#and i try it out in my mind a couple of times aND I BELITTLE IT ON A THIRD TRY

[heartfullofleeches]

Bluebird's [Former Darling Yan] own Yan controlled every aspect of Darling's life before their untimely, but justified demise. What they wore, what they ate, when they got out of bed and when they went to sleep- For Caretaker Reader to try to cheer them up during their recovery through small gestures that might return their sense of autonomy speeds up the process and deepens Bluebird's attachment fondness to Reader.

-

"Would you like me to paint your nails today?"

Turkey or ham...

Bluebird remembers their birth giver asking that same question every morning. They made the sandwiches themselves, but she was kind enough to pull the meat out of the fridge for them. They were sick of both by the second week of school. The turkey was too dry and the moist slabs of ham soaked through the bread of their sandwich by the time lunch rolled around. For once they wanted something different- Chicken, Tuna. They'd even settle for the cafeteria food if their parents took the seconds out of their schedule to sign the paperwork.

It was awful, but after all they've been through they found themselves missing that illusion of choice.

"...You're too kind. That would be nice, thank you for asking." They truly meant it. Bluebird uncurls their fingers from the tight fists clutching the hem of their gown. Their nails were starting to grow, but you had to even then out after Darling had chewed a couple of them off in their sleep. It was the scariest experience they've had since they came into your care - yet you never raised your voice or belittled them as they started to cry.

"No need to thank me, Darling. I'm only here to help you. Which color would you like?"

Unease creeps at the remote corners of their mind as you set each colorful bottle out on display across the coffee table. There's so many. Which one's the right choice? Bluebird studies your face as their finger hovers over the bottles. A smile. A frown. Give them something to work with. The color of your shirt- Is it safe for them to guess that it is your favorite color too? Would that make you happy?

"This one....." Bluebird points at the color that matches closes to your shirt.

"Are you sure that's the color you'd like?"

What is this- Is it all a trick? The question isn't condescending. You aren't pressing them to force them to change their answer or luring them into a false blanket of comfort. You're asking them because you want Bluebird to choose for themselves.

"Lilac is my favorite color. Do you think it will look nice on me?"

"I think it'll look perfect."

[glassica]

Second Male Lead

Notes: M!yan 2nd male lead, Gn!reader*, jealousy, reincarnation, obsessiveness, possessiveness, implied potential kidnapping and murder *reader is more like an observer, not shipped with anyone

-> part 2 with different yan

You got second male lead syndrome.

No matter how much author emphasizing the undeniable chemistry and love between the main couple your eyes only had him. With brownish eyes reminded of untouched sacred woods and dark silky hair slicked back, he was a perfect balance of not too interesting to overshadow the male lead while unique enough to stand out from the extras. Friend of female lead from childhood, he'd always been by her side protecting and looking out to her well-being, hardly be wavered unless it was a matter regarding the heroine. His silent thoughtfulness reserved only for the main character had charmed thousand fans of the series, which included you.

In the previous world you kept daydreaming about travelling inside the novel just to whisk him away. After all, you read countless isekai stories where protagonists from your world winning the heart of abandoned side characters. You were sure you could do the same to him, by showering him with endless attention and love he didn't get from the female lead. In no time he'd be head over heels for you!

"Apologize, but I fear I'm unable to return your sentiments."

Giving you a polite bow, he gently turned down the bouquet of roses which you'd painstakingly catered to match his taste. Today was the equivalent of Valentine in your old world, you were determinded to catch the love of your life at all cost. His rejection throbbed your heart a little, but you weren't the one to back out easily. That's right, you'd been waiting your whole life (actually two) for this moment, you just needed to keep up a little more.

"No sir, please don't be sorry. I'm the one who out of the moon confessed to you. Of course you would be startled!" - you replied cheerfully, trying the best to hide your disappointment. "My feelings came out too strong, but if you don't mind, would you mind joining me for a dance later?"

"I'll have to decline that. I've never been a fan of dancing. I'm really selective in choosing partner and to be honest, there's only one I ever want to take to the dance floor."

You knew right away who he was talking to. The nobleman didn't even bother to be subtle, as the whole time talking to you his eyes unchangingly laid on her. Shining with glitter and lace, basking in attention of the whole ballroom, the heroine was there, hand in hand with her royal lover, rejoicing herself to the dreamy sound of orchestra. The scene was wholly magical, breathtaking,… and perhaps jealousy-inducing.

For obvious reason this lit a fire in your stomach. You cursed the author for making it almost impossible for you to leave any impression on his mind, when your competition was the center of this universe and everyone’s darling. In the midst of envy, you blurted out words that forever detrimented his opinion about you

"She’s engaged to the Crown Prince."

"I know."

"Sir, she would never look at you with those eyes. Perhaps you should look for someone who will appreciate and reciprocrate your passion."

Now you had his full attention, not a positive one mind you. Shooting an icy glance visibly filled belittlement and fury, as though he was sneering at you extra character for having audacity to dictate how he should live his life.

"Oh well, she will soon. You don’t just assume I’ll sit there and let any vermin taking what’s rightfully mine, no? You believe I would be that selfless of a man?"

For the first time ever in your interaction had you sensed enthusiasm in his often monotomous voice. That’s right, the second male lead never got emotional by any happenings until it was about his target of affection. In other words, he would get ruthless, pretty, pretty ruthless, when anyone ever presented as a threat to his relationship with main character. He clashed plenty of times with the Crown Prince at the beginning of the book, then slowly retreated to the background after realizing his childhood friend was serious about His Highness. Lots of readers pointed out how odd he waved the white flag so effortlessly considering he had vehemently expressed dislike towards the male lead. Everyone collectively chalked it out as plot hole, but what if…

No, you shouldn’t dwell further than that. Epecially right at this moment you witnessed with your own eyes two extremes of emotions on the man’s face. The intensely lustful heat and adoration following every movements of the heroine, the bloodlust and pure venom on his pupils when looking at the Prince. You vaguely had a gist of what was going on in his mind, and it wouldn’t bode well for you to stick your nose into that.

Funnily, all that jealousy for the main couple you felt earlier was fully replaced by pity and well wishes now. Perhaps staying as an extra wasn’t a bad thing after all.

[deaddovedecadence]

Title: The Tsumiki years

Summery: it wasn't always just you, Your Father and Megumi. Once there were four (a prologue for the Dad! Gojou verse that doesn't have a name, and if you want more of it, check out my #demon mode tag)

Warning(s): possessive behavior, parentification, dead dove do not eat, this is pretty tame actually, belittling.

Request(s): none

When you were young you didn't have the words for what Gojou your father did to you. Sometimes when you think about telling people, even though you know it'd get them killed or hurt or something worse then any of that, you still don't have the words.

He brought Megumi and Tsumiki to you maybe a few something after you were taken. You're not sure. Barely remember them coming (liar).

"Hello?" A warm little voice says, "are you alright?" You shake your head wildly, and the voice hums. "Can you look at me? It's rude not to look at people when they're talking to you. You know that. He's told you a couple times.

You look away from the couch only to see a girl with pretty blue eyes staring at you with something you don't know. "Why are you crying?" She asks, edging her way into the narrow spot behind the couch. There's a boy behind her, watching you with green, green, eyes. You don't want to look at him, reminds you too much of Him.

Once the girl is close, she takes your hand from your person, half humming a lullaby. "I don't know why you're sad but maybe if you come out, you'll feel better." You won't, you know that but you follow th girl anyways, keeping a hand tucked in hers.

He's waiting for you outside of the couch area, clearly amused with your rebellion. "This is Tsumiki," He introduces the girl, "and Megumi," the boy. He's got a weird name for a boy. You tell him so. He looks pissed for a moment before the now named Tsumiki scolds you. "Not nice. He can't choose his name you know." With that she walks away, the one named Megumi, right on her heels.

Somehow you feel bad, like you shouldn't have done it. She reminds you of your mom, warm and stern and something a little bit scary. "I explained to Tsumiki and Megumi that you're still adjusting here, that I only adopted you recently and to give you a little bit of space." He says softly, "They will tell me if you run away sweetie." You hate pet names, they make you want to scream. He doesn't seem to care.

You were so naive them, actually thought that he was lying. You know better know. Megumi has always been on your father's side and when she was... here , so was Tsumiki.

There were good times, and you know that. Know that Tsumiki wanted you to be happy with them and sometimes you think she could have understood. That's not to say that there weren't good times, there were but somehow your father always managed to ruin them.

"Miki that isn't how you do it!" you snap, tugging the doll away from her. You've always liked to create, to do fashion and you've been trying to show her what you like to do.

Your Father (not dad, never dad even little you knows better then that) keeps you in dolls and gets you new things for them when he says you've been good. Tsumiki likes to play with you but you don't know how to explain to her that she doesn't do it right, that house has a mom and a dad and not just a dad and siblings.

Megumi doesn't like to play at all but he'll watch sometimes or sit near with his dogs. He's gotten good at manifesting them, something that you aren't allowed to do. Your Father says that you are too weak, too soft to ever use the cursed energy that you know you have because you can make flowers grow and wilt whereas Tsumiki can only see, not use. She doesn't seem to mind though, likes watching, and somehow even bosses your father around. She's big and strong.

Your Father walks in just as you've managed to convince Tsumiki that a mom is important, even though she thinks that moms are silly. They're aren't lots of things that Miki thinks are silly but when she does there isn't any telling her anything else. "What's going on here?" He asks, and Megumi looks away from his dogs, says "They're trying to decide if you need a mom for house." Your Father hums, and takes a doll away, and says, "Mom's don't do anything. That's why we have older sisters." Tsumiki beams and you feel... sad. Moms are important but maybe they aren't as important as sisters?

Tsumiki ran the house with a gentle iron fist and by the time you and Megumi were ten even Your Father was listening to her. Like cleaning day. You still feel... something when you think about cleaning day.

Tsumiki wakes everyone up in the early morning, Megumi following at her side. As much as the two of them argue, he's always at her side, glaring at the shadows when they get too rowdy which doesn't happen very often. Megumi is strict with his shadows (with you). There's a knock at the door and Tsumiki goes to answer it.

"Satoru-san," Tsumiki trills and your blood goes cold, "You remembered that it's cleaning day!" There are supplies in his hands and a splatter of blood on his face. Tsumiki doesn't seem to care.

She tried to reason it out once, explained to you that the people your Father kills aren't Family so it doesn't really matter in the long run, not to someone who's been raised by assassins and killers her whole life. You are glad to this day that you never forgot the Before.

Your Father smiles at Tsumiki and runs gentle fingers through her hair. "You've been reminding everyone since Monday," he says and he's so much gentler with Tsumiki and Megumi then you, never makes them feel worthless and weak even though you have more cursed energy then Tsumiki.

"I have," She says, "because I can't let you run away from helping". Your Father snorts, and watches for Megumi who's slinked over and is looking at him with a critical eye. "You're going to get blood on Miki's carpet. Go wash up." It's funny to watch the man who took everything (what did you even have before him? Don't you belong here? what happened to you?) get bossed around by someone exactly your age (it doesn't feel that way. Megumi isn't a child but he is a threat).

Your Father ruffles Megumi's hair and he snaps at him with teeth. Megumi's teeth are a little too sharp to be human teeth. You shudder. He notices, gives you an itty bitty little smile.

"You leave my baby alone Satoru." Tsumiki says lightly, the only person that Satoru even really thinks about listening to, and all of you get to cleaning.

You tackle the cabinets and it's kind of soothing, to do something that you can't be criticized for.

Megumi cleans the living room, using his shadows to wipe the places he can't get to. You like watching him, especially when he's happy like this.

Tsumiki does laundry, pile after pile get folded by her sure, steady hands, the same ones that chop up dinner every night, (the same ones that follow Your Father's instructions), the same ones that tuck you in to this day, humming a lullaby as you fall asleep.

Your Father cleans the bedrooms, mostly his because Tsumiki insists that yours needs to be clean and Megumi is a neat freak on his own, thankfully for everyone because he can tsumiki share a bedroom.

No one but the four of you are aloud here. Tsumiki likes it clean anyways, says that it's good to have a clean mind for a steady soul. You want it to be Monday already, you like school even if Megumi is in your class and no one wants to talk to you cause he's so scary.

You miss Tsumiki, for a lot of reasons.

Now as you stare blankly at the cell that contains you, you wish she was here to talk sense into everyone.

[hookedonhuge]

A Hard Challenger to Beat

Wednesday night was men-only at the small country town bar. Living in a remote area could get awfully boring at times, but boy’s night was a highlight for most of the men’s weeks. There was truly nothing like blowing off some steam with your pals after a hard day’s work. No hassles, no consequences, just dudes having fun.

One of the main attractions on Wednesday nights was the Beat Billy pool challenge. The challenge was simple: play Billy in a game of pool, if you lose you have to give him ten dollars, and if you win then you get a special reward.

What was the special reward? If you saw Billy in action, it wouldn’t take long to find out. Every Wednesday night you could find Billy bent over the pool table lining up for a shot, with his big butt sticking out and his jeans, stuffed with ten dollar notes, looking like they’re about to split. 

Yep, the special reward was an all-expense paid trip down to pound town (also known as the last stall in the men’s bathroom) with the one and only, Bubble Butt Billy. It was a shame that Billy was the best darn pool player in that town and the next town over. 

It was a lucrative business for Billy, who never once had to surrender his pride to another man. However, it was speculated that the Beat Billy challenge was more profitable for the bar than it was for Billy himself. The challenge drew large crowds of pent-up men, some, who in their lustful delusions, thought themselves skilled or lucky enough to earn themselves some quality time with Billy’s behind, and others, who were more financially conscious, would instead egg on their pals to give the challenge a go just for the chance to see Billy bend over the pool table a couple more times.

Without a fault, each Wednesday night would bring to the bar a rowdy crowd, despite how predictable the events of the night were. Billy would pocket a nice amount spending money at the expense of his hopeful challengers, and the patrons would get their fair share of Bubble Butt Billy action. Billy barely had to try against his challengers and was eager to play a game of pool against an actually formidable opponent, and on one Wednesday night he got exactly that.

It was a Wednesday night that seemed to be going the same as every other Wednesday before it. Billy had just defeated yet another challenger and was counting ten dollar bills with his signature cocky smirk painted across his face. “Anyone else want to challenge me?” he said, teasing his audience by leaning his upper body ever so slightly over the pool table.

“I will.” An unfamiliar voice boomed from the back of the room. Billy turned around to size up the stranger. Billy, who was never short of words to belittle his upcoming challengers, was silent. It wasn’t the stranger’s face that left Billy at a loss for words; his eyes hadn’t even gotten up that far. Billy’s gaze was stuck on the bulging mass that was tenting the stranger’s tight jeans. For the first time in a long while Billy remembered the consequences of losing the challenge, his mind trapped in thoughts of how his virgin hole would fare if he lost this one time. 

“My eyes are up here buddy,” the stranger said in a playful tone, strutting towards Billy with an irresistible swagger. “Just teasin’ ya. The name’s Rick,” he said warmly, reaching his hand out for a handshake. “I’d like to challenge you to a game of pool. I’m sure that wouldn’t be a problem.”

Billy snapped out of his daze and shook Rick’s hand. “You’re new around here, so I’ll have to warn you not to get your hopes up,” Billy said, building up his confident facade again. “I haven’t even been trying tonight.”

“I expect nothing but your best.” Rick was unfazed. “I’ll let you break.” 

Billy picked up his cue stick and the white ball as Rick set up the rest of the balls to break. As he had done a hundred times before, Billy got ready to begin play, lining his cue stick up to hit the white ball as his butt pointed out towards the leering spectators. Usually, Billy was so quick in his play that his opponent’s wouldn’t have time to register that the match had started. That night, Billy wasn’t so fast to start.

The cause of Billy’s delay was his opponent, who was standing on the opposite side of the table with his crotch directly in Billy’s line of sight. Rick’s hands were on his waist and he leaned just a little bit back to accentuate his large package.

“All bark and no bite,” Billy muttered under his breath. Billy struck the white ball, which jetted in the group of remaining balls causing them to scatter. Not a single ball had been potted into one of the holes, which was unusual for Billy.

It was Rick’s turn and he grabbed one of the cue sticks from the rack. He stroked the long wooden stick with his powerful hand lewdly under the guise of surveying its quality. “You know where I’m from, they call me Thick Stick Rick,” he said to Billy as he walked past him, meeting Billy’s gaze with a wink.

Rick quickly potted two balls in a row with ease, putting Billy on the back foot. Billy countered with his renowned precision. He potted three balls in quick succession and set himself up for an easy put away with a fourth.

The white ball had rolled to the centre of the large table meaning that Billy had to lean over extra far to reach it, causing his two large cheeks to stretch his jean fabric to its limit. Billy, who had been able to regain focus in the match, was about to sink his ball into one of the pockets when he felt something large and hard brush up against his crack. He turned around to see Rick towering over his lower half.

“Hey, you have to win first before you can have any of that,” Billy snapped, audibly annoyed.

“Apologies, I didn’t mean to bump into you,” Rick said, feigning sincerity. “I just forget how big I am sometimes.”

Billy tried his best to brush off Rick’s comment and struck the white ball, but it clearly affected him as the ball he was aiming for, which was set up so well, bounced off the rim of the pocket and back towards the centre of the pool table. Billy swore under his breath; he never missed a shot like that.

“Don’t stress about it,” Rick said, placing his middle and index finger into one of the pockets. “These holes are so tight,” he wriggled his two fingers, “that these balls only just fit in.”

Rick’s innuendos had a marked effect on Billy, allowing Rick to even the scoreboard in spite of the vast difference in their skill levels. Each player now had one ball each to put away before they could go for the win by potting the eight ball. It was Billy’s turn and he was once again bent over the table, ass in the air, and lining up for a shot.

“Looking good Billy boy.” Rick chimed in as Billy was doing some practice shots in front of the white ball to check he had the right alignment.

“I don’t need you to help me with my alignment, I’m the expert… '' Billy trailed off as he realised Rick wasn’t commenting on his shot preparation. Instead, Rick’s eyes were glued to Billy’s famous butt.

“Don’t mind me, I’m just keeping my eyes on the prize,” Rick said, biting his bottom lip.

Billy tried to ignore Rick and went ahead with his shot. He managed to pot his final ball, but foolishly sunk the white ball as well. The crowd, who had fallen silent from the tension of the match, let out a gasp when Billy made this rare error.

Rick was able to sink his final ball as well, leaving the two in a race to pot the eight ball first for the win. Rick had no success on his first attempt as the eight ball was stuck in a tricky position. His comparative lack of experience showed as Rick was not careful enough to put the eight ball in a difficult position for his opponent to finish off.

All Billy needed to do was hit a straight shot from one end of the table to the other, which was easy for a player like himself. Rick, the schemer he was, was still not out of ideas. He moved himself behind the pocket Billy was planning to sink the eight ball into and started grinding his huge bulge against that corner pocket.

“How badly do you want to get into this hole, cause I want to get into this hole real bad,” Rick said with a slight grunt. Billy stayed silent. “It’s only a small hole Billy boy, it could be a real struggle to fit in.” Billy lined up his shot. “God Billy,” Rick’s voice turned low and rough as he took a step back from the table and squeezed his tightly wrapped manhood with his hand. “I’m a big boy, and I’m not even hard yet. You can’t even imagine the damage I could do to your bussy, or is that what you want? Have you been going easy on me on purpose Billy boy?”

Billy’s face was red from a mixture of anger and fear. He was sweating profusely and his hands were trembling. Billy drew his cue stick back then thrusted it forward with as much might as possible. The white ball rocketed into the eight ball which slammed into the pocket. In his desperation, Billy had struck the white ball far too hard and it followed the eight ball into the pocket.

Despair was the only thing that could describe Billy. Sinking the eight ball and fouling in the same shot was an automatic loss. The crowd knew this and roared with excitement. Thick Stick Rick was victorious. 

Billy looked to the crowd, his eyes pleading for mercy. This was futile as the crowd, who had lost a lot of money over the years to Billy, were seeking retribution and Rick would deliver it. 

“Rick! Rick! Thick Stick Rick!” the crowd chanted.

Rick approached the defeated Billy. “I ain’t gonna force you or nothin’ Billy boy, I ain’t like that,” Rick said, placing his hand on Billy’s shoulder. “But if you –”

“I’m a man of my word Rick. I couldn’t show my face in this town again if I didn’t go through with this.” Billy replied earnestly, not letting Rick finish.

“That’s the Bubble Butt Billy I’ve heard so much about. Now don’t you worry, Rick is gonna treat you real nice.” Rick gave Billy’s big butt a friendly smack.

The crowd’s chanting reached a climax as Billy and Rick walked into the men’s bathroom together. “Give ‘em hell Rick!” yelled a frenzied patron.

Soon, the bar fell into silence as the once raucous spectators listened suspensefully. At first there was no sound coming from the bathroom. After a little while a faint banging noise could be heard. It got louder and louder, until Billy’s moaning commenced. Billy reached a transcendent state, his shameless moans of pleasure filling up the bar and causing the pants of everyone in it to become a little more snug. Some opted to loosen their belts to relieve the pressure that was quickly building below.

“That son of a whore Billy is really enjoying this isn’t he?” commented one of the bargoers.

“Rick sure is a stallion!” remarked another.

“Billy won’t be able to walk properly for a week!” 

“Don’t tell me Bubble Butt Billy lost on purpose!”

Rick and Billy’s erotic encounter culminated with a shared orgasmic roar that reverberated throughout the entire establishment. Rick, ever the gentlemen, offered to book a hotel room for the two of them for the night once he caught his breath back. All Billy could do was nod and collapse into Rick’s arms, his body completely exhausted.

“You’ve got a body that men like me dream about, Billy boy.” Rick kissed Billy on the forehand and proceeded to carry him out of the bar on his shoulders to a nearby hotel. There, Billy slept peacefully in Rick’s arms and Rick dozed off with his hands cupping Billy’s big cheeks.

[cutielando]

comfort | r.c.

synopsis: in which you're the only one who can comfort Rafe

my masterlist

Loving someone who continuously hurt you throughout your entire life was peculiar. Rafe knew that better than any other person.

Ward Cameron had done nothing but belittle his son his entire life, making him feel unwanted and unloved when all he should have done was love the broken boy.

And yet, despite even your ability to understand it, Rafe still loved him. Afterall, Ward was his father and nothing he could do could change that.

When his father died, Rafe didn't know how to feel, initially. 

Should he be sad? Should he be angry? Does he have to mourn? Can he mourn, seeing as his father had many every waking second of his life unbearable? 

Rafe didn't know what to do, and you didn't know what to do either.

Ever since the moment he died, the atmosphere at Tannyhill had been very strange. You tried your best to be there for your boyfriend, being his shoulder to cry on if he needed or just simply being there to help him and help him forget.

Whatever he needed, you were more than ready and happy to provide.

But if he didn't know how he felt himself, how were you supposed to know what he needed?

That was the million dollar question.

No matter how many times you tried to approach the subject, Rafe seemed more distant than ever.

"Baby? Don't you want to take a break? You've been working for hours on end" you tried to coax Rafe one night as he sat at his father's desk, dozens of papers scattered around on the big table.

He had been working constantly, trying to organize and structure his father's, now his own, company. 

"I'll come to bed in a couple of minutes" he mumbled, taking your hand and pressing a kiss to it without even looking at you.

You sighed and turned his head to the side so he could look at you.

Inspecting his facial features, the bags under his eyes had become a permanent thing ever since Ward's passing, the boy not being able to get more than a handful of hours of sleep at night.

"Baby, you're overworking yourself. I'm really worried about you, my love. Are you sure you're doing okay? You're sure you don't want to talk?" you were running a hand through his hair and with another one you were tracing meaningless shapes on the side of his face, observing as Rafe's eyes fluttered close and he leaned into your touch.

"I'm sure. I promise, I'll come to bed soon" he said and kissed you quickly before getting back to work.

You sighed but nodded, pecking his head once more before finally turning around and leaving the office.

He hadn't come to bed that night until 2 hours later, sinking into the soft bed and attaching himself to your body, holding you close to him.

Unknown to you, that was the only comfort he could feel in the dead of the night when he couldn't sleep, the feeling of your body pressed against his, telling him that you were there and you weren't going anywhere.

The same routine continued for another couple of days, then turning into weeks until the anniversary of 6 weeks from Ward's death came around.

You had gone shopping with Wheezie in Chapel Hill for the day, trying to get the young's girl mind off of everything she had been through in the last couple of weeks.

Upon returning home, you weren't surprised to see Rafe's truck parked in front of the huge mansion, seemingly in the same spot it had been when you had left that morning.

However, as soon as you entered through the front door and saw the mess leading from the kitchen to the living room, your heart instantly dropped to your stomach.

Quickly figuring out what could have happened, you told Wheezie to go to her room and not get out until you would go and get her.

As soon as she was out of sight, you slowly made your way to the living room, carefully avoiding the broken glass that decorated the floor.

"Rafe? Baby?" you called out.

"In here" Rafe grumbled from the couch in the living room, his head in his hands.

The moment you laid eyes on your boyfriend, your heart broke into a million pieces.

He was holding his head with his hands, tugging at his hair with tears streaming down his cheeks. In front of him, on the coffee table, sat a picture of him and his father, one of the few they had taken over the years while the older man had still been alive.

"Oh, baby" you exclaimed as you hurried to sit next to him and pull him in your arms, hugging him tightly and closely to your chest.

He immediately buried his head in your chest, sobs wrecking his fragile body. You started whispering sweet nothings in his ear, pressing kisses on every inch of his face that you could reach. 

Hearing your boyfriend's broken sobs triggered your own tears, your heart breaking even more for the poor boy.

"I miss him" he croaked out between sobs, his voice hoarse and raspy from all the crying.

"I know you do, baby. I know" you said, running your fingers through his hair and kissing his forehead multiple times.

After a couple of more minutes, he slowly started to calm down, his sobs now turned into sniffles until they stopped completely. But he didn't pull away, now needing more than ever to feel you there with him.

"Does that make me a terrible person?" his voice was no louder than a whisper, making it a little difficult for you to hear him.

"God, no, Rafe. He was your father, missing him is freaking normal no matter what anyone else says" 

"I know that, but everybody keeps saying he got what he deserved. I know he was a terrible man, especially in the last few months before he died, but he was still my dad and I should be allowed to miss him without people judging me for it" he explained, slightly letting go of the iron grip he had on you.

You took his face in your hands, wiping the last tears that had fallen from his eyes.

"No matter what anyone says, he was your father and you miss him. There is nothing with that and you shouldn't feel guilty. You're allowed to feel, Rafe. Please don't shut me out and let me help you get through this. You don't have to do it alone, I'm not going anywhere" 

He slowly nodded and pulled you in for a hug, repositioning the two of you so you were straddling his lap and clinging to him like a koala bear.

"I love you so fucking much, you know that?" he whispered in your ear, his breath hot on your neck.

"I love you too" you whispered back, kissing the nape of his neck before tightening your hold on him.

You stayed like that for a long time, just savoring being together and overcoming this obstacle together.

Because, at the end of the way, you only found comfort in one another.

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sho haizono x [frostheim student] reader!

a/n: oh god i havent written a fanfic in YEARS! please be gentle with me (no beta because that's scary!!!)! apologies for any occ sho! this lil fic is dedicated to proxy from my TD guild! <3 enjoy!

The food truck had been a hit since it opened, attracting crowds of students during lunch and dinner. Faces blurred together and Sho struggled with keeping track of everyone. There were a couple of exceptions, of course, Subaru, Leo, the honor student, and you. 

At first, he thought you were a bit strange. Unlike the others who stopped by you tended to change your order. Each day brought a new dish with a handful of customizations that made him think you were purposely trying to annoy him. The first time he had decided to confront you on it led to no results. You were an expert at dodging the question, a simple smile and flutter of your eyelashes had him stunned, stuttering and quickly turning away to work. It was the way you effortlessly seemed to brush off his passive-aggressive nature, the fact that you decided to tease him for it rather than glare due to the reputation of his house. 

It made him feel… oddly soft.

He didn’t understand at first. The way his brain refused to comprehend your motives, the sudden increase in temperature that came with your arrival, the urge to prove that he could meet your requests with only a few complaints mumbled under his breath. He used to hate your visits, but now he looked forward to them. In fact, he was a bit worried at how Leo had started to pick up on his apparent ‘favoritism’…

“I told you, she’s just a customer.” 

Sho felt like he had repeated that at least ten times now. 

“Mhm… just a customer alright, one you let walk all over you anytime she smiles. I’m surprised you haven’t just started giving her meals for free.”

Leo’s tone was filled with disapproval and… disgust. It was hard to pinpoint the exact negative emotion he was expressing. 

“Yeah, yeah… Whatever…”

Sho had begun to tune out Leo’s rambling, instead turning his focus to getting ready for the dinner rush. Classes were done for the day and students were bound to be hungry. Hopefully, you would show up early and—

“I mean, I don’t even understand what you see in her. She’s in the same house as that dumbass who tried to fight you. Isn’t that a sign to ignore her?”

Leo’s voice was starting to annoy him. Sho could deal with his own belittlement but hearing the way the silver-haired teen talked about you had him tensing. He knew he could put an end to his words but there would always be a consequence. Knowing Leo it’d be something stupid, especially with his newfound vice captain privileges…

“Don’t you think it’s annoying how she always has to have a different meal? Oh and those stupid customizations that she manages to get you to do! You always get mad at me when I change something so why don’t you get mad at her too? What’s the deal with that?”

Fuck the consequences.

Sho turned to face Leo, staring him down inside the small kitchen area of the truck. He watched his friend blink slowly as if he was confused by the anger that was building up in the truck. 

“Get out.”

“What?”

“Get. Out.”

Silence filled the kitchen as neither of them moved. Tension started to thicken the air as the chatter of students could be heard. The rush would begin soon.

Leo moved first with a roll of his eyes.

“Fine, fine, I get it. Work has you stressed or whatever. Have fun!~”

Completely ignoring the real reason behind Sho’s anger, Leo took his leave with a cheerful smile. He didn’t seem to care about the state he had left his supposed friend in nor the fact that people were already starting to form a line outside the truck. At least Sho could use the rush to help get his mind off of Leo’s words and the… implications they held on his feelings towards you.

Time went by far too fast for Sho’s liking. His stomach held a slight knot from his earlier bout of anger and he struggled quite a bit with the number of students. He was definitely going to need to find someone to help… at least with prep work beforehand. It seemed like there was always something more to do.

But, what bothered him most about this rush wasn’t the work or the annoyance students showed when he took ‘too long’, it was the fact that you hadn’t shown up.

The sky was darkening and Sho watched as a few stragglers went towards their dorms. Soon the campus would be quiet. This had been the first time that you hadn’t shown up. You hadn’t mentioned anything at lunch about not being here…

So he decided to stay open. Just for a bit longer. Just in case…

The silence allowed him to think. 

Leo had been pushing him earlier, that much had become obvious. But why? It was like he was trying to make Sho angry, trying to force a reaction out of him. 

He didn’t… He didn’t actually like you, did he?

No. No, that was stupid. 

You had become friends. That’s all. Friends. 

Friends over a series of conversations, over food, over your careful observations of his cooking habits, over the way you endlessly seemed to come up with challenges for him, the gentle curiosity you showed, the concern when he mentioned leaving for training, or the bruises that followed.

He stood there, stuck in a particular memory. It was the day after a harsher training session with Alan, the bruise that had bloomed on his shoulder was obviously causing him pain. He tried to hide it and work through it, but you saw past his efforts. 

He hadn’t realized it but the way you insisted he take a break, just a day off to heal, reverberated around in his subconscious. Your tone had been so soft, so sweet…

“Oh fuck.”

He did like you. 

Leo had figured it out before him. 

Sho just had to hope that he hadn’t gotten to you beforehand, talked to you about it, somehow twisted it, and—

“Hey, Sho!”

Your voice broke his thoughts, pulling his gaze to you. You seemed slightly disheveled, and out of breath as you approached the truck. Stray hairs stuck to your face as you tried to regain your composure.

Had you sprinted all the way here?

“Sorry, I’m so late! Luca—“ you took a deep breath in before flashing a bit of an embarrassed smile,” He went a bit rougher on training today. I was worried you’d already be closed and I’d have to sneak into the Vagastrom dorms just to have dinner.”

Sho blinked for a moment. You would sneak into his dorm… to see him? The notion had his ears turning red as he quickly looked away, rubbing the back of his neck.

“I would just bring you dinner at that point… Sneaking in would only get both of us in trouble.”

“Aww Sho! You care about me getting in trouble? That’s so sweet!~” 

Your laughter filled the night air and for the first time that night, Sho felt his body relax. He shook his head before leaning against the counter of the truck, looking down at you.

“Whatever. What do you want tonight?”

He feigned disinterest but his small smile gave him away.

You pretended to look over the menu before meeting his gaze. There was a mischievous glint in your eyes. He wasn’t going to like this, was he?

“Let me cook for you.”

Huh?

Sho just stared.

Had he heard you correctly?

“What?”

“I said,” you held the word for a moment as you walked to the side door. There was no hesitation in your movements as you opened it,” Let me cook for you! It’ll be a nice change. Don’t look at me like that!”

He didn’t believe in your abilities. Maybe he shouldn’t make that obvious? I mean there was a reason you came to him for nearly every meal, right? He really shouldn’t let you…

But when you looked at him like that he didn’t know if he could say no. There was determination in your eyes and a confidence that you didn’t seem to have before. Maybe it wouldn’t hurt… Plus it was just one meal…

Sho sighed, crossing his arms and shaking his head. If this ended in disaster he would never let you live it down. 

“Fine… Just don’t make a mess.”

“I won’t! Scouts honor!”

You did a two-finger salute before moving towards the fridge, opening it, and searching through the leftovers from the dinner rush.

“Wait…” Sho leaned against the counter, watching your movements as he considered what you said,” Were you ever even a part of the scouts…?”

Your lack of response didn’t help his confidence.

It wasn’t long before a pleasant aroma began to fill the food truck. You had ignored Sho’s questions about what you were making and instead kept the conversation flowing by asking about his day. He didn’t have much to tell but he hesitated when mentioning that Leo had been hanging out with him before the rush.

He saw the way your body tensed slightly upon the mention of his friend and the dread in his stomach from earlier returned. Had Leo mentioned something after all…?

“I don’t mean to be rude but…”

You started before trailing off, keeping your head turned towards the stove. You sighed for a moment before trying to start speaking again. It was clear you were putting a lot of thought behind your words.

“I know he’s your friend and all but don’t you think it’s rude that Leo knows you could use a hand but refuses to offer?”

Sho relaxed at your comment. You were just peeved with Leo’s laziness, nothing else. That was good at least. 

He shrugged as he moved to stand next to you, peering over your shoulder curiously.

“Leo only does things that interest him. Plus, he’s a terrible cook.”

You snorted at that before glancing at Sho. He swallowed, trying to avoid staring at you but it was hard when you seemed so relaxed. The slight smile on your lips seemed to hypnotize him. They looked so soft. 

Then he realized that you were saying something. Something that he had completely missed. He was an idiot. 

“What do you think?”

Your voice was so deceptively sweet. You absolutely knew he wasn’t listening. He refused to admit it though. That would be even more embarrassing.

So, he looked away, awkwardly clearing his throat.

“I didn’t know you could cook.”

“You didn’t know or didn’t think I could?”

“Want me to be honest?”

“Sho!”

You lightly nudged him, pretending to be annoyed at his underestimation of your abilities.

“What?! You come here for almost every meal. It was a reasonable assumption.”

“Do you think I only come here for the food?”

Your boldness caught him off guard. 

Sho turned back towards you, his heart beginning to race. His eyes were wide as he struggled to talk. He needed to say something! Anything! You were starting to look so unsure of yourself now, a blush taking over your features.

“Cute.”

No! Don’t say that!

He wanted to bang his head into a wall when your blush increased tenfold. He felt one of his own start to consume him as he started to rub the back of his neck. He should be suave, charming, not struggling like this. 

You two seemed to be at a standstill. Neither one of you could speak or look away. It was infuriating but in the best way. Sho couldn’t help the smile that formed on his face as he cleared his throat. 

Well, now or never right?

“I’m glad that you aren’t just using me for food.“ 

Oh, that had come out wrong. So wrong. He swallowed before trying to continue.

“I like seeing you every day! I wouldn’t mind if we, y’know, uh… spent more than just lunch and dinner together…”

He trailed off, suddenly unsure. He was trying to read your expression, it seemed to be a mix of shock and excitement. Your face was bright red and you were smiling. That was a good sign! 

Sho hadn’t realized how close the two of you had gotten. He was lost in the moment, struggling with how to express this softer side of him that he hadn’t paid attention to your movements. He watched as you slowly blinked before starting to talk.

“I’d like that too.”

It was as if time was moving in slow motion, your lips had just begun to brush his when—

“Is something burning?”

Sho had pulled away when the scent of burnt… whatever it was you had been making quickly took priority over the moment you two had been having. The two of you quickly worked in tandem to try and save the meal but it turned out it was beyond saving, much to your frustration. 

Luckily for you, there was someone who was more than happy to make you something else. 

[fan-goddess]

Hi, for a Kinktober request I’m thinking face sitting and osferth maybe reader and I’m on the road neither can sleep so what else would they do with their time lol- got to be quiet though 😭

Thanks

Authors Note: Changed it up a little so the couple had their own space. Still, hope you like it. I found it strangely resistant to write this so I hope i did it good

Warnings: F oral, kind of pining, religious talk, face riding, talk of m oral at the end (if I miss any let me know)

Taglist: @sofiyathecunt, @marvelgirl123, @sylasthegrim, @mochi-rose, @valeskafics, @humanpurposes, @watercolorskyy, @blue-serendipity, @omgbcat

Your exact relationship with the sweet monk you accompanied had always been unknown. The two of you were close as friends could be yes, but there was always this almost dance between you two. A dance that tipped over the lines between what was the normal for friends and what was for lovers.

It was even being danced now.

For that night, a sudden onslaught of bad weather had hit you all. The paths had become much too windy and slippery for the horses to manage the journey back to Mercia, meaning you all needed to stay another night in the village you were currently staying in.

The tavern you had all been saying at much to your annoyance, had become much busier than you’d wished. For now there was only two rooms left for the five of you to divide. Yet much to your annoyance, Finan and Sihtric seemed to take this new information with stride.

Finan most of all. As he all but pushed you and Osferth together into one of the two rooms with a booming cackle of a laugh.

“Ya might want to be careful tonight lass! He may be a wee monk, but that doesn’t mean that he doesn’t know his way around a ladies knickers!” Finan called out as he closed the rooms door behind him. The sound of his and Sihtric shared laughter softening as they walk the way to their own shared room with Uhtred.

Silence made itself known, as neither you nor Osferth could seem move from the sudden involvement. But from the corner of your eye, you could see Osferths face steadily turning a deep shade of red from what you guessed to be shame and embarrassment.

Usually you would not partake in the type of belittlement usually directed towards Osferth, but when he was as bashful as he was now, who were you to resist such temptation?

“Oh my? Is the little monk no longer a little virgin?” You smiled. Much to your amusement, osferths face seemed to only darken with blush, and his hands seem to have begun to fiddle with themselves as well out of pure bashfulness. “Hmm. Interesting…” You muse with a widening smile.

The noise only seems to set him off even more. As he begins to make noises on what you can only think are beginnings to sentences of which he cannot seem to continue.

“It is okay Osferth, really!” You say, walking to him and putting a comforting hand on his shoulder. “You need not to explain yourself to me-“

“But I must explain myself to you my lady!” He exclaims, stepping away from you as his right hand grasps at the little cross that dangles around his neck.

It was wrong to think about at that time, but the sight of his thumb caressing the item so sensually makes your mind adrift to other unholy things…

“But why me?”

“Because…! Because… because I care about you deeply! That is why I care!” The silence that makes itself known is horrifying. Although it isn’t silent at all. The sound of your own rapidly beating heart is the only thing you can hear.

“What if… what if I care deeply about you too…” You mutter looking to the floor. When you look back up to see Osferths face in fear of seeing his disgust, you find yourself standing almost face to face with the monk. His eyes look different to how they were not even five minutes ago. They looked dark, and hungry.

If you were to look back and try and decide on who kissed who, neither of you could be sure. As one minute the two of you were staring intently at each other, and the next the two of you were kissing each other like your lives had depended on it.

“Get on the bed my lady for me please?” Osferths begs as he detaches himself from your lips.

It’s strange to hear Osferth requesting such things of you. But you cannot deny that the ache in your lower region makes you certainly not mind it, as you follow his plea and lay on the bed for him, and look at him with wanton eyes.

“Now, take off your clothes.” There is no plea this time. It’s a demand. And by the way his eyes have somehow darkened to something unrecognisable, there is no room for discussing it.

After you strip and lay yourself on the bed, for the first time in a long while you feel the nerves begin to take over, and your arms move to cover yourself in an attempt of modesty.

“Don’t move my lady…” Osferth murmurs, leaving forward to take your arms delicately in his hands and stop them from covering you any more. “For I have one of gods miracles in front of me and I wish to savour it as long as I can…” For being a supposed chastity abiding monk, Osferth certainly knows what he’s doing. Much to your slight annoyance and thrill.

Yet the confidence doesn’t seem to last for long.

“My lady, do you trust me?” He says, leaning forward so he’s face to face to you.

“Of course Osferth. Why do you ask?”

“I-I… well…” He pauses for a moment, his hands fiddling with each other as if in an attempt to delay his nerves. “I will not dishonour you. I cannot lay with you unless we were wed. So I, I wish to have you on my face so I can give you pleasure.”

“Oh…” A breathless noise escapes you which you yourself don’t even recognise. Something you do recognise however, is the ever increasing warmth spreading by your legs.

“Will you let me do this to you darling? Will you ride my face for your pleasure?”

With an eager nod of your head, Osferth took your actions as an eager ues with a chuckle, before laying himself flat on his back and beckoning you to come to him with a motion of his head. His hands latch onto your naked thighs when you get close enough, and despite Osferths best efforts to pull you onto him you still try and persist.

“Osferth if I sit fully on you you’ll suffocate!” You insist.

“Then what a glorious way to die!” He laughs, before softly rubbing at your flushed skin with a single thumb. “You will not crush me my darling. If I need air though, I will tap on your leg three times. How about that?”

“Better…” You smile, trying to resist the urge to go insane at the way he holds you with such precision and softness at the same time.

Yet when you feel his rough hands bringing you down to his eager awaiting tongue, that is when you knew you must’ve died and gone to heaven.

His tongue dips inside of you, the wet and warm muscle feeling like nothing you’ve ever felt before. And the way his nose perfectly nudges against your clit as he slightly shakes his head, makes your fingers clench into his hair so hard that he groans and whines into the depth of your warmth with great vigour.

Osferth pushes you to feel an pleasure through your whole body that you’ve never felt before, and his rough hands that roughly forbid you from moving strikes a chord of something deep inside of you that brings you to grip Osferths hair in your own right grip.

As you begin to rut your cunt on his face like some sort of animal in heat, a deep sounding groan comes from straight from his chest, as if Osferth was receiving pleasure just from the act of you using him to get off.

He does this again and again as you use him. Until eventually your find yourself tightening and clenching on his warm tongue as you peak, juices dripping into his mouth as Osferth swallows it all greedily and willingly.

His tongue begins to lick up any remaining juices from inside of you, unrelenting even as you try and lift yourself away from him with overstimulation.

“Osferth please! It’s too much!” You cry, your legs aching and beginning to cramp with the position you were in.

Eventually though, Osferths grip calms, and when you allow yourself to collapse on the bed and look at your newfound lover, a whole new wave of arousal pulses through you at the sight of your juices covering his chin. You can even feel your mouth widening slightly at the sight of his tongue darting out to lick at the juices he can get, before using his fingers to scoop up any he couldn’t reach.

Any words you were about to say melt from the heat of your cheeks before you can dare to say them. So it’s with great satisfaction when Osferth speaks first.

“Did, Was that good for you, my lady?” He asks meekly. You already know the look of disbelief is evident on your face. How could a man who gave you pleasure so easily and so willingly be so suddenly withdrawn and shy?

“It was nothing like I had ever felt before my sweet Osferth,” You sigh with a warm smile, positioning yourself next to him to your arm could freely trace the sharp edges of his face. “Which is why I feel so eager to give you that same pleasure. So please my love, get on your back and undress so I can pleasure you like you did for me.”

And with a sharp intake of breath, you give Osferth a quick kiss on his lips before he undoes his shirt and begins to undress.

“If you insist my darling…”

[thedorkurge]

Your fics and drabbles are incredible!

If you’re still taking prompts- a durgetash love confession???

Thank you! I had to sit with this one for a bit, and then this happened... Forgive me.

You can read it under the cut or on ao3.

Three I love yous (0,8k)

The first time it happened, it had been a mocking declaration. It was meant to belittle, to be so outrageous that one would never assume that there was any truth to it. An obvious taunt, meant to get under the dragonborn’s skin.

Enver hadn’t intended for them to land in the Chionthar, but the hastily scribbled teleportation sigil clearly contained a miscalculation or two. Durge was still ripping off some imps that had followed them through the portal, looking remarkably like a wet cat as he followed Enver onto the river bank. The human practically collapsed into the sand, the remaining adrenaline fading to nothing. 

“I’m going to fucking kill you.” The dragonborn’s voice was hoarse from coughing up river water, but no less intimidating for it. Unfortunately for him, Enver was not easily intimidated.

“Now’s hardly the time to flirt, my dear. Unless of course you’re finally giving into my irresistible charms?”

If looks could kill, Durge would already have made good on his promise ten times over. Nothing got under his skin quite like Enver’s complete disregard for the danger he posed. 

“Next time I’ll handle the exit strategy, since you seem completely incapable of performing something as simple as a teleportation ritual!”

Enver’s eyes rolled as far back as his anatomy would permit, as he finally got to his feet.

“Yes yes, I love you too dear. Now, are you going to move on? Or do you need a few more minutes to be upset?”

The patronizing tone clearly got on Durge’s nerves more than anything else. Enver should probably count himself lucky his spine was still in his body, as the Bhaalspawn finally stalked off to find someone more expendable to vent his frustrations on.

-

The second time was a correction, a reminder, a lie for the benefit of others. Posing as a couple at a charity ball wasn’t ideal, but it was the best way to access multiple targets in one night. 

The outfit Enver had picked out fit the dragonborn perfectly, and the coordinated colors clearly showed their affiliation to the room full of the wealthy and influential. Their disguise would be flawless, if only Durge didn’t look like he wanted to murder everyone in the room.

If Enver didn’t find a way to get him away from the main party, he might actually start killing people. But that didn’t mean the banite couldn’t have fun with it.

He put on his most charming smile as he greeted the host, engaging her in light conversation until he could finally mention what he actually wanted.

“Aurelia, darling, you simply must show my husband your art collection. Believe me, he makes a far better audience than I do. He’s got an eye for this sort of thing.”

He quickly grabbed the dragonborn’s hand in his own before it could reach for his concealed daggers.

“I’m gonna kill you.” The threat was hissed under his breath, but quite clear nonetheless.

Enver laughed slightly for the benefit of the nobles, as if he had told him a joke. “I love you too, dear.” He held up his drink to flash the wedding ring, a clear reminder of what they were meant to look like. 

The smile Durge plastered on his face was clearly forced, faked for the nobles’ benefit, as he walked off to view a collection he had no interest in. 

Enver continued his conversation, trying not to think about how cold his hand felt without the bhaalspawn’s touch.

-

The third time it happened, Enver was alone. 

Even the living halls of the colony felt cold and empty. They had felt that way for days, the chilly loneliness in the air seeping into his bones.

Sometimes it felt like he could still hear Orin’s gleeful laughter, see the glint of red on her dagger.

He had tried to throw himself into his work, wandering down to Balthazar’s laboratory to consult the trapped minds in the illithid library. 

He soon found his eye drawn to something that felt out of place. A scrolled page, torn and stained. It didn’t belong here. 

Forgive me, Father…

His previous work was abandoned as he cradled the paper in his hands. The carefully constructed dam that kept his emotions at bay finally crumbled under the pressure, as he all but fled to his workspace in the tower above. 

Now, halfway through his third bottle of wine, the lines between thought and speech were blurred. Sentiments that would usually go unacknowledged now floated just beneath the surface. The layer of sarcasm that gave them deniability was permeated by a heartache that was far too real.

It didn’t matter anymore. He was gone. Denial was pointless because there was nothing to protect. Nothing to deny. Nothing.

Just a page that said everything and nothing at all.

I cannot help but admire the chosen of your sworn foe.

It was an admission of guilt.

It was a confession.

It was too late.

For once the words fell from Enver’s lips with no twist of sarcasm or mockery.

“I love you too.”

This time he meant it. 

Maybe he always had.

[perotovar]

into the beat of the night (ch 7) "in my side"

moodboard by @hellishjoel (ty, honey ♥)

pairing: frankie morales/oc!river price (they/them) rating: E (18+) chapter warnings: deadnaming, misgendering, seriously there's a whole character that just dismisses river's entire being so if that triggers you or you don't want to read it i completely understand, one (1) panic attack, one (1) depressive episode, frankie being the best boyfriend in the world, possible food triggers (river doesn't want to eat while depressed), discussions of past abusive behavior (gaslighting, belittling, etc), if i missed anything lmk! word count: 3.5k dividers by @saradika-graphics beta: @scenaaario

main masterlist | series masterlist

They had been at the mall for a couple of hours now, but Frankie didn’t mind. He enjoyed helping River pick out clothes, but he preferred when they went to thrift stores. Less people, fewer crowds. 

Plus, the thrift stores usually had something that he could fix up. He had been working with his hands a lot more lately in his free time. 

Now, he leaned against the dressing room outer wall, waiting for River to come out and show him a shirt they wanted to try on. Frankie smiled to himself as he thought about his partner. 

They’ve been official for six months now. It feels as fresh as when he first saw them at the Night Owl, and as comfortable as if they had been together for years.  They spend an equal amount of time at their respective apartments, and visit each other on their lunch breaks frequently. Frankie isn’t sure he has ever been so happy in a relationship as with River. In previous relationships, there was always an expectation of him. A role he had to play. With River, he can just be. They don’t expect anything of him. Except maybe his attention and love. 

And he had no problem giving them that.

“Frankie?” River laughed softly.

Frankie startled and turned his head toward his partner. “Sorry, Riv,” he smiled sheepishly. “Zoned out a little. Is that the shirt?”

River’s face softened at their boyfriend’s easy smile. The past six months had been some of the best in River’s life. They were so thankful for Frankie’s respect and patience.

“Yeah,” River nodded. “What d’you think?” They tugged on the long sleeves, pushing their thumb through the hole cut into the fabric. They twirled a little and did some silly, flirty poses for Frankie. He smirked, his eyes twinkling in interest as he shamelessly checked them out. 

“You’re insatiable,” River giggled, pushing Frankie’s shoulder playfully.

“Rachael?”

River froze, their entire body going cold in an instant. Their smile dropped and they shut their eyes, face pinched. They’d recognize that voice anywhere. 

“Riv? What’s going on?” Frankie stood, one large hand reaching out to cup their face. When River flinched slightly, his heart cracked, just a little. “Baby?”

“Rachael!” The voice chirped again, “It’s been so long! I didn’t think I’d see you here!”

Tears welled up in River’s eyes at the sound of the voice. Her voice. Why did she have to come back into River’s life now? Of all times?

Frankie felt unmoored, suddenly lost for a way to comfort River. He was interrupted by a short, very pretty woman appearing at River’s side and clutching their bicep. She was blonde, and had an almost ethereal beauty about her. Frankie’s brows furrowed and his chest puffed up a little, feeling possessive. Who was this touching his partner?

River opened their eyes slowly, and when they did, Frankie didn’t see his partner in them. His Río. They looked completely numb. “Hello, Evangeline,” River said in a flat tone Frankie didn’t recognize.

Evangeline? Frankie blinked, his left hand tightening around the handles of the bags he was carrying. 

Who was Rachael?

“It’s been such a long time,” Evangeline sighed wistfully. “What have you been up to?”

River hadn’t turned to look at Evangeline yet, staring at Frankie’s chest and tracing the pattern of the t-shirt he was wearing today; Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. They swallowed around a lump in their throat and let out a shaky breath. “Working,” they answered simply.

Evangeline ignored them and turned towards Frankie, startling like she just realized he was standing there. “Oh, I’m so sorry! How rude of me, I’m Evangeline.” She said her own name like she was someone to know, and held out her hand for Frankie to take. He looked at her face, then her hand, then River, and decided against it. “I’m sure she’s told you about me?”

“Frankie,” he said simply, voice low and eyes never leaving River’s face. He had to get them out of here. “And no. They haven’t,” Frankie bristled, dark eyes finally landing on Evangeline’s face and finding her staring at him, accusation hardening her features. She was judging him.

Well, the feeling was mutual.

“Riv?” He said softly. River blinked away tears as they looked up at him, avoiding his gaze. This was the smallest he’d ever seen them and he hated it. He didn’t know where his confident, loving River went, and had no idea how to get them back. 

“Oh, don’t tell me you actually go by that silly nickname still?” Evangeline giggled.

River winced and bit their lip. They turned and went back into the changing room without another word. When Frankie heard them sniffling, his entire body stiffened.

“I’m sorry, who are you?” Frankie snapped, finally finding his voice, and crossed his arms. He stood a good foot taller than her, but that didn’t seem to bother the petite woman. It didn’t seem like much of anything did. “And why are you calling them Rachael?”

“That’s her name, obviously,” Evangeline rolled her eyes. “Her real one. We dated. For a long time.”

Frankie squinted his eyes. This must have been River’s last serious relationship. He had only heard of her in passing, and certainly never a name or how demeaning she was. Not that they ever needed to, now that they had him.

He ignored the name part on purpose.

“You must be her new plaything,” Evangeline sighed, like she felt sorry for him, as she pretended to check her manicure. “It won’t last long.”

“I’m sorry, I don’t remember asking for your opinion. You can leave now,” Frankie grumbled, taking a step closer to tower over her.

“I’m just trying to help,” she rolled her eyes again. “This is what she does. She’ll keep you around for a little while and when she gets bored, or finds someone new, she’ll leave.”

Frankie sighed angrily, the bile in his throat starting to sting. He set the bags of River’s purchases down on the floor next to the dressing room and quickly turned toward the checkout. Making a harassment complaint would probably get rid of her easily enough. He squeezed his fists tighter at his sides, heavy work boots thundering across the linoleum. Before he made it very far, he heard the sound of heels clacking and turned back toward the changing rooms.

Evangeline was gone.

Frankie sighed and made his way back to River. He stood in front of their changing room and knocked softly on the wall next to the curtain. “Río? Baby? Are you okay?”

River felt like they’d been kicked in the stomach. They could barely breathe or stand. They were hunched over on the bench in the changing room and hiding their face in their hands. They sniffled a few times before coughing, their hand pressed against their chest to try and breathe.

“I’m going to open the curtain, okay?” Frankie’s voice sounded like it was a hundred miles away. Light from the store poured into the small room, making them look up. Frankie was illuminated by the shitty fluorescent lighting, but it was one of the most beautiful things River had ever seen. “Mi amorcito,” he said softly, getting down on his knees in front of them. He cupped their face tenderly and rubbed their tears away with his thumbs. 

“Frankie,” River sniffled, face pinched in pain.

“Shh, c’mere,” he soothed, pulling them down onto the floor with him so he could hold them close. He rocked them in his arms and pet their hair comfortingly. “Do you wanna go home?”

River nodded against his skin, their face buried in his neck. He felt the collar of his shirt getting wetter by the minute, but he didn’t care at all.

“C’mon, baby.” He patted their arm gently, encouraging them to stand with him. He laced their fingers together as he grabbed their bags, and led River out of the mall.

It took a few days for River to explain just what happened at the mall. They’d asked Frankie for some space and while he really didn’t want to give it to them, he also respected their wishes too much to argue. 

When River texted a picture of Jonsey napping on their lap and their Baphomet slippered-feet in the background, he knew he had the greenlight to visit them. He was at work when he received the photo, and he knew River knew that, so he waited. He responded with his own picture of his greased up hand and forearm and the hangar he was currently working in. He spent the rest of his workday thinking up a plan for that evening. 

River hadn’t seen nor heard from Evangeline in a long time. At least seven years. Hearing her voice again brought River back to a place they hoped they’d never return to.

River’s therapist told them that Evangeline was gaslighting them. They’d heard the term used before, but didn’t fully understand what it meant until Dr. Owens explained it to them. Evangeline had been emotionally manipulative and abusive, and even got physical once or twice.

She never accepted River for who they were and did everything in her power to downplay River’s feelings. River still didn’t understand why.

Evangeline would tell River that all of their dysphoria was something else. Everything River felt or even thought was strange or abnormal. Evangeline was the only one in the relationship that was of sound mind. River was already in a vulnerable place when they met, and Evangeline knew just how to exploit that. 

There was a chance that Evangeline did actually love River. When they first met in their statistics class in college, their connection had been magnetic. They did a lot of the same sort of things that River and Frankie did now, but River could see now how different it was with Frankie. River was never scared that Frankie would judge or make fun of anything they said. With Evangeline it was like trying to cross a minefield. Whether it was a new band they found, or exploring feelings about their sexuality, River could never predict what would set Evangeline off.

The straw that broke the camel’s back for River came when they wanted to get top surgery. Evangeline blew up, throwing things around her apartment because she was “tired of the weird nonbinary bullshit”. She didn’t believe it existed, and was convinced River was just looking for attention.

River left, changed their number, and never looked back. The night Evangeline tried to get into their apartment in the wee hours, they had the locks changed, too. 

A soft mrrp beckoned River’s attention from the floor. Jonsey tilted his head to the side as he looked at them before jumping up onto the couch. He walked his way over to them and got comfy on their lap, kneading the skin of River’s tummy like dough. River smiled sadly and scritched his face lovingly. When Jonsey started purring, they knew they would be stuck there for a while. 

Looking through their phone at photos of Frankie, they felt awful. They hadn’t told Frankie any of this, hoping that they just didn’t ever have to think about her ever again. Frankie deserved to know, though, and they wanted to get it out in the open and out of the way.

When they received the photo from Frankie at work, their heart thundered in their chest. They really did love him. They just couldn’t voice it.

Yet.

The smell of River’s favorite takeout place filled the air in Frankie’s truck. His stomach roared to life at the smell of noodles and vegetables. Chicken for him, none for River. He looked in the backseat at the giant pillow/stuffed animal of a bat he found at the store. He hoped they’d like it.

He pulled into River’s apartment complex and parked outside their building. He took a deep breath in the silence of the cab, grabbing the food and the bat, and kicked the door shut with his boot. He held the pillow close as he knocked as softly as he could with his boot against the door.

All the tension in Frankie’s shoulders left as soon as he saw River’s tired face. It looked like they hadn’t slept in a while. Their hair was in a high messy bun, and they wore a pair of boxer briefs, an old faded t-shirt with the words Sisters of Mercy across the chest, and their Baphomet slippers.

“Hey, baby,” Frankie hummed softly, a hopeful smile gracing his features. “Got you something to eat in case you were hungry.”

River smiled sadly at the food. They hadn’t eaten in days, and they probably looked like it, too. The smell of the food hit their nose, making their stomach grumble in protest. Frankie chuckled softly at the sound.

“Figured.” He held out the bag toward them before doing the same with the stuffed animal.

“And who– who is this?” River had to clear their throat in the middle of speaking, realizing they hadn’t spoken in days either. They set the food down on the coffee table as Frankie shut the door behind him, looking over the large bat pillow with a raised eyebrow.

“Do you hate it?” Frankie asked, biting his lip. He usually got Marisol a stuffed animal whenever she was upset. He knew River wasn’t a toddler, but he also knew that they deserved something soft, too. “I saw it at the store, and…” He shrugged, scratching the back of his neck nervously.

River hummed and hugged the pillow close. “I love her,” they smiled up at him.

“Her?” Frankie grinned.

“Her name is Agnes.”

Frankie snorted. “Alright. Agnes it is.” He stepped closer to them as they hugged Agnes and tucked a few stray hairs from their bun behind their ear. “How are you doing, mi río?” He asked softly, cupping their face and rubbing his thumb across their cheekbone.

River’s eyes grew a touch sadder at the question, but they smiled anyway. “A little better,” they answered honestly. “Missed you,” they mumbled, setting Agnes down on the couch so they could wrap their arms around Frankie’s middle. They held on tight, squeezing the air out of his lungs but it felt like the first time Frankie properly breathed in days. He held them just as tightly, before kissing the top of their head.

“Missed you too, baby,” he hummed. “Was worried about you.”

River frowned and squeezed him a little more. “‘M sorry for making you worry,” they said into his shirt, the smell of oil and metal wafting off of him. The scent grounded them.

“Shh, no need to apologize, okay?” He pulled back a little, keeping his arms around them, but looking into their eyes seriously. “I’m always gonna worry about you. Even if I know you’re okay. You know I care about you,” he smiled, brushing the knuckle of his index finger against their nose softly.

River’s heart melted at the gesture, their cheeks growing warm. They smiled and looked at the bottom of his neck, a particular freckle catching their eye. They leaned forward to press a soft kiss to it before resting their head on his chest. Frankie held them close and rocked them gently.

River’s stomach roared, causing them to freeze for a second. Frankie chuckled and kissed the top of their head again. “C’mon. Lets get some food in you, yeah?”

They ate in silence. And when it wasn’t silent, Frankie was talking about Marisol or work. River listened intently, the sound of their boyfriend’s voice soothing them. Frankie put down his spoon after he finished off his fried rice, and grabbed some chopsticks. River’s eyes were glued to the thick fingers of his right hand, pupils dilating. 

“Baby?” Frankie smiled softly, picking up a piece of chicken with his chopsticks and holding it above his plate. “Did I lose you?” He teased.

River jumped a little in their seat, their eyes snapping up to his face. “Hm? No,” they cleared their throat, picking up a piece of zucchini with their own chopsticks. They stared at the vegetable and bit their lip. They probably wouldn’t be able to finish the meal Frankie went through the trouble of getting for them. Their appetite seemed to have disappeared again.

Frankie raised a brow, face pinched in concern. “You don’t have to eat anymore right now. You ate most of your noodles, which I’m glad to see,” he said softly. “You can always finish it later.”

River nodded, feeling like they were on autopilot. “We were together for five years. I didn’t… I wasn’t… me, yet.”

Frankie froze, watching River’s face carefully. They were staring out into the middle distance, somewhere around Frankie’s shoulder. “Baby, we don’t have to–”

“Yes, we do,” River’s voice was scratchy, but firm. “I went to therapy after we– After I left her. She wouldn’t let me get top surgery.”

Frankie’s eyebrows furrowed and he set down his chopsticks, crossing his arms over his chest on the dining room table. The air in River’s apartment was still, the dim light from the kitchen making River’s dark features even darker. “‘Let’?” He asked quietly.

River nodded as they swallowed around a lump in their throat. “Yes. There were… rules. Well, unspoken ones. She never believed in, well… this,” they sighed, gesturing to their torso. “Still doesn’t, it seems.”

Frankie stayed quiet, letting them continue, despite wanting nothing more than to put his fist through the table in front of them.

“The… name she called me doesn’t apply to me anymore. My parents don’t even call me that anymore,” they whispered, a bitter laugh tacked on at the end. 

“Deadnaming,” Frankie mumbled softly.

“Yeah–” River looked up at him, a confused expression on their face. “You know what that is?”

Frankie smiled shyly, but sadly. “Y-yeah, uh,” he chuckled. “I’ve been doing some research. Only fair,” he shrugged easily.

Tears welled up in River’s eyes as they smiled, picking at the nail polish on their fingers. “You’re amazing,” they whispered.

Frankie blushed, but didn’t argue. This wasn’t about him right now. He rested an open hand on the table, inviting them to give him one of their own. When River gave him one of their hands, he held it firmly in his own, thumb rubbing against their knuckles protectively. “Go on,” he encouraged gently.

River sighed heavily and nodded. They talked for a long time. Explaining anything and everything about their relationship with Evangeline, who they were before, and what brought them to him now. Not much was different, just the fact that they were more secure in who they are now.

“Gotta be honest,” River said softly, voice a little hoarse from talking so much. “Was scared how you’d react to a lot of this. I’m not sure why,” they shrugged. They knew deep down that Frankie would never judge them, nor would he be scared. They’d been through too much together.

Frankie lifted their hand and kissed River’s knuckles tenderly. “I get it,” he nodded. “I felt the same way when I told you about the military. About Colombia. I wasn’t sure if you’d see me differently or not.”

River shook their head. “No. Love you too much for that,” they mumbled quietly.

A wide grin broke out onto Frankie’s face slowly, cheeks burning red. “Love you, too, Riv.”

River hummed happily, then froze. With wide eyes, they stared at Frankie for a minute. They pointed at themself, a silent question written all over their face.

Frankie laughed softly. “You did,” he grinned, standing slowly so he could be closer to them. He cupped their face in his big hands as he looked down at them in their seat. “Love you so much,” he whispered, kissing them properly, lips melding easily against theirs. 

River was completely lost in it, fingers tangled into the fabric of Frankie’s t-shirt tightly, like if they let go he’d disappear. They moaned softly into his mouth, a tear falling down their cheek. Frankie hummed in response, catching the tear on his thumb. He pulled away slightly to catch his breath and pressed his lips to their forehead. He kept them close like that for a little while, smelling the old dry shampoo stuck to River’s scalp.

“You should take a bath, baby,” Frankie said softly. River snorted into his shirt, face buried in his tummy.

“You saying I smell?”

When Frankie didn’t answer right away, River laughed, really laughed, for the first time since they were at the mall together. 

“I–I’m not!”

River rolled their eyes and smiled up at him, chin resting on his torso. “Wanna join me?”

Frankie raised a brow and smirked, but his face grew serious quickly. “Río, we don’t have to do anything like that–”

“I know,” River muttered. “I didn’t want to. Just wanted,” they bit their lip. “Just wanted to be with you.”

Frankie’s heart melted and he nodded, kissing the hook of River’s nose. “I think I can do that,” he winked.

River didn’t doubt that for a second.

a/n: if you're curious, this is agnes and river's slippers ♥

[hoshigray]

HEYYY🤪who ever requested y/n bratting off to toji is a blessing fr.🙏🏼 Can you also do the same thing but fluff edition. If the post is gone, dont worry about it. Love your writing!!

No worries, noonie, bc I made sure to save the fluff version as a Word doc if needed, lol. But here ya go, hope ya enjoy and tysm!!:)

Reminder: This is a sfw/fluff version of this thirst!

Cw: Toji x reader - fluff!! - pet names (baby, kid/kiddo) - implied that reader is shorter than Toji - first, the reader is sour, but then they're sweet :) - Toji calls you a 'bitch' but not in a belittling way, just frustrated with your antics - lots of humor bc we love making this man suffer, lol - the reader gives him a scare hiding from him (again, make him suffer! but he's hella worried about you so </3) - angst(?) - reader being a brat and Toji being a grumpy bf = a perfect couple ♡ Wc: 2.4k

It's late in the night, WAY past the midnight hour. The streets are quiet, people are home sleeping, and the air is curtained in a cool mist from rain not too long ago.

And yet here you are, in an open grocery store skimming through the fruits section. You pick up a bag of apples and examine them before placing them back down, moving on to the next aisle.

Behind you, the squeaky wheels of the shopping cart follow your every step, driven by your boyfriend — Toji.

The two of you had left a movie theater to see a movie you'd been anticipating seeing, which only had seating at the last showing of its week — 12:30 a.m. The runtime was two hours and thirty minutes, so it wasn't to your surprise that the plaza was utterly empty by the time it ended. Although you're happy you got to see the movie, you made a mental note to get tickets earlier next time.

Suddenly, you realize you forgot to grocery shop, and most nearby stores are closed. But after many trips around the neighborhood, you've finally found a store open for twenty-four hours.

So here you are, scoping around the aisles to pick up things and check them off your list. Now all there's left is the toilet paper, which would be right on the top shelf...that you can't reach.

You turn to your side to see your boyfriend looking down at his phone. Well, he's no help. With a sigh, you place your phone inside your pocket and try to carefully reach for the toilet paper, stepping on the lower shelves and being mindful not to step on any of the items below.

Toji notices something up when he glances up at you trying to climb up to get something from the top shelf. Putting his phone in his jean jacket, he comes around and hovers over you while grabbing for the toilet paper. You watch, and you shake your head at him. Damn, tall people...Hold on. An idea pops inside your head, and a grin molds onto your lips.

"Hey!" You call out to the man before he puts the item at the bottom of the cart. "I was getting that."

"I know, but y'r lil legs and arms weren't getting you any far, baby." He sends you a sly smirk, causing you to take offense to his comment.

Oh, two can play this game, Mister..."Put it back."

His brows crease together. "What?"

"Put it back up there," you repeat yourself to the man and point at the top shelf. His confused expression is still present when he hesitantly does what you instruct him. "And then pick me up to get it."

He looks at you like you're crazy. "What kind of shit are you on?"

You giggle. "Oh, come on, Toji. I was trying to get it, so I wanna do it."

"You could barely touch it."

"Not unless I have my trusty, tall boyfriend to help me, so pick me up!" You lift your arms for your waist to be open for grabs, and Toji just stares at you. With a heavy sigh and a scrunched expression, he lifts you up effortlessly, and you happily take the toilet paper he just put back up.

You beam at him once you're put down, and the older man has never rolled his eyes so fast. "Actin' like a damn kid."

Your tone is matter-of-fact as you put the item under the cart: "You call me a kid all the time, so I gotta uphold the title. Okay, that should be everything from my list, so let's get the other stuff."

"Other stuff?"

"Yeah, like sandwich meat, chips, and juice for Tsumiki and Megumi. They're going swimming with their friends tomorrow, and they need lunch to take with them."

Toji crosses his arms, examining you walk past him with the cart. "I suppose you're the one paying for all that."

"I'm absolutely...not," you don't have to turn around to know the man behind you has his jaw dropped. "I'm paying for the things on my list, and you pay for the other stuff."

"And what makes you think I'd pay? I already paid for the dinner and the tickets for the damn movie."

"Yes, indeed you did. But guess what, I'm using my money for my things. So, Toji dearest, it's only right that you pay for the things for your children." You peek behind you to see your boyfriend throw daggers at you with emerald eyes. Your smile only grows. "What kind of father would you be if you don't care for those angels?"

Toji just groans and mumbles curses under his breath. "They're only angels when you're around, ya damn brat..."

The two of you head to the snack aisle, the right side harboring a massive assortment of chips. You stop the cart when you spot a brand of chips you remember is a favorite in the Fushiguro household. The only problem is that the flavor you're looking for — which is on the bottom shelf — is nearly empty, meaning the last few are further in the back.

"Hey, Toji," The named man comes from behind, resting his chin on your head. "Those chips down there, ya think there could still be some in the far back?"

"Mmm," His broad chest vibrates against your back from his gruff hum. "Probably."

"Mind getting them for me."

"....Why can't you get it?"

"Because I told you to get it. Besides," you bring up your hands with two fingers up to air quote your following sentence. "I don't think my 'lil arms and legs' will get me far."

Toji's quiet for a few moments, and you bite your lip to not laugh. But it's no use when he flicks your ear before leaving your side, giggles fake cries of pain exiting your lips. "Fuckin' bitch."

"I heard that!"

"Good." You blow a raspberry at him as he groans, kneeling to the floor, and crouches to put his head under the shelf. The image of your brawny man squeezing through the racks is a rarity, and you can't laugh because you know he'll kill you once he gets back up. So, with silent quickness, you grab your smartphone, take a picture, and swiftly put it back in your pocket. You chuckle to yourself in accomplishment. That's for calling me a bitch, you bastard.

The man comes up with a bag of chips in hand, the exact flavor you were looking for. However, "Woah, woah, woah, that's not the right size."

"What are you on about this time?"

"I always get the family-size. That's just the regular one."

"Yeah, so?"

"So?" The older man is visibly vexed that you repeat after him, yet you continue. "Toji, I know you're gonna snack on those later, but I'm gonna use it to pack lunch for the kids. And judging by how small the packaging is, that's not gonna last for the entire week — let alone three days. Miki and Megs aren't gonna like you for that. Go get the family-size pack."

"They don't have it down here; it's just this!"

"Well, what are you gonna do? Buy three more bags...Oh."

Toji notices you spot something that puts your thoughts aside, so he follows your line of sight to the top shelf. As you described earlier, family-sized chips were stationed at the very top, unlike at the bottom stand where they usually are.

All you can do is smile sheepishly at Toji when you two glance at each other, the older man giving you the heaviest glare you've ever received. "If you ask me to pick you up again, I'm throwin' ya up there and leavin' you til next time."

"Don't bother. I'm going to get the sandwich meats." You turn away from him and the cart to hide your laughs and head to the deli aisle. "You stay right there. I'll be right back."

"Hmph, whatever." The man grabs the right size of chips and chucks them into the cart. And then he leans against the shelves, waiting for your arrival so you two can finally leave the store.

One minute pasts. Then two...Three....Four.....Five—What the fuck!?

There's no way the store is that big for you to find the deli aisle. It's nearly been six minutes, and you have yet to return to the snack aisle! Toji can only wonder what it is that's taking you so damn long. They probably saw somethin' cute and will ask me to get it for 'em. Hmph, like hell. Or maybe they don't have the sandwich meats they're lookin' for and are tryin' to find something else to substitute. Or they could be lost, who knows.

But the more he thinks, his thoughts delve into darker reflections. And if they're lost, would they run into someone for help? What if that person doesn't work here, talking to a damn stranger. What if that bastard is making them uncomfortable? Taking advantage of them. Or worse: a kidnapping.

Dread corrupts all of Toji's senses when his mind wanders to the worst scenarios, but he can't help it when you haven't returned to him. There's already one person he's lost in his life, and he wouldn't want to lose you too. That's why he straightens himself up and ditches the cart full of your stuff to find you for himself. Because if you aren't in this store right now, things will start to get ugly.

He storms out of the aisle, looking around to assess the parameter. Deep breaths don't seem to calm him down, as the dry bob in his throat makes it difficult to swallow. He looks up to see the signs for every aisle. Deli...Where the hell is—

That thought grinds to a halt when he hears footsteps approach from behind. So Toji turns around with haste, grabbing the pocket knife always kept in his jean pocket.

However, he doesn't pull the defensive weapon out. Instead, his tense physique relaxes, and a wave of relief soothes him down back to Earth. Because the footsteps belonged to you. You were okay.

"Damn, you and your freaky senses! I was hiding behind that bread rack over there and waiting for you to turn around so I could surprise you. Hehe, but I can see you must've—Ow, ow, ouch!!!"

Unlike before, genuine cries of pain fly out your mouth when Toji pinches your cheeks, twisting them so hard that you scream louder the tighter the grip. He doesn't let go until you step on his foot, and even then, the hurtful wails are replaced with laughter.

"You absolute fucking brat." You try to cover your giggles with your hands, but the irritated expression on Toji's face makes it difficult to keep your composure. "Over here tryin' to scare me and shit when I'm wondering what the hell's takin' you so damn long. Not even my own damn kids give me this much trouble."

"Oh shit, pfffthaha. At lea-At least I—wheeze," You're trying so hard to look your boyfriend in the eye, but God was you in hysterics. Tears prickle, and you slowly reveal some packaged items in your hands. "At least I got the sandwich meat."

Toji swiftly snatches the deli products off your grasp, causing you to laugh even harder to the point of your stomach hurting and your eyes forced shut. But that doesn't stop the man from pulling you to the unattended cart by the back of your neck, caging you between him and the handlebar.

But no matter, because you still laugh walking down the aisle with him. You still laugh at the self-checkout. And you still laugh when putting the groceries in the trunk of Toji's car and placing the cart in the corral.

Even when you sit in the passenger seat, chuckles fill the silence and one-sided tension. You peer to Toji's side to see him harbor a scowl while facing the windshield, downright avoiding you. "Oh, come on, Toji, it was just a little prank. You gotta admit it was kinda funny!"

He shakes his head, eyes still honed in front of him.

"What? Oh, so you're not gonna talk to me?"

Nothing.

"Are you serious? Toji, it wasn't even that big of a deal. Were you worried about me for real—"

"Yeah, kid." Now he looks at you; his forest-green orbs capture yours as if luring you to listen to what he's saying. "I was fuckin' worried about you. Thought somethin' bad happened or...whatever, forget it." Toji lets a heavy sigh exit his system, resting his head on his hand.

And you just watch him, not bothering to say a word back. It doesn't take long for you to understand where he's coming from because you're already beating yourself about it with the uneasy silence between you two.

You know about Toji's loss — his late wife, Megumi's mother. You don't know too much about her passing. However, you're enormously aware of how significant a toll the loss took on Toji. It took him a long time to even consider dating again and putting a label on your relationship.

So now that he's with you, it's easy to understand that he doesn't want you getting hurt and anything dreadful happening on your end.

And yet, acting like a child isn't making things any better.

You silently exhale and hesitantly set a hand on the one lying still on his thigh. You notice his head turn in your direction from the sudden contact, but you don't address it, just leaning on him with your head on his shoulder. Toji lets you do so.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to make you worry like that." You say to him, your eyes on your hand rubbing on the back of his. "Just wanted to act silly with you, is all. Didn't want to scare you."

"Who told you to act silly?"

"Uhh, me? 'Cause it's like 3 a.m., just the two of us. And it's the weekend."

You can feel the rise and fall of his shoulder following the sigh he lets out through his nose. Toji then removes his hand from you and puts it on your shoulder to keep you close. "You can be a pain in the ass, ya know that, kiddo?"

"Yeah, yeah. But I know you love me for it~." You move to happily kiss him on the cheek.

"Yeah, sure." He kisses your temple and rests his head on yours. The two of you indulge in the comfortable silence of the car for a few minutes, relinquishing each other's presence before driving home. "Just be a lil' more careful, 'kay, baby?"

"Mmm, promise."

...

But you're still gonna make that picture you took of Toji your wallpaper. It's a true gem. Plus, it's what you get for calling me a bitch.

[iridescentxstars]

｡˚ ꕥ 𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐱𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐬' 𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐤𝐭𝐨𝐛𝐞𝐫 '𝟐𝟒

Kinky season is coming and I thought I'd get a head start. From today until the end of September, I'll be taking kinktober requests while also working on some other fics that I hope to have done and ready soon (yes, the wolf fic is at the top of the list) This event is split into two different types: typical NSFW and dark, spooky NSFW because as someone kept making a point of, it's kinkTOBER and lines up with spooky season and I should have fun with that.

Idols allowed: Jongin, Bangchan, Minho, San, Seonghwa, Juyeon, Sangyeon and Irene

RULES:

Must have all qualifying factors to the prompt otherwise it will be deleted.

Drabbles made that are on the darker side will be tagged and properly trigger warned. Do not read them if you are uncomfortable. Every post will state everything used.

Always take care of yourself and be aware of what you read. This is all for fun and is not designed to upset anyone. Nothing written is believed to be how someone may behave and is all fictional.

Try to be original and fun. If a kink/prompt has been picked too many times, I will not do it

If you don't like a particular prompt/kink, feel free to ignore it, do not send snarky remarks to belittle what someone may enjoy

Some will very clearly work well together, some will not, while I do like a challenge, please be mindful about how it would work as I only have around 500 words to make it make sense

Please do not make the prompt too restrictive. These are meant to be drabbles and there needs to be creative freedom

Format: Must contain the following: Idol, AU, trope/dialogue/prompt, kink

You can have a trope OR a dialogue OR a prompt OR all of it. Mix and match. Requests that spark inspiration might get a longer piece written. You can choose up to 3 kinks but only 1-2 AU, tropes and prompts/dialogue to keep it easy!

All these prompts have been either thought about or found on other accounts because sometimes it's hard to remember or think about different ideas. The darker/spooky choices are coloured red to separate them from the safer choices.

Note: They can be interchangeable in the right circumstances. Mafia can be considered dark or maybe having a werewolf boyfriend is softer than we think.

AU: (some found here)

Roommates!AU

Mafia!AU

Werewolf!AU

Vampire!AU

College!AU

Angel!AU

Demon!AU

Hunter!AU

Co-Workers!AU

Friends With Benefits!AU

Superhero/Villain!AU

Yandere!AU

Monster!AU (specify what kind)

Killer!AU

Circus!AU

Stalker!AU

Mythology!AU (specify what kind/who)

Hybrid!AU

CEO!AU

Alien!AU

You Choose (will allow 3 max of this)

Tropes: (found here)

Enemies to lovers

Fake Dating/Marriage

Only one bed

Love potion

Kissing as a distraction

Jealousy

Blind Date

Taking care of them

Forbidden Love

Confessions

You Choose (will allow 3 max of this)

Dialogue/Prompt: (some found here)

“Don’t act innocent when we both know where your mouth was two minutes ago.”

“I could make you feel better.”

“My tongue still remembers the way you taste.”

“Come on, you have to work for it.”

“We won’t be missed for a couple hours, we should take advantage of that.”

“Hmm, is that a threat or a promise?”

“Let’s commit some sins.”

“Jealousy is not a word I’m familiar with.

“This is your work place, leave the boyfriend at home next time.”

“This seems like such a bad decision, but I just can’t help it.”

"You'll scream? Oh, baby, I really hope you do~."

You've been hearing noises for a while now, shuffling under your bed in the wee hours of the night. Most people would be scared to check whether it's their cat or not but you? You decide to lure the monster out by having a little fun.

There are no such things as monsters in your closet, that's what's always been told to you but how do they explain the eyes that watch you as you touch yourself? Or why you can't seem to stop doing it?

Everyone has a pet, a cute kitty cat or a puppy dog but you? Well, you have something that can't be found in a pet store... or... on this earth, actually.

A new haunted house has opened up and everyone is dying to go! You are scared, you won't deny that but what do you find scarier? The house and all its horror or the fact that being chased turns you on?

They told you that they would kill for you but you didn't think that they were serious... or did you?

You always joked with your extremely hot best friend that you would flirt and fuck your kidnapper because you read a lot of dark romance. So, they decided to make that dream a reality. Oh no, whatever will you do to gain your freedom?

Two words: Masked Men

You go to a party with your friends on Halloween and spot a handsome guy, walking around, shirtless, covered in fake blood with a mask on. Little did you know that it isn't quite a costume...

The dare was to enter the creepy, abandoned, possibly haunted asylum... not make out in it.

You Choose (will allow 3 max of this)

Kinks:

Oral

Toys

Knotting

Primal Play/Predator/Prey

Bondage

Praise/Worship

Degradation

Orgasm Control/Edging

Roleplay

Breeding/Creampie

Knife play

Blood play

Fear play

Dom/Sub

Impact Play

Overstimulation

Public

Dacryphilia

Free use (established/consensual)

Breath Play/Choking

Somnophilia

Owner/Pet

Voyeurism/Exbitionism

Photo/Video

Sensory Deprivation

Size Difference

Age Gap

You Choose (will allow 3 max of this)

I won't be putting the pressure on myself to do one a day as I do also work and everything else BUT I will try to do them every few days so there is no limit on what can be sent in as I'll go through and post like 1-5 at a time when I'm online and writing!

[z-eusie]

i finished blood of zeus and i'm going to try and formulate some of my thoughts on it here. i'll preface this by saying i really enjoyed the first season (it had some flaws, and there were parts i didn't like, but overall the story was interesting and i liked most of the portrayals). spoiler warning for season 2 ahead!

i had quite a few gripes with the show this season. it very much so felt like a set-up season (which is fine), but it also made the show feel very slow. one of my biggest complaints was actually about heron as the protagonist - i didn't mind him in season 1, but in this season, he felt so flat, boring, and irritating that i genuinely tuned out most of his scenes. his role in the story made sense in the first season, but now, everything feels much bigger than him and he has no reason to be involved in all of the godly drama. get him out of there lol. he has no understanding of the politics of olympus and is mortal, but he can shoot lightning and zeus liked him so he deserves to be a contender in who gets to lead them? HUH? (an oversimplification, i’m aware)

my second complaint was ares. i've seen a lot of people reiterate my feelings, that it was frustrating to see him portrayed so negatively, that his storyline with persephone was bad and that his antagonism was infuriating. which i also agree with. i think my biggest issue here is not that he was an antagonist, but that his motivations for antagonism were weak at best. ares sided with hera in season 1. he should NOT be able to parade himself around olympus the way he did this season - hera had to go into hiding and even poseidon was removed from the overall plot because of their deeds. but there seems to be no repercussions for ares, which is flaw number 1. flaw number 2 is that his reason for hating heron and being a general jerk is that he isn’t a bastard and deserves more renown than any of the others. i think it would have been FAR more interesting to make ares’ storyline centered not on his sense of superiority, but actually his jealousy (kind of the way wrath of the titans did it. in that film, he was jealous of perseus and the love zeus had for him). ares being jealous that, despite being zeus’ ‘heir’ in this context, and one of his few legitimate children, he didn’t have his father’s love, and he loathes heron for it. you don’t really get that sense from him in this show, and i think it would have been far more compelling for his anger to have come from envy instead of pride. the persephone stuff i just can’t even touch on because why.

my third complaint is actually about demeter and persephone - demeter in particular. her being the villain is so frustrating, but i can’t exactly be surprised. i knew the moment that this show portrayed hades and persephone as a loving couple with a romantic origin that demeter was going to be villainized. but the way they did it is ridiculous. she’s not a grieving mother - she’s pure evil. the storyline with the cordyceps was fucked (and also… really insignificant, somehow). but i think the part that aggravates me the most is that it completely ignores why demeter froze the earth the first time. she did not do it to be spiteful, or out of anger. she didn’t do it to punish anyone. she was a grieving mother, a mother who had lost her daughter and no one in the world seemed able to help her, and her grief manifested in dying crops. in this show, she’s just vindictive, cruel, and genuinely terrifying, and i cannot stand that she is once again being villainized in one of the FEW greek myths that actually centers a woman’s emotions and does not belittle them.

fourth - i love hades and persephone, but their little scheme was so wishy washy. hades as an antagonist felt half-baked, and the fact that no one on olympus actually saw this coming is a miracle because everything hades did felt really dumb and obvious. i feel like there were a hundred different ways the two of them could have gotten what they wanted. i also loathe the idea that zeus cheated his way onto the throne - i’m glad the show didn’t actually blame him for it, that hera took the fall, but i think that the fates work a little more powerfully than that - and that cheating wouldn’t be possible in this circumstance. zeus did earn the throne and he deserved it, and i will die on that hill. (my other complaint is hades and persephone’s design. blond persephone is the bane of my existence lol and hades looking like an older ares was… sigh).

a few other things i didn’t like: the way the story of typhon unfolded. at first i thought they were implying that typhon was just. plain old defeated by all the gods together, and i was frustrated, but they sort of fixed it by stating zeus was the only one who stayed to fight him. however, the lack of focus on zeus in this story means that they’re ignoring the personal stake zeus had in needing the eleusinian stone under his control. it was also weird that they implied then that there was no king of the gods until AFTER typhon, which is… a long time, actually.

the gorgo plotline also felt kind of unnecessary. seraphim’s arc could have easily been about his mothers instead and we could have felt the same level of sympathy but alas.

there were some things i really did like though! and those are as follows:

athena and hestia. zeus trusting the two of them with the very stone that gives him his power was beautiful, and i love how hard the two ladies fought to keep it safe. hestia wrecking the keres was incredible (and also hilarious to me. anyone who read my fic ‘mnemosyne’s curse’ will know that hestia scorched the keres in that story.. and then did in blood of zeus which was amazing haha). the inclusion of hestia in the story was nice. and i really loved the way the show portrayed athena’s intelligence - not just in combat or in solving problems, but she was quite emotionally intelligent as well which was a nice touch.

i liked hera’s attempts at reconciliation. i think they could have been more detailed, but her defending zeus at his trial broke my heart and i loved the way she handled the conflict. poseidon as well - his willingness to admit that zeus should have been king, and him backing out of most of the conflict for the throne was a very interesting touch i didn’t anticipate but really enjoyed.

zeus in tartarus. i mean, i didn’t actually like it because it broke my heart but him repenting and still ending up in tartarus was painful and i cried a lot i’m not gonna lie.

zeus kid solidarity - watching them work together and fight was incredible, and i adore all of their character designs so much.

melinoe and zagreus. if you know me you know i’m a fiend for the underworld family and seeing them was so cute. i just wish melinoe’s design was spookier, but alas, all of the gods seem to be very ‘pretty’ so i get why they didn’t.

every scene with zeus. his leadership shining through, his quiet acceptance of his fate, his humbleness. y’all can say what you want about him, but he proved in this season why he deserved to be king, and his absence clearly drove everyone else to some horrible acts as well - meaning what they condemned him for is not something only he is guilty of (what gaia said at the end). i will defend that man to my dying breath, and it pains me to see him this way but it’s also so good.

i am very excited to see typhon as the villain next season. i’m hoping this means they will set zeus free to help them defeat the foe only he was brave enough to stand up against uwu

[mechaknight-98]

Gathering Part II: Primal Empathy

Warning: there's going to be quite a bit of mtg nerd in this section along with some heavy topics.

I "Hey Tj, why haven't you played this deck?" Yujin asked me as I worked on cataloging things for the collector.

"That's Volrath… I don't think you all would like playing against it," I replied.

"Why not?" Yujin asked, looking confused.

"Well, simply put, this is my deck. So originally, it was an ooze kindred deck, but as I put more time into the deck, it changed and evolved into something else. It kinda became a part of me, and for better or for worse, it is the deck that is most reflective of me. I don't think others should be exposed to that, especially since it's not always the best to be around. Needless to say, it is no longer that pauper deck it once was," I explained to Yujin.

"Okay. Well, I want to see it, so bring it to the next game night. I want to see you as you see yourself," Yujin said, determined.

I laughed before countering, "You're a little minx, you know that?"

"Yeah, but you like me like this," Yujin replied playfully. "Wait, I thought you didn't have a 'signature deck'? I know you said that to everyone when we first played."

"Oh no, it's not my signature deck. This is a manifestation of all I am as a player. It has all my pet cards, all my favorite effects, and all my best and worst quirks and ticks as a deck builder, which makes the deck extremely true to me," I responded.

"I'd call that a signature deck," Yujin corrected me.

"I wouldn't, but only because in my mind for something to be 'signature', you have to sign off on it, and I refuse to sign off on that deck," I said.

"Ominous," Yujin teased.

"Yeah… Sorry about that. Got a little in my head there. It's just been tough, you know, the whole thing with Astrid has got me out of sorts," I rationalized.

"Really? What happened?" Yujin asked, sounding concerned.

"She'll tell you that it was how I dealt with her mom, but this is about her new girlfriend," I answered.

"Didn't you tell her to try dating again? Are you mad it's not a guy?" Yujin asked, hesitantly.

"No, despite my Christian upbringing, I don't care about her choice. Well, I do… Her partner is bad news," I responded, honestly.

"Oh? Why do you think so?" Yujin asked, surprised.

"She uses her intelligence to lord over others in a subtle way that many don't realize what's going on," I explained.

"How so?" Yujin asked, curious.

"She thinks you are inferior to her because we are dating because she thinks I am immature. So when she said, 'Oh, you're dating him, that's understandable,' in a tone that reads, 'You could be doing better,' I felt belittled," I quantified.

"But you have said I can do better numerous times," Yujin pointed out.

"True, but that's all in fun. You like to tease, so I am trying to match your energy," I explained.

"Oh really? So what do you think?" Yujin interrogated.

Not falling for her trap, I gave her the honest answer that wouldn't show too much of my anxieties or self, "I think you are one of the most spectacular girls I know. Also, I am lucky to have been smitten with you and you with me. Lastly, your sincerity makes me want to be more refined in who I am and match that."

"Oh, you're such a charmer, also weirdly flexible," Yujin teased.

"How so?" I inquired, intrigued.

Yujin hesitated as she thought of a clear way to say what was on her mind. "You always seem so burdened to keep the peace that you shift yourself to do so, whether it's edh or socially. I don't think you've ever intentionally overstepped your bounds."

"Well yeah, obviously not. Why would I?" I asked, confused.

"Because we need to create space to be who we are!" Yujin asserted, almost yelling.

"Oh, right," I said.

Yujin smiled, then leaned in closer. "So tell me. Who are you behind the mask?"

"You'll have to stay tuned to find that answer," I responded before kissing her. She blushed before smiling and kissing me back.

A couple of days later it's game night and I am on my getting ready. when I leave my apartment and before I can space sift over to Yujin's I am accosted by my ex-partner.

"Well if it isn't Agent Muraganda. I am surprised to see you so far out this way." I groan

"Agent Kylem. I knew I should have killed you instead of listening to Artio." I lament

"Still to the point. Good that will make this easier." Kylem praises

"Enough small talk I gotta be somewhere soon." I sigh

"Oh, you think you can take me?" Kylem Inquires

"You have been out of the game for a while so you may not be aware of where I am at," I say

Kylem smiled then summoned his dual swords, "So confident! Let's see if it's well-founded." he taunted.

I get in a fighting stance ready to face him. He runs to me with a wild lunge. I dodge and kick him in the chest as he rolls behind me. I summon a smile rifle to keep him at a distance. He smiles and slashes through my bullets while avoiding the ones he can't cut. He kept running and when he got close I had to block with the rifle. he attempted a lucky slash which I blocked and parried with the rifle bayonett. Kylem slid back. He smiled maliciously.

"You know I always thought your guns were so cool. how you could kill at range but then I realized you are a weakling." as Kylem spoke he got a lucky shot and stabbed through my face…from then on the mask fell off and he was a dead man. an intense green ichor mixed with red blood drips from my face as my aura tries to repair the damage. I remove my hand and look to Kylem who can only look in terror.

"I will eradicate you." I yell Kylem looks at me terrified as I grab him and space-sift him to a place where I can "stretch out." my aura opens up and one head pops out of it and becomes one of the Lami-Orochi the unyielding's heads. Kylem looks in terror.

"Let me beat you with your toys," I say as menace drips from my tone and I point to Kylem. Copies of his weapons begin to fly at him from every direction, and to his credit, he manages quite well, for thirty seconds, until I send more, then some more, and more. I watch as his body becomes a pin cushion for copies of his blades. I snap to stop the blades and approach the bloodied brawler. "I told you what would happen if we fought again."

"What happened to you?" Kylem asked gurgling his last few words.

"You of all people should know. I got hungry and bored and "ate" my way to more power." I said before stomping the last lights out of his eyes.

when I was done I space-sifted back home to get clean, then I called Artio and said "I cleaned up your "mess". It's in Death Valley. you know the "proper dumping spot"

Artio responded, "Theodore what did you do to Kylem?"

"I fulfilled the promise I made the last time we fought. You honestly should be thanking me he can't hurt anyone anymore." I tease

"We will talk about this later!" Artio commands

"Um no we won't it was self-defense and I don't work for BRIPE anymore. This was just a courtesy call." I say calmly

"What's gotten into you?" Artio questions

"I don't know my ex-best friend who tried to kill me just tried to kill me again," I argue

"Point taken, but we do need to talk. Not as boss and employee but as friends."Artio concedes

"Every time I have needed a Friend the only one I could count on was me…and I guess Yujin now…huh that's a weird emotion I am feeling," I say as I process everything that has gone on today. I hang up on Artio before heading to Yujin's I see Volrath The Shapestealer sitting on the shelf, and I consider leaving it, but then I remember her words from the other day and stow it just in case.

I arrive outside the dorm still somehow earlier than everyone else. Wonyoung and Gaeul are still here along with Yujin and Rei. Yujin in an admirable attempt to bridge the gap has me sit with Gaeul and Wonyoung. They are still wary of me despite my withdrawal From BRIPE, but hey what can you do? Seeing Yujin's worried look I realize something. there is no point in attempting to appeal to Wonyoung and Gaeul. I should only appeal to the person I care about here.

"Yah Yujin-ah your sisters are giving me dirty looks," I say as I walk to her. she looks at me shocked

"What are you doing?" Yujin whispers.

"What I came here for. To hang out with the best 4th gen idol ever." I said loudly

Rei interjected "Me."

I turn to Rei and tease, "Sadly no but you are exceptionally talented and I will support you. I came to hang out with Yujin. The Ace of Aces. The all-around all-rounder." I turn back to Yujin who blushes. Gaeul and Wonyoung follow into the kitchen.

"Oh don't act to be all lovey-dovey with us." Wonyoung challenges.

I scoff at Wonyoung.

"Act??? This is not an act. This woman is Mucho Caliente, she is a star whom I am lucky to have interested in me. All the love I have for her is not an Act. I scoff at your insistence it is."

Gaeul looks at me and begins to laugh. then quickly recomposes herself, but it is too late my silliness got her, Now for Wonyoung.

"if this isn't an act then why are you so tense with us."

I had to be careful in my response. I had to be witty and not overbearing. so I went for it.

"Well isn't obvious? I am surrounded by some of the hottest young ladies I have ever seen, and so I stumble…I am excluding Leeseo from that she is firmly in the cute category for obvious reasons." Leeseo who happened to be walking by looked at me sad and then confused before laughing at me.

Wonyoung was still unconvinced, "Oh really big scary BRIPE agent is afraid of pretty girls?"

"Yes 100 percent no hesitation, now it gets easier each day, minus the urge to talk someone's ear off about my special interest but hey, that is neither he nor there," I respond to Wonyoung's challenge.

Wonyoung's eyes narrow, "You expect me to believe that talking to women is harder than fighting monsters?" Wonyoung questioned

"Definitely. Fighting monsters is easy just roar and hit them harder than they hit you." talking to y'all is hard, there are all these unsaid rules and etiquette things I have to follow it's exhausting." I answered

"So how are you being so eloquent now?" Wonyoung rebuked

"Because I am treating you all as monsters or villains, and this is battle banter. I mean everyone here is a demi-human minus me a psionic so I figure why not." I rebutted

Wonyoung erupted into a laughter fit hearing that it was so intense that she began snorting, and that's how I knew I got her.

"You're so dumb." she teased

"Nun-uh," I said and Wonyoung began bursting into laughter again. I found her energy and I matched it.

Wonyoung's laughter subsided, "I still don't trust you."

"I don't care besides I got you. We're friends now." I counter

"You seem confident." Wonyoung asserts

"Well yeah, I got you to laugh. that's my win condition, in social spaces." I retort

"what?" Wonyoung asks

"Well that's what this is right a game, and games have winners and losers, I learned that my best strategy is to get to people by either being the most bombastic and memorable person I can or getting them to laugh. Yours Yujin is the overwhelming charm. you charm people with your grace and wit so everyone has no choice but to like you. Wonyoung's is delicateness and nobility. My only proof of this is how many people call your princess all the time. Gaeul's is her grace and poise. she is regal and dignified in her presentation so she garners positive attention. this all manifests to win cons. or to put it simply the acknowledgment of your social skill working. for me that's laughs. If I can get you to Laugh we're friends. Unless I don't want to be." I elucidate

Wonyoung looks at me stunned, before saying "Well played then Paladin."

"Oh, I like that Princess wony. You're going to have to keep that one." I say to Wonyoung who blushes and laughs some more. I move closer to Yujin who is all smiles at this point. "I think we are good to go right?" I ask Yujin. she nods.

"Well then (I clap my hands) Onwards to Yunjin's for game night," I say enthusiastically. Yujin and the rest of her present group members laughed some more.

On our way out Wonyoung corners me and says, “Since you are Yujin's boyfriend and you're not backing down can I ask a favor?”

“Sure,” I say

“Keep her safe,” Wonyoung responds

“As long as she lets me I will,” I reply

“Spoken like a true paladin.” Wonyoung teases

“Requested like a true Princess,” I say

“Okay, Pally now go on help Wonyoung beat Yujin, Connor, Sakura, and Siyeon.” Wonyoung edicts

“Ya know what I will,” I affirm

after that Yujin and I begin the trek to Yunjin's. while on the way Yujin says "So I have bad news Tj."

"What is it?" I ask hesitantly

"My label says we can't date." She says

"I figured that but we are not dating I am courting you; there's a difference." I correct

"My label doesn't see it that way," Yujin says

"So what does that mean?" I ask

"Well, We have to cut this off." Yujin states

"Ahn Yujin I swear on all that is bizarre and unexplainable…"I start but realize something halfway through," You know what I will humor you."

"Oh really and why is that?" Yujin questions suspicous

"Because you have stolen my heart and I want you to be happy and I think you are in the same boat. I don't think you can do it." I assert

"What's that supposed to mean?" Yujin asks

"Well I think you are as in love with me as I am with you, and it leads me to believe that I don't think you can cut me off. Also, I think your label may be preparing one of the girls for a dating scandal but that's irrelevant." I postulate

"Oh really Mr. Know it all and why do you assume that?" Yujin questions

"Just a hunch, but yeah I will humor you. So how does this change things between us." I ask

"No hanging out alone one on," Yujin says

"We barely did that?" I reply

"No PDA." Yujin states

"Again that's something that seldom happens," I reply again

"No…" Yujin starts

Tiring of this game I decided to predict her next statement"Ooh Ooh let me guess, no intimacy whatsoever."

"How did you?" Yujin starts

"I've read your company's dating policy because I realized this would be an issue. So I began courting you instead." I explain

We arrive at Yunjin's not long after. Connor opens the door and greets us.

"Oh good it's Theo and Yujin. I can't wait to play against your Sultai pirates deck Theo." Dexter says as we walk in. Eunbi smacks his neck

"I know you're excited but greet them properly." Eunbi scolds

"Hi guys ( I turn to Eunbi.) Once a leader always a leader huh?" I say pleasantly as Yujin also greets everyone.

Eunbi blushes.

"How is my favorite interracial couple," Yunjin says as she walks into the dorm's living room.

"Oh us we aren't a couple anymore," I say teasing Yujin who hits me.

"Ah Whae?" Yunjin quesitons

"OH, what happened," Connor asks.

"My company found out about us and told us to break it off," Yujin says as I gesture to her.

"Jinja" Eunbi says shocked Yujin nods Dexter being the blunt one says

"But wait you two came here." I nod and then respond to something he said earlier

"Oh before I forget I am sorry Dexter there will be no Sultai Pirates today. It will be Sultai Toolbox instead."

"Sultai toolbox?" Yunjin asks

"Sultai toolbox," I affirm

"Who's the commander?" Siyeon asks

"Oh, Volrath the Shapestealer," I answer

"How does it work?" Sakura asks as the sometimes fellow Sultai player.

"You'll see," I say as we all sit down.

In tonight's game knight is headed dragon. All the "Couples" were paired off. So the pairs were; Yunjin, Connor, Dexter, Eunbi, Sakura Siyeon, Yujin, and me. We all sit down and reveal commanders. Connor looks at mine and reads it "Huh I haven't seen it in a while."

"yeah I don't like bringing it out but I can't bring myself to dismantle it," I explain

"Okay, how strong is it?" Dexter asks

"About as strong as your Omnath locus of the roil deck." I clarify Dexter nods and this causes everyone to bring out their "Signature decks. Yunjin and Connor won the roll-off

"Ah Tj-ah you can go first I wanna see how good Volrath is," Yunjin said. Connor looks at her before saying

"No you know how he builds and he says this deck is as strong as Dex's omnath deck." Connor tries to

"It will be fine. we can afford to lose a game. besides we can do what we always have done and gang up on them." Yunjin replies. her smug, and confident look wears down Connor. Typically the competitor in me would be all about wiping the smirk off her face but I am trying not to give into the other part of me I can feel waking up We unfurl our playmats and Yujin sees mine.

"What Happened?" she said I looked down and saw it was my Fromis_9 Playmat.

"I have played with this loads of times," I say to Yujin. She pouts and says

"BUT I like your IVE one. Where is that one?"

"I had to wash it. it was covered in dust." I explain. Yujin scowls, and pouts

"You sure you two are cutting it off," Yunjin interjects.

I shrug which makes everyone laugh. I open the deck box and set Volrath the Shapestealer down with his deck box close by. I take it out and set it down I begin to sit up and a familiar silence begins to overtake me. Siyeon sees it and comments on it. "Tj-ah are you alright?" I look at her and I see apprehension in her eyes. I blink as I try to mask the hostility that is arising within me.

"Yeah, I am feeling great why?"I lie

"Your eyes are glowing with your aura," Sakura responds

I nod and say "Yeah my powers activate when I am in tune with myself and this deck is the most I have been "in tune with myself" I explain. Yunjin smiles and says

"that's so cool."

"I assure you it's not as cool as you think," I say saddened to Yunjin

"Ooh Ominous" Eunbi teases, and I smile seeing where Yujin gets her 4D personality from.

our first turn goes by fast as I play Barkchannel Pathway into Sol Ring, into Arcane Signet into Sol talisman. I probably should have done Mystic Remora which was also in my hand but I know one of the other blue players probably would have countered that. so I let them have their moment to breathe as they all played their various turn-one plays.

I begin to see the gears in Connor's head turning as he faces Yujin. he gestures to my board and says "That's a turn two commander". as he plays commander turn one. as does Yujin

"Okay, so I am the problem when you both have two powerhouse commanders out turn one?" Yujin nods and says to her boyfriend

"He's right because we know Kkura Siyeon, Eunbi, and Dex are going to start explosive."

"But it's Theo we have all seen how he plays. We are being tricked." Connor pleads.

"I assure you There is no deception going on," I say

"Oh, really you just expect us to trust the Sultai player and the Jund player." Kkura teases

Yujin and I shrug at the same time which causes a riot at the table.

"Seriously you two are perfect for each other." Yunjin says in between laughs." Kkura nods in affirmation. after that Siyeon and Sakura go with draw engines for their turn ones. Sylvan Library for Sakura (She was Playing Tymna Hana I believe) and Siyeon was playing Evelyn the covetous. so her turn was a rhystic study turn one.

"Hey, Kkura or Connor how is Giselle? I haven't seen her in a while."

"Oh, she is dating this new girl Erin…I think is her name. she's a vampire like Yujin and Aeri." Connor says.

"OH, what type?" Yujin asks brightly

"Nightstar. if I remember correctly."

"Cool it will be awesome to have another Vamp to hang out with."

I give Connor a thanks and a thumbs up while also noticing the wince in his voice describing Erin which makes me believe she may be less than friendly but hey anything is better than HER. I think to myself. I watch as Dex plays more disciplined magic and doesn't feed Rhsytic study except to kill it with a clutch turn one nature's claim. Eunbi on the other hand explodes her hand all over the battlefield dropping artifact and ending it all with an Esper Sentinel. "Ah, Noona what did I say about feeding Rhystic study." Eunbi turns to Dexter and sighs as she remebers.

"Play under it because it is an incredibly powerful spell," Eunbi says.

"Yeah but why couldn't you just wait till I cast Claim before casting all your stuff."

"Well I got excited I finally got turn one sol ring and a fellwar stone," Eunbi says elatedly. Dexter relents in his frustration and nestles closer into the tiny woman. I smile at their relationship. My hostility is replaced by a firm sense of longing for something similar to what the Inuit/Russian young man and the Korean young woman have. It sent a pain in my chest that was painful but not unpleasant just dull.

"Tj-ah you're crying," Yujin says bringing me back to reality.

"Oh sorry Eunbi and Dexter are just so cute together," I say as I wipe my eyes.

"Oh don't be such a softy." Yujin teases

"Why not you love that about me." I retort

"Yeah, but I can't love you right now so stop it," Yujin says and we share a laugh as does the rest of the table. it gets back to Yujin and I turn and she begins with Birds of Paradise and another flyer with Death touch that I couldn't remember the name of. I play a Zagoth triome, honored Hierarch, and a mystic remora, and the rest of the table looks at me with confusion. This begins the arms race between Sakura and Siyeon, versus Connor and Yunjin. Yunjin is worried because Kkura is playing one of her stronger decks as is Siyeon and they've already had really strong starts. this at least allows Yujin and I to have some breathing room. Something I was going to take advantage of. So on our next turn (after drawing 5 cards off Mystic Remora I pay for the fish then I play my commander as does Yujin. I put a -1-1 counter on the Avacyn Yunjin swung with and passed. Unsurprisingly Yunjin's next move after getting avacyn is a board wipe. everyone who isn't Connor or Yujin groans including Yujin but I pay one and make all of our stuff indestructible. Several eyes widen upon seeing this. after that, the table begins to hate Yujin and me while letting Connor and Yunjin acquire value, but the issue is a lot of the deck is just protected because of the avacyn of one player, the Shalai of another, and so forth. Eventually, it culminates at turn 5 where I make my commander a copy of scute swarm and crack two fetch lands making three of my commanders but with Scute Swarm's name, at this point, I don't have a lock but I do have a lot of exceptionally strong pieces that make the game incredibly hard for everyone else. The only issue was getting through Avacyn. So I did the smart thing and just kept needling damage through slowly but surely. waiting for a mistake to be made, and it did. Yunjin went for a massive board wipe due to her avacyn being out. my response was simple. I exiled avacyn after making Volrath a copy of her then watched the board be destroyed and cleaned up the wreckage from there securing one of our first wins together. Yujin was all smiles as she turned to me and hugged me tight. when she broke the hug the look she had was so full of affection and care, and with everything that happened over the last week and a half I just broke. I ran out of the dorm back to California.

Is Tj, okay Yunjin asks

I'd assume not really he's been dumped twice now in the span of two weeks. First by Astrid and now by Yujin that has to be wearing on him Connor says to Yunjin

He's carrying it much better than I thought he would. Yunjin says with a smile

I guess but honestly I think he's one bad day from full supervillain at this point. Connor replies

Nah he's to gives me too many st Bernard vibes to turn evil. Yunjin counters

You do realise Cujo was a st Bernard. Connor replies

Yeah one with rabies, and besides Tj protects us and himself so well that he would never go feral unless it's for Yujin because he is down bad for her. Yunjin says

Yeah he is extremely down bad for her but, I don't know that game he just played showed me some worrying traits of his Connor replies

Like what Yunjin questions

When I'm down I go to either the beach or the tar pits. Today was a tar pits day. I found a nice quiet corner and I cried for a good while. I cried about losing Astrid, losing Yujin, losing Kylem, losing my job. Thankfully it was in private so I could be alone at least for a little bit. While I sat there I got a message from Yujin.

Through the tears I began singing “Hated” by beartooth which provided some comfort at least

"Please come." It said. So I got up and space sifted to the dorm. I walked in as it was unlocked and went to the living room where Yujin, Wonyoung, and Gaeul were sitting. Yujin's face was puffy and full of tears I watch as Wonyoung glares at me along with Gaeul.

Why did you leave me Yujin asked me

My response was a simple one do you want the honest answer or the one that will be easier to here.

Before Gaeul could even speak I turn to her and say I am aware she is hurt and my affectation is unpleasant but this is between us so please reserve judgementuntil after we converse.

Gaeul and wonyoung both Glared at me but said nothing Yujin on the other hand through sobs said I want the truth do you hate Me do you want to leave and never come back.

I thought about my answer for a moment then I responded, Darling I love you and want to be with you like the sky and the horizon, but I want to respect your wishes and you told me to back off. So I did. Also its been a rough few weeks these last few days

Yujin blushed and looked at me with awe and confusion then she asked, wait really? Tell me everything

Not seeing the harm I did

Yujin hears me out and progressively gets more invested and saddened by my words. After my little tale she says, I had no idea Tj

I shrug and say I didn't want to really worry anyone. Ya know got a reputation to uphold.

Yujin groans as she stares at me well then let's see how we can fix this. she says

[loserlvrss]

꒰ (𝐔𝐍)𝐂𝐎𝐌𝐅𝐎𝐑𝐓𝐀𝐁𝐋𝐄 ꒱ 오성민

summary : your period symptoms are the worst, but your boyfriend is the best

genre : fluff, seongmin x afab!reader, drabble, established relationship tws : pet names, skinship, detailed period symptoms author notes : once again, if you see my man at pride DO NOT inbox me i know word count : 1k

“i’m here!” you heard being called out from where your front door met the living room area.

it was a habit that you had whenever you went over to the dorms, and now your boyfriend (as well as the others) had picked it up.

you wanted to greet him at the door, but today was the worst of your usually bad cycle, and you felt absolutely debilitated. your cramps were beyond belief, you didn’t even get any sort of comfort from laying on your shower floor like you usually could. you felt too hot, yet had the cold sweats and you mind just wouldn’t stay quiet long enough to let you fall asleep, even though you felt so lethargic.

you told seongmin, when he texted you earlier, that he shouldn’t come over because you wouldn’t be very much fun—and honestly you thought it was a little belittling to literally be fighting for your life. you also were a little scared of your visuals; you were wearing sweats, probably from two days ago when your period had started, hair messy because even though you technically took a shower, you didn’t get up off the floor long enough to wash up.

and to top it all off, your head was starting to pound.

all the lights in your apartment were off, and it honestly was confusing your boyfriend. he knew you were home, but maybe you were asleep—he didn’t know. you listened to the footsteps against silent air approaching your bedroom.

you were dreading the moment he’d open the door and let the light peak through. and as he did, it creaked against its hinges, the noise echoing painfully against your skull.

“y/n?” he asked softly. and thankfully he thought you were asleep otherwise he might’ve run and jumped onto your bed like he has in the past. “are you awake?”

you groaned, seongmin’s eyebrows creasing together. you pulled the blanket over your head, careful not to move too much (because it might set off your nausea and cramps).

you could hear the door shut, thankful that maybe he got the hint. you hugged the heating pad to your stomach, trying to conserve the heat that seemed to never be enough in these situations.

“y/n, are you tired? sick? what’s wrong? is that why you asked me not to co—“

the blanket muffled your voice, however he heard it interjecting between his sentence.

“min, please be quiet. my head—everything—hurts right now. i’m on my period.”

quietly, more like to himself he let out an “oh.” before you felt the covers being pulled off your head, however his hand was almost flush over your eyes blocking the light.

“i’m sorry. do you want me to leave? just nod—wait no that might hurt your head. tap me once for yes, twice for no.”

you wanted to laugh, but knew it would hurt too much to. so, the hands that were wrapped around your midsection broke apart and you tapped seongmin’s leg once… then twice.

“can you get me some medicine?”

faster than the speed of light he was off, and this time you couldn’t hold back the small chuckle in the back of your throat—that eventually morphed into a pained groan. he was being careful to be quiet, but nonetheless he was on a mission, and the faster he could get you medicine, the faster you could feel better. he didn’t like you when you were hurting.

when he came back, he opened the door just enough for his body to fit through, shutting it gently and shuffling over to you. seongmin held out a bottle of water for you, and an open palm that had bottles of medicine pooled in it.

“baby, why’d you grab so many?”

he set them down on the nightstand, pulling a couple others from his hoodie pocket. you giggled again, and the sound sent some sort of relief through the man.

“i didn’t know which one you wanted.” he admitted, helping you into a seated position. he admired you as you ran a hand through your tangled hair, pulling at the hoodie (of his) that you’d thrown on carelessly.

he loved you, whatever that entailed, and it was as simple as that.

“if you let me finish before running off—“

“shh!” he said, taking your hand and putting the bottle in it. “your head hurts.”

he was right, and you’d almost forgotten about it, finding the bottle of ibuprofen and taking a couple to ease the pain.

“do you need anything else?” he asked, checking the setting on your heating pad, and helping you lay back down. he took said heating pad and placed it under your sweatshirt, knowing you’d get a better feel of it.

you shook your head no as a reply, feeling the bed dip as he climbed into it with you. “let’s take a nap… then you’ll feel better?” he questioned, while simultaneously suggesting.

you hoped he was right.

he hugged you, slipping a arm under the arch of your back and laying almost in a crooked angle so that his head could rest against your upper stomach. his other arm was putting enough pressure against your uterus that it was relieving—you didn’t know such a thing would work for your cramps—but it probably had to do with that fact that everything combined was now basically heat-compression therapy.

you weaved your fingers through his hair, distracting yourself from the pain within your body. seongmin was calmness; he was the clouds on an overly hot day. the A on a test you were stressing about. the clarity through the fog. the rain to humidity. he cleared you of worry, and always made sure you were comfortable.

he’d hold you hand under the table. hug you from behind with everyone watching. he’d talk to you for hours just to distract from whatever exam had you stressed. he knew where every one of your doors were, and the keys to unlock them. you’d never felt safer being vulnerable.

and eventually, because of everything, the atmosphere had become relaxing enough to help you fall asleep.

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[ravenswritingblog]

sudden.

in which kento slips up for once *giggles*

there's something unexplainably fascinating about his wife conversating on the most different topics with such a disarming intelligence, so loquacious and flowing with her words.

she's discussing with her friend, and he's listening quietly but the topic didn't suscitate much interest in him.

nevertheless he looks at her and lets a smile take over his expression.

pretty isn't she? he thinks to himself.

“think about it for a second. wherever you look there's a reference, a joke, an image from a "certain angle" or perspective, an implicit demand for it to be in everything we see. society has transformed such an intimate concept into an empty, easily accessible thing with no depth or whatsoever."

he blinks a couple of times. he's spacing out as he stares at her lips, thinking of them on his, the warmth of her small body against his, broad and big. he bites his lower lip. sweetheart of mine. he shakes his head, going back to reality.

“it's almost like people can't stop thinking about sex, you get me?” are the last words of your discourse, the only ones he hears.

without even blinking he blurts out a “wait, can you?” and he knows he fucked up.

his cheeks go red along with the tip of his ears, his eyes widen in disbelief for what he just said and yours don't hesitate to do so either. he straightens up on his seat, he's absolutely frozen.

what the fuck is wrong with me.

he starts muttering something, some sort of apology without even daring to look at his wife, who must be, undoubtedly and obviously, furious at him.

“kento..” she starts to say but he's quick to get up and mutter an 'excuse me' before leaving as fast as possible.

his mind keeps telling him how stupid he must've looked and just how awkward in must've made his wife feel.

he couldn't stop rushing his thoughts back and forth between his and her image. thinking of how he just put her in a terrible light, overshadowing all her qualities and nullifying her discourse with such a dumb, depth lacking comment.

he refuged himself in the room right next to the one he was just in and sat on the floor with his hands on his face, still heated up in embarrassment.

meantime y/n was still processing what just happened. she takes a look at her friend whose eyebrows are raised, they were holding in a little giggle, threatening to become a full sound laughter.

“i... i'll go check on him” she says, getting up to reach him.

she slowly opens the door “kento?”

he gets up so quickly to walk to her that she thinks she hallucinated. in the blink of an eye he's in front of her with his head down.

“y/n, dear. i'm so sorry, i really didn't mean to belittle you with my words, it was supposed to be a thought, only to myself, something i would've joked about with you later in private. i- really i had no intention of embarrassing you or anything i-”

“kento.” she firmly calls him, stopping his little ranting.

he still dares not to look at her.

she sighs “it's okay. i was just very surprised since it is nothing like you to just blurt our certain things in front of others.”

his frowned expression told her how sorry he felt as he finally looked at her.

“we're good baby. don't worry”

she sighs once again before giggling. “dummy.”

he scrunches up his nose, trying to hold in a smile and she kisses his cheek, leaving him in the room blushing a bit more.

©kentoswifewritingblog. do not use, translate or rewrite anything without permission.

endless thank yous to my best friend. always by my side. my one and only. @kalineedsasupportkento

[incendio22]

FOR THE HOPE OF IT ALL

Chapter 21: The Keepers

It's been almost a year since I last sat my foot in the Map Chamber. I picture Professor Fig standing in front of the massive portraits. Even though I know that this picture only exists in my mind I am still disappointed to see the Map Chamber echoing with emptiness. Fig made a great impact on me with his curiosity and bravery, but I was always taken by the way he spoke of Miriam, his wife who had passed away. Sometimes I think about what it would have been like if she got to meet me, knowing that I possess the ability she long tried to study without finding any actual evidence. I wish I would have gotten to see them together. From the stories they seemed like such a happy couple. I picture what it would be like to grow old with Sebastian, us being goofy and playful until we pass the age of 100. What he would look like with wrinkles, how his hands would feel. My deepest desire is to spend my entire life with him, through the good and bad. And knowing that wizards and witches live longer than muggles is a relaxing thought in this case.

The portraits are empty, but soon all of the Keepers are in their portraits. They look curiously at me, as if they are wondering what on earth I am doing back here after last year's events. Of course I cannot blame them, I would also be surprised to see me here if I were them. I'm terrified of what they might say and the silence is growing more and more uncomfortable, also noticeably more uncomfortable. I finally gathered enough courage to break the silence. I jump straight to the matter.

''So... A couple of months ago I found a prophecy. It was ancient magic leading me to it. And well, it's bad.''

I tell them the whole story. About the dark wizard, how this prophecy seems to be linked to one of my closest friends and finally, that I may have told him about all of this. The portraits exchange looks with each other in silence. Some look bothered, but one is looking particularly furious.

''I knew we were wrong to have faith in the girl,'' San Bakar broke the portraits' silence. ''How could you possibly be so foolish to tell people about this?!''

I stand silently in front of them trying to find the words to explain it, but I don't have a good reason. Sebastian's voice is echoing inside of my head saying that this information wasn't even necessary for the plan to succeed. I sense that the Keepers have that in common with him.

''You should have told us sooner,'' Niamh Fitzgerald says in a determined voice. ''Especially since it was ancient magic leading you to that prophecy. We could have helped you.''

''I told you all a year ago that a child should never wield this kind of power! We all remember what happened to Isidora. Now look at her!'' It's once again San Bakar talking, looking at me from head to toe with a disgusted face. I feel belittled, as if I'm not worthy of the power I possess.

''What can I do?'' I ask.

The portraits go silent. Once again they exchange looks and Niamh gives me a pitiful face, as if she already feels sorry for what they are about to say.

''I'm not sure that the information will do you any good right now,'' Niamh begins. ''Next time we meet you must tell us every part of this plan you and your friends have, and I will fill you in with more information later.''

As if that information is of any use to me, I think as I walk out of the Map Chamber. At least I am still alive, which is something I had counted on potentially not having much longer after meeting the Keepers. I want to tell Sebastian, but I'm not sure what good the small amount of information I have will do. Anyway, I head towards the Undercroft where I promised Sebastian to meet him afterwards. I had joked about maybe not coming back, as a defence mechanism, which Sebastian did not appreciate.

I see Sebastian practicing some spells on the training dummy and I stand in the doorway admiring him. I might be a better duellist than him, but I have my doubts that I don't look nearly as good as him when duelling. He messes up his wand movement on one spell, making him quit and he kicks the floor lightly with his feet.

''Keep slacking with your wrist like that and you'll never beat me.'' I say, referencing to his poor wand movement.

He gives me a funny look and raises an eyebrow.

''Is that so? Why don't you show me how it's done then?'' He says with a smirk.

I stand behind him, putting my hand around his grip on the wand. I am always taken by how hot his body temperature is. The difference in temperatures causes almost a stinging feeling, almost as if there's electricity when we're touching each other. I start guiding him through the wand movement, showing him exactly how it's supposed to be done.

''You got it now?'' I ask. He nods. ''Try it out.''

He gives the wand a swish and one of the barrels falls down from the ceiling. I'm rather impressed, since that specific wand movement is quite difficult.

''Not bad for a beginner,'' I tease him.

''Oh, is it not the new girl I'm speaking to? Didn't take a new girl for an expert and spells and wand movement,'' He says ironically. We laugh together, trying to forget about my visit to the Map Chamber for a sort second. ''So, what's the doom?''

''I don't know,'' I tell him. ''One of the Keepers was upset that they had even let me become one, but I don't think they're killing me off. At least not yet.'' I try to joke.

''That's not funny!'' He says quickly with serious tone and gives me an angry look.

''I'm sorry,'' I tell him. ''But, they said they knew how to take care of the problem. However, they didn't tell me what they were planning.''

He puts his hands on his head as if he's worried and starts wandering around the Undercroft.

''You need to press them to get more information,'' He then says. ''We both know that this prophecy affects not only you, me and Ominis - but the entire wizarding world. We found it, so we deserve to know what's coming next. Whatever it may be.''

''I'm afraid of what might come next,'' I tell him, giving him a concerned look.

He nods understandingly with a sympathetic smile.

"I owe you an apology," He says, looking down on the ground. "I shouldn't have reacted the way I did after you told us about the whole ancient magic-thing. I think I just... Struggle to let myself be happy, to be in a good place."

I smile at him, still disappointed that he let his feelings take over like that but also upset that he struggles to let himself be happy. Im relieved that he realizes what he did wrong, because I can see where I went wrong.

The last days have bothered me. I'm not just concerned about my own fate, but everything that may come. What will happen to Sebastian? To Ominis? To everyone I care about? The thought makes it hard for me to breathe and I feel tears pushing their way up my eyes as I gasp for air. My vision gets blurry and it's like my mind shuts itself off, making everything go black. Before I even know how to react, Sebastian pulls me into his arms, holding me tightly and presses his lips on my forehead.

''Let's sit,'' He says as he sits down, taking me with him and putting me between his legs on the floor. ''Breathe deep.''

He starts inhaling and exhaling loudly so I can follow his pace easily, but even that is a struggle right now. It feels as if I'm falling apart into a million pieces, terrified of the future. And he's sitting there, holding me and the broken pieces of my mind together. He takes my hand and strokes my thumb with his and eventually I calm down. I don't know how long this has been going on. He's still holding me.

''What was that about?'' He asks in a soft voice.

''I don't know,'' I admit, confused as that never happened before. ''I was just thinking about the future and then I couldn't breathe.''

''That's odd,'' He says, still stroking my thumb. ''I'm glad you're better now. If that happens again and I'm not around, count your fingers slowly. Do something to make yourself think of literally anything else. Okay?''

I nod.

''Okay,'' My voice is barely audible. I feel exhausted after that.

Although we're already sitting close to each other, I try to move even closer to him. I rest my head on his chest, hearing his heartbeat. The sound is relaxing and I close my eyes. He still hasn't quit stroking my thumb. I turn around to face him, putting my hand on his cheek. He tilts his head and lets it rest in my hand. I feel as if my heart is going to explode from all the emotions I'm carrying inside of me. Fear, love, hope, sadness. It's all so much.

''Can I kiss you?'' I ask him, almost feeling embarrassed to ask such a thing after just having him witness me in a state like this.

It feels as if that's the only thing that's the only thing that could cure any problem possible. One single, small thing. But to me, his lips are the cure to anything.

''I thought you'd never ask,'' He says with a slight smirk on his face. ''Where?''

''Everywhere?'' I reply. His question is so silly and I know he's just finding new ways to tease me, but it makes me feel better after what I just went through.

''Well, of course. But I'm having too much trouble deciding, so I need you to tell me where to start.'' He raises an eyebrow.

''You're so annoying,'' I tell him as I pull him closer and kiss him.

''And you love it,'' He says and I can feel him smiling whilst kissing me but I shake my head in refusion. Of course I love it, but he can't know that. He stops kissing me and lifts my chin up with his hand. ''Oh, don't be like that. Do you want kisses or not?''

I give him a grumpy face and he gives me a questioning look back.

''You can't even say it,'' He laughs. ''Now, say it.''

I feel like a fool. My cheeks are rosy and feel as if they are on fire. I love how he teases me, but I also feel so little when he tells me to say things. It's something so intimidating. As if he creeps in under my skin. But, I do love it.

''I love it,'' I roll my eyes to make sure that I'm not the one who goes down without a fight.

''That's my girl,'' He says and finally kisses me passionately.

The Undercroft, however, does not feel the same after our fight. I can still feel his disappointment lingering in the walls. Me begging to explain so he could understand. Him confessing that he loved me under those circumstances. My heart aches just thinking about it. I don't know what I have done to get someone like him in my life, but I promise myself to earn the privilege to keep him in my life every day.

A shiver runs through my body, I'm unsure whether it's because of how cold it is or because I keep getting flashbacks from our fight. Sebastian notices.

''Why aren't you wearing that sweater I got for you?'' He asks.

''I forgot it. It wasn't this cold earlier,'' I tell him.

Most likely I wasn't cold because I was incredibly nervous before going to the Map Champer. The only thing on my mind was, well, what is yet to come.

''Here,'' He says as he starts pulling his Slytherin sweater off.

''Oh. There's really no need,'' I argue, but his shirt is already off before I stop talking and now he's sitting in his t-shirt in the freezing dungeon.

I have never seen his bare skin before. He is always wearing something in long sleeves, but I never gave it any thoughts. His skin is soft and I think for myself that he really does generate heat. His sweater is warm and soft on my skin and I realize that it smells exactly the same as what I couldn't identify in my amortentia.

''You're my safe place,'' I tell him softly.

''I wish I could say the same for you. But you have a tendency to put me in all sorts of trouble,'' He says and laughs, pulling me closer. ''That sweater looks better on you than it does on me, by the way.''

I turn around and roll my eyes at him.

''Me? Trouble?'' I say with an sarcastic voice.

''More than you know,'' He says with a grin. ''You're actually driving me insane. I can't get you out of my head.''

''Are you for real?'' I ask him, raising my eyebrows. ''There's not a single day I haven't thought of you since the day we first met.''

''Well, that has been my plan all along.'' He says with a smirk. ''I guess I'm a mastermind. And now you're mine.''

''Okay then, mastermind,'' I punch him in the chest jokingly.

''You better be careful with those hands,'' He says firmly. ''You might beat me in a wand duel, but without your wand you don't stand a chance.''

I roll my eyes at him. Of course he'd beat me, but I think to myself 'that's the whole point.' I get on top of him, straddling his lap. I put my hand in his hair. It's almost as if my muscle memory kicks in by now. I'm getting rather used to having him in my hands. His hands are fumbling on my spine.

''Now tell me where you want it,'' I mimic him from before. He rolls his eyes back at me.

''I thought the questions were my thing,'' He says with a smirk on his face. ''Now, love, I'm going to kiss you until you can't breathe.''

I laugh and we kiss until our lips are sore, gasping for breath every now and then and my hands digging under his t-shirt allowing me to feel his bare skin. His hands are in my hair and I can feel my hair getting messier and messier. Eventually he stops to look at me.

''Look at you. So gorgeous, all messed up,'' He says as he places a kiss on my neck, giving me shivers that run through my entire body.