#and it was a dash pricey but if i needed to buy like One More skein or two i could for a project

[chintzwife]

i bought a skein of merino wool yarn for an in-progress project but it turned out not to match the existing yarn SO now I have fancy schmancy dark red yarn! but what do i use it for????????????????

[dark-frosted-heart]

My Beloved Villain Who Swept Me Away - Roger Barel

As usual can’t guarantee 100% accuracy on this

Male customer: Two beers and…any food you recommend?

Kate: How about a cottage pie? Fresh out of the oven.

Male customer: Then I’ll take two

Kate: Got it, coming right up!

I take the order to the counter. Meanwhile, business is booming as customers keep coming.

(Today’s December 31st. Since it’s the night of the last day of the year, a lot of people are going out to drink and ring in the new year)

While thinking about it, I was about to serve some new customers when—

Roger: Little lady…?

—I bumped into Roger who just entered the tavern.

Kate: Welcome, Roger.

Roger: Welcome…Did you quit being a fairy tale writer and get a job at a tavern?

Kate: No, I didn’t quit. I’m just working here for the day.

~~ Flashback ~~

It happened in the afternoon as I was on my way back from a mission after parting ways with Alfons and Elbert.

I saw a thin man getting beaten up near a bar.

(Hey, stop it…! Is there anyone around to help…)

I looked around, but everyone who passed turned a blind eye and continued on their way.

(The police are too far…I’ll have to intervene…!)

Kate: Hold it! Why are you doing this? He’s not even resisting…

Bartender: It’s his fault. He didn’t have any money but ordered all the pricey food and drinks.

(Meaning he tried to dine and dash? But to resort to violence…)

Skinny man: …

While the bartender and I were talking, the man took the chance to run off and disappear into the crowd.

Bartender: Ah, damn it! He ran away! It’s all because of you…

Kate: S-sorry…

Bartender: No use apologizing… Right, that’s it, you’ll work in his place to pay back all he ate and drank. 

~~ End flashback ~~

Kate: …So I had to work to make up for all the food and drink the guy had without paying.

Roger: That sucks to hear. But also, didn’t somethin’ like this happen to you before you joined Crown?

Kate: Now that you mention it…yeah.

Roger: Human habits never change…Well, good luck.

Roger patted my head as if he was praising his pet dog.

After talking with Roger, I was busy with customers after customers.

As midnight approached, I thought I’d have time to take a break as things started to calm down, but then, one by one, customers started to offer me a drink.

(I can’t refuse if they’re buying me a drink…)

As I continued to drink what was served to me, I was getting tipsy and my thoughts gradually became fuzzy.

(I need to get it together, I’m still in the middle of working…)

As I continued serving the customers while keeping myself motivated, a male customer put money down before me.

Male customer with a protruding belly: -buy you. Is this enough?

(...? My head’s cloudy. What did he say…)

(If he’s handing me money…Is he paying his bill…?)

I nodded and was going to take his money.

—But then an arm around pulled me away

Kate: Ro…ger…?

Roger: Sorry. I had my eye on this one for a while now. Not gonna hand her over.

As he said that to the customer, Roger put more than twice the amount of money on the table.

(Had his eye…What is he talking…)

Male customer with a protruding belly: Isn’t it first come, first serve?

Roger: Not if you pay more? Besides…You should feel ashamed for trying to buy such a fine woman with that measly amount, don’t you think?

Roger glanced at the money the man put down and smirked as he said “measly”.

Male customer with a protruding belly: …Don’t fuck with me!

The customer, face flushed with anger, raises his fist at Roger.

However, Roger nonchalantly dodged the fist with ease.

Roger: Oops, that was dangerous. Well, can’t blame me for defendin’ myself then. Little lady, take care of this for me.  

Roger handed me his glasses.

Roger: My vision’s blurry and I can’t make out the little lady’s face clearly, but… It’s risky to wear glasses when you’re about to get in a fight.

(Huh…? Fight? Why’re you starting a fight…?)

I tried to stop Roger, but I was too drunk and unsteady to do anything.

On top of that, the other customers in the tavern were getting rowdy because of the fight, livening up the place.

(At least…I hop Roger doesn’t get seriously injured)

That’s what I wished for with my blurred consciousness as I held onto his glasses.

–

Kate: Nn…

Jolting movement woke me up and I found myself being carried in Roger’s arms.

I was greeted by Roger without his glasses up close and my eyes widened unconsciously.

Roger: Mornin’ little lady. Was it comfortable sleeping in my arms? Also…I’d appreciate it if you gave back what’s in your hands soon.

That’s when I realized that I’d been holding onto Roger’s glasses this whole time.

Kate: S-sorry…

I wiped his lenses with a handkerchief and returned his glasses. He accepted it with his arms down.

Kate: Um…by the way, why am I here…? I was working at the tavern for the day…

Roger: You got drunk and passed out. Couldn’t work anymore so I brought you here. And…did you know that at night, the women who work at the tavern sell their bodies?

Kate: Huh?! I didn’t know… Ah…! Then, when that customer wanted to give me money, he wanted to buy me?!

Roger: Yep. Right after gettin’ you drunk and impaired. The tavern gets a cut so even if they don’t know what’s going on, no one’s gonna stop it.

Kate: You saved me, Roger…Thank you so much.

If it weren’t for Roger, I would’ve been bought by a complete stranger. I shuddered at the thought.

Roger: Haha, saved you? Do I look like a good guy to you, little lady? According to the rules, I bought you for a day.

For you, who you spend the night with switched from that guy to me.

Kate: Huh…

Roger: You’re mine ‘til the date changes… So, what should we do? I know a lot of places to rest around here.

Kate: W-wait a minute, Roger! I’ll pay you back! So…

Roger: Want me to let you go? Don’t wanna. I’m not the kind of guy to change my mind once it’s set on something. I’ve earned the right to do what I want with you so why’d I let you go?

Kate: …You don’t have to do this…you always do whatever you want anyway!

Roger: That’s not a nice thing to say. You make me sound like a bad guy.

Kate: I mean it…

Roger: Harsh. It’s usually just a kiss (greeting), isn’t it? So I thought we’d go a little further today.

Ah, the year’s almost over.

Kate: Is it that time already…?

Roger: Can’t you hear from her? People are counting down everywhere.

(That’s right. Roger’s cursed ability lets him hear sounds from far away…)

Kate: You got a nice countdown, Roger…

Roger: You wanna do it too, little lady? Then you’ll have to do it with me.

Kate: Eh…

Roger: Come on, we’re running out of time. 10, 9, 8, 7…

Roger started counting down and I hurriedly joined in.

Roger and Kate: 6, 5, 4…

(Ah-)

With three seconds to go, Roger put his hand on my cheek.

Based on previous experience, it was obvious what he was going to do and I had time to run away. However-

Roger: 3, 2, 1…

The moment the countdown ended, I stayed still and our lips pressed together.

(Until the date changes…I can’t turn Roger down because he bought me)

(That’s it…so…)

Before long, our lips parted with the sound of the loudest fireworks ringing in the new year.

Roger: Happy New Year, little lady. Have a great year, won’t you…?

Kate: You too…

It was frustrating to see Roger smile as if the kiss was nothing.

To Roger, a kiss was just a greeting, but to me, it was something much more special.

Roger: So, are you gonna let me touch you more? Or not?

Kate: The date’s changed so you can’t do whatever you want anymore!

Roger: Damn, you’re pretty headstrong, little lady. I spent a lot on you.

Roger’s hand lets go of my chin with that snide remark.

(They say that “actions speak louder than words”)

(He plays with me, but I don’t think Roger actually has any sort of attachment to me…)

The moment I thought that, I felt a pain spread in my chest. From anger at being played with…probably.

Roger: Well, that’s fine. You’ll stay like that the whole year too. The more defiant and competitive you are, the more I get to discipline you.

Kate: There’s no need for disciplining…!

Whenever I’m with him, I’m always the one getting pushed around.

(This year…I’d like to leave at least a little mark on Roger’s heart)

[shytreetimemachine]

How Successful People Make the Most of Their best old fashioned pound cake recipe

London Pound Cake - Strain Information Things To Know Before You Buy

Table of ContentsFascination About London Pound Cake - Strain InformationLondon Pound Cake Marijuana Strain Information for DummiesThe 10-Second Trick For London Pound Cake Weed Strain Review & InformationLondon Pound Cake Cannabis Strain Can Be Fun For Anyone

Some claim the fragrance is a bit various than what they counted on. Are you a newbie grower searching for a reliable seed bank? ILGM is the planet's very most popular distributor. Look into our. Appreciate your develop! Some claim the taste of London Pound Cake is actually, in reality, premium to its own odor.

Those that carry out certainly not frequently use marijuana could experience impacts that are stronger than they will prefer. This is actually why you need to conserve this tension for evening usage (millon dollar pound cake). Under the worst-case case, you may find that it sedates you a small amount greater than expected, quashing any opportunity of being effective subsequently.

These seeds take around 12 weeks to grow. They agree with for expanding either indoors or outdoors. Don't expect to discover any feminized variations of seeds, thus be actually prepared to "grass" out the guys as soon as you may identify all of them. Due to the fact that they are actually pricey to secure, London Pound Birthday cake pot continues to be one of the a lot more mysterious marijuana plants to grow (london cake strain).

Possess you ever before smoked or even? Please permit me recognize what you deal with this marijuana tension in the comments listed below. Robert - runtz cake strain.

Greater London Pound Birthday Cake is an indica prevalent hybrid pressure that definitely packs a hit! Its own THC content can easily rise to 29%, and users applaud Pound Birthday cake for its ability to result in a blissful body and also head higher. This stress was born when Sundown Sherbet was crossed along with a not known hefty indica tension.

The 8-Minute Rule for London Poundcake Strain - Hybrid Cannabis Video, Thc, Terps

Greater london Pound Pie will certainly leave you really feeling artistic, high, as well as prepared to tackle your day! It is actually a wonderful tension to appreciate along with pals, or alone during a peaceful time in your home. This strain has a tendency to grow relatively heavy along with long divisions (london pou). Each of its buds are dark eco-friendly in colour along with amber shaded pistils all throughout the surface area.

But also for those having to deal with state of mind ailments or conditions like anxiety, this tension can supply a lot needed to have alleviation! Given that of its potential to relax the mind and also cause an uplifting feeling of exhilaration, individuals usually evaluate this pressure as havnig mood-boosting as well as maintaining homes - london poundcake 75. Greater London Pound Birthday cake is also excellent for those with add, provided exactly how it can easily help one center their thoughts and also possess a better sense of control in that feeling.

It may also cause a scenario of the munchies, assisting people suffering coming from a shortage of hunger because of drugs, severe health conditions, or the negative effects of chemotherapy to consume routinely and preserve a healthy body weight (onycd strain). Alternatively, it gives a happily uplifting yet loosening up mental feeling that aids promote innovation and emphasis (blueberry pound cake strain).

Lots of individuals report that it helps stop dashing thoughts and can even transform off the bodily responses to stress or even fear. Several anecdotal users also state that London Poundcake aids with state of mind swings and the incapacity to focus brought on by ADD or even hyperactivity - wedding cake leafy. Your viewpoint of the London Poundcake stress will be actually based completely on your own private tastes. sherbet mints strain.

If there is actually just about anything that I completely admire about the pot world, it is the wide variety of options you obtain whenever you would like to consume any sort of buddy - humboldt pound cake. Coming from the dankest natural herb to the fruitiest flavours, the variety is thus extensive that you are actually regularly in awe when you find out a new tension (texas pound cake delta 8 review).

The smart Trick of London Poundcake Marijuana Strain Information & Reviews That Nobody is Talking About

I acknowledge, the name is alluring good enough to provide it a try out, however even more than that, it was actually the dazzling profile page as well as the mystical parent of the pressure that bugged my curiosity to offer it a hit. And as they mention, the rest is history - london pound cake cake bar. I never leave a great strain merely for me, as well as I understood I must pen down my review for every 420 enthusiasts that are actually appearing for some details about this appeal.

I do not such as an attractive strain, pointed out no one ever. We all obtain a slight higher through checking out the stickiness, the compact closely-packed weeds, the trichome covered brilliantly colored pistils, as well as and also, the alluring scent. London Extra pound Birthday cake is actually one of the tensions that aggravate you along with their look, merely yearning for to be enjoyed - lemon pastries strain.

If you're believing the sweet, mellow Greater london Extra pound Birthday cake Pressure are going to leave you with a refined scent, you are actually therefore inappropriate. The pressure fragrance is actually fairly powerful, adequate to stink up the space, thus if you're preparing on toking it quietly, miscarry the mission (london bridge weed strain). That being said, it does not possess a dank smell, however somewhat drops on to the pleasing edge of points - marijuana strain reviews.

You could anticipate a fruity scent, but it has pointers of lumber and also earth along with some berry-like scent to also points out. A much deeper sniff shows keep in minds of citrus and also lemon, providing it a best combination of verbose and rounded. Honestly, the natural nuttiness is actually delicious and also functions properly to ready you for the flavour it needs to give.

The exhale takes onward the crazy and also cakey profile of the tension, leaving you with a down-to-earth side effect and also the hanging around zest of grapes. strawberry pound cake strain. Considering its own higher THC content, practically lining at 30%, the London Extra Pound Cake is actually except the newbies or amateur tokers who have actually just gotten in the pot street. gooberz strain.

Getting The London Pound Cake - Cannabis To Work

As the high resides in, the second result provides on its own in a state of loosening up higher, floating your body system by means of the sleepy and relaxing period. You would certainly find your own self conveniently on the chair, dwindling between the condition of fatigue and sedation, yet not that is actually also difficult. The mild focus and also the slow-moving sneaking bodily results make it an excellent tension for evening make use of.

A perfect stress for an exciting film night! And also do not worry, the strength does certainly not result in fear or even stress and anxiety, rather makes you much more loosened up. There are actually no adverse side-effects of the London Extra Pound Strain as it is a quite relaxing, smooth, stress although it is actually fairly significant in THC web content.

[demonsfate]

Sorry this one is later than usual, but here's positivity anon wanting to wish you a very happy weekend! Did you get to do anything fun during the week or is there something this weekend that you're looking forward to? Finally, try to do something nice for yourself! Buy that thing you've had your eye on, treat yourself to takeout, etc etc! Remember that you're always loved and needed and that your presence here brightens up the day of everyone who is on your dash! ♡

That's alright! Sadly, nothing too fun rn. Stressing out about a potential storm tomorrow. And because of that, I will have to cancel my doctor's appointment. Which really sucks, because two months ago - I was suffering from a severe vitamin deficiency, and I wanted to know how they were doing rn. I'm no longer in physical pain, nor is my heart pumping too hard. But I would still like to know what's up with my vitamins currently, to know if I should keep taking my D, and avoiding my B12 or if I gotta change anything I'm doing. Plus, I really wanted my vaccines. Oh well! Hopefully, I can do that the day after tomorrow, and hopefully the storm won't be too bad tomorrow. (Still going to reschedule my appointment because I will Cry if I go out whilst it's raining/storming, even if it's not as bad as anticipated. And plus, it's best to do that early, anyway.)

Can't reaaaally say there's anything I'm looking forward to this week? I guess it'll be Halloween - so I'll see if my Poison Ivy outfit fits me or not, then I'll dress up for the occasion. Other than that, I've been setting up things for my Sims 3 game, and trying to get it to run well on my hand-me-down lappy to see if it works on this or not. 'cos Sims 3 is my favorite outta the entire franchise. Hence, why I haven't been very active today - been doing stuff for it.

Oh! And I guess I'll be gettin' some extra money to buy something. I am trying to decide from more Tek merch (really want something Hwoarang related to go with my Jin merch - kinda hoping for a figure to go with Xiao, and Jin - but he only has one, and it's supe expensive. And like, if I'm gonna buy a pricey Hwoarang figure, really wish Storm Collectibles would make one! Dunno why they haven't yet!) or if I want another Sims game, or something for my Riddler collection. Those are my three main collections rn and what I focus on when I get more money haha.

But thank you very much!

[lick-me-lennon22]

Trans Man!Reader X Beatles headcanons/How they'd support a trans (FTM) partner + help them through dysphoria 💙💙💙

(lengthy title, I know ^^' this amazing request is from @anonymous-blanket ! they originally asked for how the Beatles would help a trans [FTM] reader through dysphoria, but I sort of expanded it to add general headcanons- I hope you don't mind :) 💞)

⚠️⚠️⚠️DISCLAIMERS:⚠️⚠️⚠️

- I myself am a cis woman and this is solely based on the experiences my trans guy friends have been so kind as to share with me, as well as some of my own research on gender dysphoria and grounding techniques

- this is NOT entirely accurate to the 60s or 70s

- I have written these with the assumption that the reader has already come out and has transitioned or is currently transitioning; with that being said, none of the lads would ever out you or disclose your identity before you are ready to do so yourself/without your permission!

- all of the boys would respect your identity and address you by your name and preferred pronouns !!!

- please feel free to (kindly) correct me if any of this post is offensive or incorrect! I have written these headcanons with nothing but love and respect for the trans community ♡

Paul:

when you come out to Paul (if you were together before you began your transition), he's so proud of you for being your authentic self and so glad you're willing to share something like that with him

he immediately offers to take you out shopping and buy you a more masculine/comfortable wardrobe, as well as items such as boxers and binders if you want them

whenever you're up for it, Paul does your eyebrows and some masc contouring (if you ever want him to)- he's quite good with makeup, as he often does his own!

along with (of course) using your correct name and preferred pronouns, he showers you with gender-affirming nicknames and compliments ("my handsome man," "my prince," "dashing," "Adonis," etc.)

if you ever feel dysphoric about sitting down to pee, Paul reminds you that he also pees sitting down (hc)- "It's just more comfortable that way, no shame in it," he shrugs

he makes it a point to remind you how strong and handsome you are often

if you're having a particularly bad day and your dysphoria feels suffocating:

Paul respects your boundaries if you want to be left alone or don't want to be touched

he stays close to you and holds your hand if/as soon as you're okay with it

he tries to take your mind off of your discomfort and ground you by serenading you with your favorite songs

he listens attentively if you just want to vent, and gives you plenty of reassurance and words of comfort/validation if you need them

Paul reminds you that however you want to present is valid and that you are still, of course, a man- regardless of idiots who may tell you otherwise

"How can you not look like a man...? You are a man, love" ♡

John:

when you come out to John (if you were together before you began your transition), he talks you through everything you're feeling and listens intently when you share your experience with him

he suggests going to therapy if you feel like it'd be beneficial (he attends therapy sessions as well- hc)

he immediately assures you that he'll beat the living daylights out of anyone who dares to deadname or misgender you

John (without an ounce of subtlety) corrects anybody who uses the wrong pronouns to refer to you

he makes sure you know and always remember that your identity is valid

if you're comfortable with it, John places pride pins on his leather and denim jackets- regardless of the comments people make

he will absolutely go off on bigoted and closed-minded interviewers/reporters who question your identity or your relationship

John accompanies you into the men's restroom if you're nervous (and if you want him to) and will tell off/uppercut anyone who even looks at you the wrong way

if you're having a particularly bad day and your dysphoria feels suffocating:

John reminds you that your body doesn't dictate your gender and that your identity is 100% valid

he offers his clothes for you to wear if that would make you more comfortable

he helps ground you and distract you from your discomfort by putting on a silly movie for you to watch (together, if you'd like)

John carries his/your cat into your bedroom and places them in your lap for cuddles and purrs

he reminds you of what a hot, sexy stud you are ;)

"A... woman?? That's the dumbest thing I've ever 'eard. You can't 'look like a woman,' you ain't one- you're a man, love"

John tells you he can't wait until the day you become his husband ♡

George:

when you come out to George (if you were in a relationship before you began your transition), he sits patiently and listens as you share your feelings and experience with him

on his next trip out to the store, he buys doubles of all the masculine-scented hygiene products he usually purchases (body wash, deodorant, shampoo, etc.), as well as some extra boxers in your size in case you'd want them

when he arrives back home, he wordlessly places the items in your shared bathroom/dresser so you have access to all of them, but won't have to ask if you aren't comfortable enough to yet

he's very mindful about using your correct name and pronouns from the moment you come out to him

George supports you if you're on T and gives you daily reminders, or advocates for you if you aren't and want to be

he supports you equally if you don't want to start T at all!

he reminds you that your presentation doesn't invalidate your identity

he refers to you as "my boyfriend" or "my man," and tells you that you look sexy, dashing, and handsome ;)

if you're having a particularly bad day and your dysphoria feels suffocating:

George respects whatever you want to do and makes sure you're as comfy as possible if you just want to stay holed up in your bedroom for a while

he fetches you some comfy, baggy clothes in case you feel like disappearing into them for a bit, and offers you some of his clothes if you'd prefer them

he'll bring your pet into your room for some extra love and cuddle time

George will be considerate of your boundaries if you don't want to be touched, but stay by your side if you'll allow him

he's taught you how to meditate and will practice meditation with you as a grounding/relaxation strategy

"Remember, darling- your body doesn't dictate your gender. You are a man no matter what" ♡

Ringo:

when you come out to Ringo (if you were in a relationship before you began your transition), he is elated and relieved that you feel comfortable enough to share something like that with him

the next time you leave the house without Ringo, by the time you've arrived back home, he's set your entire dining room up like a gender reveal party: complete with an It's a Boy! banner and everything blue he could find (it's overkill, but he means well)

on the table is a care package he's bought and assembled for you

in it, he's included plenty of masc-scented soap/deoderant/shampoo, boxers, a pricey and great-quality binder (if you've expressed that you want to bind), and a very thoughtful handwritten and decorated card

from then on and if/when you're ready, Ringo makes a point of (re)introducing you to everyone (and I mean everyone) as his boyfriend- you both love the sound of it!

he'll give you the most genuine, validating compliments out of nowhere

for example: the first time you watch your favorite show together after you've come out to him, Ringo admits that he's always thought you looked/sounded a lot like one of the main characters (who happens to be male)

if you're having a particularly bad day and your dysphoria feels suffocating:

if you're still alright with being touched, Ringo smothers you in one of his famous bear hugs and tells you that everything is okay and you're no less valid for feeling this way about your body

he brings your favorite snack/treat into your room for you to eat and enjoy

he'll sit on the bed and engage in honest conversation with you if you feel like venting; if not he brings you all of the pillows, blankets, and/or stuffed animals in the house- as well as any clothes you'd like to change into

he showers you with gender-affirming nicknames and compliments: "my handsome man," "my prince/king," "heartthrob," "hunk," "stud"... some of them silly, but all of them sincere

Ringo is sure to remind you that no matter what your body looks like or how you're feeling about it in this moment (and no matter what bigoted asswipes may say to either of you), you are just as valid and masculine as any other man:

"Because that's what you are, my love- a man!" ♡

[atlafan]

a/n: okay, here it is! a lot of you really wanted me to post this on here, SO THAT MEANS I’M GONNA SEE LOTS OF FEEDBACK AND REBLOGS, RIGHT?! Can’t wait to know what you think of this one! [Patreon] [Buy Me A Coffee] (not proofread) I was inspired by a lot of different things with this, it’s sort of like Scarlet Witch meets The Dragon Prince meets ATLA??? Also, Harry is a major himbo in this, and we love that for him.

Warnings: angst, fluff, flirting, magical fighting, smut (rim job)

Words: 22K

Pairing: Harry x OC (Amber Hale)

Song Inspo: High For This - The Weeknd

“What do you do with a BA in English?” The age-old question that was coined from the hit musical, Avenue Q. Harry thought he had the answer to that question, and it was go to graduate school to get his MEd in English. He’d get his K-12 certification, not that he wanted to work in a K-12 school system. No, he wanted to be a literary professor. He wanted to be able to have high level discussions about the classics, post-modernism, film adaptations, and more. He loved reading, ever since he was a little kid there was a book in his hands. There was just something about getting lost in a world that someone else created for a bit, and then analyzing the shit out of it.

He had already done a semester of student-teaching as a senior, he didn’t love it. He took a gap year trying to find a publishing company to work at. He thought he could maybe be an editor. Harry soon realized he didn’t like being told what to read, and the pay was pretty low. He even tried working at a bookstore for a bit. It wasn’t as much fun as he thought. So, at the age of twenty-four, he enrolled in a master’s program to get his Med in English. At least this time when he’d have to student-teach, he’d be doing it at a collegiate level. He knew he’d get stuck teaching a couple of sections of first-year composition, but he had no problem teaching students how to properly construct a paper. There were three classes he needed to take in the fall, all of them being online-asynchronous: Social Behavior in a Diverse Society, Philosophy, Ethics, & Education, and Teacher Action Research.  

Since Harry had a semester of teaching under his belt, he was able to get a better paying grant, and wouldn’t have to just TA, he could actually teach. He’d still be subject to observation, but at least he could be trusted. So, he’d be teaching two sections of Composition, and one section of Fiction Workshop, where students would read texts Harry picks out, and discuss them. Fiction was his favorite, so he was really excited to be teaching this particular course.

The university he was attending was on the east coast in the states, a very picturesque college town by the seacoast. Harry loved fall, so he was happy about getting to be immersed in the season. So, he had his courses settled that he had to take, he knew what he was teaching and set up his Canvas pages, the last thing he needed to figure out was a place to live. He had been staying at a motel in the area, but that was starting to get pricey. He looked around online, but there wasn’t much out there. He also didn’t want to get stuck living with a bunch of undergrads that were loud and partied. He asked the other faculty in the English department if they knew of anything, but they didn’t.

Harry decided to go for a walk in the downtown area, and see if there were any ads in some of the shop windows. A lot of the buildings looked to be apartments up top. On his walk, he noticed an interesting looking café. There were other coffee shops in town, and this one looked to be almost deserted. Harry shrugs his shoulders and heads inside. A chime sounds as he walks in, and he sees that it’s almost like a country store. There’re tee shirts, sweatshirts, scarves, gloves, books, knick-knacks, and treats. This seemed like a neat little place, why wouldn’t there be a lot of people here? It was still summer, maybe it was more of a college student hangout?

Even though it was still summer, the place smelled like cinnamon and apples. The fresh smell of coffee wafted through the air as well. From the back comes a woman wearing a green apron over her clothes, dusting her hands off. Harry stops in his tracks as he looks at her. She had these piercing blue eyes that resembled sapphires. Her hair was up in a loose, wavy ponytail, the color being one of those silver/lavender mixes, a contrast to her dark eyebrows. She was a short thing, couldn’t have been a little more than five feet tall. Her nails were painted black, and she had this gorgeous necklace hanging around her neck. She also had various piercings in her ears, and a silver hoop in her left nostril.

“May I help you?” She asks Harry just as a Siberian husky comes trotting out by her side.

“Hi! I’m new to the area, and I was just strolling by and saw your shop…um, do you have iced tea?”

“Yeah.” She nods slowly. “Come over to the counter.” The dog circles around Harry, sniffing at his legs. “Are you okay with dogs?”

“Love ‘em! Boy, girl?”

“She’s a girl, her name is Opal.”

“That’s a lovely name.” Harry smiles, and leans down a bit to let Opal sniff his hand. “She’s a beautiful dog.”

“Thank you. So…you said you wanted an iced tea? Here’s the list of flavors.” She taps a laminated paper that’s taped to the counter.

“Right, yeah, um…what do you recommend?”

She furrows her brows at him for a moment, studying his face.

“I just drink the plain, black tea with a dash of sugar syrup.”

“Then I’ll have that.” He smiles.

She nods, gets a cup to fill with ice, and goes into one of the small fridges where the tea was chilling. She adds the syrup and then the tea, then snaps a sippy-cup style lid on top.

“Here you go. That’ll be $3.99.”

Harry sets a five-dollar-bill on the counter.

“Keep the change.”

“Thanks.” She puts the rest in the tip jar.

“What’s your name? You’re not wearing a tag or anything.” He says before taking a sip of the tea.

“It’s Amber.”

“Amber! Oh, is that why you’re wearing one?” He points to her necklace.

“Well, I was given this when I was a little girl.” She says as she looks down at it, then back up to him.

“Do you mind if I peruse around the store a bit? Although, I shouldn’t be buying any trinkets until I actually find a place to put them.”

“What do you mean?” She blinks at him. Who was this man and why was he being so friendly with her?

“I’m new to the area, and I’ve been having a tough time finding a place to live. I’m at one of the nearby hotels, but I can’t stay there much longer. You wouldn’t happen to know of any vacant apartments, would you?”

“Sure she does!” Another woman comes out from the back. “Amber owns the whole building, which means she owns the apartments upstairs.”

“Penny.” Amber seethes, and then looks at Harry. “I’m sorry, I don’t rent to college students.”

“I’m a graduate student, and I’m also going to be teaching. M’not loud, and I keep things tidy. I’d be happy to fill out an application if you like.” He smiles. “Plus, I could be a walking advertisement for the place because this tea is incredible.”

“The shop does well for itself.” Amber mutters.

“Oh, just give the boy an application.” Penny says.

“Fine.” Amber sighs, and ducks down to grab an application. She hands it to Harry reluctantly. “My email is on the bottom. Just scan it and send it to me that way, and I’ll get back to you.”

“I’ll make sure of it.” Penny smiles. “Parking’s included.” Amber glares at her. “Well, I’m just going to head back to the back, take stock of things.”

“You do that.” Amber says, shaking her head, and then looking at Harry. “She’s a good worker, but she’s nosey as shit. So, you’re a grad student?”

“Mhm, and I’m twenty-four, so I’m not fresh out of undergrad either. I’m going for my MEd in English, and I’ll be teaching a few classes as well. I’m excited to get started.”

“English, huh?”

“Mhm.” Harry smiles.

“You must really like to read.”

“I do.” He nods. “Do you?”

“No, I hate it actually.”

“But…there are so many books here.”

“Yeah, the majority of them are cook books, or informational books about the area. I’ve never really cared for reading. It’s a waste of time, if I’m being honest.”

“A…a waste of time?” He blinks at her.

“If I’m reading, it’s so I can learn something.”

“But even if it’s fiction, you can still learn so many life lessons.”

“Maybe worry about teaching that to your students instead of me. I’m a lost cause.” She smirks. “I need to finish up what I was doing in the back, so if you still want to peruse…”

“No, uh, I’ll get out of hair. I’ll email this over to you later tonight. It was nice meeting you.” He looks down at Opal who was eyeing him carefully. “And it was nice meeting you too, gorgeous girl.” He smiles, and leaves the shop.

Amber takes a deep breath and heads into the back where Penny is. She glares at her, and it makes Penny laugh.

“You could use a new tenant.” Penny says to her.

“I don’t need you finding one for me.”

“He’s cute.”

“He’s annoying.” Amber deadpans. “Practically told me his whole life story!”

“He clearly felt comfortable around you.”

“So? He’s an English professor or something, how pretentious.” She makes a disgusted noise.

“Just give his application a fair shot, would you?”

“I will, but only because if I don’t I know you’ll keep bugging me about it.”

//

Harry couldn’t believe that he just heard with his own two ears that reading was a waste of time. He knew there were people that didn’t care for it in the way that he did, but Amber said she hated it. He couldn’t fret over it too much, though, because either way he still needed an apartment, and she had a vacancy open. So, when he got back to the hotel later that day, he worked on his application, and emailed it over to Amber. The name of shop was cute: Opal’s Café & Convenience. He found it endearing that she named it after her dog. Amber seemed rough around the edges, but maybe Harry could be the one to smooth her out a bit.

//

Much to Amber’s dismay, Harry was the perfect applicant. He didn’t have any pets, he wouldn’t be throwing wild parties, his credit checked out, and his references were solid. Amber would be stupid not to let him take one of her apartments. She emailed him back and let him know it was his if he wanted it, and when he could move in. In the email, she attached a list of rules he’d need to follow when being one of her tenants. She lived in the building as well, and she valued her privacy. She explained that she would often make a lot of tea in her own apartment, so Harry might catch a whiff once in a while.

Harry was so thrilled he’d have an actual place to live just in time for school starting that he agreed to all of her conditions. So what if he’d smell tea once in a while? There were far worse smells out there. Harry packed everything into his car, and headed over to the building as soon as he could. He found his parking spot, and started moving things up. His apartment was on the floor beneath Amber’s. She had the entire top floor to herself. Harry was surprised that he’d have the whole second floor to himself. It was a spacious one bedroom that he was grateful for. He was drenched with sweat by the time he got the last of things upstairs. The first thing on his list was to install his air conditioner. He tore his shirt off, kept the front door open for some airflow, and got to work putting the air conditioner in the main window of the living room. It was the space he’d be in most, so he wanted it cooler in there. He could always leave his bedroom door open or just use a fan at night.

Amber was heading down the stairs with Opal, and noticed Harry’s door was open. She was about to get to work opening the shop. Her eyes widen when she sees that he’s shirtless, littered with tattoos. He just happens to turn and see her standing in the doorway.

“Oh, hi!” He smiles, and walks over to the door, bending a bit to pet Opal.

“Everything going okay so far?” Amber asks.

“Mhm.” Harry nods, crossing his arms. “Just got the A/C installed, so it’ll be nice and cool soon. Thanks again for letting me rent from you.”

“Yeah, well…it’s money.” She shrugs. “Look, uh, there’s a basement here too, don’t go down there. It’s locked anyways, but I keep all of the supplies for the shop in the basement, so…it’s off limits.”

“Oh, no worries. I’ve got plenty of space up here. I don’t have a bike or anything, so I don’t think I’d even need the extra storage.”

“Good.” She nods. “Well, I’m headed down to open up. See you around.” She snaps her fingers to get Opal’s attention, and they go downstairs. Once they’re down in the shop, Amber notices Opal looking at her. “Don’t even start, I already know you’re on Penny’s side.” She sighs.

“He is awful cute.” Opal says. She and Amber could communicate telepathically.

“I have more important things to focus on, we have more important things to focus on.” Amber crouches down to her dog. “You realize we can’t just chat freely with him around.”

“It’s the same with the college kids. He might think it’s cute that you talk to your dog.”

“I don’t really care what he thinks.” Amber rolls her eyes and stands up. “I have to get the coffee and tea going. Could you check the shelves and see what herbal teas we’re low on?”

Opal nods, and heads over to the aisles to take stock of everything. Amber gets the coffee and tea brewing so it’s fresh for the customers. Penny comes in an hour or so later to make some fresh biscotti while Amber was working on making more herbal tea. Amber’s herbal teas were quite popular with the college students. Were they laced with a little magic? Maybe, but it was all for a good cause. She had special anti-stress and anxiety teas, sleepy time teas, wake-up teas, and some teas that could put someone in the mood, but she didn’t advertise those often.  She didn’t want anyone taking advantage of anyone else, she only sold it to people who knew to ask for it, and they had to sign a waiver.

Certain coffees had some magic involved too. There were coffees that were ground with something to help people focus for long period of time, coffees for all-nighters, and more. She lived in a pretty liberal area where people were super into different types of “wellness”. There were so many people that would rather try drinking an herbal tea, than take a pill, so she used that to her advantage. No one ever really questioned why her products worked so well.

Amber had been living pretty peacefully the last few years, but as of late she felt this odd disturbance. Something bad happened in the spring. Something came after Opal. Amber almost lost her best friend in the world. She had been trying to track down whatever the fuck it was, but the trail had run cold. She took the time to train and work on some of her spells. Opal explained that Amber should be able to just think and cast instead of having to say the spell out loud. She had gotten a lot better at it, and she had gotten a lot better at throwing a punch. Whatever the fuck that thing was, she’d be ready for it. Amber also didn’t want anything bad happening to the college students. They were so vulnerable as it was, but a lot of them would walk around intoxicated at night, making them the perfect target. She felt protective over her college town, she wasn’t going to let anything happen to anyone.

That’s why she had a chip on her shoulder when it came to Harry. She didn’t exactly trust the new guy, especially since he came right to her shop, and asked about a place to live. It was rather peculiar, but she thought it would be better to keep a close eye on him, so she accepted his application. No one else seemed too bothered by him, and she didn’t exactly appreciate the glances Penny and Opal gave her when it came to him. Yes, he was cute, but Amber had a hardened heart that couldn’t be so easily sueded by a handsome man with a kind a smile.

//

Harry couldn’t believe how packed the shop was once the college kids were back in town. Amber did really well for herself. He liked living above the shop a lot. Sometimes he’d buy a coffee, find a place to sit, and get some grading done, or do some homework of his own. Sometimes he’d catch Amber looking at him, a deep furrow in her dark brows. He’d give her a soft smile, and she’d just look away. Opal liked sitting by his feet. Any time he’d sit down for a bit to get some work done, there she was. He loved dogs, so he was happy she seemed to take a liking to him.

“Hey, Professor Styles!” A girl in one of his composition classes, Zoey, says to him.

“Oh, uh…it’s Zoey, right?” He looks up from his laptop.

“Mhm.” She nods. “You like to hang out here?”

“I live upstairs, actually. I like to come down here for a change of scenery. Do you come here a lot?”

“Oh, definitely. My friends and I come here almost every day. Amber has some of the best tea and coffee I’ve ever had. I was just stopping in to stock up on her sleepy time tea.”

“Sleepy time tea?”

“Yeah! Puts me right to sleep after having a small cup. You should try it.”

“Zoey, come on!” One of her friends says.

“I better go, it was nice seeing you!”

Harry waves to Zoey as she leaves to go down one of the aisles. He gets back to his work. He was doing some research for his philosophy class. He had to look into the different philosophies of various educators from a list his professor gave him. Without even realizing it, he skipped dinner, and ended up being the last person in the shop.

“Glad to see you’re making the most out of having free Wi-Fi.” Amber scoffs as she crosses her arms. “We’re closed.”

“Shit, I’m so sorry.” Harry scrambles to pack up his things. “Time must have gotten away from me.” He looks down at his watch and sees that it’s nearly 9PM. “Fuck, I need to get to sleep. Hey, could I buy some of that sleepy time tea you sell? One of my students was telling me about it earlier.”

“Sure, you can buy a pound for fifteen dollars.” She grabs a bag of it and they both go up to the counter so she can ring him up.

“Must be good stuff if college kids can afford that.” He hands her exact change.

“It lasts a while.”  She purses her lips briefly. “You may have some…vivid dreams. It’s really, um, potent, especially if it’s your first time drinking it.”

“Do you make it yourself?”

“I do.” She nods. “I promise it’s all FDA approved.” She smirks.

“I trust you, no worries.” He chuckles. “Do you need any help cleaning up?”

“No, I’m all set. Penny’s in the back still, I’ve got all the help I need.”

“Alright, well, have a good night.” He smiles.

“You too.” She watches as he heads out the door in the back to go upstairs. Amber looks down at Opal. “You need to stop sitting by him so much. He’s going to think I’m staring at him every time I look over at you.”

“I can’t help it! He smells nice.” Opal says.

“I don’t care what he smells like. We need to be cautious.”

“You worry too much. Whatever that thing was caught me on a lunar eclipse, so I couldn’t transform fully. Had I been able to, I never would have gotten hurt.”

“Yeah, and it probably knew that. Probably want to make you transform into a wolf full time. You’d become rabid.”

“I’m well aware of that. I’d be able to sniff out anything demonic about him, especially by now. He seems genuine.”

“Good for him.”

“Amber.”

“Opal.”

“Would you two give it a rest?! You’re giving me a headache.” Penny says as she comes out from the back. “We have receipts to go over.”

//

Harry took a quick shower when he got up to his apartment, and then made his tea. It tasted really good, like, the best chamomile he ever had. He only drank about half of it when his eyes started to droop while watching to TV on the sofa. So, he got his butt into bed, and fell asleep almost immediately. Amber was right about him having vivid dreams.

There he was, walking through a forest at night. He had no idea where he was going, but let his legs take him there regardless. There was a glowing light that intrigued him, so he made his way over to it. As he approached, he saw a woman from behind, her hair flowing in the breeze and her hands glowing with what looked like electrical currents. He steps on a twig by accident, catching her attention. She looks over her shoulder at him, her eyes glowing a white-hot blue.

“What are you doing here?” She says, floating in the air above him. He falls to bum and looks up at her.

“I…I don’t know.” He swallows. “What are you doing here?”

“You need to get out of here it isn’t safe!” She scolds him.

“M’sorry, I don’t even know how I ended up here.” He scrambles to his feet, and she lowers herself to the ground. Her hair was still flowing, her eyes and hands still glowing. “I saw the light and just followed it I guess. Is there a way for you to turn that off? It’s pretty bright.”

The woman takes a deep breath, and closes her eyes. Her hands stop glowing, and when she opens her eyes, all Harry sees is a familiar sapphire color. He realizes who it is once her hair settles. It was that same silver/lavender color that Amber had.

“Amber?” His eyebrows shoot up as he looks at her. “What’s going on?”

“Nothing that you need to concern yourself with. Get out of here, now.” Her eyes glow again, as well as her hands, and she shoots up into the night sky without another word.

“What in the actual fuck?” Harry says to himself.

Harry woke up to his alarm the next morning not feeling groggy at all. In fact, he had never felt so refreshed after a night’s sleep! He quickly grabs his phone and opens the notes app before forgetting his dream. It was so bizarre and weird, he wasn’t quite sure what it meant, if anything at all. Why would he have a dream about Amber? And why would he dream about her glowing the way she did? He hadn’t watched Harry Potter recently, or anything of the like.

He gets dressed for the day, and decides to go into the shop for his morning coffee. The place was already bustling with early birds. Amber was behind the counter getting coffee and tea orders out. It astounded Harry that she was able to do so much by herself. He waits in line, saying hello to some of his students in the process.

“Good morning, what can I…oh, hi, Harry.” Amber sighs. “What would you like?”

“I’ll take an iced coffee, please, black.” He smiles as she nods. “That tea really put me to sleep last night. You were right, I had an odd dream.” She freezes for a moment as she scoops the ice cubes into the cup. “You were in it, actually.”

“That’ll be $3.50.” She says flatly as she sets the cup of coffee down on the counter. He hands her his card, and she runs it through the machine.

“You’re not even the least bit curious as to what I dreamed about?”

“Nope.” She smirks. “I don’t need to hear about your wet dreams.”

“It wasn’t a…I didn’t…” He shakes his head as his face flushes. “It wasn’t like that.”

“I’ve got a line of customers waiting.” She slides his card back to him.

“Can we talk later?”

“Harry, whatever it was, it was just a dream. So I was in it, so what? I’m flattered you were thinking of me, but don’t worry about it.”

“It’s just that…the strangest thing happened. Your eyes were glowing, and your hands were too, but, like, a different type of glowing, and we were in this forest. Oh! And you were, like, flying or floating, or something like that. Your hair was kind of glowing too.”

“You read too much fiction.” She rolls her eyes. “Buh-bye.”

“But-“

“Next!” She shouts, and it makes him flinch. He grabs his drink and leaves. Amber looks down at Opal, who was about to say something, but Amber shakes her head as to warn her.

“Amber, we need to talk about this.”

“Later, I have customers.” She whispers down at Opal, and looks at the next person in line. “Good morning.” She smiles.

Harry was so distracted during his classes, he ended up showing the movie version of The Grapes of Wrath to his fiction workshop class. It worked with the unit they were since they were discussing historical fiction. He wanted to know why Amber was so cold to him even though she was plenty kind to just about everyone else that stepped through her shop. He also wanted to discuss his dream with her. It felt so real, and he wanted to know why. He had a few students come see him during his office hours, and he tried to be as present as possible for those. There was one girl in his fiction class that came to just about all of his office hours, and normally he didn’t mind, but he had a lot of course work to do, and some grading to get done. He was also in a rush to get back to the shop.

“Hi, Professor Styles.” Whitney smiles.

“Hi, Whitney.” Harry sighs as she sits down.

“Are you feeling alright today?”

“Just a little stressed. I’ve got some work for the classes I’m taking to get done.”

“It’s so cool that you’re a grad student. You’re so good at teaching, I never would have guessed you weren’t a full professor.” She had a tendency to flirt with him. She was a senior, and twenty-one. In any other scenario, Harry probably would have gone for it since he was only a few years older, but he wasn’t about to start dating a student.

“Thanks, that means a lot. Listen, uh, I know we usually chat for a bit, but I really need to get some work done, so unless this is class related…”

“Oh.” She sits up a little straighter. “Um, I guess I don’t really have any questions…I will say, watching the movie helped me understand the book a little better. I was supposed to read it in high school, but I just used spark notes back in the day.”

“Good! I’m glad you have a better understanding of the themes.”

“Well, I guess I’ll see you later. Have a good weekend!”

“Thanks, Whitney, you too.”

They smile at each other before she leaves. He runs a hand through his hair, and attempts to get some of his grading done. Once he makes a decent enough dent, he packs his things and heads to the shop. He finds an open table to sit at, and gets to work on his courses. He was sitting near one of the aisles with the mood enhancing tea.

“I’m telling you, I’ve never been so wet in my life.” Normally, Harry wouldn’t eavesdrop, but a sentence like that was something he couldn’t just ignore. “This stuff really works.”

“Okay, but how was Robbie?”

“Hard as a rock, and desperate to please. He went down on me for, like, twenty minutes! He said I never tasted so good. We fucked for, like, an hour total. It was incredible. I’m definitely buying this stuff again. I couldn’t recommend it enough.”

“Does it taste good?”

“Mhm, like strawberries. I think that’s why it makes for such a good aphrodisiac. There’s a chocolate flavor too, but Amber said that one’s really strong, and it’s better to start out with the strawberry flavor.”

“Oh, damn, I’ll have to ask her about it then. Look, she restocked the anti-anxiety tea! The blueberry flavor is my absolute favorite.”

“I like the lemon, personally, but to each their own.”

Harry couldn’t believe what he heard, more so at the beginning of the girls’ conversation. How the fuck was he supposed to concentrate on his work now? He needed to wait out the customers like he did the night before. Opal comes trotting over to him like usual.

“Hey, there, pretty girl.” He pats the top of her head. “Thought about you today. You gonna curl up around my feet again?” Opal does just that and lets out a such that makes Harry chuckle. As the sun sets, and less people are in the shop, Harry finishes up his work. He notices Amber wiping down the tables. “Hey.” He says to her, standing up and walking over to her. “Could we talk?”

“Is this still about your dream? I told you might have some weird, vivid ones with it being your first time drinking the tea.”

“It’s just…I don’t know why I would have dreamt something like that. I asked you what was wrong, and you told me it was nothing I needed to worry about.”

“Hm, sounds like dream me is a lot like the actual me.” She smirks. Harry frowns slight, and she sighs. “You’re really worked up about this, huh?”

“A little, yeah.”

Amber looks down at Opal, and then back to Harry.

“I wish I could be more help, but it was just a dream, Harry. Try having some more tea tonight and see what you dream about.” She looks down at her watch. “I need to close up early, I have somewhere to be in a bit.”

“Oh, uh, do you have a date, or something?”

“What? No.” She scoffs. “I take Opal for a long walk on Friday nights. She gets antsy if we don’t leave on time.”

“Is that safe?”

“Of course it is.” She blinks at Harry. “We just go walking through some of the neighborhoods with the students live off campus.”

“Could I join you? Haven’t explored the area all that much.”

“Wouldn’t it be weird for you? In case you run into your students?”

“Nah.” He shrugs. “Doubt they’ll recognize me in the dark.”

“Let him come with us.” Opal says, and Amber glares down at her. “I know we were going for a hunt, but it might be good to get to know him better. His dream could mean something.”

“Ugh, fine!” Her voice startles Harry a bit. “Be at your door in ten minutes with some sensible shoes on.” She looks down at the loafers he’s wearing. “You’ll wanna wear sneakers, Grandpa.”

//

Ten minutes later, Harry was waiting outside his door for Amber. He decided to wear his light-wash jeans and a windbreaker, along with his glasses. Amber came down the stairs with Opal wearing a long black jacket, and black jeans tucked into a pair of combat boots. Her hair was down for a change, Harry thought it looked beautiful.

“Ready?” She asks him.

“Mhm, you’re not going to put a leash on Opal?”

“Nah, she’s not the type to run away.” They both head down the stairs and out the back door to the street. They make their way to the off-campus neighborhood.

“I’ve been meaning to ask, how long have you been dying your hair that color? It’s really pretty.”

“Huh?”

“Your roots never show either, do you touch it up at home?”

“I don’t dye my hair.”

“Amber, remember who you’re talking to.” Opal says.

“I mean, uh, I have a hairdresser do it.” She smiles weakly at Harry. “I go every six weeks like clockwork. My hair’s, uh, naturally blonde, so my roots don’t show.”

“Really? But your eyebrows are so dark?”

“Dye those too.” Amber hated lying about herself, but there was nothing she could really do about it. “I don’t really like talking about myself, um, let’s talk about you. How come you’re going to grad school here and teaching?”

“Well, I love literature, reading and whatnot. I have a degree in English Education, but I wanna teach at a collegiate level, so I got into the master’s program here, and they’re letting me teaching. I’m technically a grad assistant, but I have my own classes.” They cross the street, and head up a slight hill. “Sort of hurt a bit when you said you hated reading.” He chuckles.

“I’m not going to apologize for that. I genuinely hate it if it’s not for research.”

“Did something make you not like reading as a kid?”

“I didn’t have much of a chance to read as a kid.” She mutters. “I went to an agricultural boarding school growing up, not much time for reading fantasy books when you’re working the land.”

“Wow! Why’d you do that?”

“I didn’t really have of a choice.”

“How come?”

“I just didn’t. I don’t really want to talk about it.”

“Well, is that how you got so good at making tea and coffee? I overheard some girls talking earlier, uh, you make an aphrodisiac?”

“I make a few, yeah. What did you hear?”

“That they work really well.” He smirks.

“They do. I only put out the best.”

“What would make you put out a product like that?”

“Sex sells.” She grins at him.

“Have you ever tested your product?”

“Sure, I test all of them to make sure they work properly.”

“And you found that it worked properly?” He smirks.

Amber is about to make a smart remark when she hears a blood curdling scream. She and Opal look at each other before sprinting off in the direction of the scream. Harry’s puzzled, and concerned, so he runs after them. He couldn’t believe how fast Amber could run. They all hear the scream again, and run towards the beginning of one of the walking trails. Harry loses sight of Amber and Opal as they run deeper into the woods. Harry’s stumped on where they could have gone. He uses the flashlight on his phone to help him see better.

“Help!” He hears a woman yell, and runs towards the sound.

When he gets closer, he starts getting major déjà vu. It was just like his dream. He stops short when he finds Amber and Opal. Opal’s eyes were glowing a striking blue and so were Amber’s. Amber’s necklace was glowing bright orange too. There was a woman on the ground, knocked unconscious. There was some odd shadow looming over her. All of a sudden, Amber’s hands start glowing, and what looks like electricity comes from her fingertips. It latches around the shadow like shackles, and it bellows a horrible sound.

“Who sent you?!” Amber yells to the shadow, but before she can get an answer, it vanishes. “Son of a bitch!”

“Amber.” Opal says. “Harry…”

Amber looks over at Harry, who she had completely forgotten about. Her necklace, eyes, and hands stop glowing. She looks down at the woman on the ground. She looked like a college student. Amber sighs, and raises her hands up, thus levitating the woman.

“Can you carry her? I’ll explain later.” Amber says.

Harry nods, and cautiously takes the woman in his arms, carrying her bridal style. Amber puts her hand on one of Harry’s shoulders, and blinks. Next thing Harry knows, they’re back on one of the streets in the neighborhood. Amber places her hand on the girl’s forehead, and takes a deep breath. Her eyes glow for a moment before she takes her hand away. She snaps her fingers, and the girl disappears from Harry’s arms.

“What the fu-“ Amber snaps her fingers again, and they’re in her apartment. “Fuck!” Harry pants, totally freaked out.

“Okay, calm down.”

“Calm down? Calm down?! How do you expect me to calm down?!”

“If you don’t then she won’t be able to explain.” Opal says.

“Did she just talk?” Harry points to Opal.

“Yeah…she must be allowing you to hear her.” Amber shrugs.

“Right.” Harry’s eyes roll back, and he faints, dropping to the floor.

“And here I was thinking I’d have to force him to drink some tea to make him think this was all a dream.”

“Don’t you think he deserves an explanation? He literally had a dream where something similar happened! What if he’s some sort of mage too, but just doesn’t know it?”

“How could he not know it?”

“Not everyone’s born into it like you were. Maybe something drew him here, and maybe things activated when he drank the tea.”

“What do you want me to do, wake him up and explain everything to him? No way, I’m not diving in deep with a stranger.”

“But if you just-“

“Enough!” Amber’s eye glow warningly. “What I say goes.” She snaps her fingers, sending Harry down to his own bed. “He’ll just think he had another wild dream.”

“Wouldn’t that be suspicious?”

“Not if I give him something.” She grins. “I’ll be back in a minute.” Amber snaps herself down to Harry’s bedroom. She sprinkles some dried strawberry dust over his open mouth. “Sweet dreams.” She nearly cackles, and snaps herself back upstairs. “With the dream he’s about to have, he won’t be recalling a damn thing. It’s better if he doesn’t know.”

“We’ll see about that, stubborn girl.”

//

Harry wakes up Saturday in a cold sweat. He couldn’t remember how he ended up in bed, or taking his clothes off. He rips the blankets back and winces when the cold air hits his stiffy. He was used to being hard in the morning, but not like this. His prick was swollen and throbbing, begging to be taken care of.

“Jesus fucking Christ.” He spits into his hand and grips himself.

He hisses from his own touch. He tries to remember last night. He recalls going for a walk, and then not much else. He jerks himself off until he comes. When he does, he swears a wank has never felt so good. He makes a proper mess of his tummy and heads for the shower. As he’s washing his hair, he notices he’s still hard, like, really hard. Not the post orgasm hard before he softens, it was like he hadn’t come at all. He sighs heavily, and starts pumping himself again. He grips at the tile on the walls as he whimpers and whines until he comes again.

When he gets out of the shower, and walks towards his dresser, he feels a throbbing between his legs. He looks down and sees that he’s hard again. Now he’s just annoyed. He had no idea what was going on. Unfortunately, he knew it wasn’t gonna go away on its own, so he jerks off a third time. He gets dressed, and goes upstairs to Amber’s apartment. He knocks on the door, but doesn’t hear anything.

“Amber, you home?!” He knocks again, but there’s nothing. She didn’t open until noon on Saturdays, where could she be?

He heads down the stairs, and peers into the shop, but doesn’t see anyone. He hears some noises coming from the basement door. He sighs and goes over to it. He knows he’s not supposed to go down there, but he needed answers. He knocks on the door loudly.

“Amber, you down there?!” He jiggles the door handle, and much to his surprise, it’s unlocked. “Amber?” Harry makes his way downstairs, and is stunned with what he sees. There were dozens of bookcases filled with old looking books, and bottles full of different liquids and leaves.

“Harry!” Amber shouts as she storms towards him. “You’re not supposed to be down here!”

“The door was unlocked.”

“Fucking.” She pinches the bridge of her nose. “I’ll have to talk with Penny. Go upstairs, now.”

“What is all of this stuff?”

“It doesn’t concern you.”

“Is this a weird meth lab or something? Are you a drug dealer? Is that what you’re really selling to the students?” He gasps for a moment. “Are you selling them ecstasy?”

“What?! You’re a fucking moron!”

“Then explain what’s going on because I woke up with a raging boner this morning, and it took a really long time for it to go away, and I also can’t remember a thing that happened last night, so I want some answers!”

“Wait, you woke up the boner?”

“How is that the thing you’re focusing on?”

“You were supposed to have a wet dream. Did you dream about anything?”

“No, one second I was on a walk and the next I woke up in my bed all sweaty and hard.”

“Weird.”

“You’re telling me. Now-“

“No, it’s weird because what I gave you had a delayed effect.”  She walks over to one of the shelves and pulls out a book. She flips through one of the pages. “Ohhhh.” She nods, closes the book, and puts it back. “I sprinkled some strawberry dust in your mouth from my dried stash, it’s extremely potent, that’s why I make it into a tea. Um, when it’s used the way I used it…it’s supposed to make you have a wet dream. I think it delayed because you passed out last night.”

“I did?!”

“Yes.” She sighs, and snaps her fingers, bringing them to her apartment.

“Amber, I’m about two seconds away from-“

“Have a seat.” She points to her couch, and sits down. He sits down next to her, but not too close.

“Where’s Opal?”

“Out shopping with Penny. She upset with me because of last night. She wanted me to tell you everything, but I didn’t want to. I guess I don’t really have a choice now.”

“What do you mean she wanted you to tell me?” Harry blinks.

“May I press my forehead to yours? It’ll be easier to explain that way.”

“Um, sure?”

Amber grips the back of Harry’s neck, pulling him closer. It was almost like she was about to kiss him, but she doesn’t. She presses her forehead to Harry’s, and her eyes start glowing. Harry suddenly has flashes of everything from the night before. She lets go of him, and gives him a moment to process everything.

“Holy shit.” He says, blinking a few times. “So my dream did mean something.”

“That’s what I’ve been trying to figure out. You had some sort of vision, and I have no idea why.”

“What are you then?”

“I’m a mage.”

“Which is what?”

“Well, it’s sort of like a witch, but less spooky. I can cast spells, and I have other abilities. I was born into it. My hair color is naturally like this, that’s why you haven’t seen my roots grow out.”

“Your necklace was glowing last night too. Does that have anything to do with it?”

“I’ve had this since I was born. It helps enhance things.” She grips the jewel for a moment. “It also keeps me safe.”

“From who?”

“People who might want me for their own selfish needs. I’ve been trying to track this…this thing down. A demon of some kind attacked Opal last spring. I thought I was close to finding it last night, but that shadow was just a minion.”

“Do you know why something might have attacked her?”

“We’ve…wait a second, you’re taking all of this in a little too easily. You’re not freaked out?”

“Most of the fiction I read is fantasy based.” He shrugs. “Besides, it’s hard to doubt something when you see it with your own eyes. So, why do you think something attacked her?”

“We’ve been trying to figure it out for months! We were out in the woods at night collecting some leaves. I turned my back for a second and I heard her yelp out. It was terrible. Luckily, it left before it could do some real damage. I don’t want it hurting her, or any of the college students. Seems like it’s back.”

“Can I ask…why have a shop that’s so obviously full of magic?”

“A lot of people are into natural healing methods these days. And this is a pretty granola town.” She shrugs. “I’ve been here the last four years. Things took off quickly.”

“Where were you before?”

“I told, you I went to an agricultural boarding school. It was for kids like me. I…don’t really know my parents, and I don’t have any siblings. They kind of just send you off once you’re of age to go to pre-school.”

“That sounds terrible.”

“It wasn’t.” She shakes her head. “Well, it was and it wasn’t. I learned how to keep myself safe, and learn how to properly use my powers. They let you leave when you’re twenty. I had all my firsts there. My first kiss, my first love, my first heartbreak.” She sighs.

“Is Penny a mage too?”

“Sort of.” Amber smiles. “She’s more a mother to me than my own. She practically raised me. When I left the school I asked her to come with me, and she agreed.”

“When did you get Opal?”

“When you’re little, around the age of six, they take you to a farm so you can connect with an animal. She was the cutest puppy I had ever seen. I bonded with her right away. We ran around and played and laughed. Opal’s my everything.”

“And she can talk with you and others telepathically?”

“Correct. She has to feel bonded to the people she allows to hear her. She’s felt comfortable with you since you got here…I’ve also been trying to figure that out. It pisses me off to no end that she likes you.”

“Why?” He chuckles.

“Because I can’t stand you. You’re so fucking positive and bouncy. You’re always in a good mood, it’s disgusting.” She grimaces.

“Well, I know being a mage can’t mean you’re crabby because Penny’s always delighted to see me.” He smirks. “It disgusts you that I’m happy?”

“Very much so, yes.” She nods.

“I can’t help it. I’ve got a great job, I’m studying something I’m interested in, and I get to see you every day. What could be better than that?”

“You’re happy because you get to see me every day?”

“Well, sure. You’re so interesting, and…I’m very attracted to you, but I’m sure that’s been obvious to you since I walked through the door.” He rubs the back of his neck as he blushes.

“I’m flattered, but I’m not really one for dating. I don’t have the time for it. Not when there’s a fucking demon on the loose that I can’t seem to track down.”

“Maybe I could help. Two heads are better than one.” He smiles.

“No, the only thing you can help with is keeping all of this to yourself. You can’t say a thing to anyone.”

“I won’t, I promise.”

She nods and takes her necklace off. Harry watches as she moves her fingers above the stone, and crates an amber ring from it.

“Here, you like to wear rings, so put this on.” She grabs one of his hands and slides the ring onto his pinky. “This will keep you safe. It’ll keep us connected.”

“Thank you for trusting me with all of this. Um, so about this morning…did you think I was going to be distracted by a saucy dream?” He smirks.

“It was supposed to make you forget everything entirely. I’m sorry it didn’t work right, that must have been painful. How many times did you, uh, you know, before it stopped?”

“Three.”

“Poor thing.” She pouts. “You must be exhausted.”

“I’m still a little tired, yeah.” He chuckles.

“Why don’t you go to take a nap? Penny and Opal should be back soon, and I need to catch them up on everything.”

“This isn’t some trick, right? You’re not going to try to cast a spell to make me forget?”

“No.” She chuckles. “I don’t see much use in it. Your body was clearly trying to fight off what I gave you.”

“Does, um, does it always last like that?”

“Oh, you mean staying hard after you come?”

“Yeah.” He blushes.

“Not if you fuck someone. If you’re alone and have to take care of it yourself it takes longer for it to wear off since you’re not exerting as much energy.” They both stand up and she walks him to her door. “Should have come knocking sooner, I could have helped you out.” She winks at him.

“That’s not funny.” He deadpans.

She laughs anyways, and sends him out. She snaps herself back to the basement where Opal and Penny are already waiting for her.

“Before so a word, I told him what he needed to know.” Amber tells them.

“The powder didn’t work?” Penny asks.

“No, apparently it didn’t kick in until just before he woke up. Poor thing had to jerk it three times.” Amber shrugs.

“See! This is why I think something is dormant within him. First, your tea causes him to have a vision. Second, the powder didn’t work. What did he say when you told him what was going on?” Opal says.

“He took it really well. The questions he asked were more for his understanding, to piece things together. He wasn’t freaked out at all.”

“Then that’s a third thing. We need to figure out what he is.”

“I know, but how? It’s not like I can experiment on him.” Amber sighs.

“I’ve heard of this before.” Penny says, padding over to one of the book shelves. She makes a motion with her hands to get one of the books on the top shelf down. She brings the book over to the lectern so she and Amber could look at it together. Penny flips through the pages, and finds what she’s looking for. “Ah-ha! Here it is. Long ago, there were families that left the coven, wanting to leave the magic behind. It was when a lot of those awful witch hunts became popular. After a few generations, the families became unaware of their abilities, thus the magic lying dormant within. Apparently, all it takes to ignite the magic is meeting another witch, and drinking something magical they made for them. You’ve been making him tea and coffee for almost two months! Then you gave him that tea sleepy-time tea that’s laced with magic. No wonder he had a vision.” Penny shakes her head.

“I wonder if deep down he felt a pull here…to Amber.”

“Could be.” Penny ponders. “I’ve seen that happening too. Certain covens did have truces back in the day. You two could have been from two separate covens, but bonded nonetheless.”

“If you’re getting into some weird soulmate shit, I’m gonna have to head out.” Amber says.

“That’s not what I’m saying.” Penny shakes her head. “When’s his birthday?”

“Um, February, I think.” Amber says.

“Then is birthstone would be an amethyst.” Opal says.

“If you look at any color wheel you’ll see that purple and yellow are polar opposites.” Penny says.

“But they’re also complimentary colors.”

“Can one of you just get to the point?!” Amber huffs.

“You’re not soulmates, but you are connected. In our various covens, those with citrine birthstones, like yours, and those with amethyst birthstones tended to make great pairs. They’re good at problem solving together.”

“I made him a ring from my stone…should I add an amethyst to it?”

“No.” Opal says. “No, he’ll need that ring to stay as it is for safety. We need to get him his own necklace with the stone. Then we can see if it glows.”

“If it glows…he’s a mage.” Penny states.

“Great, where the fuck am I supposed to get a pure amethyst on such short notice?” Amber pinches the bridge of her nose. “Not to mention getting it welded into a necklace.”

“You’ll have to take him out to the Four Peaks Mine in Arizona. I can run the shop while you’re gone. You’ll take Opal with you, simple as that.”

“It’s not simple. He has classes to teach, and there’s a demon on the loose!”

“Yes, but you might be able to ward it off together. It’s Saturday, we could get there quick, and be back by tomorrow night. Plenty of time.” Opal says.

“That’s a long way to snap us there. We’ll need to sleep there tonight so I get gain my strength back.” Amber says.

“Then so be it.” Penny says. “I can handle things here. We’re only open a half day tomorrow as is. Where is he now?”

“Napping.” Amber sighs. “I’ll go wake him up. Opal, be ready in five?”

Opal nods, and Amber snaps herself into Harry’s apartment. She walks into his bedroom where he’s sleeping soundly. Poor thing was knackered. She sits on the edge of his bed, and gently pulls him out of sleep. His eyes flutter open slowly.

“Amber?”

“Hi.” She smiles softly. “We have to go to Arizona for the night to get you an amethyst stone.”

“Um, okay…why?” He sits up a bit.

“It’s your birthstone, just as this is mine.” She points to her necklace. “We need to test something, and we need the pure substance to do so. We may be connected somehow, yellow and purple are complimentary colors.”

“Can I ask you something? If the birth stone is so important, why don’t you glow yellow instead of blue?”

“Blue and yellow are also complimentary colors, just as green and purple are. I was born in November, so it was already obvious what my stone would be, but when my parents saw my eyes for the first time…they knew I’d be powerful. Not all citrines are born with such blue eyes, only the most powerful. Your eyes are very green, so you may be quite powerful yourself, but we won’t know anything until we get to the mine. Pack an overnight bag, and be downstairs in five minutes.”

Without another word, she snaps herself out of his room, leaving him speechless.

“I’m really starting to hate it when she does that.” He says to himself before getting out of bed.

//

It was dusk by the time Amber was able to snap herself, Harry, and Opal to Arizona. Their first task was to find a motel to stay at for the night before heading to the mine. The biggest challenge was finding one that was pet friendly.

“The mines will be too dangerous for you two. I’ll go and bring back what we need by morning.”

“I can’t let you go alone.”

“Amber, you’ll know if something’s wrong. I’ll check in with you. Just get a room and rest up.”

Opal sprinted off into the night while Amber and Harry went to the check in area of the closest motel. They go inside to see what the vacancy situation is. An older gentleman was behind the desk.

“Good evening, folks.” He smiles warmly.

“Hi, we’d like a room with two queens please.” Amber says.

“Let me just double check if we have that available.” The man goes onto the computer on his desk. “Unfortunately, our last available room with two queens has already been reserved by a family of four coming in. I do, however, one room with a full left. Would that work?”

“A full is so tiny.” Amber frowns. “Is there at least a couch in the room?”

“A small loveseat.”

“Ugh, alright, we’ll take it.” She sighs, and gives him her credit card. Harry can’t hide the smirk on his face as the man types away at his computer. Amber glares at him briefly before taking her card back, and getting the room key.

“Enjoy your stay.” The man smiles at both of them.

“Can’t you just cast some sort of spell to make the bed bigger?” Harry asks once they’re in the room.

“No, that’s not how that works. I can’t change the molecular composition of a mattress like that. I’m also too weak to perform that kind of magic even if I wanted to. Snapping us across the country took a lot out of me, and I need to rest so I can get us home tomorrow.” She closes and locks the door behind them.

“What exactly will finding this amethyst do?”

“Well, I’ll turn it into a necklace, put it on you, and we’ll see if it glows.”

“And if it does?”

“Then you’re a mage, and we’ll have some bigger fish to fry.” She sits down on the edge of the bed and takes her boots off. “I’m gonna go wash up, and then I’m turning in. I brought some tea so we can get to sleep.” She makes her way into the bathroom. Harry goes in after her. When he’s done, she hands him a cup of tea.

“Thanks…do you think I’ll have a weird vision again?”

“You could.” Amber shrugs. “I have no idea.” She goes through her bag and pulls out a night shirt and pajama bottoms. “Turn around.”

Harry does so quickly while she changes. He grabs his own pajama pants to throw on, and stays in his tee shirt. Once they’re done with their tea, they both climb into bed. It wouldn’t be a big deal, but there was little wiggle room, and Harry was a broad, tall guy. They were shoulder to shoulder, squished in the small bed.

“Could be worse, could have been a room with just a twin.” Harry says to break the tension.

“Why in the fuck would there be a motel room with just a twin bed in it?”

“I don’t know, I was just saying.” He shrugs, and turns his head to look at her. “Clearly, there are stranger things out there than that.” He smirks.

“Go to sleep, Harry.” She rolls away from him onto her side.

“You’re making a bigger deal out of this than it needs to be. You’ve never shared a bed with someone before?”

Amber sighs heavily and rolls back onto her back to look at him better.

“I have, but these are tight quarters if you haven’t noticed, and you told me you were attracted to me-“

“So? You think I’m going to disrespect you and take advantage of the situation? I’m not that kind of guy.”

“I didn’t say you were. I just feel…nervous. It’s been a while since I shared a bed with a man, that’s all. You’re pretty, um, attractive yourself, so…there’s that.” Her face had to be beat red right now, she could feel it.

“Well, look who’s expressing their feelings!” Harry gasps. “Who knew this side to you even existed?”

“Don’t be sarcastic with me, Harry. You don’t know what it was like growing up the way I did. It was really hard at times. We were basically like grounded nomads.”

“M’sorry.” He turns on his side to face her easier. “Would you, uh, would you want to have a cuddle while we drift off? Doesn’t have to mean anything, but I know you’re worried about Opal, could help you calm down some.”

Amber nods and turns back over so Harry can spoon her. He doesn’t fully press his pelvis to her bum, he didn’t want to push it and make her uncomfortable. She did feel better having his arm wrapped around her. They both drift off easily after settling, the tea kicking in.

In his dream, Harry’s brought to a large estate, like a mansion from 1800’s London. There was a large field as well, a gentle breeze flowing. It looked like it was a beautiful day. He goes walking for a bit and finds this gorgeous tree that had a few tire swings attached to it. He stops short when he sees Amber. She looked a little younger, her hair was much longer, tied back in a flowing braid, and she was wearing a black, off the shoulder maxi dress with buttons running down the front. She had her arms crossed over chest, and she didn’t look happy with the young man she was speaking with. Harry creeps a little closer to hear what they’re talking about.

“Is what Opal told me true, yes or no?” Amber says to him.

“Amber-“

“Yes, or no, Max.” She scowls at him.

“What exactly did she tell you?”

“That you’ve been practicing dark magic in the woods at night.”

“She’s never liked me.” He scoffs. “I can’t believe you’re going to believe that mat over me.”

“Be very careful with how you speak about her.” Amber’s eyes start glowing.

“Settle down.”

“Answer the question.”

“Yes, okay, yes…I’ve been practicing dark magic.”

“Why?! You know it’s against the rules.”

“Well, it shouldn’t be. It does more good than harm, everyone is just too scared because it’s powerful.”

“You’re going to get expelled if one of the elders catches you. Do you want to be thrown out into the world before you’re ready?”

“We’re eighteen, Amber, we can do whatever we want. We could leave here together, and never come back. This place is a prison.”

“This place keeps us safe. You know as well as I do we can’t leave until we’re at least twenty.”

“Since when do you follow every single rule, huh? Where’s the girl that sneaks off into my room at night?” He steps closer to her, caressing one of her cheeks.

“That’s totally different.” She swats his hand away. “You shouldn’t be messing with that shit. If Opal saw you, others could too.”

“So I’ll be more careful.”

“Or you could stop. If you don’t…if you don’t then it’s over between us.”

Max’s dark brown eyes start to glow, along with the jewel hanging from the chain around his neck. It looked like aquamarine. Brown and blue were opposites as well. Maybe those gems had a connection too? He couldn’t be sure, a lot of this was confusing. Amber’s eyes were glowing again to match Max’s energy. Both sets of their hands started glowing as well.

“You’d throw away everything between us over something so small?!” He yells at her.

“This isn’t small, this is serious! Don’t make me strike you, Max.” There were tears streaming down her cheeks.

“You wouldn’t dare.”

With a flick of her wrist, she blasts him, knocking him down to the ground. She hovers over him, ready to serve another blow.

“I’m so disappointed in you.” She says to him.

“You don’t know what you’ve just started.” He grits his teeth.

“Actually, pretty sure I just finished it. Goodbye, Max.”

Harry blinks, and all of a sudden he’s in a forest at night. He could hear growling. He runs in the direction of the noise and sees Opal growling towards a man. It was Max. Harry’s eyes widen as he watches Max chant something, striking a blow towards Opal. Harry tries to save her, but he’s frozen in his place.

“Opal?!” He hears Amber yell, and Max disappears. “Opal! Oh my god!” She drops to the ground, her body going over Opal’s and snapping them away from the scene.

Harry’s eyes burst open, and he sits up right away. Amber’s not in the bed anymore. Before he has a heart attack, he hears her coming out of the bathroom.

“Morning.” She yawns. “Opal’s about five minutes away. How’d you sleep?”

“Amber, uh, when Opal got attacked, did she ever say what it was, or who it was that attacked her?”

“No.” Amber shakes her head. “She couldn’t remember a thing. I think whatever it was put a hex on her memory of the event. Why?”

“I had a really unsettling dream.” He blinks a few times and looks at her. Before he can say anything else, Opal appears in the room, letting a large amethyst fall from her mouth.

“You wouldn’t believe the digging I had to do to get this, but it’s a good one.” She says. “You both slept in that tiny bed?”

“Not the time. Go drink some water.” Amber snatches the amethyst. It hovers above her palm. Her eyes glow, and in seconds it’s transformed into a slide on a necklace. “Let’s do this first, and then we can talk about your dream, okay?” She says to Harry as she comes over to him. Opal hops up on the bed, and Amber sits beside Harry. “Close your eyes.” She says softly, and he does so. She places the necklace over his head, and the gem rests on his chest.

The amethyst starts to hover and glow. Amber and Opal look at each other.

“Is anything happening?” Harry asks.

“Open your eyes.” Amber says.

Harry opens his eyes, and they’re glowing a bright green. He gasps when his looks down at the floating amethyst. He looks down at his hands and sees that they’re glowing too.

“How do I turn it off?!” Harry yelps in fear.

“Don’t panic! Give it a moment, the gem is bonding with you, just breathe.” Amber says.

A few moments pass before the gem rests on Harry’s chest once more. He eyes and hands stop glowing as well, and he takes a deep breath.

“What does all of this mean?” He asks them.

“You’re a mage, your abilities have been dormant for quite some time. You’re definitely more powerful than most, you’ll have to learn how to hone in on it.” Opal explains.

“I guess that would explain the vision-type dreams. I…Amber, I saw your break up with someone named Max. You got into a fight because he was performing dark magic. Then I was in the woods where Opal was attacked. It was him who attacked her, not some random demon.”

“What?!” Amber’s eyes flash for a moment. “I’ll kill him, I’ll-“

“No, Amber, that’s the exact rage he wants you to feel.” Opal says. “But we do need to track him down before he does more damage around town. Those college kids don’t deserve his wrath.”

//

When they all got back Sunday evening, Amber explained everything to Penny. She was beyond infuriated, and reached out to the other elders back at the boarding school to let them know what was going on. Harry was taking in a lot of information in, but he was doing well at not freaking out. Penny took him aside to calmly explain to him was his powers meant, and that there was a code of ethics he’d need to read up on and follow. Now that Amber knew Max was involved, she needed to figure out a way to track him down, and fast.

//

The weeks go on, no shadows lurking, no demons, and no Max. Amber, Penny, and Opal take advantage of the quiet to train Harry in their spare time. Lucky for them, he was a fast reader, and a quick learner. He was picking up certain spells naturally. He knew it would take a while to get as good as Amber at all of this, but he was happy with the progress he was making. He had never felt more like himself in his life. Penny had them working on combination spells, and boy were they powerful. The blue and green glows mixed beautifully.

“I have a feeling he may strike on Halloween.” Opal says to them one evening.

“Wouldn’t that be sort of cliché?” Harry asks.

“Please, Max lives for shit like that. He probably thinks it’ll be the perfect cover since we usually go out on Halloween.” Amber says.

“What do you do?”

“Penny stays back to hand out candy to the little kids, and Opal and I usually go around making sure there aren’t any creatures looking for trouble.”

“If Opal thinks he may strike on Halloween, then I think I know where we could wait for him. If I draw out where I had that original vision, do you think you’d know where in the woods it is?”

“It’s worth a try.” Opal says.

Opal knew exactly where Harry was talking about after looking over the picture he drew. Halloween was only a few days away, they needed to prepare. Harry was about to get ready for bed when there was a knock on his door. He looks through the peephole to see Amber, and he smiles.

“Hi, there.” He says as he opens the door.

“Hi, may I come in?”

“Of course.” She nods and comes inside. She had on an oversized shirt and pajama pants. Harry smirks to himself as he closes the door. “So, what’s up?”

“Nothing, I just…well, I just wanted to say that I’m really proud of you.”

“For what?”

“Taking all of this so well, for jumping in without a second thought. You’re doing really well with the lessons, and I know it’s got to be stressful because you’re trying to balance this whole mess along with getting your master’s and teaching.” She chews on her bottom lip. “I know Penny is really good at giving praise, but I’m not always so good at it…that’s what the kids at the boarding school used to tell me when I’d work with them anyways, so I just wanted to make sure I told you how proud I am. I really couldn’t stand you when we first met, but I like you a lot more now.”

He knew the last part was a joke, so he laughs before responding.

“Thanks, that means a lot. When I’m passionate about something, I tend to just dive right in, and I usually aim to please.” He steps a little closer to her. “Is that all you came down here for? To praise me?”

She narrows her eyes at him while her cheeks turn a bright red. He was making her nervous, and she hated feeling that way.

“What else would I have come down here for?” She puts her hands on her hips.

“I don’t know, you tell me. Typically, when a girl comes knocking at my door after midnight, she’s looking for something very particular.”

Amber scoffs and shakes her head. She crosses her arms as she smirks at him.

“Mm, I bet you’d love it if I came down here to seduce you. You strike me as the type that likes to hear a woman beg for your cock. Am I right about that, Harry? You’re so nice and sweet all day long, do you like to get a little mean in the bedroom?” She raises her eye brows playfully. “No, maybe you like it when your woman gets a little mean, or maybe it’s a mix of both.”

“You know what I think?”

“Tell me.”

“I think that whoever you’ve slept with in the past never pleased you in the way that you need to be pleased.”

“And how do I need to be pleased?”

“Probably with a lot of tongue, I’m guessing.” He watches as Amber’s pupils dilate just the smallest amount. “You’d like that, wouldn’t you? To feel all warm and wet between your thighs.”

“I’ve got a toy that does that for me. Perfectly mimics the feeling of someone sucking on my clit.”

“Can’t beat the real thing.”

“Sure it can.” She shrugs. “It gets me panting, mining, screaming. And it gets me absolutely soaked. Probably squirted for all I know.” She pushes past him to walk towards his door. “Sleep well, Harry.”

“How am I supposed to sleep knowing that right above me you’re soaking your own sheets?” He pouts at her.

“Drink some tea, you’ll sleep just fine.” She winks, and out the door she goes.

Harry groans to himself, and heads to the kitchen to make himself some tea. There’s no way he’d sleep on his own tonight.

//

“I should be going with you two.”

“No, you’ll stay here with Penny where it’s safe. Dark magic can’t infiltrate the shop. You’re his target, so we’ll have a fake you set up.” Amber says. Both her and Harry were dressed in all black. She takes his hand in hers, and she snaps them out to the forest. “We’ll have to travel the rest of the way on foot.” She tells Harry.

“When we get there, and we catch him…what exactly are you going to do.”

“I’m going to take his powers away. I should have done it a long time ago.”

“You know how to do that?”

“Yes, Penny taught me how. It’s only for extreme circumstances, but I know how to sort of, like, bend the energy from him. His stone will go black, and that’ll be it.”

“So…all of this is because he thinks you broke up with him because of something Opal saw him do?”

“It’s more than that.” Amber sighs. “He was always jealous…I put Opal first a lot. He didn’t have the same relationship with his animal guide, and eventually he parted from it. That can break something within you. It’s probably why he turned to the dark magic in the first place. I tried to be there for him, but we started fighting a lot more, and when Opal told me what she saw, that was the last straw for me.”

“How long were you together for?”

“Well, I’d known him my whole life, but we got together when we were sixteen, so two years. He was my first everything. I’ve had other relationships, but it’s tough dating a non-mage. Everything has to be a secret; it’s exhausting.”

“Hearing you say that helps me make sense of my own dating life. I never felt fully connected to any of my girlfriends, even when we were having sex. I felt like I was trying to force the passion or something.”

“God, you’re such a romantic.” She says in a disgusted tone. “It’s all that damn fiction you read.”

“Are you telling me you don’t want to have passionate sex?”

“No, but sometimes sex is just sex. You get your rocks off, zip back up, and get on with your day.”

“That doesn’t sound like much fun.”

“Have you ever fucked someone you hated?”

“I don’t think I’ve ever hated anyone to be honest with you. I’ve not liked people before.”

“Okay, have you ever fucked someone you didn’t like?”

“Why would I do that?”

“You can be attracted to someone and hate their guts. It’s hot and lustful.” She smirks.

“Too bad we didn’t fuck when you hated me then. Could have been pretty steamy.”

“You’re an idiot.” She laughs. “Wait, I think we’re here. Get into positron.”

The two of them huddle behind a large tree. Amber’s eyes glow, and with a few twists of her fingers, a fake Opal is created. Amber acts as if the dog is a puppet, making her sniff around and dig. Harry quietly watches in amazement. Before long, a shadow appears, then a few more. Max appears with the shadows, his eyes glowing a reddish brown.

“You must think I’m a real idiot.” Max chuckles lowly, snapping his fingers and making the fake Opal vanish. “Come on out Amber.” Amber and Harry stand up, coming out from behind the tree. “Oh, look! You’ve brought a friend. Did you really think I wouldn’t be able to tell the difference between your mutt and an illusion?” He smirks.

“No, we knew you’d figure it out.” Amber says. “You’re such a sick fuck trying to hurt her when really it’s me you’re mad at. I broke your heart, and you blame her, but you did it to yourself. You knew I wouldn’t tolerate all of this.”

“You broke just about every rule you could at that boarding school!”

“Yeah, like sneaking into your room after hours, and breaking curfew, not messing with dark magic! It’s possessed you, your eyes aren’t supposed to glow red. I’ve grown fond of this town, and I won’t have you terrorizing defenseless kids because of me. This ends now.”

“Well, you’re about that, but I don’t think you’ll be satisfied with the outcome. See, I’m going to find Opal, and I’m going to make sure she learns that eavesdropping isn’t okay. I know she’s gotten older, but even old dogs can learn new tricks.”

Max’s hands and eyes start glowing, and he charges towards Amber.

“Harry, handle the shadows, I’ll take care of Max!” She yells just as she jumps into the air to avoid Max’s blow.

While Amber and Max cast spells at each other, Harry springs into action. He couldn’t fly or float, or whatever the fuck Amber’s able to do just yet, but he had gotten pretty good at casting key defense and offense spells. Max’s shadows were strong, getting the better of Harry a few times, but Harry’s eyes start glowing along with his gem, and then all bets are off for the shadows. He’s impressed with himself when he’s able to make them vanish. He looks over and sees Amber and Max rushing towards each other with an immense amount of rage. The blow they strike at the same time explodes, causing them both to be flung backwards. Amber’s back slams into a tree, making her fall to the ground.

“Amber!” Harry sprints over to her, cradling her face in his hands. “Come on, Love, wakeup.” He’s panicking now.

“I should have known.” Max says as he scrambles to his feet. Harry looks over at him. “An amethyst and a citrine, how cliché.” He scoffs. “You’re new to all of this, I can feel it. Why she’d spend her time with a mongrel like you is beyond me.” His hands start glowing again as he walks over to Harry. “Not to worry, once you and Opal are out of the picture, she’ll be all mine once more.”

“I’m sorry, but you’re mistaken.”

Harry lunges forward, tackling Max by the legs. He pins him down, and punches Max in the face. Max telepathically throws Harry off him. Harry casts spell after spell towards Max, but they’re all blocked.

“You’re weak, what could she possibly want with you?” Max laughs as he blocks another strike.

Amber’s eyes flutter open, and she sees the two men fighting. She rises off the ground, and gets high enough to have an arial view of them. She watches as Max throws Harry into a tree. That was the last straw. She takes a deep breath, and nose dives towards Max. He doesn’t see it coming as he’s forced into the ground. She pins him down and snatches the gem around his neck, and breaks the chain.

“What are you doing?!” He shouts.

“Something I should have done a long time ago. You’re too dangerous.” Amber shoots back up into the air, and Max follows her.

“Give it back!”

“No!”

She wraps the chain around her fist, and points her other arm out at him. The blue glow leaves her palm and goes right to Max’s heart. First, a red glow starts to leave his body, and soon it turns into Max’s original brown glow. They both start lowering to the ground. He’s screaming at the top of his lungs, and she has tears streaming down her cheeks. There’s a large flash of light, and then nothing.

“You have no idea what you’ve done.” He says weakly on his knees looking up at her.

“I know exactly what I’ve done.” She throws Max’s gem on the ground and steps on it, breaking it into tiny pieces. “I can’t believe I thought this would actually be a challenge.” She pushes him all the way down to the ground with her boot, and steps on his chest. “Only the weak turn to dark magic.”

“What am I supposed to do without my powers?” He asks weakly.

“I don’t know, why don’t you ask your friends?” The shadows come to surround Max. Amber steps back from him and watches as they circle around him. They look to her. “Unless you want to end up just like that, I strongly suggest you take him far away from here.” They all vanish. Amber had a feeling this fight was long from over, but for now Max wouldn’t be able to do any more damage. She rushes over to Harry who was still laying on the ground. “Harry!” She cradles his head into her lap and places her hand on his forehead.

“Amber?”

“Hey.” She smiles down at him.

“Did we win?”

“We did.” She nods. “You were so brave trying to battle him. I took his powers away, we should be safe for a while.”

“I bet Opal will be relieved.”

“Yeah, she will be. Let’s get back to the shop, yeah?”

Harry hums his response just as Amber snaps them to the shop. Penny and Opal were cleaning up from the trick or treating.

“You’re back!” Opal exclaims, running over to the two of them. Amber drops to her knees to hug her friend.

“I took his powers away. We could easily see him again, but not for a long time.” Amber says.

“I’m so proud of you.” Opal nuzzles her forehead to Amber’s. “I’m proud of you too, Harry.”

“I’m glad you’ll be safe now.” Harry scratches at Opal’s head.

“You two look knackered.” Penny says. “Here, I made some tea for you both, go upstairs and unwind for a bit. We can talk about everything in the morning.”

“Good idea, thank you. Where’s the tea?” Amber asks.

“I snapped it up to Harry’s apartment.” Penny smiles. “Go on, Opal and I can finish locking up.”

//

Harry and Amber make their way into his apartment. They see the tea on his coffee table, and sit down on his sofa. They’re quiet for a moment as they take a sip. It had the faintest hint of a coffee smell, which was peculiar. It should either taste like chamomile or vanilla. Amber was too tired to question it.

“I’m going to head up.” She says after finishing her tea. “I’ll see you in the morning.”

“Alright.” He smiles at her. “We can keep training together, right? I’d like to keep learning.”

“Of course.” She smiles. “You still have a lot to learn. Goodnight, Harry.”

“Night, sleep well.” He walks her to the door and watches as she heads upstairs.

Amber takes a quick shower, and changes into a tee shirt and bed shorts. Opal was already asleep on the daybed in the living room. Amber crawls into bed and sighs with relief. She tosses and turns for a bit. She felt wide awake now, like she had just been given a burst of energy. She huffs and puffs, getting more and more uncomfortable. She feels hot all over, and kicks her blankets back. Her thighs felt sweaty, so she dips her fingers inside her shorts and gasps. She was wet, incredibly wet. She sits up and remembers the tea.

“Fucking, Penny.” She groans. Coffee had a way of masking other smells. Amber gets out of bed, getting more and more frustrated with each step. Opal pops an eye open.

“Can’t sleep?”

“Why’d you let Penny give me the mood tea?”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about. Seems like your problem will go away faster if you see Harry, though.”

“You’ll face my wrath in the morning.”

“Mhm, go have some fun.”

Amber makes her way down the stairs to Harry’s apartment. She bangs on his door, preying he wasn’t asleep already. After a few moments, he opens the door only wearing a pair of boxer briefs. He was holding a pillow over his crotch. Amber places her hands on either side of the doorframe.

“We have a problem.” She huffs. “Penny slipped us the wrong tea.”

“Was wondering why I got so hard once I got into bed.” He looks her up and down. “Why’d you come all the way down here?”

“Because if we don’t take care of it properly then we’ll be up all night, and I don’t feel like masturbating for hours on end until it stops.”

“Here I was thinking I’d have to wank off to just the thought of you.” He steps closer to her, dropping the pillow to the floor. Her eyes flicker down to his strained prick.

“I wanted us to go out on a proper date before we did anything like this.” Amber mutters. “Penny’s so pushy whenever she wants me to be with someone.”

“Do you ever listen to her?”

“No.”

“Seems like she took the necessary steps.” He hooks an arm around her waist, pulling her into him. “I’ll take you out to breakfast tomorrow morning, how’s that sound?”

“I’ve always wanted to go on a breakfast date.”

“You wanna do this? I can kiss you, touch you?” His lips ghost over hers.

“Please, take care of me. M’dripping.”

“For me?”

“For you.” She confirms. “This stuff is potent, but it works better when you have someone in mind that you really want to fuck.”

Harry groans and slots his mouth over hers. He brings her further into the apartment, and kicks the door closed. His hands cup her cheeks as they bump into various walls. She bites down on his bottom lip and he moans into her. He licks into her mouth and starts sucking on her tongue. She tugs on his hair and jumps up so he can carry her into his room. Her legs wrap securely around his waist, moaning into his mouth as he sucks on her bottom lip. He drops her onto his bed, a whine escaping her from the loss of his body. He smirks as he moves to hover over her, attaching his lips to her neck. He sponges wet kisses along her skin, and nibbles on her earlobe.

“What do you like, Amber?” He says into her ear, and her hips buck up into his.

“Anything right now would be good, I’m soaked.” She whimpers, and he moves to look at her.

“Because of the tea, or because you really want me, because I can’t fuck you if it’s just from the tea.”

“It’s a mix of both. The tea can bring out things you’re already feeling for someone else. I want you, I mean it, I’m not just saying it so you’ll fuck me. I…I like you, alright? I really do like you. I think about you when you’re not around, and the best part of my day is when you come into the shop after you’ve finished working for the day. You set up your stupid laptop and work on your stupid assignments, all while looking unapologetically handsome.”

“Why would you keep all of that to yourself for so long, hm?” He coos, brushing some hair away from her face.

“Because romance makes me sick, and so does being vulnerable.” She pouts at him.

“Well, lucky for you, I’m pretty good at both.” He presses his lips to her once more before shifting down her body. He tugs on her shorts, and she lifts her hips to help him take them off. She wasn’t wearing anything underneath, which made things much easier. His eyes widen when he sees how slick she is between her legs. “Christ, you weren’t kidding.”

“It hurts, please, just do something.” She whines again.

Harry smirks before licking over one of her inner thighs, and then the other. He licks over her slit, and she moans out in relief. He licks up to her clit and sucks harshly on it. He moans into her and presses down on her lower stomach. He slides two fingers inside her, and her head rolls back into his pillows. Harry thought she tasted amazing, and she was so wet and warm around his fingers. He was leaking into his boxers, he could feel it. He knew part of it was from the tea, but he also knew how he felt about her. He had been dreaming of this moment since the day he met her, and he couldn’t believe it was finally happening. The tips of his fingers pet against her g-spot, and her hands fly to his hair to grip onto. He continues to suck on her clit, trying not to bust in his boxers too soon. She cries out as she comes around his fingers. She gets her shirt off while he rids himself of his boxers. He comes back down to hover over her. He licks into her mouth as her arms wrap around her his neck. He ruts his hard cock against her folds.

“Do you want me to wear a condom?” He asks her as he starts to knead her breasts.

“N-no.” She shakes her head. “Are you okay with that? I…I’m clean.”

“So am I. Are you on the pill, or something?”

“I have an IUD, so you can come inside me if you want.”

“Is that what you want?”

“We’re going to be able to go for multiple rounds, and I want you to fill me up each time.”

“Fuck.” He groans, and spreads her legs farther apart.

He rubs his tip along her clit before pushing inside. Her nails dig into his shoulders, her mouth falling open from the stretch he was giving her. Her heels dig into the backs of his thighs, pulling him closer to her. Her hands trail down his back until they reach his bum, sinking her nails into the plushy skin.

“You feel so fucking good.” She gasps as he thrusts in and out of her.

“So do you.” He groans. “You’re so fucking tight, don’t know how long I’ll last.”

“It doesn’t matter, you’ll get hard again.”

“Thought you said since we were taking care of it properly it won’t last quite as long?”

“It won’t last as long, but it’ll still last for bit.” She pulls his face down to hers to kiss him. “Let me get on top, yeah?”

He nods, and rolls them both over. She readjusts, and starts bouncing up and down on him. She throws her head back and scratches down his stomach. His hands find her hips, thrusting up into her to match her pace. He watches as her tits bounce up and down. He sits up a bit so he can suck on one of her nipples. Her clit rubs against him perfectly, and she’s coming again in no time. With another thrust, he come inside her, biting down on her shoulder in the process.

“You’re amazing.” He mutters into her neck. “I can feel how hard I still I am.” He groans as he looks up at her. “It’s like I’ve got a cock ring on or something.”

“I know, don’t worry, we’ll make it go away together.” She smiles and lifts herself off of him. “Um…there’s something I’m sort of into, and I was wondering if you might be too?”

“Well, what is it?”

“Could I…would you be comfortable if, I, uh, got behind you and lick you? Maybe use my fingers? I can conjure up some lube.”

Harry’s eyes visibly dilate, making Amber smirk.

“You have no idea how okay with that I am.”

“Yeah? Have you done it before?”

“No, but I’ve always wanted to. I think I actually have some lube here. Let me just double check my side table.” Harry eagerly leans over and reaches into his side table drawer. He finds a bottle of lube and tosses it to her. He gets onto his stomach for her, and she giggles as he wiggles his bum at her.

“M’gonna make you feel so good.” She says lowly, giving his bum a little smack before leaning down to spread him apart.

She licks a strip around his hole, swirling around his him. He grips the blankets on the bed, moaning and whimpering into his pillow as she suckled and slurped around his hole. She sits up for a moment to get some lube on her fingers. She starts with her middle finger, rubbing it around his rim, and then slowly slipping it inside him.

“Fuck.” He groans.

“Does it hurt?”

“No, feels good, don’t stop.”

Amber bites her bottom lip as she slips another finger inside him. She pumps them carefully, she didn’t want him to be in any sort of pain, this was supposed to be pleasurable. Her fingers get deep enough to reach a particular part inside of him. She reaches a hand around front to grip his throbbing cock.

“Doing so well, Harry.”

“Think you found my prostate, shit, feels so fucking good.” He grits his teeth as her thumb rubs over his tip. “M’gonnna come again, fuck!”

Amber presses his prick as close to his stomach as possible to make less of a mess as he comes. She slowly retracts her fingers from him, and lets him roll onto his back. He was sweaty and panting. She licks the palm of her hand that was full of his come, and then leans down to lick his stomach clean. His prick hardens back up instantly.

“Harry, I’m so wet, I almost came watching you enjoy yourself.” She says after licking her lips. “And your come tastes so good.” She pouts.

“I eat a lot of fruit.” He breathes. “Lay on your side for me.” He pats the spot next to him, and she does what he says. They get into a spooning position. She raises her leg a bit, and he slips inside.

“Oh, wow, you’re in so deep.” She arches into him. He grips her hip and starts moving in and out of her.

“Yeah? Like feeling me like this?”

“Yes.” She gasps when his fingers slip to her clit.

“You like it dirty, huh? You don’t like have vanilla sex.” He says into her ear, nipping at her lobe.

She moans out, unable to form an actual response. Once he gains a little more energy, he has her turn onto her stomach so he can fuck her properly from behind. He sits up on his knees, and starts pounding into her relentlessly.

“Oh my god!” She gasps. “Keep going, just like that!”

He grips the back of her neck with hand, and reaches around front to rub her clit with the other. He strokes are fast and deep, beating up her g-spot. She was chanting his name, and it was just egging him on more. He needed her to come again, and he needed her to come hard. As good as she felt, he wasn’t sure if he’d be able to do it again after this.

“Want you to soak my sheets.” He growls. “Come all over my cock, Amber.”

“M’close, m’close!” She cries out.

Everything feels overwhelming all at once, and she finally lets go. He comes inside her at the same time, and does soak his sheets. His cock is absolutely drenched. He collapses next to her on the bed. He sighs with relief when he feels his cock actually start to soften.

“I have a spare set in the linen closet.” He says to her, and she giggles.

“Don’t bother, that was just the first session.”

“Um…what?”

“That was just the first session. You’ll probably come two more times.”

“But, that other time I only came three times.”

“Yeah, and it hurt, right? Did these last few hurt?”

“Not at all. Felt amazing.”

“We could 69 for the next one. You’re really good at going down.” She bites her bottom lip.

“Wouldn’t mind feeling your mouth around my cock either.”

“Seems like you’re almost ready again.” She looks down at his hardening cock.

“Fuck, please, come sit on my face.”

“You don’t want me to clean up first?”

“You just licked my asshole, I’m not too concerned about tasting my own come while it drips out of you.”

Amber whimpers and scrambles her way to hover over his face, leaning down over his cock so she can lick over his tip. Harry immediately starts sucking on her swollen clit, making her gasp before she’s able to wrap her lips around him. They went at for hours, switching between a number of positions, making an absolute mess of Harry’s sheets. Amber realizes that Penny must have given them a combination of the strawberry tea and the chocolate tea; that’s a strong combination. They couldn’t get enough of each other, and instead of being upset with Penny’s antics, they decided to just roll with it. Harry ate out Amber’s ass, she rode him reverse, he hit it from the side, they were like animals. He had scratch marks all over his chest and back, she was littered in bite marks, by the time the tea wore off, they were exhausted. Neither had the energy to magically make the sheets clean, so Harry stripped the bed while Amber helped make it back up. They fell asleep curled up with another completely naked.

//

Opal woke up to an empty apartment, to which she laughed. She headed down the stairs to go see Penny, and let her know their sneakiness paid off. The only thing was, there was no sign of Penny. Opal couldn’t get a scent on her.

“Oh, no.” Opal says to herself, and goes upstairs to Harry’s apartment. She scratches at his door. “Amber!”

Amber sits up quickly in bed. She wraps herself in one of Harry’s blankets and sprints to the door, rattling Harry awake.

“Come back to bed.” He groans, but she doesn’t hear him.

Amber opens the door, and Opal rushes in.

“What’s going on?” Amber asks her frantically.

“I’m sure you’re tired, and rightfully pissed off, but Penny didn’t show up this morning. I don’t even have a scent on her.”

“Shit.” Amber groans. “This has Max written all over it. He probably bagged her on her walk here this morning. Why she doesn’t just live here, I’ll never know.”

“What’s going on?” Harry asks them.

“Penny’s missing, get dressed.” Amber says firmly before snapping herself and Opal upstairs.

Harry wanted to talk to Amber about everything they did last night, take her to breakfast like he said he would. But Penny was missing, so that meant their nightmare from the night prior wasn’t over. He gets himself dressed and down to the shop. Amber was already waiting downstairs with Opal.

“Where do you think they took her?” Harry asks.

“I have an idea.” Amber sighs. “He probably sent those damn shadows after her.”

“Penny’s so experienced, I don’t understand.” Harry shakes his head.

“She’s old, Harry.” Opal says. “She wouldn’t stand a chance alone.”

Amber’s eyes start glowing out of nowhere, and she starts hovering in the air. Just as soon as it happens, she’s back on the floor.

“I know where she is, she just sent me a signal.” Amber says.

“I know where she is, she just sent me a signal.” Amber says. “It’s essentially a trap, they know we’re coming for her.” She looks down at Opal. “Are you strong enough for this?”

“I’ll have to be. Let’s go get her.”

//

Amber snaps them to where they need to be. Mac had the shadows take her to an old, abandoned building on the outskirts of town. Amber brought them just down the hall from where Penny was being kept. Harry had so many questions, but he knew now wasn’t the time. He stays close to Amber and Opal, walking down a dark corridor.

“Harry, stay with Opal. I’m going on the room.”

“I can’t let you go in there alone.” He tells her.

“I wasn’t asking.” She says before snapping herself into the room. Penny was chained up to a wall. “For the love of god.” Amber sighs before snapping her free.

“Behind you!” Penny shouts, and Amber gets zapped by what looks like red electricity. She gets knocked to the ground, but picks herself back up. Max’s eyes were glowing red.

“I told you that you had no idea what you did.” He grins evilly at her. “Give me the dog, now.”

“It’s me you want, not her. You have me, okay? Just take me.”

“The thing is…” He walks towards her. “I don’t have you.”

“What do you mean?”

“You can’t be serious.” He scoffs. “You wreak of that dolt’s scent, Amber. What did you do, go home and fuck him to celebrate? I found this one because she was wearing one of your sweaters, thought it was you.”

Amber looks back at Penny with wide eyes. She had to have known that Max was going to come for her. Penny set the tea up so Harry’s scent would mix with Amber’s, and make her hard to find. Penny essentially sacrificed herself.

“And to think I was mad at you.” Amber smiles softly at Penny.

“I’d never trick you on purpose.” Penny says.

“Blah, blah, blah.” Max rolls his eyes. “Either way, I’ve lured you here.”

“What do you even want from me? Do you think forcing me into a relationship is going to be much fun?”

“Don’t flatter yourself.” Max chuckles. “You think you’re such a prize, but you’re not. I’ve had women far better than you. This really is about Opal, so hand her over.”

“No.”

Amber’s hands glow, and she strikes a blow at Max. He blocks it and sends it back to her.

“Like the new powers? My friends gifted them to me.” He grins.

“Red’s never been your color, sorry to say.”

They both run towards each other to duke it out. Shadows start to crowd around Penny, and she tries to deflect them, but she needs help. Harry and Opal storm in to help her. Harry’s able to zap them away. He looks over at Max, and runs towards him, striking him with a powerful blow. Amber’s eyes widen as she watches Harry try to face off with Max.

“Amber, get Opal and Penny home, now!”

“Harry, I’m not leaving you!”

“Go!”

“Listen to your foolish boy, Amber, you won’t want to see this.” Max says as he strikes Harry.

Amber fights back tears as she snaps herself, Penny, and Opal out of there. She starts crying because she knows she doesn’t have the strength to snap back right away.

“If I lose him, I…I don’t know what I’ll do.” She cries. “I finally opened up to him, and I-“

“Don’t waste your energy on panicking.” Penny says. “I tried to stop him so you wouldn’t have to worry. I wanted to ward him off, I’m sorry.”

“This isn’t your fault, it’s mine.” Opal says. “I was in the woods that night because I was following him. I had caught wind of dark magic usage, and my suspicions of it being him were true. I had no choice but to tell you.” She says to Amber.

Amber drops to her knees, and wraps her arms around Opal. Amber didn’t blame Opal for anything. This was all Max’s fault. She could feel herself getting angrier. She needed to know if Harry was alright.

“I have to get back to him. He can’t face Max on his own.” Amber looks up at Penny. “Do you think I’ll be able to do it?”

“You are the strongest girl I know. If anyone could muster up the energy to do this, it’s you. Don’t rely on the anger, rely on the love that feel for that boy.”

Amber wants to protest, but she couldn’t deny it. She loved Harry, a lot. She’d fallen for him, and she needed him to be okay. She takes a deep breath, and snaps herself back to where Harry is. She gasps once she’s back in that room. Harry was levitating Max in the air with his powerful green glow. He was holding Max in some sort of bubble.

“Harry!” Amber shouts.

“I’m okay! I don’t know how I’m doing this, but I’m okay!”

“Let me help!”

She blasts her blue glow up at Max, mixing with Harry’s. Max shouts this goulash sound, and a bright red light shines, filling the room. A loud explosion occurs, blasting Harry and Amber back. Max falls to the ground with a loud thud. Amber scrambles to her feet, and dusts herself off. Harry was totally knocked out. She wants to tend to him, but she has to make sure Max can’t do any more damage. She rushes over to him, and stands over him, nudging his body with her boot. His eyes flutter open, and he looks up at her.

“You’re so far gone.” She shakes her head. “You could have been such a wonderful mage, now look at you.”

“I’ve always envied you.” He says weakly. “You were given the best companion, one that could actually help you and bond with you. You’re one of the most powerful citrines out there. We could have been something together.”

“You ruined it. I feel nothing for you, absolutely nothing.”

“I can tell. Your heart belongs to that one.”

Amber steps on his chest, making him wince.

“And don’t you forget it. I showed mercy by taking your powers away. Walk away while you still can, or I won’t show you such kindness again. Do you understand?”

“Yes, I understand.”

She rushes back over to Harry, and immediately snaps them back to the shop. He was still unconscious. Penny and Opal crowd around the two of them.

“Harry, please wake up.” Amber whispers to him. “I need you to be okay, please, I need you.” She cries into his chest.

“Amber.” Penny puts her hand on Amber’s shoulder. “Let’s get him up into your bed. You have some things in your kitchen we can whip up to help him.”

Amber nods, and Penny snaps them all upstairs. Amber gets Harry tucked into her bed. His breathing was steadily, and his blood pressure was normal. He used so much energy to keep Max at bay, he must be so drained, especially after the night they had. All he wanted to do was take her to breakfast, Amber hoped they’d get the chance. She goes into her kitchen with Penny while Opal stays curled up next to Harry.

“So, what are we making?” Amber sighs.

“Here, crush these mint leaves up, I’m making a watermelon tea, so I’m reducing some watermelon over the stove to make a syrup. We’ll use the mint leaves for the tea itself.”

“What will this do? He can’t drink this if he’s not awake.”

“He’ll need it for when he wakes up. It’ll be like an energy boost.”

“How do we wake him up?”

“We don’t. He needs to sleep whatever this is off. You’ll be there when he wakes. I’m sorry again about last night. When you told me what Max did, I knew he’d try to find you today. I just wanted to help, and-“

“I understand why you did it. It’s okay.” Amber smiles softly. “It could have been worse. Please, sleep here tonight in my guest room.”

“Alright.” Penny nods. “I think that’s a good idea.”

Once the tea is done, Amber brings it into her room, sets it down on the side table closest to Harry, and crawls into bed. It was only the early afternoon, but she felt sleep pulling her in. She succumbs to it, letting her eyes droop as she rests her head on Harry’s chest.

Hours later, she stirs awake when she feels the weight shift in the bed a bit. She looks over to see Harry knuckling at his eyes, and sitting up. He looks at her and smiles softly.

“Hey.” He says.

“How are you feeling?” She asks, reaching to caress his cheek.

“M’alright. I woke up a little while ago, Opal had me drink the tea you made. She’s downstairs with Penny running the shop. I fell back asleep after I drank some of the tea.” He presses a kiss to her palm, and she smiles. “How are you?”

“Better now.” She sighs. “I’m glad you’re awake, I was worried. We got blasted backwards after our magic combined. I don’t know how you were able to hold him off for as long as you did.”

“He…he was trying to egg me on. He was saying all of these awful things about you, but I remember reading it wasn’t good to harness anger to make yourself more powerful, so I just sort of thought about how I wanted to keep you safe, how I wanted Opal to stay safe because I knew that if anything happened to her you’d be devastated.”

“I was really worried about you.” Her voice cracks, and her eyes widen. “I thought he was going to try to kill you. I don’t know what I would have done if you didn’t make it out of there.”

“Amber.” Harry cups her cheeks, using his thumbs to wipe her tears away. “I…I didn’t know you felt so strongly about me. We haven’t had a chance to talk about last night. I know we did a lot last night, and we had a bit more, um, gusto thanks to that tea, but everything I said to you last night I meant. I want to be with you.”

“I want to be with you too. I…I don’t want to know what it’s like to be without you. I was scared that I would. I know I pushed you away in the beginning, but I was fighting off something bigger than the two of us. I don’t think I’ve ever felt this way about someone before.” She looks down for a moment, and then back up at him. “I think…I think we were supposed to find each other, like, there was some sort of pull between us. I mean, there were plenty of other stores on this strip with vacant apartments, but you came into mine.”

“I always thought this stuff only happened in the books I’ve read, but it all sort of makes sense. I mean, I had no idea I was a mage, or whatever. Clearly, whatever this is inside of me was trying to bust out. And…amethysts are drawn to citrines, right?”

“Yeah, sometimes.” Amber smiles. “Usually, um, it’s a male citrine that goes for a female amethyst, not the other way around.”

“What about same sex couples?” He smirks.

“Same sex couples usually share the same gem, it’s rare if they don’t. I’m not sure what the science behind it is, you’d have to ask Penny.”

“Oh, is Penny…?”

“Mhm, she’s a widow, but her wife was the kindest woman. The two of them basically raised me.”

“What was her name?”

“Luna.” Amber smiles fondly. “They’re both garnets.”

“That’s really cool. I want to keep learning more about all of this; it’s so fascinating.”

“You’ll definitely learn more. I’ve got shelves upon shelves of books downstairs that you haven’t even touched yet.”

“Do you think I should tell my family about any of this?”

“God, no. Sometimes these things skip generations, they’d probably think you were nuts.” She chews on her bottom lip for a moment. “We’ve digressed a bit, um, I feel really strongly about you.”

“I feel strongly about you too.”

“Like…I…I’m in love with you, Harry.”

“Oh, thank god.” He sighs with relief. “Feel like I fell in love with you from the second we met, but I’ve been trying really hard not to come on too strong. You’re not the biggest fan of romance.” He smirks.

“No, I’m not.” She leans in to peck his lips. “I’m the stoic one, and you’re the cinnamon roll.” She grins.

“Mm, your dirty talk is impeccable.” He rolls his eyes, and it makes her laugh.

“Let me continue. You’re the only one this stoic girl becomes soft for. You turn me into a little cinnamon roll, one of those really sweet ones with a ton of icing.”

Harry chuckles and leans in to kiss her. He sucks on her bottom lip, smiling into the kiss.

“Definitely sweet.” He mutters against her lips.

“We should probably get out of bed before we completely throw off our sleep schedules.”

“You’re right.” He sighs. “M’also starving. I don’t think I’ve eaten all day.”

“Same here.”

“I owe you a breakfast date.”

“It’s already past five, no restaurant would serve us breakfast right now.”

“Maybe not, but I’m sure I could whip something up. You got groceries?”

“Yeah, plenty of food in the kitchen.” She blinks. “You want to make us breakfast for dinner?”

“Mhm.” He kisses her again. “Do you like pancakes?”

“Love ‘em.” She nods.

“What about chocolate chip pancakes?”

“Those are my favorite.”

“Mine too.”

//

Turns out Harry made some of the best pancakes Amber ever had. After they ate, they went down to the shop to see how Opal and Penny were doing. Amber decided to close down early. Harry needed to finish up some homework, and make sure he had his lesson plans ready to go for tomorrow morning. It was weird getting back to reality, but it was a routine Amber was sort of craving. For so long their main focus was training to prepare for Max’s eventual strike. Amber couldn’t be certain that he wouldn’t try something again, but she looked him dead in the eyes when she threatened him. She saw fear, she could feel his fear. She wasn’t worried about him anymore, nor was she as worried about Opal. She could exhale for the first time in a while.

She had a new concern: Harry. Over the next couple of weeks, she wouldn’t let him sleep alone, which he didn’t mind one bit. Harry liked that Amber was being so affectionate towards him, he reveled in the attention. The kisses, the soft touches, the hugs, the smiles, everything Amber did, Harry loved. He couldn’t wait to finish up his office hours most days so he could get to the shop. Even though Amber had to work, Opal would still curl up at his feet, and Penny would drop off an extra biscotti at his table. Harry felt like he had formed this new little family. It made the little town he decided to call home actually start to feel like home. He even got to see how Amber made her many teas.

The only thing that wasn’t so great was that Harry’s student Whitney tended to keep him late, and Amber didn’t like it. She trusted Harry with her whole heart, but she didn’t quite like the idea of someone else thinking they could try to flirt with him. Whitney came into the shop all the time, Amber knew exactly who Whitney was. She was a senior, so not much younger than herself or Harry, but still, it wasn’t appropriate for a student to be so forward with her professor. So, much like with everything else, Amber took matters into her own hands.

One evening, Harry had made Amber a late dinner after she closed up the shop. After they ate, they made their way to his sofa. Harry thought they were going to just cuddle for a bit, but Amber had made her way into his lap, straddling him and running her fingers through his hair while she sucked on his neck. Normally, Harry would be more cautious about having a mark in such a public spot, but it was getting colder out, so he could wear a turtleneck or scarf to cover it up. He was also just enjoying her body on his too much to care. She was rolling her hips into his, and his hands were kneading her ass.

“What’s gotten into you tonight, huh?” He pants as her teeth really start to sink into his skin. “Not that I’m complaining.”

She pops off him with loud, wet noise, catching her breath as she looks at the red mark forming on his neck. She runs her thumb over it in hopes that it’ll turn a delightful dark purple.

“You just smell so good, you know your cologne drives me wild.” She says as she latches back onto his neck. He moans out as she nips at his skin. She rolls her hips down in a way that grins her center right over his bulge.

“Fuck, Amber, can we move this to the bedroom? M’about ready to explode here.” He groans, squeezing harder at the skin on her hips. She tugs his head more to the side to make the mark even bigger. “Can mark me up all over, yeah?”

“Mm, that sounds nice.” She mumbles into his neck, and kisses her way over to his lips. “Maybe we could take a quick shower, and I could lick you all over too.” She wiggles her eyebrows at him, and his eyes visibly darken.

“Should make you dinner more often.”

//

Harry was on cloud nine the next day at school. He couldn’t stop smiling even if he tried. Amber made good on her promise to lick him all over, especially where he liked it most. He liked that they both enjoyed a good tonguing, and he liked that they were so good at taking turns. He wasn’t even mad about how fucked up his neck looked. Harry knew what Amber was doing, she was clearly marking her territory, and he didn’t mind one bit. If he wasn’t into her dominant personality, he wouldn’t be with her. The sweater he was wearing covered up most of it anyways, and his students never seemed to hide the marks on their necks, so what was the big deal, really?

After he finishes his classes for the day, he heads to his office for his office hours. He dives into the papers he needed to grade. He assigned a ten-page paper for his fiction workshop, and now he was regretting it. He got about a third of the way through his stack when Whitney came to his office.

“Hi, Professor Styles.” She smiles.

“Hey, Whit.” He smiles back. “I’m actually glad you’re here, could use your help.”

“With what?”

“I have a ton of grades to put into a spreadsheet from my physical gradebook. Think you could do that for me?”

“Sure!”

Harry unhooks his laptop from the docking station so she could dive into the spreadsheet he started. Things were quiet for a bit, but she was having trouble reading his writing. Harry had horrible penmanship.

“Professor Styles, I can’t read this.” She says, getting up from her seat and walking over to him. She leans over him slightly, and points to some of his scribbles. “See, I can’t tell if that’s an 87 or an 81.” Her cleavage was practically spilling into his face. He was about to say something, but someone else beat him to it.

“Maybe you should get your eyes checked.” They both look up to see Amber leaning against the door frame.

“Hey!” Harry smiles brightly, and Whitney stands up straight. “Amber, this is Whitney, one of my students. Whitney, this is my girlfriend, Amber.”

“Girlfriend, oh…um…I didn’t realize you were seeing someone, Professor Styles.”

“Course you did, how else would he have gotten that mark on his neck.” Amber smirks. “Now, why don’t you do everyone a favor and put your tits away because he’s not going to suck on them, alright?”

“Amber.” Harry looked mortified.

Whitney looked frightened, and she was speechless. She quickly gathers her things and walks out of Harry’s office. Harry stands up and goes to close his door. He was upset, Amber could tell.

“What?” Amber asks.

“You can’t talk to one of my students like that!”

“Why not? She was practically shoving her tits in your face, and you were letting it happen.”

“I was about to tell her to back off, but then you showed up. Why are you even here?”

“I came to surprise you, but I can see I’m unwanted. Why was she even here?”

“She comes to help me most days after class. She was working on a spreadsheet for me. And you’re not unwanted, you just don’t come to see me here often. It would have been a nice surprise if you hadn’t come in guns hot.” He puts his hands on his hips and looks at her. “Are you seriously jealous?”

“I can’t help that I feel protective over you. I don’t like that other people think you could be theirs when you’re mine.”

“And to think you didn’t want anything to do with me just a few months ago.” He smirks.

“That joke stopped being funny after the first time you made it.” She rolls her eyes, and stops towards him. Harry was just under a foot taller than Amber, and yet she commanded every room she walked into. She grips the collar of his sweater and tugs him down to her face, her eyes glowing.

“You’re so sexy when you’re like this.” He wraps his arms around her, lifting her up and sitting her down on his desk. “But don’t think it gives you a pass for acting like that. You need to be nice. She’s one of your customers, remember? You’re nice all the time at the shop, why can’t be nice where I work?” He pouts.

“Because no one flirts with me at my place of business.”

“Oh, please.” He scoffs. “I’d be a very rich man if I had a dollar for every time I’ve caught someone checking you out.”

“That’s totally different. No one’s shoving a part of their body in my face.” She pouts back at him. “Why does someone so pretty have to be one of your frequent flyers?”

“Okay, let’s get something straight. The only tits I want shoved in my face are yours.” He plants his hands on either side of her thighs, getting nice and close to her face. “And even though Whitney might be pretty, no one could ever compare to how incredibly beautiful you are.”

He always knew exactly how to melt her heart. He leans in to kiss her, sucking on her bottom lip, and licking into her mouth. Her hands move up to his chest, tugging on his sweater to pull him closer. She wraps her legs around his waist, and slowly lowers herself back onto his desk. He follows her, helping her keep her legs around him.

“Wait.” She pants as he kisses down her neck. “Go lock your door.”

“Shit, you’re right.” He says, quickly going over to the door to lock it, and then going back to her. “This is going to hurt your back, do you wanna do it on my chair, on the loveseat?”

“I really want you on top.” She whines.

“Yeah? Want me to be in control right now?”

“Yes.”

“Let’s sit on the loveseat, even if you’re on top, I’ll thrust up into you.” He kisses her. “I’ll rub your clit.” He kisses her again. “Suck on your glorious tits.”

“Fuck, okay, just get my clothes off.” She huffs.

He picks her up, and undoes her jeans quickly. He tugs them down, along with her underwear. Harry drops his own pants and rips his sweater off. Amber gets her jacket off and wraps her arms around his neck. Harry tugs her back to the loveseat, turning her around so she’ll sit on him reverse. He pumps his cock a few times before lining himself up with her. Her jeans were around her ankles since she didn’t bother to take her boots off, so things felt a little tighter than usual; neither of them were complaining.

He bites down on her shoulder, and her head rolls back into his chest. His hands grip Amber’s hips, and he starts thrusting up into her. They needed to be quick and quiet, so he takes one of his hands and it brings it up to her mouth so she could suck on his fingers. Her eyes roll back as she sucks on his digits. His other hand slips between her thighs so his fingers could work her clit. She moans around his fingers from the sheer pleasure. His tip was pummeling her g-spot, and his fingers were working magic – excuse the pun. His palm was pressing into her bladder, and she was starting to panic. She didn’t want to make a mess of his loveseat.

“Can feel you squeezing around me.” He says into her hear, nipping at her lobe.

“H-Harry, I-“ She mumbles around his fingers.

“Hm? What’s the matter, gonna make a mess?”

“Mhm.” She whines.

“Well, we can’t have that, can we?” He stops all motions immediately, and lifts her off of him.

“What the hell are you doing?!” She asks as he grabs a tissue to come into.

“You said you wanted me in control.” He says as he pulls his pants back up. “Can’t have you squirting all over my office. I’ll take care of you when I finish work for the day.” He smiles and kisses her forehead.

“Harry, this isn’t funny.”

“M’not trying to be, Babe.” He helps her pull her own pants back up. “I have a lot to do, and since you sent my little worker bee away, I may be here a little later than usual. I’ll come to your place when I’m done.”

“You’re sure you wanna play this game with me?” She asks as she puts her jacket back on. “I don’t think you’re prepared for what you’re coming home to by denying me of an orgasm.”

“I’ll take my chances.” He smirks. “I can’t have you thinking you deserve a reward for acting up in my office.” He pecks her lips and opens his door. “I’ll see you in a little while.”

She narrows her eyes at him, looks him up and down, and nods.

“Okay.”

Harry felt a chill run through him as she left. Maybe he should have let her come.

//

Harry wasn’t kidding when he said he had a lot of work to do. He didn’t get home until after the shop closed. He drops his things off in his apartment before going up to Amber’s. She was sitting on her couch watching TV when he came in.

“Hey, Baby, sorry I’m back so late. Where’s Opal?”

“Staying with Penny tonight.”

“Oh?”

“Told her we needed some alone time.” She stands up and walks over to him, giving him a slow kiss on the cheek.

“Huh.” He swallows. “Well, we’re alone now.” He puts his hands on her hips. “Did you, uh, take care of yourself at all?”

“I’ll admit, I almost did just to spite you, but I thought it would ruin the fun.” She slides her hands up his chest. “That being said, I’m not quite in the mood for you to be so in control anymore.”

“What a relief.” He sighs. “M’exhausted, I don’t think I could keep up the façade of being so in charge right now.” He pouts at her and she giggles.

“You made a very good point earlier. I shouldn’t have spoken to your student like that. Bring some coupons with you tomorrow to give her as an apology, but make no mistake, if she keeps hitting on you I will not hesitate to fuck her up.”

“I can live with that. She’ll only be my student for another month or so.” He presses his forehead to hers. “So, what would like to do instead of playing games tonight?”

“I’d very much appreciate it if you ate me out for a bit. You denied me of what would have been a rather powerful orgasm and I think you should make up for it.”

“Fair enough. Then will you go back to bouncing on my cock the way you were? Felt so nice.”

She nods, and takes his hand to lead him to the bedroom. She takes her night shirt off, revealing her naked body to him.

“You’re wicked.” He grins. “Lounging around with that glorious bum of yours out for anyone to see.”

“Good thing I was home alone.” She grins, and gets onto the bed, spreading her legs open for him. She snaps her fingers to light the candles in the room.

Harry rids himself of his clothes, and knees onto the bed. He kisses on her belly, leaving a trail of wet kisses behind as he makes his way between her thighs. He hooks his arms around her thighs and dives in. He sucks on her clit immediately, making her moan out. She cards her fingers through his hair as he eats her like he hasn’t eaten in days. The noises he makes as he sucks and licks on her are filthy, and they only spur Amber on more with her moans and whimpers.

“Oh my god, Harry.” She whimpers. “You’re so fucking good, Baby, so fucking good.” She was near tears. His tongue was so wet and warm, fucking in and out of her. “Fuck, I’m gonna come, I’m gonna come, Harry!” She comes hard on his tongue, and he laps it up, moaning at how good she tastes.

“Fucking hell.” He breathes when he sits up. “Do you want me to give you another this way?”

“God, you’re insatiable.” She groans. “Please, I need you inside me now.”

Harry sits up against the headboard, and Amber sits on him reverse she like had earlier in the day. This time they could both be as loud as they wanted, and this time Harry could grope freely at her breasts. She uses her knees to move up and down on him. She was moving fast, wanting him to fill her up. He uses one of his hands to rub circles into her clit.

“Amber.” He moans into her ear, thrusting up into her. “You’re so fucking wet for me, feels amazing.”

“Only ever want your cock, no one else’s.” She had never said anything like that to him before. “Don’t want anyone else ever again.”

“Fuck, I don’t want anyone else either. M’all yours.”

“Yes!” She gasps as she comes around him. He follows right after, filling her up. “Yes.” She whispers.

“Are you all mine?” He whispers into her ear before kissing on her cheek and shoulder.

“Mhm.” She relaxes into him, and looks up his face, admiring his features. “You’re all I want.”

“You’re all I want too. I’m so glad we found one another.” He wraps his arms tightly around her.

“So am I.” She sighs happily.

Eventually, she gets off of him, and they both clean themselves up before getting into bed. Harry tells Amber about his classes and coursework, and she tells him about some of the funny customers that came in that day. They lay there giggling and chatting, just enjoying each other’s company.

“Harry?” She asks as she traces over his tattoos with her finger tips.

“Hm? What is it, my love?”

“You mean the world to me, I hope you know that.” She snuggles into his chest. “Jealousy is quite ugly, but when I love, I love hard. It’s just who I am.”

“I’m so honored that you’ve welcomed me into your small circle. I see the way you are with Opal and Penny, the love you have for them radiates off you. I can feel what you feel for me.”

“And I can feel what you feel for me.”

“We’re connected.” He says, and kisses the top of her head.

“We are.” She nods. “And it feels wonderful.”

[weelittleweasley]

a day in the snow (h.p.)

prompt as requested by anon: after being friends for two years, you had been toying with the idea of how and if you should tell harry that you have feelings for him. but will the fear of rejection hold you back?

pairing: harry potter x fem! reader

warnings: food

word count: 3.2k

author’s note: this could be read as a sequel to may i sit?, but you don’t have to read it to understand this fic! happy reading! oh! and requests are still open ;)

Soft, powdery white snow covered the Scottish hills that rolled in the distance. The green grass now hidden beneath blankets and blankets of freshly fallen snow. Untouched snow was soon replaced with trails of snow shoe footprints and laughter of students as they weaved their way to Hogsmeade. It was a perfect winter’s day. Cold enough to keep the snow from melting and make you shiver if you wore the wrong jacket, but not cold enough from keeping you from dragging Harry through the snow to the town.

Harry would have much rather stayed inside and kept warm in the comfort of the common room with the roaring fire in front of him, blanket over his lap as he enjoyed the chatter of his closest friends. You, on the other hand, lived for days like today. You insisted it would be an adventure; out in the snow, romping around, enjoying each other’s company. Although Harry insisted you had gone to Hogsmeade so many times in the past, you had practically begged him to go today. You needed some excitement rather than being cooped up in the castle all weekend long. With a groan and exaggerated roll of his head, Harry finally gave into your pleas. He couldn’t resist you for longer than five minutes of constant begging. 

Linking your arm in his, the two of you trudged through the snow, you laughing as Harry bemoaned about snow getting into his boots. “Don’t be such a party pooper, Potter,” you tease him as he rolls his eyes. “We’ll make a day of it. We can get Butterbeer at Three Broomsticks, shop around at Honeydukes, maybe venture into Zonko’s,” you list off excitedly. It would be a pricey expenditure, but you had just received your monthly allowance from your parents and you were certainly planning on spending a chunk of it today. 

“Or we could head back to the castle, get a blanket, sit by the fire in the common room, sneak into the kitchens. You know the house elves love me,” he smiled as you scoffed at him. “We’ve been to Hogsmeade hundreds of times, why can’t we enjoy a day inside the castle?” he implores you as a bright smile appears on your face as the village comes into your view.

You drop Harry’s arm and make a mad dash for the village, giggling wildly. You turn to face him, walking backwards now, “We are in that castle every day, Harry. I need a change of scenery once in a while and what better place to do so,” you speak merrily. Pure joy was laced in your voice as Harry sighed and shook his head with a smile. He couldn’t deny the look of childish glee on your face as you stood there, waiting for him to catch up to you, clapping your hands like a toddler on Christmas morning. “Now come on, let me treat you to a Butterbeer,” you extend your hand out to him as he gladly accepts it, swinging your arms back and forth.

The gesture was simple, something you and Harry always did. But you couldn’t deny that every time Harry held your hand, flashed you a toothy grin, cracked a joke and looked your way to see if he had made you laugh, it always made your heart flutter and mind races with a thousand and one thoughts. Harry had been your mate, a close one, for almost two years now. After the night you two had formally met, you were inseparable. You spent nights in the library studying (mostly fooling around and pissing others off), running through the corridors playing elaborate games of hide-and-seek, exchanging small glances during class. Together, you and Harry just made sense. The two of you got along like you had known each other your whole lives and yet, nothing more evolved from your friendship. You had managed to convince yourself that a friendship was all you signed up for and all you wanted from Harry which was a total lie. Harry made you feel like you were the only person who mattered; like when he was with you, you had his full and undivided attention. Harry made you feel safe. 

But you ignore the butterflies that danced around in your gut as you walked towards Three Broomsticks, Harry opening the door for you as you slid in carefully. “Go on and find us a seat, I’ll grab us drinks,” you instruct him as he smiles and nods.

You approach the bar and see Madam Rosmerta, drying some mugs. She catches your eye as she flashes you a brilliant smile, “Back again, Miss (Y/L/N),” she beams as you nod. “What can I get for you, my darling?”

“Two Butterbeers please,” you request, leaning against the bar, removing the woolen gloves from your chilled hands. The Three Broomsticks was warm, in temperature and the environment. The pub was bustling in customers, varying in age, old and young. Some Hogwarts students were tucked away in booths as you surveyed the area, some on what looked like dates, others messing around with friends. 

Madam Rosmerta gives you a look, raising one brow suggestively. “Two?” she asks as you nod. “You fancied your way into a date now? Who with?” she implores. But before you can protest that you were just in for a quick drink with a friend, her eyes land on Harry who waits patiently at a table. Madam Rosmerta dramatically gasps, “With the Chosen One?” she gawks. “Nicely done, my darling. Way to go!” she hits your arm encouragingly. 

You shake your head feverishly, “No, no, Harry and I are just mates. We’ve always been mates and always will be.” When the words tumble from your mouth, your stomach feels sour. Always been mates and always will be. Nothing more and nothing less for you and Harry. Stuck in the friend zone. Madam Rosmerta gives you a look to tell you that she’s not buying it. You insist, “Really. Harry is a good friend. We’re just spending the day together as mates.”

She smiles at you as she pours you up two brimming mugs of Butterbeer, the copper mugs foaming wildly with the delicious beverage. “That’s how it always starts,” she teases as you play with the hem of your lavender jumper. “Just mates usually means something more is on the way,” she winks as you lightly laugh. Reaching into your pocket, you look for a few sickles to give in exchange for your drinks, but Madam Rosmerta stops you. “These are on the house,” she insists. “A toast to best mates,” she winks.

“Thank you,” you blush before you part from the bar, walking over to the table with your drinks. “For you,” you slide the mug over to Harry who thanks you before you sit down and take a sip from the refreshing beverage. 

Harry takes a glug from his mug before speaking, “Alright. Well, now that you’ve got me here, what’s on the agenda? I want the full (Y/N) (Y/L/N) experience.” 

You smile at your best friend and shake your head. Harry could be a pisser, but he sure knew how to make you smile. As you ran off everything you wanted to do for the day, you became very aware of Harry’s gaze as he looked at you. His green eyes held so much tenderness, gently resting upon you as you spoke with such glee in your voice. Occasionally, he would permit a small smile to appear on his lips as you would catch him and ask what he was smiling about. He would brush it off and simply say, “Nothing. I find it sweet when you get excited about things.”

In response, you scoffed and rolled your eyes whilst inside your stomach did and flip and your mind screamed about how much you liked him. How you wanted to hold his hand and tell him how much you cared for him. How you wanted kiss his lips and lay your head on his chest, falling asleep to the sound of his heartbeat. But instead, you continued blabbering on about the day ahead of you. 

After finishing at Three Broomsticks, you and Harry walked down High Street and made a stop at Honeydukes. Inside were countless shelves filled with sweets and treats beyond imagination. As soon as you stepped foot inside, you immediately ran to the shelves to pick out your favorite sweets. Harry laughed at your impatience; you couldn’t even wait for him to grab you a basket. “We have to stock up on all the good stuff, Harry,” you say very intently as you grab three parcels of Jelly Slugs. “Godric knows that once Ron sees the stash, he’s bound to consume half of it,” you huff as Harry laughs. You weren’t wrong. 

Harry watches as you select a few Chocolate Frogs, Chocolate Wands, and Cockroach Clusters from the shelves. “Easy does it, you don’t want to spend all of your money in one place,” he warns.

You flash him a look. “Geez, you sound like Granger,” you laugh as he rolls his eyes. “Last time I checked if Harry saw me buying this many sweets, he’d be encouraging me to buy more,” you tease as he rolls his eyes. “Come on, what do you want? My treat.”

Harry looks at you and shakes his head. “(Y/N), no. You already treated for Butterbeer, I’m not letting you buying me sweets too,” he tells you as you shake your head.

“Madam Rosmerta covered the cost of the Butterbeers, so that doesn’t count,” you reveal to him as he gives you a confused look. But before he can question why she would cover the cost, you speak up, “Come on, Harry, if you don’t chose, I’ll chose for you.” You nudge his arm as he sighs giving in as you smile widely. 

You knew Harry didn’t want you wasting your money on him, but you hardly considered it a waste. You wanted him to enjoy himself too, especially since he didn’t want to leave the castle and you practically forced him out. This was just a small way to express your gratitude.

Now, your shopping basket was full of sweets and was considerably heavy. But it was no problem. You swiftly paid the cashier and carried out a large bag of sweets out of the shoppe as Harry laughed as you struggled to carry it. “Give it here,” he laughs as he takes the bag from your hands, easily carrying it in just one of his. “Light as a feather.”

“Oh, shut it, Harry,” you laugh alongside him as you trudge through the snow, enjoying how lively the town was today. People made chatter, buying things from the shoppes, children playing in the snow, indulging in sweets. The scene made your heart swell. You loved how alive and well the town seemed. As you looked around, you felt Harry’s gaze on you again as you caught his eye. “Why’re you staring at me?” you laugh as Harry blushes.

“I can’t look at my best friend?” he defends himself. “Rather me close my eyes and walk around blindly?” he teases as he screw his eyes shut, pretending to feel around for directions. “Someone help. My best friend is mad that I dare look at her so now I’m forced to walk around like this!” he jokes as you roll your eyes.

But before you can say anything, you hear someone call out for Harry’s name. You both turn around and see Ron jogging over to you both as Harry looks at you. “Go,” you smile at him. “No need to ask me for permission.”

Harry smiles as Ron runs over to him, the two of them immediately babbling about something that Ron found in Zonko’s. Behind Ron is Hermione who walks over to you with a small smile. “Enjoying yourself?” you wiggle your eyebrows at Hermione.

She rolls her eyes, “Ron and I were in Zonko’s for nearly three hours.” You laugh at her complaint. She sighs, “But it made him happy. So in a weird way, I guess it was worth it.” You poke at her sides, teasing her for her innocent crush on her best friend. “Oh, stop, you’re one to talk! Harry told us he wasn’t feeling well today and he wasn’t going to come out with us,” Hermione reveals.

You stop poking at Hermione’s words as they fall from her lips. You twist your face with confusion. “What do you mean he didn’t feel well?” you ask as Hermione restates what she had previously revealed. Did Harry lie to his two best friends, so he could spend the day with you? You shake your head, “No, Harry told me he wanted to stay in the castle today. He didn’t want to go out today all together,” you justify.

Hermione gives you a knowing look. “Sure, he could have told you that, but you know Harry likes to give people a hard time. He would have gone with you whether you begged or not,” she smiles. “Even if you didn’t go to Hogsmeade, you would have stayed at the castle with him, wouldn’t you?” she asks, already knowing the answer to the question when a rosy hue appears on your cheeks. “(Y/N), drop the charade. You both have been infatuated with the other since you met each other,” Hermione places a hand on your arm, rubbing it. “Everyone sees the glances you two steal, the way you laugh at his jokes, the way he literally drops everything to be next to you...don’t wait any longer.”

If this all was true, then maybe it really did mean Harry had deeper feelings for you. But the possibility that people were reading into it and Harry saw you as just a close friend loomed over your head like a dark rain cloud. The fear of Harry looking into your eyes and telling you that this relationship of yours was merely platonic would break your heart. You would rather keep your secret just that, a secret. That way you could prevent yourself from being hurt. But then there was the risk of keeping this secret hidden deeply and hurting yourself by watching him live life with another girl, someone who wasn’t you. And that was what made your stomach churn. 

Before you can ask Hermione advice, Harry speaks up, “(Y/N), you ready?” You look at Hermione who gives you a reassuring squeeze and wink as you sigh. Turning to Harry, you nod. 

“We’ll catch up later,” you tell Hermione who gives you a curt nod. You walk over to Harry who extends a hand out to you to walk back into the castle. You accept it, letting your hands swing back and forth, letting the negative thoughts in your mind float away as you enjoy the feeling of his gloved hand holding yours. 

Harry gives your hand a gentle squeeze as he notices you ruminating in thought, nibbling on your bottom lip. He knew your nervous habits like the back of his hand and he monitored them carefully. “What’s bothering you?” he asks quite simply. You look at him, puzzled. “Your biting your bottom lip. You always do that when you’re overthinking something,” he tells you as you sigh defeated. He knew you too well and that was the problem. “You know you can tell me, (Y/N). We’re best friends.”

Best friends. That’s exactly what you were. “Can I ask you something, Harry?”

“Anything,” he smiles as he continues to swing your hand back and forth.

But you stop walking and drop his hand, tucking both your hands into your jacket pockets. Harry watches as you do so, gulping, nervous as to what you had to say. “Did you...did you tell Hermione and Ron that you didn’t want to go to Hogsmeade with them today because you weren’t feeling well?” you ask.

Harry looks at you blankly before inhaling deeply. “I did, yes.”

You, even more confused, now try to clarify. “But you came out to Hogsmeade with me instead? You told me you wanted to stay in the castle, so why didn’t you? If you weren’t feeling well, you should have told me that and I wouldn’t have asked you to come with me,” you tell Harry who just stands there. “Harry, you know you don’t have to follow me around. I could have gone with someone else today.”

He shakes his head, “That’s not the point, (Y/N). That’s not why I came with you.”

“Then why did you come with me?” you ask, genuinely needing to know the answer. Harry remains silent for a moment as you groan. “Harry, I need you to be honest with me. You tell some of your friends one thing and then you tell me another. I’m just confused and I need at least a little clarity as to what is going on inside that head of yours,” you exclaim.

Harry stands there silent again as you look at him, with an exhausted expression on your face. Was it really that hard to tell you the truth? You shake your head and start walking away from Harry, whispering under your breath, “This is ridiculous.”

Before you can take another step away from him, Harry grabs your hand and pulls you back to him, spinning you around to face him. He wastes no time, cupping your cold cheeks in his hands and pulling you into him, connecting his lips with yours. You are taken aback by the sudden move, but you instantly melt into his touch, kissing him back. His lips are cold from the weather, but the kiss is warm and sweet and genuine. The kiss is revitalizing; it makes your heart speed up and makes you pull him closer to you, wanting more and more and more until you can’t take anymore. Harry only kisses you harder as you relax into the kiss. As you kiss, you can feel snowflakes fall upon your cheeks and eyelashes. The scene was picturesque. Two friends now kissing in the middle of the snowy pathway as freshly fallen snow surrounds them like halos. 

Gently, Harry pulls away and rubs your cheeks with his thumbs as you keep your eyes closed, savoring the sensation of his cool lips on yours. “Does that clarify things?” he asks as you lightly smile, fluttering your eyes open, looking into his green ones. “I always want to be with you, (Y/N). I lied to Ron and Hermione because I wanted to be with you. I will take every opportunity to be with you because I’m absolutely head over heels for you.”

His words make your heart flutter. It was everything you have ever wanted to hear and you can’t help but smile like a goofball at his words. “You are?” you say in disbelief, breathlessly as you hold onto his arms tightly, not ever wanting to let go. 

“Head over heels,” he repeats. “And I’m willing to do anything to prove it to you.”

You smile widely before pressing your forehead against his. “There’s no need. Because I’m head over heels for you, Harry,” you confess as Harry smiled brightly at your confession before kissing the tip of your nose gently. “Quite the pickle we’ve gotten ourselves into, huh, Potter?” you tease him.

Harry shakes his head, “One I don’t plan on getting out of any time soon,” he tells you before kissing you again sweetly as the snow showers over the both of you.

[chibinekochan]

How to become a Demon Ruler 111

Part:   01 I 02  I 03  I 04 I 05  I 06 I 07 I 09 I 10

GN. Reader insert

taglist:  @ayesha95    ;  @nomnomcupcakesworld ;  @fex-phoenix   ; @depressed-bixch ;   @kitsune-oji

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

"Now all that's left is ingredients." I'm pretty happy with what I've got so far. 

"There is one more spot that I want to visit," Diavolo says with a smile. 

"Of course, let's go there first." I wonder what Diavolo wants to buy. 

Before long he leads me to a fancy clothing store. 

"Do you need a suit for the party?" I can only wonder why we are here. 

"No, we are here for you. I know Barbatos bought you plenty of clothes, but I want this one to be special." He smiles at me warmly. 

His warmth spreads to my heart. I smile at him. He is so thoughtful. "That is very gracious of you, but isn't it too much?" I'm touched, but I can't even imagine how pricey everything is in this type of store. 

"Nonsense, I want to indulge you. Please let me do this for you." Diavolo looks at me with his puppy dog eyes.

I can't win. "Alright." So I simply agree. 

Diavolo smiles at me happily.

  We head into the store. It's elegant, I feel very out of place.

The judging look of the high-class store clerk only strengthens my feeling. 

They were just about to force us out when Diavolo flashes his clear bankcard. Might be the same as a black card in our world, at least the reaction of the clerk seems to indicate that. 

Their expression and whole demeanor change in an instance. It's probably the prospect of a significant sale. I can't blame them, to be honest.

  "How can I assist you today?" They are fully in sales mode now. 

"We wish to look for an outfit for an upcoming party. It's a semi-formal event." Diavolo gives a summary of what we want. 

"I'm not quite sure what I'm looking for so can I just look around for a bit?" I'd rather find something that flatters me. 

"Naturally. We have our evening attire right over there. We have plenty of dresses and suits, even matching sets. They aren't just for weddings these days." The clerk points to one of the walls. 

"That's pretty intriguing." Diavolo seems to like the idea. 

"Would you like to see suits or dresses for yourselves?" The clerk seems to ask me more than anything. 

"I wonder if you even have any dresses in my size?" Diavolo asks this so absolutely calmly that I'm sure the demon world is just like this. 

Well, at least this clerk seems to be very taken aback from this question, seemingly unsure if it was a joke. " We have dresses in various sizes. I'm certain we can find one for you." 

"Do you think that would cause a scene?" Diavolo now asks me with his innocent eyes. 

"I'm confident it would be lovely on you, but you would steal all the attention from me. Maybe next time." I don't know how other demons would judge him. I think it would look great, but I will have to ask Barbatos. 

"Oh yeah, you might be right. I would hate that. We need to dress in matching outfits one day. Everyone would love it." Diavolo looks sure about this at least. 

Well, it's good to see that he is so open-minded. I can only weakly nod at him. 

He would definitely outshine me that much is certain.

  "This looks pretty nice." I take one of the expensive-looking outfits and take a more thorough look. " It has an open back." It's too sexy, and it probably wouldn't look good on me anyway. " I want to hang it back.

"It would look great on you for a different occasion." Diavolo smiles kindly at me.

  Then he sees a very beautiful outfit. "Oh, this is perfect." He holds it up. It's truly a lovely piece. 

"It would look great on you." I smile at him. 

"Thank you, but I selected it for you." Diavolo seems to blush a little. 

"For me? I'm not sure if that will look good on me." I look at the beautiful fabric, and it's finely cut. I have never worn anything like this before. 

"You should try it on." Diavolo softly encourages me. 

"Alright. I will try it on." There is no harm in that. 

"Great, you should also try all of these on." Diavolo has his arms full of different outfits. I can only wonder how he got all of them so fast. With this amount, I'm bound to find something that I like. 

"Have you found something for yourself?" It's hard to tell with this massive amount of clothes. 

"No, sadly I will have to wear my formal attire." He sighs with big regrets. 

"I'm sure you will look dashing." I hope to cheer him up with my words. 

Diavolo smiles at me, seemingly fully recovered. "I can only look dashing with you at my site. Shall we head to the changing room then?" 

"Yes, we have plenty for me to try on." The number of clothes will likely keep me busy for hours.

  We head over to a secluded area in the store. Diavolo sits on a big couch in the middle of the area. I head to the curtained chaining room.

  The outfits are all neatly lined up." Please call me when you need help and for the zippers." The clerk cheerfully offers their service. 

"Thank you." I smile and close the curtains behind me. 

I have to strip down to my underwear and start to try on countless outfits.

  Each time I go outside and do a little spin for Diavolo. Each and every time he causes a big show of praising me in the outfit. 

It makes choosing very hard. 

The last outfit I try on is the one that Diavolo chose first for me. Now where I wear it, I must admit that it looks superb. 

Diavolo genuinely has great taste.

  I step out of the changing room. Diavolos face lights instantly up. "This is the outfit you need to wear. I mean you should wear it. " Diavolo is so excited that he has to correct himself. The look on his face is fully selling me. 

It seems like he can't even imagine me wearing anything but this. I smile at Diavolo. "In that case, I will wear it."

"Don't feel pressured into it. Please choose whatever you like the most."  Diavolo seems to regret what he said. 

"Don't be silly. I choose it because I like it best." Even when I like it best because he likes it best. 

"Well in that case we will buy it. What about the other outfits?" He is joyful again. 

"I only need one outfit." I technically don't even need it thanks to Barbatos. 

"Too bad, but we can always come back right?" He is a bit disappointed but recovers all on his own. 

"Of course. We have to buy those matching outfits after all." I cheerfully smile at him.

  He nods very enthusiastically, and we pay for the outfit. 

I'm very cheerful as we leave. With this new outfit, I start to look forward to the party.

  "So now we need to go to the market." I look at Diavolo. 

"Yes, let's head there next but what about a break first? You must be very exhausted by now." Diavolo looks at me with great worry. 

"I am somehow full of energy, but I could use some food." Food sounds very good to me right now. 

"Food does sound good. Where shall we eat?" Diavolo is all on board with my idea. 

"I want to eat in your favorite restaurant." I can't say that I have any idea about demon food.

"Hmm, that might be difficult, but I heard devils’ den has great food so how about that instead?" Diavolo sounds very apologetic. 

"That sounds perfect." I had forgotten that the kind of place Diavolo would go to would have a long waiting list.

  So we head towards the devil's den.

  Before we can enter the place a very familiar and uncharacteristically angry-looking demon stands in our path. 

" Young lord, I can't believe my eyes. Dragging the young master with you into town? Do you even realize what kind of terrific things could have happened to them? To both of you?" Barbatos looks at Diavolo with anger and speaks in a very harsh manner. Now I can see why Mammon is scared of him. He has changed into a true demon, including his now demonized form.

Diavolo looks down like a child that knows it messed up. "I only wanted to make them happy."

"It's my fault I wanted to go so badly. I basically forced him to go with me." I step in to support Diavolo. I can't let him take all the blame. "I wanted to get the presents for the brothers and ingredients for tomorrow." I show him my best puppy eyes. 

Barbatos only shakes his head. "You both were just off having fun. I can't believe how reckless you are my lord. I can't blame the young master since they are young and naive to the demon world, but you know the dangers." Barbatos is very angry. 

"I kept them safe." Diavolo tries to defend himself. 

"You did, but imagine what could have happened to them. Can you even imagine how much I worried about them after I heard from Asmo about your little adventures?" Barbatos looks with cold eyes at Diavolo. 

He has not much to defend himself with. "I'm sorry Barbatos. I just want them to love the devildom as much as I do." Diavolo sounds heartbroken. It's just a simple reason, but it truly warms my heart. 

"Please at least punish us both. I desired to come here in the first place." I plead with Barbatos. 

Barbatos looks at me with a strange look. I'm not quite sure what it is.

  Then he closes his eyes and takes a deep breath. This seems to calm him down a bit, at least. "I understand how frustrating all of this must be. Everything changed for you once you came here. I share Lord Diavolos desire to make you feel at home. His desire to make you love our home. I want the same thing for you. However, you must learn that you are now a target for certain people. Whenever I like it or not." Barbatos takes a deep breath. His demonic state changes back to his usual humanlike form. Then he looks at me gently. "You are very important to both of us, and today you could have lost your life. Even when Diavolo brought every bodyguard with him. Even when Diavolo has put protective spells over you. There are countless dangers in this world. Please promise me to never do this again." He only looks at me now. I can tell his words are filled with compassion. 

"I'm sorry I was reckless." I feel very ashamed now. His words have a big impact on me. He has never spoken this way to me before. 

"Barbatos don't make them promise something like this. I take full responsibility for today. Please let them have fun in the future as well." Diavolo doesn't seem to have any regrets. 

Barbatos shakes his head. "You cannot cast me as the villain here. My job is to look out for both of you. I have no intention of ruining anyone's fun. Don't misunderstand me. I fully intend to let the young master have all the fun they want to have, but in a responsible way." Barbatos explains his intentions. It seems reasonable to me. 

"I promise in the future I will tell you about my plans." This promise comes from my heart and seems reasonable enough. 

Barbatos smiles gratefully. "Thank you very much, young master." Then he looks at Diavolo and his face turns stern in an instance. "Your punishment will be to pay for dinner, for both of us today and I want to see all the missing papers before midnight today."

Diavolo sighs deeply. "Alright." He seems utterly defeated. 

The punishment seems very light in my opinion, but it seems to have hit the mark. 

"What have you bought anyway?" Barbatos eyes the bags that Diavolo is carrying. 

"We bought a top for Asmo, a pair of sunglasses for Mammon, a pillow for Belphie, and we found matching bed sets for all of us. Then Diavolo got me a very pretty outfit for the party." I list the items off, emphasizing what we got for him. 

"You went alone with them to buy the outfit for the party?" Barbatos sounds like he is offended. 

"I wanted to spoil them." Diavolo shrugs. 

Barbatos narrows his eyes. "Unbelievable, my lord, I'm deeply hurt." He seems honestly more hit by this than our secret trip. 

"We can go together next time." I try to make Barbatos happy. I had no idea that he likes outfit shopping this much. 

"Thank you, young master, but I will not forget this, my lord." He smiles at me but glares towards Diavolo. Who seemingly doesn't care about this offense.

  Even during our dinner, Barbatos keeps shooting glares towards Diavolo. I'm pretty sure he also took the most expensive items on the menu.

  Barbatos has already gotten us all the ingredients for tomorrow, and I also tell him about the items that I will need as gifts from my home and the human world.

  After today's wild day I fall fast asleep once I hit my bed. 

[thedeliverygod]

Happy Valentines Day! I’m posting this a day early out of both eagerness and the fact that there’s a big ice storm floating overtop of me right now that is threatening to knock my power out.

CULTURAL NOTES FOR THIS FANFIC: Valentines Day in Japan is a day when girls give chocolates to their romantic interests/significant others but also to friends. Obligation chocolate is what you would give to friends—affordable, non-pricey chocolate. Honmei chocolate is either homemade or expensive chocolate and is given with romantic intention.

On White Day (March 14th) the boys get to return the favor. And yes, I plan on writing a white day fic as well.

AO3

FF.net

Just as Sweet

Hiyori was nodding along and smiling as Yama excitedly discussed her plans for Valentine’s Day with her boyfriend as they walked home. Still, as happy as she was for her friend, her thoughts drifted to whether or not she should do anything other than obligation chocolate for Yato as she did for the rest of her friends.

“And you, Hiyori?” Ami’s voice knocked her out of her internal debate.

Blinking in confusion, she questioned back, “What about me?”

“What about that guy on your phone sensei caught you staring at? Are you doing anything for him?” She wiggled her eyebrows, intrigued.

Hiyori felt like her face had caught fire, unable to form words.

“That’s right! Who is that guy, anyway?” Yama immediately jumped in, moving closer as they slowed to a stop.

“H-he’s just a friend!” She managed to finally spit out, though she quickly felt herself growing light headed with embarrassment.

The two other girls looked at each other, clearly not buying it.

“Right.” Yama dragged out, “But! You do have a picture, right? Show us, just for the fun of it.”

“If he’s just a friend, it’s no big deal, right?” Ami echoed her sentiments mischievously.

“You two are…” Hiyori grumbled to herself, reaching into her pocket with a shaking head as she huffed, “Fine.” As they shared their squeals of success, she sighed to herself as she unlocked her phone and moved to photos. ‘Most of the pictures I have are selfies from him stealing my phone when I’m tutoring Yukine-kun…’

Finding one she deemed as relatively acceptable, she held out her phone and turned her head away, “Here.” Her ears were instantly filled with more high-pitched squeals and she flinched.

“Hiyori!”

“He’s gorgeous! Again, who exactly who is this guy!? How did you meet him?”

She took a breath and shoved her phone back into her pocket, not sure how to respond. “I, um. You know the younger boy I mentioned before that I tutor? They live together.”

Ami squinted, “So you mean he’s his older brother?”

Hiyori shook her head, “No, he’s more like, um… his guardian?”

“So older guys are your thing, huh?” Yama snapped her fingers as she came to her realization. She winked and elbowed Hiyori, “Wow, and I thought being a closet wrestling fan was your only rebellious trait.”

She covered her face with both of her hands, pleading, “Stop.”

Yama and Ami shared a laugh before Ami repeated, “So… are you going to make chocolate or anything?”

“I don’t know yet.” Hiyori only slightly moved her hand to answer her friends.

“Why not?” Yama tilted her head, frowning.

Hiyori lowered her hands but turned her head away, her voice soft, “I don’t think he would return my feelings.” Before she knew it, she felt both of her friend’s hands on her shoulders.

“You never know until you try!” Ami gave her a gentle pat, “I think you should go for it.”

“And I think the same!” Yama let go of her to give her a thumbs up with a wide grin, “Besides, wouldn’t it be so fun to go on double dates?”

Hiyori laughed nervously, answering, “Yeah, sure…” Taking another breath, she commented, “Thanks, both of you.”

“Of course.” They both flashed more smiles and continued forward.

She returned as much of a smile as she could muster, but her feelings were bittersweet. ‘It’s so much more complicated than I can tell you. I wish I could. And I wish you could meet everyone, but… even I’m not supposed to be as involved as I am.’

Now that dinner was finished, the time had come to go through with her plan. The only problem was she hadn’t quite figured out how to ask Yato how to come by himself and not bring Yukine. As much as she loved the younger boy, she very much did not want him to be present for what was essentially going to be spilling her heart out to his god.

After going through various scenarios in her head, she decided to keep it plain and simple. Her heartbeat so loud that it was ringing in her ears, she typed out her text on her phone.

Can you come over soon? And by yourself if possible.

She hesitantly hit send and held her breath as she waited. Finally, her phone beeped to signify Yato’s response.

Uhhh sure. Is everything okay?

She took a breath before answering.

Yes everything’s fine

After another brief moment of silence, her phone beeped again.

Just give me a few minutes

Her heart continued to beat erratically within her chest, making the time pass both impossibly slow and fast at the same time. So, when her phone eventually rang, she wasn’t sure if she felt ready or not. In her hesitation, the phone rang several times before she finally hit the answer button.

“I had to sneak away from Yukine.” He announced as he appeared in a flash of bright light, “And it wasn’t easy, so you’d better make it worth it, Hiyori.” He finished with a wide grin.

Her mouth already dry at the sight of his smile, she swallowed and apologized, “S-sorry.”

“You getting sick? Your voice sounds kinda off.” He tilted his head and took a step closer.

Hiyori quickly shook her head, “No, no. I just could probably use some water…”

“On it!” Yato volunteered excitedly, dashing out her bedroom door before she could even get a word in.

Exasperated, she collapsed backward onto her bed and took the opportunity to at least try and calm herself down. Of course, all progress she made vanished as soon as he popped back in the door.

“Here you go,” He kneeled down and held it out.

Sitting back up, she nodded gratefully as she took it into her hands and took a sip. Sitting the glass down carefully on her desk, she looked back up to Yato, “You can’t just wander freely around the house like that, Yato. What if my big brother had been home?”

“I would just say I’m getting a glass of water?” He shrugged, “I wouldn’t worry about it too much, Hiyori. He’s kind of a weirdo himself.”

‘You’re completely missing the point.’ She held her palm up to her forehead, “If you say so.”

“So, really,” Yato sat down on the bed, across from her, “What’d you call me over for?”

She met his eyes and let out slowly, “I wanted to… give you something.”

His eyes widened curiously as he repeated, “Give me something?”

Hiyori nodded before looking down to her lap sheepishly.

“Oh—that’s right. It’s Valentine’s Day. I appreciate the thought, but I don’t really need obligation chocolate or anything.” He gave a small, forced laugh, “Of course I’ll take anything to Yukine, Kofuku and Daikoku, though—”

“I-it is chocolate, but it’s not out of obligation…” She still didn’t meet his gaze, reaching to the drawer in her desk to pull out a white box with a red bow, “…I-I made it myself, so it may not be the best, but I think it’s okay.”

There was a brief pause but Yato started to call out her name, “Hiyori—”

“Just let me get this out, okay?” She forced a smile as she looked up and he nodded, clearly looking concerned. “I’m sort of just using Valentine’s Day as an excuse to say all of this because I’ve wanted to tell you for a while now, but I didn’t know how to.”

She slid the chocolate box towards him, while getting up from the bed and beginning to pace around her room as she explained, “I realized I was in love with you back when you were gone. Kazuma-san sort of helped me come to that conclusion even if… it wasn’t exactly in the nicest way, to put it lightly.”

“What? What did he do?” Yato asked, his voice sharp and dark.

Hiyori glanced back at him briefly, “Don’t—don’t worry about it right now. He’s apologized since then. Anyway, we’ve obviously had a lot of important things going on that needed your full focus. Especially helping Yukine-kun get settled again. So, I didn’t want to say anything about my feelings, because I don’t really know how you feel. I know you really care about me and sometimes go over the top with that… but I don’t know how you really feel.”

She turned back to him but kept her eyes low, her hands clasped together, “So I held it in, at least until now. I know there’s never really going to be a perfect time, but I also don’t think I can keep lying to myself. Or to you, either. I just hope… no matter what, we can still be friends. Because I can’t imagine my life without you. That’s why I’ve told you over and over that I don’t want to cut our ties and that I don’t want to lose you.”

Yato wordlessly slipped off the bed and stood up.

Just as Hiyori felt the tears start to drip down her face, all of the built-up emotions finally pouring out, she felt him wrap his arms around her in a tight embrace. His face buried against her neck, she soon felt his own tears wetting her skin.

She wasn’t sure if she should laugh or feel worse, “I’ve got you crying now, too?” She reached up over his shoulders to wipe at her own eyes.

“Well, yeah.” He answered as if it were the most obvious thing in the world, adding a sniffle as he finished. He pulled back from her slightly, his hands lingering at her shoulders, “Hiyori, you… how do I even put this.” He let out a breath, “For so long I’ve been a minor god, no name, no shrine, nothing to hold on to. And then I met you and… you helped me with Yukine. You helped me understand him and become a better god so that I could take care of him like he deserved. You built me my first shrine. You’ve showed me time and time again that all my efforts to change aren’t useless. How could I not love you?”

Hiyori paused and swallowed, “I appreciate you saying that—but I’m not sure if you mean it in quite the same way.”

“Not the same way…?” Yato repeated, looking her over with a confused look.

“When I say I love you, I mean as so much more than just a friend. Kazuma-san and Tenjin-sama told me that gods—” She didn’t get to finish before he reached up to cup her face, leaning forward to press his lips against hers.

He only lingered for a moment before he pulled away, a small smile spreading across his features, “I have no idea what those two said, but I’m pretty sure I know what I mean.” He moved the hand that wasn’t resting against her face to her waist, pulling her ever so slightly closer to him, “But I can prove it to you if you need me to.”

Hiyori’s lips parted in shock and her voice caught in her throat before she managed to answer, “N-no, I believe you.” Her face was so hot she felt like her head was going to explode.

Yato pressed his forehead against hers, letting out, “That’s a relief. Although, I’ll admit I did sort of want to.”

“Of course you did.” She sighed in response before they both let out a round of laughter. “But in all seriousness,” She pressed her lips to his, “I love you.”

He answered her kiss eagerly when given the chance before giving his answer, “I love you too.” With that, he moved his hand to the back of her head and pulled her into a tight embrace again.

[phoenix-manga]

Got Chocolates?

Valentine’s day was getting near and the halls were filled with chatter about boys who brag about chocolates they get from girls at the town. Azul merely scoffs at the idea, he sees Valentines as an opportunity to make sales, he already has made preparations for Mostro Lounge’s menu to fit the holiday. When he arrived at Octavinelle, he made his way to the lounge where he can hear the Leech twins talking about something.

Floyd: Today’s Valentine’s day, right? The guys are bragging about the chocolates they got from town, how come no one gives us any? I’m pretty sure I was nice too!

Jade: You can’t persuade people to give you sweets, it doesn’t work that way… And besides, if everyone was friendly with you, you’ll find it boring and miss the look of fear in their eyes, wouldn’t you?

Floyd: Hmm, you’re right… Ah! Azul is here~

Azul: You two can talk during your break, time is money you know!

Azul huffed and starts to organize the papers on his desk as he feels the twins’ mismatched gaze on him. Feeling a bit irritated, he looks at them with a stern face as he crossed his arms.

Azul: What is it now?

Floyd: Hey, Azul… do you ever want any chocolates from anyone?

Azul: What preposterous question is that? Valentines is merely a business strategy to gain more profit from lovesick fools! Besides, who on earth would be stupid enough to hand us chocolates as a way of “showing affection” on this day?

*WHAM!*

The door swung open to reveal a familiar figure with red and white hair that rushed over to Octavinelle to greet them. Cerule bursts through the doors with a box in her arms that is obviously from a sweets shop with the way the box was in Valentine colors. She quickly went around the room giving a quick side hug to a stunned Azul and an amused Jade while she gave a fist-bump to Floyd who was grinning widely at her appearance.

Jade looks to Azul as he chuckles behind his hand, looking at Azul’s direction as if to tell him ‘I told you so’.

Jade: Oh, it would seem that the ‘stupid’ has appeared, fufu~

Azul: Shut up Jade… Cerule… what in the world are you doing here?

Cerule: What, I’m not allowed to drop by to see my best friends to greet them during Valentine’s day? And I bought the newest item in the sweet shop that I know you’ll like! Who knows, you might make a profit out of it~

That got Azul to relent and allowed Cerule to show them what was inside the box. He takes a look at the box for a moment, before his eyes widened as he saw the brand on the side, Ginger House. That was a very pricey and popular brand that you need to book for reservation for a month to even get the newest product before the store sold out. Maybe Cerule was onto something, he will definitely take advantage of this.

A few minutes later, four cups of warm milk were set on the table. The box contains some weird ball of chocolates but they were big enough to nearly cover the cup, Cerule explained that the hot chocolate bombs were the new craze at Ginger House, they just need to put this on warm milk and the chocolate ball melts and releases the cocoa powder and some additional ingredients depending on the type bought. Azul was very intrigued by the genius behind the product, the way the chocolate bombs were made, they had a cute aesthetic to it that surely catches one’s attention.

Cerule: Which one do you guys want? There’s quite a lot here, I don’t mind if you want to share some with the others!

Jade: You’re too generous to us humble folk, fufu~ The one with the cinnamon scent looks tempting

Floyd: I want the red and yellow one! It’s colored like Goldfish-chan!

Azul: I’ll take the lavender one then…

Once they placed the chocolate bombs into their mugs, the sphere slowly melted to show the cocoa powder and marshmallows from the inside, the trio were admiring how pretty it looked. The scent of their chosen flavors invaded their noses and they can tell that this concoction is going to taste heavenly. As the trio drank from their mugs, their taste buds tingled at the flavor that danced on their tongues, it was like the ambrosia of drinks.

Azul tasted the cool mint mixing with the blueberries on his drink, Jade was impressed with the combination of chocolate and cinnamon that gave a warm feeling as he drank, and Floyd was enjoying how the strawberry worked so well with the white chocolate, he could also taste a tinge of honey. Before they knew it, the mugs were empty, they had planned to take a sip but they were caught up in the flavor daydream that they didn’t realize it. Cerule took it as a sign that the present was a success, she was relieved because she took into consideration that Azul and the tweels work a business that has excellent quality and high standards. So, she wanted to give them something that is up to their standards, unaware that she set off a landmine that would guarantee Azul more madol in the month of Valentines.

Cerule: How was it?

Azul: Ah! I-it was very good… it’s no wonder this new product sold out so quickly, us common folk would’ve had to go through the hassle of going through a difficult reservation to get this…

Floyd: What was that?! I spaced out for a second there, I could’ve sworn it was a sip! What kind of spell did they put in this?

Jade: No spell was used, Floyd… Ginger House is a top tier sweet shop for a reason, I must say… I’m impressed how excellent the product is…

Cerule: Ah! I can’t stay for long! You guys can have the rest, I’m glad you guys liked it! See ya!

She dashes off with incredible speed out the door to wherever she came from, Azul was still staring at his mug in disbelief but soon his expression morphed into a sly grin. Jade and Floyd took notice and had an amused face.

Jade: I take it that you changed your tune, Azul?

Azul: I take back what I said, it seems that the receiving chocolates isn’t so bad~ Now, let us not waste time and get to work, it would be a shame to waste such a nice gift from royalty, after all!

The three took the box with them as they exited the office and headed towards the kitchen to get started on making hot chocolate bombs that will send the entire college, and even the faculty, to be tempted into buying.

Valentine’s day was a day of love, and Azul loves nothing more than to make a lot of madol.

[themangoyogurt]

Clementine: Chapter 2

You cursed yourself as a ridiculous love ballad blared from Poe’s overpriced stereo system. All you had wanted was a night of relaxation. The marble tub in the master ensuite was already filled with hot water and a bath bomb that was so overpriced it was practically criminal. Next to the tub, a chilled glass of white wine patiently waited along the latest novel you were gobbling up.

You had stupidly decided that some calming music was the final piece to your self-care puzzle. Except, you had never used something as high-tech as what Poe’s place offered. One wrong button later, and you were ninety-percent sure that only twenty-percent of your ear drum would be functional after this fiasco.

To make matters worse, there was angry knocking at the front door. The aggressive sound was so furious that it somehow cut through the music, causing you to flush in embarrassment as you ran to get the door. You were so frazzled from breaking the sound system and subsequently upsetting your neighbor that you even forgot to grab a robe on your way out.

The door flung open to reveal a man so large and imposing, you lost your breath.

He was in nothing except a single pair of boxers and fuzzy slippers. Despite his distinctly disheveled (and frankly, sloppy) look, he was handsome. Handsome, built like a refrigerator, and angry. Ogling your neighbor would do no good if he murdered you.

Except, one moment he looked furious and the next, perplexed. Normally, you’d bristle if any man so obviously gave you a once over, but the way his mouth comically hung open made you less offended.

“Clementine,” was all he uttered.

The two of you stared at each other in silence, when the start of yet another pop song interrupted the moment. You startled to attention and rushed to explain, “I am so sorry about the disturbance. I can’t figure out how to work Poe’s stupid stereo and now the thing won’t shut off!”

The stranger peered around your shoulder and a hardened gaze returned to his face. He gritted out, “And where’s Poe to help you out?”

Your brow furrowed, and you could have sworn that he almost looked bitter at the statement. Deciding not to get into it with a stranger, you politely replied, “He’s flying right now. I’m just housesitting while he’s gone.”

The man softened ever so slightly at the response and straightened up. “I think we have the same system. I could help you turn it off.”

“Oh thank goodness,” you breathed in relief, quickly stepping aside to let him in. The stranger seemed to know his way around the gigantic apartment, and you assumed that his layout was either the same or he’d been here before.

Awkwardly shuffling behind him, you timidly supplied your name in an attempt to start a conversation. He merely grunted out, “Kylo.” He didn’t even spare you a glance as he busied himself with tapping at a seriously sci-fi looking box.

After a few minutes of strained silence, the music finally cut out. The sudden quietness was so strong your ears nearly rang from the lack of sound. “Uhm, thank you! Can I make you a mug of tea or something?” you ventured, politeness outweighing the sheer awkwardness as you realized you were two half-naked strangers staring at each other.

He shuffled a bit before giving a terse nod.

Jeez, nobody’s forcing him to hang out with me, you thought in response to his frosty reaction.

Speaking of frosty, you noticed his eyes zeroing in on your rather pointed chest, causing you to turn pink at the neck. Thankfully, you had left a sweatshirt thrown over the couch. Snatching up the thick fleece garment, you tugged it over your head and led Kylo to the kitchen.

Kylo followed with heavy steps, and made himself right at home as he settled on a stool pulled up against a bar area facing the kitchen. Two mugs were pulled from a cabinet and quickly filled with steaming hot water. The liquid reminded you of the bath now gone to waste, but one look at the handsome man gazing at you made it all worth it.

A mug of chamomile was slid across the marble top and into Kylo’s hands before you joined him on the stool to his left.

“Sorry again about the music,” you muttered.

Kylo ran a hand through his hair, dark locks falling like Fall leaves. “It’s fine. It was an accident. So...you’re a house-sitter?”

You laughed, “Unofficially. I just moved to town, and I don’t have a place yet. Poe’s an old friend from college, and he just started some sort of travel show that’s gonna keep him busy for at least four months. I get to stay for free, and he doesn’t have to worry about his house going to shit.”

Kylo nodded, not surprised that the dashing pilot somehow landed himself a deal to host a travel show. He also came from money and had already made a name for himself jet-setting around the globe piloting his own private jet.

You gave him a cute little head tilt and asked, “And what about you? What’s your story?”

For the first time since he left the First Order, Kylo felt embarrassed. Deciding to fall back on vagueness he replied, “Ah, early retirement.” Women liked mysterious men, right?

He was surprised as you let out a low whistle. “Retiring in a place like this? You must’ve had one hell of a job to retire from.” You blew the steam away from your mug and took a long sip.

Kylo frowned and folded his arms across the tabletop. “And what about you? It’s a Wednesday and you’re blaring Taylor Swift near midnight.” You knew that he wasn’t being defensive, despite a slight accusatory tinge to his voice.

You turned to face Kylo, propping your head up on an elbow. There was something gravitational in your exchange, and your bodies had slowly inched closer and closer as you talked. By now, your knees were lightly touching, and you found yourself feeling electricity at the subtle touch.

He laughed as you playfully jabbed a finger in his chest. “I’ll have you know that I do, in fact, have a job! Have you ever heard of Hanna Hut?”

Something about you riled Kylo up, and he felt more alive than he had in the past month. Some teenaged boy part of his brain refused to admit that he had no idea what Hanna Hut was, hoping to impress the pretty girl sitting next to him. Instead, he rolled his eyes and scoffed, “Of course I have. And what’s it to you?”

His resolve slowly dissolved as a silent minute ticked by. He groaned as you finally broke the silence with a loud laugh. “A grouch who can see into the future. Amazing!” Kylo furrowed his brow, and bit back, “What are you talking about?”

“Hanna Hut doesn’t exist. At least not yet.”

Kylo furrowed his brow and pinked in embarrassment at being caught. You patted his thigh, ignoring how muscled it felt underneath your touch. His bare skin was warm and deliciously corded and taut. He stuttered out a non-reply, only earning a louder guffaw from you.

“Don’t worry. It will exist. Hopefully very soon! I’m opening my very own coffeeshop-slash-bookstore combo right here in town!” You couldn’t help but gush in excitement at your very new business venture.

It had taken years of careful planning and budgeting. Years of forgoing mimosas with the girls and squirreling away every dime. Literally. Years of accepting overtime, and years of enduring doubt from friends and family alike.

No more though. You had finally gathered together enough money to launch your dream business. The moment your bank account looked healthy enough, you threw up digits and peaced out of your tiny good-for-nothing town.

Finally, after years of grit and sweat, things seemed to be looking up. With free lodging for the next few months, you didn’t even have to stress about finding an apartment. Your deal with Poe worked out perfectly so that you could spend all of your time and energy looking for the perfect space to launch Hanna Hut.

Your excitement was infectious, as Kylo couldn’t help but flash a wide smile matching the one on your face. “And where can I visit this newfound ‘coffee-slash-bookstore’ venture of yours?” he asked, genuinely curious and interested in the concept.

“Well...I’m still looking for the perfect storefront. I think I might have found it, though! In fact, I’m meeting with the landlord tomorrow afternoon.” You quickly pulled out your cellphone to show him the airy space located in Greenwich Village. It was beautiful, but pricey. Still, you convinced yourself that the price tag would be worth it.

Kylo quietly listened as you continued to babble and swipe through photos.

“It’s a little expensive, but I think it’ll be worth it! The landlord said that if I signed a ten year lease, he’d cut me a deal on rent. I think that should help, especially since there are so many fees and he needs three months rent up front...”

The more you prattled, the more agitated Kylo became. A ten year lease? As cute as you were, cuteness didn’t necessarily equate to business acumen. He found your naiveté equal parts adorable and concerning. Although you were a stranger, he didn’t want to watch yet another out of towner get swindled and eaten up by the city.

He cleared his throat, and interrupted, “Ah, if you want, I could come with you to negotiate tomorrow. I hope I’m not overstepping, but I am a lawyer...”

You perked up and replied, “That would be amazing! But I don’t know if I could pay you. Judging by the fact that you live here, I don’t think I could afford your rates...”

“Ah, well I am retired so it’s not like I’ve got much going on for me. How about you buy me a coffee and we’ll call it even?”

He flinched in surprise when you practically leapt out of your seat. Clasping his hands in your own, you gushed, “Deal! Thank you so much, Kylo!” Kylo looked down at where your hands joined, marveling at how much smaller you were compared to him. Mustering up as much courage possible, he nodded and flashed you a smile.

Just like that, Kylo found himself looking forward to something for the first time in years.

[kissmyassloves]

The Selected Enola Holmes: Chapter One (1)

Fair warning! This fic is not mine. It belongs to my frined ‘multifandomkingdom’ on AO3. I asked her to write it and thankfully she said yes Heres the link if you want to read it there. Enjoy!

https://archiveofourown.org/works/27004441/chapters/65919898

.Enola should have known that this would probably be a bad idea. Yes, she had run away from her brothers to avoid a life that she thought would strip her of her liberty, but even  she  could admit that she should have thought this one through just a little more. No matter. She would wing it and make the most of the situation at hand. Even if she was about to enter a competition that could eventually make her the future Queen of the United Kingdom.

To be fair, she knew that she had to simultaneously hide in plain sight and in a place that her brother Mycroft would least expect her. And that was in this superficial excuse of a speed dating chalk up for Prince Reese. A prince that she did not even care to know. Granted, she'd never even seen him. But she was sure that he was just another aloof prick that preferred to be pent up behind his tall walls of privilege. Plus, she hated the idea of someone having their pick of the litter and thought it a bit shallow. But the young women that lined up at every available stall that took submissions didn't seem to. To each their own, she supposed. For most of them (at least from where she was standing in a bustling London), it was a free pass to being rich, famous, and of course, a future ruling queen. Still, to her, it was merely a meal ticket and an overt hiding spot. Pricey and elaborate but a hiding spot nevertheless. And at the time, it seemed great because, on the off chance that she got selected, she'd be practically unreachable to her brothers. Even if she was plastered on screens everywhere because of the competition from that point on. Her brothers couldn't get past the palace walls unless a royal gave the say so or an event was planned. She knew that much.

All of that would have been ideal. But rationalizing now, Enola was sure she wouldn't even get a double-take from the said prince. Which is why she was waiting in line, in the midst of giddy and excited young women to make her submission. Because at least then it would allow her time to think of a backup plan if and when this one fell through. She was desperate, and admittedly, this wasn't one of her shining moments. However, her brothers didn't know she was in London, and if she didn't find a way to put at least some distance between her and them, she was certain Sherlock would sniff her out sooner than later. So really, she was buying time. Yes, she'd go with that for now. It was her turn to submit her form and take her picture to complete her submission.

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

The results for who had been "selected" were about to be announced. She was at a cafe, and all eyes except hers were on the TV hanging in the top corner. She enjoyed her muffin with half the mind to get up and leave, but her curiosity always won. So she stayed. She'd be lying if she said she wasn't a bit nervous because, truth be told, she could think of no other backup plan that didn't involve her hiding in obscure lodgings. She knew the money her mother left her wasn't going to last forever. But even so, she continued to eat and let her mind run a mile a minute. All while barely paying attention to the voice that came from the screen above her. She hadn't even bothered to look up at the royal family that she assumed was plastered on screen because she didn't really care to gauge the reactions Prince Reese would probably have of every selected girl.

That was until she heard  her  name leave the lips of the news commentator.

She seemed to have been momentarily frozen into place. Eyes slowly widening as the realization came in increasing waves. By the time she looked up, she had only seen her picture fading and moving on to the next selected girl. She was one of the 35. She could hardly believe it. And she was shocked to find that she hadn't been immediately filled with complete dread at the idea. She would blame that on the fact that she was relieved that she didn't have to find a plan b for a little while. As she made her way to her temporary room that's she'd (thankfully) be moving out of, she began to think. But then other thoughts crept into her head. Thoughts that varied from the fact that sherlock and subsequently Mycroft would undoubtedly know where she was or at least where she was about to go. And the fact that she was on her way to "compete" ( ugh ) for a prince's affections. She even thought with a bitter chuckle that Mycroft would be pleased as being selected immediately raised an individual's status and, by extension, their family's. Upholding appearances and achieving an exalted societal standing seemed to be a kink of his.

But as far as she was concerned, she would have to work on staying in this little game that was now afoot. At least long enough to come up with a better plan to eventually live the life she wished to.

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

The day had come for the selected to arrive at the palace. Enola had mentally prepared and reminded herself to maintain a level head in the limo ride. She was riding with a few other girls that registered in her area. As they chatted amongst themselves and bonded over being able to snag the "dashing prince," she allowed herself to get lost in the moving image that was outside. She could see a hoard of fans and photographers that lined the streets, no doubt wishing them well and itching to get a glimpse of them. Though the window glass was tinted, she wasn't quite used to the flashes. Not quite knowing what to do with herself, she settled on waving back and smiling much to the delight of ecstatic... fans ? Could she actually call them that, though? They didn't really know her yet. Would she stay in this tournament of sorts long enough to even let them get to that point? She wasn't sure, but she did know she'd at least go out swinging when that time came.

As they pulled up to the palace gates, Enola could only observe and take in the place in all its grandeur. She could only think that a child growing up here would be...lonely. And from what she remembers hearing, the prince was an only child. That moment of sympathy she had for him was dashed as she watched a multitude of servants line the entrances. He was still so obscenely wealthy, which wasn't necessarily his fault. Still, he must've been used to having everything served on a silver platter to him. But from what she could view, maids of three had been assigned to each selected girl that had already arrived. Would she be getting the same? She didn't quite know how to manage that. Would she be forced to learn?

What if she couldn't-

"You're in the way 5ft4". 

Rolling her eyes at that, Enola could only restrain herself from responding to the girl that pushed her out of her sight like this mistake in her perfect picture. She wasn't here to cause any trouble. She had to remind herself why but she wasn't going to lie. It was hard when at least 40% of the girls here seemed to be like this. Would the future Queen be one of them? Her stomach might have just curled at the thought. Making her way to the line before her, hands cooly in her pockets. A single whistle escaped her as she continued to take in the place.

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

She had been introduced to her ladies in waiting (Jesus, she wasn't sure she could get used to having those) and shown to her bedroom. She wasn't going to lie; she was impressed. As expected, it was every bit as luxurious as she thought it would be.  Not a bad free ride , she mused as she looked around and the bed?  That,  she could get used to. It seemed to mould to her, and she was starting to worry she would never want to leave it.

Not too long after that, her ladies were getting her ready for their first dinner with the royal family. This would probably be the first time she would meet the lad that had these girls so boy crazy. She had to admit, she  was  a bit curious to know if he was worth all of the hype—just a little.

And even if he was, she wasn't actually here for him anyway. It took more than looks to sway Enola. What use was a boy with no substance?

As they were seated, she could see the King and Queen whispering to each other discreetly while sizing up the selected. I had noticed a chair to the king's left had been empty. The prince wasn't even here. Well, and that fact had slightly deflated the women around her. Subsequently, a servant came in announcing that the prince sent "his apologies but was otherwise occupied with work but will be sure to greet you all personally tomorrow." You could physically feel the energy in the room shift and reignite at the prince's mention of meeting the women. The almost sudden change tickled Enola. It was truly comical. But she'd stay mum. After the most delicious meal, she could honestly say she has ever tasted (damn, did she pick the best place to freeload ), she along with the rest of the selected, made their way to their rooms. But she needed fresh air to at least start concocting a plan b when the warm blankets and delightful roast dinner eminently stops being a possibility for her. Besides, she was never meant to be caged in. Not when outside was so big and revitalizing.

But as she made her way to the door that leads to the great garden, the guards at either side had literally crossed their rifles in front of the door as she tried to leave. Enola was slightly flabbergasted. she deemed that that kind of thing was only the stuff of movies, yet here she was.

Now that just wouldn't do.

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

Now, Enola didn't mean to get into a near screaming match with the guards who were now putting their hands on her to get her away from the door. But here she was. She’d almost broke one's wrist when she felt him inching a bit too low. All she wanted to do was go outside for a second to think. Was that too much to ask?

"Let her go!" the guards looked at whoever elicited that authoritative tone behind her in confusion, momentarily stiffened, and then released her immediately. She’d smoothened any caused wrinkles on her clothes, slit eyes never once leaving the buffoons in front of her in annoyance. Mystery man continued,

"Open the door and let her out." The guards looked taken aback.

"-but your hi-" Was this door not supposed to be opened or something? Were we not allowed to go into the gardens?

"-I didn't stutter, now please open the door."

Smiling smugly in triumph at the guards in front of her and without turning back even once, she made her way out into the night air.

"Are you ok? No, bruises?" Fantastic. Whoever it was had followed her out. She did notice that the voice was deep and male. But surprisingly gentle for the timbre. And Enola also realized how mannerless she was being by not thanking him for helping her back there. It was then that she turned around. And under the dimly lit garden lights stood a tall young man, with attractive broad shoulders that possessed what she would begrudgingly have to accept was probably the most gorgeous face that she had ever seen in her young life.

[spring-emerald]

gift and take

Happy TsukkiKage Day everyone! 

This is a collaboration piece with @yamineftis / @gabiarts! Please check out her amazing fanart!

Enjoy!

-----

Kei is having a crisis. And no, he’s not even exaggerating.

He often scoffed at the idea of couples surprising each other by giving gifts whenever they feel like it, to celebrate their monthsary or an anniversary over silly things such as when they first held hands or when they first walked home together. The only thing he could understand when it matters and would actually tolerate, is when it’s for Valentine’s Day, or a birthday, or during the Christmas season. But even then, he would wince and cringe at the lengths some people would go to and the amount they would spend for their significant other, and he always make it a point to remind himself to never become like them and not fall for such follies.

Of course, that would mean, at some point, he’s bound to swallow his words even if it feels like pins and needles on his throat and a deep blow on his pride. He just didn’t think it would be this soon.

Not only does he find himself not-single anymore, he is also without an ounce of idea about what to give his boyfriend for his birthday.

Kei scratches his head, nails digging in his scalp and he probably pulled some baby hair off, out of frustration, clicking his tongue while glaring at the small desk calendar, a particular date circled many times over in red ink.

He only has a week until Kageyama’s birthday and he’s yet to have a present for him.

To be fair, he’d already thought of options. Like volleyball gears and athletic wear, things he knows Kageyama will like and use. He’s a practical gift giver, after all. But then again, those are kinds of things that anybody could give him, if they’re willing to spend a little money on him (which, in his knowledge they are, as annoying as that is). But anyway, its Kageyama’s first birthday that they will spend together as a couple. And he really didn’t see himself saying something like this, but he wants it to be, well, special.

Like, really special.

They officially got together on the night of his birthday after all, so he’s already got the best gift he could have hoped for, even though it happened because of the traitor he calls his best friend’s meddling.

But yeah, it maybe his competitive streak or the small, gradually growing, sappy part of him that screams ‘Must take good care of Kageyama! Must not lose him!’ that’s talking, but he really, utterly, wants this to be special; needs it to be special.

And hence, the crisis. Because, how will he top that? (He doesn’t think he can. The happiness he felt that night was so unbearable, after all. He still finds himself blushing and smiling unconsciously whenever he remembers it.) He shakes his head to dispel the thought. It won’t do to pressure himself.

He closes his eyes, breathes deeply and relaxes his shoulders. When he opens them, his mind is clearer. Obviously, he can’t do this alone, he’ll just run himself in circles. Pulling his phone from his sweatpants, he scrolls through his contacts and messages Yachi about needing her help and if he can call her. He didn’t wait for too long for a response, as his phone rings as soon as the message was sent.

“Hello-”

“Tsukishima-kun? What happened? Are you alright?”

“Ya-”

“Oh my god, are you hurt? Bleeding anywhere? Should I call the police-”

“Yach-”

“You’re not bleeding in an alley, are you? Gods, please don’t die, Tsukishima-kun.”

“Yachi!” He exclaims, effectively stopping the nervous tirade coming from the other line. “No. I’m not hurt. Not in an alley. Not bleeding. Not dying.” At least, not in a literal way, he adds mentally. “So please stop worrying, okay. I’m. Fine.”

Yachi breathes in relief. “Oh, thank gods. I thought-”

“I know.” Kei interrupts her. Realizing he sounded snappy, he repeated it softly. It wouldn’t do well for him to snap at the only someone he can ask help from.

“I’m sorry. It’s just you usually communicate everything through text, so when you asked to call I thought… yeah, never mind. Anyway, you said you need help?”

Kei inhales deeply. “Yes, I do. I was wondering if you’re free today. I need help in finding a birthday gift for Kageyama.”

There’s a pause on the other line. “Uhm, no offense, Tsukishima-kun, but shouldn’t you be asking Shouyou-san? Not that I don’t want to help you. I would love to, but Shouyou-san knows him more, probably?”

“I already did. And not surprisingly, he’s of no help at all. Some best friend he is.”

“Erm, why not Tadashi-san?” Kei grumbles something under his breath as a reply.

“Pardon? What was that?”

Kei sighs. “I want it to be a surprise,” he repeats louder and a little exasperated. He explains that he doesn’t want to ask Yamaguchi for help, because he knows he won’t be able to keep it a secret. That and he doesn’t think he can handle Yamaguchi’s teasing, he tacks on mentally.

“Oh. Oh. I see. Oh, that’s so sweet.” She gushed, and Kei can almost see her smile. His face flushed and heated even more.

“Of course, Tsukishima-kun! I would love to help you!”

He ends the call after confirming the time and place for their meet-up and breathes in relief. Hopefully, he’ll find and get a perfect gift for Kageyama.

-----

After almost half a day of roaming the market district, they’re now resting in a café, drinking iced coffee, Kei’s treat for Yachi as gratitude for accompanying him. The nice, small paper bag with the logo of the seventh store they visited sits quietly and unobtrusively on the side of the table.

Kei settled for a sports watch, a bit pricey, but durable and high quality, which was highly recommended by the shop clerk and one that fits Kei’s standards of usable, not something anyone can give, and meaningful.

But even then, Kei can’t help but think that there’s still something missing.

“Is there something wrong, Tsukishima-kun?” Yachi asks, looking up at him with worry.

Kei bites his lips. “Nothing…” he starts hesitantly. “But I just feel like this isn’t enough.” He frowns, shoulders slumping.

“Why do you think that?”

“You know how my birthday went,” Kei says, and Yachi smiles at him knowingly.

He gestures to the bag with his head. “Buying something doesn’t feel… personal enough.” It was hard to get out, because he’s not used to admitting his feelings or baring his thoughts, but it seems a lot of that is changing when it concerns Kageyama.

Yachi purses her lips over the straw of her drink to stop herself from squealing, keeping it internally, because boy, who knew Tsukishima-kun would be so whipped for Kageyama-kun. She takes a sip, keeping herself together. Her friend needs her right now and she can’t let him down. She rest her chin on her hand as she hums, wracking her brain for ideas until one came to her.

“I think I have something.” She pulls out her phone and looked for it and shows it to him.

“It’s a pretty generic idea, and a lot of couples have done it before, but if you design your own and include the things that only the two of you can do, then that makes it more personal, don’t you think?”

Kei looks through the images and thinks about Yachi’s words. But the girl seemed to have taken his silence the wrong way. “But I mean, you don’t have to, if you don’t want to. It’s just a suggestion. I can look up for more if you want-”

“Yachi,” he interrupts, “this is perfect.”

Yachi smiles. “Okay. Alright. Do you need help? I can draw if you like.”

Kei shakes his head. “I’ll do this one myself. Thank you, Yachi.”

“You’re most certainly welcome, Tsukishima-kun.” Yachi doesn’t bother suppressing her gushing this time. “Oh, Kageyama-kun is so lucky!”

-----

Akiteru finds Kei pacing inside his room.

Kei’s been feeling nervous since he woke up on the auspicious day. He can’t seem to stay still, he keeps on taking the gift bag from the shelf, and putting it back again, rearranging his T-rex figurine around it, making it look as if it’s protecting the present, only to take it down again to place on his desk beside a smaller, rectangular box where the fruit of his effort for at least three nights is safely tucked inside.

“Yo, bro,” he knocks on the open door. “You’re going to burn a hole in your carpet if you keep on doing that.”

“Not now, nii-chan,” Kei distractedly replies back, still pacing.

“What’s got you so worked up anyway? It’s just his birthday and you’re just going to give him his gift and spend the day with him, being all lovey-dovey.”

“Nii-chan,” he clicks his tongue.

“With the way you’re acting really nervous, I would think that you’re already planning to propose to him. Or plan to do something more.”

Kei stops then and sputters at Akiteru, red in the face. “Wh-what? Of course not!”

Akiteru grins widely at the adorable display of vehemence. “Really? The ones inside the box are not actually con-”

Kei’s hand is quick to cover his mouth and push him out his room.

“The hell, nii-chan? What kind of brother asks that?!”

Akiteru snickers before getting Kei’s hand off his face. “A loving and supportive one.”

When Kei scratches his head with more force than necessary, Akiteru let up. “Alright, I’ll stop. You must really like Kageyama, huh?”

Kei doesn’t reply, but the way he flushed up to the tips of his ears and the way he can’t meet Akiteru’s eyes is enough answer for him. Even then, Kei surprised him by nodding. Aww man, his adorable little brother in love is such a sight he never thought he would see, but he’s damn glad he did.

“It would be fine, Kei. I mean, I’ve only seen you two together once, when you brought him here for dinner, and I can tell that he also likes you and your prickly butt.”

Kei huffs and glares at him and Akiteru puts his hands up in surrender. “Okay, okay… I will leave you now.” He starts to walk back to his room, but then stops and turns as if remembering something.

“Oh, and Kei,” Kei looks at him warily, but waits all the same.

Akiteru grins. “Don’t forget to use protection,” he says with a wink and dashes to his room, dodging the pen that Kei chucked at him.

Inside his room, Akiteru hears the muffled sound of door slamming and he snickers as he takes out his phone to send a message.

All according to keikaku, my disciple.

Hah! You’re the best, Akiteru-san!

It’s going to be my turn later. ;)

-----

As much as Kei wants to have Kageyama all to himself for the day, he can’t. Their friends insisted that they all celebrate Kageyama’s birthday together. It’s become their tradition to eat together whenever someone’s celebrating their birthday, after all. Which meant that he had to endure Yamaguchi’s teasing and Hinata’s boisterousness throughout lunch. Yachi had been there to stop Kei from committing murder, while Kageyama is just enjoying the food and the cake they bought for him, looking every inch the King that he is, being entertained by his jesters.

Thankfully, it’s over now. It’s just the two of them after Yamaguchi not-so-subtlety told everyone that the ‘lovebirds probably want to have some time alone, wink wink’ and had the gall to remind him to ‘get it, Tsukki! But be sure to save some for Christmas, alright’.

Fortunately, the King is oblivious to the obvious innuendo, but not Hinata who was still cackling as he left and Yachi who almost ran into a post because she’s covering her face in embarrassment.

The thought of the suggestion turns his face in the same predicament and this one, Kageyama noticed.

“Are you alright? Your face is red.” Kageyama says, tugging at the hand he’s holding, the other carrying a large paper bag containing all of the gifts he got from them, including the one Kei bought.

The other, more personal one is still inside his coat pocket, waiting to be given when they’re in the privacy of Kageyama’s home.

“It’s the cold, King.” He replies dismissingly. He would’ve gestured too, but he’s carrying the cake box with his unoccupied hand.

“If you say so.”

They arrive without much incident, and even though it was a ruse earlier, Kei is glad to be out of the cold. And once they stripped off their coats and scarves, they find themselves warming up in the well heated living room, watching a movie they happened to pass by while browsing the channels.

Kageyama’s snuggled up to him, head resting on his shoulder while his arms are around Kei’s, a perfect picture of contentment. Now would be the perfect time for Kei to give his other gift, but he left it in his coat pocket, and he had to get up to get it, but right now, he doesn’t want to leave Kageyama yet.

“Do you want some snack? You still have some cake left,” he murmurs on Kageyama’s ear, delighted at the way the action made the boy shiver against him.

Kageyama hums. “Yeah. I’ll get it,” he says, disentangling himself from Kei.

Well, so much for not wanting to leave him, Kei thought, shaking his head with a small smile. But he might as well use it as opportunity to go retrieve his gift.

When he returns, Kageyama’s back on the couch, the leftover cake is on the coffee table and Kageyama’s putting a slice on one of the two plates beside the box.

Kei’s heart warmed at the domesticity of it all. He never would have imagined he would be like this, with Kageyama of all people, but he can’t find it in himself to regret or even wonder how this happened. What he’s always left with, though, is fondness and gratitude that things worked out between them, because he can’t imagine them be anything else but close and happy and together, anymore. It’s too early to say, and he’s probably jinxing it, but he’s never been surer of anything else.

That’s why he wants to make this special. It’s their first, and he’s looking forward to more firsts with Kageyama, and if he has any say it in, he wants it to last. He wants them to last.

He takes a deep breath and walks back to the couch but instead of sitting beside his boyfriend, he bends down and hugs him from behind. Kageyama flinches a little in surprise but soon relaxes when he realizes that it’s Kei and puts a hand over the arm around him, looking at the small, rectangular box Kei is presenting in front of him.

“What’s this?” He asks, craning his head to look at Kei.

“It’s your gift.”

“…But you already gave me one.”

“I know.” Kei shrugs. “It’s another one.” He pushes it closer to Kageyama who takes it from him.

“Can I open it?”

Kei nods, letting go of Kageyama to take his place beside him on the couch, just in time as Kageyama opens it and takes out the pieces of paper inside –hand-drawn birthday coupons.

Kei doesn’t actually know how many he’s made, but he knows he made a lot.

“Did you draw all these?” Kageyama asks, shuffling through the coupons and reading what they are for and enjoying the different, simple illustrations on each of them.

Play beach volleyball. Hands and feet massage. And apparently many more that range from normal dates to silly things.

“Yeah, I did.” Kei’s not much of an artist, but he did his best and he thinks it’s passable. He has to keep talking to himself that it’s the effort that counts just so he wouldn’t throw them at the trash can.

“Do you like it?”

Kageyama beams up at him, an unusual but wondrous sight. He nods his head vigorously before he throws his arms around Kei’s neck and pulls him into a tight hug.

“I love it. Thank you!”

He lets go of Kei much too soon for his liking. “I have something for you too.” Before Kei can even ask, Kageyama’s already getting something from under the coffee table and he presents Kei a small box with a neat bow on top.

“Here! My pre-Christmas gift to you,” Kageyama says with a wide smile and a light blush, putting the present on Kei’s lap.

“…What?”

“My pre-Christmas gift. Yamaguchi said it’s a thing between couples? And since we’re spending the day anyway, he said it would be the perfect time to give it to you. This is what the second gift for is, right?”

If Kageyama wasn’t looking so hopeful and happy, Kei would have cursed Yamaguchi out loud for his meddling, again. And how the hell did he even find out that he’s planning to give Kageyama two gifts, (which, for the record, are both for Kageyama’s birthday, by the way)? He made sure he swore Yachi to secrecy and he knows she won’t break it.

The image of his laughing brother come to mind.

Traitors. They both traitors, Kei thinks menacingly.

“Tsukishima?” Kei is pulled away from his thoughts instantly.

“Ah… yeah. Erm, thank you. But you shouldn’t have.”

“But you gave me one.”

“King, both my presents are for your birthday.”

“But Yamaguchi said…”

“Look, forget about him.” Kei says, making Kageyama pout. “Uh, none of that. It’s still your birthday and I’ve still yet to discuss the terms and conditions of your coupons. So let’s talk about that alright.”

---

“So, I can use them anytime I like?”

“That’s what I said, King. And it has no expiration date so you don’t have to use them all up in a year.”

Kageyama goes quiet, looking like he’s thinking about it.

“Alright. But I think I’ll use one today.”

“Already?”

Kageyama nods with a hum and shuffles through the coupons until he finds the one he wants to use. He looks up at Kei with a shy smile as he hands it over to him. Kei doesn’t even have to read what it says, already knows what it is based on the drawing alone.

“Are you sure?”

Kageyama nods silently, blush dusting his cheeks. Kei gets unsure for a moment as his face heats up before he cups Kageyama’s cheek with one hand and they stare into each other’s eyes before he leans in to give his King a sweet, chaste kiss on the lips.

Their first one.

It lasts for a few sweet moments then Kei pulls away, just a little, resting his forehead against Kageyama’s.

“That’s first coupon used, Your Majesty.”

“Does that mean that I would need a coupon every time I want to kiss you, then?”

Kei huffs a soft laugh. “Nope,” he says, leaning in for another of many kisses to come.  

[kny-secret-santa2019]

From: @ozrockbitway

To: @kwarfish

~

hello!! I hope your christmas and holidays in general are amazing!! I hope my gift to you can also bring some good cheer ^v^/ hope you enjoy it and everything else that comes your way during this time of the year!!

anyway, here is a fic with modern obamitsu!! 

~

“Uwaah! Look, Iguro! Santa Claus is here!” Mitsuri practically squeals while pointing towards Santa, who had his own photoshoot ready in the center of the mall. There was a rather large backdrop, a tree too huge it was a miracle it even managed to get in here. Stuffed reindeers and huge presents that decorated the line to take a picture with him.

Obanai wasn’t as thrilled as she was. He took one look at the Santa and then the line that led up to him. It was nothing more than a headache in his eyes as it was filled with young kids and parents. He could even make out a few unhappy ones who were being forced into this by their parents while others were bouncing in place in their excitement to meet with dear old Santa Claus.

“Come on, Kanroji, let’s-”

“Iguro!”

As his name was shouted, her head turned, their eyes meeting. In hers were nothing but sparkles of determination, joy. A beautiful look but also one he knew too well. He had a feeling what was to come next.

“Let’s take a picture with him! I’m sure it’ll be so fun!” She chirped, her hands taking a hold of his. Warmth immediately spread throughout him upon her touch.

To anyone else, his response would have been along the lines of, ‘I’m a grown adult. I don’t want to take a picture with Santa Clause’. Which would be followed by degrading comments that would mostly likely deter them from wanting to take a picture.

But, this was Mitsuri he was speaking to and not some lowly trash.

As much as he he didn’t want to go along with this, he just couldn’t say no to her. It was something she wanted to do, it would make her happy, even if they were a little too old for this.

“Alright,” he breathed out. He kept a straight face, assuring that no signs of annoyance would be displayed for her to see. Of course, even if there was, it would all disappear once that huge smile broke onto her face.

Mitsuri cheered, still holding onto his hand and giving it a squeeze. After, he was instantly tugged towards the end of the line. She had kept a hold of his hand even after having pulling him along. Whether she was aware of it or not, Obanai wasn’t sure, but he wasn’t going to point it out.

“So, Iguro,” she starts, head turning to him. “What are you going to ask Santa for Christmas?”

“What am I going to ask from him?” He repeated. That was…a tough question. Obanai didn’t believe in Santa Claus. He knew the one they were going to take a picture with was just someone’s job to help out for the holidays. There was no point in telling this Santa what he wanted for Christmas. But, Mitsuri was waiting for his answer. He’d give her one.

“A new tank for Kaburamaru.”

“Aww you’re so sweet,” she said softly. “But that’s for Kaburamaru! What about you?”

“I guess…a new sweater would be nice.” It was generic enough and the truth. He needed a warmer one for the rest of winter. “And you?”

She responds with a hum, placing a finger against her lips. Eyes close as she thinks for a few seconds.

“I don’t think I can ask for food from Santa. And maybe…” Her cheeks begin to flush and she shakes her head to the thought. It intrigues Obanai, but unfortunately she doesn’t continue with it. “New socks! I’ve been wanting some longer ones lately.”

“I think Santa will get you some.” If not, he knew what he’d be getting her for Christmas. Now it was only about finding the right pair for her.

“Ah, we’re next!”

Mitsuri smiled, seeming just as giddy as some of the children in line. She was far too excited and received some strange looks by the parents. Obanai made sure they weren’t staring with a glare of his own back at them.

When it was their turn to go, Mitsuri tugged on Obanai until they were directed to be on opposite side of Santa Claus. Mitsuri was more than happy to sit upon his lap while Obanai chose to stand. Once Santa had spoken to both of them, it was time to take their picture. But first, Obanai had to slip a silent threat to the poor costumed worker. If he were to dare lay a single hand on Mitsuri, his whole career would be ended in minutes. Afraid of how serious the boy was about it, he made sure to leave his arm away from the girl. It didn’t help that Obanai was watching him like a hawk. The only time his eyes were peeled off of him were for the picture.

When it was done, Mitsuri happily jumped off his lap. “Thank you, Santa!” She said with a little bow before dashing off to see the pictures. Obanai only gave him a glare that he’d be haunted by for the rest of the evening.

“Oh my god, I love them!”

Obanai swears that he could see hearts coming from Mitsuri as she exclaimed that. The images were all the same, just different angles of the three together. Mitsuri smiling brightly, the only one clearly happy in the picture, Obanai had worn a serious and unmoving expression, and Santa could have seen more jolly, thankfully his beard made it seem like he was giving a wider smile. The only good thing that came out from this, Obanai thought, was Mitsuri’s place in the image.

“Do you think we can take them all?” Mitsuri asked.

“Yeah. We’ll take them.” Obanai was already beginning to pull out his wallet as he heard the girl gasp.

“You don’t have to pay for them, Iguro! It was my idea.”

“It’s fine.” He had to make sure not to let her get in a chance to say she wanted to pay for them. The pictures were a little pricey, too much for a mall Santa picture, so he figured it was best he spent his own money on this. He made sure to buy enough for both of them, going with the 'deal’ of getting two larger prints and a smaller one that had could be used for their wallets.

With their pictures in hand, they begin to leave this photo-op area and resume their walk around the mall. Before they walk too far, Mitsuri flings herself onto Obanai, pressing her body against his as she wrapped her arms around him.

“Thank you so much for taking a picture with me, Iguro,” she says softly. “I’ll make sure to always cherish them!”

His lips dare to curve upward and he wishes that he could hide that stupid smile forming. But for once…maybe he could let himself smile. For her.

Taking a picture with Santa Claus hadn’t been so bad after all.

[honeymoonjin]

enjoy your stay - chapter eleven

A/N - I don’t put links in anymore so that this comes up on search, but check the masterlist linked in my bio for links to every previous/future chapter.

Word count 3k (as usual). Tell me your thoughts! This was a very fun chapter to write. Honestly, probably my favorite chapter so far!

ENJOY YOUR STAY ↳Boss!Namjoon, Chef!Jin, Receptionist!Hoseok, Bellboy!Jimin, Bartender!Jungkook, Accountant!Yoongi, Photography student!Taehyung ↳Some inappropriate language and cursing. Later chapters have sexual content.

SUMMARY ↳Working the graveyard shift at a hotel isn’t the most exciting job in the world, but your coworkers are certainly happy to have you here.

CHAPTER ELEVEN ↳You grow closer to Yoongi when he helps you out with your terrible financial skills. Jungkook doesn’t like that one bit. When Namjoon sends you on an errand, you discover something unexpected.

“You can just sit anywhere, sorry, it’s a bit messy.” You bite your lip awkwardly as Min Yoongi steps into your cramped apartment and takes it in.

Before he had come over, you had spent the time since finishing your shift to clean up as much as you could, which mostly involved madly dashing around the house chucking everything on the floor into cupboards and closets. Strangely enough, Jungkook was an extremely clean kid, and all the unwashed clothing overflowing in the hamper was yours, and the dirty dishes in the sink from when you had cooked and never cleaned up.

Jungkook was out with a friend, a neighbor from back in his hometown that had stopped by while he was passing through, and you were glad he didn’t leave a mess for you to clean up. Man, that kid really loved doing laundry. It was a little concerning.

Yoongi had arrived exactly on time, though you confess you had spotted him in the carpark staring at his watch until two minutes til eight, which apparently gave him the exact amount of time he needed to take the elevator to your floor and knock right on the hour.

He perched gingerly on one of the chairs at your kitchen table, dumping his car keys on the tabletop and you join him nervously. He was dressed in a teal suit with an embossed pattern and unbelievably glossy shoes. You wished you had gotten out of your sweatpants and baggy sweatshirt while you had the chance.

“So,” he said with a sigh, “let’s rip the Band-Aid off. How poor are you?”

You blink dumbly. “That’s a little forward. Is that how you speak to all your clients?”

He quirks his eyebrows pettily. “It’s not how I talk to my paying clients, no.”

“Point taken. Although, to be fair, you’re well aware of the price I offered to pay.” You ignore his tired sigh and grab your laptop and pull up your bank account, wincing at the fact that the largest number had a minus in front of it. “It’s not looking so good, chief.”

He sighs, leans back to rock the chair on its back legs. “Y/n,” he begins patiently, “I’ve seen your weekly pay amount on the reports. Excuse my French, but how the fuck have you managed to spend this much money? Are you doing meth?”

Your face crumples. “No,” you mutter petulantly. “Besides, would I look this good if I was doing meth? I don’t think so.”

“Well, unfortunately for you, you don’t get a pretty person benefit,” he drawls sarcastically, but you count the fact that he doesn’t disagree a win.

“Well, I got stung with a particularly pricey car repair, and I’m buying groceries for two now, so…”

“You’re pregnant?”

You reel back in shock. “Wh- No, Jungkook lives here, now.” You furrow your eyebrows and pout at him. “You really think I’m a beautiful, pregnant meth addict? Words hurt, Min Yoongi.”

He pushes his tongue to one cheek and shakes his head good-naturedly, lips twitching a little. He clears his throat a little before speaking. “I only have thirty minutes, so let’s make this snappy.” He pulls your laptop towards him and you sit in a bewildered silence as he messes around with your bank account for a few minutes. “Alright,” he accounces, swiveling the laptop to show you, “I’ve set up an account for bills, an account for groceries, an account for savings, and a spending account. Then I’ve gone ahead and made some automatic payments into each account. All you have to do is change the amount that goes into each account according to your budget, then you’re sorted.” His eyes practically twinkle with self-satisfaction.

You twiddle your thumbs and nod, impressed. “Where do I find my budget?”

He tilts his head and freezes. After a minute of him searching your face only to find a blank stare, his mouth drops open. “You don’t have a budget?”

You think back, eyes darting up to the ceiling to concentrate. “I don’t know, I don’t think so. Nobody’s given me one. Where do I get one?”

You don’t think you’ve ever seen the light of triumph die so fast from someone’s eyes. “You don’t get one,” he sighs out, “you make one. You should have a budget at all times, it allows you to keep track of money and make sure you’re not spending more than you’re earning. Something you seem to desperately need.” He huffs out a laugh and shakes his head in despair. “You remind me so much of Hoseok. This whole time I thought I was attracted to men, turns out I was just attracted to idiots.”

You blush. “Oh, so you like m- Wait. That’s hurtful. Min Yoongi, more like Mean Yoongi.”

He flicks his tongue out, wetting his lips before he speaks in a teasing tone. “Mean Yoongi is stopping you from the serious threat of bankruptcy out of the kindness of his heart, so I’d be a little nicer to him.”

You glare and cross your arms. “Min Yoongi, more like Mean Yoongi, sir.”

He laughs. “You…” His mocking gaze softens, and you’re rewarded with his sweetest smile, the one with closed lips and his chin squishing up. “You really are something else, Y/n Y/l/n.”

Your blush comes back with a veangance and you can’t seem to stop from grinning like a maniac. You avoid his gaze, determined to win back the upper hand. “Anyway,” you deflect, speaking a little louder than needed, “I’ve said it before and I’ll most likely say it again, but I never expected you to do this for free.”

He gets the hint, leaning forward on the table, gazing at you curiously. “Why do you keep offering? I haven’t…been with a woman before, in fact I don’t even know if I’d like it, so it’s not like you’re going to enjoy it.”

You drop the playful act and return his stare. “You haven’t been with a woman before? Man, even I’ve had sex with women. Don’t you feel like…I don’t know, like you’re missing out?”

He breaks the prolonged eye-contact and focuses on a scratch in your table. “I didn’t.” Even though he’s looking down, you can see his eyes flicker back and forth before he comes to an apparent decision. “Okay,” he exclaims, looking back up at you with determined eyes, “here’s the deal: I save you from the verge of financial death, and in return, once you have a proper budget in place, you show me what I’ve apparently been missing out on.”

“Ha!” you exclaim, “I win! I knew I still had my womanly wiles. Wooing once-gay, now-bi-curious young men like it’s nothing.”

He puffs out a breath of air and pouts a little. “I really am attracted to morons, huh?” He glances at his watch, and stands up, adjusting his cufflinks. He rounds the corner of the table and places a hand on your shoulder awkwardly.

You look up at him in question. He takes a moment to collect himself, then bends down and places a single chaste kiss right on your lips. By the time your brain catches up with you, and your lips part in surprise, he’s already stood back up. “What was that?” you ask incredulously.

He raises his eyebrows at you like it’s obvious. “Foreplay.”

You jaw falls slack, and you’re struck silent. Finally, you let out a little hum of acceptance. “Huh. Min Yoongi plays the long game.”

He’s smiling at you, no, grinning, and your mind is still reeling with the feeling of his lips on yours, and then the door is opening, and Jeon Jungkook is coming in and freezing in the doorway.

You realize Yoongi’s hand hasn’t left your shoulder, and he’s standing directly in front of you. “Hi, Jungkook.”

Jungkook’s normally wide eyes are narrowed as they dart back and forth between the two of you. “What’s going on?” he questions suspiciously.

“I’ve been struggling a little bit with finances, so Yoongi kindly offered to help me out.”

“Well, it sure looks like he’s helping with something,” he replies, bitterness lacing his tone.

Yoongi removes his hand from you and steps back, but the tension in Jungkook’s jaw doesn’t ease. He steps away again, almost mockingly. “Listen, buddy, I was just on my way out, she’s all yours.”

Jungkook nods with a smug grin on his face. “That’s right, she is all mine, and next time you give her some private fucking counselling, you can keep your dirty paws off, got it?” He storms forward, shouldering past Yoongi roughly so that he stands between you two.

Yoongi ignores his antics and gives you a look. You curse internally. You’ve just spent the past half hour coming on to Yoongi and now Jungkook’s making it seem like you’re spoken for. Behind Jungkook’s back, you shake your head silently. Yoongi wets his lips, his gaze softening for a split second before he turns and narrows his eyes at the other boy. “I think you should calm down. Nobody likes a jealous ‘boyfriend’. I’ll see myself out.”

Jungkook doesn’t turn around to face you until the front door shuts again, leaving the apartment in tense silence. “I don’t want him coming around here anymore,” he states matter-of-factly.

You shake your head at him. “You don’t get to decide that.”

“Well, excuse me for being protective. You’ve been burned before, Y/n, I saw how upset you were after Jimin. I don’t want it to happen again with Yoongi, that’s all.”

You want to tell him nothing’s going to happen, but you bite your tongue. Lying never works out in the end, so you just stay silent.

He sighs patiently, then pulls up the chair Yoongi left, sitting away from the table across from you so your knees touch. “Baby,” he coos, “I just want you to be happy. I want us to be happy together.” He leans in and brings you in for a kiss, slow but domineering.

In the back of your mind you wonder if he could taste Yoongi on you, but that was absurd. Besides, he had already bypassed your lips to dip his tongue into your mouth, scooting his chair closer, pushing your legs open with his knees so that he could move his body as close as possible to yours. The same as every time this happens, his kiss makes your mind go blank and your instinct take over. You can’t think; the only neurons in your brain that are firing are the ones that say ‘more’.

His palms rest on either side of your face, and he tilts your head back to get a better angle. When you bite down on his lower lip and tug slightly, he growls in the back of his throat and the noise shoots straight down to your core.

His kisses get hotter and wetter and his touch grows feverish, hands moving down your side, over your breasts, and finally arriving at your hips, where he tucks his hands behind you and down over your ass to lift you off your seat and onto his lap.

The two of you let out a groan in unison when your crotch lands solidly on his. His hands lift again, but this time under your shirt instead of over it, and he begins pulling it over your head.

You raise your arms to aid him, but the clicking of the door opening causes the two of you to freeze. After you hear a familiar scoff, you hurriedly bat Jungkook’s hands away and pull down your shirt, peeking over to the open doorway.

Yoongi stands there, mouth set and jaw taut, and silently he stalks over to the table, where you realize that his keys still lie. He snatches them off the table and returns to the doorway. “My apologies for the intrusion,” he spits out, and slams the door behind him.

You’re left with an overwhelming sense of dread and shame, and you feel the fog of arousal lift.

Jungkook growls again. “I can’t believe that asshole, strutting into my apartment like he owns the place.”

You frown, pushing on his chest so you can get off his lap and stand up. “It’s not your apartment, Jungkook, it’s mine. I’m just letting you live here.”

He watches you step into the kitchen and start making yourself a cup of coffee. He follows you in. “It’s our place, noona. We’re in this together. It’s you and me against the rest of the world.”

He wraps his arms around your waist as you stand at the counter and rests his chin on your shoulder. You slam the spoon down irritably. “It’s not, Jungkook. What we did was fun, and I hope you had fun, but let’s not make this into some grand notion when it’s just not.”

His voice resonates in your right ear when he speaks. “Don’t be like that. You know I love you, noona. I want to make this work. Let’s be together. Don’t you want me?”

You push his face away, and he relents, letting go of you to lean back against the benchtop beside you instead. You don’t meet his imploring gaze. “I like you Jungkook, of course I do.”

His voice goes cold. “You fucked Yoongi, didn’t you?”

“What?” you exclaim incredulously. “No, Jungkook, I didn’t.”

He crosses his arms. “I was gone for the whole morning. I bet he had a shower after and got dressed just so I wouldn’t get suspicious.”

“Oh my god, Jungkook! Nothing happened. You need to calm down.”

“Don’t tell me to calm down,” he whines angrily.

“Well, you can’t accuse me of cheating every time you leave me alone! It’s not healthy, Jungkook.”

He scoffs and kicks the cabinets with his heel petulantly. “Stop treating me like a child,” he demands, voice rising into a shout, “you’re not my mother!”

“I’m fucking glad I’m not,” you shout back, “somebody should give her a goddamn medal for dealing with your needy ass for eighteen years!” You forget the coffee, leaving the spoon and mug on the countertop and leaving the kitchen, needing to get some distance.

When you reach your room, you shut your door and slide down against it, collapsing into a miserable heap on the floor. You shed some hot, angry tears, but it’s no match for the heartbroken wailing coming from the kitchen.

You don’t get any sleep that day.

When you left your room late that night to go to work, the apartment was empty, and your car was still in the carpark, which meant Jungkook had left early to take the bus.

You didn’t go anywhere near the bar throughout the whole shift, and although your other coworkers probably noticed the bags under your eyes and your melancholic disposition, they didn’t bother mentioning it.

The shift drags on, and although it feels like it should almost be over, you note that it’s only just gone midnight when you check the clock on Namjoon’s desk. As you glance at his desk, you see an interesting flyer for an art showing. You point it out, and Namjoon’s face lights up.

“Taehyung’s got his work up in a gallery,” he boasts with a proud smile on his face. “Well, it’s the university gallery, and it’s for his finals project, but I saw the photos when he was setting them out at home, and that kid’s got talent.”

“Is it paid admission?”

“Oh, I wouldn’t know,” he admits, “I haven’t got the time to actually go myself.” He pushes his glasses up the bridge of his nose in deep thought. “You know what, you should go.”

“Sorry?”

“It closes at 2 this morning, and I’m sure he’d love to see a familiar face. The hotel will survive you being gone an hour or so. Don’t worry, I’ll still pay you for your time.”

You give him a confused smile. “You’re going to pay me to look at your younger brother’s photos?”

He laughs good-naturedly. “Well, when you put it like that… I just don’t want him to think that nobody cares about his project, you know? He put so much time into it, and it’s really great. I’m still convincing him to let me buy them and display them around the hotel. Maybe you could sweet-talk him into it.”

“I’ll go,” you respond. You have no good excuse, well, no excuse you could tell him for why you didn’t really want to come face-to-face with his brother again, and besides, you were a little curious to see how his photos of the hotel turned out.

The university is only a short drive away, and the while the gallery looked pretty bleak and small from the outside, inside it was all hardwood flooring and sleek lighting. The exhibition wasn’t just photography, but sculptures, paints, and graphic prints too.

When you first saw Tae at the end of the wing, holding a flute of champagne and wearing pink-lensed glasses, a silk scarf and embroidered blouse, you couldn’t help but grin. He seriously was the complete stereotype of an artist. He was speaking with an overweight and underdressed man who looked completely entranced in Tae’s enthusiastic re-enactments of the process of taking each shot.

The photos themselves were the second thing you noticed. Like the ones you had come across in his hotel room, they used focus and lighting to give a strange sense of nostalgia. Maybe it was the fact that you had worked there for months now, but there was a haunting familiarity to each one that really took your breath away.

The moonlight reflecting off the pool as it was overtaken by leaves and budding flowers; the gleam of freshly shined shoes against lush patterned carpet; a white-gloved hand reaching up to grab a room key; an eye glancing to the side with a neon vacancy sign in its rounded reflection.

You pause in the middle of the gallery, ignoring the people milling around you. There was a little mole on the inner curve of the nose. A mole you saw every day in the mirror.

Why did Taehyung have a photo of you in his exhibition?

TAGLIST (send me an ask or message to be added, and you’ll get notified each time I update EYS).

@xxqueenwxtchxx

@fandomarchive00

@cvbachacbitch

@echimozart

@thisgirlis-shy

@sweetcheeksdna

@boononx

[surveys-at-your-service]

Survey #237

just a warning beforehand this survey has some probably tmi stuff.

Which is better: good 'ole southern food or sea food? Despite coming from and still living in, I legitimately enjoy almost NO southern food. Absolute garbage. I don't enjoy much sea food either though, save for shrimp, so I guess that. Have you ever had a very strong spiritual experience? I dunno. What do you think you want to major in at college? I'm an Art & Design major right now. Minor in? English is my minor currently. What song do you have on repeat lately? Quite a lot, actually. What’s something important you could be doing now? I could be working on finishing the draft to my Writing paper and this week's Art History chapter, but... yeah. I procrastinate all to hell, but I "justify" it with me having SO much extra time in the library while Mom takes her classes that I have a great deal of time to just do everything in there. How do you feel about Circuit City going out of business? I have zero clue what that is. About how often do you go on cleaning sprees? LOLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL what're those? What’s the best story you’ve gone over in an English class? The Outsiders. Is your house haunted? Don't think so. What kind of tissues do you prefer? At least thicker as a single sheet of wet paper and soft. But ultimately it's nota a big deal. What face wash do you use? I prefer the Biore charcoal scrub, but I've been out of that for like... ever, and it's pricey, so we haven't bought any more. So now I use this peach scrub stuff Mom gets. I don't like it much because it's kinda abrasive, so probably bad for my skin, but it at least makes it feel cleaner. Do you reject Satan? I don't even know if a head demonic entity exists. Got no opinion on him. Are you violent? Far from it. Do you use google search or yahoo? Google. Was your step mother terrible? Her political views are fucking trash, but she herself is a wonderful person. Do you know anyone who doesn’t care about anything but themselves? HMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM Are you single? If no who are you dating and for how long? I'm single for now. I don't believe prayer or "good vibes" have any power, but nevertheless, I almost DO pray Sara and I will come back together once she figures herself out and one of us is brave enough to move. Do you enjoy going for walks? Nowadays, no, but only because I'm still recovering from muscle atrophy in my legs, so it hurts quiiite a bit. But in a way, yes, I do enjoy walking as I know it's good for my legs, but it's still painful - but improving immensely. Before it started to get real bad, I fucking loved going on walks down the path by Sara's. When it wasn't cOLD AND WINDY AS A MOTHERFUCKER What are your favorite accessories? Do piercings count? If yes, totally those. And spiked chokers are fucking hot. I'll wear mine again someday, just fkn watch me. Do you wear makeup on a regular basics? Not at all. I am asking for *genuinely* black eye shadow and also quality black lipstick for Christmas, though, for when I do wear makeup. Ours suuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck. When was the last time you really established your favorite TV show? Oh, idk. It's been years. Write one lyric that really explains the way your life is going as of now? HAHA I'm actually listening to NSP's "Danny Don't You Know" right now and if "you're just going through an awkward phase from 12 to 29" aIN'T ME- Do you ever have any fantasies that involve certain celebrities? Who? Yes. Take an. idk. Wild guess. You can read like one or two of my surveys and already be absolutely sure lmao What is your favorite brand of shoe? Where can you buy these shoes? Converse, and... multiple places?? Does anyone ever judge you for something you naturally cannot help? Oh, I'm sure. Do you support homosexuality in general? Why do you or why don't you? Of fucking course I do. It's natural, and especially after realizing I was bi and experiencing a genuinely loving female-female relationship, I've only grown more ferocious in standing for gay rights. Fuckin try to tell me I can't love her without some sky demon firing me into Hell for it. I'll bring sunscreen. If you had your own personal dance crew, what would you name it and why? I dunno??? Has anyone ever called you an exact replica of one of your parents? Agree? No. Have you ever claimed to be in love when you knew you really weren’t? NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO. I don't joke around with that shit. If you had the chance to meet an annoying celebrity, would you still do it? No?????? Why would I want that??????????? Do you ever lie in the grass during summer or are you afraid of ticks? 1.) That sounds boring and too hot and 2.) I'm fucking terrified of all parasites, so ticks are zero exception. Does it bother you when you see slutty girls getting all the cute guys? *chaotic eye twitching* In winter, would you rather wear jacket or hoodies? Why is this? HOODIES! Mega cozy. Would you consider yourself a good singer or are you tone deaf? Depends on the song, but generally, I don't think I'm real good. My voice isn't stable. Do you think regrets are better left unspoken or should they be out loud? Y'know, a real good question for once. I think maybe... it depends, I guess? Some things are just better unsaid, sometimes vice-versa. I suppose it depends on who you're telling, too. What color is your remote? Does it have any special/interesting features? Uh I know it's black, but that's it. I never use the TV. Name a time when you cried the most: The night of the breakup when Mom drove out to get me (I was walking to his house to talk bc she wouldn't take me), and she had to physically hold me down when we got in the house because I dashed and she knew I was about to do something stupid. I just fucking collapsed. That night is so blurry, but I'll never forget the crying. Fucking NOBODY deserves to go through that goddamn night. What color is your keyboard? It's black, though the keys are rimmed with red light. Have you ever thought about suicide? Too many times. Please please please please seek help if you have even a moment's consideration about it. How do you feel about Obama? I don't know much about him politically, but he was funny as fuck, I do know that. Seems like a chill dude. What was the last lie you told? I dunno, something little. Name 3 things in your purse (or wallet): My Harley Quinn wallet, hand sanitizer, aaaaand my keys. What time does your favorite TV show come on? *shrug* Where is the scariest place you’ve ever been? I haven't been to many seriously "scary" places, honestly... so idk, really. Do you like string cheese? NO. What color was the coolest insect you’ve seen? No clue. Probably some butterfly or moth. Do you own any pink clothing? ... How do I not know this. How do you usually style your hair? It's directed to the right with no part through it and swoops over/close to my right eye. Do you use anything to whiten your teeth? I'm also asking for whitening strips for Christmas. .-. Ah, how gift desires change as you grow. I took awful care of my teeth during the worst of my depression, so yeah, I need them. I'm honestly stunned they're in a decent condition now. Have you ever collaborated with anyone on a project (not for school)? Hmm, don't believe so. What is (going to be) your career? I refuse to drop my career aspiration of a photographer. Not giving up on that no matter what. What is the difference between an alligator and a crocodile? Crocodiles' teeth protrude both upwards and downwards over their lips while alligators' only show downwards; crocs have a more tapering snout, alligators' are more rounded; and crocs are generally bigger. I didn't obsessively watch Animal Planet for nothing, y'all. :^) Were you breastfed as a baby? Yeah. That woman had five goddamn kids with no epidural or anything. She ain't afraid of no pain, and she's also like, MEGA into child health, safety, etc., and while formula-feeding is completely fine and valid, it's factual breast milk is a lot healthier for babies. What does your favorite shirt look like? Man, that's hard to pick. My most comfortable and well-fitting one is a Metallica "King Nothing"-inspired design, which is black and just has some gnarly skull designs 'n shit on it. HA HA WAIT, found it! This is it. Just a few days ago though, my mom's coworker went to the NSP 10th anniversary show in Chicago AND SHE GOT ME A FUCKING SHIRT BC SHE KNOWS I LOVE THEM AND I LOVE IT SO MUCH I SQUEALED SO LOUD AND SMILED MY FACE IN HALF. What is the cutest breed of puppy in your opinion? Do not EVEN with this, omfg I couldn't even try. What is the cutest baby animal in general? Have you, like, SEEN baby meerkats????????????? They're not the cutest for the first, like, two weeks (BUT still cute!!), but once they're outside the burrow? Jesus fuckin CHRIST they are the cutest creatures known to the galaxy and beyond. If we're talkin' like, cutest from birth, maybe cats. I adore kittens. Do you have some sort of odd fascination with anything? Perhaps my "strangest" is what's referred to as "vulture culture," which is essentially using naturally-deceased (usually wild) animals for art, such as those popular crystal-covered skulls, necklaces, creative use of wet specimens, stuff like that. I find some odd beauty and respect in creating art of the dead - it's like... making death beautiful and honoring the creature by immortalizing it in an art form. I personally photograph roadkill (that shit's confused the fuck outta drivers lmao) with the goal of forcing the brutality of it onto viewers and just make you think "okay yeah I need to drive more carefully." I don't know if that technically qualifies as vulture culture as I don't really... use the corpses, but nevertheless, I really enjoy doing it. I do kinda question the morality of it, like you can't ask an animal "hey do you wanna be art when ur dead?", so you're left to decide for it, but I think I lean ever so slightly more towards it being respectful, showing the beauty of its life. I WANT TO SAY HOWEVER, I DO FUCKING NOT support hunting trophies. I even question taxidermy outside of being from hunting considering you're not really making art, something new, some sort of message, out of it. There's no creative purpose other than to show "hey look at this dead animal!!", and besides that, it kinda creeps me out. Wow sorry for the ramble, I'm just into this stuff. Who was the last person to text you? Sara. What did they say? Paraphrased, that life has been a serious cunt to her lately. Which is true. have you ever broken someones heart? He fuckin acted like it after two goddamn weeks. I suppose maybe Jason, though I can't really tell you that since he fucked off after the breakup, so it's not like I was around him. I'll admit his health and general demeanor was withering as time led up to it (I knew something was wrong, he'd just never tell me), so he was obviously suffering. I feel awful for that shit, seeing I was apparently that goddamn stress-inducing. Had yours broken? LMAOOOOOOOOOOOOO I think the whole Internet knows, oops. Do you consider past relationships a waste of time? No. Well, maybe just one. I kinda wanna say Tyler was, but then again, as I was healing, it showed exactly what I would not tolerate. So I guess it had a silver lining. Do you think you’ll be around to see the world end? I wanna say no, but I wouldn't be surprised. It's gonna be climate change (reason #1 for me), the super volcano finally blowing, or nuclear war. Scientifically, we are far, far, far from overdue for another mass extinction anyway. Do you believe in second chances? Yeah, sometimes. Depends. Do you swear? Way more than needed. Swearing a lot just became part of my normal vernacular through exposure to Jason and his family lmao. I was just about always there, and whew does his mom swear like a sailor. Italian New Yorker to the core. To me, "swear words" are just normal vocabulary. What is the nearest photo to you of? A family of meerkats on my wall. Are you good at being quiet? Sure? Who has your heart? I'm guessing you mean romantically? Two people are tearing at it, then. One that's fuckin stupid and needs to stop. Do you like it that way? No. No. Sara is, realistically, the best match for me and a very healthy partner for me. But now that for whatever goddamn reason Jason sneaked back into the picture (metaphorically; he hasn't reached out or anything), hints of obsession/addiction are coming back. I know it's fucking creepy, but I was legitimately obsessed with him. I sent him a perfectly polite and genuine email of ME apologizing to HIM, and I guess that just shot my feelings back up. God, typing this makes me realize to a fuller degree that this is an awful idea. Where is this person? Sara's probably at home; hell if I know where the other is. When was the last time you saw them? I saw Sara this past February. Jason, not since February of '17. Do you prefer desktops or laptops? Laptops because of portability. Sunrise, or sunset? I think maybe sunrise, considering the colors tend to be more pastel. But both are gorgeous. What kind of mood are you in? A confused as hell one. The Jason thing is driving me insane, and TMI WARNING I've been dealing with a fucking ginormous libido that I'm guessing sprouts from my new birth control, and it led me to doing to thing I said I'd never ever do because I only want to share that experience with my partner. Y'know, the "m" word. Saying it feels too weird and dirty. That's the problem: it's so instilled in my head that masturbation is lustful and just "wrong" that my brain is still trying to process that it's okay and natural and, as I found, relieving. I had to look it up and everything to convince my shameful ass I wasn't being "dirty." Hey, on that note: Planned Parenthood offers way goddamn more than abortion, friends. I swear it's beyond wild what I used to believe. But yeah ANYWAY, I'm just feeling weird and still kinda "tail between my legs" today. Do you like fans that blow directly on you or oscillate? Depends on how hot I am. What is one thing you worry about most in long-term goals? "not having enough money to get there.." <<<< YUP this. Right before you fall asleep, what is your usual position? It's hard to tell considering you're falling into unconsciousness... but I THINK on my left side, hugging an edge of the blanket to me. When you have sex, do you keep your eyes closed or open when finishing? I wouldn't know; I've only ever been on the brim before freaking out and we stopped because I was literally scared of how overwhelming the feeling was. That and my family was home and I was having trouble staying quiet lmao. When you have mail do you open the biggest one first, or doesn’t matter? Uhhhh. I honestly don't get mail enough to answer this. I'd probably go for the smallest? When you wake up what is the first thing you usually look for? My phone. Think of the last habit/addiction you quit. What replaced it? Hm. I really don't know. Your phone rings but you don’t know the number, would you answer it? No sir-ree. Do you always take a shower after you have sex? I didn't always back then. Do you let your girl/boyfriend drive, or do you prefer to? 1.) I don't drive and 2.) I'm single. The last time you had sex was it in the morning, afternoon or night? Hell if I remember.