#and there were some wordings and such i wanted to change in chapter 6. minor things. but still things that were bothering me.

[orcelito]

ok i finished re-editing ITNL chapter 6 & posted it. also i finished chapter 5 yesterday & forgot to say anything lskdjfslkdjf

man. chapter 6 sure is something. lots of catharsis here.

[ahhhwomen]

Eternal Slumber.

Vampire Empire

Part 5

Pairing: DarkVamp!Wanda Maximoff x DarkVamp!Natasha Romanoff x Fem!Reader

A/N: This is kinda just a filler chapter while I work on requests (if anyone else have any feel free to drop by my inbox), so it may be a little while until part 6, that being said, enjoy lovelies!

Disclaimer: English is not my first language. All mistakes are my own.

AU Warnings: Human pets, abuse, violence, possessiveness, probably incorrect vampire lore, angst, panic attacks, hurt/comfort, kitten play (?), death, suicidal ideation  Minors DNI 18+

Summary: They say a taste of death can change a person forever. However, they never take into consideration, that maybe, that’s the only thing coating your tongue on a regular basis.

Word Count: 2k

Taglist

There are tiny spikes of ice against the metal, almost like a layer of fuzz over the orange rust. It creeps into every crevice, the metal bars groan and creak, and the water, frozen inside some of the weaker spots, bursts and tears apart the material.

The cold was affecting everything.

You stare at the metal hook responsible for keeping you in place. The concrete around it is dented and smoldering. With a microscope, it would look like a mountain falling apart. Stone by stone.

It wouldn’t take much force; you ponder if you could release it with just a weak tug. You probably could, but you don’t bother.

Your body sinks lower, and the concrete scratches against your stomach. Red welts burn in displeasure as the friction reawakens the former punishment. It’s as if the weight of your body has doubled overnight, you can’t keep yourself up.

It’s hard to breathe.

It’s hard to stay awake…

The cold was affecting everything.

Including you.

You glance out the window with meager eyes. The trees pass by faster than you can keep track. Your head pounds, and you want to rest.

Just for a moment-

A gruff voice disturbs your peace for the hundredth time.

“Don’t you dare fall asleep.”

You had been lying in your enclosure all day, preserving your movements for only necessary situations. You wanted to dream it all away, but you knew you shouldn’t.

With both your nose a fresh pink and fingertips a bleak blue there wasn’t much to do other than to study your surroundings.

Your eyes glide over the same small details you have stared at for years, though there was a beauty to your misery, every corner and prickle of this place glittered against the slim beam of light from the hallway. The golden gleam reflected like sunlight against the ice, however, where you lay chained and tense under your red lamp, it felt more like a mockery.

With a sigh, you looked over to the empty shackles, frozen to the ground opposite of you. Your muscles burn as you grip the ground firmly and attempt to lift yourself up. Your arms shake in effort, your nails grinding against the pavement, but you can only manage to push upward for less than an inch.

Then a light thud echoes as you fall back down.

You’re so tired…

Your eyes slip closed for a second, there are a select few in the hallway that whine and growl, and you try to shift your focus onto them. Their hoarse voices screech against your eardrums, and you can’t help the grim expression as you listen to their cries…

There were more yesterday…

Of course, it was a given that this place took away some hope, but you know that isn’t the reason the numbers of distain more than halved overnight.

The rag over your lower half shifts away from you with every minuscule movement, it slides against your bottom, and slowly, the grime and dirt settled within the flimsy material slather itself against you as it leaps the final length and falls off.

It’s almost as if it knows you are too tired to move it back.

You are so sick of this place.

The cries are silenced as you hear the familiar thunder of shaking keys.

With a bitter glance to the other side of the room, you pity yourself; if you had any strength left, you would wrap the chains around your neck and hang yourself.

You huff in annoyance as the redhead shakes you vigorously yet again.

You can feel a swift, but gentle, slap on the back of your head. The redhead’s hand taps against you, her palm making quick contact with the greasy hair.

At your whining Wanda voices her opinion, “Don’t start with me, I told you not to fall asleep.” The powerful woman’s annoyed voice wraps around your lingering headache. Her calm tone was more like a booming against your forehead.

Shifting under the red leather, you whimper even more. The heating blasting towards you feels strange. Hot air sifts around you, almost like a tunnel of wind directed solely at your slumped frame. A noise, a mix of a hoarse cough and a weak cry, can be heard as Wanda shifts her own heat toward you too.

Realizing you won’t back down on your bitching, Wanda retrieves her hand with a roll of her eyes and refocuses on the road in front of her.

Trees and livestock pass by in a blur, there are tiny speckles of muck and dirt against the expensive windshield. Snow sits snug in the more stubborn corner of the window, small flacks forming a pile unmovable by the front wind.

Goosebumps prickle Wanda’s skin, the bite of winter making its entrance this early must really do a number on places like the shithole you´re from.

The car lifts for a moment as one of the bumps rustles the lambo, you shrink in on yourself, your pale skin retreating to hide under red leather. The redhead’s foot pushes downward harder, the exhilarator vrooming as she frowns.  

Wanda doesn't even know what possessed her to take you, but if she left you there, you would surely be dead by the end of the day.

Natasha was always far better at understanding humans, however, given the little bond you two have, she is unsure how the other redhead will react to your current state. She glances at you in her peripheral, your lips are tinged blue, same with your fingertips and toes.

You don’t even shiver, and Wanda passes another stop sign with no regard. Shivering is a good thing; it means your body is aware you are cold. No shivering is bad, like really fucking bad.

Her hands tighten against the steering wheel, the skin between her rings and knuckles, clamp and squeeze in an irritating pinch.

It doesn’t take a genius to understand that if you aren’t yet hypothermic, it won’t be long until you are.

With a sigh, Wanda reaches over to settle the jacket more tightly around your frame.

It’s a fifteen-minute drive to the house, Wanda makes it in seven.

Natasha frowns, and the smell of burned vegetables invades her senses. With an irritated scrunch of her nose, the redhead goes to trash yet another pot of attempted soup.

The goo of estranged ingredients jiggles unsettlingly at the top of the trashcan as Natasha pours the substance out. The ring on her left pointer clinks against the pot as she places it back on the stove.

She can never get it right.

With a huff, the redhead pulls out her cell phone, her hand wraps around the silver piece and she goes to find her messages. Her thumb makes quick work of checking on Wanda yet again, the pad of her finger taps the screen rapidly, the remains of her failure smudges against the glass, and Natasha cringes.

Her unread reply to Wanda’s previous questions remains the same, wiping her hands and phone off with the kitchen rag, the redhead walks over to her preferred room of leisure.

The clacking of her heels hitting the flooring is dampened as she steps onto the carpeted part of their little den.

A soft glow illuminates the living room, and the tenseness of her shoulders lessens as she lets the orange hue wash over her.  

Plopping herself on the green couch she reaches over to her purse, the case reports she needed Wanda’s thoughts on lying on the very top. The paper brushes against her fingers, the white sheets threatening to tear as Natasha's nimble fingers search through the mess lower down.

She is just about to read them over again, when the familiar rumble of her wife’s car, pulls into their parking lot.

Shifting the gear stick, Wanda finally manages to park, your shuffling and whining had certainly not been helping. She can see her wife waiting for her by their door, but Wanda knows she is going to have to wait a moment longer.

You sit beside Wanda, your body wringing and shifting, you feel hot, and sweat rolls down your forehead.

The black belt meant to secure you through the drive feels more like a restraint as you push your shoulders against it. Bone threatens to pop out of the socket as the strong treads hold your weight back with ease, the pressure against your bruised body does little to deter you.

Wanda tusks, “Stop that.” Her hand reaches over to you and unfastens the belt, “Calm down baby, we are already here.”

Wanda pauses.

She scrunches her eyes, her left hand tightening the hold against the steering wheel.

Wanda doesn’t do nicknames, or sweet ones anyways, not unless it’s her wife.

Yet, the nickname had slipped without a second thought.

She has little time to think about it however, the sound of weak banging calls out to her, the redhead’s attention shifts and she groans in annoyance as you have now moved on to trying your luck against the metal door.

Your fingers run along the interior of the door, the pounding in your head makes it hard to see, and everything blends together in a mess of colors and sounds. You try to feel your way to the handle, but only expensive patterning can be felt as you try gripping the handle.

“You can never make it easy for me, can you kitten?” The redhead mumbles to herself.

The black tinted windows stop anyone from seeing what is happening inside Wanda’s car, but the taller woman can see Natasha shifting uneasily at how slow her usually effective wife is being.

With a sigh, Wanda rolls up the sleeves of her blouse, the silken material gliding and scrunching at the crease of her elbow.

In an attempt to settle you, if only for a moment, Wanda presses her right hand flatly against your chest. With a controlling movement, she pushes up and down to signify a breathing cycle more suitable than your erratic one.

She holds her unoccupied hand against your thigh, rubbing it up and down gently. The friction does nothing but alarm Wanda further.

Knowing she can’t turn around now, Wanda steps out of the car, your scent leaking out into the chilly wind outside their estate.

The shift in Natasha’s behavior is one not entirely surprising yet distinctively fascinating as the smell of your cold blood clings to the inside of her nose.

The taller woman moves to your side of the car; she secures you tightly in her arms. You try your best to squirm out of her hold, your hands clawing against Wanda’s covered biceps, but with how tired you are it’s little use.

You slump into the redhead’s body. Her leather jacket forces you even deeper into the scary woman’s embrace.

Realizing there is no winning this, you finally fall into the deep exhaustion that lies beneath your skin.

Natasha stands as still as a statue. Every muscle within her expands and contracts, but she can’t move.

Until she can.

At a young age she was taught that every choice one makes has consequences, every decision she has ever seen through in her life has been planned to the very tee before any move was made. She never “vamped out”, she never made a mistake, and every notion of her life was just how she planned for it to be.

Why, because Natasha knows restraint.

Your limp body lies seemingly lifelessly in Wanda’s hands.

Natasha doesn’t think.

The weight of your slim body is removed from Wanda faster than even she can comprehend, her leather jacket that was lying close to her chest, just as you were, is now gone, just like you. For a reason she cannot explain, anger bubbles beneath the exterior of the older woman as she watches Natasha carry you to the house.

With a speed unchallengeable Wanda stands just behind her wife. Her hands wringing the material in front of her in a firm grip, the black fabric is soft inside her clutch.

Holding her back by her jacket Wanda questions her wife, “What are you doing?” her anger lingers within her tone.

Enough so that any other day Natasha would stop dead in her tracks, today, however, was not one of those days.

The thick fabric of Natasha’s suit slips from nimble fingers as Natasha rips herself away from the redhead. With a blank face, she turns toward her wife, two prominent canines peeking out between soft lips.

“She is freezing to death.”

Taglist:

@thinking1bee

@tobiaslut

@esmeseasle

@skittlebum

@tia-thesimp

@maximilfsworld

@leenasayeed

@scarlethexelove

@itsalwaysskorpioszn

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@adelareys

@anqyuicka

@ichala

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@lovelyy-moonlight

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@mousetheorist

@herwagonempathkid

@mommysfavouritegirl

@auroraromaximoff

@roman0ffsheart

@morganna-la-faye

[lazyjellyfish300]

The Woman He Didn't Choose Part 6🥀

AU Bachelor!Miguel O'Hara x Fem Contestant!Reader

Synopsis: After the big rose ceremony fight, your future in Paradise is uncertain. But one thing is for certain, a new storm is brewing... Word count 4.8k

Part 1(previous parts linked in the post)

A/N: EEEE, thank you for all the support and love this AU has gotten with all the recent asks as of late, just TY TY so much! 🖤 I think there will only be 3 chapters max after this then we will bid this series farewell 😢 going back to my Jersey Shore roots for this one as the inspiration mixed in!

DISCLAIMER: I have changed the name of the show for copyright purposes, I don't own or have rights to the TV show The Bachelor or Bachelor in Paradise and all credit goes to the rightful owners.

TW: MINORS DNI, ANGST(slightly less in this chapter), DRAMA, SUGGESTIVE-GETTING HANDSY ON THE DANCE FLOOR, MULTIPLE PEOPLE MAKING OUT MENTIONED, NO MAJOR SMUT YET(THAT'S FOR THE FAIRYTALE SUITES 🤭😏), BREAK UP, JEALOUSY, INSECURITY, CHEATING, BETRAYAL, RELATIONSHIP TROUBLES, GASLIGHTING

🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹

Jason Donner speaks in a voiceover: "Tonight on Singles in Paradise... 

🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹

Jason takes a deep breath as he addresses the anxious group that are setting in various spots in the common room. You and Felicia are holding onto each other's knees cross legged on the floor. Miguel is watching Jason's face intently for any detection of the news he is about to share. George has an arm around MJ who is fiddling nervously with her necklace. Ben is locked in a dead stare at a spot on the floor. Peter B. is noticeably absent. 

"Alright, y'all , I know there's been a lot of madness around here lately. Just a little update on Dana: she will not be returning to paradise." 

You and Felicia do your best not to crack a smile as you slowly turn to look at each other. 

"Now..." Jason warns. "I do not condone anything that took place at the rose ceremony tonight. Physical violence will not be tolerated on any show of the Eligible Suitor Nation. However..." He pauses, motioning towards you. 

"I understand that some of it was provoked by some words that were exchanged between fellow cast mates..." He continues, putting it vaguely. “....and I want you to know that we do not condone that either. Due to Dana's departure, Miguel?" 

Miguel slowly looks up at Jason, a hopeful look on his face. 

"We will let you stay another week. However, if you do not have a rose by that time, you will be going home for good. Understood?" 

Miguel nods silently and smiles, uttering a murmur of gratitude. 

"Great." Jason says. "Well, everyone, it's been a long night. Why don't we call it here. We'll have some fun surprises to look forward to tomorrow as well as a group outing. With that, I'll bid you all goodnight. Everyone behave from here on out, got it?" He points a finger at the room with everyone nodding and mumbling in silent confirmation. 

"Good. Goodnight everyone." He turns, fastening one of his buttons on his light tan suit jacket as he steps out, walking away into the night. 

Everyone sighs and Felicia pops up, offering both of her arms to you and grunts in unison with you as you use her to stand up as well, your feet and legs like television static from sitting cross legged on the floor. Felicia turns to Ben and gives him a hug in silence, talking quietly amongst each other before it's time to separate for bedtime. 

Miguel takes you by the hand, your cheeks growing a little warm as you look up at him. 

"You good?" He murmurs lowly at you. 

You yawn loudly, raising your free hand over your mouth, nodding your head as you release it. "M'fine..." 

You let go of his hand for a moment as you place both hands on the small of your back, bending backwards a little bit as you stretch your spine, holding your breath for a moment then letting it out with a deep sigh. "Just need some sleep I guess." 

Miguel nods with a hum. "Want me to walk you to your room?"

"Um..." You hesitate a little, looking around then squeezing past Miguel to get your blanket that's sitting behind him on the couch. "I'll be alright. I was gonna walk back with Felicia anyways since we're staying in the same villa." 

"Right, right..." Miguel nods, trying to disguise his disappointment by looking at a spot over your shoulder. 

"Well, thank you, you know for having my back with everything...and g'night." You sort of bend your knees in a little bow of farewell with your blanket and your sandal wedge heels in your arms as you turn around, Felicia skipping quickly to walk by your side as you both stroll down the moonlit path to your room. Miguel watches you leave with a bittersweet look on his face. 

🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹

The camera sits in front of an unoccupied bamboo chair in the confessional area, until Peter B. comes into the frame, sitting down with a grunt. 

He blows air out of his cheeks, shaking his head as he runs his fingers through his hair, sitting back in the chair and letting his arms flop dead to the side, the rose you gave him knocked askew and holding on by just one pin to his white button down. 

One of the producers talks to him from behind the camera, the voice a little muffled and so the question is broadcasted across the screen in subtitle captions. 

"What's going through your mind right now, Peter?" 

Peter laughs pathetically, shaking his head and sitting up, leaning forward a little with his elbows in his lap, fingertips touching, hanging his head a little as he thinks silently to himself before he looks at the camera. "There's a lot on my mind now...but I just... there's nothing. You know? You know that feeling where you have so much on your mind that you just end up staying frozen where you are? Yeah. That's what I'm feeling like right now." 

"Are things over between you and y/n?" 

Peter B. puffs air out of his cheeks again. "I don't know." He shrugs, a tired look in his eyes "I don't know. She wants nothing to do with me right now." 

He stares into space for a moment. "I'm over the bullshit. Miguel and George. Those two are a problem. They need to watch themselves. And, Ben's my boy, you know? But I was not expecting him to turn, *he snaps his fingers* ...like that." 

He pauses once more, fuming silently, until he presses his face to his palms, hanging his head. "Things are gonna get ugly. Just watch."

🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹

The sun rises on another day in paradise. The group shuffles into the common area, grabbing smoothies from the bar and bowls of cereal and oatmeal, eating in quiet silence as you all slowly start to wake up. 

You approach Ben and Felicia at their table with your wet suit half on, asking her for help zipping you up the rest of the way. She nods, sticking her spoon in her mouth as she scoots forward on the bench, zipping you up. 

The resort's bartender, James calls over to you. "Morning, ladies. What's the plan today?" 

"Um surfing lessons, apparently. Hence, the wet suits." You gesture to your torso. 

James nods with a smile as he wipes down the bar. "Nice nice. I heard things were quite eventful last night." 

You scoff. "That's putting it lightly..." 

"Wanna catch me up?" 

You and Felicia look at each other. "Girl you do it..." 

"Okay so basicallyy..." Felicia sits on one of the bar stools, scooting in closer. "It was ladies choice this week right? It was me and Ben, y/n and Peter, MJ and George. Web-Slinger went home. And Dana offered Miguel a rose but he declined so he was gonna go home. Then out of nowhere, the man decides to drop a bomb that Dana and Peter were caught fooling around in some bushes. Everyone started freaking out. The guys started getting into it. Then Dana and I got into it. Then she and Dana fought and Dana got her ass laid out. So how she's in the hospital, they're giving Miguel a second chance, and I guess now we're going surfing." Felicia concludes, nearly out of breath. 

James chuckles and shakes his head. "I regret asking for an update." He leans on the bar, addressing you this time. "So where do you and Peter stand as of right now?" 

"Right now?" You ask, taking a deep sigh as you contemplate. "Honestly, I don't even know. I think I'm over it, to be honest." 

"Speaking of..." James reduces to a murmur. 

"Hey." 

You cheeks get hot as you sense Peter standing behind you without turning around. 

"Can I speak to you for a moment?" Peter asks, his face twisted into a slight plea. 

You turn around, giving him a dry nod. Felicia cranes her neck as she watches you walk away with him. 

You and Peter walk a short distance away, standing under the shade of a nearby palm tree. You raise one of your hands, cupping it in a visor over your eyes and squinting due to the sunlight as you look up at him with your other hand on your hip, waiting for his half ass apology with a slight aura of impatience wafting off of you. 

Peter takes a deep breath. "I just wanted to say, I'm sorry for my actions last night. I was unfair to you, and I just hope that we can walk away on civil terms if anything." 

You twist your mouth a little in annoyance. "You lied straight to my face, Peter. I mean.....what do you want me to say to that?" 

"Nothing." Peter answers. "Nothing really. Just uh...." He's silent shaking his head. "I don't know. I just wanted to apologize and it wouldn't have felt right if I didn't at least say sorry before we ended things." 

You nod, staying quiet for a moment. "Well, I mean I appreciate you trying to do the right thing. But I agree, I think we should end things, you know. Clearly, you still have some unresolved things to work out. I really didn't deserve that though." 

"You're totally right, you didn't." Peter agrees, shifting his stance a little. 

"Right." 

Peter blows air out slowly. "Well..." He holds his arms out but you shake your head. 

"Um...not this time, you know? I'm just not feeling it..." 

"Right right..." Peter stuffs his hands back in his pockets in mild embarrassment. "Sorry." 

"Thanks." 

"You're welcome." 

"Alright." You nod in mutual conclusion and turn around, walking back to Felicia and Ben while Peter walks in a separate direction. 

"Well?" Felicia, Ben and James await at the bar. 

You shrug, having a seat next to Felicia, leaning forward with your forearms on the bar. "It's done. We're done." 

"Just like that?" James asks. 

"Just like that." You echo. 

"I'm so sorry dude..." Felicia gives you a sad look of sympathy. 

"No, you know? I'mI'm a little bummed, not going to lie. Yeah I liked him, but I really have no patience for it anymore, you know? You either want me, or you don't. And he can't decide what he wants. So to that I say: see ya." 

"Amen." James says with an impressed hum. 

"Girl, I'm so proud of you. Good for you." Felicia praises. 

"So what does that mean for you now?" James asks. "Anyone else here you got your eye on?" 

"Well..." You sigh, looking off. "Miguel still really wants another chance." 

"You think you'll give it to him?" James inquires. 

"I don't know..." You admit. "I mean, that's the thing. With Miguel, there's history there too, but you all saw how that ended and so now, I'm just feeling nervous about the whole thing. I would love nothing more than to just go up to him and say yes, yes let's do it, I'm all in. But are you gonna hurt me again and switch up the next day? I don't know."

James hums in agreement. "Can't say I blame you there. But, in Paradise, you gotta take risks. Who knows? Something about paradise: anything can happen. In fact..." 

James bends down, retrieving a small wooden box with a slit in the top and setting on top of the bar. You and Felicia have looks on your faces that only say one thing: "oh shit", when you realize what it is. 

"It's Truth Box Time." 

Ben's eyes scrunch in curiosity. "How does this one work again?" 

"Completely anonymous. But one hundred percent honest. Write down anything you wanna say to either a specific member of the group, or the group as a whole. Confessions, observations, complaints, truth bombs, dirty laundry. It all goes in here." James explains, patting that cursed box. "It's time to shake things up a bit. And the rule is: every single person needs to participate."

"That's the last thing this beach needs right now." Felicia groans. 

Your mind buzzed with what drama and messy thoughts the box could bring forth, Miguel, and your future in Paradise as you made your way down the beach for your surfing lesson. 

🌹🌹🌹🌹

Miguel gives you a smile as he comes walking down the beach to where you and the others are waiting, his floppy brown locks and sculpted ab muscles on full display with his half zipped up wet suit. "Good morning." 

"Morning." You give him a little nod, grateful that you're wearing a pair of sunglasses to disguise your wandering eyes. Allowing yourself to indulge in staring at the man's behind as you help zip him up. 

Throughout the surfing lesson, you're having a hard time paying attention to the instructor, things like the truth box and your future in Paradise and Miguel still plaguing your mind from earlier. Still, you manage to enjoy yourself, soaking up the healing rays of the sun and letting out a squeal and a wave to your friends on the shore when you finally manage to stand up on your board for longer than 2 seconds, shortly before the salty waves swallowed you up.

You and Felicia figure that's more than enough for one day, ordering a drink from the beach side attendants and applying a fresh layer of sunscreen while Miguel and Ben knock themselves out, surfing it up to their heart's content. 

"We so needed this." You mutter to Felicia who gives a low hum in response as you both bask on your beach towels, eyes closed. 

You can't help but become aware of some bickering coming from a short distance away, lowering your shades a little bit to make out who's starting off the drama fresh and early in the day this time. 

"Fine, go lay down then. Oh my goddd, Mary Jane. First it's your hair doesn't look right, then it's your stomach hurting, why don't you be honest about what it really is?" 

"George..." 

"I didn't even wanna do this dumb hang ten, surf's up, shit anyway. Alls I said was thank you! What, you want me to say go fuck yourself?" 

"It's not what you said, it's how you said it." 

"Oh my God Mary Jane! Let me just run everything I say by you before I say it. Would you like that, would that make her royal Highness happy? Let me ask Queen Mary Jane before I call my mother and wish her a happy birthday how about that? Since she gets mad if I even breathe in the direction of another female!"

You don't make out the rest as you watch the pair wander a little further down the shore before you see MJ storm off and George throwing his hands in the air as he walks back towards the group. 

"Damn. Poor MJ." 

"I know the girl hates me but I can't help but feel bad for her. George is the biggest flirt. Everyone knows it." Felicia stretches out. 

"You think I should go talk to her, just see if she's okay?" 

"I mean, good luck if you do." Felicia retorts, reaching for her water bottle in her beach bag. "I could never get through to the girl."

"Hey!" Miguel and Ben come up, Miguel sitting himself down next to you. 

"Stawwwp!" Felicia giggles when Ben wags his hair, spraying her like a wet dog. 

Miguel grins at you, panting from his exertion earlier, looking heavenly with his wet mop of dark hair and wet droplets coating his sunkissed skin. "Having fun?" 

"Yeah, I am. I'm gonna go do some damage control though." 

Miguel's brow furrows. "Who?" 

"MJ and George." 

Miguel shakes his head with a sigh, running his hands through his hair. "George can be kind of a douche." 

"That's what I keep hearing." You say, sitting up and standing up. "So I'm gonna go try and see if I can help MJ. You know? I feel bad for her. She doesn't have anyone else here in Paradise." 

Miguel nods slowly, but can't help but be a little apprehensive about the situation. "Be careful. I'd hate for you to get mixed up in anything." 

"I won't." You give him a reassuring smile. "Be right back." 

🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹

You find MJ talking with James at the bar. Her voice tapers off when she realizes someone is behind her. She raises an eyebrow in a mixture of surprise and suspicion when she sees that it's you of all people. 

You don't say anything at first, just give her a kind smile as you take the bar stool next to her. You both sit in awkward silence for a moment, then you break it. 

"I know we haven't talked a whole lot or anything. I know you're thinking this must be so weird since we both dated Peter and everything but I just noticed you over here by yourself and wanted to see if you were okay?" You start off carefully with an overly sweet tone to demonstrate you pose no threat, testing the waters. 

MJ softens a little then lets out a deep sigh, figuring what is it going to hurt to be honest at this point.

 "Thank you. Just needed to get away for a sec...But I'm okay...and no, it's fine. Pete is never gonna change who he is. And I am who I am so..." She huffs and sips her margarita, then wiping her eyes. "But with George, he's literally perfect. Like it's so good when it's good but when we're not..."

You look at her with sympathetic eyes, not saying anything. 

"Lately we've been having disagreements because I don't know if he realizes it, but he flirts with other women all the time. And he says to me, babe I'm just being nice. And I tell him, like I understand that, but to those women and to me it comes across as flirting." 

"Right, right. No, I get you." You nod, leaning on your elbow. "Like it's just a respect thing." 

"Exactly!" MJ rests her head in her palm, twirling her margarita glass in circles on the bar. "All I was trying to say was it's not what you say, it's your tone and how you say it. But once again, I'm the bad guy." 

You nod, picking at your cuticles while you listen, lost in thought and also relieved that she's willing to open up to you. 

"I'm gonna go to the spa for a bit." She sighs, pushing her empty glass away from her. She thinks for a moment, then decides to take a chance. "Can I ask you to do something for me, though? Woman to woman?" 

"Oh?" You perk up, a little surprised but willing to hear her out. "Sure, what is it?" 

"Just, please tell me if he flirts with anyone again? If you see something, tell me. Fairytale Suites are next week, and I just don't have the time or patience to deal with anymore bullshit." 

"Oh, of course." You nod profusely. "Absolutely. I'll keep my eyes open, girl. Don't worry." 

MJ gives you a hint of a smile. "Thanks, girl. Good luck to you..." And leaves for the spa. 

After she leaves, you sprint down towards the beach with your freshly poured cup of tea. 

🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹

"Jesus..." Your audience of Felicia, Ben, and Miguel sit with the news you just unloaded on them, puzzled but not surprised at the revelation of George and MJ's trouble in Paradise. 

Miguel leans back on his towel. "I called it honestly. George has a wandering eye, we've known this ever since he was on Rio's season." 

"It's a bunch of drama." Ben shakes his head. "I don't wanna see you, or you." He nods in your direction. "Get in another scrap like last night. Let's just chill, and end this last week or so that we've got on a good note." 

"Amen." Miguel sits up, stretching. 

"What are your guys' plans for tonight?" Felicia asks. 

"Um..." You look up at Miguel. "Well, I'd like to just relax for a bit. You and I can hang out here for a bit, then Jason said the group is going clubbing tonight. Wanna meet at the common area for dinner at, say 5 ish?" 

"Sounds good to me." Miguel nods, then looks at Ben. "You down to go golfing?" 

Ben wraps his towel around his neck. "I'm down. Let's go," before he gives a goodbye to Felicia. 

"Call me if you need anything. And stay out of trouble." Miguel gives you a playful smile and a grip to your thigh, then walks off with Ben towards the resort. 

Some time later, you're fully zoned out, both you and Felicia laying out like two iguanas in your element, when she sits up with a gasp. "Dude...look." 

You groggily sit up, then the sight in front of you delivers you immediately to full consciousness. 

George is standing ankle deep in the water some distance away, chatting it up with Christine, the short, curvy, blonde surf instructor. He's laughing, looking like he's having the time of his life as she occasionally reaches out, touching his arm and chest as she speaks to him. 

"Are you seeing this?!" 

"Girl, I am definitely seeing this." 

He leans in a little closer putting his hand on the small of her back, dangerously close to her ass. 

"What...a...little....bitch...George Stacy...you...slimy dog you...." Felicia shakes her head. 

The couple turn towards you and both you and Felicia immediately turn into mummies, laying back on your towels, holding your breaths, pretending like you weren't just honed in on the crime taking place, before George gives her a nervous nod and smile and walks away.

🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹

Later that night, you and Felicia are all dolled up as queens of the night, wearing tight fitting cocktail dresses, showcasing both of your deadly curves and  that carefree twinkle of paradise vacation on your skin making you both look even more alluring than you normally do, leaving Ben and Miguel with hearts in their eyes and warmth pooling in their chests. 

You're all dancing at an outdoor bar, local music pounding your eardrums, margarita number three working its disarming magic in your veins, twirling and holding your hair in a sexy display of feminity on the dancefloor with Ben and Miguel close by. Peter B. sulking in the corner. 

You bite your lip as you watch Miguel snap his fingers and move his hips with a smirk on his face, a little far off memory coming back to you of the night you shared together in a hotel room when you experienced those bewitching movements firsthand underneath him. 

Your thong under your tight dress gets a little wet as your eyes rake across his figure, letting them linger on every faint line of muscle accentuated under entrancing disco lights, and the opening in his black button up shirt, with his chiseled chest on display. You spin around, letting your body press up against his a little longer than it should. 

Miguel utterly groans, switching his glass to his left hand as he touches you with his right, continuing to move to the beat. You lay your head back against him and your pretty lips fall open as you feel his ring  lightly graze your tits until his hand hugs low on your stomach, gently guiding and pressing your body to synchronize with his hips as his full lips brush against your ear, making your eyelashes flutter. 

But, the song ends and you open your eyes, temporarily snapped out of your horny fantasy as the crowd claps and cheers, begging the DJ for one more song. Miguel joins in the applause, setting down his glass for a moment and giving you a bashful smile as though to apologize for letting himself get carried away as the new song starts. 

The sight of an angry MJ pushing past people in the club makes itself known in your peripheral vision.

You grab Felicia, yelling "Look!" over the deafening noise of the crowd as you both watch her angrily leave and hail a taxi in tears. 

"It's George." Felicia mouths to you. 

"Where is he?" You try and communicate back. 

"Let's go." 

You and Felicia signal to Miguel and Ben that you're gonna "go to the bathroom". Miguel nods but hardly acknowledges, holding his sides and wheezing in a fit of laughter as he watches Ben valiantly face off with an older woman in a dance battle. 

The scene you were expecting to find when you see George is even more juicy than you could have imagined. He has an entourage of four women grinding on him with his shirt unbuttoned, his face red and sweaty with the unmistakeable flush of intoxication, sipping a beer from a bottle as he watches a brunette in front of him bend over and shake her ass directly over his cock. He bites his lip and puts both hands on her ass, beckoning for her to turn around. 

The camera zooms in as yours and Felicia's jaws damn near hit the floor when he starts sloppily kissing her, only for her drunk friend to start joining in in a three way nasty drunken makeout sesh. 

It's a damn shame none of you are allowed to have your cell phones right now. 

After the nasty kissing subsides, you notice him stand up, holding a new mystery woman with curly hair's hand and what appears to be a small piece of paper being slipped into his fingers as she whispers in his ear and he bites his lip. 

You both have seen quite enough, darting back to Miguel and Ben in a fit of sweaty bodies as the night at the club wanes on. 

🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹

Back at the resort, it's getting close to truth telling time. You and Felicia and James sit together in a somber meeting at the infamous bar which is soon to become the second most popular location for tea spilling once the dreaded truth box hits the fan. 

You and Felicia are not quite at the level of sobriety you probably should be before you make this decision. 

"She needs to know." 

James nods in agreement, pushing the box towards you. "Let it all out." 

"I feel bad about doing it anonymously though, like what if she finds out it was us? Or what if George finds out?" You shiver a little at the thought. 

"Dude, MJ hates me." Felicia whispers. "I know you think she's chill, but trust me, she's not as reasonable as you think she is. She is crazier than me. And that's saying a lot." 

You raise your eyebrows at the last statement. 

"I'm serious! When Peter tried to hit on me after they broke up, no joke, all I did was send her a screenshot with 'hey girl, I'm coming to you as a woman right now, just wanted to let you know your man was in my inbox' and you wanna know what this girl did? She sends me a SEVEN MINUTE LONG voice note. Absolutely bitching me out about what a hoe I am, and how could you do this to me, you know what he and I have been through together, as one of the girls who was also on the show I would've expected you to be more considerate of my feelings and blah blah blah. I'm telling you dude. It's better this way." 

You blow a long steam of air out of your cheeks. "Okay, okay, you know what? You're my bestie, I'll take your word for it. Let's just do this." 

You take the pen in your hand, starting to draft the wretched confession. "Dear.....MJ..." you lick your lips in concentration. 

"Today....at the beach, when you left upset, George put his hand on the surf instructor's ass. He was flirting with her and she was touching his arm and chest while they were talking...." 

"Mhmm...okay go on." Felicia twirls a strand of hair in deep thought as you continue writing. 

"When you left crying at the club, George made out with two girls. He was also dancing and grinding with multiple mystery women. He also held a girl's hand and took down her number." 

"Yep." Felicia nods. "It's harsh but it's the truth." 

"Ben and Miguel know." You bite your lip. "Should we add in here that multiple people know so it doesn't look like it's coming from us?" 

"Yeah..." Felicia thinks for a moment then nods. 

"Multiple.... people on this beach know. Therefore, you should know the truth. There, boom." 

You and Felicia examine the note over and over, muttering silently as you reread it before you slip it in the box. 

"It's done." 

You both look at each other and clink your glasses together, your confession stowed away in what's surely going to turn into Pandora's box in just a few hours. Savoring a few seconds of quiet with your bestie before all hell breaks loose. 

Jason Donner speaks in a voiceover: “Find out what happens next week in another drama packed episode of Singles in Paradise!” 

🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹

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[yelena-bellova]

Twenty Years Later: Joel Miller x F!Reader - Chapter Eleven

Chapter Eleven: Almost

Plot: Joel, Ellie and Y/n work their way across Wyoming in a desperate search for Tommy.

Word Count: 12.6k

Warnings: tlou ep.6 spoilers, language, death, loss of a child, angry outburst, trauma, anxiety attacks, 16+

A/N: SURPRISE! One day ahead of where I thought I’d be, swooping in for a dose of bedtime angst 🌙

As always, I have to put that this series is 16+ and I will not be adding anyone to the taglist if your age/range is not specified in your bio. Gotta look out for younger eyes 👀

This chapter and the one that will follow are the chapters. They’re the culmination of this whole frickin’ journey. It’s been so fun to eead your theories about Joel and Rosebud’s breakup, and now you’ll have (some of) your answers. I hope it lives up to what you imagined, or maybe even surprises you. Above all, I hope y’all enjoy 😘

—————

December 2023. Somewhere in Wyoming.

Fuck the philosophers of the pre-Cordyceps world.

Time healed nothing.

If anything, time made pain worse. Because, with enough time to study its victim, the pain could evolve. It could morph into anger, bitterness…much like Cordyceps, it could consume its host until they were shrouded in so many layers of hurt, they became unrecognizable.

Time healed absolutely nothing.

Marlon returned to his cabin, hanging the two rabbits he’d killed on the hook outside the door. The little warmth the home managed to retain welcomed him in, but the inside had changed since he’d been gone.

“Who the hell are you?”

Y/n sat adjacent to Florence, Marlon’s wife, blowing on a spoonful of soup. “A deep admirer of your wife’s cooking,” she answered.

Marlon stood confused at the door, slowly removing his jacket.

“And the gun.”

The old man turned to see another stranger, this one a man, emerging from the kitchen. He had a pistol drawn on Marlon.

“And you?”

Joel shook his head, carefully moving towards Marlon, “Just someone passin’ through. Take the gun out, two fingers only, put it outta reach.”

Marlon obeyed, dangling his pistol off his fingers and setting it on an end table. All the while, Y/n sipped her soup.

Marlon looked to Florence, “Why didn’t you shoot them?”

She nodded across the room, “The gun’s all the way over there. They didn’t hurt me by the way.”

“Yeah, I got eyes,” Marlon walked to his chair, he’d already deemed Joel as a very minor, if at all, threat.

“He won’t shoot you,” Y/n interjected, not once looking up from her bowl, “He threatens everyone he meets.”

Joel’s hardened stare landed on Y/n’s face, her casualty was greatly undermining him.

“You made ‘em soup?” Marlon gestured to Y/n’s meal, along with Joel’s untouched bowl that sat on the coffee table.

“Yeah, I did,” Florence answered, “It’s cold out.”

Y/n reached across and touched the woman’s arm, “And it’s lovely, Florence. Thank you.”

Joel sighed in exasperation, “We’re lookin’ for my brother.”

Marlon scoffed and removed his baseball cap, “Well, I ain’t seen him.”

“I haven’t told you what he looks like,” Joel replied.

“He look anything like you?” Marlon asked.

“A bit.”

Marlon shrugged, “Then I ain’t seen him.”

“They’ve got a girl with them,” Florence nodded up the stairs.

“Can I come down now?” Ellie called from above, overlooking the ground floor.

Joel and Y/n answered at the same time.

“No.”

“Yeah.”

Their eyes flicked to one another, Joel’s frustrated, Y/n’s calm. She was done playing the gunslinging traveler when unnecessary.

Ellie, always siding with whichever of them gave her what she wanted, bounded down the stairs.

“Ellie,” Joel reprimanded, as if it would do anything to stop her…

“Ooh-wa,” Marlon chuckled, looking to his wife and Y/n.

“What did I just say?” Joel said as Ellie joined him.

“Joel, come on,” she replied, aiming her handgun at the couple, “They’re like, a thousand.”

Marlon ran his eyes over Ellie, “Who’s this little psycho?”

“Never mind her,” Joel leaned forward, pushing his map across the table to Marlon, “I need you to tell us where we are.”

“If you got a map, why’re you lost?” Marlon asked.

“Must’ve missed all the street signs in the enormous fucking forest,” Ellie shot back.

“Ho-ly,” Marlon smiled to his wife, the two of them sharing a laugh.

Joel glanced over to Ellie, she was mirroring his posture, his tone…she was trying so damn hard to be like him. “We’re somewhere here,” he pointed to a spot on the map, “Exactly where? And your answer better be the same as your wife’s.”

Marlon’s eyes flicked to Florence, “You tell ‘em the truth?”

“Yeah,” she replied.

“Are you tellin’ me the truth?”

“Yeah.”

Marlon leaned forward and pressed a finger to a spot on the map. It wasn’t the answer Joel was looking for.

“Well,” he holstered his gun, “You found a great place to hide, I guess.”

“Hide?” Marlon chuckled deeply as Joel settled on his couch, “Came here before you and your wife were born, sonny. Get the hell away from everybody.”

“Not his wife,” Y/n was quick to reply before taking another spoonful. It had been three fucking months of assumptions and both Joel and her were exhausted by them.

Florence turned to Y/n, “I didn’t want to.”

“Eh,” Marlon waved his wife off and looked to Joel, “Listen, I didn’t mean to upset you about your brother but if you’ve come this far, then you know what’s out there. You seen Cody?”

“Yeah, got close enough,” Ellie answered from the arm of the couch, “It’s crawling with Infected.

“Yeah, Laramie,” Marlon listed off, “And Wind River Reservation. Anywhere people used to be. You can’t go there no more.”

Y/n set her soup aside and leaned forward on her elbows, deciding it was finally time to take the conversation seriously. “So you’ve never heard the name Tommy Miller?”

“Nope,” Marlon answered.

“What about the Fireflies?” Ellie asked.

Florence nodded, “We get those in the summer.”

“Not the bugs,” Ellie replied, thoroughly put out, “The people.”

“There are firefly people?”

Y/n joined the joke and gestured down the length of her body, “In the flesh.”

Marlon, Florence and Y/n shared a laugh, Joel couldn’t tell whether he was more annoyed or disappointed.

“You got any advice on the best way west?”

“Yeah,” Marlon leaned forward, “Go east,” he ran a finger along a stretch of water on the map, “But you never go past the river here. Ever.”

“What’s past the river?” Ellie asked.

“Death,” Florence answered, “We never seen who’s out there, but we see the bodies they leave behind. Some Infected, some not,” she turned to Joel, “If your brother’s west of the river, he’s gone.”

Joel and Y/n’s eyes met across the table, both trying to conceal their worry under Ellie’s ever-present gaze, but knowing they could share it with each other.

“You’re not gonna scare us,” Ellie said, confidently.

Florence nodded towards Joel and Y/n, “Scared them.”

They quickly buried their anxieties under blind determination. Whatever lay across the bank, it didn’t matter. They had to believe that Tommy was both alive and well on the other side.

Filing out of the cabin, Joel and Y/n marched ahead of Ellie.

“You don’t seriously believe them,” Ellie half-stated, half-asked.

“They’ve lived here a long time,” Joel replied, trudging through the snow. He could feel his heartbeat speeding up.

Y/n turned around to see why she couldn’t hear Ellie’s footsteps following theirs. The girl was unhooking one of Marlon’s rabbits, “El, come on, don’t steal their food.”

Ellie was undeterred as she swung the game over her shoulder, “They don’t know anything. Never heard of the Fireflies.”

“Yeah, they wouldn’t have out here,” Y/n stretched her arms out around her to the snowy expanse, “Doesn’t mean you have to steal t-“

Y/n’s words faded in Joel’s ear, a steady ring filling the space. It was happening again.

Joel stumbled forward, resting a weak hand on a piece of the cabin’s fence, his breathing became labored. His thoughts began to spin with worst case scenarios in all their various forms that could become reality, if what lay on the other side of the river was real. Every nightmare his mind drummed up ended with Y/n or Ellie d-

“Joel,” Y/n called, she was the first of them to notice. She walked to meet him, “Joel.”

“Joel?” Ellie echoed, she’d had yet to witness one of his episodes, “Joel, are you okay?”

“Shut up,” he said, verbally waving Ellie off.

“Holy shit, are you dying?” Ellie continued.

Joel shook his head and shut his eyes, trying to block them out, “I’m okay.”

Y/n wasn’t so convinced, she laid a firm grip onto Joel’s shoulder. “Joel, c’mon.”

“Okay, but are you okay?” Ellie asked again.

“I’m fine,” Joel insisted, wishing desperately that Y/n would remove her hand, but not possessing the strength to shove it off, “I’m fine.”

“No, no, but are you?” Ellie wouldn’t stop, why couldn’t she stop? “Because just a reminder, that if you’re dead, we’re fucked.”

Y/n’s gaze darted to the girl, “Ellie-“

That was enough to bring Joel back to Earth.

“I said I’m fine,” he pushed, contradicting his words with his palm pressed to his chest. “It’s just the…cold air all of a sudden.”

Y/n let her hand slide off his shoulder, wholly aware that he was lying. The episodes had been occurring more and more over the last few weeks, they seemed to be getting worse the closer they got to wherever Tommy was or wasn’t.

Joel refused to ever tell her what triggered them, hell, he had barely figured it out himself. What he did know was that he couldn’t deal with what lay at the core of them all. That would have required an honesty he hadn’t possessed in twenty years.

“All right, uh,” Ellie was the first of the three to bounce back, “So let’s go find Tommy and the Fireflies. It’s gonna be easy,” she slid between the fence and called back to them, “All we have to do is cross the river of death.”

Joel and Y/n were left on their own, the former waiting to catch his breath, the latter waiting on an explanation.

“Would it have killed you to back me up in there?” Joel asked, his usual sour mood replacing the small glimpse of vulnerability.

“Yeah,” Y/n’s watched him bury the lsat thirty seconds, denying her an answer once again, “‘Cause that’s our biggest problem.”

She slid through the fence after Ellie, leaving Joel to bring up the rear of their group.

The last three months had been trying, but not in the ways Joel and Y/n might have thought at the beginning of their quest. They could only stay silent with each other for so long before they had to talk, and they’d reached a place where they weren’t at each other’s throats any more. While the snow had frozen the earth, their anger had melted…

Leaving all the underlying emotions to fill the vacant space.

The physical distance they kept hadn’t changed, but the unspoken chasm between them was beginning to cave in on itself. With each passing day, it was growing harder and harder for Joel and Y/n to pretend like they didn’t need each other.

In every one of Joel’s attacks, his guilt slammed into him like a tidal wave, threatening to drown the life out of him. So many people he’d let down and when he opened his eyes, he was staring into the face of one of them. One look at Y/n caused everything he’d told himself about her over the years to follow the undertow out to sea.

Y/n, in all her righteous rage, was beginning to do the impossible…she was starting to understand why Joel had done what he’d done to her. She’d spent twenty years cursing his name, a constant boil in her stomach that bubbled whenever she thought of him, but there’d always been a voice in her head reminding her of the ‘why.’ All of Joel’s actions from Outbreak Day on had been driven by a deep pain inside him. That inkling was starting to spread through Y/n’s mind, the dye well on its way to consuming the whole brain.

In a perfect world, they’d have come to one another, humbly, and talked it through. Instead, they held their grudge, with its dying flame, as the barricade between them, hoping that it sparked once more.

—————————

In the fall, fires had been a luxury, but as winter rolled in, they became necessary to make it through the night.

Y/n and Joel sat on opposite sides of it, Joel adding another layer of duct tape to his boot and Y/n stitching up a busted seam in her leather gloves. It was the apocalypse’s version of domesticities.

Ellie was above them, having scaled a rock to get a good look at the stars. A green glimpse of the Aurora Borealis waved through the midnight blue sky.

Joel whistled for her eventually, “Come down from there. You’re gonna break your neck.”

Ellie reluctantly returned to the ground, choosing to sit close to Y/n and watch her mend her glove. The two of them had grown closer over the past three months. Joel would never let his guard down wholly for Ellie, but Y/n was more comfortable letting the girl see her as she was.

“Ahh,” Ellie said, spotting the flask Joel was taking a swig from, “Can I have some?”

“No,” Y/n and Joel said in perfect harmony.

“What? Just to warm up,” Ellie clarified, “C’mon.”

Joel’s eyes flicked to Y/n, who knew she couldn’t hold old world rules to their situation. Her gaze falling back to her handiwork served as Joel’s answer.

Ellie took the flask, made sure to give a little ‘cheers’ to Joel and took a drink. She grimaced as it ran down her throat, “Yep,” she strained, “Still gross.”

Ellie held out the flask to Y/n, who shook her head. The thought of being anywhere near where Joel’s lips had been unsettled her.

“So I’ve been thinking,” Ellie started after a short stretch of silence, “Let’s say we find the Fireflies, it all works, they draw my blood and put it through some of their fancy machines and make a cure.”

Joel’s brows furrowed in confusion, “Okay.”

“Then what?” Ellie asked, “Like, what do we do?”

“Oh, it’s ‘we?’” Joel replied.

“Yeah, the end of this partnership comes as soon as we get to the base,” Y/n pointed between herself and Joel.

Ellie nearly rolled her eyes, “Okay, fine. Whatever, you. Separately. You can do anything you want,” she looked to Joel first, “Where are you going? What are you doing?”

Joel glanced at the sky, to admit his true answer would kill another piece of the remnants of his heart. “It’s never been an option,” he cleared his throat, “Maybe…”

For a split second, he saw it all again. His old house. Tommy in the kitchen, raiding their fridge. Sarah at the table, doing homework.

And Y/n, somewhere in the middle of it all, laughing and looking to Joel with a softness that both uplifted and settled him.

“An old farmhouse,” he lied, “Some land…a ranch.”

Y/n stared down at her needlework, knowing that each word was a lie.

“Cool,” Ellie replied, oblivious to the history surrounding her, “What kind?”

“Sheep,” Joel answered, it was the first animal he could think of, “I would raise sheep.”

“Sheep,” Ellie repeated under her breath.

“They’re quiet,” Joel continued, his stare falling on Ellie, “Do what they’re told.”

“Yeah, yeah, okay,” Ellie got the hint, “So just you and a buncha sheep. Romantic. Is there…” her eyes swung between Joel and Y/n, “Room for anyone else in the pens with you?”

The assumptions made by strangers that Y/n and Joel were a couple were enjoyable compared to Ellie’s constant attempts to push them together. They were getting more frequent and less subtle.

“I go back to work after this, El,” Y/n said, finishing up her last loop, “Doubtful I’ll be getting back to Boston any time soon, so I’ll probably stay at the camp out here.”

“That’s not what I asked,” Ellie shook her head, “I asked what you wanted to do. Out of anything, anything in the world.”

Y/n stopped her stitching, staring down at the needle, wondering if she poked herself hard enough, if she’d be able to draw blood. Would she be able to feel the prick? Or was she just numb enough that physical pain couldn’t touch her?

Joel had noticed that Y/n was beginning to slow down more. On the move, she was as fast as ever, but in the quiet moments between, there’d be times where the world was in motion, and she was perfectly still. It was like she was somewhere deep, deep in her mind, waiting for whatever hold had come over her to break and allow her to return to reality.

Y/n swallowed thickly, her past life flickering before her eyes like a movie montage. Sharing a beer with Tommy while watching a Cowboys game. Painting Sarah’s nails for her with a color the girl had stolen from Y/n’s bathroom. Laying in bed with Joel, deep in the pillows and listening to him sing softly over his guitar…

Her dreams were dead.

“I want to work,” she answered, it wasn’t a total lie, “Help people. If I stop for too long…then what the hell am I doing?”

Joel wished he didn’t recognize the underlying sentiment, that if she stopped moving at an inhuman pace, the grief would consume her. But he did, because it was the same way he lived his life.

Y/n clipped the thread with her teeth, beginning to tie a knot, “And what about you? What are you gonna do after you save the world?”

Ellie gave a small smile as Y/n nudged her with her shoulder. She turned her gaze to the sky, specifically the very visible moon. “It’s probably because I grew up in the QZ. Behind you, there’s ocean and ahead of you there’s a wall,” her smile grew the longer she stared at the stars, “Nowhere else to look but up. I read everything I could in the school library. Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, Jim Lovell…” Ellie sat forward with enthusiasm, “But you know who my favorite is?”

“Sally Ride,” Joel and Y/n both answered, it wasn’t hard to guess.

“Sally fuckin’ Ride,” Ellie slapped her knees, enunciating her point, “Best astronaut name ever!”

Whatever levity had come over their campsite faded quickly, Y/n watched as Ellie’s passion turned to sobering…grief? Guilt? She was hard to read sometimes, the innocence of youth and the scars of rushed adulthood creating something entirely new.

“It’ll work, right?” Ellie asked, “The vaccine?”

“It’s a little late to start wonderin’,” Joel responded, his hands folded over his stomach.

Ellie looked down at her lap, unable to look either Y/n or Joel in the eye. “I tried…with Sam.”

“Tried what?” Y/n asked.

“I knew he was infected,” Ellie confessed, “I rubbed some of my blood into his bite. I know,” she hurried, trying to stop Joel’s anxious admonishment before it came, “I know, it was stupid, but I…” she looked back down at her lap, “I wanted to save him.”

Y/n diverted her gaze to the fire, feeling the warmth of it deep in her belly. Not a day had gone by where she hadn’t thought about Henry or Sam. It had taken her a full day after their deaths to even be able to speak. The sorrow in Henry’s eyes before pulling the trigger on his own life haunted her. The pain of understanding still lingered in her chest, coming out to play every once in a while and remind her that no matter what she did, no matter how hard she worked to be a good person…she couldn’t erase what she had done.

“Well, I reckon it’s a lot more complicated than that,” Joel plainly answered, “Marlene, she’s a lotta things, but…she’s no fool. If she says they can do it, they can do it.”

Ellie absorbed his answer before turning to Y/n, waiting for her reassurance.

Y/n pulled herself out of her grief, barely quirking the corners of her lips up. “It’ll work,” she replied.

Ellie seemed to accept both their responses, letting silence fill the space again until she decided it was time to end her day. “How’re we splitting up the watches?”

Joel sighed, Y/n’s gaze already waiting for him when he looked up at her.

“We’ll do ‘em both,” he answered, “Get some sleep. Dream of…” he capped the flask and exchanged it for his rifle, “Sheep ranches on the moon.”

Ellie nodded, grabbing her sleeping bag and walking to the deeper part of their hideout, “I will.”

Y/n fitted her repaired glove back on her hand, tucking them under her armpits for extra warmth. This was the hardest part of each of the day/ When it was just Joel, her and the unmentionable divide between them.

Joel tried to distract himself, gazing up at the moon and focusing on tracing the constellations around it. But the self-discipline he tried so desperately to maintain concerning Y/n was slipping, his eyes using some uncontrollable part of his mind to drift over to her.

Y/n was struggling to keep up her stoic decorum, the urge to let her and Joel’s conversations warm growing stronger and stronger. It was natural in their mutual isolations to wish for someone to talk to. But with him in front of her, the figurehead of the past she wanted so desperately to go back to…she craved a piece of a memory, any memory, that only he could give her. A short hit of dopamine to get her through the next day.

“So, Tommy,” she began, it was the only part of their past she could safely return to.

“What about him?” Joel asked.

“Is he…” Y/n chewed on the inside of her cheek, trying to phrase the question right, “Is he still…Tommy?”

Joel sighed, the memories of two decades ago mixing with the last version of his brother he’d seen. “He’s still a pain in the ass, if that’s what you’re askin’.”

Y/n gave a very small smile, “But he’s still him?”

Whatever she was looking for, Joel couldn’t give her. None of them were like they’d been twenty years ago, except maybe her. She had managed to keep her humanity intact. He was darkness in both their eyes. As rough as he’d been on her at the beginning of their journey, now, he didn’t want to shatter her illusion about perhaps the one person left on the planet she loved.

“Yeah,” he replied, “He’s still him.”

Y/n nodded, deciding not to ask anything else and let the moment stay pleasant. “I can take first watch,” she volunteered.

“No, you go ahead,” Joel shook his head, “I’ll wake you up.”

“Okay,” Y/n replied, too tired to fight him. She grabbed her own rifle before unrolling her sleeping bag on her side of the fire, stretching out under it and using her arm as a pillow.

Joel kept his eyes off of her until the even rhythm of her breaths told him she was asleep. Then, and only then, did he let himself watch her, trying to combat the various fears that filled his head. She was there, in front of him, alive and well.

But how long could he keep her like that?

—————————

Even in his sleep, Joel couldn’t find rest.

A barrage of images, flashes of colors and echoes of screams, played through his mind. When he startled awake, like every morning past, all he could feel was an overwhelming sense of loss.

The gun was gone.

This was it. His grand failure.

He bolted upright only to find Ellie, a few feet away, standing guard with his rifle.

“Still mumbling in your sleep,” she stated, “I woke up early. You and Y/n,” she glanced over at her still-sleeping guardian, “Were passed out, so I took second watch.”

“You gotta wake one of us up if that happens,” Joel snapped, quickly getting to his feet and crossing the distance between him and Y/n, “You can’t do things like this.”

“But I can,” Ellie smiled, “‘Cause I just did.”

Joel crouched down, shaking Y/n’s arm lightly in an effort not to startle her, “Hey.”

All credit to him for trying, Y/n still woke with a gasp. It was her basic programming.

“We’re fine, we’re fine,” Joel was quick to reassure her as she rolled onto her back.

Y/n scrunched her eyes, blinking the sleep away from them, and sat up. It was daylight. Joel hadn’t woken her up for her watch, again.

“My fault,” he accepted the blame she was getting ready to place on him before continuing his conversation with Ellie, “We’re responsible for you, okay?”

“Then don’t fall asleep,” Ellie challanged, “I was quiet, I checked my six, I looked for tracks, I found the high ground and I kept watch,” she explained as Joel approached her, “Like you taught me to. What can I say, man? I’m a natural.”

Y/n scoffed as she unzipped her sleeping bag, “And you’re not cocky about it at all.”

Joel held out a demanding hand, taking the rifle from Ellie, but accepting that she’d done the job right. “You wake us up next time,” he ordered.

“Yes, sir,” Ellie replied, smugness evident in her tone and on her face.

Without another word, Y/n and Joel collected the few things they’d unpacked, smothered what remained of the fire, and the three of them resumed their hike to an unknown destination.

—————————

Even if they’d have been warned in graphic detail what lay over the River of Death, it wouldn’t have changed Joel and Y/n’s minds. The only way to Tommy was to risk their lives crossing, and they did so with very little hesitation.

Ellie, bless her soul, had found plenty of ways to keep herself entertained on the way, including trying to teach herself how to whistle and requesting hunting training. Joel still wouldn’t budge on the latter.

“So, I’ve been thinking,” Ellie started at some point in their hike, “And I think I figured out what happened between you two.”

Joel and Y/n tensed up as they walked alongside one another, Ellie’s cleverness worked against them most of the time.

“Obviously, you two were a thing way back when in Texas,” she explained, adding a twang to the state’s name, “And then at some point, you guys break up. The ‘why’ was what was tripping me up, until I realized, boom…there was somebody else.”

Y/n forcefully exhaled, wondering whether the theory was more preferable to the truth.

“Now, I can’t quite figure out which one of you would’ve slipped up,” Ellie continued, “But even if you didn’t cheat with them, there was someone who got in between you enough to equal a big fight, throwing things at one another, screaming how much you loved each other and eventually ending with you swearing never to speak again. Which is why you two were ready to kill each other when you met in the QZ.”

Joel was near reaching his boiling point, fighting the pull to spin around to Ellie, wave a finger in her face and explain exactly how the situation had gone down. But the reality of those words finally escaping his lips and taking up space in the world was an unbearable thought.

Y/n was near breaking too, feeling the cracks in her chest begin to spread. She needed off the topic if she was going to be able to take a breath. “What the hell kind of stories were you checking out in between astronaut books?”

“Whatever,” Ellie brushed it off, “I know I’m right.”

Thankfully, she let the subject go as soon as they closed in on an old, out-of-usage dam. The water still gushed through it and into the river.

“Dam,” Ellie punned.

“You’re no Will Livingston,” Joel remarked.

“Yeah, yeah, but who is?” Ellie smiled, “So that made electricity?”

“Yeah,” Joel answered, predicting Ellie’s next question, “Don’t ask me, I don’t have a clue.”

He resumed their walk, Y/n and Ellie trailing behind.

“You know, you could have just made something up,” Ellie said, “I would’ve believed you.”

The three of them hiked a half hour more before coming up on another side of the river, or perhaps, an entirely separate one.

“Look at that river,” Ellie remarked, “It’s crazy blue.”

Y/n and Joel were hardly paying attention, both in their own separate thought bubbles. Any time the subject of their past relationship was brought up, it reset the clock on their comfort with each other and took at least an hour to warm back up to one another.

“Hey,” Ellie spoke up, “What if this…is the River of Death?”

The adults stopped in their tracks, the thought hadn’t dawned on them after the victory of crossing the first body of water. Joel whipped out their map, Y/n came to join him and the two of them examined it carefully.

“Fuck,” Y/n mumbled under her breath, pressing a hand to her temple.

“We don’t know it yet,” Joel quickly said, walking ahead a few steps to get a better view of their surroundings. Y/n followed closely, with Ellie on their heels.

A noise on the hill above them caught Y/n’s ear, her eyes lifting from the map to see a group of riders coming straight for them.

“Joel,” she shook his arm forcefully, bringing his attention upwards.

At the first glimpse, Joel grabbed Ellie’s free hand, Y/n taking the other, and they bolted for the forest. There were enough riders to circle them in, aiming their rifles at them and cutting off any escape route they could have found. They were fucked.

“Get behind me,” Joel told Ellie and Y/n, only the youngest of the two listened to him. The three of them held their hands up, “We ain’t lookin’ for any trouble, we’re just passin’ through.”

“Drop the guns,” one of the riders ordered.

Slowly, Y/n and Joel slipped their rifles off of their shoulders and placed them on the ground.

“You,” the same guy nodded to Ellie, “Take five steps back.”

“We can talk through this,” Y/n said, her voice gained strength the moment Ellie was addressed.

“How about you shut the fuck up?”

“Okay,” Joel spoke quickly, his hand instinctively flinching towards Y/n’s as she was threatened, “Easy,” he looked behind to Ellie and said with a low voice, “You’ll be okay.”

Ellie backed up reluctantly, her eyes darting between the riders, Y/n and Joel.

“You been near any Infected?”

“There’s no Infected out here,” Joel answered the man.

“The hell there ain’t,” the rider replied, whistling immediately after. One of them walked a dog, a German Shepherd, forward. He was barking wildly. “Last chance for a bullet. If you’ve been infected, he will smell it, and he will rip you up.”

Y/n and Joel’s blood ran cold.

The dog came forward, sniffing from Joel’s boots up to his torso, and deeming him safe. He went through the same motions with Y/n before walking back to its keeper. Joel and Y/n felt the same hesitant relief, could they really make it out of this?

“Like I said,” Joel said, “We’ll just move on.”

But life wasn’t that merciful to them. “Now her,” the rider nodded back to Ellie.

Y/n turned to face the girl, Ellie’s eyes widened with childlike fear. There was nothing Y/n could do to help. The second she raised her pistol, she’d be dead. They’d know they were hiding something and they’d shoot Ellie too. But if she stayed perfectly still, resting all of her hope on a blind theory, maybe…just maybe…

Joel wasn’t thinking hardly as rationally as his ex. His ears began to ring, his heart began to race, all his senses blinding him with terror as the dog approached. He was helpless again, his hands tied behind his back as he watched someone he cared about die a slow, meaningless de-

Ellie giggled.

Y/n huffed a sigh of relief at the sound, her and Joel turning to see the dog licking Ellie’s face. She fell back onto the snow, laughing and scratching the animal’s neck. When she smiled up at them, Joel and Y/n felt the oxygen return to their lungs.

The rider whistled for the dog to return, “You just bought yourself ten more seconds. What are you doin’ out here?”

It took Joel a few of those seconds to come back to his surroundings, “We’re just lookin’ for my brother. That’s all, nothin’ more.”

“Ho!”

The rider to the left of the one threatening them nudged her horse forward, stopping a few feet closer to Joel and Y/n. “What’re your names?”

“Joel,” he answered.

“Y/n.”

The woman looked them over, her bandana covering all but her eyes. “I can take you to your brother,” she finally said.

Joel’s lips parted in shock, instantly tilting his head to gaze over at Y/n, who wore the same surprise. Tommy was alive.

The woman called back to one of the riders, ordering them to go retrieve the two extra horses they’d left to graze. They were brought back, saddled and all, and Joel, Y/n and Ellie were directed to get on them.

Y/n jumped on one first, her and Joel both helping Ellie onto the rear of the saddle.

“You hold on and you don’t let go, alright?” Y/n said, wrapping the reins of the bridle around her fist. It had been a long time since she’d ridden.

“Mm-hmm,” Ellie hummed, locking her arms around Y/n’s middle.

Joel promptly mounted his own horse, nudging his them closer to ride alongside Y/n and Ellie.

“Let’s move out,” the woman called to the group.

They rode about fifteen minutes, galloping further west. In the distance, a building could barely be made out. The closer they got, the more Y/n and Joel could tell it was a fort. The party slowed as they approached the gate, two riders getting off their horses to help open it up. Joel and Y/n followed without question, despite having a dozen.

Y/n’s breath caught at the sight inside the walls.

It was a town. A proper fucking town.

Unlike the QZ, the place they were looked whole, kept up. The buildings weren’t crumbling, they stood firmly planted in the ground. All around them, people were strolling, not running. Children were screaming in play, not in fear. There were even snowmen lining the outside of one of the storefronts.

Y/n wanted to look back at Joel, to make sure he was seeing it too. She instead kept her eyes forward, scanning over her surroundings in awe.

Joel was entirely confused, but otherwise occupied by checking each and every face they passed to see if it was Tommy. Eventually, the sounds of construction instinctively brought his attention to the side of a building where two men were hard at work. The second silhouette, a tall, thin, dark haired man, didn’t require an extra second of examination. Joel knew it was his brother.

“Tommy,” he shouted.

Y/n followed Joel’s line of vision and let out a hushed gasp.

Tommy looked up from his work, scanning the group for the familiar voice. His eyes fell on his brother, shock freezing him for a few seconds before he began to climb down the scaling.

Joel slid off his horse, his steps quickening as relief flooded his body. Tommy strode towards him, the two of them meeting in a solid, long overdue, embrace.

Tommy laughed into Joel’s shoulder before pulling back to get a good look at him, “What the fuck you doin’ here?”

Joel took a breath, taking in their surroundings, “I came here to save you.”

Tommy’s brows furrowed while Joel exploded into a fit of laughter, the two of them pulling each other back in.

Y/n wound her leg over her horse, dropping to the ground and handing Ellie the reins. She kept her distance as she watched the brothers reunite, a sharp pain running through her chest she hadn’t felt in two decades. But when Tommy opened his eyes, gazing over Joel’s shoulder, he straightened up.

Tommy looked between his brother and Y/n, dumbfounded by the sight of them in the same vicinity. He broke away from Joel, walking the distance before matching Y/n’s quickened jog, and lifted the woman into his arms.

As soon as Tommy embraced her, Y/n’s long-held tears began to fall.

“What the hell?” Tommy asked, his mouth muffled against Y/n’s coat.

Y/n was too overwhelmed to explain anything.

“I tried,” Tommy rushed out, having held onto those two words for twenty years, “I tried to find you, I couldn’t.”

“I know,” Y/n sniffled, “I know.”

Cleared of any wrongdoing in her eyes, Tommy held Y/n a little tighter and pulled her off her feet. She laughed as she cried, digging her face into the denim of Tommy’s jacket.

If Joel had thought he could handle the reunion, he’d been wrong. The sight of his brother and his ex, so thrilled to be in each other’s presence again, split him. It was the first time in three months he’d seen Y/n genuinely happy, so full of joy she was brought to tears.

Joel could feel his own eyes growing wet.

Tommy set Y/n back on the ground, keeping an arm around her shoulders and looking to Joel. When Y/n and Joel’s gazes met, there was no trying to hide any of what they were feeling. It was a heavy moment, but a joyous one, and they had to sit with it.

“Y’all must be starving,” Tommy said, “Let’s head to the mess hall, give us some time to talk.”

The rest of the riders trailed off, leaving Joel, Y/n, Ellie, Tommy and the dark skinned woman who had led brought them there. Y/n and Joel remained on foot with Tommy, though Y/n kept a hand on Ellie’s reins all the way to the mess hall.

Inside, the woman Tommy introduced as Maria, made special effort to get Joel, Ellie and Y/n hot plates of food. Weeks of mostly rabbit had them shoveling their meals into their mouths, none of them even asked what they’d been served.

“There’s more if you need it,” Maria offered, her and Tommy sitting across from the threesome.

Joel looked up from his plate, “Thank you, ma’am. It’s been a while since we’ve had a proper meal.”

“Actually, I don’t think I’ve ever had a proper meal,” Ellie interjected in between bites, “This is fuckin’ amazing.”

Y/n took her eyes off her plate to shoot Ellie a raised eyebrow.

Joel’s southern upbringing turned him white with shock, he quickly looked up to Maria. “Sorry. Ellie, let’s mind our manners.”

Tommy smiled at his brother, it all sounded very familiar…

Ellie looked across the room, spotting a girl watching her from behind a wooden beam. She glared back at her curious stare, “What?”

Y/n pressed a finger to her temple, “Ellie…”

“What’s wrong with you?” Joel asked.

“What about her manners?” Ellie replied.

“She was just curious,” Maria cut in, “Kids around here don’t usually look or talk like you.”

“Right…” Ellie was unimpressed, “Well…maybe I’ll teach them. And I want my gun back.”

“They also aren’t armed,” Marie replied, the group had been forced to check their guns at the front door.

“You know what?” Tommy jumped in, “Uh, I think maybe y’all got a little off on the wrong foot.”

Ellie gestured to the woman, “She was gonna have her guys kill us.”

“Well, we gotta be real careful about who we let into this place,” Tommy explained, “But it’s all bark. We’re just tryna scare off those who might wanna try us is all.”

“Well,” Ellie returned to her plate, “You’ve got a couple of 90-year olds shitting themselves out there.”

Joel and Y/n’s heads turned at the same time, “Ellie.”

“They say that you leave dead bodies laying around?” Ellie continued her tirade.

“Those are the people that tried us,” Maria said.

“A bad reputation doesn’t mean you’re bad,” Tommy stated.

“Not always at least,” Maria added, staring right at Joel.

The tension at the table was palpable, Joel, Y/n and Ellie all wating for Maria’s glare to soften. That wasn’t going to happen.

“Ma’am,” Joel’s voice firmed up, while still retaining its southern pleasantness, “We’re grateful for your hospitality and all,” he looked expectantly to Tommy, “But it’d be nice to have a moment here, maybe just for family.”

Family, and whatever Y/n and Ellie were.

Tommy was half holding his breath as he leaned forward, “Well, um,” he took his wife’s hand, “Maria is family, actually.”

Y/n nearly had the wind knocked out of her, thankful she didn’t have a piece of food in her mouth.

“Oh, shit!” Ellie put together the pieces, “Congrats.”

Joel couldn’t take his eyes off of their clasped palms, painfully transfixed by the bands around their fourth fingers.

“Yeah,” Y/n added, quickly trying to adjust to the idea of Tommy as a husband, “Congratulations.”

“Joel,” Ellie lowered her voice, “Say congrats.”

It was going to take a hell of a lot more time for Joel to absorb the news. “Congrats,” he attempted.

It wasn’t that it was awkward, it was that the ever present dagger in Joel’s heart suddenly twisted.

“Well, how ‘bout a tour?” Tommy suggested, eager to exchange the tension for some fresh air.

“Great idea,” Y/n replied, wiping her mouth off and rising before anyone else. There was a pit of anxiety slowly and steadily building in her stomach and she needed to walk it off.

They were quick to find out that the heart of the town looked even nicer than the edge.

“We settled here about seven years ago,” Maria told the group, “Just a handful of us back then,” she pointed down the middle of the town, “That section was already a gated community, so we built the rest of the wall out from there. Stopped most of the raiding parties, but we still find pockets of them.”

Joel, Y/n and Ellie stayed in a horizontal line behind Maria and Tommy, the foreign environment causing them to want to stick closer together. Unwittingly, Ellie was once again being made the barrier between Joel and Y/n.

“And you said Infected?” Joel asked.

“Yeah, but usually smaller colonies,” Tommy answered, “Wandered off from the cities. All this open country out here…” he looked back to his brother, “It’s a turkey shoot. I still got my 700, but I found a variable power scope. Sub-MOA. Can headshot those fuckers from a half-mile out.”

Ellie’s ears perked up, “Can you teach me how?”

“No, he can’t,” Joel was quick to shoot down the idea.

“How do you keep off the radar?” Y/n asked, “I mean, using all these resources, how has FEDRA not tracked you guys down?”

“Carefully,” Maria answered, “Being in the middle of nowhere helps. Not advertising what we have, staying off the radio.”

Tommy snuck a look to Joel, who had come up alongside him. There was the answer he’d been waiting three months for.

“House of worship,” Maria continued to talk through the buildings, “Multifaith. School. Laundry. Old bank works as the jail, not that we’ve needed it.”

Joel’s eyes drew upwards to the electrical lines, “And you draw power from the dam?”

“Got that workin’ a couple years ago,” Maria answered, “After that, sewage, plumbing, water heaters…lights.”

“This place actually fuckin’ works,” Ellie remarked as she walked, leaving Joel and Y/n behind.

If Y/n thought she’d gotten a taste of normality back at Bill and Frank’s house, this felt like some sort of starvation induced hallucination. Except there was food in her belly and ice cold air in her lungs, it was all real.

Tommy and Maria led them towards the agricultural section of town, rows of greenhouses and animal pens lining their way.

“Hey, Joel, look,” Ellie pointed to the heard of sheep ahead of them, “Baaah,” she laughed before turning to Maria, “So are you, like, in charge?”

“No one person’s in charge,” Maria responded, “I’m on the council, democratically elected, serving 300 people, including children. Everyone pitches in. We rotate patrols, food prep, repairs, hunting, harvesting.”

“Everything you see in our town,” Tommy gestured around them, “Greenhouses, livestock, all shared. Collective ownership.”

”So, uh,” Joel figured, “Communism.”

Tommy was quick to scoff, “Nah. Nah, it ain’t like that.”

“It is that, literally,” Maria turned to her husband, “This is a commune. We’re communists.”

Tommy stopped short as the realization hit him, Joel and Y/n trailing behind purely to watch his full reaction.

“Easy there, soldier,” Y/n smirked, patting him on the shoulder while Joel matched her expression.

Rejoining Maria and Ellie, where Ellie was petting one of the horses poking their heads out of the stables, Maria changed subjects.

“Well, I’m sure they’d like a shower, some new clothes,” she addressed Tommy, “We can put them in the empty house across the street from us.”

“Yeah,” Tommy nodded, looking to Joel and Y/n, “It’s a decent place. Pretty much untouched since ‘03, but it’s the heat goin’ in it. Could do worse.”

“Oh, trust me,” Ellie spoke up, “We have been.”

“We’ve been doin’ fine,” Joel defended them, nervously rubbing his hands together. He needed to talk to his brother, just them.

Y/n was absentmindedly tapping her foot, matching Joel’s energy. The town itself was lovely, and Joel was bearable, but there was something about the combination of the two that was making her feel uneasy.

“Well,” Maria picked up on the mood, “I’ll take Ellie over there if you three wanna catch up?”

“Uh,” Y/n raised her hand quickly, “I’d actually love to join you.”

Tommy started to speak up, he was more than curious as to how Y/n and Joel had reunited. One look at the readiness in Joel’s eyes to be without her ceased his tongue from moving.

Ellie, however, had started to require both Joel and Y/n’s presence with her. Without one, she was restless. “Joel…”

“You’ll be fine,” Joel reassured her as he and Tommy walked off. He managed not to seek out Y/n’s eyes, it felt like the first time in days he’d had any control.

Y/n expected that parting from Joel would give her instant relief, but even when Maria led her and Ellie to their lodging, it didn’t come. In fact, the more distance they put between each other, the deeper Y/n could feel the anxiety within her. She was miserable with him and unsettled without him.

The house Maria assigned them was lovely, modest yet welcoming. Y/n nearly felt her heart break walking in, feeling the warmth of the air flood her body. It was like stepping back in time, a piece of seemingly meaningless history preserved perfectly.

“I’ll leave some clothes on the bed for you,” Maria told Ellie, pointing up the stairs, “First door on the left. There should be a towel and soap already there.”

Ellie looked expectantly to Y/n.

“I’ve got a few things to grab over at my place,” Maria said, “Maybe Y/n could help me?”

“Go,” Y/n nodded to the girl, “I’ll be back.”

Ellie filed upstairs, leaving Y/n and Maria to themselves. Maria made sure to lock the door on her way out, handing Y/n the key after.

“There’s only one, so don’t lose it,” she noted, leading Y/n across the street to her and Tommy’s house. The house felt much the same as the other one did, a few differences in designs, but nothing spectacular.

Maria began to rifle through a closet near the downstairs bathroom while Y/n meandered through the living room.

“Y’know, Tommy told me about you,” Maria called from across the room, “I’ve only heard your name once or twice. Every other time, he just referred to you as Rosebud.”

The nickname sent a sickening pain through Y/n’s stomach. “Oh, yeah,” she tried to play it off nonchalantly, “He gave me that nickname the night I met him and…”

“Joel?” Maria finished, popping her head out to try and get a read on Y/n’s reaction. She had a lot of feelings regarding her husband’s brother.

All Y/n felt capable of doing was nodding, blindly feeling around for the chair closest to her. She wandered the room, her eyes drifting to the fireplace before scanning her way up and-

Her heart stopped.

Sat on the mantle was a chalkboard, two names and two dates written across it.

Kevin - 4/3/00 - 9/29/03

Sarah - 7/20/89 - 9/27/03

Negative emotions always tended to stay right below the surface, regardless of the cliches about burying them. They were easily accessible under the right conditions, and if the wound was deep enough, it didn’t take much to trigger them. Y/n was already on the edge, teetering between holding onto the last bit of anger that had fueled her the past twenty years and collapsing under the weight of her grief.

Sarah’s name decided her fate.

And she crumbled.

—————————

“Those things I did, Tommy, those things you judge me for…I did those things to keep us alive.”

“We did those things,” Tommy pushed back, “And they weren’t “things’,” we murdered people. And I don’t judge you for it, we survived the only way we knew how…but there were other ways. We just weren’t any good at ‘em,” he paused, preparing himself for Joel’s reaction, “But I do judge you for what you did to Y/n.”

Joel sighed, he couldn’t take it. He physically could not handle discussing that day with Tommy.

“Joel, you l-“

“I know what I did,” Joel’s voice rose, he held up a hand more to calm himself than anything else.

“And now, twenty years later, here she is,” Tommy gestured to the door as if Y/n was right outside, “Do you even know where she’s been? What she’s been through? ‘Cause I don’t! And I’d have liked to know.”

Joel’s anxiety was beginning to bubble in his stomach, the vines climbing up his throat, ready to choke the life out of him.

“Have the two of you even talked about it?” Tommy asked calmly, his own emotions on the verge of showing.

Joel gripped the bar counter so hard, he thought he might snap the wood. He rolled the cold glass in his palm, trying to hold onto anything he could, as if it could save him from being sucked back into the vortex that was the past…

—————————

September 28th, 2003. Austin, Texas.

Cordyceps.

It was the only word people were capable of saying.

Cordyceps.

One little strand of fungi had taken out the entire world.

Joel, Y/n and Tommy ended up quarantined at a triage clinic. It was deemed one of the only “safe zones” for non-infected citizens. Dozens and dozens of people, crammed into a tiny building, practically sleeping on one another.

Joel had yet to string more than two words together since Sarah’s death. He was nearly unreachable. It was tragic enough for a parent to lose a child, it was another thing to cradle your daughter as she bleeds out in your arms.

Y/n felt like she was moving through cement, unable to fully comprehend what was going on around them. Her grief was overwhelming her, leaving her no more than twenty minute interludes between fits of wailing. But with Joel completely decommissioned, she was forced to rise to the occasion and take charge of their situation.

She returned from another attempt to reach her parent’s house, her cell phone getting no reception. She’d also tried the pay phone and Joel and Tommy’s phones. Nothing.

Y/n settled beside Joel in their corner of their hallway, it was nearly empty on account of it being the middle of the day. Most people took their walks around then. Tommy had volunteered to go out on patrol with a couple other veterans that were there.

“I still can’t get through,” Y/n started, hugging her knees to her chest, “Tried my parents, Annie, Jason…” she thought of her siblings, “Nothing.”

Joel didn’t even acknowledge her presence, he just kept staring down the hall.

“I have to get up there, Joel,” Y/n finally said, the thought had been keeping her awake all night, “I have to find them, make sure they’re okay.”

Many people assume that grief is but one emotion; sorrow. A deep sea of pain that you are thrown into without a floatiation device. But those who have never experienced it know not of the vastness of grief. There is anger, there is frustration, there is betrayal, there is jealousy…all of which can change you into an entirely different person.

And Joel was slipping away by the second.

“Joel, I have to go,” Y/n spelled it out in simpler terms for him.

Nothing.

“And I can’t go alone…” Y/n continued, worried that he had completely shut down. She rolled onto her knees, taking one of Joel’s cheek into her palm, “Joel, I need you.”

Joel stared forward, motionless.

Y/n was flying blind, unsure of how much was too much talking or how little she was supposed to be acknowledging Sarah’s death. But the world was, quite literally, falling apart. She couldn’t navigate the wreckage on her own.

“Joel,” she whispered, “I know it hurts-“

“Don’t,” Joel turned to her, the speed of it causing Y/n to pull her hand back, “Don’t.”

Y/n’s eyebrows came down in confusion, “Don’t what?”

“Don’t you act like you know what I’m feelin’,” he snapped, tears filling his eyes.

Of all the reactions, Y/n couldn’t have ever predicted this one.

“Joel, I was there too,” she replied, keeping her tone gentle, “I was-“

Joel pointed his finger at Y/n, their faces inches apart. “I’m her father,” he gritted through his teeth, “You were a bystander. They are not the same.”

Y/n inched back, bracing her body with her hands. He’d never so much as raised his voice at her.

As much as she wanted to let him grieve, she couldn’t let him descend into hostility. She wasn’t sure if her tactic would hurt him further or allow him to see the truth, but she couldn’t hold it in any longer.

“Joel…” she began, he was back staring numbly at the wall again. Y/n drew a shaky breath, the memory was so fresh in her mind, she could still hear Sarah’s voice. “She called me mom.”

If there was one thing about Joel’s reaction to his daughter’s death, it was the sheer delirium it threw his brain into. Much like Cordyceps, it was ripping through every cell of his body, changing the fundamentals of every inch. Whatever reaction he may have had to the news of Sarah’s decision had been poisoned by what he was allowing her loss to do to him.

He locked his hands together, gripping them so hard his knuckles turned white. Shutting his eyes, he let his head drop between his arms and took a shallow breath. “No, she didn’t.”

Y/n was afraid his mind was slipping away from her. “Joel, she did,” she continued, trying to push past the lump in her throat, “I went upstairs to bed a-and she called out for me.”

“She didn’t,” Joel repeated, his hands practically shaking with rage.

“Joel,” Y/n began, reaching up to touch his arm.

“NO!”

Joel jumped to his feet, his shout echoing in the empty room. He’d scared Y/n enough for her to fall back against the wall.

“She didn’t fuckin’ say it,” Joel aimed his finger at his girlfriend again, “You weren’t her damn mother.”

Y/n stared up at him with tears in her eyes.

“Doesn’t matter if you wanted to be,” Joel kept going, “Doesn’t matter if you tried. You weren’t. You were some fuckin’ woman livin’ in her house.”

Y/n got to her feet, trying ever so hard to be patient with Joel’s grief. But she wasn’t going to allow him to take her last normal moment she’d had with Sarah away from her.

“You weren’t there,” she argued back, “It happened, whether or not you want to believe it,” Y/n pointed a finger at her own chest, “She chose me.”

“You’re fuckin’ lyin’,” Joel growled, spinning away from Y/n and putting his hands to his hips. He couldn’t look at her.

Y/n was entirely lost, praying that Tommy returned soon. She couldn’t manage Joel in this state on her own.

Joel couldn’t see straight, let alone think straight. Only one thing seemed to ring true in his mind; Y/n was lying. She was a liar. She was lying about his dead daughter. What kind of monster would lie about a dead child?

Like a snowball rolling down a mountain, Joel’s delirious realization began to make sense, leaving him with only one course of action.

“I’m done.”

Y/n could barely register the sudden shift, from anger to calm. “What?”

Joel turned back to her, sweeping his hand through the air, “I’m done. We’re done.”

The air thickened suddenly, the stakes of his statement as important as the next breath Y/n drew.

“Joel-“

“No,” he shook his head quickly, “This is over. I’m not gonna stay with you when you’re lyin’ about my child-“

Y/n took an urgent step forward, reaching out for his arm, “Joel-“

“You don’t get to try and make yourself feel better about her now that she’s g-“ Joel choked on the word, flipping back to grief for a mere second, “Oh, God…”

Y/n was on the verge of panic, he was completely out of his mind. “Joel,” she urged, “Don’t do this. Take a breath and-“

Just like that, he was engorged in rage again. “Don’t. Don’t fuckin’ touch me, don’t even fuckin’ look at me.”

“Joel,” Y/n cried, her tears streaming down her face, “I love you. I’m here and I love you.”

Through the haze of insanity, Joel could feel her words. They wrapped around him, cradling him close to the warmth of her chest. He could almost feel something again, something pure and safe…it nearly pulled him back to shore.

Nearly.

Joel crossed the space between them, lowering his voice to a growl, “Well, I don’t love you.”

If there was an exact moment to point to as to when Y/n’s heart shattered, it was then. The force of Sarah’s death weighed so heavily on her chest, she was convinced she was in the midst of a heart attack. But when two tragedies occurred, so close together, it was always the second one that broke a person beyond repair. The second is unexpected, pushing you into a new level of grief you didn’t think you could feel. That was the one that could drive you to madness.

Snot and tears mixing across her lips, Y/n shook her head. “You don’t mean that,” she mumbled.

“I do,” Joel replied, his voice so full of confidence, “You’re a fuckin’ liar.”

Y/n felt like she was drowning, kicking and flailing under the waters, trying to find some way to make Joel believe her. To pull him out of his delusions.

The two lovers stood in the hall of the clinic, squaring off in a battle neither one of them knew how to fight. Their heartbreak was manifesting in completely opposite ways.

Scanning her face once more, to remember in the years to come, Joel turned on his heel and walked away from Y/n.

“W-wait,” she trembled, quickly following after him, “Where are you going?”

“To find Tommy,” Joel said, his fists curled at his sides as he marched through the clinic.

“Joel, stop,” Y/n begged, trying to keep up with his pace, “Joel!”

Joel made his way outside, where the clinic was still accepting injured civilians. All around them was tragedy, while one was unfolding between them.

“Joel,” Y/n called again, six feet behind him, the grief in her bones slowing her down, “Joel, you can’t go out there. Tommy said-“

“Don’t tell me what my own brother said,” Joel practically shouted, refusing to look back at her. He needed a quick escape.

Scanning the makeshift parking lot around them, he spotted an F1-50. He stalked towards it as if it were prey.

“Joel,” Y/n called in between her sobs, she was more terrified for him than anything else.

Once he got to the truck’s door, Joel slammed his fist without hesitation through the glass window.

“Joel!” Y/n cried, watching the blood begin to trickle down his knuckles.

Joel reached through the shattered window, felt around for the lock/unlock button on the door and clicked it. He threw the door open and got inside, the glass on the seat cutting through his jeans and into his thighs.

Y/n surged forward, Joel’s absolute insanity was becoming real. He was actually leaving her. She took hold of the door handle, “Joel, don’t. Don’t,” she hyperventilated, “I can’t do this without you. I can’t. I can’t.”

Her pleas began to crack the ice around his heart, just enough for him to allow another gust of icy wind through his chest. He became indifferent to her cries.

Joel slammed the door shut, the force of it pulling Y/n forward.

“Joel, don’t do this,” she sobbed, clinging to the side of the truck, “I love you. I love you. We can get through this. We can get through this.”

Joel felt around for the keys, finding them conveniently left in the ignition. He switched the truck on.

Y/n’s chest heaved, her window for reasoning with him closing. “No, Joel. Don’t do this! I love you, please, don’t do this.”

Joel’s body trembled, some sane part of him knowing that was he was doing was inhumane. But grief’s noose tightened around his throat, reminding him that the sicker state of mind was where he belonged now. His heart was nothing more than a liability now.

He pressed down on the gas pedal.

“No,” Y/n yelled as the truck shifted, she was practically tripping in the dirt trying to move with it, “Joel, don’t! Don’t do this to me! Please! Don’t do this to me!”

Joel ignored her cries, turning the truck towards the open road.

“Don’t do this,” Y/n shouted, her voice straining and fluctuating with her tears. If he didn’t stop soon, she wouldn’t be able to keep up with the truck. “Joel!”

The final cry did it, Joel couldn’t handle any more. He pressed down further on the pedal, jolting the truck forward.

Y/n was able to catch one last look at him, a final glimpse at the man she loved with her whole heart, leaving her as if she was nothing more than a dead body already. When her hand slipped from the truck, Joel having sped up to escape her, she knew he was forever lost to her.

She stopped running, screaming into the cloud of dirt he’d left, “JOEL!”

Y/n watched him steer the truck out of the clinic’s lot, pulling onto the dirt alongside the road and driving off. Her wet eyes followed the blur until it was completley out of sight.

That was when she fell apart.

She dropped to the ground, screeching like a wounded animal, clutching the ground underneath her fingers. She screamed loud enough for a clinic staff member to rush out, reaching out to help her. Y/n wrenched out of their loving grip, shrieking for them not to touch her. She didn’t want their oxygen masks, their sedatives or their counseling.

Sarah was gone. Joel had abandoned her. If this was death coming to collect her, she would go willingly into its embrace.

—————————

December 2023. Jackson, Wyoming.

Y/n dropped to her knees in the middle of Maria and Tommy’s living room, clutching her stomach.

“I think I found everything,” Maria announced, walking out from the closet and spotting Y/n. She rushed across the room, kneeling down beside her.

Silent sobs turned to violent ones, shaking Y/n’s body with a force she hadn’t felt in twenty years. Unlike that fateful day, Y/n allowed Maria’s caring arms to wrap around her as she wept.

“I’m sorry,” the kind woman said, pressing close to Y/n’s ear.

There was nothing anyone could say to put any of the pieces back together. Every part of Y/n’s grief over Sarah’s death, Joel’s abandonment, the choices she’d had to make after she was left on her own…it was all coming to the surface after three months of repression. The physicality of her sobs exhausted her less than the act of holding herself together in front of Ellie and Joel.

Five minutes or a half hour, Y/n wasn’t sure how long she spent on the floor, Maria cradling her as if she were a child. At some point, the tears stopped and she was once again aware of her surroundings.

“Tommy told me all about you,” Maria said, still holding Y/n, “About your family. How good you were with Sarah.”

Y/n sniffled, fighting the urge to gaze back up at the girl’s chalk-written name. It would only send her back into tears.

“It doesn’t matter what happened between you and Joel,” Maria continued, clearly she knew a lot more than perhaps she should have, “You helped raise that girl. Far as I’m concerned, you should feel a mother’s grief.”

A mumbled cry bubbled from Y/n’s lips. Every day she felt the loss of Sarah like that of a lost limb, the phantom pain constantly pulling at her body.

—————————

“I’m gonna be a father.”

Tommy’s words paralyzed Joel, he physically lost the sensation of his heartbeat, his breath…it all stopped, allowing grief and bitterness to fill the hollowness within him.

“To be honest, I’m scared to death,” Tommy lifted his glass to his lips, “But I don’t know, uh…” he smiled, “I feel like I’d be a good dad.”

Joel wanted to scream, he wanted to punch a hole through the fucking wall to counter the pain of the universe’s cruel slap.

“Guess we’ll find out,” he replied, reaching for the bottle of whiskey and refilling his glass.

“‘I guess we’ll find out?’” Tommy repeated, practically indignant as he looked to his big brother, “That’s all you got?”

Joel settled against the bar, keeping a firm stare on Tommy, “What else am I supposed to say?”

Tommy got to his feet, exhausted by bearing the brunt of Joel’s grief. “Just because life stopped for you,” he said, “Doesn’t mean it has to stop for me.”

Much like after losing Sarah, Joel was acting purely on emotion. The world had ripped away everything from him, and here Tommy was, with everything he’d almost had.

“We’ll grab some supplies and be out of your hair in the mornin’,” Joel bit out, turning from his brother and grabbing his jacket. He burst outside into the cold air.

—————————

“I, uh,” Y/n sniffled, trying to collect herself, “I should get back to Ellie.”

“Don’t worry,” Maria said softly, “I’ll take care of her. You take a moment to yourself.”

Y/n practically scoffed at the idea, she hadn’t had a second to herself in three months. But the tension within her was so great, she didn’t have the will to fight Maria on the offer.

“Thank you,” she laid a hand on Maria’s arm, letting the woman help her to her feet.

Y/n stumbled out into the cold, trying to absorb the sound of the children’s playful screams, the crunch of the snow under her boots, the feel of her breath slamming back into her face each time she exhaled…she’d had anxiety attacks before. Taking stock of your surroundings was supposed to help.

Except she was too far gone for coping strategies, she needed alcohol and she needed someone to talk to. Someone who understood.

On their way in, Maria had led them past a bar, and Y/n felt like a bloodhound, tracing her way back through the crowds to find it. The world may have changed, but she knew she’d find exactly who she needed at the counter with a thing of whiskey in his hand…

—————————

Joel stumbled out into the snow, leaning up against a metal lightpost. His breath was catching, his heart pounding out of his chest, the tinnitus flooding his ears once again…

Once upon a time, Tommy’s life had been his. He’d had his daughter, so bright and beautiful. A home that they’d made their own, despite the wounds that had led them there. And Y/n, his Y/n, the missing piece of his and Sarah’s life, a ring nearly on her finger…

And as much as he wanted to blame Cordyceps for losing all of it, he was hardly faultless.

He’d had twenty years of guilt soaked isolation, trying to convince himself that what his grief riddled self had thought was truth. Y/n had to have lied for him to continue on with life, because he couldn’t face the alternate. He couldn’t believe that he had abandoned her for no good reason…

It was a conclusion he’d come to weeks ago, the more time he spent with her reminding her of who she really was.

Across the way, there were families gathered around the Christmas tree. Joel’s eyes mindlessly drifted over them, catching on one woman’s silhouette. Her head of curls, the weightlessness of her voice…in his panicked state, it was Sarah.

He took clunky steps forward, chasing the illusion that his daughter was standing in front of him. He wanted, needed to believe it to be true. There had been some terrible mistake, they’d abandoned her body too soon and by the grace of God, she was-

A small child ran up to the woman, revealing her true face.

Joel stopped, his heartbreak pulling him back to reality. This was how far his mind could take him under the worst circumstances. He was convincing himself that his daughter was still alive and twenty years prior, he’d convinced himself that the love of his life was a liar.

It was grief that stood every chance at breaking him.

—————————

Y/n crossed through the middle of town, spotting the Christmas tree and the surrounding crowd singing and chattering around it. She couldn’t handle the sight, ducking into the bar as quick as she could.

Tommy turned around, glaring at the door, ready to rip into Joel further. “Oh,” he muttered, putting away his anger at the sight of Y/n, “Thought you were Joel.”

“I’m thankful you’re not,” Y/n remarked, walking to the counter and spotting the open whiskey bottle. He was everywhere she looked.

She reached over the counter and grabbed a glass, filling it a little over halfway, “You two not getting along?”

Tommy sighed, rolling his glass in his palm. “Complicated,” he answered, “But I’m preachin’ to the choir, aren’t I?”

Y/n bristled, lifting the glass to her lips and letting the burn of her throat force her into feeling something.

“Maria’s pregnant,” Tommy blurted out.

Y/n’s arm fell to the bar, the glass hitting it hard. To say she was shocked would have been a gross understatement.

Tommy smiled up at her, “That so hard to believe?”

“Well, you gotta cut me a little slack here,” Y/n replied, dazed, “The last time I knew you, there was a new girl every week. I was kinda half-convinced you already had a kid.”

Tommy chuckled, he’d missed her so much. He considered Y/n another loss from Cordyceps, though it chose his brother’s grief as its medium.

“I…” Y/n pulled out the barstool next to him and sat down, her mouth still agape, “How do you feel about it?”

“Good,” he nodded, “I think. Maria’s already been a mom before, but…I really do think I could be a good dad.”

Y/n rested her hand on Tommy’s wrist, drawing his eyes to her. “You’ll make a great dad,” she said, proud and with a smile. It was the first good look at him she’d gotten. Though he sported a few more wrinkles and scars, a mustache now hanging over his upper lip, his eyes still held the same sparkle.

Tommy beamed back at her, laying his hand over hers. The warmth shared between siblings still flowed between them.

“So that’s why…” Y/n glanced at the door, absentmindedly pointing outside.

“Yep,” Tommy turned back to his whiskey.

“Oh,” Y/n murmured, so caught up in the beauty of the news that she hadn’t thought about how Joel might have reacted.

“Can I ask you somethin’?” Tommy asked.

Y/n shook her head with a small smirk, “C’mon, it’s been twenty years but you don’t have to be formal.”

It wasn’t formality, it was handling gasoline near a wildfire.

“How the hell are you two doin’ this?” Tommy asked, setting down his glass to give the topic his full attention.

In her anxious state, Y/n hadn’t stopped to think that Tommy would bring up the very thing she was running from.

“There were…” Y/n cleared her throat, “A lot of threats the first few days. Lots of hate. Mostly from me. But we had to…come to some sort of truce if we were going to get through this.”

“Joel told me you’re with the kid,” Tommy cut in, “She’s not yours?”

Y/n snorted, “No. But she’s…” she paused, unprepared to unpack what Ellie meant to her, “She wasn’t going with Joel unless I came with. So really, she’s to blame for all this.”

Tommy chuckled, taking a quick sip before repeating the same question he’d asked Joel, “You two talked about what happened yet?”

Y/n shrugged, feeling the weight of twenty years in her shoulders, “What’s there to talk about?”

“I think there’s everything to fuckin’ talk about,” Tommy replied.

The seat was suddenly digging into her thighs and there were electric currents in her legs. Y/n slid off the barstool, trying to take slow steps around the bar counter to deescalate her body’s nervous energy.

“How long did it take him to tell you what happened?” Y/n asked, her curiosity getting the better of her.

“Ah, the full story?” Tommy said, shaking his head slightly, “All I heard when I got back from patrol was you two had broken up. I finally got it all pieced together after about two years. Gave him hell for it too.”

Y/n’s smile was filled with frustration, she threw back the last of her whiskey.

“I looked for you,” Tommy said, reiterating what he’d said at the gate, “I mean, I combed every fuckin’ inch of that place tryin’ to find you. I wasn’t gonna leave you.”

“I know,” Y/n replied, slipping behind the counter to pour herself another glass, “I figured that out at some point. That you wouldn’t have gone along with that…”

Tommy watched Y/n’s face carefully, a new emotion covering the expanse every few seconds.

“You don’t actually believe what he said, do you?”

Y/n poured a shot of a random liquor, “Why shouldn’t I believe him?”

“C’mon,” Tommy turned to her, “He was out of his mind with grief, we all were. He wasn’t thinkin’ straight.”

“I’m sorry,” Y/n raised a hand to her head, “Are you defending him?”

“Hell no,” Tommy gave a firm shake of his head, “I’m tryin’ to make you understand that he lied. He was lying. He didn’t stop lovin’ you, he-“

“Stop,” Y/n forcefully set the bottle down on the counter, some of it spilling out the top, “Stop. I don’t want to hear it.”

Tommy settled down in his seat, unaware he’d lifted off it while talking.

“You have no idea what I went through after he left,” Y/n struggled, her voice threatening to cease up, “What I had to do…” she sniffled, unable to hide the tears, “And then he came back. He fucking came back, and I haven’t been able to escape him for three months.”

Staying silent and still, Tommy allowed her the space to purge everything out of her system.

“And now we’re here,” Y/n gestured around them, her voice growing watery, “And it’s so fucking beautiful, I could cry. Look at me, I am,” she paused, squirming under the pressure of the sob building within her, “And it’s killing me. It’s killing me. To be here, to see you, to see all that…”

Y/n ran a hand through her hair, leaning against the counter. All that they could have had.

“I can’t,” Y/n held up a shaking hand, “I can’t…be near him right now. Because all I see is her, is us…and it’s fucking breaking me.”

Tommy looked down at his glass, wondering whether or not he was about to push too far. “That doesn’t sound like hate to me.”

Y/n’s bottom lip trembled, she knew exactly what it was. And she’d have rather died than admit it.

“Well, it needs to be,” she whispered.

——————

TYL Taglist: @bachiracore @stolenxkissess @kayleezra @the-wistful-reader @allthesesonsofbitches @goth-detectives365 @trippovert @rh1nestonecowg1rl @emiliaserpe @khaleesihavilliard @frietiemeloen @gracie7209 @dorck26 @thegirlnextdoorssister @alanis-altair @mariwinns16 @whosscruffylooking @endofthexline @alexiaricciardo @eonnyx @pedrosmexicangf @scarlettequinn @ao-sleepy @toinfinityandbeyonce2 @deanlovescassie @turmoil-ash @sorrowjunky @kpopslur @xxlilyxx90 @midgetpottermills @presidential-facts @scoopsnini @tubble-wubble @jamesdeerest @burninggracesandbridges @star-wars-lover @lucyhotchner @cococola-cocaine @witheringhqarts @fall-writes @alwaysdjarin @xxmoonn @emilia-the-artist @wand-erer5 @boneyarrd @lizard-zombie @itwasallinmyhead1 @cassidylea123 @paleepeaches @mxltifxnd0m @kettlekatie @ultimate-cinephile @gloryekaterina @caramelkatsukis-bitch @whovianayesha @memeorydotcom @deadunicorn159 @get0ut0fmyr00m @siriuslymooned @emmyeed @superbreadsoul @hellu-people1 @ourautumn86 @inas-thing @noraapple05 @givemylovetoall @luvwanda (tags cont. in comments ❤️)

[brabblesblog]

Whither is thy beloved gone? Edited / Expanded Edition is complete!

He would have to be the Ascendant again when the dawn breaks, and the Ascendant refused to be that spawn - refused to be anything that man was. The spawn could only ever be allowed to surface in the dark of night, between silken sheets and whispered words; a secret the Ascendant could not allow her to see.

Series Masterlist (AO3)

Art commissioned from @morebird

Whither was originally written in December 2023, in about a span of a month. It was written at a time when my skills as a writer were not as developed, and written at a rather breakneck pace. There were scenes that, as time passed, I realized did not fit my vision of the story. Certain factors in my life at that time prevented me from writing the version of the story that I wanted. Coming back to work on it again and to refine it has been a wonderful, exciting journey.

I would like to thank every single person who has read this work, who will read this work, and especially those who will be rereading it again. Thank you for each and every comment, kudos, like, and reblog. Thank you for walking down this path with Ban and Astarion, and for investing in them. Thank you to every single person who has given input, ideas, and help throughout these long months of writing. 

I would like to dedicate a small paragraph here to @editing-by-night for reaching out to me when I needed it most, and for allowing me the chance to reshape Whither into what I had always dreamed it would be. For holding my hand throughout, and managing me and my writerly tantrums at every turn. 

Thank you for loving my work. I hope you all will love the new and improved version of it.

For more information on the specific changes, my editor has prepared the following for you:

@editing-by-night’s Whither Patch Notes:

Now in simple-past tense

Grammar & punctuation improvements

Sentence structure improvements

Formatting improvements and cohesion

Phrasing & vocabulary improvements for more elegant and evocative imagery, and in some cases for accuracy based on writer’s original intent

Improved context throughout, but most particularly in Chapter 3’s climax (no pun intended)

Minor modifications to Chapter 5 for more appropriate consent

Continuity-kevlar (aka repairs & improvements), with the most significant modifications made to Chapters 6, 8, 12-15, and 19-20

Significant pacing improvements to Chapter 12

Improvements to flow for Chapters 12-15

Minor improvements to Gale’s dialogue in Chapters 13-15, because the wizard of Waterdeep ain’t no bitch.

Performed a vibe check on Chapter 18 and improved it all-around

Additional content added to Chapter 19, to allow for informed consent

In addition to the change above, minor changes to Chapter 20, for improved vibe

Thank you for reading with us!

[uroboros-if]

Chapter 1 Update is Here! ✦ DEMO

+10k words added to Chapter 1, bringing the total word count to 50k (with code)

More curt/unfriendly options towards mortals and other gods (Salvatore, parents, etc.)

More customization options, including new hair colors, eye colors, and distinctive features in Chapter 1

Multipronouns you can set in Chapter 1 (may change in future chapters)

Choice of clothes to wear to the Ceremony, which ROs may compliment if they like (3 out of 6 options for each of them!)

A new scene with your parents before the Ceremony where you can decide your relationship with them! (affects dialogue)

Option to storm off if you're mad at Ciocana, especially if you're touch-averse

Misc edits, bug fixes, and background performance improvements

This update is a massive improvement for new readers rather than warranting an entirely new playthrough. If you have any saves right before the Ceremony, you can find the most content there! However, the changes and additions are all over the demo.

... and Discord! ✦ Join here 🌿

My friend suggested I start one up! I hope to set up some events, share more sneak peeks, and connect with others more with this! 🫶💕 I also added some fun things like anonymous confessions and customizable color names, so please join! :)

(Very detailed changelog below if you're interested!)

Minor rewording for Karen encounter.

MC can now openly grimace when mortals call for MC's attention in Chapter 1. Previously, the only real negative reaction to them is turning away, which is open for any interpretation as to why MC does so.

When mortals ask for MC's help, MC can snap at them to speak quickly.

Most choices suggested you are friendly with Nero, so added a couple of options that are neutral towards him, leaning towards dismissive.

Rewrote a line that says you waved to Nero goodbye. It simply says that he departs.

Added an option to be frustrated with the conversation about mortals, when the only other non-positive options about mortals were about being completely disinterested.

Added an option where the MC says they can take care of themselves or they don't need other people worrying about them so much.

When choosing to be touch averse, selective, or not touch averse, you can now choose to be selective and not want to touch Rafaele, which initially was not an option.

If you are the Universal Eye, you tell Salvatore about the Universe being in pain and they dismiss it, you may be able to refuse conversation with them. They might keep talking to you, but you won't respond to them.

Can decide your relationship to your parents. Can also decide if you're open about your feelings towards them or not.

Variations in how your parents speak to you while preparing and during the Ceremony if they are aware of your bitterness towards them.

Can again openly express disdain for mortals or keep your feelings to yourself when answering Rafaele's question, when originally those options were absent

Can storm off from Ciocana if you do not express positive feelings about the dance, especially if you are touch-averse.

Added blue, pink, purple, and no hair options to Chapter 1, not available in the prologue.

Added red and gold eye colors to Chapter 1, not available in the prologue.

Added clothes option to Chapter 1 to wear to the Ceremony.

ROs will comment on your clothes if they particularly like it during the Ceremony (each have 3 out of 6 clothes they like.)

Added pronouns before the Ceremony. You can have multiple pronouns, remove them, and add multiple of the same kind to increase its chances of frequency.

Minor edits and bug fixes.

See you guys soon for the Chapter 2 update :)

[my-corneroftheworld]

Child without love

Summary: Namor finds a marine biologist with the powers to control water and deep knowledge of the sea and is intrigued.

Word count: 1,1k

Tags: Smut in later chapters (no minors allowed), "water-bender" reader x Namor after the events from Wakanda forever, possessive Namor, mutant reader, talk of climate change, asphyxiation, the deep sea being a bit scary, war, violence, harsh language, Wakanda forever spoilers, the usage of y/n, afab reader

Ps. if you read the preview before you can start reading after the divider. I barely made any changes other than grammar-related and wording. If you want more chapters I would greatly appreciate some constructive criticism in the comments

Masterlist

Chapter 1

I couldn’t bring myself to look him in the eyes. "You can't just go behind my back like that! There are set rules and hierarchies that keep our organization running smoothly!" Adeoye yelled while he was walking frantically back and forth. He never could handle stress well. " You're little outburst may have cost us our one shot to get the right people's attention!"

I want to say I'm sorry and that it was rude and petty of me. But I couldn't because I did what I thought was right. They have ignored our every attempt to better their policies and today's presentation only opened my eyes to how blissfully ignorant they allowed themselves to be. He stopped his pacing and rubbed his eyes under his big ill-fitting glasses.

"Do you have anything to say for yourself?" he asked abrasively. I knew that he wasn't really angry at me. He was frustrated with everything. The board director's nonchalant attitude, the over-looming doom of the deadline we've got in 2 months and my little outburst were certainly not making things better.

"No" I answered.

"Well if that's the case then you give me no choice other than to suspend you for 2 weeks" he sighed. I wasn't surprised. Cussing out the board due to their lack of ethical consideration whilst ignoring every warning I and others have worked tirelessly on proving wasn't really considered to be professional. " I understand," I say solemnly and start picking up my notes. 5 years of studying and 3 years of diligent work have come to this, being pushed aside so that rich people can profit off of dangerous means at the cost of the health of our seas. And having no power to change anything

I drove home in silence, with nothing but the wind from the window creek as my companion. I think I'll have to practice today to let off some steam. After arriving and leaving my notes by the kitchen counter, I changed into my swimsuit and went down to the beach. Moving here was mainly so I could get to work within 15 minutes but having the sea outside my back door has definitely changed my life. I never liked using my powers in front of others. Mutants aren't really welcome unless they're wearing suits and have fancy names. So there aren't many moments where I can use them to their fullest extent. When I do I feel at home. I feel free of everything. My worries and concerns are washed away.

Once I reach the water I breathe in and allow myself to feel its pull. Imitating the waves with my hands till it starts to imitate me, following my every command. I slowly start walking in allowing myself to be surrounded then I dive keeping the water from reaching my face and requiring no movements though I still haven’t passed 5 minutes at a time. Maybe I’ll make it at 6 today. I decide to explore a little further than usual, seeing what I can find on the sea floor and cleaning up small things that shouldn’t be there.

It was then I noticed it. The entity that has been watching me from afar. It barely moved and I couldn’t really make out its shape. But I knew it was looking at me and it stayed completely still. I was scared. My bubble was slowly shrinking so I began to slowly make my way back to shore. As soon as I did the shadow got closer and closer which made me anxious to reach land. I finally burst into the sea, gasping for air. I lay down on the beach, trying to catch my breath then a voice called out.

“Who are you?”

______________________________________________________________

I quickly turned around and faced what seemed to be a man. Out of panic, I summoned water at my side and launched it at him with full force. He then began to levitate and dodge my advance with.. wings attached to his feet? Shocked I ceased fire and looked at him again. He was otherworldly. His dark eyes stared at me with a hint of confusion and irritation. His hair was a dark brown and wet from the swim, framing his face ever so slightly. The sunset made his warm terra-cotta skin glow along with his pearls and gold accessories. He was beautifully serene, like straight out of a dream. If I didn't know any better I would’ve thought that he was a god. As I scanned his body so did he with mine before stopping at my eyes demanding an answer to his question.

“Who are you?” He asked again urgently, stepping closer to my frame. I tried to move back as a response.

“I- I’m y/n l/n.” 

“That is not what I meant. I mean where are you from? Are there more of you?” 

“I’m from here. I’m not sure what you mean by more of me” I answered hesitantly. Why is he asking all these questions? I mean from the looks of he’s most definitely some kind of mutant. He’s a bit too good of a swimmer to think otherwise. Not to mention the literal full-functioning wings at his feet.

“More who can manipulate water.” he clearifies. 

“No.. I mean none that I know of” I say and start rising slowly from the ground. “Who are you?.. Are you perhaps like me?” I have never met another mutant before. Let alone someone connected to water. Hope starts swelling up. Maybe..just maybe I am not alone. 

“No I am not like you. As for who I am it is not for you to know.” He says bluntly. And just like that my sliver of hope is gone. “Then what do you want?” I ask while noticing he’s pointed ears adorned with what seemed to be jade earrings.

“That is yet to be decided.” He begins circling me around slowly. “There are threats that are making it hard for me to perform my duties and your power, though meager, may develop into what I need to avoid any more...complications.” 

Duties? Complications? What the hell is he talking about? He studied my face, assessing it possibly looking for a way to find out what I was thinking. Does he work for the government? Is that it? I’ve heard of mutant agents who were forced to do sketchy shit that higher-ups didn't want to be associated with. 

“Sorry, I’m not interested. Though I am grateful for the consideration to recruit me, I have my own “duties” to attend to.” After voicing my intentions I decided it was best to leave. As soon as I turned around I heard him say. “I’m afraid I cannot take no as an answer” and before I could react, everything went dark and my last thought was how warm he felt in his arms as he took me back to the sea.

[mirandasidefics]

But Home Is Nowhere- Part 7

Pairing(s): Lucien x Plus Size Reader, Azriel X Plus Size Reader, and Ruhn Danaan x Plus Size Reader

Part 7 Summary: Reader joins Nesta and Bryce for an experiment at the Prison.

Word Count: 2.4K

Warning(s): Spoilers for Crescent City 3

A/N: I'm sorry this is so short and took so long. I had a really tough time writing this chapter after getting sick earlier this month.

As usual now there are some minor spoilers from HOFAS. I have a little head canon that Bryce was able to enter the Prison because she is a blood relation to Rhysand, albeit distant, so that's how she got past the wards without him having to be present.

I'm interested to see what people think regarding how or why Lucien showed up when he did...I'm toying with some ideas...

Series Masterlist

Previous: Part 6

You were fucking freezing. Teeth chattering, full body tremor freezing. The Prison, with its shores swathed in mist and snow covered peak, was on an isolated island in the far northern regions of Prythian, so of course it had to be cold. Wind and snow whipped around you and your two companions as you all stood on the far northern side of the mountain top. You were still dressed in the Illyrian leathers as you weren’t really given the chance to change after having quickly grabbed your cell phone from the town house at Bryce’s direction. Said female then winnowed you and Nesta directly from your bedroom. Neither female had yet to explain what this “experiment” would entail and why you needed your cell phone, which had minimal power left and no way for you to ever charge it again once the battery finally drained.

You rarely turned your phone on these days, wanting to preserve its power for when you were desperate. Desperate, lonely, and longing to see your loved ones. Every time you looked at the pictures on your phone you would break down crying. You would allow yourself no more than two minutes to quickly scan through the images. Eyes longing to linger and memorize the sleeping features of your nephew and the wide smile of your Father. The candid shots from Christmas morning and the Halloween when your nephew dressed as a Fireman, only for the outfit to be a size too big, always made you smile. Your nephew would be 7 now, and you tried to not think about how upset he must have been that you were not there for his birthday. You blinked rapidly, fighting back the sting of tears. Silver started to line your eyes as you conjured the image of him sitting in front of cake getting ready to blow out the candles. Instead you forced yourself to replace the image of your nephew with that of Nyx. You had promised to bake cookies together with Elain before the family dinner tonight.

Your small group slowly trudged through the snow towards what appeared to be an entrance of a cave. Its mouth was jagged with sharp uneven rocks. Scanning over the area, you weren’t even sure that you would fit through the narrow opening. Hopefully you would not be going inside, not without protection anyway.

“Okay, so this will be a two-part experiment,” Bryce finally revealed before grasping you by the shoulders. “For the first I need you to stand right…here.” She then spun you around so you could peer inside. You weren’t entirely sure what she had planned, but you were certain that you were not going to like it. The darkness that loomed just on the other side of the cave mouth was unnatural, and every human instinct in your body was screaming at you to run away. Run far and run fast. This did not appear to be an official entrance to the Prison. Was it even guarded? It had to be. Otherwise whatever vial things lurked inside would be clawing at the chance to escape through what amounted to be no more than a crack.

A strong gust of wind blew past and a shiver ran down your spine. You chanced a look back at Bryce and Nesta. Both were whispering quietly between themselves. You turned back to examine the stone again. What was so special about this, and why did you-

Hands were suddenly at your back and shoved you hard. You screamed in surprise as your body fell forward having not braced itself for the unexpected impact. Your hands flew forward trying to catch the rock in order to stop yourself from falling right into the cave. However, the rock was slippery and a sharp edge slashed the palm of your right hand. You practically face planted the hard stone that made up the bottom of the cave. One of them had pushed you into the cave, somehow by passing any wards that should have kept unwanted guests out. The darkness came crashing down and panic raced through you. You whipped around and saw that the entrance had nearly tripled in size. The light from the entrance was disturbingly minimal compared to what it should have been given it appearing large enough to have either Cassian or Azriel easily walk through with their wings spread wide open. You picked yourself up from the cold ground as quickly as you could. The space in front of you appeared as if a veil hung from the top of the stone. Bryce and Nesta were on the other side, their eyes surprisingly filled with conflict. You carefully lifted your hand towards the veil. You expected pain or a force that would push you back or even solid wall. Anything that would have kept you locked inside. Instead, your hand passed right through completely unhindered. You hadn’t expected that, but the smile that spread across Bryce’s face indicated that she did. And whatever gamble she decided to make with this experiment paid off. You wanted to smack that smile off her face. Before you had a chance to really think on the intelligence of that decision, you marched right out of the cave and grabbed the collar of her coat.

“What the fuck is wrong with you?!” You screamed. “What if I couldn’t get out? More to the point I could have died!”

“But you didn’t,” She reasoned, her smile growing to show off her teeth. “And since I was right… It’s nice to formally meet you, cousin.” You felt your face scrunch up. You were aware of the theory that you may be related to someone who’s blood was attached to the sealed gate near the River House. But to have that be confirmed…No. This didn’t prove anything. As far as you could remember, only the High Lord of the Night Court could open the wards of the Prision. Unless…

“You and Ruhn are able to open the wards here too, aren’t you?” You let go of the redhead, hands dropping to your side. You knew that they had explored the island more than anyone in recent years during their visits to Prythian. “The three of us and Rhysand…we’re all descendants of Queen Theia and…” Bryce nodded.

“We can. Although I do have to admit that reason dictates that Ruhn and I shouldn’t be able to since the Prison was created by Silene. It should only be her direct descendants only with that ability. My brother and I do not fit that bill being the descendants of her sister that had remained on Midgard.”  You let out a breath.

“It probably goes without saying, but I would suggest that this information not get back to Rhysand,” Nesta spoke up.

“No shit,” You agreed.

“That means no telling Lucien,” Nesta gave you pointed look. Her steel eyes cold and filled with warning. You tried not to back away from the look, but the disapproval in it brought up a feeling of embarrassment and shame. You almost got the impression that she didn’t approve of your friendship with the courtier. You didn’t want to think on the reasons as to why, but you hazard a guess it had to do with Elain. You wondered if the middle sister was aware of the frequency of which you and her mate spent sharing a bed over the past year. Nothing inappropriate ever occurred, but the two of you had just grown used to falling asleep in the same room. 

“Then neither of you can tell your respective mates.”

“No shit,” Nesta threw your words back at you.

“Alright. This revelation stays between the three of us,” Bryce agreed. “But if you ever join us in Midgard we can always do DNA testing. It may help shed even more light onto how you got here.” You nodded, recognizing that it would take more energy that you had right now to convince Rhysand to allow you to travel to the other planet.

“So, what’s the second part of the experiment?” You asked changing the subject.

“The next part is where your phone is required. Do you have any picture of where you lived? Either your apartment or your parent’s house?” Bryce inquired. You nodded.

“I do, but I’m not sure how much battery life I have left,” You slowly pulled out your phone. “What happens if it doesn’t turn on?”

“Just try it first,” She encouraged. You pressed the power button and within a few seconds the screen lit up. The welcome message popped up and soon after your phone was ready for use. You quickly opened the Gallery App and began to search through the images for a picture of your parent’s home. You found a short video you had saved of your nephew dancing along to a TV show he was watching. While it wasn’t a picture, it was the best image of the entire living room. You handed the phone over to Bryce, who pressed play. At the sound of the music Nesta stepped closer and peered over Bryce’s shoulder.

“The picture moves?” She breathed. “How is that possible?”

“It’s a video. I’ll explain it more thoroughly later.” You offered. Bryce replayed the two-minute video before returning the device. The battery was at 15%. You quickly powered it down.

“Okay, I’ll need you to hold my hands and picture that living room in your mind,” She instructed. “I’m going to try and open a portal using the Horn.” She took your hands in hers and closed her eyes.

You swallowed, unsure if her plan would work. From what Bryce had mentioned to you previously, she had only ever been able to open portals to either people or places that she had known personally. Never to a place she was unfamiliar with. And your world was a place that you were certain magic did not work the same way as it did here. However, you were desperate to find out if the Horn would be successful. If this worked, you could go home. And while you would be unable to say your goodbyes, you attempted to justify to yourself that it would be best for all involved. Nyx was still young enough that you would be easily forgotten with little risk of abandonment issues popping up in later life. It would be the adult males in your life that would make leaving more difficult. For a brief moment you genuinely wondered if Ruhn would insist on going with you. He had recently started alluding to possibly staying in Prythian. If he ever did decide to stay, you knew- deep down you knew-that it would be for you. However, if he did follow you, life in your world would be incredibly difficult for him. He’d lose his magic and likely his immortality. Finding work would be nearly impossible without legal documentation and getting that would be expensive. Not to mention the plethora of questions that would arise when you returned after missing for a year, only to show up with a strange man on your arm. He’d come up with some rational as to why he should accompany you back. There had been no significant changes in Midgard with the Asteri, so Ruhn along with his sister and Hunt were all still considered fugitives. They returned to Midgard on occasion to continue their efforts in fighting the good fight, they always returned to Prythian when various authorities got too close to finding them. So perhaps the most convincing argument would be that you wouldn’t need him, but his friends and family sure as hell did. He was needed for when things did finally go south.

Settling on your decision, you closed your eyes and pictured your parent’s living room. Flashes of memories crossed your mind. Birthday parties, holidays, and sleepovers with friends. Anything and everything that allowed the image of the room to stay strong. Soon after you heard a faint whirring sound that reminded you of the opening of portals in Doctor Strange. You stopped breathing. Your ears listened for any familiar voices or sounds of your former home. The only sound was the wind as it continued to whip around you. You cracked open an eye and your heart sank. Before you and Bryce, was a black void. An open portal that led to nothing. No sound could be heard, nor light appeared to indicate that any life existed in the emptiness. You fought back the tears as your hope shattered.

“I’m so sorry (Y/N),” Nesta’s voice was soft. You couldn’t take your eyes off the portal as it slowly closed. Bryce squeezed your hands before letting go. You shook your head in an effort to fight off the negative thoughts that you knew were on their way. The attempt had failed, and you had gotten your hopes up. You knew that you shouldn’t have placed too much on to something that sounded too good to be true. You guessed that it would have been too easy, too simple, for her to open a portal. Nothing in your life could be that simple. 

“We should get back,” You finally looked at the other females. “Nyx should be finishing breakfast soon and we’ve got a full day of activities planned.” Nesta set her hand on your shoulder.

“Take a minute,” Her voice was surprisingly soothing.

“I don’t…”

“Yes, you do.” Bryce insisted. “We’ll go back when you’re ready.” The two females walked a few steps away from where you stood. Your eyes returned to the spot where the failed portal had closed. Your mind grew quiet as your vision lost focus. Tears burned at the back of your eyes. You tried to fight off the emotions as they spiraled down, scared that if you allowed yourself to feel them that it would take too long to come back up. You couldn’t afford to be in a fog. Not when you had to care for Nyx. Not when seeing him would just force the image of your own nephew, now fresh in your mind, to surge forward. You blinked rapidly, but that didn’t stop the liquid that brimmed your eyes from spilling over. The hopelessness crashed into you like a tidal wave. You wrapped your arms around yourself and sunk down onto your knees. Your chest felt like it cracked in two. The wind picked up, capturing your cries and carrying them away. You couldn’t see through the tears as they continued their relentless streams. You sobbed into the frozen mountain side. Your lungs began to burn and your vision tunneled. Your frozen limbs began to shake violently. Just as it all began, a warmth enveloped you. A warmth you felt you would recognize anywhere.

“It's okay, sweet girl,” Lucien held onto you tightly. “You’ve got time to cry. I’m right here.”

Next: Part 8-Coming Soon

TAG LIST: @jenniferpendragon @impossibelle @sweet-chai-amore @myheartfollower @iimichie @fightmedraco @nikkitch0703 @eerievixen @ang-taylorsversion @randomness-it-is @thehighlordishere @rachelnicolee @hardcoremarvelfan @awkardnerd @sundayysunshine

Crossed out names wouldn't let me tag you

[genshinluvr]

Crave 4

Pairings: Various Genshin Men x Isekai'd!Reader, Kamisato Ayato x Isekai'd!Reader, Thoma x Isekai'd!Reader, Kamisato Ayato x Isekai'd!Reader x Thoma

Summary: Ayato and Thoma have decided to take you to the Kamisato Estate to show you what they do in their day-to-day lives! At first, the other men did not agree to let you stay at the Kamisato Estate for two or three days just to see what the two men do on a daily basis but soon gave in. Instead of learning what Ayato and Thoma do, you find yourself being stuffed with their cocks instead.

Note: The longer this little mini Crave series goes, the more I'm going to be changing up the chapter index for each chapter instead of having to put "Read part [insert number here] - [here]!" It'll change the more I continue to add more parts. Speaking of adding more things; I am officially at my limit when it comes to tagging the story itself 💀 so the more characters are released in Genshin and are added to the harem, the more I won't be able to tag them since there's a tagging limit on Tumblr and AO3 🥲 As previously stated in the previous parts of Crave, I tried to keep the smut as gender-neutral as possible. Still, this smut (and every other smut I have written on this blog so far) will lean more towards AFAB!Reader/female-bodied reader. As usual, minors DO NOT INTERACT! I don't post anywhere else but on Tumblr (Genshinluvr) and on AO3 (Aaliah_exo).

Warnings: Horribly written smut (as usual), threesome, cockwarming, creampie, hairpulling, sex in a pantry, sex on a desk, semi-public sex, dacryphilia, cervix fucking, double penetration, agoraphilia

Word Count: 15k

Crave "Chapters": [1], [2], [3], [4], [5], [6], [7]

The entrance of the abode slams open, startling the men in the estate. They looked up from what they were doing, and their heads turned towards the direction of the entrance, alarmed and confused. There by the door, stood Ayato and Thoma. Thoma was carrying you in his arms bridal style while Ayato was holding onto the back of your shirt collar like a mother cat grabbing her kitten by the scruff of their neck. You stared at the men in front of you, deadpanned while not saying a single thing. 

Diluc raised his eyebrows at the two men beside you, “What are you two doing with [Y/N]?” 

“And why is Ayato holding [Y/N] like that?” Kaeya leans on the table behind him, his head tilted to the side while looking at the three of you with a questioning gaze.

Gorou chuckles, “He’s holding [Y/N] like how a mother cat would hold her kittens.” He shakes his head, looking up at you, Ayato, and Thoma with an amused smile on his face.

“That’s what I said!” You exclaimed, struggling to get out of Thoma and Ayato’s grasp with a small scowl on your face. “Unhand me, you oafs!” You groused, kicking your feet in the air. Ayato and Thoma ignore your comment and thrash, continuing to look at the other men in the room with straight faces. “We will be taking [Y/N] to the Kamisato Estate for the next two days. They will be keeping the both of us company as we tend to our duties at the Kamisato Estate.” Ayato says.

Childe immediately speaks up, “Hold on now! If [Y/N] is going to be at the Kamisato Estate to spend some time with the two of you while both of you are doing your duties, wouldn’t they be a distraction?” Childe narrows his eyes at the Kamisato heir and the Kamisato Clan’s housekeeper.

“A distraction? How so? I believe that [Y/N] learning and seeing how Lord Ayato and I work around the estate would be a great educational purpose!” Thoma says innocently, finally releasing you from his grasp. Ayato releases your shirt collar and helps you fix your clothes while you grumble under your breath about being manhandled.

“Educational purposes?! Do you guys want to bore [Y/N] to death by talking about political affairs and cleaning the estate?” Itto exclaims, looking at the two men incredulously. 

You laugh softly, “Other than me keeping Ayato and Thoma company; I will also be finally meeting Kamisato Ayaka!” You said, clapping your hands happily. “I’ve always wanted to meet her, but she’s either busy with her duties, or Ayato and Thoma would be against it!” You frowned, playfully glaring at the two men beside you from the corner of your eyes.

Zhongli quirks an eyebrow at your comment, “And why would the two be against you being able to meet Miss Kamisato?” Zhongli crosses his arms while looking over at Ayato and Thoma.

You shrugged your shoulders, “I don’t know! They never gave me a reason as to why they don’t want me to meet Ayaka!” You tap on your chin before thinking it over. “Perhaps they don’t want me to distract Ayaka from her duties as the Daughter of the Kamisato Clan!” You said.

Scaramouche makes a face, “Yes, that’s one of the reasons why they don’t want you meeting Kamisato Ayaka.” He looks away from you three before reaching over to Childe, shocking the ginger male in the ribs, causing him to jolt in his seat. Childe scowls at Scaramouche before throwing bread at Scaramouche’s head.

“Wait a minute, if Thoma and Ayato were against you meeting Ayaka, then why are they suddenly bringing you to the Kamisato Estate?” Dainsleif inquires, crossing his arms over his chest while giving Thoma and Ayato a skeptical look.

“Right, why are they bringing you back to the Kamisato Estate if they don’t want you to meet Ayato’s sister?” Venti narrows his eyes at Ayato and Thoma while stroking his chin. You shrugged your shoulders in response.

Albedo hums thoughtfully, “If those two can bring [Y/N] back to the Kamisato Estate for two days, then does that mean I can bring [Y/N] to Dragonspine with me to let them see how my experiments work?” Albedo raises his eyebrows at Ayato and Thoma before looking at the other men in the room.

“Dragonspine? Yeah, not going to happen! It’s freezing up there, and it’s dangerous for them to go up there unsupervised.” Xiao retorts, glaring at the chief alchemist sitting across from him. Xiao didn’t want you to go up to Dragonspine with Albedo, not because he doesn’t trust Albedo, but because he worries about your safety, and he knows that you’re not fond of Dragonspine or the sheer cold.

Kazuha chuckles while shaking his head, “Oh, Xiao. [Y/N] won’t be going up there unsupervised! I’m sure Albedo will keep a close eye out on [Y/N] and make sure that they wear plenty of layers while visiting Albedo’s lab.” 

Baizhu nods his head in agreement, “Plus, I believe that [Y/N] will be happy to assist the chief alchemist with his experiments! After all, they’ve always wanted to assist Albedo with his scientific procedures.” 

You nodded your head excitedly, “I also want to learn alchemy! I’ve always wanted to learn more about alchemy, but I never got the chance to learn the basics of alchemy.” You said. “I think going up to Dragonspine would be fun! I also want to experience Dragonspine in person. While it’s freezing and have a gloomy ambiance, I believe that being in a new environment would be a nice change of scenery for the day!” You explained, smiling at the men happily. 

Aether makes a face at you, “I like your optimism, [Y/N]. It’s adorable and too pure for this world! But Dragonspine is also teeming with hilichurls and Fatui Skirmishers.” 

You give Aether a look, “But not in Albedo’s campsite! I’m also sure that Albedo has a route up to his campsite that avoids the hilichurls and Fatui Skirmishers.” You reply, looking over at the chief alchemist, who nods his head at your comment.

Heizou lets out a dramatic sigh before getting up from his seat and approaching where you stood, “Alright, if you two want to take [Y/N] back to the Kamisato Estate for two days, at least return back to the abode when the day ends! I’m going to miss seeing their cute face.” Heizou pouts over at you; he reaches towards you and pinches your cheeks lightly.

“Not going to happen! [Y/N] won’t get to experience the Kamisato Estate if they don’t spend the night in a traditional Inazuman household.” Ayato huffed, crossing his arms over his chest, and pinched the bridge of his nose.

“Experience the Kamisato Estate?” Tighnari mutters to himself, his eyebrows furrowing in confusion. How does one experience a residence by spending the night— or two nights— at said residence? Wouldn’t you be getting the experience while you’re keeping them company at the estate? Whatever Ayato was implying, it wasn’t adding up to Tighnari and the other men.

Al Haitham crossed leans on the armrest of the couch, “If the two of you want to be selfish and have [Y/N] for yourselves for two days, then I will get to take them for myself too to the Akademiya in Sumeru.”

Pantalone lets out a soft laugh, “If these men don’t let our precious [Y/N] visit the mansion where I, Pierro, Dottore, and Capitano reside, then they surely will not let any of you take [Y/N] for yourselves in another region of Teyvat for more than a day.” He clasped his hands together in his lap and shot a pointed look at the nineteen men. Pantalone wasn’t wrong at all; you have never visited the mansion where the four Harbingers reside, only because you weren’t allowed to for your “safety” and because Itto suggested that their mansion wouldn’t be as fun and lively as the main estate.

Diluc rolls his eyes, “We have plenty of reasons as to why we don’t want [Y/N] to be visiting your little estate.”

Dottore smirks, “Oh? And what would one of those reasons be? Pray tell; I am intrigued.” Dottore rests his chin on the palm of his hand, his elbow propped up on the table. Dottore and Diluc stared at one another for an extended period of time before Diluc looked away from Dottore, causing the man to smirk and lean back in his seat.

Capitano grumbles, “Of course, they wouldn’t say what their reasons are because they don’t have one! They don’t want us in the same room as [Y/N], quite simple to understand.” 

Pierro shakes his head, “If these two gentlemen want to take [Y/N] back to the Kamisato Estate to show them what usually goes on in that estate, then let them! After all, [Y/N] does need a change of scenery for a day or two; it’s not good to keep them cooped up like an animal in the abode.” 

Ayato and Thoma quietly cheered, giving each other a high-five before looking over at Pierro with a thankful smile. Ayato and Thoma linked their arms with yours before looking at the rest of the men in the abode with big triumphant smiles on their faces. You look over at Ayato and Thoma suspiciously; they look at you with sweet, charming, and innocent smiles on their faces as if they didn’t attempt to kidnap you moments ago before going to the abode. 

“Looks like you’ll be staying at the Kamisato Estate for the next two or three days starting tomorrow!” Thoma smiles widely, throwing his arms around your shoulders.

Itto’s eyes widen at Thoma’s comment. “Two or three days!? Both of you said two days, not three days! Where did the third day come from!?” Itto exclaims, throwing his hands in the air while looking at Thoma in disbelief.

Ayato huffs, “Business at the Kamisato Estate can vary. Some take a week-long, and some businesses take less than five days to complete.” Ayato crosses his arms over his chest before giving Itto a small glare.

Gorou’s ears twitch, “Well, since the teapot will be outside of the Kamisato Estate, then that means we can hang out with the three of you for lunch!” The men around him nod their heads in agreement with Gorou’s comment.

You perked up, “Oooh! That would be fun! Let’s definitely do that!” You said, nodding your head. Ayato and Thoma made a face before looking at one another from the corner of their eyes. As fun as it sounds to have the men have lunch at the Kamisato Estate with you, Ayato, and Thoma…. It sort of beats the purpose of what both Ayato and Thoma had in mind. Meaning they want to be selfish and have you for themselves without the other men hogging you or trying to steal you and your attention. Hence why they chose to snatch you up from the others for the next two or three days.

“Why did the two of you make that face?” Scaramouche asks, staring at the two men beside you with a glare.

Childe lets out a humorless laugh, “Isn’t it obvious, Scaramouche? These two don’t want us to show up at the Kamisato Estate to have lunch with the three of them! They want to be selfish and keep [Y/N] for themselves for the next two or three days.” Childe says, crossing his arms over his chest before glaring at the blonde and light blue-haired male. Ayato and Thoma feigned an innocent look before wrapping their arms over your shoulder and around your waist.

You let out a huff, “All of you seem possessive for the last few days. It’s strange.” You said, tucking a loose strand of hair behind your ears.

Al Haitham snorts, “Can you blame them? I heard these men have been releasing their frustrations and desires out on you.” Al Haitham shoots you a look, the corner of his lips quirking up slightly. 

You feel your face heat up before immediately attaching yourself to the closest person you could reach out to. Since Ayato and Thoma have their arms wrapped around you, you backed up and used the two men as a shield to cover you from Al Haitham’s gaze and comment. Since Al Haitham had brought that up, you definitely do not want to see the other’s reaction because you know they will agree with Al Haitham’s comment while grumbling over not getting a turn yet (aside from the ones that did get a turn with you).

Kaeya looks at Al Haitham with his eyebrows raised, “And how would the eight of you know about the thing that has been going on?” He pointed at Al Haitham, Tighnari, Aether, Heizou, and the four Fatui Harbingers that had been away for a few weeks.

Tighnari chuckles, “Did you know that gossip circulates around the abode quite regularly? With these ears, I am able to hear everything that happens within the abode.” Tighnari says, scratching his ears while Gorou’s eyes widen, and he nods his head rapidly in agreement with Tighnari’s comment. 

“Can I pet your ears?” Heizo asks, raising his hands up to reach for Tighnari’s ears. Heizou’s hands were immediately slapped away from Tighnari’s ears by both Aether and Tighnari. Aether gave Heizou a look before whispering into Heizou’s ears about how it’s rude to pet someone’s ears and that he was lucky that all Tighnari did was smack his hands away.

Aether sighs softly, “Other than Ayato and Thoma stealing [Y/N] from us, what is [Y/N] going to do there for the next two or three days?” Aether asks, crossing his arms over his stomach with narrowed eyes.

“Well, Ayato does have a sister! So maybe [Y/N] will be spending some time with Ayaka and getting to know the Kamisato daughter.” Venti commented, shrugging his shoulders.

Kazuha hums, “That is a possibility, but again, she also has responsibilities as the daughter of the Kamisato Clan.” You nodded your head in agreement. Even if you were to visit the Kamisato Estate, it seems like you’re more likely to be alone than keeping Ayato and Thoma (and maybe Ayaka) company. Perhaps instead of being alone at the Kamisato Estate, you’ll be at Komore Teahouse instead! But who knows?

“Don’t think about exploring Inazuma alone,” Albedo says, interrupting you from your thoughts. You blinked at Albedo before sighing and walking around Ayato and Thoma. 

“As much as it sounds fun to explore Inazuma alone, I was thinking that I can maybe hang out at Komore Teahouse while Ayato and Thoma are tending to their businesses at the estate.” You said, scratching the back of your neck.

“All alone?” Xiao asks, raising his eyebrows at you. 

You stuttered, “Not alone! They can drop me off at the nearest waypoint, and I will walk to Komore Teahouse until one of them come and pick me up!” You said, puckering your lips.

“It sounds like you’ll be alone instead. If that’s the case, then you might as well stay back at the abode, and Ayato and Thoma can return to the Kamisato Estate to tend to their duties.” Baizhu says, shaking his head.

Dainsleif hums, “I agree with Baizhu on this one. If you three were to go to the Kamisato Estate and [Y/N] is left to do nothing and is alone, they might as well just remain at the abode with the rest of us.” Dainsleif gives the two men a look.

You gasp, “But I wanna see Ayaka!” You whined, pouting dramatically and almost stomping your feet on the ground like a petulant child. You made eye contact with Ayato and Thoma, who looked at you as if you’d offended all of their ancestors just by letting those words come out of your mouth. “Listen, I love the both of you, but I also want to meet my future sister-in-law too.” You said.

“Dearest, are you sure you’d be okay with going to the Kamisato Estate? What if Lord Ayato has a meeting to attend with one of the Yashiro Commissioners while Thoma is helping the other servants of the Kamisato household?” Zhongli asks softly.

“Ah, ah, ah! You didn’t mention Ayaka! I can hang out with Ayaka if she’s not busy while Thoma and Ayato are busy!” You said, pointing your fingers at Zhongli.

“Either way, there’s a slight chance that you might be alone at the Kamisato Estate.” A voice interrupts. You slowly turned your head towards the staircase to see Cyno leaning on the railing with his arms over his chest. “Or should I say Aether way?” Cyno snorts, walking down the steps with a smile on his face.

“Cyno, that is the lamest joke I have ever heard!” Tighnari sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose while shaking his head in disapproval. Just when Tighnari thought he could get away from Cyno’s lame jokes, he was wrong.

Al Haitham sighs; his head falls back on the top cushion of the couch, his eyes closed and eyebrows furrowing. “Cyno, what a lovely surprise to see you here at the abode.” Al Haitham lifts his head up and gives the man a tired glare.

“Aw! Not happy to see the one and only? I knew this was going to happen!” Cyno pouted, plopping down on the couch beside Al Haitham before looking over in your direction and wiggling his eyebrows at you. You let out a huff and looked away from Cyno, feeling your face turning hot just from a small look from him. “Or…. should I say… Anubis was going to happen.” Cyno cackles and slaps his knees; the others around him groan in unison after hearing another one of Cyno’s pun jokes.

“May I please have permission to smack him?” Scaramouche asks, raising his hands before giving the electro user a slight glare; Cyno snorts and waves Scaramouche off. 

Pierro sighs, “No, you cannot smack him, Balladeer.” Pierro pinches the bridge of his nose before rubbing his temples.

Pantalone laughs lightly, “What, you want to smack the newest member of the group just because he was cracking a small joke or two? Lighten up, Balladeer!” Pantalone says, giving Scaramouche a look before leaning in his seat with an amused smile on his face.

“It’s getting late! I believe that we should all go to bed.” Gorou says, clapping his hands to grab everyone’s attention.

Your eyes widen before you turn to look at the other men, “Wait, it’s late already!? I thought it was early in the morning!” You said, peeking from between Ayato and Thoma to get a glimpse of the sky in the abode. Indeed the night has fallen in the teapot, but somehow you (and the others aside from Gorou) didn’t seem to notice that night has fallen at all. You turned around and scratched your head, “Huh, that’s strange. Last time I checked, the sun was still out.” You grumbled.

“Aw! If we go to bed now, that means we won’t be seeing [Y/N] tomorrow because they’ll be at the Kamisato Estate with Lord Ayato and Thoma!” Venti whines. He pushes through the crowd of men before jumping into your arms with his arms wrapped around your waist.

Thoma chuckles and pats Venti on the shoulders, “Don’t worry, Venti! The teapot will be outside of the Kamisato Estate! [Y/N] can visit any time they desire to while keeping us company at the Kamisato Estate!” 

Aether snorted, “Except, we know the two of you won’t let that happen because the both of you want to have [Y/N] for yourselves for the next two or three days away from the abode!” Aether points an accusing finger at the Kamisato heir and the Kamisato housekeeper.

“I mean, I would do it too. Maybe the both of us should do that next time!” Heizou whispers to Aether, nudging the blond male. Aether’s eyes widen at Heizou’s plan before thinking about it for a moment. He looks at the others from the corner of his eyes before nodding his head in agreement.

You shook your head, “I’m going to bed now. Goodnight, everyone!” You said, giving each person a hug and a kiss on the cheeks (which took a while because some would hold onto you while the others would shower you with affection and kisses in front of the other men out of spite) before walking up the stairs to your bedroom. You closed your bedroom door and collapsed onto your bed with a tired groan. Your eyes snap open after realizing that you still need to brush your teeth and take a shower. You begrudgingly got up from your bed and pulled your clean clothes and undergarments out from the dresser before sluggishly walking to the bathroom.

After taking a quick shower and brushing your teeth, you finally collapsed on your bed and bundled yourself up in the mountain of blankets on your bed. You snuggled against your pillow and plushies before drifting off to sleep. You woke up to movements, and you weren’t sure of what was causing said movements.

“Wow, the two of you must be desperate to snatch [Y/N] away from the abode.” You hear Kaeya chuckle. Someone suddenly bounces you lightly, making you come to a realization that you are being carried on someone’s back. You cracked your eyes open and looked around tiredly.

“What’s going on?” You mumble, rubbing the sleep out of your eyes before sitting up.

“Thoma and Ayato are kidnapping you to the Kamisato Estate,” Itto says, pouting at you with his arms crossed over his chest.

You blinked at Itto before laying back down on Ayato’s back, arms thrown over his shoulders. “I thought we were leaving in the morning, not in the middle of the night. I would appreciate it if you two woke me up instead of sneaking me out of the abode.” You grumbled, pressing your cheek against Ayato’s back with a small sigh.

“Oh, my! How deep asleep were you? Ayato and Thoma did try to wake you up, but you continued to sleep.” You hear Baizhu chuckle, fingers combing through your hair.

You grumbled and snuggled up against Ayato’s back, “It’s because it’s still in the middle of the night. Why would we go to the Kamisato Estate in the middle of the night?” You let out a dramatic sigh.

“It may be a shock to you, but it’s nine in the morning.” Albedo commented; your eyelids flew open, and you sat up and looked over at the nearest window. You squinted your eyes before burying your face into Ayato’s back.

“How in the world did the sun rise so fast? I was not informed of this at all.” You mumbled, peeking up from Ayato’s back, blinking at the brightness. “How long was I asleep for?” You ask, blinking at the men tiredly.

“You’ve been asleep for almost ten hours,” Xiao says, pressing his back up against the wall with his arms over his chest.

Diluc nods his head, “You must have been really exhausted because you did wake up when Lord Ayato and Thoma woke you up to get ready, but you were out like a light within two minutes of being woken up from your sleep.” 

“And you were mumbling about how much you love me more than you love the others! Isn’t that right, snookums? You love me more than the others!” Childe says, trotting up to you with a big smile on his face.

Dainsleif sighs, “Don’t start this now, Childe.” Dainsleif rolls his eyes and shakes his head with an annoyed look on his face. If Dainsleif could smack Childe with no consequences, he would do it in a heartbeat.

“We packed you some spare clothes to wear while you’re staying at the Kamisato Estate,” Zhongli says, holding up a small suitcase that contained your clothes, undergarments, and bathroom essentials.

You puckered your lips before giving the former archon a thankful smile, “Aw! Thank you, Zhongli! I really appreciate it!” You said, reaching out to the man before squeezing his hand lightly.

“Make sure to get plenty of rest while staying at the Kamisato Estate. If I can recall, you once told me that you have issues with sleeping in a foreign place. Do get some plenty of rest while away from the abode for the next two or three days,” Kazuha says, brushing his thumb over the apples of your cheeks.

“I’ll try.” You hum softly, giving Kazuha a small smile. Kazuha smiles back at you before leaning in to kiss your forehead. After that, each man began to bid you, Thoma, and Ayato a temporary goodbye while giving you a hug and a kiss. After leaving the teapot, the three of you are now standing in front of the Kamisato Estate. You leaned against Thoma with your arms linked with their arms, still trying to wake yourself.

“Big brother! Thoma! You’re home!” You three hear. You, Thoma, and Ayato look up, only to see the daughter of the Kamisato Clan run down the steps with a smile on her face. You and Ayaka made eye contact, her eyes lit up, and she stopped in front of you. “You must be the famous [Y/N]! My brother and Thoma talk about you all the time!” She says, grabbing onto your hands with a big smile on her face.

“Milady, it’s nice to finally meet you! I have wanted to meet you for ages, but for some reason, Ayato and Thoma wouldn’t let me!” You said, turning around to give the two men a look. Ayato and Thoma look away, acting like they didn’t hear what you just said.

“Please, just call me Ayaka! It’s great to meet you after hearing these two talk about you!” Ayaka says, squeezing your hands lightly. “Please, come on in! I bet the three of you are hungry!” Ayaka says, pulling you into the estate with Ayato and Thoma following behind.

“That’s nice of you, milady! But Lord Ayato and I have already had breakfast! It’s just [Y/N] that hasn’t eaten anything today. After all, we did rouse them from their sleep to bring them to the Kamisato Estate.” Said Thoma, waving to the other servants of the Kamisato Estate.

Ayaka’s eyes widen, “Is that so? No worries! The servants have prepared plenty of food for you to eat!” Ayaka says. 

“While the food is getting ready, Thoma and I will be showing you around the Kamisato Estate and where you will be staying,” Ayato says. Ayato wraps his right arm around your waist before guiding you deeper into the Kamisato Estate with Thoma walking beside you. While you were analyzing the interior decor of the Kamisato Estate, you failed to sense the tension that was rising within the mansion.

“Here is where you will be staying for the next two or three days! Please make yourself at home and get comfortable!” Ayato says, lightly squeezing your waist while Thoma places your luggage down beside the dresser.

You sit on the bed and feel yourself wanting to lay on the bed and sleep, “This bed is really comfortable.” You hummed. You stretched your limbs before laying on the bed, looking up at the ceiling before yawning. “After breakfast, I am going back to sleep.” You said, rubbing the tears that pooled around your eyes from yawning. You didn’t get a response from the two men; you lifted your head up to check why they weren’t responding, only to see that they were staring at you with a strange expression on their faces. Right when you were about to open your mouth to ask them what was wrong, the three of you heard one of the Kamisato Estate servants announcing that food was ready.

“Oh! It looks like breakfast and lunch are ready.” Thoma says; he held his hand out for you to take. 

You sat up and reached out to Thoma’s hand, letting him pull you up from the bed. The three of you approached the dining area, only to see all sorts of food placed on the table. You closed your eyes and breathed in the delicious aroma of food on the table. You feel your stomach beginning to growl. Breakfast and lunch consisted of Ayaka getting to know you more while Ayato and Thoma sat across from the both of you.

Ayato was only a few bites into his lunch (which was interesting because he and Thoma had eaten before leaving the abode); one of the Kamisato servants approached Ayato before whispering something into his ears. 

Ayato places his chopsticks down on the cloth napkin before letting out a quiet sigh, “It seems my attention is needed elsewhere. Duty calls.” Ayato says, getting up from his seat. Before he walks off, he stops in his tracks before turning to look at you, “I expect to see you in my office after you’re done with your food.”

Your eyes widen before nodding your head, “Alright! I’ll come to your office after I’m done eating.” You said. Ayato gives you a small smile before walking to where his office is located within the Kamisato Estate. 

“[Y/N], what do you think about the Kamisato Estate so far?” Ayaka asks, taking a sip from her teacup elegantly.

You hum softly, reaching for the cloth napkin before dabbing your lips lightly. “It’s pretty busy! Everyone in the estate has a responsibility that keeps them occupied throughout the entire day.” You said, reaching over to the plate of the tri-flavored skewer. “I’m curious what each individual’s day-to-day life is like at the Kamisato Estate.” You took a bite from the tri-flavored skewer and hummed in delight. The food that is presented on the table is delicious, and you would love to learn how to cook each dish for the men when you return to the abode. But knowing Thoma, he would much rather be the one to cook. Perhaps he wouldn’t mind teaching you how to cook some of the Inazuma dishes if you help him out with his duties.

“Well, since Lord Ayato is currently in his office filling out paperwork, you’ll be able to see what his day-to-day life is like! After that, I will show you what my day-to-day life is like as the housekeeper of the Kamisato Estate.” Thoma says, reaching over to wipe the corner of your lips with his thumb.

Ayaka perks up, “Before you go to visit my brother, I have ordered you a custom-made kimono to wear while you stay here! I hope you don’t mind.” She tucks a loose piece of hair behind her ears.

Your eyes widen, “O-Oh! Ayaka! You didn’t have to order me a custom-made kimono!” You said, grabbing onto Ayaka’s hands gently. “Also, how do you know my size?” You look at Ayaka curiously.

She giggles, “With the help of my brother and Thoma, of course! And I insisted!” Ayaka looks over at Thoma, who looks away from the both of you while taking a sip of his Dango milk. 

You shrugged your shoulders before continuing to eat your meal while conversing with Ayaka and Thoma. As breakfast and lunch came to an end, Thoma was called to help out the other servants at the Kamisato Estate. Thoma gives you and Ayaka a small smile before getting up to aid the other servants. A servant approaches you and Ayaka with a small gift box in their hands, bowing to the Kamisato daughter before handing the package to her.

“Here is your kimono! If you need any assistance, please don’t hesitate to ask me!” Ayaka says, giving you the package with a smile on her face. 

You thanked Ayaka with a bow before taking the box from her hands and turning around to walk to your temporary bedroom. You slid the door closed behind you and unboxed the kimono; the patterns are beautiful, the fabric feels luxurious, and the color is breathtaking. You couldn’t help but feel a bit guilty over the fact that Ayaka had spent a lot of mora on the kimonos for you to wear while you were staying at the Kamisato Estate.

You stripped off your clothes and changed into the beautiful kimono that Ayaka had graciously gifted to you. You managed to get the kimono on after what felt like ten minutes. The kimono was not too long, not too short; it was the perfect length and fitted you like a glove. You walked to the mirror that was hung up on the wall before examining your reflection. While you were looking at your reflection, you heard a faint knock coming from outside of the guest bedroom.

“[Y/N], it’s Ayaka! May I come in?” Her voice was muffled behind the shōji.

Forgetting that Ayaka couldn’t see you, you nodded your head. You smacked your forehead lightly before responding, “Yes, you may enter, Ayaka!” You hear the door slide open. A soft gasp came from behind you; you looked in the mirror and made eye contact with Ayaka. She had both of her hands covering her mouth while she analyzed you from head to toe.

“[Y/N]! You look beautiful in the kimono!” Ayaka says, slowly walking up to you while admiring you from head to toe. “I’m happy to see that I got the correct measurements for your kimono!” Ayaka smiles happily.

“The kimono fits like a glove! Thank you so much, Ayaka!” You said, bowing to the girl in front of you.

Ayaka laughs while shaking her head, “Don’t thank me! Thank my brother and Thoma! After all, they did help me get your measurements for the kimono ahead of time before your arrival!” Ayaka says.

You looked at her with surprise, “Ahead of time!? So what you’re implying is that both Thoma and Ayato have been planning on taking me to the Kamisato Estate for quite some time now?” You ask. 

Ayaka nods her head, “That is correct, [Y/N]! Now, let me help you get ready to meet my big brother in this office! We want you to look not only beautiful, but we want you to look breathtaking as well that’ll leave both Ayato and Thoma breathless!” Ayaka says, gesturing you to sit down at the vanity before pulling out a hairbrush with two other Kamisato servants entering the room.

The first servant, named Yuri, brushed and styled your hair while the other Kamisato servant, named Kyoko, put on light makeup on your face. While both Yuri and Kyoko were styling you, Ayaka was telling you embarrassing stories about Thoma and Ayato. Most of the stories caught you off guard because Ayato is a very refined man and doesn’t seem to be the type that has been put through many embarrassing situations.

“And you are done!” Kyoko says, taking a step away from you with a satisfied smile on her face. “What do you think, Milady?” Kyoko turns to the young girl beside her.

Ayaka’s eyes lit up, “[Y/N] looks lovely! You did an amazing job, Kyoko!” Ayaka praises the woman, who smiles and bows at Ayaka. Kyoko hands over the small hand mirror to you; you look in the mirror and are in awe of what you are seeing. 

“Wow! You did an amazing job, Kyoko! I look like a different person!” You said, looking up at the woman with wide eyes in awe.

Kyoko smiles pridefully, “Now you are ready to see the young master!” She claps her hands. You smile at Ayaka, Kyoko, and Yuri before getting up from the bed and adjusting the kimono. Yuri goes to open the door, revealing Ayato and Thoma standing at the door, waiting for you.

“Oh, Ayato and Thoma! Did I make you wait too long?” You ask, looking at the two men worriedly.

“We just wanted to see you,” Thoma says, shrugging his shoulders. “Might I say, you look lovely in that kimono, [Y/N]! Ayaka, Yuri, and Kyoko did a magnificent job.” Thoma says, admiring you from head to toe.

Ayato nods his head, “Indeed, [Y/N] does look magnificent in the elegant kimono and all dolled up for us.” Ayato says, giving you a soft smile before holding his arm out for you to take. “Shall we go to my office now? I want to show you what my day looks like as the head of the Kamisato Clan and the responsibilities that come with it.” 

You smiled and linked your arms with his, “We shall, Mister Kamisato. Or should I say, my Lord?” You said, quirking up an eyebrow at Ayato. Ayato gives you a look before escorting you out of your temporary bedroom.

Standing in front of Ayato’s office, Thoma presses a quick kiss on your cheeks before being dragged away by the other Kamisato servants that needed his assistance. Ayato slides the office door open and guides you into his office before sliding the door closed behind the two of you. 

You let go of Ayato’s arms and walked around the office, eyes scanning the room in awe. It was pretty spacious with beautiful Inazuman furniture. For someone that has a lot of paperwork to fill out, along with documents, his desk was quite neat. Ayato walks over to his desk and sits down on the cushioned chair before gesturing for you to come over. You walked over to where Ayato sat and stood beside his desk, looking down at him curiously. After a few seconds of standing there, you realize that there aren’t any extra chairs in the room for you to sit on.

“Where will I be sitting, Ayato? There aren’t any spare seats in your office.” You said, lacing your fingers together while trying not to feel out of place.

Ayato pushes his chair back from his desk and pats his lap, “You’ll be sitting on my lap as I fill out some documents.” Ayato stated. You stared at Ayato for a moment, assuming that he was just joking, only to realize that he wasn’t joking at all. 

“If that’s okay with you, then alright! As long as I’m not distracting you from your work.” You said, sitting down on his lap. 

Ayato chuckles and wraps his arms around your waist before scooting the chair closer to the wooden desk. “No need to worry. You won’t be a distraction at all, my love.” He says, pressing a delicate kiss on your cheeks. You feel your face become hot at the affection; you lean back against Ayato’s chest, examining the paperwork that he was filling out.

“How many things do you have to fill out?” You murmured, your eyes trailing over to the stack of documents on the right side of the table. “And do any of these have deadlines?” You added, taking a peek up at Ayato, only to see that he was already staring down at you.

He hums softly, “Most of the documents that I fill out are due within five to seven business days. Although, it does depend on how fast it’ll be delivered and how urgent the Clan needs the document.” Ayato replies, placing his pen down on the table.

“Ayato, you’re getting distracted.” You pointed out, poking his cheeks lightly with your index finger. “Don’t let me distract you from your important business.” You murmur. Ayato chuckles and cups your face in his right hand before peppering kisses on your neck.

“How could I focus on my paperwork when you’re a sight to behold?” Ayato murmurs against your neck. “Plus, the majority of my paperwork is just me signing approval of what the Kamisato Clan and other clans in Inazuma have gone over. It’s not as important as you.” Ayato says, wrapping his arms around your waist.

“I don’t want you to get into trouble, but at the same time, I don’t want you to stop.” You whisper, laying your head on Ayato’s shoulders, letting out a small gasp when you feel Ayato’s hands trailing up your bare legs inside of the kimono.

Ayato chuckles against your neck, lightly nibbling at it before squeezing the plush of your thighs. “You needn’t worry about anything, my love. No one will dare to walk into the office unless it is an emergency or another document has been delivered.” Ayato says, adjusting you on his lap. You let out a shaky gasp when you feel Ayato grind his now hardened cock up against your ass. “Do you want me to stop?” Ayato murmurs, his hands rubbing your hips as he buries his face into your neck.

You shake your head in response, “Please don’t stop.” You whisper, turning to look at Ayato.

Ayato looks up at you through his thick lashes with a smile; he leans forward and presses his lips against yours. Ayato grabs you by your waist before laying you down on his desk.

“I’m not sure if I should rush it or take my time with you.” Ayato hums, stroking his chin as he stares down at you. Ayato rubs his gloved hands on your bare legs and thighs, inching closer to your crotch. “Hmmm…. I guess we shall wait and see how it goes.” Ayato shrugged his shoulders before leaning over you to press his lips against yours. You immediately wrapped your arms around Ayato’s shoulders, pulling him close to your body and tangling your fingers in his soft, light blue hair. You feel Ayato’s hands creep further into your kimono, his slim index and middle fingers looping around the band of your underwear before slipping them down your legs. You lift your waist for him to slide your underwear off, not breaking the kiss that is shared between you two. 

After successfully taking your underwear off, Ayato reaches down and starts unzipping his pants, freeing his stiff cock out from the confinements of his underwear and pants. Ayato breaks the kiss between you two before biting the fingertip of his right glove, promptly taking the glove off. Ayato leans down and presses his lips against your neck, lightly nibbling on your neck. Ayato strokes his erect member, his breath beginning to quicken.

“Try not to be loud,” Ayato murmurs into your ears, his warm breath fanning your neck. You swallowed the lump in your throat when you felt the tip of his dick prodding and rubbing up against your heat. You gripped Ayato’s shoulders tightly, bracing yourself. Ayato slowly enters your warm entrance, his eyes nearly rolling to the back of his head when his cock is engulfed by the velvety walls of your hole.

“Oh, fuck.” You whispered, your head resting on the desk, feeling your body accommodate his size. You grit your teeth together, eyebrows furrowing, a small hiss coming from your mouth. A strained groan comes from Ayato’s throat, sinking further into your cavern.

“You’re so tight.” Ayato pants into your ears, lightly gripping onto your hair. “You would think that an oni like Itto would stretch you out, but it seems like he’s not as big as he claimed to be.” Ayato mused, sending a sharp thrust. A loud wail leaves your mouth; your eyes widen before you slap both of your hands over your mouth, your walls quivering around Ayato’s hot cock. Ayato sighs, a shiver shooting up his body when he feels you clench around his stiff member.

“I told you to try to keep it down,” Ayato murmurs, pulling his cock out of you, only leaving the tip of his dick inside of you.

You whimpered, “I-I’m sorry! It was so sudden! I didn’t have enough time to react.” You squeaked, gazing up at Ayato with tears in your eyes. Ayato feels something in him stir when he sees tears gathered in your eyes. Maybe he’s sadistic, but he wants to see you cry as he impales you with his fat cock.

“Don’t cry now; you’ll ruin your cute little makeup.” He coos, wiping the tear from the corner of your eyes with his thumb. Ayato lifts his thumb up to his lips before sucking on the teardrop. You look up at Ayato, thighs shaking. Ayato grabs onto your waist before plunging his cock back into your entrance. You dug your nails into his back, attempting to muffle your cries and yelps with your right hand. “Has anyone ever told you that you look cute whenever you cry?” Ayato groans into your ears, nibbling on your earlobe while languidly thrusting into your heat.

“Faster, you’re going too slow!” You whined, tugging at his coat. Ayato pauses his thrust before raising an eyebrow at your demand. 

Ayato chuckles, “Too slow, you say? Alright, you asked for it.” Ayato shrugs his shoulders. 

Ayato tightens his grip around your waist before pistoning his cock in and out of your entrance. You nearly shot up to the edge of the desk if it weren’t for the firm grip Ayato had on your waist. Your eyes are shut, your legs are wrapped tightly around his waist, nails digging into his wrist. Stars danced behind your eyelids; your legs were trembling with pleasure, your walls clenching around Ayato’s cock. You let out a quiet string of whimpers and gasps with each thrust Ayato was sending your way, pleasure shooting up your spine. You bite down on your lips, eyes rolling to the back of your head when you feel the bulbous tip of Ayato’s member repeatedly hit your cervix. Ayato grinds his pubic bone against your engorged bulb-shaped organ, causing you to let out a loud gasp; your back arches, walls squeezing around his cock. The sounds of skin slapping, labored breathing, an occasional whine, gasp, and moan fill the office air.

“It seems I found the cute little nerve of yours.” Ayato teases you, reaching down to pinch and roll between his fingertips. Your jaws drop, your tongue rolls out of your mouth, and a quiet squeal leaves your mouth while Ayato plunges his cock in and out of your entrance, squeezing and rolling the bundle of nerves between his thumb and index finger. A tight coil starts to form at the lower part of your stomach, causing your eyes to widen; you grab onto his wrist tightly, looking up at him, panicked.

“A-Ayato! I’m going to cum!” You whimpered softly, rolling your hips against his hips.

Ayato chuckles and leans down, sucking below your jaws, “Oh yeah? Do you want to cum on my cock?” Ayato teases, continuing to hammer his dick deep inside of your entrance. You squealed when Ayato lifted your right leg up, throwing it over his shoulders, his member striking the deepest part of your heat.

“Yes, please! Please let me cum on your cock.” You whined into his ears. Ayato chuckles and bites down on your shoulders, ramming his cock into your hole. Just when you were about to cum, the sound of knocking interrupted you two. Ayato pauses his thrusts and looks up at the door, his chest heaving with each breath.

Ayato reaches up and wipes the sweat from his forehead, “State your business.” Ayato says, trying to even out his breathing.

Both you and Ayato hear Thoma’s voice coming from behind the closed door, “My Lord, you have a visitor from the Kujou Clan.”

You and Ayato looked over at one another with wide eyes. You begin to push at Ayato’s chest, trying to get him off of you and out of your guts, but Ayato remains still. Ayato tightens his grip around your waist, pressing his cock deeper inside of you.

“Give me a moment to organize the desk. [Y/N] and I have been aimlessly flipping through documents and sorting them.” Ayato says, standing up.

“Alright, let me know when you’re ready, My Lord!” Thoma says, his voice still muffled behind the door. Ayato wraps his arms around your waist and pulls you up; his dick remains buried deep inside of your hole.

“What are you doing?!” You hissed as Ayato sat back down on his cushioned chair with you on his lap, his cock tucked inside of your quivering heat. Ayato turns you around to have your back pressed up against his chest; he helps you adjust your kimono and appearance, making sure that the both of you don’t look out of place or suspicious.

Ayato shrugs his shoulders, “Making sure that you and I don’t look suspicious to our visitor. What else does it look like?” Ayato asks, adjusting himself in his seat. Ayato’s sudden movement caused his cock to bury further into your heat. You bite your lips; your head falls back on Ayato’s shoulders. “Try to act like you don’t have my cock buried in the deepest part of your organs,” Ayato instructs, giving you a teasing smile.

You huffed, “As long as you don’t make it hard for me, then I got this.” You said, fixing your hair. Ayato smiles devilishly before thrusting up, the mushroom tip of his cock hitting your cervix. You let out a choked groan and slowly looked up at him with a small glare.

“Thoma, you may let the member of the Kujou Clan enter,” Ayato casually announces, reaching over to his right glove and putting it on. You silently gulped when the door slid open; the member of the Kujou Clan walked into the room with Thoma accompanying him.

“Oh! It seems you have a guest here with you too.” The man says, looking at you in surprise.

Ayato smiles, “Yes, I was showing my lover what I usually do in my office whenever I work. They were curious to see how busy I could get when it came to documents and paperwork to fill out. Not only that, but I am also teaching them what to look out for when signing documents if I am ever away.” Ayato explains, smiling at the man that stood before you and Ayato.

You nod your head with a fake smile on your face, “I’ve always wanted to know what Lord Ayato deals with when filling out paperwork. While I understand that these documents are confidential between the Kamisato Clan and the other clans, I only kept my eyes on Lord Ayato as he explained what to look for when signing documents.” You said, your nails digging into the palm of your hands beneath the desk.

“Interesting.” The man murmurs, stroking his chin. “I wasn’t aware that the Kamisato heir has a lover, but nonetheless, I am happy for the two of you! Shall we get started?” The man asks; Ayato nods his head at the man with a small smile while you give the man a stiff smile, trying your best to ignore the cock that is buried deep inside of you.

Needless to say, the meeting with the member of the Kujou Clan was tortuous for you. Frequently, Ayato would shift in his seat, making his dick drag in and out of your sopping wet hole. You would have to hold onto the desk really tightly while trying to keep a straight face as if you didn’t have the Kamisato heir’s cock buried deep inside of your cavern. 

Thoma would give you and Ayato a weird look each time either one of you shifted in your seats. What Thoma doesn’t know, or at least you hope he doesn’t, is the only reason why both you and Ayato would shift in your spots a lot is to find a way to relieve the tension where the both of you are connected. 

“And will that be all?” Ayato asks, looking at the member of the Kujou Clan curiously, placing his pen down on the desk next to the signed document.

The man smiles and shakes his head, “That will be it for today, Mister Kamisato!” The man gets up from the seat that Thoma had brought into the office. He bows to you and Ayato (you assumed that the man is mainly bowing at Ayato, but in order not to make it seem awkward, he ends up bowing to both you and Ayato) before leaving the room with Thoma following behind. The door slides shut, and the two of you wait for the footsteps to fade away.

After the footsteps are gone, you find yourself pinned to the desk with your chest on the table and Ayato towering over you from behind. When you open your mouth to speak, Ayato pulls his stiff member out from inside of you before plunging deep inside of you. You let out a choked gasp; your hands gripped the edge of the desk in front of you until your knuckles turned white.

Ayato presses his chest against your back, continuously ramming his fat cock deep inside of you. “You have no idea how much I have to hold myself back from fucking you on this desk in front of the member of the Kujou Clan and Thoma.” Ayato groans, picking up the pace of his thrust. “You drive me crazy.” He hisses, feeling his orgasm approaching.

“Ayato! Don’t stop! I’m about to cum.” You whined softly, tugging at his sleeves. 

The tight coil in your lower abdomen starts to form and tighten the more Ayato pistons his member inside of you. Ayato clenches his jaws together; his grip around your waist is so tight that you are sure that it will leave a mark the next day. Ayato’s thrust gets sloppier each thrust the more he gets closer to his high. Ayato threw his head back, sending one last sharp jab into your heat before thick ropes of hot cum spilled inside of you. You clenched around Ayato’s cock, milking his cock and cumming around him. You go limp on the desk, chest heaving, body covered in sweat. The kimono was sticking to your skin, and it was making you feel even hotter than you already were from your and Ayato’s activities.

“How are you feeling?” Ayato breathes, slowly pulling his now soft cock out from inside of you, putting his cock back into his underwear, pulling his pants up, and zipping up his pants. 

You sighed and glanced up at Ayato from over your shoulders, “I feel much better now that Thoma and the member of the Kujou Clan have left the office.” You said, slowly getting up from the desk, almost wincing when you feel your and Ayato’s mixed cum spilling out from your soiled entrance. “I’m going to need to clean that up.” You murmured, leaning over to grab your underwear from the ground behind the desk. It was a good thing that your underwear wasn’t lying out in the open for Thoma and the Kujou Clan member to see. That would have been a very awkward situation, and it’ll be hard for the both of you to come up with some sort of an excuse as to why your underwear is on the floor of Ayato’s office. 

“Ah, ah, ah!” Ayato says, walking over to where you stood. “I will be taking that as a souvenir for myself,” Ayato says, plucking your underwear from your grasp. 

You stared at Ayato with wide eyes, “If you wanted to keep one of my underwear as a souvenir, you could’ve chosen a clean one.” You pouted at Ayato, reaching up to grab the underwear in his grasp, only for Ayato to dodge from your grasp.

“No need, I am fine with these,” Ayato says, pocketing your underwear. You stared at Ayato with wide eyes before looking away from the man.

You mumble, “Well, how in the world am I going to be walking out of your office without looking suspicious? I’m leaking.” You said, gesturing to your lower half.

“Maybe I want other people to know our little activities behind closed doors,” Ayato says nonchalantly, wrapping his arms around your waist, pulling you to his chest with a sly grin on his face. You grumbled and pressed your face against his chest, letting out a soft sigh. How can you be mad at that sweet smile of his? That dang cute ass mole and endearing smile of his was making it hard for you to be upset with him.

You sighed dramatically, “You’re lucky I love you, Ayato. And that you’re cute.” You grumbled, glaring at the Kamisato heir playfully, who smiled down at you before pressing a kiss on your head.

The next day, you woke up to the window blinds in your temporary bedroom open—the sunlight shining in your eyes. You groaned and threw your blanket over your head, blocking out the sunlight that was shining through the window blinds. You hear someone approach where your lay. The bed beside you dipped, and before you knew it, someone ripped the blankets right off of your body. 

“Morning, [Y/N]! Are you ready for the day?” Thoma asks, peering down at you with the sweetest smile on his face.

You pouted up at Thoma, “As you can see, I am not ready for the day at all.” You grumbled, attempting to reach down and grab the blanket at the edge of the bed, only for Thoma to push it away from you further. You started at Thoma blankly, who stared back at you, his smile never faltering. “What are you doing?” You ask, staring up at the blond male quizzically.

Thoma chuckles, “Well, since you spent time with Ayato yesterday and got to see what he does in his daily life as the Kamisato Heir and the head of the Kamisato Clan! Today is the day where you get to see what I usually do as the housekeeper of the Kamisato Estate!” Thoma explains, combing his fingers through your bedhead, his fingers occasionally getting stuck in your tangled hair.

“What time is it?” You grumbled, slowly sitting up on the bed, rubbing your eyes to adjust to the brightness in your room.

“It is currently seven in the morning!” Thoma chirps; your head snaps in Thoma’s direction, eyes wide. You look out the window, and even though the sun is rising, it doesn’t look like it is seven in the morning at all. Heck, it seems like it could be eight or nine in the morning instead! Speaking of seven in the morning, does Thoma usually get up around this time to get ready for the day and start his duties as the housekeeper of the Kamisato Estate?

You pursed your lips for a moment, looking at Thoma with your hands in your lap. “Do you usually get up this early in the morning at the Kamisato Estate?” You inquired, tilting your head to the side while scratching your head.

Thoma nods his head, “I also usually get up around this time back at the abode as well.” Thoma replies. “Now, let's get up, shall we? We need to start the day and prepare some breakfast to eat!” Thoma says, reaching for your hand.

“Alright, but let me change into the other kimono that Ayaka got for me.” You said, getting up from the bed and walking over to the wooden dresser where the kimono was hung.

Thoma makes an uncertain noise, “Since you’re spending time with me and are seeing what I am doing in my day-to-day life at the Kamisato Estate, you won’t need to wear the kimono that Ayaka has gotten for you. After all, you will be helping me with some of my duties as well.” Thoma speaks up, walking up to where you stood.

“Oh! Then that makes things easier for me.” You said, walking over to your luggage and pulling out the clothes that Zhongli had packed for you. You’re very thankful that Zhongli had packed you comfortable yet cute clothes; he knows you so well. Depending on how tired you are, you could take a while in the bathroom. But since you know that Thoma is on a time crunch as the housekeeper of the Kamisato Estate, you knew you couldn’t and shouldn’t waste Thoma’s time.

You walked out of your bedroom, teeth brushed, dressed, and ready to go. You slowly walked around the estate, searching for the blond male.

“Thoma?” You call out softly, making sure to keep your voice at a minimum volume just in case someone is still sleeping. Your vision suddenly turns black when someone places their hands over your eyes, your back pressed up against someone’s chest.

“Guess who.” The person whispers, their breath tickling your neck, causing goosebumps to form on your arms.

You placed your hands over the person’s hand and began feeling their gloves. They were wearing fingerless gloves, and you could feel the intricate designs on the fingerless gloves. Ayato doesn’t wear fingerless gloves, and you’re not even sure if Ayaka wears any sort of gloves. Plus, you recognize these gloves.

You hum softly, “Thoma! I didn’t know you had time for a joke like this?” You said, grabbing onto the person’s hands and pulling them away from your face. You turned around to face Thoma, only to come face to face with Ayato, who was smiling down at you with one eyebrow raised. “Ayato!” You squeaked, eyes widening in surprise. You looked at Ayato’s hands, only to see that he was indeed wearing Thoma’s gloves. You narrowed your eyes at the Kamisato heir, who laughed at your reaction. He pulls his hands out from your grasp and pinches your cheeks while you continue to glare holes into his person.

“Ah! So that’s where my gloves went!” Thoma says, walking over to you and Ayato with his arms crossed over his chest. “I see that you have decided to wear my gloves to trick [Y/N].” Thoma mused, the corner of his lips quirking up as Ayato took Thoma’s gloves off before handing them over to the blond male. Thoma chuckled softly and began to slip his fingerless gloves into his hands.

“I wanted to see if [Y/N] was able to differentiate between the both of us if we swapped gloves,” Ayato says cooly, putting his gloves back on. 

You sputtered, “I was correct, but I was bamboozled!” You said, lightly hitting Ayato’s chest before walking over to Thoma’s side, linking your arms around his. “I believe that you and I have something to do.” You said, looking up at Thoma.

Thoma smiles and nods his head, “That is correct! If you’ll excuse us, My Lord, [Y/N] and I will be starting the day off!” Thoma says, giving the head of the Kamisato Clan a smile.

Ayato nods his head, “Alright! I will see you two at breakfast.” Ayato says, nodding to both you and Thoma before turning to walk in the direction of where his office is located. Ayato stops in his tracks for a moment before turning over to you; you give Ayato a questioning gaze as he approaches you. Ayato caresses your face in his hands before pressing his lips on your forehead before pulling away, giving you one last smile before walking off.

Thoma squeezes your hand. You look up at Thoma, who has a strange expression on his face. “Shall we begin the day together as the housekeeper of the Kamisato Estate?” Thoma asks, flashing you a fake smile.

“We shall!” You said, smiling at Thoma as he pulled you towards the direction of the kitchen and dining area of the estate. Ingredients were laid out on the kitchen island, ranging from salt, pepper, lavender melons, sakura blooms, seagrass, potatoes, tomatoes, flour, and eggs. Your eyes widened as you looked over at Thoma, who looked almost satisfied with your reaction. “How many things are we going to cook for breakfast?!” You ask.

Thoma shrugs his shoulders, “It depends on what we’re cooking! Each of these ingredients can make up about ten to fifteen dishes, depending on what we’re cooking and what ingredients are needed.” Thoma replies, reaching over to a bright red tomato, frowning before letting out a soft ‘huh.’

You look at Thoma curiously, walking over to where he stood. “What’s wrong, Thoma? Did something seem off about that tomato?” You ask, peeking over his shoulders to get a better look at the tomato.

“This tomato has mold on it,” Thoma murmurs. “Can you go look in the pantry for fresh tomatoes? It should be on the middle shelf with the other produce.” Thoma points over at the moderate-sized pantry room where the ingredients are held in. 

You nodded your head and walked to the pantry to look for the best fresh tomato. When you walked into the pantry, you flicked on the light switch of the pantry and walked into the deepest part of the pantry where the produce is located. You stopped in front of the produce and picked up the tomato that you think is perfect enough to be used as an ingredient. You hear footsteps following you to the pantry but ignore them.

“Hey, Thoma, are these tomatoes good? They seem to be perfectly fine to me, but I’m no expert.” You said, holding up the tomato to show Thoma the tomato that you’ve chosen. After not hearing a response from Thoma, you turned to look at Thoma. You almost bumped into Thoma’s chest; you backed up and looked at him with wide eyes.

“Ah, can you check to see if this is good enough?” You ask, holding up the red tomato. Thoma grabs your wrists and pulls you to his chest, causing you to stumble and drop the tomato, causing it to smash on the wooden floor of the pantry. You looked up at Thoma with wide eyes, blinking at him owlishly. 

“Was the tomato not good enough?” You ask, your gaze landing on the smashed tomato on the ground.

Thoma backs you up against the shelf, caging you in with his arms as he gazes down at you intently. He grabs your face with his right hand and tilts your head up so you can look into his eyes as he stares down at you. You couldn’t help but feel both intimidated and turned on by what he had done.

“I heard,” Thoma states, staring down at you.

You blinked at Thoma, “You heard what?” You ask, furrowing your eyebrows in confusion.

The corner of his lips quirked up, “I heard you and Ayato in his office yesterday.” Thoma replies. Your eyes widened in horror; your face felt like it was immediately engulfed in flames. 

“You knew?!” You squeaked; Thoma grabbed the end of your hair and twirled it in his fingers, slowly nodding his head.

Thoma leans his face close to yours before whispering, “I heard everything from start to finish.” You felt like you were going to faint; your knees wobbling, face hot and flustered, heart racing against your chest. “Since Ayato had his turn with you, it’s only fair that I get to have my turn with you,” Thoma says, pressing his lips against your neck. 

You gulped and pressed your hands against Thoma’s muscular chest, gripping onto his black shirt. You let your head fall back against the wooden shelf, giving some room for Thoma to lick and suck on your neck.

“So, are you okay with me having my way with you?” Thoma asks, pulling away from your neck, his thumb swiping over your lower lip while he bit down on his lips. “If not, I’ll stop, and we’ll continue to cook breakfast—” You cut Thoma off by pulling him by the collar of his shirt, pressing your lips against his. Thoma’s hands immediately reach up to the back of your head, deepening the kiss between the two of you. Your hands slowly trail down to his hips, wrapping both of your arms around his waist, the two of you stumbling back to the shelves, knocking over some of the vegetables off the shelf.

“We need to make this quick before Ayato and Ayaka start to question where we’re at and why breakfast isn’t at the table yet,” Thoma murmurs against your lips before breaking the kiss between the two of you.

You snorted and ran your fingers through Thoma’s hair, “Ayato said almost the same thing yesterday.” You said, tilting your head to the side.

Thoma sighs dramatically, “Unfortunately, if either of us wanted to take our time with you, we would have to go somewhere that isn’t the Kamisato Estate.” He ran his fingers through his blond hair.

You pat his head lightly, “Next time.” You said, giving the man a small smile. “Let’s make this quick because having both of the Kamisato siblings walk in on us having sex in the pantry is something I do not want to deal with.” You said, tugging on Thoma’s shirt.

Thoma chuckles and presses his lips against yours, pulling you to his chest by the waist before murmuring, “jump” against your lips. You jump, and Thoma wraps your legs around his waist, struggling to loosen his pants. Seeing that he was having a hard time with taking his pants off, you unwrapped your legs around his waist and helped him with slipping his pants and underwear down to his midthigh. You were glad that you chose to wear flowy loose shorts; you wouldn’t have to take your shorts off entirely for Thoma to rail you against the produce shelves in the pantry of the Kamisato Estate.

“Okay, you can jump now,” Thoma says; he places both of his hands on your hips, lifting you in the air as you jump and wrap your legs around his slim waist. 

You wrap both of your arms around his shoulders, fingers tangling in his soft, blond hair as he peppers your face and neck with kisses. Thoma reaches down and strokes his hardened cock, aligning it up to your entrance after pushing your underwear and shorts to the side, lubricating the tip of his member with your slick. You press your lips against Thoma’s lips, letting out a quiet gasp when his penis breaches your walls. Thoma digs his nails into your waist, letting his cock sink further into your heat until he was balls deep inside of your hole.

Thoma slowly pulls out your entrance, leaving only the tip of his cock inside of you before ramming it deep inside of you. You bite down on Thoma’s shoulders to muffle your cries, Thoma groans and begins to hammer his cock in and out of you repeatedly. The tip of Thoma’s cock was ramming your cervix with each thrust; you could see fireworks and stars dance behind your closed eyelids. 

Your head rolls back, your tongue lolls out of your mouth, your walls clenching around his cock with each thrust. Every time Thoma plunges his cock right back into your sopping wet hole, the walls of your entrance would squeeze around Thoma. Your inner thighs and Thoma’s pubic bone and lower abdomen would be coated in your slick each time he thrusts upwards into your awaiting cavern.

A deep groan comes from Thoma, “Fuck, baby. You’re so tight, and you feel so good around my cock.” Thoma pants; he leans down and nibbles on your bottom lip. “If I can spend the rest of my life buried deep inside of you, I would do it in a heartbeat.” Thoma grunts, thrusting deep into your entrance while rubbing his pubic bone against yours, making you jolt and shudder in Thoma’s grasp. You can feel your orgasm approaching by the feeling of the silky walls of your hole clenching and unclenching around Thoma’s thick cock.

You bite down on your lips, letting out a weak whine as you lightly pull at his blond hair, “Thoma, please, please. I want to cum.” You whispered, tugging at his black shirt as you rubbed your hips against his, trying to find relief. The already forming coil in your lower abdomen was beginning to feel unbearable. 

“Cum on my cock, baby.” Thoma groans; he has an iron grip on your waist as he forces you up and down on his cock, pistoning his throbbing member in and out of your entrance at a brutal pace. 

You let out a shaky sob, feeling your orgasm hit you like an angry boar. Your vision went white for a brief second before you came to your senses, feeling your hole convulse around Thoma’s cock, coating his cock with your slick. Thoma quickly pulls his cock out of you, turns you around, and bends you over on the shelf before shoving his cock deep inside your entrance. You let out a choked gasp and cry; you cover your mouth with your hands, your eyes rolling to the back of your head from the massive wave of pleasure washing over you as Thoma continues to thrust inside of you.

“I’m going to breed this pretty little hole of yours. Do you want that?” Thoma breathes, his chest pressed up against your back as he thrusts forward. 

You let out a squeal and nod your head, your head falling back on Thoma’s shoulders. Thoma tightens his grip around your waist and snakes his right hand up to your neck, sending one last thrust before cumming deep inside your entrance. Both you and Thoma panted, going limp against one another. Thoma pulls his now flaccid cock out from your heat, sighing in relief. You shuddered when you felt the mixture of your and Thoma’s cum drip out of your hole and onto your underwear.

You pouted and leaned against Thoma, trying to calm your racing heart. “I wish we could go on a bit longer.” You mumbled, playing with the accessories on Thoma’s person.

Thoma presses a kiss on your head, “I do too, sweetheart. But unfortunately, since both of us are preparing breakfast for everyone, we don’t have much time. But don’t worry, we can take our time next time, I promise.” He said, wiping the bead of sweat from your forehead with a small smile on his face.

You sigh, “You better keep that promise of yours, Thoma!” You said, tugging him down by his shirt collar, kissing his lips. 

Thoma smiles and kisses you back, “Don’t worry, [Y/N]. I always keep my promises.” Thoma states, deepening the kiss between the two of you. 

You and Thoma were able to clean the pantry up along with the smushed tomato off the floor of the pantry. Both you and Thoma opted to cook a mixture of breakfast from four different nations. You prepared the dining table, placing cutlery on the cloth napkins and filling teacups with tea. Thoma placed breakfast down in the middle of the table before calling both of the siblings to come to the dining table for breakfast. 

The four of you sat at the table, peacefully eating your breakfast. Your legs are still trembling from what you and Thoma have done in the pantry, and you’re just hoping that neither of the Kamisato siblings notices the way your legs would shake when you walk or stand in one place. You sat next to Ayaka while the two men sat across from you and Ayaka, silently eating their breakfast while occasionally trading small talk with each other.

“So!” Ayaka speaks up, looking over at you. “What are your thoughts on being in Thoma’s shoes for today so far?” Ayaka asks, lifting her teacup to her lips and blowing on the hot liquid before taking a small sip from it.

You sighed, “I don’t know how Thoma does it! I could barely get up this morning, and I’m still feeling tired.” You said, looking over at Thoma.

Thoma shrugs his shoulders, “You’d get used to it! I have been a housekeeper for the Kamisato Estate for quite a while now! It takes some time to get used to it.” Thoma says, scooping up the rice with his spoon.

“[Y/N]....” Ayato says slowly. You look over at Ayato before tilting your head to the side with curiosity. “You’re glowing today; have you noticed that?” Ayato asks, gazing at you curiously. 

Your eyes widen slightly, “Oh? I am?” You pressed both of your hands up against your face, eyebrows narrowing with puzzlement. You look over at Ayaka, whose eyes light up, and she nods her head in response. She places her teacup down before turning over to you; she cups your face in both of her hands while analyzing your face closely. Sometimes she would turn your head to the side to get a closer look.

“I always knew that you are beautiful, [Y/N], but today is different! It’s like your beauty is shining through even more!” Ayaka says.

You brushed her off and laughed shyly, “Oh, please, Ayaka! You’re stroking my ego there.” You said, feeling your face grow hot under Ayaka, Ayato, and Thoma’s gaze. “I think the amount of sleep I got last night is what’s causing me to glow.” You cleared your throat, hoping that they— mainly Ayaka, would believe your little lie.

“I’m thinking about taking a break from the paperwork for today and choosing to relax for the day,” Ayato speaks up, leaning back in his seat, his arms crossed over his chest. “The amount of documents I have to sign is a bit overwhelming, so I have chosen to take a break from them. Although I was able to complete the majority of them, unfortunately, the more I complete them, the more documents will show up out of thin air.” Ayato sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose.

“As long as you give yourself a break, relaxing is a great way to destress and not overwork yourself!” You said, lifting the teacup to your lips and blowing on the steaming hot tea. “I remember I overworked myself so much to complete four different university assignments that I burned myself out. I could barely get myself to focus; all I wanted to do was to cry because of the amount of stress I was feeling.” 

“Sounds like you need to take a trip to the bathhouse down in Inazuma City!” Thoma says, giving you a small smile.

You sighed and nodded your head in agreement, “I do! But we have a bathhouse back at the abode.” You said, sipping the warm tea.

Ayaka looks at you curiously, “What is your university like?”

You placed the teacup down, “It’s huge and beautiful! But the amount of stress that I have garnered over the last two years has driven me insane.” You scratched your head, face pinching up when the realization hits you. “Oh dear archons, I’m going to be in debt once I complete university. Can you believe it? I’ll be almost forty thousand dollars— er, I meant forty million mora in debt, and I’m only in my twenties.” You chuckled while Ayaka looked at you in horror, almost dropping her teacup.

“You sound stressed out. I believe that after breakfast, we should all go down to the bathhouse to relax.” Ayato says.

Ayaka sighs in defeat, “As much as I would love to go, I have a meeting with Guuji Yae at Yae’s Publishing House about the upcoming festival in Inazuma.” Ayaka frowns, her shoulders slumping with disappointment.

You placed a gentle hand on Ayaka’s shoulders, “It’s okay, Ayaka! Hopefully, the next time we hang out, it’ll be at the upcoming festival you mentioned!” You said, giving the light-blue-haired girl a small smile.

Ayaka’s eyes lit up, “I would love that! Let’s go to a festival together in the future!” Ayaka chimes, giving you a wide smile.

After breakfast, you and Thoma cleaned up the table, washed the dishes, and placed them back in the cabinets. Ayaka left the estate with one of the servants, leaving you, Ayato, and Thoma almost alone at the Kamisato Estate. Since everyone was technically dressed for the day, the three of you went to the waypoint outside of the Kamisato Estate. You three teleported to Inazuma City, where the famous bathhouse, named Aisa Bathhouse, is located. You three stepped into the bathhouse, satisfied to see that it was empty. Great! Not only are you alone with your two boyfriends, but you won’t have to worry about seeing strangers roaming around the bathhouse in their birthday suits.

You couldn’t help but feel anxious about going to the bathhouse with Ayato and Thoma, mainly because you know that both Ayato and Thoma are dangerous when they’re together. It’s like they are always scheming something when they’re in the same room as each other. You, Ayato, and Thoma end up parting ways to go to your designated changing room close to the entrance of the bathhouse.

After stripping off your clothes, you put on the silky black robe and fluffy slippers and placed your clothes and shoes in a small locker before walking out of the changing room. You stepped into the main lobby of Aisa Bathhouse and almost automatically spotted Ayato and Thoma standing in the middle of the hall, waiting for you to show up. Both of them had white and blue towels wrapped around their waist, which you noticed were dangerously low at their hips.

“And there they are!” Thoma says as you approach where the two stand. “Are you ready to take a nice dip in the bathhouse to cool off some steam? I know you need it with all the stress you’ve accumulated over the last two years at your university.” Thoma says, wrapping his arms around your shoulders.

You nod your head, “I am! It’s very much needed since my time at the bathhouse back at the abode has been interrupted many times.” You said, narrowing your eyes slightly as you thought back to the time when the men interrupted your time at the bathhouse.

“How rude of them to interrupt you and your time at the bathhouse back at the abode!” Ayato says, fighting the urge to smile after knowing that he was one of the people that interrupted your peaceful dip back at the teapot. You grumbled and let the duo guide you to where the hotspring was located.

“Don’t bathhouses usually separate the patrons by gender?” You murmured, scratching the back of your head when you three stepped into the men’s section of the bathhouse.

“Oh, they do! But they let us have special access for today.” Thoma says, patting the top of your head as he continues to lead you toward the hotspring. “Now, we can all relax in the same room without people interrupting us and without any responsibility looming over our heads!” Thoma chirps happily.

“If we get into the hotspring, everyone better have their backs turned because I don’t want anyone to see me naked, nor do I want to see any of you naked!” You huffed.

Ayato laughs, “Whatever makes you happy.” He pinches your cheeks lightly.

The last thing you remembered was stripping off your robe, putting them on the hanger, and dipping your feet into the hotspring while Ayato and Thoma were waiting for you with their hands covering their eyes. You thought you were going to be able to finally relax in the hotspring, releasing your stress and letting the tension in your body melt away.

But instead, here you are: two cocks buried deep inside of your entrance while Ayato had his hands covering your mouth to prevent the sound of your whines and moans from echoing in the bathhouse. Thoma’s face was buried into the crook of your neck, sucking and leaving marks on your neck and chest while Ayato fondled your chest. You are sitting on Ayato’s lap, your back pressed against his chest, while Thoma stands in front of the two of you, pinning you against Ayato’s chest. The burning stretch you’re feeling in between your legs was almost unbearable; you knew that the human body could do unthinkable things, but you didn’t think that you would be able to withstand having two different dicks stuffing the same hole at once. You flinched when Ayato moved, causing Thoma to move, both of their cocks rubbing against each other inside of your heat.

“Take it easy! I’m still trying to adjust to the both of you!” You whined, lightly hitting both Ayato and Thoma’s shoulders, head resting on Ayato’s shoulders.

“We’ll be gentle; no need to fret,” Ayato says, turning your head to the side before connecting his lips with yours. Thoma rolls his eyes before sending a sharp thrust, causing you to break the kiss with Ayato and writhe in your spot.

“Thoma! I thought you were going to take it easy!” You whined, pulling at his damp blond hair.

“I’m sorry, baby. I’ll be gentle next time.” Thoma coos, leaning down to kiss your pouty lips before cupping your face in his hands.

Ayato huffs, “I believe that now is a good time to start moving. We don’t have all day, and quite frankly, I believe that the owner of Aisa Bathhouse wouldn’t like it if we stayed past our intended time.” Ayato says, reaching down and beginning to rib at the tiny pearl of nerves between your legs. You jolted and dug your nails into Ayato and Thoma’s biceps, trying your best to keep the noises down.

“Yes, please, just fuck me already! We don’t have all day.” You whined, biting down on your lips while keeping your eyes shut.

“It’s unfortunate how we always have to rush our activities, trying not to get caught in the act.” Ayato sighs in defeat, Thoma nodding his head in agreement.

Ayato and Thoma simultaneously pulled their cocks out from inside of you before ramming their cocks inside of you at once. The hot water in the hotspring provided extra lubricant, making it easy for the two to plunge their dicks inside of you at a different pace. While Ayato was rubbing the tiny nerve between your legs, Thoma kept your legs spread wide open while he and Ayato piston their pulsing, stiff member in and out of your entrance.

You clawed Thoma’s back and gasped out loud when Thoma hit your cervix; Thoma smiled in satisfaction. Ayato glares at Thoma before repeating Thoma’s actions, the bulbous tip of his cock striking your cervix. You squealed loudly; both Thoma and Ayato immediately reached up and covered your mouth with their hands, their eyes wide.

“Be quiet! We’ll get caught if you continue to moan, squeal, whine, and whimper out loud!” Thoma whispers, burying his face into the crook of your neck.

“H-How can I be quiet when the both of you are fucking my cervix!?” You hissed behind their hands, glaring at the two men that are balls deep inside of you. 

“Hey, Ayato.” Thoma says thoughtfully, rubbing his pubic bone between your legs.

Ayato raised an eyebrow at Thoma, “What is it, Thoma?” He sighs, continuing to thrust upward.

“Between you and me, who do you think will be the first one to get [Y/N] to cum?” Thoma asks innocently. “I believe that it’ll be me,” Thoma adds.

Ayato narrows his eyes at Thoma, “I believe that you’re wrong, Thoma. I will be the first one to get [Y/N] to cum, not you!” Ayato huffs, picking up the pace of his thrusts.

“Oh? It sounds like a competition, My Lord!” Thoma chuckles, giving Ayato an amused look. Ayato and Thoma locked gazes with each other for a moment, their thrusts coming to a stop. As if they were mentally communicating, they nod their heads at each other. You didn’t have much time to react when Thoma and Ayato began to ram their penises into you simultaneously. You let out a loud wail, writing in their grasp. At this point, Ayato and Thoma could barely give a shit about you letting out loud cries with each thrust. They were mainly focused on being the first ones to get you to cum around their cocks.

“Guys! Slow down! I’m going to cum!” You whine, your face scrunching up in pleasure when your impending release is fast approaching. Ayato and Thoma smirked at one another, continuing to drive their cocks deep inside of your heat. The tight coil in your stomach suddenly snaps, you clench down around both Ayato and Thoma’s dicks, your vision goes white, and you let out a loud cry. Ayato and Thoma groan in unison, filling your entrance to the brim with their thick ropes of cum. You lay in Ayato’s arms, limp and exhausted.

“So, who won?” Thoma breathes, looking up at you and Ayato. “I believe that I came out as the victor in the end!” Thoma boasted, his and Ayato’s cock still stuffed inside of you.

“You? The victor? How absurd! It is I that came out as the victor in the end, not you, Thoma.” Ayato huffs, tightening his grip around your waist.

“Do I hear a challenge for round two?” Thoma asks, narrowing his eyes at the head of the Kamisato Clan.

Ayato chuckles, “It seems so.” Ayato stated.

“Wait!” You perked up in Ayato’s arms. “There’s no way we’re going for another round in the bathhouse! Surely we have already spent our time here too long!” You exclaimed.

Before Ayato and Thoma could speak up, the doors of the hotspring opened up, revealing the owner of Aisa Bathhouse. When the door fully opened, the man’s jaws dropped to the ground at the sight in front of him. He was white as a ghost and pointed at the three of you in horror.

“Oh no.” You, Ayato, and Thoma said, looking at the man in fear and embarrassment. It seems like the three of you did end up getting caught in the act, and it seems like you, Ayato, and Thoma are most likely banned from Aisa Bathhouse for life.

Note: Goddamn, I'm pretty sure this part will be the only part in the Crave "series" that will be over 10k words long. I didn't plan for Crave 4 to be 15k words in total, to be honest. I'm just hoping that my skills in smut will improve because I'm just staring at it like 🧍🏻‍♀️ because most of the time, I don't know how to feel about the smuts that I type out 💀 Idk how long this overall "series" is going to go on for, to be honest 🤔 Anyway! As I have said in my past posts, I ONLY post on my Tumblr (Genshinluvr) and my AO3 (Aaliah_exo)! Nowhere else except Tumblr and AO3!

Taglist for "Various Genshin Men x Isekai'd!Reader" and my overall taglist (will be making a new taglist form very soon): @xxkatsusjinsux, @huboi, @plumpkie, @crazyrichdaughter, @sucker-for-angst-and-fluff, @patata52, @honeybedo, @thedivinepriestress, @pencil-of-ashes, @samarill, @bakuhve, @yukima, @chaosinanutshell, @emperatris-rinaka, @neilify, @ksjjkthpjm, @jaisithebird, @mouchie, @emerald-smile, @jixlem, @bananazzzen, @thelost-in-time, @kryloxen, @ayolk, @tomansimp, @lordbugs, @c-camellias, @chihawari, @lilliansstuff, @zhongloml, @sweethcnvy, @wolf-chan2134, @simp4-fictional-men, @dai-tsukki-desu, @trash-queen-af, @tamayakii, @spo0k-mxchii, @hispasian-otaku, @stygianoir, @crispynutduck (if you have not been tagged, it's because you have your settings turned off for people to tag you in posts)

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[vampycrispy]

The Dream Love - part 1

Mafia Gojo x y/n

Will contain mature theme such a yandere, Mafia, stalking, manipulation, 18+ etc so minor stay away~

Hello! I know its late but here is the first chapter of the Mafia Gojo x reader I hope you like it!! I'm still new to this tumbler stuff soo T_T.

Oh if you have any requests you can make it I guess for now I will do for JJK x reader. (As I'm keeping up with the updates too heeh) I will be taking up the requests till I go back to my writing a real original new story.

Please click on the masterlist for the request I will be taking for now

Masterlist

More than 2k words not edited...

I wish you were real, Not just a dream, or just the character of the books~ but today I saw you darling. You were real not just a dream but in my reality. I will never let you go... NEVER... even if it cost me to lose everything...

“DON'T FORGET TO DO YOUR HOMEWORK AND SLEEP EARLY” the cheerful voice yelled grabbing the attention of the others in the middle of the street. Making you and Nobara groan in response to how loud the boy could be as if he is always high on some sugar rush.

“I will don't you worry,” you said giving the pair a small wave with a smile on your face while walking backwards. Almost bumping into a 

“Yuji!! Let's go” you chuckle in response watching how Nobara just dragged Yuji away who was still waving at you.

Watching the pair walking away as the smile fades away from your face. Putting your headphone over your head in a low volume with no music on. The long walk was no trouble at night as it was a busy city of Tokyo always surrounded by people here and there.

“Well, I should just take some groceries as he will be coming back home tonight.” mumbling to your self moving your head along with the tune of the music. 

Entering the grocery store pick up the small basket as you walk through the aisle without looking left or right. Just walking ahead with the blank look over your face now stopping in front of the cat food. 

Putting 6 to 7 cans of food in the basket along with a little feather toy, with a smile on your face. About the little new baby back at home making you just run now as fast as you could. Now taking a turn while looking down at your phone changing the music almost bumping into a tall figure. 

“Sorry,” you said in a small voice without looking up just to walk past the figure. Making the tall person turn around and stare at you while his hands are placed over the trolley filled with all kinds of sweets. 

Watching the girl walking away humming in a soft tune of the music being played.  

“Now I also need food for me and my dear brother. Hope he won't be angry about it” 

Non-other the Ramen

“Well here you are buddy” you mumble under your breath not noticing a haired male wearing a black shade of glasses. Stood right opposite her aisle with his hands folded over his chest. 

“Now looking at it makes me want to eat Zuba soba noodles” mumbling under your breath filling the basket with 4 cups of noodles. 

Looking from the corner of your eyes a tall man wearing black glasses staring down at the shelf in front of him. Knowing the fact what really is beside this ramen. 

Closing your eyes for a few seconds as if you are trying your best to remember the words 

Ramen at home? 

Want to come and eat ramen? 

Oh, want to see my butterfly was just boom but-it was more like

“Want to come over and have ramen?” a blurred face flashes right in front of your vision making you snap open your eyes with a small gasp. 

“Huh” your eyes go wide in response. It seems as if you have heard a voice right next to your ear through your headphones being in low volume. 

Tuning your head around just to find no one around you, just to find yourself alone. Not even the white-haired guy who stood not too far away from you.

“I need to stop snapping out from reality” mumbling under your breath rolling your eyes in response while walking towards the egg counter.

While on the other hand, the tall white-haired guy kneeled down on the floor hiding over the opposite shelf. While covering his mouth with his gloves hand with a slight smile on his face. 

“I guess she wants to~ why not tonight my darling~” the white-haired male mumbles under his breath. 

In the same aisle, the little boy looks down at the white-haired male with a weird expression on his face. Only made the boy to tear up running towards his mother while crying. 

“MOMMM!! That guy is scaring me!!” the little boy cried making the worried expression of his mother change into a furious one. 

“Who can scare my little boy let me have a word with him! For scaring my boy where is the manager-” 

“Oh I guess it was me miss” the voice said right behind the mother. She could feel a sudden wave of shivers passes the moment she turns around a small gasp escaped from her lips. 

“What do you want to talk about miss?” the deep blue eyes staring down at her. Shadow form over half of his face. As if this guy just popped out of some thriller movie and is on a killing spree. 

The woman just shakes her head no with tears forming in her eyes the next thing she did. Just to pick up her child and ran away as fast as she could out of the supermarket. Leaving her cart behind. 

“Hey Gojo, you seem to have a knack for scaring people! Maybe you should consider auditioning for a horror movie instead of lurking in the supermarket. Just make sure to hide your ugly face next time!” 

“Go and fuck yourself Fushiguro” Gojo walks away carrying the basket full of condoms with the extra large and thin with different kinds of flavours. 

“Didn't know you were a sex freak?” 

“Going to be only for my dreamgirl” 

“That dream girl of yours dosent exits you know its just a dream-” 

“I just saw her” 

“Are you now dreaming with your open eyes?” 

“I’m just wide awake now” 

‘Ah, I just feel so hungry…. I hope your brother has already cooked something tomorrow I don't want to eat Ramen…’ 

Now walking towards the counter with a blank look on your face, as the supermarket seems to be more empty. Well, it was never crowded but at the same time not this open. 

The same tall guy with white hair who now stood in front of you ready to scan his item or more like items. The same being ramen of the same flavour you took and the whole degree of pack of condoms? 

‘Well someone is going to do phew-phew being warped up for hours and days’ you chuckle at your thoughts now filled with not-so-good ones. The erotic stories-

You just sign in response now removing your headphones paying in the counter. Thanking the guy who just seems unbothered rolling his eyes.

"Well lets go~ home cant wait to meet the little one my baby~" you said in a small baby voice to yourself ignoring the weird look you are receiving by the passing by.

Still unknown about the fact a pair of blue eyes staring at you with the love-sick eyes. While the other black haired male just pretending to puke.

'Finally I'm home'

You thought reaching the front of your house, you unlocked the door just to freeze as you got a text from your brother.

Hey, can you call me when you get home? I need to talk to you about something.’

Signing in response by pressing your lips in a thin line as you close the door behind you locking it.

‘I’m already reached home bro give me a few seconds I will call after getting fresh up and feeding the little one.’

You texted back just to hear a soft meow feeling something brushing against your leg.

Meow~ purring at the end only made your heart to melt.

"Kitty, kitty," you said, smiling as you picked it up in your arms.

“Ah I have to name this little one but have to wait till he comes back” you smile 

"Are you hungry? Because Mommy is!"

Just to hear another meow as if the kitten is making you squeak and aww looking down at the little kitten. 

Meooow~

"Awww he's so cute!" you exclaimed in a baby voice as your eyes were gleaming with happiness. 

"Momma is going to give you a big kiss!"  you picked up the kitten in your arms gently kissing him over his forehead. 

You felt the kitten purr and wiggle its tail in delight. It was finally, being back at home and petting it, feeding it and babying it.

It has been four weeks since your elder brother brought this little kitten home fully wet and sick. It was a shade of gray, but you later just learned it's a little white fluffy white kitten… Still hissing it crawls out ready to attack the stranger. But later it just warms up to you both slowly. 

Walking towards the kitchen, placing the kitten in the living room. Grabbing a can of cat food from the pantry and opened it, pouring the food into a bowl. Placing the bowl down in front of the kitten and watched as it began to eat.

"Such a cute little fur ball you are, aren't you?" you pout staring down at the kitten. Who was just well busy eating...

Now grabbing the ramen for yourself while putting the kettle to boil the water. Not really in the mode of cooking more like it's your brother who is the lead person cooks. Rather than boiling water or making coffee for yourself. 

You  Are  BANNED  From the kitchen  Escape from boiling water and milk

'What am I a kid to have milk?'

Well, the rules are already stickered in the freezer for your short-term memory brain cells. Always ready to forget the thing-

“Wait brother said to call him I totally forgot about it” now walking towards your phone upon the dinner table. 

Just to see multiple texts and missed calls from your brother itself who has always been the patient one. The phone was on silent as you were in the library with your friends for the upcoming test. 

“What?” a confused expression falls over your face staring at your phone and scrolling up.

y/n get out of the house now and take that little fur ball go to Mahito's house now Y/n did you leave?  Y/n? Answer my phone  Where are you?  Are you out of the house?  Call me now! It's really important I can't talk over in text  Why aren't you answering my phone? I have called Mahito he will be there in 10 minutes just share him and your location  Y/n?

Going through the text only made you worried about what really your brother wants you to get out of the house. Shaking your head you dial his number hearing it ring hearing the blow of the whistle the sign the water has been boiled. 

More like a note written in the freezer with an emoji making you sign in response. The fact your brother really thinks you are stupid and forgets every-

“Oh Damn the water!!!” 

Well looks like the brother is always right~

Poring the boiling water inside the ramen cup as you cover it up with the lead. Still calling your brother which soon goes into the voice call. Signing in response you call your brother three to four times just to get the same response

“Now he is the one not receiving my calls so annoying” you sign. But all of a sudden uneasy feeling inside your chest. Calling him just directed to the voice note after rings rolling your eyes in response. 

Right then just to hear a meow once again the little kitten brushing against your feet. As if it has sensed your discomfort making you look down at it. 

“Right so annoying, but you aren't little one” with a pout over your lips picking up the kitten and placing it on the table. Who just stares at you with its doe eyes wide open and fully black. 

Bringing your cup noodle to the table as you sat on the chair. Right before you could call your brother back just to receive a call from Mahito. 

Remembering the fact your brother said he will be calling you. Mahito is one of the annoying friends of your brother. Who always teases you and hits the back of your head again and again telling you stupid. 

RINGGG~

Right before you could receive the call just to hear your doorbell ringing. Making a confused expression falls over your face. 

“Why is he even calling when he is already at the door?” rolling your eyes in response just to hang up the call while walking towards the door. The little kitten followed right behind me opening the door. 

“Why did you even call when you-.” You stop freezing on the spot as your phone begins to ring again. A confused expression falls over your face seeing a tall figure with white hair wearing a black shade of sunglasses at nighttime. 

“Yes?” 

You know the fact your brother had warned you not to open the door without looking at the peephole. But as stupid you will be the first one to die in a horror movie when you open the door. 

“I’m your brother's friend Darling~ I’m here to take you to him” A sudden wave of shiver passes through you. Just hearing his voice sounds familiar yet strange at the same time. 

“I’m sorry, but I can't” Your phone starts to ring again the smile on the face of the guy fade away. 

“Won't you listen to your brother Geto? I’m his school friend Gojo, Gojo Satoru” the guy said making me freeze how did he know your brother's real name? 

One of the rules stuck in the freezer is to run away get from the person who refers to his real name. Rather than the people he has introduced you to.

to be continue...

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[deansapplepie]

Till THE DEAD do us part | Chapter 5

A/N: This story will take place in all the seasons, but it’s not exactly a rewriting cause I’d have to re-watch everything to use the exactly lines of the characters, also I think it’s better if I tell a side story without changing the main facts of the story.

This story has a Female Reader, but I don’t describe her appearance, so anyone can identify with her.

Chapter 4 Chapter 6

Chapter 5: We’re all gonna die

Summary: The group needs to leave the CDC in a hurry, they find a place to stay the night and head to Fort Benning in the other day. But if Y/N knew something is that if it was bad, it could become worse.

Warnings: swearing, little angsty, fluffy, nightmares, violence, mentions of death, mentions of a possible rapist (coughshanecough), a child get lost, blood (?), pinkies. Minors do not interact.

Pairing: Daryl Dixon x Grimes!Reader (Rick’s Sister)

Word Count: 4,016

Extra notes: I proofread the text, but English is not my first language, so feel free to correct any mistakes, of course with love. I’m consulting a timeline of everything that happened, but it can happen that I put events out of order, but I don’t think it’ll make much difference in the story. ALSO, I’m praying my Daryl isn’t too out of character.

You woke up with Luna scratching the door, probably someone was already up and she wanted to leave, see the person and play around. You got up and told her to wait. You went to the bathroom, brushed your teeth, washed your face and brushed your hair… it was kind of still humid when you went to sleep, so at the moment you could just say it was a mess. You changed your sleeping clothes into your ‘daily life I need to run if shit happens’ clothes and finally opened the door so Luna could leave. She went straight to Glenn and T.Dog that were talking in the corridor, Gleen looked awful.

“Good morning boys!” You said while approaching them.

“I’m never. NEVER. Drinking again.” Glenn stated, face contorted and hand on his stomach.

“That’s what we all say. You’ll drink again eventually and be hangover too. But with the time you get better at it.” T.Dog tried encouraging.

“I’m serious, I’m not putting alcohol in my mouth again.”

“Poor baby, I feel sorry for you. But well, world is ending and now you can at least say that you already got drunk and hangover once.” You hugged him sideways. At the same time it was bad to see the younger man in this situation, it was also a little bit funny to see him having this experience.

You let both of them go to the kitchen to have breakfast, you wanted to have breakfast too, but before you wanted to say hello to your family and seek some hugs. You liked hugs, specially in the morning. When you were little you would hug all your family in the morning, or at least the ones you had close so you could hug. At Uni, it would be your friends or your boyfriend that at the time thought you were too clingy, and when you received Luna as a gift, and were living alone, she would be the ‘person’ you would be hugging every morning. You also liked hugs during the day, but in this world you didn’t have time for this, and also you knew that most of people didn’t like to be hugged all the time.

When you was on your way to your family’s room, you encountered Lori. She looked terrible, and she didn’t drink that much. She saw you and tried to put a smile in her face. You just went to her and gave her a hug, this hug would be because of your necessity to hug people, but in the moment you knew she was the one that needed that hug.

“What happened? No offense, but you look like shit and I know you didn’t drink that much.” You asked leaving the embrace but still close and caressing her shoulders. “Did Rick and you have a fight? Do you want me to kick his ass?”

“He… he didn’t do anything. We’re fine. I’m fine. Don’t worry.” But you couldn’t not worry when your sister in law looked like she had been crying all night long. Would it be possible that Shane didn’t listen to your advice? You knew Lori was trying to distance from him, even if in the wrong way and even if the best thing to do in the moment was for both of them to sit and have a talk with Rick. But you knew she was trying.

“Of course I worry. We’re sisters. If it was Shane…” Before you said what you wanted to say Carl left the room and you had to stop talking. “Good morning little man!” You said and soon embraced him.

“Good morning Aunt Y/N, did you sleep well?” He asked after your embrace.

“Yeah, and you?”

“Me too, It was so good to sleep on a good place after so long.” Even the kids knew how to appreciate the comfort you all lose.

Rick apparently was knocked out, you didn’t blame him… he was the one that drank the most. Lori was going to wake him up, so you decided to go have your breakfast, siblings morning hug could wait. You took Carl with you, followed by Luna that would smell everything along the way. When you were close to the kitchen she ran lefting both of you behind.

“I think Luna can already smell the breakfast.” Carl commented, you laughed that was pobrably true.

When you arrived to the kitchen you discovered the true reason that she ran. Him. Daryl Dixon. And probably he was the reason why she started to scratch the door to go out making you wake up. ‘Are you in love with him Luna?’ You thought, because seamed that even your dog had a crush on the man. Talking about him, you hoped it would not be weird between you two today, because you would hate yourself for it. But he made a pinky promise, right? And he was not happy about making it, so he’s probably going to comply with it.

“Morning everyone!” You said once you were in the kitchen. Glenn had his face on the table hid by his arms and mumbled something incomprehensible, Sophia answered back, as did Carol.

“Mornin’” Daryl replied from where he was being overwhelmed by Luna’s love.

“I think that’s it, I’m gonna give her to you. It’s clear now that she likes you better.” You declared, he just mumbled something face getting tinted in red at your sight remembering the last night.

“You can’t give the gifts you receive to others, Y/N/N.” Shane complained playfully entering the room. Luna was a gift from him and Rick, like many other things you had. He came to you and hugged you, giving a kiss on the top of your head. “Good morning.”

“Morning…” you replied appreciating the hug. Now that you were on good therms again both of you felt comfortable about it. “But look at her Shane, she obviously doesn’t like me anymore.”

“Don’t be dramatic.” He said pulling away from the hug. You looked at him and saw a bruise on his face and neck, like someone scratched him pretty bad. ‘Shane… what kind of stupid shit did you do?’, you thought to yourself.

“What is this?” You asked pointing at him.

“Er… I think I scratched myself while sleeping, I woke up and was like this.” He gave the excuse, you didn’t believe, but you would not make a scene right now.

You sat on the table and ate your breakfast in silence, thinking about everything and trying to put the pieces together and you were not liking the path your thoughts were going, because the pieces you put together told you Shane was a rapist and you could not conceive the fact that maybe he tried to force Lori to something. You got chills at the thought, but was soon distracted when your brother entered the room.

“You look like shit.” You blurted your thoughts without thinking much.

“Good morning for you too, wanna know something? It feels like shit too.” He came to you and you hugged his waist not worrying about getting up from your chair.

During the breakfast Dale questioned Jenner about the things you needed to know, he was not wrong you really were there for answers. Jenner took you to the control room and asked the virtual assistant to play for you one of their experiments and you could see a person dying and reanimating afterwards. At the same time it was shocking, it was very impressive to see the human brain functioning.

In a short time you also discovered that your time in the CDC was getting short, you were going to get short on air, electricity and the whole building would go on flames. Like, how could he let this out and tell nobody the day before? You ran to take all your things from the rooms and get out of there as fast as possible, but the doors were closed and chaos was everywhere, some tried to break the doors, others tried to convince Jenner to open the goddamn door. And Jenner revealed to everybody that Rick thought it was a question of time for all of you to be dead.

“And he didn’t lie smart pants, we’re probably all gonna die soon or later, but we don’t wanna die right now so open the fucking door” you had already lost your patience and were considering if beating his ass wasn’t a so bad alternative.

You don’t know exactly how, but Rick convinced Jenner to open the door. The son of a bitch could open the door all this time! Jacqui decided to stay and there wasn’t much you could do about it. You tried to convince her, but nothing worked. Andrea also decided to stay and Dale stayed to try convincing her, you were not going to wait and see the results. You grabed your things and Luna’s harness and ran as fast as you could to the exit.

When you got to the exit you couldn’t leave using the door, the only way was a big glass in the building that apparently was bulletproof cause it was very resistant. To your lucky Carol had found a granade in Rick’s clothes while washing it and you couldn’t be more grateful about it. All of you shielded behind some stairs, Daryl “hugged” you kind of shielding you and Luna from anything and the granade exploded breaking the glass. As soon as the glass was broken Rick commanded everyone to go and leave. You saw all the glass on the floor and you couldn’t possible let Luna step on them. You tried to carry her with much difficulty, she was a big dog, even for a female. Daryl was almost jumping outside when he turned and saw you struggling to carry the dog.

“Come on! Hurry up!” He said a little pissed, a little nervous and a little angry too.

“I’m going I can’t let her step in the glass!” You stated. He grunted and came to you taking Luna from you, he carried her fast and easily to the “exit” what helped you being faster too.

“After all this shit, you better fucking obey me.” He said to the german shepherd putting her on the ground, taking your pulse and running to the cars.

As soon as you got to the car he opened the door, You entered it and next thing you knew he was telling you to get down, his body pressed on yours and an enormous explosion was heard.

His face was hidden on your neck, you could feel his warm breath and you couldn’t help but remember from the last night. You were feeling like a teenager full of hormones again. After some moment he raised his face and looked at you.

“Are ya alright?” He asked looking at your face. “Sorry if I crushed ya.”

“I’m fine. It’s okay, thanks for the help.” You answered, before you could do anything Luna, that was on the truck’s floor, licked Daryl’s face with no warning.

“Not my mouth Luna!” He complained, you couldn’t resist but laugh.

“I think we can get up D.” You said still laying in the car seat with him on top of you.

“Er… yeah, sure. It’s true.” He got up, opened the car door so you two could organize things to leave and for a moment you contemplated all the destruction that explosion caused.

Soon Dale and Andrea could be seen and you were glad that they could make it in time. First thing you decided to leave the place, you could decide were to go after it. You stopped at the Vatos’ place, you didn’t know this place, but it looks like Glenn, Daryl, T.Dog and Rick ran through it last time they were in Atlanta.

When you entered the place it was clearly abandoned, but soon you discovered dead bodies, some where shoot and others stabbed. You don’t know how Andrea could think hey were dead by walkers, it made no sense. That was cruel. All those elderly people executed.

“They were good people.” Rick sadly told you. “They tried to appear tough so other would not harm them… It looks like it didn’t last for a long time.”

He told you how they cared for these elderly people that were abandoned to die by the ones that took care of them. It was incredibly touching all the history and sad how it ended. Sometimes, you thought if this world were a place for good people.

You needed a place to stay, so you found an empty room so you all could pass the night before heading to Fort Benning. The room would be crowded for all of you, but at least would be sure everyone was safe. Daryl offered to take the first watch, sitting by the window. You chose a spot in the back of the room to put your sleeping bag and take some rest.

Hands. Dead hands. Grabing you. Pulling you. You fought against them, but they were too many. You had no weapons. Nothing. You tried, but you couldn’t fight longer and when you gave up fighting you were bitten, once you felt the stabbing pain, you woke up. Fighting for air. A burning sensation on your chest. Fuck. You hated nightmares, and since the world ended you had plenty of them. You sat and looked around for Luna, she was nowhere close to you and now you could use some cuddle with her.

In the dark room you could see Daryl’s silhouette at the window, and now you had an idea where Luna could be. You got up and approached the archer.

“Go to sleep, I’ll take watch now.” You said sitting by the other side of the window.

“Nah, not happening. My watch’s not over and T.Dog said he was taking next watch.” Anyone else would gladly go to sleep and let you on watch, but ‘Daryl’s fucking stubborn’ you thought.

“I’m not sleeping now, so you could use some sleep.” You stated and focused your attention on the window.

“Was it bad?” He asked and for a second you didn’t understand. “The nightmare.” He knew you had one, even in the dark he could see your sleep was not a peaceful one.

“Yep.” You gave a short answer, funny because most of the time you did all the conversation and Daryl didn’t have to talk much.

“Do ya really think we’re all gonna die?” Yes, you really thought, and that terrified you. You were afraid of dying, but you were absolutely scared of everyone you cared about dying and being left alone. So, you were terrified and also a little selfish for not thinking about how the others would be if you died first.

“Eventually? Yes. We’re out numbered.” You said, you just didn’t know when or how, but the odds were not on your favor. “I-I don’t wanna die.” You confessed, just because you thought everyone was going to die, it didn’t mean you were not afraid of dying. “And I don’t want neither of you to die.”

He could give you any harsh answer. He did got mad back at the CDC when he heard Rick said everyone was going to die and he also get pissed when you said he didn’t lie. But he could see you were frightened. He hated to show weakness, he was taught he couldn’t be weak. You were usually strong, of course you were very emotional like most women, but you were different… you knew how to fight, you’d kill walkers and not be afraid to protect the people you cared. Eventhough the first connection you made you were in a vulnerable moment, he could see your strength. So he could not bring himself to lose his temper with you at this moment. Also the fact that if your conversation got heated you would wake everyone up, helped a little.

“Don’t think about it. We’re gonna survive. We’re gonna fight. I can’t say that we aren’t gonna die, but we’re gonna be a pain in the ass of death, cause she’s gonna have to work her ass to kill us.” You thought this was the time he had most talked in all the time you knew him, it was not typical from him to talk much. “Ya aren’t giving up. Ya aren’t gonna stop fighting. Promise me.”

“Are you really asking me to make a promise?” You asked incredulously, he was so resistant to make a promise to you the day before. You were almost incapable to hold a laugh when you saw his hand in front of you with his pinky raised.

“C’mon, I don’t have the whole night.”

“Ok, I promise. I’m not giving up or gonna stop fighting.” You linked you pinky with his and sealed with your thumbs.

Daryl got up and went to T.Dog, waking him up to take the watch. He came at you and said: “Let’s sleep.”

“I’m not sleeping D.” You tried to say, you couldn’t dare closing your eyes and seeing the horrible scene from your nightmare.

“The watch is mine Y/N/N, you can go to sleep.” T.Dog said taking the place near the window.

“C’mon” Daryl called you again.

You followed him to the spot where you were sleeping previously he dropped his sleeping bag on the side of yours and gestured for you to lay down to sleep. You laid turned to his side, he had his back on the floor and stared at the ceiling, but he could feel your eyes on him.

“Go to sleep.” He whispered turning to you.

“I can’t, I feel that I’m gonna be there again if I close my eyes…” you didn’t need to say much, he knew you were talking about the nightmare.

“Ya’re not there. Ya here. I’m here.” He said and what he did next you didn’t expect. His hand went to yours and he intertwined your pinkies. And you could not help but feel a warm feeling in your heart. “Now, let’s sleep.”

The next morning you woke up with Luna licking all of your face. You tried protecting your face, but she wasn’t going to give up. You sat and didn’t saw Daryl by your side anymore. Everyone was getting ready to leave, so you had to do the same.

When everyone was ready a discussion about having less cars started, it was agreed that it would be better to economize fuel. You’d only remain with Carol’s Cherokee, the RV and Merle’s bike, that was now Daryl’s. You’d be all crushed in the cars, butyou had to make choices.

You were already leaving the room when Daryl stopped you. “I think it’s better if you go with Rick. The bike isn’t very comfortable for 2 during a long trip.” You should have seen it coming, but well… he was kind of right.

“Sure, no problem.” You smiled, he wasn’t wrong but you couldn’t help feeling upset. You liked travelling with him. “I’m sure Luna and me can fit well on the back of the Cherokee.”

Rick made sure to make some space for you in the back of the cherokee and you sat back there while Luna sniffed everything.

“Can I go in the back with you Aunt Y/N?” Carl asked you by time he entered the car.

“Sorry Carl, there’s no room for you AND it’s safer where you are.” You said, there was room and you knew he would play that card, he was a smart kid, so you played the “safe” card before he could come with something smart.

The rest of the car trip was uneventful, that is until you came to a huge block on the road made by several abandoned vehicles. You tried going until the radiator hose of the RV broke. You all got out of the cars and decided to look infor supplies or anything useful. You found some snacks, headache pills and a kitchen knife. Not much to be honest. You thought you’d be more successful looking for fuel and car parts.

You gave up and went to Daryl and T.Dog, to help and learn how to siphon fuel. You could be alone anytime and need it, so it was a useful thing to know. Then you heard Rick telling everyone to hide, a herd was coming. Fuck. Where were you supposed to hide with a fucking gigantic dog and at the same time make the dog quiet?

You brought Luna behind a van that was kind of transversal on the road and had concrete blocking on the other side you sat there on the floor and put the harness around Luna’s mouth hopping it would be enough to make her quiet until the herd passed. Memories of your nightmare came to your mind and you tried to calm yourself and your breathing, that wasn’t a good time to panic. They were passing while you prayed for whatever was out there that they would not see you. You were well hidden but if one of them tripped and fall on you, you were doomed for sure.

As soon as all of them were gone, Daryl came to find you. “Are ya ok?” You got up and nodded, but he knew you were far from ok, you were shaking.

Soon you heard a commotion and ran back to where everyone was. Sophia had run to the woods followed by walkers. Shit. If it could get worse, it would get worse. Carol was despaired and when Rick came back without the little girl she cried even more. Lori and you hugged her trying to reassure that they would find her. “Daryl is the best tracker, he’ll find her.” You said while rubbing her back.

T.Dog had an ugly cut on his arm, you take a first aid kit to clean it and cover. You were a doc after all, an animal doc, but nobody could ask much during the apocalipse, and you knew how to properly disinfect the wound. “Wow, it looks bad. I think you need stiches, but we also don’t have anything to do this. Some antibiotics would do good.” You commented while cleaning the wound and preparing to bandage it.

“It’s gonna be ok, I’m tough. Don’t worry.” He say, but you knew you all should worry and take a look on him from time to time, because if he had fever the chances of it going really wrong were big.

When Daryl and Rick came back without Sophia it was heartbreaking. They said they encountered a walker and they killed and opened it to make sure it didn’t kill or ate Sophia. Just imagining gave you chills. Carol blamed Rick for leaving the girl alone while he was actually trying to save her. You couldn’t blame Carol for her reaction, but you couldn’t blame your brother either. It was not his fault, it wasn’t Sophia’s fault too.

Soon all of you went to sleep with the promise to find Sophia in the morning. You laid with Luna and Carl in the back of the Cherokee and while they slept peacefully you couldn’t dare to allow yourself to sleep… until your eyes closed and you did.

Final Note: Thanks for everyone reading, liking, reblogging and commenting, it’s really good to receive your feedback.

Taglist: @sunnybunnyy2

[lanitalay]

Before I Say Goodnight Chapter 6

a/n: this is the longest one yet and also my favorite. enjoyyyyy

Word count: 3.5k

warnings: brief mention of a toxic relationship

Other chapters

“When do we leave” 

“Tomorrow after breakfast” you were giddy with excitement. “Are we going to the Manor?” You hoped he said yes, wanting to see the exiles. “Yes, I’ll drop you off there for a day while I take care of something further south and then I’ll pick you up on my way back. How does that sound?” “A bit tame but a million times more fun than what I’m doing here” he looks at you, unimpressed. You smile sheepishly. 

You’re so excited for a change of pace that you barely register the fact that you’ll be flying with Azriel having grown accustomed to being winnowed. It’s only when he motions for you to get closer to him that your stomach drops. “You better fly steady or I’m walking” you warn as he picks you up. “I’ll do my best, y/n”. 

“Welcome back, realm traveler” Jurian greets as he opens the door to the Manor. You smile and throw your bag into his arms. He huffs, expecting a hug instead. “I just couldn’t stay away from your pretty face” finishing the sentence with a wink. He seems to appreciate the compliment, leaving to go put your bag in your room. “I better be on my way, y/n” Azriel pulls you from your scan of the Manor, nothing has changed in the two long weeks you’ve been gone. You frown “so soon? I thought you’d at least have lunch or something” he shakes his head “I need to get there as soon as possible. But listen, stay near the house, don’t go into the woods alone and if you encounter someone you don’t know, lie. About your name, where you’re from, everything. These lands are vulnerable to… intruders as of late. Present company included” he adds the jab at the end in an effort to lighten the suddenly heavy mood. He offered to bring you here to get some fresh air and a change of pace but now that he has to leave you… he doesn’t want to. So close to tumultuous Spring and villages still recovering from war with only Lucien, Jurian and Vassa to offer any protection. He pulls a small dagger that he always keeps concealed in his boot and hands it to you “keep this on you at all times, don’t hesitate to use it”. Your eyes go wide and you grab it but you don’t know how to wield a knife, not to hurt someone “I wouldn’t even know how to use it though”. “When we get back home I’ll give you some lessons but still, keep it with you” you nod, placing it between your sock and your boot. “I’ll be back tomorrow in the afternoon” he stands with his arms stiff at his back, not sure how to say goodbye, he settles for a pat on your shoulder and leaves. His shadows linger a bit and curl around your legs and arms, more affectionate than their master. “He’s so ridiculous, you are perfectly safe here” Jurian blurts as he reappears. “He’s sweet” you defend your friend “sure, sure, come on, I’m going into town. You can take Lucien’s horse” at that you smile. You haven’t been with another human except Jurian and he barely counts as human. 

The ride was fun, you managed to follow Jurian with only a few minor hiccups. Your horse  stopped to eat and when you tried to get it to move you accidentally spooked it and it tried to throw you off. But it was so much more exciting than the long days in the stuffy library. “What are we going to do?” You ask as you see smoke appear in the distance, you must be nearing the village then “oh I need to get bread, milk, meats, other foods”. We are grocery shopping, yay. 

In all fairness it was a fun outing. Jurian got everything he needed and then some. “What’s for dinner” you asked, stomach grumbling rather loudly. “Soup and bread”. That sounds divine. The human lands were still warm enough for light clothing during the day but now that the sun was setting there was a creeping cold weaving its way into the house. You go up to your room and grab a sweater from your bag. 

When you walk into the kitchen Jurian tasks you with getting firewood for the hearth. “Doesn’t Lucien usually light it?” it was dark out and you were ashamed to admit that the woods creeped you out at this time. “Does it look like Lucien is here to light it?” He’s so moody. “Fine, I’ll go” that did irk you though. You hadn’t seen Lucien or Vassa since you’d arrived. You make your way to the small shack where the firewood was stored and grabbed as many logs as you could carry, cursing at yourself for managing to get at least three splinters. “You’re new” a low voice echoed and from the fright you dropped the logs, all of them landing on your foot. “Fucking hell” you winced as you tried to put weight on it but it just caused you more pain. A low chuckle caressed your ears and fury burned in your chest. “I heard rumors about a fourth exile but as for first impressions go this has been-” a tall, a very very tall auburn haired male stepped out of the shadows and looked you up and down “underwhelming”. You pick up the wood in a haste and limp back to the house “I don’t know what you’re talking about”. Jurian could take him. I hope. I just need to get close enough to scream. “My brother has always found himself in the company of misfits” he approaches you in three easy steps and takes the wood from your hands “but adding a defenseless human to the mix is a bad move, objectively speaking. You’re a liability” Brother? You grit your teeth, patience was never your strong suit and this male was getting on your very last nerve. “Who the hell are you?” He takes a step back “Apologies, I’m Eris Vanserra” Lucien’s brother. You didn’t know the details, but his brothers had a terrible reputation in the Night Court. You continue your limp into the house and call out “Jurian you have company!” There’s panic in your voice, Azriel’s words from earlier ringing in your ears. Jurian walks out and sags when he sees Eris “Oh, hello Eris. Lucien isn’t here”. Eris places the logs in the hearth and with a flick of the wrist throws a glowing ember towards it. Soon enough the room is engulfed by the warmth of the fire. “I’ll wait then” he walks towards one of the couches and sits. “What happened to you?” Jurian looks at your weary stance “I dropped the wood on my foot”.  He rolls his eyes and you hear him muttering to himself as he walks back into the kitchen. You sit on the couch opposite of Eris, taking off your boot to see if anything was broken. You grimace when you take your sock off and see blood coming from the beat up nail on your big toe. Great, a broken toenail. You try to wiggle your toe but the pain won’t let you. And a broken toe. You look at the red haired male and scowl “this is your fault”. He raises his eyebrows “I don���t see how it’s my fault, but that looks unpleasant”. “It feels unpleasant” you sit there, unsure of what to do. It hurts to walk but you have to wash the blood off. With a deep breath you get up and limp towards the stairs “let me help you” he approaches you but you hold out your hand to stop him “you’ve done enough”. He steps away and says “I’ll get you a bucket and some cloth so you can clean that thing down here”. That would be more convenient. “If you insist” and sit back down. 

Eris returns with the first aid materials and places them in front of you then sits back down on the opposite couch. You are pleasantly surprised when you place your foot in the water and it is a nice warm temperature. You clean it up as best you can and then wrap it up with the cloth. “I hope you’re not waiting for me to thank you, this is the least you could do” he shrugs “I don’t expect anything”.  That’s when you hear footsteps approaching and soon enough Lucien and Vassa are walking through the door. “Y/n!” Vassa exclaims and walks over to you but stops as she spots the bloody water, the wrapped foot and the Autumn heir. “What happened?” Lucien asks and you tell him more or less the events of the night. “And why are you both here?” You answer “visiting” and Eris answers “we have things that need to be discussed”. 

Lucien took Eris to the library and shut the door while Vassa kept you company. “It’s so nice to see you again. How are things going with the research?” You fiddle with your sleeves “the priestesses are doing the best they can but it’s… slow”. Vassa nods “I’m sorry, and how is the Night Court treating you?” At that you perk up a bit “it’s great, they’ve really taken me in and made me feel comfortable, Azriel was the one who brought me here because I was going stir crazy in that library” she offers you a smile “I’m glad”. After dinner Lucien offered to carry you to your bed citing that “you’ll probably fall down the stairs and break your whole leg if you do it yourself”. He seemed tense after talking to Eris. 

The following morning your foot was feeling a lot better, it was pretty sore but you could walk. No longer limping around. The morning routine was the same, breakfast with the boys and then they went about their business. Azriel was supposed to pick you up later today so you had time to do something. After testing your foot out you decide that you’ll take a walk around the Manor. It was a beautiful day and by nightfall you’d be back in the mountain top castle with zero trees around. You stay on the path, remembering just how badly things ended last time you didn’t, stopping only when you saw a pond. A beautiful pond that beckoned you to swim in it. You hadn’t swam in ages. And the pond looked so inviting and refreshing after walking for who knows how long. You approach it and look around, making sure nobody is nearby. Unbuttoning the shirt you were wearing and kicking off your boots at the same time like there was no time to lose. You had to get in, you had to swim, you had to- “are you trying to kill yourself?” Frozen in place you look toward the voice. What is he doing here? “No, I was just going for a swim” Eris’ eyes look like they are about to fall from his face for a second before he composes himself again “what?” “There are about twenty different creatures that would love to have you for lunch in that pond” you look from him to the beautiful inoffensive pond. “Yeah right” you continue to unbutton your shirt. He grabs your hand, his touch surprisingly soft and warm “yes, I’m right. That pond is about a mile deep and connects to an underground cave system, it is a trap for humans like you and animals looking for water” Trap. Run. Run. Run. Suddenly feeling self conscious  of your half undressed state you begin to button up your top and mumble “if you say so”. “I do. Let me walk you back to the house” you raise an eyebrow at him “from what my brother said, you are important to the Night Court for mother knows what reason and I need to maintain my alliance with them. If you get yourself killed they will surely pin it on me and I am not having that, so let’s go. We don’t have to talk” you nod, having zero faith in your survival skills at this point. “How did you find me?” he looks to you from the corner of his eye and says “you have a very peculiar scent, and I was walking towards the Manor when I caught it”. “Thank you” he looks at your foot “glad to see the injury was short lived” and flashes you a teasing grin. “It still hurts, but it is better. Still your fault though” he stops and turns to you “I just saved your life, think we can call it even?” and holds out his hand for you to shake. You think for a moment but quickly come to the conclusion that you simply cannot afford any enemies right now so you reach for his hand. It’s nearly nightfall when Azriel arrives. You quickly say your goodbyes and jump in his arms, ready to get back to the House of Wind. The flight was pleasant and you briefly went over what happened to your foot. You didn’t bring up the pond incident or anything relating to Eris. 

When you land at the House of Wind you quickly go to your room, dying to take a bath. You go through a routine that gets more familiar everyday: picking out your pajamas, bathing, brushing your hair, brushing your teeth, picking out an outfit for the following day, looking out the window until your eyes start to feel droopy and then you look at one of the pictures on your phone for  no more than fifteen seconds and go to sleep. Everything was flowing perfectly until you went to look at the nightly picture and discovered that your phone won’t turn on. No. No. No. Not today. Not now. You could have sworn you still had ten percent before you left for the human lands, that should have lasted at least three more days. Oh god.  The familiar dryness in your throat returned, your chest felt tight and you sensed that the room was caving in on you. You walk backwards, away from your bedside table and into the dresser, knocking over a vase with the force. You catch it before it falls to the ground and then smash it against the wall. Anger and frustration taking over you. Everyday you lose a little bit more of yourself and your world. You can barely hear as your door opens and it takes a few breaths for you to focus on the figure in front of you. “What’s wrong?” Azriel. “It’s dead” it’s off putting how unemotional your tone is. “What’s dead?” He pries softly. “My phone, it’s the only thing with images of my family and friends and world and the battery died” he still doesn’t fully understand but he gently grabs your hand and leads you to the love seat in front of the wall of windows. “I would look at a picture everynight before bed and it would calm me down, give me a good memory to focus on before falling asleep. Now it's gone” he nods “is it broken?” You shake your head “no, but it ran out of battery and from what I’ve seen there is no electricity here so I can’t charge it” once you finish the sentence the tears start to pour and Azriel beckons the house for tissues.

“Tell me about it” You sniffle and furrow your brows “about what?” He offers you another tissue “your life, you’ve told me about your world but I know nothing of your life”. Oh. “Uhm, well it wasn’t much compared to all of this-” “Don’t do that” he’s serious with his tone “do what?” “Diminish yourself like that, you are the most fascinating being I’ve ever encountered and you speak of yourself like you are your own burden” you swallow, not really having a response to that “I don’t know what to say”.  “Just tell me about your life, please” you gulp and try to think of where to start “Ok so you already know I had a dog, she was the best. My furriest best friend. I’ve mentioned my parents a lot, I’m their only daughter so I grew up by myself most of the time. I really liked coloring and reading and television. We had to attend school from when we were around five until we graduated at like eighteen. Then you could go to work or continue studying, which is what I did. I went to a college in my hometown and I studied and I met a boy. His name was, or is, Mathew and we were together throughout college. At our graduation party he proposed and I said yes”. This feels ridiculous. Summarizing your brief existence with insignificant events to Azriel. A male who had conquered the darkness that imprisoned him, who had fought in wars, who had rescued people, who had lived and seen so many things you couldn’t even dream of. “My mom was ecstatic about the proposal, she loved Mathew and she wanted me to get married and have kids and start a family. But I was not that happy. I loved Mat, I really did but the thought of getting married to him made me nauseous. The thing is that he could be… cruel when he wanted to be. At first it was only when he was upset but the longer we were together he would say the meanest things to me as if they were facts I had to accept. But he was very romantic at times and everyone in my life loved him. I just didn’t have it in me to stay with him though. So I broke it off against my mother’s wishes. It broke his heart and my mothers more than it broke mine. After that I had started fighting with both of my parents. Suddenly I felt like they were trying to control my every choice and I felt like I was being suffocated. After a really bad fight I booked a flight to Europe and didn’t look back. I needed to get away from them, from Mathew, from the whole town. I needed new faces and so I had been traveling for about six months before… everything. I didn’t speak to them for months. They would ask about me to my friends and after a while I missed them so I would call every once in a while.” By now you’re a pile of tears and tissues “We had started to make amends, you know? They were learning to respect my boundaries and I was excited for the new chapter and then it all went to hell”. You huff “and the worst part is that it’s all my fault, all of this mess is only my fault. When I left the house they had insisted that I don’t go or that I bring someone with me but I wouldn’t listen. I knew they were just saying anything they could to get me to stay. And everyday I’m here I keep picturing them thinking I’m dead. Maybe they’ve grieved for me already,  maybe they think I was kidnapped and had a horrible painful death. I have aunts and uncles and cousins and friends too, I wonder what they think happened. I feel so guilty that I’m here with all of you in this magical world and they must be suffering. And it’s ironic too, I had no plans to return home until I stepped through the damn portal, I would’ve kept traveling until I found a place that felt like home and I would’ve stayed far away”.

By now there were no more tears. “I keep thinking about all of it, my upbringing and I’ve landed on the conclusion that I was just an obedient little doll for everyone in my life. Being here has been so draining emotionally but it has been the only time where I can just exist without having to seek approval from my parents or my teachers or my partner” you laugh a bit “Mat would be furious if he found out I’ve been staying in a strangers house and that to travel I have to be carried through the air by a male. But he’s not here. My mom would be so upset too. I wonder… if , or when I get back would I even want to seek them out. I think I would only do it out of sheer obligation”. Your voice was hoarse by now “I miss them though, all of them. I miss their voices and their hugs and the security of feeling at home. I think what scares me the most is forgetting about them, their smells, their laughs. The pictures kept their faces fresh in my mind but now I don’t know how long I’ll be here and…” you swallow “memories fade” you close your mouth, tired of the sound of your voice. Azriel stayed quiet too. He had no idea how to make you feel better. But he figured you would appreciate a cup of soothing tea so he asked the house. “Here” he hands you a cup, just how you like it. He walks to your bed and grabs a throw blanket and drapes it across your shoulders. Then, he sits next to you and pulls you to his side. You relish the warmth radiating from him, the autumn frost having taken over Velaris the last few days, and lean your head on his shoulder. “I don’t know about the pictures but you can tell me all the stories you don’t want to forget and I’ll remember them for you”. 

[arteastica]

early in the morning, especially when it rains, and a little before noon. (22)

erwin x fem!reader

chapters: (1) | (2) | (3) | (4) | (5) | (6) | (7) | (8) | (9) | (10) | (11) | (12) | (13) | (14) | (15) | (16) | (17) | (18) | (19) | (20) | (21) | (23) | (24) | (25) | (26) | (27)

summary: I basically took Isayama’s work, forced it into a romance story, and made Erwin the love interest. Commander meets cadet and they fall in love (not instantly though)

notes: very berry canonverse (but some events were modified to fit my narrative), wasn’t intended to be this long, but it all is in the details right?

content warnings: smut where it fits (or where I make it fit. Also, reader is NOT underage, so likewise, MINORS DO NOT INTERACT, please.) slow burn (I really mean it. I’m not olympic diving into any form of smut for the first chapters.) no angst. I dislike angst. I would never. I could never. (Although angst can be somewhat subjective so take it with a grain of salt?)

wc: 2.9k

Your lips were usually the first part of your body his greeted, but when his teeth took the tender skin of your neck between them instead, you knew that the look in his eyes wasn’t the only thing that had changed that night.

He sank his teeth into the soft flesh, a little below your jaw, and it didn’t hurt. The first night you were together he promised that would never happen, and being the upstanding, dependable Commander of the Survey Corps, you knew he was a man of his word. That’s why, even when your body was trembling against his, chest so tight it was hard for your lungs to expand, you trusted him. You trusted the warm breath on your neck that announced the path he was following, a path that led him to a specially sensitive patch of skin below your throat, where his lips started to suck on a little harder than they ever had. But then again, it didn’t hurt.

Not knowing if your lips were allowed to say as much, you ran your fingers through his hair, letting them tell him instead, in their gentle, silent way that you missed him.

A lot.

However, unsure if that was something he wanted to hear, and fearing he wouldn’t return the words, you settled for intertwining your fingers with his golden locks, head thrown back and eyes closed as you let his lips have his way with you. Lips that, by now, had traveled all the way down to your collarbones, slightly visible despite your closed shirt. And, when he nipped the delicate skin, a soft whimper escaped your lips.

A small, innocent sound that proved to be enough to make him want to bury his face between your breasts, which he promptly did after undoing the top buttons of your shirt in one single motion of his hand.

“Erwin.” You called out timidly, his name becoming a combination of pleasure and pain on your lips. Pain that wasn’t exactly physical.

On one hand, you were happy he was touching you again. You were glad to be someone he still wanted to kiss, to hold, to fuck maybe; even after you had told him you loved him. His lips on you, feasting on the tender, plump flesh of your breasts were enough confirmation that you still existed in his mind; that he still craved your body, just as much as your pussy, hungrily rubbing against the hard muscle of his thigh, told him you craved his.

Another part of you, however, was lost in uncertainty; constantly asking herself if it was all worth it. If this pleasure was worth the risk. The risk of ending up feeling used.

Because, the more he sank his teeth into you, the more you realized how impersonal it all felt, much like his voice had just moments ago. There was something you couldn’t explain, something about his kisses choosing your neck and breasts over your lips. There was something unsettling about not being able to see his eyes. It scared you. Not being able to find, in their gentle gaze, the reassurance you needed in such vulnerable, intimate state; with your heart threatening to break your ribcage, your shallow breaths suffocating you more than helping you, and your pussy throbbing even harder with every lap of his tongue against your skin. But then again, that’s how your body reacted whenever he was around.

That’s how it reacted whenever you had the warm palm of his hand under your shirt, a subtle way of announcing that the fabric had become an obstacle that needed to be disposed of soon; which he promptly did, tugging at the front so suddenly and so forcefully it left you wondering if you’d find yourself sewing the bottoms back later in your room. But honestly you didn’t care, not when his hand skillfully unclasped your bra, revealing how impatient your nipples were to become the next target of his attention.

But, when time passed passed and his tongue never showed, you looked down to find him undoing your pants, not even bothering to look up to give any sort of explanation as he pulled down your boots, before throwing everything together to the pile of fabric only your panties were yet to join.

Only, they never did.

They remained in their place, quietly waiting around your hips for their turn, the cotton desperately clinging to the wet skin between your legs. A place that was leaking with want, throbbing with desire, clenching in anticipation.

Silently crying for him.

So much so that, for a moment, you considered removing them yourself. But that was before he stood up and his midnight eyes met yours, making you understand that taking your panties off wasn’t an order your commander had given.

“Comman- ah-” You moaned when his arm found its way around your waist; his body, still fully, and rather unfairly clothed, pressed hard against your bare skin as he lifted you up like a doll. A doll he wanted sitting on his desk, her legs slightly parted, just enough so he could stand in between.

His eyes bore into yours, telling you his plans in a language you were yet to learn, and maybe it was the gelid blue of his stare, or the fact that your panties were the only item of clothing you had been allowed to keep, but you started to shiver. Unsheltered, forsaken, and uncertain. Like a toy that was brought out of the attic one last time, just so its owner could decide if they would keep it or give it away.

“I’m scared.” The words left your lips in a whisper. A whisper so feeble you were unsure he had even heard.

Yes, you were scared. Scared that he didn’t believe you. Scared that he thought you were seeing Leon behind his back, kissing him in secret corners, letting him touch you in the late hours while you called his name, a name that wasn’t your Commander’s. And most importantly, you were scared of what a misunderstanding of that magnitude could mean for the two of you. For your future together, assuming there was even as much as a future to be scared about.

“I can stop if this is not what you want.” He said, and this time his voice sounded a little like it had back then, that unforgettable night when the winter was just starting and you had his naked body hovering over yours, glistening with sweat as he promised he would never hurt you.

It all seemed so far away now.

You knew, however, that his promise remained the same, despite his eyes and the way they looked at you changing so abruptly. And like so, you shook your head promptly, not knowing what was going to happen but wanting to see it happen regardless.

But despite your consent, he didn’t move a finger, choosing to stare at you instead. With those hazy blue eyes, disorienting and mystifying in an enticing, calming way; like morning mist hovering over the mountain lake on a chilly autumn day. And you got the feeling that maybe, just maybe, if you waited long enough it would clear up. Along with all the misunderstandings separating the two of you.

Because, maybe, all you needed was to stare into each other’s eyes, let them talk to each other before your lips could complicate everything with words. Because the more you stared into the blue, the more you saw, the more you understood, and the more visible the truth became.

What was hiding under the surface, below all that fog? What wasn’t he telling you? And, why he didn’t want to tell you?

You held all those questions in the trembling hand you lifted to his cheek, finding in his stillness the courage to run a gentle thumb against his skin, which was warm and comfortable, and slowly leaning against your palm. And for a moment, you thought he would close his eyes and let you hold him like you used to, not too long ago. But if there was something about the 13th Commander of the Survey Corps, something you should be familiar with after working 8 months under him, was his unpredictability. The patterns that his thoughts followed were a mystery, and that is assuming they followed a pattern at all.

Because unpredictability was in everything he did. From the way his hunter green cloak would dance in the wind as he rode his white horse across fields of green, to the way he would lead his men and their lives into uncharted territories with a single flare of his gun, or the way he turned you around in one swift motion of his arm. Big, commanding hand flat against your back, holding you down, a whimper escaping your lips the exact moment your breasts landed on the cold, hard wood of his desk, left cheek squeezed against the papers he had just been working on; which you confirmed were indeed the reports on the new horses. And, as useless as that information seemed now, it was the only thing your eyes were allowed to see from the position you now found yourself in.

You squirmed under his hand, your naked toes barely touching the floor, the delicate clinking of trembling porcelain the only thing you could hear as you tried to adjust your position in an attempt to see him. But the only thing you managed to see from the corner of your eye was the sturdy, menacing frame silently standing behind you, observing you. And you didn’t need to see his face to know where his attention was, because his eyes were burning your skin, visually devouring the flesh between your legs, where your famished hole throbbed, greedily consuming the fabric as it stuck to your wet slit.

And a minute could have passed, or a year perhaps, before you finally heard the rattle of his belt, announcing the plans he had for you. An excited shiver ran down your spine just mere seconds before you felt his warm hand between your legs, furtively pushing your panties to the side with a flick of his finger, not even bothering to pull them down before running the thick, delicious tip of his cock up and down your slit. And something about his unhurried, leisurely movements reminded you of a wolf circling its prey before going in for the kill.

It was relaxing, in a dangerous way. Comforting in the problematic sense. So comforting that pleased hums started leaving your lips every time you exhaled. His generous, hard cock and the soft, moist tip running along your slick folds, reassuring you that he was finally there at your door, as if he had just come home after the longest of missions.

You let your eyes fall shut and your mind get flooded with all the pleasant imagery. Summer, him coming home to you after a long day at work, warm dinner served on the table much like your body was now on his desk, the pantry cabinet now standing sturdy and foursquare after you asked him to fix it; glass holding the lemonade you just prepared for him, and the peach rhubarb pie waiting respectfully in the oven as your clothes dried quietly in the backyard. A lovely repetition you wished to be stuck in for the rest of your days together.

A short lived fantasy that made your lips curve into a smile, a smile that turned into an open mouth the moment he pushed his fat cock inside, all of a sudden and without warning. All the way to the hilt. And then, just as unexpectedly, he pulled out, allowing you to taste nothing but the overwhelming emptiness for a brief second before slamming back in, harder this time, making you release a pained and very audible moan that you were certain someone, at least one person, somewhere in the castle must have heard.

“Comman- ahh-” You gasped when he pulled out again before slipping back inside, his pace growing more aggressive with every thrust. “Erwin- mmmh~”

It was so different today. He seemed so eager to claim you as his, not holding back at all when it came to the rhythm of his hips, and neither were you when it came to your moans. You heard yourself making sounds that had never come out of your mouth before.

“Erwin!” You heard yourself chant his name in notes you didn’t know you were able to reach. “A-ah!”

You were practically screaming and he didn’t seem to care if someone heard you. In fact, it was as if the louder you screamed, the deeper his dick would go as a compliment. Almost as if he was announcing, with every thrust of his hips, that you belonged to him.

As if he wanted the whole castle to know what he was doing to you, the things he was making you feel.

As if he wanted everyone, including you, to know that nobody else could fuck you like this.

As if he was belligerently asking, with every violent thrust of his hips, if a metaphorical someone could make you scream like this.

And who were you to refuse answering your commander’s questions?

“I promise I’m only yours hnngh~” You moaned as his heavy balls hit your dripping folds. “But, if you feel I’m not, then make me a-ahh~!” Your fist held the report he had been working on, now nothing but a crumpled up paper; your brow locked in a tight frown as you did your best to speak through the overwhelming pleasure. “Please, Erwin, fuck me until you feel I’m yours enough.”

And you knew he was about to do just that the moment he removed the flat palm he had been pressing against your back, and placed it on your hips instead, gripping the flesh with such force it made you think he was never going to let go. And you were completely fine with that.

His thrusts grew even more animalistic as time went on, and maybe it was the spice of the cedar desk against your nose or the vanilla of the white oak burning on the other end of the room, but it all made you think of an ax chopping wood in the middle of a forest clear, splitting it in half like a broken heart, yet oddly satisfying like gliding a hot knife through fresh butter, very early in the morning. In the kitchen of some cabin. Hidden in some faraway woods.

As he pounded into you, all you saw was the kettle and the teacup, forgotten on the opposite end of the desk, and all you heard was the rattling of the porcelain, as its contents threatened to jump out of the cup, taking excited leaps every time he thrusted into you.

“Yes, yes, just like that.” You couldn’t help but smile, feeling like a flower, starved of sunlight, after the sky finally cleared up. “Erwin, I’m yours mmmhh~” Every inch of your body belonged to him, and you wanted him to know. To know that he had complete control over every single muscle of your body, down to the smallest one. Hence why they all tensed up when his grip tightened and more desperate, filthy sounds started to leave your lips in appreciation of how deep he was. “Only yours. Do you understand?”

You asked, but didn’t really expect an answer to come out of his lips. He was so silent today, and that was fine. Because you were being vocal for the two of you. You were screaming so he didn’t have to speak, moaning so he could focus all his attention in fucking you, in sliding that fulfilling, indulgent cock of his in and out of you, over and over again.

In your office, and maybe outside too, nothing else could be heard that evening, nothing but your sweet little cries and the lewd, wet sound of his dick as it entered your tight hole, repeatedly and relentlessly. So relentlessly you soon felt it building up inside, like a cork popping out of a bottle, the foam menacingly filling the glass to the brim; like milk dangerously approaching its boiling point, threatening to spill everywhere and cause a mess.

A beautiful one.

“Yes! Please, I-I’m almost there, Erwin. Please make me c-come.” You clenched tighter against his cock, your body squirming so much his hand had to return to its former position flat against your back. “I want to come for you.” Bending you over. “All over you.” Holding you down so you wouldn’t escape. “Because of you.”

Perfection. No, even that word fell short. Artistic. No, you couldn’t arrange it prettily into words. Aromatic. Yes, you could smell it. The freshly brewed ginger, the zesty lemon, and the intoxicating sweetness of the honey. An infusion you would never be able to drink again without thinking about him. Fucking you like this. On his desk. His hand folding you over. The sky all those ambiguous colors. His heavy, velvety balls slapping against your drenched pussy, his swollen cock buried all the way down to the hilt. You. Completely vulnerable, entirely owned by him. And even though his swollen cock relentlessly pounding into you reminded you of a knife stabbing an open wound, ironically, you felt safe. Safe enough to let your eyes close and your smile widen, as you prepared to come for him.

-

next chapter

taglist: @elnyrae @mchlist @apts2000 @angelaevangelion @depitaangeline @ynackerman9499 @afatalheat @pumpkin-toffee @velouria17 @gassytritis @goddessinsweats @nube55 @jeanboyjean @crazychaoticizzy @braunsbabe @erwinawesomeness @lucifers-nipple-piercing

[melodygatesauthor]

The Dark Side of the Moon - Chapter 6: Changing Tides

Vampire Marc Spector X f!Reader

Beta Read by @xbellaxcarolinax - Masterlist - AO3

Chapter Summary

Ammit takes some time to learn more about you following your arrival to her home.

Tags/Warnings (for entire fic)

Major Tags/Warnings Major Character Death - Non-con - Dub-con - Violence Minor Tags/Warnings NSFW, smut, Khonshu is human turned vampire, Ammit is human turned vampire, sex with characters other than the main pairing (Marc X f!Unnamed Character - Khonshu X f!Reader), p in v creampie, furniture grinding, scent kink, blood kink, vampire/human relationship, blood drinking, rough sex, oral sex, coming untouched, coming in pants, panty sniffing, angst, fluff, smut, forbidden relationship, secret relationship, possessiveness, obsessiveness, Marc does NOT have DID Dead Dove Do Not Eat - This means that what you see in the tags is what you get in the fic. If you read the tags and see "non-con" and then see non-con in the fic, don't be surprised!

Word Count: 2.3k

When Khonshu told you the next day that you were traveling to Ammit’s home in the mountains, you were glad to know Marc was coming too. You wondered what normal people thought of seeing three black luxury cars, four SUVs, and a few vans with the windows all tinted, driving all in a line. You wouldn’t be able to tell, nor see their expressions, with the blindfold Khonshu made you wear during your travels. He didn’t want you or the other cattle ‘getting any ideas,’ as he liked to put it.

The days were long, and the vehicles wouldn’t stop for anything other than gas and food for the cattle before continuing their journey further north. Sleep wasn’t necessary for the majority of the travelers in your group, the ones that were tasked with driving anyway. As the temperature shifted, Khonshu dressed you in warmer clothes:socks, boots, warm coats, and skirts. He kept your neck easily accessible though…always.

Ammit’s home was larger than Khonshu’s, and she had a second home next to it where some of her servants brought you to stay. Despite the room you were staying in being more cozy, it still didn’t feel like home to you. 

Home.

It felt like a spear hit your chest. Were you really considering Khonshu’s mansion home after what felt like such a short time? It had only been a few weeks and you were already calling it home. You supposed that was probably for the best. The sooner you accepted that fact, the easier it would be for you in the long run. This was a decision you’d made after all, though the longer you were there, the more you started to wonder if there was more going on that Khonshu wasn’t telling you,especially when you overheard a conversation between him and Ammit before you turned the corner to the foyer.

“I need to be able to access her room and so do her handmaidens,” Khonshu hissed in a harsh whisper.

“I understand that, but you don’t seem to understand, Khonshu, I have young vampires that can’t handle that smell. If they catch one whiff of her she’s done. Is that really something you’re willing to–”

“Sh,” Khonshu shushed. “Cattle girl, come here,” he said softly.

On shaking legs, you walked over to Khonshu from around the corner. He was back to treating you as a mere food source, nothing more. You couldn’t say you were jealous, in fact, you were far from it. You would prefer for Khonshu to stay preoccupied with Ammit because that meant he was paying less attention to you and Marc, and you wanted to see Marc again so desperately. You couldn’t deny, however, that you enjoyed being treated like you were special, something you missed when Ammit was around.

He put a hand on your shoulder, pulling you between him and Ammit, looking intently at you. You still couldn’t look at him, the rules from his home applied there as well, and you were happy to keep your gaze on the floor. He was terrifying when he wanted to be.

“What have I told you about eavesdropping, hm?” He squeezed your shoulders as a warning.

“M-my apologies sir, I was coming around the corner and didn’t want to interrupt so thought I would wait for your conversation to conclude.” You gulped, feeling your body tremble more.

A low snicker rumbled through his frame, “you don’t want to be forced to live like the other livestock do you? They’re chained to the walls in the basement, is that what you want?”

“Oh Khonshu enough, stop threatening the poor girl. Do you really take pleasure in tormenting her so?” She laughed, pulling you from his grasp and offering you a kind smirk. “Thousands of years later and men still act this simple. Come,” she put a hand on your back, leading you away from your master.

“Ammit you can’t–”

“Oh don’t worry dear Khonshu, I won’t hurt your little dove, I know how much you treasure her.”

Ammit brought you to a bathroom unlike any you’d seen before. In the center was a large tub filled with steaming water. The room was dimly lit, save for a few candles giving it a warm glow. A few of your maidservants were in there, likely called ahead by Ammit herself. You were in need of a bath so you weren’t going to complain, but you were wary of her intentions.

“You don’t need to stand on ceremony in my presence girl, look me in the eye,” she demanded as the servants undressed you.

You covered yourself as they removed your layers, but Ammit approached you quickly, gripping your wrists and bringing them to your sides.

“Enough, do not cover yourself in my presence.”

You weren’t going to argue with her. You knew your body wasn’t really yours anymore, as Khonshu never failed to remind you. You gulped and kept her gaze. Her dark eyes ate you alive for what felt like hours until she finally cracked a smile.

“Come, get in the bath while the water is still warm,” she said, leading you with a soft hand to the tub where you stepped in gingerly.

She was right, the water was still warm, and while the baths in Khonshu’s mansion were heavenly, there was something special about this one. You felt more at ease, less tense, as though any worries you had were gone, and it was only you and Ammit left in the whole world. Even Marc left your mind for a moment as you laid back and closed your eyes. 

“Tell me sweet one,” Khonshu’s pet name coming out of her mouth forced your eyes to shoot open. She was sitting on the other side of the bathroom now on a comfortable lounge chair. “What was your life like prior to joining Khonshu?”

You looked around the bathroom, realizing now that your maidservants must’ve vacated while Ammit had you distracted. You were actually alone with her, and you felt a pit forming in your stomach. There was no telling what sort of conversations she and Khonshu might have together in private, so you decided to keep it vague.

“It was boring,” you managed to say, feeling your throat closing while her eyes stayed locked on you. “I lived in an apartment and worked at a boring job. I don’t have much else to tell ma’am.”

She grimaced, “don’t call me that, it makes me sound old.”

She let out a lighthearted chuckle so you returned the sentiment with a smirk trying to appear less awkward but failing miserably.

“What about your parents?” She inquired, pursing her lips and crossing her arms.

You got the sense that she knew something you didn’t as if she were hiding information from you. That sense of relaxation returned along with a heavy sense of trust, as though you could tell her anything with no consequences. You recalled the servants whispering about her being a spiritual being and you wondered if there was merit to the rumors you’d heard.

“I was a foster child most of my life,” you said, breathing deeply and feeling peace washing over every cell within your body. “My foster family was nice but I wasn’t exactly set up for success.”

Ammit’s face looked genuinely sympathetic for your prior situation. She was either a fantastic actor, or she was more than an emotionless creature as you’d thought her to be previously. You wondered why she was asking so many questions. If she wasn’t asking out of care for you, then why did she care to know?

“Where did you grow up?” She asked, standing and gliding across the room, keeping those eyes on you with every step.

“I grew up in a small town,” you shrugged, “not a lot of people around and I liked it that way.”

She nodded as though you’d told her some valuable information, a smirk playing across her face.

“Tell me about Khonshu, how did he find you?”

You looked down at your palms through the warm bath water, “I don’t know to be honest with you,” it felt like your entire body exhaled the breath you were holding in. “I was walking home from work and thought I was done for. It was Harrow, but at first, I thought he was some creep who had followed me home from the diner trying to hurt me. I was working late…not exactly the way I wanted to spend my twenty-second birthday…”

You thought back to that night…

Your heart was pounding as you turned, seeing the silhouette of a man approaching by the streetlamp overhead. While you didn’t live in a heavily populated area, you did live downtown, and if you screamed then surely someone would come to your aid. You remembered not wanting to make a scene though. You remembered thinking about how embarrassing it would be if you panicked and called the police only to find out it was Bob, the flower shop owner. Though Bob wouldn’t have any reason to be following you from a distance…at 10 pm…when every other night you walked home the streets were empty.

You broke out into a brisk walk, not wanting to look afraid, but also trying to add more distance between yourself and the potential assailant.

Too late.

Arthur snagged you quickly, while another man - who you now knew to be Khonshu - approached you from the other side. Harrow’s hand over your mouth forced you to be silent, but your terror would’ve kept your lips sealed regardless. Immediately an air of calm washed over you upon seeing your black-haired master. He was handsome, stoic, and his eyes were kinder than most others you’d seen. Something about him made you feel at peace.

“Little dove, you don’t need to be afraid…” he cooed, the back of his curled finger brushing against the pulse in your neck.

You remember feeling drawn to him, the gentle caress of his touch lingering on your throat long after he dropped his hand back to his side. Khonshu was smart, never pressuring you to go with him against your will, but rather spending the next several days convincing you to join him of your own accord.

How could someone turn down such a promise of luxury? Isn’t that what everyone dreamed of? You were drawn in by the guarantee of an easier life; one where you didn’t need to work so hard for your rundown studio apartment in a town full of people that didn’t care about you. A life where your every need was met, never having to wonder when you’d get your next meal, or if you’d be able to enjoy a hot shower.

You would want for nothing.

Some would call you an idiot, and maybe they were right, but you didn’t care. You weren’t going to live long doing things the way you were anyway. The way you saw it, you had nothing to lose. Even if you were walking into a trap, and Khonshu was just a weird guy ready to take you, rape you, and then beat you bloody, it was worth the risk. Besides, something about his presence alone made you feel like he was trustworthy; it was as if every word out of his mouth was dripping in honey, and you wanted a taste.

“What do I need to give you in return? You keep telling me that it’s a small price and I won’t even miss it but…I won’t agree until–”

“You will be at my beck and call whenever I’m hungry, without protest, and without question,” he answered finally, flashing a row of teeth. His sharp canines seemed to sparkle in the moonlight pouring through your window on the third night since you’d met.

“H-hungry?”

It was clear he wasn’t suggesting you work for him as a private chef.

“Yes, little dove.”

The promise of modern comforts was too much to pass up. Your blood was such a small price to pay to never worry about whether or not you’d have a bed to sleep in or clothes on your back. Besides, as long as you lived, you would produce plenty to sustain him, so there wasn't a good reason for you to keep telling him no. It helped his case that rent was due the following day and you knew you didn’t have enough to pay it.

Against your better judgment, and against everything you’d learned before about not trusting strangers, you followed him to his car, never to return to your life again.

Ammit chuckled, breaking you from your memories, and brought  you back to the bathroom where you were still cloaked in the pleasantly warm water. She walked over to you, touching your cheek softly with a comforting smile across her lips.

“Well, it sounds like Khonshu promised you a lot of things, but are you happy?”

Her question was loaded. You could sit there and ponder the meaning of the word ‘happy’ for hours, thinking about what it actually meant to you. The word was subjective, of course, meaning something different for everyone, but according to your definition of the word happy…were you?

As promised, you wanted for nothing. Every basic need a human being could have was met and met well. To some, you might even look spoiled. You should be happy, ecstatic even, but when you thought about it long enough…you weren’t.

But why?

“I know why,” Ammit’s voice once again broke your attention from your own thoughts. “There’s something you want that Khonshu won’t let you have…right?” She sighed heavily, feigning fatigue as she stood and walked to the door. “It’s sad really, if only I’d found you before he did then perhaps you could know true happiness.”

And with those heavy words she exited, leaving the door open for the maidservants to return and begin bathing you. What she was suggesting was obvious: leave Khonshu, join her, and she will let you have Marc…

Ammit will let you have Marc.

Moon Knight Masterlist

Main Masterlist

[sissylittlefeather]

This is the Story

Chapter 9

A/N: This one was fun to write. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did! Special thanks, as always, to my besties @ccab and @elvisfatass for all their help in bringing this story to life!

ICYMI: this is the one with the OC Grace Dubois, author and single mom of 6 year old Wendy. Need to catch up? Here are the links:

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Warnings: 18+ Minors DNI! Kissing, cussing, fingering, oral (both receiving), unprotected sex, creampie, also violence (fistfight) and death threat, and an asshole talking to and touching Grace in a way she doesn't want

Word count: 3kish

Still song inspo:

He can put his own feelings aside to make sure nothing happens to them.

******

"Mr. Marshall, my name is Colonel Tom Parker."

"Yeah, and who are you?"

"I'm the manager for Mr. Elvis Presley."

"Why are you calling me?"

"I'm led to believe you were once in a relationship with a woman named Grace Dubois?"

"Is this about the photograph?"

"It is indeed. Do you know your daughter is calling him 'daddy'?"

"What the fuck? Why are you telling me this?"

"I believe we may have a common goal..."

******

After a week of nothing happening, Grace begins to relax. She's still sleeping in Lisa's room with Wendy, but everyday she gets closer to apologizing to Elvis. He's been so kind to let them stay with him and despite being in the same house, she misses him desperately. Still, she knows that she hurt him with what she said, but she's not entirely sure she was wrong. What would happen when he went back to Vegas or on tour? She can't afford to take the risk that he'll fall back into his old patterns. But it doesn't change the fact that she loves him and every time they meet in the hallway she wants nothing more than to fall apart in his arms. There are several moments when it feels like they're right on the cusp of reconciliation, but something always happens to get in the way. Either he's called away or she has somewhere to be or Wendy needs her. They continue working on the book in cool cooperation, him looking at her longingly anytime she's not paying attention and her praying that this time she'll find the strength to apologize.

At the beginning of the second week, Elvis turns to Grace as she packs up her notebook. She thinks he's about to say something about the situation they're in, but he doesn't.

"I'm going to be back in the studio tonight."

"Tonight? For how long?"

"Until we finish, but it could be every night for the next few weeks. I just wanted to let you know I won't be around much."

"Oh." Then a thought occurs to her.

"But what if Richard shows up?"

"Grace, it's been a week and nothing has happened. I think you'll be okay."

"Do you want us to leave?"

"No. Of course not. I just think you'll be okay here by yourself."

"I have to go to the store tonight."

"Do you want to take Jerry with you?"

"No. I'll be okay. I just... I don't want to be here without you." She looks at him, her eyes shiny with tears. The possibility of Richard showing up isn't the only reason she wants him there. He flexes his hand in an attempt to keep from touching her face.

"I'm sorry. I have to do this album. The studio is struggling and I'm hoping by recording there I can breathe some life back into it. And we already started recording back in the summer before... I just have to finish it."

"You have to do what you have to do." She finishes packing up and walks out of the room. From the hallway, she hears him cuss and slam his fist on the desk.

Maybe it's time for them to move back to the apartment.

******

When Elvis gets to Stax, he has a moment of concern about Grace and Wendy alone at the house, but he tells himself he doesn't need to worry. She's a grown woman and everyday it seems like she needs him less and less. It might be time for him to move on with his life without her. The thought causes a lump to form in his throat, but he swallows it quickly and gets to work. The album isn't going to record itself.

******

It's almost dark when Grace and Wendy come back from their shopping trip. Grace is reluctant to go back to the big, empty house. She knows Elvis and the mafia guys have gone to the studio by now.

As she pulls up to the gate, she notices a man standing against it. That's strange, since most of Elvis's fans are female. When he approaches the car, though, her heart drops into her stomach.

"Well, well. So the rumors are true."

"What are you doing here, Richard?"

"I've come to collect what's mine." He gestures to Wendy, who looks up at him quizzically.

"Who are you?" She says it sassily.

"I'm your daddy, baby." She sneers defiantly.

"No. My daddy is Elvis Presley. I don't know who you are." He hisses and turns to Grace.

"Did you tell her that? You fucking him doesn't make him her father."

"Well, you're not either. Go home Richard."

"My name's on her birth certificate. I know you don't want me to take you to court." Grace's blood runs cold. She knew this would happen. He reaches through the open window and strokes her face.

"Come on, honey, don't you remember how good we were together? You look good."

"Stop it, Richard. Don't call me honey." She closes her eyes and wills him to go away, but he doesn't.

"I bet you let him call you honey when he fucks you." She turns to him with angry tears in her eyes. Just then, a guard comes up to the them, shiny gun on his hip.

"Is there a problem here?" Grace nods.

"Yes, please let me go through the gates and make sure he doesn't follow me." The guard nods and tries to escort Richard away from the car. He shakes the guard's hand off of him.

"Don't fucking touch me." Then he turns back to Grace as the gates open. "I'm not going anywhere, honey. I'll get what I came for, one way or another."

Grace speeds through the gates and up to the house.

"Mama, what's wrong? Who was that man?"

Grace is shaking as the tears run down her face. She turns to Wendy.

"Don't worry about him, sweetie. He's no one." Wendy nods slowly and they get out of the car, leaving the shopping on the backseat. Grace ushers Wendy upstairs to bed and goes directly to the telephone.

******

"Elvis. I'm sorry to bother you..."

"Grace, what's wrong?" He can tell by her voice that she's upset.

"Richard is here. He's at the gates and he wants Wendy. I don't know what to do." He can hear her sniffing through the phone and knows she's crying.

"Stay inside, honey, I'm coming." He hangs up the phone and turns to the guys.

"We gotta go."

"Elvis, we're right in the middle of-"

"I said we need to go. Now." Elvis rushes to the car and the guys pile in with Jerry in the front seat.

"Is it Grace?"

"Her ex is at the gates." Jerry raises his eyebrows.

"Shit."

******

Grace watches out the window for Elvis's car to pull up to the gates. When it does, he gets out of the car with the guys. She walks out the front door and down the driveway to see and hear what's about to happen.

Richard is still leaning against the gates.

"If it isn't the man himself." He says mockingly to Elvis. Grace can tell by Elvis's body language that that was the wrong thing to say to him.

"Listen here, motherfucker. You leave Grace and Wendy alone." Grace's hand goes to her throat. She's not sure how this is going to go.

"Or what?" Elvis takes two steps and grabs the front of Richard's shirt and punches him hard. When he stands back up, he swings and lands one good shot on Elvis's nose before the mafia guys swoop in to hold him. Grace gasps. She starts to tingle as she watches Elvis beat the living shit out of Richard. Her heart races and her breathing speeds up.

As Elvis continues to deck him, he yells.

"You abandoned your pregnant fiancée, Dick." He lands another hit.

"You are no kind of father." And another.

"You are no kind of man." And another.

By this point Richard is only vertical because the mafia guys are holding him, but he's not unconscious. Elvis holds his shirt again and gets frighteningly close, but he's still loud enough for Grace to hear.

"And if you ever come around Grace or Wendy ever again, I'll shoot you in the face. Do you understand me?" He nods and whimpers. Elvis throws him on the ground by his shirt front in disgust.

Grace lets out a tiny moan at the sight. Her worry for Elvis is overpowered by another, stronger experience. The scene that just played out made her blood run to her core and she needs to put her own hands on Elvis as quickly as possible.

The gates open and he walks up to her, flexing his knuckles gingerly.

"I'm sorry you had to see that, honey."

"I'm not." She whispers breathily. He smiles and throws his arm around her shoulders as they make their way up to the house together.

******

Once inside, they go to the kitchen. Elvis has a bloody nose from the one punch Richard was able to land, so Grace gets a wet towel to clean him up. She stands between his knees and gently dabs at his face with the towel. When she finishes, she lays the towel on the counter behind him, looking into his eyes deeply.

"Thank you."

"I don't think we'll be hearing from him again."

Simultaneously, he puts his hands on her hips and she leans in and presses her lips against his. He pulls back and kisses her again with his lips parted, letting his tongue slide into her mouth. She wraps her arms around his neck and pulls him in close. They stay entwined like this for a while, tongues dancing against each other and bodies pressed together.

Eventually, Elvis stands up and scoops Grace into his arms like a bride. She giggles and he carries her upstairs to the bedroom. Neither of them has to say anything to know this is what they both want.

When they get into the room, Elvis lays Grace on the bed gently. He begins to undress her slowly, kissing each part of her as he does, starting with her shoes. He slides her pants down and kisses each of her thighs.

"You have beautiful legs, honey." She smiles as he plants more kisses along her calf. He moves back up, lifting her shirt and kissing her stomach softly. Then he runs both hands up her back and pulls her shirt up over her head. She's a beautiful woman, but she's even more attractive to him because of the way he feels about her. He tries to show this in the way he kisses her neck and shoulder gently. He lifts her delicate hand to his lips, pressing soft kisses into her palm.

"I love your hands." He thinks of how they flit across the page like butterfly wings as she writes. He moves back up her arm and slides the straps of her bra off her shoulders and kisses down to her nipple. He pulls the left one into his mouth softly and then lets his lips ghost over her skin as he moves across to the other one. He continues to worship her body with his mouth as he removes her bra and panties completely. As she lays there naked in front of him, he's overwhelmed with affection for every aspect of her. The way he loves her physical body is just an expression of the love he has for the rest of her. He gently runs his fingertips from her cheek, down her neck, to her chest, and on down her hip and leg. Finally, he situates himself between her legs.

The whole time he undresses her, she revels in the tenderness of his hands, her heart thumping wildly in her chest. Her arousal grows with every kiss and she needs him more and more, but not just physically. She needs his love, his adoration, and all of him in every way.

When he presses his mouth to her center, her back arches and she moans his name softly. He licks slow circles around her clit, pressing his tongue into her slit and then licking back up to the spot that makes her wild.

"You taste so good, honey." He whispers it into her and the subtle vibration makes her crazy. He continues moving his tongue over and around her, sliding two of his long fingers into her pussy, pressing them as far in as they'll go before tickling the inside of her. She gasps and he begins to move his tongue faster over and around her clit.

"Oh god, Elvis." She moans again, throwing her head back and closing her eyes. She's just on the cusp of her orgasm and he can tell by the way she flutters around him.

"Come for me, honey." She whines as her orgasm washes over her in waves of pulsating pleasure, wetness spilling out of her as he continues to run his tongue over her clit. She puts her hand in his hair, assuming he's going to stop, but he doesn't. He just keeps right on licking and teasing her sensitive bud until it tightens again and she feels a second orgasm overtake her.

"Fuck, Elvis!" When he still doesn't stop, Grace pats the top of his head and whimpers.

"One more, honey." His speech is a little slurred from the use of his tongue, but he presses on. Grace is sweating, her hands clenching the bedspread as he refuses to give up licking, fingering, and tongue-fucking her.

Finally, she comes a third time, wetness splashing out of her this time as she moans loudly. Elvis smiles and kisses back up her body as she tries to catch her breath. He lays on the bed next to her, also breathing heavily.

She rolls over to him and, despite her shaking hands, practically rips his clothes off of him. Once he's naked, she takes his cock in her hand and strokes it gently. Then, she bends over and pulls the whole thing into her mouth.

"Fuck, Grace." He moans as she moves up and down on him. He wraps his fingers in her hair and holds it up while she drags her tongue up and down his shaft. Then, she pulls his foreskin back and makes slow circles on his sensitive head. He whimpers and throws his head back. Just when he can't stand that any longer, she pulls all of him into her mouth, pressing her nose into the hair at the base of him.

"God, Grace, if you don't stop..."

"Mhmm?" The feeling of her lips around him when she hums almost pushes him over the edge, but then she pulls off of him, sucking the tip with a small pop.

He acts like he's going to roll over on top of her, but she pushes him down on the bed.

"No."

She climbs on top of him and sinks onto his cock slowly, taking in every inch of him.

"Fuckkkk yes, honey." He groans as she begins to bounce up and down on him. After a minute of this, she switches to grinding into him, pushing him deeper and deeper inside her. She equals his relentlessness in her pursuit of his orgasm. She wants to give herself to him fully and make him come as hard as she did. He reaches up and cups her breasts with his hands as he rides him, flicking his thumbs over her nipples. Then, he moves his hands down to her hips and moves with her as she winds her body back and forth on top of him. Finally, he can't stand it anymore and he tumbles headfirst over a cliff of pleasure, cussing and shuddering and filling her with his release.

"Fuck, yes, Grace, yes." He says through gritted teeth as he comes. She leans over and rests her body on his as he wraps his arms around her. When she sits up, he pushes her hair back out of her face and looks up at her softly.

"I'm sorry-" she begins, but he puts his finger on her lips and shakes his head.

"I love you so much. I've never loved anyone like this. You have me, body and soul, honey." Her eyes fill with tears again, but this time they don't fall.

"And I'm yours, Elvis."

She lays next to him and nuzzles into his shoulder, as he leans over and kisses her forehead, both of them determined to never let anything come between them again.

******

Chapter 10 coming soon!

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Taglist:

@ccab @elvisfatass @elvisalltheway101 @ashtag6887 @aliypop @your-nanas-house @dkayfixates @everythingelvispresley @xanatenshi @returntopresley @p0lksaladannie @deniseinmn @jaqueline19997 @that-hotdog @18lkpeters @joshuntildawn13 @rjmartin11 @littlehoneyposts @epthedream69

[whatyadrawin]

The Fruit After The Flesh 18+ -Chapter 13

Minors DNI!

Masterlist

Approximately 4,979 words

Pairing: Thomas Hewitt (Headcanon) x AFAB reader

This chapters Warnings:  Sexual language and depiction of sexual acts, foul language, Image with blood (no gore). This is Slasher smut, be mindful of that and use your discretion.

A/n: I had an extremely stressful two months, very busy and not doing well. I apologize for the massive delay for this chapter, the stress gave me a massive writers block and made it exceedingly difficult to make this chapter. The censored image can be viewed raw on my google doc (By clicking that link you are consenting to seeing graphic adult imagery and you are over 18). Let me know if you want to be in the tag list. I update chapter progress on the masterlist whenever something changes.

Please enjoy this chapter! I worked very hard on it so reblogs, comments, and likes are appreciated very much.

Tag List: @fan-goddess , @artxasa , @baybaybear1 , @amour-tae , @dij-ology

Chapter 13

                The chirps of crickets echoed across a golden wheat field that swayed as it followed the winds beckoning, you slowly inhaled the fresh air and kicked your dangling feet as you sat on the fence beside the silo watching as eagles circled the sky. It was a cool day which was a nice break from the constant heat waves beating down the land; you squinted as you focused in on some menacing grey clouds in the distance, they were bloated with rain and began to roll over the horizon, a storm was sure to follow them. You hear some footsteps behind you and a long sigh followed, Luda Mae came up next to you and leaned over the fence, a dirt-stained rag in her hands.

“Looks like we better get them cows and chickens inside the barn soon, or they’ll wander off.” She looks up at you and wrinkles her eyebrows upward,

“You alright hun?” she asks.

You look down next to her and push a weak smile, “I’m still a bit shaken up but, I think I’ll be ok.”

She rubs your back and looks towards the dark clouds, “He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.” She steps away and walks off towards the chicken pen.

You smirk at Luda Mae’s seemingly random religious quote, -are we the righteous ones in this situation? I don’t feel very righteous- You hop off the fence and follow her to see if she needs help with the chickens. As you look inside you see Charlie opening up the gates to the cow stalls, he looks up at you and smiles, saying,

“Hey girly, how’s your face feelin’ ?”

You press your hand to your cheek, it’s been 6 days since Dover’s attack on the family and your face was strangely doing well, though it was still somewhat sore.

You shrug your shoulders, “Physically better… at least.”

He chuckles to himself and pulls the last gate open, “You still bothered by that shit stain dyin?”

You nod, “Well, a little… I didn’t want anybody getting hurt and… poor Thomas”. You actually felt worse about Tommy experiencing a traumatic event, and seeing him act so animalistically after didn’t help ease your mind.

Charlie walked up to you, “Dover had it comin’ kid, was nothin’ but self-defense that’s all, ain’t nothin’ to get all soft about.” He puts his hand on his hips and points at you with his other hand,

“And don’tchu worry none ‘bout Tommy, he heals up real fast, ain’t nothin’ gon take him out ‘cept maybe a got’damn freight train, n’ even then…that boy ain’t right.” Charlie looked off into the distance as he got lost in his thoughts.

But it wasn’t Tommy’s physical wellbeing you worried about, it was his mind. Charlie shook his head to snap himself out of his trance and gave your shoulder three pats,

“S’gon’ be alright sweetheart, with you ‘round, that big sentient chunk o’ meat’ll never suffer.” He smirked then walked out the other side of the barn towards the meadow.

Luda Mae came in the barn, her hair all out of place,

“Lord, those chickens are heathens. They give me such a hard time whenever I herd ‘em in the coop.” she was breathing heavily and slouched over to hold her knees in an attempt to catch her breath,

“Was Charlie in here? He needs to go help Thomas with them cows.”

You nod and tell her he went out towards the meadow just now, she stands up straight and reaches her hand out to you,

“C’mon dear, let’s get inside then, get some rest before supper. The boys’ll come in when their done.”

You take her hand and she walks with you up to the kitchen entrance, you hear some rolling thunder in the distance and the sky was already a deep grey. You stand on the porch and look out towards the meadow; you see Tommy and Charlie guiding the cows as they slowly lumbered closer to the meadow gate. Tommy looks up and see’s you, he waves and continues moving the cattle to safety. The wind was stronger now, you could see the large trees near the house tossing their branches around. As soon as you see the last cow pushed into the barn you go inside the kitchen, you shiver from the cold wind stealing your heat.

Luda Mae calls to you from the parlor, when you get there, you see her flopped lazily onto one of the armchairs,

“Come n’ take a rest hun, the boys’ll join us when they get in.” she spoke without opening her eyes, her head was leaning back and her arms dangling off the sides of the arm rests.

You sit on the love seat and slump down a bit, you felt a little cold and looked around for a throw blanket to put over your shoulders, you say to Luda Mae,

“I can’t believe how cold it’s become, I never thought I would finally feel chilly.” You were usually used to sub-zero weather back home but your body was climatizing to the heat quickly which made you feel the drop in temperature more intensely.

Luda Mae laughs, “Oh yes, sometimes it gets real cold out here. Theres a blanket behind that there pillow.” She points to the large pillow on the seat next to you.

You scoot over and find a rolled up blanket made of cotton, it was soft to the touch but had a musty smell from living behind the pillow and unused for so long -well, it’s the best I have for now I guess.- you unfurl it and drape it over your body.

Just as you started warming up, Charlie and Tommy entered the house, they both kicked off their boots haphazardly while Luda Mae rolled her eyes at their carelessness. Charlie came and sat in the other empty armchair, he let out a long groan as he bent his knees to sit. Tommy came and sat gently next to you, he lifted his arms and rested them on the back of the loveseat, you felt his hand reach down to tickle your shoulder which made you blush, he looked at you and winked then looked back at Luda Mae who sat up and began to fix her hair.

“Well seems we got a bit of a storm headin’ our way huh.” She glances at Charlie who just grunts in agreement, he lifts his head and looks at you,

“Y’cold or somethin’?” he smirks.

You nod quietly, Tommy looks down at you and tilts his head to the side as he inspects the blanket you have on, Charlie continues to speak,

“Well look what’s next to you.” He points at Tommy, “He’s a walkin’ heater, best use his warmth up.” He meets eyes with Tommy and nods in your direction, “Boy, don’t be shy now, warm the girl up fer fucks sake.”

Tommy sits up straight and grabs you, hoisting your body effortlessly onto his lap. He was so quick you didn’t even have time to react, you just sat there looking up at him as he held you in his arms; Tommy’s body heat was warming you up quickly, you wanted to curl up and purr like a cat with how comfortable you were. He placed the blanket over you and relaxed his muscles a bit, you leaned your head on his chest and closed your eyes, it was too comfortable to stay awake.

You fell asleep quickly but were still able to hear bits of conversation from the Hewitts as you dreamt, the slow heaving of Tommys chest was lulling you into a deep sleep. You mind created a scene of peace, you and the Hewitts were all gathered around a large table, your old, passed friend was there and so was Tilly. There was a large breadth of food stacked onto the table and fairy lights surrounded you all as the sun set. You watched as they all laughed and chatted together, then Charlie stood up and clinked his glass. He said some things that you didn’t hear, you turned and saw Tommy in a grooms suit, he watched Charlie and listened to the mumbled words.

You looked down at yourself and saw that you were in a wedding dress, Tommy took your hand and kissed it. He got up from his chair and wandered off into the woods, you got up and followed him calling out for him to come back. You finally caught up to him, he turns to look at you but his eyes are white and he is covered in blood breathing heavily, his mask was off revealing a mutation of large teeth sharp like a wolf.

You scream and run away from him, as he chases you, the sound of growling and rumbling could be heard. You trip on your dress and you are grabbed and roughly flipped over, its Dover, he is growling at you making you scream.

You feel shaking and wake up, still in Tommys arms, the sounds of rolling thunder coming into the house from the storm. Tommy looks at you with a worried expression, Luda Mae calls over to you,

“Were you havin’ a bad dream hun?” she is sitting upright and holding her glasses close to her eyes to see you clearly.

You rub your eyes and reply,

“Yeah, sorry, I guess I’m still getting over the Dover situation…”

Luda Mae adds, “That’s gon’ take some time to heal dear. I’m so sorry we didn’t get him dealt with sooner. We shoulda been more careful.”

You see her look down at the floor, visibly upset at your mental pain. Charlie gets up from his chair and says,

“You just need to get more confident sweetheart.” He stops and rubs his chin then adds, “You know what? Tommy should show you how t’fight! If you can learn somethin’ ‘bout fightin’ back, then you won’t be feelin’ like a victim so bad.”

You didn’t appreciate the ignorant statement about ‘feeling like a victim’ since you literally were being victimized by Dover, but you thought to yourself -he does have a point, I really don’t know how to protect myself, maybe it will give me a sense of safety- You look up at Tommy who is still looking down at you as he held you close,

“It couldn’t hurt to try. Would you be willing to teach me?”

He shifts his eyes, he was unsure about how effective he could be, and he was also crestfallen at the fact that you would even need to learn such things. He wanted to be the thing stopping any and all danger, he wanted to be a protective barrier for you. He looked back at you and nodded, despite him wanting to be your guard, he knew he wouldn’t always be around you 24/7 and that you should be able to experience strength for yourself.

Luda Mae got up off her chair and spoke,

“Now’s the perfect time to do it, what with the storm goin’ on outside, you two might as well go downstairs and practice while I start on dinner.” She walked up to Tommy and spoke under her breath, “Now you watch your strength, Thomas. Teach her good n’ fair.”

Tommy nodded to her and gently placed you off his lap and onto the seat beside him, he got up and held his hand out to you while giving a directional nod towards the basement door. You got up and took his hand, the both of you walked down to the basement together.

-

Tommy brought you into the room next to the bathroom on the right side after you get to the bottom of the stairs. This room had that creepy big furnace in it and weeds covering the small windows which made it exceptionally dark. Tommy found the light switch and flipped it on revealing the mess of junk and old furniture with storage boxes clamored around. The floor was made from old wood planks where you could see the foundation underneath, you watched as Tommy pushed away a bunch of junk to make room for you both. He unfurled a thick rug to act as a wrestling mat so you wouldn’t get hurt from the floor.

He looked at you and said,

“I dunno much, but, ah could teach ya how t’get out of some holds I s’pose” you nod and wait for instruction.

He gently puts one of his arms around your neck and holds one of your arms behind your back with his free hand. He instructs you on how to get out of it by dropping your body weight downwards to slip out of the hold. You successfully get out of the hold and he helps you up to try again. Each time you succeeded he tightened his grip. You couldn’t help but feel giddy about his massive bicep hugging your head, if it were anyone else you would be terrified but because you trusted him, it was an oddly erotic experience.

After a few more types of holds were shown to you, he then instructed you on a proper way to make a fist and how to punch with good technique. As you make a fist, he inspects the placement of your fingers and gently moves them into the correct position, you make a new fist which he inspects then gives a thumbs up.

“Now, I want ya t’punch me as hard as y’can” he gives you a serious look. You were taken aback by the request, you say,

“No way, I don’t want to hurt you!”

He starts laughing, you feel confused,

“Why are you laughing? I don’t wanna make you feel pain, even if it’s just practice.”

He looks at you, his eyes still squished upward from smiling,

“No offense er nothin’ but, I don’t think yer strong enough t’give my body pain. Which’s why I need ya t’punch me hard as ya can, so I can see what I’m workin’ with.”

You forgot how unbelievably strong this beast before you really was. You realized how silly it may have come off thinking you could even scratch him. Feeling less powerful than Tommy didn’t make you feel as scared or helpless as when you were made to feel weak from regular men, every time you mentioned to men you knew that you wanted to try self-defense, they would bombard you with demeaning words, saying ‘no woman is stronger than a man, self-defense is useless’.

Tommy was different than them, instead of trying to tear you down for trying to protect yourself, he encouraged you and helps out. He wanted you to feel powerful like him, but most importantly, he wanted you to feel safe and confident on your own.

Tommy stood up straight, rising to his full height, his head almost hitting the ceiling. He pointed at the center of his stomach and said,

“Hit here as hard as ya can.”

You widen your stance and pull back your fist then thrusting it forward using all of your muscle, the hit connected but Tommy didn’t even flinch or budge. It was like punching steel covered in a thick layer of rubber, he was built so solid it was no wonder he didn’t care how hard you hit.

He relaxed himself a little bit and put his hand to his chin,

“That was, a real good hit. If I were anyone else, that might’ve hurt. Good Job”

Tommy then tells you he wants you to try some floor holds. He moves to the floor and you follow, he mounts over your back and gently holds your arm and neck. Once again you feel excitement at his body being so close to yours, he instructs you on how to escape the hold and you succeed with each try.

The final hold you were to get out of managed to land you on top of Tommys chest, he leaned his head back and said,

“I think that’s enough learnin’ for today.”

You laugh and steady yourself on him, your legs had to spread wide to be able to straddle him for stability though your knees were still unable to reach the floor. You smile as you look into his eyes, their deep blue penetrates through the dim light of the basement. He lets out a relaxed sigh and runs his hands up your thighs to reach your hips were he gently holds onto you; You remained silent, there was nothing you could say, the trance he had over you was intoxicating.

He let out a deep hum and traced his eyes all over your form just drinking in your magnetic beauty, his mind was running rampant with primal thoughts of desire, he did well to control himself under the overwhelming pressure. Tommy felt a deep burning for you, a longing, he cherished spending time alone with you. To him, you were an oasis in a desert of torment and trauma, a glimmer of light in the dark pit of hell that is his mind.

When he tries to sit up, you press your hands into his chest and push him back down, his laugh muffled by his mask. You grin, knowing he is receptive to being a bit playful now, so you take the opportunity to make him squirm. He is holding his torso up with his arms pushing off the floor, looking up at you, it was an interesting sight to take in, you have this massive giant pinned down waiting for you to control the next move; You could feel your core heating up with the anticipation of what comes next. In an effort to torment him, you moved your hips further back so your groin lay on top of his.

His eyes changed expression, they were now half lidded and dilated, his eyebrows rolled up toward his forehead as if he were worried, but this was not worry, this was a begging plea for you to further push your salacious antics. You let your body weight press into him and sat comfortably on a dangerous area, as you gently rolled your hips in a subtle attempt to arouse him, his breath hitched and he leaned his head back closing his eyes. You looked on as he exposed his trunk-like neck, the pulsation of his heart beat was visible through his muscle; You grind your hips on him, it was a playful way to tell him what you wanted without asking, but he was too cautious and didn’t add in his own movements despite desperately wanting to.

His body couldn’t hide his desire and you quickly felt your tenderness being pressed into by a stone-like presence. He was erect to the fullest extent and you didn’t need to look down to see the pipelines length that you were seated on, you could feel it. He let out a strained sigh that ended with a barely audible whimper, you knew he was enjoying the suffering, he wanted to badly to get inside the enigma of a woman that was you, he wanted to make the walls of your femininity flitter with release. He grabbed the sides of your hips and pushed your body to continue making the wave-like motions he craved so badly, you complied and enhanced the movements to see how far you could walk the line.

He was breathing heavy and was so focused on your expression to make sure he didn’t see any winces of pain or reluctance. He could feel the intense heat from between your legs which only fueled his actions further, he watched as your face reddened with blush, he was taken with the vision in front of him; A woman so kind and unique, so perfect, was seated on top of him, his bulging manhood was a pitiful three layers of cloth away from ecstasy. He could feel himself bubbling up inside, he knew what was coming so he stopped movement, he didn’t want to let his fluid touch you unless you told him you wanted it.

You feel his hands release your hips, and he remained still, his chest still heaving and a mist of sweat formed on his skin. It was jarring to have the fun stop so abruptly but you knew there was a reason, you just didn’t know what it was.

“Everything ok?” you asked.

He lay there with his hands to his side, staring up at the ceiling, he replied,

“It’s t’much fer me. Ah feel ready t’splode.”

You suppress a grin and lean over him, resting your torso on his chest and lay your head down on him with your hands folded in front of your face, you say,

“We don’t have to go further if you aren’t ready. I’m in no rush.”

He felt badly for seemingly ruining the fun, but he didn’t know how much more he could handle, he looks up at you and adds,

“Ah dunno if I can keep m’self held down when y’mess with me”

You smile at him and run your hand through his hair, you give him some gentle words,

“When the time is right, we’ll know, and when it comes, I want you to let loose.”

You knew he was trying to warn you about what he thinks he will do, but he didn’t know you were ready and willing to experience whatever may come, even if it could put you in danger, you didn’t care, you just wanted to let go and be free and wild with him. He put his arms around you and squeezed your body into his, if this was a bear hug it could have been mistaken for a grizzly.

“I care ‘bout ya, y’know that?” his voice was deep and serious.

You put both your hands on the sides of his head and pull his face in, and say,

“I hope you know I feel the same about you.”

His eyes light up with joy and he sits up, lifting you with him, your legs still tight around his hips. Your body slid down right onto his erection which pressed into your mound with force as you sank,

“Ay Woah!“ you wince in pain.

he quickly lifted your body up off his stiffness and lowered you down behind it so you could sit on his lap.

“Ah dang sorry! Didn’t mean t’hurt y’there” he was full of concern, he briefly forgot how long he kept firm for.

You blush and let out a laugh,

“It’s ok, guess I’m gonna have to prepare for that.”

He was surprised at your reaction, he thought for sure you would be put off by his size and hardness, he was told by Charlie on numerous occasions that women were scared of ‘big dicks’ and that he’d be lucky to even graze up against a ‘kitty’. No matter what you may say to him, he was still so sure that when the time came, you would not even attempt, so he kept his hopes low and chose to just enjoy the fun while it lasted.

You look down at the thing that poked your lower region, you could see a massive bulge shooting up into his jeans. The length of it shocked you but the real surprise was how strong it was, it seemed like his pants would rip open from pressure. You couldn’t help but reach out to touch it, you place your hand on the tip and slide downward to feel its entirety. Thomas gasped but didn’t stop you, he just watched wondering what would come next.

You smirk to yourself, it felt like you were touching a metal pipe, you traversed his length again to feel how thick it was, you weren’t able to fully gauge its circumference so you put your hands on his pant zipper but stopped abruptly,

“Can I… look?” you spoke in a breathy tone.

Thomas nods slowly, you unbutton the top of his jeans and unzip the crotch, his penis bounces upward, still covered by his black boxer briefs. You gently pull him out of confinement, it was emitting a lot of heat and warms your hand as you wrap your fingers around it. The width is beyond what your single hand could grasp, your fingers had almost 3 inches of space between fingertips.

You got off his lap and sat in a kneeling position in front of him so you could better see what you were dealing with. Tommy was breathing heavily, every touch from your hands made him inhale sharply and his penis twitched with anticipation. You used both hands to feel all over his manhood, large veins trailed around the base, he had a large glans, the ‘neck’ protected by a short layer of skin which pulled back revealing the bright pink tip. You saw a bead of pre-cum already forming at the opening, with a gentle tap, you touched it and pulled back with it stretching and leaving a glimmering trail from tip to finger.

To your surprise, he didn’t have a smell, most men you interacted with had some sort of musk or skin smell to them, but he had an earthy scent to him like he was working with plants all day. This just made you want to taste him badly, you had to know what flavor his desire was, so you started to lean down towards it, you saw his eyes widen quickly but he didn’t move an inch.

You gave it a soft lick on the tip, he let out a stifled moan and his cock twitched so forcefully that you lost grip of it.

“Is this ok?” you ask earnestly.

He nods enthusiastically, so you continue your torturous licks making sure to hold firmly so he wouldn’t slip away again. The head of his penis was large and had a pronounced lip, the kind of shape capable of friction that your G-spot would feel so intensely. His shaft was almost as long as your forearm and had a hefty underside which would have weighed it down if he didn’t seem to have such strong pelvic muscles.

You felt desperate to have him inside you, his dick was not only impressive but curved slightly upwards and the curiosity of how it would feel in you was driving you wild. You could feel a slick form in your folds causing your hole to twitch in anticipation. Your licks became more aggressive until you decided to put your mouth around the tip of his cock, Tommy let out a whimper then groaned as you began to suck. The expression in his eyes was glorious, you saw his eyes roll upwards before he closed them and leaned his head back exposing his gorgeous thick neck.

You began to slowly bob your head up and down, getting as much of him inside your mouth as you could handle, you positioned your tongue underneath the base of his head to accept more inside. Tommy was now a moaning mess, every flick of your tongue or squeeze of your mouth made him louder. You could feel he was ready to cum because his penis began to pulsate and his legs tensed up.

You removed his dick from your mouth and rubbed with your hands quickly, you were excited to see how much he was capable of making. With a few more movements he clenched his teeth and grunted loudly; a bright white liquid came shooting out of him. You gasped as you watched the cum explode out of him in thick ropes, you never seen someone cum so much and so hard in your life, he quickly grabbed his cock and aimed it away from you while still groaning with his orgasm.

You were surprised how much was still flowing out, it shimmered as it seeped into the rug beneath you both, he was panting heavily as the last few spurts pushed out onto the ground before him. Once the ejaculate stopped, he flopped onto his back trying to catch his breath. You crawled up to him and lay next to him, he put his arm around you and lifted you up towards his face.

“Yer a real vixen, gettin’ me bent outta shape.”

You laugh, “You’re fun to play with”

He places you next to him and sits up putting his dick back in his pants, he turns to look at you,

“I didn’t… make a mess on ya did I?”

You shake your head and smile, he continues,

“Good. I never had no one do that t’me” he stands up, “I hope it didn’t scare ya none”

He held out his hand to help you up, you reply,

“Nope. Now I just want more”

You both hear Luda Mae call out for you both that dinner was ready, Tommy walks with you out to the stairwell leading up to the main floor. He stops you with both hands, he bends down to look you in the eyes,

“I’m gon start messin’ with y’now. Ya had yer fun, now I’m gon’ show you how it feels” His voice was a deep whisper, he kept his hands firmly on your arms and stood up straight, you give a devilish smirk,

“Ive been waiting for you to say that”

He releases his grip, and watched as you walked up the stairs with a smug swagger. He was excited to play this erotic cat and mouse game with you, now he was going to have some real fun giving you the ache of desire with nothing to do about it.

He spoke quietly to himself,

“She’s gon’ kill me”

He grins and follows up the stairs after you.

Next chapter-