#and sleep until the trees are blooming again

[microfeelings]

👁👄👁

[frannyzooey]

Joel Miller x f!reader

Rating: E

A/N: Thank you to the incomparable @bageldaddy who not only looked this over for me, but who also inspired the entire idea by being such a inspiring, delicious Joel Miller whore. This one is for you ❤

--

“Stop squirmin’,” he scolds, a hard hand on your hip. 

You’re trying not to, but tension builds between your bodies, the solid wall of his chest rising and falling along your spine. So close you can feel heat leeching through his clothes, his warm breath skims along the nape of your neck and a damp throb beats thick and distracting between your legs. 

Slow, steady breaths are all you have, and so you take them. 

In and out. In and out. 

His hips shift when he zips up the sleeping bag along the side and when his lap nudges you from behind, you hold your breath and clench your eyes tight, your thighs squeezing together. 

The masculine scent pressed into his clothing fills your senses, the strength in his solid form enveloping you in a protective press when he slings his arm around you in an attempt to get comfortable, and struggling to quell the need building deep between your hips, you squirm. 

Waiting a beat, you do it again. 

“Come on now,” he scolds, impatience slipping into his tone. “I know it’s not ideal, but it’s all we got. You need more room, or somethin’?”

That drawl of his is driving you crazy, just as arousing as the constant frown you know he has on his face right now. His sternness shouldn’t turn you on as much as it does, and yet it constantly plagues you: is he always this stern? In every situation?

“No, I’m good,” you reply, letting out a sigh. 

You’re really not, but in order for you to be okay, he’d have to be outside the sleeping bag, and so you try to still yourself again, focusing on the sounds of the night. 

Weeks spent traveling together, it’s now a familiar background that often lulls you to sleep: the soft chirp of crickets, the rustling of leaves, the creaking of trees as they sway gently in the breeze. Up until now, you’d gotten away with sleeping separately on the ground but tonight marks the first truly cold one of the season and when he rolled out the single sleeping bag, you bit your lip. 

“It’s a double,” he said gruffly, kneeling to spread it out. “Plus, it’s all we have.”

You knew it would be a tight fit, but this is unbearable. 

His hand twitches, the heavy weight of it brushing just underneath your breasts and your nipples tighten into sensitive peaks underneath your layers. His hand is so close, you can’t help but imagine how it would feel if he slid it up just enough to touch you. 

Taking another slow breath, you try not to move. 

“You sure we can’t light a fire?” you ask.

“Now why am I gonna tell you no?” He sounds exasperated, a tone he uses more often than not with you. 

The closeness of his mouth to your ear has his deep voice sending a shiver through your torso every time he speaks and needing him to be quiet if you’re going to survive this night, you don’t answer. 

He lifts his knees, the front of his thighs coming in contact with the back of yours and the brush of his lap against your ass has you biting back a moan that almost crawls out of your throat. You fit the cradle of it perfectly, and if you really focus, you swear you can feel him through your layers of clothing. 

With that image filling your mind, you try to press your thighs together in hopes of relieving the ache between them, but not only does the squirming ratchet the heat higher, it earns you another scold.  

“You gotta stop.” 

A slight plea to his words, his hand settles on your hip again, but this time his fingers accidentally brush the hem of your shirt up in his haste to stop you from moving and you bite your lip at the warm, dry heat of his palm on your bare skin. All sensation centers on that point of contact, and you feel a fresh wave of dampness creep into the crotch of your underwear. 

“Sorry,” you apologize quietly. 

Restless with want, arousal blooms through your system: starting slick and sticky between your thighs, it spreads low and heavy between your hips, travels with tingling heat through the tips of your breasts, and envelopes your head in a dazed cloud of need. You close your eyes, attempting to will it away, but it only makes all your other senses heighten. 

You feel his presence even more: the weight of his arm around you, the damp heat of his mouth near the delicate skin of your neck, the sound of his breathing. Moving on their own accord, your hips shift again, connecting with his and he lets out a sigh.

“You sleepin’ on a rock, or somethin’?” he asks, propping himself up on his elbow. Taking the space he’s left, you roll onto your back to face him and instant recognition registers on his face. He frowns, his stern expression causing another wave of sticky wetness to gather between your thighs. 

“That why you’re so squirrelly?” The register of his voice has dropped lower, more intimate in the darkness yet no less forgiving. “If so, you’ll just have to deal with it later. You ain’t the only one who’s uncomfortable here.”

Your eyes drop down from his face to where you think his crotch must be, automatically seeking confirmation of his words as if you could actually see anything and his head tilts in silent reprimand at the action, his frown deepening. 

“I told you no.”

He did. He said it weeks ago after you kissed him by the fire, again after you took his hands in yours and pressed them along your body in the saddle, again after you kissed him with urgency after a close call in the last town. Every one of those times he responded with his own need: blatant and wanting, all low groans and rough lips and hands and touches, until he pulled himself back. 

“Wouldn’t be right,” he said.

“I’d be takin’ advantage of you,” he said. 

Like you didn’t know your own body. Like you couldn’t make up your own mind. 

He looks down at you for a long moment, the silence heavy between you in your wordless standoff and right when he’s about to lay back down, you speak. 

“Please.”

You almost don’t recognize your voice with how helpless it sounds, breathless with need. 

Dark eyes searching yours, they study your own for a weighted beat and the thing that’s been growing for weeks between your bodies pulls taut: a string, ready to snap. 

You throb and ache, squirming next to him. So, so empty. 

“If I do it, you’ll go to sleep?”

“I promise,” you hastily agree.

His jaw shifts under his sparse beard, his expression contemplative and then his eyes scan the darkness around you for a moment, making sure it’s all clear. 

“Undo your pants.”

You’ve never obeyed a command faster in your life, already reaching under the covers to fumble with your belt. Your fingers trembling, his dark eyes drag down the parts of you he can see and his hand covers yours, stopping you. 

“So needy.” The words are said to himself with a slight shake of his head that has you squirming again, and he pushes your hands out of the way, making room for his own. There is a weighted feel to them against your skin where his knuckles brush against your belly, his fingers working open the button of your jeans and you let out a shuddering breath, the liquid heat between your thighs flaring bright. 

Jeans open for his access, he keeps his eyes on your face when he slowly slips his hand down the front of them, pushing beneath the band of your underwear. When his fingers find the damp, warm heat that greets him, a pained look crosses over his features. 

“So fuckin’ wet, and I ain’t even hardly touched you yet.”

He is touching you, you want to argue, but the words are caught in your mouth when he slides his hold lower, his broad hand cupping you wholly between your legs. The thick tips of his fingers press heavily against your entrance, and you widen your legs to give him more room. 

“Goddamn,” he breathes out, swallowing hard. 

His middle finger dips into your slick seam, immediate wetness covering the digit before he drags it through your folds with a testing stroke and your back nearly arches off the ground, needing so much more yet not being able to breathe with what he is doing. He slips it inside you, just down to the second knuckle, and then he’s sliding his soaked finger up to your clit, finding it with ease. 

Your hips jerk up to meet it, the calloused pad of his finger providing instant relief. Your head falls back, your throat straining with the effort to be quiet. 

“Feels good, huh.”

There is a smugness to his tone that you think faintly should bother you, but it doesn’t. Instead, your body responds in a wholly different way, wanting nothing more to find out what else he seemingly already knows about how to make you feel good. 

“Tell me, or I stop.” 

The harsher tone of his words brings you back to the present, and you frantically nod, eager to obey.

“Yes. Yes, it feels good.” The roughed pad of his middle finger is swirling firm, neat circles just over your clit, the texture and intensity just right and when you answer him, he rewards you with a second finger. Arching your hips into it, your mouth drops open, a silent cry forming in your throat. 

“That’s my girl,” he praises, his hooded eyes looking down at you. 

His fingers speed up, quickly slipping down between your thighs to coat his fingers with arousal before bringing them back up again and your hands find his wrist beneath the sleeping bag, holding on while he swirls, swirls, swirls. 

So wet you can hear it, you’re sticky and slick underneath his touch, and it’s almost clinical  with how quickly he’s going to make you come. Your thighs starting to tremble, his dark eyes never leave your face and chasing his touch, you focus on the centered need he’s building deep within you. 

Still so empty you could cry, your breasts tighten under your sweatshirt, and when you imagine how the cold air would feel on them paired with the contrast of his hot, wet mouth, you pull tight with your release, your hand tightening in its hold on his wrist. 

“It’s –,” you beg him, “I’m so close.” 

Your mouth slack as his thick, calloused fingers work, work, work, he dips his head, his mouth resting just beside your ear. 

“Come on, honey. Just give it to me. I know you want to.”

The rough rasp of his voice is deep enough to pierce through the fog he’s built in your brain, your fingers curling into the front of his shirt to hold onto something as you start to tip over the edge. Right when you’re on the cusp, he slides his fingers lower and fills you swifty with three and the startled cry that breaks free from your throat doesn’t even hit the air before he covers your mouth with his. 

He swallows every low moan, every hitch in your breathing, every hot puff of air you let out as he pumps his fingers to wring every last drop of release from your trembling body and even when he slides his fingers out, his mouth still doesn’t stop. Coated with your slick, his hand smears damp across your jaw as he presses you into place and takes, his tongue sliding hungrily against yours. 

Your own taste is thick on your tongue when he pulls back, and breathless and spent, you’re finally blissfully pliant and loose beside him in the sleeping bag - but not for long. 

Slipping his fingers into his mouth, you blink your damp eyelashes up at him as you watch him suck on them with a low, satisfied groan. The lewd action paired with the deep sound, his eyes are still on your face when he pulls them from his mouth to reach back down into the sleeping bag.

“Feel better?” he asks, and though you don’t even know how to begin to answer that question, you find yourself nodding anyway.

As if nothing happened, he grasps your jeans and gives them a perfunctory, swift tug, putting you back together. Lifting your hips in a daze, you let him. 

Satisfied, he positions you on your side again, facing away from him and settling down behind you, he drags you tight to his chest with a thick arm banded around your waist. 

A thick, solid heft is felt between the two of you, pressed against your ass and his usual gruff voice softens, but only just. 

“Good. Now go to sleep.”

[itsonlydana]

"Flower On My Skin" | hobbit

pairing: Thranduil x human fem!reader 👑

Thranduil gets his hair braided and thinks too much.

warnings/tags: bittersweet, more fluff tho, swf, King Thranduil needs a break

words: 1,9k

an: this is a gift for the lovely @tigereyesf who always comments on my posts on ao3 🤍 the lyrics are from Noah Kahans song "Your needs, my needs'

+ masterlist +

🌿 reposts and comments are appreciated, they motivate me a lot and keep me writing <3

Thranduil understands that permitting you to be near him might not be wise. It could very well rank among the least advisable decisions he's made in ages.

But he did, he invited you again and again, sending horses and carriages to transport you ever since he found out you traveled all the way from Dale by yourself whenever he sent a letter.

Until he didn't need to anymore.

Not because you wouldn't come, but because you didn't leave.

Never in a million years would anyone have guessed that the stoic Elvenking would invite a human to his palace on more occasions than his own kind and surely no one would have ever thought that he would start courting them.

Yet here he was, sitting in one of his many blooming gardens, swatting away the hand that was currently trying to gather his hair.

"Stop this," Thranduil's stern voice would've had any other shiver in fear of losing their head, though it only makes you giggle.

"Please, let me braid it again," you stable yourself with your hands on his shoulders and lean over, chest pressed against his strong back.

"No, you little nuisance. I shall not! You know of the meeting I will attend later, we do not have the time."

Even though he can't see your face, he knows you roll your eyes at him, he can feel it in the huff you let out before letting go of him. The warmth of your body disappears as you stand up from the bench and throw one challenging look over your shoulder.

Thranduil watches how you lift the skirts of the gown you're wearing, the finest of silks that you've adorned with little handmade bows from the village, and flop down into the grass. There is not one care on your face that the hems will surely stain and that there are perfectly suitable marmor benches all over the garden and only one of those occupied by Thranduil himself.

You seem to ignore them every time you two spend time out here, he noticed you are much more content with your naked feet buried in the high grass and your hair intertwined with the flowers that grow here.

At first, he couldn't understand the fascination you harbored with nature.

Of course, he had a deep appreciation for the forest surrounding his kingdom, the strong resistance of the trees had been an inspiration for the winding halls, the water flowing through the roots and gifting life and the ever so steady wind reminded someone who lived a thousand years that some things, though they change, never completely disappear.

You, on the other hand, could not be separated from nature in any way whatsoever. There had been the flowers, first only on your side of the bed when he'd invited you to sleep next to him, and one day he woke up to find a vase filled with Astilbe flowers on his nightstand and on his vanity as well.

You also spend most of your day either wandering through the woods (which left him restless and worried until you accepted the sword he had his blacksmith forge for you) or meeting him here in the gardens. He would never tell you but before you, he hadn't walked or maker-forbid, sat there for decades.

Now, he found himself soaking sunshine more days than not, reading Elvish poetry to you while you rested curled into his side with one of his hands brushing your hair, or, chasing you on his Elk through the forest, following the sound of your horse and your laughter.

Your infatuation with nature and the stubbornness of pulling him along made him fall for you, deeply and most ardently and he knew that one day he would need to survive the sight of forests and gardens and flowers without the urge to burn them to the ground for outliving you.

As he watches you examine the colorful flowers and gather them in your lap, he isn't sure if he will be able to contain that anger against the gods if the time comes.

You are oblivious to the dark clouds hanging onto his thoughts, he makes sure that you'll never see the heartbreak he lives through while loving you because he knows, he knows that you would do everything in your power to make him happy.

This is who you are, a human that lives and loves and pours all that you are into those around you, he sees it in the gentleness of your hands cupping the flowers before plucking them, in the way your tongue learned a new language for you wouldn't accept not studying it for an answer if you lived here.

You live to love and love to live.

Thranduil shifts, forgetting that there are guards stationed around the gardens who could see their King doing the unthinkable but he doesn't care.

Not with you sitting a few feet away from him, your dress spilled around you, a full smile on your face as you collect the flowers growing there for you, their little heads turning to you as if you are the sun for them as well, and not just for Thranduil.

If you notice him standing up, you give no sign, you don't even stop humming, and the smile that tugs at the corners of his mouth at this stubbornness is far too strong to stop it.

"Melethril nîn," he says quietly and his shadow falls over your body. The symbolism and fear of him taking away the sun from you has him clench his jaw. His pain is impatient as if it doesn't know he's going to live longer than he wants to and that it has all the time to break him down.

He quickly shuts those thoughts away behind the sight of you tipping your head back to smirk at him.

This is not the time to dwell on the future, not if he can exist in the moments he shares with you instead of fearing the time when he'll have to think back on them.

"Don't tell me you missed me," you tease.

He scoffs and –surprising you enough to let out a squeak– lowers himself onto his knees next to you.

Eye to eye, he feels much more comfortable, despite the stains that he knows now graze his robes.

"You know," he starts and lets his gaze wander over the flowers in your lap, however, you managed to collect this many of them in such a short time awes him, "the meeting can wait."

You catch onto the meaning instantly, your eyes lightening up even more. The golden rays of the setting sun reflect in them and he reaches forward to cup your face in the palm of his hand and gently leans towards you, capturing your lips in a long kiss that has you gasping.

"Now," Thranduil swipes his thumb over your lower lip, as you separate, tugging playfully at it and giving into another kiss before he continues, "Have your way with my hair, my love. I know you did not collect those flowers for any other reason."

You gasp ingeniously. "You are by far the wisest Elf I've ever met," you say and scoot –maker, he makes a note to get another dress just like this made because surely this will be ruined by the time you leave the gardens– behind his back.

While you gather his hair in your hands, this time without him trying to stop you but relaxing into the soft tugging, you mumble: "So wise, they should make you King."

He chuckles at that. "Ah, but I would need a Queen by my side. Do you know where one could find on–ahhh," his teasing words get swallowed by a sigh as your fingers collect some fine hairs on the side of his head and surely completely on accident run over the shell of his ear to the delicate tip.

"Ooops," you sing and just as his body calms, you repeat the action, even have the gall to scratch the skin with your nails and he melts into a puddle.

His ears burn, not just the one your breath hits but the other one as well and he can feel the blood shoot into his face as well, crumbling the stoic and straight-laced composure of the King who is already on his knees.

"You witch," he presses out between his clenched teeth and hears you giggle. "I should have never told you about that," he murmurs more to himself, trying to regulate his heart beating inside his chest like a wild rabbit on the loose.

You laugh once, a "Pah!" while you tug on his hair, "You didn't tell me," you say and he feels something get pushed inside the braid you are working on, "I found out all by myself."

Thinking back to the night that started this completely outrageous behavior trait of you fiddling with his ears whenever he doesn't pay you enough attention or he says something that teases you a bit too much, he can't tell if you are right or him.

A few years ago he would have shut you down completely because the King would never be wrong but now he grumbles under his breath, agreeing that you must be correct.

Then again, there are many new things that you brought into his life.

He laughs more freely, and not just out of spite of viciously.

He cares more, for you, for his son, for nature and sometimes even for the dwarfs he trades with.

He is formed by you, shaped by your untamable ways of never letting a rainy day ruin your mood.

He is nothing but wax in your hands.

Here, sitting in the gardens and letting you weave flowers in his precious hair, he is no King, he is just a soul yearning for your touch, a flower reaching to bloom in your golden light.

Thranduil's eyes flutter shut as you braid and weave and run your hands over his scalp and through his hair.

He may have fallen asleep, lulled into a trance by the warm sun caressing his face and your voice humming a melody as sweet as any words that you speak, because when you let go of the delicate braids and let them fall into the rest of his hair, he opens his eyes to a pink and purple sunset.

The birds sing their last song and the trees rustle, shaking their branches and leaves as if they would ready themselves for the animals coming to rest in them.

There is a pleasantly chilled breeze that comes with nightfall, one that brings the smell of flowers and grass.

"There," you press a gentle kiss to the skin right behind his left ear, "all done."

For a moment Thranduil is disappointed that you are finished but then he turns to find your smile and all is right.

"Thank you, meldanya," he says, already closing in to express his gratitude with a soft kiss.

You nudge your nose against his, eyes shut in contentment. "Thank you, for letting me. Le ni meleth," you say quietly.

"Always," Thranduil's gaze wanders over you, bathed in rosé and golden hues, the cheeks flushed from the air, your hair wild and untamed, and flowers all over your lap. He grabs a few of them, inspecting the stems and probing them with his sharp nails.

"Let me repay the favor," he effortlessly lifts you, smiling wide at the laugh bursting out of you as he sets you between his legs and onto his robes.

"I want my Queen to wear a fitting crown."

[illyrian-dreamer]

And Then There Were None – Part 1

Azriel/fem!reader

Synopsis: In the lead up to the war, Hybern releases a catastrophic spell that wipes out all humans, sparing just one.

Abandoned in the desolate human lands, you scavenge to survive long enough to find your family.

Reluctantly, you are found by the Shadowsinger as fate intervenes to guide you under his watchful eye.

Part 2>>>

Word count: 3.2k

Warnings: Death, blood, suggestions of miscarriage

Twigs snapped beneath your boots, your steps heavy with exhaustion as you stumbled through yet another town, as barren and deserted as the last one. 

Exhaustion and dehydration weighed heavy, wisps of dust caking your skirts, your boots the only thing to disturb the rubble in days. 

There was no concern for a carriage that might pull up behind, or a bossy merchant to yell at you to clear the path. While the ghosts of the life that once flourished echoed in closed shops and abandoned stalls, you stopped looking over your back days ago.

There were no plumes of smoke from chimneys, no distant chatter or laughter or cries. Safe from the occasional grunts or mews of abandoned cattle - there was not a single sign of life, and no human in sight for the past ten days.

A jarring cramp ripped from your abdomen, pulling you from delirium with urgency.

Water, food, bathe and sleep. That was why you were here.

You tried not to think about how quickly resources were depleting, even though you were sure you were the only one using them. Without people to treat water, the stagnant liquid became increasingly dangerous. And you couldn’t farm a vegetable to save your life, and had spent too long journeying to have tended to any crops.

You’d have to go further into the woods soon, find a fresh stream, perhaps hunt too. But you'd need strength for that, and you had just about run out.

At least it was spring, and at least the trees bloomed with fruit as you travelled from town to town, feet blistered and chapped. You cursed you parents for not teaching you formidable survival skills - fighting, hunting, even the ability to ride a gods damned horse would have been an incomparable luxury these past hellish days. 

A clang of guilt, and frustration quickly churned to longing. Gods, you hoped they were alive. You would do anything to have them here, to journey this devastating isolation together, the little ones too. You prayed to the Mother for the umpteenth time that day that they were safe and well. 

It was not a concern when you woke to an empty house almost a fortnight earlier. Your father was likely at the market, your mother hard at work at the tailor in town. Your siblings were hard to catch at this time of year, with school out of term and the warm spring air, they would spend each waking moment by the river if your parents let them. 

It wasn't until you spotted your fathers wheelbarrow through the speckled glass of your kitchen window, held by rotting wood. Empty and unmoved, his tools lay flat on the ground, untouched since the day before. You could have sworn he told you he’d be at the market by dawn. 

Scanning the room, your eyes flicked to the doorway where your mothers workbag lay untouched. Needles sat poked in balls of yarn as stray thread sprawled over leather - but an eery stillness sang to you at your parent’s tools. 

Names and calls went unanswered, and after a quick search of the home you ran outside, urgent to ask your neighbours where they had gone, your heart fastening with every step.

Too frantic to observe the lack of movement and noise from your own street, you rapped on the door, waiting only a few seconds to push the rattling screen and forcing your way in.

Names went unanswered again, and it was instinct that steered you straight for the nursery. You halted at the sight of new born's empty crib, blankets rippled as if the babe was taken straight from it’s sleep.

Your calls turned frantic as you scoured each room, an upsetting, looming sensation creeping over your skin.

Bursting from the home, you shielded your eyes from the bright sun as you scanned the street with urgency. Your only greeting was a quiet breeze and snort of a horse left abandoned by a cart - as if it had stopped it's journey halfway through.

In a panicked haze, you searched the next home, and the next, and the next. The dizziness found you then. 

Clearly there was an emergency of some kind. But you had been abandoned, left to sleep until midday amongst the quiet. The thought pained you.

More calls to anyone who might have stayed behind, yet still no answer. Your heart was a thunder in your ears. 

Had the war finally reached you? Had your family fled in the dead of the night? You shook the thought from your head – they would have woken you, would have needed your help to escape with the youngens.

And then you were running – yelling, sprinting through the dusty streets, voice breaking as you dashed from home to home, shop to shop, calling, crying, pleading.

You were utterly alone. You had been left there, alone. 

In a swarm of panic, you pressed a palm at your heart, willing yourself to calm. It was a dream, surely. You were not abandoned, only stuck in a nightmare, the kind that often found you as murmurs of Hybern’s army reaching human lands became louder. 

In that dizzying thought, you willed yourself awake, forcing your eyes open to the walls of your dark and cramped room, to the noises as your siblings shouting and playing from downstairs, to the whistle of the kettle and the creak of the wood as your father came to wake you.

But the light was blinding, the sun as true as the your abandonment.

Beads of sweat that ran down your neck, a gnawing anxiousness building in your stomach as it heaved and cramped, nausea and panic churning to one. 

Something truly terrible had happened.

And in that moment of utter disbelief, a stabbing pain ripped from your stomach, so great it forced a whimper from your throat. 

As silent trickles of blood ran from your thighs to your knees, tracing your calves beneath the fabric of your skirt, you found a numbing sort of courage. Pushing your legs forward, you mindlessly heeded the road out of your home town, and on to the next. 

People. You needed to find people.

————

Ten days, and still not a single sole in sight. Each home, each tavern, each market and farm left eerily untouched. 

The silence was enough to drive you mad, if not besides the aide you so desperately sought. This was not your cycle - although the pains were familiar. You had known what you were, what this was.

Almost a fortnight, yet the blood still came. Slower now, spotting instead of trickles. You had stolen clothing from abandoned shops, food and water too. But you were distraught, moments away from folding into utter madness. And you were weak – very, very weak.

Water, food, a bath and rest. A list you repeated to yourself, your body begging to prioritise sleep with every step as you approached a farm at the town’s edge.

With a weak hand, you pushed past the gate to the yard, large rusty barrels sat open where a cow and her calf now drank. The water was murky with a distinct smell, but it would have to do. Tomorrow, you’d find fresh water tomorrow.

The trembling hand that dipped to the cool water hardly looked like your own. Dirt lay thick under your nails, your skin littered with cuts from the countless times you had shattered windows of stores and traders homes, scouring the stock for preserved goods and weapons. 

Bringing the cool liquid to your lips, you ignored the taste of iron as you willed it to soothe your throat - hoarse from the endless calls that went unanswered.

Ears pricking at sudden growl behind you, you jerked at the site of a pack of dogs who approached on stealthy paws. Their eyes were hungry - flicking between you and the calf. Once loyal farming dogs you were sure, now abandoned by owners and left to fend for themselves. They had formed packs - clever things. While you were sure they couldn't kill you, you didn't have the strength to fight an infection if they got close enough to sink their teeth. 

From your side, you unsheathed the hunting knife you had looted from a previous town. Swinging it with unpracticed skill, you shouted at the pack, your heart thundering as you waited for them to recline on hindered paws and leap. 

They pack seemed to weigh you up, deciding the calf was an easier target. You fled inside the house before you could see it meet it’s end. 

The home was neat, and you almost cried at the sight of a loaf of bread sitting atop the kitchen counters. Mould had attacked it’s edges, but you tore at it, fisting mouthfuls of the centre, dry crumbs coating your throat it was an effort not to choke.

Your stomach lurched, unhappy with the quality of the food and water, but you didn't care. You were on step closer to rest.

Another jarring cramp from your stomach, and you faltered, gripping at the wooden table as you trembled to keep yourself upright. This ailment, how much longer would you last? Sleep begged at you, your body moments from giving out. You’d have to forgo the bath, and prayed to the mother you’d find the strength for it in the morning.

Forcing yourself to the bedroom, swaying with each stumbled step, consciousness was already slipping as you collapsed on the bed, clothes and boots in tact. 

————

It was a feverish sleep, your body doused in sweat as you stirred often, jolting awake in panics, phantom calls of your family mixed with the flap of wings, and the crunch of stone and rock under heavy boots.

Then a voice, voices – ones you were sure they were part of your slumber. 

But as those footsteps got closer, you woke in a startle, your heart fastened as you blinked furiously. 

Voices. Humans. People. Alive, well enough to talk. 

You leapt from the bed, ignoring the spin of your head as you clambered to the window, peering behind sheer drapes to the street in front.

Your stomach sank. Lurched. Then sank again. 

A large, demonic figure stalked for the home. Wings arched behind it’s head, it’s figure blackened by the leathers it bore, sword and knives strapped around. 

And, wisps of some kind. Deadly, reaping magic.

Fae.

Fae had come. 

Knees buckling, you stumbled back a few steps. 

The world around you reeled as adrenaline coursed through. You would have just moments to prepare if you wanted a chance to survive. 

Knife. Your hunting knife. Still strewn at your hip.

Grasping it’s hilt tightly with a trembling hand, you scanned the room for the best place to hide. 

The cupboard was too obvious, and there was room under the bed - but there’d be not enough to swing your knife, only enough for them to drag you by the ankle… 

The gentle click of the front door opening, and it took all you had not to whimper in panic.

Scrambling for the door as quietly as possible, you pressed your palm to your mouth, begging yourself not to cry as you pressed yourself behind the wood.

From what you could hear over the thunder of your heart, the steps of the fae were quiet despite it’s size. 

“Anything in there?” a deep voice boomed from the street. You jolted at the volume. More than one, then.

There was no reply from the creature in the home, only the creak of the wood as it made it’s way through. 

“Really, Azriel? Are we to check every home?” Female this time, impatience and ignorance laced in the somehow ancient voice.

No response again, instead a footstep, right by the door.

Something tickled your ankles then, and it was beyond you to stifle your compulsive scream. 

Black furling wisps coated your boots.

And then the door opened.

The creature made it one step inside before you had aimed your knife for it’s heart. 

A prepared, cool hand caught your wrist inches from it’s chest. Your bones crushing in it’s grasp, and you let out a yelp of pain. 

It’s face - his face - was one of shock. “S-sorry,” he stuttered, dropping his grip all together. 

You blinked back in shock, ignoring at the throb of your wrist as you snatched it back. 

For a dumb moment, you stared at each other with equally wide eyes. The male didn't seem to know what to do. 

“You’re human? How are you here, where-?"

The males sentence was clipped short as you drove the knife towards his chest again. 

Quick as an asp, he caught you by the forearm this time, more gently too. 

Hazel eyes scanned you, his features schooling as he called over his shoulder. “I’ve found someone.”

You were sure you looked mad, grunting with the effort to pull your arm from him, breaths ragged, eyes and hair wild. The male studied you as he might a rabid animal. 

Behind him appeared an even taller male, his form more terrifying than the one that gripped you. 

“Mother above,” the new one whispered, scanning you in the way the first one had. 

“L-let go of me,” you rasped, pulling your arm back, tears stinging at the pain of you surely broken wrist began to swell. 

It was a odd detail to note, the scars and ripples of the fae’s hand as he gently unfurled your fingers, prying the hunting knife from you before releasing his grip. 

“Let me see,” the female’s voice piped from behind, the males struggling to fold their wings further, cramming into the room to let her through. 

You faltered back on instinct, legs hitting the edge of the bed. 

As the female broke through the males, harsh silver eyes scanned you up and down. She was half their height, a little shorter than you actually, but the depth of her gaze kept your hands by your side.

“Seems the Mother has spared one after all,” she muttered, nose crumpling at your scent. 

Your answered with a scowl. 

“What is your name?” it demanded. 

“Amren,” the taller male warned, his eyes flicking back to you with softness. 

You refused to answer. Couldn’t if you wanted to. 

Amren sighed, casting her head sideways to the one with rippled hands. “She bleeds.”

“I know,” he answered, hazel eyes not breaking from you. You blushed, furious and humiliated. 

He stepped around her then, the movement graceful and soft despite his size. 

“You need aide.”

You gulped, unable to process his words. “L-leave me be,” you demanded, voice hoarse as you tried to create more distance between you and it. 

He crouched in front of you then, leathers stretching against ripples of muscle. You noticed them then, jewels, saphires, humming from his body as if they were alive.

He followed your eyes curiously, before answering you with a soft smile. 

“These are siphons,” he said plainly, giving one a friendly tap. 

You snapped your eyes back to him, disgust forming your features. “You are here on behalf of Hybern?”

The female snorted from behind, earning a shove from the larger male beside her, his siphons glowing red.

The one in front of you studied you. “No, absolutely not.” 

You scowled, not inclined to believe them. 

“We come one behalf of our High Lord Rhysand, and High Lady Feyre. Rulers of the Night Court. Do you know of them?”

Feyre - the human women who had freed the fae from the grasp of their enemy. You knew the story, the heroic tale of a human women who gave her life for the male she loved. Had heard of her triumphs Under the Mountain, that she had been made into fae herself in exchange for her sacrifice. 

“The-the curse breaker?”

A small smile cocked on both of the males faces. 

“That’s right,” the one crouched in front answered. “She sent us to retrieve you.”

A panic surged within you. “Me?” you spat. Oh the ignorance of the fae, as if you were some pawn to pluck and place elsewhere. 

Azriel frowned, eyes dancing as he realised the mistake in his words. “To help you, of course. There has been-"

"No-n-no. My family, they will seek for me-"

Azriel's brow pulled with softness, his tone falling flat. "We will search for them. Meanwhile, you must see a-"

“Where are the others?” Your voice was louder now, eyes dancing in panic, chest rising with fastening breaths. Had they taken them too? “The people, they've left, I don't know-"

“We are searching for others. You are… the first we have found.”

Your mind reeled. How could that be? You had searched by foot - but with those wings, and the strength and power of fae…

“WHAT HAS HAPPENED TO THE OTHER HUMANS?” the volume of your voice shocked even yourself, that strength, that demand from deep within your chest. 

Azriel gave you a pained look, before standing to turn to his counterparts. “Amren, can you heal-?”

“I’m spent,” she cut off the male with a flick of her fingers. “Those canines out back were hardly enough to keep me going until sundown, so forget about healing. Unless you suggest I drink her blood, though I doubt she’d survive.”

Mother above.

You were too hazed to see the glare both of the males cut her.

“Then she will need to see a healer before we can continue.”

“She might refuse,” the larger one countered. 

“If she’s smart, she won’t. She won't survive out here on her own,” Amren muttered, cleaning her nails as she leaned one on leg, checking her cat-like claws for flecks of blood. 

They continued their mutter without once turning to you.

“There is no option here. I’ll take her to Velaris, and return once she’s safe.”

A shaking, blubbering anger grew within you, the creatures in front of you as ignorant and obnoxious as you had always been told fae are – to discuss your own fate as if you weren't in the room.

A killer instinct flared in you then, and you remembered the second knife you bore, hidden within your corsette. A pocket knife, a tool from your father to help pit and peel the fruit from his farm. 

The oak handle was cool in your left hand, the right throbbing and limp. With the last remains of energy,  you pushed up from the bed, swinging with all your strength - aiming for the blue-siphoned back. 

In a graceful turn, the male caught your arm for the third time. You had to blink at the speed with which he stopped you. 

Bracing for cruel, unforgiving anger, you were instead met with sympathetic eyes. 

Loathing coiled within you. 

“Release me,” you spat.

“I’m sorry to do this,” was all he said, and then pads of those rippled fingers were grasping your jaw, pressing to the pressure points of your neck with precision. 

Grunting to fight his grasp, you didn’t struggle long before a ringing in your ear grew to defeating silence and the world tipped to black. 

Part 2 >>> AN: HELLLOOO! And welcome to ATTWN - massive shout out to @kindasleepywriter for finding the perfect name for this series! I so so hoped you liked part 1. I edited it like a million times, still not 100% happy with it, but I think I just needed to get it out. Fair warning - this fic won't be light hearted, our reader is going to go through some really heavy stuff. I'll of course put my warnings ahead of each part, but please know I plan to explore some darker themes surrounding mental health etc. If you'd like to join the tag list for this fic, let me know in the comments! Always love hearing your feedback, and thank you so much for reading! <3 Nic

[charliemwrites]

Part 3 for Nikto with his… handler? Living god? Owner? Who knows, certainly not the reader.

Content: Sexual Desire (Wet Dreams), Codependency, Mild Injury/Violence, Mentions of Dissociation

Snuggle in, you tell him. Every night, clockwork, a signal to calm, settle, rest. Leave the blood and bone of the day behind.

Like he’s not a man who barely remembers he’s alive most days. Like he doesn’t turn to you blooming human, a plant to sunlight. All because you tell him to.

Snuggle in, you bid, tugging at his thick bicep. Your fingers don’t even curl halfway around it. He’s huge, even without all the gear. Or maybe because he's out of his gear.

Snuggle in, you coo. A guilty part of you preens at the way his head cocks at that turn of phrase. He never hesitates to climb into the bed you’ve shared since he made himself yours. There’s really no choice but to snuggle on such a small mattress, but he still lets you move him, teddy bear-like, to the most comfortable position.

“You’re warm,” you hum, because he needs to remember his heart is beating, pumping blood. That he’s not a corpse.

“Too warm?” He asks.

“No,” you sigh happily.

He lies on his side tonight, always between you and the door. You pluck at the front of his t-shirt, urging him closer, away from the edge of the bed. It feels like you’re constantly coaxing him away from an edge. He always comes willingly at least.

His heavy arm drapes across your waist, as robotic as a cuddle can be. You don’t mind, he’s still getting used to this. Knows how to provide you comfort but not how to take it in for himself. He'll settle, you know, always does. Virtues of sleep melting all his harsh, rigid lines.

You wrap both your legs around one of his. Rock-like muscle flexes, twitches, settles. He’s wearing just his underwear and a t-shirt; he’s hard again.

You understand why he said no. Aren’t even all that disappointed. Not for your own sake, anyway. For his, perhaps a little. Wish he’d treat his body with more than just obligation, but small steps. One at a time. For now, you’ve got him here, warm, his breaths already lengthening in preparation to sleep.

You stroke your hand along his ribs like soothing a horse. It’s more for yourself than him, a silent affirmation that you’re both here and safe and bedding down for the night. Count the bumps of scars - one… two-three, four… and five. Five-and-a-half at his hip.

His cock twitches against your lower stomach. It feels thick. Big. You squeeze his hip and tuck your arm between your bodies again.

“Were you ever ticklish?” you ask.

“No.”

You snort in amusement and press your forehead to his chest. Feel his heart beating slow-steady. Always so, so calm. Inhumanly so. You never fall into the trap of letting yourself think he’s anything but a man.

“What do you want to dream about tonight?” you pipe up again.

You don’t know why you’ve started asking this. Maybe to remind him that he’s not dying for a short while. Maybe to figure out something of his mind, still so unfathomable to you. Maybe just to get his voice in your ear as one last nightcap.

“Winter,” he answers. “Snow.”

You make a soft noise. “I think I want to dream of that too.”

You do dream of winter, and snow. You dream of green-black trees and swathes of frost crystal. And you dream of Nikto. A smudge of black with ice chips for eyes.

You reach for him, drag him down to a pillow of snow with you. Even in sleep, he yields for you, doughy and soft. Drapes himself over you, clucking about the temperature until you shush him with kisses snuck between his shirt and mask. You press and pull, want him close, want him...

"Are you alright?"

You blink into the darkness, at ice chip eyes and a patchwork jaw of scars and stubble. Nikto's mouth is pressed thin, worried. A canine peaks out from a scar that healed poorly despite your best efforts, skin tugged back into a permanent little snarl. His canines always look so sharp.

"You were... having nightmare?" He drops articles when he’s tired. You must have woken him. Part of you despairs at ruining his sleep; he gets so little of it.

You lick your dry lips, swallow past an equally dry throat. There's a noticeable stickiness between your thighs. A needy ache throughout your pelvis. You're nearly shaking.

"Um," you rasp, rubbing at your face. "Not a... it was just intense."

His brow furrows a bit. This tiny line that emphasizes a jagged mark over his forehead. You trace over it absently, nearly grind down on his thigh again when you see how his pupils dilate further.

"Alright?" he asks again. Always so worried. So expressive with you, for you.

"Yeah, I'm okay," you sit up slowly, carefully. He sits back with you, eyes sharp as he looks for injuries, as if someone snuck in and attacked you while he slept. "Just need a drink."

He makes room for you to climb out of bed. You wish you could grab a spare pair of underwear on your way, but you can feel his eyes burning on your back. Don't want him to feel... pressured? Awkward? You swallow your lust and stumble into the bathroom.

A cold splash of water shocks you more awake but also cools your blood.

It’s been a long time since you got yourself off. Nikto all but lives in your pocket now; and whenever you do have privacy, you’re usually too tired to bother with getting off. Some days it’s all you can do to brush your teeth before collapsing in bed.

Not right now though. Right now you want to do sinful things to the man who’s entrusted you with his fragile psyche.

Fuck.

You rub at your eyes, discard of your soaked panties in the hamper. You’ll grab a new pair in the morning and just spend the rest of the night commando.

When you climb into bed again, Nikto is still wide awake, waiting for your return. You crawl in with him, chilled now.

“Better?” He asks, almost hesitant.

The heat of him seeps into you like honey, a sweet drizzle down your spine, diffusing through your bones. Sleep is already dragging at you again.

“Mhm,” you sigh. You don’t wrap your legs around him this time. But you can’t help hooking your calf around his, ankles locked together.

“Alright,” he whispers, almost to himself.

You hum, fingers curling loose around his wrist. “Settle in, Nikto. I’m okay.”

You fall asleep with your head against his tricep. This time you dream of nesting birds.

—

Anger, like most strong emotion, is something you thought a bit beyond Nikto. Not that he doesn’t feel it, more that the dissociation mutes it all. Makes it into something vague in his mind, a vivid color desaturated to pastel.

You were wrong. Or maybe you’re right in every other instance except this one.

The circumstances brew up a storm like so:

Kortac has sent you (and by default, Nikto) with a small team to yet another military base. Mundane by all accounts.

You and Nikto bunk together, also by default. (“Snuggle in,” you chide as he glares at the door. It’s not your door; it’s not your base. It makes him twitchy. It even seems like he hesitates for a moment before climbing in.)

You, by virtue of being novel and shiny and discouraged, are viewed as a tempting commodity. Think you even hear one of the men you’re supposed to be working with mutter “dibs” to someone else. Also pretty mundane.

What is not mundane is someone seeing Nikto at your side and apparently thinking, that’s a place I want to insert myself uninvited.

The clouds roll in at the gym. You’re setting up the squat rack while Nikto finishes up his last set of pull-ups. (You’re trying not to ogle. You might be failing.)

Someone sidles up to behind you, just in the corner of your eye. Standing closer than a perfect stranger should. You think it’s Aksel and turn, wondering if he’s already done with cardio. Instead, you find a man you’re only mildly acquainted with.

You’ve run some drills with him, saw him in a briefing two days ago. But you’re generally so wrapped up in the microcosm you and Nikto have formed that you don’t even remember his name.

“Need a spotter?” He asks, smiling.

You shift your weight back, trying to put more distance between you two. It’s strange. Nikto stands even closer than he is on a regular basis and you’d feel bereft if he didn’t. But this… feels invasive.

“No, I have someone,” you reply, perfectly polite. “But thank you.”

“Ah, you mean the Nobody?” The man chuckles. You clench your teeth. “Someone else ought to get a turn, no? Your teammates said you are not romantic.”

You frown. Whatever they said, you’re sure that was not the verbatim answer. You don’t know what you and Nikto are — it’s something that defies any language you know. But it’s certainly beyond “romantic”.

(Waking deep in the night, sweating and panting and aching for the man already awake, worried for you. Dreams plagued with pale blue eyes and scars that still ache. Phantom sensations of skin that only breathes in the safety of your room.)

“No,” you answer, “Nikto is my partner.”

A shadow passes behind him, Nikto returning to your side, faithful as always. His eyes don’t even flick towards the other man.

The man, however, locks eyes on him and sneers.

“What, does your guard dog bite?” He mocks. “You don’t owe it anything just because it humps your leg.”

Your temper flares, white hot and mean. “The only dog here is the one yapping for attention.”

Anger ripples across his face, he tenses like he’s going to move. The start of some derogatory name on his tongue.

And then between one blink and the next, he’s on the floor and Nikto is standing over him. Metal flashes beneath the lights; a wicked knife held in Nikto’s tight fist. The man isn’t getting back up any time soon though, he’s bleeding from… somewhere on his face. You can’t tell with the way he’s covering it.

“Knife away,” you tell Nikto quietly.

It’s gone in an instant.

You hook two fingers in a chest strap and tug. “We’re done in here.”

He follows you out, silent as ever. Follows without question or complaint until you stop between buildings. Let out a sigh.

“Fuck that guy,” you huff, running a hand down your face.

“I could still gut him,” he offers.

You’d laugh if you didn’t know he meant it wholeheartedly.

“He deserves it for what he said about you,” you mutter.

Nikto cocks his head, stares. Doesn’t understand, you realize.

You shake off the last of your ire and turn your full attention to him. Step in close and take his gloved hand in both of yours. The same one that had held the knife. There’s a little smear of blood on the knuckles.

“I don’t know what anyone says about me,” you explain. “You know who I am, and that’s all that matters.”

His eyes bounce between yours, something stunned in smooth skin around his eyes. You smile a bit.

“But what I won’t abide is anyone trying to take your humanity from you. Not ever again, you hear me?”

He mask moves like he wants to speak, but no sound comes out. You wait a moment to see if he’s just picking his words, but nothing comes. After a long moment, he just blinks, and you continue.

“You protect me, right?” He nods instantly. You tilt your head. “Well, I take care of you. You let me decide how to do that, yeah?”

His voice comes out shredded. “Yes.”

You hum, pleased. “C’mon, let’s get a bite to eat.”

First | Previous | Next

Masterlist

[halcyone-of-the-sea]

Hello! May I request a reader x Keegan drabble where the reader is an artist in secret?

Sure, they roam the wake of no mans land in a ravaging war, but in the moments they are not on missions they capture the scenery around them. Wether it be on rooftops, surrounding woods or abandoned shelters, the reader revels in the few moments of silence they have before another bombardment of bloodshed is thrown their way to remember places or things around them before they eventually move again

How would Keegan react, let alone if he caught reader sketching him?

Thank you for your time, have a good day :D

—Paint The Dawn; Paint My Eyes

⇢ ˗ˏˋ 5k Drabble Masterlist ࿐ྂ

╰┈➤ ❝ [In the midst of war and death, there's little time for pleasure. All you had was a ripped-up sketchbook to call your own, its contents littered with the rough face of your comrade.] ❞

The camp is quiet, and you are tired. 

Looking out along the wreckage of this wasted world, there seems to be no end to the broken valleys or the craters of rock—this desolation remains as if an angry God had thrown a tantrum, and smashed the earth to bits. Trees grew sideways, wreckage that could be bits of houses or even remnants of bone breed in the little spaces under moss and bush; where the rest died, nature took back what was hers. Thus, the cycle continued.

What breathes, dies, and with that firm and undisputable reality, you find beauty in moments like these. 

You blink down at what still breathes of the patchwork lungs of No Man’s Land, pencil in your hand still for but a moment of red-eyed concentration. The deer was down in the dip below the Ghosts’ quiet camp for the steadily growing night—white where it should be a tawny-blonde shade. Barely breathing, you watch with half of its albino form sketched out in short bursts of graphite on your sun-bleached possession. 

A sketchbook, old, and worn to the very binding of its pages, and yet to you a more prized possession had never been held in your grip. 

So focused on the deer and its white shadow; its lithe body as it grazes along the forest floor amidst a soft rustling of leaves, you don’t notice the man behind you—a man supposed to be sleeping. 

It’s a minute of looking at your awe-filled face before Keegan clears his throat, speaking in a low grumble. “Not every day you see that, huh?”

You startle back so quickly that your pencil slips out of your hand, bouncing off your thighs before clattering to the flat rock that serves as your lookout platform. A clink of metal on stone is all it takes, the pencil falling down into the lower land and striking through greenery as you gasp and snap your eyes away. The flighty heart of the deer all at once sparked in a puff of air from its nostrils and a flair of a raised tail. 

It disappears into the bushes and its white flash is seen until the thick foliage swallows it again. You look back just in time to grace your eyes with one last glimpse. 

A deep disappointment blooms and you level out a sigh as Keegan clicks his tongue, guiltily rubbing a hand on the back of his neck.

“Shit, Sweetheart,” he hums, “didn’t mean to…” Keegan tapers off with a low groan. “I’ll, uh, get you a new pencil when we’re back, yeah?” 

You stare at the forest a moment longer before huffing out and shifting—you turn and glance at the Sergeant before grumbling out, “You have a nasty habit of sneaking up on people, Russ. I don’t like it when it’s me.”

Blue eyes meet yours, his body still in gear and armed just like yours. Even sleeping, Ghosts bore the fangs of the living. Keegan’s face is down a mask, though, so you’re privy to see his built jaw and strong features in the moonlight. Black hair like a void. 

He sighs. 

“Again, didn’t mean to. Thought you knew I was there.” Your eyes roll, but a small smirk snaps your lip.

“Of course you did.” Huffing and shaking his head, the man comes to lean against your rock. 

“What ya workin’ on anyways? Seen you scribblin’ in that thing every chance you get. Got curious enough tonight to ask when I saw you up during Ajax’s watch.” He blinks at you, swirling with curiosity and dim intrigue. “You take over for him?”

You smile, shrugging. “Maybe.” Keegan stares and raises a dark brow as your form leans closer, presenting your object of patience and smudged graphite. “You gonna wake him up?”

The man takes the object and studies your half-finished work with an acute eye, taking in the lines and erased bits that indent the paper. He tilts his head at it and a moment later he grunts an answer, lost in thought. 

“Depends.” Blue meets your vision in a slow sweep. “You tired?”

Face burning, you clear your throat and begin to stutter a negative before the worst moment of your life takes place. 

Keegan grabs one page of your sketchbook and starts flipping. Heart lurching and eyes wrenching open to the size of dinner plates, your hand snatches at the old cover—but not before the damage is done.

The dead-gazed Sergeant locks onto a perfect image of his own sleeping body from hours earlier. Drawn face soft and calm in the gray of blended material that you’d had to use your finger to achieve, and limbs loose; he almost seemed to come off the page in an intensive display of detail. 

Keegan pauses and feels his jaw slightly slacken, eyes going that bit wider before his brows lift in shocked pleasure. Your hand latches onto the top of your book and rips it from the man’s grasp easily.

“Did anyone ever tell you it’s rude to go through people’s things?!” Your heart is racing, palms going clammy. At your chest, you hold your belonging with a tight scoff of embarrassment.

Keegan’s lids move up and down three times in quick succession before he replies. A tease is so deep in his words you cringe with a burning face.

“Anyone tell you it’s rude to watch people sleep, Sweetheart?” Glaring, you have to look away. 

It wasn’t exactly common knowledge to others that you liked the gruff man, but if anyone took one look into your sketchbook they’d know the truth. Pages were dedicated to finding the perfect slant of his eyes—that structure of his jaw and his broken-one-to-many-times nose. 

His lips and how his skin looked when he smirked. 

Shame tightens your face and you stare hard at the trees a few feet away; the sleeping forms of your comrades. Until a smooth chuckle leaves you breathless. 

A puff of air spreads over your cheek but you don’t dare turn your head. 

Keegan whispers to you slowly, that gravel in his tone and his lips brushing against your ear as he leans closer to you—arms crossed in front of him.

“If you wanted me to pose there, Doll, all you had to do was ask me. No use watchin’ from a distance…I’ll give you the full tour.” 

He walks off back to his mat of leaves and grass and you’re left gaping and choking on your own thoughts; honied vision dripping shock.

Keegan calls easily over his shoulder as if his comment hadn’t made your pulse pound, “I’m waking up Ajax—go back to bed. Scenery’ll be the same come morning.” 

You breathe in his sly quip, “trust me.”

TAGS:

@luuvbuzz, @emerald-valkyrie, @anna-banana27, @blueoorchid, @cryingnotcrying, @writeforfandoms, @homicidal-slvt, @jade-jax, @frazie99, @elmoees, @littlemisstrouble, @alpineswinter, @phoenixhalliwell, @idocarealot, @lavalleon, @facelessmemories, @h-leigh, @20forty9, @glitter-anon-asks, @emily-who-killed-a-man, @neelehksttr, @aeneanc, @escapefromrealitysm, @i-d-1-0-t, @pparcxysm, @hawkscanendme, @caramlizedtomatos, @waves-against-a-cliff, @sanfransolomitatm, @maelstrom007, @jemandderkeinenusernamenfindet, @pheobees, @glitterypirateduck, @uselsshuman, @fan-of-encouragement, @halfmoth-halfman, @ghostlythunderbird, @I-inkage, @pukbadger, @kopatych11, @0nceinabluem00n, @cocrorapop, @knightofsexyness, @abnormalgeil, @smallseastone, @jacegons, @330bpm-whiplash, @simon-rileys-housewife, @4-atsu, @tiredmetalenthusiast

[beiasluv]

Hii can you write how the sully boys would react when the reader calls them by a cute pet name for the first time? Thank youu

sully boys react to pet name

a/n: yessssss, your order is served / no proof reading because I am a potato / enjoy! 🤍

masterlist

jake (2009)

pet name? what’s that? he probably never heard of one, or should i say no one ever called him something 😭 (well, probably except a loving one from his mother and a not-so-loving from his twin brother)

but anyways, jake wasn’t use to a pet name AT ALL (plus the fact he probably haven’t found a love on earth 😭)

well, we are here to break the curses

it all happened in a one loving night. the stars are shining and your love is blooming under the starlight

you cuddled close to him, resting your head on his chest, while feeling it rise and fall in a repetitive pattern.

until you saw an unusual manner in the shrubs next to both of you. his light blue ears twitched but his mind still laid unaware.

“jake…jake,” you whispered into his ears.

“hm…?”

“wake up, please…sweetheart, i am going to see what’s over there,” you whined softly in his embrace.

“huh…? what did you called me?” he held up his head and a shocking gaze met your eyes, while is arm tightened its grip on your waist.

“huh? i was saying there’s something in the bush,” you replied.

“what did you called me?” he smirked as he pulled you close. “you worry too much, gorgeous, it’s probably a little pup or something.” “now tell me, what did you called me?”

“well, i apologize, mr. perfect, i forgot, i am going to sleep now,” you turned against his face.

“nope, not until you call me that again,” he swooped you up easily onto his lap.

“fine, sweetheart, i am going to sleep now.”

“thank you, gorgeous, i’ll be your knight in shining armor and protect you tonight, m’kay?” he tucked you in his embrace.

a teaser 100% GUYS HE IS A TEASER! smirking to himself the whole night after the first time you willingly called him that.

loves hearing your pet names, it reminds him of what he is to you, being something more than a ‘jake’ to you is his honor.

he knows how you are too shy to express yourself but he never gave up. I guess hard works pays off for jake sully.

he loves coming up with new nicknames for you and love seeing your red face every. single. time.

definitely jealous of your personal pet names.

“NO, you can not call y/n, sweetie, she’s mine.”

“son, I am literally her grandma” (jokes aside, we love a slaying grandma! show him who’s the real boss!)

jake sully case closed. amen sis

neteyam

neteyam, neteyam, proving that the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree everyday. preach.

he is a teaserrr, loves making you blush everyday. however, something unlike his dad is he is so much more expressive.

he’ll sneak a hand around you, wrapping his tail, or to the intertwining legs thing. *internal screaming* adding one more point with calling you pet names with a seductive voice.

first time is always hard, but you’ve managed to make your boy blush asfff

“nete, can you help me with something?” your shout caught his ear twitching towards your direction.

“yes, my love? what do you need your hero for?” he ran towards your body and embraced you from behind.

“i need to hold this up but i can’t get the another piece to stay, hold this please,” you shoved it into his hand.

“yes, my love,” he smirked at the sight. neteyam always love to watch you work on something you love, your marui is filled with your loved projects. ranging from a small figure of you two or a personalized cabinet for his weapons.

“okay, you ready? hold still.”

…

“good job, y/n, I’m proud of you,” he hugged your back against his chest.

“thank you, handsome, my knight,” you giggled in his chest.

“what? did you just called me handsome?”

“yeah…? oh!”

“HA! i knew you had it somewhere!” he spun your body around. “don’t need to remind me that I am handsome, while i am seeing you everyday.”

“hey! put me down! or i’ll stick to the basic ‘nete’,” you poked his chest with your finger.

“oh, my love, i apologize, my greatest weakness is you,” he faked fainted onto the sand and receiving a tackle from you.

a lover boy 100% we adore him.

jumping up and down, got him blushing, swinging his legs and tail and throwing up crying, screaming and everything in the recipe.

he loves you to shower him with pet names everyday. and loves getting surprised with new pet names you’ve managed to muster up.

definitely flexing it to lo’ak and, poor lo’ak, he is dying of cringe. “guess what she called me today…uhuh…”

definitely gets so proud if especially if you use it in front of his parents. *insert jake’s proud father moment*

will definitely trick you into saying some of his favorites.

“oh, princess, my leg is hurt, it can only be heal if you call me your prince,” he fake pouted.

“if i call you that would you stop clinging on to my legs?” you messed with his locks.

“oh, I’ll look into consideration, giving you 75% chance,” he does the puppy eyes he could do.

“fine, my prince, love ya, now let me go.”

lo’ak

*AAAAAAAAAAAA* do i have to explain?

although he isn’t as expressive as his dad or brother, he isn’t much less loving than them. no, no, no none of the sully boys will give up so easily on this topic. (the blood is strong people)

this boy love language is definitely touch but he isn’t too bad with words of affirmation.

a certified lover boy, he shy asf, and we love that. amen

loves to make the first move but froze up, which i think is so cute 😭 but this time wasn’t so similar

“y/n, i was wondering if you wanted to go out with me tonight?” he entered your marui and made his way over to your bed.

“hm?” you answered half awake.

“want to go out tonight? i’m free, I’ll take you anywhere you want,” he chuckled at himself.

“what do you have in mind, my lo’ak?” you said with a voice in your neck, not coming out properly as a word but it managed to swoon lo’ak every time.

“i am guessing we could go out to the reefs and spend time watching the stars tonight?”

“my darling, having you is enough for me,” you replied softy turning to face him.

“hm? my darling?” his face becomes redder and redder.

“yeah, my, and my only, darling,” you claimed his face within the palm of your hands. tracing down from his locks to his nose, his pouty mouth, and down his chin.

“i like that,” he chuckled. “then you are my darling too,” he returned the act.

he is internally screaming, crying, throwing up, curling up into a ball, throwing himself off the floor. he is so flusteredddd

his breath hitched up in his chest and his face reddened. he wants to inject you into his vein and it is so painful that he can’t.

definitely attacks you with physical touch and everything. he became so needy to a new thing that he never had before, and now that he got a taste of it, he wanted more and more.

he would beg you to shower him with pet names everyday AND YOU WILL PROVIDE

showering him with pet names in the morning when you wake up, lunch time, swimming, flying, or even cuddling together

loves calling him your darling 100% he loves to call you his darling as well 🥺

will 100% hiss at anyone who makes fun of you calling him pet names or anyone who dares to call you something theirs.

jealous boy for you only. of course, a little sprinkle of childhood trauma, because he just needs a little bit more love. you assured that he’ll never starve for more love, keeping his cup full everyday. BUT he is so hungry for more of your love 😩

loves to stick to ‘darling’ but sometimes sprinkle some spice for you, because he is your favorite chef *chef kiss*

“honey bear, how are you doing, my darling”

“my pumpkin, are you okay?”

case closed for the sully boys, amen.

today’s a great day to treat yourself 🤍 take care as always!

@rosaryos / @bumblinbumblvee / @loudcolorwolfgarden / @nyotamalfoy / @fangirl-2610 / @astablacksword / @lokisblueskin

[estellan0vella]

Restless Mind ❀ Sukuna (REQUESTED) Masterlist

The gentle rustle of leaves and the soothing sound of water greet you as you sit at the edge of the pond in the expansive gardens of Sukuna's estate.

The night is serene, the moon hanging high in the sky, casting a silver glow over the tranquil scene. The koi fish swim lazily in the pond, their bright colors muted but still visible in the moonlight. A cool breeze rustles through the trees, carrying the sweet scent of blooming flowers and the faintest hint of autumn in the air.

You take a sip of your tea, savoring its warmth as it spreads through you, a small comfort against the chill of the night. Your book rests open on your lap, the words a blur as you struggle to focus, your mind too restless to find solace in the story.

Sleep has been elusive tonight, and you couldn't bear the confines of your and Sukuna's room any longer. The gardens, with their quiet beauty, seemed like the perfect refuge.

Lost in thought, you don't hear the soft footsteps approaching until it's too late to hide. You look up, startled, to see Sukuna standing a few feet away, his crimson eyes fixed on you. He cuts a striking figure against the night, his presence both commanding and oddly comforting.

"What are you doing out here?" he asks, his voice a low rumble that sends a shiver down your spine.

"I couldn't sleep," you admit, feeling a bit sheepish under his intense gaze. "I thought some fresh air might help."

He raises an eyebrow, his eyes flicking to your attire. "And you thought it wise to come out in just your pajamas?"

You glance down at your thin nightclothes, suddenly aware of how exposed you are to the chill of the night. You wrap your arms around yourself, trying to ward off the cold and the embarrassment creeping up your cheeks.

"I didn't think it would be this cold," you mumble.

Sukuna sighs, a sound that seems to echo through the garden. He steps closer, shrugging off his haori and draping it over your shoulders. The fabric is warm, carrying his scent, and you can't help but snuggle into it.

"You're always so careless," he mutters, but there's no real bite to his words.

You offer him a small smile as he sits beside you. "Thank you."

He grunts in response, his eyes moving to the pond, watching the koi fish with a contemplative expression. Silence stretches between you, but it's a comfortable one, filled with the quiet sounds of the night.

"Why couldn't you sleep?" he asks after a while, his voice softer now.

You shrug, staring at the book in your lap. "Just... too many thoughts, I guess. I couldn't shut my mind off."

He nods, as if he understands. Maybe he does. You've seen glimpses of his own restlessness, the nights when he prowls the estate, unable to find peace, leaving you in the bed alone.

Sukuna shifts, his hand coming to rest on your back, his touch gentle. "You should have woken me," he says. "I would have kept you company."

"I didn't want to bother you," you reply, leaning into his touch despite your words.

"You're never a bother," he says firmly, his eyes locking onto yours. "Remember that."

The sincerity in his voice takes you by surprise, and for a moment, you can only stare at him, your heart pounding in your chest. It's rare for him to be so openly affectionate, even with you, and it leaves you feeling a mix of warmth and vulnerability.

"Thank you," you say again, your voice barely above a whisper.

He nods, his hand moving in slow circles on your back, a soothing gesture that makes your eyes feel heavy. The tension in your body begins to melt away, replaced by a sense of calm that you haven't felt all night.

"Tell me about your book," he says, his tone conversational, as if he's trying to distract you from your thoughts.

You glance at the cover, then back at him. "It's just a book of poetry, tragic romance, epic love stories"

Sukuna chuckles, a deep, rumbling sound that makes you smile. "Sounds like something you would enjoy."

You nod, feeling a bit more relaxed. "It's a good escape."

He hums in agreement, his fingers still tracing soothing patterns on your back. "Sometimes we all need an escape."

You glance at him, seeing the shadows in his eyes, the weight of his own burdens. It's easy to forget sometimes that even someone as powerful as Sukuna has his own struggles, his own demons to face.

"Do you ever wish things were different?" you ask softly, the question slipping out before you can stop it.

He doesn't answer right away, his gaze distant as he considers your words. When he finally speaks, his voice is low, almost contemplative. "Sometimes. But wishing for things to be different doesn't change what is. We can only move forward, adapt, and find our own moments of peace."

You lean your head against his shoulder, feeling the steady rise and fall of his breath.

"Thank you for being here," you say quietly, the words carrying more weight than you realize.

He wraps an arm around you, pulling you closer. "Always."

The night stretches on, but the restlessness that plagued you before is gone, replaced by a deep sense of contentment. The garden, the pond, the koi fish—everything seems to blur together into a peaceful tableau, a moment of tranquility in a world that is often anything but.

You close your eyes, letting the sound of Sukuna's heartbeat lull you into a sense of security. For the first time tonight, you feel like you might actually be able to sleep.

"Stay with me?" you murmur, already feeling drowsy.

He presses a kiss to the top of your head, his lips warm and soft. "I'm not going anywhere."

And with that, you let yourself drift, knowing that in this moment, with Sukuna by your side, you are safe, cherished, and loved. The worries and the sleepless nights can wait. For now, there is only this—an escape, a comfort, a peace that is found in the quiet companionship of someone who understands.

[the-dendrophile-bookdragon]

Under the Cherry Tree

Pairing: Aemond Targaryen x fem!reader

Warning: fluff, angst, mention of murder and death

Summary: A tree that once held happy memories, now was the cause of all his pain.

Aemond walked through the gardens at a slow pace. His mind was racing faster than the mice he was scaring with his steps. The war was raging, swallowing the guilty and the innocent.

His gaze cast down to the ground as he went on ignoring his surroundings. This walk was not for pleasure he told himself. To an outsider, it seemed like he was aimlessly walking around the gardens. Stomping through the blooming outdoors like Vhagar when she was creating a space to sleep. He needed to reflect on his actions from the past months. How his actions had affected his family.

He stopped in his tracks as he saw the pink petals of a cherry tree crushed underneath his boots. He looked up and came face to face with his dear wife’s favourite tree.

For the first time he had been outside in the fresh air, he looked up at the sky. His vision was filled with pink blossoms. Delicate yet so powerful in fragrance. His racing mind came to a screeching halt. All of a sudden it was empty. No guilt, no rage, no fear. It was filled with nothing but nostalgia.

This tree was the symbol of love, their love. His wife used to sit under the tree’s roots. Looking up into the crown, watching bees and birds swarm around it. Often humming to herself, or maybe humming with the birds and insects.

Aemond used to watch her. Sitting on a stone bench far enough and out of her sight so she couldn’t see him, yet close enough so he could watch her. They hadn’t been betrothed long at the time; their unbreakable bond had not yet formed.

She was the one who approached him one day. Inviting him to sit with her under the cherry tree. Softly taking his hand and leading him over to it. Telling him to sit on the ground, in the dirt, next to her. He didn’t hesitate. He didn’t care if his clothes would get dirty. He wanted to be next to her. He wanted to feel the warmth he had longed for so long.

He had listened to her as she spoke about the different insects and birds making their home inside the tree. He recalled her warm smile spread across her delicate lips as she fondly spoke about the soft fragrance of the blossoms. How fond she was of it.

As a wedding gift, he had made it his mission to present her with the finest bottle of cherry blossom perfume. His wife had smiled so brightly as she saw it on her vanity. She had never worn a different perfume ever since. Always his. She once told Aemond, he had gifted her the scent of spring. He had laughed at her words, telling her he would bring her any season she desired.

Aemond was brought out of his thoughts by a single raindrop. Gone were the warm memories. His mind began to race again. His eyes hardened with every thought of betrayal and hatred. Slowly he unsheathed his sword. The steal glinting in the sun, reflecting the beauty of the pink blossoms.

With a roar, he drove his sword into the trunk of the tree. Over and over with brutal force until the mighty cherry tree gave way with a sick crack. It fell over to the cold stone ground. The petals of the fallen tree swaying in the stormy breeze.

Aemond let go of his sword and sank to the floor in shock at his actions. He gathered some petals from the floor and brought them to his nose. Tears gathered in his eyes as he smelled his dear wife’s scent.

How could he have betrayed her and their marriage? How had he neglected to protect her?

He could still see her body lying on their bed. She looked so beautiful lying on top of their bedding. He thought she was sleeping when he found her. He could feel the coldness of her beautiful skin.

He looked at the cut-down tree. His tears fell stronger as he realised he had dishonoured his wife again. He was a disappointment to her in life as in death. Cutting down her memory like it meant nothing to him.

His forehead rested against the trunk as he cried out. His pain was too much to bear. He needed to release it. It felt too painful to be left inside of him. He had to let it out.

He had killed the witch for what she had done to his dear wife. Bewitched him into sin, trying to lure him into her arms. He cried out again. Cursing the witch for destroying the only good thing in his life. She had looked so shocked as he drove his sword into her stomach. How he had cursed her and told her he did not care if she was a child. That she would feel the same pain he felt as he found his wife in their chamber. Poisoned by a cousin of her favourite tree. He should have known that a Strong bastard would destroy him eventually.

Aemond sat on the floor. The rain was pouring down on him. He did not care. He imagined his wife leaning over him, crying down on him as he sat before her dying tree.

If the opportunity came up, he would welcome death like a friend and ask the Stranger to let him see his beloved wife one last time before he fell into the pits of hell.

Main Masterlist

Can't get enough? Tell me about it...

This was inspired by the spring prompt from the picture challenge of @hotd-bigbang

[flowercrowngods]

it’s floaty steddie hours

Eddie never knew there were moments that would just steal his breath and not give it back even after they passed, lingering in his mind, his heartbeat, his fingertips, making him wonder if the world is suddenly much bigger than before, or endlessly smaller, reduced only to one impossibly perfect moment.

He never knew. Until he met Steve. Steve, with his moments, with his smiles, with his kisses and laughs and gentle voice singing under his breath when he thinks Eddie isn’t listening.

But Eddie listens. He always listens.

And he basks, taking it all in as he’s sitting in the back of his van somewhere at the foot of Weathertop, leaning against the side wall.

There is a steady pitter-patter of heavy summer rain against the roof of the van, a breeze of fresh air coming in through the open doors that occasionally leaves goose bumps along his arms and brings with it the smell of rain and drenched soil, of blooming fields and trees and life, mixing with their own little bubble of life and love and tobacco.

Eddie wants to catch that smell, that sound, that feeling in a mason jar like Steve told him he used to dream as a kid. Maybe he will. He knows there’s one in the driver’s side door for this very purpose.

It would be a good forever-moment, with Steve lying in the back of his van, illuminated by the soft glow of the fairy lights Eddie installed for him the other week with a hearty but ultimately fake grumble. The warm light dances along his skin, making it look even more golden than usual, complementing the galaxy of moles that is imprinted and immortalised on his skin.

And Eddie watches. He always watches.

Golden light that makes even his dimples shine as he smiles, eyes closed as he’s singing along to the third mixtape of the night. Space Age Love Song, which Eddie pretends to hate. But how could he hate it when it makes Steve look like that? When it thus steals Eddie’s breath, his heart, his sanity?

And then, for a moment, for one perfect, drawn-out moment, all Eddie Munson can do anymore is watch. And listen. And feel. Because what he sees and hears and feels is everything.

His breath is lodged in his throat as he reaches for his little sketchbook — the special one, littered with drawings and doodles and musings of Steve. His face, his hands, the constellations of his moles. The occasional DnD related sketch in there, because Steve just inspires him.

His pencil dances over the page in practiced, familiar movements as he tries to capture the moment on paper. It’s hard, though, because Steve’s nose is scrunched a little with that smile that Eddie’s not even sure Steve’s aware of, and his dimples tell a story of their own tonight. A story of contentment rather than joy or amusement. Eddie has to try and try again, never quite getting it right, this perfection, and he curses a little under his breath.

“What are you drawing?” Steve asks, turning his head and opening his eyes a little, squinting but curious.

“Nothing,” Eddie smiles, pulling the sketch closer to his chest, away from Steve’s sleepy, lazy, slow attempt to reach for it. “Go back to sleep.”

“‘M not asleep,” he sighs, rolling over onto his side, watching Eddie and reaching for his ankle — just to touch. To hold. To feel.

It makes Eddie smile. “No?”

“No,” Steve says, helpless not to smile back, and Eddie wants to kiss him. “Just… I don’t know. ‘S nice.”

“Yeah?”

“Mm-hmm. Perfect.”

Eddie discards the sketchbook and goes to lie down beside Steve, wrapping one arm around his middle, the other coming up to take Steve’s, their fingers intertwined between their faces.

“Then I think the word you’re looking for is basking.”

Steve hums again, touching his forehead to Eddie’s knuckles before brushing featherlight kisses over them. “Yeah,” he breathes. “Basking.”

Eddie’s heart is ready to beat out of his chest, make a life of its own fuelled by the perfection of this moment. Everything about it. Everything.

Outside, the rain picks up even more, a wave of cold air coming into the van that makes Steve cuddle closer to him, until their foreheads are touching. Eddie closes his eyes, breathes him in, and slowly inches forward, tilting his head to claim Steve’s lips in a gentle kiss.

They trade slow, sensual kisses for a while. Steve’s hand comes up to Eddie’s cheek, his thumb stroking whatever skin he can find, caressing his cheek, his chin, his jaw, while Eddie plays with Steve’s hair.

In the end it’s Steve who pulls back first, eyes open, just watching Eddie. Taking him in, making him feel seen rather than watched.

“I love you.”

“I love you, too.” Answering is as easy as breathing. And just as difficult. Just as impossible. His love, his breath — they both belong to Steve, completely and entirely.

Steve, who smiles at him like being loved by Eddie Munson means something to him. Like it means everything. Like it can mean Forever. Eddie feels like he might not survive tonight it Steve continues to be so genuine, so honest, so raw, so open, so vulnerable, so pretty, so beautiful, so absolutely breathtakingly everything.

“Can I see what you were drawing?”

“You,” Eddie says, reaching behind him blindly in search for his book, too weak to refuse Steve anything he asks for. “I was drawing you.”

“You were?”

Eddie nods, feeling a heat creeping up on his cheeks.

“Sap,” Steve grins, leaning in to plant a kiss on Eddie’s cheek as he reaches over him for the sketchbook. “Can I?”

“Knock yourself out,” Eddie grumbles, rolling them so Steve’s lying on his back and Eddie can sprawl on top of him. Hide his face in the crook of Steve’s neck, hide the way he’s flushing, hide the absolutely obvious way he’s a goner for Steve fucking Harrington.

He hears the gasps, hears the pages being flipped, the little giggles of surprise, the hums and tiny, secret little ohs. He hears them and he holds his breath, beginning to shiver for a reason that even the cool breeze cannot compete with.

“Eddie,” Steve breathes. Doesn’t say anything else for a while. And Eddie wonders if Steve is in the same boat, in the same condition, if he has these moments, too. Moments like this. He wonders, and he hopes, and he wishes.

But Steve doesn’t say anything else, and neither does Eddie, and the music switches to Springsteen. Tougher Than the Rest. It’s always been too soft for Eddie, but right now it serves to give the word perfect a new melody.

“Dance with me,” Steve breathes.

“Hm?”

“Dance with me. Please?”

“In the rain?”

“Mm-hmm,” Steve nods, tightens his hold around Eddie as if he forgot that they still had to get up and get out there.

“Yeah, okay,” Eddie says, lifting himself from Steve’s chest and climbing out of the car, warm rain immediately drenching his clothes. It makes him laugh, a boyish little thing that bubbles out of him as he holds out his hands to help Steve out.

Steve takes his hand, jumping out with a small giggle of his own, making for a glorious vision: happy and giddy against the golden light inside the van, his wild hair soon drenched completely, sticking to his face where he shakes his head, showing droplets of water left and right.

It doesn’t fit the song, doesn’t fit the notion of basking, but they’re both laughing and breathless, clinging to each other in the moonlit night somewhere at the foot of weathertop, far away from everyone else that they might just be the only two people left in the world. Two silly boys, giddy and breathless and stupidly in love.

It makes Eddie pause. Swallow. It makes his heart go wild as he stills.

“What?” Steve asks, stilling as well, looking over his shoulder to see if someone was coming, if someone’s watching them.

Eddie pulls him closer, makes Steve meet his eyes again as he rests his hands around his neck. “Dance with me.”

A smile spreads Steve’s lips, breaking through all of Eddie’s walls to let the light in — even in the middle of the night. “Okay,” he breathes.

And if you’re brave enough for love, // Honey, I’m tougher than the rest.

The sound of rain isn’t loud enough to drown out the music, but still Eddie can barely hear it over the sound of his own heart. Over the sound of I love you, I love you, I love you. Over the sound of Is this forever? Can this be forever?

They slow dance to Springsteen, then to Tears for Fears, and eventually to Prince. They dance until Steve begins to shiver in his arms, until the rain has drenched them so completely that none of the day’s heat is left in the air and the breeze is getting uncomfortable. And then, they dance a little longer, because Steve is capturing Eddie’s lips again, slow and unhurried and like he means it. Like he means it all.

“One day,” Steve breathes against Eddie’s lips. “One day I’m going to marry you. I’ll find a way.”

And it’s Eddie this time who gasps, who falls into Steve because his knees are giving out. It’s Eddie who’s lost for words.

But he doesn’t need words, because Steve is kissing him again, holding him up, holding him, holding his heart and his life and his future in hands so gentle and sure that Eddie wants to fall apart, just a little bit.

“Not if I marry you first,” he says eventually, brushing one last bruising kiss to Steve’s lips before pulling back and climbing into the van, dripping as he is.

Steve, laughing and giggling, follows immediately after him, pulling off his clothes in a hurry to get under the blanket. Eddie watches him with a leer — at least until Steve kicks him in the side and tells him to get out of these clothes and come under the blanket to warm up.

“If you wanted to get me naked, you could’a just said so, Harrington. Didn’t have to propose first.”

Steve grins, helpless against it, blushing a little and hiding his face in the blanket even as he reaches for Eddie to come closer.

But Eddie doesn’t, and awkwardly climbs over Steve to reach for the driver’s side door.

“What are you—“

Steve shuts up when Eddie retrieves the mason jar, his mouth clicking shut adorably, making Eddie grin, vulnerable and nervous and raw as he feels.

“Told myself I’d capture a perfect moment for you. What do you think, does it qualify?”

Steve swallows. Nods. Reaches for Eddie once more, who shuffles closer until Steve can test his head on his shoulder.

“Can’t believe you remembered,” he murmurs, trailing his index finger along the lid.

“I find your lack of faith disturbing,” Eddie grins, making Steve laugh. Alleviating the moment, but not dislodging it. “So?”

“Yeah,” Steve breathes. “It’s perfect. I’m… God, I love you so much, Eddie, shit.”

“And that’s how I’m gonna label it,” Eddie grins.

“Not One day I’m gonna marry you?”

And Eddie’s breath hitches again. He lowers the mason jar, meeting Steve’s eyes this time. He wants to ask; needs to ask. Needs to know.

“Do you mean that?” It’s whispered; he doesn’t have the strength or the bravery to be any louder.

Steve’s hands come up to his cheeks, cradling his face in the gentlest way as he holds Eddie’s eyes. “Eddie Munson,” he says, “one day I’m going to marry you. And I won’t let you marry me first.”

Between them, Eddie opens the mason jar just as Steve leans in to capture his mouth in a kiss that really is nothing less than a promise. Nothing less than Forever.

happy birthday @anzelsilver i have the hugest “pls be my friend” crush on you so i decided to write you a lil thing and hope you enjoy this and the rest of your week 🫶🤍🌷

[stsgluver]

can I request fluff drabble with geto where the reader has insomnia and he reads to her to help her fall asleep? Congrats on 2k!!

synopsis. you're struggling to sleep after toji's attack.

a/n. thank you!! I hope you enjoy <33 I keep adding Toji in as the bad guy atm and I will continue to do so. also to the lovely anon that requested the academic rivals to lovers I AM IN THE PROCESS OF WRITING IT but it's going to be a lot longer than a short drabble xxx

2k event

“what are you doing?”

you squinted at the sudden light that filled the room. glancing over your shoulder, geto was half sat up, the bedside lamp next to him casting a yellow glow over his tanned skin. he looked tired, eyes half closed, and you felt a pang of guilt.

“sorry suguru,” your hand reached out for his and you interlocked your fingers, giving him a light squeeze. “i didn’t mean to wake you.” you’d been trying to get more comfortable in bed because after two painstakingly long hours of laying and staring at the ceiling, you were starting to get bored.

you’d initially been close to geto, limbs intertwined and his arms securely around you until you’d decided that maybe you were too hot and that was why you couldn’t sleep. except when you moved away you were faced with the same problem and now you weren’t in your boyfriend’s arms – your predicament only worsening.

“why are you awake?” his voice was groggy and sleep was still evident. in any other situation you think you would have just curled back into his arms and let him talk you back to sleep, loving nothing more than to hear him whisper sweet nothings in your ear.

there was a look in his dark eyes though, one that said he already knew the answer to your question. that there was no point in telling him that it was the temperatures keeping you up because you couldn’t even really convince yourself that that was true, let alone him.

you shuffled close to him to rest your head onto his shoulder. one of his arms wrapped around your body, holding you as close as possible to press an encouraging kiss to your forehead.

“i see him every time i close my eyes,” you whispered, voice trembling at the admission. 

geto was shirtless – as he usually was when he slept – and you could see the two large jagged lines that served as a reminder of the man that had nearly slaughtered the two of you and gojo. your fingers hesitantly traced the outline as a silence settled between the two of you.

you’d all been struggling since toji had attacked and you had lost the star plasma vessel. gojo had thrown himself into more training, happily taking on the additional workload the higher ups gave him. geto had become more withdrawn (something you’d tried to talk to him about and he’d dismiss everytime). you, on the other hand, had managed to maintain some kind of normalcy throughout your days, it was at night when all of your issues bubbled to the surface.

“satoru killed him,” geto murmured into your hair, trying his best to ease your racing mind. “you know i won’t let anything hurt you like that again.” you wanted to believe him, you really did, but the phantom pain that bloomed from the scar where you’d been shot throbbed. it was like it was mocking you that no matter how powerful your boyfriend was, no matter how powerful you were, you’d been bested by a mere man with a gun.

when you didn’t respond, geto slipped out of bed, leaving you to sit yourself up properly against the headboard. “where are you going?” you asked him tentatively, a brief moment of insecurity questioning if he was going elsewhere to get a full night’s sleep.

your face lit up in a smile, however, when you realised he was just looking for the book you’d left half read on your desk. when you’d first started dating, most of your alone time happened between lessons. geto would join you underneath a tree of your choosing, head in your lap as you read aloud and he took a nap.

“i love you,” you murmured once geto had settled back into bed. he’d committed to his bit, even going as far as to steal your reading glasses. your giggle was worth it and, for a brief moment, all feelings of unease disappeared for the two of you.

“i love you. now,” geto flicked through the pages to find the small bookmark you had made together, “where were we…”

[roselightfairy]

L/G ficlet: spring/morning after

I was missing Them, so I asked @deheerkonijn for a prompt, and she gave me first day of spring + morning after. Here you are: nothing but fluff here!

...

Birdsong eased Legolas from sleep to wakefulness: weaving into his dreams like the voice of a guide from one state to the other, leading him gently along a wooded path and out towards the eaves of the forest. He could see the sun growing brighter and brighter in the distance, glowing gentle welcome, and he took the last step out from beneath the canopy of trees –

And into his bed. His vision cleared to the sight of a sunbeam slanting its way through the window of his little home, illuminating motes of dust in the air and catching in green-gold reflection off the vines growing along the ceiling. The birds were still singing, their chorus changing softly into one of welcome, of warmth, of light.

Welcome, rather, to the warmth and light.

Spring had come to Ithilien at last.

A smile bloomed in Legolas’s chest, expanding in his throat and in his cheeks until his face ached with the motion. It had grown distant and dull over the last month of winter, the trees bare of leaves and sluggish in song; the elves themselves leaner and more haunted in memory learned over so many years that it would take longer than this to undo them. Winter in Ithilien was milder than in Lasgalen, the woods less haunted by danger and fell things despite its proximity to Mordor, but still the memory of it lived in their bodies: the instinct to huddle together, to hide, to jump at shadows and draw their defenses tight around themselves.

And Legolas’s heart too had felt slow and cold, loneliness creeping over him despite the warmth and care of his companions, aching with an absence that reached beyond the deprivation of the season.

But now –

He stretched his arms overhead and inhaled, long and full, the first deep breaths of spring.

And beside him in the bed, his companion stirred.

Gimli had tucked himself against Legolas’s side, cold still despite the warming of the season, as he always did on his first night of arrival in Ithilien as he adjusted to the light, airy wood of their home here rather than the snug embrace of their chambers in the stone of Aglarond. His hair tickled Legolas’s neck as he moved, and Legolas looked down at where it seemed to have bunched up overnight, fluffing out like the tail of a squirrel – and squirrel-red in the beautiful golden glow of the sun.

“Good morning, sleepyhead,” Legolas whispered, and the frizzy wisps of hair stirred with his words.

“Mmmrph,” replied Gimli, and burrowed his face tighter into Legolas’s neck like an affectionate cat. “Not yet.”

The affection swelled up in Legolas’s chest until he felt he would burst with the sensation, exploding into his own radiant sunbeam and raying out across the room. He buried his face in Gimli’s hair, instead, tucking a kiss against the back of his head. “But it is spring, my love. Do you not wish to see it?”

“I know,” mumbled Gimli against Legolas’s skin. “I was treated to many songs about it last night.”

Legolas could not restrain a laugh, a breathy thing that skipped from his lips lighter than a bird on the wing. “And perhaps a bit too much wine?” he teased. Gimli had been in fine spirits for the feast last night as they welcomed the oncoming spring – relieved of his own lordly duties and more than willing to settle into the more joyful role of consort for the coming month.

He grumbled something unintelligible against Legolas’s shoulder.

Legolas smiled again. This was the true joy of the oncoming spring – the spring in his heart, the joyful bloom of companionship and welcome and love born of the presence of his husband beside him, tucked so close to him in bed that Legolas could not work out where he ended and Gimli began. The joy of coming together after their separation, the knowledge that the season ahead was open before them, full of sunlight and birdsong and possibility and the scent of green things on the air.

The passing seasons had cause to remind him, sometimes, of the brevity of their time: of the fleeting nature of mortal life, of the deep grief that awaited him in years to come. But they were brighter, too, because of Gimli beside him: something new to discover each season, a new joy of homecoming and reunion and potential blooming between them each morning, each spring, each time waking in a shared bed.

He pressed another kiss against Gimli’s hair, and he felt his heart lift with the song of the birds, carried as if on wings into the day before them.

[l0vergirlwrites]

peach ; steve harrington

synopsis: what a typical spring morning at steve’s house looks like

warnings: mentions of partial nudity

note: the coachella fomo is so real rn (wrote this while listening to peach by kevin abstract!)

it’s mid april & the sun has started to come out more in hawkins.

trees are beginning to bud, the grass is somehow growing greener than last spring, & the air reeks of summer feels. with winter disappearing into the back of your minds, hawkins was beginning to bloom again—literally & figuratively.

college was finally done (that is, until september), meaning that you were home (aka spending practically everyday at steve’s place).

with you back home, steve was taking advantage of every moment you two of you shared. whether it was a movie night on his couch with the snacks you both loved, helping him clean up the backyard to prepare for opening the pool, cooking dinner together with his radio on your favourite station—you being by his side for more than three days at time made him feel whole again.

after a night of hosting the gang over for board games & an impromptu “welcome home” party for you, to say you & steve were exhausted was an understatement. the living room still had dice & board game pieces on the carpet, empty cups & plates were stacked by the sink to be washed, the garbage needed to be taken out—but all of that was in the back of your mind as you both laid in bed.

steve had recently done up his room since the last time you had stayed over too which was a nice change. the wallpaper he had from high school was replaced with cream white paint. he upgraded his bedframe to one that didn’t creak as much as the old one, got muted blue curtains, a brand new bookshelf (filled with books you & robin had recommended him) & added more posters of his favourite movies & bands to his walls.

his room screamed steve, especially the new version of himself because he’s so much different from his high school self.

his bedside table was probably your favourite addition to his room though.

it had a framed polaroid picture of the two of you that was taken the previous summer at a beach out of town. steve’s arms were wrapped around your chest & waist, wrists dawning a few threaded bracelets you had made while his head rested against yours. you held his cheek with red nail polished nails as his sunglasses rested on top of your beach dried hair.

you both were smiling like love sick idiots with your feet in the sand & a pink kiss stain on his temple.

it was one of steve’s favourite photos of you in the world. so, it was common sense he’d have it on his bedside table as a little reminder of you. & the thought of him going to the store to buy a frame so he could have it on his bedside made you tear up as you woke up, eyes locking on the photo first thing.

the clock on the table read 10:37am, causing you to stretch your limbs & roll over to see steve still sleeping peacefully.

“love you” you mumbled quietly before pressing a feather light kiss to his forehead before getting out of bed with a dire need to shower. as you tiptoed around the room, you couldn’t help but bite your lip & silently laugh at how he had managed to toss your underwear directly onto a lamp in his room last night when he really welcomed you home.

you made a mental note to bring it up to him later.

grabbing a towel & some extra body wash from the hallway cupboard, you made your way to the bathroom to turn on the warm water. when you returned to steve’s room with undergarments on, wet hair, & a few water droplets on your skin, steve felt like he was waking up in heaven.

“morning babydoll” he rasped as he sat up in bed, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes with a smile.

“morning baby” you replied with a brightly, going into his walk in closet to quickly change before joining him in bed again.

his hands immediately grabbed your thighs, gently pulling you closer to his lap with a smile once you were close enough while your hands raked up his shirtless chest. “mhmmm, you smell good” he hummed with a kiss to your cheek, relishing in how it immediately warmed at his touch.

“you can thank your body wash for that” you chided, running your hands through his bedhead while his inched up to play with the hem of your shirt.

“did you sleep good?” you asked, mumbling a “good” when he nodded, fingers tapping into your skin.

“what ‘bout you? i know you were tired from last nights… activities” he smirked suggestively, biting his lip when you shook & rolled your head back. “shut up, harrington”

“you know how to” he stated with that grin of his you couldn’t help from making butterflies erupt in your stomach.

nudging his head closer to yours, you dipped down to meet his lips in a gentle kiss, one that left him mumbling your name when you pulled away.

“you got a lot of whit this morning” you commented with a head tilt, letting steve pepper a few kisses to your cheek & jawline before answering. “you bring it out in me, honey”

“oh, is that right?”

“i wouldn’t lie to you”

“i’ll believe that”

with a chuckle escaping his lips, steve ducked his head into the crook of your neck, shutting his eyes to relish in the moment. “i missed this” he said with a sigh, humming when you fingers ran through his hair again.

“me too, stevie, me too” you replied, resting your cheek on his head when he pulled you even closer.

he focussed on your heartbeat bumping in his ears while you focussed on his fingers rubbing your back in the way you liked.

“i missed having breakfast with you too” you mumbled, chasing steve to let out a laugh. “you want me to make you something, pretty girl? is that it?”

shrugging your shoulders when he pulled back to look at you, you tired hiding your smile. “i dunno, only if you want. i’ll make you coffee—“, kissing you before you could finish your sentence, steve’s hands cupped your cheeks lovingly.

“we got a deal” he mumbled gained your lips before kissing you again, smiling into it when you fell on your side, pulling steve down with you happily.

[comfortless]

AHH I was the anon from the Bear!Ko ask ʕ•ᴥ•ʔ I adore it so much like I’m kicking my feet and twirling my hair your ideas are CHEFS KISS AND IM GLAD YOU LIKED THE PROMPTT

Definitely not excited that you’re considering more hybrid stuff.. TEEHEE ʕ •́؈•̀ ₎

BUT YEAH JUST THOUGHT TO DROP SOMETHING NEW CUZ WHY NOT! Maybe Ko being deployed on a mission to some wild terrain, having to camp out on the grounds for a while by himself. Reader taking interest in the behemoth and toying with him until he finds out they’re a fae or nymph

Or a game of hide and seek.. in the dark.. with him.. maybe even a wolf!ko

ONCE AGAIN ID LOVE TO SEE YOU WORK UR MAGIC ON THESE IDEAS (｡♥‿♥｡)

hi, 🧸!! working on something with a lycanthrope Kö at the moment, but this is… well it is something! i adore the idea of König with a cute (insatiable) nymph!! definitely give @cookiepie111’s Drink From The Leche of Sirens a read if you haven’t already. <3

content/warnings: 18+. minors do not interact. fae nonsense (reader is a tree nymph), vague smut.

It isn’t that he ever intended to be here, not really. Simple surveillance, Fender had told him. Any knowing soldier would recognize the equipment that did not even need hands to tend to it, the cameras that should be set and monitored, and yet there were none in place here— just König, a loaded gun, and the stillness of the forest that seemed to stretch ever onward.

There’s been a lapse for the past week, with Kortac’s most adept at retrieving information out seeking just that, off with their radios constantly abuzz and adrenaline running rampant through their veins.

There’s an envy harbored somewhere in the back of his skull, twittering and hissing when he thinks on it too much… shelved for an uncharacteristic mistake to be left here amongst plants and scattered animal sounds, a temporary solace that would be ripped away when something new came through the chain of command; an overabundance of the very things he would care to think less about.

König hasn’t seen another person in days, not out here, tracking a vehicle carrying supposed smuggled weapons. There are no tire tracks, not even air traffic passing above: only gloom, loneliness, and the chill of early spring.

Then the abandoned house, where he takes refuge. It’s dated: the furniture all in various states of disarray, shattered porcelain about the kitchen and vaulted ceilings so high he doesn’t even need to bother with ducking to cross from room to room. It’s old on the exterior, stately, with vines creeping up its walls to reach the warmest height to bloom. Though internally, it is clear the place has not been left to rot for long: no loose boards, no holes in the ceiling or floor, just seemingly preserved somehow, as though time itself had come to still.

He doesn’t mind the daily patrols through the forest, the pensive stalking and creeping to find any hint of what he was after. Even through the night, when sleep forgets to lure him in for warmth and comfort amidst the pollen and silence, the walking never seems to grate on him.

There are lights, often, amongst the trees, faint pulses of glowing white that dissipate the moment his gaze sweeps over them. He’s read the fairytales as a child, even witnessed Conor get so drunk once that he shared his own tales of the ‘wee folk’, but König would feel a fool to believe any of that at face value. Most of his own kind were not interested in him, shying away with laughter or pitying gazes the moment he approached, so why would anything else be drawn to a man who could never quite scrub the blood from his fingernails or keep a conversation from spinning out into silence and uneasy glances?

It’s during one of these nightly walks that he first sees her, a vision bathed beneath the milky glow of the moon, ethereal, yet still nothing short of a proper blessing from the earth. Despite the distance from his path to her own, her body looks soft, bare and gentle. The growing thorns and clusters of ivy do not scrape her, only gently pull aside as she walks, tender and swaying like the petals sprung up from the plants for little fingers ghost over.

He only thinks that, assuredly, he’s lost his mind. The vision fades away when she looks at him, curls her lips into a smile… and then it is all gone. She leaves not a trace, no footprints indented into the soil he knows he had only just watched her tread. The flowers he saw her pull into being have vanished, too. All that remains is a dulled aura of dread, a strange thing that he has not felt in years, if ever at all.

König does not think of the woman until she appears again, during the day amidst the leaves of a sprawling sycamore. She lies against the bark, body resting over a healthy branch where she sleeps in a position so demure it sets his heart ablaze. The breeze caresses her hair, something he wishes to feel beneath his own fingertips; it whistles over her bare skin while the sun bathes her in rays of gold, filtered out through pinprick partings in the leaves, begs, pleads for him to touch. Forbidden fruit, too lofty to touch, too dainty for ash and blood.

He only walks away, carries on with the focus of his mission, reminds himself of every time that he’s sought some semblance of companionship and how those escapades had all simmered down to nothing but taunting echoes for sleepless nights. There was no need for any more ghosts, not even the pretty ones.

With nothing else in sight, he returns to that house where time halts and loses himself to want; swallows dry when he frees himself of his buckle and pulls out his growing erection. A release and an expelling of memory all in one.

He thinks of her, of her graceful walk amidst the darkened woods, of the way she lay, perfectly unscathed and beautiful, unknowing of any thing that plagues him, scatters from his grim expression right down to his very marrow. The imaginings… he would never speak of them, perhaps would only have the information pried from him that he thought of her smile when he spilled himself into his palm, but only if she came to beg for it with a voice he imagines must be tree sticky and sweet like warmed honey. Only if she came for him.

There lies a meadow just past an abrupt opening in the tree line, small and subdued by outstretched branches that curl over the grass and wildflowers still yet to bloom. No chill lingers here, as though summer stretches over the little glade and settles atop it with its warmth, masks even the little pond that does not seem to carry the same frosted panes of ice that the others he had seen do. There is fruit, puny red berries and hefty pears causing their limbs to bend, gently set them down for the earth and all of the animals roaming about to eat.

And he knows he’s stumbled upon her home.

He finds his voice when she peeks at him from behind the trunk, wide-eyed and curious with the softest curl about her lips, playful but tentative.

“Hallo,” he whispers, raising his gloved hand as if to wave, but curling his fingers into his palm instead. He’s horribly uncertain, caught between the alarming thought that he’s dealing with some perturbing nudist or something… else entirely.

“Hello,” she says, almost shy as she unveils herself from behind the tree, takes a step toward him with a tender look in her eyes and a long draw of breath. Sets his nerves at ease with her silent admittance that she, too, at least seemed wary.

König immediately tells her why he’s here, not in full detail, sparing the poor doe the tedium and the confidential bits that would likely only make her head spin, and then… he mentions how he had seen her, how the forest seemed to yield to her whims, her dancing beneath the moon that appeared to shine only for her. He gives her a curious look, undetectable beneath the darkened hood, pleads for her to explain in his own silent sort of way.

“I have seen you too,” she says instead, curling her arms behind her back, pushing out her chest, and… he doesn’t think to ask any further.

She’s the loveliest thing that he has ever seen or felt: places herself right into his lap when she guides him down to the grass. There’s sap on her fingertips when she presses them to his lips, curiously grazing them over his mouth as he speaks to her about the forest, a forest he’s already deemed to be her own, obscure princess that she was. She giggles when he dares to lick over each intruding digit, even gives a shaky, soft sigh when he suckles at one.

The nymph whispers things into his ear that he’s never heard before: things about each sprouting plant, of other things that hide away in the shade beneath branches and how they had all seen him too, about the earth and life and softer secrets about her beloved tree. Home and love without ever daring to speak words so simple. She does not ask about the dreadful things he does not think about, only lies back in the grass when he praises her beauty and the lovely notes of her voice.

He thinks for a moment that he should not touch her, should not have her grace wasted on something like him, but she rises up only enough to kiss him through the hood and he finds himself tugged down to tickling blades of grass and his mind finally does quiet.

She cradles him close as he claims her love for his own, steals sap from her lips and follows her sighs to a comforting oblivion. Her hands find his neck, his shoulders to offer gentle touches, tracing patterns like the intricate twisting of vines against his flesh all while he praises their union, her sweetness.

He doesn’t know how long he’s spent with her, the day seems to to stretch on for an eternity with the sun high above, but when he wakes… he is back inside of the old, quiet house, lying in the bed he knows with a certainty that he’s never even touched. Fender’s voice is calling to him over the radio, clipped and demanding for a report, one that proves nothing at all, a barrage of words filled with wonder and bliss with no intel on the mission.

And König isn’t shocked by the leave he’s given once he does return to base the following day. Three weeks time would be just enough to clear his head, regain his focus, pull money from his account to purchase that lonesome old house in the forest. He couldn’t bare the thought of never seeing such an angel again, never hearing the soft chittering of her voice or being blessed with the feeling of her beneath him, intertwined like the vines she so loved.

[synthetickitsune]

The8 (Seventeen) | Morning anxiety fluff | 0.9k

You knew you were fucked as soon as you woke up. Something didn't feel right - a sense of wrongness permeating everything. The darkness was thicker than it should be. The light from the outside seemed too red. It triggered something inside you that caused your mind to spiral. You knew you wouldn't fall asleep again. 

And that would be fine. You could handle getting through the day sleep deprived, having years of experience at this point. But lying back down, you couldn't find a comfortable position and even as the sky became bright outside, you kept tossing and turning. Also fine. If your boyfriend wasn't as light of a sleeper as he is.

“Can’t sleep?” Minghao asks, barely awake, voice heavy and thick. It has this comforting heft to it - just as his arm that prods at your waist and sneaks under your body, wrapping around you and pulling you closer. 

“Yeah,” you sigh, “Too many thoughts. Sorry I woke you up.”

He hums, thoughtfully, and falls silent. You feel his breath on your skin, so even and calm you think he’s already asleep. Meanwhile, inside your head it’s the exact opposite. You pick out details from previous days, all the ifs that could go wrong, the tone someone used in a conversation. Outside, the sky shifts closer to different hues of blue with each passing minute when suddenly - darkness. 

The world goes black.

His hand is warm, and some deep brownish orange comes in lines between his fingers as he covers your eyes. You hear him move and feel the bed dip right behind you until your body is tilting and only stops when your back meets his chest.

“What-”

“Just listen to the birds sing,” he murmurs. There are birds outside, loud and noisy, but you can’t say that listening to them is what you wanna be doing. 

"Hao…" you whine. Your dismay for the exercise is clear in your voice.

"You let me blind you," he reprimands gently, "So trust me."

You do trust him. Even if you can’t see, you’d do anything he tells you - except apparently right now, except with something as simple as just being present in the moment. As if he could sense your reluctance, he disarms you by pressing his lips against the back of your neck.

“Shhhh,” he breathes and it sends shivers down your spine, “Do it for me, darling.”

You don’t dare roll your eyes even if he couldn’t see it anyway. Instead you close them and try to do as he says. Now that you’re focused, you can hear a variety of bird voices.

It's almost like a conversation in a different language, a multitude of them, and usually you'd love it, would be excited by it, but right now you're defiantly infuriated by it. You can't even say why.

"Hear the birds sing," Hao whispers again, pulling you closer. That works much better - his voice and touch, "Hear the wind in the trees. Remember the one we saw yesterday?"

You nod, and despite yourself you smile. "Yeah. It was in full bloom. I haven't noticed before."

You feel his smile on your skin. Much better than listening to stupid birds.

"Then listen and imagine. The wind blowing past, carrying the petals all around. Can you hear the birds?"

Yes, you want to tell him, but I'd love to listen to you instead. Yet you don't, because you know he's tired and he needs to sleep as much as you do. So you listen again, and nod.

"What do they look like?" he asks, but you’re distracted by him nuzzling into your shoulder.

“I don’t know,” you say quicker than you can realize you’re snapping at him, and you’re immediately trying to make amends, “Sorry.”

“Just imagine,” fortunately, your boyfriend is a very patient man. 

Ashamed by your earlier outburst, you do imagine the birds behind the sounds. And doing so, you realize you know some of those birds. Like the tiny brown and gray one who just has to be the culprit behind the happy chirping. The majestic black birds who must be the ones cawing. And then-

“The sharp sound - that’s the one that used to sit on our kitchen window,” you say, receiving a hum and another kiss, “The one that stopped coming.”

You keep emotions out of your voice even though you’re admittedly still bitter about being abandoned without any good reason by a bird you thought liked your window. What did you do wrong? You left it alone, you were mindful of it, you even avoided your own kitchen when it sat there to let it rest. Sometimes you even left it seeds to snack on…

Before you realize, tension is melting away from your body as you remember the bird. The paranoid thoughts quieten down faced with wonder. Your mind drifts all over the place. You feel like you’re floating among the blue and the birds. 

You get startled when Hao’s chest vibrates with a chuckle. Still smiling, he kisses your shoulder. 

“Better?” he asks, softly, already falling asleep now that his mission’s accomplished. You snuggle further under the covers.

“Thank you,” you say, even though you really mean i love you. You have a feeling he knows anyway.

[katiexpunk]

Are you ever going to do a pt 2 to dream of me? It was soo good! I want to see the morning after and what joel would do while reader/character is asleep or something.

Dream of Me - Part II | Pairing Joel Miller X Fem!Reader

Thanks for the ask, Non. <3 I'm so glad you liked it! I've had a part II in my wips for a while, and your ask inspired me to finish it up. It was one of my first fics and I feel like my writing style has evolved a lot since then. So surprise! I also added about 1K extra words to Part I. :) Rating: 18+ Minors DNI | W/C: ~2K Warnings: Dream vibes. Unprotected P in V. Orgasm denial. Pet names. Masturbation. Use of cum as lube. Rough sex/hair pulling. Use of slut one time. Oral (f receiving). Sleeping bag sex. There is an age gap, but it's not specified (make it your own). No use of Y/N, no use of daddy. For immersability, the reader has no major physical descriptions/graphic is for vibe purposes only. Masterlist | Notifications | Read on AO3 | Part 1

The world is bathed in a soft, ethereal glow, the kind that seems to blur the edges of reality into a gentle haze. You’re standing in the middle of an open field, the grass beneath your feet feels lush and slightly damp, as if it had recently been kissed by a passing cloud. Above you, the sky is a canvas of swirling colors, painting a sunset that seems almost otherworldly. You feel like you’ve stepped into a painting, the kind that used to hang on walls in museums, ones that used to be meticulously cared for.

In the distance, you see a mountain, its peak shrouded in mist and its slopes adorned with trees that shimmer in hues of gold and emerald. You think that it might be nice to sit in the grass and just watch the clouds roll over the rock giant. Before your legs can fall to the ground, your ears tune to the telltale sounds of water on water, a roaring waterfall unmistakable in the distance. 

You begin to walk, your steps guided by an unseen force, drawn towards the mountain as if it were calling to you, whispering your name in only a language you understand. The air is filled with the sweet scent of flowers in bloom, a fragrance so potent and yet so delicate, like a memory from a time long forgotten. You’re reminded of the perfume your mother used to wear, the lush roses that once lived in your garden, and the earthy smell of fresh-cut grass. 

As you approach the base of the mountain, you notice a path that winds its way up the slope, paved with stones that faintly glow, as if they were lit from within. With each step, the stones beneath your fit light up, guiding you onward, their light casting dancing shadows on the path in front of you. You feel warm and fuzzy, safe and curious, like nothing here could hurt you. 

Suddenly, out of the corner of your eye, you see a figure standing off the side of the path. A man, broad and imposing, yet with a demeanor that radiates warmth, beckons you closer. 

As you get closer, you realize it’s Joel. He looks different, softer somehow. He doesn’t say anything, just holds your gaze. 

“Is this a dream?” You ask, your voice off in the distance, almost as if it was coming from someone else. 

His dark eyes lock on yours, and he takes a step closer. He cages you back until your backside lands against the expanse of a thick tree. He stands, palm flat against the bark above your head, and leans in. Fuck, he smells good — like cedar and cinnamon. 

You look up at him, and he leans in even closer, his face close enough that you feel the warmth of his breath on your skin. His hungry eyes fall to your lips, and he leans in even further, lips hovering just over yours. 

“Why don’t we find out?” He says, voice low, a syrupy drip of arousal behind his words. 

You jolt awake, but this time there are no soft moans that thread through stillness, instead, you’re met with the wanton sound of skin-on-skin, and deep heavy grunts. 

“You’re a dirty fucking girl, you know that, sweetheart?” Joel groans, once again on top of you, fully awake this time. One hand on your hips, the other braced at your side, he guides your wet cunt down onto him with intensity. He gyrates his hips, the tip of him kissing your cervix, and you let out a breathy moan. 

“Joel, fuck —” 

“Fucking me in my sleep, taking advantage of me,” he groans through grit teeth as he relentlessly fucks into you, taking you hard and rough, “Cock hungry little slut, just couldn’t help yourself, could you?” He says, hand leaving your hip for a brief moment to unzip the rest of the sleeping bag down. 

Both of his hands find your hips and he tugs you back and up so you’re on all fours, ass clapping against his lower tummy. “Toldya you were asking for trouble, sweetheart,” he says, trailing his hand up your lower back, causing you to arch for him. His hand grabs the back of your neck with a commanding grip, and he uses the leverage to pull you back onto his cock even harder. 

“Shit Joel, ah” you whimper, a little sore from last night, “it’s so much,” you mewl. 

“You had your fun, baby, now it’s my turn,” he says with a low groan and moves to gather a handful of your hair in his first. He tugs it and your back curves even further, the new angle perfect against the soft spongy spot that makes you see stars. 

“Joel, oh my god, please —” you cry out, a little plea of pleasure, a little plea of pain. He’s fucking you with such intensity, using you just like you hoped he would last night. Last night was incredible, but nothing could compare to this. You’re not sure you’ve ever been fucked this good, ever. 

“You close, baby?” 

“Yes, oh god, please — wanna come so bad, please Joel,” you moan, and he lets out a deep groan of approval from his chest. He tugs on the hair intertwined between his fingers and pulls you up so your back is against his chest, his cock still deep inside of you. 

His forearm comes to wrap around your waist and his lips find your neck, his teeth gliding against the razor edge of your jaw. He sucks soft kisses into your damp skin and continues dragging his thick cock in and out of you just so. 

Your eyes flutter closed and Joel can tell you’re close from the way your pussy walls clench around him. 

“Look so good like this baby, stuffed full of my cock,” he whispers into your ear, sucking the lobe of it between his lips. “‘Ts a damn shame I won’t get to hear how sweet you sound when you come,” he says, voice low, as he thrusts up hard into your cunt and then quickly pulls out. 

Your eyes snap open and your jaw drops. He releases you and you turn around to face him. He can’t be serious right now. 

“Sorry, sweetheart. Bad girls don’t get to come,” he says, a harshness to it, but you see a smirk of satisfaction wash over his face. His large hand comes out to grip his thick cock, and he uses your slick as he works himself. 

“Joel, please —” you all but beg, your eyes soft, chest heaving. His jaw tightens, the veins in his neck bulging as he fucks his fist and takes in the sight of you. You hold his gaze, and another soft please escapes your lips. 

“Fuck,” he groans, “lay on your back, spread your legs,” he commands, much like he does when he tells you to get behind him, his rifle aimed at any potential threats. It might have scared you pre-outbreak, how submissive you’ve become for a man, but that was then and this is now — you follow his orders to stay alive because he knows what’s in your best interest. This can’t be any different, right? 

You do as he says, your hand instinctively finding your way to your wet core, circling on your clit, seeking out the friction you so desperately need. 

“Did I say you could touch yourself, sweetheart?” 

“No,” your eyes drop to his weeping cock, and your hand falls to your side. 

“You touch yourself when I say you can,” he says, voice heavy and a little breathless. His resolve is slipping. He hasn’t let up the pace on his cock this entire time, and you can tell he’s close. You spread your legs even wider, granting him an unobstructed view of your dripping cunt. 

“You gonna come for me, Joel?” You softly moan, a seductive tone to your voice. “Gonna paint my pussy with your cum?” You press your knees down further on top of the sleeping bag. 

Joel’s fist tightens on his cock, and he works it methodically, eyes locked on your wet hole. 

“God, she’s so pretty, I can tell she wants to be full of me, huh, baby? Little cunts just begging to be stuffed,” he groans and thrusts his hips into his fist once more before he lets out an almost painful-sounding moan. Hot cum falls over his fingertips, pools on the top of your mound, dripping honey thick over your clit, down your lips, and into your aching hole. His chest heaves and his fist holds tight on his cock as he lets the aftershocks of his orgasm wash over him. 

On his knees in front of you, between your legs, he rises and adjusts his shoulders. He releases his spent cock and falls back onto his legs, shins pinned to the ground below. 

“Go ahead, sweetheart. Want to watch you fuck it into you,” he says, bringing both of his hands to your inner thighs, holding you open for him. 

Like you did last night, you fingers return to your clit and you pull tight circles there, using his cum as lube. He should be looking at your pussy, but instead, his eyes are locked on yours. He’s so fucking intense, a brooding mass of a man, even now, a slight blush to his cheeks from his orgasm, chest twinged with sweat. You want to know what he tastes like, the salt of his skin on your tongue, the tang of his cum. 

You use your middle finger to gather a little bit of his release on your finger and fuck it into yourself a few times, before drawing your finger out and up to your mouth, slipping the slick digit between your lips. You suck it clean and you swear you see his cock twitch as you do. 

“Jesus,” he groans, and his cock starts to harden once more. 

Your fingers return to your clit. You’re so close, it’s not long before —

“Fuckfuckfuck, yes,” you cry out, eyes closed, your release taking over you like watercolor paint spilling onto paper, blurring the lines your pleasure has always been confined to — until now. You think once again that this might be a dream, but this time you’re no longer in a painting that hangs on a wall in a museum, you are the painting.  

“Shit, that was pretty,” he moans, and you open your eyes to find his cock is now fully hard once again. 

“Did so good for me, sweetheart,” he says, coming to hover over you. His cock smears the remnants of his cum on your belly as he leans in closer, and hovers his mouth over yours. He holds steady there, eyes still fixed on yours before he drops them to your lips and leans in to plant a soft kiss on them. 

It’s tender, softer than you would expect from a man like him. 

He pulls himself up slightly and brings one hand to cup your cheek. 

“You’re gonna do that again,” he says, voice soft, and your eyes widen. 

“Told you you were asking for trouble, sweetheart,” he groans against your chest. “But don’t worry, I’m gonna help you out this time,” he says, trailing kisses down the valley of your breast, using his tongue to lap up the cum that’s gathered on your skin before his head comes to rest in between your thighs. 

And in that moment, your reality outshines the confines of even the sweetest of dreams. 

END