#So desperately want to hit someone over the head with words and watch the magic happen

[highladyandromeda]

Shadows of the Heart

Prologue

Azriel x Reader

Summary: After years apart, Y/n returns to Velaris, bearing the weight of sacrifice and secrets from her past. Reunited with Rhysand and his Inner Circle, she navigates the complexities of rekindled friendships and unresolved tensions. 

Y/n’s powers are inspired by Scarlet Witch from Marvel. She is a sorceress living in Vallahan, with her family hailing from the night court. 

Word count: 1k-ish

Warnings: mentions of blood, wounds, but nothing particularly graphic

Azriel stood off to the side, quietly observing the cozy scene in the House of Wind's living room. There was Feyre, nestled comfortably on Rhys's lap, her giggles echoing softly as she leaned in to catch his whispered words. In the corner, Amren made an art out of lounging, a smirk playing on her lips as she peered over her wine glass. Cassian had wrapped an arm around Nesta, her head bent together with Gwen and Emerie, engrossed in a lively discussion about their latest read. The ambient buzz of conversation, punctuated by the occasional clink of glasses filled with Rhys's impressive wine, created a backdrop of contented harmony.

Azriel tried his best to shove aside the twinge of jealousy that crept up on him, watching his brothers and their bliss. He didn't want to feel like just an onlooker, basking in the warmth of their happiness, yet here he was. His mind wandered to Elain, who had opted for an early night. Would her presence have allowed him to drift away from this feeling, to find solace in her gentle smiles and tender gazes? It seemed chasing fae after fae with hearts as bright as the sun was his lot in life. Yearning for a sliver of light in his shadowed existence, a beacon like Elain, or Mor, someone to take him out—that's when he noticed it—his shadows, usually so still, began to stir anxiously around him.

In danger, in danger, they whispered, urgency threading through their murmurs.

In pain. Falling, falling, the ones closest murmured, their voices escalating into a desperate shout.

Springing to his feet, Azriel scanned the room, brushing off the puzzled glances thrown his way. Then, a sharp thud echoed, quickly followed by a cry that cut through the relaxed chatter. In a heartbeat, he was dashing towards the balcony, with Rhys and Cassian hot on his heels, all three propelled by the sudden urgency to uncover the source of the disturbance that had just intruded upon their peaceful evening.

Bursting through the balcony doors, Azriel was met with a scene that defied all expectations. Chaotic runes smeared across the floor in hasty, overlapping strokes forming an intricate magical circle. At its heart lay two figures: a faerie kneeling, her skin so pale it shimmered with almost ethereal light, ebony locks sprawling untidily about her. Her eyes, aglow with an intense crimson, matching the runes surrounding her, pierced through the night. Dark stains marred her robes—wounds, he realized, still seeping blood from her arm and leg. She cradled Mor’s head in her lap, their gazes locking in a moment so profound, that Azriel felt the world around him come to a standstill. He swore he felt his heart stutter, a memory long forgotten trying to urge its way out. Mor, his attention snapped to, was equally pale, her lips tinged a sickly shade of blue.

“What did you do to–” Just as Azriel began, he saw the female look behind him, exclaiming, “Rhys! 

“Y/n?” Rhys ran to her, his hands frantic, unsure of whether to hold her or lean for Mor. 

“Rhys” She began again, her breaths coming out in spurts. She grabbed his hand as he leaned down to hold her, “Poison…she’s been poisoned, needs tonic–”

Barely finishing her sentence, her eyes rolled back and she collapsed, Rhys’s hands halting her from hitting the floor. 

“Call for Madja” Rhy yelled. “Mor’s been poisoned and perhaps Y/n as well.”

Before Azriel could react, Cassian stepped up, carefully lifting Mor, while Rhys carried Y/n, both moving swiftly back into the sanctuary of the house.

They found a bedroom with two twin beds, laying one on each. 

Madja, a whirlwind of expertise, raced around both, focusing her skills on stabilizing Mor's precarious state. Meanwhile, Rhys was tasked with a grim duty, pressing down on Y/n's wounds, which despite the salves and a plethora of cloths, continued bleeding relentlessly.

"It's the runes," Amren interjected, her voice slicing through the turmoil like a blade. All eyes, save for Madja's, who momentarily lessened the fervor of her tonic mixing, turned to her.

"She utilized ancient magic," Amren stated, her declaration hanging in the air, dense with implications, yet devoid of further explanation, prompting Rhys to press for clarity.

"And that means?" 

The urgency lacing Rhys's voice caught Azriel off-guard. Who was this female, who seemed so familiar and why was she so important to Rhys? He felt a spark of anger at the way Rhys held her, despite knowing Rhys's heart belonged to Feyre.

"It means she offered her blood as a sacrifice. Likely to transport herself and Mor here. Inspect Mor for runes," Amren directed without pause.

Before Amren's words could fully settle, Madja cut through the sleeves of Mor’s dress, revealing an arm ensnared by crimson runes, mirroring those that marred the balcony. 

It was then that Azriel's senses sharpened, recognizing the scent that pervaded the air—a metallic tang he had initially overlooked in the chaos. Blood. Those runes, those symbols, all wrought from blood. Recollections of the massive circles they had traversed to enter this scene played back in his mind, causing his stomach to churn. It was reflected in Feyre's gasp as she rushed to aid Y/n, while Rhys was overtaken by a wave of nausea.

The room, already tense with fear and uncertainty, was engulfed in a silent horror as Madja's voice, though trembling, broke through the silence. "She's correct. The blood serves as an anchor for Morrigan's soul. The runes must bind Morrigan to..."

"Y/n's," Rhys provided, his voice steady in the thick silence.

"Yes, to Y/n's very essence," Madja concluded. "This means Y/n will continue to suffer, to bleed, until Morrigan shows signs of recovery. In exchange.”

A heavy silence settled over them, punctuated only by the rhythmic thud of Madja grinding her herbs, as the gravity of their situation unfolded.

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Author's note: Hi everyone! I’ve been a lurker in the acotar fandom for ages, this is my first time writing, so do let me know what you think. I'm not totally sure how far I want to take this series, but I do have longer chapters planned ahead.

[darkbluekies]

Like magic — part 2/end?

Part 1

Male!yandere x female!reader x female!yandere

Summary: after waking up from a coma like state, you find out that people are dying around you ... and they all seem to have a connection to you

Warnings: death, blood, typical stuff, abusive household

Word count: 5.1k

A/N: I feel that the ending got rushed, but I didn't know what I was going to write! Apologies. And for the moment, this will be the end of the series, but if I ever want to do another part, I will<3

Taglist: @yandere-city2 @svinxie @yumeneji @spitakgini

"Have you ever had a dueling class?" Hedwig asks.

"No, never", you reply nervously, thinking of everything Edmund told you about it.

"It's going to be fine. We're not even sure if they're going to pick you for demonstration!"

"I'm happy that Edmund isn't in this class or I'd be dead."

The mention of his name makes Hedwig quiet.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Hedwig", you say. "I know you don't like to talk about him."

"You seem to like it …"

"What? No! He just annoys me so I can't forget him. He's taken over my brain like a virus."

Hedwig sighs and hugs your arm.

"I don't like him at all", she mumbles. 

You enter your very first dueling class and watch how the professor start to talk about different spells (most you've never even heard of).

"I need two participants", he says and looks around for faces. "Arthur and Y/N, please."

You can feel Hedwig stiffen against your arm. You feel your blood go cold.

"B-But professor-!" Hedwig starts.

"No buts, come up here now, Y/N", the professor demands.

You have no other choice than to step up on the stage-looking plateau. Hedwig watches in horror with her hands clasped over her mouth. You pick up your wand. 

"Professor!" Hedwig tries again, but once again she's dismissed.

You're supposed to protect yourself from a spell you have never heard about before, but since you neither know the spell nor the counter spell, it hits your body like a thousand needles. Suddenly, everything seems to go in slow motion. You're flung against the stone wall. The air gets knocked out of your lungs and your head starts to pound thickly. Everything turns dark.

Hedwig screams and runs over to you.

"Y/N, are you okay?!" she gasps. "Y/N answer, please!" She turns to the professor. "I tried to warn you! She doesn't know any dueling spells! Now look at what you did!"

The professor stands there sheepishly, and Hedwig wants nothing more than to swing her wand and do as much damage as she possibly can.

A few students help Hedwig carry your unconscious body to the hospital wing where your bloody head is wrapped in bandage. You're tucked in under white sheets. Hedwig sits by with tears running down her cheeks. She holds your hand tightly. 

Edmund sighs and turns the page. Idiocy, all of it. He doesn't want to read about spells, he wants to perform them.

"Did you hear?" a voice says to someone else. "The transfer student in third year got abominated during duel class."

The school only has one transfer student. Edmund shuts the book and flies up towards the Hufflepuff student talking bullshit.

"What the fuck are you talking about?" He asks. "Don't talk so much shit. Spit it out."

They seem to flinch upon seeing him. Edmund's made sure that people know you belong to him.

"The transfer student, she's in the hospital wing", the hufflepuff boy says, ashamed by now.

Edmund feels how his heart stops beating. No way. Not you. He gives the Hufflepuff boy one last glare before running off. He bumps into multiple people on his way, but doesn't stop to excuse himself.

Hedwig looks up when she hears someone rip the door open and run in. Edmund's face is paler than usual and for once, there's something desperate in his icy blue eyes.

"What the fuck happened?" he pants and walks to the other side of the bed. 

"The professor didn't listen to me when I tried to tell him that Y/N doesn't know any spells", Hedwig sniffles without taking her eyes off of you. "She got flung against the wall and must have hit her head really hard."

"I'm going to kill him."

Hedwig sobs and rests her forehead down on your hand. 

“Stop doing that”, Edmund mutters and pulls her head back before wiping your hand. “Your face oil is getting all over her.”

"What if she never wakes up again?"

"Stop talking such nonsense, of course she will."

But he can't help feeling worried.

"Alright, students", the working nurse says, "you cannot stay here any longer, the patient needs to rest."

"I'm staying", Edmund says sharply.

"I'm staying too!" Hedwig insists.

"No, you have to listen to the rules. You can visit miss Y/N later."

They are about to resist once more, but are forced out and the doors close behind them.

"What a prick!" Edmund mutters and starts to walks off.

"Edmund, wait … please", Hedwig sniffles. "Please help me."

He frowns and turns around.

"I can't let that boy get away with it", she whimpers. "But I can't do it alone. Please … help me. Please."

“You want … me … to help … you?” he asks, confused. “Have you lost your little sugar, honey mind?”

Hedwig sobs and shakes her head. “No. Please, Edmund. I can’t do it myself, I don’t have the heart to do it. But I know you do.”

“How would you know that?”

“Don’t lie. I know that you have the tattoo on your arm. Everyone knows who your parents are and what they’ve done.” She snuffles and wipes her nose. “It doesn’t matter if they lie. Everyone knows.”

Edmund hushes and covers her mouth with his hand. Hedwig’s eyes widens. 

“Be silent, will you?” he hisses. “Fine, I’ll do it … not because you tell me to, but because Y/N needs to be revenged — and because I’m fucking pissed.”

“Thank you, nonetheless.” She takes a deep breath. “If you … if you do it, I will make sure to cover it up.”

“Deal.”

When you wake up, you can feel a harsh pounding in the back of your head, harsh enough to split your skull open. You open your eyes slightly, letting just enough daylight in to be able to locate yourself. The hospital wing. 

Why am I here?

You suddenly remember, and it sends a new painful wave through your brain. Carefully, you sit up and look around, wishing to see Hedwig, but there’s noone. 

Suddenly, a few teachers rush in with a body in their arms. The boy who you had dueled with — Arthur, you believed his name to be — gets thrown onto a bed and covered with a sheet. A shiver runs down your spine. Whatever that was about, you don’t want to be included. 

“Excuse me?” you say hesitantly, gathering the attention of the nurse. “Could you help me?”

“Yes of course”, she answers and hurries over. “You’re finally awake, I’m happy to see that. How are you feeling?”

Dismissing her question, you ask her to bring you Hedwig. And Hedwig you receive, along with the black haired devil. 

“Oh, Y/N!” she shouts in relief and wraps her arms around you. “Oh, how happy I am to see you awake! You worried me sick.”

You hug her back, weirdly scared. You have no idea how long you’ve been unconscious for, or what has happened to you while you were out. Hedwig’s ripped off of you and suddenly, you feel Edmund’s firm, muscular arms around you. He holds your head into his chest, breathing out slowly. 

“I told you that you didn’t want to end up in the hospital wing”, he mumbles and sighs out, cupping your cheeks. “From now on, I won’t let you anywhere out of my sight. Since miss princess over here can’t keep an eye on you, I have to do it.”

“Excuse me?” Hedwig scoffs. “Do you think I wanted Y/N to get hurt? I tried to tell the professor-!”

“I don’t care, halfblood. If I were there, I wouldn’t have let that happened! I would have dueled the damn professor myself.” He turns to you and kisses your forehead. “My dear, Y/N. I will never let anyone touch a hair on your head again, do you understand me?”

You nod, confused. 

“Good”, Edmund smiles and stands up. “What should we do with you now?"

"Are you allowed to leave?" Hedwig asks softly and you nod. She takes your hands. "Let's go eat something. You can sit at my table."

You come with her to the great hall and sit down by the hufflepuff table. Edmund refuses to be seen beside the students wearing yellow and black uniforms and retreats to the Slytherin table. 

“Here you go, sweetheart”, Hedwig says and starts to fill a plate for you, giving it over. “Eat a lot, okay? You have been skipping multiple days now that you’ve been in a coma — or whatever that was. You have multiple days to make up for, eat up.”

“Thank you, Hedwig, that’s very nice of you”, you reply and watch the mountain of food on your plate. 

Hedwig insists on feeding you, as if you were a baby. You don’t mind. After waking up all alone in a foreign room, without any knowledge of what has happened or how long you’ve been gone, being babied doesn’t sound too bad.

The entire hall is glancing at you and you realize that if there ever was the slightest chance of staying single in the public’s eyes, you were sealed to Hedwig by now. 

Your stomach starts to hurt not long after. It has shrunk in size.

“It hurts”, you say and clutch your stomach. “I think I’m going to throw up if I eat more.”

“But … but …”, Hedwig stutters, completely baffled. 

“Hedwig, I love the food, I really do … but if I eat more for now I’m going to puke.”

“I’ll … I’ll save it then!” she says happily. 

She puts the bread in a napkin and puts it in the pocket of her cloak. You’re pulled up from the bench by her arm and taken out into the corridor.

“Let’s go out into the fresh air to get you feeling better”, she smiles.

You nod, following Hedwig wherever she takes you. A fresh wind clears your lungs.

"I hope you know that I'm so happy that you're okay", she says and holds your hand while you're walking, side by side. "I got so scared. You know that I would do anything for you, right?"

You nod again.

"When I say that, I really mean it. Nothing is too much for you.”

“I’m glad to hear that.”

Hedwig smiles and hugs your arm tightly.

“You should come over to my house someday”, she says. “I would show you so much stuff that you have never seen before. You’re missing out on a lot by being born into a muggle family.”

“I would like very much to go to your house”, you say quietly. “I don’t want to go home.”

She stops. “What? Why?”

“Well … you know … I don’t want to go home.”

She frowns when you shrug awkwardly. You’ve hinted about your home life numerous times, but you’ve never told her the entire reason. Should you?

“Why?" she asks. "Why don't you want to go home?"

"I'm scared that they won't let me go back."

"Nonsense, Y/N. I'm sure that they'll understand."

"No, Hedwig, they won't. They locked me in my bedroom every year to make sure I wouldn't get here. I picked the lock this time. Otherwise I wouldn't be here."

"Are they bad people, Y/N?"

"Well … I don't know. They're not mean but … if I say anything that goes against their rules or their wishes, they punish me greatly.”

"How?"

“You’d be surprised at how creative they are.”

“I see.” She smiles softly and caresses your cheek. “You have nothing to be worried about, I will take you in. You can move into my house.”

“Thank you, but I don’t want to be a bother to your parents.”

“They’re rarely home anyway, they wouldn’t even notice.” She gasps and looks at her watch. “Oh, my God, I’m so sorry, Y/N, I have to go! I have class in five minutes. Please find me after class, we can meet in the library. I love you, Y/N, bye!”

She kisses your cheek and runs. You watch her until she disappears into the castle. The headache returns and you press your palms to your forehead, giving out a small sigh. Did your brain disconnect from the skull in that fall?

There’s too many people around you, too many sounds. You start to move back towards the castle when you’re stopped by a couple of students. They’re younger than you, but smirk like adults. 

“Aren’t you the third year that can’t duel to save your life?” one of them taunts. 

You’re taken aback, not knowing what to respond. They laugh among themselves, enjoying your embarrassment. You glance down at their robes. All from different houses.

Suddenly, their smiles disappear and they fixate on something behind you. You turn around, seeing Edmund with his two minions. 

“Bet you’re feeling tough, huh?” Edmund asks coldly. “Picking on someone that just came out of the hospital wing? Fuck off.”

The younger students glare at him, but listen and leave. You can feel Edmund’s hand on your shoulder. 

“Hey, transfer student”, he says, “you shouldn’t wander around right after waking up from a coma. Did you lose braincells when hitting your head?”

“No”, you sigh and hold your hand on your head. “But it does hurt. A lot. All sounds make my brain pound.”

Edmund covers your ears with his hand, gives you a small nudge in the back with his knee to make you walk. He brings you to an empty corridor and sits you down on the floor. 

“Did you know those kids?” he asks. 

“No”, you shake your head. 

“I knew one of them”, one of his friends says. “Won’t be too hard to figure out who the others are.”

“Good”, Edmund says and sits down beside you, bringing you close to him. 

You frown in confusion as he wraps his cloak around you and puts your face on his shoulder. 

“Let’s rest here for a bit”, he says. “Don’t move. Sleep if you want.”

 The food swelling in your shrunken stomach and the loud noises have brought you back to exhaustion. You find yourself drifting off in his hold. Edmund sits with you, holding you closely. Every time someone walks by, he holds his hand over your ears to make sure they won’t wake you up. His friends chase them off. 

“Of course you had something to do with it”, he hears a voice say after a while. 

“No need to be snarky, Hedwig”, Edmund says without lifting his eyes from you. “I helped you kill that Arthur boy, the least you can do is thank me.”

“Is she okay?”

“Yeah, just tired.”

Hedwig sits down beside the two of you and caresses your hair. 

“We have more to take care of”, Edmund says lowly. “Some embarrassing kids tried to embarrass Y/N. If you can find out who they are, I will take care of them.”

“Sure, it wouldn’t be too hard.” Especially with her contacts.

Things start to happen the following weeks. People you have talked to or that have been close to you have disappeared from the school or ended up dead in the hospital wing. You have done everything in your power to not blame yourself for the weird disappearances. It has to be a coincidence, you tell yourself. It can’t be your fault.

“Why that look?” Edmund asks and pokes your shoulder. 

You haven’t even realized that you’ve been staring in front ot you, completely missing what the teacher has said the last half an hour. 

“I feel weird”, you whisper. 

“Why?” Edmund asks, confused. 

“Haven’t you realized that people have died or disappeared?”

“I haven’t thought about it too much. It doesn’t interest me.”

“Oh …”

You look down in your lap where your nails scratch at each other.

“Why are you putting so much thought about it?” Edmund questions. 

“I’ve talked to them all … they’ve disappeared or died after they’ve been in my presence. Do you think it has something to do with me?”

“You think everything has to do with you.”

“I do not!”

The teacher scolds you for raising your voice and disturbing the class. Edmund smirks for himself. It stays on until you’re let out of the classroom. 

“Wait, Y/N, can you stay for a moment?” the teacher asks. 

You nod and walk over with Edmund behind you. 

“The headmaster wants to talk to you”, the teacher says. 

“What?” you ask. 

“Why?” Edmund demands to know. 

"It's urgent. Please hurry to his office.”

You give Edmund a nervous glance and hurry out. He follows closely with a cold look on his face.

“What do you think could have happened?” you ask him while rounding the corner.

“No idea”, he responds shortly. “But if they're trying to put you in trouble I'm snapping their necks.”

You can feel him take your hand tightly. You'll end up with bruises, you're sure.

The headmaster's office is dimly lit. He sits behind the desk with a worried look in his eyes. It only makes you even more terrified.

“Y/N, good”, he says and sits up straight. “I have some very serious matters to discuss with you. I see that you brought your friend.”

Edmund looks greatly offended at his title.

“What is it?” you ask carefully. 

“I'm sure that you haven't missed the unfortunate death of some of our students during these last few weeks … and they've all linked with you somehow-”

“Do you think she has killed them?” Edmund bursts out angrily.

“I did not say that. Please calm down. What I am saying is that the murders are linked with you somehow and to prevent more innocent students from death, we'll have to suspend you for a while.”

His words hit you like a missile in your chest. 

“What?” you ask quietly. “Suspend me? I haven't done anything wrong!”

“I know, Y/N, but we need to catch this murderer before he does more harm and with you here, we risk even more lives.” 

“How do you even know that Y/N is linked, hm?” Edmund questions snarky.

“Well, we're not one hundred percent sure, so sending Y/N home will determine if the murderers had anything to do with her or not. You'll take the train tomorrow evening. I'm sorry, Y/N.”

You can't seem to move, wondering if someone has put a spell on you. Your head pounds, and you start to wonder if you're hallucinating, almost hoping for it. Edmund leads you out to the corridor and grabs your shoulders to force you to look at him.

“You haven't done anything wrong, do you understand that?” he asks you harshly. 

You nod carefully.

“I don't want to go home”, you shake your head quickly as tears form in your eyes. 

“You’ll be back soon enough. When they realize that you have nothing to do with it, they have to bring you back.”

But you have to go back, and you know better than to argue with grown ups. Whether you want to or not, you’re on the train the next day, with all your belongings. Hedwig and Edmund are standing on the station, waving you off. 

“This fucking sucks”, Edmund mutters, watching the train leave. 

“I’m so worried for her”, Hedwig says shakily. “I hope that they’re not mean to her.”

“Who?”

“Her parents.”

Edmund stares at her in shock, almost fear. “What about her, parents, Hedwig?”

“You didn’t know?”

“Know what?”

“Y/N told me that they’re creative with … punishments. They didn’t want her to come here … and now that she’s been gone for half a semester, I’m scared what they’re going to do to her once she comes back. She might not be allowed to come back … or they might hurt her.”

“Not on my fucking watch.”

He starts to walk back towards the school.

“What are you going to do?” Hedwig shouts behind him.

Edmund stops and walks back to her with burning, icy eyes. 

“I am going to get Y/N out of that house and you are going to keep killing here”, he says sharply. “Do you understand that, halfblood?”

“Me?!” Hedwig almost screams. 

Edmund covers her mouth with his hand. 

“Shut up”, he orders her, “or else the entire country will hear you.”

She removes his hand forcefully and glares at him. 

“Edmund, I can’t kill anyone”, she hisses. 

“Oh, you fucking can”, Edmund scoffs. “I know you’re not all nice. Don’t even try. You had no problem threatening me on on the quidditch court. You have no remorse when you give me information on the people that I kill. You can do it too, stop pretending to be some weak lamb.”

Hedwig doesn’t answer. 

“Why do I have to keep killing?” she mutters. “Y/N’s gone.”

“Because she won’t get to return otherwise”, Edmund replies. “If the headmaster realizes that the murders really do link with Y/N, she’ll never get to come back — they might even think it was her that killed them … and then she’ll be sent to Azkaban. Is that what you want?”

Hedwig shakes her head quickly. 

“That’s what I thought”, he says. “My friends will help you kill whoever you need to. I am going to go get Y/N.”

“I know the muggle world better than you. Why can’t I go get her and you stay?”

“Because I don’t fucking trust you.”

“I don’t trust you.”

“I don’t care.”

With that said, he walks away, leaving Hedwig alone on the platform. 

You cry the entire way back. You haven’t done anything, why are you getting punished? It’s not fair. Now you’re getting sent back to your parents while the murderer is still allowed to roam the halls of Hogwarts. You’ll never be allowed to go back. 

When the train stops, you’re met by your parents outside the window. You remain in your seat. They go on board to get you when they realize that you refuse to come out. 

“Y/N, get up”, your mother says coldly. “Stop being childish.”

You don’t look at them, don’t answer. Your father grabs a hold of your arm and pulls you up from the seat. 

“Don’t touch me!” you shout. “I can walk by myself.”

You press yourself past them and walk out on the platform. The entire ride home is silent, but you know that the second the front door closes, you’ll know what hell feels like. And you’re of course right, because the second your father locks the front door behind you, you feel a slap over your cheek. With wide eyes, you back away and put your hand on your cheek. They have never put their hands on you. They have done countless embarrassing and hurtful punishments, but they have never hurt you physically. Not like this. if you weren’t stunned, you’d scream at them. 

“I don’t even want to look at you”, your mother says in disgust and walks into the living room. 

“Just go to your room and stay there”, your father says in the same manner. “I will confiscate all of your ‘magic’ supplies.”

You don’t question them and walk upstairs. The second you close your bedroom door behind you, you break out into sobs. You knew that this would happen at the end of the year, but you had wished that you could have stayed a semester, at least. It’s not fair. 

You sink down on your bed and hide your face in your hands and you sit like that for who knows how long. The sky turs dark and the moon greets you, but you ignore him. You don’t move out of your spot, not even when your stomach starts to growl. 

Suddenly, you can hear a crash from downstairs. Quickly, you stand up and are about to run over to the door, when you remember your parents. You don’t want to go downstairs and show them that the loud sound worried you. They don’t deserve that after what they’ve done. Instead, you cross your arms and lay down in bed, curling up in to a ball with your back towards the door. You shut out the sounds from downstairs, humming for yourself to drown them out. 

When you hear your door open, you’re too scared to turn around. 

“Y/N.”

Edmund? You turn around and see him standing in the doorway, blood dripping from his hair and covering his cloak. He smiles when seeing you, the first genuine smile you’ve ever seen him wear. He hurries over to you and hugs you tightly. You’re smushed against his chest and can feel his hands everywhere. His bloody hands. 

“W-What have you done?” you stutter into his neck while trying your best to push him off. 

“I’m here to save you!” he says. “Hedwig told me about your parents. They won’t keep you captive anymore.”

“What have you done?!”

You manage to push him off. He looks confused. 

“They were being mean to you, Y/N”, he says in a questionable manner. “They’ve hurt you. Your cheek …”

You can’t understand how he can sense a redness in the skin.

“What have you done?” you ask, quieter this time. 

“I’ve killed them”, he says firmly. “I killed them without magic. Just how mudbloods deserve to be killed.”

Your eyes widen. Your body goes cold at the thought of Edmund taking someone's life. It doesn't matter if he thinks that he's doing you a favor, the action itself is enough to make you mortified. You try to crawl back on the bed, but your head hits the wall, trapping you. Edmund grabs your leg and pulls you back, closer to him. 

“Don’t run away from me”, he tells you. “Not now. I came all the way here to help you.”

“How did you even get here?” you sob. 

“My father helped me. Now come here-”

You start to claw at him when he tries to pick him up, accidentally revealing the tattoo on his wrist. You stop dead in your tracks and he’s quick to pull his sleeve down. 

“Hedwig was right”, you pant. “You fucking monster!”

“Monster or not, I saved you”, Edmund reminds you and takes your moment of surprise to his advantage, pulling you over his shoulder. “Now we’re going.”

You start to scream and kick, so he wrestles you down on the floor in the corridor, picks something up from his pocket and pours something in your mouth. A liquid reminding you of Hedwig’s love potion. You cough to try to get it up, but Edmund covers your mouth with his hand and dictates it upwards, so you’ll have no other choice but to swallow the unfamiliar liquid. You feel your body grow numb in a minute. Your eyes are still open, you can still hear, but you can’t move. 

“Sorry for that, Y/N”, Edmund pants and picks you up again. “But you can’t behave. And I need you to be quiet.”

When he carries you downstairs, you can see the bloody bodies lying on the floor with limbs in positions and directions they definitely shouldn’t be in. You want to scream, but you can’t move. 

Edmund carries you out to something looking like a car, but you can telly hat it isn’t. It looks more like a carriage. He has a chauffeur in the front who starts to drive when Edmund has sitten down with you in his lap. The carriage flies, you notice when you spot your roof outside. 

“I’m sorry, Y/N”, Edmund says and brushes the hair out of your face. “I didn’t want to numb you, I hope you know that.”

How fucking could you?

“Don’t give me that look.”

You killed my parents, you swine.

Edmund sighs and covers your eyes with his hand. He soon removes it when he feels water against his palm.

“Y/N, don't cry”, he sighs. “Why are you even upset? They wouldn’t let you come back to the place you belonged … they hurt you. Stop looking at me like I’m the bad guy here. Yes, I killed them but I did you a favor.”

He doesn't say more until the carriage stops outside of a dark house. Edmund carries you inside (where it's just as dark), up a pair of marmot stairs and into a bedroom. You can tell that it's his right away by the moving pictures of dark wizards on the wall. He lies you down on his bed and sit by your side, caressing your cheek until the potion is diluted enough in your blood for you to move. It won’t be fully gone until it has exited your body. You sit up and look around, feeling his eyes on you. 

“Why did you do that?” you ask quietly. “Did you kill all the others too? In school?”

Edmund nods. 

“You fucking creep”, you breathe out. 

Edmund scoffs, but doesn’t answer. “Aren’t you happy I killed them for you? Your parents are awful. They hurt you, they didn’t see your potential.”

“They were my fucking parents …”

“And they hurt you.”

Silence. 

“Your tattoo …”, you say hesitantly. “Why?”

Edmund covers his wrist with his hand, even though his shirt already hides the tattoo.

“What should I have done, do you think?” he asks. “When all around me want me to have it? Say no? And be discarded by everyone? I don’t think so.”

“You’ve sold your soul. You’re a monster.”

Edmund doesn’t answer. 

“Your family hates people like me, don’t they?” you ask. “What if I tell your father that you’re having me here? That his pureblood son is killing for a mudblood?”

“You wouldn’t fucking dare. In that case, he kills both of us, smartass.”

“I want Hedwig.”

“I don’t think you do, sweetheart.”

“Why?”

“Because she’s in on it too.” Edmund smiles. “Face it, darling, your parents would die sooner or later.”

It hits you that you’re an orphan now. You’re all alone. No house, no family … and apparently no friends. 

You’re allowed to return to Hogwarts a month later. Edmund brings you with him, holding you tightly by his side. 

“Y/N!” Hedwig shouts and runs over to you, hugging you tightly. “Sweetheart!”

You don't move. Hedwig pulls back and looks at you worriedly.

“What's wrong?” she asks.

“She knows”, Edmund says shortly.

“Oh … b-but you know that we did it for you, right? Y/N?”

“You disgust me”, you whisper. “Both of you.”

“Well, too fucking bad”, Edmund says. “You're stuck with us now. Tell anyone and I'm going to bring you back home. You want to stay here, don't you?”

You nod shortly.

“Then behave”, Edmund tells you.

“You'll not have a hard time doing that”, Hedwig smiles sadly and caresses your cheek. “You're such a lovely girl.”

You want nothing more than to wake up from this bizarre nightmare. Why did they have to ruin your magical place?

[oneirataxiahiraeth]

Can you do a Kai Parker x Stefan Salvatore x y/n? lool

Hierarchy || pt.1

Pairings : fem!reader x siphon!KaiParker

Warnings : Vulgar Language, Mentions of threesomes, Mentions of infidelity, Voyeurism, mutual masterbation, Violent, mentions of blood, mention of death, slight exhibitionism, fingering, oral (both receiving), choking, hair pulling, p in v, unprotected sex, jealous!stefan x jealous!kai, FWB, definitely NOT proofread

Word Count: little over 4k

A/N:

I ALREADY HAD THIS IN MY DRAFTS FROM LIKE MONTHS AGO!!! im so glad someone requested it cus it wasn’t sure if you guys would want to see this😭 im making this 2/maybe 3 parts because I have them ready… partially???

   The interest began the first time you met. He smelled you before he was even able to see you. He remembered the day like it was yesterday. You smelled soft and warm, something about the subtle hibiscus in your perfume almost made him comfortable.

     His eyes remained closed, just listening to your soft hums of whatever pop junk they played on the radio these days. He heard the ruffling of the packaging of your first aid kit, right before felt the searing sting of an alcohol pad being pressed into his skin.

   His head was ringing, blood drying on his shirt from the giant gash in his hairline. You were sure if it was from the scuffle with Alaric earlier or the way Ric hit his unconscious head against the tree afterwards. Kai slowly opened his eyes, flinching away from the sting only to let met with soft apologies that sounds surprisingly genuine. You had a soft sultry tone that made his skin crawl. Once his vision stabilized he was met with one of the most angelic faces he had ever personally witnessed. He swore he had finally died and good somehow found it in his heart to forgive him for his sins. Your lips slightly parted with the pink tip of your tongue poking out as you focused on cleaning the wounds before infection even had the chance to form. You offered reassuring smiles  as he made the most snarky comments he and his concussion could think of before your friend came to whisk you away.

   You were torture to be around. Your scent, face, the way you spoke, how you cried, laughed, everything about you stuck with him. You were torture to be around, the very thought of you intoxicating. Maybe it was simply because of the kindness you had shown him from the very beginning that he never experienced from anyone else. Or the innocent nature of your entire being. the way you tensed when a situation turned violent, or how there was this switch in you that flipped so quickly when someone you care about was in danger. He noted how everyone avoided conflicted with you around, as if they all had a hand to play in preserving your innocence.

"Stop staring at me like that" You spoke blandly, feeling your cheeks heating as you glanced at the siphon who simply shrugged in acknowledgement.

   "Can't help it." A smirked crossed his lips, as his fingers traced invisible shapes along the counter tops. "You are just so mesmerizing."

   "Malachi" You huffed, rolling your eyes as you fought a smile.

   You knew about the tiny crush Kai seemed to have. Though he never confirmed it, and you never had the balls to ask, it was something that you felt. Almost everyone noticed it. The way he spoke to you, about you, how he never got your name wrong or even threatened to hurt a hair on your head. Even if you had received a tiny cut on your hand, he would draw from whatever magic he had simply to heal you. Part of him felt obligated after everything you've done for him, and the other parts just felt like it.

    His attraction started off as solely lustful desperation. He took every opportunity to steal the sight of you. He watched while you were sprawled out across the living room floor, feet dangling in the air as you read from a book he didn't care to pay attention to. He was too focused on the way your tongue rested between your teeth when you concentrated hard enough. He could make out every curve in your body, even recognizing you simple by the way you walked. Over time he realized the way he needed you was more than simply physical.

   Even the way you said his name was so special. He didn't like any one else using his full name. When you said it, it was just different... better. Less implications of someone evil, and it almost made him feel human.

   "What's the smell?"

"Strawberry shortcakes." You perked up.

    "Really?" He sat up straight, looking at the mess you made on the counter. "From scratch I see..." and you nodded gleefully, as his eyebrows narrowed in concern.

   You were something of a nuisance in the kitchen. You love baking, and cooking, but apparently the skill did not love you back. You've burned more things than humanly possible, and it was getting to the point where you were barely trusted to pour your own coffee in the mornings. So you stuck to the earlier mornings when everyone would be dead asleep, unable to talk you out of practicing your skills.

   You could blacken as many cookies or cakes as you wanted and they wouldn't even notice unless something was on fire.

  "Hey, i'm doing really good so far!" You defended you actions, turning around to pick up the cooled tray of tiny cakes you made before the sun even rose. "Nothing was set on fire, and I double checked to made sure I used sugar instead of salt this time." Kai chuckled, standing from his seat walking around the counter just to be closer to you.

   "Hmm." He inspected the tiny vanilla cakes, picking some up to see the perfectly baked cake. "They look really good." you smiled brightly, watching as kai nodded in approval. "but do the taste good?" He questioned, setting the cakes back down on the tray.

   "Now that..." You sighed, turning to set the trays down on the counter. "is the scary part."

   "Every chef has to taste their own dish."

"I am way far from a chef, Malachi." You stated.

   "But you're practicing. Definitely getting better too. You'll get there." He smiled, looking down at the warm pot sitting in the counter with what looked to be a black syrup burned into the sides of the pan. "However, it is slightly concerning that your shoe to make... tar on a regular kitchen stove." He gave you a judging glance.

    "I got distracted." You defend.

"You know..." Kai spoke, taking his eyes away from the oddly offensive sight. "if this whole chef thing doesn't work out for you, you could certainly go into modeling. You really know how to work an apron."

  "You just said I was getting better!"

"I was trying the whole optimism thing. Clearly I am a creature of habit."

  "You mean an asshole?"

"I was going to say realistic." Kai shrugged, finding one of the untouched strawberries containers and stealing the most appetizing one he could see.

  You noticed how incredibly close the two of you were standing. You had to look up just to meet the eyes of the siphon, not even caring how he was leaning over you with a devilish smirk on his face. Something about the closeness felt wrong, but watching as juice from the strawberries wet him lips had you feeling a bit faint.

   You didn't have a crush on Kai... at least that not what it felt like. You and Kai were friends. You had been the first, and practically the only person to actually accept Kai into your lives. He was actually very sweet and funny, and not as bad as he tried to make people think. Sure sometimes he made your cheeks go hot, and he said things that made you wondering if he was just being a flirty friend or if he actually meant what he said.

  "Well." You cleared your throat, watching his jawline as he slowly chewed his fruit. "Since you are the world renowned chef with what 3 Michelin star-"

   "5 actually."

"Wow! 5 whole michelin stars! I assume you have some tips about how to make a decent strawberry compote that isn't going to take forever?"

   "Ah" Kai nodded slowly, setting down his strawberry stem. "Yes, actually. The key is an incredibly handsome sous chef who knows his way around the kitchen."

    "Show me."

"You're gonna have to do better than that." Kai snorted, crossing his arms in front of him.

   "What do you mean do better?" You scoffed.

"You want my help you're gonna have to ask veryyy nicely."

  "Fine." you huffed. "Malachi, can you please show me how to make strawberry compote."

  "Eh"

"Pretty please?"

   "Mehhh"

"With a cherry on top?"

   "uhhh"

"I give up" You took a step back, turning to walk away from the siphon but his hand grabbed your wrist before you could move too far.

“aht aht” He shook his head. “I was only messing with you, y/n” His eyes rolled playfully. “you made a commitment and now you’ve got to see it through”

“Funny.” Your eyes rolled at siphon who seemed to be enjoying how flustered he could make you.

“i like messing with you, you’re cute when you’re flustered” Kai smirked, once again making it hard to breathe as you caught his eyes.

From his dilated pupils to the soft mahogany fragrance that always fills the air when he near. It made it hard to think properly.

“What’s going on in here?” A familiar voice interrupted the soft eye contact you managed to keep with the siphon.

Your head turned towards Stefan, standing in the kitchen doorway. His arms crossed, pajama pants hanging low on his hips showing his deep v line and toned abdomen. The lack of clothing on his torso made it very clear how tightly he was flexing his biceps as he glared at the siphon standing too close for comfort.

“Stefan.” You smiled, sucking in a harsh breath.

Stefan was… complicated.

He was noble, reliable, incredibly sexy, and apparently so insanely jealous. You loved Stefan, there was not a doubt in your mind. You’ve had a crush on him for years, but your dynamic in the group together made things too complicated to pursue something serious. Though you never really knew where you two officially began, you had an understanding. It was understood in various late night session where you sometimes woke the whole house with your antics. It was understood when both of you would disappear in the middle of the day only for you to come back covered in marks and bruises, blaming it on being clumsy.

You never really questioned the relationship you two had. You never felt the need…

“Steven!” Kai smirked, tasing his eyebrows at the way the vampire was flexing on his way to stand behind you. “We were just about to start a crash course on making strawberry compote.” Kai winked.

You felt Stefan pressing up against your back, his body heat radiating into you, sandwiching you in between both him and the siphon.

"Looked like a lot more than just talking to me." Stefan crossed his arms.

"Just two culinary geniuses hard at work." He hummed, popping a cube of strawberry into his mouth with a taunting smile that made your stomach turn.

"I'm sure she cut her damn strawberries just fine without your help, Malachi."

"Well a little company never hurt anyone." Kai straightened up at the name. His eyes turning cold, just like they did before he did something merciless. He kept that smug expression on his face. "Besides, sharing a little advice with your friends is common practice now and days correct?" He asked, earning a nod from Stefan.

"Right..." Stefan, stepped around you, directly facing Kai. Your body tensed, as you watch carefully both of their hands. Stefan's hands clenched under his arms, as if he was just ready to swing. Kai was completely relaxed, taking a step towards Stefan as if his life was on the line. "Well let me give you a little advice." Stefan leaned in, his face completely straight. "Walk. Away." His voice dropping an octave lower, nearly wiping the smugness completely off of Kai's face.

The two were basically breathing the same CO2 from how close they were standing. You opened your mouth to find something to say but you came up short. You placed your hand on Stefan Shoulder, which didn't seem to cause him to back down but did relax the tense muscles.

"Green is not a good look on you, Stefan." Kai hummed after a few seconds of deafening silence.

"Maybe not." Stefan shrugged “But to insinuate that i’m jealous of you, Malachi… it would you have something that I want.” Stefan’s eyes narrowed tightly. “And from the way i see it, i think it’s quite the opposite.”

Kai nodded slowly. He didn't speak but something about the way his eyes softened just felt as if he knew he was out matched. He could take Stefan. You seen him do it before, there no reason he wouldn't be able to manage it now. All it took was one touch and he was down for the count. For some reason he just smile, nodding silently as he took a step back, putting space between the two.

Kai sucked in a deep breath, nodding slowly. He didn’t speak but something about the way his eyes softened just felt as if he knew he was out matched. He could take Stefan. You knew he could, you had seen him do it before, and there no reason he wouldn’t be able to manage it now. All it took was one touch and he down for the count. For some reason now, he just stood there as if he was defeated, backing away to put space in between the two of you.

"I'll catch you later, Y/N." Kai hummed, and you nodded without saying a word. The tension in the room still too thick to properly breathe in.

Walking away from a fight he had even a sliver of a chance at was never Kai's MO. He sent a wink to you before turning away, and taking his leave out of the kitchen. Your eyes stayed glued to his figure until he disappeared past the doorframe, the only thing left of his presence is his mahogany and citrus scented cologne.

Stefan turned slowly to you, listening as Kai's footsteps faded further and further away. His face was dark, and almost scary, but something was telling you it wasn't all directed at you.

"I don't want you alone with him."

"He's our friend." You spoke softly.

"No he's not." Stefan shook his head, unable to comprehend what about him was so friendly to you. "He is a predator, looking for his next prey."

"You know how i feel about the whole outcasting thing."

"Not everyone is worth saving, y/n." You felt it as an instinct to nod but you rejected the urge.

"I..." you sucked in a breath, "I know."

"I'm sorry for that, I just... i don't know, I guess I just didn't like the way he was so close to you." His hand came up to your cheek, caressing you lightly. He gave you a soft reassuring smile which you accepted.

"It's alright, Stef."

He turned his head back to the mess on the cutting board and then the tray in the counter behind you before giving you a raised eyebrow.

"Nothing smells burnt... is it safe to assume that those are just store bought?" Your eyes rolled as he smiled widely.

"You are so not funny."

"I think i'm a little humorous." His placed his grabbed your wrist, placing them over his shoulders, before pulling you closer into him by your waist.

"I think you're a dick." You spoke, emphasizing the 'k' which made his smile grow. "When i'm a Rachel Ray famous, on the tv with my own network show i'm going to remember this." You spoke as he laughed.

"If you don't burn the studio down then yeah." He laughed as your mouth open to speak but nothing came out.

Your lips curved into a small smile, using one of your hands to giving him a playfully tap on his shoulder. His hands traveled down to the backs of your thighs, lifting you up immediately with no hesitation. He set you on the counter right next to your mangled strawberries, his lips connecting right in your neck.

You hummed as his tongue glided against your skin, following the curves of your neck, and leaving a wet hot trail behind. You knew what this meant, it was your biggest weakness. Feeling his teeth scrap against your skin sent electricity down your spine. His hands slowly gliding up your shirt, fingers digging into the soft warm flesh, keeping your back arched into him as he nipped at your skin until he pressed his lips against yours.

Something about kissing Stefan was so... light. You loved the feeling of being close to him, it made you feel secure. The way he kissed you was so deep you couldn't help but lose yourself in him. Your moans were soft, barely audible to those who might've been awake even in these early hours. Stefan loved the way were lips chased after his, always searching for his connection.His hands slid down slowly, running down your thighs and coming back up until the reached the waistband of your pajamas shorts, tugging at the string keeping them fit to your body.

"Stef" You eyes widened, pulling away from his kiss watching a smug grin cross his face.

"If you stay quiet, nobody will know." He tutted, planting a soft kiss on the hot skin of your neck. He slowly slid his hand into the waistband of your shorts, his fingers slipping past the band of your panties finding exactly where you needed him to be.

Your eyes closed softly, focusing on the hand placement, feeling a soft bliss as his fingers covered themselves in your slickness. He watched as your face relaxed, feeling his fingers slowly press into your entrance as his thumb pressed down firmly on your clit. Your lips parting as you let out breathy moans as he built a rhythm to get you off on.

"Speak to me, pretty girl."

"Feels so good, Stef." You whined, hips grinding into his fingers allowing him to reach that spongy trigger in the deep of your cunt. Your nails lightly pressing into the skin on his biceps as his fingers sped up in pace.

"so beautiful." He hummed, pressing his lips into the crook of your neck.

Your eyelids fluttering as you relished in the butterflies running rampant in the out of your stomach. High pitched moans escaping your lips as he sucked harsh spots on your skin, dragging his teeth over them to ensure he left a mark so dark not even your most expensive make up could cover up what he did to you. Part of him ran wild at the idea of you walking around with some part of him stuck onto you.

He couldn't let that mangy siphon get away with trying to make moves on his girl without consequences. Since he couldn't necessarily hurt Kai in the way he wanted he knew that this was his best option. There wasn't a single person in this world that could take you away from him and he would've done whatever to make that clear to anyone who needed it.

"Fuck Stef, you feel s'good" you moaned, his thumb pressing harder as you leaned further into his touch.

"God i love when you say my name" He hummed against your skin. His own cock beginning to hardening at the sounds of your pleasure. Stefan removed his finger quickly, smiling at the protest, seeing as you were so close to finishing. "Patience, y/n." He tutted, tapping your jaw with his free hand, smiling at your obedience as your mouth opened, tongue poking out just slightly on command.

He placed his two fingers coated in your juices directly in your tongue. You moaned at the taste, closing your lips around as you began to lap up your own juices. He watched with a grin, slowly gliding the digits in and out of your mouth, watching you clean them off so perfectly. Once he felt like you did a good enough job he took his fingers back, placing a soft kiss on your lips as a job well done.

"Take these off for me baby." He pulled at the waist band of your shorts, watching your eye widen at the suggestion.

"Stef we can't- not right here!" He smiled, pulling you off the counter and back onto your feet. He pulled your shorts down with your panties, and sunk to his knees. You felt light in the head at the sight. "Fuck" You cried as he lifted your leg into his shoulder, immediately diving in.

You tried keeping quiet but it was hard, feeling the way his hands caressed your thighs and ass as his tongue lapped up all the slickness you created. Your bottom lip was caught in between your teeth as you felt your orgasm approaching. His tongue running circles around your clit, sucking it into his mouth every few seconds causing you to cried out.

With all the pleasure on your mind, it was hard to focus, even harder to notice Kai standing in the doorframe. His head peaking over to see what the commotion was, only to see the few locks of Stefan’s hairs caught in your grip as you held him in place. With the addition of his name leaving your mouth in breathy moans, it wasn’t hard to tell what was going on. It had only been a few seconds, glaring at you as if it was a betrayal to your relationship with him.

Even if you weren’t together… you could at least do better than Stefan.

It became harder for Kai to look away. Your chest heaving, a thin layer of sweat glistening on the surface of your skin. Your head lolling back as you got closer and closer into your ecstasy making it to where you don’t really care how loud you were being. Your moans were so soft and delicate, exactly how Kai had imagined them to be. He doubted anyone upstairs could hear, so it was just You, Stefan, and Kai.

He listened to your pleas for release, memorizing every single note in your tone. The sounds of Stefan’s tongue slurping up your slick folds sent shivers straight to his crotch. He felt dirty for watching you so vulnerable but you made it so hard to feel bad. The way you hung your head back so sensually, he burned the images of you into the forefront of his mind so he’d have the sight of you on the cusps of euphoria in his dreams tonight.

“Stef m’gonna cum” You chest huffed, tightening your grip on his hair.

Kai finally tore his eyes away from your fucked out body. His eyes traced to the sweet smelling cakes you pour in the oven to bake. They were ready. but you didn’t seem to be too concerned with the state of your cakes. He watched the way Stefan’s hands caressed your thighs, pulling you closer into him as your whines grew louder.

So he did what any sensible person would in the situation.

"Oh fuc- Stefan!" You yelped as your eyes caught the flames behind the oven glass. Stefan pulled away quickly, turning his head towards the smokey smell, and got up to action.

You rushed, pulling up your shorts as quickly as you could as Stefan ran to the fire extinguisher. You frowned as he dosed the oven and the cakes you worked so hard on. Both of your breathing was labored for a plethora of reasons. You both listened to the rumbling of footsteps hurrying down the steps only to appear seconds later in concerned faces and disappointed glares.

"Listen I actually like living in the house!" Damon began. "I can't live in this house if it's up in flames, okay?" You shook your head, hiding your face in your hands as Stefan walked over to you, wrapping his arms around you.

"I didn't know they were going to catch on fire!" You defended, but no one seemed to be buying it.

"You are banned from this kitchen! Do you hear me? B A N N E D!"

You dropped your hands from your face, looking around the kitchen to see the tired face staring back at you.

"Oh give her a break, she's trying." Stefan tried his best, but secretly agreed with his brother. You in the kitchen was almost asking for a accident to happen. "Look she made those with no incident."

"Stefan. Look at my OVEN!" Damon raised his voice dramatically, as the two began to bicker.

Then you took notice to the siphon in the doorway. Watching everything from afar. His eyes were trained on you, not even budging when you spotted him. He waved his fingers at you with a soft smirk, watching the scene unfold. Something about his relaxed nature and smug attitude just told you he was behind the fire.

You had no evidence. No way to justify your claim, but you knew.

He did too.

[mxtantrights]

Bounded by shadow and blood (20)

azriel x magic!fem!reader

Time passes by very quickly you find when you don’t have to deal with your grief alone. It’s happened before with the death of your parents. Your brother and Cyril helped you through it, as they were also going through it. And suddenly it was almost a distant memory about a year after.

Now, things are different. You’re grieving the deaths of Cyril and your brother, the people who knew you the most. The people who you had the most time with in the word. 

Some days were okay. You could walk around the palace that is filled with memories and hold your head up. You could talk with Amren in a room and not feel the walls closing in.

Those days were easy.

But there are other days. Where going on without them is an insurmountable task. It feels like pushing a bounder up a hill only to have it roll back down at the end of each day.

Every room held a memory that you wanted to desperately cling to. A smell that you knew would fade with time. 

On the bad days you don’t leave your room. You go hours without moving. It’s only when you miss a meal that Amren comes in. Or Azriel.

He’s there on your good days. But he’s also there on the bad ones.

Like today. 

The sun is going down and you haven’t left your room since breakfast. It just hit you like a wave. All of a sudden you were fine. You were eating breakfast with Azriel and Amren. When they left to do their daily tasks you were fine.

Then you got a letter. A letter from Elias telling you that news had gotten around about your healing abilities. And that news has left the winter court and traveled far and wide already.

That’s when you felt it. Surprisingly in contrast of more people knowing about you, you felt it. The loneliness. 

As the day went on your mind couldn’t stop running with possibilities. How you had managed to put the people in the village in harms way. Just because you did the right thing. You fell for Kynas’ trap, whatever it was.

A knock comes from your door. You look over to it, but you don’t say anything. You knew if it were Amren or Azriel they would know you were inside based on their hearing abilities. 

When you don’t say anything you watch as the knob turns. The door opens a slice and you hear someone clear their throat. Azriel. Amren would just walk right in.

“Are you decent?” He asks.

“No.” You answer.

It’s the first word you’ve spoken since this morning. It comes out groggy and cracked. And you know that he knows you’re lying because he opens the door and lets himself in upon hearing your answer. 

You turn away from him and go back to staring out the balcony. As he gets closer you realize that you’ll have to use more words in this conversation. But if you didn’t want to talk to him, or anyone for that matter, you would have locked the door.

His arm brushes against yours as he places his hands on the railing. 

“I’m failing at my duties here.” He says.

As you turn to look at him you notice that he’s already looking at you. So you pass him a curious look, urging him to go on. 

“How good of a husband am I if let you wither in your grief all day?” He asks.

You can’t help how the corners of your mouth lift. Azriel smiles at your reaction.

“You don’t have to talk. I can do enough talking for the both of us today, if you’d like that of course.” He says.

You nod your head. He turns his body to you. In turn you turn your body to him.

“Well, I’ll start with my visit to the village. A lot of people invited me into their homes today. I am well fed and have more than enough gifts in my room. I took Semaj flying too...” He starts.

You lean against the balcony more and take him in as he keeps going. You did find him attractive when you first met. You wouldn’t have admitted it then, but you will now. And it is more than attraction that you feel around him.

It’s comfort. In a world now where you are the only survivor of your family, you feel home with him and Amren. Amren is different though, you knew her before him and had a different type of bond.

With Azriel it feels like something more. You can’t tell if it’s because of your blood flowing through his veins, or something else. But you do want to find out.

At the mention of your name you tune back in. You have to actually blink away your thoughts. And the sight of that makes him snicker. You can’t help to laugh too.

“I think I might have bored you.” He says.

You shake your head, “No. The opposite actually.”

“Ah,” He tilts his head back, “I don’t know what to say.”

You step closer to him. He doesn’t shy away. Slowly you reach your hand to his face. Your fingers brush against his bottom lip.

“I knew you were lying when I woke up that day. I hit you and you bled from your lip, I could scent my blood.” You admit.

Azriel doesn’t say anything. All you can hear from him is a hum. You don’t know if it’s in approval or disapproval.

“Semaj scented it too. That’s why I sent him away in the woods.” You continue.

You fingers move from his lips to his chin. Then his jaw, and then down they travel to his neck. His pulse is erratic. It makes you look at him in wonder.

Here he is. Shadow singer. Nervous.

"When you sat by the river, I thought to myself that you fit in quite well here.” You say.

“It feels good here.” Azriel speaks.

You can feel his voice against your fingers. It makes your eyes dip just for a moment, from his eyes to his lips.

“I could have lost you. Even though I don’t have any hold on you—“ you start.

Azriel cuts you off. He grabs your wrist suddenly with his opposite hand. You look at where you two are in contact. It’s not a rough action but a soft one. Even though there are callouses on his palm. And the back side of his hand is scarred. You realize he can feel your pulse too. You haven’t thought about how your heart is beating until now.

“You and I both know that is not true.” He cuts you off.

You look back up at him.

“I do have one thing to ask you.” You whisper.

If he weren’t so close to you he probably wouldn’t hear it. Or he would, and he would pretend that he didn’t to spare you. But this, right here in this moment, there is no sparing each other anything. It feels real. It feels honest.

“Go ahead,” he says.

“Do you think there will be a war?” You ask him.

Azriel looks at you for a moment. Then two. And then he lets go of your wrist. All at once you think you’ve said the wrong thing. That you have lost him before you even begun. 

You drop your own hand at the loss of contact.

He clears his throat.

“I’m almost sure of it.” He answers.

The answer isn’t one that does you any good. You wish he had said no. You wish he had said anything but what he actually said because that makes your next decision even harder.

You wring your hands in front of you, “My people will be targets or weapons in this war.”

“I won’t let that happen.” Azriel says firmly.

“It’s too late. Kynas made sure of it when he sent that wounded boy my way. I healed him in front of people, and those people will talk.” You explain.

Azriel shakes his head, “We can track down the witnesses. Tell them to keep it a secret.”

“Azriel, I have to protect my people. No matter what.” You say.

“What does that mean?” He asks you.

You sigh, “I have already asked Thesan if he would help situate some of them in Dawn. But I know some of them will want to fight. And those warriors would take well to learn from the best.” 

“You want to send blood benders into the night court.”

“You can tell Rhysand that I turned out to be an ally after all.” 

“Tell him yourself,” another voice cuts in.

Both you and Azriel break apart further. As if that were even possible. But it is. You and him with about three feet of space between the two of you. 

Amren is standing at the door to your room. She has her arms crossed, and her face looks anything but happy.

“Rhysand is requesting an audience with the empress of the blood benders.” Amren says.

[thecouchsofa]

hi!! #14 & #90 for the trope mash-up if you want to? 👀♥︎

Fanfiction trope mashup - Bodyguard AU x Unexpected Virgin

I took this in a slightly different direction to what I was intending, but I quite like it!

Rating: M

“I can’t fucking believe you.” Malfoy slammed the door as he stomped in behind Harry, the rusty hinges squealing. “Do you have any idea–”

“Come off it, Malfoy, you pillock.” Harry rolled his eyes, delighting as the corner of Malfoy’s lips twitched. He sagged against the cool stone wall, trying to catch his breath for the first time in hours.

“I told you not to draw attention to yourself.” Malfoy tugged at his pale hair, twisting the strands around his fingers. He looked far older than his eighteen years, the seemingly endless months of war hanging heavy on his frame. He had lines now, between his arched brows and across his high forehead. They stood out when he hunched over a book as he read by candlelight, too nervous to cast a proper Lumos.

“I didn’t try to–”

Malfoy’s laugh was hollow. He fixed Harry with a look that displayed the fatigue and sadness lodged deep in his soul after so many losses. “You pulled your wand on Greyback. That–”

“I had to.” Harry’s words tripped over themselves. He clutched at the wall, breaths coming faster and faster, the echoes of the offensive spells fired at him and Malfoy still hot on the skin of his heels. “I couldn’t not, not after everything.”

“Then let me do it.” Malfoy’s voice was desperate, pleading. “I’m supposed to protect you. You can’t let me fail at this, Potter.”

“You don’t care about me,” Harry said, though he didn’t believe it. He saw how Malfoy looked at him now, had watched the fear and determination on his face when he threw himself between Harry and the oncoming spells.

“Sirius does.” Malfoy yanked at his jumper, tugging it over his head. There was no point in keeping it now, not in the state it was in; they’d have to burn it before nightfall. Before they moved on from there, to somewhere safer. Wherever that was. “And I can’t let him down, Potter. Not after everything he’s done for me.”

What about me? Harry wanted to ask. He ached to, needed to hear the answer out loud, that something that he felt from Malfoy every day, in each action he performed. What about what I’ve done? What about what you’ve done for me?

Malfoy’s tongue swept over his bottom lip. He looked at Harry then – really looked at him. “I’ve killed for you.”

“Yes,” Harry said. And I’d do the same for you.

Malfoy’s pale throat moved as he swallowed. “I’d do it again.”

“I know.”

“I would.” Malfoy’s gaze was heavy, his shoulders sagging. “But please don’t make me.”

And that was something that Harry couldn’t promise, no matter how much he wanted to. Malfoy knew that; Harry could see it in his face.

The rest of their clothes hit the floor, the threads of fabric standing on end, friction from the offensive spells caught in each strand.

Malfoy stared at the pile for a moment, jaw clenched tight. “We’ll have to burn them.”

“Not in the fireplace.”

“No. The bath.”

Harry gathered up their things, shuddering at the remnants of hostile magic that brushed against his skin. Every atom seemed to scream They’re here. He’s here. Come and get them.

The light of the fire danced across Malfoy’s face as they stood next to the tub, watching as their clothes burned. The scent of it was cloying, magic mixed with ash and charred polyester. Malfoy shuddered, wrapping his arms around his bare torso. Harry glanced at him only once, eyes dropping lower, cheeks heating.

Malfoy cleared his throat, the sound harsh against the backdrop of crackling flames. If Harry closed his eyes and listened, he could almost believe he was camping somewhere in the countryside, innocent and safe.

“We need to wash the magic off.” Malfoy’s tone was rough, like shoes on gravel. “I…”

“Together,” Harry said, before he could stop himself. He couldn’t go back downstairs and wait, ears straining for any sign of someone having followed them to that crumbling lighthouse on the edge of the world.

Malfoy nodded curtly, turning away when Harry looked at him.

They couldn’t turn the water on, just as they couldn’t activate any of the lights. Instead, they took turns holding Malfoy’s wand up, keeping a finger on it to activate the Aguamenti. Malfoy shivered, stepping closer to Harry as water sluiced over the planes of his torso. It shimmered, magic running down their skin and collecting at their feet. Droplets of water clung to Malfoy’s pale lashes as he turned to face Harry, blinking slowly. He didn’t flinch when Harry reached for him, not as he had the last time, the only other time Harry had tried.

“Draco,” Harry whispered, and Malfoy finally touched him back. He slid a hand round the back of Harry’s neck and tugged him in close, kissing him firmly. Their knees bumped in the cramped space, Malfoy’s fingers tangling in Harry’s hair, his breath a whisper.

Malfoy gasped, tipping his head back, when Harry wrapped a hand around the length of him. His legs shook, fingers clutching for any part of Harry he could reach. “I can’t … Potter, I haven’t … not before. Not ever.”

Harry kissed the confession from his lips, swallowing each of Malfoy’s moans, keeping him quiet so they wouldn’t be found. His bicep bulged, muscles straining with the effort of keeping Malfoy’s wand raised above their heads. He didn’t protest, didn’t ask to swap. He touched Malfoy slowly as Malfoy looked his fill, ran his fingers over another body for the first time.

“Please,” Malfoy whispered, legs shaking. “Fuck, I need…”

“Hold on to me,” Harry directed, tightening his grip and speeding up his strokes.

Malfoy clutched onto him and gasped, mouthing Harry’s name again and again against his damp skin. He said it out loud as he crested, Harry’s given name passing his lips for the first time as the smell of their burning clothes filled the air.

“Sirius is going to kill me,” Malfoy muttered against Harry’s shoulder, later, after they’d Apparated to a damp forest in Cumbria.

Harry wrapped an arm around Malfoy’s shoulders, holding him close. “Not if I do it first.”

His words rang loud in the quiet, a joke that didn’t so much as fall flat, but seemed to predict something, a future that neither of them wanted.

“Maybe,” Malfoy said. He pressed his lips to Harry’s throat, parting them and swiping his tongue across Harry’s skin. “But not if I do it first.”

Send me two tropes and I'll mash them together

[hoppingonjim]

ACTION ! - holland march + jackson healy x reader

summary: holland cannot resist but record you getting eaten out by mr healy.

cw: oral (f receiving), afab!reader, mention of thickness around thighs, recording, cuck?? idk holland likes watching you be a mess, 3some somewhat, aspects of dom&sub. dom!jackson healy. dom!holland march. sub!reader. mocking/degrading kink.

༺♡︎༻

his recording is driving you mad.

ever since his partner had been finding his way around your body with his tongue, he couldn't hit the stop button. for some reason, a reason he couldn't quite explain, it was incredibly sexy to watch you lose all control under someone else. especially jackson.

the brunette is forcing stars upon you with the way he thrusts his tongue in and out of your weeping pussy. with heavy eyelids you attempt to keep your gaze on the enforcer but it proves to be too difficult. lacking will-power, you allow your head to fall back. letting him have total control of over you. until soft fingers gripped your cheeks, imprinting on them before tugging your head to view jackson once again, “c'mon baby, don't you wanna watch what he's doing to you?”

aged fingers explore the gentleness of your thighs. clawing the supple skin and tugging, kneading the dough coarsely. the way you're rutting your hips like an animal in heat so desperately against his gaping mouth is enough for his cock to bulge against his jeans. aching to be touched.

keeping your eyes open for the working man is tough, but your real man eyes you as prey, ensuring your eyes don't close unless you're blinking. the sensations being thrown upon you are too much. with quivering legs and a weeping clit, you can feel your high wave close. the camera lingers in front of your face and hypnotizes you. the consistent flash kissing your irises only adds to the sudden sensations. jackson isn't letting up, his tongue reaching desperately for whatever he can. hopefully your g-spot. the thrusts he blows inside of your sopping slit are enough to already make you cum. but holland's above you, tauntingly peering down and devouring the helpless sight below him. licking his lips he encourages you to hold out longer. let jackson work some more of his magic.

except jackson's hands grow savage. nails dig into your hips and mark his terriorty on the thickness of your thighs. crescents littering your once chaste skin. the way his tongue abuses your clit suddenly is too much. it's all an overkill. your legs quiver as you let go, cumming hard and heavy for the muscle man beneath you.

“fuck, fuck yeah.. damn baby, keep fucking moaning oh fuck yeah, fuck you sound so pretty..” complementing his words is the slender movements of his fingers caressing your cheeks. his thumb moves to swipe the deserted strands of hair away from your dazzling eyes. like a hawk observing prey, narrowed eyes never fall from your sight. to him the melodic sounds pouring through your lips in the form of helpless cries. the mascara once twirling your lashes is suddenly clumping around the thin hairs. collecting around the waterline and smudging towards your undereye. there's no prettier sight in holland's eyes and he feels a need to point the camera obnoxiously into your face. your messy face.

lapping up all of your sweet cum, jackson pulls away with a hefty sigh, a curiosity twinkles in his eye as he stares at his associate, “so.. do i get to feel her for real now? i think she wants that, huh princess? you want that?” so badly you do. the man is strong, similar to your holland, but this one is rough. he's not suave. leather and brass share his stature, fighting over their own sections.

it's not completely your decision though. and that's the way you like it.

holland is only able to shake his head. within seconds he's ushering his, friend, out the door. towards the door. then out the door.

“think i want my girl to myself now jackson, uh buh bye .”

suddenly, hands fall down to his belt buckle. game on.

[bubuslutty]

Captain Price's lessons

pairing: Runaway bride!fem reader x pirate!captain price feat. Banished pirate!König

word count: 946

tags: she/her pronouns, no description of appearance, proofread by me so sorry for any mistakes, masturbation, making out

warnings: nsfw

summary: Pirate!captain Price and his runaway bride teach König how to pleasure women in exchange of him letting Price's bride use his cock and cum. A huge thank you to @ahoeformando for coming up with the delicious idea of (previously) banished pirate!König.

To read about our wet sad boy, read the reblogs of this post.

Captain Price is so so mean, he's cruel actually, straight out the fucking devil, why? you may ask. Well, because König said so. (in his head, at least)

When König agreed to their little offer, which consisted of them teaching him how to pleasure women in exchange of Price’s bride using his cock and cum, König quickly realised how much she really wanted it, and that made him heat up unbelievably fast in arousal but also his ego to swell with pride, just a bit tho, not too much, or the Captain would know.

König was shy sometimes and anxious most of the time, but when he was attending their private lessons, he would feel incredibly annoyed, straight out pissed, at himself and his cock, but also at his Captain because he was such a fucking tease (in König's head).

First rule, look, don't touch.

And the first lesson was how to kiss, properly.

König usually sits on the sofa, facing the Captain's desk, while the two give him a live demonstration right then and there of whatever they're teaching that day.

And so that first lesson consisted of the Captain talking to König through how to kiss someone, well, make out really. While his bride was hanging off his neck, tired of his hands running up and down her body, squeezing around her flesh and lightly slapping the skin of her thighs and ass, to say the least, she was horny and was begging for a kiss at that stage.

König was fascinated, the Captain barely did anything and he riled her up, but he guesses that's also the magic of being in love.

"See, if you touch 'em just right, they're all yours, see." The Captain spoke, voice deep and scratchy and so so warm while König watched with wide shiny eyes.

Price's sweetheart was trying her best to be patient but was getting really desperate for his warm lips on hers, and to feel his beard scratch her soft skin. So she pressed herself more against him, chest to chest, arms wrapped around his neck, head tilted up and begging for a kiss.

"Hold on, sweetheart, we're here to teach König, can't be thinking of just yourself, can you?" John says, stroking her jawline with his thumb and smiling down at her.

And this is how it goes, John kissing her breathless until all she wants is to rip his clothes off and sick on his dick for the next two hours and John has to stop her.

Not because he didn't want her to use him, but because it'd be too much for sweet ol' König. They have to take this slow, or they'll scare the poor fella away.

When König eventually gets a boner, which happens literally all the time. They'll let him leave and take care of his problem on his own, at the beginning because he was shy. Then König would take care of his problem right there while his Captain and his pretty bride watches.

And she'd have stars in her eyes, sparkling in a thousand lights as she watches with awe as König strokes his heavy big cock. And she's not allowed to touch him, or even say anything to encourage him to cum, because König will literally combust then and there.

But it doesn't stop König from shaking all over when he catches the look on her face, the unfiltered hunger and lust in her eyes as she stares at his full heavy balls and cock, and he gets embarrassingly wet, his tip spitting precum, mixing with his sweat, as the sound of him stroking his cock fills the Captain's cabin, and he almost cums then and there when the smell of tobacco hits his nose.

König's allowed to stroke himself to completion at the end of each lesson, but he's not allowed to touch himself during lessons. Because according to Price, he needs to focus wholly on the lesson and show discipline and self control, they're teaching him something, they're just not giving him free wank material.

Or Price is the meanest motherfucker in the universe and into edging poor König.

Whatever it is, König can handle as long as Price's bride keeps looking at him with those pretty eyes of hers while she hums and dreamily sighs when he tells her about his childhood or the boring jobs he did before joining Price's crew. He likes how she looks at him when the days run hotter and he has to get rid of his sweat drenched shirt to keep working. He likes how she looks at his eyes and smiles at him with all the sweetness and kindness in the whole world in a little (compared to König) tight body.

He's not sure if she sees him as a new toy, or something more, but she's made it clear that she likes him, she likes looking and listening to him talk, and would love to touch him as well, but her whole heart and soul belong to Price and Price alone.

Not matter how much he gets to touch Price's pretty bride of sin, no matter how much he gets to kiss her soft skin or grope her curves, he's never ever allowed to cum inside her. That's Price's thing to do, he's the only one who can stuff her full, and if König ever dares to step that line, hell will rain down on him and he'll die at the hands of the Captain.

Luckily König is good at listening to instructions and would never cross that line, he still has a lot to achieve and do in life, like doing Price's girl.

tag list (pls ask to be added or removed): @obiwankenobis-lap @goapgrim @smalldemonlover @silviafantin15 @reveluving @bobastayhigh @originalsimp @h-leigh @gxldyjess @msdrpreist @chaoticevilbakugo @Lacunaanonymoused @whore4dilfs @canadianmilkbag @ray-rook

[coltrainbat]

HI, could you write about frank adler being a single (again) uncle and meets a new female bartender, reader in his usual bar. Both of them hit it off and started dating for about two months. frank introduced her to his niece, mary

Put it on my Tab

Making his way into his usual, Fergs, on a quiet Thursday night, Frank didn’t expect anything different. Place still looked the same; dimly lit with neon bar signs covering the walls and the smell of old beer. It felt like a second home, predictable, familiar and warm (due to the fact that they haven’t gotten that goddamn AC fixed). He settled onto the counter, head lowered waiting for his usual to appear magically in front of him like always.

“What can I getcha?” The voice wasnt from the usual gritty bar manager. For one it was feminine, young and perky. 

Frank couldn’t help his eyebrows raising at the sight of you. Sure they’ve hired pretty girls before but they usually didn’t last the week trying to keep up with demand while also hindering the advances of regulars. So how a beautiful <your hair colour> in a white tank top and denim short shorts was still here was a mystery to Frank. 

“Umm yeah hi can I just get umm.. just a..” he stumbled on his words trying to avoid your questioning gaze. 

“A beer?”

“Yeah that.” Frank gave a flat smile.

You undid the cap on the edge of the bar, Frank holding out his hand expectantly but you held the bottle away from him, holding it just above your shoulder. Raising an eyebrow expectantly.

“Please?” Frank said hesitantly.

“And…” You slowly inched it towards the bar top. 

“Thank you.” It was becoming increasingly clear to him how you have survived here. You don’t put up with shit.

You placed the beer in front of him “Manners..” you trailed 

“Maketh a man. William Horman.”

“Yes.” You smiled down at him from the bar.

“What are you doing here?” He said outwardly.

“Working.”

“Oh I see that. I meant what is someone like YOU doing HERE?" 

“What is someone like me… exactly?” You placed your palms on the bar, leaning into him closer. 

He took a long swig of his drink. Sighing in contentment at the taste.

“Too smart to be a bar maid, too classy for Coors beer and way too pretty for a place like this.” 

You looked around at the empty bar with a few drunk stragglers. Taking the beer from his hands you took a long swing. “I am never too good for Coors beer.” 

Frank let out a low whistle “That’s good to know.” 

“I’m Frank by the way.” He held out his hand for you to shake.

“Y/N.” You shook his hand.

“Nice to meet you.” He smirked

“Likewise.” You bit your bottom lip. 

“So when do you get off?” He smirked devilishy.

“So she’s not like other kids.” Frank looked over at you, peering over his sunglasses.

“What do you considered “other kids”…” 

“She spends a lot of time with adults so she talks a bit differently.”

You shrug “I’m sure she’s fine, she’s got a good uncle.” He grabbed your hand, placing it under his as he moved the gear shift. 

“She just takes a while to warm up to people so I just don’t want you to be discouraged.” 

“Frank, she doesn’t bite.” You waved him off. 

“No she grew out of that 2 years ago.” He joked with you.

He pulled into the driveway of their humble abode. Paint falling off the rackety old porch framed by the half dead grass from a hot blazing summer. You loved it. It was Frank, imperfect yet homey.

You got out of his truck and waited for him to lead towards the screen door with an obvious hole that had been scratched out by a cat desperate to decide when and where they go.

Hearing the sound of car doors being shut, Roberta made her way out. Taking one look at you, she stopped in her tracks, placing a

hand on her hip. 

“Well my goodness you are prettier than he described.”

“Why thank you Miss Taylor.” You let her embrace you in warm tight hug.

Her chin resting on your shoulder, she raised her eyes in excitement at Frank behind you. 

“Alright break it up you two.” He pulled you back into his side. 

“Thanks for watching her.” He gave the woman a warm smile. 

“Anytime, now I gotta go but it was lovely to meet you and hey don’t take what she says to heart… she takes a while to warm up.”

“I’ve been told! Hopefully this goes well and I’ll be seeing more of you.” She gave you and Frank both a quick kiss to the cheek. 

“You ready?” He whispered in your ear as you both stood in front of the door separating you from your make or break meeting.

You readjusted your bag strap on your shoulder, taking a deep breath “Ready.” With that he pushed open the screen. 

“Mary… I’m home. We’ve got company.” 

You both walked into the living room where the young girl sat, mindlessly stacking lego blocks on the floor, ignoring the calls of her uncle. 

“Hi Mary, I’m-“ You started to introduce yourself in your high pitched little kid voice. 

“Did he pick you up at Fergs?” She said dryly. 

“Close! I work at Fergs.” You gave a tense smile.

“That’s a stark change isn’t it Frank?”

“Mary!” He scolded.

You placed your hand on his shoulder mouthing it’s okay as you walked a little closer towards her. 

“Frank said you’re pretty smart.”

“I’ve gotten “baby Einstein” once or twice.” She replied, not looking up from the floor. 

“I was thinking more Hypatia.” She stopped her movements, looking up at you for the first time quizzically. 

“Whose that?”

“Oh you don’t know who Hypatia was?” You said in faux shock. 

She shook her head. 

“Huh… well for one she was a girl…” You stalked towards her, plopping down on the mat beside her. 

Pulling your legs up to your chest, hugging your knees. Her lack of running away was a good start so you went on…

“She was a mathematician in ancient Egypt back in a time were only men were allowed to do math.”

“Women can do math too!” She piped up, brows furrowed. 

“Oh I agree! Well she figured out a way for ships to navigate and I think I have… oh here it is!” You reached into your bag, pulling out a thick book on the ancient academic that you had secretly brought for her. 

It was brand new with a glossy cover and you threw it around your trailer a couple of times beforehand to make it look worn and read. You had read it of course but maths wasn’t really your thing, the history of women on the other hand… you were always down. 

“Can I please see?” She looked up at you with doe eyes, biting her bottom lip, desperate to flick through the pages.

“Yeah you can have it. I already read it. I’m onto Beyond Good and Evil now.” 

“By Friedrich Nietzsche?” She smiled at the common interest found.

You nodded, eyes widened at her. 

She looked up at Frank; “I like this one.” 

He leaned against the doorway, watching you two in amazement. No one got Mary besides him and Roberta but now he’s starting to think that no one had tried like you. No one bothered to listen when he’d tell them that talk of Barbies and pink nail polish didnt get her interested. That she was pulling thick academia books from the shelf at age 4, desperate to absorb the knowledge they held. How she wanted to be talked to like an equal or better yet be given the materials to have what she so desperately craved. Have someone listen, guide her, talk to her as she was and not try and dumb things down. And here you were, making her eyes light up and hanging on your every word. 

“Good. I’ll leave you two to it then I guess.” He said simply tapping the frame before making his way into the kitchen to prepare his two girls a snack. Smiling like an idiot. Yeah you were a keeper. 

[v3nusxsky]

Tysm!!

I thought about a slightly AU, modern world but with magic. Domme Lady Lesso bored in a BDSM club (maybe sitting in the bar having a drink) and sub f!reader trying to gain her attention to serve her!

Mistress kink, Sadistic Lady Lesso, humiliation/degradation kink, impact play (maybe caning?), consensual slut shaming, orgasm denial, overstimulation ❤️

Bar Beauty|NSFW

*Authors note~ BDSM is like one of my favourite things to write about I'm ngl so I was super excited for this slightly au*

Trigger warnings~ mistress kink, sadistic lesso sub r humiliation/degradation kink impact play slut shaming orgasm denial overstimulation spit kink, public sex restraints r suspended slight in air toys

Prompt~ see ask^^^^

✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿

Leonora definitely had a stressful job, that much was evident, it was hard to keep a bunch of unruly boarding students in check and her methods were certainly not favourable but they worked. A lot of the time her job left her pent up and craving a way to relieve some of the frustration. Which is exactly how she found herself stumbling into this bar called Happy Hours -teasing y'all with this- watching someone do their scene and nursing her whiskey. She was purely just watching the scene with a keen eye, the poor submissive wasn't really seeming to enjoy the dominants actions, either to rough or not enough which caused a smirk to settle on the red heads lips as she made mental notes of all the things she could do to make the woman scream.

You however were hoping to find a dominant with the ability to put you in your place, scanning the club you noticed her unruly red hair and the sadistic smirk she wore as she watched the submissive on stage be punished. Everything about her, from the way she held herself to the way she looked you knew you just have to have her, or rather her to have you. It became more of a need than a want as the night trickled on. Desperately hoping she'd notice your attempts at gaining her attention.

Luckily for you, Leonora had caught a glance of you sucking on the lime of your drink. Your eyes glazed over with alcohol buzzing around in your system swirling with a beautiful emerald colour. A clear witch is what you were and that only drew Leonora to you more. So naturally she stalked towards you, purred some seductive words in your ear that had you begging the woman to let you serve here, to take her frustration of her day out on you. Of course Lesso wasn't going to accept that proposal until you god to know one another and limits that you both had. Only then if both of you were agreeable would she take you up on the stage and fuck you like the slut she can tell you are.

After a few drinks and some pleasant conversation between you both you soon found yourself begging again for her to use you. So you found yourself up ok the stage, slipping into your sub headspace, kneeling at her feet. A pleased smirk adorned her lips at the act but she wasn't about to be lenient on you tonight.  She stalked around you like you were prey, completely ignoring you and addressing the crowd forming bellow the stage, "this little slut has been desperately trying to get my attention all night. So why don't you watch her get her punishment for being nothing but a desperate whore."

"Strip slut" she demanded not even sparing you a glance as you whimpered a simple, "yes mistress." A pleased hum escaped the red head as she thought of all the things she could do with her precious little slutty toy. With a hand in your hair she tugged you to your feet and shoved you on the fuchsia sofa. "You're gonna lay here and take your punishment, move or stop counting you'll get five more", her eyes raking over your bare back.

When the first wack hit the curve of your ass you let out a strangled cry of shock, "one mistress!" The next came in a quick succession causing you to sob. Her pattern was changing all the time being spurred on by the dominants watching the show. Only when Leonora deemed you had enough hits to constitute for being a slut did she drop the cane and flip you over immediately. She ignored your cry of pain as your ass and back hit the material. You deserved your canning and she knew you knew that your pain was getting her off. A vibe was securely attached to your aching clit, "look at how wet you've gotten by a simple canning you slutty pet."

The vibrator was set to a preset edging pattern before she stripped her bottom half of her clothing to straddle your face. "Put that slutty mouth to some good use darling, spread your legs, let them see how wet you are for your mistress" which you did happily as you liked to be humiliated. You happily began to lick at her sopping cunt causing the woman to moan happily. You flickered between tongue fucking her hole as your nose bumped against her swollen clit and flicking your tongue over her throbbing bud. If didn't take long for you to be reward with a gush of wetness. You had your orgasm ripped away from you four times before she came so to say you weren't bellow begging at this point is an understatement.

You were laid on the sofa as she told you to open your mouth which you did so allowing the red head to spit in your mouth. "Take it and swallow it all pet." While you were busy whimpering in need to notice that she had taken the toy from your clit and managed to secure some restraints to your limbs and suspend you a little from the sofa. "Now anyone who wants to challenge me and think they can come and dumb down my slut is more than welcome to look at her like this, exposed and taken as I fuck her with my fingers" Leonora stated before she shoved three fingers into your fluttering hole. You howled in need begging her for mercy to please let you cum buy of course that feel on deaf ears. You were edged on her finger before Leonora donned her strap on.

"No mistress, no more. To sensitive please" you whined only to be ignored. The slight suspension providing a new angle as she rutted into you with her faux dick. Tears streaming down your face at your ruined orgasms and her brutal pace. There wasn't much you could do but take her like a slut you are. "Please please I'm sorry please Leo mistress please" you babbled as her strong thrust triggered your orgasm to crash into you. The audience got to see her pass out from the strength of pleasure and pain Leonora caused.

You were left to rock slightly until you naturally stopped. Then she lowered you to the sofa before scooping up your body and taking you into a private room. There she cleaned you up and got you food and water before sitting down to give you whatever physical attention you needed. The start of a beautiful relationship, bloomed from that one night at Happy Hours.

Word count~ 1246

[sallows-legacy]

Flashback: The Water’s Edge Confrontation

He had thought about it countless times—how different things might have been if he had just turned away, if he had never followed her to that cursed place. But no matter how much time passed, the memory of that day remained vivid, as if the water still clung to his skin.

Aurora stood knee-deep in the water, her gaze fixed on the reflection of the sky above, rippling and distorted in the current. The world around her seemed to fade as she wrestled with the decision she knew she had to make—the decision to seal away her magic for good. It had grown too powerful, too wild, and the fear of what it could do weighed heavy on her chest. The water, usually her place of calm, did little to soothe her today.

She closed her eyes, exhaling slowly, the weight of her ancient magic like a shadow she couldn’t shake. She wasn’t sure how long she had been standing there, trying to gather the strength to do what she felt she must.

“Aurora!”

Her heart jolted at the sound of his voice. She turned to see Sebastian approaching the water’s edge, his eyes dark and full of something between anger and desperation. He had followed her—again. He always did.

“What are you doing here?” he demanded, his voice tight as if he already knew the answer but hoped, somehow, he was wrong.

“I needed to think,” she replied, her voice quieter than she intended, the sadness of the truth hanging between them.

Sebastian took a step forward, his shoes splashing into the shallow water, but it didn’t seem to matter to him. “You’re going through with it, aren’t you? Sealing the magic away.”

Aurora turned fully to face him, her body rigid with the tension of the moment. “I don’t have a choice, Sebastian. It’s too dangerous. I can’t control it.”

“That’s not true!” His voice cracked with frustration, his emotions spilling over. “You don’t even know what you’re capable of. That magic could save Anne! You could save her!” His desperation to save his sister was palpable, as it always was. It was his driving force—the thing that had led him down darker paths than either of them had ever imagined.

But Aurora shook her head, her eyes filling with a quiet sorrow. “And what if it doesn’t? What if it destroys her, or you, or someone else I love? I can’t take that risk, Sebastian. Not with something I can’t control.”

The water sloshed as Sebastian moved closer, his fists clenched, anger flashing in his eyes. “You’re just giving up,” he spat, his voice bitter. “You’re scared, Aurora. You’re running from something that could fix everything!”

Her breath hitched, a flash of anger rising to meet his. “You don’t understand—”

“I understand perfectly!” Sebastian interrupted, his voice a sharp contrast to the peaceful sound of the flowing water around them. “You’ve never had to fight for someone like I’ve had to fight for Anne. You don’t know what it’s like to watch someone you love suffer every day and feel completely helpless.”

Aurora’s eyes hardened. “And what happens when that magic destroys everything in its path, Sebastian? When it’s too much for me to handle, and you lose more than your sister? You think I don’t want to save her? You think this isn’t killing me too?”

Her words stung him into silence for a moment. But the emotions between them were too volatile to settle. They stood there, inches apart now, the tension rising with every second.

Sebastian opened his mouth to respond, but the words never came. In a flash of frustration, Aurora—frustrated by his inability to understand the danger her magic poses—shoved him into the water.

Sebastian, fully dressed, stumbled and fell into the water. The shock of it silenced them both for a moment. He stood up, soaking wet, his anger momentarily giving way to a raw vulnerability. He didn’t yell or accuse her anymore. Instead, as he stood in the water, their gazes locked, and he finally asked, almost brokenly, "Why are you so afraid of this power?"

This simple question hit Aurora harder than she expected. She waded deeper into the water toward him, drawn by something she couldn’t explain. Her hands were clenched at her sides, her emotions as turbulent as the water around them. She was afraid—afraid of what her magic could do to those she loved, and afraid of how much she cared about Sebastian.

They stood inches apart, faces so close. The tension between them shifted from anger to something unspoken, something tender. The water swirled around them, as if holding them together for just a moment longer.

Sebastian’s expression changed. His jaw tightened, and the raw vulnerability in his eyes shifted back to something colder, harder. He stepped back slightly, breaking the tension.

“It’s too late,” he whispered, his voice low but steady.

Aurora froze, her breath catching in her throat. She had expected him to keep fighting, to keep pushing her, but this—this resignation cut deeper than any argument they had ever had.

Sebastian's eyes flickered with pain before hardening once again. "You’re a coward," he said, his voice low and cold now. “You’re too afraid to see what’s right in front of you.”

Aurora said nothing as she watched him walk away, each step a reminder of the growing distance between them. The water around her suddenly felt colder, and the silence left behind by his absence was deafening.

She knew this wasn’t the last time they would face each other. There would be other meetings, other chances to resolve the conflict between them, but with each one, they would be pulled further apart. Every encounter would draw them closer to the inevitable moment when Sebastian would fully embrace the darkness.

By the time they met again in that dark forest, when the shadows had consumed him, Aurora would remember this moment. She would remember the cold water, Sebastian’s broken voice, and the way he had walked away from her. She would wonder if there had ever been a way to stop what was coming. But that time had passed, and the choices they had made now lay between them like a chasm that could never be crossed.

[dewedup]

Here's some degradation/humiliation Aether/Swiss I wrote to celebrate @jimothybarnes follower milestone! So proud of you my love, everyone say thank you Jimothy for being a stellar human being who deserves the best life has to offer (I hope you like it 🥹)

unbeta'd because jim is my beta and i wanted to surprise them so if you see any mistakes close your eyes please

a little over 1k of absolute filth, including begging, crying, blood and heavy degrading under the cut

18+

Swiss stands completely naked in the middle of the room, cock painfully hard and standing at attention. The tip is swollen red, pre dripping like a faucet. He’s so turned on he’s starting to sweat, perspiration beading at his brows and cascading down his too hot body. He’s surprised it doesn’t evaporate with how his skin feels like it’s on fire.

Aether is sitting in front of him, sprawled casually in the red velvet recliner as he picks at his nails disinterestedly. He’s fully clothed and mildly horny, but this is his favourite part. He plans to push it for as long as he can. 

They’ve been here for an hour. Swiss displays himself with no modesty while Aether watches from underneath his lashes, feigning boredom. 

A low whine escapes Swiss at the lack of stimulation, Aether’s eyes cut to his face instantly, his expression turning hard. 

“Do you have something to say, pet?” Aether presses, rolling his neck as he sits up straight, eyes burning a hole in Swiss at the sudden attention. Swiss knows better than to say anything, fearing the repercussions, he bows his head in submission and tries to stifle the pathetic mewl that builds in his chest. 

“You should be embarrassed, baring yourself like this in front of me. It’s laughable really, how turned on you are, and I haven’t even touched you yet. I don’t think I will,” Aether’s words are cut off by the desperate whimper Swiss couldn’t contain even if he tried. “So needy,” he tsks, shaking his head as he leans back into the recliner. Aether kicks a foot up, hitching it to his knee as his hand taps a rhythm on his shin. His posture is lazy, relaxed, the exact opposite of how Swiss is strung so tight that one wrong move would launch him into the ceiling. 

Swiss’ eyes follow the movement of Aether’s fingers as they continue to dance, envying his fucking shin that he’s touching it so casually and not putting those fingers to use on his body. More pre leaks out, the splatter of it hitting the ground sounds like an explosion in the quiet room. His nerves feel frayed as he grips his hands tightly behind his back, claws digging into his palm hard enough to draw blood. The smell of copper floats around the room and Swiss swallows audibly as he waits for it to hit Aether’s nose. He can see the twitch of his nostrils as it finally meets its mark, and the disdain falling across his face is instantaneous. 

“Stupid bitch,” Aether spits out, launching to the edge of his seat, feet planted firmly on the ground as he leans forward. His amethyst eyes sparking with the quintessence magic that courses beneath his skin. Swiss keens, fighting every urge in his body to drop to his knees and beg the ghoul to fuck him into oblivion. 

He knows that won’t work, has tried it before with no success. If it was Dew, he’d watch the fire ghoul’s eyes light up in ecstasy, sparing no time to break the scene and fuck Swiss into the next dimension. Mountain would have taken pity on him fifteen minutes in, spending the rest of the time opening him up carefully to prepare for his monster cock. Hell, even Rain, who has a hidden mean streak of his own, and a well-deserved one at that, wouldn’t commit for this long. But Aether has a sense of control that he envies. He loves feeling completely in thrall and letting him take the reins. 

“Pathetic little Swiss with his pathetic little cock. I bet you’ve never been able to please someone with that. I could fit the entire thing into my mouth and not even feel it. Would you like that, pet? Me putting that tiny cock in my mouth and wishing I could have a real dick instead?” Aether purrs as Swiss burns with shame, wanting exactly that. He’d tickle the back of Aether’s throat with his cock, but the quint ghoul would stubbornly refuse to gag on principle.

“I should get Dew in here, even his cock would give me more pleasure than that sorry excuse between your legs. Look at you standing there and leaking all over the floor. You’re making a mess. Clean it up.” Aether snaps and points a finger down to the ground, Swiss dropping instantly to his knees. He leans down to the floor, tongue lapping up the salty pre that forms a puddle below where he was standing. He goes to stand up when he finishes but Aether hisses down at him, eyes practically glowing at the sight. 

“Grovel slave, stay down there and beg me to let you come.” His words are sharp, biting. Swiss laces his fingers together like he’s praying to a higher power, braving the risk of making direct eye contact so he can see if his words please Aether. 

“Please sir, please let me come. I’ll do anything, I’m such a good slut for you. I’m a pathetic little cum whore. I’m useless, worthless. I’m a cocksleeve who shouldn’t speak, the only thing I’m good for is a warm hole to put your dick in.” Swiss pleads, the words flying out of him as he tries desperately to find the magic combination, the secret code that will make Aether see he deserves to come. 

“Cock craving whore,” Aether coos patronizingly, sitting back in his chair with a relaxed pose. The only thing betraying him is the tent in his pants that looks almost uncomfortable. “You’d be lucky to even see my dick, I wouldn’t bother trying to stick it in your stretched hole.”

Swiss is so close it’s painful, his cock throbbing with every second that passes. 

“I think we’re done here,” Aether states, raising himself to his feet as he looks down at Swiss in disgust. “You’re so pathetic that the thought of you coming all over yourself untouched doesn’t even interest me. I’d rather watch paint dry than see your embarrassingly small cock kicking as you make even more of a mess on the floor. How does it feel to be a constant let down? Unable to please your partners, leaving them wanting someone who can actually make them come. No one wants you; this is a waste of my time.”

Swiss flushes in shame, tears building in his eyes as he takes the words Aether tosses at him, embarrassed at how his cock jumps at every degrading word that leaves the ghoul’s mouth as he makes his way to the door. The tears spill over, Aether pausing with his hand on the doorknob as he turns back to the multi-ghoul. 

“I didn’t think you could get any more pathetic, yet here we are.” Aether is taking slow steps back to the centre of the room, his gaze burning into Swiss as tears fall down his cheeks, his chest heaving with deep breaths as he watches Aether stalking like a predator circling his prey. 

“Please sir,” Swiss begs once more, a pathetic last attempt to capture the attention of the ghoul before him. Aether comes to a stop before him, so close Swiss could touch him if he was worthy of such contact. 

Swiss inhales the spicy scent of quintessence in the air for a second before it tingles along his body, wrenching an orgasm from him with every lick of energy that zaps his nerves. He’s coming instantly, shooting without a target, splats of his ejaculation landing on Aether’s shoes from where he stands. 

Swiss’ body shakes in the aftermath, his head blissfully in the clouds as he stares at Aether in adoration. Aether smiles down at him, reaching a hand out to softly cup his cheek.

“Good ghoul,” he says fondly, and Swiss knows he’ll have to clean up his mess later, but Aether lets him bask in the afterglow of his orgasm with the kindness he reserves for the end of their play. Aether runs his fingers through Swiss’ hair, massaging gently at the base of his horns and whispers sweet nothings, a complete turn from how he’s acted over the last hour, but exactly what Swiss needs to ride the high of his well-deserved subspace.

[archived-yiptsu]

Error's Guilt

Summary: Error still isn't over what happened to Blue.

Quick lil half an hour thingy because I could NOT sleep without writing it . It's like 700 words long so pretty short but whatever I'll make the concept into a full fic eventually >:3

Error watched him, his body shaking as he struggled to get the words to come out of his mouth. He was hyperventilating, he knew that at least.

Blueberror was building a snowman with Ink on one of Snowdin's many paths, and Error.. Well, he was bent down behind the nearby sentry station, hiding as he desperately tried to calm his breathing.

He hadn't expected this to be so difficult. So.. Impossible. All he'd wanted was to try to say hello to Blueberror, after so much time had passed since the accident he figured that it would be an easy task, but he was wrong. He wasn't as over it as he thought he was, his stomach could barely handle seeing the skeleton laughing and gently hitting Ink's shoulder.

Error turned away from the scene and dug his fingers into the sentry station's wood, trying to get ahold of himself. He killed people, he could tear Universes apart with practically zero effort, he could deal with the entirety of the Multiverse being against him.. just.. just not Blueberror.

He hadn't meant to leave him in the Anti-Void for so long, he hadn't.

The sound of the laughter between the pair getting louder made him clamp his eyes shut, feeling the tears well up as he fought not to teleport away. No. He was there, and he was determined to at least speak to him.

Despite everything, that was still Blueberry.

"Shit.." he hissed to himself, his body letting off a slight hum as it began to glitch out at his stress.

Reluctantly, he took a deep breath and opened his eyes. It was okay, he would be okay and nothing would go wrong. Blueberror would forgive him, he would understand. He'd always been forgiving, caring, he'd always been there in Error's time of need no matter what.

Error threw his head back, letting out a slight wince of pain as it accidentally hit one of the station's poles.

"What was that?"

Error froze at the question, the familiar glitchy voice causing his entire body to tense. He'd heard it, of course he had.

"What was what?" The Creator responded.

"Huh? You didn't hear?" Blueberror asked with a small scoff. There was a small pause as Ink only responded with a hum of sorts before Blueberror continued, "It sounded like someone got hurt.."

Error didn't want to turn around. He knew he was visible, the small sliver of the top of his black skull over the station standing out from the snowy backdrop. He didn't want to be seen as a creep or a stalker, not by Blue.

He urged his body to move, internal panic setting in as he couldn't. Why?! Why wouldn't it just cooperate with him?! He fought to keep the bile in his throat as his breathing quickened, the tears falling from his eye sockets again as his vision remained locked on what was in front of him. Nothing. It was nothing, but he couldn't bear to look at anything else.

He heard the sound of footsteps, then the sound of Blueberror saying something, then the sound of two pairs of footsteps. They were looking for him.

He couldn't do this.

His magic sparked as a portal opened beneath him and he fell through, the familiar sound of Ink's voice yelling something as he did.

He landed on the bean bag, almost immediately clamping his hand over his mouth to keep the vomit down from the sudden pressure on his midsection. His vision was blurry, his Soul practically beating out of his chest.

What made him think that would ever possibly be a good idea?!

He rolled onto the floor involuntarily, no longer having the energy needed to move his body as he wanted. What was wrong with him? It was just a simple "hello", it's not even like they had to have a full conversation with each other! A simple "hello", a "how are you" and then a "goodbye", even a child could do that!

'I don't think he did it..'

'Hey, we don't know that!'

"Pfft, of course we do.'

He tried his hardest to block out the voices, the stupid voices. They played as much a part in Blue's demise as he did, if not more so.

He pulled his scarf over his face, letting out a muffled scream as he curled into a ball and sobbed.

Maybe he'd be able to talk to him another time.

[rd0265667]

Rei x Reader: Tingles

Permanent Taglist: @cwpiqwon@justme-idle

"For the last time, please tell me what is the definition of photoelectric effect." Rei massaged her temples "Umm, The photoelectric effect is the emission of electrons when electromagnetic radiation, such as light, hits a material. Electrons emitted in this manner are called photoelectrons." You squeezed your eyes shut, trying your hardest to remember the definition(A/N:Fuck Quantum Physics) "Good Job. How about we take a break? Jihyo's café is near by isn't it?" Rei offered, as you giggled, nodding. "Oh my god I love you so much Rei, YES!" You exclaimed, Rei trying to hide a not so subtle blush as she too nodded.

Rei wasn't what you would call someone who was open to love. She never let anyone steal her heart, come close to it, but you stole it when she saw you from a far. Rei couldn't believe it. While she had never been hurt romantically, she had always thought of love as a weird, foreign feeling. As a stout believer of science, to her, love was just a bunch of chemical reactions in the brain that makes someone think they're in love. All that changed when she saw you, that once stout belief in her idea of love shattered when she first laid her eyes on you. How someone could seem so perfect, ethereal, magical, it evaded her, irked her even. She found it hard to approach you, especially out of nowhere. She was sure you'd peg her as some creepy girl and brush her aside, but as fate would have it, the door opened for Rei, an overheard conversation between you and your lecturer about your rather uncharacteristic poor performance in Physics. Rei left you a note in your locker, offering Physics help. Needing all the help you can get, and also wanting to get close to the enigmatic girl who would appear and disappear with the bell. As the days went by, and the tutoring sessions increased in frequency and length, the two of you began what some might call a rather unlikely friendship. Both of you were introverts, and to an outsider, watching the two of you hang out might seem awkward, the two of you seating together silently, no words exchanged. Knowledge that was only privy to the both of you, however, was that the two of you found the comfort in each other's silence, Rei resting her head on your shoulder, desperately trying to quell her thumping heart as you hummed a soft tune to let her rest.

"Unnie! Can I get two Frappuccinos?" You shouted across the counter, Jihyo rolling her eyes as she worked the register "What did I do to deserve a freeloader for a sister?" She chuckled as you pouted, hands on your hips as you turned to Rei, hearing her laugh at Jihyo's comment. "Whatever Thomas." You smirked, seeing Jihyo's face morph into one of mild disgust "Jeong! One Frappuccino, and another one with a dose of Cyanide!"  "Hey Y/N!" Jeongyeon shouted from the kitchen as you chuckled, heading back to the table with Rei "So, how's things been going Rei? I heard someone from S26 is interested in asking you out." You smiled, hiding an ugly bubbling feeling in your chest "Ugh, I don't know, seems like these rumours pop up every other week now." Rei rolled her eyes, well aware of these rumors, Gauel had her ears to the walls like that. It frustrated her, but not in the way one would assume. Rei had been irked by these rumours, fearing that you would think she was actually interested in someone else, or would ask someone out, even go as far as to set her up with someone. All she wanted was the nerve to ask you out, but it seemed to escape her. Rei's train of thought was interrupted by the ringing of your phone, as you excused yourself to receive the call. Three cups in hand, Jihyo walked over, Rei clearing the table for her to set the beverages down. "So which one of these has the cyanide on it?" Rei quipped, Jihyo chuckling as she handed you a cup, pointing to the other. "So, Y/N's pretty slow huh?" Jihyo asked, sipping the cup still in her hand "Nothing to worry about Jihyo-unnie, Y/N's doing fine, progressing pretty well. Y/N's grade is going to improve, I promise." Rei reassured Jihyo "Well first of all, just Jihyo is fine. Secondly, and more importantly, I'm not talking about Y/N's grades." Jihyo chuckled "Then what do you mean?"  "I'm talking about your little crush on Y/N." Jihyo said with a smirk, Rei spitting her coffee out "What-What I don't...don't know what you're talking about" Rei muttered out, averting her gaze "Oh please Rei, Y/N might be dense, but I'm not. I'm observant like that you know? That's how I see the way you look at Y/N, the way you light up when Y/N smiles, or laughs. And I'm observant enough to know that Y/N feels the same." Jihyo continued sipping her coffee, a smirk on her face as she watched Rei go through about 32 stages of confusion.  "Ask Y/N out dummy, I promise you it'll work out fine." Jihyo smiled reassuringly, resting her hand on Rei's shoulder, a small smile on her face. "Aish, stop bothering my bestie Unnie, shoo!" You quickly rushed Jihyo away, Rei turning to compose herself, hiding her blush from you. For the next hour, you and Rei engaged in casual conversation. Well, you did, Rei mostly smiled and nodded, trying her best to hide her turbulent thoughts as you talked, as she found her thoughts lingering on you, your smile, your eyes, your lips, you. It took all of Rei's willpower to hide the blush on her face. You had noticed Rei's sudden silence, cursing yourself internally for rambling on for so long and probably seeming weird to the Japanese girl. "Rei, it's getting dark, how about I send you home?" You offered, as Rei nodded, the two of you saying goodbye to Jihyo. With a thumbs up and a reassuring nod, Jihyo gestured toward you, Rei nodding, Jihyo's smile beginning to touch her eyes.

"Wait, Rei, where are you going? Your house is that way." You asked, confused as Rei turned. "I want to ask you something, come on!" Rei said with a smile, grabbing your hand as she pulled you along with her, your body in shock at Rei holding your hand. You smiled as you saw Rei smiling like a child, rushing to two empty swings as she began to swing gently, gesturing to the other swing. Sneaking a quick picture of her, you sat next to her, watching as her face lit up, smiling with affection. "So, what did you say you wanted to talk about?" You asked, as Rei slowed her swing, closing her eyes as she not only appreciated the tranquility of the silence at the swings, but also coming to terms with the weight of what she was about to do. "Look at the stars. They're so pretty tonight." Rei said, her eyes traced onto the stars in the sky, you followed suit, smiling. Rei was right. The stars were pretty, but not as pretty as her. "Yeh." Was all you could mutter out, as you cursed yourself for your inability to speak. The universe gave you the best opportunity to confess, and you squandered it. Good going... "Some people say stars hold the key to our future. So at night, whenever I look in the night sky, I look at the stars, and think about the future, and what it holds for me. And you." Rei said, reaching over to hold your hand in hers. "And me and you." Rei smiled as she looked at you with both love and fear. "And-And that means what?" You shook your head, confused about what Rei was trying to say. "It means, I want us to have a future. Together. As more than best friends."   Rei chuckled a little as she looked at you sitting there, slack jawed, stunned as you tried your best to process what Rei just said. Rei could have sworn she saw smoke coming from your ears. After a while, however, Rei began doubting what she had just done. Had she just messed up everything? "And if the feeling isn't reciprocated, I understand, I just wanted to get this off my chest, and I understand if you don't like me back and..." Rei began rambling, before finally being stopped by your hands on her cheeks, holding her gently "You talk too much sometimes Rei." You smiled gently, Rei smiling back, before a look of uncertainty flashed across her face once again. "So...do you?" Rei asked, before feeling your lips on hers, as the two of you shared a romantic kiss. "I do." You whispered, Rei still blushing as she tried to comprehend that she had just kissed her long time crush "I do? We're not married yet you know?" Rei quipped, chuckling before recoiling in shock as you got down on one knee. "No time like the present right? Naoi Rei, Will y-" You were about to finish, before you heard a loud shout from behind you. "No No No, the two of you are much too young for this!" Jihyo shouted as she ran towards the two of you. "Aish, Unnie, I was just joking around, and, wait, were you spying on us?" You questioned, as Jihyo had a goofy grin on her face. "Well, who do you think gave Rei the push to finally confess? Well, it had to be one of you confessing, and you were too much of a loser to do it, so I had to ask Rei." Jihyo said, slinking her arm around Rei's shoulder as the two of them high fived. "Well, I guess you did good this time Thomas." You said, as Jihyo glared at you, turning to Rei. "If my dumbass sibling ever does anything, just come to me, I'll always take your side over that idiot's." She whispered, but making sure it was loud enough for you to hear. "Hey!" You shouted in jest, as Jihyo chuckled, before heading off. "So, where were we?" Rei asked, holding your hand in hers. "Well, since I am a sucker for making things official, Naoi Rei, will you be my girlfriend?" "I do."

"Yujin Unnie, can we switch spots, I'm about to throw up." Leeseo groaned as she gestured to the two lovebirds she was forced to sit next to, Yujin chuckling as she looked at both you and Rei resting your heads on each other. "Umm, love birds, you can just put your hands on the table, it's pretty obvious." Gaeul chimed in as Rei giggled, pulling your two intertwined hands from below the table, resting it on the table. "Jagi, could we head out for a while? I want to do something that Leeseo is too young to see." You whispered, but Leeseo still overheard, mock throwing up as the two of you ran off, hiding in a little cubby. Holding Rei, the two of you swayed to the tune played in the store nearby, before you pulled her in close, leaving a light kiss on her forehead. "Have I told you how much I loved you?" "Only 12 times today." "Well, make it 13."

[sniperjade]

Chapter 10 - The Pursuit of Happiness

The next day Hagrid had been inconsolable at lunch and Regulus had spent the entire time comforting the large man. He had just received word that the Malfoys were pushing for the Death penalty for the hippogriff that had harmed Draco. Regulus hadn’t had much to say about the matter and had resolved to simply offer his sympathies and shoulder to cry on. However, as a result, he felt considerably over people and was now trying to avoid everyone altogether.

He had not expected to run into someone else who was also avoiding the general populace.

Draco Malfoy was sullenly pacing about in the snow, his arms wrapped around himself and scowling. Regulus hadn’t seen much of him outside of his class, but the boy seemed to have recovered from his injury. Regulus had also seen him talking with Harry. He couldn’t say the conversations appeared cordial, but it didn’t look like they were trying to kill each other.

“What’s got your goat?” Regulus asked as he stepped out into the small courtyard.

Draco twirled around and dropped the hand that he had been chewing to his side. “Didn’t you hear? Father is pushing to execute the hippogriff. Harry is never going to forgive me.”

“Oh,” Regulus replied. “That.”

“What am I going to do?” Draco asked, his pointy face pink from the chill.

Regulus huffed out a breath and watched as it fogged up in front of him. From here they could see the great lake in the distance, with patches of ice hugging its shoreline. Regulus had no idea what Draco could do. The animal was dangerous but so was the act of learning magic in and of itself. The idea that the animal could be put to death over the sort of damage that happens in Snape's class on a daily basis was ridiculous.

“I thought you would have wanted this?” he asked cautiously.

Draco’s face fell and he looked down at his feet. “I… I wanted him fired. I was embarrassed and jealous and…” his voice lowered to a whisper. “And scared.”

Regulus looked at his young cousin and let out a breath. That must have taken a lot of courage to admit. He wasn’t exactly sure when he had forged a bond of this sort with the boy, but he kept being pulled into these outlandish situations, where he was expected to be an adult. To say that he was completely unprepared was an understatement. Draco was quite pitiful, and Regulus couldn’t deny that he saw a lot of himself in him. A desperate need to please his parents and that overwhelming pressure to succeed. Neither was going to make him happy in the long run, especially considering he was crushing on Harry Potter, famed saviour of the wizarding world and son of a blood traitor and a Muggleborn.

He settled himself down on a nearby bench and stretched out his legs in front of him.

“What are you scared of?” Regulus murmured, trying to match Draco’s mood.

The boy shuffled a little and then perched himself next to Regulus. “Father. Disappointing him.” He bit his lip. “And the bird itself. I still have nightmares about the way it reared up at me and… it hurt a lot. Everyone made fun of me, but it really did, and I don’t think anyone saw me crying but I still hate that it made me do that.”

“Oh.”

The word seemed inadequate for the revelation that hit Regulus. He had somehow forgotten through all the blather and posturing; exactly how young Draco really was. He knew from his student records that he was one of the youngest students in the year, having just turned thirteen in June before school started. He had felt older but now Regulus was seeing that it was all for show. Inside, Draco was just a boy trying his best to uphold the expectations of everyone around him.

“Have you tried going back near it again?” Regulus suggested. “Face your fears?”

Draco snapped his face up to look at Regulus. “Are you mad!? It tried to kill me! Why on earth would I want to go near it again? I would almost be happy about its death sentence if I thought Harry wouldn’t hate me because of it.”

Regulus tilted his head. “You did insult it. I imagine if you tried again and didn’t, things might go a little differently. If you proved that the creature isn’t as dangerous as your father made it out to be they may not kill it.” He paused and a devilish smile passed across his face. “Harry would probably really appreciate that.”

Draco looked down at his hands in his lap where they lay twining around each other. “But what if it hurts me again? Won’t that make things worse?”

Regulus could see the boy trembling and rubbed his back in an attempt to try and comfort him. Draco jumped at the contact and leapt to his feet, a blush spreading along his cheeks.

Well, that complicates things. Regulus sighed. “I’m sure Hagrid would be more than happy to help you. It is his job after all, and he will be supportive of your efforts to try and save the creature.”

Draco looked up at him shyly through his lashes. “You’ll be there though, right?”

Regulus barked out a laugh to hide his embarrassment. He’d had his fair share of fawning from the younger female members of the student body but none of the boys and he was especially not expecting this from his cousin. Not that he probably even knew he was doing it. The poor innocent little thing.

He stood and clapped a hand against his shoulder. “Of course, I will, cousin. We can’t let that crush of yours be stamped out by a bunch of ministry incompetence.”

Draco blushed again and looked away as he stuttered, “Why…Why are you so ok with this?”

Regulus could growl in frustration. Surely there were better teachers on staff that students could come to with these sorts of questions. He wasn’t made to give life advice to blushing teens who want to date their rivals. Especially ones that have obviously been brought up in a strictly heterosexual pureblood household, whose parents probably expected him to traditionally court some upstanding young woman to marry and have perfect pureblood babies with.

He sat back down heavily and pressed his fingers into his temples. He didn’t want to think about his childhood and his teenage years, but the more he got to know Draco the more aware he was that history was repeating itself. He had always felt trapped when he was younger, sandwiched between a brother whom he loved, and an overbearing mother who expected the world of him.

He tried to be what she wanted. He dated the pureblood girls and ignored his brother when she cast him out. He joined the Death Eaters by her order and none of it made him happy. He felt nothing until he snuck into that cave at the edge of the ocean and stole his most prized possession. It was only then that he had felt free for the first time.

“I think I just wanted someone to be okay with it when it was me,” he replied. “None of that pureblood bullshit ever made me happy. I did everything they wanted, including join the stupid death cult.”

Read the rest on Ao3.

[you-get-me-closer-to-god]

Vamptember Day 2

“Dissection / Rome / Bathed”

SUMMARY: Rotting away in your room, going no where with your research, you take them up on the invitation

PAIRING: Platonic Armand, Daniel, and Female Reader

WORD COUNT: 2,923

WARNINGS: none!

AUTHOR’S NOTE:

Day two going strong! I managed to up it to nearly 3k words so that’s pretty cool! I used Rome as today’s prompt because mmmmmmyeah you’re gonna hear about all the information I’ve collected about 16th century Italian artists.

It was getting cooler in the mornings. The blaring, continuous, unforgiving, unrelenting hellfire heat, was actually subsiding. And it was getting cooler in the mornings. Your skin sung, and your lungs breathed in clean crisp air that was still damp from the sprinklers running earlier. Never mind it was going to heat back up later, you didn’t care. You were going to be inside all day anyway, but you weren’t going to miss the morning for anything in the world. And it had an affect on everyone, not just you. An extra pep in the step, more smiles returned, rushing to the next class was suddenly out of style.

And you didn’t flinch this time when the cashier gave you the total for your six dollar latte. -Okay, maybe you did a little bit. But it certainly tasted better than usual.

As your shoes hit the stone walkway in tandem with the music in your headphones, you took your time to appreciate the beauty of your campus, which was a lot harder in the afternoons with its 90 degree weather.

The large old oak trees that flanked nearly every corner and walkway, were still holding onto their green foliage. Stubborn things they are. The red brick building, which looked like a great castle or church to you more than anything, towering above all, an ancient watchful guardian.

The usual backyard birds were scattered here and there, mourning doves sat atop roofs with their little round chests poking out, the males sporting a dusty pink color proudly. Starlings pecked in the grass together in their many numbers like someone threw a dozen little black polka dots onto the ground which then magically sprung to life. But what really got you excited, were the crows.

Sure, some people had them all year round, a proper nuisance with their blaring and grating caw, no particularly special plumage to admire. But to you they were a true sign of fall that you cherished, and hearing their guttural yalp was like stepping on the first fallen leaf. Like smelling a bath and body works pumpkin candle. Like buying an orange wool scarf.

Joggers in bright shirts and shorts past you, a man from across the street cussed at his dog, who lifted her wide head up to bite at her leash and tug on it with all her might, paws digging into the sidewalk. The poor old man comically thrashed around. You weren’t sure what her end goal was, but you were rooting for her.

Reluctantly and with a heavy heart, you silently bade goodbye to the morning air as you opened the heavy door to join the masses for class. It’ll be back, you reassured yourself, and even colder tomorrow.

The early hours crept by, and much sooner than you wanted, the afternoon’s heat bled through the windows of your room. You were trying to get some research done for an art history essay, but you found yourself reading the same paragraph over and over about some obscure cathedral in Italy’s capital, desperately searching for information you could use. The lecture you had earlier wasn’t about the cathedral’s architecture, nor a note worthy icon on its walls, but of a teensy tiny little alter piece the size of your thumbnail, which you couldn’t find anywhere in the book.

And your professor wanted a three-thousand word essay on something that didn’t even have a damn Wikipedia page. It was understandable to think he wanted to give a unique assignment, instead of something like a study on the Sistine Chapel, or the Pantheon, but what the hell were you supposed to do with this?

You didn’t even waste your time with the library, surely any books of worth to you were already checked out by your ever so caring and sharing classmates. You even turned to Reddit, which usually had an overflowing cup of obscure and near-useless information, but not a single internet incel was interested in Roman altarpieces from the 16th century, surprisingly.

Which left one solution that you could think of.

And- to be fair, they did offer. Which should be reason enough to go. What were his exact words on the letter? “Have no hesitance”?

But you were hesitating, and why wouldn’t you? You hadn’t even told them your name and he wanted you to come by their apartment for a study session? And no, don’t think for a second the implications were lost on you. They weren’t. It could’ve been a ploy for a trafficking scheme, for all you knew. You could have your liver torn out and sold on the black market. All these seemed perfectly sane reasons not to go.

However that wasn’t what was stopping you.

You were nervous. And deep down you knew all your fears were a little ridiculous and highly unlikely. And It was that kind of thinking which kept you self-sabotaging any kind of potential relationships and left you continuously lonely. And god, were you tired of being lonely. You were tired of coming back in the middle of the night to your dark empty room with absolutely zero phone notifications, and realizing you didn’t speak a word aloud all day.

And that alone was reason enough to risk it. If the world was so ugly and evil that you couldn’t even visit a classmate’s apartment for help without being killed, then it was a world you didn’t want to live in anyway.

You slammed the book shut and put on some shoes, grabbing your car keys and the note with Armand’s address on it.

Yes, the mysterious Armand. What kind of name was that anyway? You had looked it up almost as soon as you got home last night and discovered it was of French origin. That clicked, you could definitely hear French influence in some of his pronunciations and words. You had to ask him later. Maybe he could help you pass your French exam.

The drive to the address was a quick one as the complex resided just outside of campus, just like you remembered. You had passed it multiple times on your way home for holidays and such, and you gawked every time at the sheer amount of wealth it exuded. But that was coming and going, actually driving into the neighborhood gave it all more time to impress you.

You were definitely not in the same tax bracket as the little Frenchman. Daddy’s pockets must be to China, they’re so deep.

You pulled in, parked your car, and walked into the building, trying not to stare too long at the crown molding. You took an elevator up, and glancing down at the paper once or twice, until you found the correct door down the hallway.

Swallowing the nervous lump in your throat, you lifted your hand and knocked, knuckles rapping against the wood. What were you even going to say? What if the one day you came over, was a bad time?

The door opened suddenly without giving you time to react, and a tired face squinted back at you, arm leaning against the doorframe. You eyed the reading glasses pushed up onto his tousled blonde hair, the comfy pants he wore were almost exactly what you were wearing a couple minutes ago in your dorm.

“Hey, I’m sorry, is this a bad time? I figured I’d take you up on the invitation.“

“No, come on in.”

Daniel dropped his arm from the doorframe and opened the door wider. You gingerly stepped inside, thanking him and walked a little deeper into the apartment as he closed the door behind you. It didn’t look like a serial killer’s apartment, the place was nice. Warm brown leather chairs gathered around a low coffee table in the living room, a rather large sound system sat near the back wall, the kitchen was near spotless except for a used coffee pot which looked quite weathered.

“We were starting to think we scared you off.” He said, picking up some stray pages off the floor and setting them on the table next to an open laptop.

“He can get a bit,”

He made a gesture with his hands.

“Enthusiastic.”

“Not at all, I just didn’t want to intrude.” you replied, shifting your weight onto the other foot.

“I’m really grateful, you know. This semester is really kicking my ass.”

He nodded and gave a short laugh as he closed the laptop and sat down. You followed his lead and sat on the couch across from him, sinking into the cushy leather awkwardly. You noticed a large flatscreen tv mounted to the wall behind him, and your eye was drawn to a vast collection of DVDs stacked on a small bookshelf next to it.

“You guys watch a lot of movies?” You observed.

He glanced to where you were looking and shook his head disapprovingly, turning back around.

“Armand’s little hobby. Well one of many.”

He looked a bit better than last you saw him, his eyes were brighter this time, and he moved a little sharper, though the dark circles still remained.

“Speaking of, I should mention he isn’t here right now. But he’ll be back pretty soon.”

“I see. When does he get back?” You asked.

“I’d say…”

Daniel leaned forward and peered to his right before answering you, you mirrored him unconsciously, but you were a little confused. There was no clock you could see on the wall. In fact, nearly the whole wall was a window, you wouldn’t be able to hang much of anything on it. It was a gorgeous view however. The sun hung down low, dipping down behind the city buildings in the distance, the sky melting into a deep orange color.

“About an hour or so. You know, I don’t think I’ve actually introduced myself.”

You were incredibly appreciative he said something, otherwise you probably would’ve forgotten again. You both told each other your names, and a warm feeling bloomed in your chest. You couldn’t believe you almost convinced yourself out of this. When was the last time you shook hands with a stranger and made an acquaintance? Third grade?

“So, what can I help you with?” He started, clasping his hands together.

You explained to him the assignment you were given, telling him about the 16th century alter piece and how hellbent your professor was on the importance the piece had for the renaissance era. You told him about your struggle to find any data on it, books or articles, you’d take anything.

After a moment, Daniel just gave a small laugh. A hint of crows feet appearing at the corners of his eyes.

“I’ll try my best to help you,” he said, “but it’s Armand you really want for this. I’m telling you, there never was a better topic of conversation for him.” He stood up.

“In the meantime I’ll pull out some books of his and see what sticks.“

There you both sat straight across from each other, flipping through page after page of dusty old books. You actually saw a lot of works you liked in these books and pointed them out to Daniel occasionally, noting colors and symbols that caught your eye. You learned that you and him had very different taste. He eventually got up and turned on a few lamps in the room as night began to fall.

Yawning a little, you didn’t realize you’d been there for so long until a clatter down the hall caught Daniel’s attention, his grey eyes lifting up from his book, over your shoulder to the front door.

“That’s probably him in the elevator.“ He mumbled. “Took his sweet time tonight.”

You twisted your body to watch the door. There was a sort of unexpected thrill that held your attention as footsteps grew louder. They approached closer and closer until stopping, the front door unlocking with a click.

As the door swung open, he glided in, turning and locking the door behind him. Clad in simple jeans and crew neck, his vibrant red curls were windswept. He looked like a kid on summer break ready to slink through the city with his friends. His dark eyes sparkled when his gaze fell to you sitting on the couch, and he made a serene smile.

“Oh, my friend, a pleasant surprise!”

You sat up and he crossed the room toward you and Daniel. He stretched out his hand to take yours, the rings on his fingers were chilly, as if he had just been walking through a refrigerator. His eyes bore into yours and he began to speak, his accent slightly thicker than usual.

“I cannot express to you how regretful I was when I realized Daniel and I had walked all the way home without first being informed of your name. I assure you I was taught better than that, my friend. Please, release me at once of my suspense, and I hope you harbor no ill will towards my forgetting myself.”

He held your hand there in an airy grasp, his dark eyebrows furrowed gently, as if to show you he meant business.

Immediately you told him your name, which he repeated back to you with such a seriousness that forced you to hold back a laugh, his accent modifying it slightly, but you didn’t mind.

“Daniel, I cannot believe you allow me to be so rude, clearly I am interrupting.” He said, releasing your hand. “But, forgive me, it is hard not to notice my own books on the table. Could I be of any use?”

Daniel shook his head, smiling at Armand’s theatrics.

“Actually, we were counting on it. All these books of yours and not one mention of an artist we’re looking for.”

“Artist?” His interest was piqued.

You piped up, describing the alter piece, its size, it’s setting, you told him about the cathedral it was painted in, and how impossible it was to find any information on it. Slowly, his focused expression formed into one of recognition, then frowned into indignation.

“Yes, I know the artist.” He turned slowly and picked up a thin paper back from the stack on the table and opened the book.

“There is entirely nothing wrong with learning the masters.” He said with a touch of venom that he unsuccessfully tried to hide, flipping to a certain page. “Da Vinci, Michelangelo, Botticelli.”

Then, turning the book to face you, he waited for you to grab it before pointing to a full page on the exact elusive piece that you and Daniel were searching for all evening. Your jaw dropped silently as he continued ranting, Daniel put his glasses back on and read over your shoulder.

“Even the later artists of Baroque, Caravaggio, Gentileschi, Bernini, all masters of their craft. The techniques you could learn from just one of those artists, are never ending. And these professors choose to waste your time, sending you on a wild goose chase for that.” He gestured to the book you held.

“An untitled sketch by an amateur student scribbled carelessly some five hundred years ago.”

You were hoping for a tiny sliver of information, even just a date would’ve sent you over the moon, but what he provided practically had half your essay done already. You didn’t know how to thank him, you felt a great weight lift from your shoulders.

“That same professor has been foolishly contradictory for as long as I can remember. If ever you should truly want to learn, I beseech you to contact me first before ever stepping foot into another one of his classes.”

He huffed frustratedly, and began putting his books back on the bookshelf silently.

“I can’t thank you enough.” You began, closing the book and holding it so carefully, it could have been a bomb. You were going to call your mom about these two and fire your therapist.

“It is not a problem, please keep it. Knowing that man, you are going to need it later.” He turned after placing the last book back on its shelf. Daniel slipped by him, walking over to the coat hanger and donning a denim jacket.

Armand grabbed your attention again.

“Would you do us the honor of joining us for dinner? There is an impossible amount I would like to talk with you about, if you’d let me, of course. It is one of Daniel’s favorite restaurants, so he is guaranteed to be in an agreeable mood.”

Your stomach lurched at the sound of dinner, there was nothing you wanted more in the world than a warm meal that actually consisted of the three main food groups. But you were completely broke, and the amount that you wanted to eat did not agree with the amount that you could pay for.

You frowned and opened your mouth to decline, when without skipping a beat, he spoke up again, sensing your apprehension.

“Completely my treat. Please.” His voice was like a silver bell, or like a cool bandage on a burn, it smoothed any rough edges of anxiety or worry. And there was no way in hell you were going to turn down that offer.

So together you left the apartment. “The three musketeers” Daniel had called you and Armand laughed a little too hard at it, echoing it all the way down the elevator with delight.

As you all collected into a rather sleek and bougie car to take you to the restaurant, you wondered what kind of odd situation you were getting yourself into…

_______________________________________________

@the-vagabond-angel chapter 2!!!!!

[rosegoldenatlas]

writing snippet #1

TW: panic attack

It started with a single tear rolling down his face. His eyes wide as he looked at it, this thing that laid on his hardwood floors. When he took his next ragged breath he took a hesitant step back, then a second, and a third. Tears clouded his vision and his own shaky hands desperately clawed at the dirty sweater he wore. As if his dulled nails would be enough to rip the fabric and the skin beneath it. As if he could rip out his pounding heart to stop it from pulsing in his ears.

Another step back and his body hit the thin walls of his bedroom. Another ragged breath escaped him and the pounding of his heart only got louder. This was all his fault, why did he sign that rigged contract? Why did he relish in the thrill of the chase without thinking twice of what consequences it would bring? This was his fault. He did this.

His heartbeat was too loud and too fast, like his heart was trying to compensate for the one that had stopped.

All because of him.

And it was all too much when those thoughts he had kept at bay rushed back into his mind. It was all too much when his shaking knees gave out under him. It was all too much when it felt like everything was too tight around him.

The air was suffocating even when he took ragged breath after ragged breath. When his heart pounded so fiercely that his ribs seemed to crack under the pressure. He keened over, he felt sick as his forehead hit the floor and his head throbbed in response. The tears that poured out of his eye sockets were too hot and the wool of his sweater was too much.

He practically ripped off his sweater and threw it across the room, towards that thing. One glance at it an he was letting out a breathless sound, ripping his gaze from it with great difficulty. Without his sweater he froze in the heavily air conditioned house. The cold not helping the shaking one bit.

His chest rose and fell and it was still so much. He wanted it to end, everything was too much and it was all so familiar but so strange all at once. He's felt like this before, once. When he did this all last time. How did he stop it before?

In his speeding mind he was able to grasp at memories from when this has happened before. How did it end?

And oh, now he remembered, he would always call someone. He would always call.. he would always.. He'd call-

On an instinct he didn't know he had, he looked up for him, the one who would always make it stop.

The husk of the boy only laid there on the floorboards, empty eyes watching him as he slowly realised that it couldn't help him any longer.

Shaky hands dove into his pockets and pulled out the only thing left in them, a small burner phone. He nearly dropped the already cracked device as he called the only contact on the list. He waited with desperate thoughts as the phone rang out, waiting for the other end to answer. He heard a click and hope rose to his chest to compete with his heart for space in his ribcage. Then as soon as the call was answered it was hung up, and his hope plummeted back into the ground where it was before.

"No, no, no no nonono- please." His voice was broken as he whispered those desperate pleas for help. He called it again, this time the man on the other end hung up instantly. Panic consumed him further as his hope for help ran away from him. Nobody on his normal phone cared enough to help, either that or they were to kind for him to burden with this.

So he called again, and again, and again. "Please answer me." he begged to the phone, "please I need help, I'm sorry. Please. I'll do anything for it to end."

It was as if those words were magic, because this time when he called he got a response.

"What do you want?" The voice snarled, "I have bigger problems than entertaining you again." The voice grated against his ears. Maybe this was a bad idea.

With a shaky inhale he pressed the phone against his ear. "P-Please, Midas I- I.. I didn't.. I don't know what to do. Please. Please help i- I'm sor- sorry for-" he hiccuped, "please i don't know what to-"

"Hey, hey slow down. Are you okay?" It was like he was speaking to a whole different person when the voice was quiet and hesitant.

"I'm- I'm f-" lying won't do any too here would it? " no. No its not good. I'm not please help, I don't like feeling like this- i-its too much- please make it stop. I don't know who else to call."

There was a slow breath on the other end of the phone, "hey, just breathe nice and slow, deep even breaths okay? Can you do that? An as soon as you can, you can jut call for Red, you live with him right?"

All it took was the mention of the nickname for everything to get worse. "I can't get Ref he's- he's.. Please tell me its some sort of hallucination Midas! Please tell me I'm crazy, I'll be crazy I it means I'm wrong. Please tell me-"

"Hey!" The voice interrupted, "hey. Look you're not crazy you're never crazy, please just listen to my voice okay? Close your eye and do as I say alright?"

A shaky breath, "okay. Okay I can do that." He close his eye and tried to listen better.

"Okay, good job." It sounded, oddly.. genuine. "Now take one deep breath and hold It for five seconds." He took in a breath only for it to hitch and send him into a coughing fit. "Are you okay?" The voice asked after the coughing ended.

"I can breathe." His voice cracked and shook as he said that.

The often man chuckled on the other side of the call, sounding worried as he spoke, "you never answer questions with answers do you?"

And he paused because, he knew this, he knew Midas and his banter. He can do that. "S cause your questions suck." It was an easy thing to do even when he struggled to breathe right.

The voice changed into something lighter then, "My questions are fine pretty boy, its just that you can never do what you're asked."

He laughed even though his chest was too tight, "you still call me pretty boy 'fter all this time."

"Well, you didn't stop being pretty, even if you could stand to eat some more- hey can you tell me something you feel right now?" His all too tight chest, the cold floor, the hard wall, the stiff air. It all weighed on him so much but now that he focused on it a bit more, focused on the way he felt heavy against the floor, it made him feel real. If that made sense.

"I hear your squeaky voice 'nd the music you play through the phone." He said, answering wrong just to poke fun at Midas.

He heard an almost calming sigh, "not what I asked dipshit. But thanks. Hey can you tell me something you hear?"

He scoffed at the sentence, "I just did."

He just knew Midas would physically deflate at that. "I was just hoping to trick you, too much to ask?"

"You cant trick me. 'm better than you."

He heard the other man sputter, "You are not!"

He was filled with a happy warmth at the obvious win. "I am."

He heard a very sharp breath on the other end of the phone and Waited for a sharp response. All he got was a sigh, "are you a little better now?"

He was about to ask what Midas meant before he paused an looked at the center of the room. Right. How had he forgotten? Was he that terrible a person to forget this so quickly? Was he-

"Hey." He snapped out of his thoughts.

"I need you to come over Now." His voice was steady and blank as he got up.

"I don't know where you-"

"I'll text you the address."