried out, his tone apologetic, “I thought I send El Tigre flying at another place. I-uh, I’ll send them away!”

Sartana was frighteningly silent for bit, before her blank face twisted into an wrathful snarl as she summoned her magic guitar with her hands. 

“Oh, don’t worry, my grandson. Whoever dares to interrupt my precious bonding time with my beloved will pay,” Sartana of the Dead growled with gritted teeth.

Django wisely pulled his head back outside.

El Tigre gulped nervously with wide fearful eyes while Phantom sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck as he laughed uncomfortably, “So, um… We should probably get Ma-El Tigre out of there while we still can, right?”

Agent Katswell nodded her head gravely, “And we have to do it quickly because otherwise…” The anthro cat narrowed her eyes at the necromancer, whose death magic began to spark dangerously around her.

Phantom inhaled deeply, before going invisible and quickly grabbed El Tigre out of the room with Agent Katswell in tow

“DON’T YOU DARE RUN AWAY FROM ME!!!”

Ernesto could only stare as he shakes his head at the sheer insanity of the situation, feeling so out of his depth while watching his beloved gave chase to the Nicktoons and taking the battle between heroes and villains outside the hideout. 

Beneath the feelings of incredulity, however, was the pure pride and love he felt for Sartana. Even in her raging form, she was still the epitome of beauty and strength in his eyes. 

‘That’s my woman,’ Ernesto grinned dumbly to himself.

(here’s the link to the modern AU Sarnesto kiss prompt!)