#and I only put on the tiniest amounts but I had no idea how strong these would smell when worn

[thethingything]

so we may have gotten four little perfume samples and I may have tried on the tiniest bit of a couple of them and suddenly regretted the fact that I absolutely cannot justify buying whole bottles of them to wear.

the samples, from left to right, are:

Over the Chocolate Shop by Tuesdays

Bee by Zoologist

Nectar of Love by April Aromatics

Jasmina by April Aromatics

I think my favourites out of the four are Bee and Jasmina, but I'm really intrigued by whatever Over the Chocolate Shop has going on because it's kind of like an earthy, almost coffee-like chocolate scent.

[my-head-is-an-animal]

The Climb

Summary: You're a scientist, an engineer to be exact. Called to a meeting you had no real right to be at, Optimus Prime takes an exclusive interest in you, but you can't help but ask yourself at every turn, Why?

Rating: 18+ 🌹🩸🍆

Story Masterlist

Chapter 14

‘Optimus, I cannot recommend this.’ Ratchet shook his head. ‘You have not even repaired your own injuries and we have no idea what this will do to an organic.’

     ‘I am willing to take the risk.’ Optimus sat back defiantly.

     ‘Woah, hold on.’ Lennox caught their attention. ‘What are you talking about? What is Spark-sharing?’

     Ratchet and Optimus looked to each other. Ratchet folded his arms, unhappy with the situation.

     ‘I would give up a piece of my Spark to allow her to live.’ Optimus said to Lennox.

     ‘Wait, you could save her?’

     ‘Yes.’

     ‘We don’t know.’ Ratchet interrupted. ‘Major Lennox, this procedure is dangerous for healthy Autobots, but to transfer into a human… we have no idea if it will work or if Optimus would survive. We could lose both of them.’

     Lennox nodded, looking up at the Autobot leader. He had a look of realisation in his eye. ‘How does it work?’

     ‘A small piece of my Spark would be removed,’ Optimus explained. ‘And placed inside Jane’s body.’

     ‘It could destroy her.’ Ratchet again cut in.

     ‘If the piece is small enough and started with their machines, it will adapt and learn how to help her.’ Optimus growled. Ratchet seemed to still for a moment.

     ‘Wait, could that work?’ Ironhide stepped forward, realising that Ratchet’s arguments may have been flawed.

     Ratchet thought for a moment, before sighing, deflated.

     ‘The theory is solid.’ He admitted. ‘Once the Spark is removed, it would die, but it could be restarted again with a small amount of charge. Your machines are calibrated to the exact requirements of a human heart, it would be enough to revive the Spark and teach it to only give what is needed. But this is still dangerous, Optimus.’

     ‘I have already said, I am willing to take the risk.’

     Everyone turned to Ratchet, it technically wasn’t his choice, but he was the only one who could pull it off.

     He sighed once again. ‘Fine.’

     Ironhide immediately transformed and Lennox, along with the doctors, loaded up Jane’s body carefully. Ratchet helped Optimus to his feet, and they made their way back to the nearest base. Time wouldn’t be on their side, the longer she was gone, the less likely she was to come back.

     Ratchet did what he could to prepare Optimus for the procedure, opening his chest and getting the doctors to measure out the size of Jane’s chest cavity. The piece taken from Optimus would be tiny and he worried that it would be far too small to actually help her.

     They made it to the base and the operating room had already been prepared by the medical staff there. Jane was being loaded inside and Optimus was being brought close to her.

     ‘I will need help restraining you.’ Ratchet said, preparing his own equipment. ‘This will not be pleasant.’

     Ironhide, Hound, Drift and Bumblebee all held their leader down as Ratchet brought out his tools to cut away the piece of Spark needed for Jane.

     Optimus did his best, but he had never felt agony like this before. His friends held his strong body as best they could, he almost broke free, but some of the remaining Autobots jumped on to help keep him as still as possible. Death would have been kinder but at no point did he regret his actions, if it saved Jane then it would be worth it. But his whole body felt like it was melting and burning, like a hole was being slowly created inside him.

     Ratchet finally managed to pull put the tiniest piece of his Spark, he couldn’t believe such a tiny thing had caused him so much agony.

     Optimus turned his head to see Ratchet reaching inside the operating room, handing the Spark to the doctors who had already removed Jane’s own organic heart. If this didn’t work, she truly would be gone.

     It was too much for him to think about, Optimus leaned back and allowed his body to rest, he needed to repair, and he hoped that when his eyes opened, Jane would be with him.

---

Lennox had never heard anything like it, Optimus Prime screaming for his life. It almost made him want to step forward to stop the procedure, tell them that Jane wouldn’t want this if it caused him such pain. But it wasn’t his choice.

     Ratchet had guided the medical staff through what would normally happen when transferring the Spark to another Autobot, they were able to figure out how to place it inside Jane and encourage it to join with her organic form.

     In truth, Lennox didn’t believe anyone had any idea of what the consequences of this decision would be. He didn’t even know how confident Ratchet was that this would work, but if there was a chance that Harding could survive, it was worth taking.

     The doctors did what they could and restarted the Spark with the defibrillator, calibrated specifically to the exact charge needed to sustain human life. He wasn’t sure what else could be done.

     Finally, the procedure was over. Optimus was resting and repairing, and Jane was being monitored heavily by almost every doctor on base. Everything was telling them that her body was functioning, blood was pumping, she was breathing again, but there was no heartbeat as such. Rather there was a small, soft pulsing that came from the Spark itself.

     Ratchet was happy enough that it worked, but Jane had yet to wake up. After two days, her condition hadn’t changed.

     ‘Her mission was successful.’ Colonel Morshower said over the video feed. ‘The alien ship is gone, and we’ve been informed it is leaving our solar system.’

     ‘Yes, sir.’ Lennox nodded, still slightly distracted.

     ‘Something you wanna say, son?’

     Lennox gave a brief smile. ‘Not really, sir.’ He admitted, making the Colonel chuckle. ‘What happens if Smith finds out about the Spark-sharing?’

     ‘I don’t think that’s a question of if, but when.’ Morshower leaned forward. ‘The argument will be that the Autobots have shared their technology. Now I know that these were exceptional circumstances, but that is how it will be viewed. You need to be prepared for that, so does Harding and Optimus.’

     Lennox nodded in understanding.

    ‘While I have no idea what will actually happen when Smith finds out, I’m sure you can make an educated guess.’ Morshower warned, much more seriously. ‘I’ll admit, part of me hopes Harding doesn’t wake up. If she does, nothing will be easy.’

     ‘Yes, sir.’ Lennox agreed and finished giving his report on everything that happened.

     In the back of his mind, he couldn’t help but remember the way Optimus had looked at Harding when her body was given over to the doctors. He cared for her a lot. Maybe too much.

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[mqverick]

Waking On Air || chapter 4

Three whole days accompanied by swollen puffy eyes, night sobbing and restless mornings had passed ever since your fight with Iceman. You’d put it as a personal goal to isolate yourself from everyone, mostly Maverick, which you had successfully accomplished. You’d seen him looking at you in Top Gun academy, quite an amount of times, but dodged every single one of his looks and disappeared into thin air whenever you caught him walking towards your figure.

You missed Tom, but not as much as you missed Maverick, which had been a shock to you at first — had you been lying.

The fact that Tom hadn’t reached out to you ever since, though, was making you sick to your stomach. You never meant to hurt him the way you did and you’d expected yourself to be more civilized than to go cry off to Pete Mitchell, for crying out loud. However, having in mind that he needed time to think and process just as bad as you did, you came to the conclusion that begging for forgiveness was not going to work.

There you were now, pushing around the dreadful food in your plate with your fork, all alone in the lunch hall. The weight of another person sitting next to you slightly scared you off as you flinched a little, hoping it would be either member of the messed up love triangle you’d gotten yourself into. The tiniest hint of a relieved smile formed on your face when you looked up to see Goose.

“My girl, Roger,” he greeted with a hug, lingering a bit longer, providing you the comfort you needed the most at that specific time in your life.

“Oh, Nick,” you sighed, burying your face in your hands. “I’ve screwed up. I don’t know what the fuck to do, it’s driving me restless. Not even flying makes me happy anymore and it used to be my only way to escape from reality.”

“Hey, there,” Goose said sympathetically, running his hand up and down the length of your back. “Uncle Goose is here. I’d ask you to tell me what’s bothering you but I’m pretty sure I’ve painted quite the picture in my head. You know, with Maverick up my ass and all.”

“I don’t even want to know his name.”

“You don’t mean that, Roger.”

“You’re wrong,” you argued, coming off too strong. “Ever since that guy showed up in my life, everything between me and Ice has been going downhill — and I like Tom so much. Now he probably fucking despises me.”

“Iceman is a tough guy, but he surely doesn’t hate you. His ego probably got hurt after he heard you’re going out with his biggest opponent.”

“I’m not going out with Maverick.”

“He seems to believe otherwise.”

“He can believe whatever the fuck he wants, I’m done ruining things I already have and love for his sake. He’s not all that either, to be honest.”

Goose exhaled rather loudly as he shifted closer to you, giving you a soft nudge. “You know how much I love you, Roger, but I also love Maverick. Look, I get it, he’s a little too much than anyone can handle, he’s not famous for being good with words and sometimes his attitude doesn’t help him make the greatest first impression, but once you get to know him, he’s actually a really nice guy.”

“You’re biased, Goose.”

“Maybe. But all I’m asking for is to not break his heart. He’d probably kill me if he knew what I’m telling you right now, but he’s not just trying to get in your pants. He genuinely cares about you — a lot — more than I’ve seen him care about anyone in his life before. I mean it; he’s constantly looking for an excuse to bring you up in the most random conversation.” You blushed at Goose’s revelations about Maverick, finding the idea of the cocky aviator being so caught up in you so incredibly distracting. Truth is, you’d been kind of feeling the same way about him. “Just, please, don’t lead him on if there’s a zero chance with him.”

“I don’t know,” you sighed, eyes burning and stinging with tears. You were so torn, so unable to decide, so incapable of thinking straight.

“As much as I’d love to see my two best friends together, I’m not here to convince you to date Maverick. That’s your own decision, but just know that if you ever need to talk to someone, my door will always be open for you,” Goose reassured you with a bright beam, which you weakly reflected.

“I meant what I said about Ice, Nick. He’s been treating me like royalty ever since we started going out. He’s a completely different person than the one you get to see here, but…” you clenched your jaw, eyes dropping back on your plate, scanning it as if it were the most interesting thing you’d seen in your life. “See? That’s the problem; there shouldn’t even be a but.”

“Do you feel like something’s missing?”

“Yeah. I mean, no — maybe? All I know is that whatever that but represents, it goes away when I’m with Maverick. And it terrifies me, Bradshaw.”

Goose chuckled. “Maverick terrifies you?”

“The way he makes me feel does. It’s like I’m seventeen all over again and I’m experiencing this unruly and intense wave of overwhelming emotions that I can’t control. It’s like I’m flying so freely and fast, but at the same time, I’m about to crash and catch on fire. He’s… he’s special and he knows it.” For a split second, you let yourself wander through the fantasy of being with Pete, forgetting all about the present actuality. You dreamt of hugging him, telling him how he made you feel, kissing him. It was growing into something that was beyond physical attraction, beyond than an innocent middle school crush.

Goose looked down, trying to cover the knowing smile on his face. “You deserve to be in a perfect relationship, Roger. You deserve to have someone who’ll make you happy.” And with that, he patted your back, giving you a quick peck on the forehead before heading back to his table.

Making difficult decisions is a common occurrence in life, you decided. Your eyes were burning, shutting as you combed your fingers through the roots of your hair. Goose’s words were replaying through your mind, driving you close to insanity. He was surely right about one thing though; and that was that in the end, it was your life and your choice whom you wanted to spend it with. You weighed every advantage and disadvantage of the situation, but still found yourself unable to audibly make a decision.

Your heart only had one person, one choice, one future. It was beating into the rhythm of three familiar syllables of a certain call sign, sending a wave of unsettling feelings in your stomach.

Were you actually about to do this?

Go big or go home, your inner voice encouraged as you stood up, eyes locked into the reckless aviator that went by the name Maverick.

“Roger?”

Out of the blue, you felt yourself glue on the floor, knees trembling at the sound of Tom’s voice. He hadn’t talked or even looked at you for the past three days — you thought he’d cut you off — but there he was, hands nervously shaped into fists against his sides, pupils scanning the ground. You didn’t even know how to respond. “Yeah?”

“I feel like we’ve got some things to discuss about.”

“Oh.”

What was it with you and the monosyllabic words that came out of your mouth in the most unfazed tone of voice? Tom grabbed your hand and dragged you all the way to the lockers, making sure no one else was there. He then proceeded to hug you; an action you hesitantly and half-heartedly returned as your eyes pricked with tears for the bazillionth time that morning.

“I’ve missed you so much,” he breathed against your neck. You wanted to reciprocate, tell him you missed him too, more than anything else in the world — but he wasn’t Maverick.

“Tom, before you say anything—”

“No, let me speak first,” he interrupted and you sighed. “I acted like a douche to you. So much anger bubbled up inside me that it fogged my brain and I couldn’t think straight. All I could picture was losing you to Maverick and it drove me over the edge. You’re the most important person in my life and I had a very different and more romantic way of telling you this in my mind, but I love you. I love you and I don’t want to let my jealousy affect what we have again. I swear to you, I’m trying to be a better, more positive and compatible person and I think it’s working — only because you motivate me to be the best version of myself.”

With your jaw slightly hanging, you stared at Tom speechless. Never had you ever been expecting such a heartfelt apology from him and you were pleasantly shocked. You liked him, you liked him so much and you’d remind that to yourself until it would actually become true.

“I’m sorry as well. I should’ve never talked to Maverick behind your back, let alone to meet up with him. But Tom, about what you just said—”

“I understand it might be a little too soon, you don’t have to worry about saying anything back. I just wanted you to know.”

Your face steeped in guilt, bitterly regretting every interaction between you and Maverick. Why were you so afraid of owning up to your own feelings? Pangs of sweat washed the back of your neck as you gulped what felt like a rock covered with thorns roll down your esophagus.

Tom Kazansky was a great guy and an even greater boyfriend, but could you imagine yourself falling in love with him the same way you’d already been doing with Pete Mitchell?

“Look, Ice,” his call sign rolled out of your tongue with a hint of uneasiness — and lord, you wished the ground would swallow you from the face of earth. “I like you a lot, but…” your trail of thoughts died down the moment his expression dropped when you mentioned a certain three-lettered word he’d been hoping not to hear from you.

“There’s a but,” he noticed, struggling to hide the fact that you’d somewhat crashed his dreams.

“It’s not your fault,” you attempted to comfort the blond pilot, but the sadness written all over his face was giving you such a hard time to come up with an excuse that your body intuitively lunched at his, arms wrapping around his neck hurriedly as your lips silenced whatever else you’d been about to blurt by landing right on his. Though you’d shared loads of kisses with Tom before, none of them had the same awkwardness and force of that one. He seemed to be quite enjoying it, pulling you closer to him as his hands snaked around your middle, but you, on the other hand, were suppressing tears of frustration (you were furious with yourself for not being able to handle such a hardship, let alone the fact that said hardship should’ve lead to a breakup).

Nevertheless, you were not opposed to giving Tom a second chance. Maybe you could take it from the top, go slow, reignite the fire. Yeah, you could do that, your inner voice convinced as you pulled away from him with a small smile, rubbing his shoulder a little bit as he leaned his temple against yours.

Little did you know that by opting not to break Iceman’s heart, you’d subconsciously gone against Goose’s earlier pleads and had broken Maverick’s instead, who’d stood frozen during the entire scene across from where you and Tom were, words strangling in his throat as his eyes blurred achingly at the sight of you smiling in his opponent’s arms.

Chapter 5

tags:

@holishol

@iheqrtaustin

[aotopmha]

i totally get your point of view and i too wish that we got more of historia, not only in the final episode, but throughout this final arc. but that doesn't bother me as much because in my mind historia's arc is complete. and while i do wish she did more in these final chapters, i'm happy with everything she did throughout the series and how she ended up in the end. i don't think she ended up in a bad place. sure, she could have been more on-screen, prominent etc. but i'm just happy to see her happy. i think all the characters got a good conclusion. some better than other, though, for sure.

I just really disagree with that.

The very specific idea behind her character to me was that she was no longer her passive persona Krista Lenz.

I, not for once, thought that was her actual "true self", but that's what I feel like she reverted to for the minimal amount of time she was on screen for the last arc.

She complied with her position as a baby machine and took all of Eren's bullshit while for some reason deciding to have a child to simply basically "save herself and stop the 13-year cycle".

We had chapters of character exploration of why she wouldn't doom another child to save herself.

Her father only wanted to use her for his gain and she denied it.

*SHE OPENED AN ORPHANAGE TO GIVE PURPOSE AND PLACE TO THOSE WHO DIDN'T HAVE ONE.*

I 100% think she would not doom another child like this no matter what, even if it ended up "okay" in the end. Even if it is "the only option" to save herself.

Ymir, who is the most important character to her for most of her journey, doesn't even get the tiniest of nods in relation to her at the ending.

Who even IS the Farmer Guy?

If you know anything about how gay-coded characters are treated in fiction, you know how common it is to pair them off with random straight partners without any work put in the character writing.

And okay, let's make the argument that Historia only had a strong friendship with Ymir, she's bisexual and all of the usually weak excuses people give when (even potentially) gay characters are denied a full on relationship by the writers pretty blatantly.

I don't know Farmer Guy. He doesn't even have a name.

As much as I don't care about the romantic aspect to Annie's and Armin's relationship, both also actually have talked to each other on screen. It was there for a long time.

For Farmer Guy, we just have a blurb of saying he used to be one of her bullies who wishes to make amends.

*SO MUCH TIME* went into building her character and this is the payoff?

Her end is "happy" and "complete" only in the most surface-level sense. She and her child are okay. It's not even that I want more, it's that I want something that isn't a bunch of nonsense.

But in reality she has basically zero characterisation in the last chunk of the story and most of what she does is only explained in a couple of lines – so much of the meaning of which is gleaned from other characters talking about her. And because her own words are so minimal, reading her motivations is based on a bunch of conjucture, too.

It's a vague mess.

You can *assume* she had the child because she was pushed into a corner by Eren and the threat of repeating the 13-year cycle. But we never get anything from her beyond this. It's a really massive reversion with very minimal explanation to me.

Aside from the base thematic issue of her taking away the freedom of another child, I think Historia, just like Eren, would be able to be immune to the "influence" of King Fritz (which is actually all OG Ymir herself). I think she would stand against the Rumbling in a way that doesn't involve being a passive pawn because she found her meaning in giving meaning to others.

She wouldn't just forget what she wanted with a snap of a finger and I do not think she was so bound to Ymir emotionally her death removed all of the actual fight from her.

I'm sorry, but I just deeply do not like this take. To me a good character ending isn't the most surface-level happy or sad ending, it is payoff to all of the work the story has done with its characters and themes.

And regarding Historia, I deeply disagree with how she was written in the final arc.

Thank you for the ask!

[lizardzomboni]

The Woman In Your Heart (TF2)

Spy x Reader (kind of lol)

Tags: angst, no happy ending, empath reader (I think)

Words: 1454

A/N: Had this idea after I finished reading the TF2 comics. I couldn’t get it out of my head, so I dropped my school work just to write this. Hope you enjoy :)

Btw, This is meant to be gender neutral. I typically write female readers, so I hope I didn’t slip up. Tell me, and I’ll fix it right away!

-----               

It was finally happening. The elusive masked man was in your arms, his lips brushing against yours.

The kiss wasn’t electrifying. It wasn’t sensual. It wasn’t even magical. It was tentative, almost fearful. Your lips barely touched his, only the tiniest amount of pressure between you. Your hands trailed up his chest and wrapped around his neck, hinting that you wanted more. He took your invitation and flushed you against him. You moved slowly as the two of you tested the waters. 

Eventually, he turned his head for a deeper kiss, and you granted him access to your mouth. You dreamed of this day. You fantasized how his tongue would explore every inch of your hungry mouth. He tasted just like you imagined he would: smoke and spice. But there was something else. 

Guilt. 

You couldn’t explain how you knew. You tried to ignore it, but it became so strong that it overwhelmed your senses. In the end, you couldn’t take it, so you forced yourself to break the kiss. With a beating heart, and trepidation swirling in your chest, you opened your eyes to meet his blues ones. To your dismay, he had turned his face away from you. However, you could still see the regret buried underneath his uncertainty. 

Your heart squeezed. He was thinking of the other woman—the one he had loved all those years ago. You wish you didn’t know anything about her. It would have been easier then.

If you were left in the dark, you wouldn’t hesitate to pursue this man with the persistence you were infamous for. You would do anything and everything to seduce him and make him yours. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case.

You had done your research on all the mercenaries when you first joined the team. Spy was the most difficult to get information on, but you managed to get your hands on some scrap. His love life, for example.

You considered killing her; maybe he would finally move on if she were dead. He didn’t need to know that you were the murderer. Creating cold cases was your specialty, after all. Frustratingly enough, the very woman you wanted to kill was the mother of other your teammate. 

The two men you cared deeply for loved this…this woman. You hated that you couldn’t even insult her in your thoughts. As long as she was alive, you would always be second place. 

You burned holes into Spy’s head. That man still refused to look at you. You pressed your lips together into a thin line before lightly pushing him away. He let go immediately, crushing your pride and solidifying your resolve. 

You realized that even if his old lover were dead, Spy would still put her above you. He would never hold you the way you wanted him to. He would only dance with her ghost. You never stood a chance.

Finally, he met your eyes. You almost scoffed at the sight of his confusion. The ache that previously plagued you morphed into blazing anger. Just what could he possibly be confused about? Was it the way you backed off? Was it the way your face hardened? Did he not understand the situation? 

He murmured your name, and you suppressed a scowl. You didn’t want your real name falling from that man’s lips. Names were sacred, especially in your line of work. You felt like he led you on, giving you hope when his choice was already made. 

“Don’t, Spy. Just…stop,” you said, hating the way your voice was quivering. 

“But mon petit, I-”

“Enough with the pet names! You’re just making it worse. Spy, I fell in love with you,” you confessed, but he already knew that. “I wanted to be with you. I wanted to give you my all, but I don’t want to be yours if I’m not your everything as well. She is the woman in your heart, Spy, There is no room for me.”

You quieted and looked at the ground. “I know about your previous lover. It’s been over twenty years, and you’re still hung up on her.”

“My feelings for you are genuine too,” he replied weakly. 

This time you didn’t hold back a scoff. “Is that supposed to comfort me? You’re so stupid,” you snapped. “Whatever you feel for me pales in comparison to your love for her. You really think that makes me feel better?!”

He kept his mouth shut. For the first time today, he was using his brain. His blue eyes were downcast, lips frowning as he stood motionless in front of you. He had the gall to look ashamed, and while you hated it, you also couldn’t help but revel at the sight of it. You wanted him to hurt. You wanted him to wallow in remorse. You wanted him to berate himself whenever he thought of you. 

“You should have just refused me, Spy. You should have just left me alone from the very start.” He just stared at you, and it made you angrier. “I’m leaving. Don’t ever try to contact me again.”

With that, you left. He didn’t even try to call you back.

You stormed through the halls of the base, ignoring all the questions from the other mercenaries as you passed by. There was only one person you wanted to see. You grabbed a phone and dialed in the assistant’s number. 

“Pauling here,” you heard on the other side of the receiver. 

“Meet me at the shack,” you ordered. It was a place only you, Pauling, and the Administrator knew about. 

The other woman was silent before a serious, “Understood.” The line went dead, and you hopped on your motorcycle, not bothering with a helmet.

The shack was about a day away from the base, but you arrived in a mere six hours by breaking numerous driving laws and trespassing on many private properties. Everyone can go screw themselves. 

Pauling was already there when you arrived at your destination. She greeted you, but you only gave her a curt nod and walked inside. You heard the door close, but you kept staring out the window. It wasn’t until Pauling called your name that you turn around to face her. 

“I want out,” you said flatly. 

She blinked before collecting herself, “You know you can’t do that, otherwise we will have to kill you.”

“Then station me somewhere else, Miss Pauling. I can’t work with those men anymore.”

The assistant made her way to the poor excuse of a couch against the wall. Dust puffed up when she sat down, making her wrinkle her nose. “Did something happen between you and the others?” Pauling asked. 

“Only with one of them. I…” you trailed off. You felt bad about leaving the rest of the mercenaries behind just because of your fall out with Spy. They were good men, good friends. You really didn’t want to let them go, but you couldn’t bring yourself to be around the only man you have ever loved. Leaving was selfish, but you were a selfish person at your core. “The group is too tightly interwoven,” you explained, crossing your arms. “Having issues with one of the members will only make things awkward during missions.”

“But all of the members have issues with each other.”

You snapped at her, glaring fiercely, “This is different.”

She paused. “Can I ask what hap-”

“No.”

Pauling clamped up and averted her gaze. “Okay,” she sighed. “I’ll talk to the Administrator about this matter. Will you be staying here for the time being?”

“...Yes,” you said. Without the base to go back to, you had nowhere else to go. “I’ll be here.”

“I will be back a few days. Do take care of yourself till then,” Pauling said tenderly. Then she left. 

You almost desperately wanted to call her back, to plead not to leave you alone, to spill everything that happened and let your emotions pour out of you. You squashed those desires as quickly as they arose. You survived this long because you kept to yourself. You never opened up. At least, until you met Spy. Look how that turned out. 

You sat on the spot Pauling was on only a few minutes ago. You waited for the sound of her car to leave, and soon you were encompassed with deafening silence. As you held your head in your hands, tears finally fell from your eyes. For the first time in years, you sobbed and wailed out all the pain in your heart. It’s not like anybody would hear you; the shack was miles away from any sort of civilization.

You were alone again. Just like you ought to be. Just like you always will be.

[mildly-intrusivethoughts]

We're Still Acting, Right?

Word Count: 1,146

Warnings: Has the tiniest bit of angst. Also… Kissing 🤢

A/N: Really been in the mood for some Actor!Mark. Had to get this idea out before more of ISWM comes out. Honestly, I really like seeing Actor!Mark be a demanding diva. Love me a man that's not afraid to do what he wants. Gender neutral for the besties.

The day had been long. Too long, even for a filming day. The amount of setbacks in this single day of production was enough to almost make you walk out. Probably didn’t help that Mark needed the occasional cosmetic touch up as well as many breaks to rest his “god gifted” voice. “It’ll be fine,” he said, “We’ll get it done.”

 The hours you put in today made filming feel like an absolute nightmare. Scene after scene, you and Mark pushed to put out your best acting for the camera. Maybe it was the late hours, but you strive even harder than normal to make sure you absolutely get it right the first shot. Pouring even more feelings and meaning behind all your movements. Despite all of Mark’s complaining and drained energy, you carried on. The show must go on.

Once more, you and Mark stood on the beautifully designed set. Filming again in the main deck of the Invincible II. The lighting to the set this time is dark, with hues of red and blue. And once more the director set the scene, ”Alright, so at this point we’re near the climax of the storyline. Mark, Y/N, for this scene I want you to go ahead and follow the script but feel free to improvise a bit. Go ahead and add in any extra bits you think will give this scene that extra raw emotion that’ll have the audience shaking and crying. Remember: You’ve gone around in circles. You’re starting to feel hopeless, but you’re still trying to remain strong for each other. Alright? Annnd ACTION.”

The lighting casted a shadow on your face while Mark’s was slightly visible from the consoles emitting a soft light. Letting the lighting set the mood, you then turned dramatically to Mark and brought your hands to your face and yelled in despair.

“I’m tired of this Mark! How many times do we have to keep doing this? Doesn’t it bother you? The amount of times we’ve been running around! The amount of times we’ve had to watch our crew risk their lives! This almost feels futile. Our colonists aren’t even aware of everything going on, about how many times I’ve failed them!” You brought your hands down to your sides, fist closing tightly, speaking slightly above a whisper “I don’t know if I can keep doing this.. The amount of times I’ve had to see you d-...” Your voice faltered, feigning tears, unable to finish your sentence. Before you managed to let the tears trail from your eyes Mark closed the gap between you, strong hands grasping your shoulders. His voice sounded so reassuring, unlike how you know him to normally speak, “Captain, I know. I know this isn’t ideal, but we have to keep trying! Please, we can’t just stop now. Not when our next jump into the wormhole could be the opportunity we’ve been needing!”

Out of your peripheral, you can see the production crew leaning forward in their chair. No one dared to make any kind of noise. We must really be selling this scene. 

Suddenly Mark inched closer to you, hands sliding up to hold your face delicately in his hands. His eyes looked deep into yours, it took all your might not to look away. He was awfully close to you. This was nothing different from the many other times you’ve shared scenes together and by no means was this your first romantic scene, but something about this moment felt different. Maybe it was the late hours but something was off, something had changed. His lips felt like they were only a few centimeters away and you could feel his breath. It warmed your lips and left a tingling sensation. You couldn’t recall your next line. Truth be told you were caught off guard, but the director did say to sell it however you wanted. You almost didn’t even realize he went ahead with his line. “We’ve got to try, Captain. Doesn’t matter how many times it takes, we will fix this or go crazy trying to.” There was a twinkle in his eye, it was gone in a second but you could tell it was something mischievous. “But maybe..just this once Captain.. Let’s try something different.. Let me try something different…” the last word trailed off, as he leaned closer and closer till your lips touched. You quickly reacted, grabbing the front of his jumpsuit pulling him in closer, making the kiss more passionate. His mouth moved effortlessly against yours as he leaned in, deepening the kiss. You opened your mouth to allow him to slip his tongue against yours and just as you were about to sweep your tongue against his- “CUT.”

Mark quickly pulled away, “Are you KIDDING me?! The scene was going so well!” You had briefly forgotten your surroundings. It’s like you were truly living in that moment. The director waved off Mark and shook his head “Look, I love it, I really do, you really are putting in that passion but this isn’t a goddamn romance novel! Remember: Your crews’ DIEING! You admire the Captain but that’s IT! We don’t got a spot in this storyline to add in this sudden romance!”  While Mark and the director argued, you simply stood there in disbelief at what happened. In all your years acting together, he’d never kissed you like that. Damn, he’s never actually kissed you at all. Even as improv. It was all for the camera though, right? 

“Alright! Let’s reset the scene!” 

Your costar grumbled over, taking his place in front of you while mumbling on about how they simply just didn’t see how great his direction would have been. “Hellooo, Y/N? You alright?” You nodded quickly but you just had to ask, “That was all for shows, right?” You didn’t dare let your eyes look up at him. There were always some one liners that you threw at each other, all in which you always told yourself was in a joking tone but you just had to make sure it wasn’t the long hours making you get in your feelings, “We’re still acting, right?” When your eyes finally met he gave an annoyed nod of his head. “Uh, yeah. C’mon focus, Y/N, this is the big leagues. I need you to be with me and give it 110%.” Before you could even make a response back he pulled you in once more, close enough so no one else could hear him and tapped a finger to your chest, “Now here’s the plan: I say we try that again and really go all out. Screw the director, they’re gonna see that I had the right idea all along!” 

“Enough talkin! ACTION'' You were in for a long couple of months if filming was gonna keep like this.. not that you were complaining much.

[erodasfishtacos]

HSLOT SAINT LOUIS

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warnings: smut, 18+

-

Harry was doing his same script, he’s been starting every show but addressing the circular stage.

“Sometimes you’ll get m’face and sometimes you’ll get m’ass. Please, let me know if y’have a preference,” He gives the crowd a cocky grin, it widens when the audience goes insane with whistles and screams.

YN is standing off to the side, where she always stands with Harry’s friends and family who come and go - visiting them.

Harry’s eyes dart to his wife, when he sees her rolls her eyes at him, he points at her, speaking right into the microphone, “And you’ll be gettin’ the ass baby!”

The arena is near deafening with the fans who are fawning and cooing at the couples interactions, they all look back to YN.

She blows him a kiss and he dramatically snatches, smacking it right on his backside with a cheeky wink and purse of his lips.

He goes on with the show in his stunning red outfit that fit for Saint Louis perfectly - YN was matching him in a dark satin orange slinky dress that was undeniably sexy. It had Harry feeling her up backstage before he went on. ***

The fans loved that the couple matched at every concert.

YN loved watching her husband perform and after that comment about her getting his ass…well, it gave her some ideas for later.

The way the shirt he was wearing wasn’t buttoned enough so she could see the glisten on his chest, how the trousers hugged his perky backside like a sin.

It may be wrong, but everybody in this arena wanted him.

They want to hug him, kiss him, blow him, fuck him - but the only one who got that was her and she basked in it.

As Harry finishes with Kiwi, losing his absolute shit, YN and everyone else starts to head backstage. YN waves to a few fans and stops for a selfie or two before disappearing.

When Harry runs back to join, after dashing from center stage, he automatically finds his wife and wraps her up into a tight hug.

“Ew, bun. You’re extra sweaty, you definitely need to go shower,” YN crinkles her nose, pushing him off as he does stink a bit and is just sticky from sweat.

Usually, Harry would coerce his wife into joining him but they had quite a few friends who came to see the concert and YN was expected to entertain them.

“I’ll be thinkin’ about you, flower,” He teases, nipping her ear before chatting with their friends for a moment before he’s trailing off to shower and change.

-

YN waits a few minutes, enough time to guarantee he was already in the shower - soaping up.

She punches in the code to his locked dressing room, a soft smirk on her face as she steps over where he’s strewn the orange ensemble to purposefully piss off Harry Lambert - like always.

When she opens the bathroom door, she makes sure to be as quiet as possible - same as when she shuts and locks it behind her.

It a modern, standard shower stall and Harry is standing facing away from his wife - scrubbing his hair roughly to get the styling gel and grime out.

Harry’s shoulders are so broad.

His back is just…beautiful.

It’s so muscular, defined, and strong as he flexes his arms forward. Then her eyes trail down to his backside.

His bum was small, she loved to tease him and pinch it but it was muscular as well from those squats and wall sits he does in the gym.

After she quickly undresses, she steps in behind him into shower - pressing her chest up against his wet back and wrapping her arms around his waist.

Harry startles, nearly jumping out of his own skin before huffing out a laugh and leaning back into his wife, relaxing - well more like melting as he puts his weight on her.

“Thought y’were some crazy fan,” He jokes, hand coming down to cup the hers on his waist but frowning when she pulls back.

“Against the wall,” YN murmurs firmly, pushing him gently until his chest is against the tile and the shower head is pounding on his back and shoulders.

Harry shuffles forward, willingly albeit confused about what was going on and his wife’s demeanor as the cold of the wall hardens his nipples.

“Baby? Y’alright-“

“Did you wash yourself up already?” YN asks directly, hands rubbing softly at his sides, squeezing where his mini love handles are.

“M’body? Yeah, why-“

She cuts him off again, lips on his shoulder blade, “You told the crowd and me that I was getting your ass. I’m just holding you to your word.”

And when Harry realizes what’s about to go down, he lets out a low, explicit moan that echos throughout the bathroom.

“Yeah, baby, yeah,” He babbles excitedly, it wasn’t like this was something rare for them. They normally incorporated ass play into their sex life.

It was something about catching him off guard, when he’s vulnerable, and the post-show adrenaline has already worn off - making him malleable and pliant for his wife.

“You want to be all cocky, arrogant on stage, right? But look at you now, whining for your wife to touch you,” YN teases sharply, hand drifting down to squeeze his cheek hard enough to make him squeak.

“Baby. I’m yours, I’m yours,” He gasps, voice turning into a raspy yet high begging tone.

It was a tone of his voice that nobody in that crowd had or would ever hear. No, it was saved for her when she had him like this, like nobody else ever will.

“You don’t think I know that, Harry?” His wife laughs, fingers moving to sneak between his cheeks, pressing tightly against where he’s aching for her.

She continues, “God, I think everyone knows your mine. You can’t keep your eyes off me during the concert, parade around your wedding band, make sure my tattoo is always visible.”

“It’s ‘cause you- oh fuck, s’cause y’my soulmate,” Harry moans, pushing back on her fingers - wanting more but she wasn’t willing, “Need more, darlin’, m’close.”

She really wasn’t even doing much beside pressing at him, pushing in just the tiniest amount but he was grinding his hips against the wall a bit and her tits felt so good on his back.

Sometimes when he came off stage, he had absolutely no stamina.

Normally he could last but when he was adrenaline high and had basically edge himself in front of tens of thousands of people, it wasn’t going to be a long event.

“That’s really sad, H. Reminding me of when we were teenagers and you couldn’t last,” YN ends her rude statement with a bite to his shoulder before dragging her teeth down a bit.

It was just fun to get Harry worked up, he still acted the same from when they were younger - he’d get bratty and demanding, whiney, his chest and neck bloom into a soft pink color, and his eyes are a bit wet.

“Still just as much of a fool f’you, tha’s why,” Harry puffs out, hands continuously clenching and releasing over and over against the wall - like he wants to just make Harry wife touch him, tortured by her teasing.

“Fine, fine,” YN simpers, as if he was being a pain but she slips down onto her knees - hands dragging down his back and then his lean, solid thighs.

But in typical Harry behavior, he turns back and looks over his shoulder, “Sunflower, y’knees? We can move out of the shower.”

“Shush up,” She accentuates her words with a heavy handed smack to his right cheek and she chuckles when he gasps out a quiet, “Fuck.”

YN cups his cheeks, spreading them and leaning forward.

As soon as her tongue hits where he’s hot and tight, his legs twitch, and he puts his hands on the wall to brace himself.

“Darling, baby, baby,” Harry mewls, pushing back for more and hissing when she licks into him - his ring-bare hand leaning back to thread into her hair.

YN was planning to draw this out but she only gets a few directed laps before he’s moaning obsencenly, loud enough to hear through the god damn arena.

And then he’s gripping his cock, giving one firm tug, and he’s coming with pants and unfiltered, inconsiderate shouts of pleasure.

“S’good, m’good wife. S’no one better than you. Y’the only one who makes me feel like this. Crave y’like a drug, flower,” He praises endlessly, he turns around and helps her up - kissing her harshly.

When his hand comes to sneak between her thighs, she shakes her head and murmurs, “We don’t have time, H. Everyone is waiting on us.”

He pouts with his swollen pink lips, “I’ll take care of y’are the hotel, promise.”

“Mm,” She agrees, scrubbing the leftover shampoo bubbles from his hair as he tucks his face into her neck and tries make himself smaller.

Harry always gets a little sheepish after she does anything that makes him feel vulnerable, needs reassurance from her.

“Only with you, m’yours. Y’own my heart, ‘ave since we were fifteen,” Harry murmurs into her neck.

-

When they get themselves together, dressed, and exit the bathroom into the dressing room.

Harry Lambert is irritated as he is picking Harry’s clothing off the floor and putting it back on the hanger.

The stylist gives them a look, a knowing look, as he hangs the trousers on the rack.

“Fuck off,” The singer huffs, tugging his wife by the hand out of the room and to the car waiting for them.

[angryschnauzer]

Warm Hands

Summary; Its your fourth date with Henry and you still haven’t slept together, so when you arrive at his house for a picnic, you are surprised to find that he needs your professional help as a physiotherapist. But once you get your warm hands on his body, neither of you can hold back much longer.

A continuation of my Henry x Physio Reader story previous part here

A/N This is wholly inspired by Henry’s recent instagram post and the part where he said that no-one needs to see him in his underwear on the kitchen table because I CERTAINLY DO.

Pairing: Henry Cavill x Female Physiotherapist Reader 

Warnings: NSFW, 18+, massaging Henrys thighs, sports injury, Henry in his underwear, unwanted erections, unprotected sex, Henry being slightly dom, reader taking control, creampie. 

Unbeta’d, all typo’s are free range and organic. I do not run a tag list but if you follow @angryschnauzerwrites​ and put that blog onto notifications, you will get an alert every time i post something new, AND its where you can find my previous works.

Warm Hands

Parking your little car in the corner of the secluded driveway you shut the engine off and chewed nervously on your lip. It was your fourth date with Henry and he’d casually invited you for a picnic ‘in the quiet countryside’, but hadn’t been specific on the end time of your date. What was making you nervous was that you hadn’t actually slept together yet and the vagueness of the end time had you wondering. 

Your first date had been coffee a few weeks after meeting when you’d stumbled upon him injured in the park during your lunch break from the hospital where you worked as a physiotherapist. Second date had been to a rugby game where he’d put too much strain on his injured leg and had ended with him scheduling an appointment with you for some professional physio treatment. Third date had been dinner at a fancy restaurant that had ended with a mind blowing kiss in your hallway but nothing further as he had to get home to let Kal - his dog - out for an evening bathroom break.

So now you were at date number four and you were more than ready to take the relationship to the next level. You glanced at the small overnight bag you’d packed ‘just in case’ with a few essentials. Deciding to leave the bag in the car for now, you got out and made your way to the small kitchen door of the mews cottage, Henry having explained how it was the best door to come to. What you weren’t expecting to see as you looked through the glass section of the door was Henry grimacing in pain as he steadied himself on the kitchen counter. Trying the doorknob you stepped inside;

“Oh my god, what’s wrong?!” slipping your hands beneath his arms as he winced and kept all his weight on one leg.

“Cramp…” he gasped; “... in my thigh…”

Looking down you only then realised he was in just his underwear below the waist, the muscles in his thigh tense and frozen. Just then the steam iron hissed and you saw that he must have been pressing his smart chino’s just before you’d arrived;

“Ok, let's get you rested somewhere… hop onto the table…”

You helped him move the few feet to his massive wooden table that ran the centre of his kitchen, quickly moving a pile of papers on there and setting them down elsewhere, before noticing the switch for the iron and flicking that to off. Returning to Henry you placed your hands onto his cramping thigh, the muscles rock solid where the spasm was in full hold.

“Uurggh ah uuuhhh” Henry moaned, wincing and sucking in a sharp intake of breath as another spasm shot through his muscle. 

You held your hands over the muscle trying to warm it so it could relax, rubbing the skin as he whimpered from the pain;

“Shhh it’s ok, it’ll go. We just need to warm your leg up”

Running your hands around his thigh you attempted to remain as professional as possible, but the sight of his quite frankly enormous thighs under your hands were a sight to behold. Looking up you saw that Henry had his arm thrown across his face as the spasms kept sending waves of pain through his leg, and it was then that as you moved your hand around the inside of his thigh that you felt it. You couldn’t help but to look where your knuckles had just touched, your eyes going wide as you saw the considerable bulge he had packed in there. Another whimper from his lips pulled your attention away from the elephant’s trunk in the room, rubbing your hands over his thigh as it still cramped. 

Nothing seemed to be having any effect, and it was then that you saw his hand was gripping the edge of the table so hard his knuckles were going white;

“Hen… you’re going to have to relax… let go of the table…”

He took a deep breath before finally speaking, his voice small and quiet;

“I can’t…”

“Why?”

“Because if i relax, i won’t be able to hold it back…”

It took you a few seconds to realise what he was talking about before with a dawning realisation hit that he was fighting a hard-on. What you did next surprised him enough to have him pull his arm away and look at you with wide eyed wonder, as you’d climbed into the table and straddled his thighs, your soft summer skirt falling around you. Resting your hands on his chest you nestled your leg right against his, the warmth of your skin starting to soothe the cramp;

“There…” you smiled at him; “Plus now you can relax as everything is hidden by my skirt…”

He glanced down to where you were sitting on him and you watched as he finally let go of the table, stretching his fingers out before with a smile rested his hand on your hip;

“Thank you… and i’m sorry…”

“What are you sorry for?”

“For… well…” he actually blushed, his cheeks and nose a beautiful shade of pink as he looked away bashfully; “I didn’t want you to think… umm, i don’t know really, i didn’t want to pressure you into anything…”

Resting your hands on his stomach you gently leaned forwards, your face over his as you smiled;

“You wouldn’t be pressuring me… i want this..”

At your works you rocked forward a little, knowing there was just the thinnest of lace between you and the jersey fabric that was struggling to contain Henry’s arousal. You watched as his expression change, his eyes grew a little darker and he licked his lips;

“Again…”

This time when you rolled your hips you found his other hand had grasped your hip too, his firm grip adding to the smooth roll as you ground your core against his hardening arousal. 

“C’mere…” he suddenly pulled you flush with his chest, his mouth upon yours as he kissed you fiercely which you eagerly reciprocated. The kiss was fiery, teeth and tongues before he suddenly gasped and pulled away; “FUCK!... The cramp’s back…”

Quickly sitting up you settled your weight over his thigh, the warmth from between your legs immediately soothing the strong muscle beneath you. Henry’s expression dropped and he look liked a sad kicked puppy;

“Its ok… it’ll go soon…” you reassured him

He let out a deep sigh;

“I just… i want to be able to please you…”

“To… please me?... Oh…” you took hold of his hand; “Henry… you will please me…”

“But… if i’m not at peak performance… i wanna bring my best game to our first time, ya’know?”

And just like that the blush was back on his cheeks, and you finally realised why he had been holding back;

“Henry… i really like you… like really like you, to be blunt just this brief grinding on you has me close. You don’t have to be in control all the time” you softly pressed his hand to your chest; “And i’m kinda getting the idea that when you’re in bed with someone you like to be in control, right?”

“Well, you can still be in control even if you’re not on top…”

His hand gently squeezed your breast through your dress as you watched the realisation of what you said sink in, and a mischievous smile crept over his face;

“So… what are we waiting for?” he cocked an eyebrow at you and you couldn’t help but to laugh

“Your leg to stop cramping…”

“Oh… yeah…” he flexed the muscle beneath you and smiled; “Well, it seems ok now…” his other hand started to sneak beneath your skirts and it was your turn to be surprised;

“Henry! Now? Here?”

“Why not... you already said you were close, and as you can feel i’m ready…” he bucked his hips just the tiniest amount and you felt his considerable length rub against your mound.

“On the kitchen table?”

“Yes or No sweetheart…” just then his hand had found your panties and a thick finger was rubbing at your clit through the soaked lace

“Yes… fuck yes…”

You quickly lifted your hips enough to reach into Henry’s underwear and pull his erection free, marvelling at the thick girth and the heat of the silky skin against your hand, just as he pulled your underwear to the side. Rising up onto your knees you positioned him at your entrance and slowly sank down, gasping as his thickness stretched your velvet channel;

“Oh fuck…”

Beneath you Henry growled, his sharp teeth gnawing at his bottom lip as he struggled to hold back from pulling you down, knowing that his size was a struggle to take at first and letting you go at your own pace would be worth it in the end;

“That’s it babe… doing so well” he let out a grunt as you took another inch, he could feel the warmth of your thighs as you got lower and was almost there, until he couldn’t hold out any longer and his hand instinctively pulled you down the rest of the way until he was balls deep inside you.

The moans that escaped your lips echoed around the room, your womb trembling from the sheer pleasure that was surging through you as you let your body adjust to his massive size. He rested both hands on your hips as you moved your own to his hard stomach, and with a grin you started to lift your hips and start to ride him.

“That’s it Babe” he praised you as he started to move your hips, to pull you down a little harder each time you would rise up on your knees; “Can feel your tight cunt squeezing me so hard already”

A litany of curses fell from your lips as he took control, moving you as if you weighed no more than a feather and he fucked you from beneath. Your orgasm was growing closer as whimpers escaped your lips, before with a blinding explosion in your mind you came with a scream. 

Henry was seconds behind, the tight squeeze of your cunt around him was enough to set his own orgasm off, pumping you full with rope after rope of his thick creamy seed, the knowledge that you’d be walking around all day with his cum dripping from you prolonging his orgasm even longer.

Henry pulled you down to kiss you, this time soft and gentle as his lips pressed to yours, your bodies still trembling with the aftershocks of your tryst. Resting on his chest you pulled away and smiled at him, his arms holding you tight;

“Do you still want to go on a picnic today? My friend has a hundred acre farm in the Surrey Hills, its beautiful”

“I’d love to” you started to push yourself up to decouple your bodies; “Sounds secluded too” 

“Oh, it is”

Carefully swinging your leg over Henry and climbing off the table, you extending a hand to him so he could side to the floor too;

“Can i suggest something then? Perhaps not chino’s then?”

He glanced at his still creased trousers as they sat on the abandoned ironing board;

“Why?”

“Grass stains” you said with a wink. 

Henry pulled you to his chest, his hand on your ass giving it a squeeze;

“Ooh naughty… good idea, i’ll go get my jeans… this is going to be a picnic to remember”

As he stepped away he called over his shoulder;

“If you brought an overnight bag might be worth bringing it in now, i fully intend on fucking you so much this afternoon you’ll be too exhausted to carry it in later”

Laughing you said ok as you went to your car, glad you packed multiple changes of underwear. As you returned to the house you went to pull a clean pair of panties out of the bag just as Henry was walking in buttoning his jeans and saw what was in your hand;

“No no, you’re keeping those panties on”

“But they’re soaked with your cum”

He wrapped his arms around you, his eyes dark with desire;

“That’s exactly why you’re keeping them on, the only other acceptable attire would to be bare beneath that pretty dress of yours, understand?”

“Yes Sir” you answered with a smirk as Henry grabbed the picnic basket and headed for the door. It was certainly going to be an afternoon to remember...

[blueseasfanfics]

Hi! I love your writing and saw your requests were open. I hope you don’t mind. I just had a thought. Fem! Y/N trains with Thor, Siff, and the worriers three. She is very impressed with the amount of muscle Thor has put on and Loki is a little jealous. So the next time she happens to touch his arm he flexes. Of course Y/N notices but instead of calling Loki out, she gives him the praise he craves from her. *insert him beaming for a week because of it.*

Muscles

Pairing: Loki x fem!reader

Description: Loki just needs some reassurance that you love every part about him. Even just a few words brings a newfound pep in his step. Very gentle, lots of fluff.

Word Count: 956

A/N: Thank you so much for your request! My requests are still open. I’m feeling a bit better today, I love writing Bucky but Loki was always my first love. So writing him feels like I’m coming back home. Thank you everyone for your love for Bed-Warmer! I hope everyone is having a good day!

Want to support me for only $3 or commission a personal fic from me? Incredibly personalized and great prices! Check out my ko-fi: https://ko-fi.com/starryeyedalien

---------

“Crap, Thor, help me out here.” You grunt and Thor helps you lift your bar back onto the rack. You sit up and try to catch your breath.

“Amazing, you bested your last record by twenty pounds!” He lifts his hand for a high-five and you give him one. He’s been wanting those ever since you showed them what they were a week ago.

“Well of course she did, did you expect anything else from her? She’s going to be lifting you next.” Sif chuckles as she hands you a bottle of water and you take it graciously.

“Not soon! I’ve gained more muscle. I’m a walking titan.” Thor says triumphantly, flexing into the mirrored wall that’s across from you all. 

You laugh at his over-the-top flexing, then hear a cough from your side.

You glance over and Loki is leaning in the gym doorway.

“Hello there, Trickster.” You smile and bound up to him, leaning forward for a kiss. He hesitates but gives you a chaste kiss on the lips.

“You two are such lovebirds.” Sif scoffs and you throw a towel at her, but Thor just looks at you both like you’re the best people he’s ever seen.

“Is my brother bothering you with his showmanship? Ego as big as his brawn, that one.” Loki mutters, and you laugh and playfully hit his shoulder.

“He has a huge ego then. Incredible muscles.” You say as you both look at him adding more weight to the bar you just left.

“I guess they are hard to miss. They’re as big as his head.” Loki mutters and when you glance at him, his customary smirk is gone as he stares at his brother. Thor is completely oblivious as usual, and he just beams and waves at Loki as he lays down on the bench. 

“Loki? Are you feeling alright?”

“I’m feeling perfect. I’m going to lunch.”

“Oh! Well let me clean up, we can go together.” You say as peppy as you can, hoping to bring him at least a little happiness.

“Are you sure you can tear yourself away?” He nods towards the gym, where Sif is now adding even more weights to Thor’s bar at his goading. She looks irritated and you chuckle nervously.

“Yes please, I don’t want to be here when he can’t lift it and Sif makes fun of him again. He’s incredibly pouty.” You say and Loki just nods in response as you grab your gym bag.

You go into the showers and when you come out again, clean, Loki has taken off his jacket.

He’s just in a t-shirt today, a dark green one he picked up in Midgard. His arms are on full display, a rare sight for the god but not one you resent whatsoever. 

You give him another kiss on his cheek, which he accepts but he still doesn’t smile. You walk in silence with him all the way to the courtyard, where he has someone bring out some sandwiches.

Even though this was his idea, he barely even eats. You eat slowly, watching his face. He’s obviously thinking about something, but you know Loki. He will never tell you what’s troubling him outright. Of course, that makes it hard to know what’s wrong. You just opt for idle conversation.

His jacket is still off so you reach over and feel his arms, and under your fingers you feel him flex.

Oh, is that the issue?

He always seemed so sure of his stance on brains over brawn, you didn’t expect him to be jealous over some simple muscles.

But if he is, so be it.

“You look amazing in that shirt.” You say as you lean back and take another bite of your sandwich. That makes him almost imperceptibly perk up, as he looks at you again instead of into the distance.

“Oh?” He says simply, picking up a sandwich and biting into it.

“Yeah. I almost never see your arms, I forget how nice they are.”

“They’re just arms.”

“Arms can look nice, Loki. Like yours. They’re very toned.”

“Is toned a good thing?” He says with fake nonchalance.

“A very good thing. Means you’re strong.”

“Well, I am strong.”

“Very strong. You could rival Thor.”

“Ah well, I’d rather rival Thor with my brains.”

“Yes well, I’m saying you could face him with either smarts or strength.”

“Hmm. Noted.” He glances at your face as he finally takes a bite of a sandwich. You give him a large smile, finishing your own. He stays in silence, so you opt to sit next to him instead of across from him.

You loop one of your arms through his, hugging his bicep as he eats. He immediately flexes again and looks down at you, only mildly confused, but then goes back to eating.

“I feel safe in your arms too.” You say after a moment, and he relaxes the tiniest bit in your grasp.

“That’s what they’re here for.”

“A strong man keeping me safe.” You murmur as you lay your head on his shoulder, and his arm relaxes until he’s not trying to impress you anymore.

Even when he’s not flexing, you weren’t lying. He’s incredibly strong. 

But it’s alright to want some love and reminding.

When you look back up again, he’s smiling as he chews his sandwich. He glances down at you and you smile back as he bends down a little to kiss your forehead.

“Thank you, love.” He murmurs. You nod in response, and when he finishes his sandwich you walk away hand-in-hand. 

He walks taller and prouder for a while after that.

Especially around Thor, who got his record beat by Sif a week later. Showy muscles aren’t everything.

[loki-hargreeves]

Loki x Reader - Married in Secret

Warnings: a lot of fluff, implied smut, more fluff Word Count: 3,1K  Summary: After you and Loki get engaged, Odin is trying to make a huge wedding happen for you against your wishes. So you and Loki get married in secret. Loki has another surprise for the two of you... {there are a couple choices at the end for you to choose from!}  Author’s Note: I’ve always wanted to write interactive fanfiction. Better start late than never, right? Please enjoy <3 also pls don’t hate me for the vows, I did my best ok??

YOUR POV

Questions about the tiniest, most ridiculous things were bombarded at you from each direction as you walked in the palace,

“Do you want dark green or light green curtains in the ballroom?”

“We’ve already invited 500 people to the dinner party, can we stretch that to 600?”

“Should we pair the roses with orchids or gardenias?”

Ever since you and Loki had announced your engagement, Asgard had gone wild. The servants were tasked with making the most fantastic royal wedding, and it was getting exhausting. Loki hadn’t asked for this and neither had you. Odin was orchestrating it all, and it was definitely not from a good will.

The old man cared so much about appearance and he wanted to show the people what it meant to be royal. After all, Loki was a prince and you were about to become a princess. Odin wanted to put up a facade, and dare you say it seemed like he wanted to show that royalty was much better than the common people. To throw luxurious parties and waste so much gold on an unfathomable amount of flowers and other unnecessaries. To put up a show and conceal the love you and Loki had for each other. You were supposed to act cold and proud that day, but it wasn’t what you desired.

Truly, all you wanted was to be with Loki and celebrate the love you had for one another. Nothing more than that.

After days of circus Odin had created, you were done. You felt like slamming the door to your soon to be shared bedroom, but didn’t do it as you realized the door itself hadn’t done anything to you. Loki was sitting on an emerald green armchair, book in hand and he looked up to you with almost a worried gaze. It softened when he realized that it was you, not another poor servant who was terrified of getting any details wrong. 

“Bad morning?” Loki judged the look on your face. Your shoulders were tense and it looked like you had been spun around like a music box doll everywhere you had been. 

“You could say so,” You sighed deeply and made your way closer to Loki. Although the day had begun poorly, you felt immediately much better when you were with the Trickster you had fallen for. 

Loki put the book down on the coffee table next to an empty cup of tea and he stood up, meeting you in a loving embrace. You relaxed in his arms and for a moment, you closed your eyes and let yourself get lost in the moment. 

“I chose a dress,” You let him know. At least, that was done now. One less thing to worry about.

“I’m sure it’s beautiful,” Loki sounded excited. He couldn’t wait to see you in your bridal outfit. The thought alone made his heart race in his chest. Oh how lucky he felt to have you.

You parted from his embrace and sat down on the second armchair so you could stretch your legs. It had been a long morning. 

“I don’t wish to complain,” you started carefully, “but I don’t know how much more of this I can handle. This wedding is getting out of hand.”

Loki agreed with you, but hearing it made him worry. He was afraid you would get cold feet. If so, he would certainly blame Odin for it. But now, he wiped that thought away, for he had an idea. 

“My love,” Loki took your hand in his and he lowered himself on one knee right in front of you, just like he had a few weeks ago. He was so devoted to you, he made you feel special. 

“Yes?”

“What if I told you I have a plan?” A familiar grin appeared on his face. The way his lips curled ever so slightly made shivers run down your spine. He was up to something.

“Oh?” You were certainly curious. Loki never had bad ideas. Well, it depended on how one would define ‘bad’ ideas. 

“Let’s elope, in secret. It’ll be just you and me and whoever shall wed us. No one needs to know until it’s official,” Loki proposed his idea to you.

And it was a brilliant idea. It was exactly what you had wanted. Something small and private. Away from hundreds or thousands of eyes which meant you could be comfortable. It wouldn’t be a show, it would be a loving moment just for you and just for him, one you would cherish forever. 

It was also slightly rebellious, which only made it so much better. You could already envision the smoke coming out of Odin’s ears, and the dumbfounded look on Thor’s face. The people would have something to gossip about. 

“What will your family think of it?” Honestly, you didn’t really care, but you played with the idea in your mind.

Loki put on a thoughtful look for a moment, pretending to be deep in thought, “I think...” He then returned his gaze to you and a playful gleam lit in his eyes, “that I don’t care at all. Perhaps my mother will be most understanding. Either way, it’s none of their concern, so what do you say?”

“Let’s do it,” You were convinced it was the best idea he could come up with regarding your wedding.

Loki was relieved to hear that and he quickly leaned close to you in order to catch your lips with his. The kiss deepened quickly. The way he held you was so strong and lively that you were afraid the chair would fall back, so you wrapped your arms around his strong torso to brace yourself.

When his soft lips pressed against the sensitive skin on your neck, you let out a laugh, “Loki!” You held onto him tighter, “if you’re going to kiss me like that, then maybe we shall move to the bed? This armchair wasn’t made for two.”

In a graceful manner, he dragged the two of you up to your feet, off of the chair, “if you insist, my love.”

_

The sun was beginning to set behind the horizon. It was still warm outside and the gentle wind cooled everything down. You were high over the water which allowed you to see most of Asgard, yet the place offered much needed privacy. Shadows cast on the stony pathway under your feet, which contrasted beautifully with the golden rays of sunlight that made everything look like a page from a fairy tale. Your eyes followed the trail of flower petals that smelled so lovely and sweet, and then you saw Loki.

He was standing there with a nervous smile on his face. The officiant who was going to wed you stood beside him and even he smiled as he saw you, but you could only focus on Loki. He wore his full Asgardian gear and the gold and emerald green looked fantastic on him. His raven hair was brushed neatly and it looked soft underneath his helmet. The emerald cape was flowing ever so lightly as the wind played with it.

In that moment, you felt like the luckiest person in the nine realms. 

You walked all the way up to him and then made sure your dress was smoothly cascaded around your legs and you wiped off any possible dust. It was the dress of your dreams and it made you feel so comfortable in your own skin. The jewelry you wore matched the dress and Loki’s gear, and you felt neat. You were truly a match made in the heavens. 

When your eyes met with Loki’s, your heart jumped to your throat. He looked so beautiful and happy. Joy was simply radiating from him and it was infectious. To see him like that was a sight you could never forget.

He took your hands into his and whispered, “you look ever so beautiful, my dear.” There was a tear in the corner of his eye and surely there were tears in yours. This was the moment you had waited for since you were small. It was your wedding day, when you and Loki would commit to one another for the rest of your lives. 

The officiant cleared his throat and you both turned to look at him. Asgardian weddings could vary so much. Everyone expected you to have the biggest wedding anyone had ever seen since Odin and Frigga’s, but here you were. It was just the three of you there. You didn’t recognize the officiant who was holding your rings, but it didn’t matter. The ceremony was going to be brief anyway and then you and Loki could do whatever your hearts desired. 

At first, the officiant spoke about your forefathers and mothers, asked them to bless you on your shared journey that was about to begin. He talked about Valhalla, and wished you strength and luck for your future. Eventually, it was time for your vows. You were slightly nervous then and you wondered how you would’ve felt if all of Asgard had been watching you. That would’ve been a nightmare. 

Loki took a deep breath as he prepared to speak. He had tried his best to remember his vows without having to look at a paper. Although he had known you for so long and shown you his most vulnerable sides, he felt jittery as he prepared to recite his vows to you.

“Y/N,” He began by saying your name. You gave his hands a comforting squeeze. You wondered if his words would make you cry. 

“You’re the love of my life. I still don’t understand what I did in order to end up with you, but I promise to make it all worthwhile. I assure you, I will stand by your side through thick and thin. I won’t let anything come between us, ever,” Loki seemed more confident after a few lines. He stood more comfortable and let the tension wash away from his muscles. 

“I will treat you like the goddess you are and I will support you through everything in life. You make me so happy, and I wish to make you happy too. I will cherish each and every day that I get to spend with you, because I love you. I love you for all that you are and who you will become as we grow. You make me feel like a better person and you make me want to be good.”

“...I want to listen to you, to be your rock. I want to go through good days and bad because now I know that I won’t be alone. I know that I am much to handle, but I will never allow my life to come in the way of yours. No matter where life takes us, I won’t leave you alone. As long as we’re together, I promise to be the best version of myself. For our future family, for us, for you,” Loki continued his vows smoothly. Each word seemed to come straight from his heart and soul. They certainly tugged at your heartstrings in the very best way. There was no doubt, Loki loved you as much as you loved him.

“I will love you, always,” He finished his vows with a pledge. If it wasn’t for the ceremony, you would’ve kissed him. Each cell of your being was practically begging for it, but you kept yourself together for just a while longer. 

He grabbed the golden ring carefully, afraid he would drop it. Then he held your hand and slipped the ring on your finger. It was a perfect fit and it looked amazing. The green jewel looked like magic as sunlight pierced through it from a million different angles. You would have to get used to carrying that on your finger, but it wasn’t heavy. It was just right.

Now it was your turn. Both Loki and the officiant looked at you expectantly. How could you match Loki’s words? You only hoped that he could feel the sincerity of your soft spoken words. 

“Loki, you are the light of my life, the reason why I get through even the hardest of days, and why I can enjoy the good days even more than I usually would,” You tried your hardest to stay composed. A part of you wanted to crumble because you were so overwhelmed with love. When you felt his hands on yours, you managed to stay calm and collected and you continued,

“I promise to be your ally in conflict, your partner in life, parenthood, crime,” You joked just to ease the tension you felt, earning a chuckle from Loki who hadn’t expected that, but he found it amusing nonetheless. This was exactly why he loved you. You were never too serious. Truly, you were his partner in crime.

“I promise to be yours forever. Being with you makes life feel complete. On hard days when we argue, I promise I won’t go to bed angry. I want to work with you through everything life has to offer. I will never abandon you. If you go, I go, right?” You paused for a moment and tried to remember the rest of your vows. You had written them down several times and you were happy you did so, because it made it so much easier to remember. The sentences came straight from your heart now.

Before you could go on, you decided to grab the ring that would soon decorate his hand. You held onto it for dear life.

“I can’t wait to grow old with you, Loki. I promise to give you my heart, my soul, my faith. Regardless of what happens in the future, I’m here for you. We will face it all together. From this day forward, until the day we die, until we are reunited in Valhalla, I love you. Always,” You felt immensely relieved as you finished your vows. It felt good to have said it all and know that soon you would be married. 

Loki let you put the ring around his finger, and his ring fit him flawlessly too. For a moment, you adored the way your hands looked now that you both had your wedding rings on. It was almost too good to be true. 

And when you tried to study Loki’s expression, you felt confident that the words had been enough for his ears. You couldn’t remember ever seeing him look so radiant. It was like you had stepped on cloud nine together and nothing could possibly drag you down. 

The officiant deemed you finished, so he spoke, “I say this before our forefathers and mothers so that they may bless this marriage. They may bare witness to the bond that you are about to form,” He turned to face the prince, “do you Prince Loki Odinson of Asgard take Y/N Y/L/N to be your lawfully wedded wife, to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and cherish until all eternity’s end?” 

The moment you had waited for was finally here

Loki faced you fully and he couldn’t dream of getting married to anyone but you. It was easy for him to say, “I do.”

The man nodded and then asked you the very same question, “Do you Y/N Y/L/N, take Prince Loki Odinson of Asgard to be your lawfully wedded husband to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and cherish until all eternity’s end?

Your heart was racing in your chest. It was like you were floating, that was how delighted you felt. There was no doubt to be found in your voice as you responded,

“I do.”

“Very well then,” The man failed to hold back a smile, “I now pronounce you husband and wife. May the gods and goddesses of Valhalla bless this marriage.”

Just like that, you were married.

Both of you were so ecstatic. When Loki leaned close to you and kissed you, it felt like you had entered paradise. Like all the flowers bloomed in seconds, like butterflies danced all around you, like you were bathing in sunlight and magic. You were enveloped in each other’s arms and your lips were sealed in a passionate kiss that felt never ending. It was your first kiss in the new chapter of your lives, and it was just for you. 

The officiant gathered his things and left as quietly as a mouse, which Loki and he had agreed upon previously. That you barely noticed as you were lost in one another. It wasn’t until you parted from the kiss that you realized you were alone, just the way you liked it, away from prying eyes. 

Loki wrapped his arm around your waist and then turned to look over the balcony. Vines were hanging over the railing and now you noticed the flowers he - or someone else - had set up. The sun was almost below the horizon and it painted the sky a beautiful mix of orange, gold and pink. Far away, you could already see a pool of stars gathering around the moons of Asgard. It was a beautiful sight. 

“We’re married,” Loki had to say it out loud. It was difficult to believe to be true. 

“Yes we are, my husband,” calling Loki that was thrilling. You wanted to shout it from the rooftops. 

My husband, he enjoyed the sound of that. He would never grow bored of hearing it, he was sure. Loki played with the material of your dress, finding it smooth to touch. He couldn’t wait to discard it. He wanted to make you get lost in pleasure and bliss that night. 

“I have a surprise for us,” Loki decided it was time. 

“You do?” 

“It’s our wedding day, my love. Of course I have more planned out for just the two of us,” Loki explained. He had been determined to make it special without guests. If others insisted on having a party later, that would be a problem for another day. You could celebrate without the judging guests and Loki’s family that could be a bit over the top. 

“Does it involve cake?” You wondered curiously as he offered you his arm to hold onto. As you accepted that, he began to lead the way.

“You’ll have to wait and see.”

~ select your surprise ~

[surprise 1]

[surprise 2]

[surprise 3]

A/N: choose wisely! Or read them all, it’s up to you. 

I tried not to make the wedding too earthly, you know? I hope you enjoyed it. Now please, enjoy the surprise ending of your choosing :)

TAGS:

Forever Taglist:  @iraniq  @embrycallsgirl  @blackroseyaz @badass-psycho  @r-alexandra01 @p3aches13  @your-pixels-are-showing @disasterren @iamsuperjenna  @yuna-belikova @ornella0910 @optimisticpeacecollector5 @thehumanistsdiary @your-pixels-are-showing @klanceiscannon14  @peterpanouat​

Loki: @yuna-belikova​ @ornella0910 @castiels-majestic-wings @lucywrites02 @myraiswack​ @prettysbliss​ @weirdfangirl2416​

[hyunjilicious]

the premiere [chris evans]

A/n: This was requested and it took me TWO AGES to write, so I’m sorry. The anon mentioned I should make it as smutty as possible, but I thought that since this is my first ever Chris Evans fic, I shouldn’t go too far..? I still hope you’ll like it, and if you do, please don’t hesitate to tell me!! It makes my day!!

Summary: You and Chris are friends with benefits. When he takes you the premiere of his latest movie, a series of events leads to a meet-up in the bathroom, where things get heated. (SMUT) 4.1k

Warnings: unprotected sex, dirty talk with a hint of degradation (Chris is a liiiiiittle bit of an asshole but he makes up for it, I promise), daddy kink, choking + breath play and if you squint there is also some size kink there!

-

The amount of nervous sweat that had pooled inside your pores was threatening to pass the threshold of common sense. Tens of cameras and hundreds of eyes pointed at you, the uncomfortable high heels you regretted wearing and the amount of Hollywood A-listers around you, were all getting too much for you to bear.

Initially, Chris remained glued to your side; never allowing even the tiniest bit of space to be put between your bodies, but now things have changed.

You missed his presence by your side as it was literally your safe net, especially in situations like these. That was why every time you felt a conversation with some random attendee had run its course, your eyes would instantly search for Chris. Just knowing he was in the same room, calmed you down. 

Afraid not to seem too clingy, you did your best to stay away from him. But that only proved to be more difficult as more and more minutes passed. He always had a devious grin plastered on his lips whenever you looked at him from the other side of the room.

At one point, alone and away from any group of people that were only looking to make small talk, you retreated into a corner, and took out your phone. Among the tens of notifications on your lock screen, there was also a text from Chris, which arrived about 2 minutes prior. It only read an "😏" next to the name you saved him under, 'Daddy x'

Unable but also unwilling to hide your blush, you raised your gaze and found him, along 3 of his friends about 10 meters to the side. The group seemed to be in the middle of a ravenous conversation, everyone frantically gesticulating. Everyone but Chris. His eyes were trained on you, and remained like that as he took a sip of his whiskey. He watched you over the rim of the glass, and then proceeded to lick his lips suggestively.

You knew what that meant, and before your mind even got a chance to process it, your core already started to ache in anticipation. Busying yourself around the venue, you did your best to make the night pass faster. You wanted to get home, you knew Chris wanted you and that was not a mood of his you ever wanted to miss.

Things seemed to be going well until you found yourself at the bar, ordering another cocktail. As you waited for the employee to prepare your drink, you felt a strong hand caress your side, before shamelessly slapping your ass. You jumped, surprised and offended, only to see Chris as he walked away.

At this point, watching his muscles flex under the navy blue suit he wore, you were basically dripping.

When the announcement was made for everyone to take their seats as the movie was set to begin in a couple of minutes, you breathed out relieved, happy you'd finally be able to spend two hours in his presence without anyone asking any questions. 

Or that was what you thought. When you took your seat, you couldn't have been more disappointed to see Chris was nowhere around. After contemplating how bad of an idea it would be to call and ask, your phone buzzed in your hand.

"3b exit. 2nd door on your left. Now"

As you read the text, you couldn't fight the urge to rub your thighs together. But it didn't help. At all. You knew what was waiting for you so your pathetic attempt to alleviate the pain between your legs proved to be entirely in vain.

When you stood up, the lights went down and the movie started.

Slowly making your way down the hallway, you could already feel your heart beating out of your chest. When you reached the door he mentioned in his text, you saw that it was supposed to lead to a bathroom. A small pang of disappointment enveloped you, as you wished you were actually going to meet him outside and head home. Still, you took a deep breath and pushed the door open.

The light inside was a heavy shade of red, making the anyway overly exotic bathroom look downright erotic. You took another deep breath and looked to the side, your eyes landing on Chris’s frame.

He was standing in front of the mirror, his suit jacket missing from his shoulders. He had his sleeves rolled up, his shirt still neatly tucked into his pants. A sight for sore eyes, you thought to yourself as your eyes traveled down his frame.

Chris raised his head, his gloomy gaze meeting yours through the reflection in the mirror. 

"Hey" you smiled, only now closing the door behind you.

In a matter of seconds, he turned around with a devious grin on his lips. "Glad you listened to me, doll. I was afraid you wouldn't" he said, taking hurried menacing steps in your direction. 

"Why?" you giggled.

His grin only widened at your cluelessness, but only until he reached you. Chris didn't waste any time before grabbing your cheeks into his massive hands and slamming your back into the door before he kissed you.

The air was punched out of your lungs. His lips effortlessly engulfed yours as he pushed himself against you, consuming you.

Eventually, he went on to kiss along your jawline, traveling down your neck as he spoke greedily against your skin, "Teased me all fucking night long, baby"

"I didn't do anything" you breathed out, melting under his touch.

In that moment, you knew he was serious as his hands trapped your waist, his fingers burning through the material of your dress, "Don't play dumb, angel, we both know where you stand"

"Chris-" you whined, holding onto his shoulders for support as you arched your back, your breasts rubbing against his rock hard chest.

He hummed, as a signal for you to say what was on your mind.

"Come on-" you panted, enjoying the way the pain of his teeth sinking into your skin turned into pleasure. "Let's go"

To that, he stopped. Chris pulled away from you with a look of pure confusion in his eyes, "Go where, Y/n?"

"Home..? To your apar-"

"Oh" he chuckled, eyes dark as devious new ideas popped into his mind, thoughts materialising, "You're not going anywhere until I fuck the slut of you"

His words, although crude and delivered in a malicious tone, fueled your senses and made your core buzz. "Hell no" you said, against your gut, "I'm not-"

"You know how things work" he shook his head, forcibly grabbing your forearm and pulling you until you were facing the mirror. "Don't turn all good girl on me right now"

As if you weren't already shamelessly riled up, the reflection in the mirror seriously did the job. You watched your frame, delicately wrapped in the almost see-through material of your dress, and then your eyes slipped to the side, where Chris was towering over you. Shoulders significantly broader and almost a head taller than you, his presence forced your heart into overdrive.

He looked down at you, bringing his left hand up to wrap his fingers around your neck. Instinctively, you allowed a soft moan to escape your lips as you fell back against his stone solid chest. 

"Look how gorgeous you are" Chris grinned, rubbing his thumb up and down your jugular, "And I trained you so fucking well, don't disappoint me"

Heaving, you arched your back, unconsciously rubbing your ass against his already rock hard cock. "I didn't- I didn't lock the door. What- what if someone comes in?"

"Then they're gonna see me fucking my girl. So what? Isn't that why we're together? I have a slut to fuck whenever I feel like it and you, like the whore you are, actually fucking love it?"

"Shit-" you gasped, feeling his grip tighten around your neck as he spoke.

"Isn't it? Am I wrong?"

You fervently nodded your head, and as you gasped for air once again, he released you.

"I didn't hear that?" Chris taunted, leaning down to whisper in your ear.

"Fuck, of course" you said, your own words worsening the pain between your legs. "Yes, you're right"

"Now you're not just saying that, are you, angel?"

"No!" you said, with a kind of eagerness you didn't know you owned. Turning around in his hold, you placed your hands on his chest before looking up into his darkened eyes, "You know I'm all in, I'm sorry. You know I always do what you tell me, Daddy, I don't know what's gotten into me"

"That's what I wanted to hear, pet" Chris said, roughly rubbing his thumb across your bottom lip, "Now turn around and open that pretty mouth for me, princess, hm?"

Obediently this time, you spun around to face the mirror and parted your lips, eagerly awaiting his next move.

After enjoying the view for a few brief seconds, Chris sunk his right hand into the pocket of his trousers, fishing out his phone. Your heart rate picked up as his left hand returned around your neck, this time only teasing its way up to your lips. He shoved two fingers into your mouth and your muscle memory kicked in as you instantly started to suck on them.

"Oh my god!" Chris exclaimed. You felt him move around a bit, his cock pressing into your ass, "You're fuck toy material, you know that?"

With his fingers still knuckles deep inside your mouth, you nodded, eyes trained on his reflection.

"Now open wide, you little slut. Poke that tongue out for Daddy" he commanded, and then forced his fingers deeper, reaching the back of your throat.

You coughed softly, your gag reflex threatening to kick in. But he kept going, "Choke on my fingers, angel. Come on, I wanna see a sweet little tear."

A low moaning sound escaped your throat, followed by another cough which signaled your air supply was running low.

"A little more, pet. I know you can do it, show me what I want to see"

But it was him who pushed your limits once again. Chris pushed his fingers down harder against your tongue, triggering another cough. This one was rougher however, as tears pricked at the corners of your eyes, while you struggled to catch your breath even after he pulled his fingers away.

The pressure between your legs kept increasing, becoming almost unbearable when you felt his hand against your side, soothingly rubbing your waist.

In just about a few seconds, you came back to your senses and immediately turned around, eyes desperately searching for Chris's.

"That's my good girl" he smiled proudly, looking down at you in awe.

You nodded obediently, rubbing your thighs together.

"Wanna see how hot you are, angel?" he grinned, unlocking his phone and opening up the gallery. The ease with which he scrolled down through the app and typed in the password to his secret album, proved just how often he accessed your pictures. It made you beam.

Once the shots he just took popped up on the screen, your mouth watered. You didn't even look at yourself, just him - admired his immense frame, the proud smirk on his lips and the pure lust in his eyes.

"You’re such a good slut, baby" he spoke against your temple, "You love listening to me, don't you? Having no say whatsoever, no control over what's gonna happen to this sweet body of yours. Being at my mercy? I told you you don't get to breathe right now, you didn't even fight, darling. You're just too eager to please me, aren't you?"

"Yes, Daddy" you nodded, his grave tone of voice sending shivers down your spine.

"Good, good" Chris sighed.

Then, effortlessly and in one swift motion, he spun you around, to face the mirror again. Placing his big hand on your upper back, between your shoulder blades, he forced you down, bending your body over the sink.

With his foot, Chris forced your ankles apart. The sound of his belt buckle being undone made all the hairs on your body stand up, but the zipper was the last drop, forcing a sweet moan to escape your lips.

"Be patient, baby" he spoke, pulling your dress up, over your hips. Curling two fingers around the waistband of your panties, he pulled them down your legs, until they fell around your ankles.

Now, being completely exposed in front of him, you couldn't take it anymore. "Come on, please, I need you"

"I know you do, darling" Chris said with a sweet but still condescending tone, "but I'm not done yet"

It was clear what he meant when you heard the camera of his phone click again. The sound made your walls clench. All your buttons had been pushed, you couldn't wait anymore.

"Please" you whined, wiggling your body to get his attention.

A few seconds of silence followed, and then he threw his phone on the edge of the sink, mere inches away from your face.

His right hand connected to your ass, his fingers sinking into your skin until you couldn't feel the pressure anymore, just a stinging sensation. Nibbling on your lower lip, you tried your best to be good, and you succeeded, at first. When the first slap was delivered however, you couldn't help yourself.

Whimpering, you enjoyed the feeling of pain as it dissipated and turned into pleasure. Chris kept going, decorating your cheeks with countless red hand marks, each more painful than the other.

"You good, baby?" he asked, caressing the inflamed skin of your ass, "Does it hurt?"

You nodded yes.

"Good, angel, it has to. Can you take more?"

"Y-yes"

And that, that was your wrong doing. What followed turned out to be much more than you ever thought you could handle. He showed no mercy or remorse as you whined and struggled, your legs shaking uncontrollably. It was unclear why he stopped when he did, but you were grateful.

"You’re fucking dripping down your thighs" Chris said, moving his hand between your legs, "I wanna see how far I can push you, how long I can keep going until I break you, doll."

You remained silent, fighting the urge to tell him to do it. 

"But I won't, not tonight. Wish we were home, I don't want us to make the headlines for something like this"

"Fuck.." you chuckled, "God, no"

"Of course I won't anything like that happen" Chris assured you. 

A wave of warmth and safety threatened to overcome you as you took in his words, but then, less than 10 seconds later, you felt a nudge against your opening. Your mouth instantly watered as he pushed himself in, his massive cock forcing your walls to spread beyond what you considered comfortable.

He filled you up in an instant, slamming himself balls deep into your pussy. The feeling was earth shattering, just like his heavy breathing. You knew he was in 7th heaven, and you absolutely adored being the source of his pleasure.

At first he didn't move, proceeding to rub your hips and reddened ass, while allowing your pussy to adjust to his size. You felt yourself pulse around his member, every indentation and vein amplifying the sensation.

"I'm sorry, doll, but I think you were made for me. Don't think there's any other pussy in this world that can take my cock like you do"

"Maybe I was" you teased as you rolled your hips back and forth, creating a minimal amount of friction.

Chris grunted, "Fuck-"

He grabbed your hips with force, suddenly his patience dissipating into thin air. It took you aback - the way he controlled your body. Chris picked up his pace, slamming his hips into you without holding back. The momentul had your body rocking back and forth, your hair falling over your face as you didn't have the energy to even keep your head up anymore.

"Fuck yourself with my cock" Chris commanded, letting go of your hips.

He slapped your thighs one more time, as your cue to start, and then gathered his hands behind his back.

That wasn't what you wanted. You loved it when he did all the work and you had no effort to make, and just allow yourself to enjoy the moment. 

Barely managing to maintain your balance on your wobbly feet, you started grinding, slowly moving back and forth against his cock. You were doing a pathetic job and he was quick to object.

"Come on, Y/n-" he scoffed, slapping your ass with anger, "Ride my cock like you fucking mean it. Milk my cock like the slut you are"

His words went straight to your core, accentuating your arousal.

"Oh, oh!" Chris laughed, slapping your ass again, "Did your cunt seriously just clench around me?"

"Holy- urgh maybe" you grunted.

"Make me cum" he commanded.

This time, you didn't hold back.

White knuckling the edge of the sink, you found leverage and balance, now allowing you to move with ease. Slowly at first, but picking up your pace by the second, you rocked your body against his cock, your determination noticeable in the vigor of your movements.

And it was obvious that this time you were doing it right. So on point that Chris's heavy breathing and low grunts echoed above the redundant sound of your skin slapping into his. Catching a glimpse of his expression on the mirror, was proof that he was drowning in pure fucking pleasure. The ecstasy and awe was readable on his features.

And you kept going. Blocking out all sounds and surroundings, until a harsh buzz broke your concentration.

Looking down, next to your right hand, you saw Chris's phone ringing.

"Who- who the fuck is Elle N.?" you panted.

But he didn't care. It was as if your words never even reached him.

"Chris!?" you called again, this time stopping.

"What are you-" he began asking, but stopped when you shoved the phone into his hands.

"Who is that?" you asked.

"Publicist, who gives a-"

"Chris-" you said, "And I mean this with absolute seriousness, if TMZ bursts into the bathroom, cameras pointed at us, you're fucking done with me. It's all fun and games, until we show up on national TV"

He rolled his eyes, pure annoyance shining through his eyes. "What?" he yelled into the phone after accepting the call.

As he listened to the person on the other end of the line, his hand roamed over the curve of your ass, his fingers purposely applying pressure to the most inflamed areas.

You bit your lips in order to not make any sounds, but eventually started rolling your hips, determined to give him a piece of his own medicine. 

Chris closed his eyes, and threw his head back, murmuring something under his breath that you couldn't quite make out. About 20 seconds later, he ended the call with a harsh, "Bite me"

"The fuck was that?" you asked.

"You have about 3 minutes to make me cum, otherwise you're in big fucking trouble"

"What?"

He nodded his head, somehow looking amused, "And you'll also end up on national TV"

"Jesus Christ-" you scoffed, determined to pull away and leave.

"Oh fuck no" he stopped you, slamming you back down. "I came here to fuck you, you best believe I'm gonna do it. Work that magic cunt and drain my balls now, Y/n"

"Chris-" you wanted to protest.

"None of that, you hear me?" he growled, grabbing a fistful of your hair and pulling you up, "Your time is running low. You've never fucking seen me actually angry. If we get to that, you're gonna regret it. Now, be a good little whore, and make me cum"

For the first time, you actually felt a surge of fear course through your body. "Ok" you muttered.

When he released you, you leaned back down, resumed your previous position, and started pumping yourself into his cock again. For you, it was doing the trick. The angle and the fear of getting caught fueled your senses, driving you closer and closer to the edge. 

But for Chris, it didn't seem to be enough. As only a few seconds passed before he took control, framing your hips into his hands and handling your body to fit his needs. His pace was much more aggressive than what you had been doing, but it was also much more effective.

It was all a haze. Chris managed to send you falling down an endless spiral of pleasure, everything around you turning to blur. Your ears buzzed and your body was out of your control, muscles spasming unreasonably as you allowed yourself to get drunk with ecstasy.

When Chris finished too, mere seconds later, you thought you couldn't ever feel any better. He was quick to pull out, and move to the side to clean himself, but not before giving your ass a rewarding slap.

"Gotta go now," he said, fixing himself up.

You were still out of it, catching your breath as his cum dripped out of your pussy. "Yeah, I know, go"

As he did his belt, Chris involuntarily did a double take, "I'm sorry-" he said, his demeanor now unusually soft. "I wish I didn't have to-"

"It's fine-" you giggled, your voice low and breathy, "I'm still not 100% back, but I know you have to go, don't worry"

"Are you sure?" he asked, walking over to you and tilting your chin up, "I kinda feel like an asshole"

"I mean it" you said with a smile, "Plus, this is how we usually do it anyway, so it's nothing new. I don't know why you're so worried all of a sudden"

"Damn.. I really am an asshole.."

"Chris!"

"OK, I'll go" he said, advancing towards the door, "But I'll call you later, ok? I wanna talk to you about something"

"Yes, call me whenever you want. Now go"

"Bye" Chris spoke hurriedly as he rushed out, closing the door behind him.

Confusion seeped through your veins as you were left alone in the room. You studied your reflection in the mirror, and although looking disheveled with your hair a mess, you really did feel pretty. There was life on your features and it wasn't from the expensive makeup you had on.

But all that came in perfect contrast with how you were actually feeling. You felt alone, clingy, in need of cuddles from a person who has never actually given you any. It shook you, how this time, you felt entirely different from how you usually feel after your hookups with Chris.

But there was nothing to be done. You straightened your back and started rummaging through your purse, hoping the spare powder you always had on you would be able to cover the after sex glow you had going on.

As you worked on reapplying your face, the door opened and you instinctively turned away from it. You weren't in the mood. 

"Y/n" a familiar voice called.

You looked up to see Chris sprinting towards you.

"What are you-"

"Fuck 'em. Fuck the cameras, fuck the interviews, fuck the labels, fuck the reporters"

"Wait, what-" you cringed, "Slow down, I don't understand"

He took a deep breath, "Fuck 'em"

"What happened?"

"Come on" he said, grabbing your hand, "Come with me"

"Um.. Chris? I don't think that's a good idea. My hair is all fucked and I'm pretty sure the eye shadow-"

"I don't know what you mean, you look absolutely gorgeous, perfect even-" Chris said, his eyes wide open and fixed on yours, "But that doesn't even matter, let's go home"

"I don't get it. People were looking for you"

"Who gives a shit? Do I give a shit? I don't give a shit!"

"Chris…"

"Seriously, Y/n-" he said, cupping your cheeks and bringing your face inches away from his, "I wanna make you dinner. I have that gross white wine you like so much even though I don't understand how you can drink that shit. And I'll run a bath, I don't have bath bombs but I think conditioner works too-"

"It doesn't"

"Eh then we'll just smell nice" Chris said in a heartbeat. "And then I'll eat you out into fucking oblivion, yeah? Doesn't that sound good? Better than boring interviews and that movie I'm barely even in"

It was all just too much to process. "What changed? I-"

"Nothing changed" he shook his head, "I always wanted to do this. I thought that if I brought you to this event things would develop between us somehow. I don't know why I thought that. Don't ask. And that's why I told you to come into the bathroom. But then I was too shy to say anything and then I left and things were exactly where they were when we got here and I said that-"

"Chris?"

"Yeah?" he sighed, catching his breath.

"Shut up and let's see how good you can cook"

[whatifxwereyou]

The Oncoming Storm Part 15: Paper Castle

Liu Kang x Reader and Kung Lao x Reader (gonna do both, two paths!)

VOTING IS CLOSED!!

Happy Saturday, everyone! I hope you enjoy! There's a choice at the end of this (not the big choice) so vote if you want! If you don't, I'll just choose. No big deal. Thought it could be fun lol! SO, no extra update tomorrow since I will have to likely be writing. I'll try to have a double update soon! Much love. <3 I will try to update Mon/Wedn/Fri this week unless otherwise stated! New fic coming soon too.

Part 14 Part 16 Chapter Index

“Y/N?” Liu’s voice woke you and you shifted and whined. You didn’t want to get up. You were tired and comfortable for what felt like the first time in forever. “Y/N, you’re lying on my arm.” You opened one eye and found Liu laying on his side next to you. You rolled your head the opposite way and caught sight of his hand on the other side of you. “It’s dead.” He laughed in a sleepy, husky voice. Carefully, you shifted just enough to allow him to pull his arm free from beneath you. Then he rolled onto his stomach, staying close. He shook out his hand to try and regain feeling.

“Sorry about that.” You cleared your throat, your own voice still small and sleepy. He smiled, as if admiring that.

“No worries.” He yawned. “How did you sleep?”

“Like the dead.” You stretched your arms above your head and adjusted onto your back, folding your hands on your stomach. Liu’s shoulder was now bruised, as predicted, and looked sore. The scrape at the center of the bruise was now scabbed over. That was right. For a blissful moment you’d forgotten what had happened. You touched around the bruise, careful of how much pressure you put on him. Furrowing your brow, you allowed your hand to touch close to the scab and then further down his arm, tracing the lines where the bruise continued. You knew he didn’t want you to apologize, but you felt guilty so there was nothing for it. “Liu, I’m sorry.”

“Stop apologizing, Y/N. It doesn’t hurt. Just a bit stiff.” He watched your hand regardless. “Are you okay? You’re still pale.”

“I’m okay. The normal amount of sore that I’m pretty used to.” You yawned, covering your mouth as you did. Liu urged his hand to your cheek, a now familiar and comforting thing but he urged you to look toward him. Then he brushed his fingers up to your forehead and gave you a disapproving look. “Put that accusatory look away. I probably have a fever. It was way worse when I was a kid. This is manageable in comparison. I didn’t notice. I can deal with it, Liu.”

“That doesn’t make me feel much better, but I trust you.” He pulled his hand back. You smiled, proud. “We should get up. Eat. Then speak with Raiden.”

“…or, hear me out, we could just sleep more instead.”

He laughed and then stopped when he realized you were serious. “We’ve slept long enough. The sooner that we talk to Raiden, the sooner you can properly rest without worry.”

You lifted your head and peeked around him. The sky was still dark! There was the tiniest hint of color beyond the tops of the cliffs, just barely kissing the mountainside. “The sun isn’t up yet.”

“It will be at any minute. If we get up now, then we can watch the sunrise together before we grab some food.” He tempted and you considered his offer. It did sound nice to watch the sunrise together, if not a little romantic. “Come on, Y/N. I’m worried about you. The sooner we get you to Raiden, the better.” That was less romantic. You were tired of worrying him.

“I know, I know.” You sighed but relented. “I’m exhausted, is all.”

“That’s exactly what’s worrying me,” he whispered, leaning closer to you. He let his index and middle fingers brush carefully over your cheek. “I know that you don’t want me to worry about you but let me assure you, that you are worth worrying over.” You had to have been pale for him to worry so much. You took his hand and offered it a reassuring squeeze then let it go. He pushed your hair back from your face, taming a few renegade strands before resting his hand on the side of your neck, his arm draping over your shoulder to do so. Fingers gently traced beneath your ear, down your neck, across your shoulder before he grasped it and urged you to turn just toward him. The sheets shifted beneath you as he scooted closer. Your eyes followed his strong arm up to find that he was close enough to you now that if you spoke even a single word, your lips would brush just against his.

His eyes were half-lidded, and his lips were parted just slightly. Your face was red and hot, and you dared not breathe for fear that something would come along and ruin this tender moment. His grip on your shoulder tightened and his lips brushed slowly against yours; a ghost of something that you had longed for and had felt somehow forbidden. You closed your eyes and his lips pressed against yours, igniting sparks in your chest. You lifted your head just enough to meet him into that deeper kiss but as you parted your lips, there was a knock on the door.

Liu pulled back just enough at the sound, but his lips were still close to yours, close enough for you to ignore the sunrise in favor of kisses. Your hand had tangled into his hair without you realizing and there you sat, frozen and listening.

“Don’t answer it,” Liu whispered and the brush of his lips with each word practically drove you mad. You swallowed the lump in your throat but finally managed to breathe. If they went away, you would ignore it. If they knocked again, you would get up. It wasn’t like there was a lock on your door or anything.

There was another knock on the door and you sighed, leaning your head back against the pillow. Liu pulled back and rested his head on the pillow next to yours, pushing his hair back in clear frustration. It was nice to see that you weren’t the only one suffering.

Face still hot, practically burning, you fanned it before sitting up and draping your legs off the bed. You’d had to pull a good bit of yourself out from partially beneath Liu Kang. The cold floor felt good against your bare feet and you hung your head. It was pounding now that you weren’t resting it against something.

“If you don’t answer the door in thirty seconds then I’m coming in!” Chen’s voice yelled from the other side.

“Son of a…” You cursed beneath your breath and you could feel Liu’s eyes watching you as you hurried to the door. Without another word, you opened it and stepped into the hall before closing it very quickly behind you to keep Chen from looking inside.

Chen had her hands on her hips, her messy hair pulled back into a bun with a look of concern plastered on her round face. “Finally! You had me all worried.”

“I was sleeping, Chen.”

“I had the worst feeling last night that I couldn’t shake. I figured I’d check in on you before I headed downstairs. When you didn’t answer… I’ll admit I freaked myself out a little bit. Kung Lao is so reckless sometimes, who knew what trouble he would get you into!”

“I was just sleeping. It’s so early, Chen.” You protected the door behind you as though your life depended on it. Chen was not going to see inside your room, not if you could help it. “I didn’t hear you knock at first.” You lied and it sounded like a lie even. Thankfully, Chen didn’t seem to notice.

“You’re really pale today.” Chen urged you to tilt your head to the side and checked your pulse.

“I’m fine, stop it!” You swatted her hand away. “I had a vision last night but I’m okay. My pulse is just fine.”

“It was actually racing.”

“Because your knock scared me away.” You were a lying liar.

“Come sit down. I’ll make sure that you’re up to snuff then we can grab a bite to eat together.”

“I need a few minutes to get cleaned up. Not dressed for other humans right now.” You pointed to the door behind you as Chen tried to lead you across the hall to the bench against the wall. Then the door opened behind you and you yelped and nearly lost your balance. Liu Kang helped keep you from falling.

“Is everything okay?” He asked and then looked to Chen. Chen’s eyes were wide, and she looked as if she were about to burst at the seams with confetti. You tightened your lips, pretty sure that anything you said would not help you.

“Oh, yes, Liu Kang. I was just checking in on Y/N. Had a bad feeling and wanted to make sure it was just that.” Chen smiled brightly, but you could feel how delighted she was.

“That’s kind of you. While you do that, I’m going to grab a few things.” Liu spoke the last part quietly and just for you. “I’ll meet you back here when I’m ready.”

“Yeah, sounds good.” It took all of your energy to find a response though you thought it sounded quite strangled.

Liu Kang left you, and you watched him walk away, waiting for the inevitable that would come when he was out of sight. This was killing you. Sensory overload again. Liu Kang and then immediately Chen and you just wanted to flop on the floor and ask the universe why things happened with the timing in which they happened. When you finally turned back to Chen, Chen was staring at you expectantly, eyes sparkling with amusement.

“So, what the hell was that, Y/N?”

“I have to get changed.” You opened the door and tried to escape.

“No, no. You’re not getting out of this that easily. You can’t just avoid me. I’ll start yelling about stuff. Embarrassing stuff- you have no idea.”

“I’m not avoiding you and there’s nothing for me to get out of, Chen. I just need to get changed so I can be ready when he comes back.”

Chen followed you into the room and you sighed. “Like hell! Liu Kang just marched out of your room. Shirtless- I might add. And you are clearly still half asleep which can only mean one thing.”

“You continue to be the worst monk. Also, it can mean many things and it’s not the thing you’re thinking.”

“You’d be way less tense if it was the thing I’m thinking.” Chen sounded disappointed.

“He fell asleep here while we were studying last night.” You searched through the trunk at the foot of your bed for something to wear since you had sufficiently destroyed the tank top that you had so admired. Liu’s shirt and sash were still draped over the back of your desk chair, completely drenched in ink. The blood on the tear in the shirt made your stomach sink.

“I’m gathering evidence so I’m going to need you to be quiet, you liar.” Chen walked past you and gestured toward the bed that was a mess of tangled sheets. Her smile quickly faded when she spotted the ink staining the floor. Her joy was replaced by sadness. “Oh. You really did have a vision last night.”

You nodded and sat on the edge of the bed. You were exhausted and your head was still pounding. Chen sat next to you and offered you a gentle hug.

“I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay. He stayed to comfort me even though I hurt him. I scared him, I think. I’m tired today but I’m okay. I’m strong enough to shoulder whatever this is.”

“It’s okay for you to be upset too, Y/N.”

“I know that. I’m mostly just exhausted.” You dug again in the chest, pulling out one of the hanfu that you hadn’t worn yet. “And tired of traditional Chinese clothing. How do you survive without jeans?” You joked nervously. Even so, you would wear the hanfu. It was light and fluttery, so much more delicate a thing than you were.

“It’s also okay to stop joking for a second when you’re uncomfortable. You can seek shelter, you know…”

“Oh, no, please stop.” You furrowed your brow, knowing what was coming next since the smile had returned to Chen’s face.

“To seek shelter in the arms of a big, strong man.”

“Could you not?”

“Come on. He could have kept that shirt on! It’s just stained with ink!”

“You aren’t helping.”

“He knew what he was doing, Y/N. Have a bit of fun.”

“I attacked him, Chen! Does that count as fun?”

“…depends on how he handled it and if you’re into that or not!”

You laughed, your face burning. You smacked Chen’s arm. While Chen was teasing you, her expression had changed. She’d wanted to make you laugh despite all the bad that had happened. You were grateful to have made friends in Raiden’s Temple. “He held me. That was nice. And it’s also all that you get.”

“One day I’m going to get you drunk and you’re going to give me details that you’re too embarrassed to give sober.”

“That is such a specific and weird threat.” You closed the trunk after setting the hanfu to the side.

“Come by the infirmary later and we’ll run some tests. See if maybe we can find a better way to manage the side effects of this thing.”

“I will, but I have to use this time to get changed. I really do need to be ready when Liu comes back. We’re going to see Raiden this morning. He wants to try and make sense of what I’ve seen.”

“Oh, fun.” Chen made a face as though that were exactly the opposite of fun. You understood that. Raiden was intimidating, but you’d seen him enough times to know that he was also well-meaning. “I’ll see you later then. Promise me?”

“I promise. Liu will be delighted that I’m willingly going to the infirmary.” You hugged Chen once more and watched your friend leave. You sat, hand applying pressure over your left eye to dull the pounding in your head for a time. Then you sucked it up, got up, and got changed. It felt immediately too delicate and pretty. You missed jeans. Desperately. But for now, it was better than nothing. No sooner had you finished getting cleaned up and changed when there was a knock on the door. You opened it to find Liu Kang had returned and was in his familiar white and black gi. He had cleaned up in the meantime. There was no sign of ink or the bruises.

“Ready to go?”

You nodded and then you walked together through the halls of the temple. You stopped to grab a quick bite to eat and then went back up the stairs to meet with Raiden. You felt much better now that you were up and about a bit more without being teased. The further you were from the visions the more normal you felt. At least you could count on that!

When you arrived in the familiar chamber with the not-tesla-coils, ypi found both Raiden and Kung Lao waiting for you. “Liu Kang tells me that you’ve had another vision.” Raiden approached with his hands clasped together behind his back. Kung Lao offered you a smile in greeting.

“I did. It was really jumbled up.”

“If you could tell me what you recall. It’s important to hear it in your voice before I use my magic.”

You did just that. The mountains, the clouds, the creature that had hidden something there and then the temple in Japan, how you had nearly drowned in the blood red pond. Raiden listened raptly, but you could feel the eyes of your friends on you, worried. You felt smaller and smaller by the second, much more like that little girl who had been terrified to tell anyone what you’d seen because you would be looked at like you were crazy. But none of them looked at you like you were losing your mind. They listened with interest and understanding- and worry.

After you finished, Raiden paced before them. Kung Lao stepped next to you and placed a comforting hand on your shoulder. “You did good.” He whispered reassuringly. You nodded your thanks. Liu Kang stood before Raiden, prayer beads wrapped around his hand, his other hand behind his back. He was avoiding eye contact with everyone.

“Come and sit, Y/N.” Raiden sat on a bench in the center of the room just before one of those white-electrical statues you kept meaning to ask about. You stepped away from Kung Lao, past Liu Kang, and sat on the bench where Raiden joined you. “If it’s alright with you then I will use my magic to see exactly what it is that you have seen.”

“…is that safe?”

“There have been many seers in my temple throughout the ages, but I have never had more difficulty interpreting visions than I have yours. I admit that I do not know how safe this is or not.”

You frowned and felt again like you were disappointing him. “I wish that things were clearer. That I could relay them better.”

“It is of no fault of yours, Y/N, but rather the shadow that hangs over you. If we can interpret your visions, then perhaps we can get to the root of it and you can be of more use.”

You nodded. Be of more use. That was a harsh way to put it. You were sure he meant well. Being a God, you supposed tact was unnecessary. “What if I attack you?”

“That is why I have asked Kung Lao and Liu Kang to join us. If something happens beyond my control, then they will be here to aid me and protect you.”

“Okay.” You caught Liu’s eyes on you, like he wanted to comfort you but when you looked up to him, he turned away. Kung Lao, on the other hand, smiled brightly nearby.

“You’ve got this. And if you don’t… we’ve got this.”

You nodded.

Raiden held his hand out to you, and you took it nervously.

As your hand met his, you faded into darkness. It was as though a curtain of mist had been draped over you. It was calm, dark, and silent. You saw nothing. You felt almost nothing. It was just… darkness and blissful quiet. It was the most at peace that you had been in ages. Like you were floating in a sea of nothing. There was no pain, no complicated feelings, no conflict of any kind.

Just darkness.

The crackling of lightning woke you and you snapped your eyes open. Your stomach jolted with the feeling of weightlessness, pain, and confusion. You were surrounded by a swirling vortex of ink, whipping around you like a tornado. And you were near the ceiling! The ink had formed a seat beneath you, raising you uncomfortably high. On either side of you there were snapping ink creatures, dripping, and snarling. They looked like dragons! They reminded you, in fact, of the very same dragon that Liu Kang had made that first day where you’d found your arcana and had tried to mimic him. They hissed and snapped at the air beyond the inky vortex.

The cloudy vortex of ink began to wear thin as you panicked. Through it, you could see a sphere of lightning and fire surrounding you and keeping the dragons at bay. They bit at the magic and were repelled. There were sparks and embers and a roar almost like the angry sea. Panic gripped you and your arcana melted suddenly into nothingness and you fell from your high seat near the ceiling with a yelp.

Kung Lao leapt through the fire and lightning, rolled, and then caught you before you hit the ground. You had braced yourself for the fall, breath held, ready to protect your head and your limbs. Safe in Kung Lao’s arms, you leaned your head back and gasped for breath. Your hands and feet were tingling and trembling. With a snap, the fire and lightning were gone but the air was thick with electricity and heat. Kung Lao carefully set you down on the floor, kneeling at your side. He checked your eyes, which was incredibly uncomfortable. You could see his lips moving but you couldn’t make out the words. There was a painful and overwhelming ringing in your ears. To you it seemed like they were moving in slow motion.

“Are you okay?” Kung Lao waved his hand in front of your face and it was as though the world was suddenly full speed and incredibly loud. Raiden’s voice was booming and the electrical buzzing from the hall beyond was nauseating. Kung Lao grasped your hands and turned your arms over, still searching you for what you could only guess. He looked impressed. “That was wild.”

“Do you remember any of that?” Liu Kang crouched next to you, breath heavy, arms covered in soot. You shook your head, struggling with words still. What had happened? What had your arcana done while you’d been floating in the blissful nothing?

“You spoke of artifacts of great power, Y/N. They were hidden in places that you saw in your visions. The creature that you spoke of was hidden from my sight. If we can get those artifacts then there is a chance that I could see further into their purpose and his intent.”

You tried to sit up and away from Kung Lao but your body was exhausted and there was nothing for it. Your head felt too heavy to hold up on its own so Kung Lao urged you to keep resting back against him. Liu Kang was checking you pulse and making sure that you hadn’t broken anything during your ordeal. You weren’t even covered in ink. What was your arcana doing?

“Artifacts? And you know where those places were?”

“You were talking in this really spooky voice,” Kung Lao whispered. “It was weird.”

“I was able to see what you had been shown and yet you spoke of it with clarity in a voice that was not at all your own.”

“You had an accent, like a weird accent.” Kung Lao whispered again and Raiden gave him a disapproving look.

“I…” You drifted off. You didn’t know what to say. The idea of something else controlling your body when you were unaware made you grossly uncomfortable. You shrunk against Kung Lao and Liu Kang offered your hand a comforting squeeze.

“The first artifact was hidden in the Huangshan mountains here in China. The other? Mount Osore in Japan. Both are ancient holy sites filled with many legends about the old world.” Raiden bowed his head as he towered over you. “I recognized them, though it seems that when this creature hid these things, it was long ago. You must go there Y/N and uncover what was left behind. While you are gone, I will commune with the elder Gods and see what can be learned about this affliction, this shadow.”

You had a thousand question again. Elder Gods? The shadow obscured itself from Raiden? What had your ink done? What was the voice you’d spoken in? Why had you been floating? How had you summoned dragons? Your head was swimming and you leaned it back on Kung Lao’s shoulder and gasped for breath. You were exhausted, it was a wonder you didn’t just pass out.

“You must go there, Y/N. Go and uncover the truth hidden from you.”

“She can’t go alone.” Liu Kang objected.

“She’s plenty strong, Lou.” Kung Lao assured him, which surprised you considering how miserably you had failed the day before in the fight pit.

“Liu Kang is right. Not because I do not trust her strength but simply because we do not know what awaits. We do not know if this is a trap. We do not know what your arcana will do if you are left alone. You will not go alone so that others may be protected from any harm you might do.”

Oh. That was new. Raiden was worried that you were going to hurt yourself or someone else if you had a vision while you were alone. You couldn’t blame him. You were afraid of that too. You’d beaten the hell out of Liu Kang without realizing and even now, he seemed exhausted from using his arcana combined with Raiden’s godly magic just to keep you subdued without hurting you.

“You will go to Mount Osore in Japan first. I think that it is significant that you go there during the Autumn Pilgrimage which is only a few days from now.”

“This is starting to sound fun.” Kung Lao smirked.

“Kung Lao, I assure you that this is very important.”

“Yeah, very important.” He nodded and you had to resist rolling your eyes at him.

“In the meantime, one of you can go to Huangshan and gather information. When Y/N is finished in Mount Osore then she will be escorted to Huangshan while the other returns to me with the artifact.”

“What if I don’t know what to do when I get there?”

“Trust your visions, Y/N. And trust yourself. It is important that you realize that whoever has clouded your sight has done so for a great reason. What you see is important. If this creature is responsible for the clouding of your gift, then the fact that you still saw him doing something he didn’t intend for me to see, then it is a true testament to your potential strength as a seer. We must find a way to remove this shadow. I feel that doing so will lead you to do great things.” Raiden spoke with far more confidence in you than he’d had the other day. He’d basically told you before that you were incapable of being of any help.

Now he was claiming that you could lead them to victory. “But if you fail then your life will end long before the next tournament.”

Your stomach dropped and you felt Liu Kang’s grip on your hand tighten. Kung Lao was staring at a point on the floor to the left of you, eyes wide.

“One of you will accompany Y/N to Mount Osore while the other goes to Huangshan.”

“You had me at Autumn Festival,” Kung Lao regained his confidence far quicker than Liu Kang had. Liu bowed his head respectfully and let go of your hand.

“I’ve been to Huangshan before. It’s beautiful and… a lot of ground to cover. But I will leave the choice up to Y/N. This is her journey so I think that it’s only fair that the choice is hers.” Liu Kang smiled but the worry behind his eyes overpowered any excitement that he may have felt at the idea of traveling to these ancient and holy wonders.

“In that case, Y/N, the choice is yours. Who will accompany you to Japan? And who will stay here in China?”

(Author’s note! Let me know who you want to go where- I have some stuff planned out but it’s all pretty vague for this part and I’ll adapt depending on the character. IF I had to recommend, I’d say that Kung Lao is suited for Japan and Liu Kang is suited for Huangshan! But, either will do! THIS IS NOT THE BIG CHOICE. This is just a fun little thing I added in. The big choice IS coming soon tho, I assure you.)

[thediamondgirl17]

Alpha!Goshiki x Omega!Reader: That Day In The Gym (SFW!)

So I have been on the biggest hunt for Goshiki fics, and this poor boy barely gets anything! I also am a big Omegaverse fan if you haven’t seen who I follow then you probably don’t know, but if you like omgeaverse too I recommend checking them out! and decided that he deserves some love! So this is actually like, my first time writing an Omegaverse fic so, I hope it turns out good! Leave a comment for some feedback! I love hearing from readers! If you end up liking this and want a second part, feel free to tell me! I would love to write a part 2 to this! Here is Part 2! 

Warnings: None, maybe some strong language, that’s about it. 

    Honestly, it had been a fairly rough day for you. Being a first year at Shiratorizawa was much more difficult than you had thought it would be. Of course a prestigious, rich kid school like this would be difficult to attend, but that was precisely the reason that you had decided to come. Of course there were those people who got into the school just because of their athletic ability, but you were not one of those people. Omega’s typically weren’t that athletic, it just didn’t exactly run in their genes, however it wasn’t completely uncommon for an Omega to end up on a team or doing something active, nor was it uncommon for a team to be fully comprised of Alphas. So how did a little Omega such as yourself get into a prestigious school with mostly Alphas and Betas? Studying. 

    You had spent so much time studying in the school, and your grades definitely reflected it. You weren’t the top student in the class, but you sure as hell were not at the bottom. And with that being said, you weren’t the only Omega there either. The school would release statistics to the public each year to show what the dynamic was like at the school, and currently in your year the school comprised of 25% Omegas, 35% Betas, and 60% Alphas. Not to mention the rate of Omegas attending the school has continuously risen at least 5% every 4 years, which was great for the schools reputation and also for Omegas wanting to make a life for themselves without immediately finding a mate, and if they did...well then good for them! However, Omegas still faced a fair amount of discrimination and intimidation at the school, but what else was there to expect? 

    So why had your day been so rough? Well first of all, your teachers had all decided to give you a test on the same day, which completely mentally exhausted you. And the school had announced that Omegas needed to find an extra curricular activity (which most people did anyways) in order to look good on college resumes. But why exactly did Shiratorizawa care if Omegas got into good colleges? Because it made them look good. So here you were, standing in front of the board with all the different clubs listed on them as you hummed. Your eyes trailed along the colorful pieces of paper to try to find something that you wanted to do. Most of these clubs were athletic ones, and you were definitely not an athletic Omega. 

    “(Y/N)-chan!” Your friend called from down the hallway, they were also an Omega that you had met while attending Shiratorizawa. “Remember how we had to use the other gym today because the main one was being used for repairs?” They questioned. You nodded in response with your eyes slightly furrowed as you tried to ponder why they were reminding you of today. “Well, I was in the girls locker room, and noticed that your bag wasn’t in there! I think you left it in the second gym!” They said not exactly panicked but a bit urgently. 

    “Okay,” You paused and replied. “So what’s the big deal? I can just pop in and grab it.” You said calmly and as a matter of fact. 

    “Did you forget that the second gym is used for the boys volleyball team...which is comprised of like...all Alphas and Betas and one Omega!” They said quickly. “That’s scary!” 

   “I’m sure it’s not awful, Even if they do get upset then I can just explain to them what happened, grab my things and go!”

    “Yeah, but their coach (Y/n)! The one with the grey hair! He’s super scary! And he doesn’t exactly like Omegas in the gym while they’re practicing.” They sighed trying to get you to understand, However you just shook your head and offered them a small smile. 

    “I’m sure I’ll be fine.” 

    So now here you were, standing outside the doors to the boys volleyball team’s gym. But why hadn’t you opened the door? That’s a great question. You just thought you could pop in and out without them noticing to much and be on your way home at this point, but things don’t always go according to plan. You had greatly underestimated how strong some of the scents from the Alphas were, and even the one Omega on the team had a strong scent, to the point where you could smell it through the door. Of course they had also been sweating and moving and most likely competition, so it was normal for them to smell this strong. However you hadn’t even remembered that the Apex Alpha of Shiratorizawa was in that room as well. Ushijima was a very scary person to Alphas and Betas, let alone a small Omega like yourself. But at some point you would have to get your bag out of the gym and you had decided that sooner was better than later. 

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   When the boys volleyball team for Shiratroizawa entered the gym, they definitely did not expect to see someone’s gym bag laying off to the side of their gym. Let alone one that reeked of an Omega. Most of the team brushed it off not really caring, but coach Washijo was furious. The older Beta yelling about how the main gym was fine and that nobody should have been allowed to step food on their court except for them, yadda, yadda, yadda. But not one of them expected the same Omega that had the balls to leave their items in their gym, to actually walk in during their practice and get it. Which, unfortunately was exactly what you were doing now. 

    The moment the door creaked open the tiniest bit, all eyes were on you, and your whole body stiffened up. Your scent quickly changed from normal to nervous as you stood in the doorway of the gym. You slipped out of your outside shoes, put on your gym shoes, and stepped on the court, not making eye contact with anyone at all. 

    ‘Don’t look at them. Don’t make eye contact.’  Your inner Omega cried out. And you happily obliged, You quickly hurried over to your bag and grabbed it. But the moment you turned around, you came face to face with none other than the Apex Alpha of Shiratorizawa himself, and once you made eye contact with him, you chirped nervously. Every Alpha in the room had turned to look at you once you made the small noise, and it had even caught the attention of the purpled haired first year whose sworn competitor was intimidating a poor little Omega.  

    The moment Goshiki had walked into the gym, his eyes had landed on you. He caught your scent in the hallways every now and again, but whenever he would he would turn to try and find out who it was, only for it to be swept away in the scent of other Alphas. Of course he had found out who you were after months of being in the school, but was never able to find the time to talk to you and get to know you. The purple haired Alpha loved your scent, and wanted to know more about you so he could decide if you were a good contender for a mate, or even just a date. However, when he heard the chirp you had emitted upon seeing the Apex Alpha, something in him quickly snapped. 

    ‘Stop him.’ His inner Alpha said. Not even a second passed before he had found himself standing between you and the captain of the team. 

    “What are you doing?” Goshiki questioned his captain. 

    “I was going to ask her why she disrupted our practice.” Ushijima stated simply. That was his personality after all. Short and sweet, or short and bitter. 

    “You know damn well why she came in. She came to get her bag, She didn’t disrupt anything, you just go distracted by an Omega’s scent.” Goshiki shot at him. And now the team was invested with what was going on with the current nd future Ace of Shiratorizawa. 

    “I was going to scold her, and tell her to not forget her items anymore.” Ushijima said, but his voice had a tad bit of annoyance in it. 

    “You are scaring her! Didn’t you hear her chirp? And that didn’t give you a single idea that you were making her uncomfortable?” He shot back. His confidence didn’t waver as he stood in front of you. Something his teammates had never seen. 

    “...I-I’m sorry...,” You said meekly behind Goshiki. “...I-It was m-my fault...I-I won’t do it again...,” Your voice was quiet and soft and obediently polite to the tense Alphas in front of you. You turned to leave but felt a soft hand on your wrist. You turned and looked up at the purple haired first year. 

    “You have nothing to be sorry about,” He stated softly. “Trust me you did nothing wrong.” His voice was soft and smooth and sounded like honey. He smelled nice too, it was like this warm lavender scent with a sweet undertone to it. It calmed you down, physically making your shoulders relax. 

    “Th-thank you...,” You said bowing your head a bit before pulling your arm out of his hand and heading out of the gym. There was silence in the gym before anyone spoke. 

    “Awe! Goshiki! Did you find yourself a little girlfriend?~” The red haired Omega cooed from behind him. Suddenly the purple haired boys cheek’s turned a pink color. 

    “N-No she just-,” He paused. “I-I just-” He paused again. “Sh-she’s just-,” 

    “Oh yeah...You’ve got it baaaaaaaad~,” Tendou cooed. 

    “Wh-whatever...,” He said softly. 

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    A full day had passed since that day in the gym. You were headed off to your final class of the day when you bumped into someone. You were carrying books and papers, and were daydreaming as you walked, therefore finding yourself bump into someone. You yelped and felt yourself fall backwards, but a hand reached out and grabbed your arm before you could fall, holding you in a strong grip to keep you from falling. You looked up at him, and if it wasn’t his face that let you knew who he was, it was the smell of warm lavender with a sweet undertone that did. 

    “I-I’m sorry...,” You said softly as he stood you up. 

    “I-it’s no problem...,” He admitted and looked around at the mess on the floor of your papers. Almost instantly you both fell to the floor to pick up the pages. His hand brushed against your own as you grabbed a paper, and both of your cheeks heated up at the contact. 

    “Thank you...,” Your voice was quiet. “F-for yesterday too!” You quickly added in hopes to try to make the situation less tense, because for whatever reason your inner Omega felt nervous about him. If it was a good or bad thing, you didn’t know. 

    “O-Oh that? That was nothing...,” He said in an equally soft voice as he stood up straight. “U-Ushijima-senpai can be a bit...,” He trailed off. 

    “Oblivious?” You asked with a small head tilt. 

    “Y-yeah! That’s the word I was looking for!” He said quickly. There was silence between the both of you for a few moments. “O-Oh! I almost forgot!” Goshiki said and reached into his bag, he pulled out a slip of paper and handed it to you. On it was some writing, ‘Wanted, an Omega manager for the boys volleyball team,’ With some informative text under it. “I-I think y-you sh-should try this....Y-you don’t have a c-club right?” He asked. 

    “No...I was looking for one though...,” You admitted with a dust of pink on your cheeks. “D-Doesn’t your coach not like Omegas though?” You asked looking up at the purple haired boy. 

    “No...He doesn’t at all...That’s why Tendou is the only Omega on the team...,” He gently rubbed the back of his neck. “But the schools administration got a little upset at him for that and told him he needed to be more inclusive...,” 

    “That makes sense...,” You giggled a bit. Your smile and light giggle practically made the boy in front of you melt. Your scent wasn’t really nervous around him anymore, it was warmer and sweeter than usual. “...I’ll look into it...,” You said softly and tucked the paper into your bag. You bit your lower lip and looked off to the side. Only until a moment later did the bell ring, you tensed up a bit. “I-I should get going t-to class...,” You said softly. 

    “O-of course! I-I should as well!” He said stiffly and started on his way to class. You smiled to yourself and walked down the hallway. Once he was out of sight and you were settled in you classroom, you took out the flyer. 

    You held it in your hands and looked down at it. However, something was a bit off. You leaned down and lifted the paper to your nose to meet about half way and took a small sniff. ‘He scented it...’ You thought to yourself as warmth crawled up onto your cheeks. 

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    “Wow...You really are bad at this...,” Shirabu said as he walked down the hallway next to the purple haired boy. “You’re supposed to scent gifts like jewelry, food, something home made. Not invitations to be our club manager.” He spoke in his monotone voice. 

    “W-well whatever...She seemed interested!” Goshiki shot back. “A-and besides-!” He paused for dramatic effect. “Once she sees how I’m clearly going to surpass Ushijima as the next Ace, she will be begging to be my mate!” He said proudly with a slight blush on his cheeks. 

    “Oh yeah ‘future Ace?’ You still need a lot of practice before that day comes...,” 

    “Why are you like that?” He whined and his hair deflated a bit. 

    “Just being honest...,” 

[chloelucia13]

Chapter 17: The Flayed

Pairing: Jonathan Byers x Henderson!reader

Prompt:  You always thought Hawkins was the most boring town of all, stuck in a vacuum void of excitement and entertainment. Well, it seems that way until the world decided to flip upside down, literally.

Chapter Summary: After what had occurred the night before, everyone was on edge. However, when everyone is grouped back together to combat this monster that was once thought to be gone, things take a dark turn.

Warnings: more angst bc what else do you expect from me, the tiniest bit of fluff if you squint, language, violence, gore, descriptions of possession

Word Count: 2441

A/N: We're getting close to the end of season 3!!! I've got a lot of ideas planned for the finale, and I've also been thinking about maybe posting some filler drabbles for the story while we wait for season 4! Let me hear your opinions and head canons, and as always, my taglists and requests are open!

Tags: @just-my-fandom​ @nightbu-g​

The cold concrete of the warehouse made your skin sting, nipping at the exposed flesh despite the nearly-impermeable humidity that blanketed the air. 

You couldn’t force yourself to move, staring idly at the mind flayer that laid just feet from you as you thought of what occurred between you and Jonathan earlier in the night.

You knew it was wrong, it was stupid and impulsive and damaging. And it wasn’t you. If you were in your right mind, you never would’ve even gotten close to kissing him. You would’ve never betrayed Nancy.

Maybe it was a good thing that the creature took over when it did. If it didn’t, you truly couldn’t imagine what else would have taken place. 

The creature lifted its head slightly as you thought of it, reminiscent of a dog that heard the crinkling of a wrapper. A mutant, rotting dog that made you nauseous whenever you looked at it. But now, staring at it was the only thing that kept you grounded, keeping you in the horrifying reality that you were unfortunately living in.

It was moments like these, your mind caught in a loop of morbid curiosity, that you wished you had El’s powers. The ability to look into people’s lives without anyone else being aware of it. You just wanted, for a moment, to check on Jonathan and make sure he was okay. Though, you couldn’t decide if you wanted to stay away to keep him safe or if you wanted to keep yourself safe.

As the creature settled back onto the ground, you let out a huff and silently cursed yourself for getting into this situation (well, whatever this situation was).

***

“Are you positive?” Nancy questioned, everyone eyeing Jonathan worriedly. 

After coming to the conclusion that Billy’s surge of power was linked with what Nancy saw happen to Mrs. Driscoll that same night, Jonathan had realized that what happened with you also fell into that same time period and also sounded extremely similar. He debated bringing it up at all, but knowing that this put so many people at risk, he spoke about it. 

He explained to everyone what happened with you last night (minus the kiss, for obvious reasons), claiming that you seemed normal until you just... weren’t. He also noted the black veins that were present on Billy and Mrs. Driscoll as well, another thing that held many similarities to Will’s case last year.

“Yes, I’m positive,” Jonathan responded, crossing his arms over his chest.

“Did she feel cold?” Mike asked, his brows furrowing.

Jonathan froze for a moment, panicking at the question’s possible insinuation. He thought back to the night before, feeling your lips against his and the gentle touch of your fingers on the back of his neck. He didn’t remember you feeling cold, but at the same time, he wasn’t really focused on the temperature of your skin when it was pressed on his.

He shook his head and shrugged. “I-I don’t know. Like I said, she seemed normal. And she was wearing a sweater and jeans, too.”

This made Max look at his confusedly. “Why would she be wearing a sweater and jeans in the middle of summer?” she pondered. “Especially if she’s one of the flayed, she’d want to stay as cool as possible.”

Nancy gnawed on her bottom lip as she thought. “She knows how we got the mind flayer out of Will,” Nancy began. “Do you think... She’s trying to sweat it out?”

Again, Jonathan shrugged. “Whatever it is, we need to find her and get this thing out of her. Out of all of them.”

***

The search for you, Billy, and Heather had led the group to the Holloway house. After walking through the hallway and into the kitchen, they stumbled upon a slew of cleaning products and other chemicals scattered along the surfaces, the containers crushed as if they were emptied hastily.

As everyone discussed the possibility of the flayed consuming these chemicals to make a new substance within themselves, Jonathan’s mind once again wandered back to the previous night. There was no way that the same Y/N who ate ice cream with him less than 24 hours ago had also ingested copious amounts of cleaning products. It just didn’t make sense to him.

He didn’t have much time to think about it, though, as Nancy led the group through the dining room and into the living room. She glanced at the wine bottle that was discarded on the floor before kneeling down in front of a puddle of a red substance. “Blood,” she whispered, glancing over at Jonathan when he knelt beside her. “Yesterday, Tom had a bandage on his forehead.”

As Jonathan watched Nancy slowly pick up the blood-stained wine bottle, he was struggling to wrap his mind around the fact that you hurt someone, or at least assisted someone in doing so. 

“He was attacked,” Nancy continued. Nancy began to walk, following the trail of drag marks and disturbed rugs that led to the garage where a pile of rope laid. “They must have tied them. They must have taken them somewhere.” Nancy stood silently, thinking for a moment. Mrs. Driscoll, she kept saying ‘I have to go back.’ What if the flaying, it’s taking place somewhere else. There must be a place where this all started, right? A source.”

“Somewhere he didn’t want me to see,” El added.

“If we can find the source, then maybe we can stop them. Or at least stop it from spreading, or whatever the hell they’re doing with those chemicals.”

“How do we find it?”

“Mrs. Driscoll,” Will spoke. “If she wants to go back so badly, why don’t we let her?”

“Okay, but this doesn’t make sense,” Jonathan argued, unable to pull his eyes from the rope that laid at his feet. “Y/N wouldn’t be able to hurt someone, let alone tie them up and drag them god-knows-where.”

“Jonathan, this isn’t Y/N,” Nancy argued.

He huffed. “Last night, when she changed, I tried to stop her from leaving because I was worried. I-I didn’t know what to do, but I knew I needed to help her, so I grabbed her arm.” He gulped. “She begged me to let her go. She said that she didn’t want to hurt me.”

A silence fell over the whole group as his words sunk in.

“Maybe she can control herself around you. But around other people, she can’t keep the flayer from taking over,” Nancy spoke finally, reaching out and touching his shoulder. “But you’re her weakness. And that’s gonna help us a lot.”

***

Silently watching Mrs. Driscoll’s body melt and condense into a meaty mush made you want to retch, but your body stood stock still as the lump inched from the room and down into the pipes. Once the mass disappeared from sight, you wandered out of the room, down the hall, and out into the stairwell, aimlessly walking down the stairs to pass time as you waited for whatever task the mind flayer would assign you next.

For once, you wish you were working at the pool, boiling under the scorching July sun. At least you’d have something to do.

Those thoughts left as soon as they came, however, when that strong fog began to flood your mind, your body switching onto autopilot as your feet led you onto the second floor.

A sharp pain stabbed through the right side of your head as you were about to turn the corner, doubling over in pain and clutching your head as you heard quick footsteps coming down the stairs. Immediately, you straightened up and jogged down the hallway, grabbing a pair of scissors from a nurse’s station before rushing into the wing of the hospital that was under construction and slipping into a room.

You heard the heavy footfalls sprint past your door, followed by another flayed that stalked slowly behind them. You stepped out of the room and walked beside him, tightly clutching the pair of scissors in your hand as the lights flickered around you.

The man beside you led you both over to a locked door, two voices echoing through the door. You nodded your head at the door and he slammed his fist through the glass, screams sounding from the two within the room as he peeked his head in before undoing the lock. As he pulled the door open, you stepped inside, a sinister grin on your face.

But that grin immediately fell when you saw who exactly was behind the door.

The man pushed past you, disregarding your clear shock as he threatened Nancy in a sing-song voice. Jonathan, who clearly was also reeling with shock but shoved it down, stepped forward and pulled his fist back, ready to attack the man. the man’s hand shot out and grabbed onto Jonathan’s neck, choking Jonathan and shoving Nancy away with his free hand.

The flayer’s control faded from your mind and you took advantage of it, hurrying over to Nancy and trying to help her up. “Y/N?” she coughed out, her eyes wide with fear. 

“You have to go,” you forced out, using as much strength as you could muster to pull her to her feet while also fighting to keep your consciousness. 

Behind you, you heard a groan of pain coming from Jonathan, and you and Nancy turned to look just in time to see the man slam a metal stool down on Jonathan’s back.

Nancy finally got onto her feet and you threw your scissors to the ground when you felt the flayer’s control slowly start to seep back into you. Through blurry vision, you watched Nancy take the scissors you discarded and embed them into the back of the man. 

You and the man hunched over, and you let out a groan of pain as he pulled the scissors from his back. The man cursed at her, quickly regaining his composure and stalking over to her. 

“Run!” you and Jonathan screamed at her, and you waited until she had led the man out of the room to go run over to Jonathan and help him.

"Jonathan,” you whispered, crouching down next to him and gently resting your hand on his back. “Are you okay?”

He gasped in pain, turning his head to look up at you. “What’s going on? How are you-” he began before you shook your head.

“I don’t know. Come on, let’s get you up.” You pulled the stool over to him and he gripped onto it, lifting his upper half up with all his might.

Moments later, the stool fell from his grip, Tom menacingly grinning down at the two of you. “Where are you going?” he hummed, nudging you to the side so he could pick Jonathan up by his shirt.

“Let him go!” you screeched, stumbling to your feet.

Tom held Jonathan by the collar of his shirt, locking eyes with him before glancing back at you. “Let him go? Sure.” He picked Jonathan up and threw him into the lockers, Jonathan’s body falling to the linoleum floor a moment later. Tom picked him up once more and threw his body into a cart, letting his body crumple to the ground.

You watched in horror as Jonathan crawled along the floor towards the pair of scissors, your whole body exhausted from all the strength it was taking to keep the monster at bay. Tom knelt beside Jonathan and grabbing him by the hair, lifting his face from the ground before slamming it down.

Once Jonathan finally fell unconscious, if only for a few moments, Tom grabbed the scissors and lifted them over his head.

“I’m in control of you! Stop!” you screamed, allowing the creature to take hold, black veins snaking up your face and arms. “Leave him alone.”

Tom turned to you, the scissors still held above his head. Tears streaked down your face as you glanced down at Jonathan, your vision slowly going dark. 

However, before the creature fully took hold, a harsh pain cracked across your face, making you cry out in pain. You clutched your nose and watched Tom stumble away, only for the two of you to be tossed around by another strong force.

Jonathan and Tom both scrambled to their feet, the scissors held tightly in Jonathan’s hand. Jonathan hesitated though, looking down at you on the floor. He had realized that whatever happened to one of the flayed was felt by all of them, and that meant that whatever he did to Tom, you would feel as well. 

“Do it,” you gasped out, rising to your feet with the gracefulness of a newborn fawn. 

“I don’t want to hurt-” Jonathan stuttered.

“Do it!” you screamed.

Tom lunged at him, and Jonathan plunged the scissors into Tom’s throat. Both you and Tom let out a ghastly gasp/moan of pain as you collapsed onto the floor.

As the lights continued to flicker overhead, Jonathan rushed over to you and turned you onto your back, clutching you in his arms.

Your eyes searched his, both of your chests heaving with ragged pants while you both silently communicated to each other.

“You need to go, I can’t control it anymore,” you choked out before rolling out of his arms and crawled over to Tom’s body. The two of you silently watched as Tom’s body began to convulse and turn to that all-too-familiar mush (well, familiar to you, at least). Jonathan let out a gasp of horror, though his eyebrows furrowed in slight confusion when your body didn’t do the same.

He realized then that his theory was right. You were different than all of the other flayers. On one hand, he was relieved because he knew it was truly you. On the other hand, though, it horrified him that it was you who committed all of these horrible acts. That, and the fact that you somehow had control over these creatures truly made his skin crawl.

He realized he didn’t have much time to dwell on it because the strange mush of blood and meat and bones slowly began to inch out of the room the same time that your eyes fluttered closed. He contemplated staying to check on you, but decided against it after a moment, instead following behind the disgusting mass.

A strange sense of calm washed over him when he saw Nancy standing at the other end of the hallway, following her own strange substance. Silently, the two masses led the two teens down the hallway, joining together in the middle and morphing into something even more sinister.

[labyrinthof-fan-fiction]

Two Ships Passing in the Night {8}

Part 8

Series Masterlist

Spock x fem!Reader, Bones x fem!Reader

AOS

Summary: Time for you and Leonard to face the music.

A/N: If you had any idea how many times I have rewritten this part to get somewhere I was happy with it. But now it’s here and I didn’t delete it this time. Thank you so much for your patience!!!!!

Warnings: Drugged Drinks, Make Out Session, I think that’s it.

Word Count: 2,009

Leonard woke up with a splitting headache. He groaned and rolled over, pulling the covers around his neck. He froze, these weren’t his covers, where the hell was he, this wasn’t his quarters. He recognized the setup of a Starfleet medbay, it wasn’t his medbay.

He sat up quickly and felt his head start to spin. “Mother fu…”

“Finish that and I will finish you.” Dr. Ambrose cut him off, walking in and glancing at his monitors. She glanced over at Leonard whose eyes were flitting nervously about the room. “She’s fine, I sent her to bed. Last thing I needed was her being moony eyed over you all night. If you have any idea how much time I spend making her get out of the Captain’s chair.”

Leonard groaned and pinched the bridge of his nose, taking a deep breath. “What happened?”

Ambrose chuckled, “Someone spiked your drink, you passed out. Captain and the Vulcan brought you back.”

Leonard let out a huff of air. So Spock had brought him in with you, where was he now? He tried to shake that thought from his mind. Ambrose glanced at him, he was broken from his thoughts by a dry chuckle from her.

“I will let her know you’re awake.” She said, walking into her office. Leonard could see her clicking the comms. He couldn’t hear your voice, what you said to Ambrose, who let out a laugh at something you said. His stomach twisted and he wasn’t sure if it was from the hangover or nerves, maybe a bit of both. He cursed himself for the amount of alcohol he consumed, dumb ass. His mind started creating scenarios for what was going to happen when you walked into the medbay. Maybe you’d throw him off the ship, you and Spock were getting married, you and Spock were going to single handedly repopulate New Vulcan. God, he wondered what he’d have to do to get Scotty to toss him into the warp core. His mind continued racing, then he heard soft footfalls and a golden silhouette appeared in the doorway.

Last night hadn’t been what you had expected, well, maybe with Spock, but not with Leonard. Spock had carried him back to your ship, it made sense, the Enterprise medical officer was unconscious, and you knew Ambrose was aboard, she despised shore leave. “Makes more sense for me to stay on the ship, someone always does something stupid and needs me here.” She grumbled, but you didn’t miss the novel she had tucked under her arm.

Spock placed him on a bed and Ambrose shuffled you, Spock, and Uhura away from the bed. Uhura’s eyes flicked between you and Spock, only stopping when he draped his arm over her shoulder. She gazed at you, a question very obvious in her eyes, you gave a small shake of your head. You hadn’t been close, but you respected her and you respected her relationship with Spock. If you were in her shoes, you would have been worried.

“I suppose we should head back to the Enterprise for the night.” Spock said, tilting his head towards the doorway. Uhura started out the door, Spock on her heels.

“Spock.” You murmured, he stopped and glanced back. “For the record, I don’t mind sharing with Uhura.”

The tiniest of smiles came across the Vulcan’s face, he nodded towards Leonard on the bed. “Talk to him.” He left the ship and you turned back to Leonard and Ambrose.

“Hell of a boy, you’ve got here.” Ambrose muttered over the sounds of machines beeping. “Aside from the amount of alcohol in his system and someone dosed him with a strong drug, he’s fine.”

You flinched, moving to Leonard’s side, your hand hovered over the rail of the bed before resting a few inches from his. “Will he be okay?”

“He’ll be fine, have a headache in the morning, no more than he deserves.” Ambrose answered, you didn’t miss the look she gave you over her glasses.

“I could stay, in case something changes.” You started.

“You and that little one are going to go sleep in your quarters. I’ll be damned if you put anymore stress on yourself and the baby. If anything happens with him I will make sure you’re down here.” Ambrose responded, shooing you out of the medbay. You knew there was no point in arguing with her, even though you were the captain, you weren’t going to fight with Ambrose. She and Leonard shared the same affinity for hypos, it made you wonder about what they were teaching in the Medical Corps.

You snuggled into your covers, your quarters quiet, you closed your eyes and willed yourself to sleep. You and Spock had started to heal the rift between you, together you were parents, that was all. That was all you needed from him. Tomorrow, tomorrow you would speak with Leonard. The tension from earlier faded from your shoulders and the weariness started to pull you into dreamland. You drifted off thinking about that southern drawl and the smell of peaches.

In the morning, Ambrose called and Leonard was awake. “He’s fine, headache, dehydration, what you’d expect from someone who partied too hard on shore leave.”

“I doubt he was partying.” You retorted.

Ambrose laughed, “Alright, I won’t say anything rude about lover boy.”

You got into uniform as fast as you could, which was not as fast as you would have liked, but adjusting to your new size just hadn’t clicked. Your mind was racing, what would you say, what would he say. Oh, god, he didn’t know what you had said to Spock, who knew what he thought. Your mind continued as you made your way to the medbay. Leonard was on his back, propped up to the sitting position with pillows and staring up at the ceiling. You stopped in your tracks when his head turned and those hazel eyes fixed on you. A small smile fell onto your lips, “Hey, darlin’.” You murmured, walking to his bedside. Ambrose was in her office, nose stuck in the novel that she had started once the ship had emptied.

He groaned and covered his face as you sat in the chair next to his bed. “I’m an ass.” He mumbled from beneath his arm.

“I mean, there’s a few adjectives we can add to that statement to make it more interesting.” You started. “Dumb, crazy, stupid, to name a few.”

He turned his head to look at you, his eyes meeting yours before traveling down to your bump. “Kid’s gotten big.”

You quirked an eyebrow, “Are you calling me fat, Leonard McCoy?”

Panic filled his eyes and reached out, his hand resting on your cheek, gently turning your gaze to his. “You’re just as beautiful as the day I met you.” Maybe some of last night’s liquid courage was still flowing through his veins. Maybe he was throwing all his cards on the table as a final Hail Mary. Regardless of the reason, the words were out of his mouth as soon as they were in his mind.

Warmth flooded your face, the sound of your heartbeat thrumming in your ears. “In that seedy bar that Jim dragged us to every week?” His thumb brushed against your cheek before he removed his hand, you grabbed his wrist and leaned into his hand, tilting your head to put a gentle kiss into his palm.

“I would go to that bar everyday if it meant I’d get to spend even five minutes with you.” Leonard murmured, his heart racing in his chest. He wasn’t sure what you had said to Spock last night, what you both had decided, but he had to say his piece. He had to let you know, even if it closed the door between you for ever. “I’ve loved you since the day you walked into that bar.”

“I’m sorry.” You whispered into his hand, pulling back and taking his hand in yours, your fingers locking together.

He chuckled, “Darlin’ you have nothing to apologize for. I’m sorry I got drunk off my ass last night, I’m sorry I never said anything before, I’m so sorry.” He sighed. “I’m sorry that I have to ask this. But I’ve got to know, where do we stand?”

You stared down at your joined hands, he loved you. You loved him, why was it so hard for you to say it out loud? Last night you and Spock had closed the book on your romantic story, and you knew that was right. In your mind, you knew that the man in the bed, he was the new page, the book that would never end. He gave your hand a gentle squeeze and you looked into his eyes. “I’m sorry that it took me so long, to know that I love you.” You whispered, his eyes widened and a smile across his face. “If I’d have figured it out sooner, maybe things…”

“Don’t think like that.” Leonard interrupted, he pulled himself up to sit taller, he slid his legs over the side of the bed and shifted to the edge so his face was inches from yours. “Whatever has happened to get us here, it happened.” His free hand moved to rest on your stomach. “We’re here.”

You looked up at him, his hand still resting on your stomach, you slid your free hand to the back of his neck and pulled him towards you, your lips crashing into his. For a moment the galaxies stopped spinning, it was desperate, like you were afraid that pulling apart would cause you to wake up from this dream. You could still taste the stale whiskey on his tongue, but you didn’t care, his hand wrapped in your hair, deepening the kiss. You swore he was breathing you in like you were his last breath, his teeth nipped at your bottom lip and a small moan fell from your lips. Leonard gave a gentle peck to your lips then pulled away and rested his forehead against yours.

“I love you.” He whispered, placing another quick kiss to your lips.

“About damn time.” A voice called from behind you, Leonard groaned and pulled away from you.

“Jim.” He greeted, the familiar surliness strong in his tone.

“Now Bones, I’d think that kiss would’ve at least knocked some of that attitude out of you.” Jim chuckled, coming up beside you. “Captain.” He greeted, giving you a nod and a wink.

“You know that’s just part of my charm.” Leonard responded, his fingers still locked with yours. “What are you doing here?”

Jim pulled a chair beside yours, chuckling as he sat down. “My medical officer was put in a medbay on a different ship, had to make sure he was okay. Especially since the captain of the ship was occupied with diplomatic relations when I tried to contact her.” Jim wiggled his eyebrows and your free hand shot out and swatted at his shoulder. “Hey! That is not very diplomatic of you!”

“Diplomatic my ass.” You grumbled, but there was no menace behind it, and Jim knew it.

“No wonder the Federation hasn’t been making any progress on diplomatic matters with you on the helm.” Jim jabbed.

“It’s a miracle the Federation has an exploration team with you at the helm.” Leonard grumbled, glaring at Jim.

“I have an amazing medical officer who keeps them all in one piece.” Jim retorted, a smile on his face. Leonard rolled his eyes. “Besides, had to say hi to the little one.” His attention turned to your stomach. “Gotta make sure he knows how good it is to be in command gold.” You chuckled as he reached out to your stomach, then glanced up, asking permission. You nodded. He smiled and rested his hand gently against the bump. “Command gold little buddy. It’s the best. Then you can be a captain like Uncle Jim and Mommy.”

“I’m partial to science blues.” Leonard murmured.

You met his eyes, “Seems I am too.”

Taglist:

@general-latino

@440mxs-wife

@cobe76

@elizabeththefandomgirl

@harry-potter-geek

[bettydice]

Xicheng, Modern AU, JC&WWX reconciliation, E-Rated [Read on AO3]

CHAPTER 9

Saturday

The sun doesn’t show itself today. Heavy clouds block the view, and a strong wind is blowing. At least it’s not raining and this way, there aren’t many other people around. Lan Xichen doesn’t seem bothered by the weather at all. He seems excited to be here, happily shows Jiang Cheng all his favourite spots. Sometimes he’ll say things like “This blooms in May and has the most gorgeous blossoms, we have to come back then!”. As though there’s no question they’ll still be doing things like this together then.

Everything goes well until they sit down in Lan Xichen’s favourite favourite spot: a bench hidden behind the swaying branches of a willow, overlooking a little pond.

They’re sitting close together, shoulders and legs touching, holding hands, seeking each other’s warmth as protection against the wind. In truth, it’s not very windy in this spot, the trees around them creating a buffer, but Jiang Cheng sees no reason to not be as close to Lan Xichen as possible.

They’ve been sitting there in peaceful quiet for a few minutes, Jiang Cheng mentally going through whether he really has everything he needs for dinner later, when he looks from the pond to Lan Xichen’s face. He looks… he looks sad. There’s a tension to his jaw and a crease between his eyebrows that would look more at home on Jiang Cheng’s face.

Should he ask him? Should he start talking about something random to distract him? That’s what Wei Wuxian would do, but Jiang Cheng is not good at talking nonsense. His sister would simply radiate an aura that let Jiang Cheng know he could talk to her and that everything would be okay. Lan Xichen also seems to have that ability. But Jiang Cheng is...himself.e doesn’t have any intrinsic soothing abilities. He can only try to imitate other people.

He squeezes Lan Xichen’s hand to get his attention, and sees how Lan Xichen quickly masks his sad expression with his usual gentle smile before he turns his head to look at Jiang Cheng. That’s… that’s not what Jiang Cheng wanted.

“Are you okay?” The words feel clunky on his tongue, like he’s using these words for the first time. Which is not the case! He’s not that much of a lost cause.

Lan Xichen’s eyes widen just the tiniest bit, then deepens his smile and Jiang Cheng is sure he’s about to say that everything is fine. But instead Lan Xichen hesitates and… he drops the smile and sighs. “I was just reminded… The last time I was here, it was still spring. That tree was still in bloom.” He points at a tree across the pond. The wind is attacking it, leaves desperately trying to hold on to the branches and losing the fight. “It reminded me how stuck I’ve been… still am, really. Just drifting from day to day. I tried to recall what I did this summer and nothing memorable stood out to me.”

His first instinct is to disagree, though it’s not like Jiang Cheng can’t painfully relate to that feeling. “Well, you’re busy with your job and your bunnies and plants. And… time is bullshit anyway.”

Lan Xichen chuckles but quickly turns solemn again. “It hasn’t been long though since I started working again… you’re only my third client after my… let’s call it break.”

Jiang Cheng didn’t know that. He didn’t know things had been so bad for Lan Xichen that he couldn’t work. At least he thinks that’s what he’s saying. He squeezes Lan Xichen’s hand again, not sure what to say.

“I’m not saying this because… The fact that I’m working again shows that the past year hasn’t been in vain. I just… the world didn’t wait while I tried to heal.”

Jiang Cheng has nothing helpful to say, even though he can painfully relate to this feeling. Feeling stuck in one place while the world keeps turning, while other people seem to be able to forget and move on. He hopes his quiet support is enough for Lan Xichen.

They both look at the tree for a long moment. One of the struggling leaves gets torn off, but then gracefully loops through the air until it gently comes to rest on the water surface.

Lan Xichen turns to look at Jiang Cheng and smiles, without sadness. “But I think today will be memorable.You are.”

What the fuck? How can he just say that so casually? Jiang Cheng feels his face grow hot, while Lan Xichen just looks at him.

In lieu of an appropriate spoken response that doesn’t only consist of incoherent garbled noises, Jiang Cheng uses Wei Wuxian’s tried and trusted ‘Hey look, over there!’ tactic: “Hey, I saw online that there’s a lovely café close to the entrance. Let’s go there and treat ourselves to something nice. It’s your birthdate after all.” Ugh, fuck Nie Huaisang and his stupid word creations. “Your birthday date.. Not date. Whatever. Only if you want to, of course?”

Lan Xichen’s mouth twitches with amusement, but doesn’t call Jiang Cheng on his bullshit. “That sounds lovely. You’re right, it is my birthdate.”

Jiang Cheng snorts a laugh, then gets to his feet, pulling Lan Xichen up with him.

The café is indeed very nice and thankfully pretty empty. Lan Xichen orders a chocolatey drink that could rival one of Jin Zixuan’s sugar-coffee-monstrosities and a piece of cake topped with colourful sparkles.

“I’m going to regret this later,” he cheerfully announces before tucking in.

Jiang Cheng keeps a close watch on his face while eating his own brownie and black coffee, not wanting to risk missing a shift in his mood like last time. Even though Lan Xichen stays cheerful the entire time, Jiang Cheng keeps watching him anyway, because he can’t look anywhere else.

As it turns out, it was a very good idea for them to go to that café, as dinner… takes a while. Jiang Cheng may have severely underestimated how long it would take to prepare all the different side dishes he wants to make and may have severely overestimated how much food is a good amount for two people to make. Oh well, it’s always good to have leftovers. To his relief everything tastes really good. Though maybe not too surprising, since he got most recipes from his sister.

After dinner, they sit down on the couch, both a little tired after eating so much food. Jiang Cheng is busy mulling over how to best initiate, well… cuddling, when Lan Xichen turns to face him, smiles, and kisses him.

Jiang Cheng takes this opportunity to put his arms around Lan Xichen’s shoulders and pull him closer, all while enthusiastically kissing him back.

“Mhm.” Lan Xichen huffs a laugh against his lips, then pulls back a little. “I’ve wanted to do that since… the whole day, basically.”

“Why didn’t you?”

“Well, we were in public. And then you were intensely focused on preparing dinner. I thought it was better to just quietly chop the things you threw on my cutting board.”

Lan Xichen is only teasing him, Jiang Cheng is pretty sure about that, though he can’t help but feel a little embarrassed. He instantly squashes that feeling though, because: “We’re not in public now.”

“No, we’re not.” Lan Xichen lifts his hand to Jiang Cheng’s face, his thumb caresses his cheekbone, then he slowly slides his hand down until it’s resting on Jiang Cheng’s neck. “So…?”

Jiang Cheng either nods or shakes his head, he doesn’t know, he only knows Lan Xichen kisses him again, draws him close, hand secure in his neck.

They haven’t done this before. Kissed so deeply, unrestricted by location or time. The intensity is overwhelming and it’d be so easy for him to overthink this. Are his kisses gentle enough? Passionately enough? Hands - where? What’s his dick doing? But this kiss is too nice to have it ruined by such things. So he focuses fully on the kissing, opens for Lan Xichen after he teases his lower lip with his tongue and just allows himself to get lost in it.

Lan Xichen’s hand keeps wandering lower and lower, until it’s resting on Jiang Cheng’s hip, fingers touching the waistband of his jeans through his sweater. He wants to feel his hand directly on his skin, but is not sure if that’s where this is going, if Lan Xichen would want that too.

After a while, Lan Xichen ends the kiss so they can catch their breath. He smiles down at him, which is when Jiang Cheng notices he’s somehow lying on his back now.

Lan Xichen’s face is flushed, his hair in disarray (because of Jiang Cheng’s hands! Another thing he only just now realises), his eyes dark, his lips red… Jiang Cheng reaches for him to pull him into another kiss, but Lan Xichen doesn’t let himself be pulled just yet.

“Is this okay?”

Jiang Cheng follows his gaze down to where - oh - Lan Xichen’s hand rests on his waist, under his sweater. “Oh... yeah. Yeah.” Then, in a move not supported by any brain cells, he pulls off his sweater and the t-shirt underneath. Lan Xichen looks stunned, of course he is, because Jiang Cheng skipped straight to undressing for no reason. Maybe it’s because he’s so used to undressing in Lan Xichen’s presence, maybe because he knows how it feels to have Lan Xichen’s hands on his body and he wants them there, wants to-

Lan Xichen kisses him again, his lips as hot as his hands, fingertips pressing into Jiang Cheng’s back.

Jiang Cheng is having an out of body, no, out of mind experience. He’s very much inhabiting his body, feeling everything. How his skin is hot everywhere their bodies touch, Lan Xichen’s mouth on his jaw, his neck, the familiar slide of Lan Xichen’s long fingers, now touching him in a way he’s very decidedly never done during his massages. He’s never gripped his hip to pull him closer, has never sighed against his mouth.

In the few moments he has access to his brain, he desperately uses it to make sure he’s kissing Lan Xichen just as intently, that his touch is just as gentle, that he somehow remembers to breathe during all this… There’s no room for anything else.

He gets lost in it completely, until eventually Lan Xichen breaks the kiss again.

“Maybe we should… I should probably go home…” It sounds like a question, so Jiang Cheng answers.

“You don’t have to.” He feels even hotter after he says this, probably flushing. It’s not like it’d come as a surprise to Lan Xichen that Jiang Cheng is aroused, not the way they’re pressed together, the way Lan Xichen now drags his heavy gaze from Jiang Cheng’s face down his body and back up again. He’ll be able to see that Jiang Cheng wants him to, would let him… that he wants everything. Lan Xichen holds his gaze, his hand tightens on Jiang Cheng’s hips as if he wants to keep him right here, underneath him. As if Jiang Cheng would want to go anywhere else right now…

Then Lan Xichen’s face softens, he loosens his grip and he closes his eyes, laughing quietly. Oh. So not today. “I… I want to. But…”

“No, don’t worry! That’s okay. I was just… it’s too-”

“I want to,” Lan Xichen says emphatically, looking directly at him. “But it was a long day. A lovely day, but…” He falters, his eyes now looking at Jiang Cheng’s cheek instead of his eyes. A few seconds pass, Lan Xichen’s brow furrowing as he’s looking for the right words. “I’m actually quite exhausted - a good exhaustion! But I had to feel a lot today. … If that makes sense at all?”

Jiang Cheng takes Lan Xichen’s face between his hands and presses a soft kiss to his lips. “Of course.”

Lan Xichen sighs relieved, then sits up and tries to straighten his hair, a hint of embarrassment tugging at the corners of his mouth. He does look a little tired, now that the haze of lust has dissipated between them, and Jiang Cheng can see more clearly. Jiang Cheng feels the exhaustion, too, as though he’ll fall asleep as soon as his head hits the pillow.

“What time is it?” Jiang Cheng asks while following Lan Xichen into a sitting position, then lifts his arm, because he’s wearing a goddamn watch so he can answer his own fucking question. “9 p.m.? What the fuck… how long did we…”

Lan Xichen only hums, clearly amused, and bends forward, so he can hand Jiang Cheng his sweater and t-shirt from where he’d carelessly thrown it on the floor. While Jiang Cheng struggles to put them back on, having to first untangle the shirt from the sweater before deciding to just not bother with the t-shirt, Lan Xichen yawns extensively, and for some reason, with his sweater only halfway on, Jiang Cheng opens his mouth to say: “You could spend the night here.”

Lan Xichen just cocks his head at him, slightly raises his eyebrows. Saying ‘Didn’t I just decline your horny offer’ without actually saying so.

“No, I meant - “ Jiang Cheng manages to jam his arm in the other sleeve and is now mostly dressed again. “I meant, you could sleep here. So you don’t have to go home first. Like, on the couch - it’s not actually that comfortable though, so I should take the couch… But you probably want to sleep in your own bed, sorry.”

“Actually, I think that sounds lovely,” Lan Xichen says, then looks surprised at his own words. Jiang Cheng is surprised, too. “Would it not be a bother?”

“For me? Not at all!” Jiang Cheng thinks his brain has never fully come back online after their kisses. Words leave his mouth and he doesn’t know where they came from. He keeps spewing them out, unable to stop. “But… you don’t have any… like pyjamas or a toothbrush - do I have a spare toothbrush? I think there was a buy two get one free sale recently?”

Why isn’t Lan Xichen interrupting him to say ‘You’re right, I’ll go home immediately so you can stop embarrassing yourself.’ Instead he just looks at him, eyes crinkling with amusement.

“Uh, but breakfast. Well, there’s definitely enough food in my fridge now after dinner. Do I have - no, I have extra bedding, of course I do.” Okay, it’d be neat if he could stop talking now. Jiang Cheng grabs a pillow and presses it against his stomach, the next best thing to screaming into it. He focuses really hard and tries to find a sentence that can function as some kind of end point. “But... you... probably? Have to… take care of your bunnies anyway?”

Lan Xichen is still only looking, head slightly cocked, but now his lips are twitching as though he’s trying hard not to laugh. A few seconds later, he does laugh, and hot shame courses through Jiang Cheng. He really made it obvious he doesn’t have a lot of experience with asking people to stay over. (Usually it just happened naturally after sexual activities of one kind or the other. He’s never asked anyone to stay because he… Why did he ask? Because he doesn’t want Lan Xichen to leave just yet?)

Lan Xichen notices how Jiang Cheng’s expression changes to regret; he stops laughing and takes Jiang Cheng’s hand. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to… It was just fascinating to see you voice the kind of thoughts I was probably about to have in a few minutes myself. Now I don’t have to, so, thank you.”

What? “You’re welcome?”

“And the bunnies will be fine. Wangji visited them tonight anyway.”

“Okay. So…” Jiang Cheng seems to have used up all his words before. It’s probably better that way.

“So, I wouldn’t mind staying over.” Lan Xichen smiles at him warmly, fondly. He stands up and tugs on Jiang Cheng’s hand. Jiang Cheng follows him up easily.

“Oh. Okay. That’s great! Cool.”

“Do you want to check whether you have a spare toothbrush?” There’s that twinkle in Lan Xichen’s eyes that always takes Jiang Cheng by surprise, but that he loves to see. It reminds Jiang Cheng it’s okay to just be in Lan Xichen’s presence, and it restarts his brain. He huffs a laugh, his shoulders relaxing, and goes to look for that toothbrush.

As it turns out, Jiang Cheng did have a spare toothbrush, as well as the lounge clothes Lan Xichen lent him after Cloud peed on him and Jiang Cheng kept forgetting to return. He also had a second set of bedding, though nobody ends up sleeping on the couch. Jiang Cheng isn’t entirely sure how that happened, he just knows that it’s shortly after midnight, Lan Xichen is lying next to him, sleeping next to him, and Jiang Cheng is scared to move in case it wakes him up.

He has barely moved since they turned off the light almost two hours ago. Usually, he turns and twists a lot before he falls asleep, because his tense shoulders make it difficult to find a comfortable position. The position he is in now is definitely not comfortable, in fact, his right shoulder might be cramping up a little. It’s been two hours, Lan Xichen is probably deep asleep by now - it’d be okay to adjust his position a little, right? He’ll be careful, he won’t wake him.

Jiang Cheng slowly rolls over on his left side, quietly slides his hand under his pillow and pulls one leg towards him. He glances towards Lan Xichen, to make sure he didn’t wake him, only to lose five years of his life, as Lan Xichen is returning his look, eyes wide open.

“Sorry, did I wake you?” Jiang Cheng whispers, he tries to, anyway. His voice still feels too loud. It always does.

“Of course not,” Lan Xichen replies with perfect talking-in-the-middle-of-the-night volume. “You haven’t made a sound since we laid down.”

“Can’t sleep?” This time, Jiang Cheng’s voice comes closer to Lan Xichen’s softness.

Lan Xichen’s face is only barely visible in the darkness, but because Jiang Cheng knows it so well, his mind can fill the shadows with memories of the day. He can see his eyes, though, reflecting the moonlight that sneaks through the curtains.

“Mhm.” Lan Xichen adjusts his position, face inching a little closer to Jiang Cheng. “It’s been a while since I shared a bed with someone.”

“Me too. I’m scared to move in case I disturb you.” These things are easier to admit in the dark.

“Mhm.”

Lan Xichen sounds so sleepy; Jiang Cheng regrets asking him to stay. If he hadn’t, Lan Xichen would be soundly asleep in his own bed right now. “I’ll go sleep on the couch then, I should have done that from the start, sorry.”

As soon as he says that, Lan Xichen throws his arm across Jiang Cheng’s body. “No, stay.”

“Oh, okay. Are you sure?”

Lan Xichen throws his leg over Jiang Cheng’s legs, too, then pulls him closer until Jiang Cheng can feel his breath on his face. “Very sure.”

“Okay.” Jiang Cheng moves his right arm a little, so his hand lies between their chests and isn’t in danger of brushing against Lan Xichen’s crotch anymore. “Yeah, okay.”

“This way we don’t have to worry about accidentally touching the other,” Lan Xichen says, his smile hard to make out in the darkness, but nevertheless beautiful. He moves back his leg, but before Jiang Cheng can miss the touch, he slides it between Jiang Cheng’s legs. “Are you comfortable?”

“Yes.” Jiang Cheng is surprised to find that to be actually true. Knowing that the warmth he feels is not his blanket, but coming from Lan Xichen, the reassuring weight of his arm... He splays his fingers, so his little finger brushes against Lan Xichen’s chest.

Lan Xichen hums, content, and for a while they just lie like this, quietly. Until Jiang Cheng feels the urge to talk again. It must be a leftover from the year he shared a room with Wei Wuxian until they moved to a bigger house. Wei Wuxian always started chatting as soon as they turned off the light.

“Technically, there is a second bedroom here. I just never go in there.”

Lan Xichen strokes his hand across Jiang Cheng’s back, to signal that he’s listening.

“It’s Wei Wuxian’s room. Well, it was supposed to be. And now...” Now it’s just there, reminding him every day of how he fucked things up.

“You’re not using it?” Lan Xichen asks gently. It’s not a reproach, he simply wants to know.

Jiang Cheng shakes his head, then says ‘No’ out loud, in case Lan Xichen couldn’t see it.

“Because you’re waiting for him to come back?”

“I... No. Yes. Maybe? I generally avoid thinking about it. You’ve seen what happens when I think about it.”

“Mhm.” Lan Xichen keeps stroking his back. He’s not moving his arm, just lightly moves his hand back and forth. “If it was empty, what would you use the room for?”

Jiang Cheng takes a moment to think about it, since he’s never done that before. “I don’t know. I guess… an office? But I don’t want to waste a whole room for my shitty degree. Maybe… I could turn it into a proper guest room, for when Jin Ling gets older. Maybe he could stay over sometimes.”

“That sounds nice. You could still put your desk in there, it helps to have your work space separate from your living space.”

“Yeah… That makes sense, I suppose.” The thought of changing it from Wei Wuxian’s Room to something else doesn’t fill him with the dread he expected, surprisingly. He does know, somewhere deep in his heart, that even if they reconcile, Wei Wuxian won’t move in here. Shouldn’t. They were horrible roommates, if he considers it honestly. There’s no reason to hold on to this old bitterness, no reason to still let it poison his mood. “I should do that.”

“I’ll help you. I like redecorating.”

Lan Xichen says it so matter of fact, Jiang Cheng can’t help himself - he has to kiss him. He closes the last remaining distance between them and gives him a short, sweet kiss. He doesn’t move back after, just stays there, as close as possible.

“I wanted to thank you for inviting me to your home,” Lan Xichen whispers against his lips.

Jiang Cheng isn’t sure this is something he should be thanked for. Compared to Lan Xichen’s flat, his is unremarkable. “Uh, thank you for coming over.”

“It means a lot that you shared your space with me.”

It’s weird being this close. He can only see blurry shapes instead of Lan Xichen’s face. But his voice is so clear, even though he’s whispering. He can feel it when he talks, the movement of his lips, his chest under his fingers. Jiang Cheng has never experienced this kind of intimacy. It’s exciting but he’s also a little scared what kind of secret this atmosphere might drag out of him. “Well, it’s only fair, since I’ve spent so much time at your place already.”

“Still… I was… “Lan Xichen hesitates. He slowly cards his fingers through Jiang Cheng’s hair while mulling over his words. “It means a lot.”

Somehow, Jiang Cheng understands. Lan Xichen’s words shape the form of an old wound. Or maybe a scar, by now. He presses another kiss to his lips, though misses by a little and only catches the corner of his mouth. “Even though I don’t have any plants?”

“You’re right, we need to change that.”Lan Xichen laughs quietly and pokes Jiang Cheng’s foot with his big toe. “I like it here. Even without plants.”

“Not much to like. Yours is much nicer,” Jiang Cheng mumbles.

“You live here,” Lan Xichen replies, as though that’s answer enough. Maybe it is. It’s not an answer Jiang Cheng can deal with right now, so he just makes a noise in between a hum and a scoff.

They fall quiet again, and Jiang Cheng closes his eyes after a while. He thinks he could finally fall asleep like this, lulled by the soothing rhythm of Lan Xichen stroking his hair.

“I like your hair like this.”

It takes Jiang Cheng a second to realise that he should reply, that he’s still awake. “Mhm?”

“You usually tie it back.” Lan Xichen lets one strand of hair run between his fingers, then tucks it behind Jiang Cheng’s ear.

“I should cut it short again. Been months. A year.” Jiang Cheng wonders if it’s possible to fall asleep while talking. He’s surprised by every word that manages to squeeze through his tired lips.

“I like it.”

“You like a lot of things. My flat, my hair, my face…”

“It’s true. I do.” Lan Xichen is smiling, Jiang Cheng can hear it.

“Me too. Like yours. You.”

“Mhm, that’s good.”

Jiang Cheng falls asleep then, but Lan Xichen’s presence follows him into his dreams. He sleeps very well.