#anyways so i forgot how to draw them and to gather references i obviously decided to go rewatch season 1

[bryverros]

regaining honor and eating momo… ah,,, season 1.

[smutbymia]

rule breaker (haechan bratty sub au)

WARNING: EXPLICIT CONTENT 18+ (no protection mentioned, sexual content)

Word Count: 6.4k 😯

Themes: femdom, friendship, fwb, switch, sub/dom themes, edging, replacement of the title Mistress with Princess* 

Pairing: Haechan/Lee Dong-hyuck  x Female Reader (ft. appearances from mark lee)

PLOT:  Dong-hyuck, the hyperactive and silly class clown isn’t used to following directions -- inside or outside of the bedroom. After his friend (Y/N) goes through a sudden breakup, and the discovery of a pair of handcuffs leads him to the reasoning why, he finds himself in an interesting position. He may be in for more than he expects when she offers to show him just what it was that her ex couldn’t handle. 

PS: Requests are open for fics and short blurbs

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     You absentmindedly doodled in your notebook as your teacher taught the last lesson of the day. Graduation was quickly approaching and it was clear that most other students, yourself included, had mentally checked out.

The sun poured through the massive glass windows of the classroom, putting emphasis on the speckles of dust that danced through the air and even more emphasis on the boy in the row in front of you, one desk over, who glowed under its rays. 

His tanned skin and bronze hair looked even more rich than they usually did at this time of the afternoon. With nothing else around to distract yourself with, you momentarily admired him. Lee Dong-hyuck. I mean, yes... he was certainly attractive -- but you’d hardly admit it to his face. 

“Haechan, that’s enough,” murmured the teacher, in an exasperated tone. He called the student by the nickname most of his classmates used. The name he preferred. 

The classroom was filled with a fit of giggles, coming from the students. You missed the joke. Not that you missed much. This was a typical occurrence. Hyuck was what most people would refer to as a class clown but not exactly in the traditional sense. He didn’t necessarily crack jokes, or aim for the approval of others through his form of “entertainment”. He was quick witted, and mouthy, and quite frankly a bit of an asshole but with a class this boring -- such things were greatly appreciated to lift the spirits of the students who were surely just watching the clock in hopes of the final bell ringing sooner rather than later.

Hyuck shot a quick apology back at the teacher. Mark lee, his best friend who also happened to be seated directly next to him at the desk right in front of you, pulled him into a headlock the second the teacher turned back towards the blackboard and began to ruffle his hair. The boys tried their hardest to quietly withhold their leftover laughter from whatever stupid comment was made earlier. 

“Hyung, relax!” Hyuck jokingly began, “I know you’re used to having crazy hair, but that life isn’t for me!”. He smoothed out his hair as Mark flicked him -- a punishment for his slick comment.  

“My hair isn’t crazy... its just a bit curly!” he said, trying his best to fix the dark ringlets that cascaded over his forehead. 

You reached across your desk and softly pulled at one of his curls. “Don’t listen to him Mark, your curls are seriously too cute,” you whispered as you shot him a quick wink. His cheeks flushed pink and he responded with a shy smile and quick nod of his head in your direction.

Hyuck swivelled his head around, narrowing his eyes at Mark before turning to you with an expression you were far too familiar with. The boy pouted as he leaned his elbow back onto the empty desk next to you before fluttering his eyes as he rested his cheek in the palm of his hand. 

“And what about me, Y/N?” he asked. As lovely as he looked, still glowing in the sunlight, you had no choice but to take him down a peg... but not before having some fun with the little flirt. 

“Hmm...” you sighed, narrowing your gaze as though you were thinking deeply. You brushed your hand across his exposed cheek and leaned closer to his face. The smug look on his face disappeared with each inch you eliminated between the two of you. By the time your faces were directly in front of each other, he looked a little flustered. 

You lowered your voice seductively before speaking. “I think...” you began, “you’re probably due for a haircut.” Mark chuckled under his breath after witnessing the exchange. 

Just as you thought you’d won the battle, Hyuck quickly snapped back “But then you’d have nothing to pull on, Y/N”. With your faces still close together, he dropped his gaze to your lips before licking his own. 

“Okay, gross...” murmured Mark, before turning his attention back to the teacher who was still aimlessly drawing formulas all over the chalkboard. Hyuck’s intense gaze shifted between your lips and your eyes before you decided to break the distance between the two of you. 

“In your dreams, Dong-hyuck,” you said as you leaned back into your chair, sighing deeply and rolling your eyes. He furrowed his brows, annoyed at your refusal to call him by the name everyone else used. 

“Actually, you usually call me Haechan when you’re screaming my name in my dreams...” he mumbled stubbornly before turning back around in his seat. You couldn’t help but smile to yourself, completely impressed by how nonchalantly he admitted to fantasizing about you. Typical Hyuck. 

The rest of the class passed by painfully slow. The final bell pretty much brought every student back from the dead as they jumped up, excited to start their weekends. You gathered your belongings to leave class with both Mark and Hyuck trailing behind you. 

All three of you had gone to school together for years and were considered to be pretty decent friends. Mark and Hyuck were obviously extremely close, like brothers almost, and you were once a big part of their friendship as well until you all hit puberty and the dynamic seemed to shift. Hyuck got more flirty, Mark got a little more nervous, and the time you all spent together was limited to whatever classes you coincidentally shared and conversations at parties or in passing at school. 

This was one of those moments. The three of you navigated your ways through the halls of your school as other students chattered amongst themselves about the parties happening that weekend, while emptying out their lockers for the day.

Hyuck and Mark were discussing some new album that had just been released when you reached the entrance of your school.

“Hey, isn’t that your boyfriend over there?” Hyuck asked, nudging your shoulder. 

All three of you glanced up at a boy hanging by the bottom of the staircase, speaking with a group of students. His smile dropped from his face the second he looked up and met your gaze, replacing it with an expression of... fear, almost. He quickly wrapped up his conversation and turned in the opposite direction before walking off. 

“Jeez, Y/N. What was that about?” Mark asked. 

“Yeah, he looks terrified. What did you do to him?” Hyuck began, “and where do I sign up?” He chuckled at his own remark as Mark rolled his eyes. 

The two boys turned to you waiting for a response but all they got was a shrug. This wasn’t anything new.

“Just another guy who thought he could handle me. The usual,” you stated, pulling out your phone from your pocket to scroll through the notifications. 

Hyuck and Mark both stared at you wide-eyed, not quite sure what to make of your intentionally ambiguous statement. You gracefully pushed past them, disregarding the encounter with your ex, and continued walking down the stairs. The boys fell right into step behind you.

Your mom had sent you a message, reminding you that you were going to be alone for the weekend while she went away with her new boyfriend -- for the second time this month. 

“Ugh, again?” you mumbled to yourself. Hyuck grabbed the phone out of your hand to read the message as mark peered over his shoulder. 

“You’re so lucky you have us, you know. When’s the last time we camped out at your place anyway?” he said, tilting his head while racking his brain. 

“7th grade” Mark responded, “You almost slipped off the roof when we climbed up through Y/N’s window.”

You all chuckled at the memory. You had almost forgotten just how close you all once were. The thought of being home alone for the second weekend in a row did sound boring.

Hyuck slung his arm around your shoulder as Mark fiddled with his cellphone next to the both of you as you walked your way through campus. The sun still broke through the few clouds left in the sky as students lounged around outdoors and others caught their busses home. 

“You know what you need?” he began, “A real man like me. Someone who can  protect you! Someone who can take control and --” the sound of Marks phone cut him off and quite frankly, you were thankful. 

“Oh jeez, I totally forgot that I promised Jaemin I’d help him with something tonight. Is it cool if I meet up with you guys a little later? I’ll make it just before bed, I promise!” he said, as he walked backwards, nearly stumbling over his feet as he responded to the message before breaking off into a run back towards the school entrance. 

You both shook your heads at his hasty exit. “Meet me in an hour?” Hyuck asked. You nodded in agreement before you both went your separate ways for the time being.

                              ♡━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━♡

      You were just about to step into the shower when there was a knock at your door. You descended the staircase and opened the door to Hyuck standing out front with an overnight bag in hand. 

It may have been a while but he entered your home as if it was his own, kicking off his shoes in the same place your family did and climbing his way up the stairs back towards your bedroom, mumbling about some surprise party Mark and Jaemin were planning for Jeno’s birthday.

Once you got back to the room, Hyuck dropped his bag and flopped backwards into your bed. “Ah, I can’t believe you still have those,” he said, pointing at the glow in the dark stars stuck to the ceiling before pulling out his phone to take a picture that you were certain he’d send to mark. The three of you struggled to get those up there the last time they were over. 

“I’m going to shower -- and before you ask, yes... without you,” you proclaimed. Hyuck, who had been ready to make that exact remark suddenly shut his mouth before nodding his head and returning his attention to his cellphone. 

A few moments later you returned to the room, fresh out of the shower, in a pair of lounge shorts and a white tank top that sat just at your waist. However, Hyuck was no longer on your bed where you left him. 

He had changed into some sweats but stood shirtless with his back facing you, his tanned skin and muscles emphasized by the setting sun that spilled the remainder of its golden orange light through your window. You really couldn’t help but take a brief moment to admire him. As you got closer to him, he turned around with a mischievous grin on his face. That admiration disappeared the second you realized why. 

“You know... I was wondering where those marks on your bed frame came from,” he teased as he held a pair of black handcuffs in his hands. 

“Did you SERIOUSLY go through my stuff?!” you yelled, marching across the room to retrieve the cuffs from him. He lifted them out of your reach and dangled them over your head. 

Your cheeks flushed a deep shade of pink as you jumped up, just now realizing how much taller than you he now was. 

“Y/N, now I see why your ex is so scared of you!” he joked, “Wait.. HEY!”

You had jumped up onto him, wrapping your legs around his waist. He instinctively held onto you to avoid the two of you toppling over. Your handcuffs were finally within your reach again. When the commotion settled, you realized you were still in his arms and pressed against his half naked body. As you began to lower yourself, you were met with the feeling of his erection.

 “Okay, seriously? That quickly?” you questioned, as the bulge grew against your center. Hyuck slowly put you down with a sheepish grin on his face. 

“Its not my fault you’re basically naked!” he retorted. 

“Says you! Besides this is my room,” you countered, slapping his chest. He winced in pain as he rubbed the spot that was now plastered with a faint outline of your hand. 

“Is this how rough you are during sex?” he said jokingly. You furrowed your brows, lips descending into a slight frown, suddenly self conscious about the statement. You weren’t exactly insecure about your kinks, but because they played a role in your recent breakup the topic was a bit sensitive. 

     He noticed the sudden change in your expression and sat himself on the edge of your bed before speaking again. “Hey, I was just kidding. This stuff seems hot, I just --” he began before you interrupted him. 

     “He freaked out and started acting weird, Hyuck. He acted like I was some sort of monster for even suggesting the type of sex I wanted to have. I mean, I get it’s not for everyone but he looks at me now like I’m crazy and we didn’t even try anything,” you confessed. It felt good to get the reasoning behind your breakup off your chest because you hadn’t had anyone to speak to about it yet.

He took the handcuffs from your hand before snapping them open. “Show me,” he demanded. You were taken aback by his sudden proclamation. 

“With all due respect, I don’t think you’re the right candidate for this kind of stuff,” you said, laughing at the thought of Hyuck powerless. Your laugh faded when you watched as he attached himself to your headboard, now laying there with his hands above his head. 

He looked... sexy. Your breathing increased slightly and your nipples hardened through your shirt. You were hoping Hyuck was too distracted by his positioning to notice but his eyes scanned right over your body the second you attempted to meet his gaze. 

“Wow, you must be really into this stuff...” he said, not looking away from the rise and fall of your breasts and their protruding nipples. You were too caught off guard by the sudden change in your rooms atmosphere to speak. Instead, you crawled across the bed before unlocking the handcuffs, and freeing his arms.

“Wait, I thought you were going to...” he began. 

“If you want to see what it’s like, you need to do exactly as I say,” you said in almost a whisper. He stared up at you, still laying on your bed with a surprised look on his face. Your tone had changed. He nodded, and you turned to get off the bed before rummaging through your closet for a box that Hyuck hadn’t yet found. 

You placed it on the edge of your bed and he curiously peered towards it, ready for your demonstration. You weren’t exactly sure how far this would go. You weren’t even sure if you’d end up having sex but you were curious to see how Hyuck would feel about your preferences, and you valued his opinion. 

“Stand up,” you demanded sternly. A smile danced across his face as he excitedly rushed off the bed. “Undress,” you continued. 

“Wait, for real?” he almost yelled. It dawned on you that you were actually about to potentially cross a line between your demonstration and actual sex. You backtracked slightly. 

“Um... just your pants. Keep your boxers on,” you answered. Hyuck’s face fell, clearly disappointed. He sighed and untied the waist band of his sweats before stepping out of them. 

He instinctively stepped forward to tug at the strings on your shorts, assuming that you’d both be getting undressed. You grabbed his wrist in response, with your other hand gripping at his neck. He froze, taken aback by your quick movements. 

“Did I say you could undress me?” you asked, raising your eyebrows. Hyuck was momentarily flustered before his smile broke across his face once more.

“Wow, Y/N. I didn’t think you had it in you,” he laughed, as he freed his wrist from your grasp to rope his hands around your waist. 

“First rule. You refer to me as princess,” you said, as you removed your hand from his neck and swatted his hand away from your waist. “And you seem to be having difficulty keeping your hands to yourself...” you began. 

You returned to your closet to grab a belt -- the solution to your problem. “Can you blame me? Look at you... wait what are you getting that for?” he asked, noticing the leather belt you were carrying towards him. 

“Your actions have consequences, baby. Hold out your hands,” you demanded. He narrowed his eyes at you in defiance, his mischievous smile returning. “I won’t ask you again. Hold out your hands Hyuck,” you repeated. This was already getting exhausting. You knew he’d be a handful but you didn’t expect it to start this early. 

He finally complied, and you fastened the belt around his wrists, tugging at it to make sure that it was secure enough.

“Okay Y/N, what’s next?” he asked.  The look on your face was telling. He knew almost instantly that he had made a mistake and was quick to correct himself, “I- I mean princess,” he stuttered.

“Good, you’re learning. On your knees,” you ordered. He dropped to his knees almost immediately. You sat down on the bed with Hyuck facing you, pausing to stroke his cheek as you examined his face. He looked so beautiful on his knees in front of you like that, even though it took him so long. You could feel yourself getting turned on again at the sight of him in yet another submissive position. 

You took another moment to trail your eyes down his body, pausing at the large erection bulging out of his boxers. “Have you been turned on this entire time, baby?” you asked, still stroking his face. He nodded. 

“Please use your words, Hyuck,” you urged. 

“Yes, princess,” he said calmly. 

“You’ve already given me such a hard time. You like breaking rules don’t you?” you asked him. You had leaned forward to meet him at eye level, your faces centimetres from one another. Your every breath danced against his lips, and his against yours. 

“Yes, princess,” he admitted. 

“If you break the rules, you’ll get punished. I won’t go easy on you, especially if you do it on purpose. Do you understand me?” you said, no gripping his face. 

“Y-yes princess,” he stammered. 

“Undress me,” you ordered. He began to lift himself off his knees before you reached out and pushed him back down towards the floor. A brief look of confusion crossed his face as he looked down at his bound hands. 

“Use your teeth, baby,” you urged. You began by lifting one of your feet towards him. He peeled off your sock before doing the same on the other foot. 

You helped him up to his feet and he proceeded to hook his teeth around one of the straps of your tank top, followed by the other. He struggled slightly but eventually pulled the top down the length of your body, leaving you topless.

He stared at your bare chest, nipples erect, and stepped closer to you with a look of hunger in his eyes. “Keep going,” you demanded. He seemed to snap out of his trance as he glanced back up to meet your gaze. There was a familiar look in his eyes. A look that always came before trouble. 

Hyuck lowered himself to his knees as slowly as he possibly could, blowing air across your nipples, across your chest, and down your tummy. The sensation sent shivers down your body. You didn’t bother stopping him. It felt good. He’d be getting punished for it later anyway. 

As he reached the waistband of your shorts, he untied them with his teeth before dragging them down the length of your legs, followed by your panties. When he was done, he peered up at your naked body. 

“Fuck,” he murmured to himself. His gaze took in every inch of you. “You’re so beautiful, princess.”

Your heart fluttered at his statement. You sat back at the edge of the bed, and he instinctively returned to his position directly in front of you, like an obedient sub. 

“Hyuck, listen. Before we continue, we need to establish a safe word. If you feel uncomfortable, say sunset and i’ll stop whatever i’m doing,” you said. “Yes, princess,” he responded almost immediately, “but i think i’ll be able to handle it.” He flashed a quick wink before running his eyes back over your body again, this time biting his bottom lip between his teeth. 

“I’m serious. I’m not going to go easy on you. Especially since you’ve been such a brat so far,” you said. You slowly spread your legs then reached out and grabbed him by his hair before pulling him towards you. 

Hyuck wasted no time diving towards your heat faster than you even directed him, mouth agape. You had to pull his head back before he could make contact with your skin, no matter how badly you wanted it. 

“Don’t be so eager, baby. Wait for your directions,” you reminded him. You held him centimetres away from your slit by his hair. “Stick your tongue out for me,” you ordered. He quickly complied. You brought him closer to your center and the second he met your hot flesh, he licked the entire length of it. 

You groaned in response at the sudden contact before forcing his head backward. You had to stay in control. No matter how good it felt. 

“I- I didn’t tell you to move your tongue,” you stammered. Your breathing had increased and your chest was now quickly rising and falling. 

“Stick your tongue out. I’m going to ride your face. And you aren’t going to move your tongue until I say you can. Do you understand, baby?” you asked, still out of breath. 

Hyuck groaned, his erection desperately forcing itself against the fabric of his boxer briefs. “Yes, princess. I understand,” he responded, before resuming his position. 

You brought his head back into position, once again moaning at the sudden contact. This time Hyuck followed his orders and remained still. You slowly began rocking your hips back and forth against his tongue. 

“Oh, yes baby. Fuck... You’re doing so well,” you praised. Your other hand reached up to massage your breasts, still moving rhythmically against Hyuck’s face. He stared up at you, wide eyed, admiring the expressions of pleasure on your face. He looked at you like you were the most beautiful thing in the world and it turned you on even more. 

With one hand still wrapped in his hair, you applied more pressure to yourself feeling his tongue slip through your folds as you gyrated your hips faster. His nose brushed up against your clit with every stroke and the higher you raised your hips, the deeper his tongue dove into your entrance. You watched as your juices covered his chin, soaking the entire bottom half of his face. 

“Dong-Hyuck... you- you look so pretty. Like an angel,” you began. It wasn’t like you to shower a sub with so much affection but you couldn’t help it this time. He groaned in response. The sensation increased your pleasure as his mouth vibrated. 

“Do you want me to cum on your face like this?” you asked, getting closer to your orgasm. “I’m so close baby,” you moaned. He groaned once more in response sending the vibrations back through your body, this time shutting his eyes. 

“Fuck me with your tongue. I need you to look me in the eyes while you do it,” you ordered. Hyuck followed your orders, meeting your gaze once more as he altered the angle of his tongue to better penetrate your hole. With your fingers intertwined in his hair, you forced his tongue in and out of yourself. Your free hand dropped from your chest as you began to draw circles on your clit. 

You felt the tension building up inside you. You momentarily threw your head back, enjoying the stimulation -- beads of sweat dripping down the sides of your forehead. One last look at the boy between your legs was all it took to send you over the edge as you reached your climax. It was beyond any orgasm you had ever reached before. You could feel your legs shake as the rest of your body convulsed. Still savouring every last moment, you continued to jerk yourself over Hyuck’s face, body shivering at the overstimulation, before falling back onto your bed. 

The room was filled with gasps from both you and Hyuck, as you attempted to slowed your heart rate and as he caught his breath. After a few minutes, you lifted yourself back up. Hyuck sat there still, gazing curiously at you. He was taken aback by your intense orgasm.

“Are you okay, Princess?” he quietly asked. You must have been laying there longer than you thought. You nodded. His face was still covered in your juices when you got up to grab a towel before kneeling down to him and wiping his chin. 

He watched you, attempting to read your face while you cleaned him up. As you shifted your position to get closer to him your knee brushed against his erection. He winced in pain. The poor baby had been turned on for quite some time now and he shifted his thighs looking for some relief. 

You discarded the towel before motioning for Hyuck to stand. Once he was back up on his feet again, you stripped him of his remaining piece of clothing. 

His erection sprang free from his boxers, nearly hitting you in the face due to your proximity. This time, it was you who was on their knees in front of Hyuck. He looked down at you with an equally pained and eager expression on his face, waiting for your next move. 

“Wow, Hyuck. I didn’t expect you to be this big,” you cooed, as you dragged your fingernails over his length. He shutter in response, moaning under his breath. 

“Did it turn you on when I used your face like that?” you asked, gazing up at him seductively. He shifted his footing before responding. 

“Yes princess, of course,” he said. He reached down, arms still bound by your leather belt, towards his cock. You stopped him immediately. 

“You don’t get to touch yourself. And you don’t get to cum until I say you do, understood?” you ordered. Hyuck groaned in response, clearly frustrated at the predicament he was in. 

Your hands circled around his base as you gripped him. He let out a deep moan and threw his head back, nearly losing his footing. He was so turned on, every touch seemed to numb his senses. You began slowly pumping up and down his length, watching his legs shake. A bead of pre-cum, escaped from his tip as his pleasure increased. Knowing it would push him over the edge, with a quick swipe of your tongue, you tasted him. 

“Y/N... babe, please...” he whined. “I need to come,” he pleaded. 

“You’re breaking a lot of rules, Hyuck. And you know what happens when you break rules right?” you warned.“I get punished,” he responded. 

“So you do know better, after all,” you said, releasing him from your grip. He groaned at the loss of contact. Feeling defeated. You watched as he hung his head, eyes closed. You almost felt bad but you warned him that you wouldn’t go easy on him. 

You motioned for him to lay on the bed and he did. You removed the belt from around his wrists, softly rubbing at the red marks it left behind. Hyuck looked exhausted. 

You raised his arms up and fastened him back to the headboard with the handcuffs he had place himself in before. He complied without complaints. You crawled across the bed to retrieve a black silk blindfold from the box you had brought out earlier. 

Hyuck peered over your shoulder, trying to spot the other objects inside but gave up quickly, overestimating the amount of energy he had left. His head feel back against the pillows on your bed as he awaited his fate. 

You straddled him, with his erection pressing gently against your ass causing him to stir and groan beneath you. Once the blindfold was secure, you directed your attention back towards his erection, once again pumping at his length. 

Hyuck’s body jerked in response to your touch as he raised his hips up, trying to thrust into your hand before you pushed him back into place. “Don’t be fussy. Hold still or else this will take longer than it needs to,” you warned. 

He was breathing deeply now, as more beads of cum gathered at his tip. He was trying his best not to release himself but you could tell he was close. Covering his eyes had probably increased his senses, but it also seemed to calm him down a bit more. You made a mental note of it for next time. 

You froze as you caught yourself absentmindedly thinking about having sex with Hyuck like this again. He groaned again, disappointed at the halt in your strokes. This had been the second or third time you had stopped. 

You had been edging him all this time without realizing and you knew he was nearing his limit. You took the opportunity to lick along base of his cock all the way back up to the tip. He shivered and let out his loudest moan yet. 

“F-fuck. P-please, do that again,” he pleaded. You sunk your mouth over the tip of his throbbing erection and his head fell back onto the pillow. He moaned your name as you slowly took every inch of him into your mouth, feeling the tip brush against your throat. 

Hyuck muttered every curse word he knew, along with a couple of dirty phrases that you didn’t expect to hear. He even moaned your name, which should have warranted another punishment if it hadn’t sounded so fucking amazing falling from his parted lips. Still you couldn’t allow him to speak so freely. 

You removed yourself from his length which generated yet another groan from Hyuck. You sat quietly by his side for a moment, watching his chest rise and fall and a single tear slide down one of his cheeks before picking up the discarded pair of panties he had taken off of you earlier and balling them up in your firsts. 

“You’re too loud baby. I need to fix that. Open your mouth for me,” you cooed as you ran your free hand across his chest. Hyuck whimpered before opening up his mouth. You placed the undies inside carefully. This was it. This was the image you’d have imprinted in your mind forever. The image of Hyuck cuffed and blindfolded to your bed with your panties in his mouth. You couldn’t help but lower your hands to touch yourself. You slipped a finger into your entrance, quietly moaning. 

It took Hyuck a moment to realize what you were doing. it wasn’t until the sounds of you fucking yourself increased that he let out a knowing moan and began pulling at the handcuffs. 

Wetness seeped out of you when you straddled his hips, hovering over his erection. You positioned him at your entrance before slowly sinking down onto him. He let out a deep muffled growl in response and immediately started to thrust himself up into you, hitting your sweet spot. 

“Oh my goodness, Hyuck...” you gasped, with each thrust. You shouldn’t have been letting him move so much. As each stroke became more frantic, you used every ounce of your will power to pull yourself off of him once more. 

This time Hyuck protested even more. He yanked at the handcuffs, rattling the bed frame. You knew you were torturing him at this point. He still hadn’t used the safe word yet but you knew he was at his limit. You reached towards his blindfold first, removing it from his eyes. His eyelids where low but he still shifted his gaze to meet yours. You pulled the panties from his mouth and reached up to free him of his hand cuffs. 

“What are you doing?” he asked in a quiet tone. 

“Sunset,” you whispered. His face twisted in confusion. 

“Huh? But I d-didn’t say it,” he responded.

“I know, baby, But I did. I can’t take it anymore,” you confessed.

“Can I?” his voice trailed off as he moved his hands towards you, hovering them over your skin asking for permission to touch you, as if the rules still applied. He was so well behaved -- the complete opposite from how he was when you first began. You nodded and he let out a sigh of relief as his hands traced the outline of your body, first moving up your arms before gliding over your breasts. 

He delicately ran his fingers over your nipples and then back down your stomach again. He paused at your hips before snaking his hands around you to grip your ass, sighing as though he had been waiting his whole life to do so. 

The pressure was building back up for you both. His erection still hadn’t disappeared and you were shocked he had held off for so long. You reached down as he watched you position yourself to sink down onto him once more before he stopped you. 

“You’re not in charge anymore are you?” he asked, eyes going dark. His demeanour had changed but he still was taking heavy breaths, yearning for his own release. 

“Technically...no,” you hesitantly responded. 

“Good,” Hyuck stated, as he propped himself up on the bed. Within seconds he had repositioned you. Your arms were pressed against your bed frame, as you arched your back. He wanted you from behind. Hyuck wasn’t patient as he placed one of his arms next to yours to steady himself and the other around the base of his cock. 

He thrusted into you, drawing a loud moan from your lips. He wrapped his free arm around you, applying pressure to the lower part of your stomach as he disappeared into you over and over again. 

Your breasts bounced with every stroke. He pulled your hips towards himself, burying himself as deeply into you as he possibly could. 

“I’ve been waiting so long to do this to you,” he groaned into your ear before capturing a lobe between his teeth. The sensation sent tingles down your spine. He proceeded to drop kisses down your neck, marking you, as you approached your orgasm. He quickened his pace, the sound of slapping flesh filling the room. You could feel him throbbing inside you, so incredibly close to his release. 

“Fuck, i- I can’t hold it any longer!” he exclaimed. He reached his free hand down between your legs before rubbing circles onto your clit while thrusting into you. 

“H-Haechan,” you moaned. It was the first time you had ever used his nickname and it was just enough to send him over the edge. 

“Y/N.. baby.. fuck,” he stammered. Your orgasm coursed through you as you felt him fill your insides with his cum. His body went still for a second before he collapsed onto your back, heavily breathing and unable to hold up his own weight. 

Haechan gasped for air as you moved from under him, laying him gently on the bed. Beads of sweat were scattered across his face. Before he could regain his composure, you slipped out of bed to clean yourself up. Minutes later, you returned in a new set of pyjamas and a few other items. Haechan’s eyes shot open as you ran a hot towel over his body, cleaning him up. He simply stared up at you, not moving or saying a word as you took care of him. You rubbed oil onto his wrists, massaging over the red indentations the belt and handcuffs left behind, before massaging his knees as well.

When you were done, you pulled him into your chest and bundled him up under your bedsheets. The two of you didn’t move for what felt like ages. After some time had passed, Haechan had slipped out of bed to put on a new change of clothes. You took the opportunity to grab some water and fruit from the kitchen before you both sat next to each other again, aimlessly chatting as you always did. Things had changed between you two. He brushed your hair out of your face as always, but this time his touches lingered more. He playfully licked the juices off your fingers as you fed him fruit, but still teased you as he typically would. He even stopped to sprinkle your face with kisses before capturing your lips with his own. Neither of you really knew what this meant for your relationship but that wasn’t a conversation that needed to happen now anyway. 

As you giggled with each other, picking at what was left over the fruits, you both fell silent as you heard footsteps on your staircase. 

Marks head popped into your doorway seconds later. “Hey, you idiots didn’t even lock the door, and what happened to your phones I’ve been trying to call you for the past hour!” he complained, dropping his bag next to Hyuck’s. 

“Hyung!” Haechan proclaimed, still taken aback by Marks sudden entrance. 

“Don’t hyung me, what the hell have you guys been --” marks voice trailed off as his eyes zeroed in on the headboard. 

“Yo Y/N, what did you do to your bed... wait,” his voiced trailed off once more as his eyes dropped to the marks on Haechan’s wrists. He tried to cover them up with his sleeves but was too late. 

“Holy shit, you let her use those handcuffs that you showed me on you? WAIT... What the fuck happened here?” he exclaimed, jumping off the bed in shock. 

You and Haechan burst into a fit of laughter at Mark, who looked equally horrified and disgusted. His cheeks were blushing bright red, and the warmth had reached his ears too. 

“You guys are gross, you know that...” he muttered, pulling the plate of fruits away from you both, trying his hardest not to touch the bed. 

Moments later, Marks words registered in your head and soon enough you were pushing Haechan off of the bed and onto the floor to join his best friend.

“I can’t believe you sent him a picture of the handcuffs too! You idiot!” you yelled. 

“It was BEFORE we used them!” he responded. The three of you laughed and bickered back and forth as the sun finally set. 

♡━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━♡

final words: wow this one was a bit tough to write. Haechan is a mischievous little thing in this fic and in real life too but I still couldn’t handle the thought of him suffering too much. He’ll always make me soft no matter what 🥺 also Mark was supposed to have a smaller part in this but he just fit so well I even had to put him in the opening gif! please leave your thoughts/comments or feel free to give any criticism so I can correct anything that may be insensitive/inaccurate in my fics. Thank you!

[northofsomewhererp]

Your Name, Age (17+), & Timezone: Meg, too old, EDT

Zephyrine Oriana Bowie turned 17 years old on March 14th. She’s a junior at Greensville High School. Her faceclaim is Billie Eilish.

Bio:

As a lover of all things strange, you could guess that Zephyrine Bowie tends to stand out in a crowd. From her peculiar fashion sense down to her creepy obsession with the dead, she was never one to fit in.

When Mélissandre Thibert, her biological mother, passed away due to some post-birth complications, no one really knew what to do with the little girl. Her father was a one night stand: he’d never even pretended that he’d be a part of that child’s life, and Mélissandre didn’t expect him to be, either. Her life had been on a steady decline: she lost her job, was battling addiction and had just gotten dumped by whom she thought to be the love of her life. In some ways, Zephyrine was her saving grace, her one reason to try and get better. And for a while, it worked. But ultimately, she was in too poor a condition previously to be salvaged by 9 months of self-care.

When it all came down to it, the only person who stepped up to the task and wanted that child was Makani Bowie. He’d been a pen-pal of Mélissandre’s for nearly 10 years now, and although they hadn’t met more than 5 times, they made sure to talk every day and video chat weekly. It was nothing if not platonic, but nonetheless he was all she had left. With him residing in America and little Zephyrine being in France, it wasn’t an easy task. But after a long, strenuous process, he was finally able to adopt the little girl and bring her back to his home, in Greensville. Makani’s mother often referred to her as a demon, recalled seeing something ‘wicked’ in the little girl’s eyes the moment she was first brought into the family. Eff grew up alone with Makani and his son, Lazarus. Even without a mother, she never lacked anything: she’s forever grateful for that.

In elementary school, Bowie started to display an explosive character. She didn’t have a good relationship with her classmates. From the get-go, she was an easy target for kids to pick on. It didn’t help that at any given chances, Zephyrine would go on about how she believed in fairies, mystical creatures and witchcraft. But in all honesty, she couldn’t give a flying fuck about what others thought of her, she liked to embrace who she was and her beliefs. What were these kids to her anyway but mere classmates? When they started to spread vile rumors about her and her family, she started to lash out at them. Especially at girls. She’d decapitate their dolls and pick up fights. Pull, scratch and bite. During this time, she often found herself in the principal’s or the counselor’s office, and this carried on into her high school career. Needless to say she didn’t have many friends, still doesn’t. But she likes it that way. Now a junior in high school, it seems as if most of the kids she went to elementary with forgot about her. In fact, it was during the summer before her freshman year that her appearance took a drastic turn and she’s basically unrecognizable anymore. Zephyrine started getting inked and dyed her hair all sorts of fantasy colors. Her peculiar sense of fashion draws attention, but the good one this time. Eff is usually quiet, for the simple reason that she prefers discussing with the dead rather than the living. Yet she’s not afraid to speak her mind. It comes pouring out of her without any effort. In that sense, she’s incredibly blunt and lacks a filter. Some have called her rude, but she doesn’t care. Regardless, Bowie is a very smart and articulate young lady. What most people admire about her is obviously her open-mindedness. She’s also a big fan of DIY projects and any sort of crafts, which makes her somewhat resourceful. She’s someone that although you may need some time getting in their good books, once you’re in her circle you can always count on her.

Activity (1-10): 5

Have you read the rules?: removed

In the event that you leave, can we keep your biography for future use? *grabs zephyrine* no she my baby

Any comments/questions?: no thank u ♥

Sample( 2+ paragraphs):

Night had always been Zephyrine’s favorite time of day for as long as she could remember. The starry sky, chilly breeze and complete silence were only a few things she enjoyed. But tonight, she found herself in a totally opposite setting.

When her brother, Lazarus, asked her to tag along to a gathering on the beach, Zephyrine didn’t think twice about it. Their Meemaw was coming over, and no opportunity to be as far away from the woman as possible were taken for granted. What she hadn’t taken into consideration when blindly accepting was the amount of people that would actually attend, or how Laz was bound to dump her to go french some random person at some point in the night.

Zephyrine’s currently sitting in front of the bonfire, throwing anything she can find into the flame and watching it burn. She hasn’t spoken to a single soul, and Lazarus, of course, is nowhere in sight. It wouldn’t be as bad if the bonfire wasn’t surrounded by couples practically fucking right then and there. She hadn’t expected this big a turnout, and the crowd was starting to make her feel antsy. Throwing one last empty can of beer into the fire, Bowie decides to get up and head towards the shore.

The further away she gets from the crowd, the lighter her steps feel. It’s not that she was afraid of people, not at all. She was just very picky with people she allowed close to her. Eff held everyone to a higher standard due to past hurt, which made getting close to her very difficult. And Lazarus’ friends? They definitely weren’t her type. Funny how her brother was the person she got along with best, but his choice in friends was so poor. When she reaches the shoreline, Zephyrine crouches down and drags her finger against the damp sand. She isn’t drawing anything in particular, just letting her hands wander around and she finds herself way more entertained than she’d been the entire night. That is, before someone pulls her out from her bubble.

“Boo!” Lazarus startles his sister, bursting into laughs when she topples over face first into an incoming wave. Now drenched in ice cold water, Eff wipes a hand down her face.

“You motherfucker!” she exclaims, springing up into action and staring at him with wide eyes. She tries so hard to keep her angry act, but a smile can’t help to pull at the corner of her lips. This just amuses Laz further.

“I didn’t think you were so fucking clumsy, chill out Eff”, he rolls his eyes, and that earns him a hard shove from his sister. He stumbles but his feet remain planted into the ground. “Nice try, sissy.”

“Yeah, yeah, whatever. I’m gonna catch a cold because of your dumb ass”, Bowie sighs. She grabs a handful of her hair and twists it so drain the water out. A slight rustling sound catches her attention and when she looks up, Lazarus is draping his jacket over her shoulders.

“Here. Are you having fun? Except the possible hypothermia, I mean”, he asks with a sheepish smile. He picks up a beer bottle, presumably his, and takes a long swig as he awaits her answer.

“Are you seriously asking me this, Laz?” Zephyrine retorts. “I thought you knew me better than that, wow”, she puts a hand over her heart, dramatizing the situation and that manages to make her brother chuckle.

“I know you’re dying on the inside, sue me for being hopeful. Y’wanna go home, then?”

“Your unbuttoned shirt and raw lips tell me you don’t”, she crosses her arms over her chest, an eyebrow quirking up as she eyes him from head to toe.

“Ah, shut the fuck up. It’s a party, what did you expect?” Lazarus counterattacks, visibly taken aback by the comment, flustered even.

“For you not to dip your dick in the first chick you see, maybe?”

“To be fair, I dipped it.. but in her mou-”

“Ah ah! Stop talking, TMI, Laz… TMI!” the girl interrupts him, nose wrinkled in disgust.

“Fine, okay. Still doesn’t answer my question. You wanna go?” Zephyrine bites her lip, avoiding his gaze as she shrugs. “Zephyrine…” he warns, and that makes her snap her head up to finally look at him.

“…yeah, this sucks. And I’m cold. I just know you’re having fun and I don’t wanna force you to leave. But if Dad picks me up, then Meemaw’s gonna-”

“Zephyrine, calm down, it’s okay. This is getting boring, anyway. We ran out of beer, I’m good with leaving”, he reassures her, stepping closer and pulling her into a hug. He sways them from side to side, purposefully making them tip over as if to almost fall, but he catches them back every single time. They both laugh in unison, and that’s the first real laugh Effy let out tonight. Lazarus moves back only enough to look at her. “Even if I didn’t wanna leave, I’d leave for you”, he presses a soft kiss to her forehead, but she pushes him away.

“Gross, you’re drunk”, she states as she wipes away the spot on her forehead he’d kissed.

“Maybe I am, so what?”

“Don’t kiss me, period. Especially not when you ate pussy, you reek of it!” That comment makes Lazarus burst into giggles, almost falling over his sister. “God, you’re done, let’s go”, she wraps an arm around his waist and starts walking away.

A comfortable silence settles between them, and that’s something she always appreciated from her brother. There wasn’t a need for small talk, they could just revel in each other’s presence without a word spoken. And so, the entire walk home was spent without a word being exchanged. Zephyrine was cold, slightly buzzed and tired, but as they strolled through Greensville together, she couldn’t help but think maybe this night wasn’t so bad after all.

[manascoundrel]

Trophy- Chapter 10

by Yarking Fandom: Dragon Age (general) Summery: Two troubled children meet at the Minrathous Circle. One is a magister’s heir, groomed to be the blood mage general of Seheron, without fear or mercy. Hopefully, that will keep people from noticing how very much an elf he is. The other is last born, least loved and most of his emotions involve academics and cadavers. They love each other, even if they’re not terribly good at it. Warnings for this chapter: references to past trauma (non-graphic), violence (non-graphic) Special thanks beta, Autumn <3 AO3: here 

"So, what do you want to do?"

Tertius paused where he was sitting, sliding off his boots and into the little cubby holes lining the wall of the bathing rooms. He was having such a good time having a friend that he had quite nearly begged to come with Cato the the baths, and Cato welcomed him eagerly. It occured to him only when they arrived that Cato was still preparing for the swarm of the apprentices who had last abducted him. They arrived at the room with the running pool, and Cato scanned the few other apprentices already there with sharp eyes. If that was the case, Tertius decided, then he was more than happy to come with him. No one would bother harassing Tertius- it was hardly worth the effort- so if things went wrong he could run to fetch a patrolling prefect.

"What do you mean?"

"Like, a job. If you aren't going to be a magister."

"Oh. My job's to not be an embarrassment," Tertius said.

Cato snorted. "I'm serious."

"So am I?"

"Oh... well, do you want to have another job?" Cato asked, obviously a bit unprepared for Tertius' candid answer. That was his only duty: 'Don't get into trouble'. Tertius didn't blame Cato for not understanding; his eldest brother Cyprian probably didn't realize what Palermo and Tertius were expected to do either, and they were brothers.

But now it was time for Tertius to be unprepared. "I... don't know. I hadn't ever thought about it. I forgot that I was supposed to do something."

"Yeah? Well, you might not be a magister, but that just means you get to have a lot of free time to pick something else to do. That's pretty nice, at least."

"I suppose," Tertius said, gathering his underrobe over his head and rolling it up with his robes. "How am I supposed to pick, though?"

"Dunno," Cato admitted. Tertius sighed, stuffing his clothes into one of the cubbies. He wouldn't know. He gets to be a magister. "What do you like to do, though? I should know; that's definitely best friend stuff."

"That's true," Tertius agreed. Now that he had a friend, he ought to do it proper. "I like... horses. And drawing. I'm good at drawing. Uh... I like red, but I don't think you can make up a job out of liking the color red. I like inside stuff."

"Inside stuff?" Cato asked, stuffing his own clothes into a cubby next to Tertius'.

"You know, stuff inside you," Tertius explained. When Cato's head tilted in confusion, he remembered seeing the illustration of inside the cat for the first time and realized he had to clarify further. "Things like bones and organs."

"Organs?" Cato wondered.

Tertius motioned over his bare belly in a sweeping gesture. "Yeah, organs. Like the stomach and the kidneys and the liver and stuff."

"Oh, entrails!" Cato said emphatically. His comprehension seemed to click. "Guts and stuff!"

"Yeah, but guts are here," Tertius explain, pointing below where his stomach would have been in the pictures he looked at. "And I like stuff all over, like up here with the lungs and-"

"And the heart? Is the heart an organ?"

"Yeah, like that. You got it!"

Cato's head tipped back thoughtfully. "Huh. That's pretty neat, I guess. Tamas always tells stories about guts and stuff being spilled on the battlefield. Maybe you should be a soldier, like me!"

"Maybe," Tertius said, skeptically. "But I don't want to hurt anyone..."

"Well you wouldn't, you'd just be killing oxmen, with me! We can fight together while I'm at Seheron so we can still grow up and work with each other, least until I have to go be a magister."

"I don't know. I don't think my papa would like that, anyway," Tertius said, deciding that he didn't want to reveal to his new friend that he was still not keen on killing even oxmen. They had just become best-best friends, so he didn't want to pick a fight so soon, especially knowing that Cato seemed more than willing to step up to being challenged, if the knife was any indication.

And it was true. His papa had always spoken of the soldiers in Seheron with vague disdain. When Palermo had joined the Imperial Navy they had fought, his papa slinging shame like a trebuchet against his brother's drunken defiance.

("If you didn't want me to do something with my life, perhaps you should have made an effort to do something with it, or not burden me with it at all!" Palermo had snarled, and a bottle of Pavali had smashed against the ground almost prettily.

It had been the only time Tertius had seen his brother anything but properly dutiful and compliant, and the words stuck hard.)

"What about a butcher?" Cato tried, stepping out of his smallclothes with a furtive, nervous glance around the baths.

Tertius snorted. "I think he'd like that even less. He wouldn't want me to sell things in a shop like that, he'd call it 'beneath' us."

"That's dumb. Tamas says that I have to respect everyone who I buy things from," Cato explained, looking superior. "She says 'someone's gotta do it, so you should be grateful that it's not-'... huh. Maybe we should figure out something else."

Tertius laughed at his friend's (his friend, oh he liked that!) sheepish expression, but his glee turned into fascination when Cato began unclipping and sliding off his ear cuffs. Tertius had never seen ears like that- they crumpled and folded, looking soft and almost dainty.

"Why do your ears look like that?" he asked, not thinking. Tertius regretted it the moment Cato reared his head, eyes sliding away uneasily. "Sssorry. That's rude. I just think they look neat. Can I touch them?"

"No!" Cato snapped, curling his lip in irritation. "They're normal. Or... at least they will be. They're a little late, but elf ears don't always stand up right away. These-" he said, motioning with the cuffs- "are supposed to help them do that though. They just need more time."

Tertius shrank. "Oh. Sorry. That's too bad though. I think they look really nice like that."

Cato remained leery, tilting his head with skepticism. "Nice?"

"Yeah, they're special! I haven't seen anyone with ears like that, not even other elves."

Cato seemed to be coming around, cautious but willing. One of his ears even flicked, pricking forward where it met the side of his head and swinging loosely. It looked, in Tertius' modest opinion, really cute. "Special's something," he mumbled. "You don't think they look gross and all... doughy?"

Tertius watched his friend pluck at the tips. They were a bit shapeless and puffy, and the cuffs kept the skin peachy-pale and... yes... a little doughy looking. But Tertius meant what he said. "I like them. They're floppy like a dog’s ears can be floppy."

"I'm not a dog!" Cato grumped.

"What? I didn't-... I like dogs," Tertius reasoned, feeling bad that was taken poorly. He did. Not as much as horses, but dogs were fine.

Cato pouted for a moment longer- or at least pretended to pout, Tertius realized as Cato stuck his tongue out playfully. "I'm a wolf," Cato corrected him, chest puffed out proudly. He turned to Tertius, a glint in his eye. "A vicious badger-wolf from Seheron! And I'm gonna... drag you back to my den!"

Cato latched upon his arm, suddenly growling absurdly and he pulled Tertius towards the edge of the baths and into the water. Tertius trudged along, nose scrunched as his friend pulled him farther into the waters. When they were waist-high, Cato seemed to notice his puzzled expression and stopped, letting him go and returning the expression with equal confusion.

"What are you doing?" Tertius asked.

"I'm... playing pretend?" Cato's shoulders drooped. "Do you not do that? Me and Aun do it a lot."

"Oh." Tertius had seen other children running around like wild animals before; he just hadn't expected something that seemed so... kiddish to come from Cato, who he judged to be much more mature, like him. Tertius had played at pretending back at the estate, but his papa had passed through the foyer where he was playing and called it 'undignified', telling him to stop behaving like a creature. He had only tried it once since then. He tried being a pony with Stardust, but deemed Stardust to be much better at it than him, and he didn't much care for the taste of grass. "I haven't with another person. But I could try."

"Yeah! What are you going to be? I like being a badger-wolf. That's what 'Fen'Rhea' means. They're these big, hulking, super strong, super smart wolves from Seheron that could fight a bear and a dragon and bite off their whole head! Usually Aun's the bear and dragon. He likes being the dragon more but he's a much better bear, and our nanny said he needed to stop jumping on the chairs and throwing things, which is how we knew he was flying and breathing fire when he's a dragon. He tried being a bear that breathes fire, but that's dumb. But you can be a dragon if you want! I trust you to say when you're breathing fire and flying. Aun likes to cheat."

The excitement in Cato's voice was infectious, even as unsure as Tertius was in all this baby stuff. He smiled. "I bet that's the only way he could win."

Cato laughed, a sound that made Tertius' heart feel glowy and nice. "Uh huh!"

"Can I be a horse?" Tertius asked, tentative.

"Yeah that's fine! I'll hunt you down and you have to get away so I don't eat you, how's that?"

Tertius considered this, face scrunched in thought. "I don't want you to have to eat me, though. Can't we be a horse and a wolf that are friends?"

"Badger-wolf. And yeah, I guess that'll work. We don't have to pretend like real animals, we can be on the same side, like in the fables."

"You like fables?" Tertius asked, delighted.

It turned out to be something else they had in common other than friendlessness and a suspicion of the other apprentices. Cato's favorite had been 'The Fox and the Stork,' while Tertius favored 'The Tortoise and the Hare' more. He had mentioned the one about the gryphon and the nug, where the little nug helped the gryphon when he had a thorn stuck in his paw, and ended up telling Cato the whole thing when he revealed he had never heard it before.

All throughout the story, Cato scrubbed himself in the current of water. He took the oils at the edge of the bath and worked them into his skin by himself, politely dismissing the bath slave that approached him for service. Tertius paused the story as he watched and tilted his head. "Why don't you want the slave to help you?"

"I don't know," Cato said, shrugging and watching as the slave retreated to offer his services to another apprentice. That one accepted, presenting his body for the slave to massage in the oil and scrape it off, along with the sweat and dirt, with a blunt, curved strigil. "I mean, I can wash myself, it's not hard. I don't need anyone else to help me."

"Well, neither do they," Tertius reasoned, nodding to the older apprentices enjoying the attention. "They don't need the help, but they don't have to do it themselves either, so they don't. And besides, the part where they rub your muscles feels really nice."

"I don't know. Isn't is weird that they're all elves?"

"Who?"

"The slaves," Cato clarified.

Tertius looked at his friend. "No? What else would they be? Qunari?"

"Humans."

Tertius considered that, brow furrowed. He did know there were some human slaves, but they were rare and often plenty more expensive. "Why would the Circle bother getting human slaves? The elves do everything well enough; they don't need them to do anything that fancy."

"I just don't get it. My tamas has as many human slaves as she does elvhen. And did you know there is only one other elf in the whole school? It's so weird."

"That's not weird, your tamas is weird. Most slaves are elves and they're a lot cheaper than humans. Usually you only get a human slave when you need them to do something that elves can't, like writing and maths and stuff," Tertius explained. Hearing that Cato's tamas owned many human slaves was as curious as it was impressive. That would be a lot of money to invest in higher-quality slaves. What was she having them do?

Cato whined in his throat. "Elves can write and do maths! You just saw me write my name not even an hour ago, and I can count all the way up to one hundred, easy!"

"Well, you're not a slave," Tertius pointed out.

Cato pouted. "How come you know about all this stuff?"

"My papa breeds slaves. He has a whole bunch and they have babies and the babies sell for a lot because we only buy incaensor so they have lots of magic in their pedigree. Papa said he'd like to buy a human mage to use as a stud because then all the babies would be human too and sell for a lot more, but he didn't want anyone to think they were his bastards, so they have to all be elves," Tertius explained, then paused. "...why are you mad?"

It was true, the longer Tertius had spoken, the more cross Cato seemed to become, his mouth screwing up in a irritated scowl. When asked, though, it melted into something more unsure and troubled. Cato shrugged. "Dunno. It doesn't feel good."

"Why?"

Cato simply shrugged again, and Tertius felt bad until Cato gave him a crooked smile. "I bet we have so many humans for slaves because my tamas wants to show off how much money we have when we have guests over. All our slaves do the same kind of thing because she knows elves can do everything just as good."

Tertius wasn't sure about his friend's reasoning, but he was pleased that his friend was no longer sad.

They finished washing off in the running baths, dirt and grime draining away to be cleansed somewhere deep in the bowels beneath the Circle, and moved to the steaming hot baths, skipping the entire way there as they shivered in the cooler air. The hot baths were still and wafting as they slid in, a layer of frothy bubbles from some special soaps coating the surface.

Cato rested his chin on the rocky edge of the baths, eyes sliding shut and sighing pleasantly. "Thanks."

"For what?" Tertius asked. He sprawled next to Cato, sitting on the rocky steps beneath the water's surface and stretching out comfortably. The water was just a shade too hot, turning both of them cherry-red, but they'd get used to it.

For a long time, Cato said nothing. Then, "For getting the dorm master."

It took a second for Tertius to figure out what he was talking about. "Oh, yeah. You're welcome."

Cato's eyes opened, and he slid up so his arms folded on the lip of the bath. He pillowed his head on his arms, face turned to Tertius. "Can I ask a question?"

"Yeah."

"Why did you talk like that earlier?" Cato asked, his ear perking slightly in interest. Not as much as an elf with a regular ear might- there wasn't enough structure there to lift it- but enough to show that he was listening.

Tertius shrugged. "I have a stutter sometimes. It's getting better."

"A stutter," Cato repeated, evidently not familiar with the word. "How come you have a stutter?"

Tertius opened his mouth to reply, then paused. Instead, he offered, "I'll tell you how I got it if you tell me what happened in the basement."

"Never mind," Cato grumbled, ready to give up.

"Wait! I'll tell you if..." Tertius thought, lifting his hand out of the water to tap on his chin like he's seen people do when they're thinking hard. "If you let me touch your ears."

"Why do you want to touch my ears so bad? That's weird," Cato asked, voice cracking slightly as it rose in confusion. But he didn't sound angry or annoyed, at least, so Tertius pressed on.

"They just look neat. They look soft. It's not as weird as <i>having</i> ears like that, even if they are really nice."

Cato tilted his head, considering the offer. "Alright," he conceded, scooting over and presenting his swinging ear. "Just don't pinch them or anything, that hurts."

Tertius held one between his index finger and thumb, rolling it as gently as he could in wonder. "They're squishy! They're so soft and squishy! Do those big ear things that you wear hurt them?"

"Not really," Cato assured him as Tertius dropped the ear gently. "I got a couple different kinds and the heavier ones can tug them, but that mostly just makes the skin around the ear ache a little, and sometimes I get headaches, but mostly it's fine."

Tertius nodded, continuing to watch the little ears swing until he noticed Cato watching him intently. "Yeah?"

"Your stutter?"

"Oh yeah! I-" Tertius began, before his smile dropped. He hadn't actually considered telling the story when he had bartered it, but he couldn't very well go back on it now. Cato was, again, very newly his best-best friend, and he couldn't spoil that trust by taking back a promise already. "I, uh... d-didn't do what my papa said and he cast a spell on me. It hurt a lot, and... I dunno. I ssstarted stuttering after."

Cato's face turned solemn. "My tamas can be like that too, only she doesn't use spells."

"Yeah?" Tertius asked, caught between a flurry of emotions at the confession. Relief that he didn't have to explain further. Guilt that he was willing to avoid telling Cato the details he had omitted. Dismay at envisioning his new, dearest friend's own punishment and a strange comfort that it was something he understood. Guilt, again. Shouldn't he want his friend to be spared something like that? "She shouldn't. I can't see you doing things bad enough to deserve it like me. You're good. I try, but you're really nice."

Cato lowered himself into the water so that his nose barely cleared the surface and blew a jet of bubbles. "Nah, I have to be better. I'm going to be a magister and a blood mage and I'm the heir so I have to be really, really good because a lot of people are going to count on me. I have to mess up less, so she's helping." Cato's smile, something that looked like it didn't quite fit his face right, slowly faded. "I'm an elf, too, so I have to be double good at things. Tamas said people are going to think if I mess up it's because of that, and it'll just go to show that I'm not as good, so I have to be really perfect so they don't have any reason to say I can't be those things."

Tertius scowled. "That doesn't sound very fair."

"Tamas says 'life's not fair'," Cato recited, nodding at the very serious bit of wisdom. "It's okay though. I just have to be better, and Tamas is helping. She always points out when I mess up so I can fix it next time. I just have to stop being dumb and messing up. That sounds pretty fair to me, since I want to be a good magister."

"I guess," Tertius agreed reluctantly. He still wasn't convinced that Cato deserved all that, but then those apprentices did already hurt him pretty bad. Perhaps it was because he needed to do better. Tertius didn't know; he wasn't an elf. Tamas was, and an adult besides, so she would definitely know these things.

"I-" Cato started, and stopped himself. His ears swiveled black, flopping so Tertius could see the inside part instead of the back that was usually shown from how it naturally folded. "I don't know what to do before I get better. I'm really trying, but..."

He shook his head, looking miserable as his ears flapped with the motion.

"But it's easier when you don't have to worry about people coming to hurt you," Tertius finished for him.

Tertius understood that.

Cato nodded. He returned to the edge of the baths, resting his chin on the stone. When he spoke, his words were hardly a whisper. "I can't just not be here, and I can't just stop being me and stop being an elf. I don't know why they hate me so much."

"It's because they're dumb," Tertius supplied instantly.

Cato scrunched his nose. "But they're older."

"Can still be dumb."

"Why don't you hate me?"

Tertius shrugged, surprised at the question. "Because you're nice to me."

"How?"

"Because..." Tertius started, brow furrowed as he tried to figure out why. "You make me feel like it's not bad for me to talk. No one else does that. Even the enchanters make these really sad faces at me when I answer a question."

"Because of your stutter?"

"Because... I don't know. Maybe. I think they know I'm not supposed to be here."

"Why not?"

"I have two older brothers, so my family doesn't need me."

"Well, you should still learn how to use magic. Even if you're not a magister, you-"

"No," Tertius said, suddenly angry. "I shouldn't be here. I shouldn't have been born."

Cato looked at him, taken aback. It was a while before he said anything.

"Well. <i>I'm</i> glad you ended up getting born, at least," he mumbled, almost petulantly.

Tertius couldn't help but smile. "See? This is you being really nice."

--

They left a train of water dripping from their hair all the way back to the dormitories. Cato yawned great, loud yawns like a lion every other sentence and blinked slow and often, his exhaustion evident. Tertius was used to staying up all night, but he only managed by sleeping all through the day, sometimes even dozing in classes when the enchanters were talking on and on about something he had already understood. Cato, however, didn't have the benefit of sleeping through the day.

"Well, here you go," Tertius said, swinging his hand at the door to Cato's dormitories, and looked away. He didn't want their fun to end. He had a strange certainty that the next morning it would be like none of this happened, and Cato wouldn't forget him and forget being friends, and this was the end. But Cato was dead on his feet and it was making Tertius tired just looking at him. He couldn't make it much longer, Tertius knew.

It was fun while it lasted.

Cato looked at the door to his dorms, then back to Tertius with a sad, scrunched face. It was as if he didn't want to be forgotten too, but that couldn't be right. Still, he asked, "How 'bout I walk you to your dorms?"

"Oh, I'm gonna stay up longer. I always stay up at night," Tertius explained, shuffling awkwardly.

Cato looked back at the door, then back at Tertius, almost like a puppy. "I..." he began, words soft. "I don't wanna go back to sleep."

Oh. That was it. It was just that. Tertius shrugged. "You can't stay up forever."

"I know." Cato agreed quietly. "I'm scared, though."

"Scared?"

"The first time, they came when I was asleep. What if they come again?"

Tertius considered this, tapping his foot thoughtfully. "Why don't you just go someplace they can't find you?"

"Like where, though?"

Tertius shrugged, but a thought soon came to him.

"I have an idea."

--

The cubby behind the bookshelves had been comfortable when it was just him, but it was a snug, cosy fit when it was the two of them.

Cato had lingered in the aisle between the shelves, looking to and fro and asked again how Tertius was sure he could sleep someplace so public and expect to be safe.

"I know they don't allow magic in the library," Cato reasoned, "but what's to keep them from just dragging me out? I've seen them here before. The other elf comes here too! What if he tells on me?"

"He won't know where you are either," Tertius had said, pulling the books off the lower shelf. "Trust me."

He slipped into the hidden compartment, motioning for Cato to follow, which he did. The space was not quite big enough for the both of them to comfortably sprawl out without budging up next to each other, but the indentation into the wall was large enough so that they could both curl up and rest with ease.

Cato crawled up onto the bench cushions of the nook, looking around the dim hidey-hole suspiciously. He inspected where the bookshelf met the wall and all the small gaps of where missing books would allow library patrons to peek in. They were few, narrow little slits, small enough that one would have to already know what to look for to notice at all.

"This," Cato said slowly, settling back into the cushion with a reluctant approval. "This is pretty good, I got to admit."

"I only know about it because I saw it from the loft. I don't think many people go up there just to look around, though. If those apprentices were mean to you, then they are probably dumb and if they're dumb I bet they wouldn't think of checking like that."

Cato nodded slowly, deciding that that logic was sound enough. Tertius propped himself into the reading nook himself, swinging his legs and hitting the wooden paneling under the cushions absently. He watched, trying not to laugh, as Cato slumped further and further, until he was nearly falling off the cushions altogether. "Hey."

"Yeah?"

Cato blinked slowly. Once, then twice, fighting the call of sleep hard. "If someone comes for me, you'll go get an enchanter, right?"

"Uh huh."

"You won't let them drag me away? You promise you'll do something?"

"I did last time," Tertius reminded him. At that, Cato smiled. His eyes were nearly slits and he wavered in balance when Tertius gave him a prod. "Lay down. That looks really uncomfortable. I'll shout if anyone comes for you, you know I will!"

Cato turned to him, blinked a slow, uncoordinated blink, and swung his body over, stretching out as much as he could and resting his head on Tertius' leg like a pillow. "M'yeah. You did."

Cato was heavy and warm and nuzzled against him like a big, sleepy... badger-wolf. Tertius couldn't get up to get more books if he wanted to, and he had to balance the big, heavy anatomy book he did have on his other leg, and it wobbled so it was hard to read unless he held very still. All in all, it was a very cumbersome sort of arrangement, and Cato had been terribly presumptive to think he could just drape himself all over him like that just because they were friends.

But…

"Hey," Tertius whispered. "Just don't pee on me, okay?"

He found he didn't mind as much as he had expected.